Seth Stohs

Regarding Vargas/Grossman/Morrison... I wasn't as big of a fan of the Morrison signing as most around here, but if Vargas is the alternative, I don't get too excited about that. Would he be doing better than a guy who's started out 4-46 or something? Sure. Grossman's like 1-23 since his opening day hit. But I'd take both of them over Vargas. Vargas is good depth. Regarding Gordon... 1.) There's no reason to bring him up unless he's ready - and based on his 2nd half last year, defensive question marks and ability to hit LHP last year, there's no reason for them to think that, 2.) He's not on the 40-man roster and no need to put him there yet.

I don't know with certainty, but this is pretty normal around minor league baseball early in the season. All those guys that were signed to minor league deals with big league invites go somewhere. They don't want to lose them right away, so they just make room. Obviously if Gonsalves and Littell pitch well, they'll move up.

Yup,, Granite's on the 40-man roster already (as is Jake Cave). Both are hitting under .200 in Rochester right now, but that's pretty unimportant at this point. Gordon's off to a start again, just like he was last year, and Wade is Wade. Great PAs, walks, solid all around.

I had tweeted that he "Mashed" his first homer of the year. Chris was at the game. Hopefully one wind-aided homer will get him going! Also, Zander Wiel had the walk off the night before. He had doubles in his first two at bats in Game 1. Then his third at bat, he drilled another ball down the third base line. The left fielder had some issues with it and Wiel just kept running for an inside-the-park home run. He's been on fire.

The best Twins minor league news I heard yesterday came on Instagram. I was on Mariana's live instagram chat, and Luis Arraez came on and told us that he is supposed to be activated and play for the Miracle starting tonight!

I think most would have argued, even then, that Mauer was an elite prospect too.

Without going back and looking, I'm going to venture that it is the first time. Wiel will get a little time in LF. He's spent most of his time in LF since Rooker got to Ft. Myers last year.

That was pretty impressive...

I mean... that's pretty intentional because there is NO answer to the question... there is no way to know what would have happened. The Cubs had Wood, Prior and Zambrano and couldn't win a World Series. So there's no way to know who will win a World Series. So yes, it's all tangents and thoughts and theories.

Yesterday, we took a look back at the 2001 draft. Specifically, we reviewed the decision that the Twins had with the first overall draft pick. Should they take Joe Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Well, 17 years later, it sure looks like the Twins made the right choice, though Prior was tremendous before injuries ended his career prematurely. Today, I thought it might be fun to take a look at the situation and just ask what might have been if the Twins would have drafted, and been able to sign, Mark Prior.Back in 2009, Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times opined, “What looked like an incredible break - the Twins passing on Prior and taking the more ‘signable’ Mauer with the #1-overall pick - has turned into yet another example of how fate seems to taunt the Cubs and Cubs fans.” In hindsight, it is easy to say that the Twins made the right choice, but it is also fun to consider what would have happened if things had gone differently. What if the Twins would have drafted (and signed) Prior instead of Mauer? Let’s consider. … for the Twins Let’s start with an assumption that the Twins were actually able to convince Prior to sign. That’s a big assumption as Prior made it clear that he did not want to sign with the Twins at that time. But let’s think more positively. The Twins have a strong history of drafting high school hitters and college pitchers. That was even more the case at that time for years to follow. Looking at some of the pitchers that the Twins employed in the early-to-mid ‘90s, you see a lot of college guys. Starting pitchers included names like Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn, Brian Duensing, and Jeff Manship, who were all drafted out of college. The Twins moved each of them fairly aggressively in the minor leagues, and yet, in comparison to Prior, they were very patient. Of course, none of them were the #2 overall pick, or even first round picks. The Twins likely would have had Mark Prior begin his professional career at Ft. Myers (High-A). He would have maybe spent a half-season there, and after the Florida State League All-Star Game, he may have been promoted to New Britain (Double A affiliate at that time). Honestly, because the Twins were in the playoffs, he probably would have been called up directly from Double A. If not, he would have gone to spring training 2003 with an opportunity to make the Opening Day roster. And he probably would have. The Twins have been known for taking care of their pitchers, especially young pitchers, at least once Ron Gardenhire took over as manager. Dusty Baker was willing to let Kerry Wood and Mark Prior throw 120 to 140 (or more) pitches late into the season. I have no doubt that the Twins would have controlled pitch and inning counts much more tightly. Does that mean that Prior would have stayed healthy? There’s no way to know that with any certainty. It is possible that Prior had underlying arm issues that may have caused inevitable injury. However, it is also possible that he could have been an All-Star, Cy Young-contending starter for the Twins from 2003 through 2008, and maybe beyond. And think about the Twins 2006 team. That roster included the AL MVP (Justin Morneau), a top closer (Joe Nathan) and the AL Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana. They also had Michael Cuddyer, Torii Hunter, Jason Bartlett, Brad Radke and a strong bullpen. How much could a healthy Mark Prior have helped that team? The thought of Prior and Santana in the same rotation, along with Brad Radke, and ideally a healthy Francisco Liriano is sure fun to think about. (Of course, the AL Batting title winner (Mauer) would not have been on the team.) … for the Cubs Had the Twins taken Prior, the likelihood is that the Cubs would have drafted Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira who was said to be looking for a $15 million deal after the draft. (With the Rangers, as the fifth pick, he signed a four-year, $9.5 million big league contract with a $4.5 million bonus.) Teixeira would have moved quickly through the Cubs farm system and probably put up numbers similar to those he has put up with the Rangers, Braves, Angels, and Yankees in his career. But would the Cubs have kept Aramis Ramirez or acquired Derrek Lee? Would they have gone after Alfonso Soriano? I would venture to guess that Teixeira would have been a building block for the Cubs and would likely not have played for as many teams in his career. … for Joe Mauer To me, it makes a lot of sense that the Tampa Bay Devil Rays would have selected Joe Mauer with the third pick in the 2001 draft. The Rays were a team that was constantly building at that time. They had a lot of early draft picks that they used to select several talented high school players. They took Carl Crawford in 1999, Rocco Baldelli in 2000, BJ Upton in 2002, and Delmon Young with the first-overall pick in the 2003 draft. Mauer likely would have thrived with the Rays had this scenario played out. While he batted third through most of his career with the Twins, you have to assume that Joe Maddon may not have been afraid to bat him leadoff. As earlier adopters of analytics, the Rays would have loved Mauer’s on-base percentage at the top of the lineup. Assuming health, it’s hard to believe that Mauer would not have been equally successful with the Rays. Now, the economic reality is that the Rays would not have been able to keep him through free agency. The Twins actually extended him for two years beyond free agency before giving him the big contract. The Twins had to do the deal for a variety of reasons, including the new stadium, his performance on and off the field, and being a hometown player. If the Rays would have pushed him to the big leagues as quickly as the Twins did (likely), he probably would have been traded either before or after his 2009 season. At that time, Jorge Posada and Jason Varitek were on their last legs with the Yankees and Red Sox, respectively, so there would have been a big market and the Rays could have received a lot for Mauer. Mauer would likely have gone to a team that was in the playoffs often and would have had some great playoff and maybe World Series moments. Assuming health, he would have received, probably, an even bigger contract than the Twins gave him. CONCLUSIONS The Twins had a huge decision to make in 2001. Should they draft the All-American, can’t-miss college pitcher from a baseball-rich college? Or, should they take the tremendous high school athlete with the full ride scholarship to Florida State for football and baseball - a guy from their backyard with the perfect swing, a strong arm, and the perfect mentality? The Twins went chose Mauer, and have never looked back or questioned it. Fortunately for the state of Minnesota, Mauer has proven the Twins right over time, regardless of what Prior has done in his career, by being one of the best players in baseball. Even if Prior somehow goes on to win three or four Cy Young Awards, the Twins’ selection is justified. It was not a case of the team being “cheap”: Mauer’s signing bonus still ranks among the highest of all time (in part because of baseball going to the slotting system in the draft). It was not a case of picking the hometown kid over a better player (as the Padres did in 2004 when they picked Matt Bush instead of Justin Verlander). Scouting and the baseball draft can be such an inexact science. The Twins have a solid track record in drafting and player development, but no team is perfect all of the time. In 2001, the Twins had a difficult decision, and they made the right choice. Click here to view the article

Chatted with a couple of people... There is no longer the rule that two-sport athletes can get their bonus over 5 years.

Without looking, I'm going to guess that this isn't unusual. A guy like Colt Griffin was fascinating... Few had heard of him a year before the draft, then someone saw him hit 102 on the radar gun... didn't pan out.

I don't really know the Why, but that was (maybe still is) something that teams are able to do. I'll see if I can find out more. I assume there has to be a scholarship involved or something.

I thought Carlos Carrasco was starting on Wednesday for Cleveland.

I may have missed one, but I believe that is the most pitches that any Twins minor league starting pitcher has thrown in a game so far this season. I think it's more about it being his second start of the year, and how disjointed the season has been due to weather and such.

There was only one Twins minor league affiliate whose game was postponed. Of course, only two of the four teams were even scheduled to play. The result? Well, tonight’s Twins Minor League Report has a few transactions and a Rochester Red Wings game story. But it was a good game in which Kennys Vargas and Tyler Duffey starred, and Fernando Romero started. Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system.TRANSACTIONS With Ryan LaMarre headed to Puerto Rico as the Twins 26th man, relief pitcher Ryne Harper was promoted to the Red Wings. Cody Stashak was then promoted from Ft. Myers to Chattanooga to take Harper’s spot. Presumably Ft. Myers will add a pitcher on Tuesday when they return to play. Will that be a pitcher from Cedar Rapids, or will they just bring someone over from extended spring training for a game or two? RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Charlotte 3 Box Score The Red Wings traveled to Charlotte from Gwinnett after being rained out on Sunday. There’s no question that Kennys Vargas would much prefer to be hanging out in Puerto Rico than in North Carolina this week. But after a DFA-filled spring training, he’s not on the 40-man roster, and not with his countrymen Jose Berrios and Eddie Rosario in the Caribbean. Maybe he decided to take it out on the baseball. Or maybe he just wanted to lead the Red Wings to a win, and that’s what he did. Vargas got the Red Wings on the board in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly. In the sixth inning, he knocked his first home run of the season to give the team a 3-2 lead. In the seventh inning, he gave the team some insurance with another sacrifice fly. He ended the game 2-3 and added his first double of the season to go with his first home run. Taylor Featherston found himself on base often. He went 1-2 with three walks. Jake Cave reached three times via the walk. Brock Stassi was 1-3 with a walk. Fernando Romero was supposed to start on Sunday, but instead he made the Monday night start. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out four batters. However, he came out one out shy of being able to record a win, 4.2 innings, because his pitch count was already at 81 (48 strikes). Tyler Duffey came on and got the final out of the fifth inning. He then worked three more innings. In his 3.1 innings, he gave up just one hit. He didn’t issue any walks and struck out six. 28 of his 37 pitchers were strikes. John Curtiss came on for the ninth inning. He gave up a run on two hits. He struck out two. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga, Jacksonville The Lookouts were scheduled to start a home series against Jacksonville, but rains caused the game to be postponed. The teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday. MIRACLE MATTERS The Miracle had a scheduled off day on Monday. KERNELS NUGGETS The Kernels had a scheduled off day on Monday. It will be interesting to see if they are able to play in Beloit starting on Tuesday. Steve Buhr recently caught up with Kernels manager Toby Gardenhire who said that the team has “a lot of guys are doing some really good things.” STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Duffey, Rochester Red Wings TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects (or, I guess just “Prospect” tonight, performed: #2 - Fernando Romero (Rochester) - 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04 CST) - LHP Dietrich Enns Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Zack Littell Ft. Myers @ Dunedin (5:30) - RHP Sean Poppen Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s game, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

On Thursday night, Joe Mauer reached the 2,000 hit milestone. The milestone has brought some well-deserved attention back to the Mauer. One topic that came back to my mind was the 2001 draft. Should the Twins take Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Mark Teixeira was also in that draft, but it really came down to Mauer versus Prior. We know what Joe Mauer's career has looked like. Mark Prior was tremendous the first two seasons of his career, 2002 and 2003, then injuries marred what could have been an incredible career. He didn’t pitch in another big league game after the 2006 season. He has spent the last few seasons as a pitching coordinator in the Padres system. Before this season, he was named the bullpen coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2010, I wrote an article about this topic and talked to Twins Director of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff. In 2001, he was the organization's scouting director. Since 2010, Mauer has continued to accumulate numbers. As you know, he was an All Star caliber player right up until that day in 2013 when he took a foul tip off of his face mask. In 2017, we saw some return to form for Mauer with a batting average over .300. He's off to a tremendous start in 2018.The Minnesota Twins went 69-93 during the 2000 season which "earned" them the Number One overall pick in 2001. There were several good prospects available in that draft including Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira, East Tennessee State University pitcher Dewon Brazelton, and Baltimore high school pitcher Gavin Floyd. Two players were generally viewed at the top of the charts; University of Southern California pitcher Mark Prior and Minnesota high school catcher Joe Mauer. Current Twins director of player personnel Mike Radcliff was the Twins scouting director in 2001. In that role, he was ultimately in charge of the Twins draft. In 2010, I talked to Radcliff and he said, "We scouted and considered all of [those] players, but it ultimately came down to Mauer and Prior for our selection.” CASE FOR MARK PRIOR The Californian native was well known in scouting circles. He had been the New York Yankees first-round draft pick in 1998 but decided to go to USC. As the 2001 draft approached, many were calling him the best pitching prospect ever (something that comes around about once every six to seven years). Prior was what every scout loves to see in a pitcher. At 6’5” and 230 pounds, he had a very projectable and durable body type. His fastball reached into the mid-90s. He had a very good curveball. He had impeccable control. His mechanics were said to be fluid, a perfect example of how a pitcher needed to throw to stay healthy. In his junior season with the Trojans, Prior went 15-1 with a 1.70 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. In 138 innings, he walked just 18 batters (and two of those were intentional) and struck out 202. Most believed Prior would likely be able to contribute at the major league level almost immediately. However, that was a notion that Prior himself shot down at the time by telling USA Today, “I still have a lot to learn. Once you get into the majors - or even the minors - the learning curve is so great. For me to make that jump straight from the college level to the major leagues is kind of far-fetched for me to believe.” THE CASE FOR JOE MAUER Joe Mauer was a prep star from St. Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall High School, a catcher known for a flawless left-handed swing and strong arm. He was a terrific all-around athlete. At 6’5”, he was the National Player of the Year in football and baseball, and a two-time all-state performer on the basketball court. But everyone knew that baseball was Mauer’s sport of preference. When he was 16 years old, Mauer played for Team USA in an 18-and-under tournament in Taiwan and won the gold medal. He was the catcher for the Team USA Junior National Team for three years and hit .595 his final season. During his senior season of baseball, he hit .600 with 15 homers and 53 RBI. Radcliff noted that the Twins were well aware of Mauer early and followed him very closely. “Joe was on our follow list as a sophomore in [high school]. Our scouts watched him compete in all sports throughout his [high school] career. As a senior, Joe was being heavily scouted by most teams. We had someone from the Twins at all of his games that year.” THE CONCERNS WITH MARK PRIOR In baseball circles, the belief was that Mark Prior was looking for $20 million to sign. There were rumors that he would not sign with the Twins if they selected him. After having failed to sign other first-round picks in the past like Tim Belcher, Jason Varitek, and Travis Lee, it would have been discouraging if the Twins were not able to sign another top pick, especially the first overall pick. At that time, there was no compensation for not signing a first-round draft pick as there is today. According to Radcliff, Prior’s contract demands were not a concern for the Twins. He said, “We had complete support from the GM and ownership to select anybody we deemed worthy of the number-one pick. There were going to be significant dollars to whomever was selected.” There is the inherent risk with any pitcher for arm injuries. College pitchers are especially risky as many rack up a crazy number of innings. What do Ben McDonald, Matt Anderson, Kris Benson, Paul Wilson, and Brian Bullington have in common? Each of those pitchers was the number-one overall pick in their draft. Each of them had major arm injuries that kept them from reaching their potential. Add in top college pitchers (like Darren Dreifort, Kyle Sleeth, Philip Humber) who were also highly drafted, and you can see the reality is that there is no such thing as a sure thing pitching prospect. Even in recent years, Stephen Strasburg had to have Tommy John surgery. Regarding Prior, Radcliff said, “There is always risk for any pitcher to get hurt - most pitchers have had some sort of surgery or extended injury by the time they reach the major leagues. There was no more or less concern with Mark Prior before the draft.” THE CONCERNS WITH JOE MAUER Using a high draft pick on any high school player carries a substantial amount of risk. Teams spend a lot of money on a signing bonus for someone they are projecting may develop into a big leaguer in three years, or six years, or not at all. Drafting high school catchers can be especially difficult since they not only have to learn to hit at the pro level, but also to catch, call a game, work with pitchers, and more. One other concern with Joe Mauer was geographic. High school baseball in Minnesota (and other northern states) can involve a very short season. While games are usually scheduled to start in early April, most years snow still covers the ground until the middle of the month (see 2018). The short season leads to few opportunities for scouts to see players. Finally, Joe Mauer had a full scholarship offer and had already committed to play for Bobby Bowden and Florida State to play football (where he also would have played baseball). With his athletic prowess, Mauer certainly had options on which to fall back. THE TWINS DECISION After years of scouting both players, the Twins made Joe Mauer the first pick in the 2001 MLB Draft. He became the third player to be taken with the top pick by his hometown team. The Twins made their decision three days before the draft. Radcliff was very certain and confident in the selection. “The conviction level was the highest it could possibly be for a [high school] selection. The combination of athletic ability, skill level on offense and defense, and makeup was unanimous amongst all of us who were involved with the decision. He had the best swing mechanics and hit approach that many of us had ever seen and he profiled defensively as a Gold Glove receiver.” Signability may have been a greater concern with Prior, but the Twins knew Mauer would not be cheap either. Mark Wilson was the scout who signed Mauer. The $5.15 million bonus that the Twins handed him is still one of the largest signing bonuses given to a drafted player. Because Mauer was a two-sport athlete, the Twins were able to spread out payment of the bonus over five years. The Chicago Cubs selected Prior with the second pick in the draft that year. He signed late in the summer for a signing bonus was $4 million as part of a five-year, $10.5 million major league contract. In Part 2, I'll take a stab at how things may have been different if the Twins had selected Prior instead of Mauer. Click here to view the article

He's excited to be in Tennessee. I think he was hitting 3rd, in part, because Nick Gordon got the day off. He's been in the middle of that lineup almost every day though. He can hit a bit. And yes, it'll be nice when these affiliates,, and the Twins, can get going on a normal schedule and get their games in consistently.

Not sure what you're asking for. Are you asking for: 1.) an updated stat line? 2.) A sentence of some sort?

It appears that those runs are considered unearned.

Wells has a chance to be really good. He'd probably be in my post-going-to-spring-training-Top 30. He was close before. But he lost like 25 pounds in the offseason and looks much different, and he did so without losing his stuff... He definitely has a chance, but I don't think they'll rush him at all.

This is as good as anything Nick has ever written, which says a lot. This was fantastic!