Seth Stohs

Two weeks ago, Adam Walker was one of four Ft. Myers Miracle players named to the Florida State League All-Star team. It proved to be quite the weekend performance by the powerful prospect. First, Walker put on a tremendous show for the crowd with a incredible performance in the home run derby. He followed that up by going 3-4 with a double and a home run in the All-Star Game itself. He was named the MVP. While Walker may be an imperfect prospect, he has some traits that make him one of the most intriguing prospects in the Minnesota Twins minor league system. Download attachment: abwalkerbat.jpg photo from news-press.com However, let's start with the All-Star performance. It meant a lot to Walker to be named an All-Star, and he enjoyed the weekend. "It was definitely an honor to be selected as an All-Star this year. I had a little bit of a rough start, so to be able to come back and still be selected was a great feeling me. Its nice to know others liked the way I played the game. Its definitely an awesome feeling." He continued, "It's a great experience to be able to play in the game. You are out there with the best players in the league. You get to know other players and make friends while you're there. After the game, being selected as the MVP is just another honor to me. I was able to get a couple hits and played right field. The whole weekend was a great time." As impressive as his performance was in the All-Star Game, he made a name for himself with his performance in the Home Run Derby. It was another experience he truly enjoyed. "For me being able to be in the home run derby was awesome. Its always fun when you get to step into the box and go hit some home runs. I love winning. So going into it, I wanted to win, of course, but I wanted to have some fun and enjoy the experience. When I was able to come out on top at the end, I was pretty pumped up. Having all my teammates and the fans cheering for me and supporting me was a great feeling." A couple of his Miracle teammates were on hand to watch Walker's power display. LHP David Hurlbut earned an All-Star Game berth. He was 3-3 with a 2.05 ERA in the season's first half. He said of the evening, "Adam's performance at the Home Run Derby was like a crescendo of power. He effortlessly hit home run after home run in the beginning, but as time ran down, he really started to show his power. The crowd reacted with gasps, increasing in volume with each swing. His last few home runs were the most impressive. One ball went over the net that stood 20 feet beyond the left field wall, another on top of the overhang for the stands in left, and finally on top of the batter's eye in center field. At the end, the entire team jokingly bowed and yelled 'We aren't worthy!' It was an impressive performance." Brett Lee, a left-handed starter with the Miracle, was also an All-Star. Before the All -Star game, he was 5-1 with a 2.36 ERA. He was also in awe of Walker's power. He said, "It was definitely something I've never seen before! Someone with that much power to hit the ball like that isn't human! I already knew what to expect playing on his team the past few years, and he started off hitting the ball hard! But when the guy said he had 15 seconds left, Walker unleashed everything! I've never seen someone swing that hard! The last five balls he hit were absolute blasts! The last ball he hit disappeared in the sky! What made it even better was that the people in the stadium were going crazy! He put on a light show for everyone!" Moving to the Florida State League has certainly been challenging for Adam Walker. On the season, he is hitting .241/.293/.434 (.727). However, his 18 homers are six more than anyone else in the league, and his 64 RBI are seven more than anyone in the league. Walker has noticed some of the differences in pitching between the Midwest League and the Florida State League. "I think the difference in the pitchers you see from the Midwest League to this league is not a huge. It's not like every pitcher is throwing a lot harder, but I think they are more consistent at throwing more pitches for strikes. I have noticed the pitchers are doing a better job of attacking the strike zone but can do it with their secondary pitches. There aren't many times when I get the generic game plan of: throw a first pitch fastball for a strike and go to your off- speed with two strikes. They have pitched backwards more and usually use the fastball as a show pitch to set up another pitch. I just need to make sure when I do get pitches to hit I don't miss them." Therein lies the area of Walker's game that needs improvement: contact. In 346 plate appearances, he has struck out 95 times (27%). His walk rate this year is right around 7% after finishing at 5.6% a year ago. Twins Director of Minor League Operations, Brad Steil, talked briefly about the contact concerns. "We understand there is a trade-off between power and strikeouts, so I’m not sure concern is the right terminology. While we’re looking for improvement in those areas, a key for him is being aggressive to the fastball. As he gains more experience, we expect that the selectivity and discipline will improve." Walker is not a guy who looks at his stats much. Coming into the season, he didn't formalize any numerical goals for himself, but he did have several things he wanted to accomplish this season. He said, "I didn't make any goals about my stats being at a certain spot. I try not to worry about my stats, but I just wanted to make sure I was improving my game. I wanted to become a better outfielder and to become a better hitter. I know I have power but I wanted to work on becoming a better overall hitter. That is something I have been working on with the coaches. Making sure I am swinging at good pitches and having more consistent quality at-bats. If I start doing that more, the power numbers will be there." Regarding Walker's defense, Steil said that he's improving, but still has room to grow. "I think it’s still a work in progress. He’s definitely a good athlete for his size, and it’s something he works at, but it’s also not something that comes easy for him." One thing that Walker has been able to do is come up with huge, clutch hits. In Elizabethton, his three-run homer in the 9th inning of the Appy League Championship final game sent it to extra innings (where Dalton Hicks' grand slam won it). Last year, Hicks led minor league baseball with 110 RBI. Walker had 109. This year, he again has performed incredibly well in clutch situations. With runners in scoring position, he has hit .276/.336/.581 (.917) with ten home runs. He has added three grand slams already this year. According to Walker, he just really enjoys being the guy who comes to the plate in this types of situations. Download attachment: Adam Walker close.jpg "I love hitting with runners in scoring position because I know if I can score them it's going to help the team win. I try to make sure when I have free RBIs with runners on third with less than two outs, I put the ball in play and score the run. That is the easiest way to help your RBI total. We have done a good job of scoring runs this year and that shows our offense is doing well. You can't get RBIs if your teammates aren't getting on base in front of you. I love winning so I really take pride when I have opportunities to change the game. I've always wanted to be the guy that is up with the game on the line. I don't see many kids grow up dreaming of getting a base hit when your team is down by ten. Usually you always picture bases loaded, two outs in the bottom of the ninth, and you want to be that kid that gets the big hit to win the game. I love to have that feeling because when you can get those hits to score runs you are helping the team win and winning as always fun." According to Steil, "Some hitters have the ability to stay with their approach in RBI situations, whereas other guys might get anxious or over-aggressive and chase more. So it’s probably a combination of his mentality and the reality that pitchers don’t have as much leeway to pitch around him in those situations." Walker went to Milwaukee Lutheran High School before heading to Jacksonville University for three yeas of college ball. The Twins used their third round pick in the 2012 draft on him. He has strong family support and a strong faith that has helped him get to this point in his career. "I've grown up with a Christian background and as I've grown up, having that faith in Jesus Christ has helped me handle certain situations I've been through. I try to live a certain way and be a good person to show I'm a Christian through my actions. I am definitely not perfect but that relationship with God is important to me. My family is also very important to me. They all have been there for my whole life and made many sacrifices for me to be where I am now, and I am very grateful and blessed to have such a great family. I've been very lucky to have a family that can come watch me play a few times a year. I know there are other players that may never have their family there to watch them play. So I do appreciate my family for being so supportive of me and always believing in me. I wouldn't be where I am now if it wasn't for them. I love my family." So, what are his goals for the rest of the season? Walker said, "I think my goals for the second half are the same as the first half. I think I did a good job and have seen improvement defensively and offensively. I know there is still room for improvement so I just need to keep working on those parts of my game, and I think things will work out for me." Walker will not turn 23 until October. As you would expect from any player in the Florida State League, there are certainly areas where he needs to improve. However, Walker has all the tools to be an impact player in the big leagues. At 6-4 and 225 pounds, he's got the size and strength to be a great power hitter. He has some sneaky speed. He has a great attitude and strong makeup. Fans will need to show some patience, but there are reasons to be very excited about the future of Adam Walker. [/hr]Twins beat up Seattle last night, so on Thursday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com by using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

Each year, the Minnesota Twins (and every other big league team) invite several players to spring training who aren’t on the 40 man roster. Many of those guys are veteran minor leaguers, but this year the Twins brought in some of their better prospects. Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Alex Meyer, the team’s top three prospects, came to camp but were sent to minor league camp on Sunday. One of the other intriguing prospects who was invited to big league camp was catcher Stuart Turner. I had the opportunity to catch up with the backstop moments before he was tapped on the shoulder and asked to go to Ron Gardenhire’s office.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Stuart Turner was born and raised in Eunice, Louisiana, a town of just over 10,000 in central Louisiana. He said, “Everybody goes to the high school to play football, baseball, or basketball. It’s a community that everybody supports everybody, and I have a lot of love and support from back home and I’ll try to make those guys proud.” Turner lettered for three years in baseball in high school. He was an All-State player all three years. He then spent two years at LSU-Eunice where he was a two-year starter who led his team to a national championship. He was also the recipient of a Rawlings Gold Glove. Last year, he went to Ole Miss where he hit .374. The Twins made him their third round pick in 2013. Leading up to the draft, Turner chose not to think about it any more than necessary. “I just knew that I needed to play ball and help my team try to win a game and everything will take care of itself. God has blessed me with the spot I was drafted in and the opportunity I’ve been given. Just now I continue to play ball and see what I can do.” He was also named the recipient of the Johnny Bench Award, given each year to the top catcher in college baseball. (See video of him speaking after winning the award) Fellow Twins minor leaguer and 2013 draft pick Mitch Garver was also one of the final three nominees. “That whole experience. I just try to play ball and help the team with games. With the draft, I was blessed to be taken where I was taken. Same thing with that award. I was lucky enough to receive the nominations and lucky enough to win it. It’s just a blessing. Try to come in and help the team win and to play my best every day and let things fall where they fall.” Download attachment: Stuart Turner.jpg Turner is certainly known for his defense first and foremost, and he has had a lot of mentors to learn from throughout his years. He said, “I’ve been blessed to be with catchers my whole life. My high school coach was a catcher. In college, at Ole Miss, the three coaches (head coach and two assistants) were all catchers. Then to get to my first pro team (Elizabethton) and have Jeff Reed who was a 17 year catcher in the big leagues. It’s kind of like, God continues to bless me and put me in the right places and lead me the right way. I’m just very thankful for that. Reed did a wonderful job with hitters. At Instructs was when I got the most catching coaching from him because he was able to specifically work with the catchers. He was tremendous at what he did.” Upon being drafted, he went to play for the Elizabethton Twins. In 34 games with the E-Twins, he hit .264/.340/.380 (.721) with five doubles, three homes and 19 RBI. He felt that going to Elizabethton was a blessing for him in that it helped him adjust to the professional baseball game. “I’m from a small town, so going to Elizabethton was a little gift in disguise. Just not getting overwhelmed right away. The biggest adjustment was playing every day. Even though I wasn’t playing every day, you had to get to the field and get ready every day. I wasn’t used to that. It took some time to adjust to the wood bat, to not being in the lineup every day.” He also got to catch some pretty good pitchers at Elizabethton last year. “Jorge Felix and Yorman Landa, they pitched really well for us all year. It was fun to catch those guys. They work both sides of the plate. Then late in the year, Kohl Stewart and Stephen Gonsalves came up and, with those two guys out of high school, their maturity level was really encouraging. I think there’s great things to come for all of those guys. And out of the bullpen, there were plenty of arms that could knock down one, two, three, four innings if they have to. That whole staff was pretty special with the newer draftees, the high school guys, some of the older guys. Everybody just came together. The season didn’t go like we hoped it would, but when everything was clicking, that staff was one to be reckoned with.” It is pretty rare for the Twins to give a big league spring training invite to a draft pick from the previous season. However, teams need plenty of catchers in spring training because there are so many pitchers. Rob Antony discussed Turner before Sunday’s game. “Didn’t see a lot of him, but he lived up to his billing that he’s a really polished catcher, and that’s the reason we brought him up here. When you get to the last few guys and you bring in a few catchers, you want guys who will come in to catch bullpens, work hard and get good experience. He did exactly what we wanted.” Turner certainly enjoyed his time in big league camp and made a strong impression. He received his minor league invite before the holidays. “It was a week or two before Christmas. Terry Ryan gave me a call, and he told me they traded Ryan Doumit, and they were going to bring me in to help with some bullpens and stuff. Like I said, I’m just making the most of it.” Making the most of it means, in part, that he has been able to pick the brain of several catchers who have a lot of big league experience. “I see Kurt (Suzuki) doing some drills, and I ask him what is he working on, and he’ll tell me. Little things like that. Talking with Steiny (Terry Steinbach) about pitch selection. Just the other day, I made a bad pitch call. He came and talked to me about it and explained his thought process. It’s talking to those guys with the experience. It’s so much easier to get some knowledge.” Those are good things for Turner to pick up, and he clearly takes his role as a catcher very seriously. However, he also wants to go out and show that he is a good hitter and is willing to work to improve. “I’m a guy that takes a lot of pride in my defense and continue to work very hard on my hitting. That’s what I wanted to do (in big league camp). I wanted to show that I’m a good defensive catcher and show that I’m willing to work, put the extra work in the cages, off the tee, whatever it is. I’ll continue to do that on the other side and continue to do it all summer. That’s nothing different, but I wanted to do to show those guys that I was really willing to work.” Asked where he thinks he will begin 2014, his first full professional season, he said, “They’ll send me where they think I should be at, and we’ll go from there.” For what it’s worth, I think he will skip Cedar Rapids and jump up to Ft. Myers and play for the Miracle. However, with his skill set, he could be a fast riser. He won’t be overwhelmed. Turner is smart and understands that it’s all part of a bigger picture. As you can read, his faith is something that is very important to him. “My parents raised me to believe in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Without him, nothing would be possible and I thank him every day for it.” On Tuesday, Turner will report to minor league camp. However, he looks at his time in major league camp as very fruitful. “It’s been unbelievable. Being able to be here with these guys. The experience, the staff. Everybody’s been there and done that. Just being able to be here and experience it. Seeing how they go about their business is the biggest thing. Getting ready day in and day out.” Click here to view the article

Today in our preseason AL Central vote, we finish out the outfield with the rightfielders. Be sure to vote for your choice for "Which AL Central Right Fielder will have the best 2012?" Be sure to vote here. The Candidates (2011 stats) Minnesota Twins – Josh Willingham - .246/.332/.477 (.810) with 26-2B, 0-3B, 29-HR, 98 RBI Chicago White Sox – Alex Rios- .227/.265/.348 (.613) with 22-2B, 2-3B, 13-HR, 44 RBI Cleveland Indians – Shin-Soo Choo - .259/.344/.390 (.733) with 11-2B, 3-3B, 8-HR, 36 RBI Detroit Tigers – Brennan Boesch - .283/.341/.458 (.799) with 25-2B, 1-3B, 16-HR, 54 RBI Kansas City Royals – Jeff Francoeur - .285/.329/.476 (.805) with 47-2B, 4-3B, 20-HR, 87 RBI [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] SUMMARY The Twins lost Michael Cuddyer to free agency, but they picked up a pretty solid replacement. 33-year-old Willingham knows what it’s like to hit in a big, pitcher’s ballpark. His 29 home runs a year ago came with the Oakland A’s. He’s one of those guys who will hit a bunch of home runs, walk a bunch and strikeout a bunch, but he should provide major power in the middle of the Twins lineup. Alex Rios is one of the bigger enigmas in the game. He has a lot of talent and he has had some very strong seasons, but last year, he was back to being the bad Alex Rios. He didn’t get on base, didn’t have a lot of power and displayed very poor effort in the outfield. He’s running out of years on that massive contract and at 31, he could get another contract if he plays well. Choo missed a lot of time again in 2011, playing in just 85 games. When he’s healthy, the left-handed hitter can hit for average, get on base and hit for power. He will turn 30 in July. He also has a very strong arm in the outfield. Brennan Boesch played in 115 games in 2011. He put up solid numbers hitting either 2nd or at the bottom of the Tigers lineup. He does have good pop in his game and will turn just 27 years old in April. It will be interesting to see where he bats in the lineup this year. Jeff Francoeur often has a bad rep because he is very aggressive at the plate. In 2011, that was a very productive approach for the 28 year old. He won’t be a great on-base guy ever, but I think most teams would be happy with a right fielder (or any player) who has 71 extra base hits, stole 22 bases and plays a very solid right field with one of the best arm in the game. There is your information, now it is time to vote. Who will be the best right fielder in the AL Central in 2012? My choice? Download attachment: JoshWillingham.jpg Click here to view the article

Our Top 50 series continues today with a look at my choices for Minnesota Twins Prospects 16-20. There are certainly a few intriguing names on today's list. Again, at the bottom of today's segment, you will find links to the first six parts of this series. In the first part, I talked a bit about some of the things I look at in determining my prospect list. Enjoy today's installment of the Twins Top 50 prospect list, and be sure to start formulating your top 10, or top 20 or top whatever you like. Part 7: 16-20 In today's set of five prospects, you'll find some prospect that, if they take another step forward could become regulars in a lineup or in the middle of a big league staff. We have a shortstop who takes good at-bats and plays very solid defense. We have a couple right-handers that can hit 94-95 with their fastballs. We have a David Ortiz-clone (to some degree), and we have another one of my 2013 minor league award winners. Download attachment: Kennys Vargas fm.jpg -------------------------------------------------------------------- #20 – Niko Goodrum – SS (21) Goodrum was the Twins 2nd round pick in 2009, one of the many players in recent years to be drafted from a Georgia high school. Goodrum was long and lanky when the Twins drafted him. He’s listed at 6-3, but hard work last offseason put him over 200 pounds. Defensively, he is pretty smooth up the middle and has a good, accurate arm. Offensively, he puts together good at-bats. In 103 games for the Kernels, he hit .260/.364/.369 (.732), showing a very impressive walk rate. He had 22 doubled, four triples and four home runs, but he has the strength and frame to continue to add power. #19 – Taylor Rogers – LH SP (22) Rogers was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of the University of Kentucky. He signed quickly and spent a short time in Elizabethton before finishing the season in Beloit. He was the Cedar Rapids Kernels opening night starter this year, but three starts later, he was promoted to Ft. Myers where he was terrific. There, the lefty went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA. Rogers works quickly and efficiently, getting quick outs and eating a lot of innings. He had three complete games (2 shutouts) for the Miracle. That doesn’t count his nine shutout innings in his Miracle playoff start. He has a low 90s fastball and a good slider. He has good command. He was my choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. #18 – Fernando Romero – RH SP (18) Another GCL kid with a mid-90s fastball. Signed late in 2011 out of the Dominican Republic, Romero came to the States in 2013 and did well in the GCL. Overall, he went 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA in 45 innings split between six starts and six relief appearances. Most impressive, in his final four outings, he gave up just one earned run over 23.2 innings. Romero throws very hard, but he will need to work on secondary pitches. Another positive, when he debuted in the Dominican Summer league in 2012, he struck out 8.1 per nine, but he walked 4.1 per nine (in 31 innings). In 2013, he struck out 9.4 per nine and dropped his walk rate to 2.6 per nine. Hopefully those are numbers we can see more of as he moves forward. #17 – Ryan Eades – RH SP (21) If Eades weren’t a 2nd round pick, you might choose to look at his debut numbers in Elizabethton and be alarmed. In 10 relief appearances, he threw 15.2 innings and gave up 13 hits, walked 12 while striking out 13. Definitely not a typical top college pick debut in the rookie league. But consider, he went 8-1 with a 2.79 ERA over 17 starts at powerhouse LSU. He has the type of stuff that could develop into a front of the rotation starter. At 6-3 and 205 pounds, he throws a fastball that sits 91-93 but hits 95 at times. He has a very good breaking ball and a changeup that has a chance to be very good as well. Typically, he has shown very good control. He has a chance to be pretty good. And, if you’re looking for bonus reason for optimism, he is represented by Scott Boras, which means he must be pretty good, right? #16 – Kennys Vargas – 1B (23) Vargas is a big, happy-go-lucky individual who seems to really enjoy life and enjoy playing some ball. At 6-5, he is listed at 215 pounds, but my guess is you can add 40 to 50 pounds to that number. After seeing him in Beloit for a long series a year ago, the similarities between Vargas and his friend David Ortiz are stunning. They look alike, they have monster power, their walk/strut is the same, and Vargas points to the sky after touching home plate after home runs the same way that Ortiz does. I guess the negatives of that comparison are that they share similar foot speed and have similar amounts of “grace” around first base. Vargas put together a very solid season in Ft. Myers, really his first full season as a professional. In 125 games, he hit .267/.344/.468 (.813) with 33 doubles, one triple, 19 home runs and 93 RBI. He hits pretty well from both sides of the plate as well. Don’t get carried away. Don’t expect Vargas to become the next David Ortiz. But, I think he can get to the big leagues as a DH with some pop in his bat. ------------------------------------------------------------------ There was Part 7 of what will be a ten part series with my Top 50 Twins Prospects. Next week, we'll work through the Top 15 Twins prospects (in my opinion). 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 Click here to view the article

Following the Minnesota Twins’ 4-3 loss in Cleveland on Wednesday night, the team announced that Logan Darnell was being optioned to Rochester and former Twins reliever Matt Guerrier was being added to the 25 man roster. At the same time, they acknowledged that on Thursday the team will make the corresponding 40 man roster move to make room for the 35-year-old right-hander. Logan Darnell certainly made a strong impression in his major league debut on Tuesday night in Cleveland when he came out of the bullpen and threw three perfect innings. He even hit 95 MPH on the radar gun once or twice. He will return to the starting rotation in Rochester where he was named the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of April just last week. Guerrier made his major league debut with the Twins in 2004. He made two starts and seven relief appearances that year. He was a very solid, consistent performer out of the Twins bullpen through the 2010 season. In that time, he went 19-25 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. He pitched in long relief for two years before being given more high-leverage situations. His final four seasons with the Twins (2007-2010), he pitched in no less than 73 games. He led the league in games pitched in 2008 (76) and 2009 (79). He has pitched in 393 games for the Twins, which ranks fifth on the Twins all-time list. Download attachment: Matt Guerrier (2).jpg Following that 2010 season, Guerrier became a free agent and signed a three-year, $12 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. After throwing in 70 games in 2011, he pitched in just 16 games for the team in 2012. He pitched in 34 more games for the Dodgers in 2013 before being traded to the Cubs to end the season. Injuries caught up to him after all of those healthy years with the Twins. So, last offseason, the Twins signed Guerrier to a minor league contract. When he was not going to make the opening day roster, the team let him go. However, he agreed to re-sign with the Twins and go to the minor leagues. However, his opt-out date was May 8th, today. For those that haven't been following this, that is why this decision needed to be made. Let’s get back to the remaining question at hand. How will the Twins make room on the 40 man roster for Guerrier? In my mind, there a four to six players currently on the 40 man who could find their names on the transactions list on Thursday. Let’s take a look. Edgar Ibarra – The 25-year old lefty had a terrific 20013 season between the New Britain Rock Cats and the Rochester Red Wings. He is left-handed and he throws 93 to 95 mph. He also has a very good slider. That said, he missed most of spring training (which was his first with the big league club) because he had contracted hepatitis. He has pitched in just eight games for the Red Wings this season and has nine walks and eight strikeouts in 11 innings (to go with 15 hits allowed). If teams look at statistics, there is little chance that he would be claimed. If they look at scouting reports, it is possible he would be lost. Brooks Raley – The Twins claimed Brooks Raley as spring training was about to begin when the Cubs designated him for assignment. The left-hander, who spent limited time with the Cubs the last two seasons, was among the first round of cuts in spring training. He has pitched out of the Red Wings bullpen and just made his first start of the season. Again, he is left-handed and just 25. Eric Fryer – The catcher has split time this season with Dan Rohlfing in Rochester. He is best known as a defensive catcher. The man posted a 1.192 OPS with the Minnesota Twins in 2013… OK, I know it was in just six games and 16 plate appearances, but it was a nice showing. He has spent some time in the major leagues in 2011, 2012 and 2013, though I would be surprised if the 28 year old would be claimed if he were designated for assignment. Chris Herrmann – He is an athletic catcher, but his value to the Minnesota Twins this past month has been allowing Ron Gardenhire to play Josmil Pinto as the designated hitter most days. Herrmann can catch, but when he has played, it has been in the corner outfield spots. He could also play centerfield in a pinch. That said, he has not hit at all with the Twins this year. Though he has never been a big offensive threat, his defensive versatility does provide the team with options as the 25th man on the roster. Of course, he is currently on the Twins 25-man roster, so I think this is unlikely and it would necessitate another roster move. Kenny Wilson – The outfielder was recently claimed off waivers from the Toronto Blue Jays. Although he has not hit much at all since being drafted in the 2nd round out of high school, he does have a lot of tools. His best tool is his speed, but he is also quite strong and could still develop. He is currently the regular centerfielder for the New Britain Rock Cats. He is not about early-2014, and he has an option remaining, so he could be about late-2014 and beyond… although the Twins do have a pretty good centerfield prospect who could be ready by then as well. Josh Willingham – What? How does his name appear on this list, as he is a veteran at the end of a three-year, $18 million contract. Plus, he’s hurt, so they wouldn’t DFA him. No, they wouldn’t DFA him, however, he has not played since being hit by a pitch on April 6th and breaking a small bone in his wrist. Reports this past weekend indicated that he is progressing slowly in his rehab efforts. If the Twins put him on the 60 Day DL (retroactively), he would be eligible to return to the Twins on June 5. Could he be ready before then? If so, then maybe this doesn’t make sense. If he’s going to be anywhere near that June 5 deadline, then this is the move that makes the most sense. You don’t have to lose anybody at this time to add Guerrier and can move that decision back one month. To me, the choice it pretty simple. If Josh Willingham is still at least three weeks out, put him on the 60 Day DL. If they feel he will be back in the lineup within the next two weeks, then the decision becomes much more difficult. *Yes, it was intentional that I did not include Jared Burton or Pedro Florimon on this list of possibilities to be removed from the 40 man roster. Are other moves looming? How long will Danny Santana remain on the big league roster, sitting on the bench? How many consecutive days does Eduardo Nunez need to remain healthy before he is up? How about Oswaldo Arcia? Click here to view the article

Last night, Twins Daily had a small contingent attending the 2014 Diamond Awards. It was a fun night hanging out with John Bonnes, Jeremy Nygaard, Parker Hageman and the soon-to-be Mrs. Hageman. The Minnesota Twins, along with the University of Minnesota and the Twin Cities Chapter of the Baseball Writers of America, put on the event for the ninth year. It is a benefit for the University of Minnesota’s research and patient care focused on diseases such as ALS, Ataxia, Multiple Sclerosis, Muscular Dystrophy, and Parkinson’s Disease.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Target Field Snow.jpg Play Ball!! It was such a fun night filled with great stories from emcee Dick Bremer, award winners, front office and a couple of the new Twins. Target Field opened at 5:30, and there was a social hour (or hour and a half, I guess) during which time there was a silent auction with some terrific items donated by the local teams and some restaurants and more. At 7, the dinner and program began. It was a nice dinner, but of course, the big event was the awards ceremony. The first award of the night went to Andrew Albers, who was the recipient of the Jim Rantz Award, given to the Twins minor league pitcher of the year. Terry Ryan introduced him and spoke highly of the lefty. He acknowledged concerns about signing him originally, not because of his stuff, but because of his injury history and the Tommy John surgery. He also mentioned that a team from Korea was trying to sign Albers, but that the Twins would help facilitate it. Albers came up and spoke. He comedically told his remarkable story of how he came to the Twins. He spoke so highly of the Twins and mentioned several times just how grateful he was to the organization for the opportunities they presented him. Next, Terry Ryan introduced the winner of the Sherry Robertson Awards for the Twins minor league player of the year. The award went to Byron Buxton. Now, Terry Ryan is not one to launch superlatives real readily, but he spoke glowingly on Buxton. He talked about his tools, but he also talked about the person that he is. He mentioned that he has a “Fire in his belly” and is the type of person and player that teams really want to have in their organization. Buxton is very quiet and very humble. He did talk about having been in track, so “I’m pretty fast.” That would be an understatement. Next, Joe Mauer came up to the stage. Over the speakers, we heard, “Coming up to present the Carl R. Pohlad Award for Outstanding Community Service, Twins first baseman, Joe Mauer.” Mauer said, “That sounds a little funny!” Perkins came up to accept the community service award, and was very appreciative. Despite also winning his second Pitcher of the Year award, he said that being given the community service award meant so much more to him. He said that it is instilled on players to be great in the community, that it’s not just what you do on the field but also off the field. Perkins has certainly done that and was very deserving of the award. Ron Gardenhire came up and introduced former Twins player, coach and manager Frank Quilici as the Kirby Puckett Alumni Community Service Award recipient. Quilici talked about how he grew up in Chicago and was a White Sox fan. However, “The White Sox didn’t draft me. The Twins did.” He has been a great ambassador for Twins baseball since his managerial days. He is active in fantasy camps and is at Twins Fest every year. He talked about his father remaining a White Sox fan even when Frank played for the Twins. His mother used to get upset at his father because he wasn’t a Twins fan, he was a White Sox fan. Frank’s father would say, “What? I hope that Frank gets two hits… and the White Sox win!” Though his name may not be as well-known as his brother Dave, Steve Winfield has contributed to baseball in the Twin Cities for almost a half-century. He has played, been an official in the Minnesota State High School League and he continues to be a coach in the RBI League. He was awarded the Play Ball! Minnesota Terry Ryan award as a “Friend of the Game.” During the social hour, I was talking to Darren Wolfson and Steve Winfield came over to talk to him. He also shook my hand as we were introduced. Now, we so often hear or read about the handshake of Adrian Peterson. If it’s any stronger than Steve Winfield’s handshake, I’m surprised there haven’t been stories of broken bones. Caleb Thielbar was introduced to the audience as the Boll Boni Award recipient as the Twins Outstanding Rookie. The Randolph, MN, native is very quiet, very humble. He did a nice job of speaking. At one point, he said, “It’s hard to imagine when I was over in St. Paul (playing for the Saints), that I’d be in this league much less on this stage.” Rhett Bollinger of twinsbaseball.com went to the stage and introduced Brian Dozier as a double award winner. Dozier was named the Charles O. Johnson Award winner as the Twins most improved player and the Mike Augustin Media Good Guy Award recipient. Dozier does a great job as a speaker He credited the Twins and specifically Gardy and Joe Vavra for helping him through the transition to second base. However, the highlight of his segment came when Dick Bremer asked him about any adjustments he hopes to make in 2014. Dozier said that he’s already had to make a big adjustment. He got married two weeks ago to his girlfriend of six years. He joked that he’s learned more in the last two weeks than he did in the previous six years. He also said, “I didn’t know that putting a dirty dish in the dishwasher could go so far!” Though he is no longer with the Twins, Justin Morneau was given the Bob Allison Award for leadership. He was out of town and unable to attend, but he did leave a video thanking the Twins and the fans for the award. Bremer asked Terry Ryan and Ron Gardenhire to come to the stage to talk about the offseason. The first questions to the two were about the decision for Gardy to come back. Ryan said that there are a lot of traits that you look for in a manager, and the Gardenhire has those traits. Ryan acknowledged, “I put him through a lot.” It was an indication of Ryan putting the blame for last season on himself. Gardy accepts responsibility for the losses. As much as he didn’t have the players, he never said that. He wants to win, and he’s done it before. He wants to be part of doing it again and sees the team as being very close to getting there again. Ryan talked about the need to go get pitching, and that they have addressed that. He believes that if the team gets better starting pitching, it will help the other aspects of the game. When asked about the decision to move Joe Mauer to first base, Gardy’s humor came out. “We are going to have the best looking first baseman and the best looking second baseman in the league. We’ll have all the chicks at the ballpark!” Brian Kraft is the chairman of the 2014 Diamond Awards. He has ataxia. He came to the stage, with his father whose ataxia is advanced. He spoke well about the advancements that have been made. He provided the illustration that his doctor gave him. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack, but we don’t know where the haystack is. 20 years ago, they found the haystack, and more recently, they think they may have found the needle. However, so much more work and research and testing needs to be done. The Jim Kaat Award was first presented a year ago (to Ben Revere). This year, shortstop Pedro Florimon was given the award. He came to the stage and talked about how, growing up in the Dominican, all he wanted to do was play baseball. He also talked about how it was about 90 degrees right now in the Dominican Republic, and he definitely likes warmth. Jordan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals is from the very small town of Auburndale, Wisconsin. After going 19-9 with a 3.25 ERA in over 213 innings in 2013, he was named the winner of the Dick Siebert Award for Upper Midwest Player of the Year. He was unable to attend. Ricky Nolasco and Phil Hughes came to the stage. They both talked about the opportunity that they feel they have with the Twins, to help bring things back to where they need to be. They’re both excited about the opportunity. When asked what pitches they throw, Ricky Nolasco talked about throwing the kitchen sink at the hitters. Fastball, slider, he tries to sink the ball. He wants to pick up on what the hitter is doing. Hughes said that he is a fastball pitcher. He said that he wants to work quickly and throw a lot of strikes. He said, “Sometimes you miss bats… and sometimes it gets hit a long ways!” Hughes deprecating humor played very well with the audience. In chatting with Bonnes and the Star-Tribune’s Phil Miller later, we wondered how that form of a humor might work in New York. The writers there might go after that. For me, I enjoy self-deprecation. Glen Perkins received his second award (Pitcher of the Year), and then Joe Mauer was given his third Calvin Griffith Award as the Most Valuable Twin. The highlight of the evening was saved for last. Rod Carew came to the podium to present Tony Oliva with the Herb Carneal Lifetime Achievement Award. A video showed all that Oliva has done on the ball field with the Twins, and all that he has done in the community. The list was long, and most likely, was not complete. Carew spoke of the Twins work in the community and all Oliva and others do, but he spoke passionately about his friend Tony Oliva. The two were roommates for ten years. Carew said that he used to lay awake at night, listening to Oliva cry because of the pain that he had in his knees. He talked about listening to Oliva struggle to walk, slowly, down the hall to get ice. He marveled at how Oliva would show up at the ballpark each day and hit line drives all over the field. He said, “We don’t call each other by our names, Rod and Tony, so come up to the stage, “Roomie.” And then Oliva put on a show for the crowd. The man is an incredible story teller. He talked about how he continues to go on the Twins Winter Caravan. However, he sees some of the young guys who are on the caravan, and he thinks that they need to do what he did. He said, “When I was young, 1964, 1965, I would go to Jamestown, North Dakota, and it would be 81 degrees below zero, wind chill.” He later confided, “This is a true story. When you’re Spanish, sometimes you lie a little bit.” Telling a story about when Carew was once batting against Nolan Ryan (then with the Angels), and “Nolan Ryan threw like 100 to 120 miles per hour.” He went on to act out how Carew’s stance against Ryan was different than normal so that he could get out of the way. In one case, Ryan threw a ball behind Carew’s back. At that point, Carew looked over at Oliva in the on-deck box and said, “Hey Roomie, I think that ball went right through me.” As the crowd at Target Field laughed, Oliva went on to say that Nolan Ryan was laughing out loud as well. In summary, it was a great night at Target Field. It was great to be rubbing elbows and shaking hands with many in and around the Twins organization. It was a nice dinner, and a very special program. Over the years, the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center and the University of Minnesota have raised more than $8 million in their 20 years. If you are interested in contributing and learning more about this program, click here. Next up, Twins Fest! It will be held for the first time at Target Field starting tonight. One of the big talkers at the Diamond Awards was how it would go at Target Field. The logistics will make it quite interesting! However, it is a great event that supports the Twins Community Fund which has done so much in Twins territory to help youth baseball and support other worthy programs. As I understand, there are still tickets available for both Friday and Sunday. And, maybe we will see many of you at the Twins Daily Winter Meltdown on Saturday night. It will be a fun night! Click here to view the article

I posted the June Starting Pitcher of the Month last week, and this week JO Berrios was promoted to the New Britain Rock Cats. Tonight, I'll be posting the June Hitter of the Month. There are a lot of very good candidates. It made for a very difficult decision. With All-Star games and some promotions, it can be a month with difficult decisions.. Some guys have fewer plate appearances, and that has to factor into the thinking as well. So, we'll start with the Honorable Mentions and then get to the Top 5. HONORABLE MENTION Chris Herrmann - Rochester - 14-50 (.280/.339/.460 (.799)) with 5-2B, 2-3B, 6 RBI.Deibinson Romero - Rochester - 29-98 (.296/.379/.490 (.869)) with 8-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 14 RBI.Kennys Vargas - New Britain - 27-99 (.273/.342/.475 (.817)) with 2-2B, 6-HR, 21 RBI.Jorge Polanco - Ft. Myers - 28-92 (.304/.381/.435 (.816)) with 4-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 10 RBI - and he made his major league debut.Stuart Turner - Ft. Myers- 17-58 (.293/.397/.534 (.932)) with 3-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 11 RBI.Nate Hanson - currently in Rochester- 25-79 (.316/.426/.405 (.831)) with 4-2B, 1-HR, 11-RBILet's get to the Top 5: #5 - Mitch Garver - Cedar Rapids - 20-58 (.345/.479/.517 (.997)) with 4 doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. The Twins ninth round pick in 2013 out of the University of New Mexico has had a very solid season with the Kernels. He was the Hitter of the Month in April. He cooled off some in May, but he was very good in June. His month ended early when a foul tip gave him six stitches to the chin, and a concussion. Garver is solid behind the plate and provides good all-around offense at the plate. #4 - Chris Colabello - Rochester - 32-108 (.296/.377/.481 (.859)) with 8 doubles, 4 homers and 20 RBI. Colabello was one of the best stories in baseball in April when he set the Twins record for most RBI in April. However, he really struggled in May and was sent back to Rochester. It took him a couple of weeks to get back into the swing of things, but he eventually did, and when he did, he crushed the ball again. In doing so, he earned himself a return trip to the big leagues where he has hit well again. #3 - Mike Kvasnicka - New Britain - 29-79 (.367/.405/.519 (.924)) with 6 doubles, 2 homers and 17 RBI. The former Gopher was a former first-round pick of the Houston Astros. He came to the Twins during spring training a year ago and immediately broke his hamate bone and miss much of last season. When he returned, he showed good power for the Miracle. It took Kvasnicka a while to get going in his AA debut this year but in the last month he has really hit the ball well. #2 - Chad Christensen - Cedar Rapids - 27-89 (.303/.373/.528 (.901) with 4 doubles, 2 triples four homers and 22 RBI. The Cedar Rapids native was the Twins 25th round pick last year out of the University of Nebraska. With the Kernels this year, he has been a consistent performer through much of the season. It's more impressive when you realize that he has played almost everywhere on the diamond to this point. In June, he put together a strong month. He has a strong build, but he also leads the organization in stolen bases. Some pretty solid performances, but this month's Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month was a fairly easy choice. http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=8146&stc=1 #1 - Reynaldo Rodriguez - New Britain - 32-103 (.311/.339/.583 (.922)) with 8 doubles, 1 triple, 6 homers and 18 RBI. Back for his second season with the Twins, the minor league veteran returned to New Britain. After playing first base during the 2013 season, he was moved to the outfield in 2014. The shift has not altered his overall production as he has hit very well again. Teaming with Kennys Vargas, they have provided a strong, powerful punch in the middle of the Rock Cats lineup. JO Berrios was promoted after being named the June Starting Pitcher of the Month. Could Rodriguez finally get moved up to Rochester? Feel free to comment on Rodriguez and the other starting pitchers highlighted this month. Click here to view the article

How many times each game or each week do we watch a catcher take a foul-tip off the chest protector or the shoulder? How often do we see the catcher or umpire get hit in his face mask? Often, the batter, catcher and umpire will get a good chuckle out of it. The announcers will joke about how it’s been a tough game for the catcher, he’s getting dinged up, or something to make it seem comical. On August 19, the Minnesota Twins hosted the New York Mets in a make-up game at Target Field. In the game, Twins catcher Joe Mauer took several foul tips off the face mask. The cumulative effects of foul tips finally reached a point where it was no longer funny.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Mauer was put on the 7-day concussion disabled list after attempting to play the next day. Seven days later, reports came that Mauer was doing better, but that he would not be coming off the DL on the eighth day. Seemingly weekly, fans were told he was continuing to make progress, but he was having good days and bad days. Twins fans started to think that this sounded a little too familiar to reports about Justin Morneau in 2010, or Denard Span in 2011. Earlier in the 2013 season, Trevor Plouffe and Ryan Doumit had already spent time on the 7-day concussion DL. Twins fans have become skeptical when it comes to reports coming from the Twins medical staff, and often for good reasons. However, in this case, such thoughts were unfair. Aaron Gleeman said it over a year ago, and it rings true more and more with each concussion situation: maybe fans, media and others would talk or write about concussion differently if we called it what it is, a brain injury. There is no way to know how any individual’s brain will react and respond to the trauma. Finally, on September 23, five weeks after going on the DL, the Twins announced that Mauer would not return to the playing field in 2013. He was being shut down. Nick Nelson wrote the next day that Mauer’s catching days should be behind him. After much speculation about what the Twins and Mauer should do, on November 11, the Twins and Mauer announced that he would be moving to first base full time. In fact, he won’t even bring a catcher’s mitt to spring training. By making the decision official very early in the offseason, it allowed the Twins to plan accordingly. Of course, we all realize that players can get hurt anywhere. Catchers are not the only ones who get hurt or are affected by concussions. First baseman Justin Morneau suffered his concussion sliding into second base in an attempt to break up a double play. Like Morneau, Trevor Plouffe’s concussion came when he was kneed in the head on the base paths. However, in 2013, many MLB catchers missed time on the concussion DL after being hit by foul tips. Moving to first base eliminates the frequent foul tips. Joe Mauer is arguably the best offensive catcher in baseball. He has tremendous value as a catcher as shown by a 5.4 bWAR and a 5.2 fWAR. As a first baseman his WAR will likely drop simply because there are more power-hitting first sackers than catchers. However, even if his numbers stay about the same, he will still be one of the better offensive first baseman in the game. Download attachment: Joe Mauer Big Swing.jpg photo by Betsy Bissen Importantly, playing first base should allow him to play more games. Instead of playing 130 to 140 games primarily at catcher, he should be able to play 150 to 160 games as a first baseman. An extra 20 games means an extra 80 to 100 plate appearances, and I can’t help but think that will help the Twins offense. As a 30-year-old catcher in 2013, Mauer hit .324/.404/.476 (.880) with 35 doubles and 11 home runs. Compare that to the numbers he has put up over his ten big league seasons, .323/.405/.468 (.873). Some may argue, but I am of the opinion that Joe Mauer is already a lock for baseball’s Hall of Fame. Certainly if he can put up some quality numbers for just a few more seasons, it would increase his chances of going in on the first ballot. Of course, by Mauer moving to first base, the hope is to extend his career and the number of effective years he can have. Very few catchers in baseball history have hit .300. Even the best catchers in baseball history have typically played other positions as they aged beyond 30. Johnny Bench played third base. Yogi Berra played some left field. A catcher with the incredible durability behind the plate like Ivan Rodriguez is very, very rare. So, it is likely Mauer would have moved from catcher sometime within the next couple years. Rather than wait for one more foul tip to jar his brain again and force the move, or even end his career, the Twins and Mauer wisely decided to be proactive and make the move now. More important than the baseball side of things, Mauer became the father of twin girls during the season. Let’s not forget that finding ways to avoid more concussions (or, brain injuries) will help his quality of life as he grows older which is so important for his family. When it comes to major stories of 2013 for the Minnesota Twins, the decision for Joe Mauer to move to first base is certainly one of the biggest. One of baseball’s best players switching position is one thing. Another is that baseball has added the 7-day concussion disabled list and other measures so as to be more cautious with this type of injury. These steps should be positive for the game and its players. Finally, the decision was the first of the Twins offseason moves, the timing of which was important because it allowed them to time to plan for its implementation. Soon, you will see the final top story in the Twins Daily Top 13 Twins Stories of 2013 series. If you would like to look back on any of the other stories, they are linked to below. Please feel free to comment on this and any of the previous stories. #13 – Twins in the WBC #12 – Drew Butera Traded to Dodgers #11 – Twins Sign Kubel, Trade Doumit #10 - Brian Dozier Breaks Through #9 - Kyle Gibson Promoted #8 - Aaron Hicks' Lost Year #7 – Twins Draft Kohl Stewart #6 – Justin Morneau Traded to Pirates #5 – Twins Dismal Starting Pitching #4 – Buxton and Sano Dominate Minors #3 – Twins Spend on Free Agents #2 – Joe Mauer Moves to First Base Click here to view the article

Several minutes after the 3:00 central time trade deadline, reports trickled in that the Minnesota Twins had traded catcher Drew Butera to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The reports indicate that the Twins will receive the ever-popular Player to be Named Later. As of now, that will mean the Twins have opened up a spot on their 40 man roster. The Twins were unable to complete any other trades before the July 31 deadline passed. I have a feeling that the Twins will be more busy in August. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In the coming days, and throughout August, the Twins and other teams will place many (most?) of their players on waivers. Players who pass through waivers can still be traded. Back to Butera-- although he proved he can't hit enough to be a starting catcher, his defense was terrific. He'll likely fill a similar role with the talented Dodgers team. View full article

One week from today, the Minnesota Twins will be in Chicago, ready to take on the White Sox on Opening Day. This Monday morning was a difficult one for many in the Twins clubhouse as another round of roster cuts sent ten players to minor league camp. Matt Guerrier was given his unconditional release and is now a free agent. Chris Herrmann, Michael Tonkin, and Ryan Pressly were optioned. Meanwhile, Matt Hoffman, Aaron Thompson, Deolis Guerra, Deibinson Romero, Doug Bernier, and Wilkin Ramirez were reassigned to minor league camp. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: Herrmann USPresswire.jpg The team is now down to 29 players in big league camp including three non-roster players (Dan Rohlfing, Jason Kubel and Jason Bartlett). Rohlfing is again around as an extra catcher until right before Opening Day, as he was a year ago. Jason Kubel appears to be a lock for the roster. Meanwhile, Jason Bartlett remains in camp despite some rough offensive numbers. This, to me, isn't about him being the utility infielder. It would appear that Eduardo Escobar has that locked up. I can't help but wonder if the Twins might view him as a possible backup centerfielder, and if so, maybe Alex Presley's roster spot is not a given. Although Michael Tonkin and Matt Hoffman each made a strong impression in Twins camp, both will begin the season in Rochester, ready to be promoted when necessary. Ryan Pressly, who had a nice showing in 2013 as a Rule 5 selection, was also sent to Rochester. Chris Herrmann's demotion is a bit of a surprise. It signals that Josmil Pinto will make the team and that Ron Gardenhire will find a way to keep him in the lineup. Who's Left? (29 players - 16 hitters and 13 pitchers) Catchers - Kurt Suzuki, Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing (NR) Infielders - Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, Pedro Florimon, Trevor Plouffe, Eduardo Escobar, Chris Colabello, Chris Parmelee, Jason Bartlett (NR) Outfielders - Josh Willingham, Aaron Hicks, Alex Presley, Oswaldo Arcia, Jason Kubel (NR) Pitchers - Ricky Nolasco, Phil Hughes, Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey, Kyle Gibson, Sam Deduno, Scott Diamond, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony Swarzak, Click here to view the article

They’re not top prospects. They weren’t drafted in the early rounds, and they didn’t get hefty bonuses. They have jobs in the offseason, and they still find time to continue to work on their baseball craft. David Hurlbut and Matt Tomshaw are two left-handed pitchers for the Ft. Myers Miracle. You likely haven’t read much about them unless, of course, you get a copy of the annual Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Or, if you read the daily minor league reports religiously, you know their names because they continue to pitch really well. So, let’s take a day and give them their due. David Hurlbut was the Minnesota Twins 35th round pick in 2009 out of Diablo Valley College. He decided not to sign and instead chose to attend perennial powerhouse Cal State Fullerton. In 2011, the Twins selected him with their 28th round pick. Download attachment: 4.5 - Tomshaw4.jpg Matt Tomshaw was drafted by the Twins in the 43rd round of the 2011 draft. He attended Jacksonville University where he was a teammate of Twins outfield prospects Adam Brett Walker and Jonathan Murphy. After being selected, he made three starts in the GCL before making a spot appearance with the Ft. Myers Miracle. He ended up posting a 2.13 ERA in 25.1 innings (7 games, 4 starts). In 2012, both of them started the season in the bullpen in Beloit. There were “prospects” that needed to start, so the tandem was sent to the bullpen. They were good in that role, and eventually each was given an opportunity to start. When I posted my 2012 Minnesota Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers of the Year, they both were in the Top 5 in the organization. In 111 innings (15 starts, 10 relief), Hurlbut posted a 2.76 ERA. Tomshaw missed about a month, but he pitched well in his time in Beloit as well. In 86.1 innings (6 relief, then 14 starts), he posted a 3.02 ERA. Despite the success in Beloit in 2012, they were both sent back to the Midwest League, this time to Cedar Rapids. Not only did they repeat at the level, but instead of starting (where they had very good success, they were in the bullpen). Tomshaw missed some time early in the season (you know, “DL” stuff) and made just nine appearances with the Kernels. His ERA was 5.10, but as a starter, he was better, and he moved to Ft. Myers in late May. There, he pitched in 17 games and made 14 starts. He posted an ERA of 3.94 in 96.1 innings. Hurlbut pitched in more roles. He began the season in long relief. At one point when Tyler Jones was hurt, he became the closer for a month, and then he made three starts for the Kernels. All told, he pitched in 25 games (and 50 innings) for the Kernels. He was 3-1 with a 2.52 ERA. He received his promotion to the Miracle in early August where he made four starts and had a 3.54 ERA in 20.1 innings. This year, they both returned to the Miracle, and they both returned to the bullpen. However, both made just three relief appearances before being put into the starting rotation. Tomshaw is 2-1 with a 2.31 ERA. After going four innings and giving up one run in his first start, he has gone six innings without allowing an earned run in each of his last two starts. Download attachment: 4.10-Hurlbut10.jpg Hurlbut is 3-1 with a 1.69 ERA in 39 innings. He gave up just one run in his eight innings out of the bullpen. In his five starts, he has given up just six earned runs in 32 innings. On May 8, he threw a complete game against Jupiter and gave up just two runs (1 earned). Last night, he gave up just two runs (1 earned) in seven innings. Neither has the “stuff” that fits the “top prospect” mold, but both have three good pitches, good control and a high baseball IQ. Hurlbut generally sits around 88 to 89 mph with his fastball, though he hits 91 at times, so he made it cut a bit, giving it more movement and helping him miss the sweet spot of bats. He has a very good curveball in the mid-70s, and his changeup continues to improve. Tomshaw generally sat 85 to 87 mph, though out of the bullpen last year, I saw him hit 91 a couple of times. This year, he has been consistently between 87 and 91. He has a very good changeup, and his work-in-progress pitch is the curveball. When it is on, it can be very tough on left-handers. And, he is again throwing The Thing, a pitch you'll need to ask him about!! Impeccable control is part of the success of both of them. In 286.1 professional innings, Hurlbut has walked 1.8 per nine innings and struck out 6.7 per nine innings. Tomshaw has thrown 280.2 innings as a pro and walked 1.8 per nine innings. He has struck out 6.1 per nine innings. Despite putting up good numbers and not allowing many runs and keeping their teams in games, neither David Hurlbut or Matt Tomshaw will appear on anyone’s Top 30 or even Top 50 prospect lists. Fair or not, that is the reality. True or not, Tomshaw and Hurlbut will continue to pitch in the Twins system as long as they continue to pitch as they have as they move up the ladder. Neither was a high draft pick with the security of a big bonus. However, the Twins have shown in the past that if you perform, no matter where you’re drafted or how you get signed, there will be opportunities. Tomshaw was drafted in the 43rd round, a round that no longer exists in the MLB draft. However, New Britain’s Cole Johnson and Rochester’s AJ Achter are pitching very well in the late innings for their teams, and they also were drafted after the 40th round. Anthony Slama was a 39th round pick. Michael Tonkin was a 30th round pick. Cole De Vries wasn’t drafted. If you perform, you’ll keep getting opportunities to move up. That will be the challenge for these two left-handers. They will need to continue to work and improve to meet the challenges of each new level. Tomshaw (25) and Hurlbut (24) have been teammates along most of their path since being drafted late in that 2011 draft, and I’m sure they’ll continue to push themselves to keep getting better. So while it’s great to talk about the Buxton’s, the Sano’s, the Meyer’s, the Stewart's and the like, remember there are some tremendous stories of some minor leaguers who don’t get the accolades, but continue to work hard every day. At Twins Daily, we want to make sure they are recognized. Matt Tomshaw and David Hurlbut deserve to be recognized. Photos in this story by Linwood Ferguson, Ft. Myers Miracle. Click here to view the article

Join us over the next two weeks as Twins Daily will be counting down our Top 10 Twins prospects. The names and rankings created quite a debate among the Twins Daily writers, so hopefully it can create some discussion among our readers as well. We’ll look at a prospect each day leading up to those glorious headlines that baseball fans spend winter waiting for, “Pitchers and Catchers Report.” Today, we’ll begin our Top 10 Minnesota Twins countdown with our choice for #10, RHP Trevor May.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Age: 24 (DOB: 09/23/89) 2013 Stats NEW BRITAIN: 9-9, 151.2 IP, 4.51 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 159/67 K/BB 2012 Stats READING: 10-13, 149.2 IP, 4.87 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, 151/78 K/BB ETA: 2014 2013 Ranking: 9 Download attachment: top-prospects-10-trevor-may.jpg Trevor May was the top high school player in the state of Washington as a senior. He was drafted in the 4th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in 2008. He agreed to sign when offered a $375,000 bonus. Following the 2011 season, he was named the top Phillies prospect according to Baseball America. After the 2012 season, May came to the Twins, along with Vance Worley, in exchange for outfielder Ben Revere. Taking a cursory glimpse at Trevor May’s 2013 statistics at New Britain and comparing them to his 2012 statistics for the Reading Phillies, also in the Eastern League, it appears he didn’t make much progress. However, closer inspection shows he improved in nearly every statistical category. His ERA and WHIP dropped. He pitched a couple more innings. If you’re a fan of FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), he went from 4.88 in 2012 to 3.79 in 2013. Part of that may be because his BABIP increased from .292 to .329. His home run rate dropped from 1.32 in 2012 to 0.83 in 2013. When the Twins finally decided to shut down Kyle Gibson at the end of the season, May was promoted to AAA Rochester for the playoffs. It is likely he will begin the 2014 season with the Red Wings, and it is also likely he will make his MLB debut during the season. The Good Trevor May certainly fits the profile of what a team should be looking for in a starting pitcher. He is 6'-5" and about 240 pounds. He boasts a fastball that sits between 93 and 95 mph and has one of the best change-ups in the organization. He also has a solid curveball. In terms of ‘stuff,’ Trevor May has what it takes. Unlike most starting pitchers in the Twins (and any other) organization, he has the ability to miss bats. In 2013, he was one of just three Twins starters to strike out more than a batter per inning (Alex Meyer and former Twin Tim Atherton were the others). May can be described as sturdy. In fact, in a recent Talk to Contact podcast, May mentioned that he is doing yoga five days a week as well as using the Twins agility program in an attempt to be more agile. He said, “I’m a big, not necessarily agile human” so any increased flexibility and agility will only be helpful. However, he also believes his lack of flexibility has helped him be as durable and eat as many innings as he has. He believes his ability to remain healthy is, at least in part, due to “my appendages don’t bend the wrong way very far.” The Bad Although May did see a reduction in his walk rate from 2012 to 2013, it is still a major area of concern for him. In 2012, he walked more than a batter every other inning. He was still well over four walks per nine innings in 2013. We read a lot about consistency with Kyle Gibson in 2013; it may also be the biggest key to May’s success moving forward. In 2013, May had 17 starts in which he gave up three runs or fewer. He had ten starts in which he gave up four earned runs or more. Twice he gave up eight runs in an outing. The key in those games seems to be not getting off to a good start. When he struggled, he gave up early runs and was often unable to keep the damage to a minimum. The Bottom Line Trevor May certainly has the abilities to become a quality major league starter. He has plenty of fastball and a good array of secondary pitches. He also has the elusive (to the Twins) ability to miss bats. Unfortunately, control and consistency have not always been there for him from start to start and occasionally even from inning to inning. Some have said if he can’t gain enough control, he could make a transition to the bullpen. That may be true, but I don’t know how many late-inning relievers are counted on if they can’t throw strikes in key situations. May told the Talk to Contact guys that he thinks the mental side of pitching is really going to be key for him. He found success late last season and in the Arizona Fall League by being able to focus on the process of pitching. He spoke of the act of throwing pitches as being a process. That process involves knowing that regardless of who is standing in the box, he can repeat his motion and delivery (the physical) because he can focus on what he wants to throw and where he wants to throw it. If he can maintain that focus and consistency throughout the season and even reduce his walk rate by another half walk over nine innings, he has a chance to contribute to the middle of the Twins rotation for several years. Check back tomorrow to see who comes in at #9. Click here to view the article

It's been several months since we updated fans on which Minnesota Twins, front office, minor leaguers, etc., are on Twitter. Download attachment: Twitter.jpg The one question I get most often when posting this is how the Ft. Myers Miracle pitching coach has about 85,000 followers. It's actually quite interesting. He has been coaching at various levels in the Twins system for over a decade. In 2012, he was the pitching coach at Elizabethton and in 2013, he was with the Miracle. However, in his offseasons, he has been a color commentator for the Venezuelan Winter League through most of the previous decade. The last two seasons, he has been the Player Personnel Director for the Bravos de Margarita. Take a look at which people are on Twitter, and if you're interested, follow them. If I'm missing someone, please let me know! [TABLE=width: 416] First Name Last Name Twitter 10/20 Followers AJ Achter @ajachter35 662 Bo Altobelli @BoAltobelli 200 Oswaldo Arcia @arciaoswaldo 1,429 Ivan Arteaga @IvanArteaga 84,852 Tim Atherton @TimAtherton89 243 Luke Bard @Luke_Bard 1,029 DJ Baxendale @DBax24 4,448 James Beresford @JamesBeresford2 1,197 Doug Bernier @dougbernier 752 J.O. Berrios @JOlaMaquina 1,137 Evan Bigley @Bigley3 696 Brandon Bixler @BrandonBixler 357 Hudson Boyd @boyd_hudson 549 Joshua Burris @Josh_Burris_ 229 Drew Butera @DrewButera 16,677 Byron Buxton @OfficialBuck103 8,092 Chris Colabello @CC20rake 3,424 Logan Darnell @ldarnell15 352 Pat Dean @PDean15 472 Scott Diamond @Scott_Diamond58 16,048 Lewin Diaz @lewin_diaz 37 Brian Dinkelman @BrDink 1,846 Brian Dozier @BrianDozier 15,388 Brian Duensing @BrianDuensing52 16,693 Tyler Duffey @TheDoof13 271 Ryan Eades @R_Eades37 4,956 Eduardo Escobar @escobarmaracay 1,691 Eric Farris @eRoc86 2,991 Andrew Ferreira @Get_Meaty 4,147 Pedro Florimon @DroFlo25 56 Dallas Gallant @DGallant18 514 Mitchell Garver @MitchGarver 777 Sam Gibbons @gibboo25 98 Kyle Gibson @KGib44 1,031 Brian Gilbert @BGilly1s 145 Jhonathan Goncalves @jhong1305 132 Stephen Gonsalves @TheSGonsalves 647 Niko Goodrum @NikoGoodrumTC 1,085 Zach Granite @Zgranite 268 Steven Gruver @sgruv30 134 Deolis Guerra @deolisguerra 3,101 Bryan Haar @BryanHaar24 194 Nate Hanson @NHans12 480 Matt Hauser @mhauser_17 338 BJ Hermsen @BJHermsen12 1,701 Pedro Hernandez @Hernandezp89 106 DJ Hicks @DHicksMTB 1,127 Aaron Hicks @AaronHicks31 15,685 Kent Hrbek @Hrbie14 3,124 David Hurlbut @leftydh1989 201 Will Hurt @Will_Hurt 679 CK Irby @ckirbythe3 716 Tyler Jones @TmfJones 34 Zack Jones @Jack_Zones04 485 Jason Kanzler @JasonKanzler 152 Max Kepler @kepleroni 694 Kyle Knudson @KKnudson6 529 Matt Koch @M_Koch4 83 Zack Larson @ZackLarson24 355 Brett Lee @BLee092090 108 Andy Leer @andyleer12 148 Austin Malinowski @AJMalinowski24 430 Trevor May @TrevMay54 6,487 Trevor May (MAZR) @TrevorMAZR 226 Chris Mazza @ChrisMazza10 332 Tanner Mendonca @TanTheMan13 470 Kaleb Merck @KalebMerckin 320 Alex Meyer @Meyer17A 5,756 Levi Michael @LeviMichael9 346 Ethan Mildren @EMildren4040 455 Jermaine Mitchell @jtrane24 844 Angel Morales @AngelMorales24 399 Miguel Munoz @mikemunoz59 169 Jonathan Murphy @JMurph6 289 Brian Navarretto @Brian_Navarrero 78 Lester Oliveros @lesteroliveros 2,148 Ryan O'Rourke @RyanO_Rourke 651 Chris Parmelee @CParms27 8,692 Derrick Penilla @leftywayz 23 Glen Perkins @glen_perkins 23,933 Brandon Peterson @Bpeterson_12 351 AJ Pettersen @apettersen1 866 Josmil Pinto @JosmilPinto 340 Trevor Plouffe @TPlouffe24 28,245 Jorge Polanco @Jorge_Polanco1 231 Christian Powell @BooPowell20 488 Ryan Pressly @pressly_ryan 1,959 Jake Proctor @JProc23 1,228 Michael Quesada @KSada55 251 Antoan Richardson @ARichardson242 417 Chad Rodgers @CMRodg 260 Dereck Rodriguez @DereckRodRF3 333 Taylor Rogers @trogers34 351 Dan Rohlfing @DanRohlfing 1,080 Miguel Sano @SanoMiguel 5,999 Danny Santana @bigmen07 167 Bryan Santy @BKSanty41 229 Aaron Slegers @Aslegers 898 Manuel Soliman @Soliman30 598 Kohl Stewart @KohlStewart1 6,012 Tom Stuifbergen @TomStuifbergen 815 Miguel Sulburan @054_miguel 170 Anthony Swarzak @ASwarzak51 9,553 Lewis Thorpe @LewisT18 314 Matt Tomshaw @matthewJTomshaw 268 Michael Tonkin @mtonkin37 618 Stuart Turner @sturn26 1,408 Daniel Turpen @DdTuRpEn 152 Kennys Vargas @kennysvargas 37 Tanner Vavra @tannervavra 465 Ruar Verkerk @ruarverkerk 410 Adam Walker @walkoff28 1,029 Ryan Walker @RyanWalker25 137 PJ Walters @PJWalters39 3,080 Tommy Watkins @TommyWatkins 1,679 Dakota Watts @watts_22 1,046 Duke Welker @The5thWelker 3,791 Jason Wheeler @Lil_Wheels 206 Stephen Wickens @wicks1221 142 Corey Williams @coreyw24 346 Jared Wilson @DubsDeuces 127 Alex Wimmers @AlexWimmers21 1,462 Vance Worley @VANIMAL_49 52,184 FRONT OFFICE First Name Last Name Twitter 10/20 Update Minnesota Twins @twins 173,921 Dave St. Peter @TwinsPrez 18,103 Dustin Morse @Twins_morsecode 11,836 Mike Herman @HermTT 2,374 Mitch Hestad @mitchhestad 162 Jack Goin @jdgoin 414 Bryan Donaldson @MNCommunityGuy 1,604 Andrew Heydt @AndrewHeydt 524 Mike Kennedy @TwinsPRMachine 591 Brace Hemmelgarn @bracehemmelgarn 1,512 TC Bear @TC_00 11,480 Twins Daily 10/20 Update Twins Daily @TwinsDaily 2,981 John Bonnes @TwinsGeek 6,064 Seth Stohs @SethTweets 5,547 Nick Nelson @Nnelson9 2,935 Parker Hageman @OverTheBaggy 3,838 Brock Beauchamp @rocketpig76 79 Jeremy Nygaard @JeremyNygaard 758 Cody Christie @NoDakTwinsFan 911 Minor Leagues 10/20 Update Rochester Red Wings @RocRedWings 7,203 Josh Whetzel @JoshWhetzel 1,149 Morrie Silver @MorrieSilver8 355 Jim Mandelaro @JMand1 1,260 Christopher Fee @CJFee 208 New Britain Rock Cats @RockCats 6,355 Ken Lipshez @KenLip1 126 Jeff Dooley @Jdooleysports 433 Andrew Walter @Mnfanfromafar 682 Ft. Myers Miracle @MiracleBaseball 6,644 Bryce Zimmerman @ZimMiracle 573 Steve Gliner @stevieGFTM 462 Adam MacDonald @AdamMacMiracle 100 David Dorsey @DavidADorsey 1,301 Cedar Rapids Kernels @CRKernels 5,129 Mister Shucks @CRMrShucks 80 Morgan Hawk @Morgan_Hawk 386 Matt Cozzi @matt_cozzi 1,045 Steve Buhr @JimCrikket 519 Jeff Johnson @jeje66 1,322 Metro Sports Report @metrosportsrept 985 Andrew Pantini @stadium65 116 Elizabethton Twins @ETownTwins 1,017 [/TABLE] Click here to view the article

One week from today, a lot of questions will be answered. One week from today is the non-waiver trade deadline. The Twins clearly need to be sellers at this point. They are 40-56 record, 16 games under .500 and 12 games behind the AL Central leading Detroit Tigers. They are nowhere near the Wild Card race. So with one week to go, what do we know? We have to watch what is going on around the rest of baseball to get a sense for what could be going on with the Twins. Some trades are starting to happen and they may (or may not) affect what happens going forward. They may help us project what the Twins could get in return for some of their players. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For instance, the New York Yankees acquired Ichiro Suzuki from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for two minor league relievers. The 38 year old Ichiro is a singles hitter boasted 200 hit seasons and an OPS+ over 100 (100 is considered average) for the first ten years of his MLB career. Last year, his OPS+ was just 88. This year, that number is just 83. Who knows? Being traded to a contender may spark Ichiro into playing like he did for the first decade. However, the Ichiro Suzuki trade does not give us any indication of what the Twins could get for OF Denard Span. Due to age, salary and years, Span has much, much more value than Ichiro. That said, the Yankees were a team that needed an outfielder, and Span made a lot of sense there. At least for now, this trade does mean there is one less team who will be calling on Span. Last season, the Tigers added Doug Fister at the trade deadline, and he really helped the Tigers make their playoff run. Yesterday, the Tigers made another huge splash by acquiring right-hander Anibal Sanchez from the Miami Marlins. They likely had to take on the contract of infielder Omar Infante as well. Sanchez is vastly underrated and maybe not a commonly known name yet, but he is a very good pitcher. To be sure, his resume looks a lot better as he is traded than Doug Fister did a year ago. But the Tigers gave up a lot to get Sanchez. First, they traded 20-year-old future ace Jacob Turner, who has made starts with the Tigers already. Turner came into the season as Baseball America's 22nd ranked prospect. The Tigers also traded AA catching prospect Rob Brantly and Brian Flynn, a 6-8, 22-year-old pitcher who recently was promoted to AA. They didn't have to trade top prospect Nick Castellanos, but Turner and Brantly were both top 5 Tigers prospects by most accounts. The Cubs were also busy yesterday as there were rumors on deals for both Ryan Dempster and Matt Garza. The Cubs have agreed to trade Dempster to the Atlanta Braves in a deal that would likely include RHP Randall Delgado. Delgado has been starting for the Braves and came into the season as the #46 prospect according to Baseball America. At this point, Dempster is yet to approve the trade (he has 10-5 rights), but again, this gives us another data point. There were a lot of rumors of the Cubs and Dodgers discussing a Matt Garza trade in which the Cubs would receive RHP Zach Lee in return. 20 year old Lee was the Dodgers first round pick in 2010 and was recently promoted to AA. He came into the season as the #62 ranked prospect according to Baseball America. It is looking more and more like Cole Hamels will resign with the Phillies, but Zach Greinke is likely to be traded. What could the Twins get in exchange for lefty Francisco Liriano who, despite last night's clunker, has been one of baseball's best starting pitchers. Based on the package received for Sanchez, and the rumors floating around deals with Dempster and Garza, it is fair for Twins fans to be excited about what the Twins could get in return for Liriano. It appears that the going rate is a pitching prospect who ranks somewhere in the 30-60 range (likely a team's #1 or #2 prospect), along with a second prospect who ranks in that team's Top 10, and maybe even one more player who ranks outside the top ten but still has potential. And if the Twins get an offer like that, they would have to take it! Finally, the San Diego Padres agreed to a three year, $30 million contract extension with Carlos Quentin. Quentin was frequently rumored to be available and due to his small contract for this season, he was the top right-handed power bat available. As he is no longer available, that makes Twins LF Josh Willingham more and more valuable. The Twins have come out and said that he is not currently available. However, due to a very good contract that goes beyond this season (2 more years at just $14 million), the TWins could get a big haul for their big slugger. The Twins are said to be asking "for a ton" for Denard Span. If, er, when teams call on Josh Willingham, the Twins should be asking for two tons, and I would not be surprised if there were a team or two willing to give up that much. The Twins should need to be overwhelmed by an offer to trade The Hammer, but it is also very possible that they will be. So again, there is just one more week before the non-waiver trade deadline. As we know, there can still be deals in August. They're just more difficult to complete. The Twins should be quite active, and they have three players that they should be able to get a good return for. There are other players that could be dealt too. Deals could happen at any time, but paying attention to what is going on throughout baseball may give you perspective on what it could mean for the Twins. Download attachment: Josh Willingham.jpg Click here to view the article

One of the pitchers in the Minnesota Twins farm system who has begun to garner more attention is Logan Darnell. The 24-year-old left-hander was 6-6 with a 2.61 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 15 starts at New Britain this year. Last Thursday, he threw a complete game, four-hit shutout against the Erie Sea Wolves. I had been occasionally getting questions about Darnell from readers, but following that start, there were a lot more inquiries. What does he throw? When will he get promoted? What is different from last year? [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Looking back, there probably should be more excitement about Darnell than there has been. He was the team’s 6th round pick in 2010 out of the University of Kentucky. In his first full season, 2011, he pitched in Beloit and Ft. Myers before ending the year with five starts in New Britain. Guys that have pitched at three levels in a season, and the Twins have had many, typically get an opportunity in the big leagues. Last year, he made 28 starts for the Rock Cats. He went just 11-12 with a 5.08 ERA, but as he was developing pitches, he also was able to throw 156 innings. He then went to the Arizona Fall League and did well. This year, he has been very good and was on a pace to throw nearly 180 innings. In nine of his last 11 starts with the Rock Cats, he threw at least six innings. The two times that he didn’t go six innings, he went 5.2 innings. While he has been more efficient with his pitches, his strikeout rate increased from 5.7 to 7.2 per nine innings. More people were beginning to take notice. So, I started asking some questions. For instance, late last week, I asked Twins minor league director Brad Steil when Darnell might be promoted to AAA. He responded by saying, “he just needs to continue to be consistent and be ready when there’s an opportunity.” On Sunday, a spot in the Rochester rotation opened. Kyle Gibson was promoted to the big leagues, and Darnell was given (and had earned) a spot and an opportunity in the Rochester rotation. Last night, he made his Rochester debut. Now, as you read in today’s minor league report, it didn’t go as planned. He gave up just one run, but he was only able to go 2.2 innings before leaving the game due to a blister. What has made him so successful this season? Steil has noticed a couple of things. “I think Logan is locating all of his pitches better and getting ahead. There’s also some confidence that comes with being in a league a second year. He uses all four of his pitches effectively, with the change probably being his best off-speed pitch.” Darnell agreed. The lefty said the biggest improvement he’s made since last year is “probably my changeup. I’ve had confidence to throw it in hitter’s counts, and it got better this year. I believe that consistency is a big thing. Always work on something to improve and not be satisfied because baseball can humble you fast.” He also spoke of his Arizona Fall League experience. “The Fall League was great. I made a lot of good friends that are having success. But if I learned anything from it, it was to make it more about me and what I throw, more than about who is hitting. I spent a lot of time there working on my curveball, trying to throw a good one early in counts.” Darnell throws a fastball that reaches into the low 90s. He has always had good breaking pitches, both a curveball and a slider. Darnell said when asked if he had an out pitch, “If I had to choose, it would be the slider. I definitely consider myself a groundball pitcher, but with my changeup this year, it’s helped me be more diverse in how I throw.” Hopefully Logan Darnell can quickly get back on the mound and continue to make strides in the right direction. He could be added to the 40 man roster at season’s end if he continues to pitch well. He is left-handed and projects as a back of the rotation type starter. There’s value in a guy like that, either as a starter or as a long reliever. View full article

If you had to quickly guess, just off the top of your head, which college has the most player in the Twins system, who would you pick? Most would say the University of Minnesota, and that wouldn’t be inaccurate, but it’s actually tied, at five, with the University of Kentucky. The Gophers are Glen Perkins, Nate Hanson, AJ Pettersen, Kyle Knudson, and Mike Kvasnicka. The players from Kentucky include Andrew Albers, Logan Darnell, Lance Ray, Alex Meyer and Taylor Rogers. Since each has a good basketball program, maybe we should set up a 5-on-5 hoops contest between these players for organization supremacy? Recently, I had the great opportunity to talk with the head coach of the Wildcats, Gary Henderson. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]He was instrumental in the development of each of the players that came through his program. He was kind enough to share his thoughts on the players he met as 16 or 17 year old recruits and the development he saw in these young men over their time in college. There certainly appears to be a trend or two that developed as he talked about these five players, these five people. Gary Henderson has had a tremendous college coaching career. He began as a JV coach at San Diego State in 1988. He was an assistant coach at Cal State Fullerton, Riverside Community College, Chapman, Pepperdine, Florida and Oregon State from 1989 through the 2002 season. (While at Oregon State, Henderson recruited Jacoby Ellsbury who played three years for the Beavers.) In 2003, he took over as the pitching coach at Kentucky, a position he held until 2008. Since 2009, he has been the head coach of the Wildcats. In 2012, he was the SEC’s coach of the year when his team went 45-18 (including 18-12 in the conference). In the soon-to-be-released Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2014, I wrote a story on my choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year, Taylor Rogers. In it, he talked a little about Coach Henderson. “From the first day I met Coach Henderson, I knew I wanted to go there (to Kentucky).” He continued, “He talked pitching in an accelerated fashion and yet it was easy to comprehend. There are not enough good words to describe the influence Coach Henderson had on me as a person and a baseball player.” Henderson told me a little about his philosophy. “The thing that we try to do is get them convinced that they’re going to get better, not just with hard work in the weight room, or on the field, or in the bullpen, or with long toss or running, but get them to commit themselves to the process of playing baseball. The very basic ‘One Pitch at a Time’ and what that really means. Not only just hearing the cliché, but really committing yourself to that process. Boy, is it easier said than done! You and I can sit and watch a Major League Baseball game, and it becomes obvious to see when some guy has gotten away from that process, either on the mound or in the batter’s box. We talk a lot about that. The ability to understand and the willingness to give yourself to the process of playing One Pitch at a Time. Not playing against the scoreboard. Not playing against the other dugout. It’s just making good pitches. It sounds so simple, but it’s a challenge. It’s what allowed David Eckstein to be in the big leagues. It’s what allowed Andrew Albers to have the summer he did. It’s just completely getting immersed into playing the game at a high level.” And, the four Twins minor league pitchers that threw for Coach Henderson at Kentucky each too strides in 2013. Taylor Rogers was my choice for Starting Pitcher of the Year. Andrew Albers was his runner-up in my opinion while the Twins chose him as their Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Logan Darnell was recently added to the 40 man roster after a strong showing in AA and AAA this year. Despite missing two months with a shoulder issue, Alex Meyer solidified himself as the Twins top pitching prospect. He really took an impressive step in the Arizona Fall League. Outfielder Lance Ray was hobbled with injury most of the 2013 season, but he was the top home run hitter in Ft. Myers in 2012. Henderson was kind enough to tell us a little more about the players that he coached and influenced. TAYLOR ROGERS Download attachment: Taylor Rogers Kent.jpg Rogers was the Twins 11th round pick in 2012 from Kentucky. He split 2013 between Cedar Rapids (where he was the Opening Day starter) and the Ft. Myers Miracle. Rogers grew up in Colorado, but Henderson was able to get him to Kentucky. “He had really good arm action. He threw strikes. He looked like he would fill out and get better. He had a really good frame. Most impressive about him were his work ethic, drive and honesty. The character issues with him were outstanding.” His early collegiate numbers certainly don’t jump out on the screen, but it was clear that he was improving with each season. “He was a starting pitcher in our league as a freshman. He never shied away from that, never backed down. He was always interested in doing whatever it took to get better. His development was fairly standard. He worked very hard. As a freshman, he had a freshman curveball. By the time he was a junior, it was solid. It was good. The velocity got better each year. His ability to throw the changeup was better.” ANDREW ALBERS Download attachment: Andrew Albers Kent.jpeg Albers has been a great story since signing with the Twins before the 2011 season out of the independent Can-Am League. He is a Tommy John survivor (and now ‘Thriver!’) who was my choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year that first season. He spent more time starting in 2012, and was a full-time starter in 2013 with the Rochester Red Wings before finally getting the call in August to make his major league debut. He exceeded all expectations and show great grit and intensity despite not having overpowering stuff. “His story was a little different. He’s the same type of person (as Rogers). Work ethic is off the chart. Extremely good feel for pitching, which I thought was very unusual for a kid coming from a town of 5,000 people in Saskatchewan. Extremely good feel for the game, way above average. He was slender, obviously not as tall as Rogers, but he was 6-0, 165 pounds. I actually saw him when I was working at Oregon State. I saw him a year earlier, and I made up my mind that wherever I was coaching, he was going to school. At least, I was going to do everything I could to get him. He was a little advanced in terms of understanding and feel for competition. His stuff wasn’t. It was fine. In fact, it compared fairly well to Taylor, although he doesn’t have the velocity that Taylor has. His command was very good. His secondary stuff was below average as a freshman. Because of that feel for competition, and feel for the game, he understood really quickly that he was going to have to improve that secondary stuff. As he has in the minor leagues, Albers pitched in different roles at Kentucky too. “He started as a freshman and a junior. He relieved as a sophomore and a senior. We rotated him every year, not by design, but that’s just the way it happened.” Henderson continued, “(Albers is a) tremendous leader, not just of the pitching staff, but a leader on the club as well. Another kid whose makeup is A+, beyond A+, if there’s such a thing. Personal characteristics? Personal qualities? Outstanding. He was the type of guy that, when you’d introduce new contacts or new techniques, like Taylor, they embraced them fully. It was never about ‘It’s too hard’, or ‘Why are we doing this?’ They were in from the start, both those kids.” Albers also had great support from his family. “That’s what the kid was when he was 16. His parents, they’re just impressive people. He’s an impressive kid. As you watched all summer, his stuff is not dominant. He’s going to get by because he has a lot of poise and a lot of confidence, and he can really concentrate. His stuff is fine. And he’s the first guy to tell you that.” LOGAN DARNELL Darnell was the Twins 6th round pick in 2010. He quickly moved up the system in 2011, from Beloit to Ft. Myers and to New Britain. He pitched in New Britain throughout the 2012 season and began there again in 2013. Shortly after midseason, he was promoted to Rochester. Following the season, the southpaw was added to the 40 man roster. Download attachment: Logan Darnell Kent.jpeg Regarding Darnell, Henderson said, “He is (a character guy). He was real aggressive early on. His secondary stuff was short, early on. When you’re looking at these guys, there’s a part of you that says that’s why you got them. If you’re left-handed, and you show any arm strength, and you have above average secondary stuff, then professional baseball can happen early. Logan was a very hard worker, very aggressive on the mound, willing to make adjustments, willing to learn. Made huge strides. He got better each year. He comes from a top-notch family. Really good people. At this point, I began to notice a trend. Each has a very high character and a strong family foundation of support. It’s a theme that we hear often in the Minnesota Twins organization. I asked if character was something he focuses on with recruits. “I think a couple of things. I think that the ones that don’t have it, you and I don’t talk about for obvious reasons. I think there’s also that saying about who you attract in the recruiting process. You tend to attract similar types of people. It’s certainly not an absolute by any stretch and there’s a lot of stuff that goes into it. The fact that these guys are having success is not surprising. You’re happy for it. We all understand the odds of making it in the big leagues and doing well, and they’re (the odds) are never good no matter how talented you are. But the fact that these people are having success, I’m not surprised. They’re really good people and they really work hard. ALEX MEYER Download attachment: Alex Meyer Kent.jpg The character trend continues when talking about Alex Meyer. The former first round draft pick of the Washington Nationals came to the Twins organization one year ago in a trade that send centerfielder Denard Span to the National League. At 6-9 and 250 pounds, and blessed with an arm that has the ability to throw a baseball 100 mph while showing good command and control of four pitches, makes Meyer the top pitching prospect of the Twins, but also one of the top pitching prospects in baseball. Henderson recalls Meyer’s younger years. “He was a guy that made a lot of jumps in high school. He was a stereotypical guy who hadn’t yet grown into his body as a 16 or 17 year old. The older he got, he made really rapid jumps in terms of being able to control his body. That’s how it goes with those guys who are 6-6, 6-7, 6-8. They’re long and lean and haven’t yet developed the musculature to control their body on the mound and repeat their delivery. That’s kind of where Alex was.” He continues, “He is a really hard worker. His arm action was outstanding. The thing that was different about Alex, besides the arm strength, was that when he came in, he had a feel for a breaking ball. He did not have a changeup, but he had the feel for a breaking ball. That kind of put him into a different group. It was arm strength. It was feel. It wasn’t always a strike early on. He made the typical jumps. He wasn’t way ahead. He wasn’t way behind. His improvement was pretty standard in terms of being able to slow the game down which he did as a sophomore. He attacked the running game. That part of the game was much better as a sophomore. He’s a really hard worker. (He) comes from a top-notch family, very supportive people. I think the whole family understood and desired for him to have a college experience. I think they knew that was best for him and his development. I think that’s also what they wanted.” So, does Henderson think that Alex Meyer has the stuff to be top of the line starter? “Yep, and I think that’s going to happen. Nobody’s got a crystal ball, but I think that’s going to happen. I think he’s going to be a frontline guy. Just like everybody else, he will need to stay healthy, make normal progression, and I think he’s going to have a really nice career. No question.” He spoke more of what makes Meyer special. “(He) really accepts responsibility, accountable for everything, works really hard. There’s nothing there that’s going to get in the way. Obviously, the talent is pretty good.” LANCE RAY Download attachment: Lance Ray Kent.jpg The Twins used their ninth round pick in 2010 on the powerful left-handed outfielder/first baseman. Ray struggled in Beloit in 2011 to start the season, but was remarkable through the middle of the season. He was the Ft. Myers home run leader in 2012. Unfortunately, he was slowed by injuries throughout the 2013 season and hopes to get back to a healthy, productive 2014. Henderson said, “He is a good guy. He has kind of traditionally been a slow starter, every place he’s been. If you look back at high school, or junior college, or Us, or professional ball, he’s gotten off to a slow start. I don’t know why that is, or what that is. He started slow for us at the plate as a junior. He played for a guy that I played for and a guy that I coached, a father and son in Vegas. That’s how we got on Lance. He started at a junior college in western Nevada. Early in March, about four weeks into our season, he was hitting below .200. Then he got on fire, and he was as good of a college hitter as you’ll see for the last six or seven weeks.” So, what makes Ray a solid professional player? “(He has a) very good feel to hit, a good plan, good plate discipline. He was very good. Similar type kid. Good to have around, good teammate, very likable kid, a very good feel to hit. He just needs to get healthy.” ------ Download attachment: Gary Henderson.jpg I really appreciate Coach Gary Henderson and the media relations group at the University of Kentucky for helping set this up. Coach Henderson was very gracious with his time, but it was clear that he really cares about his players during their time at Kentucky and as they move forward in life and in professional baseball. He did tell me that he has a couple of players on his upcoming team who could be taken in the early rounds of the 2014 MLB Draft. And, one name to get to know in the Upper Midwest of that of Chippewa Falls (Wisconsin) native Kyle Cody. He was the 33rd round draft choice of the Phillies in 2012 but went to Kentucky. He’s a big, 6-7, 230 pound kid who can throw in the mid-90s. Might be worth watching again in the 2014 MLB draft. Please feel free to leave any questions or comments below. Click here to view the article

The Twins got a short start from Kyle Gibson (six runs in two innings) but came up just shy in their attempt to come back, losing 6-5 to the Yankees on the 4th of July. Sam Deduno was very good in long relief. Brian Dozier and Chris Colabello homered, but it wasn't enough. The Red Wings offensive machine continued to rack up runs. A couple Kernels continued hot streaks, and the E-Twins got another terrific start. There were some good games throughout the Twins minor leagues on Friday. Check out more below. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 12, Lehigh Valley 6 Box Score The Red Wings bats dominated in this one, their 50th win of the season. Chris Herrmann led the way. He reached base all five times with two singles and three walks. Eric Farris went 3-6 and stole his 14th base. Deibinson Romero went 2-6 with his 23rd double. Danny Ortiz went 2-5 with his second triple. Pedro Florimon was 2-5. Doug Bernier went 1-2, walked twice and was hit one other time. Logan Darnell wasn't terribly good, but he did get through five innings. He gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out three. Deolis Guerra struck out four over the next two innings. Aaron Thompson gave up two hits in a scoreless inning. Michael Tonkin also recorded a scoreless inning. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain, Portland Box Score This game was postponed due to rain. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Charlotte 1 Box Score A couple familiar faces made the biggest impacts in this game. Yesterday, JO Berrios was named the pitcher of the month for June, and the day before that he was named the Florida State League Pitcher of the Month. On Friday, he improved to 9-3 with six innings of one-run ball. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out four. Steven Gruver recorded the three-inning save, giving up just one hit and one walk. The Miracle had just three hits in the game. Dalton Hicks doubled for the 12th time. Jorge Polanco tripled for the fifth time. Adam Walker came to the plate with the bases loaded, and he hit his 18th home run of the season. It was his third straight game with a home run and it was his third grand slam of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 0 Box Score Download attachment: ethan mildren.jpg He threw seven shutout innings in his previous start and on Friday Ethan Mildren did it again. In his seven shutout frames, he gave up just three hit and two walks. He struck out four. Dallas Gallant got a strikeout in his perfect inning. Todd Van Steensel came on for the ninth and recorded his eighth save. He walked one, gave up a hit, and struck out two. Bryan Haar continued to crush the ball. He went 2-3 with his 12th home run. He also stole his first base of the year. Zach Granite led off the game for the Kernels with a triple, his second. Chad Christensen hit his 13th double. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Bluefield 0 Box Score The string of quality pitching for Elizabethton continued on July 4th. Chih-Wei Hu started and gave up just two hits over six shutout innings. He walked none and struck out nine. Keaton Steale, Josue Montanez and Kuo Hua Lo all threw a scoreless inning to maintain the shutout. Montanez struck out two. Lo struck out the side. Tanner English went 3-4 with his first triple. Tyler Mautner (6), Tyler Kuresa (2) and Brian Navarreto (5) all doubled in the game. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Red Sox 13 Box Score Young Australian Jack Barrie led the offense, going 4-4 on the day. Rainis Silva went 2-4. However, the bullpen really struggled in this one. Miguel Gonzalez started and gave up two runs on six hits in four innings. He struck out three. Onas Farfan came on and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in one inning. Reyson Zoquiel gave up four runs (2 earned) on a hit and four walks and recorded just two outs. Miles Nordgren gave up four runs (just 1 earned) on seven hits in 2.1 innings. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Ethan Mildren, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Herrmann, Rochester Red Wings SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Scott Diamond New Britain @ Portland (DH @ 3:00 CST) – Virgil Vasquez, Pat Dean Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – Brett Lee Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 CST) - Kohl Stewart Bluefield @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) – Felix Jorge GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00am CST) – Wilfredy Liranzo Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games. Click here to view the article

I am all for getting the calls right if we have the technology, but I am not a fan of how the new replay rules are working. I think they need to be much more efficient (or quick!) to not annoy and potentially lose a small part of any team's fan base. With the new replay rules, something that has long been a part of baseball will be much more rare. There won't as many great manager/umpire arguments like there were in the past. We have all seen video of Earl Weaver and Billy Martin in the face of umpires. We have seen dirt kicked and caps thrown. Download attachment: Mike Cubbage Ejected.jpg I thought it would be fun to take a look back at Minnesota Twins history and go a little deeper. During the past offseason, video of a July 1978 Twins, Red Sox game appeared. It's actually fascinating to watch a Twins player react like Mike Cubbage did when he was called out. Manager Gene Mauch was also ejected for arguing and tossed bats all over the field before leaving the field. Here is the video, and following it, I'll mention so other interesting tidbits from the game. Mike Cubbage was the base runner and from watching the video, it appears he was safe. Cubbage had gotten on base with a single. He was 1-2 when he was ejected. He was also hitting .319, pretty impressive considering it was mid-July already. Download attachment: Mike Cubbage.jpg Though his career was not great, he was in the big leagues for parts of eight seasons. He came to the Twins from the Rangers in a July 1976 trade along with Roy Smalley and two other players in exchange for Bert Blyleven. Speaking of Smalley, he came to the team and was a very good shortstop for several years. Most know that he was the nephew of the manager who was ejected, Gene Mauch. Did you know that Smalley was the #1 overall pick in the 1974 draft after a College Baseball Hall of Fame career at USC. He was in the big leagues less than one year later, and traded to the Twins two years after being selected. This ejection came in Game 2 of a doubleheader with the Red Sox. Smalley went 0-4 in that game, but he was 3-5 with a double in the first game. Batting third for the Twins in that game was Rod Carew, playing 1B. He was 1-3 with a walk in the game. The Twins had a couple of hitting stars in the 3-2 loss in Game 2. Hosken Powell led off and went 3-5. "Disco" Dan Ford was batting cleanup and went 2-4. Rob Wilfong, who a couple of years later was sent to California in a deal that brought the Twins Tom Brunansky, had two hits. Willie Norwood went 2-4 with a double and a home run in the game. You may have notice a spry, young first base coach for the Twins, donning the powder blue, and looking to not keep his third baseman in the game. Tony Oliva was the first base coach that year. Roger Erickson pitched the complete game for the Twins. He went eight innings and gave up just three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out three. It seems he would fit in well with the current Twins style of pitcher. When the Red Sox won that second game of a double header, they improved to 60-28 under the leadership of one Don Zimmer. The Red Sox put a pretty solid lineup out against the Twins. Hall of Famer Jim Rice hit third in the game. Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski batted fourth. The big hit of the game was a two-run homer from Fred Lynn, who batted fifth. Bob Stanley pitched the final two innings for the Red Sox to record the save. He was in just his second season with the Red Sox. He threw in 52 games for the Sox, but he made just three starts. He went 15-2 with 10 saves and a 2.60 ERA. Of course, many in Red Sox Nation remember him for a certain Wild Pitch he threw in the 1986 World Series, in Game 6. That day's first base umpire, Bill Kunkel, pitched in the big leagues from 1961 through 1963. In 1968, he became an American League umpire and was well-respected in that role until his death in 1985. He may be best known as being one of the final two umpires to weather the outer chest protector. His son, Jeff Kunkel, played infield in the big leagues for parts of nine seasons. Let's get back to Mike Cubbage before we conclude this glimpse back in time. Cubbage was a third base coach in the big leagues from 1990 to 2003 for the Mets, Astros and Red Sox. He was an interim manager of the Mets in 1991, and for the Red Sox early in 2002. Since 2006, he has been a scout in the Tampa Bay Rays organization. Once in a while it is fun to look back in history and look into a box score. Which teams had the better players, or even future Hall of Famers? Which relative unknown got to play hero in the big leagues? The Mike Cubbage, Gene Mauch ejection video takes us back in time to some names from over 25 years ago and some great powder blue uniforms. Does anyone remember this game? Who were your obscure favorite players, like Willie Norwood, or Dan Ford, or Roger Erickson or maybe even Bombo Rivera? Click here to view the article

The Twins beat the Yankees by a score of 2-1 in 11 innings. The winning run scored on a throwing error by the Yanks' catcher, Francisco Cervelli, trying to complete a 1-2-3 double play. Brian Duensing picked up the win. The Red Wings offensive machine continued to rack up runs. A couple of Kernels continued hot streaks, and the E-Twins got another terrific start. There were some good games throughout the Twins minor leagues on Friday. Check out more below. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Lehigh Valley 9 (16 innings) Box Score With a double-header on Sunday, the last thing the Red Wings needed was a 16-inning game on Saturday. However, that's just what they got. Six errors in the field by the Red Wings didn't help the matter. Scott Diamond started and gave up four runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk in 5.1 innings. Lester Oliveros gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. AJ Achter was charged with an unearned run on one hit in one inning. Edgar Ibarra went the next 2.2 innings. He gave up one hit and walked one, but he didn't allow a run. Michael Tonkin gave up only one hit over 2.1 scoreless innings. Aaron Thompson came in and gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out four before being ejected, along with his manager Gene Glynn. Deolis Guerra came in and recorded the final out. All nine Red Wings had at least one hit. Seven of the nine had at least two hits. Nate Hanson led the way with three hits including his second double. Chris Herrmann had two doubles. Wilkin Ramirez hit his 16th double. Chris Rahl hit his sixth home run. ROCK CATS REVIEW Game 1 - New Britain 0, Portland 4 Box Score Virgil Vasquez started and gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five. The Rock Cats managed just five hits in the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez had two of them, including his 25th double. Michael Kvasnicka went 2-3. Game 2 - New Britain 2, Portland 4 Box Score Pat Dean started the second game and gave up four runs on eight hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out five (sound familiar?). The Rock Cats had just five hits in the second game as well. Eddie Rosario went 2-3 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Aaron Hicks went 2-2 with a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Charlotte 3 Box Score The Miracle had plenty of base runners, but they were unable to put enough runs on the scoreboard. Niko Goodrum went 3-4. Dalton Hicks went 2-4 with his 13th double. Travis Harrison went 2-4. Nate Roberts and Mike Gonzales each hit a double. Brett Lee made his first start in months and gave up two unearned runs on two hits and four walks in three innings. Alex Wimmers gave up a hit and walked two in a scoreless inning. Brian Gilbert threw two scoreless. Madison Boer gave up a run on a hit in two innings. He struck out two. Brandon Peterson walked two and struck out two in a scoreless inning. Manager Doug Mientkiewicz was ejected in the 9th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 6 Box Score Kohl Stewart gave up five runs (one earned) on four hits in 2.2 innings before being ejected by the home plate umpire. Jared Wilson gave up two hits and walked four in 2.1 innings but gave up just one run. Alex Muren, Chris Mazza and Hudson Boyd combined for four scoreless. The Kernels had just four hits. Jon Murphy walked three times. Engelb Vielma hit his third triple. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Bluefield 0 Box Score Felix Jorge threw five shutout innings and struck out five. CK Irby and Jake Reed each threw two scoreless innings. Nick Gordon went 3-4 and is now hitting .345. Tyler Kuresa went 2-3 with his third double. Tanner English hit his second home run for the lone run of the game. Download attachment: FelixJorge.jpg GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 3 Box Score Wilfredy Liranzo struck out four in two scoreless innings. Mike Theofanopoulus gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out two while taking the loss. Callan Pearce then gave up a run on two hits in 2.1 innings. Seth Wagner struck out four in 2.1 scoreless innings. He walked one. Trevor Hildenberger pitched a perfect inning. The GCL Twins had just three hits. Amaurys Minier had two of them. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Felix Jorge, E-Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Herrmann, Rochester Red Wings Click here to view the article

After a week of Twins Fest activities and the playing catch up, today I will be continuing a series of Q&As with Twins minor leaguers. Today, we will get to know a little bit more about Chad Christensen. He was the Twins 25th round pick in 2013 out of the University of Nebraska where he spent four years. Upon signing, he spent the summer playing in the Gulf Coast League. The Cedar Rapids native will compete this spring with the hopes of spending the season with the Kernels. He can play both corner infield and corner outfield positions. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: ChadChristensen.JPG With that, here is the interview with Chad Christensen: ---------- Twins Daily (TD): Growing up in Iowa, who was your favorite team, and who were some of your favorite players to watch? Chad Christensen (CC): I grew up a big Yankees fan (sorry). My favorite player was Derek Jeter. I also was a big fan of Jorge Posada, Bernie Williams, and Mariano Rivera. TD: What are your best memories from your high school baseball days in Cedar Rapids? Did you play other sports? CC: I have a lot of great memories from high school baseball at Washington. Some of my best friends to date were teammates of mine from 2006-2009. The 2007 season was very memorable with myself and a friend as the young guys. The upper classmen were great teammates and players, and we had a great year. My senior year in 2009 was great beating Xavier to go to the state tournament for the first time since 2001, I believe. We had a dedicated group of guys and the season was one I will never forget. TD: Talk about your decision to go to Nebraska. Were you recruited elsewhere too? CC: I fell in love with Nebraska very early. On my visit, the stadium was packed with 7,000 fans for a Sunday game against Texas A&M. You don't get that at many places in the country. I was recruited elsewhere, but the decision was easy. I'm proud to be a part of Husker Nation and now an alumni. TD: What were your best memories/moments from your college playing days? CC: Beating Creighton in the first game at TD Ameritrade would be up there. I had some great teammates that will also be lifelong friends. Going through 4 seasons with some of those guys is something that can never be replaced. TD: When the Marlins drafted you in the 35th round in 2012, was it a difficult decision to return to college? CC: Being drafted by the Marlins was exciting. But I had to make a decision, and for me, the best decision was to return to Nebraska for my senior season and finish my degree. TD: As the draft approached, were you seeing or talking to more scouts? Did you have much conversation with any Twins scouts? CC: I talked to lots of scouts for a lot of teams as the draft was coming up. I had talked to Mark Wilson a lot with the Twins, so I was hopeful that the Twins might give me a shot. TD: What was it like to play for Darin Erstad? CC: Playing for Coach Erstad was awesome. I like when coaches are up front with you and make it clear what is expected of their players. Coach Erstad did that well. We had fun, but we had fun by respecting the game and playing the right way. If you respect the game and work hard, you'll love playing for that guy and you won't have any issues. TD: When the Twins took you in the 25th round, where were you and what was that experience like? (Was that about where you were expecting to be picked?) CC: When the Twins picked me in the 25th round, I was at a gas station buying a Red Bull. I was waiting at my house all day to be picked. I finally had to get going to get to my brother's baseball game. It was later than I anticipated, but once I got the call from Mark and saw I had been picked by the Twins, I was very amped up. I had always hoped the Twins would pick me being from the Midwest and with the Kernels in Cedar Rapids. It was a great day when I got drafted. TD: What was the adjustment to pro baseball like for you? CC: I enjoyed the transition to pro ball. I played in the GCL so playing all day games was different. It was a lot of baseball, but I like that. You really have to take care of your body to stay healthy and alert every day. I'm glad I got a short season in to learn some things before this season. TD: If you were to write up a scouting report on yourself, what would it be? What would you say are your strengths, and an area you want to work on to improve most? CC: I want to be looked at as a good athlete who plays the game the right way, who is a good teammate, brings energy, and does whatever it takes to win every game no matter what that is. TD: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? CC: There are so many people who deserve credit for me getting into professional baseball. My parents and brothers for pushing me and supporting me. My coaches from the time I was 10 for making the game enjoyable. My teammates at Washington and Nebraska. Coach Erstad for showing how the game should be played, and Coach Bolt for giving me a solid approach to hitting. And obviously Mark Wilson for drafting me. TD: Outside of baseball, what do you enjoy doing? Hobbies, etc? CC: I'm a big college football fan, and college basketball fan. I love Monday and Sunday night football. I'm also a personal trainer in the off season, so I am big into working out and teaching others how to work out and stay healthy. TD: As spring training is now just a couple of months away, what are you most anxious and excited about? CC: I am excited mostly just to get back on the field and start playing again. I'm in good shape and ready for the season. I am also excited for some Florida sunshine and to get out of the midwest winter. I'm ready to be back with all the boys again in Ft. Myers. TD: What will it be like for you if you played in your hometown, for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. CC: Playing for the Kernels will be exciting for me. I grew up going to those games and playing in that stadium. So to be a part of the Kernels and play for the city of Cedar Rapids would be very satisfying and special for me. TD: Have you set any goals for yourself for the 2014 season? Are there certain stats you think are important for you? CC: I try not to think about set numbers. For one, I don't want to underestimate myself. My goals are to always improve and bring focus and energy every day. To play the game to win wherever I am. Talking to guys who have done it and things that work for them. Taking care of my body, eating well, getting plenty of rest are all things that will help performance. If I do all those things the numbers will take care of themselves throughout the course of a long season. TD: Favorite baseball movie? CC: Sandlot, no doubt. TD: What is one thing about yourself that you would want Twins fans to know? CC: My brother Austin and I are tied for the Cedar Rapids metro all-time high school home run record. -------- Thank you very much to Chad Christensen for taking his time to answer these questions. Best of luck to him in the 2014 season. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ace.jpg Throughout the past few offseasons, the comments I hear most regarding the Twins needs involve the need to acquire an Ace. In fact, I’ve said it a few times myself. Of course, that isn’t completely true and it is never the full story. You see, for the mid-90s, the Twins had not only an Ace, but the best pitcher in baseball, and that didn’t get them to the second round of the playoffs. The 2011 Phillies boasted a starting rotation of Roy Halladay, Cliff Lee, Cole Hamels and Roy Oswalt and didn’t get to the World Series. That rotation has two definite Aces, a borderline ace and a former ace. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]I’d also caution that many people, one year ago, felt that Francisco Liriano fell into the borderline ace category. That is just one example of why I believe that to be a true ace, there has to be greatness over several seasons. Another example would be Ubaldo Jimenez who was dominant for half of the 2010 season but hasn’t been great since. Like Liriano, Jimenez has a chance to return to ace-like status, but we shall see. With that, I took to Twitter yesterday where I asked my ‘followers’ which current major league pitchers would or should be classified as True Aces. The response was great, and I will break this into the true aces (my opinion), and those on the borderline (my opinion). True Aces: Justin Verlander (Year 3 of five year, $80 million contract - $20M)Clayton Kershaw (Year 1 of two year, $19 million contract - $7.5M)Tim Lincecum (Year 1 of two year, $40.5 million contract - $18M)CC Sabathia (Year 1 of five year, $122 million contract - $23M)Felix Hernandez (Year 3 of five year, $78 million contract - $18.5M)Cliff Lee (Year 2 of five year, $120 million contract - $21.5M)Roy Halladay (Year 2 of three year, $60 million contract - $20M)Jared Weaver (Year 1 of five year, $85 million contract - $14M)Dan Haren (Year 4 of four year, $44.75 million contract - $12.75M - $15.5M club option for 2013)Yovani Gallardo (Year 3 of five year, $30.1 million contract, $5.5M)Matt Cain (Year 3 of three year, $27.25 million contract, $15M)Chris Carpenter (Year 1 of two year, $21 million contract - $10.5M)Borderline Aces: Josh Johnson (Year 3 of four year, $39 million contract - $13.75M)Cole Hamels (avoided arbitration, $15M)Adam Wainright (Year 5 of four year, $15 million contract – Cardinals picked up $9M option for 2012 despite Tommy John surgery)Zach Greinke (Year 4 of four year, $38 million contract - $13.5M)Matt Garza (avoided arbitration, $9.5 M)Jon Lester (Year 4 of five year, $30 million contract, $7.625M)Josh Beckett (Year 2 of four year, $68 million contract - $15.75M)David Price (avoided arbitration, $4.25M)Ricky Romero (Year 2 of five year, $30.1 million contract, $5M)Anibal Sanchez (won arbitration, 1 year, $8M)Could be an Ace quickly: Matt Moore, Stephen Strasburg, Mat Latos, Yu Darvish, Michael Pineda, Jeremy Hellickson, Tommy Hanson, Julio Teheran, Gerrit Cole, Dylan Bundy. So, when I hear Twins fans say, “We (meaning, the Twins) need an Ace,” I will frequently say, “I agree. How are the Twins going to get one?” Not one pitcher in that top list is available. Part of the reason they are in that top list is that, so far, they have been able to stay healthy. Johan Santana used to be in that category, but now that he hasn’t pitched for over 18 months, I’m not so sure he should be there any further. In the “Borderline” category, there are some guys who have been really good for a short period of time, or there is some injury concern or some inconsistency. We can argue what an Ace is, who is or who isn’t. That’s not really the point here. The point is that they are not easy to come by. These guys are not available, and after the Mat Latos trade earlier this offseason, it’s understandable to see why. Latos was traded to the Reds from the Padres in exchange for Edinson Volquez, Yonder Alonso, Yasmani Grandal and Brad Boxberger. Part of that is because Latos is not even arbitration-eligible for another year. However, the Cubs have been trying to trade Matt Garza much of the offseason and either are not getting any interest or the asking price is beyond what anyone is willing to pay. Santana is probably a big reason why. When the Twins traded the two-time Cy Young winner to the Mets, he was baseball’s best pitcher. He was good for another year and a half and then he did what most pitchers do, he got hurt. Of course, he could still come back. We shall see. But will he ever be what he was again? Probably not. More than half of the players listed above were drafted in the first half of the first round. The Twins have had one pick in the first half of the first round since 2002. The Twins have a big opportunity in the June draft when they have the 2nd overall pick. Mark Appel’s name is frequently mentioned as a possible choice. The Stanford right hander doesn’t really profile as an Ace, more like a 2 or 3 starter (like Kyle Gibson, Alex Wimmers or Liam Hendriks). Not that there is anything wrong with a 2 or 3 starter. Those are very good pitchers who will make a lot of money when they hit free agency. Lucas Giolito is another pitcher, a high school pitcher, who gets mentioned as a possible #2 pick. He profiles much more like a future Ace, but there is much more risk with a high school pitcher than with a college pitcher. Of course, by the time of the draft in June, there may be another name (pitcher or hitter) who is the best available player at that #2 spot and that’s who the Twins should take. The Twins have five picks in the top 100 picks this June. Along with signing Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Javier Pimentel and other talented Dominican hitters, the Twins have also done a good job signing several top Dominican pitchers in recent years. They have signed two top young pitchers from Taiwan. I completely agree with people who say that the Twins need an Ace. Frankly, the best way for that to happen is for Francisco Liriano to gain a little self-confidence, trust his stuff and become that pitcher again. He was there in 2010. It’s a contract-year for him, so it would be to his benefit if he did regain that form this year. Scott Baker was pitching as well as anyone last year before his elbow injuries. He really needs to step up too. And then they just have to find a way to sign the right draft picks and international players and develop them. Frankly, I’m not as worried about getting a True Ace. That doesn’t guarantee anything. But I do think that pitching does win, and if they had more #2s and #3s that were consistent, they would be just fine. Any thoughts? Please feel free to use the Comments Section! ----- Last night, Travis Aune and I co-hosted a new Twins Minor League Weekly episode and discussed our Top 50 Twins prospects as well as the Top 100 rankings of several national writers.If you enjoyed last week’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins podcast with several guests (Kyle Waldrop, Alex Margulies, Cory Provus, Jeff Manship, and Dan Rohlfing), you should tune in tonight at 9:00 for this week’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Twins podcast with several more Twins guests.Finally, be sure to check out this week’s episode of Gleeman and the Geek.Nick wrote a first in a series of Things to Watch in 2012. He started with Glen Perkins’ Slider. Click here to view the article

There were four games in the Twins' farm system, and the Twins were able to play a split double header at Target Field in some record cold conditions. More impressive, they were able to win two games against the Blue Jays, a team they have been crushed by in recent years. Kyle Gibson threw eight shutout innings in the afternoon game. In the evening game, the Twins used eight eighth inning walks, and three wild pitches in that same inning, to turn a 5-3 deficit into a 9-5 win. It would be very cool if the story in the minor leagues on Thursday were to become a great story of the Twins 2014 season as well. Who was it? Well, keep reading to find out… Here is a look at what happened in the Twins' farm system on Thursday. And, by the way, it's another Top Pitching Prospect Day on Friday. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 - Rochester 1, Pawtucket 2 (11 innings) Box Score With a doubleheader, the games are only supposed to be seven innings. With this game going 11 innings, the two teams ended up playing 18 innings anyway. Logan Darnell got the start in Game 1 and was impressive. The lefty from the University of Kentucky gave up one run on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out four. Ryan Pressly came on and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up a hit and a walk. AJ Achter gave up no runs and recorded four outs. Aaron Thompson got the final five outs, but he gave up one run to take the loss. Brad Nelson led the offense. The veteran went 2-2 with two walks and a double. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his second double of the year. Chris Rahl was 2-4 with his third double. Game 2 - Rochester 2, Pawtucket 0 Box Score Download attachment: Pino, Yohan (2).jpg This offseason, the Twins signed veteran free agent Yohan Pino. Ten years earlier, 2004, the Twins signed Pino out of Venezuela. That summer, he was the Dominican Summer League Pitcher of the Year. In 2005, he was in Elizabethton where he went 9-2 with 64 strikeouts in 67.2 innings. In 2006, he went 14-2 with a 1.91 ERA, primarily out of the Beloit bullpen, though he ended the season making seven starts. That’s the role he has had ever since, splitting time between the rotation and the bullpen. He got up to Rochester in 2009, but in late August, he was sent to Cleveland in exchange for Carl Pavano. In early 2011, he went to the Blue Jays organization. He was there until this spring when he was invited to Twins spring training. Already this year, he has made two starts and two relief appearances. Both starts came in Game 2’s of doubleheaders including the game 2 on Thursday night. The 30-year-old threw the complete game shutout. He gave up two hits, walked three and struck out four. He improved to 2-0 and reduced his ERA to 0.59. Deibinson Romero went 2-3 with another double. Eric Farris went 2-3. Doug Bernier hit his second home run. Last year, the Twins had several players with great stories get call-ups. If there is one to root for in 2014, make it Yohan Pino. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain, Portland This game was postponed due to poor weather conditions. The teams will play a doubleheader in Maine on Friday. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, St. Lucie 6 Box Score Brett Lee took the loss, but he recorded his second straight quality start. The lefty went six innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He walked one and struck out one. Tim Shibuya came in for the seventh and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. Madison Boer gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits and a walk in the final two innings. For the fifth time already this season, the Miracle didn’t have a hit through five innings. They ended with four hits in the game. Jason Bartlett was originally in the starting lineup, batting second and playing shortstop. Shortly before the game, there was a lineup change. Jorge Polanco played shortstop and batted second. No official word yet on why Bartlett was removed. Polanco had a hit and committed two more errors. Levi Michael also had two errors in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, West Michigan 7 Box Score The Kernels fell behind early, and fought back. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Logan Wade tied the game with a two-run double. Unfortunately, it was all for naught as the team gave up four runs and fell to the Tigers’ affiliate. Randy Rosario got the start. He struggled early with his control. Because of it, the lefty lasted only three innings. He gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits and five walks while striking out two. Brandon Bixler came on and gave up two hits and a walk in 2.2 shutout innings. He struck out three. Brandon Petersen went the next 2.1 innings and didn’t allow a run. He struck out three. Hudson Boyd came into the tie game in the top of the ninth. He gave up four runs on four hits in the inning to take the loss. Logan Wade had the big hit in the 8th inning. He was 2-4. The double was his second. Jason Kanzler was 2-4 and stole a base. Bryan Haar and Bo Altobelli each had a double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Yohan Pino, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Deibinson Romero, Rochester Red Wings FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (5:00 CST) – Alex Meyer (Listen) Portland @ New Britain (Doubleheader: 4:35 CST) – DJ Baxendale, Taylor Rogers (Listen) St. Lucie @ Ft. Myers (6:35 CST) – JO Berrios (Listen) West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:05 CST) – Kohl Stewart (Listen) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games. A quick reminder: Thanks to the Twins wins over the Blue Jays on Thursday, it means that on Friday you can get 50% off a Large of Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com. 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The Twins (meaning, Ricky Nolasco) gave up nine early runs. However, they attempted the comeback and got the score to 9-7 before it ended. Chris Colabello and Trevor Plouffe homered for the Twins. Glen Perkins was named to his second All-Star game, and Kurt Suzuki will play in the mid-summer classic for the first time in his career. The biggest news in the Twins farm system is that Byron Buxton returned to game action for the Ft. Myers Miracle. He led off, played centerfield and got a couple of at-bats. We also learned the Twins will soon make a decision on whether Trevor May will pitch in the Futures Game. It's a busy minor league report today, so let's get started with some transactions. Download attachment: Buxtons Back.jpg TRANSACTIONS Mark Hamburger was promoted from New Britain to Rochester. JO Berrios and Lance Ray were promoted from Ft. Myers to New Britain. (per Bryce Zimmerman, Mason Melotakis was also promoted to AA.) Ethan Mildren and Todd Van Steensel were promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers. Chih-Wei Hu and Jake Reed were promoted from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids. RED WINGS REPORT Game 1 - Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score After playing 16 innings on Saturday night, Kris Johnson gave the Red Wings just what they needed on Sunday afternoon in the first of two. The left-hander threw all seven innings to record his eighth win of the season. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out five. Brad Nelson hit his fourth and fifth home runs of the season to lead the offense. Wilkin Ramirez homered for the third time. Danny Ortiz went 2-3 with his fourth double. Game 2 - Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score The Red Wings put a six on the board in the bottom of the first inning and won by the same score as they did in the first game. The big hit in that first inning was a three-run home run from Nate Hanson. Deibinson Romero added his 24th double while Dan Rohlfing doubled for the 14th time. On the mound, the recently-added Mark Hamburger got the starting nod. He gave up one run on five hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out four. Ryan Pressly went the last two innings. He gave up three hits, but no runs, while striking out two. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 1, Portland 6 Box Score Taylor Rogers was strong again on Sunday, but the Rock Cats bats couldn't muster much offense off of Red Sox top pitching prospect Henry Owens. The Rock Cats managed just five hits. Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk and his 26th double. Tony Thomas hit his fifth triple. Rogers gave up just two runs on eight hits over seven innings. He walked none and struck out four. Dan Turpen came on and gave up four runs on three hits and a walk in the 8th inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 10, Charlotte 5 Box Score Byron Buxton led off and played centerfield. He made a tremendous catch at the warning track in center early in the game. With the bat, he went 0-2, but most important, he stayed healthy. He was replaced in the lineup in the third inning by Max Kepler who went 1-1 with two walks and a three-run double. Jorge Polanco went 3-5 with his fourteenth and fifteenth doubles. Adam Walker went 3-4 with a walk. Dalton Hicks was 2-5 with his second triple. Niko Goodrum walked three times. DJ Baxendale started and gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Steven Gruver came on and gave up a run on three hits in two innings. Tyler Jones recorded his 11th save by working two shutout innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 3 Box Score On this day, Aaron Slegers was much better than his line score would indicate. He went seven innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits. He walked none and struck out two. However, he started the eighth inning and both hitters reached base. He was replaced, but the runners still came in to score. Todd Van Steensel gave up two hits over two scoreless innings. Bryan Haar led the offense. He went 3-4 with his 16th double and his fourth triple. Jason Kanzler went 2-4. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 7, Bluefield 12 Box Score It was not a good start for the E-Twins. Literally. Derrick Penilla started and gave up nine runs (6 earned) on six hits and two walks. He recorded just one out before Sam Clay came into the game. He gave up three runs (two earned) on one hit and two walks, in 0.1 innings. Randy LeBlanc came on and gave up only an unearned run on two hits over 4.1 innings. Josue Montanez came on and gave up one run on three hits an a walk. Kuo Hua Lo gave up two runs on five hits in two innings. The E-Twins bats did show up. Tyler Kuresa went 3-4 with a walk and three doubles, to double his double total on the season. Jorge Fernandez went 3-5. Nick Gordon went 2-4 with a walk. Max Murphy went 2-5 with his fourth double and fourth home run. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score No Game Scheduled. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kris Johnson, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Kuresa, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Sean Gilmartin New Britain @ New Hampshire (DH @ 5:05 CST) – TBD Ft. Myers - No Game Scheduled Cedar Rapids - No Game Scheduled Bluefield @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) – Michael Cederoth GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games. Click here to view the article

With their 2nd round pick, 46th overall, the Twins selected someone they had drafted before. They drafted RHP Nick Burdi, a relief pitcher from Louisville that they selected in the 24th round in the 2011 draft out of high school. They couldn't convince him to sign then, but he should certainly sign this time around. Burdi throws serious heat, occasionally touching 100 mph on a radar gun. He immediately takes over the spot as the top-rated reliever in the Twins organization. Download attachment: Nick Burdi.jpg Prior to the 2011 draft, many projected Burdi to be a 2nd or 3rd round pick, though he had committed to Louisville. Because teams knew he was unlikely to sign, he fell. He was happy that the Twins drafted him, but he wanted to honor his commitment to the Cardinals. He has been one of the most dominant relievers in the college ranks since his freshman year. He is blessed with an arm that reaches 100 mph regularly, and even touched 103 at one point. There is a fair question of what is too early to select a relief pitcher, but Burdi may be an exception. He was projected to be a mid-to-late first round pick this year and fell to the Twins. He immediately becomes the #1 relief pitching prospect in the organization, far ahead of Zach Jones or Michael Tonkin. He is the type who could move very quickly. In fact, he could probably (in theory) pitch for the Twins right now. The Twins will likely, and wisely, be more patient, protecting such a valuable arm. At 6-4 and 215, pounds, he was ranked the #31 prospect by MLB.com and #36 by Baseball America, so getting him at #46 would appear to be a great deal. In 33.1 innings for Louisville (so far) this season, he had 58 strikeouts and just ten walks. Opponents hit just .125 against him. Click here to view the article

In January, we reviewed the catchers, the first basemen, third basemen, middle infielders and outfielders in the Minnesota Twins organization. Last week, we took a look at the starting pitchers. Today, we conclude the series by discussing the relief pitchers in the Twins system. Obviously the Twins find themselves in a situation where some starting pitchers could move into a bullpen role, but for this exercise, we’ll take a look at guys who have been relievers.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Big Leaguers Download attachment: Glen Perkins.jpg The Twins bullpen was one of the few bright spots for the 2013 team. Yet, they were about league average, so there is room for improvement. Glen Perkins has proven himself one of the best relievers in baseball. Jared Burton and Casey Fien gave the Twins two right-handers late in games. Brian Duensing had a six-week rough patch, but he’s been a solid lefty in the bullpen for a few years now. Caleb Thielbar came up and was terrific. Anthony Swarzak pitched a ton of innings and was an unsung hero on last year’s team. Ryan Pressly was very good in his Rule 5 season, holding his own throughout the year. We did get our first glimpse of Michael Tonkin. He struggled in the big leagues, as well as at Rochester, so patience will be needed. However, the tall right-hander has a chance to be very good at the back-end of the bullpen. He will see more time in 2014. Late in the offseason, the Twins signed Matt Guerrier to a minor league contract. He spent six-plus years in the organization and was a very solid contributor for five of those years. He had forearm muscle surgery late last year, so it will be interesting to see when he will be ready. Prospect Rankings As those who have read me for years know, I tend to rank relief pitchers well lower than starting pitchers. That's not because I don’t think the role is important to a team. Think about it, nearly 1/3 of a major league roster is comprised of relief pitchers. For me, it only comes down to potential innings pitched in a season, starters vs. the bullpen. Here is a look at some of the top bullpen prospects in the Twins' farm system. Hard-throwing right-hander Zack Jones was my choice as the #22 Twins prospect and top reliever. In Ft. Meyers, he was consistently throwing fastballs above 95 mph and frequently hitting 99. He struggled in the Arizona Fall League and was shut down late due to cold fingers. On Monday, Feb. 24th, he will have surgery to repair an aneurysm that was found in his right shoulder which was cutting off circulation. He’ll miss the start of the season, but he should be able to return to form by midseason. Luke Bard came in at #23 in my rankings. If 100% healthy, Bard will likely get an opportunity to start, though he may be a reliever down the road. His stuff is described as “filthy” so he could be a fast mover. Michael Tonkin ranked #26 for me. He is 6'-7" and throws in the mid-to-upper 90s. After slow movement early in his career, he flew up the Twins ranks over the last two seasons. He began 2013 by dominating at AA. He moved up to AAA and eventually had a couple stints with the Twins. He really has had little success above AA so far, but he does have a big future. Tyler Jones was just outside my top 30. He was my choice for Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year last year. He dominated between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. Formerly a starter, Jones made the transition to the bullpen smoothly. He has a fastball that touches 97 mph with an improving slider. Edgar Ibarra was added to the Twins 40 man roster this offseason after a strong year between AA and AAA. From June 4 through August 22, he gave up zero earned runs. In that time, he worked 31.1 innings over 26 games. He gave up just 13 hits, walked eight and struck out 27. The left-hander throws fastballs into the mid-90s with a very sharp slider. He should surface with the Twins at some time this season. Roster Projections In each of these installments, I have been making my roster projections. There could still be additional signings, and injuries will affect all of this. That’s why it is important to have more than just seven relievers at each level. In some cases, there will be even more. There are also always players put on the disabled lists. This just gives an idea of who could be at each affiliate at the start of the season. Minnesota: Glen Perkins, Jared Burton, Brian Duensing, Casey Fien, Caleb Thielbar, Anthony Swarzak, Ryan Pressly.Rochester: Michael Tonkin, AJ Achter, Aaron Thompson, Edgar Ibarra, Brooks Raley, Matt Hoffman, Yohan Pino, Virgil Vazquez, Lester Oliveros, Matt GuerrierNew Britain: Zack Jones (injured), Corey Williams, Adrian Salcedo, Deolis Guerra, Dakota Watts, Ryan O’Rourke, Matt Hauser, Cole Johnson, Kevin Thomas, Chad RodgersFort Myers: Tyler Jones, Luke Bard, Steven Gruver, Madison Boer, David Hurlbut, Matt Tomshaw, Alex Muren, Jim Fuller, Dallas Gallant (50 game suspension), JT Chargois (injured)Cedar Rapids: Josh Burris, Josue Montanez, Brandon Bixler, Chris Mazza, Hein Robb, Kuo-Hua Lo, Christian Powell, Austin Malinowski, Brandon Peterson, CK Irby, Carson Goldsmith, Tanner Mendonca, Andrew Ferreira, Brandon Easton, Jared Wilson, Todd Van SteenselExtended Spring Training: Josh Guyer, Sam Gibbons, Andre Martinez, Seth Wagner, Damion Defrank, Leonel Zazueta, Reyson Zoquiel, Jose Abreu, Derrick Penilla, Zach Hayden, Cameron Booser, Tyler Stirewalt, Chih-wei HuFeel free to discuss the players and the roster. 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