Twins' brass excited about Beloit Snappers' first-half success
(Published Monday, June 18, 2007 12:38:16 PM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By John Barry Gazette staff
You would be hard pressed to find anyone with more knowledge of minor league baseball than Jim Rantz.
Rantz is the Minnesota Twins director of minor league operations and has been with the organization since the franchise moved to the Twin Cities in 1961. In May, Rantz was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame.
With those credentials, folks tend to believe Rantz when he calls the 2007 Beloit Snappers, "the feel-good story" of the Twins organization.
"We're probably one of the youngest clubs in the (Midwest) league," Rantz said of the Snappers. "It's a tribute to the those young kids, the coaching staff and our scouts for bringing it all together in a relatively short time frame.
"The pitching has been solid all season, and now the hitting is coming around as well. I know it's got everybody around here excited."
The Snappers, a Twins Class A affiliate, finished the first half of the Midwest League season with a 44-26 record. Beloit won the Western Division title and earned an automatic berth into the postseason playoffs.
The top two teams in the first half from the Western and Eastern divisions earn automatic playoff berths. The same format carries over in the second half, unless one of those same four teams finishes first or second again. In that case, the third and possibly fourth-place teams advance as wild cards.
Beloit struggled early offensively, but a rock-solid pitching staff carried the team. Beloit leads the Midwest League in a number of pitching categories, including an impressive team ERA of 2.97.
Righthander Jeff Manship leads the stellar pitching staff with a 7-1 record and a miniscule 1.49 ERA. The former University of Notre Dame star is averaging better than a strikeout an inning with 74 K's in 72-plus innings.
"Jeff's a kid that we signed late last year and had in rookie league," Rantz said. "He got his feet wet before going back to school, and has now turned half a year into a pretty remarkable season."
Reliever Robert Delaney also has sparkled. The righthander has 22 saves and a tidy ERA of 0.50.
"That kid's probably the biggest surprise of them all," Rantz said of Delaney. "He was a non-drafted player who we thought could help us. He's accepted the closer role and because of that, his velocity has come up as well.
"Delaney brings that competitiveness that you need late in games. He has no fear and is not afraid to come after hitters."
Thanks to the long ball, the Snappers' offense has soared in the last two weeks. The Snappers lead the league with 56 home runs. Danny Valencia leads the team with 11 homes. Chris Parmelee and Johnny Woodard have 10 home runs apiece.
The Snappers erupted for 17 runs and 19 hits, including five home runs, Friday night at Quad Cities. Parmelee, the Twins' top pick last June, ignited the rout with two home runs, including a grand slam, and six RBIs.
"Power is really tough to come by, but a couple of those kids were projected to be good power hitters," Rantz said.
"Because of the Metrodome, we're not an organization that's built around power. But that team (the Snappers) has some young kids that are strong and have the ability to consistently hit the ball out of the park."
With many of the Snapper players putting together impressive seasons, could Double AA or even Triple AAA promotions be in the near future?
Rantz, who plans to check out some second-half Beloit games in person, says the Twins organization has no immediate plans to break up the Snappers.
"We certainly won't make any changes until after the All-Star break," Rantz said. "We like the players to stay put unless the club above them is really struggling.
"Nothing beats winning and kids gaining that confidence to succeed at this level. That's what Beloit's got going right now, and we want our players to be able to enjoy that experience."
