Seth Stohs

Maybe it was the pressure situation of coming in to a one-run game with two innings to go.

I'm in agreement on Rosario being sent down. Because of his strong debut for a rookie in 2015, he deserved an opportunity to start this season with every opportunity with the job despite the swing and miss tendencies. He got that for three weeks and then Arcia took off. I still believe enough in Rosario that I think sending him down makes sense. Have to try to get him going. Arcia should be starting against right-handers and get days off against lefties. That can help increase his number. If he's traded, cool. If not and he's good, keep him. He's cheap yet. Buxton and Kepler... Buxton's been good for almost two weeks but as others have said, I'd like to see him stay down there for another month. Let those adjustments kick in and become natural. I just don't want to see him back up and down. Kepler's been doing really well for maybe 4-5 games, raising his average from about .175 to almost .270 in that stretch, but it's the same thing. Let him succeed down there and learn a few more things. I wouldn't trade Jorge Polanco right now, unless you got something very good in return. Maybe later in the season. Alex Meyer was shut down after a bullpen session after his demotion was stopped due to shoulder fatigue, so obviously he's not worth bringing up right now... Maybe - like Kepler and Buxton - in a month. I just would keep him starting because of his upside and potential. Chargois was great through 5 games this year, but he's been very pedestrian since, and again, too much upside to throw to the wolves during this debacle. I know people hate seeing guys like Mastroianni and Kintzler and the like getting playing time, but it's probably better long-term for them to take some lumps when things are going so poorly than the guys you plan to build with. What I might do? Send down Rosario, play an outfield of Rosario, Buxton and Kepler in Rochester for the next month. And then at that time, assuming they're all doing fine and not completely lost, call them all up together and turn it over. Until then, deal with the Santana/Arcia/Mastro outfield and let Sano keep working out there. By mid-June, if there isn't like a 20-4 stretch about to start (gotta have just a little optimism!), start dealing. I don't know that anyone over the age of 27 would be off the market with the exception of Park. Obviously Mauer has the no-trade clause too. Obviously Plouffe would unfortunately be at the top of the list, allowing Sano to move back to 3B and Kepler to take RF. Have to keep throwing Jepsen out there, hoping he shows some signs so that they can deal him. Maybe they can turn minor league signings like Abad and Kintzler into C prospects. I'm not even going to say Dozier would be off limits. Maybe Nunez has some value during this hot streak. Could a team want a proven catcher to be a backup down the stretch. Can they get anything for Hughes or Nolasco? By about July 1st, I think this team should just be turned over to the youth. At that time, I'd like to see: C: Murphy/Centeno, 1B: Mauer, 2B: Polanco (if not Dozier), SS: Escobar, 3B: Sano, LF: Rosario/Arcia, CF: Buxton, RF: Kepler, DH: Park SP: Santana, Gibson, Berrios, Duffey, Meyer BP: May, Pressly, Tonkin, Dean, O'Rourke, Chargois, etc.

He was gone in 1986... this listing was since 1989.

While the big league club extended its losing streak to eight games and it’s record fell to just 8-26, there were some strong performances in the minor leagues. It’s clear that the Twins have focused on pitching the last several drafts, and on nights like tonight, they had four very solid starting pitching performances. There were also some good games by hitters and some clutch hits. So, even while we all hope for a major turnaround in the big league club, it is nice to have four other box scores to follow!Check out everything that happened on Friday in the Twins farm system. There were a few transactions and four good games to follow. TRANSACTIONS There were also a couple of minor league transactions: Rochester infielder Heiker Meneses was placed on the disabled list with a fractured wrist.Mitch Garver was placed on the Chattanooga disabled list with a concussion. Jairo Rodriguez replaced him on the roster.Andro Cutura was placed on Cedar Rapids’ DL with inflammation in his right elbow. Anthony McIver was called up from extended spring training.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 4, Syracuse 3 Box Score It’s been a rough year for him so far, but John Ryan Murphy’s eighth inning single scored Wilfredo Tovar to give the Red Wings a 4-3 lead. Ryan O’Rourke came in for the 9th and struck out two to record his second straight save since returning to the Red Wings. Jason Wheeler was terrific again. The left-hander struck out nine batters over the first six innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. The two runs scored on sixth inning home runs from Trea Turner and Scott Sizemore. Buddy Boshers came on to start the seventh inning. He gave up a run on a hit and got just two outs. Marcus Walden got the final out of that inning and worked a scoreless eighth frame. James Beresford led the offense. He went 2-4 with his seventh double and second triple. Max Kepler went 2-4 and drove in the Red Wings first run in the first inning. Kennys Vargas was also 2-4. Stephen Wickens added his second home run. Byron Buxton went 1-4. The win puts the Red Wings at 19-17 on the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Pensacola 1 Box Score After a shaky start to his season, Ryan Eades has been improved his last couple of outings. In this game, he gave up just one run on one hit over six innings. He walked three and struck out three. Mason Melotakis pitched a perfect seventh inning. Jake Reed recorded his second save with two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Dalton Hicks led the offense. He went 3-4 in the game. Daniel Palka was 2-4 with his eighth double. TJ White and Shannon Wilkerson were also 2-4. With the win, the Lookouts are now 15-20. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 3 Box Score Another day, another long start for Felix Jorge. On Friday, he went 7.1 innings and was charged with three runs. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out five. Through seven innings, he had given up just two runs. He left the game and Raul Fernandez gave up one run-scoring hit before getting two outs to end the inning. Jorge got 12 ground outs to go with just one fly out. In the top of the first, a Nick Gordon double (his seventh of the year) scored Tanner Witt. That was it for the Miracle scoring. Gordon and Witt were both 2-4. Edgar Corcino added his fourth double, but that was about it for the offense. The Miracle fall to 20-15 on the year. Jorge’s record falls to 2-3 despite a 1.80 ERA. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 13, Wisconsin 2 Box Score Fair to say that catcher AJ Murray has been the story of this game. The Georgia Tech alum is currently 5-5 with two home runs (his fourth and fifth of the year) and five RBI through seven innings. He came to the plate in the ninth inning and added a walk to his stat line. He scored five runs along with driving in five runs. Lefty Sam Clay - also from Georgia Tech - made the start. He went 5.2 innings and gave up one run on five hits. He walked four and struck out seven. Michael Cederoth got the final out of the sixth inning. He worked two more innings as well. Overall, he gave up no runs and no hits. He walked three and struck out four. With a big lead, lefty Anthony McIver came on to pitch the ninth, making his Midwest League debut. He gave up one run. Daniel Kihle was 2-5 with a double. Nelson Molina went 2-4 with two walks and four RBI. Cristian Cavaness went 2-4 with a walk. All nine Kernels starters had at least one hit. The team accumulated their 13 runs on 16 hits and 10 walks. BONUS VIDEO Bob Sacamento posted the following video of young Huascar Ynoa from extended spring training on Friday afternoon. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – AJ Murray, Cedar Rapids Kernels SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Logan Darnell Biloxi @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP DJ Baxendale Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) – LHP Randy Rosario Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:05 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

Fairly aggressive comp...

He went on the DL today with elbow inflammation.

Yeah, always talented, but he just couldn't stay out of trouble. I hope it works out for him. It's why I believe people deserve 2nd and 3rd and sometimes 4th chances.

Definitely worth watching. Not quite in my top 30, though he's close. Little guy, makes contact, uses the whole field. Second baseman. Worth watching.

I think there was a plan... I think the plan for five years was to build up the farm system. Check. I think they had no interest in going with a 100% young, sub-25 group. They wanted to mix in some reliable veterans. Check. (though the reliable hasn't really worked yet) They do have a good mix for ages. You don't want all old veterans. You don't want all young players. The Twins have young, medium and more veteran players, so to me, that makes a ton of sense if they thought they could win this year, which I think they did. Of course, if you're not going to win this year, then it has to shift more toward what is best for those younger players, whether that's letting them develop in AA/AAA or MLB. I definitely think there was a plan... it just isn't going very well, to say the least.

Correct, and the key will be to 1.) let them develop appropriately in the minors and get to the big leagues ready or very close, and 2.) surrounding them with enough veterans to help them with the physical, mental and emotional ups and downs of a season. I also think picking the right "place holder" veterans is important too.

Not sure what Gene Glynn has to do with John Ryan Murphy... I tweeted yesterday about Meyer. When he got back to Rochester, he did a bullpen and felt some shoulder fatigue, so they pushed him back. From what I've heard, the hope is he'll make a start next week.

What Van Steensel did was remarkable. In the 8th inning, he came on with the bases loaded and nobody out. He struck out the next batter before starting a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning. The ninth started with him giving up a triple. He got a ground out (with the runner not scoring) and then struck out two to end the game. All of that with a 4-3 lead. Very impressive!

Travis Harrison (RF) and Shannon Wilkerson (CF) collided last night. Harrison had to leave the game. He seemed fine after the game, but he told me that he'd be checked by a doctor this morning to make sure all was OK. https://twitter.com/RickNymanSport/status/730908004124626945

There is a narrative right now that I hear often among some Twins fans. Some of the struggles that the 8-25 Minnesota Twins team are due to the team being young. However, as I look through the Twins current roster, it’s hard to deem the team as young at all. So, I looked at a few things to try to decide whether it really is a young team or not. I looked at the weighted age for Twins hitters and pitchers so far this season. I compared those ages to every Twins team since the franchise moved to Minnesota in 1961. I also compared the individuals on the 2016 Twins roster to the teams they are often lumped in with, the 1982 team and the 1999 team. Are there any comparisons? Finally, I compared the age, right now, of the 2016 Minnesota Twins against the other team’s in the American League Central division.EXPLAINING WEIGHTED AGE First, it is important to know what the term weighted age means. Basically, it is how Baseball-Reference measures the age of a team. For hitters, it is a formula using at-bats and games played. For pitchers, the formula includes (3 x games started) plus games plus saves. As you can see, the overall age is based on playing time. Joe Mauer’s age (32) bears more weight than Max Kepler’s age (23) because Mauer has many, many more at-bats and games played in 2016. Basically, playing time is used in conjunction with the age in order to determine weighted age. What does this mean? The numbers that you will see below for 2016 are going to change. Should the Twins go into sell mode at some point this season and trade veterans and then call up young players, the weighted age will go down. But the narrative that the Twins struggles are at least in part due to youth speaks to right now. And right now, the Minnesota Twins are not a particularly young team. THE 2016 TWINS ROSTER The average age of the Twins pitchers this year is 29.0. Ricky Nolasco and Ervin Santana are 33. 32-year-old Casey Fien still accounts for a percentage of this year’s age. Kevin Jepsen is 31. Fernando Abad and Phil Hughes are 30. Of course, if Glen Perkins (33) were healthy, the average age would be even higher. Kyle Gibson and Ryan O’Rourke are the eldest of the ‘below average-aged’ pitchers at 28. Ryan Pressly is 27. Trevor May and Michael Tonkin at 26. Of course, as Tyler Duffey (25) and Jose Berrios (22) make more starts, the weighted age for Twins pitchers will go down some. The average age of the Twins hitters this year is 27.4. That is helped by 22-year-old Byron Buxton and 23-year-old Miguel Sano getting a lot of at-bats early in the season. Eddie Rosario (24) and 25-year-olds Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana and John Ryan Murphy all factor into it as well. Eduardo Escobar (27) is right about the average age. Meanwhile 29-year-olds Brian Dozier, Byung Ho Park and Eduardo Nunez all have significant at-bats. Trevor Plouffe is 30. Kurt Suzuki is 32, and Joe Mauer is 33. At some point, Buxton will get back and that will lower the age. If eventually John Ryan Murphy or 26-year-old Juan Centeno take more at- bats from Suzuki, that will lower it. If the Twins were to do what some fans would like and trade Trevor Plouffe, Miguel Sano could move to third base and Max Kepler (23) could play right field. Eventually one would think Jorge Polanco (23) will also get more playing time. TWINS HISTORY BY AGE I looked at all 56 years of Minnesota Twins history. The 2016 Twins hitters (27.4 average age) rank 24th while the 29.0 year old pitchers ranked 50th of the 56 Twins rosters in age. It is important to note that this weighted age is just a number. It isn’t any sort of direct correlation to winning or losing. Obviously the talent of the players, regardless of the age, determines the winning. Here is a quick look at some of the best Twins teams in history: 1965 - Hitters (27.4), Pitchers (28.5) 1969 - Hitters (28.9), Pitchers (28.9) 1987 - Hitters (27.8), Pitchers (31.4) 1991 - Hitters (29.1), Pitchers (28.6) 2006 - Hitters (28.2), Pitchers (26.9) That 1987 Twins pitching staff was led by Frank Viola (27) and Bert Blyleven (36). They also had starts from 42-year-olds Joe Niekro and Steve Carlton. Their key bullpen guys were all over 31. COMPARISON TO AL CENTRAL Chicago - Hitters (29.1), Pitchers (28.2) Cleveland - Hitters (29.8), Pitchers (28.1) Detroit - Hitters (29.8), Pitchers (29.8) Kansas City - Hitters (29.5), Pitchers (30.5) Minnesota - Hitters (27.4), Pitchers (29.0) So, compared to the division, the Twins hitters are a couple of years younger while the pitchers are right around average. THE 1982 TWINS Some compare this Twins team to the 1999 Twins team that contained more than a dozen rookies. Others like to think of the 1982 Twins team that developed the core for that 1987 championship team. 1982 Twins - Hitters (25.3), Pitchers (25.2) 1999 Twins - Hitters (26.8), Pitchers (26.3) 2016 Twins - Hitters (27.4), Pitchers (29.0) The 1982 Twins roster ‘boasts’ the youngest hitters and youngest pitchers in the Twins 56 seasons. The roster was a good example of throwing people to the fire. Some were hits and a big part of the 1987 championship. Some are a good reminder that not all young players and prospects make it. Here’s a list: Age - Name(s) 21 - Tom Brunansky 22 - Kent Hrbek, Lenny Faedo (SS), Brad Havens (LHP), Frank Viola 23 - Gary Gaetti, Randy Johnson (DH), Randy Bush, Jim Eisenrich 24 - Tim Laudner, Terry Felton (LHP), Jack O’Connor (LHP) 25 - John Pacella (RHP), Dave Engle (C/OF) Larry Milbourne was a utility infielder who got 98 at-bats for that team. He was 31. Ron Washington was 30. He accumulated 451 at-bats. Fernando Arroyo (LHP, 30) pitched in six games. The oldest pitcher who actually pitched quite a bit was RHP Albert Williams. He was 28 in 1982 and had already lived a very interesting life. He had signed with the Pirates in 1975 and pitched two years in the minors. He was released because the Nicaraguan government wouldn’t grant him a visa. He joined the Sandinista rebels and fought jungle warfare in the Nicaraguan Revolution. He was eventually smuggled out of the country and came to the States. He pitched for the Twins from 1980 until 1984. Yes, the 1982 Twins were very young. That 1982 team took their lumps. They went 60-102. While they competed in 1984 until very late in the season, it was five years until the team made the playoffs and won the World Series. SUMMARY Part of what is so confusing about this 2016 team is that it has a solid mix of young, old and everything in between. There are veterans who have experienced success in the big leagues. Joe Mauer is having a tremendous season, but few other veterans are getting the job done to the level we would hope. That isn’t to say that they won’t, just that they haven’t yet. The young guys are going through the somewhat-expected adversities. Miguel Sano isn’t hitting like he did in 2015. The league has adjusted to him, and now he will need to show that he can adjust back. That isn’t an easy thing to do. Just ask Danny Santana, Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas and Eddie Rosario. That doesn’t mean they won’t. It just takes time, and it’s different for everyone. While there are several very young players on the Twins roster and there will likely be several more getting significant playing time as the season moves on (which will lower their average age over the course of the season), it isn’t accurate to call this a young team. Click here to view the article

First, the article Parker wrote, interviewing Antony was like 4 years ago... I'm guessing that he knows a ton more about the subject now than he did then. And second, I agree that a GM doesn't need to know the minutiae. They need to have smart people like Jack Goin (analytics group), Brad Steil (player development side), Mike Radcliff and others around him to make sure he is getting all of the informatnion on every move.

My thought on this is this: Start in Ft. Myers until July 1 or 15 or so, and the move to the bullpen. At that point, he could move up to Chattanooga to pitch out of the bullpen. Next year, start the season in Chattanooga, as a starter. See how he does. Maybe it's August 1st when he moves to the bullpen, or maybe he's strong throughout and they can still limit innings. Who knows, he could come up by the end of 2017 depending on need and role.

Agree on Gonsalves... maybe they want him to put up some crazy numbers to improve his odds of pitching in the Futures Game in his hometown of San Diego. That would be awesome if he got to do that. When did Berrios move up a couple of years ago? He moved up and made 1-2 starts for New Britain before the Futures Game. But, aside from Gonsalves and maybe Wade, we aren't talking about a lot of guys. It's not some catastrophic situation.

Chargois moved up to AAA on Saturday (sometime over the weekend)... Agree on Gonsalves... They can't just be cookie cutter though. Best thing they did for Kohl Stewart was letting him stay in Ft. Myers to start this season. Maybe the best thing for LeBlanc was to let him start in CR. Berrios should be the exception, not the rule... He's really good. Just too many variables. Wade... sure... But a week ago, many said Palka should move up and he's struggled the last 10 days... Doesn't hurt for them to prove their first month at a new level to be fact rather than mirage, ya know?

Of course it was a little over the top, but simply put, not all prospects move up at the same pace. You can't make a judgment on every pitcher within 1-2 years. There are fast-risers and there are some that move at a slower pace. The Twins have pushed Berrios to the big leagues at 21. The thought that they don't push their top prospects is silly at this point. But to think that guys like Slegers and Eades and Stewart should be promoted at the same pace isn't fair to the players or the organization. To think that Cody Stashak should be at Ft. Myers just isn't fair to him. He's made 4 starts in Cedar Rapids. There will be guys like Thorpe and Romero coming up from EST at some point in the next 4-6 weeks, and there will be changes. But to think that guys like Albers don't provide some value to Rochester's roster when 3-4 of their Opening Day starters are in the big leagues isn't fair either. And no, Slegers isn't ready for AAA (and that doesn't make him a lesser prospect because of it)... I can go with DJ Baxendale moving up. I have no problem with that. But teams also need depth. I don't necessarily understand the Nick Greenwood signing, but he's left-handed and pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals (including in the big leagues) the last two years. Why not try to find lightning sometimes?

I'd never say that top prospects should be blocked. I'd also say that keeping a top prospect at the right level isn't always a bad thing either. I've said many times that I think Gonsalves is ready to move up. I think a case could be made for Stewart. Those two are top prospects. When they deem them ready, they'll make room for those guys. Jay needs to be more consistent. Jorge just needs another 5-6 starts at the level to see how it goes. Pushing guys can be good, or it can be completely detrimental, and I certainly won't pretend to know when the perfect time to promote a pitcher (or hitter, for that matter) is. LeBlanc and Clay likely move up when Gonsalves and Stewart move up. I'm comfortable with that. But Andrew Albers isn't keeping anyone from pitching at Rochester. Slegers has had mixed success in about 8-10 AA starts. There's no need for him to jump to AAA right now. Giving up on Eades at this point would be silly. Maybe he becomes a long reliever. Maybe he flames out in AA. Maybe he becomes a solid #3 starter, and if Berardino's reports of him hitting 97 this spring was accurate, and he does have 4-pitches, it may click for him in July, or next May... or not at all, but to say at this point he'll never make it isn't right... Pushing him to a level that doesn't put him in a good position to succeed doesn't make sense. I just think it's silly to say that there is no value in having some organizational filler in the upper levels allowing the organization to be more patient with prospects that they believe in.

Maybe they're hitting worse than that because they're facing the Miracle pitchers?

He crushed the double in his last at bat, hit it almost as hard as Kepler hit his triple. But the Buxton at bat that impressed me the most was the one in which he walked. He fell behind 0-2 and worked the count until he walked. That was impressive to me.

So, using your point... who pitches at Rochester then if you get rid of those guys that aren't prospects or future big leaguers in your opinion? Gonsalves and Stewart and maybe even Jorge could move up to AA, but then who would pitch at AAA? I guess they could just forfeit games so that non-prospects don't clog up spots. Of course LeBlanc should move up, but he's moving back to starting, so I have no problem with him getting 5-7 starts in CR before moving up, and again, I assume he moves up when Gonsalves moves up.