Cody Christie

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Since the last time you joined me for an edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks," the Twins have only one one game and that was on last Friday. It has been a rough week for Twins fans as the team looked to get back on track against the struggling Red Sox. This didn't happen but the one consolation prize is the fact that the Royals come to town this weekend and they have their own share of problems to deal with this season. Hopefully this means the Twins can come out of the weekend with a series win before they head on the road again for a West Coast swing through Los Angeles and Seattle. Last weekend a former Twins player, Phil Humber, threw the 21st perfect game in the history of Major League Baseball. Humber was part of the Johan Santana trade but struggled at the Triple-A level and never made it past Rochester with the Twins. Overall, he spent six seasons in the minor leagues before the White Sox gave him a chance to be a starter. In only his 30 career starts, he was perfect with 27 batters faced and 27 outs recorded on the mound. As much as I don't like the White Sox, the transformation that this top draft pick has made is great to see from any player. Josh Willingham's wife having a baby, I "adopted" a prospect from the Twins farm system, and plenty more stories are all included in this weeks edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Have a great weekend and enjoy! One of the highlights of the week over at TwinsDaily was the introduction of the "Adopt-A-Prospect" series for the site. I was lucky enough to get top pitching prospect Adrian Salcedo but there are plenty of other players to check out. The MLB Draft is fast approaching in June and Seth Stohs wants to know if taking a college pitcher is the right approach for the Twins. It's only the end of the first month of the season and the writers at Puckett's Pond want to know if it is too early to bump Miguel Sano up to Ft. Myers. Twins fans seem to have a lot to complain about but Twins Fan From Afar is sick of hearing three complaints from the fan base. Lindsay Guentzel is trying to survive the first MLB Fan Cave elimination and she needs your help to stay in NYC. Joe Mauer has appeared in every game for the Twins this year and Nick Nelson thinks Mr. Mauer is might be making a statement. Bobby Valentine needs to find a different way research his opponents because he apparently doesn't know how to use his phone. There have been some great nicknames in the history of baseball. Danny Valencia is off to a slow start at the plate and Parker Hageman thinks Valencia might have lost some of his swagger. Here's a contract strategy the Twins could use. Sign them young. Josh Willingham's family welcomed a new edition this week and this great photo started to speed around the internet. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7_JZ7BG_ePE/T5oKeUg08TI/AAAAAAAABN8/i5ymdnQKm6c/s320/WillinghamBaby.jpg John Sickels from Minor League Ball put together his April Edition of the 2012 MLB Mock Draft. Who will the Twins take at number 2? Jim Thome has survived so far with having to play first base since he is back in the National League. Luke Hughes found a new team this week but he has run into a few snags in the fielding department. The off-day for the Twins on Thursday felt good and Brandon Warne offered up some ways to fix the Twins. Twins pitchers and catchers held a 20-minute closed door meeting after being swept by the Red Sox. Hopefully this can improve some of the results on the field. Former Twins player Shane Mack is auctioning off some unique items from his baseball career. Finally, a great read about New Britain's Chris Colabello and his amazing path to the Rock Cats. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Where will Liriano fit into the bullpen? Tuesday: Adopt-A-Prospect Introduction: Adrian Salcedo Wednesday: Duensing ramping up his velocity in the 'pen Thursday: Attendance starting to dwindle at Target Field Video of the Week: There have been some crazy batting stances in the history of baseball but this college player might have found one of the most unique positions in the box. His name is Alex Buccilli and he is the DH for Coastal Carolina. Even the Batting Stance Guy has gotten in on the action.

Do you think the errors from Rosario are something to worry about or are they just part of the transition to a new position?

I have a few of the McFarlane figures but I don't really have them displayed anywhere. I have a small collection of bobblehead dolls but living in a small apartment doesn't leave a whole lot of room to display collectibles.

They will get on some kind of hot streak at some point this season. Just need to score more of those runners that get into scoring position.

Do you think the Twins would ever go to a three man booth and just have Gladden there for color commentary and not actual play-by-play?

I think being really bad last year has helped me to take a more calm approach to the entire situation this year. I am going to go to games and watch as many games as I can on TV. If I am in my car, I listen to them on the radio. Baseball is a wonderful game and the Twins are the team I have picked to love. I am dedicated to the team through thick and thin, for better or worse, until death do us part.

Wednesday night was a rough one on the mound for Salcedo as he continues to struggle with some early season issues in the Florida State League. In his fourth start for the Miracle, Salcedo didn't make it out of the third inning. The top of the third was a nightmare as he allowed six earned runs in the frame. One of the more alarming issues for him so far this season has been his high walk count. That trend continued on Wednesday with five walks in the game. This was more walks than he had in his entire 2009 season with the GCL Twins. Here is Salcedo's final line for the night: 4th Start of the Year (April 25) IP: 2.2 H: 5 R: 6 ER: 6 BB: 5 SO: 1 The lack of control from Salcedo to this point in the year is very concerning. He doesn't necessarily have dominant stuff so he needs his control to be successful. Hopefully this is just a small mechanical error and not something that will require surgery to fix. The Twins don't need any more surgeries from pitchers at any level.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HLsZhcPiKOU/T5jI5YubJyI/AAAAAAAABNk/t1Whequk2Mc/s320/target_field_46.jpg The first two seasons at Target Field have been very fruitful from the Twins perspective when it comes to selling tickets in their beautiful new ballpark. In 2010 and 2011, the Twins capped their season ticket sales and it was tough to find an open seat in any section with your naked eye for most of the season. Before a new stadium was built, the organization said they needed the cash flow involved with a new venue in order to stay competitive and the team raised their payroll significantly in the first couple years at Target Field. Target Field was built and the fans across Twins Territory responded by coming out in droves to see their new gem nestled into downtown Minneapolis. The 2010 season saw the Twins fighting for a division title and they finished the year with one of the best records in the American League. Nothing sells tickets like having a winner on the field so the first year at Target Field was very successful. Over 3 million fans attended games at Target Field in 2010 and this was only the second time the franchise had been able to reach this plateau. With the Twins coming off a successful 2010 and most of their core players still intact, there was still a high demand for Twins tickets in 2011. Season ticket sales were renewed at a high level and for the second year in a row, the team had to cap their sales on season tickets. Unfortunately the performance on the field was far less than in 2010. So as the season went on, there were far less people occupying the seats at Target Field (even if the seats were technically sold). For the second year in a row, the Twins crossed threshold of 3 million fans. By the end of the year, there were plenty of open seats to be found across the ballpark. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aYdTC5egAhw/T5jL1QGzXgI/AAAAAAAABNw/-2mahCCdrIE/s400/TargetFieldAttendance.jpg During the offseason, the Twins made a variety of changes after Terry Ryan was reinstated as the general manager. One of the biggest changes was scaling back the payroll to get it closer to the $100 million mark. By the end of the 2011 season, the overall value of the team's payroll was around the $115 million mark. The front office knew that honeymoon period of fans coming out to Target Field to see the stadium was over. After a rough season, it was going to take a little bit of time to win the fans back over and bring them back to Target Field. The team planned accordingly and so far this season, their estimates seemed to be correct. The Twins first three home series of the year should be games that are big draws for fans. The Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox are all top notch teams in the American League with star players at multiple positions. Games like this usually makes it easy to fill the seats but a person can clearly find large sections of tickets that remain unsold. Early season weather can always be sketchy so this might keep some fans away. But on a beautiful night like last night with a top opponent in town, the crowd should have been higher than it was by the time everyone filtered into the ballpark. After nine games at home, the Twins have just crossed the 300,000 mark for attendance this season. The team has averaged 33,357 fans in their home contests but that mark is helped by the over 39,000 fans from the home opener. Besides the first home game of the year, the Twins highest attendance was the 35,854 fans at the first Saturday game of the year versus the Rangers. With a slow start by the team and some poor starting pitching performances, it is hard to imagine this number improving significantly in the coming months. From my perspective as a season ticket holder for the Twins, it was very easy to sell tickets for the first two years at Target Field. I could have multiple seats for all 81 home games and still find a way to sell tickets to friend, family, and on StubHub. In 2010, I lived over five hours away from Target Field and I was still able to have the full sheets of tickets for all 81 home games. In the second season at Target Field, it was still very easy to sell tickets to acquaintances and on the internet. But by the last month of the season, it was hard to even give the tickets away. The demand to go and watch a team fighting to stay away from 100-losses was not out there in the Twin Cities. Target Field is still one of the most beautiful venues at which to watch a baseball game. The food selection is amazing, the sightlines are excellent, and the ballpark experience is second to none. For the team to get back to selling out games, it is going to take having a winning team on the field. It seems like that might be a tough request in 2012 so it will be interesting to see how attendance fairs as the weather starts to warm up in the summer months.

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HLsZhcPiKOU/T5jI5YubJyI/AAAAAAAABNk/t1Whequk2Mc/s320/target_field_46.jpg The first two seasons at Target Field have been very fruitful from the Twins perspective when it comes to selling tickets in their beautiful new ballpark. In 2010 and 2011, the Twins capped their season ticket sales and it was tough to find an open seat in any section with your naked eye for most of the season. Before a new stadium was built, the organization said they needed the cash flow involved with a new venue in order to stay competitive and the team raised their payroll significantly in the first couple years at Target Field. Target Field was built and the fans across Twins Territory responded by coming out in droves to see their new gem nestled into downtown Minneapolis. The 2010 season saw the Twins fighting for a division title and they finished the year with one of the best records in the American League. Nothing sells tickets like having a winner on the field so the first year at Target Field was very successful. Over 3 million fans attended games at Target Field in 2010 and this was only the second time the franchise had been able to reach this plateau. With the Twins coming off a successful 2010 and most of their core players still intact, there was still a high demand for Twins tickets in 2011. Season ticket sales were renewed at a high level and for the second year in a row, the team had to cap their sales on season tickets. Unfortunately the performance on the field was far less than in 2010. So as the season went on, there were far less people occupying the seats at Target Field (even if the seats were technically sold). For the second year in a row, the Twins crossed threshold of 3 million fans. By the end of the year, there were plenty of open seats to be found across the ballpark. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aYdTC5egAhw/T5jL1QGzXgI/AAAAAAAABNw/-2mahCCdrIE/s400/TargetFieldAttendance.jpg During the offseason, the Twins made a variety of changes after Terry Ryan was reinstated as the general manager. One of the biggest changes was scaling back the payroll to get it closer to the $100 million mark. By the end of the 2011 season, the overall value of the team's payroll was around the $115 million mark. The front office knew that honeymoon period of fans coming out to Target Field to see the stadium was over. After a rough season, it was going to take a little bit of time to win the fans back over and bring them back to Target Field. The team planned accordingly and so far this season, their estimates seemed to be correct. The Twins first three home series of the year should be games that are big draws for fans. The Angels, Rangers, and Red Sox are all top notch teams in the American League with star players at multiple positions. Games like this usually makes it easy to fill the seats but a person can clearly find large sections of tickets that remain unsold. Early season weather can always be sketchy so this might keep some fans away. But on a beautiful night like last night with a top opponent in town, the crowd should have been higher than it was by the time everyone filtered into the ballpark. After nine games at home, the Twins have just crossed the 300,000 mark for attendance this season. The team has averaged 33,357 fans in their home contests but that mark is helped by the over 39,000 fans from the home opener. Besides the first home game of the year, the Twins highest attendance was the 35,854 fans at the first Saturday game of the year versus the Rangers. With a slow start by the team and some poor starting pitching performances, it is hard to imagine this number improving significantly in the coming months. From my perspective as a season ticket holder for the Twins, it was very easy to sell tickets for the first two years at Target Field. I could have multiple seats for all 81 home games and still find a way to sell tickets to friend, family, and on StubHub. In 2010, I lived over five hours away from Target Field and I was still able to have the full sheets of tickets for all 81 home games. In the second season at Target Field, it was still very easy to sell tickets to acquaintances and on the internet. But by the last month of the season, it was hard to even give the tickets away. The demand to go and watch a team fighting to stay away from 100-losses was not out there in the Twin Cities. Target Field is still one of the most beautiful venues at which to watch a baseball game. The food selection is amazing, the sightlines are excellent, and the ballpark experience is second to none. For the team to get back to selling out games, it is going to take having a winning team on the field. It seems like that might be a tough request in 2012 so it will be interesting to see how attendance fairs as the weather starts to warm up in the summer months.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?474-Duensing-ramping-up-his-velocity-in-the-pen

Salcedo is scheduled to take the mound today for the Miracle but here is a look at how he has done in first three starts of the year: Game 1 (April 9) IP: 4.0 H: 2 R: 1 ER: 1 BB: 3 SO: 3 Game 2 (April 14) IP: 5.0 H: 7 R: 3 ER: 2 BB: 2 SO: 3 Game 3 (April 20) IP: 5.0 H: 6 R: 3 ER: 2 BB: 3 SO: 4 He has yet to get a decision in any of his outings but the team is 2-1 in games started by Salcedo. Tonight is the first night of a home stand for the Miracle so it will be nice to see if Salcedo can get the team off to a good start. With a win-loss record of 8-10, the Miracle are tied with three other teams for third place in their division of the Florida State League. They have a winning record at home and the Miracle look to continue that tonight.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hj-BLOmvgjU/T5fjG_3qgEI/AAAAAAAABNQ/oj_3fiw0GF4/s320/Duensing.jpg For the second season in a row, the Twins have taken a player who had previously served as a starter and given him a prominent role in the bullpen. Last year the Twins were very pleased with the performance of Glen Perkins as he developed into their most reliable arm in the bullpen. In a lot of tough situations, Ron Gardenhire turned to Perkins to get the team out of a jam. But in the middle of a miserable season, it was hard to see the true value of those performances. Flash forward to 2012 and the Twins have shifted Brian Duensing into a role as one of their most important relief arms out of the bullpen. Through the first 18 games of the season for the Twins, Duensing has appeared in half of them. There has only been one game in which he gave up any earned runs and he has been primarily used in the eighth inning. Out of the team's five wins, Duensing has appeared in four of those games so the team is using him when they need him the most. Last season, Twins fans were astonished with the ability of Perkins to ramp up his velocity with his new spot in the bullpen. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Perkins was primarily used as a starter for the Twins. His fastball velocity sat around 90.5 mph in 2008 and in the next year it dropped to 89.7 mph. These are not numbers that jump off of the page at you. But if a pitcher is able to control this pitch and have some movement on it, he can still be successful. Take a look at the change in his velocity as he started to find his spot in the bullpen. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4HdrY_DceMw/T5fhFLXY-UI/AAAAAAAABNI/eb4LO_KGNdQ/s320/PerkinsVelocity.jpg Much like Perkins before him, Duensing has spent a little bit of time as an arm out of the bullpen before. This means he has experience with the current role he is filling. But in many of the previous seasons when Duensing has started the year in the bullpen, he has found his way into the starting rotation by the end of the year. The least amount of games that Duensing has started in a year was nine games in 2009. He hasn't stayed in the bullpen for an entire year to show what he can do as a full-time relief option. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xp__Tla5jDk/T5fldf7UAII/AAAAAAAABNY/y6UoOjvRNNw/s320/DuensingVelocity.jpg Duensing hopes to find himself in the same territory as Perkins by the end of the year. The Twins were so impressed with the way Perkins looked in the bullpen that the club signed him to a contract extension during spring training. He will now be with the team through the end of the 2015 season and the organization has a option for the 2016 year. If Duensing is able to find similar success to Perkins in 2012, the team might consider giving Duensing a long-term deal. He will be arbitration eligible for the first time in 2013 so there is still time for the Twins to figure out what they have in Duensing. In an ideal world the Twins might have wanted Duensing to spend the entire year in the bullpen so he could be more accustom to this job. With all of the issues so far in the starting rotation, it makes it hard to imagine a situation where the Twins wouldn't have to turn to Duensing as a starter at some point in 2012. Scott Baker is out for the year, Francisco Liriano has been a disaster, and Nick Blackburn has been trying to come back from an injury. The Twins have already put Liam Hendriks into the rotation and Anthony Swarzak continues to be an option for making spot starts. In the minor leagues, Scott Diamond is off to a tremendous start but it is hard to imagine him being a long-term solution. It is nice to see Duensing showing the ability to transition back to the bullpen after spending most of last year in the starting rotation. There might be a chance that he moves back to the starting rotation at some point in 2012. But at this point, it looks like the team will give Duensing every opportunity to be a dominant relief option. If Perkins is in line to be the closer in the near future for the Twins, Duensing could be a dominant set-up man leading to the ninth inning.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hj-BLOmvgjU/T5fjG_3qgEI/AAAAAAAABNQ/oj_3fiw0GF4/s320/Duensing.jpg For the second season in a row, the Twins have taken a player who had previously served as a starter and given him a prominent role in the bullpen. Last year the Twins were very pleased with the performance of Glen Perkins as he developed into their most reliable arm in the bullpen. In a lot of tough situations, Ron Gardenhire turned to Perkins to get the team out of a jam. But in the middle of a miserable season, it was hard to see the true value of those performances. Flash forward to 2012 and the Twins have shifted Brian Duensing into a role as one of their most important relief arms out of the bullpen. Through the first 18 games of the season for the Twins, Duensing has appeared in half of them. There has only been one game in which he gave up any earned runs and he has been primarily used in the eighth inning. Out of the team's five wins, Duensing has appeared in four of those games so the team is using him when they need him the most. Last season, Twins fans were astonished with the ability of Perkins to ramp up his velocity with his new spot in the bullpen. During the 2008 and 2009 seasons, Perkins was primarily used as a starter for the Twins. His fastball velocity sat around 90.5 mph in 2008 and in the next year it dropped to 89.7 mph. These are not numbers that jump off of the page at you. But if a pitcher is able to control this pitch and have some movement on it, he can still be successful. Take a look at the change in his velocity as he started to find his spot in the bullpen. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4HdrY_DceMw/T5fhFLXY-UI/AAAAAAAABNI/eb4LO_KGNdQ/s320/PerkinsVelocity.jpg Much like Perkins before him, Duensing has spent a little bit of time as an arm out of the bullpen before. This means he has experience with the current role he is filling. But in many of the previous seasons when Duensing has started the year in the bullpen, he has found his way into the starting rotation by the end of the year. The least amount of games that Duensing has started in a year was nine games in 2009. He hasn't stayed in the bullpen for an entire year to show what he can do as a full-time relief option. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Xp__Tla5jDk/T5fldf7UAII/AAAAAAAABNY/y6UoOjvRNNw/s320/DuensingVelocity.jpg Duensing hopes to find himself in the same territory as Perkins by the end of the year. The Twins were so impressed with the way Perkins looked in the bullpen that the club signed him to a contract extension during spring training. He will now be with the team through the end of the 2015 season and the organization has a option for the 2016 year. If Duensing is able to find similar success to Perkins in 2012, the team might consider giving Duensing a long-term deal. He will be arbitration eligible for the first time in 2013 so there is still time for the Twins to figure out what they have in Duensing. In an ideal world the Twins might have wanted Duensing to spend the entire year in the bullpen so he could be more accustom to this job. With all of the issues so far in the starting rotation, it makes it hard to imagine a situation where the Twins wouldn't have to turn to Duensing as a starter at some point in 2012. Scott Baker is out for the year, Francisco Liriano has been a disaster, and Nick Blackburn has been trying to come back from an injury. The Twins have already put Liam Hendriks into the rotation and Anthony Swarzak continues to be an option for making spot starts. In the minor leagues, Scott Diamond is off to a tremendous start but it is hard to imagine him being a long-term solution. It is nice to see Duensing showing the ability to transition back to the bullpen after spending most of last year in the starting rotation. There might be a chance that he moves back to the starting rotation at some point in 2012. But at this point, it looks like the team will give Duensing every opportunity to be a dominant relief option. If Perkins is in line to be the closer in the near future for the Twins, Duensing could be a dominant set-up man leading to the ninth inning.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seth Stohs and the other TwinsCentric guys have put together an interesting concept for inclusion on their website, TwinsDaily. Yesterday morning fans were asked to "adopt" a player from the Twins minor league system to follow as that player travels through the farm system. Each player was only allowed to be pick once and it was offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once you selected a player the rules became pretty simple. You were required to write an introductory post that included their basic information like height, weight, and handedness. This first post could also include their previous stats from their time in the minor leagues. Then during the rest of the year you are required to post at least once a week about their progress in the system. Overall it is going to be a fun process to watch develop over at the TwinsDaily site. I got to the selection forum about a half hour after the forum went live so some of the top prospects were already off of the board. I "adopted" Adrian Salcedo, the number seven ranked prospect in my top 20 Twins prospects for the start of the 2012 season. I wrote a short introductory post last night on TwinsDaily with the basic information about Salcedo and his statistics for the seasons he has completed through 2011. So throughout the year, I will be periodically updating you on one of the top pitching prospects in the Twins minor league system. Below you will find a introductory post on Salcedo with some information about how he got to this point in his career. Enjoy the first step in my "Adopt-A-Prospect" series with Adrian Salcedo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIe3abZOKUg/T5X6DR2bOdI/AAAAAAAABNA/GpSkUKFKL0w/s320/AdrainSalcedoMiracle.jpg Salcedo joined the Twins as a young 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in 2007 and in his time in the organization, he has done nothing but impress as he has moved consistently through the farm system. The lanky 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher is at the beginning of his fifth year as a pitcher in the organization and he has worked his way through the system to the starting rotation of the High-A Fort Myers Miracle. His journey from the Dominican Republic to this point in his career has been quite the story and he seems destined for Minnesota. In his first year with the Twins organization, Salcedo was asked to pitch in the Dominican Summer League. That first season allowed Salcedo to show his ability to be a control pitcher by only giving up eight walks and having a 0.842 WHIP. His 65.1 innings on the mound were solid as he posted a 1.65 ERA as a 17-year-old. It was a good start to his career and the Twins were happy with their new signee. The following season Salcedo came stateside for his first short-season in the Gulf Coast League. It seemed that the transition did not even impact Salcedo as he was able to post very good numbers for the second year in a row. His outstanding ERA from the year before went even lower to 1.46 with the GCL Twins. The Twins like control pitchers and he continued to fit this mold by only allowing three walks and a 1.022 WHIP. He pitched 61.2 innings and his SO/BB rate was 19.33, an off the charts number. Salcedo had caught the eyes of many in the Twins organization and he would be throw into the fire at the beginning of the 2010 season. The Fort Myers Miracle had some issues in their starting rotation and Salcedo was asked to make six starts with them to start the season. He had never pitched higher than the rookie leagues so this was a big jump to make for a 19-year-old. As could be predicted, there were some bumps along the way but the experience he gained with the Miracle could help him in the long run. Eventually, he would be sent back to the rookie leagues with the E-Twins and this level of competition seemed to help Salcedo get back on track. During his time in Elizabethton, he was twice named the pitcher of the week for the entire league. He ended the year with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.232 WHIP in 93.1 innings pitched between both levels. The start of the 2011 season would be another transition year for Salcedo because this would be his first year in a full season league. He quickly showed he belonged in the Midwest League by striking out 10 batters in his first trip to the mound. From there Salcedo would put up impressive numbers by posting a 2.93 ERA and a 1.170 WHIP in 135.0 innings on the mound. At the mid-season point, he was named as a Midwest League All-Star for his stellar play on the field. The Twins are being careful with Salcedo and he was asked to be a relief pitcher at the end of the year so the organization could limit his innings. Salcedo began this year in familiar territory with the Fort Myers Miracle but this time he would be playing at his own level. He has made three starts this year and in each of the outings, he has allowed two earned runs or less. The team is still working to stretch Salcedo out because he has not pitch more than five innings in any of his appearances. The one stat that sticks out so far in 2012 is the eight walks he has given up. For a control pitcher, the Twins will want him to be able to keep his amount of walks to a minimal amount. It is still early in the year so there is plenty of time for Salcedo to show that he is one of the best prospects in the Twins organization.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Seth Stohs and the other TwinsCentric guys have put together an interesting concept for inclusion on their website, TwinsDaily. Yesterday morning fans were asked to "adopt" a player from the Twins minor league system to follow as that player travels through the farm system. Each player was only allowed to be pick once and it was offered on a first-come, first-serve basis. Once you selected a player the rules became pretty simple. You were required to write an introductory post that included their basic information like height, weight, and handedness. This first post could also include their previous stats from their time in the minor leagues. Then during the rest of the year you are required to post at least once a week about their progress in the system. Overall it is going to be a fun process to watch develop over at the TwinsDaily site. I got to the selection forum about a half hour after the forum went live so some of the top prospects were already off of the board. I "adopted" Adrian Salcedo, the number seven ranked prospect in my top 20 Twins prospects for the start of the 2012 season. I wrote a short introductory post last night on TwinsDaily with the basic information about Salcedo and his statistics for the seasons he has completed through 2011. So throughout the year, I will be periodically updating you on one of the top pitching prospects in the Twins minor league system. Below you will find a introductory post on Salcedo with some information about how he got to this point in his career. Enjoy the first step in my "Adopt-A-Prospect" series with Adrian Salcedo. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIe3abZOKUg/T5X6DR2bOdI/AAAAAAAABNA/GpSkUKFKL0w/s320/AdrainSalcedoMiracle.jpg Salcedo joined the Twins as a young 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in 2007 and in his time in the organization, he has done nothing but impress as he has moved consistently through the farm system. The lanky 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher is at the beginning of his fifth year as a pitcher in the organization and he has worked his way through the system to the starting rotation of the High-A Fort Myers Miracle. His journey from the Dominican Republic to this point in his career has been quite the story and he seems destined for Minnesota. In his first year with the Twins organization, Salcedo was asked to pitch in the Dominican Summer League. That first season allowed Salcedo to show his ability to be a control pitcher by only giving up eight walks and having a 0.842 WHIP. His 65.1 innings on the mound were solid as he posted a 1.65 ERA as a 17-year-old. It was a good start to his career and the Twins were happy with their new signee. The following season Salcedo came stateside for his first short-season in the Gulf Coast League. It seemed that the transition did not even impact Salcedo as he was able to post very good numbers for the second year in a row. His outstanding ERA from the year before went even lower to 1.46 with the GCL Twins. The Twins like control pitchers and he continued to fit this mold by only allowing three walks and a 1.022 WHIP. He pitched 61.2 innings and his SO/BB rate was 19.33, an off the charts number. Salcedo had caught the eyes of many in the Twins organization and he would be throw into the fire at the beginning of the 2010 season. The Fort Myers Miracle had some issues in their starting rotation and Salcedo was asked to make six starts with them to start the season. He had never pitched higher than the rookie leagues so this was a big jump to make for a 19-year-old. As could be predicted, there were some bumps along the way but the experience he gained with the Miracle could help him in the long run. Eventually, he would be sent back to the rookie leagues with the E-Twins and this level of competition seemed to help Salcedo get back on track. During his time in Elizabethton, he was twice named the pitcher of the week for the entire league. He ended the year with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.232 WHIP in 93.1 innings pitched between both levels. The start of the 2011 season would be another transition year for Salcedo because this would be his first year in a full season league. He quickly showed he belonged in the Midwest League by striking out 10 batters in his first trip to the mound. From there Salcedo would put up impressive numbers by posting a 2.93 ERA and a 1.170 WHIP in 135.0 innings on the mound. At the mid-season point, he was named as a Midwest League All-Star for his stellar play on the field. The Twins are being careful with Salcedo and he was asked to be a relief pitcher at the end of the year so the organization could limit his innings. Salcedo began this year in familiar territory with the Fort Myers Miracle but this time he would be playing at his own level. He has made three starts this year and in each of the outings, he has allowed two earned runs or less. The team is still working to stretch Salcedo out because he has not pitch more than five innings in any of his appearances. The one stat that sticks out so far in 2012 is the eight walks he has given up. For a control pitcher, the Twins will want him to be able to keep his amount of walks to a minimal amount. It is still early in the year so there is plenty of time for Salcedo to show that he is one of the best prospects in the Twins organization.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OIe3abZOKUg/T5X6DR2bOdI/AAAAAAAABNA/GpSkUKFKL0w/s320/AdrainSalcedoMiracle.jpg Salcedo joined the Twins as a young 17-year-old out of the Dominican Republic back in 2007 and in his time in the organization, he has done nothing but impress as he has moved consistently through the farm system. The lanky 6-foot-4 right-handed pitcher is at the beginning of his fifth year as a pitcher in the organization and he has worked his way through the system to the starting rotation of the High-A Fort Myers Miracle. His journey from the Dominican Republic to this point in his career has been quite the story and he seems destined for Minnesota. In his first year with the Twins organization, Salcedo was asked to pitch in the Dominican Summer League. That first season allowed Salcedo to show his ability to be a control pitcher by only giving up eight walks and having a 0.842 WHIP. His 65.1 innings on the mound were solid as he posted a 1.65 ERA as a 17-year-old. It was a good start to his career and the Twins were happy with their new signee. The following season Salcedo came stateside for his first short-season in the Gulf Coast League. It seemed that the transition did not even impact Salcedo as he was able to post very good numbers for the second year in a row. His outstanding ERA from the year before went even lower to 1.46 with the GCL Twins. The Twins like control pitchers and he continued to fit this mold by only allowing three walks and a 1.022 WHIP. He pitched 61.2 innings and his SO/BB rate was 19.33, an off the charts number. Salcedo had caught the eyes of many in the Twins organization and he would be throw into the fire at the beginning of the 2010 season. The Fort Myers Miracle had some issues in their starting rotation and Salcedo was asked to make six starts with them to start the season. He had never pitched higher than the rookie leagues so this was a big jump to make for a 19-year-old. As could be predicted, there were some bumps along the way but the experience he gained with the Miracle could help him in the long run. Eventually, he would be sent back to the rookie leagues with the E-Twins and this level of competition seemed to help Salcedo get back on track. During his time in Elizabethton, he was twice named the pitcher of the week for the entire league. He ended the year with a 4.15 ERA and a 1.232 WHIP in 93.1 innings pitched between both levels. The start of the 2011 season would be another transition year for Salcedo because this would be his first year in a full season league. He quickly showed he belonged in the Midwest League by striking out 10 batters in his first trip to the mound. From there Salcedo would put up impressive numbers by posting a 2.93 ERA and a 1.170 WHIP in 135.0 innings on the mound. At the mid-season point, he was named as a Midwest League All-Star for his stellar play on the field. The Twins are being careful with Salcedo and he was asked to be a relief pitcher at the end of the year so the organization could limit his innings. Salcedo began this year in familiar territory with the Fort Myers Miracle but this time he would be playing at his own level. He has made three starts this year and in each of the outings, he has allowed two earned runs or less. The team is still working to stretch Salcedo out because he has not pitch more than five innings in any of his appearances. The one stat that sticks out so far in 2012 is the eight walks he has given up. For a control pitcher, the Twins will want him to be able to keep his amount of walks to a minimal amount. It is still early in the year so there is plenty of time for Salcedo to show that he is one of the best prospects in the Twins organization.

This first post was just some basic information on Mr. Salcedo. I will have a more biographical post up tomorrow morning. Part of that post will look at how he has started the year with the Fort Myers Miracle.

Name: Adrian Arturo Salcedo Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'4" Weight: 175 Born: February 5, 1991 in Moca, Espaillat, Dominican Republic (Age 21) Acquired: Signed by the Minnesota Twins as a non-drafted free agent on December 13, 2007 2008 Season League: Dominican Summer League Team: DSL Twins Record: 4-4 ERA: 1.65 G (GS): 12 (12) IP: 65.1 SO/BB: 50/8 WHIP: 0.842 2009 Season League: Gulf Coast League Team: GCL Twins Record: 3-2 ERA: 1.46 G (GS): 11 (10) IP: 61.2 SO/BB: 58/3 WHIP: 1.022 2010 Season League: Appalachian League/ Florida State League Teams: Elizabethton Twins/ Fort Myers Miracle Record: 5-6 ERA: 4.15 G (GS): 22 (14) IP: 93.1 SO/BB: 81/18 WHIP: 1.232 2011 Season League: Midwest League Team: Beloit Snappers Record: 6-6 ERA: 2.93 G (GS): 29 (20) IP: 135.0 SO/BB: 92/27 WHIP: 1.170

I will claim Adrian Salcedo

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bWFQY5qQ0M/T5VC1GRcBMI/AAAAAAAABM4/o-C_AlqMuUs/s320/LirianoHiding.jpg At the end of spring training, it seemed that Francisco Liriano was posed to have a strong start to the year. After pitching in the Dominican Winter League, Liriano had seemed to have it all together in spring training and he was ready to help the Twins forget about the headaches involved with the 2011 season. But here is a prime example of why you shouldn't trust spring training numbers because the results on the field have been disastrous. The statistics from his time on the mound this year are tough to look at. His ERA is 11.02 with an awful 2.327 WHIP and he has given up the most earned runs (20) and walks (13) in the entire American League. He hasn't been able to make it deep into games either with an average of just over four innings per start. Four starts into the 2012 season and the Twins are planning to "take a step back" with their left-handed hurler. This phrase can take on a whole bunch of meanings but the Twins can ill afford to leave him in the starting rotation. He has only made it through the fifth inning in two of his outings and he has hardly put the Twins in position to win by giving up an average of five runs per start. In the coming days, he could be asked to move to the bullpen and this would start a chain of events for the Twins. There are a couple of options for the Twins to fill the rotation spot that would be vacated by Liriano. With a couple of starters missing at the beginning of the year, Anthony Swarzak was asked to start the year in the rotation. He had one bad start earlier this week in New York but his first two appearances of the year were solid. The team has also seen some marginal success from Swarzak as a starter in the past. For his career when he starts, Swarzak has posted a 5.50 ERA and a 1.471 WHIP in 26 starts. These are not eye popping numbers but anything looks better than what Liriano has produced so far this year. If the Twins want to leave Swarzak in his role as a relief option, the Twins could look to the minor leagues to fill Liriano's rotation spot. Scott Diamond has been one of the best pitchers at the start of the season at the Triple-A level. He has some outstanding numbers in his four starts with an ERA of 1.07 and a 1.026 WHIP in 26.1 innings on the mound. In fact out of his four starts this year, he has only given up earned runs in one of is outings. His hot start to the season could be hard for the front office to ignore with a possible rotation spot to fill. The Twins seem determined to try and help Liriano to regain some of his confidence. One of the only ways for this to happen could be for him to shift to a different role out of the bullpen. This begs the question, where does Liriano fit into the bullpen? Would he be used as a long relief man for starters who aren't able to get far into a game? This might end up being a mop-up role but the Twins need him to spend some time on the mound in non-pressure situations. At the end of last season, the Twins gave Liriano a couple of relief appearances as the team was trying to limit the pain on a rough season. In one of these outings, the team was down by significant margin so there wasn't a lot of pressure on him and he managed to pitch two innings without any damage. The other contest was tied at two when he entered and the Indians ended up scoring five earned runs off of Liriano in a third of an inning. During his entire big league career, Liriano has an ERA of 4.46 with a 1.427 WHIP in 34.1 innings as a relief pitcher. Both of these numbers are higher than his career average as a starter. Near the start of spring training, I wrote about the possibility of Liriano not being with the Twins beyond the coming season. In this piece, I wrote that if Liriano were pitching well, the team would probably try to trade him before the deadline. That scenario doesn't seem to be coming true so my other point was that a bad season from Liriano could spell the end of his Twins career. For Lirano to have any trade value for the Twins, he would need to have a miraculous turnaround in the next couple of months. Barring a miracle, it looks like the Twins will shift Liriano to the bullpen and then part ways with the struggling pitcher at the end of the season. A once promising career with the Twins will always leave fans wondering what could have been for the player who was suppose to be an ace for years to come.

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_bWFQY5qQ0M/T5VC1GRcBMI/AAAAAAAABM4/o-C_AlqMuUs/s320/LirianoHiding.jpg At the end of spring training, it seemed that Francisco Liriano was posed to have a strong start to the year. After pitching in the Dominican Winter League, Liriano had seemed to have it all together in spring training and he was ready to help the Twins forget about the headaches involved with the 2011 season. But here is a prime example of why you shouldn't trust spring training numbers because the results on the field have been disastrous. The statistics from his time on the mound this year are tough to look at. His ERA is 11.02 with an awful 2.327 WHIP and he has given up the most earned runs (20) and walks (13) in the entire American League. He hasn't been able to make it deep into games either with an average of just over four innings per start. Four starts into the 2012 season and the Twins are planning to "take a step back" with their left-handed hurler. This phrase can take on a whole bunch of meanings but the Twins can ill afford to leave him in the starting rotation. He has only made it through the fifth inning in two of his outings and he has hardly put the Twins in position to win by giving up an average of five runs per start. In the coming days, he could be asked to move to the bullpen and this would start a chain of events for the Twins. There are a couple of options for the Twins to fill the rotation spot that would be vacated by Liriano. With a couple of starters missing at the beginning of the year, Anthony Swarzak was asked to start the year in the rotation. He had one bad start earlier this week in New York but his first two appearances of the year were solid. The team has also seen some marginal success from Swarzak as a starter in the past. For his career when he starts, Swarzak has posted a 5.50 ERA and a 1.471 WHIP in 26 starts. These are not eye popping numbers but anything looks better than what Liriano has produced so far this year. If the Twins want to leave Swarzak in his role as a relief option, the Twins could look to the minor leagues to fill Liriano's rotation spot. Scott Diamond has been one of the best pitchers at the start of the season at the Triple-A level. He has some outstanding numbers in his four starts with an ERA of 1.07 and a 1.026 WHIP in 26.1 innings on the mound. In fact out of his four starts this year, he has only given up earned runs in one of is outings. His hot start to the season could be hard for the front office to ignore with a possible rotation spot to fill. The Twins seem determined to try and help Liriano to regain some of his confidence. One of the only ways for this to happen could be for him to shift to a different role out of the bullpen. This begs the question, where does Liriano fit into the bullpen? Would he be used as a long relief man for starters who aren't able to get far into a game? This might end up being a mop-up role but the Twins need him to spend some time on the mound in non-pressure situations. At the end of last season, the Twins gave Liriano a couple of relief appearances as the team was trying to limit the pain on a rough season. In one of these outings, the team was down by significant margin so there wasn't a lot of pressure on him and he managed to pitch two innings without any damage. The other contest was tied at two when he entered and the Indians ended up scoring five earned runs off of Liriano in a third of an inning. During his entire big league career, Liriano has an ERA of 4.46 with a 1.427 WHIP in 34.1 innings as a relief pitcher. Both of these numbers are higher than his career average as a starter. Near the start of spring training, I wrote about the possibility of Liriano not being with the Twins beyond the coming season. In this piece, I wrote that if Liriano were pitching well, the team would probably try to trade him before the deadline. That scenario doesn't seem to be coming true so my other point was that a bad season from Liriano could spell the end of his Twins career. For Lirano to have any trade value for the Twins, he would need to have a miraculous turnaround in the next couple of months. Barring a miracle, it looks like the Twins will shift Liriano to the bullpen and then part ways with the struggling pitcher at the end of the season. A once promising career with the Twins will always leave fans wondering what could have been for the player who was suppose to be an ace for years to come.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?455-Friday-Links-N-Thinks

Original post from North Dakota Twins Fan ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Well the Twins made their series in the Bronx much more enjoyable than was originally anticipated by many fans in Twins Territory. The offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders and the bullpen has been surprisingly good in some tough situations against a very good line-up. Hopefully this positive momentum will carry over into their weekend series with the Rays and the Twins can start the climb back to the .500 mark. The baseball world had plenty of stories from the entire week and the headlines will continue to roll in as the season progresses. Ozzie Guillen returned to the Marlins, Matt Cain and Cliff Lee got caught up in a pitcher's duel, Jamie Moyer seemed to defy Father Time, and Ivan Rodriguez is set to retire as a member of the Rangers. There were plenty of stories from the Twins organization as well. So let's jump in and see what's in store for this edition of "Friday Links-N-Thinks." Anthony Swarzak and Liam Hendriks are fighting for a spot in the rotation and Parker Hageman analyzes who has the inside track. Everyone knows the Twins cut payroll this year but how does that compare to the rest of the league. The Twins aren't going to carry 13 pitchers for the entire season so Minnesota Twins Musings looks at the roster shuffle that is coming in the near future. We are two weeks into the season and JC over at Knuckleballs tries to figure out who the Twins are. Luke Hughes was designated for assignment a couple of days ago and over at The tenth inning stretch they discuss how the Aussie got a rotten deal. At the beginning of the spring, Ben Revere was set to be a starting outfielder with the Twins. So how did he end up back in Rochester? Scott Baker went in for his elbow clean-up and woke up to find out the doctor's performed Tommy John surgery. Twins Fan From Afar continues to write some great coverage on the Rock Cats and he wrote about the lackluster coverage from the World Wide Leader in Sports. One of my favorite blogs to follow about the Twins is Baseball Outsider and he finally got a Twitter account so make sure to follow him. Twins top prospect Miguel Sano has been a beast for the Beloit Snappers by hitting his sixth home run of the season last night. MiLB wrote a feature article explaining his hot start. http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O6rhjRlG80M/T5FNyo1hoXI/AAAAAAAABMw/0bf_7oKKbPE/s320/SanoSnappers.jpg Who would be on the All-Time Baseball Dream Team? Baseball: Past and Present come up with their starting nine. There are plenty of former Twins across MLB and Puckett's Pond took a look at how they have started the year. Current AL Central foe Prince Fielder stole a base earlier this week and it was a fun sight to see. Do you remember that famous blooper reel shot where Jose Canseco has the home run ball bounce off of the top of his head? Now you can buy the hat that was on his head for that famous play. Dear Football Writers, please don't write about baseball. Last week I had a link to a play where Delmon Young did a 360 trying to catch the ball. The ruling on the field after the play was a triple so MLB had to step in. The Twins just saw first hand how long a game can take in the Bronx. So which AL Central team has the fastest working rotation? Jim Leyland thinks the experts that make predictions at the beginning of the season are a bunch of idiots. He's probably right. My Weekly Rundown: Monday: Are we living in the "Golden Age" of catchers? Tuesday: Morneau's changing role leaving Parmelee behind Wednesday: 2012 MLB Draft starting to come into focus Thursday: Mixed messages might have messed up Liriano Video of the Week: Since the Twins were in NYC, they made time to visit the MLB Fan Cave. It also made sense because Lindsay Guentzel, a Minnesota native, is one of the nine fans hanging out in the MLB Fan Cave. Check out this video done with Joe Mauer during his visit and you can even make out Brian Duensing in the background.