-
Posts
25,870 -
Joined
-
Last visited
-
Days Won
109
Content Type
Profiles
News
Minnesota Twins Videos
2026 Minnesota Twins Top Prospects Ranking
2022 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks
Minnesota Twins Free Agent & Trade Rumors, Notes, & Tidbits
Guides & Resources
2023 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks
The Minnesota Twins Players Project
2024 Minnesota Twins Draft Picks
2025 Minnesota Twins Draft Pick Tracker
2026 Minnesota Twins Draft Tracker: Picks & Bonuses
Forums
Blogs
Events
Store
Downloads
Gallery
Everything posted by Seth Stohs
-
When you’ve followed the Minnesota Twins farm system for as long as I have, you can’t help but root for the underdog. It’s easy to be a fan of Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and other top prospects, no question about that. But the fun part of following the farm system, for me at least, is that there is no one way to the big leagues. There are many different paths. Andrew Albers is the latest example of a guy who didn’t exactly take a direct route through the minors to the big leagues. What a story! He is the third player to debut with the Twins this season after spending time in independent baseball. It’s about the Doug Berniers, a 33-year-old who already had a cup of coffee, but he wants to keep playing. It’s about Tommy Watkins, who spent so many years in the Twins farm system, usually as his team’s 24th or 25th man, and eventually getting to the big leagues. Chris Heintz is another example.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] That’s what these reports are about. It’s recognizing the players who are working every day in an attempt to get to the big leagues or to get back to the big leagues. It’s about the first round picks, the 40th round picks, the undrafted, the sure-things and the long-shots. Before we start with the updates from Tuesday’s game, check out this Get to Know ‘Em video by the Elizabethton Twins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pd4611I4ZK0 Check out what else happened in the Twins' minor league system Tuesday: Rochester 6, Durham 4 Box Score Scott Diamond reported to Rochester and made his first appearance since being optioned last week. The lefty gave up just three hits over six innings. However, he gave up four runs, thanks in large part to four walks, and the fact that one of those hits was a grand slam. He struck out three. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Cody Eppley came on and got an out. Edgar Ibarra got the final out of the eighth, but not before walking two. He started the ninth inning too, but he walked the first two batters. AJ Achter came on and recorded his first AAA save. He walked one and struck out two. Jeff Clement was the team’s player of the week, and his streak continued on Tuesday. He went 3-5 with his 18th double and 15th home run. James Beresford was 2-4 with a double, his third with the Wings. Eduardo Escobar hit his first home run. Deibinson Romero went 2-4. Josh Willingham went 0-3 in his time. He was replaced by Eric Farris who went 2-2. New Britain 13, Erie 6 Box Score It’s always a fun day when you score 13 runs, but a lot of players contributed to that offense. Miguel Sano went 3-5 with his eighth double, his 11th AA home run and three RBI. It was his 27th total home run of the season. Danny Santana went 2-5 with a walk, his 20th double and his 23rd stolen base. Eddie Rosario went 2-6 with his third triple. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-5 with his 25th double. Dan Rohlfing was 2-5 with three RBI. Jordan Parraz was 2-5. Wilkin Ramirez went 3-3 with a walk and his first double. Matt Summers was the pitcher of the month for July. His work earned him a promotion to the Rock Cats. He started and gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out three. Blake Martin came on and was charged with two unearned runs on two hits and a walk. He recorded just two outs before he was replaced by Daniel Turpen. He gave up two runs on two hits over the final 2.1 innings. Ft. Myers Miracle The Miracle had played 20 straight days before getting on off day on Tuesday. Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 7 Box Score The Kernels’ got Mark Appel’ed on this night. They got Carlos Correa’ed all weekend. Starting with the #1 overall pick of the 2012 draft, Correa went 12-18 in the four game series. Appel started on Tuesday night and grabbed his first professional win. He went five innings. He gave up two earned runs on two hits. He walked one and struck out two. He, and the River Bats bullpen limited the Kernels to just four hits. Joel Licon drove in two runs with a single. Jorge Polanco doubled for the 27th time. Josue Montanez drew the short straw to pitch against Appel. The left-hander gave up five runs on five hits. He walked none and struck out five in seven innings. Consider that Quad Cities did not leave a runner on base the whole game. Dallas Gallant got the next five outs, but not before allowing two runs (1 earned) on two hits. Brandon Bixler got the final out, but not before giving up two hits. Game 1 - Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 4 Box Score The E-Twins bats have been pretty poor in 2013. In game one, the team recorded just four hits. Tanner Vavra was 1-2 with a walk. Josh Burris started. He gave up four runs on three hits in 5.1 innings. He walked five and struck out seven. Aaron Slegers came on and gave up two hits, but no runs, in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Game 2 - Elizabethton 1, Johnson City 4 Box Score It was more of the same in game two. The E-Twins managed just three hits. Zach Granite went 1-2 with a walk. Yorman Landa started and went jut four innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on four hits and three walks. He struck out three. Andrew Ferreira came on and gave up one run on one hits over two innings. He struck out two. Carson Goldsmith struck out two in a scoreless final inning. GCL Twins 8, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Lewis Thorpe has been as good, or better, than advertised. The lefty from Australia, who signed just a year ago, worked the first five innings. He gave up two unearned runs on four hits and a walk in five innings; he struck out eight. Thorpe has been tremendous. In 32.2 innings, he has walked three and struck out 46. He was replaced by Seth Wagner, the Twins 39th round draft pick in June of out high school. He made his professional debut and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Luke Bard came on and gave up one hit and struck one out in his inning. Josh Guyer gave up a hit, but he struck out three in his inning. Reyson Zoquiel walked one and struck out one in his inning. Lots of GCL Twins had one hit, but Adonis Pacheco was the only one who had two. The team had just six total hits. Engelb Vielma had the lone extra base hit, his second double. The team was helped by eight walks. Jason Kanzler did his job as leadoff man. He got on with a single and also walked twice. Will Hurt and Brian Navarreto also walked twice. Hurt stole his fifth base while Zach Larson stole his ninth. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.
-
Twins Minor League Report (8/6): Rock Cat Bats Bash
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
When you’ve followed the Minnesota Twins farm system for as long as I have, you can’t help but root for the underdog. It’s easy to be a fan of Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and other top prospects, no question about that. But the fun part of following the farm system, for me at least, is that there is no one way to the big leagues. There are many different paths. Andrew Albers is the newest example of a guy who didn’t exactly make a direct trip through the minors to the big leagues. What a story! He is the third player to debut with the Twins this season after spending time in independent baseball. It’s about the Doug Bernier’s, a 33-year-old who already had a cup of coffee, but he wants to keep playing. It’s about Tommy Watkins, who spent so many years in the Twins farm system, usually as his team’s 24th or 25th man, and eventually getting to the big leagues. Chris Heintz is another example. That’s what these reports are about. It’s recognizing the players who are working every day in an attempt to get to the big leagues or to get back to the big leagues. It’s about the first round picks, the 40th round picks, the undrafted, the sure-things and the long-shots. Before we start with the updates from Tuesday’s game, check out this Get to Know ‘Em video by the Elizabethton Twins: [video=youtube;pd4611I4ZK0] Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Tuesday: Rochester 6, Durham 4 Box Score Scott Diamond reported to Rochester and made his first appearance since being optioned last week. The left gave up just three hits over six innings. However, he gave up four runs, thanks in large part to four walks, and the fact that one of those hits was a grand slam. He struck out three. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Cody Eppley came on and got an out. Edgar Ibarra got the final out of the eighth, but not before walking two. He started the ninth inning too, but he walked the first two batters. AJ Achter came on and recorded his first AAA Save. He walked one and struck out two. Jeff Clement was the team’s player of the week, and his streak continued on Tuesday. He went 3-5 with his 18th double and 15th home run. James Beresford was 2-4 with a double, his third with the Wings. Eduardo Escobar hit his first home run. Deibinson Romero went 2-4. Josh Willingham went 0-3 in his time. He was replaced by Eric Farris who went 2-2. New Britain 13, Erie 6 Box Score It’s always a fun day when you score 13 runs, but a lot of players contributed to that offense. Miguel Sano went 3-5 with his eighth double, his 11th AA home run, and three RBI. It was his 27th total home run of the season. Danny Santana went 2-5 with a walk, his 20th double and his 23rd stolen base. Eddie Rosario went 2-6 with his third triple. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-5 with his 25th double. Dan Rohlfing was 2-5 with three RBI. Jordan Parraz was 2-5. Wilkin Ramirez went 3-3 with a walk and his first double. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5132[/ATTACH] Matt Summers was the pitcher of the month for July. That earned him a promotion to the Rock Cats. He started and gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out three. Blake Martin came on and was charged with two unearned runs on two hits and a walk. He recorded just two outs before he was replaced by Daniel Turpen. He gave up two runs on two hits over the final 2.1 innings. Ft. Myers Miracle The Miracle played 20 straight days before getting on off day on Tuesday. Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 7 Box Score The Kernels’ got Mark Appel’d on this night. They got Carlos Correa’d all weekend. Starting with the #1 overall pick of the 2012 draft, Correa went 12-18 in the four game series. Appel started on Tuesday night and grabbed his first professional win. He went five innings. He gave up two earned runs on two hits. He walked one and struck out two. He, and the River Bats bullpen, limited the Kernels to just four hits. Joel Licon drove in two runs with a single. Jorge Polanco doubled for the 27th time. Josue Montanez drew the short straw to pitch against Appel. The left-hander gave up five runs on five hits. He walked none and struck out five in seven innings. Consider that Quad Cities did not leave a runner on base the whole game. Dallas Gallant got the next five outs, but not before allowing two runs (1 Earned) on two hits. Brandon Bixler got the final out, but not before giving up two hits. Game 1 - Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 4 Box Score The E-Twins bats have been pretty poor in 2013. In game one, the team recorded just four hits. Tanner Vavra was 1-2 with a walk. Josh Burris started. He gave up four runs on three hits in 5.1 innings. He walked five and struck out seven. Aaron Slegers came on and gave up two hits, but no runs, in 1.2 innings. He struck out three. Game 2 - Elizabethton 1, Johnson City 4 Box Score It was more of the same in game two. The E-Twins managed just three hits. Zach Granite went 1-2 with a walk. Yorman Landa started and went jut four innings. He gave up three runs (1 earned) on four hits and three walks. He struck out three. Andrew Ferreira came on and gave up one run on one hits over two innings. He struck out two. Carson Goldsmith struck out two in a scoreless final inning. GCL Twins 8, GCL Rays 2 Box Score Lewis Thorpe has been as good, or better, than advertised. The lefty from Australia, who signed just a year ago, worked the first five innings. He gave up two unearned runs on four hits and a walk in five innings .He struck out eight. Thorpe this season has been tremendous. In 32.2 innings, he has walked three and struck out 46. He was replaced by Seth Wagner, the Twins 39th round draft pick in June of out high school. He made his professional debut and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Luke Bard came on and gave up one hit and struck one out in his inning. Josh Guyer gave up a hit, but he struck out three in his inning. Reyson Zoquiel walked one and struck out one in his inning. Lots of GCL Twins had one hit, but Adonis Pacheco was the only one that had two hits. The team had just six total hits. Engelb Vielma had the lone extra base hit, his second double. The team was helped by eight walks. Jason Kanzler did his job as the leadoff man. He got on with a single and also walked twice. Will Hurt and Brian Navarreto also walked twice. Hurt stole his fifth base while Zach Larson stole his ninth. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Report (8/6): Rock Cat Bats Bash
Seth Stohs posted a blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
-
Anyone that looked at the Minnesota Twins roster coming out of spring training new that the team would not be competing with the Detroit Tigers in 2013. So, in my mind, 2013 would be all about development and improvement. Those two things would be the keys, the things I would be looking for, in 2013. From a development standpoint, the Twins farm system continues to add talent, and the top ranked players are continuing to improve as they move up. From an improvement standpoint, there were a couple of players at the big league level that we needed to watch. While a couple of players have seemingly reached a (hopefully) temporary plateau, a couple of others have needed time at AAA. Fortunately, one player has possibly taken a step forward in his career. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5109[/ATTACH] Now, if you take a look at the season total numbers for Brian Dozier, they won’t create any excitement. In 94 total games this season, Dozier is hitting just .236/.307/.394 (.701). That makes him a slightly below average major league second baseman. However, when you consider that in 84 games in 2012, Dozier hit just .234/.271/.332 (.603), it is a huge step forward. A nearly .100 point improvement is significant. One thing that I always look for is player improvement over time. Consider the below: [TABLE] Opening Day through 5/27 5/28 through 8/4 Games 37 57 H-AB 27-137 54-206 BB:K 8:33 24:38 BA .197 .262 OBP .238 .350 SLG .270 .476 OPS .508 .826 [/TABLE] Of course, if you want, you can pick apart many small sample sizes and come up with numbers, but I do think that the streak that Dozier has been on for the last nine weeks is enough of a sample that we can draw something from it. What do I see? He’s walking significantly more, while also improving his strikeout rate some. His batting average jumped .065 points, but more important, his on-base percentage is suddenly up into the category where he is an asset near the top of the lineup. He’s also hit for much more power. What if Dozier would have started the season by posting that .826 OPS over the first two months of the season, instead of struggling so much again? Well, that .826 OPS would be behind only Robinson Cano and Jason Kipnis among all AL second basemen. If Dozier can continue to control the plate as he has from the leadoff spot, I think that an OPS of .750-.775 is reasonable. Is it something he could carry over into next year? People may forget, but he only turned 26 years old in mid-May. He still has just 725 plate appearances in his big league career. However, as much improvement as we have seen at the plate from Dozier, what he has done in the field is even more remarkable. A year ago, Dozier played 84 games with the Twins at shortstop and really struggled. To be fair, so did Pedro Florimon, so we should not make too much of it. With Florimon playing tremendous defense at shortstop, Dozier has made the transition to second base, and he has done so nearly flawlessly. By the eye test, Dozier just looks like a natural at second base. He makes the routine plays look routine, and he has very good range to his left and his right, and enough arm to make the tougher throws from behind second base. He charges the ball well when needed and goes out on pop ups very well. He looks very comfortable at second base, but what do the defensive metrics tell us? He has just three errors and a .994 fielding percentage. That fielding percentage is tops in baseball, tied with Dustin Pedroia and Ben Zobrist. Zobrist has spent less time at second. It is interesting to note that despite playing in 19 less games than Pedroia, he has just two less putouts and five less assists, which means that he’s getting to more plays per game. Is that more range, or is that just more ground balls from pitchers? That we don’t know, but it is impressive. If you were to look at a statistic called Range Factor, which is a good measure of range, Dozier is posting a 5.63. Neil Walker is number two in MLB with a 5.20 Range Factor. The second-base Range Factor in the American League is A’s second baseman Eric Sogard. His UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating, calculated over 150 games) of 2.8, Dozier ranks fourth in the AL among second basemen. Of course, like any of these stats, they have to be taken as small sample size an could still vary over time. By any measure, Brian Dozier has been terrific defensively. If Dozier continues to post an OPS in the .750-.775 range (maybe even over .800?), and his defense remains tremendous, could you see a scenario where the Twins would move Eddie Rosario back out to left field or right field and play in an outfield with Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia for a couple of years until Byron Buxton is ready? Who knows what will happen over the final two months of the season? Will Dozier continue posting an .800+ OPS, or will he revert to the sub-.600 OPS that we saw from him early this season and throughout 2012? But, right now, the trend is moving in the right direction.
-
Anyone looking at the Minnesota Twins roster coming out of spring training knew that the team would not be competing with the Detroit Tigers in 2013. So, in my mind, 2013 would be all about development and improvement. Those two things would be the keys, the things I would be looking for, in 2013. From a development standpoint, the Twins farm system continues to add talent, and the top ranked players are continuing to improve as they move up. From an improvement standpoint, there were a couple players at the big league level we needed to watch. While a couple of players have seemingly reached a (we hope) temporary plateau, a couple of others have needed time at AAA. Fortunately, one player has taken a step forward in his career.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Now, if you take a look at the season total numbers for Brian Dozier, they won’t create any excitement. In 94 total games this season, Dozier is hitting just .236/.307/.394 (.701). That makes him , offensively, a slightly below average major league second baseman. However, when you consider that in 84 games in 2012, Dozier hit just .234/.271/.332 (.603), it is a huge step forward. A nearly .100 point improvement is significant. One thing that I always look for is player improvement over time. Consider the comparisons below: [TABLE] [/TD][TD]Opening Day through 5/27 5/28 through 8/4 Games 37 57 H-AB 27-137 54-206 BB:K 8:33 24:38 BA .197 .262 OBP .238 .350 SLG .270 .476 OPS .508 .826 [/TABLE] Of course, if you want, you can pick apart many small sample sizes and come up with other numbers, but I do think that the streak that Dozier has been on for the last nine weeks is enough of a sample that we can draw something from it. What do I see? He’s walking significantly more, while also improving his strikeout rate some. His batting average jumped .065 points, but more important, his on-base percentage is suddenly up into the range where he is an asset near the top of the lineup. He’s also hit for much more power. What if Dozier had started the season by posting that .826 OPS over the first two months of the season, instead of struggling so much? Well, that .826 OPS would be behind only Robinson Cano and Jason Kipnis among AL second basemen. If Dozier can continue to control the plate as he has from the leadoff spot, I think an OPS of .750-.775 is reasonable. Is it something he can carry over into next year? People may forget, but he only turned 26 years old in mid-May. He still has just 725 plate appearances in his big league career. However, as much improvement as we have seen at the plate from Dozier, what he has done in the field is even more remarkable. A year ago, Dozier played 84 games with the Twins at shortstop and really struggled. This year, with Florimon playing tremendous defense at shortstop, Dozier has made the transition to second base, and he has done so nearly flawlessly. By the eye test, Dozier just looks like a natural at second base. He makes the routine plays look routine, and he has very good range to his left and his right, and enough arm to make the tougher throws from behind second base. He charges the ball well and goes out on pop-ups very well. He looks very comfortable at second base, but what do the defensive metrics tell us? He has just three errors and a .994 fielding percentage. That fielding percentage is tops in baseball, tied with Dustin Pedroia and Ben Zobrist. Zobrist has spent less time at second. It is interesting to note that despite playing in 19 fewer games than Pedroia, he has just two fewer putouts and five fewer assists, which means he’s getting to more plays per game than Pedroia. Is that more range, or just more ground balls from pitchers? That we don’t know, but it is impressive. When we look at a statistic called Range Factor, which is a good measure of range, Dozier is posting a 5.63. Neil Walker is number two in MLB with a 5.20 Range Factor. The runner-up in second-base Range Factor in the American League is the A’s Eric Sogard. His UZR/150 (Ultimate Zone Rating, calculated over 150 games) is 2.8, Dozier ranks fourth in the AL among second basemen. Of course, like any of these stats, they have to be taken as small sample size and could still vary over time. By any measure, Brian Dozier has been terrific defensively. If Dozier continues to post an OPS in the .750-.775 range (maybe even over .800?), and his defense remains tremendous, could you see a scenario where the Twins move Eddie Rosario back out to left or right field and play in an outfield with Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia for a couple years until Byron Buxton is ready? Who knows what will happen over the final two months of the season. Will Dozier continue posting an .800+ OPS, or will he revert to the sub-.600 OPS we saw from him in 2012 and early this season? Right now though, the trend is moving in the right direction.
-
It's been about six weeks since the last time we updated the list of Minnesota Twins or minor league related players and personnel. If you're on Twitter, here is a list of nearly 170 people that you should consider following. Most of them are players, but we also have the Twitter accounts of the Twins front office personnel, minor league media and more. Several people have been added to this list. Most important, I encourage you to let me know if anyone is missing from this list. I'd love for it to be complete, but I'm certain that I will miss some. Leave any that are missed in the Comments.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I'm showing how many followers each player has as of today (8/4) compared to what they had in mid-June. It's fun to see how promotions increase people's followers. [TABLE=width: 646] First Name Last Name Twitter 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change AJ Achter @ajachter35 582[TD=align: right]528[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 178[TD=align: right]156[/TD] [TD=align: right]14.1%[/TD] Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,237[TD=align: right]1,020[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.3%[/TD] Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 79,343[TD=align: right]75,365[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.3%[/TD] Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 238[TD=align: right]235[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3%[/TD] Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,009[TD=align: right]1,002[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.7%[/TD] DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,464[TD=align: right]4,441[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.5%[/TD] James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,140[TD=align: right]1,055[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.1%[/TD] Doug Bernier @dougbernier 634[TD=align: right]218[/TD] [TD=align: right]190.8%[/TD] J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 1,062[TD=align: right]977[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Evan Bigley @Bigley3 678[TD=align: right]641[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 324[TD=align: right]295[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 513[TD=align: right]435[/TD] [TD=align: right]17.9%[/TD] Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 218[TD=align: right]206[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,915[TD=align: right]16,501[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 6,107[TD=align: right]4,057[/TD] [TD=align: right]50.5%[/TD] Chris Colabello @CC20rake 2,754[TD=align: right]2,004[/TD] [TD=align: right]37.4%[/TD] Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 301[TD=align: right]221[/TD] [TD=align: right]36.2%[/TD] Pat Dean @PDean15 416[TD=align: right]370[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.4%[/TD] Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 15,893[TD=align: right]15,157[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9%[/TD] Lewin Diaz @lewin_Diaz 32 [/TD] Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,792[TD=align: right]1,719 [TD=align: right]4.2%[/TD] Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 14,107[TD=align: right]12,668[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.4%[/TD] Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 16,296[TD=align: right]15,565[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 252[TD=align: right]229[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.0%[/TD] Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,905[TD=align: right]4,348[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.8%[/TD] Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,500[TD=align: right]1,004[/TD] [TD=align: right]49.4%[/TD] Eric Farris @eRoc86 3,047[TD=align: right]3,037[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.3%[/TD] Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,409[TD=align: right]4,612[/TD] [TD=align: right]-4.4%[/TD] Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 448[TD=align: right]412[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 730[TD=align: right]665[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Sam Gibbons @gibboo25 70 [/TD] Kyle Gibson @KGib44 9,839[TD=align: right]7,697 [TD=align: right]27.8%[/TD] Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 125[TD=align: right]112[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.6%[/TD] Stephen Gonsalves @TheSGonsalves 552 [/TD] Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 1,339[TD=align: right]551 [TD=align: right]143.0%[/TD] Steven Gruver @sgruv30 121[TD=align: right]95[/TD] [TD=align: right]27.4%[/TD] Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 2,365[TD=align: right]2,080[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.7%[/TD] Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 178[TD=align: right]154[/TD] [TD=align: right]15.6%[/TD] Nate Hanson @NHans12 459[TD=align: right]463[/TD] [TD=align: right]-0.9%[/TD] Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 315[TD=align: right]292[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,601[TD=align: right]1,482[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.0%[/TD] Pedro Hernandez @HernandezP89 66 [/TD] DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 1,072[TD=align: right]949 [TD=align: right]13.0%[/TD] Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 15,537[TD=align: right]14,260[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 126[TD=align: right]104[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.2%[/TD] Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 662[TD=align: right]646[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] CK Irby @ckirbythe3 667[TD=align: right]629[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Tyler Jones @TmfJones 35[TD=align: right]36[/TD] [TD=align: right]-2.8%[/TD] Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 451[TD=align: right]432[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.4%[/TD] Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 132[TD=align: right]121[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.1%[/TD] Max Kepler @kepleroni 586[TD=align: right]402[/TD] [TD=align: right]45.8%[/TD] Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 491[TD=align: right]462[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Matt Koch @M_Koch4 77[TD=align: right]68[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.2%[/TD] Brett Lee @Blee092090 87 [/TD][TD=align: center]#DIV/0! Andy Leer @andyleer12 142[TD=align: right]135[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.2%[/TD] Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 408[TD=align: right]369[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.6%[/TD] Trevor May @TrevMay54 6,265[TD=align: right]5,944[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 231[TD=align: right]234[/TD] [TD=align: right]-1.3%[/TD] Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 292[TD=align: right]255[/TD] [TD=align: right]14.5%[/TD] Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 433[TD=align: right]393[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Kaleb Merck @TwinsMerckin 325[TD=align: right]323[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.6%[/TD] Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,376[TD=align: right]5,000[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 339[TD=align: right]319[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 438[TD=align: right]398[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.1%[/TD] Jermaine Mitchell @jtrane24 796 [/TD][TD=align: center]#DIV/0! Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 381[TD=align: right]338[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.7%[/TD] Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 146[TD=align: right]139[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.0%[/TD] Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 277[TD=align: right]269[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 78[TD=align: right]66[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.2%[/TD] Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 2,022[TD=align: right]1,984[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.9%[/TD] Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 622[TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Chris Parmelee @CParms27 8,349[TD=align: right]7,346[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.7%[/TD] Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 22[TD=align: right]21[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.8%[/TD] Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 22,304[TD=align: right]19,646[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.5%[/TD] Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 314[TD=align: right]276[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8%[/TD] AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 818[TD=align: right]791[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 27,607[TD=align: right]26,041[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 186[TD=align: right]116[/TD] [TD=align: right]60.3%[/TD] Christian Powell @BooPowell20 453[TD=align: right]429[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.6%[/TD] Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,449[TD=align: right]1,097[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.1%[/TD] Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,216[TD=align: right]1,202[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2%[/TD] Michael Quesada @KSada55 224[TD=align: right]191[/TD] [TD=align: right]17.3%[/TD] Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 369[TD=align: right]304[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.4%[/TD] Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 231[TD=align: right]228[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3%[/TD] Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 334[TD=align: right]329[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.5%[/TD] Josh Roenicke @JroPrimetime 1,881[TD=align: right]1,651[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.9%[/TD] Taylor Rogers @trogers34 334[TD=align: right]313[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.7%[/TD] Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 1,048[TD=align: right]930[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.7%[/TD] Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 4,770[TD=align: right]3,451[/TD] [TD=align: right]38.2%[/TD] Danny Santana @bigmen07 107[TD=align: right]94[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8%[/TD] Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 209[TD=align: right]179[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.8%[/TD] Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 887[TD=align: right]520[/TD] [TD=align: right]70.6%[/TD] Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 594[TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 6,064[TD=align: right]5,581[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 78[TD=align: right]752[/TD] [TD=align: right]-89.6%[/TD] Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 9,245[TD=align: right]8,631[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.1%[/TD] Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 227[TD=align: right]158[/TD] [TD=align: right]43.7%[/TD] Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 254[TD=align: right]237[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.2%[/TD] Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 513[TD=align: right]270[/TD] [TD=align: right]90.0%[/TD] Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,355[TD=align: right]1,219[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.2%[/TD] Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 149[TD=align: right]147[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4%[/TD] Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 38[TD=align: right]38[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Tanner Vavra @tvavs5 445[TD=align: right]401[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.0%[/TD] Ruar Verkerk @ruarverkerk 402 [/TD] Adam Walker @walkoff28 880[TD=align: right]743 [TD=align: right]18.4%[/TD] Ryan Walker @Ryanwalker25 123 [/TD] PJ Walters @PJWalters39 3,081[TD=align: right]2,851 [TD=align: right]8.1%[/TD] Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,620[TD=align: right]1,559[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Dakota Watts @watts_22 922[TD=align: right]893[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2%[/TD] Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 200[TD=align: right]189[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 134[TD=align: right]131[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.3%[/TD] Corey Williams @coreyw24 346[TD=align: right]339[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.1%[/TD] Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 122[TD=align: right]108[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.0%[/TD] Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,447[TD=align: right]1,385[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.5%[/TD] Tim Wood @The_Woodpile 872[TD=align: right]863[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.0%[/TD] Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 53,495[TD=align: right]54,340[/TD] [TD=align: right]-1.6%[/TD] [/TD] FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Minnesota Twins @twins 166,829[TD=align: right]158,089 [TD=align: right]5.5%[/TD] Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 17,283[TD=align: right]16,606[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.1%[/TD] Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,638[TD=align: right]11,077[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.1%[/TD] Mike Herman @HermTT 2,334[TD=align: right]2,266[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 143[TD=align: right]123[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.3%[/TD] Jack Goin @jdgoin 373[TD=align: right]364[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,585[TD=align: right]1,559[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.7%[/TD] Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 503[TD=align: right]473[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 546[TD=align: right]509[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.3%[/TD] Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,394[TD=align: right]1,279[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] TC Bear @TC_00 11,268[TD=align: right]10,851[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] [/TD] Twins Daily 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,850[TD=align: right]2,651 [TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 5,816[TD=align: right]5,598[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,446[TD=align: right]5,246[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,864[TD=align: right]2,809[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.0%[/TD] Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,651[TD=align: right]3,463[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 79[TD=align: right]77[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.6%[/TD] [/TD] Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 663[TD=align: right]481 [TD=align: right]37.8%[/TD] Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 912[TD=align: right]883[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.3%[/TD] [/TD] Minor Leagues 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 6,690[TD=align: right]6,204 [TD=align: right]7.8%[/TD] Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,096[TD=align: right]1,060[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 341[TD=align: right]319[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.9%[/TD] Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,205[TD=align: right]1,164[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5%[/TD] Christopher Fee @CJFee 195[TD=align: right]181[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.7%[/TD] [/TD] New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 6,228[TD=align: right]5,705 [TD=align: right]9.2%[/TD] Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 120[TD=align: right]109[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.1%[/TD] Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 413[TD=align: right]349[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.3%[/TD] Andrew Walters @Mnfanfromafar 640[TD=align: right]515[/TD] [TD=align: right]24.3%[/TD] Matt Straub @MattattheHerald 133 [/TD] Scott Blanchette @ScottBPhoto8 94 Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 6,422[TD=align: right]5,965 [TD=align: right]7.7%[/TD] Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 538[TD=align: right]462[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.5%[/TD] Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 424[TD=align: right]398[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5%[/TD] Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 84[TD=align: right]83[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2%[/TD] David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,190[TD=align: right]1,137[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] [/TD] Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 4,923[TD=align: right]4,531 [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 373[TD=align: right]351[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 1,002[TD=align: right]867[/TD] [TD=align: right]15.6%[/TD] Jim Crikket @JimCrikket 511[TD=align: right]476[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.4%[/TD] Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,200[TD=align: right]1,112[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 882[TD=align: right]814[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.4%[/TD] Andrew Pantini @stadium65 102[TD=align: right]99[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Brandon Clemens @brandonclemens 313[TD=align: right]284[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Mr. Shucks @CRMrShucks 65 [/TD] Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 932[TD=align: right]704 [TD=align: right]32.4%[/TD] [/TABLE]
-
Twins on Twitter - Early August Edition
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
It's been about six weeks since the last time we updated the list of Minnesota Twins or minor league related players and personnel. If you're on Twitter, here is a list of nearly 170 people that you should consider following. Most of them are players, but we also have the Twitter accounts of the Twins front office personnel, minor league media and more. Most important, I encourage you to let me know if anyone is missing from this list. I'd love for it to be complete, but I'm certain that I will miss some. Leave any that are missed in the Comments. I'm showing how many followers each player has as of today (8/4) compared to what they had in mid-June. It's fun to see how promotions increase people's followers. [TABLE=width: 646] First Name Last Name Twitter 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change AJ Achter @ajachter35 582[TD=align: right]528[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 178[TD=align: right]156[/TD] [TD=align: right]14.1%[/TD] Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,237[TD=align: right]1,020[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.3%[/TD] Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 79,343[TD=align: right]75,365[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.3%[/TD] Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 238[TD=align: right]235[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3%[/TD] Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,009[TD=align: right]1,002[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.7%[/TD] DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,464[TD=align: right]4,441[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.5%[/TD] James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,140[TD=align: right]1,055[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.1%[/TD] Doug Bernier @dougbernier 634[TD=align: right]218[/TD] [TD=align: right]190.8%[/TD] J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 1,062[TD=align: right]977[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Evan Bigley @Bigley3 678[TD=align: right]641[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 324[TD=align: right]295[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 513[TD=align: right]435[/TD] [TD=align: right]17.9%[/TD] Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 218[TD=align: right]206[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,915[TD=align: right]16,501[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 6,107[TD=align: right]4,057[/TD] [TD=align: right]50.5%[/TD] Chris Colabello @CC20rake 2,754[TD=align: right]2,004[/TD] [TD=align: right]37.4%[/TD] Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 301[TD=align: right]221[/TD] [TD=align: right]36.2%[/TD] Pat Dean @PDean15 416[TD=align: right]370[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.4%[/TD] Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 15,893[TD=align: right]15,157[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9%[/TD] Lewin Diaz @lewin_Diaz 32 Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,792[TD=align: right]1,719[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.2%[/TD] Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 14,107[TD=align: right]12,668[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.4%[/TD] Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 16,296[TD=align: right]15,565[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 252[TD=align: right]229[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.0%[/TD] Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,905[TD=align: right]4,348[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.8%[/TD] Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,500[TD=align: right]1,004[/TD] [TD=align: right]49.4%[/TD] Eric Farris @eRoc86 3,047[TD=align: right]3,037[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.3%[/TD] Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,409[TD=align: right]4,612[/TD] [TD=align: right]-4.4%[/TD] Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 448[TD=align: right]412[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 730[TD=align: right]665[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Sam Gibbons @gibboo25 70 Kyle Gibson @KGib44 9,839[TD=align: right]7,697[/TD] [TD=align: right]27.8%[/TD] Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 125[TD=align: right]112[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.6%[/TD] Stephen Gonsalves @TheSGonsalves 552 Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 1,339[TD=align: right]551[/TD] [TD=align: right]143.0%[/TD] Steven Gruver @sgruv30 121[TD=align: right]95[/TD] [TD=align: right]27.4%[/TD] Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 2,365[TD=align: right]2,080[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.7%[/TD] Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 178[TD=align: right]154[/TD] [TD=align: right]15.6%[/TD] Nate Hanson @NHans12 459[TD=align: right]463[/TD] [TD=align: right]-0.9%[/TD] Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 315[TD=align: right]292[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,601[TD=align: right]1,482[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.0%[/TD] Pedro Hernandez @HernandezP89 66 DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 1,072[TD=align: right]949[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.0%[/TD] Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 15,537[TD=align: right]14,260[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 126[TD=align: right]104[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.2%[/TD] Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 662[TD=align: right]646[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] CK Irby @ckirbythe3 667[TD=align: right]629[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Tyler Jones @TmfJones 35[TD=align: right]36[/TD] [TD=align: right]-2.8%[/TD] Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 451[TD=align: right]432[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.4%[/TD] Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 132[TD=align: right]121[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.1%[/TD] Max Kepler @kepleroni 586[TD=align: right]402[/TD] [TD=align: right]45.8%[/TD] Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 491[TD=align: right]462[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Matt Koch @M_Koch4 77[TD=align: right]68[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.2%[/TD] Brett Lee @Blee092090 87 [TD=align: center]#DIV/0![/TD] Andy Leer @andyleer12 142[TD=align: right]135[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.2%[/TD] Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 408[TD=align: right]369[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.6%[/TD] Trevor May @TrevMay54 6,265[TD=align: right]5,944[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 231[TD=align: right]234[/TD] [TD=align: right]-1.3%[/TD] Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 292[TD=align: right]255[/TD] [TD=align: right]14.5%[/TD] Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 433[TD=align: right]393[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Kaleb Merck @TwinsMerckin 325[TD=align: right]323[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.6%[/TD] Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,376[TD=align: right]5,000[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 339[TD=align: right]319[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 438[TD=align: right]398[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.1%[/TD] Jermaine Mitchell @jtrane24 796 [TD=align: center]#DIV/0![/TD] Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 381[TD=align: right]338[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.7%[/TD] Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 146[TD=align: right]139[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.0%[/TD] Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 277[TD=align: right]269[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 78[TD=align: right]66[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.2%[/TD] Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 2,022[TD=align: right]1,984[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.9%[/TD] Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 622[TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Chris Parmelee @CParms27 8,349[TD=align: right]7,346[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.7%[/TD] Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 22[TD=align: right]21[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.8%[/TD] Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 22,304[TD=align: right]19,646[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.5%[/TD] Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 314[TD=align: right]276[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8%[/TD] AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 818[TD=align: right]791[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 27,607[TD=align: right]26,041[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 186[TD=align: right]116[/TD] [TD=align: right]60.3%[/TD] Christian Powell @BooPowell20 453[TD=align: right]429[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.6%[/TD] Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,449[TD=align: right]1,097[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.1%[/TD] Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,216[TD=align: right]1,202[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2%[/TD] Michael Quesada @KSada55 224[TD=align: right]191[/TD] [TD=align: right]17.3%[/TD] Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 369[TD=align: right]304[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.4%[/TD] Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 231[TD=align: right]228[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3%[/TD] Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 334[TD=align: right]329[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.5%[/TD] Josh Roenicke @JroPrimetime 1,881[TD=align: right]1,651[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.9%[/TD] Taylor Rogers @trogers34 334[TD=align: right]313[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.7%[/TD] Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 1,048[TD=align: right]930[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.7%[/TD] Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 4,770[TD=align: right]3,451[/TD] [TD=align: right]38.2%[/TD] Danny Santana @bigmen07 107[TD=align: right]94[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8%[/TD] Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 209[TD=align: right]179[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.8%[/TD] Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 887[TD=align: right]520[/TD] [TD=align: right]70.6%[/TD] Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 594[TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 6,064[TD=align: right]5,581[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 78[TD=align: right]752[/TD] [TD=align: right]-89.6%[/TD] Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 9,245[TD=align: right]8,631[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.1%[/TD] Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 227[TD=align: right]158[/TD] [TD=align: right]43.7%[/TD] Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 254[TD=align: right]237[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.2%[/TD] Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 513[TD=align: right]270[/TD] [TD=align: right]90.0%[/TD] Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,355[TD=align: right]1,219[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.2%[/TD] Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 149[TD=align: right]147[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4%[/TD] Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 38[TD=align: right]38[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Tanner Vavra @tvavs5 445[TD=align: right]401[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.0%[/TD] Ruar Verkerk @ruarverkerk 402 Adam Walker @walkoff28 880[TD=align: right]743[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.4%[/TD] Ryan Walker @Ryanwalker25 123 PJ Walters @PJWalters39 3,081[TD=align: right]2,851[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.1%[/TD] Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,620[TD=align: right]1,559[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Dakota Watts @watts_22 922[TD=align: right]893[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2%[/TD] Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 200[TD=align: right]189[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 134[TD=align: right]131[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.3%[/TD] Corey Williams @coreyw24 346[TD=align: right]339[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.1%[/TD] Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 122[TD=align: right]108[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.0%[/TD] Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,447[TD=align: right]1,385[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.5%[/TD] Tim Wood @The_Woodpile 872[TD=align: right]863[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.0%[/TD] Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 53,495[TD=align: right]54,340[/TD] [TD=align: right]-1.6%[/TD] FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Minnesota Twins @twins 166,829[TD=align: right]158,089[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.5%[/TD] Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 17,283[TD=align: right]16,606[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.1%[/TD] Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,638[TD=align: right]11,077[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.1%[/TD] Mike Herman @HermTT 2,334[TD=align: right]2,266[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 143[TD=align: right]123[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.3%[/TD] Jack Goin @jdgoin 373[TD=align: right]364[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,585[TD=align: right]1,559[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.7%[/TD] Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 503[TD=align: right]473[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 546[TD=align: right]509[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.3%[/TD] Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,394[TD=align: right]1,279[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] TC Bear @TC_00 11,268[TD=align: right]10,851[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] Twins Daily 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,850[TD=align: right]2,651[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 5,816[TD=align: right]5,598[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,446[TD=align: right]5,246[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,864[TD=align: right]2,809[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.0%[/TD] Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,651[TD=align: right]3,463[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 79[TD=align: right]77[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.6%[/TD] Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 663[TD=align: right]481[/TD] [TD=align: right]37.8%[/TD] Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 912[TD=align: right]883[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.3%[/TD] Minor Leagues 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 6,690[TD=align: right]6,204[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.8%[/TD] Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,096[TD=align: right]1,060[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 341[TD=align: right]319[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.9%[/TD] Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,205[TD=align: right]1,164[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5%[/TD] Christopher Fee @CJFee 195[TD=align: right]181[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.7%[/TD] New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 6,228[TD=align: right]5,705[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.2%[/TD] Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 120[TD=align: right]109[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.1%[/TD] Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 413[TD=align: right]349[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.3%[/TD] Andrew Walters @Mnfanfromafar 640[TD=align: right]515[/TD] [TD=align: right]24.3%[/TD] Matt Straub @MattattheHerald 133 Scott Blanchette @ScottBPhoto8 94 Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 6,422[TD=align: right]5,965[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.7%[/TD] Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 538[TD=align: right]462[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.5%[/TD] Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 424[TD=align: right]398[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5%[/TD] Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 84[TD=align: right]83[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2%[/TD] David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,190[TD=align: right]1,137[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 4,923[TD=align: right]4,531[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 373[TD=align: right]351[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 1,002[TD=align: right]867[/TD] [TD=align: right]15.6%[/TD] Jim Crikket @JimCrikket 511[TD=align: right]476[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.4%[/TD] Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,200[TD=align: right]1,112[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 882[TD=align: right]814[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.4%[/TD] Andrew Pantini @stadium65 102[TD=align: right]99[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Brandon Clemens @brandonclemens 313[TD=align: right]284[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Mr. Shucks @CRMrShucks 65 Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 932[TD=align: right]704[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.4%[/TD] [/TABLE] -
It's been about six weeks since the last time we updated the list of Minnesota Twins or minor league related players and personnel. If you're on Twitter, here is a list of nearly 170 people that you should consider following. Most of them are players, but we also have the Twitter accounts of the Twins front office personnel, minor league media and more. Most important, I encourage you to let me know if anyone is missing from this list. I'd love for it to be complete, but I'm certain that I will miss some. Leave any that are missed in the Comments. I'm showing how many followers each player has as of today (8/4) compared to what they had in mid-June. It's fun to see how promotions increase people's followers. [TABLE=width: 646] First Name Last Name Twitter 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change AJ Achter @ajachter35 582[TD=align: right]528[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 178[TD=align: right]156[/TD] [TD=align: right]14.1%[/TD] Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,237[TD=align: right]1,020[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.3%[/TD] Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 79,343[TD=align: right]75,365[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.3%[/TD] Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 238[TD=align: right]235[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3%[/TD] Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,009[TD=align: right]1,002[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.7%[/TD] DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,464[TD=align: right]4,441[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.5%[/TD] James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,140[TD=align: right]1,055[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.1%[/TD] Doug Bernier @dougbernier 634[TD=align: right]218[/TD] [TD=align: right]190.8%[/TD] J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 1,062[TD=align: right]977[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Evan Bigley @Bigley3 678[TD=align: right]641[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 324[TD=align: right]295[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 513[TD=align: right]435[/TD] [TD=align: right]17.9%[/TD] Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 218[TD=align: right]206[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,915[TD=align: right]16,501[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 6,107[TD=align: right]4,057[/TD] [TD=align: right]50.5%[/TD] Chris Colabello @CC20rake 2,754[TD=align: right]2,004[/TD] [TD=align: right]37.4%[/TD] Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 301[TD=align: right]221[/TD] [TD=align: right]36.2%[/TD] Pat Dean @PDean15 416[TD=align: right]370[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.4%[/TD] Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 15,893[TD=align: right]15,157[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.9%[/TD] Lewin Diaz @lewin_Diaz 32 Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,792[TD=align: right]1,719[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.2%[/TD] Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 14,107[TD=align: right]12,668[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.4%[/TD] Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 16,296[TD=align: right]15,565[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 252[TD=align: right]229[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.0%[/TD] Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,905[TD=align: right]4,348[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.8%[/TD] Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,500[TD=align: right]1,004[/TD] [TD=align: right]49.4%[/TD] Eric Farris @eRoc86 3,047[TD=align: right]3,037[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.3%[/TD] Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,409[TD=align: right]4,612[/TD] [TD=align: right]-4.4%[/TD] Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 448[TD=align: right]412[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 730[TD=align: right]665[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.8%[/TD] Sam Gibbons @gibboo25 70 Kyle Gibson @KGib44 9,839[TD=align: right]7,697[/TD] [TD=align: right]27.8%[/TD] Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 125[TD=align: right]112[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.6%[/TD] Stephen Gonsalves @TheSGonsalves 552 Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 1,339[TD=align: right]551[/TD] [TD=align: right]143.0%[/TD] Steven Gruver @sgruv30 121[TD=align: right]95[/TD] [TD=align: right]27.4%[/TD] Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 2,365[TD=align: right]2,080[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.7%[/TD] Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 178[TD=align: right]154[/TD] [TD=align: right]15.6%[/TD] Nate Hanson @NHans12 459[TD=align: right]463[/TD] [TD=align: right]-0.9%[/TD] Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 315[TD=align: right]292[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,601[TD=align: right]1,482[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.0%[/TD] Pedro Hernandez @HernandezP89 66 DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 1,072[TD=align: right]949[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.0%[/TD] Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 15,537[TD=align: right]14,260[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 126[TD=align: right]104[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.2%[/TD] Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 662[TD=align: right]646[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] CK Irby @ckirbythe3 667[TD=align: right]629[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Tyler Jones @TmfJones 35[TD=align: right]36[/TD] [TD=align: right]-2.8%[/TD] Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 451[TD=align: right]432[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.4%[/TD] Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 132[TD=align: right]121[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.1%[/TD] Max Kepler @kepleroni 586[TD=align: right]402[/TD] [TD=align: right]45.8%[/TD] Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 491[TD=align: right]462[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Matt Koch @M_Koch4 77[TD=align: right]68[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.2%[/TD] Brett Lee @Blee092090 87 [TD=align: center]#DIV/0![/TD] Andy Leer @andyleer12 142[TD=align: right]135[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.2%[/TD] Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 408[TD=align: right]369[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.6%[/TD] Trevor May @TrevMay54 6,265[TD=align: right]5,944[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 231[TD=align: right]234[/TD] [TD=align: right]-1.3%[/TD] Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 292[TD=align: right]255[/TD] [TD=align: right]14.5%[/TD] Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 433[TD=align: right]393[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Kaleb Merck @TwinsMerckin 325[TD=align: right]323[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.6%[/TD] Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,376[TD=align: right]5,000[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 339[TD=align: right]319[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 438[TD=align: right]398[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.1%[/TD] Jermaine Mitchell @jtrane24 796 [TD=align: center]#DIV/0![/TD] Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 381[TD=align: right]338[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.7%[/TD] Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 146[TD=align: right]139[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.0%[/TD] Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 277[TD=align: right]269[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 78[TD=align: right]66[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.2%[/TD] Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 2,022[TD=align: right]1,984[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.9%[/TD] Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 622[TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Chris Parmelee @CParms27 8,349[TD=align: right]7,346[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.7%[/TD] Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 22[TD=align: right]21[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.8%[/TD] Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 22,304[TD=align: right]19,646[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.5%[/TD] Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 314[TD=align: right]276[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8%[/TD] AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 818[TD=align: right]791[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 27,607[TD=align: right]26,041[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.0%[/TD] Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 186[TD=align: right]116[/TD] [TD=align: right]60.3%[/TD] Christian Powell @BooPowell20 453[TD=align: right]429[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.6%[/TD] Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,449[TD=align: right]1,097[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.1%[/TD] Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,216[TD=align: right]1,202[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2%[/TD] Michael Quesada @KSada55 224[TD=align: right]191[/TD] [TD=align: right]17.3%[/TD] Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 369[TD=align: right]304[/TD] [TD=align: right]21.4%[/TD] Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 231[TD=align: right]228[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.3%[/TD] Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 334[TD=align: right]329[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.5%[/TD] Josh Roenicke @JroPrimetime 1,881[TD=align: right]1,651[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.9%[/TD] Taylor Rogers @trogers34 334[TD=align: right]313[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.7%[/TD] Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 1,048[TD=align: right]930[/TD] [TD=align: right]12.7%[/TD] Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 4,770[TD=align: right]3,451[/TD] [TD=align: right]38.2%[/TD] Danny Santana @bigmen07 107[TD=align: right]94[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.8%[/TD] Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 209[TD=align: right]179[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.8%[/TD] Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 887[TD=align: right]520[/TD] [TD=align: right]70.6%[/TD] Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 594[TD=align: right]594[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 6,064[TD=align: right]5,581[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 78[TD=align: right]752[/TD] [TD=align: right]-89.6%[/TD] Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 9,245[TD=align: right]8,631[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.1%[/TD] Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 227[TD=align: right]158[/TD] [TD=align: right]43.7%[/TD] Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 254[TD=align: right]237[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.2%[/TD] Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 513[TD=align: right]270[/TD] [TD=align: right]90.0%[/TD] Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,355[TD=align: right]1,219[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.2%[/TD] Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 149[TD=align: right]147[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.4%[/TD] Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 38[TD=align: right]38[/TD] [TD=align: right]0.0%[/TD] Tanner Vavra @tvavs5 445[TD=align: right]401[/TD] [TD=align: right]11.0%[/TD] Ruar Verkerk @ruarverkerk 402 Adam Walker @walkoff28 880[TD=align: right]743[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.4%[/TD] Ryan Walker @Ryanwalker25 123 PJ Walters @PJWalters39 3,081[TD=align: right]2,851[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.1%[/TD] Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,620[TD=align: right]1,559[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Dakota Watts @watts_22 922[TD=align: right]893[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.2%[/TD] Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 200[TD=align: right]189[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.8%[/TD] Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 134[TD=align: right]131[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.3%[/TD] Corey Williams @coreyw24 346[TD=align: right]339[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.1%[/TD] Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 122[TD=align: right]108[/TD] [TD=align: right]13.0%[/TD] Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,447[TD=align: right]1,385[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.5%[/TD] Tim Wood @The_Woodpile 872[TD=align: right]863[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.0%[/TD] Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 53,495[TD=align: right]54,340[/TD] [TD=align: right]-1.6%[/TD] FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Minnesota Twins @twins 166,829[TD=align: right]158,089[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.5%[/TD] Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 17,283[TD=align: right]16,606[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.1%[/TD] Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,638[TD=align: right]11,077[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.1%[/TD] Mike Herman @HermTT 2,334[TD=align: right]2,266[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 143[TD=align: right]123[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.3%[/TD] Jack Goin @jdgoin 373[TD=align: right]364[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.5%[/TD] Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,585[TD=align: right]1,559[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.7%[/TD] Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 503[TD=align: right]473[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 546[TD=align: right]509[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.3%[/TD] Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,394[TD=align: right]1,279[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.0%[/TD] TC Bear @TC_00 11,268[TD=align: right]10,851[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] Twins Daily 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,850[TD=align: right]2,651[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.5%[/TD] John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 5,816[TD=align: right]5,598[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.9%[/TD] Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,446[TD=align: right]5,246[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.8%[/TD] Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,864[TD=align: right]2,809[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.0%[/TD] Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,651[TD=align: right]3,463[/TD] [TD=align: right]5.4%[/TD] Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 79[TD=align: right]77[/TD] [TD=align: right]2.6%[/TD] Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 663[TD=align: right]481[/TD] [TD=align: right]37.8%[/TD] Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 912[TD=align: right]883[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.3%[/TD] Minor Leagues 8/4 Update 6/16 Update % Change Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 6,690[TD=align: right]6,204[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.8%[/TD] Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,096[TD=align: right]1,060[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.4%[/TD] Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 341[TD=align: right]319[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.9%[/TD] Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,205[TD=align: right]1,164[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.5%[/TD] Christopher Fee @CJFee 195[TD=align: right]181[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.7%[/TD] New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 6,228[TD=align: right]5,705[/TD] [TD=align: right]9.2%[/TD] Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 120[TD=align: right]109[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.1%[/TD] Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 413[TD=align: right]349[/TD] [TD=align: right]18.3%[/TD] Andrew Walters @Mnfanfromafar 640[TD=align: right]515[/TD] [TD=align: right]24.3%[/TD] Matt Straub @MattattheHerald 133 Scott Blanchette @ScottBPhoto8 94 Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 6,422[TD=align: right]5,965[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.7%[/TD] Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 538[TD=align: right]462[/TD] [TD=align: right]16.5%[/TD] Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 424[TD=align: right]398[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.5%[/TD] Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 84[TD=align: right]83[/TD] [TD=align: right]1.2%[/TD] David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,190[TD=align: right]1,137[/TD] [TD=align: right]4.7%[/TD] Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 4,923[TD=align: right]4,531[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.7%[/TD] Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 373[TD=align: right]351[/TD] [TD=align: right]6.3%[/TD] Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 1,002[TD=align: right]867[/TD] [TD=align: right]15.6%[/TD] Jim Crikket @JimCrikket 511[TD=align: right]476[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.4%[/TD] Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,200[TD=align: right]1,112[/TD] [TD=align: right]7.9%[/TD] Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 882[TD=align: right]814[/TD] [TD=align: right]8.4%[/TD] Andrew Pantini @stadium65 102[TD=align: right]99[/TD] [TD=align: right]3.0%[/TD] Brandon Clemens @brandonclemens 313[TD=align: right]284[/TD] [TD=align: right]10.2%[/TD] Mr. Shucks @CRMrShucks 65 Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 932[TD=align: right]704[/TD] [TD=align: right]32.4%[/TD] [/TABLE]
-
Miguel Sano did not play for the third straight game due to a tight hamstring. The Twins announced they expect 2013 top pick Kohl Stewart to pitch in about 8-10 days; Stewart was placed on the DL August 2 with a cut on his foot. On the other hand, Byron Buxton returned to the Ft. Myers lineup after missing about a week after losing a toe nail. Wilkin Ramirez played for New Britain. Darin Mastroianni, it was announced, will head to Rochester by Tuesday to continue his rehab. There, he will be joined by Josh Willingham. The Twins will call up a starting pitcher for their double header on Friday, and the belief is that it will be Liam Hendriks. Also, according to Baseball America, the Twins have signed Ivory Thomas, their 34th round draft pick from June and an outfielder from Cal St. Dominguez Hills. Check out what else happened in the Twins minor league system Sunday: Rochester 4, Syracuse 5 Box Score The Red Wings had another opportunity for late-game dramatics, but former Red Wings (and Twins) reliever Tyler Robertson got the final two out to record his second save with the Chiefs. Liam Hendriks started and gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits and two walks with three strikeouts in 5.1 innings. Two of the runs scored as a result of a misplay in the outfield. AJ Achter came on and walked three and struck out four in 2.2 hitless, scoreless innings. Luis Perdomo gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth. Chris Parmelee led the offense. He went 3-5 with his fourth double. Eduardo Escobar was 2-4 with a walk and his first triple. Jeff Clement went 2-5 and drove in two more runs. Aaron Hicks was also 2-5. New Britain 5, Erie 9 Box Score I think it is fair to say that it was not a great day for Trevor May. The right hander pitched a scoreless first inning. That's the good. However, he gave up five runs in the second and three more in the third. In total, he gave up eight runs on eight hits and five walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out three. Cole Johnson came on and gave up one hit and one walk over the next 2.1 innings; he struck out two. Dan Sattler came in and got two outs, but he also walked three. Ryan O’Rourke got the final out of the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh. Dakota Watts gave up one run on four hits over two innings. Jordan Parraz led the offense. He went 3-3 with his ninth home run and three RBI. Dan Rohlfing was 3-5. Evan Bigley was 2-4 with a walk. Ft. Myers 6, Tampa 7 Box Score The Miracle headed into the ninth inning with a three-run lead. They had Tyler Jones on the mound. Jones had pitched a scoreless eighth. With the Miracle, he had not yet given up a run; he also did not up give up a run in all July. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs on four hits and got just one out in the ninth in taking the loss. He left with the tying runner on second base. Zach Jones came in, the runner stole third, and then scored the winning run on a wild pitch. It was a tough loss after the game went so well through the first eight innings. Matt Tomshaw provided a quality start. He yielded three runs on six hits and two walks in six innings; he struck out three. Nelvin Fuentes came on and walked two in a scoreless seventh inning. He also struck out two. Byron Buxton returned to the lineup for the first time in a week. He went 0-2, but walked three times and stole his seventh base; he was caught stealing for the third time. JD Williams, batting third for the Miracle after batting ninth most of the season in Cedar Rapids, went 1-2 with three walks. Jairo Rodriguez went 3-4. Aderlin Mejia went 2-5. Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Carlos Correa gave Quad Cities a 2-1 lead with a single in the top of the 9th inning. It was his third hit of the game and, at the time, gave him more hits than the Kernels (3-2). However, the Kernels did get to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, and hit they did. With one out, Jorge Polanco singled. Adam Walker followed with a single, and an error on the outfielder pushed Walker to third base. Max Kepler walked, and with two outs, Joel Licon came up and drilled a single down the left field line to give the Kernels a 3-2 win. Jake Mauer didn’t get to see the end of the game as he was ejected in the 4th inning after a hitter’s interference call. JO Berrios made the start for the Kernels, and the start could be accurately described as “Damage Control.” The young right-hander gave up just one run over six innings. It’s remarkable because he gave up five hits and walked six. He struck out three. Brandon Bixler came on and gave up one hit and walked one in a scoreless inning. He struck out one. Madison Boer went the final two innings and gave up one run on three hits. Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 7 Box Score Felix Jorge was hit pretty hard, though he was not helped by three errors from his E-Twins infielders. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on eight hits over five innings. He did strike out five and walked none. Austin Malinowski came on and struck out two in two perfect innings. Ethan Mildren gave up one run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Shane Turner went 2-4 with his third and fourth doubles. Zach Granite went 2-5. He now has a seven game hitting streak. Over his past three games, he is 7-14 (.500). Bryan Haar hit his 10th double. GCL Twins No Sunday games scheduled. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.
-
Twins Minor League Report (8/4): Licon Delivers Walk-Off Win for Kernels
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
Miguel Sano did not play for the third straight game for the Rock Cats due to a tight hamstring. Twins assistant GM announced that they expect 2013 top pick Kohl Stewart to pitch in about 8-10 days. On the other hand, Byron Buxton returned to the Ft. Myers lineup after missing about a week after losing a toe nail. Wilkin Ramirez played for New Britain. Darin Mastroianni, it was announced, will head to Rochester by Tuesday to continue his rehab. There, he will be joined by Josh Willingham. The Twins will call up a starting pitcher for their double header on Friday, and the belief is that it will be Liam Hendriks. Also, according to Baseball America, the Twins have signed Ivory Thomas, their 34th round draft pick from June and an outfielder from Cal St. Dominguez Hills. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Sunday: Rochester 4, Syracuse 5 Box Score The Red Wings had another opportunity for late-game dramatics, but former Red Wings (And Twins) reliever Tyler Robertson got the final two out to record his second save with the Chiefs. Liam Hendriks started and gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits and two walks in 5.1 innings. He struck out three, and two of the runs came as the result of a misplay in the outfield. AJ Achter came on and walked three and struck out four in 2.2 hitless, scoreless innings. Luis Perdomo gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth. Chris Parmelee led the offense. He went 3-5 with his fourth double. Eduardo Escobar was 2-4 with a walk and his first triple. Jeff Clement went 2-5 and drove in two more runs. Dalton Hicks was also 2-5. New Britain 5, Erie 9 Box Score I think it is fair to say that it was not a great day for Trevor May. The right hander pitched a scoreless first inning, so that’s good. However, He gave up five runs in the second and three more in the third. In total, he gave up eight runs on eight hits and five walks in 2.2 innings. He struck out three. Cole Johnson came on and gave up just one hit and one walk over the next 2.1 innings. He struck out two. Dan Sattler came in and got two outs, but he also walked three batters. Ryan O’Rourke got the final out of the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh inning. Dakota Watts gave up one run on four hits over two innings. Jordan Parraz led the offense. He went 3-3 with his ninth home run and three RBI. Dan Rohlfing was 3-5. Evan Bigley went 2-4 with a walk. Ft. Myers 6, Tampa 7 Box Score The Miracle headed into the ninth inning with a three-run lead. They had Tyler Jones on the mound. Jones had pitched a scoreless eighth inning. He had not yet given up a run with the Miracle, and didn’t give up a run at all in July. Unfortunately, he gave up four runs on four hits and got just one out in the ninth to take the loss. He left with the tying runner on second base. Zach Jones came in the runner stole third base, and then the winning run scored on a wild pitch. A tough loss after the game went so well through the first eight innings. Matt Tomshaw provided a quality start. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out three. Nelvin Fuentes came on and walked two in a scoreless seventh inning. He struck out two as well. Byron Buxton returned to the lineup for the first time in a week. He went 0-2, but he walked three times and stole his seventh base. JD Williams, batting third for the Miracle after batting ninth most of the season in Cedar Rapids, went 1-2 with three walks. Jairo Rodriguez went 3-4. Aderlin Mejia went 2-5. Cedar Rapids 3, Quad Cities 2 Box Score Carlos Correa gave Quad Cities a 2-1 lead with a single in the Top of the 9th inning. It was his third hit of the game and, at the time, gave him more hits than the Kernels (3-2). However, the Kernels did get to hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, and hit they did. With one out, Jorge Polanco singled. Adam Walker followed with a single, and an error on the outfielder pushed Walker to third base. Max Kepler walked, and with two outs, Joel Licon came up and drilled a single down the left field line to give the Kernels a 3-2 win. Jake Mauer didn’t get to see the end of the game as he was ejected in the 4th inning after a hitter’s interference call. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5092[/ATTACH] JO Berrios made the start for the Kernels, and the start would be accurately described by the phrase “Damage Control.” The young right-hander gave up just one run over six innings. It’s remarkable because he gave up five hits and walked six batters. He struck out three. Brandon Bixler came on and gave up one hit and walked one in a scoreless inning. He struck out one. Madison Boer went the final two innings and gave up one run on three hits. Elizabethton 2, Johnson City 7 Box Score Felix Jorge was hit pretty hard, though he was also not helped by three errors by the E-Twins. He gave up six runs (3 earned) on eight hits over five innings. He didn’t walk anyone and he struck out five. Austin Malinowski came on and struck out two in two perfect innings. Ethan Mildren gave up one run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Shane Turner went 2-4 with his third and fourth doubles. Zach Granite went 2-5. He now has a seven game hitting streak. Over his past three games, he is 7-14 (.500). Bryan Haar hit his 10th double. GCL Twins No Sunday games scheduled. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
In recent days, we posted the choices for Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers and Hitters for the month of July. Today, I present the top relief pitching performers for the month. There are a couple of guys at the top of this list that, if you argued the other should be #1, or vice versa, I wouldn’t have much of an argument. Two guys stand out on this list, but all five of them warrant recognition. Interestingly, the short-season teams played all July and they are represented on this list as well. A couple 2013 draft picks make an appearance. Here’s a look at the Top 5 relief pitching performers from July. Feel free to discuss below.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] --- Number 5 – GCL Twins – LHP Stephen Gonsalves – 5 G, 2 GS, 1-0, 0.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 8 H, 7 BB, 18 K Gonsalves was the Twins 4th round draft pick in June out of high school in San Diego. Already 19, the lefty pitched very well in his professional debut with the GCL Twins in his first month. In fact, he pitched well enough that he was just promoted to Elizabethton. At 6-5 and just 190 pounds, the Twins should be patient and let him grow. The Twins had to go a little over slot to get him signed, but he should prove to be worth it in time. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – RHP Adrian Salcedo - 6 G, 2-0, 0.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 7 K Salcedo was a Top 10 Twins prospect as recently as before the 2012 season. However, that season was lost because of both shoulder and elbow injuries. He spent most of the year, and the offseason, rehabbing. He has been brought back this year in the Ft. Myers bullpen. Overall, in 27 relief appearances this year, he is 5-1 with a 3.72 ERA. In 48.1 innings, he has given up 47 hits, walked just seven and struck out 48. Salcedo is 6-3 and 175 pounds. He is extremely athletic. It will be interesting to see if he gets another opportunity to start. Number 3 – Elizabethton – LHP Brandon Bixler - 6 G, 1-1, 0.73 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 18 K The 21-year-old Bixler was the Twins 16th round draft pick of the Twins this June out of Dunk City, Florida Gulf Coast University. This college season, he went 5-3 with a 4.14 ERA. He had 64 strikeouts in 50 innings. Over three college seasons, he struck out 156 batters over 128.2 innings. The left-hander is just 5-11 and 170 pounds, but he does throw hard. Bixler put up these terrific numbers in Elizabethton, and has now been promoted to Cedar Rapids where he has made one appearance in August. Number 2 – New Britain/Rochester – LHP Edgar Ibarra - 9 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 11 K I saw Ibarra make a start for Beloit in 2010 and came away incredibly impressed. I saw a very good fastball that he worked inside and outside. I saw a tremendous changeup that he was able to spot. He also had a very good breaking ball that he threw at various speeds. All of his pitches moved. Then again, he never really put up great numbers as a starter. The following year in Ft. Myers, he made 16 starts and 16 relief appearances. He has not made any starts since. Today (8/4) marks two months since he last gave up a run. That covers 20 appearances and 25.2 innings. The left-hander touches 95, and I believe he has a very good chance of helping the Twins. His control has been good so far with the Red Wings, but over his career walks have been the biggest issue. Ibarra could have become a 6-year minor league free agent, but he quickly re-signed with the Twins. Don’t be surprised if the Twins don’t let him become a free agent at the end of this season and add him to the 40 man roster, either in September, or days after the World Series is complete. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Photo by Cedar Rapids Kernels Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – RHP Tyler Jones - 8 G, 0-0, 7 Saves, 0.00 ERA, 0.45 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 17 K Jones, a 23-year-old Milwaukee native, was the Twins 11th round pick in 2011 out of LSU where he spent just one year. In 2012, he began the season at Extended Spring Training because, as he said to me earlier in the season, he was completely out of shape. He did make 16 starts with Beloit and posted a 4.67 ERA, but he had 102 strikeouts in 86.2 innings. This year, he got himself into tremendous shape, and also moved into the bullpen at Cedar Rapids. In doing so, he can now air-out his fastball. When I saw him a month ago, he ended a game with a strikeout on a 96 mph fastball. His slider is also much improved from when I saw him in 2012. He was tremendous in July, starting in Cedar Rapids and earning that promotion to Ft. Myers. Not only did he not give up any runs in July, but look at the walks and strikeouts per inning. Astounding. Jones is definitely one to watch! What do you think? Please feel free to discuss and ask questions.
-
Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - July
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
In recent days, we posted the choices for Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers and Hitters for the month of July. Today, I present the top relief pitching performers for the month. There are a couple of guys at the top of this list that, if you argued the other should be #1, or vice versa, I wouldn’t have much of an argument. Two guys stand out on this list, but all five of them warrant recognition. Interestingly, the short-season teams played all of July and they are represented on this list as well. A couple of 2013 draft picks make an appearance. Here’s a look at the Top 5 relief pitching performers from July. Feel free to discuss below. --- Number 5 – GCL Twins – LHP Stephen Gonsalves – 5 G, 2 GS, 1-0, 0.63 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 8 H, 7 BB, 18 K Gonsalves was the Twins 4th round draft pick in June out of high school in San Diego. Already 19, the lefty pitched very well in his professional debut with the GCL Twins in his first month. In fact, he pitched well enough that he was just promoted to Elizabethton. At 6-5 and just 190 pounds, the Twins should be patient and let him grow. The Twins had to go a little over slot to get him signed, but he should prove to be worth it in time. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – RHP Adrian Salcedo - 6 G, 2-0, 0.75 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 7 K Salcedo was a Top 10 Twins prospect as recently as before the 2012 season. However, that season was lost because of both shoulder and elbow injuries. He spent most of the year, and the offseason, rehabbing. He has been brought back this year in the Ft. Myers bullpen. Overall, in 27 relief appearances this year, he is 5-1 with a 3.72 ERA. In 48.1 innings, he has given up 47 hits, walked just seven and struck out 48. Salcedo is 6-3 and 175 pounds. He is extremely athletic. It will be interesting to see if he gets another opportunity to start. Number 3 – Elizabethton – LHP Brandon Bixler - 6 G, 1-1, 0.73 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 18 K The 21-year-old Bixler was the Twins 16th round draft pick of the Twins this June out of Dunk City, Florida Gulf Coast University. This college season, he went 5-3 with a 4.14 ERA. He had 64 strikeouts in 50 innings. Over three college seasons, he struck out 156 batters over 128.2 innings. The left-hander is just 5-11 and 170 pounds, but he does throw hard. Bixler put up these terrific numbers in Elizabethton, and has now been promoted to Cedar Rapids where he has made one appearance in August. Number 2 – New Britain/Rochester – LHP Edgar Ibarra - 9 G, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 11 K I saw Ibarra make a start for Beloit in 2010 and came away incredibly impressed. I saw a very good fastball that he worked inside and outside. I saw a tremendous changeup that he was able to spot. He also had a very good breaking ball that he threw at various speeds. All of his pitches moved. Then again, he never really put up great numbers as a starter. The following year in Ft. Myers, he made 16 starts and 16 relief appearances. He has not made any starts since. Today (8/4) marks two months since he has last given up a run. That covers 20 appearances and 25.2 innings. The left-hander touches 95, and I believe he has a very good chance of helping the Twins. His control has been good so far with the Red Wings, but over his career, walks have been the biggest issue. Ibarra could have become a 6-year minor league free agent, but he quickly re-signed with the Twins. Don’t be surprised if the Twins don’t let him become a free agent at the end of this season and add him to the 40 man roster, either in September, or days after the World Series is complete. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: [ATTACH=CONFIG]5090[/ATTACH] Photo by Cedar Rapids Kernels Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – RHP Tyler Jones - 8 G, 0-0, 7 Saves, 0.00 ERA, 0.45 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 17 K Jones, a 23-year-old Milwaukee native, was the Twins 11th round pick in 2011 out of LSU where he spent just one year. In 2012, he began the season at Extended Spring Training because, as he said to me earlier in the season, he was completely out of shape. He did make 16 starts with Beloit and posted a 4.67 ERA, but he had 102 strikeouts in 86.2 innings. This year, he got himself into tremendous shape, and also moved into the bullpen at Cedar Rapids. In doing so, he can now air-out his fastball. When I saw him a month ago, he ended a game with a strikeout on a 96 mph fastball. His slider is also much improved from when I saw him in 2012. He was tremendous in July, starting in Cedar Rapids and earning that promotion to Ft. Myers. Not only did he not give up any runs in July, but look at the walks and strikeouts per inning. Astounding. Jones is definitely one to watch! What do you think? Please feel free to discuss and ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - July
Seth Stohs posted a blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
-
Twins Minor League Report (8/3): Rochester Wins in Dramatic Fashion
Seth Stohs posted an article in Minor Leagues
There are a lot of ways to win a ball game, but one of the most unlikely occurred in Rochester on Saturday night. A 29-year-old from Marshalltown, Iowa, who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins eleven years ago got to play hero... twice. Another minor league free agent signing helped lead the New Britain Rock Cats to a big victory. A great way to get a win happened with the Ft. Myers Miracle: if your pitcher throws a complete game shutout, there is a good chance your team will win. Of course, life in the minor leagues can also teach us how to lose. We saw a couple of those on Saturday as well. Poor starting pitching and poor defense are often quick ways to a loss.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Saturday: Rochester 7, Syracuse 6 (12 innings) Box Score Based on the final score alone, it might be hard to believe that this game, through nine innings was tied 1-1. The Chiefs opened it up with a big, five-run tenth frame. The Red Wings attempted a comeback, and Jeff Clement had the chance to play hero… twice. Well, to see how, you’ll just have to read below. PJ Walters started for Rochester, and was very good through five innings. He did not give up a run. However, in the sixth inning, his control eluded him. He issued three free passes in that frame, one of which drove in a run. Overall, he went 5.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits; he walked five, hit one and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came on and continued his streak of scoreless innings and appearances. He got four outs, so he has now not given up a run in 20 appearances and 25.2 innings. Michael Tonkin gave up one hit through the eighth and ninth innings. However, Luis Perdomo came in to start the tenth. He got one out, but he walked one, hit one and gave up a hit and was charged with three runs because Cody Eppley allowed the inherited runners to score, plus two more. That brings us to the bottom of the 10th, Red Wings down 6-1. To that point, the Wings had just four hits. With two outs, Chris Parmelee cut the lead to 6-2 with an RBI single. Soon after, the bases were loaded, and Jeff Clement stepped to the plate. The unlikely happened: Clement launched a grand slam to tie the game at six. So, it was off to the 11th inning. Eppley stayed in the game, but after getting two outs, he had walked two more batters. Shairon Martis came in and got the final out of the 11th inning and pitched a scoreless 12th frame as well. With one out in the bottom of the 12th inning, Deibinson Romero walked for the third time. Eduardo Escobar came in to run for him. Who stepped to the plate? Jeff Clement, and he came through again. He doubled and Escobar scored the winning run. Aside from Clement, Josmil Pinto and James Beresford each had two hits in the game. New Britain 6, Erie 4 Box Score Despite a 99 minute delay to the start of this game, the Rock Cat bats showed up right away. They scored four runs in the bottom of the first and the team held on for the rest of the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez again had a big game. The first baseman went 3-4 with his 24th double and his 15th home run. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his 18th double. Kyle Knudson went 2-3 with his second AA double. BJ Hermsen got a spot start. He tossed the first three innings and gave up three runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. Blake Martin came on and gave up one run on one hit in 1.2 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Dan Turpen went the next 1.1 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk and struck out two. Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless inning. Matt Hauser came on for the final two innings and struck out two. Ft. Myers 5, Tampa 0 Box Score For the second time in his last four starts, lefty Taylor Rogers threw a complete game shutout. In his nine innings he gave up five hits, walked three and struck out seven. Photo by Linwood Ferguson/Ft. Myers Miracle Darin Mastroianni, in his second rehab game, was 3-5 with two doubles. Dalton Hicks was 3-4 with a walk. JD Williams was 2-4 with a walk and his eighth stolen base. Matt Koch went 2-5 with his 17th double. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4. Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 5 Box Score Going into the ninth inning, 2012 top pick Carlos Correia had the same number of hits (four) in the game as the Kernels did. It was also just one more than the number of errors the Kernels committed. Cedar Rapids got two singles in the ninth, but couldn’t come up with the big hit. Niko Goodrum had the lone extra base hit, his 20th double. Mason Melotakis started for the Kernels. The lefty gave up four runs (2 earned) on eight hits. He walked none and struck out five. Dallas Gallant came on and gave up one run on one hit and one walk in his inning. He struck out two. Tim Shibuya pitched the final three innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out two. Elizabethton 6, Bluefield 14 Box Score It was not a good start for Tanner Mendonca. He gave up eight runs (5 earned) on five hits and three walks in just two innings. The three earned runs came in the first inning because of a throwing error by Mendonca. He was replaced by Kuo Hua Lo who gave up two runs on three hits over the next three innings. He hit two batters and struck out five. Carson Goldsmith came on and got two outs. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. Andrew Ferreira retired the four batters he faced. Brandon Peterson then gave up three runs on four hits and a walk over the final two innings. He struck out three. Lead off man Zach Granite went 3-5. Mitch Garver went 2-4 with his tenth double and four RBI. Rory Rhodes went 2-5 with his ninth double. GCL Twins 10, GCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Amaurys Minier returned to the GCL lineup for the first time since leaving the July 24th game with a quad injury. He had just one hit in the game, but it was his sixth home run. Jason Kanzler was 2-5 with his second double. Zach Larson was 2-5 with his sixth double. Adonis Pacheco was 1-2 with two walks. Alex Wimmers had a rough start in his rehab. The righty gave up eight runs (5 earned) on nine hits in three innings. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out two. Brandon Easton came on and worked the next three innings, giving up no runs on one hit. He walked none and struck out four. Miguel Gonzalez gave up one hit and one walk in his two innings. He struck out four. Jose Abreu came on to earn his fourth save. He walked one and struck out one in the ninth inning. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Report (8/3): Rochester Wins in Dramatic Fashion
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
There are a lot of ways to win a ball game, but one of the most unlikely occurred in Rochester on Saturday night. A 29-year-old from Marshalltown, Iowa, who was drafted by the Minnesota Twins eleven years ago got to play hero, twice. Another minor league free agent signing helped lead the New Britain Rock Cats to a big victory. A great way to get a win happened with the Ft. Myers Miracle. If your pitcher throws a complete game shutout, there is a good chance your team will win. Of course, life in the minor leagues can also teach us how to lose. We saw a couple of those on Saturday as well. Poor starting pitching and poor defense is a quick way to losing. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Saturday: Rochester 7, Syracuse 6 (12 innings) Box Score Based on the final score alone, it might be hard to believe that this game needed extra innings. A 1-1 tie through nine, the Chiefs opened it up with a big, five-run tenth frame. The Red Wings attempted a comeback, and Jeff Clement had the chance to play hero… twice. Well, to see how, you’ll just have to read below. PJ Walters started for Rochester, and was very good through five innings. He did not give up a run. However, in the sixth inning, his control eluded him. He walked three in the inning, including walking in a run. Overall, he went 5.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits. He walked five, hit one and struck out three. Edgar Ibarra came on and continued his streak of scoreless innings and appearances. He got four outs, so he has not given up a run in 20 appearances and 25.2 innings. Michael Tonkin gave up one hit over the eighth and ninth innings. However, Luis Perdomo came in to start the tenth. He got one out, but he walked one, hit one and gave up a hit and was charged with three runs because Cody Eppley allowed the inherited runners to score, plus two more. That brings us to the bottom of the 10th, Red Wings down 6-1. To that point in the game, the Twins had just four hits. With two outs, Chris Parmelee cut the lead to 6-2 with an RBI single. Soon after, the bases were loaded, and Jeff Clement stepped to the plate. The unlikely happened. Clement launched a grand slam to tie the game at six. So, it was off to the 11th inning. Eppley stayed in the game, but after getting two outs, he had walked two more batters. Shairon Martis came in and got the final out of the 11th inning and pitched a scoreless 12th frame as well. With one out in the bottom of the 12th inning, Deibinson Romero walked for the third time in the game. Eduardo Escobar came in to run for him. Who stepped to the plate? Jeff Clement, and he came through again. He doubled and Escobar was able to score the winning run. Aside from Clement, Josmil Pinto and James Beresford each had two hits in the game. New Britain 6, Erie 4 Box Score Despite a 99 minute delay to the start of this game, the Rock Cat bats showed up right away. They scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning and held on for the rest of the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez again had a big game. The first baseman went 3-4 with his 24th double and his 15th home run. Danny Santana went 2-4 with his 18th double. Kyle Knudson went 2-3 with his second AA double. BJ Hermsen got a spot start. He went the first three innings and gave up three runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. Blake Martin came on and gave up one run on one hit in 1.2 innings. He walked two and struck out three. Dan Turpen went the next 1.1 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and a walk and struck out two. Jose Gonzalez pitched a scoreless inning. Matt Hauser came on for the final two innings and struck out two. Ft. Myers 5, Tampa 0 Box Score For the second time in his last four starts, lefty Taylor Rogers threw a complete game shutout. In his nine innings, he gave up five hits, walked three and struck out seven. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5088[/ATTACH] Photo by Linwood Ferguson/Ft. Myers Miracle Darin Mastroianni, in his second rehab game, was 3-5 with two doubles. Dalton Hicks was 3-4 with a walk. JD Williams was 2-4 with a walk and his eighth stolen base. Matt Koch went 2-5 with his 17th double. Mike Kvasnicka went 2-4. Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 5 Box Score Going into the ninth inning, 2012 top pick Carlos Correia had the same number of hits (four) in the game as the Kernels did. It was also just one more than the number of errors that that Kernels had. Cedar Rapids got two singles in the ninth, but couldn’t come up with the big hit. Niko Goodrum had the lone extra base hit, his 20th double. Mason Melotakis started for the Kernels. The lefty gave up four runs (2 earned) on eight hits. He walked none and struck out five. Dallas Gallant came on and gave up one run on one hit and one walk in his inning. He struck out two. Tim Shibuya pitched the final three innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out two. Elizabethton 6, Bluefield 14 Box Score It was not a good start for Tanner Mendonca. In total, he gave up eight runs (5 earned) on five hits and three walks in just two innings. The three earned runs came in the first inning because of a throwing error, by Mendonca. He was replaced by Kuo Hua Lo who gave up two runs on three hits over the next three innings. He hit two batters. He struck out five. Carson Goldsmith came on and got two outs. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. Andrew Ferreira got the four batters that he faced out. Brandon Peterson then gave up three runs on four hits and a walk over the final two innings. He struck out three. Lead off man Zach Granite went 3-5. Mitch Garver went 2-4 with his tenth double and four RBI. Rory Rhodes went 2-5 with his ninth double. GCL Twins 10, GCL Red Sox 8 Box Score Amaurys Minier returned to the GCL lineup for the first time since leaving a July 24 game with a quad injury. He had just one hit in the game, but it was his sixth home run of the season. Jason Kanzler was 2-5 with his second double. Zach Larson was 2-5 with his sixth double. Adonis Pacheco was 1-2 with two walks. Alex Wimmers had a rough start in his rehab. The righty gave up eight runs (5 earned) on nine hits in just three innings. He didn’t walk anyone and struck out two. Brandon Easton came on and worked the next three innings. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked none and struck out four. Miguel Gonzalez gave up one hit and one walk in his two innings. He struck out four. Jose Abreu came on for his fourth save. He walked one and struck out one in the ninth inning. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Report (8/3): Rochester Wins in Dramatic Fashion
Seth Stohs posted a blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
-
Twins Arizona Fall League Roster
Seth Stohs commented on lightfoot789's blog entry in Blog lightfoot789
"Most are Double-A and Triple-A Minor League players.[1] Each club can opt to send two players below Double-A. Foreign players are allowed, as long as the player is not on his native country's primary protected player list." Have to assume that Vargas, Rosario and Sano are on those primary protected lists as they played for their big teams in winter ball. Mike Berardino tweeted to me last night that players on the DL after some date in mid-July are also ineligible. That would mean no for Wimmers and also Alex Meyer, if true. -
Friday was a busy day in the Twins organization. Aside from the big league club needing 13 innings to score a win, there were seven minor league games on the day. Miguel Sano was out of the New Britain lineup again, but a source informed me that he had a tight hamstring. Also, Byron Buxton was out of the Ft. Myers lineup for the fifth straight game. He reportedly lost a toenail and is deemed day-to-day. Kohl Stewart was[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] finally put on the GCL Twins 7-day disabled list with his cut foot. His teammate and fellow 2013 draft pick Stephen Gonsalves was promoted to Elizabethton after posting a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings with the GCL Twins. Catcher Bo Altobelli was promoted to Cedar Rapids. And, maybe you’ve heard, the Twins did select the contract of LHP Andrew Albers. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Friday: Rochester 9, Lehigh Valley 5 Box Score It was the offense that picked up the Red Wings on this night. After going 0-4 in his AAA debut the previous night, Josmil Pinto went 3-4 with his first double. He was also hit by a pitch. Eric Farris went 3-5 with two RBI; he also stole his 15th base. Chris Parmelee had a single and two walks. Eduardo Escobar doubled for the seventh time with the Red Wings and drove in three runs. Virgil Vasquez got the start and recorded his fourth Red Wings win. He gave up one run on eight hits in 5.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Shairon Martis gave up two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two to record his ninth save. New Britain 9, Erie 6 Box Score Two hitters starred for the Rock Cats tonight, creating most of the team’s offense. Evan Bigley appears to be back and at 100% He homered on Thursday night. On Friday night, he was 3-4 with his second home run and three RBI. Angel Morales hit ninth, but he had a big night too. He went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his fourth home run. He also drove in three runs. Kyle Davies started for the Rock Cats and went seven innings to improve to 2-0. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up two runs on three hits in the eighth inning. He struck out one. Dan Sattler came on and had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first save. Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 2 Box Score Byron Buxton was out for the fifth straight game, and the Miracle offense really struggled. They had just four hits in this game and managed to strikeout 15 times. Darin Mastroianni went 1-2 before being replaced. Dalton Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Manuel Soliman was back on the mound to start. He gave up three hits in 3.1 scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out one. Adrian Salcedo came on and struck out three in 2.2 perfect innings. Tyler Duffey came out of the bullpen and worked the final two innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk; he struck out two and took the loss. Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 6 Box Score As we’ve seen with many of the other affiliates, the offense had a tough day. It’s rare for the Kernels' offense to struggle. They had just six hits. Adam Walker, the July Minor League Hitter of the Month, went 2-4 and hit his 23rd home run. Niko Goodrum drove in the other run. Tim Atherton started for the Kernels. The Aussie right-hander gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits and a walk in just three innings; he struck out two. Alex Muren came on and was perfect for three innings. He struck out four. Hudson Boyd walked one and struck out one in two scoreless innings. Elizabethton 3, Bluefield 11 Box Score It was yet another rough night for the Elizabethton Twins. Randy Rosario started and gave up four runs on five hits and six walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five. CK Irby came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings. Ryan Eades came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in two innings. Yes, he had two strikeouts, too. Andre Martinez’s struggles continued. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. He struck out two. Zach Granite was 2-4 with a walk. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his second triple. Javier Pimentel was 2-4 with his ninth double. Ryan Walker went 2-4. Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner each hit a double. Game 1 – GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Fernando Romero was terrific in the first game. He went five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. Luke Bard them came on and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Derrick Penilla got the final out but not before giving up a hit. Lester Oliveros came in and recorded the save. He walked one and struck out three in his rehab inning. The GCL Twins managed just five hits. Chad Christensen hit his fifth double. Jorge Fernandez hit his sixth double. Jason Kanzler tripled. Game 2 – GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score It was a pitcher’s duel in Game 2. Leonel Zazueta went the first four innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one. Reyson Zoquiel walked one in his inning. Josh Guyer gave up one hit in his inning. Brian Navarreto went 2-3 and drove in the team’s lone run. Joel Polanco was 2-3 with his fifth double. Adonis Pacheco hit his fourth triple. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.
-
Twins Minor League Report (8/2): Friday Night Lights
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
Friday was a busy day in the Twins organization. Aside from the big league club needing 13 innings, there were seven minor league games on the day. Miguel Sano was out of the New Britain lineup again, but a source informed me that he had a tight hamstring. Also, Byron Buxton was out of the Ft. Myers lineup for the fifth straight game. He reportedly lost a toenail and is deemed day-to-day. Kohl Stewart was finally put on the GCL Twins 7-Day Disabled List with his cut foot. His teammate and fellow 2013 draft pick Stephen Gonsalves was promoted to Elizabethton after posting a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings with the GCL Twins. Catcher Bo Altobelli was promoted to Cedar Rapids. And, maybe you’ve heard, but the Twins did select the contract of LHP Andrew Albers. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Friday: Rochester 9, Lehigh Valley 5 Box Score It was the offense that picked things up for the Red Wings on this night. After going 0-4 in his AAA debut the previous night, Josmil Pinto went 3-4 with his first double. He was also hit by a pitch. Eric Farris went 3-5 with two RBI. He also stole his 15th base. Chris Parmelee had a single and two walks. Eduardo Escobar doubled for the seventh time with the Red Wings and drove in three runs. Virgil Vasquez got the start and recorded his fourth Red Wings win. He gave up one run on eight hits in 5.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Shairon Martis gave up two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two to record his ninth save. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5078[/ATTACH] New Britain 9, Erie 6 Box Score Two hitters starred for the Rock Cats on this night, creating most of the team’s offense. Evan Bigley appears to be back and at 100% He homered on Thursday night. On Friday night, he was 3-4 with his second home run and three RBI. Angel Morales hit ninth, but he had a big night too. He went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his fourth home run. He also drove in three runs. Kyle Davies started for the Rock Cats and went seven innings to improve to 2-0. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up two runs on three hits I the eighth inning. He struck out one. Dan Sattler came on and had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first save. Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 2 Box Score Byron Buxton was out for the fifth straight game, and the Miracle offense really struggled. They managed just four hits in this game and managed to strikeout 15 times. Darin Mastroianni went 1-2 before being replaced. Dalton Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Manuel Soliman was back on the mound to start. He gave up three hits in 3.1 scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out one. Adrian Salcedo came on and struck out three in 2.2 perfect innings. Tyler Duffey came out of the bullpen and worked the final two innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 6 Box Score As we’ve seen with many of the other affiliates, offense was a struggle in this game. It’s rare for the Kernels offense to struggle. They had just six hits. Adam Walker, the July minor league hitter of the month, went 2-4 and hit his 23rd home run. Niko Goodrum drove in the other run. Tim Atherton started for the Kernels. The Aussie right-hander gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits and a walk in just three innings. He struck out two. Alex Muren came on and was perfect for three innings. He struck out four. Hudson Boyd walked one and struck out one in two scoreless innings. Elizabethton 3, Bluefield 11 Box Score It was yet another rough night for the Elizabethton Twins. Randy Rosario started and gave up four runs on five hits and six walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five. CK Irby came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings. Ryan Eades came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in two innings. Yes, he had two strikeouts too. Andre Martinez’s struggles continued. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. He struck out two. Zach Granite was 2-4 with a walk. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his second triple. Javier Pimentel was 2-4 with his ninth double. Ryan Walker went 2-4. Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner each hit a double. Game 1 – GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Fernando Romero was terrific in the first game. He went five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. Luke Bard them came on and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Derrick Penilla got the final out but not before giving up a hit. Lester Oliveros came in and recorded the save. He walked one and struck out three in his rehab inning. The GCL Twins managed just five hits. Chad Christensen hit his fifth double. Jorge Fernandez hit his sixth double. Jason Kanzler tripled. Game 2 – GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score It was a pitcher’s duel in Game 2. Leonel Zazueta went the first four innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one. Reyson Zoquiel walked one in his inning. Josh Guyer gave up one hit in his inning. Brian Navarreto went 2-3 and drove in the team’s lone run. Joel Polanco was 2-3 with his fifth double. Adonis Pacheco hit his fourth triple. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Report (8/2): Friday Night Lights
Seth Stohs posted a blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
Friday was a busy day in the Twins organization. Aside from the big league club needing 13 innings, there were seven minor league games on the day. Miguel Sano was out of the New Britain lineup again, but a source informed me that he had a tight hamstring. Also, Byron Buxton was out of the Ft. Myers lineup for the fifth straight game. He reportedly lost a toenail and is deemed day-to-day. Kohl Stewart was finally put on the GCL Twins 7-Day Disabled List with his cut foot. His teammate and fellow 2013 draft pick Stephen Gonsalves was promoted to Elizabethton after posting a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings with the GCL Twins. Catcher Bo Altobelli was promoted to Cedar Rapids. And, maybe you’ve heard, but the Twins did select the contract of LHP Andrew Albers. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Friday: Rochester 9, Lehigh Valley 5 Box Score It was the offense that picked things up for the Red Wings on this night. After going 0-4 in his AAA debut the previous night, Josmil Pinto went 3-4 with his first double. He was also hit by a pitch. Eric Farris went 3-5 with two RBI. He also stole his 15th base. Chris Parmelee had a single and two walks. Eduardo Escobar doubled for the seventh time with the Red Wings and drove in three runs. Virgil Vasquez got the start and recorded his fourth Red Wings win. He gave up one run on eight hits in 5.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Shairon Martis gave up two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two to record his ninth save. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5078[/ATTACH] New Britain 9, Erie 6 Box Score Two hitters starred for the Rock Cats on this night, creating most of the team’s offense. Evan Bigley appears to be back and at 100% He homered on Thursday night. On Friday night, he was 3-4 with his second home run and three RBI. Angel Morales hit ninth, but he had a big night too. He went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his fourth home run. He also drove in three runs. Kyle Davies started for the Rock Cats and went seven innings to improve to 2-0. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up two runs on three hits I the eighth inning. He struck out one. Dan Sattler came on and had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first save. Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 2 Box Score Byron Buxton was out for the fifth straight game, and the Miracle offense really struggled. They managed just four hits in this game and managed to strikeout 15 times. Darin Mastroianni went 1-2 before being replaced. Dalton Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Manuel Soliman was back on the mound to start. He gave up three hits in 3.1 scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out one. Adrian Salcedo came on and struck out three in 2.2 perfect innings. Tyler Duffey came out of the bullpen and worked the final two innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 6 Box Score As we’ve seen with many of the other affiliates, offense was a struggle in this game. It’s rare for the Kernels offense to struggle. They had just six hits. Adam Walker, the July minor league hitter of the month, went 2-4 and hit his 23rd home run. Niko Goodrum drove in the other run. Tim Atherton started for the Kernels. The Aussie right-hander gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits and a walk in just three innings. He struck out two. Alex Muren came on and was perfect for three innings. He struck out four. Hudson Boyd walked one and struck out one in two scoreless innings. Elizabethton 3, Bluefield 11 Box Score It was yet another rough night for the Elizabethton Twins. Randy Rosario started and gave up four runs on five hits and six walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five. CK Irby came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings. Ryan Eades came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in two innings. Yes, he had two strikeouts too. Andre Martinez’s struggles continued. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. He struck out two. Zach Granite was 2-4 with a walk. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his second triple. Javier Pimentel was 2-4 with his ninth double. Ryan Walker went 2-4. Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner each hit a double. Game 1 – GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Fernando Romero was terrific in the first game. He went five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. Luke Bard them came on and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Derrick Penilla got the final out but not before giving up a hit. Lester Oliveros came in and recorded the save. He walked one and struck out three in his rehab inning. The GCL Twins managed just five hits. Chad Christensen hit his fifth double. Jorge Fernandez hit his sixth double. Jason Kanzler tripled. Game 2 – GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score It was a pitcher’s duel in Game 2. Leonel Zazueta went the first four innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one. Reyson Zoquiel walked one in his inning. Josh Guyer gave up one hit in his inning. Brian Navarreto went 2-3 and drove in the team’s lone run. Joel Polanco was 2-3 with his fifth double. Adonis Pacheco hit his fourth triple. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Report (8/2): Friday Night Lights
Seth Stohs commented on Seth Stohs's blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
Friday was a busy day in the Twins organization. Aside from the big league club needing 13 innings, there were seven minor league games on the day. Miguel Sano was out of the New Britain lineup again, but a source informed me that he had a tight hamstring. Also, Byron Buxton was out of the Ft. Myers lineup for the fifth straight game. He reportedly lost a toenail and is deemed day-to-day. Kohl Stewart was finally put on the GCL Twins 7-Day Disabled List with his cut foot. His teammate and fellow 2013 draft pick Stephen Gonsalves was promoted to Elizabethton after posting a 0.63 ERA in 14.1 innings with the GCL Twins. Catcher Bo Altobelli was promoted to Cedar Rapids. And, maybe you’ve heard, but the Twins did select the contract of LHP Andrew Albers. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Friday: Rochester 9, Lehigh Valley 5 Box Score It was the offense that picked things up for the Red Wings on this night. After going 0-4 in his AAA debut the previous night, Josmil Pinto went 3-4 with his first double. He was also hit by a pitch. Eric Farris went 3-5 with two RBI. He also stole his 15th base. Chris Parmelee had a single and two walks. Eduardo Escobar doubled for the seventh time with the Red Wings and drove in three runs. Virgil Vasquez got the start and recorded his fourth Red Wings win. He gave up one run on eight hits in 5.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Shairon Martis gave up two runs on two hits in 1.2 innings. He walked none and struck out two to record his ninth save. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5078[/ATTACH] New Britain 9, Erie 6 Box Score Two hitters starred for the Rock Cats on this night, creating most of the team’s offense. Evan Bigley appears to be back and at 100% He homered on Thursday night. On Friday night, he was 3-4 with his second home run and three RBI. Angel Morales hit ninth, but he had a big night too. He went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his fourth home run. He also drove in three runs. Kyle Davies started for the Rock Cats and went seven innings to improve to 2-0. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. He walked two and struck out seven. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up two runs on three hits I the eighth inning. He struck out one. Dan Sattler came on and had a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his first save. Ft. Myers 1, Tampa 2 Box Score Byron Buxton was out for the fifth straight game, and the Miracle offense really struggled. They managed just four hits in this game and managed to strikeout 15 times. Darin Mastroianni went 1-2 before being replaced. Dalton Hicks was 1-3 with a walk. Manuel Soliman was back on the mound to start. He gave up three hits in 3.1 scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out one. Adrian Salcedo came on and struck out three in 2.2 perfect innings. Tyler Duffey came out of the bullpen and worked the final two innings. He was charged with two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out two. Cedar Rapids 2, Burlington 6 Box Score As we’ve seen with many of the other affiliates, offense was a struggle in this game. It’s rare for the Kernels offense to struggle. They had just six hits. Adam Walker, the July minor league hitter of the month, went 2-4 and hit his 23rd home run. Niko Goodrum drove in the other run. Tim Atherton started for the Kernels. The Aussie right-hander gave up six runs (4 earned) on five hits and a walk in just three innings. He struck out two. Alex Muren came on and was perfect for three innings. He struck out four. Hudson Boyd walked one and struck out one in two scoreless innings. Elizabethton 3, Bluefield 11 Box Score It was yet another rough night for the Elizabethton Twins. Randy Rosario started and gave up four runs on five hits and six walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out five. CK Irby came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings. Ryan Eades came on and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks in two innings. Yes, he had two strikeouts too. Andre Martinez’s struggles continued. He gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. He struck out two. Zach Granite was 2-4 with a walk. Logan Wade was 2-4 with his second triple. Javier Pimentel was 2-4 with his ninth double. Ryan Walker went 2-4. Mitch Garver and Stuart Turner each hit a double. Game 1 – GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Fernando Romero was terrific in the first game. He went five shutout innings and gave up just one hit. He walked one and struck out five. Luke Bard them came on and gave up three runs on two hits and a walk in 0.2 innings. Derrick Penilla got the final out but not before giving up a hit. Lester Oliveros came in and recorded the save. He walked one and struck out three in his rehab inning. The GCL Twins managed just five hits. Chad Christensen hit his fifth double. Jorge Fernandez hit his sixth double. Jason Kanzler tripled. Game 2 – GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score It was a pitcher’s duel in Game 2. Leonel Zazueta went the first four innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk while striking out one. Reyson Zoquiel walked one in his inning. Josh Guyer gave up one hit in his inning. Brian Navarreto went 2-3 and drove in the team’s lone run. Joel Polanco was 2-3 with his fifth double. Adonis Pacheco hit his fourth triple. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions. -
Twins Minor League Report (8/2): Friday Night Lights
Seth Stohs posted a blog entry in SethSpeaks.net
-
The Twins announced tonight that Andrew Albers will be called up tomorrow to the Minnesota Twins. It is something that he very much deserves. Who knows how it will go for him, but he has earned the opportunity. Following the 2011 Twins minor league season, I named Andrew Albers the Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. Because of that, I wrote the below story about him that appeared in the 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Like so many other Twins this season, including Chris Colabello and Caleb Thielbar, Albers' story to the big leagues is terrific. After this article was written, much more happened in a successful 2012 season. In 2013, he represented Canada in the WBC, and he's been Rochester's best starting pitcher all season. Enjoy the story below, most of which is in his own words: [ATTACH=CONFIG]5075[/ATTACH] ------------------------ Less than a month before Twins minor league training camp began, Andrew Albers was sitting in Arizona, hoping for an opportunity with an affiliated team. He was 25-years-old and wondering how long he would continue to play baseball. Since signing with the Twins shortly before camp, things have been going very well for Albers. The story is incredible, but let’s start from the beginning. Albers was born in North Battleford, Saskachewan in 1985. Understandably, he was not a Twins fan as a child. “Twins fans may not like this, but when I was growing up in Saskatchewan, I was a big Blue Jays fan. That was back in the day of the two World Series Championship teams. I used to love the players on those teams. Guys like Devon White, Roberto Alomar, Joe Carter, Juan Guzman, Pat Hentgen, and the list goes on.” Like most Canadian children in the ‘90s, Larry Walker was also a major influence while he was growing up. Albers played some hockey as a youth. When he turned 12, he realized that he wasn’t a great hockey player. “So, once I got to high school, I retired from my brief hockey career and began to play volleyball, basketball and badminton in high school. I really enjoyed getting the opportunity to play some different sports and enjoyed what each one had to offer. Plus, I feel like it gave me an opportunity to improve my overall athletic ability which certainly helped with baseball and with all sports. In addition, it allowed me to not get burnt out from only playing baseball all the time.” There is no high school baseball in Canada, so he only played baseball in the summers. “We were a AA town, and the best teams were usually AAA caliber. My summer midget team (15-18 year olds) played in a senior men’s league around the province of Saskatchewan. So I played in that league for three years and got to pitch against all kinds of senior men’s teams. Then we always had some other tournaments and Provincial playoffs that went along with that season. Our baseball seasons were fairly short and spanned from about the end of April to the middle of August.” Albers is proof that if a player can play, a scout will find him. In 2004, Albers was drafted in the 12th round by the Milwaukee Brewers. 33 Instead of signing, he went to the University of Kentucky. “For me, it was a matter of maturity. I don’t think I was mature enough coming out of high school to go into professional baseball. I knew I had a good situation if I chose to go to the University of Kentucky. I was going to have great coaching and was going to have the opportunity to play in one of the nation’s top baseball conferences. I also knew that I had to get a lot stronger and had never lived on my own, so I thought college would be a better fit for me. It would also allow me to work on getting my degree in case baseball did not end up working out for me. I have never regretted my decision to go to school.” At Kentucky, he played for coached John Cohen and Gary Henderson (pitching coach). “Coach Henderson was very influential on me growing, both as a person and as a baseball player. He was such an outstanding coach that helped me learn so many things about the game and about myself. There is no doubt in my mind that I would not be where I am without Coach Henderson.” At Kentucky, he was a starter as a freshman and a junior, and pitched out of the bullpen his sophomore and senior seasons. Albers helped his team to an SEC championship in 2006. In 2008, they played in a regional tournament in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Following his senior season, the San Diego Padres selected Albers in the 10th round of the 2008 draft. His transition to professional baseball did not go smoothly. “I came down with an elbow injury almost immediately, and as a result was unable to compete much that first year. It made for a long few months in Peoria, Arizona, because I was continually rehabbing my elbow and was frustrated that it wasn’t getting any better. I was also in Rookie ball as a 22-year-old playing against a lot of players fresh out of high school and just over from Latin America. When he came to spring training in 2009, his elbow was still injured despite resting and rehabbing throughout the offseason. “I came to spring training with the attitude that either I was going to throw until my elbow started feeling better or I was going to blow it out.” Unfortunately, the elbow got worse, and in April of 2009, he had Tommy John surgery. In August, he was unable to regain his range of motion and needed to have a second surgery to remove some scar tissue from his elbow. He continued to rehab, but in spring of 2010, he was released by the Padres. He was released the day after he threw to live hitters for the first time since his surgery. He returned to Canada and tried out for Quebec Capitales of the independent Can-Am League. Although his elbow was still not feeling healthy. He wasn’t certain how it would hold up over the full season. In training camp, he tore a ligament in his ankle doing PFPs (Pitcher’s Fielding Practice). He returned a week later, pitched in an exhibition game and made the team. He proceeded to go 3-0 with 17 saves and a 1.40 ERA in 40 games. In 57.2 innings, he gave up 41 hits, walked 16 and struck out 59. “During my time there, I learned a lot about who I was as well as about various things related to the business of baseball. For me the entire season was about trying to get another shot at affiliated baseball and seeing how my arm would respond. The more I was able to pitch, the better my arm began to feel. I was having an outstanding season for the Capitales and was hoping eventually someone would take notice. However, that was not in the cards and I did not receive an opportunity to get on with any affiliated teams that season. It helped me to learn not to worry about the aspects of this game that I cannot control. I only need to worry about the parts of the game that I can control. That is,how I go about my daily business, how I prepare for a game, my response to external factors and the adversity that players face. I think that was a big step for me and it allowed me to quit worrying about all the other things outside of performing on the diamond. It was a matter of having faith that one way or another everything would work itself out. Whether that meant I would be playing baseball or not, I had the faith in God that He would point me in the right direction. From a player standpoint the season was also an important stepping stone for me. It allowed me to pitch against wooden bats for my first full season and to see what worked against hitters with wooden bats was important for me. The season also gave me a chance to work on my change-up and continue to try and improve my other deliveries.” That brings us back to spring training of 2011. After having a terrific season in Quebec, Albers was able to line up some tryouts. In his own words, “The teams that I lined up tryouts with were the Angels, Rockies and Brewers, all of whom had their spring training down in Arizona. I had been throwing back home during the winter in my old high school gym using an archery target as a mound to throw off of, just throwing against the wall. I figured if I was going to give 35 these tryouts an honest chance that I had better get outside a few times and throw off of a real mound before I went down trying to earn a job in Arizona. So I called up my old college pitching coach Gary Henderson, who is now the head coach at the University of Kentucky, and asked him if I could come down to Lexington for a couple weeks and use some of their facilities to throw, and maybe get a catcher to throw to, as well as face some hitters. He said that would be fine so I drove from home (North Battleford, Saskatchewan) to Phoenix, AZ (about 30 hours) and left my car with some family members who had headed to Arizona for the winter. From there I flew over to Lexington. While I was in Lexington, I had thrown a couple of bullpens and coach Henderson asked me how everything was feeling. I told him everything was good, arm felt nice and strong and the elbow was feeling good. So he suggested that he would try and get a couple of area scouts out from the Twins to come watch me throw to some of UK's hitters. I told him that would be great if he could set that up for me. So he called up Earl Winn and Tim O'Neil who were gracious enough to come watch me throw to some hitters in Lexington. When I was talking to Tim and Earl after my session they told me they had liked what they saw and would see what they could do about getting me an invitation to spring training. Unfortunately there were a lot of little details that needed to be ironed out. The Twins wanted me to pass a medical exam from their doctors to make sure that my elbow was ok. My independent ball contract would have to be bought out if they were to invite me to spring training. They wanted to see all of my past medical history with the Padres. Finally, being Canadian, I was going to need a visa if I was going to play for the Twins. So we were talking back and forth over the next week and just couldn't line everything up so Tim suggested that I go to Arizona and go to these open tryouts and if nothing came about to call him back. So I flew back to Phoenix, and had the Angels tryout lined up for the next day but it ended up getting cancelled at the last minute. So it was down to the Brewers and the Rockies. So I went to the tryout with the Brewers. It was a closed bullpen session. I felt like I threw the ball pretty well but unfortunately, I did not impress them enough to receive an invitation to spring training. I then went to the Rockies tryout two days later. It was an open tryout and there were about 50 guys there, pitchers and hitters. The tryout was throwing 15 pitches to three different hitters, and then it was over. It went very quickly and once again, I did not impress enough to receive an invitation to spring training. I called Tim back and told him about the tryouts and how I was still looking for a spring training invite. He got on the phone and was talking to some of the higher-up members of the organization. He told me the Twins may be interested in flying me down to Fort Myers, so I could see their team doctor and throw for some more people before they made a decision on whether or not to invite me to spring training. He said that it probably wouldn't happen for another couple days though. So as I was sitting in my hotel room, I came up with a different plan. I really just wanted one more shot at affiliated ball. Just wanted a chance when I was healthy to see how far I could go and see at what level I was able to compete. So I called Tim back and explained to him that I would drive from Phoenix to Fort Myers (about 37 hours) and see the doctors and throw for whoever wanted to come watch me throw. Then if the Twins were willing to offer me an invitation to spring training, they could reimburse me for my travel. If not, I would just drive home from there. (Fort Myers to North Battleford is about a 47 hour drive). So he made a couple phone calls and called me back that night and told me that would be fine. So I hopped in my car the next morning and made the cross country drive over to Fort Myers. Once I arrived in Fort Myers, I saw the team doctor. He checked my arm and said everything looked fine. Then I threw a bullpen for Raz (Twins minor league pitching coordinator Eric Rasmussen) and a couple of other coaches. Luckily they liked me enough to offer me an invitation to try and make a club in spring training. I was really excited when I heard the news that they were going to give me a chance at spring training. That was all that I could have asked for.” The 25-year-old was thrilled for the opportunity and ready to make the best of it. However, in minor league camp, he was working on the rookie ball roster which meant that he would not be starting the season with a full season team.After talking to Rasmussen, he learned that was because his visa had not yet arrived. The Twins needed to wait for that in order for him to play. When Alex Wimmers and Miguel Munoz went on the Disabled List a couple weeks into the season, Albers and Matt Schuld were promoted to Ft. Myers. In 22 games with the Miracle, he went 4-1 with four saves. In 52.1 innings, he gave up 48 hits, walked seven and struck out 46. “My plan was to just go out and be aggressive and pitch to my strengths. I guess I surprised myself a little bit with the first half that I had. Everything kind of went my way, and I caught some breaks and got a little lucky. The defense was outstanding with the likes of Brian Dozier, James Beresford and Aaron Hicks up the middle. Those three guys can make up for a lot of mistakes that I make as a pitcher.” He was then promoted to Double-A New Britain where he pitched in 13 games. He went 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA. In 43.1 innings, he gave up 44 hits, walked seven and struck out 34. “Overall, the Eastern league was certainly filled with teams who had better lineups than in the FSL. However, I still found that it came down to me being able to make quality pitches. When I was able to work down in the zone, ahead in the count and make my pitches I was successful. It was just when you fell behind and had to groove a fastball to the guys in the Eastern league instead of hitting a sharp single, they were able to find a gap or put it out of the ballpark. So for me, it was all about being aggressive and trying to work ahead. When I was able to do that, I was able to get them a little off balance with my off speed pitches and get outs.” On the season, Albers made 35 appearances, seven of which were starts. “There is the obvious difference of having a set routine as a starter and never knowing when you're going to pitch as a reliever. I also change my approach on the mound depending on if I start or come out of the ‘pen. As a starter, it is important to try and go deep into ball games and try to keep your pitch count down. In order to do that, you have to be very aggressive and throw a lot of fastballs early to try and get early contact and quick outs. You also have some time to find your secondary stuff. If it isn't there in the first and second innings, you usually have some time to figure out what adjustment needs to be made and make it within the next couple of innings.” “As a reliever, it is a totally different mindset. You have to be ready to go immediately, especially as a left hander because you might only be in the game to face one hitter. You have to try and find all of your pitches in the bullpen and have confidence in them when you go into the game. As a reliever your pitch count is irrelevant, you pretty much just need to find a way to get guys out. It doesn't matter how you do it either. Also if you're pitching late in the game, you don't have the 38 luxury of giving up an early run. Every run is important and you can't give in to hitters late in games. This usually results in me throwing more off speed pitches instead of just fastballs.” Overall between Ft. Myers and New Britain, Albers went 8-2 with a 2.16 ERA. In 95.2 innings, he walked just 14 and struck out 80. However, that wasn’t the end of his tremendous 2011 season. Following the minor league season, Albers was named to Team Canada and participated in the World Cup tournament in Panama. Fellow Twins prospect Tom Stuifbergen led the Netherlands to the World Cup championship. He threw 17 scoreless innings and was named the tournament’s top pitcher. If there were a runner-up for Top Pitcher of the tournament, it would have been Albers who threw 15 shutout innings. “For me the World Cup was a great experience. It was my first time getting a chance to play on my national team, and I was very honored to get the opportunity to play for Team Canada. I had a tryout when I was younger but had come down with tendinitis and was unable to even really tryout. So going into the games I felt like I had something to prove and had a bit of a chip on my shoulder. I was surprised when they told me I would be starting the first game of the tournament against Puerto Rico. I was thankful to get the opportunity though and went out with my same game plan. I was aggressive early with fastballs and luckily they hit the ball where my defense could make plays behind me, which they did. I also threw three innings against the Netherlands, threw two against Chinese Taipei and started against South Korea. It was a fun tournament for me because it felt like I could do no wrong. My defense was outstanding behind me, and I just tried to force guys to put the ball in play early and it worked extremely well. Balls just seemed to keep finding gloves so I just continued to be aggressive and pound the zone. Pitching is a lot of fun when things go the way they did in the World Cup. The group of guys that I got to play with was outstanding as well. We meshed really quickly and got along well. It was fun playing baseball where the only thing that mattered was winning and your stats were irrelevant. I just wanted to do what I could to contribute to helping us win ball games. Fortunately, I was able to do that.” From the World Cup, Albers and Team Canada participated in the Pan Am Games. “The Pan Am Games was the experience of a lifetime. I pitched two innings in relief against Puerto Rico. I got myself into a huge jam in my first inning in the games but was able to induce a big double play ball to get out of it. Then I didn't pitch again until the final. When Ernie (Whitt) our manager decided to go with me for the final, I was really looking forward to the challenge. We had won a huge game against Mexico the night before where the fans had created an electric atmosphere. That game was great in itself. As I prepared myself for my start, it was weird to think about the journey I had made over the last eight months. Having gone from being almost out of baseball, to getting the chance to pitch in Canada's first ever gold medal game at a senior men's international tournament. It was a neat feeling. The game itself went really well. I made a mistake to (Brett) Carroll in the first and caught a little too much of the plate with a change-up and he made me pay for it with a double down the line. I was able to limit the damage and manage to work through five pretty clean innings after that. They were going to pull me after the sixth, but my catcher and I convinced Ernie and Greg (Hamilton) to leave me in for the seventh. I proceeded to give up a line drive single to Matt Clark, and after a sac bunt, another line drive single to Chad Tracy. Luckily he hit it so hard that Clark couldn't score from first. Ernie came out to talk to me and asked how I was doing. I told him I had one more batter in me. He chose to leave me in to face Tommy Mendonca. It was a huge at-bat and getting him to punch out after a battle was once of the best feelings I've experienced in baseball. After that they pulled and brought in Scott Richmond who was just outstanding in finishing the game off.” “It was so awesome to play that kind of role in the gold medal game for Canada. It's neat to think that I get to be a part of Canadian baseball history as the winning pitcher of what is at the moment our only gold medal in senior international competition. So that's a neat feeling. I was just so thankful that Ernie Whitt and Greg Hamilton had enough confidence in me to give me the ball and then to stick with me even when things didn't go so well. Now, getting to look back on that accomplishment, it is something I will hold dear for the rest of my life. I will never forget standing on the podium receiving our gold medals and having beat Team USA in such a huge game was really special. It will be an experience that is tough to beat.” It’s been a pretty crazy 2011 for Andrew Albers. The story is remarkable. He went from trying like crazy to find an affiliated team to give him a spring training invite to my choice for 2011 Twins Minor League relief pitcher of the year. He represented Canada in international competition and was very successful. He heads into the 2012 season knowing that he will be going to spring training with the Twins. So what has he learned about himself along this journey? “I found out that I could still pitch. I had been through a bit of adversity and come out better from it. I learned that I didn't have to live and die with every game and that there are a lot more important issues out there than winning or losing a baseball game. I think being out of the baseball world and not having a job in affiliated ball allowed me to gain a new perspective on different areas of my life. I began to enjoy baseball a lot more and was able to relax more on the mound instead of putting so much pressure on myself to perform every time out. I think that attitude has greatly contributed to my success.” - 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook

