The Middle Third

Grapefruit League Record: 12-10

I've been submerged in research for my fantasy draft coming up on Sunday. The Twins' latter games of last week weren't terribly inspiring, anyway, the losses coming from the poor play of people who won't be on the team come April. There have been some slow signs of progress, though. The Twins are 2/3 of the way through their spring schedule, so I thought I'd hand out report cards:

Getting It Done
Alexi Casilla - I'm particularly happy to see him stealing bases.
Justin Morneau - throw in his WBC performance and he's at .353/.405/.647. That'll work.
Jason Kubel - though only 2 XBH so far.
Delmon Young - good to see that the pull power he's displayed hasn't diminished his GIDP prowess. I'd like to see a couple of walks before the end of camp.
Brian Buscher - putting up the numbers he had at Rochester.
Brendan Harris - putting up the numbers Buscher had at Rochester.
Carlos Gomez - I'd be happy with a .341 OBP from him in any circumstances, but combined with a 6/5 K/BB rate and .615 SLG% is amazing. Can he sustain it? (The OBP, I mean.)
Francisco Liriano - a few too many walks for me, but the overall line is fantastic.
Glen Perkins - time to see how does with the 3rd trip through the batting order.
Kevin Slowey - damn, he's good.
Craig Breslow - seriously, what were the Indians thinking last year?
Jesse Crain - throw in his WBC performance and he's at 1.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP and 9.00 K/9.
R.A. Dickey - I did not think he would be leading the team in K/9 at this stage of the spring.
Brian Duensing - though too many walks, not enough strikeouts.

So Far, So Good
Michael Cuddyer - if he can deliver an .802 OPS during the season, too, the Twins will be in good shape.
Mike Redmond - a .700 OPS from a 38-year-old backup catcher ain't too bad.
Nick Punto - combined with his anemic WBC performance, he's done OK this spring.
Matt Tolbert - his versatility, along with his recent power surge, however wind-blown, has him looking like he'll retain his spot on the roster.
Philip Humber - other than his first outing, he's been good - though I'd like to see some more strikeouts.
Kevin Mulvey - too bad the game went extras last week, or his line would be even better.
Jason Jones - the WHIP and K/BB ratio probably aren't good enough to make the team.

Need To Pick It Up
Denard Span - showed some flashes early last week, then right back into the funk.
Joe Crede - with Buscher and Harris both enjoying an OPS in the mid .900s, it'd be nice to see Crede at least crack .600.
Jose Morales - I'd prefer to see him make the team over Drew Butera, since Morales is the better hitter. So, hit Jose!
Scott Baker - almost got through 5 quality IP yesterday. At least he didn't give up any homers. Baby steps...
Matt Guerrier - hopefully, today's quick 1-2-3 inning is a harbinger of things to come.
Jose Mijares - oh, just cut him already!

Need To See More
Joe Nathan
Luis Ayala
Nick Blackburn
Drew Butera
Joe Mauer - someday?