Thrylos

Just for correctness' sake: Smalley might have a ring and might have beenawarded a post-season $ share in 87, but he never played any post-season games with the Twins. He was traded to the Yankees mid-season. Brunansky on the other hand...

He needs to work on his command as well. Some people have been critisizing his mechanics (they say that he is doing the "dreadful inverted W"). He needs to work on his change up big time as well as on his curve. So... lots of things as you would expect from a High School kid. The key is how fast a High School kid can learn. That is where gambling takes place in the draft As far as dropping: I suspect that he will pitch for scouts some time soon (he has been throwing) and that there are medical records readily available to the teams. If all of those go well, I do not see him drop much. Regardless, I don's see him drop out of the top 20 picks. Whether he would sign at #20 or so, that's another question...

This is actually the best lineup the Twins can have right now against a LHP. With a righty pitching not so much. I'd rather see Revere instead of Plouffe batting 8th and playing CF with Span at RF. But good thing that Butera is not there

Anderson (and promote Bobby Cuellar.) He is the closest to Gardenhire so it will give the loudest message and pitching has been worse than hitting. This off-season all but Jerry White need to go (including Gardy); a new (non-interim) GM should be hired and a new minor league director as well to start working with the new Twins' minor league affiliates

There is a definition of the zone in the MLB rulebook It does not say that the zone should be different for lefties or righties. my answer is no

No... 3/4 of the minors are not struggling they just have worse OPS than Hicks. He is doing fine and they are doing fine. New Britain and Beloit are very competitive in their leagues and might win it all this season. When the Rookie leagues open, E-town will be a force to reckon with. GCL will depend on drafting, but based on the DSL imports they will also be great. Lots of good players in the system.

This is the same junk that Rochester is doing (yesterday they announced that they were riffling items signed by Orioles' players, for example, and have been rearranging the Red Wings' schedule to accommodate the Yankees, selling Yankees gear from their website - I would understand if they did it in the ballpark, because they host them this season)... Both of those two affiliates have been acting like they are independent league clubs and not affiliates. Esp. Rochester. Good riddance to both. And no player would mind if they get to play a bit more south. The Twins will have at least 3 new affiliates next season. Unfortunately the contract with Beloit will not be renewed, mainly because the ball-park and facilities are a pit and there is no light at the end of the horizon. Did not hear anything about E-town, and it seems like they are staying at Fort Myers for another 15 years. So lots of new changes are coming up and will be pretty exciting... Some of the things I hear is that they will be moving South a bit (AA- Southern League; A South Atlantic League) and that with E-town pretty close in the Appy league, would make all their minor league affiliates (other than AAA maybe) very close to their player development center at Fort Myers, which makes perfect sense.

What he said ^^^^ If every person who writes something and publishes it in the internets meant for everyone to agree with him or her and/or to please everyone who read it, nothing would ever get published. Gotta do it for yourself and gotta learn to grow thick skin

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 9: Lucas Giolito Profile/Stats: Lucas Giolito is a senior at Harvard-Westlake High School in Encino, CA, like another top High School pitching prospect, Max Fried. Both Fried and Giolito have committed to play for the same College, UCLA. He is listed at 6'6" and 220 lbs. He was born on July 14, 1994. He throws right handed. He was shut down for most of 2012 with a strained UCL. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball is a plus plus pitch. It sits at 94-95 and occasionally jumps to 99-100 mph. It has good downward movement and he has very good control of it; however the command (especially on the lower part of the zone is developing). His curve ball is above average and potentially can be a plus pitch at 81-82 mph. He is working on his change up which is a work in progress. His delivery is somewhat slow and deliberate. Would need work to improve his time from wind up to the plate. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Lucas Giolito pitching http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11SSWCB24.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 with contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Profile 9: Lucas Giolito Profile/Stats: Lucas Giolito is a senior at Harvard-Westlake High School in Encino, CA, like another top High School pitching prospect, Max Fried. Both Fried and Giolito have committed to play for the same College, UCLA. He is listed at 6'6" and 220 lbs. He was born on July 14, 1994. He throws right handed. He was shut down for most of 2012 with a strained UCL. Mini Scouting Report: His fastball is a plus plus pitch. It sits at 94-95 and occasionally jumps to 99-100 mph. It has good downward movement and he has very good control of it; however the command (especially on the lower part of the zone is developing). His curve ball is above average and potentially can be a plus pitch at 81-82 mph. He is working on his change up which is a work in progress. His delivery is somewhat slow and deliberate. Would need work to improve his time from wind up to the plate. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Lucas Giolito pitching http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11SSWCB24.jpg

The list is overall YTD-based performance based, that's why they are not here. It is not a slice in time list. Also, batting average is one of the considerations. Sano at this point has the highest OPS in the organization at any level. If I put Hicks on this list, 3/4 of the organization would also need to be in it.

I'd like to see this tonight: Revere (CF) Dozier (SS) Mauer © Willingham (LF) Morneau (1B) Plouffe (RF) Cassilla (2B) Carroll (3B) Diamond (P) And for the rest of the series, unless Span is ready and he gets there instead of Revere against LHPs (CF) and Plouffe against RHP (RF) and batting lead off with Revere moving ahead of Carroll if they are both there. I am glad that Butera has been having some hits, but the law of averages will prevail and there is no way you bench either Mauer or Morneau for him. That. Simple.

Luck sounds about right : Hendricks .397 BABIP Liriano .356 BABIP Blackburn .336 BABIP Marquis .336 BABIP Walters .316 BABIP (before today's game) Pavano .304 BABIP Diamond .225 BABIP

That is his career slashline with the Padres. This season is .211/.260/.317 (.567 OPS) I think that this makes him better than just Permelee with the Twins (I think that Plouffe's OPS is higher after this afternoon's game.) Yes for $9.5M for 2 seasons a huge dissapointment.

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 8: Kevin Gausman Profile/Stats: Kevin John Gausman is a draft-eligible sophomore at Louisiana State University. He throws right handed. He was born on January 6th, 1991. He is from Centennial, CO and went to Grandview High School. He is listed at 6'4" and 185 lbs. In his senior season in High School he went 9-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 14 walks and 88 strike outs. In his College Freshman season he went 5-4 in 14 GS (89.2 IP) allowing 23 walks and 85 strike outs with a 3.51 ERA. He made 2 starts for the US Collegiate National team in 2011, pitching for 8.2 innings, allowing 2 runs with 3 walks and 9 strikeouts. In the current season, Gausman is 8-1 in 13 GS. He pitched 91.2 innings, allowing 81 hits and 34 runs, 21 bases on balls and 112 strikeouts, for a 2.95 ERA and a .235 opponent's batting average. He also had 11 wild pitches. Here is an interview of Kevin Gausman by Jeremy Nygaard of ManCenter.com. Gausmann was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2010 draft. Mini Scouting Report: Gausman has four pitches: a fastball, a curve, a slider and a change up. The fastball is a plus pitch, sometimes a dominating pitch, and is surely his best pitch. It sits in the mid 90s with occasionally hitting 98-99 especially early in games. He has good control and command and he has been throwing it with various arm angles. His slider is better than his curve, with a tight hard break and it may become his primary breaking ball. His curve is a slow 12-6 curve that needs a bit of work. His changeup is a borderine plus pitch and it is his best secondary offering. He needs better consistency with his mechanics to be able to command his pitches a bit better. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Kevin Gausman pitching, including one in which he reveals one of his obsessions when he is pitching. http://media.nola.com/lsu_impact/photo/9299519-small.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 with contain a bit of background information and statistics, a mini scouting report and videos and photos. Profile 8: Kevin Gausman Profile/Stats: Kevin John Gausman is a draft-eligible sophomore at Louisiana State University. He throws right handed. He was born on January 6th, 1991. He is from Centennial, CO and went to Grandview High School. He is listed at 6'4" and 185 lbs. In his senior season in High School he went 9-2 with a 3.12 ERA and 14 walks and 88 strike outs. In his College Freshman season he went 5-4 in 14 GS (89.2 IP) allowing 23 walks and 85 strike outs with a 3.51 ERA. He made 2 starts for the US Collegiate National team in 2011, pitching for 8.2 innings, allowing 2 runs with 3 walks and 9 strikeouts. In the current season, Gausman is 8-1 in 13 GS. He pitched 91.2 innings, allowing 81 hits and 34 runs, 21 bases on balls and 112 strikeouts, for a 2.95 ERA and a .235 opponent's batting average. He also had 11 wild pitches. Here is an interview of Kevin Gausman by Jeremy Nygaard of ManCenter.com. Gausmann was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2010 draft. Mini Scouting Report: Gausman has four pitches: a fastball, a curve, a slider and a change up. The fastball is a plus pitch, sometimes a dominating pitch, and is surely his best pitch. It sits in the mid 90s with occasionally hitting 98-99 especially early in games. He has good control and command and he has been throwing it with various arm angles. His slider is better than his curve, with a tight hard break and it may become his primary breaking ball. His curve is a slow 12-6 curve that needs a bit of work. His changeup is a borderine plus pitch and it is his best secondary offering. He needs better consistency with his mechanics to be able to command his pitches a bit better. Videos/Photos: Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Kevin Gausman pitching, including one in which he reveals one of his obsessions when he is pitching. http://media.nola.com/lsu_impact/photo/9299519-small.jpg

Flexibility? In what way? And he has him hit in front of Carroll (again) too

Mauer needs to be catching some games... I'd rather see Mauer C, Morneau 1B, Willingham DH and Mastroianni at the OF. And if Span is hurt and out and Doumit is hurt and out one needs to go to the DL. Going into NL play tomorrow this is nuts.

He has one option left

This is the second version of the 'who is NOT hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing the Who is hot in the Minors series for a few years now and I decided that a complimentary list might be in order. I will be updating those every month or so, as well. The current "who IS hot" list can be found here and the former "who is NOT hot" list can be found here. This list is getting smaller, but it is unfortunate to see one of the Twins' top prospects (Adrian Salcedo) in it. Without further ado, here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League (Note: Yesterday's games are not reflected) : http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg Catchers: Rene Rivera (RHB, 28, AAA) .169/.250/.277 2 HR, 3 RBI, 73 PA Kyle Knudson (RHB, 24, A) .154/.154/.154 0 HR, 1 RBI, 15 PA Infielders: Danny Valencia (RHB, 27, AAA) .125/.125/.188 1 RBI, 16 PA Estarlin De Los Santos (SHB, 25, AA) .169/.233/.205 0 HR, 5 RBI, 91 PA Andy Leer (RHB, 24, A+) .175/.246/.302 0 HR, 2 RBI, 71 PA Outfielders: Rene Tosoni (LHB, 25, AAA) .125/.222/.167 0 HR, 3 RBI, 55 PA Joe Benson (RHB, 24, AA/AAA) .164/.252/.276 2 HR, 8 RBI, 131 PA Marc Dolenc (RHB, 27, AA) .141/.176/.141 0 HR, 1 RBI, 76 PA Danny Rams (RHB, 23, A+) .069/.206/.069 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 H, 34 PA 1st basemen/DH: Matt Rizzotti (LHB, 26, AAA/AA) .256/.256/.282 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 H, 39 PA Rory Rhodes (RHB, 20, A) .146/.204/.188 0 HR, 4 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Daryl Thompson (26, AAA) 4.5a ERA, 1.604 WHIP, 6.15 K/9, 1.1 K/BB Madison Boer (22, A/A+) 6.81 ERA, 1.739 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.53 K/BB Adrian Salcedo (21, A+) 5.64 ERA, 1.881 WHIP, 5.24 K/9, 0.87 K/BB Marty Popham (24, A+) 4.66 ERA, 1.578 WHIP, 5.35 K/9, 1.21 K/BB LH Starters: none RH Relievers: Brendan Wise (26, AAA) 5.66 ERA, 1.935 WHIP, 5.23 K/9, 1.2 K/BB LH Relievers: Edgar Ibarra (23, A+) 4.63 ERA, 1.629 WHIP, 5.79 K/9, 1.88 K/BB

This is the second version of the 'who is NOT hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing the Who is hot in the Minors series for a few years now and I decided that a complimentary list might be in order. I will be updating those every month or so, as well. The current "who IS hot" list can be found here and the former "who is NOT hot" list can be found here. This list is getting smaller, but it is unfortunate to see one of the Twins' top prospects (Adrian Salcedo) in it. Without further ado, here is the list, going from AAA to A. The clubs represented are AAA Rochester Red Wings, International League, AA New Britain Rock Cats, Eastern League, A+ Fort Myers Miracle, Florida State League, A Beloit Snappers, Midwest League (Note: Yesterday's games are not reflected) : http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg Catchers: Rene Rivera (RHB, 28, AAA) .169/.250/.277 2 HR, 3 RBI, 73 PA Kyle Knudson (RHB, 24, A) .154/.154/.154 0 HR, 1 RBI, 15 PA Infielders: Danny Valencia (RHB, 27, AAA) .125/.125/.188 1 RBI, 16 PA Estarlin De Los Santos (SHB, 25, AA) .169/.233/.205 0 HR, 5 RBI, 91 PA Andy Leer (RHB, 24, A+) .175/.246/.302 0 HR, 2 RBI, 71 PA Outfielders: Rene Tosoni (LHB, 25, AAA) .125/.222/.167 0 HR, 3 RBI, 55 PA Joe Benson (RHB, 24, AA/AAA) .164/.252/.276 2 HR, 8 RBI, 131 PA Marc Dolenc (RHB, 27, AA) .141/.176/.141 0 HR, 1 RBI, 76 PA Danny Rams (RHB, 23, A+) .069/.206/.069 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 H, 34 PA 1st basemen/DH: Matt Rizzotti (LHB, 26, AAA/AA) .256/.256/.282 0 HR, 5 RBI, 2 H, 39 PA Rory Rhodes (RHB, 20, A) .146/.204/.188 0 HR, 4 RBI, 54 PA RH Starters: Daryl Thompson (26, AAA) 4.5a ERA, 1.604 WHIP, 6.15 K/9, 1.1 K/BB Madison Boer (22, A/A+) 6.81 ERA, 1.739 WHIP, 5.9 K/9, 1.53 K/BB Adrian Salcedo (21, A+) 5.64 ERA, 1.881 WHIP, 5.24 K/9, 0.87 K/BB Marty Popham (24, A+) 4.66 ERA, 1.578 WHIP, 5.35 K/9, 1.21 K/BB LH Starters: none RH Relievers: Brendan Wise (26, AAA) 5.66 ERA, 1.935 WHIP, 5.23 K/9, 1.2 K/BB LH Relievers: Edgar Ibarra (23, A+) 4.63 ERA, 1.629 WHIP, 5.79 K/9, 1.88 K/BB

The Twins have 38 men on their 40-man roster; 20 pitchers and 18 position players. I suspect that if they have to call someone for Blackburn it will be the pitcher who is listed on the 25-man roster but has been on the DL since the begining of the season and has been doing rehab appearances in Fort Myers (pitching 2 scoreless innings in 2 games). That would be Kyle Waldrop. Just my guess. Or if he is not 100%, at this point Deolis Guerra deserves the call up more than Jeff Manship who has been mediocre this season in AAA. (Matter of fact half of Rochester's roster deserves beeing called up before Manship at this point...)

They will sign their #2 pick because whomever they pick would not get that money again if he does not sign. Same with their sup.draft and second round picks, unless they get high schoolers and that is a maybe then. So that takes care of $10-11M. The rest is change

yeah Umpire Bias has no place in sports. These guys act like the sport owes them. They can replace them with cameras these days and have a more fair and better played game. Get a ballboy behind Home Plate to throw in balls.

so about $13.5M for the Twins... How much did they spend on the draft last season? I think less than half... Which if added to their 2012 payroll would make it about $5-6 M less than the 2011