Cody Christie

It's getting close to the end of the first fourth of the season and the Twins are still flirting with the .500 mark. There is a lot of baseball left to play but it has been an encouraging first portion of the season for Twins fans. Some surprise pitching performances, a good offense and a stingy bullpen have the club in range of the top of the division. So how did this Twins team get here and is this pace sustainable for the remainder of the season?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The starting staff has been one of the weaknesses of this club and there have clearly been some holes in the rotation. Vance Worley, the team's opening day starter, has an ERA north of 7.00 and WHIP is almost 2.00. Mike Pelfrey's numbers are nearly as bad as Worley's and these two men were supposed to play key roles on this team. Kevin Correia has been a big surprise and he leads the starters in almost every major category. Scott Diamond has put together some solid efforts since he returned from injury. His addition to the staff should provide a nice boost to the club. Pedro Hernandez has filled in as the fifth starter but there are other arms hot on his heels. Even with some good performances mixed in, it is hard not to imagine the Twins rotation getting better as the season goes on. Kyle Gibson and Cole DeVries are scheduled to join the rotation at some point in the coming weeks. It will also be tough for the players like Worley and Pelfrey to be as bad as they have been so far this year. This leads one to think that the starting pitching could be able to help the Twins stay around the .500 mark. On the offensive side of the ball, thing have been off to a good start. Joe Mauer is near the top of the leader board in multiple offensive categories. Justin Morneau has helped pace the middle of the line-up and Josh Willingham is finding ways to get on base though his average is low. Even young players like Aaron Hicks and Oswaldo Arcia are starting to figure out MLB pitching. The team currently ranks 8th in the American League in runs scored and this has helped the club to a positive run differential. Minnesota's 69 doubles ranks sixth among AL teams and this is the second highest total in the AL Central. With some slow offensive performances in the early weeks, the Twins team batting average of .251 might not be as bad an omen as it seems. So far, the club is below league average in batting average, slugging, and OPS. With Hicks and Arcia already in the MLB line-up, there isn't a ton of offensive help in the high levels of the minors. The club might have their best offensive core in and playing on a regular basis. If the players not named Mauer and Morneau can raise their numbers, this could be a very good offensive team. Minnesota's recent offensive performance makes it hard not to think that the team can stay close to the .500 mark. Over the weekend, Terry Ryan was asked about the Twins still being around the .500 mark especially with a lot of underachievers. His response was that .500 is not good enough. He wants this team to contend. The .500 mark seems pretty good after the last two awful seasons. It's hard to know if the club will be able to sustain this pace for the rest of the year but there are signs that it could be possible. Underachieving players might start to figure it out and then the Twins could be a dangerous club in the AL Central.

It has been a season of streaks so far this year for Joe Mauer. Things started well in the first couple weeks of the season. Through 14 games, he was hitting .393/.439/.574 with two home runs and five doubles. His batting average was high, he was hitting the ball out of the park and the Minnesota Twins were surprising the experts with their .500 record. Over the next twelve games things were not quite so pretty for Mr. Mauer. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]His batting line over these dozen games was .136/.269/.159, with only one extra-base hit and 12 strikeouts. He almost seemed lost at the plate and the team suffered because of his streak. Minnesota went 5-7 over these games before Mauer finally snapped out of his cold spell. The friendly confines of Fenway Park were a welcome sight to Mauer. He put on an offensive clinic in Boston and he was back to being on another hot streak. Over the last seven games, Mauer has hit 533/.600/.833 with nine doubles and 10 runs scored. The Twins have also improved during this stretch going 4-3 to push the team back near the .500 mark. Even with a cold streak, Mauer sees himself near the top of the leader board in multiple categories. He ranks second in all baseball with 15 doubles; Mike Napoli is only two ahead of him. His on-base percentage is good enough for 8th in baseball and ranks 6th best in the American League. Since Mauer has already won multiple batting titles, the race for the batting crown could be a fun one to watch. Mauer's recent hot streak has him near the top of the leader board. After Sunday's two-hit effort, Mauer has a .341 batting average. This places him behind Miguel Cabrera (.379) and James Loney (.376). Cabrera is the defending batting champ so he will probably stay near the top of this list for most of the season. Loney has never hit higher than .289 in a complete season and he is a career .285 hitter. There is a good chance Loney won't be able to keep this pace for the entire campaign. Other important metrics have him highly ranked. Of the position players in baseball, he has the 10th best WAR. There are a number of National League players near the top of this list so Mauer is good enough for 5th on the AL list of WAR. Many fans will be happy with the increase in power from Mauer this season. His career record for doubles is 43 in his MVP season of 2010. With 15 doubles in 33 games this year, he is well on his way to breaking that record. His personal home run record of 28 looks safe unless he goes on a weird batting streak during the rest of the season. With the weather starting to warm up, it will be interesting to see if some of his long doubles end up turning into home runs. Target Field has never been a great place to showcase Mauer's home run power but some of the team's road trips could allow for this to happen. The MLB record for doubles in a season is 67 (currently held by Earl Webb) and Mauer has a chance to break that mark if he continues on his current pace. Mauer is one of the best hitters in the game of baseball. In a season that is 162 games long there are going to be hot and cold streaks for any hitter. At the end of the year Mauer will be near the top of the leader board in batting average and on-base percentage. He has been an on-base machine when he has been healthy in his baseball career. If there are more hot hitting streaks than cold streaks during the rest of the season the MLB record for doubles could fall. It might not be the most important record in the world but it could something fun to follow for the rest of the summer. Watch out Mr. Webb, Mauer is coming for you!

Episode 37 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://assets.podomatic.net/mymedia/thumb/2324540/285%3E_8237541.jpg On Episode 37, Cody and Eric are joined by Baseball Prospectus‘ Jason Parks to talk about the Twins Minor League system. Jason Parks has plenty to say about Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, as well as some of the pitching prospects.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Before Jason Parks comes on to the show, Cody and Eric go through the Twins news, including the pitching performances of Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey and Scott Diamond; Joe Mauer’s Fenway expertise, and the explosion that is Oswaldo Arcia. To close out the show the guys name a Listener of the Week, go Down on the Pond with Michael Tonkin, and regardless of what they’re drinking (juice?!) they take a quick tour of the biggest news stories around the league. 80 minutes of fun! <iframe src="http://talk2contact.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2013-05-10T20_18_31-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftalk2contact.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2013-05-10T20_18_31-07_00%3FautoPlay%3Dfalse%26facebook%3Dtrue%26height%3D85%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D0%26width%3D440" height="85" width="440" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> You can follow me on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing here at NoDakTwinsFan. You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at Puckett’s Pond. And of course, you can find Eric on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing at Knuckleballs!

Episode 37 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://assets.podomatic.net/mymedia/thumb/2324540/285%3E_8237541.jpg On Episode 37, Cody and Eric are joined by Baseball Prospectus‘ Jason Parks to talk about the Twins Minor League system. Jason Parks has plenty to say about Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, as well as some of the pitching prospects.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Before Jason Parks comes on to the show, Cody and Eric go through the Twins news, including the pitching performances of Kevin Correia, Mike Pelfrey and Scott Diamond; Joe Mauer’s Fenway expertise, and the explosion that is Oswaldo Arcia. To close out the show the guys name a Listener of the Week, go Down on the Pond with Michael Tonkin, and regardless of what they’re drinking (juice?!) they take a quick tour of the biggest news stories around the league. 80 minutes of fun! <iframe src="http://talk2contact.podomatic.com/embed/frame/posting/2013-05-10T20_18_31-07_00?json_url=http%3A%2F%2Ftalk2contact.podomatic.com%2Fentry%2Fembed_params%2F2013-05-10T20_18_31-07_00%3FautoPlay%3Dfalse%26facebook%3Dtrue%26height%3D85%26minicast%3Dfalse%26objembed%3D0%26width%3D440" height="85" width="440" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> You can follow me on Twitter (@NoDakTwinsFan) or read his writing here at NoDakTwinsFan. You can follow Paul on Twitter (@BaseballPirate) or read his writing at Puckett’s Pond. And of course, you can find Eric on Twitter (@ERolfPleiss) and read my writing at Knuckleballs!

The Twins keep finding ways to surprise as the team still sits around the .500 mark and it is close to a month and a half into the season. For now, enjoy some of the best Twins and MLB coverage from around the web. There are some good interviews, Puckett stories, sports video games, and a whole lot more! The anniversary of Kirby Puckett's big league debut was on Thursday. Do you want to know what Puckett's original scouting report looked like?[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So far this year, Vance Worley has been unlucky so don't lose faith yet... Scott Diamond did an interview with FanGraphs that you should check out. Later in the week, FanGraphs published an interview with Glen Perkins Aaron Hicks was in a little hot water this week after a play on the defensive side of the ball. Trevor Plouffe invited Watertown police officers to Thursday's Twins vs Red Sox game. A match-up between the last year's first two draft picks was put on hold. According to the Twins Minor League Director, there could easily be six to eight guys that make the majors from Cedar Rapids. This year's Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook has been discounted and I was a co-author so pick up a copy. The rise of Josmil Pinto is something to keep an eye on. In this video, Miguel Sano talks about his favorite thing to do in baseball. Who is going to be the odd man out when Darin Mastroanni is healthy? Carlos Santana became a fan of Sam Deduno during this year's WBC. There are two big name pitchers to watch at the top of this year's draft board. Baseball America released their first mock draft and the fourth pick could be a tough spot for the Twins. The Twins have apparently narrowed their possible draft picks to a few names. ESPN spent the week ranking the top 25 sports video games of all-time. Which one have you played the most? Carlos Gomez was always good on defense but now he has figured out the offensive side of the ball. It turns out Gomez was the prize of the Johan Santana trade. Sometimes there is value in really beat-up baseball cards. Nationals fans revolted against a new ticket policy and it worked. Here is a cool interactive graphic to compare the salaries of all 30 MLB clubs. You've been waiting for it... "The History of Baseball Stadium Nachos" Matt Kemp did something very cool for a fan this week. It turns out that baseball is big in Manipur, India My Weekly Rundown Sunday: Talk to Contact: Episode 36 Tuesday: Which Team's Aces Did the Twins Miss? Wednesday: Twins behind in the golden age of leadoff hitters Twins Minor League Report (5/8): Gibson Shows He's Ready Video of the Week: The Twins are usually creative with their advertisements and the club has even won some awards for their advertising campaigns. A commercial was released this week and the stars of the show are all bobbleheads. It is a very unique ad and it showcases one of the things that fans love about going to Twins games. Here is a list of ten awesome details about the commercial and the video to go along with it.

While Pedro Hernandez was getting beaten-up by the Boston Red Sox line-up, Kyle Gibson was showing he is ready to take his spot in the major league starting rotation. It might have been Gibson's best start as a professional and it wouldn't be surprising if he makes his MLB debut within the next week. The rest of the Twins and Red Sox game looked like a slow pitch softball game. Minnesota scored seven runs in the second inning and Pedro Florimon did his best Babe Ruth impression with a home run and a two-run double. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] swaldo Arcia has his batting average at .300 after he had four hits in the Twins 15-8 win over Boston. There were plenty of story lines to follow in the minor leagues on Wednesday so let's go around the horn with the Twins farm system. Rochester Red Wings 3, Toledo Mudhens 0 Box Score It took 114 pitches but Kyle Gibson pitched a complete game shutout. He only allowed four hits and had eight strikeouts and two walks. It was a masterful performance as only five balls left the infield. He threw 70 strikes and 44 balls and faced only four batters over the minimum. It was his second complete game shutout and his first since 2010, when he was with the Fort Myers Miracle. Prior to this game, Gibson had made it into the seventh inning in one outing and his season high in strikeouts was seven. Both of those marks were passed on Wednesday and the 25-year seems on the cusp of making his big league debut. The Twins might need someone to take over the starting role of Pedro Hernandez; Gibson could be the guy. There wasn't a ton of offense on Rochester's side of the ball but it was enough to get the job done behind Gibson's gem. Evan Bigley got the scoring started with a two-run home run in the first inning. Chris Herrmann and Eric Farris each notched his first triple of the season. Doug Bernier was the only Red Wings batter with more than one hit. Chris Colabello went 0-4 in the game and he saw his nine game hit streak come to an end. It was the first time the club has won two games in a row since a four-game streak at the end of April. The Red Wings have not lost a series in their last five. Rochester continues their longest road trip yet this season with two more games in Toledo. Rochester has dominated Toledo in recent play, winning 11 of the last 12 match-ups. The team will return to Rochester for a week-long home stand that starts Friday night. New Britain Rock Cats 5, New Hampshire Fisher Cats 4 Box Score A four-run first inning put the Rock Cats in control of this game from the start. The offense cooled down from there and Pat Dean looked in control of things on the mound. His 6.1 innings while allowing four runs was enough to earn Dean his first win at the Double-A level. Things got a little dicey in the bottom of the seventh when a double and a single from the Fisher Cats plated a run. This signaled the end of the day for Dean and the bullpen took over from there. Bobby Lanigan allowed one of the inherited runners to score but other than that the bullpen did its job. Michael Tonkin earned his fifth save of the year as he closed out the ninth. On the offensive side, Daniel Ortiz stole the show. He went 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored. He hit his team leading ninth double of the year and smacked his fifth home run. Danny Santana and Curt Smith both went 2-for-4. Smith added his fourth double of the year and Santana had his 13th RBI on the season. Mark Sobolewski had a rough day at third base with two fielding errors. With the win, the Rock Cats have a season high four-game winning streak and improved to 18-15. New Britain is in second place, one game behind the Portland Sea Dogs in the win column in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League. The club will face that very Portland team for five games in the next four days. Fort Myers Miracle 1, Tampa Yankees 8 Box Score Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario were held out of the Miracle line-up for the second day in a row. On Tuesday night, Fort Myers found enough offense to win without these two players but at the end of Wednesday's game there weren't enough runs on the board to avoid a loss Matthew Summers got hit around for nine hits and six earned runs in five innings. He has pitched more than five innings in only one of his last four starts and he hasn't gotten a win since April 12th. His ERA sits at 4.29, so the Florida State League has been a little rough on him this year. Only four batters managed hits for the Miracle. The lone run was scored on a solo shot off the bat of Kennys Vargas. It was his fifth home run of the year but it wasn't nearly enough. Stephen Wickens continued his hot bat with two hits. Over the last 10 games, he has a hit in nine of them and a batting line of .351/.442/.459. Cedar Rapids Kernels 1, Quad Cities River Bandits 4 Box Score Much like the Miracle's game, it was a tough offensive night for the Kernels. The team had a couple extra base hits but the club left nine men on base and went 0-8 with runners in scoring position. It is the fewest runs the team has scored since May 1. Dalton Hicks provided all the offensive pop with a solo shot in the sixth inning. It was his fifth home run of the season. Candido Pimentel had his first triple of the year but he was stranded at third base. Tyler Grimes was the only Kernel to collect more than one hit with his 2-for-4 day at the plate. Byron Buxton reached base twice with a single and a walk but was caught stealing for the fifth time. The defense struggled to make throws on Wednesday night. Cedar Rapids compiled three throwing errors that led to two unearned runs for the River Bandits. Pimentel had his second error of the season. Brett Lee was the starting pitcher and his part in a botched double play turned into his first error of the year. Travis Harrison continues to struggle at third base with his team leading ninth error. Lee put up a decent effort on the mound but was still given the loss in this contest. He even outlasted the starter for the River Bandits by over an inning. His final line was 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 SO and 2 BB. Since joining the Kernels rotation he has pitched six innings in three of his four starts. Cedar Rapids continues their series with Quad Cities over the next two nights. The team holds a slim two game advantage over the second-place River Bandits so these next two games will be very important. Their 12-game road trip concludes with a three-game series in Beloit this weekend.

On Tuesday, over at ESPN's Sweetspot, an article was penned about the golden age of leadoff hitters. Major League Baseball could be in the middle of one of the best years ever for the leadoff hitter. 1965, 1975, 1987, and 2004 were other great years for men at the top of the order but this year could be historic. Players like Shin-Soo Choo, Austin Jackson, Alex Gordon, Ian Kinsler, and Carl Crawford are leading a pack of leadoff hitters that are among the best in all of baseball. These men could help make this season one of the best for the men at the top. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Twins have struggled to get much production from the leadoff spot. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Batters in the first position for the Twins are hitting .197/.243/.244 with only three extra base hits. This .487 OPS is the lowest for any batting spot in the Twins line-up and it's also well below the league average. Overall, MLB hitters have an OPS of around .722 while leadoff hitters are even higher than that with a .759 OPS. Minnesota is almost .300 points behind the average for leadoff hitters. The team is also having trouble in the steals department. Aaron Hicks is the team leader with three. Brian Dozier and Pedro Florimon follow him with two apiece. Minnesota has gotten three steals out of their leadoff spot. Only one team has less. Hicks had most of the starts in the leadoff spot at the beginning of the year. His early season struggles brought down the team's totals from the leadoff spot. Dozier became the next man to take over the role and he has put together a solid performance at the top of the order. Jamey Carroll has made a few appearances at the top and even Escobar has gotten a chance. 2013 Twins Leadoff Hitters Hicks (10 Games): .047/.109/.047, 3 R, 0 SB Dozier (13 Games): .304/.333/.411, 7 R, 2 SB Carroll (3 Games): .286/.333/.286, 5 R, 0 SB Escobar (1 Game): .000/.000/.000, 0 R, 0 SB For the Twins to continue to be successful on the field, there needs to be more production from the top of the order. Hicks has been envisioned as the leadoff hitter of the future but his struggles in this role were evident. Dozier has put together some positive numbers but it is hard to know if he will be able to sustain this level of output. Since Hicks has moved down in the order, there have been some improvements to his approach at the plate. If he can continue those improvements (and not miss the cut-off man on the field), he could find himself back at the top of the order by the end of the season. The Twins hope Hicks can take back the leadoff spot because this will be a better team with a natural leadoff hitter at the top. MLB might be in the Golden Age of Leadoff Hitters; the Twins have some work to do to catch up to the rest of the pack.

The Minnesota Twins have struggled to accumulate starting pitching lately. This stems from a variety of factors. Their drafting strategy, their inability to sign international players and their unwillingness to spend big money on the free agent market are all factors that have gone against this club's ability to acquire big name starters. Here is a look, division by division, at the ace for each pitching staff and the players Minnesota selected ahead of each ace in the draft. At the end of each division there is a summary. For some teams it was hard to select a best pitcher since most of the starters were mediocre.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] CAUTION: This exercise is meant to be a fun. There is obviously a lot that goes into finding a starting pitcher for the top of the rotation. In the past, the Twins have had the opportunity to draft some of the top pitchers in the game. AL East Boston Red Sox Ace: Jon Lester (2002 2nd Round, 57th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Denard Span (20th overall) New York Yankees Ace: CC Sabathia (1998 1st Round, 20th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Ryan Mills (6th overall) Baltimore Orioles Ace: Jason Hammel (2002 10th Round, 284th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Denard Span (20th overall), Jesse Crain (61st overall), Mark Sauls (92nd), Alex Merricks (122nd), Clete Thomas (152nd), Pat Neshek (182nd), Rick Barrett (212th), Adam Lind (242nd), Doug Deeds (272nd) Toronto Blue Jays Ace: R.A. Dickey (1996 1st Round, 18th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Travis Lee (2nd) Tampa Bay Rays Ace: David Price (2007 1st Round, 1st pick) Twins Picks Ahead: none Summary: The Twins even had one of these aces in their system, but Dickey hardly looked like the Cy Young winning player he was in 2012. Skipping over Sabathia for Mills was a tough decision, especially for a club that was trying to rebuild through the early 2000s. A rotation with Sabathia and Santana at the top would have been golden in Minnesota. AL Central Detroit Tigers Ace: Justin Verlander (2004 1st Round, 2nd overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None Kansas City Royals Ace: James Shields (2000 16th Round, 466th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Adam Johnson (2nd), Aaron Heilman (31st), Tagg Bozied (42nd), J.D Durbin (54th), Colby Miller (72nd), Jason Miller (102nd), Edgardo Lebron (132nd), Ronnie Corona (162nd), James Tomlin (192nd), Henry Bonilla (222nd), Ken Holubec (252nd), Kelley Guledge (282nd), Josh Rabe (312th), Jason Kubel (342nd), Shane Boyd (372nd), Cory Agar (402nd), Jeff Lincoln (432nd), Dan DeCola (462nd) Cleveland Indians Ace: Justin Masterson (2006 2nd Round, 71st overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Chris Parmelee (20th), Joe Benson (64th) Chicago White Sox Ace: Chris Sale (2010 1st Round, 13th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None Summary: To be fair, a lot of team's missed out on Shields when he wasn't taken until the 16th round. For the Twins, there are a lot of names on that list from 2000 that are pretty embarrassing. The team did score a late round find with Kubel, but there were no pitching prospects from that draft for the Twins. From the 2006 draft, it would be nice to have Masterson in the Twins rotation. The jury is still out on what Parmelee and Benson can offer for the future but it seems like the Twins missed one there. AL West Texas Rangers Ace: Yu Darvish (International Signing) Twins Picks Ahead: N/A Oakland Athletics Ace: Tommy Milone (2008 10th Round, 301st overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Aaron Hicks (14th), Carlos Gutierrez (27th), Shooter Hunt (31st), Tyler Ladendorf (60th), Bobby Lanigan (92nd), Daniel Ortiz (126th), Nicholas Romero (156th), Brett Hermsen (186th), Daniel Osterbrock (216th), Jeff Lanning (246th), Michael Gonzalez (276th) Seattle Mariners Ace: Felix Hernandez (International Signing) Twins Picks Ahead: N/A Los Angeles Angels Ace: Jered Weaver (2004 1st Round, 12th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None Houston Astros Ace: Lucas Harrell (2004 4th Round, 119th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Trevor Plouffe (20th), Glen Perkins (22nd), Kyle Waldrop (25th), Matt Fox (35th), Jay Rainville (39th), Anthony Swarzak (61st), Eddie Morlan (91st) Summary: The two best aces in this division were international signings so the Twins didn't have a wasted draft pick instead of selecting those two. Milone and Harrell aren't exactly front of the rotation guys so it might be fine that the Twins passed on them. There are obviously some misses on the Twins draft board from both of those years because neither Rainville nor Morlan have had an impact on their big league clubs. NL East Atlanta Braves Ace: Tim Hudson (1997 6th Round, 185th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Michael Cuddyer (9th), Matt LeCroy (50th), Michael Restovich (61st), Greg Withelder (93rd), Bob Davies (123rd), Peter Blake (153rd), Nate Melson (183rd) Washington Nationals Ace: Stephen Strasburg (2009 1st Round, 1st overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None Philadelphia Phillies Ace: Cole Hamels (2002 1st Round, 17th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None New York Mets Ace: Matt Harvey (2010 1st Round, 7th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None Miami Marlins Ace: Jose Fernandez (2011 1st Round, 14th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None Summary: Maybe the best division for the Twins as far as not missing out on starters. Many of the aces in this division are high-ranking draft picks from the years when the Twins were near the top of the AL Central. Hudson was a tough miss for the club. Cuddyer turned himself into a solid major league player but many of the other players from that draft have faded into oblivion. It would have been nice to have Hudson around for the club's rebuilding years. NL Central St. Louis Cardinals Ace: Adam Wainwright (2000 1st Round, 29th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Adam Johnson (2nd overall) Cincinnati Reds Ace: Johnny Cueto (International Signing) Twins Picks Ahead: N/A Pittsburgh Pirates Ace: A.J. Burnett (1995 8th Round, 217th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Mark Redman (13th), Jason Bell (43rd), A.J. Hinch (72nd), Jay Hood (100th), Doug Mientkiewicz (128th), Shane Gunderson (156th), Mike Moriarty (184th), Will Rushing (212th) Milwaukee Brewers Ace: Yovani Gallardo (2004 2nd Round, 46th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Trevor Plouffe (20th), Glen Perkins (22nd), Kyle Waldrop (25th), Matt Fox (35th), Jay Rainville (39th) Chicago Cubs Ace: Jeff Samardzija (2006 5th Round, 149th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Chris Parmelee (20th), Joe Benson (64th), Tyler Robertson (96th), Whitney Robbins (119th), Garret Olson (126th) Summary: The Johnson pick at number two is going to haunt the Twins for decades and it sure would be nice to have Wainwright as the ace of the staff. Gallardo has also turned into a decent pitcher for Milwaukee and it would be nice to throw him into the middle of the Twins rotation. The Twins had five of the first 40 picks in '04 and they didn't get a single starter out of that group. Burnett and Samardzija aren't really front of the rotation guys so it's a little easier to see why the team passed on them. NL West San Francisco Giants Ace: Matt Cain (2002 1st Round, 25th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Denard Span (20th) Colorado Rockies Ace: Jhoulys Chacin (International Signing) Twins Picks Ahead: N/A Arizona Diamondbacks Ace: Ian Kennedy (2006 1st Round, 21st overall) Twins Picks Ahead: Chris Parmelee (20th) Los Angeles Dodgers Ace: Clayton Kershaw (2006 1st Round, 7th overall) Twins Picks Ahead: None San Diego Padres Ace: Edinson Volquez (International Signing) Twins Picks Ahead: N/A Summary: In 2002, the Twins passed on quite a few top starters to take Span. His name has been featured on this list multiple times. This past offseason the Twins turned Span into a potential front of the rotation pitcher in Alex Meyer so maybe his selection turned out to be the right decision. It's hard to look at Cain, though, and not want to see him in a Twins uniform; he has already helped the Giants to two World Series rings. So which ace did the Twins miss out on the most? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

The Minnesota Twins continue their longest road trip of the year so far with games in Cleveland over the weekend. A four game series with the Boston Red Sox is looming at the beginning of next week but for now Minnesota needs to concentrate on beating opponents from the AL Central.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] To the surprise of many experts and fans, the Twins are still sitting around the .500 mark. The team recorded their 12th win on the first day of May. Last year, the Twins didn't record win number 12 until May 17 so it is easy to see that the club is off to a better start. The first month of the minor league season ended and many of the Twins top prospects are doing very well. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton have posted numbers that have them in the discussion for best hitter in the minors. Kyle Gibson, Alex Meyer, and Trevor May have all shown positive signs on the mound. There were plenty of other stories from the week in baseball. Let's take a look at this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." It was a tough choice picking out the Minor League Player of the Month. Who won Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano? Both Buxton and Sano top this list of the best minor league players through April. Their actual ranking in the post is "Conflagrent." Baseball America named the Fort Myers Miracle as April's top team in the minors. The folks at Baseball America also named a couple of Twins players to their All-Prospect Team for April. Mike Pelfrey has been frustrating to watch so maybe it's time to put Pelf on the shelf. What is the matter with Joe Mauer? Or maybe it is nothing at all... Have the Twins already won the Francisco Liriano trade? Compared to the last two seasons, the Twins start this year has to bode well for the club. Is there a pitching resurgence in Minnesota? Glen Perkins sure came through for a Twins fan on Twitter. Maybe I should hit him up for tickets the next time I am in town. So Liam Henriks baseball cards can be worth $380!?! It's a rare card but still... Aaron Hicks hit his first career triple on a 101 mph pitch from Bruce Rondon. It was the fastest pitch hit for extra bases since 2010 and then he did his best Superman impression. It's tough to see a future Hall of Famer go out this way. Delmon Young made his first appearance with the Phillies and proceeded to smack a home run. The bat used (possibly) by Roger Maris to tie Babe Ruth's all-time HR mark is up for auction. Would MLB be better without the playoffs? Former big league pitcher and actor from the movie "Little Big League" passed away this week. Last month was the strikeout-i-est April in baseball history. Some members of the Twins helped to make this a reality. A.J. Pierzynski returned to Chicago for the first time as a member of the Rangers and he was hit by a pitch in his first at-bat. The seven most mammoth home runs of April include one former Twins player. Here are the candidates for longest name of the year in baseball. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Talk to Contact: Episode 35 Tuesday: How valuable is Eduardo Escobar? Wednesday: The Future of Ron Gardenhire Minor League Report (5/1): Darnell Dominates Thursday: Miracle Blogapalooza: Game Balls Video of the Week: The first episode of the Miracle Insider Show came out at the end of last week. Since the club was named as the best team in the minors for the first month of the year, it seems only fitting for fans to take a behind the scenes look at the club. Miracle shortstop Stephen Wickens and pitcher Ryan O'Rourke are each featured in the episode. If you are a fan of the Twins minor league system, it is a must-watch series to follow.

Joe Mauer sat out his first Twins game of the season on Wednesday. But even with Mauer out of the line-up, the Twins were able to come away with a win and avoid being swept by the Detroit Tigers. Scott Diamond pitched six strong innings, giving up two earned runs and four hits for his second win of the year. Justin Morneau and Chris Parmelee each had a pair of hits and a couple of RBI. There were some other impressive performances down on the farm. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Unfortunately, there were no Trevor May sightings on May Day but let's take a look at Wednesday's results from the Twins farm system. On this week's episode of the Talk to Contact Podcast, we discussed a lot about the minor leagues so make sure to check it out. Rochester Red Wings (Scheduled Off Day) The Red Wings enjoyed a scheduled off day after finishing the month of April with a 10-16 record. The club sits eight games out of first place in the International League North Division. Rochester has turned it around a little in their last ten games by posting a 6-4 record. As part of their off day, the club announced that Rafael Perez was activated from the disabled list. Perez, a former member of the Cleveland Indians, was a minor league free agent this past offseason before deciding to sign with the Twins organization. He missed 26 games as he was recovering from the left shoulder surgery he underwent last September. To make room for Perez on the roster, the Red Wings sent Bobby Lanigan back to Double-A. Lanigan had only made one appearance since being called up last week. He earned the save of Friday while pitching 0.1 innings with a strikeout. Rochester used today as travel day to get to Columbus before opening a four-game series versus the Clippers on Thursday. New Britain Rock Cats 4, Harrisburg Senators 0 Box Score Logan Darnell and Daniel Ortiz stole the show for the Rock Cats on Wednesday evening. Both players were at the center of New Britain's 14th win of the season. Darnell threw seven shutout innings, scattering five singles. He struck out six and allowed only two walks. It was his third win of the season and lowered his ERA to 2.16. It was the most impressive start of the year for Darnell and it looks like his second time through the Eastern League will come with more positive results. Aaron Thompson continued his very good season out of the bullpen. He recorded the last six outs of the game and allowed only one base runner. His 0.97 ERA is the best on New Britain’s pitching staff. In his six appearances this season, he has only allowed one run and one walk. Ortiz was the big man on the offensive side of the ball. He went 3-for-4 with his fourth home run of the season, which ranks second on the team behind Josmil Pinto. In the last three games, Ortiz now has compiled a four hit game and a three hit game. Reynaldo Rodriguez and James Beresford each added two hits. Rodriguez had a triple and two RBI. New Britain will look to notch their third straight series win with a victory on Thursday. The club sits in the middle of the pack in the Eastern League Eastern Division. Only five games separate the first and last place club so there could be a lot of movement in the coming weeks. Fort Myers Miracle --, Clearwater Threshers -- (Cancelled) Inclement weather interfered with the Miracle's game in Clearwater on Wednesday afternoon. The teams don't meet again in the first half of the season so the game will not be made up. The Miracle are currently riding a seven-game winning streak after they won the first three games of the series against Clearwater. Fort Myers currently has a 21-4 record and the club sits five games ahead of their closest competitor in the Florida State League's South Division. The St. Lucie Mets are the team behind the Miracle in the standings and they happen to be the next team on their schedule. The two clubs will open a series in Fort Myers on Thursday night. It is the start of a seven-game homestand at Hammond Stadium. Cedar Rapids Kernels 2, West Michigan Whitecaps 7 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to a two run lead but the Whitecaps pitching staff shut down the offense for the rest of the game. A big bottom of the fifth inning broke open the game and West Michigan walked away with the victory. The loss snapped a nine game winning streak for the Kernels. In the first inning, Byron Buxton walked to start the game. Niko Goodrum followed with a single and an error on the play allowed both runners to advance a base. Back-to-back sacrifice flies by Jorge Polanco and Dalton Hicks put the Kernels up 2-0. Brett Lee started his third game of the year for Cedar Rapids and was saddled with his first loss. Through six innings he kept the game close but in the bottom of the seventh the first batter singled and this was followed by a home run that signaled Lee's exit. Tim Atherton didn't provide much relief as he would go on to allow three more runs in the seventh. He had a throwing error, gave up a home run, and allowed two stolen bases. Josh Burris pitched a hitless inning and gave up a walk. It was the second appearance for Burris since he joined the team earlier this week. The Kernels will look to get back to their winning ways as the team continues their series with West Michigan over the next two days. Today's game was the first in a 12-game road trip for Cedar Rapids. The team won't return home until May 14th so the team will have to find ways to win road games.