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Seth Stohs

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Blog Entries posted by Seth Stohs

  3. Seth Stohs
    Earlier this week, I handed out the “awards” for Twins minor league relief pitcher and starting pitcher of the month for May. Today, it’s time to recognize the hitters. You’ll certainly notice that I ranked a top 6 for the two pitching categories and yet, today, I rank just five hitters. I wanted to give six, but there were a lot of guys that were in the same range, and none quite made me say that he had to be added. Miguel Sano, for instance, had an 0-24 stretch and a 1-39 stretch, and yet, he posted a .791 OPS for the month due to six doubles and seven home runs. He may have been #6 despite a .233 batting average. Tyler Grimes and Adam Bryant of the Snappers also had very solid months of day.
     
    Here are my selections for the Top 5 Twins Minor League hitters in May:
     
    Number 5 – New Britain/Rochester – Wilkin Ramirez - (34-116) .293/.305/500 with six doubles, three triples, four home runs and 12 RBI.
     
    The Twins signed Wilkin Ramirez early in the offseason as a minor league free agent. He was once a top prospect in the Tigers organization and spent time in 2009 with the big league club. He also got time with the Atlanta Braves just last season. Ramirez began a rehab stint with Ft. Myers in late April and that continued in New Britain as the calendar changed to May. He hit .388 with three doubles, three triples and four home runs in just 11 games with the Rock Cats. He got off to a fast start with Rochester, but has really slumped of late. He has just three hits in his last 28 at bats. He is a rather free swinger which shows in his 3:34 walk to strikeout rate this season. Still just 26 years old, Ramirez does have some potential to help the Twins or other teams in the future.
     
    Number 4 – Beloit – Drew Leachman - (27-96) .281/.381/.396 with two doubles, 3 home runs and 12 RBI.
     
    Leachman started his June last night with a three-hit game at Quad Cities, a continuation of the solid hitting that he put forth throughout the month of May. Leachman was a late-round pick last year out of Division III Birmingham Southern. He began this season in the GCL, so he just made his Snappers debut in May. He quickly produced, showing power, and has been a regular in the lineup since, splitting time between the corner outfield positions and first base.
     
    Number 3 – Beloit – Jonathan Goncalves - (27-92) .293/.393/.402 with five doubles, one triple, one home run and 11 RBI.
     
    Goncalves has been in the organization for a long time. Two years ago, he was working in Extended Spring Training when there was an outfield shortage with the Ft. Myers Miracle. He has always been fast and had a very good glove, so he was promoted directly to the Miracle. It was supposed to be short-term, but he held his own and stayed the full season. He went back to the FSL last year and although the defense remained a constant, his bat really struggled. Late in the year, he was sent back to Beloit, where he should have been. He returns there this year and after a slow start, he has come on strong in May. He is not a small guy, built strong which explains the extra base hits.
     
    Number 2 - Rochester – Matt Carson - (27-92) .293/.393/.435 with eight doubles, one triple, one home run and nine RBI.
     
    Carson signed as a minor league free agent in the offseason. He has had a lot of AAA success, but has had just a few short cups of coffee in the big leagues. He has had several 25 homer seasons in recent years. At 30, people (myself included) wondered why the Twins signed Carson (and Ramirez) when the Rochester roster was to include Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni (and later included Ben Revere). But Carson has been the most consistent hitter in the Red Wings roster. In May, he produced ten extra base hits. If the Twins want someone to kind of take over in right field, or a right-handed pinch hitter, don’t be surprised if Carson gets an opportunity.
    The May Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is...
    Ft. Myers Miracle OF Oswaldo Arcia (29-109) .358/.388/.598 with ten doubles, one triple, four home runs and 18 RBI.
     
    In the offseason, the Twins added Arcia to the 40 man roster. He has made a name for himself with his bat. He was the Appy League Hitter of the year in 2010. He dominated for Beloit last April, and then after elbow surgery he was promoted to Ft. Myers. That’s where he returned in 2012. In April, he missed some time due to a leg injury, but in May, he has been tremendous. Sure, he is not a big fan of walking and probably strikes out too much. He also really struggles against left-handed pitching. However, against righties, he is incredible, and that really started to show again in May. He had many multi-hit games and the 15 extra base hits in the month. Oswaldo Arcia was the easy choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month.
     
    Please feel free to discuss.
  9. Seth Stohs
    Join Seth at 1:00 CST for a live Twins chat. Feel free to ask questions on the Minnesota Twins, the minor leagues, prospect rankings, the upcoming draft... or anything baseball-related. These chats are always fun and entertaining. This will be taking place during the Twins/Tigers series finale, so it'll be good. (Of course, if this time doesn't work for you to participate, you can come back later to read the transcript.)
     
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    Twins Daily Live Twins Chat
  12. Seth Stohs
    The debut of Cole De Vries was a game with several ups and downs. De Vries struck out Alejandro de Aza, the first batter he faced. He threw a scoreless first inning. Then in the second frame, AJ Pierzynski got him. He was charged with three unearned runs in the third inning after an error, a pop up and a blooper. He then got seven batters out. Given a 5-4 lead, he went out for the 6th inning and served up back-to-back home runs to Paul Konerko and Alexi Rios and his debut was over. His line at the end of the day was six runs (3 earned) on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four, but three solo home runs added up. Brian Duensing came in and gave up three hits and a walk. The biggest hit in his inning was a grand slam. Jeff Gray threw a scoreless inning. Jared Burton gave up a run in the eighth inning.
    The Twins fell 11-8 to the White Sox. The highlight for the Twins had to be Justin Morneau’s day at the plate. He was 3-5 with his seventh and eighth home runs, both long blasts. Joe Mauer was 2-4 with a walk and his second home run. Alexi Casilla was 2-4 with a double. Denard Span was 2-5 with his tenth double.
     
    If you missed it last night, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Seth was joined by Kyle Gibson, David Bromberg and Drew Leachman. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Thursday:
     
    ROCHESTER 3, GWINNETT 1
     
    After a day off, the Red Wings got a tidy win on the road in Gwinnett. Liam Hendriks started and gave up only an unearned run on five hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out nine and improved to 3-0. Anthony Slama came in to start the eighth inning. He struck out one batter but gave up two hits. Tyler Robertson came in and got the Red Wings out of the jam. Casey Fien came in and threw a scoreless ninth inning to record the save.
     
    JR Towles went 2-4. Sean Burroughs was 2-4 with an RBI. Matt Carson hit his 12th double. Clete Thomas and Danny Valencia each drove in a run.
    The Red Wings are now 20-26.
     
    NEW BRITAIN 6, BINGHAMPTON 4
     
    BJ Hermsen was back on the mound for the Rock Cats. The righty went seven innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on ten hits. He walked none and struck out three. Caleb Thielbar pitched the last two innings. He didn’t allow a run and struck out four and picked up his second win.
     
    Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth home run and two RBI. Matt Rizzotti hit his second homer and drove in two.
    They improved to 28-18, and they are 1.5 games ahead of Reading.
     
    FT. MYERS 1, CLEARWATER 2
     
    Madison Boer threw his best game with the Miracle. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out three. Matt Hauser struck out three in two shutout innings. Bruce Pugh struck out two in two scoreless innings.
     
    Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles. He went 0-12 in his first three games with the Miracle. Since then, he has gone 20-64 (.313) in 16 games. Josmil Pinto also hit his ninth double.
     
    Danny Rams was taken off of the Disabled List. The Miracle are now 18-29 and 18 games back in the division.
     
    BELOIT 9, CEDAR RAPIDS 2
     
    The Snappers played on Thursday afternoon and came out with a big win. AJ Achter got a spot start. He gave up two unearned runs in five innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five. Tyler Jones, a Milwaukee native, threw three scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. David Hurlbut threw a scoreless innings.
     
    Adam Bryant went 3-5. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his fourth homer run. Drew Leachman was 2-5 with his second double, third home run and three RBI. Kyle Knudson was 1-2 with three walks.
     
    Miguel Sano continues to struggle. He was 0-3 with two walks and two strikeouts. He is now 1-30 in his last seven games and 3-39 since turning 19.
     
    Nate Roberts as activated from the DL. Rory Rhodes went back Extended Spring Training. Jones was promoted with Bart Carter going on the D
    Disabled List.
     
    The Snappers are now 28-19, a game and a half back of Wisconsin.
     
    ---
     
    Players of the Day for Thursday, May 24, 2012
     
     
    Pitcher of the Day – Liam Hendriks
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    Hitter of the Day – Danny Ortiz
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    A Look Ahead – Friday, May 25, 2012 Schedule
     
    Rochester @ Gwinnett – LHP Matt Maloney
    New Britain @ Portland – LHP Andrew Albers
    Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach – RHP Miguel Munoz
    Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – RHP Tim Shibuya
    ---
    If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!
  20. Seth Stohs
    When spring training opened up in late February, I posted an article called Twins Two-Way Planning in which I said that the Twins 2011 roster was probably built perfectly to go one of two directions. In essence, if things went poorly, they had enough one-year, veteran contracts of guys that other teams might have interest in at the trade deadline. The Twins could get prospects to help push forward the rebuilding process.
     
    However, the other scenario was, “IF seven or eight of the factors listed above are going positively, AND the Twins are getting positive performances from their minor leaguers and these new players, AND the team is in contention in mid-July, THEN they will have plenty of payroll flexibility to add a significant piece or two at the deadline, if they choose.”
     
    So, what were the “factors listed above” and how are the Twins doing in those categories… you know, since they barely have double-digit wins on the season.

    FACTORS
    The health of Joe Mauer
    The health of Justin Morneau
    The health of Denard Span
    The elbow of Scott Baker
    The durability of Carl Pavano
    The mindset and performance of Francisco Liriano
    The improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and other young players
    Matt Capps ability to get outs in the 9th
    2-5 bullpen arms need to step up and contribute consistently well.
    Minor Leaguers coming up and contributing when needed throughout the season (Hendriks, Diamond, Gutierrez, Guerra, Waldrop, Oliveros, Benson, Parmelee, Dozier, etc.)



    Each one of those ten Factors was a factor whether or not the Twins brought in any free agents. If seven or eight of those factors wind up positive for the Twins, they have a chance to compete.
     
    Let’s review:
     
    Joe Mauer has been healthy, or at least he has been in the lineup all but one game this year. (1)
     
    Justin Morneau just came off of the 15 day disabled list. If there are positives from this, they are that 1.) he just missed the 15 days, and 2.) it was for wrist pain, not concussion symptoms.
     
    The health of Denard Span has been good all season, until the last couple of days when he has been out of the lineup with a hamstring injury. Hopefully this is just another day at most, and he’ll be back at the top of the lineup where he has been quite good. (2)
     
    The elbow of Scott Baker certainly was a big story in spring as Baker tried so hard to get back while also trying so hard to make people understand that he really was in pain. He went in for elbow surgery that turned into Tommy John surgery too.
     
    The durability of Carl Pavano probably can’t be questioned yet as he has not yet missed a start. However, concerns about his velocity have led to an MRI. He will make his next start this weekend, but this factor certainly is in flux at this point. (2.5)
     
    The mindset of Francisco Liriano is always a question, and despite very good performance throughout spring training, his performance since Opening Day has been nothing short of immensely disappointing. He was finally moved to the bullpen a week ago.
     
    The improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and otbher young players. I would assume that I meant players like Trevor Plouffe, Alexi Casilla and Luke Hughes in the “other” players grouping. Well, Valencia is in Rochester after a really horrible start to his season. Revere has spent most of the season in AAA as well. Plouffe is hitting below .150. Hughes was lost to the A’s when he was Designated for Assignment, and Casilla has a sub-.600 OPS.
     
    Matt Capps is 7-7 save opportunities and despite two losses, he has been pitching fairly well. (3.5)
     
    Two to five bullpen arms needed to step up. I would say that Glen Perkins, Matt Capps, Brian Duensing and Jared Burton have been really good in their roles this season. Anthony Swarzak has played multiple roles, but he has been solid for the most part. Jeff Gray has walked too many, but he has been better than expected. The bullpen was a huge concern coming into the season, and to this point, they have been alright. (4.5)
     
    It’s always good to get help from the minor league roster, and this will or can happen throughout the season. Scott Diamond and PJ Walters have come up from Rochester and been very good in limited duty so far. Brian Dozier made his much-anticipated 2012 debut and has been very solid defensively and with the bat in his ten days with the club. Hendriks and Parmelee struggled after making the Opening Day roster and are back in Rochester but likely will contribute later in the. Waldrop should be healthy soon. Deolis Guerra is doing very well. (5)
     
    As for the new guys, Willingham has carried the offense most of the season. Carroll has been a stabilizing force in the infield. Doumit started slow, but he has been great with the bat the last three weeks. (and now he may be hurt) However, Marquis has been quite bad, and Zumaya didn’t throw even twenty bullpen pitches before needing Tommy John surgery. (6)
     
    Add to these factors that the Twins starting pitchers’ have all performed to a nightmarish, worst-case-scenario, and although no one could have predicted 11-25, it shouldn’t be surprising that this team is struggling already in the season.
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