Minor league notebook: Kernels catcher David Banuelos tries to regroup at plate

CEDAR RAPIDS - David Banuelos was a fifth-round draft pick but lasted in his original organization for less than half a year. To be a bit more specific, he was property of the Seattle Mariners about a month per his draft round.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels catcher was traded to the Minnesota Twins in early December. Actually, sold to the Twins for international bonus pool money the Mariners wanted in order to take a serious shot at Japanese two-way star Shohei Otani.

Seattle didn't get Otani, the Angels did. The Twins got a 21-year-old from Long Beach State whose defense is good enough right now for him to be considered a big leaguer some day.

'It was shocking to be traded, but it's part of the game,” Banuelos said. 'It hit me pretty hard at first. I didn't know what to think. I was kind of shaken when I got the call from the Mariners. They were just like ‘Hey, we just traded you.' I was like ‘Oh, OK.' I remember I was working, and I almost didn't answer the phone. But I was like ‘I've got to take this call.' I'm grateful to still have the opportunity to play baseball. That's the way I look at it. Someone wanted me.

'In the minor leagues, you don't play for just one organization, you play for every organization. There is always somebody watching. There are scouts at games all the time.”

Banuelos has thrown out 50 percent of would-be basestealers this season for the Kernels, which goes back to his elite defense. His normal POP time is 1.9 seconds, which would rank him in the top five or six in the major leagues right now.

POP time is essentially the time it takes the baseball to get from the catcher's glove after he receives a pitch to the second baseman or shortstop, whomever is covering second on a basestealing attempt.

'Defense is my bread and butter,” Banuelos said. ”That's what I focus on. Especially managing the (pitching) staff before anything else. I've got to make sure they get through games, get through innings. That is what I have to take pride in first. Hitting is second, but you've got to get that going, too.”

Which has been an issue for him the first half of the Midwest League season. Banuelos went into Saturday hitting .162 in 31 games, with 41 strikeouts in 105 at-bats.

As good as he is behind the plate, he'll have to improve at it in order to hit what most scouts believe is his ceiling: a major league backup receiver. Banuelos was placed on the disabled list a little over a week ago, though it was believed he wasn't injured as much as the Kernels and Twins wanted him to take a breather and regroup from an offensive standpoint.

'Banny is a great kid, and he works very hard,” said Kernels Manager Toby Gardenhire. 'I like watching guys like him succeed. Guys that work as hard as he does. He's got a lot of talent, he is a great catcher. He can really throw.

'We've worked on a lot of different things with him. (Roving hitting instructor) Rick (Eckstein) was in town recently and worked with him. He has really taken to a lot of things with his swing, and it's been really good.”

Banuelos had his best overall game of the season Thursday night in an 8-0 win over Beloit. He threw out two basestealers, his pitchers threw a shutout, and he had two hits.

'Just trying to find a way on,” he said. 'I've been working on new things. Just keep working, that's all you can do. All you can do is work and try to get on to the next level. For a player, it's discouraging not to hit. But you've got to handle it a certain way, and you've got to bounce back. How am I going to respond to this? That's the mentality that I've had.”

2 ADDITIONS TO KERNELS ROSTER

The Kernels and Twins announced pitcher Jordan Balazovic and catcher Robert Molina have been added to the active roster from extended spring training. This is the first time for Molina in Cedar Rapids, while Balazovic impressed in a prior relief appearance in late May: throwing 3 2/3 hitless, scoreless innings.

PEORIA PITCHER THROWS NO-NO

Peoria's Paul Balestrieri threw a nine-inning no-hitter Thursday night in an 8-0 victory at Kane County. A 23-year-old right-hander from Cornell University, Balestrieri struck out six, allowing just one baserunner, that on an error by first baseman Yariel Gonzalez with two outs in the first inning. Balestrieri threw exactly 100 pitches.

GREENE GETS 1ST PRO WIN

Dayton pitcher Hunter Greene threw five innings, allowing just one run and striking out eight early last week to notch his first professional victory, 11-8, over Lansing. Greene was the second-overall pick (by the Reds) in last year' Major League Baseball Draft, just behind shortstop Royce Lewis of the Kernels. The 18-year-old right-hander from California has struggled in his first pro season (1-3 record and 6.32 ERA in 10 starts), though he has been better in the past two weeks.

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