Cody Christie

A rain delay in Detroit held up the start of the Twins game for an hour and a half. When the game got underway, it turned into a back and forth contest between the Tigers and the Twins. The Twins bash brothers of Josh Willingham and Trevor Plouffe each added another home run to their totals for the season as they continue to try and match each other for the team lead. Even Joe Mauer was able to hit his second home run in the past week with an opposite field home run in the later innings of the game. Nick Blackburn left a few too many sinkers up in the zone and the Tigers offense was able to hit some balls out of the park. The bullpen for the Twins was able to keep some of the damage to a minimum by not allowing a run in their five innings of work. Have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July but make sure to check out what happened across the minor leagues on Tuesday night. ROCHESTER 5, PAWTUCKET 3 In the midst of a tough stretch of baseball where the Red Wings had lost five of their last seven games, Rochester was able to put together a huge seventh inning to come out victorious. One of the most miraculous things might have been the fact that all of the runs were scored after two outs had already been recorded in the inning. Clete Thomas and Rene Rivera hit back-to-back home runs to start the scoring in the frame. The other big hit in the frame was a double by Pedro Florimon to plate two runs and put the team up by two. The bullpen for the Red Wings has been outstanding in recent weeks and they have pitched 12.1 scoreless innings in a row. A starting pitcher hasn't picked up a victory for the Red Wings since June 25 and that trend continued on Tuesday with Bobby Lanigan picking up his first victory of the season for Rochester. Casey Fien pitched two perfect innings for his third hold of the year and he struck out four of the six men that he faced. NEW BRITAIN 14, BOWIE 7 The Rock Cats wasted little time jumping on the Baysox by starting a hit parade in the bottom of the first inning and exploding for ten runs. With this many runs on the board, there were plenty of offensive stars for New Britain. Estarlin De Los Santos was 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, and four RBI. Evan Bigley matched De Los Santos with four runs batted in and he also had a double. Chris Herrmann and Chris Colabello each piled up three hits over the course of the game. Danny Lehman was the only hitter to remain hitless in the game for New Britain. With all of the runs on the board, the pitching staff for New Britain didn't need to be perfect on this night. Blake Martin started the game but didn't make it through five innings before giving up six earned runs. Edgar Ibarra picked up his second win since being promoted from Fort Myers at the end of June. The last 3.1 innings were pitched by Daniel Sattler for his first save and he only surrendered one hit. FORT MYERS 11, ST. LUCIE 2 There were fireworks scheduled for after the game but the Miracle made sure the fans saw some during the game as Fort Myers piled up 13 hits against St. Lucie. Lance Ray was 2-for3 in the contest with his ninth home run of the year and three RBI. Daniel Ortiz also knocked in three runs with his two doubles in the game. It was a very balanced attack for the Miracle as five of the nine batters had multiple hits and six batters had at least one run batted in. After being saddled with the loss in each of his last three starts, Cole Nelson picked up his first victory since June 12. He threw five innings and was charged with two earned runs but he did give up five walks. In three innings of work, Marty Popham was almost perfect by allowing a couple of hits and striking out three. It was the third straight scoreless outing thrown by Popham. The Miracle sit one game behind Bradenton for first place. BELOIT 1, CEDAR RAPIDS 10 Unfortunately for the Snappers, they were on the wrong end of a blowout loss in this game. Beloit only managed four hits in the game and Adam Pettersen had half of those knocks. The only run of the game for Beloit was driven in by Adam Bryant with a single in the bottom of the fourth inning. After getting pulled from the game on Monday with three defensive errors, Miguel Sano was absent from the line-up on Tuesday night. For the second straight start, Tim Shibuya struggled and he was pulled after two innings and a couple of home runs allowed. Bart Carter allowed five earned runs in less than two innings on the mound but he did manage five strike outs. The only Snappers pitcher to survive without allowing a run was Clint Dempster and he struck out four of the six batters that he faced. ELIZABETHTON 7, PRINCETON 2 The month of July has been off to a fantastic start for Romy Jimenez as he has hit two double in every game so far this month. For the season, he is batting .444 and his OPS is an eye popping 1.447 in 11 games. Adam Walker hit his second home run of the season and he had three RBI in the contest. Travis Harrison was also able to knock in two runs with his couple of hits for the E-Twins. It seems that the Twins are being careful with the amount of innings pitched by Taylor Rogers as he has thrown four innings in all of his starts this year. On this night, he allowed two runs on a couple of hits but the big lead allowed him to pitch comfortably. Tyler Herr picked up his second win of the season and he has not allowed a run in his last five trips to the mound. GCL TWINS 3, GCL RAYS 2 After trailing for most of the game, the GCL Twins scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to come out on top. Aderlin Mejia and Logan Wade lead the Twins with two hits apiece and each player had an extra-base hit to their credit. Dereck Rodriguez doubled in a run as part of the rally for the Twins and he later scored the winning run when Bryan Haar singled. Byron Buxton might of had his worst game as a professional by striking out three times in four plate appearances. Adrain Salcedo made his second appearance as he tries to return from injury. He made his first start and gave up two hits and two unearned runs in his two innings of work. Chris Mazza got his first victory of the year and his first victory as a professional. He threw 2.1 innings and struck out three to lower his ERA to 1.17. Jose Berrios got his first save by throwing a scoreless ninth. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, July 3, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Estarlin De Los Santos http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gOdjyQdGZmY/T_O60AXicrI/AAAAAAAACm4/d9nQKewbNIY/s320/RockCats.jpg Pitcher(s) of the Day- Red Wings Bullpen (12.1 inning scoreless streak) http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XkMsrXHz5BU/T_O64-1fpRI/AAAAAAAACnA/ronnKtp688Q/s320/4553.gif --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, July 4th Schedule Rochester vs Pawtucket- LHP Luke French New Britain vs Trenton- LHP Logan Darnell Fort Myers at Charlotte- RHP Matthew Hauser Beloit at Clinton- LHP Steven Gruver Elizabethton vs Kingsport- RHP Hudson Boyd GCL Twins vs. GCL Orioles- TBA GCL Twins at GCL Orioles- TBA --- 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.

Glen Perkins came into the ninth inning in Detroit with a two-run lead to work with and he sure made things interesting by allowing Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder to reach on singles. In the end, Perkins was able to get out of the jam and the Twins were victorious for the fourth straight game. It was interesting to see the Twins put together six runs without managing an extra-base hit. This was especially intriguing after a weekend where the team went homer happy against the Royals pitching staff. After Liam Hendriks looked to be in line for his first win at the MLB level, he ran into trouble in the fifth inning with too many walks. The bullpen was left to finish off the final five innings and the pitchers put together shut out frame after shut out frame to preserve the win. Anthony Swarzak ended up with the victory but Alex Burnett was also very good during his time on the mound. Since it is Tuesday, make sure to check back later tonight as I will recap all of the action from across the minor league system for the Twins. For now, enjoy this week's edition of "Tuesday Morning Tidbits." http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GzokFNoOgeo/T_JZ6yZFYaI/AAAAAAAAClI/3BnWdZIagMY/s320/ballplayer_pelotero.jpg Sano documentary under heat from MLB A documentary about the signing and development of players in the Dominican Republic is being released and MLB is not happy about the content covered in the film. The movie is called "Ballplayer: Pelotero" and it follows closely the lives of two players as they strive to make their way from the fields in the Dominican Republic to huge signing bonuses with MLB clubs. One of the young players followed in this film is Miguel Sano, the top prospect in the Twins organization. One of the most intriguing scenes in the movie is some hidden camera footage from the family of Miguel Sano when Rene Gayo, the Pittsburgh Pirates' director of Latin American scouting operations, tries to convince his family to admit that he lied about his age. Later in the film, the family attorney for the Sano's accuses MLB of trying to coax him into signing with the lowly Pirates. These were just some of the scenes that MLB was not happy about from the early screenings of the film. Overall, it seems like it would be a very interesting film for fans of baseball. There have been questions about the ages of players coming out of the Dominican Republic for years but it seems like baseball is trying to do a better job of cleaning up this mess. For fans of the Twins, it would be interesting to see behind the scenes of the player that might be the future of the franchise. VIEW THE TRAILER>>> [video=youtube_share;i9jfhRyoljA] Liriano's audition continues If the Twins want to get pass Liriano on to another team before the trade deadline, there seems to be more than one team that is interested in his services. During his last start on Sunday afternoon, there were scouts in attendance from the Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. It seems like the Braves might have the most interest since they have sent one of their top scouts to attend the last two starts by Mr. Liriano. This would make sense with some of the problems that the Braves have gone through with their starting pitching this season. Since Liriano returned to the rotation at the end of May, he has done much better by posting a 2.95 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched. This has only translated to one win but his strike out to walk ratio has improved greatly as he has struck out 46 batters and walked 18. In his six starts before being banished to the bullpen, Liriano walked 19 and struck out 21 in 26.2 innings. This fast turn around in performance might have helped the Twins to squeeze some value out of Liriano. The Atlanta Braves have a lot of pitching prospects in their top propsects and it would be nice for the Twins to add some depth to their minor league system in this area of weakness for the club. Another intriguing prospect could be Christian Bethancourt, a 20-year old catcher that has already made his way to the Double-A level. Baseball America had Bethancourt ranked as the ninth best prospect in the Braves organization so that might be a high cost for Liriano. Sano rediscovers his HR stroke, errors mounting After seeing a steady stream of offspeed pitches for most of the month of June, Miguel Sano rediscovered his home run swing during the last few games. He has hit three home runs in his last five times in the line-up and he is now leading the Midwest League with 18 home runs on the year. His recent hot streak has raised his average back above .240 after a rough couple of months where he hit under .220 in 191 at-bats. This is a welcome sign for fans looking for Sano to be the next big thing for the Twins organization. In a less positive note, Sano continues to struggle mightily in the field as he uses his big frame at third base. He went into last night's game with 28 errors for the season and he had to be pulled from the game after having adding another three errors to that total. Until he shows that he can improve at third base, there will continue to be questions about whether he can stick at the hot corner. His high prospect status means that he will move through the organization but he might need to shift to a less vital position on the field.

Glen Perkins came into the ninth inning in Detroit with a two-run lead to work with and he sure made things interesting by allowing Miguel Cabrera and Prince Fielder to reach on singles. In the end, Perkins was able to get out of the jam and the Twins were victorious for the fourth straight game. It was interesting to see the Twins put together six runs without managing an extra-base hit. This was especially intriguing after a weekend where the team went homer happy against the Royals pitching staff. After Liam Hendriks looked to be in line for his first win at the MLB level, he ran into trouble in the fifth inning with too many walks. The bullpen was left to finish off the final five innings and the pitchers put together shut out frame after shut out frame to preserve the win. Anthony Swarzak ended up with the victory but Alex Burnett was also very good during his time on the mound. Since it is Tuesday, make sure to check back later tonight as I will recap all of the action from across the minor league system for the Twins. For now, enjoy this week's edition of "Tuesday Morning Tidbits." http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GzokFNoOgeo/T_JZ6yZFYaI/AAAAAAAAClI/3BnWdZIagMY/s320/ballplayer_pelotero.jpg Sano documentary under heat from MLB A documentary about the signing and development of players in the Dominican Republic is being released and MLB is not happy about the content covered in the film. The movie is called "Ballplayer: Pelotero" and it follows closely the lives of two players as they strive to make their way from the fields in the Dominican Republic to huge signing bonuses with MLB clubs. One of the young players followed in this film is Miguel Sano, the top prospect in the Twins organization. One of the most intriguing scenes in the movie is some hidden camera footage from the family of Miguel Sano when Rene Gayo, the Pittsburgh Pirates' director of Latin American scouting operations, tries to convince his family to admit that he lied about his age. Later in the film, the family attorney for the Sano's accuses MLB of trying to coax him into signing with the lowly Pirates. These were just some of the scenes that MLB was not happy about from the early screenings of the film. Overall, it seems like it would be a very interesting film for fans of baseball. There have been questions about the ages of players coming out of the Dominican Republic for years but it seems like baseball is trying to do a better job of cleaning up this mess. For fans of the Twins, it would be interesting to see behind the scenes of the player that might be the future of the franchise. VIEW THE TRAILER>>> [video=youtube_share;i9jfhRyoljA] Liriano's audition continues If the Twins want to get pass Liriano on to another team before the trade deadline, there seems to be more than one team that is interested in his services. During his last start on Sunday afternoon, there were scouts in attendance from the Atlanta Braves, Toronto Blue Jays and New York Yankees. It seems like the Braves might have the most interest since they have sent one of their top scouts to attend the last two starts by Mr. Liriano. This would make sense with some of the problems that the Braves have gone through with their starting pitching this season. Since Liriano returned to the rotation at the end of May, he has done much better by posting a 2.95 ERA in 42.2 innings pitched. This has only translated to one win but his strike out to walk ratio has improved greatly as he has struck out 46 batters and walked 18. In his six starts before being banished to the bullpen, Liriano walked 19 and struck out 21 in 26.2 innings. This fast turn around in performance might have helped the Twins to squeeze some value out of Liriano. The Atlanta Braves have a lot of pitching prospects in their top propsects and it would be nice for the Twins to add some depth to their minor league system in this area of weakness for the club. Another intriguing prospect could be Christian Bethancourt, a 20-year old catcher that has already made his way to the Double-A level. Baseball America had Bethancourt ranked as the ninth best prospect in the Braves organization so that might be a high cost for Liriano. Sano rediscovers his HR stroke, errors mounting After seeing a steady stream of offspeed pitches for most of the month of June, Miguel Sano rediscovered his home run swing during the last few games. He has hit three home runs in his last five times in the line-up and he is now leading the Midwest League with 18 home runs on the year. His recent hot streak has raised his average back above .240 after a rough couple of months where he hit under .220 in 191 at-bats. This is a welcome sign for fans looking for Sano to be the next big thing for the Twins organization. In a less positive note, Sano continues to struggle mightily in the field as he uses his big frame at third base. He went into last night's game with 28 errors for the season and he had to be pulled from the game after having adding another three errors to that total. Until he shows that he can improve at third base, there will continue to be questions about whether he can stick at the hot corner. His high prospect status means that he will move through the organization but he might need to shift to a less vital position on the field.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ml1ZioYWw4/T_D48dTN0oI/AAAAAAAACh4/2iQJMPGHdhI/s320/mauer_willingham_640.jpg On Sunday afternoon, the 2012 MLB All-Star rosters were announced for the American League and the National League. There were a few different candidates that had the opportunity to be selected to be the Twins representative. Joe Mauer is near the top of the AL in a variety of batting categories and he plays a premium defensive position. Josh Willingham started off the season on quite the run and he might be the team MVP to this point. Since his promotion at the beginning of May, Scott Diamond has been the ace of the Twins pitching staff. Glen Perkins and Jared Burton have been dominant in their appearances out of the bullpen. In the end, the Twins will have one representative for the second year in a row. Joe Mauer was selected to his fifth career All-Star Game and he is the lone representative for his team much like Michael Cuddyer last season. There are three catchers on the AL roster so Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers and Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles will join Mauer. Napolit gets the start and Mauer and Wieters will be used in relief on a night where the temperature is suppose to be in the high 90s. When the announcement of the teams was made on Sunday, there was an uproar across the social media world that Mauer would get the only spot on the All-Star team for the Twins. Fans looked at Willingham and his high home run total and team-leading RBI total and they made the case that he should be on the team over Mauer. For the first month or so of the season, it looked like Willingham would be the only choice from the Twins roster. A rough month of May where he batted .220 brought his numbers back down to earth and might have pushed his first All-Star appearance out of reach. The outrage towards Mauer was painful to read in the moments following the announcement of the team. Twins President Dave St. Peter was left to defend Mauer in a few different tweets to angered fans. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qqozLmDtV6s/T_D0CwZJ_RI/AAAAAAAACgI/g7vtR23GbwM/s320/Picture+1.png It seemed like fans were attacking a player for his rough season in 2011 and not looking at the numbers that he has put up so far in 2012. He leads the entire AL in OBP and he ranks fifth in the AL in batting out of the players that have qualified for the leaderboard. According to FanGraphs version of WAR, Mauer has been equal to Willingham but Mauer is ranked number one among catchers. In comparison, Willingham ranks ninth among outfielders and the only outfielder with a lower WAR than him to make it was Curtis Granderson. For the second year in a row, the Twins are off to a poor start and it would be hard to imagine the team getting more than one representative to the Mid-Summer Classic. It would take a couple of magical seasons from Twins players to get more than one representative. If the Twins had gotten better starting pitching for the duration of the season, there is a good chance the team would be out of the cellar in the AL. This could mean that players like Willingham and Diamond could have joined Mauer in Kansas City. Even Mauer himself told reporters that he was upset that he would be making the trip from Minneapolis by himself. During the 2012 season, it has been disappointing to read and hear the hatred toward Mauer even though he is in the midst of a very good season. There have been plenty of double play balls hit to second base off of the bat of Mauer as he enters the second year of his monster deal. Only 35 of his 69 games have been spent behind the plate and he doesn't hit many home runs or rack up a ton of RBI. So for some people that consider themselves "fans" of the Twins, there will continue to be things to pick apart for the $23 million man. In a season that might already be lost, there is a long list of things to be frustrated about for the Twins and Mauer shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list. The American League needed to fill a catching spot on the roster and the Twins had a player that was more than deserving of a place in the All-Star Game. If there had been some holes to fill in the outfield, the same case could have been made for Willingham. There seems to be a portion of fan base for the Twins that don't appreciate the greatness of the player they have the privilege to witness. Mauer deserves to be an All-Star even if a faction of the fan base doesn't think he should be there.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2ml1ZioYWw4/T_D48dTN0oI/AAAAAAAACh4/2iQJMPGHdhI/s320/mauer_willingham_640.jpg On Sunday afternoon, the 2012 MLB All-Star rosters were announced for the American League and the National League. There were a few different candidates that had the opportunity to be selected to be the Twins representative. Joe Mauer is near the top of the AL in a variety of batting categories and he plays a premium defensive position. Josh Willingham started off the season on quite the run and he might be the team MVP to this point. Since his promotion at the beginning of May, Scott Diamond has been the ace of the Twins pitching staff. Glen Perkins and Jared Burton have been dominant in their appearances out of the bullpen. In the end, the Twins will have one representative for the second year in a row. Joe Mauer was selected to his fifth career All-Star Game and he is the lone representative for his team much like Michael Cuddyer last season. There are three catchers on the AL roster so Mike Napoli of the Texas Rangers and Matt Wieters of the Baltimore Orioles will join Mauer. Napolit gets the start and Mauer and Wieters will be used in relief on a night where the temperature is suppose to be in the high 90s. When the announcement of the teams was made on Sunday, there was an uproar across the social media world that Mauer would get the only spot on the All-Star team for the Twins. Fans looked at Willingham and his high home run total and team-leading RBI total and they made the case that he should be on the team over Mauer. For the first month or so of the season, it looked like Willingham would be the only choice from the Twins roster. A rough month of May where he batted .220 brought his numbers back down to earth and might have pushed his first All-Star appearance out of reach. The outrage towards Mauer was painful to read in the moments following the announcement of the team. Twins President Dave St. Peter was left to defend Mauer in a few different tweets to angered fans. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qqozLmDtV6s/T_D0CwZJ_RI/AAAAAAAACgI/g7vtR23GbwM/s320/Picture+1.png It seemed like fans were attacking a player for his rough season in 2011 and not looking at the numbers that he has put up so far in 2012. He leads the entire AL in OBP and he ranks fifth in the AL in batting out of the players that have qualified for the leaderboard. According to FanGraphs version of WAR, Mauer has been equal to Willingham but Mauer is ranked number one among catchers. In comparison, Willingham ranks ninth among outfielders and the only outfielder with a lower WAR than him to make it was Curtis Granderson. For the second year in a row, the Twins are off to a poor start and it would be hard to imagine the team getting more than one representative to the Mid-Summer Classic. It would take a couple of magical seasons from Twins players to get more than one representative. If the Twins had gotten better starting pitching for the duration of the season, there is a good chance the team would be out of the cellar in the AL. This could mean that players like Willingham and Diamond could have joined Mauer in Kansas City. Even Mauer himself told reporters that he was upset that he would be making the trip from Minneapolis by himself. During the 2012 season, it has been disappointing to read and hear the hatred toward Mauer even though he is in the midst of a very good season. There have been plenty of double play balls hit to second base off of the bat of Mauer as he enters the second year of his monster deal. Only 35 of his 69 games have been spent behind the plate and he doesn't hit many home runs or rack up a ton of RBI. So for some people that consider themselves "fans" of the Twins, there will continue to be things to pick apart for the $23 million man. In a season that might already be lost, there is a long list of things to be frustrated about for the Twins and Mauer shouldn't be anywhere near the top of the list. The American League needed to fill a catching spot on the roster and the Twins had a player that was more than deserving of a place in the All-Star Game. If there had been some holes to fill in the outfield, the same case could have been made for Willingham. There seems to be a portion of fan base for the Twins that don't appreciate the greatness of the player they have the privilege to witness. Mauer deserves to be an All-Star even if a faction of the fan base doesn't think he should be there.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a rough series with the White Sox, the Twins had an off day on Thursday to enjoy the Harmon Killebrew Foundation Golf Tournament and other activities in the Twin Cities. The team will pick up play this weekend with four games against the Kansas City Royals and that includes a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. At this point last season, the Twins made a run to pull themselves a little closer before the All-Star Break and this series could do the same thing for this year's club. Earlier in the week, a tragic piece of news came out of the organization. Paul Bargas, a 23-year old minor league pitcher in the Twins organization, passed away at far too young of an age. He came to the Twins from the Rockies as part of the Jose Morales deal a couple of seasons ago but he never pitched in the Twins system after being diagnosed with brain cancer. The Star Tribune did a wonderful piece on him in the winter and if there is one thing you read off of this list, it should be this article. One of the most exciting developments of the week has to be former Twins player Lew Ford joining the Twitter world. There could be plenty of teams looking to trade with the Twins in the next month and that includes the Rangers, the Blue Jays, and the Phillies. With Francisco Liriano's hot play in recent weeks, it's hard to imagine what his value would be on the trade market. After the Yankees lost two lefties out of their rotation, it might be time to get to business on a trade for Francisco Liriano. WWTD? (What will Terry do?) I'm glad you asked... The Phillies are shopping Jim Thome to AL teams but a return trip to the Twin Cities doesn't seem to make much sense. The Twins Daily crew is holding a "Fracas on the Field" event in August and it sounds like it will be a great evening of baseball related activities. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ICyjEpOTEYw/T-0o_wLj7xI/AAAAAAAACeY/ppnoGjUMZh4/s320/Fracas-on-the-Field.jpg Michael Cuddyer and the Rockies are near the bottom of the NL but it looks like the former Twins player won't be traded before the deadline. Do Valencia's shortcomings hasten the arrival of Sano? The short answer is no but he has plenty to work on in the next couple years. The first five rounds of the MLB Draft can make or break an organization and the Twins need some home runs out of the 2012 Class. The jersey worn by Don Larsen in the most famous perfect game in history is going to be up for auction. Some writers don't think Brian Dozier should still be in the majors after all of his struggles this season. Twins fans will remember the bad call made on the Joe Mauer hit down the line in the playoffs and now there was another bad call at Yankee Stadium. A minor league team lost a game in extra-innings after a player failed to touch the plate on a home run. MLB attendance is way up this season but the Twins have the biggest drop of any club in fans attending their games. Frank Viola's daughter, Brittany, made the US Olympic team as a diver and she is quite the athlete. Here is a video used during the competition where the younger Viola talks about her dad's time with the Twins. Who should be the Twins representative in the All-Star Game? There are a few candidates. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Searching for a Revere home run Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Filling out the 2012 All-Star Ballot Diamond and Plouffe talk to Season Ticket Holders Video of the Week: Mike Trout made a tremendous catch earlier this week and you should check it out if you haven't seen it. It looked very similar to a famous catch made by Torii Hunter in the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee. Granted Trout's was in a game that actually meant something but Hunter's catch was in front of a major audience. Both videos can be found at the link provided.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After a rough series with the White Sox, the Twins had an off day on Thursday to enjoy the Harmon Killebrew Foundation Golf Tournament and other activities in the Twin Cities. The team will pick up play this weekend with four games against the Kansas City Royals and that includes a day-night doubleheader on Saturday. At this point last season, the Twins made a run to pull themselves a little closer before the All-Star Break and this series could do the same thing for this year's club. Earlier in the week, a tragic piece of news came out of the organization. Paul Bargas, a 23-year old minor league pitcher in the Twins organization, passed away at far too young of an age. He came to the Twins from the Rockies as part of the Jose Morales deal a couple of seasons ago but he never pitched in the Twins system after being diagnosed with brain cancer. The Star Tribune did a wonderful piece on him in the winter and if there is one thing you read off of this list, it should be this article. One of the most exciting developments of the week has to be former Twins player Lew Ford joining the Twitter world. There could be plenty of teams looking to trade with the Twins in the next month and that includes the Rangers, the Blue Jays, and the Phillies. With Francisco Liriano's hot play in recent weeks, it's hard to imagine what his value would be on the trade market. After the Yankees lost two lefties out of their rotation, it might be time to get to business on a trade for Francisco Liriano. WWTD? (What will Terry do?) I'm glad you asked... The Phillies are shopping Jim Thome to AL teams but a return trip to the Twin Cities doesn't seem to make much sense. The Twins Daily crew is holding a "Fracas on the Field" event in August and it sounds like it will be a great evening of baseball related activities. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ICyjEpOTEYw/T-0o_wLj7xI/AAAAAAAACeY/ppnoGjUMZh4/s320/Fracas-on-the-Field.jpg Michael Cuddyer and the Rockies are near the bottom of the NL but it looks like the former Twins player won't be traded before the deadline. Do Valencia's shortcomings hasten the arrival of Sano? The short answer is no but he has plenty to work on in the next couple years. The first five rounds of the MLB Draft can make or break an organization and the Twins need some home runs out of the 2012 Class. The jersey worn by Don Larsen in the most famous perfect game in history is going to be up for auction. Some writers don't think Brian Dozier should still be in the majors after all of his struggles this season. Twins fans will remember the bad call made on the Joe Mauer hit down the line in the playoffs and now there was another bad call at Yankee Stadium. A minor league team lost a game in extra-innings after a player failed to touch the plate on a home run. MLB attendance is way up this season but the Twins have the biggest drop of any club in fans attending their games. Frank Viola's daughter, Brittany, made the US Olympic team as a diver and she is quite the athlete. Here is a video used during the competition where the younger Viola talks about her dad's time with the Twins. Who should be the Twins representative in the All-Star Game? There are a few candidates. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Searching for a Revere home run Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Filling out the 2012 All-Star Ballot Diamond and Plouffe talk to Season Ticket Holders Video of the Week: Mike Trout made a tremendous catch earlier this week and you should check it out if you haven't seen it. It looked very similar to a famous catch made by Torii Hunter in the 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee. Granted Trout's was in a game that actually meant something but Hunter's catch was in front of a major audience. Both videos can be found at the link provided.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CmydG0JkmKs/T-0AJJlItXI/AAAAAAAACco/K4BK-a6NIYg/s1600/300_fanforum.jpg As part of the Twins off day on Thursday, the Twins held their sixth Fan Forum with current third baseman Trevor Plouffe and left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond. This conference call allows season ticket holders, "On-Deck" members, and group organizers to ask a variety of questions in the hour long event. There were also multiple prizes given away including on-field passes, VIP parking, the opportunity to raise the Twins Territory Flag, and some autographed items. There were some interesting quotes from both players over the course of the night but one quote from Diamond stuck out to me. The fan that asked the question wanted to know what players on the Twins had made the biggest impact on their careers. Since Diamond is a pitcher, he mentioned Carl Pavano and a surprising name, Kevin Slowey. He made note of the fact that Slowey taught him different ways to think about his approach to pitching. After Slowey's rough exit from the organization, it is interesting to hear his impact on what is now the team's best starting pitcher. Diamond also talked highly about the welcoming environment in the Twins clubhouse when he joined the team last year. He said this was an improvement over what he had seen in the Braves organization. Later in the call, Diamond talked about using the other veteran players on ways to approach hitters in the American League. Other hurlers like Brian Duensing and Carl Pavano have helped to familiarize him with their opponents. On more than one occasion, Diamond praised the work of Rick Anderson to help him make his turnaround. He said that "Andy" gets him mentally prepared for each start in a variety of ways. There are times that Diamond can try and pitch to the scouting reports too much and this takes away from his game. Anderson helps Diamond by keeping him focused on his style of pitching and it seems to have worked so far. Here are some other random tidbits from Diamond's answers on Thursday night. Fellow left-hander Andy Pettitte is someone that Diamond admires because of their similar throwing style.His favorite park to pitch in is the Rogers Centre because it is close to his family in Canada. On his off days, Diamond likes to spend time outside and on the water. He came from a National League organization but he likes the DH. He said it takes away from his pitching when he has to think about all that goes into batting. There have obviously been some changes to Plouffe's approach at the plate during the 2012 season. While Diamond talked highly of Anderson, Plouffe had nothing but praise for Joe Valvra and the hard work that he has done. He credited Valvra with making his swing better and for having a vast knowledge about every pitcher the Twins face. Part of the changes for Plouffe have come in the last week. He referred to the last seven days as "slider mania" because of the way pitchers have changed their approach with him at the plate. This is just one more thing for him and Valvra to work on. One of the poll questions for the night was about who the fans thought would lead the team in home runs by the end of the year. A laughable choice in the live poll was Joe Mauer and needless to say, he didn't finish first in the balloting. When Plouffe was asked about his battle with Josh Willingham for leading the team in home runs, he said that he doesn't care who ends up on top. If Diamond and Plouffe had their way, both Plouffe and Willingham would finish tied with atleast 70 home runs. There are some other things that Plouffe has been focusing on as he finds himself in the line-up on a daily basis. Since he hasn't played much third base in the past, he is putting in a lot of work at the hot corner. There are new angles to the ball that he has to get use to at third. He has been working on his defense a lot and he stressed the fact that his defense is an important part of his game. Plouffe wants to be a good defensive player at third and not just an average defender. Here are some other tidbits from Plouffe's answers during the conversation. He has been taking more first pitches this season so he can work on tracking pitches. This has especially been the case with pitchers he has never seen before. He loves to play golf on his off day. Today he went with Anthony Swarzak, Brian Dozier, and Drew Butera. Apparently Drew Butera is a stud on the golf course. His favorite stadium to play in is Angels Stadium because his family is from the area. There were plenty of jokes about Plouffe being engaged and how daughters across Twins Territory are up in arms about him being off of the market.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CmydG0JkmKs/T-0AJJlItXI/AAAAAAAACco/K4BK-a6NIYg/s1600/300_fanforum.jpg As part of the Twins off day on Thursday, the Twins held their sixth Fan Forum with current third baseman Trevor Plouffe and left-handed pitcher Scott Diamond. This conference call allows season ticket holders, "On-Deck" members, and group organizers to ask a variety of questions in the hour long event. There were also multiple prizes given away including on-field passes, VIP parking, the opportunity to raise the Twins Territory Flag, and some autographed items. There were some interesting quotes from both players over the course of the night but one quote from Diamond stuck out to me. The fan that asked the question wanted to know what players on the Twins had made the biggest impact on their careers. Since Diamond is a pitcher, he mentioned Carl Pavano and a surprising name, Kevin Slowey. He made note of the fact that Slowey taught him different ways to think about his approach to pitching. After Slowey's rough exit from the organization, it is interesting to hear his impact on what is now the team's best starting pitcher. Diamond also talked highly about the welcoming environment in the Twins clubhouse when he joined the team last year. He said this was an improvement over what he had seen in the Braves organization. Later in the call, Diamond talked about using the other veteran players on ways to approach hitters in the American League. Other hurlers like Brian Duensing and Carl Pavano have helped to familiarize him with their opponents. On more than one occasion, Diamond praised the work of Rick Anderson to help him make his turnaround. He said that "Andy" gets him mentally prepared for each start in a variety of ways. There are times that Diamond can try and pitch to the scouting reports too much and this takes away from his game. Anderson helps Diamond by keeping him focused on his style of pitching and it seems to have worked so far. Here are some other random tidbits from Diamond's answers on Thursday night. Fellow left-hander Andy Pettitte is someone that Diamond admires because of their similar throwing style.His favorite park to pitch in is the Rogers Centre because it is close to his family in Canada. On his off days, Diamond likes to spend time outside and on the water. He came from a National League organization but he likes the DH. He said it takes away from his pitching when he has to think about all that goes into batting. There have obviously been some changes to Plouffe's approach at the plate during the 2012 season. While Diamond talked highly of Anderson, Plouffe had nothing but praise for Joe Valvra and the hard work that he has done. He credited Valvra with making his swing better and for having a vast knowledge about every pitcher the Twins face. Part of the changes for Plouffe have come in the last week. He referred to the last seven days as "slider mania" because of the way pitchers have changed their approach with him at the plate. This is just one more thing for him and Valvra to work on. One of the poll questions for the night was about who the fans thought would lead the team in home runs by the end of the year. A laughable choice in the live poll was Joe Mauer and needless to say, he didn't finish first in the balloting. When Plouffe was asked about his battle with Josh Willingham for leading the team in home runs, he said that he doesn't care who ends up on top. If Diamond and Plouffe had their way, both Plouffe and Willingham would finish tied with atleast 70 home runs. There are some other things that Plouffe has been focusing on as he finds himself in the line-up on a daily basis. Since he hasn't played much third base in the past, he is putting in a lot of work at the hot corner. There are new angles to the ball that he has to get use to at third. He has been working on his defense a lot and he stressed the fact that his defense is an important part of his game. Plouffe wants to be a good defensive player at third and not just an average defender. Here are some other tidbits from Plouffe's answers during the conversation. He has been taking more first pitches this season so he can work on tracking pitches. This has especially been the case with pitchers he has never seen before. He loves to play golf on his off day. Today he went with Anthony Swarzak, Brian Dozier, and Drew Butera. Apparently Drew Butera is a stud on the golf course. His favorite stadium to play in is Angels Stadium because his family is from the area. There were plenty of jokes about Plouffe being engaged and how daughters across Twins Territory are up in arms about him being off of the market.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f_PHNj070Po/T-oBZjPoBhI/AAAAAAAACY4/Wy7rJR20WXA/s320/2012+All+Star+ballot.jpg Frequent visitors to this site might have noticed the logo on the right side of the page for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. There are a few different obligations that come along being part of this organization. Through out the year, the members vote on who should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, all of the end of the season awards (MVP, Rookie of the Year, etc), and various other things. It is almost time for the All-Star rosters to be announced and that means it is time to post the players that I think should be starting in the Mid-Summer Classic. There are some tight races in the balloting but lucky enough for me I don't have to stick to what the ballots are saying. Here is the look at my starters for the American League and the National League in the 2012 All-Star Game in Kansas City. 2012 American League All-Star Ballot C: Joe Mauer, Twins- He ranks in the top five for batting average and he is near the top of the list for highest on-base percentage in the entire American League. It looks like Mike Napoli is going to easily win the fan voting and his postseason last year was very good. According to fWAR, Napoli is only the fifth best catcher in the AL and Mauer ranks number one. 1B: Paul Konerko, White Sox- He is off to a tremendous start in the 2012 for the White Sox and he ranks in the top two in the AL in batting average and OBP. There are some other candidates in the AL like Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder, and Albert Pujols but Konerko deserves the start. At 36-years old, it would be cool for him to get a start in an All-Star game in the Midwest since he has played his entire career in that region. 2B: Robinson Cano, Yankees- There are some very good candidates in the American League at second base but Cano is clearly the best among the group. He plays outstanding defense and combines this with a powerful swing. In recent weeks, he has looked like the best hitter in the American League. The 2011 Home Run Derby Champion will be defending his title as the AL Team Captain in the event for 2012. 3B: Adrian Beltre, Rangers- Mike Moustakas and Brett Lawrie might be fighting over this All-Star spot in the coming years. But for right now, there are a couple of veteran players that deserve the honor. Miguel Cabrera has moved back to third base and he is considered one of the best hitters in the game. My vote goes to Beltre for his overall performance at the plate and in the field. SS: Elvis Andrus, Rangers- It seems like the AL shortstop position will belong to Derek Jeter until he decides to retire. That's fine for one of the most consistent players of the current generation. His defense pulls down his value at shortstop and he didn't even want to show up at the game last year so I am looking at other candidates. Andrus and Beltre combine for quite the left side of the infield for the Rangers and they should both be starting in Kansas City. OF: Mike Trout, Angels- Trout is having an MVP caliber season for the Los Angeles Angels and he is only 20-years old. The rookie outfield has shown tremendous speed, defense, and power after starting the year in the minor leagues. The biggest downfall to his All-Star resume is the fact that he isn't on the ballot. Fans will have to write his name in but he could get voted in as a reserve player. OF: Josh Hamilton, Rangers- For the first portion of the season, the Rangers looked like they were going to run away with the American League title for the third year in a row. Since that time, they have come back down to earth but they are still having a very good campaign. In a team full of very good players, Hamilton is near the top of the list which is good for him since he will be a free agent at the end of the year. OF: Adam Jones, Orioles- The Orioles have been sneaking around near the top of the division in the AL East for most of the season. Mr. Jones has been one of the biggest reasons for some of the team's success with some very good offensive numbers. He plays center field during the season; but in this outfield, he could move to a corner spot and let Trout take over the center field duties. DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox- Even with all of the craziness in Boston, Ortiz is on pace to have his best season hitting for power since 2007. Michael Young is piling up some votes since it seems that fans from the Rangers are stuffing the ballot boxes. This spot should still belong to Oritz but it is interesting to see Adam Dunn in third after his terrible season last year. SP: Justin Verlander, Tigers- The reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner doesn't have as many wins in 2012 but he is still having a very good year. Chris Sale and CC Sabathia could also be considered for the starting job but Verlander would be the front runner on my ballot. Over the last full season, he has been the best pitcher in the league. 2012 National League All-Star Ballot C: Carlos Ruiz, Phillies- The fans look to be in favor of starting one of the last two World Series winning catcher behind the plate, Buster Posey or Yadier Molina, which are still good choices. On the other hand, Ruiz has been outstanding in a Phillies line-up that has been full of injuries this season. It would be a shame to see Ruiz left off of the NL roster but there are some very good catchers in the Senior Circuit. 1B: Joey Votto, Reds- He might be the best hitter in the entire game of baseball and there should be no doubt about him starting at first base. Many of the other big names from the NL at first base have shifted to the AL. Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Adrian Gonzalez have all left for bigger markets and this leave Votto as the hands down candidate for the next few years. 2B: Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks- How can Dan Uggla and his .240 batting average be leading the vote for second base? That just seems wrong and his power numbers aren't much better than the rest of the field. At a weak position in the NL, I will give the nod to Hill. He isn't even in the top five in the fan balloting but he has the highest BA, OBP, and OPS of all second baseman in the NL. 3B: David Wright, Mets- The Mets have surprised a lot of people by still being in contention at this point in the season. It helps to have some outstanding pitching from RA Dickey but Wright looks to be an MVP candidate at third base. His home run total has been lower since the Mets moved to Citi Field but he seems to have adjusted to his new home and he is in the hunt for the batting title. SS: Starlin Castro, Cubs- Much like at second base in the NL, there are no standout candidates at shortstop. Jed Lawrie is leading in fWAR and he is helped by his 14 home runs but doing this on a team in Houston isn't helping his cause. Troy Tulowitzki has missed a chunk of the year with an injury. Castro sits near the top at this position in a variety of categories so he gets my vote. OF: Ryan Braun, Brewers- After his MVP performance last year, Braun is not showing any ill effects from his steroid situation and the loss of Prince Fielder. His production has been among the best in the NL even with some nagging injuries throughout the season. While Matt Kemp has missed time with his injuries, Braun has fought through his pain and been in the line-up for most of the year. OF: Michael Bourn, Braves- Three of the Braves starting outfielders could be up for the starting job in the All-Star Game with Jason Heyward, Martin Prado, and Bourn playing at a very high level. Bourn has used his speed to be a threat on the base paths and he ranks second to Braun in the fWAR for outfielders in the NL. If Matt Kemp wasn't hurt, this spot would likely go to him but an injury to Kemp means that someone else has to take his place. OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates- For the second year in a row, the Pirates are surprising some people with their first half play in the NL Central. The man powering the Pirates on the offensive side of the ball is Mr. McCutchen. After signing a big contract extension in the offseason, he is showing his team that he was worth the money by putting together his best season as a professional. SP: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals- There are quite a few National League hurlers having outstanding seasons so it is going to be tough for Tony La Russa to pick out the man on the mound for the first couple of innings. RA Dickey has been on an incredible run, Matt Cain threw a perfect game, and Zack Greinke is in the middle of another fantastic season. If MLB wants to add a little more excitement to the game, Strasburg should be the man and it helps that he is having a Cy Young caliber season for one of the best teams in the NL.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-f_PHNj070Po/T-oBZjPoBhI/AAAAAAAACY4/Wy7rJR20WXA/s320/2012+All+Star+ballot.jpg Frequent visitors to this site might have noticed the logo on the right side of the page for the Baseball Bloggers Alliance. There are a few different obligations that come along being part of this organization. Through out the year, the members vote on who should be elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, all of the end of the season awards (MVP, Rookie of the Year, etc), and various other things. It is almost time for the All-Star rosters to be announced and that means it is time to post the players that I think should be starting in the Mid-Summer Classic. There are some tight races in the balloting but lucky enough for me I don't have to stick to what the ballots are saying. Here is the look at my starters for the American League and the National League in the 2012 All-Star Game in Kansas City. 2012 American League All-Star Ballot C: Joe Mauer, Twins- He ranks in the top five for batting average and he is near the top of the list for highest on-base percentage in the entire American League. It looks like Mike Napoli is going to easily win the fan voting and his postseason last year was very good. According to fWAR, Napoli is only the fifth best catcher in the AL and Mauer ranks number one. 1B: Paul Konerko, White Sox- He is off to a tremendous start in the 2012 for the White Sox and he ranks in the top two in the AL in batting average and OBP. There are some other candidates in the AL like Mark Teixeira, Prince Fielder, and Albert Pujols but Konerko deserves the start. At 36-years old, it would be cool for him to get a start in an All-Star game in the Midwest since he has played his entire career in that region. 2B: Robinson Cano, Yankees- There are some very good candidates in the American League at second base but Cano is clearly the best among the group. He plays outstanding defense and combines this with a powerful swing. In recent weeks, he has looked like the best hitter in the American League. The 2011 Home Run Derby Champion will be defending his title as the AL Team Captain in the event for 2012. 3B: Adrian Beltre, Rangers- Mike Moustakas and Brett Lawrie might be fighting over this All-Star spot in the coming years. But for right now, there are a couple of veteran players that deserve the honor. Miguel Cabrera has moved back to third base and he is considered one of the best hitters in the game. My vote goes to Beltre for his overall performance at the plate and in the field. SS: Elvis Andrus, Rangers- It seems like the AL shortstop position will belong to Derek Jeter until he decides to retire. That's fine for one of the most consistent players of the current generation. His defense pulls down his value at shortstop and he didn't even want to show up at the game last year so I am looking at other candidates. Andrus and Beltre combine for quite the left side of the infield for the Rangers and they should both be starting in Kansas City. OF: Mike Trout, Angels- Trout is having an MVP caliber season for the Los Angeles Angels and he is only 20-years old. The rookie outfield has shown tremendous speed, defense, and power after starting the year in the minor leagues. The biggest downfall to his All-Star resume is the fact that he isn't on the ballot. Fans will have to write his name in but he could get voted in as a reserve player. OF: Josh Hamilton, Rangers- For the first portion of the season, the Rangers looked like they were going to run away with the American League title for the third year in a row. Since that time, they have come back down to earth but they are still having a very good campaign. In a team full of very good players, Hamilton is near the top of the list which is good for him since he will be a free agent at the end of the year. OF: Adam Jones, Orioles- The Orioles have been sneaking around near the top of the division in the AL East for most of the season. Mr. Jones has been one of the biggest reasons for some of the team's success with some very good offensive numbers. He plays center field during the season; but in this outfield, he could move to a corner spot and let Trout take over the center field duties. DH: David Ortiz, Red Sox- Even with all of the craziness in Boston, Ortiz is on pace to have his best season hitting for power since 2007. Michael Young is piling up some votes since it seems that fans from the Rangers are stuffing the ballot boxes. This spot should still belong to Oritz but it is interesting to see Adam Dunn in third after his terrible season last year. SP: Justin Verlander, Tigers- The reigning AL MVP and Cy Young winner doesn't have as many wins in 2012 but he is still having a very good year. Chris Sale and CC Sabathia could also be considered for the starting job but Verlander would be the front runner on my ballot. Over the last full season, he has been the best pitcher in the league. 2012 National League All-Star Ballot C: Carlos Ruiz, Phillies- The fans look to be in favor of starting one of the last two World Series winning catcher behind the plate, Buster Posey or Yadier Molina, which are still good choices. On the other hand, Ruiz has been outstanding in a Phillies line-up that has been full of injuries this season. It would be a shame to see Ruiz left off of the NL roster but there are some very good catchers in the Senior Circuit. 1B: Joey Votto, Reds- He might be the best hitter in the entire game of baseball and there should be no doubt about him starting at first base. Many of the other big names from the NL at first base have shifted to the AL. Albert Pujols, Prince Fielder, and Adrian Gonzalez have all left for bigger markets and this leave Votto as the hands down candidate for the next few years. 2B: Aaron Hill, Diamondbacks- How can Dan Uggla and his .240 batting average be leading the vote for second base? That just seems wrong and his power numbers aren't much better than the rest of the field. At a weak position in the NL, I will give the nod to Hill. He isn't even in the top five in the fan balloting but he has the highest BA, OBP, and OPS of all second baseman in the NL. 3B: David Wright, Mets- The Mets have surprised a lot of people by still being in contention at this point in the season. It helps to have some outstanding pitching from RA Dickey but Wright looks to be an MVP candidate at third base. His home run total has been lower since the Mets moved to Citi Field but he seems to have adjusted to his new home and he is in the hunt for the batting title. SS: Starlin Castro, Cubs- Much like at second base in the NL, there are no standout candidates at shortstop. Jed Lawrie is leading in fWAR and he is helped by his 14 home runs but doing this on a team in Houston isn't helping his cause. Troy Tulowitzki has missed a chunk of the year with an injury. Castro sits near the top at this position in a variety of categories so he gets my vote. OF: Ryan Braun, Brewers- After his MVP performance last year, Braun is not showing any ill effects from his steroid situation and the loss of Prince Fielder. His production has been among the best in the NL even with some nagging injuries throughout the season. While Matt Kemp has missed time with his injuries, Braun has fought through his pain and been in the line-up for most of the year. OF: Michael Bourn, Braves- Three of the Braves starting outfielders could be up for the starting job in the All-Star Game with Jason Heyward, Martin Prado, and Bourn playing at a very high level. Bourn has used his speed to be a threat on the base paths and he ranks second to Braun in the fWAR for outfielders in the NL. If Matt Kemp wasn't hurt, this spot would likely go to him but an injury to Kemp means that someone else has to take his place. OF: Andrew McCutchen, Pirates- For the second year in a row, the Pirates are surprising some people with their first half play in the NL Central. The man powering the Pirates on the offensive side of the ball is Mr. McCutchen. After signing a big contract extension in the offseason, he is showing his team that he was worth the money by putting together his best season as a professional. SP: Stephen Strasburg, Nationals- There are quite a few National League hurlers having outstanding seasons so it is going to be tough for Tony La Russa to pick out the man on the mound for the first couple of innings. RA Dickey has been on an incredible run, Matt Cain threw a perfect game, and Zack Greinke is in the middle of another fantastic season. If MLB wants to add a little more excitement to the game, Strasburg should be the man and it helps that he is having a Cy Young caliber season for one of the best teams in the NL.

With all of the talk before the game about Twins hitters destroying Gavin Floyd, it was bound to happen that he was going to put up a good performance. Over the course of seven shut out innings, he struck out nine Twins batters and only gave up five hits. Liam Hendriks had his best start of the season throwing over six innings to the tune of three runs with an Alex Rios home run being the big dagger. In the ninth inning, the Twins made things interesting by loading the bases with two outs in the frame. Jamey Carroll knocked in a couple runs with a single to cut the lead to 3-2 but that would be the final score. There was just too much Gavin Floyd on this night. Tyler Robertson became the third player to make his debut for the Twins this season (Brian Dozier and Cole DeVries). He had a nasty slider that he used to strikeout all three batters that he faced. In his last ten games with the Red Wings, he never struck out more than two batters in one appearance so this was quite the night for Mr. Robertson. ROCHESTER 3, LEHIGH VALLEY 10 After finishing a good stretch of play outside of the their division, the Red Wings began a stretch of 14 straight games against division foes before the All-Star Break. It didn't get off to the best start with the IronPigs compiling 18 hits in the game against Red Wings pitchers. Former Twins farmhand Jason Pridie had four hits including three extra-base hits and Chase Utley had two hits in his last rehab start before joining the Phillies. The original starter for the Red Wings on Tuesday night was suppose to be Matt Maloney but he was placed on the 7-Day DL with a strained left elbow. This meant Brendan Wise was inserted into the rotation for his third spot start of the year. Wise lasted two innings but he only allowed one earned run out of the six runs that crossed the plate during his time on the mound. Caleb Thielbar tossed a good fifth inning by striking out the side while lowering his ERA to 1.59. On the offensive side of the ball, Matt Carson had a three hit night to raise his batting average eight points. Pedro Florimon continued his recent hot streak by going 2-for-4 including his second triple of the year. In his last 10 games, Florimon has five multi-hit games and he is hitting .333 during that stretch. Before the game, right-handed pitcher Luis Perdomo was promoted to Rochester from New Britain. He had a very good 2.75 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 16 walks in 39.1 innings for the Rock Cats. NEW BRITAIN 5, TRENTON 4 The Rock Cats found themselves in a nail biter on Tuesday evening against the Trenton Thunder. Two of the biggest names in the Twins farm system were in the middle of the action for New Britain. Aaron Hicks went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and his third triple of the year. It was his second three hit game in the last six games for Mr. Hicks. Oswaldo Arcia only had one hit in the game but it was a 2-run home run, his first long ball at the Double-A level. Aaron Thompson started the game for New Britain and won his second game of the season. He threw 6.2 innings by allowing eight hits and four earned runs. It was his second victory in as many outings. Dakota Watts and Bruce Pugh were outstanding in relief by throwing a combined 2.1 innings and striking out five while allowing a single hit. It was the first hold of the year for Watts since he was just called up to New Britain and the second save of the year for Pugh. FORT MYERS 7, TAMPA 6 (GAME 1, 8 innings) In what was suppose to be a seven inning contest for the first half of a double header, the allotted number of innings was not enough for this game. The Yankees jumped out to a big first inning lead by scoring four runs off of Madison Boer. He has struggled since being promoted to Fort Myers from Beloit to the tune of an 8.41 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched. The Miracle bested the big inning from the Yankees with a five run bottom of the second that was helped by three Yankee errors. Danny Rams went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to raise his batting average to .186 for the season. Daniel Santana, Levi Michael, and Jairo Perez each had two hits to help the Miracle offense. One of the surprises from the game was the fact that the Miracle had 11 hits and none of them were for extra bases. Danny Rams singled to get the bottom of the eighth inning off on the right track. Andy Leer stepped in next and was hit by a pitch to set up runners at first and second. After a sacrifice bunt from Angel Morales to advance the runners, Daniel Santana was intentionally walked to fill the bags. Levi Michael stepped into the box with one out and the chance to be a hero. His single to left field started the celebration for the Miracle. FORT MYERS 5, TAMPA 6 (GAME 2, 7 innings) After the Miracle fell behind 4-0 in the first two innings, it was time for Fort Myers to mount their comeback. Michael Gonzales started the rally with a double and the bases were loaded after singles from Anderson Hidalgo and Daniel Santana. Levi Michael came up with another big hit to make the game one run closer. A throwing error with Danny Ortiz batting allowed two more runs to score and Kyle Knudson tied the game on a fielders choice. Unfortunately for the Miracle, Michael Tonkin gave up a solo home run in the top of the seventh and Fort Myers wasn't able to mount another comeback. It was the first loss of the year for Tonkin in his third appearance since making the trip from Beloit. Jose Gonzalez was asked to make the spot start for the Miracle, his first start of the year. He threw three innings and gave up four runs on four hits while striking out two batters. In his first appearance since being promoted, AJ Achter pitched three innings and allowed one run to cross the plate. BELOIT 8, KANE COUNTY 0 On this night the man in charge on the mound was Matthew Summers. Over the course of nine innings, he scattered three hits and struck out five. It was his seventh win of the year and the fourth round pick in the 2011 draft as he tries to catch Jason Wheeler for the team lead. He is tied for fourth in the Midwest League in wins and he has thrown six or more innings in each of his last four starts. Behind the strong outing from Summers, the Snappers were in control of this game from the start by scoring in each of the first two innings and never looking back. Nate Roberts was leading the charge for the Snappers offense with a 3-for-5 night including a home run and a double with three RBI. Matthew Koch did his best to match the night put together by Roberts with a 3-for-4 evening with a home run and two RBI. Even with the big offensive output, Miguel Sano struggled by going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. His batting average is down to .236 for the season and he hasn't hit for many extra-base hits as the Midwest League has adjusted to his powerful swing. ELIZABETHTON 9, BRISTOL 0 A big offensive night for the E-Twins was lead by Michael Quesada and Stephen Wickens each accumulating three hits in the contest. Wickens had his first triple of the year while driving in two and Quesada had his fourth double in as many games played this season. Adam Walker hit his first home run of the year in the fifth inning. Corey Kimes pitched five shutout innings with five strikeouts to pick up his first victory of the year. Steven Evans tossed two innings and only let two runners reach base with three strikeouts. It has been an up and down year for Evans with him pitching well in two outings and getting roughed up in the other two appearances. Brett Lee finished the last couple innings for the E-Twins by surrendering a couple hits with four strikeouts. GCL TWINS , GCL ORIOLES (GAME 1) GCL TWINS , GCL ORIOLES (GAME 2) The wonders of Tropical Storm Debbie have made it difficult for the GCL Twins to get any games played this week. At this early junction in the season, the team doesn't really need a ton of rest either. Hopefully, the GCL Twins will be able to get back on the field tomorrow... fingers crossed. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 26, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Matthew Summers (9 shutout innings) [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E3T8ltNlU4g/T-p3xZYnpiI/AAAAAAAACaw/mzhkFvmMPvA/s320/4fbe5dc5a5c66.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Photo courtesy of The Beloit Daily News[/TD] [/TABLE] Hitter of the Day- Levi Michael (4-for-8, 3 RBI, Walk-Off Hit) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cfMooX0G0nU/T-p4OnmHUiI/AAAAAAAACa4/hioU-yzjRo8/s320/LeviMichael.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, June 27th Schedule Rochester at Lehigh Valley- RHP Samuel Deduno New Britain vs Trenton- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers vs Tampa- LHP Pat Dean Beloit at Kane County- LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton vs Bristol- RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins at GCL Rays- TBA --- 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.

With all of the talk before the game about Twins hitters destroying Gavin Floyd, it was bound to happen that he was going to put up a good performance. Over the course of seven shut out innings, he struck out nine Twins batters and only gave up five hits. Liam Hendriks had his best start of the season throwing over six innings to the tune of three runs with an Alex Rios home run being the big dagger. In the ninth inning, the Twins made things interesting by loading the bases with two outs in the frame. Jamey Carroll knocked in a couple runs with a single to cut the lead to 3-2 but that would be the final score. There was just too much Gavin Floyd on this night. Tyler Robertson became the third player to make his debut for the Twins this season (Brian Dozier and Cole DeVries). He had a nasty slider that he used to strikeout all three batters that he faced. In his last ten games with the Red Wings, he never struck out more than two batters in one appearance so this was quite the night for Mr. Robertson. ROCHESTER 3, LEHIGH VALLEY 10 After finishing a good stretch of play outside of the their division, the Red Wings began a stretch of 14 straight games against division foes before the All-Star Break. It didn't get off to the best start with the IronPigs compiling 18 hits in the game against Red Wings pitchers. Former Twins farmhand Jason Pridie had four hits including three extra-base hits and Chase Utley had two hits in his last rehab start before joining the Phillies. The original starter for the Red Wings on Tuesday night was suppose to be Matt Maloney but he was placed on the 7-Day DL with a strained left elbow. This meant Brendan Wise was inserted into the rotation for his third spot start of the year. Wise lasted two innings but he only allowed one earned run out of the six runs that crossed the plate during his time on the mound. Caleb Thielbar tossed a good fifth inning by striking out the side while lowering his ERA to 1.59. On the offensive side of the ball, Matt Carson had a three hit night to raise his batting average eight points. Pedro Florimon continued his recent hot streak by going 2-for-4 including his second triple of the year. In his last 10 games, Florimon has five multi-hit games and he is hitting .333 during that stretch. Before the game, right-handed pitcher Luis Perdomo was promoted to Rochester from New Britain. He had a very good 2.75 ERA with 43 strikeouts and 16 walks in 39.1 innings for the Rock Cats. NEW BRITAIN 5, TRENTON 4 The Rock Cats found themselves in a nail biter on Tuesday evening against the Trenton Thunder. Two of the biggest names in the Twins farm system were in the middle of the action for New Britain. Aaron Hicks went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored, and his third triple of the year. It was his second three hit game in the last six games for Mr. Hicks. Oswaldo Arcia only had one hit in the game but it was a 2-run home run, his first long ball at the Double-A level. Aaron Thompson started the game for New Britain and won his second game of the season. He threw 6.2 innings by allowing eight hits and four earned runs. It was his second victory in as many outings. Dakota Watts and Bruce Pugh were outstanding in relief by throwing a combined 2.1 innings and striking out five while allowing a single hit. It was the first hold of the year for Watts since he was just called up to New Britain and the second save of the year for Pugh. FORT MYERS 7, TAMPA 6 (GAME 1, 8 innings) In what was suppose to be a seven inning contest for the first half of a double header, the allotted number of innings was not enough for this game. The Yankees jumped out to a big first inning lead by scoring four runs off of Madison Boer. He has struggled since being promoted to Fort Myers from Beloit to the tune of an 8.41 ERA in 40.2 innings pitched. The Miracle bested the big inning from the Yankees with a five run bottom of the second that was helped by three Yankee errors. Danny Rams went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to raise his batting average to .186 for the season. Daniel Santana, Levi Michael, and Jairo Perez each had two hits to help the Miracle offense. One of the surprises from the game was the fact that the Miracle had 11 hits and none of them were for extra bases. Danny Rams singled to get the bottom of the eighth inning off on the right track. Andy Leer stepped in next and was hit by a pitch to set up runners at first and second. After a sacrifice bunt from Angel Morales to advance the runners, Daniel Santana was intentionally walked to fill the bags. Levi Michael stepped into the box with one out and the chance to be a hero. His single to left field started the celebration for the Miracle. FORT MYERS 5, TAMPA 6 (GAME 2, 7 innings) After the Miracle fell behind 4-0 in the first two innings, it was time for Fort Myers to mount their comeback. Michael Gonzales started the rally with a double and the bases were loaded after singles from Anderson Hidalgo and Daniel Santana. Levi Michael came up with another big hit to make the game one run closer. A throwing error with Danny Ortiz batting allowed two more runs to score and Kyle Knudson tied the game on a fielders choice. Unfortunately for the Miracle, Michael Tonkin gave up a solo home run in the top of the seventh and Fort Myers wasn't able to mount another comeback. It was the first loss of the year for Tonkin in his third appearance since making the trip from Beloit. Jose Gonzalez was asked to make the spot start for the Miracle, his first start of the year. He threw three innings and gave up four runs on four hits while striking out two batters. In his first appearance since being promoted, AJ Achter pitched three innings and allowed one run to cross the plate. BELOIT 8, KANE COUNTY 0 On this night the man in charge on the mound was Matthew Summers. Over the course of nine innings, he scattered three hits and struck out five. It was his seventh win of the year and the fourth round pick in the 2011 draft as he tries to catch Jason Wheeler for the team lead. He is tied for fourth in the Midwest League in wins and he has thrown six or more innings in each of his last four starts. Behind the strong outing from Summers, the Snappers were in control of this game from the start by scoring in each of the first two innings and never looking back. Nate Roberts was leading the charge for the Snappers offense with a 3-for-5 night including a home run and a double with three RBI. Matthew Koch did his best to match the night put together by Roberts with a 3-for-4 evening with a home run and two RBI. Even with the big offensive output, Miguel Sano struggled by going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. His batting average is down to .236 for the season and he hasn't hit for many extra-base hits as the Midwest League has adjusted to his powerful swing. ELIZABETHTON 9, BRISTOL 0 A big offensive night for the E-Twins was lead by Michael Quesada and Stephen Wickens each accumulating three hits in the contest. Wickens had his first triple of the year while driving in two and Quesada had his fourth double in as many games played this season. Adam Walker hit his first home run of the year in the fifth inning. Corey Kimes pitched five shutout innings with five strikeouts to pick up his first victory of the year. Steven Evans tossed two innings and only let two runners reach base with three strikeouts. It has been an up and down year for Evans with him pitching well in two outings and getting roughed up in the other two appearances. Brett Lee finished the last couple innings for the E-Twins by surrendering a couple hits with four strikeouts. GCL TWINS , GCL ORIOLES (GAME 1) GCL TWINS , GCL ORIOLES (GAME 2) The wonders of Tropical Storm Debbie have made it difficult for the GCL Twins to get any games played this week. At this early junction in the season, the team doesn't really need a ton of rest either. Hopefully, the GCL Twins will be able to get back on the field tomorrow... fingers crossed. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 26, 2012 Pitcher of the Day- Matthew Summers (9 shutout innings) [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-E3T8ltNlU4g/T-p3xZYnpiI/AAAAAAAACaw/mzhkFvmMPvA/s320/4fbe5dc5a5c66.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Photo courtesy of The Beloit Daily News[/TD] [/TABLE] Hitter of the Day- Levi Michael (4-for-8, 3 RBI, Walk-Off Hit) http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cfMooX0G0nU/T-p4OnmHUiI/AAAAAAAACa4/hioU-yzjRo8/s320/LeviMichael.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, June 27th Schedule Rochester at Lehigh Valley- RHP Samuel Deduno New Britain vs Trenton- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers vs Tampa- LHP Pat Dean Beloit at Kane County- LHP David Hurlbut Elizabethton vs Bristol- RHP Angel Mata GCL Twins at GCL Rays- TBA --- 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 got their homestand off to a good start against the AL Central leading White Sox. An outstanding performance from Francisco Liriano was more than enough to lead the Twins to the victory. It was a milestone win for the Twins franchise in their new home as it was the team's 100th victory at Target Field. In that time span, the team is only a couple games over .500 so it would be nice to get that winning percentage a little higher. It's another Tuesday so that means I will be covering all of the minor league action for the Twins later tonight. Check back as I cover all the games from the International League to the Gulf Coast League. But for now, enjoy these tidbits on a Tuesday morning. Thome mulling return for 2013 After a dramatic pinch hit walk-off home run over the weekend, it seems like Jim Thome might be ageless. Following the game, he discussed the possibility that the 2012 season would not be his last and that he has been thinking about coming back for 2013. He will turn 42-years old in August and that means that during next season he would turn 43. This isn't exactly the optimal age for a big league player but there could be a role for the aging star. Thome has spent the majority of his career in the American League where he has the ability to be the designated hitter if that is what his team asks from him. He spent most of the last two seasons by hitting blasts for the Twins but he wants a title before he retires and gets ready for his Hall of Fame induction. This brought him to the Phillies and the National League for 2012. So far the experiment has not gone perfectly but he has looked very good in interleague play when he could be the DH. For Thome to come back in 2013, there will need to be a team that has at-bats for him in the American League at the designated hitter spot. He will also want to be on a team that has a chance to contend so he has the opportunity for a championship. This means there will only be a few teams that will reasonably have a shot at Thome but it would be nice to see him end his career with a title. Robertson travels the worn road from Rochester With Matt Capps shoulder injury flaring up, the Twins need to find a replacement for him on the 25-man roster. With Brian Duensing inserted into the rotation and Glen Perkins sharing time in the closer role, a left-handed relief pitcher was going to be key. Tyler Robertson made the trip from Rochester join the Minnesota Twins and his first appearance will mark his major league debut. Robertson is the tenth player to be called up from Rochester so far this season and the third to make his debut. Shortstop Brian Dozier and pitcher Cole DeVries already made their debuts in 2012. The other players to be promoted this year include catcher Drew Butera, pitcher Scott Diamond, pitcher Liam Hendriks,outfielder Darin Mastroianni, first baseman Chris Parmelee, outfielder Ben Revere, and pitcher P.J. Walters. Unfortunately for some, the road has gone both ways. Third baseman Danny Valencia and infielder Sean Burroughs started the season with the Twins but have been sent to Rochester. Clete Thomas and Lester Oliveros got into a few games for the Twins before being sent to Triple-A. It is nice to see that most of the positional players have been moved because of performance and not because of injury like in 2011. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Hj8P7usxcc/T-mylQNE0WI/AAAAAAAACXI/DbceWWsxm4I/s320/20120613__Buxton,+Byron.jpg Buxton debuts in the Gulf Coast League The Twins gave their top draft pick a couple of days to acclimate to life as a professional before he made his debut for the GCL Twins on Friday. It has not been a perfect start for the 18-year old as he has failed to get a hit in any of his appearances thus far. He has been penciled in as the lead-off hitter for all of his games so it looks like the Twins want him to get as many plate appearances as possible. It also helps that he has blazing fast speed at the top of the order and he has been clocked at 4.15 seconds from home to first on a groundout. In his first two games in the GCL, Buxton faced pitchers with at least some professional experience. At minimum, the pitchers he stepped in against had thrown in the Dominican Summer League and some of the hurlers had already made one trip through the GCL. So it's safe to say that Buxton isn't facing rural Georgia pitching any more and it might take a little bit for him to adjust this new level of competition. Tropical storm Debbie has caused the GCL Twins to miss at least yesterday's game so hopefully Buxton will be able to get back on the field. This way he can get the first of many hits out of the way and be on the way to a great career. There were some fans declaring him a bust after his first game where he went hitless but it is way to early to know how good Buxton can or cannot be. He is still one of the top prospects in the entire organization.

The Twins got their homestand off to a good start against the AL Central leading White Sox. An outstanding performance from Francisco Liriano was more than enough to lead the Twins to the victory. It was a milestone win for the Twins franchise in their new home as it was the team's 100th victory at Target Field. In that time span, the team is only a couple games over .500 so it would be nice to get that winning percentage a little higher. It's another Tuesday so that means I will be covering all of the minor league action for the Twins later tonight. Check back as I cover all the games from the International League to the Gulf Coast League. But for now, enjoy these tidbits on a Tuesday morning. Thome mulling return for 2013 After a dramatic pinch hit walk-off home run over the weekend, it seems like Jim Thome might be ageless. Following the game, he discussed the possibility that the 2012 season would not be his last and that he has been thinking about coming back for 2013. He will turn 42-years old in August and that means that during next season he would turn 43. This isn't exactly the optimal age for a big league player but there could be a role for the aging star. Thome has spent the majority of his career in the American League where he has the ability to be the designated hitter if that is what his team asks from him. He spent most of the last two seasons by hitting blasts for the Twins but he wants a title before he retires and gets ready for his Hall of Fame induction. This brought him to the Phillies and the National League for 2012. So far the experiment has not gone perfectly but he has looked very good in interleague play when he could be the DH. For Thome to come back in 2013, there will need to be a team that has at-bats for him in the American League at the designated hitter spot. He will also want to be on a team that has a chance to contend so he has the opportunity for a championship. This means there will only be a few teams that will reasonably have a shot at Thome but it would be nice to see him end his career with a title. Robertson travels the worn road from Rochester With Matt Capps shoulder injury flaring up, the Twins need to find a replacement for him on the 25-man roster. With Brian Duensing inserted into the rotation and Glen Perkins sharing time in the closer role, a left-handed relief pitcher was going to be key. Tyler Robertson made the trip from Rochester join the Minnesota Twins and his first appearance will mark his major league debut. Robertson is the tenth player to be called up from Rochester so far this season and the third to make his debut. Shortstop Brian Dozier and pitcher Cole DeVries already made their debuts in 2012. The other players to be promoted this year include catcher Drew Butera, pitcher Scott Diamond, pitcher Liam Hendriks,outfielder Darin Mastroianni, first baseman Chris Parmelee, outfielder Ben Revere, and pitcher P.J. Walters. Unfortunately for some, the road has gone both ways. Third baseman Danny Valencia and infielder Sean Burroughs started the season with the Twins but have been sent to Rochester. Clete Thomas and Lester Oliveros got into a few games for the Twins before being sent to Triple-A. It is nice to see that most of the positional players have been moved because of performance and not because of injury like in 2011. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4Hj8P7usxcc/T-mylQNE0WI/AAAAAAAACXI/DbceWWsxm4I/s320/20120613__Buxton,+Byron.jpg Buxton debuts in the Gulf Coast League The Twins gave their top draft pick a couple of days to acclimate to life as a professional before he made his debut for the GCL Twins on Friday. It has not been a perfect start for the 18-year old as he has failed to get a hit in any of his appearances thus far. He has been penciled in as the lead-off hitter for all of his games so it looks like the Twins want him to get as many plate appearances as possible. It also helps that he has blazing fast speed at the top of the order and he has been clocked at 4.15 seconds from home to first on a groundout. In his first two games in the GCL, Buxton faced pitchers with at least some professional experience. At minimum, the pitchers he stepped in against had thrown in the Dominican Summer League and some of the hurlers had already made one trip through the GCL. So it's safe to say that Buxton isn't facing rural Georgia pitching any more and it might take a little bit for him to adjust this new level of competition. Tropical storm Debbie has caused the GCL Twins to miss at least yesterday's game so hopefully Buxton will be able to get back on the field. This way he can get the first of many hits out of the way and be on the way to a great career. There were some fans declaring him a bust after his first game where he went hitless but it is way to early to know how good Buxton can or cannot be. He is still one of the top prospects in the entire organization.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yaAI7GTYUMk/T-fh2GGYd_I/AAAAAAAACVY/tJSPVaCpYMA/s400/RevereHR.jpg It's not like searching for El Dorado or the Fountain of Youth because people have seen it before. Unlike the sightings of Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster, there is more than tangible evidence that this is not just a fluke of nature. It happened as recent as last season for Triple-A Rochester but there still might need to be an expedition to find a never before seen sight at the big league level, a Ben Revere home run. To find a Revere home run, it is important to know when these sightings have occurred in the past. He joined the Twins as a first round pick out of high school in 2007 and played 50 games for the GCL Twins without putting a ball over the fence. His first home run came in the next season for the Beloit Snappers and it would be his only home run for the year. It was the first sighting of a Revere home run but there would be more to come. The 2009 season would see Revere's highest number of home runs for one season in his professional career. He managed two round trippers in 121 games for the Fort Myers Miracle. This power surge along with a solid overall season helped him to be named the 2009 Twins Minor League Player of the Year. There were glimmers of hope that a Revere home run might be easier to spot in the future. In 2010, Revere would spend most of the season with the New Britain Rock Cats before being called up in September for his major league debut. With the Rock Cats, he managed one home run in 94 games but his 13 games at the big league level never produced a dinger. The young outfielder had made it to the big leagues by age 22 but when would his first big fly be seen? No one knew. For the 2011 season, it was time to get serious in the hunt for a Revere home run. He got close on multiple occasions to notching an inside-the-park home run for the Twins. Other obstacles got in the way of this becoming his first major league home run. Revere hit one home run during the 2011 calender year but it came while he was wearing a Rochester Red Wings jersey. Plenty of opportunities but still homerless at the big league level. After being sent back and forth between Rochester and Minnesota to start the 2012 season, it looks like Revere is here to stay. When another player hit a home run this weekend, Revere became the only current regular MLB player with over 100 games played to not have hit a home run. Following Sunday's game, he has played 168 contests at the big league level with 633 plate appearances as the search is still on for that elusive home run. There was a similar home run drought that Twins fans got to follow in 2007 with Jason Tyner. He came to the Twins organization with 245 games and 778 at-bats already accumulated at the major league level without a home run. The streak would be stretch to 1,220 at-bats without a long ball until the third inning of a game at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Jake Westbrook was the pitcher that gave up the home run to Tyner so it is unfortunate for Revere that the Twins don't play the Cardinals at some point this year. During every season in his professional career in which Revere has played over 50 games, he has managed to get a minimum of one home run. When the search is over and he hits his first home run, a streak will end and there will be a big smile across the face of Mr. Revere. Let's just hope that the search doesn't take another 600 or so at-bats because Tyner would tell Revere that there's a lot less pressure after the first tater. But then again, Tyner wouldn't get another one at the major league level. So the search will continue, until a Revere home run can be found...

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yaAI7GTYUMk/T-fh2GGYd_I/AAAAAAAACVY/tJSPVaCpYMA/s400/RevereHR.jpg It's not like searching for El Dorado or the Fountain of Youth because people have seen it before. Unlike the sightings of Big Foot or the Loch Ness Monster, there is more than tangible evidence that this is not just a fluke of nature. It happened as recent as last season for Triple-A Rochester but there still might need to be an expedition to find a never before seen sight at the big league level, a Ben Revere home run. To find a Revere home run, it is important to know when these sightings have occurred in the past. He joined the Twins as a first round pick out of high school in 2007 and played 50 games for the GCL Twins without putting a ball over the fence. His first home run came in the next season for the Beloit Snappers and it would be his only home run for the year. It was the first sighting of a Revere home run but there would be more to come. The 2009 season would see Revere's highest number of home runs for one season in his professional career. He managed two round trippers in 121 games for the Fort Myers Miracle. This power surge along with a solid overall season helped him to be named the 2009 Twins Minor League Player of the Year. There were glimmers of hope that a Revere home run might be easier to spot in the future. In 2010, Revere would spend most of the season with the New Britain Rock Cats before being called up in September for his major league debut. With the Rock Cats, he managed one home run in 94 games but his 13 games at the big league level never produced a dinger. The young outfielder had made it to the big leagues by age 22 but when would his first big fly be seen? No one knew. For the 2011 season, it was time to get serious in the hunt for a Revere home run. He got close on multiple occasions to notching an inside-the-park home run for the Twins. Other obstacles got in the way of this becoming his first major league home run. Revere hit one home run during the 2011 calender year but it came while he was wearing a Rochester Red Wings jersey. Plenty of opportunities but still homerless at the big league level. After being sent back and forth between Rochester and Minnesota to start the 2012 season, it looks like Revere is here to stay. When another player hit a home run this weekend, Revere became the only current regular MLB player with over 100 games played to not have hit a home run. Following Sunday's game, he has played 168 contests at the big league level with 633 plate appearances as the search is still on for that elusive home run. There was a similar home run drought that Twins fans got to follow in 2007 with Jason Tyner. He came to the Twins organization with 245 games and 778 at-bats already accumulated at the major league level without a home run. The streak would be stretch to 1,220 at-bats without a long ball until the third inning of a game at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Jake Westbrook was the pitcher that gave up the home run to Tyner so it is unfortunate for Revere that the Twins don't play the Cardinals at some point this year. During every season in his professional career in which Revere has played over 50 games, he has managed to get a minimum of one home run. When the search is over and he hits his first home run, a streak will end and there will be a big smile across the face of Mr. Revere. Let's just hope that the search doesn't take another 600 or so at-bats because Tyner would tell Revere that there's a lot less pressure after the first tater. But then again, Tyner wouldn't get another one at the major league level. So the search will continue, until a Revere home run can be found...

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last night's Twins game got ugly in later portions of the game with Jeff Manship giving up some bombs. One of the home runs even took one bounce and was out of the stadium. Overall, it wasn't the best series but the Twins did manage to pull out one victory. Francisco Liriano and Liam Hendriks put together one of their best starts of the year in the series and Josh Willingham had a late inning home run to lead the team to victory. Now the team turns their sights to a very good Cincinnati Reds club, their last interleague opponent of the year. The Twins are going to be forced to deal with arguably the best overall hitter in the game, Joey Votto. There could also be opportunities to face one of the hardest throwers in baseball, Arolidis Chapman. For Twins fans, it is fun to see some of the best talent in the National League. Before the Twins begin their series with the Reds, make sure to check out some of the best baseball writing from across Twins Territory and the baseball world. Prep players can take some time to develop in the minor leagues but it is important to be patient with high schoolers taken in the draft. For the first time in quite awhile, Francisco Liriano looked good on Wednesday night. It could be from the fact that he seems to have rediscovered his slider. The short-season rookie leagues have started for the Twins so make sure to check out this preview of the Elizabethton Twins and this preview of the GCL Twins. Nick Blackburn could be the veteran presence in the starting rotation next year and that's what makes his struggles so frustrating. There have to be some reasons for hope with the Twins, right? Ben Revere seems to have played himself into the long term plans for the Twins and he might not be a placeholder anymore. According to Kyle Gibson's Twitter account, he is back on track to appear in a minor league game on July 10th. There are reports out that the Twins are looking for pitching and according to Terry Ryan, "We need pitching, and we need it bad." Out of all Twins minor league players, Oswaldo Arcia might be having the best season and he was promoted to Double-A earlier in the week. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85HV9Hhf7Mw/T-Rr8nE87fI/AAAAAAAACTo/YadU7Y1DEY4/s320/arcia_display_image.jpg One the best parts of All-Star weekend is the Future's Game and the rosters were announced on Thursday. The Twins will be represented by Oswaldo Arcia. Two former MLB Greats will be managing the teams for the Future's Game so that should be fun. It has been a little over a year since Twins Territory lost Harmon Killebrew and a new book has been released to chronicle his life. With the Rockies struggling to win games, they are trying a radical concept by having a four-man pitching staff and only allowing starters to throw 75 pitches. Jason Marquis is doing very well after leaving the Twins and it might help that he is back in the National League Has Joe Nathan become the best closer in the game? Players for the Arizona Diamondbacks had some fun opening packs of Justin Bieber cards last week and now an autographed card pulled by the players is up for auction. Bill Murray is the co-owner of a minor league baseball team and this video gives an in-depth look at his interactions with the team. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Twins are behind in the "Era of Pitching" Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Wednesday: Bullpen overuse could hurt by season's end Wednesday's Wild Night in the Minors Video of the Week: Joel Peralta was ejected earlier this week for having a foreign substance on his glove. It was quite the sight to watch how the entire incident played out and it might have conjured up memories of a different moment for Twins fans. In 1987, Joe Niekro was on the mound for the Twins .

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last night's Twins game got ugly in later portions of the game with Jeff Manship giving up some bombs. One of the home runs even took one bounce and was out of the stadium. Overall, it wasn't the best series but the Twins did manage to pull out one victory. Francisco Liriano and Liam Hendriks put together one of their best starts of the year in the series and Josh Willingham had a late inning home run to lead the team to victory. Now the team turns their sights to a very good Cincinnati Reds club, their last interleague opponent of the year. The Twins are going to be forced to deal with arguably the best overall hitter in the game, Joey Votto. There could also be opportunities to face one of the hardest throwers in baseball, Arolidis Chapman. For Twins fans, it is fun to see some of the best talent in the National League. Before the Twins begin their series with the Reds, make sure to check out some of the best baseball writing from across Twins Territory and the baseball world. Prep players can take some time to develop in the minor leagues but it is important to be patient with high schoolers taken in the draft. For the first time in quite awhile, Francisco Liriano looked good on Wednesday night. It could be from the fact that he seems to have rediscovered his slider. The short-season rookie leagues have started for the Twins so make sure to check out this preview of the Elizabethton Twins and this preview of the GCL Twins. Nick Blackburn could be the veteran presence in the starting rotation next year and that's what makes his struggles so frustrating. There have to be some reasons for hope with the Twins, right? Ben Revere seems to have played himself into the long term plans for the Twins and he might not be a placeholder anymore. According to Kyle Gibson's Twitter account, he is back on track to appear in a minor league game on July 10th. There are reports out that the Twins are looking for pitching and according to Terry Ryan, "We need pitching, and we need it bad." Out of all Twins minor league players, Oswaldo Arcia might be having the best season and he was promoted to Double-A earlier in the week. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-85HV9Hhf7Mw/T-Rr8nE87fI/AAAAAAAACTo/YadU7Y1DEY4/s320/arcia_display_image.jpg One the best parts of All-Star weekend is the Future's Game and the rosters were announced on Thursday. The Twins will be represented by Oswaldo Arcia. Two former MLB Greats will be managing the teams for the Future's Game so that should be fun. It has been a little over a year since Twins Territory lost Harmon Killebrew and a new book has been released to chronicle his life. With the Rockies struggling to win games, they are trying a radical concept by having a four-man pitching staff and only allowing starters to throw 75 pitches. Jason Marquis is doing very well after leaving the Twins and it might help that he is back in the National League Has Joe Nathan become the best closer in the game? Players for the Arizona Diamondbacks had some fun opening packs of Justin Bieber cards last week and now an autographed card pulled by the players is up for auction. Bill Murray is the co-owner of a minor league baseball team and this video gives an in-depth look at his interactions with the team. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Twins are behind in the "Era of Pitching" Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Wednesday: Bullpen overuse could hurt by season's end Wednesday's Wild Night in the Minors Video of the Week: Joel Peralta was ejected earlier this week for having a foreign substance on his glove. It was quite the sight to watch how the entire incident played out and it might have conjured up memories of a different moment for Twins fans. In 1987, Joe Niekro was on the mound for the Twins .

It is officially the first day of summer and that means action will be heating up across the baseball world. The Twins found themselves in a pitchers duel in Pittsburgh with Francisco Liriano throwing one of his best games of the year. A rough seventh inning meant that Liriano wasn't able to pick up the win but a late inning home run from Josh Willingham pushed the Twins to a 2-1 victory. Some injuries to the Rochester bullpen forced the Twins to make some transactions in the farm system. Carlos Gutierrez (shoulder) and Lester Oliveros (elbow) are both going to miss time for the Red Wings and this means Bobby Lanigan and Caleb Thielbar will be joining Rochester from New Britain. Edgar Ibarra is moving from Fort Myers to New Britain and taking his place on the Miracle roster is Michael Tonkin. Cole Johnson was the other transaction on Wednesday as he moves from the E-Twins to the Snappers. The Twins officially signed RHP Luke Bard, taken 42nd overall in the 2012 draft. With his signing, the Twins have inked their first 10 picks in the draft. This is a good sign and it seems to show that players are more willing to sign early with the new rules in the CBA. Don't forget to check out the Twins Minor League Weekly Podcast tomorrow night at 9:00 pm. Seth Stohs should have plenty of topics to discuss with the transactions mentioned above and the start of the short-season leagues. ROCHESTER 7, DURHAM 6 It was quite the back and forth contest against the Durham Bulls in Rochester with the Red Wings managing to come out victorious. With Rochester leading by one in the top of the ninth, the Bulls managed to score two runs and take the lead back. In the bottom of the ninth, Tsuyoshi Nishioka started the inning by cracking a double. After a sacrifice bunt from Pedro Florimon, Wilkin Ramirez stepped into the box and fell into a 0-2 count. The next pitch was hit over the fence for a two-run walk-off home run and the fans got to go home happy. Cole DeVries had started the game and he lasted 6.1 innings by giving up four runs on 11 hits. Tyler Robertson picked up his second victory of the year after he got the last two outs of the ninth inning. Brian Dinkelman had three hits with an RBI to help the offense. In the second inning, Matt Carson hit his fifth home run on the year and he has three home runs in the last four games. NEW BRITAIN 4, ALTOONA 9 Gerrit Cole, the number one pick in the 2011 MLB Draft, made his debut at Double-A on Wednesday night. Unfortunately for the Rock Cats, he didn't have any issues with the transition to a higher league and threw five innings while giving up two runs and striking out six. He was also backed up by plenty of run support so this made his first victory at this level a little easier. Brett Jacobson was charged with seven earned runs in three innings on the mound. He walked five batters and gave up multiple home runs. Aaron Hicks had his first multiple hit game in his last ten contests and this included his ninth double and second triple of the year. Chris Colabello got half of the team's RBI with his two singles in the game. In his second game since being promoted, Oswaldo Arcia had his first hit, a double in the eighth inning. FORT MYERS 7, JUPITER 3 A solid offensive night was put together by the Miracle on Wednesday evening in Jupiter. They put up seven runs on 12 hits to back a good start from Madison Boer. In five innings of work, Boer surrendered two runs on five hits and struck out four. Ricky Bowen did a good job in relief by almost pitching 2 innings and only giving up a hit. For Boer, it was his third win of the year with all three of those wins coming in June. Five batters for the Miracle had multiple hit nights with Kyle Knudson leading the way with a 3-for-5 night. Andy Leer knocked in a couple runs with his two hits and he hit his six double of the year. The only other extra-base hit came off of the bat of Danny Rams, who also scored two runs in the game. BELOIT (All-Star Break) The Snappers are enjoying their All-Star Break and will resume play on Friday night with a series in Cedar Rapids. After qualifying for the playoffs in the first half of the season, it will be interesting to see how the Snappers come out in the second half. ELIZABETHTON 10, DANVILLE 0 The story on this night should be the pitcher that started the game for the E-Twins. Ricardo Arevalo, a 21-year old pitcher from Venezuela, has pitched in the Twins organization for the last three years for the DSL Twins and the GCL Twins. In those three years, he had never been able to pick up a victory on the mound but that all changed on Wednesday. He threw five shutout innings and the bullpen was able to cover the rest of the game for his first professional win. In this contest, the E-Twins found plenty of offense with multiple extra base hits on the way to double digits being scored by the club. There were four triples in the game for the E-Twins and Niko Goodrum hit two of those three baggers with three runs batted in. Rory Rhodes had three hits and Michael Quesada managed his first two doubles in the young season. GCL TWINS 6, GCL RAYS 2 A strong start from Josue Montanez helped the GCL Twins to get out to an early lead on the GCL Rays. Montanez tossed four scoreless innings while striking out six and allowing a single hit. Both runs for the Rays were scored off of Markus Solbach in his one inning of work. The Rays sloppy defense helped the Twins to a big bottom of the third inning. Three consecutive errors by the Rays fielders allowed the Twins to score four runs in the frame. Aderlin Mejia was 3-for-4 in the game with his second double of the year. Bryan Haar added a double of his own while going 2-for-3 with two RBI. --- Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 20, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Niko Goodrum http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xR7sglofICU/T-KFFf6JTkI/AAAAAAAACRw/Q6SnlZrGv3U/s1600/Goodrum-Niko.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Ricardo Arevalo (1st Professional Win) http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1yonnoNr2ZI/T-KFZ1cx_KI/AAAAAAAACR4/i2Tl1oaML90/s320/elizabethtontwins.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Thursday, June 21st Schedule Rochester vs Durham- LHP Matt Maloney New Britain at Altoona- LHP Aaron Thompson Fort Myers vs St. Lucie-LHP Pat Dean Beloit (All-Star Break) Elizabethon at Danville- LHP Corey Kimes GCL Twins at GCL Rays- TBA --- 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.