Cody Christie

One of the highlights of the off-season for a core of Twins fans is the release of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Seth Stohs has worked to put together this fantastic book for the last seven years. In 2012, he gave me my first taste of helping with the book. By 2013, I was writing an article for the annual and for the last three years I have been among a trio of writers that includes Jeremy Nygaard, Stohs, and myself. There is a ton of work that goes into the creation of this book. I don't know if we could create this without the help and push from the other writers involved. Besides profiles of all of the prospects in the Twins system and articles on topics from across the baseball world, one of the best parts of the book is our top 30 prospect lists. Over the next few days, I will be counting down my top 30. I have some differences compared to the other authors but that's what makes this fun. To see their top 30's, you're going to have to go and pick up a copy for yourself. ***Get your copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook now ( Paperback or PDF).*** 21 – Chih-Wei Hu – RHP – Elizabethton Twins, Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 8-2, 2.15 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 71.0 IP, 15 BB, 64 K Hu had one of the most surprising seasons in the entire Twins organization. He could be on his way to being much higher on this list if he continues on his current trajectory. He doesn't strike out a ton of batters but he controls the strike zone. He had dominant stretches in Low-A as a 20-year old and could be a sleeper pick 22 – Michael Cederoth – RHP – Elizabethton Twins 2014 Stats: 4-2, 3.55 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 45.2 IP, 18 BB, 42 K One of a core group of hard throwing college pitchers the Twins have selected in recent drafts. Because of some of his up-and-down track record, he could be a good candidate to end up in a bullpen role. His professional debut didn't go perfect but he should improve as he moves up the ladder. 23 – Niko Goodrum – SS/3B – Ft. Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: .249/.337/.336, 19-2B, 5-3B, 3 HR, 49 RBI, 35 SB Goodrum has ranked higher on my list in previous years. His speed and on-base abilities make him a threat once he reaches base. However, he struggled to make consistent content this year at High-A. He also doesn't flourish at any specific defensive position. The transition to Double-A could be tough and it might be a make-it or break-it season for Goodrum. 24 – Jake Reed – RHP – Elizabethton Twins, Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 3-0, 0.29 ERA, 0.45 WHIP, 31.0 IP, 3 BB, 39 K Reed was a fifth round pick in 2014 out of Oregon. He put up impressive numbers in his professional debut as he threw strikes and overpowered the opposition. Cederoth throws a little harder than Reed and that's why he's higher on the list. His fastball hits up to 95 and he has a decent slider to keep hitters off-balance. 25 – Zack Jones – RHP – GCL Twins, Fort Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: 0-0, 3 S, 1.74 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 6 BB, 14 K Jones got into limited action in 2014 after having shoulder surgery at the end of February. Doctors found that he has an aneurysm in his shoulder that was causing circulation problems. Jones served as the closer for the Miracle in their run to the FSL title. He pitched well in the AFL to cap off his 2014 campaign. Over 11 appearances, he didn't allow an earned run and struck out 11. 26 – Engelb Vielma – SS – Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: .266/.313/.323, 13-2B, 4-3B, 1 HR, 33 RBI Vielma made some huge strides in the jump from rookie ball to a full season league. He got on base over 31% of the time and his batting average increased by 32 points. Vielma's biggest strength might be his defensive ability and his fielding percentage jumped 42 points. If he can continue to make offensive improvements, he could rise in the years to come. 27 – J.R. Graham – RHP – Mississippi Braves 2014 Stats: 1-5, 5.55 ERA, 1.47 WHIP, 71.1 IP, 26 BB, 50 K The Twins just selected Graham in the Rule 5 Draft so there is a chance that he's back with the Braves organization before the season starts. He spent time as a starter and a reliever. His strikeout rate has dropped in recent years. For him to stay with the Twins, he will have to fill a bullpen role for the entire 2014 campaign. 28 – Fernando Romero – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels 2014 Stats: 0-0, 3.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 5 BB, 9 K Romero was three years younger than the competition in the Midwest League. He was limited to three starts after tearing his UCL at the end of June. He underwent Tommy John surgery and will likely almost all of next season. He threw hard before Tommy John surgery so he could move through the system quickly if he can get back to his previous level. 29 – Jason Wheeler – LHP – Ft. Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats, Rochester Red Wings 2014 Stats: 11-9, 2.67 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 158.1 IP, 37 BB, 115 K Wheeler had arguably the best professional season of his career as he cruised through three different levels and finished the year at Triple-A. He fits the mold of pitch to contact as he throws a lot of strikes and doesn't strikeout a ton of batters. Wheeler's impressive season was rewarded as he was added to the 40-man roster so there's a chance he could debut in 2015. 30 – Brett Lee – LHP – Ft. Myers Miracle 2014 Stats: 10-5, 2.45 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 106.1 IP, 33 BB, 54 K Lee pitched all of 2014 for the Fort Myers Miracle. His strikeout rate is terrible and he will need to improve this area if he is going to find any sort of success in the higher levels of the minors. Even saying that, he was able to limit runs scored against him and he posted career best marks in wins and ERA. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

"Making a list, checking it twice. Terry Ryan got what he thought was nice." Even though the Twins are coming of four straight 90-loss seasons, there wasn't a ton of things the club needed to accomplish this off-season. The team seemingly had one one position player spot in the corner outfield. Terry Ryan also wanted to add depth to the starting pitching core. Just days after the winter meetings and the Twins have crossed both of these needs off their holiday wish list. At the beginning of December, Minnesota signed Torii Hunter to a one-year, $10.5 million contract. This checked off the Twins corner outfield need. Near the end of the winter meetings, word came out of the club's interest in starting pitcher Ervin Santana.Over this past weekend, the club signed the righty to a four-year, $54 million contract, the largest free agent deal in franchise history. With the ink drying on over $60 million worth of free agent contracts, what's left for the Twins to accomplish this off-season? If the Twins add any more pitching, it will likely be a cost effective bullpen option. Minnesota took J.R Graham during last week's Rule 5 Draft and he will be in the mix for a bullpen role. There are plenty of options for the back end of the rotation and to complete the bullpen. Mike Pelfrey, Trevor May, Tommy Milone, and Alex Meyer will already have quite the battle on their hands this spring. One name that popped up over the weekend was former club ace Johan Santana. Darren Wolfson reported that the left-handed pitcher will be trying to get into action by the end of the month in the winter leagues. With all of Santana's health issues in recent years, he could be a very cheap option that could eventually be used in a bullpen role. Even if he had to start the year in the minors to prove he was healthy, it could still work out for the club. Besides pitching depth, the team could also be looking to add a couple of bench bat option on minor league deals. Apparently, the club has reached out to free agent and Twin Cities native Jack Hannahan. A shoulder injury limited the infielder to 26-games last season so if there is interest from both parties, he could end up in Fort Myers for spring training. So if your Christmas dreams included another big deal for the Twins, I wouldn't get your hopes up. It seems as if all of the big presents were opened early this year. ***Get your copy of the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook now (Paperback or PDF). If you follow me on Twitter and send me a DM, I will send you a coupon for 30% off a print copy (Offer good through Dec. 15)*** For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

For the third year in a row, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com asked Jeremy Nygaard and myself to help him put together the annual off-season handbook that looks deep into one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball. Several other high quality writers helped to write articles for the book and this only adds to the over 200 pages of content. It was our goal to get the paperback version out to the public before Christmas and we will meet our goal for the second year in a row. Image courtesy of Nick Nelson For the third year in a row, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com asked Jeremy Nygaard and myself to help him put together the annual off-season handbook that looks deep into one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball. Several other high quality writers helped to write articles for the book and this only adds to the over 200 pages of content. It was our goal to get the paperback version out to the public before Christmas and we will meet our goal for the second year in a row. This also allows fans to have the book in hand for TwinsFest later next month. We will have full release details in the coming days. Here's a brief rundown of what's included in the book: Stories on my minor league award winners: Mitch Garver (hitter), Jose Berrios (starting pitcher), Brandon Peterson (relief pitcher) and Doug Mientkiewicz (manager). A foreword by Mike Beradino of the Pioneer Press Jeremy wrote an article reviewing the 2014 Twins draft and another looking forward to the 2015 draft. AJ Pettersen wrote about his lasting memories as he reflected back on his professional career The top 30 prospect lists for Seth, Jeremy and myself. Below you will find a preview of one of the articles I wrote for the book. There was a bad trend throughout the farm system so it was only appropriate to include a story about the injuries that plagued the organization's top prospects. -------------------- If there was one theme across the Twins minor league system in 2014, it was the injury bug that seemed to touch almost every top prospect. This unfortunate series of events ran rampant and seemed to know no bounds. Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Kohl Stewart and other top prospects fell victim and many players lost a large chunk of playing time during the season. Losing games can be tough for prospects especially as they are trying to develop. Lost playing time means more years in the minor leagues and it pushes back their arrival time at the big league level. There were high hopes for many of the players on this list going into the season. Injuries are going to happen and it will be interesting to see how these players are impacted for 2015. Byron Buxton, CF 2014 Games Played: 31 Injury List: Left-wrist injury (twice), right-wrist injury, head injury, dislocated middle finger on left hand It was a nightmare season for Buxton as he tried repeatedly to get back on the field but the injuries continued to pile up. Buxton started the spring in major league camp and injured his left wrist while diving for a ball on the minor league side of camp. His first action of the year came with Fort Myers and five games into the season he re-injured his left wrist on a slide into third base. Two months later he was back on the field but a couple weeks later a pitch hit him on the right wrist. He only missed a handful of games and on August 11th he was promoted to Double-A. His first game in New Britain saw the end of his regular season and a very gruesome collision. Buxton was carted off the field after colliding with Mike Kvasnicka as both players attempted to make a diving catch in the gap. Buxton was knocked out for about 10 minutes and luckily there were no broken bones. In the Arizona Fall League, he finished his injury plagued season with a dislocated middle finger on his left hand after diving for a ball. 2015 Impact: Buxton is an exciting player who is going to play the game hard all of the time. There could be some injuries that arise from playing the game at an all-out pace. His wrists should be healed and there didn’t seem to be any lasting concussion issues during his play in the Arizona Fall League. Miguel Sano, 3B 2014 Games Played: 0 Injury List: Tommy John surgery This was supposed to be the year Miguel Sano made his much anticipated big league debut. Sano’s elbow pulled him out of the Dominican Winter League last offseason but at the time there wasn’t a ton of concern coming out of Twins camp. He showed up to spring training and a physical showed that his elbow had improved. In January, Terry Ryan even came out and said that he didn’t think the injury would require surgery. During TwinsFest, Sano predicted he would crack 45 home runs and make his big league debut. The pain in his elbow came back in February and he underwent Tommy John surgery on March 12. 2015 Impact: His rehab is progressing well and there was some speculation that he could return to game action in the second half of the Dominican Winter League. However, the Twins are going to be conservative and hold him out of action until spring. Everything seems on track for him to start next season in the minors before making his MLB debut later in the year. Kohl Stewart, RHP 2014 Games Played: 19 Injury List: Right shoulder impingement (twice) Kohl Stewart dealt with a shoulder issues near the end of the 2013 season and his problems continued for different parts of this past year. In late July, he was dealing with some slight shoulder soreness after he slept wrong on his arm during a long bus ride. He was placed on the disabled list but the MRI came back clean. Some thought he might be done for the season but the Twins put him out there for a couple of more games in the middle of August. Two starts later he had to be pulled because the shoulder was still sore. “I felt like (crap), tried to pitch through it,” Stewart said. 2015 Impact: The Twins will watch Stewart’s workload very closely in 2015. If there is any sign of him not being able to get loose, the club will quickly pull him from the action. The Twins were aggressive with his promotion last year and that could allow them to be a little more conservative in 2015. It might also be helpful to get a neck pillow for the long minor league bus rides. -------------------- There's much more to this article and a ton of other great content in the book. Let me know if you have any questions about the book and look for the release of my top prospect lists in the days to come. View full article

For the third year in a row, Seth Stohs of TwinsDaily.com asked Jeremy Nygaard and myself to help him put together the annual off-season handbook that looks deep into one of the best minor league systems in all of baseball. Several other high quality writers helped to write articles for the book and this only adds to the over 200 pages of content. It was our goal to get the paperback version out to the public before Christmas and we will meet our goal for the second year in a row. This also allows fans to have the book in hand for TwinsFest later next month. We will have full release details in the coming days. Here's a brief rundown of what's included in the book: Stories on my minor league award winners: Mitch Garver (hitter), Jose Berrios (starting pitcher), Brandon Peterson (relief pitcher) and Doug Mientkiewicz (manager). A Foreword by Mike Beradino of the Pioneer Press Jeremy wrote articles reviewing the 2014 Twins draft, and another looking forward to the 2015 draft. AJ Pettersen wrote an article about his lasting memories as he reflected back on his professional career The top 30 prospect lists for Seth, Jeremy, and myself. Below you will find a preview of one of the articles I wrote for the book. There was a bad trend throughout the farm system so it was only appropriate to include a story relating to the injuries that plagued the organization's top prospects. -------------------- If there was one theme across the Twins minor league system in 2014, it was the injury bug that seemed to touch almost every top prospect. This unfortunate series of events ran rampant and seemed to know no bounds. Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, Kohl Stewart and other top prospects fell victim and many players lost a large chunk of playing time during the season. Losing games can be tough for prospects especially as they are trying to develop. Lost playing time means more years in the minor leagues and it pushes back their arrival time at the big league level. There were high hopes for many of the players on this list going into the season. Injuries are going to happen and it will be interesting to see how these players are impacted for 2015. Byron Buxton, CF 2014 Games Played: 31 Injury List: Left-wrist injury (twice), right-wrist injury, head injury, dislocated middle finger on left hand It was a nightmare season for Buxton as he tried repeatedly to get back on the field but the injuries continued to pile up. Buxton started the spring in major league camp and injured his left wrist while diving for a ball on the minor league side of camp. His first action of the year came with Fort Myers and five games into the season he re-injured his left wrist on a slide into third base. Two months later he was back on the field but a couple weeks later a pitch hit him on the right wrist. He only missed a handful of games and on August 11th he was promoted to Double-A. His first game in New Britain saw the end of his regular season and a very gruesome collision. Buxton was carted off the field after colliding with Mike Kvasnicka as both players attempted to make a diving catch in the gap. Buxton was knocked out for about 10 minutes and luckily there were no broken bones. In the Arizona Fall League, he finished his injury plagued season with a dislocated middle finger on his left hand after diving for a ball. 2015 Impact: Buxton is an exciting player that is going to play the game hard all of the time. There could be some injuries that arise from playing the game at an all-out pace. His wrists should be healed and there didn’t seem to be any lasting concussion issues during his play in the Arizona Fall League. Miguel Sano, 3B 2014 Games Played: 0 Injury List: Tommy John surgery This was supposed to be the year Miguel Sano made his much anticipated big league debut. Sano’s elbow pulled him out of the Dominican Winter League last offseason but at the time there wasn’t a ton of concern coming out of Twins camp. He showed up to spring training and a physical showed that his elbow had improved. In January, Terry Ryan even came out and said that he didn’t think the injury would require surgery. During TwinsFest, Sano predicted he would crack 45 home runs and make his big league debut. The pain in his elbow came back in February and he underwent Tommy John surgery on March 12. 2015 Impact: His rehab is progressing well and there was some speculation that he could return to game action in the second half of the Dominican Winter League. However, the Twins are going to be conservative and hold him out of action until spring. Everything seems on track for him to start next season in the minors before making his MLB debut later in the year. Kohl Stewart, RHP 2014 Games Played: 19 Injury List: Right shoulder impingement (twice) Kohl Stewart dealt with a shoulder issues near the end of the 2013 season and his problems continued for different parts of this past year. In late July, he was dealing with some slight shoulder soreness after he slept wrong on his arm during a long bus ride. He was placed on the disabled list but the MRI came back clean. Some thought he might be done for the season but the Twins put him out there for a couple more games in the middle of August. Two starts later he had to be pulled because the shoulder was still sore. “I felt like (crap), tried to pitch through it,” Stewart said. 2015 Impact: The Twins will watch Stewart’s workload very closely in 2015. If there is any sign of him not being able to get loose, the club will quickly pull him from the action. The Twins were aggressive with his promotion last year and that could allow them to be a little more conservative in 2015. It might also be helpful to get a neck pillow for the long minor league bus rides. -------------------- There's much more to this article and a ton of other great content in the book. Let me know if you have any questions about the book and look for the release of my top prospect lists in the days to come.

Late last week word came out that the Atlanta Braves would not tender contracts to right-handed pitchers Kris Medlen and Brandon Beachy. At one point in the not so distant past both of these players figured into Atlanta's long-term starting rotation plans but now both are recovering from their second Tommy John surgeries. Medlen has shown more promise than Beachy at the big league level. He won a combined 25 games in 2012 and 2013. He excelled as a reliever and starter in 2012, when he was 10-1 with a 1.56 ERA. He was even charged with starting the Braves Wild Card Game versus the Cardinals that season. He limited the Cards to two earned runs on three hits but five total runs were scored with him on the mound and he took the loss. Beachy had his first Tommy John surgery in 2012 and he struggled on the comeback trail in 2013, when he was 2-1 with a 4.50 ERA. For his career, he's started 45 games with a 3.23 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP including a 9.2 SO/9 rate. These numbers look great but he's only pitched 30 innings since the end of the 2012 season. Coming back from one Tommy John surgery can be hard enough so you can imagine how hard any kind of comeback after a second trip under the knife. The list of players to return to their prior level of dominance after a second Tommy John is essential nonexistent. Pitchers tend to struggle with command and stamina and this could force both of these players into a bullpen role. Out of the two pitchers, Medlen seems to offer the most upside. The Braves sound like they would like to bring Medlen back on a short-term incentive laden deal with an option for 2016. Minnesota would like have to come up with a better offer to lure him away from Atlanta. Other teams will probably make enticing offers as well and since Atlanta non-tendered him, he's free to choose where he will be employed for 2015. Medlin will not be ready for the start of Spring Training since he had Tommy John surgery last March. However, he should be good to go shortly after the opening of camp. In recent memory, the Twins recently signed Mike Pelfrey on a one-year deal after coming off of Tommy John surgery but they failed to retain Scott Baker on his comeback trail. Minnesota already has a crop of pitchers that will be battling for a back end of the rotation spot. Phil Hughes, Ricky Nolasco, and Kyle Gibson seemed locked into the first three slots. This leaves Trevor May Mike Pelfrey, Tommy Milone, Logan Darnell, and others fighting for the final two rotation spots. Top prospects Alex Meyer and Jose Berrios are also in line to end up in the rotation at some point in 2015. If Medlen won't be ready for the season's start, he probably won't be getting back into form until the end of 2015 or the start of 2016. The Twins will have other younger pitchers ready at that point and Medlen might just be blocking their path. If the deal was right, it might be interesting to take a flyer on Medlen. But it's hard to imagine the Twins outbidding other teams for the services of a player that is a questions mark at this point. A team can only have so many back of the rotation options so signing Medlen might not make sense. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

It's hard to argue with the breakout season Jose Berrios put together in 2014. He dominated the Florida State League and held his own in the Eastern League while being 4 1/2 years younger than the average pitcher in that league. He was already a top ten prospect in the organization but he solidified himself as one of the top three pitchers in a loaded farm system. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Stephen Gonsalves) It's hard to argue with the breakout season Jose Berrios put together in 2014. He dominated the Florida State League and held his own in the Eastern League while being 4 1/2 years younger than the average pitcher in that league. He was already a top ten prospect in the organization but he solidified himself as one of the top three pitchers in a loaded farm system. Berrios was just one of the team's prospects to do well in 2014 as other prospects also put their names on the map. Adam Brett Walker smacked a ton of home runs in the tough Florida State League. Eddie Rosario missed time at the beginning of the season due to a drug suspension but he ended the season on a high note as one of the best hitters in the Arizona Fall League. There were many other prospects who also had solid seasons. Here are three of the Twins top prospects that I think could follow in the footsteps of Berrios and have a breakout season in 2015. Stephen Gonsalves- LHP 2014 Team(s): Elizabethton Twins, Cedar Rapids Kernels 3.02 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 65.2 IP, 70 K, 21 BB (14 Games) Gonsalves, a 2013 fourth round pick, made it all the way to Low-A this season as a teenager. He continues to show the ability to strike out batters. He can hit the 90's with his fastball and he can counter with a good change-up. His other breaking pitch still needs some work but he will be able to develop that as he progresses through the system. In his first five outings at Low-A, he posted a 1.57 ERA over 23.0 innings with 21 strikeouts and only four walks. To put those numbers in prospective, he was three years younger than the average of the other pitchers in the Midwest League. Travis Harrison- OF/3B 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle .269/.361/.365, 3 HR, 33 2B, 59 RBI, 80 R (129 Games) The Florida State League can be tough on hitters and this could be one of the reasons Harrison's home run total dipped from 15 in '13 to 3 this past season. The former supplemental first round pick continues to get on base at a very high rate and he's shown the ability to take the ball to the opposite field. His strikeout rate continues to drop and he played a new defensive position (left field) this season. He will be 22-years old for all of next season and he should be more comfortable playing his defensive spot. This could result in some big numbers for Harrison at Double-A. SLEEPER PICK: Amaurys Minier- OF/1B 2014 Team(s): GCL Twins .292/.405/.520, 8 HR, 11 2B, 33 RBI, 25 R (53 Games) It can be tough to have a breakout season in the lower levels of the minor leagues but the Twins have seen players like Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano have huge seasons after coming out of extended spring training. Minier has big power from the left-side but there might be some holes in his swing as evident by his 52 strikeouts this season. If his approach can improve as he moves up the ladder and he makes some positive strides on the defensive side of the ball, he could be vaulting up Twins prospect lists during the next off-season. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com View full article

It's hard to argue with the breakout season Jose Berrios put together in 2014. He dominated the Florida State League and held his own in the Eastern League while being over four and a half years younger than the average age of the pitchers in that league. He was already a top ten prospect in the organization but he solidified himself as one of the top three pitchers in a loaded farm system. Berrios was just one of the team's prospects to do well in 2014 as other prospects also put their name on the map. Adam Brett Walker smacked a ton of home runs in the tough Florida State League. Eddie Rosario missed time at the beginning of the season due to a drug suspension but he ended the season on a high note as one of the best hitters in the Arizona Fall League. There were many other prospects that had solid seasons in Here are three of the Twins top prospects that I think could follow in the footsteps of Berrios and have a breakout season in 2015. Stephen Gonsalves- LHP 2014 Team(s): Elizabethton Twins, Cedar Rapids Kernels 3.02 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 65.2 IP, 70 K, 21 BB (14 Games) Gonsalves, a 2013 fourth round pick, made it all the way to Low-A this season as a teenager. He continues to show the ability to strikeout batters. He can hit in the 90's with his fastball and he can counter with a good change-up. His other breaking pitch still needs some work but he will be able to develop that as he progresses through the system. In his first five outings at Low-A, he posted a 1.57 ERA over 23.0 innings with 21 strikeouts and only four walks. To put those numbers in prospective, he was three years younger than the other pitchers in the Midwest League. Travis Harrison- OF/3B 2014 Team(s): Fort Myers Miracle .269/.361/.365, 3 HR, 33 2B, 59 RBI, 80 R (129 Games) The Florida State League can be tough on hitters and this could be one of the reasons Harrison's home run total dipped from 15 in '13 to 3 this past season. The former supplemental first round pick continues to get on base at a very high rate and he's shown the ability to take the ball to opposite field. His strikeout rate continues to drop and he played a new defensive position this season. He will be 22-years old for all of next season and he should be more comfortable playing his defensive spot. This could mean result in some big numbers for Harrison at Double-A. SLEEPER PICK: Amaurys Minier- OF/1B 2014 Team(s): GCL Twins .292/.405/.520, 8 HR, 11 2B, 33 RBI, 25 R (53 Games) It can be tough to have a breakout season in the lower levels of the minor leagues but the Twins have seen players like Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano have huge seasons after coming out of extended spring training. Minier has big power from the left-side but there might be some holes in his swing as evident by his 52 strikeouts this season. If his approach can improve as he moves up the ladder and he makes some positive strides on the defensive side of the ball, he could be vaulting up Twins prospect lists during the next off-season. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

As the finishing touches are being put on the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (CLICK HERE to order last year's version for 30% off), my mind has been focused on many of the young players who are making up one of the strongest farm systems in baseball. There are a lot of big names like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano in the system and the hope is that those players turn out to be all-star caliber players for years to come. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs As the finishing touches are being put on the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (CLICK HERE to order last year's version for 30% off), my mind has been focused on many of the young players who are making up one of the strongest farm systems in baseball. There are a lot of big names like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano in the system and the hope is that those players turn out to be all-star caliber players for years to come. There are also players who might not end up being in contention for any MVP or Cy Young awards but they could be very important everyday players on the next winning baseball team in Minnesota. Not every prospect is going to make it as a big league player and some of the Twins best prospects are still multiple years away from making their debut, but still... Here is a look at the type of lineup and pitching rotation that could be made from just the prospects in the Twins organization. For the purposes of this post, I didn't consider any players who had already reached their rookie eligibility threshold in 2014. This took away players like Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas, who also figure in the long-term plans for the Twins organization. All-Prospect Twins Team Line-Up/Batting Order 1. Nick Gordon- SS 2. Eddie Rosario- LF 3. Byron Buxton- CF 4. Miguel Sano- 3B 5. Travis Harrison- DH 6. Amaurys Minier- 1B 7. Max Kepler- RF 8. Stuart Turner- C 9. Jorge Polanco- 2B This line-up looks pretty solid from top to bottom. Gordon, Rosario and Buxton would give the front end of the batting order some speed and plenty of on-base ability in front of the big boppers. Sano, Harrison, and Minier would have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs and all three have the potential to hit 25 or more home runs in a season. Kepler would provide solid defense and be a very solid regular player. Turner could be an everyday player with the potential to make an All-Star team if things break the right way. Polanco might not have the defensive skills to stick at shortstop but he could be part of a nice double-play combo with Gordon. He'd also be a solid number nine hitter leading back to the top of the order. Bench Adam Brett Walker- OF Niko Goodrum-IF Levi Michael-IF Mitch Garver-C This bench offers a little bit of everything. Goodrum and Michael have the ability to fill in at multiple infield positions while also being good options as late-inning pinch runners. Garver and Turner would be a very good catching duo with both getting opportunities to start. Walker would be a huge bat off the bench with the potential to hit a home run any time he stepped into the box. He could also fill in as a corner outfielder when other players needed a day off.. Starting Rotation 1. Kohl Stewart-RHP 2. Jose Berrios- RHP 3. Alex Meyer- RHP 4. Lewis Thorpe- LHP 5. Stephen Gonsalves- LHP A starting rotation with Stewart, Berrios, and Meyer at the top is what Twins fans have been dreaming of since Stewart was taken with the fourth pick in the 2013 draft. Berrios is coming off a breakout season across the three highest levels in the Twins system. Meyer is on the cusp of making his debut and he continues to be impressive. Thorpe and Gonsalves would offer some left-handed action to the back-end of the rotation while still having the potential to be front of the line starters. There's a chance for a lot of strikeouts with this fearsome fivesome but the bullpen is where things get even scarier. Bullpen Closer: Nick Burdi-RHP Set-Up: Michael Cederoth- RHP Jake Reed-RHP Zack Jones-RHP Trevor May- RHP Taylor Rogers- LHP Mason Melotakis- LHP The Kansas City Royals rode a terrific trio of late-inning relief arms to the 2014 American League pennant. In the last few drafts, the Twins have been going after some hard throwing college arms to build their own dominant relief core of the future. Burdi, Cederoth, Reed and Jones could each be given an inning of his own late in games and this would mean starters would only need to pitch five frames. If May doesn't work out as a starter, he could fill into a long-relief role. Rogers and Melotakis could be solid options for retiring some of the best left-handed bats from the opposition. Overall, there is a ton of talent on the way to Target Field. Not all of these players will make it to the big leagues but the Twins have a lot invested in some of these. There are multiple first round picks on this roster, a handful of the top 100 prospects in baseball, and a solid core of players to help Twins fans forget about the last four years of losing. Now it's your turn. How would your line-up and roster look for the Twins team of the future? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com View full article

As the finishing touches are being put on the 2015 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (CLICK HERE to order last year's version for 30% off), my mind has been focused on many of the young players that are making up one of the strongest farm systems in baseball. There are a lot of big names like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano in the system and the hope is that those players turn out to be All-Star caliber players for years to come. There are also players that might not end up being in contention for any MVP or Cy Young awards but they could be very important everyday players on the next winning baseball team in Minnesota. Every prospect isn't going to make it as a big league player and some of the Twins best prospects are still multiple years away from making their debut. Here is a look at what type of line-up and pitching rotation could be made from just the prospects in the Twins organization. For the purposes of this post, I didn't consider any players that had already reached their rookie eligibility threshold in 2014. This took away players like Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana, and Kennys Vargas that will figure into the long-term plans for the Twins organization. All Prospect Twins Team Line-Up/Batting Order 1. Nick Gordon- SS 2. Eddie Rosario- LF 3. Byron Buxton- CF 4. Miguel Sano- 3B 5. Travis Harrison- DH 6. Amaurys Minier- 1B 7. Max Kepler- RF 8. Stuart Turner- C 9. Jorge Polanco- 2B This line-up looks pretty solid from top to bottom. Gordon, Rosario and Buxton would give the front end of the batting order some speed and plenty of on-base ability in front of the big boppers. Sano, Harrison, and Minier would have plenty of opportunities to drive in runs and all three have the potential to hit 25 or more home runs in a season. Kepler would provide solid defense and be a very solid regular player. Turner could be an everyday player with the potential to make an All-Star team if things break the right way. Polanco might not have the defensive skills to stick at shortstop but he could make a nice double-play combo with Gordon. He'd also be a solid number nine hitter leading back to the top of the order. Bench Adam Brett Walker- OF Niko Goodrum-IF Levi Michael-IF Mitch Garver-C This bench offers a little bit of everything. Goodrum and Michael have the ability to fill-in at multiple infield positions while also being good options as late-inning pinch runners. Garver and Turner would be a very good catching duo with both getting the opportunities to start. Walker would be a huge bat off the bench with the potential to hit a long ball anytime he stepped into the box. He could also fill-in as a corner outfielder when other players needed an off day. Starting Rotation 1. Kohl Stewart-RHP 2. Jose Berrios- RHP 3. Alex Meyer- RHP 4. Lewis Thorpe- LHP 5. Stephen Gonsalves- LHP A starting rotation with Stewart, Berrios, and Meyer at the top is what Twins fans have been dreaming of since Stewart was taken with the fourth pick in the 2013 draft. Berrios is coming off a breakout season across the three highest levels in the Twins system. Meyer is on the cusp of making his debut and he continues to be impressive. Thorpe and Gonsalves would offer some left-handed action to the back-end of the rotation while still having the potential to be front of the line starters. There's a chance for a lot of strikeouts with this fearsome five-some but the bullpen is where things get even scarier. Bullpen Closer: Nick Burdi-RHP Set-Up: Michael Cederoth- RHP Jake Reed-RHP Zack Jones-RHP Trevor May- RHP Taylor Rogers- LHP Mason Melotakis- LHP The Kansas City Royals rode a terrific trio of late-inning relief arms to the 2014 American League Pennant. In the last few drafts, the Twins have been going after some hard throwing college arms to build their own dominant relief core of the future. Burdi, Cederoth, Reed, and Jones could each be given an inning of their own late in games and this would mean starters would only need to pitch five frames. If May doesn't work out as a starter, he could fill into a long-relief role. Rogers and Melotakis could be solid options for retiring some of the best left-handed bats from the opposition. Overall, there is a ton of talent on the way to Target Field. All of these players wouldn't make it to the big leagues but the Twins have a lot invested in some of these players. There are multiple first round picks on this roster, a handful of the top 100 prospects in baseball, and a solid core of players to make Twins fans forget about the last four years of losing. Now it's your turn. How would your line-up and roster look for the Twins team of the future? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

The Twins Daily Offseason Handbook was released a few weeks ago and still available. We always encourage readers to develop their own blueprint for the Twins offseason. Today, Cody Christie shares his blueprint with us. We set up a special forum for Twins Daily readers to post their own blueprints here. The Twins Daily Offseason Handbook was released a few weeks ago and still available. We always encourage readers to develop their own blueprint for the Twins offseason. Today, Cody Christie shares his blueprint with us. We set up a special forum for Twins Daily readers to post their own blueprints here. There are plenty of ways to go about trying to fix the Twins team but some patience might be required as the club waits for some younger pieces to work their way through the minor leagues. The Twins Daily crew put out some solid information in the 2015 Offseason Handbook. One of the best parts to read about this document is the blueprint plans put together by the writers. There are plenty of options for the Twins but here is how I would go about trying to fix the team. Some of these ideas will happen and some won't but that's what makes this fun. Starting Line-Up C- Kurt Suzuki- $6 million 1B- Joe Mauer- $23 million 2B- Brian Dozier- $1 million 3B- Trevor Plouffe- $5 million SS- Danny Santana- $0.5 million LF- Colby Rasmus- $12 million CF- Aaron Hicks- $0.5 million RF- Oswaldo Arcia- $0.5 million DH- Kennys Vargas- $0.5 million ------------------------------------------------- $49.0 million committed to nine hitters Breakdown: Colby Rasmus is the only free agent acquisition that I have the Twins adding this off-season. He's young at only 28-years-old and he could regain some value by signing a one-year, $12 million deal. This would set him up to hit the free agent market again before his age 29 season. The Twins could use him in a corner outfield spot and have him be a center field fill-in. Aaron Hicks earns the Opening Day starting job for the third straight season. Hopefully Paul Molitor can get Hicks back on the right track to being an everyday player in Minnesota. If things go right, Miguel Sano could be up by the middle of the season but this could be a line-up that scores a decent number of runs after finishing fifth in the AL in runs scored a year ago. Bench C- Josmil Pinto- $0.5 million IF- Eduardo Escobar- $2.0 million 1B/OF- Chris Colabello- $0.5 million OF-Jordan Schafer- $1.5 million ------------------------------------------------- $4.5 million committed to four bench positions Breakdown: Eduardo Escobar proved to be a very valuable asset but I believe his long-term role with the club will be as more of a utility infielder. Jordan Schafer will complement the other outfielders nicely. Josmil Pinto will get some opportunities to catch especially with how much Kurt Suzuki got beat-up last season. Chris Colabello will get one more opportunity to stick on the big league roster but he will be one of the last men to make the 25-man squad. Starting Pitching 1. Phil Hughes- $8 million 2. Ricky Nolasco- $12 million 3. Kyle Gibson- $0.5 million 4. Alex Meyer- $0.5 million 5. Justin Masterson- $10 million ------------------------------------------------- $31.0 million committed to starting rotation Breakdown: The top three spots in the rotation are likely locked in place. This leaves the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation up for grabs. I think the Twins will actually go with Trevor May in the number four spot but I would much rather throw Alex Meyer out there every fifth day. This would also give May the opportunity to pitch out of the bullpen which I think will be his eventual resting spot. Minnesota is going to spend some money on a free agent starter and I think Justin Masterson is the right guy. He's coming off a tough year but he could bounce back nicely in the friendly confines of Target Field. Fingers are crossed that he could be this year's version of Phil Hughes and a one-year, $10 million contract is easy enough to swallow for a team with some wiggle room. Bullpen Righties: Casey Fien, Michael Tonkin, Trevor May, Mike Pelfrey- $8 million Lefties: Caleb Thielbar, Tommy Milone- $4 million Closer: Glen Perkins- $4 million ------------------------------------------------- $16 million committed to seven relievers Breakdown: This is quite a conglomeration of players. I hate having Mike Pelfrey on this team coming out of spring training but the Twins are going to eat his salary at the beginning of the year even if that's what I would do. As I said in the starting pitcher section, May gets moved to the bullpen where he can continue to develop and the Twins can use him in a variety of roles. I don't think the Twins are ready to let Tommy Milone loose after acquiring him at the end of last season. He will get arbitration as a Super 2 player and his salary will be around $3.5 million. Two names you will likely see gone from this list are Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak. Duensing is getting too expensive for what his role is and Swarzak gets pushed out by the likes of Milone and Pelfrey. Minnesota Twins 2015 Checkbook Starting Line-Up: $49.0 million Bench Players: $4.5 million Starting Pitching: $31.0 million Bullpen: $16 million ------------------------------------------------- $100.5 million committed to Opening Day 25-man roster What are your thoughts on this roster? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com View full article

There are plenty of ways to go about trying to fix the Twins team but some patience might be required as the club waits for some younger pieces to work their way through the minor leagues. The Twins Daily crew put out some solid information in the 2015 Offseason Handbook. One of the best parts to read about this document is the blueprint plans put together by the writers. There are plenty of options for the Twins but here is how I would go about trying to fix the team. Some of these ideas will happen and some won't but that's what makes this fun. Starting Line-Up C- Kurt Suzuki- $6 million 1B- Joe Mauer- $23 million 2B- Brian Dozier- $1 million 3B- Trevor Plouffe- $5 million SS- Danny Santana- $0.5 million LF- Colby Rasmus- $12 million CF- Aaron Hicks- $0.5 million RF- Oswaldo Arcia- $0.5 million DH- Kennys Vargas- $0.5 million ------------------------------------------------- $49.0 million committed to nine hitters Breakdown: Colby Rasmus is the only free agent acquisition that I have the Twins adding this off-season. He's young at only 28-years old and he could regain some value by signing a one-year, $12 million deal. This would set him up to hit the free agent market again before his age 29 season. The Twins could use him in a corner outfield spot and have him be a center field fill-in. Aaron Hicks earns the Opening Day starting job for the third straight season. Hopefully Paul Molitor can get Hicks back on the right track to being an everyday player in Minnesota. If things go right, Miguel Sano could be up by the middle of the season but this could be a line-up that scores a decent amount of runs after finishing fifth in the AL in runs scored a year ago. Bench C- Josmil Pinto- $0.5 million IF- Eduardo Escobar- $2.0 million 1B/OF- Chris Colabello- $0.5 million OF-Jordan Schafer- $1.5 million ------------------------------------------------- $4.5 million committed to four bench positions Breakdown: Eduardo Escobar proved to be a very valuable asset but I believe his long-term role with the club will be as more of a utility infielder. Jordan Schafer will complement the other outfielders nicely. Josmil Pinto will get some opportunities to catch especially with how much Kurt Suzuki got beat-up last season. Chris Colabello will get one more opportunity to stick on the big league roster but he will be one of the last men to make the 25-man squad. Starting Pitching 1. Phil Hughes- $8 million 2. Ricky Nolasco- $12 million 3. Kyle Gibson- $0.5 million 4. Alex Meyer- $0.5 million 5. Justin Masterson- $10 million ------------------------------------------------- $31.0 million committed to starting rotation Breakdown: The top three spots in the rotation are likely locked into place. These leaves the fourth and fifth spots in the rotation up for grabs. I think the Twins will actually go with Trevor May in the number four spot but I would much rather throw Alex Meyer out there every fifth day. This would also give May the opportunity to pitch out of the bullpen which I think will be his eventual resting spot. Minnesota is going to spend some money on a free agent starter and I think Justin Masterson is the right guy. He's coming off a tough year but he could bounce back nicely in the friendly confines of Target Field. Fingers are crossed that he could be this year's version of Phil Hughes and a one-year, $10 million contract is easy enough to swallow for a team with some wiggle room. Bullpen Righties: Casey Fien, Michael Tonkin, Trevor May, Mike Pelfrey- $8 million Lefties: Caleb Thielbar, Tommy Milone- $4 million Closer: Glen Perkins- $4 million ------------------------------------------------- $16 million committed to seven relievers Breakdown: This is quite a conglomeration of players. I hate having Mike Pelfrey on this team coming out of spring training but the Twins are going to eat his salary at the beginning of the year even if that's what I would do. As I said in the starting pitcher section, May gets moved to the bullpen where he can continue to develop and the Twins can use him in a variety of roles. I don't think the Twins are ready to let Tommy Milone loose after acquiring him at the end of last season. He will get arbitration as a Super 2 player and his salary will be around $3.5 million. Two names you will likely see gone from this list are Brian Duensing and Anthony Swarzak. Duensing is getting too expensive for what his role is with the team and Swarzak gets pushed out by the likes of Milone and Pelfrey. Minnesota Twins 2015 Checkbook Starting Line-Up: $49.0 million Bench Players: $4.5 million Starting Pitching: $31.0 million Bullpen: $16 million ------------------------------------------------- $100.5 million committed to Opening Day 25-man roster What are your thoughts on this roster? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

The 2014 season was a breakout year for Brian Dozier. He seemed to be maturing as a hitter right before the eyes of Twins fans. He combined power and speed to be the first Twins player in a decade to record a 20 HR-20 steal season. However, there was more behind his season than the numbers that will appear on the back of next year's trading card. Dozier finished third in all of baseball in the amount of pitches seen in 2014. The only American League player to finish ahead of him was the presumed MVP Mike Trout. He saw 115 more pitches than the next closest man on the list and Dozier was the only member of the Twins to finish in the top 40 in the entire American League. Only one other Twins player has finished in the top 10 in pitches seen since 2002. Joe Mauer barely squeaked into the 10th spot in the 2012 season by finishing seven pitches ahead of the Brewers Rickie Weeks. Mauer actually saw more pitches per plate appearance that season (4.32 P/PA) than Dozier did in 2014 (4.18 P/PA). So what was Dozier able to accomplish with all of these extra pitches? By seasons end, Dozier had accumulated the third most in walks (89 base on balls) in the American League. He recorded six more walks than Trout who finished ahead of him in pitches seen. Carlos Santana finished one spot behind Dozier in the pitches seen standings but he was able to draw 24 more walks. Jose Bautista finished in 10th place in pitches seen and he drew 104 walks. All of these extra pitches seen resulted in more walks and Dozier ended up scoring the second most runs in the American League. He was only three runs scored behind Trout and he was 11 ahead of a third place tie between Bautista and Miguel Cabrera. Many of the extra at-bats Dozier was able to accumulate in 2014 were because of his placement near the top of the Twins batting order. In only five of his 155 games started, he didn't bat out of the lead-off or number two spot in the batting order. It will be interesting to see if new manager Paul Molitor continues to utilize Dozier near the top of the line-up. It would be great to see Dozier make some strides to increase some of his other offense numbers. He's a career .241 hitter but he got on base over 34% of the time last year. If he can continue to see a ton of pitches, drawing walks and scoring runs, there is no reason to think Dozier won't continue to master the art of seeing pitches. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

In one of the most surprising pieces of Twins from the off-season, word has slowly trickled out that the Twins will be sporting a new look when it comes to their home uniforms. The first major change to their home uniforms since the 1987 season, the first World Championship year. According to multiple sources, the team is shedding their pinstripes from their home whites for 2015. The letting will stay the same on the front of the uniforms but the club will add gold as a drop shadow behind the letting. The team's alternate cream heritage jersey will remain unchanged and it does contain pinstripes. Another uniform change will be the addition of gold trim on the team's cap. There is no word yet if this will be the full time cap or if it will just be an alternative. However, it seems logical that the club would wear the gold trim cap with the gold trim jerseys. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-uolOmJWJ8vk/VFo3BQaIvVI/AAAAAAAAF6c/yqdRDa-rdfE/s1600/Rod%2BCarew%2BWhite%2B1970s%2BJersey.jpg In the past, Minnesota has dropped the pinstripes from their jerseys for over a decade. From 1972 through 1986, the Twins sported a non-pinstripe look. After moving from Washington, the Twins wore pinstripes until the switch in the early 1970's. The pinstripes popped back up for the team's 1987 World Series run and they have been with the club every since. In recent years, the Twins had removed the pinstripes from their gray road uniform. The Twins will announce the official change in a jersey unveiling ceremony next week. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

Well, the wait is finally over. It took the Twins over a month and multiple interviews to finally settle on the man many believed would be the guy for the job from the beginning. Paul Molitor was named the 13th manager in Twins history yesterday. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Well, the wait is finally over. It took the Twins over a month and multiple interviews to finally settle on the man many believed would be the guy for the job from the beginning. Paul Molitor was named the 13th manager in Twins history yesterday. He is also only the third manager in nearly three decades, following Tom Kelly (1986-2001) and Ron Gardenhire (2002-2014). Molitor takes over a Twins team that has lost 92 or more games in each of the last four seasons. Some fans will be very excited with the hiring of Molitor, the St. Paul native and Hall-of-Fame hitter.The hire won't be seen as much of a surprise but his baseball IQ has been lauded and he will be a new voice at the helm. However, there will be numerous challenges facing during his first managerial tenure. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com1. Hiring a Coaching Staff These will be some of the most interesting decisions to watch at the beginning of Molitor's career. Many familiar names could end up back on Molitor's staff. Tom Brunansky has been considered a very good hitting instructor and this could mean he's kept in the fold. Terry Steinbach also has a likely chance to stick around. It will be interesting to see if Triple-A manager Gene Glynn gets asked to join the staff after being passed over for the managerial job. Frank Viola, a Triple-A pitching coach in the Mets organization, seemed interested in the role with the Twins if presented with the opportunity. It would also be nice to have a Spanish speaking coach on the roster to help with some of the younger Hispanic players. 2. Tamping Expectations This isn't going to be a quick turnaround and Molitor isn't going to be a miracle worker. It was rumored that Molitor was offered the opportunity to take over for Gardenhire in July 2013. Even if he had taken over the squad at that time, it's hard to imagine the club winning a ton more games last year. The roster wasn't built to win in 2014 or 2015 so fans are going to have to be patient with Molitor. He's never had a managerial gig so he might have to learn some of the nuances of the job on the fly. 3. Building for the Future The core of the 2015 Twins will be relatively young and the squad is only going to be getting younger as some of their younger prospects make their way to Target Field. Top prospects Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton could all make their debuts next season with plenty of hype surrounding each. Other young players like Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana and Kennys Vargas made a big impact last season. Molitor has also been given a lot of credit for helping Brian Dozier with the transition to second base and his breakout season on the base paths last year. 4. Pushing the Core Four Joe Mauer needs to get back to the Joe Mauer of old. Brian Dozier needs to make strides on the defensive side of the ball while continuing to put up strong offensive numbers. Phil Hughes is coming off a record breaking season on the mound and he needs to lead a pitching staff that could contain some younger members. Trevor Plouffe is also coming off his best season at the plate and in the field. Can Molitor continue to help this core four to make strides? Each of these men will be key during Molitor's first couple of seasons as manager. 5. Changing the Coaching Culture In his first season as a member of the Twins coaching staff, Molitor was in charge of defensive shifts. These types of shifts have started to become common across the baseball universe and the Twins can continue to improve in this area. One of the most frustrating things about Gardenhire was his inability to utilize a platoon system when there were players on the roster who would have greatly benefited from this kind of usage. Molitor has been around the game of baseball for decades but will this mean that we get more of the same old thinking? The hope is that he will be much more open to the changing culture of the game compared to the previous regime. View full article

There are a few items on the Twins off-season checklist. Starting pitching seems to be the Twins biggest priority but the club also has a hole to fill in the outfield. The club likely won't be pushing for any of the big names on the outfield free agent list but that doesn't mean the club couldn't look to add a veteran free agent for this role. Reports came out at the beginning of this week that the Twins have expressed interest in signing free agent outfielder Torii Hunter. It seems that Hunter's preference would be to return to the Tigers or another squad that will be in contention next season. If none of those teams make him a decent offer, he could be more willing to finish his career back where he started in Minnesota. Hunter's offensive skills have aged fairly well. Over the last three seasons in Detroit and Los Angeles, he's hit .301/.339/.455 while averaging 17 home runs, 31 doubles, and 86 RBI. While his offense has continued to be strong, his defense in right field took a turn for the worst last season. He's now considered below average in a corner outfield which is a far cry from the Gold Glove caliber defense he played in Minnesota. It doesn't seem likely for the Twins, a team that has lost at least 92 games in the last four seasons, to be in contention in 2015. Hunter turned 39-years old in July which means he will be 40 after next year's All-Star break. What benefits would there be from having a 19-year veteran on next year's Twins roster? The Twins are in a rebuilding mode and Hunter's presence on next year's roster would mean lost at-bats for other younger player the Twins could be trialing at the big league level. Hunter would need time in the outfield and at DH which could mean fewer at-bats for the likes of Oswaldo Arcia, Kennys Vargas, and Josmil Pinto. These younger players need to be in the line-up everyday and not fighting for at-bats with an aging veteran. Hunter's leadership would be a welcome addition to the clubhouse especially under first year manager Paul Molitor. However other players on the Twins roster like Brian Dozier and Glen Perkins have taken on leadership roles over the last couple seasons. The addition of another voice in the clubhouse might be too many voices to listen to for the younger Twins team. During the beginning of last season, the Twins brought in a variety of different players from their division title years to fight for spots on the roster. Jason Kubel, Matt Guerrier, and Jason Bartlett all made the team out of spring training but none of them made a significant impact during the season. They would all be jettison before the middle of June. Hunter has played better than those players but the Twins don't exactly have a positive track record in bringing in former players. This team might be taking some bumps and bruises in the early part of the season with a new manager and a younger roster. That's fine because the overall goal is to get back to playing winning baseball. Gaining experience for the young core of talent is what is going to get this team back on the right track. Hunter will not be part of the next winning team in Minnesota so let's hope the organization doesn't bring him back for a reunion tour. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

Well the wait is finally over. It took the Twins over a month and multiple interviews to finally settle on the man many believed would be the guy for the job from the beginning. Paul Molitor will be named the 13th manager in Twins history at the beginning of this week. He will also be only the third manager in nearly the last three decades following in the line of Tom Kelly (1986-2001) and Ron Gardenhire (2002-2014). Molitor takes over a Twins team that has lost 92 or more games in each of the last four seasons. Some fans will be very excited with the hiring of Molitor, the St. Paul native and Hall-of-Fame hitter.The hire won't be seen as much of a surprise but his baseball IQ has been lauded and he will be a new voice at the helm. However, there will be numerous challenges facing during his first managerial tenure. 1. Hiring a Coaching Staff These will be some of the most interesting decisions to watch at the beginning of Molitor's career. Many familiar names could end up back on Molitor's staff. Tom Brunansky has been considered a very good hitting instructor and this could mean he's kept in the fold. Terry Steinbach also has a likely chances to stick around. It will be interesting to see if Triple-A manager Gene Glynn gets asked to join the staff after being passed over for the managerial job. Frank Viola, a Triple-A pitching coach in the Mets organization, seemed interested in the role with the Twins if he was presented the opportunity. It would also be nice to have a Spanish speaking coach on the roster to help with some of the younger Hispanic players. 2. Tampering Expectations This isn't going to be a quick turnaround and Molitor isn't going to be a miracle worker. It was rumored that Molitor was offered the opportunity to take over for Gardenhire in July 2013. Even if he had taken over the squad at that time, it's hard to imagine the club winning a ton more games last year. The roster wasn't built to win in 2014 or 2015 so fans are going to have to be patient with Molitor. He's never had a managerial gig so he might have to learn some of the nuances of the job on the fly. 3. Building for the Future The core of the 2015 Twins will be relatively young and the squad is only going to be getting younger as some of their younger prospects make their way to Target Field. Top prospects Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano, and Byron Buxton could all make their debuts next season with plenty of hype surrounding each of their arrivals. Other young players like Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana, and Kennys Vargas made a big impact last season. Molitor has also been given a lot of credit for helping Brian Dozier with the transition to second base and his breakout season on the base paths last year. 4. Pushing the Core Four Joe Mauer needs to get back to the Joe Mauer of old. Brian Dozier needs to make strides on the defensive side of the ball while continuing to put up strong offensive numbers. Phil Hughes is coming off a record breaking season on the mound and he needs to lead a pitching staff that could contain some younger members. Trevor Plouffe is also coming off his best season at the plate and in the field. Can Molitor continue to help this core four to make strides? Each of these men will be key during Molitor's first couple of seasons as manager. 5. Changing the Coaching Culture In his first season as a member of the Twins coaching staff, Molitor was in charge of defensive shifts. These types of shifts have started to become common across the baseball universe and the Twins can continue to improve in this area. One of the best frustrating things about Gardenhire was his inability to utilize a platoon system when there were players on the roster who would have greatly benefited from this kind of usage. Molitor has been around the game of baseball for decades but will this mean that we get more of the same old thinking. The hope is that he will be much more open to the changing culture of the game versus the previous regime. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

Near the end of last week, the Rawlings Gold Glove finalists were announced for both the American League and the National League. It's hard to take these nominations too seriously when Derek Jeter has multiple Gold Gloves on his mantle and Rafael Palmeiro won one as a DH. Rawlings has been moving in the right direction as they have started to use SABR's Defensive Index to help decide the winners. Three former members of the Twins organization (JJ Hardy, Justin Morneau, and Denard Span) were all names as finalists while no members of the current team were among those selected. That's where some of the debate can be made since Trevor Plouffe seems to have compiled the numbers to at least be considered for a nomination. There are two third baseman in the American League that are head and shoulders above the competition. The A's Josh Donaldson and the Mariner's Kyle Seager. These two men will battle for the honor but it's the third nomination spot that should be in question. Adrian Beltre got the nod but he had a very sub-par year when it came to defensive numbers. According to SABR's Defensive Index, Beltre ranked sixth in the American League at the hot corner. This put him behind the two men mentioned above and the trio of Manny Machado, Trevor Plouffe, and Mike Moustakas. This isn't the only metric that shows Plouffe's superiority to Beltre throughout the season. According to FanGraphs version of defensive WAR, Plouffe's 8.6 mark far outpaced Beltre's 6.0 ranking. Both forms of ultimate zone rating also had Plouffe ranked higher than Beltre. Plouffe's 6.7 UZR was superior to Beltre's 4.0 mark and Plouffe was 2.4 runs higher in UZR/150 games. Plouffe also ranked better than Beltre when it comes to range runs above average. Plouffe had ranked negatively in this category over the last two seasons but he posted a 5.4 RngR in 2014. Beltre was limited to a 2.8 RngR. Revised zone rating is the proportion of balls hit into a fielders zone that he successfully converted into an out. Plouffe turned 73.6% of those balls into outs. When it comes to RZR, Beltre was below 70% for the first time since 2007. He has a .725 RZR mark for the duration of his career. Beltre already has four Gold Gloves with his last award coming back in 2012. He was also awarded the AL Platinum Glove in 2011 and 2012 for having the best defensive in the entire American League. His defensive reputation and previous awards probably put him ahead of Plouffe on the nomination list. Was there any chance of Plouffe walking away with AL Gold Glove at third? No, but it would have been nice to see him being honored for his outstanding defensive play at a very tough fielding position. This award should go to Donaldson or Seager but Plouffe proved himself to be one of the top three defensive third baseman in the American League. Plouffe was most certainly worth his weight in gold this season even if the nomination didn't follow the outstanding play. For more from Cody Christie make sure to follow him on Twitter @NoDakTwinsFan and to read his other work at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com

Yes, I will be looking to fill up my coaching staff. Leave me a comment on what position you would like to fill and your qualifications.

The Minnesota Twins are in the midst of the search for their next manager. As an organization, they are looking hard at candidates that are already inside the organization like Paul Molitor and Doug Mientkiewicz. They are also considering some other men from outside the organization and that's where I come in. I would like to throw my name in the hat as a candidate for the next manager of the Minnesota Twins. I might not have the pedigree of a Hall-of-Famer or a World Series ring on my finger but I have the drive and passion to bring the Twins out of the dumpster. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-crKStjWKNg8/VD1g6P-GN4I/AAAAAAAAF4U/z99jYJIJJbE/s1600/Billy%2BHeywood%2BTwins.jpg Cody Christie North Dakota/Twins Territory | nodaktwinsfan@gmail.com Education University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND) Bachelor of Science in Education I graduate from the same university as Twins President Dave St. Peter so that has to count for something. I have the hard Midwest work ethic that will get the job done! Experience/ Qualifications JV Head Coach Fastpitch Softball I worked with young players moving through the system trying to make the varsity team The Twins will have many young players comprising the core of the team in the coming years I can work with these younger players to improve their basic skills and eventually succeed at the highest level Varsity Head Fastpitch Softball Coach I ran the team, organized practice plans, and was in charge of in-game strategy The Twins need an in game manager with the ability to meet the skill level of the players on the roster We might not have won a ton of games but we tried hard and worked on succeeding at the basics of the game. Twins Blogger I've written about the team extensively during the Target Field era. The Twins need a manager with a combination of sabermetric analysis and old school style. My knowledge of the Twins minor league system and current 40-man roster will help to make the tough decisions that need to be made. Plan for Recovery Let the Kids Play Young players like Danny Santana, Kennys Vargas, and Oswaldo Arcia were successful this past season Alex Meyer will be in the rotation on Opening Day Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton will make their debuts in 2015 There might be some bumps and bruises from these players next season. Hopefully these scrapes will be out of the way by the end of the year and it can set-up a successful 2016 season. Chicks Dig the Long Ball The Twins scored a lot of runs last season and that needs to continue If the team isn't going to spend money in the off-season on pitching, the offense is going to have to score more runs. Might as well let the kids go up there hacking away at the ball More fans will come to Target Field to see a 10-8 game than a 1-0 pitchers duel Managerial Influences Billy Heywood- Minnesota Twins Young and energetic about the Minnesota Twins Joe Riggins- Durham Bulls Ability to work with veteran players and rising stars Lou Brown- Cleveland Indians Ability to win with a team no one thought he could George Knox- California Angels Uses a little help from above to get the team back on track There you have it. Start spreading the word so I can get an interview with the Twins and we can get the team back to winning baseball.