Seth Stohs

Are you on twitter, facebook, instagram or periscope? Those pictures are all over the place.

2015 was a big year for JO Berrios. He was the Twins Daily (and the Twins) Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season. However, like so many members of the Twins organization, Berrios also does a lot off the field to contribute to his community. He has organized a pretty neat event in his hometown of Bayamon, in Puerto Rico, for December.Last month on social media, Berrios sent out a challenge to fellow young Puerto Ricans Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez. The two young future stars accepted the challenge. On December 12th and 13th, there will be clinics for teenagers between 14 and 16 years old. On December 19th and 20th, there will be a series of games. According to Berrios, "The idea came out during a training session with my staff, brainstorming about what can we do to help keep teenagers away from the streets." Cleveland shortstop Francisco Lindor recently finished second in American League Rookie of the Year voting (behind fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Correa). He has a tremendous combination of great defense and offense. Javier Baez debuted with the Cubs in 2014 and came up late in the 2015 season again. When Addison Russell was hurt in the playoffs, Baez was thrown into the spotlight and into the lineup. Berrios said the trio has been close for a long time. “We played Little League since (we were) 5 to 6 years old. We are friends. We are family.” Berrios feels that it is important to use his celebrity to help others is important. He takes his role as a role model seriously, as seriously as his offseason workouts. He wanted to do something to help others. “Not only being role models, but we want to be able to help those in need.” Berrios set up a Go Fund Me account today and hopes to generate $30,000 for Fundacion Lake Makina. Asked what his foundation would use any raised money for, he said there were three things at this time. “The money will be distributed as follows: 1.) Hogar Foriadores de Esperanza, 2.) The Spina Bifida Association, and 3.) the Luis Rodriguez Olmo family. Luis was a famous catcher. He is now diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and his family has made public their financial situation in order to take care of him. We want to help them. And any special case we understand needs help, we will do our best.” The Hogar Foriadores de Esperanza is “a homeless kids home” in Bayamon. Spina Bifida I the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. It happens when a baby is in the womb and the spinal column does not close all the way. Every day, about eight babies born in the United States have Spina Bifida or a similar birth defect of the brain and spine. It is a defect that is very personal to Javier Baez. In April, his 21-year-old sister Noely, passed away from Spina Bifida. Twins fans are very excited to see Berrios reach the big leagues. Most fans wanted to see him late in the 2015 season, but they will have to wait until 2016. Berrios said, “2016 will be my year.” But it is impressive that a 21-year-old with so much in front of him is willing to take a step back in an effort to help those less fortunate. “I’m praying to God to be able to help more kids through the years. That is one of my fuels to keep pushing the game. In the future, (I want to) do something in Minnesota too, with my teammates,” Berrios continued, “In addition to pursuing a World Series championship.” Again, if you are interested and able to contribute, you can go to the Go Fund Me account here. Click here to view the article

I've read this before... somewhere...

In July of 2014, the Minnesota Twins signed an outfielder from South Africa named Rowan Ebersohn. He is a stocky 5-10 and about 200 pounds. The Twins have signed a couple of other minor leaguers from South Africa. He spent the 2015 season in the Gulf Coast League making adjustments to life in a new country as well as plenty of baseball to learn. He held his own and looks forward to the 2016 season.Recently, Twins Daily had the opportunity to ask Ebersohn some questions so that our readers can get to know him. Seth Stohs (SS): Tell me a little bit about your youth baseball in South Africa. Did you play Little League or other formal leagues? Rowan Ebersohn (RE): The only formal leagues we played in was at baseball club level which were restricted to regional areas as financial costs limited inter-regional competitions. The annual South African National Baseball Championship comprised seven South African Provincial teams of age groups U12’s, U15’s and U18’s with the Senior Championship scheduled for the week prior to the Junior Championship. Little League World Series participation was always a dream of young players but financially there was no funding available to provide for Junior teams to tour. (SS): MLB has a camp in Cape Town that you attended. What is that atmosphere? Is it games, or skills, or a little of everything? (RE): I was fortunate enough to be selected to attend two MLB Academy Camps with one being in Cape Town and one in Durban. The atmosphere within the entire academy was that of “baseball heaven”, firstly by being exposed to direct contact with MLB players/coaches and secondly be given the opportunity to absorb all the knowledge they offered. The MLB Academy was split up into two parts with specific skills being developed in your position followed by the last three days playing games. (SS): As an amateur, how much contact did you have with MLB teams and what was it that caused you to decide to sign with the Twins? (RE): From the age of 13, I was “noticed” by MLB scouts while participating in the annual National Baseball Championships. Every year the scouts attended the Championships and made a point of establishing how much I improved and developed. From the age of 13 up and until 16, I was seen as a pitcher with the first MLB Academy held in Cape Town, having been selected to attend as a pitcher. It was only during the Durban MLB Academy my father and provincial coaches convinced the selectors to put me down as a positional player and more specifically as a batter. All of the interest was no longer with pitching but with batting power. Signing with the Twins came about by having regular contact with Glen Godwin from the Twins organization during our National Championships followed by extensive research done on all of the interested MLB organizations regarding their farm system. It was obvious that the Twins organization offered the most attractive farming system for new signings and the choice was easily made. It was also valuable to talk with fellow South African players I played with on a regular basis that signed with the Twins. Hein Robb and Callan Pearce offered a lot of valuable information to assist in the choices to be made. (SS): What was the adjustment like for you last spring moving from South Africa to Florida? What were the biggest challenges? (RE): The adjustment moving from South Africa to Florida was meant to be difficult with people saying I would become “home sick” and I would be exposed to players/coaches of other nationalities. None of this posed any issues as I was too busy to think about anything else but baseball. I was living my dream and that made it so easy to adapt and enjoy every single moment of my time in Florida. The only challenge I faced was to adapt to the exceptionally high level of baseball being played in the GCL. Back home in South Africa one or two pitchers had the capability to reach 90 mph with off-speed stuff not being too difficult to cope with. Playing in the GCL league I had to adapt very quickly to pitches approaching 95 mph with the off-speed pitches being very difficult to contend with. There were periods where I doubted myself as not being good enough but towards the end of the season became more and more confident and started making decent contact. (SS): What was the highlight of your 2015 season, your first year in the Twins organization? (RE): Without a doubt the highlight of my first season at the Twins was being coached by the calibre of coaches running our GCL side and being involved in a team with so many different characters. Every single “at-bat” was a highlight I treasured. (SS): What type of hitter do you think you are and can be? What were your keys to your success at the plate? (RE): I’d like to think of myself as a well-rounded hitter, by being able to make contact in a pressure situation and to be able to drive the ball in the gap with power to score needed RBIs. Some of my success came from being patient at the plate and picking a good pitch to hit in the strike zone. (SS): Have you played in any international tournaments in a South Africa uniform. If so, what’s it like to play for your country? (RE): I was privileged to play for the South African U18 side when we hosted a five-game series tournament against the Great Britain National U18 side. Playing in a Junior South African team against another National team is such a rare occurrence the moment was actually overwhelming. We ended up beating the Great Britain side 5–0 and apart from being signed by the Twins was without doubt the proudest moment of my life. Being selected into the last World Baseball Classic South African National training squad was my only other taste of National participation. (SS): Away from baseball, what do you enjoy doing in your free time? (RE): Any free time away from baseball is a scarce commodity and spend that time with my family and friends. Downtime is taken up by fishing and spending time with the family on the game farm. (SS): Are there certain areas of your game or preparation that you’d like to focus on during this offseason, looking to 2016? (RE): I would like to focus on all the areas that I can in order to give myself a better chance to make a bigger impact at the professional level. I will take a lot of time to work on speed and power as these are the most important aspects to my game. (SS): Growing up, who were some of your role models in the game of baseball? (RE): When I was growing up I learned of, spoke to and even played against Nick Dempsey who played professional baseball in the USA. That started my dream of following in his footsteps and making baseball my career. The achievements of South African batter Ian Holness formed a huge part of my drive to become recognized as a batter and became a role model in the way he batted for South Africa in the 1998 Baseball World Cup and the 2000 Olympics. More recently Gift Ngoepe made me realize that dreams are possible to play professional baseball. (SS): What are some of your goals for the 2016 season? Are there certain statistics that you will focus on? (RE): My goals for the 2016 season would be to be one of the top hitters in the side and to bat higher up in the order during the season. I’m looking to hit for a higher average and raise my power numbers up to a decent number . (SS): What would it mean to you and your family to be able to reach the major leagues and put that uniform on for the first time? (RE): My family’s dream of me being signed as a professional baseball player has already being achieved and whatever the future brings is now up to me. However putting on the major league shirt for the first time would without doubt bring about an event so memorable it will be carried forward in history and never be forgotten in generations to come. Personally, to me it would mean that I am privileged enough to be accepted into a select group of athletes that have worked so hard at attaining that dream that the only goal left is to work even harder to make that dream last as long as possible. (SS): Are there certain people that you feel helped you get to this point in your career? (RE): Firstly, the total support and sacrifice made by my parents to give my brother and me the opportunity to become the baseball players we are today. Secondly my eldest brother whose baseball career was cut short through injury and spent many an hour developing my swing into what it is today. And lastly taking invaluable advice from every single coach involved in my life and using what worked. (SS): Favorite Baseball Movie? (RE): 42 We would really like to thank Rowan Ebersohn for taking time to respond to our questions so thoroughly. Feel free to comment or ask questions below. Click here to view the article

The Twins have all the medicals... No question.Those issues are no longer of any concern. He's been fine since he came back at the end of the 2014 season.

Interesting also that his "injuries" have not been really baseball injuries... He had an aneurysm in his shoulder and blood clots in his leg after that. He hasn't had any "pitcher injuries." There may be other issues that are involved too. We just aren't privy to everything.

yes, FOR ROCHESTER would have been appropriate there.

Yeah, like any sport... there has to be some experience gained, but it's all about youth...

Since last Friday when the Minnesota Twins announced they were adding seven players to their 40-man roster, there has been a lot of debate. Who was added? Who shouldn't have been added? Who could be lost in next month's Rule 5 draft? I thought I'd take a look at who the Twins chose to add in recent years, but I'll also look at who the Twins have lost in recent Rule 5 drafts.Last week, the Twins lost AJ Achter and Josmil Pinto on waivers. They then added seven players to their 40-man roster. They added OF Adam Brett Walker, RHP JT Chargois and Yorman Landa, and LHP Taylor Rogers, Pat Dean, Mason Melotakis and Randy Rosario. November 2014 Adds One year ago, the Twins added a couple of players who came up in 2015 and really contributed. They added Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario as position players. They also added RHP Alex Meyer and LHP Jason Wheeler. Rosario was a surprise add to the 25-man roster in May. Maybe it was supposed to be short-term, but he stayed up all year and filled out the stat line nicely offensively and defensively. Sano came up on July 1st and played so well the local media named him the Twins MVP. He finished third recently in AL Rookie of the Year voting while Eddie Rosario finished sixth. 2015 was a frustrating season for Meyer and Wheeler. Meyer came into the season with expectations from fans and media that he would be up quickly and be a top of the rotation starter. After nine starts in AAA, he was moved to the bullpen and continued to struggle. He did make two (not-so-good) appearances with the Twins. It's important to remember that 2015 was his first of three option years and patience is good. Wheeler began the year in Rochester despite only a handful of starts a year earlier in AA. He struggled mightily as well and was sent back to AA. He was outrighted from the 40-man roster in September, but he was named MVP of the Southern League championship series for Chattanooga. The Twins lost LHP Sean Gilmartin to the Mets in the Rule 5. They added RHP JR Graham. November 2013 Adds The Twins added four players; LHP Logan Darnell, DH Kennys Vargas, OF Max Kepler and IF Jorge Polanco. Darnell was the easiest choice of the group. He came up to the big leagues in May to make a couple of starts and pitched in six games for the Twins right away in 2014. He was moved to the bullpen in Rochester in 2015, but in August he started again and pitched as well as he ever has. He was called up for September, but came down with pneumonia. He's still got a role with the Twins, either as a lefty reliever or long reliever. It was a surprise when Kennys Vargas was called up from AA New Britain in August of 2014 following the Josh Willingham trade, but he added nine homers in the middle of the Twins lineup. He as the Opening Day DH for the Twins in 2015 and it was a tough year for him as well. He spent more time in the minors, was even sent down to AA for a stretch in early July. He ended the minor league season strong and came back to the Twins for September. Kepler and Polanco were two players who were highly debated. Many didn't understand why the Twins would protect these two since they had only just completed their season in Cedar Rapids. However, both were easy choices for the Twins. Polanco has had a few cups of coffee with the Twins in the last couple of years and remains a prospect. Kepler saw his tools become skills as he put together a great 2015 season in Chattanooga and debuted with the Twins in September. The Twins didn't add or lose anyone in the 2013 Rule 5 draft. November 2012 Adds There were only a couple of givens to be added in 2012, but the Twins added eight players to their 40-man roster. Former first-round picks, Aaron Hicks (2008) and Kyle Gibson (2009) were the obvious choices. Hicks finally had his breakout season in the minors that year in New Britain. At the time he was added, however, the Twins had not yet traded Ben Revere and Denard Span. That would happen about three weeks later at the Winter Meetings. Gibson was coming off of Tommy John surgery. He debuted in 2013 with ten starts and has been in the Twins rotation the last two full seasons. The Twins also added Danny Santana who, as we all know, has all the tools and athleticism. He came up as the surprise of 2014, playing centerf ield and getting Rookie of the Year votes. As we know, his 2015 season was full of frustrations. Santana is interesting for 2016 as he is now out of options. Likewise Michael Tonkin was added at this time so he is also out of options. He's made about two dozen flights between Rochester and Minnesota since. Caleb Thielbar was a bit of a surprise at the time. He had pitched well at three levels that year after signing with the Twins late in 2011 from the St. Paul Saints. He was the Twins rookie of the year in 2013, and they let him go in 2015. Josmil Pinto was also added. He could have become a minor league free agent following the World Series. The Twins signed him to a minor league deal before that could happen and then added him at this time. He sure showed promise in his September debut that year. Unfortunately poor defense and now concussions have stunted his growth. He was claimed by San Diego last week. BJ Hermsen was the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012 after a fantastic season in Ft. Myers. He was outrighted about a year later. He became a minor league free agent last year but re-signed with the Twins. He underwent Tommy John surgery this spring and is now a free agent again. Tim Wood was a hard-throwing righthander who the Twins had signed to a minor league deal earlier in the month. They added him to the 40-man roster. Unfortunately, he spent most of the 2013 season injured and the team let him go. In the Rule 5 draft, the Twins added RHP Ryan Pressly and lost no one. November 2011 Adds In 2011, the Twins added just three players to the 40-man roster, OF Oswaldo Arcia, RHP Carlos Gutierrez and LHP Tyler Robertson. Arcia was the easy choice as he had crushed minor league pitching for a couple of years. He's had an up-and-down ride in the big leagues. Two years ago, he hit 20 homers for the Twins. Last year, in AAA, he hit under .200. 2016 is a huge year for him as he is out of options. Carlos Gutierrez was a hard-throwing righty, drafted by the Twins in the first round out of Miami. They attempted to have him start, but that didn't work. He preferred the bullpen and had just two pitches. That said, he didn't make it as a reliever either. He is out of baseball now. Tyler Robertson was a lefty, a third-round pick out of high school. He had a terrific season in Beloit which put him on the map as a starter. He debuted with the Twins as a reliever and struck out the side in his first appearance. He made the Opening Day roster for the Twins in 2013 but just two games into the season, he was let go. The Twins added Terry Doyle in the Rule 5 draft, but they sent him back to the White Sox. He has pitched all over since, including some time in Japan. November 2010 Adds The Twins added some young talent in this round of transactions. They added RHP David Bromberg, coming off a couple of seasons in which he led his league in strikeouts. They added three outfielders as well: Chris Parmelee, Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni. Bromberg had a tough 2011 and was removed from the 40-man roster the following year. Benson has as many tools as anyone, but after a September call-up in 2011, he never got back to the Twins. He has played for several organizations in recent years. Tosoni hit a couple of long homers into the bleachers in right-centerfield, but he was unable to do it consistently. He spent parts of a couple of years with the Twins, but has spent the last two years playing indpendent league ball and for Team Canada. Parmelee had a great September debut, but after that, he struggled to find success with the Twins. First base was taken. He played in the outfield. His bat was very inconsistent. There were times he looked like he could take off. Other times, he struggled really badly. The Twins let him go and he surfaced with the Orioles this season. The Twins added Scott Diamond in the Rule 5 and didn't lose anyone. November 2009 Adds The Twins added seven players at this time. The easy choice was 3B Danny Valencia. It wasn't long before he came up and had a strong rookie season. It wasn't long after that that he was sent back to AAA and later traded to the Red Sox. He's played for the Orioles, Blue Jays and now the A's in recent years and has found his niche as a LHP crusher. Deolis Guerra was another easy choice. He came in the Johan Santana trade and struggled, in large part due to being pushed way too fast by the Mets, but he was young and had a chance. He got to AAA and had some months where it looked like he might get called up. He re-signed a couple of minor league deals with the Twins, but last year he signed with the Pirates. He pitched well and earned a promotion to the Pirates for awhile. Alex Burnett was a mid-round high school pick who signed. He was a surprise Opening Day roster add in 2010 and certainly showed flashes of what could be. He spent a couple of years with the Twins before joining the DFA cycle with the Cubs and Blue Jays and other teams. He is out of professional baseball now and works with kids on pitching in California. Rob Delaney was a non-drafted free agent out of college, but he dominated the lower levels of the minor leagues and continued to pitch well as he moved up the ladder. The Twins added him, but then they gave him just one game in the big leagues before giving up on him. He pitched briefly with the Rays in 2011. Estarlin de los Santos fits the Danny Santana mold. A young shortstop (he had just spent an injury-plagued year in Ft. Myers), but he had immense talent, speed, range, big arm, same type of hitter. However, he struggled that year and the Twins removed him from their roster after the season. He remained in the organization through the 2012 season but never got above AA. Loek Van Mil was known as the tallest pitcher in pro baseball history at 7-1. You'll remember the photos of him with 5-3 shortstop Chris Cates. He was added because he has just added some velocity and had decent control. However, he was still a project. He was traded to the Angels in the Brian Fuentes trade and spent time in other organizations. He pitched in Japan in 2014. The Twins signed him late in the 2015 season to a minor league deal. He pitched in a couple of games in September after call-ups. What's interesting is that he is now 31 years old and is throwing in the upper-90s. He may just get a shot with the Twins. That's as far back as I'll go at this time, but that's been a fun list to review. As you can tell, there were some obvious selections in most of those years. There are a lot of guys who have made it, and there are a bunch that never met their perceived potential. Some got cups of coffee and some never got above AA. Real quickly, before losing Sean Gilmartin to the Mets in the 2014 Rule 5 draft, the Twins had not had a player selected in the Rule 5 draft since LHP Jose Lugo in 2008. He was later returned. Interestingly (for me at least), they lost three players in 2007's Rule 5 draft. RHP Tim Lahey was the first pick in that Rule 5 draft. He was a big guy who had just been converted from catcher to the mound but threw really hard. He was taken by the Cubs, then claimed by the Phillies before being returned to the Twins before the season started. RA Dickey was taken later in the draft by Seattle. The Twins had just signed him to a minor league deal, so he was eligible to be taken. The Twins and Ms worked out a deal so Dickey could remain with the Mariners. The Twins got a Low-A catcher named Jair Fernandez who looked like he had some potential. A year later, the Twins waited until after the Rule 5 draft to announce they had again signed Dickey to a minor league contract. Finally, they lost outfielder Garrett Guzman to the Nationals. He spent 2008 in the Nationals minor league system before spending two years playing independent league ball. A year earlier, 2006, the Twins lost RHPs Kevin Cameron (Padres) and Levale Speigner (Nationals) in the Rule 5. Both spent time in the big leagues with those teams. In 2004, RHP Angel Garcia was the first overall pick of the Rule 5 draft, but he was returned to the Twins before the season started. Of course, the Twins also drafted RHP Jared Camp from Cleveland with the first overall pick in that 1999 Rule 5 draft. Johan Santana was selected by Florida with the 2nd pick that year and the two were traded for each other. That story is always fun to tell. So, we make a huge deal out of the Rule 5 draft, and for the players added, it is a big deal. First, it eliminates one obstacle on the way to the big leagues, and second, it is a big financial boost for them. As you can see, there are occasionally Rule 5 picks that help a big league roster for awhile, but for the most part, there aren't a lot of players selected. Like my article from Monday on those great Twins teams, this article was also fun to research as a reminder of a lot of names that I've "covered" over the last dozen years of following the Twins minor leagues. I hope you've enjoyed this as well. Click here to view the article

One Twins player made the list of Rule 5 Names to Remember at Baseball America... http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/2015-rule-5-draft-preview-names-remember/

That's very true... The Twins in those years were good, especially if the starter could get through 7. There was always a strong back end of the bullpen.

AFL stats mean about as much as spring training stats, but it's always much more fun to see the Twins players do well. I would like to see Turner and Garver both play in Chattanooga next season and split time pretty evenly.

...or both?

I should have added the 1969/70 teams. I did an article 4-5 years ago, comparing the 1965, 1969, 1970, 1987, 1991 teams. I think I came out of that thinking that the 1969 team was probably the best team of all time.

The 2016 Minnesota Twins roster should be comprised of a roster intended to win. After taking a big step forward in 2015, the playoffs are certainly the goal for 2016. We so often hear that the team is still young, still building. While it is absolutely true that the team will continue to add players from the minor leagues and give them more prominent roles in 2016, the team is not too young for anything. Note: Sometimes you write an article with a plan for where it's going to go. Honestly, I wrote this one simply because I was curious. I don't know if there are any great answers in the information below, but 1.) it's interesting, and 2.) Hey, it's fun to read all of the names from those great Twins teams.Consider the 2015 World Series champion Kansas City Royals. Their core players were all between 25 and 31. Ironically, those are generally considered the years of a player’s prime. Yordano Ventura was in his age-24 season. Salvador Perez, Erik Hosmer and Kelvin Herrera were 25. Mike Moustakus was 26. Alcides Escobar was 28. Lorenzo Cain, Johnny Cueto, Greg Holland and Wade Davis were 29. Old man Alex Gordon was 31. Those guys were their core players. They were complemented by some veterans who filled holes. They added 34-year-old Ben Zobrist at the trade deadline. The signed 34-year-old Alex Rios and 32-year-old Kendrys Morales before the season. Jeremy Guthrie, Jason Vargas, and Chris Young all were well past 40 and made starts. The key point is that the core players were all in their prime. I thought it would be kind of fun to see the ages of some of the best teams in Twins history. 1965 World Series Runners-Up They did not have a single hitter on the roster who was above their age-30 season. Earl Battey, Jerry Kindall and Bob Allison were 30. Harmon Killebrew, Mudcat Grant and Jim Perry were all 29. Don Mincher, Rich Rollins and Jimmie Hall were 27. Tony Oliva and Jim Kaat were both 26. Zoilo Versailles, the league’s MVP that year, was just 25. Their bullpen consisted of a couple of older guys; Al Worthington was 36 and Johnny Klipstein was 37. Camilo Pascual was the old man of the rotation at 31. 1987 World Series Champions Roy Smalley was the primary DH much of the season. He was 34. We all remember that Don Baylor was added as a bench bat and DH late in the season. He was 38. The only other hitter on the roster that was over 29 was backup catcher Sal Butera. Dan Gladden and Tim Laudner were both 29. Gary Gaetti was 28. Kent Hrbek, Steve Lombardozzi, Kirby Puckett and Frank Viola were all 27. Tom Brunasky was 26. Greg Gagne was just 25. Even bench guys Randy Bush (28) and All Newman (27) were young yet. Of course, the Twins also were led on the mound by 36-year-old Bert Blyleven. Jeff Reardon was 31. Bullpen guys Juan Berenguer and George Frazier were both 32. 1991 World Series Champions A lot of the core of that 1987 team was still around in 1991. Of course, this team generally wasn’t as young because of it. In fact, compared to other teams on this list, the 1991 team was rather old. Dan Gladden was now 33. Puckett and Hrbek were 31. Recently acquired Brian Harper, Mike Pagliurulo and Chili Davis were all 31. Greg Gagne was 29. Scott Leius was 25, and Rookie of the Year Chuck Knoblauch was just 22. The team did have a 36-year-old Jack Morris at the top of the rotation. He was joined by 27-year-old Kevin Tapani and 23-year-old Scott Erickson. The bullpen was a mixed bag. Rick Aguilera was 29. He was set up by 37-year-old Terry Leach, 33-year-old Steve Bedrosian, 30-year-old Carl Willis, and 25-year-old lefty Mark Guthrie. 2002 Twins ALCS Participating Team The team that saved baseball in Minnesota, right? There are probably a lot of readers here who don’t remember the 1965 World Series team (I wasn’t born for another 10 years). Many of you probably don’t even remember the 1987 and 1991 teams. But most readers will remember that 2002 team. In 2001, a group of youngsters competed most of the year before falling short. And then there was an offseason of scary contraction talk. Ron Gardenhire took over as manager and this team easily won the division and followed that with a playoff series win against the A’s. They fell in the ALCS to the eventual World Champion Angels. Again, no players in the regular lineup were over the age of 21. Corey Koskie was the old man at age 29. Doug Mientkiewicz was 28. Jacque ones was 27. Torii Hunter, Dustin Mohr and David Ortiz were all 26. Bobby Kielty and AJ Pierzynski were 25. Cristian Guzman was 24, and his double play partner was 22-year-old Luis Rivas. As seems to be case, the Twins had to have an upper-30s starter. Rick Reed was 37. Brad Radke was 29. Eric Milton and Joe Mays were both in their age 26 seasons. Eddie Guardado was the closer at age 31. Vulture Tony Fiore was 30, and LaTroy Hawkins was 29. JC Romero was 26. Mike Jackson, who was 37 at that time, was credited by several in the bullpen for his leadership skills. 2006 Team Yes, the team lost in the playoffs, but they won 96 games in the regular season. That is the most wins by a Twins team in the last 45 years. In my opinion, it’s the best, most talented Twins team of my life time. Luis Castillo and Torii Hunter were both 30. Lew Ford was 29. Nick Punto and Michael Cuddyer were both 28. Jason Bartlett didn’t start the season at shortstop (Juan Castro did). He was 26. Justin Morneau was the AL MVP in his age 25 season. Jason Kubel was just 24. Joe Mauer had one of his best seasons, and he was just 23. Johan Santana was 27 and won his second AL Cy Young Award. Carlos Silva was also 27. Brad Radke was already 33. It was his final season. Boof Bonser and Scott Baker were 24 and made important starts down the stretch. Francisco Liriano was the best pitcher in baseball for ab out six weeks, until he needed Tommy John surgery. Matt Garza was just 22, one year after being the team’s top pick, and he made ten starts for the team late in the year. Joe Nathan was 31 years old. Dennys Reyes posted a sub-1.00 ERA at age 29. Juan Rincon and Matt Guerrier were both 27. Jesse Crain was just 24. THE 2016 ROSTER What we’ve found is that the best teams in Twins history have been primarily comprised of players before they turned 30 or 31. There were generally a few older players, but they were role players. It’s all about the core players. The 2016 team has a good mix of older players, guys in their prime and some really, really young players. How will they come together? Obviously there is no way to know that. Here is a roster projection with 2016 ages: Catcher: Kurt Suzuki (32), John Ryan Murphy (25) First Base: Joe Mauer (33) Second Base: Brian Dozier (29) Third Base: Trevor Plouffe (30), Miguel Sano (23) Shortstop: Eduardo Escobar (27) Left Field: Eddie Rosario (24) Center Field: Byron Buxton (22) Right Field: Oswaldo Arcia (25) Designated Hitter: Byung-Ho Park (29) Others who could see time: Kennys Vargas (25), Danny Santana (25), Max Kepler (23), Jorge Polanco (22). The starters, however, are not as young as the hitters, on a whole. (includes a lot of names, but guys who may have some chance of seeing time with the Twins in 2016) Starting Pitchers: Ervin Santana (33), Ricky Nolasco (33), Phil Hughes (30), Tommy Milone (29), Kyle Gibson (28), Trevor May (26), Tyler Duffey (25), Taylor Rogers (25), JO Berrios (22). Bullpen Options: Glen Perkins (33), Kevin Jepsen (31), Loek Van Mil (31), Ryan O’Rourke (28), Ryan Pressly (27), Logan Darnell (27), Pat Dean (27), Michael Tonkin (26), JR Graham (26), Stephen Pryor (26), Alex Meyer (26), JT Chargois (25), Taylor Rogers (25), Zack Jones (25), Corey Williams (25), Nick Burdi (23), Jake Reed (23). The 2016 team will have a roster with a couple of cores of players. There are five to six guys in that 29 through 31 age group. There are also several players now in that 21 to 25 age group who are just debuting. Obviously building a championship-caliber team is about much more than just players’ ages. There has to be talent. Consider that Royals team that’s been to the World Series the last two years. Guys like Hosmer, Cain, Moustakus and Hochevar too awhile to develop into what they now are. Alex Gordon had to switch positions to become the player he has become the last few years. The Royals haven’t been afraid to let starters go after they turn 31 (guys like Ervin Santana and James Shields), and they still have won. One thing you will notice in some of those great Twins teams is that they weren’t afraid to promote talent quickly. Chuck Knoblauch was drafted in 1989. Played in AA in 1990, and was the Opening Day second baseman in 1991. Scott Erickson debuted in 1990, a year after he was drafted in the third round out of college. Matt Garza was the Twins top pick in 2005. He pitched at four levels in 2006, including the Twins. In other words, if they believe guys like Sano, Buxton, Kepler, or Burdi are ready, there is no reason to wait. Likewise, guys like Taylor Rogers or JT Chargois, who will be 25 in 2016, should get up soon too. Who knows? Maybe we will see Tyler Jay in a Twins uniform by season’s end. Click here to view the article

My thoughts... 50% = 50/50 that they'll get drafted. Jose Abreu - 0% Jason Adam - 0% Nick Anderson - 1% Luke Bard - 25% DJ Baxendale - 25% Omar Bencomo - 0% Edgar Corcino - 10% Sam Gibbons - 15% Miguel Gonzalez - 0% Niko Goodrum - 20% Bryan Haar - 0% Travis Harrison - 25% DJ Hicks - 10% David Hurlbut - 20% Cole Johnson - 15% Zack Jones - 50% Felix Jorge - 40% Marcus Knecht - 0% Brett Lee - 20% Kuo-Hua Lo - 5% Joe Maloney - 0% Aderlin Mejia - 0% Heiker Meneses - 0% Levi Michael - 48% Alex Muren - 30% Carlos Paulino - 0% Greg Peavey - 0% Michael Quesada - 0% Dereck Rodriguez - 20% Jairo Rodriguez - 0% Reynaldo Rodriguez - 2% Dan Runzler - 5% Tim Shibuya - 0% Matt Summers - 20% Todd Van Steensel - 0% Logan Wade - 0% Jason Wheeler - 30% Stephen Wickens - 3% Corey Williams - 46% Alex Wimmers - 20% Jones, Williams, Michaels and Jorge are the four that have some chance. I have Jones the highest at 50/50.

I assume anyone over 50% means that you assume they will be drafted. If that is correct, it looks like you think that the wins will lose like 7-8 players in the Rule 5 draft... Ummm...

1.) They can still sign free agents. 2.) they will need to sign BH Park. 3.) Minor League FA have nothing to do with the 40 man roster.

Wimmers has been back for two full seasons after TJ surgery. At this point, it won't be about medicals, at least not any more than any other player transaction would be.

Maybe one some teams... Terry Ryan isn't going to do that. I think that all the angst over Dean is a bit much... The Twins think he's worth protecting. That's the story. That's it. It's not some conspiracy or something.

Well, the interesting thing is that I had heard about Rosario being added and I was just curious how that was possible... but either way... that was a good call.