Seth Stohs

Ortiz has hit .269/.312/.431 (.742) in 93 games with the Miracle after spending the first month in Beloit. I don't know that he's done anything yet to be pushed up. I agree that they would love to see Rams and Morales do something there. Roberts likely the best of that group.

You are correct. I don't know why I typed 'seven.' It's been corrected.

Watts and Pugh both went last year. They have decisions to make on all three of them. The AFL isn't a league just for top prospects. Maybe one or two per organization. For others, it's for help with decisions that need to be made by season's end.

I guess that's my point. it's not that playing RF is hard. He has played in the OF, like 5 years ago, so he wouldn't completely lose that ability. It's just the preparation of even just throwing him into RF once a week in Rochester. The time in Rochester didn't hurt him at all this season. he was able to rake and gain some confidence which is a great thing.

Very good point. They claimed Vasquez on the final weekend last year. Then they claimed Florimon after the season. Maloney may have been OK if not for the elbow problems that led to Tommy John. Gray was pretty bad, but he had moments early in the season. Thomas has been decent for Rochester during their run. I'd say Ryan's scouts have done pretty well finding high school talent... Morneau, Mauer, Kubel, Span, Parmelee, Swarzak, Waldrop, Plouffe, Revere. So far so good with Buxton and Berrios. Not sure what there is to complain about there.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?986-Minor-signings-make-impact

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2198[/ATTACH] Sam Deduno put together the best start of his career on Wednesday night. Pitching against the Seattle Mariners, Deduno threw seven shutout innings and allowed just two hits. He struckout a career high seven batters. Most important, and probably most inexplicable, he walked no one. He improved to 5-2 and dropped his ERA to 3.72. To say he has been a pleasant surprise is quite the understatement. Deduno was one of 14 players from outside the organization who signed minor league contracts and were invited to big league camp. Some of them did nothing, some have done a little, and some have proven to be terrific finds. A couple of them may even remain on the 40 man roster after this season. Here’s a quick look: The Keepers Jared Burton came to the Twins this spring after spending 2007 through 2011 with the Cincinnati Reds. He has had arm problems the last two years that cost him a lot of time. However, when hew as healthy, he was one of the Reds best late-inning relievers. For the Twins, Burton has been just that, a great late-inning option. In fact, with Matt Capps out, Burton even has a few saves. He has been very good and very consistent from Day Two (on Day One, he gave up two home runs, but since then, lights out!). Casey Fien came from the Tigers organization. He got a couple of small cups of coffee with Detroit in 2009 and 2010. The Twins signed him and he was one of the final cuts of spring. He did alright with Rochester this spring, and just a few weeks before he was recalled, he really started throwing hard. That is the pitcher we have seen with the Twins, a hard-thrower. He wears his emotions on his sleeve, which is fun when he gets a big strikeout in an important situation, something he has managed to do with regularity. PJ Walters will be an interesting case this offseason. He pitched alright in his first few starts with the Twins, even throwing a complete game shutout. He then had a couple of rough starts but it was found out that he was pitching with some pain. He was DL’d and is yet to return to the Twins. Did he show enough in his seven starts with the Twins to keep him around and give him another shot at a 5th starter gig? Sam Deduno is so intriguing to me. Even when he was at his wildest, it was clear that he had tremendous stuff. My question was always, could the 29 year old find a way to bring his walk rate down to 4 or 4.5 per nine innings as opposed to the 7-8 walks per nine innings we saw early. With his natural pitch movement and great stuff, if he could harness even a little control, he would have a chance to be terrific. We saw an example of what that could look like on Wednesday night, and for my money, I would like to see more! Done Well Luis Perdomo signed with the Twins after seeing some big league time with the Padres in 2009 and 2010. The Bearded One was sent back to AA to start the season, and as you would hope, he dominated there. He was promoted to AAA Rochester, where he was again very good. He struggled with his control with the Twins, something he did not do in Rochester where he has a 24:5 strikeout to walk rate. The 28 year old is likely to come off of the 40 man roster, but it would be good to try to keep him in the organization. Matt Carson is a professional. When he was signed, reports raved about the type of person he is, how hard he works and how teammates respond to him. He also is a guy who regularly hits 20-30 home runs a season. He has had another solid season in AAA Rochester this year, hitting .282/.347/.457 (.804) with 28 doubles and 14 home runs. It was nice to see the guy get an opportunity with the Twins a couple of weeks ago, and it’s possible we will see him again in September. He will most likely be removed from the 40 man following the season. Sean Burroughs started the season with the Twins but it wasn’t long before he was DFAd. He was a nice story in 2011 when he resurfaced in the big leagues for the first time since 2006. He is a solid hitter and did alright for Rochester. Unfortunately, he has not played in a couple of months with a back injury. Wilkin Ramirez was a top prospect of the Tigers several years ago and was with the Braves in 2011. Still just 26 years old, Ramirez still has the talent to be a big leaguer if presented an opportunity. He managed to get hurt in spring training and missed a lot of time early in the year. He began his rehab in Ft. Myers, then crushed the ball in New Britain for a couple of weeks. He moved up to Rochester where he has been a little inconsistent, but he has been one of the top hitters in AAA the last three weeks. Nothing Much Frankly, most minor league free agent signings don’t surface back into the big leagues, so this is the category where most will be. To have so many names above this point is impressive. Lefty Aaron Thompson was busted early in the season for 50 games for testing positive for a PED. He served his time and has pitched for New Britain since. He started and recently was moved to the bullpen. He’s left-handed and still just 25 years old, so he’s worth trying to keep around if they can. He pitched in four games for the Pirates in 2011. Brad Thompson was a big part of the St. Louis Cardinals bullpen in 2006 when they won the World Series. He was a good pitcher with a live arm. Unfortunately, he has been a bit of a journeyman the last couple of years. The Twins signed him this spring knowing he had missed part of 2010 and all of 2011 after Tommy John surgery. It didn’t pan out for Thompson as he struggled through a few appearances in New Britain. Daryl Thompson went 1-5 in nine starts for the Red Wings before being released. He had pitched previously with the Reds in 2008 and 2011. He is 26 years old and didn’t latch on with another team after being released. Brendan Wise is a strike-throwing righty from Australia who signed with the Twins after years in the Tigers organization. The last two seasons, pitching in AAA Rochester, Wise had compiled season ERAs of 2.08 and 1.90. This year in Rochester, he posted an ERA of 5.64 before being put on the Disabled List a month ago. JR Towles was a guy that people wanted to take Drew Butera’s spot as the #3 catcher in the organization. Although he had done nothing in the big leagues from 2008 through 2011, he had put up encouraging AAA numbers. This year in Rochester, he hit .211/.271/.317 and has played only 50 games for various reasons. Jason Bulger put together a big league career that spanned 2005 with Arizona and then 2006 through 2011 with the Angels. He had a lot of big league success and some good strikeout numbers. He came to spring training and showed nothing in big league camp. It wasn’t long before the Twins just released him. He signed with the Yankees and has pitched for their AAA affiliate all season. He has 21 walks and 28 strikeouts in 34.1 innings for Empire State. Steve Pearce is an interesting case. He was a draft choice of the Twins early last decade and he signed with the Twins. He went to spring training but was hurt early, didn’t play much, didn’t fit in and the Twins released him. He signed with the Yankees and played in AAA. The Orioles bought him from the Yankees in June and he spent some time with their big league club. The Astros claimed him when he was put on waivers in July. And last week, the Astros traded him to the Yankees to help them at 1B while Mark Teixeira is hurt. He’s always hit left-handed pitching well. So there you have it. A lot of Twins fans are pretty down on the team right now, and that’s understandable. Some are always looking for the negative regardless of the situation and choose to only look at the mistakes. But, I just believe that if we’re going to focus on the mistakes, we also need to look at the successes. Credit is due this year to those individuals in the front office who picked out and signed so many effective minor league free agents. It isn’t often noticed, but these are important signings for the organization. It also says a lot about where the Twins are right now. Normally, a team may see one or two of their minor league free agents come up and contribute. It’s telling that the Twins have had to count on so many minor league free agents. But that shouldn’t take away from those people who did their due diligence and brought in a nice group of minor league free agents. Whoever they may be.

No, it's real. Lester Oliveros had Tommy John surgery today.

Just got a note from Terry Ryan saying that the doctor got into the elbow area today and realized that the had to repair the UCL. Very similar to the Scott Baker surgery, although from the sounds of it, the Twins weren't as surprised by Oliveros needing TJ.

Updated LaVelle tweet on Benson: "CLARIFICATION: Joe Benson needs 3-4 months of REST, not rehab. A little difference. The bone needs time to heal. Still....yikes"

CONFIRMED - TwinsBaseball.com's Rhett Bollinger tweeted that Assistant GM Rob Antony just verified that Lester Oliveros had Tommy John surgery today.

Twins reliever Lester Oliveros was shut down more than a month ago with elbow issues. I believe that he was going to have bone chips removed. However, within the last 10 minutes, Lester Oliveros tweeted the following, "Yaa listo mi operacion de tommy john... Salio todo bien gracias a dios ahora a recuperarme para volver al monticulo lo mas pronto posible..." Using Google Translate, it roughly translates to "Yaa ready my Tommy John surgery ... Everything went well thank god now recover to return to the mound as soon as possible .." Maybe he is ready for it, or everything went well. but now he's thanking god that he can recover and return as soon as possible.

According to LaVelle... Joe Benson's rehab will likely be 3 months, taking him out of the AFL... good news for Nate Roberts, but unfortunately for Benson.

According to LaVelle E Neal via Twitter: "Joe Benson faces three months of rehab after left knee surgery. There's a bone problem under the kneecap." The surgery was expected to have just a one month recovery. With this news, it means he won't be going to the AFL. He should be ready for spring training... and what he needs is a turn of the calendar year... HOpefully 2013 will find Benson with much more health.

Short Answer - I have NO idea!! Makes no sense to me!

ha!! That's why I didn't put Eddie Rosario too. I wasn't sure which team to put him on...

There is an article where the discussion on the actual choices can be had.

I can't even disagree with you. He's one guy that is probably where he is because of the playoffs, and I don't have a problem with that especially with all the missed time in 2011. However, he should move up quickly next year to make up some time. he's incredible at getting on-base, not just walks and HBP, but he is a professional hitter.

With the Twins being awarded the 2014 All-Star game, it got me thinking... which Twins minor leaguer(s) will play in the 2014 Futures Game at Target Field. Will the Twins have one World representative and one US representative? Let's assume so. Who do you think they will be? My predictions: World - Max Kepler USA - Byron Buxton (I'm going to assume that in the 2013 Futures Game, Miguel Sano will play for the World Team and Aaron Hicks for the US team.)

Today, Miguel Sano was named to the Midwest League's postseason All Star team. He was also named the league's prospect of the year.

Parmelee batting 7th tonight and starting in... Right Field...

Diamond has chosen to drop his appeal and will begin serving his 6 game suspension tonight. So, basically, he'll have a start moved back a day or two.

This is where the things like scouting and athleticism and such really come in to play, especially at those low minor league levels. Statistically, he's been one of the more disappointing players in the system this year, but there is no reason whatsoever to give up on him, yet. (Note, in other words, he likely won't be ranked as high by me with my 2013 rankings)