Twins Spring Training: Understanding The Action
Here’s the deal, Spring Training is like nothing else when it comes to the game of baseball. Unlike exhibitions in football or basketball, baseball chooses to employ a systematic approach towards gearing up for the season. With a 162 game season to follow, very little statistically can be pulled from major league Spring Training. However, if you watch for a few key things, Spring Training becomes much more eye opening.
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For the Twins specifically, we have already looked at plenty of the storylines coming into the spring. The Twins are once again looking for someone to step up and be the diamond in the rough. There are plenty of position battles going on, and ESPN has recently highlighted their Twins Spring Training preview.
Waiting for the festivities to kick off however, the Twins will show us plenty by simply watching for a few key things throughout the next month. Instead of reading box scores and trying to understand numerical outputs, focus on these areas should shine a light on quite a bit of information.
Who Starts Where
During Spring Training, lineups differ daily for a myriad of different reasons. With the club having split squad games, as well as players in camp the severely outnumber the amount of playing time, things are always up in the air. However, a decent amount can be understood by where guys consistently start, and how early they are removed from the game.
Typically Spring Training is only going to see starters play for a very brief period each day. Working on getting ready for the season, positional stability is also something that is typically stressed. Whether Jordan Schafer is played more in the outfield as a whole, or seen solely in center could begin to tell us a decent amount in regards to how the Twins view Aaron Hicks.
Which Players Are Given The Work
With positional battles running rampant down in Fort Myers for the Twins, there will be plenty of players to key in on. Taking a look at the context as to how certain players are being utilized and for what period of time remains the biggest hint as to how the battle is shaking out.
For Danny Santana and Eduardo Escobar, it will be worth noting the amount of starts each makes at shortstop, as well as the total amount of innings played. Are the interchanged? Does one start more often? Is one getting significant playing time after the rest of the starters have been removed? With Santana looking like the clear-cut favorite, Molitor will have to decide how he progresses the competition as whole.
Who’s Hitting The Strike Zone
For the most part, Spring Training pitching is about process more than results. Whether a pitcher ends up with a ballooned ERA is not the concern, but more so how it go there. Trying to understand where someone is missing the zone, or the amount of batter-favoring counts a pitcher finds themselves in could be indicative of season long issues.
Alex Meyer, Trevor May, and Tommy Milone will be the most scrutinized Twins pitchers this Spring Training. With the three of them most likely vying for the final rotation spot, the winner likely will not be dictated solely by statistical output. If Meyer is going to lay claim to the role, it will be in pounding the zone early and often. On the opposite side, Milone and May failing to do so will open the door wider for the Twins prospect.
How Is The Outfield Covered
The Twins have what should be considered a familiar infield. With Trevor Plouffe, Santana, Brian Dozier, and Joe Mauer playing the field, the group is plenty familiar with each other. In the outfield however, Aaron Hicks will be flanked by Oswaldo Arcia and Torii Hunter; it could cause some issues.
Target Field has one of the bigger outfields in all of Major League Baseball. While Hammond Stadium is not set up to mimmick the big league park a la Jet Blue for the Boston Red Sox, ground coverage will be something worth watching. Neither corner outfielder is fleet of foot, and it will be on Hicks to direct traffic. Ironing out issues and seeing how things come together this spring will go a long ways towards comfort during the season.
Understanding The New Skipper
The Twins are generally creatures of habit when it comes to Spring Training. Ron Gardenhire leads the group, Tom Kelly looks on, and players such as Tony Oliva make their appearance. This season will provide something new for everyone in the organization. Paul Molitor is set to kick off his first season in charge, and will be back by a different coaching staff in 2015 as well.
For fans, keying on how Molitor goes about managing a game will be a talking point for the first time. Understanding things deeper than lineup construction will come to fruition. Molitor will have the opportunity to show off how he deals with situation baseball, and what his feeling are for putting players in specific situations to best help the Twins.
At the end of the spring, watching closely enough, Twins fans should have a pretty good idea how certain situations are going to play out and how specific players may start the year. With a handful of young players looking to make a splash, getting the process down in Fort Myers will carry them into 2015.