Q/A with Minnesota Twins farm director Brad Steil

First-year Minnesota Twins director of minor league operations Brad Steil was in town for an entire six-game Cedar Rapids Kernels homestand that ended Tuesday. The Kernels went 6-0, prompting Manager Jake Mauer to tell Steil "you're going on the road with us, too, now."

Steil replaced Jim Rantz - for whom he worked for 13 years - as Minnesota farm director in the offseason. Rantz retired after 27 years on the job.

"He's gone through it, and he knows the routine," Rantz told FSN North in March. "One thing he's more aggressive about, more so than I was, is he goes to the Latin countries. He has a feel for the game. He played hockey, so he was an athlete. We worked closely together, and he deserved this. Everybody wants to move up. He qualified, obviously, with time served."

Steil was kind enough to sit down with The Gazette toward the end of the homestand and talk about a team that had a 18-6 record through Wednesday, good enough to be ranked No. 2 overall in the minor leagues by Baseball America.

He talked specifically about some of the individual prospects on the Kernels, including outfielder Byron Buxton, who was leading the Midwest League in batting through Wednesday. Buxton reached base via hit or walk in his first 23 games with Cedar Rapids.

Here are Steil's thoughts:

Q: What are your general impressions of this Kernels team?

A: They're an exciting club to watch. With their lineup, they're never out of a game. I think they could come back from about any deficit. It's really good to see that they play together and really pull for each other. There is a good chemistry going. It might be easy because they're winning, but I think even if it wasn't going as well as it is, that would still be there.

Q: What are you most happy about regarding this team, whether it's collectively or individually?

A: Just that they're playing at a high level. They play hard, they play the game the right way. They're bringing a lot of energy to the park every day.

Q: Are you happy with the state of the farm system overall right now? You look at (high-A) Fort Myers, and they have the best record in minor league baseball. Your other clubs have been winning games, too.

A: Yeah, we've had a good week. The other side of it is we're focused on having our prospects progress and make improvements, and I think we're doing OK there. Some of the guys here are doing well. For instance, (outfielder) J.D. Williams is one guy that has made some big improvements from last year. (Pitcher) Tyler Duffey moving into the starting rotation and has taken to that quite well. Those are good things to see.

Q: You look at Williams, and you've got to be happy with the improved plate discipline, right? (He has 20 walks to 17 strikeouts, after walking 39 times all last season)

A: Yes. He's showing more discipline, more maturity at the plate. Understanding his role and how guys are pitching him.

Q: How long will Byron Buxton be here?

A: Good question. I understand it. He's playing very well. There are still some things I think he can learn here. We'll just continue to evaluate it as we go.

Q: Will he be here at least through the first half of the season?

A: Don't know about that. We'll have to see.

Q: Could you give me some thoughts on other players if I throw their names out there? How about shortstop Niko Goodrum?

A: Niko's doing a nice job at shortstop. I think consistency is one of the things we're looking for from him. He seems to be (giving) that so far. Left-handed, he has swung the bat pretty good so far, and that's his weaker side. He's done a pretty good job so far this year.

Q: How about second baseman Jorge Polanco?

A: Jorge is swinging the bat well. He's doing all right at second base. He's probably a guy that's going to play around some as the season goes on. He has been impressive at the plate so far.

Q: What have you seen from third baseman Travis Harrison?

A: Travis had that big home run/single the other night, so that was good to see. I know Jake has been working with him on his swing, trying to get him to stay back and not drift so much. That's going to help him. He's working hard at third base and has made a lot of improvements since last year. He's been better there, worked hard in the offseason to improve his athleticism. I think that's paying off for him.

Q: You look at the power (outfielder) Adam Brett Walker and (first baseman) Dalton Hicks have provided this season and in their short careers. Are they essentially the same hitter, only one swings from the right side (Walker) and one from the left (Hicks)?

A: Well, they are both guys that have a lot of power. Their approaches are a little bit different at the plate, though. D.J. has gone into a little bit of a funk here. I think he's just overswinging, trying to do a little too much. He'll get that taken care of, he's a good player. Once he relaxes a little bit and gets a little more under control, the results will improve. Adam Brett, he's got a lot of power. The key for him is going to be waiting for his fastball and taking advantage of it.

Q: I know you didn't see Jose Berrios' first start at Burlington last week, but could you talk about him, especially the experience he gained pitching in the World Baseball Classic? Pitching here in Cedar Rapids at age 18 kind of shows what you guys think about him, right?

A: Jose is a great competitor. He's got a good fastball and a good slider. Developing command of his mix is going to be key for him to progress and move up. The WBC was a good experience for him, I think, to be around some older guys and to be in a high-profile environment like that. (Missing so much of spring training) took us a little while to get him ready to come up here and start. But I think he's ready to go. It might take him two or three starts to get into the flow here.

Q: Are there still some guys in extended spring training that you hope will be here at some point this season?

A: We do. Max Kepler, outfielder, has had an elbow issue this spring. It kind of improved, then there was a setback, so it's been kind of a tough deal. It's nothing serious, I don't think, but sometimes those things can last a little while. So we're trying to get him healthy. Starting pitcher Christian Powell was our eighth-rounder last year. He's doing OK down (in extended). He's probably a guy we'll see up here at some point.

Q: How about Luke Bard? (The pitcher was a first-round sandwich pick last year out of Georgia Tech who has a consistently mid-90s fastball)

A: Bard's another guy. He's got some biceps tendinitis and some shoulder soreness. So we're working through that with him. He's on a rehab program right now, and it's going to be a little bit with him, yet.

Q: I know pitcher J.T. Chargois was a teammate of Tyler Duffey's at Rice and apparently has a real good arm. He is injured as well?

A: Yeah, has a strained elbow. He's starting to throw now. There's a chance that when he gets healthy, he may go over to the (Fort Myers) Miracle. That's based on what he did last year.