Seth Stohs

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2727[/ATTACH] It was about one year ago that John, Nick, Parker and myself started a string of communication around consolidating our sites to create a singular place for our Twins information. It took a lot of time and thought because it isn't as simple as it sounds, especially if you want it to meet certain expectations and goals. There were lots of drawings, and back-of-the-napkin designing by non-design folks. There were House Hunters Wants and Needs lists created to determine what we wanted from the site and the was absolutely necessary. The one absolute necessity in development was to create the forums. As TwinsCentric, one of the top goals was always to build a community of Twins fans and bloggers. We wanted to create a place where people could not only discuss our blog articles, but contribute their own topics into the forum. There is so much Twins news and content and discussion that we can't keep up with it all. If you see a good Twins article you want to link to, or you have had an ongoing debate with your buddy about a certain Twins topic, feel free to post them and let others weigh in. Not everyone is going to agree with your opinions, or my opinions, but we really want a place where we can all at least respect each others opinions and intelligently debate. For the most part, I think we have that here. Yes, the phrase "anyone can start a blog" stands true here at Twins Daily. And, in the psat year, several people have really stepped up and written some well-written, thought-provoking blogs, some of which were promoted to the front page. We definitely encourage others to not only read the Blogs but consider writing your own as well. As we celebrate Thanksgiving today with turkey and hopefully lots of family and friends, I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of the Twins Daily community/family a very Happy Thanksgiving! Thank you, Twins Daily community. We believe that you have helped us, in less than a year, become the premier destination for Twins articles, news and discussion. We hope we've earned that. Twins Daily readers and contributors deserve a ton of our thanks and gratitude today (and every day). You come to our site for the articles, but you stay for the conversation. In thanking you today though, I also want to present a couple of challenges to you today. If you enjoy what you read at Twins Daily, tell your Twins fan friends about this site. E-mail them the link. Hey, take a minute or two to update your facebook status to include the link to Twins Daily. Secondly, if you've been coming here for awhile, but have not participated in the Forums yet, make an effort over the weekend to post a new topic, something that's on your mind, something you think you'd like to have debated. I think you'll see how easy it is, but I also think you'll see how much fun the community aspect of this site can be. And, if you're more brave and ready, spend a little more time and start your Twins Daily blog. I think, with the Winter Meetings coming quickly and rumors all over the place, Twins Daily is the place to go for Twins fans wanting to join in on the conversation. Finally, I want to encourage you to let us know what you like or don't like about Twins Daily. Do you have any ideas that you think we should explore, anything that you think will help us be better? That's important information. We need that. We want that. If you don't want to post it here, please feel free to send me a Personal Message here, or e-mail me at (sethspeaksnet@hotmail.com). Once again, it's fun to think about what Twins Daily has become since we launched the day that Twins pitchers and catchers reported in mid-February. Consider where it has come from a year ago when it was just some guys' random drawings on napkins. For me, it gets me excited to think about where we can get to by spring training, or one year from now, or five years from now. We do know that we are very thankful to have added Brock to the Twins Daily mold because he will help us get there. I don't know where it will go... I do know that the Twins Daily family/community will be a big part of getting us there. So again, Happy Thanksgiving, and a very heartfelt and sincere thank you to all of you!!

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins announced the additions of eight players to their 40 man roster. This protects those players from being selected in the December 6 Rule 5 draft. They added pitchers Kyle Gibson, Caleb Thielbar, BJ Hermsen, Tim Wood and Michael Tonkin, along with catcher Josmil Pinto, infielder Danny Santana and outfielder Aaron Hicks. Aaron Hicks and Kyle Gibson were considered absolutes, the givens, to be added. Aaron Hicks, the Twins 2008 first round pick out high school in California, put together a terrific 2012 campaign at AA New Britain. He filled the stat sheet quite well. Overall, he hit .286/.384/.460 with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBI, 100 runs scored and 32 stolen bases. There has never been any question about his defense. He has terrific range and speed and a very strong arm. In other words, he could be a future centerfielder, but he also has a typical right fielder’s arm. Kyle Gibson was the Twins top pick in the 2009 draft out of the University of Missouri. His career began in 2010, and he raced up the Twins system. He made seven starts at Ft. Myers, 16 starts at New Britain and finished the season with three starts in Rochester. Overall, he went 11-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 26 starts. In 152 innings, he walked 39 and struckout 126. He began the 2011 season quite well. He was among the Top Twins minor league pitchers during the first two months of the season, but then he really struggled. He was hurt, and in September, he had Tommy John surgery. Gibson followed a plan and was able to return to the mound. First, he pitched nine games (14.2 innings) in the Gulf Coast League. Then he made two starts for Ft. Myers before ending the season with two starts for Rochester. He just completed his final outing in the Arizona Fall League where he showed increased velocity and sink on his pitches. He appears to be quite close. Beyond those two, I think there were several who likely had to be considered. I thought Santana, Tonkin and Hermsen would be added, and they were, but three surprise names were added as well. Danny Santana just turned 22 years old. He hit .286/.329/.410 (.739) with 21 doubles, 9 triples and 8 home runs in his first season in Ft. Myers. He drove in 60 runs and scored 70 runs. He stole 17 bases. He is a prototypical shortstop, not real big, great speed and a big arm. BJ Hermsen was the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012 when he combined to go 12-6 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. In 26 starts and 162.2 innings, he gave up 161 hits, walked 30 and struck out 87. Michael Tonkin will turn 23 next week. He was the 30th round pick in 2008 and is Jason Kubel’s brother-in-law. Began at Beloit and went 3-0 with 6 saves, an ERA of 1.38 and a WHIP of 0.97. After MWL All-Star game, promoted to Ft. Myers. Went 1-1 with 6 saves, a 2.97 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Overall, in 69.1 innings, he gave up just 53 hits, walked 20 and struckout 97. Caleb Thielbar came to the Twins in August of 2011 from the St. Paul Saints. He took advantage of the opportunity. The lefty started this season in Ft. Myers, quickly moved up to New Britain and then quickly advanced to Rochester. His delivery is interesting and he pitches a lot like Glen Perkins (just in the low-90s instead of the mid-90s). Tim Wood just came to the Twins a few weeks ago as a minor league free agent. The Twins must believe that someone would have selected the hard-thrower in the Rule 5 draft as they did protect him. He was the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year last year, for what that’s worth. Josmil Pinto had a very nice season last year in Ft. Myers. He ended by playing a handful of games in New Britain. He is a catcher who has thrown out a good percentage of would-be base stealers, but he is on this list for his bat. --- Bruce Pugh is probably the biggest surprise omission from the list. Had he been healthy this year, Adrian Salcedo would have been a given to protect. What are your thoughts? The Twins now have a full, 40 man roster. These eight players need to remain on the 40 man roster until spring training, so if and when the Twins add some free agents, or make some trades, they may have to drop some others that are on the roster. Being honest, I am more than a little shocked at the number of players that the Twins chose to add to the 40 man roster, and I can’t necessarily say that as a positive thing. It may be good. We will see next year if Tim Wood can finally figure things out, and if Thielbar has a chance. The Twins now have five catchers on their 40 man roster. That said, the five players that I thought the Twins were most likely to add were added, and that’s important.

On Tuesday, the Minnesota Twins announced the additions of eight players to their 40 man roster. This protects those players from being selected in the December 6 Rule 5 draft. They added pitchers Kyle Gibson, Caleb Thielbar, BJ Hermsen, Tim Wood and Michael Tonkin, along with catcher Josmil Pinto, infielder Danny Santana and outfielder Aaron Hicks. Aaron Hicks and Kyle Gibson were considered absolutes, the givens, to be added. Aaron Hicks, the Twins 2008 first round pick out high school in California, put together a terrific 2012 campaign at AA New Britain. He filled the stat sheet quite well. Overall, he hit .286/.384/.460 with 21 doubles, 11 triples, 13 home runs, 61 RBI, 100 runs scored and 32 stolen bases. There has never been any question about his defense. He has terrific range and speed and a very strong arm. In other words, he could be a future centerfielder, but he also has a typical right fielder’s arm. Kyle Gibson was the Twins top pick in the 2009 draft out of the University of Missouri. His career began in 2010, and he raced up the Twins system. He made seven starts at Ft. Myers, 16 starts at New Britain and finished the season with three starts in Rochester. Overall, he went 11-6 with a 2.96 ERA in 26 starts. In 152 innings, he walked 39 and struckout 126. He began the 2011 season quite well. He was among the Top Twins minor league pitchers during the first two months of the season, but then he really struggled. He was hurt, and in September, he had Tommy John surgery. Gibson followed a plan and was able to return to the mound. First, he pitched nine games (14.2 innings) in the Gulf Coast League. Then he made two starts for Ft. Myers before ending the season with two starts for Rochester. He just completed his final outing in the Arizona Fall League where he showed increased velocity and sink on his pitches. He appears to be quite close. Beyond those two, I think there were several who likely had to be considered. I thought Santana, Tonkin and Hermsen would be added, and they were, but three surprise names were added as well. Danny Santana just turned 22 years old. He hit .286/.329/.410 (.739) with 21 doubles, 9 triples and 8 home runs in his first season in Ft. Myers. He drove in 60 runs and scored 70 runs. He stole 17 bases. He is a prototypical shortstop, not real big, great speed and a big arm. BJ Hermsen was the Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012 when he combined to go 12-6 with a 2.88 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP. In 26 starts and 162.2 innings, he gave up 161 hits, walked 30 and struck out 87. Michael Tonkin will turn 23 next week. He was the 30th round pick in 2008 and is Jason Kubel’s brother-in-law. Began at Beloit and went 3-0 with 6 saves, an ERA of 1.38 and a WHIP of 0.97. After MWL All-Star game, promoted to Ft. Myers. Went 1-1 with 6 saves, a 2.97 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP. Overall, in 69.1 innings, he gave up just 53 hits, walked 20 and struckout 97. Caleb Thielbar came to the Twins in August of 2011 from the St. Paul Saints. He took advantage of the opportunity. The lefty started this season in Ft. Myers, quickly moved up to New Britain and then quickly advanced to Rochester. His delivery is interesting and he pitches a lot like Glen Perkins (just in the low-90s instead of the mid-90s). Tim Wood just came to the Twins a few weeks ago as a minor league free agent. The Twins must believe that someone would have selected the hard-thrower in the Rule 5 draft as they did protect him. He was the International League Relief Pitcher of the Year last year, for what that’s worth. Josmil Pinto had a very nice season last year in Ft. Myers. He ended by playing a handful of games in New Britain. He is a catcher who has thrown out a good percentage of would-be base stealers, but he is on this list for his bat. --- Bruce Pugh is probably the biggest surprise omission from the list. Had he been healthy this year, Adrian Salcedo would have been a given to protect. What are your thoughts? The Twins now have a full, 40 man roster. These eight players need to remain on the 40 man roster until spring training, so if and when the Twins add some free agents, or make some trades, they may have to drop some others that are on the roster. Being honest, I am more than a little shocked at the number of players that the Twins chose to add to the 40 man roster, and I can’t necessarily say that as a positive thing. It may be good. We will see next year if Tim Wood can finally figure things out, and if Thielbar has a chance. The Twins now have five catchers on their 40 man roster. That said, the five players that I thought the Twins were most likely to add were added, and that’s important.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2716[/ATTACH] It has been another interesting week for Twins prospects who are playing in the Winter Leagues. The Arizona Fall League came to an end on Saturday afternoon when the Peoria Javelinas (the team the Twins prospects played for) won the championship game. Some prospects tours on the winter leagues are coming to an end while a few others began playing this past week. Here’s how players from the Twins system did during the week from November 12-18. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Player of the Year – Nate Roberts, OF Roberts went 3-4 with a walk in the AFL Championship game on Saturday. He led the league in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. In his 19 games, he went 29-65. He hit .446/.565/.662 (1.226) with five doubles, three homers and 15 RBI. He walked 12 times while striking out just seven times. He was also 6-8 in stolen base attempts. Evan Bigley – In 16 games, he went 15-62. He hit .242/.319/.371 (.690) with four doubles, two triples and nine RBI. Dan Rohlfing – He played in five games after replacing Herrmann in Arizona. He went 6-18 and hit .333/.435/.333 (.768) with five RBI. Logan Darnell – Darnell pitched in nine games, the last two were starts. He went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 18.1 innings, he gave up 18 hits, walked five and struckout 17. Hitters hit .257 off of him. Kyle Gibson – He made six starts. He was 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA. In 23.1 innings, he gave up 31 hits, walked eight and struckout 21. Opponents hit .326 off of him. Caleb Thielbar – He pitched in 11 games. In 13 innings, he gave up 21 hits, walked eight and struckout 12. Opponents hit .375 off of him. He was 1-0 with an 11.08 ERA. Michael Tonkin – Tonkin pitched 10 games in relief. He was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 14.2 innings, he gave up just eight hits, walked two and struckout seven. Opponents hit just .163 off of him. Chris Herrmann – he played in just three games before leaving Arizona due to inflammation in his left shoulder. In those three games, he went 5-10 with a double. He walked twice and struckout once. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Deolis Guerra, RHP Guerra got off to such a fast start this season in New Britain and started out well when he was promoted to Rochester, but things quickly went downhill, and he ended the season on the Disabled List. He’s pitching late-inning relief in his home country and he had a good week this week. He pitched in three games. In three innings, he gave up no runs on three hits. He walked none and struckout three. He recorded a save as well. Oswaldo Arcia – 6 Games, 4-21 (.190 – in one game, he was 2-5 with a walk, his fourth HR and five RBI. Brian Dozier – 2 Games. One hit in six at bats over his first two games in Venezuela. Eduardo Escobar – 4 Games, 3-12, two walks Darin Mastroianni – 4 Games, 3-10, 1 BB, 1 SB Edgar Ibarra – 1 Game, 2 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout. Bruce Pugh – 3 Games, 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts. Dakota Watts – 3 Games, 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B Another week, another impressive performance by Chris Colabello. In six games this week, he went 10-20 with his ninth double and his ninth home run. He raised his average to .339 and his OPS to 1.065. Anthony Slama – 4 Games, 3.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 earned run, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts. 1 save. Gonzalo Sanudo – 2 Games, 2.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Deibinson Romero, 3B Romero made his 2012 Dominican debut with three games this week. He was 0-4 in the first game. The next day, he went 3-4 with a triple and four RBI. Those were the only three hits he had in the three games, but it was still the best performance of the week. Miguel Sano – 1 Game, 0-1 with a walk. Jhonathan Arias – 1 Game, 0-1. Drew Butera – 5 Games, 1-10 (.100), RBI Pedro Florimon – 4 Games, 1-12 (.083), 2 BB, 5 K Luis Perdomo – 1 Game, 1 inning, no runs, 1 walk, two strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Daniel Ortiz, OF Ortiz was the Twins 4th round pick in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. He began 2012 back in Beloit, but it wasn’t too long before he moved up to Ft. Myers. This past week, he played three games and went 6-10 (.600) with a home run. Jorge Fernandez – 3 Games, 0-4, 3 K Angel Morales – 6 Games, 3-20 (.150), 2B, 2nd home run, 1 BB, 8 K Kennys Vargas – 3 Games, 1-14, 2B, 7 K Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks. Josue Montanez – 2 Games, 5 IP, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Sam Gibbons, RHP Gibbons spent the 2012 season with the GCL Twins. He made a start this past weekend and went five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struckout three. Logan Wade – 2 Games, 2-6 (.333), 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base Josh Hendricks – 3 Games, 2-7 (.286), 2B, RBI, 2 walks, 1 strikeout Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Arizona – Nate Roberts Venezuela – Deolis Guerra Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Deibinson Romero Puerto Rico – Daniel Ortiz Australia – Sam Gibbons

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2716[/ATTACH] It has been another interesting week for Twins prospects who are playing in the Winter Leagues. The Arizona Fall League came to an end on Saturday afternoon when the Peoria Javelinas (the team the Twins prospects played for) won the championship game. Some prospects tours on the winter leagues are coming to an end while a few others began playing this past week. Here’s how players from the Twins system did during the week from November 12-18. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Player of the Year – Nate Roberts, OF Roberts went 3-4 with a walk in the AFL Championship game on Saturday. He led the league in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. In his 19 games, he went 29-65. He hit .446/.565/.662 (1.226) with five doubles, three homers and 15 RBI. He walked 12 times while striking out just seven times. He was also 6-8 in stolen base attempts. Evan Bigley – In 16 games, he went 15-62. He hit .242/.319/.371 (.690) with four doubles, two triples and nine RBI. Dan Rohlfing – He played in five games after replacing Herrmann in Arizona. He went 6-18 and hit .333/.435/.333 (.768) with five RBI. Logan Darnell – Darnell pitched in nine games, the last two were starts. He went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 18.1 innings, he gave up 18 hits, walked five and struckout 17. Hitters hit .257 off of him. Kyle Gibson – He made six starts. He was 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA. In 23.1 innings, he gave up 31 hits, walked eight and struckout 21. Opponents hit .326 off of him. Caleb Thielbar – He pitched in 11 games. In 13 innings, he gave up 21 hits, walked eight and struckout 12. Opponents hit .375 off of him. He was 1-0 with an 11.08 ERA. Michael Tonkin – Tonkin pitched 10 games in relief. He was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 14.2 innings, he gave up just eight hits, walked two and struckout seven. Opponents hit just .163 off of him. Chris Herrmann – he played in just three games before leaving Arizona due to inflammation in his left shoulder. In those three games, he went 5-10 with a double. He walked twice and struckout once. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Deolis Guerra, RHP Guerra got off to such a fast start this season in New Britain and started out well when he was promoted to Rochester, but things quickly went downhill, and he ended the season on the Disabled List. He’s pitching late-inning relief in his home country and he had a good week this week. He pitched in three games. In three innings, he gave up no runs on three hits. He walked none and struckout three. He recorded a save as well. Oswaldo Arcia – 6 Games, 4-21 (.190 – in one game, he was 2-5 with a walk, his fourth HR and five RBI. Brian Dozier – 2 Games. One hit in six at bats over his first two games in Venezuela. Eduardo Escobar – 4 Games, 3-12, two walks Darin Mastroianni – 4 Games, 3-10, 1 BB, 1 SB Edgar Ibarra – 1 Game, 2 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout. Bruce Pugh – 3 Games, 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts. Dakota Watts – 3 Games, 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B Another week, another impressive performance by Chris Colabello. In six games this week, he went 10-20 with his ninth double and his ninth home run. He raised his average to .339 and his OPS to 1.065. Anthony Slama – 4 Games, 3.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 earned run, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts. 1 save. Gonzalo Sanudo – 2 Games, 2.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Deibinson Romero, 3B Romero made his 2012 Dominican debut with three games this week. He was 0-4 in the first game. The next day, he went 3-4 with a triple and four RBI. Those were the only three hits he had in the three games, but it was still the best performance of the week. Miguel Sano – 1 Game, 0-1 with a walk. Jhonathan Arias – 1 Game, 0-1. Drew Butera – 5 Games, 1-10 (.100), RBI Pedro Florimon – 4 Games, 1-12 (.083), 2 BB, 5 K Luis Perdomo – 1 Game, 1 inning, no runs, 1 walk, two strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Daniel Ortiz, OF Ortiz was the Twins 4th round pick in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. He began 2012 back in Beloit, but it wasn’t too long before he moved up to Ft. Myers. This past week, he played three games and went 6-10 (.600) with a home run. Jorge Fernandez – 3 Games, 0-4, 3 K Angel Morales – 6 Games, 3-20 (.150), 2B, 2nd home run, 1 BB, 8 K Kennys Vargas – 3 Games, 1-14, 2B, 7 K Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks. Josue Montanez – 2 Games, 5 IP, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Sam Gibbons, RHP Gibbons spent the 2012 season with the GCL Twins. He made a start this past weekend and went five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struckout three. Logan Wade – 2 Games, 2-6 (.333), 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base Josh Hendricks – 3 Games, 2-7 (.286), 2B, RBI, 2 walks, 1 strikeout Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Arizona – Nate Roberts Venezuela – Deolis Guerra Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Deibinson Romero Puerto Rico – Daniel Ortiz Australia – Sam Gibbons

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2716[/ATTACH] It has been another interesting week for Twins prospects who are playing in the Winter Leagues. The Arizona Fall League came to an end on Saturday afternoon when the Peoria Javelinas (the team the Twins prospects played for) won the championship game. Some prospects tours on the winter leagues are coming to an end while a few others began playing this past week. Here’s how players from the Twins system did during the week from November 12-18. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Player of the Year – Nate Roberts, OF Roberts went 3-4 with a walk in the AFL Championship game on Saturday. He led the league in batting average, on base percentage and slugging percentage. In his 19 games, he went 29-65. He hit .446/.565/.662 (1.226) with five doubles, three homers and 15 RBI. He walked 12 times while striking out just seven times. He was also 6-8 in stolen base attempts. Evan Bigley – In 16 games, he went 15-62. He hit .242/.319/.371 (.690) with four doubles, two triples and nine RBI. Dan Rohlfing – He played in five games after replacing Herrmann in Arizona. He went 6-18 and hit .333/.435/.333 (.768) with five RBI. Logan Darnell – Darnell pitched in nine games, the last two were starts. He went 2-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 18.1 innings, he gave up 18 hits, walked five and struckout 17. Hitters hit .257 off of him. Kyle Gibson – He made six starts. He was 3-2 with a 5.40 ERA. In 23.1 innings, he gave up 31 hits, walked eight and struckout 21. Opponents hit .326 off of him. Caleb Thielbar – He pitched in 11 games. In 13 innings, he gave up 21 hits, walked eight and struckout 12. Opponents hit .375 off of him. He was 1-0 with an 11.08 ERA. Michael Tonkin – Tonkin pitched 10 games in relief. He was 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. In 14.2 innings, he gave up just eight hits, walked two and struckout seven. Opponents hit just .163 off of him. Chris Herrmann – he played in just three games before leaving Arizona due to inflammation in his left shoulder. In those three games, he went 5-10 with a double. He walked twice and struckout once. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Deolis Guerra, RHP Guerra got off to such a fast start this season in New Britain and started out well when he was promoted to Rochester, but things quickly went downhill, and he ended the season on the Disabled List. He’s pitching late-inning relief in his home country and he had a good week this week. He pitched in three games. In three innings, he gave up no runs on three hits. He walked none and struckout three. He recorded a save as well. Oswaldo Arcia – 6 Games, 4-21 (.190 – in one game, he was 2-5 with a walk, his fourth HR and five RBI. Brian Dozier – 2 Games. One hit in six at bats over his first two games in Venezuela. Eduardo Escobar – 4 Games, 3-12, two walks Darin Mastroianni – 4 Games, 3-10, 1 BB, 1 SB Edgar Ibarra – 1 Game, 2 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout. Bruce Pugh – 3 Games, 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts. Dakota Watts – 3 Games, 4.1 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 4 walks, 2 strikeouts. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B Another week, another impressive performance by Chris Colabello. In six games this week, he went 10-20 with his ninth double and his ninth home run. He raised his average to .339 and his OPS to 1.065. Anthony Slama – 4 Games, 3.1 innings, 6 hits, 4 earned run, 3 walks, 8 strikeouts. 1 save. Gonzalo Sanudo – 2 Games, 2.2 innings, 0 hits, 0 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Deibinson Romero, 3B Romero made his 2012 Dominican debut with three games this week. He was 0-4 in the first game. The next day, he went 3-4 with a triple and four RBI. Those were the only three hits he had in the three games, but it was still the best performance of the week. Miguel Sano – 1 Game, 0-1 with a walk. Jhonathan Arias – 1 Game, 0-1. Drew Butera – 5 Games, 1-10 (.100), RBI Pedro Florimon – 4 Games, 1-12 (.083), 2 BB, 5 K Luis Perdomo – 1 Game, 1 inning, no runs, 1 walk, two strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Daniel Ortiz, OF Ortiz was the Twins 4th round pick in 2008 out of Puerto Rico. He began 2012 back in Beloit, but it wasn’t too long before he moved up to Ft. Myers. This past week, he played three games and went 6-10 (.600) with a home run. Jorge Fernandez – 3 Games, 0-4, 3 K Angel Morales – 6 Games, 3-20 (.150), 2B, 2nd home run, 1 BB, 8 K Kennys Vargas – 3 Games, 1-14, 2B, 7 K Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 1 inning, 0 runs, 1 hit, 2 walks. Josue Montanez – 2 Games, 5 IP, 5 hits, 4 earned runs, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Sam Gibbons, RHP Gibbons spent the 2012 season with the GCL Twins. He made a start this past weekend and went five innings. He gave up two runs on five hits. He walked two and struckout three. Logan Wade – 2 Games, 2-6 (.333), 1 strikeout, 1 stolen base Josh Hendricks – 3 Games, 2-7 (.286), 2B, RBI, 2 walks, 1 strikeout Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Arizona – Nate Roberts Venezuela – Deolis Guerra Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Deibinson Romero Puerto Rico – Daniel Ortiz Australia – Sam Gibbons

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2705[/ATTACH] In recent weeks, several more Twins prospect rankings came out. In the past two weeks, Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus added their Top 10 Twins rankings. Here is a compilation of Twins prospect rankings. Feel free to discuss and compare. If you know of other lists we should add to this, please link to them in the Comments. [TABLE=width: 453] Prospect Seth Stohs Baseball America Baseball Prospectus John Sickels Cody Christie Miguel Sano 1 1 2 1 1 Byron Buxton 2 2 1 3 2 Aaron Hicks 3 5 3 4 3 Oswaldo Arcia 4 3 4 2 4 Eddie Rosario 5 7 6 5 5 Kyle Gibson 6 4 5 6 6 JO Berrios 7 6 7 7 7 Max Kepler 8 8 8 8 9 Kennys Vargas 9 15 Joe Benson 10 12 10 Travis Harrison 11 9 9 8 Adrian Salcedo 12 18 Daniel Santana 13 9 11 Chris Herrmann 14 19 BJ Hermsen 15 Alex Wimmers 16 17 Adam Walker 17 18 20 Mason Melotakis 18 10 13 Jorge Polanco 19 10 13 12 Pedro Hernandez 20 Daniel Ortiz 21 Matt Summers 22 Luke Bard 23 10 11 14 Levi Michael 24 Nate Roberts 25 20 Niko Goodrum 14 16 JT Chargois 15 Zach Jones 16 Michael Tonkin 17 DJ Baxendale 19 Corey Williams 21 [/TABLE]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2701[/ATTACH] On Wednesday, the Detroit Tigers signed former Twins outfielder Torii Hunter to a two-year, $26 million contract. On the surface, the Tigers paid a ton for his charisma, leadership and veteran status. Although he had a terrific 2012 season, including the first .300+ batting average season of his career, there is a lot of risk in signing an outfielder who will be 39 years old when the contract ends. That said, my first thought when I heard the news was that it cemented in my mind the need for the Twins to build for 2014 or even 2015. The comment was met with mixed emotions and plenty of comments on both sides. Was the signing of Torii Hunter that big for the Tigers? No. The Tigers were head-and-shoulders the favorite in the AL Central even before the acquisition of the former Gold Glover. Adding Hunter got me thinking about the Tigers roster again. I think it is safe to say that Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder are really good hitters. Austin Jackson and Hunter will comprise two-thirds of the outfield with Andy Dirks, Brennan Boesch, and young Avisail Garcia. Alex Avila, Jhonny Peralta, and Danny Worth will round out a very strong lineup. Then there is the starting rotation of Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer, Doug Fister and Rick Porcello is a pretty good starting point. Will they bring back Anibal Sanchez? Their bullpen is stacked even when they let closer Jose Valverde leave via free agency. Will they hand a starting job to Drew Smyly or the closer role to Bruce Rondon? Sure, the wild card could come from the AL Central, but considering the A’s, Angels and Rangers in the AL West, and the five strong teams in the AL East, it seems unlikely. (Yes, about as unlikely as the A’s and O’s being playoff teams in 2012.) So, what does “build for 2015” mean to me? To some, it could be a fire sale like the Marlins did. It doesn’t have to though. Here are some of the things it means for me: FREE AGENCY I completely agree with Terry Ryan that building via free agency is not the best way. That isn’t to say that free agency isn’t important. Of course it is. However, if I’m looking to being a contender in 2015, there is little need to spend a ton of money on older, expensive pitchers like Ryan Dempster. It can mean using the free agent market to acquire two types of players. First, the Twins can sign decent players who can fill a short-term role. If they do it well, they can be traded at the July deadline for more talent. Terry Ryan had success with this strategy in his previous time as GM. He traded signed Dave Hollins to be his primary 3B in 1996, and in August, he traded him to Seattle for David Ortiz. Roberto Kelly was turned into Joe Mays. JC Romero became Alexi Casilla. I also think that the Twins can still build for 2015 by making a big splash in free agency this season. (Not that I think they will, just that they could.) They could go after a big name, top of the rotation starter and give him four or five years. The name? Anibal Sanchez. Why? He is looking for a long-term deal, and he is just 28 years old. Most free agents are 31-32 years old. The best of those get three year deals. As he is just 28, maybe a six year deal would be OK. The risk is certainly higher, but it would be a way of telling the fan base that there is a plan, and Anibal Sanchez is going to help us get there. Of course, Twins fans also have to acknowledge that it takes two sides to make a deal. The Twins can go after Sanchez, but Sanchez would have to be willing to sign with a team that has lost 95 or more games each of the past two seasons. How much would the Twins have to overpay to acquire an impact pitcher like Sanchez? TRADES Beyond the trades mentioned above which generally will bring back low-level prospects, if the Twins are trying to build for 2015, they will likely need to trade some players. In order to bring back the best return, it is important to trade players at peak value rather than holding on to them for too long. The Twins have a few guys that they could consider trading this offseason. It’s hard because they are players that Twins fans know, and they would be traded for players that many fans do not know much about. When the Twins traded Chuck Knoblauch, few Twins fans know much about Eric Milton or Cristian Guzman. When All Star catcher AJ Pierzynski to the Giants, Joe Nathan had one good year as a reliever under his belt, Boof Bonser was a decent prospect, and Francisco Liriano was an injury-prone pitcher in Low A ball. Josh Willingham is coming off of the best season of his career. He could bring back a couple of quality players. Seeing that Torii Hunter got $13 million a year for two years, the market for outfielders is clearly a bit crazy. Willingham’s two years and $14 million (Total) has to look very attractive to teams looking for right-handed power. The same can be said for Denard Span whose contract, when compared to what teams are likely to shell out for Michael Bourn, Shane Victorino and Angel Pagan, is very team-friendly. What has been encouraging is reading rumors about the Twins interest in trading for young pitchers like Trevor Bauer (Diamondbacks), Danny Hultzen (Mariners) and some of the Braves young pitchers like Mike Minor, Randall Delgado and Julio Teheran. The pitchers all have high ceilings and only Minor has anywhere near a full year of big league service time. Those are exactly the types of pitchers the Twins should be feverishly attempting to acquire. PLAYER DEVELOPMENT This is the most important piece to building a team that can compete for years to come. The Twins did a terrific job of player development from about 1999 through about 2007. It was a system that started with several young players coming up together and then a player or two coming up and contributing each year. It started with the Hunter, Jones, Mientkiewicz, Koskie, Guzman, Pierzynski group that we enjoyed so much. Johan Santana came to the team in 2000. They were joined by Michael Cuddyer in 2002, Justin Morneau in 2003, and Joe Mauer and Jesse Crain debuted in 2004. Jason Kubel debuted in 2004 as well, but his knee injury meant that he missed 2005. Scott Baker came up in 2005, and Francisco Liriano came up late that season. Matt Garza and Pat Neshek came up in 2006. The Twins minor league pipeline seemed to have an unending supply of impact players. For whatever reason, that has not been the case in recent years, but there are some players working their way up the Twins system that we can be excited about. Some will be up in 2013, some more in 2014 and guys like Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario could be up in 2015. The entire goal is to develop and find out which players can be counted on for the second half of 2014 and 2015. It isn’t to rush them to the big leagues, but it is to make sure when they come up, they are ready. The Twins have to find out what they have in Chris Parmelee. They still need to find out what Trevor Plouffe can be. Can Brian Dozier play shortstop, or will he move to second base? Can Pedro Florimon hit at all? Can Chris Herrmann fill the same role for the Twins in the future that Ryan Doumit filled in 2012? Scott Diamond, Liam Hendriks and Kyle Gibson all need to get innings in 2013 to see if they factor into the 2014/2015 planning. Could lefty Pedro Hernandez be this year’s Scott Diamond? Getting Adrian Salcedo and Alex Wimmers healthy for 2014 is important. Does Eduardo Escobar have the tool set to be the Twins utility player for the next half-decade? Those can be answered starting in 2013 and into 2014. In 2014, we should hear about names such as BJ Hermsen, Logan Darnell and maybe Levi Michael. If uber-prospect Miguel Sano were to be exactly on the Joe Mauer path, we would see him in 2014, although 2015 makes more sense for him, Eddie Rosario, and some of those hard-throwing relievers drafted in 2012. Maybe we’ll even see Byron Buxton and J.O. Berrios. In 2016, Max Kepler, Niko Goodrum, Hudson Boyd, Travis Harrison and other names we aren’t even aware of will start appearing. That’s how you build a long-term contender. They have to hit (and get lucky) on their high draft picks, and they have to sign well in the international market as well. If you’re going to rebuild it, they need to do it right. That doesn’t have to mean completely blow it up. It does mean being smart in free agency and in making trades, keeping an eye on the future as much as the present. It is always remembering that player acquisition through the draft and through international signings ill always be crucial, and then it is necessary for those players to develop their potential. I’m a Twins fan, first and foremost. They could lose 100 games in 2013 and I will be right back and cheering for them again in 2014. I would like to understand the thought-process and the plan. That said, the front office shouldn’t be expected to say, “We’re trying to compete in 2015.” They should make some moves and hope they get a little bit lucky and give Twins fans some good baseball in 2013. If I’ve learned anything from the last two seasons, it’s much more fun watching a competitive team all regular season than watching a team that is out of contention by Memorial Day. That said, I also have to be realistic after two such poor seasons. I want hope for the future. I’d like to see improvement in 2013. I’d like to see a team that starts to really play well and come together as a young unit in 2014. And I want to see a team that is contending for the AL Central title in 2015, and 2016, and 2017, and, and… you get my point.

I just want to point out that we (TD Leadership) monitored this situation very closely right from the point that we saw Thrylos tweet that Baker had agreed to sign with the Twins (minutes before he posted it as a forum thread here). You will notice that none of the TD folks gave it any credibility. We never acknowledged it as legit. We did not push it out as an Article. It stayed in the forum, and was met with a mixture of skepticism and some belief. We made the decision to let it go and see what happens. We all can learn a lot from the situation. If people do hear news and want to post it as a forum, be sure it's legit. Be sure the source is really legit, and then be sure to discuss your rumor's credibility within the forum. I have broken quite a few stories at SethSpeaks.net or on Twitter or seen here at Twins Daily. A couple of them have taken up to 12-15 hours for the team to verify or to make public, and that can be nerve-wracking. But the sources I've had, I've had 100% confidence in posting. Obviously in most of these cases, I'm not going to name my sources, but I like to think that over 8-10 years, I've built up some credibility. However, when we have a site where the four of us write and we also have forums, things can get cloudy. In this blog, Brock is blamed for shutting down that thread. He shut it down because I couldn't figure out how to do it first. It wasn't, at least in my mind, about protecting Thyrlos. It was about moving on. It had been a day, and lots of people had their say. It was my opinion that the thread just needed to be done so we could all move on. That isn't to say that the thread should be forgotten, or that the next time Thrylos posts a blog reporting something that it isn't fair game to be questioned unmercifully. We have always wanted the forums to be good, strong, meaningful, thoughtful and a place people can go to have quality discussions. We understand the inherent nature of forums and know that there is a small percentage who choose to act a certain way. We have sent 'warning' messages to some people about overkilling certain topics or excessive bashing of a person or so. In fact, some people have been banned for various lengths of time following warnings. I don't want to fully speak for all five of us at Twins Daily, but know that we are trying We may make some mistakes, but our goal has always been to create a community of Twins fans able to discuss appropriately the positives and the negatives of our Twins team. Of course, with a couple of 96+ loss seasons, it can be tough. We want to be consistent, and we want to churn out quality content that TWins fans will enjoy. We want a thoughtful forum, but we know that some people do come in with the purpose of destroying that. We do believe that we provide Twins fans with the best overall experience of any Twins web site,yet we acknowledge that we can and we need to always strive to improve. And we will. Thank you for your concerns.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2671[/ATTACH] Each week here at Twins Daily, we will be taking a look at how players in the Twins organization are faring in the Winter Leagues. The Twins have players in the Arizona Fall League, in Venezuela, in the Dominican Republic, in Mexico, in Puerto Rico and in Australia. A week of numbers is fairly small sample, but it does give a look at who is playing well of late. So, let’s walk through each of the leagues and name a Twins player of the week followed by a look at the rest of the Twins players. ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Nate Roberts, OF Roberts has been the story of the Fall League for the Twins, and it was another great week for him. He played in four games and went 7-14 with four walks to go with just one strikeout. He got one base at least twice in all four games he played and scored seven runs. He also hit his first home run of the season. In 16 games in the Fall League, he is 25-53 with 10 walks and just five strikeouts. He’s hitting .472/.592/.623 (1.214) with five doubles, a home run and ten RBI. Evan Bigley – 5 Games – 5-16 (.313) with a double, a triple and 2 walks. Dan Rohlfing – 2 Games – 4-8 (.500) with two walks. Logan Darnell – 1 Game, 4 IP, 0 runs, 1 hit, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. Kyle Gibson – 1 Game Started, 5 IP, 4 earned runs, 5 hits, 3 walks, 4 strikeouts. Caleb Thielbar – 2 Games, 2.2 innings, 4 earned runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts. Michael Tonkin – 2 Games, 4.2 innings, 1 earned run, 2 hits, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. (First run he’s allowed in regular season games) VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Dakota Watts, RHP Watts missed time early in the season due to some tendonitis, so he is getting some extra innings in Venezuela. This past week, he pitched 6.1 innings in four games. He gave up no runs on one hit. He walked none and struckout eight and recorded two saves. After giving up four runs in his first 3 games (2.1 innings), he has not allowed a run in his past seven games. Oswaldo Arcia – 6 Games, 7-25 (.280), 3 BB, 5 K, 3rd home run – in one game, he was 4-5 with a walk and HR. Eduardo Escobar – 4 Games, 1-12 (.083), 1 BB Deolis Guerra – 3 Games, 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks, 5 strikeouts. 1-0 with 1 save. Edgar Ibarra – 1 Game Started, 3.1 innings, 4 hits, 4 earned runs, 3 walks, 1 strikeout. Angel Mata – 1 Game, 1.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts. Bruce Pugh – 2 Games, 0.1 innings, 2 hits, 0 runs, 1 walk. Over the past week, Aaron Hicks and David Bromberg have returned to the United States. MEXICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Chris Colabello, 1B Colabello had a huge week last week, but this week was even bigger. In six games, he went 8-24 (.333) with two walks and seven strikeouts. The week started out very hot, with six home runs in five games. Overall on the season, Colabello is now hitting .304/.356/.652 (1.009) with eight doubles and eight home runs. Anthony Slama – 4 Games, 4.2 innings, 6 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 8 strikeouts. 3 saves. Gonzalo Sanudo – 2 Games, 3.1 innings, 2 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, 2 strikeouts. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Player of the Week – Miguel Sano, 3B After a terrific season at Beloit, Sano went to the Twins Florida Instructional League. Although he was the top pick in the DWL draft, he eased his way back into the schedule. After playing in just three games coming into this week, he played in five games this past week. In those games, he went 4-15 (.267) with two home runs and four RBI. He walked three times and struckout three times. Jhonathan Arias – 4 Games, 2-8 (.250) with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts Pedro Florimon – 3 Games, 3-9 (.333) with a double, a walk and a strikeout Luis Perdomo – 2 Games, 4.2 innings, 5 hits, 1 earned run, 1 walk and 5 strikeouts. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE The Puerto Rican league got started over the weekend and there are several Twins players from the island to follow. Player of the Week – Eddie Rosario, OF Rosario was the #3 hitter on the Beloit roster that included Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas. In Puerto Rico, his roster includes Vargas and outfielder Danny Ortiz. After spending most of the season playing second base, he played centerfield for the Snappers throughout the season. Through four games, he has played only right field. The Royals’ Irving Falu has been playing second base. Either way, Rosario is a hitting machine who got off to a nice start. He went 6-15 (.400) with a double and three RBI. Jorge Fernandez – The Twins 7th round pick, a catcher, has pinch run in one game and scored a run. Angel Morales – 2 Games, 2-7 (.286), BB, 2B, HR. The two games epitomize the last couple of seasons for Morales. In the first game, he went 2-3 with a walk, a double and a home run. In the second game, he went 0-4 with three strikeouts. Daniel Ortiz – 4 Games, 1-9 (.111), 3 walks and one strikeout. Kennys Vargas – 4 Games, 2-14 (.143), home run, 3 walks, 2 strikeouts. Nelvin Fuentes – 1 Game, 0.2 innings, 3 hits, 3 earned runs, 1 walk, one strikeout. Josue Montanez – 1 Game, 2 innings, 1 hit, 1 run, 0 earned run, 1 walk. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE Player of the Week – Jacob Younis, 2B Younis played in two of three games and went 4-8 with a walk and two RBI. He has spent the past two seasons with the GCL Twins. Unfortunately, he played very little in 2012 due to injury. JD Williams – 3 Games, 2-10 (.200), 2 walks, 4 strikeouts Logan Wade – 2 Games, 2-6 (.333), 1 walk, 1 strikeout Sam Gibbons – 1 Game, 3 innings, two hits, 1 earned run, no walks, 1 strikeout. Tyler Herr – 1 Game, 2.1 innings, 2 hits, no runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout. Feel free to discuss or ask any questions that you like. Also, feel free to pick a player of the week. Here were the nominees: Arizona – Nate Roberts Venezuela – Dakota Watts Mexico – Chris Colabello Dominican – Miguel Sano Puerto Rico – Eddie Rosario Australia – Jacob Younis

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2657[/ATTACH] (photo FoxSportsNorth.com) There have been many changes around the Minnesota Twins. When games start up again next season, you will also notice a change on the Twins telecasts in 2013. After four years as a sideline reporter for Fox Sports North, Robby Incmikoski is leaving FSN. Of course, unlike some of the changes with the Twins, this decision is fully his own. He has accepted a similar job with Root Sports in Pittsburgh. In a phone conversation last night, Incmikoski said that he will remain with FSN through the end of the month, keeping busy working Timberwolves games. According to Incmikoski, “I'm headed to do the Pirates in the same position. I will be a pregame reporter for the Penguins as well, but no travel.” The move makes sense for him in many ways. It allows him to be much closer to his family in Philadelphia. It is also a good opportunity for him professionally. In his time at FSN, Incmikoski worked Twins, Timberwolves and Wild games. There were many times he would be working a game a night for two to three weeks straight, traveling from city to city. It’s certainly understandable that he would enjoy a job with much less travel during the hockey season! Incmikoski added, “I love Fox Sports North and am extremely thankful for the chance they gave me.” After a year of Telly Hughes, Twins fans should be very thankful for the years that the hard-working Incmikoski provided insight into our homes via Fox Sports North. Best Wishes, Robby!