Seth Stohs

The one remaining option in the bullpen was Jesse Crain, who at that time had about 4 weeks of big league time. The reasoning certainly was that it wasn't fair to bring him in in that situation at that time... But in retrospect, which is a wonderful thing, he maybe should have.

Tremendous point... I do agree with this. The language is a piece of the cultural issue. So thank you for bringing that up.

Sounds like a good description of one Ron Gardenhire. He's just 18 years younger. And, I mean that in the most positive of ways.

What are the attributes you would personally be looking for if you were interviewing candidates as the next manager. On tonight's TWins Hangouts podcast, I gave six of mine: 1.) Ideally speak spanish... not mandatory, but certainly ideal... I'd also want at least 2 members of the coaching staff to speak spanish fluently. 2.) Analytics - I don't want a manager to follow the book all of the time, but I want him (And the bench coach) fully aware of any statistical information that there is and be willing to discuss it. 3.) How does he handle young players? 4.) How does he handle veterans? 5.) How does he handle starting pitchers? 6.) How does he handle a bullpen? Aside from that, you want a guy who will back his players, is good with the media and fans and community, has a lot of integrity and other things that you would want in any employee you would hire.

Not at all... Jake is is classy and responsible and respected as it gets.

Chili Davis is interesting... seems to be doing well as a hitting coach. Dan Gladden is completely old school, though maybe managing would force him to consider new thinking. Gladden seems like a guy who would bunt any time there was a runner on 1B and less than two outs. Jim Thome is certainly interesting... terrific career, but people should never confuse Hall of Fame player with Good manager. It might, but there's no correlation.

Late Monday morning, the news came out that the Minnesota Twins had fired manager Ron Gardenhire. Gardenhire has been offered a job in the organization, but he says that he wants to manage again and believes that he will. So the next question naturally becomes; who will be the next manager of the Minnesota Twins?Here is a quick look at some of the potential candidates, though it is always important to note that a surprise candidate could come out of nowhere. There are several qualified internal candidates, though Terry Ryan insists that they will do their due diligence and look outside the organization as well. Internal Candidates Terry Steinbach – In my mind, he became the possible front-runner within the last week. I believe he may also be a top candidate for the Arizona Diamondbacks. His former Oakland A’s manager Tony Larussa is in charge of baseball operations and his former rotation-mate Dave Stewart was just named as the General Manager. However, there are a lot in the Twins organization that really like him as a managerial candidate. The 52-year-old from New Ulm played for the University of Minnesota before being drafted by the Oakland A’s. He spent parts of 14 seasons in the big leagues, the final three with the Twins. He has been Gardenhire’s bench coach the last two seasons. Paul Molitor – Of course, most have believed that Molitor would be the next Twins manager for a couple of years already. He was added to the Twins staff a year ago after being a roving minor league instructor for several seasons. He has been a hitting coach in the big leagues, though that didn’t go so well. The 58-year-old from St. Paul has worked with the minor leaguers that are likely to be part of the next Twins core. Molitor was elected to baseball’s Hall of Fame in 2004 following a 21-year big league career during which he had over 3,300 hits and played in seven All Star games. Gene Glynn – Glynn was named Minnesota’s first Mr. Basketball in 1975 when he was the top hoops player in the state while playing at Waseca high school. He never played in the big leagues after seven seasons of playing minor league ball, including three years at AAA. He has had a variety of roles in baseball. He was a long-time manager and coach in the minor leagues. He was a base coach for the Rockies, the Expos, the Cubs and the Giants over the course of a dozen years. Before becoming the Twins AAA manager, he spent six years as a scout in the Tampa Bay Rays. He has done a great job in Rochester taking a revolving door of players and making them playoff contenders. Doug Mientkiewicz – “Dougie Baseball” was drafted by the Twins in the fifth round of the 1995 draft and stayed in the organization until he was traded to the Red Sox and won a World Series championship in 2004. He spent time with the Mets, Royals, Yankees, Pirates and Dodgers from 2005 through 2009. His best years were clearly with the Twins. Known for his fire and his glove, Mientkiewicz won a Gold Glove at first base in 2001 and was a big part of the group that came up in the late ‘90s and the early playoff teams last decade. He returned to the organization a year ago as the manager of the Ft. Myers Miracle. In his first year, he went to the playoffs, but he also got into a fight with the opposing manager in a game. He has worked with most of the Twins top prospects and led this year’s squad to the Florida State League title. If you believe being able to relate to today’s players is important, Mientkiewicz is just 40 years old and only been retired for five years. Jake Mauer – Some will laugh that this name is on the list, but Mauer should manage in the big leagues. If not now, someday. For those that choose to look only at that last name and not the qualifications, it’s just too bad. Mauer is a very good baseball person. He was a leader on that St. Thomas baseball teams that won Division III titles. He spent five seasons playing the minor leagues, peaking at Double-A, and playing a variety of positions. After spring training of 2006, he retired and immediately became a coach. He managed in the GCL for a couple of years before becoming the manager at Ft. Myers. In 2013, the organization made the decision to move him to Cedar Rapids to lead the group of young, very talented prospects. Known for having a very high baseball IQ and being three or four batters ahead of the game, Mauer protects his players while maintaining a calm about him. He is also known to be External Candidates Chip Hale – 49-year-old Hale was one of the better pinch hitters for the Twins in the ‘90s. The Twins drafted him in the 17th round in 1987 out of the University of Arizona. He spent time with the Twins in 1989 and 1990, and then he returned to the Twins in 1993 and stayed through 1996. He never played more than 85 games in a season or had more than 186 plate appearances. He was a second baseman who became a utility player but mainly was a pinch hitter. He got 12 at bats with the Dodgers in 1997. Since 2006, he has spent time in the big leagues as a coach with the Diamondbacks and Mets. He has been the third base coach for the A’s the last four seasons. He has been a managerial candidate for many positions over the last four or five offseasons. Dave Martinez – Martinez had a terrific 16 season big league career as an outfielder for the Cubs, Expos and seven other teams. He was a starter for several years and became a valued bench bat later in his career. The 50-year-old has been the bench coach for the Tampa Bay Rays since the 2008 season. Martinez was always known as a smart ball player, but much of the interest in Martinez would appear to be his association with Rays manager Joe Maddon who is generally considered one of baseball’s best. Martinez has put in his time and deserves to see what he can do on his own. Torey Lovullo – Lovullo was a Tigers prospect in the late 80s. He hit .381 as a 22-year-old in a September call up in 1988, but he was never able to become the player many thought he would. He spent big league time with seven teams over eight seasons from 1988 through 1999. He became a minor league coach in 2001 and was a manager in the Clevelend system. He was John Farrell’s bench coach in Toronto in 2011 and 2012 and followed him to the Red Sox in 2013 in the same capacity. He is 49 years old and has no major league managerial experience, though he has interviewed for several managerial jobs, including the Cubs job a year ago. Joe McEwing – The 41-year-old McEwing spent nine seasons in the big leagues. In that time, he played over 45 games at seven different positions, all but pitcher and catcher. In 2008, he entered the world of coaching. He became a manager in 2009 in A-Ball and then moved up to AAA in 2011 (he coached Eduardo Escobar in 2010 and 2011) Following that season, he was the manager of the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League where he coached Brian Dozier, Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann. Dozier gave McEwing a lot of credit for helping him learn second base. After the AFL, he was added to Robin Ventura’s White Sox coaching staff as the third base coach after Ozzie Guillen was fired. Ozzie Guillen – His name keeps coming up, and we know that he wants to get back into managing. He has had managerial experience and won a World Series title with the White Sox in 2005. He was the Rookie of the Year in 1985 and a three-time All Star in his 13 seasons with the White Sox as a player. He has had a lot of controversy surrounding him since his departure from the White Sox. His run in Miami was just one, long year. All that said, he’s a smart baseball man who would have the energy and fire that maybe this team needs. He is from Venezuela and diversity is one piece of the equation. Manny Acta – He is seen now on ESPN’s baseball coverage, but the 45-year-old has already had two big league managerial positions. The Dominican-born Acta spent six years in the minor leagues before going to scouting school. He spent time coaching in the minor leagues before getting MLB coaching jobs with the Expos and Mets. In 2007, he became the Nationals manager as a 38-year-old. He lost his job in July of 2009, and in 2010, he was named Cleveland’s manager. He kept his surprise team in the AL Central race until late in the 2011 season before finishing two games under .500. He was fired after the 2012 season. His career MLB managerial record is 372-518. Mike Redmond – The 43 year old was the Twins backup catcher from 2005 through 2009. He was a popular player known for his leadership skills. So it was no surprise that he quickly became a manager following his retirement from playing. Just two years later, the Miami Marlins offered him their job and he has spent the last two years as their manager. Last weekend, he signed an extension through the 2017 season with the Marlins. Though not impossible, it is highly improbable that he would even be interviewed for the Twins job at this time. As I said earlier, this is just a starting point for potential managerial options to replace Ron Gardenhire? The question you need to ask yourself is this; what qualities are most important to you in a manager? Being bilingual? High-level baseball IQ? Experience? Big League Experience? Statistical Lean? Fundamentals and teaching? How will they use the bullpen? How do they feel about bunting or base stealing? As I sit here on Monday afternoon, six hours since the announcement first came out, here is how I would rank the likelihood of the managerial choice: 1.) Terry Steinbach, 2.) Doug Mientkiewicz, 3.) Paul Molitor, 4.) Chip Hale, 5.) Gene Glynn Who would I like to see as the next Twins manager is likely a different ranking. Mine would be (with admittedly limited knowledge on the candidates other than reading and research): 1.) Doug Mientkiewicz, 2.) Jake Mauer, 3.) Chip Hale, 4.) Joe McEwing, 5.) Dave Martinez As you can see, I tend to lean toward the younger manager, a guy who can relate to the younger players and hopefully be here for a decade or more. What do you think? What direction would your managerial look go? Click here to view the article

Jamie is awesome! He's got such great stories... great person! Wonderful interview!

I kind of agree... I don't know that they're untouchable, but like Paul said, it would have to be for a young pitcher with a track record and a couple more years of cost control. I'd add that Alex Gordon, who should be a strong MVP candidate this year, took several years to become the player he has become the last two seasons. I believe that the core should be team-developed, but there needs to be some supplementing.

It can be a challenge. Like you said, you have to first decide who you are taking off the roster, and then determine who you feel you absolutely must add (Meyer, Sano, Rosario, etc), and then it's back and forth. Would you rather potentially lose Player X by removing him from the 40 man or Player Y who might be taken in the Rule 5 draft? Like these prospect lists, it's a fun exercise to do.

This is just awesome, and that video is so fun! Great to see so many willing to participate. There are so many really good people in this organization, and Duensing is right near the top of that. Thank you Lindsey for writing this and sharing this. Just wonderful!

Yeah, couldn't (or didn't) fit him into the Top 50, but here's the deal. They could put him on the 40 man roster and see. he'd have 3 option years. They could see if he would pass through again this year (as he did last year). He won't be a minor league free agent for another two years, so there really is no rush at all at this point. They don't need to make any sort of decisions (certainly not once-and-for-all decisions) on him yet.

Like I said, I'd like to (maybe later next week after the list is complete, put together a summary article of my Top 50 and encourage everyone to post their personal top 50 (or top 20 or 30, etc.). It is a pretty neat exercise to actually rank them when you consider player A vs player B vs player C.

Earlier in the week, we started looking at my preliminary Top 50 Twins prospects list by reviewing prospects 41-50 and then prospects 31-40. Today, we’ll look at the next ten prospects, 21-30. This portion of the list includes several southpaws, a couple of hard-throwing bullpen arms and a couple hitters with potential.Reminders: This list is preliminary. Following research for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2015, as well as your feedback, I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list. Players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2015. That is to say, hitters with less than 130 at-bats and pitchers with less than 50 innings. Top Prospects 21-30 #30 – Zack Larson – 20 – OF – Cedar Rapids/GCL Twins (rehab) Larson was limited to just 41 games this year for the Kernels. At just 20, he held his own in the Midwest League and hit 11 doubles in just 151 at-bats. With the Kernels, he hit .265/.325/.358 (.683). Unfortunately, he suffered a hamstring injury and missed months. Larson was the 20th round pick of the Twins in 2012. He signed late when he was offered a signing bonus well over slot. At 6-2 and 190 pounds, he is a good athlete, but his best tool is his bat. He can hit. #29 – Michael Tonkin – 24 – RH RP – Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins Tonkin was actually on the Twins opening day roster due to the birth of Brian Duensing’s child, but he spent most of the season in Rochester. He went 3-4 with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. In 45 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 46. He has posted a 5.00 ERA in 24 games with the Twins as well. He’s only thrown 18 innings. He may not be rookie-eligible in 2015 due to days on the MLB roster. He’s still got some upside, due to a fastball at 95 and a solid slider. He needs to be with the Twins and see if he can improve. He’s done all he can in AAA. #28 – Stuart Turner – 22 – C – Ft. Myers Miracle Turner was the Twins third-round pick in 2013 out of the University of Mississippi where he was the winner of the Johnny Bench Award as the nation’s top catcher. He spent 2013 in Elizabethton though he did go 2-4 in one game at New Britain at season’s end. Turner is so well-respected with his glove that he was invited to big league spring training. He spent the year in Ft. Myers where in 93 games, he hit .249/.322/.375 (.698) with 16 doubles, two triples and seven home runs. He hit much better in the second half. However, teammates and coaches rave about his work behind the plate. #27 – Engelb Vielma – 20 – SS – Cedar Rapids Kernels He is listed at 5-11 and 155 pounds, but that last number may be generous. It was a surprise when he was sent to Cedar Rapids to start the season. Defensively, it is my opinion that he is the best in the Twins organization. Long and lanky, he seemingly glides around the shortstop position. He has soft hands and a strong arm. Offensively, he is mostly a slap-hitter at this time, but he more than held his own. He hit .266/.313/.323 (.636) with 13 doubles, four triples and one home run in 112 games. #26 – Logan Darnell – 25 – LHP – Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins Darnell was the Twins sixth-round draft pick in 2010 out of the University of Kentucky. He reached AAA last year and was added to the 40-man roster following the season. He had a very solid season at Rochester this year. He went 7-6 with a 3.60 ERA. In 115 innings, he struck out 90. He made his major league debut on May 6 with three perfect innings. He has made four starts and three relief appearances and posted a 7.13 ERA. However, in 24 innings, he has struck out 22. He can be a #6/#7 starter or a solid middle reliever. #25 – Fernando Romero – 19 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels Romero throws gas. The 19-year-old was hitting 94-96 mph with his fastball this spring and had a solid slider. Signed from the Dominican Republic in 2011, Romero spent a year in the DSL before posting a 1.60 ERA in 45 innings in the GCL last year. He began this season in extended spring training, but by early June he was called up to the Kernels where he made three starts. Unfortunately, he started to experience elbow pain and soon after had Tommy John surgery. He will likely miss most of the 2015 season, but if he’s able to come back, he has huge potential. #24 – Sean Gilmartin – 24 – LHP – New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings Gilmartin graduated from Crespi Carmelite High School, the same high school that Trevor Plouffe graduated from four years earlier. He became the first-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2011 after a stellar career at Florida State. Last winter, he came to the Twins organization in exchange for Ryan Doumit. He began this season in AA New Britain where he went 7-3 with a 3.12 ERA in 12 starts. He struck out 74 in 72 innings. He was promoted to Rochester where he went 2-4 with a 4.28 ERA. In 73.2 innings, he struck out 59. He is a guy who should be added to the 40 man roster this offseason. #23 – Jason Wheeler – 23 – LHP – Ft. Myers Miracle/New Britain Rock Cats/Rochester Red Wings Wheeler was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2011 out of Loyola Marymount. He went 14-6 with a 3.45 ERA in Beloit in 2012. In 2013 in Ft. Myers, he went 9-4 with a 3.70 ERA. He returned to the Miracle to start this season and made a couple of adjustments. He went 6-5, but his ERA dropped to 2.51. He advanced to New Britain where 5-4 with a 2.78 ERA in 12 starts. He even made a start in Rochester. Although he sits in the 89-91 mph range, Wheeler can touch 94 on occasion. He is aggressive, throws strikes and mixes his pitches well. He is another guy who will be strongly considered for a 40-man roster spot. #22 – Niko Goodrum – 22 – 3B – Ft. Myers Miracle The Twins used their second round pick in 2010 on the toolsy Goodrum who was a high school kid from Georgia. At 6-3 and about 200 pounds, he is a tremendous athlete. With the Miracle in 2014, he hit .249/.337/.336 (.672) with 19 doubles, five triples and three homers in 122 games. After playing shortstop through his first four professional seasons, he moved to third base this year, though he still played 26 games at shortstop. Goodrum is good defensively and has very good speed. On the base paths, he stole 35 bases in 39 attempts. Goodrum is someone who the Twins will have to consider putting on their 40-man roster in November. #21 – Jake Reed – 23 – RH RP – Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels Reed was selected in the fifth round by the Twins this year out of the University of Oregon. He ended up having a dominant pro debut. He began at Elizabethton where he pitched six innings over four games and gave up just one hit. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he pitched 25 innings in 16 games. Overall, he threw 31 innings in 20 games. He gave up just 11 hits, walked three and struck out 31. He was 3-0 with a 0.29 ERA and a 0.45 WHIP. He and his upper-90s fastball will head to the Arizona Fall League next month. So, what do you think of Part 3, Prospects 21-30? Next up will be prospects 11-30. Click here to view the article

To be fair, Brian Dozier was an 8th round pick which means most teams passed him by 8 times and the Twins did 7 times. He too was a college senior. His first full year, he split between Beloit and Ft. Myers. There was a middle infield need at that time. The Twins clearly like Garver enough to want him to play every day (catch a lot and have him DH a lot to), and they wanted Turner to catch a lot in Ft. Myers. Draft round matters to some degree, but once they put in a full season, it matters much, much less.

It appears the Phil Hughes 2014 season is complete. He ends the year with 186 strikeouts and just 16 walks. The 11.6 K/BB rate is the best in MLB history. Of course, if he is done, he also finished with 209.2 innings. If the rain had not fallen and he recorded one out in the ninth inning today, he would have received a $500,000 bonus. 16 wins, 16 walks, 16 HR allowed. Pretty incredible season!Phil Hughes was cruising on Wednesday afternoon in the final Target Field game of the season. He had given up just one run to the Arizona Diamondbacks on five hits. He walked none and struck out five. He was at 96 pitches after eight innings of work. With a 2-1 lead, it appeared he would reach the 8.1 innings for the game, or more, and hit the 210 innings mark. And then the rains came. The tarp was put over the infield. An hour and six minutes later the game continued. Jared Burton came out for the 9th inning to record the save and give Hughes his 16th win of the year. One out short of a $500,000 bonus. Hughes and Ron Gardenhire both insisted following the game that he is done. He will not pitch out of the bullpen in Detroit on Saturday or Sunday to reach the milestone. First, it is important to point out that the front office, coaching staff and Hughes himself were fully aware of how many outs he needed to get the bonus. All sides wanted him to reach 8.1 innings. Second, the Twins are absolutely not obligated in any way to give him the bonus because he did not reach 210 innings on the season. It's easy to say that "an act of God" took away his opportunity for that bonus. And that certainly tugs at the heart- strings. But he could have recorded one more out any other time during the season too. Third, if the Twins don't give him the bonus, the organization will again be called cheap, though that really has nothing to do with this. The Twins could do a few things: First, they could let him pitch an inning on Saturday or Sunday out of the bullpen. It would be a little shy of his regular rest, but it would be on what would be his normal bullpen day. Of course, they aren't bullpen days because (if this isn't an option) Phil Hughes may not throw a baseball for the next two or three months. The Twins could just give him the bonus, though it sets a precedent that I'm sure Major League Baseball would not appreciate. The bonus was for 210 innings. He did not reach 210 innings. What if he had ended at 209 innings rather than 209.2 innings? (Side note - I'm not certain this is even something that they can do according to the collective bargaining agreement.) Mike Berardino of the Pioneer Press made an interesting observation on Twitter. The Twins could donate $500,000 to the Phil Hughes Foundation. Here's another interesting idea... Could the Twins work on extending Phil Hughes beyond the current three year deal that is through the 2016 season? Well, they could try, but at just 28 years old, Hughes could still become a free agent at 30, and if he pitches well the next two years, he would be in line for a four or five year deal and a lot of money. Would Hughes be willing to extend his current contract two years? Would the Twins have any interest in extending him beyond that when they have him under contract for two more years? The organization has certainly had its ups and downs when handing out long-term deals. All of this is fun to talk about. It's also interesting to talk about because Phil Hughes just put up one of the more impressive starting pitching seasons in recent years, certainly back to Johan Santana circa 2008. In an organization that has struggled so much to find competent starting pitching, they struck gold with Hughes in 2014. In another 90-loss season, maybe we should just enjoy that. At least for now. QUICK UPDATE - Mike Berardino posted the following on Twitter after the game: Click here to view the article

Personal bias, time seen players playing, practicing, are things that can't be quantified, and frankly, I don't think any prospect list should be viewed based solely on any one thing. And, I do think visual should play into this as well. SDBuhr saw this year's Cedar Rapids team play probably 80+ times this year and the same last year. He's visibly seen what these guys can do. His "bias" is pretty valuable in my opinion and that can increase or decrease a player's rankings in his mind. I do think it would be interesting to look back at my previous Top 50 lists and do some sorting. Find out a percentage of guys I had in the 41-50 range or the 31-40 range who got even a cup of coffee... or Top 10 prospects who don't make it. Of course, that will also depend on the quality of the farm system. I may have to do that in the offseason.

I can see both being a little higher. Melotakis could be a dominant LH Reliever, touching 97, but we know he won't be starting in the big leagues. There are also some concerns about his elbow which could cost him some time... I hope not though. Sure, Michael could be a big league 2B. I see him more as a potential utility infielder. He's no Nick Punto though. I don't think. If he is, he should be higher.

Probably a little, though the fact that he could be a very dominant, 98-99 mph throwing reliever keeps him this high. He needs to work on his control, and I definitely hope that he does get the opportunity to start in 2014 and maybe even further. He needs to work on control and secondary pitches, so starting will give him more opportunities to do just that.

I don't know that its' a "big deal." I think it's a great opportunity for the players who get to play there. I think the Twins can use it, particularly on Adam, to have more data points to evaluate (specifically whether or not he is added to the Rule 5). I don't think an AFL assignment affects a prospect ranking.

If he becomes Chris Young, he should be ranked much higher on this list. Young has had some injuries, but he's also had some solid seasons in the big leagues.

This discussion is really the thing that makes prospect rankings so difficult. Age-to-level of competition is one piece of that formula. You guys have outlined that. Ceiling is another aspect, and I would say maybe "perceived ceiling" is a better way of putting that. We've all heard it, and if you've seen Navarreto, the comparisons to Salvador Perez are legit. Will he get there? Who knows? Garver may not have that type of upside, but his ceiling is solid major league catcher. Garver is probably more likely to reach his ceiling than Navarreto is. It's also possible neither of them see AA (though I feel pretty good about both being able to do that, but who knows). Similar discussion can be had about Levi Michael and Aderlin Mejia. Mejia is a little bit younger. I see both as utility guys in the big leagues though I think that Michael would have a better chance to be an adequate start in MLB. If healthy, I think Michael has higher upside even though he's a year or so older. Injuries have been a problem for him. So, keep the questions and discussion rolling. That's the fun of it. Like I wrote in the comments yesterday, I hope all will take all of this information and develop your own lists too. It's fun!