Cody Christie

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2368[/ATTACH] With last night's three hit performance, Joe Mauer continues to climb up the ladder for best batting average in the American League. There are still a couple of players for him to pass so it will be interesting to see if he is able to earn his fourth batting title in the last seven seasons. The other titles might come with more meaning since the Twins were fighting for the playoffs in each of those campaigns. It seems like Mauer is on a mission this season after an injury-plagued year in 2011 and his next stop could be the top of the American League batting race. Over the last week, Mauer has missed some time with back spasms and this could have crippled any chance of him catching the leaders in the AL. Since returning from the injury, he has two multi-hit games and he had two multi-hit games before his back started acting up. He is currently in the midst of a six game hitting streak and he has hits in nine of his last ten contests. With the season winding down, it seems like Mauer is getting stronger at the plate and that could mean trouble for the other hitters ahead of him in the standings. His opponents in the race for the batting crown are arguably the two top candidates for the American League Most Valuable Player. Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout are attempting to get each of their team's into the postseason so there is a lot of pressure on each of their at-bats. Here is a look at Mauer's competition over the coming weeks: Miguel Cabrera, Detroit Tigers: .333 Batting Average The defending batting champion in the American League is in a prime position to take home the award again in 2012. He is hitting .373 so far in September and that number has only gone up with his .500 batting average in the last week. His schedule in the coming weeks looks pretty easy as he has six games left with the Twins and seven games left against pitchers from the Royals. He is currently facing Oakland's pitching staff but it only gets easier from that point. So far this season, he has hit .438 against the Twins so he is probably thrilled about the opportunity to play the Twins a couple of more times. Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels: .327 Batting Average A month ago, it looked like nothing would stop Trout from walking away with the batting title in his rookie season. In late August, Trout was still batting over .340 but he has less at-bats than most of the other contenders so a bad performance in one game hurts him more than others. So far in September, he is hitting .274 and it has been a rough week for Trout with a .227 average. Every game is important for his team and the Angels have five more games against a good staff in Texas and three games in Chicago. Trout has hit .370 versus the Rangers and .300 in limited action against the White Sox. There are six other games with the Mariners so that could mean facing Felix Hernandez twice in the last week. Joe Mauer, Minnesota Twins: .325 Batting Average The month of September has been good to Mauer as he is hitting. 474 since the calendar turned from August. As far as the Twins schedule, Mauer has two games left with the Indians, six games left with Detroit, three games left with the Yankees, and three games left in Toronto. In 52 at-bats versus Tigers pitching this year, Mauer has a .346 batting average so facing that team could help him. He has also hit over .350 in a limited amount of action against the Yankees and the Blue Jays. The opportunity is there and he seems to be hitting his groove at the right time. Derek Jeter, New York Yankees: .323 Batting Average When comparing Jeter to Trout, it's hard to believe how many years separate these two. Jeter was a year away from being a first round pick when Trout was born. It has been a good September so far for Jeter as he is hitting .344 in the month. The last week hasn't been the greatest as he is batting a little under .300 as the Yankees push for the playoffs. For Jeter, there are some opponents that could help him move up in the standings. The Yankees face the Blue Jays seven more times, the Twins three times, and the Red Sox three times. He has hit over .340 against the Blue Jays and the Twins in 2012 so his average could rise in the home stretch. For Mauer, he would probably rather have the Twins in position to get a playoff spot but a batting title would be a nice consolation prize. The Twins face two of the three men on the list above in the coming weeks so fans in Twins Territory will get a first-hand look at the chase for the batting title. Mauer could also look to his pitching staff to help him to the title and pitch well against some of the best hitters in the league. There's a chance for another batting champion in Minnesota and that's something worth watching as the season comes to a close.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2362[/ATTACH] One of the best story lines for the Twins in 2012 has been the emergence of Scott Diamond as a stabilizing force in the starting rotation. In a season where the Twins have used 12 different starting pitchers, Diamond leads the way with 24 starts under his belt. During the first half of the season, it looked like Diamond could make the All-Star team because of his performance after being called up by the Twins. It has been a different story for Diamond in the last couple months as his performance has gradually declined to the point where his rotation spot might need to be called into question. A couple of weeks ago, this idea would be out of the question but recent starts from Diamond have showcased a mediocre pitcher with opposing teams hitting the ball all over the field against him. So the question to the front office of the Twins is, should Scott Diamond be shut down? Let's backtrack a few weeks to see how Diamond got to this point in the year. In the second half of August, Diamond put together a start against the Seattle Mariners that Twins fans had become accustom to seeing from him over the course of the year. He tossed 6.2 innings by surrendering two runs on nine hits and he got the no-decision as the Twins went on to lose the game by a run. His ERA dropped to 2.95 and things continued to look good for the left-handed hurler. The next outing for him would come against the Texas Rangers and this is when it seems like the season switched directions for Diamond. After Joe Mauer had been hit with a pitch in a previous inning, Diamond tried to stand-up for the Twins star catcher by throwing at Josh Hamilton of the Rangers. The pitch from Diamond got close to Hamilton but it was near the head of the slugger from Texas. Home plate umpire Wally Bell didn't like the pitch location from Diamond so he tossed him out of the game for throwing near the head of an opposing player. It was the shortest outing of the season for Diamond and it was the first time all year where he failed to pitch more than five innings. The Commissioner's Office would suspend Diamond for six games and things just haven't been the same since this point. He has made four starts since the infamous attempted bean ball near the head of Hamilton and it seems like something is missing from Diamond. In three of the four outings, he has been handed the loss and his performances haven't been up to the level fans were use to seeing from him. He has given up four or more runs in each appearance and he hasn't been able to pitch more than six frames in three of the four outings. The only win for Diamond during this stretch was when the offense exploded for 18 runs against the White Sox on September 4th. His last start on Sunday might have been his worst of the year as he gave up six earned runs on seven hits including two long balls. There just doesn't seem to be something right with Mr. Diamond. At this point in the season, there are plenty of players dealing with the aches and pains that accompany a grueling 162 game schedule. Diamond is in his first full season with the Twins and he is entering uncharted territory for his professional career. He started the year by throwing 34.2 innings with the Rochester Red Wings before poor play and injuries forced the Twins to turn to the minor leagues. If you combine his minor league innings with his MLB total, he has thrown 188.1 innings in 2012. The career high in innings for Diamond before this season was 162, a mark he reached in 2011 as a member of the Twins and Red Wings. By crossing this innings threshold, Diamond might have run into some fatigue issues and other problems with his arm mechanics. The Twins have been eliminated from playoff contention and one could argue that the team was never really in contention this year after their poor start to the season. Diamond's continued presence in the rotation is not entirely necessary over the last couple weeks of the year. He could be quietly shutdown and the team could continue to let other arms get the chance to showcase themselves against some of the tough opponents on the schedule for the rest of the month. It's terrible to think about Diamond suffering an arm injury in a meaningless September game when the club could use him in more meaningful games at the start of next season. Diamond hasn't exactly been helping the club to win in recent weeks and it's tough to know what the team wants to do with him for the rest of the year. It doesn't seem like he will be shutdown before his next start and I am sure the team would like to see how many inning he can pitch by the end of the campaign. The competitor inside of Diamond will want to go out on the mound for every opportunity he is given in the next couple weeks. It's just tough to watch him struggle at the end of what has been a breakout season for the 26-year old left-handed pitcher. The fans that are still watching are going to remember the struggles at the end of the year and not the positive signs from the majority of the season. It will also be tough for Diamond to enter the offseason on a sour note. In the next couple weeks, Diamond will most likely get to play out the rest of his 2012 season. He could rediscover himself from earlier this year or the performances could continue to go in the opposite direction. The innings are piling up and it's tough not to wonder if Diamond should be on the shelf for the remainder of the campaign.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2354[/ATTACH] "I love having him at shortstop."- Ron Gardenhire, 9/16/12, The Ron Gardenhire Show It didn't take very long for Brian Dozier to fall out of the good graces with the Minnesota Twins. The team gave him plenty of opportunities to showcase his talents as the shortstop of the future for the organization but he was unimpressive during his rookie campaign. This has left the door open for another player to step-in and get most of the reps at shortstop during the last couple months of the season. Pedro Florimon was the man the Twins turned to and he might be lining himself up to be a starter on Opening Day next season. On Sunday's edition of The Ron Gardenhire Show, Gardy had nothing but praise for Florimon and his performance so far with the club. There are obvious things to like about his defensive and those were the skills Gardenhire focused on when asked about his new shortstop. He likes his hands in the field and his ability to get to the ball seems to be as advertised from his time in the minor leagues. While there were some plays just out of the reach of Dozier, it seems like Florimon is able to complete almost every play that is asked to make. The offensive side of the ball is a little bit of a different story for Mr. Florimon. During his time in the minor leagues this season, Florimon didn't exactly strike fear into opposing pitchers. In time at the Double-A and Triple-A level, he hit .259/.318/.351 with only 27 extra-base hits in 424 at-bats. To say, his ability to hit for power is lacking would be an understatement. It is fine for a middle infielder to not have pop in his bat but this usually comes with the ability to be a contact hitter. For Florimon, his contact swing hasn't exactly developed in the minor leagues either. In 83 games with Rochester, he hit .251/.308/.344 so he wasn't exactly pounding down the door for the Twins to give him a look at the big league level. Since joining the Twins in the middle of August, Florimon has appeared in 29 games for the club with all of those appearances coming as a shortstop. His non-hitting prowess has followed him to the big league level as he has posted a batting line of .237/.290/.333 with seven extra-base hits in 29 games played. He has almost as many strikeouts (20) as hits (22) and this is another scary trend that has followed him during his trek through the upper minors for the Twins and the Orioles. It would be nice if he could steal a base or two but he was thrown out in 8 of his 21 steal attempts in the minors this season. He hasn't been asked to steal a lot with the Twins but his two attempts at the big league level have been successful. He is getting a shot with the team and it is hard not to wonder if this could turn into a more permanent role for next season. We have seen this before with Gardenhire falling in love with a slick fielding middle infielder with limited skills on the offensive side of the ball. It's not like Florimon is a young infielder working his way through the Twins system. He wasn't exactly fought over when he came to the organization as a waiver claim from the Baltimore Orioles organization. In December, he will turn 26-years old and it's hard to imagine his offensive skill taking a giant leap in the coming years. At this point in his development, he is what he is and the Twins have to deal with the player they have on their roster. The Twins entered this past spring with some question marks up the middle after signing veteran infielder Jamey Carroll as the team tried to forget about the nightmare of Tsuyoshi Nishioka. It seems more and more like next spring could have some of the same story lines playing out. Terry Ryan and the coaches for the Twins will tell the media about an opening contest for the middle infield spots but they will have an idea about where they want those positions to end up. Carroll, Florimon, and Doizer will all be in the mix for starting roles and even Eduardo Escobar might be given a look. Alexi Casilla is still arbitration eligible but it might be time for the Twins to part ways with him as his contract value starts to rise and his playing ability isn't where the club would like it to be. To most fans, Dozier might seem like a better option for the future of the club since he seems to have the vibe surrounding him about an up-and-coming prospect. The truth is Florimon and Dozier are both going to be 26-years old for the majority of next season and it could be make or break time for their careers as big league players. It seems like a situation where Florimon will be given the starting shortstop role out of spring training and the job will be his until he shows the team otherwise. Dozier will be sent to Triple-A to try and find success at that level where he could show the team he deserves a place with the big league club. Carroll will get the nod at second base but an injury or old age could mean Dozier gets the call. If I was making the roster, I would like to see Florimon sitting at shortstop to start the year because of his defensive ability. Dozier showed fans and the front office that he was lacking in some defensive areas at shortstop so I would give him the starting second base job. It could take some of the pressure off of him on the defensive side of the ball and let him relax when he steps in the batter’s box. This would leave Carroll as the utility man and it would also give the Twins some flexibility when it comes to giving players a day off in the field. Carroll has shown adequate ability to man most infield positions and this could be his role as he turns 39-years old before the beginning of the 2013 campaign. How would the middle infield look on Opening Day if you were in charge of the team?

While the Twins have been busy playing decent baseball in the last week, fans have gotten to the point where they are just shrugging their shoulders and saying, "That's nice." The team swept the Indians over the weekend but they have put up some clunkers against the Royals in front of the small crowds gathering at Target Field. Last night's walk-off win felt good but we will see what the rest of the season brings With the White Sox coming to town this weekend, there is a chance for the Twins to play spoiler to the first place club in the AL Central. This means there are still reasons to watch and Francisco Liriano might make another start against his old team on Friday so that should be entertaining. The play by the Twins in the last couple of weeks has pushed them up near Cleveland with a chance for the club to see third place in the Central. Poor play by the Twins in August made it look like the club could still get the second pick in next year's draft. Their recent play has been slightly better so the club sits behind the Astros, Cubs, and Rockies in the draft order for next June. It also seems like the Twins will avoid 100 losses, which is always a good thing. The team would need to be pretty terrible over the course of the rest of the season to not reach last year's mark of 64 wins and 99 losses. One of the biggest pieces of news from the last week was the release of the 2013 schedule. For the first time since the team opened Target Field, they will get to open the season at home. Unfortunately, the game comes on April 1st so it might be a little chilly for the home opener. There is interleague play throughout the entire season now and the Twins will face the Mets, Phillies, Marlins, and Brewers at home as part of their schedule with the National League. There is still plenty of great baseball and Twins related content being produced across the World Wide Web. Here's this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." This career retrospective on Brad Radke is a must read for Twins fans. When the Twins returned to the field after 9/11, hope was restored because of baseball. A baseball from the World Trade Center is now in Cooperstown. Many fans have given up watching the Twins but there are still reasons to watch. Joe Mauer has missed some time with back issues, so should fans fret about the situation? While Mauer has been having a good season, some Minnesota fans need to reevaluate the situation. It might be time for the Twins to part ways with Denard Span. Here's a quick recap of the Twins delegates for the Arizona Fall League. The roster of Twins participating in the Florida Instructional League was also released earlier this week. Justin Morneau has been hot in recent weeks and his fastball improvements have helped him return to form. Every wondered what would happen if you got hit in the face by a Morneau walk-off home run? The Twins have outfield depth but can you every have too much of a good thing? Ben Revere has been a little bit of a slump and the team's performance might reflect that outcome. Twins Daily announced their minor league awards for relief pitcher of the year, starting pitcher of the year, and hitter of the year. Can you name these two Twins that played together in high school? Check out these great shots from throughout the season with the Beloit Snappers. Former Twins closer Joe Nathan lost a bet to a teammate and was forced to dress up like Tony Romo before a game. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2348[/ATTACH] The Orioles might be getting Jim Thome back in their line-up at just the right time. Teams looking for hope might be able to have the Orioles as their example. Is the new wild card format working? It has been quite the week for Francisco Liriano as he was removed from the rotation and put back in the rotation a few days later. A radio host fell asleep while reading a highlight from a Yankees game. Yes, the Yanks are that boring. This collection of scouting reports was created by fans for other fans. Check out some of the Twins observations. No one watched the Astros on Sunday thus proving football is king in Texas. The St. Paul Saints are getting a new ballpark in downtown St. Paul. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Cole De Vries making most of late-season audition Tuesday: 2012 Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year Wednesday: 2012 Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year Thursday: 2012 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year Video of the Week: While researching for the minor league awards I handed out during the week, I stumbled across this video of top prospect Aaron Hicks setting the franchise record for triples with New Britain. It was a pretty cool moment and the announcers get excited about the play. On the night, it was his second triple and it capped a very good season for the outfielder at Double-A.

The minor league season have come and gone for the Twins farm system and that means it's time to hand out postseason awards. For the last couple of days, I have focused on the pitchers in the system. On Tuesday, I named Michael Tonkin as the best relief pitcher of 2012 in the Twins system. After yesterday's results were tallied, BJ Hermsen came out on top as the best starting hurler for the past season. Both of these choices were tough to make but the hitters in the system provided a much more difficult task. Arguments can be made for more than one of the names below to be named as the top hitter for the organization over the past calendar year. Miguel Sano picked up where he left off last season by belting 28 home runs in his first year in a full season league. Aaron Hicks had the breakout campaign fans have been waiting for since the team drafted him. There were plenty of other stories across the organization and it seems the future of Twins baseball is looking brighter with these players on their way to the major leagues. Over at Twins Daily, Seth Stohs has been naming his picks for the top awards in the Twins minor league system so make sure you check out his picks after you finish with my selections below. There can be some debate about where some of these players finished so it's fun to see where other writers have them. In reverse order, here are my selections for the 2012 Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year: 5.) Eddie Rosario: Beloit Snappers Stat Summary: .299/.347/.499, 35 2B, 4 3B, 13 HR, 74 RBI, 62 R It was a magical season for Rosario last year as he showed that he could hit for average and power while playing great in the outfield. The Twins decided to switch him to infield before the 2012 campaign so he spent most of this year trying to learn a new defensive position. His home run total dropped but he still had a decent amount of power with 57 extra-base hits. He gets on base at a decent amount but a lot of that comes from his high batting average so it would be nice to see him get a few more walks. An injury took a few weeks away from Rosario but he was still productive when he returned to the field. It has been a struggle for the Twins to develop middle infielders so the experiment with moving Rosario to second base will be something for fans to keep an eye on over the next couple seasons. 4.) Chris Parmelee: Rochester Red Wings Stat Summary: .338/.457/.645, 17 2B, 1 3B, 17 HR, 49 RBI, 45 R While Twins fans have seen bits and pieces of Parmelee at the big league level, he was a beast in the International League during his time there. There was no place for him to play when he was called up to the Twins so he made more than one trip back-and-forth between Rochester and the Twin Cities. If he would have spent the entire year in the minor leagues, there is a good chance this award would be his. After the Twins sent him down the first time, he put on a hitting clinic for the rest of May by batting over .450 with six extra-base hits in nine games. Mr. Parmelee couldn't fight his way into the line-up with the Twins but he continued to destroy minor league pitching. Much like Trevor Plouffe last year, Parmelee's breakout season at Triple-A will make it hard for the Twins to not give him a more permanent role in 2012. 3.) Miguel Sano: Beloit Snappers Stat Summary: .258/.373/.521, 28 2B, 4 3B, 28 HR, 100 RBI, 75 R Sano went swing for swing with Rosario last season but this year it was a little bit different story. The powerful swing of Sano continued to show but his batting average took a dip. As with most power hitters, he struggles with strikeouts and he compiled 144 of them in 457 trips to the plate. He is only 19-years old and his approach at the plate will continue to develop as he moves through the system for the Twins. Fans see young players like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout succeeding at the MLB level and it can be natural to want to push Sano up the ladder. These players are the exception and not the rule so let's give Sano some time to develop. When prospect rankings come out at the end of the year, Sano will most likely be the consensus pick as the team's number one prospect. This doesn't mean there aren't things for him to work on with his approach at the plate and his defense on the field. 2.) Aaron Hicks: New Britain Rock Cats Stat Summary: .286/.384/.460, 21 2B, 11 3B, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 100 R For Hicks, it was a record-breaking year with the Rock Cats as he set the franchise record for triples and runs scored in a season. After battling through some ups-and-downs in 2011, Hicks wiped a lot of questions away with his overall performance this year. He combined everything the Twins were looking for when they drafted him. His speed, power, and defensive ability were a force in the line-up at New Britain for the entire year. As the season went on, he seemed to get better at the plate. His average was over .300 in July and August and he combined that with 24 extra-base hits in those months. Hicks was doing his best to keep the Rock Cats in the heart of the race for the playoffs. His ability to draw walks has been one of his strongest assets during his professional career and this continued in 2012 as he was issued a free pass on 79 occasions. This award could easily be his for all of the skills he showed on the offensive side of the ball. Fans have gotten use to hearing about the potential of Hicks and he could be appearing at Target Field sometime next season. 1.) Oswaldo Arcia: Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats Stat Summary: .320/.388/.539, 36 2B, 8 3B, 17 HR, 98 RBI, 76 R The big key to the success story of Arcia in 2012 was his ability to stay healthy. After some injuries in 2011, he finished the season with the Fort Myers Miracle and he was sent back there to start 2012. In half a season in Florida, he did well by belting seven home runs and 16 doubles. Arcia's first half performance was recognized and he was asked to participate in the Florida State League All-Star Game. For the second half of the year, he would move on to New Britain and it seemed like his game improved with the tougher competition. His batting average jumped over 20 points, his slugging percentage went up 40 points, and this was over more at-bats than he got with the Miracle. He hit .330 or higher in July, August, and September and it seemed like the end of the season was the only thing that could cool down his bat. With runners on base, Arcia would get locked in as he hit over .400 with other players on ahead of him, which makes him a great fit for the middle of a line-up. All of these numbers didn't just speak for themselves because Arcia was well noticed during the year. He won player of the week honors twice in the International League and once in the Florida State League. Arica was also the Twins representative in the MLB Futures Game during the All-Star festivities in Kansas City. It seems like the accolades didn't end for him. During last offseason, the Twins had to add him to the 40-man roster so it will be interesting to see how quickly the Twins will move him to the big league level. The 21-year old outfielder stayed healthy for an entire season and he showed why he is one of the top prospects in the organization. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2341[/ATTACH]

It wasn't the best year for starting pitching in the Twins organization. Top pitching prospects like Alex Wimmers and Adrian Salcedo suffered through short seasons because of injuries. Kyle Gibson, the team's first round pick from 2010, spent most of the year recovering from Tommy John surgery and he will head to the Arizona Fall League to rack up some innings before the beginning of next season. The organization had to find other pitchers to fill roles with their clubs and this allowed for some surprise names to be included in the list for top starting pitchers in the Twins farm system. In yesterday's post, I honored Michael Tonkin with my pick for the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. There were some close battles between a few players for the top spot on the list so make sure to check it out and leave a comment on who would make your ballot. Seth Stohs over at Twins Daily has been naming that sites picks for each of the awards across the minor leagues so head over there to check out his selections. Of course there will be some similarities between our selections but it's always fun to see how other writers will rank players for the seasons they compiled with the Twins. So who came out on top when it came to the top season for a starting pitcher in the Twins system? In reverse order, here are my rankings for the 2012 Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: 5.) Jason Wheeler: Beloit Snappers Stat Summary: 14-6, 3.45 ERA, 156.2 IP, 115 SO, 43 BB, .218 Opp. Avg. It was Wheeler's first season as a professional and he spent the entire year with the Beloit Snappers. He started the year off pitching very well by going 3-0 in April with a 2.33 ERA for the month. At the beginning of May, he won pitcher of the week for the Midwest League and he was eventually named to the Leagues All-Star Game in June. Mr. Wheeler was roughed up a little by the end of June to the tune of a 6.28 ERA in his six starts that month and his three losses were the most out of any month for the lefty. His record was the same in both halves of the season but his ERA was lower in the second half of the year. The 22-year old held his own in Beloit and it will be interesting to see how he fares in Fort Myers next season. 4.) Esmerling Vasquez: Rochester Red Wings Stat Summary: 9-6, 2.78 ERA, 100.1 IP, 98 SO, 39 BB, .210 Opp. Avg. Fans who have kept their eye on the Twins during the last couple of weeks have gotten a taste of Vasquez on the mound. Before he was pitching in Minnesota, he had put together a pretty good season for the Rochester Red Wings. The first two months of the season for Vasquez were spent as a relief pitcher at the Triple-A level. It wasn't until the end of June that the organization moved him from the bullpen to the starting rotation. As a starter, he posted a 4-2 record with a 2.93 ERA in eight games with one complete game under his belt. To get to this point in his career, Vasquez has gone through quite the ride and the 28-year old pitcher looked like a lifer in the minor leagues before 2012. His numbers in 2012 showed the Twins that he deserved a shot but it's hard to know what his future will be with the franchise. 3.) David Hurlbut: Beloit Snappers Stat Summary: 6-6, 2.76 ERA, 111.0 IP, 85 SO, 25 BB, .249 Opp. Avg. Much like Vasquez, Hulbut started the season as a relief option before being asked to move to the rotation. It was only the first month of the season for Hulbut in the bullpen but his 1.35 ERA and 20 strikeouts in 20.0 IP made it an easy choice to move him to the rotation. In three out of the five months of the season, Hurlbut had an ERA of under 2.00 and four of his six wins came during those months. He didn't see a lot of innings against lefties but southpaws only managed a .200 batting average against him. It would be nice to see him do a better job of limiting damage when he lets runners get on base but that doesn't take away from his good season in 2012. Hulbut was the team's 28th round pick from the 2011 draft and his performance will keep the club's focus on him for the coming years. The Twins need starting pitching and Hulbut might be a late round find from the draft. 2.) Liam Hendriks: Rochester Red Wings Stat Summary: 9-3, 2.20 ERA, 106.1 IP, 82 SO, 28 BB, .201 Opp. Avg. Hendriks, last year's minor league pitcher of the year for the Twins, could have won the award again if he hadn't of spent as much time at the big league level. With how well Hendriks has performed at the Triple-A level, it's hard to believe he hasn't won a game during his time in the major leagues. The Australian native shot through the Twins system last season and made his debut with the club in September. Due to some other situations with the starting staff, Hendriks started the year in the rotation for the Twins. It wasn't a successful trip back to the big league level so he was sent back to Rochester and things started to improve. He won pitcher of the week for the International League at the beginning of June and this lead to another call-up from the Twins. One of the best months of the season for Hendriks was August where he posted a 2-1 record with a 1.61 ERA over four starts. There is a good chance for Hendriks to spend all of next season in the starting rotation for the Twins. 1.) BJ Hermsen: Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats Stat Summary: 12-6, 2.88 ERA, 162.2 IP, 87 SO, 30 BB, .258 Opp. Avg. Hermsen made it to the Fort Myers at the end of 2011 and that is where he started the 2012 campaign. He wouldn't stay long in the Florida State League as he made four starts and went 1-0 with a 0.78 ERA. Most of the damage done by Hermsen would take place in the Eastern League. He would finish second on the team in innings pitched and his best start of the year came in one of his last appearances of the year. On August 10, he took the mound against the Reading Phillies and he was very good over nine innings by striking out 10 and only allowing a single run. Over his last ten starts, he pitched at least five innings and allowed three earned runs or less in every outing. Hermsen was a sixth round pick of the Twins out of high school in 2008 and his performance this season might have put him in the long-term plans for the club. He will be 23-years old for all of next season and it might not be long before he is asked to debut for the Twins. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2330[/ATTACH]

Author's note: I originally posted this on my blog last September but it still rings true for today. ~~~~~~~~~~ [ATTACH=CONFIG]2324[/ATTACH] It is hard to believe that it has been a decade since the most tragic day in American history. The events of that day and the recovery following it have been well documented over the last ten years. The anniversary will always be a time of remembrance but it will also be a time to reflect on how far America has come since the events of September 11th. It seemed that all of America came to a standstill as the events unfolded in New York, Washington DC, and Pennsylvania. The professional sports world took a time-out as people realized that there were more important things in life than the sports that can consume people's lives. MLB stopped all of their games for over a week in the middle of the pennant races. At the time, it was the right thing to do as the nation tried to piece itself back together. The Twins were in Detroit on September 10th and they found themselves in second place and only six games out of first place. It would be the last year Tom Kelly would manage the team. It was also the first year the team would finish higher than fourth in the division since 1992. For eight days, the Twins waited to get on the field again and all of America waited for relief that might not appear. "The only two things that got my mind off of [9/11] were baseball and my son's football games"- New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani The nation needed to get back to some semblance of a normal life and for many that meant the return of America's Pastime. The Twins took the field on September 18th for the first time since the tragic events of September 11th. There was a pre-game ceremony in the Metrodome where two hot air balloons were inflated. One bore the image of the American Flag and the other was black and white to honor prisoners of war and others still missing in action. Donnele Burlingame, the cousin of the pilot of the hijacked plane that crashed into the Pentagon, held an eagle at home plate during the pre-game ceremony. Brad Radke was masterful for the Twins after the long layoff. In front of a small crowd of 10,878 fans, Radke took a no-hitter into the eighth inning and he had a perfect game through six innings. At the end of the night, he would finish with a 7.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER. The Twins offense pounded out 18 hits including three hits from Corey Koskie and Luis Rivas. The team also got home runs from Koskie and Christian Guzman and three RBI from Torii Hunter. The final score was 8-3 and many of the players expressed their emotions after returning to the field: "I don't know how I did it. I don't think anybody's mind was on baseball."- Brad Radke "I was hoping he'd get [the no hitter]. It would've meant a lot with all that's been going on."- A.J. Pierzynski Radke was not perfect during this game but in a way that was a fitting tribute to the heroes of September 11th. There was much that still needed to be accomplished at Ground Zero and a perfect game from Radke might have taken some of the light off of the things that were left to accomplish. The focus of the nation was on recovery from the events of that day and rebuilding the crumbling parts of our lives. Baseball offered fans a glimmer of hope at the end of a dark tunnel. After being the team to watch in the first half of the season, the Twins struggled through some rough patches in the second half to finish in second place in the AL Central. On this night, it was not about playoff races, multi-million dollar contracts, or winning and losing. Baseball's return brought hope back to nation struggling to find it's identity. It brought groups of people together to celebrate something that is truly American and it allowed players and fans to pay homage to those that gave the ultimate sacrifice.

At the end of last week, I took a look back at some of the projections I made in regards to the minor league system for the Twins. When it comes to making predictions, there are going to be some hits and some misses. I had a few of those along the way but it's time to look back at the season that was in the minor leagues for the Twins. There were some good performances at all of the different levels that deserve to be recognized for their achievements on the field. The Elizabethton Twins had a dramatic end to their year by winning the Appalachian League Championship while the Beloit Snappers got knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. A glance to the minor leagues can offer some hope for the future of the franchise when the major league squad is in the dumps. During the next couple days, I will pick out my winners for the top awards across the minor leagues for the Twins. Seth Stohs over at Twins Daily is going through the same exercise. There might be some similarities or there could be some differences but that is what makes this fun. It can all be left up to debate. In reverse order, here are my picks for the 2012 Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: 5.) Anthony Slama: Rochester Red Wings Stat Summary: 1-0, 1.24 ERA, 14 saves, 36.1 IP, 56 SO, 18 BB, .195 Opp. Avg. In recent weeks, Slama has been a topic of conversation when it came to September call-ups in the Twins organization. The team didn't promote Slama after another stellar year in the International League and it doesn't seem fair to a player that has spent a lot of time in the organization. He missed time in the middle of the season when he broke his leg on a line drive up the middle. His season was capped with his 100th save in the minor leagues and it's tough to know what the future will hold for Mr. Slama. He is 28-years old and he has spent the prime of his playing career in New York playing for the Red Wings when he would have rather been in Minnesota playing with the Twins. 4.) Caleb Thielbar: Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats, Rochester Red Wings Stat Summary: 6-2, 2.43 ERA, 1 save, 77.2 IP, 74 SO, 21 BB, .221 Opp. Avg. The Minnesota native had quite the season moving through three different levels of the Twins system. He finished all the way up with the Rochester Red Wings and he even made a start with them at the end of the year. Thielbar was originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers organization and he played his first two professional seasons in their farm system. He joined the Twins in 2011 and only made three appearances with the Miracle. The Twins sent him back there to start 2012 and he didn't stay there long before making the trek to New Britain. As a 27-year old, he could be in the mix for a job with Rochester next year and even a chance to make it with the MLB club. He is a lefty with a pulse and that always gives him a chance. 3.) Bruce Pugh: Fort Myers Miracle, New Britain Rock Cats Stat Summary: 5-5, 1.94 ERA, 69.2 IP, 72 SO, 31 BB, .218 Opp. Avg. For the third year in a row, Pugh spent time in both Fort Myers and New Britain during the season. He was used primarily as a starter back in 2010 so last year was his first season as a full-time member of the relief core. There were some bumps and bruises during that transition as Pugh's ERA bubbled to 5.91 and he coughed up 10 long balls during his 64 innings on the mound. This season has been far better for Mr. Pugh as he only surrendered four home runs on the year and he continued to show the ability to strikeout batters. During his time with New Britain, he was very good against right-handed batters by striking out 36 in 28 innings pitched. Starting didn't work out for the 2008 draft pick but it looks like he found a place in the bullpen. 2.) AJ Achter: Beloit Snappers, Fort Myers Miracle Stat Summary: 5-2. 1.70 ERA, 74.1 IP, 86 SO, 15 BB, 1.99 Opp. Avg. The second half of the season was magical for Achter with the Fort Myers Miracle and that's not taking anything away from his first half of the year. He looked to be getting off to a good start with the Snappers by posting a 2.48 ERA and holding opponents to a .226 batting average in 40 innings. After he was promoted to Fort Myers, he was lights-out for the rest of the season. His ERA was a miniscule 0.79 as he only gave up three runs in over 34 innings on the mound. He struck out 37 batters compared to only three walks and opponents hit .168 versus him during his time with the Miracle. As a 46th round pick, the Twins seem to have found a player of value in the late rounds and he could make an impact on the team in the future. He turned 24-years old at the end of August so it will be interesting to watch him move up the ladder in the next couple seasons. 1.) Michael Tonkin: Beloit Snappers, Fort Myers Miracle Stat Summary: 1-1, 2.08 ERA, 69.1 IP, 97 SO, 20 BB, .209 Opp. Avg. The brother-in-law of former Twins outfielder Jason Kubel had quite the season with the Snappers and the Miracle. It was the first season that Tonkin was not asked to start any games for the farm system and he responded in a big way. His velocity has ramped up and his strikeouts numbers have gone up with the increase in his velocity. Even-though he joined the Twins out of the 2008 draft, he is still only 22-years old and the future looks bright for this young man. The Twins are sending him to the Arizona Fall League to see what he can do against some of the top hitting prospects in the game so it will be interesting to see how he will hold up. Traditionally, the AFL has been considered a tough environment for pitchers but Tonkin could have the stuff to be successful against some of the top up-and-coming hitters in baseball. It was a great season for him and Twins fans can keep a look on the horizon for Mr. Tonkin to appear at Target Field in the future. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2322[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2312[/ATTACH] The Twins are getting a long look at plenty of different players as the 2012 season is coming to a close. There are a ton of questions about the future of the Twins organization and it is tough to know if all of them can be answered before the end of the year. Can Chris Parmelee earn a starting job at some position? Who will compose the outfield next year? Will any veterans be traded to try and add some pitching to the Twins system? Which players should compose the 2013 starting rotation for the Twins? Cole De Vries is one player that is getting an extended look as the season is wrapping up. The 27-year old right-hander has spent the last six seasons in the minor league system for the Twins after not even being drafted by any club. There have been plenty of ups-and-downs for him on the way to his MLB debut with the Twins but he shown some promising signs in recent weeks. So far this year, De Vries has a 5-5 record with a 4.11 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP in 87.2 innings on the mound. This includes a stretch of baseball during his last four starts where he has gone 3-1 with a 1.54 ERA while averaging almost six innings in each start. The biggest key for De Vries recent success has been his ability to keep the ball in the ballpark. Before his recent hot streak, he had given up 16 home runs in 13 games for the Twins with 12 of those being starts. Opponents were hitting .264 off of him and there were three games that he gave up two or more home runs. Since getting manhandled by the offenses of Detroit and Tampa Bay in the middle of August, it has looked like a different De Vries on the mound. The batting average of opponents has dropped to .227 and he has over three times as many strikeouts as walks without a single home run allowed in that time. It was a long hard road to get to this point for De Vries. He signed with the team as an amateur free agent and he was sent straight to Beloit for his first season of professional baseball. For the Twins, it was most likely a move to fill out rosters in the minor leagues with little thought of him making an impact on the big league club. The Minnesota native stayed the course and worked his way through every level of the minor leagues. In 2010 and 2011, the Twins tried to use De Vries as a relief pitcher with him even picking up a few saves in New Britain. But the Twins have run into plenty of headaches with the pitchers at the upper levels of the system, this meant De Vries needed to shift back to a starting job. Besides one brief relief appearance with the Twins, De Vries has been used exclusively as a starter in 2012. He went 3-5 with Rochester and posted a 4.37 ERA over 12 starts. His ability to throw pitches in the strike zone was most likely one of the reasons the club gave him a chance at the big league level. In 70 innings at the Triple-A level, he only walked 10 batters while striking out 50 men along the way. His ability to stay in the strike zone isn't always a good thing since his pitching repertoire doesn't allow him to overpower batters. Opposing hitters averaged 9.6 hits per nine innings against him in the minors this year and that is close to his career average of 9.9 hits per nine innings. So what does the crystal ball hold for Mr. De Vries? In a perfect world, the Twins would love to have a plethora of starting pitchers waiting in the wings to take over the rotation for 2013. Unfortunately, the last two seasons have been as far away from perfect as possible for the Twins. There will be plenty of open spots in the rotation at the onset of spring training and there is a good chance that it will be an open competition for more than one of the spots. De Vries would need to continue his current hot streak and combine that with an impressive spring to show the front office that he deserves a spot. But behind Scott Diamond, there might not be any locks for a spot in the 2013 rotation. This leaves four other spots and not a whole lot of options for the Twins to pick from before the start of next year. If De Vries is in the rotation to start 2013, it might not be a good sign for the 2013 version of the Minnesota Twins. He could be holding a place for a player like Kyle Gibson to get some innings under his belt in the minor leagues but a full season of De Vries might be bad news for the Twins. His Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde tendencies for giving up home runs are tough to handle and it's hard to imagine a situation where he will turn back into the pitcher that gave up so many home runs earlier this year. His track record as a professional has been full of plenty of holes and the Twins don't need those holes clogging up their rotation. Unless there aren't any better options to turn to...

Anytime the Twins end a week with a .500 record, it is a step in the right direction. A sweep of a day-night double header in Kansas City last Saturday helped to get the team off to the right track for the week. The big offensive showing on Tuesday night against the White Sox was also fun to see even though the Twins ended up losing the series. It might be sad to be happy about a .500 record for a week but when your team is 18.5 games out of first place you look for any positive signs that you can find. One of the biggest positive signs for the Twins has been Chris Parmelee and his performance so far in September. The first baseman turned outfielder has been on a tear since the team recalled him at the end of last month. In the last seven days, he is hitting .407/.448/.815 with three home runs and two doubles to go along with eight RBI. The front office for the Twins is giving plenty of players a chance to prove their worth and Parmelee seems to be making the most of his chance for the second September in a row. The Twins will return home tonight for a 10-game homestand against the Indians, the Royals, and the White Sox. It will be the last time the team faces the White Sox and the Royals in 2012. But before the weekend action kicks off, make sure to peruse this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Tom Kelly's number will be retired this weekend and the former manager is humbled by the whole situation. After a breakout season for two players at Double-A, it's tough to pick out the MVP for the Rock Cats. Both of those hot hitting Rock Cats might have been snubbed from a September call-up. Make sure to take a glance at this great write up about the season in New Britain. It looks like the honeymoon might be ending for Target Field. There were some very good performances in the minor leagues for the Twins in the last month of the season. Check out the hitter of the month, the starting pitcher of the month, and the relief pitcher of the month. Joe Mauer's offense seems to be back to normal but his defensive skills seem to be going the wrong direction. It's never too early to start looking at the 2013 MLB Draft and some of the players that might be available for the Twins. Jamey Carroll ended the longest HR drought in baseball with his long ball earlier this week. The Twins made their September call-ups in the last week and they were kind of a downer. If you missed the end of the Appy League Championship, it was a series for the ages as all three games went to extra-innings and the E-Twins came out on top. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2291[/ATTACH] Former Twins pitcher and Cy Young candidate R.A. Dickey signed a deal to write children's books. Nick Punto brought his jersey shredding skills with him to Los Angeles. The title of most exciting player in baseball has changed a lot since the late 70s. Ozzie Guillen is back on Twitter and he is always entertaining. Insurance might have played a part in the decision to shutdown Stephen Strasburg. Attendance was low on Tuesday, the day after Labor Day, and Chipper Jones wasn't happy about it. Here is an epic tale of Johnny Damon trying to throw a ball to home plate. The rules for expanding rosters in September might be changing for 2013. Phil Humber threw a perfect game earlier this year and this week he got destroyed in an outing by the Twins. Lots of weird things can happen in a meaningless minor league game at the end of the year including a 350-pound relief pitcher stealing third. It sounds like Adam Greenberg's comeback isn't going to happen with the Cubs. Royals stud prospect Wil Myers was named Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. My Weekly Rundown Monday: LABOR DAY Tuesday: What will another good September mean for Chris Parmelee? Wednesday: The Curious Case of Anthony Slama Thursday: Revisiting my preseason projections for the minors Video of the Week: Former Twins outfielder Jason Repko made one of those catches that will be shown in highlight reels for years to come. Granted it came in a minor league game for the Red Sox but he still went up and over a wall to make a catch. Make sure to check it out if you haven't seen this amazing play.