Nick Nelson

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1162[/ATTACH]On Thursday afternoon, R.A. Dickey tossed 7 1/3 innings of shutout ball for the Mets in a win over the first-place Nationals. The victory moved the knuckleballer's record to 9-1 on the year and lowered his ERA to 2.44. Holding opponents to a .225 average and sporting a dazzling 78-to-14 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 81 innings, Dickey has to be considered a Cy Young front-runner in the National League, and he might start the All-Star Game. This is the best we've ever seen from the 37-year-old right-hander, but his effectiveness is nothing new. During his first two seasons with the Mets after joining up in 2010, he posted a 3.08 ERA over 383 innings. This after spending most of the first 14 years of his career struggling to stay in the majors. That included a stop in Minnesota – his last stop before turning into a steady rotation anchor for the Mets. Dickey is one of the most fascinating stories in today's game, for various reasons. He's a born-again Christian and philanthropist. He doesn't have an ulnar collateral ligament (UCL) in his throwing elbow, yet still managed to be come a first-round draft pick in 1996. He recently climbed Mt. Kiliminjaro, along with his friend (and local media punching bag) Kevin Slowey. He also recently published a book in which he bravely details, among other things, his battle to overcome sexual abuse as a child. As a human interest story subject, you won't find many better. And the tale of Dickey's baseball career holds plenty of intrigue too. After failing to find much success as a conventional starter in his first decade as a pro, he became a full-time knuckleballer in 2006 with the Rangers. The process of completely overhauling his style as a pitcher, and learning to master a pitch that few in the sport's history have been able to effectively harness, was slow and fraught with turbulence. In his first start for Texas in '06, he gave up six home runs. The Rangers quickly bailed on the experiment, but clearly there were plenty of clubs that saw something in Dickey. He went through stints in the Milwaukee and Seattle organizations before latching on with the Twins in 2009. Pitching coach Rick Anderson spoke excitedly about the acquisition that year: These are all attributes that have helped Dickey become a force in the Mets rotation, and the Twins deserve credit for recognizing them at the time. They also may deserve criticism for failing to move him along. Was it a bad coaching approach that kept the righty from turning the corner in Minnesota? Was it the decision to use him almost exclusively as a reliever rather than have him start? Or should the Twins have simply been more patient and given him additional time to harness the knuckler and refine his command, instead of dropping him after one forgettable season? I'm not sure there are any lessons to be taken from this situation. Dickey is a unique case. And while it's unfortunate that he couldn't find this success with the Twins, he's still a fun guy to root for, and along with his co-ace Johan Santana he makes it easy for fans in Minnesota to get behind the underdog Mets in the NL East.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1145[/ATTACH]Five-tool potential? Check. Comparisons to all-time greats like Bo Jackson and Willie Mays? Check. Classic baseball name? Check. Yep, Byron Buxton seems to have everything you'd hope for in a top pick. Now he just needs to turn his elite tools into production on the professional stage – something the last high-profile prep outfielder drafted by the Twins has failed to do thus far. The comparisons to Aaron Hicks were inevitable from the moment Buxton's name was mentioned as a potential target at No. 2. Both were center fielders with off-the-charts athleticism. Both did some pitching for their high school teams, with a fastball clocking in the high 90s. And both had the kind of upside with the bat that makes scouts drool. Hicks impressed the folks at Baseball America so much with his tools and potential that after the 2009 season they ranked him as the 19th-best prospect in all of baseball, despite the fact that his numbers in Beloit that year were thoroughly mediocre (.735 OPS, 4 HR, 10 SB in 67 G). Unfortunately, three years later the 2008 first-rounder hasn't taken the kind of steps those analysts believed he would. He dropped to No. 45 on BA's list after a good-not-great encore season in the Midwest League in 2010, and fell off the Top 100 completely after hitting .242 with five homers in Ft. Myers last season. Currently, the 22-year-old Hicks is hitting .247 in New Britain and his ability to take walks – heretofore his primary asset – continues to deteriorate. The switch-hitting outfielder certainly shouldn't be labeled a bust, but at this point his upside looks more like solid regular than star. Hicks and Buxton are different people and one man's journey has no bearing on another. Still, the slow and frustrating path that Hicks has followed serves as a cautionary tale when it comes to the organization's latest blockbuster addition. The questions that surrounded Hicks when the Twins selected him 14th overall in '08 were the same ones that generally surround any teenager drafted out of high school, and they are the same ones now attached to Buxton: How will those immense physical attributes play out when he goes from facing crummy high school hurlers to imposing professionals? Fortunately, Buxton's tools are a notch above those of Hicks, not to mention every other position player that was involved in this year's draft (with the possible exception of No. 1 pick Carlos Correa). As an 18-year-old with a long way to go before reaching the majors, Buxton is a gamble, especially considering that the Twins passed on a number of highly rated pitchers to take him, but with his otherworldly speed, his sweet right-handed swing and his cannon arm he seems exceedingly well equipped for the challenge ahead. And coupled with Miguel Sano, he injects more excitement into the Twins' farm system than we've seen in a very long time.

The last time the Twins owned the No. 2 pick in the MLB draft, they selected a college pitcher named Adam Johnson out of Cal State Fullerton. As most fans will recall, he cruised through the minors and made his major-league debut at the age of 21, but hit a wall and quickly fizzled out. That's a scary memory as the Twins eye a handful of collegiate hurlers with this year's second pick, but fortunately the history of the draft slot has been much brighter since the Johnson bust. Below, you'll see a list of the players taken with the No. 2 overall pick in the 11 years since 2000. [TABLE] Year Team Player 2001 Cubs Mark Prior, RHP 2002 Rays B.J. Upton, SS/CF 2003 Brewers Rickie Weeks, 2B 2004 Tigers Justin Verlander, SP 2005 Royals Alex Gordon, 3B/OF 2006 Rockies Greg Reynolds, RHP 2007 Royals Mike Moustakas, 3B 2008 Pirates Pedro Alvarez, 3B 2009 Mariners Dustin Ackley, 2B 2010 Pirates Jameson Taillon, RHP 2011 Mariners Danny Hultzen, LHP [/TABLE] That's got to be viewed as an encouraging group. Every player taken from 2001 to 2008 reached the majors and all have had success with the exception of Reynolds, who would qualify as the one clear bust on the list. Alvarez has been a disappointment since a strong rookie campaign but can crush the ball and he's still only 25. The rest rank mostly as solid regulars (Upton, Weeks, Gordon), some with star potential (Moustakas, Ackley). Then there's a pitcher who was arguably the best in the game before injuries ravaged his career (Prior) and one who is arguably the best in the game now (Verlander). Taillon and Hultzen, drafted No. 2 in the past two years, haven't had time yet to reach the majors but both are very much on the right track. Taillon was ranked by Baseball America as the game's No. 15 prospect prior to the season and he's currently pitching very well as a 20-year-old in High-A. Hultzen was ranked the No. 21 prospect by BA and he's been dominant after being placed in Double-A to start his pro career. Johnson and Reynolds are the only No. 2 picks since Y2K who have failed to crack Baseball America's Top 25, and – to the publication's credit – they are also the only two who have been abject failures in the major leagues. Coincidentally enough, both were college pitchers from California. This year, as the Twins decide between the likes of Mark Appel and Kyle Zimmer (two college pitchers from California) along with Louisiana State's Kevin Gausman, you can bet they'll bear in mind the lessons of the past. This organization is badly in need of high-end pitching, and to whiff on an arm the No. 2 pick would be catastrophic. College pitchers are generally considered "safe" draft picks, but when it comes to the No. 2 selection, in recent history they have been anything but. There will be plenty of opportunities to stock up on pitching with five picks in the top 75, so it's important that with their top pick, the Twins make sure they take the best player available. There's a good chance that won't be a pitcher. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1119[/ATTACH]

Cool story Stew, thanks for sharing. I'd love to see the pictures you dug up.

Prior to the start of the season, I called Jamey Carroll "the latest passenger on Minnesota's never-ending shortstop carousel," noting the position's instability over the past decade. As it would turn out, the veteran's ride didn't last long, as he ceased drawing regular starts at short by early May. Granted, this had as much to do with external factors – most notably Danny Valencia's struggles at third – as Carroll's own play. But it quickly became apparent that the light-hitting 38-year-old is not suited to be a quality regular at this point in his career. Even in the short-term, the Twins knew they would have to look elsewhere for a fixture at shortstop. They would like it be Brian Dozier. More accurately, they need to it to be Brian Dozier. Shortstop has been an organizational problem spot for many years, and the lack of talent at the position throughout the Twins' system is nearly as stark as the lack of pitching. Dozier is no great prospect, but he appears to be the club's only hope for respectability in the foreseeable future. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1092[/ATTACH]There's little hope in the minors. The Twins drafted Levi Michael, a shortstop from the University of North Carolina, with their first-round pick last year but he's currently hitting .203/.306/.259 as a 21-year-old in Single-A. His initial struggles as a pro don't doom him by any means, but they do make it highly unlikely that he'll rise fast enough to be a factor for the big-league club anytime soon. With Tsuyoshi Nishioka basically out of the picture (he's batting .202 in Triple-A), Michael is the only shortstop of note on the farm. Free agency probably won't cure this epidemic; that's where they found Carroll, who has been a disappointment and remains under contract for $3.75 million next year. Clint Barmes, another relatively affordable free agent shortstop who ended up signing with the Pirates for $10.5 million over two years, has been even worse than Carroll, as he's currently hitting .170 in Pittsburgh. It's tough to find good shortstops. That's been a hard-learned lesson for the Twins, who have opened with seven different players at the position over the past eight years and let the best of the bunch get away when they misguidedly handed J.J. Hardy to the Orioles after the 2010 campaign. With all the headaches and frustration that Ron Gardenhire and his staff have experienced while trying to settle on a serviceable player to man the diamond's most important position, you can bet that they will show plenty of patience with Dozier as he takes his lumps. He's is doing so right now, with just 10 hits in his last 55 at-bats (.182) and 16 strikeouts against one walk during that span. Parker wrote yesterday about the adjustments being made by the league against him. I suspect that Gardy will keep writing the rookie's name into the lineup despite his struggles, and that's the right approach. At age 25, it's time for Dozier to sink or swim, and this season gives the coaching staff an opportunity to let him do so without risking much. If Dozier can't make his own adjustments and prove himself as a legitimate big-league option, it'll be back to the drawing board. And considering the last eight years, that's a scary proposition.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1040[/ATTACH]Early in the season, Justin Morneau looked a lot like he did last year at the plate. That is to say: he was tentative, consistently fooled by good breaking balls, and generally ineffective. At the end of April, he informed the team that his wrist had been ailing him for the better part of two weeks. He sat out a few days, then ended up on the disabled list, returning on May 16th. It would seem that the rest did him some good. Since coming back from the DL, Morneau has looked very much like his old self, and not just because he's once again playing first base on a regular basis after serving mostly as DH in the first month. He's locked in at the plate and crushing the ball in a way we haven't seen for almost two years. After going 3-for-5 with two homers and a double in Thursday night's loss to the White Sox, Morneau is hitting .290/.343/.742 with four homers, two doubles and 12 RBI in eight games. His eight total home runs put him on pace for 30 on the year despite the missed time. And while his plate approach was shaky earlier in the season, his recent at-bats have been marked by far more patience. It may be too early to declare that the vintage Morneau is officially "back." After all, he's still hitting only .248 on the season and we're talking about a 10-day stretch of improvement. But here's one thing I look at as a supremely positive sign: the first baseman's mammoth home run off of Will Ohman in the seventh inning on Wednesday. Now, Ohman isn't one of the top relievers in the league by any stretch, but he's been awfully good at shutting down left-handed hitters over the course of his career. And Morneau, well, he ain't been so good against southpaws lately. Last year he posted a meager .159/.183/.217 line against lefties and this year he'd been even worse, with a .059 batting average and 11-to-0 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 34 plate appearances. But Morneau absolutely obliterated an offering from Ohman, driving it an estimated 451 feet to straightaway center. According to ESPN's Stats and Info department, it was the longest home run hit by a left-handed batter against a left-handed pitcher this year. One at-bat can't prove anything. But it sure can make a statement.

@ashburyjohn: That picture cracked me up.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1021[/ATTACH]The Minnesotan, Golden Gopher alum and baseball fan inside me all want to see Cole DeVries succeed in a Twins uniform. The analyst inside me knows that he probably won't. DeVries is a great story. He was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent back in 2006 after a solid career at the University of Minnesota, and has gradually worked his way up the organizational ladder. On Tuesday, the 27-year-old was called up to the majors to fill Jason Marquis' vacant roster spot. He'll make his big-league debut on Thursday in a start against the White Sox. The soft-tossing right-hander's minor-league track record is far from spectacular. In six seasons, he has gone 32-42 with a 4.01 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. He has proven extremely hittable in the high minors, allowing 413 hits in 366 innings between Double-A and Triple-A. That's an average of 10.2 H/9 – not exactly a change of pace for a Twins team that currently leads the American League in hits allowed. DeVries hangs in the mid-80s with his velocity and has largely survived by peppering the strike zone, especially this year as he's issued only seven walks in 46 2/3 innings for Rochester. MLB hitters are likely to tee off on his brand of soft serve, so I suspect his stay in the Twins' rotation will be short. Nevertheless, it's cool to see him get a chance to pitch on the big stage and perhaps – like Scott Diamond and P.J. Walters before him – he can catch an unfamiliar league by surprise and conjure up some good results for a desperate staff.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]1004[/ATTACH]No surprise here, but the Twins have reportedly designated Jason Marquis for assignment after the veteran was tagged by the Brewers for eight runs while recording only five outs on Sunday. Marquis has never been a particularly good pitcher and I certainly wasn't high on his signing at the time, but I wouldn't have guessed he'd be the worst starter in baseball. From the moment he showed up to spring training, Marquis had nothing; he struggled to get the ball over the plate and when he did hitters went to town. As Parker pointed out on Twitter, the veteran ranked last in the majors in FIP, HR/9, swinging strike rate and first-pitch strike rate. Marquis' dismissal was more than warranted, but it opens yet another hole to plug in the rotation. There a number of replacement options, yet none are overly appealing. Anthony Swarzak has been working long relief and could be stretched out quickly, but he's best suited for where he's at. The same goes for Brian Duensing, who really seems to have found his calling as a lefty specialist. The Twins may consider recalling Liam Hendriks, who was demoted to Triple-A after posting a 9.00 ERA in four starts for Minnesota but has allowed only four runs on 10 hits in three turns since returning to Rochester. It's not uncommon for a young starter to get knocked around then head down to the minors to make some tweaks, returning later in the season with greater confidence (Kevin Slowey in 2007 is a good example). Another option would be Cole DeVries, a 27-year-old right-hander who's been moderately successful in Triple-A. Although he's a nice story as a local guy from Eden Prairie, I don't think DeVries is a likely candidate to succeed in the majors as he's a soft-tosser with a 1.41 career WHIP in Triple-A. But perhaps the Twins feel differently. Personally, I'd be in favor of adding Anthony Slama – who has struck out 20 batters over 11 2/3 scoreless innings in his past 10 appearances at Triple-A, where his ERA sits at 0.45 – to the 40-man roster and getting him up in the bullpen, sliding either Swarzak or Duensing into the starting corps. It's not ideal, but "ideal" has pretty much flown out the window at this point. At least Swarzak and Duensing are reasonably good bets to hold their own as a No. 5 starter and the Twins could finally get an extended look at what they have in Slama. What move(s) would you make in the aftermath of the Marquis news?