Seth Stohs

The Twins improved to 5-9 with a 5-4 win over the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Denard Span, Jamey Carroll and Joe Mauer each had two hits, but it was again Josh Willingham who played hero in this game. With the Twins down 4-2 in the 7th, the bases were loaded with two outs and Willingham came to the plate. With two strikes, Willingham drilled a opposite-field doubles to drive in three and give the Twins the lead. It extended his hitting streak to 14 games. Matt Maloney, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing and then Matt Capps finished out the game very well. Liam Hendriks started and gave up just one run through five innings. However, in the 6th inning, he gave up three runs, culminated by an Evan Longoria home run. The Twins are playing some exciting baseball, and the excitement is trickling down to the minor leagues. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday. Let's just say Miguel Sano had a pretty solid game![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 2 The Red Wings got a big win against the International League’s top team on Friday night. PJ Walters improved to 2-1 with a decent start. In 5.1 innings, he gave up two runs on six hits. (He gave up back to back home runs in the 3rd inning to Derrick Mitchell and Tuffy Gosewisch.) He walked two and struck out three. Then the bullpen took over. Tyler Robertson got the two outs of the sixth inning. Jeff Manship pitched two scoreless innings. Casey Fien recorded his third save with a scoreless ninth. The Red Wings tied a season-high with 11 hits in this game. Michael Hollimon was 3-4. Drew Butera was 2-3 with a double and two RBI (in the three-run fifth inning). The RBI were his first since Opening Day. Darin Mastroianni was 2-4. Matt Rozzotti was 2-4. It was his third multi-hit game in his past three games. The Red Wings win pushes them back to .500, at 8-8. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 This Friday afternoon ball game was tied 3-3 when the Rock Cats came to bat in the bottom of the eighth. With an out, Evan Bigley and Chris Colabello hit back-to-back doubles that gave the team the lead. One out later, Deibinson Romero walked and Pedro Florimon hit a three-run homer that broke that game open. Earlier in the game, it was Romero that supplied the offense. He also knocked a three-run homer. It was Romero’s third homer of the year while Florimon hit his second in as many games. James Beresford went 2-3. Luke French made the start for the Rock Cats. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits in five innings. He struck out three, but he walked an uncharacteristic six batters. Deolis Guerra struck out two in two scoreless innings. Daniel Turpen got the win as he struck out two in two innings. The Rock Cats improve to 11-5. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 3, BRADENTON 4 Adrian Salcedo and Gerrit Cole were matched up against each other in consecutive starts. Josmil Pinto hit a home run against Cole, and the Miracle scored all three of their runs against the talented right-hander who went the first five innings. Salcedo also went five innings. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits and three walks. He struck out four. Jhon Garcia gave up one run over the next two innings, a solo home to Drew Maggi. Matt Hauser gave up a hit and two walks but no runs in the 8th inning. The Miracle bats continue to struggle. In this game, they had just six hits. Pinto hit his first homer. Jairo Perez and Anderson Hidalgo each hit a double. Lance Ray was 1-2 with a walk and a stolen base. The loss is the fourth in a row for the Miracle, who drop to 6-8. BELOIT 13, SOUTH BEND 3 Big innings are always helpful for a baseball team. The Snappers scored four runs in the 4th inning, the 7th inning and the 9th inning and pulled away in this game. The Snappers scored their 13 runs on 15 hits and eight walks, but let’s start with the pitching. Lefty Jason Wheeler got the start. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits and three walks. He struck out four. AJ Achter was good again, throwing two scoreless innings. Clinton Dempster threw the ninth. He gave up a run on one hit and three walks in the inning. OK, to the offense. Miguel Sano came into the game with six homers and a triple, but no doubles. In this game, he went 4-5 with a walk and his first three doubles of the season. JD Williams was 3-6. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with a walk. (Side Note – He also committed his fifth error.) Danny Ortiz had two hits. AJ Pettersen and Rory Rhodes each hit a double. Jhonathan Goncalves hit a triple. The Snappers jump back over .500 at 8-7. --- Players of the Day for Friday, April 20, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano Download attachment: Miguel Sano.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler Download attachment: Jason Wheeler.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, April 21, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs. Lehigh Valley – LHP Scott Diamond New Britain vs New Hampshire – LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers @ Bradenton – RHP Marty Popham Beloit @ South Bend – RHP Matt Summers --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them! Click here to view the article

The news came from Twins PR Director Dustin Morse following Sunday's win in Cleveland. Kyle Gibson will be promoted to the Minnesota Twins on Tuesday and will make his major league debut on Saturday at Target Field. Sunday's winning pitcher, Pedro Hernandez, was sent back to Triple-A. Gibson has been a big conversation piece for Twins fans throughout the season. There has been his recovery from Tommy John surgery. There is talk of an innings limit. There has been talk of Consistency. All the rumor and speculation can end now with Gibson getting the call. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In Rochester, he has made 15 starts. He is 7-5 with a 3.01 ERA. In 92.2 innings, he has given up 78 hits, walked 29 and struck out 79. He was very inconsistent through the season's first ten starts, alternating good and bad starts. Since then, aside from one clunker, he has been terrific. The Kyle Gibson Era is about to start, and Twins fans should be excited. View full article

Typically, the full season minor league affiliates do not have games scheduled for the night of the All-Star game. However, the New Britain Rock Cats played the middle game of a three-game series at Harisburg. And earlier in the day, the Gulf Coast League Twins played a game. The story of the day was that there were many minor league transactions throughout the system, and frankly, several more must be in the works. Here is what we have as this is written: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] LHP Edgar Ibarra has been promoted from New Britain to Rochester. OF Evan Bigley, LHP Ryan O’Rourke and LHP Jose Gonzalez have been promoted to New Britain from Ft. Myers. C Kyle Knudson went from New Britain to Ft. Myers. OF JD Williams, 1B Dalton Hicks, LHP Steven Gruver and RHP Tyler Jones were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers. C Jairo Rodriguez was sent back from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. RHP Dallas Gallant and RHP Tim Shibuya have been moved from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids. Here is a look at what happened in the two Twins games in the farm system on Tuesday: Rochester Red Wings No Game Scheduled. New Britain 4, Harrisburg 6 Box Score Lefty Pat Dean has pitched quite well of late, but this start didn't go so well for him. In 3.2 innings, he gave up five runs on nine hits. He walked two and struck out two. Tom Stuifbergen came on and after a walk, got the final out. BJ Hermsen gave up one run on five hits in 2.1 innings. Edgar Ibarra then gave up one hit and struck one out in 0.2 innings. Dakota Watts gave up two hits and a walk but no runs in his inning. Nate Hanson led the offense. He was 2-3 with two walks and his 17th AA double. Danny Santana was 2-4 with a walk. Eddie Rosario went 2-5 with his ninth double. Jordan Parraz went 2-4 with his seventh home run. Josmil Pinto doubled for the 22nd time. Angel Morales went 1-2 with two walks and his second stolen base. Ft. Myers Miracle No Game Scheduled. Cedar Rapids Kernels No Game Scheduled. Elizabethton Twins No Game Scheduled. GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 11 Box Score Looking at the game score, and then finding out that Kohl Stewart made the start might give you pause. But, the Twins top pick threw three shutout innings. He gave up two hits and walked a batter but did not allow a run; he struck out two. In his two starts, he has now thrown six shutout innings. Brandon Easton came on and gave up four runs on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Miguel Gonzalez was next and he gave up five runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. Zach Hayden got the final out of the 6th inning after giving up one hit. Reyson Zoquiel gave up one run on two hits in his inning. He struck out two. Josh Guyer pitched one inning and gave up one run on a solo homer. He struck out two. Although they scored just two runs, the GCL Twins hitters did combine for nine hits. Zach Larson went 2-5 with his fifth double. Engelb Vielma went 2-4 with a walk. Chad Christensen also doubled for the third point. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. View full article

The Twins lost on Saturday afternoon to Max Scherzer and the Detroit Tigers. Justin Morneau’s ninth home run tied the game at two in the second inning. Unfortunately, in the top of the 5th, Carl Pavano gave up six straight hits (5 singles and a double) and gave up four runs. Denard Span cut the lead to 6-3 with his first home run of the season, but that was it. The Twins were able to get no closer and lost 6-3. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Span had a double and the home run. Ben Revere went 3-4 in the game. However, the rest of the lineup managed just three hits. The Twins tied a club record with 16 strikeouts in the game. Josh Willingham led the way with for strikeouts. Brian Dozier and Drew Butera each had three. On Sunday, the Twins will send PJ Walters to the mound in hopes that he can duplicate his last outing, a complete game. The bullpen could use that. Walters (2-1, 2.95 ERA, 0.94 WHIP) will face RHP Rick Porcello (3-4, 5.29 ERA, 1.47 WHIP). Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday: ROCHESTER 2, GWINNETT 4 Luke French got the starting nod for the Red Wings on Saturday afternoon. The left-hander gave up two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out six. Deolis Guerra took the loss. He gave up two runs on two hits and a loss in two innings. Michael Hollimon went 3-4 with his third home run of the season. Sean Burroughs went 2-3 with a walk. Following the game, Jeff Manship learned he was being promoted to the Twins. He was scheduled to start for the Red Wings on Sunday afternoon. The team may need to have a bullpen game. NEW BRITAIN 3, PORTLAND 4 (Completion of Suspended Game) As mentioned yesterday, Andrew Albers threw four scoreless innings on Friday night before the game was suspended due to fog. Brad Thompson came on when the game was resumed on Saturday afternoon. The righty gave up two runs on five hits in 2.2 innings. He walked none and struck out three. Daniel Turpen gave up two runs on five hits and two walks in one innings. He struck out two. Bobby Lanigan came in and got the final out. Matt Rizzotti was 3-4 with his second double in the game. Chris Colabello hit his seventh home run. NEW BRITAIN 3, PORTLAND 4 (Regularly Scheduled Game) The regularly scheduled game started well for the Rock Cats. Evan Bigley launched a big, three-run home run in the top of the first inning gave the team a 3-0 lead. Unfortunately, the homer was one of just two hits the team had in this game. Steve Hirschfeld started and gave up three runs on six hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out five. Luis Perdomo came in to start the bottom of the 7th inning. He got two outs, but he couldn’t get the third out before allowing the winning run. He gave up two hits and walked one. FT. MYERS 6, PALM BEACH 5 Danny Santana came into the game as a pinch hitter for Jairo Perez who was hit by a pitch to start the bottom of the 9th. Oswaldo Arcia attempted a bunt on the first pitch to him, but three pitches later he hit a double down the right field line. Santana raced to 3B, and when the cutoff play was bobbled, Santana headed toward home with the walk-off win. The game was delayed, so it didn’t even start until just after 9:00 eastern time. The game finished minutes after midnight on Sunday morning. Jhon Garcia got the start and gave up two runs on three hits in three innings. He walked two and struck out five. He left with an apparent elbow injury although details are not yet known. Edgar Ibarra gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in 3.1 innings. He struck out three. Ricky Bowen came in and went the final 2.2 innings without giving up a run, a hit or a walk. He struck out three and gets the Win. Arcia led the offense with his 12th and 13th doubles. Michael Gonzales went 1-2 with two walks and a two run homer, his fourth of the year in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Lancy Ray hit a solo homer, his sixth of the season. The Miracle had seven hits, walked seven times and twice reached after being hit by a pitch. BELOIT 1, KANE COUNTY 5 The Snappers lost the first game of their road trip on Saturday night. Adam Bryant went 2-4 with his seventh double. Miguel Sano was 1-3 with a walk, his tenth double and fourth stolen base. He also committed his 16th and 17th errors. Lefty Steven Gruver started for the Snappers and gave up five runs (just one earned) on four hits and four walks in three innings. He struck out three. Australian righty Tim Atherton made his Snappers debut and threw three perfect innings, with four strikeouts. David Hurlbut struck out two in two scoreless innings. Matthew Tomshaw was placed on the 7-Day Disabled List, with Atherton taking his roster spot. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, May 26, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Tim Atherton Download attachment: Tim Atherton.jpg Hitter of the Day – Michael Hollimon Download attachment: Michael Hollimon.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, May 27, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Gwinnett – TBD (Jeff Manship was to start, but he’s been promoted) New Britain @ Portland – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach – LHP Pat Dean Beloit @ Kane County – LHP Jason Wheeler --- 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

Tommy Watkins has been in the Twins organization since 1998 when he was the team's 38th round draft pick of the Twins. He spent two seasons in the Gulf Coast League, one year in Elizabethton and one year in Quad Cities. He spent two years playing for his hometown Ft. Myers Miracle. After two-and-a-half seasons with New Britain, he was promoted to Rochester. He spent three-and-a-half seasons there before retiring. However, in late 2007, all the time and all the work paid off when he was called into his manager's office and told he was going to the big leagues. He played in nine games for the Twins and hit .357 (10-28). Watkins is now in his third season as the hitting coach of the Beloit Snappers where this year he gets to work with a team that is currently four games ahead of its nearest competition in its division. Tonight, I was joined by Watkins on the SethSpeaks Weekly Twins podcast. We talked about his career, but mainly about his coaching with the Snappers. We talked about Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, AJ Pettersen and more players. It was a fun conversation.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I was also joined by Ed Thoma of the Mankato Free Press who writes a terrific blog called The Baseball Outsider. Then TwinsCentric and Twins Daily's own Parker Hageman came on to talk about more Twins topics. He also let us in on some Twins Daily 'stuff' that you'll likely be reading about here in the near future. Check out the podcast here. Download attachment: TommyWatkins.jpg Click here to view the article

This much can be said. When the Rochester Red Wings have been in absolute need of a win, the bats have come through in big style. It has also helped to have Scott Diamond making those starts. That was again the case on Saturday night in Pawtucket. As you recall, on Labor Day, the final day of the regular season, the Red Wings needed to win and get a loss from Norfolk. Durham helped the Twins by beating the Tide in extra innings. The Red Wings scored nine first inning runs and beat Scranton/Wilkes Barre 13-3 behind a quality start from Diamond. On Friday, the Paw Sox topped the Red Wings to take a 2-1 series lead in this best of five series. That meant that the Red Wings were in a must-win situation in Game 4, and they would send Diamond to the mound. How did it go... See below! (or look at the title of this article) Diamond came through with seven shutout innings for the Red Wings. He gave up seven hits, walked none and struck out eight batters in the game. He had been 4-0 with a 2.41 ERA in the regular season with the Red Wings. After a scoreless eighth inning, AJ Achter gave up a run on two walks and a hit in the ninth for a final 9-1 score. Download attachment: Scott Diamond2.jpg The offense came up big again in a big game, and they were able to coast somewhat after a big fifth inning to break open the game and give them an 8-0 lead. The Anatomy of the Big Inning The Red Wings were up just 2-0 going into the fifth inning against Red Sox first-round pick Matt Barnes. Ray Olmedo and Eric Fryer led off with back-to-back singles. Following a wild pitch, Antoan Richardson walked to load the bases and end Barnes' night. In came Alex Wilson to face James Beresford. He got a ground ball back to himself, but a throwing error scored a run and kept the bases loaded. Eduardo Escobar singled to score one more run. With the bases loaded, Jeff Clement drove in two with an opposite field double. Deibinson Romero singled to score Escobar. An Aaron Hicks double scored one more. Wilson got a strikeout for the inning's first out, but his night was done. Jose de La Torres came on and got the final two outs. All nine Red Wings starters had at least one hit in the game. Clement led the way. He went 3-5 with two doubles and drove in three runs. Deibinson Romero was 3-4 with a walk and a double. Eric Farris was the only other hitter with two hits. On- base machine Antoan Richardson was back in the leadoff spot and went 1-3 with two walks. With the Jacoby Ellsbury foot issues, the Red Sox called up outfielder Jackie Bradley, Jr., following Game 3. What's Next? Game 5 will be played on Sunday afternoon at 12:05 (central time). According to play-by-play man Josh Whetzel, the Red Wings will likely send Virgil Vasquez to the mound opposite knuckleballer Charlie Haeger. Click here to view the article

The Twins lost again, this time to the Tigers. They scored six runs on ten hits which should be enough most of the time. Unfortunately, Anthony Swarzak wasn’t feeling well and it showed. He gave up six runs and didn’t get through the fourth inning. Francisco Liriano gave up four more runs without completing three innings. Denard Span had three hits including two doubles, but it just wasn’t enough. Ron Gardenhire was ejected moments after Jamey Carroll was ejected for the first time in his career. Gardy wasn’t the only manager in the Twins organization to be ejected, and Carroll wasn’t the only player. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 8, GWINNETT 13 Matt Maloney made his first start of the season, and it wasn’t what he would have wanted. The lefty gave up five runs on six hits in three innings. He had no walks and no strikeouts. Esmerling Vasquez tossed the next two innings and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. He struckout four. Lester Oliveros took the loss. He gave up two runs on three hits in 1.2 innings. Tyler Robertson gave up a hit but got the final out of the 7th inning. Brendan Wise pitched the eighth and gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits and two walks. The Red Wings offense got off to a fast start. They scored five runs in the first frame and two in the second to take a 7-2 lead, but that would be about it. Sean Burroughs had two doubles and drove in four early runs. Tsuyoshi Nishioka was 2-5 with a walk and his fourth steal. Pedro Florimon and Matt Carson each had two hits. Danny Valencia had a two-run double. Unfortunately, he didn’t play after being ejected in the 4th inning for arguing balls and strikes. NEW BRITAIN 1, PORTLAND 0 (Game Suspended after 4 innings) It’s not every day that it happens, but the game in Maine was postponed by fog. Andrew Albers started and threw the four shutout innings. He had given up two hits, walked two and struck out six before the game was suspended. The Rock Cats bats managed only a single from Matt Rizzotti in their four innings. The game will be continued on Saturday, followed by the regularly-scheduled game (Which will be just 7 innings). FT. MYERS 2, CLEARWATER 6 The bats didn’t hit, and the arms didn’t pitch. Overall, this was just not a good game for the Miracle. The team managed just two hits. Josmil Pinto was 1-3 with a walk. In the fifth inning, he hit his fourth home run of the year. Levi Michael started the game by going 0-3 and dropped his batting average to .200. In his fourth at bat, he got a single to raise it to .205. Miguel Munoz got another start. The right-hander went the first five frames and gave up three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out two. Cole Nelson gave up one run on two hits and two walks in his three innings. Nelvin Fuentes then gave up two unearned runs on two hits in the final inning. BELOIT 4, CEDAR RAPIDS 5 (12 innings) It took extra innings and a play at the plate, but the Snappers fell 5-4 to Cedar Rapids at home. Tim Shibuya got the starting nod. He gave up three runs (one earned) on six hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out three. Ryan O’Rourke came in and gave up a run on three hits in two innings. He struck out three. Michael Tonkin struck out two and walked two in two scoreless innings. Clint Dempster threw two scoreless innings before giving up a single run in the top of the 12th to take the loss. Kyle Knudson led the offense. The former Gopher went 2-5 with a walk and his first double. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with a walk. Drew Leachman had two hits. Adam Bryant was 1-3 with two walks and his sixth double. Bryant led off the bottom of the 12th inning with a double and advanced to third on a bunt. Leachman came up and grounded toward shortstop. In a close play at the plate, Bryant was called out and at that point, Snappers manager Nelson Prada was ejected. One batter later, the game was over. Miguel Sano Update – Sano led off the top of the 10th inning with a single. It was his first hit since Thursday, May 17, when he hit a single in the 7th inning. It was an 0-24 stretch. Sano’s struggles of late have been well documented. Since getting the day off on his birthday (May 11), Sano has played 13 games and gone 4-45 (.089). In his last ten games, he is 2-36 (.056). I mention these numbers not to downgrade Sano. He is no less of a prospect because of a bad streak. Most prospects, especially 19-year-old prospects, have these types of stretches. My point is that if he had started the season on a bad streak like this, would fans be clamoring for him to be promoted to Ft. Myers? --- Players of the Day for Friday, May 25, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Albers Download attachment: AndrewAlbers.jpg Hitter of the Day – Sean Burroughs Download attachment: SeanBurroughs.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, May 26, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Gwinnett – LHP Luke French New Britain @ Portland – RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers vs Palm Beach – RHP Jhon Garcia Beloit @ Kane County – LHP Steven Gruver --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them! Click here to view the article

Miguel Sano did not play for the third straight game due to a tight hamstring. The Twins announced they expect 2013 top pick Kohl Stewart to pitch in about 8-10 days; Stewart was placed on the DL August 2 with a cut on his foot. On the other hand, Byron Buxton returned to the Ft. Myers lineup after missing about a week after losing a toe nail. Wilkin Ramirez played for New Britain. Darin Mastroianni, it was announced, will head to Rochester by Tuesday to continue his rehab. There, he will be joined by Josh Willingham. The Twins will call up a starting pitcher for their double header on Friday, and the belief is that it will be Liam Hendriks. Also, according to Baseball America, the Twins have signed Ivory Thomas, their 34th round draft pick from June and an outfielder from Cal St. Dominguez Hills. Check out what else happened in the Twins minor league system Sunday: Rochester 4, Syracuse 5 Box Score The Red Wings had another opportunity for late-game dramatics, but former Red Wings (and Twins) reliever Tyler Robertson got the final two out to record his second save with the Chiefs. Liam Hendriks started and gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Two of the runs scored as a result of a misplay in the outfield. AJ Achter came on and walked three and struck out four in 2.2 hitless, scoreless innings. Luis Perdomo gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth. Chris Parmelee led the offense. He went 3-5 with his fourth double. Eduardo Escobar was 2-4 with a walk and his first triple. Jeff Clement went 2-5 and drove in two more runs. Aaron Hicks was also 2-5. New Britain 5, Erie 9 Box Score I think it is fair to say that it was not a great day for Trevor May. The right hander pitched a scoreless first inning. That's the good. However, he gave up five runs in the second and three more in the third. In total, he gave up eight runs on eight hits and five walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out three. Cole Johnson came on and gave up one hit and one walk over the next 2.1 innings; he struck out two. Dan Sattler came in and got two outs, but he also walked three. Ryan O’Rourke got the final out of the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh. Dakota Watts gave up one run on four hits over two innings. Jordan Parraz led the offense. He went 3-3 with his ninth home run and three RBI. Dan Rohlfing was 3-5. Evan Bigley was 2-4 with a walk. Ft. Myers 6, Tampa 7 Box Score The Miracle headed into the ninth inning with a three-run lead. They had Tyler Jones on the mound. Jones had pitched a scoreless eighth. With the Miracle, he had not yet given up a run; he also did not up give up a run in all July. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs on four hits and got just one out in the ninth in taking the loss. He left with the tying runner on second base. Zach Jones came in, the runner stole third, and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch. It was a tough loss after the game went so well through the first eight innings. Matt Tomshaw provided a quality start. He yielded three runs on six hits and two walks in six innings; he struck out three. Nelvin Fuentes came on and walked two in a scoreless seventh inning. He also struck out two. Byron Buxton returned to the lineup for the first time in a week. He went 0-2, but walked three times and stole his seventh base; he was caught stealing for the third time. JD Williams, batting third for the Miracle after batting ninth most of the season in Cedar Rapids, went 1-2 with three walks. Jairo Rodriguez went 3-4. Aderlin Mejia went 2-5. Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Carlos Correa gave Quad Cities a 2-1 lead with a single in the top of the 9th inning. It was his third hit of the game and, at the time, gave him more hits than the Kernels (3-2). However, the Kernels did get to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, and hit they did. With one out, Jorge Polanco singled. Adam Walker followed with a single, and an error on the outfielder pushed Walker to third base. Max Kepler walked, and with two outs, Joel Licon came up and drilled a single down the left field line to give the Kernels a 3-2 win. Jake Mauer didn’t get to see the end of the game as he was ejected in the 4th inning after a hitter’s interference call. Download attachment: Joel Licon.jpg JO Berrios made the start for the Kernels, and the start could be accurately described as “Damage Control.” The young right-hander gave up just one run over six innings. It’s remarkable because he gave up five hits and walked six. He struck out three. Brandon Bixler came on and gave up one hit and walked one in a scoreless inning. He struck out one. Madison Boer went the final two innings and gave up one run on three hits. Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 7 Box Score Felix Jorge was hit pretty hard, though he was not helped by three errors from his E-Twins infielders. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on eight hits over five innings. He did strike out five and walked none. Austin Malinowski came on and struck out two in two perfect innings. Ethan Mildren gave up one run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Shane Turner went 2-4 with his third and fourth doubles. Zach Granite went 2-5. He now has a seven game hitting streak. Over his past three games, he is 7-14 (.500). Bryan Haar hit his 10th double. GCL Twins No Sunday games scheduled. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Robby Incmikoski.jpg There have been many changes around the Minnesota Twins. When games start up again next season, you will also notice a change on the Twins telecasts in 2013. After four years as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports North, Robby Incmikoski is leaving FSN. Of course, unlike some of the changes with the Twins, this decision is fully his own. He has accepted a similar job with Root Sports in Pittsburgh. In a phone conversation last night, Incmikoski said that he will remain with FSN through the end of the month, keeping busy working Timberwolves games. (photo FoxSportsNorth.com)[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] According to Incmikoski, “I'm headed to do the Pirates in the same position. I will be a pregame reporter for the Penguins as well, but no travel.” The move makes sense for him in many ways. It allows him to be much closer to his family in Philadelphia. It is also a good opportunity for him professionally. In his time at FSN, Incmikoski worked Twins, Timberwolves and Wild games. There were many times he would be working a game a night for two to three weeks straight, traveling from city to city. It’s certainly understandable that he would enjoy a job with much less travel during the hockey season! Incmikoski added, “I love Fox Sports North and am extremely thankful for the chance they gave me.” After a year of Telly Hughes, Twins fans should be very thankful for the years that the hard-working Incmikoski provided insight into our homes via Fox Sports North. Best Wishes, Robby! Click here to view the article

There are a million ways to try to prepare for an upcoming season. In just four days, the Minnesota Twins will be at Target Field taking on the division-favorite Detroit Tigers. Everyone knows that the Twins starting pitchers will not be able to compete on paper with the other pitchers in the division, but what about the hitters? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Let's check out the projected starters for the AL Central teams and compare them by position. Below, I'll go position-by-position with my ranking of the players. In the comments, be sure to post your rankings, and let's see how we did at the end of the year. Catchers Joe Mauer - Minnesota Twins Carlos Santana - Cleveland Indians Salvador Perez - Kansas City Royals Alex Avila - Detroit Tigers Tyler Flowers - Chicago White Sox First Basemen Prince Fielder - Detroit Tigers Justin Morneau - Minnesota Twins Nick Swisher - Cleveland Indians Paul Konerko - Chicago White Sox Eric Hosmer - Kansas City Royals Second Basemen Jason Kipnis - Cleveland Indians Gordon Beckham - Chicago White Sox Omar Infante - Detroit Tigers Brian Dozier - Minnesota Twins Chris Getz - Kansas City Royals Third Basemen Miguel Cabrera - Detroit Tigers Mike Moustakus - Kansas City Royals Trevor Plouffe - Minnesota Twins Lonnie Chisenhall - Cleveland Indians Jeff Keppinger - Chicago White Sox Shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera - Cleveland Indians Alexi Ramirez - Chicago White Sox Jhonny Peralta - Detroit Tigers Alcides Escobar - Kansas City Pedro Florimon - Minnesota Twins Left Field Alex Gordon - Kansas City Josh Willingham - Minnesota Twins Dayan Viciedo - Chicago White Sox Michael Brantley - Cleveland Indians Andy Dirks - Detroit Tigers Center Field Austin Jackson - Detroit Tigers Michael Bourn - Cleveland Indians Aaron Hicks - Minnesota Twins Alejandro de Aza - Chicago White Sox Lorenzo Cain - Kansas City Royals Right Field Torii Hunter - Detroit Tigers Alex Rios - Chicago White Sox Jeff Francoer - Kansas City Royals Drew Stubbs - Cleveland Indians Chris Parmelee - Minnesota Twins Designated Hitter Billy Butler - Kansas City Royals Victor Martinez - Detroit Tigers Adam Dunn - Chicago White Sox Ryan Doumit - Minnesota Twins Mark Reynolds - Cleveland Indians So, there you have the postional rankings for the AL Century. Based on my rankings, if I were to add up the total numbers (of their placement within each position), there is a clear-cut paper projection winner. That is the Detriot Tigers. So, the Tigers have a starting staff of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Anibal Sanchez, Doug Fister and Rick Porcello, yet their offense will also be strong. Miguel Cabrera is coming off of a Triple Crown season. Prince Fielder was terrific in his debut season in Detroit. The also are adding Torii Hunter and they'll return the potent bat of Victor offense. On offense, the Twins are right with the rest of the division and with any pitching will help lead to some more wins in 2013. Here are my rankings: Detroit Tigers - 21 Cleveland Indians - 26 Kansas City Royals - 29 Minnesota Twins - 29 Chicago White Sox - 30 So again, how would you rank all of the positions, and how does your team, or your favorite? View full article

The Twins got a Quality Start from Jason Marquis, but the bullpen struggled mightily and in the end, it was too much Felix Hernandez as the Mariners topped the Twins 7-0. The King went eight shutout innings against the Twins and allowed just one hit, a ground ball single between first and second base in the fourth inning. It was the third time in their last four games that the Twins have been shutout. Earlier in the day, the Twins did announce that Justin Morneau’s wrist was not getting better and he will be put on the Disabled List. Check out the Rochester report below to see a couple of Red Wings coming up to the Twins on Monday. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] GAME 1 - ROCHESTER 2, BUFFALO 1 PJ Walters gave the Red Wings exactly what they needed in Game 1 on Saturday. He was able to pitch all seven innings. Even better, he gave up just one run on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven. And as a bonus, he improves to 3-1 with the win. The team needed the great pitching performance because the offense managed just six hits in the game. Matt Rizzotti picked up his fourth double. Brian Dozier collected the game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the 5th inning. GAME 2 - ROCHESTER 5, EMPIRE STATE 0 The second game became a bullpen game. Brendan Wise started and threw three scoreless innings. He gave up three this, walked two and struck out two. Deolis Guerra came in and struck out four over 2.1, one-hit innings. Tyler Robertson got the second out of the sixth inning. Anthony Slama came in and got the final out of the 6th inning and three outs in the 7th to record his seventh save. He walked one and struck out two. Darin Mastroianni was the leadoff hitter and went 2-3 with a walk and his first double. He also stole his eighth base. He also played run producer in this game with four RBI. Aaron Bates was 2-3 with his fourth double. Ray Chang walked twice. Since their eight-game losing streak ended, the Red Wings have now won four games in a row and can enjoy an off day on Sunday. Following the game, according to the Rochester Baseball Observer, manager Gene Glynn informed Scott Diamond and Brian Dozier that they were being promoted to the Twins. NEW BRITAIN 5, PORTLAND 0 David Bromberg appears to be back in a role the suits him and the results have been tremendous. Bromberg made another start and threw five more scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five. Caleb Thielbar threw two innings and gave up just one hit. Luis Perdomo struck out two in two scoreless innings. The Rock Cats got a big, two-run triple off the bat of Estarlin de los Santos. Danny Lehmann went 1-1 with two walks and an RBI. Aaron Hicks went 1-3 with a walk and an RBI. More On Bromberg – Bromberg started the season by giving up nine runs in his first two innings. Since then, he has thrown 15 innings and given up just one run. More Bad News – It was announce that Alex Wimmers has a partial tear in his UCL, and that they will attempt to rest and then rehab it. FT. MYERS 3, LAKELAND 4 (11 innings) Last start, Adrian Salcedo was hit in the face by a one-hopper and broke his nose. He still made his next scheduled start. The righty went five innings and gave up two runs on four hits. He walked none and struck out two. (It is also great to see zero walks because in his pre-broken nose start, he walked five and had as many walks as strikeouts on the season) Nelvin Fuentes came in and gave up one run on two hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came in and was terrific, but he still gets the loss. He gave up one run (in the 11th) on three hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out five. Danny Santana went 2-5. Danny Ortiz was 2-4. BELOIT 4, KANE COUNTY 7 The Snappers played a double header in Cedar Rapids on Friday night, drove almost four hours back to Beloit, and then played an early-afternoon game on Saturday. Tim Shibuya was on the mound to start. He gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and a walk. He struck out. Unfortunately, two of the three hits were home runs. He did leave with the lead. Ryan O’Rourke came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in two innings. Corey Williams pitched the ninth and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk. Jairo Rodriguez went 2-2 with two walks. Tyler Grimes was 2-4 with his eighth double. Drew Leachman went 2-4 with his first stolen base. Miguel Sano was 1-4 with a walk and his eighth double. Sano is on fire with the bat of late, but his glove has gone quite cold of late. In this game, he committed three errors and now has ten errors on the season. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, May 5, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – PJ Walters Download attachment: PJ Walters.jpg Hitter of the Day – Darin Mastroianni Download attachment: Darin Mastroianni2.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, May 6, 2012 Schedule Rochester – No Game Scheduled New Britain vs Portland – RHP BJ Hermsen Ft. Myers vs Lakeland – RHP Marty Popham Beloit vs Kane County – LHP Jason Wheeler --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them! Click here to view the article

It’s the same with every team in every city, be it the New York Yankees, the Boston Red Sox , the Seattle Mariners, the Houston Astros, or the Minnesota Twins. Each team has fans that are willing to be patient, think logically and give the benefit of the doubt to players and front office personnel whose jobs are much tougher than it looks on TV. Each team has fans that are ready to jump off of a bridge with every loss, feeling the need to place blame on someone, a player, the manager, a hitting coach or the front office. And of course most fans lie somewhere on the spectrum in between those two extremes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There are the fans who (semi-) jokingly suggest that the Twins will go 0-162. Well, to them, some might say, “Maybe they’ll go 158-4!” There are those that are very impressed with the stability that Jamey Carroll has brought to the shortstop position in the first four games. The other side will say, “Sure, but he can’t hit.” Then the other side will respond with, “but he’s already got three walks and has taken many very good at bats. He isn’t a power guy, but he does get on base!” Josh Willingham has a ton of brute power. He’s hit both of the Twins home runs so far, and just missed a third yesterday when the ball hooked just foul down the left field line. He is a right-handed Jim Thome and we should expect commercials with him walking around with a big, blue ox soon (at least when he gets done bowling!). Others will point out that he has two errors already and does a nice job of turning doubles into triples. The team is hitting just .153 through four games. Only Cleveland has a lower batting average. Some will say that the offense was overrated. Others will say that Joe Mauer won’t hit .150 this year. Jamey Carroll will hit and get on base. Ryan Doumit can hit. The offense will be fine. In reality, it’s probably somewhere in between. As good as Carroll’s and Doumit’s track records are, no one can predict the future, especially when switching leagues and being over 30, etc. The word “fan” comes from the word “Fanatic.” We all know that. But the definition of ‘fan’ can vary for every person. Some feel an obligation as a fan to bash every decision that a player, manager, coach or front office makes. Some fans are just fine with all of the decisions that a team makes, trusting that they have experience and know what they’re doing. Again, most are somewhere in between. For me, there have been plenty of moves that I haven’t agree with over the past few years, and yet, I’m willing to give the player and the GM the benefit of the doubt until I’m proven right or wrong. For instance, when the Twins traded Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps in 2010, it really upset me. No Twins blogger or prospect-ranker was higher on Ramos than I was. In fact, I had a blog back in 2008 when Ramos was still playing in High-A Ft. Myers, I first laid out my plan for 2012 that included splitting catching and DH time between Ramos and Joe Mauer. I was generally bashed for my feelings at the time. Ramos may never been an All-Star, but he would have been a nice piece to still have. I didn’t like Capps at the time of the trade, and yet, he did very well for the Twins in 2010. I wasn’t surprised when he pitched poorly in 2011, and I was shocked when the Twins brought him back in 2012 and gave up a draft pick. Then again, I’m willing to see how it turns out, and I certainly hope that Wilson Ramos pitches great. On the other side, I was a huge proponent of the Twins signing Mike Lamb before the 2008 season. They signed him for two years and $6.6 million. He was coming off of two straight seasons with an OPS over .820. He was only 32, and although no one expected him to be great, we certainly expected more than a .598 OPS in half of a season. There are no absolutes in baseball, at least not when it comes to free agency or other transactions. So, ask yourself… what kind of fan are you? If the “everything the team does is correct” belief is a TEN, and a “nothing this team does is right” is a ONE, what is your level of fandom? There is no right or wrong answer to this. It is OK to question decisions that the team makes. It is OK to give the team the benefit of the doubt. Does your fandom change when the team is winning versus losing? Should it? At the end of the day, what kind of fan are you, and what kind of fan do you want to be? Download attachment: TwinsFans.jpg Click here to view the article

When we heard the sad and unfortunate news on Monday afternoon that Miami Marlins starting pitcher Jose Fernandez has an elbow sprain, it made me feel awful. The assumption (true or not) is that sometime in the near future, he will have Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of this season and likely some of the 2015 season. If you’re a real, true baseball fan (and let’s face it, if you’re reading this web site, you are), you want to see the best performing. Jose Fernandez, despite being just 21 years old, is one of the best. Fernandez is just the most recent example of what has become an epidemic over the last couple of years. “Everyone” is having Tommy John surgery. No team, including the Twins, is immune to this surgical procedure. Fifteen Major League pitchers have already had Tommy John surgery in the last two months. Download attachment: Jose Fernandez TJ.jpg Jose Fernandez photo by Steve Mitchell IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE The Atlanta Braves have long been touted as an organization that develops pitching talent, and they are. This year, they have had no fewer than four Tommy John surgeries including a couple of big leaguers and a top prospect. Brandon Beachy and Kyle Medlen both had their second Tommy John surgeries this spring. Many like to tout the Tampa Bay Rays organization as the one to emulate, and they certainly do a lot of things well. They are said to have some special things that they do medically to study how to keep players healthy. Jeremy Hellickson hasn’t had Tommy John surgery, but he has missed a lot of time the last couple of seasons. Matt Moore, another one of baseball’s best young pitchers, had Tommy John surgery last month. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper tweeted last night that from 2010 through 2012, 15 high school pitchers were drafted. If Fernandez has Tommy John Surgery, he will be the sixth in that group. Two others on currently on the DL with elbow or forearm issues, and one had hip surgery. Count Dylan Bundy and Jameson Taillon among those who have already had the surgery. The two that are on the DL right now with elbow issues are Top 50 prospects Archie Bradley and Max Fried. Max Fried’s high school teammate, Lucas Giolito, had Tommy John while still in high school and still was a first-round pick. Two possible Top 10 2014 draft picks, Jeff Hoffmann (East Carolina) and Erick Fedde (UNLV), have or soon will have Tommy John surgery. And both still could get drafted in the first round. TOMMY JOHN AND THE TWINS Tommy John was a Minnesota Twins TV broadcaster from 1994 through 1996. Unfortunately, that is not the only connection to the Twins. The Twins have been affected in one way or another by Tommy John surgery over the past decade. I went back ten years of Twins and Twins minor league rosters and here is a list of guys who have had Tommy John surgery before, during or after their Twins career (This is not necessarily complete): Brian Duensing – in College at NebraskaMike Pelfrey – with Mets before coming to Twins as free agent.Kyle Gibson – in minor leagues, in September 2011Lester Oliveros – in September 2012Samuel Deduno – in 2008 with RockiesCorey Williams – on April 1, 2014Alex Wimmers – in minor leagues, in August 2012JT Chargois – in minor leagues, in August 2013Dallas Gallant – in minor leagues, 2011Andrew Ferreria – in college at HarvardJeff Manship – in college at Notre DameFrancisco Liriano – with Twins in November 2006Pat Neshek – with Twins in November 2008Scott Baker – with Twins in April 2012Carlos Silva – with Cubs in 2012Andrew Albers – with Padres in 2009Joe Mays – with Twins in 2003Kyle Waldrop – with Pirates in 2013Matt Maloney – with Twins in July 2012Carl Pavano – with Yankees in 2007Joe Nathan – with Twins in March 2010Bobby Korecky – in minors with Twins in 2005Matt Bashore – in minors in 2010Tom Stuifbergen – in minors in July 2013Carlos Gutierrez – in minors in collegeJhon Garcia – in minors in April 2013Dan Sattler – in minors in August 2012Brian Kirwan – in minors in 2006This list also does not include a couple of hitters. Remember Matt Macri? He made his Major League debut with the Twins in 2008 after coming to the team from the Rockies organization. They had drafted him in 2001 out of high school, but he went to Notre Dame. A shortstop, he had Tommy John surgery in 2004. And, of course, the big news this spring in Ft. Myers came when the Twins announced that Miguel Sano would have Tommy John surgery and miss most, if not all, of the 2014 season. WHY, OH WHY? So many fans seem to have a solution to this problem or what they would do to try to keep players from needing Tommy John surgery. That’s funny, of course, since the medical profession has not yet determined any preventative measures to avoid Tommy John surgery. Aside from not becoming a baseball pitcher, there are several theories out there right now about why there seems to be this influx of Tommy John surgeries. However, I’m not going to pretend to know with any certainty. I happen to agree with those who say that some pitchers do too much upper body weight lifting which creates less flexibility and more stress on the ligaments.I wouldn’t be surprised if specialization in high school (playing one sport year-round rather than playing two or three sports) has some correlation too. Of course, you will find examples on both sides of this as well.I don’t necessarily think pitch counts alone determines if a pitcher will eventually require Tommy John surgery.We have seen pitchers with “perfect” mechanics have Tommy John surgery, and we have seen pitchers with “poor” mechanics have long careers.TNSTAAPP – There’s No Such Thing As a Pitching Prospect. Eerily, that acronym is becoming more and more true. I do have one overriding belief in my head at this time on pitchers and Tommy John surgery. Here’s how you can determine whether or not a pitcher will have Tommy John surgery at some point in his career: Grab a coin and flip it. If it’s heads when it lands, he might have Tommy John surgery. If it’s tails, well, he might not have Tommy John surgery. Click here to view the article

On Friday night, the Elizabethton Twins topped Danville (Braves) by the score of 4-2. In doing so, they advance to the Appalachian League Championship series where they will take on Burlington (Royals). The Best of 3 series begins on Saturday. The E-Twins got going early on Friday. In the first inning, Max Kepler doubled. First baseman DJ Hicks then homered to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. Danville scored one in the top of the third, but the Twins came back in the bottom of the fourth. With Appy League Player of the Year Candido Pimentel at bat, a passed ball scored Travis Harrison. Then in the 5th inning, Hicks doubled and scored on an RBI single by Byron Buxton. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] With that, the E-Twins had a 4-2 lead, a lead that would hold. Hudson Boyd started for the Twins. He gave up two runs on four hits in 4.1 innings. He walked three and struckout four. Kaleb Merck came on and got the next five outs, three of them on strikeouts. Tyler Duffey struckout four over the next two scoreless innings. He turned the ball over to fellow Rice-alum JT Chargois who gave up two hits, but no runs, in the ninth inning to record the save. Hicks led the way, going 2-3 with a walk, a double and home run. Max Kepler was 2-4 with a double. The E-Twins last won the Appalachian League championship in 2008. They won five championships between 2000 and 2008. Download attachment: ETwins Logo.jpg Click here to view the article

The weather conditions have wreaked havoc on the baseball schedule for much of this week. Games from the Midwest to the Northeast have been postponed, and the story was the same for Friday night. The Cedar Rapids Kernels were weathered-out for the fourth straight day. New Britain was supposed to play a late-morning game on Friday but it was postponed. Finally, the Rochester Red Wings game in Pawtucket was postponed by rain. Doubleheaders are scheduled, hopefully for days that the weather will allow the games to be played. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] However, the team off to the fastest start in the 2013 season, the Ft. Myers Miracle, was back on the field, looking to improve on their 7-0 record. So how did they do? Well, come on, you’ll have to read a little further to find out. The game started as a bit of a pitcher's duel. Through the first four innings, just one run scored. In the top of the third, catcher Matt Koch singled to score Eddie Rosario with the game’s first run. Charlotte did tie the game in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out double off starter Matt Summers. However, in the top of the sixth, the Miracle loaded the bases. Angel Morales came up and cleared them with a double. He then scored on a Rosario double to make the score 5-1. Matt Summers left the game after five innings. He had given up just the one run on three hits. He had walked three and struck out one. He was relieved by Cole Johnson who was gave up a triple and the runner scored on a sacrifice fly to make it 5-2. However, the Miracle responded right away again with a single run when Andy Lee scored on a Michael Gonzales sacrifice fly. Johnson gave up the one run over his two innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out none. Adrian Salcedo came in for the eighth inning, and like Johnson, he gave up a run in his first frame. He gave up a quick double. The runner advanced on a groundout and then scored on a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-3. Salcedo gave up another run in the ninth to yield the final 6-4 score. Matt Koch went 4-5 on the game. Eddie Rosario was 2-5 with his fifth double. The Miracle improved to 8-0 to start the season, the winningest team in minor league baseball. If they win in Charlotte on Saturday, a 9-0 record would match the 1994 team's record and be tied for the best start in Miracle history. Madison Boer is scheduled to make the start for the Ft. Myers club. Rochester is scheduled to start a doubleheader in Pawtucket on Saturday at 11:00AM, central time. Alex Meyer will take the mound for New Britain to start a game against Portland at 5:35PM, central time. Cedar Rapids is scheduled to play two games in Clinton, starting at 4:00PM, central time. Oh yeah, in case you missed it, the Twins got destroyed by the Mets in the first game of their three-game, inter-league set. View full article

The Twins lost 4-3 to Baltimore to split a series with the Orioles. Tonight, they start a weekend series in Kansas City against the Royals. The Territory Train is packed full and heading to KC. I’m certain many other Twins fans will be following the team, watching some baseball, visiting the Negro League Baseball Museum and likely eating some really good BBQ. Yes, I’m jealous and need to get down to KC some day! Anyway, it was an interesting night in the Twins farm system. Rochester remains absolutely on fire thanks to a big come-from-behind win. But on Friday, best wishes go out to Red Wings reliever Carlos Gutierrez who is undergoing shoulder surgeryl New Britain and E-Town weren’t able to finish what they started, so they’l do that today. The Miracle were one hit away from a nice win. And, it was a great day for Beloit where they doubled their pleasure and fans got to witness Miguel Sano. What did he do on this night? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Well, you’ll just have to continue reading to find that out and take a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Thursday games in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 14, NORFOLK 8 Shairon Martis was promoted to Rochester to make this start. He gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks in 3.2 innings. When he left the game, the Red Wings were behind 7-2. Fair to say, it was all Rochester at that point. Bobby Lanigan relieved Martis and gave up just one run on two hits and a walk over the next 2.2 innings. Dan Sattler gave up just one hit in 1.2 scoreless frames. Brendan Wise then struck out two in a perfect ninth. Brian Dinkelman led the offense. He went 3-4 with his fifth double and third triple. Evan Bigley went 3-4 with his second double and three RBI. He also stole his first base. Pedro Florimon was 3-4 with a wakl and his 12th double. Ray Chang was 2-5. Danny Lehmann went 2-3 with two walks and his first two AAA doubles of the season. Martis and Lehmann are the 49th and 50th players to play for the Red Wings this season. Martis is the 15th pitcher to make a start. The Red Wings are now 50-49 and above .500 for the first time since they were 9-8 early this season. The team is now 13-4 in July. NEW BRITAIN, NEW HAMPSHIRE (suspended in Top 3) After two scoreless innings, the Rock Cats scored four runs in the top of the third inning. Oswaldo Arcia hit a double and Joe Benson hit a two-run triple. Blake Martin threw two scoreless innings and dropped his season ERA below 4 (3.98). However, the game was suspended by rain during the third inning. FT. MYERS 3, LAKELAND 4 Matt Summers made his first start for the Miracle. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on eight hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out five. Jose Gonzalez struck out two in two scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin struck out two in his inning. Levi Michael went 1-2 with a walk and was also hit by pitch twice. He came to bat in the bottom of the 9th with Danny Santana in scoring position. However, he grounded out to first base to end the game. GAME 1 – BELOIT 2, LANSING 1 Jason Wheeler won for the 11th time this season. He gave up just one run on five hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out six. Corey Williams recorded his 14th save of the year by striking out two in a scoreless ninth inning. Drew Leachman went 2-2 with a walk. Stephen Wickens went 2-3. He drove in both of the team’s runs with a two-run single in the 2nd inning. GAME 2 – BELOIT 7, LANSING 1 Miguel Sano led the offense in game two. He went 3-4 with his 20th home run of the season and drove in four runs. In his last eight games, he is 9-23 (.391) with a double, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI. He has also walked nine times and struck out just four times. Drew Leachman went 2-3 in game two. Steve Liddle went 2-3 with a walk and his 11th and 12th doubles. Cole Johnson made his first start for the Snappers. He struckout six (and walked one) in three no-hit innings. Mason Melotakis came in and threw two scoreless innings to record his first MWL win. Dallas Gallant gave up a run on no hits in his inning. He walked three and struck out two. Ryan O’Rourke struckout two in the final inning. ELIZABETHTON, JOHNSON CITY (suspended in 2nd innings) This game was suspended due to rain in the second inning. GCL TWINS 2, GCL RAYS 1 The Twins didn’t get much offense, but it was enough for the win. Joel Licon went 1-2 with two walks and his fourth stolen base. Sam Gibbons started. The Aussie went the first three innings and gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. Chris Mazza came in and struck out two over three one-hit innings. Melciades de la Cruz walked two and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Gonzalo Sanudo pitched the ninth and didn’t allow a run. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, July 19, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Brian Dinkelman Download attachment: Brian Dinkelman.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler Download attachment: Jason Wheeler 2.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, July 17, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Durham – RHP Liam Hendriks New Britain @ Harrisburg – Two Games Ft. Myers @ Lakeland – RHP Matt Hauser Beloit vs Lansing – LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton @ Johnson City – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them! Click here to view the article

It's been over four months since I have updated the Twins on Twitter feature. Some players have moved to other organizations. The Twins have also added several players to the organization who are on Twitter. Some are active. Some... not so much. Consider the below a resource for Twins fans who happen to be on Twitter to know who they can follow. I do ask your help, however. Am I missing anyone? Are there others (maybe media) that you would like to see added to this list?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Twitter.jpg This is a list of the Minnesota Twins, minor leaguers, affiliates and more (as of March 1, 2014), along with the number of followers that they have. Let's help add to those totals. Feel free to comment [TABLE=width: 448] [TD=align: left]First Name[/TD] [TD=align: left]Last Name[/TD] [TD=align: left]Twitter[/TD] [TD=align: left]3/1/14 Update[/TD] [TD=align: left]AJ[/TD] [TD=align: left]Achter[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ajachter35[/TD] [TD=align: right]860[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bo[/TD] [TD=align: left]Altobelli[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BoAltobelli[/TD] [TD=align: right]233[/TD] [TD=align: left]Oswaldo[/TD] [TD=align: left]Arcia[/TD] [TD=align: left]@arciaoswaldo[/TD] [TD=align: right]3,146[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ivan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Arteaga[/TD] [TD=align: left]@IvanArteaga[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Luke [TD=align: left]Bard[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Luke_Bard[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,061[/TD] [TD=align: left]DJ[/TD] [TD=align: left]Baxendale[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DBax24[/TD] [TD=align: right]4,444[/TD] [TD=align: left]James[/TD] [TD=align: left]Beresford[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JamesBeresford2[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,268[/TD] [TD=align: left]Doug[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bernier[/TD] [TD=align: left]@dougbernier[/TD] [TD=align: right]781[/TD] [TD=align: left]J.O.[/TD] [TD=align: left]Berrios[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JOlaMaquina[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,200[/TD] [TD=align: left]Evan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bigley[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Bigley3[/TD] [TD=align: right]700[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brandon[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bixler[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BrandonBixler[/TD] [TD=align: right]380[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hudson[/TD] [TD=align: left]Boyd[/TD] [TD=align: left]@boyd_hudson[/TD] [TD=align: right]615[/TD] [TD=align: left]Joshua[/TD] [TD=align: left]Burris[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Josh_Burris_[/TD] [TD=align: right]234[/TD] [TD=align: left]Byron[/TD] [TD=align: left]Buxton[/TD] [TD=align: left]@OfficialBuck103[/TD] [TD=align: right]12,844[/TD] [TD=align: left]Chris[/TD] [TD=align: left]Colabello[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CC20rake[/TD] [TD=align: right]3,702[/TD] [TD=align: left]Logan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Darnell[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ldarnell15[/TD] [TD=align: right]425[/TD] [TD=align: left]Pat[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dean[/TD] [TD=align: left]@PDean15[/TD] [TD=align: right]489[/TD] [TD=align: left]Scott[/TD] [TD=align: left]Diamond[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Scott_Diamond58[/TD] [TD=align: right]16,465[/TD] [TD=align: left]Lewin[/TD] [TD=align: left]Diaz[/TD] [TD=align: left]@lewin_diaz[/TD] [TD=align: right]42[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brian[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dozier[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BrianDozier[/TD] [TD=align: right]16,538[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brian[/TD] [TD=align: left]Duensing[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BrianDuensing52[/TD] [TD=align: right]17,413[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tyler[/TD] [TD=align: left]Duffey[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TheDoof13[/TD] [TD=align: right]275[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Eades[/TD] [TD=align: left]@R_Eades37[/TD] [TD=align: right]5,013[/TD] [TD=align: left]Eduardo[/TD] [TD=align: left]Escobar[/TD] [TD=align: left]@escobarmaracay[/TD] [TD=align: right]3,574[/TD] [TD=align: left]Eric[/TD] [TD=align: left]Farris[/TD] [TD=align: left]@eRoc86[/TD] [TD=align: right]2,959[/TD] [TD=align: left]Andrew[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ferreira[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Get_Meaty[/TD] [TD=align: right]3,840[/TD] [TD=align: left]Casey[/TD] [TD=align: left]Fien[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CaseyFien[/TD] [TD=align: right]680[/TD] [TD=align: left]Pedro[/TD] [TD=align: left]Florimon[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DroFlo25[/TD] [TD=align: right]85[/TD] [TD=align: left]Eric[/TD] [TD=align: left]Fryer[/TD] [TD=align: left]@EJFryer[/TD] [TD=align: right]160[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dallas[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gallant[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DGallant18[/TD] [TD=align: right]533[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mitchell[/TD] [TD=align: left]Garver[/TD] [TD=align: left]@MitchGarver[/TD] [TD=align: right]822[/TD] [TD=align: left]Sam[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gibbons[/TD] [TD=align: left]@gibboo25[/TD] [TD=align: right]136[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kyle[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gibson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@KGib44[/TD] [TD=align: right]10,299[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brian[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gilbert[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BGilly1s[/TD] [TD=align: right]181[/TD] [TD=align: left]Stephen[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gonsalves[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TheSGonsalves[/TD] [TD=align: right]688[/TD] [TD=align: left]Niko[/TD] [TD=align: left]Goodrum[/TD] [TD=align: left]@NikoGoodrumTC[/TD] [TD=align: right]23[/TD] [TD=align: left]Zach[/TD] [TD=align: left]Granite[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Zgranite[/TD] [TD=align: right]281[/TD] [TD=align: left]Steven[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gruver[/TD] [TD=align: left]@sgruv30[/TD] [TD=align: right]151[/TD] [TD=align: left]Deolis[/TD] [TD=align: left]Guerra[/TD] [TD=align: left]@deolisguerra[/TD] [TD=align: right]10,037[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Haar[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BryanHaar24[/TD] [TD=align: right]210[/TD] [TD=align: left]Nate[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hanson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@NHans12[/TD] [TD=align: right]516[/TD] [TD=align: left]Matt[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hauser[/TD] [TD=align: left]@mhauser_17[/TD] [TD=align: right]373[/TD] [TD=align: left]BJ[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hermsen[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BJHermsen12[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,807[/TD] [TD=align: left]DJ[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hicks[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DHicksMTB[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,205[/TD] [TD=align: left]Aaron[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hicks[/TD] [TD=align: left]@AaronHicks31[/TD] [TD=align: right]15,892[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kent[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hrbek[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Hrbie14[/TD] [TD=align: right]4,832[/TD] [TD=align: left]Phil[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hughes[/TD] [TD=align: left]@PJHughes45[/TD] [TD=align: right]88,821[/TD] [TD=align: left]David[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hurlbut[/TD] [TD=align: left]@leftydh1989[/TD] [TD=align: right]220[/TD] [TD=align: left]Will[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hurt[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Will_Hurt[/TD] [TD=align: right]682[/TD] [TD=align: left]CK[/TD] [TD=align: left]Irby[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ckirbythe3[/TD] [TD=align: right]762[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tyler[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jones[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TmfJones[/TD] [TD=align: right]33[/TD] [TD=align: left]Zack[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jones[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Jack_Zones04[/TD] [TD=align: right]506[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jason[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kanzler[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JasonKanzler[/TD] [TD=align: right]152[/TD] [TD=align: left]Max[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kepler[/TD] [TD=align: left]@kepleroni[/TD] [TD=align: right]984[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kyle[/TD] [TD=align: left]Knudson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@KKnudson6[/TD] [TD=align: right]580[/TD] [TD=align: left]Matt[/TD] [TD=align: left]Koch[/TD] [TD=align: left]@M_Koch4[/TD] [TD=align: right]104[/TD] [TD=align: left]Zack[/TD] [TD=align: left]Larson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ZackLarson24[/TD] [TD=align: right]390[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brett[/TD] [TD=align: left]Lee[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BLee092090[/TD] [TD=align: right]115[/TD] [TD=align: left]Austin[/TD] [TD=align: left]Malinowski[/TD] [TD=align: left]@AJMalinowski24[/TD] [TD=align: right]488[/TD] [TD=align: left]Trevor[/TD] [TD=align: left]May[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TrevMay54[/TD] [TD=align: right]6,891[/TD] [TD=align: left]Trevor[/TD] [TD=align: left]May (MAZR)[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TrevorMAZR[/TD] [TD=align: left]NA[/TD] [TD=align: left]Chris[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mazza[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ChrisMazza10[/TD] [TD=align: right]359[/TD] [TD=align: left]Aderling[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mejia[/TD] [TD=align: left]@AderlingMejia[/TD] [TD=align: right]78[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tanner[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mendonca[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TanTheMan13[/TD] [TD=align: right]495[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kaleb[/TD] [TD=align: left]Merck[/TD] [TD=align: left]@KalebMerckin[/TD] [TD=align: right]315[/TD] [TD=align: left]Alex[/TD] [TD=align: left]Meyer[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Meyer17A[/TD] [TD=align: right]6,939[/TD] [TD=align: left]Levi[/TD] [TD=align: left]Michael[/TD] [TD=align: left]@LeviMichael9[/TD] [TD=align: right]373[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ethan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mildren[/TD] [TD=align: left]@EMildren4040[/TD] [TD=align: right]485[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jermaine[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mitchell[/TD] [TD=align: left]@jtrane24[/TD] [TD=align: right]861[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jonathan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Murphy[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JMurph6[/TD] [TD=align: right]281[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brian[/TD] [TD=align: left]Navarretto[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Brian_Navarrero[/TD] [TD=align: right]87[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ricky[/TD] [TD=align: left]Nolasco[/TD] [TD=align: left]@RNolasco47[/TD] [TD=align: right]23,125[/TD] [TD=align: left]Lester[/TD] [TD=align: left]Oliveros[/TD] [TD=align: left]@lesteroliveros[/TD] [TD=align: right]2,571[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]O'Rourke[/TD] [TD=align: left]@RyanO_Rourke[/TD] [TD=align: right]687[/TD] [TD=align: left]Chris[/TD] [TD=align: left]Parmelee[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CParms27[/TD] [TD=align: right]9,185[/TD] [TD=align: left]Derrick[/TD] [TD=align: left]Penilla[/TD] [TD=align: left]@leftywayz[/TD] [TD=align: right]21[/TD] [TD=align: left]Glen[/TD] [TD=align: left]Perkins[/TD] [TD=align: left]@glen_perkins[/TD] [TD=align: right]25,777[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brandon[/TD] [TD=align: left]Peterson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Bpeterson_12[/TD] [TD=align: right]356[/TD] [TD=align: left]AJ[/TD] [TD=align: left]Pettersen[/TD] [TD=align: left]@apettersen1[/TD] [TD=align: right]972[/TD] [TD=align: left]Josmil[/TD] [TD=align: left]Pinto[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JosmilPinto[/TD] [TD=align: right]599[/TD] [TD=align: left]Trevor[/TD] [TD=align: left]Plouffe[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TPlouffe24[/TD] [TD=align: right]29,312[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jorge[/TD] [TD=align: left]Polanco[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Jorge_Polanco1[/TD] [TD=align: right]910[/TD] [TD=align: left]Christian[/TD] [TD=align: left]Powell[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BooPowell20[/TD] [TD=align: right]511[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Pressly[/TD] [TD=align: left]@pressly_ryan[/TD] [TD=align: right]2,461[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jake[/TD] [TD=align: left]Proctor[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JProc23[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,226[/TD] [TD=align: left]Michael[/TD] [TD=align: left]Quesada[/TD] [TD=align: left]@KSada55[/TD] [TD=align: right]279[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brooks[/TD] [TD=align: left]Raley[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BrooksRaley[/TD] [TD=align: right]2,645[/TD] [TD=align: left]Chad[/TD] [TD=align: left]Rodgers[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CMRodg[/TD] [TD=align: right]292[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dereck[/TD] [TD=align: left]Rodriguez[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DereckRodRF3[/TD] [TD=align: right]334[/TD] [TD=align: left]Taylor[/TD] [TD=align: left]Rogers[/TD] [TD=align: left]@trogers34[/TD] [TD=align: right]385[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Rohlfing[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DanRohlfing[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,425[/TD] [TD=align: left]Miguel[/TD] [TD=align: left]Sano[/TD] [TD=align: left]@SanoMiguel[/TD] [TD=align: right]7,393[/TD] [TD=align: left]Danny[/TD] [TD=align: left]Santana[/TD] [TD=align: left]@bigmen07[/TD] [TD=align: right]377[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Santy[/TD] [TD=align: left]@BKSanty41[/TD] [TD=align: right]242[/TD] [TD=align: left]Aaron[/TD] [TD=align: left]Slegers[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Aslegers[/TD] [TD=align: right]897[/TD] [TD=align: left]Manuel[/TD] [TD=align: left]Soliman[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Soliman30[/TD] [TD=align: right]604[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kohl[/TD] [TD=align: left]Stewart[/TD] [TD=align: left]@KohlStewart1[/TD] [TD=align: right]5,811[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tom[/TD] [TD=align: left]Stuifbergen[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TomStuifbergen[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Miguel [TD=align: left]Sulburan[/TD] [TD=align: left]@054_miguel[/TD] [TD=align: right]359[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kurt[/TD] [TD=align: left]Suzuki[/TD] [TD=align: left]@kurtsuzuki[/TD] [TD=align: right]31,666[/TD] [TD=align: left]Anthony[/TD] [TD=align: left]Swarzak[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ASwarzak51[/TD] [TD=align: right]9,996[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tony[/TD] [TD=align: left]Thomas[/TD] [TD=align: left]@GoldGlover2B[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,661[/TD] [TD=align: left]Lewis[/TD] [TD=align: left]Thorpe[/TD] [TD=align: left]@LewisT18[/TD] [TD=align: right]508[/TD] [TD=align: left]Matt[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tomshaw[/TD] [TD=align: left]@matthewJTomshaw[/TD] [TD=align: right]282[/TD] [TD=align: left]Michael[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tonkin[/TD] [TD=align: left]@mtonkin37[/TD] [TD=align: right]773[/TD] [TD=align: left]Stuart[/TD] [TD=align: left]Turner[/TD] [TD=align: left]@sturn26[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,486[/TD] [TD=align: left]Daniel[/TD] [TD=align: left]Turpen[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DdTuRpEn[/TD] [TD=align: right]145[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kennys[/TD] [TD=align: left]Vargas[/TD] [TD=align: left]@kennysvargas[/TD] [TD=align: right]46[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tanner[/TD] [TD=align: left]Vavra[/TD] [TD=align: left]@tannervavra[/TD] [TD=align: right]498[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ruar[/TD] [TD=align: left]Verkerk[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ruarverkerk[/TD] [TD=align: right]407[/TD] [TD=align: left]Adam[/TD] [TD=align: left]Walker[/TD] [TD=align: left]@walkoff28[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,130[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Walker[/TD] [TD=align: left]@RyanWalker25[/TD] [TD=align: right]158[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brandon[/TD] [TD=align: left]Waring[/TD] [TD=align: left]@WaringBc[/TD] [TD=align: right]625[/TD] [TD=align: left]Tommy[/TD] [TD=align: left]Watkins[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TommyWatkins[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,719[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dakota[/TD] [TD=align: left]Watts[/TD] [TD=align: left]@watts_22[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,303[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jason[/TD] [TD=align: left]Wheeler[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JasonMWheeler[/TD] [TD=align: right]216[/TD] [TD=align: left]Stephen[/TD] [TD=align: left]Wickens[/TD] [TD=align: left]@wicks1221[/TD] [TD=align: right]140[/TD] [TD=align: left]Corey[/TD] [TD=align: left]Williams[/TD] [TD=align: left]@coreyw24[/TD] [TD=align: right]360[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jared[/TD] [TD=align: left]Wilson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DubsDeuces[/TD] [TD=align: right]156[/TD] [TD=align: left]Alex[/TD] [TD=align: left]Wimmers[/TD] [TD=align: left]@AlexWimmers21[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,400[/TD] [TD=align: left]Vance[/TD] [TD=align: left]Worley[/TD] [TD=align: left]@VANIMAL_49[/TD] [TD=align: right]50,390[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]FRONT OFFICE [/TD] [TD=align: left]First Name [TD=align: left]Last Name[/TD] [TD=align: left]Twitter[/TD] [TD=align: left]3/1/14 Update[/TD] [TD=align: left]Minnesota[/TD] [TD=align: left]Twins[/TD] [TD=align: left]@twins[/TD] [TD=align: right]189,680[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dave[/TD] [TD=align: left]St. Peter[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TwinsPrez[/TD] [TD=align: right]19,972[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dustin[/TD] [TD=align: left]Morse[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Twins_morsecode[/TD] [TD=align: right]12,336[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mike[/TD] [TD=align: left]Herman[/TD] [TD=align: left]@HermTT[/TD] [TD=align: right]2,463[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mitch[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hestad[/TD] [TD=align: left]@mitchhestad[/TD] [TD=align: right]204[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jack[/TD] [TD=align: left]Goin[/TD] [TD=align: left]@jdgoin[/TD] [TD=align: right]480[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bryan[/TD] [TD=align: left]Donaldson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@MNCommunityGuy[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,636[/TD] [TD=align: left]Andrew[/TD] [TD=align: left]Heydt[/TD] [TD=align: left]@AndrewHeydt[/TD] [TD=align: right]735[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mike[/TD] [TD=align: left]Kennedy[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TwinsPRMachine[/TD] [TD=align: right]696[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brace[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hemmelgarn[/TD] [TD=align: left]@bracehemmelgarn[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,841[/TD] [TD=align: left]TC[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bear[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TC_00[/TD] [TD=align: right]12,013[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Twins Daily [/TD] [TD=align: left]3/1/14 Update [TD=align: left]Twins[/TD] [TD=align: left]Daily[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TwinsDaily[/TD] [TD=align: right]3,588[/TD] [TD=align: left]John[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bonnes[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TwinsGeek[/TD] [TD=align: right]6,717[/TD] [TD=align: left]Seth[/TD] [TD=align: left]Stohs[/TD] [TD=align: left]@SethTweets[/TD] [TD=align: right]5,801[/TD] [TD=align: left]Nick[/TD] [TD=align: left]Nelson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Nnelson9[/TD] [TD=align: right]3,124[/TD] [TD=align: left]Parker[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hageman[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ParkerHageman[/TD] [TD=align: right]4,279[/TD] [TD=align: left]Brock[/TD] [TD=align: left]Beauchamp[/TD] [TD=align: left]@rocketpig76[/TD] [TD=align: right]83[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Jeremy [TD=align: left]Nygaard[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JeremyNygaard[/TD] [TD=align: right]879[/TD] [TD=align: left]Cody[/TD] [TD=align: left]Christie[/TD] [TD=align: left]@NoDakTwinsFan[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,053[/TD] [TD=align: left]Twins[/TD] [TD=align: left]Hangouts[/TD] [TD=align: left]@TwinsHangouts[/TD] [TD=align: right]189[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gleeman[/TD] [TD=align: left]and the Geek[/TD] [TD=align: left]@GleemanandGeek[/TD] [TD=align: right]966[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Minor Leagues [/TD] [TD=align: left]3/1/14 Update [TD=align: left]Rochester[/TD] [TD=align: left]Red Wings[/TD] [TD=align: left]@RocRedWings[/TD] [TD=align: right]7,641[/TD] [TD=align: left]Josh[/TD] [TD=align: left]Whetzel[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JoshWhetzel[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,215[/TD] [TD=align: left]Morrie[/TD] [TD=align: left]Silver[/TD] [TD=align: left]@MorrieSilver8[/TD] [TD=align: right]437[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jim[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mandelaro[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JMand1[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,345[/TD] [TD=align: left]Christopher[/TD] [TD=align: left]Fee[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CJFee[/TD] [TD=align: right]234[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]New Britain [TD=align: left]Rock Cats[/TD] [TD=align: left]@RockCats[/TD] [TD=align: right]6,441[/TD] [TD=align: left]Ken[/TD] [TD=align: left]Lipshez[/TD] [TD=align: left]@KenLip1[/TD] [TD=align: right]154[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jeff[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dooley[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Jdooleysports[/TD] [TD=align: right]458[/TD] [TD=align: left]Andrew[/TD] [TD=align: left]Walter[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Mnfanfromafar[/TD] [TD=align: right]763[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Ft. Myers [TD=align: left]Miracle[/TD] [TD=align: left]@MiracleBaseball[/TD] [TD=align: right]6,905[/TD] [TD=align: left]Bryce[/TD] [TD=align: left]Zimmerman[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ZimMiracle[/TD] [TD=align: right]595[/TD] [TD=align: left]Steve[/TD] [TD=align: left]Gliner[/TD] [TD=align: left]@stevieGFTM[/TD] [TD=align: right]572[/TD] [TD=align: left]Adam[/TD] [TD=align: left]MacDonald[/TD] [TD=align: left]@AdamMacMiracle[/TD] [TD=align: right]123[/TD] [TD=align: left]David[/TD] [TD=align: left]Dorsey[/TD] [TD=align: left]@DavidADorsey[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,424[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Cedar Rapids [TD=align: left]Kernels[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CRKernels[/TD] [TD=align: right]5,507[/TD] [TD=align: left]Mister[/TD] [TD=align: left]Shucks[/TD] [TD=align: left]@CRMrShucks[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Morgan [TD=align: left]Hawk[/TD] [TD=align: left]@Morgan_Hawk[/TD] [TD=align: right]419[/TD] [TD=align: left]Matt[/TD] [TD=align: left]Cozzi[/TD] [TD=align: left]@matt_cozzi[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,161[/TD] [TD=align: left]Steve[/TD] [TD=align: left]Buhr[/TD] [TD=align: left]@JimCrikket[/TD] [TD=align: right]554[/TD] [TD=align: left]Jeff[/TD] [TD=align: left]Johnson[/TD] [TD=align: left]@jeje66[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,635[/TD] [TD=align: left]Metro[/TD] [TD=align: left]Sports Report[/TD] [TD=align: left]@metrosportsrept[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,154[/TD] [TD=align: left]Andrew[/TD] [TD=align: left]Pantini[/TD] [TD=align: left]@stadium65[/TD] [TD=align: right]137[/TD] [/TD] [TD=align: left]Elizabethton [TD=align: left]Twins[/TD] [TD=align: left]@ETownTwins[/TD] [TD=align: right]1,070[/TD] [/TABLE] Click here to view the article

Lately, we have read a lot about the starting staff in Rochester, and for good reason. Yohan Pino has already been promoted to the Minnesota Twins. Logan Darnell and Kris Johnson are pitching well, and each has pitched once with the Twins already this year. Alex Meyer is a future ace and Trevor May is probably next in line for a promotion. Less is being said about a reliever in Rochester who appears ready for an opportunity to help the Minnesota Twins at the big league level. For AJ Achter, that phone call would mean the world. Achter (pronounced awk-ter) said recently, “I can imagine it would be an amazing roller coaster of emotions. Just to think of so many people who have invested so much time and made so many sacrifices over my career to even give me this opportunity is unbelievable. For me to get the ultimate reward of reaching that goal, would not just be a big deal for me personally, but everyone who has believed in me my entire life.” Download attachment: AJAchter.jpg Photo by Joe Territo/RedWingsBaseball.com As you know, Achter was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State University. He went to the Cape Cod League and then signed with the Twins twenty minutes before the August 16 deadline. He pitched in just four games that year for Elizabethton. In 2011, he went to Beloit where he made 19 starts. He returned to Beloit in 2012, this time in the bullpen. Since that move, he has flown through the Twins farm system. He posted a 1.70 ERA between Beloit and Ft. Myers in 2012 to earn the Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year ‘Award.' Last year, he split his season between New Britain and Rochester and posted a 2.54 ERA. Following the season, he was invited to participate in the Arizona Fall League, where he pitched well. It was an experience the right-hander enjoyed. “The experience in the AFL was unbelievable. It was a privilege to put on the Twins uniform every day and compete against the best prospects in baseball. My first seven or eight outings were great. Then I tired out and those guys out there make you pay for mistakes. But it was a great experience playing with so many outstanding players and forming lifelong friendships with them.” However, Achter was not added to the 40-man roster last fall and went undrafted in the Rule 5 draft. He also did not get an invitation to big league camp as a non-roster player. Then, after spring training camp, he began the 2014 season back a level at New Britain, a decision that likely disappointed Achter. He handled it well. “It was disappointing to start back there after having some success in Rochester the year before, but I understood that was the numbers game. I tried to turn it into motivation to get back to AAA as soon as an opportunity opened up and thankfully it did in mid-April.” That promotion to the Red Wings happened after just three games with the Rock Cats. In 6.2 innings, he gave up no runs on three hits and a walk while striking out 11. With the Red Wings, he has continued his dominance. In 20 games and 34 innings, he has a 1.85 ERA and a minuscule 0.77 WHIP. He has given up just 14 hits, walked 12 (five in his last two outings) and struck out 33 batters. Opponents are hitting just .124 off him. Achter has a solid three-pitch mix. He has a two-seam fastball in the low 90s which moves and sinks. He also is occasionally able to touch 95 with a four-seam fastball. He also has a sharp slider and a very good changeup. So, at 6'-5", he throws hard and gets ground balls, but is also able to mix his speeds well. He has always shown good control. So, to what does Achter attribute his success? “It's been a combination of everything. Aside from my last outing, my fastball command has been very good which is what I work off of. I've used a new slider grip that has helped that pitch be more consistent.” Achter has always been able to find motivation. He knows that 1,394 players were selected before him, and he uses that. “My motivation is working toward a dream that I've had since I've been a kid. With my dad playing in the NFL, I always had a dream of playing pro football, but baseball was always my true love. Regardless of obstacles or circumstances I've never lost sight of the same goal I had as a kid and that's being a Major League Baseball player. It is my motivation every day I wake up.” Achter’s father, Rod, was the Minnesota Vikings 9th round pick in the 1983 NFL Draft. The Rochester starting rotation and bullpen have both been tremendous. Gene Glynn and pitching coach Marty Mason have used them all very effectively. Achter has been used in save situations and in long relief. Achter gives a lot of credit to his pitching coach. “Marty has been one of the biggest reasons this staff has been what's it's been. He's an unbelievable influence, especially on us younger guys. He lets us do our own thing but if something needs to be corrected his knowledge of pitching is second to none. I cannot say enough good things about the impact he's had on me out on the mound.” In my mind, the 25-year-old has a chance to be a solid set up man, pitching in the 7th inning or even in long relief. In that way, I think he would profile similarly to Matt Guerrier during his early years with the Twins. The Minnesota Twins currently have eight men in their bullpen, one more than would be ideal. Should a time come this season when the Twins need another arm, Achter's name should come up prominently in those discussions. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Derek Jeter NYY.jpg Last night, in Game 1 of the ALCS, the New York Yankees lost an extra-inning game to Delmon Young and the Detroit Tigers. More important, they lost their captain Derek Jeter for the rest of the season because of a broken ankle. The news is devastating considering he is one Yankees hitter who is actually hitting. Alex Rodriguez is taking all of the heat, but Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and others are doing very little. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The news is devastating to the Yankees and fans of the Yankees. It also is disappointing to fans who just want to watch greatness. The Yankees will go on, and they may even be able to win the ALCS and even the World Series. But to pretend that losing Jeter and replacing him with Jayson Nix at shortstop is anything but devastating is just not understanding. As Toronto Star columnist Richard Griffin tweeted on Sunday, “Jeter is to Nix as gift basket+limo is to Skittles+subway token.” It got me thinking again about what of the most perplexing things about some Twins fans. Why does Derek Jeter get booed so loudly when he comes to Minnesota?? I’m going to try to answer that question, or at least propose some ideas. Maybe you have more? Feel free to voice them in the Comments. “He’s Overrated” OK, we used to hear that one all the time, but when you can make a case that he is the greatest shortstop of all time, it kind of stops meaning much. The only shortstop in big league history that I think is probably a little bit better than Captain Clutch is Honus Wager, and his final season was in 1917. I think an argument could be made for the baseball of today being a little better than that of a century ago. Of those playing in the last few decades, there simply aren’t many to compare Jeter to. Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra joined Jeter as AL shortstop beasts for a while, but Jeter has far outlasted them. Garciaparra struggled with injuries before retiring several years ago. Rodriguez moved to 3B when he joined the Yankees. While Jeter has played 2,585 games at the position, A-Rod has played just 1,272 games there. Similarly, Hall of Famer Robin Yount played 1,479 games at shortstop before moving to the outfield when he played over 1,200 games. Ernie Banks played just 1,125 games at shortstop and 1,259 games at first base. Of course, Jeter’s career OPS (to this point) is .829, and Yount’s was .772 while Banks’ was at .830. Cal Ripken is the one that we can compare Jeter to as he played over 2,300 games at shortstop before finishing his career with another 675 games at the hot corner. [TABLE] Name Games H/AB BA/OBP/SLG (OPS) 2B/3B/HR RBI/Runs [/TD] Derek Jeter 2,585 3,304/10,551 .313/.382/.448 (.829) 524/65/255 1,254/1,868 398 SB Honus Wagner 2,794 3,420/10,439 .328/.391/.467 (.858) 643/252/101 1,475/1,739 723 SB Cal Ripken 3,001 3,184/11,551 .276/.340/.447 (.788) 603/44/431 1,695/1,647 Alex Rodriguez 2,524 2,901/9,662 .300/.384/.560 (.945) 512/30/647 1,950/1,898 Robin Yount 2,856 3,142/11,008 .285/.342/.430 (.772) 583/126/251 1,406/1,632 271 SB Ernie Banks 2,528 2,538/9,421 .274/.330/.500 (.830) 407/90/512 1,636/1,305[TD] [/TABLE] “Because he’s a Yankee” Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1992. With the 6th overall pick in that draft, the New York Yankees drafted him. He became a top prospect and was up with the team by September of 1995. He became a star, and like so many others throughout history, he has stayed with the same team. Kirby Puckett stayed with the Twins his whole career. Cal Ripken is synonymous with the Baltimore Orioles. The all-time great Yankees throughout history like Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra all stayed with the team their whole career. Derek Jeter is a lifelong New York Yankee, and that’s the way it should be. If you don’t like the Yankees because they spend so much money, well, I guess that’s cool. Lots of fans don’t, and that’s fine. But, Derek Jeter has nothing to do with those decisions. “He’s a Winner” In most places in society, that is considered a good thing, isn’t it? Has he been the sole reason for the five World Series championships (and two other World Series teams) that the Yankees have had in his career? Of course not, but no winning team has just one great player. Has he been a big part of those championships? Without question. Jeter has essentially played an extra season in his career, in the playoffs. He has played 158 playoff games and hit .308/.374/.465 (.838) with 32 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 61 RBI and 111 runs scored. (By the way, in case anyone is wondering, those numbers are not included in his career numbers listed above.) In the World Series, Jeter has been just as good. He has hit .321/.384/.449 (.832) in 58 games. “The Media Loves Him” Yup… and I can’t blame them. He’s great in interviews. He’s always been and shown tremendous class. He talks during good and bad times. It’s like the Brett Favre situation, or Duke basketball. Since Tim Tebow was added to the New York Jets this past summer, they certainly fit into this category too. I’m not sure what people want in these scenarios. What do people want Tim Tebow to do? Not be himself? Do they want him to become a jerk? Same thing with Jeter. Is he supposed to not act classy? Should he try to get in trouble with the law? He isn’t asking for all the extra attention, and he shouldn’t have to ask that people stop loving him the way they do. He’s put himself into the upper echelon of elite baseball players of all time, and he has handled it with class since day one. As a fan, that’s pretty impressive. As a parent, I would think he would be quite the role model for kids. He has even won the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. “He Dates Women that We Dream About” Mariah Carey. Jordana Brewster. Vanessa Minnillo. Miss Universe (Lara Dutta). Scarlett Johansson. Jessica Biel. Jessica Alba. Minka Kelly. Yup. He does. But let’s be honest here. If they weren’t dating Derek Jeter, they probably still would not have been dating you either. “If we boo him, it will distract him!” One of the things I’ll never understand is why home fans boo when the opposing pitcher throws over to first base on a pick-off attempt. It’s part of the game! I’ve been told that some fans do that in an attempt to distract the pitcher, and sometimes they take credit for a pitcher throwing wildly. The pitcher wasn’t distracted by the booing. He just threw wildly. Maybe there are some Twins fans who think that booing Jeter distracts him from hitting. Well, in 52 games at the Metrodome, he posted a .779 OPS, and in ten games so far at Target Field, his OPS is .778. So, it’s not working. Overall against the Twins, he is hitting (in 125 games) .323/.388/.470 (.857) with 32 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 57 RBI. So yes, he is better at Yankees Stadium than he is when hitting in Minnesota, but I would venture to guess that is not unusual. “The Twins Can’t Develop a Shortstop” Since Derek Jeter took over as the Yankees shortstop at the start of the 1996 season, the Twins have used 31 players at shortstop. It may not be all that impressive, but I think we can all admit that it isn’t Jeter’s fault. In fact, the #1 on this list came to the Twins because he was never going to get a shot with the Yankees. This is a fun list to review, if only to remember some futility. Cristian Guzman (833), Pat Meares (433), Jason Bartlett (310), Nick Punto (248), Denny Hocking (243), Juan Castro (123), Brendan Harris (122), JJ Hardy (100), Brian Dozier (83), Alexi Casilla (77), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (60), Trevor Plouffe (55), Matt Tolbert (51), Adam Everett (44), Pedro Florimon (43), Jamey Carroll (37), Jeff Reboulet (37), Chris Gomez (17), Jason Maxwell (17), Luis Rodriguez (12), Luis Rivas (8), Augie Ojeda (7), Eduardo Escobar (6), Ariel Prieto (4), Cleatus Davidson (4), David Lamb (4), Brent Gates (2), Dave Hollins (1), Chuck Knoblauch (1), Jon Shave (1), Tommy Watkins (1). “He shouldn’t have won (those FIVE) Gold Gloves” You’re probably right, but he’s certainly not the only player to win a Gold Glove because of his offense. That happens all the time. Twins fans likely still remember when Rafael Palmiero won a Gold Glove at 1B despite playing just 17 games at first base (And the rest as a DH) while Doug Mientkiewicz was making all the plays with his first baseman’s mitt. He doesn’t have much range, but it’s not like Jeter is a butcher at shortstop. Jeter was also the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year. He has played in 13 All Star games. He won four Silver Slugger Awards. In 2006 and 2009, he was the Hank Aaron Award winner as the top hitter in the league. Three times he has finished in the Top 3 in the league in AL MVP voting. In fact, many very wise baseball people made the strong argument that Jeter, and not the Twins Justin Morneau, should have won the 2006 award. So, as Derek Jeter’s 2012 playoff runs comes to an end, I can’t help but ask, “Why do Twins fans boo Derek Jeter?” Why? Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins have certainly had a strong connection to Australia, especially the past dozen years. They have signed pitchers such as Michael Nakamura, Grant Balfour and Liam Hendriks. They have even signed hitters like Glenn Williams and Luke Hughes. In 2005, the Twins signed an infielder from Australia named James Beresford. Since signing with the Twins, he has represented Australia in several international competitions including the World Cup and the World Baseball Classic.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] He has had the opportunity to become a free agent each of the past two seasons, yet he has decided to remain with the Twins. Last year, he made it to the highest minor league level and put up his best offensive numbers. He is again at big league camp looking to make a positive impression. Download attachment: James Beresford 2.jpg Beresford is likely to spend much of the 2014 season in Rochester with the Red Wings, but he is being given an opportunity to compete for a bench job with the big league club. “It’s been fun. I can’t really control how much game time you get, but they’ve given everyone a bit of opportunity. It has been great to go out there and play. It’s been a good start. Just enjoying it and hoping to get a few more at bats in the next week or two.” Considering his long road to get to this point, these types of opportunities are pretty special. When he was signed, he was very young and very thin. He was the definition of a project and has had to work very hard to move up each level. He spent a year with the GCL Twins, a year with the Elizabethton Twins, two full seasons in Beloit and a year in Ft. Myers. In 2012, he played in New Britain. He returned to New Britain to start the 2013 season. He played 45 games and hit .316 before moving up to Triple-A Rochester. He played in 58 games for the Red Wings and hit .298 and helped the team get to the playoffs. Combined, he got on base just over 36% of the time as well. The 25-year-old has needed that time to develop properly. He needed to mature, physically and mentally. Each level gets a little bit tougher. Regarding the move to AAA, Beresford said, “It’s just been a progression. Moving up to AAA, I struggled for the first two weeks, getting used to the league and that type of thing. The pitchers… you’re typically not going to see guys who throw as hard, but they throw a little more offspeed in hitter’s counts. So you can’t always be gearing up for fastballs. You just have to adjust because they don’t have the 96 mph fastball. They tend to throw their sliders and changeups for strikes in hitter’s counts. That’s the biggest adjustment. It turned out to be a fun season, making the playoffs. It was a good year.” This past offseason, Beresford became a six-year minor league free agent for the second straight year. This time around, he quickly re-signed with the Twins. There were several reasons that made the decision pretty easy for him. “Just the things the Twins said to me. Pretty candid things. The positive things they had to say. The opportunities they said they were going to give me. And, I definitely saw a chance to get up to the big leagues this year provided I play well. I don’t see a big difference. I signed a little bit later last year just because I wanted to see what the market was like. After we saw what was going on, we decided that signing with the Twins was the best option. This year, they were just really aggressive and I wanted to get back straight away so it was a positive thing.” Beresford played almost exclusively second base in 2013. In 2012, he spent equal time between shortstop and second base. Prior to that, he played nearly exclusively short. The move to second base likely has much more to do with Danny Santana than Beresford who feels prepared to play all three infield positions as a utility player if needed. “I’m pretty comfortable playing all three positions. Probably most comfortable at shortstop and second just because that’s where I’ve played the last couple of years. The good thing about third is it’s just a reaction position. Ball is hit hard, you don’t have much time to move and think. So I think third is probably a little easier to pick up. Second base has been good to work on the pivots and double plays. It’s a lot different than shortstop where momentum’s taking you toward first base. At second, there’s a different turn, so that was the biggest adjustment I had to make last year.” Being an Australian playing baseball in the United States certainly presents challenges not only for the player but for his family. Beresford says that his parents come to the States every year, usually for about two weeks. However, technology has allowed them to watch him play most of his games. “They get to see me at home, which is nice. They follow at home. At AAA, it was nice because all the games are televised on the computer.” However, that isn’t as easy as it may appear. Beresford continued, “The day games, the 1:00 games, are usually like 3:00 in the morning. They’re usually up for those as well, provided I’m in the lineup, so they’re along for the ride too.” Asked if he was disappointed to hear about Zach Greinke’s comments about not wanting to play games this spring, Beresford understood. “Obviously you have to look at the bigger picture. These guys are established big leaguers and just want to be ready for the season. Obviously traveling to Australia is a long trip. I understand where he’s coming from, but at the same time, it’ll be a great experience. The travel is obviously going to be hard, but I think once they do it, they’re going to see how much of a nice place it is and enjoy it.” Back to the subject at hand. We’re about two weeks from knowing the Twins opening day roster, and James Beresford is still in camp. Still competing for a job. Still working hard to show the Twins coaches and front office that even if he’s not on the opening day roster, he can contribute to the team in a role when needed later in the season. What would it mean for him to get that call, whenever it is, that he is heading to the big leagues? “It would be pretty special. I think it’s so far away. That’s kind of how I look at it. I don’t look at it as trying to get called up. I’m just trying to play hard, have fun and enjoy it. If it does happen sometime, it would be pretty special.” “I know that if I go out there and do what I’ve been doing the past couple of years which is just take it day by day and as long as my process is right, then the results will take care of themselves.” Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins didn't play on Wednesday and won't play on Thursday. They will begin a ten-game homestand on Friday night with a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rochester Red Wings and New Britain Rock Cats both had players participating in their leagues' All-Star games on Wednesday. On Thursday, all the Twins affiliates will return to action. One to watch will be the return of Trevor May to the Rochester Red Wings rotation. Is it possible that if he pitches well enough in his return from a calf injury, he could be up with the big league club by next week? And one of the Kerenls hitters is on a very impressive streak of late. Continue reading to check out what happened on Wednesday in the Minnesota Twins minor leagues. RED WINGS REPORT On Wednesday, the AAA All Star Game was played in Durham, North Carolina. The lone representative of the Red Wings for the International League team was reliever AJ Achter. He got into the game and didn't pitch as well as he has throughout this season. He gave up a home run to Dodgers outfield prospect Joc Pederson. He also gave up a single before coming out of the game. ROCK CATS REVIEW Wednesday was also the Eastern League All-Star Game. Five members of the New Britain Rock Cats participated in the game. Taylor Rogers pitched a scoreless second inning. He gave up one hit, walked none and struck out one. Cole Johnson came in later in the game and got out both of the batters that he faced. Kennys Vargas didn't have a great game. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts. He also had an error in the field. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 1-4. Tony Thomas came on late and went 0-1 in the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Daytona 1 Box Score Matt Tomshaw has been terrific all season for the Miracle and was in fine form on Wednesday night. The lefty gave up one run on seven hits over the first eight innings. He walked two and struck out four. Madison Boer worked a perfect ninth. Danny Santana made his second rehab appearance, batting third and playing shortstop. He went 0-4. Byron Buxton was in centerfield. He went 3-4 with a walk and a triple. Adam Walker went 3-5 with his 10th double and his league-leading 20th home run. The men in second place have twelve homers. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with his 16th double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Lake County 4 Box Score Chih Wei-Hu made his second start and again, he was terrific. Through six innings, he had given up just one run. However, he faced three batters in the seventh inning and each of them came around to score. So, his final line was four runs allowed on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four. Alex Muren came on and gave up a hit and a walk over two innings. He struck out three. Jake Reed pitched a perfect ninth inning. Download attachment: Alex Swim.jpg Alex Swim has been on fire. He extended his hitting streak to 12 games by going 3-4 with a walk. In those 12 games, he has gone 22-48 (.458). Chad Christensen went 2-4 with a walk and his 14th and 15th doubles. Mitch Garver was 2-5 with his 20th double. Jason Kanzler went 2-4 with his ninth home run. JD Williams went 2-3 with a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Princeton 3 Box Score Sam Gibbons started and gave up one run on six hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out six and reduced his season ERA to 2.30. Randy LeBlanc came on and gave up two runs on three hits. He recorded five outs, all of them via strikeout. John Curtiss came in and struck out two in the final inning. The E-Twins managed just six hits. Will Hurt led the way, going 2-3. Max Murphy went 1-3 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES Game 1 - GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 0 Box Score In his most recent start, lefty Brandon Easton gave up no runs on one hit and two walks over five innings. On Wednesday, he went four shutout innings and gave up just one hit. This time, he walked none while striking out one. Eduardo del Rosario gave up one hit and a walk in 1.1 innings. Trevor Hildenberger got the final five outs and gave up only one hit. Zach Larson, continuing his rehab from a hamstring injury, went 1-2 with a walk. The team had just six hits in the game. Joel Polanco hit his fourth double. Game 2 - GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 11 Box Score Miguel Gonzalez started and gave up three runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out five. Jhon Silva came on and was charged with six runs (2 earned) on three hits. Two of the hits were homers. He struck out three. Onas Farfan pitched a scoreless fifth inning. In his two innings, he gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. Zach Hayden struck out two in a scoreless inning. Rafael Valera went 2-2 with his fourth double. Roberto Gonzalez added a double, his third of the year. Amaurys Minier his his second homer (a two-run blast) and added a third RBI. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matt Tomshaw, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Adam Walker, Ft. Myers Miracle THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (6:05 CST) – Trevor May New Britain @ Reading (6:05 CST) – Virgil Vasquez Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05 CST) – Ethan Mildren Lake County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - Kohl Stewart Elizabethton @ Princeton (6:05 CST) – Mat Batts GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article

Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2012 – Now Available as an e-book for $6.99 by clicking here. You can, of course, still get the print version for $13.99 by clicking here. Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve pointed out the organizational depth charts for the Twins hitters. We’ve looked at catchers, 3B, 1B, Middle Infielders and Outfielders. Today, I’ll take a look at the starting pitchers. Now, especially as I move to the lower levels, I won’t pretend to know which players will move to the bullpen. Often, due to innings limits, some ‘starters’ will begin the season in the bullpen. Others will begin the season as starters and get moved to the bullpen later due to innings. Frankly, most of the pitchers in the lowest levels have been starters their whole lives and some will be given at least some opportunity. As we saw with Carlos Gutierrez, even guys destined for the bullpen can be given an opportunity to start to work on pitches and gain arm strength. That’s OK, though, because the biggest purpose of this was to provide the organization’s depth. I need to reiterate that these are just my thoughts. I have no insider information to know where players will be playing for certain in 2012. Obviously after spring training, some of these players will be let go. There will be Disabled List players, extended spring training and more. Minnesota Twins Carl Pavano (RHP), Francisco Liriano (LHP), Scott Baker (RHP), Jason Marquis (RHP), Nick Blackburn (RHP) Gardy has announced Pavano as his Opening Day starter, an obvious choice based on last season. He’s been solid in his 2 ½ seasons with the Twins, most important he has provided a ton of innings despite an alarmingly low strikeout rate. There’s no question that Francisco Liriano has the best stuff of anyone on the staff, but if he can’t find control of his fastball, it will be another frustrating season. It is a contract season for Liriano, so the goal has to be for him to have a strong season. In 2011, Scott Baker was easily the Twins top starting pitcher. He was pitching the best he had in his career, until elbow problems curtailed his season. Nick Blackburn averaged 200 innings pitched his first two seasons while posting solid ERAs. He’s been pretty bad ever since getting the long-term contract. Unfortunately, the contract has given him many opportunities and likely will continue to do so. He misses very few bats, so we can just hope that a lot of baseballs get hit right at a defender. Many Twins fans are down on the Jason Marquis signing, and although I’m not a bit fan of the contract, he has actually had a pretty solid big league career. Rochester Red Wings Liam Hendriks (RHP), Scott Diamond (LHP), Aaron Thompson (LHP), Jeff Manship (RHP), Deinys Suarez (RHP) We saw Hendriks and Diamond late in the 2011 season. Hendriks was the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year and likely needs another half-season. Diamond had his moments, but overall 2011 was the first year in his career that he really struggled. He says he has made some adjustments, so we’ll see how it goes. Manship came up with the Twins and his first major league victory came on the final weekend of the 2009 season, when the Twins needed to sweep the Royals. He was supposed to be in the Twins bullpen last season, but he was hurt the entire season. He likely will pitch in the Twins bullpen, but they may have him start in Rochester first. Aaron Thompson is intriguing, at least. He will turn 25 years old later this month. He debuted with the Pirates last season, but in 7.2 innings, he gave up 13 hits, walked six and struck out just one. He has just six AAA games under his belt, and his AA career numbers are 15-37 with a 5.03 ERA in 96 games (80 starts). Deinys Suarez signed with the Twins last spring. The Cuban defector split time between New Britain and Rochester, not pitching particularly well either place. New Britain Rock Cats David Bromberg (RHP), Logan Darnell (LHP), Tom Stuifbergen (RHP), Marty Popham (RHP), Dan Osterbrock (LHP), Bobby Lanigan (RHP) Bromberg’s 2011 season was unfortunately a lost season. He began the season in Twins spring training, but he went back to New Britain, had a line drive break his arm, spent a lot of time rehabbing, came back too quickly, shut it down, worked hard and then found out the Twins had removed him from the 40 man roster. However, he will be just 24 years old throughout the 2012 season, so don’t forget about him. Logan Darnell was a 2010 draft pick who started last year in Beloit and got all the way to New Britain. Stuifbergen had a solid season in Ft. Myers, had a terrific one-start showing in Rochester, and then was the pitcher of the year in the World Cup tournament that his Netherlands team won. He was then knighted in his homeland. Sir Tom Stuifbergen should spent this season with the Rock Cats. Dan Osterbrock missed most of last season with shoulder problems which was unfortunate because he was coming off of a very good season in 2010. Bobby Lanigan was in the Rock Cats rotation all throughout the 2011 season. Some think his stuff (specifically his slider) will play very well out of the bullpen, and we may see some of that this year too. Marty Popham was selected by the Twins in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He has pitched in Hi-A, AA and AAA each of the past two seasons. He should spend this season in AA. Ft. Myers Miracle BJ Hermsen (RHP), Pat Dean (LHP), Adrian Salcedo (RHP), Alex Wimmers (RHP), Manuel Soliman (RHP), Ryan O’Rourke (LHP), AJ Achter (RHP) This is certainly an intriguing group of pitching prospects. If not for Liam Hendriks’ terrific 2011 season, my starting pitcher of the year choice would have been BJ Hermsen who pitched very well in Beloit and followed it up with a solid performance in Ft. Myers (minus a rough final start). Alex Wimmers had a rough 2011 season too in Ft. Myers, but it ended with the seven inning no hitter. Assuming he has his control issues under control, he could move quickly. Adrian Salcedo has long been a top ten Twins prospect, and he’ll move up to the Miracle. Manuel Soliman was the innings-eater for the Snappers last year despite only having pitched now for three years. He is an intriguing prospect, but for him to remain a starter, he will need to improve his secondary pitches. Pat Dean is definitely a solid prospect but like so many others, he missed a lot of time with injury in 2011. His season started about six weeks late, but he still pitched for three teams (including a late-season spot start in New Britain). Ryan O’Rourke is a tough, competitive left-hander with a nasty slider. When I saw him pitch in Beloit last summer, my comment was that I didn’t think big league left-handed hitters could hit that slider. He was successful as a starter, but he could also become a very good relief pitcher, so it will be interesting to see how his career progresses. The game I saw AJ Achter start last year, he was tremendous. He touches 90-91 with the fastball, but he has a terrific changeup and a curveball that had good bite. Beloit Snappers Tim Shibuya (RHP), Madison Boer (RHP), Matt Summers (LHP), Matt Bashore (LHP), Tim Atherton (RHP), Matt Tomshaw (LHP), Derek Christensen (RHP) Tim Shibuya was the Appy League Pitcher of the Year and threw seven innings of a no-hitter for the E-Twins. A smart pitcher with a full mix of pitches, he should adapt well to the Midwest League. Madison Boer and Matt Summers both began their pro careers in the E-Town bullpen. Each unsurprisingly dominated. Boer struggled upon his promotion to Beloit. It is likely the Twins will have each start. I believe Boer will move to the bullpen, but I think Summers can stick as a starter. Matt Bashore was a first-round pick in 2009 and has pitched very little since. However, reports indicate that in Instructs last fall, he was looking really good and throwing as high as 93 mph again. He could be one to watch in 2012. Matt Tomshaw was the Twins 43rd round pick just last year. Like many, he was given a shot with the Ft. Myers Miracle after a couple appearances with the GCL Twins. Like few, he was very successful for the Miracle. My guess, however, is that he will step back to Beloit and start. Derek Christensen had a terrific season as a starter with the E-Twins. The side-winder may eventually move to the bullpen but his combination of deception, fastball and slider make him a very intriguing prospect. Tim Atherton was with the Twins organization a few years ago as an infielder. The team let him go, but he came back in 2011 as a pitcher, and he pitched very well. He has all the pitches, but all will need to further develop. Elizabethton Twins Tyler Jones (RHP), Corey Kimes (LHP), Brett Lee (LHP), Chris Mazza (RHP), Angel Mata (RHP), Hung-yi Chen (RHP) There are plenty of pitchers from the 2011 draft and from last year’s GCL team that will not be heading to Beloit to start the season. Tyler Jones was the 11th round pick a year ago out of LSU. He’s got great upside, throws hard, good breaking pitches. Kimes is a four year college guy who should probably be up in Beloit due to age, but he got hurt last year shortly after signing. Brett Lee and Chris Mazza both signed very near the deadline and didn’t pitch in 2011. Angel Mata and Hung-yi Chen were the two most intriguing pitching prospects from last year’s GCL team. Both have good stuff and are young. GCL Twins Hudson Boyd (RHP), Trent Higginbotham (RHP), Kuo-hua Lo (RHP), Austin Malinowski (LHP) Boyd and Higginbotham are two very high ceiling high school picks from last year. The Twins had to go over-slot to sign their second supplemental first round pick from Ft. Myers. He touched 96-97 at times last year. Higginbotham was a late-round pick but the Twins went way over slot to sign him as well. He touches 94-95, and some believe he can be a top of the rotation starter or a dominant closer. Time will tell for both of them. Lo signed last year from Taiwan, and he’s fairly advanced for his very young age. He also has hit 94 mph on a radar gun. He debuted in Instructional League last year, and will likely be with the GCL Twins in 2012. Malinowski was the Twins 16th round pick in 2011 out of Minnesota’s Centennial High School after being names Mr. Baseball in Minnesota. He gave up a scholarship to pitch at Arizona to sign with the Twins at the last minute. TOP THREE (OR SO…) PROSPECTSLiam Hendriks, 2.) Kyle Gibson, 3.) Alex Wimmers, 4.) Adrian Salcedo, 5.) Tom Stuifbergen, 6.) Manuel Soliman, 7.) Hudson Boyd, 8.) BJ Hermsen, 9.) Pat Dean, 10.) Matt Summers SUMMARY The Twins starting pitching was really bad last year. That was a combination of struggles, injury and poor defense. For the Twins to be successful, Carl Pavano needs to throw 220 innings with a league-average ERA and WHIP. Francisco Liriano will have to pull his regain control of his fastball and show a little bit of self-confidence. Scott Baker needs to pitch like he did the six weeks before he got hurt. All three need to stay healthy. I personally think Jason Marquis will be just fine. He’s not going to post a sub-3 or sub-4 ERA, but I think he can do what Pavano did in 2011. Blackburn needs to pitch like he did his first two seasons… or so badly that Liam Hendriks gets called up. Frankly, there’s not much else waiting in the wings, ready to contribute right away as a starter. Manship can be solid, but I think the team has moved him to the bullpen in their minds. Diamond will have had to improved quite a bit to say he’s ready (which is possible). That doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare though. There are some solid pitching prospects throughout the minors. Kyle Gibson should be back in 2013 (if not late in 2012). Alex Wimmers could move very quickly as well. There are several pitchers that have the potential to be a decent #3 pitcher, if all goes well on the way up. The Twins have been successful with “Twins-like” pitchers. Guys like Hermsen, Salcedo, Stuifbergen and Shibuya fit that mold. The Twins have added some power arms in the last draft or two, especially in 2011’s draft with Boyd, Higginbotham, Jones, Boer, Summers, Corey Williams and others. It will be interesting to see how they develop. If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me at sethspeaksnet@hotmail.com or leave your thoughts in the Comments Section! Click here to view the article

The Twins needed a couple of extra innings to earn a 2-1 win in Kansas City against the Royals. It was a terrific game for Darin Mastroianni who hit a solo homer and a triple. Josh Willingham drove in Joe Mauer in the 11th inning with what proved to be the winning run. The two teams will play at 6:00 central time on Saturday. It was a good day for the organization. The teams went 5-2 on the day. Oswaldo Arcia had a huge game, yet it was very difficult to decide who should be the hitter of the day because there were a lot of strong offensive performances. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from the Friday games in the minor leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 4, DURHAM 7 The Red Wings had some players with some good games, but it wasn’t enough and the team lost the first game of a series in Durham. Danny Valencia went 3-5 with his 14th and 15th doubles. Rene Rivera was 3-5 with his eighth double. Tsuyoshi Nishioka was 3-3 with a walk and his 11th double. Clete Thomas went 2-5 with his ninth homer. Brian Dinkelman and Chris Parmelee each doubled. Esmerling Vasquez started and gave up four runs on five hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Caleb Thielbar came in and threw a scoreless sixth inning. He gave up hits to the first two batters of the seventh inning and was replaced by Kyle Waldrop who allowed both inherited runners to score but nothing more. Brendan Wise game up a run on three hits and a walk in the final inning. NEW BRITAIN 13, HARRISBURG 2 (completion of suspended game) On Thursday nights, but teams scored no runs in the first two innings. The Rock Cats scored four runs in the top of the third, but then the rains came and the game was suspended until Friday. The Rock Cats bats continued from that point on in the game and came away with a decisive victory. Oswaldo Arcia led the way. He was 3-5 with his sixth double, his fourth and fifth Rock Cat home runs and six RBI. Rene Tosoni was 2-5 with his second homer. Chris Herrmann went 1-2 with four walks and his 21st double. Aaron Hicks was 2-4 with two walks and his sixth triple. James Beresford went 2-5. Blake Martin started on Thursday and worked two scoreless frames. When play resumed on Friday, Marty Popham took the mound. The right-hander gave up one run on four hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out four times. Bruce Pugh then gave up one run on one hit over two innings in which he struck out two batters. Edgar Ibarra threw two scoreless innings to end the game. NEW BRITAIN 5, HARRISBURG 4 (regularly scheduled game) The regular game became a seven inning game. BJ Hermsen was on the bump to start. The right-hander gave up four runs (3 earned) on eight hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out three. Dakota Watts came in for the 7th inning and recorded his first save. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 and scored two runs, one of them in the top of the ninth that proved to be the winning run. Aaron Hicks was 1-4 but drove in three runs. He had a two-run single, and then he drove in Rohlfing with the game-winner. Shawn Roof was 2-3 with his fifth stolen base. Oswaldo Arcia and Joe Benson were each 1-3 with a walk. Benson drove in two runs. FT. MYERS 9, LAKELAND 7 The offense was certainly out in this game. Josmil Pinto led the way. He was 4-5 with his second third base. Lance Ray was 2-5 and hit his 10th homer. Danny Rams went 2-4 with a walk and his fifth double. Kyle Knudson was 2-5 with his seventh double. Angel Morales added a two-run triple, his third three-bagger. Matt Hauser started and gave up four runs on five hits in 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Nelvin Fuentes gave up a run on three hits in 1.2 innings. AJ Achter was charged with two unearned run on three hits in two innings, but he struck out two and delivered his fourth save. BELOIT 0, LANSING 2 The bats didn’t show up on this night, but David Hurlbut sure did. The left-hander gave up two runs (just one earned) on five hits in eight innings. He walked none and struck out seven. 2012 draftee Zach Jones made his Snappers debut and struck out the side. Drew Leachman had two hits again, the third straight game he has done that. But the Snappers had just five total hits. Nate Roberts walked twice. ELIZABETHTON 8, JOHNSON CITY 6 Down 5-1 going through five innings, the E-Twins bats fought back. They scored three in the six, tied the game at six with two in the seventh and took the lead with two more in the eighth. Adam Walker was 3-4 with his fourth homer and three RBI. DJ Hicks went 3-5. Travis Harrison and Candido Pimentel were each 2-5. Niko Goodrum was 2-5 with his sixth double. Ricardo Arevalo gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits in four innings. He walked none and struck out six. Josh Burris pitched the fifth inning and gave up two unearned runs. He didn’t give up a hit but walked three and struck out two. Travis Huber made his Twins debut in the sixth frame. The 2012 pick from Nebraska gave up a run on two hits. Andrew Ferreira then made his Twins debut in the seventh frame. He gave up just one hit. Tyler Duffey came in and got the save. He gave up no runs on one hit and one walk which striking out three in two innings. GCL TWINS 10, GCL RED SOX 4 The Twins bats broke out in a big way in this game. John Murphy led the way. The outfielder went 3-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles, three RBI and his 10th stolen base. Jorge Fernandez went 3-4. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his third double. Javier Pimentel was 2-5 with his sixth double. Aderlin Mejia was also 2-5. Bryan Santy was 1-3 with two walks and his first double. Randy Rosario started and gave up one run on two hits in four innings. He walked one and struck out four. Then the Twins second supplemental first round pick this year, Luke Bard, made his professional debut. He gave up two runs on one hit and three walks in one inning. He struck out one. (It will be interesting to see where he goes when he is deemed 100% The Twins could keep him in Ft. Myers, pitching for the Miracle, or he could help the Snappers in their playoff run.) Hung-Yi Chen struck out four over the next two innings. He gave up just one hit. Trent Higginbotham gave up a run on a hit and a walk in two innings. He struck out two. --- Players of the Day for Friday, July 20, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia Download attachment: Oswaldo Arcia World.jpg Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut Download attachment: David Hurlbut MUG.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, July 21, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Durham – LHP Luke French New Britain @ Harrisburg – TBD Ft. Myers @ Lakeland – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit vs Great Lakes – LHP Steven Gruver Elizabethton @ Johnson City – TBD GCL Twins vs GCL Red Sox – TBD --- 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

Miguel Sano would be the #1 prospect, arguably, in about 27 of the 30 major league organizations, at least according to Baseball America. In the Minnesota Twins organization, he ranks a solid #2. I bet you can guess who will be named the Twins Daily #1 Twins Prospect tomorrow. It’s been a long time since the Twins have had a prospect with the kind of power that Miguel Sano has. He also has a jovial personality and that combination means he has a chance to be a popular superstar. What’s to Like? Download attachment: top-prospects-02-miguel-sano.jpg A lot! First and foremost is the immense power of Miguel Sano.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In 2012, in Beloit, Sano hit 30 home runs. Last year, he moved up to Ft. Myers where he hit 16 home runs in 56 games before adding another 19 homers in AA New Britain… as a 20 year old! Remember that the Midwest League and especially the Florida State League are considered fairly extreme pitcher-friendly leagues. What is his power potential? Sano is 6'-4" and weighed in at 250 pounds at his Twins Fest physical, and he may still be growing. As you recall from the interview with him at Twins Fest, when I asked him if his home run goal for 2014 was going to be 40 (after 30 and 35, respectively, in the past two seasons), he said, “Maybe 45, maybe 50. More games… Maybe 55. I’m working hard, getting good pitches. That’s it.” That is another thing to like about Miguel Sano. Yes, he will strike out, but his strike zone judgment has greatly improved. After walking just 6.2% of the time in the GCL and 7.8% at Elizabethton, Sano walked 14.5% of the time in Beloit. Last year, he walked about 12% of the time in Ft. Myers and then 13% in New Britain. The key has been his ability to lay off of those tough sliders down and away. With more experience, his ability to get his pitch should continue to improve. Another area of great improvement for Sano came on the defensive side of the game. 2012 was his first season when he was a full-time third baseman. He committed 42 errors and posted an 88.4% fielding percentage. Of course, I always like to point out that nearly 30 of those errors came in the first half of the season. In 2012, he committed a combined 23 errors at the hot corner and his fielding percentage jumped to 93.2% There is still work to be done, but reports say he greatly improved his range. He is able to play a little deeper because he has such a strong arm. He also has some of the intangibles for greatness. Sano has great confidence and he wants to be great, not just very good. He wants to lead the league in home runs and RBI. He can come across as brash at times. He has always had a lot of personality. Earlier in his career, some say he lacked maturity. Now, most say he is becoming more of a leader. He has a lot of fun both playing the game and in the clubhouse. His English has also come a long way over the last couple years. What’s not to like? As mentioned above, he still has work to do at third base. He will make great plays and then stumble on some more routine plays. Often that is more of a concentration thing. So, he needs to become more consistent. When Miguel Sano puts the ball in play, generally good things happen because he is so powerful. However, putting the ball in play is still a concern. Sano struck out in 26.7% of his GCL plate appearances, and then 26.3% at Elizabethton. In Beloit in 2012, he struck out 26.0%. In his 56 games with Ft. Myers a year ago, he struck out 25.1% of the time. However, when he moved up to New Britain, he struck out 29.3% of the time. For for a glimpse of what that means: in 2006, Brandon Wood struck out in 28.5% of his plate appearances at AA. So, although Sano has put up incredible power numbers, dismissing his strikeout rate might be a little naïve and premature. Remember that I put Sano’s confidence in the positive category? I believe a player need to be confident, bordering on arrogant, to become a truly great player. However, there is a certain line that shouldn’t be crossed, and that line is consciously showing up your opponent. Sano famously took his time rounding the bases last year in New Britain after a monster home run off former teammate Bobby Lanigan. Clearly Sano was in the wrong in that case, and Jeff Smith and the organization were right in benching him for a few games. Hopefully that is a lesson learned for the still just 20 year old Sano. The only other concern came early this offseason when, after playing in just two games in the Dominican Winter League, he was shut down due to a UCL strain. Immediately many were concerned about the possibility Sano would miss most, if not all, of the 2014 season if he needed Tommy John surgery. He not only saw Twins' doctors, but he also saw Dr. James Andrews, who prescribed a plan of rest and then beginning rehab in January. Sano is now on a throwing program and experiencing no pain in his elbow. It’s obviously something to be aware of, though there does not appear to be much concern. Looking Back Some of the readers at Twins Daily may be able to think back further than I, but in the last 25 years, power prospects have been few and far between in the Twins organization. I remember when Justin Morneau made his major league debut and received a standing ovation from Metrodome fans. I was watching at my home… standing up, and clapping. In 2002, he had 16 homers, 12 in the Midwest League (63 games) and four in 53 games in Ft. Myers. In 2003, he hit 22 minor league homers and four big league blasts. In 2004, he hit 22 homers in 72 games in Rochester and 19 home runs in 74 games with the Twins. Michael Cuddyer had 30 home runs in a full season at New Britain in 2001. In 2002, he played at AAA Edmonton and hit 20 home runs. That was good for 5th place on the team’s roster as Michael Ryan led with 31 and Michael Restovich had 29. I think it’s fair to say that when Miguel Sano arrives in the big leagues, he will arrive with more fanfare than any Twins player ever, with the possible exception of Joe Mauer. Sano signed with the Twins in October of 2009 under a cloud of controversy and intrigue. It’s been impressive that he has met and exceeded many of the expectations placed on him So… When will we see him? I expect Miguel Sano will return to New Britain to start the 2014 season. I also have my doubts he will spend any time in AAA Rochester. Assuming health, I would put the odds of Sano making his big league debut in 2014 at about 99.9% But when? There will be a couple factors that play into this. First, the strikeout rate and the defense will need to continue to improve. However, if Trevor Plouffe were to be placed on the disabled list for an extended period of time, I have little doubt the Twins would not hesitate to call up Sano, whether that be in May or June. Otherwise, the Twins could wait until June and gain a year of pre-arbitration time. They could have him play in the Futures Game at Target Field in July and then just stay with the big league club. Since he would have to be added to the 40 man roster after the 2014 season anyway, I believe he would, at the latest, be called up in September unless things went terribly wrong. Like TD Prospect #3 Alex Meyer, and like TD's #1 prospect whom you'll learn more about tomorrow, and like Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau and Johan Santana, Miguel Sano is a cornerstone player. He is a guy who has the potential to lead the Twins organization back to prominence. Click here to view the article

After looking at the Outfielders, Infielders, Catchers and Starting Pitchers, our final Spring Training Organizational Depth Chart will take a look at the relief pitchers in the Twins farm system. The bullpen was one of the better areas for the Twins in 2012, and could be again in 2013 although there are questions. The Twins have added some power arms in recent drafts, several are starting to move up the system.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As we have done in the previous depth charts, we’ll try to project where these bullpen pitchers will start the season. There will likely be seven or eight relievers on each team, and maybe a few Disabled List spots as injuries pop up. Some of these guys could get an opportunity to start at some point during the season. So let’s get to it. Here are the Relief Pitchers in the Minnesota Twins organization: Minnesota Twins Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Alex Burnett, Josh Roenicke, Tim Wood, Ryan Pressly, (Anthony Swarzak – DL) Perkins takes over as the full-time closer after spending most of the second half of the 2012 season working in the role. Jared Burton was a minor league free agent last year at this time. He made the roster, spent the whole season, pitched terrific and earned a multi-year contract. Brian Duensing is another lock in the bullpen. Hopefully he will just be left in the bullpen and allowed to get left-handed hitters out. Casey Fien was another minor league free agent a year ago. He had a great spring, got a mid-season promotion to the Twins, pitched very well and is pitching well again this spring. After those four, it is a bunch of question marks. Frankly, Alex Burnett has an option and has been pitching horribly again this spring. Josh Roenicke is out of options, and he has pitched well with the exception of last night. Tim Wood was pretty good, but he also had one hiccup. He is also out of options. The Twins used the 4th pick in the Rule 5 draft to take Ryan Pressly from the Red Sox organization. He will need to make the roster, or he’ll have to be offered back to the Red Sox unless they can work out a trade. Anthony Swarzak had his Twins Fest wrestling around rib injury, and he is yet to throw in a game. He will likely begin the season on the Disabled List. He’ll have to pitch well and he is also out of options. Rochester Red Wings Tyler Robertson, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony Slama, Bobby Lanigan, Jason Lane, Bryan Augenstein, Shairon Martis, Luis Perdomo, Mike O’Connor (Deolis Guerra, Esmerling Vazquez, Rich Harden, Rafael Perez, Dan Sattler, Lester Oliveros – DL) Tyler Robertson is the guy on this list that has a very good chance of making the Twins Opening Day roster. He struckout the side in his major league debut ast summer. Thielbar had the big breakout season last year after signing with the Twins from the St. Paul Saints in August of 2011. He made the 40 man roster and struggled in spring games, but he should surface with the Twins sometime in 2013. Anthony Slama got another chance in big league camp this year. He deserves a shot again sometime this year, but his spring showing to this point has not left a good impression so far. Bobby Lanigan finished the 2012 season with Rochester after finally moving to the bullpen. Perdomo was one of the best relief pitchers in the Twins farm system in 2012 and earned his promotion to the Twins. He is back off of the 40 man roster. Martis is pitching for Team Netherlands in the WBC. He came to the Twins in a trade during the 2012 season and started for New Britain and for the Red Wings. Bryan Augenstein was a minor league free agent who was invited to big league spring training, but he has already been sent down. Jason Lane has 64 doubles and 61 home runs in the big leagues, but he has not played spent a day in the big leagues since 2007. Since 2009, he has been pitching in the minor leagues including the last three years in the Pacific Coast League. He ended last season with Sugar Land where he was managed by Gary Gaetti and played with the likes of Aaron Bates, Scott Kazmir and a couple of games with Roger Clemens. Reports indicated that the lefty threw quite hard. He went 9-5 with a 3.17 ERA. Deolis Guerra will be out for at least half of the season due to the clot found in his shoulder. He should be having surgery soon. Rich Harden had shoulder surgery and missed all of 2012. He will be rehabbing for a while yet and should be brought back slowly. The Twins also signed Rafael Perez who had surgery late last season, and he will be moved slowly as well. Will he actually get a chance to start? Maybe, but he has a good track record in the bullpen. Esmerling Vasquez did a nice job in Rochester last year both in the bullpen and then as a starter. He came back to Twins spring training. Unfortunately, he suffered a shoulder strain and was sent back to the minor league side. Dan Sattler signed with the Twins from the Saints early last year, and he pitched in Ft. Myers, New Britain and Rochester. Shortly after moving up to the Red Wings, he underwent Tommy John surgery. Lester Oliveros had Tommy John surgery in September and will likely miss much of the 2013 season. New Britain Rock Cats Michael Tonkin, Bruce Pugh, Dakota Watts, Andrew Albers, Edgar Ibarra, Dan Turpen, Marty Popham, Jose Gonzalez, Cole Nelson, (Aaron Thompson – DL) Of all the young players to show up at spring training this year, Michael Tonkin was one that clearly stood out to the media and to the manager. The tall, hard-throwing righty with a sharp slider should move quickly. Bruce Pugh has always been live-armed, but in 2012, he finally put it all together. For the third year, he pitched at both Ft. Myers and New Britain, but he was terrific. Likewise, it has been a roller coaster for Dakota Watts. He began the season with some tendonitis, but he really stepped up during the season. He pitched very well in Venezuela this past winter too, again showing off the mid-to-upper 90s velocity. Albers pitched well for the Twins and did a nice job with Team Canada in the WBC. He was my relief pitcher of the year in the Twins system in 2011, and last year he started for the Rock Cats. Edgar Ibarra has very good stuff. The lefty re-signed with the Twins and now that he is being a reliever, he could take off. Turpen throws hard, and although he limited his walks early in the season, by season’s end, he was walking a ton again. He ended last year at Rochester. Popham was a Twins minor league Rule 5 pick in December of 2011. He began the season in the Ft. Myers starting rotation and ended the season in the Rock Cats bullpen. Jose Gonzalez has been a closer on the teams he’s pitched on until last year in Ft. Myers. He had his ups and downs, but the hard-throwing left-hander with a terrific slider ended the season with New Britain. Nelson came to the Twins in the Delmon Young trade in August of 2011. The tall lefty from Minnesota struggled with injury and didn’t pitch well with the Miracle last year. He will likely need to make the Rock Cats roster. Thompson pitched for the Rock Cats last year before and after his 50 game suspension. Ft. Myers Miracle AJ Achter, Miguel Munoz, Nelvin Fuentes, Ryan O’Rourke, Corey Williams, Steven Gruver, Zach Jones, JT Chargois, Cole Johnson, Patrick Arnold, (Dallas Gallant, Manuel Soliman, Jhon Garcia – DL) As good as Tonkin was in 2012, AJ Achter was my choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year. He spent the first half of the season learning the bullpen at Beloit. He was an All-Star and was promoted to the Miracle where he was much better. He should move up to New Britain quickly. Chargois was the Twins 2nd round pick last year out of Rice. He is one who could move quickly, if healthy. Zach Jones was the team’s 4th round pick. He was clocked at 98 and 99 consistently in Beloit last season, and frequently hit 100. Control and a second pitch, and he could move up quickly. Patrick Arnold was a minor league free agent signed for depth. Miguel Munoz was hurt and rehabbed most of the 2011 season. Last year, he was slowly brought back with the Miracle. When healthy, he throws hard and has a chance to be very good. From the left side, there are some very good options. Williams led the organization in saves last year with 17. Though he didn’t pitch real great, he does have great stuff and throws hard. Nelvin Fuentes works slow and doesn’t throw real heard, but he find a way to keep hitters off of their feet. When I saw Ryan O’ Rourke pitch in Beloit in 2011, my immediate comment was that he could get big league left-handed hitters out already because of his tremendous slider. He struggled at times in 2012, but he has a chance to fill a role as he moves up. Gruver started about half of the season last year in Beloit and did well. He also pitched well out of the bullpen and has earned a chance to move up. Garcia had Tommy John surgery last June and will likely rehab much of this season. Soliman had labrum surgery last season and is already throwing to hitters this spring. Gallant pitched some for Beloit last year, but just recently, he had an ulna nerve transposition and finds himself rehabbing again. Cedar Rapids Kernels Tim Atherton, Tyler Jones, Chris Mazza, Ricardo Arevalo, Josh Burris, Andrew Ferreira, Tyler Herr, Travis Huber, Kaleb Merck, Alex Muren, Luis Nunez, (Tim Shibuya – DL) Tim Atherton was with the Twins as a hitter a few years ago. He got in trouble, got released and then in late 2010, he was re-signed by the Twins as a pitcher. He throws hard and has a couple of good pitches. He walks too many, but he can miss bats. Tyler Jones came up to Beloit early in the 2012 season after being drafted in the 11th round in 2011 from LSU. He started for the Snappers most of the season. Mazza was a 27th round pick of the Twins in 2011, but he signed late. He pitched in both Twins rookie league teams and pitched very well. Arevalo signed with the Twins in 2009 and combined to go 0-8 in two seasons with the DSL Twins. In 2011, he was 0-4 with the GCL Twins. In 2012 at Elizabethton, he finally got that first win in his first start but then last his next three decisions. He pitched out of the bullpen for the E-Twins in the playoffs and does throw quite hard. Burris was the team’s 17th round pick in 2011. He made his pro debut in 2012 at Elizabethton and went 7-0 with a 1.75 ERA out of the bullpen. He struckout 40 and walked 21 in 36 innings. He throws hard but most talk about his big 12-6 curveball. Ferreira was the Twins 32nd round pick last year from Harvard. He pitched ten innings in ten games for the E-Twins. He went 2-0 with a 1.80 ERA, walked seven and struckout 13. Herr was the Twins 44th round pick in 2009 out of his Texas High School. He spent two years in the GCL, and last year he went 3-0 with a 2.56 ERA in 31.2 innings at Elizabethton. He pitched in Australia this winter. When the Twins drafted Huber in the 23rd round last year from Nebraska, it was the third time he was drafted. He pitched nine games in Elizabethton. Merck was the Twins 33rd round pick last year out of TCU. He pitched in 16 games for E-Town last year and struckout 28 and walked six in 24.1 innings. Muren was the Twins 12th round pick last year from Cal State-Northridge. He posted a 1.46 ERA with a 0.86 WHIP in 24.2 innings despite striking out just 12. After going 5-0 with five saves and a 1.67 ERA in the GCL in 2011, Nunez went 0-2 with a 5.09 ERA in Elizabethton in 2012. The lefty throws very hard. Shibuya was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in 2011 in his debut pro season. He pitched alright early in the season for Beloit. Unfortunately, soon after he threw a complete game shutout, he started to feel pain in his shoulder. He did have surgery in October and hopes to pitch early in the season. Extended Spring Training/Short-Season Angel Mata, Hung-yi Chen, Gonzalo Sanudo, Gerardo Ramirez, Melciades de la Cruz, Carson Goldsmith, Trent Higginbotham, Andre Martinez Mata went 4-3 with a 3.38 ERA last year in Elizabethton. He has moved up one level each of the last three years, so it is possible that he’ll move up to Cedar Rapids. Either way, they’ll continue to monitor his innings because he has a great arm. Chen signed from Taiwan late in 2010. He went 0-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 12 appearances (10 starts) with the GCL Twins. Last year, he stayed in the GCL and pitched in 16 games out of the bullpen. Chen has a strong arm and great control and I think he can be a starter down the road again. Sanudo has pitched the last two years in the GCL, but he made great strikes in 2012 when he posted a 2.00 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP. Most impressive, he walked just two and struckout 33 in 36 innings. Fellow Mexican Gerardo Ramirez has pitched with Sanudo the last two years. He struggled to a 6.62 ERA, but somehow had a 4-1 record. After a year in the DSL, de la Cruz came to the States last year and posted a 2.32 ERA in 31 innings in the GCL. He struckout 34. Goldsmith was the Twins 28th round pick last year out of Northwestern State University of Louisiana (same school as Mason Melotakis). He pitched in just three games before being shutdown with arm issues. Higginbotham was the Twins 26th round pick in 2011 out of high school and the Twins went well over slot to sign him. He debuted with the GCL Twins in 2012 and posted a 7.71 ERA and a 1.84 WHIP in 23.1 innings. The Twins were willing to go over slot to sign Andre Martinez, but when his physical turned out a shoulder issue, the Twins were able to sign him for below slot. TOP PROSPECTS 1.) Michael Tonkin, 2.) JT Chargois, 3.) Corey Williams, 4.) Josh Burris 5.) Angel Mata, 6.) Bruce Pugh, 7.) AJ Achter, 8.) Tyler Jones,. SUMMARY The Twins bullpen was very good last year. They should be solid in the 8th and 9th innings again, but there are some question marks at the back of the bullpen which will be figured out. There are also some powerful arms in the Twins farm system. Guys like Dakota Watts and Bruce Pugh and Matt Hauser are close and ready to move up quickly. They have some talented left-handers. And, although we talk about those hard-throwing college relievers that the Twins drafted in 2012 that are going to get a chance to start, there are others like JT Chargois and Zack Jones who could move up quickly in the bullpen. And, if those starters prove better in the bullpen, they too could move quickly. There are a lot of talented bullpen arms in the system. If you have any further questions, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments Section! View full article