Looking Forward from May 1st

by Fergus McGee
Minneapolis Star Tribune
May 1, 2025

Aside from the blockbuster trade that brought Sang Higgins to Hennepin County and the Twin cities, the off season was menacingly quiet as regards new acquisitions.  Read none.  Still, there were changes in the Yoerg Stadium program to contemplate.  Several familiar faces were no longer with the team for the season’s opening month:

-    Dependable old Danny Lacombe left for free agency rather than accept $5 million for one year plus a team option year.  At age 40 that decision appears to have been ill founded as he hasn’t caught on with anybody.
-    Jeff Pruitt was a reliable arm out of the pen last year, but he decided to retire from baseball at age 38.
-    Kelly Aaron was released after two seasons in Minneapolis when he couldn’t come close to his fine 2022 season in New York.  He too is still awaiting calls.
-    Henry Bailey has been effective offensively and defensively for two years at first base, but he’s excruciatingly slow on the bases, and he didn’t hit well in the spring, so he finds himself at St. Paul for the time being.
-    Rick Schmidt hit .270, stole 73 bases, and played a fine center field for the Beermen last year.  A bad spring and a gamble on a rookie combined to push him to St. Paul as well.

Also gone from Opening Day last year are Roberto Leon (released mid season) and Larry Strickland (free agent at year end after spending most of last year in St. Paul).  Occasional outfielder John Canton also became a free agent.  And Lloyd Doelman returned from a year on the DL only to be released.

After a month’s worth of action, here’s how the team shapes up:

Battery:

Erik “Bomber” Brune is getting a major look see behind the plate, and so far he is performing with gusto (.338 average and 13 knocked in).  No one questions his power potential, but only time will tell if he can hit for a high enough average over the long term to compensate for his so-so defense.  Under-rated John Walko and Dan Royster stand ready to shoulder most of the load if Brune can’t continue his heroics to date.  Walko is off to his usual snail like start offensively.

The strong 5-man rotation from last year returns intact.  But there’s a twist!  The club decided to shift 16 game winner Dan Robertson to spot starter and long reliever, replaced in the rotation by 20-year old Antonio De La Cruz who has risen mercurially from high school prospect to major league starter.  De La Cruz is off to a 3-0 start and an ERA just over 2.00.  Ricky Morales won the Opening Day starting assignment, an honor indicating the club may think he’s ready to be the staff leader.  (1-0, 1.98 so far).  Dependable Jose Egozcue is considered number two amongst the starters, but he went on the DL after two effective starts.  Nineteen game winner Shayne Canfield Seems to have lost a bit off his fastball, but he’s 3-2, 3.28.  Julio Contreras is considered the fifth starter, but he’s pitching like an All Star so far.  He’s won all four starts, averaged over eight innings per start, and sports an ERA of 2.28.  Egozcue’s injury pushed Robertson back into the rotation, and he has responded like the dependable veteran he’s become over the last two years: 2-0, 2.22.  Egozcue is expected back mid-May when Robertson may again become a bullpen option.  This six man starting crew may be the best in baseball.

The bullpen is led by young closer Ademar Lagario (45 saves last year, 5 in 7 appearances so far this year).  Chris Davis, in his first full season, has been the main set-up man so far.  Robertson pitched well in two relief appearances before moving back into the rotation.  Jim Girouard and Tony Alvarado have also looked good so far.  Old converted starter Hector Vargas and Alberto Gonzalez are off to rocky starts in very limited action.  Alonso Ramirez has been hit hard since being recalled to fill in during Egozcue’s injury. With the rotation delivering seven plus solid innings in almost every start, the pen isn’t getting a lot of work and its overall effectiveness remains to be determined.

Infield:

John Appleton, last year’s designated hitter, has been holding the fort at first base.  Defensively Dan Royster is far better, but Appleton is hitting close to .290 and probably has the job for awhile.

Second baseman Tyler Funk started the year at St. Paul after a horrific spring.  Rookie Felipe Perez got the start at second base.  Perez didn’t deliver offensively in April, and May will find Funk re-inserted on the line-up card at second.

Two-time Aaron award winner Ed Gutierrez is off to his usual fine start at shortstop: .299, 5 dingers and 16 batted in.  He’s been named team captain, a role not filled in Minneapolis for many years.  Defensively he has improved a bit as well.

Rookie of the Year Jose Flores is manning the hot corner again.  He’s off to a slow start at the plate.  He has been working hard on his defense, and he is now rated slightly above average.

Joe Messinger was effective as the utility infielder in 2024 and he is back for an encore performance.  He’s out of the box slowly at the plate in very limited action.

Outfield:

Whereas the infield is average defensively, the outfield patrols Yoerg Stadium with a vengeance, tracking down balls that would fall for hits were it not for the speed and range of the Beermen starters.

Right fielder Earl “Thunder” Wynkoop had his best year offensively last year since leaving Happytown in 2020.  Maybe Manila just didn’t appeal to him.  He missed 40 odd games last season due to a hyper-extended wrist ligament, but he hopes to be healthy for the entire 2025 season.  He is being challenged by hitting in the number two spot, a new role for him, but he hit well in April and even stole 6 bases.

All Star Sang Higgins takes over from Rick Schmidt in center field.  Higgins has power and the ability to drive in a lot of runs, but he was oddly homerless in April with only 8 knocked in.  Expect him to step it up a notch as the weather warms up.

Young Mark Morrison unexpectedly won the starting role in left field, a position he plays with abandon.  He’ll keep the job if he can continue his .275 April when he also stole 7 bases in as many tries.

Reserve outfielder Lorenzo Garza has to fight for playing time, but if he continues to hit .375, he’ll win that fight.

Designated Hitter:

Manny Coronas was expected to be the third outfielder, but he was supplanted by Morrison, a much better fielder.  So Manny became the DH, but if he doesn’t pick it up at the bat, he may lose that assignment as well.  If he is to be replaced, Appleton would probably move back to DH and Royster at 1B would take Manny’s spot in the order.

Summary:

All-in-all, this year’s edition of the Beermen is better on paper that last year based on the acquisition of Higgins.  If the starting rotation continues its impressive performance and if rookies Brune and Morrison are as good as they looked in April, this team should compete for the division title.  May finds them leading the Banned Division by two games over a tough South Carolina nine.