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Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- You can find the introductory segment in this series, including my criteria for eligibility to be a prospect and the list of the 2016 top 40 players who graduated as prospects or are not in the system, here. Here is my 2016 Twins off-season top 40 prospects list (summary of 1-40) for reference. This is the countdown for players ranked 51-55th in the system. You can find players 56-60 here, players 51-55 here, 46-50 here, 41-45 here, 36-4
Let me preface with the reality that fandom comes in different shapes and sizes. I realize there are those that are more casual observers, and there are diehards. There are those who watch the game, and then there are those that know the game. Simply defining someone watching Minnesota Twins baseball as a fan doesn't do the categorization justice. When it comes to the 2017 home nine though, there seems to be a growing and unfortunate confusion. Arguably the most frustrating notion is that this
Coming over for Ben Revere from the Philadelphia Phillies, Trevor May was the headliner of a trade made in the same offseason that the Minnesota Twins acquired former prospect Alex Meyer. May was projected to be a solid starter in the rotation, and was someone that should be counted on to contribute for quite some time. After splitting duties between starting and relieving, May seems the odds on favorite to round out Paul Molitor's starting rotation in 2017. In 2016, May pitched exclusively as
One of my favorite shows of all-time is Family Guy. At least, the first five seasons of Family Guy are some of my favorite. There are so many quotes from those seasons that I still instill in my everyday conversations, even if those I'm having a conversation with don't know where the quote is hailing from. One of the staples of these shows are the flashbacks that show a time in life the character references. One of my favorite is when Stewie describes his time in Nebraska. Stewie is at a din
With the Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training, the offseason has officially come to a conclusion. Coming off the worst season in franchise history, rewriting the record books in the 2017 season can't come soon enough. Fortunately, with Spring Training baseball just around the corner, we'll be able to completely turn the page sooner rather than later. The offseason has been relatively nondescript for the Twins, but that's absolutely the way the organization should
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- You can find the introductory segment in this series, including my criteria for eligibility to be a prospect and the list of the 2016 top 40 players who graduated as prospects or are not in the system, here. Here is my 2016 Twins off-season top 40 prospects list (summary of 1-40) for reference. This is the countdown for players ranked 51-55th in the system. You can find players 56-60 here, players 51-55 here, 46-50 here, 41-45 here, 36-
I'm going to my second annual spring training trip to Ft. Myers Feb 24, 2017 (opening day night game with the Rays)through the Nationals Sunday afternoon game Feb. 26, 2017. I will be at practice Saturday morning and Sunday morning. I'm hoping a ball will land just outside the fence near where I am standing. I'll pick up the ball and throw it back to a Twins player who is standing far away in the outfield. Neil Allen will see me throw a perfect strike to the distant player. Allen will yell at me
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- You can find the introductory segment in this series, including my criteria for eligibility to be a prospect and the list of the 2016 top 40 players who graduated as prospects or are not in the system, here. Here is my 2016 Twins off-season top 40 prospects list (summary of 1-40) for reference. This is the countdown for players ranked 51-55th in the system. You can find players 56-60 here, players 51-55 here, 46-50 here, 41-45 here, 36-40
-SHTICKBALL- ~ A Satirical Story ~ Spring Training is almost upon us, and teams are invigorating their already football-deprived fanbases with images and videos of their team trucks loading up and heading for warmer climates to start the baseball season, and with that they’re packing up everything the team needs. For the Minnesota Twins, one stowaway on the move truck was welcome, but also perplexing at the same time. Hall of Fame pitcher Bert Blyleven was spotted stumbling out of the T
The World Baseball Classic rosters have been officially unveiled now (check them out here), and as expected, the United States as well as the Dominican Republic teams are loaded. Vegas gives a slight edge to the American (2/1), but the reigning champion Dominican team is not far behind (2.5/1). That said, the most intriguing team for Twins fans may be the Puerto Ricans. Coming off winning the Carribean Series, the Puerto Rican team is stocked with young talent flooding big league rosters. Whil
This post will be my first. It will not be based on any stats, and it will not have much to back it up. The Byung-Ho Park move could mean a lot of things. But I think there is one crazy speculation that has not been made yet. The move could mean Miguel Sano plays more first base this year. This theory really only works if you buy the idea that Sano's future is not at third base. The Twins won't move him just because they want to. I think Sano and the season could give them a reason to.
Coming into this offseason, I made the contention that the Minnesota Twins didn't need to make a ton of moves. Despite losing 103 games a year ago, you'd be blind to look at the roster and see a makeup worthy of that result. In reality, the club fell flat, but has the pieces in place to begin to supplement for the future. This offseason, the new regime has made the narrative one of putting players on notice. As I alluded to not too long ago, this Twins club is no longer in rebuilding mode. Mig
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- You can find the introductory segment in this series, including my criteria for eligibility to be a prospect and the list of the 2016 top 40 players who graduated as prospects or are not in the system, here. Here is my 2016 Twins off-season top 40 prospects list (summary of 1-40) for reference. This is the countdown for players ranked 51-55th in the system. You can find players 56-60 here, players 51-55 here, 46-50 here, 41-45 here, 36-4
As the winter draws to a close, storylines for the upcoming season don't quite write themselves yet. Sure, teams are solidifying their Spring Training invitee list, but the bulk of what is to come, has yet to get here. That puts us in the midst of Prospect List and Projection season. There's no shortage of pieces out there on either, but it's the projections that bring the most intrigue for the 2017 Minnesota Twins. Coming off a season in which the club lost 103 games, a franchise worst, there
It's often said that you're only as good as your weakest link. In sports, this proves vital when a team makes a playoff run, and every outcome matters. For the 2017 Minnesota Twins, a playoff run seems a bit lofty, but the club could look to vault themselves forward by upping the production from the bottom of their roster. Given that a big league baseball team is able to deploy 25 players at any given time, the roster remains in flux throughout the majority of the season. For the Minnesota Twi
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- You can find the introductory segment in this series, including my criteria for eligibility to be a prospect and the list of the 2016 top 40 players who graduated as prospects or are not in the system, here. Here is my 2016 Twins off-season top 40 prospects list (summary of 1-40) for reference. This is the countdown for players ranked 51-55th in the system. You can find players 56-60 here, players 51-55 here, 46-50 here, 41-45 here, 36-40
Here is the Twins Almanac for the week of February 5-11. Former Twins closer Al Worthington, Mounds View grad Mark Hamburger, and current Twins outfielder Max Kepler are all celebrating birthdays this week. '27 Yankees third baseman Julie Wera was born in Winona this week in 1902. Also this week in Twins history was a big payday for Bloomington's Kent Hrbek (1985), the Chuck Knoblauch trade ('08), and Terry Ryan's cancer diagnosis ('14). http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/Wort
Over the course of a 162 game season, it's incredibly inevitable that injuries are going to take place. The depth of even the strongest 40 man rosters are often tested in the game of baseball. While the Minnesota Twins have experienced their fair share, they've also been behind the eight ball far too often. Just this last season three key examples of reactivity as a detriment come to mind for Minnesota, and one came to a head as Byungho Park was DFA'd by the new front office. Each of Trevor Pl
A season ago, I had the Kansas City Royals taking the AL Central division with 86 wins. I contended that not team would win 90 games, while no team would lose 90 either. Unfortunately, the Minnesota Twins blew by the 90 loss mark en route to a franchise worst 103 losses. After a World Series run for the Cleveland Indians, there should be little doubt they enter the 2017 as the league favorite. When looking at the state of the Central, it's a division with a handful of teams in transition. Whil
Here is the Twins Almanac for the week of February 12-18. Former Twins pitchers Kevin Tapani and Cole De Vries celebrate birthdays this week, as well as a pair of big leaguers who played their high school ball in Minnesota, Don Arlich and Brian Denman. And it was this week in 1973 that the Twins revealed 27-year-old infielder Danny Thompson's leukemia diagnosis. http://i1074.photobucket.com/albums/w413/mjohnso9/denman_zpseevl08jd.jpg February 12 Happy 61st Birthday to Brian Denman It’
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---------- You can find the introductory segment in this series, including my criteria for eligibility to be a prospect and the list of the 2016 top 40 players who graduated as prospects or are not in the system, here. Here is my 2016 Twins off-season top 40 prospects list (summary of 1-40) for reference. This is the countdown for players ranked 51-55th in the system. You can find players 56-60 here, players 51-55 here, 46-50 here, 41-45 he
When I tried to set the Twins lineup for 2017 back in December, I made the contention that Joe Mauer belonged in the leadoff spot. If he wasn't going to hit first, he should bat somewhere around sixth, but I believe he should absolutely hit first. The question is whether or not Paul Molitor has come around far enough on the idea. A season ago, Molitor used over 130 different lineup combinations. On a daily basis, he seemed confused as to why he was batting players where he was, and his reasoni
Last season, Brian Dozier swatted 42 homers for the Minnesota Twins and entered the franchise record books with the most for any player not named Harmon Killebrew. To say the second basemen from Mississippi had a good year would be the undersell of the decade. It immediately made Dozier the Twins hottest commodity, and nearly found him playing in a new uniform. Now back for 2017, what does the upcoming year look like? Honestly, I'm not sure you could've found a writer more all over the board o
On Saturday, Tait went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. The 19-year-old is hitting .219 with 17 doubles and 15 home runs at High-A Cedar Rapids.
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