Nick Nelson

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4641[/ATTACH]Kyle-a-palooza? Gibsanity? Gibsmas? Whatever you wanted to call it, Kyle Gibson's debut on Saturday generated a palpable buzz throughout Twins Territory. Eagerly awaited and long overdue, the rookie's arrival aids a pitching staff amidst its third straight year of sub-mediocrity. He doesn't profile as one of the league's elite pitchers, but Gibson is likely the best pitching prospect to graduate from the Twins' system since Matt Garza in 2006, and he showed why in his debut. Gibson came as advertised, delivering with high velocity and impressive command from an imposing 6'6" frame. The 25-year-old exhibited no signs of jitters as he fired 64 of 91 pitches for strikes and issued no walks. The Royals managed eight hits in six innings, but few of them were hit hard and Gibson limited the damage to two runs in an easy victory. Some voices have warned that expectations for the right-hander might be getting out of hand. Even his ardent supporters would admit that Gibson probably doesn't have the upside of a top-tier pitcher in the major leagues. But so what? There was an awful lot to like in Saturday's performance. Gibson displayed poise that was, in light of all he has gone through to get to this point, shocking. He peppered the lower regions of the strike zone with a heavy fastball that routinely whizzed in at 92-93 MPH and occasionally touched 95. That's a number Twins fans aren't accustomed to seeing with anyone other than Glen Perkins on the hill. It might be that "so overrated he's underrated" phenomenon, but I get the sense that some are actually underselling Gibson's ability to an extent. In his first big-league game, he was constantly locating a power sinker around knee level, mixing in breaking balls that made people miss. He's done those things throughout his career, when healthy. Guys with that kind of stuff/command combo often excel in the majors, and if Saturday was any indication, Gibson has the makeup to match. Will he ever be Stephen Strasburg? No. But can he be the No. 1 starter in a quality rotation? I'd say so. Keep in mind that the Twins haven't had a true "ace" since Johan Santana's departure, and have still made the playoffs twice since then. Of course, it's not Gibson that the Twins are eyeing as the next potential arm to earn that vaunted ace label. That would be Alex Meyer, who was acquired in return for Denard Span during the offseason. When he came over from Washington, Meyer instantly became the highest-upside pitcher in the system. The ideal scenario was that Meyer and Gibson (and perhaps Trevor May, if he ever refined his control enough) could join forces atop the embattled Minnesota rotation, helping usher in a return to contention sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, as well as things are currently going for Gibson, the developments surrounding Meyer have been far more troubling. The 24-year-old hasn't pitched in a month due to shoulder soreness, and now there appears to be some doubt over whether he'll pitch again this year at all. Asked earlier this month about the prospect's status, Ryan said that MRI results had come back clean and that Meyer was fine, adding, "I don't think anybody thought it was that serious." Twins fans breathed a sigh of relief. And yet, three weeks later, Meyer still has not pitched competitively. It doesn't look like he's especially close to doing so. Over the weekend, New Britain manager Jeff Smith had this to say about the righty: "Hopefully by the end of the season, really just later in the season, he'll be able to pitch in some games." Matt Straub, who covers the Rock Cats for the New Britain Herald, inferred that to mean Meyer would be out for at least the entire month of July. The Twins insist that they're just playing it cautious with Meyer, who is on a throwing program in Ft. Myers, but it's tough not to be alarmed with the indefinite return date. Shoulder problems are always scary for young hurlers, and Meyer -- whose delivery is high-stress in nature as he delivers in the upper-90s from a wiry 6'9" build with a three-quarters arm slot -- has always presented more risk than most. Hopefully, this truly is an instance where the team is taking every possible precaution with a young man who might be the single most important asset in the entire organization at this point. But fans will find little comfort in Ryan's assertions that everything is fine, especially when we know this to be the front office's initial assurance in the case of every injury, even those that prove severe. And hell, maybe we should be worrying a little more about Gibson's shoulders. After all, he's carrying a heavy burden as the brightest hope for the Twins rotation in the foreseeable future. Until Meyer successfully returns to the mound or May takes a step forward, Gibson will remain alone in that designation.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4605[/ATTACH]On Thurdsay, the Twins and Royals kicked off a four-game series at Target Field. The two teams are nearly even in the standings, although the ways they've reached their present records have been drastically different. Kansas City owns the American League's lowest team ERA by a sizable margin, thanks in large part to the additions of James Shields and Ervin Santana, who have both been fantastic. Meanwhile, Minnesota's staff has been among the league's worst. So, with all their success on the mound, what is preventing the Royals from more fervently challenging the Tigers in the Central? The culprit, to a large extent, is an offense that has proven shockingly incapable of hitting for power. With the season's halfway point approaching, KC has tallied only 43 home runs, pacing them to become the first AL team to fall short of triple-digits in a season since the strike-shortened 1994 campaign. This dearth of dingers can be traced to two young players who the Royals expected to contribute heavily in the middle of the lineup. Eric Hosmer and Mike Moustakas simply aren't getting the job done, and the duo represents a cautionary tale that Twins fans ought not ignore. Prior to the 2011 season, Hosmer and Moustakas were ranked by Baseball America as the No. 8 and 9 prospects in baseball. Having combined for 56 home runs in the minors in 2010, the pair profiled as two of baseball's best up-and-coming power bats. Yet, while there have certainly been glimpses of greatness -- Hosmer launched 19 homers and finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting in 2011, while Moustakas went deep 20 times at age 23 last year -- the overall results have been mixed at best, and this year both have been key figures in the struggles of the Royals offense. Although each player has been healthy enough to appear in the majority of Kansas City's games, both have hit only four homers. Moustakas sits with a brutal hitting line of .210/.269/.308; Hosmer's .267/.321/.375 line looks far better in contrast, but is obviously well short of expectations. Neither player is yet 25 years old so it's far too soon to brandish the "bust" label, but their tribulations serve as a reminder that no prospect -- no matter how highly regarded -- is fail-safe, and sometimes the transition to a successful big-league career can take time, if it happens at all. Which brings us to the dynamic duo currently tearing up Minnesota's farm system. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton were ranked by BA before this season as the ninth and 10th best prospects in the nation. Each has fed the hype by performing well enough to earn a midseason promotion, so Twins fans are understandably licking their chops imagining the impact these young hitters can have at Target Field in the not-so-distant future. Sano could appear in the big leagues before this season is over, and Buxton's not terribly far behind. But reaching the majors and succeeding there are two vastly different things. Even for the most talented of prospects, acclimating to the highest level can be a daunting challenge requiring plenty of patience. At this point, both of the Twins' top two prospects appear capable of hitting the ground running and quickly adapting once they take that ultimate step, but to hold that expectation is simply unfair. As a reminder, fans at Target Field this weekend need only look across to the other dugout.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4550[/ATTACH]The Twins needed a big year from Justin Morneau. Not because it was going to help push them over the top, but because a productive Morneau may have yielded a prospect or two at the trade deadline that would have proven helpful toward the rebuilding effort. Unfortunately, Morneau has done very little this year to make himself an appealing trade chip. While many (including myself) were expecting a return to form of sorts now that the former MVP had seemingly shaken all his injury woes, his performance has only reinforced that he is not the player he once was. Not even close. After going 0-for-4 in Tuesday night's loss to the Marlins, Morneau is hitting .282/.331/.383 on the season. His .714 OPS ranks him 22nd out of 27 qualifying MLB first basemen. That he has managed to hit only three home runs this season is almost hard to believe. That total ranks him ninth on a Twins team that is second-to-last in the AL in homers. I wouldn't say that Morneau has been terrible; after all, he's gotten his hits and has driven in 42 runs, albeit mostly due to hitting behind Joe Mauer. But, while it makes every bit of sense for the Twins to heavily shop Morneau at the deadline in order to shed his salary and create playing time for Chris Parmelee, would any contending team have any interest in acquiring him? Right now, it's tough to see it, even if it meant only taking on Morneau's ~$5 million in remaining salary and giving up a non-prospect. No team that is within range of first place in its respective division has gotten worse production from first base than Morneau has given the Twins. Although a few (such as Baltimore and Cleveland) could have some level of interest in adding him as a DH, there will undoubtedly be several better hitters on the market. At this rate, the only way the Twins are going to be able to unload Morneau is by assuming the majority of his remaining salary and accepting very little in return. It still might be best course of action, all things considered, but it's a heck of an unfortunate turn of events for a 32-year-old who spent many years of his career among baseball's true elite.

We are reminded in the forums here daily that Twins fans have their (sometimes contentious) differences in opinion, but one thing everyone seems to agree on is that this season has been vastly more enjoyable than the last two. In part, that's because the Twins are a far more respectable team. They are only four games below .500, and outside of the notorious 10-game losing streak they've generally played rather well. After so much sinking during the last two seasons, it feels nice to tread water. But staying afloat isn't by itself cause for excitement. What really seems to be keeping fans engaged is that, rather than hearing about the promising future, we're finally seeing it. First, there was Aaron Hicks. The former first-round pick was a spring star and has shown some nice flashes over the first half of his rookie season. Then came the unexpectedly early arrival of Oswaldo Arcia. The club has tried – so, so hard – to do the responsible thing and exercise patience with the exuberant 22-year-old, who last year around this time was playing in Single-A. But they can't help themselves. Any time a roster spot has become available in the outfield, the Twins have taken advantage of the opportunity to get Arcia on the team. And Ron Gardenhire has shown no hesitation plugging the youngster's game-changing bat into the middle of the lineup on a regular basis. The results speak for themselves. (Over the weekend in Cleveland, Arcia doubled, homered and drove in four runs.) [ATTACH=CONFIG]4531[/ATTACH] Now, another key piece of the future arrives with the overdue promotion of Kyle Gibson. While the current rotation consists almost entirely of guys who are long shots to be ongoing fixtures, Gibson is fully expected to be one. Terry Ryan implied recently that when he called the top pitching prospect up from Rochester, it'd be for good. So, barring a meltdown in his first couple starts, Gibson likely won't be the one in danger of losing his job when Mike Pelfrey returns from the disabled list. Right now it looks like P.J. Walters and Scott Diamond would be the ones feeling the heat. That is, if the Twins feel inclined to make room for a veteran with the league's worst qualifying ERA who is signed to a one-year deal. Pelfrey has been better of late, but still not good. Whether we're talking present or future, it is tough to make a case that he's a superior option to any of Walters, Diamond or Gibson.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]4499[/ATTACH]Scott Diamond picked up a win in Thursday’s sweep-clinching victory over the White Sox, but his outing could hardly be described as a strong one. Facing arguably the league’s worst lineup, the lefty made it through five innings with only one run allowed but fell apart in the sixth, coughing up a single and back-to-back homers before getting yanked with one out. It marks the seventh time in his last eight outings that Diamond has failed to complete six innings. During that span, which dates back to May 7, he has a 6.86 ERA and an ugly 16-to-13 K/BB ratio in 42 innings. Diamond has never been anyone’s idea of a strikeout pitcher, but lately nothing has been working for him. His 48.2 percent grounder rate on the season is down significantly from last year’s elite 53.4 percent clip. His command has been noticeably less sharp. Parker noted on Twitter that opposing hitters are teeing off on Diamond’s curveball to the tune of .314/.310/.571, after last year hitting .239/.247/.368 against the heavily featured offering. He was far and away the best starter on Minnesota's staff in 2012, but right now Diamond isn't doing the things he needs to be successful, and that has been the case for weeks. The 26-year-old southpaw clearly isn't right. He's not locating like he was last year, and his pitches aren't moving like they were. Understandably, thoughts turn to his offseason surgery. In December, Diamond had bone chips removed from his left elbow after fading down the stretch. The operation was similar in nature to that of Vance Worley, who had "a loose body and bone spur" removed from his pitching elbow at the end of the season after, also, fading down the stretch. This year, Worley looked like a mere shadow of his former self for two months before being bumped to Rochester. The same has more or less been true of Diamond, who excelled in his first handful of starts but is approaching six weeks of ineffectiveness. A Twins team that has actively preached a "no scholarships" mantra now has Diamond -- with one quality start in his last eight tries -- and Mike Pelfrey -- with the worst ERA in the majors -- comprising two fifths of its rotation. Meanwhile, Kyle Gibson logged another brilliant outing in Rochester Thursday, allowing just one unearned run in seven innings. To quote Terry Ryan… "Are we trying to win, or what are we doing?"

* The Marlins announced this week that they've demoted Kevin Slowey to the bullpen to make room in their rotation for Nathan Eovaldi. Twins fans will recall how splendidly the last attempt to convert Slowey to a reliever turned out. On some level, unless you're one of the many local scribes who openly despises him, you've got to feel for Slowey. He has actually been pitching reasonably well this year; at least, as well as could be expected of him. He's had a few clunkers, especially lately, but his 4.10 ERA is respectable and his 64-to-14 K/BB ratio in 79 innings is rather impressive. Even with a 5.40 ERA over his last four starts, he has still managed 27 strikeouts with only two walks during that span. That his peripherals have remained so strong seems to suggest this stretch is more a bump in the road than an unraveling for the right-hander. Yet he can't even stick in the starting five for the worst team in baseball. He must really be an obnoxious dude, or something. Interestingly, the manager who demoted him this time is Mike Redmond, who caught Slowey for three years in Minnesota. If not for the bad blood, Slowey would be exactly the kind of guy the Twins should be targeting in trades as next month's deadline approaches. He's young enough to have upside, he's (arguably) undervalued and he wouldn't cost a whole lot to bring in. But of course, given the history there, the entire notion in this instance is laughable. * The case of Kyle Gibson is growing more and more peculiar. He continues to fire great innings in the International League, where he has posted a strong 3.26 ERA . For all the talk about a lack of "consistency," Gibson has earned a quality start in five of his last six outings, and seven of his last 10. He has completed six-plus innings in five straight outings. He is holding opponents to a .233 average and .297 slugging percentage. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4466[/ATTACH]That's dominant. Gibson is more than deserving of the big-league promotion he has been yearning for since he came so close two years ago, before all of this Tommy John business unfolded. He is proving, again and again, that he is fully recovered, and that he is beyond a shadow of doubt one of the five best pitchers in this organization. And yet, he's been surpassed for rotation spots by Liam Hendriks, Pedro Hernandez, P.J. Walters and Samuel Deduno. And now we're hearing rhetoric about how there's no room, because who could you possibly remove from this unstoppable group? Look, I understand that the starters have been performing better of late, but give me a break. Astonishingly, we're even receiving hints that 27-year-old journeyman Andrew Albers, who prior to this year was not a prospect, might be at the front of the line in Rochester. Possibly Gibson still has some things to learn and work on, but he has earned the chance to do so at the major-league level. It's hard to see an argument that his preparedness for next year wouldn't profit from some experience against MLB hitters and the opportunity to work with Rick Anderson. Instead, for whatever reason, the Twins appear content to let Gibson use up his limited innings facing inferior minor-leaguers. * While it's patently absurd to proclaim at this point that the Twins are "getting fleeced" certainly the returns on their big offseason trades haven't been especially favorable thus far. Vance Worley pitched horribly for two months before being bumped to Triple-A, where he's getting knocked around and averaging a pitiful 4.8 strikeouts per nine innings. Alex Meyer battled command issues before landing on the disabled list with a shoulder strain. But Trevor May, the third pitcher yielded in the center fielder swaps, has been healthy and took another big step forward Tuesday night in New Britain. Facing the Erie SeaWolves, May pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just four hits while striking out nine. The most encouraging sign: he threw 70 of 100 pitches for strikes and issued only one walk. That marks only the second time in 14 starts this year that May has not handed out multiple walks. Control has been the enduring hurdle for this talented 23-year-old, whose swing-and-miss stuff has helped him rack up 714 strikeouts in 595 minor-league innings. He entered last night's start with a 4.7 BB/9 rate that was identical to last year's disappointing figure, but if he can make even moderate ongoing improvements with his consistency and command, he could end up being the prize of this past winter's haul. As things stand, May holds a 3.56 ERA and with his recent run of success (1.74 ERA and 25/6 K/BB ratio in 20 2/3 innings over his past three starts) he might be establishing himself as a candidate for a midseason promotion.

Love 'em or hate 'em, the Yankees are headed to down in the beginning of July. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first of three Twins postseason defeats at the hands of the Bronx Bombers, so we thought we'd take the opportunity to look back at what has been a lopsided -- but always entertaining and memorable -- rivalry between the two franchises. Over the next couple weeks leading up to the Yankees series at Target Field, various writers here at Twins Daily will look back at some of the Yankee moments that stick out in our minds. ~~~ It was a game filled with heartbreak. You can point to many culprits in Minnesota's 4-3, 11-inning loss to the New York Yankees in Game 2 of the 2009 American League Division Series: Carlos Gomez slipping on the bases in the fourth and getting tagged for the third out, preventing a run from scoring; The Twins offense stranding a whopping 17 base runners; Joe Nathan blowing a two-run lead in the ninth by leaving one up for Alex Rodriguez… Still, inevitably, it all comes back to Phil Cuzzi and The Call. Even with all their missteps, the Twins had been able to play neck-and-neck with the Yanks, threatening to level the series at a game apiece heading back to the Metrodome. In a best-of-five first-round series, the difference between heading home tied 1-1 and down 2-0 is monumental, so this was a pivotal contest for the Twins, who had sneaked into the postseason with an absurd September run. Joe Mauer, reigning MVP and key cog in Minnesota's miraculous late-season comeback, kicked off the top of the 11th by driving a pitch from Damaso Marte down the right field line. The ball hit off the glove of left fielder Melky Cabrera, then landed in fair territory by about a foot and bounced over the wall. A lead-off ground-rule double… except not. Phil Cuzzi, umping down the down the left field line as part of a six-man postseason crew, was staring directly at the play from about 10 feet away, and yet somehow still managed to completely botch the call, declaring it a foul ball. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4446[/ATTACH] An incredulous Mauer returned to the batter's box and ended up hitting a single. The Twins followed with two more singles, which should have given them the lead but instead loaded the bases with no outs before reliever David Robertson wriggled out of the jam unscathed. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4447[/ATTACH]The popular response was to label Cuzzi a bum who's terrible at his job, and I had my own fun with my Halloween costume later that month (see the picture on the right), but the truth is that he's a major-league umpire and has been for 13 years running, so clearly that's not the case. Cuzzi isn't even generally ranked among the worst umps in MLB; that's Angel Hernandez and Joe West territory. No, what happened was an otherwise competent umpire apparently suffering a moment of temporary blindness that completely screwed the Twins in a crucial moment at Yankee Stadium. It couldn't have fit the narrative more perfectly if it were conjured up by some hack sportswriter for the New York Post. Over the past 10 years, the Twins have gone 23-61 against the Yankees. A record that horrible goes beyond what would be expected with even the most lopsided talent differentials. No, there's something else at play here, as if the universe were conspiring to keep the poor little Midwestern Twins under the thumb the Evil Empire. Cuzzi's famously horrible call serves as a perfect example.

After it was announced on Sunday that he'd been promoted to Double-A, 20-year-old Miguel Sano became the center of attention in the Twins' farm system. That lasted less than 24 hours. On Monday afternoon, the Cedar Rapids Kernels -- Minnesota's Low-A Midwest League affiliate -- had their game televised on Fox Sports North. Although it was an off day for the Twins and the Kernels have numerous quality prospects on their roster, the real reason for this unusual occurrence was obvious. This was all about Byron Buxton, who was the topic of conversation for nearly the entire three-hour broadcast. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4402[/ATTACH] Playing under the brightest spotlight of his entire life, Buxton lived up to the hype and then some. He did so many incredible things in this one game that it's difficult to pick a highlight. There was the bases-loaded double, crushed off the wall in left-center, that plated three runs and broke the game open early on. Then there was the triple a few innings later, where Buxton reached out and -- seemingly without exerting much effort -- stroked a ball about 350 feet into right-center field, then sped around to third base in roughly half a second. Buxton's quickness between bags made it easy to see why the Star Tribune's Jim Souhan remarked, after studying the meteoric prospect last month for a column, "He goes from first to third like he knows a shortcut." Overshadowing Buxton's heroics at the plate and on the base paths were his efforts in center field -- particularly one diving catch at the warning track that was legitimately one of the finest you will see on a baseball field all year. On this particular day, all of the outfielder's vaunted five tools were on display. The ease with which he, as a teenager, is handling his first hack at full-season ball nearly defies belief. Buxton appeared to be on another level from his competition Monday, and his overall numbers reflect that. He leads the Midwest League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging. He's among the top five in walks, stolen bases and RBI. He has scored 60 runs; the next highest total in the league is 42. We haven't seen this kind of utterly dominant performance in the minors since… Oh yeah, that Sano guy. He's no stranger to the spotlight, having been the subject of a popular documentary before taking American baseball by storm. Sano put forth an incredible performance in the Midwest League last year, bashing 28 homers with 100 RBI in 129 games. Now he has followed that up with a ridiculous showing over the first two months at Ft. Myers. Not only did his 1.079 OPS lead the Florida State League by more than 100 points, it was also higher than any mark that's been posted in the FSL since 1999. The prodigious Dominican was labeled a Top 10 prospect in the game prior to the season by Baseball America, and has only raised his stock with an historically amazing first half at High-A; now he becomes baseball's youngest player at the Double-A level. Yet, there seems to be a consensus that the more well rounded Buxton has surpassed him as a prospect. When Buck inevitably gets the call to Ft. Myers -- probably a matter of days, not weeks -- he'll once again steal away all the buzz. That doesn't exactly seem fair for Sano, who's doing everything right, but it's a sign of the times. The Twins currently feature two of the game's most spectacular young talents. In fact, rarely has any organization ever had two such players rising through its system simultaneously. By the end of the year Buxton and Sano have a legitimate chance to rank No. 1 and 2 on many national prospect lists. A rebuilding franchise could hardly ask for a better one-two punch than that.