Cody Christie

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.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~[ATTACH=CONFIG]1300[/ATTACH] After Tuesday night's contest in Pittsburgh, the Twins have played roughly 40% of their regular season schedule and the team is currently under .500 by 14 games. Being at the bottom of the American League is a rough spot for any team and there can be plenty of fingers pointed as to why the Twins have gotten to this point. The offense has failed to score runs and the pitching staff has left plenty to be desired so far in 2012. But in all of this mess, there has to be some positives to dig out of the pit of despair. While the pitching staff has combined to have the worst ERA in the entire American League, the bullpen has shown some brief glimmers of hope at different points this year. The relief pitchers for the Twins have combined for the 15th best ERA in baseball while holding batters to the 14th best batting average. Only ten relief cores across baseball have allowed few walks than the Twins so the bullpen is doing their best in some tough situations. While these numbers don't jump off the screen, they are much better when compared to what the starting staff has been able to do. Even with the bullpen producing at about the league average, it is tough to look at their workload and not worry about what this will mean for the pitchers at the end of the year. The Twins relief pitchers have thrown the second most innings of any bullpen in the major leagues. Kansas City is the only team to throw more innings with their bullpen and they have recently had to switch to a 14-man pitching staff, a situation that no team wants to happen. Anthony Swarzak has thrown 50.0 innings as a reliever and a starter, Brian Duensing has been on the mound for almost 35 innings, and Alex Burnett has reached over 33 innings. All of these numbers are starting to add up and it is not even the mid-point of the season. Glen Perkins made the transition to the bullpen last year and he was untouchable in the first half of the season. He threw 33.2 innings with an outstanding 1.87 ERA and a WHIP of 1.19 with 36 strikeouts. It looked like the Twins had found a gem of a player to possibly be the closer of the future for the franchise. After the All-Star break last year, Perkins saw his ERA rise to 3.21 and his velocity decreased slightly as the season wore on. It seemed like his workload from the first half of the year was impacting his ability to perform in the second half. This is just one example of what the Twins could be looking at in the second half of this year. If the Twins are going to take some of the pressure off of their relief pitchers, the starting rotation is going to need to pitch deeper into games. Through the 66 games played so far, Twins starters have pitched 345.2 innings and that averages to 5.24 innings per start. PJ Walters is the only Twins pitcher with a complete game under his belt this year and he isn't exactly a player the team can rely on to repeat this feat. The closest thing to an ace pitcher for the Twins has been Scott Diamond and he has averaged 6.1 innings pitched in his nine starts. For the rest of the pitching staff, it has been a struggle to average over five innings an outing. As the season rolls on, the Twins might have to dig deep into Rochester to find some other arms to help eat some innings out of the bullpen. Anthony Slama looked like he was primed to take a position with the Twins before a broken leg forced him to the sidelines. Kyle Waldrop looked like he had a chance to make the roster coming out of spring training but an injury put him on the DL. Now Waldrop is in the bullpen for the Red Wings and he has looked very good since returning from injury. Lester Oliveros has already made one trip to Minnesota and the Twins would certainly give him another shot in the big leagues. The Twins are far from contending for a playoff spot but taking care of the bullpen is something the front office should watch carefully. By the end of the season, the Twins don't want to be struggling to find outs from their relief options. It would be best if the starters could throw deeper into the game and allow the bullpen the opportunity to close out some victories. But in a season that already seems lost, this might be a foolish hope.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After pulling out a victory in a 15-inning affair on Sunday afternoon and into Sunday evening, the Twins got a much needed day of rest yesterday before traveling to Pittsburgh. The Twins will play the Pirates and the Reds to complete their interleague schedule before returning home and getting back into American League action. Both of these teams have been playing well in the last couple weeks so it will be interesting to see how the Twins fare on their current road trip. Even with the off day for the Twins, there were plenty of interesting notes from across the organization. So let's get caught up with this week's edition of "Tuesday Morning Tidbits." Arcia moving up to New Britain With many prospects for the the Twins running into some kind of speed bump in the middle part of the season, it is good to see one of their top prospects succeeding enough to be moved to the next level. Oswaldo Arcia entered the season as one of the top prospects in the Twins organization but his play so far this year is separating him from the pack. After the Florida State League All-Star Game this weekend, Arcia was informed to report to New Britain. The left-handed slugging outfielder was batting .309/.376/.517 with 16 doubles and seven home runs in 55 games for Fort Myers. It was his second taste of the FSL after he missed a chunk of last season following left elbow surgery. One of the biggest changes has been his plate recognition that is being shown in his ability to draw more walks. Last year in about the same amount of at-bats he had nine total walks and that number has increased to 23 so far this season. He is only 21-years old and this is a fairly young age for someone to be entering Eastern League play. The Twins need to see how Arcia can handle the fire since he had to be added to the 40-man roster this past offseason. So far in his career, Arica has faced every challenge that has come his way and the Twins hope that trend continues in New Britain. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AqDj6TXrPbU/T9_67_7sq2I/AAAAAAAACQA/c_MSFjsKHkU/s320/mauerweeks.jpgMauer getting beat up behind the plate The Twins have completed 65 games on their schedule and Joe Mauer has played in 60 of those contests. A couple of those appearances have been late inning pinch hitting situations but Mauer has been there for the most part. He has appeared in 92% of the team's games which is great to see after a 2011 season where Mauer only played in 50.6% of the team's schedule. Not all of Mauer's playing time has come with him at catcher but being able to place his name in the line-up on a daily basis is a big step over last year. After sitting out Saturday's game with a sore hamstring, Mauer was back behind the plate on Sunday in what might have seemed like a surprise move. If a player has a sore hamstring, the last thing a team would want to do is have him squat behind the plate for nine innings (or 15 innings). Mauer's hamstring seemed to be holding up fine until a collision at home plate with Rickie Weeks caused him to bruise his right quad. From the sounds of the postgame report, Mauer was not please with the way that Weeks slid into home. I don't think there were too many people who would think this was a dirty play by Weeks so there doesn't seem to be much basis for Mauer's argument. It also sounds like Mauer should be back in the line-up soon and the team is only listing him as day-to-day with his newest injury. This is a good sign if he wants to continue to play in over 90% of the Twins games this year. Slama out at least a month One of the best pitchers in the minor leagues so far this season had been relief pitcher Anthony Slama. He had almost been untouchable in his 22.2 innings of work for the Red Wings as he posted a 0.40 ERA with 37 strikeouts. It is the fourth season that he has spent at least part of the year at Triple-A so it was put up or shut up time for Slama. He had completed nine saves on the year and it seemed like he would be given a shot at the big league level at some point this season. In an unfortunate turn of events for Slama, he will miss four to six weeks after being hit by a comebacker on the mound. He has a broken bone in his right leg and it will take time to heal and recover. One of the brightest spots for the Twins in 2012 has been the bullpen so it remains to be seen if Slama would have even been called up. He isn't currently on the 40-man roster so the Twins would be forced to make another change if they wanted him on the big league roster. The Twins seem reluctant to give Slama an extended look at the major league level as a 28-year old relief pitcher. He has put up decent numbers at Triple-A for the last three years but this has only translated to a couple of games with the Twins. He has 7.0 total innings at the MLB level so it is hard to know what kind of player he could be. His numbers this year seem to indicate that he has mastered AAA and now it looks like a call-up will have to wait until the end of the year because of his injury.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ After pulling out a victory in a 15-inning affair on Sunday afternoon and into Sunday evening, the Twins got a much needed day of rest yesterday before traveling to Pittsburgh. The Twins will play the Pirates and the Reds to complete their interleague schedule before returning home and getting back into American League action. Both of these teams have been playing well in the last couple weeks so it will be interesting to see how the Twins fare on their current road trip. Even with the off day for the Twins, there were plenty of interesting notes from across the organization. So let's get caught up with this week's edition of "Tuesday Morning Tidbits." Arcia moving up to New Britain With many prospects for the the Twins running into some kind of speed bump in the middle part of the season, it is good to see one of their top prospects succeeding enough to be moved to the next level. Oswaldo Arcia entered the season as one of the top prospects in the Twins organization but his play so far this year is separating him from the pack. After the Florida State League All-Star Game this weekend, Arcia was informed to report to New Britain. The left-handed slugging outfielder was batting .309/.376/.517 with 16 doubles and seven home runs in 55 games for Fort Myers. It was his second taste of the FSL after he missed a chunk of last season following left elbow surgery. One of the biggest changes has been his plate recognition that is being shown in his ability to draw more walks. Last year in about the same amount of at-bats he had nine total walks and that number has increased to 23 so far this season. He is only 21-years old and this is a fairly young age for someone to be entering Eastern League play. The Twins need to see how Arcia can handle the fire since he had to be added to the 40-man roster this past offseason. So far in his career, Arica has faced every challenge that has come his way and the Twins hope that trend continues in New Britain. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-AqDj6TXrPbU/T9_67_7sq2I/AAAAAAAACQA/c_MSFjsKHkU/s320/mauerweeks.jpgMauer getting beat up behind the plate The Twins have completed 65 games on their schedule and Joe Mauer has played in 60 of those contests. A couple of those appearances have been late inning pinch hitting situations but Mauer has been there for the most part. He has appeared in 92% of the team's games which is great to see after a 2011 season where Mauer only played in 50.6% of the team's schedule. Not all of Mauer's playing time has come with him at catcher but being able to place his name in the line-up on a daily basis is a big step over last year. After sitting out Saturday's game with a sore hamstring, Mauer was back behind the plate on Sunday in what might have seemed like a surprise move. If a player has a sore hamstring, the last thing a team would want to do is have him squat behind the plate for nine innings (or 15 innings). Mauer's hamstring seemed to be holding up fine until a collision at home plate with Rickie Weeks caused him to bruise his right quad. From the sounds of the postgame report, Mauer was not please with the way that Weeks slid into home. I don't think there were too many people who would think this was a dirty play by Weeks so there doesn't seem to be much basis for Mauer's argument. It also sounds like Mauer should be back in the line-up soon and the team is only listing him as day-to-day with his newest injury. This is a good sign if he wants to continue to play in over 90% of the Twins games this year. Slama out at least a month One of the best pitchers in the minor leagues so far this season had been relief pitcher Anthony Slama. He had almost been untouchable in his 22.2 innings of work for the Red Wings as he posted a 0.40 ERA with 37 strikeouts. It is the fourth season that he has spent at least part of the year at Triple-A so it was put up or shut up time for Slama. He had completed nine saves on the year and it seemed like he would be given a shot at the big league level at some point this season. In an unfortunate turn of events for Slama, he will miss four to six weeks after being hit by a comebacker on the mound. He has a broken bone in his right leg and it will take time to heal and recover. One of the brightest spots for the Twins in 2012 has been the bullpen so it remains to be seen if Slama would have even been called up. He isn't currently on the 40-man roster so the Twins would be forced to make another change if they wanted him on the big league roster. The Twins seem reluctant to give Slama an extended look at the major league level as a 28-year old relief pitcher. He has put up decent numbers at Triple-A for the last three years but this has only translated to a couple of games with the Twins. He has 7.0 total innings at the MLB level so it is hard to know what kind of player he could be. His numbers this year seem to indicate that he has mastered AAA and now it looks like a call-up will have to wait until the end of the year because of his injury.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mAFtdGjpK3M/T9602G7XrmI/AAAAAAAACOQ/UfaDWKM00f8/s400/PowerPitchers.jpg Twins fans are well aware of how great pitching has been across baseball this season. So far this year, there have been five no-hitters with two of those being perfect games. Two former Twins pitchers, Johan Santana and Phil Humber, accounted for two of the no-hitters. Unfortunately for the Twins, they were also on the wrong end of a no-hitter against Jered Weaver earlier this season. Combine all of these and it was a rough couple of weeks for Twins fans to watch. There seems to be something special in the air across baseball in recent years and pitching is at the center of this change. Following an era of baseball that was full of steroid filled sluggers, pitching seems to have regained the upper hand. Entering play on Sunday, the top 16 pitchers in the National League and the top 7 pitchers in the American League all had sub-3.00 ERAs. In contrast to the 2011 season, there were a combined 16 sub-3.00 ERAs between both leagues. For the Twins in 2012, there is only one starting pitcher that has a sub-3.00 ERA, Scott Diamond. He doesn't have enough innings under his belt to qualify for a position on the AL leaders board and the rest of the starters are in the same position. Most of the other Twins starting pitchers have an ERA that is well over 5.00 and the team's combined ERA of 5.12 is the second worst in all of baseball. But a change in ERA isn't the only sign of a shift in baseball, there seems to be a rise in the amount of hard throwing pitchers. There are plenty examples in both leagues with Justin Verlander winning the AL MVP last year and Aroldis Chapman emerging for the Reds. According to FanGraphs, the hardest thrower in both leagues out of the players that qualify is Stephen Strasburg at 96.1 mph. The top 15 fastballs for starting pitchers are all above 93.0 mph; but if you expand it to include relief pitching, there are 35 pitchers with a fastball that averages over 95.0 mph. Over the recent years of Twins baseball, the team has been known as a "pitch-to-contact" team and organization. This can be seen in the pitchers that make up the current roster for the Twins. Out of the starting pitchers, Francisco Liriano has the hardest fastball at over 93 mph but the rest of the starters sit around 90 mph or lower. The relief pitchers are lead by a former starter, Glen Perkins, and his fastball that averages over 95 mph. While there are plenty of relief pitchers across baseball with big fastballs, the rest of the Twins relief core sits around 93 mph with their heaters. There are teams across baseball that have been able to create outstanding pitching staffs based on their team's drafting and scouting departments. The San Francisco Giants have a rotation composed of three very good pitchers that were brought through the farm system of their organization. There are ups and downs with Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Madison Bumgarner but for the most part these three pitchers have been very good on the mound. Another team with outstanding homegrown pitchers is the Tampa Bay Rays. Their combination of James Shields, David Price, Matt Moore, and Jeremy Hellickson completes one of the deepest staffs in the game. Both of these organizations have used the draft to find pitchers from multiple rounds of the draft to build their pitching staff. With the Twins knowing that something had to change for the future, they changed some of their draft philosophy for the 2012 season. Instead of looking for pitch-to-contact players like the team had been doing, the Twins front office made a conscious switch to finding players with more upside. The main qualities the Twins were looking for were "power and raw speed" and the team took four pitchers in the first two rounds. For the entire draft, the organization took 24 pitchers out of the 43 picks the team was given. In the end, not all of these players will sign but it seems like the team is finally moving in the right direction. This change in draft philosophy could be a good start for the Twins but it will be quite some time before the team will know if they selected the right players in the 2012 draft. For now, the future of Twins pitching does not look like it is in the perfect place. There are plenty of question marks surrounding the 2012 Twins and how the rest of the season will go with the starting staff. Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, and Scott Baker can all leave via free agency and for most fans that would be a welcome sight. But the Twins would have to replace these pitcher and pitching doesn't come cheap. Scott Diamond, Nick Blackburn, and Liam Hendriks look to be the front runners for the 2013 rotation. But in the era of pitching, these three names leave the Twins and their fans wanting something more...

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mAFtdGjpK3M/T9602G7XrmI/AAAAAAAACOQ/UfaDWKM00f8/s400/PowerPitchers.jpg Twins fans are well aware of how great pitching has been across baseball this season. So far this year, there have been five no-hitters with two of those being perfect games. Two former Twins pitchers, Johan Santana and Phil Humber, accounted for two of the no-hitters. Unfortunately for the Twins, they were also on the wrong end of a no-hitter against Jered Weaver earlier this season. Combine all of these and it was a rough couple of weeks for Twins fans to watch. There seems to be something special in the air across baseball in recent years and pitching is at the center of this change. Following an era of baseball that was full of steroid filled sluggers, pitching seems to have regained the upper hand. Entering play on Sunday, the top 16 pitchers in the National League and the top 7 pitchers in the American League all had sub-3.00 ERAs. In contrast to the 2011 season, there were a combined 16 sub-3.00 ERAs between both leagues. For the Twins in 2012, there is only one starting pitcher that has a sub-3.00 ERA, Scott Diamond. He doesn't have enough innings under his belt to qualify for a position on the AL leaders board and the rest of the starters are in the same position. Most of the other Twins starting pitchers have an ERA that is well over 5.00 and the team's combined ERA of 5.12 is the second worst in all of baseball. But a change in ERA isn't the only sign of a shift in baseball, there seems to be a rise in the amount of hard throwing pitchers. There are plenty examples in both leagues with Justin Verlander winning the AL MVP last year and Aroldis Chapman emerging for the Reds. According to FanGraphs, the hardest thrower in both leagues out of the players that qualify is Stephen Strasburg at 96.1 mph. The top 15 fastballs for starting pitchers are all above 93.0 mph; but if you expand it to include relief pitching, there are 35 pitchers with a fastball that averages over 95.0 mph. Over the recent years of Twins baseball, the team has been known as a "pitch-to-contact" team and organization. This can be seen in the pitchers that make up the current roster for the Twins. Out of the starting pitchers, Francisco Liriano has the hardest fastball at over 93 mph but the rest of the starters sit around 90 mph or lower. The relief pitchers are lead by a former starter, Glen Perkins, and his fastball that averages over 95 mph. While there are plenty of relief pitchers across baseball with big fastballs, the rest of the Twins relief core sits around 93 mph with their heaters. There are teams across baseball that have been able to create outstanding pitching staffs based on their team's drafting and scouting departments. The San Francisco Giants have a rotation composed of three very good pitchers that were brought through the farm system of their organization. There are ups and downs with Matt Cain, Tim Lincecum, and Madison Bumgarner but for the most part these three pitchers have been very good on the mound. Another team with outstanding homegrown pitchers is the Tampa Bay Rays. Their combination of James Shields, David Price, Matt Moore, and Jeremy Hellickson completes one of the deepest staffs in the game. Both of these organizations have used the draft to find pitchers from multiple rounds of the draft to build their pitching staff. With the Twins knowing that something had to change for the future, they changed some of their draft philosophy for the 2012 season. Instead of looking for pitch-to-contact players like the team had been doing, the Twins front office made a conscious switch to finding players with more upside. The main qualities the Twins were looking for were "power and raw speed" and the team took four pitchers in the first two rounds. For the entire draft, the organization took 24 pitchers out of the 43 picks the team was given. In the end, not all of these players will sign but it seems like the team is finally moving in the right direction. This change in draft philosophy could be a good start for the Twins but it will be quite some time before the team will know if they selected the right players in the 2012 draft. For now, the future of Twins pitching does not look like it is in the perfect place. There are plenty of question marks surrounding the 2012 Twins and how the rest of the season will go with the starting staff. Carl Pavano, Francisco Liriano, and Scott Baker can all leave via free agency and for most fans that would be a welcome sight. But the Twins would have to replace these pitcher and pitching doesn't come cheap. Scott Diamond, Nick Blackburn, and Liam Hendriks look to be the front runners for the 2013 rotation. But in the era of pitching, these three names leave the Twins and their fans wanting something more...

For the first half of the Twins game on Friday night, it looked like Francisco Liriano could be on the way to his second no-hitter in the last two years. With his pitch count rising in the sixth inning, he walked two batters and then he ran into the reigning National League MVP. Ryan Braun crushed a pitch to deep center field to switch a 2-0 Twins lead into a 3-2 Brewers lead. Lucky enough for the Twins, Trevor Plouffe is in beast mode and he can keep the Twins in any game. His two home runs on Friday night gave him seven home runs in the last seven games during the current home stand. It has been fun to see what Plouffe has been able to do at the major league level but there are plenty of notable performances in the minors from Friday. Here's a glimpse of what happened under the lights on Friday night in the Twins farm system. ROCHESTER 4, LOUISVILLE 1 On this night the story of the game would be the outstanding pitching performance from Cole DeVries. In his second start since being sent back to Rochester, DeVries pitched seven shutout innings while striking out four and only walking a single batter. It will be nice to see if his brief taste of the big leagues will help him for the rest of the season. There were minimal threats in the eighth and ninth inning from the Bats but Tyler Robertson and Brendan Wise were able to escape with minimal damage. Robertson allowed the only run to score for the Bats but he left two runners on base to keep the lead at four. Wise walked a batter with two outs in the ninth but he got a strikeout to finish the game for his first save. Sean Burroughs and Wilkin Ramirez each knocked in a couple runs to help the Red Wings to come out victorious on Friday night. Both hitters cracked a double and Ramirez smashed his third home run of the year in the second inning. Matt Carson hit his team leading 17 double of the year in the win. NEW BRITAIN 2, ERIE 5 The Rock Cats scored a couple runs in the second inning to take the lead back from the SeaWolves but it wasn't enough on this night. Erie pounded out double digits in hits and put together some late inning rallies to separate themselves from New Britain. Most of this rally came off of Blake Martin who gave up three earned runs in his inning on the mound. Aaron Thompson had his best start since joining New Britain at the beginning of June. He started the game for the Rock Cats and pitched six strong innings by giving up five hits and one earned run. He dropped his ERA from above 9.00 at the start of the game to close to 6.00 by the end of the game. Rene Tosoni and Chris Herrmann both had mulit-hit games with one of Herrmann's hits being a double. The man to drive in all the runs for the Rock Cats on this night was Estarlin De Los Santos with a 2-RBI double in the second inning. Mark Dolenc had his first double of the year but it was still not enough to help the Rock Cats on this evening. FORT MYERS (All-Star Break) The Miracle don't have a game on Friday night because tomorrow night is the Florida State League All-Star Game. Fort Myers had four players selected from their team to represent the club in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Fort Myers Miracle will be represented on the South team by catcher Josmil Pinto, infielder Daniel Santana, and pitchers Pat Dean and Rickey Bowen. Another Miracle player, Oswaldo Arcia, was added to the home run derby on Thursday. BELOIT 6, BURLINGTON 3 After celebrating their first trip to the playoffs in five years, there could be a chance the team would come out a little slow. This was definitely not the case on Friday night as the Snappers pounded out six runs in the first two frames. From there the offense cooled down and they hoped the pitching staff would be able to hold on to the lead. In only his second start since being shifted from the bullpen, David Hurlbut gave up three earned runs on two home runs with five strikeouts. AJ Achter threw three innings in relief and put up some impressive numbers. He pitched three scoreless innings by only allowing two hits while striking out six. Nate Roberts led the offensive charge from the leadoff spot by going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Drew Leachman drove in a couple of runs and had his third triple of the year. The Snappers batted close to .500, 5-for-12, with runners in scoring position to help the team to another W in the win column. --- Players of the Day for Friday, June 15, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Wilkin Ramirez http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KLtv4EL7Y5g/T9vu8-b7UTI/AAAAAAAACMY/xaOr_XPO01o/s320/Wilkin+Ramirez.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Cole DeVries http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPaKywwV_dI/T9vdnm9ng9I/AAAAAAAACKo/1vEcoaaduIA/s320/cole_de-vries1.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Saturday, June 16th Schedule Rochester at Louisville- RHP Cole DeVries New Britain vs Erie- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers- FSL All-Star Game Beloit vs Burlington- 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.

For the first half of the Twins game on Friday night, it looked like Francisco Liriano could be on the way to his second no-hitter in the last two years. With his pitch count rising in the sixth inning, he walked two batters and then he ran into the reigning National League MVP. Ryan Braun crushed a pitch to deep center field to switch a 2-0 Twins lead into a 3-2 Brewers lead. Lucky enough for the Twins, Trevor Plouffe is in beast mode and he can keep the Twins in any game. His two home runs on Friday night gave him seven home runs in the last seven games during the current home stand. It has been fun to see what Plouffe has been able to do at the major league level but there are plenty of notable performances in the minors from Friday. Here's a glimpse of what happened under the lights on Friday night in the Twins farm system. ROCHESTER 4, LOUISVILLE 1 On this night the story of the game would be the outstanding pitching performance from Cole DeVries. In his second start since being sent back to Rochester, DeVries pitched seven shutout innings while striking out four and only walking a single batter. It will be nice to see if his brief taste of the big leagues will help him for the rest of the season. There were minimal threats in the eighth and ninth inning from the Bats but Tyler Robertson and Brendan Wise were able to escape with minimal damage. Robertson allowed the only run to score for the Bats but he left two runners on base to keep the lead at four. Wise walked a batter with two outs in the ninth but he got a strikeout to finish the game for his first save. Sean Burroughs and Wilkin Ramirez each knocked in a couple runs to help the Red Wings to come out victorious on Friday night. Both hitters cracked a double and Ramirez smashed his third home run of the year in the second inning. Matt Carson hit his team leading 17 double of the year in the win. NEW BRITAIN 2, ERIE 5 The Rock Cats scored a couple runs in the second inning to take the lead back from the SeaWolves but it wasn't enough on this night. Erie pounded out double digits in hits and put together some late inning rallies to separate themselves from New Britain. Most of this rally came off of Blake Martin who gave up three earned runs in his inning on the mound. Aaron Thompson had his best start since joining New Britain at the beginning of June. He started the game for the Rock Cats and pitched six strong innings by giving up five hits and one earned run. He dropped his ERA from above 9.00 at the start of the game to close to 6.00 by the end of the game. Rene Tosoni and Chris Herrmann both had mulit-hit games with one of Herrmann's hits being a double. The man to drive in all the runs for the Rock Cats on this night was Estarlin De Los Santos with a 2-RBI double in the second inning. Mark Dolenc had his first double of the year but it was still not enough to help the Rock Cats on this evening. FORT MYERS (All-Star Break) The Miracle don't have a game on Friday night because tomorrow night is the Florida State League All-Star Game. Fort Myers had four players selected from their team to represent the club in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Fort Myers Miracle will be represented on the South team by catcher Josmil Pinto, infielder Daniel Santana, and pitchers Pat Dean and Rickey Bowen. Another Miracle player, Oswaldo Arcia, was added to the home run derby on Thursday. BELOIT 6, BURLINGTON 3 After celebrating their first trip to the playoffs in five years, there could be a chance the team would come out a little slow. This was definitely not the case on Friday night as the Snappers pounded out six runs in the first two frames. From there the offense cooled down and they hoped the pitching staff would be able to hold on to the lead. In only his second start since being shifted from the bullpen, David Hurlbut gave up three earned runs on two home runs with five strikeouts. AJ Achter threw three innings in relief and put up some impressive numbers. He pitched three scoreless innings by only allowing two hits while striking out six. Nate Roberts led the offensive charge from the leadoff spot by going 3-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. Drew Leachman drove in a couple of runs and had his third triple of the year. The Snappers batted close to .500, 5-for-12, with runners in scoring position to help the team to another W in the win column. --- Players of the Day for Friday, June 15, 2012 Hitter of the Day- Wilkin Ramirez http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KLtv4EL7Y5g/T9vu8-b7UTI/AAAAAAAACMY/xaOr_XPO01o/s320/Wilkin+Ramirez.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Cole DeVries http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GPaKywwV_dI/T9vdnm9ng9I/AAAAAAAACKo/1vEcoaaduIA/s320/cole_de-vries1.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Saturday, June 16th Schedule Rochester at Louisville- RHP Cole DeVries New Britain vs Erie- RHP BJ Hermsen Fort Myers- FSL All-Star Game Beloit vs Burlington- 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.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Twins welcomed Jim Thome back to Target Field for what could be his last series in Minnesota. Over the course of the three game set, Thome made his presence known by hitting a monster shot over the batter's eye in one game and a three run bomb on Thursday night. Fans of the Twins still cheered his powerful swing as Thome got to do his best Paul Bunyan impression for the last time in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." By losing the series to the Phillies, the Twins ended their streak of winning series that stretched back to the end of last month. Even in the series loss, Trevor Plouffe has been amazing to watch over the course of the last few weeks. He is locked-in at the plate and it seems like he is now expected to hit a home run every night. Over the weekend, the Twins will welcome the Brewers to town for their last home series as part of interleague play. Last month, the Twins took two out of three when these same two teams faced off in Milwaukee. Liam Hendriks should get called up to start Saturday's game so it will be fun to see if the Twins can get back to winning series. Before you sneak out of work early for the weekend, check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Scott Diamond had a rough night on Thursday but his shine might not have worn off at this point. The Twins will need to sort out some of their starting pitching before the weekend series. It's already the middle of June and that means the trade deadline is approaching. What will the Twins do at the end of July? There has been speculation of trading Josh Willingham but here is one reason why he should stay in Minnesota. Justin Morneau could also be out the door in the next couple of weeks. Thome's return to the Twin Cities made room for remembering some moments during his career. Former Twins pitcher RA Dickey has pitched himself into Cy Young contention. Even though Ozzie Guillen has switched to the National League, he is still the least respected manager in baseball (the Castro comments from earlier this year probably didn't help). It was Hope Week for the Twins and one blogger's wife almost spilled beer on Justin Morneau at one of the events. Byron Buxton, the Twins first round pick, signed this week and got to take batting practice at Target Field. Now fans wait to see what he can do in the minors. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V0ozrNfcmpI/T9q2xpeS5eI/AAAAAAAACI4/OhchD_9nGwc/s320/buxton-bp.jpg It could be time for Oswaldo Arcia to be challenged with a different level in the minor leagues. Miguel Sano is a big boy in the batters box and here is some photo evidence. The Snappers have already clinched a playoff spot by winning the first half title in the Western League so it is important to know the make-up of the key players. Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, and Scott Diamond seem to be forming the new young core for the Twins. One of the biggest stories of the week was the perfect game thrown by Matt Cain. This catch in the seventh inning by Gregor Blanco still amazes me. Joe Torre is going to manage the US Team in the World Baseball Classic and there is a chance that Joe Mauer could make the roster. After being on the Twins big league roster at the start of the year, Luke Hughes finds himself at Double-A for Oakland. His Twitter account has been fun to follow. Lew Ford continues to kill the ball for Baltimore's Triple-A squad and it would be great to see him get another shot in the big leagues. Michael Cuddyer seems to like the lighter air in Colorado and he is on pace for one of his best seasons yet. In a sad note, former Twins pitcher Dave Boswell passed away this week at the age of 67. He was a 20-game winner for the club in 1969. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Diamond flourishes while Bullock struggles Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Twins looking toward international market Video of the Week: Unfortunately for the Twins, one of the team's top prospects Eddie Rosario has to undergo face surgery after being hit by a ball in batting practice. This is still a cool story on his emergence in the Twins system and how he has patiently moved through the different levels.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Twins welcomed Jim Thome back to Target Field for what could be his last series in Minnesota. Over the course of the three game set, Thome made his presence known by hitting a monster shot over the batter's eye in one game and a three run bomb on Thursday night. Fans of the Twins still cheered his powerful swing as Thome got to do his best Paul Bunyan impression for the last time in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." By losing the series to the Phillies, the Twins ended their streak of winning series that stretched back to the end of last month. Even in the series loss, Trevor Plouffe has been amazing to watch over the course of the last few weeks. He is locked-in at the plate and it seems like he is now expected to hit a home run every night. Over the weekend, the Twins will welcome the Brewers to town for their last home series as part of interleague play. Last month, the Twins took two out of three when these same two teams faced off in Milwaukee. Liam Hendriks should get called up to start Saturday's game so it will be fun to see if the Twins can get back to winning series. Before you sneak out of work early for the weekend, check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Scott Diamond had a rough night on Thursday but his shine might not have worn off at this point. The Twins will need to sort out some of their starting pitching before the weekend series. It's already the middle of June and that means the trade deadline is approaching. What will the Twins do at the end of July? There has been speculation of trading Josh Willingham but here is one reason why he should stay in Minnesota. Justin Morneau could also be out the door in the next couple of weeks. Thome's return to the Twin Cities made room for remembering some moments during his career. Former Twins pitcher RA Dickey has pitched himself into Cy Young contention. Even though Ozzie Guillen has switched to the National League, he is still the least respected manager in baseball (the Castro comments from earlier this year probably didn't help). It was Hope Week for the Twins and one blogger's wife almost spilled beer on Justin Morneau at one of the events. Byron Buxton, the Twins first round pick, signed this week and got to take batting practice at Target Field. Now fans wait to see what he can do in the minors. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V0ozrNfcmpI/T9q2xpeS5eI/AAAAAAAACI4/OhchD_9nGwc/s320/buxton-bp.jpg It could be time for Oswaldo Arcia to be challenged with a different level in the minor leagues. Miguel Sano is a big boy in the batters box and here is some photo evidence. The Snappers have already clinched a playoff spot by winning the first half title in the Western League so it is important to know the make-up of the key players. Ben Revere, Trevor Plouffe, and Scott Diamond seem to be forming the new young core for the Twins. One of the biggest stories of the week was the perfect game thrown by Matt Cain. This catch in the seventh inning by Gregor Blanco still amazes me. Joe Torre is going to manage the US Team in the World Baseball Classic and there is a chance that Joe Mauer could make the roster. After being on the Twins big league roster at the start of the year, Luke Hughes finds himself at Double-A for Oakland. His Twitter account has been fun to follow. Lew Ford continues to kill the ball for Baltimore's Triple-A squad and it would be great to see him get another shot in the big leagues. Michael Cuddyer seems to like the lighter air in Colorado and he is on pace for one of his best seasons yet. In a sad note, former Twins pitcher Dave Boswell passed away this week at the age of 67. He was a 20-game winner for the club in 1969. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Diamond flourishes while Bullock struggles Tuesday: Tuesday Morning Tidbits Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Twins looking toward international market Video of the Week: Unfortunately for the Twins, one of the team's top prospects Eddie Rosario has to undergo face surgery after being hit by a ball in batting practice. This is still a cool story on his emergence in the Twins system and how he has patiently moved through the different levels.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRC9OEVVlKQ/T9ngZMJOLII/AAAAAAAACHI/G78d2ms7sR0/s320/Torrens,+Luis.jpg With the Twins playing better baseball over the last couple of weeks, there has been plenty of talk about whether the Twins will be buyers or sellers when it comes to the trade deadline. While that date at the end of July will be very important for the Twins, there is another important deadline coming at the beginning of next month. Teams like the Twins will turn their attention July 2, when international players that have turned 16-years old can be signed. The biggest international signing in Twins history was Miguel Sano, who has turned into the best prospect in the entire organization. His $3.15 million signing bonus was the second largest in Twins history at the time but now ranks third behind Joe Mauer and this year's first round pick Byron Buxton. The rules for signing international players have changed with the new CBA and team's are not allowed to spend over $2.9 million on foreign talent. This means there can't be a deal worth as much as what Sano signed from a few seasons ago. According to the Star Tribune, there are a couple of players on the radar for the Twins as the signing deadline approaches. To get one of these top international players, the Twins would need to spend most of their allotted signing funds and there will be plenty of other teams interested in the services of the players listed below. Amaurys Minier, SS/2B Dominican Republic Height/Weight: 6'2"/200 Bats/Throws: S/R The switching hitting middle infielder might need to switch to corner outfield or third base when he starts his professional career but his sweet swing projects to be a big bat. He has the power to drive the ball to all fields from both sides of the plate, a rare thing to find in a switch hitting 16-year old. When he starts to fill out, his smooth swing will develop even more power. Even though he is currently playing positions he won't play at the next level, there are plenty of defensive skills for him to showcase. He has go movement from side-to-side to go along with soft hands and a very powerful arm. These are skills that will help him when he moves to a different position in the future. The biggest problem for Minier right now is his ability to recognize pitches and make adjustments to offspeed offerings. He can look a little lost when a pitcher throws a good offspeed pitch at him when he's in the box. This is one skill that should develop over time and he still has one of the highest ceilings of any player on the international market. Luis Torrens, C Venezuela Height/Weight: 6'0"/170 Bats/Throws: R/R Torrens has spent time at shortstop and third base but he looks to have found his home behind the plate. There are still plenty of things to work on with his defense since he has only recently started to adjust to being a catcher. His natural athletic ability and other tools should make his it easier for his transition to catcher. The Twins could use a high profile catcher in their system to be ready to take the place of Mr. Mauer in the coming years. His right-handed bat is what makes him standout versus some of his peers in the international market. Reports have him hitting doubles to all fields at this point but his frame offers room to add more muscle as he matures. This should allow some of those doubles to turn into home runs while he moves through a club's minor league system. He is one of the top players available from Venezuela this year and he has topped some lists at different points this season. There is plenty of offensive potential and his ability to stick at catcher should help his value on the market. He has shown the ability to play third base in the past so a team could convert him back into a corner infielder if catching doesn't work out. TORRENS SCOUTING VIDEO (CLICK HERE)

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fRC9OEVVlKQ/T9ngZMJOLII/AAAAAAAACHI/G78d2ms7sR0/s320/Torrens,+Luis.jpg With the Twins playing better baseball over the last couple of weeks, there has been plenty of talk about whether the Twins will be buyers or sellers when it comes to the trade deadline. While that date at the end of July will be very important for the Twins, there is another important deadline coming at the beginning of next month. Teams like the Twins will turn their attention July 2, when international players that have turned 16-years old can be signed. The biggest international signing in Twins history was Miguel Sano, who has turned into the best prospect in the entire organization. His $3.15 million signing bonus was the second largest in Twins history at the time but now ranks third behind Joe Mauer and this year's first round pick Byron Buxton. The rules for signing international players have changed with the new CBA and team's are not allowed to spend over $2.9 million on foreign talent. This means there can't be a deal worth as much as what Sano signed from a few seasons ago. According to the Star Tribune, there are a couple of players on the radar for the Twins as the signing deadline approaches. To get one of these top international players, the Twins would need to spend most of their allotted signing funds and there will be plenty of other teams interested in the services of the players listed below. Amaurys Minier, SS/2B Dominican Republic Height/Weight: 6'2"/200 Bats/Throws: S/R The switching hitting middle infielder might need to switch to corner outfield or third base when he starts his professional career but his sweet swing projects to be a big bat. He has the power to drive the ball to all fields from both sides of the plate, a rare thing to find in a switch hitting 16-year old. When he starts to fill out, his smooth swing will develop even more power. Even though he is currently playing positions he won't play at the next level, there are plenty of defensive skills for him to showcase. He has go movement from side-to-side to go along with soft hands and a very powerful arm. These are skills that will help him when he moves to a different position in the future. The biggest problem for Minier right now is his ability to recognize pitches and make adjustments to offspeed offerings. He can look a little lost when a pitcher throws a good offspeed pitch at him when he's in the box. This is one skill that should develop over time and he still has one of the highest ceilings of any player on the international market. Luis Torrens, C Venezuela Height/Weight: 6'0"/170 Bats/Throws: R/R Torrens has spent time at shortstop and third base but he looks to have found his home behind the plate. There are still plenty of things to work on with his defense since he has only recently started to adjust to being a catcher. His natural athletic ability and other tools should make his it easier for his transition to catcher. The Twins could use a high profile catcher in their system to be ready to take the place of Mr. Mauer in the coming years. His right-handed bat is what makes him standout versus some of his peers in the international market. Reports have him hitting doubles to all fields at this point but his frame offers room to add more muscle as he matures. This should allow some of those doubles to turn into home runs while he moves through a club's minor league system. He is one of the top players available from Venezuela this year and he has topped some lists at different points this season. There is plenty of offensive potential and his ability to stick at catcher should help his value on the market. He has shown the ability to play third base in the past so a team could convert him back into a corner infielder if catching doesn't work out. TORRENS SCOUTING VIDEO (CLICK HERE)

The Twins found themselves in quite the battle at Target Field on Tuesday night with the Phillies in town for some interleague action. There was plenty of offense for both clubs as the Twins scored runs in four of the first five innings of the game. Early home runs were hit by Denard Span and Trevor Plouffe to help the Twins get the lead but it was hardly over from that point. By the time Matt Capps entered in the ninth inning, there were already a combined 31 hits on the board for the Phillies and the Twins. There were big nights at the plate from multiple players including some big 2-out hits from Jamey Carroll to help the Twins to stay on top of the charging Phillies. In the end, the Twins survived by a final score of 11-7. Here's how the rest of the Twins affiliates fared on "Tuesday's Trip through the Minors." ROCHESTER 0, INDIANAPOLIS 2 The Red Wings managed more hits than the Indians on Tuesday evening but Rochester was never able to come up with the big hit to push some runs across the plate. Three pitchers for Indianapolis combined to shutout Rochester for the second game in a row. Rick VandenHurk started for the Indians and pitched seven strong innings with a runner making it to third base on one occasion. Samuel Deduno pitched the first four innings for the Red Wings without allowing a run but he was strangely removed after only throwing 64 pitches. Esmerling Vasquez was charged with the two earned runs in 2.2 innings of work for his fourth loss of the year. The problem for Vasquez was he threw more balls than strikes and found himself in bad counts for most of the evening. There were no extra base hits for the Red Wings and the team left six runners on base over the course of the game. Danny Valencia had two hits as the designated hitter and Wilkin Ramirez was also able to get a couple of singles. The only other Red Wings batter with a hit was Tsuyoshi Nishioka. It's been a tough couple of nights for the Red Wings. NEW BRITAIN -, AKRON - Inclement weather forced the Rock Cats to postpone their game with the Akron Aeros. The contest will be made up as part of a double header on Wednesday evening. The Rock Cats have won back to back games but this came on the heels of losing six games in a row. Even with the rough week last week, the Rock Cats are only one game out of first place in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League. Akron is leading the Western Division so it is setting up to be a good double header tomorrow night. FORT MYERS 5, BRADENTON 3 A big first inning put the Miracle up by five runs in this game as they tried to separate themselves from the Marauders. Levi Michael got things started with his third double of the year. Jario Perez singled to drive in Michael and to start the scoring for the Miracle. It has been a rough start to the season for Danny Rams but he capped the scoring in the first by hitting a grand slam, his first home run in 2012. It turned out that those five early runs would be all that the pitching staff of the Miracle would need on this night. Cole Nelson started the game on the mound and ran into a rough spot in the fourth inning that allowed Bradenton to score three runs. Jose Gonzalez and Dakota Watts each pitched two innings of scoreless baseball to preserve the lead. Watts picked up his first save of the year and it was the second hold of the year for Gozalez. No one in the Miracle line-up had more than one hit and only five batters managed to get a hit in this game. The two-out grand slam from Rams in the first inning would be the biggest hit that the team needed on Tuesday. BELOIT 5, PEORIA 4 The Snappers found themselves in a tight battle with the Chiefs as both clubs held the lead at different points in the game. In the second inning, the Snappers were able to score the first run of the game on a single from Adam Pettersen. Peoria would come back to take the lead in the third with three runs of their own.A big bottom of the fourth put the Snappers on top for good as four runs were scored. With his sixth win of the year, Matthew Summers is starting to look more comfortable on the mound for the Snappers. He pitched 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing three earned runs on five hits. Michael Tonkin had to pitch two innings to earn his fifth save of the year but he struck out all six batters that he faced. Adam Pettersen was the one player to record multiple hits in the game to go along with a couple of RBI. He was also scored a run and was the only member of the Snappers to bat in a run with two outs in an inning. Tyler Grimes and Drew Leachman added the other RBI for Beloit. Miguel Sano was held hitless for the third time in the last four games. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Both photos courtesy of Rinaldi Photos Hitter of the Day- Adam Pettersen http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fijcNhEdlx4/T9f9UgGBjUI/AAAAAAAACB4/nUDGd2-L-HU/s320/AdamPettersen.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Michael Tonkin http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sBvUH8_iUtE/T9gDeobaYxI/AAAAAAAACEk/tdBp-PEfBbc/s320/MichaelTonkin.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, June 13th Schedule Rochester (Off day) New Britain vs Akron (1)- LHP Logan Darnell New Britain vs Akron (2)- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers vs Bradenton- TBD Beloit vs Peoria- TBD --- 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 found themselves in quite the battle at Target Field on Tuesday night with the Phillies in town for some interleague action. There was plenty of offense for both clubs as the Twins scored runs in four of the first five innings of the game. Early home runs were hit by Denard Span and Trevor Plouffe to help the Twins get the lead but it was hardly over from that point. By the time Matt Capps entered in the ninth inning, there were already a combined 31 hits on the board for the Phillies and the Twins. There were big nights at the plate from multiple players including some big 2-out hits from Jamey Carroll to help the Twins to stay on top of the charging Phillies. In the end, the Twins survived by a final score of 11-7. Here's how the rest of the Twins affiliates fared on "Tuesday's Trip through the Minors." ROCHESTER 0, INDIANAPOLIS 2 The Red Wings managed more hits than the Indians on Tuesday evening but Rochester was never able to come up with the big hit to push some runs across the plate. Three pitchers for Indianapolis combined to shutout Rochester for the second game in a row. Rick VandenHurk started for the Indians and pitched seven strong innings with a runner making it to third base on one occasion. Samuel Deduno pitched the first four innings for the Red Wings without allowing a run but he was strangely removed after only throwing 64 pitches. Esmerling Vasquez was charged with the two earned runs in 2.2 innings of work for his fourth loss of the year. The problem for Vasquez was he threw more balls than strikes and found himself in bad counts for most of the evening. There were no extra base hits for the Red Wings and the team left six runners on base over the course of the game. Danny Valencia had two hits as the designated hitter and Wilkin Ramirez was also able to get a couple of singles. The only other Red Wings batter with a hit was Tsuyoshi Nishioka. It's been a tough couple of nights for the Red Wings. NEW BRITAIN -, AKRON - Inclement weather forced the Rock Cats to postpone their game with the Akron Aeros. The contest will be made up as part of a double header on Wednesday evening. The Rock Cats have won back to back games but this came on the heels of losing six games in a row. Even with the rough week last week, the Rock Cats are only one game out of first place in the Eastern Division of the Eastern League. Akron is leading the Western Division so it is setting up to be a good double header tomorrow night. FORT MYERS 5, BRADENTON 3 A big first inning put the Miracle up by five runs in this game as they tried to separate themselves from the Marauders. Levi Michael got things started with his third double of the year. Jario Perez singled to drive in Michael and to start the scoring for the Miracle. It has been a rough start to the season for Danny Rams but he capped the scoring in the first by hitting a grand slam, his first home run in 2012. It turned out that those five early runs would be all that the pitching staff of the Miracle would need on this night. Cole Nelson started the game on the mound and ran into a rough spot in the fourth inning that allowed Bradenton to score three runs. Jose Gonzalez and Dakota Watts each pitched two innings of scoreless baseball to preserve the lead. Watts picked up his first save of the year and it was the second hold of the year for Gozalez. No one in the Miracle line-up had more than one hit and only five batters managed to get a hit in this game. The two-out grand slam from Rams in the first inning would be the biggest hit that the team needed on Tuesday. BELOIT 5, PEORIA 4 The Snappers found themselves in a tight battle with the Chiefs as both clubs held the lead at different points in the game. In the second inning, the Snappers were able to score the first run of the game on a single from Adam Pettersen. Peoria would come back to take the lead in the third with three runs of their own.A big bottom of the fourth put the Snappers on top for good as four runs were scored. With his sixth win of the year, Matthew Summers is starting to look more comfortable on the mound for the Snappers. He pitched 6.2 innings with seven strikeouts while allowing three earned runs on five hits. Michael Tonkin had to pitch two innings to earn his fifth save of the year but he struck out all six batters that he faced. Adam Pettersen was the one player to record multiple hits in the game to go along with a couple of RBI. He was also scored a run and was the only member of the Snappers to bat in a run with two outs in an inning. Tyler Grimes and Drew Leachman added the other RBI for Beloit. Miguel Sano was held hitless for the third time in the last four games. --- Players of the Day for Tuesday, June 12, 2012 Both photos courtesy of Rinaldi Photos Hitter of the Day- Adam Pettersen http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fijcNhEdlx4/T9f9UgGBjUI/AAAAAAAACB4/nUDGd2-L-HU/s320/AdamPettersen.jpg Pitcher of the Day- Michael Tonkin http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sBvUH8_iUtE/T9gDeobaYxI/AAAAAAAACEk/tdBp-PEfBbc/s320/MichaelTonkin.jpg --- A Look Ahead- Wednesday, June 13th Schedule Rochester (Off day) New Britain vs Akron (1)- LHP Logan Darnell New Britain vs Akron (2)- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Fort Myers vs Bradenton- TBD Beloit vs Peoria- TBD --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, leave them in the comments section and Seth or I will try to answer them.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another Tuesday morning means that later tonight I will be posting about all of the minor league action for the Twins farm system. There are plenty of exciting things happening at each level of the Twins organization so make sure you are checking out the nightly updates on the Twins Daily homepage. It's only two weeks until the short season leagues start in the minor leagues so there will be a ton of action to follow across the Twins system. For now, here are a few headlines that are being discussed across Twins Territory. When a team is starting to play better baseball, the news is much more encouraging. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks edition of "Tuesday Morning Tidbits." http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_lfmrTCwP-s/T9ZPcNW9ECI/AAAAAAAACAI/leFION1e0jQ/s320/Hendriks.jpgHendriks staying hot in Rochester One minor league player had such a good week last week that he was honored by the International League as the Player of the Week. This is a good sign as the Twins could need to call on the services of Mr. Liam Hendriks in the next week. After the demotion of Cole DeVries, the Twins are left with only four pitchers in the starting rotation. The team had a couple of off days to save them from needing another starter but Hendriks could be back in Minnesota by the end of next weekend. The time Hendriks has spent in the majors hasn't been outstanding but something might have clicked in his recent demotion to Rochester. Since being demoted at the beginning of May, Hendriks has gone 5-0 for the Red Wings with a 1.94 ERA and a 0.906 WHIP. His strikeout to walk rate of 42 to 13 is also excellent and it looks like there is little left for him to prove at the Triple-A level. In his last outing on Saturday, Hendriks threw 8.2 innings of scoreless baseball before exiting the game. This would put him in line to start on Thursday for Rochester but the Twins have an opening in their rotation that will need to be filled on Saturday against the Brewers. If the Twins don't want to use Anthony Swarzak as a spot starter, it seems that Hendriks could be facing off against the Brew Crew at Target Field. Plouffe finding a home at third Since the Twins have been winning in the last couple weeks, one of the top contributors to the club has been Trevor Plouffe. The team entered the season thinking that he would be spending most of his time in the outfield but poor play from Danny Valencia forced the club to go in a different direction. In the middle of May, the Twins started to use Plouffe more at third base and it sounds like he is spending a lot of time learning the new position. He defensive continues to improve but his offense has always been the key. During the last ten games, the Twins are 8-2 and Plouffe seems to have found his stroke at the dish. He is hitting .359/.390/.821 with five home runs and three doubles during that stretch. By averaging an RBI per game, the Twins have been able to use him more frequently in higher spots in the batting order. If he were to keep this pace up for an entire year, he would hit 82 home runs and knock in 162 runners. Obviously, this pace won't continue for Plouffe but it is nice to see him finally put something together at the big league level. His batting average has finally gotten over the .200 mark and he hopes to never see the .100s again in his professional career. The plan was for Valencia to stick at third base but it is nice to see Plouffe step up and take on the role. Plouffe has the talent to be the Twins third baseman for the next couple of years so let's hope his offense stays consistent and that he shows he can handle the defensive side of the ball. Buxton deal gets done Byron Buxton, the Twins first round draft pick and the second player selected during last weeks draft, is in the Twin Cities this week to finalize his deal with the club. Part of this process includes taking a physical on Tuesday and the contract could be announce on Wednesday if everything checks out. Late last night word came out that the two sides had agreed to a deal and all that was left was the physical. In previous years, the first round picks for the Twins took awhile to get their deal finalized. Kyle Gibson was in negotiations with the team right until the deadline before agreeing to a deal. The new CBA changed the slotting system for first round picks and the deadline for signing picks has been moved up by almost a month. At this point, the Twins and Buxton could have been in negotiations until July 13 but the earlier he signs the faster he can start his professional career. With the new slotting system, the recommended bonus for the second pick in the draft is $6.2 million. There is a chance that he will come in under the slotted amount because the first pick in the draft signed for less than the amount he was slotted to receive. Carlos Correa was a surprise pick by the Houston Astros but he signed for $4.8 million when the recommended slot amount was $7.2 million for the first pick. If the Twins can save money on Buxton, that money can be spent on other players taken in the higher rounds of the draft.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Another Tuesday morning means that later tonight I will be posting about all of the minor league action for the Twins farm system. There are plenty of exciting things happening at each level of the Twins organization so make sure you are checking out the nightly updates on the Twins Daily homepage. It's only two weeks until the short season leagues start in the minor leagues so there will be a ton of action to follow across the Twins system. For now, here are a few headlines that are being discussed across Twins Territory. When a team is starting to play better baseball, the news is much more encouraging. So sit back, relax, and enjoy this weeks edition of "Tuesday Morning Tidbits." http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_lfmrTCwP-s/T9ZPcNW9ECI/AAAAAAAACAI/leFION1e0jQ/s320/Hendriks.jpgHendriks staying hot in Rochester One minor league player had such a good week last week that he was honored by the International League as the Player of the Week. This is a good sign as the Twins could need to call on the services of Mr. Liam Hendriks in the next week. After the demotion of Cole DeVries, the Twins are left with only four pitchers in the starting rotation. The team had a couple of off days to save them from needing another starter but Hendriks could be back in Minnesota by the end of next weekend. The time Hendriks has spent in the majors hasn't been outstanding but something might have clicked in his recent demotion to Rochester. Since being demoted at the beginning of May, Hendriks has gone 5-0 for the Red Wings with a 1.94 ERA and a 0.906 WHIP. His strikeout to walk rate of 42 to 13 is also excellent and it looks like there is little left for him to prove at the Triple-A level. In his last outing on Saturday, Hendriks threw 8.2 innings of scoreless baseball before exiting the game. This would put him in line to start on Thursday for Rochester but the Twins have an opening in their rotation that will need to be filled on Saturday against the Brewers. If the Twins don't want to use Anthony Swarzak as a spot starter, it seems that Hendriks could be facing off against the Brew Crew at Target Field. Plouffe finding a home at third Since the Twins have been winning in the last couple weeks, one of the top contributors to the club has been Trevor Plouffe. The team entered the season thinking that he would be spending most of his time in the outfield but poor play from Danny Valencia forced the club to go in a different direction. In the middle of May, the Twins started to use Plouffe more at third base and it sounds like he is spending a lot of time learning the new position. He defensive continues to improve but his offense has always been the key. During the last ten games, the Twins are 8-2 and Plouffe seems to have found his stroke at the dish. He is hitting .359/.390/.821 with five home runs and three doubles during that stretch. By averaging an RBI per game, the Twins have been able to use him more frequently in higher spots in the batting order. If he were to keep this pace up for an entire year, he would hit 82 home runs and knock in 162 runners. Obviously, this pace won't continue for Plouffe but it is nice to see him finally put something together at the big league level. His batting average has finally gotten over the .200 mark and he hopes to never see the .100s again in his professional career. The plan was for Valencia to stick at third base but it is nice to see Plouffe step up and take on the role. Plouffe has the talent to be the Twins third baseman for the next couple of years so let's hope his offense stays consistent and that he shows he can handle the defensive side of the ball. Buxton deal gets done Byron Buxton, the Twins first round draft pick and the second player selected during last weeks draft, is in the Twin Cities this week to finalize his deal with the club. Part of this process includes taking a physical on Tuesday and the contract could be announce on Wednesday if everything checks out. Late last night word came out that the two sides had agreed to a deal and all that was left was the physical. In previous years, the first round picks for the Twins took awhile to get their deal finalized. Kyle Gibson was in negotiations with the team right until the deadline before agreeing to a deal. The new CBA changed the slotting system for first round picks and the deadline for signing picks has been moved up by almost a month. At this point, the Twins and Buxton could have been in negotiations until July 13 but the earlier he signs the faster he can start his professional career. With the new slotting system, the recommended bonus for the second pick in the draft is $6.2 million. There is a chance that he will come in under the slotted amount because the first pick in the draft signed for less than the amount he was slotted to receive. Carlos Correa was a surprise pick by the Houston Astros but he signed for $4.8 million when the recommended slot amount was $7.2 million for the first pick. If the Twins can save money on Buxton, that money can be spent on other players taken in the higher rounds of the draft.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7mNspmKJf8/T9VryKzcHnI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/uRG9AuKuZHY/s320/ScottDiamond.jpg It has been a long strange ride to get to this point in the life of Scott Diamond. The Canadian-born pitcher was not even drafted out of college in 2008 and he had to sign with the Atlanta Braves as a amateur free agent. This forced him to have to prove his worth as he worked his way through the farm system of the Braves. The lower levels of the minors were very good to Diamond as should be expected from a left-handed pitcher with college experience. After not posting an ERA of over 3.52 at any level, he made it all the way to the Braves Triple-A affiliate in 2010. At the end of that season, the Braves left Diamond off of their 40-man so this allowed team's to select him in the Rule 5 Draft, a draft meant to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them in the majors. He spent all of spring training in 2011 with the Twins but near the end of camp the Twins wanted to send him to Rochester. Under the rules of the Rule 5 Draft, the Twins would have to work out a deal with the Braves or offer him back to the organization. The Twins and the Braves were able to work out a deal with the Twins sending hard throwing prospect Billy Bullock back to the Atlanta organization in return for the rights to Diamond. At the time, there were many, including myself, that questioned the move by the front office. It seemed like the team was giving up a decent level prospect for a pitcher who hadn't shown any reason to think he would be a major factor at the big league level. It seemed like it was a high price to pay for Diamond. Diamond's first year with the Twins did not take away from the doubts that surrounded his arrival with the club. The transition to a new organization was not a smooth one for Mr. Diamond as he struggled through his worst season ever in the minor leagues. His 5.56 ERA with Rochester was over two runs higher than any ERA he had in the Braves system. The 24-year old made his debut in July for one start before heading back to Rochester but the Twins would need him again at the end of the year for a handful of mediocre starts. During the same time frame, Bullock spent most of the season pitching at the Double-A level as a 23-year old pitcher. He was very consistent in the fact that he could strike out a lot of batters but he also allowed a lot of walks. The Braves allowed him to get some save opportunities even with an ERA north of 4.50 for the year. It was a rough 2011 season for both of these players and it was hard to know what the future would hold for these young men. Flash-forward to the 2012 season and the move by the Twins to acquire Diamond is starting to look like it was a steal. In the seven starts he has made for the Twins, Diamond has won five contests and posted an incredible 1.61 ERA over 44.2 innings. One of the most positive signs could be the fact that he is controlling the strike zone by not walking batters and by increasing his strikeout rate. After walking 17 batters in 39 innings at the big league level last year, he has only walked four batters in close to 45 innings in 2012. Diamond has stepped up and been the most consistent man on the moundwhen it looked like the Twins would fumble through the season with all of their starters struggling. Meanwhile Bullock is spending his third straight year at the Double-A level and he continues to struggle with different parts of his game. He is walking close to a batter an inning and his strikeout numbers have dipped significantly since last year. His ERA of 4.00 is lower than last year at Double-A but it is still too high for a 24-year old that is repeating this level for the third time. He is going to need to focus on his control or he will never be able to find success in the higher levels of the minor leagues. Diamond has looked like the ace of the Twins pitching staff for the last month and there are few who would argue that point. He has turned skeptics into believers with his performance on the mound and the hope is that he will continue to be a very strong presence in the rotation. Even with a wide-open race in the AL Central and a recent winning streak, the Twins find themselves in a huge hole as the calendar inches into the middle part of June. While Bullock struggles in the minors, Diamond can be one of the bright stars for the Twins, a role few thought he would occupy a short time ago.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7mNspmKJf8/T9VryKzcHnI/AAAAAAAAB-Y/uRG9AuKuZHY/s320/ScottDiamond.jpg It has been a long strange ride to get to this point in the life of Scott Diamond. The Canadian-born pitcher was not even drafted out of college in 2008 and he had to sign with the Atlanta Braves as a amateur free agent. This forced him to have to prove his worth as he worked his way through the farm system of the Braves. The lower levels of the minors were very good to Diamond as should be expected from a left-handed pitcher with college experience. After not posting an ERA of over 3.52 at any level, he made it all the way to the Braves Triple-A affiliate in 2010. At the end of that season, the Braves left Diamond off of their 40-man so this allowed team's to select him in the Rule 5 Draft, a draft meant to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor league affiliate teams when other teams would be willing to have them in the majors. He spent all of spring training in 2011 with the Twins but near the end of camp the Twins wanted to send him to Rochester. Under the rules of the Rule 5 Draft, the Twins would have to work out a deal with the Braves or offer him back to the organization. The Twins and the Braves were able to work out a deal with the Twins sending hard throwing prospect Billy Bullock back to the Atlanta organization in return for the rights to Diamond. At the time, there were many, including myself, that questioned the move by the front office. It seemed like the team was giving up a decent level prospect for a pitcher who hadn't shown any reason to think he would be a major factor at the big league level. It seemed like it was a high price to pay for Diamond. Diamond's first year with the Twins did not take away from the doubts that surrounded his arrival with the club. The transition to a new organization was not a smooth one for Mr. Diamond as he struggled through his worst season ever in the minor leagues. His 5.56 ERA with Rochester was over two runs higher than any ERA he had in the Braves system. The 24-year old made his debut in July for one start before heading back to Rochester but the Twins would need him again at the end of the year for a handful of mediocre starts. During the same time frame, Bullock spent most of the season pitching at the Double-A level as a 23-year old pitcher. He was very consistent in the fact that he could strike out a lot of batters but he also allowed a lot of walks. The Braves allowed him to get some save opportunities even with an ERA north of 4.50 for the year. It was a rough 2011 season for both of these players and it was hard to know what the future would hold for these young men. Flash-forward to the 2012 season and the move by the Twins to acquire Diamond is starting to look like it was a steal. In the seven starts he has made for the Twins, Diamond has won five contests and posted an incredible 1.61 ERA over 44.2 innings. One of the most positive signs could be the fact that he is controlling the strike zone by not walking batters and by increasing his strikeout rate. After walking 17 batters in 39 innings at the big league level last year, he has only walked four batters in close to 45 innings in 2012. Diamond has stepped up and been the most consistent man on the moundwhen it looked like the Twins would fumble through the season with all of their starters struggling. Meanwhile Bullock is spending his third straight year at the Double-A level and he continues to struggle with different parts of his game. He is walking close to a batter an inning and his strikeout numbers have dipped significantly since last year. His ERA of 4.00 is lower than last year at Double-A but it is still too high for a 24-year old that is repeating this level for the third time. He is going to need to focus on his control or he will never be able to find success in the higher levels of the minor leagues. Diamond has looked like the ace of the Twins pitching staff for the last month and there are few who would argue that point. He has turned skeptics into believers with his performance on the mound and the hope is that he will continue to be a very strong presence in the rotation. Even with a wide-open race in the AL Central and a recent winning streak, the Twins find themselves in a huge hole as the calendar inches into the middle part of June. While Bullock struggles in the minors, Diamond can be one of the bright stars for the Twins, a role few thought he would occupy a short time ago.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It's finally Friday and the Twins are coming home to welcome a couple of teams that have yet to make a trip to Target Field. Interleague play means the Cubs and the Phillies will make their inaugural trek to Minneapolis to explore the friendly confines of Target Field. Some people love interleague play and others hate it. I see both sides of the argument but I do enjoy getting to see some National League players that I wouldn't normally get to see otherwise. Lucky enough for the Twins, the Cubs and the Phillies have also been struggling through the early portion of the season. Both teams are under .500 and the Cubs are one of two teams in all of baseball that have fewer wins than the Twins. The Phillies do play very well on the road with a 16-12 record so far but the Twins should be able to put up a good fight in the next couple series. The MLB Draft was the main story for most of the week but there was still plenty of other news and notes from around the league. Check out this week's edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." The Twins selected high school outfielder Byron Buxton with the second pick in the draft on Monday. You can like his page on Facebook or you can follow him on Twitter for the latest updates. Here is the official video of Bud Selig announcing Byron Buxton as the Twins pick along with his reaction. If you want to know more about Buxton, check out this profile on him. Speaking of the draft, I was on the Seth Speaks Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast to discuss the draft and the current situation with the Twins. Former Twins pitcher RA Dickey is having an amazing year for the Mets and he seems to be one that got away. Twins catching prospect Chris Herrmann sat down for an interview with Twins Fan From Afar. After the draft, the next major milestone in the season will be the trade deadline and there could be more than one team vying for the services of Denard Span. Span was taken in the draft that took place 10 years ago. So what happened to all of those players? Trevor Plouffe was called out and he seems to have answered with a recent hot streak. Last Friday former Twins ace Johan Santana pitched the first no-hitter in Mets history and the ticket stubs are selling for more than games that have yet to be played. Here is the complete list of players that the Twins took in all 40 rounds of the draft. There was an issue with Jeff Manship's jersey on Wednesday night and something like this has happened to him before. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WCBMrV7E1gQ/T9FmK6u_B8I/AAAAAAAAB8o/i67bJY6drKM/s400/jeffmanshipormanhsip.jpg It didn't take long for Jason Marquis to get back to the majors but the results in his first start were similar to when he was with the Twins as he got the loss. There was a crazy first pitch at a Rochester Red Wings game this week. Jim Thome is back from the DL in enough time to make a return trip to Target Field. Earlier this week, it was the anniversary of D-Day and there are some baseball connections to this historically significant day. The Territory Train went to Beloit last week and here are some thoughts on some of the best players for the Snappers. Did the Twins stay with the pitch-to-contact approach in the draft for too long? Miguel Sano headlines a group of Snappers headed to the Midwest All-Star Game. The Twins have been winning more games lately but could this be a bad thing? My Weekly Rundown Monday: 2012 Twins MLB Draft Primer Tuesday: Twins go with Buxton over Appel Tuesday's Trip through the Minors Thursday: Liriano seems to be changing his release point Video of the Week: Denard Span did an interview with MLB Network's Intentional Talk while the team was in Kansas City. The whole interview is a lot of fun and it is always cool to see the players kick back and have some fun. So take a couple minutes and watch Denard talk about some silly topics