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Mauer was the 4th ranked #1 pick in baseball history. Very interseting, you could make the case for guys like Price, but it goes to show you how good he has been, even if he has tailed off. Puts the complaining in context. http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/12998550/mlb-draft-ranking-best-no-1-overall-draft-picks
Over the course of the past few weeks, I've had a handful of readers asking about the current construction of the Minnesota Twins outfield, and how it will change going forward. I would suppose Oswaldo Arcia's struggles as well as the introduction of the 2015 version of Aaron Hicks is at the root of these discussions. However, Minnesota remains in a place where the outfield could be turned into a relative strength in short order. Going into the 2014 season, the configuration from left to right o
As the 2012 MLB Draft approached, there were plenty of rumors swirling about who the Astros would take with the first overall pick. Byron Buxton was considered by many talent evaluators to be the best available player but the Astros had surprised people before and other names had popped into the discussion. On draft night, the Astros steered in a different direction than Buxton by selecting Puerto Rican shortstop Carlos Correa, who shot up draft boards in the week prior to the draft. Houston w
I've always assumed that I'd invariably get my baseball news second hand from my younger brother, a fanatical baseball fan and true stats geek, until we no longer lived in the same household and I would be obliged to do the research on my own. That is, until he finally managed to talk me into starting a Twins Daily account last November. At first I rarely visited the site, only doing so when he succeeded in persuading me to post an idea I'd have now and then, but, as time went on and baseball ca
Heading into spring training, and throughout much of it, there was talk that the Twins standout rookie Danny Santana could be challenged or even removed from the shortstop role due to the emergence of Eduardo Escobar. At the time, it was crazy talk, and it still remains in that context. The Twins absolutely needed to allow their surprising rookie to validate his performance, but now that fact is that he simply hasn't. Heading into the heat of the summer, Minnesota has a very important decision t
One of the things the Minnesota Twins and Cedar Rapids Kernels organizations have in common is an emphasis on community service and that commonality was on display Saturday morning on Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/WilsonTheofanopoulos2-600x400.jpg Jared Wilson and Michael Theofanopoulos working in the bullpen with young pitchers After playing a night game on Friday night, Kernels hitting coach Tommy
http://presidiosports.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/Dillon-Tate-Pitcher.jpg Dansby Swanson is considered by most to be the top college position player, and is probably the most advanced, plus he is the best fielding shortstop in the class. Swanson won't be a power threat, but he has a solid hit tool and can run, plus he is a great guy, making scouts and coaches like him even more. Brendan Rodgers is the best high school player in the class, and sits at the top of my prospect rankings. Rodgers
The Minnesota Twins won 20 games in the month of May, a feat they accomplished for just the first time since June 1991. In doing so, they took over the lead in the AL Central division as well as laid claim to the best record in the American League. After four seasons of 90 losses, it's pretty easy to call this revelation a smashing success, but here's where beggars turn into choosers. Could the Twins actually be even better? Right now, Minnesota still has Tim Stauffer, Eduardo Nunez, Chris Herrm
The calendar of the year 2015 is turning to June, and the Minnesota Twins have the best record in the American League. Wait…what?! There were few who believed that might be case this season, except maybe Terry Ryan, but it’s true and this team has certainly been fun to watch again! Like their parent club, many of the teams in the Minor Leagues are having great seasons as well as both Rochester and Chattanooga lead their divisions while Cedar Rapids is 33-18 and in second place. Fort Myers
His confidence is shot. Just the opposite of last year. Send him down now, so he can work it out, regain confidence and be ready to help the twiins in 2nd half. You can see he is playing under a tremendous amount of self imposed pressure. I am believer in Santana although was never a fan of taking ss away from Escobar. Happy Paul plays Escobar in outfield. For those who talked of trading Escobar I said then and now that would be lunacy just for the reason you are witnessing now. The ot
http://images.maxpreps.com/site_images/editorial/article/7/9/b/79b0787d-b9f9-43b4-a6ad-f4d581a1243f/97be8374-e6de-e411-bef0-a0369f3c1b4c_original.jpg Arizona Diamondbacks-#1 Dansby Swanson - Shortstop - Vanderbilt I think the Dbacks will go with Swanson or Bregman, and Swanson is more likely to stick at short, so I’ll have them pick Swanson here. Houston Astros-#2 Carson Fulmer - Right Handed Pitcher - Vanderbilt After the Dbacks pick Swanson I’m going with another Commodore, and it is going
http://www.collegebaseballtoday.com/files/2013/06/LSU-BregmanBarehand.jpg Alex Bregman is a 6'0", 190 pound shortstop out of LSU who was drafted by the Red Sox out of a New Mexico high school in 2012, but did not sign. Bregman's most advanced part of his game is his hitting, and he is the best college hitter in the class, but some scouts think that is his only above average tool. My ratings of Bregman's future tool are 60 hit, 55 power, 55 run, 55 arm, and 50 field, but his fielding tool would
Introduction Over the past few weeks there have been a number of articles focusing on the Twins early season success, and asking one, simple question: can the Twins keep on winning? These articles have focused on two main points: the Twins potent offense (they rank 9th in MLB) despite a mediocre OPS (18th in MLB) and their stellar record (4th best win percentage in MLB) despite a much less impressive run differential (8th best in MLB). Their conclusion has tended to be that the Twins performan
Aaron Thompson marches to the beat of his own drum. That probably isn’t a shock to many, as he falls under a number of subsets that we’ve grown accustomed to seeing oddities from. Bert Blyleven will frequently suggest pitchers are a different sort on Twins telecasts, but beyond that Thompson is also a reliever as well as left handed — two things that push him further down the oddball spectrum in baseball circles. Twins general manager Terry Ryan — a fellow former left-handed pitcher in his own
http://images.maxpreps.com/site_images/editorial/article/9/1/c/91c84f44-5e39-4f05-af14-5fe0f1808e42/f4212637-a0f1-e311-b4d2-002655e6c45a_original.jpg Kyle Tucker is a 6'4", 175 pound outfielder out of Plant High School (Florida) who some consider to be the best hitter in the class. Tucker is obviously known for his hitting, getting comparisons to Cooperstown greats Wade Boggs and Ted Williams, and his swing definitely shows a resemblance, but of course that doesn't mean that he is going to put
The Twins and the Royals both had the day off on Thursday which means the Twins remain in first place! RED WINGS REPORT Scheduled off day, back at it tomorrow against the Buffalo Bisons. LOOKOUTS LOOK-IN Biloxi Shuckers @ Chattanooga Box Score The Lookouts were out-hit 9-7 and were just 1-8 with runners in scoring position, but picked up another win to move to 29-17 on the year. Jose Berrios started for Chattanooga and did his regular Jose Berrios thing. 7.1 innings, two earned runs,
Earlier this week, it was announced that the Mets would start using a six-man rotation. Their plan is to stick with having an extra starter in the rotation through early-to-mid-August. New York's reasoning behind the move is to shave innings totals without the need to shut down pitchers before the end of the season. The Mets have three young pitchers in their rotation who need to be watched closely. Matt Harvey is in his first season back from Tommy John surgery while fellow starters Jacob de
http://i.imgur.com/WIw2U8Om.jpg I was having a discussion with an old friend of mine over a beer last night. (I was drinking a Guinness and he was having a Bell’s Two-Hearted.) We were talking about Joe Mauer, and we had very different perceptions about what kind of year number 7 was having. As I recalled several key hits he’d had over the last week, I thought he was doing fine overall. It seemed to me he was delivering more often at the plate when the Twins needed it. My friend, however, thou
http://a.espncdn.com/media/motion/2014/0605/dm_140605_Astros_Draft_Brady_Aiken_No_11437/dm_140605_Astros_Draft_Brady_Aiken_No_11437.jpg Brady Aiken is a 6'3", 210 pound left handed pitcher for IMG Academy (Florida) who was selected with the first pick of the 2014 MLB Draft, but couldn't work out a deal with the Astros, who claimed he had an abnormal UCL. Aiken has a three pitch mix, a fastball, a curveball, and a changeup, and all of them are above average. Aiken's delivery has some mechanical
We all know Benny “The Jet” Rodriguez is the best ballplayer since The Great Bambino, but exactly how good is he?
Following Grantland’s article earlier this year ranking The Sandlot characters, I scoured the internet only to discover The Sandlot gang’s slashlines are nowhere to be found. In order to correct this glaring error of omission, I watched the film and recorded every at-bat, hit, run, and “back of the baseball card” stat we the viewers see. Obviously, this presents some chal
http://mlb.mlb.com/assets/images/5/5/8/87502558/cuts/daz_q4y8w58j_va9xsjto.jpg Daz Cameron is a 6'1", 190 pound outfielder for Eagle Landing Christian Academy (Georgia), who has been on scouts radar's for a couple of years. A five tool player, Cameron is the most athletic player in this year's class, as well as having the best instincts, due to his dad, Mike Cameron, who played for seventeen years in the big leagues. Cameron has a 60 hit tool, a 55 power, 55 run, 55 arm, and 60 field, and has
After two straight convincing wins, the Twins stand at 26-18, eight games over .500 for the first time since 2010. It is early, but so far the record says "contention". The record says that the Twins have improved, but a case can be made that the whole thing is "smoke and mirrors". Statistics tell a conflicting story, but the deeper you dig, the more amazing it is that the Twins are among the top teams in the league. The way you count wins and losses in this game is by the number of runs s
Deuces were wild for Mendez on Wednesday in Vegas. In his Triple-A debut, the 22-year-old slugger went 1-for-3 with two walks, two runs scored and two RBI.
I am not a follower of Donald Trump. I have participated in several no kings rallies and am disgusted with what he and his followers have done to our country and the world. I would like to know what most Brazilians feel about the United States now and about the folks our citizens have elected to represent us.