Nick Nelson

* 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. 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 town in the beginning of July. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first of four 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. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ~~~ 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 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. 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. 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 bad 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. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Playing under the brightest spotlight of his 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 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 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.

The Twins dropped two of three in Washington over the weekend, widening their deficit in the AL Central to 7.5 games. For the big-league club, things are looking rather grim. That was to be expected, however, and fortunately things are considerably brighter down on the farm, which is where fans should be focusing their attention for signs of positivity this year. Immediately after slugging his 15th and 16th homers of the season for Ft. Myers on Sunday, Miguel Sano received his much anticipated promotion to New Britain. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The top prospect had made a mockery of the Florida State League, and will now take his talents to Double-A, where at age 20 he'll become one of the level's youngest players. If he continues to excel, there's a reasonable chance that Sano could join the Twins as a September call-up later this year. Headed to New Britain along with Sano are Eddie Rosario and Angel Morales. Rosario was ranked by Twins Daily as the organization's No. 7 prospect prior to the season and was hitting .329 for the Miracle while flashing solid defense at second base. Morales, a once highly regarded outfield prospect who's been derailed by injuries and other issues, was enjoying a productive season in Ft. Myers and now has a chance to put himself back on the major-league track at age 23. Another advancement that didn't generate quite the same amount of buzz was James Beresford's promotion to Triple-A. The 24-year-old infielder had been batting .323 for New Britain and now joins a Rochester club hurting for production at second base. By no means is Beresford a great prospect, but he's got a good glove and has shown the ability to get on base at a solid clip. The Australian is now just one step away from the Twins, who have gotten an abysmal .610 OPS from their second basemen this year. Just another reminder that, even though things have looked plenty ugly at times for the Twins, help is on the way. What are your thoughts on these promotions? And who would you like to see moved up next? (I think I can guess one name...)

Who IS This Guy? If you've been paying attention, you already know. Coming off an excellent junior season at Stanford University, Mark Appel was the consensus top pitching talent available in last year's draft, and was widely expected to go to the Houston Astros with the first pick. The Astros decided to pass rather than face the contract demands of Appel and his agent, Scott Boras. The Twins, and five other teams, did the same [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] before the right-hander ended up going to the Pirates with the No. 8 pick. Pittsburgh offered $3.8 million, exceeding the slotted amount ($2.9M) by a significant margin, but still Appel turned them down and elected to return to Stanford for his senior year. He was the only player among 31 first-round picks that did not sign. It was a gamble, to be sure, but one that should pay off handsomely. In his third straight season as the University's Friday night ace, Appel stayed healthy and put up monster numbers, going 10-4 with a 2.12 ERA and 130-to-23 K/BB ratio in 14 starts. Over 106 1/3 innings, he held opposing hitters to a .203 batting average and allowed just two home runs. As MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo puts it: "A year ago, there may have been whispers about why he wasn't dominant, given his pure stuff. There has been none of that in 2013." And so the 21-year-old finds himself in a familiar position: He's got the credentials of a No. 1 pick, but Houston once again holds the cards. With college officially in the rearview mirror, Appel has much less leverage than he did a year ago but it's a safe bet Boras will still be prepared to play hardball. Since there are few questions about his playing ability, Appel's only chance to slip to fourth would seem to stem from his signability. Would the Twins be the team to step up and take him if he's there? They haven't historically been the type of organization that will aggressively go over slot to sign a high-profile name in the draft, but then again, they need pitching and this kid is a hell of a talent. Who Could He Be? At 6'5" and 215 pounds, Appel is lean and athletic with a clean, repeatable delivery. His featured offering is a power fastball, which he routinely throws in the mid-90s; it's also been said that he possesses the Verlanderian ability to reach back for a little more when he needs it, approaching triple digits. In addition to the heater, Appel offers a plus slider (described by some as a slurve) and a developing changeup with great potential. The fact that he dropped to eighth in last year's draft suggests that not all teams were sold on him to the extent they'd throw cost into the wind. Seems like that would never happen with a Justin Verlander- or Stephen Strasburg- type. Then again, Appel only further cemented his elite status with a tremendous senior year, in which he handled pressure and huge pitch counts (he threw 149 pitches in one April outing) with aplomb. He's got the makings of a top-tier MLB hurler. How Soon Could He Be Playing In Target Field? Appel is more highly regarded than Kevin Gausman or Michael Wacha, two prestigious college pitchers drafted in last year's first round who are already in the majors. It has been stated that Appel is "the lone player in this draft who could be ready for the majors right away," although the Twins -- in no rush at this point -- would surely start him in the minors. That said, it'd be no shock if he were sent directly to Double-A, putting himself in the mix for a potential debut later this year or early in 2014. Of course, that's a best-case scenario that assumes Appel experiences no trouble adapting to the pro ranks. And of course, given the presence of Boras, prolonged contract negotiations could be another factor delaying his timeline; as a college senior, the July 12th signing deadline doesn't apply to Appel. If The Twins Draft This Guy, They Messed Up Because… The slotted value of the No. 1 pick is $7.7 million, so Appel and Boras likely have their sights set on a signing bonus in that region, if not higher. The fourth pick, meanwhile, carries an assigned value of $4.5 million. It seems likely that the Twins would have to healthily surpass that figure in order to get Appel signed -- keep in mind that he turned down $3.8 million last year and is coming off a much better season. Under the new draft rules, each team has a bonus pool of money that they can use to sign all of their draft picks in the first 10 rounds, with stiff penalties incurred for going over. According to Baseball America, the Twins have a total bonus pool of $8.2 million for this year's draft. Taking the aggressive steps necessary to bring Appel on board would probably leave the Twins with very little money to spend on their remaining nine selections, lessening their chances of hitting on draft picks in the rest of the high rounds. Given the depth of their success in last year's draft, which yielded not only Byron Buxton but also thriving prospects like Jose Berrios, Adam Walker, Tyler Duffey and D.J. Baxendale, would it be wise for the Twins to essentially put all their eggs in one basket? If The Twins Draft This Guy, They Nailed It Because... He's worth it. Appel might not be an uber-prospect of the Strasburg ilk but he has the hard-throwing ace profile that the Twins have desperately sought to add to their pipeline. By joining Alex Meyer, Kyle Gibson and Trevor May, Appel would give the Twins high-level pitching depth that would become the envy of many organizations, and would significantly accelerate their rebuild timeline. Unfortunately, for that very reason, it seems incredibly unlikely he'll still be there for the taking by the time that fourth pick rolls around. --- This concludes the Twins MLB Draft Profile series. We hope you learned a few things to help prepare you for the next few days! You can find the rest of the entries below: Monday, May 20 -- Sean Manaea, LHP Tuesday, May 21 -- Austin Meadows, OF Wednesday, May 22 -- Trey Ball, OF Thursday, May 23 -- Ryan Stanek, RHP Friday, May 24 -- Clint Frazier, OF Tuesday, May 28 -- Reese McGuire, C Wednesday, May 29 -- Braden Shipley, RHP Thursday, May 30 -- Kohl Stewart, RHP Friday, May 31 -- Kris Bryant, 3B/1B Monday, June 3 -- Jonathan Gray, RHP Tuesday, June 4 -- Minnesotans to Watch

On Sunday, the Minnesota Twins played their 54th game of the season, meaning that they are now officially one-third of the way through their 2013 schedule. This milestone presents a good opportunity to review what has taken place thus far. How has the season matched up to expectations, and to the club's stated initiatives? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The most noticeable trait of this team has been the brutal starting pitching. Improving last year's horrendous rotation was frequently called out as the front office's top priority during the offseason, but so far this reconfigured unit has, astoundingly, proven worse. The lineup has also mostly failed to live up to its potential, even with Joe Mauer at the top of his game. Still, compared to the last two seasons, the positives in this campaign have been almost overwhelming. Even after enduring a 10-game losing streak, the Twins are on pace for 75 wins, which would put them within shouting distance of .500 -- the unspoken goal for this bridge year. This improvement has been made possible in spite of the rotation's struggles because the Twins have been remarkably successful in three areas they have heavily emphasized. I think these impressive strides deserve recognition. 1) Better Start Last year the Twins lost seven of their first nine games and by the end of May they were already 15 games below .500. In 2011, they went 17-36 over the first two months. Digging those kinds of holes is a fast path to irrelevance. This year, although they've been far from great, the Twins have been able to offset their bad stretches by bunching victories. Few would call them contenders in the AL Central, but then again, they are only 4.5 games out of first place. Terry Ryan said he wanted his team to be playing meaningful games in September, and at this point they're on track to do so. 2) Better Fundamentals Above and beyond the recent losing, you got the sense that the miscues and mental gaffes from players young and old really began to grind on Ron Gardenhire and Co. An organization that has long prided itself on doing "the little things" had drifted a great distance from it's previous identity. Whether it's personnel or coaching, the difference this year has been stark. Playing smart and avoiding mistakes can be difficult things to quantify but, by the eye test, the Twins have been markedly better in execution and are on pace to commit 41 fewer errors than in 2012. 3) Better Health Cutting down on injuries is a tricky task since they are more a function of luck than anything else. Sometimes, players get hurt. And sometimes injuries happen in rapid succession. That's been the story of the past two years, so perhaps the reduction of injuries this season is simply a sign that the Twins' run of bad breaks has come to an end. They also shook up their medical staff during the offseason, dismissing head trainer Rick McWane and promoting former assistant Dave Pruemer, so perhaps that too has been a factor. Either way, the Twins have (knock on wood) avoided the disabled list almost entirely this year. Darin Mastroianni's broken foot has been the only truly significant injury, and when your backup center fielder is the only guy missing extended time you can count your blessings. The improved health has been apparent in the lineup, where Trevor Plouffe recently became the first regular to land on the DL (he expects to return after the minimum). The improved health is even more evident in the rotation. The Twins have three starters on pace to reach 150 innings, which would match their total from 2012 and 2011 combined.

Last year, Scott Diamond emerged from the wreckage of an awful rotation to establish himself as the unit's lone long-term building block. At the conclusion of the season, Terry Ryan was clear in stating that only Diamond was assured a spot among the 2013 starting five. As it turned out, Diamond was not be a member of the Opening Day rotation this year; his recovery from offseason elbow surgery stretched a bit longer than expected, but when he rejoined the club in mid-April he was every bit the breath of fresh air that he had been a year ago. Recently, however, he’s begun to unravel as the aspects of his game most responsible for his success have gone by the wayside. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Diamond’s outstanding results last year – 12-9 with a 3.54 ERA and 1.24 WHIP in 173 innings – were met with skepticism by many for two principal reasons. For one, his previous campaign had been utterly horrendous; between Triple-A and the majors in 2011, the lefty went 5-19 with a 5.44 ERA – an inauspicious introduction to his new organization after being acquired in the Rule 5 draft. Secondly, Diamond’s vastly improved numbers came along with a 4.7 K/9 rate that ranked as the third-lowest in all baseball. However, Diamond offset his extreme contact tendencies by excelling in the two areas where low-strikeout pitchers must stand out to sustain effectiveness: walks and ground balls. His 1.6 BB/9 rate ranked as the lowest in the American League while his 53.4 percent GB rate put him in the top 5. Because of his elite standing in these two key categories, Diamond separated himself from the rest of the organization’s contact-heavy pack and looked like a decent bet to become a rotation fixture going forward. He certainly looked that part in his first handful of starts this season, posting a 3.03 ERA over his first five starts while issuing just three walks in 29 innings with plenty of grounders. But after hurling seven shutout innings at Fenway Park on May 7, Diamond took a sudden turn for the worse. In four outings since, he’s 0-2 with an 8.41 ERA and 1.67 WHIP. He has failed to complete six innings in any of these four starts. Lately, the skills that had been so vital to the southpaw’s game are nowhere to be found. Opponents have hit more fly balls than grounders over those last four starts, and during that span Diamond has uncharacteristically issued eight walks in 20 1/3 innings. What’s the explanation? Are there lingering effects from his elbow injury and surgery last year? Or are old habits manifesting? Whatever the case, Diamond needs to work with pitching coach Rick Anderson and get back to his bread and better of locating the ball down in the zone effectively. Because when he’s not consistently doing that, he becomes part of the problem rather than part of the solution. This rotation has enough problems as it is.

Chris Parmelee offered Minnesota Twins fans a glimpse of his offensive ability on Monday in Milwaukee, when he launched a majestic, 420-foot home run to center field. Unfortunately, those glimpses have been entirely too rare for the 25-year-old. The solo shot was just his fourth homer – and seventh extra-base hit – of the season, leaving him with a .215/.293/.331 hitting line.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] That’s miserable production for a plodding right fielder whose value is tied almost entirely to his bat, and when combined with his similarly ugly .229/.290/.380 mark with the Twins last season, it paints a grim picture regarding Parmelee’s ability to hit major-league pitching. The Twins keep giving their former first-round pick chances to dig his way out, but Parmelee’s time to prove that he’s got more to offer may be running short, at least here in Minnesota. Surely this is a situation where the Twins would prefer to exercise patience. They have plenty invested in Parmelee, whose career minor-league track record suggests that he should ultimately be a competent hitter in the majors (maybe more if his small-sample Triple-A numbers are to be believed). Even though he has tripped over himself in two extended MLB chances now, he remains relatively young and inexperienced. But the window to make an evaluation may be shrinking. Parmelee was added to the 40-man roster following the 2010 season, so the Twins have already used up two of his three options (2011 and 2012). They haven’t used one this year, since he made the big-league roster out of spring training, but it’s hard to imagine he will stick much longer if his offense doesn’t pick up. With an OPS+ of 70 – third-worst on the team ahead of only Brian Dozier and Aaron Hicks, who both at least provide meaningful defensive value – Parmelee has been beyond brutal. Even a rebuilding team in a lost season can’t justify trotting that production out regularly, and if his playing time continues to wane (he’s started only 10 of the team’s last 20 games) it makes little sense to keep him on the roster. If he’s sent down, Parmelee will suddenly be headed toward a tough spot next spring. The Twins have numerous candidates to fill their outfield and probably would have some interest in retaining Justin Morneau if the cost isn’t exorbitant, so barring a turnaround in performance, Parmelee could be squeezed out. That’s not an ideal outcome for him or the Twins, who would enjoy having a usable inexpensive piece that they can plug in for a few years. I'm not quit ready to give up on Parmelee but his plate approach has been mostly ugly and, as his results continue to deteriorate rather than improve, it seems like major-league pitchers are gradually figuring him out rather than the other way around. It's not time to cut bait yet, but he has already relegated himself to part-time duty and with Oswaldo Arcia lurking in the minors, his place on the roster is very much in danger. Should he find himself bumped to Triple-A, he'll have an uphill climb ahead of him in order to remain in this organization long-term.