• 
• CLASS
• JOBS
• AUTO
• HOMES

'Shell' games to begin

BELOIT — Second-year Beloit Snappers manager Nelson Prada knows his role in player development.

So don’t expect any members of this year’s Snappers, the low Single-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, to spend a lot of time on the bench. And don’t expect to see a lineup that’s the exact same night in and night out.

“The more you play the guys, the more they get better,” Prada said Tuesday during “Meet the Snappers” night at Memorial High School. “…If you don’t play in two days, you know you’re in the lineup the next day.”

Thirteen players on this year’s roster spent some time in Beloit in 2008, including righthanded pitcher Shooter Hunt, a 2008 first-round pick who will start tonight’s 6:35 opener at Cedar Rapids. The Snappers’ home opener is slated for 6:30 p.m. next Thursday against Burlington at Pohlman Field.

Prada said Hunt certainly has the stuff to pitch in the major leagues, but his main issue will be improving his command.

Although the lineup will likely be a revolving door, Prada cited outfielder Angel Morales, a third-round pick in 2007, and infielder James Beresford, a free agent from Australia, as two players who may see more playing time than others.

Prada said his offense is predicated on power over speed, with righthanded-hitting Hank Sanchez and lefthanded-hitting Jon Waltenbury being the lineup’s main powder kegs.

Waltenbury, a seventh-round pick in 2006, opened eyes by hitting .319 with 10 homers at Elizabethton, Tenn., in the Rookie League last season. Sanchez is a 2005 first-round pick who’s battled injuries the past two seasons and is trying to live up to his potential. Both can alternate between first base and designated hitter.

“I can have the middle of the lineup loaded with power with a righthander and lefthander,” Prada said.

One priority will be improving the defense of a team that went 71-67 and committed far too many errors, said Prada, in missing the Midwest League playoffs in 2008.

The Snappers will probably receive some significant help early in the season in the form of outfielder Aaron Hicks, the Twins’ top pick in 2008 (14th overall) who’s rated as the top prospect in the organization by Baseball America.

Hicks, who was drafted right out of Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif., spent last season in the instructional Gulf Coast League and will begin this season in extended spring training. Prada expects Hicks to be in Beloit in about a month, which is the same approach the organization took last season with outfielder Ben Revere, who was named the MVP of the Midwest League after being called up to the Snappers.

Whatever the roster, Prada’s ultimate goal is to develop players to move through the organization, and part of that development includes winning.

“We come up here and try to develop players to play in the big leagues,” Prada said. “Part of the development means (teaching them how) to win.”