Seth Stohs

The trade was with Detroit, so his free agent signing with the Phillies isn't really part of the Young/Oliveros match up (so to speak).

Because he has a big future with the Twins, and they don't want him over-throwing and hurting his arm.

FemmeFan.com This is a story by Jessica Quiroli, written in early 2009, when Colabello was still playing in the Can-Am League. "It's a Living!"

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2207-Twins-Minor-League-Report-(8-9)-Friday-Night-Lights

The Twins had a full day of baseball on Friday, playing a day-night double header in Chicago against the White Sox. Fortunately, it was a day with a couple of exciting wins for Minnesota. Amazingly, each and every run scored by the Twins came off home runs, including several by players who spent a significant time in the Twins minor league system this year. Chris Colabello hit one in the first game. Chris Herrmann hit one in the second game. Last year’s minor league hitter of the year for the Twins, Oswaldo Arcia, hit one in each game. His 10th inning homer in Game 2 gave the Twins the win. Of course, the two starters (Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendriks) spent most of their season in Rochester as well. Hendriks was optioned to Rochester following the game. He had been the Twins 26th man on Friday, something they were able to do because of the double header. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5159[/ATTACH] It was a big day for the Twins, and there was a lot going on throughout the minor league system too. A couple of top pitching prospects made appearances in the GCL on rehab today. Adam Walker is closing in on Miguel Sano and Chris Colabello atop the Twins organizational home run leaders. He’s also about to become the first member of the 100 RBI club. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Friday: Rochester 2, Norfolk 11 Box Score You know it’s not a good game when the highlight is that TWO position players had the chance to pitch for the Red Wings. Not only did they pitch, they threw THREE scoreless innings and didn’t give up a hit. Down 11-2 going into the bottom of the 6th, Gene Glynn called on outfielder Jermaine Mitchell to pitch. The lefty from North Carolina – Greensboro, where he did some pitching, worked two scoreless innings. He gave up just one base runner, on a walk. After his two frames, he went out to right field, and right fielder Brian Dinkelman came to the mound. He pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, and one of the outs was a strikeout of Alex Liddi on a fastball clocked at 88 mph. So, that’s the good stuff. Unfortunately, Red Wings starter PJ Walters lasted just two innings and was charged with seven runs on nine hits and two walks. He struck out two. Luis Perdomo came on. He went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up four runs on five hits. He walked two and struck out just one. Edgar Ibarra came on and got the final two outs of that fifth inning. The Red Wings bats managed just three hits in the game. Deibinson Romero did get on base with three walks. New Britain 5, Akron 6 Box Score It has been a rough season for righty BJ Hermsen. Following his time in big league spring training, he was hurt. When he came back, he struggled in the rotation and was sent to the bullpen. It’s strange because he was the clear choice for Twins minor league pitcher of the year in 2012, most of which he spent with the Rock Cats. He pitched I the Eastern League All Start game. He is getting another opportunity here late in the season to start. Tonight, he went 3.1 innings. He gave up five runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out just one. Ryan O’Rourke came on and gave up an unearned run on one hit and one walk over two innings. He struck out two. Daniel Turpen came on and struck out two over the next 1.2 innings. Blake Martin ended things with a scoreless inning. Miguel Sano went 2-4 with his ninth double. Jordan Parraz was also 2-4. Nate Hanson went 1-1 with two walks. Eddie Rosario hit his 13th double and walked. Danny Santana hit his eighth triple. Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 3 Box Score Since Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario were promoted to New Britain, we have not read the name of Kennys Vargas as frequently in these Miracle game reports. In this game, he went 4-5 and drove in four of the Miracle runs. Matt Koch went 3-5 and hit his 19th double, the team’s only extra base hit in the game. Levi Michael had a single and a walk, and he stole his 16th and 17th bases. Taylor Rogers had another impressive start and improves to 10-5 with a 2.90 ERA. The lefty went 6.1 innings, and gave up just one run. He allowed four hits, walked three and struck out seven. He was replaced by Corey Williams who gave up two runs in the next 2.1 innings. He gave up four hits, hit two batters and struck two out. Tyler Jones came on with two outs in the 9th and got a strikeout to record his fourth Miracle save. Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 4 Box Score Just to think, this was a 3-2 game after six innings, but the Kernels offense exploded after that. Adam Walker was 2-5, including his 25th home run. His two RBI give him 99 RBI on the season. Max Kepler was 2-4 with his sixth home run. Travis Harrison was 2-5, and his 27th double gave the Kernels a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Joel Licon, Jeremias Pineda and Niko Goodrum each had two hits. Tyler Grimes went 1-2 with three walks. Tim Shibuya made his first start of the season. He was limited to just 2.2 innings. He gave up two runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out four. Mason Melotakis’s innings are being controlled with him in the bullpen. He came on and went the next 2.1 innings. He gave up just one hit and one walk, but no runs. He struck out two. Dallas Gallant struck out three over the next two innings. Brandon Bixler gave up two runs on three hits in his inning. Madison Boer came on for the ninth and got his fourth save. He struck out one. Elizabethton 3, Johnson City 4 Box Score Kuo Hua Lo made his first start of the season. He went four innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out two. Luke Bard made his first E-Town appearance of the year. He gave up one run on one hit in one inning. Austin Malinowki gave up only a walk over two innings, but the runner scored and he gets charged with the loss. Ethan Mildren pitched a scoreless inning. Logan Wade led the offense. He went 2-3 with a walk. Zach Granite went 1-2 and walked. GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 4 Box Score It was a day of returns and rehabs in the GCL. Right-hander Alex Meyer made his first rehab appearance. He started and gave up one run on three hits and a walk. He struck out five. In the first inning, he struck out the first two batters. He gave up a two-out single before striking out the fourth batter. In the second inning, he struck out the first batter. Then he gave up two not-hard-hit singles. He struck out the fourth batter. However, after walking the next batter, he was removed from the game, having met his pitch count. Meyer was replaced by Derek Penilla with the bases loaded. Penilla walked in Meyer’s run before getting a strikeout to end the inning. Penilla was then replaced by lefty-hander Pedro Hernandez who was making his first rehab appearance. The lefty struggled in his first inning. He gave up two runs on four hits, but those were the only runs he allowed in three total innings. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out two. Following Hernandez, Kohl Stewart made his first appearance after cutting his foot on a shell in the ocean. The 2012 first-round pick threw two hitless, scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out two. Brandon Easton walked one in the eighth. Miguel Gonzalez struck out the side in the ninth. Chad Christensen went 2-4 in the game with his sixth double. He was the lone player with more than one hit. Ivory Thomas, who debuted in the Twins organization after being their 34th round pick this June, doubled in his first at bat for his first hit as a professional. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

I had a meeting, but when I came back from it, I watched the mlb.com gameday video... (which is the TV video)... Did Dick-n-Bert talk about this at all in the telecast? I had to watch it about 15 times, just that part, over and over. Made me laugh so hard! I tweeted it then, but that was like 4-5 innings later. Curious if it was part of the discussion.

I believe it was asked yesterday, but I learned that Deolis Guerra is doing well. He's now pitching bullpens and is expected to pitch some live BP in the next week.

I still believe this to be true.

Confirmed. They are both in Elizabethton.

Yeah, my assumption was that he would pitch well enough to make it obvious that you would add him to the 40 man. This type of performance may do exactly what you're saying. Now, the Twins absolutely would not release him. That would be crazy since he'd be given an extra year to recover from TJ. It's a positive from the Twins perspective.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2205-Twins-Minor-League-Report-(8-8)-Rosario-Dominates-for-E-Twins

The Minnesota Twins had a much-needed day off in Chicago as they prepare for a four-game series again the White Sox. Liam Hendriks has been recalled and will pitch the second of the day-night doubleheader. Josh Willingham returns from his rehab stint in Rochester and is expected to play for the Twins on Friday. It was a full night in the Twins farm system though. Cedar Rapids got their bats going again. Elizabethton’s hitters even had a big game. Of course, Elizabethton also got a tremendous start from a hard-throwing left-hander. Check out what else happened in the Twins Minor League system on Thursday: Rochester 3, Durham 7 Box Score The Red Wings fell behind 4-0 after just one inning and were unable to catch up. Virgil Vasquez gave up just those four runs on seven hits in five innings total. He walked none and struck out five. Cody Eppley then gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings. He struck out one. Aaron Thompson got the next two outs, but not before giving up one more run on two hits and a walk. Shairon Martis pitched a scoreless inning. He walked one and struck out one. Josmil Pinto went 3-4 and is now hitting .423 in his short time with the Red Wings. Eric Farris went 2-5, and Jermaine Mitchell was 2-4. Deibinson Romero hit his ninth home run for Rochester. New Britain 1, Akron 0 Box Score Veteran Kyle Davies was back on the mound for the Rock Cats and pitched well. He went the first six innings without allowing a run. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out two. Cole Johnson came on and struck out three over the next two innings. He gave up just one hit. Dakota Watts finished with a scoreless ninth frame. He gave up just one hit. The Rock Cats got the win despite scoring just one run and getting just four hits. Evan Bigley had two of the hits and drove in the lone run. Ft. Myers 1, Charlotte 3 Box Score The pitching was adequate in this game, despite a rain delay of over an hour to start. However, the Miracle bats did not show up on this night. Manuel Soliman started and gave up one run on five hits and three walks in four innings. He struck out six. Tyler Duffey came out of the bullpen and worked three innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out three. Zack Jones worked the final two innings without giving up a run. He gave up one hit, one walk and struck out three. The Miracle had just five hits in the game in this one. Byron Buxton’s third double was the lone extra base hit for the Miracle. JD Williams and Levi Michael each had a single and a walk. A frustrated Doug Mientkiewicz was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing balls and strikes. Cedar Rapids 7, Beloit 2 Box Score It was a terrific night for the Kernels in Beloit. Their bats have really cooled of late, but on this night, the bats showed up. The pitching was also terrific. Tim Atherton started and improved to 6-4 with five solid innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits and three walks. He struck out four. Alex Muren was unhittable in his three innings. In fact, he faced nine batters and got all nine of them out, including two on strikeouts. Brian Gilbert pitched a scoreless ninth inning to close out the win. Jonathan Murphy led the offense. He went 2-4 with a walk, his fifth double, his second triple and four RBI. Adam Walker was 2-5 with his 27th double. Niko Goodrum was 1-2 and walked three times. Max Kepler and Joel Licon each had two doubles. Jorge Polanco hit his 28th double. Elizabethton 6, Johnson City 3 Box Score [ATTACH=CONFIG]5151[/ATTACH]Hard-throwing lefty Randy Rosario was on the mound for the E-Twins. He threw seven shutout innings. He gave up five hits, walked two and struck out four. Second-round pick Ryan Eades came on and struggled to find the strike zone. He recorded just two outs and was charged with three runs (2 earned). He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out one. CK Irby recorded his first save. He got the final four outs. He walked one and struck out two. Zach Granite continues to lead the E-Twins offense from the leadoff position. In this game, he was 2-3 with two walks and his 12th stolen base. Rory Rhodes was also 2-3, and he added a walk. Tanner Vavra hit his first triple. GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 4 Box Score For the second straight rehab game, Alex Wimmers got roughed up. In his previous start, he had given up eight runs (5 earned) on nine hits in three innings. On Thursday morning, he gave up four runs on five hits and a walk, and he recorded just two outs. He struck out one. Fernando Romero did a tremendous job in relief. He went the next 5.1 innings and gave up just one hit and walked one. He struck out five. Leonel Zazueta struck out four and walked one in two scoreless innings. Tyler Stirewalt then struck out the side in his inning. The Twins had seven hits on the game. Jonatan Hinojosa was the lone player with a multi-hit game. He was 2-3 with a walk. Jorge Fernandez had the lone extra base hit, his second triple of the season. Former Twins outfielder, Lew Ford, played in his first rehab game for the Orioles and went 1-1 with a walk. Thanks for checking out today’s Twins minor league report. Please feel free to discuss, comment or ask questions.

This article is basically saying that Florimon has exceeded very low expectations. I think we generally think the can continue in the job. The purpose was not to say, by any means, that he's going to be the shortstop for the next 8-10 years, much less then next 2-3. I certainly think shortstop is an area the Twins can still address, but I don't think he's been a hole in the roster that I thought he might be. He's been quite adequate. It's not a ringing endorsement, but it's been a pleasant surprise in a season where positives have been few and far between.

To be fair, catchers get hit in the mask all the time, and likely there is a jarring every single time. To distinguish between 'normal' and 'concussion' is probably not easy. Hopefully he's alright!

Yeah, the question of whether or not he's met/exceeded/etc. expectations is a subjective one. That's it's intent. That's where the discussion comes in. The question of whether he's good enough to start on a World Series team is always a weird one to me. If he's playing gold-glove caliber defense, then of course he can be part of a world series caliber team. Of course, that's assuming you're making up for the lack of offense somewhere else. But, not all World Series caliber teams have great or even good hitters at every position. Yadier Molina wasn't a great hitting catcher early in his career, and the Cardinals were always a contender. There have been other examples. So to think that any one player makes a breaks a team's chances of contending is not there, in my opinion.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=2201-Is-Pedro-Florimon-Meeting-or-Exceeding-Expectations

On Tuesday, we took a look at Minnesota Twins second baseman Brian Dozier and noted that his performance is certainly trending in the right direction, and that continued on Wednesday night in Kansas City. Today, we’ll shift to the other side of the infield and try to determine whether Dozier’s keystone combination partner Pedro Florimon is meeting or exceeding expectations. If I’m being honest, my expectations for Mr. Florimon were not terribly high. In fact, when I posted my 2013 Twins hitting predictions, I thought that he would be Designated for Assignment in June with an OPS below .500. Strangely, I was not all that impressed by his defense in his late-season run at shortstop with the Twins. Looking at some defensive metrics, they lined up pretty closely with those of Brian Dozier, who many fans thought was pretty bad at shortstop. [ATTACH=CONFIG]5145[/ATTACH] So, let’s start with the defense. When the Twins claimed Florimon after he had been DFAd by the Orioles, he was known as a tremendous defensive shortstop. Offensive expectations were very low, but that only meant that his defense must be incredible. Reports I was hearing out of New Britain and Rochester last year didn’t disagree with that. They were seeing a great glove man. But again, I thought he was disappointing, relative to expectations, with the glove in 2012. So, let’s jump to 2013. How is Florimon doing defensively. He had four errors in about the first week of the season. Not a great start to the season, but in total, he has just ten errors this season. Now to the more advanced defensive metrics. According to fangraphs, Florimon ranks third among MLB shortstops with a 7.7 UZR. Only the Braves Andrelton Simmons (17.7) and the Rays Yunel Escabar (8.2) rank ahead of him right now. By DWAR (Defensive WAR), Florimon’s (1.9) is second to Simmons’ 4.2. Third on the list is former Twins shortstop, JJ Hardy at 1.5. If Range Factor is what you prefer, then Florimon is Number One on your list. His 5.46 is 0.50 ahead of Simmons’ 4.96. The Number Two AL shortstop is Seattle’s Brendan Ryan at 4.30. So, from a defensive perspective, he has been very good. For me, that’s actually a little bit better than I expected. So, let’s turn to the offense. My expectations were incredible low so it won’t take a whole lot to be better than my expectations for him with the bat. Overall this year, in 300 plate appearances, he is hitting .232/.286/.353 (.639) with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 35 RBI. Looking at those numbers with no context says that they are not very good numbers. So, let’s look at how his numbers rank with other big league shortstops. Of 14 shortstops with more than 200 plate appearances, only Seattle’s Brendan Ryan has a lower batting average. Of the 14 shortstops, only Ryan and Kansas City’s Alcides Escobar have a lower on-base percentage. Of the 14 shortstops, only Ryan, Escobar, the Yankees’ Jayson Nix and the Rangers’ Elvis Andrus have a lower slugging percentage. Those same four players are the only ones who have an OPS of lower than the .639 that Florimon boasts. In general, Florimon’s offense has been pretty poor, but he’s not the worst shortstop in baseball offensively, which is what I expected. Imagine if the Twins were paying him as much as the Rangers are paying Elvis Andrus!! So, when you combine the offense of Pedro Florimon with his defense, what happens? Well, if you believe in WAR, the answer might surprise you. Here are the WAR rankings for the shortstops with more than 200 plate appearances: 1. Jhonny Peralta 3.5 2. JJ Hardy 2.4 3. Yunel Escobar 2.3 4. Elvis Andrus 2.1 5. Pedro Florimon 2.0 6. Alexei Ramirez 1.8 7. Stephen Drew 1.7 8. Jose Reyes 1.7 9. Erick Aybar 1.3 10. Jed Lowrie 1.1 11. Asdrubal Cabrera 1.0 12. Mike Aviles 0.8 13. Jayson Nix 0.5 14. Brendan Ryan 0.3 15. Alcides Escobar 0.2 SUMMARY So, has Pedro Florimon met or exceeded our expectations? Well, my expectations were immensely low. Again, I expected his defense to be like he was last year, which is to say, look like he should be a good shortstop but the numbers don’t match. I though he wouldn’t hit at all, especially over the course of a full season where his weaknesses could be more and more exposed. He hasn’t hit great at all, but much better than I expected. So, maybe not to the extent as Brian Dozier, but Pedro Florimon has exceeded my expectations by a decent amount. We said before the season if he could post a .600 OPS and play great defense, we would be happy. I think we can be happy with Pedro Florimon.

Reports from the Twins clubhouse after tonight's game indicate that the reason Ryan Doumit was removed from the game was because of concussion symptoms. Assistant GM Rob Antony said it is likely he will go on the 7-Day Disabled List. Most likely, Josh Willingham will just take his spot on the roster, though one can't help but wonder if Josmil Pinto might be an option, keeping Chris Herrmann able to play more positions and getting Pinto playing time?