YourHouseIsMyHouse

As the second top 50 I've done this year (cheating?), a LOT has changed. From now on until the end of the year, I don't expect much to change. I've gone through all the stat-sheets on every affiliate and included a few international signings as well. Age, performance, and relative level were all the most important factors. Tools also played a very important part. A player with a .300 BA and no HRs or SBs is not going to get anywhere here. From now on, I'll probably use this as a reference in regards to future rankings. 1. Byron Buxton, OF 18 Rk (E) 2. Miguel Sano, 3B 19 A 3. Aaron Hicks, OF 22 AA 4. Oswaldo Arcia, OF 21 AA 5. Eddie Rosario, 2B 20 A 6. Max Kepler-Rozycki, OF 19 Rk (E) 7. Jose Berrios, SP/RP 18 Rk (E) 8. Travis Harrison, 3B 19 Rk (E) 9. Joe Benson, OF 24 AA 10. Chris Parmelee, 1B 24 AAA 11. Kyle Gibson, SP 24 AAA 12. Liam Hendriks, SP 23 AAA 13. Chris Herrmann, C 24 AA 14. Adam Walker, OF 20 Rk (E) 15. Jason Wheeler, SP 21 A 16. Angel Mata, SP 19 Rk (E) 17. Daniel Santana, 2B/SS 21 A+ 18. Hudson Boyd, SP 19 Rk(E) 19. Adrian Salcedo, SP 21 A+ 20. B.J. Hermsen, SP 22 AA 21. Niko Goodrum, SS/3B 20 Rk (E) 22. Levi Michael, SS/2B 21 A+ 23. Kennys Vargas, 1B 22 A 24. Lester Oliveros, RP 24 AAA 25. Mason Melotakis, RP 21 A 26. Amaurys Minier, SS 16 INT 27. Zach Jones, RP 21 A 28. David Bromberg, SP 24 AA 29. Daniel Ortiz, OF 22 A+ 30. Alex Wimmers, SP 23 INJ 31. Madison Boer, SP 22 A+ 32. Matt Summers, SP 23 A+ 33. Hein Robb, SP 20 Rk (E) 34. Josmil Pinto, C 23 A+ 35. Manuel Solimon, SP 23 A 36. J.T Chargois, RP 20 Rk (E) 37. Randy Rosario, SP 18 Rk (GCL) 38. Corey Williams, RP 22 A 39. Felix Jorge, SP 18 Rk (GCL) 40. D.J Baxendale, RP 21 A 41. Luke Bard, SP/RP 21 Rk (E) 42. Bruce Pugh, RP 24 AA 43. Tyler Duffey, RP 20 Rk (E) 44. Chris Collabello, 1B 28 AA 45. Angel Morales, OF 21 A+ 46. J.D Williams, OF 21 A 47. Matthew Hauser, RP 24 AA 48. Nate Roberts, OF 23 A 49. Lewis Thope, SP 16 INT 50. Pat Dean, SP 23 A+ Players I don't like that were not included: Carlos Guiterrez, Deolis Guerra, Tom Stuifbergen By Clubhouse: 4 Rochester/9 New Britain/9 Ft. Myers/11 Beloit/12 E-Town/2 GCL/2 INT/1 INJ By Position: 17 SP/11 RP/2C/3 1B/1 2B/ 2 3B/4 SS/10 OF There's a lot of talent overall and it would sure be nice to have some more pitchers 'break out'.Collabello is the only one over age 24 because this is his first year in the minors and because he's also mashing. There's a lot of Outfielders I really like that don't get as much attention as the ones in the top 5. There's not much talent in Rochester and it's risky to count on anyone in the GCL. As for the whole system, it's pretty weak outside the top 15 or so. I can't wait for offseason promotions and I hope you enjoy this!

I'm hoping they trade Revere to open up a spot in the OF.

Where will he be next season? Will the Twins keep him in AA at the start or will they bump him up to AAA? I'd like to see him start off of AAA.

That's an awful article. The Twins would have needed at least two runs and likely more after what Robertson did. Mauer loaded the bases and got two men in scoring position instead of one to increase those chances of getting two. He worked the count and didn't like anything. Joe C loses his credibility card.

Oh my God. 41 errors?! Arcia up to .340 with a .977 OPS.

I'll say 68-94. They have to go 18-25 from here on out.

I found the same thing. He was released on July 24th.

As a self-proclaimed visionary, I had a captivating thought about moving Ben Revere to second base. Maybe all the outfield transitions to infield rumors, as in Darin Mastroianni, or the promising results of one in our minor league system, Eddie Rosario, had gotten a grip on me. The more and more I thought about moving Revere, the better it seemed. This is certainly a radical, risky, and perhaps crazy thing to actually attempt, but the results could be extremely pleasing. More over, I'm really suggesting it as something the Twins consider this winter. PROS: Adjusted Depth. Clearly the biggest way the Twins would benefit is by chewing up the black hole at 2B. That is if Revere provides competent play of course. It frees up a starting position in the outfield for Doumit, Mastroianni, Arcia, Hicks, Benson, or Parmelee. There's a lot of fierce competition to be in Minnesota's outfield right now and an opened spot gets one of those guys playing time instead of Jamey Carroll or Pedro Florimon. Style of Play. It's been long known that Gardy loves speedy middle infielders. Enough so that the Front Office once made the mistake of choosing Tsuyoshi Nishioka over J.J. Hardy. Revere hits for a high BA too which is excellent as a 4 or 6. By playing second base, his infamous weak arm would be masked by having the shortest throws in the field. Athletic Build. #11 is one of the best overall athletes on the Twins roster. If there's anyone that could handle that great a change, it's probably him. His effort, athleticism, and perceived dedication all are indications of that. Revere is the same size as Alexi Casilla only 10 pounds lighter and his figure is acceptable. Somewhere to Improve. Ben has had a great season so far and it looks as though he's reached his ceiling. He's a 3 tool player and we have seen him do what's expected: High BA, Plenty of SBs, and elite defense. There's no where to go with him. He'll never top a .750 OPS and he'll get kicked out of the outfield when superior prospects arrive. My current mantra says to trade him this offseason. That would all change of course if he can handle 2B. CONS: Is it Worth it? The biggest and most valuable facet of Revere is his defense in the outfield. How long before people start saying "Shades of Ben Revere!"? I can't fathom seeing him field ground balls. No experience. Ben hasn't had any time in his professional career spent in the infield. That was why I suggested it for something in the offseason. It can take a very long time to have a position 'down pat' and practice is mandatory. This type of dramatic a change to a player is very dangerous. It could end up being successful or silly. Revere seems like a better fit at 2B than Mastroianni despite Darin's limited experience there. It would be strange at first, but you never know what could happen.

As a self-proclaimed visionary, I had a captivating thought about moving Ben Revere to second base. Maybe all the outfield transitions to infield rumors, as in Darin Mastroianni, or the promising results of one in our minor league system, Eddie Rosario, had gotten a grip on me. The more and more I thought about moving Revere, the better it seemed. This is certainly a radical, risky, and perhaps crazy thing to actually attempt, but the results could be extremely pleasing. More over, I'm really suggesting it as something the Twins consider this winter. PROS: Adjusted Depth. Clearly the biggest way the Twins would benefit is by chewing up the black hole at 2B. That is if Revere provides competent play of course. It frees up a starting position in the outfield for Doumit, Mastroianni, Arcia, Hicks, Benson, or Parmelee. There's a lot of fierce competition to be in Minnesota's outfield right now and an opened spot gets one of those guys playing time instead of Jamey Carroll or Pedro Florimon. Style of Play. It's been long known that Gardy loves speedy middle infielders. Enough so that the Front Office once made the mistake of choosing Tsuyoshi Nishioka over J.J. Hardy. Revere hits for a high BA too which is excellent as a 4 or 6. By playing second base, his infamous weak arm would be masked by having the shortest throws in the field. Athletic Build. #11 is one of the best overall athletes on the Twins roster. If there's anyone that could handle that great a change, it's probably him. His effort, athleticism, and perceived dedication all are indications of that. Revere is the same size as Alexi Casilla only 10 pounds lighter and his figure is acceptable. Somewhere to Improve. Ben has had a great season so far and it looks as though he's reached his ceiling. He's a 3 tool player and we have seen him do what's expected: High BA, Plenty of SBs, and elite defense. There's no where to go with him. He'll never top a .750 OPS and he'll get kicked out of the outfield when superior prospects arrive. My current mantra says to trade him this offseason. That would all change of course if he can handle 2B. CONS: Is it Worth it? The biggest and most valuable facet of Revere is his defense in the outfield. How long before people start saying "Shades of Ben Revere!"? I can't fathom seeing him field ground balls. No experience. Ben hasn't had any time in his professional career spent in the infield. That was why I suggested it for something in the offseason. It can take a very long time to have a position 'down pat' and practice is mandatory. This type of dramatic a change to a player is very dangerous. It could end up being successful or silly. Revere seems like a better fit at 2B than Mastroianni despite Darin's limited experience there. It would be strange at first, but you never know what could happen.

I'm assuming two hits. This read really strange.

They are pretty close. Izturis is marginally better for power and speed. Carroll is marginally better at fielding and getting on base. It's not a knock on Carroll. I'd just rather have two of him when you look at what else there now. Casilla (gone), Dozier (worst SS this season), Florimon (career minor leaguer), and Escobar (?). These are the two most important positions in the field and it's time the Twins treat them as such.

Agree here that 10-12,000 is much too high, but the rest of the numbers were pretty conservative. Can't tell if he meant that number for a 45 day span or per day, but it does look like per day. A little confusion on the way it was phrased. 10-12,000 exceeds the stadiums capacity and you're right about locals. 5-6,000 may be a lot closer since it has to be a big thing for people living there.

I love what Trout is doing but nobody can be both Williams and Henderson. You can't hit for that high a BA and still hit that many 2B/3B/HR and steal that many bases. At some point, all those things start to conflict with one another. Rickey Henderson was able to steal that many bases because he didn't have a great BA but had decent power. He had a fantastic OBP, though... All those times being walked to first helped him steal a veritable crap-ton of bases at second. If he would have had Williams' BA, more of those appearances would have been on second, third, or homers... A much more difficult way to get a stolen base. (by the way, you've now touched on one of my other favorite players... I think Henderson deserves top ten all-time status but rarely gets a mention, the dude was a straight-up menace in so many ways) Ugh. Rickey Henderson. Hate his personality, playing style, and not popular for me. I like big power players due to my affection for OPS and OPS+ and you can imagine my discomfort with the Twins from that statement. He is a top 15 *gulp* top 10 hitter (Painfully and slowly typed), but not overall player for me. I could go on and on about my top 10 batters and my all-time dream team. The most under-appreciated player is by far Mike Piazza. He's without a doubt the greatest catcher of all-time because of how immensely better he was as a batter than anyone else behind the plate. The sports media ruled by older generations just refuses to give any historical credit to the players of today's game. Maybe 10 or 15 years down the road the public will finally realize it. Chipper Jones also actually could give Schmidt a VERY good run for his money as the greatest 3B.

I've had enough experiments! I mean just look at the starting rotation! But seriously, I guess I'd like to see David Bromberg, but that's really it. .01% chance since he's: A)Recently been demoted to NBR despite good play in ROC Not on the 40 man roster and would need a pay raise too of all things C) Hasn't been in a 'big player' in the Twins eyes because of 2011 and some other performance question marks

Oh, and not to mention that the Miracle have always been the local whipping boys in the FSL.

.............!! Bigley- big hit. *rapid applause*

This really is the reason and you hit it hard. Rochester is a venue that most Major League teams covet and the Twins had to get a competitive team (or at least try) to keep their AAA team there. We're honestly really lucky to have Rochester and the retreads were the best we could do. The Red Wings have been the worst team in the two years prior to this. Rochester's season is more important than the Twins season right now so in way I hesitantly say a little . It's not far-fetched and it may play a role, but I doubt and would hope that's not the entire basis of the transaction.

In areas like Ft. Myers, the Twins have a very large affect on the economy there, but positive one can't be too sure. Sure it is one of the biggest draws. I tend to believe that in metropolitan areas where professional sports teams are situated, that they often actually have a negative affect. Not baseball, hockey, or basketball as much since the seasons are somewhat long, but football definitely. There seems to be a belief that any sports teams' presence has a positive affect anywhere when it's occasionally untrue. People think that since before, after, and during a game, the local area pubs, bars, and restaurants get a large draw that helps them. It's true, but for football's case that happens 8 days a year when it that highly coveted city space could be used to consistently gain revenue from a business, shopping center, etc. The professional baseball season is a lot different of course because there's 81 days where it has an aura affect on the local area. It gets tricky when you talk minor league teams like Ft. Myers. The Twins played 17 home spring training games and the Miracle will play 68 there for a total of 85 (so more there than Target Field actually). The GCL play in a different stadium in Ft. Myers obviously so they don't factor in. That looks and sounds great to have 85 aura days in a city that has maybe 100,000 people in that traveling distance. The kicker is that Hammond Stadium only holds 7,500 people and there's nothing to see there for 3/4 of the year when it's inactive. 20-30 million is iffy and probably too high a number. I really don't care what it actually is. What's important for the Ft. Myers economy to know when it comes to a deal is if that commercial property would make them more money than a shopcenter, business, etc that's active for the whole year. It clearly keeps the community happy and maybe for the sake of the city they would sacrifice if it indeed turned out be negative. It's awesome to have the Twins and Miracle in Ft. Myers and I like where the all organizations affiliates are located right now except for New Britain (who got extended unfortunately).

That same picture of Vasquez every time! Am I only the only one creeped out by the way his gaze effortlessly and blissfully pierces my soul?

Both are true 1B let's face facts. While I'd like to have Parmelee in RF for September call-ups and the remainder of 2012, it really shouldn't be a long term thing. The Twins have outfielders in the system that are better suited there. Good ones too. So what happens? This most logical option seems to be trading Morneau. But do they really *gasp* "sell low" on a MVP as many would gripe about? What is Morneau really capable of now? Do the Twins try to find out and keep this as an issue any longer? Do they trade Parmelee and watch him flourish elsewhere? For long term at 1B, I feel like it's one or the other. Neither Parmelee or Morneau can move to a new spot in my eyes. Mauer will eat at 1B time and it's seems strange to have one (Morneau definitely) solely DH every game. From my post you can gather that I'm leaning towards trading Justin. However, this really is a complicated situation where the Twins HAVE to get things right. There's no way anyone should have to look back and say they handled this completely wrong. Emotionally, I cry if Morneau leaves and I'm pissed if Parmelee's traded. A lot of questions already in this post and here's one final one. What should the Twins do?! Note: This is a great idea for a blog post and I'll probably end up making one anyway with more detail. No one responds to those so that's why I made a post in TT. I'm actually really curious to what the popular opinion is.

How dare you compare Trout to the Splendid Splinter? I'm hissing at you. (I'm a huge Williams fan... Think he's the greatest baseball player of all time.) I really love Williams too, but I'm firm on 1. Ruth 2. Williams 3. Cobb Just makes it all the more crazy for me. If he gets any better than he would just ruin baseball for all of us. .400 BA 70 SBs 50HRs possible?

Diamond would certainly be in contention if it weren't for the historical season by the android Mike Trout. So far this has probably been the best rookie season ever by an AL player. The only one that really challenges it is Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1911. Jackson had a 193 OPS+ rookie year, but didn't steal many bases that season. Not many HRs either since ballparks were very large at the time. Trout's OPS+ of 180 is even better than Ted Williams 1939 of 160. Then you factor in that he has 38 Stolen bases and plays great defense and the margin is wider. It's been better than McGwire's 49 HR year too. I've only been looking at AL rookie seasons and it's fairly likely the greatest of all time (should he finish on pace). The NL hasn't had as many historical batters as the more celebrated AL has, but you never know. A season like Diamond's may win it 4/10 years. It's still really good.

Izturis would be a worth a shot. Extremely good fielder. His bat is decent too. This has been a down year for him, but he's still managing a 82+OPS. He's been very consistent throughout his career and I think 2013 will be a bounce back year for him. He's picked it up after a rough start and his July and August are better to show for it. He's also versatile (can be moved around like Carroll) and not extremely old as a 31 year old. Izturis has only had 400+PAs in a season twice. I wouldn't mind adding Keppinger, but I think Izturis is a better option mainly because of his speed. Similar age and experience but career WARs: MI 9.9 JK 1.4 I think Izturis would be an upgrade over Carroll, but not Keppinger.

Manship and Perdomo were both sent down. Gardenhire has said the other player to be called is a position player. Most likely Parmelee.

True and most have agreed upon it's unlikeliness. My fear concerning Andrus is that he becomes a Yankee because Jeter is so close to retirement.