Interview with Carlos Gutierrez

With the beginning of the 2010 Major League Baseball season nearing, I thought it would be good to hear from a Minnesota Twins prospect. So, I had the opportunity to ask Carlos Gutierrez some questions about his life and baseball career thus far. For those of you who don't know much about Carlos, he was drafted in the 2008 MLB Amateur Draft with the 27th overall pick.

Kevin Lewis: Carlos, thank you for taking time to answer a few questions today.

Carlos Gutierrez: No problem, thanks for having me on.

KL: Carlos, before we dive into the specifics about your first two seasons as a member of the Minnesota Twins organization, why don’t you tell us a little bit about yourself. What made you decide to become a baseball athlete?

CG: I have been playing baseball since I was about four years old. My dad always signed us ( my brother David) up in different baseball and basketball leagues. Baseball was something we were both good at and we just kept playing.

KL: Growing up in Florida, more specifically, the Miami area, who were some of your baseball idols that you looked up to and followed? Do you have someone in your life that was by your side while becoming a baseball player?

CG: I never had one person in specific I followed, but I always loved going to the University of Miami baseball games. My dad would take us to a couple of games a week there and we became really big fans.

KL: You were drafted 27th overall in the 2008 MLB First-Year Player Entry Draft. A lot of people were wondering why the Twins would pick a pitcher just coming off Tommy John surgery. When you talked to the Twins, what did they tell you about choosing you?

CG: They never told me anything about choosing me, talking with scouts before from all teams the main thing everyone wanted to know was how I felt. I told everyone it felt better then ever.

KL: You have had a pretty good career so far in the minor leagues. It appears as though you will be starting at New Britain, the Twins Double-A affiliate. What do you feel you will need to work on this season to appear ready to jump to the next level at Rochester?

CG: There is always something any player can work on to get better. Something I thought needed to be addressed in my case was better feel for a change-up. I have been working on it almost daily every time I play catch and in my pens. It is something that still needs work and should come the more I use it in games.

KL: Some people have you as a future set-up man for the Twins, while others have you as possibly becoming a starter down the road. Have the Twins talked to you on how they plan to utilize you as a pitcher once you reach the 25-man roster?

CG: I have not heard exactly what they want but again there is still work that needs to be done. Whenever they feel I am ready I will do whatever is asked of me, whether that be coming out of the pen or as a starter. The Twins have a pretty good track record with this type of thing so I'm not too worried.

KL: How did your off-season go? Did you participate in any winter leagues or train with any other Twins players?

CG: I did not go to any winter leagues this off-season. I am currently training at the University of Miami with Adan Severino (Twins outfielder).

KL: As an avid baseball fan, what is life like as a minor league player? What is the typical routine for you during a day?

CG: I enjoy what I do everyday. Doing what we do traveling around being away from home away from your family for so long is not easy. It is something that you really have to love in order to put yourself through that every year, which I do. Typical off-season day is pretty much working out, throwing, and cardio. Not in any specific order, just to make sure you are getting stuff done and staying in shape.

KL: Playing at the University of Miami (FL) must have been such a thrill for you. Not only because they are one of the biggest powerhouse teams in college baseball, but also because you were born and raised Miami. Tell us a little bit about your experience at the “U”. Do you still remain in touch with your teammates?

CG: Playing at the "U" was a dream come true right from the beginning. As I said earlier, I would always go to games with my family. To put on that uniform for the first time was a great feeling. Then to have my brother join me on the team for a few years was also a great experience. We had great teams while I was there. Many friendships were formed in my time at UM and yes we do keep in touch. We all check up on one another, making sure we are doing okay.

KL: If you aren’t working out or on the road, what do you like to do in your free time?

CG: I pretty much do anything and everything just to get out and do something. I like to stay active. But on my down time I'll play video games or watch a movie.

KL: For all the current baseball players who have a wish to play in the majors, let alone get drafted, what advice would you give them?

CG: I would say to put in the work. Hard work pays off.

KL: Carlos, thank you for taking time, especially as Spring Training nears, to answer a few questions about your career as a minor league player for the Minnesota Twins. Good luck this season and hope to see you in the Twin Cities in a year or two.

Thoughts on Off-Season Moves

With just one week until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, the Twins 2010 roster is looking as if they will be big time contenders this year. Not only for the A.L. Central crown, but possibly a deep run into late October. Going into this off-season, they needed to not only prove to their fans that they were going to improve their team heading into a new stadium, but they also needed to prove to Joe Mauer that they are committed to winning.

Entering the final year of his 4 year deal worth $33 million, Joe Mauer, reigning AL MVP, wanted to see what the Twins would do to try to improve the team and show him that they are committed to winning and ready to compete with the big guys (i.e. Yankees, Red Sox). Mauer should be very pleased with the off-season the Twins put together. Some people may think that the Twins may have had the best off-season of all 30 MLB clubs this year.

The Twins filled some holes that had been empty for a few years now and even increased their payroll to a new club high of 96 million dollars, 31 million more than last years Opening Day payroll of 65 million. The three biggest moves made this off-season for the Twins were the additions of Jim Thome, Orlando Hudson and J.J. Hardy.

To kick off the Twins off-season activity was the acquisition of J.J. Hardy from next door neighbor, Milwaukee. With Orlando Cabrera hitting the free agent market, the Twins were in need of an everyday shortstop. So on November 6th, the Twins traded outfielder, Carlos Gomez to the Brewers for J.J. Hardy. Although Hardy’s numbers slipped a bit during 2009, the Twins feel as though he can be a quality shortstop for the next two years and hopefully he remains a Twin for longer than that. With the departure of Gomez, this pretty much sets the outfield to look like Young-Span-Cuddyer.

The Twins were also looking to improve their bench by trying to sign a left handed hitter. Well they got their man in Jim Thome. After years of torturing us as a member of the Indians and White Sox, he will be playing for his 3rd AL Central team. Although Thome will be 39 years old come Opening Day. But don’t let his age make you not like this signing. Last year he hit .249 with 23 homeruns and 77 runs batted, so he still has some left in the tank. Look for him to take some of Kubel’s at-bats at the DH position, while also coming off the bench. Don’t forget he also plays first base, so Morneau won’t have the pressure to stay healthy all year and play all 162 games at first base.

The Twins finished off their activity with the signing of second baseman, Orlando Hudson. Hudson will not only fill a need the Twins have had for many years at second base, but he will also provide leadership in the clubhouse. Hudson will likely jump into the #2 spot between Denard Span and Joe Mauer. He fits the Twins mold as he is a career .282 hitter and last year had a career high with nine sacrifice hits. That is typical Twins baseball. With the addition of Hudson, Nick Punto will split time with Brendan Harris at third base.

If these three signings weren’t a sign of commitment, then I don’t know what is. This was a very exciting off-season for myself and I’m sure for many other Twins fans. I think this will make the Twins the pre-season favorites to win their 2nd straight AL Central Title. This should be a very exciting inaugural season at Target Field.

Twins Reach .500 Mark with Series Win

With Joe Mauer just a few days away from returning to the team, the Twins would be very fortunate if they were to be at the .500 mark come Friday. As we, the fans, have learned so far this season, no victory comes easy to the Twins. After taking two of three from Cleveland, the defending American League Champion, Tampa Bay Rays came to town for a three game set. After being the Cinderella story of the Majors last year, the Rays have started the 2009 season like previous season, near the bottom of the AL East. Although it is early, both teams need some victories to stay close in their respective divisional races.


After a few rough outings for Scott Baker, he should some improvement. He worked six innings, giving up four earned runs off six hits. He struck out seven batters and walked only one. You may be wondering where the homeruns are? Well, that’s the best part. He didn’t give up a homerun tonight. His pitch location was much better tonight, as he wasn’t leaving as many strikes up in the zone. Some fans were a little worried about Baker’s first couple starts, but I don’t think there needs to be any panic. It’s too early in the season to be saying if someone will have a bad year or not.

The Twins offense was only able to get five hits off the Tampa pitching. However, one of those hits was a Joe Crede homerun that came in the sixth inning of Jeff Niemann. That was really the only highlight of the Twins offense all night. The Twins 3-4-5 hitting (Morneau, Kubel, Crede) went 1-for-11 with the lone hit being Crede’s homerun. If these three guys aren’t hitting well in games, it will be very tough to win them.

Francisco Liriano is another Twins pitcher that has had early season struggles. If there is on pitcher that all eyes are on this year, it has to be Liriano. He is entering the 2nd year after having Tommy John Surgery and that is about the time when pitchers are close to being fully healed and back to their old self. Today Liriano looked like the pitcher of old. Although his stats weren’t stellar, he was able to keep the Rays in check. He would give up two earned runs off seven hits in six and two-thirds innings of work. After Matt Guerrier and Jose Mijares were able to pitch 1⅓ scoreless innings, Nathan came in for the save attempt. This is more than usually a piece of cake. Well the very first pitch from Nathan to Ben Zobrist was not what we expect. Zobrist launched the pitch to right field for a homerun over the baggy. Nathan was able to get out of the 9th without anymore harm done.

With the blown save by Nathan, this forced the Twins offense to step up and get him the win. After hitting a first inning, two run homer, Justin Morneau was relatively quiet throughout the game. Well that all changed in the ninth inning. After two Twins hits and a wild pitch, the Twins were in position to win the game. With the bases loaded and one out, Justin stepped up to the plate looking for a game winning hit. As we the fans have seen so far this year, a base loaded situation with one out is no sure bet for a run.

The Rays actually brought Zobrist in from right field to be a fifth infielder. Well even that couldn’t stop Morneau from being the hero. Justin would hit a fastball right to Akinori Iwamura, who flipped it to Jason Bartlett at second. However, Akinori had trouble getting it out of his glove, which allowed Justin to reach first just before the ball got there. This allowed Jose Morales to score the winning run. So the Twins almost found a way to blow a perfect situation, but Lady Luck was on our side.


After a dramatic win last night, the Twins looked to carry the momentum into the rubber match of the series. With Scott Kazmir on the mound, it seemed like it might be tough to get some runs. Well, it was a totally different story. The Twins got to Kazmir early and often. The Twins scored four runs in the first inning, allowing them to bat around the order. The Twins would later tack on four more runs, before Kazmir was finally pulled from the game. The key to the Twins scoring was the top of their order. With Morneau hitting the 3rd spot, the 1-2-3 hitters went 9-for-14 with six runs scored and two RBI.

With early run support, Nick Blackburn was able to pitch without much worry. Looking for his second straight win, Blackburn pitched a very good game. Blackburn isn’t known as a big strikeout pitcher, which was evident in this game. He was able to force 11 groundouts and 7 flyouts. He was able to get three strikeouts on top of that and walked only one batter. Craig Breslow and Luis Ayala would later each pitch an inning. Ayala however did give up one run in the ninth, but by that point the game was out of reach.

The Twins will start a three game series against Kansas City on Friday night. The biggest news in the upcoming series will be the return of Twins catcher Joe Mauer. Twins fans are ecstatic about his anticipated return. He instantly will provide protection for Morneau and his leadership behind the plated so coveted by many around the league. The Twins, will however, have to decide who to send down to Triple-A or place on the disabled list. There has been talk of placing Mike Redmond on the DL with a sore shoulder, as Jose Morales has been playing very well. I will keep you updated on this as more information is revealed.

Twins Show Up; Win Series

After an embarrassing two game series against Boston, the Twins needed to rebound and try to move up in the AL Central. Entering their three game series in Cleveland, the Twins were 7-9 and 1½ games back in the AL Central. I know it’s probably not as important to worry about standings this early, but when you play division rivals, every win matters.

After a decent outing against Los Angeles his last time out, Nick Blackburn threw a stellar game to open the series. With the Twins starting pitching struggling as of late, they needed some good outings during the series. This would be tough because the Indians are a very good hitting ballclub, but have gotten off to a very rocky start. Blackburn would last seven innings, giving up one earned run off six hits, while striking out four batters. Recently called up Jose Mijares would relieve Blackburn in the eighth and pitch a scoreless inning. Although it wasn’t a save situation, Joe Nathan would get some work by pitching a scoreless ninth.

Justin Morneau tacked on his fourth homerun off the season in the fourth inning off Cleveland pitcher, Fausto Carmona to make it a 3-1 score at the time. The Twins would also get RBIs from Jason Kubel, Joe Crede and Jose Morales. Morales as been a pleasant surprise to the Twins, who are eagerly awaiting Joe Mauer’s return from his back issues.

If you thought Nick Blackburn’s performance Friday night was something to talk about, Kevin Slowey “one-upped” Blackburn. Kevin Slowey, who fixed a mechanical problem that noticed after his second start, pitched a near complete game shutout. We all know Kevin Slowey is the command guru of the Twins five starting pitchers and today he backed that up. In eight innings of work, he gave up one earned run off eight hits. Of the 114 pitches he threw, 84 of them were called for strikes. He would go on to strike out seven batters and walk none. Slowey would attempt to go for the complete game shutout, but he would give up three straight singles to load the bases, before being relieved by Luis Ayala.
If there is one Twins hitter that has surprised me the most this season, it has to be Jason Kubel. He has been on fire since the Los Angeles series when he hit for the cycle. He would take on two more homeruns in this game, one of which game in a back-to-back effort with Joe Crede in the ninth.

With the Twins trying to go for the sweep, they sent Glen Perkins to the mound. In his first three starts, Perkins lasted eight innings each time. Today was a different story. In his first start away from the Metrodome, Perkins lasted just five innings, giving up four earned runs off seven hits. The positive from the Twins pitching today was their bullpen. They pitched three scoreless innings in an attempt to give the Twins hitting a chance to comeback.

As many Twins fans know, the Twins always struggle when they have runners in scoring position with zero or one out in a critical situation. Well that arose in the seventh inning. Down 4-2 and runners on 2nd and 3rd, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel both came up to the plate and both of them struck out swinging. I almost expect this to happen when we have the bases loaded or runners in scoring position with no one out or one out. The only high note for the Twins offense today was Jose Morales. Hit hot hitting would continue has he would go 4-for-4 to raise his average to .375.

The Twins will now head home and try to take advantage of a struggling Tampa Bay team. The Twins also announced that Joe Mauer could make his return during this series at some point, rather than the Kansas City series. The Twins would send Jose Morales down to Triple-A Rochester, while Mike Redmond jumps back into his normal back-up role.

Twins Off To Slow Start

Before I share my thoughts on the season thus far I want to apologize for the lack of updates. It has been a rough start to the season and there has been very little to write about, but I am aiming to write more in hopes that it brings good luck to the Twins.

Despite the Twins being just two games back in the A.L. Central, they sure haven’t been playing that well. The Twins are currently 7-9, while the Indians are 5-10. This is very interesting because both the Twins and Indians were expected to be atop of the Central. But then again we are only less than a month into the season, so we have a long ways to go.

The Twins starting rotation as struggled to return to their 2008 form, when they surprised the entire MLB as being one of the youngest, but most productive rotations. With the same exact rotation that the Twins had last year, they are getting opposite results. The Twins starting pitching has a combined record of 4-8 with a dreadful 5.59 ERA. They have given up the most earned runs of any starting rotation so far, by allowing 59 earned runs.

Scott Baker, who started the season on the disabled list, was expected to come into the 2009 season as the staff’s #1 pitcher. Through his first two starts, he has managed to give up 12 hits and strikeout just five batters. Well you may be wondering, “What’s so bad about the 12 hits?” Of those 12 hits, seven of them have been homeruns. Baker, as well as most of the Twins starting pitching, has had trouble with his command issues. He has been leaving way too many pitches up in the strike zone. Now, I’m not saying we should get all worried about the pitching yet, but if this is a sign to come, then it could be a very long season.

On the other hand, Glen Perkins has been brilliant. Through three starts he has a record of 1-1 with an ERA of 1.50 and 12 strikeouts. He has yet to allow more than two runs in any start this season. He has really been the only starting pitcher who has been consistent thus far. I think Perkins will be pleasant surprise this year and could prove himself even more as he looks to improve upon his 12-4 record last year.

On the other side of the plate, the Twins hitting has been up and down to start the season. They are hitting just .255 as a team. This is no surprise though, as the Twins tend to start off slow and eventually end up with one of the best team batting averages each year. The only thing I feel the Twins, as a team, need to work on is their ability to get runners home when they have the bases loaded and zero or one out. They always tend to leave the runners stranded.

If I had to pick one hitter that has been the best for the Twins thus far, it would have to be Jason Kubel. Through 14 games as DH, Kubel is batting .327 with two homeruns and a team-leading 12 RBI. His biggest accomplishment as a Major Leaguer came on April 17th against the LA Angels. Down 9-7 with two out in the 8th inning, Kubel stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded. Kubel had already gotten a single, double and triple, so all he needed was a homerun to complete the cycle. After taking a first pitch strike, Kubel launched a deep, eventual game-winning grand slam to the upper deck in right field. To complete the cycle by hitting a grand slam was the highlight of not only his career, but for the Twins this season. In the series against the Angels, Kubel went 8-for-14 (.571) with one homerun and 7 RBI. Look for him to have a solid season as the Twins primary Designated Hitter.

On a happier note, the Twins are expected to get Joe Mauer back on May 1st. This is of course assuming everything in his rehab assignment goes without any setbacks. He probably won’t be as effective when he first returns, but once he gets going, I expect this lineup to become more dangerous and really help Morneau drive in more runs.