Seth Stohs

Kyle Gibson was back on the mound for the Minnesota Twins in Tampa on Tuesday night. On Tuesday afternoon, Michael Tonkin got the news he was promoted to the Twins as lefty Caleb Thielbar went on the bereavement list. Best wishes to the Thielbar family. It was also a tough day for a couple Twins minor leaguers. Kaleb Merck (Kernels) and Luis Nunez (E-Twins) were both given their releases by the Twins. At the same time, one of the Twins high draftees made his professional debut. And, I’m sure you’ll be shocked, Chris Colabello makes an appearance in this report after another big game. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester 7, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 8 Box Score On Tuesday afternoon, the Red Wings fell behind and tried to come back, but they came up one run short. Pedro Hernandez gave up seven runs on ten hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out five. Michael Tonkin gave up a hit and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Shairon Martis went the final 1.2 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out two. Chris Colabello again was the hitting star. He went 3-4 with his 22nd homer, tying Miguel Sano for the organizational lead. James Beresford was also 3-4 with his first stolen base. He is now hitting .323 in 21 games with the Red Wings after hitting .316 in New Britain earlier in the season. Ray Olmedo hit his 10th double and his first home run in the game. Eric Farris also had two hits. New Britain The Rock Cats and the rest of the Eastern League are currently on their All-Star break. Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 2 Box Score Tyler Duffey won his second consecutive start. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk in six innings, striking out five out. Jose Gonzalez came on and worked two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out four. Corey Williams gave up a hit and struck out one to record his 10th save. Lance Ray went 2-3 with his first home run of the season. Last year he hit thirteen for the Miracle and sixteen for Beloit two years ago. He was in only his 22nd game with the Miracle this year because he has been hurt. Byron Buxton was 1-3 with a triple and his second stolen base. Stephen Wickens was 1-3 with his fourth and fifth stolen bases. Kennys Vargas hit his 25th double. Cedar Rapids The Kernels had a scheduled off day. Elizabethton 4, Burlington 5 Box Score The Elizabethton Twins came up a run short in this loss. Rory Rhodes went 2-5 with his seventh double. Ryan Walker was 2-4 with his second double. Bryan Haar added two hits. Dereck Rodriguez went 1-1 with two walks and his first home run of the season. Tanner Mendonca made the start. He gave up two runs on three hits in four innings, walking four and striking out two. Tim Shibuya came on and gave up three runs (two earned) on four hits over three innings. He walked two and struck out four. Twins 2013 second-round pick Ryan Eades made his professional debut in the seventh inning. He worked one inning and gave up two hits, but no runs and he struck out one. Kuo Hua Lo struck out two in his perfect inning of relief. GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 3 Box Score The GCL Twins had a couple good offensive performances, but were unable to plate enough runs to overcome the Rays. Zach Larson went 2-2 with two walks, his third double and his third stolen base. Jason Kanzler went 1-2 with three walks, his first home run and his third stolen base. Fernando Romero started and gave up two runs in four innings. He allowed four hits, walked one and struck out three. Dan Sattler continues his road to recovery. He struck out two in two scoreless innings. Leonel Zazueta gave up one run on three hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. He struck out three. Miguel Gonzalez came on and got one out. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article

The Twins roster is set, and with that, the minor league rosters are set as well. It is an unusual season in that the minor league seasons start (a day) before the big league Opening Day. I may be in the minority, but I get just as excited about minor league Opening Day as I do about major league Opening Day (and I think Opening Day should be a national holiday!). Pending last minute injuries or transactions, below are the Opening Day rosters for the Twins minor league affiliates, along with a very brief summary of what to look for. Please feel free to ask questions in the Comments section, and I'll be sure to try to answer as many as I can. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER RED WINGS Manager: Gene Glynn… Hitting Coach: Tom Brunansky… Pitching Coach: Bobby Cuellar Pitchers: Sam Deduno, Cole DeVries, Scott Diamond, Phil Dumatrait, Casey Fien, Kyle Gibson (DL), Carlos Gutierrez, Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertson, Anthony Slama, Brad Thompson (DL), Daryl Thompson, Esmerling Vasquez, PJ Walters, Brendan Wise Catchers: Drew Butera, Rene Rivera, JR Towles Infielders: Aaron Bates, Matt Rizzotti, Brian Dinkelman, Brian Dozier, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Ray Chang, Michael Hollimon Outfielders: Joe Benson, Matt Carson, Wilkin Ramirez (DL), Rene Tosoni SUMMARY THOUGHTS: With Liam Hendriks with the Twins for the time being, who will be the five starters, and what can be expected from them? There are some good bullpen arms, to be sure, though. The catchers can certainly catch, but even in Rochester, they should be hitting ninth. Aaron Bates had a terrific 2011 season with the Red Wings and performed well in big league spring training. Rizzotti could play some 1B but will likely DH a lot. His 24 HR last year (in AA Reading) would have led the Twins organization. Nishioka has been playing well since his demotion early in camp. Chang, Hollimon and Dinkelman all played well in big league camp and profile as utility types. Dozier is the guy that is exciting. He was the Twins minor league player of the year last year, and had a terrific camp with the Twins. If there is a need with the big league club in the middle infield, they will not hesitate to promote the 24 year old. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS Manager: Jeff Smith… Hitting Coach: Rudy Hernandez… Pitching Coach: Stu Cliburn Pitchers: Andrew Albers, David Bromberg, Logan Darnell, Luke French, Deolis Guerra, Steve Hirschfeld, Brett Jacobson, Bobby Lanigan, Blake Martin, Lester Oliveros, Luis Perdomo, Daniel Turpen, Alex Wimmers Catchers: Chris Herrmann, Danny Lehmann Infielders: Chris Colabello, Nate Hanson, Estarlin De Los Santos, Darin Mastroianni, James Beresford, Pedro Florimon, Deibinson Romero Outfielders: Evan Bigley, Mark Dolenc, Aaron Hicks SUMMARY THOUGHTS: There are several arms in New Britain that many of us assumed would be in Rochester, but that bodes well for the Rock Cats and for the development of these players. There is some surprise that Alex Wimmers is set to start the season with the Rock Cats. That means he must be throwing well, and most important, throwing strikes. Darnell and Lanigan will likely remain in the Rock Cats rotation. Jacobson, Hirschfeld, Albers (last year’s SethSpeaks.net Minor League Reliever of the Year) and Bromberg all could split time between the rotation and the bullpen. Chris Herrmann impressed in 2011, played great in the AFL, and showed well for himself in 2012 big league camp. Lehmann deserves more of an opportunity and is in the same category as the three AAA pitchers. The infield should be strong. Beresford and Florimon perform a great up-the-middle defense while de Los Santos comes back healthy. Colabello was Baseball America’s independent leagues player of the year last year, and Hanson just continues to progress well as he moves up. Romero had a solid comeback year last year with the Rock Cats showing some of the power that made the Twins put him on their 40 man roster three years ago. Mastroianni has played pretty exclusively at 2B since leaving big league camp, but he’ll likely also get time in the outfield behind a very talented starting three. Obviously it is a big season for Hicks in the eyes of prospect hounds, but it will be a challenge for him. Being surrounded by veterans like Dolenc and Bigley should help him. FT. MYERS MIRACLE Manager: Jake Mauer… Hitting Coach: Jim Dwyer… Pitching Coach: Steve Mintz Pitchers: Paul Bargas (DL), Ricky Bowen, Tony Davis, Pat Dean, Jhon Garcia, Jose Gonzalez, Matt Hauser, BJ Hermsen, Edgar Ibarra, Miguel Munoz (DL), Marty Popham, Bruce Pugh, Adrian Salcedo, Manuel Soliman, Tom Stuifbergen (DL), Caleb Thielbar, Dakota Watts (DL) Catchers: Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing Infielders: Michael Gonzales, Andy Leer, Reggie Williams, Levi Michael, Danny Santana, Anderson Hidalgo, Jairo Perez Outfielders: Oswaldo Arcia, Steve Liddle (DL), Angel Morales, Danny Rams, Lance Ray SUMMARY THOUGHTS: Dean, Hermsen, Munoz, Salcedo and Soliman present a very talented young starting core. Stuifbergen pitched well with the Miracle in 2011, but he has been injured throughout spring training. There are some seriously strong arms in this bullpen. Hauser and Gonzalez each spent time as closers. Watts and Pugh were splitting time as the Miracle closer at times over the past two seasons. Tony Davis had surgery last season and they will be smart with him. He’s a lefty that can throw 95. Rohlfing played very well in 2012 and returns as he continues to impress and get better behind the plate. Pinto is a DH type. Expect Levi Michael and Danny Santana to split time between SS and second base. Leer was moved behind the plate in the instructional league, but he moves back to the infield. Gonzales took full advantage of a second season with the Snappers and showed his tremendous power. Anderson Hidalgo is a batting average guy. Jairo Perez seemingly came out of nowhere last year to hit for tremendous power with the Snappers after missing all of 2010 with Tommy John surgery. Speaking of power, Oswaldo Arcia returns to the Miracle. Angel Morales is healthy again and should regain his status as a top prospect. Lance Ray also has very good power, as he showed with a home run in yesterday's Twins game. BELOIT SNAPPERS Manager: Nelson Prada… Hitting Coach: Tommy Watkins… Pitching Coach: Gary Lucas Pitchers: AJ Achter, Paul Bargas (DL), Madison Boer, Bart Carter, Clinton Dempster, Nelvin Fuentes, Steven Gruver, Cole Nelson, Ryan O’Rourke, Tim Shibuya, Matt Summers, Matt Tomshaw, Michael Tonkin, Jason Wheeler, Corey Williams Catchers: Matt Koch, Jairo Rodriguez Infielders: Rory Rhodes, AJ Pettersen, Eddie Rosario, Adam Bryant, Tyler Grimes, Miguel Sano, Outfielders: Jhon Goncalves, Wang-Wei Lin, Daniel Ortiz, Nate Roberts (DL), JD Williams SUMMARY THOUGHTS: This is a very talented roster. Those 2011 draft picks force their way onto this roster and combine with some pitchers who threw very well for the Snappers a year ago. O’Rourke and Achter pitched well as starters for the Snappers in 2011. Shibuya was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year last year. Summers, Gruver and Williams all pitched well in the E-Town bullpen a year ago, but in their first full seasons, each could get some time as starters as well. Tomshaw was a 42nd round pick just last year. He got a chance with the Miracle and became one of their better starters late in the year. He’ll step back to the Snappers. Tonkin likely pitches at the end of games. Wheeler signed late last year, but two summers ago, he was the pitcher of the year in the Northwoods League. There are some strong arms and talented pitchers. The players that everyone is excited to see are Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. The two combined for 41 home runs in their 68 game season last year. Rosario was the Player of the Year in the Appy League, and Sano is the teams consensus top prospect. Bryant and Grimes were drafted last year and held their own with the Snappers in the second half. Pettersen was also drafted last year and played well in E-Town after breaking his nose running into a fastball. Rhodes is 6-7 and the Australian has very good power. He can help the infielders with his big target at 1B. Lin is back in Beloit for the third straight season, and Goncalves comes back after spending most of the past two seasons in Ft. Myers. JD Williams quietly had a remarkable season in Elizabethton last year, hitting for average, getting on base and stealing bases. He may be as fast as anyone in the organization. EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING There are a lot of players who will begin the season at Extended Spring Training and remain in Ft. Myers. These players, along with potentially more players from the Dominican and signees from the 2012 draft, will begin the short-season league games in Elizabethton or with the GCL Twins. Of course, these players will be playing games and working on their games at the Ft. Myers facilities and if there is a need in Beloit, or potentially in Ft. Myers, several could get promoted. In fact, expect that a dozen or so will be needed thanks to promotions up above, injuries or other reasons. Pitchers: Ricardo Arevalo, Tim Atherton, Hudson Boyd, Josh Burris, Hung Yi Chen, Steven Evans, Dallas Gallant (missed last year with Tommy John surgery), Tyler Herr, Trent Higginbotham, David Hurlbut, Garrett Jewell, Cole Johnson, Tyler Jones, Corey Kimes, Brett Lee, Kuo Hua Lo, Austin Malinowski, Angel Mata, Chris Mazza, Josue Montanez, Luis Nunez, Gerardo Ramirez, Hein Robb, Gonzalo Sanudo, Tobias Streich (moved to Pitcher from Catcher) Catchers: Jonathan Arias, Kelly Cross, Matt Parker, Michael Quesada, Jacob Younis Infielders: Josh Hendricks, Kennys Vargas, Nick Lockwood, Candido Pimentel, Julio Torres, Stephen Wickens, Niko Goodrum, Aderling Mejia, Javier Pimentel, Jorge Polanco, Wander Guillen, Travis Harrison Outfielders: Romy Jimenez, Max Kepler, Drew Leachman, Kelvin Mention, Kelvin Ortiz, Dereck Rodriguez SUMMARY THOUGHTS: The names that stand out here to me are Max Kepler and Niko Goodrum. Kepler played OK, though certainly not great, in Elizabethton. Goodrum, on the other hand, played really well for the E-Twins, especially the final six weeks of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if both, or at least Goodrum, moves up to Beloit before the short seasons begin. I’m more surprised by some of the college pitchers selected by the Twins in the 2011 draft remaining in EST. One other thing to point out to fans is that a player can only spend three seasons in the short season leagues. For instance, Kepler spent 2010 in the GCL and 2011 in Elizabethton. He can play in E-Town again in 2012, but in 2013, he would need to go to a full-season affiliate. Download attachment: JCSanoRosarioPrado.jpg Photo by Jim Crikket (Beloit Manager Nelson Prada, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Danny Ortiz) Click here to view the article

Earlier in the week, we announced the Harmon Killebrew Award winners, and my choice for Minnesota Twins Minor league Relief Pitcher of the Year and the Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Today, it’s time to point out the hitters that performed very well in the Twins minor league system. There were quite a few terrific performances through the Twins system! The most encouraging is that most of the top prospects performed at a new,higher level. But there is no question that two players shined incredibly brightly.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Actually, three players did, but one got promoted to the Twins for a couple months and that likely cost him this award. But, The Two. The Big Two. Byron Buxton. Miguel Sano. They both came through with monster seasons in 2013. I promise. I will pick one of them as the Twins minor league hitter of the year and not just go with co-winners. I’ll pick one… And then I’ll most likely say, “If you want to argue for the other one, I won’t disagree at all.” This should create some debate, to be sure. This ‘award’ is called the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. It’s not the Twins minor league player of the year. So, the primary focus should be on their bats. If it was a player of the year award, it would kind of be a Miguel Cabrera/Mike Trout type of situation. Which do you pick, and why? But, let’s work our way down the Top 8, and before that, another six players who warrant honorable mention. Honorable Mention: Deibinson Romero – Rochester Red Wings (.275/.374/.448 (.822), 17-2B, 1-3B, 13-HR, 56-RBI), Kennys Vargas – Ft. Myers Miracle (.267/.344/.468 (.813), 33-2B, 1-3B, 19-HR, 93-RBI), Reynaldo Rodriguez – New Britain Rock Cats (.231/.305/.482 (.787), 33-2B, 4-3B, 21-HR, 57-RBI), Travis Harrison – Cedar Rapids Kernels (.253/.366/.416 (.782), 28-2B, 0-3B, 15-HR, 59-RBI), Antoan Richardson – New Britain/Rochester (.285/.402/.371 (.773), 20-2B, 8-3B, 0-HR, 43-RBI, 39-SB), JD Williams – Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers (.265/.372/.403 (.775), 17-2B, 6-3B, 9-HR, 58-RBI, 26-SB) Hitter of the Year Nominees There were a lot more good batters up for Hitter of the Year consideration, or at least honorable mention, than there were pitchers for Pitcher of the Year #8 – Jorge Polanco – Cedar Rapids Kernels (143-465) - .308/.362/.452 (.813), with 32 doubles, 10 triples, 5 HR, 78 RBI, 4 SB) The Twins signed Polanco out of the Dominican Republic in 2009. He was tiny as a 16-year-old, but he had a great glove. Since then, he has grown and become much stronger. After two seasons of very pedestrian numbers in the GCL, he hit over .300 in Elizabethton in 2012. Was it a result of the small ballparks of the Appy League? Well, in his first at bat of the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids, he homered, and he hit well most of the rest of the season. He was the Kernels #3 hitter for most of the year. He has moved to second base, though many say that he will continue to get some time at shortstop. #7 – Eddie Rosario – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats (150-496) - .302/.350/.460 (.810), with 32 doubles, 8 triples, 10 HR, 73 RBI, 10 SB) It was a terrific year for Eddie Rosario. He played great in the Puerto Rico Winter League, well enough to be named to the Puerto Rican WBC team. He had a strong showing with the Twins in big league camp. He began the season in Ft. Myers where he hit .329/.377/.527. Once the Miracle clinched the first half title, he was promoted to AA New Britain. His numbers weren’t quite as good, .284/.330/.412, but when you factor in that he is just 21 years old, it was an incredible season. His progress at second base was impressive to those who saw him play. The Twins drafted Rosario in the 4th round out of high school in Puerto Rico in 2010. He does not yet need to be added to the 40 man roster, but he is certain to get an invite to big league camp. #6 – Adam Walker – Cedar Rapids Kernels (141-508) - .278/.319/.526 (.844), with 31 doubles, seven triples, 27 HR, 109 RBI, 10 SB) Walker was the Twins 3rd round pick in 2012 out of Jacksonville University. Like yesterday’s relief pitcher of the year, Tyler Jones, Walker is a product of Milwaukee. After signing with the Twins, he hit 14 homers for Elizabethton last year. This year, he led the Midwest League with 27 home runs and 109 RBI. He added a couple of huge home runs in the playoffs as well. Walker has as much power as anyone in the Twins farm system, but he is also a terrific athlete. He did a nice job in right field. He is also a very good base stealer. He was 10-10 this year and has not been caught on a stolen base attempt since high school. Walker strikes out, but the bigger concern is that he just doesn’t take many walks and control the zone. Without some adjustments, he will struggle as he advances. Fortunately, he is still just 21 years old and has plenty of time to keep developing. #5 – Dalton Hicks – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats (145-502) - .289/.358/.468 (.826), with 39 doubles, 0 triples, 17 HR, 110 RBI, 0 SB) Hicks was the Twins 17th round pick a year ago out of Central Florida. Like Walker, he signed quickly and Hicks came up big for the E-Twins in the playoffs. You’ll recall, he hit the walk-off grand slam in Game 3 of the Appy League championship series. He began this season with the Kernels where he hit .297 (.850) with 31 doubles and 13 home runs before being promoted to the Miracle in mid-July. He ended up leading the organization and all minor league baseball with 100 RBI. The first baseman is a big man with a long, strong swing and great power. #4 – Josmil Pinto – New Britain Rock Cats / Rochester Red Wings (141-456) - .309/.400/.482 (.882), with 32 doubles, 1 triple, 15 HR, 74 RBI, 0 SB) To say that Josmil Pinto has put together a nice start to his big league career could be deemed an understatement. He has shown in just a couple weeks many of the traits that have made him an interesting prospect over the past couple seasons. He is a line drive hitter with power. He also has very good strike zone judgment and puts the ball in play. Behind the plate, he has looked better than I expected and shown a very strong arm. During his minor league season, primarily in New Britain, he hit for average, took a lot of walks and had lots of extra base hits. He has made himself a serious prospect with a big future. #3 – Chris Colabello – Rochester Red Wings (119-338) - .352/.427/.639 (1.066), with 25 doubles, 0 triples, 24 HR, 76 RBI, 2 SB) Like Andrew Albers, the Colabello story has been incredible. After all those years in independent ball, he got a chance with the Twins. He had a solid 2012 season in New Britain. He got off to an incredible start the first two months of the season and earned his first major league promotion. He went back and forth between the Red Wings and the Twins several times. Although he has struggled with the Twins to some degree, he has absolutely raked in AAA. Despite missing some time, he was named the International League’s Rookie of the Year and MVP. A very aggressive hitter, he got on base most of the games he played. He was an extra base machine. Also, like Albers, if CC had been promoted to the Twins (which would have been a modern-day tragedy), he may have been the clear choice for this award. #2 – Byron Buxton – Cedar Rapids Kernels (163-488) - .334/.424/.520 (944), with 19 doubles, 18 triples, 12 HR, 77 RBI, 55 SB) On Wednesday, Baseball America named Buxton the Minor League Player of the Year. And he deserved it! So, why didn’t I pick him as the Twins minor league hitter of the year? Well, that can be found in the next profile. Buxton had an incredible season. The 19 year old started the season in Cedar Rapids, and the expectation was that he would spend the full season there. In 68 games, he hit .341/.431/.559 (.990) with 15 doubles, ten triples and eight home runs. Three games after he played in the Midwest League All Star game, he was promoted to the Miracle. He continued to hit well. In 57 Florida State League games, he hit .326/.415/.472 (.887) with four doubles, eight triples and four home runs. What’s not to like about Buxton?! In addition to hitting for average, he has some good power (which could develop further in coming years). He has amazing speed. I went to the Kernels first three games this year. I saw him beat out normal ground balls to third base, shortstop and second base. And, those triples. He had 18 of them! Most hitters would have had 16 doubles and two triples on those hits. He also stole 55 bases, although he was also caught 19 times, so that is an area he can improve upon. He is patient at the plate, and like Joe Mauer, he can be successful with two strikes. Buxton’s speed also makes him a tremendous outfielder with great range. He also has one of the strongest throwing arms in the system. Listen, if this was the Twins Minor League Player of the Year, I likely would select Byron Buxton. When I do my Twins top prospect rankings, Byron Buxton will be Number One. In fact, when Baseball America (and probably all such publications) puts out their overall prospect rankings before the 2014 season, Buxton will be the #1 prospect in the game (as he was at the midway point of this season). I watched Mike Trout play two games in Beloit (for Cedar Rapids) in 2010. At the time, I had never seen a better prospect. He stood head and shoulders above all of the other players on the field. The Cedar Rapids Kernels roster was full of very good prospects, and Byron Buxton stood head and shoulders above the others. Buxton is an incredible prospect, and if you want me to throw out an ETA for Buxton’s MLB debut, I’ll say late July of 2014. He’s that good. Hitter of the Year – Miguel Sano – Ft. Myers Miracle / New Britain Rock Cats (125-439) - .280/.382/.610 (.992), with 30 doubles, 5 triples, 35 HR, 103 RBI, 11 SB) It is almost the Miguel Cabrera vs. Mike Trout debate that we heard in 2012. Mike Trout was the better all-around player and WAR certainly showed that. However, Miguel Cabrera was clearly the best hitter in baseball. As I pointed out above, Byron Buxton is in the Mike Trout category. Miguel Sano? He is in the Miguel Cabrera category. Don’t get me wrong, Sano has a long way to go to get to that level, but if you want a perfect, all-goes-right-for-the-Twins-and-us-fans scenario, he could become Miguel Cabrera. He has the power. No question about that. At Ft. Myers, he hit .330/.424/.655 (1.079) with 15 homers and 16 home runs in just 56 games with the big league ballpark dimensions. Like Rosario, he was promoted to New Britain the day after the Miracle clinched the first half title. He hit just .236, but he got on base at a .344 clip. And then the power! He hit 15 doubles, three triples and 19 home runs in just 67 games. Sure, he is going to strikeout quite a bit, and it is something he will need to continue to work on. However, he struck out 144 times in 553 plate appearances in Beloit in 2012. Between Ft. Myers and New Britain this year, he struck out 142 times in 519 plate appearances. A slight increase while playing at two higher levels. He also continues to get a better sense of the strike zone and is more willing to walk. Despite better pitchers with better breaking pitches, he walked at nearly the same rate. Again, if defense is part of this, Sano would fall to #2 on the list. That said, reports on his defense were that he was much improved. That’s saying something because when I watched him in Beloit early in the 2012 season at third base, it was awful. When I saw him play four more games in August last year, he was pretty solid. If that kind of improvement continues, he can be average or slightly better than average at the position. His arm? Well above average, even for a third baseman. Miguel Sano is my choice for Twins minor league hitter of the year. Let’s just take a look at how the numbers stack up: [TABLE] [/TD][TD]H-AB BA/OBP/SLG (OPS) 2B/3B/HR/RBI SB/SBA BB/K/PA Miguel Sano 125-439 .280/.382/.610 (.992) 30/5/35/103 11/15 65/142/519 Byron Buxton 163-488 .334/424/520 (.944) 19/18/12/77 55/74 76/105/574 [/TABLE] Six of one, half-dozen of the other. Do you like power or do you like speed? For me, I can’t get past Sano’s power. He had an IsoP (SLG – BA) of .330 (compared to Buxton’s 0.186). His IsoD (OBP – BA) was 0.102 to Buxton’s .090. So there you have it. There were some really terrific offensively performances by Twins minor leaguers in 2012. Now let the debate begin. As a Twins fan, it’s tremendous to see two elite prospects put up numbers and draw national attention. Players become prospects because of tools, and elite tools. But when the minor league prospects backs up the tools with this kind of production, it’s pretty special, and it’s very exciting for Twins fans! Feel free to discuss. View full article

Although the Twins-Mets game was ‘weathered out’ on Sunday, it was another busy day in the Twins farm system. Two games went to extra innings and ended with a walk-off hit. Cedar Rapids finished two more games in Clinton before 5:00 meaning they completed four games in just under 24 hours. Each of those four games was decided by one run. Then there is the question that we’ve been asking each of the past several days, Did the Miracle win again? Let’s just say a fairly prominent prospect helped the team that won in an impressive way. Who won? Who did well? Well, you’ll just have to keep reading to find out![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 2, Pawtucket Red Sox 5 (11 innings) Box Score After playing two, seven-inning games on Saturday, the Red Wings had to play 11 more innings on Sunday. After combining for just six hits in those 14 innings Saturday, the Red Wings managed just five hits on Sunday. Clete Thomas got things going the right way. He hit a home run to lead off the game. He was 2-4 with a walk. Chris Colabello continued his torrid start that will hopefully bring him to Minnesota in the near future. He went 2-2 with two walks and two doubles. Andrew Albers made the start and threw five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struckout five to reduce his ERA to 0.93. Daniel Turpen came on for the 6th inning and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. Luis Perdomo relieved Turpen in the seventh with a runner on but did not allow him to score. He worked three perfect innings. Tyler Robertson threw a 1-2-3 tenth. Anthony Slama came in to start the bottom of the 11th. He walked two batters, and with two outs, he gave up a walk-off, three-run homer to former Royals outfielder Mitch Maier. New Britain Rock Cats 6, Portland Sea Dogs 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Rock Cats jumped out to a fast lead, but in the mid-innings, Portland tied the game at five. There was little offense until the 10th inning when the Rock Cats pulled out a dramatic win. Curt Smith singled and went to third on a double by James Beresford. Next up was Danny Ortiz. The .400 hitting outfielder singled in the game-winning run. Blake Martin started for the Rock Cats. The lefty was solid through four. However, he ended up giving up five runs on seven hits and a walk in 4.2 innings. He struckout three. The bullpen came through. AJ Achter went 3.1 scoreless innings. He walked one, but gave up no hits and struckout two. Marty Popham went two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. Antoan Richardson went 2-3 with a walk. James Beresford went 2-4 with a walk and a double. Ortiz went 2-2 (he came in late in the game as a pinch-hitter). Josmil Pinto was 1-3 with two walks. Ft. Myers Miracle 5, Charlotte Stone Crabs 2 Box Score The Miracle have won in just about every way over their 9-0 start. On Sunday, they were down 2-1 heading into the 7th inning. Twins Daily’s AJ Pettersen tied the game with a sacrifice fly to center to score Jhon Goncalves with the tying run. Angel Morales worked a walk and Eddie Rosario was hit by a pitch. That brought up Miguel Sano. He launched a long, towering three-run homer to left field to give the Miracle a 5-2 lead, a lead they would hang on to. The Miracle improve to 10-0, the best start in their history. Sano went 3-4, and the home run was his third of the season. Morales remained hot. He was 2-2 with two walks. DJ Baxendale made the start for the Miracle. The righty went the first five innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits and two walks. He struckout three. Chad Rodgers came on and threw two shutout frames. After getting the lead, Ryan O’Rourke continued his great start with a scoreless eighth inning. Zack Jones came on for the ninth and recorded his fourth save. He hit 99 mph again (one of which hit an opposing player) and struckout two. Game 1 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, Clinton LumberKings 3 Box Score The Kernels began the game with five straight hits, yet due to some base running issues, they managed just two runs. That would be all they would score in the game as they fell in Game 1 by a single run. Adam Walker went 2-3 with his second double. In that first inning, Jorge Polanco and Dalton Hicks had back-to-back run-scoring doubles. Byron Buxton was 1-2 with a walk. Tyler Duffey took the mound for Cedar Rapids. In his first start a week earlier, he threw seven perfect innings. He was perfect in the first inning. In the second frame, he gave up a walk, but it was quickly erased with a double play. In the fourth inning, he gave up his first hit of the season before giving up a two-run homer to Guillermo Pimentel that tied the game at two. Duffey lasted until there were two outs in the bottom of the sixth. He left with two runners on base. Lefty Matt Tomshaw came in and got the final out on a strikeout, but not before the go-ahead run scored on a bloop single to right field. Duffey gave up the three runs on six hits and two walks. He struckout four. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Clinton LumberKings 6 Box Score The Kernels were able to hold on for the one-run win. In doing so, the Kernels were able to take three out of four in Clinton in less than 24 hours. Dalton Hicks gave the Kernels a lead with a long, three-run homer, his second of the season. He also added his seventh double. Jorge Polanco was 2-4 with two RBI. Travis Harrison went 1-2 and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Byron Buxton went 2-4 with his third stolen base. Taylor Rogers threw two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and one walk. Manuel Soliman threw the next two innings and gave up no runs despite two walks. Tim Atherton worked the fifth inning and wasn’t helped by his infield. Harrison had two errors and Niko Goodrum and Jorge Polanco each had one. Atherton was charged with four unearned runs in the inning. It could have been worse, but JD Williams threw out a runner at the plate to end the inning. Tyler Jones then gave up two runs (1 earned) in the 6th inning, cutting the lead to 7-6. He pitched a scoreless seventh to record his first save. All four games of this series were decided by one run. View full article

In Part 1 of the interview with Rod Carew yesterday, the Hall of Famer shared his thoughts on his playing career. He has been a hitting coach in the big leagues with the Angels and also with the Milwaukee Brewers. Now he is a special instructor for the Minnesota Twins during spring training. In his retirement he makes appearances for the Twins throughout the year. In Part 2 today, Carew was asked questions about coaching, minor leaguers and his thoughts on big league ballplayers today. Download attachment: Rod Carew Twins photo.jpg He was asked what he tells young players and minor leaguers when he gets the opportunity to address them. He said, "With the young players, I tell them, you work hard at the minor league level and you have to keep working hard because no one is going to give you anything to get to the big leagues. Asked about some of the Twins top prospects, he said, “I spent some time with (Byron) Buxton in spring training, spent some time with (Miguel) Sano in spring training. They’ve got some good young kids that I expect to be here in the next year or two. Buxton is on the fast track. When you get young players like that who go out and enjoy the game, and enjoy learning, which I think is the most important thing, they’re going to do well.” He also talked about his role when he goes to spring training where he can often be seen in the batting cages. “I work with the hitters, spend a lot of time with the hitters in the cage. I sit on the bench, and I talk to them about what pitchers might try to do in certain situations. I work with them on bunting because it’s such an important part of the game and a lost art in the game. Just try to get into their heads to see what they’re thinking.” As important as those physical things is the mental side of the game. “We talk so much about the five tools of running, hitting, fielding, power, good arm, but they forget about the mental part, which is the most important part. But if you can understand how to get through the struggles, and be mentally tough, that shows me that you’re going to do well. But if you don’t, and you start worrying about everything, you’re going to struggle.” He was also asked about the differences he sees in today’s players compared to the players when he played. “The major difference I know in the young players is that a lot of them don’t play the game with instincts. They’re always looking for the coaches. Running the bases, they’re looking at coaches. You have to play the game with instinct. I don’t think that players today, in my opinion, know how to play the game as well as when I played the game. Because we were taught how to play the game, we were taught how to play in situations. We were ready for situations.” He continued, “They make a lot of bad base running mistakes. They swing at a lot of bad pitches, and they’re all trying to hit home runs. That’s why they strike out so much. They don’t care if they strike out. It was an embarrassment for us to strike out. To them, it doesn’t matter.” But back to his message for the young players, be it in the minor leagues or the little leagues. "You have to learn the game, understand the game, know who you are, know what you’re capable of doing and stay in the realm of that. Sometimes I think young players think that you have to hit the ball out of the park to get to the big leagues. I try to tell them, if you can square the ball up every time you take a swing and be consistent, that’s what the organization is looking for." And, if it were me, and Rod Carew was telling me about how to play the game (or specifically how to hit), I think I would listen. Tomorrow, we'll finish this interview with Carew by writing about his thoughts on several other topics. Feel free to comment below or ask any other questions you may have. [/hr]Twins beat the Royals on Tuesday so on Wednesday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza at PapaJohns.com when using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

Baseball is the greatest of the games for many reasons. It’s great because it’s a marathon and not a sprint. It’s great because it is the world’s greatest players. It’s great because of its willingness to respect and appreciate its great history including on Monday when all players wore #42 on their jerseys in appreciation for all that Jackie Robinson did in integrating the game 65 years ago. Baseball is great for so many reasons. And, of course, I’m preaching to the choir. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ou choose to frequent a website here at Twins Daily that chooses to view the game from many different angles and perspectives. One of my favorite things about the game of baseball over the course of a long season is that anything can happen on any day. A team with a payroll like the Astros can win a series against a team with the payroll of the Angels. A .180 hitter can occasionally get a big hit against a pitcher with a WHIP below 1.00. Anything can happen on every pitch. Tonight’s 8-2 Twins win over the Angels gave me several very specific reminders of whay this is such a great game that we love. Here are a few of them: OSWALDO ARCIA As you know, I enjoy following the players through the minor league system. I love that there is no one route to the big leagues, and I appreciate how difficult it is to get so much as a cup of coffee in a Major League game. Because of that, getting to witness a Major League debut is always something that I find pretty special. On Monday night, Oswaldo Arcia donned a #42 jersey and ran out to left field for the top of the 1st inning. As a fan and someone who played baseball throughout the first 22 years of my life, I can only imagine the feelings and the pride that Arcia had going through his mind as he was running out to left field. Or how about as he was stepping into the batter’s box? Fortunately, he was able to calm himself down enough to take a ball. Then on the second pitch, he lined a single to right field for his first big league hit. As Josh Hamilton booted it for a while, Arcia advanced to second base on the play. Arcia was the first Twins hitter to get a hit in his first MLB at bat since Chris Parmelee in 2011. The 21 year (11 month, 6 days) old was the youngest Twins player to debut since Francisco Liriano pitched in a game in September of 2005. In the 7th inning, a pop up was hit to shallow left field. Pedro Florimon went out. Arcia looked down briefly to call off Florimon. When Arcia looked back up, the ball had moved on him, and he was unable to make the catch. Considering he had not played a game in left field since 2009, in the Gulf Coast League, it is no surprise that he would struggle, though he would likely make that catch 99 out of 100 times in a game situation. Arcia had a great at bat against lefty Michael Roth. With runners on second and third, Arcia ripped a first-pitch fastball to the left centerfield gap. Unfortunately, Mike Trout was able to run it down. Aaron Hicks came in as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning, ending Arcia’s night. It would be found out later that it would end Arcia’s time with the Twins… for now. After the game, the Twins reinstated Wilkin Ramirez from the paternity list and optioned Arcia back to Rochester. Arcia is one of the top prospects in the system and he represented himself well in his debut. He will most certainly be back at some point this season, whenever Terry Ryan finds a way to clear up a roster spot. KEVIN CORREIA When the Twins signed RHP Kevin Correia, we all let out a collective groan. Why would the Twins sign this guy who gives up a ton of hits, doesn’t have impeccable control and rarely misses bats? I had no problem with bringing him in for the 2013 season. I get that 2013 is a rebuilding year. But why give a guy who has not pitched in the American League and who has so few strikeouts that second year? Some people chose to remark any time other free agent pitchers signed elsewhere, comparing the other team’s move favorably to the Twins signing of Kevin Correia. On this night, Correia worked seven innings and gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk. He struckout five. The two runs came early in the game when he gave up solo home runs to Peter Bourjos and former Twins infielder Brendan Harris. He has made three starts for the Twins and gone at least seven innings in each of them. No one is expecting him to maintain a sub-3.00 ERA for the season. In fact, no one is expecting him to have an ERA below 4.00. In fact, I expect his ERA to be closer to 5.00 than 4.00 at the end of the year. However, that is no reason not to take a step back and say, "Hey, he’s been pretty solid so far this year." Leave it at that. On Monday night, Correia went up against a lineup that includes $240 million man Albert Pujols, $120 million man Josh Hamilton and young stars in the making like Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. He also was going against another one of this past offseason’s free agents. Correia got two years and $10 million from the Twins. The Angels signed Joe Blanton to a two year, $15 million deal. On this night, Correia was better. EIGHTH INNING In the eighth inning, the Twins had a 5-2 lead. Jared Burton replaced Kevin Correia . For defensive purposes, Aaron Hicks came in to centerfield and Darin Mastroianni slid over to left field. Oswaldo Arcia exited the game. Burton got Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo out (with Albert Pujols singling) to maintain the 5-2 lead. Aaron Hicks led off the bottom of the 8th inning. He came to the at bat with an .047 batting average and just three walks to go with 20 strikeouts in 46 plate appearances. As has happened in so many of his plate appearances this season, he quickly fell behind in the count 1-2. However, he worked a terrific at bat, laying off a couple of tough breaking pitches, before drawing a walk. He proceeded to steal his first base in the big leagues. On the next pitch, he advanced to third base on a ball in the dirt by getting a great read on it. At the same time, Brian Dozier was at the plate. He was 0-2, with a walk, at the time, dropping his season batting average to .152. He managed to get into a 1-2 count as well. However, he took some tough pitches and showed a very good eye in working his second walk of the game. Pedro Florimon came up. He had bunted for a single and bunted for a sacrifice earlier in the game. He came into the game hitting .278, an average that will likely be at least .040 higher than where he’ll be in another week or so. However, he got a pitch out over the plate and drilled a line drive to the left centerfield gap. Hicks scored, and Dozier could not have run the bases any better. As the fielder grabbed the ball, Dozier was nearing third base. The much-maligned Joe Vavra was aggressive and sent Dozier who scored easily. Although the final score was 8-2, the game was certainly still in question when these three hitters came through with some big plate appearances and terrific base running to give the Twins some extra breathing room. It’s important to get contributions throughout the lineup. Baseball is beautiful because anything can happen. Sometimes big rallies can start with the 7-8-9 hitters. JOE MAUER Baseball is also a beautiful sport because its stars shine brightly. Mauer went 3-4 on Opening Day, but then over the next four games, he went just 2-19 (.105) to drop his five-game batting average to .217. There were actually some fans wondering what was wrong with Mauer at that point. Of course, the answer was “Absolutely nothing.” Over the past seven games, he has gone 13-29 (.448) to raise his average to .346 on the still-young season. On Monday night, Mauer went 4-5, a triple shy of the cycle. In his first at bat, Mauer crushed a double to right centerfield, more than halfway up the wall. He later hit a home run to left centerfield, and in that eighth inning, he drove in Florimon with a single up the middle. Mauer entered the game with a career batting line of .323/.404/.467. You know that at the end of the 2013 season, his stat line will look something very similar to that. Baseball is the greatest game for many reasons, some individual to each person. For me, I enjoy seeing Major League debuts, unlikely role players playing hero, and stars playing like stars. Monday night’s game had several wonderful examples of why this game is so great. I’m sure you can share more reasons why the game is so great. Sometimes, it's important to just watch the game and find reasons to enjoy it instead of analyzing and over-analyzing every little thing. View full article

The Big Picture The Reds are currently 44-37 and one game behind the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NL Central. They are just 1.5 games ahead of the St. Louis Cardinals. The Reds last won a playoff game in 1995 when they beat the LA Dodgers in the Division Series before being swept by the Braves in the NLCS that year. The last time they won a World Series title was a year before the Twins last won one (1990, beating the A’s in 4 games). The Reds have former MVP Joey Votto, who is also the odds-on favorite to win the award for the second time in 2012. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Why They Will Trade With the Twins Votto and outfielder Jay Bruce provide a ton of left-handed power. When healthy, Scott Rolen is a nice bat in the middle of the lineup. Todd Frazier got an opportunity this year (due to Rolen injury) and played well enough that they are finding positions for him to play. Brandon Phillips remains one of the better second baseman in the league. However, the Reds should absolutely covet a right-handed power bat in the middle of their lineup. If there is a team that might need OF Josh Willingham’s bat more than any others, it would be the Reds. Willingham would slot in well between Votto and Bruce in the middle of the Reds lineup. If the teams couldn’t work out a Willingham trade, the Reds could also be interested in Denard Span. Reds CF Drew Stubbs is a tremendous athlete with great speed and some power, but he is the team’s leadoff hitter and he strikes out about every third at bat and is currently posting a .289 on-base percentage. (to be fair, that’s affected by his last eight games during which he is 0-28.) Span would get on base a lot more often and he could be a 12-15 home run hitter in the Great American Ballpark. Finally, with Zack Cozart at shortstop, they may want some depth at that position. Jamey Carroll would make a lot of sense, except the Reds may not want his 2013 contract. That’s why I think that Alexi Casilla could make a lot of sense for the Reds as a utility infielder. Why They Won't Trade With the Twins Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are the two bullpen arms that Terry Ryan should be getting phone calls about throughout June. Although any team would like to have them, the Reds may not make sense for either. Burton was one of the top bullpen arms for the Reds until he started having arm problems. They may have some interest in bringing back the talented right-hander, but the Twins asking price should be quite high. Perkins is as good as it gets among left-handers in the bullpen, but the Reds already boast lefties Aroldis Chapman, Bill Bray and Sean Marshall in their bullpen. Although they likely would have interest in Perkins (and his very fair contract), the would have little reason to meet the Twins asking price. The Reds are a team that have been linked to Francisco Liriano in recent weeks. They currently have a starting rotation of Bronson Arroyo, Homer Bailey, Mike Leake, Mat Latos and (should-be) All Star Johnny Cueto. They gave up a huge package to acquire Latos from the Padres in the offseason, so they may not be able to match offers the Twins get from other teams. Also, the Reds team ERA of 3.46 is fourth in baseball while their rotation is sixth in quality starts. Conclusion Despite just three playoff appearances in the past 33 seasons, Cincinnati remains a strong baseball community. They have a strong pitching staff in a small ballpark, so I think that the matches between the Twins and Reds would involve a bat. The Reds are currently 20th in batting average (.247), 22nd in on-base percentage (.313), 12th in slugging percentage (.413) and 17th in runs scored. Span and Willingham would each help the Reds get more runners on base. The Reds appear to be fighting the Pirates for the division title which has to bring back memories of the 1970s when the two teams often fought for NL pennants. The Reds went to the playoffs six time in the ‘70s, went to the World Series four times and The Big Red Machine won back-to-back titles in 1975 and 1976. Of course, the St. Louis Cardinals are still likely to make a push as well, which is why I think that the Reds are primed to be quite active at the trade deadline. ~~~ Possible Trade Targets Daniel Corcino - RHP Corcino is often compared to Johnny Cueto, which by itself is kind of exciting. He will turn 22 in late August. Last year he was 11-7 with a 3.42 ERA in the Midwest League (Low A). In 139.1 innings, he walked just 34 and struckout 156. He skipped Hi-A ball this year, jumping straight to AA. He is currently is 5-4 with a 3.17 ERA. In 88 innings, he has walked 41 and struck out 83. Billy Hamilton - SS He has 24 errors right now at shortstop. OK, had to start with the negative because there isn’t much of it. You know of him because he already has 101 stolen bases this season (in 122 attempts). He is the fastest man in the minors. He is a Top 50 prospect in baseball and won’t turn 22 until September. In High-A this year, he is hitting .322/.413/.439 with 17 doubles, nine triples and a home run. He has walked 49 times and struck out 54 times in 380 plate appearances. Can you imagine a lineup with Hamilton and Ben Revere at the top of it? Tony Cingrani - LHP Cingrani was the Reds 3rd round pick in 2011 out of Rice University. He turned 23 years old today. He started this season at High-A and went 5-1 with a 1.11 ERA in 56.2 innings. He walked just 13 and struck out 71. He moved up to AA where he is 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA. In 36 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 47. The Twins obviously scout players at Rice a lot considering they drafted both of their closers this year. Cingrani is a guy who has moved up quickly and could be big league ready early in the 2013 season. (Note – These first three guys are likely unavailable, but if the Twins did send Willingham or Span to the Reds, they should expect one of them in return!) Kyle Lotzkar - RHP Lotzkar is just 22 years old. He had Tommy John surgery back in 2009 and is still working his way back, although he has been quite good in 2012. He began by making five starts in Hi-A. He went 3-0 with a 2.39 ERA. In 26.1 innings, he walked 10 and struck out 27. He moved up to AA where he is 4-3 with a 4.72 ERA yet in 55.1 innings, he walked 29 and struck out 58. He throws hard and misses bats. Still just 22 and in AA, he is certainly intriguing. Didi Gregorius - SS The 22 year old shortstop was signed from The Netherlands. This year, he is hitting .280/.346/.367 with 11 doubles, six triples and a home run. Believed to be a solid defender with plenty of room for improvement, Gregorius could be an interesting prospect in time. Please add your thoughts and trade ideas (and other names the Twins could pursue) in the comments below! Download attachment: johnny-cueto.jpg Click here to view the article

It was bound to happen. The four Twins full-season minor league affiliates had all won each of the past three days. That’s a 12-0 record. On Sunday, that streak was broken as only two of the affiliates won. That said, all four games were decided by two runs or fewer. There is some very good baseball being played in the Twins farm system. Speaking of very good baseball, the Minnesota Twins are back over .500 again after a 5-0 win over the Texas Rangers. Kevin Correia continued his impressive April with the Twins. On Sunday, he worked eight shutout innings to lower his ERA to 2.23. The team now begins a ten-game road trip.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 3, Buffalo Bisons 5 Box Score Evan Bigley had every right to be disappointed when he learned he would be sent back to New Britain to start the 2013 season. Fortunately, just weeks into the season, he was promoted to Rochester. After going 3-4 on Sunday, he is now hitting .394 through his first 11 games with the Red Wings. Chris Herrmann went 2-4. He is hitting .250 on the season, but in his last seven games he is hitting .379. Ray Olmedo went 1-3 with two walks. Liam Hendriks was back on the mound for the Red Wings. He gave up five runs (3 earned) on eight hits in five innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out two. Tyler Robertson struck out two over two scoreless innings. Dan Turpen went the final two innings and gave up only one hit. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Richmond Flying Squirrels 4 Box Score Lefty Pat Dean started for the Rock Cats and things went well early. In the first he gave up a leadoff single, then he struck out the next three batters. However, he gave up three runs on eight hits in five innings to take the loss. He walked none and struck out four. AJ Achter came on and gave up one run on three hits and a walk over the next two innings. Aaron Thompson threw two scoreless innings. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his second double and his second stolen base. Dan Rohlfing went 2-4. Ft. Myers Miracle 8, Clearwater Thrashers 7 Box Score The Miracle jumped to a 7-0 lead after scoring five runs in the top of the 7th. They got an insurance run in the top of the ninth which provided the winning margin when Clearwater got within one run in the bottom of the 9th. Taylor Rogers made the start for the Miracle. The lefty gave up the first two runs in the 7th inning, but he was still on the mound when the 9th inning started. He gave up a leadoff double and left the game. The runner came around to score which gave him a final line of three runs on six hits in eight innings. He walked none and struck out just one. Adrian Salcedo had replaced him and gave up four runs on four hits in the ninth. He struck out two. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with a walk, his sixth double and his second stolen base. His third home run of the year came in the ninth and proved to be a very important run. Angel Morales went 2-4 and got the Miracle on the scoreboard early with his first home run of the season. Miguel Sano went 2-5 with his first triple (which was nearly his tenth home run). His OPS is now 1.16. He also stole his second base. Kyle Knudson went 2-4. Kennys Vargas hit his seventh double. photo by Rinaldi Photos Cedar Rapids Kernels 4, Lansing Lugnuts 3 Box Score Tyler Duffey was back on the mound for his fourth start of the year, all four on Sundays. He improved to 3-1 with eight strong innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out four. Tyler Jones registered his third save with two strikeouts in a perfect ninth. Jorge Polanco went 3-4. After his walk-off, pinch-hit “single” last night Travis Harrison was back in the lineup on Sunday and went 2-3 with his ninth double. DJ Hicks drove in a run with an 8th inning single to give the Kernels the lead. A LOOK AHEAD to Monday Rochester will play at 6:35 against Buffalo. If you have MLB Network, you can watch Virgil Vasquez take the mound. Trevor May will take the mound for New Britain when they play Harrisburg. After having a start pushed back due to illness, Tom Stuifbergen returns to action for the Miracle when they play again at Clearwater. J.O. Berrios will make his second start for Cedar Rapids against the Lansing Lugnuts. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

According to Baseball America, the Twins have signed outfielder Ryde Rodriguez to a minor league contract. The 24-year-old is from Havana, Cuba. He Download attachment: RydeRodriguez.jpg signed with the Cardinals in 2008 as a free agent and stayed with the organization until last season. After 13 games in the Florida State League, he was released. He signed with Rockland of the CanAm League. In 56 games, he hit .267/.325/.385 with 10 doubles and four home runs. Looks like a little organizational depth. If he sticks, he could play in Ft. Myers in 2012. It might depends upon whether Aaron Hicks and/or Angel Morales begin the season with the Miracle.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

On Friday afternoon, I welcomed Twins and Twins minor league related questions on my Twitter account. A few people asked questions, but one really stood out as really interesting. So, I will answer that one first before answering the others more quickly. The first question was asked by Seth Postma. Great name, Great Questions. Right? In two tweets, he asked: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Think about that just for a minute. Kershaw won the National League Cy Young Award this year, his second Cy Young Award in the last three seasons (finished 2nd in 2012!). Jose Fernandez finished third place in this year's NL Cy Young voting and was the easy choice for National League Rookie of the Year. Though Fernandez is right-handed and Kershaw is a southpaw, they both made their big league debut less than two years after they were drafted out of high school. They were both first round picks, Kershaw seventh overall in 2006, and Fernandez taken with the 14th overall pick in 2011. Kershaw debuted in 2006 in the GCL with five walks and 54 strikeouts in 37 innings. He began the 2007 season in the Midwest League (Low-A) where he went 7-5 with a 2.77 ERA and a 1.25 WHIP in 97.1 innings. He gave up 72 hits, walked 50 and struck out 134. He was promoted directly to AA and made five starts to end that 19-year-old season. He was 1-2 with a 3.65 ERA and a 1.38 WHIP in 24.2 innings. He struck out 29, but he also walked 18. He began the 2008 season (his age-20 season) back in AA, but he went 2-3 wit ha 1.91 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP in 11 starts. He struck out 59 and walked just 18 in 61.1 innings. On June 20, 2008, he made his big league debut. Now, his debut wasn't earthshaking. He was 5-5 with a 4.26 ERA and a 1.50 WHIP. In 107.2 innings, he gave up 109 hits, walked 52 and struck out 100. Of course, in five seasons since then, he has gone 72-41 with a 2.43 ERA. After walking 4.8 per nine in 2009 and 3.6 per nine in 2010, he has walked 2.5 per nine or less each of the last three years while striking out more than a batter per inning in all but 2013 (8.8/9). Download attachment: Jose Fernandez.jpg If you thought that Kershaw's ascent was quick and impressive, wait until you read about Jose Fernandez. The Cuban-born righty was drafted in 2011 out of his Tampa high school. He pitched in just two games after signing that season. As a 19 year old in 2012, he began in Low-A and went 7-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. In 79.1 innings, he gave up just 51 hits, walked just 18 and struck out 99. He was promoted to High-A where he went 7-1 with a 1.96 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. In 55 innings, he gave up 38 hits, walked 17 and struck out 59. That's it for his minor league career. Mike Redmond decided that he would skip AA and AAA and make the Marlins' Opening Day roster. He went 12-6 with a 2.19 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. He was shut down in September at 172.2 innings and had given up just 111 hits, walked 58 and struck out 187. As a 20 year old! Would the Twins have done that? I think we can safely answer "No" to that one! They wouldn't have a 20 year old skip AA and AAA. I think that's fairly definitive, and I don't think many (if any) Twins fans would disagree with the decision to let him start the season in AA. That's probably enough about two immensely talented pitchers who do not pitch for the Minnesota Twins. Let's talk Twins. Back to Seth's questions. I do believe that if a young pitcher put up the types of numbers that Jose Fernandez did, the Twins would move him quickly. However, I can't imagine a scenario where the Twins would be willing to have a player skip both AA and AAA, especially a player that youthful, coming out of high school. The Twins have proven time and again that they will move pitchers, particularly college pitchers who dominate, up the ladder quickly. We saw it with Matt Garza, Kevin Slowey, Brian Duensing, Logan Darnell, Scott Baker and several others. It's harder to know what they would do with that kind of performing high school pitcher, in part, because the Twins have not drafted very many high school pitchers in the early rounds in the last decade. We'll get to those that Seth mentioned, but Hudson Boyd was a supplemental first round pick in 2011. He was the first high school pitcher that the Twins drafted in the first round since 2004 when the drafted high school hurler Kyle Waldrop in the first round. Waldrop got hurt early in his career, and Boyd has really struggled adjusting to the pro game. Brad Radke was the Twins 8th round pick in 1991 out of Tampa. He moved fairly quickly and skipped AAA when he debuted in 1995 with the Twins. However, he was 22 years old already (old, right?). He also doesn't fit the mold of Kershaw and Fernandez. Willie Banks was the 3rd overall pick in the 1987 draft. He moved up one level each season and debuted in July of 1991 at the age of 22. Johnny Ard was the 20th overall pick in the 1988 draft. He put up those Fernandez-like numbers in rookie ball and Low A that same year and was very good the next two seasons before being traded. Pat Mahomes put up some very impressive numbers after he was the Twins 8th round pick in 1988, but he moved up one level early and pitched at AA and AAA in 1991 and debuted in April of 1992 at age 21. Honestly, if a high school drafted pitcher moves up one level each season and debuts in the big leagues at 22 years old, that is a pretty fast track. But it's nowhere near the Fernandez/Kershaw path. So, let's consider the pitchers Seth referenced. Jose (JO) Berrios - As a 19 year old, Berrios went 7-7 with a 3.99 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. In 103.2 innings, he walked 40 and struck out 100. I like those strikeout numbers, but his odds of making it to the big leagues at 20 is pretty unlikely. He will turn 20 in May, so 2014 is his 20 year old season. That said, if he were to be with the Twins very early in 2015, he could debut at 20. I would think that the Twins would start Berrios in Ft. Myers in 2014, but there is a chance that he could make a few more starts in Cedar Rapids. There is an outside chance that he could finish 2014 with a couple of starts in AA. I think more likely he ends 2014 in Ft. Myers and spends all of 2015 in New Britain. I think if all goes well, he could debut in 2016, his age-22 season. Stephen Gonsalves - The Twins fourth round pick in 2013 was very impressive in his professional debut in the GCL and Elizabethton. He has the size and stuff to move up more quickly than many. However, he turns 20 years old early next July. So, simply put, he won't be the next age-20 superstar, but I believe he could move up quickly. I think he could be one that will spend all of 2014 in Cedar Rapids. I think he could get up to New Britain in 2015 and debut in 2016, at the age of 22. However, that is also very aggressive. Kohl Stewart - For what it's worth (and based on Willie Banks, it's not worth a whole lot), Stewart was drafted earlier in his draft than Fernandez and Kershaw were in theirs. He is the type of athlete and has the pitches to be a guy who will move pretty quickly, if he remains healthy. Unfortunately, his professional debut was ended by a sore shoulder. However, assuming he is healthy going into next season, he should start the season in Cedar Rapids (or at least get there when it warms up!). For him to meet the Fernandez path, he would have to dominate in Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers in 2014 and debut with the Twins in 2015. Likely? Not really. Possible? I guess. That said, again if healthy, Stewart will likely move quickly, though I would expect him to spend all of 2014 in Cedar Rapids (just like I expected Byron Buxton to do in 2013!). He could pitch at two levels in 2015, and like the others, if things go well, he could debut in mid-2016, at the age of 21. Lewis Thorpe - Of course, Thorpe is the one with the highest probability of debuting with a strong 20-year-old season, but he has the furthest to go having just pitched in the GCL this year. He will turn 18 this coming week. If he pitches in Cedar Rapids in 2014, he will actually be ahead of the pace (so to speak) of of Fernandez and Kershaw. He's got tremendous, raw stuff, but the key word there is raw. He's very young, and his innings count may be the biggest deterrent to rushing him. His age-20 season will be 2016, so it's still very difficult to imagine a scenario where he would be up that quickly. It would involve him finishing 2014 in Cedar Rapids, and ending 2015 in New Britain. In that scenario, he could realistically debut as a 20-year-old in 2016. Again, that would be incredibly aggressive. To summarize, things have to play out pretty much perfectly for pitchers to follow the Clayton Kershaw/Jose Fernandez path to the big leagues by 20. It also takes tremendous risk on the part of the team. It assumes that the pitcher not only has the stuff to succeed, but also the heart and the makeup to overcome presumed struggles (though the award winners sure haven't found many struggles to this point). One thing to remember... I would consider a pitcher making it to the big leagues by 23 very good. Getting to the big leagues at 22 is very aggressive. Anything earlier than that is just incredible and very unusual. Joe Mauer debuted days before his 21st birthday. Miguel Sano should debut in 2014. If he debuts before May 11, he will still be 21 years old. If Byron Buxton debuts in 2014, he will be just 20 (and he has moved up at a pace faster than the Mauer path). I have no doubt that the Twins would be willing to move deserving pitchers quickly up the fast track, but I don't believe they would have them skip full-season levels with the exception of AAA. The four pitching examples referenced will most likely not debut by the age of 20, but there is a chance that they will all be big leaguers well before they turn 23. Consider that when Alex Meyer debuts with the Twins sometime in 2014, he will be 24 years old. And, he will likely debut about three years after being drafted. Great question, and there was the Seth-lengthed response to the Twitter question from Seth. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Here are the other questions: From Keprios: What we know so far: Rochester: Manager - Gene Glynn, Hitting Coach - Tim Doherty, Pitching Coach - Marty Mason --- No change from last year.Ft. Myers: Manager - Doug Mientkeiwicz, Hitting Coach - Jim Dwyer, Pitching Coach - Gary LucasCedar Rapids: Manager - Jake Mauer, Hitting Coach - Tommy Watkins, Pitching Coach - Ivan Arteaga.New Britain's coaching staff should be announced in the next week, and the Elizabethton and GCL coaches will be named at a later date.So the only change we know of at this time is that Gary Lucas and Ivan Arteaga flip-flopped pitching coach roles. Gary Lucas is a terrific pitching coach and moves up a level. Arteaga has been in the organization a long time too and did some really good things with some of the Miracle pitchers in 2013. However, in 2014, there is a good chance that big pitching prospects Yorman Landa, Felix Jorge and Randy Rosario will pitch in Cedar Rapids, so having Arteaga there makes a lot of sense. It will be interesting to see if any changes are made in New Britain and the rookie leagues. From jimaaa: The additional $25 million each team receives is because of the new TV deals with ESPN, Fox and the MLB Network. Those deals for for multiple years, so they will get that $25 million each of those years. And then a heads up, it's most likely those contracts will be even larger, and teams will likely get even more money to spend. Any thoughts or questions? Seth On Radio If you're up and about on Saturday morning, I will be a guest on Steve's Sports Saturday on am1100 in Fargo. Former NFL (Buffalo Bills) star and NDSU star and Detroit Lakes resident Phil Hansen will also be on the show. It is on from 9-11 (central time) and you can listen online here. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: StrasburgGibson2.jpg This morning, Nationals manager Davey Johnson told hard-throwing All Star right-hander Stephen Strasburg that he is being shut down. He then blamed his struggles on the media attention that the team's decision has drawn. Strasburg had his Tommy John surgery almost exactly one year to the day before Twins prospect Kyle Gibson had his Tommy John surgery. There have been many similarities between their recoveries. So, how should the Twins handle Kyle Gibson and his workload in 2013?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Strasburg had his surgery the first week of September 2010. Gibson had his surgery the first week of September 2011. Gibson threw his first bullpen off of a mound in early June 2012. He spent 30 days rehabbing with the GCL Twins before pitching briefly with the Ft Myers Miracle and the Rochester Red Wings. In total, he worked 28.1 minor league innings. In 2011, Strasburg made four minor league starts. He thew 20.1 innings four four different Nationals affiliates. He ended the season by making five starts for the Nationals. In total, he threw 44.1 innings. Gibson is going to represent the Twins in the Arizona Fall League in October and November where he could pitch as many as 25-30 more innings. Last year, Cole De Vries was second on the Mesa Solar Sox with 26.0 innings pitched. Terry Doyle led the team with 27.1 innings. Each of them made eight starts. In other words, Gibson could throw as many as 55 innings in 2012. The Nationals very publicly announced that they would be limiting Strasburg's innings in 2012 to 180 or less. That meant he would be shut down in September and he would miss the playoffs. The Nationals have a solid starting rotation including Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmerman, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler. They can place veteran John Lannan in his place. But to lose on of baseball's best pitchers for the playoffs, when he is still healthy, understandably has created a firestorm of controversy the last couple of months. Everyone has an opinion. So, what do you think? More importantly for Twins fans, what does it mean for Kyle Gibson and his 2013 season? Again, everyone has an opinion, but here are some of the options (in no particularly order): No Innings Limit - Gibson will go to spring training with the Twins, compete for a big league rotation spot, and regardless of where he goes, he will pitch with no discussion of innings.160-180 Inning Limit - Same as the Nationals Same as Strasburg - Just work his innings until he hits the limit. Will the Twins be competing in September? If not, shut him down then.Miss Starts early - Gibson can go to spring training, but don't let him pitch in a game until May. In April, he could get 4-5 starts and pitch 20-28 innings.Put him on the DL or Skip Starts - once or twice a year he could be put on the 15 day DL to miss 4-6 starts through the year.Obviously, there are other options or less innings. What do you think? How should the Twins handle next season with Kyle Gibson? One thing that I hope does happen is that the Twins and Gibson and his agents (and, GULP, the Twins medical staff!) and all involved talk it through and everyone is on the same page. Feel free to discuss. Click here to view the article

It seems like every week or two, there is a pitcher who is designated for assignment by a team. In the Twins Daily Forums, we discuss whether or not the Twins should consider claiming him or not. This article is no different. On Friday, the Texas Rangers added Roy Oswalt to their 40 man roster. To make room for him, Mark Hamburger was Designated for Assignment. Hamburger is a Minnesota native who went to Mesabi Range CC and later signed with the Twins after a tryout camp at the Metrodome. In 2008, he was closing for the Elizabethton Twins when he learned that he had been traded to the Texas Rangers for Eddie Guardado. He climbed consistently up the Rangers ladder. In 2011, he began the season in AA, advanced to AAA And made five appearances for the Rangers in September. Although he wasn't on the Rangers' playoff rosters, he was allowed in the dugout and clubhouse. What an experience.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In previous years, he was clocked with a fastball between 91 and 96 mph as a reliever. He also had a hard slider and a split-finger fastball. This year, the 25-year-old's velocity is said to be down around 90. He has pitched all season in AAA where he made three starts before moving to the bullpen. Overall this year, he has a 6.55 ERA in 45.1 innings. He has given up 66 hits (includind 7 home runs) and 21 walks while striking out 37. So, there may be some concern about his numbers, and certainly some concern about the lack of velocity. But there are reasons for the Twins to consider claiming Hamburger. First and foremost, the team needs pitching. When he is on, he throws a lot of strikes and throws quite hard. He can miss bats. He could be a very good big league reliever. His numbers aren't good, but he is pitching in the Pacific Coast League. It is a nice story, the former non-drafted kid from Minnesota, signed afte a tryout camp, is always fun! Finally, he was not added to the Rangers 40 man roster until last September when he was promoted. In other words, 2012 is his first option year. He has two more option years. I think it's worth the gamble. Hamburger was taking the news well. In a text message to Twins Daily, he wrote, "It's all good. I'm not mad since Roy Oswalt is the (other half of the transaction). It should all work out for the best." When asked about the possibility that the Twins could sign him, he wrote, "Wouldn't that be cool!" We shall see. Download attachment: Mark Hamburger.jpg Click here to view the article

Download attachment: oakland-as.jpg Buyer or Seller? Last year many fans believed that the Oakland A’s and the Baltimore Orioles sneaked into the playoffs. Most thought there would be a return to reality in 2013. Apparently the reality is that both teams are pretty good. The O's are 58-48 and the A’s are currently 62-43 and have a five game lead in the AL West. The A’s have been linked to the likes of Jake Peavy in recent days, although that seems unlikely at this point, but the A’s are certainly buyers, with several needs. What They Need Pitching Of the things the A’s need, it does not appear that pitching is one of them. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As of today, the A’s lead the American League in ERA (3.60) and WHIP (1.19). They are second to the Detroit Tigers in Quality Starts with 64. They trail only the Tampa Bay Rays in Batting Average Against (.241). It’s interesting that Oakland is atop the league in most pitching categories, yet they rank 12th in the league with just 6.86 strikeouts per nine innings. Yet, the A’s were believed to be a leading candidate for Jake Peavy. Is it possible they are just planning for a time without All-Star Bartolo Colon? The A’s bullpen is led by former Twin Grant Balfour. Pat Neshek has been good for them as well. They may want some bullpen depth. Hitters As strong as the A’s pitching is, the hitters have been no better than league average. As a team, they are hitting .243 (11th)/.321 (6th)/.395 (10th), with a .694 OPS (11th). The outfield is strong with Yoenis Cespedes, Coco Crisp, Josh Reddick and Chris Young. The left side of the infield is good, with Josh Donaldson and Jed Lowrie. However, the A’s could use up-grades at 2B (Eric Sogard) and catcher (Derek Norris, Stephen Vogt). What Might Work With Jared Burton, Casey Fien, Brian Duensing and other bullpen arms likely available, there could be a match with the A’s. It may make some sense for the A’s to consider a veteran influence such as Jamey Carroll in their infield. He might be an upgrade to current utility man Adam Rosales. Sleeper Targets The A’s system appears to be pretty middle-of-the-pack. Young shortstop Addison Russell is at the top of the list, but he likely is not available, even in a Glen Perkins deal. So, here are some guys the Twins could realistically target. 2B Chris Bostick (Low-A) The A’s took infielder Chris Bostick with their 44th round pick in 2011 out of high school in Rochester, New York. To say he has been a pleasant surprise is an understatement. This year at Beloit, the 20 year old is hitting .293/.368/.488 (.855) with 19 doubles, seven triples, 13 home runs and 76 RBI. He is also 21 of 28 in stolen base attempts. The Twins actually have a nice group of middle infield prospects at this time, but based on history, it never hurts to add more. SP Seth Streich (Low-A) Streich is a Twins-type of pitcher. He was drafted last year out of Ohio University. This year, he is 10-5 with a 3.78 ERA for the Snappers. In 104.2 innings, he has given up 107 hits, but he’s walked just 39. He’s also struck out only 81. Not a real high ceiling here, but enough command of three pitches to have a chance to move up. He also is aware of the Twins farm system as his brother Tobias was in the minor leagues from 2009 through spring training of 2012. C Bruce Maxwell (High-A) At 6-2 and 235 pounds, Maxwell is a sturdy catcher. He was the A’s 2nd round pick in 2012 out of Birmingham-Southern where he was a teammate of former Twins minor leaguer Drew Leachman. He began this season with the Beloit Snappers where he hit .286/.360/.387 (.747) with 14 doubles, two homers and 28 RBI. He was promoted to High-A Stockton recently and he’s hit .236/.310/.348 (.658) with four doubles, two homers and six RBI. He is known to be a very good defensive catcher with a strong arm. SP Raul Alcantara (High-A) Alcantara came to the A’s from the Red Sox organization in the Andrew Bailey deal. He began this season with Beloit and went 7-1 with a 2.44 ERA. In 77.1 innings, he walked just seven and struck out 58. He moved up to Stockton where he has gone 3-2 with a 3.28 ERA. In 35.2 innings, he has walked eight and struck out 27. His fastball sits anywhere from 90-95 mph, so there is some upside. Dream Target SP Sonny Gray (Triple-A / Majors) Now, in a Glen Perkins deal, we know that Addison Russell is likely not available, and it may even be a bit optimistic to think that Sonny Gray would be either. He was the A’s first round pick in 2011 out of Vanderbilt. He raced through the A’s system. This year, in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, he is 9-7 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. He has given up just five home runs in 112 innings (or one every 22 innings). He has made two appearances with the A’s, and has given up just two hits and a walk, while striking out six, in four innings. Click here to view the article

On Sunday morning, Brian Dozier, JR Towles, Brian Dinkelman and Casey Fien were all re-assigned to minor league camp. The moves have mean that the Twins roster is essentially set. Download attachment: BrianDozier2.jpg Dozier came into camp hoping to make a strong impression and it would be an understatement to say he did. He displayed strong defense that appears to give the Twins coaches and front office confidence that he can be an every day shortstop. He hit well, including three spring home runs. It's safe to say that he'll head to Rochester knowing that if needed, the Twins will not hesitate to bring him up. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] JR Towles appears to have won the 3rd catcher job... on a team that will start that season with two catchers. He had a nice showing in the spring, hitting two home runs. Brian Dinkelman had a rough season in Rochester a year ago, but he hit .301 in his time with the Twins and again showed well for himself with the bat in spring training. His ability to play 2B and the corner outfield spots defensively likely mean that the Twins wouldn't hesitate to promote him if needed. Casey Fien was another of the big surprises of spring training. The former Tigers' reliever put up very good numbers and made a case to be on the opening day roster. Again, the bullpen could be a revolving door in 2012, and Fien may find himself with the team at some point. The moves essentially have set the final Opening Day roster for the Twins. C: Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit INF: Justin Morneau, Chris Parmelee, Alexi Casilla, Luke Hughes, Jamey Carroll, Danny Valencia and Sean Burroughs. OF: Denard Span, Josh Willingham, Trevor Plouffe, Ben Revere SP: Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, Liam Hendriks, Nick Blackburn, Scott Baker (DL), Jason Marquis (BL) BP: Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Brian Duensing, Anthony Swarzak, Matt Maloney, Jared Burton, Jeff Gray, Alex Burnett Any thoughts? I'm ready for Friday against Baltimore!! Let's get this season started!! Click here to view the article

Over the next several months, Twins fans are going to hear a lot about the June MLB draft, and for good reason. The Twins have the #2 overall pick and five picks in the Top 100. Coming off of a 99 loss season, and having a middle-of-the-pack minor league system, it is important to take advantage of the draft. In coming months, you’ll read names like Mark Appel, Lucas Giolito, Devin Marrero, Byron Buxton and Mike Zunino frequently. Today I wanted to look at the draft a little differently. Download attachment: DSpanPG.jpg It is said that it usually takes five or six years to start judging a team’s draft. I would contend that it really takes ten years. Consider that some high school players who are drafted don’t get to the big leagues for eight or nine seasons. Consider there are players that don’t sign and go to college for three years before getting drafted again. It takes them several years sometimes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Yes, for the below report, I am going to include players that the Twins drafted but did not sign who made it to the big leagues. Seeing talent, and future big league talent, is what scouting is all about. Some late-round picks haven’t signed and went to college. There are some players that the Twins have redrafted. There are other players that the Twins have drafted but didn’t sign who they have brought in later as free agents or in trades. To start, I’ll give a more detailed look at the Twins 2002 draft and show how many of the 50 draft picks made it to each level. After that, I’ll show how many players from each year’s Twins draft have made it to the big leagues. I’ll go back to 1987 as that is when many of the current Twins scouts and scouting directors began working with the Twins. The 2002 Draft: For the players who were drafted and signed in 2002, 2012 will be their 11th professional season. There is some chance that one or maybe two more players will get a cup of coffee in the big leagues. MLB Players (9): Denard Span (1), Jesse Crain (2), Clete Thomas (5), Pat Neshek (6), Adam Lind (8), Kyle Phillips (10), Evan Meek (11), Jeff Clement (12), Garrett Mock (14). AAA (7): Ricky Barrett (7), Doug Deeds (9), Josh Petersen (24), James Avery (29), Toby Gardenhire (38), Brock Peterson (49), Mike Ballard (50) AA (5): Adam Harben (15), Adam Daniels (19), Danny Matienzo (23), Christian Castorri (34), Kyle Geiger (42) A (10): Bo Pettit (13), Adam Hawes (17), Ryan Schreppel (20), TJ Prunty (21), Justin Keeling (25), Ron Perodin (27), Hasan Rasheed (28), Roberto Martinez (30), Tarrence Pattersen (35), John Cahill (36)Ten players peaked in Rookie Ball, and nine players that didn’t sign did not play in affiliated baseball again. Among them was their 45th round pick, a pitcher from Holy Angels HS in Minnesota named John Stocco, who went to Wisconsin and became their quarterback. TJ Prunty is another St. Paul kid who the Twins drafted out of high school, but he went down to Miami to play football before the Twins drafted him again. Three of the players who have peaked at AAA are still playing. Without looking at all teams for a decade of drafts, it is impossible to put this into context, but my assumption is that this breakdown would put the Twins and their scouts in a positive light. Big Leaguers from Twins Drafts (1987-2001) 2001 (5): Joe Mauer (1), Jose Morales (3), Kevin Cameron (13), Matt Macri (17), Nick Blackburn (29) 2000 (8): Adam Johnson (1), Aaron Heilman (1s), JD Durbin (2), Jason Miller (4), Josh Rabe (11), Jason Kubel (12), Paul Maholm (17), Daniel Davidson (28) 1999 (8): Rob Bowen (2), Justin Morneau (3), Brian Wolfe (6), Brian Slocum (14), Travis Bowyer (20), Willie Eyre (23), Terry Tiffee (26), Pat Neshek (45) 1998 (7): Saul Rivera (9), Mike Gosling (14), JJ Putz (17), Kevin Thompson (18), Juan Padilla (24), Kevin Frederick (34), Tommy Watkins (38) 1997 (7): Michael Cuddyer (1), Matthew LeCroy (1s), Michael Restovich (2), Kevin Frederick (17), JC Romero (21), Adam Johnson (25), Nick Punto (33) 1996 (9): Travis Lee (1), Jacque Jones (2), Chad Allen (4), Michael Ryan (5), Chad Moeller (7), Mike Lincoln (13), Matt Kata (20), Mike Lamb (31), Josh Bard (35) 1995 (6): Mark Redman (1), AJ Hinch (3), Doug Mientkiewicz (5), Mike Moriarity (7), Robert Ramsay (17), Jeff Harris (28) 1994 (7): Todd Walker (1), Travis Miller (1s), Cleatus Davidson (2), AJ Pierzynski (3), Corey Koskie (26), Brandon Puffer (27), Brian Lawrence (39) 1993 (14): Torii Hunter (1), Jason Varitek (1), Dan Perkins (2), Javier Valentin (3), Benj Sampson (4), Kelly Dransfeldt (7), Kevin Ohme (9), Alex Cora (12), Ryan Radmanovich (14), Danny Kolb (17), Shane Bowers (21), Rod Radlosky (22), Emil Brown (27), Lance Carter (41). 1992 (6): Dan Serafini (1), Gus Gandarillos (3), Dan Naulty (14), Scott Watkins (23), Gary Matthews (38), Craig Dingman (50). 1991 (7): David McCarty (1), Scott Stahoviak (1s), Mike Durant (2), LaTroy Hawkins (7), Brad Radke (8), Matt Lawton (13), Tim Davis (34) 1990 (11): Todd Ritchie (1), Midre Cummings (1), Jayhawk Owens (2), Rich Becker (3), Brent Brede (5), James Mouton (8), Pat Meares (12), Jeff Granger (14), Damian Miller (20), Eddie Guardado (21), Brian Raabe (41) 1989 (10): Chuck Knoblauch (1), Denny Neagle (3), Scott Erickson (4), Marty Cordova (10), Dan Mastellar (11), Mike Trombley (14), George Tsamis (15), Derrick White (23), Tim Urbani (29), Denny Hocking (52). 1988 (7): Alan Newman (2), Steve Dunn (4), Pat Mahomes (6), Doug Simons (9), JT Bruett (11), Scott Stahoviak (27), Aaron Sele (37) 1987 (9): Willie Banks (1), Terry Jorgensen (2), Larry Casian (6), Mark Guthrie (7), Shawn Gilbert (12), Chip Hale (17), Dan Smith (22), Bret Boone (28), Craig Paquette (36).Obviously this is only one way to judge a draft. Ideally teams will want an All-Star or two to come out of every draft, but that’s not realistic. The draft and scouting is such an inexact science. It is also such an important part of building a roster and an organization. Not all players are going to be All-Stars, but it is important to have role players too. Click here to view the article

Yesterday, we looked at my choices for Twins prospects 41-50. Today, we continue to look at our series on the Twins Top 50 prospects by seeing who I’ve got listed in placed 31 through 40. Like yesterday, you will see a couple of relievers that have a chance to be back-of-the-bullpen types if things work out. There are a couple of college-drafted pitchers who are pitching quite well, and there are some pitchers who were signed young who have a lot of potential. There are just two hitters in this group, and one of them is currently on the Twins roster. Without further ado, let’s get to the list. Here are my choices for Twins Prospects 41-50: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] #40 – Steven Gruver, LHP The Twins drafted the left-handed Gruver in the 7th round of last year’s draft out of the University of Tennessee. He signed quickly and pitched 31.1 innings for Elizabethton out of the bullpen. He was 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA. With a full offseason under his belt, the 22-year-old is back to starting this season with the Beloit Snappers. He is currently 3-3 with a 3.67 ERA through his first nine starts. #39 – Tim Shibuya, RHP Shibuya was the Twins 23rd round pick last year out of UC-San Diego where he went 40-15 with a 2.19 ERA over his four seasons there. Upon signing, he went to Elizabethton where he went 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA. In 73.2 innings, he walked just 11 and struck out 70. He threw the first seven innings of a no-hitter in July. The 22-year-old was named the Appy League pitcher of the year. He throws a low-90s fastball with an average curveball, changeup and slider. Through nine starts with Beloit, he is 2-2 with a 3.35 ERA. In 48.1 innings, he has walked just eight and struck out 42. In his last start, he threw a complete game shutout. #38 – Kuo-Hua Lo, RHP Lo was signed by the Twins in June of 2011 out of Taiwan where he was widely believed to be the top high school pitcher. The 5-11, 19 year old already throws 90-91 with the fastball but has touched as high as 94 on a radar gun. He also throws a slider and a split-finger pitch and is working on his curveball. He did not play in the US last year and debuted during Florida Instructional League last fall. Because of his talent, and also a high make-up displayed in several international competitions, it would surprise few if he started the season at Elizabethton. #37 – Luis Nunez, LHP Nunez signed with the Twins in 2009 from the Dominican Republic. The now-20 year old lefty throws very hard despite a small frame. Listed at 5-11 and just 160 pounds, there is certainly room for growth. Last year, he repeated in the GCL and dominated. He pitched in 16 games and went 5-0 with 5 saves, a 1.67 ERA and a 0.90 WHIP. In 32.1 innings, he gave up just 23 hits, walked six and struck out 37, serving as the team’s closer. He will likely pitch for Elizabethton this summer. #36 – Manuel Soliman, RHP As most probably know, the Twins signed Soliman in March of 2007 and he spent two years struggling mightily with the bat as a 3B. he was moved to the mound and has been very intriguing as a pitching prospect. He threw a no-hitter in Elizabethton in 2010. Last year, he was a work horse for Beloit. He went 7-11 with a 3.97 ERA. In 136 innings, he walked 50 and struck out 120. Soliman throws a low-90s fastball, a two-seamer, and a very hard slider. He is a ground ball guy. He struggled in two early-season starts with the Ft. Myers Miracle this spring before being shut down. Many believe, myself included, that he is best suited for the bullpen where he can add a few more mph to an already very good fastball. #35 – Matt Hauser, RHP The Twins selected Hauser with their 7th round pick in 2010 out of the University of San Diego. In 2011, he spent time with Beloit, Ft. Myers and even made an appearance with New Britain late in their season. In 63.2 innings combined, he walked too many (29) and struck out a lot (75). Hauser throws a four-seam fastball that is clocked between 93 and 97 mph. He also throws a 1-seam fastball that sinks a lot. His slider is a great pitch and touches 87 mph. He has improved his control in 2012 with just seven walks in his first 23.2 innings for the Miracle. #34 – Danny Ortiz, OF 22-year-old Ortiz was the Twins 4th round pick in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. Despite being just 5-11 and 170 pounds, he has tremendous power. He has good speed, and is able to play all threw outfield positions well. He returned to Beloit to start this season and hit .299. He was promoted quickly to Ft. Myers where he has hit .250. Last year in Beloit, he hit .239/.294/.391 with 33 doubles, four triples and ten home runs. Playing in the Florida State League, it is unlikely we will see those numbers again, but over time, his power will show. #33 – Josh Burris, RHP The Twins used their 17th round pick in 2011 on the immensely talented Burris. He played last year at LSU-Eunice. As a utility player (playing 2B and in the OF), the converted catcher hit .273/.432/.364 with 13 stolen bases. However, the Twins took him as a pitcher. Although he was 1-1 with a 4.64 ERA in the team’s bullpen, he has the type of stuff that scouts drool over. Despite a 5-10, 180 pound frame, Burris has a fastball that sits between 91 and 94 mph. It is his curveball, however, that grabs people’s attention. His 12-6 ‘Yacker’ has been described to me as “filthy,” and “nasty” by other pitchers. I can’t tell you what hitters have called it. Control was his issue last year in college. In 21.1 innings, he walked 20 batters, but he also struck out 32. If his stuff can be harnessed, Burris could be the next Tom Gordon (for those that are too young to remember the 90s, this is very much a compliment!). #32 – Deolis Guerra, RHP Guerra came to the Twins as a much-hyped 18-year-old from the Mets in the Johan Santana trade. He struggled mightily thanks to the Mets pushing him far too quickly. Finally, the Twins moved him to the bullpen in the second half of the 2011 season, and he has been incredible since. In his last 27 games of 2011, he threw 52 innings. He allowed 36 hits, walked 13 and struck out 65. After giving up one run in 12.2 innings for the Rock Cats this spring, he was promoted to AAA where he has given up two earned runs in 16.2 innings. In total, he is 3-1 with a 0.92 ERA in 2012. In 29.1 innings, he has given up just 15 hits, walked six and struck out 29. Opponents are hitting just .152 off of him (.175 in AAA). The still-just-23-year-old works with a fastball in the upper-80s that can touch 92 at times. He has a good curveball, but it is his changeup that gets him to the next level. Does he have enough fastball for the big leagues? Well, we will likely find out in the next couple of months. #31 – Lester Oliveros, RHP Oliveros came to the Twins last August with Cole Nelson in the Delmon Young trade. The Venezuelan right-hander will turn 24 years old later this week. Although he pitched minimally for the Twins and Tigers in 2011, he began this season in AA New Britain. He posted a 1.42 ERA in 19 innings before being promoted to Rochester recently. He has thrown 5.2 scoreless innings with just four hits, one walk and nine strikeouts. Combined, he has not allowed a run in his last 17.2 innings pitched. Oliveros throws hard, reaching into the mid-90s. He has a hard slider as well, but it will be his control that will determine how good he can be as a big league pitcher. Download attachment: LesterOliveros.jpg So, there you have my choices for Twins prospects 31-40.Later this week, I’ll be back with my next installment which will be prospects 21-30). 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: Josh Willingham HR35.jpg Rightfully so, the big story from the Twins 6-4 win in Cleveland was Liam Hendriks. The right-hander won his first big league game in his 18th big league start. It was a tremendous moment for the Australian. However, it was also a huge night for another Twins player. He went 4-5 with a home run and four RBI. He had two RBI singles, and the home run came with a runner on. It’s been a huge season for the powerful outfielder. After last night, he now has career-highs with 35 home runs and 110 RBI.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If he plays in just four of the final 14 Twins games, he will play in the most games he has played in. Being able to DH at times certainly helped keep his bat in the lineup. Manager Ron Gardenhire has done a terrific job of giving him occasional days off to help keep him healthy and strong. Here are the single-season home run leaders in the Twins 52-season history: [TABLE=align: center] Hitter Home Runs Year Harmon Killebrew 49 1964 Harmon Killebrew 49 1969 Harmon Killebrew 48 1962 Harmon Killebrew 46 1961 Harmon Killebrew 45 1963 Harmon Killebrew 44 1967 Harmon Killebrew 40 1970 Harmon Killebrew 39 1966 Josh Willingham 35 2012 Bob Allison 35 1963 Gary Gaetti 34 1086 Kent Hrbek 34 1987 Justin Morneau 34 2006 [/TABLE] The relationship between Willingham and the Twins seems to align perfectly. When Terry Ryan let Michael Cuddyer go to Colorado for 3 years and $31.5 million, some Twins fans were upset. When the Twins signed Willingham for 3 years and $21 million days later, Twins fans had mixed emotions. Cuddyer was the face that Twins fans saw most, and he was most often the voice of the Twins players, always willing to talk after games, good or bad. Stat-heads continued to write that the Twins got the better player for $10.5 million less. There is no question, not only was Willingham the Twins biggest free agent signing in their history, he clearly has been the Twins best free agent signing. Last month, Willingham let it be known that he would be open to talking to the Twins about signing an extension. He is owned $7 million in 2013 and $7 million in 2014. If Willingham were a free agent following the 2012 season, what would he get in the free agent market? Despite the fact the he will turn 34 years old about the time spring training starts next February, he would most likely get a deal in the three year, $30 million range. If he were willing to play the 2015 season at $7 million, it would be like signing him to a three year, $21 million contract again. The Twins have long had a need for right-handed power in the middle of their lineup. Can Trevor Plouffe take that next step in his career to provide consistent power? Willingham gives the Twins what they have needed for years. Also, unlike many Twins hitters in recent years, he is not intimidated by Target Field. Fangraphs is a tremendous site for baseball information and statistics. They have a stat called “Value” the takes a look at how players compare to a ‘replacement players’ and based on that, they place a “value” on his season. Right now, Willingham’s 2012 “Value” is placed at $17.5 million (and that factors in his negative defense). He has been consistently valuable since 2006, his first full season. [TABLE=align: center] Year “Value” 2006 $7.7 M 2007 $8.6 M 2008 $13.3 M 2009 $11.4 M 2010 $12.0 M 2011 $9.1 M 2012 $17.5 M [/TABLE] There are reasons that not adding a year to Willingham’s contract are probably the right thing to do. The Twins do have lots of outfield prospects. Denard Span’s name will likely be remain in trade rumors and Ben Revere has shown he can be a solid big leaguer. Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks and Joe Benson are all prospects that could be ready as early as sometime in 2013. Many believe that Miguel Sano will be ready by late 2014 or 2015 and could be in the outfield. The other side of that remains that you never know how good prospects will actually be no matter how elite their prospect status. Harmon Killebrew had all those 40 home runs seasons, but his last home run season was in his age-34 season in 1970. He then hit 28 homers in 1971 and 26 homers in 1972, still good power numbers. Over the final three seasons of his career, he combined to hit 32 more home runs. Of course, that isn’t to say that Willigham’s last great season would be in 2012, but that trajectory of declining numbers certainly is not unusual. The other angle for not extending Willingham beyond 2014 is that right now his value is likely the highest it would ever be. The Twins are likely a couple of years from competing for another division title, so as much as Willingham is great in the middle of the Twins lineup, he is someone that the Twins could get a very nice player/prospect return from in a trade. Willingham is right in making his request to add another year to stay with the Twins known. As a Twins fan, I want to hear that. It is wise for the Twins to let 2013 play out before considering extending Willingham. It will be another year to see how he performs as well as seeing how the prospects progress. Finally, as Twins fans, I think it’s wise just to sit back and marvel at what an incredible season 2012 has been for Josh Willingham, and leave it at that for now! Click here to view the article

I have returned from Cedar Rapids, havin had a great weekend which will likely be documented here at Twins Daily in a couple stories. I hope also to provide more encouragement for Twins fans to make that trek to east central Iowa. On Sunday afternoon, a Twins affiliate received one of their best starting pitching performances of the season. A new member of the organization also made a very good impression in his third game with his new AAA team. Here’s a look at what happened in the Twins' farm system on Sunday: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester Red Wings 12, Pawtucket Red Sox 7 Box Score Jermaine Mitchell came to the Red Wings this past week after being let go by the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. On Sunday, he made a pretty strong impression. The outfielder went 3-4 with his sixth home run. He scored three runs and had four RBI. Brian Dinkelman was 2-3 with his ninth double. Doug Bernier was 2-5 with his fourth triple. Antoan Richardson and Chris Herrmann each had two hits. Vance Worley improved to 6-3 with Rochester. He gave up three runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out four in six innings. AJ Achter came on for his AAA debut and gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. Cody Eppley replaced him and got the final five outs, three on strikeouts. (Photo by milb.com) New Britain Rock Cats 3, Portland Sea Dogs 4 Box Score Tom Stuifbergen made the start and threw well. He gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Bruce Pugh came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. Dakota Watts came on and gave up a hit before getting the final out. Josmil Pinto went 2-3. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-4. Eddie Rosario hit his sixth Rock Cats double. Ft. Myers Miracle 3, St. Lucie 0 Box Score What a terrific start for righty Matt Summers. In Port St. Lucie, he pitched his best game of the year. He gave up two hits in a complete game shutout. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out seven to drop his ERA with the Miracle to 3.20. Mike Kvasnicka remains hot. He went 2-3 with his fifth double. Levi Michael has been playing well of late; he went 2-5 in this game. Byron Buxton was put in the 3-hole of the lineup for the first time this year and went 1-4. Cedar Rapids Kernels 3, Clinton LumberKings 5 Box Score The Kernels made the trek back to Clinton on Sunday afternoon. Mason Melotakis started and gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits and two walks. He didn’t record a single strikeout. Hudson Boyd’s third relief appearance was good. He struck out two over two, one-hit innings. David Hurlbut returned from the disabled list to work a scoreless inning, striking out one. He had been out for about a month with a lat injury. Adam Walker went 2-4 with his 18th double. Tyler Grimes was 2-3 and he was hit by a pitch. Joel Licon (2nd) and Jorge Polanco (22nd) also doubled. Elizabethton Twins, Burlington Royals Game Postponed by Rain. GCL Twins No Games on Sundays. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. View full article

Download attachment: hicks_gibson600.jpg On Wednesday, the Twins started their offseason reconstruction by removing several players from the 40 man roster. First, they declined Matt Capps’ option for the 2013 season by buying it out. There is no surprise there. Next, the Twins drooped several players from their 40 man roster. Pitchers PJ Walters, Esmerling Vasquez, Luis Perdomo, Kyle Waldrop, Jeff Manship and outfielder Matt Carson are no longer on the 40 man roster.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In the one semi-surprise move of the day, the Twins lost Carlos Gutierrez to the Chicago Cubs. The Twins removed their hard-throwing former first-round pick from the 40 man roster. Unlike the other players, Gutierrez was claimed by another team, the Chicago Cubs. Coming off of shoulder, the Twins were likely hoping to sneak Gutierrez through and keep him around in 2013. However, they also know the rules of the game and were willing to take a chance that he would be taken. Because Scott Baker and Carl Pavano were on the 60 Day DL, the Twins ended the season with 42 players on their 40 man roster. With these eight moves, the Twins 40 man roster currently sits at 34. Pavano will come off of the list minutes after the World Series ends and he becomes a free agent. Also, the Twins will have to make their decision on the 2013 option of Scott Baker. There is little chance that they will pick up the $9.25 million option. However, it is also possible that the Twins and Baker would agree on a new contract in which he would stay on the roster. In late November, the Twins will need to add minor leaguers to the 40 man roster that they want to protect from potentially being selected in the Rule 5 draft. With the roster at 32 players (by that time), the Twins could technically add as many as eight players to the 40 man roster. That isn’t likely. They will likely save a spot or three for potential free agent signings and claims. Also, if they want to make a Rule 5 selection of their own, they will need to have no more than 39 on their roster. So, who is eligible for the Rule 5 draft? On a high level, it is anyone who signed when they were less than 19 in 2008 or if they were over 19 in 2009. Generally speaking, that means that high school players drafted in 2008 and college or junior college players drafted in 2009. Many international signings happen with 16 or 17 year olds, but occasionally there will be a 19 or 20 year old signed as well. Specifically, here is a list of the players that are eligible for the Rule 5 draft: Aaron Hicks, Kyle Gibson, Danny Santana, BJ Hermsen, Bruce Pugh, Michael Tonkin, Tom Stuifbergen, Adrian Salcedo, Evan Bigley, Danny Lehmann, Nick Blackburn, Anthony Slama, Caleb Thielbar, Bobby Lanigan, Daniel Turpen, Dan Sattler, Rene Tosoni, Nathan Hanson, Dan Rohlfing, Andrew Albers, Steve Hirschfeld, Jose Gonzalez, Dakota Watts, David Bromberg, Blake Martin, Marty Popham, Steve Liddle, Danny Ortiz, Danny Rams, Ricky Bowen, Nelvin Fuentes, Michael Gonzales, Jhon Garcia, Manuel Soliman, Rory Rhodes, Luis Nunez, Kelvin Ortiz, Wang-Wei Lin, Jairo Rodriguez, Tim Atherton, Jhonathan Arias. Also, six-year minor league free agents that have already signed with the Twins are also eligible. They include Deibinson Romero, Brian Dinkelman, Jhonathan Goncalves, Josmil Pinto, Edgar Ibarra and Miguel Munoz. In the Offseason Handbook (which is now officially available), I wrote an article giving more details on nine guys that I think should be at least considered to be added. In reality, the top five or six on that list are the players that I think will be most strongly considered. So of all of those names, who do you think the Twins will add to the 40 man roster, and why? Feel free to add comments or ask questions. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Drew Leachman 4.jpg No one expected a slugfest when the Mariners and Twins got together to play in Target Field. Felix Hernandez was on the mound for the Mariners, but Liam Hendriks was on the mound for the Twins. It looked like a mismatch, but it turned into one of the best pitcher’s duals of the year! Liam Hendriks remains winless in the big leagues despite throwing a tremendous, tough-loss, complete game. The one mistake he made was giving up an 8th inning, opposite field home run by Eric Thames. The length of that home run was less than that of a fly ball by Trevor Plouffe caught at the wall by Franklin Gutierrez or a triple off the right-center field wall by Justin Morneau. Location! Location! Location! [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Hendriks was every bit as good as Hernandez on this night, giving up just three hits in the game. Hernandez gave up five hits, but when runners got on base, both really pitched well. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Monday: ROCHESTER 6, BUFFALO 1 Nick Blackburn put together a nice start again for the Red Wings. He gave up one run on seven hits and two walks in six innings. He struckout just one batter. Jeff Manship went the next two innings. He gave up no runs despite three hits and two walks. Daniel Turpen worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Blackburn improved to 3-1 with a 2.12 ERA. Wilkin Ramirez remains on fire. In this game, he had a bases-clearing triple and his 13th home run, driving in four for the Red Wings. In his last 15 games, he is 23-54 (.426) with six doubles, two homes and 17 RBI. Matt Carson was 1-2 with two walks. Eduardo Escobar and Brian Dozier each hit a triple NEW BRITAIN 8, TRENTON 1 Luke French did what he did in April for the Rock Cats. He dominated AA hitters. The soft-tossing left-hander threw a complete game. He gave up just one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. The Rock Cat bats showed up right away, scoring six runs in the first inning. Rene Tosoni doubled in two runs, and that was followed by Nate Hanson’s sixth home run of the season, a three-run blast. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 with a walk and his 20th double. Chris Colabello was 2-4 with a walk. Chris Herrmann went 2-5. Aaron Hicks walked twice. Josmil Pinto hit his first triple. FT. MYERS, BRADENTON To no surprise, the winds and rain in the Gulf region postponed the games in the Florida State League. BELOIT 11, CEDAR RAPIDS 8 The Snappers bats were out in full force again on Monday. Drew Leachman went 4-5 with his 12th double and his fifth home run. AJ Pettersen went 4-5 with his 12th double. Eddie Rosario was a double from the cycle. He was 3-6 with his fourth triple and 12th home run. Kennys Vargas was 3-5 with his seventh double. Wang-Wei Lin hit his third home run and stole his tenth base. Nate Roberts got on base twice and stole his 26th base. Tyler Jones started and pitched a career-high eight innings. He was charged with seven runs, but just two of them were earned. He gave up ten hits, but most important, he walked none. He struck out seven. DJ Baxendale came on for the 9th inning. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk. He struck out two. ELIZABETHTON 3, PRINCETON 4 Eight hitters for the E-Twins had one hit in this game. The only player without a hit, Candido Pimentel, walked twice. Byron Buxton and Romy Jimenez each doubled. Angel Mata started and went just one inning. He gave up one run on not hits. He walked two and struckout one. Luis Nunez came on and gave up one hit and two walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Travis Huber went the next 2.2 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks. Kaleb Merck went the final 2.2 innings. He gave up an unearned run on two hits. He walked none and struckout two. --- Players of the Day for Monday, August 27, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Drew Leachman Download attachment: Drew Leachman 2.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Luke French Download attachment: Luke French NB.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, August 29, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Buffalo – RHP Shairon Martis New Britain @ Trenton – RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (DH) – RHP Matt Summers, TBD Beloit @ Cedar Rapids – LHP Matt Tomshaw Elizabethton vs Princeton – LHP Hein Robb GCL Twins – Season Over --- 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

2013 was a big year for Brian Dozier. He had been hyped (maybe over-hyped) in spring training in 2012, and when he finally made his big league debut as a 24-year-old in early May, it proved to be a major struggle for him. Dozier learned a lot from 2012, and came into 2013 ready to take the next step. By season’s end, he was an easy choice for the Twins' most improved player. Some even made an argument that he could have been named the team’s MVP.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] To understand where Dozier entered 2013, we really need to go back and look at his 2012. He was named the 2011 Twins' Minor League Hitter of the Year. When he came up in 2012, he hit just .234/.271/.332 (.603) in 84 games. He was sent down to Rochester in mid-August and did not get called up when rosters expanded in September. However, when he came to Fort Myers for spring training 2013, he was handed a new job, starting second baseman. His defense at the position solidified his roster spot. But after going 1-5 with on May 27 he was hitting just .197/.238/.270 (.508). To their credit, the Twins stood by him, and he made that decision look great. In his final 110 games of the season, he hit .259/.335/.461 (.796) with 30 doubles, two triples and 17 home runs. It was a topic that Parker Hageman addressed in spring training when he said Dozier’s swing was something that Twins fans needed to watch. In August, Parker went back and reviewed Dozier’s swing and showed some of the reasons behind his improved production. Dozier gave a lot of credit to hitting coach Tom Brunansky for working with him through a couple technical glitches. A quick look at how his numbers after May 27 compare to other top second basemen shows that he can play with the best. His .796 ranked behind only Robinson Cano, Matt Carpenter, Jason Kipnis, and Chase Utley. His 49 extra base hits was behind only Carpenter’s 54 (39 doubles, 7 triples, 8 home runs) and three ahead of Cano (30 doubles, 14 home runs). No one else had more than 38 (Kipnis). Dozier’s defense was a constant throughout the 2013 season, as well. He made enough great plays to fill up a couple highlight reels. At season’s end, he was named the Twins recipient of the Wilson’s Twins Top Defender. Now, Dozier will be the first to tell you he’s still got plenty of room for improvement. He would like to increase his batting average, something that would be helped by cutting down his strikeout count. Overall, he hit .244/.312/.414. His OPS of .726 was exactly league average. However, his WAR (by Baseball-Reference) was 3.8, and his Fan Graphs WAR was 2.8. Download attachment: Brian Dozier2.jpg Photo by Betsy Bissen The Twins will be counting on Dozier to continue that improvement track in 2014. In 2013, his emergence was certainly one of the bigger Twins stories. A look at other Twins stories from 2013 includes: #13 – Twins in the WBC #12 – Drew Butera Traded to Dodgers #11 – Twins Sign Kubel, Trade Doumit Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Miguel Sano Signing.jpg Now that the TwinsCentric Offseason Handbook is available, it’s time for me to hunker down and dive head-first into the 2013 version of the Twins Prospect Handbook. It’s hard to believe that this will be the 5th annual prospect book already. I enjoy doing the research and the writing, for sure. As I did last year, I want to welcome your feedback. To encourage that, I am sharing my early, preliminary Top 50 Twins Prospect list. As I research and write over the next two months, it is not only subject to change, but likely to change.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So, here is my preliminary Top 50 list without much comment. Please feel free to discuss, disagree, ask questions, mention players that I didn’t, and generally just chat away. Seth’s Preliminary Top 50 [TABLE=width: 217] Rank Player POS 1 Miguel Sano 3B 2 Byron Buxton OF 3 Aaron Hicks OF 4 Oswaldo Arcia OF 5 Eddie Rosario 2B 6 Kyle Gibson RHP 7 Jose (JO) Berrios RHP 8 Max Kepler OF 9 Kennys Vargas 1B 10 Joe Benson OF 11 Travis Harrison 3B 12 Adrian Salcedo RHP 13 Danny Santana SS 14 Chris Herrmann C/OF 15 BJ Hermsen RHP 16 Alex Wimmers RHP 17 Adam Walker OF 18 Mason Melotakis LHP 19 Jorge Polanco IF 20 Pedro Hernandez LHP 21 Danny Ortiz OF 22 Matt Summers RHP 23 Luke Bard RHP 24 Levi Michael 2B 25 Hudson Boyd RHP 26 Nate Roberts OF 27 Niko Goodrum SS 28 Kuo-Hu Lo RHP 29 Michael Tonkin RHP 30 Madison Boer RHP 31 Bruce Pugh RHP 32 JD Williams OF 33 Angel Mata RHP 34 DJ Baxendale RHP 35 Tyler Duffey RHP 36 JT Chargois RHP 37 Zach Jones RHP 38 Randy Rosario LHP 39 Jason Wheeler LHP 40 Josh Burris RHP 41 Matt Hauser RHP 42 Josue Montanez LHP 43 Tom Stuifbergen RHP 44 Dereck Rodriguez OF 45 Corey Williams LHP 46 Romy Jimenez OF 47 Austin Malinowski LHP 48 Tyler Jones RHP 49 Brett Lee LHP 50 Jeremias Pineda OF [/TABLE] There you have it, 1-50. There are some names that I’m sure we all think have been left off. Guys like Pat Dean and Lance Ray and Evan Bigley have been on the list before. Left-handers who pitched incredibly well in Beloit (like David Hurlbut, Matt Tomshaw and 2012 draft pick Taylor Rogers) could be on this list. Minnesota native and former Gophers infielder Nate Hanson did a terrific job for the Rock Cats this year, especially after moving to second base. Fellow Rock Cat James Beresford would be on this list, but at this point, he has not re-signed with the Twins. Aderlin Mejia was an All-GCL choice this year. Candido Pimentel was the Appy League MVP. To come up with a Top 10 list of Twins prospects this year is really easy. However, I have not had this much trouble starting at about 16 or so in my 7-8 years of making these types of lists. It’s not that there isn’t some really good talent. There are a lot of players who were just recently drafted. There are some really talented, potentially impact relievers. Injuries have had some effect on this list, no question. I feel like Kyle Gibson, who I ranked #6, should be several places higher. However, I just can’t get myself to move him in front of the top 5. But that’s a great place to start the discussion. I think most would agree with who is in the top seven on this list, but what order would you have them in? Again, feel free to discuss, ask questions, make cases for players, whatever you like. Click here to view the article

I remember asking Kyle Gibson several years ago what it meant to be the Twins #1 prospect. He said that it was an honor, but all being a prospect meant was that you hadn’t done anything yet. It is a great point for all to remember. Friday was the third time this season when Twins top pitching prospects were all on the mound. Friday was a good reminder that there is a reason these guys are at the levels they are at, that there is still work to be done. The Twins lost the opening game of their three game set in Kansas City and are back at .500 (8-8). There were also five Twins minor league games on Friday, and the Twins affiliate lost each of them. Here is a look at what happened in the Twins farm system on Friday, but first a look at the Transactions: TRANSACTIONS The big news was that Jason Bartlett has decided to retire from baseball. According to a Mike Berardino tweet, Ron Gardenhire received a text message from Bartlett saying that “it just wasn’t happening. His body’s not reacting the way right now he wants it to.” The move opens up a spot on the Twins 40 man roster. Eduardo Nunez returned to the Red Wings after his one-day trip to Minnesota to serve as the team’s 26th man in the second game of their double header on Thursday. Reliever Tyler Jones was added to the Miracle roster while lefty Matt Tomshaw was sent to Extended Spring Training. Catcher Bryan Santy was added to the Cedar Rapids Kernels roster to replace Michael Quesada who was placed on the 7-Day Disabled List. He was hit by a pitch in the hand earlier this week. X-rays were negative, so he may not be out for too long. Download attachment: Chris Parmelee ST14.jpg Photo by Jonathan Dyer RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 6 (11 innings) Box Score I’m pretty certain that the Red Wings coaching staff didn’t want to play 11 innings on their first game of a road trip, but that’s just what happened. Alex Meyer got the starting nod and struggled for the first time. The talented right-hander gave up five runs on five hits (including one home run) in just 3.2 innings. He walked four and struck out just two. Brooks Raley came on and threw 2.2 scoreless. He gave up a hit, walked two and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra struck out two in 2.1 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. AJ Achter went 1.2 innings. In the 11th, he got the first out before giving up a double to former Red Wing Brock Peterson. Matt Hoffman came on and issued an intentional walk before giving up a single to Brian Goodwin. Chris Parmelee led the offense. He went 2-4 with a walk, his second double and his second home run. James Beresford went 2-5 with his fourth double. Eric Fryer and Chris Rahl each went 2-4. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 - New Britain 4, Portland 6 Box Score Portland had made the long trip down to Connecticut, so they might as well play two. Of course, they also did it because they were rained out on Thursday. DJ Baxendale started the first game and went five innings. He gave up six runs on nine hits and a walk while striking out two. Matt Guerrier came on and struck out three in the final two innings. He gave up no runs, three hits and a walk. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with his fifth double. Mike Kvasnicka drove in two with a double. Corey Wimberly went 1-3 with a walk and three doubles. Matt Koch hit a double as well. Game 2 - New Britain 0, Portland 6 Box Score Taylor Rogers was on the mound for the second game. He was much improved in his third AA start. He left the game with one out in the fifth inning down just 2-0. However, he was replaced and a couple of batters later, a Blake Swihart home run made the score 6-0. Rogers was charged with four runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out five. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up two runs on three hits (including the homer) and recorded two outs. Adrian Salcedo pitched a scoreless inning. Lester Oliveros struck out two in a perfect seventh. There wasn’t much offense for the Rock Cats in this game. They managed just three hits. Mike Kvasnicka hit his third double of the year. Tony Thomas was 1-2 with a walk. Of the 21 outs in this game, the Rock Cats struck out 16 times. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, St. Lucie 15 Box Score Fair to say that this game was not a pitchers’ duel. JO Berrios made the start for the Miracle. He went two innings and gave up seven runs on eight hits and a walk. However, just two of the runs were earned thanks to the ninth error of Jorge Polanco’s season. Steven Gruver came on and gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks in 2.2 innings. Tyler Jones returned to the mound for his first appearance of the year. He gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Mason Melotakis came on and threw three shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck out three. Travis Harrison went 2-5. In the first inning, he hit a three-run homer. He also stole his first base. Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with his second triple. Adam Walker and Dalton Hicks each had two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, West Michigan 5 Box Score Kohl Stewart was back on the mound for the Kernels on Friday night. He gave up just one hit over the first three innings, but he gave up two runs in the fourth. He went five innings and gave up just those two runs on four hits and a walk. He struck out three. Josue Montanez came on and gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out two. Christian Powell struck out three batters in two perfect innings. The Kernels had just five hits in the game. Zack Larson went 2-4. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Christian Powell, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Parmelee, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (1:00 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) Portland @ New Britain (5:35 CST) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – David Hurlbut (Listen) West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST) – Felix Jorge (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

Things were busy in the Twins farm system on Wednesday as all six affiliates played, and the Miracle played two games. Mike Kvasnicka has been on fire of late and continued that. But let's not kid ourselves, the story in the system on Wednesday was the AA Debut of JO Berrios. You'll have to keep reading to see how it went. For the second straight night, the Minnesota Twins got a terrific start and nice offensive output. Kyle Gibson threw six shutout innings to improve to 8-7. Brian Dozier hit two doubles and Kendrys Morales drove in three runs. On Thursday, Yohan Pino will take the mound for the Twins against a bullpen-by-committee start from the Mariners in a fourth straight late-night game in Seattle. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 6 Box Score Logan Darnell struggled early in this game, but he regained his form and was able to give his team innings. Darnell gave up five runs in the first two innings, but he recovered and went eight. He gave up six runs on 11 hits. He walked two and struck out five. Three of the hits were home runs. Aaron Thompson got three outs in the ninth. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his 25th double. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 with his 15th double. Wilkin Ramirez tripled for the third time this season. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 1, New Hampshire 7 Box Score Download attachment: JO Berrios.jpg The story of this game was the Double-A debut of JO Berrios. The 20-year-old started out well. He got through the first two innings without a base runner. In the third inning, he walked the first two batters who both came in to score on a bloop single. In the fourth inning, he gave up a two-run home run, and in the fifth inning, he gave up a solo home run. So, in total, he gave up five runs on three hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four. He was replaced by Mason Melotakis who was also making his first AA appearance. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the sixth inning before throwing a scoreless seventh frame. Ryan O'Rourke struck out three in the eighth. Mike Kvasnicka has been tremendous for the last six weeks. He went 3-4 with his 15th double in this game. He has had eight hits in the Rock Cats last three games. Eddie Rosario added a triple. MIRACLE MATTERS Game 1 - Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach3 Box Score Tim Shibuya threw a complete game for the Miracle, but unfortunately, the game ended with two outs in the seventh with a game-winning single. Shibuya gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk. He struck out two in the loss. Dalton Hicks went 2-3 with his fifth home run and two RBI. Nate Roberts added his seventh double. Byron Buxton played the whole first game. He went 0-2 and walked once. He also stole his first base. The Miracle had just four hits in this game. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 4 Box Score The Miracle also had just four hits in the second game. Dalton Hicks had an RBI single that scored Niko Goodrum. Goodrum stole his 18th base of the season. Matt Tomshaw started. He gave up four runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out three. Todd Van Steensel came on to make his Florida State League debut. He walked one and struck out two in a scoreless inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Ryan Eades walked one and struck out a season-high nine batters in five innings in this game. However, he also gave up five runs on six hits and hit two batters. Chris Mazza gave up two hits and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Jared Wilson struck out two over two scoreless innings. Chad Christensen led the offense. He went 3-5. Ryan Walker was 2-5 and Mitch Garver was 2-4. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Kingsport 2 Box Score Sam Gibbons put in another solid start. In five innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out six. CK Irby struck out three in two scoreless innings. Cameron Booser gave up a hit and a walk and struck out two over two scoreless innings. Jonatan Hinojosa went 2-3 with a double and two RBI. Tyler Kuresa hit his first home run. Jeremias Pineda, Max Murphy and Dutch Deol each doubled. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 0 Box Score Lefty Brandon Easton had a no-hitter going through 4.2 innings. He went five innings and gave up just one hit. He walked two and struck out four. Reyson Zoquiel threw a perfect sixth inning. Miles Nordgren threw two perfect innings to record his second save. Frank Encarnacion hit his second double. He scored on a Rafael Valera single. Joel Polanco hit his third double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Easton, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dalton Hicks, Ft. Myers Miracle THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (DH @ 4:35 CST) – Scott Diamond, TBD New Britain @ New Hampshire (5:35 CST) – Virgil Vasquez Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 CST) – Ethan Mildren Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - Chih-Wei Hu Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Mat Batts GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. A quick reminder: [/hr]Twins beat up Seattle last night, so on Thursday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com by using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

Jason Wheeler has been a successful starting pitcher ever since he signed with the Twins. In two seasons – and a month – he has compiled a 25-12 record with an ERA of 3.49 over 335.2 innings. On Saturday, I had the opportunity to chat with the talented left-hander. Wheeler is a very bright young man with a great perspective on pitching and several other things. Wheeler is a Southern California kid. He lived in a suburb of Los Angeles and grew up as a fan of the Angels, probably both the Anaheim Angels and the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In his formative years, he was able to witness some really good baseball. The Angels went to the playoff six times in eight years and won the 2002 World Series. “I was a big Angels fan. Favorite player? It’s hard to pick one. I’m a big Tim Salmon, Garret Anderson, Darin Erstad fan. Vlad Guerrero was a little after them, toward the end of their run. Troy Percival, Scot Shields.” Those Angels teams were not just strong offensively, but always had solid starting pitching, and dominant back ends of the bullpen. However, there isn’t a player that he emulates, or models his game after. “I love watching big league pitchers, watching them pitch. There’s not one guy that sticks out that I want to be like him. Everyone likes to throw out CC Sabathia because I’m big and left-handed. CC Sabathia circa 2009, when he was throwing a complete game every other game. There’s not one person that I really want to be like.” Download attachment: Jason Wheeler edit.jpg Wheeler took his talents to Loyola Marymount where he pitched for three years before the Twins drafted him in the 8th round of the 2011 draft. Four rounds later, the Twins selected Wheeler’s teammate, Matt Koch. Regarding the catcher, who was invited to big league camp this year by the Twins, Wheeler said very good things. “I love working with Matt. The last five years, we have worked together. He’d been my catcher at school and in my first two years in pro ball. He obviously can hit. That’s what got him a scholarship at LMU. He’s gotten way better defensively. I remember in college, he struggled with glove-side fastballs. That was one thing that I know he worked on a ton. He’s gotten so much better at that. I love throwing to Matt in pro ball now. He’s got a great arm behind the plate, and he and I are pretty much on the same page when we’re together calling a game. So, it’s pretty good.” So what makes Wheeler successful? What does he throw? Last week, he threw a complete game shutout and talked about what worked and what he tries to do on the mound. “I threw a ton of fastballs that game, and I was able to get to both sides of the plate. I think that that’s what drives me. If I have a good start, it’s usually because of my fastball. I’m able to command it to both sides of the plate. Get in on guys. I love pitching in, lefties and righties. I think it shows. I got a lot of weak popups. That’s what I’m trying to get to, is that mentality of really attacking with the fastballs. I threw about 80% fastball.” The key to being able to throw that many fastballs is not always throwing the same fastball but also about location. “I throw a one-seam sinker when I’m throwing in to a lefty or away from a righty. And a four-seamer when I’m throwing in. I have a cut fastball that I’ll throw in on the hands too. If I want to run it up, I’ll go 4-seamer up on the hands and the chest.” He also throws a couple of secondary pitches as well to keep hitters off balance. “Just slider and changeup. My slider and my cutter have become one pitch that I’m able to do different things with. That’s what (Miracle Pitching Coach) Gary Lucas and I have been working on for the last couple of weeks, making that one pitch something I have some feel for. If I want to, I can make it a little bigger, have it more like a real slider, or if I want to I can tighten it up and throw it in on a right-handers hands and it’s only a couple of mph off of my fastball.” Wheeler has had a chance to work with a couple of very good, well-respected pitching coaches. In Beloit in 2012, he worked with Gary Lucas. Last year in Ft. Myers, he worked with Ivan Arteaga. This year, Arteaga and Lucas switched positions with Lucas moving to the Miracle and Arteaga going to Cedar Rapids. This means that Lucas and Wheeler are working together again. Both are very good, but they are very different. “I love working with Luke (Lucas). The big thing that I like, and very much so how I think, he’s never content. We’re not out here to be the best High-A pitcher. Something’s wrong if I’m the best High-A pitcher for multiple years. It’s about getting to the big leagues and being the best big league pitcher that I can be. And so, we’re always working on something whether it’s my breaking ball, my changeup, my arm slot. There’s always something that we can be better at. He fuels that fire of Don’t Be Content.” Gary Lucas pitched eight seasons in the Major Leagues. He played for the Padres, Expos and Angels. He was a left-handed reliever who posted a 3.01 ERA. However, if you ever get the chance to talk to Lucas, you would never know that he had a major league career. According to Wheeler, “You wouldn’t even know it. You would think that he was the 13th guy in the bullpen. He’s so humble. It’s awesome. Everyone knows his track record of eight years in the big leagues and a career three ERA. You wouldn’t even know it talking to him. He doesn’t brag or boast at all.” Ivan Arteaga has a different style than Lucas, but he is also a very good teacher. “Ivan has a little different approach than Luke. Ivan treats us more as a grown man, adult. It’s your career. I’m here to help if you want help. That (mechanics) was one thing we talked about. We looked at video and there were some hitches in my delivery. Ivan worked with me just about every day to clean it up for two months or so, and we were able to see the results at the end of the year. In my last five or six starts were pretty good, my velocity was up. That was really good to clean that up, and I kind of built on that and taken it here to this year.” As I mentioned, Wheeler is a bright guy and knows himself well as a pitcher. He has a very good perspective. “I’m just trying to be as aggressive as I can be and get to the big leagues, and I think my best shot at doing that is being a guy who can throw a fastball, almost being a power pitcher in the way I think. I know that I don’t run it up to 95 to 96 mph but you don’t necessarily have to do that as a starter. You look at the guys who do that, and they’re making $25 million a year, and obviously that’s awesome, but if you can be a big league starter and throwing 90-92 and get outs, you can have a pretty good career.” So, let’s project a couple of years out. If Jason Wheeler were to play for the Minnesota Twins, it would not be the first time he played in the state of Minnesota. Between his sophomore and junior years in college, he played for the St. Cloud River Bats. He was named the league’s pitcher of the year after going 8-1 with a 1.35 ERA in 15 games. He also struck out 74 in 66.2 innings. However, it wasn’t just the baseball game itself in the Northwoods League that he learned the most from. “It was the first time that I had any experience of really being away from home and basically just playing ball every day. My first college summer ball, I played in Palm Springs, just a couple of hours away from home. I would go home whenever I could. I think that it really prepares you for minor league baseball, get on a bus for a while, you’re going to Wisconsin and wherever else, to Canada, and there’s some good competition. The next year I played in the Cape Cod, and there is better competition in the Cape Cod League, but it doesn’t prepare you in terms of six-hour bus rides and other things like the Northwoods League. There are a ton of games in the Northwoods League. It’s different than any other summer league that I had experience in. I had a good time. I loved my host family while I was in St. Cloud, and it was a fun time. It was a good summer” Teammates and others have told me that Jason Wheeler is incredibly smart, on the field, and also off the field. He’s got a great perspective on baseball, but he’s also done the things he needs to do academically for life after baseball. “I got my degree in my first two off seasons. I was drafted in 2011, and I didn’t play that year, so I went and took the fall semester of 2011. And then I did the fall of 2012 after I played in Beloit, and I got my degree. I’m a Business Law major with a Math minor. I took the LSAT, the Law School Admissions Test, this past offseason, and I did very well on it. So that’s good. That’s good for five years, so if something happens with baseball, if it doesn’t work out, I can go to law school. I can apply whenever I want over the next five years.” Certainly not a bad fallback plan! Learning that Wheeler is a fellow math minor makes me a big supporter. However, it is clear that his biggest support comes from his family, and in particular, his brother. Ryan Wheeler was the Arizona Diamondbacks fifth round pick in 2009, also out of Loyola Marymount. Unlike Jason, he is a position player, and in July of 2012, he made his Major League debut with the Diamondbacks. He played in 50 games for the team. Following the season, he was traded to the Rockies for left-handed pitcher Matt Reynolds. In 2013, he played in 28 games for the Rockies. He began the 2014 season with the Rockies AAA affiliate in Colorado Springs. Jason Wheeler and I were originally scheduled to chat on Friday afternoon, but it was pushed back one day for very good reason. “I was just on the phone with him for an hour. He was just called up to the Rockies. He got a hit, a hard line drive for a pinch-hit single. Right now, he’s commuting from Colorado Springs, which is about an hour and a half drive to Denver because that’s where their AAA team is, and so he’s called the last two days and we’ve talked for an hour, hour and a half.” On Saturday, he started and went 1-3 with his first home run of the season (and second of his career). So, what do the two brothers talk about during their conversations? “We don’t talk baseball too much, to tell you the truth. He’s a position player so we, we’ll talk about his at bats, or we’ll talk when I have a start. We don’t talk too much about the lifestyle and baseball itself because we live it every day. But it’s just good to talk to him,” Wheeler continued, “But it’s not really baseball. It’s just kind of talking, hanging out, he’s probably my best friend. We’ve got a small group of really good, close friends. It’s good that we are together in that circle.” So what are some of Wheeler’s goals for the 2014 season? “Obviously it would be nice to be recognized as an All-Star in the High-A League if I’m here long enough. That’s not everything. Those accolades, like I mentioned earlier, you’re not really here to be the best High-A pitcher. I want to get better. I want to move up. I want to keep going. I want to push myself through the organization and move some people out of the way that are above me and that’s only going to happen if I keep getting better.” Hopefully that will mean a promotion to AA New Britain. “That’s obviously a main goal (to get to New Britain). I just want to go out and get better. That’s kind of the big thing.” That promotion should be coming soon. One would think that Wheeler would be the next starting pitcher promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain. Hopefully you’ve enjoyed this opportunity to get to know a Twins prospect who has a chance to work his way up the system and could reach the big leagues. Feel free to comment. Click here to view the article