Beloit Farm Report – April 12
Posted by andrew on April 18, 2010 under John | 
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Snappy D. Turtle may not be chumming it up with the next Joe Mauer right now, but there certainly is a good deal of quality talent on the way to Target Field from Pohlman Field in Beloit, Wis.
The Beloit Snappers – a Class A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins – played their home opener this Sunday, April 11. They lost 2-0 to the Cubs’ Peoria Chiefs, but it wasn’t due to pitching.
Starter Brad Stillings threw five solid innings, giving up only three hits, one run and one walk alongside a strikeout and an infielder’s error in his first start of the season. Most impressive was how the 6’ 4” right-hander battled back from a situation with runners on second and third in the first inning. With one out, an attempted putout throw got past first baseman Michael Gonzales and Peoria outfielder Jose Valdez made it to third. Following the error, a walk, and a single to score Valdez, Stillings faced the minimum in his final four and two-thirds innings. He benefitted from a runner caught stealing at second base and a double play to end the fifth inning.
Although the Snappers showed some rust in the first inning, their defense was impressive in the final eight, including a handful of tough outfield rundowns. In the seventh through ninth innings, the pitching and defense was so solid that no Chiefs batters even reached first base.
One shouldn’t be worried about Stillings’s low number of innings pitched (five) since it’s still so early in the Midwest League season. That’s normal. Two other Snappers starters who pitched about as well as Stillings likewise went only five innings this year.
The other strong starts have come from Miguel Munoz and Liam Hendricks, who were picked up by the Twins organization as free agents in 2005 and 2007, respectively. Although they’ve been in the lower ranks for some time, they could be poised to make a difference after moving up to Beloit in 2010 following stints in Rookie ball with the Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins in 2009.
Stillings was signed as a seventh-round draft pick last year. As he gains more experience in Beloit during the 2010 season, following just six starts in Elizabethton and one for Beloit in 2009, look for Stillings to reach the higher levels soon.
Stillings, Munoz, and Hendricks aren’t the only pitchers with potential to have seen time in Beloit. Kevin Slowey was with the Snappers in 2005. In fact, they’re having a Kevin Slowey bobblehead day August 1. Jeff Manship and Matt Garza also pitched in Beloit.
The Snappers were affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers through 2004 and were actually known as the Beloit Brewers until 1994. Some of Milwaukee’s biggest names, or at least fan favorites, have played in Beloit. These include Prince Fielder, Rickie Weeks, Geoff Jenkins (rehab assignment in 2001), Paul Molitor (rehab assignment in 1990), and Greg Vaughn.
Some of your future favorite Twins at the plate may come through Beloit.
Aaron Hicks was in center field for the Snappers on Sunday. Hicks is the highest-ranked prospect in the Twins organization, according to a Baseball America insert section of the Snappers program.
Hicks is off to a slow start this season, hitting 1-14 after four games and 1-4 with two strikeouts on Sunday. However, he is poised to break out. His final at-bat on Sunday produced the hit, and he knows how to work the count. The 2008 first-round draft pick hit .251 and earned 40 walks with the Snappers in 2009. As his plate appearances increase, look for his statistics to likewise improve.
- by Jon Nelson of Beloit, Wisconsin
