Seth Stohs

The Twins lost 6-2 on Sunday afternoon to the Rays meaning they were 3-4 on the road trip. Francisco Liriano had his fourth straight Lirianic start. It wasn’t pretty. Josh Willingham’s hitting streak came to an end. All-in-all, it appears that it would be a great time for the team to head back to home, to Target Field, for a series against the scuffling Boston Red Sox. Of course, they will get to face Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz, so it isn’t as though it gets easy. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 3, LEHIGH VALLEY 2 The teams decided beforehand to just play one game on Sunday. They will make up for Saturday’s rainout with a double header in July. The story for the Red Wings all spring so far has been the performance of lefty Scott Diamond, and that story did not change today. On the game, Diamond went seven innings and gave up two unearned runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out four. On the season, he is now 4-0 with a 1.07 ERA. In 25.1 innings, he has given up 21 hits, walked five and struck out 18. As Francisco Liriano continues to struggle, the Twins have a guy in Rochester, pitching on the same schedule, who is earning another opportunity. Casey Fien recorded his fourth save with two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit. Matt Carson led the offense. He was 2-3 with his seventh double and two RBI. He also stole his second base. Ben Revere went 2-4. It was a nice two-game series win over the IronPigs, the top team in the league. NEW BRITAIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE The Rock Cats, like most of the teams in the northeast, had their game postponed. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 8, ST. LUCIE 9 It was a crazy game in St. Lucie. Playing on the east side of the state, the Miracle grabbed an early lead in the 2nd with a single run when Jairo Perez singled in Anderson Hidalgo (who had tripled). Then in the top of the 4th frame, they busted out for five runs. Jairo Perez, Michael Gonzales and Andy Leer hit consecutive RBI doubles. Later Oswaldo Arcia singled in the fifth run. However, starter Pat Dean gave up five runs in the bottom of the fifth to cut the Miracle lead to one, but Arcia launched his first home run of the year to give the Miracle a 7-5 lead in the 6th inning. The Mets reclaimed the lead in the 7th with three unearned runs. In the eighth, Arcia tripled to tie the game. But the Mets won the game in the bottom of the 9th. Pat Dean started and gave up those five runs on six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out five. Bruce Pugh gave up three unearned runs in the seventh, courtesy of his own throwing error. Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless eighth, but he gave up the winning run with one out in the 9th. Arcia led the hitting attack. He was 4-5 with a triple and home run. It was his first homer and second triple. Jairo Perez was 3-5 with his fifth and sixth doubles. BELOIT 3, WEST MICHIGAN 6 Madison Boer made a very strong start, but West Michigan came up with a big eighth inning and took the win. Boer gave up two runs on three hits in 6.2 innings. He struck out two. Ryan O’Rourke came in and after getting out of the 7th. He then gave up four runs on five hits and a walk in the 8th frame. Eddie Rosario led the offense. He was 3-4 with his fifth double and two RBI. Rory Rhodes went 2-4 with his second double. Jhonathan Goncalves was 2-4 with his sixth double. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, April 22, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia Download attachment: Oswaldo Arcia.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Scott Diamond Download attachment: ScottDiamond.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, April 23, 2012 Schedule Rochester – No Game Scheduled New Britain vs New Hampshire – RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie – RHP Miguel Munoz Beloit @ West Michigan – LHP Steve Gruver --- 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

The Trade Deadline is fast approaching. Teams have until Thursday to make moves without needing to worry about waivers. One name that has not been mentioned much is Brian Duensing.The Trade Deadline is fast approaching. Teams have until Thursday to make moves without needing to worry about waivers. On these pages, we have looked at the trade candidacies of Kurt Suzuki, Kevin Correia and Josh Willingham. One of our writers was ready to post one on Kendrys Morales, but he was traded to Seattle moments before the article was set to be posted here. One name that has not been mentioned much is Brian Duensing. The left-hander is in his second consecutive season as a full-time reliever. Previous to that, he had been given a couple of opportunities to start, to mixed results. Duensing is putting up some terrific numbers this year, maybe even surprisingly so. In 40 games, he has a 2.27 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. He has been charged with a run in just five of those outings. He’s been even better of late. He has gone nine consecutive outings without allowing a run. He has given up just one run over his past 16 games (15.1 innings). One of the reasons he struggled as a starter was because he really struggled against right-handed hitters. This year, right-handers are hitting .244/.330/.397 (.727) off of him. Left-handers are hitting just .231/.268/.292 (.560) against him. You notice more of a split when looking at his strikeout and walk rates. He has struck out 13.6% of right-handed batters and walked 11.3%. Against lefties, he has struck out 19.4% while walking just 4.2% Relief pitchers tend to be dealt in July to teams looking for one more piece. Though Duensing’s name hasn’t been mentioned in rumors like some others (like Tony Sipp), his production this year could make him an option for some teams. WHY TRADE HIM Relief pitchers do get traded at the deadline, and often fetch more at that time than other times in the season. If Terry Ryan is fielding phone calls about Duensing and gets offered a couple of mid-level prospects, he would have to consider it. The Twins do have other left-handers in the bullpen and more in the minor leagues. Glen Perkins isn’t going anywhere, and Caleb Thielbar has put up very solid numbers in his first two seasons in the big leagues. In Rochester, Edgar Ibarra is pitching well and is on the 40 man roster. Aaron Thompson is a former first-round pick who has pitched a little bit in the big leagues. He’s pitched well the last two seasons in Rochester. And don’t forget that many relief pitchers in the big leagues, including Duensing, were starters in the minor leagues. Logan Darnell and Kris Johnson could fit this role in time as well. WHY KEEP HIM He’s only making $2 million. As a left-handed reliever who doesn’t strike out a ton, he likely won’t ever make more than $3 million a season, maybe as early as next year in his final year of arbitration. He’s been good for a while now. That said, there are a lot of left-handed relievers that last a long time. The Twins could also sign him to a contract extension. He is also one of the guys who has been with the organization a long time. Although he’s not the big name, he is a core guy in the bullpen and in the organization and in the Twins community. WHO NEEDS HIM The Braves are looking for a left-handed reliever, but there are always teams looking for lefties, and any bullpen improvement, for the pennant race. SUMMARY Brian Duensing has been very good in his role for the Minnesota Twins this season. He has a year of arbitration left before he becomes a free agent. Relievers often bring back good value at the trade deadline, so it is a move that must be considered. YOUR TURN What should the Twins do with Brian Duensing ? Trade him? Sign him to a two-year extension to buy out a year of free agency? Let him play out his contract and see what happens? What do you think? Click here to view the article

A lot of key information has been coming out of Twins camp on Sunday morning. First, Assistant GM Rob Antony appeared as a guest of Sunday Morning Sports Talk on 1500espn with Tom Pelissero and Jim Souhan. He said many things that I found interesting, but these are the three that stood out most to me: 1.) Maloney and Burton have separated themselves, so it's down to Manship, Burnett, Fien and Waldrop for ONE bullpen spot. 2.) Parmelee has forced his way onto the roster, so it's likely Butera, Towles, Burroughs, Florimon and Revere battling for TWO bench spots. Very interesting in that a.) 3rd catcher isn't a given, and b.) Revere is not a given. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Not long later, the Twins media core met with manager Ron Gardenhire and more information was set forth: Josh Willingham will be the Twins starting Left FielderDenard Span will be the Twins starting Center FielderRight Field will be up for grabs between Trevor Plouffe, Chris Parmelee and Ben Revere, although...Ben Revere will most likely be the team's 4th outfielder.That is a lot of information in starting to clear things up as rosters will likely be set within a week. Antony also commented that Plouffe likely would be available to play in 3-4 days. So, what do we make of it all? Parmelee has forced his way onto the roster. Right Field remains a question mark, but the biggest thing that needs to be answered is whether or not Justin Morneau will play 1B or just DH. That matters for where Parmelee plays most frequently. It also affects where Ryan Doumit plays, and how much, and in turn, it affects whether or not the Twins keep a third catcher. What do you think of it all? What surprises you most? What questions do these answers now present? Download attachment: ChrisParmelee.jpg Click here to view the article

Earlier today, I posted the Twins Minor League Leader Board for the hitters. Now comes the leader board among Twins minor league pitchers. Pitchers are more difficult to compare against each other. Comparing starting pitchers with relievers is really difficult. So, what I've done is set two limits for many of these categories. I used a 40 inning limit, and then I used an 80 innings limit. There have been a couple of starters who have pitched well and consistently in the minors this year. There have been a handful of relievers that have put up very good numbers. Here is a look at the pitching leaders in the Twins minor league system (through games played on Saturday, August 11): [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Games Pitched: #1 - Caleb Thielbar 42 #2 - Ricky Bowen 41 #3 - Corey Williams 40 #4 - Bruce Pugh 39 #4 - Bobby Lanigan 39 #4 - Daniel Turpen 39 #7 - Michael Tonkin 38 #8 - Luis Perdomo 37 #9 - Clinton Dempster 36 #9 - Matt Hauser 36 Games Started: #1 - Pat Dean 24 #2 - Matt Summers 23 #2 - Jason Wheeler 23 #2 - Steve Hirschfeld 23 #2 - Logan Darnell 23 #6 - Madison Boer 22 #6 - BJ Hermsen 22 #8 - Luke French 19 #9 - Steven Gruver 17 #10 - Tim Shibuya 15 Wins: #1 - Jason Wheeler 13-5 #2 - BJ Hermsen 11-5 #3 - Matt Summers 10-6 #4 - Madison Boer 8-11 #4 - Logan Darnell 8-10 #4 - Liam Hendriks 8-2 #4 - Steve Hirschfeld 8-9 #8 - Pat Dean 7-8 #8 - Esmerling Vasquez 7-5 #10 - 4 tied with 6 Wins Saves: #1 - Corey Williams 15 #2 - Bruce Pugh 11 #2 - Michael Tonkin 11 #4 - Luis Perdomo 9 #4 - Casey Fien 9 #4 - Anthony Slama 9 #7 - Lester Oliveros 8 #8 - Daniel Turpen 7 #9 - Caleb Thielbar 6 #10 - Ricky Bowen 5 Innings Pitched: #1 - BJ Hermsen 139.1 #2 - Pat Dean 135.1 #3 - Matt Summers 131.2 #3 - Jason Wheeler 131.2 #5 - Logan Darnell 128.1 #6 - Steve Hirschfeld 127 #7 - Madison Boer 118.2 #8 - Luke French 104.1 #9 - Steven Gruver 101 #10 - David Hurlbut 94 ERA (min. 40 IP) #1 - AJ Achter 1.79 #2 - Michael Tonkin 1.86 #3 - Caleb Thielbar 2.08 #4 - Bruce Pugh 2.12 #5 - Sam Deduno 2.14 #5 - Liam Hendriks 2.14 #5 - Luis Perdomo 2.14 #8 - Clint Dempster 2.25 #9 - Jeff Manship 2.35 #10 - Angel Mata 2.40 #10 - Hudson Boyd 2.40 ERA (min. 80 IP) #1 - Liam Hendriks 2.14 #2 - David Hurlbut 2.59 #3 - BJ Hermsen 2.71 #4 - Matt Hauser 2.92 #5 - Esmerling Vasquez 3.10 #6 - Jason Wheeler 3.28 #7 - Andrew Albers 3.43 #8 - Matt Summers 3.62 #9 - Steven Gruver 3.74 #10 - Pat Dean 4.12 WHIP (min. 40 IP) #1 - Luis Perdomo 0.949 #2 - Liam Hendriks 0.964 #3 - AJ Achter 0.995 #4 - Lester Oliveros 1.014 #5 - Michael Tonkin 1.032 #6 - Caleb Thielbar 1.046 #7 - Angel Mata 1.089 #8 - Matt Tomshaw 1.108 #9 - BJ Hermsen 1.127 #10 - Esmerling Vasquez 1.131 WHIP (min. 80 IP) #1 - Liam Henriks 0.964 #2 - BJ Hermsen 1.127 #3 - Esmerling Vasquez 1.131 #4 - David Hurlbut 1.202 #5 - Andrew Albers 1.217 #6 - Matt Hauser 1.262 #7 - Jason Wheeler 1.337 #8 - Matt Summers 1.375 #9 - Steven Gruver 1.396 #10 - Pat Dean 1.397 K/9 (min. 40 IP): #1 - Michael Tonkin 12.3 #2 - AJ Achter 10.7 #3 - Taylor Rogers 10.5 #4 - Tyler Jones 10-4 #5 - Sam Deduno 9.9 #6 - Daniel Turpen 9.6 #6 - Nelvin Fuentes 9.6 #6 - Corey Williams 9.6 #6 - Angel Mata 9.6 #10 - Lester Oliveros 9.5 K/9 (min. 80 IP) #1 - Esmerling Vasquez 8.5 #2 - David Hurlbut 7.1 #2 - Matt Hauser 7.1 #4 - Liam Hendriks 7.0 #5 - Andrew Albers 6.9 #6 - Marty Popham 6.8 #7 - Jason Wheeler 6.7 #8 - Steve Hirschfeld 6.0 #9 - Logan Darnell 5.8 #9 - Luke French 5.8 BB/9 (min. 40 IP) #1 - Cole De Vries 1.3 #1 - Andrew Albers 1.3 #3 - BJ Hermsen 1.6 #4 - Tom Stuifbergen 1.7 #5 - PJ Walters 1.8 #5 - Matt Tomshaw 1.8 #5 - Tim Shibuya 1.8 #8 - Pat Dean 1.9 #9 - AJ Achter 2.1 #10 - 4 tied at 2.3 (Gruver, Hirschfeld, Liam Hendriks, O'Rourke) BB/9 (min. 80 IP) #1 - Andrew Albers 1.3 #2 - BJ Hermsen 1.6 #3 - Pat Dean 1.9 #4 - Steven Gruver 2.3 #4 - Steve Hirschfeld 2.3 #4 - Liam Hendriks 2.3 #7 - David Hurlbut 2.4 #8 - Jason Wheeler 2.5 #9 - Logan Darnell 2.7 #10 - Matt Summers 3.1 Complete Games 10 tied with ONE. Download attachment: BJHermsen.jpg Click here to view the article

After yesterday's prospects were revealed, we have now reached the halfway point of the Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospect rankings. Today I am presenting my choices for Twins prospects 21 through 25. The discussions of these rankings so far have been fun, and I anticipate the debates growing as we roll closer to Number One. If you want to look into some of the things that go into my personal rankings, click on the previous parts of this series at the bottom of today’s group. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Part 6: 21-25 Again today I think this is an interesting collection of prospects. There are two relievers, one that Twins fans have already seen in the big leagues and one who could be there quickly. The other three are not yet 20 years old and have high ceilings, but a long ways to go. Download attachment: Michael Tonkin 2.jpg #25 – Michael Tonkin – RH RP (23) I often hear about how the Twins promote guys too slowly, and there are a some instances where that may be true. However, when you consider the early stages of Tonkin’s career, you have to appreciate that sometimes patience is a very good thing. Drafted in the 30th round in 2008 out of high school, Tonkin spent parts of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 seasons in Beloit (Low A). The first year, he made a dozen starts. The second year, he pitched adequately out of the bullpen and improvement was clear. He then spent the first half of the 2012 season in Beloit before finishing the season in Ft. Myers. He began 2013 in New Britain, was promoted to Rochester fairly quickly and arrived with the Twins in July. He struggled with Rochester, but he made his Major League debut just 13 months after leaving Low-A. A mid-90s fastball and a slider make him a potential back-end of the bullpen guy. #24 – Miguel Sulburan – LH SP (19) The fact that he is just 5'-10" creates concern in the minds of some, but to this point in his career, Sulburan has pitched like he’s much bigger. The Twins plucked this left-hander from the Dodgers in exchange for Drew Butera at the July deadline. For the Kernels, he went 3-0 with a 2.70 ERA in four starts. Combined in 2013 in the Midwest League, he posted a 2.96 ERA in 112.2 innings and struck out 8.1 per nine innings while walking just 2.6 per nine. He has a solid four-pitch mix. His best pitch, to this point, is a devastating changeup. He’ll need to get some movement on his fastball to be successful as he moves up. #23 – Amaurys Minier – 3B (17) Minier was the Twins big international free agent signing in 2012 when he signed as a 16-year-old for about $1.5 million. The third baseman has tremendous power and will likely be a good hitter but he is very young. As you might expect, he was quite streaky in his US/GCL debut. He showed power rarely seen in the GCL with six home runs in 119 plate appearances. However, he fought injury much of the season and hit just .214/.252/.455 (.707) in this small sample in a league where the stats matter very little. His power is legit and he is one who could jump quickly up this list. #22 – Zack Jones – RH RP (22) Listening to several Miracle games throughout the season, it was hard not to get excited when play-by-play men Brice Zimmerman and Adam MacDonald spoke of Jones and his 96-100 mph fastball. He also has an improving slider. Jones was the Twins 4th round pick in 2012 out of college, where he also was a hitter. Very exciting is his 12.9 K/9 (70 strikeouts in 48.2 innings), but he’ll have to throw more strikes (28 walks) if he wants to move quickly. #21 – Jorge Felix – RH SP (19) Felix is another very exciting young arm in the Twins farm system. To this point, he has moved up one level each year. He posted a 2.67 ERA in the DSL in 2011. In 2012 in the GCL, he posted a 2.34 ERA in 34.2 innings. With the E-Twins this year, he posted a 2.95 ERA in 61 innings (12 starts). His strikeout rate has increased each of those seasons, from 8.7 to 9.6 to 10.6 K/9. He’s 6-2 and wiry. He throws hard and has a solid breaking ball. The combination of Felix, Landa and Rosario gave the E-Twins some great pitching, and along with a couple guys that are a little higher on this list, they give the Twins and their fans reason to be excited for the future. So there's Part 6 of my Top 50 Twins Prospect list. We'll be back soon with Part 7, prospects 16-20. Part 1: 46-50 Part 2: 41-45 Part 3: 36-40 Part 4: 31-35 Part 5: 26-30 Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Kohl Stewart.jpg With the fourth overall pick in the 2013 Major League Baseball Draft… the Minnesota Twins select right-handed pitcher Kohl Stewart. With the first pick, the Houston Astros picked Stanford RHP Mark Appel. With the second pick, the Chicago Cubs, in a little surprise, went with 3B Kris Bryant. At Number 3, the Colorado Rockies selected RHP Jonathan Gray. There were so many rumors flying around the past few days, but after three picks, The Big Three were gone. That left the Minnesota Twins with RHP from Texas Kohl Stewart. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]As you know, he has the football scholarship to Texas A&M, but he also has a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. It may take him a little time, but he’s got ace-potential written all over him. Here’s much more on Stewart from our Draft Profile. The Twins got the guy they wanted. This season, he was 5-1 with a 0.18 ERA. In 40 innings, he walked 16 and struck out 59. What are your thoughts? Click here to view the article

So far we have voted on the Preseason AL Central Catcher, First Basemanand Second Basemanchoices. Now let's get the discussion going on "Which AL Central Shortstop will be the best in 2012?" Vote now and comment your rankings. The Candidates (2011 stats) Minnesota Twins - Jamey Carroll - .290/.359/.347 (.706) with 14-2B, 6-3B, 0-HR, 17 RBI Chicago White Sox - Alexei Ramirez - .269/.328/.399 (.727) with 31-2B, 2-3B, 15-HR, 70 RBI Cleveland Indians - Asdrubal Cabrera - .273/.332/.460 (.792) with 32-2B, 3-3B, 25-HR, 92 RBI Detroit Tigers - Jhonny Peralta - .299/.345/.478 (.824) with 25-2B, 3-3B, 21-HR, 86 RBI Kansas City Royals - Alcides Escobar - .254/.290/.343 (.633) with 21-2B, 8-3B, 4-HR, 46 RBI SUMMARY Looking for a settling influence for an infield that really struggled in 2011, the Twins look to Carroll in 2012. The veteran is solid with the glove. He is also terrific as a top of the order, on-base guy. Don't expect much, if any, power from him, but it is fair to expect to see him help the Twins with the glove and in the lineup. The 38 year old played 146 games for the Dodgers in 2011. Alexei Ramirez finished second in rookie of the year voting in 2008. In 2010, he won the AL Silver Slugger Award for shortstops. The 30-year-old Cuban had a down year in 2011, but he does provide some good extra-base hit power near the bottom of the lineup. Asdrubal Cabrera was a first-time All Star in 2011 and won his first Silver Slugger Award. I think many were surprised that he was not named a Gold Glove winner because he is very good with the glove. The 26-year-old has a lot of power and turned it into home run power in 2011. He also stole 17 bases. Jhonny Peralta was moved to 3B when he was traded from Cleveland to the Tigers, but last year he moved back to the middle of the diamond. He posted his best season in 2011 and played in his first All Star game. Although he has been around a long time, he will turn 30 at the end of May. When the Royals traded Zach Greinke before the 2011 season, they received several players that will impact them for several years. They wanted to improve their shortstop defense so one of the players they received from the Brewers was Alcides Escobar. He is a free swinger who occasionally gets an extra base hit, and with his great speed, he turns singles into doubles and doubles into triples. He turned just 25 years old in December and played in 158 games in 2011. There is your information, now it is time to vote. Who will be the best first baseman in the AL Central in 2012? My choice? Download attachment: AsdrubalCabrera.jpg Click here to view the article

2012 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year Award. Earlier in the week, we announced the Minor league Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year for the Twins. Today, it’s time to point out the hitters that performed very well in the Twins minor league system. There were a lot of great performances and performers that don’t even make the top six for various reasons, be it injury, big league time or simply playing in a short-season league. Here are three honorable mentions that I think will illustrate just how good the top 6 are! Honorable Mention Chris Parmelee – Rochester Red Wings – 77-228 - .338/.457/.645 (1.102) – 17-2B, 1-3B, 17-HR, 49-RBI, 45-R Nate Roberts – Beloit Snappers – 84-281 - .299/.433/.427 (.860) – 18-2B, 3-3B, 4-HR, 33-RBI, 60-R Max Kepler – Elizabethton Twins – 69-232 - .297/.387/.539 (.925) – 16-2B, 5-3B, 10-HR, 49-RBI, 40-R Hitter of the Year Nominees There were a lot more good hitters up for Hitter of the Year consideration, or at least mention, than there were #6 – Eddie Rosario – Beloit Snappers (123-411 - .299/.347/.499 (.846), with 35 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 62 R) Consider the numbers Rosario put up for the Snappers in 2012, and then remember that he missed about six weeks of the season after surgery on his mouth. What could he have done with another 120 plate appearances? After hitting 21 homers in E-Town in 2011, it is no surprise that he hit less home runs in the bigger ballparks, but he still hit for average and hit a lot of doubles. Rosario is so good at letting the ball get deep and uses the whole field well. And, his transition to 2B went well in year one, although there is still much room for improvement. #5 – Josmil Pinto – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats (117-396 - .295/.362/.482 (.844), with 26 doubles, 3 triples, 14 HR, 60 RBI, 53 R) One of the organization’s more interesting decisions when the offseason starts involves Pinto. The catcher had a tremendous 2012 season. After hitting .295 with 22 doubles and 12 homers in 93 games with the Miracle, he was promoted to New Britain to help them in their playoff push as their DH. He hit .298 with seven extra base hits (including two homers) in the final 12 games. The 23-year-old can become a six-year minor league free agent following the World Series. #4 – Chris Colabello – New Britain Rock Cats (141-496 - .284/.358/.478 (.836), with 37 doubles, 1 triple, 19 HR, 98 RBI, 78 R) A year ago at this time, Colabello was finishing another season, his seventh, with the Worcester Tornadoes of the independent Can-Am League. Baseball America would soon name him their Independent League Player of the Year. The Twins, needing another bat for New Britain, gave him an opportunity. He made the best of it! The 28-year-old who had never played a single game for an affiliated team was a very consistent producer in the middle of the Rock Cats lineup all season long. #3 – Aaron Hicks – New Britain Rock Cats (.286/.384/.460 (.844), with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 100 R, 32 SB) When the Twins used the 14th overall pick in the 2008 draft, scouts loved it because Hicks is a great athlete with the potential to be a 5-tool player. As is normal for young players, Hicks struggled in Beloit for a season-and-a-half and last year in Ft. Myers. The Twins pushed him to the AFL last season where he put up very good numbers. They again pushed him to New Britain to start this season, and he responded. Following the All Star break, he hit .301/.409/.480. He did post an OPS of .881 against lefties. Very important, he posted a very good .828 OPS against right-handed pitchers, an area he needed to improve upon. Once Hicks was moved to the leadoff position, his patience at the plate worked to his advantage. He got on base, stole bases and scored a lot of runs. The well-rounded game of Hicks finally started filling up box scores and stat lines! #2 – Miguel Sano – Beloit Snappers (118-457 - .258/.373/.521 (893), with 28 doubles, 4 triples, 28 HR, 100 RBI, 75 R) Expectations were high for Sano when the 2012 season began. I think it’s safe to say that Sano met all expectations. He didn’t hit for much average, but he hit for a lot of power. He drove in runs. He struck out a ton (144 times), and he committed a lot of errors (42). He certainly showed improvement throughout the season. His first-half OPS was .841. After the All-Star break, his OPS was .955. He had less than half as many errors in the second half as in the first. He was named the MWL Prospect of the Year and the Snappers named him their co-MVP. It was a nice first full-season performance for the 19-year-old. Hitter of the Year Oswaldo Arcia – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats (150-469 - .320/.388/.539 (.925), with 36 doubles, 8 triples, 17 HR, 98 RBI, 76 R) Signed in July of 2007, Arcia was an easy choice to add to the Twins 40 man roster last offseason. In 2010, he was the Appy League Player of the Year when he hit .375 with an OPS of 1.096. In 2011, he spent a month in Beloit before elbow surgery. Upon his return, he went to Ft. Myers. That’s where he began the 2012 season. In 55 games, he hit .309 with 26 extra base hits. He played in the FSL All Star game and had a double off of Jameson Taillon in the Futures Game before being promoted to New Britain. That’s when his offensive game really took off. In 69 games with the Rock Cats, he hit .328 with 35 extra base hits. He was an RBI machine. He plays a very good outfield with a strong arm. Arcia will return to big league spring training in 2013, and depending upon offseason moves, he will get a chance to impress the coaching staff with his power. So there you have it. There were some really terrific offensively performances by Twins minor leaguers in 2012. It’s especially nice to see big years coming from some of the team’s top prospects. Feel free to discuss. View full article

Overall, it was not a good day for the Minnesota Twins’ minor league affiliates. However, you’ll want to see what the Cedar Rapids Kernels’ most productive and most exciting hitters did on Tuesday. Kyle Gibson was back on the mound for the first time since his complete game shutout. How did the Red Wings right-hander follow up his strong performance? Antoan Richardson performed the duties of leadoff hitter very well. Cedar Rapids also made several transactions. Check out what happened in the Twins farm system on Tuesday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 4, Durham Bulls 7 Box Score In his previous start, Kyle Gibson threw a complete game shutout against the offensively-challenged Toledo Mud Hens. He threw 114 pitches, so his next start was pushed back a day. On Tuesday night, he faced the good offense of the Durham Bulls. It didn’t go so well. He gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk in just three innings. Tyler Robertson came on and worked two innings. He gave up a run on one hit and one walk, striking out two. Dan Turpen came on and gave up two runs on three hits in two innings; he walked one and struck out one. Luis Perdomo came on and gave up one hit over two innings. Antoan Richardson went 3-4 with a walk and a stolen base. Ray Olmedo went 2-4 with a walk. Chris Colabello was 2-5. On Wednesday, Cole De Vries will make his third rehab start, first with the Red Wings. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Bowie Baysox 8 Box Score BJ Hermsen made his longest start of the season. He worked six innings. He gave up four unearned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four. Edgar Ibarra pitched a scoreless seventh inning, walking one and striking out one. Bobby Lanigan pitched the eighth inning and gave up four runs on four hits. The Rock Cat bats managed just four hits. Danny Ortiz hit his 11th double. Jason Christian hit his second triple. Pat Dean will make the start on Wednesday for New Britain. Ft. Myers Miracle 3, Dunedin Blue Jays 9 Box Score It wasn’t a good night for the Miracle. Matt Summers started and gave up three runs on five hits. In 5.2 innings he walked three and struck out five. Chad Rodgers came on and gave up four unearned runs on four hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Dakota Watts pitched the final two innings and gave up two runs on four hits. Levi Michael went 2-4 with his fifth double and the lone Miracle error. Aderlin Mejia was also 2-4. The two combined for four of the team’s six hits. On Wednesday, Tom Stuifbergen will make the start for the Miracle. Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, Burlington Bees 4 Box Score The Kernels may have only had four hits in this game, but they got a pretty big hit from a pretty big guy who has been a pretty big, productive performer all year. Adam Walker came to the plate in the 6th inning of a tied game. For the third time this season he hit a grand slam. On the year, Walker is now hitting .309/.356/.655 with ten doubles, four triples, ten home runs and 44 RBI in 35 games. 24 of his 43 hits have gone for extra bases. This home run went over the batter’s eye in center field, a monstrous blast. As Jeff Johnson of The Gazette (Cedar Rapids) tweeted, “Cover Kernels since ’99, seen vast majority of games in new ballpark, see 2 balls hit over batter’s eye previously. 2 this year.” Dalton Hicks hit one over the eye earlier this season, and Kennys Vargas did it once last year in a Beloit uniform. Jim Crikket was at the game and tweeted, “Walker is now 5-for-6 with the bases loaded this season. 3 of those hits are grand slams.” Photo by Rinaldi Photos The Kernels added an important insurance run an inning later. Byron Buxton hit a routine fly ball to centerfield. The centerfielder dropped the ball and kicked it around a bit. In the meantime, Buxton raced all the way around the bases. I’m sure Mr. Crikket will read this (maybe?) and be able to tell us more, but I envision a guy running around the bases really, really quickly. Lefty Brett Lee was very impressive on the mound. He threw six shutout innings before his own throwing error led to two unearned runs in the seventh inning. He gave up eight hits, but walked just one and struck out ten for the win. Coming into the game, he had 13 strikeouts in 24.2 innings. He now has 23 strikeouts (and seven walks) in 31.2 innings on the year. Manuel Soliman came on and threw a scoreless eighth before being charged with two in the ninth. David Hurlbut got the final two outs to record his third save. Hudson Boyd will make the start on Wednesday for the Kernels. On Tuesday, the Kernels made several transactions. Lefty Josue Montanez returns to the team. Michael Quesada was officially added to the roster after his 50 game suspension. Jeremias Pineda, who came to the Twins last August in the Danny Valencia trade, was promoted to Cedar Rapids as well. Romy Jimenez, on his birthday, was sent down to Extended Spring Training. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

Download attachment: Zack Jones 1.jpg There will be a decisive Game 3 played in Beloit on Friday night at 6:30. The Snappers took Game 1 in Clinton on Wednesday night. On Thursday night, the LumberKings returned the favor, topping the Snappers 7-5 in ten innings. Cole Johnson started for the Snappers and had a real up-and-down start. In the top of the first, his nerves seemed to show. He gave up back-to-back hits to lead off the game and a walk to load the bases. However, he got a strikeout and a double play to get out of the inning unscathed.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Snappers got on the board first in the bottom of the 2nd frame. Miguel Sano led off with a double and advanced to third base on a ground out by Kennys Vargas. Drew Leachman flew out to deep-enough right field to score Sano with the game’s first run. In the top of the 4th inning, the LumberKings got on the board. Ramon Morla doubled and scored on a Guillermo Pimentel home run that put them ahead 2-1. The Snappers answered in style in the bottom half of the inning. Wang-Wei Lin singled. Eddie Rosario hit a ground ball that could have been a double play. Instead, a throwing error meant that the Snappers had runners on second and third. Miguel Sano came to bat and hit a long blast for a three-run homer. The Snappers held a 4-2 lead. Download attachment: MiguelSanoSlam.jpg Again, the lead was short-lived. In the top of the fifth, Clinton’s Ji-Man Choi hit a two-run homer to tie the game at four. The Snappers answered right away again in the bottom of the fifth. Matt Koch doubled and was advanced to third base by an AJ Pettersen sacrifice bunt. Nate Roberts grounded out to second base to score Koch with the Snappers fifth run and a one-run lead. Cole Johnson settled down at that point. He had 1-2-3 innings in the top of the 6th and the top of the 7th. He went back out for the top of the 8th frame, but he walked the first hitter and was replaced by Corey Williams. The left-hander led the Twins minor leagues this season with 17 saves, but he certainly wsa no dominant. On this night, he really struggled. After getting a fielder’s choice, he gave up a long double to put runners on 2nd and 3rd with just one out. An intentional walk loaded the bases to set up a potential inning-ending double play. Unfortunately, it also set up a potential RBI walk, which is exactly what happened when Williams could not throw strikes to Guillermo Pimentel. Hard-throwing Zack Jones was brought in to a 5-5 game, but the bases were still loaded and there was just one out. He struckout the next two batters to end the inning. The Snappers went scoreless in the bottom of the 8th. Jones came out for the top of the 9th and struck out the side. Yes, he faced five batters and struckout all five of them. The Snappers nearly won in the bottom of the 9th. With one out, Kennys Vargas walked. After a strkeout, Stephen Wickens blooped a single to right field and Vargas advanced to third base. Inexplicably, Nelson Prada then had JD Williams pinch-run for Vargas. Matt Koch struck out on three pitches to end the inning. In the end, the move didn’t hurt the Snappers on the surface, but once Vargas was at third base with two outs, it would have taken a hit to score anyone from third, and either would have scored. It would have made sense to have Williams pinch run for Vargas at 1st base. They could have tried to steal second and then a single would have scored him with the winning run. I guess the one reason to put Williams in at third base would have been if a ball got past the catcher. Like I said, in the end, the decision didn’t hurt. Taylor Rogers came in for the top of the 10th inning. The lefty 2012 draft pick has been very good since signing, but this was a rough night for him. Ji-Man Choi hit a leadoff single and advanced to second on a fly ball caught by Eddie Rosario at the wall in right centerfield. Jabari Flash singled to center. Rosario came up with a perfect throw, but it hit something in the infield and bounced over the catcher’s head. One pitch later, Guillermo Pimentel drove an RBI single to center, giving the LumberKings a 7-5 lead. After another single put runners on 1st and 3rd, Rogers was able to coax an inning-ending double play. Needing to score two runs to keep the game going, AJ Pettersen led off the bottom of the 10th inning by being hit by a pitch. Nate Roberts took his spot at first base with a fielder’s choice. Wang-Wei Lin walked to set up a scenario that Twins fans would hope for. #3 hitter Eddie Rosario batted with the game-tying run on base and representing the game-winning run himself. Hope was strong in the air until Rosario hit a hard ground ball to the shortstop who converted it into a game-ending double play. After ending Clinton’s 10-game winning streak on Wednesday night on the road, the LumberKings evened the series with a win at Pohlman Field. That is where Game 3 will take place tonight at 6:30. The winner will advance to the semi-finals of the Midwest League. The Snappers will start lefty David Hurlbut who went 6-6 with a 2.76 ERA in 111 innings during the regular season. He walked just 25 batters and struckout 85 (6.9 per nine).Fellow left-hander Matt Tomshaw will also be ready to go if necessary as will right-hander Tyler Jones. It is also likely that Game 1 bullpen arms, DJ Baxendale, Tyler Duffey and Mason Melotakis may be available. Download attachment: David Hurlbut MUG.jpg --- Cole Johnson 7.0 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 6 KCorey Williams 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 KZack Jones 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 KTaylor Rogers 1.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 KMiguel Sano 2-4, 2B, HR, 3 RBIMatthew Koch 2-4, 2BWang-Wei Lin 2-4, HBP Click here to view the article

The following data will be included in the upcoming Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013. Check back later this week for details on how you can get a copy. One of the many ways to look at and find meaning in minor league statistics is to compare them to the league average. It’s just one piece to the prospect puzzle. Below you will find league average numbers, but consider the age of individuals on a team. For instance, the average age of a hitter in the Midwest League was 21.6. Then realize that Miguel Sano, who put up numbers well above league average, turned 19 years old a month into the 2012 season. The other side is someone like catcher Matt Koch who was 23 ½ years old when the season started.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Miguel Sano Signing.jpg Below you will find the league averages for each of the leagues the Twins have an affiliate along with the Twins affiliates. This is shown for both hitters and pitchers. I’ll give some thoughts after each grouping but certainly welcome your additional comments, feedback and questions. For hitters, I’ll show, average age, BA/OBP/SLG (OPS). For pitchers, I’ll show, average age, ERA, WHIP. ROCHESTER RED WINGS • Int’l Hitters – 27.3, .257/.328/.389 (.717) • ROCH Hitters – 27.1, .251/.315/.377 (.692) • Int’l Pitchers – 27.1, 3.92 ERA, 1.36 WHIP • ROCH Pitchers – 26.1, 4.43 ERA, 1.38 WHIP AAA is always an interesting league when it comes to ages. For instance, the Red Wings had 24-year-olds like Joe Benson, Chris Parmelee and Brian Dozier on their roster, but they also had 32-year-old Matt Carson. The Red Wings pitchers youth compared to league average was likely brought down by 23-year-olds Liam Hendriks and Deolis Guerra. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS • Eastern Hitters – 24.5, .260/.330/.392 (.723) • Rock Cats Hitters – 24.6, .262/.333/.395 (.728) • Eastern Pitchers – 24.7, 3.92 ERA, 1.35 WHIP • Rock Cats Pitchers – 24.6, 4.00 ERA, 1.36 WHIP As you can see, the Rock Cats ages were pretty much equal to the Eastern League average. Their performance was also right around league average as well. 28-year-old Chris Colabello’s age was evened out by some other key players on the Rock Cats roster. 22-year-old Aaron Hicks filled the stat line very well and was a terrific leadoff hitter. Minor League Hitter of the Year Oswaldo Arcia turned 21 years old just before he came up to the Rock Cats. Minor League Pitcher of the Year BJ Hermsen was 22 years old all season. FT. MYERS MIRACLE • FSL Hitters – 22.7, .255/.326/.373 (.699) • FM Hitters – 22.5, .250/.329/.371 (.700) • FSL Pitchers – 22.9, 3.86 ERA, 1.34 WHIP • FM Pitchers – 23.1, 4.23 ERA, 1.43 WHIP As you can see, the Ft. Myers hitters performed at league average. So why were the Miracle so bad? Well, their pitchers were much worse than league average. Also, as you can see, if Arcia or Hermsen has spent the full seasons at Ft. Myers, they still would have been younger than league average and yet they were both terrific at AA. The same can be said for Danny Santana who had a breakout season in 2012. And as much as Levi Michael struggled, he would still be younger than league average in 2013 if he stayed with the Miracle. BELOIT SNAPPERS • MWL Hitters – 21.6, .254/.326/.379 (.705) • Beloit Hitters – 22.0, .260/.349/.395 (.736) • MWL Pitchers – 21.9, 3.87 ERA, 1.33 WHIP • Beloit Pitchers – 22.1, 3.58 ERA, 1.30 WHIP It surprised me that the Beloit hitters were older than league average because of how young Miguel Sano is compared to league average. Eddie Rosario also did not turn 21 until after the season completed. People often wonder why I don’t have Nate Roberts ranked higher on my Twins prospect lists. He had turned 23 years old before spring training started. For him to be about league average age, he will need to skip Ft. Myers and go right to New Britain, which may be possible. Why were the Snappers so good in 2012? Well, the offense was well better than average, and their pitching was very good compared to league average. Starters like Jason Wheeler, Matt Tomshaw, David Hurlbut, and Cole Johnson were all 2011 draft picks, pitching in their first full season, but pitching very well. ELIZABETHTON TWINS • Appy Hitters – 20.2, .254/.329/.382 (.711) • E-Town Hitters – 20.1, .279/.360/.449 (.809) • Appy Pitchers – 20.6, 4.15 ERA, 1.36 WHIP • E-Town Pitchers – 20.5, 3.14 ERA, 1.23 WHIP One thing we hear all the time is that Elizabethton is always so good because their players are kept there too long. Well, based on 2012 data, the E-Twins hitters and pitchers were just slightly younger than league average. Sure, the college pitchers just drafted were about 21, but a lot of the other players, international signings such as Max Kepler or Jorge Polanco or high school picks from previous years. At the end of the day, the E-Twins are not older than other teams in the league. That said, look at the discrepancy in performance. Hitters had nearly a .100 point OPS better than league average. Pitchers’ ERA was a full run less than league average. Another tremendous job by manager Ray Smith and hitting coach Jeff Reed. GCL TWINS • GCL Hitters – 19.6, .242/.318/.338 (.656) • GCL Twins Hitters – 20.1, .239/.310/.338 (.647) • GCL Pitchers – 20.1, 3.43 ERA, 1.26 WHIP • GCL Twins Pitchers – 19.6, 2.75 ERA, 1.18 WHIP The Twins GCL hitters were a little older than average while the pitchers were a little bit younger. The pitchers did very well relative to league average while the hitters were just shy of league average. Again, this is one of many tools that I use to help develop prospect rankings. Does a player who is a little older than league average not have a chance to become a quality big leaguer? Of course he can. Is a player who is playing way above where his age would indicate he should be automatically going to be a solid big league performer? Of course not. Each player needs to be evaluated individually and based on his own merits. This information is just a good tool to understand where the player is age-wise relative to where he is playing. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook has now been available for a little over a week in both paperback and e-book forms. One of my favorite parts of the book is the History of my Top 30 Twins Prospects lists. Near the back of the book, I posted my Top 30 Twins Prospects for 2013, and I also post the Top 30s going back to 2007. It’s fun to look back and see some player’s names from the past. It’s fun to see some of them being successful in the big leagues, and it’s even fun seeing names of players that I (and likely many others) may have been completely wrong about. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Back in October, I posted a preliminary Top 50 prospect list on this site. It was purposely done before a lot of research on the Twins minor leagues had started. It created great discussion in the comments, but it is also interesting to see if, after reading a ton about all 150 or so Twins minor leaguers, the rankings change much. In some cases, they did change. The Twins also added a couple of top prospects. Below you will see my final 2013 Minnesota Twins Top 30 Prospects. In the book, it’s just a list. After each, I’ll be added a couple of sentences about the player, kind of stream of conscious-form. Obviously, in the book, there is much more about all 30 players, and over 120 more player prospects. So again, if you’re interested in the e-book, the paperback or any of the previous Prospect Handbooks, feel free to do so. Download attachment: Miguel-Sano-4.jpg SethSpeaks.net 2013 Minnesota Twins Top 30 Prospects Rank – Name – Pos – 2012 Levels 1 – Miguel Sano – 3B – Beloit Snappers Everyone knows Sano. He’s one of the Top 10-20 prospects in baseball due to his power potential. Can he play 3B long-term? I think so. He hit 28 homers and drove in 100 runs last year in Beloit while hitting just .258 and striking out a ton. He’ll have to make some adjustments before he becomes a Sure-Thing, but he has the world of potential! 2 – Byron Buxton – OF – GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins Speaking of amazing potential, Buxton fits into the upper echelon. The #2 overall pick in last year’s draft had all of the tools. He is incredibly fast, plays great defense, has a rocket for an arm, and should hit for power. He had a successful debut in 2012 and it will be interesting to see if he begins the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids or at Extended Spring Training. 3 – Oswaldo Arcia – OF – Ft. Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats Flat-out impressive hitter. He has very good power, uses the whole field and just always finds a way to put the barrel of the bat on the ball. In New Britain, he showed he can hit for average, walk enough, and come up big in big situations. Twins minor league hitter of the year in 2012, he could go back to New Britain for a short time or begin the season in Rochester. 4 – Alex Meyer – RHP – Hagerstown Suns, Potomac Nationals Meyer came to the Twins in the Denard Span trade. The 2011 first-round pick out of Kentucky has a ton of potential on the mound. Anyone who throws 99 mph, has a semblance of control, and has the potential for four plus pitches should probably be higher than #4 on the list. He has Ace potential, now we’ll see in 2013 if he can get there. 5 – Aaron Hicks – OF – New Britain Rock Cats The funny thing is that a year ago, Hicks was coming off of a frustrating season in Ft. Myers. I ranked him #4. In 2012, he moved up to New Britain and put together a very impressive line in which filled up all of the offensive categories. He had double figures in doubles, triples and home runs and stole 32 bases. He also has great range, and has a very strong arm in the outfield. He has a chance to be the Twins starting centerfielder in 2013. 6 – Kyle Gibson – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle, Rochester Red Wings Like Hicks (and Arcia), Gibson should debut with the Twins sometime early in 2013. The right-hander’s rehab from Tommy John surgery in September of 2011 went as planned. He pitched fairly well, especially early, in the Arizona Fall League. He’s got a great mix of pitches including a fastball that occasionally touches 95. He should be a very solid starting pitcher in the near future. 7 – Eddie Rosario – OF/2B – Beloit Snappers Rosario has a terrific bat. He is also a very good centerfielder, but due to the Twins glut of outfielders in the farm system, Rosario has been moved to second base where he has shown glimpses of having a future there. Can he stay at 2B? That shall be determined. He will be playing for Puerto Rico in the WBC and is starting to become a household name in his country. 8 – Jose (JO) Berrios – RHP – GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins Another member of the Puerto Rico WBC roster, Berrios is very young having just been drafted by the Twins in the supplemental round of the Twins 2012 draft. He is a very advanced pitcher for his age and seems to be more likely to get to the big leagues than most players his age. Hopefully he can remain healthy. 9 – Trevor May – RHP – Reading Phillies May came to the Twins with Vance Worley from the Phillies in the Ben Revere deal. A year ago, May was the top prospect in the Phillies organization. Walked too many at AA in 2012, but he throws hard and if he can harness the control, he could be a solid member of the rotation. 10 – Max Kepler – OF – Elizabethton Twins Kepler was signed the same year as Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano, and in 2012 he took a big step forward in his second season in the Appalachian League. He showed his power potential. He takes walks. He is a good outfielder. 2013 will be interesting as he moves into a full-season league. 11 – Joe Benson – OF – Rochester Red Wings, New Britain Rock Cats Benson was as big of a prospect one year ago as Aaron Hicks is today. Unfortunately, he struggled early and was hurt most of the year. When it comes to tools and talent, Benson has as much upside as anyone on this list not named Buxton or Sano. The mullet is gone. The knee is nearly back to 100% He should be given a legitimate shot at the starting centerfield gig. 12 – Kennys Vargas – 1B – Beloit Snappers When it comes to raw power, Vargas has as much as anyone in the organization, including Miguel Sano. He returned a year ago after serving an extended 50 game suspension and showed his power right away in Beloit. He’s not swift. He’s not great at 1B. He struggles with a good fastball, but I just can’t get past that power potential. 13 – Danny Santana – SS – Ft. Myers Miracle I’ve always been pretty high on Santana. I love his speed, both on the base paths and with his range at shortstop. He has a strong arm. He was the leadoff hitter for the Miracle this past year despite rarely seeing a pitch that he didn’t want to swing at. He posted an OBP over .300, primarily due to his average. He’s not big, but he’s fast and shows good extra base power. He was added to the 40 man roster following the season. 14 – Travis Harrison – 3B – Elizabethton Twins Harrison debuted in 2012 with the E-Twins. He hit .300 although he didn’t show much power. His defense was rather rough at third base. He is a solid all-around hitter and the power should develop. He likely won’t stay at third base, so his bat is what will carry him. 15 – Alex Wimmers – RHP – New Britain Rock Cats Wimmers was considered by many to be one of the most ready pitchers drafted in 2010. 2011 was a mess, and he lost his 2012 season because of elbow problems that resulted in Tommy John surgery. But, if he’s healthy, he can still show why he was a 1st round pick. Good fastball, good changeup. Plenty of pitches. Hopefully his rehab can go as smoothly as Kyle Gibson’s did. Biggest picture, don’t completely forget about Wimmers yet! 16 – Adam Walker – OF – Elizabethton Twins OK, Walker has some incredible power potential too. The key for the 2012 draft pick will be whether he is able to make more contact. If he can, he’ll move up quickly. If not, frankly, he will struggle. 17 – Chris Herrmann – C – New Britain Rock Cats, Minnesota Twins When the 2012 season ended, Herrmann went home to prepare for the Arizona Fall League. A couple of weeks later, the Twins had a need at catcher and Herrmann was called up. He didn’t hit, but he did show his patience. He also impressed behind the plate and in left field. That is the role (similar to Ryan Doumit, but without the bat) he should be playing for the Twins for years to come. 18 – BJ Hermsen – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats Yup, I get that he doesn’t throw real hard and many think it won’t transfer as he moves up. The Twins Pitcher of the Year knows how to pitch. He has a variety of fastballs that he throws at various speeds and with various movements. He lives on perfect control and being able to keep the ball in the park. 19 – Jorge Polanco – 2B – Elizabethton Twins Polanco was signed for his glove at shortstop, but he has gradually been playing more at second base. He actually hit quite well in the Appy League in 2012I don’t expect that to continue, but Polanco should advance to the Midwest League in 2013. 20 – Luke Bard – RHP – GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins Bard pitched mostly out of the bullpen in college, but he has the pitches and the makeup to be a starter, where the Twins 2012 first-round pick feels he would be more valuable. 21 – Adrian Salcedo – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle Salcedo was a Top 10 prospect a year ago, but 2012 was a lost year for him. He fought elbow and shoulder injuries and was rehabbed throughout the season. Hopefully he will be successful in his recovery and return to his prospect status quickly. When healthy, he is a starter who can sit in the mid-90s. He also has three pitches. 22 – Mason Melotakis – LHP – Elizabethton Twins, Beloit Snappers The hard-throwing Twins 2nd round pick in 2012 did a nice job for the E-Twins and Snappers bullpens. However, there is a good chance that he will get an opportunity to start. If he can be successful, his value skyrockets. 23 – Nate Roberts – OF – Beloit Snappers Led the Arizona Fall League in Batting Average, OBP and SLG% this past fall. He is the perfect leadoff hitter who understands his job is the get on base as often as possible. 24 – Michael Tonkin – RHP – Beloit Snappers, Ft. Myers Miracle Tonkin went back to Beloit to start the 2012 season and was tremendous out of the bullpen. He throws his heavy fastball in the mid-to-upper 90s with a devastating slide. He struckout almost 13 batters per nine innings and was added to the 40 man roster. 25 – Pedro Hernandez – LHP – Rochester Red Wings He’s considered by most fans to be just another guy from the Francisco Liriano trade. He’s a lefty with multiple pitches who, at age 23, already made a start in the big leagues. His 2013 ended with injury, but he could be a decent back of the rotation starter in the future. 26 – Daniel Ortiz – OF – Beloit Snappers, Ft. Myers Miracle Ortiz had another solid season in 2012 between Beloit and Ft. Myers. The diminutive outfielder has a very nice swing and solid all-around skills, but he is often forgotten among all of the other Twins outfield prospects. 27 – Niko Goodrum – SS – Elizabethton Twins Goodrum repeated at Elizabethton in 2012 and his batting average dropped but his Isolated Discipline and power increased. He should get to the Midwest League in 2013. 28 – Matt Summers – RHP – Beloit Snappers, Ft. Myers Miracle A hard-throwing right-hander, Summer pitched well early in Beloit, but he did struggle in Ft. Myers. He has three solid pitches and his strikeout numbers should increase going forward. 29 – Hudson Boyd – RHP – Elizabethton Twins Boyd made his professional debut with the E-Twins in 2012. His ERA was solid, although he did give up a lot of unearned runs. He has a fastball in the mid-90s, but he didn’t get many strikeouts during the season. 30 – Levi Michael – 2B/SS – Ft. Myers Miracle I wasn’t real high on Michael when the Twins made him their top pick in 2011 from North Carolina. He went to Ft. Myers and really struggled with the Miracle. He played a season at third base, a season at shortstop and a season at second base in college. He played more second base with the Miracle. Offensively, he wasn’t particular good. So there you have it. My official 2013 Twins Prospect Ranking. Feel free to leave comments and ask questions in the Forum. Click here to view the article

Since the start of the 2011 season, the Twins have a recordof103-157. Only the Houston Astros have a worse record in that time (90-170).As the trade deadline approaches, it is striking how active the Astros have been in making trades while the Twins have been pretty quiet to this point. Since the beginning of July 2011, the Twins have made the following moves: • August 2011 – Traded Delmon Young to Detroit forRHP Lester Oliveros and LHP Cole Nelson. • August 2011 – Traded Jim Thome to Cleveland for cash. • December 2011 – Traded Kevin Slowey to Colorado for RHP Daniel Turpen [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In contrast, here are the trades made by the Astros in that same time: • July 2011 – Traded Hunter Pence to Philadelphiafor 1B Jonathan Singleton, RHP Jarred Cosart, RHP Josh Zeid, and OF Domingo Santana • July 2011 – Traded Jeff Keppinger to San Francisco for RHP Henry Sosa and RHP Jason Stoffel • July 2011 – Traded Michael Bourn to Atlanta for OF Jordan Schafer, RHP Juan Abreu, RHP Paul Clemens and LHP Brett Oberholtzen • May 2012 – Traded Justin Ruggiano to Miami for C Jobduan Morales • July 2012 – Traded Carlos Lee to Miami for 3B Matt Dominguez and LHP Rob Rasmussen • July 2012 – Traded Brandon Lyon, JA Happ and David Carpenter to Toronto for Francisco Cordero, Ben Francisco, RHP Joe Musgrove, RHP Asher Wojciechowski, LHP David Rollins, C Carlos Perez, and a Player to be Named Later. • July 2012 – Traded Brett Myers to Chicago (WhiteSox) for RHP Matt Heidenreich and LHP Blair Walters • July 2013 – Traded Wandy Rodriguez to Pittsburgh for OF Robbie Grossman, LHP Randy Owens, LHP Colton Cain The Twins have used their high waiver spot to claim the likes of Pedro Florimon, Clete Thomas and Erik Komatsu. The Astros have used their waiver spot to claim players like Fernando Martinez and Mark Hamburger. The Astros masterfully handled the draft. Instead of taking the “easy” pick, Mark Appel, they took the top high school bat (according to many) in Carlos Correa and signed him for well below the suggested slot for the top pick. That allowed them to sign Lance McCullers, who fell to them in the supplemental first round. The Astros have pretty much blown up their roster and started from scratch. Of the players who were on the Astros Opening Day roster, Jed Lowrie is the player remaining who has the largest contract, at $1.15million. It’s hard to imagine the Twins completely blowing things up, but should they? What is the right thing to do? With needs at many positions at the big league level and throughout the minor league system, would it be best to start over and accumulate as much talent as possible? Does it need to happen at the July trade deadline? For Francisco Liriano, the answer would seemingly be yes. However, since Josh Willingham and Denard Span are signed long term, if Terry Ryan doesn’t feel he is getting maximum return, he can keep them and try again this offseason. So what do you think? Will the Twins or the Astros contend in their division first? Download attachment: 539w.jpg Click here to view the article

Each month here at Twins Daily, we will be posting choices for Twins minor league relief pitcher, starting pitcher and hitter of the month. First, I want to share with you some of the top relief pitchers in the Twins minor league system in the month of April. I'll follow up over the next 24 hours with the starting pitcher and hitter of the month. What are we looking for to help determine these rankings? Well, as you can see, Win-Loss record means nothing in my mind. ERA is nice but doesn't account for inherited runners scoring. I think WHIP is pretty important because not allowing base runners helps not allow runs. Walks and strikeouts are nice, and even innings pitched factors in because often the sample size is quite small. However, let's start with the Top 6 Relief Pitchers in April: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Number 6 – Ft. Myers – Ricky Bowen - 8 G, 1.96 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 18.1 IP, 18 H, 2 BB, 17 K, .269 BAA The Twins signed the veteran Bowen last May and he pitched in several roles. Those close to the Miracle say that his stuff profiles well to the bullpen as he has two very good pitches, including a sharp slider which is his strikeout pitch. He’s off to a great start in April. Number 5 - Beloit – Michael Tonkin - 8 G, 0.64 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 14 K, .216 BAA In 2010, due to injury, Tonkin was pushed up to Beloit where he made several starts before going back down to Elizabethton. Last year, he pitched in the Snappers bullpen, and he’s back there again. If his April numbers were the lone indicator, he shouldn’t remain in the Midwest League much longer. Number 4 - Rochester – Anthony Slama - 8 G, 0.79 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 6 H, 8 BB, 18 K, .158 BAA Slama is healthy again after an injury-plagued 2011 season. He is back to pitching like he always has. He walks a few too many, but unlike most of the hard-throwers the Twins have signed in recent years, he has the ability to get a lot of strikeouts. Unlike most pitchers in the organization, Slama actually has the ability to miss bats. Number 3 – Beloit – AJ Achter - 7 G, 0.56 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 16.0 IP, 8 H, 5 BB, 19 K Achter was the Twins 49th round pick in 2009 out of Michigan State. Instead of signing right away, he went to the Cape Cod League, improved his status and signed late. He was brought up to Beloit last year and made 19 starts for the Snappers. He was sent back to Wisconsin to start this season and moved to the bullpen. So far, so good. He has a three-pitch mix and could potentially make starts later in the season. Number 2 – Ft. Myers/New Britain – Caleb Thielbar - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.55 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 16 K, .098 BAA Thielbar has yet to allow a run, and he has already been promoted to New Britain (where he came in and got the final out of a 1-0, 12 inning win on Monday night), so how is he not #1 on this list? Well, the Twins have had quite a few strong bullpen performances this first month and the lefty is no different. The former St. Paul Saint has definitely made himself into a prospect to watch. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: New Britain/Rochester – Deolis Guerra - 8 G, 0.57 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 15.2 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 17 K Ever since being moved to the bullpen halfway through last season, Guerra has been a different pitcher, a great pitcher. Although he doesn’t throw hard, his changeup is the best in the organization. One phrase that annoys me more than most is that Guerra is “the last player remaining from the Johan Santana trade.” That isn’t his fault and yet too many fans seem to hold it almost against him. Guerra impressed the Twins coaches in spring training. He was great in seven games with AA New Britain before being promoted to Rochester where he pitched three shutout innings over the weekend. Download attachment: DeolisGuerra.jpg So what do you think? I’ve listed six players here and there are a few bullpen guys in the Twins farm system that could (should?) be recognized for their great start to their 2012 season. 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 April Starting Pitcher and Hitter of April. Click here to view the article

It’s that time of year. The Major League Baseball first-year players’ draft starting in two weeks. That means that we need to get our pre-draft Top 50 Twins Prospects list out. I’ve always done this before the draft to take a look at where the organization is. Over the next week, we’ll look at my choices for the Top 50 Twins Prospects. People talk a lot about the Twins farm system being weak. Well, I do need to acknowledge that in the past I generally had no idea coming up with the top 30. This time around, I was struggling after the top 8 or 9. Take that for what it’s worth, which may be nothing. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Today, we’ll look at my choices for 41 through 50. There may be an assumption that these ten are not worth knowing or learning about, but I disagree. First, I always believe that minor leaguers deserve to be recognized. Second, as you look through these ten players, you will see a couple of types. There are a couple of potentially dominant bullpen arms working through injuries. There are also a lot of very young, new-to-the-organization types of players who will pay in the short seasons. Some have very good potential but there just isn’t enough data points yet to rank them any higher. By season’s end, they could move up twenty spots… or disappear from the list. It’s the beauty of following the minor leagues. Let’s get started. Here are my choices for Twins Prospects 41-50: #50 – Trent Higginbotham, RHP Higginbotham was the Twins 26th round draft pick in 2011 out of high school in Alabama. He signed on the last possible day for a well-above-slot $195,000. The right-hander is 6-2 and 195 and has a very projectable frame with room to grow. He turned 20 years old last week and already boasts a fastball that touches 94 mph. He also throws a curveball and a changeup. I would guess that he will pitch in Elizabethton starting in June, but it is possible that he will start in the GCL. #49 – Tyler Jones, RHP Jones is a Milwaukee native who was a top prep baseball player during his high school career during which he was a part of two state titles. He went to Madison Arch Tech Junior College where he helped them to the World Series in 2010. In 2011, he pitched for LSU before the Twins made him their 11th round pick. He signed later in the season and pitched seven innings for Elizabethton, which is where he’ll likely return in 2012. Jones is already 22 years old and will turn 23 in September. He is 6-4 and 205 pounds. He throws a 2-seam and a 4-seam fastball and sits 91-94. He has touched 96 mph. His slider is his out-pitch, and he is working on a changeup. #48 – Hung-yi Chen, RHP Chen was signed by the Twins in June of 2010 from Taiwan. The 20 year old has a 5-10 stocky frame. He throws 87-91 mph with a fastball. He also throws a sinker, a slider and a fork ball. Last year in the GCL, he was 0-4 with a 4.33 ERA. In 35.1 innings, he walked just five and struck out 38. He may head back to the GCL for 2012. Although he is able to get hitters out, he will need to add some velocity. #47 – Kenny Vargas, 1B 22 year old Vargas was signed as a free agent in 2009 from Puerto Rico. The powerful switch-hitter is listed at 6-5 and 215 pounds, however, he has fought his weight for years. Last year in Elizabethon, he was off to a great start. He hit .322/.377/.489 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 35 RBI. Unfortunately, that’s when his season ended. He was suspended fifty games for using a banned substance (ironically from a weight-loss supplement). He served 18 games of his suspension in 2011. Unfortunately, the rules of such suspensions say that they need to be served with the same team. That’s why the remaining 32 games of his suspension cannot start until the Elizabethton season starts. When his suspension ends, will he stay in Elizabethton or move up to Beloit? #46 – Angel Mata, RHP Mata signed with the Twins in January 2010 out of Venezuela. In 2011, he went 0-1 with a 1.46 ERA in 12 games with the GCL Twins. In 37 innings, he gave up just 23 hits. He walked 19 and struck out 30 while opponents hit just .184 off of him. He is 6-2 and 190 pounds with room to grow. He will be 19 years old throughout the 2012 season. #45 – James Beresford, SS/2B Beresford signed with the Twins in August of 2005 out of Australia. He has consistently and gradually worked his way up the Twins farm system. He was the Beloit Snappers team MVP in 2009 and 2010. He was solid in Ft. Myers last year. He was pushed up to AA New Britain this season and he is holding his own. He is hitting .267/.350/.286 with two doubles. Beresford has been a mainstay for Australia’s international teams (playing in WBCs and World Cup events). As you have always heard, Beresford needs to add weight and be able to hit more extra base hits if he wants to be a big league regular. In my opinion, he could be a major league utility infielder today because of his terrific middle infield defense. #44 – Carlos Gutierrez, RHP The Twins second first-round draft pick in 2008 had a terrific spring training, but he has had shoulder issues since the season started. He missed significant time in 2011 with injury as well. In 62.1 innings in 2011, he struck out 57, but he walked 31. In spring, we saw that his 96 mph fastball is not easy to hit. However, I don’t believe that we saw him throw a secondary pitch for a strike. If he can figure out a second pitch, he could be a quality late-inning reliever. If not, he may be a back-of-the-bullpen option. The 25-year-old will need to get healthy for us to really find out. #43 – Austin Malinowski, LHP Malinowski was the Twins 16th round pick last year. He was Mr. Baseball last year in Minnesota while pitching for Centennial High School in Circle Pines. Days before the signing deadline, it appeared Malinowski was heading to the University of Arizona on a scholarship. Instead, he and the Twins agreed on a deal. The 6-4 left-hander is long and lanky. He has a very projectable frame and should add velocity. He already has good secondary pitches. He will not turn 20 years old until the end of November. He will likely pitch for the GCL Twins in 2012. Download attachment: AustinMalinowski.jpg #42 – Dakota Watts, RHP Watts was the Twins 16th round pick in 2009 out of Cal State-Stanislaus. In 2011, he split the season between Ft. Myers and New Britain. He walked 33 in 65 innings. He went to the Arizona Fall League after the season and in 14 innings, he gave up 15 hits, walked ten and struck out nine. At 6-5, Watts throws hard. Unfortunately, he is yet to pitch in 2012 due to some shoulder tendonitis. It appears he is close to returning and his velocity is back up into the mid-90s. There are also reports that he has now added a split-finger pitch to his repertoire. It all comes down to strike-throwing with him. That will determine whether he’s a late-inning bullpen guy, or if he even gets beyond AA. #41 – Lance Ray, OF/1B Ray was the Twins 8th round pick in 2010 out of the University of Kentucky. Last year in Beloit, he hit .253/.335/.432 with 34 doubles, a triple, 16 home runs and 74 RBI. At just 6-1 and 195 pounds, he doesn’t profile as a power hitter. That said, he has a very nice swing and great power to all fields. Defensively, he is average. He has OK range and a decent, accurate arm. He is playing with the Ft. Myers Miracle. He has had a rough week since being the Florida State League’s hitter of the week two weeks ago. Although he is hitting just .213/.297/.404, he already has 11 doubles and five home runs on the season. So, there you have my choices for Twins prospects 41-50. In the next day or two, I’ll be back with my next installment which will be prospects 31-40). If you have any questions or comments on any of these prospects, please feel free to ask. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Chris Colabello 2.jpg Each week here at Twins Daily, we will be taking a look at how players in the Twins organization are faring in the Winter Leagues. The Twins have players in the Arizona Fall League, in Venezuela, in the Dominican Republic, in Mexico, in Puerto Rico and in Australia. A week of numbers is fairly small sample, but it does give a look at who is playing well of late. So, let’s walk through each of the leagues and name a Twins player of the week followed by a look at the rest of the Twins players. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Nate Roberts, OF Roberts has been the story of the Fall League for the Twins, and it was another great week for him. He played in four games and went 7-14 with four walks to go with just one strikeout. He got one base at least twice in all four games he played and scored seven runs. He also hit his first home run of the season. In 16 games in the Fall League, he is 25-53 with 10 walks and just five strikeouts. He’s hitting .472/.592/.623 (1.214) with five doubles, a home run and ten RBI. Evan Bigley – 5 Games – 5-16 (.313) with a double, a triple and 2 walks.Dan Rohlfing – 2 Games – 4-8 (.500) with two walks.Logan Darnell – 1 Game, 4 IP, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts.Kyle Gibson – 1 Game Started, 5 IP, 4 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts.Caleb Thielbar – 2 Games, 2.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts.Michael Tonkin – 2 Games, 4.2 innings, 1 earned run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. (First run he’s allowed in regular season games) VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Dakota Watts, RHP Watts missed time early in the season due to some tendonitis, so he is getting some extra innings in Venezuela. This past week, he pitched 6.1 innings in four games. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked none and struckout eight and recorded two saves. After giving up four runs in his first 3 games (2.1 innings), he has not allowed a run in his past seven games. Oswaldo Arcia – 6 Games, 7-25 (.280), 3 BB, 5 K, 3rd home run – in one game, he was 4-5 with a walk and HR.Eduardo Escobar – 4 Games, 1-12 (.083), 1 BBDeolis Guerra – 3 Games, 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. 1-0 with 1 save.Edgar Ibarra – 1 Game Started, 3.1 innings, 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout.Angel Mata – 1 Game, 1.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts.Bruce Pugh – 2 Games, 0.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk. Over the past week, Aaron Hicks and David Bromberg have returned to the United States. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B Colabello had a huge week last week, but this week was even bigger. In six games, he went 8-24 (.333) with two walks and seven strikeouts. The week started out very hot, with six home runs in five games. Overall on the season, Colabello is now hitting .304/.356/.652 (1.009) with eight doubles and eight home runs. Anthony Slama – 4 Games, 4.2 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts. 3 saves.Gonzalo Sanudo – 2 Games, 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Miguel Sano, 3B After a terrific season at Beloit, Sano went to the Twins Florida Instructional League. Although he was the top pick in the DWL draft, he eased his way back into the schedule. After playing in just three games coming into this week, he played in five games this past week. In those games, he went 4-15 (.267) with two home runs and four RBI. He walked three times and struckout three times. Jhonathan Arias – 4 Games, 2-8 (.250) with 2 walks and 3 strikeoutsPedro Florimon – 3 Games, 3-9 (.333) with a double, a walk and a strikeoutLuis Perdomo – 2 Games, 4.2 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE The Puerto Rican league got started over the weekend and there are several Twins players from the island to follow. Player of the Week – Eddie Rosario, OF Rosario was the #3 hitter on the Beloit roster that included Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas. In Puerto Rico, his roster includes Vargas and outfielder Danny Ortiz. After spending most of the season playing second base, he played centerfield for the Snappers throughout the season. Through four games, he has played only right field. The Royals’ Irving Falu has been playing second base. Either way, Rosario is a hitting machine who got off to a nice start. He went 6-15 (.400) with a double and three RBI. Jorge Fernandez – The Twins 7th round pick, a catcher, has pinch run in one game and scored a run.Angel Morales – 2 Games, 2-7 (.286), BB, 2B, HR. The two games epitomize the last couple of seasons for Morales. In the first game, he went 2-3 with a walk, a double and a home run. In the second game, he went 0-4 with three strikeouts.Daniel Ortiz – 4 Games, 1-9 (.111), 3 walks and one strikeout.Kennys Vargas – 4 Games, 2-14 (.143), home run, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts.Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, one strikeout.Josue Montanez – 1 Game, 2 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 earned run, 1 walk. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Jacob Younis, 2B Younis played in two of three games and went 4-8 with a walk and two RBI. He has spent the past two seasons with the GCL Twins. Unfortunately, he played very little in 2012 due to injury. JD Williams – 3 Games, 2-10 (.200), 2 walks, 4 strikeoutsLogan Wade – 2 Games, 2-6 (.333), 1 walk, 1 strikeoutSam Gibbons – 1 Game, 3 innings, two hits, 1 earned run, no walks, 1 strikeout.Tyler Herr – 1 Game, 2.1 innings, 2 hits, no runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Arizona – Nate Roberts Venezuela – Dakota Watts Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Miguel Sano Puerto Rico – Eddie Rosario Australia – Jacob Younis Click here to view the article

“For me, (2013) is in the past. Last year is last year. I want to focus on this year and be able to be the guy I know I can be.” Those were the words of Twins center fielder Aaron Hicks last month at Twins Fest. A year ago at this time, the Minnesota Twins had traded its two centerfielders, Denard Span and Ben Revere. Aaron Hicks was coming off a season at AA New Britain in which he hit .286/.384/.460 (.844) with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 13 home runs and had 32 stolen bases as a 22 year old. The Twins were touting his athleticism and talent from Twins Fest until spring training. Hicks then put up tremendous numbers in spring training and won the starting centerfield job. After that, little positive occurred for the 23 year old.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Aaron Hicks 2.jpg Hicks was the Twins first round pick (14th overall) in 2008 out of high school in California. Four times, he was listed among the Top 100 prospects in baseball. Heading into the 2013 season, he was ranked #72 and a top five in the Twins system. He has a history of getting off to a slow start at each level. However, he has also shown the ability overcome the struggles and succeed with time. That just didn’t happen with the Twins in 2013. In 313 plate appearances over 81 games, he hit .192/.239/.338 (.597) and struck out almost 27% of the time. Late in the year, he was sent down to Rochester where he fought injuries the rest of the season. “Of course it bothered me. Normally, it takes a while for me to respond to the competition and then I respond. This year, I’m ready to respond. I know what I did wrong. I did everything this offseason to put it all together to have a better year this year.” After the season, there was talk about the Twins wanting Hicks to play winter ball. However, Hicks thought the right thing for him to do was to take time off during the offseason. “I thought a little about it, but I felt like it would be better for me to relax and think about stuff I need to do and get ready for another season rather than go right into another season. Really, just rest the body up. I’ve never had an offseason before. I’ve always played somewhere. It felt good to just relax.” Instead, Hicks did a few things to make himself better, mentally and physically. “I’ve just been mainly working out. I got a little heavier, trying to get a little bit stronger to do what I can to make the team again. And to be the guy I know I am.” He got bigger. “I’m 210 now. I think I came in last year at about 200. I just felt like I wanted to be stronger, to be able to generate more power.” He also continued to work out with and confide in a pretty solid baseball man. Who is the guy that he goes to when he’s struggling? “For me, it’d be (Rod) Carew because he’s been with me since AA and actually before that. He’ll ask me questions about little stuff and he really helps me out a lot.” He said that the two worked out and hit about three days each week, and sometimes on the weekend depending on their schedules. He also had time to think about what happened in 2013. “This game is so crazy that you can be hot one day or hot for two weeks and all of a sudden it can be like you’ve never hit before. It just happened. Maybe going to AAA helped me clear my mind and be able to just play, just enjoy playing the game. I felt like up here maybe I was trying to do too much.” Baseball is a game full of second chances. Hicks will compete with Alex Presley and Darin Mastroianni (who was removed from the 40-man roster this offseason) for the starting centerfield job for Opening Day 2014. So what are his thoughts as spring training is approaching? What is he expecting of himself this year? “I’m expecting to try to win a job again, just like last year. Hopefully it’s in the big leagues. If I go to AAA, do what I can to get back here.” It is also fair to note that Hicks better understands spring training after his 2013 season. “Spring training is different than the big leagues. I need to be focused and understand that it’s a process. It’s not just going to be easy for me. You’re going to have to take your lumps here and there. It was also a good learning experience, that it’s a grind every day.” Hicks knows that Byron Buxton is coming up quickly, but the two have a good relationship. “We don’t really ever talk baseball. I’m just trying to get used to him. If I can, give him a little bit of wisdom here and there. He’s been doing pretty good, so I’m just going to leave him alone.” Aaron Hicks will be just 24 through the 2014 season, but it is still a big year for him. At some point during the season, he will get another opportunity with the Twins. He plays tremendous defense and has a very strong arm, but will he be able to make adjustments at the plate to put up box score filling numbers again? If so, he still has a chance to be a very good, everyday player. “I had the worst of it all last year. I understand failure up here. I’d rather go through that and deal with it. Now I know going into this year how to prepare.” Click here to view the article

Happy Opening Day of Spring Training Games! No, it doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as Happy Opening Day! Then again, Opening Day should be a national holiday (in my mind, at least). In about an hour, the Twins will take the field at Hammond Stadium to take on David Price and the Tampa Bay Rays. The Twins are going with what should be their primary lineup (with the Ben Revere/Trevor Plouffe/Left Field “platoon”) much of the season. There are so many big dates and events in baseball. Last month, we were all excited to hear the phrase “Pitchers and Catchers report!” There is the All-Star game, the trade deadlines, September call-ups and the World Series. If you’re a big fan of the Hot Stove, you get excited about things like the GM Meetings, the Winter Meetings, the day that 40 man rosters need to be set, the day arbitration needs to be offered and later accepted or declined. For Twins fans, January brings the Winter Caravan and Twins Fest. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So, why is opening day of spring training games exciting for me? Two words – Box Scores! That’s right! By later this afternoon, you can read them online and in tomorrow’s newspapers. Granted, the box scores of early spring training are typically much, much larger than in the regular season because so many players play. We can follow the Twins games and see several things. How are the players vying for roster spots performing compared to each other? How are the younger players and the non-roster invites doing? How are the stars from other teams doing, particularly those players who switched teams in the offseason? I also enjoy looking at box scores and seeing how former Twins and former Twins minor leaguers are faring elsewhere. Box scores have been a huge part of baseball and fandom since Henry Chadwick invented them in 1859! Download attachment: boxscore.jpg Over the next month, the Twins and all of the other teams in baseball will be playing games almost every day. With so many players in Twins camp, they even have a few split-squad games to allow many more players to play. With minor league camp starting next week, some of the players in big league camp will be sent across the parking lot by the end of next week. There may be a few roster spots up for grabs right up until days before Opening Day. Another reason for Twins fans to be excited today… Cory Provus will be making his debut this afternoon as the play-by-play voice of the Twins. And it all goes back to the fact that Opening Day should be a national holiday. The spring training openers are a reminder that Opening Day is fast approaching and another 162 game season is about to begin!! Click here to view the article

On Sunday, all of the six Twins minor league went at least five innings and none gave up more than two runs. The Miracle have turned around their slide. They had won just four of their last 18 games, but now they have won four in a row. Another day, another Cedar Rapids win. They have won 82 games this year in their first year as a Twins affiliate. One more win, and this year’s team will have more wins than any of the Kernels 20 years with the Angels.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If the season ended today, the Red Wings would still be in the playoffs, but they are trending in the wrong direction. Finally, Miguel Sano and some of the Twins top prospects had an impressive day too. See what else happened in the Twins farm system on Sunday. Rochester Red Wings 8, Indianapolis Indians 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Red Wings were swept in a four game series against Indianapolis. It was their fifth straight loss yet, somehow, they still maintain a one-game lead over Norfolk for a playoff Wild Card spot. Kyle Gibson made his return start with the Red Wings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four. Aaron Thompson pitched the sixth and gave up one run on two hits. Shairon Martis struck out two over two shutout innings. Michael Tonkin pitched a scoreless ninth in his first appearance since being sent back. After pitching a scoreless ninth inning, he was charged with four runs in the top of the 10th inning and recorded just one out. Edgar Ibarra got the final two outs. James Beresford was 2-3 and his two-run single in the bottom of the ninth tied the game at four. Darin Mastroianni went 1-3 with two walks. Jared Mitchell went 2-5. New Britain Rock Cats 7, Bowie Bay Sox 4 Box Score Pedro Hernandez was very good in this game, and Miguel Sano helped power the Rock Cats to a victory. Hernandez worked the first six innings. He gave up one run on five hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out two. Dan Sattler started the seventh and got just two outs. However, he gave up three runs on four hits and two walks. Matt Hauser came in and got the final out of the seventh before working perfect eighth and ninth innings too. He struck out two. Miguel Sano got a couple of pitches to his liking. He went 2-3 with a walk. He hit his 32nd and 33rd home runs and drove in four runs, giving him 99 RBI on the season. He was also hit by a pitch, but it was on a full count. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his 18th double. Kyle Knudson went 2-4 with his fourth double. Danny Ortiz went 2-4. Danny Santana stole his 27th base. Download attachment: Miguel Sano FSN.jpg Photo by Fox Sports North Game 1 - Ft. Myers Miracle 5, St. Lucie Mets 1 Box Score JD Williams provided the offense, and Taylor Rogers won for the 11th time with the Miracle. Williams went 3-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles and his first home run. He drove in four runs. Levi Michael went 2-2 with a walk, his 14th double, and he also stole his 19th base. Byron Buxton went 2-2 with his eighth triple. Matt Koch went 2-3. Taylor Rogers was charged with only an unearned run in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked four and struck out three. Tyler Jones came on and struck out one in a scoreless seventh. Game 2 - Ft. Myers Miracle 8, St. Lucie Mets 2 Box Score The second game was much like the first game. The Miracle got a very solid start, and this time, it was Stephen Wickens, and a bunch of walks, that provided the offense. Wickens went 3-4 with his 20th and 21st doubles. He also stole his 17th base. Dalton Hicks went 1-2 with two walks and drove in another run. JD Williams, Byron Buxton and Kennys Vargas each walked two times. Mike Kvasnicka doubled for the 13th time. Lefty David Hurlbut got the start and went the first six innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out four. Adrian Salcedo gave up one hit in a scoreless seventh inning. Cedar Rapids Kernels 9, Peoria Chiefs 1 Box Score Again, the equation looks pretty much the same; strong starting pitching and plenty of offense. Tim Shibuya gave up only an unearned run on three hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out two. Brett Lee came on and struck out one in a perfect inning. Alex Muren gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. Ryan Walker led the way going 3-5 with his first double. Tyler Grimes was also 3-5. Travis Harrison was 2-4 with a walk. Michael Gonzales went 1-2 with a walk and his seventh double. Adam Walker was 1-3 with two walks. Bo Altobelli and Michael Quesada each added a double. In a scary situation, Max Kepler was a late scratch due to a freak accident near the indoor batting cage. Check out Jim Ecker’s story of what happened and how long Kepler could be out. Elizabethton Twins 0, Princeton 2 Box Score The E-Twins certainly got the good starting pitching part of the equation, but they got no offense. They managed just three hits in the game. They walked twice and struck out 14 times. Stephen Gonsalves started and gave up one run on three hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out nine. Carson Goldsmith came on and gave up one run on three hits in two innings. Luke Bard struck out one in a perfect inning. GCL Twins No Game Scheduled. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Click here to view the article

Thursday, the Twins organization made the catcher shuffle. Josmil Pinto was promoted to Rochester with Kyle Knudson moving up to New Britain and Jairo Rodriguez moving back up to Ft. Myers. We also learned that Wilkin Ramirez will continue his rehab in New Britain while Darin Mastroianni will stay in Ft. Myers and play some games with the Miracle. The big news Thursday is that Aaron Hicks and Scott Diamond have been sent to Rochester with Oswaldo Arcia heading back to the Twins. The Twins will also need a starting pitcher by Tuesday, with speculation leading toward Andrew Albers. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Here is more about that and other minor league topics on last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Travis was joined by Jim Crikket and they discussed in great detail many of the players who have spent time in Cedar Rapids this season. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Thursday: Rochester 2, Lehigh Valley 3 Box Score Logan Darnell started for the Red Wings. The lefty went the first 5.2 innings and gave up three runs on 11 hits. He walked two and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came on and went 1.2 scoreless innings. Cody Eppley gave up one hit and got one strikeout. Ibarra Update - Edgar Ibarra has now pitched 24.1 innings in 19 appearances without allowing a run. The Red Wings managed just six hits. Jermaine Mitchell went 2-3 with a walk and his 15th double. Chris Parmelee went 1-2 with a walk. Josmil Pinto made his AAA debut and went 0-4, grounding into two double plays. New Britain 9, Akron 5 Box Score The Rock Cats bats showed up, and DJ Baxendale was the beneficiary. The right hander gave up five runs on eight hits and a walk in 6.1 innings. He struck out three. Jose Gonzalez got the next five outs, two of them on strikeouts. Dakota Watts gave up one hit in a scoreless inning. Danny Ortiz remained hot. He went 3-4 with his 11th home run and drove in three runs. Evan Bigley went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his first home run. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his 13th and 14th home runs and drove in five runs. Ft. Myers, Daytona This game was cancelled due to inclement weather. Cedar Rapids 3, Burlington 2 Box Score David Hurlbut returned to the Kernels' starting rotation. The left-hander went the first 3.2 innings, giving up one run on four hits. He walked none and struck out five. Brandon Bixler came on and gave up one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out one in 1.2 innings. Madison Boer then walked one and struck out four in 1.2 innings. Brian Gilbert finished the game with two strikeouts in two innings. The Kernels had just six hits. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with a walk and his 26th double. He also stole his first base of the season. Niko Goodrum hit his second home run, of the inside-the-park variety. Elizabethton 2, Bluefield 4 Box Score The E-Twins fell back under .500 with this loss. It’s unusual to see the Twins struggling so much, especially with the bats. On this night, Zach Granite had a single and a walk. Ryan Walker walked twice. Hein Robb started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out five; he did hit one batter. Austin Malinowski came on and gave up one run on four hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out four. Andrew Ferreira walked two and struck out five in two shutout innings. GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Jason Kanzler went 2-4 with his first double, and later, his first walk-off hit as the GCL Twins won a one-run game. Zach Larson went 2-4. Brian Navarreto hit his fifth double. Darin Mastroianni went 0-2 with a walk and stole a base. Jared Wilson started and gave up two runs (1 earned) on six hits and a walk in three innings; he struck out three. Chih-Wei Hu struck out five over three, one-hit, scoreless innings. Tyler Stirewalt gave up two hits, also over three innings. He struck out three. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article

Good morning! Thanks as always for making Twins Daily part of your every day reading. Today I am going to return to the 12 Questions format with a fun interview with one of the Twins first-round picks in 2012, RHP Luke Bard. As you know, the Twins selected him out of Georgia Tech with the 42nd overall pick. He wasn’t able to pitch much last year due to a couple of injuries, but he has a ton of talent, and as you’ll read below, a pretty strong baseball pedigree in his family. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] He was kind enough to put some quality time into answering our 12 Questions recently. To tell a little bit more about Bard before getting into the interview, I want to post for you what was written about him in the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013 by fellow-author and Twins Daily contributor, the Nodak Twins Fan Cody Christie. This is just one out of 85 Twins minor league pitcher profiles available in the 191 page book dedicated solely to the Twins minor league system. Yesterday, we made the paperback book available online for $13.99. I did that because four of the five players on the cover will be at Twins Fest and lots of people tell me they want to get books signed there. To do so, they should really be ordered within the next 24-48 hours. Today, you can now also order an electronic book (e-book) for just $8.99. (I do get a lot of questions about Prospect Handbooks from previous years. If you’re interested in those, click here.) I’ll be quiet about the book and give you the profile, and then… 12 Questions With… RHP Luke Bard. Luke Bard – RHP (11/13/90) Acquired: Supp 1st round pick in 2012 from Georgia Tech 2012 Team(s): GCL Twins, Elizabethton Twins 2012 Stats: 0-0, 1 Save, 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 7 BB, 7 K One of the trends for the Twins in the 2012 Draft was that the club decided to load up on powerful college relief arms. Bard was the first of these type of players selected by the Twins after finishing his junior year at Georgia Tech. He is the younger brother of Boston Red Sox pitcher Daniel Bard, and the Twins will try to make him into a starter in the minor leagues. During his collegiate career, he was used mostly as a relief arm, but he does have a very good three-pitch mix. His slider is one of his best pitches, and it sits in the high 80s. Bard’s fastball sits anywhere from 92 to 96, and he can mix in a solid changeup with good arm action. He dealt with a strained right lat muscle this past spring but it wasn’t a serious injury. In his last season at Georgia Tech, he would put together a 0.99 ERA in 27.1 innings with 26 strikeouts, six walks, and zero home runs allowed. There were enough positive signs for the Twins to want to select him in the early portion of the draft. Bard appeared in seven games after signing with the Twins. He was roughed up a bit in his first three outings with the GCL Twins as he posted a 6.75 ERA with three strikeouts and five walks in four innings. He would improve when he got to the Appalachian League, as he didn’t allow an earned run over three innings. He had four strikeouts and two walks. His season ended with another minor injury. At the beginning of 2013, Bard will be given the opportunity to start at some level in the Twins system and it is up to him to show the club he is up to the challenge. (CC) Download attachment: Luke Bard.jpg 12 QUESTIONS WITH… Luke Bard Twins Daily (TD): Growing up North Carolina, who was your favorite team? Who were some of your favorite players? Luke Bard (LB): I always followed the Braves and Red Sox growing up. The Braves were the closest team to Charlotte so my family would travel down to Turner Field every summer. I became a fan of the Red Sox because both my parents grew up in Massachusetts. Then my brother made it to the big leagues with the Red Sox in 2009 so I have rooted for them since. Now I am all for the Twins! TD: Tell us about your high school career at Charlotte Christian (baseball and/or other extra-curriculars). LB: I could not have asked for a better high school experience. I was fortunate to be surrounded by great coaches and friends who helped me succeed athletically and academically. Believe it or not, football was my favorite sport. You can't beat Friday night lights and if I was good enough then I would probably be playing football today. TD: When the Red Sox took you in the 16th round in 2009, how difficult was the decision for you to go to college instead of signing, especially with your brother in the Red Sox organization? LB: Like I said before, I was a Red Sox fan growing up so it was a great experience to be drafted by them. Things did not work out for me to sign but I believe everything happens for a reason and it turned out to be a blessing. I made friendships at Georgia Tech that will last a lifetime and cannot imagine my life any other way. I would not have traded my time at Georgia Tech for anything and am thrilled to be a part of the Minnesota Twins organization. TD: Talk a little about your career at Georgia Tech, one of college baseball’s traditional powerhouses. What were some of the highlights? LB: We had some extremely talented teams each year I was in college but could not get out regionals for whatever reason. Each season I had high hopes of going to Omaha and was frustrated when we would lose that final game. Baseball is a tricky game and in postseason play it seems like the team that gets hot wins. My sophomore year we played NC State in the ACC tournament. I was our closer but ended up throwing 5 innings and over 90 pitches in extra innings. The game ended up going 15 innings and we won by stealing home in the top of the 15th. It was fun to be a part of. TD: You have started and you have relieved. Do you have a preference? Do you prepare differently for either role? LB: Both roles are completely different but I love both. With starting, it's nice to get in a routine of pitching every fifth day so that I can work on different things in between starts. With relieving, there is the adrenaline rush that comes with pitching in the late innings of close games. I love being on the mound with the game on the line and you can't beat closing a 1 or 2 run game. If I had to pick one I would rather start. Starting over the course of a season I feel I can give my team more total innings and a better chance to win more games. TD: The Twins took you in the supplemental first round, with the 42nd overall pick. Heading into the draft, is that around where you were being told you might be selected? Did you talk to the Twins scouts much heading into the draft? LB: I had an interesting situation because I tore my right lat in March. Doctors felt my injury was caused by my transition from closing to starting in the middle of the year rather than mechanics or genetics which may have scared teams away. I went from throwing 12-15 pitches in an outing to throwing 90 in just a couple weeks which was really tough on my arm. And since my injury was just muscular, it is not something that would affect my career long term. It would have been fun to know how things would have gone if I pitched the rest of the year but I as I said before everything happens for a reason. Jack Powell is the Twins scout who drafted me. He has been awesome to work with and nothing but encouraging. I have had the pleasure of getting to know him and becoming friends over the past year. We talk on the phone every few weeks and I always love catching up. I had a pretty good idea of where I would get drafted and was happy when I heard the Twins call my name. TD: After signing, you got a few innings in rookie ball, but fought injuries throughout the college season and into the pro level. How frustrating were the injuries when you were starting your career, and where are you at physically at this time? LB: Frustrating would be an understatement. Nothing is worse than having to watch from the bench. As a result, I have been doing everything I can this offseason to get back to my old self. It's a long process but my arm has felt great this offseason. I am really looking forward to getting back on the mound in 2013. TD: How has your offseason been, and when do you start your preparations for the 2013 season? How will that routine differ from your college workout routine, if at all? LB: I've been preparing myself for the 2013 season since I left instructs in October. I have been up to Massachusetts twice this offseason to work at Cressey Performance. Eric Cressey trains professional athletes and is years ahead of everyone else in terms of detail in the workouts. Everything we do is pitching specific which will enable me to perform at a high level and stay healthy throughout the 2013 season. TD: Do you have any goals for the 2013 season? Are there certain statistics that you would like to meet, or that you look at while evaluating yourself? LB: I am not a big stat guy because stats are often misleading and out of my control. However, I can control my attitude, work ethic, and mental preparation each day. As long as I take care of those aspects, stats will take care of themselves. Going into my first season of pro ball, my goal to learn as much as I can and do everything I can to get better. TD: I looked and saw that your father spent five years as a catcher in the minor leagues. I assume that he did a lot of catching in the back yard for you and your brothers. Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? LB: God has blessed me with a wonderful support system. It was nice having a dad that played at such a high level. My dad coached me growing up and has taught me just about everything I know about baseball. Both my Mom and Dad have always been there for me in baseball and in life. My older brothers always pushed me to be my best growing up and have since always been encouraging and motivating. Last but not least, my fiancé has been at just about every game throughout high school and college. It is comforting to know that she and my family are always there for me no matter what. TD: How would you describe yourself as a pitcher? If you were a scout, what would the report be? LB: Tough question but I hope that scouts say I am a fearless competitor no matter what the situation. I want to be the player and teammate that always finds a way to help my team win. TD: Favorite baseball movie? LB: Sandlot. I used to tell people my name was Benny the Jet and rock the PF Flyers in elementary school. Thank you to Luke! Luke mentioned Jack Powell, the Twins scout that signed him. In the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2013, Jeremy Nygaard had the opportunity to interview him and got lots of thoughts on Bard, Byron Buxton, Niko Goodrum and other Twins minor leaguers that he scouted. Powell was also in the movie Trouble with the Curve. Best of luck to Luke Bard in the 2013 season. Hopefully it’ll be a season with 100% health and plenty of success!! Click here to view the article

The Twins had an off day, but their minor league affiliates were all playing. There was a game-winning home run… an extra-innings walk off wild pitch, a couple of strong starts, some great bullpen work. And yes, Miguel Sano was very good again today! Find out why Brian Dozier got a day off here (and at the same time be listening to the interview with him on the SethSpeaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast). [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 5, BUFFALO 3 PJ Walters picked up his first win as a Red Wing and was helped by a big Brian Dinkelman blast. Walters gave up three runs in the first two innings, but that was it. He gave up eight hits in six innings, walked none and struck out four. Brendan Wise walked two batters and another runner got on via an error, but he did not allow a run. Casey Fien gave up a hit and struck out two before Tyler Robertson came in, got the final out of the 8th inning and three outs in the ninth for his first save. Every member of the Red Wings had at least one hit. Ray Chang was 2-3 with a walk. The big hit came off the bat of Brian Dinkleman who came up with two on and two out in the 6th inning, down by a run. He hit a long home run that gave the Red Wings a 5-3 win. Brian Dozier was out of the lineup on Tuesday with a sore back. NEW BRITAIN 2, HARRISBURG 7 Luke French was terrific again. The left-hander threw six shutout, one-hit innings to start the game. He came out for the seventh but got just two outs before giving up two runs and being removed from the game. He walked one and struck out four. Luis Perdomo got him out of the 7th, but he gave up a run in the 8th to take the loss. David Bromberg came in for the ninth and gave up four runs on six hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Blake Martin got the final out. For the second straight game, Aaron Hicks hit a home run. He went 2-4 batting left-handed. Nate Hanson was 2-3 and is now hitting .385 on the season. Deibinson Romero (4th) and James Beresford (1st) each hit a double. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 3, JUPITER 2 (13 innings) It took extra innings to decide this game, but with two outs in the bottom of the 13th, Dan Rohlfing (who had doubled) scored on a wild pitch to give the Miracle the 3-2 win. Marty Popham, a minor league Rule 5 pick in December, made his first Miracle start. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struckout four. Jose Gonzalez struckout three over three scoreless, hitless innings. He did walk one. Caleb Thielbar threw three, one-hit innings. He struck out four. Matt Hauser threw the final two innings and struckout three. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-5 with a walk, a double and a triple. Angel Morales was 2-5 with a triple and a walk. Lance Ray and Jairo Perez each had two hits and a walk. BELOIT 3, KANE COUNTY 8 A five-run fifth inning was the difference in this ball game for the Snappers. Matt Summers made his first start of the year. He gave up six runs (2 earned) on six hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struckout the first batter he faced, and that was it. Nelvin Fuentes came in and got the final out of the fifth inning and then threw two more innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. AJ Achter struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning. Miguel Sano came into the day with three hits, all of them home runs. In the fourth inning, he followed an Eddie Rosario single with a single of his own. He later hit a triple that short-hopped the wall in left centerfield. JD Williams was 0-1 with three walks and a stolen base. Danny Ortiz hit his first home run of the year. Note – This is a great example of the beauty of Small Sample Size. On Monday afternoon, Miguel Sano got out in his first at bat. That put him at 1-11 (.091). he proceeded to hit two home runs on Monday. On Tuesday, he started by going 2-3 with the single and the triple, and after that 4-5 stretch, he was hitting .316. He got out in his final at bat to end the day 2-4 and with a .294 batting average. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, April 10, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Aaron Hicks Download attachment: AaronHicks2.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Miracle Bullpen (Jose Gonzalez, Caleb Thielbar, Matt Hauser) Download attachment: MiracleLogo.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Wednesday, April 11, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Pawtucket – 6:05 (CST) – LHP Scott Diamond New Britain vs Harrisburg – 9:35 a.m. (CST) – LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers vs Jupiter – 6:05 (CST) – RHP Manuel Soliman Beloit @ Kane County – 11:00 a.m. (CST) – RHP Madison Boer --- 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

The debut of Cole De Vries was a game with several ups and downs. De Vries struck out Alejandro de Aza, the first batter he faced. He threw a scoreless first inning. Then in the second frame, AJ Pierzynski got him. He was charged with three unearned runs in the third inning after an error, a pop up and a blooper. He then got seven batters out. Given a 5-4 lead, he went out for the 6th inning and served up back-to-back home runs to Paul Konerko and Alexi Rios and his debut was over. His line at the end of the day was six runs (3 earned) on six hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four, but three solo home runs added up. Brian Duensing came in and gave up three hits and a walk. The biggest hit in his inning was a grand slam. Jeff Gray threw a scoreless inning. Jared Burton gave up a run in the eighth inning. The Twins fell 11-8 to the White Sox. The highlight for the Twins had to be Justin Morneau’s day at the plate. He was 3-5 with his seventh and eighth home runs, both long blasts. Joe Mauer was 2-4 with a walk and his second home run. Alexi Casilla was 2-4 with a double. Denard Span was 2-5 with his tenth double. If you missed it last night, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Seth was joined by Kyle Gibson, David Bromberg and Drew Leachman. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Thursday: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 3, GWINNETT 1 After a day off, the Red Wings got a tidy win on the road in Gwinnett. Liam Hendriks started and gave up only an unearned run on five hits and two walks in seven innings. He struck out nine and improved to 3-0. Anthony Slama came in to start the eighth inning. He struck out one batter but gave up two hits. Tyler Robertson came in and got the Red Wings out of the jam. Casey Fien came in and threw a scoreless ninth inning to record the save. JR Towles went 2-4. Sean Burroughs was 2-4 with an RBI. Matt Carson hit his 12th double. Clete Thomas and Danny Valencia each drove in a run. The Red Wings are now 20-26. NEW BRITAIN 6, BINGHAMPTON 4 BJ Hermsen was back on the mound for the Rock Cats. The righty went seven innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on ten hits. He walked none and struck out three. Caleb Thielbar pitched the last two innings. He didn’t allow a run and struck out four and picked up his second win. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth home run and two RBI. Matt Rizzotti hit his second homer and drove in two. They improved to 28-18, and they are 1.5 games ahead of Reading. FT. MYERS 1, CLEARWATER 2 Madison Boer threw his best game with the Miracle. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out three. Matt Hauser struck out three in two shutout innings. Bruce Pugh struck out two in two scoreless innings. Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles. He went 0-12 in his first three games with the Miracle. Since then, he has gone 20-64 (.313) in 16 games. Josmil Pinto also hit his ninth double. Danny Rams was taken off of the Disabled List. The Miracle are now 18-29 and 18 games back in the division. BELOIT 9, CEDAR RAPIDS 2 The Snappers played on Thursday afternoon and came out with a big win. AJ Achter got a spot start. He gave up two unearned runs in five innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out five. Tyler Jones, a Milwaukee native, threw three scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. David Hurlbut threw a scoreless innings. Adam Bryant went 3-5. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his fourth homer run. Drew Leachman was 2-5 with his second double, third home run and three RBI. Kyle Knudson was 1-2 with three walks. Miguel Sano continues to struggle. He was 0-3 with two walks and two strikeouts. He is now 1-30 in his last seven games and 3-39 since turning 19. Nate Roberts as activated from the DL. Rory Rhodes went back Extended Spring Training. Jones was promoted with Bart Carter going on the D Disabled List. The Snappers are now 28-19, a game and a half back of Wisconsin. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, May 24, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Danny Ortiz [ATTACH=CONFIG]1043[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Liam Hendriks [ATTACH=CONFIG]1042[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Friday, May 25, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Gwinnett – LHP Matt Maloney New Britain @ Portland – LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach – RHP Miguel Munoz Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – 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

It was a very quiet night in the Twins organization on Wednesday. The Twins and Dodgers were able to get their game in. It was the first time the Twins had played since Saturday. In the minor leagues, the Ft. Myers Miracle played and got another quality start from a guy who has done that all season. There was one scheduled day off and two teams were rained out. And due to the quiet Wednesday, it is going to a big schedule on Thursday. The Twins and Dodgers will play a day-night doubleheader. The two affiliates that were rained out Wednesday will also play two games on Thursday. We have reached the end of April, the end of the first month of the season. In the next couple days, I will be posting my choices for Twins minor league starting pitcher, relief pitcher and hitter of the month. Download attachment: Max Kepler 3.jpg RED WINGS REPORT The Rochester Red Wings had a scheduled off day. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain, Harrisburg The Rock Cats game in Harrisburg was postponed due to rain. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Bradenton 2 Box Score The Miracle got yet another quality start from Brett Lee in this one and got some big hits to capture the win. The southpaw from Florida worked the first seven innings. He gave up two runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out five. Brian Gilbert came on for the 8th inning. Coming into the outing, he had just four strikeouts in 10.1 innings. In his two innings on Wednesday night, he gave up one hit, walked none and struck out five to record his fourth save. Max Kepler led the offense. He went 2-2 and walked twice. He hit a triple and drove in two runs. Niko Goodrum was 2-4. Levi Michael was 2-5 with a triple and two RBI. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Kane County The Kernels game against Kane County was rained out. They’ll play two games on Thursday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brett Lee, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Kepler, Ft. Myers Miracle MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ Harrisburg (2 games, 4:30 CST) – Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 CST) – JO Berrios (Listen) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (5:00 CST) – Josue Montanez, Kohl Stewart (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday game. Click here to view the article

I'd guess it is fair to assume that the name of Lewis Thorpe snuck up on most Twins fans. The lefty from Australia signed with the Minnesota Twins as a 16-year-old in July of 2012. Most talked about Amaurys Minier, the Twins top international signing that year at $1.5 million, but in 2013, Thorpe made his US and GCL debut and put together a fantastic season. With the GCL Twins, he went 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. In 44 innings, he walked just six and struck out 66. He won't turn 18 until the end of November, and yet it's been reported that he already is able to touch 95 mph with a fastball. That's going to get you noticed, and recognized, as he was when Baseball America named him the #7 prospect in the Gulf Coast League.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Lewis Thorpe.jpg Twins Daily was able to ask him a few questions recently and he was gracious enough to respond. Get to know a little bit more about Lewis Thorpe below, and feel free to ask questions and discuss in the comments. (Note I'll be back tomorrow to continue the Top 50 prospect series with prospects 16-20.) -------------------------------------------------------------- Twins Daily: As an amateur, how much contact did you have with MLB teams and what was it that caused you to decide to sign with the Twins? Lewis Thorpe: At about 15 is when all the scouts started chatting to me. The Twins have a lot of Australians, and I wanted to feel comfortable, and I did. TD: What was the adjustment like for you last spring moving from Australia to Florida? What were the biggest challenges? LT: The biggest challenges were the weather change and humidity. That was tough, as was getting homesick a couple times. TD: You had a successful first professional season with the GCL Twins. What were your keys to your success? LT: My keys were cutting down the walks. If I had a bad outing, I had 1 or 2 walks, if I had a good outing, 0 walks. Location was a big thing. TD: What pitches do you throw? What is your best pitch, and what is the pitch that you really want to improve? LT: Fastball, Curveball, Change up and Slider. Really need to improve on curveball and slider. Need more control with those 2 pitches. Download attachment: Thorpe.jpg TD: After the GCL season, you were impressive while representing Australia in an international tournament. What's it like to pitch for your country? LT: (It’s the) best feeling pitching for your country, listening to the National Anthem when you line up before the game, knowing everyone back home is supporting and cheering for you to succeed. TD: Away from baseball, what do you enjoy doing in your free time? LT: Round of 18 holes on the links, movies, putt-putt and fishing. TD: Are there certain areas of your game or preparation that you'd like to focus on during this offseason, looking to 2014? LT: I really need to work on the curveball and slider. I think if I get those two pitches going, it will help me a lot. Getting fitter to make sure I don't get lazy and get out of bed and work on something every day. TD: Growing up, who were some of your role models in the game of baseball? LT: My role model was Mark Ellis. If it wasn't for him and his son, Mitch Ellis, I wouldn't be where I am today. They told me to come and try baseball which I did really enjoy and haven't stopped playing since that day at age 6. When I started growing up and knowing the game, Graeme Lloyd was a big role model too. Hearing his stories of how he got to the big leagues really touched me. TD: What are some of your goals for the 2014 season? Are there certain statistics that you focus on? LT: Certain goals are to cut down the walks again this year, to be more consistent with the slider and curveball, and hopefully end up in Low A. That will be awesome. TD: What would it mean to you and your family to be able to reach the major leagues and put that uniform on for the first time? LT: It would mean the world to my family and I. They have done so much for me already like driving me places, putting food on the table, putting a roof over my head. I just have to make sure I don't stop working hard and hopefully one day my dream will come true. TD: What was the highlight of your 2013 season, your first year in the Twins organization? LT: It was probably making the Baseball America Top 20 in GCL prospects list, or probably going to instructional ball. That was really good, helped me learn a lot! ---------------------------------------------------------- Thank you very much to Twins minor league pitcher Lewis Thorpe for taking time to answer our questions. Feel free to discuss below. Click here to view the article