Seth Stohs

On Saturday morning, the Minnesota Twins announced that they had optioned outfielder Oswaldo Arcia to Triple-A Rochester where he is likely to begin his 2013 season. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Arcia was the Twins minor league hitter of the year in 2012 when he combined to hit a combined .320/.388/.539 (.928) with 36 doubles, 8 triples, 17 home runs and 98 RBI between Ft. Myers and New Britain. He played very well in the Venezuelan Winter League. Unfortunately, soon after arriving at his second big league spring training, he was sidelined with a strained intercostal (muscle in the side). He was unable to play ntil last weekend, but he has been in the lineup most days since. After yesterday's announced moves, the Twins also send catcher Danny Lehmann back to minor league camp. That means that the spring training roster is now down to 49 players. There are still 24 pitchers (7 non-roster), 5 catchers (2 non-roster), 11 infielders (5 non-roster) and 9 outfielders (4 non-roster). That number will need to get down 25 before Opening Day, although there will likely be at least a couple of players on the Disabled List as well. View full article

As the World Series combatants Download attachment: Brian Dozier HR.jpg are now set, and we all start putting together our thoughts for what the Twins offseason should look like, one of the key positions discussed by many is the middle infield. Specifically, people are asking now who the Twins shortstop will be early in the 2013 season. Some will say Jamey Carroll. Pedro Florimon’s name is mentioned. Could the Twins go outside the organization to fill the spot? One name that is hardly ever mentioned at this point is that of Brian Dozier. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] One year ago at this time, Dozier was making a name for himself with some solid performance in the Arizona Fall League. That was coming off of a 2011 season that saw him named the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. In that 2011, just the second full season in the pros for Dozier, he split time between Ft. Myers and New Britain. He combined to hit a robust .320/.399/.490 with 33 doubles, 12 triples, 9 home runs, 56 RBI, 92 Runs scored, and 24 stolen bases. He filled the stat page while quickly proving himself as a team leader and a solid defender in the field. Despite being in a prolonged slump, Dozier made his Twins and Major League debut as a 24-year-old. In his time with the Twins, Dozier showed some flashes of the kind of talent he had displayed in 2011. He showed a little bit of power. He made some nice plays with his glove and arm. But overall, he really struggled in his debut. In 84 games and 340 plate appearances, he hit .234/.272/.332 with 11 doubles, a triple and six home runs. He was successful on nine of eleven stolen base attempts. As you know, John Bonnes was able to interview Twins GM Terry Ryan yesterday for the Offseason GM Handbook. During their discussion, the middle infield was one of many, many Twins topics mentioned. When asked whether he thought there were any Twins minor league middle infielders who he felt could fill the shortstop role for the next several years, Ryan said, “Yeah, yeah we do.” When pushed, Ryan continued, “Well, it depends what you think of some of the guys we’ve got. What do you think about (Brian Dozier)? What do you think about Pedro Florimon?” The answer to those two questions may come with very different answers for many of you. Coming into the 2012 season, I was quite high on Brian Dozier. I ranked him as my #11 Twins prospect. Now, #11 doesn’t shout out elite prospect or perennial All-Star. I agree. I don’t know of anyone who ever said that Dozier would be (although in spring training, we certainly read a few articles that pushed a reader to think that way). My thought on Dozier continues to be that he can be a solid, every day shortstop for a half-dozen years. Considering the Twins frequent musical chairs seasons at the position, a ‘solid, every day shortstop for a half-dozen years’ sounds pretty good. Will he get there? As with any prospect, #1s, #11s or #111s, no one knows that answer. But to jump off of the Brian Dozier bandwagon because of 84 games in his first stint in the big leagues is not something that should happen. Dozier has had success in the upper levels of the minors filling out a stat line and showing leadership qualities and of solid defense. What does Mr. Ryan think of the Florimon/Dozier/Shortstop situation? “They’ve got the skills to play shortstop and it didn’t quite go as well, but they’re not the first guy that has come and had to go back. About every player that comes up here has to go back once or twice. We’ve got hope for Dozier and Florimon and we think they’re certainly capable of doing that job. They need some more polishing and consistency and taking a quality at-bats and all that stuff. But they have enough arm. They have enough speed. They have enough range. They have enough agility. And more importantly, they have enough baseball intellect to play the position. So. One of them is 25 [years old] and the other one is 25. And they’re getting to the point now where we should expect them to take the next step forward and we’ll be anxious to see what they look like in spring training.” Now, Pedro Florimon has had very little offensive success in his long minor league career. However, he is known to be an elite defensive shortstop. Back in the day, that used to be enough, and frankly, assuming health, the Twins should have enough offense to account for a little less offense from a strong defensive shortstop. But this isn’t a backup catcher who plays once every five games or so. We are talking about the starting shortstop position, a guy that plays every day, so there does need to be some minimal offensive threshold. I don’t know if Florimon can reach that number. If he can, he becomes a legitimate shortstop option, and in that case, Brian Dozier could easily transition to second base where he would do well. With Jamey Carroll around, there is always competition and a backup plan or two. Frankly, I would not spend money on another middle infielder when I believe almost all money should go to pitching. I think Dozier is very capable of stepping up in 2013 as a solid contributor. So, I will concur with one thing that Terry Ryan said in his interview. “Don’t give up on Dozier and Florimon yet!” To read the full transcript of John’s terrific, in-depth, exclusive interview with Terry Ryan, be sure to order your copy of the Offseason GM Handbook today. Of course, it comes with much more, like player grades, free agent lists with estimated contracts, lots of minor league information, a foreword by Aaron Gleeman, our blueprints, and so much more. Click here to view the article

On Tuesday, Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers had to report to Ft. Myers for spring training. Although many infielders and outfielders have already been working out at the Lee County Complex, they officially have to report on Friday and the team will have the first official full squad workout on Saturday. On Tuesday, I posted my first roster projections for the pitchers and catchers, and today, I’ll post my roster projections for the infielders and outfielders Each Friday through spring training, I’ll be taking a weekly look at the Twins roster and project who will make the Opening Day roster. After looking at 43 pitchers and catchers who reported Tuesday, today I’ll post a percent likelihood that each infielder and outfielder will be on the Twins Opening Day roster. As we learned on Thursday when the Twins signed Rafael Perez to a minor league contract with a spring training invite, the roster is still subject to change, and I will account for those each week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] INFIELDERS 40 MAN ROSTER Jamey Carroll (100%), Justin Morneau (100%), Trevor Plouffe (100%), Pedro Florimon (66%), Brian Dozier (62%), Eduardo Escobar (51%), Danny Santana (0.6%) Justin Morneau will be at first base, and Trevor Plouffe will be at third base. After that, there are still plenty of question marks remaining. Question marks that may not be answered until the final week of the spring. Jamey Carroll will be on the roster. He could start at shortstop or second base, and he could be a three-position utility player. Pedro Florimon appears to be the favorite to start the season at shortstop. Brian Dozier could be given a very good opportunity to start at second base and told us not to give up on him as a shortstop. Remember that the Twins traditionally have two utility infielders on the roster. Eduardo Escobar can play all three positions very well, and was a utility infielder for the Chicago White Sox in 2012 until he was traded to the Twins for Francisco Liriano. Danny Santana will likely head to New Britain to start the season. NON-ROSTER INVITES Ray Olmedo (8.0%), Chris Colabello (1.0%), Jeff Clement (0.9%), Deibinson Romero (0.8%), Mark Sobolewski (0.7%), James Beresford (0.4%) In 2003, Ray Olmedo got 250 plate appearances as a 22-year-old for the Cincinnati Reds. Over the next three seasons, he had another 138 total plate appearances. He played in 27 games for the 2007 Toronto Blue Jays. He then was in the minor leagues until the White Sox called him up as a 31-year-old for 20 games in August and September (after Escobar was traded). Colabello was one of the best stories in the Twins farm system in 2012, his first year in affiliated ball. He also crushed the ball in Mexico this winter. He likely will go to Rochester, but with left-handed hitting 1B options (Morneau, Parmelee, Mauer), he could find a role as a right-handed part-time player for the Twins. The Twins drafted Clement out of high school, but he went to college and was the #3 overall pick of the Mariners in 2005. He has played in 152 games in the big leagues, for the Mariners and Pirates), including going 3-22 for the Pirates in 2012. Romero returns to Twins big league camp for the first time since he was a 40-man-roster member in 2009 spring training. A year later, he was off the 40 man roster, but he has remained with the only organization he has played for since signing with the team in 2006. Last year in New Britain, he hit .267/.356/.441 with 23 doubles and 19 home runs. Sobolewski was a minor league Rule 5 selection of the Twins in December. The third baseman was a 4th round pick of the Blue Jays in 2008. He hit 20 home runs in 2012 (18 in AA, 2 in AAA) and is known to be very good defensively at the hot corner. James Beresford became a free agent following the 2012 season, but he decided to remain with the only organization he’s known since signing with the Twins from Australia. He will again be on the Australian team in the WBC this spring. The middle infielder is a terrific leader and has a great glove. THE OUTFIELDERS 40 Man Roster Josh Willingham (100%), Darin Mastroianni (100%), Chris Parmelee (99%) Aaron Hicks (48%), Joe Benson (42%), Oswaldo Arcia (1.2%) Josh Willingham had the best season of his career and earned his Silver Slugger Award with career-high 35 home runs and 110 RBI. Right Field has been opened up for Chris Parmelee to take after he dominated AAA and has earned the opportunity. He will have to take the job and make it his as Twins minor league hitter of the year, Oswaldo Arcia, is quickly moving up the system behind him and should make his major league debut sometime in 2013. The biggest question mark of spring training is who will take the centerfield position. Darin Mastroianni will make the team. He will be given a shot to win the starting job after doing a nice job in the 4th outfielder role. Aaron Hicks is the name that most people are talking about. The 23-year-old had a breakout season in 2012 in AA New Britain, showing the immense talent that made him the 14th overall pick in 2008. He will have to take the job in spring, but there is little doubt that he will debut in 2013 with the Twins. The name that is too often forgotten is Joe Benson. One year ago at this time, he came to spring training after making his major league debut the September before. He was as highly-regarded last year as Hicks is this year. He was hurt the entire 2012 season and tried to play through the pain as long as he could. He is blessed with amazing athleticism and talent, and if healthy, he can still be an impact player. One important question is whether Benson would be considered an option as the 4th outfielder, or would they still want the ultra-competitive 25-year-old to continue to play every day. Non-Roster Invites Brandon Boggs (17%), Clete Thomas (14%), Wilkin Ramirez (7.0%), Brian Dinkelman (1.9%) If Mastroianni starts the season as a starter, and the Twins decide that they want Hicks and Benson to play every day in Rochester, Brandon Boggs and Clete Thomas will compete for the 4th outfield spot on the roster. We saw Thomas last year when he had one impressive game before becoming unable to make contact. Once he went down to Rochester, he was OK, and he certainly could be a 4th outfielder because he’s good defensively and we know he’s better than he showed with the Twins in 2012. Boggs was the 4th round pick of the Rangers in 2004 out of Georgia Tech. As a 25-year-old in 2008, he played in 101 games for the Rangers. He played in just 13 games for the Rangers over the next two seasons and 16 games for the Brewers in 2011. Last year in AAA Indianapolis, he hit .259/.359/.408 with 24 doubles, five triples and nine home runs. In 481 plate appearances, he walked 62 times, but he also struckout 120 times. But again, we’re just talking about a 4th outfield spot for a month or two. Ramirez came to Twins camp a year ago, but unfortunately, he was hurt in camp. After rehabbing, he hit .276/.316/.451 with 18 doubles and 15 home runs in 98 games in Rochester. He played 15 games (13 PAs) for Detroit as a 23-year-old in 2009 and 20 games (30 PAs) for the Atlanta Braves in 2011. What hurts his chances of making the Twins roster as a fourth outfielder is that he is really a corner outfielder with limited centerfield time in his career. Brian Dinkelman was the Twins 8th round pick in 2006 out of NAIA McKendree University. He debuted and played in 23 games as a 27-year-old in 2011. He hit .301 in his 73 big league at bats. In 2012, he missed a lot of time with injury. ROSTER PROJECTION #1 (2/15/13): Infielders (6): Justin Morneau, Trevor Plouffe, Jamey Carroll, Pedro Florimon, Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar Outfielders (4): Josh Willingham, Chris Parmelee, Darin Mastroianni, Joe Benson Catchers (3): Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Drew Butera Starting Pitchers (5): Scott Diamond, Kevin Correia, Vance Worley, Mike Pelfrey, Liam Hendriks, Kyle Gibson (Diamond and/or Pelfrey likely starting season on DL) Relief Pitchers (7): Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Alex Burnett, Casey Fien, Josh Roenicke, Tim Wood (Anthony Swarzak possibly on the DL?) What are your thoughts or projections on the Twins Opening Day roster as Pitchers and Catchers report? Make your 25-man-roster projections and we'll check back on Opening Day to see who got the most right. View full article

Download attachment: slideshow.jpg From the Twins Twitter Feed: #Twins to reinstate Justin Morneau from 15-day DL prior to tomorrow night's game in Detroit. Option Chris Parmelee to Triple-A Rochester. For discussion on this latest move, please click here. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

It's time for our monthly look into the Twins and members of the Twins organization that are on Twitter. Last month I added some of the staff and media associated with the minor league affiliates. This month there are several new players who have each added a Twitter account including Twins reliever Ryan Pressly and uber-prospect Miguel Sano. I've also now included the percent their Twitter following has increased since both last month and February. It's an interesting look. As always, I encourage you to let me know if there are players or others who should be included. Of course, we encourage you to follow the Twins Daily writers as well. Help us catch up to Miracle pitching coach Ivan Arteaga.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Twitter.png [TABLE=width: 801] First Name Last Name Twitter 5/9 Update 4/15 Update 3/10 Update Feb Update %change past month %change since Feb AJ Achter @ajachter35 491 [TD=align: right]468 [/TD] [TD=align: right]435 [/TD] [TD=align: right]416 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]18.0% [/TD] Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 148 [TD=align: right]140 [/TD] [TD=align: right]130 [/TD] [TD=align: right]113 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]31.0% [/TD] Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 718 [TD=align: right]413 [/TD] [TD=align: right]378 [/TD] [TD=align: right]334 [/TD] [TD=align: right]73.8% [/TD] [TD=align: right]115.0% [/TD] Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 70,737 [TD=align: right]66,717 [/TD] [TD=align: right]61,761 [/TD] [TD=align: right]59,958 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]18.0% [/TD] Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 226 [TD=align: right]223 [/TD] [TD=align: right]213 [/TD] [TD=align: right]206 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.7% [/TD] Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,007 [TD=align: right]1,001 [/TD] [TD=align: right]998 [/TD] [TD=align: right]721 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]39.7% [/TD] DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,173 [TD=align: right]4,003 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3,930 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3,906 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.2% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.8% [/TD] James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 943 [TD=align: right]909 [/TD] [TD=align: right]841 [/TD] [TD=align: right]784 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]20.3% [/TD] Doug Bernier @dougbernier 215 [TD=align: right]204 [/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4% [/TD] J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 868 [TD=align: right]757 [TD=align: right]355 [/TD] [TD=align: right]263 [/TD] [TD=align: right]14.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]230.0% [/TD] Evan Bigley @Bigley3 626 [TD=align: right]606 [/TD] [TD=align: right]571 [/TD] [TD=align: right]542 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]15.5% [/TD] Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 355 [TD=align: right]308 [/TD] [TD=align: right]232 [/TD] [TD=align: right]193 [/TD] [TD=align: right]15.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]83.9% [/TD] Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 197 [TD=align: right]185 [/TD] [TD=align: right]171 [/TD] [TD=align: right]164 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]20.1% [/TD] Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,094 [TD=align: right]15,704 [/TD] [TD=align: right]15,275 [/TD] [TD=align: right]15,052 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.9% [/TD] Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 1,822 [TD=align: right]1,272 [/TD] [TD=align: right]448 [/TD] [TD=align: right]299 [/TD] [TD=align: right]43.2% [/TD] [TD=align: right]509.4% [/TD] Chris Colabello @CC20rake 1,268 [TD=align: right]1,204 [/TD] [TD=align: right]765 [/TD] [TD=align: right]493 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]157.2% [/TD] Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 162 [/TD] Pat Dean @PDean15 355 [TD=align: right]337 [TD=align: right]335 [/TD] [TD=align: right]328 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]8.2% [/TD] Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 14,160 [TD=align: right]13,280 [/TD] [TD=align: right]12,651 [/TD] [TD=align: right]12,446 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8% [/TD] Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,686 [TD=align: right]1,663 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,626 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,589 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.1% [/TD] Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 11,453 [TD=align: right]10,382 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9,463 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9,334 [/TD] [TD=align: right]10.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]22.7% [/TD] Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 14,780 [TD=align: right]14,261 [/TD] [TD=align: right]13,794 [/TD] [TD=align: right]13,707 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.8% [/TD] Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 194 [TD=align: right]173 [/TD] [TD=align: right]144 [/TD] [TD=align: right]127 [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]52.8% [/TD] Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 653 [TD=align: right]386 [/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: right]69.2% [/TD] Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,804 [TD=align: right]4,942 [TD=align: right]5,186 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5,263 [/TD] [TD=align: right]-2.8% [/TD] [TD=align: right]-8.7% [/TD] Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 385 [TD=align: right]377 [/TD] [TD=align: right]361 [/TD] [TD=align: right]353 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.1% [/TD] Kyle Gibson @KGib44 7,181 [TD=align: right]7,017 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6,722 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6,569 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.3% [/TD] Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 105 [TD=align: right]89 [/TD] [TD=align: right]83 [/TD] [TD=align: right]71 [/TD] [TD=align: right]18.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]47.9% [/TD] Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 415 [TD=align: right]369 [/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.5% [/TD] Steven Gruver @sgruv30 83 [TD=align: right]79 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.1% [/TD] Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 1,791 [TD=align: right]1,451 [TD=align: right]1,076 [/TD] [TD=align: right]885 [/TD] [TD=align: right]23.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]102.4% [/TD] Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 134 [/TD][TD=align: right]133 [TD=align: right]120 [/TD] [/TD][TD=align: right]11.7% Nate Hanson @NHans12 440 [TD=align: right]400 [/TD] [TD=align: right]371 [/TD] [TD=align: right]356 [/TD] [TD=align: right]10.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]23.6% [/TD] Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 268 [TD=align: right]247 [/TD] [TD=align: right]224 [/TD] [TD=align: right]211 [/TD] [TD=align: right]8.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]27.0% [/TD] BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,426 [TD=align: right]1,377 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,287 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,246 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]14.4% [/TD] DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 845 [TD=align: right]773 [/TD] [TD=align: right]710 [/TD] [TD=align: right]699 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]20.9% [/TD] Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 11,307 [TD=align: right]10,486 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6,694 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5,279 [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.8% [/TD] [TD=align: right]114.2% [/TD] Trent Higginbotham @trenthigg 168 [TD=align: right]156 [/TD] [TD=align: right]145 [/TD] [TD=align: right]136 [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]23.5% [/TD] Travis Huber @TravisHuber55 425 [TD=align: right]417 [/TD] [TD=align: right]405 [/TD] [TD=align: right]396 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.3% [/TD] David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 88 [TD=align: right]77 [/TD] [TD=align: right]68 [/TD] [TD=align: right]61 [/TD] [TD=align: right]14.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]44.3% [/TD] Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 647 [TD=align: right]639 [/TD] [TD=align: right]626 [/TD] [TD=align: right]611 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.9% [/TD] Tyler Jones @TmfJones 36 [TD=align: right]36 [/TD] [TD=align: right]36 [/TD] [TD=align: right]28 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]28.6% [/TD] Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 409 [TD=align: right]397 [/TD] [TD=align: right]369 [/TD] [TD=align: right]358 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]14.2% [/TD] Max Kepler @kepleroni 330 [TD=align: right]284 [/TD] [TD=align: right]138 [/TD] [TD=align: right]123 [/TD] [TD=align: right]16.2% [/TD] [TD=align: right]168.3% [/TD] Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 438 [TD=align: right]406 [/TD] [TD=align: right]370 [/TD] [TD=align: right]344 [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]27.3% [/TD] Matt Koch @M_Koch4 60 [TD=align: right]49 [/TD] [TD=align: right]47 [/TD] [TD=align: right]42 [/TD] [TD=align: right]22.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]42.9% [/TD] Bobby Lanigan @BobbyLanigan 487 [TD=align: right]472 [/TD] [TD=align: right]430 [/TD] [TD=align: right]420 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2% [/TD] [TD=align: right]16.0% [/TD] Drew Leachman @d_leachman 198 [TD=align: right]192 [/TD] [TD=align: right]170 [/TD] [TD=align: right]160 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]23.8% [/TD] Andy Leer @andyleer12 123 [TD=align: right]113 [/TD] [TD=align: right]102 [/TD] [TD=align: right]95 [/TD] [TD=align: right]8.8% [/TD] [TD=align: right]29.5% [/TD] Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 353 [TD=align: right]336 [/TD] [TD=align: right]302 [/TD] [TD=align: right]274 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]28.8% [/TD] Trevor May @TrevMay54 5,727 [TD=align: right]5,556 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5,272 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5,153 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]11.1% [/TD] Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 238 [/TD] Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 241 [TD=align: right]234 [TD=align: right]203 [/TD] [TD=align: right]193 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]24.9% [/TD] Kaleb Merck @TwinsMerckin 316 [TD=align: right]313 [/TD] [TD=align: right]304 [/TD] [TD=align: right]297 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.4% [/TD] Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 4,731 [TD=align: right]4,475 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3,890 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3,770 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]25.5% [/TD] Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 303 [TD=align: right]287 [/TD] [TD=align: right]267 [/TD] [TD=align: right]256 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]18.4% [/TD] Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 296 [TD=align: right]285 [/TD] [TD=align: right]275 [/TD] [TD=align: right]264 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.1% [/TD] Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 131 [TD=align: right]123 [/TD] [TD=align: right]108 [/TD] [TD=align: right]98 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]33.7% [/TD] Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 259 [TD=align: right]251 [/TD] [TD=align: right]251 [/TD] [TD=align: right]246 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2% [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.3% [/TD] Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 1,945 [TD=align: right]1,870 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,779 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,755 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]10.8% [/TD] Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 581 [TD=align: right]562 [/TD] [TD=align: right]547 [/TD] [TD=align: right]547 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.2% [/TD] Chris Parmelee @CParms27 5,933 [TD=align: right]5,232 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3,998 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3,656 [/TD] [TD=align: right]13.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]62.3% [/TD] Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 18,130 [TD=align: right]16,322 [/TD] [TD=align: right]14,874 [/TD] [TD=align: right]14,509 [/TD] [TD=align: right]11.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]25.0% [/TD] AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 761 [TD=align: right]694 [/TD] [TD=align: right]646 [/TD] [TD=align: right]629 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]21.0% [/TD] Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 24,333 [TD=align: right]22,988 [/TD] [TD=align: right]21,651 [/TD] [TD=align: right]21,434 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]13.5% [/TD] Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 738 [/TD] Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,192 [TD=align: right]1,163 [TD=align: right]1,140 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,125 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0% [/TD] Bruce Pugh @brucepugh55 79 [/TD] Michael Quesada @KSada55 154 [TD=align: right]146 [TD=align: right]137 [/TD] [TD=align: right]125 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]23.2% [/TD] Danny Rams @DannyRams35 1,065 [TD=align: right]1,061 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,055 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,057 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.8% [/TD] Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 260 [/TD] Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 215 [TD=align: right]209 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.9% [/TD] Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 331 [TD=align: right]330 [TD=align: right]325 [/TD] [TD=align: right]320 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4% [/TD] Taylor Rogers @trogers34 286 [TD=align: right]275 [/TD] [TD=align: right]263 [/TD] [TD=align: right]250 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]14.4% [/TD] Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 810 [TD=align: right]757 [/TD] [TD=align: right]644 [/TD] [TD=align: right]580 [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]39.7% [/TD] Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 2,001 [/TD] Danny Santana @bigmen07 73 [TD=align: right]47 [/TD] [TD=align: right]55.3% [/TD] Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 167 [TD=align: right]159 [TD=align: right]142 [/TD] [TD=align: right]127 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]31.5% [/TD] Anthony Slama @Slama39 4,430 [TD=align: right]4,389 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4,308 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4,293 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2% [/TD] Markus Solbach @MSolbach23 58 [TD=align: right]39 [/TD] [TD=align: right]25 [/TD] [TD=align: right]16 [/TD] [TD=align: right]48.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]262.5% [/TD] Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 561 [TD=align: right]535 [/TD] [TD=align: right]496 [/TD] [TD=align: right]488 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]15.0% [/TD] Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 727 [TD=align: right]706 [/TD] [TD=align: right]664 [/TD] [TD=align: right]615 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]18.2% [/TD] Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 8,038 [TD=align: right]7,661 [/TD] [TD=align: right]7,301 [/TD] [TD=align: right]7,258 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]10.7% [/TD] Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 215 [TD=align: right]209 [/TD] [TD=align: right]208 [/TD] [TD=align: right]203 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.9% [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.9% [/TD] Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 231 [TD=align: right]176 [/TD] [TD=align: right]139 [/TD] [TD=align: right]124 [/TD] [TD=align: right]31.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]86.3% [/TD] Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 149 [TD=align: right]148 [/TD] [TD=align: right]149 [/TD] [TD=align: right]142 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9% [/TD] Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 33 [TD=align: right]32 [/TD] [TD=align: right]29 [/TD] [TD=align: right]20 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]65.0% [/TD] Adam Walker @walkoff28 601 [TD=align: right]543 [/TD] [TD=align: right]494 [/TD] [TD=align: right]482 [/TD] [TD=align: right]10.7% [/TD] [TD=align: right]24.7% [/TD] PJ Walters @PJWalters39 2,514 [TD=align: right]2,479 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2,353 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2,311 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]8.8% [/TD] Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,507 [TD=align: right]1,447 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,358 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,336 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.8% [/TD] Dakota Watts @watts_22 872 [TD=align: right]862 [/TD] [TD=align: right]831 [/TD] [TD=align: right]819 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2% [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5% [/TD] Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 178 [TD=align: right]172 [/TD] [TD=align: right]168 [/TD] [TD=align: right]163 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.2% [/TD] Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 126 [TD=align: right]120 [/TD] [TD=align: right]117 [/TD] [TD=align: right]107 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.0% [/TD] [TD=align: right]17.8% [/TD] Corey Williams @coreyw24 336 [TD=align: right]337 [/TD] [TD=align: right]334 [/TD] [TD=align: right]326 [/TD] [TD=align: right]-0.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.1% [/TD] Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,341 [TD=align: right]1,322 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,267 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,244 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]7.8% [/TD] Tim Wood @The_Woodpile 850 [TD=align: right]798 [/TD] [TD=align: right]730 [/TD] [TD=align: right]685 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]24.1% [/TD] Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 54,382 [TD=align: right]54,314 [/TD] [TD=align: right]53,851 [/TD] [TD=align: right]54,137 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.1% [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.5% [/TD] [/TD] FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 5/9 Update 4/15 Update 3/10 Update Followers Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 15,990 [TD=align: right]15,321 [TD=align: right]14,316 [/TD] [TD=align: right]14,131 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]13.2% [/TD] Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 10,834 [TD=align: right]10,674 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9,484 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9,299 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]16.5% [/TD] Mike Herman @HermTT 2,231 [TD=align: right]2,201 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2,129 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2,108 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4% [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8% [/TD] Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,529 [TD=align: right]1,524 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,495 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1,488 [/TD] [TD=align: right]0.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.8% [/TD] Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 461 [TD=align: right]437 [/TD] [TD=align: right]423 [/TD] [TD=align: right]395 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.5% [/TD] [TD=align: right]16.7% [/TD] Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 457 [TD=align: right]407 [/TD] [TD=align: right]370 [/TD] [TD=align: right]334 [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.3% [/TD] [TD=align: right]36.8% [/TD] Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,166 [TD=align: right]1,115 [/TD] [TD=align: right]972 [/TD] [TD=align: right]913 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]27.7% [/TD] TC Bear @TC_00 10,052 [TD=align: right]9800 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9217 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9907 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.6% [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.5% [/TD] [/TD] Twins Daily 5/9 Update 4/15 Update 3/10 Update Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,279 [TD=align: right]2149 [TD=align: right]1557 [/TD] [/TD][TD=align: right]6.0% [/TD] John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 5,334 [TD=align: right]5127 [TD=align: right]4839 [/TD] [/TD][TD=align: right]4.0% [/TD] Seth Stohs @SethTweets 4,984 [TD=align: right]4891 [TD=align: right]4745 [/TD] [/TD][TD=align: right]1.9% [/TD] Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,703 [TD=align: right]2663 [TD=align: right]2554 [/TD] [/TD][TD=align: right]1.5% [/TD] Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,165 [TD=align: right]3082 [TD=align: right]2849 [/TD] [/TD][TD=align: right]2.7% [/TD] Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 75 [TD=align: right]72 [/TD] [TD=align: right]4.2% [/TD] Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 316 [TD=align: right]274 [/TD] [TD=align: right]15.3% [/TD] Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 852 [TD=align: right]839 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.5% [/TD] Minor Leagues 5/9 Update 4/15 Update 3/10 Update Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 5,717 [TD=align: right]5376 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3% [/TD] Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,013 [TD=align: right]988 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5% [/TD] Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 298 [TD=align: right]293 [/TD] [TD=align: right]1.7% [/TD] Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,116 [TD=align: right]1093 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.1% [/TD] Christopher Fee @CJFee 148 [TD=align: right]119 [/TD] [TD=align: right]24.4% [/TD] New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 5,275 [TD=align: right]5098 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5% [/TD] Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 110 [TD=align: right]107 [/TD] [TD=align: right]2.8% [/TD] Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 287 [TD=align: right]202 [/TD] [TD=align: right]42.1% [/TD] @Mnfanfromafar 319 [TD=align: right]284 [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.3% [/TD] Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 5,606 [TD=align: right]5052 [/TD] [TD=align: right]11.0% [/TD] Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 414 [TD=align: right]261 [/TD] [TD=align: right]58.6% [/TD] Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 389 [TD=align: right]377 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2% [/TD] Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 74 [TD=align: right]60 [/TD] [TD=align: right]23.3% [/TD] David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,108 [TD=align: right]1071 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5% [/TD] Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 3,816 [TD=align: right]3406 [/TD] [TD=align: right]12.0% [/TD] Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 337 [TD=align: right]307 [/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8% [/TD] Jim Crikket @JimCrikket 396 [TD=align: right]348 [/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8% [/TD] Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,044 [TD=align: right]977 [/TD] [TD=align: right]6.9% [/TD] Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 757 [TD=align: right]720 [/TD] [TD=align: right]5.1% [/TD] Andrew Pantini @stadium65 88 [TD=align: right]85 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5% [/TD] Brandon Clemens @brandonclemens 262 Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 647 [TD=align: right]623 [/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9% [TD][/TD] [/TABLE] Click here to view the article

The Twins have had some good success over the years in the Rule 5 draft. Shane Mack became part of the 1991 Minnesota Twins World Series championship team as is one of the more underrated players in Twins history. Garry Wayne had a couple of solid seasons with the Twins as a left-handed reliever. Doug Corbett had a couple of good years and was later dealt to the Angels for Tom Brunansky. Obviously the Twins selection of Jared Camp was terrific because they were immediately able to trade him to the Marlins for one Johan Santana. And two years ago, the team selected Scott Diamond who was arguably their top pitcher in 2012. Will 2012 Rule 5 draft selection Ryan Pressly be able to have an impact on the Twins organization? Well, only time, and spring training success, will tell[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]. Most are aware of the Rule 5 scenario, but just as a reminder, I’ll include the following. A Rule 5 pick (Major League portion) must remain with the big league club throughout the season or be offered back to his previous club. Last year, their Rule 5 pick, Terry Doyle, was returned to the White Sox after a tough spring training. Scott Diamond, chosen the year before, had to be offered back to the Braves. However, Atlanta and Minnesota were able to work out a trade (for RHP Billy Bullock) that allowed the Twins to remove Diamond from their 40 man roster and keep him. As they did a year earlier, the Twins selected a right-handed pitcher who performed very well in the Arizona Fall League. Although he posted an ERA of 3.86, in 14 innings he struckout 18 batters and walked just one. Regarding his AFL stint, Pressly remarked, “It went well. I never thought I’d be able to say it, but I threw too many strikes. When I told my dad that, he laughed too. Never thought I’d have that problem. 18 to 1 strikeout to walk ratio, I’ve never had that before. Hopefully it’s going to keep coming along.” Pressly, the 11th round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2007’s Rule 4 draft, had been a starter throughout most of his minor league career. In 2012, he struggled in High-A and AA as a starter and was moved to the bullpen where he began to experience more success. About his move to the bullpen, Pressly sees it as an opportunity. “Obviously I wasn’t throwing as well as I wanted to as a starter, so I thought the change to the bullpen was another opportunity. I want that opportunity. As a reliever, you can go out the next night, so I like the reliever role better.” But it isn’t always easy to make the transition to the bullpen. Pressly said the transition wasn’t too bad. “I picked it up pretty quick. I picked the brains of guys who have been in the bullpen. They just kind of shoved me away. I want to run with it now.” It might be the perfect role for the 6-3 right-hander as he had a tendency to dwell on a bad start for a few days. “The first two days you’re pretty disappointed because you want to go 6, 7, 8 innings. You want to help the bullpen out. I’ve been on both ends of that now, so I know how that feels. Yeah, I would kind of dwell on it a little bit because it would make me mad, more that I didn’t do as well as I could. But now as a reliever, you’ve got to get rid of it the second you’re off the mound.” Pressly added, “As a starter, you have to pace yourself, obviously, but as a reliever, you can come in and reach back and let it go. With my velocity and strikes, I’m just going out and attacking hitters and not holding anything back.” As Jeremy Nygaard wrote about him in the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013, “Pressly throws three pitches: a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a curveball that sometimes looks like a slider and a deceptive changeup/cutter that is developing into a swing-and-miss pitch.” So, what does he consider his put-away pitch? “Whatever the hitter shows me, I guess. It could be the sliders. It could be the curveball. It could be the fastball. Just kind of depends on how he approaches me.” Pressly may not know all the faces of his new teammates, but he is not unfamiliar with the Twins organization. The Red Sox spring training complex is also in Ft. Myers and the two teams and their minor league teams play frequently. So what is Pressly hoping to learn from working with the few veterans in the Twins bullpen like Glen Perkins and Jared Burton? “You can’t learn anything by talking, so I’m just going to out there and not speak unless spoken to. I want to watch and see what they do. See if it helps me. We’ll see what happens.” As generally no more than two or three Rule 5 guys each year remain with the club that selects him, the odds that Pressley won’t be a member of the Twins bullpen on Opening Day. However, it can happen and has happen, and if not else, Spring Training is about opportunity, and that’s how Ryan Pressly is going to look at it. “When they picked me I was pretty pumped. They have had some success with Rule 5 guys and hopefully I can keep that going. We’ll see what happens this spring.” View full article

Players with less than three years of major league service time will typically sign one year, two-way contracts. Now that spring training has started, expect many of the Twins players to sign such contracts in the next week. These two-way contracts are for a certain dollar value if the player is in the big leagues, and another (significantly smaller) dollar value if they are playing in the minor leagues. The Two-Way Contract means that a player is EITHER making $X in the big leagues OR $(X – LOTS) in the minor leagues. With Terry Ryan at the helm and so many difficult questions to be answered when the season starts, it appears that the Twins have set up a Two-Way Planning system for the 2012 season. How it plays out will be determined by a series of EITHER/OR scenarios. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: TerryRyan2.jpg The biggest EITHER/OR scenario is will the Twins be able to complete for a division title in 2012? We can all make assumptions, but we don’t know, and there are so many factors. FACTORS The health of Joe MauerThe health of Justin MorneauThe health of Denard SpanThe elbow of Scott BakerThe durability of Carl PavanoThe mindset and performance of Francisco LirianoThe improvements of Danny Valencia, Ben Revere and other young playersMatt Capps ability to get outs in the 9th2-5 bullpen arms need to step up and contribute consistently well.Minor Leaguers coming up and contributing when needed throughout the season (Hendriks, Diamond, Gutierrez, Guerra, Waldrop, Oliveros, Benson, Parmelee, Dozier, etc.)Each one of those ten Factors was a factor whether or not the Twins brought in any free agents. If seven or eight of those factors wind up positive for the Twins, they have a chance to compete. NEW VARIABLES Josh Willingham – The outfielder will likely replace the offensive production of Michael Cuddyer and play about as well defensively. He has a career track record of walking a lot, striking out a lot and hitting a bunch of home runs.Jamey Carroll – the middle infielder should help solidify an infield defense that was pretty atrocious last year. He also perfectly profiles as a #2 hitter due to a very good on-base percentage.Ryan Doumit – Likely becomes the team’s #2 starting catcher meaning he should start most of the games that Joe Mauer doesn’t behind the plate. On other days, he should get a lot of time as a DH, at 1B and even in RF. Offensively, he should add plenty of extra base hits.Jason Marquis – Although many Twins fans did not like this acquisition (and I’m not wild about it myself), Marquis has put together a pretty solid career. He was even pretty good last year in Washington (9-5, 3.95 ERA) before being traded to Arizona where he hurt his leg. He strikes out about as many Pavano. Let’s hope that he can eat that many innings!Joel Zumaya - The ultimate in ‘injury risk,’ Zumaya hasn’t pitched in nearly two years. However, he had a good throwing session in front of a lot of scouts. He still throws pretty hard. It will be very interesting to see how the Twins use him and how much he has to contribute.Although none of the above are All-Stars (with the possible exception of Willingham), they are the types of players that will compliment the roster well. The Two-Way Plan All of that background gets us to The Two-Way Plan for July. Because we don’t know for sure how it will play out, they will need to be written as IF/THEN statements. Scenario One IF seven or eight of the factors listed above are going positively, AND the Twins are getting positive performances from their minor leaguers and these new players, AND the team is in contention in mid-July, THEN they will have plenty of payroll flexibility to add a significant piece or two at the deadline, if they choose. Scenario Two However, IF things are not going well, AND they are enduring another year of injuries to key players, AND players are not stepping up as needed, AND the Twins find themselves well out of contention in July, THEN they have accumulated a lot of trade pieces to start a more rapid rebuilding plan. Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis and Francisco Liriano are all free agents at the end of the season. They could be traded. Scott Baker has an option at just over $9 million. He could be traded. Alexi Casilla, Ryan Doumit and Jamey Carroll could both be traded to a contender needing to fill a role. If the Twins sour on any of their players that are out of options, they could be traded. The Twins have a $100 million payroll, so they are saying the right things, saying that they believe that with accountability, healthy and performance, they can compete. They have done so while also being in a position to go to a full-blown rebuild if the situation presents itself. I don’t know if that strategy is intentional, but the roster sets up to accommodate either option. Click here to view the article

It was quite the power display for the Rochester Red Wings, something the Twins AAA-affiliate needed badly. Clete Thomas and Chris Colabello continue to make their case for big league jobs. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton continue to make their cases for being the #1 prospect in baseball going into the 2014 season.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins fell again in Cleveland, but there was plenty to watch in the Twins minor leagues. There was good pitching. The top prospects each had multi-hit games. And, the Red Wings got some big time power from the middle of their lineup. Check out what happened on Saturday in the minor league parks: Rochester Red Wings 8, Columbus Clippers 2 Box Score The middle of the Red Wings lineup came through in a big way on Saturday night in Ohio. Clete Thomas, Chris Colabello and Jeff Clement (the 3-4-5 hitters) combined to go 8-15 with a double, five home runs and seven RBI. Thomas is now hitting .386 after going 2-5 with his fifth and sixth home runs. Chris Colabello went 4-5 with his seventh double and seventh home run. Jeff Clement was 2-5 with the first two home runs of his season. Joe Benson had a single to extend his hitting streak to nine games. (Photo - Naples News) Liam Hendriks made the start. He gave up two runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out five. Caleb Thielbar came on and threw two scoreless innings, walking one and striking one out. Luis Perdomo gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth. He struck out two. New Britain Rock Cats 1, Portland Sea Dogs 2 Box Score The score was tied at one going into the bottom of the 9th inning. Lefty Edgar Ibarra, who threw a scoreless eighth inning, was back on the mound. He walked the leadoff batter and proceeded to throw two wild pitches to get the runner to third base. He then intentionally walked the next two batters in an attempt to set up a force at home plate. Jose Gonzalez was brought in, and he proceeded to walk in the winning run. Trevor May was very good while Terry Ryan watched from the stands. The hard-throwing right-hander went seven strong innings. He gave up one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out three. The Rock Cats jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first. Veteran Charlie Haeger, the knuckleballer who spent parts of five season in the big leagues, was on the mound for Portland. He missed all of the 2012 season after having Tommy John surgery. He walked Antoan Richardson to lead off the game. Richardson stole his twelfth base of the year and then advanced to third on a groundout by Danny Santana. With Mark Sobolewski batting, Haeger threw a pitch that knuckled past the catcher to score Richardson. That was the lone run of the game for New Britain. The Rock Cats had just four hits on the game. AJ Pettersen left Ft. Myers very early on Saturday morning and landed in Portland, Maine, two hours before the early afternoon game. He arrived at the ballpark to find that he was in the lineup, batting ninth and playing second base. In his first plate appearance, Haeger walked him. In his next plate appearance, he was hit by a knuckleball. He then flew out to right field twice. Alex Meyer will face Brandon Workman when the two teams play on Sunday at noon (central time). Ft. Myers Miracle 5, St. Lucie Mets 10 Box Score The Miracle’s nine game winning streak came to an end on Saturday night. Tom Stuifbergen made the start and gave up six runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out three. Nelvin Fuentes struck out five over the next two innings. He gave up one hit and an unearned run. Corey Williams pitched the eighth inning. He gave up a solo home run and he struck out two. Chad Rodgers yielded two runs in the ninth. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out two. Miguel Sano did his part. The slugger gave the Miracle a 3-0 lead after one inning with a three-run blast, his tenth home run of the season. He had three hits in the game and drove in four runs. Matt Koch went 3-4 as well. Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, South Bend Silver Hawks 6 (11 innings) Box Score Tyler Duffey continued to pitch well, but it wasn’t enough on this night. The right-hander went the first seven innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked one and struck out five. Tyler Jones came on and struck out the one batter he faced. Josh Burris came on and gave up three runs on one hit and three walks in one inning. Tim Atherton came on and got out of the ninth inning. He got the game to the 11th frame, but a leadoff walk led to a game-losing run. He gave up the run on two hits and three walks (one intentional) in two innings. Byron Buxton continued his streak of getting on base in all 27 games so far this season. He was 2-5 with a walk and his sixth and seventh doubles. He also stole his 12th base. Jorge Polanco went 2-5 with a walk and his third triple. He is now hitting .352. Tyler Grimes was 2-4 and was hit by two pitches. Niko Goodrum had a single, two walks and his third stolen base. A LOOK AHEAD to Sunday Sam Deduno will be making his first start of the season for the Red Wings on Sunday at noon (central time) in Columbus. Alex Meyer will be starting for New Britain in Portland, Maine on Sunday at noon. Ft. Myers plays at 3:05 on Sunday afternoon and will have Cole De Vries making a rehab start. J.O. Berrios will start for the Kernels in South Bend when they start at 1:05. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

The Twins had their first scheduled off-day of the season on Thursday. They were in Minnesota watching the snow fall. As they look forward to a weekend, interleague series against the New York Mets, the forecast is for snow to fall in Minneapolis throughout the day on Friday. Hopefully they will be able to get some games in. Inclement weather caused the Cedar Rapids Kernels to postpone a game for the third straight night. Three affiliates did play last night. Kyle Gibson was on the mound for the Red Wings and Oswaldo Arcia had a couple more hits. Josmil Pinto reclaimed the organization’s early home run lead. And, one of Twins Daily’s own had a big game for Ft. Myers. Find out if the Miracle were able to remain perfect on the season. All of that and more are below in today’s Twins Minor League Report.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If you’d like to hear some discussion on the Mets and Twins, I was on the MetsMusings.com podcast last night. Listen here. Rochester Red Wings 4, Pawtucket Red Sox 5 Box Score Kyle Gibson got off to a good start on Thursday night. The right-hander had a 1-2-3 first inning that included strikeouts of Jose Iglesius and a rehabbing David Ortiz. However, in the third inning, Iglesius hit a two-run homer to left field. In the fifth inning, Ortiz singled in a run and another run scored on a double before Gibson was replaced by Caleb Thielbar who allowed one of his inherited runners to score. In all, Gibson gave up five runs on either hits. In 4.1 innings, he gave up one walk and struckout six. Thielbar struckout three in 1.2 innings. Michael O’Connor gave up one hit in 1.1 scoreless innings. Luis Perdomo struckout both batters he faced. Oswaldo Arcia continues his torrid start. He went 2-4 and knocked his third home run of the young season. Mark Sobolewski hit his first home run. The two accounted for three of the team’s five hits in the game. Ortiz went 2-3 in his first rehab appearance. Shairon Martis will start for the Red Wings against Pawtucket tonight. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Portland Sea Dogs 9 Box Score Pat Dean struggled again in his second outing of the season. The lefty from Connecticut gave up five runs (2 earned) on seven hits and a walk in 3.2 innings. Marty Popham came on and gave up two runs on a hit and three walks in one inning. He did strikeout two. Nelvin Fuentes went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. AJ Achter struckout three in the final two innings. The pitchers were hurt by four errors by their defense. Jason Christian committed two errors at third base, but he did go 2-4 with his first double. Josmil Pinto launched his fourth home run of the year. Alex Meyer is scheduled to pitch for the Rock Cats against Portland on Friday. Ft. Myers Miracle 6, Jupiter Hammerheads 5 Box Score In a lineup that includes Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario, on Thursday night, it was Twins Daily and Minnesota’s own, AJ Pettersen, who played hero and helped the Miracle improve to 7-0 on the season. Pettersen, batting ninth and playing shortstop, was -3 with a stolen base already when he came up with a runner on in the bottom of the 8th inning. His RBI double gave the Miracle a 6-5 lead. Pettersen is now hitting .353 on the season. Things didn’t start out so well for the Miracle. Jason Wheeler started and gave up five runs on six hits and two walks in just three innings. Chad Rodgers came in and struckout two in two scoreless innings. Ryan O’Rourke went two scoreless innings. Once the Miracle got the lead, Zack Jones was brought in and struckout two in a perfect ninth inning for his third save. O’Rourke, the Vulture, picked up the win to improve to 3-0 out of the bullpen. The big bats at the top of the Miracle batting order contributed as well. Angel Morales was 3-5 with his third double. Eddie Rosario hit his third and fourth doubles in five at bats. He’s now hitting .367. Miguel Sano struckout three times, but when he made contact, he launched a towering home run, his second of the season. He’s hitting .393. Matt Koch was also 2-4. Cedar Rapids Kernels, Clinton LumberKings The Kernels were rained/snowed out for the third straight night on Thursday. After missing the final two games in Wisconsin, the Kernels lost last night’s game to Clinton. The two teams will attempt to play two, seven-inning games on Friday night, starting at 5:00 p.m. View full article

Download attachment: Miguel Cabrera600.jpg I have been meaning to write a blog or an article on this topic for days. Thankfully, Kurt Mensching from the terrific Tigers blog Bless You Boys wrote it for me! (http://www.blessyoub...l-you-otherwise) Sure, he's a Tigers blogger, so he might be a little biased on this topic today. But I'm a Twins blogger, and I 100% agree with him. The Triple Crown still matters, no matter what some people want you to think. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Do I think that if Miguel Cabrera achieves the Triple Crown that it should assure that he be the AL MVP? No. But the two don't have to go hand in hand, do they? Why can't we just appreciate a statistical achievement that has not happened in Major League Baseball in 45 years!! Why can't we just appreciate a statistical achievement that only 11 players have done since 1900! Batting Average - yes, I understand, it's not as important as on-base percentage, but it's still a nice statistic. It must be fairly important as it is counted twice in OPS! HR - These are fairly important and have a nice impact on Slugging Percentage and RBI. RBI - yes, they are dependent often upon teammates getting on base. Kurt wrote it so much more thoroughly and eloquently than I, but Someone has to drive in runs. As Twins fans, we should appreciate this. How many times this year (and in recent years), have the Twins had a runner on 3B and less than two outs and NOT scored a run. A sacrifice fly would do it. A ground out to 2B would do it. Someone has to score the runs. I don't know. Maybe I read the wrong bloggers and writers on Twitter or something. I like most of the new-school stats and try to have a cursory understanding of what they are telling me. They are great, and I do believe that all front offices should use them to some degree. But I also believe that front office do need to use old-school methods of scouting and player evaluation too. People can talk all they want about whether Mike Trout or Miguel Cabrera should win the AL MVP award. I'm not sure I care which wins because I feel both are deserving. Just as I hope voters will not use solely the SABRmetric stats like WAR to decide, I don't think they should only use the old-school stats either. But that's about the MVP award. If we're just talking about the Triple Crown on its own, it is incredible cool. I don't think that Cabrera is being talked about enough for what he is likely to be able to claim by the end of today. 45 years... accomplished 11 times since 1900 (and by Hall of Famers)... What Miguel Cabrera is doing in 2012 is historical, and I guess, in my opinion, it hasn't been treated as such. Especially as we are seeing offensive numbers declining the last couple of years, it is even more impressive. Vote for whoever you want for the AL MVP, but at least give Cabrera credit for a monster offensive season. It's OK. Really! You can celebrate a Triple Crown Award... And, you can discuss it here. Click here to view the article

Major League players with less than six years of service time and more than three years of service time are eligible for salary arbitration. As we all know, there are a bunch of Super-2 arbitration-eligible players as well each year. On Tuesday, arbitration numbers will be exchanged. The teams will say how much they are offering to the player, and the player and his agent will submit the value that they think they should receive. Of course, in most cases, the team and the player come up with a value somewhere in the middle and numbers never get exchanged. When the offseason began, and TwinsCentric was working on its Offseason GM Handbook, the Twins had eight arbitration-eligible players on their roster. Since the end of the season, there have been a few changes: Phil Dumatrait – Was Designated for Assignment and removed from the 40 man roster. He became a free agent but returned to the Twins on a minor league contract. That means, he is no longer eligible for arbitration.Jason Repko – Was Designated for Assignment and removed from the 40 man roster. He became a free agent but has not yet signed with another organization.Matt Tolbert – Was Designated for Assignment and removed from the 40 man roster. He became a free agent but has not yet signed with another organization.Jose Mijares – Was non-tended last month by the Twins. Less than a week later, he signed with the Kansas City Royals.Kevin Slowey – Was traded to the Colorado Rockies in December.That leaves the Twins with three arbitration-eligible players. The Twins will likely attempt to sign all three before Tuesday’s deadline. It is also possible they are working on multi-year deals with one or more of them. Here they are: 1.) Alexi Casilla – In 2011, the 2B/SS made $700,000 in his first year of arbitration. In the Offseason GM Handbook, TwinsCentric predicted that he would get $2.5 million in arbitration. If I were to place my bet, I think it will be closer to $1.5 million. 2.) Glen Perkins – In 2011, the lefty reliever made $865,000 in his first year of arbitration. TwinsCentric projected him to make $1.8 million, and I think that is about right. I also believe that the Twins may look to lock up Perkins for three years (to buy out one year of free agency). Perkins may be hesitant to sign a long-term deal knowing that there is a chance he will get some time as Twins’ closer this year, and closers make a bunch more money. However, if he wants to stay with the Twins, it’s possible that he could be signed in the neighborhood of three years and $8 million. 3.) Francisco Liriano – In 2011, Liriano made $4.3 million. Despite a frustrating season, he will likely get a raise. TwinsCentric predicted that he would be awarded $6 million, but I think it will be closer to $5 million. A year ago, I said that the Twins should sign him to a 4 year, $40 million deal. At this point, I’d be very hesitant to give Liriano a multi-year deal. However, if they are at all interested, now is the time to do it. This would be a buy low scenario. Could the Twins now have the talented (but enigmatic) Liriano to a three year, $18 million now? If so, would you consider it? We will learn quite a bit before Tuesday’s deadline. Many years the Twins get all their arbitration situations figured out before numbers are even exchanged. This year, the Twins have three very interesting situations. What do you think will happen? Click here to view the article

Last night, Astros closer and former Minnesota Twins Rule 5 pick and relief pitcher Ryan Pressly recorded the final three outs of the second no-hitter in World Series history. 2013 was the first season of Twins Daily, and I had the opportunity to cover Opening Day at Target Field. A couple of hours before the game, I walked up to a nervous Ryan Pressly at his locker. He was excited, anxious, wide-eyed, and had no clue where his career might take him. Here is that Opening Day article from April 1, 2013, at Twins Daily. Image courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA TODAY Sports Target Field - Phenom Aaron Hicks is not the only Minnesota Twins player who will be making the jump from AA to the big leagues in 2013. Rule 5 pick Ryan Pressly is also making that jump, and he’s admittedly, and understandably, “pretty nervous right now” as the Twins and Tigers are preparing to open their 2013 seasons at Target Field this afternoon. Aaron Hicks spent the entire 2012 season in New Britain. Ryan Pressly didn’t make his AA debut until mid-July, shortly after making the transition from being a starting pitcher to his new role in the bullpen. Pressly pitched very well in the Arizona Fall League in 2012 and impressed the Twins brass enough to make him their Rule 5 selection in December. By rules, the Twins are required to keep Pressly on the big league roster for the entire 2013 season or would have to offer him back to the Red Sox. Pressly is hoping to stick around with the Twins for a while. Twins Daily had the opportunity to talk to the hard-throwing, 24-year-old right-hander from Dallas before batting practice today. It wasn’t hard to tell that Pressly is thrilled to be with the Twins and in the big leagues. His ear-to-ear smile tells that story clearly. “I’m pretty nervous right now. I wouldn’t say nervous, more anxious than anything, because it’s Opening Day. A lot of these guys have gone through it, but some of us haven’t and it’s pretty fun, pretty entertaining.” He found spring training to be even more than he was anticipating this spring. “(I) never realized how the competition was there, and it just kind of shocked me. I was more in shock when I got there, seeing all the guys in camp, everybody competing. It was fun though.” It was fun, in part, because he pitched incredibly well. In 13 1/3 innings over 10 spring training games, he gave up just one run on nine hits. He posted a 0.66 ERA and opponents hit just .191 off of him. What did he credit for his success? “Just attacking hitters. I was just going after them. I didn’t really try to get too cute with anything. I just wanted to throw all my stuff for strikes and try to get people out. That’s really all you can do.” It was really just a continuation of his successful AFL stint where he walked just one and struck out 18 in 14 innings. The righty throws 95 with a good, power curveball. “I guess at the AFL and the end of AA season, it all just kind of clicked. I really can’t explain it. I can’t explain what I have done, but it’s just clicked. I guess moving to the bullpen, a new role it’s just helped a lot. ” Having come from the Red Sox organization, he already was familiar with the city of Ft. Myers. The Red Sox spring training facilities are just across town. The two teams played several times throughout spring training. It was after an appearance against the Red Sox when Pressly was told the news he had hoped for all spring training, that he would make the Twins Opening Day roster. “I got done throwing, and I wasn’t even two steps into the dugout and (Ron) Gardenhire shook my hand and said ‘Congratulations, You made the team.’ I was just in shock, and I didn’t even know what to say or do. I just shook his hand and said, ‘OK.’” His dad was in a business meeting at the time, but he still called home. “I called my mom, and she was ecstatic. Screaming. I think she was crying a little bit, but it was an awesome feeling. I don’t think I was even out of my cleats yet.” Pressly played most of the 2012 season with Jackie Bradley, Jr. who made his major league debut today as the Red Sox left fielder after splitting the 2012 season between A ball and AA ball. Pressly is excited for his first Opening Day, as he should be. He’s even excited to get to partake in the Twins bullpen tradition. How does he feel about carrying out the pink backpack full of treats? He’s excited. “I’ve got everything organized in there already. I just have to take some drink requests after we get done throwing.” Pressly isn’t completely certain what role or what types of situations he’ll be put into. He couldn’t stop smiling during a pre-batting practice interview. It’s a great story. As Twins fans, let’s hope that he pitches well and keeps on smiling throughout the season. ---------------------------------------------------- Ten Seasons. A couple of All Star games. A World Series ring, and working on a second one. Last night, Ryan Pressly recorded the final three outs of an Astros combined no-hitter, just the second no-hitter in World Series history. View full article

Download attachment: Halffullempty.jpg Two more games left. 160 Twins games have been played in 2012 season. It’s been yet another frustrating, 90-loss season for the Twins and their fans. As the offseason fast approaches, it will soon be time for the Hot Stove League. That means 40 man roster decisions, winter meetings, trades, free agents, and most important, rumors. Rumors will, as always, be prevalent throughout the offseason. Twins Daily is the place for all of that! [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] One question that the Twins front office will have to ask themselves, and Twins fans will want to ask themselves (just for fun), will affect how the offseason plays out. Is the Twins' glass half full or half empty? Consider: Josh Willingham came to Target Field and in his first year with the Twins, he hit a career-high 35 home runs and drove in a career-high 110 runs in a career-high 145 games. Joe Mauer returned from a frustrating 2011 season to compete for the AL batting title and lead Major League Baseball in On-Base Percentage. Proving he can play a solid 1B, his 147 games played (assuming he plays the final two games in Toronto) will be a career high. Ryan Doumit was brought in on a one-year, $3 million deal and posted his career bests in doubles (34), home runs (18), RBI (75) and games played (134). He did a nice job behind the plate and showed enough versatility to play some left field. The Twins locked him up for two more years at just $7 million. Justin Morneau overcame wrist and brain injuries to have a monster second half. Denard Span and Ben Revere did a nice job instigating the lineup, helping the team to more an 0.5 more runs per game than a year ago. Both played very good defense as well. Lefty Scott Diamond came back from a difficult 2011 season to become the Twins best starting pitcher. With one start remaining, he is 12-8 with a 3.54 ERA (4-1 in Rochester, giving him 16 total wins in 2012 after losing 19 combined last year). He has already thrown 202.2 innings. Glen Perkins was signed to a long-term contract extension this spring and has proven to be worth every cent regardless of the role he has been in. He’s 3-1 with 16 saves. In 69.1 innings, he has walked just 16 and struck out 75. Jared Burton was signed as a minor league free agent after missing time the last couple of years with shoulder injuries. He became the Twins 8th inning stalwart. He was 3-2 with a 2.21 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. In 61 innings, he walked just 15 and struckout 53. Note that if nothing changes, each of these players is scheduled to be back with the Twins in 2012. However, at the same time, a few realities need to be front of mind: Despite the offensive performances listed above, the Twins offense ranked 10th out of 14 teams in the American League with 4.35 runs per game. They are 7th in batting average and 6th in on-base percentage. However, they are just 12th out of 14 in slugging percentage thanks to the second fewest home runs. The Twins pitchers gave up 5.16 runs per game which was better than only Cleveland (5.17 R/G). Of course, their ERA is 4.78 and Cleveland’s is 4.77. What is staggering is that the Twins had just 924 strikeouts. The second-lowest total in the AL? Cleveland pitchers have struckout 1,058. Tampa’s pitchers led with 1,348 strikeouts. Last year the Twins were the second-worst team in baseball. This year, despite relative health (at least compared to 2011) and strong performances by all of those listed above, the Twins will have another top five pick in the 2013 draft. They’re also competing over the final two games of the season with Cleveland for last place in baseball’s worst division. So again, the question for the Twins front office (and for all of you reading this, of course), how full is the Twins cup? Half Full? Or Half Empty? Half Full - The Twins could make one trade and sign two or three mid-level pitchers who will make Diamond the Twins #3 or #4 starter, instead of #1 starter. In doing so, the Twins could be competitive in the AL Central in 2013 or at least 2014. Meanwhile, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia, Chris Herrmann and a few other minor leaguers could be ready to contribute by midseason. Half Empty – The Twins need to blow this thing up. Trade Morneau. Trade Span. Trade Willingham. Acquire youth. Build for 2017 and hope that the rebuilding goes better than the Royals or Pirates plans have gone. The Pirates assured themselves of their 20th straight losing season. The Royals have one .500 season in the last 20. So as the Twins finish out their season north of the border, Twins Daily will be great place for Twins fans to discuss what direction we would encourage the Twins front office to go. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Kevin Correia.jpg According to sources, the Twins have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Kevin Correia. ESPN's Jerry Crasnick is saying that the deal is a two-year deal and $10 million. The 32-year-old right-hander has gone 12-11 the last two seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His ERA in 2011 was 4.79, and it was 4.21 in 2012. He was originally a 4th round pick by the San Francisco Giants. He has spent time with the Giants, Padres and Pirates. In 10 big league seasons, he is a combined 60-65 with a 4.54 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. His career strikeout rate is 6.0. However, the last two seasons, his K/9 has been 4.5 and 4.7. He made his first, and only, All Star appearance in 2011 with the Pirates. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The past two seasons, he has thrown 154 and 171 innings. His career high innings were 198 with the Padres in 2009. Correia comes in as the veteran of a pitching staff that includes Scott Diamond and Vance Worley. Of those three, he's clearly the third best. Best case scenario, he can find a way to be just about league average in 2013 and the Twins can trade him for a C-level prospect in July. If nothing else, I do like this deal much better than the 1 year, $6 million deal that Scott Feldman got from the Cubs. Click here to view the article

Age: 23 (DOB: 1/3/90) 2012 Stats A/A+: 129.0 IP, 2.86 ERA, 139/45 K/BB, 1.10 WHIP ETA: 2014 Generally speaking, the best trades are the ones that both sides can be happy about. Of course, for fans, the best trades are the ones where your team ripped off the other team. In late November, the Minnesota Twins and Washington Nationals finally reached an agreement on a deal that would send Denard Span to the nation’s capital in exchange for minor league pitcher Alex Meyer. The Nationals got the centerfielder and true leadoff hitter that they have been looking for, while the Twins got an upper echelon power pitching prospect that they have been yearning for. Another frequently-used cliché used any time there is a trade is, “To get something good, you’ve got to give up something good.”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Denard Span played a terrific centerfield in his five seasons with the Twins. He also hit .284/.357/.389 (.746) with 90 stolen bases despite missing time due to his 2011 concussion. Span has a very team-friendly contract in which he will make $11.25 million over the next two seasons and has a $9 million option for 2015. He will be an important cog for a Nationals team that has aspirations of a World Series championship in 2013. For a team that has lost 195 games over the past two seasons and had one of baseball’s worst pitching staffs the last couple of seasons, obtaining high-ceiling, top-of-the-rotation starting pitching is crucial. The Twins acquired just that when they received Twins Daily’s choice for the Twins #5 Prospect, Alex Meyer. Alex Meyer was the 20th round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2008 out of his Indiana high school. He and his parents (with the assistance of advisor Scott Boras) turned down a $2 million signing bonus and chose to attend the University of Kentucky. When he went to college, he had a lot of development to do. His delivery and arm action needed to be helped. It’s not unusual that such tall, long pitchers take quite a bit of time to find a consistent release point and be able to repeat his pitches. Kentucky’s coach, Gary Henderson, develops a lot of credit for Meyer’s development. Because if it, when the 2011 draft rolled around, Meyer was the 23rd overall pick by the Nationals, a compensatory pick from the White Sox for signing Type A free agent Adam Dunn. As much as the Twins liked him, there was no way he would fall to 30th pick where the Twins took Levi Michael. Meyer (and his agent, Boras) was still able to get his $2 million signing bonus. In his professional debut, the Nationals decided that it was best of Meyer to be sent to Low A Hagerstown. He went 7-4 with a 3.10 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 90 innings, he walked 34 and struckout 107 (10.7 per nine). He was promoted to High-A Potomac where he went 3-2 with a 2.31 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP. In 39 innings, he walked just 11 (2.5 per nine) and struckout 32 (7.4 per nine) The Good When it comes to projectability, Alex Meyer tops the charts. At 6-9 and just 220 pounds, he has room to grow, to get bigger and strong, and even throw harder. That’s impressive when we are already talking about a guy who throws 94 to 96 mph and can reach back and hit 98 at any time. If you watched the Futures Game last year, he even hit 99 mph. He also has a very good slider that he throws at 85 to 89 mph. That fast became a swing-and-miss pitch for Meyer. In the last couple of years, he has really developed his changeup. It is a good pitch that has good sink. He also throws a knuckle-curveball that continues to need development. At Kentucky, Meyer was a teammate of Twins minor leaguers Logan Darnell (6th round, 2010), Lance Ray (8th round, 2010), and Taylor Rogers (11th round, 2012). It’s interesting to get their perspectives on the 23-year-old right-hander. Darnell and Meyer were teammates for two years. He said, “He (Meyer) is a great guy, good teammate and a very talented player! He throws in the mid-to-high 90s with a very good slider, and a pretty good changeup. He’s excited to be a Twin too.” Ray added, “Really excited about having the opportunity to play with Meyer again. He is a really talented pitcher, and I can’t wait to play defense behind him. Meyer is a guy who can dominate the game when he is on the mound.” What were the qualities that the Twins saw in him to make him a target, willing to give up a talent like Span for him? According to Twins Vice President of Player Pesonnel, Mike Radcliff, “Meyer has the physical attributes to be a top-of-the-rotation starter which is arguably the most difficult commodity to acquire. His present stuff and pitches, along with an evolving maturity to apply his talent, give him a very high ceiling.” Radcliff added, “Frankly, we don’t make this trade if there was not a high level of conviction that he can reach the performance levels of an impact starting pitcher.” The Bad According to Radcliff, Meyer will have to “overcome the normal hurdles. He will have to gain more command of his fastball. He’ll have to find the usability of his complementary pitches.” Again, tall, lanky pitchers typically struggle with release point consistency. It’s something that Meyer will have to overcome. Consider that Randy Johnson, one of the top handful of pitchers in the past 30 years and someone who should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer. The hard-throwing 6-10 lefty got to the big leagues for four starts as a 24 year old at the end of the 1988 season. In his age 25 season (1989), he walked 5.4 per nine innings and struck out 7.3 per nine. In 1990, he walked 4.9 per nine and struckout 7.1 per nine. In 1991, at age 27, he walked 6.8 batters per nine innings, although he did raise his K-rate to 10.2 per nine. And, in 1992, he walked 6.2 per nine and struckout 10.9. After turning 29 years old, he never walked more than 3.8 per nine. From 1999 (age 35 season) to 2009 (age 45 season), he never walked as many as 2.9 per nine. No, I am not saying that Meyer is going to be the second coming of Randy Johnson, just that patience with any pitcher, much less a very tall pitcher is very important. To see that he walked just 3.1 batters per nine innings in his first professional season is certainly encouraging. Radcliff added that Meyer will need to develop a couple more things that really can only be developed over time and innings. “The development of his physicality and mound presence to produce the innings potential and production of a rotation stalwart will also be key.” The Bottom Line Alex Meyer is 6-9. He throws a fastball that approached triple digits and has two or three pitches that are also considered plus-plus pitches. After developing a lot in college, he showed good progress in his first professional season. Many scouts have indicated that he has also shown a very good maturity, and a very professional approach. One question we hear often is where Meyer will begin the 2013 season and how quickly he can move up the system and be in a Twins uniform. Mike Radcliff says, “As a newcomer to the system, we need to see and interact with him in spring training to gauge his present ability to compete. New Britain looks like the natural starting place.” The Twins traded their starting centerfielder and leadoff hitter to the Nationals to acquire Alex Meyer. The Twins needed top-end starting pitching in the system, and Meyer certainly represents that. He is a Top 100 prospect in all rankings, appearing in the Top 50 in many. One person who has seen Meyer pitch several times recently told me, “He (Meyer) has the best raw stuff of any guy the Twins have had in a long, long time.” View full article

This morning, he's fine. No pain, no tightness. No further medical evaluation planned.

I know I posted it on TD and Twitter a couple of months ago. He had surgery (I can't remember the name, but it was attaching a tendon (or something) to his shoulder.) He's out for the year, but I don't think anyone should give up on him.

After starting the season 0-4, the Twins won their last two games and scored a combined 16 runs, games started by Jered Weaver and Dan Haren. It was a full night in the Twins minor league system as well. For much more information on many Twins minor leaguers, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly podcast. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 1, PAWTUCKET 10 This was a very close game most of the way, but it got out of hand in a hurry. Daryl Thompson started and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in four innings. Jeff Manship came in and threw two scoreless before giving up one run in the 7th. He was replaced by Tyler Robertson who gave up two runs on a hit and a walk in one inning. Brendan Wise came in and gave up five runs on four hits and a walk. Anthony Slama pitched a scoreless ninth. Rene Rivera hit his second home run. Matt Rizzotti added a double. Brian Dozier and Tsuyoshi Nishioka were 1-4 with a walk. Fun Note – In this game, Drew Butera played in left field. The night before, JR Towles was in left field. Rene Tosoni is likely out another week with his lacerated finger. NEW BRITAIN 5, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 Jason Marquis would appear to be ready to re-join the Twins next week and make his first start for the team. In his second start at New Britain, the righty gave up two runs on five hits in eight innings. He walked none and struck out seven. 57 of the 89 pitches he threw were strikes. Deolis Guerra came in and gave up one run on a hit and a walk in the 9th. He recorded his first save of the year and struckout two. Aaron Hicks is on a good streak now. He went 2-3 in this game with a sacrifice fly, his second double and his third home run. Each came as a left-handed batter. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with his first two home runs of the season. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 1, BRADENTON 0 There was a pitcher’s duel in Bradenton on this night. Pat Dean started and in 5.2 scoreless innings, he gave up six hits and walked two. Ricky Bowen came in and struckout two over 1.2 innings. Edgar Ibarra got the final five outs, three on strikeouts to record his first save of the season. As you would expect, there wasn’t much offense for the Miracle. Angel Morales was 2-4. Levi Michael went 1-3 with a walk. The game’s lone run came on a Josmil Pinto sacrifice fly. BELOIT 2, CLINTON 5 Lefty Steven Gruver had a rough start for the Snappers. In three innings, he gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits and two walks. AJ Achter struckout four in three scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin and Bart Carter each threw a scoreless inning as well. Adam Bryant was 2-4. Miguel Sano was 0-1 but walked three times. Jhonathan Goncalves knocked a double. --- Players of the Day for Wednesday, April 12, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Deibinson Romero Download attachment: DJRomero.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Pat Dean Download attachment: PatDean.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Friday, April 13, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Pawtucket – 6:05 (CST) – RHP Cole DeVries New Britain vs Harrisburg – 4:05 (CST) – RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – 5:30 (CST) – RHP BJ Hermsen (vs Jameson Taillon) Beloit @ Kane County – 6:30 (CST) – RHP Tim Shibuya --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them! Click here to view the article

3:15 p.m. - Dustin Morse (from the Twins PR department) just tweeted that Terry RyanDownload attachment: ScottBaker.jpg and Scott Baker will have a press conference at Target Field at 4:00 today. UPDATE - 4:05 - At a press conference at Target Field, the Twins announced that RHP Scott Baker will undergo surgery to clean up his flexor tendon in his right elbow. The surgery ends Baker's 2012 season before it even got started. The surgery requires a six-month rehab period. He has no damage to his UCL. Terry Ryan commented that he hopes that Baker will be ready for the 2013 season. It is an interesting comment since the Twins have a $9.25 million option for Baker for 2013 that certainly seems to be questionable at this point. Please feel free to comment. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

It’s hard to believe that the baseball season has completed three months already. As we enter July, it’s time to take a look at the top hitters, starting pitchers and relief pitchers in the Minnesota Twins minor league system during June. We will start with the relief pitchers. In May, there were not many strong bullpen performances, but in June things were much better. About one year ago, Michael Tonkin and AJ Achter were working out of the bullpen in Beloit. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] They both pitched (and dominated) the second half of the 2012 season in Ft. Myers. I selected Achter narrowly over Tonkin as my 2012 Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. This year, they both began their season in New Britain. Tonkin moved up to Rochester at the end of May, and Achter will now join him with the Red Wings as July begins. The 24-year-old Achter was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. 23-year-old Tonkin was the Twins 30th round pick in 2008 out of high school in California. He was known as Jason Kubel’s brother-in-law until last year when he really made a name for himself. Both have put themselves in position to help a now-struggling Twins bullpen. Let’s get to the list. Here are my choices for the Top 5 Twins Minor League Relief Pitchers in June (starting with three Honorable Mentions): Aaron Thompson (Rochester) – 12 G, 12.2 IP, 1-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 11 H, 2 BB, 12 K AJ Achter (New Britain) – 8 G, 10.0 IP, 1-0, 0.90 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 9 H, 4 BB, 11 K Tim Atherton (Cedar Rapids) – 6 G (1 GS), 13.0 IP, 1-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 7 H, 8 BB, 12 K Number 5 – Ft. Myers – RHP Zack Jones - 6 G, 1.23 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 13 K Jones has been on this list in the first two months. He was the Reliever of the Month in April. Last month, he made the list despite walking a batter per inning. We all know that Jones throws very hard, reaching into the upper 90s with his fastball. He is working diligently on his slider and it is a very important pitch for him. In limited duty in June, he did improve his control while striking out nearly two batters per inning. Number 4 – Rochester – RHP Luis Perdomo - 9 G, 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 12 K The 29-year-old right-hander has a 4.60 ERA on the season, but as you can see, he was solid in June. Still too many walks, but he did well in a lot of innings for the Red Wings. He was able to limit base runners. Will he get another shot with the Twins this season? It’s possible, but he’ll have to be better yet. Number 3 – Ft. Myers – LHP Jose Gonzalez - 6 G, 2.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 12 K Gonzalez began the season in New Britain but was sent back to the Miracle after posting a 6.20 ERA in 16 appearances. In his first month with the Miracle, he was very good. He gave up few hits, walked only one and struck out 12. He is a fastball/slider guy who, despite not being real tall, has a chance to move up. He has been in the organization since 2007 and is still just 23 years old. Number 2 – Ft. Myers – Steven Gruver - 7 G, 1.29 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 12 K Gruver just turned 24 over the weekend. He remains in Cedar Rapids despite pitching pretty well for Beloit a year ago. He’s been very, very good out of the Kernels bullpen again this year. He was named to the Midwest League All-Star game. The left-hander just did not allow many base runners in June. He shows very good control and the ability to miss bats when needed. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings – Michael Tonkin - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.51 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 11 K For the second straight June, Tonkin is the Reliever of the Month. He very easily could have been the Pitcher of the Month in June, as well. Back in May, in AA, he posted a 0.00 ERA and in 12.1 innings he walked three and struck out 20. Tonkin throws hard and gets sink. He induces a lot of ground balls and also gets lots of strikeouts. It may not be very long before we get to see Tonkin at Target Field. So what do you think? I’ve listed several relievers here that deserve be recognized for their terrific performances this past month. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Be sure to check back later for the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher and Hitter of the Month of June. View full article

Download attachment: AJ Achter AS600.jpg The Beloit Snappers’ season is now complete, and that marks the end of the season for each of the Twins minor league affiliates. Several Twins minor leaguers are currently playing in the European Cup in The Netherlands. October marks the beginning of the Arizona Fall League and soon winter leagues in the Caribbean will start. Before thinking about that, it’s time for Twins Daily to hand out some minor league awards! In coming days, I’ll be presenting my choices for Twins minor league hitter of the month and starting pitcher of the month. Today, I’ll present for you my choices for the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There were a lot of terrific seasons put in by relievers throughout the Twins minor leagues. For instance, Corey Williams, who led the organization with 17 saves, did not make the below list. Dakota Watts had a nice season, but he missed the first couple of months with injury. Matt Hauser was again very good out of the bullpen and also made a half-dozen starts. Some of the most exciting bullpen guys are the ones drafted by the Twins in the 2012 draft. The Twins have made an effort in recent drafts and with minor league free agents to add some power arms. The six players mentioned below are a good mix of arms. Feel free to debate them, or ask any questions you may have. Relief Pitcher of the Year #6 – Anthony Slama – Rochester Red Wings (1-0, 14 saves, 1.24 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 36.1 IP, 26 H, 18 BB, 56 K) That Slama is on this list is no surprise to anyone who has followed his entire career and particularly his AAA career. The only thing that kept him from likely being at the top of this list (and probably from the big leagues) is that he missed nearly two months with a broken leg, suffered when Norfolk’s Miguel Tejada hit a line drive back at him in a game. #5 – Luis Perdomo – New Britain Rock Cats / Rochester Red Wings (8-5, 9 saves, 2.60 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 72.2 IP, 54 H, 22 BB, 68 K) Perdomo was signed by the Twins this past offseason after spending the previous three seasons in the Padres organization. San Diego had drafted him in the Rule 5 draft in December 2008 and he pitched 35 games for them in 2009 (55 strikeouts in 60 innings). He pitched one game for the Padres in 2011, but the rest of the time he’s pitched in AAA. The Twins had him begin this season in AA New Britain. In 26 games, he went 4-4 with 2 saves and a 2.75 ERA. In 39.1 innings, he struckout 43 in 39.1 innings. He advanced to AAA Rochester where he was 4-1 with a 2.43 ERA and 7 saves. In 33.1 innings, he walked just six and struckout 25. He was promoted to the Twins in early August and was also a September call-up. #4 – Bruce Pugh – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats (5-5, 14 saves, 1.94 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 69.2 IP, 55 H, 31 BB, 72 K) Pugh was the Twins 19th round pick in 2008 out of community college. The 24-year-old, hard-throwing right-hander really struggled in 2011, including in the Arizona Fall League. However, he came back in 2012 to show that he has a chance to be a back-of-the-bullpen guy for the Twins in the near future. The Twins decided to have him starting in Ft. Myers where he went 1-3 with a 2.60 ERA and 5 saves. He moved up to New Britain and went 4-2 with a 1.50 ERA. In 42 innings, he struckout 48 batters. He still needs to walk less batters, but he could get a 40 man roster spot this offseason. #3 – Caleb Thielbar – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats / Rochester Red Wings (6-2, 6 saves, 2.43 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 77.2 IP, 64 H, 21 BB, 74 K) The 25-year-old lefty from Minnesota became the first player that the Twins signed from the St. Paul Saints when he signed in August of 2011. Thielbar started this season in Ft. Myers where he walked two and struckout 16 in 12.1 innings. He moved up to New Britain where he walked three and struckout 26 batters in 25 innings. By midseason, he was pitching in AAA where he did meet some struggles but still held his own, posting a 3.57 ERA in 40.1 innings. He will continue his 2012 in the Arizona Fall League. #2 – Michael Tonkin – Beloit Snappers / Ft. Myers Miracle (4-1, 12 saves, 2.08 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 69.1 IP, 53 H, 20 BB, 97 K) Eyes were raised by some when Michael Tonkin returned to the Beloit Snappers for the third straight year. The first year, he came up as a starter who touched the low-90s and had a decent curveball. When I saw Tonkin throw in early June for the Snappers, he was a hard-throwing right-hander who threw with sink and had a terrific slider. He looked so much better than he had a year earlier. At Beloit, he was 3-0 with six saves, a 1.38 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. In 39 innings, he walked nine and struckout 53. Following the Midwest League All Star game, he was promoted to Ft. Myers where he logged late-innings again. He went 1-1 with a 2.97 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. In 30.1 innings, he walked 11 and struckout 44. Instead of throwing a low-90s fastball, Tonkin’s fastball now sits in the mid-90s and touches 96. Tonkin will also be playing in the Arizona Fall League this fall. Will he be added to the 40 man roster? Download attachment: AJ Achter.jpg Relief Pitcher of the Year – AJ Achter – Beloit Snappers / Ft. Myers Miracle (5-2, 6 saves, 1.70 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 94.1 IP, 54 H, 15 BB, 86 K) In 2010, AJ Achter was the Twins 46th round draft pick out of Michigan State. He didn’t sign right away, choosing instead to play in the Cape Cod League. He was terrific and before the deadline, he agreed to terms with the Twins. He started 2011 in EST, but moved up to Beloit where he made 19 starts for the Snappers. He returned to Beloit in 2012 but in a new role, pitching out of the bullpen. In 40 innings, he posted a 2.48 ERA. He walked 12 and struckout 49 hitters. After 18 games with the Snappers, he moved up and pitched 18 more games with the Miracle. He was markedly better. In 34.1 innings, he gave up just 21 hits, walked three and struckout 37 batters. The 24-year-old righty has a very solid three-pitch mix. He has terrific control and struckout well more than a batter per inning. Although he didn’t get as many saves as others, it was an easy choice to make AJ Achter the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. ---- So, what was Achter’s response to hearing he had been named by Twins Daily as the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Years? AJ Achter: (I am) “very honored and privileged to be chosen for this award. There were some other guys who had fantastic seasons who very easily could've been chosen. I can attribute almost all of this past season’s success to hard work and my coaches. It was a thrill for me to get the ball late in games and have the success that I had. ” So what was the secret to his 2012 success? What was he able to work on and improve between 2011 and 2012? AJ Achter: “The thing that I improved on most was throwing more quality strikes and just attacking hitters. Coming out of the pen, I just tried to force the action with hitters early in the count and let the defense make plays behind me. The defense made some unbelievable plays behind me and I worked so well with our catchers on coming up with a pitch plan to get guys out. I was able to go out and execute that plan most nights.” What does Achter throw, and what is his thinking out on the mound? AJ Achter: “My repertoire is fastball, slider, changeup. One of the biggest things that helped me out of the pen was being able to throw all three pitches for strikes, especially the changeup behind in counts. I don't think much changed from last year as far as in if my stuff got better, but I executed my pitches very well this season. I used the slider as a strikeout pitch to righties a lot, but besides that I just tried not letting guys get free bases and making them put the ball in play.” Congratulations again to AJ Achter and all of these relief pitchers who had some terrific seasons of the bullpen in the Twins farm system. Download attachment: AJ Achter 2.jpg (action photos by Rinaldi Photos) We’ll be back tomorrow with the Twins Daily Minor League Start Pitcher of the Year. Click here to view the article

On Sunday night, Twins Daily's draft expert Jeremy Nygaard and myself put together a 35 minute podcast in which we dove into several topics. First, we discussed all that happened in the Twins minor league system on Sunday. You may have heard that a certain 3B prospect was promoted to New Britain, as were Eddie Rosario and Angel Morales, but Kyle Gibson and DJ Baxendale also were on the mound. Cedar Rapids moved one game closer to clinching a spot in the Midwest League playoffs which likely would signal yet another promotion of a player in the system. We then asked Jeremy about several topics from the three days of the draft including potential strategies, sleeper picks, and much, much more. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It's only about 35 minutes long, so after you watch the Cedar Rapids Kernels play on Fox Sports North at noon today, be sure to listen to this informative podcast. Also, we at Twins Daily want to sincerely thank Jeremy Nygaard for all of his draft coverage the past couple of months. I know he's already excited about the 2014 draft, but please take a moment to thank him for his time and his expertise. I know we at Twins Daily certainly appreciate it! Listen to podcast here. Download attachment: Buxton Kernels.jpg Photo by The Gazette Click here to view the article

Rain wiped out two of the four Twins minor league affiliates. It rained much of the day in Boston, but the Twins and the Red Sox were able to get in the final game of their series. Rain also caused a delay in Jupiter, Florida, but the Hammerheads and the Miracle were able to finish their game. Miguel Sano returned to the Miracle lineup on Thursday night and the team was also boosted by three players who were working in Extended Spring Training just a week ago. Somehow, the Miracle just keep winning! On Friday, The New Britain Rock Cats and the Cedar Rapids Kernels will each play a doubleheader, so tomorrow night’s report will be a little longer.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 2, Toledo Mud Hens 12 Box Score It’s been a tough go for Liam Hendriks in his time with the Red Wings this year. On Thursday, he gave up six runs on 11 hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out three. He was replaced by Daniel Turpen who did not record an out. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits. He was replaced by Michael O’Connor who gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in… one inning. Virgil Vasquez came on and threw two perfect innings. Nate Hanson got the start in right field. He went 2-3 with a walk and his second double. Jeff Clement was 2-4. Chris Colabello hit his ninth double. The outfield alignment was Hanson in right field, Joe Benson in center and Chris Herrmann in left. Clete Thomas may miss a couple of games with a groin injury. Evan Bigley was put on the disabled list earlier in the day with a sprained wrist. Danny Lehmann was promoted to Rochester where he will serve as a backup catcher. This will allow Herrmann to play in the outfield. New Britain Rock Cats, Portland Sea Dogs This game was postponed by rain. A makeup date has not yet been determined. These two teams are already playing a doubleheader on Friday from a previous weather postponement. Cole De Vries will be making his second rehab start, his first with the Rock Cats. Ft. Myers Miracle 8, Jupiter Hammerheads 0 Box Score The Miracle improved to 26-7 on this night- how the team is doing it is beyond me. Miguel Sano returned to the lineup on Thursday night after missing two games. He had a good day at the plate, though he committed his third error, and the offense was also helped by a group of players who have been added to the Miracle roster from the Extended Spring Training camp, just across the parking lot. Sano was 2-4 with a walk in his return. However, Jonathan Murphy went 3-5 with his second double. Joel Licon, in his first game with the Miracle, also went 3-5 with a double. Aderlin Mejia was 2-3 with a walk, his third double and his second stolen base. A week ago, those three were toiling in anonymity on the back fields in Ft. Myers. This week, they’re helping one of the best minor league teams continue to win. Tom Stuifbergen started for the Miracle. He gave up two hits in two shutout innings. Then the rains came, and delayed the game long enough that Stuifbergen was replaced. Cole Johnson was brought in to the game and he continued what he’s done all year. He threw three shutout innings and gave up just two hits. He struck out four (and walked none) to reduce his ERA to 1.06. Dakota Watts went two scoreless innings and gave up one hit. Corey Williams gave up two hits and a walk, but he provided two scoreless innings as well. Cedar Rapids Kernels, Quad Cities Bandits The game was rained out. It will be made up as part of a doubleheader starting at 5:00 on Friday. Outfielder JD Williams has not played since Saturday. In a text message with Kernels manager Jake Mauer, he said, “JD tweaked his groin, should be good tomorrow.” Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

After many rumors, the Minnesota Twins announced their third free agent signing of the offseason in mid-December. After signing Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes, the Twins re-signed Mike Pelfrey to a two-year contract that has several achievable incentives. He is excited to be back, and so are a couple of the Twins young pitchers. Download attachment: Pelfrey_Mike_walking_US_720.jpg According to Pelfrey, “I had another offer on the table. It wasn’t where I wanted to be. Also, Terry Ryan was pretty tough at negotiations. He said ‘take it or leave it.’ I said, ‘Hey Terry, I’m going to take it. I want to come back. I told you that all along.’”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] His teammates were encouraging him throughout the process and excited when he finally signed. He said, “I’d get texts from guys saying ‘How come you haven’t signed yet?, and I’d say, ‘Hey, if they wanted to sign me back, they would have done it by now, OK.’ So, we’d be go back and forth and joke around.” Why did Pelfrey want to return to the organization? There were several reasons, but the people had a lot to do with it. “This organization is great. A lot of very good dudes to be around. So I’m obviously excited to come back and see those guys.” However, that isn’t enough for him. He has goals for himself, but also for his team. “The only other thing is we’ve got to win. That’s the thing that we’re missing. We had fun last year, but winning is fun. We need to get that back.” So, why does he think that winning may be on the horizon? “I honestly believe that we’re heading in the right direction. We have Buxton. We have Sano.” He also singled out one prospect that he is really excited about. “We have Alex Meyer, who I think that, when he is ready, he’ll be the ace of the staff. His stuff is that good. I’m a huge believer in him.” So, what is it that he likes about Meyer and how good he can become? Pelfrey commented, “He’s got the best stuff on the team. No offense to anyone else on the team. He’s got the best stuff. He just does. I think when he realizes that, and harnesses that a little bit, he’s going to be dominant. He’s 6-9, throws downhill, mid-to-upper-90s. He’s got a pretty good breaking ball, but just needs to harness it and pull it together which is going to happen with a little more seasoning. You know, that power-strikeout guy that this organization has been wanting and fans have been wanting, I think he’s coming. I think when he’s ready, which is maybe in spring, maybe later on the year, that they’re going to make room for him and he’s going to be an impact guy.” Meyer also spoke highly of Pelfrey. Meyer said, “I was really happy about Pelfrey coming back. I really liked Mike a lot. He talked to me a lot in spring training. He took me out to dinner a couple of times, just to talk. We have the same agent. That’s kind of how it fell into place. It was good for me to be out there and be around him. I’m excited to go out there and learn from him. When Rick Anderson called me and told me ‘I put you in the same group in spring training as Mike Pelfrey so he can show you the way.’” Meyer isn’t the only young Twins pitcher who has leaned on Pelfrey. Kyle Gibson had some ups and downs in his first big league campaign, but Pelfrey was the guy he leaned on too. “I think some of it was he went through the same surgery, pretty similar timelines. Maybe because he’s just a funny guy and likes to talk a lot and that’s how I am too. He was really helpful. He’s real easy to talk to, real easy to ask questions to.” Pelfrey is looking forward to starting over after a rough return from Tommy John surgery in 2013 with the Twins. What is his personal goal for 2014? “I think you go in, your goal is always 200 innings. Even last year, coming off surgery. They said they were going to put me on an innings limit. Save it. My goal was 200 innings. But my goal was 200 innings and I fell way short of it. At the end of the year, there was no other way to put it. I had a bad year. Coming off surgery or not coming off surgery, whatever, I had a bad year. I definitely need to get back to what I had done years before.” He acknowledged that although he is a competitor and wanted to come back, he may have come back too quickly. The mental aspect of his return may have been just as difficult as the physical. “I think the mental part is fully trusting that you’re ok, that you can let it go and snap it at the end. I thought I got through that. It’s all mental. I talked about the physical part of it, the feel, which I couldn’t get until month 13. I think it’s a little bit of both (physical and mental) and getting that assurance back that you’re really OK.” With the additions the team has made this offseason, Pelfrey feels good about the 2014 Twins. “Obviously going into the offseason having the highest ERA in baseball as a starting staff is definitely not acceptable or what we expected. I think they knew that was an area of need and they went out and addressed it. The inner competition that you can create among each other is good and brings out the best out of people. It’ll be good. I think, looking at the rotation, we’ll have a chance to win every night. Guys are going to give us a chance to be in the ball game and have a chance. Hopefully we’ll go and do that and win a lot more games.” It goes back to why Pelfrey wanted to return to the Twins. “This organization is going to turn it around in a hurry as long as everything works out. I think things are changing and we’re heading in the right direction.” Fans of the Minnesota Twins who have endured the past three seasons certainly hope that is true too! Click here to view the article

Buyers or Sellers The Tigers are certainly buyers at the trade deadline. They have completely stocked up over the last two seasons to make a World Series run. They acquired and then retained Anibal Sanchez. They added Torii Hunter this offseason. After missing all of 2012, Victor Martinez is back in the middle of their lineup. Their top four starters (Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Sanchez) are the envy of the rest of the league. Most believed that the Tigers would run away with the AL Central, but at the All-Star break, they have just a 1.5 game lead over Cleveland. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: detroit-tigers.jpg What they Need The Tigers have spent to win in the very short term. They have a powerful lineup, a tremendous starting rotation and a Joaquin Benoit and Drew Smyly have been terrific in the bullpen. However, the back end of the Tigers bullpen has caused a lot of issues. Bruce Rondon showed that despite a 100-mph fastball, he wasn’t ready. Things got so bad they brought back veteran Jose Valverde, only quickly to be reminded why they didn’t bring him back at the start of this year. Phil Coke, Al Albuquerque, Darin Downs and Jose Alvarez all have ERAs over five. Octavio Dotel is on the disabled list. The Tigers can use bullpen help. The only other thing the Tigers may need is be another utility infielder who would play very little. What Might Work Jamey Carroll’s playing time has been limited enough in the first half that he will become a free agent after the season. Although his numbers this season are well down, his inconsistent playing time may play a role in that. If there is a team where Glen Perkins makes a lot of sense, it is the Detroit Tigers. If the Tigers were in any other division, it would make even more sense. Perkins has a terrific contract that any team would be happy to take on. Both teams will be leery about dealing with each other. Obviously, the Tigers want to win now, but they won’t want to see one of their top prospects in a starring role for the Twins against them for the next four to six years. The Twins won’t want to see Glen Perkins coming in for ninth innings against them. So, it would be interesting to see if the two teams can make a major trade. Minor trades are one thing, but blockbusters rarely occur within a division. Sleeper Targets Dixon Machado - 21 - SS – High A Two years ago, I saw Dixon Machado playing in Beloit for West Michigan. I recall thinking that I may not have ever seen such a smooth defender at shortstop. He is 6-0, and he is rail thin, almost Alexei Ramirez-like. However, he doesn’t hit like Ramirez. In 2012 in the Florida State League, he hit just .195 with a .535 OPS. This year, repeating the level, he is hitting .231 with a .558 OPS. He’s not going to hit, but his glove makes him a potential utility infielder. Jose Ortega - RHP- AAA Ortega is probably in the middle ground of prospects that make him an unlikely candidate to come to the Twins. The hard-throwing right-hander has an impressive 1.47 ERA in AAA right now and has had time with the Tigers. In 30.2 innings this year, he has 33 strikouts… to go with 19 walks. Sound familiar? To me, he sounds a lot like another hard-throwing reliever that the Twins acquired from the Tigers, Lester Oliveros. Dream Target Nick Castellanos was a supplemental first round pick in 2010 out of high school. The Tigers gave him $3.45 million (about $2 million over slot) to sign. Recently, the Tigers have said that Castellanos could be available in a trade for a top closer. Perkins would certainly fit into that category. Drafted as a third baseman, the 6-4 potential power hitter was moved to outfield a year ago when Miguel Cabrera moved to third base. Because he’s 6-4, he could be a first base option as well if the Twins have enough outfielders. With AAA Toledo, he is hitting .281/.353/.455 with 29 doubles and 12 home runs this year. Outfielder Avisail Garcia, who played well for the Tigers in the playoffs last year, is also said to be available. Bruce Rondon throws 100 mph but often without great control. He would also be worth inquiring about. If he’s available, that’s a great arm to consider replacing Glen Perkins with, if that’s the direction the Twins were to go. Click here to view the article