Cody Christie

At the conclusion of every season, the members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance (BBA) are asked to submit their ballots for the top awards across baseball. You can find more about them here. Today marks the final day of the awards and the other announcements from the BBA should be coming in the near future. Today we'll tackle the most contentious of this year's awards: the Stan Musial Award for Top Player.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Stan Musial Award for Top Player American League Download attachment: Mike+Trout+steal.jpg 1. Mike Trout2. Miguel Cabrera 3. Robinson Cano 4. Adrian Beltre 5. Adam Jones 6. Josh Hamilton 7. Prince Fielder 8. Joe Mauer 9. Yoenis Cespedes 10. Paul Konerko Summary: Near the end of the regular season, I wrote a post about the tight MVP race in the American League between rookie phenom Mike Trout and Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. There are plenty of different things to consider when it comes to picking out a winner including WAR, defensive ability, the significance of the Triple Crown, being on a playoff team, etc. Make sure to check out the article for my entire explanation for choosing Trout over Cabrera. An argument could be made for Cano to finish ahead of Cabrera but it won't happen. Beltre and Hamilton had strong seasons for the team that most thought should win the American League. Jones was the spark plug for the Orioles offense and they needed every run they could score. Prediction: In the end, I think Cabrera walks away with the MVP but this takes nothing away from the outstanding year put together by Trout as a 20-year old rookie. ~~~ National League Download attachment: Buster+Posey+San+Francisco.jpg 1. Buster Posey2. Ryan Braun 3. Andrew McCutchen 4. Yadier Molina 5. David Wright 6. Chase Headley 7. Jason Heyward 8. Clayton Kershaw 9. Matt Holliday 10. Joey Votto Summary: The strong second half compiled by Posey on a team heading to the postseason should push him over the top for this award. He put up these numbers while playing most of his games behind the plate for the Giants so that should only help his cause. Braun put together an identical season to his MVP campaign in 2011 but the PED cloud surrounding him could keep him from the top spot. The Pirates looked like everyone's darlings in the first half of the year before falling off and McCutchen was a large part of their surge. An argument can be made for Molina to finish in the top spot because his offensive numbers are similar to Posey and he is better on the defensive side of the ball. Wright and Headley had wonderful seasons but it came on team's that struggled to win games. Prediction: This looks like it should be a runaway win for Mr. Posey. So what do you think of the ballot? Who would get your vote? And for additional awards, below are those that have been announced. The links lead to my choices for each. Connie Mack Award (Top Manager) released Monday, October 8Willie Mays Award (Top Rookie) released Tuesday, October 9Goose Gossage Award (Top Reliever) released Wednesday, October 10Walter Johnson Award (Top Pitcher) released Thursday, October 11Stan Musial Award (Top Player) released today. Click here to view the article

Minnesota added some top-notch talent to the organization at the end of last week. For the third year in a row, the Twins had a top five pick in the MLB Draft. Minnesota's farm system was already considered one of the best in the game and adding top tier talent can only help the organization. My last prospect rankings were released in conjuncture with the "2014 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook." There have been some changes since that time as minor league teams are almost halfway through their season. Some players have shined and others have struggled. Injuries have been the story for the Twins top two prospects this year but some pitching prospects have really started to shine as they get closer to the big leagues. [/hr]For more from Cody Christie, check out NoDakTwinsFan.com [/hr] 1. Byron Buxton- OF (Previously #1) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: .150/.150/.350, 1 HR, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R (5 Games) Even though Buxton has missed most of this season with a wrist injury, he is still considered by many to be the best prospect in the game. The lost playing time is going to hurt some of his development but he was young for the levels he has played at so far. Hopefully, he can get into some games in the second-half of the year and show some positive signs. 2. Miguel Sano- 3B (Previously #2) 2014 Team(s): N/A Tommy John surgery Tommy John surgery took away most of this season from Sano. He likely won't be able to get on the field this season unless it is in a DH capacity at the very end of the year. It seems likely for the Twins to send Sano to the Arizona Fall League to get some extra at-bats before he plays in the Dominican Winter League. Download attachment: alex-meyer-twins.jpg 3. Alex Meyer- RHP (Previously #3) 2014 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings 2014 Stats: 3.30 ERA, 62.2 IP, 75 SO, 28 BB, 51 H (12 Games) Meyer will likely be making his big league debut this season and he has made some adjustments at the Triple-A level. He learned a new change-up grip and this has helped improve his strikeout totals. Opponents are hitting .223 against him for the season. Because of some injury issues last year, he's already closing in on the number of innings he pitched last year. 4. Nick Gordon- SS (Previously N/A) 2014 Team(s): N/A 2014 Draft The Twins haven't been able to develop a shortstop in the minor leagues for quite some time. Nick Gordon is hoping to be the man to end that streak. He add 15 pound of muscle in the last year and this should help improve his power numbers. He'll start in the rookie leagues once he signs a contract. 5. Jose Berrios- RHP (Previously #6) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: 2.24 ERA, 64.1 IP, 74 SO, 17 BB, 57 H (11 Games) Berrios might be having the best season of any of the top prospects on this list. There have been questions in the past about whether his long-term role was going to be as a starter or as a relief pitcher. He is putting some of those questions to rest with his performance in the Florida State League. I would have moved him higher but I need to see more from him throughout the season. 6. Kohl Stewart- RHP (Previously #4) 2014 Team(s): Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 2.67 ERA, 49.0 IP, 36 SO, 15 BB, 37 H (10 Games) Stewart's ERA looks great but I was expecting him to strike out more batters. This is one of the reasons he dropped a little. It's still early in his first full season in professional baseball so he has a lot of time left to develop before reaching the big leagues. 7. Eddie Rosario- 2B/OF (Previously #5) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats 2014 Stats: .350/.409/.450, 1 HR, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 9 R (10 Games) Rosario missed 50 games to start the season because of a drug related suspension. He's done fairly well since his return and the team has already moved him up from High-A to Double-A. It sounds like Rosario will be playing some in the infield and some in the outfield after transitioning to second base last year. He's still a very gifted hitter and he could make it to Rochester by season's end. 8. Jorge Polanco- 2B (Previously #7) 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: .289/.362/.395, 4 HR, 11 2B, 27 RBI, 40 R (57 Games) Polanco has consistently moved through the Twins system and he seems to improve at every level. He hit over .300 each of the last two seasons and continues to add power. The switch-hitter has close to the same batting average from both sides of the plate so he should continue to switch hit as he moves up the ladder. 9. Trevor May- RHP (Previously #13) 2014 Team(s): Rochester Red Wings 2014 Stats: 2.80 ERA, 61.0 IP, 63 SO, 24 BB, 45 H (11 Games) One of the biggest concerns for May has always been his control. He's made some positive strides this season, as he has been able to limit the number of walks he's allowing. His numbers are the best of his career and he's another player who is knocking on the door to the big leagues. If he continues to show consistency, the Twins will reward him with a call-up. 10. Lewis Thorpe- LHP (Previously #11) 2014 Team(s): Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 9.64 ERA, 4.2 IP, 1 SO, 3 BB, 6 H (1 Game) Thorpe exploded onto the scene last year and shot up prospect lists with his performance in the GCL. The Twins had him skip Elizabethton and he got roughed up in his first Low-A start. He's only 18-years old so he's much younger than the competition. The Twins had confidence in him skipping a level so they must believe he is ready for this level. Click here to view the article

In case you missed any Twins coverage this week... Download attachment: GlenPerkinsShark.jpg It's hard to believe that another week has gone by and the Twins are one step closer to beginning their 2012 season. The first Grapefruit League action for the Twins took place on Saturday and Joe Mauer, Denard Span, and Justin Morneau all played. Span ran into the center field wall during a simulated game on Thursday but only had a cut lip to deal with.Glen Perkins posted a picture of himself with a shark (top right) and he made NotGraphsbecause of it.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] All of the minor league players for the Twins are due to report to Ft. Myers on Tuesday. This means the complex in southwest Florida will be overrun by Twins players and coaches from all levels of the farm system. With the severe winter weather that hit a good portion of Twins Territory this week, the Florida sun is sounding pretty good right about now.The company formerly known as Twins Train has switched their name to Territory Train. They have a variety of great trips scheduled for 2012 so make sure to check them out.The top high school pitching prospect for next year's draft supposedly hit 100 mph in his first start of the year. Talk about getting the year off to a good start.The tenth inning stretch has a recap of the Twins B game from Thursday.Seedlings to Stars composed their first 2012 MLB Mock Draft for the First Round and the Supplemental Round. Who will the Twins snag at number 2?Seth Stohs is preaching patience with the bullpen and he had some great guests during his podcast on Tuesday night.One of the most valuable pieces of sports memorabilia ever is up for auction.After the social media world blew up from some of Morneau's comments, he made some clarifications following a few days of working out with the team.Twins Fan From Afar asks the question, "Did Joe Mauer-- and Twins Fans -- need his 2011 season to happen?"Ozzie Guillen is already making headlines in Miami.The New Britain Rock Cats were sold to an investment group earlier in the week.Download attachment: Miracle20thAniv.jpg The Fort Myers Miracle are going to be celebrating their 20th season this year and they have special caps in honor of the milestone. (bottom right)A former Twins first round pick retired earlier this week but he never played for the Twins organization.The Yankees can't find a better spot than the bathroom to take their team pictures?!?!Jose Mijares switched teams this offseason but he still couldn't figure out how to get to spring training on time.Twinkie Town wonders if Trevor Plouffe can be the player the Twins need him to be.The writers over at Puckett's Pond have been busy with their "Back to Baseball" series so make sure to visit their page and check it out.Twins Rubes has started a series call "Our Stadium Adventures." The first post was on Target Field and the second installment was on Safeco Field.My Weekly Rundown Monday: Zumaya's injury leaves right-handed hole to fillTuesday: How long will Dozier stay in the minors? Thursday: Tough schedule could put Twins in early holeVideo of the Week: A tip of the cap to the blog Classic Minnesota Twins!for their post with this video earlier this week. It is Kent Hrbek as a guest on the David Letterman Show all the way back in 1987. The Twins were coming off their first World Series Championship and Hrbek had some fun stories to tell. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: TwinsRevolvingDoor.jpg In recent seasons, it has seemed like a revolving door at some key positions for the Twins. One of the most problematic areas has been their search for a shortstop. This search continues and it's hard to see an end in sight. In the last decade, the Twins have used eight different Opening Day starters at shortstop. The only men to make the list twice in the last decade were Cristian Guzman and Jason Bartlett. What's more, in four of the last five seasons, the man to earn the job for Opening Day has failed to start the most games at shortstop over the course of the season. Download attachment: TwinsShortstops.jpg When the Twins traded away Bartlett and Matt Garza to get Delmon Young and Brendan Harris, it ended a nice run of consistency at shortstop. For the early part of the 2000s, the Twins had Guzman consistently leading the team at the shortstop position. Bartlett was there to take over after the team parted ways with Guzman. Since that point, it has been a hodgepodge of players at one of the most important positions on the field. The only year in recent memory with a semblance of consistency at shortstop was in 2010 after the Twins traded for JJ Hardy. He was the Opening Day starter and he led the team in games played at the position. There were still injury concerns with Hardy as he only played in 101 games but it was still more consistent than the last two years. But in 2011, the Twins put a lot of stock into Tsuyoshi Nishioka - and this plan failed miserably. He didn't work out at second base and he was even more of a disaster when they moved him to shortstop. After spending almost all of last season being less than mediocre at Triple-A, he went back to Japan. One of the biggest regrets (besides Nishioka being horrible) might be that the team parted ways with Hardy to make room for their Japanese import. Last season, the Twins started the year with newly signed free agent Jamey Carroll at shortstop. Brian Dozier was coming off a very good season in the minor leagues after being named the team's minor league player of the year. Carroll didn't exactly hit the cover off the ball so the Twins handed the reigns to Dozier. It wasn't pretty for Dozier either and he ended the year in the minor leagues. The future doesn't look any better. Pedro Florimon has the upper hand as the Opening Day starter in 2013 but there is still plenty of time before the Twins face the Tigers. Carroll, Dozier, and others might be in the mix for the starting role but the long-term solution doesn't seem like it will be in camp when the Twins head to Fort Myers. As far as prospects go, Daniel Santana is the next best potential shortstop in the organization. He spent all of last season at High-A with the Fort Myers Miracle. He put together the best season of his professional career by batting .286/.329/.410 with 38 extra-base hits. Levi Michael, the 2011 1st round draft pick, split time at both middle infield positions for Fort Myers. Baseball America also named him the best defensive infielder in the Twins system. If Santana or Michael is the long-term solution at shortstop, they are still multiple levels away from cracking the line-up for the Twins. There is always a chance the Twins could get a shortstop back in a trade this offseason, but starting pitching is most likely the priority. At this point, any hope for 2013 looks a little bleak. Revolving doors have their uses, but eventually one needs to leave get out or one becomes nauseous. Similarly, the Twins revolving door at shortstop needs to stop or the rest of Twins Territory is going to continue to have a sick feeling in their stomach. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Twins_Molitor_Coaching.jpg When the Twins announced the retooling of their coaching staff at the conclusion of the regular season, one of the first names to come to mind for most Twins fans was former Twins player and Twin Cities native Paul Molitor. The Hall of Fame player is currently employed by the organization as a roving minor league instructor and he served as bench coach for Tom Kelly from 1999 to 2001. In interviews since the Twins cleared out their coach staff, Molitor expressed interested in coaching with the team if he was asked. General Manager Terry Ryan has come out publicly and stated Molitor isn't a fit with the major league version of the Twins. When asked about the issues in another interview, Ryan said, "It's not a fit right now."[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So the question floating through the minds of Twins fans has to be, why isn't Paul Molitor a coaching option at this point? From sounds of reports out of the Twin Cities, it sounds like Ryan and manager Ron Gardenhire made the joint decision to keep Molitor off of the major league coaching roster. Speculation can be made that one of these men has something working with Molitor. Before Ryan came back to his role as GM, he spent a lot of time working with the minor league system for the Twins. This should have given him plenty of opportunities to see Molitor working closely with the talent in the minor leagues. Both Gardenhire and Ryan see a lot of Molitor at spring training as he hops from field to field working with different groups of players. He knows the team and the organization so there must be something deeper to this dismissal of Molitor joining the coaching staff for the Twins. The last time the Twins organization needed a new manager there were a few different candidates for Terry Ryan to pick from. Obviously, Gardenhire became the man for the job for a few different reasons. He had served as manager in the minor leagues for three seasons before joining the club as the third base coach in 1991. Gardenhire would keep that job for 11 seasons and he worked closely with Tom Kelly during this time. Molitor was another candidate for the job back in 2002 but he was only three years removed from his own playing career. In the three years since his retirement, he had been working as the bench coach for the Twins but the team went for Gardenhire, the man with more experience. In your own life if you were going after a tough job opening, there can be plenty of pressures in the job interview process. If there was another candidate strongly considered for the position, it might be hard for you to work with them if they were hired to work below you in some capacity. This might be the thinking of Gardenhire as he assesses the situation this offseason. He knows his job is on thin ice after two terrible seasons in Minnesota and having Molitor on his bench as a coach could make his job even harder for next year. If the Twins were to get off to another rough start, Molitor could be the new manager in waiting. This can be a threatening situation for Gardenhire so maybe he put the axe on the thoughts of having Molitor added to his staff. The men picked to fill the open positions for the Twins include some of the members of the staff for the Twins Triple-A affiliate, the Rochester Red Wings. Triple-A hitting coach Tom Brunansky has moved through the Twins system pretty rapidly in the last few years and he is lined up to take over the hitting instruction. Triple-A pitching coach Bobby Cueller is now the bullpen coach since Rick Anderson kept his position as pitching coach with the Twins. Cueller could also be useful as a translator for Hispanic players on the Twins as this has been an area of concern for the club. Rochester manager Gene Glynn didn't have a perfect first season with the Red Wings and it looks like the organization wants him to continue working with players at that level. The most surprising hire was Terry Steinbach to serve as bench coach and catching coach. He has no prior coaching experience so it's hard to imagine what coach would take over if Gardenhire was fired in mid-season. In the end, it doesn't sound like Molitor will be joining the coach staff for the Twins at the beginning of the 2013 season. Ryan has made that point clear to the public over the last few weeks. The timing might not be right for Molitor to join the club but this doesn't take him out of consideration for future openings. Another bad season in Minnesota could mean the end of Gardenhire's time as manager and this could open up an opportunity for Molitor to rejoin the coaching staff. There are pressures surrounding all of the men at the top of the Twins organization and the coaching staff will continue to be scrutinized until the results change on the field. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Thomas_Clete_Batting_US_720.jpg Earlier this week, the Twins made a roster move to bring in some centerfield help for Aaron Hicks. For most of the season, the club has been without a back-up center fielder because Darin Mastroianni has been dealing with a nagging ankle injury. Last week, Chris Parmelee had to play a defensive inning in center field in the late portion of a game. The Twins need a back-up center fielder and Thomas is one of the few options.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] When Hicks was struggling at the beginning of the season, Thomas was destroying the ball for Triple-A. During the month of April, he hit .362/.456/.621 with four home runs and three doubles. There were some whispers of Thomas being brought up to replace Hicks in the line-up. A leg injury slowed down Thomas in more recent weeks so he isn't joining the Twins on the kind of tear he was on at the start of the year. In his last ten games with Rochester, he hit .225/.311/.525 with three home runs and three doubles. Thomas isn't exactly a spring chicken. He is 29-years old and he has 472 MLB plate appearances under his belt. The majority of those plate appearances came with the Detroit Tigers in 2008 and 2009. Since that time, he has bounced around in the minor leagues. Last season with the Twins, he played 12 games and hit .143/.172/.286 with a home run and a double. Recently, things have been going better for Hicks at the plate. In the last 12 games, he is hitting .279/.295/.605 with three home runs, a triple, and three doubles. Besides the improvement at the plate, he has also been making some very good plays on the defensive. He might not have yet completely figured out the big leagues but he sure looks better than he did earlier in the year. It is in the best long term interest of the team to continue to play Hicks on a regular basis. He is going to be the center fielder for this team for the next couple seasons. Eventually, he might have to shift to a corner outfield role but that would only be to allow a younger Byron Buxton to take over in center field. Hicks needs repetitions so he is able to figure out the big league level. Thomas took the place of left-handed relief pitcher Tyler Robertson on the 40-man roster. Robertson has some trouble controlling his breaking ball at Rochester; he walked 16 men in almost 21 innings. His 3.05 ERA is fine but it's not as though the Twins will be hurting without him on the roster. Overall, it's nice to have an option in center field if Hicks needs an off-day. For the most part, Thomas should be riding the bench so Hicks can get as much playing time as possible. Thomas provides insurance for the club in case of an injury to Hicks. There was also word out of the Twins' clubhouse that Hicks has been icing a foot after games recently. This might not be anything serious but it could be a sign of him dealing with an injury. Ron Gardenhire could give the rookie a day off in the next couple days. Before Thomas joined the team, there were few options to take over centerfield. The Twins have been playing well in the last week or so. This is a good sign but the club needs to continue to think about its future. Thomas is not going to be part of the next winning baseball team in Minnesota but he can help in the present. Hicks is working his way through some rookie stumbling blocks. As Hicks' career unfolds Thomas can be useful, helping the Twins shepherd Hicks through his challenging rookie season. Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4jZfVSkFdIc/T7osi8xBYuI/AAAAAAAABSo/T9Dddu6sgOw/s320/ap-201205201432523667858.jpg The Twins didn't put up much of a fight on Sunday afternoon and their four game winning streak came to an abrupt end at the hands of the Brewers. When the starting pitcher doesn't make it out of the second inning in a game following an extra-inning affair, it is going to be tough for a team to find success. The Twins offense did score the first run of the game and they were able to put some runs on the board in their last at-bat but the innings in between were ugly. While the front office of the Twins might have been cringing when Twins pitchers were on the mound, their eyes should have been clearly fixed on the starting pitcher for the Brewers in this game. Zack Greinke had been a standout pitcher in the AL Central for multiple seasons with the Royals so the Twins are well aware of his outstanding ability on the mound. On Sunday, Greinke was given a big lead and he knew what to do with it by pitching into the seventh inning and allowing a single earned run to cross the plate.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] When the 2012 season comes to an end, Greinke will hit the open market as one of the most sought after free agent pitchers. He will turn 29-years old during the offseason and many teams will be lining up at his door to inquire about what it will take for him to sign with their club. According to sources, there have been no recent talks between the Brewers and Greinke. It sounds like the Brewers would like to resign their ace but money could be a big factor for a team playing in one of the smallest markets in baseball. Most projections of Greinke's value as a free agent have him getting upwards of $100 million when he signs on the dotted line this offseason. The San Francisco Giants recently signed Matt Cain to the largest contract in history for a right-handed pitcher. The six-year deal was for $127.5 million with $112.5 million being guaranteed and it will keep Cain in San Francisco through the prime of his career. Since Greinke is only a year older than Cain, Greinke's deal could be structured very similar to the Cain deal and that would put the Brewers out of the running to keep Greinke around. If the Brewers are out of the running, this leaves other teams with the opportunity to swoop in and add Greinke to their starting rotation. The Twins should be one of the team's taking a hard look at bringing Greinke into the fold for the 2013 season. Coaches, fans, and the front office have been frustrated with the performance of many of the pitchers that have been in the starting rotation for the Twins this year. Jason Marquis and Francisco Liriano have been disasters, Carl Pavano has been forced to pitch through some pain in his shoulder, and Nick Blackburn has been very underwhelming when he has been able to pitch. Lucky enough for the Twins most of the starting staff will be free agents at season's end. This means the team can do a complete overhaul of their rotation for the start of next year. The extra money freed up by letting these players go could also allow the Twins to go after a free agent starting pitcher like Zack Greinke. Liriano makes $5.5 million, Pavano earns $9.0 million, and Marquis signed this past offseason for $3.0 million. If you add all of those up with the $6.5 million lost on Scott Baker this year, the Twins will have quite the chunk of change to spend on pitching for 2013. In the past, Greinke has battled with some issues surrounding anxiety and he was even forced to leave the Royals for a short time to try and figure out a solution to these problems. This battle with stressed related issues has allowed writers to predict that Greinke might like to stay away from some of the major markets in baseball. His issues with anxiety might only be compounded if he were to sign and play in New York or Los Angeles. This could give the Twins a better opportunity to sign Greinke because he has pitched his entire career in the Midwest and he is already familiar with the AL Central. Since Johan Santana was traded away before the 2008 season, the Twins have been searching for an ace of their staff. Greinke could be that player but a big time contract for a starting pitcher always comes with some risk. In this case, I think the risk is worth taking and the Twins should go all in to sign Greinke for the foreseeable future. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Delmon+Young+ALCS+Detroit+Tigers.jpg Originally posted at nodaktwinsfan.com A strange thing happened during the first game of the American League Championship Series over the weekend. For Twins fans, a man familiar to their organization became the all-time leader in postseason home runs for a team with a history that stretches back to the beginning of the 1900's. For those wearing a Detroit jersey, Delmon Young stands alone on top of the leader board for most long balls when the games matter the most. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The man Young passed on the list, Craig Monroe, isn't exactly entrenched in the lore of the Tigers. It doesn't seem likely that either one of these men will be getting a bronze statue erected in the outfield of Comerica Park. But his is a team that has been to the World Series nine times and they have won the title on four different occasions. The team has also been in the playoffs in 14 different years so there has to be some reason for Delmon being able to reign supreme in the history of Tigers sluggers. (One reason the postseason home run list for the Tigers might be a little unpopulated could be the fact the team was really bad during most of the steroid era. The Tigers won the World Series in 1984 and lost to the Twins in the 1987 ALCS and it went downhill from that point. The franchise lost over 100 games in 1989 and 1996 and it would get worse in the early 2000's with the team having back-to-back 100 loss seasons. This also included a season where the club lost 119 games. From 1987 to 2006, there were no playoff appearances for the Tigers and there were plenty of home runs flying out of ballparks across the baseball world during this time period.) Since the Twins parted ways with Mr. Young around the trade deadline in 2011, his career with Detroit has been anything but spectacular. He has played 191 regular season games with the Tigers and he is batting average is .268 during that time. As during most of his career, there have been glimpses of power as he has 26 home runs and 32 doubles in his 786 plate appearances. He doesn't take walks so he gets on base less than a third of the time and it's hard to imagine that the former first overall pick has lived up to expectations for any of the franchises he has played for in his seven year career. The power-slugging version of Young didn't show in October during his time in Minnesota. In his two-playoff series as a member of the Twins, he went 5-for-24 which translates to a .208 batting average and he managed a double and a triple. His first taste of the playoffs in 2009 was horrendous as he finished the series 1-for-12 with five strikeouts. Both of these series were against the Yankees; Delmon joined the other members of the Twins in his struggles against the Bronx Bombers. The Tigers October version of Young has a little bit of a different feel. Since being traded to Detroit, Young has turned his bad playoff memories with the Twins into good feeling vibes in the Motor City. Last season, Young made up for lost time against the Yankees by going 6-for-19 in the series with three home runs and even showed the ability to take a few walks. The next series was against Texas and even though he only managed two hits, they were both long balls. Five home runs in two series was quite the postseason for Young since he only managed 12 home runs during the regular season in 2011. In the Tigers first playoff series of 2012, Young didn't go deep but he had a couple of RBI in victories for his club. His first game versus the Yankees on Saturday night made it look like he was starting right where he left off against them in 2011. He was pulled in the last inning for a defensive replacement but he finished the contest 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, and six RBI. On Sunday, he added to his RBI total by knocking in one of the three runs for Detroit. The Tigers are inching closer to the World Series and Young is one of the reasons for their success in October. The Twins outfield situation is one of the clubs least concerns, so it's not like fans are clamoring to see Young back in the Twin Cities. His play in the regular season has been the same old Delmon Young; he can't play defense, he doesn't take walks, and his power is spotty. The small sample size of the postseason can make anyone look like a legend and it will be interesting to see what someone is willing to pay for him when he hits the free agent market, which he'll do this offseason. For now, teams will have to settle for watching him hit balls out of the park in the postseason. Click here to view the article

On Tuesday it was announced that New Britain Rock Cats outfield Daniel Ortiz was selected as the Eastern League Player of the Week for the period of May 19th-May 25th. Over six games, he hit .480 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs. He had at least one hit in all six games and he post back-to-back three hit nights earlier in the week. During the last week, Ortiz led the league in slugging percentage (.960), OPS (1.460) and tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (7) Would Ortiz's hot hitting continue this week? Read on to find out. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Syracuse 10 Box Score Syracuse must have been sick of losing to Rochester. Coming into the game the Red Wings had beaten the Chiefs in three straight games and outscored them 24-10. Scott Diamond is not making it easy for Rochester to win the games he starts. After giving up seven runs in 3.1 innings, his ERA is up to 7.51 and his WHIP is the highest in the International League. He hasn't won a start since May 2 and he's given up five runs or more in four of his nine starts. Yohon Pino, Deolis Guerra and Edgar Ibarra did their best to clean up the mess as they combined to give up three earned runs over the last 5.2 frames. There wasn't much to speak of on the offensive side. Chris Herrmann and Chris Colabello made their return to the Rochester line-up after being sent down on Monday. Herrmann went 2-for-4 with a run scored while Colabello went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts. Chris Rahl had the lone extra-base hit, a double that scored two runs. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Portland 5 (2 Innings-Suspended for wet grounds) Box Score The Rock Cats didn't get very far into their game with the Sea Dogs but there was plenty of action. New Britain got on the board early with a big five-run first inning. Daniel Ortiz continued his hot hitting ways with two hits including a triple. Reynaldo Rodriguez cracked a two-run home run, his eighth of the season. Pat Dean got beat up in the rainy weather as he allowed five runs on six hits in 1.1 innings. He walked one and struck out one. The game is scheduled to be completed on Wednesday as part of a double-header. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 11, Clearwater 0 Box Score Download attachment: Matt Tomshaw FM (2).jpg Matt Tomshaw twirled eight shutout innings and he faced just one batter over the minimum. He was able to get around his two walks and three hits because of four double plays turned behind him. It was his fourth straight win in May and he has only allowed two earned runs so far this month. Brandon Peterson had a strikeout as he closed out the ninth inning to preserve the shutout. Stuart Turner put together a very impressive night at the plate. He went 4-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI. It was his second consecutive multi-hit game and he's hit safely in eight of his last ten games. Five other hitters in the Miracle line-up had two hits or more. Max Kepler scored three runs and Niko Goodrum added a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 16, Beloit 5 Box Score The Kernels exploded for seven runs in the fifth inning and 16 runs, a season high, over four innings to pound the Beloit Snappers. Every Kernels starter had a hit besides JD Williams and he still scored three runs and had an RBI without recording a hit. Surprisingly, there was only one extra-base hit out of the 16 hits for Cedar Rapids. Mitch Garver went 3-for-5 with 4 RBI and Ivory Thomas hit a pinch-hit three run homer to cushion the lead. Jake Mauer was able to use a variety of pitchers in the late innings since his club scored so many runs. Derrick Penilla started things for Cedar Rapids and he went four shutout frames while walking three and striking out two. It was only his second start of the season and it was the most innings he has pitched this year. Brandon Bixler picked up the win but he was charged with five runs in less than three innings. Jared Wilson and Hudson Boyd combined to shut out the Kernels in the last 2.1 innings. The Kernels improved to 4-2 against the Snappers this season. After the series win, the Kernels won't face the Snappers again in the first half. The two teams meet again in August TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Stuart Turner, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST)- Alex Meyer (Listen) New Britain @ Portland- Taylor Rogers (Listen) New Britain @ Portland (5:00 CST)- Competition of 5/28 Game Fort Myers @ Clearwater (12:00 CST)- David Hulbut (Listen) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Aaron Slegers (Listen) Photo of Matt Tomshaw by Linwood Ferguson, Ft. Myers Miracle. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Story.jpg Something clearly hadn't been right with Mike Pelfrey in his recent starts and the Twins finally did something about it Saturday morning. Pelfrey was placed on the disabled list with a left groin strain. Sam Deduno will take Pelfrey's spot in the rotation as he has continued to pitch well out of the bullpen. Danny Santana is the man taking Pelfrey's spot on the active roster. The Twins plan to use him in a variety of roles especially since the club already has two other shortstops on the roster. Santana is one of the top prospects in the Twins system and he was hitting .268/.311/.381 with seven doubles in 24 games at Rochester. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Louisville 0 Box Score Yohan Pino took it to his former team on Saturday afternoon. He tossed his second complete-game shutout of the season as he scattered three hits over nine innings. After throwing nine innings, Pino is in the midst of a 15 2/3 scoreless inning streak. In that streak he has limited opponents to seven hits with no walks and 17 strikeouts. His ERA is down to 0.84 and he has a perfect 5-0 record even though he hasn't been in the starting rotation for the entire season. Chris Parmelee went 0-for-2 with a couple walks to snap a career-high 15-game hitting streak. Wilkin Ramirez collected a couple hits and scored a run. Doug Bernier and Deibinson Romero both added a double while James Beresford had a single to run his hitting streak to five games. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 6, New Hampshire 5 (12 innings) Box Score New Britain had their backs against the wall at multiple points of this game. New Hampshire scored a run in the top of the tenth inning to take their first lead of the day. Kennys Vargas kept the team alive with a solo-shot in the bottom of the inning. In the twelfth inning, the Fisher Cats scored again to jump out on top. Cory Wimberly singled to start the bottom of the inning. A couple batters later, Tony Thomas, who was a late inning pinch runner, sent the fans home happy with a walk-off two run bomb. Pat Dean started the game for the Rock Cats. He pitched seven strong frames while limiting New Hampshire to three runs on nine hits. His five strikeouts were his second highest total of the season. The bullpen trio of Cole Johnson, Ryan O'Rourke, and Jim Fuller didn't allow an earned run after Dean's departure. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 10 Box Score The Miracle pitching staff had a rough night. Alex Wimmers started and was all over the place with his control. He allowed four walks in only 3.2 innings. Palm Beach tagged him for six runs (three earned) on six hits. Brian Gilbert walked as many batters as Wimmers in only two innings of work. Madison Boer was charged with three earned runs over the last couple innings. Levi Michael offered a positive note in a rough game. He went 4-for-5 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. It was the fifth straight game in which he has registered multiple hits. Travis Harrison went 0-for-1 but knocked in one of the team's three runs with a sacrifice fly. Stuart Turner hit his third double of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 0 Box Score While the Miracle pitching staff had their troubles on Saturday, the Kernels' staff gave a strong performance. Aaron Slegers picked up his third win of the year after he threw seven scoreless frames. He struck out six and walked two. Alex Muren pitched the eighth innings and didn't allow a base runner. The Kernels recorded four doubles on the offensive side of the ball to defeat Peoria for the first time this season. Chad Christensen went 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Engelb Vielma added two hits of his own and scored two of the three runs for Cedar Rapids. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Yohan Pino, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Levi Michael, Fort Myers Miracle SUNDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ Rochester (12:05 CST)- Alex Meyer New Hampshire @ New Britain (12:35 CST)- Virgil Vasquez Bradenton @ Fort Myers (3:05 CST)- Jason Wheeler Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 CST)- Ryan Eades ~~~ The Twins beat the Orioles yesterday (Saturday) so you can get a half price large or XL pizza from PapaJohns.com by using the promo code 'twinswin'! Click here to view the article

As spring training began in Twins Territory, there were questions about who should be starting at third base when the team headed north. Trevor Plouffe was coming off an underwhelming season where he dealt with some injuries and he struggled defensively at third base. Miguel Sano was ranked as one of the best prospects in the game and his powerful swing looked primed to make his debut. http://twinsdaily.co...=1Flash-forward a couple months and Sano is recovering from Tommy John surgery while Plouffe has continued to look more comfortable at the plate and in the field. Plouffe is never going to be a high batting average player but he's changed some of his offensive approach. Last season, he set a career high in doubles with 22 and this season he's already notched 18 two-baggers. His OPS+ of 113 breaks his career high from back in 2012 when he went HR crazy for a few weeks. There have been two big changes for Plouffe this season. The first has been his plate discipline and more importantly his ability to coax walks. He has 19 walks to his credit this year but he has increased is BB% from 6.5% in 2013 to close to 10% in 2014. Plouffe has also seen more pitches per game this season than last year. In 2013, he averaged 4.04 pitches seen per at-bat and that number has jumped to 4.60 in 2014. Another area of improvement for Plouffe has been his ability to drive the ball to the opposite field. Last season, he had a total of six doubles to the opposite field and only two of those balls were to the gap. Already this season he has ten doubles to the opposite field and seven of those doubles are in the gap. His line drive percentage has also increased from 24.7% to 28.5%. Plouffe is in his first year of being arbitration eligible since he qualified as a Super 2 player. His salary bumped up to $2.35 million this season and that number will continue to increase in the years to come. Here's a fun little player comparison between two former Twins first round picks. Player A: 1544 PA, .260/.336/.444, 86 2B, 48 HR, .184 ISO, .304 BABIP Player B: 1544 PA, .242/.305/.413, 78 2B, 51 HR, .171 ISO, .281 BABIP Player A is Michael Cuddyer, another late bloomer with the Twins. Player B is Trevor Plouffe through Wednesday night's game in San Diego. It took Cuddyer over 1500 at-bats to consistently compile an OPS+ of over 100. Plouffe is around that mark and he just crossed the 1500 career at-bats. If Plouffe can continue to make small improvements, the Twins are going to have to continue to find room for him on their line-up card. Click here to view the article

On last week's episode of Talk to Contact, Darren "Doogie" Wolfson spent some time with us discussing the possibility of a Brian Dozier contract extension. He mentioned that Dozier's agent has already approached the Twins about this possibility. By the end of the interview, he said he wouldn't be surprised if Dozier has a new contract in place by the end of spring training next year. From the perspective of the Twins front office, there might not be a reason to be in a rush with Dozier. He didn't make his big league debut until the age of 24. His first year of arbitration eligibility is 2016 and he can't be a free agent until 2019. Dozier would be 31-years old before he hit the free agent market and a lot can happen to a player over the course of multiple seasons. Download attachment: Brian Dozier LookBack.jpg On the other hand, Minnesota might want to lock-up Dozier before he gets to arbitration because of the way he has played since the second half of last season. Dozier's power swing really showed up in the last year's second half. He slashed .253/.313/.443 with 10 home runs and 18 doubles. His batting average is never going to be the prettiest (he's a career .240 hitter) but his combination of stellar defense and base running ability make him very valuable. A hot start from Dozier in 2014 could mean his cost is starting to rise. He already has nine home runs to his name and his 34 runs scored leads the American League. The addition of Hall-of-Famer Paul Molitor to the coaching staff must also be helping Dozier. One of Molitor's duties is base running coach and Dozier is closing in on a career high in steals. He collected 14 steals a season ago and he already has 12 in 2014. So what could a Dozier extension look like in the next year? A starting point for the Twins and Dozier could be the deal signed by Padres second baseman Jedd Gyorko. Gyorko was drafted a year after Dozier and he made his debut on roughly the same timeline. Even though he was still arbitration eligible, the Padres inked him to a 5-year, $35 million contract, which includes a team option for a sixth year. This could mean Gyorko is in San Diego through 2020. Another second baseman to sign a recent contract extension was Jason Kipnis. Like Dozier, he was drafted in 2009 but he made his debut a year earlier. He also has an All-Star appearance to his name and he was closer to free agency by a year. The Indians gave Kipnis a 6-year, $52.5 million deal with a team option for 2020. Looking at these two deals I would put Dozier somewhere in the middle of these two players. The Twins should offer Dozier a 5-year deal for around $40 million with a team option for a sixth year. His average salary would be less than Kipnis and higher than Gyorko. I could see it going a little higher than $40 million but not too much higher. This deal would lock up Dozier through his arbitration years and push back his free agent years. Click here to view the article

Welcome to the unofficial midpoint of the 2014 Twins season. After teasing fans for different portions of the first half, the Twins find themselves in a familiar position at the break, last place in the AL Central. The Twins enter the break six games under .500 and 10.5 games behind the Detroit Tigers for the top spot in the division. Even though the team's record might not show it, there have been some positive things happening for the Twins this year. Kurt Suzuki and Phil Hughes are looking like fantastic free agent signings. Brian Dozier is in the midst of a breakout season at the plate. Even Kyle Gibson has started to look like he will be a long-term option as a starting pitcher. At the beginning of the season I made preseason picks about who will be the best players on the Twins in four different award categories (MVP, Best Starter, Best Reliever, Best Rookie). Each of the awards below has been named after someone who is the epitome of the award winner for the Twins organization. There are some legends from the past and even one current MLB player but all have had a significant place in Twins lore. Download attachment: USATSI_7989199_154617946_lowres.jpg Photo by Jesse Johnson Harmon Killebrew First-Half MVP: Brian Dozier, 2B Preseason Pick: Joe Mauer, 1B Joe Mauer is always the safe pick at the beginning of the season and it seems that he has disappointed in recent years. This makes it easy to look at the team and give the first half MVP to Brian Dozier. He has 10 more home runs than any other player on the roster. His 69 runs scored are the most in the American League. He also leads the team in RBI and stolen bases. All of these offensive numbers are great but he also makes some tremendous plays on the defensive side of the ball. His batting average is always going to be low but he seems to have all the other tools to be part of the Twins long-term rebuilding process. Johan Santana Pitcher of the First Half: Phil Hughes Preseason Pick: Ricky Nolasco In the preseason I had the right idea to pick one of the free agent starters the Twins had signed. However I elected to go with the wrong man. Rick Nolasco has struggled during his first 18 starts with the Twins while Phil Hughes has looked like a brand new pitcher. Hughes leads the Twins in wins, innings pitched and WAR. He's also only walked 11 batters the entire season for a eye-popping 0.81 BB/9 rate. To put that in perspective, no other Twins starter has allowed fewer than 2 BB/9. There have been some rough starts for Hughes leading into the break so it will be interesting to see what kind of pitcher he looks like at the start of the second half. Rick Aguilera Relief Pitcher of the First Half: Casey Fien Preseason Pick: Glen Perkins, LHP This was one of the toughest picks to make but looking deeper at the numbers it made my decision a little easier. Casey Fien and Glen Perkins were both considered for this award but I give the slight edge to Fien. Perkins will always strikeout more batters than Fien but Fien has been asked to fill a very important late inning role. He does a great job of limiting damage when he comes into games because almost 83% of the time he is able to leave runners on base. Perkins left on base percentage is under 65%. Fien's ERA and WHIP are both lower than Perkins' and Fien has pitched the second most innings out of the bullpen behind long-man Anthony Swarzak. This will be a race to watch in the second half as both players are having good seasons to this point. Rod Carew Rookie of the First Half: Danny Santana Preseason Pick: Josmil Pinto Both Josmil Pinto and Danny Santana did some good things in the first half but my vote goes to Santana. He has seemed to be a spark plug for the line-up when he is in the game. While his natural position is in the infield, the team has been forced to move him to the outfield because of injury issues. He was able to continue to produce in the outfield as well. In 37 games, he has been a threat on the bases with six steals to his name. He also has accumulated the same number of runs scored and RBI as Pinto in fewer plate appearances. Pinto provides the power but Santana's overall game has been a big asset to the Twins in the first half. Now it's your turn. Who would you pick for each of the above awards? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

For the second Tuesday in a row, weather played havoc on the Twins farm system. Only half of the teams were able to get on the field and both of those teams didn't exactly like the results on the night. Some hitters continued their hot starts to the year, but the pitching seemed to be the biggest problem on this night Fans who braved the weather at Target Field got to see Phil Hughes get off to a great start before giving up a chunk of runs in the sixth inning. The Blue Jays have held the Twins number in recent years. Since 2010, Toronto has a 21-7 record versus Minnesota and things haven't been pretty during that stretch. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]http://twinsdaily.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=7167&stc=1Levi Michael RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Pawtucket -- (Postponed) Today's game between Rochester and Pawtucket was postponed due to inclement weather. The teams will play one game tomorrow (Wednesday) at 2:35 CST and they will make up today's game as part of a doubleheader on Thursday. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for 12:05 CST and game two will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Scott Diamond was scheduled to make his third start of the year before the weather acted up. He is off to a rough start after allowing eight earned runs in five innings of work through two starts. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain --, New Hampshire -- (Postponed) The weather in the Northeast part of the US was not cooperating when it came to baseball action. Much like Rochester, New Britain wasn't able to play their game on Tuesday evening. It will be made up at some point later this season. DJ Baxendale was scheduled to make his third start of the year. He currently has a 5.91 ERA after giving up seven runs over 10.2 innings on the mound. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Charlotte 6 Box Score Fort Myers held 2-run leads at two different points in this game but it still wasn't enough. Tim Shibuya surrendered four runs including a three-run home run in the eighth inning to see the victory slip away. Jason Wheel started the game and gave up two runs on eight hits. He struck out three and walked two. It was the first time this season he allowed more than one earned run in a start. Levi Michael continued his hot hitting streak by going 3-for-4 with a run scored. He has gone 7 for his last nine and he has been on base in 9-of-11 plate appearances. Dalton Hicks collected the only extra-base hit for the Miracle, his third double of the young season. Max Kepler had two hits for the second time this season and he ended a six-game hitless streak. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 7 Box Score The Kernels were off to a scorching start with victories in six straight games. Cedar Rapids starter Ryan Eades got beat-up as he allowed five earned runs in three innings. On the positive side, he did record five strike outs but South Bend pounded out eight hits. Josue Montanez came on in relief and struck out six of the eight outs he recorded while limiting the Silver Hawks to one run. Mitch Garver has started 12 games for the Kernels and he has five home runs so far. His fifth home run of the season put him in first place in the Midwest League in home runs and total bases. Tanner Vavra collected a hit to extend his hitting streak to seven games. Bryan Haar hit a two-run homer, his second in three games. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Josue Montanez, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Levi Michael, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (2:35 CST)- Scott Diamond New Britain @ New Hampshire (9:35 CST)- Taylor Rogers* Fort Myers @ Charlotte (9:00 CST)- Tyler Duffey South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Ethan Mildren *Subject to change because of today's weather delay Click here to view the article

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CmydG0JkmKs/T-0AJJlItXI/AAAAAAAACco/K4BK-a6NIYg/s1600/300_fanforum.jpg As part of the Twins off day on Thursday, the Twins held their sixth Fan Forum with current third baseman Trevor Plouffe and left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond. This conference call allows season ticket holders, "On-Deck" members, and group organizers to ask a variety of questions in the hour long event. There were also multiple prizes given away including on-field passes, VIP parking, the opportunity to raise the Twins Territory Flag, and some autographed items. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There were some interesting quotes from both players over the course of the night but one quote from Diamond stuck out to me. The fan that asked the question wanted to know what players on the Twins had made the biggest impact on their careers. Since Diamond is a pitcher, he mentioned Carl Pavano and a surprising name, Kevin Slowey. He made note of the fact that Slowey taught him different ways to think about his approach to pitching. After Slowey's rough exit from the organization, it is interesting to hear his impact on what is now the team's best starting pitcher. Diamond also talked highly about the welcoming environment in the Twins clubhouse when he joined the team last year. He said this was an improvement over what he had seen in the Braves organization. Later in the call, Diamond talked about using the other veteran players on ways to approach hitters in the American League. Other hurlers like Brian Duensing and Carl Pavano have helped to familiarize him with their opponents. On more than one occasion, Diamond praised the work of Rick Anderson to help him make his turnaround. He said that "Andy" gets him mentally prepared for each start in a variety of ways. There are times that Diamond can try and pitch to the scouting reports too much and this takes away from his game. Anderson helps Diamond by keeping him focused on his style of pitching and it seems to have worked so far. Here are some other random tidbits from Diamond's answers on Thursday night. Fellow left-hander Andy Pettitte is someone that Diamond admires because of their similar throwing style.His favorite park to pitch in is the Rogers Centre because it is close to his family in Canada. On his off days, Diamond likes to spend time outside and on the water. He came from a National League organization but he likes the DH. He said it takes away from his pitching when he has to think about all that goes into batting. There have obviously been some changes to Plouffe's approach at the plate during the 2012 season. While Diamond talked highly of Anderson, Plouffe had nothing but praise for Joe Valvra and the hard work that he has done. He credited Valvra with making his swing better and for having a vast knowledge about every pitcher the Twins face. Part of the changes for Plouffe have come in the last week. He referred to the last seven days as "slider mania" because of the way pitchers have changed their approach with him at the plate. This is just one more thing for him and Valvra to work on. One of the poll questions for the night was about who the fans thought would lead the team in home runs by the end of the year. A laughable choice in the live poll was Joe Mauer and needless to say, he didn't finish first in the balloting. When Plouffe was asked about his battle with Josh Willingham for leading the team in home runs, he said that he doesn't care who ends up on top. If Diamond and Plouffe had their way, both Plouffe and Willingham would finish tied with atleast 70 home runs. There are some other things that Plouffe has been focusing on as he finds himself in the line-up on a daily basis. Since he hasn't played much third base in the past, he is putting in a lot of work at the hot corner. There are new angles to the ball that he has to get use to at third. He has been working on his defense a lot and he stressed the fact that his defense is an important part of his game. Plouffe wants to be a good defensive player at third and not just an average defender. Here are some other tidbits from Plouffe's answers during the conversation. He has been taking more first pitches this season so he can work on tracking pitches. This has especially been the case with pitchers he has never seen before. He loves to play golf on his off day. Today he went with Anthony Swarzak, Brian Dozier, and Drew Butera. Apparently Drew Butera is a stud on the golf course. His favorite stadium to play in is Angels Stadium because his family is from the area. There were plenty of jokes about Plouffe being engaged and how daughters across Twins Territory are up in arms about him being off of the market. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Mauer_Joe_Hitting.jpg "Strike two, you're out," seems to be the current mantra for most of baseball. Unless you're Joe Mauer. One of the biggest challenges for batters in recent years has been their ability to come back in an at-bat after falling into a two-strike count. Since 2006, there has been a steady decrease in players' ability to hit with two strikes. Last year, two-strike hitting dropped to a new low, as batters were able to muster only a .178 batting average. How do pitchers have so much of an advantage when it comes to throwing to batters with two strikes?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] For one thing, players don't care as much if they do strikeout. Blame the juiced up players in the steroids era. It didn't matter if a player was swinging and missing as long as the ball was flying over the fence. Home run and RBI totals made up for big strikeout numbers. For batters to get anywhere near 200 strikeouts in the past would have been horrific. Bobby Bonds was a trailblazer for the current generation of strike out prone players. He struck out 187 times in 1969. He passed that mark the next year with 189. The 200-strikeout mark hasn't been as much of an embarrassment in recent years as it had been in the past; that level has been exceeded five times in the last five seasons. Mark Reynolds has three of the top five strikeout seasons and he also sits at the top of the list with 223 strikeouts. Adam Dunn came within one strikeout of tying the MLB record last year but that dubious honor still belongs to Reynolds. Twins fans have become accustomed to seeing one player buck the trend when it comes to hitting with a two-strike count. Joe Mauer is one of the best hitters in the game and he doesn't seem to have any trouble when he finds himself deep in a two strike hole. It almost seems as if Mauer becomes a better hitter as an at-bat is extended. In 2012, Mauer ranked as one of the top five batters in all of baseball when it came to hitting with two strikes. His .266 batting average with two-strikes was the highest mark in the American League. It was high enough to finish just ahead of Prince Fielder. Best Two-Strike Hitters in 2012 1. Martin Prado .286 2. Jayson Werth .286 3. Matt Carpenter .268 4. Joe Mauer .266 5. Prince Fielder .265 Overall, Mauer has been on quite the roll to start the 2013 season. This has also helped his numbers with two strikes against him. So far this season, he is hitting .409/.435/.523 when he has two strikes. Those are unheard of numbers and it is hard to imagine that he will be able to keep up that pace for the entire season. For his career with two strikes, Mauer has a batting line of .258/.312/.359 which gets him close to the top of the all-time list. Besides being a Hall-of-Fame caliber hitter, Tony Gwynn was also the best hitter of all-time with two strikes against him. His .302 average would be good for any count much less when he has two strikes against him. Todd Helton, Ichiro Suzuki, Juan Pierre, and Wade Boggs round out the rest of the top five with their averages sitting from .260 to .262. Ichiro would be a name that most would expect to see on this list. Pierre certainly doesn't fit the mold of all-time great but baseball is a funny game. The game of baseball will always be changing and batters will likely need to find some way to improve their results when in a two strike count. If Mauer continues on his current track, his record will show him to have been one of the best two-strike hitters in history. He is going against the trend in baseball and Twins fans are happy with those results. Click here to view the article

With the number five pick in the 2014 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Nick Gordon, a high school shortstop from Florida. This is the pick most people expected the Twins to make especially with word coming out that the team's top brass had seen him in person more than any other draft prospect. To read more about Gordon, check out his Twins Daily pre-draft profile. Leading up to the Twins fifth pick, the Houston Astros had the first overall pick for the third straight season. Houston took high school left-handed pitcher Brady Aiken. He had emerged as the favorite for the first overall pick and he was the third high school left-hander to be selected first overall. For more from Cody Christie, check out NoDakTwinsFan.com They were followed by the Marlins who were happy to have flame-throwing Tyler Kolek still on the board. The next two picks were centered on the Windy City. The White Sox decided they needed to add more pitching and they took Carlos Rodon. No one was quite sure what the Cubs were going to do. They were a wild card and they went off the board to pick Kyle Schwarber. This left the Twins to get the guy they wanted all along for the third season in a row. On last week's episode of the Talk to Contact podcast, we interviewed MLBpipleline.com's Jim Callis about many of the top prospects in this year's draft including Nick Gordon. Check out the podcast and feel free to discuss the Twins selection in the comments below. View full article

Download attachment: Josh+Willingham+Justin+Morneau+Minnesota+Twins.jpg Yesterday was the first part of a series that will look at the road that lies ahead for the Minnesota Twins as they try to rebuild after back-to-back 90 loss seasons. The team has already started the rebuilding process by trading away two of their most valuable major league assets in Denard Span and Ben Revere. Today, “The Road to Rebuild” looks at trading away some of the team’s other assets - and fan favorites - to get players for the next time the team will be competitive. Denard Span and Ben Revere were two fan favorites over the last couple of years but the team jumped at the opportunity to trade these two players for young pitchers with upside. The Twins turned two former first round picks into three pitchers that should figure into the team’s equation over the next handful of seasons. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] It can be tough to trade away players that have been with the organization since they were teenagers. At TwinsFest, Terry Ryan made it clear that trading away Revere was one of the toughest decisions of his professional career when he said "Ben Revere is like a son to me." These are decisions that the front office has to make with their head and not with their heart. It seems that there will be plenty of other tough decisions for Mr. Ryan to make along the road to rebuild. There are a couple of other valuable pieces that the Twins could potentially trade in the next two years that could help add more depth to a farm system that is already considered one of the best in all of baseball. Two of the team's best players' contracts will expire before the end of 2014. The way the Twins are shaping their roster doesn't make it seem like the team will be competitive before the end of those deals. This could leave Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham on the trading block. Trading Morneau could be another tough decision for Ryan. Twins fans have cheered for Morneau through thick and through thin. The former MVP has had a couple of rough years in a row but the end of 2012 was a step in the right direction, when he hit .289/.354/.439 over the second half. If Morneau could get the 2013 season off on the right foot, he trade value could rise rapidly. Morneau is in the last year of a six-year, $80 million deal. With Chris Parmelee on the roster, the Twins have a possible replacement for Morneau waiting in the wings. Parmelee will be a much cheaper option since he has yet to reach arbitration. A team looking to add a powerful left-handed bat for the stretch run might be willing to give up some pieces to acquire Morneau. Last offseason, the Twins signed Willingham to a very reasonable three-year, $21 million contract. He more than lived up to the deal during his first season in a Twins uniform. MLB honored him with a Silver Slugger Award after he knocked 35 home runs, the most by a Twins player not named Harmon Killebrew since 1963. This tremendous season helped to add value to a player the Twins got for a good deal. Willingham's contract will run through the end of the 2014 season but he will be 36 years old by that point. He is closer to the end of his career than he is to the beginning, so it is hard to imagine him gaining any more value on the field. If the right deal is on the table from another club, the Twins might have to pull the trigger. For fans, it can be tough to watch their favorite players leave for another team. This is especially true when the players the Twins get back are still a couple years away from making an impact at the big league level. But trading away veteran players is part of the rebuilding process. And hey, fans can be rest-assured that Joe Mauer will be around for this rebuild... ...and maybe even the next one too. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: May_Trevor_Face_US_Landscape.jpg On Tuesday afternoon, the rosters for the MLB Future's game were announced and it included two Twins players, Jose Berrios and Kennys Vargas. Word came out on Wednesday that Rochester Red Wings starter Trevor May would be added to US roster to replace Cardinals LHP Marco Gonzalez who had already made his big league debut. May is in the middle of a breakout season at Triple-A. Since the beginning of May, he's gone 7-3 with a 2.35 ERA over 10 starts. This could set up a situation similar to last year when the Mets had prospects as the starting pitchers for both the US and the World team. May could start for the US and Berrios could start for the World squad. Enough about the Futures Game, let's dive down on the pond. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Scranton/WB -- (Postponed) The game between the Red Wings and the RailRiders was rained out on Wednesday night. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Thursday, July 10. First pitch is scheduled to be at 4:35 CST and both games are scheduled to be seven innings. Earlier in the day, Rochester made a roster move by adding RHP Lester Oliveros from New Britain. To make room for him on the roster, the team sent RHP Mark Hamburger to Double-A. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Altoona 1 Box Score The Rock Cats rode a hot start from Taylor Rogers to win the rubber game of a three-game set with the Altoona Curve. Rogers tossed eight frames, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out a career high 11 batters and improved to 7-4 on the season. He hasn't lost a game since June 3rd and he is 6-1 over his last ten outings. Matthew Summers earned his first save of the year, pitching a perfect ninth. Earlier in the day, the Twins reinstated Aaron Hicks from the disabled list and optioned him to New Britain. He led-off for the Rock Cats but went 0-for-4 with a strikeout. Nate Hanson was the lone batter with multiple hits as he went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Brandon Waring had a big two-out RBI double that was the difference in the game. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his 21st double of the season. Including a make-up game from April 15th, New Britain starts a five-game weekend series in New Hampshire on Thursday. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, St. Lucie 6 Box Score The Miracle put themselves in an early 6-0 hole before the team had a chance to bat. B.J. Hermsen was pelted for six runs on six hits in the first inning. After the rough start, he didn't allow another run and he made it through four innings. Alex Wimmers picked up the victory out of the bullpen with four shutout innings. He struck out four and limited the Mets to two hits. Fort Myers responded to St. Lucie's big first inning with a strong inning of their own. The Miracle sent 11 men to bat and plated five runs in the frame. Even a 20 minute delay due to a lightning strike in the area couldn't stop the runs from being scored in the first. With the delay, the first inning took over an hour to complete and featured 21 hitters, 11 runs, nine hits, six walks, three different pitchers and an error. Lance Ray's first home run of the season was a big one as he put the Miracle on top in the late innings. Nate Roberts went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Niko Goodrum scored two runs and stole his 14th base of the season but his first inning error added to an already bad frame. KERNELS NUGGETS CedarRapids 1, Peoria 2 Box Score Kohl Stewart continues to impress on the mound but the Kernels are having a tough time backing up some of his stronger outings. He went five innings in this game and gave up two runs on six hits. Over his last ten starts, he has a 2.29 ERA and he has allowed more than two earned runs in only one of those outings. Unfortunately for him, the offense hasn't been there and he hasn't won a game since April 25th. The Kernels went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position as the team left six men on base. J.D. Williams went 2-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored. His doubles were the only extra-base hits for the Kernels. Bryan Haar collected two hits. It was a rough night at the plate for Jason Kanzler as he struck out four times. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Burlington 0 Box Score Nick Gordon cracked his first professional home run to help Elizabethton to their fourth win of the season. His three-run shot was part of a two hit night and he also scored two runs. Max Murphy also helped the cause with a two hits including his first home run of the young season. Tyler Kuresa had a double and an RBI. In his second start of the season, Stephen Gonsalves was very sharp, picking up his first victory. He struck out nine batters in six shutout innings. Keaton Steele earned a hold after pitching two innings and limiting Burlington to one base runner. Jake Reed closed out the shutout by striking out the side in the ninth. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 9, GCL Orioles 7 Box Score The GCL Orioles outhit the GCL Twins fourteen to six but the Orioles pitching staff contributed nine walks. The Twins were timely with their hits and four of the six hits were for extra-bases. It was the second straight day with a win for the Twins after losing their first three contests. Four different pitchers helped the Twins come out victorious. Josh Guyer started the game and tossed 3.1 innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He struck out two and walked one. Alexis Tapia earned his first victory as he gave up two runs over 2.2 frames. Trevor Hildenberger struck out three batters in his two innings of work. Nelson Molina was in the middle of most of the offensive action. He went 2-for-3 with two triples, two runs scored and four RBI. Rafael Valera only collected one hit but he knocked in a couple runs and drew two walks. Dubal Baez and Jarrad Poteete each hit his third double of the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Rogers, New Britain Rock Cats Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Elizabethton Twins THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester@ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) NewBritain @ New Hampshire (6:05 CST) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) St. Lucie@ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Tim Shibuya (Listen) CedarRapids @ Peoria (7:00 CST) - Aaron Slegers (Listen) Elizabethton@ Burlington (6:00 CST) – Sam Gibbons (Listen) GCLOrioles @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Berrios_Jose_Waving_US_720.jpg The festivities are underway in the Twin Cities as Minnesota plays host to the MLB All-Star Game. The major league players still had games to play on Sunday but some of the best and brightest minor league players were on hand to strut their stuff. Twins pitching prospect Jose Berrios got the start for the World squad and Kennys Vargas was in the middle of the batting order to back him up. Berrios struck out the first batter he faced on a high fastball and both of the other batters flied out. Vargas played the entire game and he collected a double in four plate appearances. He also made a nice leaping catch at first and a couple nice scoops. Alex Meyer pitched the fifth inning for the US and earned a hold. The first two batters made decent contact against him but luckily one of those hits was right at a fielder. Meyer got a double play to end the inning and he only needed four pitches to get his job done. While these three players were busy with a big event, their teams were busy still trying to win games. Here's a look at how their teams did on Sunday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester --, Scranton/Wilkes Barre -- (Postponed) Rain put a damper on what was supposed to be the unofficial end of the first half for the Rochester Red Wings. Trevor May was scheduled to make his first start since coming off of the DL but that will have to wait another day. Rochester had also ended a four game losing streak on Saturday so it would have been nice to keep the momentum going in the right direction. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, August 23. Game one is scheduled for a 3:35 pm CST and both games will be seven innings long. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Reading 6 Box Score New Britain staked themselves to an early two run lead but Reading connected on four home runs as part of a 12-hit barrage to win the game. Jason Wheeler started for the Rock Cats. He went five innings and allowed five earned runs on 10 hits including three of the above mentioned four home runs. It was his third loss in five starts since being moved up from Fort Myers. Daniel Turpen relived Wheeler and pitched two innings. He gave up one hit but it happened to be a home run. Mason Melotakis pitched the last two frames and he kept the ball in the park. Over two shutout frames he allowed one hit and struck out two. Reynaldo Rodriguez collected two hits including his 30th double of the season. It was the third time in his last ten games that he has collected multiple hits. Eddie Rosario had a double and scored a run. Lance Ray also collected his second double in only eight games since his promotion. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Dunedin 1 (Game 1- 7 innings) Box Score DJ Baxendale put together his best outing of the year for the Miracle as he tossed a complete game. He scattered five hits over seven innings and struck out two. Baxendale induced three double plays and recorded 12 outs on ground balls. He hadn't made it through more than six innings in any other start. Nate Roberts and Stuart Turner both knocked two hits and Roberts' triple was the lone extra-base hit. Byron Buxton went 1-for-2 with a run scored and his second stolen base of the season. His infield single was his first hit since coming off of the disabled list at the beginning of last week. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Dunedin 4 (Game 2- 7 innings) Box Score In the second game of the doubleheader, the Miracle beat up on a familiar name, Dunedin starter Frank Viola Jr. He only lasted 2.1 innings and was charged with six earned runs as the Miracle pelted him with seven hits. Four Miracle hitters had at least two hits. Anderlin Mejia led the way going 3-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored. Adam Brett Walker had a couple big hits as he knocked in two and hit his ninth double. Fort Myers patched together pitchers for the second half of the doubleheader. BJ Hermsen collected the win after tossing a scoreless second inning. Todd Van Steensel made his Miracle debut at Hammond Stadium and lasted 1.1 scoreless frames. Madison Boer shut the door by recording the last five outs without allowing a hit. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 4 (Rain Shortened- 6 innings) Box Score One giant inning is all it took for Cedar Rapids to earn the win. In the top of the sixth inning, the Kernels scored seven runs without recording an extra-base hit. Cedar Rapids has now won four games in a row including the rain shortened game on Saturday. In that big sixth inning, the Kernels sent 11 men to the plate. The team recorded five singles and took advantage of one defensive error. The first four hitters all reached base. It matched the largest run-scoring inning for the Kernels on the season. Four Cedar Rapids hitters (Logan Wade, Chad Christensen, Jason Kanzler, and Alex Smith) had two hits. Swim hit the only Kernels extra-base hit, a double. Lewis Thorpe pitched the first four innings, allowing three earned runs on four hits. He struck out five and didn't walk anyone. Brandon Bixler earned his sixth victory of the season, all of them coming out of the bullpen. He allowed one run over two innings with a strikeout. Hudson Boyd earned the save since he was on the mound when the game was called. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 10, Danville 6 Box Score The E-Twins brought a consistent offensive approach to pound out ten runs on 16 hits. Max Murphy reached base four times and scored three runs. He also hit his sixth home run of the season in the ninth inning. Tyler Kuresa went 2-for-4 with a home run. All the hitters in the batting order from first to seventh had a minimum of two hits with the exception being Nick Gordon (1-for-6 with a run scored). Michael Cederoth was credited with his second professional victory in as many appearances. He allowed three runs over five innings with four strikeouts and two walks. CK Irby got hit around a little in his second inning of work. He gave up two runs on four hits but it wasn't enough to get Danville back into the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – DJ Baxendale, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Max Murphy, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester- Scheduled Off Day Reading @ New Britain (11:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – TBD (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) - Ryan Eades (Listen) Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00 CST)- Stephen Gonsalves GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00am CST) – TBD Click here to view the article

The Twins took care of business in Toronto on Tuesday night and most of the teams in the minor leagues were able to follow their lead. It didn't take long for Kendrys Morales to remember how to hit and Brian Dozier is putting himself into the All-Star conversation at second base. Minnesota is in the mix for the playoffs and many of their minor league affiliates are fighting for first half titles. Every win is important so let's jump down on the pond to check out the action. Download attachment: tim shibuya FM.jpg photo by Linwood Ferguson TRANSACTIONS Mini-camp has begun in Ft. Myers. Several of the Twins draft choices will join as they sign, with some reporting today. Soon players will be split into teams, several heading to Elizabethton and several staying in Ft. Myers for the Gulf Coast League season. Unfortunately, four players have been released before the short-season leagues begin. They are LHPs Andrew Ferreira and Hein Robb, RHP Tanner Mendonca and 3B Javier Pimentel. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Gwinnett 4 Box Score James Beresford, Deibinson Romero and Chris Collabello all had multiple hit games to lead the Red Wings to their 37th team victory. Romero and Colabello each had two doubles and Colabello added two RBI. Pedro Florimon cracked his second home run of the year to pace the Red Wings. Overall, Rochester pounded out eleven hits and seven runs to end a two-game losing streak. Trevor May started the game but he only lasted 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on six hits. I praised him in earlier in the week during my midseason Twins top prospect rankings so it figures that he would have a little bit of a rough start. Ryan Pressly and Aaron Thompson each earned a hold for combining to pitch 2.2 scoreless innings. Wilkin Ramirez extended his career-long hit streak to 12 games. He is hitting .333 with 10 RBI during that stretch. The Red Wings finished their nine-game road trip with a 6-3 record. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Reading 4 Box Score These Cats were able to claw their way back into the game for a come from behind victory. New Britain scored in the top of the ninth inning to separate themselves from the Reading Phillies. Tony Thomas was the lone New Britain hitter with more than one hit. Sam Fuld and Kennys Vargas both added home runs to help the cause. Rock Cats starter Tyler Duffey tossed six strong innings by scattering five hits and two earned runs. He struck out three and walked two. Matthew Summers surrendered the lead but his teammates bailed him out. Lester Oliveros picked up his third win by tossing 1.1 scoreless innings and striking out three. His ERA currently sits at an eye-popping 0.68. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Charlotte 0 Box Score The story of this game was Mr. Tim Shibuya. He flirted with a perfecto for 6.1 innings before allowing a couple hits. He tossed seven shutout frames on two hits with no walks and two strikeouts. His record improved to 4-2 with relief help from BJ Hermsen and Alex Wimmers. On the offensive side of the ball, it was the Stephen Wickens show. He knocked the sixth grand slam of the year for the Miracle as part of a 2-for-4 night. He collected five RBI, a double and scored two runs along the way. Four other Miracle hitters collected two walks to help the team extend multiple innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 6 Box Score Bryan Haar collected his 23rd extra-base hit of the year on a double but it wasn't enough to help the Kernels to victory. Tanner Vavra and Chad Christensen each tallied two hits but the rest of the team didn't follow their lead. The Kernels committed two defensive errors on the night and are now 1-6 against the Bandits this year. Aaron Slegers got beat around over 4.2 innings as he allowed five runs with three of them being unearned. This had to be frustrating. He was charged with six hits while he struck out three and walked one for his third loss of the season. Josue Montanez and Chris Mazza were not charged any runs for the rest of the game. Montanez struck out six over 2.2 frames. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Tim Shibuya, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Stephen Wickens, Fort Myers Miracle WEDNESDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester- Scheduled Off Day New Britain @ Reading (6:05 CST)- Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Charlotte @ Fort Myers (6:05 CST)- Jose Berrios (Listen) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST)- Fernando Romero (Listen) Click here to view the article

While the Twins finish up their series with the Royals, there could be some reinforcements on the way. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni are both on rehab at the Triple-A level and this could mean both men are back with the big league club in the near future. A healthy Willingham could be a sight for sore eyes to Twins fans. Miguel Sano returned to the line-up of the Rock Cats last night after missing four games with a tight hamstring. He wasted little time making his mark as he fell just a triple shy of the cycle. There were other familiar names and story lines across the farm system.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Here are the highlights from Wednesday night's action. Rochester Red Wings 5, Durham Bulls 4 Box Score Rochester continues to find ways to win games at one of the most important parts of their season. The Red Wings scored runs in the second, third and fourth innings and relied on their pitchers to hold the lead. With the win, the Red Wings have won their first ever series at Durham Bulls Athletic Park in 16 tries. It was also the team's first season series win over the Bulls since 2008. Josh Willingham and Darin Mastroianni were both on rehab assignment with the Wings. Willingham wasted little time making his presence known as he hit a solo home run in his first plate appearance. Later in the game, the designated hitter drew a walk and finished the night 1-for-3. Mastroianni collected two RBI but he was held hitless before being pulled for a pinch runner in the fourth. (He had hyper-extended his right knee beating out a would-be double play. It doesn't not sound to be very serious.) Logan Darnell earned the victory but he labored to get through five frames. He spread out three earned runs and six hits to keep the Bulls far enough away. Luis Perdomo and AJ Archter pitched the next three innings and limited the Bulls to one run on three hits. Michael Tonkin was lights out in the ninth as he pitched a perfect frame and struck out two for his ninth save. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Akron Aeros 7 Box Score Multiple hit nights from Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario weren't enough to push the Rock Cats to victory. Santana added his seventh triple as part of a 2-for-4 game. Jordan Parraz smacked a 2-run shot for his tenth long ball of the season. After his monster night last night, Miguel Sano went 1-for-3 with a walk. DJ Baxendale started the game on the mound but he found a few struggles along the way. He tossed six innings and gave up four runs on nine hits. Along the way, he had four strikeouts and three walks. Matt Hauser didn't do so well in relief of Baxendale. He gave up three runs in his one inning of work. Jose Gonzalez stopped some of the bleeding by giving up no runs over one frame. Cedar Rapids Kernels 7, Beloit Snappers 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids sits near the top in their division for the second half but they were visiting the division winners from the first half on Wednesday. The Kernels used a big five run fourth inning to push their lead to 7-0 before the bullpen had to hang on in the end. As part of the Kernels big fourth inning, Niko Goodrum hit a three-run home run. He compiled four RBI and finished the night 2-for-4. Jonathan Murphy helped the offense out of the leadoff spot by going 3-for-5 with two runs scored. Joel Licon and Michael Quesada each added a double. Brett Lee had his shortest outing of the season by being pulled after three innings. He didn't give up a run and the Snappers only managed two hits off of him. There might have been some kind of injury or other reason to pull Lee. David Hurlbut was asked to pitch five frames and he didn't do too badly. He gave up one earned run and struck out seven. Madison Boer earned his third save by throwing a perfect ninth inning. Fort Myers Miracle --, Charlotte Stone Crabs -- (Postponed) Weather got in the way of the Miracle trying to end their recent losing streak. The club has lost four of their last five games and they are three games out of first place in the second half standings. Since the Miracle already clinched a playoff spot by winning the division in the first half, their current record isn't as important. Tonight's game will be made up as part of a double header later this month in Port Charlotte. The date and time of this game have yet to be announced. These two teams will continue their series tomorrow night at Hammond Stadium. Elizabethon Twins 3, Johnson City Cardinals 0 Box Score
 The story in this game was all about Hein Robb. He earned his first victory of the season in dramatic fashion. Before today's game, Robb hadn't lasted further than 7.1 innings and he was averaging under 6 innings per start. Robb was terrific by scattering two hits over nine shutout innings. He struck out nine and didn't walk a batter. Download attachment: Hein Robb.jpg On the offensive side of the ball, the E-Twins didn't put on a clinic but they scored enough to support Robb's outstanding pitching effort. Mitch Garver and Dereck Rodriguez each went 1-for-4 with an RBI. Tanner Vavra notched his first extra-base hit with a double. Romy Jimenez had multiple hits for the first time in his last ten games. 
GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Lester Oliveros continues to work his way back from Tommy John surgery. He has yet to give up a run in a game and that streak continued today. He tossed two shutout innings on Wednesday by giving up two hits and striking out one batter. Chih-Wei Hu started the game and surrendered one run on one hit over three frames. Jose Abreu earned his third loss of the year by giving up the go-ahead run in extra innings. There wasn't a ton of offense to speak of for the GCL Twins. Four of the team's starters were held hitless. Overall, The team compiled six hits over 10 innings with Jorge Fernandez being the only player with multiple hits. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Jonatan Hinojosa had an RBI and he finished the day 1-for-4. Click here to view the article

The Florida State League announced that Byron Buxton was that league's player of the week. In games played from July 14-20 and he went 10-for-20 at the plate with one triple, two home runs, four runs batted in and scored six runs. Buxton is currently listed as day-to-day after being hit on the wrist by a pitch. He is expected to be back in the line-up by the end of this week. There were a few different roster moves made throughout the system on Tuesday. Yohan Pino was recalled by the Twins to make the start at Target Field. To make room for him, the team sent Monday's starter Kris Johnson back to Rochester. Relief pitcher Alex Muren was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. Over 29 appearances, he had a 2.89 ERA with 44 strikeouts and eight walks. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Durham 0 Box Score Download attachment: Mark Hamburger.jpg While making a spot start for only the fourth time this season, Mark Hamburger was dominant over seven shutout innings. He struck out a career high nine batters, walked none and limited the strong Bulls roster to four singles. It was the first time a Wings pitcher tossed at least seven shutout innings since the middle of June. Ryan Pressly finished the final two innings of the shutout by striking out four and allowing only two base runners. Josmil Pinto led the offensive charge with a two-hit night including his fifth double and his eighth RBI. Deibinson Romero helped spark the first run of the game with his International League leading 29th double. Nate Hanson and James Beresford joined the doubles party with one two-bagger each. It was the first road shutout for Rochester since August 11th of last season. Tuesday's have also been very good to the Red Wings. They have a 10-3 record on Tuesday and they haven't lost on Tuesday since May 27th. The team's four doubles tonight give them an International League best 220 on the season. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 9, Altoona 10 Box Score The Rock Cats offense was hot at the beginning of the game, combining for nine runs in the first three frames. Altoona got off to a hot start too with a five run first and they capped off their scoring with two ninth inning runs to take back the lead. Virgil Vasquez had a rough day on the mound. He allowed 13 hits and eight runs over four innings. Matthew Summers coughed up the lead after a trio of Rock Cats relievers combined to shut down the Curve offense for four frames. It was the second blown save for Summers and dropped his record to 2-4. Eddie Rosario cracked two home runs and a double. He knocked in four runs and scored three to cap quite the offensive night. Brandon Waring and Brad Boyer joined the hit parade with two hits apiece. Mike Kvasnicka had only one hit but he did knock in two runs. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Brevard County 6 (12 Innings) Box Score The Miracle had to use multiple comebacks to stay in this game. Fort Myers was shutout until the eighth inning but they combined for four runs in the last two frames to push this one into extras. The Manatees scored two in the top of the 11th inning and the Miracle had to answer back to push this one further into the night. Ethan Mildren started this contest but he was be long gone before a decision was reached. He lasted six innings and allowed four runs while striking out five. It was the first time he had gone six innings since being called up from Cedar Rapids. Madison Boer gave up the two runs in the eleventh but the team bailed him out. Tyler Grimes did it all in this game as his fourth hit of the night turned out to be the walk-off hit. He also had two doubles, two runs batted in and two runs scored. He also had two outfield assists as he threw out runners at second and at third. Jorge Polanco hit his 18th double of the season as part of a two-hit night. Mike Gonzalez reached base four times including two walks and a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids had a scheduled off day after taking a 10 hour bus ride to Kentucky. The Kernels start a series with Bowling Green on Wednesday as the start of a six game road swing. Former first round pick Kohl Stewart is the scheduled starter tomorrow. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Bluefield 7 Box Score The E-Twins almost matched the Blue Jays in hits on this night but the big hits weren't there. Even though the club combined for nine hits, none of them were for extra bases. The team went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position and they combined to leave nine runners on base. A trio of players including Jeremias Pineda, Trey Vavra, and Pat Kelly all went 2-for-4. Pineda stole his ninth base of the season but he also was caught stealing for the fourth time. Nick Gordon was held hitless for only the third time in the last ten games. He also had his fifth error of the year at shortstop. Sam Gibbons started for Elizabethton and he went five frames while giving up four runs on seven hits. He struck out one and walked two. It was the lowest number of strikeouts he's had all season after averaging over 6.5 per game coming into this start. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 0, GCL Rays 3 (Suspended- Rain) Box Score This game was suspended by rain in the third inning. The two squads will complete this game tomorrow unless weather gets in the way for a second day in a row. Look for a full report on this game in Wednesday's Minor League Report at Twins Daily. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Mark Hamburger, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Eddie Rosario, New Britain Rock Cats WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Durham (6:05 CST) – Alex Meyer (Listen) Altoona @ New Britain (11:05am CST) – Pat Dean (Listen) Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (10:35am CST) – Brett Lee (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Bowling Green (7:05 CST) - Kohl Stewart (Listen) Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - Matt Batts GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (Completion of Tuesday's game) You can follow me on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and check out my writing at NoDakTwinsFan.com Click here to view the article

There is less than a week left in the regular season and the Twins don't have a manager under contract for 2014. With Minnesota on their way to a third straight 90-loss season, there are questions about whether Ron Gardenhire deserves another opportunity at the helm. He won the 2010 AL Manager-of-the-Year award but things have been ugly since that year. Download attachment: Gardenhire Jerry White_600-321.jpg Since Tom Kelly was hired in 1987, the Twins have employed two managers so change has been far from commonplace. Terry Ryan cleared out most of Gardenhire's coaching staff last season in an attempt to bring some new voices to the clubhouse. Even with the coaching changes, there wasn't much improvement on the field. Gardenhire might not be out the door but the team doesn't have to bring him back. The Twins will have to make a managerial decision and there are reasons for and against each in-house candidate. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Ron Gardenhire Reasons For: He's a very well respected manager and he's been with the organization in some capacity through multiple decades. The Twins front office hasn't given him much in the starting pitching department. He knows the Twins way of doing things and the Pohlads have avoided managerial changes during their ownership. Reason Against: It's been a rough three seasons and it might be time for a new voice. Most of the veteran players on the roster have left for greener pastures and this could mean a youth movement. It might help to bring in a manager who has more recently worked with a younger core of players in the minor leagues. Fans have called for a change and it might be time. Paul Molitor Reasons For: The Twins like to stick with organizational guys and Molitor has held a few different jobs within the organization. He worked as the bench coach under Kelly and more recently he has served as a roving minor league instructor. His experience with some of the younger players could play to his advantage. Reasons Against: Molitor doesn't have any managerial experience and this is likely be one of the biggest strikes against him. There have probably been chances for him to enter the managerial ranks in the Twins farm system but the schedule of a minor league instructor has better fit his needs. The experience of the other men could make it tough to pick Molitor as the man for the Twins. Jake Mauer Reasons For: The elder Mauer has built a strong reputation during his time as a manager in the Twins minor league system. In his first year with the Cedar Rapids Kernels, he guided the team to what might have been the best minor league regular season in 2013. There were plenty of changes to the roster and the team kept winning games. He knows how to work with a young roster and to get the best out of up-and-coming players. Reasons Against: He lacks any experience at the big league level as a player or coach. This could mean a tough adjustment as he looks to figure out life as a major league manager. His younger brother is also the best player on the team and that could lead to an interesting family dynamic. He has done some good things in the minor leagues but it might not be enough to earn him the job. Gene Glynn Reasons For: The Rochester Red Wings rallied under Glynn this season and earned a wild card playoff spot on the season's final day. Coaches from his staff were brought up to Minnesota this season and this could make for an easy transition. He also has spent multiple years in different coaching roles at the big league level to give him the experience he would need. Reasons Against: He isn't exactly a flashy name and many Twins fans might not have ever heard of him. At 57-years old, he isn't exactly a spring chicken. In fact, he is two years older than Gardenhire. If the Twins want to find someone to work a young roster, Glenn might not fit the bill, as most of the Rochester 2013 line-up was older minor league veterans. Experience is great but he might not be the best choice for the long-term. Click here to view the article

Maybe one of the only good things about suffering through a 99-loss season with the Twins in 2011 was the fact that the organization would have a very good pick in the 2012 amateur draft. The Twins "earned" the number two selection for the draft this June and this means there should be some very good talent to select from with only the Astros picking before them. Download attachment: 2963_68285132669_727587669_1647809_8325334_n_4.jpg Fans looking forward to the June draft were dealt a blow on Wednesday as it was announced that one of the projected top five picks would miss the rest of his high school career with an elbow injury. Lucas Giolito is a 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher who some scouts projected to be the number one pick. This injury obviously changes many of those projections and his stock in the draft will most likely fall. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Nathan Rode of Baseball America was the first to break the news. His sources told him that it was a sprained UCL in his right elbow. This injury won't require surgery but there is 6-10 weeks of rehab involved. If a player tears his UCL, Tommy John surgery is usually required and there is a chance that his sprain could turn into a tear. The first start of the year was very exciting for Giolito as he came out of the gate smoking. Some radar guns had him hitting 100 mph and he only gave up one hit during the contest. His start on Tuesday was not as good as he made it through 6.1 innings allowing two runs on five hits, three walks and three hit batters. Something was clearly wrong with the young man and the bad news came out on Wednesday. With 6-10 weeks of rest and rehabilitation up next for Giolito and the draft being around 12 weeks away, there is little chance he will be able to prove he is completely healthy before teams have to make their picks. For fans of the UCLA Bruins, this could be good news. If Giolito were to go to college, he had committed to the Bruins. He might be forced to go to UCLA for a couple of seasons to prove his health is back in order. This will also help him to rebuild his draft status for the future. A tough injury for the young man as it could cost him millions of dollars. It is lucky for him that it happened at a young enough age that he can recover and make it back to still have a successful career. Click here to view the article