Seth Stohs

UPDATE: Alex Meyer - markos Mark Sobolewski - 5kfan Hudson Boyd - whanson16 James Beresford - SDBuhr Trevor May - Qirko Levi Michael - siouxjv Niko Goodrum - MarcusE Oswaldo Arcia - Anorthagen Jason Wheeler - MWLFan Eddie Rosario - Mr. Ed Jose Berrios - righty8383 Dalton Hicks - nicksaviking Mason Melotakis - stringer bell Chris Herrmann - Shane Wahl Kyle Gibson - Joe A. Preusser AJ Pettersen - Pogue Bear Miguel Sano - mntwinsforever Max Kepler - Sssuperdave

Welcome!! Hopefully Mr. Sano will keep you busy throughout the summer with frequent posts of HR, big hits, maybe a promotion, etc!

Adopt A Prospect 2013 Go to the Adopt a Prospect 2013 forum, at the top you can click on Post a New Thread (or Topic, or something like that). Then the title should be the name of the player and then write in the message.

Rescinded... Pogue Bear now is adopting AJ Pettersen.

UPDATE: Alex Meyer - markos Mark Sobolewski - 5kfan Hudson Boyd - whanson16 James Beresford - SDBuhr Trevor May - Qirko Levi Michael - siouxjv Niko Goodrum - MarcusE Oswaldo Arcia - Anorthagen Jason Wheeler - MWLFan Eddie Rosario - Mr. Ed Jose Berrios - righty8383 Dalton Hicks - nicksaviking Mason Melotakis - stringer bell Chris Herrmann - Shane Wahl Kyle Gibson - Joe A. Preusser Ryan Pressly - Pogue Bear Once your name is shown in the Updates, you can feel free to set up your Prospects forum.Be sure to check the Rules for what type of information should be included. Update us on how they've done so far this year. Feel free to find video and other links. Then be sure to update weekly, if not more frequently.

A WAYYYY better plan!!

To be fair, I don't think Wilkin's job is affected much by Arcia. He wasn't going to be DFAd either way (whether he missed 1 or 2 games). Wilkin coming back gave Hicks one less game to earn a trip to Rochester or not.

There would be no problem finding an affiliate at this point. Obviously the contract with Rochester goes out a couple of years anyway, but the Twins prospects are eventually going to get there.

If you're looking for names to consider, here is the Twins minor league page on Baseball-Reference.com, though I'd remind you there are players on the DL or still at Extended Spring Training that you can also adopt.

UPDATE: Alex Meyer - markos Mark Sobolewski - 5kfan Hudson Boyd - whanson16 James Beresford - SDBuhr Trevor May - Qirko Levi Michael - siouxjv Niko Goodrum - MarcusE Oswaldo Arcia - Anorthagen Jason Wheeler - MWLFan Eddie Rosario - Mr. Ed

2012 Adoptions are over... must re-adopt players in 2013.

Occasionally, I'll update people with who has been adopted: Alex Meyer - markos Mark Sobolewski - 5kfan Hudson Boyd - whanson16

Let the adoptions begin... I'll give Markos Alex Meyer because my meeting went a little long. Thanks!

No, I haven't heard much criticism of Vavra at 3B. That was more in reference to those that didn't like him as a hitting coach. he's a good baseball man.

If there are any questions regarding Adopt-A-Prospect 2013, please ask them here. I'll try to answer them before 10:00 when the Adoptions will begin on the Adoption Sign Up thread.

Starting at 10AM CST on Tuesday 4/16, you can adopt a Twins prospect in this thread. Just put down the players name and submit it and THEN CHECK TO MAKE SURE NOBODY POSTED THAT NAME BEFORE YOU. If someone has, you didn't get that player, but it's not big deal - just submit another post with someone else's name - and then make sure nobody posted THAT name before you. Lather, rinse and repeat until you get a name that nobody else did. Once you reserve a name, you can start a thread. Just title the thread the name of the prospect like "Miguel Sano." First post must be an introduction of the player. The format of the post is up to the individual, but please be sure to get all the important information needed on the player. For Example, Name, Position, Handedness, Drafted/Signed/Acquired (out of where/what round), Previous Stats, etc. Feel free to make it as detailed as you want. (There are a lot of websites you could link to such as their Baseball-Reference, The Baseball Cube, First Inning, Fan Graphs, etc.) We will post a message at approximately 10:00 CST saying that the Adoptions May Now Begin. Following that e-mail, submit your names! We'll occasionally post updates showing which players have been adopted by whom. Have efun!

Knudson is older than the league average. He went to the U of MN for four years before the Twins drafted him. However, he is healthy this season for the first time since the Twins drafted him. Upside is a backup catcher, so I'm not worried about the age at all.

My history of pre-season Top 30s have included Angel Morales, and they serve as a precautionary tale in my mind when guys put up tremendous numbers in Elizabethton, even at a young age. Pre-2009 -> #3 Pre-2010 -> #4 Pre-2011 -> #7 Pre-2012 -> #14 Pre-2013 -> Not Ranked That said, he is still young. There's no questioning his athleticism and even most of his tools. But he does have to put up some numbers this year. He can become a minor league free agent after the season. it is a big year for him.

I'm just saying that that win-loss record isn't worrisome. I do agree that the lack of prospects there is worrisome, though I think we knew that. There aren't a lot of prospects in New Britain either, frankly. The Twins hope and best prospects are in those lower levels. Arcia, Meyer, Hicks, Benson, May - those are the guys in the upper levels.

Love the extra base hits at this point. Added another home run tonight. For those who are curious, Hicks is a big kid. He was a 17th round pick just last year. He's not fast, but he's alright at 1B. He is a mix in the batter's box of Jim Thome and Adam Dunn. No, I'm not putting him in their category at all. I'm just saying he is a big dude. He also has a big-time upper cut, so when he does make contact, it's lofted! Great power.

It's not worrisome from the Twins standpoint. They aren't winning, but development of the few prospects that are on the roster is really all that matters. Arcia, Benson, Gibson. How are they developing? That's what matters. It would sure be nice for the city for the team to win and that's why they sign the veterans, but from a Twins fan perspective, the 2-9 start doesn't bother me at all.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1573-Baseball-The-Greatest-Game

Baseball is the greatest of games for many reasons. It’s great because it’s a marathon and not a sprint. It’s great because it is the world’s greatest athletes. It’s great because of its willingness to respect and appreciate its great history including on Monday when all players wore #42 on their jerseys in appreciation for all that Jackie Robinson did in integrating the game 65 years ago. Baseball is great for so many reasons. And, of course, I’m preaching to the choir. You choose to frequent a website here at Twins Daily that views the game from many different angles and perspectives. One of my favorite things about the game of baseball over the course of a long season is that anything can happen on any day. A team with a payroll like the Astros can win a series against a team with the payroll of the Angels. A .180 hitter can occasionally get a big hit against a pitcher with a WHIP below 1.00. Anything can happen on every pitch. Tonight’s 8-2 Twins win over the Angels gave me several very specific reminders of what this is such a great game that we all love. Here are a few of them: OSWALDO ARCIA As you know, I enjoy following the players through the minor league system. I love that there is no one route to the big leagues, and I appreciate how difficult it is to get so much as a cup of coffee in a Major League game. Because of that, getting to witness a Major League debut is always something that I find pretty special. On Monday night, Oswaldo Arcia donned a #42 jersey and ran out to left field for the top of the 1st inning. As a fan and someone who played baseball through the first 22 years of my life, I can only imagine the feelings and the pride that Arcia had going through his mind as he was running out to left field. Or how about as he was stepping in to the batter’s box? Fortunately, he was able to calm himself down enough to take a ball. Then on the second pitch, he lined a single to right field for his first big league hit. As Josh Hamilton booted it for a while, Arcia advanced to second base on the play. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3769[/ATTACH] Arcia was the first Twins hitter to get a hit in his first MLB at bat since Chris Parmelee in 2011. The 21 year (11 month, 6 days) old was the youngest Twins player to debut since Francisco Liriano pitched in a game in September of 2005. In the 7th inning, a pop up was hit to shallow left field. Pedro Florimon went out. Arcia looked down briefly to call off Florimon. When Arcia looked back up, the ball had moved on him, and he was unable to make the catch. Considering he had not played a game in left field since 2009 in the Gulf Coast League, it is no surprise that he would struggle, though he would likely make that catch 99 out of 100 times in a game situation. Arcia had a great at bat against lefty Michael Roth. With runners on second and third, Arcia ripped a first-pitch fastball to the left centerfield gap. Unfortunately, Mike Trout was able to run it down. Aaron Hicks came in as a defensive replacement in the 8th inning, ending Arcia’s night. It would be found out later that it would end Arcia’s time with the Twins… for now. After the game, the Twins reinstated Wilkin Ramirez from the paternity list and optioned Arcia back to Rochester. Arcia is one of the top prospects in the system and he represented himself well in his debut. He will most certainly be back at some point this season, whenever Terry Ryan finds a way to clear up a roster spot. KEVIN CORREIA When the Twins signed RHP Kevin Correia, we all let out a collective groan. Why would the Twins sign this guy who gives up a ton of hits, doesn’t have impeccable control and rarely misses bats? I had no problem with bringing him in for the 2013 season. I get that 2013 is a rebuilding year. But why give a guy who has not pitched in the American League and who has so few strikeouts that second year? Some people chose to remark any time other free agent pitchers signed elsewhere, comparing the other team’s move favorably to the Twins signing of Kevin Correia. On this night, Correia worked seven innings and gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk. He struckout five. The two runs came early in the game when he gave up solo home runs to Peter Bourjos and former Twins infielder Brendan Harris. He has made three starts for the Twins and gone at least seven innings in each of them. No one is expecting him to maintain a sub-3.00 ERA for the season. In fact, no one is expecting him to have an ERA below 4.00. I expect his ERA to be closer to 5.00 than 4.00 at the end of the year. However, that is no reason not to take a step back and say, "Hey, he’s been pretty solid so far this year." Leave it at that. On Monday night, Correia went against a lineup that includes $240 million man Albert Pujols, $120 million man Josh Hamilton and young stars in the making like Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout. He also was going against another one of this past offseason’s free agents. Correia got two years and $10 million from the Twins. The Angels signed Joe Blanton to a two year, $15 million deal. On this night, Correia was better. EIGHTH INNING In the eighth inning, the Twins had a 5-2 lead. Jared Burton replaced Kevin Correia on the mound. For defensive purposes, Aaron Hicks came in to centerfield and Darin Mastroianni slid over to left field. Oswaldo Arcia exited the game. Burton got Mike Trout, Josh Hamilton and Mark Trumbo out (with Albert Pujols singling) to maintain the 5-2 lead. Aaron Hicks led off the bottom of the 8th inning. He came into the at bat with an .047 batting average and just three walks to go with 20 strikeouts in 46 plate appearances. As has happened in so many of his plate appearances this season, he quickly fell behind in the count 1-2. However, he worked a terrific at bat, laying off a couple of tough breaking pitches, before leading the inning off with a walk. He proceeded to steal his first base in the big leagues. On the next pitch, he advanced to third base on a ball in the dirt by getting a great read on it. At the same time, Brian Dozier was at the plate. He was 0-2 with a walk at the time, dropping his season batting average to .152. He managed to get into a 1-2 count as well. However, he took some tough pitches and showed a very good eye in working his second walk of the game. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3768[/ATTACH] Pedro Florimon came up. He had bunted for a single and bunted for a sacrifice earlier in the game. He came into the game hitting .278, an average that will likely be at least .040 higher than where he’ll be in another week or so. However, he got a pitch out over the plate and drilled a line drive to the left centerfield gap. Hicks scored, but Dozier could not have run the bases any better. As the fielder grabbed the ball, Dozier was nearing third base. The much-maligned Joe Vavra was aggressive and sent Dozier who easily scored. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3767[/ATTACH] Although the final score was 8-2, the game was certain still in question when these three hitters came through with some big plate appearances and terrific base running to give the Twins some extra breathing room. It’s important to get contributions throughout the lineup. Baseball is beautiful because anything can happen. Sometimes big rallies can start with the 7-8-9 hitters. JOE MAUER Baseball is also a beautiful sport because its stars shine so brightly. Mauer went 3-4 on Opening Day, but then over the next four games, he went just 2-19 (.105) to drop his five-game batting average to .217. There were actually some fans wondering what was wrong with Mauer at that point. Of course, the answer was “Absolutely nothing.” Over the past seven games, he has gone 13-29 (.448) to raise his average to .346 on the still-young season. On Monday night, Mauer went 4-5, a triple shy of the cycle. In his first at bat, Mauer crushed a double to right centerfield, more than halfway up the wall. He later hit a home run to left centerfield, and in that eighth inning, he drove in Florimon with a single up the middle. Mauer entered the game with a career batting line of .323/.404/.467. You know that at the end of the 2013 season, his stat line will look something very similar to that. Baseball is the greatest game for many reasons, some individual to each person. For me, I enjoy seeing Major League debuts, unlikely role players playing hero, and stars playing like stars. Monday night’s game had several great examples of why this game is so great. I’m sure you can share more reasons why the game is so great. Sometimes, it's important to just watch the game and find reasons to enjoy it instead of analyzing and over-analyzing every, little thing.