Cody Christie

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. It is great to start the week off on a Tuesday and it will only make the rest of the week go that much faster. Since I work in the local school system, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the school year. As has become a weekly happening around here, I will post a few tidbits in the morning to hold readers over until I write the minor league wrap-up for Twins Daily later tonight. It's a fun way to get a bunch of stories out there for readers to enjoy as they kick off their work week. Draft day is quickly approaching By this time next week, the Twins hope to have made a difference making pick for the future of the franchise. The organization will have the second overall pick in the first round of next Monday's MLB Draft. There are no stand-out prospects like Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper at the top of this draft so it might be a tough selection for the Twins after Houston makes the first pick. The first four picks in last year's draft were all top notch pitching prospects that have been making noise in the minor leagues to start the year. This year's draft is not projecting to be that heavy with pitchers at the top because there are a couple of very good position players available for selection. The decision will be tough for the Twins on whether to take a pitcher or look at a position player. With an injury earlier this year to high school pitcher Lucas Giolito, the top pitcher to be taken in the draft will most likely be Mark Appel from Stanford University. It will be interesting to see who is willing to take a flyer on Giolito in the first round or if team's will be convinced that he is going to college to revamp his draft stock. Kevin Gausman from LSU could also be the Twins choice at number two but it sounds like Appel is the top pitcher on their board. In the last couple of weeks, the team held a workout for Carlos Correa, a high school senior shortstop in Puerto Rico. Correa isn't the highest ranked position player so there are others that could be taken before he is off the board. High school outfielder Byron Buxton is number one prospect on many draft prospect boards and it would be intriguing if he is still available when it is the Twins turn to pick. Sano ends home run drought It has been a rough couple weeks for Twins top prospect Miguel Sano after he started the 2012 season at a feverish pace. In the first month of the year, Sano had six bombs while hitting .276/.422/.586 in 25 games. The month of May has not been as kind to Sano as he is batting .219/.287/.458 but his strike out totals have dropped in the same amount of games. It looked liked Monday was going to be more of the same for Sano as he started the day 0-for-6 at the plate. The rest of his team was in the middle of a hit parade so it seemed like it should only be a matter of time before Sano joined in on the action. In the 12th inning after the Snappers had already took over the lead, Sano hit a 3-run shot to solidify the win for Beloit. Sano was failing to manage a single hit for much of last week so it will be interesting to see how he looks after finally hitting another home run. He now has a four-game hitting streak with a couple of extra-base hits. There was talk of moving Sano to Fort Myers but his recent struggles could push back his advancement to the next level. Valencia needs more consistency at Triple-A When the Twins sent Danny Valencia back to Rochester, there were plenty of things for him to work on. He was struggling at the plate against major league caliber pitching and his defense had been shaky at the hot corner. There need to be more consistency from the 27-year old third baseman and that consistency has yet to show up for Rochester. In his 15 games since being demoted, Valencia is hitting .267/.279/.417 with two home runs and three doubles. After getting over 1,000 plate appearances in the big leagues, it should have been easier for Valencia to succeed at the Triple-A level. Valencia has always seemed to be a very confident player and it appears that he needs to gain some of that confidence back before he can get another shot with the Twins. A recent hot streak has helped to boost his numbers as he has hit .325/.341/.525 in his last 10 games. Terry Ryan is still concerned that Valencia is swinging at pitches that are out of the strike zone. Ryan said, "A guy like Valencia needs to be looking for a strike, jump on it and drive it into the gap." Until the Twins are confident in his ability to recognize pitches, there is a good chance he will stay down. It is still kind of discouraging to think he needs this time in the minors when he is 27-years old and he has plenty of time in at the major leagues.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I hope everyone had a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend. It is great to start the week off on a Tuesday and it will only make the rest of the week go that much faster. Since I work in the local school system, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel that is the school year. As has become a weekly happening around here, I will post a few tidbits in the morning to hold readers over until I write the minor league wrap-up for Twins Daily later tonight. It's a fun way to get a bunch of stories out there for readers to enjoy as they kick off their work week. Draft day is quickly approaching By this time next week, the Twins hope to have made a difference making pick for the future of the franchise. The organization will have the second overall pick in the first round of next Monday's MLB Draft. There are no stand-out prospects like Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper at the top of this draft so it might be a tough selection for the Twins after Houston makes the first pick. The first four picks in last year's draft were all top notch pitching prospects that have been making noise in the minor leagues to start the year. This year's draft is not projecting to be that heavy with pitchers at the top because there are a couple of very good position players available for selection. The decision will be tough for the Twins on whether to take a pitcher or look at a position player. With an injury earlier this year to high school pitcher Lucas Giolito, the top pitcher to be taken in the draft will most likely be Mark Appel from Stanford University. It will be interesting to see who is willing to take a flyer on Giolito in the first round or if team's will be convinced that he is going to college to revamp his draft stock. Kevin Gausman from LSU could also be the Twins choice at number two but it sounds like Appel is the top pitcher on their board. In the last couple of weeks, the team held a workout for Carlos Correa, a high school senior shortstop in Puerto Rico. Correa isn't the highest ranked position player so there are others that could be taken before he is off the board. High school outfielder Byron Buxton is number one prospect on many draft prospect boards and it would be intriguing if he is still available when it is the Twins turn to pick. Sano ends home run drought It has been a rough couple weeks for Twins top prospect Miguel Sano after he started the 2012 season at a feverish pace. In the first month of the year, Sano had six bombs while hitting .276/.422/.586 in 25 games. The month of May has not been as kind to Sano as he is batting .219/.287/.458 but his strike out totals have dropped in the same amount of games. It looked liked Monday was going to be more of the same for Sano as he started the day 0-for-6 at the plate. The rest of his team was in the middle of a hit parade so it seemed like it should only be a matter of time before Sano joined in on the action. In the 12th inning after the Snappers had already took over the lead, Sano hit a 3-run shot to solidify the win for Beloit. Sano was failing to manage a single hit for much of last week so it will be interesting to see how he looks after finally hitting another home run. He now has a four-game hitting streak with a couple of extra-base hits. There was talk of moving Sano to Fort Myers but his recent struggles could push back his advancement to the next level. Valencia needs more consistency at Triple-A When the Twins sent Danny Valencia back to Rochester, there were plenty of things for him to work on. He was struggling at the plate against major league caliber pitching and his defense had been shaky at the hot corner. There need to be more consistency from the 27-year old third baseman and that consistency has yet to show up for Rochester. In his 15 games since being demoted, Valencia is hitting .267/.279/.417 with two home runs and three doubles. After getting over 1,000 plate appearances in the big leagues, it should have been easier for Valencia to succeed at the Triple-A level. Valencia has always seemed to be a very confident player and it appears that he needs to gain some of that confidence back before he can get another shot with the Twins. A recent hot streak has helped to boost his numbers as he has hit .325/.341/.525 in his last 10 games. Terry Ryan is still concerned that Valencia is swinging at pitches that are out of the strike zone. Ryan said, "A guy like Valencia needs to be looking for a strike, jump on it and drive it into the gap." Until the Twins are confident in his ability to recognize pitches, there is a good chance he will stay down. It is still kind of discouraging to think he needs this time in the minors when he is 27-years old and he has plenty of time in at the major leagues.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Twins have been playing a little bit better baseball and the team has been able to put together a few wins since the last time we were together for "Friday Links-N-Thinks." The rotation has been overhauled with a youth movement coming into the fold. The likes of Scott Diamond, PJ Walters, and Cole DeVries have been added to the roster to throw the ball over the plate. After the first game of the White Sox series, things looked to be going in the right direction for the Twins. A lot of fielding errors in the last two game put the team in a hole they would never be able to climb out of and the Sox won the final two games and the series. It was nice to see Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau hit a home run in the same game and hopefully the offense will follow the Twins back to Target Field. It's a long weekend so enjoy your time at the lake, at the ballpark, or where ever you will be spending the next few days. Before you leave, make sure to check out the links I have provided below. On last night's Twins Minor League Weekly podcast, there was a great list of guests with Kyle Gibson, David Bromberg, and Drew Leachman giving thoughts on the season. Right field has been a mess for the Twins and it is hard to figure out what the team will do to clean up this hole. With the MLB draft a couple of weeks away, Seth Stohs has been revamping his top prospect list for the Twins system. (Prospects 41-50, Prospects 31-40, Prospects 21-30) It seems that teams have been throwing Morneau a few more curves balls this season as compared to other years. One of the top prospects for next month's draft recently worked out for the Twins in Fort Myers. Bryce Harper has been very good in his debut season but Brian Dozier has also looked good for the Twins. Jamey Carroll and the Brewers had an interesting incident in on Sunday afternoon and the reasons for throwing purpose pitches has changed over time. Justin Morneau might have been awakened last night. Major League Baseball was awarded the "Sports League of the Year" this week and the MLB Fan Cave also took home some hardware. Seedlings to Stars has an interesting look into the minor leagues with their first edition of "fish" prospects from the AL Central. Former Twins player Torii Hunter has been dealing with some tough family issues but it looks like he could return to the Angels next week. PJ Walters pitched the first complete game of the year for the Twins and the first one of his career. This picture from after the game was one of my favorites from the week. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hyFdlnCX2bw/T77WrD1L32I/AAAAAAAABTg/nUnY4kQwBbU/s320/walters-anderson.jpg The Twins will be supporting the troops by wearing this hat on Monday for Memorial Day. The earliest known baseball jersey from Babe Ruth's time with the Yankees sold for $4.4 million at auction. It is now the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever purchased. Former MLB player Dmitri Young made $2.5 million by selling his rare collection of baseball cards. Even with mid-season prospect rankings being released, it is fun to see this consensus list of the top 71 prospects for the Twins. I was even included in the results. The Baseball Outsider recently made a trip to Beloit and he posted some of his photos from his adventure. Is this a substitute pitcher or a Twins starting pitcher? There are some great power hitters making their way to the major leagues and Miguel Sano is at the top of this list. Michael Cuddyer is trying to build chemistry on a bad team for the second year in a row. Chuck Knoblauch is still being a bone head... My Weekly Rundown Monday: Twins should go all in on Greinke Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Benson and Tosoni moving in the wrong direction Video of the Week: One player the Twins could be targeting in the draft next month is from Rochester. KSTP did a story on the young man as he looks forward to what could be one of the most important days of his life.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Twins have been playing a little bit better baseball and the team has been able to put together a few wins since the last time we were together for "Friday Links-N-Thinks." The rotation has been overhauled with a youth movement coming into the fold. The likes of Scott Diamond, PJ Walters, and Cole DeVries have been added to the roster to throw the ball over the plate. After the first game of the White Sox series, things looked to be going in the right direction for the Twins. A lot of fielding errors in the last two game put the team in a hole they would never be able to climb out of and the Sox won the final two games and the series. It was nice to see Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau hit a home run in the same game and hopefully the offense will follow the Twins back to Target Field. It's a long weekend so enjoy your time at the lake, at the ballpark, or where ever you will be spending the next few days. Before you leave, make sure to check out the links I have provided below. On last night's Twins Minor League Weekly podcast, there was a great list of guests with Kyle Gibson, David Bromberg, and Drew Leachman giving thoughts on the season. Right field has been a mess for the Twins and it is hard to figure out what the team will do to clean up this hole. With the MLB draft a couple of weeks away, Seth Stohs has been revamping his top prospect list for the Twins system. (Prospects 41-50, Prospects 31-40, Prospects 21-30) It seems that teams have been throwing Morneau a few more curves balls this season as compared to other years. One of the top prospects for next month's draft recently worked out for the Twins in Fort Myers. Bryce Harper has been very good in his debut season but Brian Dozier has also looked good for the Twins. Jamey Carroll and the Brewers had an interesting incident in on Sunday afternoon and the reasons for throwing purpose pitches has changed over time. Justin Morneau might have been awakened last night. Major League Baseball was awarded the "Sports League of the Year" this week and the MLB Fan Cave also took home some hardware. Seedlings to Stars has an interesting look into the minor leagues with their first edition of "fish" prospects from the AL Central. Former Twins player Torii Hunter has been dealing with some tough family issues but it looks like he could return to the Angels next week. PJ Walters pitched the first complete game of the year for the Twins and the first one of his career. This picture from after the game was one of my favorites from the week. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hyFdlnCX2bw/T77WrD1L32I/AAAAAAAABTg/nUnY4kQwBbU/s320/walters-anderson.jpg The Twins will be supporting the troops by wearing this hat on Monday for Memorial Day. The earliest known baseball jersey from Babe Ruth's time with the Yankees sold for $4.4 million at auction. It is now the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever purchased. Former MLB player Dmitri Young made $2.5 million by selling his rare collection of baseball cards. Even with mid-season prospect rankings being released, it is fun to see this consensus list of the top 71 prospects for the Twins. I was even included in the results. The Baseball Outsider recently made a trip to Beloit and he posted some of his photos from his adventure. Is this a substitute pitcher or a Twins starting pitcher? There are some great power hitters making their way to the major leagues and Miguel Sano is at the top of this list. Michael Cuddyer is trying to build chemistry on a bad team for the second year in a row. Chuck Knoblauch is still being a bone head... My Weekly Rundown Monday: Twins should go all in on Greinke Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Benson and Tosoni moving in the wrong direction Video of the Week: One player the Twins could be targeting in the draft next month is from Rochester. KSTP did a story on the young man as he looks forward to what could be one of the most important days of his life.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6AG_1T_Rk34/T72NXHyhezI/AAAAAAAABTU/LlIkd5-7lzE/s320/JoeBenson.jpg In the last couple of weeks, the Twins have seen a concerning development with two players in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni were demoted to New Britain after starting the year with the Rochester Red Wings. The most concerning thing for both of these players might be the fact that both of them got playing time in the major leagues during last year's dismal season. Each of these players is on a different path but the front office for the Twins has to be frustrated with their performance so far this year. When the Twins drafted Benson in the second round of the 2006 draft, the team liked his athletic ability and the up side he could offer as a strong defensive player to go along with his offensive skill set. Since that time, Benson has gradually moved through the Twins minor league system and he saw himself be rated as one of the top prospects for the club. In my offseason rankings, I had Benson as the number two rated prospect for the Twins with him finishing behind Miguel Sano. The 2010 season was a break out year for Mr. Benson as he was awarded with the Twins Minor League Player of the Year. He started the year in Fort Myers and dominated pitching in the Florida State League for 21 games. Before being promoted to New Britain, he hit .294/.375/.588 with 11 doubles and four home runs. The power followed him to New Britain even though his batting average dropped a little bit. He ended the year with a very good final stat line of .259/.343/.538 with 27 home runs, 31 doubles, and 8 triples. Benson continued to play well last season and the argument could have been made for him to win the minor league player of the year for the second consecutive year. He would make his MLB debut as a September call-up but his first taste of the big leagues came with very little success. He would start the 2012 season in Rochester and it seemed like he should be knocking on the door to the big leagues. This dream was far from the reality. During his time with the Red Wings, Benson struggled at the plate to the tune of hitting .179/.269/.316 with seven extra-base hits in 28 games. The Twins felt a change of pace was in order and he was sent to New Britain to try and find his swing. Since he arrived in New Britain, his swing has continued to falter and he is batting .156/.250/.500 in eight games. As one of the top prospects for the organization, it is tough to watch him struggle in his seventh season as a member of the Twins farm system. Rene Tosoni has never been considered a top prospect for the Twins but he has shown some versatility since being a 36th round pick back in 2005. In 2009 and 2010, Tosoni had a batting average around .270 and he was able to show a little bit of power. Last season he spent time going up and down between Rochester and Minnesota but he was never able to find success for the Red Wings. He started the 2012 campaign back in Rochester and much like Benson, he struggled with trying to find his swing with the Red Wings. He missed some time in April with a lacerated left ring finger but this was still no excuse for his slow start. He went 5-for-5 on Monday and this still only raised his batting line to .167/.267/.197 in 21 games. He is on the way back to New Britain after not playing there since the 2010 campaign. There has been a lot of talk around Triple-A hitting coach Tom Brunsansky for his ability to work with young hitters on their approach at the plate. His message must not have been getting through to Benson and Tosoni and now they will be in the hands of Rudy Hernandez, the hitting coach for New Britain. It will be interesting to see how they handle the transition back to the Eastern League. With the Twins lacking a ton of prospects in the upper minor leagues, it is discouraging to see to players will major league service time being sent in the opposite direction. The Twins have seen plenty of players make the trip from Rochester this year but it looks like Benson and Tosoni won't be included in that group anytime soon. It will be important to see how they adjust to their demotion and hopefully they will both be able to regain their form in the coming months.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6AG_1T_Rk34/T72NXHyhezI/AAAAAAAABTU/LlIkd5-7lzE/s320/JoeBenson.jpg In the last couple of weeks, the Twins have seen a concerning development with two players in the upper levels of the minor leagues. Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni were demoted to New Britain after starting the year with the Rochester Red Wings. The most concerning thing for both of these players might be the fact that both of them got playing time in the major leagues during last year's dismal season. Each of these players is on a different path but the front office for the Twins has to be frustrated with their performance so far this year. When the Twins drafted Benson in the second round of the 2006 draft, the team liked his athletic ability and the up side he could offer as a strong defensive player to go along with his offensive skill set. Since that time, Benson has gradually moved through the Twins minor league system and he saw himself be rated as one of the top prospects for the club. In my offseason rankings, I had Benson as the number two rated prospect for the Twins with him finishing behind Miguel Sano. The 2010 season was a break out year for Mr. Benson as he was awarded with the Twins Minor League Player of the Year. He started the year in Fort Myers and dominated pitching in the Florida State League for 21 games. Before being promoted to New Britain, he hit .294/.375/.588 with 11 doubles and four home runs. The power followed him to New Britain even though his batting average dropped a little bit. He ended the year with a very good final stat line of .259/.343/.538 with 27 home runs, 31 doubles, and 8 triples. Benson continued to play well last season and the argument could have been made for him to win the minor league player of the year for the second consecutive year. He would make his MLB debut as a September call-up but his first taste of the big leagues came with very little success. He would start the 2012 season in Rochester and it seemed like he should be knocking on the door to the big leagues. This dream was far from the reality. During his time with the Red Wings, Benson struggled at the plate to the tune of hitting .179/.269/.316 with seven extra-base hits in 28 games. The Twins felt a change of pace was in order and he was sent to New Britain to try and find his swing. Since he arrived in New Britain, his swing has continued to falter and he is batting .156/.250/.500 in eight games. As one of the top prospects for the organization, it is tough to watch him struggle in his seventh season as a member of the Twins farm system. Rene Tosoni has never been considered a top prospect for the Twins but he has shown some versatility since being a 36th round pick back in 2005. In 2009 and 2010, Tosoni had a batting average around .270 and he was able to show a little bit of power. Last season he spent time going up and down between Rochester and Minnesota but he was never able to find success for the Red Wings. He started the 2012 campaign back in Rochester and much like Benson, he struggled with trying to find his swing with the Red Wings. He missed some time in April with a lacerated left ring finger but this was still no excuse for his slow start. He went 5-for-5 on Monday and this still only raised his batting line to .167/.267/.197 in 21 games. He is on the way back to New Britain after not playing there since the 2010 campaign. There has been a lot of talk around Triple-A hitting coach Tom Brunsansky for his ability to work with young hitters on their approach at the plate. His message must not have been getting through to Benson and Tosoni and now they will be in the hands of Rudy Hernandez, the hitting coach for New Britain. It will be interesting to see how they handle the transition back to the Eastern League. With the Twins lacking a ton of prospects in the upper minor leagues, it is discouraging to see to players will major league service time being sent in the opposite direction. The Twins have seen plenty of players make the trip from Rochester this year but it looks like Benson and Tosoni won't be included in that group anytime soon. It will be important to see how they adjust to their demotion and hopefully they will both be able to regain their form in the coming months.

As I put this post together, the Twins are up big on the Chicago White Sox in the eighth inning. Gavin Floyd struggled for the White Sox and the Twins pounced on him for nine runs in the first four innings. Only Ben Revere and Brian Dozier have yet to get involved in the hit parade so it will be interesting to see if they can join the club in the final innings. PJ Walters is in the middle of his third start since being called up by the Twins. There were some bad starts to innings with Walters letting lead off men reach base but he seemed to be able to coax a double play to erase any of those runners. With the announcement that Cole DeVries will be making his MLB debut on Thursday, the Twins will start three pitchers in the White Sox series that were in the rotation at Rochester earlier in the year. There are a lot of players from the minor leagues who have been called on during the early portion of the season so let's see who else is making their mark in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 1, GWINNETT 3 A couple of runs in the first inning were enough to put the Braves Triple-A affiliate on top for this game with the Red Wings. The Braves put together 12 hits in the contest but left nine men on base during the course of the game. On the other hand, the Red Wings put together five hits and one of those hits was for extra bases. Chris Parmelee hit his first career home run at Triple-A and his first home run of the year in the second inning. Pedro Florimon had two hits for the second consecutive game. The rest of the Red Wings offense struggled at the plate as the team tried to figure out opposing pitcher Julio Teheran, one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. All of the runs for the Braves came during Daryl Thompson's time on the mound. In his 3.1 innings of work, Thompson allowed eight hits and three earned runs with a single strike out. Deolis Guerra, Lester Oliveros, and Casey Fien covered the rest of the game for the Red Wings and they didn't allow another run to score. Oliveros was making his third appearance since being called up from New Britain and he pitched two innings while racking up four strikeouts. NEW BRITAIN 3, BINGHAMTON 0 There were a lot of zeros on the board for both teams on Tuesday night but the Rock Cats were finally able to break through in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the first lead of the game. They chased the starter from the mound and were able to add to their lead with three runs on the board. In one of his best starts of the season, Logan Darnell scattered seven hits over the course of seven innings but he was able to escape trouble. He didn't allow a run to cross the plate and he struck out four while not giving up a walk. After allowing nine combined earned runs in his last two starts, it was nice to see Darnell bounce back with a positive outing that put his team in position to win. Chris Herrmann provided the majority of the offense for the Rock Cats in this game. He put together a 4-for-4 night and he drove in two of New Britain's three runs. Estarlin De Los Santos and James Beresford each had two hits and Evan Bigley started the scoring by hitting his second home run of the year in the seventh inning. FORT MYERS 2, CLEARWATER 1 It was a big day for catchers in the Twins system as Dan Rohlfing joined Herrmann as the offensive hero for his team. The Miracle struggled to score runs for most of this game but Rohlfing was about to put together a 3-for-4 night while driving in both runs for the Miracle. With two doubles in this game, he has five doubles in his last six games. Marty Popham pitched a good game for Fort Myers but he was unable to factor into the final decision. In his six innings on the mound, he saw one run cross the plate and he struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes picked up his first win of the year by tossing two scoreless innings to back-up the strong start from Popham. Daniel Santana and Oswaldo Arcia added two hits apiece to help pace the offense for the Miracle. Last year's first round pick Levi Michael had his first hit in his last four games. Ricky Bowen picked up his fourth save of the year by striking out the side in the ninth inning. BELOIT (Off Day) The Snappers enjoyed an off day on Tuesday before starting a home series against Cedar Rapids. Miguel Sano has only one home run in his last ten games and he is batting .094/.216/.188 during that stretch. It would be nice to see him go on another run as the weather starts to warm up in the Midwest. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Chris Herrmann http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kVanNywXpws/T7w5_bSFthI/AAAAAAAABTA/jYQA2DXZ-Ek/s320/ChrisHerrmann.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Logan Darnell http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zgffM-pKJIg/T7w7E6c4TMI/AAAAAAAABTI/K1z2Lv6c3-o/s1600/LoganDarnell.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, May 23th Schedule Rochester (Off Day) New Britain vs. Binghamton- RHP David Bromberg Fort Myers vs. Clearwater- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Cedar Rapids- RHP Matt Summers --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

As I put this post together, the Twins are up big on the Chicago White Sox in the eighth inning. Gavin Floyd struggled for the White Sox and the Twins pounced on him for nine runs in the first four innings. Only Ben Revere and Brian Dozier have yet to get involved in the hit parade so it will be interesting to see if they can join the club in the final innings. PJ Walters is in the middle of his third start since being called up by the Twins. There were some bad starts to innings with Walters letting lead off men reach base but he seemed to be able to coax a double play to erase any of those runners. With the announcement that Cole DeVries will be making his MLB debut on Thursday, the Twins will start three pitchers in the White Sox series that were in the rotation at Rochester earlier in the year. There are a lot of players from the minor leagues who have been called on during the early portion of the season so let's see who else is making their mark in the minor leagues. ROCHESTER 1, GWINNETT 3 A couple of runs in the first inning were enough to put the Braves Triple-A affiliate on top for this game with the Red Wings. The Braves put together 12 hits in the contest but left nine men on base during the course of the game. On the other hand, the Red Wings put together five hits and one of those hits was for extra bases. Chris Parmelee hit his first career home run at Triple-A and his first home run of the year in the second inning. Pedro Florimon had two hits for the second consecutive game. The rest of the Red Wings offense struggled at the plate as the team tried to figure out opposing pitcher Julio Teheran, one of the top pitching prospects in all of baseball. All of the runs for the Braves came during Daryl Thompson's time on the mound. In his 3.1 innings of work, Thompson allowed eight hits and three earned runs with a single strike out. Deolis Guerra, Lester Oliveros, and Casey Fien covered the rest of the game for the Red Wings and they didn't allow another run to score. Oliveros was making his third appearance since being called up from New Britain and he pitched two innings while racking up four strikeouts. NEW BRITAIN 3, BINGHAMTON 0 There were a lot of zeros on the board for both teams on Tuesday night but the Rock Cats were finally able to break through in the bottom of the seventh inning to take the first lead of the game. They chased the starter from the mound and were able to add to their lead with three runs on the board. In one of his best starts of the season, Logan Darnell scattered seven hits over the course of seven innings but he was able to escape trouble. He didn't allow a run to cross the plate and he struck out four while not giving up a walk. After allowing nine combined earned runs in his last two starts, it was nice to see Darnell bounce back with a positive outing that put his team in position to win. Chris Herrmann provided the majority of the offense for the Rock Cats in this game. He put together a 4-for-4 night and he drove in two of New Britain's three runs. Estarlin De Los Santos and James Beresford each had two hits and Evan Bigley started the scoring by hitting his second home run of the year in the seventh inning. FORT MYERS 2, CLEARWATER 1 It was a big day for catchers in the Twins system as Dan Rohlfing joined Herrmann as the offensive hero for his team. The Miracle struggled to score runs for most of this game but Rohlfing was about to put together a 3-for-4 night while driving in both runs for the Miracle. With two doubles in this game, he has five doubles in his last six games. Marty Popham pitched a good game for Fort Myers but he was unable to factor into the final decision. In his six innings on the mound, he saw one run cross the plate and he struck out two. Nelvin Fuentes picked up his first win of the year by tossing two scoreless innings to back-up the strong start from Popham. Daniel Santana and Oswaldo Arcia added two hits apiece to help pace the offense for the Miracle. Last year's first round pick Levi Michael had his first hit in his last four games. Ricky Bowen picked up his fourth save of the year by striking out the side in the ninth inning. BELOIT (Off Day) The Snappers enjoyed an off day on Tuesday before starting a home series against Cedar Rapids. Miguel Sano has only one home run in his last ten games and he is batting .094/.216/.188 during that stretch. It would be nice to see him go on another run as the weather starts to warm up in the Midwest. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Chris Herrmann http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kVanNywXpws/T7w5_bSFthI/AAAAAAAABTA/jYQA2DXZ-Ek/s320/ChrisHerrmann.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Logan Darnell http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zgffM-pKJIg/T7w7E6c4TMI/AAAAAAAABTI/K1z2Lv6c3-o/s1600/LoganDarnell.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, May 23th Schedule Rochester (Off Day) New Britain vs. Binghamton- RHP David Bromberg Fort Myers vs. Clearwater- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Cedar Rapids- RHP Matt Summers --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As with all Tuesday's for the rest of the minor league baseball season, I will be writing the minor league update for the TwinsDaily website later tonight. So make sure to check back for my post on all of the happenings across the Twins farm system. Until then, here are a few "Tuesday Morning Tidbits" to keep you satisfied until this evening. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ia5oCK2g01I/T7t2fTZ8rFI/AAAAAAAABS0/kJvsZMC0ec4/s320/LewFord.jpg Gibson set to pitch off of the mound Kyle Gibson, the Twins 2009 first round pick, has been slowly working his way back from Tommy John surgery and it is getting closer to him being able to pitch off of the mound. According to his Facebook account, he will be throwing from 135 feet this week and 150 feet next week before stepping on the mound for the first time on June 4. He will get to throw 15 pitches in his first bullpen session. During the beginning of the year, Terry Ryan said that Gibson was on pace to pitch in minor league games by the end of the summer so his progression is nice to see. With many current members of the Twins starting rotation slated to be free agents, the Twins might need Gibson to be ready for the big leagues in 2013. It will be interesting to see if the Twins follow a similar plan to Stephen Strasburg for Gibson's first year back following the procedure. The Nationals are limiting the amount of innings Strasburg will pitch and they followed a similar plan with starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman. It seems like the Twins will take any starting pitcher that can keep them in a game at this point so Gibson's recovery could be key for next year. Ford continues on comeback trail Former fan favorite Lew Ford (see photo above) has been bouncing around baseball leagues in recent years. This has seen him play all over the country in independant leagues and even in other countries like Japan and Mexico as he tried to make it back for one more shot at the big leagues. For a 35-year old scrappy outfielder, this can be a challenge and making it through to a 25-man roster would be even harder for him to do. Over the weekend, the news came out that Ford signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and he was assigned to their Triple-A club in Norfolk. In his first four games with the Tides, he has batted .375/.444/.500 with two doubles and two RBI in 16 at-bats. He also has muliple hit games in two of his first four games With the Orioles being in first place, it would be great to see Ford get a call-up to help the club push for a division crown. Ford will always have a special place in the hearts of Twins fans so watch this video of him hitting a double with his new team and get ready to yell "LLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW." Butera throwing heat For the second year in a row, the Twins were forced to use a position player on the mound to cover the last inning of a blowout loss. In 2011, Michael Cuddyer took the field against the Rangers and pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Cuddyer left the team in free agency so the Twins had to look for a different arm on Sunday afternoon. Drew Butera stepped up and pitched a pretty decent frame for the Twins. In Cuddyer's outing, Texas was able to mount a threat against him on the strength of a couple hits and a walk. During his inning of work, Cuddyer showed a variety of pitches with his fastball averaging around 87 mph. He mixed in a cutter, a slider, and a change up but for the most part he tried to just throw the ball over the plate to get the Twins out of a terrible 20-6 loss. Compared to Cuddyer, Butera looked like Nolan Ryan when he stepped on the mound. The radar gun had Butera throwing as high as 94 mph with his fastball and he worked a decent change-up into the mix. With the good arm Butera has shown behind the plate, it could be assumed that he would have a little something behind his pitches. His fastball averaged close to 90 mph and his change-up sat around 79 mph. He even got former Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez to strike out swinging in very Gomez like fashion.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As with all Tuesday's for the rest of the minor league baseball season, I will be writing the minor league update for the TwinsDaily website later tonight. So make sure to check back for my post on all of the happenings across the Twins farm system. Until then, here are a few "Tuesday Morning Tidbits" to keep you satisfied until this evening. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ia5oCK2g01I/T7t2fTZ8rFI/AAAAAAAABS0/kJvsZMC0ec4/s320/LewFord.jpg Gibson set to pitch off of the mound Kyle Gibson, the Twins 2009 first round pick, has been slowly working his way back from Tommy John surgery and it is getting closer to him being able to pitch off of the mound. According to his Facebook account, he will be throwing from 135 feet this week and 150 feet next week before stepping on the mound for the first time on June 4. He will get to throw 15 pitches in his first bullpen session. During the beginning of the year, Terry Ryan said that Gibson was on pace to pitch in minor league games by the end of the summer so his progression is nice to see. With many current members of the Twins starting rotation slated to be free agents, the Twins might need Gibson to be ready for the big leagues in 2013. It will be interesting to see if the Twins follow a similar plan to Stephen Strasburg for Gibson's first year back following the procedure. The Nationals are limiting the amount of innings Strasburg will pitch and they followed a similar plan with starting pitcher Jordan Zimmerman. It seems like the Twins will take any starting pitcher that can keep them in a game at this point so Gibson's recovery could be key for next year. Ford continues on comeback trail Former fan favorite Lew Ford (see photo above) has been bouncing around baseball leagues in recent years. This has seen him play all over the country in independant leagues and even in other countries like Japan and Mexico as he tried to make it back for one more shot at the big leagues. For a 35-year old scrappy outfielder, this can be a challenge and making it through to a 25-man roster would be even harder for him to do. Over the weekend, the news came out that Ford signed a minor league contract with the Baltimore Orioles and he was assigned to their Triple-A club in Norfolk. In his first four games with the Tides, he has batted .375/.444/.500 with two doubles and two RBI in 16 at-bats. He also has muliple hit games in two of his first four games With the Orioles being in first place, it would be great to see Ford get a call-up to help the club push for a division crown. Ford will always have a special place in the hearts of Twins fans so watch this video of him hitting a double with his new team and get ready to yell "LLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW." Butera throwing heat For the second year in a row, the Twins were forced to use a position player on the mound to cover the last inning of a blowout loss. In 2011, Michael Cuddyer took the field against the Rangers and pitched a scoreless inning of relief. Cuddyer left the team in free agency so the Twins had to look for a different arm on Sunday afternoon. Drew Butera stepped up and pitched a pretty decent frame for the Twins. In Cuddyer's outing, Texas was able to mount a threat against him on the strength of a couple hits and a walk. During his inning of work, Cuddyer showed a variety of pitches with his fastball averaging around 87 mph. He mixed in a cutter, a slider, and a change up but for the most part he tried to just throw the ball over the plate to get the Twins out of a terrible 20-6 loss. Compared to Cuddyer, Butera looked like Nolan Ryan when he stepped on the mound. The radar gun had Butera throwing as high as 94 mph with his fastball and he worked a decent change-up into the mix. With the good arm Butera has shown behind the plate, it could be assumed that he would have a little something behind his pitches. His fastball averaged close to 90 mph and his change-up sat around 79 mph. He even got former Twins outfielder Carlos Gomez to strike out swinging in very Gomez like fashion.

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

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

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wait for it... Are you ready, yet? Don't adjust your monitor but the Twins just swept a two game series in Detroit. That's not a typo either. Over the course of the two games, the Tigers were a little error prone with six mistakes and the Twins were able to capitalize for five unearned runs. It has been great to see Trevor Plouffe find some semblance of power with two home runs in recent games. Maybe his new bald head is doing him some good. Justin Morneau and Ben Revere are back with the Twins and each of them has returned to their old ways with Morneau hitting a home run and Revere stealing a base. The Twins head to Milwaukee for the weekend and their first interleague series of the year. I am on the fence about whether or not interleague play should still be part of baseball but it seems like it is here to stay for the time being. It is always intertaining to watch the American League pitchers attempt to bat. From the sound of it, Jason Marquis could be the Twins diamond in the rough when it comes to pitchers at the plate. Enjoy this collection of links from the week and have a super weekend! There have been plenty of things to be annoyed with this season so read this post about the factors for frustration with the Twins. Joe Mauer seems to be spending a lot of time at first base and it could be possible that he is breaking down. Puckett's Pond takes a look at what type of player the Twins should draft with the number two pick. An interesting question was raised, "Are we ever biased towards umpire bias?" It has been tough to watch Jason Marquis on the mound this year and it can leave that sinking feeling in your stomach. It defiantly isn't time to pull the plug yet. One of the best stories to come out this week was about Anthony Swarzak and his search for Sasquatch. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KFxJm9U3ZGM/T7WzrUS_YHI/AAAAAAAABSc/-PN9ZEYvRbg/s320/SwarsakSasquatch.jpg This collection of old time baseball pictures is hilarious to see. With open seats at Target Field, I have snuck down to a better location more than once. Looks like that could be a bad idea at other ballparks. One of the most entertaining baseball people on Twitter, Ozzie Guillen, is calling it quits from the social media world. Only four closers have yet to blow a save this year and one of them happens to be the ninth inning man for the Twins. The Baseball Outsider was at two games in Beloit this week and he gives full reports on what he saw from two of the top prospects in the system. Another Beloit player, AJ Pettersen, got some press on the FSN North site. On of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Alex Wimmers, is trying to avoid surgery on his elbow by rehabbing it. This sounds like a familiar story for Twins pitchers. The 2013 All-Star Game location was finally announced this week and this means the next announcement could be that the Twins get 2014. A mysterious letter leaked out from Dave St. Peter's office this week. Read it for a good laugh. If you don't check out Minor League Ball, you should! Here's a post about Brian Dozier from earlier this week. Bert Blyleven was not happy about the way one of his former teammates was fired by the Angels this week. Jack Morris celebrated a birthday this week (along with Justin Morneau and Brian Dozier). My Weekly Rundown Monday: Concerns with Pavano's velocity continue to mount Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Wednesday: Should the Twins have started with this roster? Thursday: Soon one year has passed... Video of the Week: This Little League umpire in Illinois needs to tone down his strikeout call a little bit. Very extreme but at least the kids should know if they are out or not.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Wait for it... Are you ready, yet? Don't adjust your monitor but the Twins just swept a two game series in Detroit. That's not a typo either. Over the course of the two games, the Tigers were a little error prone with six mistakes and the Twins were able to capitalize for five unearned runs. It has been great to see Trevor Plouffe find some semblance of power with two home runs in recent games. Maybe his new bald head is doing him some good. Justin Morneau and Ben Revere are back with the Twins and each of them has returned to their old ways with Morneau hitting a home run and Revere stealing a base. The Twins head to Milwaukee for the weekend and their first interleague series of the year. I am on the fence about whether or not interleague play should still be part of baseball but it seems like it is here to stay for the time being. It is always intertaining to watch the American League pitchers attempt to bat. From the sound of it, Jason Marquis could be the Twins diamond in the rough when it comes to pitchers at the plate. Enjoy this collection of links from the week and have a super weekend! There have been plenty of things to be annoyed with this season so read this post about the factors for frustration with the Twins. Joe Mauer seems to be spending a lot of time at first base and it could be possible that he is breaking down. Puckett's Pond takes a look at what type of player the Twins should draft with the number two pick. An interesting question was raised, "Are we ever biased towards umpire bias?" It has been tough to watch Jason Marquis on the mound this year and it can leave that sinking feeling in your stomach. It defiantly isn't time to pull the plug yet. One of the best stories to come out this week was about Anthony Swarzak and his search for Sasquatch. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KFxJm9U3ZGM/T7WzrUS_YHI/AAAAAAAABSc/-PN9ZEYvRbg/s320/SwarsakSasquatch.jpg This collection of old time baseball pictures is hilarious to see. With open seats at Target Field, I have snuck down to a better location more than once. Looks like that could be a bad idea at other ballparks. One of the most entertaining baseball people on Twitter, Ozzie Guillen, is calling it quits from the social media world. Only four closers have yet to blow a save this year and one of them happens to be the ninth inning man for the Twins. The Baseball Outsider was at two games in Beloit this week and he gives full reports on what he saw from two of the top prospects in the system. Another Beloit player, AJ Pettersen, got some press on the FSN North site. On of the top pitching prospects in the organization, Alex Wimmers, is trying to avoid surgery on his elbow by rehabbing it. This sounds like a familiar story for Twins pitchers. The 2013 All-Star Game location was finally announced this week and this means the next announcement could be that the Twins get 2014. A mysterious letter leaked out from Dave St. Peter's office this week. Read it for a good laugh. If you don't check out Minor League Ball, you should! Here's a post about Brian Dozier from earlier this week. Bert Blyleven was not happy about the way one of his former teammates was fired by the Angels this week. Jack Morris celebrated a birthday this week (along with Justin Morneau and Brian Dozier). My Weekly Rundown Monday: Concerns with Pavano's velocity continue to mount Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Wednesday: Should the Twins have started with this roster? Thursday: Soon one year has passed... Video of the Week: This Little League umpire in Illinois needs to tone down his strikeout call a little bit. Very extreme but at least the kids should know if they are out or not.

One year ago today, the Twins lost one of the most important people in the history of the franchise. It is hard to believe that one year has already come and gone. I put together the following poem to honor Harmon Killebrew and his lasting legacy. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bACqUvmqVSU/T7VNM36wvrI/AAAAAAAABSQ/LylJsplGlTk/s320/Harmon_Killebrew_AP6303011347_620x350.jpgIt's been one year since you have come and gone, But your impact is still felt like the morning dawn. Even though your mighty swing was something to behold, Your gentle nature was something that never got old. The first hero of a generation to call Minnesota home, You were a star outside before the team moved to the Dome. Your number three will only be worn by one Twin, And hearing your home run calls brings chills to my skin. You were a gentle giant; a man among boys, Chants of your name were much more than noise. I hope that big game in the sky is still going fine, Because your mark on the Twins continues to shine. It's hard to think you will never be return, And players on this team have plenty to learn. When I sit outside at a ballgame under the open sky, Your presence still brings a tear to my eye. Thanks for your time and the mark that you made, Your memory with fans will never fade.

One year ago today, the Twins lost one of the most important people in the history of the franchise. It is hard to believe that one year has already come and gone. I put together the following poem to honor Harmon Killebrew and his lasting legacy. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bACqUvmqVSU/T7VNM36wvrI/AAAAAAAABSQ/LylJsplGlTk/s320/Harmon_Killebrew_AP6303011347_620x350.jpgIt's been one year since you have come and gone, But your impact is still felt like the morning dawn. Even though your mighty swing was something to behold, Your gentle nature was something that never got old. The first hero of a generation to call Minnesota home, You were a star outside before the team moved to the Dome. Your number three will only be worn by one Twin, And hearing your home run calls brings chills to my skin. You were a gentle giant; a man among boys, Chants of your name were much more than noise. I hope that big game in the sky is still going fine, Because your mark on the Twins continues to shine. It's hard to think you will never be return, And players on this team have plenty to learn. When I sit outside at a ballgame under the open sky, Your presence still brings a tear to my eye. Thanks for your time and the mark that you made, Your memory with fans will never fade.

The Twins put up a lackluster effort at home in getting swept during a short two-game series with the first place Cleveland Indians. Derek Lowe looked like Cy Young on the mound and the Twins continued to hit ground ball after ground ball to fall further behind the Tribe. Jason Marquis gave up three home runs in the fifth inning and five runs over five innings to put the Twins in a hole they would never be able to get out of in the game. Ron Gardenhire shifted up the line-up for this contest and moved Joe Mauer to the second spot in the order. This meant Brian Dozier had to move and he was placed in the fifth spot for the Twins. The move down in the line-up didn't seem to impact Dozier because he ended the contest with half of the team's six hits. Dozier showed some power again by hitting his second double of the year and his batting average continues to climb. Besides Dozier, there has to be some good news in other parts of the Twins organization. So let's peruse the minor leagues as we take Tuesday's trip through the Twins farm system. ROCHESTER 5, LOUISVILLE 4 The Red Wings trailed for most of the game on Tuesday night but a late rally helped Rochester to come out on top versus Louisville. With the Red Wings down by one run in the bottom of the eighth, the team mounted a two run rally to come out victorious. Wilkin Ramirez and Clete Thomas started the inning with singles and Danny Valencia grounded out to tie the game. Later in the inning Sean Burroughs had his second hit of the night, a double, to score the go-ahead run. Ben Revere continued his hot hitting for the Red Wings with a three hit night. He has six multi-hit games out of the last eight times he has been in the line-up for Rochester. Matt Carson had two hits in the contest and one of those knocks was his team leading 11th double of the year. Carson is in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak that he will look to continue tomorrow against the Bats. Luke French started the contest for the Red Wings and he allowed four runs over the course of five innings. The bullpen took care of the rest of the innings and helped to put zeros on the board so the offense could mount their comeback. Esmerling Vasquez pitched three shutout innings while allowing one hit. Tyler Robertson and Casey Fien were asked to cover the ninth and they managed to shut the door on the Bats. NEW BRITAIN -, NEW HAMPSHIRE - (PPD) The Rock Cats had a double-header scheduled for Tuesday but both contests were postponed. New Britain and New Hampshire will attempt to play two games tomorrow to make up for the action they missed today. FORT MYERS 2, CHARLOTTE 3 Unlike the Red Wings, the Miracle saw their opponent score late in the game to take the lead and steal a win in Fort Myers. The Stone Crabs took an early lead in the top of the first inning but the Miracle answered with their own run in the bottom half of the frame. Three consecutive singles from Jairo Perez, Oswaldo Arcia, and Daniel Rohlfing plated allowed the Miracle to tie the contest. The only other run of the game for the Miracle came in the bottom of the fifth when Daniel Santana tripled to lead-off the inning. Levi Michael was the next batter and he drove in Santana with a sacrifice fly to center field. Anderson Hidalgo along with Perez and Arcia would be the only players with more than one hit. It was almost like the Miracle had two different starters on Monday night with Miguel Munoz throwing four innings and being followed by Cole Nelson tossing four innings of his own. Munoz did okay by allowing two earned runs on six hits with a couple of strikeouts. Nelson was excellent by striking out five and only allowing one runner to reach base. Ricky Bowen took the loss for the Miracle after giving up a double to start the ninth inning. BELOIT 1, CLINTON 0 There was a pitching duel in Beloit on Tuesday night and the Snappers were lucky enough to come away with the one run they would need in the late innings of the game. The LumberKings had one base runner make it as far as second base and that happened all the way back in the fourth inning so the pitching for Beloit was the story of the game. The only player you needed to know on this night was Tim Shibuya because he pitched a complete game shutout for the Snappers. Shibuya was masterful by striking out nine in the contest and giving up three hits in the game. One of the other impressive things might have been his control of the plate by not giving up a walk in the entire contest. The Snappers put together seven hits but only one run was able to be pushed across the plate. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Beloit began the inning with Rory Rhodes and Jairo Rodriguez getting walked to start the threat. JaDamion Williams singled later in the frame to score the lone run the Snappers would need to back the impressive outing from Shibuya. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Tim Shibuya http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uw0pNV7IQVc/T7MUhyAxPbI/AAAAAAAABRo/-HePg7GtezE/s1600/TimShibuya.jpg Hitter of the Day- Sean Burroughs http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EpkhQjEojy4/T7MUdFCXQ9I/AAAAAAAABRg/bgJ84Sk__5Y/s320/SeanBurroughs.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, May 16th Schedule Rochester vs. Louisville- RHP Jeff Manship New Britain vs. New Hampshire (1)- LHP Logan Darnell New Britain vs. New Hampshire (2)- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers vs. Charlotte- RHP Jhon Garcia Beloit vs. Quad City- LHP Jason Wheeler --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

The Twins put up a lackluster effort at home in getting swept during a short two-game series with the first place Cleveland Indians. Derek Lowe looked like Cy Young on the mound and the Twins continued to hit ground ball after ground ball to fall further behind the Tribe. Jason Marquis gave up three home runs in the fifth inning and five runs over five innings to put the Twins in a hole they would never be able to get out of in the game. Ron Gardenhire shifted up the line-up for this contest and moved Joe Mauer to the second spot in the order. This meant Brian Dozier had to move and he was placed in the fifth spot for the Twins. The move down in the line-up didn't seem to impact Dozier because he ended the contest with half of the team's six hits. Dozier showed some power again by hitting his second double of the year and his batting average continues to climb. Besides Dozier, there has to be some good news in other parts of the Twins organization. So let's peruse the minor leagues as we take Tuesday's trip through the Twins farm system. ROCHESTER 5, LOUISVILLE 4 The Red Wings trailed for most of the game on Tuesday night but a late rally helped Rochester to come out on top versus Louisville. With the Red Wings down by one run in the bottom of the eighth, the team mounted a two run rally to come out victorious. Wilkin Ramirez and Clete Thomas started the inning with singles and Danny Valencia grounded out to tie the game. Later in the inning Sean Burroughs had his second hit of the night, a double, to score the go-ahead run. Ben Revere continued his hot hitting for the Red Wings with a three hit night. He has six multi-hit games out of the last eight times he has been in the line-up for Rochester. Matt Carson had two hits in the contest and one of those knocks was his team leading 11th double of the year. Carson is in the midst of a 10-game hitting streak that he will look to continue tomorrow against the Bats. Luke French started the contest for the Red Wings and he allowed four runs over the course of five innings. The bullpen took care of the rest of the innings and helped to put zeros on the board so the offense could mount their comeback. Esmerling Vasquez pitched three shutout innings while allowing one hit. Tyler Robertson and Casey Fien were asked to cover the ninth and they managed to shut the door on the Bats. NEW BRITAIN -, NEW HAMPSHIRE - (PPD) The Rock Cats had a double-header scheduled for Tuesday but both contests were postponed. New Britain and New Hampshire will attempt to play two games tomorrow to make up for the action they missed today. FORT MYERS 2, CHARLOTTE 3 Unlike the Red Wings, the Miracle saw their opponent score late in the game to take the lead and steal a win in Fort Myers. The Stone Crabs took an early lead in the top of the first inning but the Miracle answered with their own run in the bottom half of the frame. Three consecutive singles from Jairo Perez, Oswaldo Arcia, and Daniel Rohlfing plated allowed the Miracle to tie the contest. The only other run of the game for the Miracle came in the bottom of the fifth when Daniel Santana tripled to lead-off the inning. Levi Michael was the next batter and he drove in Santana with a sacrifice fly to center field. Anderson Hidalgo along with Perez and Arcia would be the only players with more than one hit. It was almost like the Miracle had two different starters on Monday night with Miguel Munoz throwing four innings and being followed by Cole Nelson tossing four innings of his own. Munoz did okay by allowing two earned runs on six hits with a couple of strikeouts. Nelson was excellent by striking out five and only allowing one runner to reach base. Ricky Bowen took the loss for the Miracle after giving up a double to start the ninth inning. BELOIT 1, CLINTON 0 There was a pitching duel in Beloit on Tuesday night and the Snappers were lucky enough to come away with the one run they would need in the late innings of the game. The LumberKings had one base runner make it as far as second base and that happened all the way back in the fourth inning so the pitching for Beloit was the story of the game. The only player you needed to know on this night was Tim Shibuya because he pitched a complete game shutout for the Snappers. Shibuya was masterful by striking out nine in the contest and giving up three hits in the game. One of the other impressive things might have been his control of the plate by not giving up a walk in the entire contest. The Snappers put together seven hits but only one run was able to be pushed across the plate. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Beloit began the inning with Rory Rhodes and Jairo Rodriguez getting walked to start the threat. JaDamion Williams singled later in the frame to score the lone run the Snappers would need to back the impressive outing from Shibuya. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Tim Shibuya http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Uw0pNV7IQVc/T7MUhyAxPbI/AAAAAAAABRo/-HePg7GtezE/s1600/TimShibuya.jpg Hitter of the Day- Sean Burroughs http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EpkhQjEojy4/T7MUdFCXQ9I/AAAAAAAABRg/bgJ84Sk__5Y/s320/SeanBurroughs.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, May 16th Schedule Rochester vs. Louisville- RHP Jeff Manship New Britain vs. New Hampshire (1)- LHP Logan Darnell New Britain vs. New Hampshire (2)- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers vs. Charlotte- RHP Jhon Garcia Beloit vs. Quad City- LHP Jason Wheeler --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As with most Tuesday's for the rest of the season, I am in charge of writing the minor league update for the Twins Daily website. This means I won't have a very big post here this morning but here are some of the news and notes that have been discussed with the Twins. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5ivWOPrdLBw/T7JANCG-HiI/AAAAAAAABRU/E1gYVaQJzCM/s320/Ramosinjury.jpg Casilla gets new role as utility player Anyone who has watched the Twins since Brian Dozier got called up could tell what the plan was for the team in the middle infield. Apparently the message never got sent to Alexi Casilla and he had a meeting with Ron Gardenhire to discuss his role with the club. Gardenhire basically told him that his role is the utility player at this point and he will fit into the line-up when the team needs to give some of the other players a break. The infield situation seems set with Dozier at shortstop, Jamey Carroll at second base, and Trevor Plouffe at third base. Since Plouffe took over for Danny Valencia at third, he hasn't been ripping the cover off of the ball so it will be interesting to see if Casilla can find some more playing time at the hot corner. Former Twins player Ramos out for the year Wilson Ramos, the center piece of the Matt Capps trade, tore his ACL and will need knee surgery to repair his injury. The young catcher made headlines this offseason after he was kidnapped in his native Venezuela. Now one of the best young catchers in the game will miss the rest of the 2012 season as he tries to rehab a tough injury for a catcher. The trade of Ramos for Capps has been widely criticized by Twins fans especially after the 2011 performance of Capps. Ramos finished fourth in the NL Rookie of the Year voting last season and now his club was fighting for first place in the NL East to start the 2012 campaign. The loss of Ramos combined with other injuries to the Nationals power bats could make it tough for the team to keep up the pace they are on. Morneau takes batting practice Over the weekend, Justin Morneau had tested his injured wrist by taking some swings off of a tee. That step in his recovery process seemed to go fine and the next step was to take some swings during batting practice. This took place on Monday evening and it was the first time in two weeks that he had stepped into the cage. From all reports, it seemed like the session went well and Morneau is one step closer to being back in the middle of the line-up for the Twins. There is still some soreness in his wrist but he thinks he can play through it at this point. Personally, I don't like the way that sounds and it seems like he might be trying to rush himself back. He is eligible to come off the DL on Wednesday but the Twins aren't sure of when he will be put back on the roster.