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Welcome to 25 drafts in 25 days! Over the next few weeks, I will be writing brief recaps of the last 25 drafts in Twins' history. This will all culminate with the 2013 draft, when the Twins will select 4th overall. I know that the MLB draft isn't as hyped as the NBA or NFL draft, due to the age and experience of the players involved, but the draft is an important tool used to build a franchise, especially for the Twins. This coming draft is extremely important, as the Twins have the opportunity ...

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On Saturday, there were five Twins minor league affiliates played a total of five games. Two of them involved walk-offs. Another was won on a big home run in the eighth inning. There were three very good starts. Sam Deduno made his second start of the year, and no less than four WBC competitors had very good games in the Twins minor leagues on Saturday.

On Sunday, the Miracle will get a day off. Rochester will send PJ Walters to the mound. New Britain will have Logan Darnell start. ...

Also posted at wgom.org

Vic Albury (1947)
Evan Meek (1983)

Left-hander Victor Albury pitched for the Twins from 1973-1976. Born and raised in Key West, Albury was drafted by Cleveland in the ninth round in 1965. He was a first baseman then, and spent a year at Class A Dubuque hitting .233. He then went into the military for three years, and when he came back he was a pitcher. Somewhere along the line, Cleveland transferred his rights to the Cubs. He pitched for

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The early success of the Twin's minor league affiliates got me thinking the other day. How important is winning in the minors? Yes, it is important to the individual teams, as it draws more attendance, thus obviously helping that organization. But how important is it for the players as they move up the ladder?

I did some research. I went back and looked at how the core of the successful 2000s teams did in the minors.

Most fans here know it, but a lot of average fans probably ...

Also posted at wgom.org

Frank Quilici (1939)


Infielder/manager/broadcaster Francis Ralph Quilici has been associated with the Twins for a long time. He was born and raised in Chicago, attended Loras College of Dubuque, Iowa, one of two major league players that school has produced (Red Faber), then transferred to Western Michigan. Quilici signed with Minnesota as a free agent in 1961. He was not a great batter in the minors, but had a decent season at AA Charlotte ...

One of the Twins minor league games was postponed due to rain on Friday, but there were still five games to follow. The Kernels got two terrific starting performances, and Trevor May was terrific (or, a-mays-ing?) in his start for the Rock Cats. Kennys Vargas had a couple of big hits for the Miracle, and Adam Walker remains red hot for Cedar Rapids.

Carlos Correa played in Game 1 in the matchup of last year’s #1 overall pick against last year’s #2 overall pick (Buxton). Were the two ...

Episode 37 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here.

On Episode 37, Cody and Eric are joined by Baseball Prospectus‘ Jason Parks to talk about the Twins Minor League system. Jason Parks has plenty to say about Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, as well as some of the pitching prospects.

Before Jason Parks ...

Updated 05-11-2013 at 06:11 AM by Cody Christie

Tags: baseball prospectus, byron buxton, jason parks, joe mauer, kevin correia, michael tonkin, miguel sano, mike pelfrey, oswaldo arcia, podcast, scott diamond, talk to contact

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Twins , Minor Leagues

Like a car engine struggling on an icy day, the Twins' lineup had a tough time revving up during the chilly month of April. Ambitious thoughts about the potential for an offensive core powered by numerous potent bats went wayward as the runs trickled in at a disappointing pace.

The Twins finished the season's first month ranking near the bottom of the league in OPS and runs scored. This, at least for me, was somewhat jarring, because from my standpoint they didn't appear to be overmatched. ...

Twins at Red Sox

Too Old for the Gang at Cheers (Game 28)

Home early, with my wife home as well, I started getting a hankering for watching the Twins play at a sports bar. Baseball’s just a little bit better when you’re covered in buffalo sauce and ordering another beer.

Except it was Monday. And I’m old. And wings plus beer plus anything else starts to add up to be a decent chunk of change. Don’t get me started on the calories, either. Plus, then you’re ...

Tags: david ortiz, ryan doumit, twinsinstereo, vance worley

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Also posted in wgom.org

John Cumberland (1947)
Joey Meyer (1962)

This is also the birthday of Hall of Fame broadcaster Herb Carneal (1923).

Left-hander John Sheldon Cumberland did not play for the Twins, but went to spring training with them in 1973. He was born in Westbrook, Maine, attended the University of Maine, and signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in 1966. He had a mediocre season in Class A, but the Yankees thought they saw something in ...

On Saturday, May 4, Ryan Doumit, at .203, was not even hitting his weight. With a slugging percentage of .291 to boot, the Minnesota Twins’ switch-hitting catcher/DH was a few nights of binge eating hot wings from matching that number as well. As a regular guest of manager Ron Gardenhire’s vital fifth spot in the batting order, Doumit’s woes directly impacted the team’s offense. An offense, which had concluded April with just 92 runs scored – ahead of only the Chicago ...

Tags: minnesota twins, ryan doumit, video scouting

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The Twins keep finding ways to surprise as the team still sits around the .500 mark and it is close to a month and a half into the season. Minnesota's bats finally woke up in Boston with some big numbers put up in the four game series by Oswaldo Arcia and Joe Mauer. The club took three out of the four games to close out their recent road trip.

This weekend the Baltimore Orioles are coming to Target Field for a three game set. Baltimore is off to another good start after last year's ...

Tags: aaron hicks, byron buxton, carlos gomez, carlos santana, darin mastroianni, josh willingham, josmil pinto, kirby puckett, matt kemp, miguel sano, oswaldo arcia, sam deduno, scott diamond, vance worley

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Twins , Minor Leagues , Other Baseball

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed!

On Tuesday night, Aaron Hicks made a nice running catch and flipped the ball with his glove to Brian Dozier, all in one motion. I cheered; Ron Gardenhire hissed. Gardenhire was likely upset with how nonchalant Hicks was or perhaps jealous of how silky smooth Hicks is. Regardless, an ensuing "conversation" in the dugout was caught on FSN's cameras and set off an explosion of commentary and crying (mostly from me).

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Tags: aaron hicks, linsanity, ron gardenhire

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It's time for our monthly look into the Twins and members of the Twins organization that are are Twitter. Last month, I added some of the staff and media associated with the minor league affiliates. This month, there are several new players who have added a twitter account including Twins reliever Ryan Pressly and uber-prospect Miguel Sano. I've also now included what percent their Twitter following has increased since last month and also since February. It's an interesting look.

As ...