Seth Stohs

The MLB Draft resumes today at 12:00 (central time) with each organization making their 3rd round through 10th round draft picks. The Minnesota Twins will have the fifth pick in each round. Download attachment: mlb-draft.jpg Throughout the day, Twins Daily's draft guru, Jeremy Nygaard, will be here posting the Minnesota Twins draft picks and providing some analysis on the player and the selection. He'll also be in the forums answering other questions you may have. These picks are all important and there is a strategy to them. The Twins have about $7.5 million to spend on their first 10 draft picks and about $3.85 million is allotted to their top pick, Nick Gordon. What will they do? See below. 3rd Round (79; $703,900) - RHP Michael Cederoth, San Diego State An interesting pick at #79, Cederoth started the season with mid-first round buzz. Hailing from the same school as Stephen Strasburg, there were some unfair comparisons, but the velocity is there (98-100 mph). The Twins seem poised to give Cederoth an opportunity to start. His slider is his strikeout pitch in the mid-80s. He also features an average changeup, which he didn't throw much this year, and a slower curveball. Cederoth is a big, lanky dude (6'6, 215) and has a violent delivery and a penchant for missing the strike zone - the difference between being a 3rd rounder and a 1st rounder. While the rumor had been that Cederoth was looking for a seven-figure deal, I've been assured that that is not accurate and my assumption is that he'll sign for slot. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 45; MLB.com, 59; Perfect Game, 63; Scout, 75. 4th Round (110; $476,100) - LHP Sam Clay, Georgia Tech Clay is a draft-eligible sophomore who projects as a reliever. Clay isn't as hard of a thrower as the previous two players who were selected, reaching the low-90's. He also has a slider, who some believe can be a plus pitch. Clay has a lot of raw ability, but will need to harness it and cut down on walks. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 144; Perfect Game, 226; MLB.com, unranked; Scout, unranked. 5th Round (140; $356,400) - RHP Jake Reed, Oregon Another reliever... well, Reed was a starter for two seasons, but was much better after being converted to a closing role. Reed features a three-pitch mix: low-90s fastball, a slurvy slider and a circle-change. Some consider him another guy that could move quick, though probably not as a closer. Pre-draft rankings: MLB.com, 123; Baseball America, 144; Perfect Game, 226; Scout, unranked. 6th Round (170; $266,900) - RHP John Curtiss, Texas Unlike any of the previous picks, Curtiss projects to be a starter - even though he closed for the Longhorns in 2014 - with an upside of a #2. Despite being a redshirt sophomore - he missed 2013 after undergoing Tommy John surgery - Curtiss is already graduated and appears to be signable. Curtiss has a mid-90s fastball and three ordinary secondary pitches. There's still some projection based on the missed time. If his slider and change-up can develop, there's hope that Curtiss can stick in the rotation. Pre-draft rankings: MLB.com, 88; Perfect Game, 158; Baseball America, 159; Scout, 246. 7th Round (200; $199,900) - RHP Andrew Cutura, SE Louisiana U Cutura is a junior. The short (6' 0) right-hander isn't on a lot of radars, but came as a recommendation of area scout Greg Runser, who has had his hand in drafting a lot of pitchers recently. Cutura was a three-year starter for SE Lousiana. Cutura is a bulldog. He has a 88-92 mph sinker, a hybrid breaking ball that sits in the mid-80s, and a changeup around 80 mph. He commands all three pitches well and knows how to put guys away. Pre-draft rankings: MLB.com, unranked; Perfect Game, unranked; Baseball America, unranked; Scout, unranked. 8th Round (230; $161,300) - RHP Keaton Steele, Missouri Steele missed the 2011 season due to shoulder injuries. He's been a two-way player, but will pitch as a professional. Steele has another year of eligibility due to the injury, but has graduated and is signable as a redshirt-junior. Steele closed for Missouri this year and features a low-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. It remains to be seen if he's viewed as a starter or reliever. He was moved to Missouri's rotation late in the year and had a couple complete games. Pre-draft rankings: Scout, 146; MLB.com, 177; Baseball America, 275; Perfect Game, 428. 9th Round (260; $150,600) - OF Max Murphy, Bradley According to Chris Cotillo, Murphy and the Twins have agreed to a $130k deal. This is what I said about Murphy when I had him pegged for the 260th overall pick in my 10-round Twins mock: The organizational dearth of outfielders may have the Twins going to the college ranks to draft outfielders even earlier. Murphy is a guy who makes a ton of sense for the Twins, partially because he played his high school ball in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Murphy's best tool is he power. He's compact (only 5' 11"), runs well and has a clue in the outfield. While his arm could play in right (his current position), some think he could move to center. The question about Murphy is his hit-tool. Pre-draft rankings: Baseball America, 275; Perfect Game, 327; Scout, unranked; MLB.com, unranked. 10th Round (290; $140,700) - RHP Randy LeBlanc, Tulane LeBlanc missed his freshman year with an elbow injury that resulted in Tommy John surgery. Highly touted out of high school, LeBlanc has spent four years at Tulane and still has one year of eligibility left. He's back healthy ago and hitting 95 with ease. His breaking ball and change-up are below-average pitches, but, even at 22, still has some projection left. His got a good pitcher's body too (6' 4, 200). The Twins hope that with advanced instruction, he can turn his curveball and change-up into above-average offerings. Pre-draft rankings: MLB.com, 188; Baseball America, 236; Perfect Game, 327; Scout, unranked. Click here to view the article

While a lot of people will be betting on the Super Bowl this weekend, Brian Dozier is looking to show the Minnesota Twins brass and the fans that he is worth betting on for the long haul. Following his 2011 season, during which he was named the Twins minor league player of the year, expectations were high, maybe too high, for the now-25-year-old shortstop from the University of Southern Mississippi at the start of the 2012 season. After starting the season with a month in Rochester, the Twins promoted Dozier to the big leagues. He made his debut on May 7 against the Angels. In the bottom of the 8th inning, he came up and singled to center for his first MLB hit. When he returned to first base, Albert Pujols patted him on the helmet and told him, “Congratulations! You look good up there. First of many![PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]” Dozier certainly experienced some great moments during his rookie season. On May 13, he hit his first big league home run off of Ricky Romero of the Blue Jays. Days later, he hit his second homer against Rick Porcello. Home Run Number 3 game against Chris Sale of the White Sox. He then hit homers against Tommy MIlone of the A’s and Alfredo Aceves before hitting his sixth and final homer of the season off of Cy Young winner David Price. However, overall, he hit just .234/.271/.332 (.603) and the day after his homer against Price, he was optioned to Rochester where he finished the season. At Twins Fest, Dozier said, “First time it ever happened to me where stuff carried out into my defense. Trying to change things on offense, I got too much zoned into working on my swing and I got away from my approach. I’ve always been a guy to walk a lot, but my approach was just all over the place, going up there, swinging at pitches I don’t ever swing at. You get away from that. You try to change. You think it’s your swing, but it’s really your approach before you even get up there. “ In addition, Dozier added, “Looking back, I only had two or three bunt base hits. I had about 25 the past two years. I only had eight walks (Seth Note – Actually 16), the year before, I had 60.” After walking in about 10% of his plate appearances in the minor leagues, he walked less than 5% of the time in his 340 plate appearances with the Twins in 2012. Beyond the approach, Dozier also fought his mechanics. “I started off and everything was going good. My hands were up here [Dozier illustrated to the group that his hands were up high, above his back shoulder], and then I started dropping my shoulder, and you can’t do that. You really can’t. You just get comfortable up there. I had a little skid, 0-15 or something, and you think it’s your swing. A lot of information, and I started changing way too many things that you shouldn’t change.” What was Dozier’s biggest take-away from his rookie season? “You’ve got to be consistent, and that’s the biggest thing I learned. You’ve always heard that preached to you. It comes into perspective in that aspect. You’ve got to be real consistent up here and that’s the big thing that I got away from. But, like I said, after I got sent down, I just had to get back to my roots, being a consistent, sound baseball player. So that’s what I’ve done and I’m good to go.” Dozier summarized his first big league experience by saying, “It’s a good rookie year for me,” which may seem a bit strange until hear the rest, “I learned a lot.” It was a full off-season for Dozier. “I went down to Venezuela to get some work in at second base. While I’ve been up here (in Minneapolis), I’ve been working with Molly (Paul Molitor) on turns at second, just to make sure I’m comfortable so when spring hits, whatever Gardy sees fit, and Terry (Ryan).” Dozier was only in Venezuela for a short time, but it served its purpose. “It was good. I got some work in, especially at second base. I got a few at bats too, but I was really down there just to get some work in at second base.” He continued, “Normally in the offseason, I work strictly at short, but this time, I spent a lot of time at second base. I didn’t take time off, to be honest with you. I was going to take a little time to re-charge, but you know what, you’ve got to stay sharp. “ He also had a pretty good role model and teammate to talk with. He spent a day this offseason hanging out with Josh Willingham and his family. “We always talk. We hit just two days ago at Target Field.” Dozier is excited for the opportunity to work with the Twins new hitting coach Tom Brunansky. Brunansky was Dozier’s hitting coach in 2011 at New Britain, and the two worked together again last season in Rochester. “Joe (Vavra) is awesome, and he’s helped me a lot. But me and Bruno have worked together the past two years. He’s a good one. He really is. (We) have developed a good relationship, not just with baseball, but with everything. He’s a good one, a guy that spent 13 or 14 years in the Bigs, he knows his stuff. He knows it, the grind and everything. I was hitting at the field the other day, and he sneaks in behind me, and right there, he says, ‘I like that. I like that.’ He’s ready to go. He’s fired up.” Manager Ron Gardenhire said that there will be competition in spring training for the middle infield positions. He also would like to see the situation resolved in camp. “Well, I hope it’s resolved. I mean, I hope we have a little better inkling of it. I think we have some talented people, and we’re going to throw them out there and let them go at it. Try to figure out the best combination, and if it turns out to be combinations, we’ll just go that way. Whatever’s going to help us win ball games, and catch the ball.” Speaking of the competition in the middle infield, Dozier says, “Competition is good. That excites us. Competing against a bunch of good players, but at the same time, I’m ready. I’ve got a lot to prove.” Is Dozier under the impression that he is going to be a second baseman? “Let’s not rule out shortstop, first of all, because I feel really comfortable at short.” As he acknowledged, 2013 will be a big year for Brian Dozier. He learned a lot from that rookie season and hopefully he will be able to take that information, learn from the struggles, and get back to the basics. “You’ve got to make adjustments along the way, but you also have to stay within yourself… I’ve got to get back to sound baseball, and I was getting away from that.” “We’re good. You guys put that (in your articles). We’re Good!” View full article

The Minnesota Twins made eight cuts on Sunday morning and their roster is now at forty players. Some of the moves certainly make some of the opening day roster choices more clear, but there are still several questions that need to be answered. Here is my third version of a Twins Opening Day roster projection. It is based on the players currently on the roster, though I do expect the Twins to make a trade before opening day gets here.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Download attachment: Sam Deduno.jpg As a reminder, the players in red are those that I believe are givens to make the roster (obviously, pending no injury). Those in black are those whose spots on the roster are uncertain. Catchers (2): Kurt Suzuki, Chris Herrmann With Eric Fryer sent to minor league camp on Sunday, it means that Chris Herrmann and Josmil Pinto will be competing to back up Kurt Suzuki. They have indicated they want Pinto to be able to play most every day which makes Herrmann a pretty likely opening day roster guy. Infielders (5): Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Pedro Florimon, Eduardo Escobar, Chris Colabello The demotion of Danny Santana certainly indicates the club feels Pedro Florimon will be ready for opening day. The starters remain set, and Eduardo Escobar is a given (in my opinion). I have added Chris Colabello to the opening day roster because of his bat. If you believe the Twins need a big, powerful right-handed bat, then it has to be Chris Colabello. Outfielders (6): Josh Willingham, Aaron Hicks, Oswaldo Arcia, Alex Presley, Chris Parmelee, Jason Kubel I’ve changed things here too, but these are really a tough positions when it comes to predicting who will make it. Willingham is a given. I’ve actually altered my thinking and now think that Aaron Hicks will be the primary centerfielder which makes Alex Presley the backup. Oswaldo Arcia will likely be starting right fielder. I am less and less certain that Jason Kubel is a given at this point than I was a month ago and Parmelee/Colabello could take over DH duties. I still have Kubel on the roster though, for now. Starting Pitchers (5): Kevin Correia, Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Mike Pelfrey, Sam Deduno No change at the top of the starting pitching ranks. The top four will make it. It’s also becoming more and more clear that Sam Deduno is the favorite for the fifth starting job. Scott Diamond had a solid outing yesterday against the Mets B team, though he also walked three. The Twins were happy with the improvement Vance Worley made in his most recent outing. After a rough, long first inning on Friday, Kyle Gibson settled down. I do have Deduno as a given, though I’m not 100% certain he will be the fifth starter (only like 90%). Bullpen (7): Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Anthony Swarzak, Caleb Thielbar, Vance Worley Perkins signed his extension and he’s a given. Fien and Swarzak are givens. There are rumblings that the Twins could deal a reliever or two by opening day, though obviously that’s a matter of two teams coming together and finding something that makes sense. I still think Caleb Thielbar is the front runner for the second lefty reliever, but I think the Twins really like Matt Hoffman, and Aaron Thompson as well. I think Vance Worley and Scott Diamond will compete over these final two weeks for one spot. That said, Michael Tonkin has been impressive as well so far in camp. If the Twins could deal maybe Burton and/or Duensing, Tonkin and Hoffman would get a shot. What are your thoughts? What does your roster look like with two weeks to go? Click here to view the article

It started on Tuesday with the catchers, and over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at the depth at each position throughout the Minnesota Twins organization. Today, I’ll look through the system’s first basemen. Joe Mauer and the Twins made the announcement in November, but starting in spring, he will officially be the first baseman of the Twins. He had been the primary catcher for a decade. Likewise, Justin Morneau had been the primary first [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]baseman (when healthy) for the team. Morneau was traded last August to the Pittsburgh Pirates and signed earlier this offseason with the Colorado Rockies. Download attachment: Joe Mauer 1B.jpg The Big Leaguers There is no question about it, Joe Mauer will be the opening day first baseman. He will, assuming good health, be near the top of the league in batting average and on-base percentage. The hope is that he will be able to play 155 or so games. That doesn’t provide a lot of opportunities at first base for Chris Parmelee or Chris Colabello. Parmelee, the Twins first-round pick in 2006, is out of options. He can play some first base and could play in the corner outfield positions, DH or pinch-hit. Parmelee has certainly shown glimpses of power, but consistency has been the issue. 30-year-old Colabello was signed from the independent leagues and in 2013 was the International League Rookie of the Year and MVP after putting up monster numbers in Rochester; he even showed power with the Twins. 40 Man Roster Besides the three players mentioned above, the Twins added two more potential first base options to their 40 man roster this offseason, Kennys Vargas and Max Kepler. The twenty year old Kepler has played a lot of outfield, including centerfield, in his young career. Obviously he will not be a centerfielder in the Twins system long-term (you know, because of Aaron Hicks and Byron Buxton). After spending the second half of the season in Cedar Rapids splitting time between the outfield and first base, he was invited to the Arizona Fall League where he played first base. At 6-4 and about 230 pounds, it may be his best position. Kepler is dwarfed by twenty three year old Vargas, who is about 6-5 and 260 (or so) pounds. He has immense power from both sides of the plate. Granted, he may never play first base in the big leagues as his best defensive position is likely designated hitter. However, he did work with Doug Mientkiewicz throughout the season in Fort Myers. The Century Club Dalton (DJ) Hicks, twenty three years old, was the Twins' 17th round pick out of the University of Central Florida in 2012. The 6-3, 230 pound Hicks was the cleanup batter for the Cedar Rapids Kernels for the first two-thirds of the season. He was promoted to Fort Myers where he continued to be a very productive hitter. His total of 110 RBI was the most in all minor league baseball. Prospect Rankings Kepler is certainly a Top 10-15 Twins' prospect. Vargas and Hicks are among the Top 30 Twins' prospects. Aside from these three, the top prospect is a guy who hasn’t yet made an official plate appearance in a game in professional baseball. In July, the Twins spent over $1 million on a big international free agent. Seventeen year old outfielder/first baseman/DH Lewin Diaz was given $1.4 million and the Twins hope he develops into a big-time slugger. The assumption is he will spend time with the Gulf Coast League Twins in 2014. Roster Projections In each installment, I’ll make my roster projections. Obviously additional signings or injuries will affect all of this, and that’s why it is important to have more than just two or even three at each level. There are also always players put on the disabled list. As a disclaimer, these are my projections and not meant to be used as anything official. This gives an idea of who could be at each affiliate at the start of the season. Minnesota: Joe Mauer, Chris ParmeleeRochester: Chris Colabello, Reynaldo RodriguezNew Britain: Kennys Vargas, CJ ZieglerFort Myers: Dalton Hicks, Adam BryantCedar Rapids: Max Kepler, Bryan HaarExtended Spring Training: Lewin Diaz, (last year in the GCL their catchers played a lot of 1B when they weren’t catching)Feel free to discuss the players and the roster. Click here to view the article

Ricky Nolasco was not at his best, but he still was able to limit the Yankees offense to just one run over six innings. The bullpen finished with three scoreless innings, and the Twins had a 6-1 win over their nemesis from the Bronx. Oswaldo Arcia showed off his power with another home run and he also showed off his very strong arm. He had two outfield assists in the game. Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe also homered. A couple of lefties in the upper levels were very impressive, tossing scoreless innings at will. And one of the top power prospects in the Twins organization displayed his home run prowess. Meanwhile, one of the fastest players had the best game of his career. The Red Wings had lots of multi-hit performers. Find out everything that happened in the Twins farm system as well as an update on some of the injured minor leaguers. Download attachment: Kris Johnson 2.jpg Kris Johnson photo by Betsy Bissen INJURY UPDATES On Thursday, Twins Daily reported that left-handed pitching prospect Randy Rosario had Tommy John surgery. Also, outfielder Jake Proctor had shoulder surgery. Here are some more injury-related notes from the Twins minor league affiliates. There are several players who have started playing games in Extended Spring Training. That includes outfielders Lance Ray and Nate Robert as well as infielder Stephen Wickens. Pitchers Hein Robb and Chad Rodgers are pitching in Extended Spring Training games. Zach Granite is down in Ft. Myers, and he is now able to do full workouts. Zach Larson had pulled him hamstring and has now started jogging. Logan Wade is rehabbing his shoulder. Jeremias Pineda is still experiencing some soreness in his hand. Yorman Landa has a shoulder impingement. It will be a while before we see Levi Michael as he has a broken bone in his foot. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Gwinnett 0 Box Score Kris Johnson was the International League ERA leader in 2013 when he helped lead Indianapolis to a championship. This year, he has probably been even better. On Friday night, he worked seven scoreless innings to drop his season ERA to 1.83. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. In his last seven starts, he has given up just four earned runs in 42.1 innings for a 0.85 ERA in this streak. Ryan Pressly came on and gave up nothing over two perfect innings. He struck out two. The Red Wings got their offensive support from multiple sources with multiple hits. Eric Farris went 3-4 with a walk and his sixth and seventh doubles. Wilkin Ramirez was 3-4 with his eighth and ninth doubles. Brad Nelson was 3-5 with his fifth double. Eric Fryer and Doug Bernier were both 2-4. Fryer hit his seventh double, and Bernier hit his ninth. Chris Colabello went 0-4 and is now 1-14 (.071) in the four games since his demotion. Chris Herrmann was out with a sore wrist. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Binghamton 0 Box Score Sean Gilmartin is another left-hander who is pitching well of late. The lefty improved to 5-3 with six shutout innings on this night. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out nine. DJ Baxendale, who is working back from his shoulder issues in the bullpen, got the next five outs, two on strikeouts. Lefty Ryan O’Rourke was brought in to face one batter and he got a strikeout. Matt Summers, who has been moved to the bullpen, finished the game with two strikeouts in a scoreless ninth. The Rock Cats did not get a lot of offense. They managed just six hits in the game but one was huge. All four of their runs came in just one inning. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Nate Hanson drove in Danny Ortiz with a sacrifice fly. Three batters later, the bases were full again. Mike Kvasnicka came to bat and drilled his sixth double of the year. It drove in all three runners. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk and his 15th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Clearwater 4 Box Score Down 4-1 through seven innings, the Miracle bats took over. Adam Walker led off the 8th frame with his 11th home run of the year. Two walks and an error on a sacrifice bunt and Michael Gonzales came through with a big bases-clearing double. Two batters later, Gonzales scored the fifth run of the inning on a Jorge Polanco sacrifice fly. In the 9th inning, Adam Walker led off again and this time crushed his 12th home run of the season. Walker led the way. He went 3-5 with the two home runs and his seventh double. Brett Lee made the start and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits over just three innings. He walked none and struck out one. Alex Wimmers came out of the bullpen and gave up one run on three hits in three innings. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out four. Mason Melotakis walked one and struck out one in one scoreless inning. Tim Shibuya recorded his first save of the season (second of his career) with two perfect innings. He struck out three. In case you were wondering, Eddie Rosario went 1-5 in the game. For the second straight night, he batted third and played in center field. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Ethan Mildren was the recipient of a lot of run support to help him to his first Midwest League win. He gave up four runs in the third inning, but then held the Timber Rattlers scoreless through the sixth inning. He was charged with another run in the 7th inning. So his line reads that he gave up five earned run on five hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out four. Brandon Bixler came on and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Hudson Boyd pitched a scoreless ninth. Engelb Vielma led the offense with his biggest day as a pro. The second baseman went 4-4 with his sixth double and four RBI. Ryan Walker went 2-5 with his first two doubles of the season. Joel Licon went 2-4 with his fourth double. Michael Quesada hit his second home run of the season, a three-run blast in the fourth. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kris Johnson, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Adam Walker, Ft. Myers Miracle SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Gwinnett @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) Binghamton @ Virgil Vasquez (5:35 CST) – Virgil Vasquez (Listen) Tampa @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – JO Berrios (Listen) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) – Josue Montanez (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over the Yankees in New York on Friday, it means that on Saturday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

Immediately following the Twins loss tonight against the Angels, the team announced that they had optioned 3B Danny Valencia and Designated LHP Matt Maloney for Assignment. The selected the contract of RHP PJ Walters and OF/2B Darin Mastroianni. Valencia has really struggled with the bat and glove throughout the season, and yet the timing here is a little surprising. The hope would be that he is able to figure things out down in Rochester and come back and resume his role as the team's starting 3B. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Maloney had a solid spring training, but really has struggled in the season's first five weeks. Mastroianni started the season by struggling for two weeks in New Britain (AA), but he has been hitting nearly .360 through three weeks with AAA Rochester, playing LF and some 2B. He has ten stolen bases with the Red Wings, including stealing home on Monday. He will likely be with the Twins in time to play his former organization, the Toronto Blue Jays. PJ Walters played for the Blue Jays and Cardinals last year and was part of the big July trade between the teams. He has posted a 3-1 record with a 2.70 ERA in AAA. He will start on Saturday against the Blue Jays. This also means that Francisco Liriano goes to the bullpen. So, the question I have is... who is the Twins starting 3B now? Carroll? Plouffe? What are your thoughts on the moves? Download attachment: danny valencia.jpg Click here to view the article

A week ago, we started to take a look at my Top 50 Twins Prospects. Within the last week, we looked at prospects 11-20, prospects 21-30, prospects 31-40, and prospects 41 through 50. The general belief is that the Twins farm system is pretty weak and sadly, from doing this exercise, I find it hard to disagree. However, to say that it is bad and completely void of talent is also not true at all. Within this top ten, there is a lot of talent. There are still plenty of question marks due to age and injuries, but there are some high ceilings. The hope would be that after the Twins make six selections in the top 100 picks in next week’s draft (And sign them), there will be a lot more talent in the system to believe in. Most likely, the player the Twins select with the #2 overall pick should slot right into the #2 spot on the list below. Without further ado, let’s get to the list. Here are my choices for Twins Top Prospects:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] #10 –Hudson Boyd, RHP Boyd was the Twins second supplemental first round pick a year ago. He was drafted out of his high school in Ft. Myers. The Twins had him come to Hammond Stadium days before the draft and saw him throw 97 mph. Listed at 6-3 and 270 pounds, Boyd is a big man who the Twins will want to slim down. He didn’t play in 2011 until the Instructional League. Boyd throws hard, and he also throws strikes. He is just 19 years old so he will likely start his career in the GCL as a starter. Many believe that he may eventually need to move to the bullpen. It’s way too early to know that. Reports I’m hearing from Ft. Myers say that he is working really hard and more important, he is throwing really hard and has a very good curveball. #9 – Travis Harrison, 3B Harrison was selected five picks before the Twins took Boyd in the supplemental round of the 2011 draft. Like Boyd, he signed at the deadline for a little bit above slot. He debuted with the Twins in the Florida Instructional League. The 6-3, 215 pound right-handed hitter is one day younger than Boyd. Reports from Ft. Myers tell me that he is crushing the ball. Of course, like most young hitters, especially power hitters, Harrison still occasionally struggles with hitting a curveball. He can be a solid batting average hitter too if he can make contact, as he does a good job of using the whole field thanks to a very balanced swing. He is best known as a guy who hit a ball 504 feet, well out of Tropicana Field. And again, like Boyd, Harrison could start at Elizabethton but most likely with the GCL Twins. #8 – Brian Dozier, SS The Twins drafted Dozier with their 8th round pick in the 2009 draft out of the University of Southern Mississippi. The four-year senior advanced quickly through the Twins farm system. He split the 2011 season between Ft. Myers and New Britain. He was my choice for 2011 Minor League Hitter of the Year after hitting a combined .320/.399/.491 with 33 doubles, 12 triples, nine home runs and 24 stolen bases. Teammates talk about his poise and leadership. After hitting .276/.339/.371 with seven doubles and a homer in 28 AAA games this spring, he was promoted to the Twins. In 22 games, he has hit .227/.247/.341 with four doubles and two home runs. No one is expecting him to post an .800 OPS, but in time, I think he will be a .720-.750 OPS guy for a few years. He has shown good range and hands, and plenty of arm to play shortstop. #7 – Joe Benson, OF The Twins second round pick in 2006 out of his Illinois high school, Benson gave up a football scholarship to Purdue. Since signing, things have not always come easy for Benson. He was the Twins Minor League hitter of the year in 2010, and he was my runner up choice in 2011. He spent each of those seasons in New Britain. Last year, he spent September playing nearly every day with the Twins. In one game against Cleveland, he was 4-4 with a triple and two doubles. He began the 2012 season in Rochester, but through 28 games, he was hitting .179/.269/.316 with seven extra base hits. He was sent down to New Britain where he hit .156 in eight games before having surgery on a broken hamate bone last week. There is no questioning the physical tools that Benson possesses. His competitive and aggressive style can mean good things in many cases. The struggles this year were with the emotional side of the game and being able to handle the negative. If ever the 24-year-old can find a way to slow the game down, he can be a special player. #6 – Kyle Gibson, RHP The Twins top pick in the 2009 draft, Gibson came from the University of Missouri. Gibson was the Twins 2010 minor league pitcher of the year when he quickly moved from Ft. Myers to New Britain and up to Rochester. He began 2011 with the Red Wings and pitched well the first two months of the season. Unfortunately, he had elbow pain and had to have Tommy John surgery. He is expected to throw his first bullpen off of a mound next Monday and hopes to pitch in games in 2012. The idea would be that he be ready to pitch for the Twins sometime in 2013. The lanky right-hander throws a fastball between 89-91 but can touch 93. He has a great sinker and a slider. He also throws a change up. He gets a lot of ground balls. He will be added to the 40 man roster following the season. #5 – Oswaldo Arcia, OF The Twins had to add Arcia to the 40 man roster last November because the 21 year old signed in July of 2007 out of Venezuela. He came to the States and put up solid numbers in 2009, but in 2010, he was the Appalachian League Player of the Year. In 2011, he put up huge numbers in Beloit in April, but then had to miss six weeks after having elbow surgery. Instead of returning to Beloit, he was moved up to Ft. Myers. That is where he starts this spring. After a slow April (thanks, in part, to a leg injury), he had a big May. Right now, he is hitting .298/.351/.482 with 13 doubles, three triples and four home runs. The left-handed hitter has major power. He strikes out a lot, and will have to figure out how to hit left-handed pitching at a decent rate, but Arcia does have a high ceiling. #4 – Aaron Hicks, OF Hicks was the Twins first-round pick way back in June of 2008 out of high school in California. The 22 year old is getting his first taste of AA this year after posting some impressive numbers in the Arizona Fall League last year. Hicks is not over his head, but he is certainly working through some struggles. Overall this season, he is hitting .246/.335/.392 (.727) with eight doubles, a triple and five home runs. However, he posted an OPS of .824 in April and of just .624 thus far in May. The other question is whether or not Hicks should remain a switch-hitter. Well, this year against left-handers, he is hitting .347/.396/.510 (.906) against left-handers and .205/.313/.344 (.657) against right-handers. I’ve said all along that I would give him this year to work on the switch-hitting, but they do need to think about him just being a right-handed hitter following this season when they add him to the 40 man roster. Hicks is already big-league ready defensively. He has great range and a very strong, accurate arm. He has a lot of strength and is very athletic. If he goes by the same timeline as other athletic high school types like Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span, he should make his debut in 2014. It’s possible if he plays well in the second half that Hicks could debut in September. #3 – Liam Hendriks, RHP Consider that just about two years ago this month, Hendriks was promoted from Beloit to Ft. Myers, he has come a long ways very quickly. Signed by the Twins in 2007 from Australia, the 23-year-old has been on a fast-track, especially when considering that he missed all of the 2008 season with a neck surgery. He was my choice for Twins minor pitcher of the year in 2010 (Gibson was chosen by the Twins). He was my repeat choice in 2011 when he went 12-6 with a 3.36 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP in 139.1 innings between New Britain and Rochester. He walked just 21 and struck out 111. He pitched in the Futures Game and the Eastern League All-Star game. He then was promoted to the Twins. He began the season in the Twins rotation but April was frustrating for him. He missed his first start due to food poisoning, and then struggled in four starts. He was 0-2 with a 9.00 ERA in 18 innings. The Twins sent him back to Rochester, and in four starts, he is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA. In 25.2 innings, he has given up 15 hits, walked eight and struck out 23. When on, the 6-0 right-hander has a two-seam fastball between 88-91 with a lot of movement. His four-seamer can hit 93. Although we didn’t see it in April, he has a good curveball at two speed, and a very good changeup. On other thing we didn’t see was his impeccable control of the strike zone. His ceiling is the good, healthy Scott Baker. #2 – Eddie Rosario, 2B When the Twins drafted Rosario in the 4th round of the 2009 draft, he was said to be the best hitter from Puerto Rico that year. To this point in his career, he has shown that he can flat-out hit. He posted a solid .781 OPS in the GCL in 2010 and showed a very good all-around game. It was 2011 in Elizabethton where he made his name. He hit .337/.397/.670 (1.068) with nine doubles, nine triples, 21 home runs and 60 RBI in 67 games. He was named the Appalachian League Player of the Year. At Instructs last fall, the decision was made to move Rosario from Centerfield (where he is really good) to second base. He advanced to Beloit and struggled in April with the glove, but he has improved greatly in the last month. He still plays centerfield once every eight to ten games as well. One the season, he is hitting a solid .284/.356/.458 (.814) with 16 doubles, a triple and five home runs. In the two short-season leagues, Rosario stole a lot of bases. In 2010 and 2011 combined, he had 39 steals in 50 chances. This season, he is struggling on the base paths, successful in just nine of 19 attempts. The 20-year-old has a very good swing, very quick and strong hands. He uses the whole field and is a terrific all-around hitter. #1 – Miguel Sano, 3B The Twins were the happy winners in the Miguel Sano sweepstakes when, in October of 2009, he signed with the Twins for a $3.15 million signing bonus. Known as the top Dominican talent that year, he was the subject of the movie Peletero (Ball player). After coming to the States for spring training in 2010, he split that season between the Dominican Summer League and the Gulf Coast League. In 2011, he played in Elizabehton and didn’t disappoint. He hit .292/.352/.637 (.988) with 18 doubles, seven triples, 20 home runs and 59 RBI in 66 games. How would he adjust to the full-season Midwest League and life in Wisconsin? He adjusted well. In April, he hit .276/.422/.586 (1.008) with five doubles, two triples and six home runs. However, he has struggled in May. Following his 19th birthday, he went on a run in which he had just one hit in 39 at bats (including an 0-24 stretch). He has homered in his past two games again. Miguel Sano has unbelievable power, and power potential. On the year, he has ten doubles, two triples and 13 home run in 188 at bats. He has the ability to hit for average, but that will largely be dependent upon his ability to put the ball in play. In 216 plate appearances, he has 60 strikeouts. He also has already committed 17 errors at third base. Those that look at his stats want to see him pushed and promoted quickly to Ft Myers. Those (coaches, front office types, fans, bloggers) who have seen him play in person say that he is where he needs to be because there are a lot of things he needs to work on. Sano is a special talent, and the Twins need to be wise with how they handle him. He can be on the Joe Mauer path (which was very fast) and get to the big leagues by early 2014. It shouldn’t be about getting him there quickly. It should be about getting him there when he is ready. So, there you have my choices for Twins Top 10 Prospects. Later this week, I’ll be back with my choices for Twins Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Relief Pitcher of the Month for May. If you have any questions or comments on any of these prospects, please feel free to ask. Download attachment: Miguel Sano 3.jpg (Photo Beloit Daily News) --- Over at Twins Daily, you have a one-stop shop for all Minnesota Twins topics. Minnesotan, former Gopher and current Beloit Snappers infielder AJ Pettersen wrote about Traveling in the Midwest League, specifically the team’s road trip to Kane County.Remember Tommy Watkins, the long-time Twins minor leaguer who finally got an opportunity with the Twins in 2007. He’s now in his third season as the hitting coach of the Beloit Snappers. Last night, he was a guest on the SethSpeaks Weekly Twins Podcast and talked about his playing career, but also a lot about coaching the likes of Sano and Rosario in Beloit this year. It was a fun interview, one of guests on the show, so be sure to listen.Cody Christie updated the goings on in the Twins minor leagues on Tuesday.In the forum, there is a terrific look at how impressive the trio of Scott Diamond, PJ Walters and Cole De Vries have been for the Twins.Thrylos continued his look at the top 22 pitchers in the upcoming draft by writing about RHP Michael Wacha. He has just a couple more pitchers to profile before the draft. 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Last week, the Midwest League (MWL) and the Florida State League (FSL) hosted their league All Star games. The Cedar Rapids Kernels had three players on the MWL roster while the Ft. Myers Miracle had four on the FSL South roster. Those All-Star games approximate the halfway point of the minor league season. Two-and-a-half months of season have passed and there is just about two-and-a-half months remaining. I thought it would be a good time to look at some of the top performers in the Twins farm system so far this season by looking at the leader boards in the organization in several statistics. Today, I'll look at the hitters. Later in the week we’ll take a look at the pitchers. Download attachment: Mitch Garver.jpg Mitch Garver PLATE APPEARANCES 1.) Jorge Polanco – Ft. Myers - 313 2.) Nate Hanson - New Britain - 300 3.) Adam Walker - Ft. Myers - 299 4.) James Beresford - Rochester - 298 5.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 291 This is a list that shows a lot of guys at the top of their team's order who have remained healthy and have performed well enough to remain there. BATTING AVERAGE (minimum 200 PA) 1.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - .322 2.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - .310 3.) Doug Bernier - Rochester - .307 4.) Chad Christensen - Cedar Rapids - .299 4.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - .299 Yes, I agree. On-base percentage is more important, but batting average doesn't hurt anything. In fact, it represents the biggest part of the on-base percentage formula. ON-BASE PERCENTAGE (minimum 200 PA) 1.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - .411 2.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - .395 2.) Deibinson Romero - Rochester - .395 4.) Doug Bernier - Rochester - .386 5.) Jorge Polanco - Ft. Myers - .365 Outs are important. Not getting out should be the goal of every plate appearance. On-base percentage is important, especially for top of the order hitters, but also for middle of the order hitters that pitchers may try to pitch around. SLUGGING PERCENTAGE (minimum 200 PA) 1.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - .537 2.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - .516 3.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - .488 4.) Danny Ortiz - New Britain/Rochester - .467 5.) Jason Kanzler - Cedar Rapids - .462 Power is pretty important for middle of the lineup guys. A lineup needs to have several guys that can hit for enough average, but also sprinkle in a bunch of extra base hits as well. Extra base hits certainly increase the probability of scoring runs, which is important in any game. OPS 1.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - .932 2.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - .898 3.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - .855 4.) Deibinson Romero - Rochester - .849 5.) Doug Bernier - Rochester - .812 OPS is typically going to be led by middle of the order hitters, the guys who can get on base but also have good pop in their bats. HITS 1.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 82 2.) Jorge Polanco - Ft. Myers - 80 3.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - 76 4.) Chad Christensen/Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 75 4.) Eric Farris - Rochester - 75 DOUBLES 1.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - 20 2.) Travis Harrison - Ft. Myers - 19 3.) Deibinson Romero - Rochester - 18 4.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 17 4.) Danny Ortiz - New Britain/Rochester - 17 When I look at minor league stats, doubles is one that I look at as important. In my mind, doubles are line drives to the gaps, a sign of developing power. As young players develop, maybe those line drives to the gaps can become home runs over the walls. And if not, doubles tend to drive in a lot of runs. HOME RUNS 1.) Adam Walker - Ft. Myers - 14 1.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 14 3.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - 11 4.) Bryan Haar - Cedar Rapids - 8 4.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 8 OK, home runs are good too. It shows power, and hopefully that power will continue as they grow. Obviously you have to look at other numbers in conjunction with the homers, but it is a sign of power and the ability to occasionally square up a baseball. RUNS 1.) Jorge Polanco - Ft. Myers - 48 2.) Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - 47 3.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 43 4.) Chad Christensen - Cedar Rapids - 42 4.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 42 Runs are scored either by the table-setters who get on base a lot, or by the power guys who, with one swing can put themselves in scoring position, and perhaps score themselves. RBI 1.) Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 57 2.) Adam Walker - Ft. Myers - 53 3.) Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 47 4.) Danny Ortiz - New Britain/Rock Cats - 44 5.) Chad Christensen - Cedar Rapids - 41 For awhile, there was a belief that the RBI stat is completely overrated. While I agree that it can be, I also think it is a number that matters. When there is a runner on third base and less than two outs, the batter needs to get that runner in. It can mean the player is prone to coming through with a bases-clearing double or a two-run single when there are runners on second and third. In my mind, that is fundamental baseball. STOLEN BASES 1.) Chad Christensen - Cedar Rapids - 18 2.) Niko Goodrum - Ft. Myers - 12 2.) Eric Farris - Rochester - 12 2.) Corey Wimberly - New Britain - 12 5.) Jason Kanzler - 11 Speed. This is certainly an area that has become less important in baseball over the last couple decades, but it can be important. If a player can move up one base (at a high percentage), it can mean a lot. In the minor leagues, the Twins (and many teams) encourage speedy base runners to attempt to steal a lot of bases, even if they get caught, because that is the only way that they can learn that skill. SUMMARY Download attachment: Vargas2.JPG What you've read above is just a numerical look at some of the hitters who have performed well in the first half. What you may have noticed is that there are several guys who have really stood out in the first half. Kennys Vargas - He's #1 in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, hits, home runs and RBI. He's #2 in on-base percentage and #3 in runs scored. Mitch Garver - He's been playing catcher which means he will get a few days off, so he doesn't appear quite as high on some of the counting stats. However, he is #1 in on-base percentage, #2 in batting average and OPS, and #3 in slugging percentage. Reynaldo Rodriguez - He's a veteran of AA, but he continues to put up solid numbers in 2013 despite switching from first base to the outfield. Jorge Polanco - He has slowed since his fast offensive start in Ft. Myers this year, but he has continued to rack up hits and get on base at a strong rate. Click here to view the article

Tonight, the Elizabethton Twins season gets underway. They will attempt to end this season the same way they ended the 2012 season. OK, maybe not in quite as dramatic fashion as requiring a walk-off, extra inning grand slam, but the goal will again be to win an Appalachian League title. Long-time manager Ray Smith, along with long-time hitting coach Jeff Reed and second-year pitching coach Henry Bonilla, have built a bit of a dynasty in Tennessee. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The 2013 roster is quite interesting. It is full of 2013 draft picks from the college ranks along with some intriguing prospects that have been working in Extended Spring Training in Ft. Myers since March. I’m certain they are ready to get some ‘real’ games under their belt. Here is a look at the initial 2013 Elizabethton Twins roster (which is a bit bigger than the full-season rosters). Be sure to check out the Rosters & Payrolls page here at Twins Daily. THE PITCHERS (19) Brandon Bixler (21, 2013 16th round) – The lefty from Florida Gulf Coast was not listed yesterday among signings, but he is on the Elizabethton roster. He walks many and strikes out amny, but he has a very good fastball and solid curveball and changeup. He just needs to control them and he has a chance. Josh Burris (21, 2011 17th round) – Drafted out of LSU-Eunice in 2011, Burris has a tremendous curve ball. He signed late, so his pro debut came last year with the E-Twins where he went 7-0 with a 1.75 ERA in 36 innings. He walked 21 and struck out 40. He spent about a month of the 2013 season in Cedar Rapids where his ERA was just north of ten. In 10 innings, he struck out eight, but he walked nine and gave up 11 hits. Andrew Ferreira (22, 2012 ) – The lefty from Harvard pitched in 10 games last year after being drafted. In 10 innings, he walked seven and struck out 13. Dallas Gallant (24, 2010 23rd round) – Gallant pitched in Elizabethton in 2010 and was 2-0 with a 1.98 ERA. He missed all of 2011 due to Tommy John surgery. Last year, he rehabbed and then started the season with five scoreless innings in E-Town before pitching in nine games for Beloit. However, he had another injury and has been rehabbing in Ft. Myers since. He’s likely a guy that will move quickly once he gets a few innings under his belt. Brian Gilbert (20, 2013 7th round) – Signed out of Seton Hall, the right-hander has a very good fastball. He was a reliever in college and certainly will maintain that role at least this season. Carson Goldsmith (22, 2012 28th round) – Drafted last year out of Northwestern State in Louisiana (where he and Mason Melotakis were teammates), Goldsmith pitched in three games for the GCL Twins before injury. C. K. Irby (21, 2013 10th round) – Drafted out of Samford, Irby will start the season on the DL. He was a reliever in college until this year. He has a fastball that touches 95, but sits more in the low 90s. He also has a curveball and changeup. He will be given a chance to start at some point. Felix Jorge (19, signed in 2011 from Dominican Republic) – Jorge is 6-2 and a lanky 170. After signing, he went 2-1 with a 2.67 ERA in nine games in the DSL. Last year in the GCL, he went 0-3 but posted a 2.34 ERA in 12 games. In 34.2 innings, he walked 12 and struck out 37. Yorman Landa (19, signed in 2010 from Venezuela) – Landa and Jorge have followed about the same path. Landa pitched in 12 games for the DSL Twins in 2011. He was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA. In 32 innings, he struck out 31 but walked 26. Last year in the GCL, he pitched in 10 games and went 1-3 with a 2.43 ERA. He struck out 27 in 33.1 innings, but he still walked 20. Kuo Hua Lo (20, signed in 2012 from Taiwan) – Just 5-10, Lo is a fairly advanced pitcher. Last year in the GCL, he went 2-0 with a 1.13 ERA in 11 games. In 39.2 innings, he walked just seven and struck out 33. Austin Malinowski (20, 2011, 16th round) – Malinowski was Minnesota’s Mr. Baseball in 2011 for Centennial HS. He gave up a scholarship to Arizona to sign with the Twins. In the GCL last year, he went 3-2 with a 2.27 ERA in 11 games. In 31.2 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 32. Andre Martinez (20, 2012, 6th round) – Martinez was set to sign for over-slot last year ($260,000), but his physical showed something in his left shoulder, and they agreed on an $80,000 bonus. He pitched in six games for the GCL Twins. In 14 innings, he walked nine and struck out 11. Tanner Mendonca (21, 2013, 17th round) – The righty from Cal State – Sacramento is 6-4 and lanky. He has a fastball that has been clocked up to 94 mph and needs to work on his breaking pitches. Ethan Mildren (22, 2013 12th round) – Drafted out of the University of Pittsburgh, Mildren is a more typical Twins pitcher. He has a fastball in the low-90s and three other pitches. Generally is a ground ball pitcher. Luis Nunez (21, signed in 2008 from Dominican Republic) – It’s been a slow process for Nunez. In 2011, as a 19-year-old in his second run in the GCL, he went 5-0 with five saves and a 1.67 ERA in 32.1 innings. He walked just six and struck out 37. Last year in his first season in Elizabethton, he posted a 5.09 ERA and walked 17 in 23 innings. He struck out 21. The lefty throws hard. Brandon Peterson (21, 2013 13th round) – He was a very good closer for Wichita State this past year. He could become a starter in the Twins organization. He has a low-90s fastball and a slider. Hein Robb (21, signed in 2008 from South Africa) – The lefty has pitched in a couple of WBC’s already for his home country. He spent two seasons in the GCL. Last year, he pitched in 13 games for the E-Twins (8 starts) and was 2-4 with a 3.74 ERA. In 41 innings, he walked 14 and struck out 38. He made three starts for Cedar Rapids (0-0, 7.59 ERA, 9 BB, 10 K in 10.2 innings), but was sent back to Elizabethton earlier this week. Randy Rosario (19, signed in 2010 from Dominican Republic) – Rosario is a hard-throwing left-hander. He went 2-4 with a 3.86 ERA in the DSL in 2011. Last year in the GCL, he went 2-1 with a 1.64 ERA. In 38.1 innings, he walked 19 and struck out 42. Tim Shibuya (23, 2011 43rd round) – Shibuya was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year in 2011 when he went 8-2 with a 3.30 ERA. In 73.2 innings, he walked just 11 and struck out 70. He made 15 starts in Beloit a year ago before experiencing shoulder pain which required surgery last fall. He has been rehabbing in Ft. Myers since ,and like Gallant, he could move quickly once he proves his health. OUTFIELDERS (5) Zach Granite (20, 2013 14th round) – He was Seton Hall’s centerfielder and leadoff hitter this year. He’s not a big guy, but he has a knack for getting on base and has very good speed. Romy Jimenez (22, signed in 2009 from Dominican Republic) – Jimenez started the 2013 season with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but he hit just .095 through 21 games so he was sent back to Elizabethton. Last year with the E-Twins, he hit .347 in 35 games, until a knee injury ended his season. Kelvin Ortiz (21, signed in 2008 from Dominican Republic) – Ortiz is talented but to this point, he hasn’t hit well at any level. In the DSL, he hit .181 and .264. He’s been with the GCL Twins the last two years and hit .189 and .221 (each year getting over 110 at bats). This is a big year for him, obviously. Jake Proctor (22, 2012 14th round) – Proctor is a very talented athlete that the Twins drafted a year ago from Cincinnati. He was considered a Top 200 type of talent in the draft, but he was hurt before the draft and slipped. He was recently cleared to play and hopefully it won’t take him too long to get back into the swing of things. Dereck Rodriguez (21, 2011 6th round) – The son of future Hall of Famer, Pudge, Dereck has a very strong arm and has all kinds of tools. He hit just .156 in 29 games in the GCL after he was drafted and hit .263 last. He started out on fire, but a hamstring injury derailed his season. He will likely get this year to see what his offensive potential could be, but no one should be surprised if he starts pitching if it doesn’t go well. INFIELDERS (7) Carlos Avila (23, 2013 34th round) – Cal State Dominguez Hills’ shortstop, Avila has good range. Bryan Haar (23, 2012 34th round ) – The San Diego native was drafted out of the University of San Diego a year ago. He hit .250 with 11 extra base hits in the GCL last year. He was 1-2 with a double in one game with the Miracle earlier this season. Javier Pimentel (19, signed in 2010 from Dominican Republic) – Pimentel got a nice upper-six figures signing bonus when he was signed as a 16-year-old. His bat has not yet caught up to his talent through. In 2011, he hit .220 in the DSL before hitting .167 in 28 games in the GCL. Last year, he returned to the GCL and hit just .198. Rory Rhodes (21, signed in 2007 from Australia) – I’ve got to be honest, I don’t get this one. Last year, the rule was changed so that each organization could have three players get a fourth year in the rookie leagues (for the Twins, this means GCL and Elizabethton). Rhodes played in the GCL in 2009 and 2010. He has spent time in Elizabethton in 2011 and 2012. Maybe there is another new rule? Anyway, the 6-9 first baseman does have some power potential. Last year at Elizabethton, he hit .262 with eight doubles and six home runs. Tanner Vavra (23, 2013 30th round) – The son of the Twins 3B coach, Vavra starred at Valparaiso and in the Northwoods League. Blind in one eye, he has hit and hit each year, overcoming a lot to prove people wrong. He hopes to do that again in pro ball. Logan Wade (21, signed in 2012 from Australia) – The Brisbane native is a switch-hitter who hit .234/.301/.371 with 11 extra base hits in 124 at bats. Ryan Walker (21, 2013 18th round) – The Twins drafted the Texas Arlington shortstop who hit over .300 this season. CATCHERS (4) Bo Altobelli (22, 2012 21st round) – Signed out of Texas Tech last summer, Altobelli hit .230/.277/.262 with two doubles for the E-Twins. He’ll return to work with some very talented young pitchers. Mitch Garver (22, 2013 9th round) – The Twins drafted Garver following his senior season at New Mexico this year. Bryan Santy (22, 2012 30th round) – Santy hit .296/418/.389 in 19 games with the GCL Twins a year ago after being drafted from the University of Washington. Stuart Turner (21, 2013 3rd round) – The 6-2, 220 back stop was drafted earlier this month from Ole Miss. Known more for his glove, he should be able to put up some solid power numbers in the Appy League. My observations - I see this roster and it's not terribly exciting. There are some really exciting pitchers that are young and came from the GCL last year... But overall, this roster looks a little older than normal to me. I get that Gallant and Shibuya are just there rehabbing and getting a few innings before moving, but I see a lot of 22 year olds and think it speaks to something more. I think the change in the draft rules mean fewer high school kids being drafted after the 5th or 6th rounds, and more college players drafted and signing. They're not really in a position to be in the Midwest League yet, and they have to fill the roster, so it's a great opportunity for them to learn the pro game and the program. Also, frankly, there are a LOT of 2013 draft picks on this roster and we don't know very much about them. We don't know if they got some steals or really much at all. So, I'm of the impression that this is a potentially down roster, but I guess we'll find out starting tonight. From now until late August, the Elizabethton Twins will be playing games with the goal of improving their skills while at the same time continuing the winning tradition that Ray Smith has established in the hills of Tennessee. View full article

The Twins lost their first game after the All-Star game to the Tampa Bay Rays. On Saturday, Phil Hughes will take on David Price in the second game of the series. There were some interesting games throughout the Twins farm system. Two games went into extra innings, and one of them involved the Ft. Myers Miracle who played almost two-full games worth of innings. However, two of the Twins top prospects each had big days at the plate for the Miracle, who had 23 hits. Alex Meyer was on the mound for the Red Wings on this night. Trevor May will finally make his return to the mound on Saturday. Friday was the deadline for signing 2014 draft picks. Reportedly, the Twins did not sign any more of their draft picks. They were able to sign their first 17 draft picks and 29 of their 40 selections. Without further ado, here is the Minor League Report for Friday night: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Norfolk 3 Box Score The Red Wings held a 2-1 lead going into the ninth, but they were unable to hold it and lost in the final inning. There was pretty solid pitching in the game though. Alex Meyer made his first start of the second half. He went six innings and gave up one run on three hits. He walked four and struck out four. Ryan Pressly came in and tossed scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth frames. However, he also came out for the ninth. He gave up two hits to start the inning and then issued an intentional walk to load the bases. Lefty Aaron Thompson came in and immediately gave up a two-run single that ended the game. James Beresford went 2-4. Deibinson Romero was 1-3 with a walk. Josmil Pinto was also 1-3 with a walk. His hit was his fourth double. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 6, Reading 3 Box Score Pat Dean was on the mound for the Rock Cats in this game and earned his seventh win. In six innings, the lefty gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out three. Adrian Salcedo gave up a hit and a walk and recorded four outs. Ryan O'Rourke came on to get the next two outs, one of them coming via a strikeout. Mason Melotakis came in for the ninth. He struck out two and was credited with his first save. Tony Thomas led the offense. The Eastern League all-star went 2-4 with his 20th double and his sixth home run. Aaron Hicks went 2-5 with his sixth double. Mike Kvasnicka remained warm, launching his ninth homer of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Daytona 11 (17 innings) Box Score This was a long game... a really long game! And both teams used a lot of pitchers. The Miracle used a lineup's worth of pitchers as nine guys took the mound in this one. Brett Lee started and went the first five innings. He was a little wild. He gave up just one run on four hits, but he walked six batters. BJ Hermsen came on and gave up one run on three hits in an inning. He struck out two. Todd Van Steensel started the seventh inning and got just two outs. He gave up three runs on two hits and two walks. Madison Boer got the final out of the seventh and also pitched the eighth. He gave up one run on two hits. Tyler Jones gave up one run in the ninth, though he struck out three. Alex Wimmers came on and struck out three in two perfect innings. Brandon Peterson then struck out six (and walked two) over three scoreless innings. Steven Gruver then worked out of a jam in the 15th with a double play ball. Brian Gilbert pitched a scoreless 16th inning despite giving up two hits. Gilbert came back for the bottom of the 17th inning. He gave up two hits and intentionally walked the next batter to set up a force at each position. However, Rock Shoulders (!) of the Cubs launched a long grand slam to end the game. Download attachment: Jorge Polanco 6.jpg The Miracle had 23 hits in the game, but there were several times where one more hit would have ended the game much earlier. Byron Buxton led off and went 4-6 with two walks and was hit by a pitch. He hit his third homer. Batting second was Jorge Polanco. He went 5-8 with a walk and his sixth homer. Nate Roberts played for the first time in over a week. He went 2-3, both doubles, before being taken out of the game. Aderlin Mejia was 3-7. Niko Goodrum, Max Kepler and Tyler Grimes each added two hits. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Lake County 5 (11 innings) Box Score It took a couple of extra frames, but the Kernels came away with a victory in the bottom of the 11th. With one out, Logan Wade doubled. He moved to third on an infield single by Chad Christensen. The third baseman made a great play to keep it in the infield. Mitch Garver ended the game 0-6, but his ground ball was enough to score Wade from third on a close play at the plate. According to Steve Buhr, who was in attendance, a brief rhubarb broke out. Chad Christensen led the way with a 4-5 night. He hit his 16th double. Logan Wade went 3-5 with a walk and his 10th double. Jason Kanzler has now hit in seven straight games after this 2-5 night (with his 14th steal). Kanzler has had multiple hits in six of those seven games. Alex Swim extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single, an he also reached on a three base error. Aaron Slegers got the start on the mound. In 6.2 innings, he gave up four runs, but just one of them was earned. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out five. Brandon Bixler gave up one run on one hit in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Dallas Gallant threw two scoreless innings and he struck out five batters. Jake Reed came in for the 11th and didn't allow a run. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Princeton 2 Box Score Felix Jorge made the start in this game. He gave up two runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. He walked two and struck out seven. CK Irby gave up just two hits over 2.1 scoreless innings. He struck out two. Dereck Rodriguez came on and earned the save with two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, hit a batter and struck out two. Jeremias Pineda went 2-3 with his first home run. Max Murphy continued to rake. He went 2-3 with a walk and his seventh home run. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score Wins have been infrequent for the Twins GCL squad this season, but they got some solid performances. Josh Guyer started. He gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in three innings. He struck out four. Alexis Tapia went the next three innings. He didn't allow a run. He gave up one hit and walked a batter. He struck out five. Seth Wagner recorded the next five batters. Trevor Hildenberger got the final four outs, two of them on strikeouts. Manuel Guzman went 2-5 with his fourth stolen base. Dubal Baez went 2-5. Joel Ramirez went 1-2 with two walks and his fourth stolen base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Peterson, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jorge Polanco, Ft. Myers Miracle SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (6:05 CST) – Trevor May New Britain @ Reading (DH at 4:35 CST) – Taylor Rogers, JO Berrios Ft. Myers @ Daytona (6:05 CST) – DJ Baxendale Ft. Wayne @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) - Lewis Thorpe Burlington @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – Derrick Penilla GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (10:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

When Alex Meyer was asked, at Twins Fest, when he would like to make his big league debut with the Twins, he was pretty honest yet realistic. “I hope the first day, the first game of the season. Realistically, it’s nothing I can control. I’m just trying to make it tough for them.” And yet, he does have some control over it. He can perform. On Monday night, in front of Twins assistant GM Rob Antony, Meyer did a great job of making the decision to keep Meyer at AAA much more difficult. Download attachment: Alex Meyer AFL Pitch.jpg Facing Charlotte, the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, Meyer went six shutout innings and earned his first AAA win. He gave up two hits, walked three and struck out 11. In his previous start, at Pawtucket, he gave up three hits and walked three batters in 6.2 scoreless innings. He struck out 11 batters in that game, too. Just so you don’t have to do the math yourself, that is 12.2 innings, five hits, six walks and 22 strikeouts over two starts. He is making it tough on the Twins front office. Fans see those back-to-back shutouts in the box score. They’ve heard his name. They’ve read about the fastball that touches 100 mph (and the slider, and this new changeup grip taught to him by Red Wings teammates Yohan Pino and Deolis Guerra). They know that the Twins gave up Denard Span for him. Oh, and Twins fans have watched the current starting staff of the Twins post an ERA of 6.04, second worst in baseball. There are legitimate reasons to keep Meyer down for a little longer: First, we have to remember that he was limited to just 70 regular season innings last season because of a shoulder injury that cost him two months of his season. He threw more, and very well, in the Arizona Fall League, but overall, he worked fewer than 100 innings in 2012 so they do need to be supremely cautious with him. Second, although he has generally had pretty good control through his minor league career, he does have 11 walks in 26.2 innings on the season. He had 10 walks over his last three starts (16.1 innings). That is concerning since big league hitters are more patient and will be able to better determine which pitch he is throwing. As Twins hitters have shown this year, the “Walks Will Haunt” cliché is true. He has been using his new changeup grip for two starts now and the results have been quite favorable. However, having that pitch be a consistent pitch is really important. A third dominant pitch could make him an All-Star. It would not hurt at all to let him work on that pitch for another two or three starts. Of course, there is the business side of the game of baseball as well. That said, if the Twins called up Alex Meyer to make his major league debut on Sunday against the Orioles, he would be a four-year arbitration guy, but the Twins would control him for an extra season. Of course, the Twins have proven over and over in the past that they don’t often make decisions based on service time. However, Alex Meyer’s agent is Scott Boras, who generally is against long term deals before free agency, so it has to come in to play. To keep him away from arbitration for an extra year, the Twins would have to wait until early-to-mid June. Meyer is not on the 40-man roster. The Twins are currently at 40 men on the roster, so someone would either need to be designated for assignment or traded (the market for the trade-worthy options is quite limited). There are plenty of options to be DFA'ed on the 40-man roster, so this is a pretty minor inconvenience. Lefties Kris Johnson and Logan Darnell are both pitching well in Rochester as well, and they are on the 40-man roster. Darnell's season ERA is just 1.69 and he has 21 strikeouts (and just seven walks) in 21.1 innings. Johnson has a 2.86 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 22 innings. More importantly, you want to make sure Meyer is ready and doesn’t need to be sent down. You would want him to stay with the big league club and not use up an option to send him down. Again, this is hopefully a minor concern as you hope he would not need options in 2015 or 2016 or beyond anyway. Now, for the reasons why Alex Meyer should be promoted to the Twins. These are much more fun. Download attachment: CIMG8965.jpg Reason Number One… have you seen the Minnesota Twins starting rotation so far this spring? Kyle Gibson has made three (of four) solid starts. Phil Hughes' last two starts have been good. Ricky Nolasco has had one good start. However, the Twins starting rotation has an ERA greater than six, which is just awful. Kevin Correia is reminding Twins fans that although he was quite solid in 2013, we never understood that second season on his contract. Mike Pelfrey has been awful, and Twins fans are wondering loudly why he was signed at all, much less to the two year contract he did receive. The strikeouts are something we have seen very little of from a starting pitcher since about 2006 when Johan Santana and a rookie Francisco Liriano were dominating the league. The rotation is averaging an MLB-worst 5.12 K/9. Alex Meyer may walk too many when called up initially, but he will also miss a lot of bats. He is a guy who, even right now, could likely strike out eight batters per nine innings. Alex Meyer is going to be 24 years old through this season. He’s not a 19 year old kid. Meyer is very mature and credits his time at the University of Kentucky for helping him with that. There is no question that Will Middlebrooks was right to question whether there were actually five starters in Minnesota better than Alex Meyer. As I’ve pointed out before, I honestly don’t think there is even one starting pitcher in the Twins rotation who is better than Meyer right now. His upside is Justin Verlander. He is a potential Cy Young-caliber talent. Those guys are good to have in a big league rotation. This should NOT be a reason to call him up, but when he makes his big league debut, Target Field will be electric. He’s one of those players who will bring people in and fans can really be excited about. As easy as we like to think the decision to call up Alex Meyer right now is, it’s not. A lot has to go into it. The most important things that have to be considered when talking about whether Meyer should be called up now or in a month is what is best for Alex Meyer and the Twins. What is going to make Alex Meyer the best he can be? Is he going to be hurt by making three to five more AAA starts? Of course not. There is no negative to it. Would it hurt his long-term development if he is called up too early? I don’t know. No one knows. That’s why there is no “right” answer to this situation. With top pitching prospects, teams have used different strategies for when to call them up. Both sides of the argument have had successes and failures. It has to be a decision dependent on the individual. One thing I do know is that I personally can’t wait until Alex Meyer is in the Twins starting rotation. I think most of us can agree on that. Also at Twins Fest, Meyer said, “I want to show that whenever they’re ready for somebody, I’m just hoping that I’m the guy that is ready to come up.” At the very least, he’s done that! Feel free to discuss, and make your projection for when Alex Meyer is promoted to the Minnesota Twins. I'll say... June 6. Click here to view the article

Two weeks ago, Adam Walker was one of four Ft. Myers Miracle players named to the Florida State League All-Star team. It proved to be quite the weekend performance by the powerful prospect. First, Walker put on a tremendous show for the crowd with a incredible performance in the home run derby. He followed that up by going 3-4 with a double and a home run in the All-Star Game itself. He was named the MVP. While Walker may be an imperfect prospect, he has some traits that make him one of the most intriguing prospects in the Minnesota Twins minor league system. Download attachment: abwalkerbat.jpg photo from news-press.com However, let's start with the All-Star performance. It meant a lot to Walker to be named an All-Star, and he enjoyed the weekend. "It was definitely an honor to be selected as an All-Star this year. I had a little bit of a rough start, so to be able to come back and still be selected was a great feeling me. Its nice to know others liked the way I played the game. Its definitely an awesome feeling." He continued, "It's a great experience to be able to play in the game. You are out there with the best players in the league. You get to know other players and make friends while you're there. After the game, being selected as the MVP is just another honor to me. I was able to get a couple hits and played right field. The whole weekend was a great time." As impressive as his performance was in the All-Star Game, he made a name for himself with his performance in the Home Run Derby. It was another experience he truly enjoyed. "For me being able to be in the home run derby was awesome. Its always fun when you get to step into the box and go hit some home runs. I love winning. So going into it, I wanted to win, of course, but I wanted to have some fun and enjoy the experience. When I was able to come out on top at the end, I was pretty pumped up. Having all my teammates and the fans cheering for me and supporting me was a great feeling." A couple of his Miracle teammates were on hand to watch Walker's power display. LHP David Hurlbut earned an All-Star Game berth. He was 3-3 with a 2.05 ERA in the season's first half. He said of the evening, "Adam's performance at the Home Run Derby was like a crescendo of power. He effortlessly hit home run after home run in the beginning, but as time ran down, he really started to show his power. The crowd reacted with gasps, increasing in volume with each swing. His last few home runs were the most impressive. One ball went over the net that stood 20 feet beyond the left field wall, another on top of the overhang for the stands in left, and finally on top of the batter's eye in center field. At the end, the entire team jokingly bowed and yelled 'We aren't worthy!' It was an impressive performance." Brett Lee, a left-handed starter with the Miracle, was also an All-Star. Before the All -Star game, he was 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA. He was also in awe of Walker's power. He said, "It was definitely something I've never seen before! Someone with that much power to hit the ball like that isn't human! I already knew what to expect playing on his team the past few years, and he started off hitting the ball hard! But when the guy said he had 15 seconds left, Walker unleashed everything! I've never seen someone swing that hard! The last five balls he hit were absolute blasts! The last ball he hit disappeared in the sky! What made it even better was that the people in the stadium were going crazy! He put on a light show for everyone!" Moving to the Florida State League has certainly been challenging for Adam Walker. On the season, he is hitting .241/.293/.434 (.727). However, his 18 homers are six more than anyone else in the league, and his 64 RBI are seven more than anyone in the league. Walker has noticed some of the differences in pitching between the Midwest League and the Florida State League. "I think the difference in the pitchers you see from the Midwest League to this league is not a huge. It's not like every pitcher is throwing a lot harder, but I think they are more consistent at throwing more pitches for strikes. I have noticed the pitchers are doing a better job of attacking the strike zone but can do it with their secondary pitches. There aren't many times when I get the generic game plan of: throw a first pitch fastball for a strike and go to your off- speed with two strikes. They have pitched backwards more and usually use the fastball as a show pitch to set up another pitch. I just need to make sure when I do get pitches to hit I don't miss them." Therein lies the area of Walker's game that needs improvement: contact. In 346 plate appearances, he has struck out 95 times (27%). His walk rate this year is right around 7% after finishing at 5.6% a year ago. Twins Director of Minor League Operations, Brad Steil, talked briefly about the contact concerns. "We understand there is a trade-off between power and strikeouts, so I’m not sure concern is the right terminology. While we’re looking for improvement in those areas, a key for him is being aggressive to the fastball. As he gains more experience, we expect that the selectivity and discipline will improve." Walker is not a guy who looks at his stats much. Coming into the season, he didn't formalize any numerical goals for himself, but he did have several things he wanted to accomplish this season. He said, "I didn't make any goals about my stats being at a certain spot. I try not to worry about my stats, but I just wanted to make sure I was improving my game. I wanted to become a better outfielder and to become a better hitter. I know I have power but I wanted to work on becoming a better overall hitter. That is something I have been working on with the coaches. Making sure I am swinging at good pitches and having more consistent quality at-bats. If I start doing that more, the power numbers will be there." Regarding Walker's defense, Steil said that he's improving, but still has room to grow. "I think it’s still a work in progress. He’s definitely a good athlete for his size, and it’s something he works at, but it’s also not something that comes easy for him." One thing that Walker has been able to do is come up with huge, clutch hits. In Elizabethton, his three-run homer in the 9th inning of the Appy League Championship final game sent it to extra innings (where Dalton Hicks' grand slam won it). Last year, Hicks led minor league baseball with 110 RBI. Walker had 109. This year, he again has performed incredibly well in clutch situations. With runners in scoring position, he has hit .276/.336/.581 (.917) with ten home runs. He has added three grand slams already this year. According to Walker, he just really enjoys being the guy who comes to the plate in this types of situations. Download attachment: Adam Walker close.jpg "I love hitting with runners in scoring position because I know if I can score them it's going to help the team win. I try to make sure when I have free RBIs with runners on third with less than two outs, I put the ball in play and score the run. That is the easiest way to help your RBI total. We have done a good job of scoring runs this year and that shows our offense is doing well. You can't get RBIs if your teammates aren't getting on base in front of you. I love winning so I really take pride when I have opportunities to change the game. I've always wanted to be the guy that is up with the game on the line. I don't see many kids grow up dreaming of getting a base hit when your team is down by ten. Usually you always picture bases loaded, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and you want to be that kid that gets the big hit to win the game. I love to have that feeling because when you can get those hits to score runs you are helping the team win and winning as always fun." According to Steil, "Some hitters have the ability to stay with their approach in RBI situations, whereas other guys might get anxious or over-aggressive and chase more. So it’s probably a combination of his mentality and the reality that pitchers don’t have as much leeway to pitch around him in those situations." Walker went to Milwaukee Lutheran High School before heading to Jacksonville University for three yeas of college ball. The Twins used their third round pick in the 2012 draft on him. He has strong family support and a strong faith that has helped him get to this point in his career. "I've grown up with a Christian background and as I've grown up, having that faith in Jesus Christ has helped me handle certain situations I've been through. I try to live a certain way and be a good person to show I'm a Christian through my actions. I am definitely not perfect but that relationship with God is important to me. My family is also very important to me. They all have been there for my whole life and made many sacrifices for me to be where I am now, and I am very grateful and blessed to have such a great family. I've been very lucky to have a family that can come watch me play a few times a year. I know there are other players that may never have their family there to watch them play. So I do appreciate my family for being so supportive of me and always believing in me. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for them. I love my family." So, what are his goals for the rest of the season? Walker said, "I think my goals for the second half are the same as the first half. I think I did a good job and have seen improvement defensively and offensively. I know there is still room for improvement so I just need to keep working on those parts of my game, and I think things will work out for me." Walker will not turn 23 until October. As you would expect from any player in the Florida State League, there are certainly areas where he needs to improve. However, Walker has all the tools to be an impact player in the big leagues. At 6-4 and 225 pounds, he's got the size and strength to be a great power hitter. He has some sneaky speed. He has a great attitude and strong makeup. Fans will need to show some patience, but there are reasons to be very excited about the future of Adam Walker. [/hr]Twins beat up Seattle last night, so on Thursday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com by using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

Each year, the Minnesota Twins (and every other big league team) invite several players to spring training who aren’t on the 40 man roster. Many of those guys are veteran minor leaguers, but this year the Twins brought in some of their better prospects. Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Alex Meyer, the team’s top three prospects, came to camp but were sent to minor league camp on Sunday. One of the other intriguing prospects who was invited to big league camp was catcher Stuart Turner. I had the opportunity to catch up with the backstop moments before he was tapped on the shoulder and asked to go to Ron Gardenhire’s office.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Stuart Turner was born and raised in Eunice, Louisiana, a town of just over 10,000 in central Louisiana. He said, “Everybody goes to the high school to play football, baseball, or basketball. It’s a community that everybody supports everybody, and I have a lot of love and support from back home and I’ll try to make those guys proud.” Turner lettered for three years in baseball in high school. He was an All-State player all three years. He then spent two years at LSU-Eunice where he was a two-year starter who led his team to a national championship. He was also the recipient of a Rawlings Gold Glove. Last year, he went to Ole Miss where he hit .374. The Twins made him their third round pick in 2013. Leading up to the draft, Turner chose not to think about it any more than necessary. “I just knew that I needed to play ball and help my team try to win a game and everything will take care of itself. God has blessed me with the spot I was drafted in and the opportunity I’ve been given. Just now I continue to play ball and see what I can do.” He was also named the recipient of the Johnny Bench Award, given each year to the top catcher in college baseball. (See video of him speaking after winning the award) Fellow Twins minor leaguer and 2013 draft pick Mitch Garver was also one of the final three nominees. “That whole experience. I just try to play ball and help the team with games. With the draft, I was blessed to be taken where I was taken. Same thing with that award. I was lucky enough to receive the nominations and lucky enough to win it. It’s just a blessing. Try to come in and help the team win and to play my best every day and let things fall where they fall.” Download attachment: Stuart Turner.jpg Turner is certainly known for his defense first and foremost, and he has had a lot of mentors to learn from throughout his years. He said, “I’ve been blessed to be with catchers my whole life. My high school coach was a catcher. In college, at Ole Miss, the three coaches (head coach and two assistants) were all catchers. Then to get to my first pro team (Elizabethton) and have Jeff Reed who was a 17 year catcher in the big leagues. It’s kind of like, God continues to bless me and put me in the right places and lead me the right way. I’m just very thankful for that. Reed did a wonderful job with hitters. At Instructs was when I got the most catching coaching from him because he was able to specifically work with the catchers. He was tremendous at what he did.” Upon being drafted, he went to play for the Elizabethton Twins. In 34 games with the E-Twins, he hit .264/.340/.380 (.721) with five doubles, three homes and 19 RBI. He felt that going to Elizabethton was a blessing for him in that it helped him adjust to the professional baseball game. “I’m from a small town, so going to Elizabethton was a little gift in disguise. Just not getting overwhelmed right away. The biggest adjustment was playing every day. Even though I wasn’t playing every day, you had to get to the field and get ready every day. I wasn’t used to that. It took some time to adjust to the wood bat, to not being in the lineup every day.” He also got to catch some pretty good pitchers at Elizabethton last year. “Jorge Felix and Yorman Landa, they pitched really well for us all year. It was fun to catch those guys. They work both sides of the plate. Then late in the year, Kohl Stewart and Stephen Gonsalves came up and, with those two guys out of high school, their maturity level was really encouraging. I think there’s great things to come for all of those guys. And out of the bullpen, there were plenty of arms that could knock down one, two, three, four innings if they have to. That whole staff was pretty special with the newer draftees, the high school guys, some of the older guys. Everybody just came together. The season didn’t go like we hoped it would, but when everything was clicking, that staff was one to be reckoned with.” It is pretty rare for the Twins to give a big league spring training invite to a draft pick from the previous season. However, teams need plenty of catchers in spring training because there are so many pitchers. Rob Antony discussed Turner before Sunday’s game. “Didn’t see a lot of him, but he lived up to his billing that he’s a really polished catcher, and that’s the reason we brought him up here. When you get to the last few guys and you bring in a few catchers, you want guys who will come in to catch bullpens, work hard and get good experience. He did exactly what we wanted.” Turner certainly enjoyed his time in big league camp and made a strong impression. He received his minor league invite before the holidays. “It was a week or two before Christmas. Terry Ryan gave me a call, and he told me they traded Ryan Doumit, and they were going to bring me in to help with some bullpens and stuff. Like I said, I’m just making the most of it.” Making the most of it means, in part, that he has been able to pick the brain of several catchers who have a lot of big league experience. “I see Kurt (Suzuki) doing some drills, and I ask him what is he working on, and he’ll tell me. Little things like that. Talking with Steiny (Terry Steinbach) about pitch selection. Just the other day, I made a bad pitch call. He came and talked to me about it and explained his thought process. It’s talking to those guys with the experience. It’s so much easier to get some knowledge.” Those are good things for Turner to pick up, and he clearly takes his role as a catcher very seriously. However, he also wants to go out and show that he is a good hitter and is willing to work to improve. “I’m a guy that takes a lot of pride in my defense and continue to work very hard on my hitting. That’s what I wanted to do (in big league camp). I wanted to show that I’m a good defensive catcher and show that I’m willing to work, put the extra work in the cages, off the tee, whatever it is. I’ll continue to do that on the other side and continue to do it all summer. That’s nothing different, but I wanted to do to show those guys that I was really willing to work.” Asked where he thinks he will begin 2014, his first full professional season, he said, “They’ll send me where they think I should be at, and we’ll go from there.” For what it’s worth, I think he will skip Cedar Rapids and jump up to Ft. Myers and play for the Miracle. However, with his skill set, he could be a fast riser. He won’t be overwhelmed. Turner is smart and understands that it’s all part of a bigger picture. As you can read, his faith is something that is very important to him. “My parents raised me to believe in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, nothing would be possible and I thank him every day for it.” On Tuesday, Turner will report to minor league camp. However, he looks at his time in major league camp as very fruitful. “It’s been unbelievable. Being able to be here with these guys. The experience, the staff. Everybody’s been there and done that. Just being able to be here and experience it. Seeing how they go about their business is the biggest thing. Getting ready day in and day out.” Click here to view the article

Today in our preseason AL Central vote, we finish out the outfield with the rightfielders. Be sure to vote for your choice for "Which AL Central Right Fielder will have the best 2012?" Be sure to vote here. The Candidates (2011 stats) Minnesota Twins – Josh Willingham - .246/.332/.477 (.810) with 26-2B, 0-3B, 29-HR, 98 RBI Chicago White Sox – Alex Rios- .227/.265/.348 (.613) with 22-2B, 2-3B, 13-HR, 44 RBI Cleveland Indians – Shin-Soo Choo - .259/.344/.390 (.733) with 11-2B, 3-3B, 8-HR, 36 RBI Detroit Tigers – Brennan Boesch - .283/.341/.458 (.799) with 25-2B, 1-3B, 16-HR, 54 RBI Kansas City Royals – Jeff Francoeur - .285/.329/.476 (.805) with 47-2B, 4-3B, 20-HR, 87 RBI [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] SUMMARY The Twins lost Michael Cuddyer to free agency, but they picked up a pretty solid replacement. 33-year-old Willingham knows what it’s like to hit in a big, pitcher’s ballpark. His 29 home runs a year ago came with the Oakland A’s. He’s one of those guys who will hit a bunch of home runs, walk a bunch and strikeout a bunch, but he should provide major power in the middle of the Twins lineup. Alex Rios is one of the bigger enigmas in the game. He has a lot of talent and he has had some very strong seasons, but last year, he was back to being the bad Alex Rios. He didn’t get on base, didn’t have a lot of power and displayed very poor effort in the outfield. He’s running out of years on that massive contract and at 31, he could get another contract if he plays well. Choo missed a lot of time again in 2011, playing in just 85 games. When he’s healthy, the left-handed hitter can hit for average, get on base and hit for power. He will turn 30 in July. He also has a very strong arm in the outfield. Brennan Boesch played in 115 games in 2011. He put up solid numbers hitting either 2nd or at the bottom of the Tigers lineup. He does have good pop in his game and will turn just 27 years old in April. It will be interesting to see where he bats in the lineup this year. Jeff Francoeur often has a bad rep because he is very aggressive at the plate. In 2011, that was a very productive approach for the 28 year old. He won’t be a great on-base guy ever, but I think most teams would be happy with a right fielder (or any player) who has 71 extra base hits, stole 22 bases and plays a very solid right field with one of the best arm in the game. There is your information, now it is time to vote. Who will be the best right fielder in the AL Central in 2012? My choice? Download attachment: JoshWillingham.jpg Click here to view the article

Our Top 50 series continues today with a look at my choices for Minnesota Twins Prospects 16-20. There are certainly a few intriguing names on today's list. Again, at the bottom of today's segment, you will find links to the first six parts of this series. In the first part, I talked a bit about some of the things I look at in determining my prospect list. Enjoy today's installment of the Twins Top 50 prospect list, and be sure to start formulating your top 10, or top 20 or top whatever you like. Part 7: 16-20 In today's set of five prospects, you'll find some prospect that, if they take another step forward could become regulars in a lineup or in the middle of a big league staff. We have a shortstop who takes good at-bats and plays very solid defense. We have a couple right-handers that can hit 94-95 with their fastballs. We have a David Ortiz-clone (to some degree), and we have another one of my 2013 minor league award winners. Download attachment: Kennys Vargas fm.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 – Niko Goodrum – SS (21) Goodrum was the Twins 2nd round pick in 2009, one of the many players in recent years to be drafted from a Georgia high school. Goodrum was long and lanky when the Twins drafted him. He’s listed at 6-3, but hard work last offseason put him over 200 pounds. Defensively, he is pretty smooth up the middle and has a good, accurate arm. Offensively, he puts together good at-bats. In 103 games for the Kernels, he hit .260/.364/.369 (.732), showing a very impressive walk rate. He had 22 doubled, four triples and four home runs, but he has the strength and frame to continue to add power. #19 – Taylor Rogers – LH SP (22) Rogers was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky. He signed quickly and spent a short time in Elizabethton before finishing the season in Beloit. He was the Cedar Rapids Kernels opening night starter this year, but three starts later, he was promoted to Ft. Myers where he was terrific. There, the lefty went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA. Rogers works quickly and efficiently, getting quick outs and eating a lot of innings. He had three complete games (2 shutouts) for the Miracle. That doesn’t count his nine shutout innings in his Miracle playoff start. He has a low 90s fastball and a good slider. He has good command. He was my choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. #18 – Fernando Romero – RH SP (18) Another GCL kid with a mid-90s fastball. Signed late in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic, Romero came to the States in 2013 and did well in the GCL. Overall, he went 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 45 innings split between six starts and six relief appearances. Most impressive, in his final four outings, he gave up just one earned run over 23.2 innings. Romero throws very hard, but he will need to work on secondary pitches. Another positive, when he debuted in the Dominican Summer league in 2012, he struck out 8.1 per nine, but he walked 4.1 per nine (in 31 innings). In 2013, he struck out 9.4 per nine and dropped his walk rate to 2.6 per nine. Hopefully those are numbers we can see more of as he moves forward. #17 – Ryan Eades – RH SP (21) If Eades weren’t a 2nd round pick, you might choose to look at his debut numbers in Elizabethton and be alarmed. In 10 relief appearances, he threw 15.2 innings and gave up 13 hits, walked 12 while striking out 13. Definitely not a typical top college pick debut in the rookie league. But consider, he went 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA over 17 starts at powerhouse LSU. He has the type of stuff that could develop into a front of the rotation starter. At 6-3 and 205 pounds, he throws a fastball that sits 91-93 but hits 95 at times. He has a very good breaking ball and a changeup that has a chance to be very good as well. Typically, he has shown very good control. He has a chance to be pretty good. And, if you’re looking for bonus reason for optimism, he is represented by Scott Boras, which means he must be pretty good, right? #16 – Kennys Vargas – 1B (23) Vargas is a big, happy-go-lucky individual who seems to really enjoy life and enjoy playing some ball. At 6-5, he is listed at 215 pounds, but my guess is you can add 40 to 50 pounds to that number. After seeing him in Beloit for a long series a year ago, the similarities between Vargas and his friend David Ortiz are stunning. They look alike, they have monster power, their walk/strut is the same, and Vargas points to the sky after touching home plate after home runs the same way that Ortiz does. I guess the negatives of that comparison are that they share similar foot speed and have similar amounts of “grace” around first base. Vargas put together a very solid season in Ft. Myers, really his first full season as a professional. In 125 games, he hit .267/.344/.468 (.813) with 33 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs and 93 RBI. He hits pretty well from both sides of the plate as well. Don’t get carried away. Don’t expect Vargas to become the next David Ortiz. But, I think he can get to the big leagues as a DH with some pop in his bat. ------------------------------------------------------------------ There was Part 7 of what will be a ten part series with my Top 50 Twins Prospects. Next week, we'll work through the Top 15 Twins prospects (in my opinion). In case you missed any of the previous installments, here are those links: Part 1: 46-50 Part 2: 41-45 Part 3: 36-40 Part 4: 31-35 Part 5: 26-30 Part 6: 21-25 Click here to view the article

Following the Minnesota Twins’ 4-3 loss in Cleveland on Wednesday night, the team announced that Logan Darnell was being optioned to Rochester and former Twins reliever Matt Guerrier was being added to the 25 man roster. At the same time, they acknowledged that on Thursday the team will make the corresponding 40 man roster move to make room for the 35-year-old right-hander. Logan Darnell certainly made a strong impression in his major league debut on Tuesday night in Cleveland when he came out of the bullpen and threw three perfect innings. He even hit 95 MPH on the radar gun once or twice. He will return to the starting rotation in Rochester where he was named the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of April just last week. Guerrier made his major league debut with the Twins in 2004. He made two starts and seven relief appearances that year. He was a very solid, consistent performer out of the Twins bullpen through the 2010 season. In that time, he went 19-25 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He pitched in long relief for two years before being given more high-leverage situations. His final four seasons with the Twins (2007-2010), he pitched in no less than 73 games. He led the league in games pitched in 2008 (76) and 2009 (79). He has pitched in 393 games for the Twins, which ranks fifth on the Twins all-time list. Download attachment: Matt Guerrier (2).jpg Following that 2010 season, Guerrier became a free agent and signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After throwing in 70 games in 2011, he pitched in just 16 games for the team in 2012. He pitched in 34 more games for the Dodgers in 2013 before being traded to the Cubs to end the season. Injuries caught up to him after all of those healthy years with the Twins. So, last offseason, the Twins signed Guerrier to a minor league contract. When he was not going to make the opening day roster, the team let him go. However, he agreed to re-sign with the Twins and go to the minor leagues. However, his opt-out date was May 8th, today. For those that haven't been following this, that is why this decision needed to be made. Let’s get back to the remaining question at hand. How will the Twins make room on the 40 man roster for Guerrier? In my mind, there a four to six players currently on the 40 man who could find their names on the transactions list on Thursday. Let’s take a look. Edgar Ibarra – The 25-year old lefty had a terrific 20013 season between the New Britain Rock Cats and the Rochester Red Wings. He is left-handed and he throws 93 to 95 mph. He also has a very good slider. That said, he missed most of spring training (which was his first with the big league club) because he had contracted hepatitis. He has pitched in just eight games for the Red Wings this season and has nine walks and eight strikeouts in 11 innings (to go with 15 hits allowed). If teams look at statistics, there is little chance that he would be claimed. If they look at scouting reports, it is possible he would be lost. Brooks Raley – The Twins claimed Brooks Raley as spring training was about to begin when the Cubs designated him for assignment. The left-hander, who spent limited time with the Cubs the last two seasons, was among the first round of cuts in spring training. He has pitched out of the Red Wings bullpen and just made his first start of the season. Again, he is left-handed and just 25. Eric Fryer – The catcher has split time this season with Dan Rohlfing in Rochester. He is best known as a defensive catcher. The man posted a 1.192 OPS with the Minnesota Twins in 2013… OK, I know it was in just six games and 16 plate appearances, but it was a nice showing. He has spent some time in the major leagues in 2011, 2012 and 2013, though I would be surprised if the 28 year old would be claimed if he were designated for assignment. Chris Herrmann – He is an athletic catcher, but his value to the Minnesota Twins this past month has been allowing Ron Gardenhire to play Josmil Pinto as the designated hitter most days. Herrmann can catch, but when he has played, it has been in the corner outfield spots. He could also play centerfield in a pinch. That said, he has not hit at all with the Twins this year. Though he has never been a big offensive threat, his defensive versatility does provide the team with options as the 25th man on the roster. Of course, he is currently on the Twins 25-man roster, so I think this is unlikely and it would necessitate another roster move. Kenny Wilson – The outfielder was recently claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Although he has not hit much at all since being drafted in the 2nd round out of high school, he does have a lot of tools. His best tool is his speed, but he is also quite strong and could still develop. He is currently the regular centerfielder for the New Britain Rock Cats. He is not about early-2014, and he has an option remaining, so he could be about late-2014 and beyond… although the Twins do have a pretty good centerfield prospect who could be ready by then as well. Josh Willingham – What? How does his name appear on this list, as he is a veteran at the end of a three-year, $18 million contract. Plus, he’s hurt, so they wouldn’t DFA him. No, they wouldn’t DFA him, however, he has not played since being hit by a pitch on April 6th and breaking a small bone in his wrist. Reports this past weekend indicated that he is progressing slowly in his rehab efforts. If the Twins put him on the 60 Day DL (retroactively), he would be eligible to return to the Twins on June 5. Could he be ready before then? If so, then maybe this doesn’t make sense. If he’s going to be anywhere near that June 5 deadline, then this is the move that makes the most sense. You don’t have to lose anybody at this time to add Guerrier and can move that decision back one month. To me, the choice it pretty simple. If Josh Willingham is still at least three weeks out, put him on the 60 Day DL. If they feel he will be back in the lineup within the next two weeks, then the decision becomes much more difficult. *Yes, it was intentional that I did not include Jared Burton or Pedro Florimon on this list of possibilities to be removed from the 40 man roster. Are other moves looming? How long will Danny Santana remain on the big league roster, sitting on the bench? How many consecutive days does Eduardo Nunez need to remain healthy before he is up? How about Oswaldo Arcia? Click here to view the article

Last night, Twins Daily had a small contingent attending the 2014 Diamond Awards. It was a fun night hanging out with John Bonnes, Jeremy Nygaard, Parker Hageman and the soon-to-be Mrs. Hageman. The Minnesota Twins, along with the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities Chapter of the Baseball Writers of America, put on the event for the ninth year. It is a benefit for the University of Minnesota’s research and patient care focused on diseases such as ALS, Ataxia, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and Parkinson’s Disease.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Target Field Snow.jpg Play Ball!! It was such a fun night filled with great stories from emcee Dick Bremer, award winners, front office and a couple of the new Twins. Target Field opened at 5:30, and there was a social hour (or hour and a half, I guess) during which time there was a silent auction with some terrific items donated by the local teams and some restaurants and more. At 7, the dinner and program began. It was a nice dinner, but of course, the big event was the awards ceremony. The first award of the night went to Andrew Albers, who was the recipient of the Jim Rantz Award, given to the Twins minor league pitcher of the year. Terry Ryan introduced him and spoke highly of the lefty. He acknowledged concerns about signing him originally, not because of his stuff, but because of his injury history and the Tommy John surgery. He also mentioned that a team from Korea was trying to sign Albers, but that the Twins would help facilitate it. Albers came up and spoke. He comedically told his remarkable story of how he came to the Twins. He spoke so highly of the Twins and mentioned several times just how grateful he was to the organization for the opportunities they presented him. Next, Terry Ryan introduced the winner of the Sherry Robertson Awards for the Twins minor league player of the year. The award went to Byron Buxton. Now, Terry Ryan is not one to launch superlatives real readily, but he spoke glowingly on Buxton. He talked about his tools, but he also talked about the person that he is. He mentioned that he has a “Fire in his belly” and is the type of person and player that teams really want to have in their organization. Buxton is very quiet and very humble. He did talk about having been in track, so “I’m pretty fast.” That would be an understatement. Next, Joe Mauer came up to the stage. Over the speakers, we heard, “Coming up to present the Carl R. Pohlad Award for Outstanding Community Service, Twins first baseman, Joe Mauer.” Mauer said, “That sounds a little funny!” Perkins came up to accept the community service award, and was very appreciative. Despite also winning his second Pitcher of the Year award, he said that being given the community service award meant so much more to him. He said that it is instilled on players to be great in the community, that it’s not just what you do on the field but also off the field. Perkins has certainly done that and was very deserving of the award. Ron Gardenhire came up and introduced former Twins player, coach and manager Frank Quilici as the Kirby Puckett Alumni Community Service Award recipient. Quilici talked about how he grew up in Chicago and was a White Sox fan. However, “The White Sox didn’t draft me. The Twins did.” He has been a great ambassador for Twins baseball since his managerial days. He is active in fantasy camps and is at Twins Fest every year. He talked about his father remaining a White Sox fan even when Frank played for the Twins. His mother used to get upset at his father because he wasn’t a Twins fan, he was a White Sox fan. Frank’s father would say, “What? I hope that Frank gets two hits… and the White Sox win!” Though his name may not be as well-known as his brother Dave, Steve Winfield has contributed to baseball in the Twin Cities for almost a half-century. He has played, been an official in the Minnesota State High School League and he continues to be a coach in the RBI League. He was awarded the Play Ball! Minnesota Terry Ryan award as a “Friend of the Game.” During the social hour, I was talking to Darren Wolfson and Steve Winfield came over to talk to him. He also shook my hand as we were introduced. Now, we so often hear or read about the handshake of Adrian Peterson. If it’s any stronger than Steve Winfield’s handshake, I’m surprised there haven’t been stories of broken bones. Caleb Thielbar was introduced to the audience as the Boll Boni Award recipient as the Twins Outstanding Rookie. The Randolph, MN, native is very quiet, very humble. He did a nice job of speaking. At one point, he said, “It’s hard to imagine when I was over in St. Paul (playing for the Saints), that I’d be in this league much less on this stage.” Rhett Bollinger of twinsbaseball.com went to the stage and introduced Brian Dozier as a double award winner. Dozier was named the Charles O. Johnson Award winner as the Twins most improved player and the Mike Augustin Media Good Guy Award recipient. Dozier does a great job as a speaker He credited the Twins and specifically Gardy and Joe Vavra for helping him through the transition to second base. However, the highlight of his segment came when Dick Bremer asked him about any adjustments he hopes to make in 2014. Dozier said that he’s already had to make a big adjustment. He got married two weeks ago to his girlfriend of six years. He joked that he’s learned more in the last two weeks than he did in the previous six years. He also said, “I didn’t know that putting a dirty dish in the dishwasher could go so far!” Though he is no longer with the Twins, Justin Morneau was given the Bob Allison Award for leadership. He was out of town and unable to attend, but he did leave a video thanking the Twins and the fans for the award. Bremer asked Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire to come to the stage to talk about the offseason. The first questions to the two were about the decision for Gardy to come back. Ryan said that there are a lot of traits that you look for in a manager, and the Gardenhire has those traits. Ryan acknowledged, “I put him through a lot.” It was an indication of Ryan putting the blame for last season on himself. Gardy accepts responsibility for the losses. As much as he didn’t have the players, he never said that. He wants to win, and he’s done it before. He wants to be part of doing it again and sees the team as being very close to getting there again. Ryan talked about the need to go get pitching, and that they have addressed that. He believes that if the team gets better starting pitching, it will help the other aspects of the game. When asked about the decision to move Joe Mauer to first base, Gardy’s humor came out. “We are going to have the best looking first baseman and the best looking second baseman in the league. We’ll have all the chicks at the ballpark!” Brian Kraft is the chairman of the 2014 Diamond Awards. He has ataxia. He came to the stage, with his father whose ataxia is advanced. He spoke well about the advancements that have been made. He provided the illustration that his doctor gave him. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but we don’t know where the haystack is. 20 years ago, they found the haystack, and more recently, they think they may have found the needle. However, so much more work and research and testing needs to be done. The Jim Kaat Award was first presented a year ago (to Ben Revere). This year, shortstop Pedro Florimon was given the award. He came to the stage and talked about how, growing up in the Dominican, all he wanted to do was play baseball. He also talked about how it was about 90 degrees right now in the Dominican Republic, and he definitely likes warmth. Jordan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals is from the very small town of Auburndale, Wisconsin. After going 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA in over 213 innings in 2013, he was named the winner of the Dick Siebert Award for Upper Midwest Player of the Year. He was unable to attend. Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes came to the stage. They both talked about the opportunity that they feel they have with the Twins, to help bring things back to where they need to be. They’re both excited about the opportunity. When asked what pitches they throw, Ricky Nolasco talked about throwing the kitchen sink at the hitters. Fastball, slider, he tries to sink the ball. He wants to pick up on what the hitter is doing. Hughes said that he is a fastball pitcher. He said that he wants to work quickly and throw a lot of strikes. He said, “Sometimes you miss bats… and sometimes it gets hit a long ways!” Hughes deprecating humor played very well with the audience. In chatting with Bonnes and the Star-Tribune’s Phil Miller later, we wondered how that form of a humor might work in New York. The writers there might go after that. For me, I enjoy self-deprecation. Glen Perkins received his second award (Pitcher of the Year), and then Joe Mauer was given his third Calvin Griffith Award as the Most Valuable Twin. The highlight of the evening was saved for last. Rod Carew came to the podium to present Tony Oliva with the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award. A video showed all that Oliva has done on the ball field with the Twins, and all that he has done in the community. The list was long, and most likely, was not complete. Carew spoke of the Twins work in the community and all Oliva and others do, but he spoke passionately about his friend Tony Oliva. The two were roommates for ten years. Carew said that he used to lay awake at night, listening to Oliva cry because of the pain that he had in his knees. He talked about listening to Oliva struggle to walk, slowly, down the hall to get ice. He marveled at how Oliva would show up at the ballpark each day and hit line drives all over the field. He said, “We don’t call each other by our names, Rod and Tony, so come up to the stage, “Roomie.” And then Oliva put on a show for the crowd. The man is an incredible story teller. He talked about how he continues to go on the Twins Winter Caravan. However, he sees some of the young guys who are on the caravan, and he thinks that they need to do what he did. He said, “When I was young, 1964, 1965, I would go to Jamestown, North Dakota, and it would be 81 degrees below zero, wind chill.” He later confided, “This is a true story. When you’re Spanish, sometimes you lie a little bit.” Telling a story about when Carew was once batting against Nolan Ryan (then with the Angels), and “Nolan Ryan threw like 100 to 120 miles per hour.” He went on to act out how Carew’s stance against Ryan was different than normal so that he could get out of the way. In one case, Ryan threw a ball behind Carew’s back. At that point, Carew looked over at Oliva in the on-deck box and said, “Hey Roomie, I think that ball went right through me.” As the crowd at Target Field laughed, Oliva went on to say that Nolan Ryan was laughing out loud as well. In summary, it was a great night at Target Field. It was great to be rubbing elbows and shaking hands with many in and around the Twins organization. It was a nice dinner, and a very special program. Over the years, the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center and the University of Minnesota have raised more than $8 million in their 20 years. If you are interested in contributing and learning more about this program, click here. Next up, Twins Fest! It will be held for the first time at Target Field starting tonight. One of the big talkers at the Diamond Awards was how it would go at Target Field. The logistics will make it quite interesting! However, it is a great event that supports the Twins Community Fund which has done so much in Twins territory to help youth baseball and support other worthy programs. As I understand, there are still tickets available for both Friday and Sunday. And, maybe we will see many of you at the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown on Saturday night. It will be a fun night! Click here to view the article

I posted the June Starting Pitcher of the Month last week, and this week JO Berrios was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats. Tonight, I'll be posting the June Hitter of the Month. There are a lot of very good candidates. It made for a very difficult decision. With All-Star games and some promotions, it can be a month with difficult decisions.. Some guys have fewer plate appearances, and that has to factor into the thinking as well. So, we'll start with the Honorable Mentions and then get to the Top 5. HONORABLE MENTION Chris Herrmann - Rochester - 14-50 (.280/.339/.460 (.799)) with 5-2B, 2-3B, 6 RBI.Deibinson Romero - Rochester - 29-98 (.296/.379/.490 (.869)) with 8-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 14 RBI.Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 27-99 (.273/.342/.475 (.817)) with 2-2B, 6-HR, 21 RBI.Jorge Polanco - Ft. Myers - 28-92 (.304/.381/.435 (.816)) with 4-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 10 RBI - and he made his major league debut.Stuart Turner - Ft. Myers- 17-58 (.293/.397/.534 (.932)) with 3-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 11 RBI.Nate Hanson - currently in Rochester- 25-79 (.316/.426/.405 (.831)) with 4-2B, 1-HR, 11-RBILet's get to the Top 5: #5 - Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 20-58 (.345/.479/.517 (.997)) with 4 doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. The Twins ninth round pick in 2013 out of the University of New Mexico has had a very solid season with the Kernels. He was the Hitter of the Month in April. He cooled off some in May, but he was very good in June. His month ended early when a foul tip gave him six stitches to the chin, and a concussion. Garver is solid behind the plate and provides good all-around offense at the plate. #4 - Chris Colabello - Rochester - 32-108 (.296/.377/.481 (.859)) with 8 doubles, 4 homers and 20 RBI. Colabello was one of the best stories in baseball in April when he set the Twins record for most RBI in April. However, he really struggled in May and was sent back to Rochester. It took him a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things, but he eventually did, and when he did, he crushed the ball again. In doing so, he earned himself a return trip to the big leagues where he has hit well again. #3 - Mike Kvasnicka - New Britain - 29-79 (.367/.405/.519 (.924)) with 6 doubles, 2 homers and 17 RBI. The former Gopher was a former first-round pick of the Houston Astros. He came to the Twins during spring training a year ago and immediately broke his hamate bone and miss much of last season. When he returned, he showed good power for the Miracle. It took Kvasnicka a while to get going in his AA debut this year but in the last month he has really hit the ball well. #2 - Chad Christensen - Cedar Rapids - 27-89 (.303/.373/.528 (.901) with 4 doubles, 2 triples four homers and 22 RBI. The Cedar Rapids native was the Twins 25th round pick last year out of the University of Nebraska. With the Kernels this year, he has been a consistent performer through much of the season. It's more impressive when you realize that he has played almost everywhere on the diamond to this point. In June, he put together a strong month. He has a strong build, but he also leads the organization in stolen bases. Some pretty solid performances, but this month's Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month was a fairly easy choice. http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=8146&stc=1 #1 - Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - 32-103 (.311/.339/.583 (.922)) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 homers and 18 RBI. Back for his second season with the Twins, the minor league veteran returned to New Britain. After playing first base during the 2013 season, he was moved to the outfield in 2014. The shift has not altered his overall production as he has hit very well again. Teaming with Kennys Vargas, they have provided a strong, powerful punch in the middle of the Rock Cats lineup. JO Berrios was promoted after being named the June Starting Pitcher of the Month. Could Rodriguez finally get moved up to Rochester? Feel free to comment on Rodriguez and the other starting pitchers highlighted this month. Click here to view the article

How many times each game or each week do we watch a catcher take a foul-tip off the chest protector or the shoulder? How often do we see the catcher or umpire get hit in his face mask? Often, the batter, catcher and umpire will get a good chuckle out of it. The announcers will joke about how it’s been a tough game for the catcher, he’s getting dinged up, or something to make it seem comical. On August 19, the Minnesota Twins hosted the New York Mets in a make-up game at Target Field. In the game, Twins catcher Joe Mauer took several foul tips off the face mask. The cumulative effects of foul tips finally reached a point where it was no longer funny.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Mauer was put on the 7-day concussion disabled list after attempting to play the next day. Seven days later, reports came that Mauer was doing better, but that he would not be coming off the DL on the eighth day. Seemingly weekly, fans were told he was continuing to make progress, but he was having good days and bad days. Twins fans started to think that this sounded a little too familiar to reports about Justin Morneau in 2010, or Denard Span in 2011. Earlier in the 2013 season, Trevor Plouffe and Ryan Doumit had already spent time on the 7-day concussion DL. Twins fans have become skeptical when it comes to reports coming from the Twins medical staff, and often for good reasons. However, in this case, such thoughts were unfair. Aaron Gleeman said it over a year ago, and it rings true more and more with each concussion situation: maybe fans, media and others would talk or write about concussion differently if we called it what it is, a brain injury. There is no way to know how any individual’s brain will react and respond to the trauma. Finally, on September 23, five weeks after going on the DL, the Twins announced that Mauer would not return to the playing field in 2013. He was being shut down. Nick Nelson wrote the next day that Mauer’s catching days should be behind him. After much speculation about what the Twins and Mauer should do, on November 11, the Twins and Mauer announced that he would be moving to first base full time. In fact, he won’t even bring a catcher’s mitt to spring training. By making the decision official very early in the offseason, it allowed the Twins to plan accordingly. Of course, we all realize that players can get hurt anywhere. Catchers are not the only ones who get hurt or are affected by concussions. First baseman Justin Morneau suffered his concussion sliding into second base in an attempt to break up a double play. Like Morneau, Trevor Plouffe’s concussion came when he was kneed in the head on the base paths. However, in 2013, many MLB catchers missed time on the concussion DL after being hit by foul tips. Moving to first base eliminates the frequent foul tips. Joe Mauer is arguably the best offensive catcher in baseball. He has tremendous value as a catcher as shown by a 5.4 bWAR and a 5.2 fWAR. As a first baseman his WAR will likely drop simply because there are more power-hitting first sackers than catchers. However, even if his numbers stay about the same, he will still be one of the better offensive first baseman in the game. Download attachment: Joe Mauer Big Swing.jpg photo by Betsy Bissen Importantly, playing first base should allow him to play more games. Instead of playing 130 to 140 games primarily at catcher, he should be able to play 150 to 160 games as a first baseman. An extra 20 games means an extra 80 to 100 plate appearances, and I can’t help but think that will help the Twins offense. As a 30-year-old catcher in 2013, Mauer hit .324/.404/.476 (.880) with 35 doubles and 11 home runs. Compare that to the numbers he has put up over his ten big league seasons, .323/.405/.468 (.873). Some may argue, but I am of the opinion that Joe Mauer is already a lock for baseball’s Hall of Fame. Certainly if he can put up some quality numbers for just a few more seasons, it would increase his chances of going in on the first ballot. Of course, by Mauer moving to first base, the hope is to extend his career and the number of effective years he can have. Very few catchers in baseball history have hit .300. Even the best catchers in baseball history have typically played other positions as they aged beyond 30. Johnny Bench played third base. Yogi Berra played some left field. A catcher with the incredible durability behind the plate like Ivan Rodriguez is very, very rare. So, it is likely Mauer would have moved from catcher sometime within the next couple years. Rather than wait for one more foul tip to jar his brain again and force the move, or even end his career, the Twins and Mauer wisely decided to be proactive and make the move now. More important than the baseball side of things, Mauer became the father of twin girls during the season. Let’s not forget that finding ways to avoid more concussions (or, brain injuries) will help his quality of life as he grows older which is so important for his family. When it comes to major stories of 2013 for the Minnesota Twins, the decision for Joe Mauer to move to first base is certainly one of the biggest. One of baseball’s best players switching position is one thing. Another is that baseball has added the 7-day concussion disabled list and other measures so as to be more cautious with this type of injury. These steps should be positive for the game and its players. Finally, the decision was the first of the Twins offseason moves, the timing of which was important because it allowed them to time to plan for its implementation. Soon, you will see the final top story in the Twins Daily Top 13 Twins Stories of 2013 series. If you would like to look back on any of the other stories, they are linked to below. Please feel free to comment on this and any of the previous stories. #13 – Twins in the WBC #12 – Drew Butera Traded to Dodgers #11 – Twins Sign Kubel, Trade Doumit #10 - Brian Dozier Breaks Through #9 - Kyle Gibson Promoted #8 - Aaron Hicks' Lost Year #7 – Twins Draft Kohl Stewart #6 – Justin Morneau Traded to Pirates #5 – Twins Dismal Starting Pitching #4 – Buxton and Sano Dominate Minors #3 – Twins Spend on Free Agents #2 – Joe Mauer Moves to First Base Click here to view the article

Several minutes after the 3:00 central time trade deadline, reports trickled in that the Minnesota Twins had traded catcher Drew Butera to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reports indicate that the Twins will receive the ever-popular Player to be Named Later. As of now, that will mean the Twins have opened up a spot on their 40 man roster. The Twins were unable to complete any other trades before the July 31 deadline passed. I have a feeling that the Twins will be more busy in August. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In the coming days, and throughout August, the Twins and other teams will place many (most?) of their players on waivers. Players who pass through waivers can still be traded. Back to Butera-- although he proved he can't hit enough to be a starting catcher, his defense was terrific. He'll likely fill a similar role with the talented Dodgers team. View full article

One week from today, the Minnesota Twins will be in Chicago, ready to take on the White Sox on Opening Day. This Monday morning was a difficult one for many in the Twins clubhouse as another round of roster cuts sent ten players to minor league camp. Matt Guerrier was given his unconditional release and is now a free agent. Chris Herrmann, Michael Tonkin, and Ryan Pressly were optioned. Meanwhile, Matt Hoffman, Aaron Thompson, Deolis Guerra, Deibinson Romero, Doug Bernier, and Wilkin Ramirez were reassigned to minor league camp. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Herrmann USPresswire.jpg The team is now down to 29 players in big league camp including three non-roster players (Dan Rohlfing, Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett). Rohlfing is again around as an extra catcher until right before Opening Day, as he was a year ago. Jason Kubel appears to be a lock for the roster. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett remains in camp despite some rough offensive numbers. This, to me, isn't about him being the utility infielder. It would appear that Eduardo Escobar has that locked up. I can't help but wonder if the Twins might view him as a possible backup centerfielder, and if so, maybe Alex Presley's roster spot is not a given. Although Michael Tonkin and Matt Hoffman each made a strong impression in Twins camp, both will begin the season in Rochester, ready to be promoted when necessary. Ryan Pressly, who had a nice showing in 2013 as a Rule 5 selection, was also sent to Rochester. Chris Herrmann's demotion is a bit of a surprise. It signals that Josmil Pinto will make the team and that Ron Gardenhire will find a way to keep him in the lineup. Who's Left? (29 players - 16 hitters and 13 pitchers) Catchers - Kurt Suzuki, Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing (NR) Infielders - Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon, Trevor Plouffe, Eduardo Escobar, Chris Colabello, Chris Parmelee, Jason Bartlett (NR) Outfielders - Josh Willingham, Aaron Hicks, Alex Presley, Oswaldo Arcia, Jason Kubel (NR) Pitchers - Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, Kyle Gibson, Sam Deduno, Scott Diamond, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony Swarzak, Click here to view the article

They’re not top prospects. They weren’t drafted in the early rounds, and they didn’t get hefty bonuses. They have jobs in the offseason, and they still find time to continue to work on their baseball craft. David Hurlbut and Matt Tomshaw are two left-handed pitchers for the Ft. Myers Miracle. You likely haven’t read much about them unless, of course, you get a copy of the annual Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Or, if you read the daily minor league reports religiously, you know their names because they continue to pitch really well. So, let’s take a day and give them their due. David Hurlbut was the Minnesota Twins 35th round pick in 2009 out of Diablo Valley College. He decided not to sign and instead chose to attend perennial powerhouse Cal State Fullerton. In 2011, the Twins selected him with their 28th round pick. Download attachment: 4.5 - Tomshaw4.jpg Matt Tomshaw was drafted by the Twins in the 43rd round of the 2011 draft. He attended Jacksonville University where he was a teammate of Twins outfield prospects Adam Brett Walker and Jonathan Murphy. After being selected, he made three starts in the GCL before making a spot appearance with the Ft. Myers Miracle. He ended up posting a 2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings (7 games, 4 starts). In 2012, both of them started the season in the bullpen in Beloit. There were “prospects” that needed to start, so the tandem was sent to the bullpen. They were good in that role, and eventually each was given an opportunity to start. When I posted my 2012 Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers of the Year, they both were in the Top 5 in the organization. In 111 innings (15 starts, 10 relief), Hurlbut posted a 2.76 ERA. Tomshaw missed about a month, but he pitched well in his time in Beloit as well. In 86.1 innings (6 relief, then 14 starts), he posted a 3.02 ERA. Despite the success in Beloit in 2012, they were both sent back to the Midwest League, this time to Cedar Rapids. Not only did they repeat at the level, but instead of starting (where they had very good success, they were in the bullpen). Tomshaw missed some time early in the season (you know, “DL” stuff) and made just nine appearances with the Kernels. His ERA was 5.10, but as a starter, he was better, and he moved to Ft. Myers in late May. There, he pitched in 17 games and made 14 starts. He posted an ERA of 3.94 in 96.1 innings. Hurlbut pitched in more roles. He began the season in long relief. At one point when Tyler Jones was hurt, he became the closer for a month, and then he made three starts for the Kernels. All told, he pitched in 25 games (and 50 innings) for the Kernels. He was 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA. He received his promotion to the Miracle in early August where he made four starts and had a 3.54 ERA in 20.1 innings. This year, they both returned to the Miracle, and they both returned to the bullpen. However, both made just three relief appearances before being put into the starting rotation. Tomshaw is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA. After going four innings and giving up one run in his first start, he has gone six innings without allowing an earned run in each of his last two starts. Download attachment: 4.10-Hurlbut10.jpg Hurlbut is 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in 39 innings. He gave up just one run in his eight innings out of the bullpen. In his five starts, he has given up just six earned runs in 32 innings. On May 8, he threw a complete game against Jupiter and gave up just two runs (1 earned). Last night, he gave up just two runs (1 earned) in seven innings. Neither has the “stuff” that fits the “top prospect” mold, but both have three good pitches, good control and a high baseball IQ. Hurlbut generally sits around 88 to 89 mph with his fastball, though he hits 91 at times, so he made it cut a bit, giving it more movement and helping him miss the sweet spot of bats. He has a very good curveball in the mid-70s, and his changeup continues to improve. Tomshaw generally sat 85 to 87 mph, though out of the bullpen last year, I saw him hit 91 a couple of times. This year, he has been consistently between 87 and 91. He has a very good changeup, and his work-in-progress pitch is the curveball. When it is on, it can be very tough on left-handers. And, he is again throwing The Thing, a pitch you'll need to ask him about!! Impeccable control is part of the success of both of them. In 286.1 professional innings, Hurlbut has walked 1.8 per nine innings and struck out 6.7 per nine innings. Tomshaw has thrown 280.2 innings as a pro and walked 1.8 per nine innings. He has struck out 6.1 per nine innings. Despite putting up good numbers and not allowing many runs and keeping their teams in games, neither David Hurlbut or Matt Tomshaw will appear on anyone’s Top 30 or even Top 50 prospect lists. Fair or not, that is the reality. True or not, Tomshaw and Hurlbut will continue to pitch in the Twins system as long as they continue to pitch as they have as they move up the ladder. Neither was a high draft pick with the security of a big bonus. However, the Twins have shown in the past that if you perform, no matter where you’re drafted or how you get signed, there will be opportunities. Tomshaw was drafted in the 43rd round, a round that no longer exists in the MLB draft. However, New Britain’s Cole Johnson and Rochester’s AJ Achter are pitching very well in the late innings for their teams, and they also were drafted after the 40th round. Anthony Slama was a 39th round pick. Michael Tonkin was a 30th round pick. Cole De Vries wasn’t drafted. If you perform, you’ll keep getting opportunities to move up. That will be the challenge for these two left-handers. They will need to continue to work and improve to meet the challenges of each new level. Tomshaw (25) and Hurlbut (24) have been teammates along most of their path since being drafted late in that 2011 draft, and I’m sure they’ll continue to push themselves to keep getting better. So while it’s great to talk about the Buxton’s, the Sano’s, the Meyer’s, the Stewart's and the like, remember there are some tremendous stories of some minor leaguers who don’t get the accolades, but continue to work hard every day. At Twins Daily, we want to make sure they are recognized. Matt Tomshaw and David Hurlbut deserve to be recognized. Photos in this story by Linwood Ferguson, Ft. Myers Miracle. Click here to view the article

Join us over the next two weeks as Twins Daily will be counting down our Top 10 Twins prospects. The names and rankings created quite a debate among the Twins Daily writers, so hopefully it can create some discussion among our readers as well. We’ll look at a prospect each day leading up to those glorious headlines that baseball fans spend winter waiting for, “Pitchers and Catchers Report.” Today, we’ll begin our Top 10 Minnesota Twins countdown with our choice for #10, RHP Trevor May.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Age: 24 (DOB: 09/23/89) 2013 Stats NEW BRITAIN: 9-9, 151.2 IP, 4.51 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 159/67 K/BB 2012 Stats READING: 10-13, 149.2 IP, 4.87 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 151/78 K/BB ETA: 2014 2013 Ranking: 9 Download attachment: top-prospects-10-trevor-may.jpg Trevor May was the top high school player in the state of Washington as a senior. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. He agreed to sign when offered a $375,000 bonus. Following the 2011 season, he was named the top Phillies prospect according to Baseball America. After the 2012 season, May came to the Twins, along with Vance Worley, in exchange for outfielder Ben Revere. Taking a cursory glimpse at Trevor May’s 2013 statistics at New Britain and comparing them to his 2012 statistics for the Reading Phillies, also in the Eastern League, it appears he didn’t make much progress. However, closer inspection shows he improved in nearly every statistical category. His ERA and WHIP dropped. He pitched a couple more innings. If you’re a fan of FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), he went from 4.88 in 2012 to 3.79 in 2013. Part of that may be because his BABIP increased from .292 to .329. His home run rate dropped from 1.32 in 2012 to 0.83 in 2013. When the Twins finally decided to shut down Kyle Gibson at the end of the season, May was promoted to AAA Rochester for the playoffs. It is likely he will begin the 2014 season with the Red Wings, and it is also likely he will make his MLB debut during the season. The Good Trevor May certainly fits the profile of what a team should be looking for in a starting pitcher. He is 6'-5" and about 240 pounds. He boasts a fastball that sits between 93 and 95 mph and has one of the best change-ups in the organization. He also has a solid curveball. In terms of ‘stuff,’ Trevor May has what it takes. Unlike most starting pitchers in the Twins (and any other) organization, he has the ability to miss bats. In 2013, he was one of just three Twins starters to strike out more than a batter per inning (Alex Meyer and former Twin Tim Atherton were the others). May can be described as sturdy. In fact, in a recent Talk to Contact podcast, May mentioned that he is doing yoga five days a week as well as using the Twins agility program in an attempt to be more agile. He said, “I’m a big, not necessarily agile human” so any increased flexibility and agility will only be helpful. However, he also believes his lack of flexibility has helped him be as durable and eat as many innings as he has. He believes his ability to remain healthy is, at least in part, due to “my appendages don’t bend the wrong way very far.” The Bad Although May did see a reduction in his walk rate from 2012 to 2013, it is still a major area of concern for him. In 2012, he walked more than a batter every other inning. He was still well over four walks per nine innings in 2013. We read a lot about consistency with Kyle Gibson in 2013; it may also be the biggest key to May’s success moving forward. In 2013, May had 17 starts in which he gave up three runs or fewer. He had ten starts in which he gave up four earned runs or more. Twice he gave up eight runs in an outing. The key in those games seems to be not getting off to a good start. When he struggled, he gave up early runs and was often unable to keep the damage to a minimum. The Bottom Line Trevor May certainly has the abilities to become a quality major league starter. He has plenty of fastball and a good array of secondary pitches. He also has the elusive (to the Twins) ability to miss bats. Unfortunately, control and consistency have not always been there for him from start to start and occasionally even from inning to inning. Some have said if he can’t gain enough control, he could make a transition to the bullpen. That may be true, but I don’t know how many late-inning relievers are counted on if they can’t throw strikes in key situations. May told the Talk to Contact guys that he thinks the mental side of pitching is really going to be key for him. He found success late last season and in the Arizona Fall League by being able to focus on the process of pitching. He spoke of the act of throwing pitches as being a process. That process involves knowing that regardless of who is standing in the box, he can repeat his motion and delivery (the physical) because he can focus on what he wants to throw and where he wants to throw it. If he can maintain that focus and consistency throughout the season and even reduce his walk rate by another half walk over nine innings, he has a chance to contribute to the middle of the Twins rotation for several years. Check back tomorrow to see who comes in at #9. Click here to view the article

It's been several months since we updated fans on which Minnesota Twins, front office, minor leaguers, etc., are on Twitter. Download attachment: Twitter.jpg The one question I get most often when posting this is how the Ft. Myers Miracle pitching coach has about 85,000 followers. It's actually quite interesting. He has been coaching at various levels in the Twins system for over a decade. In 2012, he was the pitching coach at Elizabethton and in 2013, he was with the Miracle. However, in his offseasons, he has been a color commentator for the Venezuelan Winter League through most of the previous decade. The last two seasons, he has been the Player Personnel Director for the Bravos de Margarita. Take a look at which people are on Twitter, and if you're interested, follow them. If I'm missing someone, please let me know! [TABLE=width: 416] First Name Last Name Twitter 10/20 Followers AJ Achter @ajachter35 662 Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 200 Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,429 Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 84,852 Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 243 Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,029 DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,448 James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,197 Doug Bernier @dougbernier 752 J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 1,137 Evan Bigley @Bigley3 696 Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 357 Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 549 Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 229 Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,677 Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 8,092 Chris Colabello @CC20rake 3,424 Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 352 Pat Dean @PDean15 472 Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 16,048 Lewin Diaz @lewin_diaz 37 Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,846 Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 15,388 Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 16,693 Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 271 Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,956 Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,691 Eric Farris @eRoc86 2,991 Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,147 Pedro Florimon @DroFlo25 56 Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 514 Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 777 Sam Gibbons @gibboo25 98 Kyle Gibson @KGib44 1,031 Brian Gilbert @BGilly1s 145 Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 132 Stephen Gonsalves @TheSGonsalves 647 Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 1,085 Zach Granite @Zgranite 268 Steven Gruver @sgruv30 134 Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 3,101 Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 194 Nate Hanson @NHans12 480 Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 338 BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,701 Pedro Hernandez @Hernandezp89 106 DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 1,127 Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 15,685 Kent Hrbek @Hrbie14 3,124 David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 201 Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 679 CK Irby @ckirbythe3 716 Tyler Jones @TmfJones 34 Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 485 Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 152 Max Kepler @kepleroni 694 Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 529 Matt Koch @M_Koch4 83 Zack Larson @ZackLarson24 355 Brett Lee @BLee092090 108 Andy Leer @andyleer12 148 Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 430 Trevor May @TrevMay54 6,487 Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 226 Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 332 Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 470 Kaleb Merck @KalebMerckin 320 Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,756 Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 346 Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 455 Jermaine Mitchell @jtrane24 844 Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 399 Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 169 Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 289 Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 78 Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 2,148 Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 651 Chris Parmelee @CParms27 8,692 Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 23 Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 23,933 Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 351 AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 866 Josmil Pinto @JosmilPinto 340 Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 28,245 Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 231 Christian Powell @BooPowell20 488 Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,959 Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,228 Michael Quesada @KSada55 251 Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 417 Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 260 Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 333 Taylor Rogers @trogers34 351 Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 1,080 Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 5,999 Danny Santana @bigmen07 167 Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 229 Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 898 Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 598 Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 6,012 Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 815 Miguel Sulburan @054_miguel 170 Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 9,553 Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 314 Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 268 Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 618 Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,408 Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 152 Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 37 Tanner Vavra @tannervavra 465 Ruar Verkerk @ruarverkerk 410 Adam Walker @walkoff28 1,029 Ryan Walker @RyanWalker25 137 PJ Walters @PJWalters39 3,080 Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,679 Dakota Watts @watts_22 1,046 Duke Welker @The5thWelker 3,791 Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 206 Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 142 Corey Williams @coreyw24 346 Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 127 Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,462 Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 52,184 FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 10/20 Update Minnesota Twins @twins 173,921 Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 18,103 Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,836 Mike Herman @HermTT 2,374 Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 162 Jack Goin @jdgoin 414 Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,604 Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 524 Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 591 Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,512 TC Bear @TC_00 11,480 Twins Daily 10/20 Update Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,981 John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 6,064 Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,547 Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,935 Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,838 Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 79 Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 758 Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 911 Minor Leagues 10/20 Update Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 7,203 Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,149 Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 355 Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,260 Christopher Fee @CJFee 208 New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 6,355 Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 126 Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 433 Andrew Walter @Mnfanfromafar 682 Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 6,644 Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 573 Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 462 Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 100 David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,301 Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 5,129 Mister Shucks @CRMrShucks 80 Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 386 Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 1,045 Steve Buhr @JimCrikket 519 Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,322 Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 985 Andrew Pantini @stadium65 116 Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 1,017 [/TABLE] Click here to view the article

One week from today, a lot of questions will be answered. One week from today is the non-waiver trade deadline. The Twins clearly need to be sellers at this point. They are 40-56 record, 16 games under .500 and 12 games behind the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. They are nowhere near the Wild Card race. So with one week to go, what do we know? We have to watch what is going on around the rest of baseball to get a sense for what could be going on with the Twins. Some trades are starting to happen and they may (or may not) affect what happens going forward. They may help us project what the Twins could get in return for some of their players. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For instance, the New York Yankees acquired Ichiro Suzuki from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for two minor league relievers. The 38 year old Ichiro is a singles hitter boasted 200 hit seasons and an OPS+ over 100 (100 is considered average) for the first ten years of his MLB career. Last year, his OPS+ was just 88. This year, that number is just 83. Who knows? Being traded to a contender may spark Ichiro into playing like he did for the first decade. However, the Ichiro Suzuki trade does not give us any indication of what the Twins could get for OF Denard Span. Due to age, salary and years, Span has much, much more value than Ichiro. That said, the Yankees were a team that needed an outfielder, and Span made a lot of sense there. At least for now, this trade does mean there is one less team who will be calling on Span. Last season, the Tigers added Doug Fister at the trade deadline, and he really helped the Tigers make their playoff run. Yesterday, the Tigers made another huge splash by acquiring right-hander Anibal Sanchez from the Miami Marlins. They likely had to take on the contract of infielder Omar Infante as well. Sanchez is vastly underrated and maybe not a commonly known name yet, but he is a very good pitcher. To be sure, his resume looks a lot better as he is traded than Doug Fister did a year ago. But the Tigers gave up a lot to get Sanchez. First, they traded 20-year-old future ace Jacob Turner, who has made starts with the Tigers already. Turner came into the season as Baseball America's 22nd ranked prospect. The Tigers also traded AA catching prospect Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn, a 6-8, 22-year-old pitcher who recently was promoted to AA. They didn't have to trade top prospect Nick Castellanos, but Turner and Brantly were both top 5 Tigers prospects by most accounts. The Cubs were also busy yesterday as there were rumors on deals for both Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza. The Cubs have agreed to trade Dempster to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that would likely include RHP Randall Delgado. Delgado has been starting for the Braves and came into the season as the #46 prospect according to Baseball America. At this point, Dempster is yet to approve the trade (he has 10-5 rights), but again, this gives us another data point. There were a lot of rumors of the Cubs and Dodgers discussing a Matt Garza trade in which the Cubs would receive RHP Zach Lee in return. 20 year old Lee was the Dodgers first round pick in 2010 and was recently promoted to AA. He came into the season as the #62 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. It is looking more and more like Cole Hamels will resign with the Phillies, but Zach Greinke is likely to be traded. What could the Twins get in exchange for lefty Francisco Liriano who, despite last night's clunker, has been one of baseball's best starting pitchers. Based on the package received for Sanchez, and the rumors floating around deals with Dempster and Garza, it is fair for Twins fans to be excited about what the Twins could get in return for Liriano. It appears that the going rate is a pitching prospect who ranks somewhere in the 30-60 range (likely a team's #1 or #2 prospect), along with a second prospect who ranks in that team's Top 10, and maybe even one more player who ranks outside the top ten but still has potential. And if the Twins get an offer like that, they would have to take it! Finally, the San Diego Padres agreed to a three year, $30 million contract extension with Carlos Quentin. Quentin was frequently rumored to be available and due to his small contract for this season, he was the top right-handed power bat available. As he is no longer available, that makes Twins LF Josh Willingham more and more valuable. The Twins have come out and said that he is not currently available. However, due to a very good contract that goes beyond this season (2 more years at just $14 million), the TWins could get a big haul for their big slugger. The Twins are said to be asking "for a ton" for Denard Span. If, er, when teams call on Josh Willingham, the Twins should be asking for two tons, and I would not be surprised if there were a team or two willing to give up that much. The Twins should need to be overwhelmed by an offer to trade The Hammer, but it is also very possible that they will be. So again, there is just one more week before the non-waiver trade deadline. As we know, there can still be deals in August. They're just more difficult to complete. The Twins should be quite active, and they have three players that they should be able to get a good return for. There are other players that could be dealt too. Deals could happen at any time, but paying attention to what is going on throughout baseball may give you perspective on what it could mean for the Twins. Download attachment: Josh Willingham.jpg Click here to view the article