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http://www4.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/College+World+Series+Vanderbilt+v+Virginia+3IMhWWkMDVMl.jpg Carson Fulmer is a 5'11", 195 pound right-handed pitcher for the Vanderbilt Commodores who was drafted by the Red Sox in the 15th round of the 2012 amateur draft, but chose to attend college. Fulmer throws a fastball that can reach the high nineties, a nasty curveball, and a changeup. Fulmer has some effort in his delivery, but he is very athletic, so he can maintain velocity throughout his starts, m
In the dead of the Pittsburgh night, late in the game (the top of the 13th inning to be exact), Joe Mauer did something that he has abandoned since August 17, 2014. With Antonio Bastardo on the mound, Mauer deposited a pitch over the right-centerfield wall at PNC Bank stadium. The Twins went on to win the game by a tally of 4-3. The home run was the shot that lifted Minnesota over the Pirates, but for Joe, it really doesn't matter. The home run off of Bastardo ended a 286 at bat drought for Maue
http://web.usabaseball.com/assets/images/9/7/0/122694970/cuts/JayGSAMW_mtgh1xoi_l0cm9a6e.jpg Tyler Jay is a 6'1", 175 pound left-handed pitcher for the University of Illinois who went undrafted out of high school, but made a huge jump during his sophomore year. Jay has an electric arm, usually sitting around 95 mph, but can get it up to 98 frequently, and he also throws a slider, curve, and change. Although he is a power pitcher, he does not use a ton of effort in his delivery, using his athle
As of May 20, the Minnesota Twins have played 39 games and have compiled a 22-17 record. After being picked by many to finish last in the AL Central, and even lose 90 games for a 5th straight year by some, Minnesota has done nothing but surpass expectations. Sitting third in the AL Central, the Twins offense has once again been one of the best in the big leagues (currently 6th in runs scored). While starting pitching has been better than in recent years, it is one man in the bullpen that may be
I tend to spend my mornings with four things: a bowl of cereal, a cup of tea at hand, my MLB At Bat app and a folded over copy of The Economist magazine. As I gorge on both carbs and information, I'm happy to know that the Twins have room to grow and that seemingly every night someone out does themselves (even if someone else does worse). But I'm also happy to balance the Twins in one corner of my mind and world events (like Greek debt defaults and Indian corruption trials) are squarely in ano
http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Mike-Nikorak-2015-mj.jpg Mike Nikorak is a right handed pitcher out of Stroudsburg High School (Pennsylvania) who has risen steadily since last summer. Nikorak is a power pitcher who can hit 98 mph, but usually sits in the low-mid nineties, and also throws a curveball and changeup. He repeats his delivery well, and is one of the better athletes in this year's draft class, so he should be able to remain a starting pitcher. Nikorak is com
Max Kepler has been featured up and down Twins prospect lists since the Twins signed him as a teenager out of Europe. The list of successful major league players born in Europe is small but there's always been a little something extra with Kepler. His parents were both professional dancers so he's got a strong athletic background. Minnesota took it slow with Kepler allowing him to play three years in the rookie leagues. Over the last two seasons, he has worked through both Low-A and High-A and
Kyle Gibson is elite...when it comes to ground ball pitchers. And that's a good thing. According to Baseball Nation, a ground ball pitcher is a type of pitcher that has a tendency to induce ground balls from opposing batters. The average ground ball pitcher has a ground ball rate of at least 50% with extreme ground ball pitchers maintaining a ground ball rate of around 55%. In his brief MLB career, Gibson has consistently proven he is a top 20 pitcher at inducing ground balls. Gibson had a
This isn’t exactly the blueprint that we had in mind, going out and signing a guy to $55 million. The ideal is to have them keep coming through the system. – Twins GM Terry Ryan after signing Ervin Santana, 12/15/14 Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan said some intriguing things this offseason, chief among them were: 1) That he wants to make the playoffs this year (“I’m trying to be realistic. Our expectations in that clubhouse should be to make the postseason.” — Nov. 11). 2) That th
For the first time in the 2015 Major League Baseball season, and also coincidentally the first time in Paul Molitor's managerial career, the Minnesota Twins will face off against a National League opponent. With that comes the challenges of managing around not having the designated hitter at your disposal. However silly I believe that to be (and I do think it's silly), Molitor may have the deck stacked against him. Now full disclosure, we aren't talking about Dan Jennings, Jeffrey Loria, and the
http://collegebaseballcentral.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Michael-Matuella-620x400.jpg Michael Matuella is a right handed pitcher for Duke University who was undrafted out of high school. He has a four pitch mix, including a 93-97 mph fastball, a curve, slider, and changeup. He has a good, repeatable delivery, and his 6'7" frame gives him a good plane and angle, making his delivery hard to get a good read on. Matuella would likely have been a top five pick, but he suffered from Tommy John ear
This post isn't approved for general viewing, but since I did spend some time and thought composing it and trying to impart serious intent, I feel it does relate some more pretty cogent facts to the debate on the "Nunez back/Vargas optioned to AAA" thread. I thought that a blog-piece might be just the place for it. This post was made in response to a poster that felt that those opposed to the Vargas demotion were "shading" the truth of what the Twins brass was thinking on the matter, that Bern
The year was 2011, and the Minnesota Twins had two players competing for one spot at the hot corner. One was a 19th round draft pick and coming off of a season that had him in the running for Rookie of the Year honors. The other was a first round draft pick that had just experienced his first cup of coffee. At the end of the year though, and into the future, it was the first round draft pick that would take over. Trevor Plouffe grabbed the role from Danny Valencia, and he hasn't looked back. Of
In the minors on Sunday every game was a close and hard fought battle, unlike the Minnesota Twins against Chris Archer. There was a dynamic pitching duel in one, and another that went back and forth seemingly every inning. When the dust settled, the Twins affiliates went 2-2 on the day. There was also some action on the roster front, as one (surprise?) major league was sent to AAA, and a few pitching spots were shuffled. Read on to find out what happened across all four affiliates! TRANSAC
http://cdn.baseballamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/nick-plummer-2014-mj.jpg Nick Plummer is an outfielder out of Brother Rice High School (Michigan) who broke out at the Area Code Games last summer. Plummer is best known for his bat, but has decent tools across the board. He implements a high leg kick into his swing and gets good extension, allowing him to pull the ball, giving him power potential, plus he can hit the ball to the gaps with authority. Plummer's hit tool has received 60 r
This is my first post for TwinsDaily.com. It also marks my first time writing about the Rochester Red Wings. But being a Rochester native, it certainly is not my first time seeing them play -- which is to say it is not my first time developing an opinion about the team. Not that I’m constantly critical of the Wings but rather I am always intrigued by the success of a minor league team in an objectively minor league city (I’m allowed to say that since I’m from here). Past summers have seen forg
When you look into the eyes of Aaron Hicks you see a different man, a different player than he has been in the past. His approach and confidence look to me to be stellar. If he can have a little sucess, it might just be the charm as in third time. In my mind he won the first game against the Rays when he singled sharply to get on....then scored on Santana's triple. He has so impressed me and I was ready to give up on him. He might re-define how we think of Byron Buxton and he at presen
http://throughthefencebaseball.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Trenton-Clark.jpg Trenton Clark is an outfielder for Richland High School (Texas) who was Team USA's best hitter last year, with a .565 batting average, 3 home runs, and 20 RBIs. A strong player across the board, Clark should be one of the top picks in this year's draft. Clark has an above average hit tool, due to his incredible bat speed; he is also a slightly above average runner, but his arm strength is slightly below average. Hi
This content originally appeared at Cold Omaha here, please consider clicking through as a measure of support. After making the team out of spring training two years straight, Aaron Hicks was sent back to Triple-A Rochester as lesser options made the team ahead of him. The message to Hicks was clear: Force your way back up here. Well, message received. Hicks obliterated the International League to the tune of a .336/.415/.561 batting line over 27 games, essentially forcing the hands of the T
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/starlocalmedia.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/2/56/2566a63a-7c6e-11e3-ac57-0019bb2963f4/52d411c4860ce.image.jpg Mitchell Hansen is an outfielder out of Plano High School (Texas) who has slowly risen up draft boards since his junior year in high school. He is mostly known for his bat, but he is a solid player across the board, and some scouts believe he could end up being one of the best players to come out of this year’s draft class. Hansen’s hi
The last four years watching the Minnesota Twins has been a real beating. The only thing keeping me and a lot of other fans from bugging out completely was that we knew there was some help coming via the draft, and that knowledge came from websites like Twins Daily. We have now seen the 2015 version of this team, and it's getting better. Still, this ain't a playoff team, that's pretty clear. The pitching staff is still average at best, the position players are still largely punchless, and the
http://x.pac-12.com/sites/default/files/YNYRIYETBJDTLPO.20131223193707.jpg James Kaprielian is a right handed pitcher for UCLA who was considered a top two round talent in 2012, but fell to the 40th round due to his strong commitment to the Bruins. He features a fastball that sits 89-92 along with throwing a decent changeup, as well as a curve and a slider. During his delivery he lifts his knee up high, but keeps his foot down, he then reaches far back with his arm and delivers hard over the t
I love baseball. It's the one sport where a nerd, such as myself, can get lost in the numbers and think they know something others do not. What do I (think I) know? Well, if the Twins continue to over-achieve for one or two more weeks, and then merely regress to the team everyone thinks they are...they'll be right in the thick of the Wild Card race come September. I know, I know, I'm either WAY TOO OPTIMISTIC or I'm jinxing it. And if that's the case, I should shut up right now. But j
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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