Mr. Ed
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http://www.news-press.com/story/sports/mlb/springtraining/2016/04/07/heralded-pitchers-lead-fort-myers-miracle-2016/82421116/
A heralded group of pitchers will guide the Fort Myers Miracle's 25th anniversary edition.
As the 2016 Florida State League season begins, the Class A, minor league affiliate of the Minnesota Twins will deploy a six-man pitching rotation.
“I’m extremely excited to have these six guys,” Miracle manager Jeff Smith said. “You feel like you have the chance to go out there and win every night. We have a lot of our good prospects in our rotation, and that’s exciting to see. It’s going to be great to watch them develop over the course of the season.”
Kohl Stewart and Tyler Jay were top-six Major League Baseball draft picks. The Twins took Stewart fourth overall in 2013 and Jay sixth overall last year.
The Minnesota Twins protected another starter, left-handed Randy Rosario, on their 40-man roster. He participated in big-league spring training camp this year.
The remaining three, Felix Jorge, Stephen Gonsalves and Keaton Steele, also appear capable of becoming high-profile pitchers, said Minnesota Twins director of minor leagues Brad Steil.
“It’s the best rotation we’ve had in terms of talent, from top to bottom,” Steil said. “It’s not often that you have that many prospects like that in one rotation. That’s a pretty good group.”
The Miracle also will have another member of Minnesota’s 40-man roster in right-handed reliever Yorman Landa. The Dominican Republic native struck out 31 in 27 innings last season for low Class A Cedar Rapids, posting a 2-1 record and a 1.67 ERA.
Had the Twins not placed Rosario or Landa on the 40-man roster, other teams could have claimed either of them in the Rule 5 draft.
“Rosario is a mid-90s guy who can spin it,” said Minnesota Twins assistant general manager Rob Antony, who also praised Landa. “We know neither of them are big-league ready yet, but they were both Rule 5 eligible guys, and we didn’t want to lose either one of them.”
Even Steele, the lowest draft pick of the five starters who were draft eligible, shows plenty of promise.
“He probably doesn’t throw as hard as some of those other guys, but he knows how to pitch,” Steil said of Steele. “He might surprise some people this year, with the other names in that rotation. He’s got some ability.”
Having a six-man rotation will allow Jay, a reliever at the University of Illinois and one who hasn’t started since high school, a smoother return to starting again.
“His pitch count will be similar to the others,” Steil said. “We’ll just see how he feels as the season goes. Since he hasn’t done it for so long, we don’t know how he’s going to respond. He’s got four pitches. His fastball and slider are probably the two best, but the curveball and changeup are certainly solid pitches as well. We think he can provide those kinds of innings to be a starter.”
Stewart said he added about 10 pounds of muscle during the offseason. Ryan noticed.
“His body has changed,” Ryan said. “He’s a big guy now. His stuff is impressive. Now, it’s just a matter of him going about his business.”
Stewart, 21, was listed at 205 pounds the year after being drafted. Now he’s listed at 210 but probably weighs closer to 215.
“I just thought I’d try to get a little bit stronger,” Stewart said. “I thought I’d put a little bit more weight on. My arm feels good. I feel stronger on the mound. My hope is I’m going to have a little more this year. Hopefully later on in the season, I’ll be pitching a little bit better. Hopefully I’ll be stronger later in the season.”
The pitchers will dominate early season discussions of the Miracle.
Following the promotions of power hitters Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas in 2013 and Adam Brett Walker in 2014, the Miracle experienced a severe power outage in 2015 that might continue in 2016.
Outfielder Jason Kanzler led all Miracle or Cedar Rapids Kernels in homers with eight last season but was released.
Smith likes to shuffle his lineups throughout the year, but he said outfielder Tanner English and Nick Gordon, the No. 4 pick in the draft two years ago, are likely to be regulars at the top of the order.
Alex Swim, T.J. White and Trey Vavra will fill out the middle of the order.
“It takes you 10 to 14 games to really find the identity of your team,” Smith said. “I think these guys will put some good at-bats together and really grind it out.”
White, who received a late-season promotion from the Kernels to the Miracle, said fans should see an exciting team.
"It's a great group of guys," White said. "It's going to be a fun clubhouse. We're hoping to get to the playoffs."
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