Seth Stohs

The Twins got some great pitching on Saturday and won both games of a split double-header against the Kansas City Royals. In the first game, the Twins won 7-2 and Scott Diamond worked eight innings for the Win. In the second game, it was Cole DeVries who was promoted and who recorded his second big league win with a terrific performance. Of course, he was immediately optioned back to Rochester following the game. There was a lot going on in the Twins system on Saturday. I had the opportunity to go to Newman Outdoor Field in Fargo, ND, to watch the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks take on the St. Paul Saints. Former Twins minor leaguer Tony Davis made his Redhawks debut with a scoreless inning in relief. Other former Twins farmhands, Kyle Carr and Matt Schuld pitch for the Saints. The night was great. The atmosphere for baseball in Fargo is incredible, and I will write more soon. But this is a report on the Twins minor leagues, so see below to see what Danny Valencia did for the second time in a week. Just how far did Miguel Sano hit one? Did the Rock Cats double their pleasure with a win against Bowie? Three players had four-hit games on Saturday, and one of them completed the cycle. For all this and more, here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Saturday: ROCHESTER 4, EMPIRE STATE 6 Things were looking good for the Red Wings through the first four innings. They held a 2-0 lead thanks to two solo home runs off the bat of Danny Valencia. Also, Jeff Manship had thrown four shutout innings. Unfortunately, Brendan Wise came in to start the fifth and the floodgates opened. Wise was charged with six runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. Esmerling Vasquez they struck out six in 2.2, one-hit innings. Bobby Lanigan pitched a scoreless inning. Valencia ended the game 3-4 with the two homers, his fifth and sixth on the season. They were the Red Wings first in seven days. It was Valencia’s fourth multi-homer game. His most recent was one week earlier against Charlotte. Matt Carson was 2-4 with his sixth home run. Despite the loss, the Red Wings finished June with a 15-14 record, the first time they had a winning record during a calendar month since August of 2009. NEW BRITAIN 8, BOWIE 9 New Britain scored three in the bottom of the ninth but fell one short, losing 9-8. Dan Rohlfing led the offense by going 4-5 with his third double. He drove in three runs. Evan Bigley was 2-5 with his 17th double. Chris Herrmann was 2-5 with his 19th double and first triple. In all, the Rock Cats managed six doubles. Deibinson Romero hit his 10th home run. Brett Jacobson made a start I am certain he will already be second-guess himself. The right-hander gave up eight runs (7 earned) on four hits and NINE walks (with no strike outs). Edgar Ibarra came out of the bullpen and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in four innings. Dan Sattler went the final 2.2 innings without alloqing a run. 1B Matt Rizzotti has been released by the Twins. FT. MYERS 7, CHARLOTTE 2 Tom Stuifbergen picked up his first win of the season, and he needed it. The right-hander gave up two runs on six hits in five innings. He worked quickly, walked none and struck out two. Jose Gonzalez struck out two over the next two innings. Finally, Marty Popham came on and struck out two in two perfect innings. Jairo Perez went 2-4 with two RBI and his fourth stolen base. Danny Rams went 2-4 with his first triple. Lance Ray entered the game early and went 2-3 with a walk and his 14th double. Angel Morales went 1-3 with a walk and his fourth home run. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 6 This was not a great night for the Snappers. They managed just three hits in the game although two of them traveled well. Jairo Rodriguz hit a solo home run, his second of the season. Miguel Sano then connected for his 17th home run. An on-site report from K-Bro Baseball tells us that Sano’s home run was a moonshot and towered over the scoreboard in left center field. Jason Wheeler struggled again on this night. The lefty gave up seven runs on eight hits and a walk in three innings. Cole Johnson came in and struck out five in three scoreless innings. Bart Carter pitched two frames and gave up three runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out three. Clinton Dempster pitched the final inning without allowing a run. The loss meant that the Snappers were swept by Clinton in this three-game series. A record-high number of fans (2,564) crawled in to Pohlmann Stadium to watch the Snappers. ELIZABETHTON 6, PULASKI 4 It may be just a statistical anomaly, but hitting for the cycle is still a very cool, very rare occurrence in baseball. On this night, Niko Goodrum did just that. In five at bats, he had a single, hit his second double, his sixth triple and his second home run. He also drove in four runs. Travis Harrison continues to rake. He was 3-3 with a walk. Stephen Wickens went 2-4 with his second triple. Ricardo Arevalo started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on five hits and three walks in just 2.2 innings. Brett Lee came in and gave up a run on three hits in 2.1 innings. Tyler Herr struckout two in two scoreless innings. Mason Melotakis pitched a scoreless eighth frame. Dallas Gallant struck out two in a scoreless ninth to lock down his first save of the season. GCL TWINS 4, GCL RED SOX 3 Lefty Austin Malinowski, the lefty from Minnesota, came in after a couple of rehabbing righties and recorded his first professional win. David Bromberg started and threw the first two frames. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out two. Next, Adrian Salcedo struck out two in a perfect inning. Malinowski came in and gave up an unearned run on three hits and a walk in three innings. Hung-yi Chen and Gerardo Ramirez each threw a scoreless inning. Gonzalo Sanudo struck out five in two scoreless innings. Aderlin Mejia led the offense by going 4-5 with his fifth double. Dereck Rodriguez was 3-5 with two RBI. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, June 30, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Niko Goodrum [ATTACH=CONFIG]1424[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship [ATTACH=CONFIG]1425[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, July 1, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire Island – RHP PJ Walters New Britain vs Bowie – LHP Aaron Thompson Ft. Myers vs St. Lucie – TBD Beloit vs Cedar Rapids – RHP Matt Summers Elizabethton vs Pulaski – LHP Corey Kimes GCL Twins – No Game Scheduled --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

The Twins got just one run off of Royals’ starter Luis Mendoza and found themselves down 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth. Jonathan Broxton came in the Twins scored two off of him. They had the tying run at third base with two outs but were unable to score. The Twins lost 4-3. Saturday will be a long day as the Twins and Royals will play a double header with Game 1 at noon and Game 2 scheduled for 6 p.m. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday: ROCHESTER 5, LEHIGH VALLEY 6 (10 innings) The Red Wings had an early lead but the IronPigs scored three in the eighth to tie the game and send it to extra frames. It was just one extra frame as the IronPigs scored in the bottom of the 10th. Luke French started for the Red Wings and wen the first seven innings. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on five hits and four walks. He struckout five and left the game with a 5-2 lead. Casey Fien came in and gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits and recorded just two outs in the 8th. Caleb Thielbar came in and walked two (one intentionally) in his scoreless frame. Luis Perdomo got the final out of the ninth and one out in the tenth. Unfortunately, he gave up the winning run on two tenth inning hits to take the loss. Sean Burroughs went 3-4 with his second stolen base. Clete Thomas was 2-4 with his 13th double and third stolen base. Brian Dinkelman went 2-5. NEW BRITAIN 8, TRENTON 4 New Britain got a big win in this game and won three out of four games from a team trying to move in front of them in the division race. The Rock Cats got five runs in the third inning to take a 7-0 lead and were able to hold on. The big blow in that big inning came off of the bat of James Beresford. The Aussie drilled a two-run double. Beresford was 2-4 in the game with three RBI. Estarlin de Los Santos was 2-4 with his fifth double. Chris Colabello went 2-4 with his first triple. Aaron Hicks went 3-5. Logan Darnell got the start and improved to 7-6. The lefty went the first six innings and gave up four runs on four hits and three walks. He struckout four. Shairon Martis came on and made his Rock Cats debut throwing a perfect inning. Daniel Turpen threw two shutout innings despite giving up a hit and three a walks. He also struckout three. FT. MYERS 5, CHARLOTTE 0 Matt Hauser made his second professional start, and he was terrific. He threw five shutout innings, and in fact, he had a no-hitter through four innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four. AJ Achter came in and struck out four in two perfect innings. Michael Tonkin gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs, in the final two innings. He struck out three. The Miracle offense helped Hauser out by giving him five first inning runs of support. Levi Michael and Kyle Knudson each went 2-4 with a double. It was Michael’s sixth double and Knudson’s fourth. Jairo Perez and Angel Morales were each 2-3. BELOIT 3, CLINTON 6 Seven Snappers batters had one hit a piece, but could not piece together enough runs to capture a win on this night. Steve Liddle was 1-3 with a walk and his first home run. Jhon Goncalves went 1-2 with two walks. Miguel Sano had an 0-fer and committed his 28th error. Steven Gruver started for the Snappers. The lefty gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out just one. Tim Atherton dropped his ERA to 0.44 with three more shutout innings. He gave up just one hit, walked none and struck out four. Corey Williams gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in the ninth inning. ELIZABETHTON 1, PULASKI 9 2011 supplemental 1st round pick Hudson Boyd started for the E-Twins on Friday night. Through four innings, he had given up just one hit and no runs. In fact, he got the first two batters out in the fifth frame. However, a walk and a single were followed by fellow 2011 supplemental 1st round pick Travis Harrison’s seventh error at third base. It was followed by Jorge Polanco’s second error of the season. And the flood gates were opened. Boyd’s line score says that he gave up seven runs (ZERO earned) on four hits and two walks in 4.2 innings. He struck out three. Steve Evans came in and gave up one run on four hits and a walk in two innings. Kaleb Merck, the Twins 33rd round pick from Texas Christian made his professional debut. The right-hander faced five batters. He struck out four of them, but gave up a solo home run to the other. Zach Jones came on and struck out two in his inning. The E-Twins managed just four hits in this game. Jorge Polanco hit his third doubles. Stephen Wickens went 1-2 with a walk. GCL TWINS 2, GCL RED SOX 5 Dereck Rodriguez continues to hit well, but it wasn’t enough in this game. The outfielder went 2-4 with his third double and first home run of the short season. Jorge Fernandez went 3-4. Aderlin Mejia went 2-5 with his fourth double. Joel Licon was 2-5. Byron Buxton was 0-2, but he did walk two times. Randy Rosario got the starting nod on Friday. He gave up one run on one hit in 2.2 innings. He walked three and struck out four. Felix Jorge came on and gave up two runs (one earned) on four hits and three walks in two innings. He struck out three. J.O. Berrios gave up a run on two hits and a walk, but all three outs he recorded were strikeouts. Chris Mazza gave up only an unearned run on one hit in 2.1 innings. He struck out three. Markus Solbach pitched a 1-2-3 inning. --- Players of the Day for Friday, June 29, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Matt Hauser [ATTACH=CONFIG]1418[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez [ATTACH=CONFIG]1419[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, June 30, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire Island – Bullpen Game (with Cole De Vries starting for Twins) New Britain vs Bowie – RHP Brett Jacobson Ft. Myers @ Charlotte – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit vs Clinton – LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethton vs Pulaski – RHP Ricardo Arevalo GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

Seth will be answering your Twins-related questions here on Friday, starting at 11:00 a.m. central time and going until about 1:00 p.m. Ask questions on the Twins, players, trade deadline, minor league topics, history or whatever you like. It's a lot of fun. If you're interested in watching like, stop back and ask your questions! Twins Daily Live Twins Chat [ATTACH=CONFIG]1409[/ATTACH]

The Big Picture The Rangers have been the American League representative in the World Series each of the past two seasons. In 2012, they are 46-29 and battling with the New York Yankees for the best record in the league. To no surprise, the Los Angeles Angels have started playing (pitching) better and despite a slow start, they are just 4.5 games behind Texas. Why They Will Trade With the Twins The Rangers don’t have a lot of needs. Generally, they are considered one of, if not the, best all-around teams in baseball. They have the best offense in baseball. Their pitching staff is among the top five in baseball. However, the Rangers have shown in recent years that they are willing to deal at the trade deadline to become even stronger. Two years ago, they gave up (then) top prospect Justin Smoak to Seattle for Cliff Lee. Last year, they had one of baseball’s strongest bullpens and went out and acquired Koji Uehara and Mike Adams and Michael Gonzalez. Then in the offseason, they signed Joe Nathan. If Justin Morneau can possibly turn things around and hit for the next three weeks, he is a possible target as he would be a little improvement over the currently-injured Mitch Moreland at first base. David Murphy plays left field most of the time with Josh Hamilton in centerfield. Late in games, they move Hamilton to left field and insert Craig Gentry for defensive purposes. The team would like to move Hamilton to left field more permanently. Currently, the Rangers leadoff hitter is Ian Kinsler who does a decent job of getting on base, but with his power, he might fit better down in the lineup. Denard Span would make a lot of sense for the Rangers as he could take over in center field and in the leadoff spot. Of course, they could also inquire about Josh Willingham to take over in left field or DH (with Michael Young playing more first base). Much depends upon how well Leonys Martin can play over the next month. Of course, with Nolan Ryan involved, it would surprise no one if the Rangers did target some additional pitching. That means names like Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins and Jared Burton could be trade targets, as well. Why They Won't Trade With the Twins As mentioned above, the Rangers do not have many needs. The Rangers’ offense currently leads MLB in Batting Average (.282), On-Base Percentage (.343), Slugging Percentage (.456), and of course OPS (.800). The Rangers are also fourth in MLB in team ERA (3.61) and Batting Average Against (.242). How much more salary will the team want to incur going forward? In the offseason, Josh Hamilton will become a free agent. The Rangers have a strong farm system. They have the talent to win already, as they have proven the last two-plus seasons. Their core, along with some of the impressive stable of prospects in their system, could keep the Rangers in contention for years to come. Conclusion The Rangers do not have a lot of needs, but after falling short in the World Series each of the past two seasons, they will certainly be willing to deal to make themselves better. The Rangers have a strong farm system and have shown a willingness to use it to acquire players in each of the past two seasons. With their 20 year, $3 billion television contract from Fox Sports Southwest, payroll is not an issue. According to Forbes, the Rangers are worth $674 million, a 20% increase from 2011. However, adding a player like Denard Span and his team-friendly contract would make their offense, and their defense, even stronger. And based on last year, the Rangers clearly believe that you can never have too much quality pitching. Here is a list five Rangers prospects that the Twins could look for in return in potential trades. ~~~ Possible Trade Targets Martin Perez - LHP Perez is set to make his much-anticipated Major League debut this weekend for the Rangers. The 21-year-old southpaw was called up to take the place of Colby Lewis who was put on the Disabled List. Perez has always been very young for his level of competition. Baseball American has ranked him 17th, 24th and 31st respectively in their Top 100 prospect lists. He has a fastball in the low 90s with sink, a good changeup and a sharp, slow curveball. His potential is immense, although he is yet to experience much success at the AAA-level. Tanners Scheppers - RHP Scheppers played for the St. Paul Saints before the 2009 draft. The Rangers selected him in the supplemental first round that year. It was the third time he had been drafted because he has tremendous stuff. His fastball reaches into the mid-90s. He has a very good curveball as well. There were often durability concerns with him, and he struggled at times with control. The 25-year-old began this season in the AAA bullpen where he walked just four and struck out 27 in 29 innings. He was called up to the Rangers in early June where he has just one walk and nine strikeouts in 7.1 innings. Jurickson Profar - SS Profar is one of the elite prospects in baseball. The shortstop turned 19 in February and is currently hitting .289/.369/.463 (.832) in Double-A. He has 17 doubles, six triples, seven homers, 34 RBI and nine stolen bases. This comes after posting an OPS of .883 last year in High-A ball. The reality is that the Twins likely couldn’t get Profar in exchange for Span, Morneau and Perkins. But could the Rangers reigning shortstop, Elvis Andrus, be available? He is just 23 and has been their starting shortstop since 2009. He can hit and field and is in the first year of a three-year, $14.4 million deal that takes him to free agency. Neil Ramirez - RHP 23-year-old Ramirez came in to the season as a top prospect, but he has struggled at AAA. The 2003 first-round pick out of high school in Virginia Beach throws hard. As a starter, his fastball sits in the low-90s but touches 96. This spring, in a one-inning stint, he touched 98 mph. His curveball is said to be his best pitch, although he also has a very good changeup. Still young, he profiles as a mid-rotation starter, but with a fastball that is impressive. Cody Buckel - RHP Buckel was the Rangers second round pick in 2010 out of high school. He just turned 20 and made his first AA start. At High-A Myrtle Beach, he was 5-3 with a 1.31 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP. In 75.2 innings, he walked 25 but he struck out 91. He has a fastball that touches 94. He throws a cutter that sits between 85-90. He has a good 12-6 curveball in the 70s. He throws a slider in the low-80s. He also has a good changeup in the low-80s. Please add your thoughts and trade ideas (and other names the Twins could pursue) in the comments below! [ATTACH=CONFIG]1389[/ATTACH]

The Twins had arguably their most exciting game of the season. In many ways, it was the 2012 positives that got it done. Trevor Plouffe hit a home run. Scott Diamond pitched great. And then the big blast off the bat of Josh Willingham that proved to be the game-winner. Of course, you can add to that an incredible plate appearance by Joe Mauer off of flame-throwing Aroldis Chapman to set up the Willingham homer. Jared Burton made it interesting but pitched out of a jam for the save. And now the Twins have a home series against the Chicago White Sox who are hoping that Kevin Youklis still has something left. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday: ROCHESTER 0, CHARLOTTE 6 The Red Wings were shutout for the seventh time this season and fell to just 2-8 on Sundays. Zach Stewart was supposed to start for Charlotte, but he was traded later in the day for Kevin Youklis, so it was a bullpen game for Charlotte. The Red Wings only managed two hits in the game, one a piece by Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Michael Hollimon. Luke French started and gave up five runs on ten hits, three walks and a hit batter in just 4.2 innings. He struck out three. Deolis Guerra walked two and struck out three in 1.1 scoreless innings. Caleb Thielbar gave up one run on two hits, two walks and a hit batter in two innings. Bobby Lanigan pitched a perfect frame. Tsuyoshi Nishioka has hit safely in ten of his last eleven games, and is hitting .302 during that stretch (13-43). NEW BRITAIN 7, RICHMOND 3 Evan Bigley was named the Twins minor league player of the week after a fantastic showing. He started the new week well too. The outfielder went 3-4, was hit by a pitch, doubled for the 16th time and drove in two runs. Chris Colabello went 3-5 with his 12th home run. Matt Rizzotti went 2-3. Logan Darnell evened his record at 6-6 by pitching six solid innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits (2 HR). He walked two and struck out three. Daniel Turpen recorded his fifth save by throwing three shutout innings. He gave up two hits and struck out two batters. FT. MYERS, TAMPA As the Miracle announced on Sunday morning when the game was called, it was being posted due to “excessive moisture.” BELOIT 1, CEDAR RAPIDS 9 It was a rough one in Cedar Rapids for the Snappers on Sunday. Steve Gruver started and gave up three runs on five hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Cole Johnson made his Snappers debut and went one scoreless inning. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck one out. Bart Carter came in and gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits in an inning. Ryan O’Rourke then gave up two runs on a hit and three walks in one inning. JD Williams led the offense by going 2-4. Nate Roberts was 1-3 with a walk. Miguel Sano went 1-4. He’s hitting .239. He also committed his 26th error of the season. ELIZABETHTON 2, BURLINGTON 5 Hudson Boyd made his second E-Town start. The young right-hander gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits, two walks and a hit batter. Josh Burris came in and gave up one run on three hits (solo HR) in 2.2 innings. He struck out three, walked one and hit one. Romy Jimenez and Stephen Wickens each went 2-4. Niko Goodrum hit his first home run of the year, and Rory Rhodes hit his second with the E-Twins. Jorge Polanco hit his first double. Travis Harrison hit his second double. He also committed two errors and have five in five games played. GCL TWINS - Typically there are no Gulf Coast League games on Sundays. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, June 24, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Daniel Turpen [ATTACH=CONFIG]1349[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Chris Colabello [ATTACH=CONFIG]1350[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Monday, June 25, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Charlotte – RHP Cole De Vries New Britain @ Richmond – RHP Brett Jacobson Ft. Myers vs Tampa (2 games) – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Kane County – LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethton vs Bristol – RHP Ricardo Arevalo GCL Twins/GCL Orioles – Game Postponed by Rain --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

The Twins started their three-game series at The Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati against the Reds with a 5-4 win. Ben Revere and Ryan Doumit each had four hits, and the Twins got another four shutout innings from their bullpen to hold the win for Nick Blackburn who went the first five innings. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Friday: ROCHESTER 3, CHARLOTTE 0 The Red Wings recorded their sixth shutout of the season on Friday night. Sam Deduno went the first six innings. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out eight. Kyle Waldrop gave up one hit and struck out one over the next two innings. Tyler Robertson got the first two outs of the ninth inning on strikeouts, but he also gave up a hit and walked a batter. Casey Fien came in and got the final out for his ninth save of the season. Pedro Florimon went 2-2 with three walks and his seventh double. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 3-4. Danny Valencia was 2-5 with his tenth double. Deduno missed five to six weeks of time with injury, but since his return, he has been terrific. In three starts, he is 1-0 with a 1.66 ERA. In just 13.2 innings, he has given up just one run. Pedro Florimon has been doing quite the job in the last two games as the team’s leadoff hitter. He is 4-5 with five walks. In other words, he has reached base nine out of ten plate appearances. Going back to his past three games, he is 6-9 with five walks and a double in each game. NEW BRITAIN 9, RICHMOND 8 Evan Bigley led the Rock Cats to a big, high-scoring win. The outfielder went 4-5 with his 14th double, his ninth home run and three RBI. Chris Colabello was 2-5 with his 16th double. Chris Herrmann went 2-4 with a walk and his 18th double. BJ Hermsen got the start and wasn’t helped by his defense. In 6.1 innings, he gave up six runs but just two were earned. He gave up eight hits, of which two were home runs, walked none and struck out two. Edgar Ibarra came n and gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Dan Sattler came on and gave up one run on one hit and one walk in 1.1 innings. He was credited with the Win. When Oswaldo Arcia was called up to New Britain, Mark Dolenc was released and Bigley was told that his playing time would likely be lessened. In four games since then, Bigley is 10-16 with two doubles and two home runs. FT. MYERS 7, ST. LUCIE 8 (5 innings – Rain) The St. Lucie Mets used the long ball to top the Miracle in this high scoring, five inning game which was shortened by rain. Marty Popham started and gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 3.1 innings. He struck out eight and gave up one homer. Miguel Munoz came in and threw 1.2 innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and two walks. In the bottom of the fifth, he allowed a three-run home run that tied the game and seven, and then the next batter hit a homer that ended the game. Levi Michael went 2-3 with his fifth double. Josmil Pinto hit a grand slam in a five-run second innings. It was his sixth home run of the year. Danny Ortiz hit his fourth triple since joining the Miracle in early May. Kyle Knudson went 0-3 in his first game with the Miracle. Then he got to enjoy the All Star break. He came back and had three hits in three straight games. Last night, he was 1-2. That’s 10 hits in his last 16 at bats. BELOIT 7, CEDAR RAPIDS 0 The Twins saw enough in David Hurlbut that they drafted him twice, once out of high school and then last year after a mediocre collegiate career as a LOOGY at Cal-State Fullerton. It’s nights like Friday night that make fan’s appreciate a scout that saw enough in him to suggest drafting him. The lefty improved to 3-0 with seven one-hit, no-run innings. He walked three and struck out four. Tim Atherton came in and pitched a perfect eighth frame, striking out one. Corey Williams got the ninth inning and walked one and struck one out in a scoreless innings. Nate Roberts went 2-3 with a walk, his fourth double and his third stolen base. Drew Leachman went 2-4 with a walk. Steve Liddle and Tyler Grimes each hit a double. ELIZABETHTON 5, BURLINGTON 6 This is a game that wasn’t decided until the final pitch. Angel Mata started for the E-Twins and gave up two runs on three hits in 4.2 innings. He walked four and struck out two. Luis (Daniel) Ortiz came in and gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and two walks. The lefty struck out two. Brett Lee went the next 1.2 innings and gave up only a walk. Tyler Herr pitched a scoreless innings despite one hit. Mason Melotakis came in to protect a one-run lead in the ninth. The lefty got two outs, but gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit and two walks to take the loss. Rory Rhodes continued his hot streak by going 2-4 with a double. Jorge Polanco went 2-4. Travis Harrison hit his first pro home run (and committed his second and third pro errors). Stephen Wickens hit a double. Max Kepler went 1-4. He is now 1-17 (.059) on the young season. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RED SOX 4 (7 innings – Rain) Byron Buxton made his professional debut on Friday afternoon. The Twins top pick went 0-4. He flew out to center twice and to left once. He also took a called third strike in the game. Bryan Haar went 2-3 with his third double. Jose Ramirez went 2-3 with his first triple. Dereck Rodriguez hit his first double. Randy Rosario started for the Twins and gave up just one hit, one walk and no runs in four innings. He struck out five. Markus Solbach gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in his inning. Chris Mazza threw the seventh inning and gave up two unearned runs on two hits and a walk. The game was called after seven innings due to rain. --- Players of the Day for Friday, June 22, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut [ATTACH=CONFIG]1331[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Evan Bigley [ATTACH=CONFIG]1332[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, June 23, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Charlotte – LHP Luke French New Britain @ Richmond – LHP Logan Darnell Ft. Myers @ Jupiter – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Cedar Rapids – LHP Steven Gruver Elizabethton @ Danville – RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles – LHP Austin Malinowski --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

It seems like every week or two, there is a pitcher who is designated for assignment by a team. In the Twins Daily Forums, we discuss whether or not the Twins should consider claiming him or not. Today is no different. On Friday, the Texas Rangers added Roy Oswalt to their 40 man roster. To make room for him, Mark Hamburger was Designated for Assignment. Hamburger is a Minnesota native who signed with the Twins after a tryout camp at the Metrodome. In 2008, he was closing for the Elizabethton Twins when he learned that he had been traded to the Texas Rangers for Eddie Guardado. He climbed consistently up the Rangers ladder. In 2011, he began the season in AA, advanced to AAA And made five appearances for the Rangers in September. Although he wasn't on the Rangers' playoff rosters, he was allowed in the dugout and clubhouse. What an experience. In previous years, he was clocked with a fastball between 91 and 96 mph as a reliever. He also had a hard slider and a split-finger fastball. This year, the 25-year-old's velocity is said to be down around 90. He has pitched all season in AAA where he made three starts before moving to the bullpen. Overall this year, he has a 6.55 ERA in 45.1 innings. He has given up 66 hits (includind 7 home runs) and 21 walks while striking out 37. So, there may be some concern about his numbers, and certainly some concern about the lack of velocity. But there are reasons for the Twins to consider claiming Hamburger. First and foremost, the team needs pitching. When he is on, he throws a lot of strikes and throws quite hard. He can miss bats. He could be a very good big league reliever. His numbers aren't good, but he is pitching in the Pacific Coast League. It is a nice story, the former non-drafted kid from Minnesota, signed afte a tryout camp, is always fun! Finally, he was not added to the Rangers 40 man roster until last September when he was promoted. In other words, 2012 is his first option year. He has two more option years. I think it's worth the gamble. Hamburger was taking the news well. In a text message to Twins Daily, he wrote, "It's all good. I'm not mad since Roy Oswalt is the (other half of the transaction). It should all work out for the best." When asked about the possibility that the Twins could sign him, he wrote, "Wouldn't that be cool!" We shall see. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1329[/ATTACH]

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Since the Twins drafted outfielder Byron Buxton with the second overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, the question I hear most is, “When do you think we will see Buxton in a Minnesota Twins uniform?” We can all venture our guesses bases on what we’ve read about an 18 year old, but no one knows. He could come up as a 20 year old in 2014, as a 24 year old in 2018, or he may never make it up to the big league club. Another question I have heard frequently over the last two years is when we will see Aaron Hicks and if he is behind schedule, whatever who whoever’s schedule that is. Is there a lot of risk drafting high school hitters early in the draft? How have the Twins done when they have drafted high school bats? My hope in this article is not to necessarily answer those questions because, again, we don’t know what the end story will be for any individual. By the end of this article, hopefully you will be able to see a bit of information to help you project when we might expect to see Buxton, Hicks or other high school draftees. Methodology Ben Revere was drafted by the Twins in 2007 out of Lexington Catholic High School in Kentucky. He debuted with the Twins in September of 2010, three-and-a-half years after being drafted. My assumption as I prepared this data was that Revere was on a very fast track. That is where I started the search. I looked at all high school hitters drafted by the Twins in the first 100 picks of their respective drafts. Although anyone drafted or signing with an affiliate technically have a chance to make the big leagues, many believe that the Top 100 picks is where most of the future big leaguers are selected. Between 1993 and 2007 (15 drafts), the Twins selected 22 high school hitters in the Top 100 picks of the drafts. Fifteen of the twenty-two have reached the big leagues. Obviously there is a wide range of big league success, but that is an impressive 68.1% Six to eight of those 22 players have had a significant level of big league success. With that, I put together a chart showing when the players was drafted (including overall pick #), when they made their big league debut, when they became a regular big leaguer, how many Major League plate appearances they have accumulated, and finally, what level did a player who didn’t make the big leagues get? [TABLE=width: 544] Player Draft Year (Pick) MLB Debut Regular MLB PA's No MLB - Hi Level Ben Revere 2007 (28) 9/7/2010 2011 656 Danny Rams 2007 (92) Current - FM Chris Parmelee 2006 (20) 9/6/2011 192 Joe Benson 2006 (64) 9/6/2011 74 Henry Sanchez 2005 (39) 09 - Beloit Paul Kelly 2005 (54) 11 - Ft. Myers Drew Thompson 2005 (80) 10 - FM, '11 WS Trevor Plouffe 2004 (20) 5/21/2010 2012 540 Matt Moses 2003 (21) 09 - Rochester Denard Span 2002 (20) 4/6/2008 2008 2380 Joe Mauer 2001 (1) 4/5/2004 2005 4169 Jose Morales 2001 (77) 9/8/2007 2009 252 BJ Garbe 1999 (5) 06 - New Britain Rob Bowen 1999 (56) 9/1/2003 2006 439 Justin Morneau 1999 (89) 6/10/2003 2004 4447 Michael Cuddyer 1997 (9) 9/23/2001 2004 4812 Michael Restovich 1997 (61) 9/18/2002 297 Cleatus Davidson 1994 (42) 5/30/1999 24 AJ Pierzynski 1994 (71) 9/9/1998 2001 5939 Torii Hunter 1993 (20) 8/22/1997 1999 7510 Kelcey Mucker 1993 (38) 99 - New Britain Javier Valentin 1993 (93) 9/28/1997 1998 1663 [/TABLE] NEVER MADE IT Along with the 68% of these 22 players making it to be the big leaguers comes the 32% chance that a Top 100 draft choice never sees the major leagues. This could be for many reasons. For example, Paul Kelly and Drew Thompson just could not stay on the field. They were hurt. Both had big league talent. Mucker and Garbe were good athletes that just plateaued. Sanchez had huge power but couldn’t make contact. He also couldn’t stay out of trouble. Moses was talented, but many believed he just didn’t care about baseball all that much. There are many reasons that players don’t get to the big leagues, and this small group of seven illustrates that well. (Note – Danny Rams is still playing with the Ft. Myers Miracle, hitting .136 on the season.) ON THE FAST TRACK Three players on this list were on what I would consider the fast track. Joe Mauer was starting on Opening Day in 2004, two-and-a-half years after he was the #1 overall pick in 2001. He signed and played in Elizabethton in 2001. He spent all of 2002 in Quad Cities (Low A). He started 2003 in Ft. Myers and played the second half in New Britain. Ben Revere was drafted in 2007 and played in the GCL that year. He spent all of 2008 in Beloit, where he hit .379. He spent all of 2009 in Ft. Myers and hit .311. In 2010, he hit. 305 in New Britain before his September call-up. Revere spent three-and-a-half seasons in the minors before his debut. He didn’t spend much time in the minors in 2011 before being a starter for the Twins. He also got a little bit of time in Rochester in 2012. Justin Morneau was the Twins 3rd round pick in 1999, and he debuted with the Twins almost exactly four years after signing with the Twins, on June 10, 2003. He was regular by the All Star break in 2004, shortly before the Twins traded Doug Mientkiewicz at the deadline. More impressive, he played in the Gulf Coast League in 1999 and 2000. In 2001, he spent time in Quad Cities and Ft. Myers before ending the season with ten games in New Britain. He spent all of 2002 in New Britain which is where he started the 2003 season. He moved up to Rochester, and by July, he was up with the Twins. He spent 72 more games in 2004 in Rochester before being called up for good. (Side Note - Jason Kubel was a 12th round pick in 2000. He debuted with the Twins in August of 2004, just over four years after signing, despite spending 2000 and 2001 in the GCL.) AVERAGE ADVANCEMENT Of the 15 (in our sample of 22) that made it to the big leagues ten of them debuted between four-and-a-half and five-and-a-half years. The common denominator in this group is that the players went back to the minor leagues after their debut. Rob Bowen and Javier Valentin came up within four-and-a-half years, and it wasn’t long before they were backup catchers in the big leagues. Torii Hunter came up from AA just four-and-a-half years after he was drafted, but he played in just one game (as a pinch runner) before going back to the minors. In fact, he played in just six games for the Twins the following year. And, two years after that, he was infamously returned to the minor leagues when he figured things out. He came up for good after that. Michael Cuddyer came up after four-and-a-half years too, and it took him three years to become a regular. Cleatus Davidson came up five years after he was drafted. He spent a little time as a utility infielder for the Twins and never played with the big league club again. AJ Pierzynski didn’t hit his first chance for five-and-a-half years, and he spent plenty more time over the next two seasons in the minor leagues before staying up for good. Michael Restovich took five-and-a-half years too, and he only got minimal time with the Twins over the next three seasons. He was a part-time big leaguers for several more years but never became a regular. Denard Span rarely put up numbers during his five-and-a-half years in the minor leagues before his debut. That’s why the Twins wanted to get a centerfielder in the Johan Santana trade. But Span got his chance just days after the start of the 2008 season. He was sent back down, but it wasn’t long before he came up as a regular and he’s outperformed his minor league numbers ever since. Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson were each in the minor leagues for five-and-a-half years before their September call-ups last year. I don’t think that either would be called a big league regular at this time, but both still have the youth and potential to become just that. EXTREME PATIENCE Jose Morales was in the minor leagues for six-and-a-half years before he was called up to the Twins in 2007. He had three hits in his big league debut, and was injured on a slide and missed the rest of that season and plenty of time the following year. He showed some glimpses that he could be a decent backup. Trevor Plouffe did not make his Major League debut for six years after he was drafted in 2004. His is an interesting case. After the draft, he spent the season in Elizabethton. He spent all of 2005 in Beloit where he hit just .223 but was promoted to Ft. Myers for the 2006 season. There, he hit just .246. In 2007, he found himself in New Britain as a 21 year old. He hit .274 with 48 extra base hits, and yet in 2008, he was back with the Rock Cats. He split 2008 before New Britain and Rochester. He spent all of 2009 in Rochester. In 2010, he was back in Rochester, and hit .244. However, in June, the Twins had a need and Plouffe made his big league debut. He put up major power numbers for Rochester in 2011 and played in 81 games for the Twins. We know of his early-season struggles with the Twins in 2012. Based on his hot streak the last month, can we now call him a regular, about eight years after he was drafted? SUMMARY NOTES So, when people ask me when I would guess we will see Byron Buxton playing for the Minnesota Twins, I think I’ll guess the average of the above, five years. That would mean he would debut with the Twins around June of 2017, but it will likely be September of either 2016 or 2017. Is Aaron Hicks behind schedule? He was the #1 pick in June of 2008. Five years would be about June of 2013. He is at AA right now, and he needs to be added to the 40 man roster after this season, so it’s possible he gets called up in September this year. So now, he is not behind schedule. He’s on a pretty normal schedule. Finally, I so often hear some fans make judgements quickly on a player who comes up for his debut, struggles and is sent down. I never understand that because, in reality, very few come up, make their debut and stay in the big leagues forever. It's normal to have some struggles, get sent back down, work on some things, come back up, and rinse and repeat. Obviously the better a player is able to make adjustments, the more likely he is to eventually become a quality regular. You can do the same math with 2010 second-round pick Niko Goodrum and 2011 supplemental first round pick Travis Harrison. Yet no one knows. Will Harrison be on the Ben Revere path, or the Michael Cuddyer path, or the Trevor Plouffe path, or the BJ Garbe path? We don’t know. There are no givens in minor league baseball, and that’s part of makes it so fun to follow. [ATTACH=CONFIG]1309[/ATTACH]