Seth Stohs

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This blog has been promoted to an article. Please feel free to comment here. Day 2 in the Twins minor league system meant FIVE box scores to follow. In an unusual event, New Britain and Richmond had a scheduled double header. The Twins affiliates went 4-1 on the day. The Rochester Red Wings and New Britain Rock Cats are a combined 5-0 so far on the early season. As you will see every day throughout the season, here are the scores and highlights from the Twins minor league system. ROCHESTER 3, SYRACUSE 1Scott Diamond had a frustrating 2011 season with the Red Wings (and in several starts with the Twins). His 2012 got off to a terrific start. The lefty threw 6.1 scoreless innings. He gave up four hits, walked one and struckout three. Carlos Gutierrez finished the seventh inning and then struckout the first two batters of the 8th inning. A triple, followed by a double, ended his night as the Red Wings clung to a 2-1 lead. Anthony Slama came in and got a strikeout to end the eighth. He gave up one hit in the 9th frame, but he struckout pinch-hitter Mark Teahen to end the game and record his first save. Brian Dozier and Joe Benson each went 2-3 with a walk in the game. After a four-hit debut on Thursday, Matt Carson was 2-4 with his secod double in this game. Aaron Bates was 1-3 with a walk and a double. NEW BRITAIN 6, RICHMOND 2 (GAME 1)Steve Hirschfeld pitched well, but the story in this game was the bat of Evan Bigley. The right fielder went 2-3. He put the Rock Cats on the board with an RBI triple. A couple innings later, he broke things open with a grand slam to give him five RBI in the game. Like Bigley, Pedro Florimon was 2-3. He had a double. Hirschfeld went the first five innings and gave up two runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four. Luis Perdomo came in and struckout four in two scoreless, hitless innings. NEW BRITAIN 4, RICHMOND 1 (GAME 2) Lefty Logan Darnell got the Game 2 start and pitched very well. In five innings, he gave up one run on just two hits. He walked one and struck out four. A couple of former starters made their bullpen debuts and did quite well. David Bromberg pitched a scoreless sixth inning, and Bobby Lanigan gets the save with a scoreless seventh. Chris Herrmann had the big hit in this game. He was 2-3 but his bases-clearing double gave the Rock Cats the lead they were able to hold on to. Deibinson Romero hit his second double of the day. Nate Hanson went 2-2 with a walk. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 2, CHARLOTTE 62011 was a frustrating season for Pat Dean, but he came through with a terrific debut to his 2012 season. The lefty gave up two runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out four without walking a single batter. Bruce Pugh came in gave up four runs (3 earned) on four hits, including a home run, in the seventh inning. Caleb Thielbar threw two scoreless innings. He gave up no hits or walks, but he did hit two batters. Danny Santana now has six hits in the season’s first two games after going 3-5 in this game. He also stole hit first base. Angel Morales was 1-3 with a walk. BELOIT 6, PEORIA 1 The Snappers got great pitching, but the story of this game came in the 7th inning. The game was still tied at one a piece when Miguel Sano stepped to the plate with the bases loaded. He connected for his first Midwest League hit and his first Midwest League Home Run, a grand slam that gave the Snappers a lead they would hold on to. Tyler Grimes went 2-4 with a double. JD Williams was 1-3 with a walk and a double. Eddie Rosario was 1-2 with two walks. 2011 draft pick Steven Gruver started and gave up just one run on five hits in six innings. He struckout five without walking a batter. Michael Tonkin struckout four in two scoreless innings. Clinton Dempster struckout two in a scoreless ninth. --- Friday, April 6, 2012 Players of the Day Hitter of the Day – Evan Bigley [ATTACH=CONFIG]544[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Scott Diamond [ATTACH=CONFIG]545[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Saturday, April 7, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – 3:05 (CST) – Daryl Thompson Richmond @ New Britain (12:35 CST) – Jason Marquis Charlotte @ Ft. Myers – 5:05 CST) – BJ Hermsen Peoria @ Beloit – 2:00 – ? --- 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!

Happy Twins Opening Day to all of you!! After a disappointing 2011 season, a long, cold offseason, here we are. Opening Day! It's a great feeling as a fan. I can only imagine what's going through the minds of the players who will be making their first Opening Day roster. Guys like Trevor Plouffe, Luke Hughes and Liam Hendriks have never experienced what they will today (or Monday at Target Field, for that matter). The Twins 25-man roster is set. Kyle Waldrop and Scott Baker are on the Disabled List, and Jason Marquis is in New Britain for a couple of starts. 28 Players. 28 Projections. If there is one over-riding theme for Opening Day, it's optimism. Or at least it should be. With that in mind, I'll give my predictions for each of the 28 players. Feel free to argue, dispute and add to this with thoughts, comments and predictions. The Pitchers: The key for any team is their pitching, so let's start there. It's impossible to predict wins and losses with any certainty, so I'll just give ERA, WHIP, and any other keys for a player. Carl Pavano: 4.55 ERA, 1.44 WHIP... 195 innings... 3.9 K/9... 1.9 BB/9 Francisco Liriano: 3.31 ERA, 1.19 WHIP... 193 innings... 9.1 K/9... 3.1 BB/9 Nick Blackburn: 4.29 ERA, 1.38 WHIP... 200 innings... 4.9 K/9... 1.9 BB/9 Liam Hendriks: 3.94 ERA, 1.26 WHIP... 7.2 K/9... 2.1 BB/9 Scott Baker: 5.15 ERA, 1.52 WHIP... 6.8 K/9... 3.4 BB/9 Jason Marquis: 4.61 ERA, 1.46 WHIP... 4.6 K/9... 3.1 BB/9 Matt Capps: 3.08 ERA, 1.11 WHIP... 6.8 K/9... 2.1 BB/9 (28 Saves) Glen Perkins: 2.42 ERA, 1.19 WHIP... 9.2 K/9... 2.6 BB/9 (8 Saves) Jared Burton: 3.12 ERA, 1.23 WHIP... 6.2 K/9... 3.8 BB/9 (3 Saves) Brian Duensing: 2.03 ERA, 1.29 WHIP... 7.1 K/9...2.1 BB/9 Anthony Swarzak: 4.53 ERA, 1.39 WHIP... 5.1 K/9...3.1 BB/9 Jeff Gray: 4.10 ERA, 1.31 WHIP... 4.4 K/9... 3.6 BB/9 Matt Maloney: 3.40 ERA, 1.20 WHIP... 7.1 K/9...2.7 BB/9 Alex Burnett: If he gets to go to Rochester for 2-3 consecutive months, he can come back and be good. If he stays up all year, it could be scary again. Kyle Waldrop: 3.55 ERA, 1.30 WHIP... 5.5 K/9... 2.5 BB/9 The Hitters: Denard Span: .290/.375/.445 (.820) - 28 doubles, 8 triples, 6 HR, 50 RBI, 31 SB Jamey Carroll: .275/.345/.325 (.670) - 16 doubles, 3 triples, 0 HR, 30 RBI, 8 SB Joe Mauer: .320/.395/.490 (.885) - 38 doubles, 1 triple, 11 HR, 82 RBI Justin Morneau: .275/.340/.445 (.785) - 24 doubles, 0 triples, 17 HR, 71 RBI Josh Willingham: .255/.340/.465 (.805) - 23 doubles, 0 triples, 27 HR, 88 RBI Ryan Doumit: .270/.335/.420 (.755) - 18 doubles, 0 triples, 11 HR, 55 RBI Danny Valencia: .285/.335/.460 (.795) - 32 doubles, 0 triples, 19 HR, 75 RBI Chris Parmelee: .260/.330/.380 (.710) - 18 doubles, 0 triples, 9 HR, 48 RBI Alexi Casilla: .255/.310/.345 (.655) - 16 doubles, 2 triples, 1 HR, 24 RBI, 14 SB Trevor Plouffe: .260/.315/.450 (.765) - 19 doubles, 1 triple, 11 HR, 42 RBI Luke Hughes: .245/.305/.390 (.695) - 15 doubles, 1 triple, 8 HR, 33 RBI Ben Revere: .290/.335/.350 (.685) - 9 doubles, 7 triples, 1 HR, 27 SB Sean Burroughs: .270/.315/.350 (.665) - 8 doubles, 1 triple, 2 HR So, what do you think? Get your predictions into the comments. Who am I too high on? Who am I too low on? We can check back at the end of the year and see how these look! [ATTACH=CONFIG]538[/ATTACH]

Minor League Opening Day has come and gone, and all is good in the world! As we ever-so patiently await today’s Twins opener, we were able to peruse the box scores of four Twins affiliates. Opening Day is a sign of hope, especially for the guys who had good games. If players had rough games, hey, it’s just one of 144 games! But it is box scores and games that count. Which prospects will rise, and which will fall? Will any of the teams make the playoffs? They are questions that no one knows the answer to, but each of those answers start on Opening Day. Below you’ll find the results of each of the Twins minor league games as well as some of the highlights. ROCHESTER 7, SYRACUSE 4Matt Carson’s debut with the Red Wings was a successful one. The eldest player on the Rochester had hits in his first four at bats. He was 4-5 with a double and a triple. Brian Dozier doubles in his first AAA at bat and singled in his second. He was 2-4 with a walk. Aaron Bates went 2-3 with two walks. Drew Butera went 2-3 with a sac fly, a double and a two-run home run that bounced off the foul pole. PJ Walters started and threw four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked two while striking out four. Jeff Manship and pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings. Tyler Robertson then gave up three runs (2 earned) on one hit and a walk in an inning. Brendan Wise replaced him and gave up a run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Casey Fien recorded the Save with a perfect 1-2-3 ninth frame. Behind the Box Score – Tyler Robertson’s stats may not look good at the end of the day, but he had Key Moment #1 of the game. With the Red Wings leading 2-0 in the 6th inning, Bryce Harper came to the plate as the potential tying run. Robertson came in to replace Manship. He struckout Harper and then got veteran Jason Michaels to pop out to end the inning. It was a key moment at the time. Brian Dinkelman was just 1-4 in the game, but after Robertson’s key moment, Dinkelman gave the team Key Moment #2. His bases-clearing triple off of the right field wall gave the Red Wings a 5-0 lead. NEW BRITAIN 3, RICHMOND 2Luke French has made 25 big league starts, yet the 26-year-old lefty finds himself starting in Double-A. In this game, he threw five shutout innings, allowing two hits. He walked two and struckout four. Deolis Guerra came in and continued the dominance he displayed after his transition to the bullpen last season. He threw two perfect innings and struckout three. Daniel Turpen, acquired for Kevin Slowey, threw a scoreless eighth inning. He came out for the ninth inning, holding a three-run lead. He recorded two outs, but allowed two runs on four hits. Lester Oliveros came in and struckout the one batter he faced for the save. Mark Dolenc and James Beresford were each 2-3. Chris Herrmann was 2-4 with an RBI. Evan Bigley notched a double. FT. MYERS MIRACLE 8, CHARLOTTE 6The Miracle nearly completed a miraculous comeback, but it fell short. However, the big news in this game was that Scott Baker made the start but lasted just three batters and 11 pitches. He left the field complaining that he just could not get warmed up. Edgar Ibarra came in and the lefty pitched well. He gave up three hits and a walk but no runs in 2.2 innings. Jose Gonzalez came in for the 4th inning and gave up three runs on three hits. He did strikeout three. Ricky Bowen came in and gave up one run on four hits in three innings. He walked none and struckout three. Matt Hauser pitched the final inning and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Danny Santana had a nice Florida State League debut. He went 3-4 with a walk and two doubles. Angel Morales went 3-4 with a stolen base. Oswaldo Arcia singled his first time up. Then he walked three straight times. He added a stolen base. BELOIT 2, PEORIA 5Eden Prairie’s Madison Boer threw two scoreless innings to start the game. In the third inning, he gave up four runs (3 earned). He gave up another unearned run in the fourth inning. Matt Tomshaw came in and threw two perfect innings, striking out three. Matt Summers struckout the side in the 7th inning. Nelvin Fuentes threw a scoreless 8th inning despite giving up a hit and two walks. Bart Carter struckout two in the ninth. The Snappers offense didn’t show up on Opening night. The team managed just five hits. Jhonathan Goncalves had two of them. Eddie Rosario and Danny Ortiz each had a double. Of course, they each also had an error. Miguel was 0-3 in his MWL debut. He was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance and then stole second base. --- For much more on the Twins Minor League system, be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly episode. Travis Aune and I discussed all four games and many of the players. --- Thursday, April 5, 2012 Players of the Day Hitter of the Day – Matt Carson [ATTACH=CONFIG]525[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Luke French [ATTACH=CONFIG]526[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Friday, April 6, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Syracuse – 3:00 (CST) – Scott Diamond Richmond @ New Britain (Doubleheader, Game 1 @ 3:35 CST) – Steve Hirschfeld, Logan Darnell Charlotte @ Ft. Myers – Pat Dean (6:05 CST) Peoria @ Beloit – 6:30 – ? --- 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!

Never sure what to believe when it comes out of Torii Hunter's mouth. When I saw his tweets last night, I couldn't help but wonder if he had just dreamed that or what!

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On Tuesday night, Seth was joined by Topper Anton (Curve for a Strike) on the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. Topper spent time in Ft. Myers last week and reported on what he saw at minor league camp and at a couple of Twins games. The rest of the show, Seth answered questions from the chat room about the Twins 25 man roster, some tough decisions, the minor league rosters, Twins Daily and more. The one-hour show can be heard by clicking here. However, the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast needs your help really badly. Since the SethSpeaks.net site has now merged into this Twins Daily site, the podcast needs a new name. What do you think? What are your suggestions? Any ideas? Leave your comments on the show or show names in the Comments! [ATTACH=CONFIG]499[/ATTACH]

Here at Twins Daily, you can read some terrific Twins content just by reading the front page. You can converse and discuss our favorite team in the Forums, and we definitely encourage you to share and express your thoughts and opinions there. However, Twins fans who come to Twins Daily should be sure to frequently go to the Blogs page because we are getting some very good, quality Twins content there as well. Check out these blogs, and if you are so inclined, take some time and start writing your own blog here. The best of the best of these blogs will be promoted to the front page. Today is a very good example of the wide range of Twins topics that you can find in the Blogs: K-Bro gave her thoughts on the Twins 25 man roster… even if it wasn’t as she predicted it. CDog asked if the Twins are as good or better at every position than last year; starting pitching, relief pitching and the lineup. ShaneWahl wrote about 10 Minor Leaguers to Watch in 2012. Cody Christie posted his 2012 National League Predictions today. Thrylos posted several Twins Tidbits and Thoughts for a Tuesday. Twins Fan from Afar posted his 2012 Projections for Francisco Liriano, something we are all intrigued by! Jorgenswest wrote that although we all like the young Twins players, such as Chris Parmelee, we may need to temper our expectations and expect some growing pains. Thank you to everyone for your readership, participation in the Forums and also for checking out (and maybe even participating in) the blogs page. [ATTACH=CONFIG]492[/ATTACH]

The Twins roster is set, and with that, the minor league rosters are set as well. It is an unusual season in that the minor league seasons start (a day) before the big league Opening Day. I may be in the minority, but I get just as excited about minor league Opening Day as I do about major league Opening Day (and I think Opening Day should be a national holiday!). Pending last minute injuries or transactions, below are the Opening Day rosters for the Twins minor league affiliates, along with a very brief summary of what to look for. Please feel free to ask questions in the Comments section, and I'll be sure to try to answer as many as I can. ROCHESTER RED WINGS Manager: Gene Glynn… Hitting Coach: Tom Brunansky… Pitching Coach: Bobby Cuellar Pitchers: Sam Deduno, Cole DeVries, Scott Diamond, Phil Dumatrait, Casey Fien, Kyle Gibson (DL), Carlos Gutierrez, Jeff Manship, Tyler Robertson, Anthony Slama, Brad Thompson (DL), Daryl Thompson, Esmerling Vasquez, PJ Walters, Brendan Wise Catchers: Drew Butera, Rene Rivera, JR Towles Infielders: Aaron Bates, Matt Rizzotti, Brian Dinkelman, Brian Dozier, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Ray Chang, Michael Hollimon Outfielders: Joe Benson, Matt Carson, Wilkin Ramirez (DL), Rene Tosoni SUMMARY THOUGHTS: With Liam Hendriks with the Twins for the time being, who will be the five starters, and what can be expected from them? There are some good bullpen arms, to be sure, though. The catchers can certainly catch, but even in Rochester, they should be hitting ninth. Aaron Bates had a terrific 2011 season with the Red Wings and performed well in big league spring training. Rizzotti could play some 1B but will likely DH a lot. His 24 HR last year (in AA Reading) would have led the Twins organization. Nishioka has been playing well since his demotion early in camp. Chang, Hollimon and Dinkelman all played well in big league camp and profile as utility types. Dozier is the guy that is exciting. He was the Twins minor league player of the year last year, and had a terrific camp with the Twins. If there is a need with the big league club in the middle infield, they will not hesitate to promote the 24 year old. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS Manager: Jeff Smith… Hitting Coach: Rudy Hernandez… Pitching Coach: Stu Cliburn Pitchers: Andrew Albers, David Bromberg, Logan Darnell, Luke French, Deolis Guerra, Steve Hirschfeld, Brett Jacobson, Bobby Lanigan, Blake Martin, Lester Oliveros, Luis Perdomo, Daniel Turpen, Alex Wimmers Catchers: Chris Herrmann, Danny Lehmann Infielders: Chris Colabello, Nate Hanson, Estarlin De Los Santos, Darin Mastroianni, James Beresford, Pedro Florimon, Deibinson Romero Outfield: Evan Bigley, Mark Dolenc, Aaron Hicks SUMMARY THOUGHTS: There are several arms in New Britain that many of us assumed would be in Rochester, but that bodes well for the Rock Cats and for the development of these players. There is some surprise that Alex Wimmers is set to start the season with the Rock Cats. That means he must be throwing well, and most important, throwing strikes. Darnell and Lanigan will likely remain in the Rock Cats rotation. Jacobson, Hirschfeld, Albers (last year’s SethSpeaks.net Minor League Reliever of the Year) and Bromberg all could split time between the rotation and the bullpen. Chris Herrmann impressed in 2011, played great in the AFL, and showed well for himself in 2012 big league camp. Lehmann deserves more of an opportunity and is in the same category as the three AAA pitchers. The infield should be strong. Beresford and Florimon perform a great up-the-middle defense while de Los Santos comes back healthy. Colabello was Baseball America’s independent leagues player of the year last year, and Hanson just continues to progress well as he moves up. Romero had a solid comeback year last year with the Rock Cats showing some of the power that made the Twins put him on their 40 man roster three years ago. Mastroianni has played pretty exclusively at 2B since leaving big league camp, but he’ll likely also get time in the outfield behind a very talented starting three. Obviously it is a big season for Hicks in the eyes of prospect hounds, but it will be a challenge for him. Being surrounded by veterans like Dolenc and Bigley should help him. FT. MYERS MIRACLE Manager: Jake Mauer… Hitting Coach: Jim Dwyer… Pitching Coach: Steve Mintz Pitchers: Paul Bargas (DL), Ricky Bowen, Tony Davis, Pat Dean, Jhon Garcia, Jose Gonzalez, Matt Hauser, BJ Hermsen, Edgar Ibarra, Miguel Munoz (DL), Marty Popham, Bruce Pugh, Adrian Salcedo, Manuel Soliman, Tom Stuifbergen (DL), Caleb Thielbar, Dakota Watts (DL) Catchers: Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing Infielders: Michael Gonzales, Andy Leer, Reggie Williams, Levi Michael, Danny Santana, Anderson Hidalgo, Jairo Perez Outfield: Oswaldo Arcia, Steve Liddle (DL), Angel Morales, Lance Ray SUMMARY THOUGHTS: Dean, Hermsen, Munoz, Salcedo and Soliman present a very talented young starting core. Stuifbergen pitched well with the Miracle in 2011, but he has been injured throughout spring training. There are some seriously strong arms in this bullpen. Hauser and Gonzalez each spent time as closers. Watts and Pugh were splitting time as the Miracle closer at times over the past two seasons. Tony Davis had surgery last season and they will be smart with him. He’s a lefty that can throw 95. Rohlfing played very well in 2012 and returns as he continues to impress and get better behind the plate. Pinto is a DH type. Expect Levi Michael and Danny Santana to split time between SS and second base. Leer was moved behind the plate in the instructional league, but he moves back to the infield. Gonzales took full advantage of a second season with the Snappers and showed his tremendous power. Anderson Hidalgo is a batting average guy. Jairo Perez seemingly came out of nowhere last year to hit for tremendous power with the Snappers after missing all of 2010 with Tommy John surgery. Speaking of power, Oswaldo Arcia returns to the Miracle. Angel Morales is healthy again and should regain his status as a top prospect. Lance Ray also has very good power, as he showed with a home run in yesterday's Twins game. BELOIT SNAPPERS Manager: Nelson Prada… Hitting Coach: Tommy Watkins… Pitching Coach: Gary Lucas Pitchers: AJ Achter, Paul Bargas (DL), Madison Boer, Bart Carter, Clinton Dempster, Nelvin Fuentes, Steven Gruver, Cole Nelson, Ryan O’Rourke, Tim Shibuya, Matt Summers, Matt Tomshaw, Michael Tonkin, Jason Wheeler, Corey Williams Catchers: Matt Koch, Jairo Rodriguez Infielders: Rory Rhodes, AJ Pettersen, Eddie Rosario, Adam Bryant, Tyler Grimes, Miguel Sano, Outfield: Jhon Goncalves, Wang-Wei Lin, Daniel Ortiz, Nate Roberts (DL), JD Williams SUMMARY THOUGHTS: This is a very talented roster. Those 2011 draft picks force their way onto this roster and combine with some pitchers who threw very well for the Snappers a year ago. O’Rourke and Achter pitched well as starters for the Snappers in 2011. Shibuya was the Appalachian League Pitcher of the Year last year. Summers, Gruver and Williams all pitched well in the E-Town bullpen a year ago, but in their first full seasons, each could get some time as starters as well. Tomshaw was a 42nd round pick just last year. He got a chance with the Miracle and became one of their better starters late in the year. He’ll step back to the Snappers. Tonkin likely pitches at the end of games. Wheeler signed late last year, but two summers ago, he was the pitcher of the year in the Northwoods League. There are some strong arms and talented pitchers. The players that everyone is excited to see are Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario. The two combined for 41 home runs in their 68 game season last year. Rosario was the Player of the Year in the Appy League, and Sano is the teams consensus top prospect. Bryant and Grimes were drafted last year and held their own with the Snappers in the second half. Pettersen was also drafted last year and played well in E-Town after breaking his nose running into a fastball. Rhodes is 6-7 and the Australian has very good power. He can help the infielders with his big target at 1B. Lin is back in Beloit for the third straight season, and Goncalves comes back after spending most of the past two seasons in Ft. Myers. JD Williams quietly had a remarkable season in Elizabethton last year, hitting for average, getting on base and stealing bases. He may be as fast as anyone in the organization. EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING There are a lot of players who will begin the season at Extended Spring Training and remain in Ft. Myers. These players, along with potentially more players from the Dominican and signees from the 2012 draft, will begin the short-season league games in Elizabethton or with the GCL Twins. Of course, these players will be playing games and working on their games at the Ft. Myers facilities and if there is a need in Beloit, or potentially in Ft. Myers, several could get promoted. In fact, expect that a dozen or so will be needed thanks to promotions up above, injuries or other reasons. Pitchers: Ricardo Arevalo, Tim Atherton, Hudson Boyd, Josh Burris, Hung Yi Chen, Steven Evans, Dallas Gallant (missed last year with Tommy John surgery), Tyler Herr, Trent Higginbotham, David Hurlbut, Garrett Jewell, Cole Johnson, Tyler Jones, Corey Kimes, Brett Lee, Kuo Hua Lo, Austin Malinowski, Angel Mata, Chris Mazza, Josue Montanez, Luis Nunez, Gerardo Ramirez, Hein Robb, Gonzalo Sanudo, Tobias Streich (moved to Pitcher from Catcher) Catchers: Jonathan Arias, Kelly Cross, Matt Parker, Michael Quesada, Jacob Younis Infielders: Josh Hendricks, Kennys Vargas, Nick Lockwood, Candido Pimentel, Julio Torres, Stephen Wickens, Niko Goodrum, Aderling Mejia, Javier Pimentel, Jorge Polanco, Wander Guillen, Travis Harrison Outfielders: Romy Jimenez, Max Kepler, Drew Leachman, Kelvin Mention, Kelvin Ortiz, Dereck Rodriguez SUMMARY THOUGHTS: The names that stand out here to me are Max Kepler and Niko Goodrum. Kepler played OK, though certainly not great, in Elizabethton. Goodrum, on the other hand, played really well for the E-Twins, especially the final six weeks of the season. I wouldn’t be surprised if both, or at least Goodrum, moves up to Beloit before the short seasons begin. I’m more surprised by some of the college pitchers selected by the Twins in the 2011 draft remaining in EST. One other thing to point out to fans is that a player can only spend three seasons in the short season leagues. For instance, Kepler spent 2010 in the GCL and 2011 in Elizabethton. He can play in E-Town again in 2012, but in 2013, he would need to go to a full-season affiliate. [ATTACH=CONFIG]482[/ATTACH] Photo by Jim Crikket (Beloit Manager Nelson Prada, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, Danny Ortiz)

The following story was originally published in January, in my Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2012. The day after the 2011 season ended, I named the SethSpeaks.net Twins Minor League Player of the Year (Brian Dozier), the Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year (Liam Hendriks) and the Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year (Andrew Albers). For my book, I was fortunate to get in contact with all three of those players and interviewed each of them for a story. Over the weekend, it became official that Liam Hendriks had made the Twins Opening Day starter. He will make his 2012 debut on Sunday against the Orioles. I thought it would be fun, and timely, to post the Liam Hendriks article here. (If you want to read the Dozier and/or Albers article, and read over 160 player profiles of Twins minor leaguers and much more, you can order a paperback book here, or you can get an electronic version here.) Here is the story on Hendriks: [ATTACH=CONFIG]477[/ATTACH] For the second straight year, Liam Hendriks was the choice for the SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Year award. And for his efforts, he received a September call-up to the Twins. “Without a doubt, it was fantastic. I mean, that’s the reason that I came over to America. I’m living the dream at the moment.” The Twins went to Australia and signed Hendriks in February of 2007. After signing, he came to the States and pitched for the GCL Twins. He made ten starts and went 4-2 with a 2.05 ERA. In 44 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 52. However, he had to miss the entire 2008 season due to injury. It wasn’t his first injury. “I’ve had injuries even before I signed. I mean, I signed just after having my second knee surgery. I had my first knee surgery in 2006. It was a week before I was to go to Mexico with the Under-17 Australian team, so that was probably the hardest for me. The next one (happened) during a tournament in Australia, the biggest tournament in Australia for my age group, the under-18 national tournament. It was the semi-finals. I came in to close, and I was meant to start, in the playoff game and hurt my knee on the mound.” In 2008, the injury was a little different. “I had a pinched nerve in my spine, and it was my ulnar nerve. It ran all the way through my shoulder, down past my elbow and to my fingers. I was pitching with it, but every now and then, I would tilt my neck and would feel a shooting, like pins and needles. I didn’t think anything of it. One day, I was pitching and it just started to burn. That’s when I finally said something. I had surgery the last day of the season, in early September. I had surgery and six weeks later, I was back and playing for the Perth Heat.” Hendriks was frustrated by missing the full season, but he made the best of it and put it in proper, optimistic perspective. “It was definitely tough not being able to play that year, but if I had played, I wouldn’t have been able to win a championship with the Perth Heat. I wouldn’t have been able to go to the World Baseball Classic or play for the Australian team in the World Cup in Italy. Without being injured, I wouldn’t have been able to do those things.” Few Twins fans knew his name when he was selected to the Australian team for the World Baseball Classic. He began the 2009 season in Extended Spring Training before making three starts for the Elizabethton Twins. In 17 innings, he walked just one and struck out 13. He went 2-0 and opponents hit just .271. He was promoted to Beloit where he made 11 starts. He went 3-5 with a 3.51 ERA. In 66.2 innings, he walked 15 and struck out 62. He successfully made his return from surgery. Hendriks returned to Beloit to start the 2010 season. There, he made six starts and was 2-1 with a 1.32 ERA. In 34 innings, he gave up just 16 hits, walked four and struck out 39. Opponents hit just .138 against him. He advanced to Ft. Myers and made 13 appearances (12 starts). He went 6-3 with a 1.93 ERA. In 74.2 innings, he gave up 63 hits, walked eight and struck out 66. Opponents hit just .225 off of him. It was his first full season, and he pitched 108.2 innings with a 1.74 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP. Included in his season highlights was his selection to represent Australia and the Twins for the World Team at the Futures Game in Anaheim. Unfortunately, he needed an emergency appendectomy and was forced to miss a month. When 2011 began, the assumption was that Hendriks would go back to Ft. Myers for another ten starts before moving up to New Britain. Instead, he began the 2011 season in the Rock Cats rotation. He certainly proved himself ready and capable by going 8-2 with a 2.70 ERA in 16 games (15 starts). In 90 innings with the team, he gave up 85 hits, walked 18 and struck out 81. He was selected to pitch in the Eastern League All Star game. He was also selected to participate in the 2011 Futures Game for the second straight year, and this time he was able to play in the game. Following the All-Star games, he was promoted to Triple-A Rochester where he experienced ups and downs on the mound for the first time in his career. In his first three games, he gave up eight runs in 19.2 innings. He then had back-to-back clunkers. He gave up eight runs (7 earned) on eight hits in just two innings against Norfolk. That was followed by a game in which he gave up six earned runs on six hits in just five innings. However, he rebounded well. In his final four starts, he gave up just four runs in 22.2 innings. In those four game he gave up no walks and struck out 17. That was really the story of his time with the Red Wings. In 49.1 innings, he walked just three batters and struck out 30. Think about that. In 139.1 innings total in 2011, Hendriks struck out 111 and walked just 21 batters. And then he thought his 2011 season was over. There were times in which he was hoping and almost expecting a call up. “I had a little bit of a feeling that I might be (promoted), but then Kyle Waldrop had been called up about 30 to 45 minutes before me. In my mind, I thought, ‘OK, obviously they’re taking him, and that’s it. I’m done for the year. I actually sent my girlfriend back to Ft. Myers. I was putting my bags on the bus for an eight hour trip to Pawtucket. As I got back, one of the clubbies came up and said Chief (Rochester manager Tom Nieto) wants to talk to you. He came in and said, ‘You’re not going on the bus to Pawtucket. You’re going up to Minnesota and you leave tomorrow!’” “It was definitely very exciting! The first thing I did was call my girlfriend. She was happy, but she was like, ‘Oh, I’ve got to get on another flight?!’” She didn’t mind. At all! Hendriks came to the big leagues on Labor Day. The Twins had a double header against the Chicago White Sox. “I was lucky. I was able to pick the brain of some of the older guys and see what the White Sox lineup had to offer.” What were his recollections of his first start and some of his big league firsts? “I tried not to get overwhelmed. It was definitely cool walking out on the field, walking out to the bullpen. I liked the fact that I threw to Rene Rivera, who I’d thrown to before, so that definitely made it a lot easier.” “As I was warming up, they announced that I was making my debut and would be going up against Jake Peavy. As they said that, he (Peavy) leaned over the fence and said, ‘Good Luck! Don’t get nervous, and go out there and give ‘em hell!’ It was really cool of him to do that, and it gave me a lot of confidence.” Juan Pierre was the White Sox leadoff hitter that game. “I remember the first two pitches because the balls are a little bit different from the big leagues to the minor leagues. Usually I’ve got a good grip on the ball, but I think I was nervous. Well, obviously I was nervous! The first two pitches were up and away. The third pitch was also up and away but at least it was in the strike zone and he put it in play. We had him played pretty well and Rene Tosoni took the catch in left field.” “And then the strikeout, all I remember was getting ahead of a guy. I can’t remember if I shook off or not, but I knew that the curveball was the pitch I wanted to throw. I was able to get it low and in, and luckily, he swung and Rene (Rivera) did a great job of catching the ball on the bounce.” Hendriks is very proud of his Australian roots and how baseball has taken a bit step forward in the past decade. He knows that he is the 31st Australian to play in the big leagues. He understands the intricacies of the game. He has the pitches to be very successful in the big leagues. He has great control of a fastball that is thrown between 88 and 93 mph with some movement. He also has a slider, a curveball and a changeup. “I was lucky because when I was younger, I didn’t throw very hard, so I had to throw strikes. I was able to keep it up and as I started throwing harder it stuck with me which is always good. I can locate most (of my pitches) pretty well. I think my changeup is my best pitch, but at times, it is the slider, and every now and then, it’s even the curve ball. I’ve got the pitches so if one isn’t working, I can hopefully fall back on another one.” “Philosophy-wise, just get ahead. You look at the averages up 0-2, rather than down 2-0. As soon as you get ahead, it makes the hitters sweat a little bit. Most of the time, guys aren’t going to hit you hard.” Teammates and analysts talk about his competitive fire and his very high baseball intelligence. He understands how to pitch. He also understands the value of being able to field his position. “I take a lot of pride in my defense. I remember when I went to the Australian baseball academy, reaction balls were hit straight at us from about 35 feet away. That definitely helped me a lot. I was almost signed by the Angels as a 3B/LF. I’ve always been able to field a little bit, but I couldn’t hit, so 3B/LF was out for me. I always pride myself on my defense, and I get quite angry at myself if there’s a ball that I think that I can get that I don’t. Defense is a big thing for me because, even when I was in the big leagues, I was able to save two or three base hits, so that could have changed a lot of games for the worse.” It has been a meteoric rise through the Twins farm system the past two years. In the 2010 and 2011 seasons, he pitched in Beloit (Low A), Ft. Myers (High-A), New Britain (AA), Rochester (AAA) and with the Twins (MLB). “Every now and then, I’ll think back and think that this takes guys six to eight years to do at times. And I’ve gone from Low A in my first full season in pro ball to the major leagues in two years. I look at it that way and think, ‘Oh Wow! That doesn’t happen often, especially to guys who were signed or drafted out of high school like myself.” “As I was saying to Luke Hughes, the stars had to align for me to get the call up this year. Luckily enough they did, and hopefully I’ve opened up some eyes up there. I’m hoping to head to spring training and open some more.” “There’s a high chance I’ll go back to Triple-A, and there’s a small chance I’ll start with Minnesota. At the same point, I’m just going to work as hard as I can in the offseason to try to get into the best physical shape that I can. For the first time, Hendriks stayed in the States following the season. He worked out throughout the offseason at the Twins facilities in Ft. Myers with Twins strength trainer, Perry Castellano. There is no question that Liam Hendriks has big league stuff. He also has all of those intangibles that often allow pitchers to be really good. Had the Twins not been so injury-plagued in 2011, we probably would not have seen Hendriks yet. He now has a sense for what it is to be a big leaguer. He most likely will head to Rochester with a better understanding of what it takes to be successful, and when he gets another opportunity (and he will), he will be prepared. --- Any thoughts? 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