Seth Stohs

Download attachment: justinmorneau1.jpg “There comes a point when you can only torture yourself so long.” Those are the words of Justin Morneau (courtesy Phil Mackey of 1500espn on Twitter), uttered just this morning while speaking to reporters for the first time since reporting yesterday to Hammond Stadium in Ft. Myers. Today the Twins will hold their first full squad workout of spring training. Mackey tweeted Morneau’s quotes, “I don’t know if I can be a full, 100 percent go, but I’m going to go out there and participate in everything and take it day by day.” [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The quotes are pretty straight-forward. Clearly, Morneau is not completely past concussion symptoms (not a surprise, I don't think). To me, it sounds like he is a guy who has decided to just go all-out until he can’t again. It’s like a pitcher with some elbow soreness who decides that he is just going to air-it-out on his bullpen sessions until it either feels better or snaps. There has never been any question about Justin Morneau’s toughness or his willingness to play with pain. It sounds like he has worked hard and is in good shape. But concussions are not something with which one messes around. Morneau has a young family and is just 30 years old. He has, hopefully, another 60 years left on this earth to spend with them, so it is understandable that he wants to be able to enjoy those years. At the same time, Morneau came in on Thursday and took a full round of batting practice. He said he is going to work out with the team today. He sounds like he is feeling good right now, but based on what he has experienced the last couple of years, he doesn’t know how he will feel tomorrow, or next week or sometime next month. Morneau sounds like a man who is ready to take that retirement step should he go through another concussion. And frankly, I don’t blame him at all. Baseball is a great game. We all love the Twins. Morneau was an MVP who led this team through several very good years. We all appreciate that. He has earned enough money already that his family’s needs will be met. I've said throughout the offseason that I thought anything the Twins got from Morneau in 2012 should be considered a bonus, and my opinion doesn't change based on these quotes. I certainly am hopefully he can be close to what he was in his best days. But don’t give up on Justin Morneau and the Twins just yet. Let’s see how this plays out. For now, he’s ready to go, excited for spring and hopeful for another strong season. That’s what Twins fans should hope for. He also clearly has had some very difficult discussions with himself and those close to him and is realistic as well. Click here to view the article

Even I acknowledge that at this point I think there needs to be a change in manager. Don't confuse that with me saying that Ron Gardenhire is a bad manager. He's not. He's experienced a lot of successes. I just think it's time for a change.

On Saturday night I ventured a guess as to when the optimism (or the better word may have been ‘excitement’) disappeared. As we anticipate this afternoon’s Twins opener in Chicago, I thought it only fair to take a look at several reasons for people to continue watch and enjoying Twins baseball. Yes, there really are several things that are worth watching in 2014. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If you listened to Sunday morning’s inaugural “This is Twins Territory” on KTWIN with Rod Simons, Lindsay Guentzel and Jack Morris, you heard the 1991 World Series hero remind us of an important tidbit. Prior to that season, the “experts” predicted the Twins would finish in last place, as they had the year before… just like their World Series counterpart from Atlanta had. I think we’d be even more shocked if that happened in 2014, however, “You Never Know” is a big part of the national pastime. I’ll ask you, the Twins Daily readers, to add more to this list of reasons why "You never know". I’m sure there are many. Download attachment: joe mauer usp.jpg Photo by Steve Mitchell The Greatness of Joe Mauer Now that he is out from behind the plate, the goal is for Joe Mauer to be in the lineup most every day, hitting either second or third. More games will mean more plate appearances. The veteran will turn 31 in three weeks. He is continuing to climb his way up the Twins all-time lists. Here are some milestones he could reach in 2014: His 86th hit of the season will be the 1,500th of his career. He is currently in 6th place on the Twins all-time list, 299 behind Harmon Killebrew. His 18th double of the season will give him 300 for his career. His eighth double will move him past Justin Morneau, into fifth place on the all-time Twins list. His 24th double of the year would move him past Rod Carew into fourth place. His 31st double of the year would move him past Kent Hrbek into third place. He would need 48 doubles to pass Tony Oliva for #2 on the all-time list. Sounds like a lot, but he did have 43 doubles in 137 games in 2010. If Joe Mauer were to drive in 100 runs for the first time in his career, he would pass Bob Allison, Torii Hunter and Rod Carew and move into seventh place on the all-time list. When he scores his 26th run of the year, he’ll move past Chuck Knoblauch into 6th place in that category. On his 26th walk, he will move past Bob Allison into third place on the all-time walks list. What Will Aaron Hicks Do? A year ago, Aaron Hicks had a remarkable spring training to win the starting centerfield job. He had a rough 2013 big league debut. He hit just .192 and got on base just 26% of the time. Consider in his minor league career, he got on base at about a 37% clip, something has to give. Hicks bulked up in the offseason. He is very strong and yet has great range and a strong arm in centerfield. So how much improvement can we expect? Alex Presley is no longer with the Twins so there is little or no competition for him. Which of his tools will become big league skills? Will he do enough for the team not to rush Byron Buxton and to tell them that he’s worth keeping around to play one of the corner outfield spots when Buxton does arrive? The Veteran Starters The Twins made a splash when they signed Ricky Nolasco to the biggest free agent contract in team history. Nolasco had spent his entire career in the National League, so how will his adjustment to the American League be? Kevin Correia handled it well last year, performing as well as anyone could have hoped or expected in his first year with the Twins and in the AL. The question with Correia is will he be able to perform as well in 2014? Mike Pelfrey came to the Twins last year and it was his first year in the AL. More important, it was his first year back after Tommy John surgery and he now admits he rushed back too quickly. The Twins brought him back with a two-year contract, and he’ll look to show that he can contribute now that he’s at 100% Finally, just days after signing Nolasco, the Twins signed Phil Hughes. He has to be thrilled getting out of New York and Yankees Stadium’s band box, but he has a lot to prove. The Twins took a chance on the still-young right-hander. Will Hughes be able to eat some innings and keep the ball in the park? It seems I’ve said this a lot the last week or two. This year, the Twins have pitchers who will give up three runs in six innings most times out instead of six runs in three innings. That’s going to be important. When Will We See Alex Meyer? Kyle Gibson won the fifth starter job out of spring training. Sam Deduno pitched well but will be used out of the bullpen. Vance Worley imploded, was DFA'd and then dealt to the Pirates. Scott Diamond was also DFA'd and chose to remain with the team. Diamond or fellow-lefty Kris Johnson are likely first in line to be promoted if there is a need early in the season. Trevor May might also fit into the equation throughout the season. However, how quickly could we see flame-throwing right-hander Alex Meyer? His performance in the Arizona Fall League alleviated concerns about his shoulder, at least for the moment. His four big league pitches, size, intelligence and control make him a potential top-of-the-rotation starter. Arcia and Kubel As Oswaldo Arcia raced through the minor leagues, hitting for both power and average, he was often compared to Jason Kubel. As Jason Kubel was coming up, it was said that he could hit for average like Mauer and hit for power like Morneau. In 2014, with the return of Kubel, the two will be teammates for the first time. Arcia is one of the keys to the 2014 season for the Twins. What kind of player will he be? Will he hit for average? Will he be a power guy with the potential for 30 home run seasons? Can he hit left-handed pitching? If he’s in right field, will his defense look better? Kubel came to the Twins on a minor league contract after a difficult, injury-plagued 2013 season (split between Arizona and Cleveland). In 2012, he hit 30 doubles and 30 home runs while driving in 90 runs for the Diamondbacks. He turns 32 in late May, so he’s not young, but he is not yet old. If healthy, he could provide power in the middle of the Twins lineup. Sure, he may never post an .800 OPS again, but he might still be a very solid contributor. Does Josh Willingham have anything left? In 2012, Willingham put together arguably the best season of his career when he hit .260 with 30 doubles, 35 homers and 110 RBI. In 2013, he was hurt and needed a knee surgery that cost him time and production. While Kubel is just 31 on Opening Day, Willingham will need to show that he’s got anything left in the tank at 35. He is in the last year of his three-year contract. In spring training, his numbers certainly didn’t indicate that there was much left. However, how long have we been preaching how meaningless spring stats are? But can he physically hold up? His 76th hit of the season will give him 1,000 for his career. His 19th home run will give him 200 for his career. Taking the Next Step? Which Brian Dozier will we see in 2014? The one we saw in 2012 and the first two months of 2013, or the one we saw after May of last year who was one of the most productive second basemen in all baseball? Last year, his 18 home runs led the team and was the most for a Twins second baseman in their history. Will he be able to hit that many homers in 2014? More important, will he be able to be more consistent throughout the 2014 season, especially in terms of getting on base. Trevor Plouffe set career-highs in 2013 with a .254 batting average and a .309 on-base percentage. With Miguel Sano out for 2014, Plouffe just needs to remain healthy to get the majority of at bats at the hot corner. He may never have a stretch like he did in June of 2012, but can he show more consistent power production? He got bigger in the offseason, so I am optimistic. The Youth Josmil Pinto, who turns 25 years old today, is on the opening day roster along with Kyle Gibson, Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks. Michael Tonkin is with the Twins for Opening Day as well as a replacement for Brian Duensing who will be on paternity leave. Although we won’t see Miguel Sano in 2014, it is possible that we do see several top prospects. The odds of seeing Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario have reduced, but we could still see Meyer, May, and Danny Santana. Matt Hoffman and Lester Oliveros are still 25 while Deolis Guerra is just 24 on Opening Day. Other Reachable Milestones With two wins this season, Ron Gardenhire will reach the 1,000 win total for his career. His career record coming into the season is 998-949. 1,000 wins will tie him for 59th place all the all-time manager list with former Twins player Charlie Manuel. If the Twins can win 67 games this season, he will tie Frank Robinson for 51st place. If Glen Perkins can save 35 games for the Twins in 2014, he will pass Mike Marshall, Ron Perranoski and Al Worthington into 6th place on the Twins all-time saves list. If Ricky Nolasco can win 11 games this year, he will reach 100 career wins.Up here in Northern Minnesota, it’s possible we will be ‘blessed’ with another foot or more of snow on Monday. Happy Opening Day, Minnesota! Beside to help forget about the weather, there is another reason to watch the Twins at 3:00 in Chicago. Did you know that the Twins have never lost a regular season game in March? They are 2-0 all-time on March 31! So… good luck, Chris Sale! You’re going to need it! Click here to view the article

David Dorsey from the News Press provided more video from the Twins Ft. Myers Baseball Academy. The dorms are tremendous. In this video, we even learn/see that Miguel Sano is pretty good at another sport!! http://www.news-press.com/videos/sports/mlb/2014/07/26/13226119/

The Twins got off the schneid with a 6-5 win over the Rangers. They end their AL West road trip with two wins in ten games. Ben Revere went 4-4 with a triple. Denard Span had two hits. Cole De Vries started, and after a long rain delay, he returned and was able to go five innings. He left with a 6-2 lead. Jeff Gray came on and before too long, it was 6-5. Casey Fien did a great job in 1.2 innings, striking out three. Jared Burton pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Glen Perkins was terrific in the ninth for his eighth save. Download attachment: Miguel-Sano-4.jpg Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Sunday: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] GAME 1 - ROCHESTER 0, BUFFALO 1 Esmerling Vasquez continues to push toward a September call-up. The hard-throwing right-hander gave up one run on six hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out seven to reduce his ERA to 2.78. Of course, since the Red Wings were shutout, Vasquez got the loss. The Red Wings bats managed just three hits in the game. Matt Carson hit two doubles, his 25th and 26th of the year. GAME 2 - ROCHESTER 11, BUFFALO 9 Game 1 was a pitcher’s duel. In Game 2, the bats showed up. The Twins went with a bullpen game. Caleb Thielbar started and went the first three innings. He gave up five runs (2 earned) on three hits. He walked twice and struck out three. Bobby Lanigan improved to 6-1 with a scoreless inning. Luis Perdomo then gave up four runs on five hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. Anthony Slama came in for the final five outs and he gave up no runs on one hit to record his 12th save and drop his ERA to 0.59. Brian Dozier broke out of his slump in a big way. He went 3-3 with a walk, was hit by a pitch and hit his 11th double. Chris Parmelee went 2-3 with two walks and his first triple. Matt Carson was 2-4 with a walk and added his 27th and 28th doubles. He also threw out a runner attempting to advance to third base. Wilkin Ramirez went 2-4 with a walk and his 14th double. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 8 The Rock Cats had some big home runs. Chris Colabello drilled a three-run homer to keep the Rock Cats in the game early. Then, in the top of the ninth, down four runs, Oswaldo Arcia came up and hit a grand slam to tie the game. However, in the end, they came up just one run short. Andrew Albers started and gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out two. Matt Hauser gave up two runs on four hits in two innings. Blake Martin went the next inning and gave up one run on one hit. Bruce Pugh came in for the bottom of the ninth. He got two outs, but he gave up the winning run to take the loss. Chris Colabello went 2-5 with his 19th home run and three RBI, putting him at 95 RBI on the year. Aaron Hicks was 3-4 with a walk and his 31st stolen base. Rene Tosoni went 2-5. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk and his 21st double. Shawn Roof was 2-4. Oswaldo Arcia hit the grand slam, his 8th home run and his four RBI gives him 57 with the Rock Cats. FT. MYERS, PALM BEACH The game was cancelled earlier on Sunday morning due to the inclement weather caused by Tropical Storm Isaac. Their game on Monday has already been postponed. BELOIT 8, CEDAR RAPIDS 9 (13 innings) It was a long afternoon in Cedar Rapids. The game’s start was delayed for a bit, and then 13 innings later, it finally came to an end. Jason Wheeler started and gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out seven. Mason Melotakis came on and got all five batters he faced out, three on strikeouts. Zach Jones and gave up three runs on two hits and three walks in just one inning. He struck out three. Taylor Rogers went 2.1 perfect innings. Tim Atherton went the next 1.2 innings and gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. He struck out two. Miguel Sano had a big day after getting a day off on Saturday. He went 4-6 with a walk, his 27th and 28th doubles, his 27th home run and three RBI (which gives him 97 on the year). He also stole his 8th base. Wang-Wei Lin was 3-5 with his 13th double and ninth stolen base. Kennys Vargas was 2-6 with a walk and his 11th home run. Stephen Wickens went 2-6 with his second home run and seventh stolen base. Nate Roberts went 2-5 with two walks, his 17th double and his 25th stolen base. ELIZABETHTON 6, PULASKI 8 DJ Hicks hit a two-run homer as part of a game-tying four-run ninth for the E-Twins. Unfortunately, Pulaski came back and won in the 9th. The E-Twins had eight players with one hit each. Jorge Polanco was 1-3 with his fifth homer. Byron Buxton hit his fifth double. Hudson Boyd started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on eight hits. In five innings, he walked two and struck out three. Josh Burris gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in his inning. Tyler Duffey came on and struck out three in two scoreless innings. Chris Mazza gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in two innings. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, August 27, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano Download attachment: MiguelSanoMug.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Esmerling Vasquez Download attachment: Esmerling Vasquez.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, August 28, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Buffalo – RHP Nick Blackburn New Britain @ Trenton – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers @ Bradenton – Game Postponed Beloit @ Cedar Rapids – RHP Tyler Jones Elizabethton vs Princeton – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins – Season Over --- 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! Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Pedro Florimon.jpg Last week, Twins Daily got you caught up on how the Twins players were doing in the various Winter Leagues. Obviously the entire seasons are Small Sample Size, so looking at just this week has to be taken for what it is worth. In some cases, there were really good weeks had by certain players. In other cases, they may be in a one-week slump. We’ll take a look at who is hot and who is not in Arizona, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and Australia. Feel free to ask questions and discuss. Also, via Twitter on Monday, infielder Brian Dozier mentioned that he will soon be headed to Venezuela to get some additional at bats.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE Who’s Hot? The answer to this question remains the same as it has been for most of the AFL season. Nate Roberts had another terrific week. He went 8-17 (.471) on the week. Overall, he is still hitting .465/.579/.558 (1.137). He had a 4-5 game and a 2-4 game among the four games that he played. Who’s Not? Caleb Thielbar had an impressive 2012 season at three levels for the Twins, and many believe that he really can be a solid left-handed reliever, but he has really struggled in the AFL. This past week, he pitched twice and gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. His season ERA is now at 11.57. Rising Stars Two Twins pitchers were selected to play in the Arizona Fall League’s Rising Stars game. Kyle Gibson started and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the game’s first two innings. Michael Tonkin came in to the Rising Stars Game to start the fifth inning. In seven AFL appearances, he is yet to give up a run in nine innings. He had given up just five hits, walked one and struck out six. However, in the AFL “All Star” game, things didn’t go so well. He faced five batters. He gave up three hits, hit a batter and the other reached on an error. All told, he was charged with five runs (4 earned) without recording an out. Others Logan Darnell pitched just once during the past seven days. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks in 0.2 innings. Both outs he recorded came on strikeouts. Evan Bigley went 3-9 on the week. He played in two games and in one of them he went 3-5. He’s hitting .217/.280/.326 on the season. VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Who’s Hot? Oswaldo Arcia got off to a slow start. However, in the past week, he is 6-15 (.400) with two doubles and a home run. He also walked four times while striking out just three times. That raised his season totals to .250/.321/.438 (.759) in 48 at bats. Angel Mata pitched two more times. He went 2.1 scoreless innings. The 19-year-old now has a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings over 7 games. He has given up nine hits, walked four and struck out 12. He started for Elizabethton during the season. Who’s Not? After getting off to a fast start, Aaron Hicks has gone cold. In the last week, he has one hit in 12 at bats (over 5 games). Overall, he is now 11-54 (.204/.306/.296 (.603)). Others Josmil Pinto went 2-7 with two doubles during the week. He’s now 2-11 (.182) on the season. David Bromberg made one start. On Halloween, he gave up six runs on six hits (including two home runs) and three walks in just three innings. He struckout four. He is now 0-1 with a 5.06 ERA and a 1.81 WHIP. Edgar Ibarra also made one start. The lefty gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and four walks in five innings. He struck out two. Dakota Watts didn’t pitch for a week and then in the past week, he pitched three times. He gave up no runs on just one hit and three walks in five innings. He struck out just one. Overall in six games, he is 0-1 with a 4.91. In 7.1 innings, he’s given up four runs on three hits and five walks. Eduardo Escobar went 4-14 (.286) during the week. Deolis Guerra pitched two innings over two games. He gave up three runs on four hits and two walks. In four games, he has a 9.82 ERA. In 3.2 innings, he has given up one hit and walked two while striking out three. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Who’s Hot? A week ago, Pedro Florimon was 4-35 through his first nine games and hitting just .114. In the seven games he played in the last week, he is 11-28 (.393) and has had five multi-hit games. Overall, he is now hitting .237/.328/.254 (14-59) in 16 games overall. Others Drew Butera went 2-8 with a double in four games this week. He’s now hitting .250/.385/.344 with three doubles overall. Wilkin Ramirez went 1-7 with four strikeouts. Luis Perdomo pitched 2.2 innings over two games. He gave up one run on one hit and three walks. Jhonathan Arias made his season debut. He is 0-2 in his at bats. Miguel Sano played in two games this week. He went 1-5. MEXICO WINTER LEAGUE Who’s Hot? In last week’s report, we noted that Chris Colabello had gone 2-28 (.071) over his previous eight games. In the six games he played in the last week, he has gone 9-21 (.429) with two doubles, three home runs and nine RBI. He walked three times and struckout twice. In 19 games overall, he is now hitting .294 with eight doubles, three homes and 15 RBI in 68 at bats. Others Anthony Slama pitched three times in the last week. In 3.1 innings, he has given up three runs on four hits. He walked two and struckout six. AUSTRALIAN BASEBALL LEAGUE The regular season of the ABL got started over this past weekend. Four teams opened their seasons. JD Williams went 2-12 with a walk and three strikeouts. Jacob Younis was 0-3 with an RBI. Tyler Herr pitched a scoreless inning. There is our weekend Winter League Update. Please feel free to ask question and discuss. Click here to view the article

Happy Pitchers and Catchers Report Day! It has been 131 days since the Twins lost a 2-1 decision to the Toronto Blue Jays. It’s been a long offseason, and frankly, rehashing the same offseason transactions and rumors needs to stop. But today down in Ft. Myers, the Twins pitchers and catchers will report and soon after will start officially preparing for the 2013 season. They’ll throw in the bullpen. They’ll do a ton of PFPs (Pitcher’s Fielding Practice). They will also likely do a lot of running. As I did a year ago, we’ll be taking a weekly look at the Twins roster and project who will make the Opening Day roster. Today, we’ll look at the 43 pitchers and catchers who will be reporting and I’ll post a percent likelihood that the player will be on the Twins Opening Day roster. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] CATCHERS Let’s start with the guys behind the plate, the guys who will don the tools of ignorance. I often hear the question, “Why do the Twins need nine catchers at spring training?” Well, when you have 34 pitchers reporting to camp (plus a couple others who will be working out with the team before heading to their WBC teams), you need a lot of catchers for bullpens. 40 MAN ROSTER Joe Mauer (100%), Ryan Doumit (100%), Drew Butera (95%), Chris Herrmann (15%), Josmil Pinto (0.5%) Mauer and Doumit will likely split the catching and DH duties for most of the season. The backup catcher will be Butera, at least most of the season. Herrmann debuted with the Twins in mid-September. If he plays well in Rochester, I can see a scenario in which he takes over as the backup catcher before the end of the season. If Mauer or Doumit were to get hurt, Herrmann would likely get the call to the Twins and take that playing time. NON-ROSTER INVITES Danny Lehmann (0.6%), Eric Fryer (0.4%), Dan Rohlfing (0.3%), Kyle Knudson (0.2%) 0% would mean that there is absolutely no scenario in which the player will be on the Opening Day roster. These guys could make it. They would just likely need every player ahead of them to get hurt. I’ve long been a big supporter of Danny Lehmann. He has earned the respect of pitchers he has caught since joining the organization in 2007. Rohlfing will be participating in his fourth big league camp. Fryer came over from the Pirates as a minor league free agent. Knudson is a Minnesota native getting his first glimpse of big league camp. THE PITCHERS Of course, it is no secret that the Twins had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball in 2012. The bullpen actually did fairly well which is probably more impressive because the starting staff often forced them to pitch a lot of innings. The starting staff was in the bottom three in MLB. The offseason brought the Twins some young power pitchers that likely won’t be with the team for some time. They have a lot of guys coming back from injury as well. They have a lot of question marks and there is little reason to believe that 2013 will be significantly better than 2012. But, spring training is all about hope and optimism. The Twins will need five or six starters to really step up this season and for the bullpen to be consistent and strong. The Starters 40 Man Roster Scott Diamond (100%), Kevin Correia (100%), Vance Worley (100%), Mike Pelfrey (98%), Liam Hendriks (85%), Kyle Gibson (75%), Cole De Vries (51%), Trevor May (2.9%), Pedro Hernandez (2.4%), BJ Hermsen (0.8%) Correia was signed for two years to be a starter, so he will be in the rotation. Scott Diamond was set to be the Twins Opening Day starter, although recently it was reported that he may not be ready for Opening Day. He had surgery to remove bone chips in his elbow in December. Liam Hendriks had the same surgery in October, and Vance Worley had it in August. Mike Pelfrey may or may not be ready for Opening Day after having Tommy John surgery last April. Kyle Gibson returned from his Tommy John surgery in the second half of last season and pitched well early in the Arizona Fall League. Cole De Vries’ 2012 season ended with broken ribs, but he should be at 100% as spring training begins. Like Worley, May came to the Twins in the Ben Revere deal and will have to improve his control in 2013 to get an opportunity. Hernandez came over in the Francisco Liriano trade after making his big league debut with the White Sox last summer. His season ended with a lat injury. Hermsen was the Twins minor league starting pitcher of the year and pitched very well in New Britain. Non-Roster Invites Sam Deduno (8.5%), PJ Walters (8.5%), Shairon Martis (1.0%), Alex Meyer (0.5%), Nick Blackburn (0.1%) Deduno typically walked too many and didn’t strikeout enough, but he actually pitched well for the Twins in 2012. His percentage is as high as it is due to the chance he could be a back of the bullpen type. Likewise, Walters came up to the Twins in May and pitched well until he was hurt. Martis came to the Twins in a mid-season trade and pitched pretty horribly in AA and AAA. He is on The Netherlands’ WBC roster. Alex Meyer came over in the Denard Span trade. He hasn’t pitched above A-ball yet, so unless he is amazing, his odds of being on the Opening Day big league roster are very low. Blackburn certainly would not be at 0% if he weren’t hurt. The Bullpen 40 Man Roster Glen Perkins (100%), Jared Burton (100%), Brian Duensing (100%), Alex Burnett (90%), Casey Fien (80%), Anthony Swarzak (75%), Josh Roenicke (75%), Tim Wood (75%), Tyler Robertson (49%), Ryan Pressly (35%), Caleb Thielbar (30%), Michael Tonkin (3.0%) Perkins will be the closer, and likely a set-up man on the US WBC team. Burton came to the Twins a year ago as a non-roster invite last year and stayed healthy and made himself a reliable late-inning guy. Brian Duensing needs to stay in the bullpen. He’s terrific against left-handers and not-so-much terrific against right-handers. Alex Burnett has been in the bullpen for the Twins the past three seasons. He hasn’t struckout many, although late last season he did strikeout more. Casey Fien was also a minor league signee. When he got called up, he threw 95 and was very productive. Can he prove that it wasn’t a fluke? Anthony Swarzak is out of options, and his broken ribs should not affect his roster spot. The Twins claimed Roenicke from Colorado where he pitched well last year but like Burnett didn’t strike many out. Tim Wood was the International League’s top relief pitcher in 2012. The Twins signed him to a minor league deal then added him to the 40 man roster. Tyler Robertson had his ups and downs in his rookie season. If the Twins choose to have a third left-hander in their bullpen, Robertson may have the advantage over Minnesota native Caleb Thielbar who pitched well at three levels in 2012. Ryan Pressly is the team’s Rule 5 pick which means he’ll have to be on the Twins roster all of 2013 or offered back to the Red Sox. Michael Tonkin had a terrific season out of the bullpen for Beloit and Ft. Myers last year. Non-Roster Invites Esmerling Vasquez (8.0%), Luis Perdomo (6.0%), Anthony Slama (5.0%), Rich Harden (4.0%), Deolis Guerra (1.0%), Bryan Augenstein (0.2%), Lester Oliveros (0.0%) Vasquez pitched well for the Red Wings last year as a reliever and as a starter and got a chance to start for the Twins late. Luis Perdomo had a very solid year at both AA and AAA, and then struggled late for the Twins. Is there a player that bloggers and blog commenters want to see get an opportunity more than Anthony Slama? Had he not broken his femur on a Miguel Tejada comebacker and missed nearly two months, he likely would have seen plenty of times with the Twins. Some think Harden should start. I personally think that Harden should pitch out of the bullpen and see if he can’t stay healthy for the full year. His opt-out isn’t until the end of July, so the Twins would be wise to work him in slowly considering his missed all of the 2012 season. Deolis Guerra is now out of options, and when the Twins placed him on waivers in November, he cleared. Hopefully he can be healthy and pitch well in Rochester and get another chance. Augenstein was a minor league free agent who signed with the Twins this offseason. He pitched briefly for the Diamondbacks in 2009 and for the Cardinals in 2011. Lester Oliveros had Tommy John surgery in September and may be on a similar recovery plan as Gibson was last year. ROSTER PROJECTION #1 (2/12/13): Catchers: Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit, Drew Butera Starting Pitchers: Scott Diamond, Kevin Correia, Vance Worley, Mike Pelfrey, Liam Hendriks, Kyle Gibson (Diamond and/or Pelfrey likely starting season on DL) Relief Pitchers: Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Alex Burnett, Casey Fien, Josh Roenicke, Tim Wood (Anthony Swarzak possibly on the DL?) What are your thoughts or projections on the Twins Opening Day roster as Pitchers and Catchers report? View full article

Download attachment: pohlad-ryan-st.peter_1.jpg 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.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 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. Click here to view the article

This afternoon, the Twins made their official spring training debut and they came away with a 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays. This got off to an ominous start for the Twins. Starter Carl Pavano gave up a two-run, first inning home run to Matt Joyce. In the bottom of the first, David Price hit Jamey Carroll in the helmet with a fastball. Carroll quickly got to his feet and went to first base. (He said later he was fine. It was a glancing blow.) Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau each struck out looking to end that inning. Pavano pitched a scoreless second inning and then the Twins bullpen gave up just one more run the rest of the way. Here are some of the highlights from the Twins Spring Opener (Feel free to add to the list): [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Denard Span went 2-3, and the time he got out, he stayed down on a tough Price pitch and grounded out.Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau left the game healthy. Mauer drove in a run with a 3rd inning single. Morneau drove in a run with a 5th inning.Ryan Doumit was 1-2 with a walk and a double. Danny Valencia drilled a double to the right centerfield gap.Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 2-3 with a long triple over the right fielder's head.Chris Parmelee went 2-2, although he did have a base running gaffe late in the game.Chris Herrmann came in late and drilled an RBI single.Matt Maloney pitched the 8th inning and struck out the side. My assumption is that Wayne Krivsky was smiling while watching that!Brian Duensing threw two scoreless innings. He was followed by one scoreless inning each from Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Alex Burnett and Maloney. Anthony Swarzak gave up one run in the 9th inning.Cory Provus made his debut as the Twins play-by-play voice and it's clear he will do a good job.What other observations did you take from the Twins first spring training game? Click here to view the article

It all started on April 4th, and as we roll into the final days of August, it’s coming to a close. The full-season teams typically play their final regular season game on Labor Day. On Thursday, the GCL Twins played their final game of the season, and on Friday night, Elizabethton will be playing its final game. Those two teams will not be in the playoffs. Neither will the New Britain Rock Cats. Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers both clinched playoff spots in the first half and are ramping up for their playoff runs. The Rochester Red Wings have been playing quite poorly, but are still contending for the final playoffs spot in the International League. It should be an exciting weekend, and thankfully, there will be at least two Twins minor league affiliates who will continue to play in the postseason.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] See what else happened in the Twins farm system on Thursday. Rochester Red Wings 2, Buffalo Bisons 3 Box Score The Red Wings, somehow, are still in contention for a playoff spot despite playing its worst baseball of the season in the last week. Thankfully, Norfolk is playing an equally bad brand of baseball and hasn’t been able to take a clear lead for the International League Wild Card spot. After another tough loss for the Red Wings on Thursday night, they are still just one-half game behind the Tide for that final playoff spot. Cole De Vries started for Rochester and was terrific. He gave up just two hits and a walk in seven shutout innings. He struck out five. However, Michael Tonkin came in for the 8th inning and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk and only recorded two outs. The big blow came off of the bat of former New Britain Rock Cat Luis Jimenez who hit a two-run homer in the inning. Aaron Thompson came on and got the final out via strikeout. The Red Wings had just four hits. Eduardo Escobar hit his third home run, and Aaron Hicks doubled for the second time in his stint with the team. New Britain Rock Cats 4, Trenton Thunder 1 (13 innings) Box Score The night before, the Rock Cats played 12 innings. On Thursday night, these teams played 13 innings. What will happen on Friday night? There wasn’t much scoring in this game as it was just 1-1 until the top of the 13th inning. Angel Morales was hit by a pitch, and Danny Santana bunted him to second. After an intentional walk to Eddie Rosario and another walk to Nate Hanson, Danny Ortiz came through with a bases-clearing double to put the Rock Cats into the lead. Evan Bigley was the lone Rock Cat hitter with more than one hit. He went 2-5 with his eighth double. Download attachment: Danny Ortiz 2.jpg Photo by Rinaldi Photos Alex Meyer made his second Rock Cats start. He gave up six hits, but no walks, in four shutout innings. He struck out six. Dan Turpen came on and gave up one run on two hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out two. Cole Johnson went the next two innings and gave up one hit, one walk and struck out two. Jose Gonzalez gave up one hit and two walks over three scoreless innings to get credited with the Win. Ryan O’Rourke got his second save by throwing up a zero in the bottom of the 13th, despite giving up two hits and a walk. Game 1 - Ft. Myers Miracle 2, Bradenton Marauders 5 Box Score The Miracle sure have been playing a lot of double headers of late. They split on this night. In the first game, David Hurlbut gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in three innings. He struck out four. Steven Gruver came on for the next three innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk, while striking out five. Nelvin Fuentes gave up one run on two hits in his inning of work. He struck out two batters. Mike Kvasnicka led the offense, going 2-3 with a walk and his ninth home run. JD Williams went 2-4. Byron Buxton was 2-4 and stole his 18th base. Game 2 - Ft. Myers Miracle 2, Bradenton Marauders 1 Box Score In the second game, the Miracle sent Jason Wheeler to the mound. The lefty gave up one run on five hits over the first six innings to improve to 9-4 on the season. He walked two and struck out five. Adrian Salcedo recorded his second save by pitching a scoreless inning. He gave up one hits, walked one and struck one out. Cedar Rapids Kernels 5, Kane County Cougars 2 Box Score The Kernels just continue to win games. Brett Lee was starting again after a DL stint and some time in the bullpen. He threw six shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out five. Hudson Boyd came on for two relief innings and did not allow a run. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out one. Madison Boer was charged with two runs in the 9th. He gave up four hits, but no walks and struck out two. Tyler Grimes has been getting some time at second base late in the season. With Niko Goodrum on the Disabled List, and Jorge Polanco just off the DL, Jake Mauer has wanted to make sure those two are ready for the playoffs. Grimes went 2-4 with his third stolen base. Bo Altobelli went 2-4. Michael Gonzales hit his fourth homer and drove in two runs. Elizabethton Twins 2, Pulaski Mariners 4 Box Score Felix Jorge was back on the mound and seemed to regain his early-season form. He gave up one run on seven hits in 6.2 innings. He walked one and struck out nine. Carson Goldsmith came in and got two outs, but not before giving up two runs on two hits and a walk. Brandon Peterson got the final four outs, though he also gave up one run on one hit and three walks. He struck out two. The E-Twins had just six hits. Zach Granite went 2-4. Bryan Haar homered for the sixth time. Rory Rhodes hit his fourth homer. The E-Twins will play their final game of the season on Friday night. They will not make the playoffs despite a 36-31 record this season. GCL Twins 5, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score The GCL Twins played their final game of the 2013 season. It was a bit of a bullpen game as five pitchers took the mound. Brandon Easton started and gave up one unearned run on four hits and a walk in two innings. Cameron Booser gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Damian Defrank was charged with one run on two hits in his inning. Miguel Gonzalez gave up one hit over two innings. He struck out two. Jose Abreu struck out two in two hitless, scoreless innings. Jason Kanzler went 2-5 with his sixth triple and stole his 13th base. Joel Polanco drove in two runs with his sixth double. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Click here to view the article

It took a little longer than usual to get to Cedar Rapids, but it was worth the travel because we were treated to a terrific game on Friday night. We saw the best start at this level from one of the Twins top pitching prospects and we saw some offense, followed by a tight game at the end. The drive took a little longer because of some scary, torrential rainfall we encountered north of Cedar Rapids. We drove out of it about 20 miles north of Cedar Rapids. When we got to the ballpark, the terrific Kernels grounds crew was putting on the tarp and the rains came. This was at 4:30, and it rained hard for an hour, and yet, due to the work of the grounds crew, the game started on time at 6:35. Download attachment: CIMG9034.jpg Lewis Thorpe with his mother, Lynette, after the game. Minutes before the game, I was approached by a kind gentleman who spoke to me with an Australian accent. He introduced himself as Lewis Thorpe’s dad and introduced me to his wife, Lewis’s mom. We had a nice chat. They have been in the States for two weeks and will be here for another week. The couple had intended to fly to Ft. Myers but were forced to change their plans when Lewis was promoted to Cedar Rapids. The Kernels haven’t had a lot of home games of late, so the Thorpes have traveled across the Midwest League. They said they are loyal listeners of the Twins Hangouts podcast and that they listened to it the entire 16-hour flight from Australia to the US. I asked if that was just one episode? They will be around for another week. Thorpe’s mom is really looking forward to celebrating the Fourth of July in the USA. They witnessed their son’s best performance with the Kernels. The line doesn’t look great. Thorpe was charged with three runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out three in 5.1 innings. He got out the first five batters that he faced. Then he gave up a long home run. Starting in the third, he gained control of his curveball and really mixed his three pitches very well. The first strikeout came on a changeup at 82 mph. Then next came on a curveball at 75. The third came on a fastball at 92. Aside from the home run, there wasn’t a lot of hard contract. The second run came when a ground ball took a horrible hop and bounced over the head of first baseman Bo Altobelli. All in all, an impressive showing for the young Australian making his fourth start in the Midwest League. His manager, Jake Mauer, thought he looked much better than he did in his first three starts. “He looked more comfortable than he has, whether it was nerves or trying to fit in or trying to do too much. I thought he trusted his stuff much better tonight. He used his changeup, which is a pretty good pitch. I think he took advantage of their aggressiveness.” His catcher, Alex Swim, agreed, “We got through the lineup once with fastball and changeup, and then we started mixing in curveball/slider. He was on point. Everything was good, sharp.” Thorpe was just happy with a positive result in this start after his first three were rough. “In the first two innings, I wanted to pound the fastball. Then I brought the curveball out in the third inning, and I think that helped me a lot to establish my pitches. Curveball was better. Slider was good, nice and firm down in the strike zone.” He was quick to give credit as well. “It was good. I had a little change in mechanics. (Pitching coach) Ivan (Arteaga) helped me a lot. Everything was working, so it was great.” Thorpe explained that the mechanical change involved his non-throwing arm. The change appears to have increased his velocity and control. According to Arteaga, in his previous starts, his fastball was averaging 89 and touched 90. In this start, he was sitting 92 and touched 94. According to Arteaga, “We actually worked on some stuff the last two weeks, tweaking his mechanics to make sure he can compete. The competition is different than what he has been facing before. The strike zones are tighter, and the hitters are more experienced. He’s an 18 year old kid throwing to kids who are 22, 23, 24. He’s still a work in progress.” He continued, “When he (added his changeup), then he was able to compete and showed everybody what he can do. He’s resilient. He’s smart. He wants to go out and compete, and he really showed today what he’s all about. I’m really happy about that.” Arteaga said he was very pleased with Thorpe’s performance, though he did acknowledge that he will talk to Thorpe about the fact that he threw first-pitch strikes to just eight of the 22 batters he faced. But Mauer hopes this is the start of something bigger for the lefty. “He’s going to be just fine. Hopefully this is something we can continue to build off of.” Arteaga agreed, “I think he did good today. I think he can be better.” Thorpe said that in Extended Spring Training, he was being limited to 65 to 75 pitches. He went over 80 pitches in this game and said it felt good. Though things got interesting late, fellow Australian Todd Van Steensel got the final five outs for his seventh save. Mauer would like to get him more save opportunities. “He’s been really good for us all year. Just trying to get him opportunities when we actually have the lead. He goes out there, and three punch outs. Three of the five outs were strikeouts and we’ll take that any day of the week.” Jon Murphy got the Kernels on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third inning when he launched a solo home run well beyond the fence in left centerfield. In the fourth inning, Chad Christensen singled and advanced to third on a couple wild pitches. He scored on a triple to right center by Jason Kanzler who scored one batter later when Alex Swim singled to left center. In the fifth inning, Bo Altobelli led off with a double. Two outs later, he was on third base and Tanner Vavra drove him in with an infield single. Next, Chad Christensen doubled down the left field line to score the speedy second baseman. He advanced to third on the throw to the plate and then scored the Kernels’ sixth run on a wild pitch. Thorpe was very good. Alex Muren replaced him and was charged with two runs on four hits over two innings. Todd Van Steensel came on and got a strikeout with the bases loaded for the second out of the eight inning. However, on an 0-2 pitch, he threw a 58-foot curveball that got by Alex Swim and cut the Kernels lead to one. One pitch later, he closed out the eighth. He worked a perfect ninth and the Kernels four-game losing streak ended. And for Thorpe, it’s great that his family can be here to see him. “It’s good to have them here. It feels a little bit like home having them here.” KERNELS NUGGETS: I had the chance to catch up with outfielder Zach Granite after the game. The speedster missed over two months with a shoulder injury sustained in the third game of the year. There was an issue with his humerus (which isn’t very funny) and he had shoulder impingement. He told me that he wasn’t able to raise his left (throwing) arm up above his shoulder. He returned to the Kernels recently and said he’s having a blast. He’s still working out some of the rust, but he’s getting there.Mitch Garver is currently on the 7-day disabled list after suffering a concussion. On Thursday, he was catching and the batter foul-tipped a pitch. Garver told me that it hit the facemask squarely, and with enough force that the mask cut his chin and he needed six stitches. He was told that he was on the ground for 60 seconds before getting his bearings. The team immediately took him out. Jake Mauer made the comment earlier that it is a requirement to put him on the disabled list with the concussion. Garver said he is feeling much better and will be able to start working out again on Saturday. Mauer and Garver hope he will need no more than the seven days.Fernando Romero – When we asked Jake Mauer about Fernando Romero, he immediately said that he didn’t think he would pitch again this year. He added that they know he has bone chips in his right elbow, and they suspect it will be more. He is going to travel to Minneapolis and see Dr. John Steubs. He will most certainly have surgery to remove the bone chips, and while in there, the doctor will be able to determine if Tommy John surgery is going to be necessary.Nick Burdi did arrive at the Kernels ballpark on Friday afternoon. Mauer said before the game that he wouldn’t pitch Friday, but there is a chance he could pitch as early as Saturday. Click here to view the article

Hopefully everyone is enjoying their Labor Day weekend!! The Twins certainly enjoyed their doubleheader sweep in Kansas City on Saturday against the Royals. I know I look forward to the first start of Esmerling Vasquez’s big league career this afternoon. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Yesterday, I posted the August relief pitchers of the month, and today, I’m back to present for you the August Twins minor league starting pitchers of the month. There are a couple of new names, but it’s been nice to see some names show up on these monthly reports consistently. Below, you will find my rankings of the Top 5 starting pitchers in the Twins farm system in the month of August, along with a couple of honorable mentions. Be sure to vote for your choice and discuss the nominees in the comments. --- Honorable Mention: Beloit – LHP Taylor Rogers – 7 G, 3 GS, 2-1, 2.30 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 26 H, 6 BB, 31 K New Britain – RHP BJ Hermsen – 3-1, 3.29 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 6 GS, 38.1 IP, 43 H, 7 BB, 20 K--- Number 5 – Beloit – LHP David Hurlbut - 4 GS, 1-1, 2.88 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 25.0 IP, 21 H, 2 BB, 18 K Hurlbut was the pitcher of the month just a couple of months ago and has quietly put together a very solid season for the Snappers. The lefty doesn’t throw hard, but as you can see, he doesn’t walk many at all. Number 4 – GCL Twins – LHP Randy Rosario – 4 G, 3 GS, 1-1, 0.50 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 18.0 IP, 9 H, 8 BB, 19 K Another lefty, Rosario is young and has a long way to go in terms of development, but he is certainly intriguing. He already throws consistently at 92-93 mph and touches 94 and 95. He can strikeout batters now, but as is normal with many hard-throwing young pitchers, he has to work on finding the strike zone more consistently. Number 3 – Rochester – RHP Esmerling Vasquez – 5 G, 3 GS, 4-1, 0.88 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 30.2 IP, 17 H, 13 BB, 31 K Vasquez has split his time between the bullpen and the rotation this season in Rochester. Although he made just three starts in August, one of his relief appearances came following a PJ Walters rehab start. Vasquez came in with two outs in the first inning and left after getting an out in the 9th, his longest outing of the season. He throws hard. Control has always been his downfall, but he’s been much better when starting. Number 2 – Rochester – Liam Hendriks - 4 GS, 2-1, 1.61 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 28.0 IP, 18 H, 7 BB, 21 K Hendriks continued his mastery of AAA hitters in August. Maybe he should be higher on this list if we include his complete game, 1-0 loss to Felix Hernandez and the Seattle Mariners. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: GCL/Elizabethton Twins – RHP JO (Jose) Berrios - 4 GS, 2-0, 1.62 ERA, 0.78 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 28 K The numbers are pretty similar to Hendriks’ numbers in August, but Berrios walked less and struckout more, giving him the edge for pitcher of the month. The Twins first supplemental first round selection this June has been remarkable in every one of his appearances. He made one start for the GCL Twins in August before he and top pick Byron Buxton were promoted to Elizabethton where he has been even better. Add to the above numbers his Game 1 playoff win and his numbers are even better. He threw six shutout innings against Danville, allowing one hit, walking one and hitting one while striking out seven. And, if the E-Twins can get a Game 2 win against Burlington tonight, it will be Berrios starting Game 3 for the Appalachian League championship. What do you think? There have been a few months where I’ve only mentioned four starters instead of five. This month, I referenced seven pitchers. The relievers have been pretty strong all year, and wait until tomorrow when you see the impressive August output from many hitters, including some of the top prospects. Download attachment: Jose_BerriosCard.jpg Click here to view the article

As I was beginning my trek to Beloit last week, I realized that it was already into August. I have no idea where the entire month of July went, but it was already time to present awards for the minor league hitter, starting pitcher and relief pitcher of the month. To keep things brief, this is a little late, so I’m going to consolidate the reports. Along with the three “winners,” I’ll give a top five as well as post some honorable mentions, if appropriate. I apologize for the delay, but it is important for me to post this as there were a lot of strong performances. In fact, the player selected as the Eastern League Player of the Month finished third on this list. We’ll start with some honorable mentions, followed by choices five through two. It will then culminate with the July hitter of the month. We’ll start with the hitters before moving on to the pitchers.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] THE HITTERS Honorable Mention: Rochester Brian Dinkelman 27-81 (.333/.449/.580 – .965), 7-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 7-RBIRochester Matt Carson 26-84 (.310/.370/.500 - .870) 1-2B, 0-3B, 5-HR, 14-RBINew Britain Chris Colabello 38-113 (.336/.400/.487 – 887), 11-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 20 RBINew Britain Deibinson Romero 33-104 (.317/.385/.500 - .885), 7-2B, 0-3B, 4-HR, 21-RBIBeloit Miguel Sano 21-76 (.276/.426/.461 - .886), 3-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 21-RBIElizabethton Romy Jimenez 25-67 (.373/.475/.597 – 1.072), 9-2B, 0-3B, 2-HR, 22-RBIElizabethton Candido Pimentel 36-88 (.409/.464/.523 - .987), 5-2B, 1-3B, 1-3B, 14-RBIElizabethton Jorge Polanco 22-71 (.310/.417/.507 - .924), 9-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 9-RBIElizabethton Adam Walker 30-101 (.297/.355/.564 - .919), 3-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR, 26-RBI #5 – New Britain Aaron Hicks 35-110 (.318/.433/.518 - .951), 7-2B, 3-3B, 3-HR, 11-RBI#4 – Ft. Myers Josmil Pinto 31-79 (.392/.437/.582 – 1.019), 4-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 10-RBI#3 – New Britain Oswaldo Arcia 34-96 (.354/.426/.583 – 1.009), 6-2B, 2-3B, 4-HR, 25-RBI#2 – Rochester Chris Parmelee 27-81 (.333/.449/.580 – 1.029), 5-2B, 0-3B, 5-HR, 17-RBIThe July Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is... Elizabethton Twins – OF Max Kepler (32-96) .333/.439/.688 (1.126) with 7-2B, 3-3B, 7-HR, 28 RBI Kepler was signed by the Twins as a 16-year-old from Berlin, Germany, in July of 2009. He was immediately touted as the top prospect ever signed out of Europe. It has been a slow progression for the lefty-hitting outfielder. He posted a .689 OPS in the GCL in 210. Last year in Elizabethton, he hit .262 with 11 doubles, three triples and a homer. He produced solid numbers, but it made sense for such a toolsy player to go back to the Appalachian League. After a very slow start at the beginning of the E-Town season, Kepler started hitting very well in July, as you can see from the numbers above. At one point, he hit four home runs in five games and seven homers in 11 games. After four hits last night, he is now hitting .297 on the season with eight homers. He is 6-4 and 180 pounds and hopes to continue to fill out and add more power, but he is also a very speedy player. THE STARTING PITCHERS Honorable Mention: Rochester Esmerling Vasquez – 6 G, 4 GS, 2-1, 3.60 ERA, 25 IP, 20 H, 5 BB, 24 K #5 – Rochester Liam Hendriks – 5 GS, 2-2, 3.09 ERA, 32 IP, 29 H, 8 BB, 19 K#4 – New Britain BJ Hermsen – 5 GS, 4-1, 2.30 ERA, 31.1 IP, 29 H, 9 BB, 21 K#3 – Elizabethton Hudson Boyd – 5 GS, 2-1, 1.82 ERA, 24.2 IP, 22 H, 7 BB, 17 K#2 – Rochester Jeff Manship – 6 GS, 2-1, 1.67 ERA, 27 IP, 29 H, 12 BB, 20 KThe July Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is... Beloit – LHP Jason Wheeler - 5 GS, 4-0, 2.03 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 31 IP, 26 H, 12 BB, 22 K For the second straight month, a left-handed starter for the Beloit Snappers is our choice for starting pitcher of the month. Last month, he was David Hurlbut. This month, it is 2011 8th round pick Jason Wheeler. Wheeler has been one of the more consistent starting pitchers in the organization. Overall, he is 12-5 with a 3.35 ERA. In 22 starts and 126.2 innings, he has allowed 133 hits, walked 35 and struck out 96 batters. He is listed at 6-8 and 265. He stands out on the field due to his height, but he appears to be in very good shape. He does not throw hard, touching 90, but he does have some very good off-speed pitches that keep batters off balance. It’s surprising to many that the 21 year old from Loyola Marymount has not yet been promoted to Ft. Myers. THE RELIEF PITCHERS Honorable Mention: #4 – New Britain Bruce Pugh – 9 G, 15 IP, 9 H, 7 BB, 13 K, 1-1, 1.20 ERA, 3 Saves #3 – Beloit Cole Johnson – 10 G, 17.1 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 20 K, 1-1, 1.04 ERA #2 – Rochester Luis Perdomo – 9 G, 16.1 IP, 8 H, 2 BB, 16 K, 1-0, 0.55 ERA, 7 SavesThe July Minnesota Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is... Ft. Myers – AJ Achter – 9 G, 16.1 IP, 12 H, 1 BB, 18 K, 1-1, 0.55 ERA, 4 Saves Last month’s relief pitcher of the month, Michael Tonkin, moved up to Ft. Myers about two weeks before AJ Achter did. Achter was pitching very well in Beloit, striking out 49 and walking just 12 in 40 innings. He was promoted to Ft. Myers where he has been even better. Achter was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. Last year at Beloit, he was used exclusively as a starter. This year, he has been much better in the bullpen and seems to have found a role suited well for him! There you have it. The top hitters and pitchers in the Twins system for the month of July. Now it’s time to debate. What do you think? Please feel free to discuss. Download attachment: Jason Wheeler 3.jpg Download attachment: Max Kepler 2.jpg Download attachment: AJ Achter.jpg Click here to view the article

There have been a lot of great stories and performances in the Twins farm system in 2013. There are the independent league stories of Chris Colabello, Caleb Thielbar, and Andrew Albers. There is Doug Bernier, a 33-year-old shortstop who is back in the big leagues five years after two previous big league games. Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton and Eddie Rosario have been hitting all year. Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks and Kyle Gibson have now had a glimpse into big league life. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Ten days ago, JO Berrios went on the 7-Day Disabled List, and Alex Meyer went nearly three months without pitching. Berrios returned to action earlier in the week, and on Saturday, Alex Meyer made his return to the Rock Cats and was impressive. The most encouraging thing going into the offseason would be seeing Berrios and Meyer end the season healthy and successful. See what else happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday. Rochester Red Wings 4, Indianapolis Indians 6 Box Score Logan Darnell started with two scoreless innings. However, he ended up giving up five runs on six hits and three walks in three innings. Virgil Vasquez was able to work the next five innings. He gave up just one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out six. AJ Achter walked three but did not allow a run in the 9th inning. The Red Wings managed just seven hits in the game. Jermaine Mitchell had four of them. He also stole his 20th base. Darin Mastroianni went 1-2 with a walk. He stole his third and fourth bases. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup, batting fifth and serving as the DH. He went 0-2 but walked twice. New Britain Rock Cats 2, Bowie Bay Sox 0 Box Score The most encouraging thing that can happen in the final week of the minor league season is for Alex Meyer to show well and prove himself healthy. On Saturday, he returned to the mound for New Britain for the first time since early June. He was quite impressive. He went five innings of shutout baseball. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out five. Reports say that he touched 100 mph on a couple of pitches. He also got a couple of strikeouts on an 87-mph knuckle-curveball. Cole Johnson replaced him in the 6th inning. He gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs, in his two innings. He struck out two. Dakota Watts then recorded his eighth save with two scoreless innings. He walked two and struck out four. Download attachment: alex-meyer.jpg Miguel Sano went 2-4 with his 14th RBI, which drove in the team’s first run. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 and stole his sixth base. Jordan Parraz went 1-3 with a walk and his tenth double. Ft. Myers Miracle, St. Lucie Mets The game as postponed. The teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. Cedar Rapids Kernels 1, Peoria Chiefs 0 Box Score There wasn’t much offense on Saturday night in Cedar Rapids. Peoria had four hits. Cedar Rapids had just three hits. Fortunately, one of those hits was a home run off of the bat of Michael Quesada. It was his second homer of the season. Josue Montanez made the start for the Kernels and went the first 6.1 innings. He gave up thiree hits and a walk while striking out two to record his sixth win. Brandon Bixler came in and got a strikeout, but he also gave up one hit and walked one. Madison Boer came on and worked the final 2.1 innings to record his seventh save. He walked one and struck out two. Elizabethton Twins 6, Pulaski 7 Box Score The E-Twins jumped out to a 4 run lead after the top of the first. Rory Rhodes cleared the bases with a double. He then stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher. Zach Larson went 2-4 with a walk, his second double and two RBI. Romy Jimenez hit his seventh double. Yorman Landa started. He gave up three runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out one. Andre Martinez worked two innings and gave up two unearned runs. He gave up just one hit and struck out four. Ryan Eades gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. CK Irby gave up two runs on an eighth inning home run. GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 4 Box Score Lewis Thorpe was one of the Twins biggest international signings in 2012 out of Australia. The lefty started this game, and in four shutout innings, he gave up just one hit, walked one and struck out nine. On the season, he has pitched in 12 games. In 44 innings, he has given up 32 hits, walked just six and struck out 64 batters. Though he had a no decision in this game, he is now 4-1 with a 2.05 ERA. Lester Oliveros came in and walked two and struck out one in 0.1 innings. Leonel Zazueta then gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits. He hit a batter and struck out two. Miguel Gonzalez struck out five, and walked one, in 2.2 scoreless, hitless innings. Tyler Stirewalt struck out one in a perfect inning. The Twins had seven hits in the game. Jorge Fernandez went 1-2 with his seventh double and two RBI. Ryan Tufts was 1-3 with his third double. Brian Navarreto went 1-3 with a walk and his third stolen base. He scored two runs. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below. Click here to view the article

Maybe it’s the weather, but it’s hard to believe we are now in May. One month of the season is already complete. That means it is time to determine our Hitter and Pitcher of the Month. If you’ve been following the Twins Minor League Reports each day of the season, you’ve noticed that there are seemingly great starts each night, often two or three. And hey, pitching is what wins games, right? So let’s start with the starting pitchers. As we have done in past years, aside from just picking the top pitcher, we’ll count down the top five performers for the month. It’s always nice when we have a few extra strong performers. This month, ranking the pitchers was difficult. There were a lot of strong, solid performers, so feel free to discuss the rankings and even comment with your own rankings or thoughts. With that, let's jump to the starting pitchers. Here are the Top 5 starting pitchers for April: Number 5 – Rochester – Kris Johnson - 4 GS, 2-2, 2.86 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 22.0 IP, 18 H, 18 BB, 20 K On Thursday night, Kris Johnson will make his Minnesota Twins debut. In 2013, he made his big league debut and pitched in four games for the Pittsburgh Pirates including one start. He came to the Twins this offseason in a trade with the Pirates in exchange for reliever Duke Welker (remember the Duke Welker-Twins Era?). His 2.39 ERA for Louisville last year led the International League, and he is off to a strong start in 2014. In his first start, he threw five shutout innings, allowing just two hits. In his most recent start (last Thursday), he gave up only an unearned run in six innings. The left-hander sits 91-92 with his fastball and has a good three-pitch mix. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Brett Lee - 5 GS, 3-1, 2.93 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 30.2 IP, 31 H, 7 BB, 15 K Following last season, Lee was my pick for the pitcher to take a big step forward as a prospect in 2014. The 23-year-old put together a solid first month of the season. If nothing else, he was very consistent. He gave up two earned runs in all five of his starts. In these games, he went 5.2 innings, then six, six, six and seven innings. The lefty was the Twins 10th round pick in 2010 out of junior college. In 2012 at Elizabethton, he posted a 2.68 ERA. In 2013 in Cedar Rapids, he posted a 2.95 ERA. So, Mr. Consistent’s 2.93 ERA in April shouldn’t be too surprising. Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – Aaron Slegers - 5 GS, 2-0, 3.14 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 28.2 IP, 24 H, 4 BB, 27 K The 6-10 Slegers was the Twins 5th round pick just last year out of the University of Indiana where he was the 2013 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. After a very solid performance in Elizabethton last summer, Slegers was the Kernels’ Opening Day starter. Since signing, Slegers has been able to add a little bit of velocity. He’s got pitches, and he’s got really good control. He doesn’t walk batters, and he was able to get strikeouts as well. If he can continue this for another month, he will likely move up to the Miracle. Number 2 – Rochester – Alex Meyer - 5 GS, 1-0, 2.70 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 26.2 IP, 11 H, 11 BB, 35 K Maybe you’ve heard or read a lot about Alex Meyer in the last couple weeks. The 24-year-old Meyer came to the Twins for Denard Span. He’s tall. He sits 95-96 and hits 99 and even 100. He has a devastating slider. And now he's learned a new changeup grip from Yohan Pino and Deolis Guerra. He’s got Ace upside. He has been really good in four of his five starts. He had a clunker in his third, but in his last two starts, he has been absolutely dominant. He’s got things to work on, but he can be very special. I asked Dan Rohlfing, the talented catcher who caught those last two starts about Meyer, and here’s what he had to say: “Alex is electric! There’s definitely not many guys who can do what he does with a baseball. It’s awesome to watch him go from a thrower to a pitcher. He is really starting to figure a lot of things out. By him learning (and trusting) to pitch inside and developing a quality change-up makes him that much more dangerous. We all know his curveball is filthy, and it’s becoming much more consistent as well. By him being a three-pitch pitcher now, who knows how to mix it up, makes it extremely unfair for hitters. His last two outings were dominant, to say the least.” And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester – Logan Darnell - 4 GS, 0-0, 1.69 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 21.1 IP, 15 H, 7 BB, 21 K Logan Darnell was the team’s 6th round pick in the 2010 draft out of the University of Kentucky where he was a teammate of Alex Meyer. He pitched at three levels in 2011 (Beloit, Ft. Myers and New Britain). He spent all of 2012, and the first two-thirds of the 2013 with the Rock Cats. He ended last season with 12 starts in Rochester. Following the season, he was added to the 40-man roster and this spring he reported for his first major league camp. He was one of the first cuts, but he was able to stretch out and be ready for the start of the season. In his first start, he worked four innings and gave up only an unearned run. He’s given up just four earned runs over 17.1 innings in his other three starts. He has been consistent, and he’s started getting strikeouts for the first time in his career. Last June, following his promotion to AAA, he talked to Twins Daily about what he throws, what he’s learned, pitching in the Arizona Fall League and much more. Download attachment: Logan Darnell Mug.jpg There were a lot of very good starting pitching performances in April. It was difficult to rank the five above, and here are a few more starters who were strongly considered: [*=1]Pat Dean – New Britain – 5 GS, 25.2 IP, 2-1, 3.51 ERA, 1.32 WHIP, 27 H, 7 BB, 20 K [*=1]Jason Wheeler – Ft. Myers – 5 GS, 30.0 IP, 2-1, 2.70 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 32 H, 7 BB, 14 K [*=1]Tyler Duffey – Ft. Myers – 4 GS, 22.1 IP, 3-0, 2.82 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 22 H, 5 BB, 13 K [*=1]Ethan Mildren – Cedar Rapids – 4 G, 3 GS, 18.0 IP, 0-1, 2.50 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 17 H, 2 BB, 18 K We’ll be back tomorrow to discuss the Relief Pitcher and Hitter of the Month. Please feel free to comment and ask questions. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: David Hurlbut.jpg Before the Arizona Fall League began, we had our first 10 Questions With posting with RHP Kyle Gibson. I’m hoping to do much more of these, and I have a few in the works. Today, I’m coming back with a 12 Questions With Q&A with a Twins minor league pitcher. Frankly, 10 questions is not enough to get to know some of these guys. Today’s 12 Questions interview is with LHP David Hurlbut. He was the Twins 28th round pick in 2011 out of Cal State-Fullerton (and their 35th round pick in 2009 out of junior college). In 2012, he pitched in 25 games for the Beloit Snappers as a 22 year old, making 15 starts. Overall, he went 6-6 with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In 111 innings, he gave up 105 hits, walked just 25 and struckout 85 (6.9 per nine innings). He will most likely begin the 2013 season in Ft. Myers. Download attachment: David Hurlbut MUG.jpg TEN QUESTIONS WITH… David Hurlbut 1.) Growing up in California, who was your favorite team and who were some of your favorite players? David Hurlbut (DH): Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, it has always been fun to go watch the Giants or the A's play, although I tend to go to more A's games because of the prices. Ha Ha. Some of my favorite players growing up from those two teams were Barry Zito, Matt Cain, J.T. Snow, and Eric Byrnes. 2.) Tell us about your high school career (baseball and/or other extra-curriculars). DH: In high school, I played football, soccer, and baseball as a freshman. I made varsity only for baseball, and the freshman team for the other two sports. After that year, I only played baseball because it was the sport I was best at, and I had the most fun with the group of guys I was with. I was a starting pitcher and played first base all 4 years. Some personal accomplishments during high school were some all-league honors, mvp awards, but my favorite was throwing a no hitter my senior season. In that final season, we made it to the playoffs for the first time in 15 years, which was pretty exciting. 3.) What were some of the highlights of your college playing days? DH: I Played at Diablo Valley College after high school for a year under former professional pitcher Mike Neu. That year, our team made it to the state championships, where I started the first game. That is one of my favorite moments in baseball to this day. After that season, I was drafted by the Twins, but I declined to go pitch at California State University of Fullerton. I played there for two years, getting eliminated in playoffs before we had a chance to make it to the College World Series. My favorite moment was going to LSU and playing against the Tigers in a very hostile environment. 4.) The Twins drafted you twice... were there a lot of other scouts talking to you, or were the Twins scouts the blocking you from other teams? DH: The Twins showed a lot of interest in me throughout my college career. They made their fair share of calls to me, but I don't think that they negatively influenced any other teams from contacting me or talking to me. 5.) You signed quickly and went to Elizabethton. How would you describe your adjustment to pro baseball and what did you learn from that first season? DH: Well, if one were to look at my stats, they would say the transition didn't go very well. Ha ha. No matter the stats, I love the feel of professional baseball. I almost felt claustrophobic under the gaze of my coaches at Fullerton, but in Elizabethton it was exactly the opposite. I felt like I learned a lot within the few months I was there, from both the players and the coaches. Download attachment: DavidHurlbut2.jpg 6.) You moved up to the Midwest League and had a tremendous season. You made 15 starts and 10 relief appearances. How is your preparation different for each role, and do you prefer one over the other? DH: I tried to go about relieving and starting in similar fashion. The bottom line is that you are trying to get outs, but there does come a time when you need to switch on the competitive side and get ready for a game. The difference was if it was before a game, or in the 6th inning. Having a routine was a large part in preparing myself for starts, not only physically, but mentally to go out and compete at a high level. When I was a reliever, my physical routine mostly consisted of getting loose in the bullpen properly. 7.) What are your highlights from this 2012 season in Beloit, the team and the full-season? DH: A few moments last year stand out to me. The first was being called up from extended spring training. I was overjoyed to get on a team and start playing. When it came to pitching, throwing a 7 inning 2-hit shutout against the Cedar Rapids Kernals was my favorite start of the year. Also, striking out my old teammate Nick Ramirez was a good feeling, although he did get the better of me and hit a double off of me. And of course, getting to pitch in the playoffs was a great memory. 7.) When do you start preparing for the 2013 season, and what did you learn from your first full season to help you prepare? DH: Once I was home in California, I took about a month-long break to relax and get my mind off of baseball for a little while. Afterwards, I started working out and running. Now, I have started playing catch to shake off the rust so from mid-December on, I can really get my arm ready for spring training. When I came into spring training last year, I felt that I had done a good job of getting ready. One thing I did want to correct was to increase the amount of long toss I do to get my arm a little bit stronger. 8.) Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career as a baseball player? DH: My parents have been behind me every step of the way. Without them, I wouldn't be who I am. My long time pitching coach, Fred Breining, has been my true mentor when it comes to my baseball career. I have been seeing him since I was eleven years old, and he has shown me everything from the proper arm angle to a good balance point. I wouldn't be playing this game if it weren't for him. 9.) If you weren't playing baseball, what would you be doing (your career of choice)? DH: I honestly have no clue what I would be doing if I weren't playing. My gut tells me I would have ended up in one of the military branches serving our country, but ever since I was a boy all of my ambitions have been towards baseball. It is hard to imagine another route for me. 10.) Favorite baseball movie? DH: My favorite baseball movie would be "The Natural." It has the most epic ending to a baseball movie ever, what's not to love? 11.) Favorite baseball book? DH: My favorite baseball book would be "Heads Up Baseball" by Ken Revizza. It is all about the mental side of baseball, a must read for any serious baseball player looking to improve on their game. Thank you David! We certainly appreciate the time he spent in response. He is a frequent Twins Daily reader. Who knows? Ask him some questions in the comments section… maybe we can get him to respond!! Click here to view the article

It took nearly three weeks, but today our ten-part series on my choices for the Top 50 Minnesota Twins prospects culminates with my picks for the Twins top five prospects. The list has been building, but I don't think anyone will be surprised by the five players. All five of these players could be Top 50 prospects when lists start coming out next spring. Prospect lists are about tools and potential. But I do go back and continue to think about something Kyle Gibson told me a couple of years ago. "It's nice to be considered a top prospect, but all that really means is that you haven't done anything yet." [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] That's the beauty of these rankings and lists like it. It's great for discussion, but if you look back at rankings from previous years, you find that to be very true. There are occasionally prospects who get the hype and become everything fans could ever hope. There are prospects who no one would consider a prospect who have come up and been major contributors. And most prospects are somewhere in between. It will be fun to see how this group progressed and develops, and how much of an impact they have on the future of the Minnesota Twins. Part 10: Prospects 1-5 Today, we are looking at some pretty impressive prospects. There are two pitchers who are able to work in the mid-to-upper 90s. One may be ready next year while the other could be redshirting behind Johnny Football right now. There are two infielders who have been teammates since their days in the GCL. One is a top prospect who has the potential to hit 40 home runs. The other could hit .300 for years to come. And then there is the guy who has been determined, by experts from respected media, to be the top prospect in all baseball. All five of these guys have a chance to be impact players in the big leagues. Download attachment: Byron Buxton Rinaldi Photos.jpg Photo by Rinaldi Photos #5 – Eddie Rosario – 2B (22) Rosario was the Twins 4th round pick in 2010 out of high school in Puerto Rico. Since then he has hit every step of the way. He made a name for himself in 2011 with Elizabethton. He was the Appy League Player of the Year when he hit .337/.397/.670 (1.068) with nine doubles, nine triples and a league-leading 21 home runs. He also stole 17 bases and played a terrific centerfield. He went to Instructs where he was moved to second base. At Beloit, he hit .296/.345/.490 (.835) with 32 doubles and 12 homers despite missing about a month after being struck in the mouth by a batting practice line drive. After a strong season in the Puerto Rican Winter League, he played for his country in the WBC. He split the 2013 season between Ft. Myers and New Britain and hit .302/.350/.460 (.810) with 32 doubles, eight triples, and ten home runs. Clearly he is not a big fan of walking, but he has the quickest hands I’ve seen. He is able to watch pitches longer because he can still get the bat through the zone. He also uses the whole field well. He has a lot of pop, particularly for a middle infielder. Of course therein lies the question about Rosario. Can he play second base in the big leagues? There are certainly opinions on both sides. In general, I believe that he could be an adequate big league second baseman because he is such a good athlete. However, he will likely never be a good defensive second baseman. That said, he is already a very good defensive outfielder with a very strong arm. He is getting some good experience in the Arizona Fall League, and will then play in the Puerto Rican Winter League again. He is likely to receive a non-roster invite to spring training with the Twins. #4 – Kohl Stewart – RH SP (19) The fourth overall pick in the 2013 draft, the Twins were thrilled Stewart fell into their lap. The 6-3 right-hander from Houston was best known for having signed to play quarterback at Texas A&M behind Johnny Football. Instead, he signed with the Twins and started his professional baseball career. He is an exceptional athlete with a very strong arm. He has a fastball that sits between 92 and 95, but he has hit 97 mph at times as well. He also has a very good slider in the upper-80s. He has four pitches, but the other two will likely be little better than average. He posted a 1.69 ERA in his 16 innings in the GCL. He then made just one start for the Elizabethton Twins and gave up one hit and one walk while striking out eight in four scoreless innings. In his 20 pro innings in 2013, he walked four and struck out 24. Unfortunately, he was shut down with some shoulder soreness and did not pitch in the Instructional Leagues. It is not believed to be serious and he should be ready by spring training. #3 – Alex Meyer – RH SP (23) Meyer was the first round pick (23rd overall) of the Washington Nationals in 2011 out of the University of Kentucky. Just about a year ago, he came to the Twins in a one-for-one swap for Denard Span. At 6-9 and 220 pounds, he certainly comes with a mound presence. More important, he has four above average pitches and the ability to be completely dominant. After missing two months this season with a shoulder injury, he returned and after three rehab starts hit 100 mph with a pitch in his first start coming back to New Britain. His fastball sits between 94 and 98 and does hit 100 with some regularity. He also has a terrific slider that could become better as he gains more and more control. He also has a slow curve and a good changeup. With New Britain, he was 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA. In 70 innings, he walked 29 and struck out 84. He is now pitching in the Arizona Fall League to make up some lost innings. He has a chance to be a true ace. He is another guy who should receive an invite to big league spring training. (and, I can't tell you how close I was to moving him up to #2, but I just couldn't pull the trigger.) #2 – Miguel Sano – 3B (20) The Twins surprised a lot of people in October of 2009 when they were the team that signed the top foreign player, Sano, to a bonus of $3.15 million. He appeared in the pre-2010 Baseball America’s Top 100 at #94. In the years since, he has ranked #60, #18 and was the ninth overall prospect before the 2013 season. When the list comes out next spring, he will certainly be in the top five, if not the top three. His career has been directly tied to that of Eddie Rosario. They played together in the GCL in 2010. In 2011, Rosario was the Appy League Player of the Year, but Sano hit .292/.352/.637 (.988) with 18 doubles, seven triples, and 20 home runs. At Beloit in 2012, he hit .258/.373/.521 (.893) with 28 doubles, four triples, 28 home runs and 100 RBI. Combined, between Ft. Myers and New Britain in 2013, Sano hit .280/.382/.610 (.992) with 30 doubles, five triples, 35 homers and 103 RBI. Those are just the numbers. Sano is more than just the numbers. He is 6-4 and about 225 pounds. He’s as powerful as anyone in baseball. My sense is that he won’t hit for real high average, but he will take walks, he will hit home runs and he will strike out. A lot. He could hit .270, get on base 40% of the time and hit 40 or more home runs. Defense is the other part of the equation. After posting an .884 fielding percentage at Beloit in 2012. In 2013, his fielding percentage jumped to .932. His errors dropped from 42 to 23. His hands have become much softer. He now plays a very deep third base because he has one of the strongest arms in baseball. Will Sano be the Twins third baseman in 2014? Absolutely, yes! When? If you were to put the over/under at the All-Star break, I would be the over (meaning, before), unless the Twins want to keep him eligible for the Futures Game at Target Field. (Hopefully his elbow injury will not affect his timeline in 2014!) #1 – Byron Buxton – OF (19) Go back and review the profiles of Miguel Sano, or Alex Meyer and possibly Kohl Stewart. In many organizations, each of them could be the number one prospect. However, if you’re in an organization with Byron Buxton, then #2 is the best you can hope for. I went down to Cedar Rapids for their Opening Weekend. I assumed Buxton would be talented and look the part, but in my mind, he wasn’t going to surpass Sano atop my prospect list. About two days later, my mind was changed. Byron Buxton was the best prospect I had ever seen (and I saw Mike Trout in Beloit, playing for Cedar Rapids, three years earlier). Speed may be his most obvious tool. In that initial series, I saw him beat out regular ground balls to shortstop, third base and even second base. He also stole 55 bases (in 74 attempts). Not bad considering it is an area that he can improve. I saw him show remarkable range in centerfield. We also saw his range in the game that appeared on Fox Sports North, and not just on The Play. Despite currently being 6' 2" and a lean 190, he is very strong, very powerful. I saw one of the several home runs that he hit in Cedar Rapids that went out of the stadium and across the street. Most of his home runs were line drives. His approach at the plate is remarkable. He is very patient at the plate. Like Joe Mauer, he often takes the first pitch and isn’t afraid to hit with two strikes. He uses the entire field. I could go on and on, but the things that people with the Twins organization stress are Buxton’s makeup and work ethic, pointing out that he wants to be great. Between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers, he hit .334/.424/.520 (.944) with 19 doubles, 18 triples, 12 homers and 78 RBI. Buxton will likely start 2013 in New Britain. I will be completely shocked if he is not in the big leagues by mid-July. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Thank you for reading part Part 10 of my ten-part series highlighting my Top 50 Twins Prospects. Hopefully you have learned something about a few of these guys and have enjoyed reading them. In case you missed any of the previous installments, here are those links: Part 1: 46-50 Part 2: 41-45 Part 3: 36-40 Part 4: 31-35 Part 5: 26-30 Part 6: 21-25 Part 7: 16-20 Part 8: 11-15 Part 9: 6-10 Click here to view the article

In 2011, Brian Dozier, Chris Herrmann and a few others had impressive seasons and jumped up prospect ranking lists. Who will do that in 2012? Here are a couple of names that I think you should watch: 1.) Matt Hauser - the RHP from the University of San Diego throws hard. In 2011, he spent time in Beloit and Ft. Myers and ended the season with one appearance in New Britain. He throws 95 pretty consistently, with two other pitches. He could be the Twins next closer. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 2.) Josh Hendricks - The burly Australian 1B showed potential in the GCL in 2011, but when he moves up to Elizabethton in 2012, he could put up some big numbers. 3.) Luis Nunez - The little lefty from the Dominican Republic throws some serious gas and should be the closer in Elizabethton in 2012. 4.) Matt Bashore - The former supplemental 1st round pick from Indiana pitched two innings for the Twins Elizabethton team combined in 2009 and 2010. He returned in 2011 in a limited role. By Instructional League, he was again touching 93 mph with his fastball. Hopefully he is recovered from shoulder and then elbow (Tommy John) surgery and can advance his career. 5.) Lance Ray - If you look at his 2011 batting average in Beloit, it doesn't speak to how hard he hit the ball. Ray has a smooth, left-handed swing. He hits for power to all fields. He can play both corner outfield positions and first base. He should advance to Ft. Myers and put up some big numbers. who are some candidates in the Twins farm system to jump up prospect rankings in 2012? Discuss. Click here to view the article

Max Kepler got the news this morning that he was likely dreading, but expecting. He was optioned by the Twins and will report to minor league camp on Tuesday. He had gone 5-11 in his limited plate appearances in his first big league camp. Not a bad showing for a 21-year-old who played ball in Low-A Cedar Rapids in 2013. Though it was a short stint, Kepler did make an impression. Rob Antony said, “I think Max Kepler handled himself extremely well and had a good spring.”[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As you would expect given that Kepler was signed as a 16-year-old from Germany, it has taken him some time to move through the system. He spent a year in the GCL followed by two years in Elizabethton. Last year, he missed the first half of the season with an elbow injury. In 61 games, he hit just .237/.312/.424, but he displayed the tools that made him sought after as an amateur. Download attachment: Max Kepler CR.jpg He got an opportunity to play in the Arizona Fall League last year and enjoyed the experience despite its challenges. “It was awesome. It was a real honor. But, the pitching was a lot more challenging out there. Maybe it’s because of the jump from A-ball to Fall League. Pitching was mind-blowing at first, just seeing how good they were. It was awesome being out there with players, as good as they are.” Over the winter, Kepler was able to spend two months in Germany with his family around the holidays. Otherwise, he spent his time in San Francisco working out. He went there with a plan. “Running, lifting in my legs. Didn’t do a lot of upper body like I had in the past. I felt too heavy on top.” In the past, Kepler has played around the outfield and at first base. In the Fall League, he played almost solely at first base. He thought that might be where he would spend a lot of time this spring, but he hasn’t. “Wherever they need me. They told me I was going to get a lot of work (at 1B) this spring, but I’ve been in the outfield every game. I love it out there, and I’m up for whatever.” Asked what his strengths were, Kepler has a very interesting response. “Thinking positive, right now. I’ve learned to think positive. I used to get frustrated at everything back when I was younger. If you think positive, everything will come. It’s a big thing in this game.” He understood that the answer might create follow-up, so he continued. “(I) get that question a lot. ‘What do you think your strengths are?’ Immediately you think of physicality; hitting, throwing. I’m just trying to balance all of that. Just trying to think positive and do the best I can.” When it comes to others, it’s understandable they would jump to the physical. Kepler stands 6-4 (at least) and 220 pounds (at least). He’s got quick hands, strength and power. He has decent speed for his size and plays solid defense. These are all things that aren’t lost on Rob Antony or the rest of the front office. Some people have looked past guys like Max Kepler, who has developed well. He’s got a tremendous body. He’s got a good swing. He’s athletic. He can play 1st or the OF.” Kepler has said, and did so again this morning, that he has been told that he will move up another level this year and play in Ft. Myers. Kepler had a strong showing in big league camp which will only bode well for him going forward. He has the tools and the projection. Now he’s had some exposure. It will be a big year for Kepler to start putting up some numbers as well, even in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. Click here to view the article

It's been a struggle for Luke Bard to get on the mound since signing with the Twins in 2012. The 23-year-old right-handed pitcher is at his second big league camp, hoping he can get and remain healthy throughout the season. I had the chance to catch up with him following a workout and before he went to eat some lunch. In this two-part interview, I talked to him about how he's feeling and how spring is treating him. I also asked whether or not the surgery would affect his opportunity to start, or if he would be in the bullpen As you can tell, he is excited to get throwing off the mound and hopefully start moving up the organizational ladder. Bard is another Twins prospect who is a tremendous person. He has worked very hard and wants to be very good. When healthy, he has the chance to be very good. Reports are his pitches have a lot of movement and bite on them. Hopefully he can get into games in April. Once healthy, he has the chance to move pretty quickly. Click here to view the article

You are walking down the street on this Friday afternoon when you bump into something. You look down and notice that you just kicked a lamp of some sorts. You reach down and notice that it's quite dirty, so you start to rub it and notice that it is quite shiny. Suddenly, smoke starts coming out of the lamps opening and POOF! A magic genie is kind of floating in front of you. At least you hope it is a magic genie because otherwise the guy standing in front of you is a little scary. But anyway, it is a magic genie and he says to you, "Your wish is my command. I can give you three wishes." Because you are such a big Twins fan, your first wish is to become the GM AND Manager of the Minnesota Twins for one day. Voila! Suddenly, you're sitting in the GMs office at Target Field, wearing your Twins uniform with a lineup card in front of you and a cell phone, ready to make transaction. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Wow!! This is really happening (for this blog's purpose only. Again, we reiterate that TwinsCentric and Twins Daily are in no way associated with the Twins and can not actually give you that kind of power). Suddenly the genie is back in front of you and says, "Congratulations! You have two more wishes." Real quickly, you make your two additional wishes. There is suddenly world peace and your bank accounts each have ten figure balances. All is right in the world, yet, you still are the Twins GM and Manager for the next 23-and-a-half hours. You have just a couple of rules. 1.) You can't fire the current Twins GM or the current Twins manager. It was agreed that they would return to their individual posts at the end of the 24 hour period. 2.) You can only make three transactions. (Granted, one transaction can be "option Players, X, Y and Z, and recall Players A, B and C.) 3.) The genie is no longer helping you out, so if you were to make trades, they have to be realistic. In other words, you can't trade Jeff Gray and Matt Maloney to the Tigers for Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander. What do you do? What would I do? Decision #1 - Option Chris Parmelee to Rochester, Promote Drew Butera. I'm sure I'll take heat for this one, but I really believe that Parmelee needs to play most every day. Although he's keeping his head above water in the big leagues, I believe he needs at least a couple more months. Sending down Parmelee would create a situation in which Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Ryan Doumit would be able to play most every day. Morneau would need to play some 1B and DH. Doumit and Mauer would catch, play 1B and DH. Butera would allow Gardy to feel comfortable with those three players playing every day. Butera should get no more than about 2 plate appearances a week. Decision #2 - Keep Francisco Liriano in the rotation, Option Liam Hendriks, Add Anthony Slama to the 40 man roster and promote him, and put Anthony Swarzak in the rotation. As you can see, since I am believing that this is a rebuilding year, I want the young players to get time in Rochester to work on a few more final things. I would have all of them (Hendriks, Parmelee, Revere, Benson, Tosoni, Diamond, Guerra, Dozier, up by July). This transaction gives Liriano his last attempts as a starter. It allows us to see if Swarzak can be a starting pitcher. It gets Anthony Slama back on the roster (hey, if his lone problem has been throwing strikes, he is no worse than Jeff Gray and Slama actually gets strikeouts). Decision #3 - Do NOT sign Brandon Inge. Enough said? Now it's your turn. What would you do? Download attachment: lamp.jpg Click here to view the article

***This article was written several years ago on Twins Daily. It has been edited minimally. 36 years ago today, January 12, 1982, the Minnesota Twins made a decision that altered the trajectory and the history of the organization. On that date, the Twins used the third overall pick in the January portion of the MLB Draft on an outfielder from Triton Junior College named Kirby Puckett. As you know, in June, players out of high school, junior college and those having finished three years at a four-year college are selected. However, from 1965 through 1986, there was also a draft in January for high school and college players who graduated in the Winter. Kirby Puckett fit into that category. I assume many know the history of Kirby Puckett. He's a Hall of Famer and one of the greatest players in Minnesota Twins history. His legend grew as the leader of the 1987 and 1991 World Series championship teams. For someone in my age group, we know all about the Kirby Puckett story. However, consider that he has been retired since spring training of 1996. Anyone born after September 28, 1995. never had the chance to watch him play in an MLB game. That means that no one under the age of around 27 or 28 would have memories of watching him during his playing career. Puckett was born and raised in the projects on the South Side of Chicago, some of the roughest neighborhoods in the country. Following his high school playing days, he received no scholarship offers. He went to work on the assembly line at a Ford Motors plant. He was given an opportunity to play at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, but after one year, he went to Triton Community College. That's where the Jim Rantz legend was born. Rantz went to Triton one day to watch his son play, but in the process, he also got to see Kirby Puckett play. He was so impressed that he recommended the Twins continue to send scouts to watch him. Then 37 years ago today, they used the third overall pick to to select the outfielder. As a 22-year-old, Puckett went to Elizabethton where he hit .382/.438/.491 with 15 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 35 RBI. It may surprise some, but he also stole 43 bases (in 47 attempts) during the short-season. In 1983, he moved up to Visalia where he hit .314/.366/.442 with 29 doubles, seven triples, nine home runs and 97 RBI. He stole 48 bases in 59 attempts. Let me make a brief side note here. Puckett was putting up monstrous numbers in A-Ball, but he was already 23 years old, so I imagine had prospect rankings been done by more at that time, he may have been dropped a few spots because he was "too old for the level." (of course, it did come out shortly after his playing career that he was born on March 14, 1960. He had been listed as being born March 14, 1961, throughout his career, although he never hid that information from the Twins.) In 1984, he jumped all the way up to AAA Toledo. 21 games into the season, he was hitting just .263/.294/.325 with two doubles and a home run. He was also 8 for 10 in stolen base attempts. The Twins were tired of their centerfield situation that included the likes of Bobby Mitchell and Darrell Brown, and they decided to promote Puckett. On May 8, Puckett debuted with four hits against the Angels. During his 12-year career, he played in 10 All Star games and won six Gold Glove awards and six Silver Slugger Awards. He finished in the Top 3 in MVP voting three times. He won the batting title when he hit .339 in 1989, but the year before, he hit .356 and finished second to Wade Boggs (.366). Overall, he hit .318/.360/.477 with 414 doubles, 57 triples, 207 home runs, 1,085 RBI and 1,071 runs scored. He also stole 134 bases. Obviously his career ended way too soon when, in the spring of 1996, he was diagnosed with glaucoma and could never play again. He became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 2001. How many of you make that trip to Cooperstown for Puckett's induction? (Me!!) In 2002, a lot of information came out that destroyed the great-guy persona that Puckett had throughout his playing career. There's no getting around that or excusing that, but those of us who were eight years old when Puckett debuted and remember all the great catches, the home runs, the All Star games, the World Series titles, choose (right or wrong) to remember those things and what Kirby Puckett meant to fans around the Upper Midwest. Puckett had a massive stroke in March of 2006 and passed away the following day. I had to leave work. 36 years ago today, the Twins drafted Kirby Puckett. He became the Minnesota Twins to so many. I wish I could have met him. View full article

Phil Hughes worked seven quality innings and the Twins evened their series with the Detroit Tigers. On Sunday, it will be Kyle Gibson taking the mound for the Twins opposite Justin Verlander. Oswaldo Arcia began his rehab. Scott Diamond was back on the mound. After being rained out on Friday, the Rock Cats played two games in Virginia. A couple of powerful hitters hit home runs. And, there is a doubles-machine down in Cedar Rapids that Twins fans will want to learn more about. TRANSACTIONS Early on Saturday afternoon, we learned the ‘other’ transaction in Cedar Rapids. Jonatan Hinojosa was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a PED. According to Baseball America, the Twins signed Dutch Deol, a 21-year-old outfielder from California who is yet to get out of the rookie leagues. Download attachment: Jorge Felix 5.jpg RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Pawtucket 6 Box Score Scott Diamond’s last start was at least somewhat encouraging. On Saturday, things did not go well for him. He gave up six runs on nine hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out three. His ERA is back above ten at 10.35. He was replaced by Edgar Ibarra who didn’t allow a run in 1.2 innings despite giving up three hits and walking two. AJ Achter came on and struck out two of the four batters he faced and got out. Ryan Pressly came in for the ninth inning and gave up three runs on two hits and two walks. He did strike out two batters. Oswaldo Arcia made his first rehab appearance, DH'ing and batting fifth. He batted three times and went 3-3, all singles. Danny Santana went 3-5 with his seventh double. Doug Bernier went 2-5 with his fifth double. He’s hitting .380. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with a walk. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 – New Britain 5, Richmond 4 Box Score If you look at Sean Gilmartin’s line in this game, it doesn’t look that great. The lefty was charged with four runs on six hits in 6.2 innings. He walked one and hit one batter. He struck out seven. However, into the seventh inning, he had given up just one run on four hits (and the hit batter). In that final inning, he gave up a hit and a walk before giving up a three-run homer to Tyler Graham that cut the Rock Cats lead to 5-4. Lester Oliveros came on and hit the first batter he faced on an 0-2 count. Oliveros then threw to first in a pickoff attempt, but the ball was thrown wide and the potential game-tying runner advanced to third base. On the next batter, Brandon Waring made a lunging backhand catch at third base and used his strong arm to get the runner at first in a close play to finish off the win. The Rock Cats plated two runs in the third and two more runs in the fourth inning. In the top of the 7th inning, AJ Pettersen had a leadoff bunt single. He stole second, and with two outs, Nate Hanson singled him in to give the Rock Cats a 5-1 lead. It proved to be a very big insurance run. Kennys Vargas went 3-4 with a double and an RBI. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with his second homer of the year. Nate Hanson drove in two runs. Game 2 – New Britain 2, Richmond 5 Box Score Pat Dean was charged with five runs in five innings, but only one of the runs was earned. He gave up eight hits, walked two and struck out four. He gave up three runs in the second inning. He went out for the sixth inning and was charged with two more in that inning. Cole Johnson got the three outs in the sixth inning. He walked one and struck out two. The Rock Cats had just four hits in the game. Kennys Vargas hit his third home run, a two-run shot that made the score 3-2 in the top of the sixth. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Palm Beach 9 Box Score David Hurlbut made his second start since replacing Mason Melotakis in the rotation. He went five innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three. Tim Shibuya came in for the sixth inning. It was a rough one. He gave up six runs on eight hits and a walk. Brian Gilbert pitched two innings. He walked three but gave up no runs or hits. Steven Gruver pitched the ninth. He gave up one run on two hits. The Miracle were shut out through the first eight innings. They scored four runs in the ninth frame. Adam Walker went 2-4 with his fifth home run. In his return to the Florida State League, Aderlin Mejia went 2-3 with a walk. Dalton Hicks hit a two-run double in the ninth inning as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 6 Box Score Felix Jorge started for the Kernels and was very good. However, things got very interesting late, but Hudson Boyd was able to close the door and secure a Kernels win. They are now back over .500 at 11-10 on the season. Jorge went the first six innings and gave up two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out five. Josue Montanez pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He came out for the eighth and gave up two runs. He left the game with runners at first and third and nobody out. Hudson Boyd came in and got two outs before issuing a walk to load the bases. He gave up a two-run single to cut the lead to one, but he got the final out of that inning. He had one base runner in the ninth, but was able to record the save. Zack Larson led the offense. He went 4-5 with his eighth and ninth double. He drove in two runs. Tanner Vavra went 2-5 with his fifth double. Mitch Garver was 2-4 with a walk. Ivory Thomas had a single and a walk in his first Kernels game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Kennys Vargas, New Britain Rock Cats SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Charlotte @ Rochester (12:05 CST) – Logan Darnell (Listen) New Britain @ Richmond (12:35 CST) – Virgil Vasquez (Listen) Palm Beach @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) – Alex Wimmers (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (2:00 CST) – Aaron Slegers (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Saturday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins win over the Detroit Tigers on Saturday, ion Sunday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. Click here to view the article

By Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins, and all other major league teams) will need to submit their 40 man rosters. The Twins current 40 man consists of 36 players, 19 pitchers and 17 position players. Since season’s end we have seen several removed from the 40 man roster, such as Clete Thomas (Phillies) and Pedro Hernandez (Rockies) who have signed with other teams and Doug Bernier who remained with the Twins. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins have also added RHP Duke Welker and LHP Edgar Ibarra before he could become a minor league free agent. There are several players on the current 40 man roster who you or I may believe could come off, but they are there for a reason. You see, the players who get added to the 40 man on Wednesday can’t be removed until at least spring training. If the Twins were to sign a couple free agents, they need to be able to make room for them on the roster. So there are players on the 40 man roster who may not feel real comfortable until they get to spring training. Of course, as they have in the last three seasons, the Twins may also choose to make a Rule 5 selection. Last year they added Ryan Pressly and three years ago it was Scott Diamond. Both have already exceeded the results of most Rule 5 picks. If the Twins want to make a Rule 5 pick this year they must have fewer than 39 on the roster. Download attachment: Jorge Polanco 3.jpg Photo by Tim Gale So, who is eligible for the Rule 5 draft? Players who signed at age 18 or younger during the 2009 season or players who signed at age 19 or older in 2010. Jorge Polanco signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old in July of 2009, so he is eligible. Miguel Sano signed as a 16-year-old, after the season, in October of 2009, so he is not eligible--the Twins could add him, but it would make no sense. Here are some others who could be added to the 40 man on Wednesday. Most likely no more than two or three will be added. Jorge Polanco – Played in Cedar Rapids in 2013, primarily playing second base, but getting time at shortstop when Niko Goodrum was injured. He’s very talented and continues to improve. He appears to be the biggest lock to be added. Max Kepler – After an elbow injury the first half, he played for Cedar Rapids in the second half, spending time in left field, center field and at first base. He’s got good power and at 6-4 and 220 pounds is very athletic and has immense potential. He is probably the second most likely to be added. Alex Wimmers – The Twins first round pick in 2010 out of Ohio State where he was back-to-back Big 10 Pitcher of the Year. Unfortunately, he has not pitched much or well since signing and he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery in 2013. That said, his first round pedigree makes him a possible add. Logan Darnell – 6th round pick in 2010 out of Kentucky. The lefty has worked his way up the system with a solid three-pitch mix. He is a very aggressive starter, looking to get outs quickly. Kennys Vargas – The first baseman from Puerto Rico looks like former Twin David Ortiz. He is long and not real swift, but he can hit and he has tremendous power. He spent 2013 in Ft. Myers. AJ Achter – The right-hander was the Twins 46th round pick in 2010 out of Michigan State. Since moving to the bullpen in 2012, he has performed better than any other reliever in the Twins farm system. He pitched in New Britain and Rochester during the season and ended the year with a stint in the Arizona Fall League. There are others who are interesting and also eligible for the Rule 5 draft if not protected. Here is a list of all eligible players, courtesy of the Twins Daily Rosters & Payroll page. LHP - Pat Dean, Aaron Thompson, Ryan O’Rourke, Jose Gonzalez, Chad Rodgers, Hein Robb, RHP - Lester Oliveros, Adrian Salcedo, Dakota Watts, Deolis Guerra, Virgil Vazquez, Tim Atherton, Mark Hamburger, Matt Hauser, Dallas Gallant, OF - Mike Kvasnicka, Daniel Ortiz, Wilkin Ramirez, Jermaine Mitchell, Evan Bigley, Lance Ray, Nate Roberts, Romy Jimenez, Adonis Pacheco, IF – Doug Bernier, James Beresford, Deibinson Romero, Jason Bartlett, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Nate Hanson, Brad Boyer, Andy Leer, Michael Gonzales, Rory Rhodes, Jonatan Hinojosa, C – Dan Rohlfing, Jairo Rodriguez, Kyle Knudson, Michael Quesada. So, there you have a look at the players the Twins will need to protect on their 40 man roster by Wednesday afternoon or risk losing in the Rule 5 draft. Who do you think will be added? Who do you think could be lost if not protected? Tonight at 8:30, Hangout with Jeremy Nygaard and myself on YouTube for our weekend Twins Talk. You can interact by asking questions. Tonight, we’ll be discussing the 40 man roster as well as any Twins rumors of the day and week. Join us here. We'll also take your questions. Click here to view the article

On Wednesday night, Twins catcher Joe Mauer was presented the American League Silver Slugger Award for catcher. He had previously won the award in 2006, 2008, 2009 and 2010. Joe Mauer played in 113 games for the Twins in 2013. He hit .324/.404/.476 (.880). That represents an OPS+ of 144. He hit 35 doubles, 11 homers, drove in 47 RBI. He also walked 61 times. Carlos Santana was the next highest OPS for an AL catcher, at .832. Even with missing the final five or six weeks, Mauer's WAR of 5.4 was a point higher than Santana's 4.4. Salvador Perez was at 4.1 WAR. With his fifth Silver Slugger, only Mike Piazza (10), Ivan Rodriguez (7) and Lance Parrish (6) have more... Brian McCann, Gary Carter and Jorge Posada each have won five as well. Former Twins that have won the 2013 Silver Slugger Award include: David Ortiz, Torii Hunter, JJ Hardy and Michael Cuddyer. Download attachment: Joe Mauer SS.jpg Photo by Betsy Bissen Click here to view the article