Seth Stohs

The Twins organization is filled with players from all over the globe. They scout the entire country, Canada and Puerto Rico for the draft. They’ve done a nice job signing international players in recent years. The Twins do a great job in Australia. They have players from Europe and talent from Taiwan. They have players from Central and South America, but also from South Africa. The last couple of seasons, the Twins have gone in a direction that is likely most rare. In the last two seasons, the Twins have signed four players out of the independent leagues. To this point, none of them have made it to the big leagues, and often, these players are not signed to get to the big leagues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]They are signed to fill a role with one of the team’s affiliates. When the Baltimore Orioles signed OF Lew Ford out of the independent ranks, they basically came out and said he would likely not play in the big leagues. But once in a while, there is a success story. Ford played so well in AAA that the O’s called him up which was a great story. Here is a little bit about each of the four players the Twins signed from the independent leagues: Andrew Albers – LHP – 26 Albers pitched for four years at the University of Kentucky before being drafted in the 10th round of the 2008 draft by the Padres. He pitched in the rookie leagues for them that summer, but injured his elbow and needed Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2009 season, and when he went to spring training with the team in 2010, he was still not 100% He was released, and in 2010 he pitched for Quebec in the CanAm League. He went 3-0 with 17 saves and a 1.40 ERA. In 57.2 innings, he gave up 41 hits, walked 16 and struck out 59. The next spring, he was trying to work out tryouts with big league clubs, looking for an opportunity for another shot with an affiliation. A couple of those opportunities didn’t pan out. To make a short story long, he called the Twins and said that he would drive from Arizona to Ft. Myers for a tryout. IF they liked him, they could reimburse his travel. If not, he would drive back home, to Saskatchewan, and call it a career. The Twins liked what they saw and signed him. He was my choice for Twins minor league relief pitcher of the year in 2011 when he went 4-1 with a 1.55 ERA in Ft. Myers and then 4-1 with a 2.91 ERA in New Britain. He has been a starter this season for the New Britain Rock Cats. He is 4-3 with a 3.61 ERA in 17 games (15 starts). He is an aggressive, strike-thrower, walking just 11 in 87.1 innings. He has been on the disabled list twice. Caleb Thielbar – LHP – 25 Thielbar is from the town of Randolph, Minnesota. He pitched at South Dakota State. In 2009, he went 5-8 with a 5.44 ERA for the Jackrabbits yet was drafted in the 18th round that year by the Milwaukee Brewers. He made it up to Low A Wisconsin of the Midwest League where he pitched in 30 games in 2010. In 2011, he pitched in 43 games for the St. Paul Saints and went 3-3 with a 2.54 ERA. In 49.2 innings, he gave up 41 hits, walked 15 and struckout 62. The Twins signed him in August, and he pitched in three games for the Ft. Myers Miracle. He did well, but the assumption by many was that he was just helping fill out the roster and may not make it to the 2012 season. Instead, he went to minor league spring training with the Twins and has been one of the fast-risers in the system. The left-hander started the season with the Miracle. He pitched in seven games and 12.1 innings. He gave up four hits, walked two and struckout 16. He was quickly promoted to New Britain where he pitched in 16 games. In 25 innings, he gave up 18 hits, walked just three and struck out 26. He earned a mid-June promotion to AAA Rochester. He has leveled off some, but in 23 games and 34 innings, he has given up 37 hits, walked 13 and struck out 26. Overall, he is 6-2 with a 2.14 ERA. Chris Colabello – 1B – 28 Colabello had a solid, four-year career at Assumption College, a small Division II school in Worcester, Massechusetts. However, he was not drafted. Since that time, 2005, he has played independent baseball, primarily for Worcester, which is also in the CanAm League. He has hit over .300 in six of those seven seasons. He was a league All-Star in 2008 and again in 2011 when he had a terrific season. The first baseman hit .348/.410/.600 (1.010) with 32 doubles, 20 homers and 79 RBI). He was named the CanAm League player of the year, and also Baseball America named him the Independent League player of the year. The Twins felt they had a need for a bat and a first baseman at AA New Britain, so they gave Colabello his first opportunity with an affiliated team at the age of 28. To say that he has proven he belongs would be an understatement. He has hit in the middle of the Rock Cats lineup and hit .285/.354/.488 (.842) with 35 doubles, 18 homers and 91 RBI. For a guy who came into the season likely wondering if he would fit in and how he would do. At this point, the assumption is that he should be back and playing in Rochester in 2013. Can he be a right-handed bench bat for the Twins? We will find out. Dan Sattler – RHP – 28 Sattler pitched in the Big 10, for Purdue, from 2004 through 2007. In that time, he went 12-18 with a 4.39 ERA. He was drafted by the Rangers in the 33th round in 2006 but went back for his senior season. He went undrafted but signed with the Rangers. He pitched in the Texas organization in 2007 and 2008. In 2009, he pitched for independent league Kansas City, but late in the season, he signed with the A’s and pitched in their system through the 2010 season. In 2011, he was with the Angels organization. He signed with the St. Paul Saints early this year, but the Twins signed him after he pitched in just five games. He was 1-0 with three saves. Blessed with a fastball in the upper 90s, Sattler signed and reported to Ft. Myers. He pitched in three games for the Miracle. On June 19, he was promoted to New Britain where he pitched in five games. On July 6, he was promoted to Rochester where he pitched in seven games. All told, he was 2-0 with a 2.12 ERA. In 29.2 innings, he gave up 18 hits, walked ten and struck out 20. Opponents hit just .173 against him. Unfortunately, he went on the disabled list with elbow problems and needed Tommy John surgery. Generally, when teams sign players from independent leagues, it is to fill a minor league roster. However, there are always exceptions. I was fortunate to play ball in college with Chris Coste who spent several years with the independent Fargo/Moorhead Redhawks before getting an opportunity in affiliated ball. It took a few years, but you may recall that he became The 33-Year-Old Rookie and won a World Series ring with the Philadelphia Phillies. The beauty is that you just never know. Of these four players, it is possible none of them will see time with the Twins. It’s also possible that any of them could fill a role of some sort with the big league club. We shall see.

Brett Andersen made his first start in just over a year since he had Tommy John surgery, and the lefty was back in fine form. He gave up just one run on four hits and no walks in seven innings. Sean Doolittle pitched a perfect eighth. Then former Twins reliever Grant Balfour recorded his 12th save with a perfect ninth. In other words, the Twins offense just did not show up. Trevor Plouffe was again 0-4 and is now 2-29 in eight games since his return from the DL. Jamey Carroll was 0-3, and he now has one hit in his last 22 at bats over six games. Ryan Doumit is 3-22 in his last six games (yet still is hitting .290). [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Cole De Vries struggled with his control early in the game, walking three in the first couple of innings. He gave up just two runs on six hits in 5.2 innings. Anthony Swarzak came on and got just two outs but not before giving up two runs on four hits and a walk. Jeff Gray got four outs, and Tyler Robertson got the final out. Here is a look at the Twins minor league scores and highlights from Tuesday night: ROCHESTER 0, PAWTUCKET 3 Daisuke Matsuzaka was on the mound for Pawtucket. The right-hander from Japan went seven shutout innings and gave up just one hit, to Eduardo Escobar. He also walked four batters, including Wilkin Ramirez twice. That was about it for the Red Wings offense. Pedro Hernandez started and went just 2.1 innings. He gave up one run on two hits, walked none and struckout one. He left for unknown (at this time) reasons. He was replaced by Deolis Guerra who gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in 2.2 innings. He walked one and struck out two. Caleb Thielbar gave up one hit in two scoreless innings. Kyle Waldrop threw a scoreless innings. NEW BRITAIN 2, PORTLAND 4 (15 Innings) A night after playing ten innings, these two teams went even longer on Tuesday. Jose Gonzalez, in for his third innings, got the first out of the 15th before allowing a single. He was replaced by Matt Hauser who got one out, but then gave up a long, two-run home run, and that was the difference. The Rock Cats pitched well, but the offense did not hit much at all. Oswaldo Arcia was 2-6 with his 18th double. Aaron Hicks was 2-5. James Beresford was 2-5 with a walk. Chris Colabello had a single, walked twice and drove in his 91st run of the season. Andrew Albers started this game with five shutout innings. He gave up two runs in the 6th inning and only got the first two outs. David Bromberg got the next five outs, four of them on strikeouts. Edgar Ibarra got two outs, walked on and struckout one. Dakota Watts struckout four in two, one-hit innings. Bruce Pugh struckout two and walked one in two scoreless frames. Jose Gonzalez worked two scoreless innings and struck out three batters before the fifteenth inning. FT. MYERS 3, BRADENTON 2 Since the All Star break, Josmil Pinto has been tremendous. He has hit .329/.404/.524 since then. On this night, he had just one hit, but it was a line drive single to left that drove in what proved to be the game-winning run. Jhon Goncalves scored the run. The outfielder was 3-4. Danny Ortiz went 2-4 with his 18th double. Matt Summers made the start for the Miracle. The right-hander went 5.2 innings and gave up two runs. He gave up five hits, walked three, hit two batters and struck out six. Nelvin Fuentes struck out two in two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits. Michael Tonkin got the final four outs, two of them on strikeouts. BELOIT 11, QUAD CITIES 0 The Snappers scored 11 runs on 18 hits, but the lead story in this game is the left-handed arm of Jason Wheeler. Wheeler worked the first eight innings for the team. He gave up no runs. He allowed six hits, walked one and struck out three to improve to 14-6 on the season. DJ Baxendale struckout one in a scoreless ninth frame. Stephen Wickens went 4-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Nate Roberts went 3-6 with his 15th double and 24th stolen base. JD Williams was 3-6 with his 20th steal. Eddie Rosario was 3-6, as well. Kennys Vargas went 2-5 with a walk. AJ Pettersen was 2-5 and led the way with three strikeouts. ELIZABETHTON 7, GREENEVILLE 5 The E-Twins offense got contributions from many on Tuesday night. Travis Harrison went 2-3 with a walk and his 12th double. Rory Rhodes was 2-5 with his sixth home run. Byron Buxton was 2-5. Niko Goodrum hit his fourth home run. Candido Pimentel went 1-2 with two walks and his 15th stolen base. Romy Jimenez was 1-2 with two walks and his 11th double. Hudson Boyd made the start for the Twins. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits. In four innings, he walked four and struckout just one. Travis Huber came in and gave up one run on two hits in two innings. He walked none and struckout two. Andrew Ferriera got the next four outs. He allowed no hits, walked two and struck out one. JT Chargois came in and gave up a single, but he recorded the final five outs, all five of them by strikeouts. GCL TWINS 5, GCL RAYS 2 Yorman Landa picked up his first win of the season. He gave up two unearned runs on four hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out six. Josue Montanez dropped his ERA to 0.40 with three shutout innings. The lefty gave up two hits and a walk, but he struckout five. Gonzalo Sanudo recorded his fourth save with a scoreless ninth frame. Joel Licon led the offense. He went 2-4 with his eighth double, first home run and two RBI. Jeremias Pineda was 1-2 with a walk, was hit by a pitch, tripled for the fourth time and stole his 20th base. Dereck Rodriguez hit his third home run. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, August 21, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Jason Wheeler (Photo from Jim Crikket of Knuckleballs) Hitter of the Day – Stephen Wickens --- A Look Ahead – Wednesday, August 22, 2012 Schedule Rochester @ Lehigh Valley – RHP Nick Blackburn New Britain vs Portland – LHP Luke French Ft. Myers vs Bradenton – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit vs Peoria – TBD Elizabethton vs Greeneville – RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins @ GCL Rays – TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and I’ll try to answer them!

The Twins have 41 games to go which seems like a lot. However, there are just ten days before we reach September when rosters can expand. With the Twins moves yesterday, outrighting Nick Blackburn and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, the Twins 40 man roster now sits at 38. This is great because that means that the Twins can add two players to the 40 man roster without dropping anyone else. Then again, there are a few players that could be removed without much heartache in Twins Nation. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Starting Pitching has been the Twins biggest concern all season. Really, it has been for several seasons, and it will be again throughout the offseason. That said, the Twins have to find out what they have on the 40 man roster for starters. As of right now, the Twins starting rotation is Scott Diamond, Sam Deduno, Brian Duensing and Cole De Vries. We might be able to assume that Liam Hendriks will take Blackburn’s rotation spot, but at this point, we don’t know that for certain. Below, I will outline what I would like to see the Twins do with their starting rotation in September, if not sooner: THE GOAL Again, I think it’s important to understand the logic in what is trying to be accomplished. In my opinion, the Twins front office has to make some tough decisions for next year. Can they count on Liam Hendriks? Which of the starters should stay on the 40 man roster, much less go to spring training attempting to win a 5th starter job or a long-relief job. THE PLAN To be able to see more pitchers, I would recommend a six-man starting rotation. I’d be against it under normal circumstances, but I think it’s important to see what several of these guys can do when asked to throw five to seven innings. WHO IS OUT (OF THE ROTATION)? Well, one of my recommendations was going to be to get Nick Blackburn out of the starting rotation. Whether it was to the bullpen of released, I think we have all seen enough of his starts. Cole De Vries has shown me enough to likely stay on the 40 man roster and be able to compete for a 5th starter/long reliever/#6-7 starter job. Brian Duensing should be in the bullpen, regardless of how well he pitched last night. He has shown that he can start when needed. His roster spot is very safe as he is a tremendous left-handed reliever. WHO STARTS? #1 – Scott Diamond – He has made himself into the one given for the Twins Opening Day starting rotation. He has thrown 162.2 innings so far in 2012 after pitching 162 innings last year. If you subscribe to the belief that a pitcher should pitch no more than 20% more innings than the previous season, that means Diamond should throw about 195 innings. Going to six starters will likely mean one less start and they can still monitor his innings because of extra relievers. #2 – Sam Deduno – Yes, I know he’s got 36 walks and 30 strikeouts in 46 innings. But he also has a 4-1 record and a 3.33 ERA. I know that there’s like a 99.8% likelihood that his success is not sustainable, but let me live in that other 0.2% for another month. What if he can find a way to relax a little bit and reduce is BB/9 from 7.0 to 4.2 or so? What if? I am so intrigued by how nasty his stuff is and how much movement his pitches get. The Twins have nothing to lose in September, so why not give his ‘stuff’ an opportunity?! #3 – Liam Hendriks – Yes, he has struggled with the Twins in a couple of stints this year. He was the Twins minor league pitcher of the year last year when he split time between AA and AAA and then was pushed too quickly to the big leagues in September. This year, he was with the Twins quickly and probably wasn’t quite ready. However, in 16 starts with AAA Rochester this season, he is now 9-3 with a 2.20 ERA. In 106.1 innings, he has given up 76 hits, walked 28 and struck out 82. He’s just 23 years old and has the background of success and the mix of pitches necessary to believe that he will figure it out at some point. #4 – Esmerling Vasquez – The Twins claimed Vasquez on the final weekend of the 2011 season. Just before spring training, he was DFAd to make room for Darin Mastroianni. He has been, arguably, the most consistent pitcher in Rochester this season. As a reliever, he is 5-4 with a 2.67 ERA. In 57.1 innings, he has given up 41 hits, walked 25 and struckout 50. However, he was recently moved to the starting staff, and in seven starts, he is 4-1 with a 3.16 ERA. In 37 innings, he has given up 27 hits, walked 11 and struck out 41. That doesn’t count a game that he came into with two outs in the 1st inning and pitched into the 9th inning. That K/rate of more than one per inning is certainly intriguing in an organization where that is a rarity. #5 – Jeff Manship – Next spring, Manship will be out of options. Since making five starts for the Twins in 2009 (including his first big league win in a must-win, last weekend start against the Royals), Manship has made just one start for the Twins, and that was in 2010. However, as a starter in Rochester this season, he has gone 4-2 with a 2.29 ERA in 10 starts. In 51 innings he’s given up 47 hits, walked 19 and struck out 32. I would give him a five to six start opportunity in September before making a decision, either way. #6 – PJ Walters – Although his overall numbers in seven starts for the Twins from mid-May through mid-June were not great, he certainly showed some glimpses. In his first four starts, he went at least six innings and pitched a complete game against the White Sox. But when the calendar turned to June, his struggles began. He didn’t go more than five in his first two starts, and then he didn’t get out of the first inning in a June 13 start against the Phillies. He hasn’t pitched in the big league since. He’s now working in his second rehab stint in Rochester, and went three innings and threw 59 pitches. Another start or two for the Red Wings and he should be able to make five more starts with the Twins. SUMMARY Terry Ryan and his front office staff have some difficult decisions to make on many players as they plan for 2012. I think a good way to get a look at a few of them would be to go to a six man starting rotation. Guys like Cole De Vries, Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak will become very important as well because there will be short starts and innings to eat, in all likelihood. Five or six extra starts is probably too small of a sample size to make final decisions, but coupled with AAA reports, it’s something more. What do you think of this plan? What do you think will or should happen, in your opinion? Photo by StarTribune.com