Seth Stohs

Brunansky never coached Trevor Plouffe. Brunansky was credited a lot for Benson's year last year (even though Benson was the minor league player of the year the year before too)... Bruno coached Benson in Rochester this year too. Brunansky was credited a lot for Dozier's year last year... Bruno coached Dozier in Rochester this year. Rochester has a really bad offense. Bruno is probably a good hitting coach. We don't know. But he's never been the hitting coach for two MVP hitters... Vavra has done a pretty good job too. Final point... how much do hitting (or pitching) coaches have to do with it?

If an 8th Round pick becomes even a big league utility player, that was a successful draft pick. I don't understand what some above expect. As others have said, if you get 2 big league contributors per draft, you're doing well... I read comments saying that the Twins need to be better than everyone else. OK... Do they need to be 10% better? If so, that means that if they have 2.2 players per draft get to the big leagues. That would be one player every five drafts. I don't know how to measure "better." Again, 8th round picks that get to the big leagues are huge successes. 12th round picks that get to AAA are huge successes! Successes can't be solely measured by big leaguers either.

I think I wrote that neither Bundy or Machado would be available for anything the Twins have, or anybody period. But 1.) they're fun to write about and 2.) they have no one else exciting to write about. So although the O's have many needs and the Twins could fill some of them, the overall analysis of this article is that there probably isn't a good match.

LaVelle Neal posted the Twins starting rotation as they come out of the All Star break: Friday - Francisco Liriano Saturday - Cole De Vries Sunday - Brian Duensing Monday - Scott Diamond Tuesday - Sam Deduno That's how they come out of the break. Thoughts? What are your thoughts on how the rotation will play out over the course of the second half? Will Nick Blackburn and Liam Hendriks get back to the Twins? If so, when? How about Carl Pavano? Will any other starters get an opportunity, such as Aaron Thompson or BJ Hermsen?

No surprise, but Matt Capps will be activated before Friday's Twins game. He pitched two innings of rehab in Ft. Myers.

They have not yet signed Martinez. I can confirm the signing of Travis Huber, and also of Carson Goldsmith. Just about 30 hours to go before the deadline.

I like the philosophy. A good plate approach and plate discipline really has little to do with walks. If the pitcher throws no strikes, take the walk. But it's about knowing the strike zone and recognizing good pitches to hit. When you get a good pitch to hit, take a hack. That's the way it should be.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?786-Trade-Target-Team-Profile-The-Baltimore-Orioles

The Big Picture The Orioles are currently seven games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. However, they are currently 45-40 as the second half starts and that puts them 0.5 games ahead of the Tampa Bay Rays for the second Wild Card. The Orioles last finished with a .500 record (and last made the playoffs) in 1997. For that matter, the last time the O’s finished with more than 70 wins was 2005 when Lee Mazzilli was the team’s manager. (Mazzilli’s son LJ was the Twins 9th round pick this June. He is yet to sign and may go back to U Conn for his senior season.) All Star Adam Jones has been Mr. Everything for the O’s. He leads the team in nearly every statistical category including Batting Average (.289), OBP (.330), Hits (98), Home Runs (20) and RBI (44). Why They Will Trade With the Twins The Orioles have not won in a long time and already shown that the will be aggressive, trading weeks ago for DH Jim Thome. But what are their needs? The Orioles are 26th in baseball in batting average (.240), 26th in OBP (.302), and 19th in Slugging (.402). They are also 19th in runs scored (351). So, they need offense. The Orioles are 19th in baseball in ERA (4.05), 15th in WHIP (1.30) and 16th in Batting Average Against (.253). Their starters have 37 Quality Starts, which ranks 26th in baseball. Zach Britton and Jake Arrieta are now in AAA Norfolk, leaving a starting rotation or Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chin, Miguel Gonzalez and Dana Eveland. Their bullpen has actually been quite solid, with Jim Johnson leading the way. However, counting on Luis Ayala, Darren O’Day and Kevin Gregg can’t give O’s fans a lot of confidence. Nick Markakis is coming back from injury, but the Orioles could still acquire one outfielder to put into left field. Denard Span and Josh Willingham would help the offense tremendously. JJ Hardy has a .642 OPS this year but continues to play solid defense. Robert Andino is playing a lot of second base because Brian Roberts is always hurt. Could they be interested in Jamey Carroll as a second baseman or for depth? Baltimore needs pitching, starting and relieving. They could be interested in Francisco Liriano, Glen Perkins, Jared Burton or even Matt Capps, assuming his rehab continues to go well and he gets some innings with the Twins in the next week. Why They Won't Trade With the Twins To be sure, the Orioles have a lot of needs, and they do match up well with the Twins. If they want to go in and make a big push, they may be willing to over-spend, but they may also go after those big names that may or may not truly be available. They may go after Justin Upton, Zach Greinke and Cole Hamels. Also, based on all of the weaknesses that the Orioles have, the next two weeks will be very important. Their next 11 games are against the AL Central (3 vs Detroit, 4 @ Minnesota, 4 @ Cleveland). That stretch is followed by three games at home against the Rays, one of the teams that they are fighting for a playoff berth. The Orioles may need to go at least .500 over those 14 games to feel like a buyer. Frankly, the Orioles farm system, after its top two prospects (who are likely not available in any trade), things are pretty weak. Conclusion The Orioles have been running, it appears, on smoke and mirrors to this point in the 2012 season. Over the next two weeks, they will need to determine if they’re legitimate enough to make a big run, or if they just stand pat. Peter Angelos seems ready to make a run for it, whether is makes sense to do or not. ~~~ Possible Trade Targets Dylan Bundy - RHP Most consider him the top prospect in all of baseball at this point, so he is not available in any deal (one wouldn’t think). Even if he was traded, he couldn’t be traded by name. Since the 2011 fourth overall pick didn’t sign until the August deadline last year, he would have to be a Player to be Named Later. I included him because his numbers were so amazing. He debuted this spring in Low A and in 30 innings, he gave up two unearned runs on five hits and two walks while striking out 40 batters! He has since worked 32.2 innings in High-A where he has given up 13 runs on 30 hits and 11 walks and struck out 34. Manny Machado - SS Machado, the third overall pick in the 2010 draft, just turned 20 years old. At 6-3 and 185 pounds, he profiles like those great shortstops of the late ‘90s. In AA this year he is hitting .264/.347/.418 with 21 doubles, three triples and seven home runs. He has stolen ten bases and committed a respectable 14 errors. The O’s will continue with JJ Hardy and his .642 OPS for another year, but clearly they can’t wait for Machado to man the position for years to come. In other words, he’s most likely not available. (Bundy and Machado came into the year as Baseball America’s #10 and #11 prospects, respectively. At this point, both are likely in most “expert’s” Top 5 prospects. Most likely neither are available in any trade, but frankly after those two, there is a dramatic fall in talent in the Orioles farm system.) Jon Schoop – 2B Another 20 year old, Schoop is Machado’s keystone combo partner in AA Bowie this year. The Curacao native is hitting .250/.309/.382 with 14 doubles, one triple and eight home runs. I’m sure ideally the Orioles would like Schoop and Machado to stay together as a middle infield unit, replacing Hardy and Brian Roberts, for years. The Twins (And most teams) should always be looking for more middle infield depth and options. Dan Klein - RHP Klein is an intriguing prospect whose career to this point has been highlighted by injuries. He was the Orioles third round pick in 2010 out of UCLA. He had an injury in 2009. Last August he had surgery on his right labrum. He is expected to miss all of the 2012 season after having another shoulder surgery in mid-April. However, when he has pitched, he has been very good. In 2011, he posted a 1.15 ERA and a 0.77 WHIP in 15.2 High-A innings. He was promoted to AA where he was 3-0 with a 1.08 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in 16.2 innings. In 32.1 combined innings, he walked just six and struck out 38. Baseball America said he had the best control in the system. Jake Arrieta – RHP, Zach Britton – LHP, Brian Matusz – LHP, Chris Tillman – RHP Two years ago, the Orioles were boasting some of the best pitching prospects in baseball. They had a lot of veteran bats but some terrific young arms that they wanted to build around. The four pitchers I named above have all been very disappointing this season, but could a change of scenery be what they need. Arrieta is 26 and the Twins saw his upside on Opening Night. Britton is still just 24 years old and won 11 games in 2011. Matusz is still just 25. He was one of the more promising pitchers after decent seasons as a 22 year old in 2009 and a ten win season in 2010. However, he went 1-9 with a 10.69 ERA last year, the worst ERA in baseball history for a pitcher with more than 10 starts. Tillman is also still just 24. Please add your thoughts and trade ideas (and other names the Twins could pursue) in the comments below! [ATTACH=CONFIG]1529[/ATTACH]

Great list, Nick!! EAch of these is great! Excellent work!

Put me on board with those saying that that title wasn't really representative of the article. Perez didn't say anything. I woudln't want Valencia to be really happy in AAA after spending the previous two seasons up in the big leagues. Perez's comments after the "He's not happy" part are more important to me. He's working. Etc.

I think you've got a prospect list here, which is a good one. It would be different to strictly have a top performers list and it should be. It's a good list.

That, or the league with the best record in interleague play. At least those would be real games determining it. COmpletely agree... as others have said, it is and should be an infomercial for MLB and its teams and its players. It is OK to say it is an exhibition!

HIcks is certainly giving himself an opportunity to be a September call up. THe reason? He has to be added after the season anyway, so why not September? I agree that it will take at least one of the outfielders to be traded, and for the likes of Benson/Tosoni to not be healthy. Also, Oswaldo Arcia is already on the 40 man roster, so he might get a call too.

No one is saying that he's ready to come up and start on Friday for the Twins. But as written, it's another step in the process, a successful step. It's the normal process, and it is good news. Nothing more. Nothing less.

As is written above, Shipley is getting the information from Rob Antony. I'm not certain if Antony is in Ft. Myers, but he would be the most knowledgeable person about what happened in Ft. Myers.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?781-Kyle-Gibson-Makes-First-Rehab-Start

A ground ball to the shortstop for the first out. A walk. A ground ball to second base which was turned into an inning-ending double play. That may not seem like much to get overly excited about, but for Twins fans, it was a good day! For the first time since he was placed on the Disabled List on August 2, 2011, Kyle Gibson pitched off of a mound in a game on Tuesday morning. It may have been a 10:00 a.m. eastern time start time in the Gulf Coast League, but don’t let that minimize the huge milestone. The Twins used the 22nd overall pick in the 2009 draft to select Gibson, a right-handed pitcher from the University of Missouri. He climbed the ladder quickly, and in 2010 was named the organization’s minor league pitcher of the year when he began the year in Ft. Myers and ended it in Rochester. He began the 2011 season with the Red Wings and pitched well for two months, but then things started going south. Although he pitched in the Futures Game a year ago, something wasn’t right. His elbow was hurting and after a stretch of rough starts, he was put on the Disabled List. An MRI in early August showed a partial tear of his Ulnar Collateral Ligament, and after rehabbing for a month, he had Tommy John surgery on September 7, 2011. In early June, Gibson threw off of a mound for the first time and said it “went really good. Arm felt great!” He has gradually added more pitches to his mound sessions. Last Friday, he pitched some live batting practice. Following it, he tweeted that “it went about as well as I could hope for.” Which brings us to today. It was just one inning, but for Gibson, it was another key milestone passed with flying colors. In fact, according to the Pioneer Press’s John Shipley, assistant GM Rob Antony said that Gibson touched 94 mph during his one-inning stint. No one knows how players will return from Tommy John surgery. Pitchers like Tim Hudson and Billy Wagner came back in less than a year and were as good as ever. Others, such as Francisco Liriano, take longer to find their stuff again. Joe Mays was never able to regain his form. Knowing that, however, Kyle Gibson also knew and was aware of the path that Nationals starting pitcher Stephen Strasburg took after his surgery. Strasburg had his Tommy John surgery in September of 2010. Kyle Gibson had his Tommy John surgery in September of 2011. Strasburg made his first rehab appearance in early July, as has Gibson. Strasburg got back to the big leagues in September. If all goes well for Gibson in the next month, it is very possible that he will return to the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings and be right where he was being his injury. Who knows? A September call-up also remains an outside possibility. --- GCL Twins 5, GCL RED SOX 11 The Gulf Coast Twins are the only Twins affiliate that played on All-Star game day. They had a 10:00 a.m. start time. Gibson started and worked the first inning. Yorman Landa gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and four walks in two innings. Hung Yi Chen gave up one run on three hits and a walk in his two innings. Markus Solbach gave up two runs on four hits in 1.1 innings. He was relieved by Trent Higginbotham who gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in 2.1 innings. Chris Mazza got the final out. Gibson wasn’t the only player rehabbing in this game. Rene Tosoni led off and went 0-3 with a walk while playing in left field. Javier Pimentel was 2-4 with his fourth and fifth doubles. Jose Ramirez went 2-3. Kelvin Ortiz went 2-4. Kelly Cross was 2-5. --- Games Scheduled for Wednesday, July 11, 2011 Rochester Red Wings – All Star Game (Pedro Florimon) New Britain Rock Cats – All Star Game (BJ Hermsen, Chris Herrmann, Daniel Turpen) Ft. Myers @ Clearwater – RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Ft. Myers – TBD Elizabethton @ Greeneville – TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles - TBD [ATTACH=CONFIG]1516[/ATTACH]

If all goes well, the Twins hope Gibson will go to the Arizona Fall League. I believe his TJ Surgery was in mid-September.

Unless there is a court case of some sort, he would never become a free agent. If he doesn't sign this July, he would go back into next year's draft. If he doesn't sign then, he would go back into the next draft. And on and on.

I believe that in 2013, we will see a lot of Pedro Florimon at SS. He likely won't post a .600 OPS but I've been told his glove is incredible. I'd expect to see Dozier at 2B. I'd like to see Jamey Carroll kept around as insurance and as a mentor for those two. He's a perfect role model for those guys.