Field of Twins

There is strangely now much more uncertainty about the 2013 roster than there was for 2012. A little over a month ago it seemed like things were clear-cut. There was a 50/50 chance that Span would be traded, but otherwise it looked like much of the 25-man roster was pretty clear.

In the past few weeks, the Twins have traded Span (for prospect Alex Meyer), traded Ben Revere for Vance Worley (and prospect Trevor May), signed Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey and Rich Harden, and selected Ryan ...

This is under the assumption that no more prospects are going to be added to the system before the beginning of the 2013 season. So here are the top 60 prospects in the Twins organization:


1. Miguel Sano
2. Aaron Hicks
3. Oswaldo Arcia
4. Byron Buxton
5. Alex Meyer
6. Eddie Rosario
7. Jose Berrios
8. Kyle Gibson
9. Max Kepler
10. Trevor May
11. Joe Benson
...

Like the pretenders and imitators of the real Slim Shady, the Twins appear to have a preposterous situation at the SS position throughout the organization. Here, I discuss the 15 top shortstops in the organization with regard to their current output and future potential. Initially, the term "shortstop" will designate those players in the organization with significant playing time at the position in 2012 (Eduardo Escobar's 10 games at the position is the low point in terms of playing time ...

This concludes my 2013 blueprint. So far it has involved adding Edwin Jackson and Shaun Marcum as the two new additions to the team. It also would mean a return of Scott Baker on an incentive-laded deal, giving Anthony Slama a chance, and a wait-and-see approach with Kyle Gibson. In terms of position players, instead of worrying about who to trade, I have argued that having a good PH option for every game is actually a good idea, whether it be (by rotation) Parmelee, Morneau, Mauer, Doumit, Willingham, ...

In Part Two of the 2013 blueprint, I discussed the pitching staff. Now . . . that problem has . . . .clearly been solved. So something much easier is in store. This is the lineup/bench I propose for the 2013 Twins

Span CF
Revere LF
Mauer C
Willingham RF
Morneau 1B
Plouffe 3B
Doumit DH
Dozier 2B
Florimon

Parmelee
Carroll
Mastroianni
Herrmann


The bench is meant to be a return to the "Thome ...

In part one of the blueprint, I laid out the Twins 2013 roster as I see it should be (disclaimer: this means that this is what the Twins *should* do, not a prediction as to what they *will* do). In part two, I focus more intensely on the pitching situation, and turn the pitching staff first for obviously reasons.

I am not completely against trading away MLB players or even some prospects (lower levels) for MLB-ready or near MLB-ready pitching, but I do think there is a better way to ...

This is the first part of four parts of my 2013 Twins blueprint. The following is an overview of the roster. Part two will focus on the pitchers, part three on the position players, and part four will be centered around both contingency plans for 2013 and looking toward the future beyond 2013.

Last year, I actually put out three versions of a 2012 blueprint depending on payroll (110, 105, 100) and I was right about a few things. Jamey Carroll and Ryan Doumit were added, and I even had ...

The discussion regarding outfield depth that took place earlier in the season was interesting because it had almost been assumed that the outfield was the brightest spot in the Twins system. In the early-to-mid part of the season, legitimate question marks about the outfield depth were raised. Joe Benson (24, AA/AAA), and Rene Tosoni (26, AA/AAA), the two prospects who had been with the Twins in 2011 for a bit of time, were struggling and struggling with injuries, and the only other prospect to ...

Early this season, I wrote about 10 prospects who I believed would have breakout seasons. These are not top prospects but 25-50 ranking prospects who I believed would emerge into serious big league contenders down the road. Here is an update on them and my prognostication results are definitely mixed.

(age), team, PA, slash, 2B/3B/HR, BB/K, SB/SBA
or
(age), team, IP, ERA, K/BB, WHIP

The Good:

Nate Roberts: (23-6), Beloit, 339, .303/.435/.435, 18/3/4, ...

When coming to form one's beliefs or making evaluations about things, the rather vast ocean between blind faith and evidence sets up a stark contrast in reasoned (or un-reasoned) judgment. This post is not about evolution or theism, but about something much less important in the grand scheme of things.

This post is about the Twins' evaluation of Anthony Slama.

Let's first examine the evidence, sticking to Slama's minor league and major league statistics. In parts of four ...

Soon it will be time to actually get serious about next year (imagine being a Cubs fan). Maybe a title like Dr. StrangeGlove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb of the 2012 Twins Season would be most appropriate here.

An early blueprint for 2013:

Trade Justin Morneau (Oakland, Texas, Tampa Bay would seem to be potential teams for this trade) for pitching prospects (hopefully at least one in AA or AAA) or even an arbitration-eligible pitcher. Maybe include ...

Here are a bunch of players who could see a promotion in the second half. I certainly do not think all of them will and there are likely a few others who will be promoted, but it is my intention to point out some strong performances, even in limited time in some cases. A few of them are likely very soon (Rhodes, Roberts, Atherton, Bromberg) and many others are most likely early August moves if they happen at all.

DSL to GCL:

Adonis Pacheco, OF
Ernesto Ciprian, OF ...

While 60 is a big number, there are still guys left off this list who are worth watching. Here are my top 60 Twins prospects following the 2012 draft:

Note: Liam Hendriks, Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee, and Rene Tosoni would have appeared on this list, but I am cutting their prospect status off.

1. Miguel Sano (1, 2)
2. Eddie Rosario (4, 19)
3. Oswaldo Arcia (3, 10)
4. Byron Buxton (NR)
5. Aaron Hicks (2, 1)
6. ...

Championship: Purdue 6, Indiana 5

A nearly-empty stadium in Columbus is not the usual setting for a Purdue-IU matchup. Usually the rivalry brings out the best (or worst) of the schools' respective fans in packed stadiums and arenas. The two teams made up for the lack of fan frenzy with a ninth inning brawl around third base, of all places.

After Field of Twins draft-endorsed catcher Kevin Plawecki's second homer of the tournament and 7th of the season put Purdue up 5-4 ...