Thrylos

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment: A first in Minnesota Twins' press coverage: A beat writer questions one of Gardy's decisions last Saturday, and Gardy lashes back at him “We’ll do the managing, and you should write.” Unfortunately for the ones who are doing the managing, pretty much everyone can manage a team to the worst record in the AL two seasons in a row. Congratulations to: Bobby Lanigan, Luis Perdomo and Caleb Thielbar who were promoted to AAA Rochester Red Wings from AA New Britain Rock Cats; to Dan Sattler, Dakota Watts and Edgar Ibarra who were promoted to the Rock Cats from the high A Fort Myers Miracle; and to Michael Tonkin and AJ Achter who were promoted to the Miracle from the A Beloit Snappers. Congratulations to Oswaldo Arcia of the AA New Britain Rock Cats for being the only Twins' representative in the 2012 Futures Game. 1B/OF Mark Dolenc (AA), C/RHP Tobias Streich (EST), C Billy Killian (EST), 2B Julio Torres (EST) and OF Erick Gonzalez (DSL) were released by the Twins The Twins have now signed 23 of their 40 2012 draft picks. Updated list with the bonus money is here The Twins unveiled their throw back uniforms that they will wear against the Kansas City Royals on June 30th. Unfortunately, they will be masquerading as a New York Giants' minor league affiliate, instead of wearing the proud colors of their franchise founding member of the AL, the Senators. I bet you did not know (I didn't) that a current Twins' player had background acting roles in TV shows like Knots Landing, Dallas and Saved by the Bell. Can you guess who? Here is an article on this player. Looks like other teams, in addition to the Twins, have problems spelling their players' names. Here is an interesting article on Twins' 1st round draft pick Byron Buxton and his life. Here is a great article about one of the long time Twins' minor league coaches. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Multi Magnet Sheethttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B0028C249I. Comes really handy. The parting shot today is of one of the greater guys in the Twins' minors, LHP Tyler Robertston who will make his MLB debut for the Twins one of these days, after he was recalled from AAA Rochester Red Wingsyesterday to replace Matt Capps on the 25-man roster. He was the Twins' 3rd round pick in the 2006 draft. Chris Parmelee (1st round) and Joe Benson (2nd round) are the other players the Twins drafted in 2006 from High School and made it to the MLB. Brian Dinkelman (8th), Jeff Manship (14th), Danny Valencia (19th) and Anthony Slama (29th) were also drafted by the Twins in 2006 and made it to the majors but they were drafted out of college. A little known fact is that Tyler's dad, Jay Robertson, was also a professional pitcher in the Jays' organization in the late 70s, but never made it to the show. He was also a Twins' scout for a moon. I bet he is a proud dad these days. Robertson is wearing uniform number 64, last worn by Chris Parmelee last season and previously by September call up coaches Bill Springman in 2000 and Eric Rasmussen in 2009. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5446/7442983344_d2be7f2fa7_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: Congratulations to Beloit Snappers for making the 1st half playoffs. Here are Snappers' AJ Pettersen's thoughts about Beloit's first half. Congratulations to Oswarlo Arcia for being promoted to New Britain. He is on the 40 man roster, so it very well be that he would be called up to the Twins in September from AA, pretty much like Parmelee and Benson did last season. Here is a great story about the Twins' 2012 40th round draft pick, Brad Schreiber, how he is recovering from Tommy John surgery and his thoughts about getting drafted and potentially signing. Twins' legend and MLB Hall of Fame member Rod Carew was working with Little Leaguers. Thinking about baseball names, wonder what Dick Such's doing these days. Haven't seen him around the Twins since he left after TK retired. A former Twins' organization player reached a baseball milestone last week. Here is another article about another former Twin who will face the Twins this week Here is Byron Buxton playing catch with the big boys before a Twins' game against the Phillies last week. He will report to the Elizabethton Twins (Rookie, Appalachian League) Really interesting article from the Ottawa Citizen about Canadian baseball alliances here. Well worth the read. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Game Day Pouchhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B001XMNUS8. Big enough to carry your water to the ballpark now that it is getting hot out there. The parting shot today is of Lester Oliveros, the newest member of the Twins. He did not last long with the big club, after he was optioned to make room for Liam Hendriks, but he will be up again shortly. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5113/7188332063_1f974e0508_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: Congratulations to Beloit Snappers for making the 1st half playoffs. Here are Snappers' AJ Pettersen's thoughts about Beloit's first half. Congratulations to Oswarlo Arcia for being promoted to New Britain. He is on the 40 man roster, so it very well be that he would be called up to the Twins in September from AA, pretty much like Parmelee and Benson did last season. Here is a great story about the Twins' 2012 40th round draft pick, Brad Schreiber, how he is recovering from Tommy John surgery and his thoughts about getting drafted and potentially signing. Twins' legend and MLB Hall of Fame member Rod Carew was working with Little Leaguers. Thinking about baseball names, wonder what Dick Such's doing these days. Haven't seen him around the Twins since he left after TK retired. A former Twins' organization player reached a baseball milestone last week. Here is another article about another former Twin who will face the Twins this week Here is Byron Buxton playing catch with the big boys before a Twins' game against the Phillies last week. He will report to the Elizabethton Twins (Rookie, Appalachian League) Really interesting article from the Ottawa Citizen about Canadian baseball alliances here. Well worth the read. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Game Day Pouchhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B001XMNUS8. Big enough to carry your water to the ballpark now that it is getting hot out there. The parting shot today is of Lester Oliveros, the newest member of the Twins. He did not last long with the big club, after he was optioned to make room for Liam Hendriks, but he will be up again shortly. http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5113/7188332063_1f974e0508_o.jpg

Good stuff. Sounds like a fun thing to do. Hope you stayed a couple days for a couple games as well So does this mean that Mr Butera and Mr Gray were keeping each other company?

thanks. I did not know that Mazzilli reminds me a lot of someone the Twins let go: Luke Hughes

Kaleb Merck is a college senior. If he does not sign this means life outside of baseball (other than ILs) for a year (at least) which is a risky proposition, unless he does not care to play ball... I'd put Mazzilli on the doubtful, based on what I heard from CT, unless Buxton signed for a mil or 2 less and they spend a decent amount on Mazzilli.

thanks. Koch should be promoted. There is a pretty big difference between A and A+ pitching (and hitting) that really makes a whole lot of difference: A (like Beloit) and A- (like NYPenn league) pitchers can get by with one plus/above ave pitch and a secondary average offering. At high A, unless that secondary offering is above ave as well, they will get pounded. So hitters get much more and better secondary (ie. breaking or off-speed pitchers or cutters) stuff than at A or A-. It is a very good test. If you can dominate high A, you will be a major leaguer (even for a cup of coffee) unless something freaky happens... And once Herrmann gets promoted to Rochester (any day now), the dominos will fall

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: Who would have thought that at this point this season, Trevor Plouffe would have higher OPS+ (110 vs 107) and more HRs (9 vs 7) than Michael Cuddyer. Yet, again, the similarities were too good to ignore last November It is fairly astonishing, but every Twins' position player now, other than the middle infielders, has an OPS+ higher than 100. The only 3 pitchers with more than a strikeout an inning are Fransisco Liriano, Glen Perkins and Jared Burton. The only Twins' relief pitcher to have allowed more than a hit per inning pitched is Anthony Swarzak, but a bunch of those came when he was starting I have created a list of the 2012 Twins draft signees and will update as new information comes. You can find the list here. You can find useful information like High School or College player or College Senior. Also the bonuses are included. As of this post, 18 draftees have signed, including 9 of the Twins' 10 top picks. I am editing the list when new information, including bonus amounts comes and will continue to do so until July 13th, the signing deadline After following closely the 2012 Draft, the biggest difference (and was expected) from previous drafts was the amount of College and JC players selected. Lots and lots. Guess that helps high school kids go to College and will probably improve College Baseball. Now if they got rid of the aluminum bats there... This is a great article describing some of the new nuances of the MLB Draft The Director of Media and Community Relationships of the Beloit Snappers has a blog. Nick Lockwood, the Twins' 9th round pick of the 2009 MLB Draft who was released has been playing with the Washington (PA) Wild Things of the Independent Frontier League. Other notable 2009 Twins' draft picks making their debuts in the independent leagues: Ben Tootle (3rd Round) with Abilene (TX) Prairie Dogs of the North American Baseball League, Brad Stillings (7th Round) with the River City (MO) Rascals of the Frontier League, and Kane Holbrooks (21st Round) with the Fort Worth (TX) Cats of the North American Baseball League. Oswaldo Arcia made the Florida State League (A+) All Star team And former Twin Luke Hughes was assigned to the A's AA team, Midland Rockhounds of the Texas League. The Twins' product of the week is the MLB Minnesota Twins Authentic On Field Alternate 59Fifty Fitted Cap, Navyhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B003LCE64K AKA, the Twins'lucky "M" Cap The parting shot today is of one of the best-kept secrets in the Twins' organization as far as prospects go, Beloit Snapper's catcher Matthew Koch. He is having an incredible season and is flying totally under the radar. As of yesterday he was hitting .291/.413/.544 for a .956 OPS. This OPS is at least 100 points higher than that of his very well celebrated teammates Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. As a matter of fact, his OPS is the highest of any Twins' Catcher in any step of the organization including MLB. He also threw out 48% of the would be stealers this season. Koch was the Twins' 12th round pick in the 2011 Draft out of Loyala Marymount University and played 12 games with the Elizabethton Twins after he signed last season. I would not be surprised if he gets called up to Fort Myers soon. And as I was writing this last night, this scouting report on the Snappers came out... http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7363337772_f0f5ff7278_o.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: Who would have thought that at this point this season, Trevor Plouffe would have higher OPS+ (110 vs 107) and more HRs (9 vs 7) than Michael Cuddyer. Yet, again, the similarities were too good to ignore last November It is fairly astonishing, but every Twins' position player now, other than the middle infielders, has an OPS+ higher than 100. The only 3 pitchers with more than a strikeout an inning are Fransisco Liriano, Glen Perkins and Jared Burton. The only Twins' relief pitcher to have allowed more than a hit per inning pitched is Anthony Swarzak, but a bunch of those came when he was starting I have created a list of the 2012 Twins draft signees and will update as new information comes. You can find the list here. You can find useful information like High School or College player or College Senior. Also the bonuses are included. As of this post, 18 draftees have signed, including 9 of the Twins' 10 top picks. I am editing the list when new information, including bonus amounts comes and will continue to do so until July 13th, the signing deadline After following closely the 2012 Draft, the biggest difference (and was expected) from previous drafts was the amount of College and JC players selected. Lots and lots. Guess that helps high school kids go to College and will probably improve College Baseball. Now if they got rid of the aluminum bats there... This is a great article describing some of the new nuances of the MLB Draft The Director of Media and Community Relationships of the Beloit Snappers has a blog. Nick Lockwood, the Twins' 9th round pick of the 2009 MLB Draft who was released has been playing with the Washington (PA) Wild Things of the Independent Frontier League. Other notable 2009 Twins' draft picks making their debuts in the independent leagues: Ben Tootle (3rd Round) with Abilene (TX) Prairie Dogs of the North American Baseball League, Brad Stillings (7th Round) with the River City (MO) Rascals of the Frontier League, and Kane Holbrooks (21st Round) with the Fort Worth (TX) Cats of the North American Baseball League. Oswaldo Arcia made the Florida State League (A+) All Star team And former Twin Luke Hughes was assigned to the A's AA team, Midland Rockhounds of the Texas League. The Twins' product of the week is the MLB Minnesota Twins Authentic On Field Alternate 59Fifty Fitted Cap, Navyhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B003LCE64K AKA, the Twins'lucky "M" Cap The parting shot today is of one of the best-kept secrets in the Twins' organization as far as prospects go, Beloit Snapper's catcher Matthew Koch. He is having an incredible season and is flying totally under the radar. As of yesterday he was hitting .291/.413/.544 for a .956 OPS. This OPS is at least 100 points higher than that of his very well celebrated teammates Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. As a matter of fact, his OPS is the highest of any Twins' Catcher in any step of the organization including MLB. He also threw out 48% of the would be stealers this season. Koch was the Twins' 12th round pick in the 2011 Draft out of Loyala Marymount University and played 12 games with the Elizabethton Twins after he signed last season. I would not be surprised if he gets called up to Fort Myers soon. And as I was writing this last night, this scouting report on the Snappers came out... http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8006/7363337772_f0f5ff7278_o.jpg

Here is the thing: This is too similar to 2012. And they are on pace to lose 96 games. How many more games would that roster (i.e. the 2 FA SPs win?) 30? Because that is the magic number to be competitive.

If the Twins had to pay about $2-3 Million total for the remaining 2 years of Soriano's contract and all it would take is some non-prospect like Tosoni to get him, I would have zero problem with that. Big IFs though Again, the Twins are in a pace for 96-97 loss season. Nothing is happening this year. They should be sellers and try to get SP. But Soriano as a DH until 2014 for about $1-1.5 Mil per season would not be a bad thing.

Can't argue with that, other than the absense of players who are at the DSL right now. If you include current draftees, I think you got to include at least a couple of the DSL kids in this list.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- I think that a lot of the Minnesota Twins' fans have been frustrated with the way the Twins have been performing this and the last season. Some of us have been frustrated even longer, since the Twins have last won a World Series in 1991. That was 21 seasons ago. Kids who were born then they can now buy booze. Not good. Anecdotally, there have been a lot of remarks and thoughts about the Twins trying to create cookie cutter pitchers, about Ron Anderson (who was named the pitching coach when Ron Gardenhire was named the manager i 2001) wanted everyone in the whole organization to throw the 2 seamerand pitch to contact. But gut feelings and all, this blog is about substantiated evidence and numbers. So here is what I did, and here is what I am presenting: I looked at all pitchers who wore a Twins' uniform this Millennium and compared how they did while with the Twins vs. how they did after they lft the Twins. I went as far as 2009-10 (but some of the latest losses have inconclusive numbers). And here is the honor roll. A list of 20 pitchers who did better after tey left the Twins, when they were older, when they were past their prime. Not one or two (like Jose Reyes who did phenomenally while with the Twins) but 20. It cannot be a coincidence. And I am not even including pitchers like Sergio Santos and Peter Moylan on whom the Twinsgave up before they ever gave them a chance. Here is Rick Anderson's (ok a couple are before his time) Honor Roll: Luis Ayala: Twins 2009 (age 31) : 4.18 ERA, 1.423 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 2.63 K/BB (was cut) Yankees 2011 (age 33) : 2.09 ERA, 1.268 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 1.95 K/BB Orioles 2012 (age 34) : 1.82 ERA, 1.054 WHIP, 5.1 K/9, 2.80 K/BB Grand Balfour: Twins (2001-2004 ages 23-26) : 4.63 ERA, 1.456 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 1.95 K/BB Rays (2007-2010 ages 29-32) : 3.33 ERA, 1.212 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 2.6 K/BB Athletics (2011-2012 ages 33-34) : 2.78 ERA, 1.145 WHIP, 8 K/9, 2.52 K/BB Joe Beimel: Twins (2004, age 27) : 43.20 ERA, 6 WHIP, 1.2 IP (was cut) LA Dodgers (2006-2008, ages 29-31) 3.04 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 4.9 K/8, 1.53 K/BB Nationals (2009 age 32) 3.40 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 5.4 K/8, 1.6 K/BB Rockies (2009-10 ages 32-33) : 3.56 ERA, 1.385 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 1.68 K/BB Craig Breslow: Twins 2008-9 (ages 27-28) : 2.89 ERA, 1.132 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 1.72 K/BB (was cut) Oakland 2009-11 (ages 28-30) : 3.14 ERA, 1.199 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.34 K/BB Arizona 2012 (age 31) : 2.13 ERA, 1.026 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 2.2 K/BB Jesse Crain: Twins 2004-10 (ages 22-28) : 3.42 ERA, 1.257 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 1.87 K/BB White Sox 2011-12 (ages 29-30) : 2.37 ERA, 1.180 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 2.42 K/BB Jack Cressend: Twins (2000-2001 ages 25-27) : 4.59 ERA, 1.480 WHIP, 6 K/9, 1.66 K/BB Indians (2003-2004 ages 28-29) : 3.53 ERA, 1.381 WHIP, 5.5 K/9 1.89 K/BB R.A. Dickey: Twins: 2009 (age 34) : 4.62 ERA, 1.617 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.4 K/BB Mets: 2010-12 (ages 35-37) 3.08 ERA, 1.193 WHIP, 6 K/9, 2.65 K/BB Willie Eyre: Twins 2006 (age 27) : 5.31 ERA, 1.635 WHIP, 3.9 K/9, 1.18 K/BB Texas 2007-9 (ages 28-30) : 5.02 ERA, 1.558 WHIP, 5.2 K/9, 1.32 K/BB Baltimore 2011 (age 32) : 3.44 ERA, 0.927 WHIP, 4.9 K/9, 2 K/BB Aaron Fultz: Twins (2004, age 30) : 5.04 ERA, 1.460 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 1.61 K/BB Phillies (2005-6 ages 31-32) : 3.38 ERA, 1.239 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 2.27 K/BB Indians (2007, age 33) : 2.92 ERA, 1.324 WHIP, 6.8, 1.56 K/BB Matt Garza: Twins 2006-7 (ages 22-23) : 4.47 ERA, 1.602 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 1.91 K/BB Rays 2008-10 (ages 24-26) : 3.86 ERA, 1.251 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.32 K/BB Cubs 2011-12 (ages 27-28) : 3.51 ERA, 1.237 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 3.00 K/BB LaTroy Hawkins: Twins: (SP/RP 1995-2003 ages 22-30): 5.05 ERA, 1.523 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.83 K/BB Twins: (RP: 2000-2003 ages 27-30): 3.09 ERA, 1.271 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.31 K/BB Cubs: (2004-2005 ages 31-32) : 2.76 ERA, 1.099 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.9 K/BB Livan Hernandez: Twins 2008 (age 33) : 5.48 ERA, 1.632 WHIP, 3.5 K/9, 1.86 K/BB Nationals 2009-11 (ages 34-36) 4.17 ERA, 1.363 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 1.82 K/BB Atlanta 2012 (age 37) : 3.68 ERA, 1.389 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 2.38 K/BB Phil Humber: Twins 2008-9 (ages 25-26) : 6.10 ERA, 2.032 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 1.07 K/BB Royals 2010 (age 27) : 4.15 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.29 K/BB White Sox 2011-12 (ages 28-29) : 4.14 ERA, 1.219 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, 2.55 K/BB Mike Lincoln: Twins (1999-2000 ages 24-25) : 7.70 ERA, 1.825 WHIP, 3.9 K/9, 1.08 K/BB Pirates (2001-2003 ages 26-28) : 3.50 ERA, 1.362 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 2 K/BB Kyle Lohse: Twins 2001-2006 (ages 22-27) : 4.88 ERA, 1.447 WHIP, 5.6 K/9, 1.94 K/BB Reds 2006-2007 (ages 27-28) : 4.58 ERA, 1.361 WHIP, 6.1 K/9, 2.52 K/BB Cardinals 2008-2012 (ages 29-33) : 4.18 ERA, 1.332 WHIP, 5.4 K/9, 2.33 K/BB Jose Mijares: Twins 2009-11 (ages 23-26) : 3.16 ERA, 1.315 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 1.9 K/BB Royals 2012 (age 27) : 2.49 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 4.0 K/BB Mark Redman: Twins (1999-2001 ages 25-27) : 4.86 ERA, 1.469 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.21 K/BB Detroit (2001-2002 ages 27-28) : 4.29 ERA, 1.307 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 2.05 K/BB Florida (2003 age 29) : 3.59 ERA, 1.222 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.48 K/BB JC Romero: Twins: (1999-2005 ages 23-29) : 4.35 ERA, 1.482 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 1.61 K/BB Philies: (2007-2011 ages 31-35) : 2.73 ERA, 1.406 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 1.14 K/BB Brad Thomas: Twins (2001-2004 ages 23-26) : 9.89 ERA, 2.155 WHIP, 3 K/9, 0.85 K/BB Tigers (2010-2011 ages 32-33) : 4.59 ERA, 1.606 WHIP, 4.1 K/9, 1.06 K/BB That is a lot of opportunity lost. A lot of adverse results. And this does not even include the current pitchers. It is not one or two or 3. Twenty. The Twins can just not ignore this any more... http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/6993287178_3b8e20786d.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- I think that a lot of the Minnesota Twins' fans have been frustrated with the way the Twins have been performing this and the last season. Some of us have been frustrated even longer, since the Twins have last won a World Series in 1991. That was 21 seasons ago. Kids who were born then they can now buy booze. Not good. Anecdotally, there have been a lot of remarks and thoughts about the Twins trying to create cookie cutter pitchers, about Ron Anderson (who was named the pitching coach when Ron Gardenhire was named the manager i 2001) wanted everyone in the whole organization to throw the 2 seamerand pitch to contact. But gut feelings and all, this blog is about substantiated evidence and numbers. So here is what I did, and here is what I am presenting: I looked at all pitchers who wore a Twins' uniform this Millennium and compared how they did while with the Twins vs. how they did after they lft the Twins. I went as far as 2009-10 (but some of the latest losses have inconclusive numbers). And here is the honor roll. A list of 20 pitchers who did better after tey left the Twins, when they were older, when they were past their prime. Not one or two (like Jose Reyes who did phenomenally while with the Twins) but 20. It cannot be a coincidence. And I am not even including pitchers like Sergio Santos and Peter Moylan on whom the Twinsgave up before they ever gave them a chance. Here is Rick Anderson's (ok a couple are before his time) Honor Roll: Luis Ayala: Twins 2009 (age 31) : 4.18 ERA, 1.423 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 2.63 K/BB (was cut) Yankees 2011 (age 33) : 2.09 ERA, 1.268 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 1.95 K/BB Orioles 2012 (age 34) : 1.82 ERA, 1.054 WHIP, 5.1 K/9, 2.80 K/BB Grand Balfour: Twins (2001-2004 ages 23-26) : 4.63 ERA, 1.456 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 1.95 K/BB Rays (2007-2010 ages 29-32) : 3.33 ERA, 1.212 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 2.6 K/BB Athletics (2011-2012 ages 33-34) : 2.78 ERA, 1.145 WHIP, 8 K/9, 2.52 K/BB Joe Beimel: Twins (2004, age 27) : 43.20 ERA, 6 WHIP, 1.2 IP (was cut) LA Dodgers (2006-2008, ages 29-31) 3.04 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 4.9 K/8, 1.53 K/BB Nationals (2009 age 32) 3.40 ERA, 1.336 WHIP, 5.4 K/8, 1.6 K/BB Rockies (2009-10 ages 32-33) : 3.56 ERA, 1.385 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 1.68 K/BB Craig Breslow: Twins 2008-9 (ages 27-28) : 2.89 ERA, 1.132 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 1.72 K/BB (was cut) Oakland 2009-11 (ages 28-30) : 3.14 ERA, 1.199 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.34 K/BB Arizona 2012 (age 31) : 2.13 ERA, 1.026 WHIP, 7.8 K/9, 2.2 K/BB Jesse Crain: Twins 2004-10 (ages 22-28) : 3.42 ERA, 1.257 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 1.87 K/BB White Sox 2011-12 (ages 29-30) : 2.37 ERA, 1.180 WHIP, 9.8 K/9, 2.42 K/BB Jack Cressend: Twins (2000-2001 ages 25-27) : 4.59 ERA, 1.480 WHIP, 6 K/9, 1.66 K/BB Indians (2003-2004 ages 28-29) : 3.53 ERA, 1.381 WHIP, 5.5 K/9 1.89 K/BB R.A. Dickey: Twins: 2009 (age 34) : 4.62 ERA, 1.617 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.4 K/BB Mets: 2010-12 (ages 35-37) 3.08 ERA, 1.193 WHIP, 6 K/9, 2.65 K/BB Willie Eyre: Twins 2006 (age 27) : 5.31 ERA, 1.635 WHIP, 3.9 K/9, 1.18 K/BB Texas 2007-9 (ages 28-30) : 5.02 ERA, 1.558 WHIP, 5.2 K/9, 1.32 K/BB Baltimore 2011 (age 32) : 3.44 ERA, 0.927 WHIP, 4.9 K/9, 2 K/BB Aaron Fultz: Twins (2004, age 30) : 5.04 ERA, 1.460 WHIP, 6.7 K/9, 1.61 K/BB Phillies (2005-6 ages 31-32) : 3.38 ERA, 1.239 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 2.27 K/BB Indians (2007, age 33) : 2.92 ERA, 1.324 WHIP, 6.8, 1.56 K/BB Matt Garza: Twins 2006-7 (ages 22-23) : 4.47 ERA, 1.602 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 1.91 K/BB Rays 2008-10 (ages 24-26) : 3.86 ERA, 1.251 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.32 K/BB Cubs 2011-12 (ages 27-28) : 3.51 ERA, 1.237 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 3.00 K/BB LaTroy Hawkins: Twins: (SP/RP 1995-2003 ages 22-30): 5.05 ERA, 1.523 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.83 K/BB Twins: (RP: 2000-2003 ages 27-30): 3.09 ERA, 1.271 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.31 K/BB Cubs: (2004-2005 ages 31-32) : 2.76 ERA, 1.099 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 3.9 K/BB Livan Hernandez: Twins 2008 (age 33) : 5.48 ERA, 1.632 WHIP, 3.5 K/9, 1.86 K/BB Nationals 2009-11 (ages 34-36) 4.17 ERA, 1.363 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 1.82 K/BB Atlanta 2012 (age 37) : 3.68 ERA, 1.389 WHIP, 5.8 K/9, 2.38 K/BB Phil Humber: Twins 2008-9 (ages 25-26) : 6.10 ERA, 2.032 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 1.07 K/BB Royals 2010 (age 27) : 4.15 ERA, 1.338 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.29 K/BB White Sox 2011-12 (ages 28-29) : 4.14 ERA, 1.219 WHIP, 6.8 K/9, 2.55 K/BB Mike Lincoln: Twins (1999-2000 ages 24-25) : 7.70 ERA, 1.825 WHIP, 3.9 K/9, 1.08 K/BB Pirates (2001-2003 ages 26-28) : 3.50 ERA, 1.362 WHIP, 6.2 K/9, 2 K/BB Kyle Lohse: Twins 2001-2006 (ages 22-27) : 4.88 ERA, 1.447 WHIP, 5.6 K/9, 1.94 K/BB Reds 2006-2007 (ages 27-28) : 4.58 ERA, 1.361 WHIP, 6.1 K/9, 2.52 K/BB Cardinals 2008-2012 (ages 29-33) : 4.18 ERA, 1.332 WHIP, 5.4 K/9, 2.33 K/BB Jose Mijares: Twins 2009-11 (ages 23-26) : 3.16 ERA, 1.315 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 1.9 K/BB Royals 2012 (age 27) : 2.49 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 4.0 K/BB Mark Redman: Twins (1999-2001 ages 25-27) : 4.86 ERA, 1.469 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.21 K/BB Detroit (2001-2002 ages 27-28) : 4.29 ERA, 1.307 WHIP, 4.8 K/9, 2.05 K/BB Florida (2003 age 29) : 3.59 ERA, 1.222 WHIP, 7.1 K/9, 2.48 K/BB JC Romero: Twins: (1999-2005 ages 23-29) : 4.35 ERA, 1.482 WHIP, 7.4 K/9, 1.61 K/BB Philies: (2007-2011 ages 31-35) : 2.73 ERA, 1.406 WHIP, 7.3 K/9, 1.14 K/BB Brad Thomas: Twins (2001-2004 ages 23-26) : 9.89 ERA, 2.155 WHIP, 3 K/9, 0.85 K/BB Tigers (2010-2011 ages 32-33) : 4.59 ERA, 1.606 WHIP, 4.1 K/9, 1.06 K/BB That is a lot of opportunity lost. A lot of adverse results. And this does not even include the current pitchers. It is not one or two or 3. Twenty. The Twins can just not ignore this any more... http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/6993287178_3b8e20786d.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment; and it is going to be slight, because of the Draft today and tomorrow: The Twins selected Byron Buxton (OF, HS), Jose Berrios (RHP, HS) and Luke Bard (RHB, College) in the 1st and supplemental rounds of the 2012 Rule 4 Draft. Today will be the second day of live-blogging the Twins Draft. You can find all coverage, including mini-profiles of the draftees here The Twins are now 13-7 in their last 20 games. This is good news. Former Twins' OF Lew Ford, 35, is hitting .397/.441/.619 with 3 HRs in 68 PAs with Baltimore's AAA club Norfolk Tides A few Minor league transaction notes: Daryl Thompson and Brad Thompson (AAA and AA) have been released. Bruce Pugh was promoted to AA New Britain from Fort Myers and newly signed St Paul Saints' closer Dan Sattler has been assigned to Fort Myers. The Twins' Dominican Summer League team saw action last Saturday. So this gives a fifth Twins' minor league team to pay attention to. Also, I updated the the Twins organization birthday list with the newest Twins who are playing the the DSL. Beloit's AJ Achter, Jhon Goncalves, Tyler Grimes, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Michael Tonkin and Jason Wheeler made the Midwest League All Star game Ben Badler of Baseball America is writing of high profile arrests in Dominican because of trafficing of Baseball players Tom Veducci wrote this very interesting article on steroid use by Fort Myers Miracle players in the mid 90s, when current Twins' third base coach, Steve Liddle was the manager there. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Beach Towelhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B004SQIUW2 The parting shot today is of Twins' number one draft pick of the 2012 MLB Draft, Byron Buxton: http://gumspitter.jalbum.net/Calvary/slides/IMG_6094.JPG

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Here is this week's installment; and it is going to be slight, because of the Draft today and tomorrow: The Twins selected Byron Buxton (OF, HS), Jose Berrios (RHP, HS) and Luke Bard (RHB, College) in the 1st and supplemental rounds of the 2012 Rule 4 Draft. Today will be the second day of live-blogging the Twins Draft. You can find all coverage, including mini-profiles of the draftees here The Twins are now 13-7 in their last 20 games. This is good news. Former Twins' OF Lew Ford, 35, is hitting .397/.441/.619 with 3 HRs in 68 PAs with Baltimore's AAA club Norfolk Tides A few Minor league transaction notes: Daryl Thompson and Brad Thompson (AAA and AA) have been released. Bruce Pugh was promoted to AA New Britain from Fort Myers and newly signed St Paul Saints' closer Dan Sattler has been assigned to Fort Myers. The Twins' Dominican Summer League team saw action last Saturday. So this gives a fifth Twins' minor league team to pay attention to. Also, I updated the the Twins organization birthday list with the newest Twins who are playing the the DSL. Beloit's AJ Achter, Jhon Goncalves, Tyler Grimes, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Michael Tonkin and Jason Wheeler made the Midwest League All Star game Ben Badler of Baseball America is writing of high profile arrests in Dominican because of trafficing of Baseball players Tom Veducci wrote this very interesting article on steroid use by Fort Myers Miracle players in the mid 90s, when current Twins' third base coach, Steve Liddle was the manager there. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Beach Towelhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B004SQIUW2 The parting shot today is of Twins' number one draft pick of the 2012 MLB Draft, Byron Buxton: http://gumspitter.jalbum.net/Calvary/slides/IMG_6094.JPG

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- It has been pretty much a tradition at The Tenth Inning Stretch to live blog the MLB rule 4 Draft from the Twins' perspective. I will cover every single pick all 3 days of the draft I will follow what I did in 2010, which is: Live draft coverage on each day of the draft, both with live blogging and on twitter. I will tweet each pick as happens, then I will blog details about the player including scouting reports, projections, videos etc, in this space. You can follow me on twitter @thrylos98, or you can come here and refresh the page often. My tweets will appear on the left hand side of the page, as always. I will do a single post with the details of each draftee. At the end of the draft, I will have the reactions of the players drafted, about being drafted by the Twins and also have more detailed profiles of the new Twins, as they sign. These profiles would be very similar to my top 22 pitcher profiles I did before the draft. To see the individual profiles in 2010 (and the reactions piece on top) so you have an idea of what the coverage will be like, they are all at this link. All the 2012 MLB Draft picks, profiles and related posts (including this one) will be at this link . Not that I will be blogging much else during the draft, but that link is 2012 Draft exclusive content. A reminder about what this draft includes: The Rule 4 Draft, or the First-Year Player Draft (all those 3 things are synonyms), includes players who are residents of the U.S., Canada and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Minor Outlying Islands. Residents of other countries are not subject to the Rule 4 Draft, but are signed as free agents either when they are young (the majority of Latin American, European, African and Australian players) or when are established (the majority of Japanese players.) Free agents have the ability to negotiate with each team and actually, depending on the perceived value of a player, induce a bidding war for their services. Thus, a lot of Cuban refugees do not take residence in the U.S. or a territory, so they will not be subjected to the amateur draft, but take residence in a Latin American country like Bolivia or Mexico. The minor league draft is a way for organizations to restock their systems. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, each pick in the draft hasa bonus ceiling. The sum of those bonus ceilings is the maximum a team can spend in the draft (bonus allotment). There are severe penalties for surpassing their bonus allotment, including fines and losses of future 1st round draft picks. So most teams will stay tight within their allotment. However, a team like the Twins can sign their first round pick to a $5.7 million bonus instead of the allotted $6.2 and have an extra $500K to spend in another pick. Because of all the supplemental picks and the fact that are picking second in every round (but the second where they are picking third because of the Willingham signing), the Twins have the highest bonus allotment in the draft with $12,368,200. Another housekeeping item: I have been re-posting a lot of the content here at the Twins Dailysite also, a great site, btw, make sure you join and participate. A can't miss for every Twins' fan. Because of the time urgency (and because I do not want to clutter their site with 25 posts a day), I will be live blogging the Twins 2012 MLB Draft only at The Tenth Inning Stretch. Might post some summary posts there after all is settled later next week.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- It has been pretty much a tradition at The Tenth Inning Stretch to live blog the MLB rule 4 Draft from the Twins' perspective. I will cover every single pick all 3 days of the draft I will follow what I did in 2010, which is: Live draft coverage on each day of the draft, both with live blogging and on twitter. I will tweet each pick as happens, then I will blog details about the player including scouting reports, projections, videos etc, in this space. You can follow me on twitter @thrylos98, or you can come here and refresh the page often. My tweets will appear on the left hand side of the page, as always. I will do a single post with the details of each draftee. At the end of the draft, I will have the reactions of the players drafted, about being drafted by the Twins and also have more detailed profiles of the new Twins, as they sign. These profiles would be very similar to my top 22 pitcher profiles I did before the draft. To see the individual profiles in 2010 (and the reactions piece on top) so you have an idea of what the coverage will be like, they are all at this link. All the 2012 MLB Draft picks, profiles and related posts (including this one) will be at this link . Not that I will be blogging much else during the draft, but that link is 2012 Draft exclusive content. A reminder about what this draft includes: The Rule 4 Draft, or the First-Year Player Draft (all those 3 things are synonyms), includes players who are residents of the U.S., Canada and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and Minor Outlying Islands. Residents of other countries are not subject to the Rule 4 Draft, but are signed as free agents either when they are young (the majority of Latin American, European, African and Australian players) or when are established (the majority of Japanese players.) Free agents have the ability to negotiate with each team and actually, depending on the perceived value of a player, induce a bidding war for their services. Thus, a lot of Cuban refugees do not take residence in the U.S. or a territory, so they will not be subjected to the amateur draft, but take residence in a Latin American country like Bolivia or Mexico. The minor league draft is a way for organizations to restock their systems. With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, each pick in the draft hasa bonus ceiling. The sum of those bonus ceilings is the maximum a team can spend in the draft (bonus allotment). There are severe penalties for surpassing their bonus allotment, including fines and losses of future 1st round draft picks. So most teams will stay tight within their allotment. However, a team like the Twins can sign their first round pick to a $5.7 million bonus instead of the allotted $6.2 and have an extra $500K to spend in another pick. Because of all the supplemental picks and the fact that are picking second in every round (but the second where they are picking third because of the Willingham signing), the Twins have the highest bonus allotment in the draft with $12,368,200. Another housekeeping item: I have been re-posting a lot of the content here at the Twins Dailysite also, a great site, btw, make sure you join and participate. A can't miss for every Twins' fan. Because of the time urgency (and because I do not want to clutter their site with 25 posts a day), I will be live blogging the Twins 2012 MLB Draft only at The Tenth Inning Stretch. Might post some summary posts there after all is settled later next week.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft. I have been presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them. I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer. Each profile will contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Because Mitch Brown is local, and the Twins have been linked with him, and there is a good possibility that they might select him in the supplementary or second round, I am presenting his profile, in addition to the other 22. Profile 23: Mitch Brown Profile/Stats: Mitchell Brown is a senior at Century High School in Rochester, MN. He committed to play for the University of San Diego. He is listed at 6'2" and 210 lbs. He was born on April 13, 1994 . He throws right-handed. Mitch is also playing the infield, but will be drafted as a pitcher. His father is a former Korean power lifter. You can find a web page with a lot of information on Mitch here. In 2012 he is 7-1 with 0.91 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 58 innings. Here is a recent 'CCO story and a video by Mark Rosen on Mitch Brown. He was recently named Minnesota Gatorade player of the year and this is a great story on him, by Tyler Mason. Mini Scouting Report: Mitch Brown throws an above average Fastball that sits in the low nineties and reportedly jumps to 95. He has excellent command and control of that pitch. He also throws a plus cut fastball in the low 90s that has good movement and deception. His breaking ball and changeup are works in progress. His delivery is nice and easy and his mechanics are good. Very coachable. Good strikeout to ball ratio at the high school level, but his breaking ball and change up need to improve to make the leap and they will improve with professional coaching. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see videos of Mitch Brown pitching http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/12iaind-y17.jpg Since this finishes the presentation of profiles of the top pitchers in the 2012 MLB Draft, here is a list of the pitchers presented with links to their profiles at Twins Daily: RJ Alvarez Mark Appel Jake Barrett Chris Beck Ryan Burr Zach Eflin Max Fried Kevin Gausman Lucas Giolito Andrew Heaney Brian Johnson Pat Light Lance McCullers Clate Schmidt Lucas Sims Matt Smoral Chris Stratton Marcus Stromen Hunter Virant Michael Wacha Walker Weickel Kyle Zimmer

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft. I have been presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them. I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer. Each profile will contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Because Mitch Brown is local, and the Twins have been linked with him, and there is a good possibility that they might select him in the supplementary or second round, I am presenting his profile, in addition to the other 22. Profile 23: Mitch Brown Profile/Stats: Mitchell Brown is a senior at Century High School in Rochester, MN. He committed to play for the University of San Diego. He is listed at 6'2" and 210 lbs. He was born on April 13, 1994 . He throws right-handed. Mitch is also playing the infield, but will be drafted as a pitcher. His father is a former Korean power lifter. You can find a web page with a lot of information on Mitch here. In 2012 he is 7-1 with 0.91 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 58 innings. Here is a recent 'CCO story and a video by Mark Rosen on Mitch Brown. He was recently named Minnesota Gatorade player of the year and this is a great story on him, by Tyler Mason. Mini Scouting Report: Mitch Brown throws an above average Fastball that sits in the low nineties and reportedly jumps to 95. He has excellent command and control of that pitch. He also throws a plus cut fastball in the low 90s that has good movement and deception. His breaking ball and changeup are works in progress. His delivery is nice and easy and his mechanics are good. Very coachable. Good strikeout to ball ratio at the high school level, but his breaking ball and change up need to improve to make the leap and they will improve with professional coaching. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see videos of Mitch Brown pitching http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/12iaind-y17.jpg Since this finishes the presentation of profiles of the top pitchers in the 2012 MLB Draft, here is a list of the pitchers presented with links to their profiles at Twins Daily: RJ Alvarez Mark Appel Jake Barrett Chris Beck Ryan Burr Zach Eflin Max Fried Kevin Gausman Lucas Giolito Andrew Heaney Brian Johnson Pat Light Lance McCullers Clate Schmidt Lucas Sims Matt Smoral Chris Stratton Marcus Stromen Hunter Virant Michael Wacha Walker Weickel Kyle Zimmer

You are welcome! A bonus profile is coming up in minutes

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft. I will be presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them. I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer. Each profile with contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. This profile completes the top 22 profiles. However, due to recent developments with the Twins, I will present have a bonus profile of another pitcher (number 23) this weekend. Profile 22: Kyle Zimmer Profile/Stats: Kyle Zimmer is a Junior at the University of San Francisco. He throws right handed. He was born on . He grew up in La Jolla, CA and went to La Jolla High Schoool. He is listed at 6'4" and 220 lbs. He was not previously drafted. He pitched 5 games (all in relief) in his freshman year and was turned into a starter his sophomore year. He was also a position player (mainly third baseman) and has been making the transition to pitcher. This season he started 12 games (83.1 IP) walked 15 and struck out 96. His record is 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. Was a honor roll student and Cum Laude Society member in High School. Mini Scouting Report: Kyle Zimmer has three pitches: a fastball, a slider and a change up. His fastball averages 92-94 and gets up to 96-98. It is a plus pitch with good movement and life. His curve ball is a plus 12-6 curve ball that he throws at high 70s with excellent movement. His changeup is a low 80s pitch and is an average pitch with not much movement. This pitch needs work at the next level. Very good consistent delivery with the ball jumping off his hand. Excellent control of both his fastball and curveball, can improve the command of both pitches. In addition to the main 3 pitches he has been experimenting with a slider that he still has to master. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see videos of Kyle Zimmer pitching http://www.usfdons.com/photos/sports/m-basebl/auto_headshot/4054995.jpeg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft. I will be presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them. I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer. Each profile with contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. This profile completes the top 22 profiles. However, due to recent developments with the Twins, I will present have a bonus profile of another pitcher (number 23) this weekend. Profile 22: Kyle Zimmer Profile/Stats: Kyle Zimmer is a Junior at the University of San Francisco. He throws right handed. He was born on . He grew up in La Jolla, CA and went to La Jolla High Schoool. He is listed at 6'4" and 220 lbs. He was not previously drafted. He pitched 5 games (all in relief) in his freshman year and was turned into a starter his sophomore year. He was also a position player (mainly third baseman) and has been making the transition to pitcher. This season he started 12 games (83.1 IP) walked 15 and struck out 96. His record is 5-3 with a 2.59 ERA and 1.01 WHIP. Was a honor roll student and Cum Laude Society member in High School. Mini Scouting Report: Kyle Zimmer has three pitches: a fastball, a slider and a change up. His fastball averages 92-94 and gets up to 96-98. It is a plus pitch with good movement and life. His curve ball is a plus 12-6 curve ball that he throws at high 70s with excellent movement. His changeup is a low 80s pitch and is an average pitch with not much movement. This pitch needs work at the next level. Very good consistent delivery with the ball jumping off his hand. Excellent control of both his fastball and curveball, can improve the command of both pitches. In addition to the main 3 pitches he has been experimenting with a slider that he still has to master. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see videos of Kyle Zimmer pitching http://www.usfdons.com/photos/sports/m-basebl/auto_headshot/4054995.jpeg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- With the Twins having a severe need for pitching in the organization as well as six picks among the top 100, it is certain that more than one of those picks (and probably the second overall pick) will be used to draft a pitcher. To this respect, I am presenting profiles of the top 22 pitching prospects for the 2012 MLB draft. I will be presenting these alphabetically, and at the end I will rank them. I will be doing about one a day and I will finish before the June 4th draft day. You can find all the profiles (in reverse alphabetical order) as they are presented here. I will start with RJ Alvarez and end with Kyle Zimmer. Each profile with contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Profile 21: Walker Weickel Profile/Stats: Walker Weickel is a senior at Olympia High School in Orlando, FL. He committed to play for Miami University. He is listed at 6'6" and 200 lbs. He was born on November 14, 1993 . He throws righthanded. This season he went 10-0 with a 1.47 ERA and 72 strikeouts in 55 innings. Mini Scouting Report: Weikel has 3 pitches: a Fastball, a curve and a change. His fastball is an above average pitch that averages in the low 90s and jumps up to 94. His 12-6 curve is above average and potential plus pitch. Throws it at low 70s. His low 80s changeup is an average pitch that needs work. He has a long frame and a 3/4 to over the top tall delivery that is inconsistent at times and affects his command and control. A lot of potential and a big frame, but will be a work in progress for a team for a while. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see videos of Walker Weickel pitching http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11NATP23.jpg