Cedar Rapids Kernels

These guys could catch on with Kernels

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This article about catchers is the first in a series of position-by-position looks at the 2013 Cedar Rapids Kernels. Next: Corner infielders.)

On April 4, the Cedar Rapids Kernels will begin the first year of their four-year player development agreement with the Minnesota Twins. In the final weeks leading up to Opening Day, we'll be helping Kernels fans get acquainted with most, if not all, of the Twins' minor league prospects that may be donning Kernels uniforms this summer.

While there’s no way of knowing with certainty who will actually be on the Kernels’ roster to open the season, we can make some educated guesses.

The Opening Day roster will be limited to 25 players, but it's easy to assemble a list of at least 35 to 40 players in the Twins organization that look like reasonable bets to spend some time in Cedar Rapids this summer.

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Kernels single-game tickets on sale Monday

Individual game tickets for the Cedar Rapids Kernels 2013 season go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. in the Kernels ticket office and online at www.kernels.com.

This season it pays to purchase your tickets in advance as the Kernels have implemented a ‘Game Day’ ticket price. Ticket prices for advance sales are $11 for Premier tickets, $9 for Club tickets, $8 for Plaza tickets and $7 for Lawn seating. Those prices go up $1 the day of the game.

The Kernels ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Fans can avoid standing in line to buy tickets by purchasing them online and printing them at home.

The 2013 Kernels arrive in Cedar Rapids on Tuesday, April 2, and the first chance to meet the new team is on Wednesday, April 3, during ‘Meet the Kernels Night’ from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Kernels open the 2013 MWL season on Thursday, April 4, at 6:35 p.m. against the Beloit Snappers.

Mauer likes what he sees of possible Kernels

With local temperatures finally working their way into the 40's in Cedar Rapids, local baseball fans can allow their minds to wander to even warmer days ahead when the Cedar Rapids Kernels open their season April 4 against Beloit.

It's still a bit chilly for baseball at Veterans Memorial Stadium, but the minor leaguers in the parent Minnesota Twins organization are hard at work in the warm sunshine at the Twins' spring training site in Fort Myers, Fla.

While there's plenty of speculation about which young Twins prospects may fill out the Kernels roster, it's still too early to know with certainty who those players will be.

As Kernels Manager Jake Mauer pointed out this week, “It depends on who they keep in Minnesota at a number of positions. Once those decisions are made, the rest takes shape off of that. There's kind of a trickle down effect."

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Berrios is hot pitching prospect for Twins

In the days following last June's MLB Amateur Draft, most of the chatter among Twins fans seemed focused on two subjects: Byron Buxton, the high school outfielder the Twins selected with the second overall pick of the draft, and the number of hard throwing college-age relief pitchers the eam picked in the first couple of rounds.

Everyone wanted to discuss just how good Buxton might become and whether or not the Twins would be able to successfully convert any of those strong college arms into starting pitchers. Almost overlooked in the discussions was Jose Berrios, a young high school pitcher the Twins obtained with a supplemental first-round pick out of Papa Juan XXIII High School in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.

It's understandable, perhaps. Buxton was the near-consensus "best athlete in the draft" and the college pitchers all seemed to be at least 6-foot-4, 210-pound men with mid-90s fastballs who had proven themselves with some of the premier college programs in the country.

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