Thrylos

Thanks. Any opinions on Gophers' Dustin Klabunde? I've heard good things about him (and I know he is older)

Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: While Brian Duensing is stretched out to be a starter, I think that the Twins should fill at least one or maybe two rotation spots on an "internship"-like way: Promote a new pitcher from the minors every week to make a start. That might work pretty well, based on the recent first starts by Scott Diamond and P.J. Walters. One of the things I am doing these days and will finish before the draft, is to publish profiles of the top 22 pitchers available in the draft (given that the Twins will likely select pitching early and often.) I am doing this is alphabetical order, and you can find them all here in reverse alphabetical order, so check often. I am planning on doing those daily for the rest of May. On a sad note, Aaron Bates was released from Rochester (along with Joe Thurston) to make room for Lester Oliveros and Wilken Ramirez who were promoted to Rochester from New Britain. Aaron was one of the last Twins' cuts this Spring Training and I always thought that he could be up with the Twins this season some time. Apparently the Twins cannot spell their own player's names even in the official lineup cards... It sounds like Ben Revere is growing. Kyle Gibson's rehab is going according the schedule On the other hand, here is another first hand testimony on the Twins' medical staff. Here is a great article about Miguel Sano by Jesse Temple of FSNorth. A Really interesting article about Twins' prospect AJ Pettersen is here. (Also form FSNorth) And here is a really great article about Brian Dozier and his early years in baseball. (From the St. Paul Newspaper) Alex Wimmers got a second opinion on his elbow and rest and rehab is the prescription. 23 year old Gopher Senior RP Dustin Klabunde has been opening some eyes and might be drafted in the later rounds next month. Apparently, the Rochester Yankees Red Wings are toopoor to add nameplates on Pedro Florimon's, Clete Thomas' and Danny Valencia's jerseys as witnessed in the MLB Network nationally televised game of the Red Wings in Syracuse. Very embarrassing. Little League. Speaking of Rochester, the local Democrat & Chronicle Red Wings' Yankees' beat writer, decided to take a break from covering the Yankees on his blog and wrote this inflammatory nonsense, practically threatening the Twins, if they take the best players from Rochester to help their club. Alright... Memo to Rochester: Affiliated minor league clubs exist to serve the major league club they are affiliated with. If you do not like it, the independent leagues are just around the block. See if that fits you all better. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Blade Sunglasseshttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B005HOJY2E The parting shot today is of Ryan Doumit, who has turned it up big time the last week or so: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7197842978_525374dce5_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: While Brian Duensing is stretched out to be a starter, I think that the Twins should fill at least one or maybe two rotation spots on an "internship"-like way: Promote a new pitcher from the minors every week to make a start. That might work pretty well, based on the recent first starts by Scott Diamond and P.J. Walters. One of the things I am doing these days and will finish before the draft, is to publish profiles of the top 22 pitchers available in the draft (given that the Twins will likely select pitching early and often.) I am doing this is alphabetical order, and you can find them all here in reverse alphabetical order, so check often. I am planning on doing those daily for the rest of May. On a sad note, Aaron Bates was released from Rochester (along with Joe Thurston) to make room for Lester Oliveros and Wilken Ramirez who were promoted to Rochester from New Britain. Aaron was one of the last Twins' cuts this Spring Training and I always thought that he could be up with the Twins this season some time. Apparently the Twins cannot spell their own player's names even in the official lineup cards... It sounds like Ben Revere is growing. Kyle Gibson's rehab is going according the schedule On the other hand, here is another first hand testimony on the Twins' medical staff. Here is a great article about Miguel Sano by Jesse Temple of FSNorth. A Really interesting article about Twins' prospect AJ Pettersen is here. (Also form FSNorth) And here is a really great article about Brian Dozier and his early years in baseball. (From the St. Paul Newspaper) Alex Wimmers got a second opinion on his elbow and rest and rehab is the prescription. 23 year old Gopher Senior RP Dustin Klabunde has been opening some eyes and might be drafted in the later rounds next month. Apparently, the Rochester Yankees Red Wings are toopoor to add nameplates on Pedro Florimon's, Clete Thomas' and Danny Valencia's jerseys as witnessed in the MLB Network nationally televised game of the Red Wings in Syracuse. Very embarrassing. Little League. Speaking of Rochester, the local Democrat & Chronicle Red Wings' Yankees' beat writer, decided to take a break from covering the Yankees on his blog and wrote this inflammatory nonsense, practically threatening the Twins, if they take the best players from Rochester to help their club. Alright... Memo to Rochester: Affiliated minor league clubs exist to serve the major league club they are affiliated with. If you do not like it, the independent leagues are just around the block. See if that fits you all better. The Twins' product of the week is the Minnesota Twins Blade Sunglasseshttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B005HOJY2E The parting shot today is of Ryan Doumit, who has turned it up big time the last week or so: http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7197842978_525374dce5_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

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 22pitching 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 5: Ryan Burr Profile/Stats: Ryan Burr is a senior at Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, CO. He is listed at 6'4" and 190 lbs. He was born on May 28th 1994. He throws right handed. He is a Perfect Game All-American. This season he started in 6 games, pitched 32 innings, had a 3.29 ERA, struck out 55 and walked 17 while holding opponents to a .195 average. He also hit5 batters and threw 2 wild pitches. He committed to play for Arizona State University. Mini Scouting Report: He has a plus fastball that sits at 92-93 with good movement. He had good control and command of it and occasionally jumps at 94-95. He has a sharp curveball, which is average and a change up which is a developing pitch. His velocity is projected to increase as he fills up. His delivery mechanics are excellent and his delivery is effortless. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 3 videos of Ryan Burr http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11NATCB13.jpg

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 22pitching 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 5: Ryan Burr Profile/Stats: Ryan Burr is a senior at Highlands Ranch High School in Highlands Ranch, CO. He is listed at 6'4" and 190 lbs. He was born on May 28th 1994. He throws right handed. He is a Perfect Game All-American. This season he started in 6 games, pitched 32 innings, had a 3.29 ERA, struck out 55 and walked 17 while holding opponents to a .195 average. He also hit5 batters and threw 2 wild pitches. He committed to play for Arizona State University. Mini Scouting Report: He has a plus fastball that sits at 92-93 with good movement. He had good control and command of it and occasionally jumps at 94-95. He has a sharp curveball, which is average and a change up which is a developing pitch. His velocity is projected to increase as he fills up. His delivery mechanics are excellent and his delivery is effortless. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 3 videos of Ryan Burr http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11NATCB13.jpg

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 withcontain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Profile 4: Chris Beck Profile/Stats: Chris Beck is a junior at Georgia Southern and a three-year player there. He is from Jefferson, GA and went to Jefferson High School. He is listed at 6'3" and 235 lbs. He was born of September 4, 1990. He throws Right handed. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 35th round of the 2009 Draft. In his current season he started 12 games and relieved in one and is 4-6 (84.2 IP) with a 3.72 ERA, 22 BB and 97 strikeouts allowing a .274 opponent batting average. Last summer in the Cape Cod league he had a 1.62 ERA, 52 IP, striking out 41 and walking 13. His best collegiate season was in 2011 when he went 9-5 in 103 IP, walked 40 and struck out 109, allowing a .211 OBA. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 93-94 mph with occasional bursts at 95 has excellent control but needs work with his command. It is an above average pitch. He has a slurve that is a plus pitch and sits at mid 80s and can be his out pitch. His changeup is at the mid 80s and needs work to be consistent but has a nice late downward movement when thrown as intended and potentially can be a plus pitch. Has a nice natural delivery. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 2 videos of Chris Beck http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/photos/p142679.jpg

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 withcontain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Profile 4: Chris Beck Profile/Stats: Chris Beck is a junior at Georgia Southern and a three-year player there. He is from Jefferson, GA and went to Jefferson High School. He is listed at 6'3" and 235 lbs. He was born of September 4, 1990. He throws Right handed. He was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 35th round of the 2009 Draft. In his current season he started 12 games and relieved in one and is 4-6 (84.2 IP) with a 3.72 ERA, 22 BB and 97 strikeouts allowing a .274 opponent batting average. Last summer in the Cape Cod league he had a 1.62 ERA, 52 IP, striking out 41 and walking 13. His best collegiate season was in 2011 when he went 9-5 in 103 IP, walked 40 and struck out 109, allowing a .211 OBA. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 93-94 mph with occasional bursts at 95 has excellent control but needs work with his command. It is an above average pitch. He has a slurve that is a plus pitch and sits at mid 80s and can be his out pitch. His changeup is at the mid 80s and needs work to be consistent but has a nice late downward movement when thrown as intended and potentially can be a plus pitch. Has a nice natural delivery. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 2 videos of Chris Beck http://www.pointstreak.com/baseball/photos/p142679.jpg

That was interesting to me too. On the other hand, he got free College education, which might be the smart thing to do

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 3: Jake Barrett Profile/Stats: Jake Dalton Barrett is a junior at Arizona State University and a three-year player there. He is from Mesa, AZ and went to Desert Ridge High School. He is listed at 6'3" and 230 lbs. Was born on July 22, 1991 in Upland, California He throws Right handed. He was a third round selection (99th overall) of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. In his freshman year he was a reliever and moved to the rotation in his sophomore season before returning to the pen this season as the closer. In his current season he appeared in 25 games, pitched 27 innings and is 1-4 (9 saves) with a 1.67 ERA, 7 BB and 32 strikeouts allowing a .181 opponent batting average. Last summer in the Cape Cod league he had a 1.62 ERA, 52 IP, striking out 41 and walking 13. His best collegiate season was in 2011 when he went 9-5 in 103 IP, walked 40 and struck out 109, allowing a .211 OBA. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 92-93 mph with occasional bursts at 96-97 with good movement at the lower speeds. It is a plus pitch but needs work with command. He has a plus slider in the mid 80s which can get up to 88 mph. He has an above average change up that sits in the low 80s. In high school he used to throw a slow curve and a splitter, which he abandoned. His delivery used to be fairly violent and used to fall off towards the first base side, but has been improved. Still is a maximum effort delivery. He reminds some people of Boof Bonser on the mound. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 3 videos that show the evolution of Jake Barrett as a pitcher

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 3: Jake Barrett Profile/Stats: Jake Dalton Barrett is a junior at Arizona State University and a three-year player there. He is from Mesa, AZ and went to Desert Ridge High School. He is listed at 6'3" and 230 lbs. Was born on July 22, 1991 in Upland, California He throws Right handed. He was a third round selection (99th overall) of the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2009 Major League Baseball draft, but did not sign. In his freshman year he was a reliever and moved to the rotation in his sophomore season before returning to the pen this season as the closer. In his current season he appeared in 25 games, pitched 27 innings and is 1-4 (9 saves) with a 1.67 ERA, 7 BB and 32 strikeouts allowing a .181 opponent batting average. Last summer in the Cape Cod league he had a 1.62 ERA, 52 IP, striking out 41 and walking 13. His best collegiate season was in 2011 when he went 9-5 in 103 IP, walked 40 and struck out 109, allowing a .211 OBA. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 92-93 mph with occasional bursts at 96-97 with good movement at the lower speeds. It is a plus pitch but needs work with command. He has a plus slider in the mid 80s which can get up to 88 mph. He has an above average change up that sits in the low 80s. In high school he used to throw a slow curve and a splitter, which he abandoned. His delivery used to be fairly violent and used to fall off towards the first base side, but has been improved. Still is a maximum effort delivery. He reminds some people of Boof Bonser on the mound. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 3 videos that show the evolution of Jake Barrett as a pitcher

Mike, thanks. I just don't buy into these numerical projections, in general. And most of them will be wrong anyways For example after the 2001 season, Boof Bonser was projected as a #1 and was ranked on the top 30 overall prospects by Baseball America. We know better after the fact. So I don't buy those numbers

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 2: Mark Appel Profile/Stats: Mark Appel is a junior at Stanford University and a three-year player there. He is from Houston, TX and went to Monte Vista High School. He is listed at 6'6" and 200 lbs. He throws Right handed. He was drafted in the 15th round out of High School by the Detroit Tigers but he did not sign. Was a Two-year letterman in basketball and baseball. In his current season he started 11 games and is 7-1 (86 IP) with a 2.72 ERA, 20 BB and 85 strikeouts allowing a .226 opponent batting average. Last summer, playing with Team USA, in 9 IP as a reliever (4 games) and an one game starter he had a 5.00 ERA striking out 11 and walking 2; in the Cape Cod league he had a 1.35 ERA, 20 IP, striking out 25 and walking 3. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 94-95 mph with occasional busts at 97-99 and he has excellent command. It is a plus fastball. His change up is a circle change and sits around 82-83 mph and is a borderline plus pitch. He is throwing a tight slider in the low 80s, which is a work in process and is working on a cutter that sits on the low 90s and touches up to 93 and so far has a nice side to side movement. He is throwing from a three-quarters position and his height allows for a tight downward plane. Mark Appel has been mentioned as one of the top picks on this draft and there are a lot written about him and most baseball fans who are following the draft know who he is. Here is a great analysis from Hardball Times, which is worth reading. It analyzes his mechanics and discusses whether or not he should be a top pick. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Mark Appel Pitching and interviews http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/m-basebl/auto_action/4986944.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 2: Mark Appel Profile/Stats: Mark Appel is a junior at Stanford University and a three-year player there. He is from Houston, TX and went to Monte Vista High School. He is listed at 6'6" and 200 lbs. He throws Right handed. He was drafted in the 15th round out of High School by the Detroit Tigers but he did not sign. Was a Two-year letterman in basketball and baseball. In his current season he started 11 games and is 7-1 (86 IP) with a 2.72 ERA, 20 BB and 85 strikeouts allowing a .226 opponent batting average. Last summer, playing with Team USA, in 9 IP as a reliever (4 games) and an one game starter he had a 5.00 ERA striking out 11 and walking 2; in the Cape Cod league he had a 1.35 ERA, 20 IP, striking out 25 and walking 3. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 94-95 mph with occasional busts at 97-99 and he has excellent command. It is a plus fastball. His change up is a circle change and sits around 82-83 mph and is a borderline plus pitch. He is throwing a tight slider in the low 80s, which is a work in process and is working on a cutter that sits on the low 90s and touches up to 93 and so far has a nice side to side movement. He is throwing from a three-quarters position and his height allows for a tight downward plane. Mark Appel has been mentioned as one of the top picks on this draft and there are a lot written about him and most baseball fans who are following the draft know who he is. Here is a great analysis from Hardball Times, which is worth reading. It analyzes his mechanics and discusses whether or not he should be a top pick. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Mark Appel Pitching and interviews http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/stan/sports/m-basebl/auto_action/4986944.jpeg

I think maybe the top 2 rounds I am just profiling 22 pitchers and I think they will be gone by the second round. Maybe one or two will slide down a bit

Hard to tell, but supplemental round or second round is about right. But nobody knows how the baseball draft will go.

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. RJ Alvarez Profile/Stats: RJ Alvarez is a junior in Florida Atlantic University and a three-year player there. He is from Royal Palm Beach FL and went to Cardinal Newman High School. He was a first team all conference in both his junior and senior high school seasons and an all area selection in his senior season. He begun his collegiate career in the pen as a Freshman, but quickly moved to the rotation. He is listed as 6'1" and 180 lbs. He throws right handed. In his current season he is used in the pen and is 5-0 in 20 appearances (31.2 IP) with a 0.57 ERA, 9 BB and 42 strikeouts allowing a .156 opponent batting average. Last summer in the Cape Cod league, as a starter, he had a 1.40 ERA, 25.2 IP, striking out 33 and walking 9, allowing only 14 Hits (.181 OBA) Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 94 with occasional busts at 96-97 and he has good command. His change up is a plus pitch and his curve ball is developing. His delivery is effortless and somewhat deceptive. He is throwing from a three-quarters position. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 3 videos of RJ Alvarez Pitching. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fau/sports/m-basebl/auto_headshot/7455137.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. RJ Alvarez Profile/Stats: RJ Alvarez is a junior in Florida Atlantic University and a three-year player there. He is from Royal Palm Beach FL and went to Cardinal Newman High School. He was a first team all conference in both his junior and senior high school seasons and an all area selection in his senior season. He begun his collegiate career in the pen as a Freshman, but quickly moved to the rotation. He is listed as 6'1" and 180 lbs. He throws right handed. In his current season he is used in the pen and is 5-0 in 20 appearances (31.2 IP) with a 0.57 ERA, 9 BB and 42 strikeouts allowing a .156 opponent batting average. Last summer in the Cape Cod league, as a starter, he had a 1.40 ERA, 25.2 IP, striking out 33 and walking 9, allowing only 14 Hits (.181 OBA) Mini Scouting Report: His fastball averages around 94 with occasional busts at 96-97 and he has good command. His change up is a plus pitch and his curve ball is developing. His delivery is effortless and somewhat deceptive. He is throwing from a three-quarters position. Videos/Photos: Because of the difficulty in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 3 videos of RJ Alvarez Pitching. http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/fau/sports/m-basebl/auto_headshot/7455137.jpeg

That's that then. I still think that the best match for the Twins for Span are the Phillies and a bitter Phillies-Nats rivarly is starting

Rendon was drafted in 2011. Not sure when he signed, but players need to be in an organization for at least one year before they get traded, so that is a non-starter Plus Rendon is about as far along as Sano is for the Twins, so that would not make much sense. Same with their top P prospect, Alex Myer. He was drafted last season. Someone like Tyler Moore might be a starting block. But he is a first baseman and not a P and the Twins need pitching. Solis cannot be traded injured. The Nats gave all of their pitching to the As in the Gio Gonzales trade. I just don't think that there is enough there for the Twins, unless they are willing to part with someone like Ross Detwiler (who is playing over his head anyways and will probably be a bust in the AL). I just don't see it

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: With Jayson Werth out at least 3 months, the Twins have a perfect opportunity to see what they can get from the contending Nationals for Denard Span. Alexi Casilla did turn the corner (Big time) with the glove. He has been by far the Twins' best fielder, using a couple of different measurements: Defensive Runs Saved above average with 8 (second best is Span with 5) and UZR with 5 (second best, Span, has 1.8). It is too early, but if he keeps it up (and hits a bit better so he can justify keep playing) he is a gold glove dark horse. And speaking of Alexi Casilla, the Manager of the Millennium, decided to bench him for Jamey Carroll (a lesser player this season bothwith the bat and on the field) and delayed the the appearance of the Twins' future middleinfield. Apparently Alexi Casilla is day to day with a sore throwing shoulder Jared Burton leads the Twins with a crazy 0.455 WHIP. Do not expect it to last because his BABIP is an equally crazy 0.045. Speaking of BABIP, of the Twins' starters not named Pavano, Jason Marquis has the lowest BABIP with .320, which indicated that luck has a role in the Twins' SP woes. Now it better turn around fast. Sean Burroughs was Designated for Assignment a week ago to make room for Drew Butera. Here is a picture of Sean's traveling buddy. Twins' middle infield (and OF recently) prospect AJ Petersen is writing about a minor leaguer's off day Former Twins' pitching prospect Dan Osterbrock is having surgery today to fix what was not fixed in his shoulder in his previous operation. Looks like either Jim Pohlad is a huge Brian Dozier fan or a statement is about to be made based on this Fun factoid: Eight out of the twelve pitchers on the Beloit Snappers' roster are throwing left-handed while all fourteen position players (including Nate Robers who is on the 7-day Disabled List) are throwing right-handed (including the 3 who are batting left-handed and the single switch-hitter JaDamion Williams.) Good to see the average age in the Twins' minor league teams (esp. in Rochester where that was not true recently) is right about League Average. Here are the numbers. Rochester: Hitters: 27.1, Pitchers: 26.5 (International League: Hitters: 27.4 Pitchers: 27.5) New Britain: Hitters: Pitchers: 25.3 (Eastern League: 24.5 Hitters: Pitchers: 25) Fort Myers: Hitters: 22.5 Pitchers: 23.2 (Florida State League: Hitters:22.7 Pitchers: 22.9) Beloit: Hitters: 21.7 Pitchers: 22.3 (Midwest League: Hitters: 21.5 Pitchers: 21.9) The Twins' product of the week, is the Ron Gardenhire Bobbleheadhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B0068TUJLC that was given to the Minnesota Twins' season ticket holders in 2009. The parting shot today is of Brian Dozier in honor of his MLB debut yesterday http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7150140051_e955a64dc9_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch ---- Here is this week's installment: With Jayson Werth out at least 3 months, the Twins have a perfect opportunity to see what they can get from the contending Nationals for Denard Span. Alexi Casilla did turn the corner (Big time) with the glove. He has been by far the Twins' best fielder, using a couple of different measurements: Defensive Runs Saved above average with 8 (second best is Span with 5) and UZR with 5 (second best, Span, has 1.8). It is too early, but if he keeps it up (and hits a bit better so he can justify keep playing) he is a gold glove dark horse. And speaking of Alexi Casilla, the Manager of the Millennium, decided to bench him for Jamey Carroll (a lesser player this season bothwith the bat and on the field) and delayed the the appearance of the Twins' future middleinfield. Apparently Alexi Casilla is day to day with a sore throwing shoulder Jared Burton leads the Twins with a crazy 0.455 WHIP. Do not expect it to last because his BABIP is an equally crazy 0.045. Speaking of BABIP, of the Twins' starters not named Pavano, Jason Marquis has the lowest BABIP with .320, which indicated that luck has a role in the Twins' SP woes. Now it better turn around fast. Sean Burroughs was Designated for Assignment a week ago to make room for Drew Butera. Here is a picture of Sean's traveling buddy. Twins' middle infield (and OF recently) prospect AJ Petersen is writing about a minor leaguer's off day Former Twins' pitching prospect Dan Osterbrock is having surgery today to fix what was not fixed in his shoulder in his previous operation. Looks like either Jim Pohlad is a huge Brian Dozier fan or a statement is about to be made based on this Fun factoid: Eight out of the twelve pitchers on the Beloit Snappers' roster are throwing left-handed while all fourteen position players (including Nate Robers who is on the 7-day Disabled List) are throwing right-handed (including the 3 who are batting left-handed and the single switch-hitter JaDamion Williams.) Good to see the average age in the Twins' minor league teams (esp. in Rochester where that was not true recently) is right about League Average. Here are the numbers. Rochester: Hitters: 27.1, Pitchers: 26.5 (International League: Hitters: 27.4 Pitchers: 27.5) New Britain: Hitters: Pitchers: 25.3 (Eastern League: 24.5 Hitters: Pitchers: 25) Fort Myers: Hitters: 22.5 Pitchers: 23.2 (Florida State League: Hitters:22.7 Pitchers: 22.9) Beloit: Hitters: 21.7 Pitchers: 22.3 (Midwest League: Hitters: 21.5 Pitchers: 21.9) The Twins' product of the week, is the Ron Gardenhire Bobbleheadhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B0068TUJLC that was given to the Minnesota Twins' season ticket holders in 2009. The parting shot today is of Brian Dozier in honor of his MLB debut yesterday http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7150140051_e955a64dc9_z.jpg As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.

I do like Lexi and this is a make it or break it season for him. He has been by far the Twins' best fielder (using a couple of different measurements - defensive runs saved above average 8 - second best Span with 5; and UZR: 5 - second best Span with 1.8) and their best base runner with 5/5 SB (vs 3/5 for Span.) Just his fielding and baserunning makes him an immediate asset as a middle infielder. He did turn the corner (Big time) with the glove. He just need to pick it up with the bat but a. he has always been a slow starter (career OPS in April .510) and b. has had a short leash mainly because of fielding issues, which did not allow him to get consistent playing time. Hope that his leash is longer because he really turned it around with fielding.

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Tonight will be the premiere in the big leagues of Twins' infielder Brian Dozier. Dozier was the Twins' 8th round draft pick in 2009 out of the University of Southern Mississippi. He signed right away so he had time to play pro ball in 2009. He quickly moved through the Twins' system, playing for both rookie level teams in 2009, both A-level teams in 2010, starting in Fort Myers in 2011 and ending up in New Britain and then in the Arizona Fall league. He was invited in the Spring Training as a non-roster invitee this year (where he was one of the last Twins' cuts) and started the season in Rochester. He was added to the 40-man roster today. Even though he has not hit well in Rochester so far (.276/.339/.371, 199 PA) the Twins are encouraged by his 2011 New Britain (.318/.384/.502 7 HR, 22 2B, 7 3B, 351 PA) and Arizona Fall League (.296/.358/.454. 3 HR, 8 2B, 120 PA) numbers to call him up early this season. It is worth mentioning that with the Fall League, Brian Dozier has a full season in 2011, playing in 153 games and having 689 plate appearances. He will likely replace Jamey Carroll (who will assume a utility role filling in at all infield positions but at 1B) as the starting shortstop. He was batting at the number 2 spot in Rochester most of this season, so he might replace Carroll there also. However it is more likely that Joe Mauer will be at the number 2 spot and Dozier will slide lower in the line up. The 25 year old Brian Dozier will team up with the 27 year old Alexi Casilla as the Twins' double play combination. Hopefully Twins' fans will look at scenes like this often this season and for many seasons to come: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/7004048816_51608032b4_z.jpg

Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- Tonight will be the premiere in the big leagues of Twins' infielder Brian Dozier. Dozier was the Twins' 8th round draft pick in 2009 out of the University of Southern Mississippi. He signed right away so he had time to play pro ball in 2009. He quickly moved through the Twins' system, playing for both rookie level teams in 2009, both A-level teams in 2010, starting in Fort Myers in 2011 and ending up in New Britain and then in the Arizona Fall league. He was invited in the Spring Training as a non-roster invitee this year (where he was one of the last Twins' cuts) and started the season in Rochester. He was added to the 40-man roster today. Even though he has not hit well in Rochester so far (.276/.339/.371, 199 PA) the Twins are encouraged by his 2011 New Britain (.318/.384/.502 7 HR, 22 2B, 7 3B, 351 PA) and Arizona Fall League (.296/.358/.454. 3 HR, 8 2B, 120 PA) numbers to call him up early this season. It is worth mentioning that with the Fall League, Brian Dozier has a full season in 2011, playing in 153 games and having 689 plate appearances. He will likely replace Jamey Carroll (who will assume a utility role filling in at all infield positions but at 1B) as the starting shortstop. He was batting at the number 2 spot in Rochester most of this season, so he might replace Carroll there also. However it is more likely that Joe Mauer will be at the number 2 spot and Dozier will slide lower in the line up. The 25 year old Brian Dozier will team up with the 27 year old Alexi Casilla as the Twins' double play combination. Hopefully Twins' fans will look at scenes like this often this season and for many seasons to come: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7274/7004048816_51608032b4_z.jpg

Alrighty. [TABLE] [/TD][TD=colspan: 4]Accetto. Grazie per il chiarimento [/TABLE]