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Thrylos

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  1. Thrylos
    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 5: Max Fried
     
     
    Profile/Stats:
     
     
    Max Fried is a senior at Harvard-Westlake High School in Encino, CA, like another top High School pitching prospect, Lucas Giolito. Max Fried transferred there for from Montclair Prep for his senior season. It is interesting that both Fried and Giolito have committed to play for the same College, UCLA. He is listed at 6'4" and 175 lbs. He was born on January 18, 1994. He throws left handed. He is a 2012 Rollings first team All-American. In addition to pitching he has played in the OF and 1B where he compiled a .360/.455/.627 line as a Junior. As a Junior pitcher he pitched 69.2 innings, allowing 44 hits, walking 38 and striking out 100, for a 1.31 ERA.
     
     
     
    Mini Scouting Report:
     
     
    He has a plus fastball that sits at 89-90 and bursts into 92-93 with excellent movement and occasional sink. His best pitch is his plus plus curveball, which has a tight hammer-like break. His FB velocity is projected to increase as he fills up. He is throwing a changeup which is average at this point but projects to develop. His delivery mechanics are good, but he needs to maintain a consistent arm slot. He is releasing at 3/4. Has good control but needs to be able to command all his pitches better, especially low in the strike zone.
     
     
     
    Videos/Photos:
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Due to the difficulties in embedding videos here, please go to the original post to see 4 videos of Max Fried pitching
     
     
    http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11NATTX4.jpg
  2. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ----
    This is the second version of the 'who is hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. About a month and a half into the minor league seasons now, a lot of changes have happened on the pitching leaders from the last "who is hot" list, mainly because of promotions and because PJ Walters and Scott Diamond are now excluded from the list. Nice to see that there are reliable relief corps throughout the organization, including the AAA.
     
     
    The bats have cooled considerably, but there are a lot of new bats in the minors and Wilken Ramirez and Miguel Sano continue their domination.
     
     
    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 (does not include yesterday's games) :
     
     
     
     
    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Catchers:
     
     
     
    Matthew Koch (RHB, 23, A) .235/.409/.353, 6 2B, 68 PA
     
     
     
     
    Infielders:
     
     
     
    Deibinson Romero (RHB, 25, AA) .264/.350/.430 3 HR, 21 RBI, 140 PA
     
    Jairo Perez (RHB, 24, A+) .257/.367/.450 3 HR, 13 RBI, 128 PA
     
    Miguel Sano (RHB, 19, A) .293/.410/.639 11 HR, 35 RBI, 161 PA
     
    Eddie Rosario (LHB, 20, A) .289/.381/.467 3 HR, 21 RBI, 7 SB, 155 PA
     
     
     
     
    Outfielders:
     
     
     
    Clete Thomas (LHB, 28, AAA) .280/.333/.480, 1 RBI, 28 PA
     
    Matt Carson (RHB, 30, AAA) .289/.367/.413, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 121 PA
     
    Wilkin Ramirez (RHB, 26, A+/AA/AAA) .359/.388/.688, 4 HR, 7 RBI, 2 SB, 67 PA
     
    Aaron Hicks (SHB, 22, AA) .258/.347/.414 4 HR, 21 RBI, 9 SB, 150 PA
     
    Oswaldo Arcia (LHB, 21, A+) .286/.349/.455 2 HR, 21 RBI 127 PA
     
    Lance Ray (LHB, 22, A+) .239/.331/.440 4 HR, 25 RBI, 130 PA
     
     
     
     
    1st basemen/DH:
     
     
     
    Chris Colabello (RHB, 28, AA) .242/.326/.442 5 HR, 21 RBI, 139 PA
     
     
     
     
    RH Starters:
     
     
     
    Liam Hendriks (23, AAA) 1.54 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 9.3 K/9, 3 K/BB (11.2 IP)
     
    Cole DeVries (27, AAA) 4.19 ERA, 1.241 WHIP, 7.22 K/9, 4.43 K/BB (38.2 IP)
     
    BJ Hermsen (22, A+/AA) 1.66 ERA, 0.900 WHIP, 5.19 K/9, 3.57 K/BB (43.1 IP)
     
    Tim Shibuya (22, A) 2.83 ERA, 1.257 WHIP, 7.71 K/9, 4.29 K/BB (35 IP)
     
     
     
     
    LH Starters:
     
     
     
    Andrew Albers (26, AA) 4.50 ERA. 1.310 WHIP, 7.29 K/0, 11.33 K/BB (42 IP)
     
    Jason Wheeler (21, A) 2.84 ERA, 1.289 WHIP, 6.16 K/9, 2.89 K/BB (38 IP)
     
     
     
     
    RH Relievers:
     
     
     
    Anthony Slama (28, AAA) 0.51 ERA, 1.132 WHIP, 14.26 K/9, 2.55 K/BB (17.2 IP)
     
    Deolis Guerra (23,AA/AAA) 1.14 ERA, 0.761 WHIP, 9.51 K/9, 5 K/BB (23.2 IP)
     
    Lester Oliveros (24, AA/AAA) 1.42 ERA, 0.895 WHIP, 7.58 K/9, 2.29 K/BB (19 IP)
     
    Dan Turpen (25, AA) 3.79 ERA, 0.947 WHIP, 10.42 K/9, 22 K/BB (19 IP)
     
    Bobby Lanigan (25, AA) 2.84 ERA, 1.211 WHIP, 8.53 K/9, 9 K/BB (23 IP)
     
    David Bromberg (24, AA) 3.91 ERA, 1.217 WHIP, 8.61 K/9, 2.2 K/BB
     
    Miguel Munoz (23, A+) 2.77 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 5.54 K/9, 4 K/BB (13 IP)
     
    Ricky Bowen (24, A+) 1.93 ERA, 1.114 WHIP, 7.33 K/9, 3.8 K/BB (23.1 IP)
     
    AJ Achter (23, A) 0.86 ERA, 0.952 WHIP, 9.86 K/9, 4.60 K/BB (21 IP)
     
    Michael Tonkin (22, A) 2.05 ERA, 1.136 WHIP, 9.00 K/9, 7.33 K/BB (22 IP)
     
     
     
     
    LH Relievers:
     
     
     
    Caleb Thielbar (25, A+/AA) 1.35 ERA, 0.950 WHIP, 9 K/9, 4 K/BB (20 IP)
     
    Nelvin Fuentes (23 A/A+) 3.05 ERA, 1.210 WHIP, 9.15 K/9, 3.5 K/BB (20.2 IP)
     
    Ryan O'Rourke (24, A) 4.08 ERA, 1.132 WHIP, 7.13 K/9, 3.5 K/BB (17.2 IP)
     
    Matthew Tomshaw (23, A) 2.54 ERA, 0.988 WHIP, 7.31 K/9, 5.75 K/BB (28.1 IP, 4 GS)
     
    Corey Williams (21, A) 3.77 ERA, 1.326 WHIP, 11.30 K/9, 2.57 K/BB (14.1 IP)
  3. Thrylos
    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 6: Zach Eflin
     
     
     
    Profile/Stats:
     
     
     
    Zach Eflin is a senior at Hagerty High Scholl in Oviedo,FL. He is listed at 6'5" and 200 lbs. He was born on April 8, 1994 and he throws Right Handed. In his current season, Eflin is 5-2 with a 0.55 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. ESPN published great article on Zach,discussing how he used baseball to escape from a difficult home situation. Eflin nissed all the month of April with tricep tendonitis, but his MRI is clear and has returned to action earlier this month. He committed to play for the University of Central Florida.
     
     
     
     
    Mini Scouting Report:
     
     
     
    Efling has good control of his above average fastball that averages 91-93 mph with occasional 94-95 mph spikes and good movement. His changeup is a plus pitch, sits from 79-82 mph and has good fade an sink. He is working on spike curveball which is a major work in progress and will probably turn into a slider as he progresses. His stamina is somewhat questionable, since the velocity and effectiveness of his fastball has been decreasing in the later innings. His delivery is effortless and his frame is projectible.
     
     
     
     
     
    Videos/Photos:
    Due to the difficulty in embedding Videos here, please go to the orginial post for Videos of Zach Eflin.
     
    http://www.perfectgame.org/images/profilepics/11NATTX4.jpg
  4. Thrylos
    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.
  5. Thrylos
    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
  6. Thrylos
    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
  7. Thrylos
    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
  8. Thrylos
    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
  9. Thrylos
    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.
  10. Thrylos
    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
  11. Thrylos
    When Francesco Schettino, the captain of Costa Concordia abandoned his sinking ship lastJanuary, it made international news. But he was not alone, to quote a very interesting Discovery channel article: "Considered one of the most infamous crimes in maritime law, [this] act of cowardice has many precedents in history.", and goes on to list several of the previous captains who have abandoned ship.
     
    Today, another name needs to be added to the list: Ronald Clyde Gardenhire.
     
    With the excuse that he needs to attend his daughter's college graduation, he left his team (with the worse record in baseball) hours after a sweep was completed with a no-hitter against the Twins, to go home to Minnesota for a 4-day weekend. The Twins will join him after they finish their 3 game series at Seattle against the Mariners. He was so ready to get out of town that he caught a red-eye flight the night of the sweep and rushed reporters out off his office to make the flight. Before the blood even dried. Before he could have a single team meeting.
     
    College graduation is an important personal event and the father should be there, but, looking at the details a little closer, it is obvious that it is just an excuse for Ron Gardenhire to take a break and leave the team he led to the worse record in the majors, on the very night of arguably their lowest point in the season. Let's look at the facts:

    Ron Gardenhire's daughter is attending the Southwest Minnesota State University at Marshall, MN. According to the University's web site, commencement takes place at 10 AM this Saturday. Commencement exercises of schools that size, usually take about 1.5-2 hours. The Twins are playing the Mariners at Seattle this Friday at 7:10 PM, this Saturday at 6:10 PM and this Sunday at 1:10 PM (all local,PDT times.)
    The drive to Marshall, MN home of the Southwest Minnesota State University, where his daughter is graduating at 10 AM is 2 hrs and 46 minutes according to Bing Maps. The ride from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to Safeco Park, where the Twins are playing this weekend, according the same source, takes 18 minutes. Also Marshall is the home of the Southwest Minnesota Regional Airport.
    It takes about 3 hrs to fly from the Twin Cities area to Seattle and vice versa
    Given those facts, Ron Gardenhire had 3 options:

    Option 1: Stay with the sinking ship, making the flight to Seattle, managing the team Friday night and taking a private plane (I assume that the Pohlads or the team would allow the use of their private planes, esp if Gardenhire pitched in for gas; or he could have arranged for one) that night or early morning to Marshall arriving in plenty of time for the graduation. Also a 2 PM Marshall departure which would allow plenty of time for pictures and a lunch, would have had him back in Seattle by 3 PM local time, plenty of time to go to the ballpark and manage the 6:10 Saturday game. This way, he would have done his duty to his family and his team. There was no conflict, just inconvenience and cost.
    Option 2: Stay with the sinking ship, making the flight to Seattle, managing the team Friday night and taking the red eye commercial flight Friday night. I want to think that someone who makes millions a year can afford a private plane and he has access to the team's plane, but let's say that he does not. Delta Airlines flight 1014 leaves Seattle at 12:30 AM local time Saturday morning and arrives in Minneapolis at 5:46 AM local time. Plenty of time to arrive at Marshall at about 8:30 for the 10:00 commencement. The ceremony ends around 11:30 AM. The ride to the airport might make the 2:20 PM flight arriving Seattle at 3:35 PM (in time to manage the whole game) a bit tight (and I assume that he is poor enough not to get private air transport from Marshall to Minneapolis), but the next flight leaving at 5:35 PM and arriving at Seattle at 7:13 PM is doable and allows him to spend an hour or two for lunch and pictures before he joins the Twins. Arriving at Seattle at 7:13 will get him at the ballpark and in uniform before 8:00 PM (the ride is only 18 minutes according to Bing Maps). That is about half way into the game. So he would have missed only half a game and do his paternal duty, but be a bit inconvenienced also.
    Option 3: Abandon the sinking ship, taking the next flight out in the middle of the night, arriving in his Minnesota home more than 2 days before he needed to be there, stay longer than he needs to be there, miss Sunday's game. Let his team come to him in Minnesota and play alone, headless, three games at Seattle right after they were swept by the Angels, right after a no-hitter against them, while he is having a nice and comfy 4-day weekend. That was the option chosen.
    Maritime Law is stern and specific. The Twins' front office has (vaguely) been talking about "accountability" last off-season. The captain abandoned his ship. And he did not have to. The facts are there. It is more than time that the ship finds a new captain who respects his position and follows his duty, trying to right it when it is ready to break, instead of abandoning it and let it sink even further.
     
     
     
    http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8146/6993287178_3b8e20786d_z.jpg
  12. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ----
     
    This is the fourth installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series.
     
     
     
     
    In the last 2 series against the Royals (abbreviated 2-game series because of a rain out) and at the Angels the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .214/.276/.321 with 1 HR and scored 16 runs. This helped them finish only 1-4 in these series.
     
     
     
     
    The Twins Hitter of the Week was:
     
     
     
    Danny Valencia
     
     
     
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7108/6992918654_9932b1062a_z.jpg
     
     
     
     
    .400/.400/.600 6 H, 2 2B, 1 3B, 3 RBI, 2 R in 15 plate appearances
     
     
     
     
    As with the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was equally responsible for their 1-4 record against the
    Royals and the Angels. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 5.79 ERA, allowing 49 hits (including 9 home runs, 8 doubles and a triple,) 28 Runs (all but 1 earned) in 42 innings, facing 183 batters. They threw 636 total pitches and 392 of them were strikes. The walked 11 and struck out 13. This results in a 1.43 WHIP, 2.8 K/9 and 1.2 K/BB.
     
     
     
     
    The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was:
     
     
     
     
     
    Jared Burton
     
     
     
     
    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7096786667_37f511b18d_z.jpg
     
     
    2 Games, 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 0 K
  13. Thrylos
    Here is this week's installment:
     
     


     
    Tonight Fransisco Liriano will make his next start after he has been skipped in the rotation. I hope the gods of Fastball grand him command, control and deceitfulness
     
    Luke Hughes was designated for assignment by the Athletics yesterday to make room for Brandon Inge. The Twins have the opportunity to re-sign him and right a wrong
     
    Interesting to see Jason Marquis being the Twins' most reliable starter so far in this young season and that he only has walked 2 (and struck out 18) in 31.3 IP. If this continues, the Twins will be in for a pleasant surprise.
     
    One of the newest Twins because the newest daddy in the Twins six days ago.
     
    Today is the deadline for potential international free agents to declare with MLB their intention to potentially sign with a team, per the new collaborative agreement. These are players like Miguel Sano, who can sign anytime after July 2nd when they turn 16 years old. The declaration of intend with MLB is new, it creates a more even playing field and gets the "handlers" out of the equation. At some point there will be a list of players who declared, so there will be better profiles and presentations before July 2nd.
     
    Few interesting pieces of trivia about the current Twins' broadcaster (and former SS) Roy Smalley: a. he was drafted 4 times but did not singed until he was drafted first overall by the Texas Rangers. b. He was traded to the Twins from the Rangers for the man who he replaced on the booth (Bert Blyleven). c. he was traded from the Twins to the Yankees for Ron Davis and Greg Gagne.
     
    A great writeup about Danny Valencia in his home town paper
     
    Meanwhile, a Twins' player was engaged last Sunday, and Twins' prospect RHP Ryan O'Rourke writes about Minor Leaguers and housing.
     
    Wonder whether that stuffed animal in a particular Twins' player's locker has any significance.
     
    Add another misguided release of a minor leaguer to those of Danny Osterbrock and Pedro Guerra: The Twins released Tony Davis last Friday,while they keep signing up 30-something never had beens and assigning them to Rochester. In fact, the Twins' organization has been so class-less in the treatment of its minor leaguers that released Davis while having a broken thumb and stopped his medical insurance. I hope that they do the right thing, because I am not sure that I am liking the new Twins' way... And apparently he is not the only Twins' minor leaguer who was released while injured and the only unhappy one.
     
    Speaking of Minor League transactions, there were several promotions this week, the 2 most notable with Twins MLB implications: Deolis Guerra (of Johan Santana trade fame) was promoted from New Britain to
    Rochester and BJ Hermsen was promoted from Fort Myers to New Britain. Why would those promotions have MLB implications? Guerra and Hermsen have been the best relief and strating pitcher respectively in the organization so far in 2012. Guerra will be out of options in 2013, so he will have to be in the TWins' pen or gone in 2013. He is on the 40-man roster, so it is almost certain that sometime this season he will play in Minnesota. BJ Hermsen, 23, is a starter whose career development path resembles that of Liam Hendriks. If he continues well in New Britain this season he likely would be in the conversation for one of the many openings in the Twins' rotation in 2013.
     
    Speaking of Rochester, May has been proclaimed Baseball Month in Rochester. There are some cool things going on there and this involves the Red Wings and not the Empire State Yankees, so it should be fun if you are alocal Twins' or Wings' fan.
     
    It is amazing that even some or the biggest Ron Gardenhire supporters and Minnesota Twins' traditionalists out there are started to look at the Manager situation similar to me. Sample number 1 and Sample number 2.
     
    Twins who had birthdays the last week: Adrian Salcedo (21st), Ryan O'Rourke (24th) and Luis Perdomo (28th)
     
    The Twins are ranked as the worse team in the majors by the big sports web site this week.
     
    The Twins' product of the week, is a really cool book. A bucket list: 100 Things Twins Fans Should Know and Do Before They Diehttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=1600785549

    The parting shot today is of BJ Hermsen who was promoted to AA New Britain Rock Cats a couple days ago
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7210/6982516862_0a29443d74_z.jpg
     
     
     
     
     
     
    As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.
  14. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ----
     
    This is the first 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
     
    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:
     
     

    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg


     
     
     
     
    Catchers:
     
    J.R. Towles (RHB, 28, AAA) .111/.200/.222 0 HR, 0 RBI, 3 H, 31 PA
    Jairo Rodriguez (RHB, 23, A+) .100/.182/.167 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 H, 35 PA
     
    Infielders:
     
    Tsuyioshi Nishioka (SHB, 27, AAA) .203/.299/.237 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3/5 SB, 68 PA
    Estarlin De Los Santos (SHB, 25, AA) .231/.250/.231 0 HR, 1 RBI, 40 PA
    Angerson Hidalgo (RHB, 23, A+) .143/.200/.286 0 HR, 0 RBI, 31 PA
    Andy Leer (RHB, 24, A+) .074/.167/.111 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2H, 30 PA
    Tyler Grimes (RHB, 21, A) .145/.288/.236 0 HR, 3 RBI, 2/4 SB, 66 PA
     
     
    Outfielders:
     
    Darin Mastroianni (RHB, 26, AAA/AA) .207/.258/.224 0 HR, 1 RBI, 63 PA
    Ben Revere (LHB, 24, MLB/AAA) .211/.211/.211 0 HR, 1 RBI, 0 SB, 38 PA
    Marc Dolenc (RHB, 27, AA) .182/.217/.182 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2/4 SB, 44 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) .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:
     
    Marty Popham (24,A+) 5.40 ERA, 1.800 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 1.57 K/BB
    Matt Summers (22, A) 7.36 ERA, 1.636 WHIP, 4.91 K/9, 0.89 K/BB
     
    LH Starters:
     
    Logan Darnell (23,AA) 5.21 ERA, 1.632 WHIP, 4.74 K/9, 1.00 K.BB
     
    RH Relievers:
     
    Brendan Wise (26, AAA) 5.40 ERA, 2.100 WHIP, 2.70 K/9, 0.4 K/BB
    David Bromberg (24, AA) 15.00 ERA, 2.833 WHIP, 3 K/9, 0.5 K/BB
    Bruce Pugh (23, A+) 9.45 ERA, 2.700 WHIP, 10.80 K/9, 1.6 K/BB
     
    LH Relievers:
     
    Tony Davis, (24, A+) 15.19 ERA, 2.438 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 1.33 K/BB
    Bart Carter (24, A) 6.43 ERA, 1.857 WHIP, 11.57 K/9, 2.25 K/BB
    Clint Dempster (22, A) 3.68 ERA, 1.909 WHIP, 6.14 K/9, 0.83 K/BB
  15. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ----
     
    This is the third installment in this series. You can find all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series.
     
     
     
     
    In the last 2 series against the Rays and Red Sox the Twins as a team hit an underpowered .241/.326/.310 with 1 HR and scored 21 runs. This helped them finish only 1-5 in these series.
     
     
     
     
    The Twins Hitter of the Week was:
     
     
     
    Joe Mauer
     
     
     
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7080/6973664534_9f3a089bbe_z.jpg
     
     
     
     
    .409/.500/.409 9 H, 4 RBI, 2 R in 26 plate appearances
     
     
     
     
    As with the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was equally responsible for their 1-5 record against the Rays and the Red Sox. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 6.23 ERA, allowing 58 hits (including 9 home runs, 11 doubles and a triple,) 38 Runs (all but 2 earned) in 52 innings, facing 224 batters. They threw 891 total pitches and 553 of them were strikes. They walked 17 and struck out 40. This results in a 1.44 WHIP, 6.9 K/9 and 2.4 K/BB.
     
     
     
     
    The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was:
     
     
     
     
     
    Anthony Swarzak
     
     
     
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7119747105_7d36d4407a_z.jpg
     
     
    2 Games, 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4K
  16. Thrylos
    Here is this week's installment:
     
     


     
    Very disappointing loss to the Red Sox last night, but some highlight reel plays and lots of near misses. Unfortunately that left the Twins with a 5-12 record, seven games under .500 and 5.5 games behind the Tigers.
     
    The official rule 4 MLB draft order has been announced and the Twins have 6 picks in the top 100, including the second overall pick
     
    Phillip Humber, another player discarded by the Twins, pitched a perfect game last Saturday. Add that to his performance for the White Sox in 2011 and the Johan Santana package looks better for the Twins. They just did not know what to do with what they got...
     
    If you wonder about some of the activities of some of the Twins' top prospects, you got to see this
     
    And if you wonder how life on the road is for minor leagues, make your you read this blog by AJ Petterson who is playing for the Beloit Snappers
     
    This is a great writeup for another Ballpark that has an anniversary this year, albeit closer to the Twins' home
     
    Next Saturday at Target Field is "Ben Revere Bat Giveaway Day". Great planning.
     
    Twins' fans, if you are into running or even thought about getting into running (there is plenty of time), make sure that you register for the Fiteens5K this August. A great charity, run by Glen Perkins and his wife Alisha and a great downtown Minneapolis race which includes a free ticket to a Twins game in the Rays' series and lots of Twins giveaway goodies. And to sweeten the deal the race ends at Target Field, every finisher will
    receive a medal and Twins' players will be hanging out those medals. Just do it! I might even consider flying to the Cities for this race.
     
    This is very sad: A particular former Twins' prospect (was released before the season begun) started with this tweet and then started digging himself deeper... his timeline is here. Amazing. Not what you do when you look for a job, kiddo. An apology came later but still...
     
    The Twins' product of the week, is the MLB Men's Minnesota Twins 3/4 Sleeve Crew Neck Featherweight Tech Fleece Pullover by Majestic http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B006YEIZ5S I saw a couple of players were those in Fort Myers and are a killer look.

    The parting shot today is of Josh Burris. The Folks over at Twins' Daily have started an "adopt a prospect" theme and Josh Burris its the Twins' prospect I adopted. You can read all about it here (and adopt your own prospect) and can follow my Josh Burris updates here.
     
     
     
     
    http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8013/7107694721_2a0ab17e06_z.jpg
     
    As always you can find all the Random Tuesday Twins Thoughts and Tidbits Posts here, in reverse chronological order.
  17. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Innning Stretch
    -----
    This is the first version of the 'who is hot in the Twins' minors' series for 2012. I have been doing this for a few years now and 3 weeks into the 2012 season, there are enough IPs and PAs and is about time I get the first version of 2012 out. I will be updating those in pretty much monthly basis.
     
    About a month into the minor league seasons now, it is not surprising to confirm that the Twins have a nice pitching depth in all levels of their minors (including LHP, which has been one of the organizational weaknesses in recent seasons. It is nice to see a balance between leftie and rightie arms, even though it is early in the season) There are several pitchers in Rochester who can jump in and contribute with the big team, as necessary.
     
    The bats are a bit cool this time of the year, but it is nice to see that the Twins' top prospects are pretty hot. Speaking on top prospects, Angel Morales after a lost 2011, is quickly putting himself back to the top prospect list. Also nice, as far as the big club goes, is the fact that Brian Dozier and Mike Hollimon are hot in Rochester, in case the Twins need middle infield help (the only position that is not backed up well in the major league club).
     
    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:
     
     
     
     
    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7098789651_02fb66b359_z.jpg
     
     
     
     
     
    Catchers:
     
     
     
     
     
    Infielders:
     
     
     
    Brian Dozier (RHB, 25 AAA) .310/.375/.466 1 HR, 6 RBI, 64 PA
    Michael Hollimon (SHB, 30, AAA) .256/.341/.487 2 HR, 2 RBI, 44 PA
    Deibinson Romero (RHB, 25, AA) .293/.359/.552 3 HR, 13 RBI, 64 PA
    Miguel Sano (RHB, 19, A) .314/.453/.765 6 HR, 18 RBI, 64 PA
    Eddie Rosario (LHB, 20, A) .296/.397/.426 1 HR, 11 RBI, 6 SB, 63 PA
     
     
     
    Outfielders:
     
     
    Angel Morales (RHB, 22, A+) .382/.426/.509 1 HR, 7 RBI, 3 SB, 62 PA
    Lance Ray (LHB, 22, A+) .256/.333/.512 2 HR, 10 RBI, 51 PA
    Aaron Hicks (SHB, 22, AA) .255/.338/.491 3 HR, 10 RBI, 65 PA
    Evan Bigley (RHB, 25, AA) .295/.343/.459 1 HR, 10 RBI, 67 PA
     
     
     
    1st basemen/DH:
     
     
     
    Chris Colabello (RHB, 28, AA) .333/.415/.711 4 HR, 12 RBI, 54 PA
     
     
     
    RH Starters:
     
     
     
    Cole DeVries (27, AAA) 2.87 ERA, 0.957 WHIP, 8.62 K/9, 3.75 K/BB
    Samuel Deduno (28, AAA) 3.94 ERA, 1.250 WHIP, 7.31 K/9, 2.17 K/BB
    PJ Walters (27, AAA) 3.38 ERA, 1.266 WHIP, 6.33 K/9, 7 K/BB
    Steve Hirschfeld (26, AA) 1.06 ERA, 0.941 WHIP, 7.94 K/9, 3.75 K/BB
    BJ Hermsen (22, A+) 0.50 ERA, 0.722 WHIP, 5.0 K/9, 2.5 K/BB
     
     
     
    LH Starters:
     
     
     
    Scott Diamond (25, AAA) 1.47 ERA, 1.200 WHIP, 6.87 K/9, 2.80 K/BB
    Luke French (26, AA) 1.52 ERA, 0.930 WHIP, 5.32 K/9, 1.17 K/BB
    Logan Darnell (23, AA) 2.81 ERA, 1.188 WHIP, 5.63 K/9, 1.67 K/BB
    Andrew Albers (26, AA) 5.54 ERA. 1.231 WHIP, 6.23 K/0, inf K/BB
    Jason Wheeler (21. A) 2.40 ERA, 1.267 WHIP, 6 K/9, 2 K/BB
     
     
     
    RH Relievers:
     
     
     
    Casey Fien (28, AAA) 1.80 ERA, 1.100 WHIP, 8.10 K/9, 9 K/BB
    Jeff Manship (27, AAA) 0.82 ERA, 1.273 WHIP, 8.18 K/9, 2.5 K/BB
    Deolis Guerra (23,AA) 0.84 ERA, 0.469 WHIP, 8.44 K/9, 10 K/BB
    Dan Turpen (25, AA) 2.89 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 8.68 K/9, inf K/BB
    John Garcia (25, A+) 2.53 ERA, 1.031 WHIP, 6.75 K/9, 2.67 K/BB
    AJ Achter (23, A) 0.87 ERA, 0.677 WHIP, 12.19 K/9, 4.67 K/BB
    Michael Tonkin (22, A) 0.96 ERA, 0.964 WHIP, 9.64 K/9, 5 K/BB
     
     
     
    LH Relievers:
     
     
     
    Tyler Robertson (24, AAA) 4.70 ERA, 0.783 WHIP, 11.74 K/9, 5 K/BB
    Caleb Thielbar (25, A+) 0.00 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 11.05 K/9, 9 K/BB
    Jose Gonzalez (22, A+) 3.86 ERA, 0.857 WHIP, 9 K/9, 3.5 K/BB
    Edgar Ibarra (23, A+) 0.90 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 5.40 K/9, 6 K/BB
    Corey Williams (21, A) 3.86 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 9 K/9, 7 K/BB
    Ryan O'Rourke (24, A) 1.23 ERA, 0.818 WHIP, 8.59 K/9, 3.5 K/BB
    Matthew Tomshaw (23, A) 4.15 ERA, 1.269 WHIP, 10.38 K/9, 10 K/BB
  18. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ---
     
    Yesterday, I have written why Luke Hughes got a rotten deal but the Twins, but I think I let another reason out: this was a great way for Twins' manager Ron Gardenhire to get his consanguine Drew Butera up to majors, claiming that he could use 3 catchers.
     
     
     
    Interestingly enough, Stealing a page from Pontius Pilatus' book, Terry Ryan, the Twins' interim GM, washed his hands from accountability on player personnel decisions in the Twins' organization, especially the Luke Hughes release, attributing those decisions to Ron Gardenhire and proclaimed that his role is "just" that of a facilitator (last paragraph in the linked article.)
     
     
     
    So Terry Ryan's role is to "facilitate" Ron Gardenhire's personnel decisions. Yesterday, within half day after I tweeted this, my fears about Gardenhire's true intentions were confirmed by Rhett Bollinger the Twins' MLB.com beat writer... Also in the last paragraph of this writeup by La Velle Neal and in the last paragraph of this one by Rhett Bollinger, albeit a bit subdued by quotes of Gardenhire not being sure of what he wants to do and that he wants "to do the right thing" (unfortunately, the time for the latter has passed...)
     
     
     
    Here is the reason why Luke Hughes was released:
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7094507787_d053a7396b_o.jpg
     
     
    When that decision will be announced, expect to hear about how that will provide the club with versatility and about how much better Drew has been hitting this season in Rochester. Meanwhile, hints like the ones I mentioned previously about Butera's ascent to the major leagues will be coming slowly and steadily...
     
     
     
     
    I hope that the Twins' fans and ownership have long enough memories and hold accountable the people who are responsible for losing...
  19. Thrylos
    Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ---
     
    This is the second installment in this series. You can find the first one here and all of them here in reverse chronological order. I will be doing these approximately weekly or at the end of every 2 series.
     
    In the last 2 series against the Yankees and Rangers the Twins as a team hit a respectable .279/.328/.434 with 6 HR and scored 28 runs. This was not enough to get them to finish better than 2-5 in these series. Part of the problem was striking out 52 times in 271 plate appearances, grounding into 6 double plays and stranding 54 runners, an average of 7.7 runners a game.
     
     
    The Twins Hitter of the Week was:
     
     
     
    Justin Morneau
     
     
     
     
    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5468/6950716222_e8d81b2235_z.jpg
     
     
     
     
    .261/.370/.652 3 HR, 4 RBI, 6 R in 27 plate appearances
     
     
     
     
    Unlike the hitting, the Twins' pitching in the last 2 series was primarily responsible for their 2-7 record against the Rangers and the Yankees. As a team, the Twins pitched to a 5.46 ERA, allowing 79 hits (including 13 home runs, 15 doubles and a triple,) 37 Runs (all earned) in 61 innings, facing 272 batters. They threw 959 total pitches and 612 of them were strikes. The walked 14 and struck out 35. This results in a 1.53 WHIP, 5.2 K/9 and 2.5 K/BB.
     
     
     
     
    The Twins' Pitcher of the Week was:
     
     
     
     
     
    Jared Burton
     
     
     
     
    http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5346/7096786667_37f511b18d_z.jpg
     
     
    3 Games, 3.3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 5K
  20. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ---
     
    By now the fact that the Twins have designated Luke Hughes for assignment to clear a 25-man roster for Jason Marquis is old news. I have always felt that Luke Hughes was a player with a lot of potential but for some reason the Twins did not see that and unfortunately might be added to a list of players including David Ortiz, Sergio Santos and Garrett Jones who have flourished after the Twins released them.
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7264/6947325476_e4a0b9fc13_o.jpg
     
     
    Why Luke Hughes got a rotten deal by the Twins?
    He was not given a chance when he deserved it, but was by-passed for lesser players: In 2008 when he was 23 years old,in a season split between Rochester and New Britain he hit .309/.369/.524 with 18 HR. If Brian Dozier has these numbers in 2012 in Rochester at age 25 and he is not with the Twins in 2013, there will be cries of "bloody murder" all over. Instead of giving Hughes a chance to a starting job in 2009, the Twins signed 34 year old Orlando Cabrera, 31 year old Joe Crede, and acquired 28 year old Brendan Harris. In addition they gave additional bench and starting opportunities to Matt Tolbert (27) and Brian Buscher (28) who
    never had any talent.
    Luke Hughes has a rare talent: He is a power hitting middle infielder who can be a late bloomer. Luke's career major league isoP is .118 in 335 plate appearances. Hiscareer minor league slash line is .268/.330/.419 (.155 isoP) up to his age 26 season. This compares pretty nicely to Dan Uggla's career MiLB numbers (.276/.347/.442, .166 isoP) who had to be a rule 5 pick up afterhis age 26 season to flourish. Luke Hughes has Dan Uggla potential which was either not seen or not appreciated by the Twins
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/6947325536_be77e1daee_o.jpg
    Luke Hughes is a versatile player: There have been rumors recently around Luke Hughes. By now Twins'
    fans with an open mind know how those originate: usually when the team (read Ron Gardenhire) does not like someone, certain writers are given tidbits to spread around. Slowey and Perkins (during his grievance season) are a couple of recent examples; even more recently the manager and the interim general manager were publicly saying that they were frustrated by Scott Baker's unwillingness to "let it rip", while the guy had a torn UCL.) The rumors that you will hear about Luke Hughes is that a. he is not a versatile player and b. his defense was suspect. To kill this right away, Luke played all positions in the field, including pitching a scoreless inning (one hit allowed) in a game with the New Britain Rock Cats in 2007, other than Catcher; this season Gardenhire himself named him the Twins' emergency catcher. So if that is not being versatile, I am not sure what versatility is. As a matter of fact, Luke has played more positions than Michael Cuddyer (who cannot play LF) who has been a darling of his manager and thus the Twin Cities media.
    Luke Hughes is an above average fielder. The second part of the rumor mill you will hear is that Luke Hughes is not a "good enough fielder" (and ironically this will start from the same people who were starting Mike Cuddyer at 2B and CF last season.) The fact is that in limited opportunities on the field in 3 seasons in MLB, his fielding has been 4.1 runs above average based on Fangraphs' fielding WAR. He saved 5 runs above average based on Baseball Info Solutions defensive runs saved above average. In 319.3 innings his UZR/150 at 2B has been +6.8, and in 282 innings, his UZR/150at 1B has been +11.0.
    They are lesser players still with the Twins. There is absolutely no reason the Luke Hughes should be designated for assignment and Sean Burroughs and Jeff Gray remain with the Club. Do the Twins really need 13 pitchers? Terry Ryan spoke about accountability when he was named the interim manager. I hope that he holds himself and his field manager accountable for their decisions.
    I wish the best luck to Luke Hughes who has been in the Minnesota Twins' family for 10 years. Hopefully he will pass waivers and be in Rochester and come back with the Twins under better front office and field management circumstances
     
     
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7179/7093396495_dfb5f74075_o.jpg
  21. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ---
     
    Here is this week's installment, tax deadline edition:

    Public service announcement: If you have not filed your taxes yet, uncle Sam gives you till midnight tonight to do so
    Twins' OF Josh Willingham, after he was named Twins' position player of the week here, was officially named AL player of the week.
    The Twins finally win the opening game of a series in Yankee Stadium. Last time they accomplished that feat it was early May of 2001.
    Good luck to Scott Baker who is going under the knife of Dr David Atcheck today in New York City to repair his flexor pronator tendon. Wonder if his teammates will drop by to say hi before their game tonight at Yankee Stadium.
    Speaking of Twins' games at Yankee Stadium Version 2.0, Jason Marquis is coming back to the Twins and starting the game tomorrow. A roster move needs to be made to accommodate him in the 25-man roster.
    Add the newly acquired Clete Thomas to the list of players who have homered in their first game with the Twins
    Another one from the Twins' witch doctors' archives. Apparently the diagnosis of Kyle Waldrop's injury is a "strained UCL" (towards the bottom of the article). Such a thing does not exist. It is up there with a "Shoulder Cramp" (Nick Blackburn) and "Inflamed Forearm" (Glen Perkins). Terry Ryan said something about "accountability" when was appointed interim GM last November. More and more this sounds like hot air now, unfortunately, since he not only approbates these announcements, but is the one who feeds them to the press.
    The Twins' product of the week, is the Minnesota Twins Grant Cleanup Adjustable Cap http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B0043AHZL0 I really love the way these look.
    The parting shot today is of Scott Baker who is under the knife. I hope everything turns out OK and he rehabs fine and signs an-incentive-laden 1yr deal with the Twins for 2013 after they decline to pick his option.
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7117/7084404991_a1e574f295_o.jpg
  22. Thrylos
    Originally Published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ----
    The Twins have announced that they have selected OF Clete Thomas, on waivers from Detroit. Clete Thomas bats left-handed and has played in all 3 outfield positions, but he has more experience in Right Field. After Darin Mastroianni, he is the second OF on waivers claimed by the Twins in 2012. He will take Scott Baker's 40-man roster spot and a corresponding move (either demoting Ben Revere who has options or waiving ineffective LHB Sean Burroughs) will be made before the Twins' game tomorrow, to clear a 25-man roster spot for Clete Thomas.
     
    Here are five little known facts about Clete:

    He was drafted by the Twins on the 5th round of the 2003 draft but did not sign and went to Auburn University instead. Drafted by the Tigers on the 6th round of the 2005 draft as a Junior.
    His High School team won the State Championship (Florida) in 2002 when he was a senior at Mosley High School
    He was a member of the 1996 U.S. South Region Champs that advanced to the Little League World Series
    His first name is Micheal, but goes by his middle name Clete and has a brother, Alex, who is 18 years his junior
    He underwent Tommy John surgery; a rarity for position players; he is close friends with Denard Span and will be wearing number 36 with the Twins, recently vacated by Joe Nathan.
    http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/Clete_Thomas_2009.jpg/521px-Clete_Thomas_2009.jpg
  23. Thrylos
    Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ---
     
    The Twins are 2-4 in this early season, after being swept in their first series at Baltimore and winning the series against one of the AL darlings, the LA Angels at the home opener at Target Field, 2-1. This series win is very hopeful, because if they Twins win 60-70% of their series, they will be in the post-season. They stand at 50% right now and winning the Rangers' series, will put them at 66%, which is right on course.
     
    A position player and a pitcher stood above and beyond the Twins' peers this week and they are the Twins' players of the week.
     
    Position player: Josh Willingham:
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7045/7073742679_f68b0dc8b3_o.jpg
     
    .409/.458/1.000 4 HR, 7 RBI, 1 2B, 1 BB, 5 K, (24 PA)
     
    Pitcher: Glen Perkins:
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7058/6927661912_4eac00f7b5_o.jpg
     
    .000 ERA, 0.545 WHIP, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K (3.2 IP)
  24. Thrylos
    Did you wonder when is the Birthday of your favorite player in the Twins' Organization? Did you know that Brian Dozier and Justin Morneau shared Birthdays? So do Chris Parmelee and Nick Blackburn. And the NewBritain clubhouse will have a lot of fun on August 20th, the shared birthday of both their pitching and hitting coaches (Bobby Cuellar and Tom Brunansky). And do you know the most popular day as far as Twins' organization players and staff birthdays go? It is November 24th when 6 members of the organization celebrate their birthdays. Here is the list of more than 200 birthdays in the organization; it can also serve as an organizational roster. A couple of caveats: A. Some players who are mentioned in the list are no longer with the organization. This will probably clear when the short season leagues are announced. B. Some players in the Twins' organization (esp. the new International Signees not in Extended Spring Training who will play in the DSL or will join the organization this summer,) as well as the managers and coaching staff at the short season leagues are not listed. I do not list front office/announcer/broadcaster etc birthdays.
     
    Without further ado (and please help fill any gaps) :
     
    For space considerations, please visit The Tenth Inning Stretch for the full list of the Twins' organization birthdays
  25. Thrylos
    This was originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch
    ---
     
    Here is this week's installment:

    The opening day was a bummer but featured somewhat a comeback, for which I was thankful. Still the Twins lost, which is not good. My thoughts as I was watching that game are here. The second game debacle did not put me in a great mood and the third game was the cherry on top. At least there were a couple of bright points: Swarzak's performance on short notice, Jamey Carroll's defense, Frankie Liriano's first inning. Glen Perkins and Brian Duensing have done a remarkable job when called upon.
    The home opener yesterday afternoon was pretty interesting, until the manager of the millennium per habit, left Blackburn in a batter or 2 too many. After 4 games the Twins as a team are hitting a collective Buteraesque: .165/.252/.240 and only Josh Willingham (1.390/239 OPS+) and Justin Morneau (.829/149 OPS+) have OPS higher than league average
    The Twins are 14th in the AL in OPS and Runs Scored, 12th in ERA, 10th in WHIP and Runs allowed/game and 11th in Runs Allowed so far. But the Defense has improved: They are 8th (and above league average) for Defensive Efficiency and tied for 4th for Total Fielding Runs above average. I would not be surprised to see Mr Brunansky as the hitting coach soon
    Scary thought: Matt Maloney might be part of the Twins' rotation in 2013.
    Apparently with all the issues Scott Baker had in Spring Training, his first MRI was after his failed start with the Miracle last week. I hope that Terry Ryan who has been blowing hot air about accountability explains that
    Ken Rosenthal wrote this incredible story about the bike accident of Reese Marquis and her healing. A MUST read, especially if you have kids. You might understand what Jason Marquis was going through.
    Looks like the Twins jumped up a few spots on these and these pre-opening day power rankings
    From the cannot make it up department: Matt Capps' middle name is "Dicus" (No K). I swear. Look it up.
    Twins' middle infield prospect with the Beloit Snappers AJ Pettersen Is trying to explain the art of choosing a walkout song.
    R.A. Dickey's Wherever I Wind Up: My Quest for Truth, Authenticity and the Perfect Knuckleballhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=0399158154 is great. A must read feel good story from a former Twins' pitcher.
    The Twins' product of the week, is the MLB Men's Minnesota Twins Arch Classic Long Sleeve Full Zip Hooded Fleece, in Athletic Navyhttp://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=biowriters&l=as2&o=1&a=B004YIY3N4. You cannot beat the price and I picked one for myself to wear at my local ballpark.

     
    The parting shot today is of Mr Nicholas Blackburn. He was alright in the home opener, until Gardenhire left him in a couple batters too long:
     
    http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7069/7064953867_71872c52f7_o.jpg
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