Seth Stohs

I don't think I could possibly disagree with this more than I do... #1 - If I read that correctly, you're saying that the Twins should promote players faster than they should be promoted so that they can trade them? Don't you think that part of the reason that the four players the Twins got from the Mets struggled so much was because they were promoted too quickly? Maybe if they had been promoted more appropriately, they would have turned out. The Twins have called some players up when they are 21-22. Mauer was 20 when he debuted. There are other examples. Most are 24-25... but that's pretty normal. That's why most free agents are 30-32 years old. #2 - I get what you're saying, that they have less big league time to develop than if they get pushed up too early. Of course, if pushing them too early means that their minor league development isn't done correctly, then it doesn't matter because they won't make it in the big leagues. Parmelee is one example, but the Twins could hardly find a place for him to play in 2012... where were they going to find it in 2011 before September? And, looking at Parmelee's numbers in 2010 and then again in 2011 at AA, I'd say we still can't say he'll be a star. Alexi Casilla debuted early with the Twins... did that help his overall development? someone once told me... the goal is not to get them to the big leagues as fast as possible... it's for them to be ready when they get there. That makes total sense to me... Would Denard Span have been ready as a 20 year old to get playing time with the Twins when he was struggling in the Midwest League? That would have crushed him.

I've pointed out several times that I definitely think that Sano can stay at third. Yup, he has to get better, but he is a great athlete. I think the biggest thing that Watkins and Prada did for him was having him take ground balls at SS during BP. He's immensely talented. He does work hard. He's got a rocket for an arm. The big thing, for me, was that he look so much better at 3B when I saw him in August than when I saw him in June. He just looked much more prepared, pre-pitch, and was in good position and all those things that a 3B needs to do. Will he be a 3B? We'll see. But having seen him, I definitely think he can. As for Rosario at 2B, he looked kind of like a statue when I saw him in early June. That's kind of strange because in CF, he has great range. But 2B is much different. Again, when I saw him play 2B in August, he looked better. He turned a couple of nice DPs and made more routine plays. He had missed about 6 weeks in between the two times I saw him, so there wasn't a lot of time to work on things. He has a great arm. With both, I would keep them in the infield as long as possible.

They can be found on mlb.com or milb.com. "Winter Leagues"

http://minnesota.twins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121014&content_id=39801908&vkey=news_min&c_id=min&partnerId=aw-5571980665877633153-1803 mlb.com's Jonathan Mayo discussed Sano and other Twins top prospects that were at the Instructional League. Some good information and quotes from Rantz and Lepel.

Mr Ed, would those 20-25 at bats given any more hope (or less) than them not playing? I mean, Parmelee was great last September. Benson was pretty solid in September. And they got 80 at bats... I guess I just look at the Royals and say... was rushing prospects the right thing to do? Hosmer, Moustakus, Hochevar, Giovetella, Dyson, Cain, all those starting pitchers... is it worth rushing? By the way, Wil Myers was the Minor league player of the year and split time between AA and AAA, and the Royals didn't call him up. Does that make him less of a prospect or hurt his future? Not at all. Oh, and don't forget that he spent all of 2011 in AA and started 2012 there too!! Yikes!!

The article should tell Twins fans that the mild success of Avisail Garcia should give them hope for what Arcia and Hicks could be. By prospect rankings, Hicks and Arcia rank higher than Garcia. The situations. There was no reason for the Twins to bring up Hicks or Arcia for September. None. The Twins didn't need to evaluate Arcia or Hicks yet in September. They did need to see Parmelee and some of those infielders. Arcia and Hicks are already playing in Venezuela. What they do there for 2-3 months will likely mean much more than those 25 at bats they might have seen in September. They'll likely both be Top 100 prospects, go to spring training, get sent down to the minors early in camp, go to Rochester, play there 2-3 months and HOPEFULLY show that they're ready.

http://www.twinkietown.com/2012/10/13/3489328/minor-league-report-my-final-report Please take a couple of minutes of your time to read what Roger is calling his final report for Twinkie Town. For several years now, one of the things I have most looked forward to on Saturday mornings (besides not going to work) is reading Roger's Weekly Minor League Report at Twinkie Town. It always started with the week's transactions and then, team-by-team, went into detail on how the team did as well as the players. Each Saturday article was full of great information. I've known Roger now for a long time. When I lived in the cities, we tried to meet for lunch a time or two a year, and I feel bad that we haven't done that since I moved. We need to do that again. Like myself, Roger is passionate about the Twins and their minor league system. Like me, Roger loves the process of players moving up the system in an effort to get to the big leagues. Like me, for Roger, it's not just a bunch of names and numbers moving through the system. Roger understands fully how hard it is to get to the big leagues, and how difficult each advancement through the system is. It's about people, not machines. So often people get so negative about kids, and I know for Roger, and for myself, that is so frustrating. Roger gets it, and that's why his articles were so great. You could tell that he cares for the Twins, but he actually cares about the people, the players, the prospects. So, as Roger calls it a blogging career, I certainly wish him the best. From the sounds of his final blog entry, he's got plenty on his plate right now. Best wishes, Roger! Take care of yourself, and don't be a stranger!!

He's not involved in the drafting at all, or if so, VERY minimally. He also has no (or very minimal) say in the international signings.

Thank you for writing this!! You are 100% correct!!

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1101-Tigers-Garcia-gives-hope-for-Twins-Arcia

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2513[/ATTACH] Although there have been many storylines throughout the playoffs to this point, on the may not be getting enough play is that the Detroit Tigers have handed over so much playing time to 21-year-old Avisail Garcia. Consider, he began this season in the Florida State League and played just 55 games at Double-A Erie. The Tigers called him up to the big leagues on August 31, making him eligible to compete in the post season. Garcia has just three hits in 12 at bats this postseason, but he has driven in three pretty important runs. He has one RBI in each of the games against the Yankees. He is starting in right field against left-handed pitchers, like Andy Pettitte in Game 1 of the ALCS. With a righty on the mound for the Yankees in Game 2 (Hiroki Kuroda), Quinton Berry got the start, but when the Bombers went to lefty Boone Logan later in the game with the game at hand, Garcia came through with a pinch-hit RBI single. The similarities between Garcia and the Tigers Triple Crown man, Miguel Cabrera, are incredible. Garcia is listed at 6-4 and 240 pounds. Cabrera is listed at 6-4 and 240 pounds. Their batting stances are very similar as are their mannerisms in the batter’s box. Hey, if there is a hitter that a kid from a small town in Venezuela should emulate (on the field only!), it certainly would be Cabrera. As I see Garcia playing and contributing to this Tigers playoff run, I can’t help but also see similarities between Asivail Garcia and the Twins Oswaldo Arcia. Like Garcia, the 21-year-old Arcia started the season in the Florida State League before moving up to the Eastern League for the season’s second half. I can’t help but wonder, if the Twins had made a playoff run in 2012, would the Twins have considered bringing up Oswaldo Arcia and playing him in October? The prevailing answer in my head is “Probably not.” The Twins would not have put Arcia in that situation, for a couple of reasons. First, and foremost, the Twins had plenty of outfielders that were playing well. Josh Willingham was in left field. Denard Span in Centerfield. Ben Revere was in right field. Also, Chris Parmelee could have been put in right field as well after crushing AAA pitching all season. Frankly, there were other options for the Twins, even in a rotten 2012 season, that Arcia did not need to be rushed. It’s different with the Tigers. They have Austin Jackson in centerfield. Andy Dirks has earned every day playing time in the outfield. Quinton Berry had a nice rookie season, but he made a perfect platoon option. Brennan Boesch also hits left-handed, so he wasn’t a platoon option. The right-handed hitting Garcia was a good match with Berry. Also, I’m guessing it wasn’t a very difficult decision for Tigers’ manager Jim Leyland to keep the free-swinging Boesch off of the playoff roster. I also don’t think it would be fair to say that the Twins would never consider bringing up a young player from the minor leagues in September (or August 31) and playing him in the playoffs. In 2003, Michael Cuddyer got recalled to the Twins for September and was the starting right fielder in the ALDS. He started in place of “Dusty Kielmohr” (Bobby Kielty and Dustin Mohr) and went 5-13 (.385) with 3 walks in the series against the A’s. How does Oswaldo Arcia rank as prospect compared to Avisail Garcia? When Baseball America came out with its lists of top prospects by league, both players made two lists. In the Florida State League (High-A), Arcia was listed as the #7 prospect while Garcia was #13. In the Eastern League (AA), Arcia ranked #6 while Garcia ranked at #11. Here are their 2012 numbers, for comparison’s sake: FLORIDA STATE LEAGUE [TABLE] Name Team Games BA/OBP/SLG OPS 2B 3B HR Oswaldo Arcia Ft. Myers 55 .309/.376/.517 .893 16 3 7 Avisail Garcia Lakeland 67 .289/.324/.447 .771 8 5 8 [/TABLE] EASTERN LEAGUE [TABLE] Name Team Games BA/OBP/SLG OPS 2B 3B HR Oswaldo Arcia New Britain 69 .328/.398/.557 .955 20 5 10 Avisail Garcia Erie 55 .312/.345/.465 .810 9 3 6 [/TABLE] Both players were quality Venezuelan prospects and signed just days apart from each other in July of 2007. 2008 – Arcia played in the Dominican Summer League. Garcia played in the Venezuelan Summer League. 2009 – While Arcia moved up one level at a time, starting in the GCL, the Tigers had Garcia start the 2009 season in the Midwest League, playing for West Michigan. Arcia put together a solid season in the GCL, posting a .792 OPS. Garcia struggled, as you would expect, with a .613 OPS. 2010 – Garcia returned to West Michigan in 2010 and improved slightly as a 19 year old. He posted a .669 OPS. Meanwhile, Arcia put together his monster season for Elizabethton. It was the year that he hit .375/.424/.672 (1.096 OPS) with 21 doubles, seven triples and 14 home runs. 2011 – Last year, Arcia started the season in Beloit where he hit .352/.420/.704 with 14 extra base hits in April. He had elbow surgery, and when he came back in June, he went right to Ft. Myers where he posted a .763 OPS for the Miracle with 24 extra base hits. Garcia spent all of 2011 with Lakeland, also in the Florida State League, where he posted a .686 OPS with 33 extra base hits. 2012 – Both started the season back in the Florida State League. Arcia posted an .893 OPS in 55 games before moving up to AA New Britain where he was even better (.955 OPS). Garcia posted a .771 OPS with Lakeland in 67 games before moving up to AA Erie where he posted an .810 OPS. Garcia got the promotion to the Tigers still on August 31 and hit .319 for the Tigers in 23 games. He had 15 singles in 47 at bats. As Oswaldo Arcia is beginning his Venezuelan Winter League season in Aragua (the hometown of Garcia), Garcia is playing in the ALCS against the Yankees. As I watch Garcia contribute for the Tigers in the playoffs, I can’t help but get excited about the Twins future with Oswaldo Arcia (and Aaron Hicks, who ranked #8 in Baseball America’s Eastern League rankings and is also beginning his season in Venezuela with Margarita – where he is 5-14 (.357) to start the season) being a big part of it.

Hopefully he'll remove the "interim" label soon!! This is the right choice to succeed Rantz. I have no doubt.

According to Twins PR Director Dustin Morse, via Twitter: 52 years of time with the Minnesota Twins. He's been there for some downs, and he's been directly responsible for most of the ups. It's hard to argue that he has has as much impact on the Twins organization as anyone. I'm glad he is able to retire on his own decision. He's earned it!! Best wishes to Jim and his family!!

Great response, Bark!! I enjoyed it, and I am sorry to have presumed that none of the Twins Daily readers would be able to date one of Jeter's exes!!! Ha!

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1098-Why-do-Twins-fans-boo-Derek-Jeter

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2506[/ATTACH] Last night, in Game 1 of the ALCS, the New York Yankees lost an extra-inning game to Delmon Young and the Detroit Tigers. More important, they lost their captain Derek Jeter for the rest of the season because of a broken ankle. The news is devastating considering he is one Yankees hitter who is actually hitting. Alex Rodriguez is taking all of the heat, but Robinson Cano, Nick Swisher, Curtis Granderson and others are doing very little. The news is devastating to the Yankees and fans of the Yankees. It also is disappointing to fans who just want to watch greatness. The Yankees will go on, and they may even be able to win the ALCS and even the World Series. But to pretend that losing Jeter and replacing him with Jayson Nix at shortstop is anything but devastating is just not understanding. As Toronto Star columnist Richard Griffin tweeted on Sunday, “Jeter is to Nix as gift basket+limo is to Skittles+subway token.” It got me thinking again about what of the most perplexing things about some Twins fans. Why does Derek Jeter get booed so loudly when he comes to Minnesota?? I’m going to try to answer that question, or at least propose some ideas. Maybe you have more? Feel free to voice them in the Comments. “He’s Overrated” OK, we used to hear that one all the time, but when you can make a case that he is the greatest shortstop of all time, it kind of stops meaning much. The only shortstop in big league history that I think is probably a little bit better than Captain Clutch is Honus Wager, and his final season was in 1917. I think an argument could be made for the baseball of today being a little better than that of a century ago. Of those playing in the last few decades, there simply aren’t many to compare Jeter to. Alex Rodriguez and Nomar Garciaparra joined Jeter as AL shortstop beasts for a while, but Jeter has far outlasted them. Garciaparra struggled with injuries before retiring several years ago. Rodriguez moved to 3B when he joined the Yankees. While Jeter has played 2,585 games at the position, A-Rod has played just 1,272 games there. Similarly, Hall of Famer Robin Yount played 1,479 games at shortstop before moving to the outfield when he played over 1,200 games. Ernie Banks played just 1,125 games at shortstop and 1,259 games at first base. Of course, Jeter’s career OPS (to this point) is .829, and Yount’s was .772 while Banks’ was at .830. Cal Ripken is the one that we can compare Jeter to as he played over 2,300 games at shortstop before finishing his career with another 675 games at the hot corner. [TABLE] Name Games H/AB BA/OBP/SLG (OPS) 2B/3B/HR RBI/Runs Derek Jeter 2,585 3,304/10,551 .313/.382/.448 (.829) 524/65/255 1,254/1,868 398 SB Honus Wagner 2,794 3,420/10,439 .328/.391/.467 (.858) 643/252/101 1,475/1,739 723 SB Cal Ripken 3,001 3,184/11,551 .276/.340/.447 (.788) 603/44/431 1,695/1,647 Alex Rodriguez 2,524 2,901/9,662 .300/.384/.560 (.945) 512/30/647 1,950/1,898 Robin Yount 2,856 3,142/11,008 .285/.342/.430 (.772) 583/126/251 1,406/1,632 271 SB Ernie Banks 2,528 2,538/9,421 .274/.330/.500 (.830) 407/90/512 1,636/1,305 [/TABLE] “Because he’s a Yankee” Jeter grew up in Kalamazoo, Michigan and graduated from high school in 1992. With the 6th overall pick in that draft, the New York Yankees drafted him. He became a top prospect and was up with the team by September of 1995. He became a star, and like so many others throughout history, he has stayed with the same team. Kirby Puckett stayed with the Twins his whole career. Cal Ripken is synonymous with the Baltimore Orioles. The all-time great Yankees throughout history like Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Joe Dimaggio, Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra all stayed with the team their whole career. Derek Jeter is a lifelong New York Yankee, and that’s the way it should be. If you don’t like the Yankees because they spend so much money, well, I guess that’s cool. Lots of fans don’t, and that’s fine. But, Derek Jeter has nothing to do with those decisions. “He’s a Winner” In most places in society, that is considered a good thing, isn’t it? Has he been the sole reason for the five World Series championships (and two other World Series teams) that the Yankees have had in his career? Of course not, but no winning team has just one great player. Has he been a big part of those championships? Without question. Jeter has essentially played an extra season in his career, in the playoffs. He has played 158 playoff games and hit .308/.374/.465 (.838) with 32 doubles, five triples, 20 home runs, 61 RBI and 111 runs scored. (By the way, in case anyone is wondering, those numbers are not included in his career numbers listed above.) In the World Series, Jeter has been just as good. He has hit .321/.384/.449 (.832) in 58 games. “The Media Loves Him” Yup… and I can’t blame them. He’s great in interviews. He’s always been and shown tremendous class. He talks during good and bad times. It’s like the Brett Favre situation, or Duke basketball. Since Tim Tebow was added to the New York Jets this past summer, they certainly fit into this category too. I’m not sure what people want in these scenarios. What do people want Tim Tebow to do? Not be himself? Do they want him to become a jerk? Same thing with Jeter. Is he supposed to not act classy? Should he try to get in trouble with the law? He isn’t asking for all the extra attention, and he shouldn’t have to ask that people stop loving him the way they do. He’s put himself into the upper echelon of elite baseball players of all time, and he has handled it with class since day one. As a fan, that’s pretty impressive. As a parent, I would think he would be quite the role model for kids. He has even won the Roberto Clemente Award for community service. “He Dates Women that We Dream About” Mariah Carey. Jordana Brewster. Vanessa Minnillo. Miss Universe (Lara Dutta). Scarlett Johansson. Jessica Biel. Jessica Alba. Minka Kelly. Yup. He does. But let’s be honest here. If they weren’t dating Derek Jeter, they probably still would not have been dating you either. “If we boo him, it will distract him!” One of the things I’ll never understand is why home fans boo when the opposing pitcher throws over to first base on a pick-off attempt. It’s part of the game! I’ve been told that some fans do that in an attempt to distract the pitcher, and sometimes they take credit for a pitcher throwing wildly. The pitcher wasn’t distracted by the booing. He just threw wildly. Maybe there are some Twins fans who think that booing Jeter distracts him from hitting. Well, in 52 games at the Metrodome, he posted a .779 OPS, and in ten games so far at Target Field, his OPS is .778. So, it’s not working. Overall against the Twins, he is hitting (in 125 games) .323/.388/.470 (.857) with 32 doubles, two triples, 13 homers and 57 RBI. So yes, he is better at Yankees Stadium than he is when hitting in Minnesota, but I would venture to guess that is not unusual. “The Twins Can’t Develop a Shortstop” Since Derek Jeter took over as the Yankees shortstop at the start of the 1996 season, the Twins have used 31 players at shortstop. It may not be all that impressive, but I think we can all admit that it isn’t Jeter’s fault. In fact, the #1 on this list came to the Twins because he was never going to get a shot with the Yankees. This is a fun list to review, if only to remember some futility. Cristian Guzman (833), Pat Meares (433), Jason Bartlett (310), Nick Punto (248), Denny Hocking (243), Juan Castro (123), Brendan Harris (122), JJ Hardy (100), Brian Dozier (83), Alexi Casilla (77), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (60), Trevor Plouffe (55), Matt Tolbert (51), Adam Everett (44), Pedro Florimon (43), Jamey Carroll (37), Jeff Reboulet (37), Chris Gomez (17), Jason Maxwell (17), Luis Rodriguez (12), Luis Rivas (8), Augie Ojeda (7), Eduardo Escobar (6), Ariel Prieto (4), Cleatus Davidson (4), David Lamb (4), Brent Gates (2), Dave Hollins (1), Chuck Knoblauch (1), Jon Shave (1), Tommy Watkins (1). “He shouldn’t have won (those FIVE) Gold Gloves” You’re probably right, but he’s certainly not the only player to win a Gold Glove because of his offense. That happens all the time. Twins fans likely still remember when Rafael Palmiero won a Gold Glove at 1B despite playing just 17 games at first base (And the rest as a DH) while Doug Mientkiewicz was making all the plays with his first baseman’s mitt. He doesn’t have much range, but it’s not like Jeter is a butcher at shortstop. Jeter was also the 1996 AL Rookie of the Year. He has played in 13 All Star games. He won four Silver Slugger Awards. In 2006 and 2009, he was the Hank Aaron Award winner as the top hitter in the league. Three times he has finished in the Top 3 in the league in AL MVP voting. In fact, many very wise baseball people made the strong argument that Jeter, and not the Twins Justin Morneau, should have won the 2006 award. So, as Derek Jeter’s 2012 playoff runs comes to an end, I can’t help but ask, “Why do Twins fans boo Derek Jeter?” Why?

Last night in Venezuela, Aaron Hicks went 3-5 with a double and his second stolen base. Has a hit in all 3 games so far, 5-14 (.357). He's leading off and playing CF.

The Giants and Cardinals both needed five games to advance to the NLCS... and the Cardinals needed a huge comeback in Game 5! So, what will happen? Here are the pitching matchups: Game 1 - Sunday - Cardinals vs Giants - Lance Lynn vs Madison Bumgarner Game 2 - Monday - Cardinals vs Giants - Chris Carpenter vs Ryan Vogelsong Game 3 - Wednesday - Giants vs Cardinals - Matt Cain vs Kyle Lohse Game 4 - Thursday - Giants vs Cardinals - Tim Lincecum vs Adam Wainright Game 5 - Friday - Giants vs Cardinals - Madison Bumgarner vs Lance Lynn Game 6 - Sunday - Cardinals vs Giants - Chris Carpenter vs Ryan Vogelsong Game 7 - Monday - Cardinals vs Giants - Kyle Lohse vs Matt Cain So, what's going to happen? Get your predictions in... Seth Pick - Cardinals in 6 games.

The Tigers and Yankees both needed five games (and usage of their #1 pitchers) to reach the ALCS. Here is the schedule: Game 1 - Saturday - Tigers @ Yankees - Doug Fister vs Andy Pettitte Game 2 - Sunday - Tigers @ Yankees - Anibal Sanchez vs Hiroki Kuroda Game 3 - Tuesday - Yankees @ Tigers - CC Sabathia vs Justin Verlander Game 4 - Wednesday - Yankees @ Tigers - Phil Hughes vs Max Scherzer Game 5 - Thursday - Yankees @ Tigers - Andy Pettitte vs Doug Fister (if necessary) Game 6 - Saturday - Tigers @ Yankees - Anibal Sanchez vs Hiroki Kuroda (if necessary) Game 7 - Sunday - Tigers @ Yankees - Justin Verlander vs CC Sabathia (if necessary... and what a Game 7 matchup that would be!!!) What are your thoughts and predictions? Tigers in six games...

The Twins prospects had quite the day in the AFL today... Kyle Gibson started and threw five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struckout 8! Michael Tonkin then threw a scoreless inning. He gave up one hit, walked none and struckout 1. Logan Darnell threw two shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struckout 1. Caleb Thielbar threw a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Four Twins minor league pitchers combine for a shutout in Peoria's 6-0 win over Phoenix. Also, Nate Roberts started in LF and batted eighth. He was 2-3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI.

The AFL is a major hitter's league. Regarding Gibson, I just want to see him stay healthy, get stronger and get those additional 25-29 innings so that he's ready to go to spring training with a chance. And, to the point of the forum... That's Chris Herrmann being Chris Herrmann. he's a solid hitter who also walked, I believe. Interesting that Bigley has played both games so far, but no Nate Roberts yet. Also, with Gibson starting today, we may also see Thielbar and Tonkin, and when will Logan Darnell pitch?