Seth Stohs

2012 was a frustrating, injury-plagued season for one of the newest members of the Minnesota Twins organization, Sean Gilmartin. It’s fair to say that he is excited about getting a fresh start with a new organization. The left-hander was the first-round draft pick of the Atlanta Braves in 2011 after a fine three-year career with the Florida State Seminoles. In December, the Twins acquired the southpaw in exchange for Ryan Doumit. At Twins Fest, Twins Daily had the opportunity to chat with Gilmartin and get to know a little more about him. Gilmartin spends his offseason at his home in Georgia. He made the trek north to the cold and winter weather of Minneapolis for Twins Fest weekend. Being new to the organization, he knew just one of his new teammates. As he said, “Everybody’s new except Trevor Plouffe. We actually went to the same high school together. He graduated two years before me. He played with my brother when my brother went there, so we know each other pretty well.” Crespi Carmelite high school (in Encino, California) has developed some pretty decent ballplayers. Along with Plouffe and the Gilmartin brothers, there are several other former big leaguers from the high school. Catcher Rick Dempsey made his big league debut as a 19-year-old in 1969 and stayed in the big leagues through the 1992 season. RHP Jeff Suppan had a 17 year big league career. Sean Gilmartin’s brother, Mike (26), was a 27th round pick of the Oakland A’s in 2009 out of Wofford. After four seasons in the A’s organization, he split 2013 between the Reds and Nationals organizations. Sean Gilmartin was selected in the 31st round of the 2008 draft out of high school. Instead of signing, he went across the country and played at Florida State where he became one of the top collegiate pitchers in the nation. It was pretty clear he would be taken somewhere in the first round of the 2011 draft. Heading into the draft, there was a lot of talk about the Twins being very much interested in the southpaw. “When I was in school my junior year, I think I talked back and forth with the Twins maybe three or four times leading up to the draft,” Gilmartin recalled, “Yeah, I had a couple of conversation with a few of their scouts.” That year, the Braves had the 28th overall pick. Two picks after Atlanta took Gilmartin, the Twins selected infielder Levi Michael. Recall that Alex Meyer was the #23 pick in that same draft, and that the Twins took Travis Harrison and Hudson Boyd in the supplemental first round. You may also be interested to know that two former Twins draft picks were taken earlier in the first round in 2011. The Astros took OF George Springer with the 11th pick (Twins 48th round pick in 2008), and the Cardinals drafted 2B Kolten Wong with the 22nd pick (Twins 16th round pick in 2008). Download attachment: Sean Gilmartin 3.jpg In 2012, he began his season in AA where he posted a 3.54 ERA in 20 starts. He was promoted to AAA where he finished the regular season with seven more starts. He also had a very impressive showing in the Arizona Fall League. 2013 was a frustrating year for Gilmartin. He made 17 starts for AAA Gwinnett and posted a 5.74 ERA with a 1.59 WHIP. The reality is that he was pitching with shoulder tendonitis. He said, “It was tough last year, you know, being as close as I was to my goal of being in the major leagues. I started the year out pretty well and ended up getting hurt. Tried to pitch through an injury and figured out that isn’t the best thing to do. So, like you said, velocity is usually around 89, 90, 91, and I was throwing it up there at 83 to 85 and that doesn’t get it done.” In the Arizona Fall League in 2012, he was touching 93 at times. With tendinitis, continuing to pitch is just not really an option. Rest is the only way to improve. “(I) took time off, took about a month or so on the DL to get back. Made my last four starts. Came back healthy. It was basically just a little bit of deficiency in my shoulder program, so I’m working this year to get the shoulder strong.” What has the offseason plan been for Gilmartin in an attempt to regain his arm strength? “Not really a lifting program, just different shoulder exercises, a lot of manual resistance work with a PT guy.” His 2013 year ended with significant news for his career. After being a team’s first round pick less than 18 months earlier, he was traded to the Twins. What were his thoughts about the trade when he heard the news? “It’s a new opportunity, definitely looking forward to it. I’m thankful that the Twins were wanting to trade (for me), so I’m looking forward to the opportunity. It’s a new experience for me, so I’m enjoying it.” So when he is on, what does Sean Gilmartin throw, and what are keys to his success? Going right to the source, Gilmartin said, “(I’ve got a) four-pitch mix; fastball, changeup, curveball and slider. I think my most effective pitch, when my fastball location is where it needs to be, is my changeup. But everything stems off my fastball and my fastball command and being able to throw the fastball where I want.” It will be an interesting spring training for the lefty. He doesn’t need to be added to the Twins 40-man roster until after the 2014 season, but the Twins decided to make him a non-roster invite to big league camp. He’ll have an opportunity to put his injury and his frustrating 2013 season behind him. However, with the Twins depth of arms in the big leagues, with some out-of-options pitchers and some top prospects in the upper levels, it is possible that the Twins could send Gilmartin to either AAA Rochester or AA New Britain. What are Gilmartin’s hopes and expectations for spring training? He said, “I’ve been trying not to worry about where I’m going to start the year this year. I did a little bit of that last year, and it didn’t help me out in spring training. This year, I’m just going into spring training and getting myself ready for the season and getting people out. That’s the main thing as a pitcher is to get people out. Throw the ball over the plate, throw strikes, get people out, give your team a chance to win.” And what are his goals for the 2014 season? “For any pitcher, really, you look at the amount of innings pitched a starting pitcher throws. That’ll give you an indication of whether he’s doing his job or not.” Sean Gilmartin enjoys hunting and golfing in his free time, a couple of hobbies that he is certain to share with several of his teammates. With the Twins, there will be no need whatsoever to rush Gilmartin. He will not turn 24 years old until May 8. He will be able to work on what he needs to work on to make himself more big league ready. He profiles as a mid-to-back-end of the rotation starter. Considering that the Twins were looking to trade Doumit, and he was not going to catch any more, getting a player of Gilmartin’s potential is a coup. Click here to view the article

Joe Mauer is the Twins lone All Star representative tonight in Kansas City. In over 52 seasons in Minnesota, the Twins have had many All Stars, obviously at least one each year. There are the greats of the game, like Killebrew, Carew and Puckett who went to many All Star games. And there are the Coomer's and Engel's. Below, I'll post all of the Twins All Star representative by years, with some notes to follow. Feel free to discuss the best and the worst, and any other notes you find interesting: 1961 - Harmon Killebrew, Camilo Pascual 1962 - Earl Battey, Jim Kaat, Camilo Pascual, Rich Rollins 1963 - Bob Allison, Earl Battey, Harmon Killebrew, Zoilo Versailles[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 1964 - Bob Allison, Jimmie Hall, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Camilo Pascual 1965 - Earl Battey, Jim "Mudcat" Grant, Jimmie Hall, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Zoilo Versailles 1966 - Earl Battey, Jim Kaat, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1967 - Rod Carew, Dean Chance, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1968 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva 1969 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, John Roseboro 1970 - Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry 1971 - Leo Cardenas, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew, Tony Oliva, Jim Perry 1972 - Rod Carew 1973 - Bert Blyleven, Rod Carew 1974 - Rod Carew 1975 - Rod Carew 1976 - Rod Carew, Butch Wynegar 1977 - Rod Carew, Larry Hisle, Butch Wynegar 1978 - Rod Carew 1979 - Roy Smalley 1980 - Ken Landreaux 1981 - Doug Corbett 1982 - Kent Hrbek 1983 - Gary Ward 1984 - Dave Engle 1985 - Tom Brunansky 1986 - Kirby Puckett 1987 - Kirby Puckett 1988 - Gary Gaetti, Tim Laudner, Kirby Puckett, Jeff Reardon, Frank Viola 1989 - Gary Gaetti, Kirby Puckett 1990 - Kirby Puckett 1991 - Rick Aguilera, Jack Morris, Kirby Puckett 1992 - Rick Aguilera, Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett 1993 - Rick Aguilera, Kirby Puckett 1994 - Chuck Knoblauch, Kirby Puckett 1995 - Kirby Puckett 1996 - Chuck Knoblauch 1997 - Chuck Knoblauch 1998 - Brad Radke 1999 - Ron Coomer 2000 - Matt Lawton 2001 - Cristian Guzman, Joe Mays, Eric Milton 2002 - Eddie Guardado, Torii Hunter, AJ Pierzynski 2003 - Eddie Guardado 2004 - Joe Nathan 2005 - Joe Nathan, Johan Santana 2006 - Francisco Liriano, Joe Mauer, Johan Santana 2007 - Torii Hunter, Justin Morneau, Johan Santana 2008 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan 2009 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, Joe Nathan 2010 - Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau 2011 - Michael Cuddyer 2012 - Joe Mauer It is a lot of fun for me to look back at the Twins All-Star history. Here are some more notes: Kirby Puckett was the All Star game MVP in 1993.In 1961 and 1962, there were two All Star games. In 1961, Harmon Killebrew was selected to play in both. In 1962, Earl Battey, Camilo Pascual and Rich Rollins played in both.Joe Mauer is representing the Twins for the 5th year in the All-Star game. That puts him in 5th place on the Twins list, moving ahead of Earl Battey, Joe Nathan and Chuck Knoblauch who each represented the Twins four times.Rod Carew is tops on that list with 12 consecutive All Star appearances with the Twins from 1967-1978. Harmon Killebrew represented the Twins ten years between 1961 and 1971 (only missing 1962). Kirby Puckett went to ten consecutive All Star games from 1986-1995 (and probably would have gone a few more times). Tony Oliva went to eight straight from 1964-1971.The 1987 World Series champion Twins only had one representative at the All Star game that season. The following year (when they actually had a better regular season record), they had five representatives.From 1967-1971, Rod Carew, Harmon Killebrew and Tony Oliva went to all five All Star games.Oliva and Killebrew teamed at the All Star game each season from 1964-1971. Following that duo on the list are Rick Aguilera and Kirby Puckett who were All Stars together from 1991 through 1993, and Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau who both went in 2008, 2009 and 2010.The Twins hosted the All Star game in 1965 and 1985.What else do you enjoy about the All Star game? For me, it's about the player introductions and then to see how well the Twins players do in their opportunities. It should not be a game to determine Home Field Advantage in the World Series. It is an exhibition of MLBs players and teams and I wish that's what it was about. Fill free to share you All Star game memories or favorite moments below. Download attachment: CarewASG.jpg Click here to view the article

The weather has certainly been a factor in Beloit the first three days of this trip. The first two days, it was so hot. Temperatures hovered in the mid-90s and humidity was quite high. On Saturday, however, the weather was a little different and that crazy humidity finally burst into some impressive thunderstorms. Would there be baseball, or would we have to make a tough decision about whether to stay for a doubleheader on Sunday? (Note- we had already decided we would!) Saturday morning started out well with some high-quality blog writing (my opinion, maybe not yours). [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]At noon, Travis, Jeremy, Jed and I went to Jerseys for lunch. I have to admit that the steak sandwich is pretty great. It was fun because it was just four guys, sitting around a sports bar, chatting about the state of the Twins, players in the Twins farm system and other deep questions like Will Jeff Bagwell get into the Hall of Fame and what would we do with Stephen Strasburg down the stretch? Although it was quite warm and the clouds were gray and the wind was picking up, it had not yet rained. However, I had received notice that the Snappers would not be having batting practice and weren’t arriving at the ballpark until 5:00. It was no surprise as the weather reports certainly indicated that some severe weather was headed our way. What it also meant was that we had a couple more hours to kill. We all agreed that a movie would be the best way to do that. So, we went over to the Luxury Theatre, and when we saw that the movie Ted was playing, we all unanimously agreed that it was the one we must see. And we were not disappointed. The four of us laughed most of the movie. Certainly not a cutesy teddy bear movie. That’s for sure. But it was one of the better comedies I have seen in a long time. Plus, there is a baseball connection in the movie as arguably the most emotional moment occurred at Fenway Park! Well, throughout the movie, we could hear thunder and pouring rain outside the theatre’s walls. When we got out of the movie at around 4:20, it was still raining, sometimes even quite hard. We went back to the hotel where we met the infamous Jim Crikket of Knuckleballs fame. He had driven to Beloit from Cedar Rapids and noted that the dark clouds followed him the whole way. We all sat around until about 5:30 when the rain pretty much stopped. We headed over to the field. I was impressed. When we got to Pohlman Field, the grounds crew and the front office had just pulled the tarp off the infield and the field looked really good. Other volunteers were working furiously, toweling off the seats that were soaked from the rain. Again, the Snappers work with a smaller group and what they were able to do to get the field ready to play was remarkable! I talked briefly with Dallas Gallant. The team had all worked out in the morning together. The pitchers had just gone on the field a half-hour earlier to run through another pre-game stretch and their daily work. For the first time, I ventured down the third base line, past the dugout. There is a picnic area that I thought required a special ticket to go into, but it didn’t. During the warm ups, I went out there and was able to get some really good pitchers. I talked to Tommy Watkins and AJ Pettersen down the line. Yes, the below picture of AJ does show him wearing a catcher’s mitt. As he wrote recently at Twins Daily, when he is not in the lineup, he enjoys being a bullpen catcher. I met Justin Rinaldi and his brother Vincent Rinaldi. They are the young guys behind Rinaldi Photos. You’ll definitely want to check out their work here. Also, they will be at the Snappers games the next three days and likely will post many more pictures. They now are traveling the Midwest League taking photos and they are really good. And then it was time to start the game. When you see my July Twins minor league pitchers of the month, you will certainly see Jason Wheeler. The lefty from Loyola Marymount went 4-0 with a 2.03 ERA in five starts. His first August start technically started out shaky as he gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning. However, box scores alone don’t tell you that two of the singles rolled through the right-side of the infield and the other was a well-placed bunt single. After that inning, Wheeler was great. He went a total of eight innings and gave up only those two runs. He gave up a total of six hits and one or two of the other three were of the bloop variety. Wheeler gets the loss in the 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, but he was very impressive. Again, at 6-8, Wheeler stands out. He does not throw hard, likely topping out at 90 at this time. But he has terrific control of his fastball, a very good curveball, and a changeup, and an occasional slider. In this contest, he struck out ten batters. In general, he kept the opposing hitters completely off balance. 2012 10th round draft pick DJ Baxendale came in and pitched a 1-2-3 ninth frame in which he struck out the side. He pitched for Arkansas in the College World Series and then quickly signed with the Twins when his team was eliminated. He has now pitched in nine games out of the bullpen between Elizabethton and Beloit. He he pitched ten innings and given up three hits, walked on and now has struckout 22 batters. He has kind of a deceptive, three-quarters delivery and has a very sharp slider to go along with a plus-fastball. Kennys Vargas provided the offense. In the 2nd inning, he drilled a fastball probably 410 feet, just to the left of center field for his 7th home run in 12 games with the Snappers. He rounded the bases, and he even did the David Ortiz, point-to-the-sky when he touched home plate. Seriously, the resemblance to Big Papi are uncanny. Miguel Sano had a double down the right field line. He might have been able to get a triple on it but was held up at second. Sano is such a big man. Once he gets going, he can fly around the bases. There are little parts of his game that are often forgotten about, or people don’t know or hear about, because all we hear about are the home runs and the strikeouts. Like yesterday, I mentioned his incredible arm. Today, it’s his speed. He can really move quickly. Eddie Rosario was held to just one hit in this game. He played second base and actually was a part of two double plays. One was on a bounding ball up the middle that he fielded, stepped on second and threw to 1B. The second was on a line drive that he threw to first to get the runner who strayed too far from the bag. Another day, another game in which Nate Roberts was on base half of the time. He had a solid single up the middle, and later he had a long at bat that resulted in a walk. One of the highlights for me was in the middle innings, I was going to go walk around. I like standing next to the Snappers dugout, by the on-deck circle once in a while because you get a great view of the hitter. While I was standing there, someone asked if I was Seth. I turned and said, “Yes, I am.” I knew who it was, but he introduced himself as Matt Tomshaw, who the night before pitched a great seven innings. Since he pitched yesterday, he was in charge of filming today’s game which means that he had a list of things that he was supposed to get video for throughout the game. The Snappers pitchers and a couple of their hitters as well. Anyway, he was between duties and it was very nice of him to come up and say hi. It was nice chatting with a guy who has obviously risen up in the eyes of prospect guys like myself since being a late-round draft pick just a year ago. Following the game, we talked to AJ a little bit. Wang-Wei Lin came over to say hi again. He’ll be in the lineup again on Sunday. A few other players came over and shook hands. Later, Miguel Sano was walking through the crowd, and as you can imagine, several were asking for his autograph, or to get a picture with him. I have read several places that he can be a difficult sign, but in the three days that I have been here so far, he has been signing quite a bit. Frankly, he seems much more relaxed and seems to enjoy it a little bit. He has acknowledged us each day. As he was finishing up, he came over to shake AJ’s brother’s hand, and then he came over and extended his hand to me and we shook hands. At that time, we went and sat down and enjoyed a tremendous fireworks display. The crowd was announced at just over 2,200 people which was great to see. With that, we have one more game to see here in Beloit. This afternoon at 2, the Snappers will again play the Timber Rattlers. Lefty David Hurlbut will be on the mound for the Snappers. It is Prince Fielder “Beast Mode” bobble arms day today at Pohlman Field so there should be a nice attendance today. Also, the weather isn’t supposed to be quite so unbearable, maybe into the low 80s! A great day for a ball game. When the game finishes this afternoon, Travis and I will be back on the road, headed back as far as the Twin Cities tonight. Then tomorrow morning, an early departure for home. So, I likely won’t get to a Day 4 report until maybe Monday. So, be sure to check out my Twitter feed for updates throughout the day and going forward. However, I do need to give a huge Thank You to Chrissy Scaffidi, the Snappers Director of Media and Public Relations, who has helped us out tremendously throughout our time here. As busy as she is, she’s made time for us and been remarkably helpful to us. GM Matt Bosen also spent some time with us over the first three days which is very appreciative. Again, as the Snappers are working with a six-person front office, and those six have so many duties beyond whatever is in their job description, their support of myself and Twins Daily has been very much appreciated. I can’t encourage Twins fans from the Twin Cities or anywhere enough that it is well worth it for you to make the trek to Beloit. It isn’t that far… I guess it’s about 13 hours each way for me, but it’s likely well less than that for you to make a trip. The baseball is good. This is a good product that they’re putting on the field. There are great prospects. There is some serious talent. The atmosphere at Pohlman Field is awesome, and the players and coaches are so accessible and for the most part, very personable. The team is going to be in the playoffs in September, and tickets are already available for that. IF you are at all able, I would certainly encourage a trip to Beloit to see the Snappers. And now, here are several pictures from Saturday: Download attachment: Pohlman at Night.jpg Pohlman Field at Night! Download attachment: Wheeler Warmup.jpg Jason Wheeler pre-game Download attachment: EddieMiguelKennys.jpg Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas Download attachment: AJ Pettersen Catch.jpg AJ Pettersen Download attachment: Drew Leachman 2.jpg Drew Leachman Download attachment: Kennys and Miguel.jpg Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano Download attachment: Miguel Sano Walk.jpg Miguel Sano Download attachment: Kennys Vargas Walk.jpg Kennys Vargas Download attachment: Wang-Wei Lin Walk.jpg Wang-Wei Lin Download attachment: Nate Roberts Walk.jpg Nate Roberts Download attachment: Miguel Sano Signing.jpg Miguel Sano Download attachment: National Anthem.jpg National Anthem (Matt Koch Catching) Download attachment: Kennys Vargas Swing.jpg Kennys Vargas Click here to view the article

On Wednesday night, the Beloit Snappers traveled to Clinton to play Game 1 of their Best of Three Midwest League Quarterfinal. The LumberJacks are one of the hottest teams in all of baseball. They won the final ten games of the regular season and won 17 of their last 18 games. They won the division’s second half title by 10 games. However, on this night, the two teams went back and forth for nine innings, and in the end, the Snappers won Game 1 by a score of 8-6 in a game where literally every player contributed to the win. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As hitting coach and former Twins infielder Tommy Watkins stated after the game, “It was exciting. It definitely had a playoff feel!” Download attachment: Snappers Logo.jpg Beloit started lefty Jason Wheeler. During the regular season, he was 14-6 with a 3.45 ERA. After the Snappers went scoreless in the top of the first, Clinton scored two runs in the bottom of the inning on a Ramon Morla two-run double. (Some Twins fans may remember that he and Oswaldo Arcia battled at the top of most offensive categories in the Appalachian League two years ago.) The Snappers clawed back. In the top of the second, after singles by Kennys Vargas and Drew Leachman, Stephen Wickens bunted them to 2nd and 3rd. Matt Koch flew out but it was deep enough to score Vargas on a very close play at the plate to cut the deficit to 2-1. In the top of the third, Wang-Wei Lin doubled off the wall. He advanced to third on a ground out. With two outs, Miguel Sano grounded up the middle. The shortstop made the play, but Sano beat the throw to first and tied the game at 2-2. Unfortunately, the LumberJacks reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the 4th inning with two runs. The Snappers answered back quick with a run in the top of the 5th inning to cut the lead to 4-3, but it could have been more. Eddie Rosario doubled in Nate Roberts. Miguel Sano came up and hit a fly ball to deep centerfield. Rosario tagged up and slid safely into third base. However, Clinton appealed at second base, saying Rosario left too early. The umpire agreed and called Rosario out to end the inning. In the bottom of the 5th, Ramon Morla hit a long home run to again increase the lead to two at 5-3. Wheeler’s night ended. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on ten hits. He walked two and struck out four. DJ Baxendale came in and got the final out of the inning on a strikeouts. He would work two innings and gave up one hit and one walk but no runs. He struckout four. In the top of the 7th, the Snappers were still down 5-3. AJ Pettersen walked to lead off the inning, and Nate Roberts followed with another base on balls. Wang-Wei Lin bunted the runners to second and third with just one out. Eddie Rosario came up again, and he came through again! He hit a line drive to left field. Pettersen scored, and when the left fielder bobbled the ball, Roberts scored as well. Rosario was out trying to advance to second base, but he had tied the game 5-5. With two outs in the bottom of the 7th, Tyler Duffey replaced DJ Baxendale. Duffey was making his Snappers debut lets than 48 hours after he helped the Elizabethton Twins to an Appy League championship. Now he was pitching in a tied, Game 1 of the Midwest League playoffs. Since August 1st, Duffey had pitched 18 shutout innings in ten games. He had given up just seven hits, walked none and struckout 31. He got the final out of the 7th inning. The top of the 8th inning started with a double by Kennys Vargas. Speedy JD Williams replaced him at second base. Drew Leachman, who was already 3-3 in the game laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that sat right on the foul line to advance Williams to third. Although Leachman was already 3-3 in the game, he had no concerns about being asked to bunt. “(Throughout the season), I usually just do it on my own. I think I have five bunts on the year and four have been hits. It’s kind of my secret tool.” (So, Snappers fans, don’t tell anyone from the Midwest League.) Stephen WIckens came up and with the infield playing in he hit a single through the middle to give the Snappers their first lead of the game at 6-5. Duffey came out for the 8th inning. He struckout the first batter of the inning. However, Dillon Hazlett came up and hit his second home run of the game to tie the score again, this time at six. AJ Pettersen led off the top of the 9th inning with a single to left. Nate Roberts bunted him to second base. Wang-Wei Lin grounded to shortstop, but the ball was booted. With runners now on 2nd and 3rd, a wild pitch scored Pettersen to give the Snappers a 7-6 lead and move Wang-Wei Lin to second base. One pitch later, Lin advanced to third on another wild pitch. Eddie Rosario grounded to second, and even with the infield in, he had no play at the plate so he got the out at first. The Snappers now had an 8-6 lead. For the bottom of the 9th, the Snappers went with lefty Mason Melotakis. He gave up a run to lead off the inning, but it was followed by a ground ball to shortstop and a grounder back to the mound for two outs. The final batter gave a scare, hitting a fly ball that Nate Roberts caught on the warning track, but the Snappers held on to that 8-6 win. Drew Leachman, who was 3-3 with the sacrifice bunt in the game, said, “What a game!! Unbelievable! It just feels good to be able to put the team in a position to win!” Download attachment: Drew Leachman 5.jpg In his last two at bats, AJ Pettersen walked and singled. Each time he scored an important run. What were his thoughts going into those plate appearances? “I was trying to make their bullpen guys work for it. I always know that if I can get on, the guys behind me will move me around and it worked out late tonight!” Download attachment: ajpettersen.jpg Pettersen continued, “That was quite the game! It was definitely intense!” Eddie Rosario led the offense. He went 3-5 with a double and three RBI. Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with a double. Download attachment: Eddie Rosario 4.jpg Tyler Duffey gave up a run for the first time in six weeks, but he was credited with the Win in this game. What was it like pitching in Game 1 two days after helping Elizabethton to their championship? “(It was) a little nerve-wracking at first, but more exciting than anything, just to be out there. I’m excited to be here and to have the opportunity to play for another championship.” Game 1 was full of ups and downs, and it was very intense. Between the Elizabethton Twins’ run to an Appy League Championship (Which was won with three extra innings games) and now the Beloit Snappers playoff run, I may end up with an ulcer. The Snappers boarded their bus after Game 1 in Clinton and will make the 100 mile trip back to Beloit where Game 2 will be played at 6:30 tonight. Right-hander Cole Johnson will take the mound for the Snappers against right-hander Jordan Pries. Johnson was the Twins 44th round pick just a year ago out of Notre Dame. After starting this season at Extended Spring Training, he has gone 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 16 games. In 42 innings, he has walked just 11 and struck out 48. Pries was the Mariners’ 30th round pick in 2011 out of Stanford. In seven starts for the LumberJacks, he is 4-0 with a 3.49 ERA. In 38.2 innings, he has walked seven and struck out 33. Should there need to be a Game 3, it will be at 6:30 on Friday night in Beloit. The Snappers would send lefty David Hurlbut to the mound. If you’re in or near Beloit and have a chance, I definitely recommend trying to get to Game 2 and to follow the Snappers playoff run. Be sure to check out the Snappers website or call their box office at (608) 362-2272. Click here to view the article

Worried about rush hour traffic, I left my sister’s place early, just to make sure I was in Woodbury by 8:45. Traffic wasn’t bad, so I was there before 8. By 8:15 or so, Scott (the man behind Territory Train) had arrived, and the bus was there by 8:30. I was thrilled that we were 1.) on a Lorenz Bus, and 2.) that our bus driver would again be Ed (the same driver from when I had gone on a Twins Train trip to Detroit two years earlier). There was even more good news, the bus had wireless internet and some electrical outlets. This trip was going to be great!! The bus was supposed to depart Woodbury at 9:00 on Friday morning, but everyone was there early and the bus left at 8:45. We made one stop, in Mason City, Iowa, for lunch. Yes, I went to Buffalo Wild Wings! Yum! We arrived at our hotel in Moline, Illinois, at about 3:45, which is nice because we were able to get settled in a little and rested up. We left for the Quad Cities ball park (which is in Davenport, Iowa) at about 5:00, knowing the gates opened at 5:30. I have to be honest. I was really, really excited about going to Modern Woodsmen Park. If you have seen the excellent baseball movie Sugar, a lot of it takes place at this field. Being there was even more incredible than seeing it on TV or in a movie. The biggest thing is the bridge that creates a picturesque view for the stadium. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Sano in Quad Cities.jpg We got to the stadium, and got our tickets. We entered and got the free Quad Cities River Bandits door mat! Very nice! Once we entered the ball park area, the bridge certainly stands out. Its presence down the right field line is incredible, but the stadium is nice all around. They have a great scoreboard that provides instant replays. They have another big scoreboard on the right field wall that gives the mug shots of the hitter and his stats. For the River Bandits, they had a quote from the player. For instance, OF Virgil Hill’s said that he is the son of two Olympians. One person on the Territory Train is Josh Pettersen. He is Snappers infielder AJ Pettersen’s brother. So when we got in, we were able to go down by the Twins bullpen and talk to AJ for 10 to 15 minutes before he had to go stretch and throw with his teammates. He wasn’t in the lineup on Friday night. Download attachment: ajpettersen QC.jpg Soon after, AJ brought over Snappers hitting coach Tommy Watkins who spent a few minutes chatting with the group. We talked about his time spent in Quad Cities in 2003. At that time, the Twins Low-A, Midwest League affiliate was in Quad Cities. However, they did not play a game in the ballpark the first two months of the season because the river had flooded. I asked how far the water came up. “Over the field? I asked? Watkins chuckled, “Oh no! Up to that second level of seating and those suites.” Unbelievable! Snappers’ starting pitching Jason Wheeler walked by to start his pregame work. At 6-8, he certainly stands out in a crowd. Download attachment: Wheeler Bullpen.jpg There were several fans from Beloit who had also made the trek, and many of the players were excited to see them. Some even went over and took pictures for them (like Miguel Sano and Jhon Goncalves below) Download attachment: Sano and Goncalves.jpg As you can see in the picture above, we had some very good seats. We were just behind the Quad Cities dugout, staring out at the field with the bridge over the top. Just a remarkable view. And then the game started. JD Williams started the game by hitting a long fly ball to deep left that the left fielder completely lost in the sun and turned into a double. A sacrifice fly and a couple of walks later, Drew Leachman came to the plate and drove in two runs on a single to give the Snappers a 3-0 lead. Matt Koch singled to start the second, advanced on a passed ball, and then scored on a single by JD Williams to increase the lead to 4-0. In the top of the third, the first two batters got out. Leachman singled which as followed by a wild pitch. Koch walked. Then Jairo Rodriguez singled in Leachman. The next batter was JD Williams and he blasted a long home run well over the fence in left field. Download attachment: JD Williams HR Swing.jpg Wheeler walked the first batter of the bottom of the third. Four of the next five batters singled. By the end of the third innings, the Snappers lead was 8-3. Let’s advance to the top of the 5th. Leachman led off the inning by getting on base on an error. Matt Koch hit another long home run to left. Wheeler gave up two more runs in the bottom of the 5th. He left the game having given up five runs in the five innings. (However, it was good enough to get credited with the win. He is now 7-1 with a 3.23 ERA.) The tall, left-hander didn’t throw hard, but he was very cool on the mound. His fastball touched 89-90 ph. He had a pretty OK changeup, and a good curveball in the upper 70s. David Hurlbut came in and went the final four innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out five. He looked pretty good. Like Wheeler, his fastball was in the upper-80s, and he appeared to have a pretty good change up as well. Last July when Travis Aune and I went out to Beloit for three Snappers games, I believe we saw them score 3-4 runs in those games combined. It was nice to see the Snappers with an 11 run, 12 hit, 7 walk performance, and it was good again to see on Saturday night too. Following the game, we were able to talk to AJ Pettersen for a little while longer as a very impressive fireworks display was taking place over the river in center field. The Snappers got on their bus and made the drive back to Beloit. Territory Traingot back on its bus and we just went to our hotel. Because we had plans to meet with some of the players for lunch on Saturday, late-morning, we had to get up early in the morning. Day 1 was a long day, but it was a really fun day. The bus ride was great and didn’t seem all that long. Getting to see the ballpark in Quad Cities was maybe even something I would put on a baseball fan’s bucket list. Talking to a couple of players and getting a few minutes to chat with Tommy Watkins was terrific. And topping that all off with a fun Snappers offensive performance and a win. Day 1 was great. Check back later for my Day 2 notes. (I may include scouting reports on players in the Day 2 report, or I may make that a Part 3, dependent upon time and internet access on the bus today!) Click here to view the article

Over the next weeks and months, I will be posting some Get-To-Know-‘Em interviews with some Twins minor league players. It’s always fun to get to know the people, the personalities behind the ballplayer. Today, we are going to start with an interview with middle infielder and 2013 draft pick Ryan Walker. The Twins selected him last June in the 18th round of the draft out of the University of Texas in Arlington. He began his pro career in Elizabethton and spent a week in Cedar Rapids. So, without further ado, let's get to know, Ryan Walker.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Ryan Walker UTA.jpg Twins Daily (TD): Growing up in Texas, who was your favorite team, and who were some of your favorite players to watch? Ryan Walker (RW): My favorite team was always the Rangers since they were only ten minutes from my house, and I was able to go to games often. I never had a real favorite player until Adrian Beltre. He’s fun to watch, does things different, but is an awesome baseball player at the same time. TD: What are your best memories from your high school baseball days? Did you play other sports? RW: My favorite memories in high school were playoffs and having to carpool to some games because the bus didn’t show up. A lot of fun times just being around guys that I’m still friends with today. I didn’t play any other sports in high school, although I would’ve liked to. TD: Talk about your decision to go to UT-Arlington. Were you recruited elsewhere too? RW: I wasn’t recruited to too many Division 1 schools, most likely because of my size. UTA ended up being a perfect decision, and I couldn’t have had a better time there with that coaching staff and teammates. TD: What were your best memories/moments from your college playing days? RW: The best memories, game-wise, were the conference championship games my sophomore year when we ended up winning it. It seemed like every game was just great baseball and several great plays and clutch hits just made it a great time. Outside of actual games, some of our trips to Seattle and other cities were extremely fun and times I definitely won’t forget. TD: As the draft approached, were you seeing or talking to more scouts? Did you have much conversation with any Twins scouts? RW: I talked to probably fifteen or so scouts, but the Twins scout I actually sat down with one time and talked to several times. He seemed excited about getting me, and it got me excited at the same time. TD: When the Twins took you in the 18th round, where were you and what was that experience like? Was that about where you were expecting to be picked? RW: When I saw my name picked, I was actually at my brother’s baseball game so my family was there, and they started congratulating me. Everyone in the stands kind of looked at us like we were crazy. I really didn’t have an exact idea of where I’d be going, but it worked out well. TD: What was the adjustment to pro baseball like for you? (in E-Town and then with the move up to Cedar Rapids) RW: The main adjustment to pro ball, I’d say, is just playing daily compared to 3-4 games a week in college. As for the baseball part itself, I try to take an almost naïve approach and treat it like it’s all really the same game, no matter the level. Obviously the ball comes harder, moves more, and people are faster, but I think 90% of problems for me are from overthinking. TD: If you were to write up a scouting report on yourself, what would it be? What would you say are your strengths, and an area you want to work on to improve most? RW: Strength and size have always been areas I continually improve on. I like to bunt when it’s there because hits are hits to me, but at the same time, adding strength to consistently drive gaps is definitely an asset. TD: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? RW: Oh wow! That’s a long list. Every coach I’ve ever had, and teammates that instilled the drive to succeed along with my parents. They always got me the lessons or equipment needed and that stuff you don’t really appreciate as much until later when you actually have to buy gloves and cleats regularly in pro ball! I also think my parents hate cooking now because of how much food I consume. TD: Outside of baseball, what do you enjoy doing (hobbies, etc.)? RW: Outside of baseball, I have a ton of things ranging from ping pong to playing banjo. I usually wear my friends out because of how many hours I can play ping pong without stopping. I really just like finding skills and getting good at them. I learned to write computer code last summer. I’ve been skydiving, basically anything exciting and challenging, and I probably enjoy it. TD: As spring training is now just a couple of months away, what are you most anxious about excited about? RW: I’m really looking forward to the first full year of pro ball. I’ve put in a ton of work this offseason so I really am just excited to go in and know I’m at the peak of what I’m capable of and have no regrets. TD: Have you set any goals for yourself for the 2014 season? RW: I only set a few goals, and the ones I do tend to be extremely lofty goals because I don’t really feel like there’s any other way to do it. I’d like to lead the league in hitting and make an All Star game. TD: Favorite Baseball movie? RW: Mr. 3000 is one of my favorite baseball movies. TD: What is one of thing about yourself that you would want Twins fans to know? RW: One thing I’d like Twins fans to know is… in about a month or two, I’ll be playing a mean banjo! Thank you to Ryan Walker for taking time to answer these questions. If you have any further questions for Walker, leave them in the comments below. Maybe he'll stop by to answer some, or I may be able to get some answers as well. Who knows? Maybe we can get some video of him playing his banjo before his next Q&A here! Click here to view the article

On Monday night, the Pioneer Press's Mike Berardino tweeted that an MLB Official told him that the Twins were no longer "in the mix" on AJ Pierzynski. In recent days, it had been reported that the Twins and Pierzynski's representatives were making progress in contract discussions. UPDATE - Monday morning, it was announced the Pierzynski has reached terms with the Boston Red Sox. What does that mean for the Twins pursuit of a catcher? Discuss in the Forum! Download attachment: pierzynski-barrett.jpg I just can't help but thinking whether the Twins really should be considering a reunion with AJ Pierzynski. So, I thought I'd write it out to see what I thought. He really has had a very good MLB career. He was an All-Star in 2002. He had the best numbers of his career as a Minnesota Twins catcher. He hit .301/.341/.447 (.788) in his time with the Twins and played in the 2002 All-Star game. In 2003, he hit .312/.360/.464 (.824) the season before he was traded. He was a very good player. In my mind, it makes absolutely no sense for the Twins to bring back the 37 year old catcher. Some may think it is his personality that makes me think this. Not the case at all. As Ozzie Guillen famously once said of Pierzynski, "If you play against him, you hate him. If you play with him, you hate him a little less." That is not the reason for not bringing him in, however. Twins fans have been booing Pierzynski ever since he left. First, I am not a person who believes in booing people, so I have never partaken in that ridiculousness. I've never understood it. He was huge in the Twins' last playoff series win. He was a big part of the organization's turnaround in the early years of this century. He did not ask to leave. He was traded. And in that trade the Twins acquired Boof Bonser, Francisco Liriano and Joe Nathan. That turned out pretty well for the Twins, particularly when you consider it also opened the door for Joe Mauer to play. Sure, there were the times he would try to clip Justin Morneau's feet as he ran by first base on ground balls. Sure, he is an irritant. But again, those are not reasons for the Twins to not bring back Pierzynski. Joe Mauer has moved to first base full time, and the Twins could use a veteran catcher. They have Josmil Pinto, but he could use some mentorship, or even some additional time in AAA in 2014. So, it does make sense to bring in a player like Pierzynski. Pierzynski has been a winner throughout his career. That is a phrase the Twins have used a lot this offseason. Some may believe his personality has helped his teams to the playoffs. Others say that he's been just one piece on the teams he has been on. He has been remarkably durable through his career. Annually, he has played in no fewer than 128 games since the 2002 season. That said, he went on the disabled list for the first time in his career in 2013. Not that that means anything necessarily, but it's certainly not unusual for a catcher at 37 to start getting hurt more often. So, I have acknowledged that it is not his personality that makes me say the Twins should not go after AJ Pierzynski. It's not his success or performance earlier in his career. He has been on very good, winning teams. He is going to want a multi-year contract, and I don't think that makes a lot of sense for a 37 year old catcher when you've got a 25 year old catcher who is nearly ready. It's also simply about performance. Frankly, Pierzynski was not very good in 2013 with the Texas Rangers. He hit .272, but he got on base just 29.7% of the time! Yes, he had 17 home runs for the Rangers, but do we actually expect him to hit for any power as a left-hander at Target Field? I mean, I would anticipate him hitting about .265/.290/.350 (.640) as a Twin. Defensively, Parker tweeted earlier today that he was worth -11.4 RAA (or Runs Above Average) due to framing in 2013. That's pretty bad. He also threw out just 26% of would-be base stealers in 2013. He hasn't topped 30% in any season since the 32% he threw out for the Twins in 2002. So to summarize... AJ Pierzynski is going to be a 37 year old catcher, is looking for a multi-year contract at a starter's wage, likely $7 to $9 million per year, who no longer has much ability to hit and is apparently allergic to walking and doesn't do a very effective job defensively. Don't get me wrong. If he is willing to come here for one year and $5-6 million, I'm fine with that. I won't write a scathing article or anything. There are other options. If the Twins choose to go big, they could sign Jarrod Saltalamacchia for three or four years. He's nine years younger than Pierzynski and still has some upside. JP Arencibia was terrible with the Blue Jays, but now that Toronto decided to sign Dionner Navarro for the next two years, Arencibia will likely be non-tendered. Ryan Hanigan is said to be available. And, there are any number of veteran, backup catchers available. So yes, it was a relief to hear that the Twins are likely out of the AJ Pierzynski sweepstakes, but until he signs elsewhere, I will remain a little nervous. So what do you think? Should AJ Pierzynski be a priority for the Minnesota Twins this offseason? Click here to view the article

Like everyone else, I have read the reports on Kohl Stewart. Big fastball. Very good curveball. Developing changeup, and quite possibly, the best slider in the organization. I ranked him #4 in my personal Top 30 Twins prospect lists, and he also was the #4 choice in the Top 10 Twins Prospect rankings. I got to see him pitch three innings in a minor league spring training game against the Tampa Bay Rays Class Low A affiliates the other day. After the game, I had the opportunity to talk to him for five minutes to learn a little bit more.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Kohl Stewart 6.jpg As we all know, Stewart was a terrific high school quarterback in Texas. He was one of the top quarterback recruits in the entire country. However, he also had a fastball that reached 97 mph and at least three other quality pitches. Because of that, the Twins selected him with the fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft. Stewart signed quickly with the Twins, giving up that scholarship to Texas A&M. This past fall, instead of getting ready for a football season (likely redshirting since Johnny Manziel was the starting QB at Texas A&M), he went to the Twins Florida Instructional League and learned more about pitching. Was it strange for him not to be wearing the helmet and shoulder pads? Did he miss football? Stewart said, “No. I was still able to hang around it. I hung out with all my buddies. Chilled out with my family and had a good time.” In Friday’s game against the Rays, Stewart showed off a couple of dominant pitches. His fastball sat around 92-94 and touched 95. His curveball was devastating to hitters, and he recorded four strikeouts. He also showed a couple of changeups. However, his best pitch is generally considered his slider. The Twins (and most teams) do not wanting their young pitchers throwing too many slider. In fact, he did not throw a slider in the outing. He’s still young and really hasn’t thrown a lot of innings in his life because of football. He’s working on other things this spring. He said, “Fastball command. Really working on the curveball, which I threw today, and the two-seam fastball.” In Ft. Myers, he has a lot of good teachers around, excited to work with him. Stewart mentioned that “Ivan (Arteaga) has been working with me a lot. Just in the two times I’ve thrown with him, he’s helped me a lot. Raz (Twins minor league pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen) has always been in my ear about certain stuff. I think both of them have helped me a lot.” But others have helped him get to this stage in his life as well. When asked who has helped him get to this point, he said, “It’s been a lot of people. A lot of people. Dennis Fay, who I work out with in the offseason has been real big for me. It’s just kind of been a lot of people.” As far as where he spends the 2014 season, he isn’t too worried about that. He understands that it isn’t something he can control, but that he can be instrumental in what the team decides to do. He said, “Not really up to me. I’m just trying to refine myself as much as I can, command my stuff as well as I can. After that, it’s up to them.” On Friday, he started for the Cedar Rapids work group, but he was followed in the game by a couple other young Twins prospects, Fernando Romero and Lewis Thorpe. There are other strong young arms in the Twins lower levels, and they’re all working together well. Stewart said, “I think we all kind of help each other out. To be honest with you, I think there are a lot of guys in the system that are really good, that help each other out.” When Stewart signed, he and fellow 2013 draftee Stephen Gonsalves came to Target Field and were able to meet go to the clubhouse and on the field, and meet many in the organization. “I met (Joe) Mauer. I met (Justin) Morneau. I met a lot of guys in the clubhouse that day. Go to talk to Bert Blyleven. All those guys.” The is a lot that goes with being a top draft pick, and it can’t be easy for someone so young. “There’s a lot of Twins people that have been here a long time. They kind of expect a lot of things out of the guys they draft. I think there’s definitely an expectation. The guys that they’ve drafted in the last two years have been… the numbers they’ve been putting up… Like Buxton, I think there’s definitely an expectation that’s carrying itself up to the big leagues.” Is Kohl Stewart feeling that pressure already? “Oh yeah, I definitely feel it in the locker room, and around the other minor league guys. Everybody wants to win, and do well, and move up. So, I think everybody’s kind of feeding off of that for now.” Growing up in Houston, Stewart grew up an Astros fan and went to several games. “Got to see Clemens, I mean, that run they made in 2005 team was fun. Those guys were kind of staples growing up.” Of course, things have changed for Stewart in the last year. His allegiances lie elsewhere. “I’m a Twins fan now… for good!” Most likely, he will remain in Ft. Myers and work with the players in Extended Spring. It is certainly possible that he could be in Cedar Rapids sometime in 2014. As he grows on the mound and off of it, he has the chance to move quickly. Whether he debuts with the Twins in 2017 or 2018 or 2019, it is most important that when he comes up, he’s ready. His star certainly shines bright. There’s no question about that. For now, Stewart is among 75 or more pitchers working hard in minor league camp, just waiting to find out where they will begin their 2014 season. Stewart remains focused on the things he can control. “I’m trying to take as much as I can from as many pitchers as I can. Hoping I can be as good as I can.” That could be really good! Click here to view the article

Kyle Gibson gave up a few hits but was able to get through six shutout innings against the Rangers. Unfortunately, the Twins were unable to do much with their bats and the Twins lost by a score of 1-0. Quality pitching was a consistent theme throughout the Twins minor league system on Wednesday night as all four of the affiliate’s starters also put together quality starts. Danny Ortiz remains the hottest hitter in the Twins farm system, and there were some close games. So, continue reading to find out what’s going on down on the farm. Download attachment: David Hurlbut 22.jpg Photo by Linwood Ferguson, Ft. Myers Miracle INJURY UPDATES Twins Daily learned that a couple of minor leaguers had successful surgery on Wednesday. Cedar Rapids left-handed pitcher Randy Rosario had elbow surgery. Outfielder Jake Proctor, who was at Extended Spring Training, had shoulder surgery. TRANSACTIONS It was learned that Mark Hamburger’s suspension is over and he will be reporting to New Britain. Dallas Gallant came off the reserve list and was sent to Extended Spring Training. Eddie Rosario is due to come off of the DL and will play some games for the Miracle as early as today. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Syracuse 3 Box Score Alex Meyer’s first two starts of May were a struggle. However, he gave up just one run in 10.1 innings over his two previous starts. On Wednesday, it was more of the same for Meyer. He was perfect through three innings and ended up with a quality start. The right-hander went six innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and three walks. He struck out eight. Ryan Pressly came on and was charged with one run on three hits. He walked one and struck out one. Aaron Thompson came on and gave up a hit and a walk but survived the ninth inning for his second save of the year. Deibinson Romero led the offense by going 3-4 with his 13th double. Pedro Florimon was also 3-4 (and is now hitting .227). Eric Fryer went 2-4 with his sixth double and first triple. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 – New Britain 9, Portland 8 Box Score With one out in the bottom of the second inning on Tuesday night, this game was suspended with the score already 5-5. The teams finished the game last night. Pat Dean was charged with six earned runs on six hits and a walk. Dan Turpen came on and gave up one run over the next 2.2 innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out one. Cole Johnson threw the next three innings. He gave up one run on three hits, a walk and he struck out four. Lester Oliveros recorded the win on his 26th birthday. He worked the final two innings and gave up only one hit. He struck out four. Danny Ortiz has been on fire! In this game, he was 3-5 with his second triple and two RBI. Nate Hanson went 2-4 with a walk and his 12th double. Tony Thomas was 2-4 with his 10th double. Reynaldo Rodriguez was 2-5 including his eighth home run. Kennys Vargas was 2-5. Game 2 – New Britain 4, Portland 2 Box Score Through six innings, Taylor Rogers had not allowed a run and given up just three hits and two walks. His team had a 4-0 lead. He began the 7th inning, looking for a seven-inning complete game. However, he gave up a double, single, single and double and left the game with a 4-2 lead and a runners on second and third. Matt Summers came in and got a pop-up in the infield followed by a strikeout. Ryan O’Rourke came on and got a big strikeout to end the game. It was his first save of the season. Rogers is now 5-3 with a 4.69 ERA. It was his seventh straight quality start. His final line was two earned runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five. Corey Wimberly was the instigator at the top of the lineup. He went 3-4 with his 11th and 12th stolen bases. Danny Ortiz continued his stretch of dominance. He went 2-3 with his 14th double and all four RBI. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Clearwater 5 (11 innings) Box Score The Miracle got a second straight great start, but the bullpen was unable to hold the lead and the Miracle fell in extra frames. After Matt Tomshaw threw eight shutout innings the night before, unsung southpaw David Hurlbut gave up only an unearned run over his eight innings in this game. He gave up just four hits, didn’t walk a batter and struck out a season-high 10 batters. Brian Gilbert took over in the 9th. Unfortunately, he recorded just two outs and gave up a big, three-run homer to tie the game. Steven Gruver came on to get the final out of the inning. He also pitched a scoreless tenth frame. However, he gave up a run in the 11th and took the loss. Jorge Polanco went 2-4 with a first-inning triple, his second three-bagger of the year. Aderlin Mejia went 2-5. Adam Walker connected for his tenth home run of the season. It was a solo blast off rehabbing big leaguer Shawn Camp. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Wisconsin 2 Box Score Aaron Slegers had given up 21 runs over his previous three starts. On this night, he turned that around with a very strong outing. He gave up one run on three hits and three walks in six innings. He struck out four. Alex Muren then gave up three hits over two shutout innings. He walked none and struck out four. Todd Van Steensel gave up a solo homer in the 9th but that was the only hit as the Kernels picked up the win. Jason Kanzler continues to hit very well. He went 2-4 with his fifth double and fourth triple. He drove in two runs as well. Bryan Haar went 2-4 with his ninth double. Michael Quesada was 2-3 with his sixth double and two RBI. Ryan Walker was 2-4 and drove in a run. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Danny Ortiz, New Britain Rock Cats THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (10:05 am CST) – Logan Darnell (Listen) New Britain @ Portland (10:00 CST) – Tyler Duffey (vs Henry Owens) (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (6:00 CST) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Ryan Eades (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article

As you’ve noticed, I enjoy writing stories about guys that don’t get as much attention. It’s why I cover the minor leagues. It’s because I enjoy the human interest side of baseball. Sure, we’ll write about the big stories too here, but getting to know the other guys who are putting in work every day down here in Ft. Myers is important too. Doug Bernier is a guy who knows about hard work and perseverance. He made his big league debut in 2008: two games and four at bats (no hits) with the Colorado Rockies in 2008.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In 2013, shortly after his 33rd birthday, and about five years since his debut, he got the call he’d worked so hard to get again. At the All-Star break, he learned the news that he would be heading back to the big leagues as a member of the Minnesota Twins. “It was so awesome. It was like all the work that happened, to actually get to the big leagues and play and get some time there. You know, the first two weeks there, my mind and heart were just racing all the time. But after a little bit, I was able to slow down and it just kind of felt like baseball a little bit. That’s exactly what I wanted to feel when I got up to that level. It was a blast, and that was something that I thought about every day this offseason and it’s where I want to get back to.” Download attachment: Doug Bernier ST.jpg Photo by Steve Mitchell Many would have left the game sometime in between, satisfied to get that one chance to forever call himself a big leaguer. Bernier has those moments cross his mind too, but obviously he is thrilled he didn’t quit on himself. He also had a very strong supporter encouraging him along the way. “There was a couple of times where I was getting frustrated, but I also talked to my wife about it a little bit. She was totally supportive. She wasn’t like ‘hurry up and hang ‘em up so we can have a normal life.’ It’s cool just to have the support from her, and she’s like, ‘If you still love it, and you still believe you can do it, and you still believe you can play in the big leagues, go for it.’ And that’s what we did, and that made me relax a little bit, and I just went out there and played and had fun. So that was a little easier.” At the end of the season, the Twins designated Bernier for assignment, removing him from their 40 man roster. Maybe 24 hours later, he re-signed with the Twins. It was an easy choice for the veteran. “To me, it was easy. This is the place I wanted to be. Sometimes you can just kind of feel right away the closeness between the guys, the chemistry. I felt like even on the minor league side here. There was a closeness between the guys which is pretty unique. And it’s just a fun place to play baseball every day. And also, I had the opportunity to play in the big leagues last year. After the season, for me, it was a no brainer. I wanted to be back here.” Bernier has always played a very good defense. He takes a lot of pride in it and works at getting even better. “I’ve kind of always been that guy. I’ve had a lot of years in the past where I struggled offensively, but being able to stay consistent defensively has kind of kept me around. They tell you to separate offense and defense. That was something I had to do because if I didn’t, I’d have been out of the game a long time ago.” Bernier came into spring training this season with the same mentality he has every year, to make himself better. “I mean really, I’m just trying to do what I can to try to improve my game. I know there’s a lot of things I can work on. I’m just trying to go about it, do the best I can. Just trying to improve myself, and hopefully with that it can help the team. Just working on playing multiple positions, and trying to get better offensively. That’s just kind of the process of spring but everything’s feeling alright.” Bernier is a guy who not only wants to play baseball, but it is really important to him to be able to help others. Maybe they won’t experience the same journey he has, but players of all ages, kids and adults, often have questions about the game. Bernier and his wife found a way to do that. They started the Pro Baseball Insider website to put themselves in a position to help others. Twins Daily contributor AJ Pettersen has contributed a few articles to Bernier’s site as well. “The thing we started with Pro Baseball Insider is… I was doing lessons on the side, and we were getting kids that were asking, ‘Why do you do this? Or why do you do this? My high school coach is telling me this, is this good or is this bad?’ A lot of times, it’s just knowledge and information. I’ve been fortunate to be around a lot of the best baseball players in the world. I feel like, sometimes kids have questions like, ‘Are plastic spikes good, or are metal better?’ Things that you kind of take for granted that they have questions about.” Bernier continued, “Being able to talk to a bigger community of kids and parents, I thought was a pretty cool thing for me. So we decided to put the website together with some basic instruction on there. We have a little feature where people can e-mail and we can communicate back and forth. Sometimes we go in-depth on things. It was basically just a way to communicate things I’ve learned and what others have learned. I guess the professional way of doing things to try to teach kids when they’re young so hopefully they don’t have to go through the same mistakes that I had to battle through. I guess that was kind of the idea behind it.” Giving back is something that is often said, but it isn’t always followed up on. Bernier said that he gets quite a few e-mails from people each week. 2013 was certainly a dream season personally for Doug Bernier in many ways. After such a long time, he finally got a chance to get back to the big leagues last year, appearing in 33 games with the Twins. He was able to take a few weeks off after the season and spend some quality time with his wife and daughter. He was able to reflect for a while on all that happened but also looks forward to getting back in 2014. “It was a couple of weeks of being able to reflect. Once I started working out, it was just how I do it. Just get back and work hard. At that point, I wasn’t thinking about the past. I was just kind of thinking about what I was doing that day and thinking about this upcoming season.” Less than three weeks until Opening Day, and Doug Bernier is still on the Twins spring training roster. The odds may not be real high that he starts the season in the majors, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he surfaces with the Twins again in 2014. Click here to view the article

When the Twins came to Minnesota from Washington for the 1961, one of the players that came was first baseman Don Mincher. On Sunday night, Mincher passed away at the age of 73. Mincher originally signed in 1956 with the Chicago White Sox but in April of 1960, he was traded along with Earl Battey and cash to the Senators for Roy Sievers. He made his big league debut with Washington in 1960. He stayed with the Twins through the 1966 season when he was traded to the Angels with Pete Cimino and Jimmie Hall for Dean Chance. In his seven seasons with the Minnesota Twins, he played in 617 games and hit .244/.340/.450 (.798) with 77 doubles, 10 triples, 92 home runs and 270 RBI. He was the Twins starting first baseman from 1964-1966 and in those three years, he hit .247/.331/.482 with 59 doubles, 7 triples and 59 home runs. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Upon leaving the Twins, he was an All Star with the Angels in 1967. He was the All Star representative of the Seattle Pilots in 1969 after being their second pick in the 1968 expansion draft. He played for the Oakland A's. He was traded to the new Washington Senators team in 1971 and went with that organization to their new home as the Texas Rangers in 1972. He finished his career with the Oakland A's. He didn't stay out of baseball forever. In 1985, he became the president and GM of the Huntsville Stars (minor leagues - Double A), and later bought the team. In 2000, he became the interim president of the Southern League. He sold his Huntsville team and was the league's president until October of 2011 when he retired due to health issues. Download attachment: DonMincher.jpg Click here to view the article

The weather on Friday meant that the Red Wings needed to play their second double-header of the week. For the second time this week, the now 6-2 Red Wings swept a double-header. Australian James Beresford led the way, continuing to be the most consistent hitter at the start of this season. Mitch Garver had hit two home runs on Friday to take over the organizational lead in home runs this season with four. In the Twins 7-1 win over the Royals on Saturday, Brian Dozier led off with his fourth homer. Then later in the afternoon, Adam Walker hit his fourth homer of the year. Of course, with the Twins three top pitching prospects starting on Saturday, there’s plenty of pitching to talk about as well.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: James Beresford 2.jpg TRANSACTIONS The Twins put Josh Willingham on the disabled list officially on Saturday and recalled Michael Tonkin. AJ Achter was promoted to the Red Wings. Virgil Vasquez came off of the Red Wings disabled list and was sent to New Britain. Stephen Wickens, who has not yet played for the Rock Cats, was placed on the 7-day DL. He has a strained rotator cuff. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 – Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 3 Box Score Alex Meyer made his second start; he was not helped by his defense at all. A couple errors caused him to allow two unearned runs. In his 5.1 innings, he gave up three runs (1 earned) on six hits. He walked none, hit one and struck out five. Aaron Thompson came on and got the final five outs. He gave up just one hit and is credited with the win. Offensively, James Beresford led the way. He went 4-4 with his second and third doubles, a stolen base and two RBI. His 7th inning double scored Chris Rahl with what proved to be the winning run. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his second double. For the IronPigs, Clete Thomas went 2-4. Game 2 – Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score The Red Wings got pitching and power in this game to win again. Eight Red Wings players had one hit. Five of those hits went for extra bases. In the second inning, Eduardo Nunez hit a two-run homer, his first in the Twins organization. In the third inning, Chris Parmelee hit a two-run homer, his first of the year. Wilkin Ramirez had a triple. Doug Bernier and Chris Rahl hit a double each. Yohan Pino started game two and went four innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk while striking out five. Matt Hoffman made his first appearance of the season and struck one out in a perfect inning. Ryan Pressly walked one in his two innings. He struck out two. James Beresford went 1-3 in the second game. He is now hitting .500, 14-28 on the season. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Portland 10 Box Score On a day when the Twins top three starting pitching prospects took the mound for their team, a former Top 10 Twins prospect had a rough go of it out of the Rock Cats bullpen. Matt Summers made his second start for the Rock Cats this season. The right-hander gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. He did not walk a batter and struck out four. Then Adrian Salcedo entered the game in the sixth inning and was only able to record one out, on a strikeout. The flame-thrower gave up four hits, walked one, hit one and threw two wild pitched and was charged with six runs. Virgil Vasquez came on for his first outing of the season. He went 1.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits, walked one and struck out three. Lester Oliveros came on for one inning and gave up only one hit. He struck one out. Nate Hanson is hitting .314 after going 2-4 in this game. Brad Boyer and Danny Ortiz each had an RBI double. Mike Kvasnicka also added his first double of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, St. Lucie 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Miracle got a huge, late-inning hit, but it was all for naught as the team lost in extra innings. Down 3-1 going into the 8th frame, Adam Walker came up with two on and two outs. He launched his fourth home run of the season to give the Miracle a 4-3 lead. However, the Mets tied the game in the 8th and won it in the 10th. JO Berrios started and gave up three runs in six innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five. Steven Gruver gave up an unearned run in the seventh inning. However, he pitched to two batters in the 8th inning and one of them came on to score the tying run. Brian Gilbert got three outs in the eighth and ninth innings. He hit one batter and gave up one hit. He struck out two. Tim Shibuya came in for the 10th inning. He got one out, but gave up the winning run on two hits and a walk. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with two walks in the game (he is hitting .419). Walker went 2-5, and stole his first base of the season. Michael Gonzales got the Miracle on the scoreboard with a 2nd inning solo home run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Lansing 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart made his second start for the Kernels. He threw three perfect innings, the first, the second and the fourth. However, in the third inning, he gave up three runs on four hits and a walk. His day was done after the fourth inning with two strikeouts. In that third inning, three of the hits were on ground balls that touched an infielder’s glove. Josue Montanez came on and struck out three in two shutout innings. Brandon Bixler threw a scoreless seventh inning, but the Kernels were still down 3-1 going into the 8th frame. With two on and two out, Tanner Vavra singled in both runners to tie the game at three. (Vavra had driven in the team’s first run with a groundout earlier.) Zach Larson hit the next pitch down the left field line. His fifth double scored Vavra all the way from first base and gave the Kernels their first lead. Bixler began the bottom of the eighth inning, but the first batter walked. Brandon Peterson came on and got the next three batters out to maintain the one-run lead. In the top of the 9th, Bryan Haar led off with a triple off the top of the wall in left field, a throwing error allowed Haar to score the team’s fifth run. Peterson gave up two base runners in the 9th but got out of it without allowing a run for his first save of the year. Joel Licon went 2-4 with a double. Vavra went 1-4 with his three RBI. He is hitting .417 on the year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Brandon Peterson, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – James Beresford, Rochester Red Wings Sunday's probable starters: Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (12:35 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain @ Portland (12:00 CST) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (12:00 CST) – Mason Melotakis (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (1:05 CST) – Felix Jorge (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. Remember: Thanks to the Twins win over the Royals on Saturday, it means that on Sunday 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

Over this past weekend, I was in Cedar Rapids to watch the Kernels play. On Saturday night, the Kernels and their fans celebrated Twins Night. TC Bear was in attendance, but the headliner was Twins legend and Hall of Famer Rod Carew. After signing autographs for fans and joining the radio broadcast for two innings, Carew talked to the media. In Part 1 of that interview, Carew shared his thoughts on his playing career. In Part 2, Carew provided his thoughts on working with today's players. In Part 3 today, Carew talked about various topics from his relationship with Tony Gwynn to his most recent conversation with Aaron Hicks. Carew talked about being very excited to work with the Twins, with Tony Oliva and Joe Mauer, during the upcoming All-Star festivities at Target Field. “It’s a great stadium, they did a heck of a job building the stadium. I know that the Twins are going to do a great job in representing the organization and baseball.” He was also asked about his thoughts on Tony Gwynn who just recently passed away. “Very, very upsetting. Tony and I are very good friends. When I was traded to California, he and I became very good friends. We spent time together during spring training. We always talked about hitting. He always wanted to talk to me about hitting. Over the years that I was out there, we just became very good friends. I would call him and talk to him about coming down to the University to help him with the guys. He always wanted me to do that. He was a guy with a big heart. He had a big heart, always willing to help people. He reminds me so much of Harmon, a very humble person away from the baseball field. He would talk to anyone, just like Tony Oliva. Those guys have that kind of personality that you can walk up to them and talk to them about anything and they’re going to take the time to do so.” Aaron Hicks said at Twins Fest that he spends a lot of time talking to Carew, working out and hitting with him, in the offseason in Southern California. He said during spring training that he talks to him frequently throughout the season as well. I asked Carew if he had talked to Aaron Hicks recently, and how he was doing. Carew noted, “Aaron Hicks, to me, is one of the most talented kids in the organization. I hate to see that talent go to waste. I just spoke to him and chewed him out. I told him, 'you can have all the talent in the world. I’ve seen players with your talent, but if you don’t learn how to play the game, understand the game, and you’re not willing to work hard and get better, then you’re just going to be in the minor leagues.' I had a very father-son talk with him.” He was also asked for his thoughts on the prevalance in shifts in the game today. He said, “I’ll tell you. It’s working out. I know they couldn’t put the shift on me when I played because they didn’t know where I was going to hit the ball. But, hitters have to understand that if they’re going to play a shift on you, you’ve got to try to make an adjustment where you can take the ball to the opposite field. If you want to keep pulling the ball and hitting into outs, then you’re going to have 0-3 or 0-4 days. They have to start making adjustments to take the ball the other way.” So, who in today’s game reminds Carew of himself? “One of the kids that I really admired since he came up was Derek Jeter. He used the whole field to hit. Played the game the same way every single day. The kid that I look at now is Mike Trout. The same demeanor, comes out every day, plays hard, has a smile on his face, and has a good time when he’s out there.” It was truly an honor to get to interview Rod Carew. He proved himself to be a true gentleman. As always if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to discuss. Download attachment: Rod Carew AP.jpg Carew photo from AP. Click here to view the article

As the Fourth of July is approaching, I have found myself asking several people, “What happened to June? It just flew by. It seemed like just four or so weeks ago that I was posing my May Twins Minor League Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Reliever of the month. And here we are again. Over the next couple of days, I will post my June recipients. I am going to start by the area that was far and away the weakest for the organization in June, starting pitching. BJ Hermsen won the award in April and May, but in June he fell back to a solid, but unspectacular level. In previous months, I’ve been posting a top five or a top six. This month, I can only give you a top four Twins minor league starting pitchers. I guess if I went to five, I would pick tonight’s Twins starter Liam Hendricks. However, he made just two starts in Rochester in June before being promoted to the Twins. He was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and a 0.64 WHIP. In 15.2 innings, he gave up seven hits, walked three and struck out 18. Unfortunately, the starting pitching in June was pretty weak. Hendriks was strongly considered. Below, you will find my rankings of the Top 5 starting pitchers in the Twins farm system in the month of June. Be sure to vote for your choice in the comments. --- Number 4 – Beloit – RHP Tyler Jones - 3 GS, 0-2, 3.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 5 BB, 23 K The Milwaukee native was promoted to the Snappers in late May. After one relief appearance, he was moved in to the rotation. He made just three starts in June and wasn’t credited with a win, but he showed an ability to throw strikes while still missing bats. The 2011 draft pick out of LSU has a ton of talent. Of course, in his first July appearance, he was again pitching out of the bullpen. Number 3 – Rochester – RHP Sam Deduno - 4 GS, 1-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 19.0 IP, 8 H, 13 BB, 28 K With Liam Hendriks unable to get through five innings again tonight despite being given a five-run lead, it would hardly be shocking if Hendriks is sent back to Rochester and Deduno gets added to the 40 and 25 man rosters. He missed over six weeks due to a bum shoulder, and when he returned in early June, they were quite patient with him. But Deduno pitched well. Certainly, he walked too many, but the hits allowed and strikeouts are encouraging. The Twins signed him this offseason as a six-year minor league free agent. He does have previous big league service time. Number 2 – Beloit – Matt Summers - 6 GS, 3-1, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 26 H, 10 BB, 20 K Summers was the Twins 4th round pick in last year’s draft out of UC-Irvine where he was the conference’s pitcher of the year. He went to Elizabethton and pitched/dominated out of the bullpen. He began the 2012 season with the Snappers and in the starting rotation. After a rough April, Summers was on this last in May, and had his best month in June. Although the strikeouts are down And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Beloit – LHP David Hurlbut - 5 GS, 1-1, 1.61 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 23 H, 9 BB, 26 K The Twins scouts must have liked something they saw in Hurlbut. Despite very mediocre numbers his first year of junior college, the Twins drafted him in 2009. Instead of signing, he went to play at his hometown Cal State-Fullerton. He pitched in just 34 innings out of the Fullerton bullpen over two years, but the Twins still drafted him in the 28th round last year. He came up to Beloit in mid-May and after spending time in the bullpen, he made some starts starting at the beginning of June. He was terrific posting solid all-around numbers. The lefty doesn’t throw hard, but he controls three pitches. Download attachment: DavidHurlbut2.jpg Photo courtesy Jim Crikket/Knuckleballs. What do you think? Only four pitchers were mentioned for June (unless you count a few words on Hendriks). For those of you who are in Minnesota or the Upper Midwest, this list is another sign that you need to make the trip to Beloit and see the Snappers. Yes, Summers was a known commodity a year ago as a fourth round pick, but David Hurlbut is a late-round pick that is also worth watching. I saw two Snappers game in early June and saw both Hurlbut and Summers pitch. Let’s be honest. This list is a pretty strong indicator of where the Twins are currently at regarding starting pitching. There were few other choices. Who would your choice be? How would you rank these guys (and feel free to include others)? Click here to view the article

The day started with news that Kendrys Morales was in the Twins Cities taking a physical. At an 11:00 press conference, the Twins made the signing official. Though he may not play much in the next week or so, he is certainly a potent bat who will be able to hit in the middle of the Twins lineup. Sam Deduno struggled with his control in a manner we haven’t seen too often the last two seasons. The bullpen didn’t help, and the Twins fell to the Houston Astros, which has one of the league’s best records since mid-May, by a score of 14-5. They will now begin a long road trip on Monday against the Blue Jays. However, this is the Minnesota Twins Minor League Report, so let’s see what happened in the Twins farm system Sunday: Download attachment: Jorge Polanco 6.jpg RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Gwinnett 4 Box Score There wasn’t much offense for the Red Wins who fell behind 3-0 after two innings. Logan Darnell started and went 5.1 innings. He gave up four runs on eight hits. He walked three and struck out two. AJ Achter came in and got the final two outs in the sixth inning. He went 2.2 perfect innings, striking out three. The team managed just six hits. Eric Farris continues to do well at the top of the Red Wings lineup; in this game he went 1-3 and walked twice. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 and was also hit by a pitch. The Red Wings are now 36-27. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 7, Binghamton 3 Box Score For the eighth time in his last nine starts, lefty Taylor Rogers provided the Rock Cats with a quality start. In six innings, he gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out three. Jim Fuller came on for the seventh inning and struck out two. Cole Johnson got the eighth inning, giving up four runs on four hits and a walk to take the loss. Matt Koch was the lone Rock Cat with more than one hit. He went 2-4. Nate Hanson was 1-3 with a walk and his 13th double. Eddie Rosario was 1-3 with a walk. Kennys Vargas drove in two runs. In his rehab appearance, Sam Fuld went 1-3 with a walk and played eight innings. The Rock Cats are 28-32 on the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 3 Box Score Jason Wheeler was terrific again, but his outing lasted one batter too many (in retrospect, of course). The lefty went seven shutout innings and gave up just three hits and a walk. However, he came out for the 8th inning and gave up a leadoff single before coming out of the game. Unfortunately, that runner came around to score, as did two more Hammerheads. The Miracle scored two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. Wheeler was terrific. He was charged with the one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He struck out eight. Brandon Peterson came on and gave up two runs on two hits. Steven Gruver got the final two outs but only after an inherited runner scored. The Miracle managed just five hits as well. The two runs came in the top of the ninth when Jorge Polanco hit his fourth home run of the year. Mike Gonzales added his ninth double. The Miracle fell to 36-26. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Kane County 2 Box Score Ethan Mildren put together one of his best starts of the season for the Kernels. He gave up two runs on six hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out six. He improved to 2-3. Alex Muren struck out two in two perfect innings. Todd Van Steensel came on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth. He gave up one hit and hit one batter, but he struck out two to hang on to the lead and record his fifth save. The Kernels scored three runs but had just five hits. Jason Kanzler went 2-3 with his fifth triple. Joel Licon was 1-1 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. The win puts the Kernels at 28-35 this year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Dan Rohlfing, Rochester Red Wings MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:35 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain – No Game Scheduled (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Jupiter (5:35 CST) – DJ Baxendale (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – Kohl Stewart (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. Click here to view the article

The Twins lost 4-0 on Wednesday afternoon to the Royals. The Yankees are coming to town for a four game series. The Rochester Red Wings pitching staff has been tremendous all season. However, when the Triple-A All-Star game rosters were announced on Wednesday morning, just one player from the Red Wings was named to the roster. In their game on Wednesday, a Red Wings hitter was one hit away from the cycle. Surprisingly, the one hit that he didn't have was a single. There were a couple affiliates that had the day off on Wednesday. Continue reading to find out what happened throughout the Twins' farm system: Download attachment: Doug Bernier.jpg photo of Doug Bernier by Steve Mitchell RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Pawtucket 7 Box Score Doug Bernier has had a terrific season, and on this day, he was very good. He went 3-5 and was just a single away from a cycle. He hit his 13th double, first triple, fifth home run and drove in three runs. Chris Rahl went 3-4 with his 11th double and three RBI. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with a walk, his 22nd double and his seventh home run. Pedro Florimon went 2-4 with a walk and his fifth double. Sean Gilmartin made the start. He gave up three runs on five hits, three walks and a hit batter in five innings. He struck out six. AJ Achter gave up one run on two hits and two walks in two innings. Michael Tonkin gave up three runs on three hits (including a home run) in 1.1 innings. He struck out three. Lester Oliveros came in and got the final two outs, one on a strikeout. Earlier in the day, AJ Achter was named to the AAA All-Star team. Almost inexplicably, he was the only Red Wings player named an All-Star. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain, Binghamton Box Score This game was postponed due to rain. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 6 (10 innings) Box Score The Miracle fell behind early, but they scored five runs in the top of the 9th inning to send it to extra innings. Unfortunately, they lost in the 10th inning. Tim Shibuya started the game for the Miracle. He was charged with five runs on eight hits over four innings. He walked none and struck out three. Mason Melotakis struck out two in one scoreless inning. Madison Boer struck out three over two scoreless innings. Brian Gilbert gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. Tyler Jones pitched a scoreless ninth, but he gave up a single run in the 10th frame and took the loss. Michael Gonzales hit his 12th and 13th doubles in five at bats. Travis Harrison was 2-5. In the ninth inning, Adam Walker drove in two runs with his 16th homer. Two batters later, Dalton Hicks tied the game with a two run homer, his fourth of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Wisconsin 1 Box Score Lewis Thorpe may not have lasted through five, but he pitched very well. In 4.2 innings, he gave up only an unearned run on five hits. He walked one and struck out eight. Chris Mazza got the next four outs, three of them on strikeouts. Alex Muren gave up two hits, but no runs, in two innings. He struck out two. Hudson Boyd walked one and struck out one in a scoreless ninth inning. Zach Granite led the offense. He went 3-5 with his second double. Bryan Haar went 2-4 with a walk and his 15th double. Alex Swim went 2-4 with three RBI. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton Box Score No Game Scheduled. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 4 Box Score The GCL Twins managed just five hits. Manuel Guzman went 1-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Frank Encarnacion went 1-3 with a walk, his first double and his second stolen base. Onesimo Hernandez gave up one run on one hit over four innings. He walked two and struck out three. Mat Batts walked one and struck out two in three hitless innings. Callan Pearce gave up one run on two hits in one innings. He struck out two. Seth Wagner gave up two runs on three walks in 0.2 innings. Trevor Hildenberger gave up a hit and a walk before recording the final out. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Doug Bernier, Rochester Red Wings THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:15 CST) – Alex Meyer (Listen) Binghamton @ New Britain (DH - 4:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey, Virgil Vasquez (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – Matt Tomshaw (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05 CST) – Ryan Eades (Listen) Bluefield @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Sam Gibbons (Listen) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00am CST) – TBD. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. Click here to view the article

Following in John’s footsteps, I thought the For Better or Worse series might be fun to bring to a couple of the minor leaguers. Today, we’ll take a look at Minnesota Twins top prospect Miguel Sano. I’ll take a look at his 2012 season, give a few reasons why he could be better in 2013 and a few reasons why he could be worse in 2013. And then at the end of the article, you’ll be asked, “What do you think? Will he be better, or will he be worse?” [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 2012 Recap Coming off of a 20 home run season in 2011 in short-season Elizabethton, Sano was one of the youngest players in the Midwest League in 2012. He began the season as an 18-year-old. He led the league in walks and strikeouts, but he also led the league in home runs. He came into the season as the Twins top prospect, and Baseball America ranked him as the 18th best prospect in baseball. He did nothing to lessen his prospect status on the field. In 129 games, he hit .258/.373/.521 (.893) with 28 doubles, four triples, 28 home runs and 100 RBI. He made the transition from third base to shortstop full time. He played 125 games at third base and committed 42 errors. His fielding percentage was just .884. He was the #1 overall pick in the Dominican Winter League. Although he has not played a lot for Estrellas de Orientes. Although his playing time has been somewhat sporadic, he has had 49 at bats in 20 games. He hit .265/.373/.571 (.944) with three doubles and four home runs. Download attachment: Miguel Sano 2.jpg Why He’ll Be Worse First and foremost, he will be moving up a level to play in Ft. Myers. The Florida State League is more advanced than the Midwest League. He will again be one, if not the, youngest players in the league. Although he has the world of potential, he did strikeout 144 times, or ever 26.0% of his plate appearances. He has tremendous power, but the ball parks in the Florida State League are bigger than in the Midwest League as well. Why He’ll Be Better In reality, if Sano puts up the same numbers in a more advanced league, that is like an improvement. Sano is an incredible athlete. He’s about 6-3 and assumed to be around 245 pounds. He is like a shorter version of Lebron James. He has tremendous power to all fields. He may hit a few less home runs, but he also could hit a bunch of doubles. Although his strikeout rate is high, observers noted that he seemed to have much better control of the strike zone in 2012 than in 2011. He will need to continue to lay off tough pitches. However, Sano also walked 14.5% of the time in 2012 and had an Isolated Discipline of .115. That said, having Kennys Vargas hitting behind him all season should allow him to see a few more pitches. Sano is huge and powerful, but he is quite fast and runs the bases very well. Defensively, Sano had a lot of errors, but he was much improved in the second half. After posting 30 errors in the season’s first half, he had just 12 in the second half. Having seen him play in early June and then again in early August, he looked so much better at the hot corner, much more relaxed, and ready before each pitch. If he would stop growing, he could take big strides with the glove on the immaculate fields in the Florida State League. So, which will it be? Will Miguel Sano get better or worse in 2013? Let us know what you think. Something to Consider In 2002, Joe Mauer spent the entire season in the Midwest League (for Quad Cities). He turned 19 in mid-April. In 2012, Miguel Sano spent the entire season in the Midwest League (for Beloit). He turned 19 in mid-May. In 2003, Joe Mauer spent the first half of the season in the Florida State League for Ft. Myers. He then spent the second half in New Britain. The Twins traded AJ Pierzynski following the season so that Joe Mauer could be their Opening Day starting catcher in 2004, at the age of 20. Is it possible, in your mind, that Miguel Sano could be on the same path? If he starts the season in Ft. Myers and plays in New Britain in the second half, could he be the Twins Opening Day starting third baseman in 2014, at the age of 20? Click here to view the article

We can certainly talk about those guys. I'd encourage people to ask questions to the Twins Hangouts podcasts. We talk a lot about players that don't get talked about a whole lot. All those guys you wrote about have been discussed. Corey Williams had Tommy John surgery April 1. Wrote about Chargois and a bunch of other hurt players in a forum posted this morning. Wrote about Harrison in my Q&A on Puckett's Pond (there's a link to it in the minor league forum). I believe in his power despite his numbers.

Matt Tomshaw was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 42nd round of the 2011 draft out of Jacksonville University. Upon signing, he went to the GCL, but soon he was used by the Ft. Myers Miracle. Impressively, he became the Miracle’s best starter the last month of the season. Tomshaw is a 6-2, 200 pound left-hander who may not throw hard, but he knows how to pitch. In 2012, he began the season in the Beloit bullpen. It wasn’t long before he was in the rotation. He missed a month with injury, but he proved to be a consistent, quality starter for the Snappers. Overall, he was 4-6 with a 3.02 ERA and a 1.18 WHIP in 86.1 innings. He should spend the 2013 season back with the Ft. Myers Miracle.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Matt Tomshaw.jpg He recently answered some questions for our newest 12 Questions segment, and it begins now. TWELVE QUESTIONS WITH… Matt Tomshaw 1.) Growing up in New York, who was your favorite team and who were some of your favorite players? MT: My favorite team growing up was the New York Yankees. When I started to fall in love with baseball at a young age Derek Jeter, Andy Pettitte, Tino Martinez, Mariano Rivera, and Roger Clemens were all the Yankees that I would imagine myself being while playing in the back yard with my friends and family. 2.) Tell us about your high school career (baseball and/or other extra-curriculars). MT: Baseball by far was my favorite sport in high school, but I ventured out quite a bit, playing football in my first two years, and basketball for two years in the later part of my high school career. I had to stop playing football because of my crazy schedule with baseball. Traveling all over the country during the summer prohibited me from training with the football team so I gave that up and “fall ball” didn’t really give me time for basketball some years. All that time spent traveling really helped me to get seen and signed by Jacksonville University. Basketball is my second love. I am not the best at it but it pushed me to work harder trying to keep up with the guys that were faster and taller than me. I played varsity baseball for three years under Mike Groppuso, a former first round pick by the Houston Astros back in 1991. I developed and matured as a person under his watch. 3.) What were some of the highlights of your college playing days at Jacksonville U? MT: Some of the highlights I remember most from college include, going to two regional tournaments both in Gainesville, Florida, my sophomore and senior years were an experience that I will cherish forever. The atmosphere where every game was win or go home, every big play that was made I felt like a kid again. So happy to be playing baseball. One of my biggest wins was against University of Florida during the regular season at their stadium. They just came off taking two from Vanderbilt that weekend. At the time, Florida was ranked 4th in the nation, and we ended up beating them 11-2. After the College World Series was over and Florida finished 2nd only to South Carolina, did it hit me how big of a win that was. Also in my senior year in game 1 of the conference tournament against Eastern Tennessee State University, I threw a complete game allowing 5 hits, 1 unearned run and winning 2-1. 4.) The Twins drafted you in the 42nd round of the 2011 draft... were there a lot of other scouts talking to you? The Twins have drafted several players from the college. MT: Well truthfully the Twins were the only team that talked to me at all. Another reason why the UF game was so big my senior year was because that was the first time that any scout showed interest in me, at least to my knowledge. I didn’t receive letters or questionnaires at all during the season. The next game they came to watch me pitch was in that game one of the conference against ETSU. After the game, my coach let me know that the Twins were interested in drafting me. The final day of the draft I was watching the computer screen in my room wondering if I would have to go get a “real job” or get to play this game that I love some more. When I saw my name go across the screen I just fell backwards onto my bed and smiled. I was and am so thankful that someone gave me a chance to play baseball at the professional level. I’ve always dreamed about making it to the MLB ever since tee ball. I have to say it is pretty cool seeing some of the guys I played with in college like Jamaal Hawkins, Adam Brett Walker and Jonathan Murphy in the same farm system. It’s nice to see familiar faces and have relationships through the long season with all the ups and downs that occur. 5.) You signed quickly and went to Ft. Myers. After several appearances for the GCL, you moved across the parking lot to help the Ft. Myers Miracle, becoming one of their best pitchers down the stretch. How would you describe your adjustment to pro baseball and what did you learn from that first season? MT: The adjustment from college to professional baseball was something I liked. I liked going to class and taking tests and all, but I have to say after I graduated and went to Fort Myers, I was happy to just be waking up at the crack of dawn to play baseball. Some of the challenges I had were making the adjustment and staying mentally focused the entire day. The days in the GCL included an entire practice before every game, every day. One of the attributes that I like a lot is the laid back feel of pro baseball. Yes, you concentrate and work hard at improving yourself, but you also take a step back and have a good time because you’re doing what you love. 6.) You moved to the Midwest League and had a very good season despite missing some time with injury. You started in the bullpen but quickly became a mainstay in the starting rotation. What are your highlights from this 2012 season in Beloit, the team and the full-season? MT: Working with Gary Lucas, the pitching coach, was a blast. He brought all of his experience and knowledge that he attained from his Major League career and helped mentor us throughout the year on and off the field. I’m originally from New York and I have lived in Florida now since I finished with school so the Midwest wasn’t exactly a familiar place to me. Seeing all the farms and meeting such nice people everywhere made the year more enjoyable. In my first full season, I had some growing pains. After the injury, I knew what I had to do as far as maintenance for the arm which made it easier on me mentally, just knowing that everything is okay in there. The guys on the team were awesome. Playing with guys like Sano, Rosario and Vargas bring a comedic atmosphere to the ball club, which helps ease the tension when times are tough. 7.) How would you describe yourself as a pitcher? What pitches do you throw? What is your out-pitch, and tell us about… “The Thing.” MT: I think I’m a pitcher in the traditional sense; I mix up my pitching sequence and the speeds to hinder the batter’s sense of comfort in the batter’s box. I do my best to get hitters out with the minimum number of pitches thrown. I try to induce as many groundball outs as possible. That keeps the defense on their toes and in the game, and for the most part keeps me in the game as long as possible. The pitches I throw include two seam (sinker), four seam fastball, curveball, changeup, cutter, and what I call a knuckle split. I rely a lot on the two seam for the majority of the groundballs that I get. Well I started throwing “The Thing” when I was around 10-11 years old. My father was a good baseball player and knows quite a bit about the game and told me that I wasn’t allowed to throw any off speed like my friends because my arm wasn’t developed or strong enough to regularly throw them. Growing up a Yankees fan, I watched Tim Wakefield quite a bit. I tried to replicate the grip that he held the ball with, but I eventually found a grip that worked and my father approved. As a kid I always wanted to throw things as fast as I could and that didn’t change when I throw “The Thing”. Ever since then I’ve thrown it at every level. Usually everywhere I go, the pitching coaches are weary of it because it’s not what they are used to working with. I remember my freshman year of college my pitching coach wouldn’t call the pitch, but with a little bit of persuasion he allowed me to throw it and it created more opportunities for me. The reason I call it a knuckle split is because I hold it like one and when I throw it, I throw it with around the same effort level as the fastball but because of the grip it has a knuckling movement back and forth, with drop off when it reaches the batter. Some days I find myself getting around it a little more than normal and it will cut into a righty. Most of the time it will break down or even occasionally away from a righty. That messes with catchers sometimes. As for an out pitch I would like to say the knuckle split, but I also like to use my curveball to get out of many jams. The curveball is a safer pitch to throw with runners on base because of the fact that the knuckle split has a later break and with a little bit more of spontaneity. 8.) When did you start preparing for the 2013 season, and what did you learn from your first full season to help you prepare for the length of the season? MT: I started preparing right away. When I say that, I didn’t go right from Beloit to home and start working out. I would spend time thinking about what Gary Lucas suggested I worked on this off season, and what shoulder programs I would do to keep my arm as strong as possible. The first season was filled with new learning experiences for me when it came to eating healthy and preparing your body for the everyday grind that is asked upon all of us. Eating healthier will be my objective this year. It’s hard getting out around 11 at night and getting the proper nutrients to get you ready for the next day. I have some things I will be doing to ensure I’m making the right food choices majority of the time. 9.) Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career as a baseball player? MT: No doubt, without my parents’ support and help, I would have never gotten any of these opportunities that I have been grateful for. My father literally went on every tournament, every showcase all over the country with me. They both supported me and kept me on the right path to success. Every coach that I have ever had has shaped me in some way or the other to be the baseball player I am today. From my friend’s dad back in Tee Ball, Billy Stote, to my Travel coaches Bob Brinkman, Bob Schlanger and Bill Buckman, to my high coaches Mike Groppuso, T.D. Mills, to my college coaches Terry Alexander, and Tim Montez, to the pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen and the pitching coaches Ivan Arteaga, Steve Mintz and Gary Lucas. All of the teammates I’ve had have played a big part as well in my development. 10.) If you weren't playing baseball, what would you be doing (your career of choice)? MT: Well if baseball wasn’t an option, I would use my degree in finance and work somewhere in the financial world. This offseason I had a job as a Mortgage Professional helping people try to refinance their current mortgages. Before I could be licensed to be a Loan Officer I had to leave that job to start training longer and harder, and the hours didn’t mesh well with my throwing and training schedule. 11.) Favorite baseball movie? MT: I would say I’m torn between The Rookie and Major League. Major League is so funny and I can watch it multiple times a year and still laugh at the same jokes and antics every time like it’s my first time. But The Rookie just always gives me hope that one day I will be blessed enough to make it to the Majors and do my best. 12.) Favorite baseball book? MT: “The Science of Hitting” by Ted Williams was a book my uncle gave to me as a kid. I still can picture to this day the hitter’s zone that Ted illustrated in the book showing where his weaknesses and strengths were as a hitter. I remember the different colors that were attributed with each zone. As a pitcher, I always shoot for the gray color zones which for Ted was in the outside bottom third of the zone where he would average a batting average between .230-.270. Thank you Matt! Best of luck in spring training and throughout the 2013 season! Click here to view the article

On Day 1, the Minnesota Twins used their first round draft pick on prep shortstop Nick Gordon. They followed that by selecting flame-throwing Louisville closer Nick Burdi with their second round pick. On Day 2, the Twins made eight selections and seven of their were pitchers. All eight came from the college ranks. So, what will the Twins do on Day 3? They will draft 30 more players. At noon, the draft will resume, and Twins Daily will continue to update you on the Twins selections. Download attachment: mlb-draft.jpg Looking at the current Minnesota Twins roster, it becomes clear that although few from Day 3 will make it to the big leagues, it is where you can sometimes find a hidden gem. Jason Kubel was drafted out of high school by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2000 draft. He's had a very solid career. Twins cleanup hitter Josh Willingham was the 17th round pick of the Florida Marlins in 2000. Casey Fien was the Tigers 20th round pick in 2006. Caleb Thielbar was drafted by the Brewers in the 18th round of the 2009 draft. Michael Tonkin was a 30th round pick in 2008 by the Twins. Of course, in the 17th round of the 1978 draft, the Twins took a kid from Bloomington. Kent Hrbek went on to have a Twins Hall of Fame career. Of course, a year earlier in the 17th round, the Twins selected Scott Ullger, and he's still in uniform with the team! In all, 900 players will be drafted on Saturday. Which 30 will the Twins take? 11th Round (320) - Tanner English - CF - South Carolina English has game-changing speed and top-flight defensive ability. 12th Round (350) - Pat Kelly - 2B - Nebraska (from Red Wing, MN) Kelly helped recruit Ryan Boldt to Nebraska (and I thought for sure I had mentioned him in a draft story at some point, but can't find it) and now he's heading home. Eventually. Hopefully. He's homered at Target Field before, so there's that: And defense: 13th Round (380) - Zach Tillery - RHP - Florida Gulf Coast (Dunk City) 14th Round (410) - Tyler Mautner - 3B - U. of Buffalo When I saw this name the first time, I thought for sure I read "Taylor Lautner", which, of course, would be pretty radical if you're into werewolves. 15th Round (440) - Roberto Gonzalez - RF - High School (!!) My favorite Day 3 pick. I've heard great things about the Miami-Dade CC commit. He's almost like a Dominican guy, you're dreaming on him. He's raw, and that's an understatement. Has shown glimpses of plus power, speed and arm throughout the fall, but can't put them all together. Sounds like signing him could be an issue, but if that gets done, you're looking at a guy with all the tools. 16th Round (470) - Tyler Kuresa - 1B - UC-Santa Barbara (Twins drafted him in the 11th round in 2010) (Sr) 17th Round (500) - Mat Batts - LHP - UNC-Wilmington (5th-year Sr) 18th Round (530) - TJ White - 3B - UNLV 19th Round (560) - Jarrard Poteete - C - Connors State College (OK) - JC 20th Round (590) - McCarthy Tatum - 3B - Clovis (CA) high school Tatum is committed to Fresno State and will likely end up there. High school teammate of Jacob Gatewood. 21st Round (620) - Onis Farfan - LHP - Ridgewater (MN) College - JC - He's from New Hope, MN. 22nd Round (650) - Trevor Hildenberger - RHP - Cal Berkeley (5th-year Sr) 23rd Round (680) - Miles Nordgren - RHP - Birmingham Southern (Sr) 24th Round (710) - Alex Real - C - New Mexico 25th Round (740) - Taylor Hearn - LHP - San Jacinto College North (JC) 26th Round (770) - Blake Schmit - SS - Maryland (Sr) (from Eden Prairie) 27th Round (800) - Gabriel Ojeda - C - Puerto Rico HS 28th Round (830) - Austin Diemer - CF - CS Fullerton 29th Round (860) - Cameron Avila-Leeper - LHP - California HS 30th Round (890) - Theo Theofanopoulos - LHP - Cal Berkeley 31st Round (920) - Sam Hilliard - LHP - Crowder College (Missouri) 32nd Round (950) - Orynn Veillon - RHP - High School in Lafayette, Louisiana 33rd Round (980) - Trey Vavra - 1B - Florida Southern U (Joe's son, Tanner's brother) 34th Round (1,010) - Mike Baumann - RHP - Mahtomedi (MN) High School 35th Round (1,040) - Brad Mathiowetz - C - Rochester Mayo High School (MN) 36th Round (1,070) - Kirvin Moesquit - SS - High School in Florida 37th Round (1,100) - Tyree Davis - CF - High School in California 38th Round (1,130) - Brett Doe - C - Baylor University 39th Round (1,160) - John Jones - C - High School in Florida (Orlando, again) 40th Round (1,190) - Dalton Guthrie - SS - High School in Florida. He is the son of former Twins pitcher Mark Guthrie. Click here to view the article

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David Ortiz hit the big ALCS grand slam that was nearly caught by a toppling Torii Hunter. It was a reminder of how many former Twins players had strong 2013 seasons. Each of the four remaining teams have at least one former Twins player. Very little annoys me more than people complaining about former Twins players succeeding with other organizations, forgetting the back stories when they left the Twins. Sure, letting David Ortiz go looks horrible in retrospect, but at the time it was a ho-hum decision. Seeing AJ Pierzynski still playing and contributing bothers some, yet who did the Twins get in that trade? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Torii Hunter? Yes, he has defied the normal aging process and been very good. There are bad losses in this group. Everyone loved the Carlos Gomez for JJ Hardy trade, and no one understood (or understands) what the thinking was when the Twins traded JJ Hardy for Jim HJoey and Brett Jacobson. And, the Wilson Ramos for Matt Capps deal… Yeah. I think we all know the reasoning behind Joe Nathan and Michael Cuddyer leaving the Twins organization, but come on, no one was disappointed when the Twins let RA Dickey go. Hindsight is a beautiful thing. No question. But, I enjoyed all of these former Twins players during their time in Minnesota, and there’s no reason not to enjoy their continued success. But maybe I’m in the minority and I should just be bitter. Maybe? Here is a look at some of the top performances by former Twins in the big leagues in 2013! THE CATCHERS AJ Pierzynski ($7.5M) – Texas Rangers - .272/.297/.425 (.722) with 24 doubles, 17 homers and 70 RBI. Wilson Ramos ($0.5M) – Washington Nationals - .272/.307/.380 (.717) with 9 doubles, 16 homers and 59 RBI. A pretty nice lefty-righty platoon opportunity. Sure, neither gets on base, but both do show some power. Pierzynski was traded way back before the 2004 season to the Giants. Ramos was traded during the 2009 season to the Nationals. THE INFIELDERS/DHs David Ortiz ($14M) – Boston Red Sox - .309/.395/.564 (.959) with 38 doubles, 30 homers and 103 RBI. Garrett Jones ($4.5M) – Pittsburgh Pirates - .233/.289/.419 (.708) with 26 doubles, 15 homers and 51 RBI. JJ Hardy ($7M) – Baltimore Orioles - .263/.306/.433 (.738) with 27 doubles, 25 homers and 76 RBI. Nick Punto ($1.5M) – Los Angeles Dodgers - .255/.328/.327 (.655) with 15 doubles, 2 homers and 21 RBI. Danny Valencia ($0.5M) – Baltimore Orioles - .304/.335/.553 (.888) with 14 doubles, 8 homers and 23 RBI. Ortiz miraculously has had another spectacular season. The Twins non-tendered him more than a decade ago and no other teams claimed him. Boston decided to give him a chance in spring training. The rest is, as they say, is documented in various reports. Garrett Jones never really had a chance with the Twins since Jason Kubel was the DH, Justin Morneau was at 1B, Michael Cuddyer was in RF and Delmon Young was in LF. He had some good years with the Pirates, though not this year. Hardy had his injury-plagued season with the Twins and I’m sure they’d love to have given him another shot. Punto remains one of baseball’s better fielders. He played all over that Dodgers infield this year. Valencia was up and down between AAA and the big leagues, but was given a chance to play against left-handed pitching and came through. Download attachment: Michael-Cuddyer-Colorado-Rockies.jpg THE OUTFIELDERS Michael Cuddyer ($10.5M) – Colorado Rockies - .331/.389/.530 (.919) with 31 doubles, 20 homers and 84 RBI. Torii Hunter ($12M) – Detroit Tigers - .304/.334/.465 (.800) with 37 doubles, 17 homers and 84 RBI. Carlos Gomez ($4.3M) – Milwaukee Brewers - .284/.338/.500 (.843) with 27 doubles, 10 triples, 24 homers, 73 RBI, 40 SB. Denard Span ($4.75M) – Washington Nationals - .279/.327/.380 (.707) with 28 doubles, 11 triples, 4 homers, 47 RBI, 20 SB. Ben Revere ($0.515M) – Philadelphia Phillies - .305/.338/.352 (.691) with 9 doubles, 3 triples, 0 homers and 17 RBI. Delmon Young ($1.2M) – Phillies/Rays - .260/.307/.407 (.715) with 16 doubles, 11 homers and 38 RBI. I think it’s fair to say some of these former Twins outfielders came through with big seasons. Cuddyer was healthy and won the NL batting title. Hunter continues to defy the aging process and hit well with Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder batting behind him. Gomez has finally put it all together, all those tremendous tools. He has become the five-tool talent the Twins acquired from the Mets but didn’t see. Denard Span had a solid inaugural season with the Nationals, though it’s fair to assume he’ll want a higher on-base percentage. He did a great job of patrolling the team’s outfield, with no errors on the season. Revere got off to a very slow start in Philly, but after losing some playing time he took off, and as things were getting really good, he unfortunately broke his foot and missed the rest of the season. Delmon Young wasn’t very good, but did show some power. The Phillies DFAd him, and he re-signed with the Rays. Download attachment: Francisco Liriano.jpg THE STARTERS Francisco Liriano ($1M + up to $3.75M in incentives) – Pittsburgh Pirates – 16-8, 3.02 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, 9.1 K/9 Kyle Lohse ($11M) – Milwaukee Brewers – 11-10, 3.35 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 1.6 BB/9, 5.7 K/9 RA Dickey ($5.5M) – Toronto Blue Jays – 14-13, 4.21 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 7.1 K/9 Matt Garza ($10.25M) – Cubs/Rangers – 10-6, 3.82 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, 7.9 K/9 Jason Marquis ($3M) – San Diego Padres – 9-5, 4.65 ERA, 1.52 WHIP, 5.2 BB/9, 5.5 K/9 It is fair to say Liriano exceeded all expectations in 2013 with the Pirates. Of course, we’ve seen this before. Liriano put up very similar numbers in 2010, so it will be interesting to see if Liriano has truly flipped a switch or if he’s only having another good year. Of course, he was set to make much more money but it got reduced when he hurt his right arm scaring his kids. Lohse signed late but he proved worth the contract, at least in its first year. Dickey came back down to earth a bit with his move to the American League, but he still ate a ton of innings. Garza has been really solid since coming up with the Twins in 2006, but he is yet to take that next step to be an ace, yet. THE RELIEVERS Joe Nathan ($7M) – Texas Rangers – 6-2, 43 Saves, 1.39 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, 10.2 K/9 Grant Balfour ($4.5M) – Oakland A’s – 1-3, 38 Saves, 2.59 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, 10.3 K/9 Craig Breslow ($2.325M) – Boston Red Sox – 5-2, 1.81 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 5.0 K/9 Jesse Crain ($4.5M) – Chicago White Sox – 2-3, 0.74 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, 11.3 K/9 LaTroy Hawkins ($1M) – NY Mets – 3-2, 2.93 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 1.3 BB/9, 7.0 K/9 Pat Neshek ($0.975M) – Oakland A’s – 2-1, 3.35 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 6.5 K/9 Matt Guerrier ($3.75M) – Dodgers/Cubs – 4-4, 4.01 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 6.3 K/9 Joe Nathan has completely recovered from his Tommy John surgery to be just as good as he was when he was younger. Balfour was hurt often during his time with the Twins. He had Tommy John surgery and shoulder surgery within a two year period. But he has come back strong, ten years later, and become an intimidating closer. Breslow has been one of baseball’s best left-handed relievers since his days with the Twins. Crain figured out something in May of 2010 and he has been as good as any reliever in the game since then. He did miss the final three months of this season with shoulder problems. LaTroy Hawkins is another guy who defies age. He had his best season in years in 2013! Download attachment: David Ortiz Torii Hunter.jpg ALL FORMER TWINS LINEUP Denard Span LF ($4.75M) Carlos Gomez CF ($4.3M) Michael Cuddyer 1B ($10.5M) David Ortiz DH ($14M) Torii Hunter RF ($12M) JJ Hardy SS ($7M) Danny Valencia 3B ($0.5M) AJ Pierzynski C ($7.5M) Nick Punto 2B ($1.5M) Francisco Liriano SP ($1M) Closer – Joe Nathan ($7M); RH Set-Up – Jesse Crain ($4.5M); LH Set-Up – Craig Breslow $2.325M). Total salaries ($76.875 million) for 13 players. Total salaries for the 25 player roster mentioned above? $123.565. That’s a pretty impressive roster. I didn’t include Justin Morneau since he was only gone for a month. I didn’t include Jason Kubel, who made $7.5 million in 2013 and played horribly after a tremendous 2012 season. It didn’t include the $5 million that the Cubs gave to Scott Baker for three starts and 15 innings. It didn’t include Philip Humber, who went 0-8 with a 7.90 ERA before being DFAd by the Astros. It’s fun for me to see former Twins players sticking around and being very successful with other organizations. There have been plenty to follow! Click here to view the article

I mentioned when I wrote my Notes from Day 3 in Beloit that due to travel, returning to work and some other things, I may not get to Notes from Day 4 for a bit. I really didn’t want it to take almost a week. However, it has. That said, I still feel compelled to write more about my trip to Beloit because it was such a great time. The Snappers are playing really well. Their lineup is really coming together well. Their starting staff has been terrific, generally providing the team with a Quality Start. And, the bullpen is full of very hard-throwers. This weekend, the Snappers returned to Beloit after a brief road trip. Starting last night, they play three games against Peoria, the Cubs affiliate. They just promoted high-profile Cuban defector outfielder Jorge Soler to the Midwest League. Let’s get back to my Beloit trip. If you missed the first days, be sure to read my Notes from Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Sunday started with a quiet morning of writing. After checking out of the hotel, we met Jim Crikket at Applebees for lunch before heading over to the ballpark. The crowds on Thursday and Friday night were fairly small. On Saturday night, the attendance doubled, in part due to postgame fireworks. On Sunday, the Snappers have a great promotion. The first 500 fans would receive a Prince Fielder Beast Mode bobblearms. The line outside Pohlman Field wrapped around the outfield fence and out into the parking lot. Wisely, the first 500 fans got wristbands, and after the 5th inning, they were able to claim their Fielder Bobble arm. The Snappers were playing the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the affiliate of Brewers. Milwaukee is about an hour from Beloit, so there are always a few more fans when this team comes to town. The teams didn’t take batting practice. However, in the batting cage behind the third base, manager Nelson Prada was throwing to Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas and Tyler Grimes. The game was great. The Snappers won handily. Miguel Sano ripped a long, opposite field home run. It’s probably about 375 to the right centerfield gap, and there is an advertisement board that is probably 20 feet high. The homer went over that. Later, JD Williams ripped a long grand slam that really put the game out of reach. Like Matt Tomshaw and Jason Wheeler the two previous games, David Hurlbut was terrific, giving up just one hit over the first six innings. Tim Atherton went two innings, and Mason Melotakis pitched an inning in relief. After talking to several players and coaches following the game, I enjoyed being a call-in guest of the Gleeman and the Geek podcast. We talked about the Beloit team, but we also talked a lot about Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia and more. I had a chance to see GM Matt Bosen and Director of Media and Community Relations Chrissy Scaffidi before leaving. These two are great. They both work so hard. So does the entire Snappers front office. Seriously, I need to thank especially Chrissy for making the four day trip so great. They were very helpful and accommodating. It was great to catch up with other Twins bloggers like Jeremy Nygaard and Jim Crikket. (be sure to read his blog on his two days in Beloit.) It was good to see AJ Pettersen, who as you know writes here at Twins Daily regularly, again. It was nice to see his brother Josh again. It was great to meet a few more players that I’ve chatted with or tweeted with. Beloit is a great place for minor league baseball. I know that you will likely read many opinions to the contrary, but for all its downfalls, Pohlman Field provides an atmosphere that encourages fan interaction. I enjoyed meeting the fans, and seeing the players talk to fans between the dugout and their clubhouse. That is not the case other places around baseball. Why they don’t get more fans there, I will never understand. I have now made the trip over to Beloit three straight seasons, and I hope to continue that trend in coming years. There is still nearly a month of regular season remaining, so be sure to consider a trip out there. Check out their website and see when they are at home. In fact, the Snappers are hosting the Peoria team the next couple of days. You could see Jorge Soler as well. This Snappers team is fun to watch. They won a playoff spot in the first half, and it appears that they are setting their roster for the playoffs. The lineup is pretty solid. Nate Roberts and JD Williams are doing a very good job at the top of the order. Then the 3-4-5 punch of Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas is powerful. Drew Leachman is coming on again. Their starting rotation has been pitching really well of late, and they have some very strong arms pitching well in the bullpen. We left Beloit at about 5:30, and we got back to the Twin Cities by shortly after 11. Of course, Monday was full of more driving for me. Left the Cities at about 8:30 and got to Perham at about 12:15. Left there about 2:15 and got back to Warroad by 6. Below, you will find a few more pictures from Day 4: Download attachment: Hurlbut Warmup.jpg David Hurlbut warming up before the game with pitching coach Gary Lucas watching. Download attachment: JD Williams.jpg JD Williams Download attachment: Wang-Wei Lin Sign.jpg Wang-Wei Lin signing autographs before the game. Download attachment: Corey Williams.jpg Corey Williams playing a game with a fan. Download attachment: Tyler Jones.jpg Tyler Jones Download attachment: National Anthem by Dugout.jpg National Anthem Line Up Download attachment: Sano Warmup.jpg Miguel Sano warming up Download attachment: Sano after HR.jpg Sano after home run Download attachment: Rosario AB.jpg Eddie Rosario at bat Download attachment: Kennys Vargas Connecting.jpg Kennys Vargas connecting. Download attachment: Sano Fielding.jpg Miguel Sano at third base. Download attachment: Melotakis Warmup.jpg Mason Melotakis warming up. Download attachment: PostGame 1.jpg Postgame - JD Williams Download attachment: PostGame2.jpg Postgame - Nate Roberts and his mustache and Tyler Grimes Download attachment: PostGame 3.jpg Tommy Watkins high-fiving Eddie Rosario with Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano behind. Download attachment: PostGame4.jpg Postgame - Jairo Rodriguez and Drew Leachman Download attachment: PostGame 5.jpg Postgame - Dallas Gallant and other bullpen arms. Click here to view the article

Kyle Gibson returned to the mound and after struggling in recent starts, he recorded his first win in a month as the Twins topped the Mariners 5-4. Brian Dozier homered for the tenth time this season and Josmil Pinto hit his sixth home run. Glen Perkins made it interesting in the ninth, but recorded the save. In the minor leagues, Mike Pelfrey and Josh Willingham returned to the field in rehab appearances with the Red Wings. There is an unsung player putting up tremendous numbers in New Britain over an 11 game hitting streak while a hitting streak reaches 13 games in Ft. Myers. The Cedar Rapids Kernels are streaking in the wrong direction. Download attachment: Alex Wimmers.jpg Let’s look at the goings on in the Twins system: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Columbus 2 Box Score Rochester’s game was the first opportunity for Mike Pelfrey and Josh Willingham to play for a while. Pelfrey made a rehab start for the Red Wings and threw 81 pitches in five innings. He gave up one run on five hits and a walk. He struck out three. Edgar Ibarra struck out three in two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked one. AJ Achter gave up one run on one hit over two innings to record his third Red Wings save. He struck out three and walked none. Josh Willingham batted fifth and was the DH. He went 0-4 with a strikeout in his first game in over a month. Chris Herrmann’s torrid streak continued. He went 2-4 and his now hitting .467 (14-30) since his demotion. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4 and hit his second home run. Deibinson Romero was 2-4 with his eighth double. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Harrisburg 3 Box Score With how well Kennys Vargas has been hitting the last few weeks, Reynaldo Rodriguez is quietly putting up great numbers too. Coming into this game, he was hitting .476/.500/.738 (1.238) with two doubles and three home runs in his past ten games. On this night, he extended his hitting streak to 11 games with an eighth-inning, two-run home (his seventh) that gave the Rock Cats the lead, a lead they held on to. Corey Wimberly went 2-5. Nate Hanson and Brandon Waring each hit a double. Matt Koch and AJ Pettersen both went 1-3 with a walk. Pat Dean gave up some hits, but at the end of the night, he had another quality start. He gave up three runs on 11 hits in six innings. He struck out three and walked none. Dan Turpen gave up a hit and walked three over 1.1 innings. Lester Oliveros came on, walked three and got the final five outs to record his sixth save. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Daytona 2 Box Score Alex Wimmers was due. He had given up 23 runs in his last three starts. Although eight of the runs in his last start were unearned, he has been getting hit. On this night, the former #1 pick was back in good form. He gave up just one run on two hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out eight. Sometimes we forget that this is his first season after Tommy John surgery and a second arm surgery. There will be some ups and downs, but he needed a good start. Steven Gruver went the next two innings. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out three. Brian Gilbert pitched a scoreless ninth inning, walked one and struck out one. Jorge Polanco extended his hitting streak to 13 games. He went 2-4 with his eighth double. He drove in the Miracle run as well. Travis Harrison was also 2-4. The two combined for four of the team’s six hits in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 8 Box Score Aaron Slegers struggled and lost for the first time this season (4-1). He gave up six runs (5 earned) on nine hits and a walk. He struck out seven. Alex Muren pitched the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out three. The Kernels’ bats managed just five hits in the game. Mitch Garver went 2-4 with his third stolen base. Michael Quesada hit his first home run of the year. JD Williams doubled, and Bryan Haar hit his second triple of the year. The loss was the seventh straight for the Kernels. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Logan Darnell (Listen) New Britain @ Harrisburg (DH @ 5:00 CST) – Matt Summers, Virgil Vasquez (Listen) Daytona @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST) – Ryan Eades (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over the Seattle Mariners 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

After a one-day break, we return today with Part 3 of the Minnesota Twins Top 50 Prospects. After looking at prospects 41-50 earlier in the week, today I'll present prospects 36-40. Be sure to check the links to the previous pieces of this list at the bottom of this article for background into what is considered while making these lists. As always, feel free to discuss each of these players and the rankings of those discussed to this point. Part 3: Prospects 36-40[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In this group, there are some pitchers with #3 upside and some question marks. For one, the question is health and how well he will be able to come back. For others, the question will be whether or not the Twins should have them start or push them to the bullpen? This is definitely not an easy question to answer, and those answers are not needed right away. The fifth person within this list is a very talented, athletic catcher. #40 – Alex Wimmers – RH SP (24) The Twins made Wimmers their first round pick in 2010 out of Ohio State. In 2011, he fought control issues, but came back with a season-ending no-hitter. He made one start in 2012 for New Britain and went on the DL. Later in the summer, he had Tommy John surgery and missed all of the 2013 season with the exception of a few rehab appearances in the GCL. Will the Twins add him to their 40 man roster next month? Regardless, 2014 is a huge year for him. In four minor league seasons, he’s made just 16 starts (counting 6 rehab starts in the GCL in 2013). When healthy, he has a low-90s fastball and a very good changeup and a curveball. Despite injury, he still has the ability to be a mid-rotation type. #39 - Tim Atherton – RH SP (23) The Australian right-hander originally signed with the Twins in 2007 as a hitter, but after being released in 2008, he returned to the Twins in 2011, this time as a pitcher. At Cedar Rapids this year, he made 20 relief appearances before moving into the rotation for 11 starts. His numbers were similar in both roles. He struck out nearly a batter per inning as a starter after striking out 42 in 33.1 innings as a reliever. He has good stuff, tops 90 mph with a fastball and has a very deceptive delivery. Atherton pitched the final innings of a Cedar Rapids no-hitter in early April, a game started by... #38 – Tyler Duffey – RH SP (22) After the Twins used their 5th round pick a year ago on Duffey, he walked two and struck out 27 in 19 relief innings in Elizabethton. He moved into the starting rotation this year in Cedar Rapids and in his first start, he worked the first seven innings of a combined no-hitter. He made nine starts with the Kernels before moving up to Ft. Myers where he made nine more starts and six relief appearances. It would be great to see him strike more out, but he does have a good pitch-mix so it’ll be interesting to see if he can remain in the rotation. Download attachment: CR NoNo.jpg Photo by Rinaldi Photos L to R: Tyler Duffey, Jairo Rodriguez, Josue Montanez, Tim Atherton #37 – Mason Melotakis – LH SP (22) Melotakis was the Twins 2nd round pick in 2012 out of Northwestern State (LA) where he was primarily a reliever. He made 20 relief appearances last year between Elizabethton and Beloit. He was moved to the rotation in 2013 with Cedar Rapids and spent the entire season with the Kernels. He went 11-4 with a 3.16 ERA. He made 16 starts before ending the season with eight games in relief. As a starter, his fastball sat between 89 and 92. As a reliever, he would occasionally hit 97. So, like Duffey, the question will be (and has been since he was drafted), do you want him to start and take longer to possibly get to the big leagues, or should he go to the bullpen where he could move up more quickly? #36 – Brian Navarreto – C (18) Navarreto was the Twins 6th round pick this past June out of high school in Florida. At 6-4 and 220 pounds, he is a very strong, very athletic catcher with a powerful arm and powerful bat. In high school, he unfortunately made a name for himself for reasons that one would not want to be known, but he has tremendous talent. He hit just .226 in the GCL in his pro debut, but had 10 doubles and three homers. He also threw out 34% of would-be base stealers. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So there you have it, Part 3 of my Top 50 Twins Prospect list. We'll be back tomorrow with Part 4, prospects 31-35. Part 1: 46-50 Part 2: 41-45 Click here to view the article