Cedar Rapids Kernels Baseball

Kernels could be strong up the middle

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the third in a series of preseason position-by-position articles about the 2013 Cedar Rapids Kernels. Next: Outfielders.)

In preparation for the first season of the new affiliation between the Minnesota Twins and the Cedar Rapids Kernels, we’ve embarked on a series of “get to know them” articles.

The intention is to give Kernels fans information about the Twins prospects you may see in a Kernels uniform over the summer, understanding that it’s impossible to know exactly who will fill the Kernels’ roster until just before Opening Day.

In Part 1 of the series, we looked at catchers and in Part 2 we covered corner infielders. In this article, we’ll look at middle infielders who could spend all or part of their summer in Cedar Rapids.

There's no shortage of possible middle infielders at this level of the Twins organization.

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Jeremy Camp, Big Daddy Weave in C.R. on July 6

Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids will be the site of the Praise In The Park Iowa 2013 Christian Music Festival on Saturday night, July 6.

The festival lineup includes Jeremy Camp, Big Daddy Weave, White Ribbon Day, Bob Colquhoun and Zach Svoboda.

General admission tickets for the concert are $25 in advance and $30 at the gate. Food donations will be collected outside the stadium on the day of the concert for local food banks. A portion of ticket proceeds will benefit wounded military personnel.

Tickets will be available starting Monday at the Cedar Rapids Kernels ticket office and online at www.kernels.com.

Kernels unveil new $500,000 scoreboard

The Cedar Rapids Kernels have installed a major league scoreboard in their minor league ballpark on the southwest side of town.

The Daktronics HD 15 scoreboard is similar to the scoreboards at major league parks in Detroit and Milwaukee, according to the Kernels, and it's bigger than the University of Iowa scoreboards at Carver-Hawkeye Arena and Kinnick Stadium.

The Kernels unveiled their new scoreboard during a Chamber of Commerce event at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Thursday evening.

"We were looking for a 'wow' factor and we got it," Kernels radio broadcaster Morgan Hawk said during the ceremony.

The new scoreboard measures 30 feet high by 48 feet wide and cost $500,000. It is being paid for through the stadium capital repair fund, which is financed by the city of Cedar Rapids, the Veterans Commission and the Kernels.

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Kernels set concerts at the stadium

The Cedar Rapids Kernels will host a series of concerts this season at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

The concert season kicks off on Saturday, May 18, as the country band 8 Seconds performs after the Kernels take on Kane County at 5:05 p.m.

Two bands making their first appearance at the stadium are 1980s cover band Slap N' Tickle on Saturday, June 15, when the Kernels take on Peoria, and JIF and the Choosey Mothers on Saturday, July 13, when the Kernels take on Bowling Green. Both games start at 5:05 p.m.

The popular Midwest Dueling Pianos return on Thursday, July 4, when the Kernels take on Wisconsin, performing during and after the game. And the Cedar Island Band returns as part of Jimmy Buffett Night on Saturday, Aug. 3, when the Kernels take on Quad Cities at 5:05 p.m.

The Kernels also will host the second Praise in the Park Iowa concert on Saturday, July 6, featuring Jeremy Camp, Big Daddy Weave, White Ribbon Day, Zach Svoboda and Bob Colquhoun.

A portion of ticket proceeds from this concert will be donated to the Wounded Warrior Project. Tickets for this concert go on sale Monday at the Kernels Ticket Office.

You can learn more about the Kernels at www.kernels.com.

Kernels could 'corner' these guys in 2013

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the second in a series of articles about Cedar Rapids Kernels prospects for the 2013 season. Next: Middle infielders)

In preparation for the first season of the new affiliation between the Minnesota Twins and Cedar Rapids Kernels, we have embarked on a series of “get to know them” articles.

The intention is to give Kernels fans a little bit of information about the Twins prospects they may be seeing in Kernels uniforms over the course of the summer, understanding full well that it’s impossible to know exactly who will fill the Kernels’ roster until closer to Opening Day.

In Part 1 of the series, we looked at the catchers that are likely to spend time in Cedar Rapids, as well as a few that could find their way here if things fall their way. Here, we’ll look at corner infielders.

Read more...

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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