Although there have been many storylines throughout the playoffs to this point, on the may not be getting enough play is that the Detroit Tigers have handed over so much playing time to 21-year-old Avisail Garcia. Consider, he began this season in the Florida State League and played just 55 games at Double-A Erie. The Tigers called him up to the big leagues on August 31, making him eligible to compete in the post season. Garcia has just three ...
Last night, in Game 1 of the ALCS, the New York Yankees lost an extra-inning game to Delmon Young and the Detroit Tigers. More important, they lost their captain Derek Jeter for the rest of the season because of a broken ankle. The news is devastating considering he is one Yankees hitter who is actually hitting. Alex Rodriguez is taking all of the heat, but Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and others are doing very little. The ...
The Twins season ended a week ago, and we’ve all had a chance to look back at another 95+ loss season. Likely, you’ve also already started thinking about what you would do to get the Twins back to being a perennial contender in the AL Central. The question I have for readers today is: If you were in charge, would you look toward winning in 2013, 2014 or something in the 3-5 year range? How you would go about building your blueprint is largely ...
Today marks the Opening Day of the 2012 Arizona Fall League. As you know, the Twins sent seven players to play for the Peoria Javelinas. The hitters are catcher Chris Herrmann and outfielders Evan Bigley and Nate Roberts. The pitchers are lefties Logan Darnell and Caleb Thielbar and right-handers Michael Tonkin and Kyle Gibson. Be sure to keep up with the Twins in the AFL right here at Twins Daily. Today also marks the beginning of a series at Twins ...
Two more games left. 160 Twins games have been played in 2012 season. It’s been yet another frustrating, 90-loss season for the Twins and their fans. As the offseason fast approaches, it will soon be time for the Hot Stove League. That means 40 man roster decisions, winter meetings, trades, free agents, and most important, rumors. Rumors will, as always, be prevalent throughout the offseason. Twins Daily is the place for all of that! One question that ...
I was listening to this week’s Gleeman & the Geek episode. In it, they discussed briefly how many Twins prospects might make Baseball America’s 2013 Top 100 prospects list. It certainly is an interesting question, especially given that the Twins minor league system has been generally considered very weak the last few years. However, there is little question in my mind, that the Twins organization will likely rank in the Top 10 minor league systems again. ...
On Sunday night, it was Glen Perkins who got the final three outs in the tenth inning to record the save in game two of a double-header sweep of the Detroit Tigers in Comerica Park. However, with a tied score in the bottom of the ninth, Jared Burton came into the game to face the Tigers 3, 4 and 5 hitters. Burton got MVP-candidate Miguel Cabrera to pop out for the first out. He then made Prince Fielder look silly, striking him out. Finally, he got Delmon Young ...
Rightfully so, the big story from the Twins 6-4 win in Cleveland was Liam Hendriks. The right-hander won his first big league game in his 18th big league start. It was a tremendous moment for the Australian. However, it was also a huge night for another Twins player. He went 4-5 with a home run and four RBI. He had two RBI singles, and the home run came with a runner on. It’s been a huge season for the powerful outfielder. After last night, ...
It's been a long season for the Twins and their fans. Many years at this time, I would say, "Boy, April doesn't seem like that long ago!" This year, it has been a very, very long season and April does seem like forever ago. However, starting tonight, the Twins will have just 15 more games to play this season, and although it's been a frustrating season, again, there are still plenty of reasons for fans to "play out the string." The best reason is "Because it's ...
Earlier in the week, we announced the Minor league Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year for the Twins. Today, it’s time to point out the hitters that performed very well in the Twins minor league system. There were a lot of great performances and performers that don’t even make the top six for various reasons, be it injury, big league time or simply playing in a short-season league. Here are three honorable mentions that ...
Every year following the long minor league season, the Twins invite many prospects and recent draft picks back to Ft. Myers for the Florida Instructional League. For the most part, this time is pretty self-explanatory. It is a place for extra instruction for young players. For 2012 draft picks, it is likely a preview of what to expect from minor league spring training next March. Sometimes, players go to “Instructs” to learn a new position or a secondary position. You’ll notice at least one position ...
Yesterday, we named AJ Achter the 2012 Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. He was the best among a very strong cast of Twins minor league relievers. Today, we will name the Twins Daily 2012 Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Starting Pitching was clearly a huge issue at the big league level for the Twins. The Rochester Red Wings had a .500 season despite losing starter after starter to the Twins. There were some very solid ...
The Beloit Snappers’ season is now complete, and that marks the end of the season for each of the Twins minor league affiliates. Several Twins minor leaguers are currently playing in the European Cup in The Netherlands. October marks the beginning of the Arizona Fall League and soon winter leagues in the Caribbean will start. Before thinking about that, it’s time for Twins Daily to hand out some minor league awards! In coming days, I’ll be presenting ...
This morning, Nationals manager Davey Johnson told hard-throwing All Star right-hander Stephen Strasburg that he is being shut down. He then blamed his struggles on the media attention that the team's decision has drawn. Strasburg had his Tommy John surgery almost exactly one year to the day before Twins prospect Kyle Gibson had his Tommy John surgery. There have been many similarities between their recoveries. So, how should the Twins handle Kyle ...