Cody Christie

At the beginning of the year, Seth Stohs from the Twins Daily crew asks some of the bloggers from across Twins Territory to put together their picks for a variety of categories across the minor leagues. It's a fun exercise to do at the beginning of the year and it's interesting to track the progress of players during the minor league seasons. There were some breakout candidates at almost every level in 2012 but there were some setbacks along the way as well. Here are my picks from the beginning of the year and a look at how each of them fared during the season. I am working on some posts that will name my minor league hitter, pitcher, and relief pitcher for 2012 campaign so look for those to come in the next week. The players listed below are my picks from the beginning of the year and there were some hits and some misses as are usually true with any predictions post. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2281[/ATTACH] Breakout Hitter (Upper Levels): Aaron Hicks, New Britain Season Stat Summary: .286/.384/.460, 21 2B, 11 3B, 13 HR, 61 RBI, 32 SB, 100 R At the beginning of the year, I begged for Hicks to have the breakout year that Twins fans have waited for since he was drafted in the first round. He didn't fail to disappoint as he set the Rock Cats record for triples and runs scored in a season. There were some rough patches along the way but Hicks put together a very good second half by batting over .300 after the All-Star break. His combination of speed and power will continue to make him one of the best prospects in the Twins organization. He could be playing in Minnesota as early as next season. Breakout Hitter (Lower Levels): Angel Morales, Fort Myers Season Stat Summary: .220/.310/.328, 8 2B, 5 3B, 7 HR, 35 RBI, 115 SO After missing a good chunk of the 2011 season due to injuries, Morales was my pick to have a bounce-back season at the plate. This wasn't the case as he struggles to get into any kind of rhythm with the Miracle. He looked good in the first month of the season by hitting over .300 and having six extra-base hits. The next three months were awful as he hit under .200 in two of them and he showed very little power along the way. He struck out over 20 times in every month except August where he only struck out 19 times. It was a rough year for Mr. Morales but he ended the season on a high note by hitting .298 in the last couple months of the year. Breakout Hitter (in Extended Spring Training): Max Kepler, Elizabethton Season Stat Summary: .297/.387/.539, 16 2B, 5 3B, 10 HR, 49 RBI, 40 R When I wrote my post at the start of the season, I hoped that the 19-year old Kepler would start to grow into his body and add some more power. He went above and beyond those expectations the year by showing the ability to hit for average and power. He was one of the core members of the Elizabethton team that won the Appalachian League Championship earlier this week. It will be exciting to see what he can do as he moves up the ladder of the Twins farm system. He could be a potent corner outfield option if his bat continues to develop at the current pace. Hitters Summary: I'd say that I went 2-for-3 with a couple home runs (Hicks and Kepler) but one big strikeout (Morales). Breakout Pitcher (Upper Levels): Alex Wimmers, New Britain Season Stat Summary: W-L (0-1), 9.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 SO, 3 BB Wimmers ended last season with a bang by throwing a 7-inning no-hitter to close out 2011 for Fort Myers. He seemed set-up to move quickly through the minor leagues for the Twins in 2012 but this was far from being the case for him. He only made two starts on the season and he will miss all of next season after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Breakout Pitcher (Lower Levels): Madison Boer, Beloit/Fort Myers Season Stat Summary: W-L (9-12), 5.84 ERA, 138.2 IP, 86 SO, 42 BB The season started off fine for Boer in Beloit as he threw 27.2 innings for the Snappers and posted a 3.58 ERA with twice as many strikeouts as walks. Boer struggled a little more with the transition to the Florida State League as his ERA ballooned to 6.41 over the 111.0 innings he threw for Fort Myers. He continued to strikeout more than twice the amount of batters that he walked but he gave up 15 home runs in the hot Florida weather. His college experience made him a likely candidate to have a breakout season but it looks like he will have to wait until next year for his breakout year. Breakout Pitcher (in Extended Spring Training): Matthew Summers, Beloit/Fort Myers Season Stat Summary: W-L (11-7), 3.88 ERA, 148.1 IP, 97 SO, 59 BB Summers started the year in extended spring training but ended up making it all the way to Fort Myers by the end of the season. He started more games than I thought he would at the beginning of the year and he put up good performances at both levels. Opponents hit .307 off of him in Fort Myers so it would be nice to reduce that number in the coming years. In a season where there were few standout starting pitchers in the system, Summers put together a very decent year. Pitchers Summary: I went 1-for-3 with a double (Summers) and two strikeouts (Wimmers and Boer). Preseason Picks Best Hitter (Upper Levels): Joe Benson, Rochester/New Britian/Fort Myers Season Stat Summary: .202/.288/.336, 13 2B, 3 3B, 6 HR, 36 RBI Best Hitter (Lower Levels): Miguel Sano, Beloit Season Stat Summary: .258/.373/.521, 28 2B, 4 3B, 28 HR, 100 RBI Best Hitter (in EST): Niko Goodrum, Elizabethton Season Stat Summary: .242/.349/.419, 12 2B, 8 3B, 4 HR, 38 RBI Miguel Sano was arguably the best power hitter in the Midwest League in 2012 but his swing still has plenty of holes. His batting average was lacking but he still managed to get on base at a decent clip. Fans across Twins Territory kept their eye on Sano over the last few months and they will continue to watch him as he closes in on Target Field. Joe Benson was in the majors at the end of last season so it could be expected that he would continue his track to the being a starter with the Twins. It was a lost season for Benson as he was demoted after a terrible showing in Rochester. Niko Goodrum had an okay year with the E-Twins but there were many other hitters that ended up having a better year than him. He did show some ability to use his speed to leg out some triples. Best Hitters Summary: I went 1-for-2 with a long home run (Sano), a walk (Goodrum), and a strikeout (Benson). Preseason Picks Best Pitcher (Upper Levels): Alex Wimmers Season Stat Summary: W-L (0-1), 9.00 ERA, 4.1 IP, 3 SO, 3 BB Best Pitcher (Lower Levels): Adrian Salcedo Season Stat Summary: W-L (0-2), 5.87 ERA, 30.2 IP, 18 SO, 16 BB Best Pitcher (in EST): Matthew Summers Season Stat Summary: W-L (11-7), 3.88 ERA, 148.1 IP, 97 SO, 59 BB There were a lot of swings and misses here and unfortunately it wasn't from the pitchers that I picked out at the beginning of the year. Wimmers and Salcedo fought injuries all season and they managed to throw a combined 35.0 innings on the mound. At the start of the season, it looked like these two players were some of the best in the system for the Twins. It's amazing how much can change in one short season. Summers did fine during his time on the mound and he looks like a Cy Young candidate compared to the other two. It was a rough year for starting pitching in the Twins system especially when two of their best prospects are big question marks for next year. The organization needs pitching help but that shouldn’t be a new discovery for Twins fans. Best Pitchers Summary: I went 1-for-3 with a single (Summers) and two strikeouts (Wimmers and Salcedo). Unfortunately I ended up getting hurt during one of the swings and I am questionable for 2013. Make sure to check back in the next week or so when I reveal my picks for the minor league hitter of the year, pitcher of the year, and relief pitcher of the year. These young players work as they try to live out their dream of playing professional baseball and they deserve to be recognized for all of their accomplishments.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2262[/ATTACH] The last two seasons have been rough for the Twins as the team has posted back-to-back horrible win-loss records. But some positive things came out of this madness. For instance, in this past June's amateur draft, the Twins selected Byron Buxton, arguably the best player in the draft. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Also, all of the losing and injuries to pitchers have allowed the team to get an in-depth look at pitchers in their own organization and to bring in arms from other organizations for a test run. But one player that hasn't been given much of a chance just finished his fourth year at the Triple-A, all for the Twins, and he has been dominant at every stop along the way. Anthony Slama joined the Twins as a 39th round draft pick out of the University of San Diego in the 2006 Draft. As a 23-year old in his first professional season, he split time between Elizabethton and Beloit by posting a combined 1.71 ERA in 31.2 innings pitched with 49 strikeouts and only 10 walks. He would move to Fort Myers for all of 2008 where he lowered his ERA to 1.01 in 71.0 innings with 110 strikeouts and 24 walks. His next year, Slama spent time with New Britain and Rochester but most of his innings were at the Double-A level. He ended the year with a 2.67 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 81.0 innings pitched. Every year since that point, Slama has made a return trip to Rochester to play out another minor league season. From 2010-2011, he has posted an ERA under 3.00 with more walks than strikeouts. He isn't going to blow batters away but he gets the job done and his coaches have had enough confidence in him to let him be the closer at multiple levels in the minors. This season was one of his best as a professional with a ridiculously low 1.24 ERA at the Triple-A level with 56 strikeouts in 36.1 innings. He got his 100th career minor save in Rochester's last game of the season, which seems like a very dubious distinction to earn. No player wants to stay in the minor leagues long enough to rack up 100 saves because it would be much better to be earning a big league paycheck. Slama has gotten a very brief taste of the big leagues in 2010 and an even shorter stay in 2011. In his first trip to Target Field, the rookie didn't inspire. He threw in five games and he allowed a run or more in three of those appearances. One of the outings in Baltimore was especially rough as he allowed two earned runs and a home run over the course of his inning. This lead to his only decision as a big leaguer, a loss and a blown lead in the late innings. Last year, there were plenty of opportunities for the Twins to test out different arms from the minor leagues but Slama only appeared in two games. He hasn't seen the big leagues since that point and it doesn't look like the 28-year old relief pitcher will be making it back with the Twins in 2012. On Monday, word came out of the Twins organization that the team would only be making two September call-ups. Right-hander Luis Perdomo and Eduardo Escobar will be the lone men making the trip from Rochester to the Chicago as the Twins take on the White Sox. There was plenty of speculation around Brian Dozier, Anthony Slama, Oswaldo Arcia, or Aaron Hicks making appearances for the Twins in the last month of the year but this wasn't the case. It sounds like the team wants to focus on the players currently comprising the roster while getting an extended look at some of the players that could earn a spot for 2013. Terry Ryan told reporters, "We only have so many innings or so many at-bats to give people." This left Slama with an early end to his season after what he deemed "a tough year" for himself. [ATTACH=CONFIG]2270[/ATTACH] The Twins refusal to give Slama a legitimate shot at the big league level is perplexing to say the least. He has shown the ability to have very good success at the minor league level and it seems that the natural progression would be to give him more of an extended look with the major league squad. Over the last two seasons, there have been plenty of questionable arms that were used out of the bullpen so it seems curious to not give Slama a chance. He is getting close to turning 30, so his chance at being a regular at the big league level might have already passed him by. In some updated quotes from Ryan last night, it sounds like the Twins already know what Slama brings to the table and a pitcher like Perdomo is more of a question mark. He would go on to state that Slama will get his chance but it's hard to imagine that it will be with the Twins. He can't be a free agent until after next season but he will be subject to the Rule 5 Draft this December since he is not on the 40-man roster. His best option at this point in his career might be to turn to another organization and hope they need bullpen help at some point in 2013 because it doesn't seem like the Twins will give him a shot. The Rule 5 Draft could give him this opportunity if another team sees something in the right-handed relief pitcher. Yesterday, a petition was started at Twins Daily to try and get some answers from the front office of the Twins organization. If you feel that Anthony Slama deserves more of a chance with the Twins, go to the link and lend your name to the petition. The Twins have plenty of holes to fill for next season but it would be nice for Slama to get a longer look at the big league level.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2254[/ATTACH] At this time last year, the Twins called up a couple of young prospects from Double-A to make their major league debuts. Joe Benson was the more highly-touted name out of the two young players but Chris Parmelee came up and made a much stronger impression in the final month of the year. Benson would bat .239/.270/.352 in his 74 plate appearances in September while Parmelee was putting on an offensive show. By season's end, Parmelee was hitting .355/.443/.592 with four home runs and six doubles in 76 at-bats. This strong impression in September left a mark on the Twins that carried over to the beginning of 2012. When the Twins broke camp at the end of spring training, Chris Parmelee was on the roster for a variety of different reasons. Parmelee had backed up his strong September with a very good showing during spring training so this definitely helped his cause. The team was also unsure what to expect from Justin Morneau after a concussion shortened season in 2011. It made sense to have Parmelee on the roster to get some time at first base and maybe find outfield playing time as well. For Parmelee, it was most likely a dream come true to skip the Triple-A level and begin the season on the big league roster. Those dreams wouldn't last for long as Parmelee struggled out of the gate to find his swing. From Opening Day to the middle of May, he hit .179/.250/.262 with no home runs and six extra-base hits in 27 games. The Parmelee that the Twins had seen at the end of 2011 and in spring training was nowhere to be found so the team sent him down. For Parmelee, it would be his first taste of the Triple-A level and he was going to have to hit his way back to the major league squad. He would do just that in the coming weeks. During the second half of May with the Rochester Red Wings, Parmelee hit .452/.575/.839 with three home runs and three doubles in 31 at-bats. He would be back on the roster for the Twins near the beginning of June but he failed to get into the line-up for most of the month. After hitting the cover off of the ball at Triple-A, Parmelee was relegated to late inning pinch hitting duties as he only started three games the rest of the month. It was a strange and frustrating situation for the young player to be at the big league level but not getting into any action. He would spend most of the months of July and August in the minor leagues and opposing pitchers got sick of seeing him step into the batters box. He hit over .320 in each of these months and he belted 13 home runs and 13 doubles during this stretch. It was quite the offensive run for the 24-year old but there didn't seem to be a place for him on the big league roster. Morneau had been healthier than originally thought and Joe Mauer needed to spend more time playing first base. The outfield was full with Josh Willingham, Denard Span, and Ben Revere. This left Parmelee in the minors to where he ended up hitting .338/.457/.645 with 17 home runs and 18 other extra-base hits in 64 games. It's September again and the Twins have finally found a spot for Parmelee to get some at-bats in the line-up at the big league level. Span has been dealing with a pesky shoulder injury and the team decided that he needed time on the DL. This left an outfield spot open and Parmelee was more than willing to take on the role. He hadn't played in the outfield at all in the minor leagues during the 2012 season but the team felt comfortable giving him a shot to prove himself. In previous seasons, Parmelee spent some time as a right fielder so the position was not foreign to him. His bat was the more important thing and his hot September swing seems to have shown up again. Through the first four of games in the month, Parmelee has three multi-hit performances and a couple of home runs to his name. Since getting called-up from Rochester at the end of August, he has managed a hit in every game that he has played in and he seems to be a man on a mission. It's a very small sample size but it seems that he is starting to regain his confidence at the big league level. September Stat Summary: .467/.500/1.000, 2 HR, 2 2B, 4 RBI The question still remains, what will another good September mean for Chris Parmelee? By looking at the roster for next season, there is going to be the same problem for finding playing time for Mr. Parmelee. The outfield looks packed and first base will still be occupied by the M&M Boys. For Parmelee to get regular at-bats with the Twins, it seems like some kind of move will need to be made. One of the aging outfielders like Willingham or Span could be dealt for some pitching help. Morneau could be traded to take some money off the books and to free up a spot at a corner infield position. Parmelee has proven himself at the Triple-A level and he is a cheaper option than the players mentioned above. In a story published by the Star Tribune yesterday, it sounds like GM Terry Ryan wants to see who is deserving of a roster spot for 2013. Parmelee is expected to get as much playing time as possible between the multiple positions that he plays and it is up to him to show the front office that he doesn't expect to be making any return trips to Rochester for the rest of his career. A good September will start to wash away any doubts and it could make for some interesting speculation in the offseason. Where will Chris Parmelee start the 2013 season? Hopefully he will begin the year as a starter on Opening Day at Target Field.

The Twins won both ends of a double header against Kansas City on Saturday but there was plenty of exciting action across the minor leagues. Let's check out how the Twins farm system fared as their seasons are coming to a close.[B] ELIZABETHTON 2, BURLINGTON[/B] [B]3[/B] In what looks like it will be a great Appalachian League Championship Series, the E-Twins lost an important first game to the Burlington Royals by a score of 3-2 in extra-innings. Angel Matta started the game for the Twins and pitched five strong innings while allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts. His only trouble came in the bottom of the second when he allowed the first three batters to reach on singles. He got out of the jam by allowing a single run so it was a good job of sidestepping danger. There were a lot of zeros put on the board until the top of the sixth when the E-Twins were finally able to get on the board. Adam Walker started the inning by belting a solo-home run to tie the game. The next batter was DJ Hicks and he decided back-to-back home runs were in order. For the first time in the series, Elizabethton had a lead at 2-1. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last for the rest of the game. Tyler Herr was called on to relieve Mata on the mound and he was doing fine for the first couple of innings. Even the start of the eighth inning looked to be going well as Herr struck out the first two batters that he faced. Mark Threlkeld was the third batter of the inning for Burlington and he sent one over the fence to tie the game in the late innings, a devastating shot for the young E-Twins. In extra-innings, the E-Twins had their chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Romy Jimenez doubled with one out in the frame. There was a wild pitch with Travis Harrison batting to advance Jimenez to third. Harrison would walk but the next two batters would fail to knock in the runner. In the 11th inning, Byron Buxton would reach third with two outs but he was left there. A couple of golden opportunities missed by Elizabethton. The bottom of the 12th saw Burlington lead off with a single by Terrance Gore. He would make it to third on a sacrifice bunt to Travis Harrison at third base. The next batter was Bubba Starling and last year's first round pick for the Royals knocked a sacrifice fly to end the game. [B]ROCHESTER 8, SYRACUSE 4[/B] A back and forth contest between the Red Wings and the Chiefs saw Rochester get back to the .500 mark for the season at 71-71. The Red Wings took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and the offense went cold for a few frames. Syracuse scored a couple in the third and added another in the fifth to push their lead to 3-1. A big 3-run seventh inning put the Red Wings on top but it would only last until the eighth. Jeff Manship started for Rochester pitched 5.2 innings by allowing one run on five hits. Caleb Thielbar was moving along at a decent clip before running into some trouble in the bottom of the eighth. With a runner on base, the Red Wings turned to closer Anthony Slama who gave up a triple and saw the lead disappear. Brian Dozier had a big night by going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Wilkin Ramirez was able to knock in a couple of runs with his single in the seventh inning. Clete Thomas went 3-for-5 and he knocked in a couple runs of his own. Thomas even scored on his triple after a bad play by the center fielder. Brian Dinkelman and Rene Rivera added doubles in the ninth to push the lead for Rochester. [B]NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3[/B] New Britain got down early in this game but had some big at-bats in the later innings to put them on top for good. A four-run sixth inning and a three-run seventh inning were more than enough to cover up the two early runs given up by Luke French. For the second outing in a row, French would be strong on the mound by tossing 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits. The top of the order did a lot of damage for the Rock Cats. Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann put up big numbers out of the one and two spots in the batting order. Hicks had two triples and a couple runs scored as the lead-off hitter. He also set the team record for runs scored in a season (97) and triples in a season (11). Chris Colabello tied the Rock Cats season record with 97 RBI. Josmil Pinto, Deibinson Romero, and Herrmann all had multiple RBI performances to help push the Rock Cats to the victory. [B]FORT MYERS 1, CHARLOTTE 4[/B] The Miracle had a tough time getting on the board in this contest against the Stone Crabs. Charlotte starting pitcher Eliazer Suero threw seven innings of two hit ball to keep the damage to a minimum for the Miracle. Fort Myers pieced together a game by having three pitchers throw three innings apiece. Miguel Munoz started the game and only gave up a hit before Ryan O'Rourke took over. O'Rourke allowed two runs but only one of them was earned. Ricky Bowen allowed a couple runs on four hits during his three innings of work. When a team gets handled by the opposing pitcher, there isn't much to talk about on the offensive side of the ball. Angel Morales had the only extra-base hit of the night for the Miracle. It was his fifth triple of the year. Daniel Santana went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Levi Michael was 1-for-3 with a walk. Michael also added his 16th error of the season and this one came on a throw at second base. [B]BELOIT 6, QUAD CITIES 5[/B] With Miguel Sano out of the line-up, Eddie Rosario reminded fans why he should be considered among the best prospects in the organization. In the middle of the batting order, Rosario had a big night with his 31st and 32nd doubles of the season. Kennys Vargas knocked in a couple runs batting behind Rosario. Matthew Koch added a couple hits of his own at the bottom of the order. This was more than enough for Tyler Jones as he threw seven innings by allowing a single run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Jones seems to be ending the year on a strong note as he has tossed seven innings or more in each of his last two appearances. During that time, he has only allowed three earned runs. Quad City made things interesting by scoring four in the ninth but it wasn't enough. --- Players of the Day for September 1, 2012 [CENTER] Hitter of the Day- Aaron Hicks [attachment=5157:1343.attach] Pitcher of the Day- Tyler Jones [attachment=5158:1344.attach][/CENTER] --- A Look Ahead- Sunday, September 2nd Schedule Game 2 of the Appalachian League Championship Series Elizabethton vs. Burlington- LHP Hein Robb Rochester @ Syracuse- TBA New Britain vs. New Hampshire- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers @ Charlotte- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Quad City- LHP Matt Tomshaw View full article

The Twins won both ends of a double header against Kansas City on Saturday but there was plenty of exciting action across the minor leagues. Let's check out how the Twins farm system fared as their seasons are coming to a close. ELIZABETHTON 2, BURLINGTON 3 In what looks like it will be a great Appalachian League Championship Series, the E-Twins lost an important first game to the Burlington Royals by a score of 3-2 in extra-innings. Angel Matta started the game for the Twins and pitched five strong innings while allowing one run on six hits with six strikeouts. His only trouble came in the bottom of the second when he allowed the first three batters to reach on singles. He got out of the jam by allowing a single run so it was a good job of sidestepping danger. There were a lot of zeros put on the board until the top of the sixth when the E-Twins were finally able to get on the board. Adam Walker started the inning by belting a solo-home run to tie the game. The next batter was DJ Hicks and he decided back-to-back home runs were in order. For the first time in the series, Elizabethton had a lead at 2-1. Unfortunately, it wouldn't last for the rest of the game. Tyler Herr was called on to relieve Mata on the mound and he was doing fine for the first couple of innings. Even the start of the eighth inning looked to be going well as Herr struck out the first two batters that he faced. Mark Threlkeld was the third batter of the inning for Burlington and he sent one over the fence to tie the game in the late innings, a devastating shot for the young E-Twins. In extra-innings, the E-Twins had their chance to take the lead in the top of the 10th when Romy Jimenez doubled with one out in the frame. There was a wild pitch with Travis Harrison batting to advance Jimenez to third. Harrison would walk but the next two batters would fail to knock in the runner. In the 11th inning, Byron Buxton would reach third with two outs but he was left there. A couple of golden opportunities missed by Elizabethton. The bottom of the 12th saw Burlington lead off with a single by Terrance Gore. He would make it to third on a sacrifice bunt to Travis Harrison at third base. The next batter was Bubba Starling and last year's first round pick for the Royals knocked a sacrifice fly to end the game. ROCHESTER 8, SYRACUSE 4 A back and forth contest between the Red Wings and the Chiefs saw Rochester get back to the .500 mark for the season at 71-71. The Red Wings took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning and the offense went cold for a few frames. Syracuse scored a couple in the third and added another in the fifth to push their lead to 3-1. A big 3-run seventh inning put the Red Wings on top but it would only last until the eighth. Jeff Manship started for Rochester pitched 5.2 innings by allowing one run on five hits. Caleb Thielbar was moving along at a decent clip before running into some trouble in the bottom of the eighth. With a runner on base, the Red Wings turned to closer Anthony Slama who gave up a triple and saw the lead disappear. Brian Dozier had a big night by going 3-for-5 with an RBI. Wilkin Ramirez was able to knock in a couple of runs with his single in the seventh inning. Clete Thomas went 3-for-5 and he knocked in a couple runs of his own. Thomas even scored on his triple after a bad play by the center fielder. Brian Dinkelman and Rene Rivera added doubles in the ninth to push the lead for Rochester. NEW BRITAIN 7, NEW HAMPSHIRE 3 New Britain got down early in this game but had some big at-bats in the later innings to put them on top for good. A four-run sixth inning and a three-run seventh inning were more than enough to cover up the two early runs given up by Luke French. For the second outing in a row, French would be strong on the mound by tossing 7.2 innings and allowing two runs on four hits. The top of the order did a lot of damage for the Rock Cats. Aaron Hicks and Chris Herrmann put up big numbers out of the one and two spots in the batting order. Hicks had two triples and a couple runs scored as the lead-off hitter. He also set the team record for runs scored in a season (97) and triples in a season (11). Chris Colabello tied the Rock Cats season record with 97 RBI. Josmil Pinto, Deibinson Romero, and Herrmann all had multiple RBI performances to help push the Rock Cats to the victory. FORT MYERS 1, CHARLOTTE 4 The Miracle had a tough time getting on the board in this contest against the Stone Crabs. Charlotte starting pitcher Eliazer Suero threw seven innings of two hit ball to keep the damage to a minimum for the Miracle. Fort Myers pieced together a game by having three pitchers throw three innings apiece. Miguel Munoz started the game and only gave up a hit before Ryan O'Rourke took over. O'Rourke allowed two runs but only one of them was earned. Ricky Bowen allowed a couple runs on four hits during his three innings of work. When a team gets handled by the opposing pitcher, there isn't much to talk about on the offensive side of the ball. Angel Morales had the only extra-base hit of the night for the Miracle. It was his fifth triple of the year. Daniel Santana went 1-for-4 with an RBI and Levi Michael was 1-for-3 with a walk. Michael also added his 16th error of the season and this one came on a throw at second base. BELOIT 6, QUAD CITIES 5 With Miguel Sano out of the line-up, Eddie Rosario reminded fans why he should be considered among the best prospects in the organization. In the middle of the batting order, Rosario had a big night with his 31st and 32nd doubles of the season. Kennys Vargas knocked in a couple runs batting behind Rosario. Matthew Koch added a couple hits of his own at the bottom of the order. This was more than enough for Tyler Jones as he threw seven innings by allowing a single run on four hits with nine strikeouts. Jones seems to be ending the year on a strong note as he has tossed seven innings or more in each of his last two appearances. During that time, he has only allowed three earned runs. Quad City made things interesting by scoring four in the ninth but it wasn't enough. --- Players of the Day for September 1, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Aaron Hicks [ATTACH=CONFIG]2218[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day- Tyler Jones [ATTACH=CONFIG]2219[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead- Sunday, September 2nd Schedule Game 2 of the Appalachian League Championship Series Elizabethton vs. Burlington- LHP Hein Robb Rochester @ Syracuse- TBA New Britain vs. New Hampshire- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers @ Charlotte- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Quad City- LHP Matt Tomshaw

The 2014 All-Star Game was finally given to the Twin Cities this week but there were plenty of other happenings for Twins Territory. Joe Mauer was placed on waivers and the national media freaked out over what turned out to be a none story. After sitting for over a week and then playing in a handful of games, Denard Span was finally put on the DL even though rosters expand this weekend. Chris Parmelee destroyed Triple-A pitching for most of the year and he finally got called up. Now he has to show his stuff at the big league level if they can find at-bats for him. While the news surrounding the Twins has been exciting, the play on the field has not been in the exciting category. The team is scuffling to say the least and it could be a long final month for the faithful that still head to Target Field. A crowd of under 30,000 was announced for the first time at Target Field this week and it is hard to believe there were that many people in attendance. It is tough to watch a team that is putting a poor product on the field. Fans like me will continue to follow even if the wins aren't exactly piling up over the next few weeks. It's a long Labor Day weekend so before you skip out of the office early make sure to check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." So far this season, the Twins have gotten very good production from some signings that were minor at the time. The Twins are getting close to being unwatchable. During the next couple weeks, it will be important for Trevor Plouffe to rebound. It sounds like the Dodgers asked the Twins about Justin Morneau before moving on to their mega-deal with the Red Sox. Here are some highlights from FSN's coverage of MLB announcing the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota. Joe Mauer set the franchise record for games caught by passing Earl Battey, one of the best players in team history. This behind the back play by Mauer is pretty sweet to see. With the season being very dark, there are some beacons of light for the Twins. In their 52nd year in Minnesota, the team is now official under .500 since coming to the Twin Cities. How far are the 2013 Twins from contention? Kyle Gibson is back in the rotation for Rochester which makes him one step away from the big leagues again. Gibson is also one of six players that will compete in the Arizona Fall League as representative from the Twins organization. There were multiple players from the New Britain Rock Cats named to the Eastern League All-Star Team for the end of the season. The lone GCL Twin to be named the their post season All-Star list was Jeremias Pineda. ESPN's Keith Law went to Beloit to see Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and the rest of the Snappers. Former Twins outfielder Lew Ford hit his first home run at the big league level since 2007 (see Video of the Week). I loved this shot of him rounding third with a smiling coming across his face. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxARY1FeXJQ/UEA2Z2xWIaI/AAAAAAAADME/_mRU-pXAVWg/s320/LewFordHR.jpg Poor Liam Hendriks indeed... Scott Diamond threw at Josh Hamilton and got in trouble for it so maybe he needs the ethics of throwing at hitters. For the second year in a row, the Twins will look to avoid 100 losses by the end of September. Adam Greenberg was hit in the head during his only MLB at-bat and he is campaigning for another shot at the big league level. Hank Aaron joined many other former sluggers saying PED punishments are not enough. Baseball might need to start thinking about getting collisions at home plate out of the game. Enjoy this week's edition of Mike Trout is amazing. Chipper Jones has gotten quite the wide collection of gifts as he makes his final stops in some NL cities. There are some bad things going on with the Rockies and their rotation plan is not the greatest. This song is going to get really old in the postseason. My Weekly Rundown Monday: What will the Twins do with Justin Morneau? Tuesday: Handling of young pitchers has changed Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Wednesday: If Joe Mauer was traded, where could he go? Video of the Week: Lew Ford hit his first home run since 2007 earlier this week. It was also great that it came off of Francisco Liriano. Ford would go on to hit another home run later in the week so he is on quite the nice run for the Orioles as they try to stay in the playoff hunt in the American League.

The 2014 All-Star Game was finally given to the Twin Cities this week but there were plenty of other happenings for Twins Territory. Joe Mauer was placed on waivers and the national media freaked out over what turned out to be a none story. After sitting for over a week and then playing in a handful of games, Denard Span was finally put on the DL even though rosters expand this weekend. Chris Parmelee destroyed Triple-A pitching for most of the year and he finally got called up. Now he has to show his stuff at the big league level if they can find at-bats for him. While the news surrounding the Twins has been exciting, the play on the field has not been in the exciting category. The team is scuffling to say the least and it could be a long final month for the faithful that still head to Target Field. A crowd of under 30,000 was announced for the first time at Target Field this week and it is hard to believe there were that many people in attendance. It is tough to watch a team that is putting a poor product on the field. Fans like me will continue to follow even if the wins aren't exactly piling up over the next few weeks. It's a long Labor Day weekend so before you skip out of the office early make sure to check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." So far this season, the Twins have gotten very good production from some signings that were minor at the time. The Twins are getting close to being unwatchable. During the next couple weeks, it will be important for Trevor Plouffe to rebound. It sounds like the Dodgers asked the Twins about Justin Morneau before moving on to their mega-deal with the Red Sox. Here are some highlights from FSN's coverage of MLB announcing the 2014 All-Star Game in Minnesota. Joe Mauer set the franchise record for games caught by passing Earl Battey, one of the best players in team history. This behind the back play by Mauer is pretty sweet to see. With the season being very dark, there are some beacons of light for the Twins. In their 52nd year in Minnesota, the team is now official under .500 since coming to the Twin Cities. How far are the 2013 Twins from contention? Kyle Gibson is back in the rotation for Rochester which makes him one step away from the big leagues again. Gibson is also one of six players that will compete in the Arizona Fall League as representative from the Twins organization. There were multiple players from the New Britain Rock Cats named to the Eastern League All-Star Team for the end of the season. The lone GCL Twin to be named the their post season All-Star list was Jeremias Pineda. ESPN's Keith Law went to Beloit to see Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario and the rest of the Snappers. Former Twins outfielder Lew Ford hit his first home run at the big league level since 2007 (see Video of the Week). I loved this shot of him rounding third with a smiling coming across his face. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-nxARY1FeXJQ/UEA2Z2xWIaI/AAAAAAAADME/_mRU-pXAVWg/s320/LewFordHR.jpg Poor Liam Hendriks indeed... Scott Diamond threw at Josh Hamilton and got in trouble for it so maybe he needs the ethics of throwing at hitters. For the second year in a row, the Twins will look to avoid 100 losses by the end of September. Adam Greenberg was hit in the head during his only MLB at-bat and he is campaigning for another shot at the big league level. Hank Aaron joined many other former sluggers saying PED punishments are not enough. Baseball might need to start thinking about getting collisions at home plate out of the game. Enjoy this week's edition of Mike Trout is amazing. Chipper Jones has gotten quite the wide collection of gifts as he makes his final stops in some NL cities. There are some bad things going on with the Rockies and their rotation plan is not the greatest. This song is going to get really old in the postseason. My Weekly Rundown Monday: What will the Twins do with Justin Morneau? Tuesday: Handling of young pitchers has changed Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Wednesday: If Joe Mauer was traded, where could he go? Video of the Week: Lew Ford hit his first home run since 2007 earlier this week. It was also great that it came off of Francisco Liriano. Ford would go on to hit another home run later in the week so he is on quite the nice run for the Orioles as they try to stay in the playoff hunt in the American League.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2193[/ATTACH] On a day when the biggest piece of news coming out of the Twins Cities should have been the Twins securing the 2014 MLB All-Star Game, most of the national attention was on the reports that Joe Mauer had been placed on revocable waivers. Fans and some members of the media got all in a tizzy by the thought that Mauer, the hometown boy, could ever leave the Twins. In the end, it seems like a whole lot of fuss for nothing because there doesn't seem to be much of a chance of Mauer and his massive contract leaving the Twin Cities. To the casual fan, it can be confusing at this time of the year to hear about players being put on waivers when the trade deadline has come and gone. The big deal pulled off between the Red Sox and the Dodgers can get fans thinking about what other big name players will be the next to move. It is rare to see big moves like this pulled off after the trade deadline because of all of the hoops that teams have to jump through to get a player to a team that truly wants to trade for them. A trade involving Joe Mauer would be similarly hard because he holds a full no-trade clause so any move for Mauer has to be approved by the catcher. A few notes about the waiver process: Many teams will place players on waivers at this time of the year and there is a pretty good chance that this isn't the first (or last) time Mauer has seen the waiver wire. Any MLB team can put a claim in on a player, the entire American League would get first crack at Mauer in reverse order of the standings. If no one in the AL claims, Mauer an NL team could put in a claim and once again it goes in reverse order of the standings. The club putting in a claim risks the chance that the Twins would just dump Mauer's contract on the without the Twins getting anything back in a trade. This means there are quite a few clubs that couldn't even think about it. Since no team put in a claim on Mauer, the Twins could work out a deal with any club at this point in the year. It would just need to be approve by Mauer because of his full no-trade clause. Reports have come out to say that the Twins place everyone on waivers so Mauer being place on waivers should be taken with a grain of sand. With all of that being said, it is interesting to think about the possibility of one of the best players in the game being dealt to a contender for a title run. There are plenty of obstacles in the way including Mauer's ridiculously large contract and his no-trade clause. Of course there would be teams interested in obtaining Mauer's services but only a few would be able to absorb this massive deal. There are plenty of clubs that are set in the catching department so they would have no need for Mauer but who else would be interested in the Twins' hometown boy? Let's take a minute and pretend that a deal for Mauer will take place. Here are five of the top teams that have the budget and room for a catcher to slide into their line-up. Yankees: The darn Yankees have the highest payroll in the game so adding one more big salary might not be too hard to handle. Before Mauer signed his big deal with the Twins, it was widely speculated that the Yankees would be interested and making a play for Mauer when he hit free agency. In the past, Mauer has performed very well at Yankee Stadium and the short porch in right field could help to bolster his offensive numbers. He has played 14 games at the new Yankee Stadium and he has hit .327/.439/.545 with three home runs and three doubles. One of the problems with the Yankees might be the age of the club and the fact that Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter could be forced to spend more time as the DH. The Yankees are set at first base with Mark Teixeria so where would Mauer get all of his at-bats? His catching duties have been cut back and it is expected for this trend to continue as he approaches age 30. Red Sox: The original report from Ken Rosenthal speculated about Boston being interested in Mauer because of their recent salary dump. Mauer has been a target for the Red Sox in the past and it is hard not to think that he could succeed in a Boston uniform. It's easy to imagine Mauer scattering balls off of the Green Monster on a nightly basis. David Ortiz is at the end of his career as a DH and Mauer could get some time at first without Adrian Gonzalez in the picture. With $142.5 million left on Mauer's contract, the Red Sox could have tried to jump for Mauer but this wasn't the case. Jacoby Ellsbury is due to get a contact extension at some point and the Red Sox just got rid of a lot of money in bad contracts. The idea of adding Mauer was probably too much at this point as the Red Sox look to go in a different direction. Angels: Los Angeles needs a catcher and they aren't afraid of spending money as they showed this past offseason with the editions of Albert Pujols and CJ Wilson. Do the Angels need another star at this point? They have all of the pieces to one of the best rotations in the game. Albert Pujols is the best hitter in this generation and Mike Trout is emerging as a once in a generation star. There are plenty of big names in LA and Mauer might get lost in the shuffle. With Pujols getting most of the time at first base, Mauer would need to find time at other spots. Some other bad contracts in LA make it seem like this deal would be tough to pull off for the Angels. If I'm Terry Ryan, I say, "Mauer for Trout, straight up." Then I pull the phone away from my ear because of the laughter on the other end. Dodgers: The new ownership group has shown their willingness to spend big money and adding another contract might not be that big of a deal. The absence of a DH in the National League seems like a draw back from Mauer moving to the Senior Circuit. Gonzalez looks to be locked in at first base so Mauer would be out of the line-up on a more regular basis to give his legs a rest from catching duties. He could always try the outfield but the Dodgers are sitting pretty well in that department as well. Making another big move could be huge for the Dodgers franchise but it doesn't seem like their roster is a good fit for Mr. Mauer. Cubs: Since Theo Epstein moved to Chicago, the Cubs haven't made too much of a splash. Adding Mauer to the fold could be a franchise changing move for a team trying to dig out of the lower levels of the National League. If the Red Sox were in love with Mauer in the past, it makes sense to think that Epstein would like to get the player and maybe rub it in his old team's face. Much like the Twins, the Cubs and Epstein are attempting to fix a club after a couple of rough seasons. Mauer's addition to the Cubs would make a splash but they are trying to turn themselves around for the long haul. It doesn't make much sense to bring in a deal like Mauer for the rebuilding process. So what do you think? Where would Mauer end up if he was traded?

Even though they are a last place team like the Twins, the pesky Seattle Mariners have seemed to have the Twins number in 2012. For the second night in a row, the Twins couldn't get much offense going and it's tough to win games without scoring runs. The good news is that the Twins are getting closer to getting the second pick in next year's draft. Only the Cubs and the Astros have a worse record than the Twins so this recent stretch of poor play has pushed Minnesota ahead of Colorado. I spent the evening taking in some Independent League Baseball as the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks returned to Newman Outdoor Field. There was a Bobblelection held as fans had to pick between getting an Obama bobblehead or a Romney bobblehead. The first candidate to run out of bobbleheads would be declared the winner. It turns out that the Fort Myers Miracle are having a similar promotion on Thursday evening at their home game. ROCHESTER 10, BUFFALO 4 The Red Wings used a 5-run top of the ninth inning to separate themselves from the Bisons on Tuesday evening. Buffalo struck early for a couple runs but Rochester slowly pecked away before coming up big in their last at-bat. Rene Rivera and Tsuyoshi Nishioka each drove in three runs. Rivera had a home run and a double to his credit while Nishioka settled for a three hit night. Brian Dozier continues to struggle since his demotion as he went 0-4 with two strikeouts. Chris Parmelee had a hat trick with three strikeouts in the game. Sharion Martis picked up his third win of the year in a very strong outing. Over six innings on the mound, he gave up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts. Anthony Slama made things a little more interesting in the ninth by giving up a two-run bomb but he still picked up his 13th save on the year. NEW BRITAIN 4, TRENTON 7 A big 5-run second inning put the Thunder up big and the Rock Cats couldn't recover on this night. Steve Hirschfeld was roughed up for six runs in less than two innings of work. This made it a long night for the bullpen but Edgar Ibarra, Dakota Watts, Aaron Thompson, and Jose Gonzalez managed to make it through the rest of the game by only allowing one more run. The lone run came on a solo home run so it was a pretty good 6.1 innings from the bullpen forces. Josmil Pinto went 3-for-4 on the night with his first double since being promoted from Fort Myers. In the fifth inning, Deibinson Romero hit his 19th home run of the year. Nate Hanson also went 2-for-4 in the loss. FORT MYERS 10, BRADENTON 11 (7 INNINGS) FORT MYERS 4, BRADENTON 2 (7 INNINGS) The first game of the night turned into quite the slugfest as the teams combined for 21 runs on 19 hits. The Miracle entered the last inning down by six runs and they would storm back before falling a run short. Steve Liddle hit his third home run of the season and he had three RBI. Most of the dirty work was done by Angel Morales as he hit a grand slam in the final frame to make things interesting. With his RBI from earlier in the game, he finished with five RBI in the contest. Clint Dempster took the loss after giving up six runs in less than an inning on the mound. Compared to the first game of the night, the second game was a nice, tidy win for the Miracle in their double-header. A couple runs in the third and sixth innings were enough to push the team to a victory. Steve Liddle hit his second home run of the day and his two-run shot turned out to be the difference in the score. Daniel Ortiz was the only member of the Miracle to have more than one hit by going 2-for-4 with his 23rd double. Pat Dean earned his 10th victory by pitching five innings and surrendering two runs with five strikeouts. BELOIT 0, CEDAR RAPIDS 5 The Snappers put seven hits on the board but the pitching staff for the Kernals kept them from scoring a run in this game. Beloit only had one extra base hit in the game, a double off of the bat of Drew Leachman. Jairo Rodriguez went 2-for-3 and he was the lone player with a multi-hit game. The team left nine men on base and they missed the presence of Miguel Sano who was out of the line-up for the second straight night. Matt Tomshaw had an okay outing but he was still saddled with his fifth loss of the year. The team had three errors in the game including two from Adam Pettersen trying to fill in for Sano at third base. This meant that Tomshaw only gave up two earned runs during his five innings pitched. It was the third consecutive start that Tomshaw has lost. ELIZABETHTON 6, PRICETON 4 A solid offensive outing from the young E-Twins helped the team to the victory on Tuesday evening. Top draft pick Byron Buxton went 2-for-4 with two steals and two runs scored out of the lead-off spot. He was backed up by Niko Goodrum as he was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple in the game. Max Kepler continued to show his power stroke by hitting his 10th home run and stealing a base. Hein Robb started the game and gave up two earned runs on seven hits in a little less than five innings. Joshua Burris improved to a perfect 7-0 with the victory on this night out of the bullpen. He threw the last two innings and only allowed one man to reach base. --- Players of the Day for August 28, 2012 Hitter of the Day: Steve Liddle [ATTACH=CONFIG]2172[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day: Shairon Martis [ATTACH=CONFIG]2173[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, August 29th Schedule Rochester: Off Day New Britain @ Trenton: LHP Logan Darnell Fort Myers @ Bradenton: RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Wisconsin: LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton @ Danville: RHP JO Berrios --- If you have any questions or comments on the minor league system, leave them in the comments sections so they can be answered by myself or one of the other readers.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]2153[/ATTACH] The biggest debate in the baseball world over the course of the last few months has been surrounding the Washington Nationals and their decision to shut-down Stephen Strasburg, one of the best young starting pitchers in the game. He is pitching in his first full season at the big league level and he only pitched at the end of last season since he was recovering from Tommy John surgery. Nationals fans see their team in first place and they want Strasburg to help the franchise reach the playoffs for the first time since the team moved to DC. Even with pressure from outside sources, the front office for the team is holding their ground and telling the media that Strasburg will be shut down at some point in the next couple weeks. Almost a decade ago, the Cubs were in a similar position with a young pitcher of their own but their approach to handling their young arm was a little different. As Tom Verducci wrote about in his piece yesterday, the Cubs and their coaching staff seemed to beat Mark Prior into the ground in his first season as a big league pitcher. He had pitched almost 170 innings by the time September rolled around and he would average 125 pitches in his last nine starts of the 2003 season. It was by far his best season as a professional but he would never be the same from that point forward. Some blame his overuse and others look at his poor mechanics but teams have never looked at young pitchers the same way since Prior's breakdown. With his minor league seasons taken into account, Prior had thrown 379 innings by the time of his age 22 season. This number seems to be large for a player and it also includes some of those outings with high pitch counts that aren't common in the present day game. Prior was the number two pick out of college in the 2001 draft and the Twins had the same pick in the draft that took place the year before Prior left college. The Twins took Adam Johnson, a right-handed pitcher, out of Cal State Fullerton. He didn't have quite the pedigree of Prior but he was trying to work his way to the big leagues through the Twins farm system. By the time he reached the end of his age 22 season, he had thrown 357 innings in the minor leagues, a number very close to Prior's total number of innings. Johnson would be out of the Twins organization after the 2004 season as he went on to play in independent leagues, the Mexican League, and eventually he joined the A's farm system. Prior would pitch over 100 innings in 2004 and 2005 but he hasn't pitched at the big league level since 2006. Were the Cubs and Twins following the same plan by pushing their young pitchers too hard? Things have sure changed in recent years for young pitchers. As touched on before, the Nationals have a lot of money and one surgery under their belt with Strasburg. This has caused them to be very cautious when it comes to their precious arm. As the baseball landscape has changed so has the approach to innings limits and pitch counts for different players. Matt Garza was taken by the Twins in the first round of the 2005 draft and the team watched his innings limit more in his younger years. A shift happened in the baseball world and it's hard to get through this time of the year without hearing about minor league pitchers reaching their limit and being shut down for the year or sent to the bullpen. Flash-forward to the present day and it seems as if every player is forced to undergo some kind of operation during their career with Tommy John surgery leading the way. Stephan Strasburg might seem like the case study to follow for teams looking to model their innings limits and pitch counts for a pitcher. The nice things for the Nationals has been to see how fellow starter Jordan Zimmerman has done since his own injury. The team followed a strict pitch count with him during his first full season back in 2011 and now the team has been rewarded with him having his best season as a professional. The limits worked for Zimmerman and the team hopes that the same will hold true for Strasburg. Fans of the Twins minor league system have been following the recovery of former first round pick Kyle Gibson as he makes his way back from Tommy John surgery. He is currently pitching with the Rochester Red Wings and it sounds like the team is happy to see him finish the year with that club. From there, he will most likely go to the instructional leagues or to the Arizona Fall League to continue his comeback. The Twins will be in a similar position to the Nationals next season with Gibson as he will be in his first full season since the surgery. There will undoubtedly be an innings limit for the right-handed pitcher in 2013 and he might have to be shut down early much like Strasburg. The Cubs pushed Mark Prior to the limit and the rest is baseball history. Now the world of pitching is all about innings limits, 100 pitch outings, and trying to find the right combination of rest and recovery. Tommy John surgeries seem to be a right of passage to make it to the big leagues and this comes in an era that has seen plenty of perfect games and no hitters. With baseball toughening their stance on PEDs, pitchers seem to have gotten back a little bit more of their edge on the mound and this makes young arms all the more valuable. Baseball will never be the same because of Mark Prior but he can't have imagined that it would be for this reason.