Seth Stohs

Both. But it was clear at the time that the Twins wanted to get into the Japan market and thought Nishioka was the way to do that. I like that quote one-eye. Speaks to the Twins philosophy of continuity. Instead of always trying to place blame, figure out what's wrong and help each other fix those problems. I like it.

Great question because, like you said, Willingham has the incredible numbers, but Doumit has been incredible. Maybe it's a 1 and 1a kind of thing... add in Carroll, and Fien and Burton as a minor league free agent and it was a good offseason. Hopefully Mr. Ryan can have another similarly successful offseason this year, focusing on some starting pitching.

very nice analysis...

Thank you very much for the clarification.

Yeah, that was weird for a caller to single out White. That's almost as ridiculous as calling for Vavra to be let go.

Casilla's still on the roster, so Ryan isn't going to tip his hand on that one at this time.

1500espn's Phil Mackey penned a nice article stating that the Twins could make some changes to the field staff: One spot may open up without Ryan or Gardenhire needing to make a move: Gardenhire is signed through the 2013 season while his coaches' contracts run out at the end of the season.

Yeah, I just think it's a nice story. We knew that the Twins had long talked about wanting a knuckleballer in the Dome. In fact, they had signed Dickey the year before (2007-08 offseason) to a minor league contract, but they signed him too early and he was taken in the Rule 5 draft by Seattle. They waited until after the Rule 5 draft in 2008 to sign him. Dickey's knuckleball is unlike any other knuckleball in history. He throws it 10-15 mph harder than typical knuckleball pitchers. There was certainly a thought that, if he ever was able to make it work, he could be very good. Nothing in 2009 showed that was going to happen any time soon.

I guess I don't feel the need to place blame on an organization who let go of a minor league free agent who, in 35 games for the Twins in 2009, posted a 4.62 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP, who in 64.1 innings gave up 74 hits, walked 30 and struck out just 42. Blackburn was coming off of his second straight 11-11 season with an ERA just over 4 .He also threw 205 innings. Duensing was thrown into the rotation in mid-August and went 5-1 with a 2.79 ERA down the stretch of a pennant race.

Looks like it has paid off. Greenberg signed with the Miami Marlins and will get that one at bat next Tuesday, likely against RA Dickey.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?1065-Twins-Prospects-in-Review

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2426[/ATTACH] I was listening to this week’s Gleeman & the Geek episode. In it, they discussed briefly how many Twins prospects might make Baseball America’s 2013 Top 100 prospects list. It certainly is an interesting question, especially given that the Twins minor league system has been generally considered very weak the last few years. However, there is little question in my mind, that the Twins organization will likely rank in the Top 10 minor league systems again. The general belief is that Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton will likely be Top 25 prospects in all of baseball. The two certainly give the Twins a couple of high ceiling prospects although both are yet to turn 20. Aaron Hicks is no stranger to the Top 100 lists. He was #19 on their list in 2010 and #45 in 2011 before dropping out of the last this past year. Oswaldo Arcia hasn’t been on Baseball America’s Top 100 before, but he put together quite the offensive season at age 21. I fully expect both of them to be in the Top 100. What about Eddie Rosario? Will missing a month of the season keep him out of the Top 100? Kyle Gibson was #34 in 2011 after being #61 in 2010. Although he pitched very little in 2012, could he make the list again with a strong AFL showing? What about Jose (JO) Berrios? The Twins first supplemental first-round draft pick this year just dominated the rookie leagues. I figure that there are four ‘for-sures’ to be Top 100, and I listed three others that we could make a strong case for making it. More important than the actual list itself is the fact that the Twins do have a lot of high-ceiling prospects again. But, what does that really mean? What has being a Baseball America Top 100 prospect meant over the last 23 years? Let’s take a look: 1990 – Willie Banks (13), Johnny Ard (46), Kevin Tapani (88) 1991 – Willie Banks (15), Rich Garces (16), Chuck Knoblauch (72) 1992 – David McCarty (22), Pat Mahomes (25), Midre Cummings (33), Willie Banks (68), Alan Newman (96), Todd Ritchie (98) 1993 – David McCarthy (16), Mike Trombley (53), Rich Becker (78) 1994 – Rich Becker (37), Todd Ritchie (78), LaTroy Hawkins (92) 1995 – LaTroy Hawkins (30), Todd Walker (40), Marc Barcelo (70) 1996 – Todd Walker (22), Jose Valentin (58), LaTroy Hawkins (70), Dan Serafini (76) 1997 – Todd Walker (7), Luis Rivas (70), Torii Hunter (79) 1998 – Eric Milton (25), Luis Rivas (55), David Ortiz (84) 1999 – Michael Cuddyer (36), Michael Restovich (50), Luis Rivas (63), Cristian Guzman (68) 2000 – Michael Cuddyer (18), Michael Restovich (26), Matthew LeCroy (44), BJ Garbe (79), Luis Rivas (86) 2001 – Adam Johnson (41), Michael Cuddyer (55), Luis Rivas (93) 2002 – Joe Mauer (7), Justin Morneau (21), Michael Cuddyer (27), Michael Restovich (63), Adam Johnson (85) 2003 – Joe Mauer (4), Justin Morneau (14), Michael Cuddyer (17), Michael Restovich (37) 2004 – Joe Mauer (1), Justin Morneau (16), JD Durbin (66), Matt Moses (81), Jesse Crain (89) 2005 – Joe Mauer (1), Jason Kubel (17), Jesse Crain (63), JD Durbin (70) 2006 – Francisco Liriano (6), Jason Kubel (58), Matt Moses (75), Glen Perkins (91), Anthony Swarzak (100) 2007 – Matt Garza (21), Glen Perkins (66), Kevin Slowey (71), Chris Parmelee (94) 2008 – Deolis Guerra (35), Carlos Gomez (52), Nick Blackburn (56) 2009 – Ben Revere (59), Wilson Ramos (71) 2010 – Aaron Hicks (19), Wilson Ramos (58), Kyle Gibson (61), Miguel Sano (94) 2011 – Kyle Gibson (34), Aaron Hicks (45), Miguel Sano (60), Joe Benson (100) 2012 – Miguel Sano (18), Joe Benson (99) A couple of notes: Any question why the Twins struggled in the 1990s? How about all of the high school pitchers drafted high in the late 80’s and early 90s? Guys like Willie Banks, Johnny Ard, Pat Mahomes, Alan Newman, Todd Ritchie and Dan Serafini didn’t exactly pan out. LaTroy Hawkins was a success story after several years of struggling. Of course, Brad Radke was a high school draft pick who was never a top prospect, but he turned out alright. Based on his rankings, it sure would have been nice to see Rochester’s Michael Restovich get a real opportunity. Either that, or he’s a good example of a guy who hit a ton of HR in the Pacific Coast League and it wouldn’t translate to the big leagues? These Top 100 lists are a good illustration of the definition of prospects. Most of them don’t make it to elite status. Some of the top guys become stars, and others completely flame out. Some just become OK players or even role players. Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau and Michael Cuddyer turned out alright, I guess. I sometimes think that many Twins fans who talk about how bad the Twins farm system was a couple of years ago (and it was certainly not great) only had the incredible run of mid-‘00s prospects to compare to. In addition to those three, guys like Jason Kubel, Francisco Liriano and Glen Perkins were all prospects around the same time. Twins fans should be excited about the list of seven prospects mentioned early in this article. They are legitimate prospects and should give the Twins scouting departments a lot more credibility again. However, as with any prospects, there has to be an understanding of just what these rankings mean.

Thank you so much for the video and photos!! This is just awesome!

Regarding Berrios, it says in the article that he didn't meet the playing time requirements.

A day after being named the top prospect in the GCL, Byron Buxton was also named the top prospect in the Appalachian League. Max Kepler was #7. I can't help but wonder why JO Berrios wasn't named in either the Top 20 of the GCL or Appy League? http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/league-top-20-prospects/2012/2614085.html

Yes, this was terrific. It's difficult to get any updates from Instructs, except from people who are there. Thank you very much!! Any video or pictures you want to attach would be welcomed!

According to the A's twitter account, the team has signed a 2-year player development contract with the Beloit Snappers.

Derek Jeter is incredible. I mean, we're talking inner-circle Hall of Famer. He'll probably wind up with close to 4,000 hits. I have never understood why anyone doesn't completely respect and admire what he is and what he has been. He has stayed out of trouble. Yes, he's been on a ton of winning teams surrounded by a ton of talented players. However, he was drafted by and played his entire career with, one team. I'll never understand the boos he gets at Target Field.

It likely means that Revere or Span are the guy on 3B or 1B in those situations where Mauer or Willingham came through. Doumit may have come up after Willingham already came up with the big hit. It's a fun little state, but there are about 25 stats I would use first.

The Astros also have Rio Ruiz and Lance McCullers who should be in Quad Cities at some point as well.

The GM/Front Office can work on more than one or two things at a time. That's kind of like saying "We aren't going to make our 40 man roster decisions until we figure out the SP."

http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/rankings/league-top-20-prospects/2012/2614082.html Baseball America named its Top 20 Prospects in the GCL and the Twins top pick earned the top spot. #1 overall pick Carlos Correa was #2 on the list.

It' always funny how as fans, we always push for this deal or that deal.... Most of the time, GMs should get credit for deals that the don't make!!