Border Ball

Memorial Day

2009-05-31T16:05:00.000-07:00

Michael Allen started the game

Tom Adams got the start for the Timber Rattlers

Pitching coach Gary Lucas settles down Michael Allen

Manager Nelson Prada has a few words for the umpires

Snappers dugout

Ozzie Lewis

Dominic DeLaOsa

Nate Hanson

Angel Morales: More than just a center fielder (in this game)

2009-05-19T19:09:00.000-07:00

Someone must have told Angel Morales that Twins general manager Bill Smith would be in attendance on Sunday afternoon. The young center fielder went 3-5 and provided a home run and 3 RBI to lead the Snappers to victory over Peoria.

Now, that's not to say that he doesn't have some work ahead of him in order for Smith to promote him out of Beloit in the near future. After 31 games and 114 at-bats Morales has only managed a .211/.289/.439 hitting line. The most alarming aspects of that line, of course, are the .211 batting average and the .289 on-base percentage.

Unfortunately I have not been able to find any UZR ratings to compare Morales to other center fielders in order to determine how far away he is from showing enough tools to warrant a move up the organizational ladder in the near future. But so far, in the games I've seen, he has shown the speed and outfield instincts that the Twins generally look for in a young outfielder. I had not been paying attention to Denard Span before he reached Rochester -- but so far, I would equate what I've seen out of Morales to the tools that Span was displaying in 2005 ... only at a lower level.

I'll give Angel the offensive gameball for this contest.

Pitching
Highly rated prospect Dan Osterbrock earned his second win of the season but looked really shaky in his outing Sunday. He went 5.2 innings and managed to ring up 4 batters but he gave up six earned runs and watched his ERA increase to 7.26 on the season.

Hopefully Bill Smith was impressed enough with the way the Snappers' bullpen performed Sunday afternoon that something clicked and he'll address the big league club's relief woes.

After Osterbrock's exit from the game, Steve Blevins and Danny Rondon combined to allow 0 earned runs and would have propelled the Snappers to victory even without the late-inning run support they received.

Blevins got the hold and Rondon recorded the save. And although Rondon's 2 k's and 0 hits in one inning of work statistically looks better than Blevins' 2.1 innings of 3-hit ball, I'll give the pitching/defensive game ball to both these fellas.

Ramon Santana
I have the feeling that this season is going to become a "Santana Watch" for as long as he remains in Beloit. Though he managed only 1-5 on Sunday, he really looks like he's finally found his groove here in Beloit and finally deserves to be called up.

Of course, he is playing against younger talent and his progress has really been stunted the last few seasons. But it appears to me to be a now-or-never situation for the shortstop who turns 24 next month.

Apologies
I apologize for the lack of photos this week. My camera was really acting up last Sunday and I hope to have the problem corrected by the next game I attend. I really wanted to post a photo of Bill Smith ... it's just not worthy.

Get to know 'em: Jon Waltenbury

2009-04-30T19:42:00.000-07:00

Jon Waltenbury was drafted by out of high school by the Twins in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. He grew up near Toronto, Ontario. This is his first season with Beloit. A top Twins prospect, Waltenbury has been swiftly moving through Minnesota's minor league system despite some visa problems that prevented him from playing in 2006.

On positions played: "I played left and right field, pretty much growing up. I didn't start playing first base until after I was drafted. When I came down here, they stuck me over there at the corner and I kind of picked it up as I went along. I wouldn't have it any other way. I love playing first base. The way I look at it, you've got to be out there to help the team in any way you can. At first base, you get to pick the ball out of the dirt and keep the ball in front of you at all times. It's tough to play but that's where the hitter goes and I just like to hit."

On baseball instead of hockey: "It's pretty easy, I wasn't as good at hockey as I was at baseball. I play hockey every now and then -- you know, a little pick-up hockey in the offseason when I'm not supposed to. My first love is obviously baseball. I guess my dad had a big influence on me as a little kid by strapping a glove and bat on me."

On his favorite teams and players: "I'm a Blue Jay fan. I guess it's changed a bit since the Twins drafted me -- you've got to go with the Twins. I used to like the Expos a bit just because Larry Walker played there. My favorite players are Ken Griffey Jr. and Larry Walker. But mostly Larry Walker."

On what he's learned so far: "I've learned not to be stat-oriented. Say, for instance, not to get worried if I'm not getting a base hit every time I'm up. If a guy strikes me out the first time up, and then in my next at bat I hit a ball hard but right at someone, you still have to keep your head up at all times and get back out there."

On his status as a top prospect: "I have no idea [where I stand as far as prospect status]. Hey, as long as I come into spring training every year and I still have a job by the end of it, I'm happy. As long as they don't see me as a fill-in guy and, hopefully, they see me as a guy that's got some potential to be a big-leaguer, I'm happy."

You've been with the Twins for a little while now, you're a first baseman, and you see Justin Morneau with the big-league club at first base. What are you thinking? "I'm thinking hopefully he gets greedy (laughs). I hope he wants a lot of money and the Twins don't want to give it to him or he gets traded (another laugh). It's something I don't really think about, to be honest with you. It's still a couple years away."

On injuries: "I haven't had any injury problems up until now. I've been good. You know, the occasional ball in the face. I've had little shoulder injuries -- maybe a little tendonitis. Nothing serious. No tears or surgeries."

Who is the best-hitting pitcher in the Twins minors: "They all suck (laughs). I don't know. Power? Probably Henry Sanchez. The best-hitting pitcher we have is probably ... I've seen Lanigan take BP and it wasn't pretty ... that's a tough question. I'll let them fight about it.

Soto secures victory

2009-04-26T19:11:00.000-07:00

The Beloit Snappers claimed victory Friday night against the Quad Cities River Bandits. In the win, catcher Alex Soto (20) provided an offensive onslaught and went 4-4, with a home run (his second of the season) and three RBI.

Soto belted a solo home run in the bottom of the third. He came back up to the plate the very next inning, after a five-run outburst from the River Bandits, and knocked an RBI double. He then tied the game in the bottom of the sixth with his third RBI of the night. Soto gets the nod for offensive player of the game.

SP Henry Reyes
Henry Reyes (35) was Beloit's Starting pitcher Friday night.

On paper, it looked like an atrocious outing. But, had Reyes thrown one pitch differently, he could have escaped the fourth inning with zero runs charged against him, instead of five. He kicked off the fourth by walking Niko Vasquez. Reyes gave up a single to the next hitter. The following batter was retired on a fly ball to center and Vasquez advanced. So, with one out and runners on the corners, Reyes struck out the next batter.

This is the point where, had Reyes been able to induce a ground ball, he would have gotten out of this inning having allowed no runs. Instead, he gave up an RBI single, hit the next batter, then allowed a grand slam before recording the final out of the inning.

It really didn't take long for the complexion of the inning to change entirely. Just to illustrate how quickly things turned: I was snapping photos and casually chatting with Snappers General Manager Jeff Vohs. During the game, Jeff is conducting his crew via walkie-talkie and moves around to different parts of the ballpark as he is needed.

At the moment when Reyes had two outs and runners on the corners, Jeff's walkie-talkie crackled and one of his employees asked for his help in a different part of the park and Jeff excused himself.

As he came back so we could continue our discussion, Jeff looked at the scoreboared and simply asked, "What happened?" Yep. It was that sudden.

RP Danny Rondon
Reliever Danny Rondon (10) gets the pitcher's game ball for the night.

Rondon has been having an inconsistent season so far. However, the 21-year-old pulled it together Friday night and provided Manager Nelson Prada with a much-needed, reliable option out of the bullpen. Rondon took the hill in the top of the fifth, pitched three scoreless innings, and put himself in line for the win before handing the ball over to Bruce Pugh.

Designated hitter Ozzie Lewis (27) was another solid performer in Friday night's game. Lewis went 3-for-4, drove in a run, scored two runs, and improved his season batting average to .429.

More photos from the game
Shortstop Ramon Santana (4) leads off at first.

Manager Nelson Prada and Santana at third base.

Outfielder Evan Bigley warms up in the on-deck circle.

Outfielder Adan Severino at bat.

Get to know 'em: Shooter Hunt

2009-04-21T16:40:00.000-07:00

Remember that PR campaign a few years ago (before the 'Twins Territory' one) where the tag line was, "Twins: get to know 'em?"

Well, anyway, I figured it would be a good idea to interview as many Twins minor leaguers as I could while they're in Beloit and post a little piece on each player here so you fine folks can learn a little bit more about them. Today's installment is on pitcher Shooter Hunt.

Hunt was drafted by the Twins in the first supplemental round of 2008's draft. He grew up in Wyckoff, N. J., played his college ball at Tulane and was was named Conference USA's Pitcher of the Year in 2008. This is his first season with Beloit.

On being considered a top pitching prospect: "There's really not much you can do about rankings, so it isn't worth it to pay attention to them. We're all trying to get up to Minnesota, we're all trying to win a World Series. Everyone is fighting for the same thing.

On his recent performance: "It's in my best interest to pay attention to what I'm doing and whether I'm getting better instead of worrying about what other people are saying. As soon as things start going good, it could just as easily start going the other way. You've got to find a happy medium -- no peaks, no valleys."

On the Twins' approach to grooming young pitchers: "The Twins have produced so many great young pitchers and moved them up through the ranks. I mean, everyone sees Johan Santana and Garza had a great year last year. The five starters up there now are all young guys. They really do a great job down here. I've worked with coach Shellenback down in rookie ball and coach Gary Lucas here . . . and other coaches too. They're all doing a great job."

Hunt is known for a low-to-mid-90s fastball and a curveball that he can throw with excellent control. He discusses how pitching coaches work on his strengths and weaknesses: "Something that the coaches always tell us is that we definitely want to improve our weaknesses, but we don't want to lose track of our strengths because that's what got us all here -- our strengths. The curveball is probably my best pitch and it's probably what got me here. But my fastball is good too. I have good command of my fastball and if I can keep doing that, I can do pretty much anything. You can see that with Slowey and Baker up in the big leagues. Slowey really commands the zone well with his fastball so he's able to pitch off that. So, I think that's what all us guys in the lower levels are trying to get after."

On his curveball: "I've got pretty good command with my curveball, which helps a lot during the games to know that I have this curve that can keep guys off balance and I can command it and miss bats."

On injuries: "(Knocks on wood) All throughout the draft process guys would ask about injuries. I haven't had anything too serious -- some tendonitis every now and then, but the Twins also have a good program to work with. Luckily, I've come up with good people who show you how to stay injury-free. It's really become a top priority in baseball to protect pitchers instead of trying to get them stronger. I mean, you can only throw so hard. After a while, you have to learn how to maintain that. It's a long year."

On making it to The Show: "Everybody who gets drafted is looking immediately at, 'OK, who's at my position?' If you're drafted by the Yankees and you're a first baseman, you're like, 'Oh . . . Texiera is going to be there for a while. That kinda stinks.' And I'm sure guys at shortstop for the Yankees are like, 'Oh. Derek Jeter's there.' And so on. So, it's definitely something you think about: Who's up there now, and where do I fit in in the grand scheme of things? The Twins are the team that drafted me so it would be nice to get up there. But they make it clear to us in spring training that not all of us are going to make it to Minnesota. a lot of us are going to playing for different teams in the big leagues -- or we won't be playing at all . . . as long as I'm pitching every fifth day, I'm good."

Walk-off blast

2009-04-18T07:49:00.000-07:00

Snappers second baseman Ramon Santana (4) was a solid performer last night. He went 2-for-5 and knocked a 10th-inning solo walk-off blast to deep center field to secure the victory over the Burlington Bees (the Kansas City Royals low single-A affiliate) in the second home game of 2009.

The small (5-9, 165) middle infielder got it done, not only with his bat, but also by showing defensive poise in last night's game against Burlington, including a situation where he teamed up with catcher Alexander Soto to bust Pat Norris stealing second. Soto also homered in the bottom of the fifth, but Santana gets my vote for position player of the game.

Santana was signed as a free agent in 2004 but didn't make his way into the organization until 2006. He spent last season in Beloit where he posted an underwhelming .241/.316/.404 hitting line. But so far, in this young season, Santana has been the Snappers most prolific offensive weapon. He will need to continue to polish his defensive skills, but as long as he continues to improve, he should expect to progress through the Twins minor league system. It should be noted that he does have an age advantage over most players at this level.

The pitcher of the game has to be Steve Blevins. Blevins (13) took over for Joe Testa (12), who coughed up the lead in the eighth inning, and pitched 2.2 scoreless innings, striking out three and getting credit for the win.

Starting pitcher Bobby Lanigan (36) pitched 5.1 innings and was charged with three runs.

First baseman Jon Waltenbury (33) struggled against Burlington's pitchers, going 0-5. In two key instances, Waltenbury grounded out with runners in scoring position. In the third inning, Dominic De La Osa (31) smashed a two-out double and moved Nicholas Romero (5) to third. Waltenbury was unable to cash in on the scoring opportunity.

His other big RBI chance came in the seventh when De La Osa knocked a two-out triple. Again, Waltenbury grounded out harmlessly.

Royals prospect to watch for
All-in-all this crop of Twins minor leaguers handled this pitching staff well last night and took control of the game when it mattered most. However, one Burlington hurler did make his presence known in a relief appearance.

Reliever James Thompson (30) threw 2.2 innings, faced 10 batters and struck out five. He did give up the walk-off homer to Santana and picked up the loss, but when he was locating his slider he was cruising through Beloit's lineup.

Thompson spent 2008 in Idaho Falls in the rookie Pioneer League, made 22 appearances, threw 29.1 innings, struck out 39 hitters, and posted a 3.99 ERA. He doesn't have an extensive body of work, but his "stuff," and especially his slider, is impressive.

It may be traditionally difficult for a guy who has never started a game to forge a path to The Show, but seemingly his best track to the majors would be that of a closer. On this night he appeared to have the necessary mindset, the velocity, and the "stuff" to make his name as a potential stopper. This would be especially true if he can develop a second pitch that misses bats as well as his slider does.

Unfortunately for him, Santana laced a deep, deep fly off him to send the fans home.

More photos from the game

Outfielder Adan Severino congratulates one of his teammates after scoring a run.

Manager Nelson Prada pulls double-duty as third base coach.

Second baseman Ramon Santana congratulates catcher Alexander Soto after a solo home run.

Game coverage coming soon

2009-04-14T11:47:00.001-07:00

I had begun to worry whether this blog would actually get off the ground -- now I have learned that it will. I will be covering games, shooting photos, and interviewing players starting with the Snappers' third home game Friday, April 17.

A couple months ago, I had e-mailed Snappers public relations/marketing manager, Marcus Jacobs and had asked about the team's media/photography policies. I also asked whether I would be allowed to interview players and the management and coaching staff.

At first, I wasn't too concerned that I hadn't heard back from him. I just assumed he was a busy guy. However, as the weeks flew by and opening day came and went, I thought it was probably time for a follow-up e-mail.

Jeff Vohs, the Snappers' general manager, called me today in response to my second e-mail. He called with good news and bad news.

The bad news is that Marcus had not responded to me, not because he was ignoring me, but because he is in the hospital. I hope whatever he is in the hospital for is minor and that Marcus makes a full and speedy recovery.

The good news is that after filling out a couple simple forms Friday afternoon, I will have all the access to the team that I had requested.

As of now, I plan on attending 15 Snappers home games and one road game against the Timber Rattlers. Maybe things will change and I will be able to attend more.

But what this all boils down to is that any Twins fan who is interested in what is going on in Beloit will essentially get a weekly update from me, right here at Border Ball, if they so choose.

Of course, Snappers fans who couldn't care less about the Twins are also welcomed to read updates about call-ups, send-downs, injuries, player/personnel interviews, some analysis, any other topics that may arise, and view high-quality, professional photos of the team in action.

There will be weeks when the team is too far away from Madison for me to attend games. In these instances, I will try to contact someone from the team and post an article with any pertinent details.

First three games
So far the Snappers have gotten off to a rocky start, posting a record of 0-3 after three games and a rain-out.

Top prospects Shooter Hunt, Dan Osterbrock, and Bobby Lanigan all pitched their first starts of the season in each loss.

So far this season, Lanigan has had the most success, ringing up five hitters in five innings of work, and allowing two runs to cross.

None of the losses can really be considered blow-outs. The worst loss was suffered Saturday, in the 4-9 series finale against Cedar Rapids.

Though the team hasn’t posted any home runs yet in the first three games, the bats have been pretty lively.

Outfielder Jonathan Waltenbury, another top Twins prospect, has been hot and cold at the plate thus far, but has driven in a couple runs.

It is only the beginning of the season, but perhaps one of the more pleasant offensive surprises has been outfielder Evan Bigley.

Unfortunately, I can’t get too specific about performance because I haven’t seen any live games yet, and have not talked to anyone from the organization aside from Vohs. However, when I attend games, I will choose a pitcher and a position player of the game (regardless of whether the team wins) and I will analyze some of the key plays and which players were involved.

Right-hander Bradley Tippett will be starting against the Quad Cities Bandits’ George Brown tomorrow. According to all sources I have been able to read (including Twins bloggers), Tippett is not on the radar as a top pitching prospect. I have never seen him pitch, but after reading about him and looking at some stats, I wouldn’t count him out.

The birth of a blog

2009-02-19T09:36:00.000-08:00

This entry represents the birth of a blog.

The reason for the genesis of the Border Ball blog is for an under-utilized journalist, photographer and Minnesota Twins fan (who lives in Madison, WI) to feel like he is still connected to his team, while providing himself an excuse to take and post photos and provide Minor league news for Twins fans who may be interested. Oh, and perhaps, provide a splash of analysis. We'll see exactly what comes of it -- who knows, readership could end up being nonexistent.

So anyway, my current plan is to attend and photograph three or four Beloit Snappers games per month, interview players, get to know as much about the organization as I can and post a few shots along with whatever findings I can scrape together.

Obviously, I will be posting to the blog through the lens of a Minnesota Twins fan and the purpose for all of this is to provide accessible coverage for fans like myself who are curious about the team's minor league clubs. Either way, I'll be primarily covering the Snappers.

The Beloit Snappers are the Twins' low-A farm team. And though the players on the roster are fresh out of rookie ball, the general consensus is that 3-4 of Minnesota's top prospects will at least begin the season in Beloit. Perhaps as time wears on and I establish contact with some of the players, I can keep in contact with them as their journey continues beyond Beloit. Naturally, some of those players will continue on through the minor league system and, thus, I would possibly be able to provide other Twins minor league updates from/about those players.

Don't expect any new posts for a while. I still will not be attending my first game until April 17 when the Snappers take on the Burlington Bees at home.