Center Field

I will be continuing my series on the Twins position by position look into the Twins organization. Today i will be moving onto the Center Field position hope everyone enjoys it and let the comments continue. Im excited about this position because we have some exciting players at this position



Twins

• Carlos Gomez- If you want to talk about exciting you need to go no further than the man they call Go-Go. I know this word goes around a lot but Carlos is a 5 tool player with unlimitless potential. Offensively, he is a work in progress while he learns how to hit on the major league level. The reason you can let him do that up here is his blazing speed. Jose Reyes who many thought was the fastest man in the major leagues says that Carlos Gomez is faster than he is. That should tell you a lot about Carlos' speed. He uses his speed well too bunting for base hits and stealing bases. The thing people dont talk about is his defense i dont think we are losing any Defense with him instead of Torii Hunter and i never thought i would say that. He has a very strong arm that is a little inaccurate but given time will have one of the best arms in the game. Going forward I see things a little different he is only 22 years old and i see his game changing as he gets older cause i see him picking up power. I actually in 2 or 3 years see him being a 30-30 guy. I really believe we have found a winner in Carlos Gomez and because of him and Deolis Guerra I think 5 years from now people are going to say the Twins got the best of the Santana deal.

Rochester

• Denard Span- Being i dont see him being with the Twins after Michael Cuddyer comes back I look for him to man center field for the Red Wings again. Denard is a very interesting player he was a 1st round pick by the Twins in the 2002 draft. Many believed he was going to be the Center Fielder of the future, but he has had his up and downs. He is a career .287 hitter who can do a lot of things very well. He is fast who puts together good patient at bats and plays a good center field with a good arm. I was ready to give up on him after he had a tough 2007 for the Red Wings. This spring however, he bounced back and gave Carlos Gomez all he could handle in the battle for Center Field for the Twins. I really believe now Denard Span is going to be a solid major league player and i look for him to be back in a Twins uniform as early as September. I also look for him to be a Twin next year and never get sent down again.

New Britain

• Brandon Roberts: Brandon is a very interesting player that brings alot to the table for the Rock Cats. He is a career .299 hitter who brings good defense and speed to the table. Brandon came over to the Twins from the Cincinnatti Reds organization and has hit everywhere he has been. I think he is a good professional player, but I see better players in the organization and its going to be hard for him to get much further than he is now. I think he is solid, but with the Twins centerfielders Solid is not going to get it done.

Fort Myers

• Juan Portes- The Miracle have 4 outfielders who share playing time so it was hard who to pick but i am intrigued by Juan Portes. Juan was a 15th round pick by the Twins in the 2004 draft. He is a .272 career hitter in 4 professional seasons. He is a solid outfielder that doesn't do a lot of things great but doesnt have major weaknesses. I don't see much of a future for him but he is a solid professional player who can play a good center field.

Beloit

• Joe Benson- Some people are not as high on Joe as i am but i think he can be a Major League player if he keeps growing. Joe was the Twins 2nd round pick in the 2006 draft. He is a career .257 hitter that needs to show some improvement at the plate, but i think he can do it. He is very good defensively and a good arm who plays a good center field. If he can improve on the offense side i think he could be a 4th outfielder some day.

Elizabethton

• Ben Revere- Reason im going that far down is i have heard good things about Ben and he will have something to say about the future for center field for the Twins. Ben was the Twins first round draft pick in 2007. Right now he is in extended spring with the Twins and last year in only 50 games he hit .325 for Elizabethton. Its way early to judge him but he definatly is worth keeping your eye on him.

Saturday, April 12th

Red Wing Wrap

Rochester 7 Syracuse 5

• POG: Chris Basak- Chris had an outstanding game at the plate showing the discipline that had been lacking for the Red Wings in drawing 4 walks and also driving in a run.
• Big come from behind win for the Red Wings
• When a team is struggling with the bats like the Red Wings are you need to find any way to get it done and it was huge drawing 10 walks
• Today Rochester takes on Syracuse again in game 2 of their 3 game series. Gametime is 12:35 in Rochester. Kevin Mulvey is on the hill for Red Wings making his 2nd start of the season.

New Britain Beat

New Britain 3 Portland 1

• POG: Anthony Swarzak- Anthony continued his strong start with 5 shutout innings to lower his ERA to a lights out 0.90 ERA and getting his first win of the season. He pitched 5 innings and gave up only 3 hits while striking out 4 without walking a batter.
• Dustin Martin continued his torrid start going 2-3 to bring his average to a crazy .563 in the young season. He has 9 hits in only 16 ats so far. I know he will cool down but man what a start.
• Today the Rock Cats continue their series with Portland in Portland. Jay Rainville gets the start for the Rock Cats. First pitch is at Noon.

Fort Myers Musings

Fort Myers 3 Dunedin 2

• POG: Brian Dinkelman- Brian went 2-4 on the night with his first HR of the year to raise his average to .344.
• The Miracle were able to get after Big League Closer B.J. Ryan a bit tagging him with the loss getting the winning run off of him in his lone inning of work.
• Tyler Robertson was ok he threw too many pitches so he was only able to work 4 innings. He gave up 6 hits and 2 runs. He walked 2 while striking out an impressive 7 batters.
• Tonight the Miracle take on the Blue Jays in game 2 of their 3 game series. Alex Burnett gets his 2nd start of the young year for the Miracle. Game time is 5:05 in Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Fort Wayne 11 Beloit 1

• POG:- It was not a good night for the Snappers, but a pleasant surprise was Chris Parmalee who continued his strong start to the 08 season. Chris went 2-3 with the only Snapper RBI to raise his average to .304. If he keeps this up he wont be in Beloit all season.
• Like i said not a very good night for the Snappers they committed a season high 6 errors and pitcher Micheal Tarsi gave up 9 runs in only 2 innings of work this is a game the Snappers would just soon forget.
• The Snappers try to get back on the winning side today when they face the Wizards in game 2 of the 3 game series in Beloit. Daniel Berlind is scheduled to get the ball today first pitch is at 1PM. UPDATE: Beloit's game today with Fort Wayne is rained out.