Mauer returning for 4th season to skipper Kernels

CEDAR RAPIDS - Some day, Jake Mauer will move up in the Minnesota Twins system. There are a lot of people who believe you'll see him in the big leagues eventually.

But, for now, he remains stranded in Iowa, as the old song goes.

The parent Twins announced their minor-league field staffs Tuesday, and Mauer will return to manage the Cedar Rapids Kernels for a fourth-straight summer. The 37-year-old has led the Kernels to the Midwest League playoffs each of his previous three seasons, including to the league championship series in 2015.

'No, no, no,” Mauer insisted, when asked if another year of low-Class A ball is disappointing. 'I am looking forward to coming back. I'm looking forward to working with these guys. I think we are going to have a pretty good ballclub.”

The managers above Mauer in the Twins farm system all return to their 2015 posts: Jeff Smith (high-A Fort Myers, Doug Mientkiewicz (Double-A Chattanooga) and Mike Quade (Triple-A Rochester). Mauer will be working with new coaches this season in Brian Dinkelman (hitting) and J.P. Martinez (pitching).

Both were with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Twins last season.

Dinkelman played for eight seasons in the Twins organization as an infielder, including 23 games in the major leagues. Martinez pitched five seasons in the Twins and Baltimore Orioles organizations.

Last season's hitting coach, Tommy Watkins, has been promoted to Double-A Chattanooga. Henry Bonilla, last season's pitching coach, has moved up to high-Class A Fort Myers.

The Kernels begin the 2016 MWL season April 7 at home against Quad Cities.

'In talking to Tommy, who had a lot of these guys in instructional league (in the fall), some of the position players have a chance to be pretty good,” Mauer said. 'I think we'll be a little younger ballclub than we were this year.”

Mauer has enjoyed being in Cedar Rapids because it's just a four-hour drive to his home in the Twin Cities. He goes home virtually every off day to spend time with his wife and three kids.

He works with his brother, Billy, at a chevrolet dealership in the offseason and was out test driving a trade-in car when contacted Tuesday afternoon.

'It's basketball season,” he said with a laugh. 'My daughter just had her first game, a thriller that finished 14-10. My son has 4-year-old basketball starting here, too. Think I might have to coach that team.

'Cedar Rapids, logistically, is perfect for me. It gives me a chance to get home and see my wife and our kids grow up.”

In other Kernels-related news, the ballclub has announced Reggie Sanders, Tom Lawless and Dale Brodt have been selected for induction into the Cedar Rapids Baseball Hall of Fame. They will be honored during the Kernels Hot Stove Banquet on Wednesday, January 27, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in downtown Cedar Rapids.

Sanders played for the Cedar Rapids Reds in 1988 and went on to play in the major leagues for 17 seasons. He retired in 2007.

Lawless managed the Kernels in 1994, 1995 and 1996. His 1994 team is the last Cedar Rapids team to win a Midwest League championship.

Brodt was the club's longtime public-address announcer, announcing over 1,700 games.

Tickets to the Hot Stove Banquet are $50 in advance and $55 at the door. and are available online (www.kernels.com) or via phone (363-3887). Twins pitching prospect Jose Berrios is scheduled to appear.

l Comments: (319) 398-8259; jeff.johnson@thegazette.com