Eric R Pleiss

If you are a real baseball junkie, Thursday was a great day of baseball. The Twins organization played EIGHT baseball games yesterday. The Twins played two (lost both), the Red Wings played one (squandered a great pitching performance), the Rock Cats played two (split a double header), the Miracle played one (a lopsided loss) and then Kernels played two as well (swept both sides of a double header). With so much baseball action on Thursday, we will get right to it! (Bare Antolos/Rochester Red Wings) RED WINGS REPORT Louisville 2, Rochester 1 BOX SCORE In their last eight games, the Red Wings pitchers have struck out 94 hitters in just 71.0 innings. Alex Meyer was a big part of that stretch, owning 22 of those Ks in just 12.1 innings. On Thursday, Trevor May took his turn and struck out 11 Louisville hitters over six full innings (giving up two earned runs on just three hits). Perhaps even more exciting for May and Twins fans is that he rebounded from a poor outing the week before and he only walked a single batter last night. The bullpen did their job and held the Bats scoreless in the final three frames, but the Red Wings offense could not find a way to break through a strong performance from Louisville's Josh Smith, who lowered his ERA to 2.20 on the night. The Red Wings tallied only three hits, so there are not a lot of strong offensive performances to discuss. Chris Parmelee extended his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest in the International League this season, and could match his longest career hitting streak with a hit tomorrow. Parmelee also drew a walk and was one of two Red Wings hitters that reached base multiple times. James Beresford was the other man on base more than once, and he managed a hit and two walks, and scored the lone run of the evening. Oswaldo Arcia played the entire game at DH going 1-4 with two strikeouts as he continues to rehab from his wrist injury. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 - New Britain 6, Harrisburg 3 BOX SCORE In the first game of the double header (two seven inning games) the Rock Cats came out on top, thanks to a quality start from Taylor Rogers (six innings pitched, three earned runs, one strike out) and a perfect inning from Lester Oliveros. First basemen Reynaldo Rodriguez led the day with three RBIs on a 2-4 night, all three ribbies coming via a three run homer in the first inning to put the Rock Cats on top. Kennys Vargas was 1-3 with two runs scored and two RBI on a homer of his own in the fifth. Right fielder Mike Kvasnicka provided the rest of the offense with a solo home run of his own. Brandon Waring, featured on the most recent Talk to Contact podcast, was 1-4. Game 2 - New Britain 3, Harrisburg 4 BOX SCORE The Rock Cats out-hit the Senators, and the Senators committed three errors (in a seven inning game) and the Rock Cats still could not find a way to win. Tyler Duffy surrendered a late run, pitching for six full innings, struck out five batters and his ERA sits at just 1.50 this spring. Cole Johnson came in and blew the save, giving up three unearned runs in the bottom of the seventh, recording just a single out. Kenny Wilson was 2-4 with a run scored and Nate Hanson was 2-3 with an RBI but other than those two guys, a pretty underwhelming performance from he rest of the Rock Cats team. Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith was ejected for the third time this year, undoubtedly frustrated as the Rock Cats are now just 7-17 in this young season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 8 BOX SCORE The Miracle had nine hits, but Jose Berrios only made it through five innings, giving up four runs, three earned. He recorded four strike outs, two walks, and gave up six hits. Mason Meloakis came in and made things worse, surrendering four earned runs over 1.2 innings. Madison Boer closed out the game with 1.1 innings, giving up just one hit and he struck out two Palm Beach Cardinals. The Miracle were just 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position and they left nine men on base. This was a game of missed opportunities. Aderlin Mejia who is hitting over .400 went 1-5 with a double and a strike out. Mike Gonzales and Adam Brett Walker II were both 2-4 but there was not much going on with this Miracle team. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 - Kane County 2, Cedar Rapids 5 BOX SCORE A ho-hum performance from the Kernels pitching staff last night. Starter Josue Montanez did not give up an earned run, but gave up a couple unearned runs and pitched only four innings. Yorman Landa picked up the win with two scoreless innings in relief and Brandon Peterson picked up the save. The Kernels one through five hitters collected all seven of their hits, with Ivory Thomas, Joel Licon, Bo Altobelli and Engelb Vielma all hitless at the bottom of the order. Mitch Garver led the way with a 2-3 night with a double, two runs scored, and an RBI. Zach Larson was the other big contributor, going 2-3 with a run scored. Game 2 - Kane County 4, Cedar Rapids 5 BOX SCORE The second game of the night was a back and forth battle, and multiple runs were scored in almost every inning. Kohl Stewart was on the hill for the Kernels, he pitched 5.2 innings and gave up three runs, but only one was earned. He struck out four Cougars to go along with just two walks. Not Stewart's best outing of the year, but another encouraging outing from one of the Twins prized Minor League possessions. Engelb Vielma picked up two hits in the night cap, but he continues to struggle at the bottom of the lineup, now hitting just .200. Logan Wade was 2-4 with two doubles and two runs batted in to lead the way for the Kernels. DH Bryan Santy also picked up two ribbies with a two run bomb in the fourth inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Trevor May, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Logan Wade, Cedar Rapids Kernels MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Scott Diamond (Listen) New Hampshire @ New Britain (5:35) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 CST) – David Hurlbut (Listen) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (5:00 CST) – Felix Jorge (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games here.

Rochester and New Britain both had morning/early afternoon games on Thursday. It was also get-away day for the Twins. The Cedar Rapids Kernels got a day off in Peoria, though it was not planned. Ft. Myers got another strong offensive performance from our Hitter of the Day. Welcome Eric Pleiss, the newest writer of the Twins minor league reports. He'll bring his interesting perspective to what's going on down on the farm, discussing what happens in the Twins system each Thursday. (Note - if anyone is interested in writing either the Saturday or Sunday's minor league report each week, be sure to send a PM to Seth Stohs). TWINS NOTES The Twins were powered to a win by some clutch hitting from Sam Fuld and a three run dinger from Aaron Hicks. Ricky Nolasco was not great, but he pitched well enough for the Twins to escape with a victory to climb a game over .500 for the second time this year. The Twins are back home tonight to begin a weekend series against the Detroit Tigers. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Pawtucket 1 Box Score The Red Wings raced out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a couple first inning walks issued by Pawtucket's Anthony Ranaudo. The Red Wings eventually tacked on six more runs, highlighted by a four-run fourth inning. Danny Santana was 3-4 with a walk and a double, and Wilkin Ramirez, Brad Nelson, and Eric Farris all had two hits and two RBI to match. Chris Parmelee extended his hitting streak to a Red Wings season high nine games. Wings' lefty Kris Johnson picked up the win with six strong innings, giving up just three hits and a single, unearned run. He walked four Red Sox batters, but had six strikeouts as well. Johnson is now 2-2 and his ERA is just 2.86. Another lefty, Matt Hoffman, came in to the game in the seventh and picked up a rare three inning save, fanning four hitters. Hoffman's best outing of the year lowered his ERA to 1.17. The Red Wings look for a series win on Friday with Trevor May on the mound. Also of note, from A.J. Achter, the Red Wings went to Dave & Busters tonight. The @RocRedWings cleaned house at Dave & Buster's tonight. pic.twitter.com/vHBCVfllDo — A.J. Achter (@ajachter35) April 25, 2014 ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, New Hampshire 5 Box Score Despite an early 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Rock Cats didn't have enough offense to overcome three errors and fell to a New Hampshire team that tallied 11 hits. The top of the Rock Cats lineup was just 1-15, with no walks and five strike- outs, not exactly the production you're looking for from your one, two and three hitters. Kennys Vargas was the bright spot for the Cats, going 1-3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Taylor Rogers pitched six full innings (his longest outing as a Rock Cat) and left with a no-decision despite giving up 9 hits and 3 earned runs. Adrian Salcedo took the loss allowing two late runs to score, and Lester Oliveros mopped up in the eighth and ninth, giving up one hit and picking up a couple more strikeouts. The Rock Cats begin a seven-game road trip on Friday, beginning in Richmond, VA, with lefty Sean Gilmartin on the hill. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, Jupiter 6 Box Score The Miracle scored all nine of their runs in the second inning after falling to an early 0-2 deficit. Ft. Myers sent 12 men to the plate in that inning. The big hits were a grand slam from Jorge Polanco and a two-run bomb from Mike Gonzales. Polanco was the hero of the day, and the only Miracle hitter with multiple hits, going 2-4 including that grand slam. He's now hitting .333 on the year. Brett Lee picked up the W for the Miracle, helped out by his offense because he gave up four runs (two earned) and walked a couple Hammerhead hitters. Madison Boer picked up his second save of the young season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, lowering his already impressive ERA to 1.29 KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids @ Peoria RAINED OUT - PPD The Kernels were rained out on Thursday night in Peoria, IL, the final game for a four-game series against the Chiefs. The Kernels luck out as the game will be made up at a later date IN CEDAR RAPIDS (as the Kernels are not due back in Peoria during the first half of the Low-A season). The Kernels remain on the road this weekend, at the Clinton (IA) Lumberkings. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm on Friday night. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Kris Johnson, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Jorge Polanco, Ft. Myers Miracle FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:15 p.m. CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ Richmond (6:05 p.m. CST) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (6:05 p.m. CST) – Jose Berrios (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:30 p.m. CST) – Kohl Stewart (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games. ~~~ Also, since the Twins beat the Rays 9-7 yesterday (Thursday), you can get 50% off a L or XL pizza from PapaJohns.com if you use the 'TWINSWIN' promo code on Friday. ~~~

Episode 43 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. Eric and Cody talk recent Twins happenings, including a struggling bullpen, an awful PJ Walters, and whatever it is that is going on with some Twins Minor Leaguers in the Futures Game. The two are then joined by Seth Stohs from TwinsDaily.com to talk about all things Twins Minor League and what fans can expect from Kyle Gibson as he makes his MLB debut on Saturday. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Gibson1.jpg Kyle Gibson, Spring Training 2013. Photo Credit: Betsy Bissen After the break the boys talk beer, baseball, and the news. 92 minutes of chatter. You can follow Cody on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing at NoDakTwinsFan. You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at Puckett’s Pond. And of course, you can find me on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing at Knuckleballs! - ERolfPleiss ​Originally published at www.KnuckleballsBlog.com

This is the 7th story in "Those Damn Yankees" series, stories about Twins-Yankees rivalry by some of our favorite Twins Daily writers, leading up to the Bombers visit July 1st to the 4th. The Twins, according to legend, are afraid of the Yankees. And you know what, after some quick post-season exits at the hands of the Yankees, that is a pretty easy narrative to build. Add the fact that the Twins have struggled to beat the Yankees in the regular season, despite the Twins having fairly successful regular season teams for most of the 2000’s, and you begin to see how that narrative continues to grow. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In the 11 years between 2000 and 2010 the Twins compiled a .537 winning percentage, going 957-826. During that same span the Twins went 25-57 against the New York Yankees, a .325 winning percentage. Take out the 77 games against the Yankees and the Twins are 163 games above .500 instead of just 131. That is a significant bump. During that same period the Twins played the Yankees four times in the post-season, managing to win just two games, losing 12 and being swept in 2009 and 2010. That brings the Twins’ 11-year record against the Yankees to 27-69 (.281). That is bad, almost as bad as the 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119), the worst team of the last 50 years. During that same 11-year span the Yankees were 1060-718, had a losing record against only one American League team (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, 45-54), and won two World Series titles (and losing in the World Series two other times). So clearly the Yankees were a better team than the Twins over that same period, but the Yankees’ .596 winning percentage is not so much larger than the Twins’ .537 that you would expect the Twins to fail so miserably against the Yankees during that span. Assuming each team’s regular season winning percentages represented their true talent over those 11 years, the Yankees should have beaten the Twins only about 53% of the time, not the nearly 72% clip they had over that span. So what gives? Why did the Yankees perform so well against the Twins, especially in the post season? For me, it comes down to roster construction, and specifically the post-season pitching rotations, where teams often turn to only their top three or four pitchers. 2003 [TABLE] Game (score, winner) Twins (starting pitcher) Yankees (starting pitcher) 1 (3-1 Twins) Johan Santana Mike Mussina 2 (1-4 Yankees) Brad Radke Andy Pettitte 3 (1-3 Yankees)[TD=width: 213]Kyle Lohse[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Roger Clemens[/TD] [TD=width: 213]4 (1-8 Yankees)[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Johan Santana[/TD] [TD=width: 213]David Wells[/TD] [/TABLE] The Twins, with a lack of depth in their starting rotation chose to go back to their ace on four days of rest, facing elimination in Game 4. The Yankees, alternatively, felt strong enough to run out David Wells (4.14 ERA, 4.3K/9, essentially a league average pitcher in 2003 despite his 15-7 W/L record) knowing that should they be pushed to a decisive Game 5 they could turn to Mike Mussina, their ace, against Brad Radke (4.49 ERA and a pitch-to-contact friendly contact rate of 82.2%). So while you would have expected the Twins to score more than 3 runs over the final 3 games in this series, outside of Santana the Twins certainly did not have a rotation that could even dream of keeping up with New York (and remember that the Kyle Lohse of 2003 (4.61 ERA) is a far cry from the pitcher he has been over the past three seasons). 2004http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-includes/js/tinymce/plugins/wordpress/img/trans.gif [TABLE] Game (score, winner) Twins (starting pitcher) Yankees (starting pitcher) 1 (2-0 Twins) Santana Mussina 2 (6-7 Yankees) Radke Jon Lieber 3 (8-4 Yankees)[TD=width: 213]Carlos Silva[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Kevin Brown[/TD] [TD=width: 213]4 (5-6 Yankees)[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Santana[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Javier Vazquez[/TD] [/TABLE] The Twins essentially ran the same group of pitchers out there again in 2004, except inserting Silva for Lohse (and Lohse ended up taking the loss in game four, appearing in relief as the game stretched to extra innings). Silva’s 4.21 ERA looks bad against the numbers that pitchers are putting up today, but amidst the steroid era scoring environment and the high-run environment of the Metrodome, it graded out as an ERA+ of 112. Kyle Lohse was really the team’s only other option there, but with an ERA north of 5 that year, he certainly did not look like a postseason starter. The Yankees, on the other hand, had almost a completely new staff. Still anchored by Mike Mussina, this staff had Lieber and Vazquez making one year pit stops in New York, along with Brown who joined the Yankees in the twilight of his 19 year MLB career. This time the starting pitching was not as big an issue as the bullpen and a lack of timely hitting from the Twins' regulars. The Twins won Game 1 on a great performance from Santana, then proceeded to lose Game 2, and Game 4 in extra innings after subpar performances from the consistently reliable Joe Nathan. The Twins should have won every game in this series with the exception of Game 3 (which was a blowout until the Twins scored 3 runs in the bottom of the ninth). A little bad luck and some untimely hitting cost this team the Series, but after a similar result in 2003, that bad luck started to look more like a Twins inability to defeat the Bronx Bombers. 2009 [TABLE] Game (score, winner) Twins (starting pitcher) Yankees (starting pitcher) 1 (2-7 Yankees) Brian Duensing CC Sabathia 2 (3-4 Yankees) Nick Blackburn A.J. Burnett 3 (1-4 Yankees)[TD=width: 213]Carl Pavano[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Pettitte[/TD] [/TABLE] After being swept in the post-season by the Oakland Athletics in 2006, the Twins stumbled in 2007 and just missed the post-season in 2008 after losing game 163, but they were back in the post-season again in 2009 to take on the Yankees. My initial thought when looking at the Twins starters: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. I was going to say that things were probably not as bad as they looked, but Brian Duensing was the Twins’ only starting pitcher with an ERA under 4 (3.64), and he had made only nine starts that season (but he was sparkly good as a starter in those 9 games, pitching 52.2 innings to the tune of a 2.73 ERA despite just a strikeout rate of 5.6K/9). It seems ridiculous that the Twins started Duensing in Game 1, but the Twins burned Scott Baker in Game 163, along with half of their bullpen, the day before. Still, Blackburn might have been their best option in Game 1, and that alone is laughable from the 2013 perspective. This was a Twins team that snuck into the playoffs and faced just about the most lopsided pitching matchups I can imagine. The Twins were at a special disadvantage as Joe Mauer, Denard Span, and Jason Kubel were their main offensive weapons, and as left-handed hitters, all were on the wrong side of the platoon against Sabathia and Pettitte. Hard to imagine the Twins winning a game in this series, even if the two teams had been offensively similar (and they were not; the Yankees scored almost 100 more runs than the Twins in 2009). Maybe a little tough luck to be swept, but the Twins had the worst of it in every matchup. 2010 [TABLE] Game (score, winner) Twins (starting pitcher) Yankees (starting pitcher) 1 (4-6 Yankees) Francisco Liriano Sabathia 2 (2-5 Yankees) Pavano Pettitte 3 (1-6 Yankees)[TD=width: 213]Duensing[/TD] [TD=width: 213]Phil Hughes[/TD] [/TABLE] For me, this was probably the most frustrating series against the Yankees. Maybe I do not even have to go that far; game 1 of this series was probably one of the most frustrating games I have watched as a Twins fan. The Twins went into this series with the Yankees owning home field advantage and playing in front of sold out crowds at brand spankin’ new Target Field. Twins euphoria had likely not been higher since 1991. Liriano was pitching well again (of course he was, it was an even numbered year) and the Twins staked him to an early 3-0 lead and Liriano was cruising through the first five innings. Then in the sixth inning, following a Nick Swisher strike out, Mark Teixeira doubled and then advanced on a wild pitch. Liriano walked the next batter (Alex Rodriguez) and as a fan you started to get that feeling that the Yankees were going to blow things open. They did. Liriano fell apart and the Yankees grabbed the lead with a four run inning. At that point, just about everyone in Twins territory knew that the game, and ultimately the series, was over (or at least it surely seemed that way). The Twins again struggled against left-handed pitching and in the final game of the series Brian Duensing could not make it out of the fourth inning and the Twins lost to the Yankees once again. In 2004 I felt cheated. When the Yankees thoroughly defeated the Twins in the other three post season series, largely because of a lack of staring pitching, no such feeling ensued. Sure the Yankees had some great arms, but the Twins never had more than one pitcher who might be considered an above average post-season hurler. In 2009 they had none. Hate on the Yankees all you want, but the real culprit here is a lack of starting pitching. ~~~ Originally published at www.knuckbleballsblog.com ~~~ For more of Those Damn Yankees, check out.... The Cuzzi Call by Nick Nelson The Twins and Yankees Go Way Back by Thrylos Confessions Of A Twins Fan by Brad Swanson Chuck Knoblauch by Cody Christie Dealing with Yankee Fans by PeanutsFromHeaven Derek Jeter Gift Baskets by Twins Fan From Afar

With the Minnesota Twins opening the season at home this year, the Opening Day start has a little more significance than the past couple of years when the Twins started the season on the road. The Twins have not started the year at home since 2009, and the last Twins pitcher to win the Opening Day game at home was Livan Hernandez in 2008 against the Los Angeles Angels. An Opening Day win would be a nice change of pace. Since the Twins moved to Minnesota to start the 1961 season, Opening Day starters are just 14-25, with 12 no decisions. Not exactly a great track record on baseball’s biggest day, but with names like Camilo Pascual, Jim Kaat, Jim Perry, Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola, Brad Radke, and Johan Santana, the Twins’ Opening Day starter has historically been some of the most beloved players in Twins history. Looking over the current 40-man roster, and some non-roster invites to Spring Training, there are several players who have a shot at being the Opening Day starter. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I’ll rank them from least likely to start to most likely to start on Opening Day. ~~~ Originally published at KnuckleballsBlog.com ~~~ Rafael Perez (1% chance to start Opening Day) – Perez was just signed to a minor league deal with the club a week ago. He’s spent his entire big league career working out of the bullpen, and has not had a K/9 above 6 since 2008. He has put up strong ERAs every year except 2009, but with the declining strike out rates and a ballooning walk rate, his ERA has been propped up by an above average strand rate. Perez has an uphill battle to even make the team as a left-handed reliever, and an even tougher climb into the starting rotation. Rich Harden (4%) – Like Perez, Harden is with the Twins on a minor league deal. Harden has not pitched in the big leagues since 2011, and while he has had a consistently above-average strike out rate, he has not been an above-average pitcher since 2009. There is some question as to whether or not Harden’s shoulder can stand up to the high pitch counts associated with starting, so there is a pretty decent chance that if he makes the team at all, the Twins would prefer that he work out of the bullpen to keep him healthy for the entire season. I like him more than Perez because Harden has a track record as a starting pitcher, and because the Twins are so desperately in need of strikeouts, but he is still a long shot to even break camp with the Twins. Mike Pelfrey (7%) – Pelfrey signed a 1-year deal with the Twins this offseason hoping to rebuild his value coming off of Tommy-John surgery. Pelfrey is still not a full year removed from surgery, so there are concerns about his ability to be ready to start the season in the rotation, though he seems to be on track. Unlike Harden and Perez, if he is healthy, Pelfrey has a guaranteed spot in the rotation. If I was confident that Pelfrey would be healthy when the Twins break camp I would have him higher, but it is early in camp and I anticipate that he will end up needing an extra few weeks get all the way up to speed. Liam Hendriks (10%) – Hendriks is a fringe candidate to make the 25-man roster out of spring training, but with questions about health among several of the arms ahead of him on the pecking order, he is likely to be the next man in if any one of the projected five starters are not ready to start the season. Even a healthy Liam Hendriks is a longshot to take the ball for the Twins on Opening Day as Ron Gardenhire usually likes to reward his veterans. Kevin Correia (12%) – Poor Kevin Correia has been written off since before the ink was dry on his shiny-new 2-year $10 million dollar contract. Correia certainly is not the type of pitcher that would typically get the ball on baseball’s biggest stage, but the Twins seem to like his veteran leadership and clubhouse presence, something that went a long way forCarl Pavano (who started back-to-back Openers in 2011 and 2012). Pavano had almost a year and a half of starts with the Twins under his belt prior to taking the mound on Opening Day, but with no other experienced veterans on the roster, Correia might end up pitching by default. Kyle Gibson (13%) – The Twins seem dead set on starting the year with Aaron Hicks in center field field despite not having any Major League experience. If the Twins are trying to build excitement in 2013 and invite fans to buy into the Twins future, Gibson could wind up pitching on Opening Day to help build momentum toward 2014 and beyond. But like Pelfry, Gibson is coming off of Tommy John surgery, and unlike Pelfrey, Gibson figures heavily into the Twins future plans, so they are likely to treat him with kid gloves. The Twins are looking to limit his inning totals in 2013, so putting him on the mound from Day 1 does not do a lot to aid that effort. Scott Diamond (15%) – After playing the role of savior for the 2012 Twins, Diamond was the overwhelming favorite to take the ball on Opening Day. If Diamond is healthy he will undoubtedly be pitching on April 1st. But Diamond had surgery in December to remove some bone chips from his throwing elbow and is reported to be progressing through his rehab slower than anticipated. There is still an outside chance that Diamond is healthy when the Twins open 2013, but the Twins want Diamond healthy long-term, so if any question marks remain about his health, expect the Twins to take things nice and slow. Vance Worley (38%) – Vance Worley seems to have become the Twins de facto Opening Day starter because there really is not anyone else with a real shot at keeping him from it. He has a lot of things working in his favor: he is healthy, he is young and exciting, has a chance to be a long-term part of the Twins ballclub, and he is not Kevin Correia (which is to say he is not old, ineffective, and overpaid). When the Twins traded away Ben Revere for Worley and Trevor May, I would not have though Worley had any shot to pitch on Opening Day, but he seems to be the last man standing. -ERolfPleiss Read more about the Minnesota Twins at KnuckleballsBlog.com, including Eddie Rosario Turning Heads.

In 1965, the first year of the MLB draft, the Twins had the ninth overall selection. They used it on a talented shortstop from the University of Arizona, Eddie Leon. But Leon didn't sign with the Twins, instead going back to Arizona and earning All-American honors in 1966. The following year, he was selected third overall by the Chicago Cubs in the June secondary draft, but once again failed to sign and went back to school. Like he did in 1966, he once again earned All-American honors. Finally, in 1967, Leon was drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the June secondary draft and at the age of 20 reported to the Double-A Pawtucket Indians in the Eastern League. When asked why he declined to sign his first times through the draft,[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Leon told The Baseball Historian that not only was he not getting what he felt was an "adequate" bonus for a first round draft pick, but also because he wanted to finish his Civil Engineering degree at the University of Arizona. ~~~This is the first post in a series highlighting the Minnesota Twins ~~~ ~~~ number one draft picks, originally published at BaseballTwins.com~~~ Leon played 51 games for the AA-Indians and hit just .202/.261/.307 and made 13 errors in 211 chances, posting just a .938 fielding percentage. Despite his poor performance at AA Leon was promoted to Triple-A Portland for the final 17 games of the year, where Leon hit slightly better - .233/.283/.349 - and made just two errors in 62 chances. In 1968 Leon played the full season in Portland, building off his late season success from '67. Leon's offensive numbers were up across the board, and while he committed 30 errors in 705 chances, he was rewarded for a successful season with a brief September call up with the Cleveland Indians. Eddie Leon made his Major League debut on September 9, 1968 playing in Metropolitan Stadium against the Minnesota Twins, the team that first drafted him three years earlier, entering the game in the 9th inning as a pinch runner for shortstop Larry Brown. Two days later, once again against the Twins, Eddie Leon was back in the lineup as a 10th inning defensive replacement for pinch-hitter Jimmie Hall. In the top of the 12th inning, with the Indians having just taken a 1-0 lead and runners on first and second with no outs, Leon stepped to the plate with a chance to extend the Indians lead - and promptly struck out. He would appear in five more games that September, but would not have another plate appearance. In 1969, Leon was back in Triple-A, but after a strong first half in which he hit .262/.313/.349 and had his best fielding percentage of his minor league career, he was promoted back to Cleveland and was the regular short stop for the remainder of the year. For the next three years Leon was the starting shortstop for the Cleveland Indians. He finished his Cleveland career with a .243/.302/.325 batting line. Following the 1972 season, Leon was traded to the Chicago White Sox in exchange for Outfielder Walt Williams. 1973 was a struggle for Leon and he hit just .228/.291/.291. The early 1970s was certainly not a time of high offensive output, but Leon's hitting line was good enough only for a 62 OPS+ (only slightly better than perennial Twins All-Star, Drew Butera). Leon was a part time player in 1974 and only played in 31 games for the White Sox. Often appearing as a pinch hitter or late-inning defensive replacement, Leon only accumulated 53 plate appearances and hit just .109/.143/.130. Following the 1974 season, Leon was once again traded, this time going to the New York Yankees in exchange for 31-year-old reliever Cecil Upshaw. He played just two innings for the Yankees, entering the May 4th game in Milwaukee as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning and not receiving an at bat. That would be Leon's final appearance in Major League baseball as he was released by the Yankees the following day and spent the remainder of 1975 and all of 1976 playing baseball in the Mexican League for the Tampico Alijadores. Read more about the Minnesota Twins at BaseballTwins.com, including the most recent post about Darin Mastroianni's Heat Maps.

Originally posted at Knuckleballsblog.com Last week the Minnesota Twins added eight players to their 40-man roster, maxing out their roster with 40 players. The Twins will likely remove at least one player prior to the upcoming Rule 5 draft, but for now, the Twins do not have room for any additions. If Spring Training started tomorrow, here are the 40 players that would be competing for a coveted 25-man roster spot and a place on the 2013 Opening Day roster. We'll start with the Pitchers today, and look at the position players later this week. Phtoto: B.J. Hermsen, recently added to the Twins 40-man roster. PhotoCredit: Knuckleballs Right Handed Pitchers (Age, Position, Highest 2012 Level) Alex Burnett - 25, Reliever, MLB - Burnett appeared in 67 games for the Twins in 2012 and posted the best ERA of his career (3.52). Unfortunately, Burnett struck out batters at the lowest rate in his career (4.5/9), while still walking more than three batters per nine innings and his 2012 success is unlikely to continue in 2013, if he makes the 25-man roster, it will be as a middle-inning, low-leverage, reliever. Jared Burton - 31, Reliever, MLB - Like Alex Burnett, Burton also posted the best ERA of his career (2.18). Unlike Burnett, Burton's success came from an increase in stike out rates and a decrease in walk rates. Burton is almost a lock for the 25-man roster, and will likely be the eighth inning set up man. Cole De Vries - 27, Starter, MLB - De Vries was a long shot to make the 25-man roster in 2012, but because of a string of injuries and generally poor play from other Twins starters, De Vries started 16 games en route to a 4.11 ERA. De Vries is a typical Twins-type pitcher, low walks, low strike outs, and is a long shot to make the 25-man roster again in 2013, but unless the Twins acquire multiple starting pitchers through trades or free agency, the Twins do not have a lot of other competent options. Casey Fien - Casey Fien, Reliever, MLB - Fien returned to Major League action after spending 2011 in the Minors. Fien had several surprisingly good appearances toward the end of the year, earning a 2.06 ERA to go along with 32Ks in just 35.0 IP. Fien's previous MLB performance and Minor League track record does not indicate that he's likely to continue to perform at a high level, but he's gained the trust of Ron Gardenhire and has a farily good chance to make the 25-man roster with a strong performance this spring. Kyle Gibson - Kyle Gibson, Starter, AAA - Gibson spent all of 2012 rehabbing from Tommy John surgery and pitched in four different leagues during his rehab, including the Arizona Fall League where the big right-hander was said to be consistently throwing 93-94 MPH with good control. If fully healthy, Gibson is in line to be one of the Twins five starters in 2013. Deolis Guerra - 23, Reliever, AAA - Guerra split time in 2012 between Double-A New Britain and Triple-A Rochester and posted a 4.11 ERA in his first full season as a reliever, with high strike out numbers (9.1K/9) and low walk totals (3.3/9). At 23 Guerra is still fairly young for AAA and I expect him to start the season in Rochester, though he will have a chance to play in Minnesota before the season ends. Edit: Per John Bonnes and ScottyB, Deolis Guerra is out of options, so he'll need to make the 25-man roster or risk being claimed off of waivers. Liam Hendriks - 23, Starter, MLB - Hendriks struggled to turn his Minor League success into Major League succes and spent the better part of 2012 searching for his first big league victory. Hendriks finished the year 1-8 with a 5.59 ERA and only 50 strike outs over 85.1 innings. Ideally Hendriks would start 2013 in Rochester, working to fine tune his command against lesser hitters before being asked to join the Twins. If Hendriks makes the Opening Day roster it will likely be because the Twins lack other viable options rather than their belief in Hendriks ability to succeed at a high level. B.J. Hermsen - 22, Starter, AA - Hermsen is another Twins-type pitcher with low strike out numbers and in Hermsen's case, extremely low walk rates (1.6/9). Hermsen is unlikely to merit serious consideration for the starting rotation in 2013 because he has no experience above AA. Hermsen has continually put up ERAs around 3, and if he can continue to put up good numbers in AAA he should earn himself a September call-up and, if the Twins do not add a couple of free agents on multi-year deals, could be a candidate to start for the Twins in 2014. Lester Oliveros - 24, Reliever, MLB - Oliveros had Tommy John surgery in 2012 and will spend most, if not all, of 2013 rehabbing his elbow. He will be moved to the 60-day DL once Spring Training begins, opening up a roster spot. Josh Roenicke - 30, Reliever, MLB - Claimed off of waivers from the Colorado Rockies, Roenicke is unlikely to start the season in the Twins bullpen and instead the Twins will probably attempt to pass Roenicke through waivers later this spring and use him as roster depth in Rochester. However, Roenicke did post an impressive 3.25 ERA last season with the Rockies, so the Twins might be willing to give him a longer look in Spring Training before ultimately relegating him to the Minor Leagues. Anthony Swarzak - 27, Long Man/Spot Starter, MLB - The Twins have seen enough of Swarzak over the past couple of years (198.2 IP) to know what they have out of the 27-year old. Swarzak has struggled when he's been asked to start, but as a long man in the bullpen he's performed moderately well (5.79 ERA as Starter, 4.03 as reliever). I believe that the Twins will bring Swarzak back in a similar role in 2013, but if they are intent on finding a spot for B.J. Hermsen, this could be somewhere they'd be willing to make a switch. Michael Tonkin - 23, Reliever/Closer, High-A - While Tonkin has never pitched above High-A Fort Myers, he posted a 12.6 K/9 in 2012 and followed that up with a spectacular Arizona Fall League performance posting a 2.45 ERA over 14.2 innings with a 0.75 WHIP. Tonkin will likely start 2012 at Double-A New Britain, but he could certainly be in Rochester by the All-Star break. Tim Wood - 30, Closer, Reliever, MLB - Wood was claimed off of waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates after spending all of 2012 in Triple-A. As a likely closer, Wood does not have the kind of strike out numbers you would typically expect, but he's posted a 3.49 and 2.19 ERA each of the last two seasons in Triple-A so he's doing something right. You have to wonder why a guy with a 2.19 ERA did not get a September call-up with the Pirates as they were once again spiraling their way to another losing record. Before his successful 2011 and 2012 seasons, Wood struggled mightily in the PCL, splitting time between the Miami Marlins and Texas Rangers systems. Do not expect to see Wood on the 25-man roster this spring, as he's likely to spend most of the season in Rochester. Left Handed Pitchers Scott Diamond - 26, Starter, MLB - Diamond is the lone Twins starter to be guaranteed a spot in the 2013 rotation, so as long as he makes it through Spring Training without injury he has a secure spot on the 25-man roster. Diamond is now 2 years removed from being drafted by the Twins in the Rule 5 draft and while his strike out numbers are dreadfully low (12.6% strike out rate), he manages to keep the base paths clear by limiting walks and inducing ground balls. If Diamond can repeat his 2012 numbers the Twins will be ecstatic. Brian Duensing - 29, Reliever/LOOGY/Starter, MLB - With the Twins again searching for answers from their starting rotation Duensing given another chance to win a spot as a starter. He didn't fare well. Overall, Duensing has a 4.57 ERA as a starter compared to just a 3.38 ERA out of the pen. As a starter Duensing is subject to facing a lot more right handed batters (.302/.358/.473, AGV/OBP/SLG), whereas in the bullpen he can be used selectively against left handed batters (.217/.261/.298). Hopefully the Twins understand who Duensing is at this point in his career and keep him in the pen. He's a lock to be on the 25-man roster and should begin the year as the teams primary LOOGY (Left-handed One Out guY). Pedro Hernandez - 23, Starter, MLB - Hernandez is one of the players the Twins acquired in the Francisco Liriano deal with the White Sox. Hernandez has just one disastrous Major League start, and has only 52.1 innings at Triple-A. The Twins should send Hernandez back to Rochester to start 2013, and unless things go poorly for the Twins rotation again this year, he's unlikely to put on a big league uniform anytime before September. Glen Perkins - 29, Reliever/Closer, MLB - After signing a 4-year, $11.85 million dollar deal this past winter, Glen Perkins went out and had one of the best years of his career, posting a 2.56 ERA to go along with 78 strike outs and just 16 walks in 70.1 innings. Perkins will start 2013 as the Twins primary closer, a role he shared at times in 2012 with Matt Capps and Jared Burton. Tyler Robertson - 24, Reliever/LOOGY, MLB - Making his Major League debut in 2012, Robertson performed poorly, but his Minor League performance in 2012, prior to his stint with the Twins, show the signs of life you like to see from a big left-hander. He gets plenty of strike outs (10.4/9 innings), and he doesn't give up a lot of a home runs. For Robertson the biggest issue is going to be control, as he walked 14 batters in his 25 innings for the Twins a year ago. Robertson is great against left-handed batters (.190/.268/.317), but if he cannot learn to get out right-handed hitters (.290/.436/.484) he is not going to stick around for long. Robertson should start the year as the Twins #2 LOOGY and a middle reliever. Caleb Thielbar - 25, Reliever, AAA - Thielbar made it as far as AAA in 2012, but at the end of 2011 he had never pitched above High-A. Thielbar likely needs some additional Minor League seasoning before the Twins are ready to put him on the 25-man roster, especially after a terrible Arizona Fall League permanence in which he posted an 11.05 ERA with 8 walks in just 13.0 innings. The Twins definitely have plenty of arms on the 40-man roster, but they don't have a lot of talent in the bunch. If the Twins start the season with this same group of arms they'll have Scott Diamond, Kyle Gibson, and Liam Hendriks as their one-two-three starters, and will be well on their way to another 90 loss season. It is more likely that the Twins sign at least two free agent pitchers, and bring in another arm via trade, but until anything happens, there is not a lot of hope readily available in Minnesota. For a look at Twins position players on the 40-man roster, click over to Knuckleballs. -ERolfPleiss