Steve Lein

Yup. This is the next thing that needs to change as it is also a piece of the puzzle to me as to why they're in this position.

I think it's closer to the beginning because their first failure came in 2011. They thought they could go back to 2010-ish play in 2012. After that season, they dealt Denard Span and Ben Revere for returns we're just starting to see. You could argue this was the beginning but, and this just could be me, you're not really "rebuilding" your MLB team until the potential new core players of the next wave are replacing the ones in the majors who put you in this position to begin with. So really to me it started with Oswaldo and Kyle Gibson. And didn't come to full rebuild mode until Vargas, Santana, Polanco, and May of this year. I'd call it year 2, and I'd estimate a full rebuild into a playoff contender to take at a minimum 5 years if you do everything right, including cashing in current assets (like Willingham of 2012 and Perkins of last year or this year), which the Twins have flat out failed to do. As for the second part, I'm not sure how you took that statement? I'd rather TR just say "rebuilding," because we all know that's what they're doing. If you look at 90+ losses for 4 straight seasons, there is literally no other conclusion you could come to so don't tell us otherwise, which I feel they've done. (it was a shot at the Twins FO, not posters here)

This isn't the tail end of a rebuild. It's closer to the beginning. I personally think the Twins are at least 2 years behind on what should have been their rebuild. This is what has frustrated me the most about them in these losing years. Not the fact that they've been losing, but the fact they've never embraced the term or philosophy of a "rebuild." It's like a curse word to them, when it actually would have served them far better from a public relations standpoint. It comes off to me like TR and everyone else thinks we're idiots. You're team has lost 90+ games for four straight years now, guys. This is kindergarten level math...

No doubt about that. But he will be a corner-guy as long as Buxton and Dozier are around. And just to throw this out there, I don't think he'd be a better defensive OF than what the Twins were putting out in CF this year, if you think he'd improve that aspect of the position. He would be an asset defensively in LF I believe, though.

Yikes. Why would anyone even bother offering it to anyone besides those two?! Definitely would be idiotic for most to reject it after what transpired last year!

If that happens, there will definitely be a place for him on the Twins!

Yes on this. One million times yes on this. I say this all the time. Don't understand why this is brought up for such players!

I laughed so hard at the Donaldson and Hughes plays!

He hasn't "(overly) impressed" me because he did what I "expected" at the low-levels of the minors based on his experience. He's "dominated" 2 categories of stats. In that way, I wouldn't even call what he did in the FSL a "dominant" performance in an overall sense. He hit HR's, which as a byproduct, also produces nice RBI totals. Those are certainly nice, but I don't know how anyone can be impressed by a .246 average or a K in nearly 1 of every 3 at-bats in A-ball. He'll impress me when he improves those numbers.

Maybe this isn't even the interpretation that's happening here, but I never put stock in "peak" or "touches" velocity remarks. This is always what people refer to, but is rarely where they pitch even 5% of the time. So while Rogers might be able to reach back and hit 95 occasionally, I'd bet he really is 90-92 over a game. Look at Trevor May. Notes on this site and elsewhwere say "mid 90's fastball," but he was 91-93 in all the games I watched.

Yes. If it's a true #1. Definitely no more middle to back-end guys.

Berrios, Meyer, and Stewart is a pretty nice collection of potential starters to have in the top 5! May certainly put himself back into Top 10 territory this year as well. Rogers is a funny case to me. I certainly wouldn't have him as the top lefty on these lists, but he was fantastic this year. Everything secondary to his normal numbers just tells me his upside isn't worthy of that high a ranking. I do like the Duensing comparison though. And I can't wait to see Nick Burdi at Target Field. He's probably the one on this list I'm most excited about for next year. Would like to see the Twins give him a real chance to make the team out of Spring Training. Maybe the new manager (perhaps Mientkiewicz? Who has seen him) would do that!

Walker is a very polarizing prospect. His production has been outstanding. But as all have mentioned, it has not been without their warts. My main issue with him, is despite his "young" age, he played 3 full seasons of college ball, and never should have been in the Midwest League his first year. He was and is more experienced than everyone else his same age. I expected him to dominate the MWL from a run producing standpoint, in the same way I expected him to do so in the FSL this year. Thus, I'm not overly impressed to the point where I ignore those red flags that come along with him. It magnifies them for me. With that said, I like him a lot, and next year will tell us a lot more about him than either of the last two have.

Definitely interesting to have some of these names outside the top ten! That means there is a ton of talent. I also like that a certain fireballing reliever is going to appear in your top 10, just like he would in mine! And that's pretty much unheard of for a RP.

Check this out, lightfoot: http://www.baseballamerica.com/minors/ask-ba-2/

Myself In a Town-Team Amateur Baseball scouting reference sense, haha.

The Fort Myers Miracle won the Florida State League Championship earlier this month, and Burdi certainly helped with that. In three playoff game appearances, Burdi pitched 5.1 innings and allowed just 3 hits and 1 walk, while striking out 8. He also picked up a save. On the season, Burdi pitched 20.1 total innings for the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Miracle. In those innings, he allowed just 6 earned runs on 13 hits and 10 walks for a 2.66 ERA, while striking out 38. Batters hit just .186 off him and he finished with a very respectable 1.13 WHIP. He did not surrender a single HR either. Eliminating his first game, those numbers become even more dominant. Same amount of innings, but just 2 earned runs (in the same game) on 13 hits and 6 walks, which is a 0.88 ERA and 0.93 WHIP. Thus, in 18 of 20 games, Burdi did not allow any damage to the scoreboard, which is not un-notable for a setup man/closer type pitcher. It doesn't look like Burdi is heading to the Arizona Fall League after all (instead fellow dominant RP Jake Reed will make the trip), but I would expect him to have an invite to MLB spring training and start his 2015 at AA New Britain, with the potential for a very early MLB callup.

1) In my opinion, the Twins haven't done this beyond the high draft picks they received for being terrible. They never once capitalized on one of their former "core" players present value to add to their future value (discussed more below). To me, what they did is hope and pray that it would turn around, instead taking actual actions to do so. I do agree with you're general premise on what constitutes a rebuild, but in my opinion the Twins didn't jump fully into this philosophy until the end of last year. 2) For a team like the Twins, I'd hope this could be accomplished in a period of 4 years. Unfortunately for them, that's working under the premise that they cashed in some of their present value for future value. As mentioned, the Twins never did this in my view, and/or botched every attempt at doing so in their recent history (Santana, Gomez, etc...). The Span and Revere trades might alter this some, but it's been 2+ years and they're just scratching the surface of those returns now. Thus, unless they strike gold with every one of those top prospects they drafted (which is not a given), I think it's going to take longer. Yes, there's plenty to like from guys like Santana and Vargas now, but if you didn't notice, the Twins still aren't shifting the needle of the gauge toward winning more games. I see four total (and even just "potential") "future core" guys on this team right now. Brian Dozier, Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana and Kyle Gibson. That's it. (there's obviously others you could/would add to a "team core" that will be around for a turnaround, but I'm thinking in a future context). In your core mentioned above there were 14 guys, and many of them far better than what you would add to a current core now. 3) I don't think they really even acknowledged rebuilding until this year, but they did take some steps in that direction last year. So I put them at year 2 of a rebuild right now. Thus, next year will still be a large struggle as several more guys get their feet wet, then in 2016 we see some .500-ish competence, and in 2017 they start being in the Division title conversation. But for our sakes, I definitely hope I'm wrong and it happens earlier.

Berrios is much more Yordano Ventura (with less of a FB, better control and command) than he is a potential top workhorse to me, so I wouldn't put him in front of Meyer or Stewart yet, but he's also pretty much neck-to-neck with them at the finish which is much closer than I had him at the start of the year. Buxton, Sano, Stewart, Meyer, Berrios, Gordon, Thorpe, Polanco, Burdi, Rosario would be my Top 10 right now I think.

Unfortunately for Nick Gordon his 2014 season, and likely much of his offseason, is over after he was struck by a pitch in Monday nights Appalachian League playoff game that broke his left index finger. A tough ending for his first season, but it would be hard not to label it a success! In 57 games on the year, he triple slashed .294/.333/.366, and led the E-Twins in Runs (46), Hits (69), and Total Bases (86). He walked just 11 times compared to 45 strikeouts, but the K-rate is not bad and that's to be expected from a high school draftee. He also slugged 6 doubles, 4 triples, 1 home run, with 28 RBI and stole 11 bases. Over on MiLB.com, Gordon ranks as the Twins #6 prospect, the #7 shortstop prospect in all of baseball, and #40 overall prospect on their top 100 list. The future is bright is Nick Gordon!

Trevor May was cruising for the Twins early in Baltimore tonight, as he had struck outfive through the first three scoreless innings. But in the fourth the wheels fell off, as he plunked Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz consecutively to load the bases. He struck out old friend(?) Delmon Young, but walked another, J.J. Hardy, to bring in the game’s first run. Chris Davis then launched a 3-1 pitch for a grand slam, and a 5-0 Orioles lead May and the Twins would not recover from. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Pat Dean) Trevor May was cruising for the Twins early in Baltimore tonight, as he had struck outfive through the first three scoreless innings. But in the fourth the wheels fell off, as he plunked Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz consecutively to load the bases. He struck out old friend(?) Delmon Young, but walked another, J.J. Hardy, to bring in the game’s first run. Chris Davis then launched a 3-1 pitch for a grand slam, and a 5-0 Orioles lead May and the Twins would not recover from. <rant> Of note in this game, was a Delmon Young (finger quotes) home run (/finger quotes). Replays on TV clearly showed not only fan interference to Jordan Schafer’s leaping attempt for the catch, but also the fact that said fan also caught the ball well in front of and below the wall. Ron Gardenhire had the umpires take a second look, and the home run call was inexplicably and embarrassingly upheld. I only bring this up because Major League Baseball should be ashamed. If the (finger quotes) replay official (/finger quotes) in New York is not looking at the same replays we see on TV, this is a major problem with how the system works and needs to be fixed. Gardenhire’s comments after the game on the subject were perfect, and I disagree with Roy Smalley. It was conclusive evidence. It obviously didn’t cost the Twins the game, but it is unfathomable to me with the technology we have that something like this can be botched. </rant> In the minors, Rochester continued its hunt for a playoff spot, two affiliates had games rained out or ended early, and there wasn’t much hitting across the board. Check it out! RED WINGS REPORT Buffalo 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Locked in battle for a wild card in the International League, this was a must win game for the Red Wings. Seam Gilmartin took the hill for Rochester, and put them in a hole by allowing two singles to start the game, with a run scoring on a sac fly. The next two innings were scoreless for Gilmartin as he induced a double play and struck out two. In Rochester’s half of the third inning, Eric Farris provided some fireworks. After a leadoff single from Chris Rahl, Farris blasted a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall, and 2-1 Red Wings lead. Unfortunately, Gilmartin gave it right back after three singles for Buffalo in the fourth. He pitched into the sixth inning before being replaced by A.J. Achter with one out. Achter gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but retired the next five. In the bottom of the sixth, Chris Colabello added an insurance run for Rochester when he doubled into the corner in right field, and two wild pitches later crossed home plate. Aaron Thompson relieved Achter in eighth with one out and a man on base, and recorded out number two on a fielder’s choice. Thompson was replaced by Stephen Pryor with men on first and second. A wild pitch put the tying run on third, but Pryor struck out Buffalo’s Matt Hague to end the threat. Hague and Bisons Manager Gary Allenson were ejected for arguing the call. Lester Oliveros worked a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to earn the save and put the Red Wings in front of the Bisons in the wild card standings. The team in front of them, the Pawtucket Red Sox, also won on Friday night however so Rochester remains two games back with three games to play. Luckily for them, their last two games of the season are against Pawtucket, so they control their destiny at this point. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Hampshire 4, New Britain 3 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez (21) and Tony Thomas (12) homered for New Britain, but as a team they only collected four other hits in the game. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with a double and the other Rock Cats RBI. Pat Dean started and was fantastic, pitching seven quality innings. He allowed just two runs on seven hits and struck out two. Madison Boer worked a clean eighth and pitched into the ninth inning before manager Jeff Smith played the matchups and brought in Ryan O’Rourke to record the final out. He didn’t. A single and home run had New Britain down 4-3. Mike Kvasnicka drew a walk to start the bottom of the ninth, but was quickly erased on a double play. Wickens then flew out to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Fort Myers had a scheduled double-header after their game was rained out yesterday, but they were only able to get in one due to rain again on Friday. In the seven inning game they did finish, it was D.J. Baxendale on the bump for the Miracle. He went five innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out four. Alem Muren allowed one run on four hits in the sixth and Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless seventh with two hits. He struck out two. The Fort Myers lineup managed just five hits in the game and left eleven men on base. Max Kepler was 2-3 with a walk. The lone run of the game was scored by Adam Brett Walker II after he singled in the fourth inning. The Miracle had the bases loaded with nobody out but were only able to push across one run. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 6, Cedar Rapids 1 (six innings) Box score The Kernels game was finished early due to rain, and it was the Kane County Cougars who were in front on the scoreboard by a good margin when it was called. Mitch Garver put Cedar Rapids on the board first with a second inning home run, his sixteenth of the year, but it would be the only run of the game for the home team. Engelb Vielma, Alex Swim and J.D. Williams were the only other’s to manage hits for the Kernels. Mat Batts made the start and pitched two perfect innings, striking out two. He was replaced by Jared Wilson who was knocked around for five runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.2 innings, striking out four. An Engelb Vielma error led to the first run of the game for the Cougars. Brandon Bixler pitched the final 1.1 innings before the game was called, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 5, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Both teams managed just five hits apiece, but the Mets were helped by the wildness of Brandon Poulson in the first and second innings to put four runs on the board. Poulson went just 1.1 innings in the start of a group-effort game, allowing the four runs on five walks and three hits. He struck out two. Randy LeBlanc struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings. Michael Cederoth allowed an unearned run in an inning. Then Josh Burris (2 IP, 3 K’s), Samuel Clay(IP, 2 K’s), and Trevor Hildenberger (IP, 2 K’s) combined to throw the final four perfect innings. Nick Gordon did not record a hit, but scored one of the two Twins runs after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. Tyler Kuresa brought him in with a single for the only E-Town RBI. T.J. White was 1-2 with two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Pat Dean, New Britain Rock Cats (7 IP, 7 H’s, 2 ER’s, 2 K’s) Hitter – Eric Farris, Rochester Red Wings (1-4, HR, 2 RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester – TBD, 6:05PM CST New Hampshire @ New Britain – TBD, 6:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 1: TBD, 4:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 2: TBD Cedar Rapids @ Clinton – Stephen Gonsalves (2-2, 1.91 ERA), 6:30PM CST View full article

Trevor May was cruising for the Twins early in Baltimore tonight, as he had struck five through the first three scoreless innings. But in the fourth the wheels fell off, as he plunked Adam Jones and Nelson Cruz consecutively to load the bases. He struck out old friend(?) Delmon Young, but a walked another, J.J. Hardy, to bring in the game’s first run. Chris Davis then launched a 3-1 pitch for a Grand Slam, and a 5-0 Orioles lead May and the Twins would not recover from. <rant> Of note in this game, was a Delmon Young (finger quotes) Home Run (/finger quotes). Replays on TV clearly showed not only fan interference to Jordan Schafer’s leaping attempt for the catch, but also the fact that said fan also caught the ball well in front of and below the wall. Ron Gardenhire had the umpires take a second look, and the home run call was inexplicably and embarrassingly upheld. I only bring this up because Major League Baseball should be ashamed. If the (finger quotes) replay official (/finger quotes) in New York is not looking at the same replays we see on TV, this is a major problem with how the system works and needs to be fixed. Gardenhire’s comments after the game on the subject were perfect, and I disagree with Roy Smalley. It was conclusive evidence. It obviously didn’t cost the Twins the game, but it is unfathomable to me with the technology we have that something like this can be botched. </rant> In the Minors, Rochester continued its hunt for a playoff spot, two affiliates had games rained out or ended early, and there wasn’t much hitting across the board. Check it out! RED WINGS REPORT Buffalo 2, Rochester 3 Box Score Locked in battle for a Wild Card in the International League, this was a must win game for the Red Wings. Seam Gilmartin took the hill for Rochester, and put them in a hole by allowing two singles to start the game, with a run scoring on Sac Fly. The next two innings were scoreless for Gilmartin as he induced a double play and struck out two. In Rochester’s half of the third inning, Eric Farris provided some fireworks. After a leadoff single from Chris Rahl, Farris blasted a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall, and 2-1 Red Wings lead. Unfortunately, Gilmartin gave it right back after three singles for Buffalo in the fourth. He would pitch into the sixth inning before being replaced by A.J. Achter with one out. Achter gave up a single to the first batter he faced, but would retire the next five. In the bottom of the sixth, Chris Colabello added an insurance run for Rochester when he doubled into the corner in right field, and two wild pitches later crossed home plate. Aaron Thompson relieved Achter in eighth with one out and a man on base, and recorded out number two on a fielder’s choice, but would be replaced by Stephen Pryor with men on first and second. A wild pitch put the tying run on third base, but Pryor struck out Buffalo’s Matt Hague to end the threat. Hague and Bisons Manager Gary Allenson were ejected for arguing the call. Lester Oliveros worked a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to earn the save, and put the Red Wings in front of the Bisons in the Wild Card standings. The team in front of them, the Pawtucket Red Sox, also won on Friday night however, so Rochester remains two games back with three games to play. Luckily for them, their last two games of the season are against Pawtucket, so they control their destiny at this point. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Hampshire 4, New Britain 3 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez (21) and Tony Thomas (12) homered for New Britain, but as a team they only collected four other hits in the game. Stephen Wickens was 2-4 with a double and the other Rock Cats RBI. Pat Dean started and was fantastic, pitching seven quality innings. He allowed just two runs on seven hits, and struck out two. Madison Boer worked a clean eighth and pitched into the ninth inning before Manager Jeff Smith played the matchups and brought in Ryan O’Rourke to record the final out. He didn’t. A single and home run later had New Britain down 4-3. Mike Kvasnicka drew a walk to start the bottom of the ninth, but was quickly erased on a double play. Wickens then flew out to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Jupiter 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score Fort Myers had a scheduled double-header after their game was rained out yesterday, but they were only able to get in one due to rain again on Friday. In the seven inning game they did finish, it was D.J. Baxendale on the bump for the Miracle. He went five innings and allowed just two runs on five hits while striking out four. Alem Muren allowed 1 run on four hits in the sixth, and Todd Van Steensel pitched a scoreless seventh despite two hits. He struck out two. The Fort Myers lineup managed just five hits in the game and left eleven men on base. Max Kepler was 2-3 with a walk, and the lone run of the game was scored by Adam Brett Walker II after he singled in the fourth inning. The Miracle had the bases loaded with nobody out but were only able to push across one. KERNELS NUGGETS Kane County 6, Cedar Rapids 1 (six innings) Box score The Kernels game was finished early due to rain, and it was the Kane County Cougars who were in front on the scoreboard by a good margin when it was called. Mitch Garver put Cedar Rapids on the board first with a second inning home run, his sixteenth of the year, but it would be the only run of the game for the home team. Engelb Vielma, Alex Swim, and J.D. Williams were the only other’s to collect a hit for the Kernels. Mat Batts made the start and pitched two perfect innings, striking out two. He was replaced by Jared Wilson who was knocked around for five runs (three earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.2 innings, striking out four. An Engelb Vielma error led to the first run of the game for the Cougars. Brandon Bixler pitched the final 1.1 innings before the game was called, allowing one run on two hits and a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Kingsport 5, Elizabethton 2 Box Score Both teams managed just five hits apiece, but the Mets were helped by the wildness of Brandon Poulson in the first and second innings to put four runs on the board. Poulson went just 1.1 innings in the start of a group effort game, allowing the four runs on five walks and three hits. He struck out two. Randy LeBlanc struck out four in 2.2 scoreless innings. Michael Cederoth allowed an unearned run in an inning. Then Josh Burris (2 IP, 3 K’s), Samuel Clay(IP, 2 K’s), and Trevor Hildenberger (IP, 2 K’s) combined to throw the final four perfect innings. Nick Gordon did not record a hit, but scored one of the two Twins runs after being hit by a pitch in the eighth inning. Tyler Kuresa brought him in with a single for the only E-Town RBI. T.J. White was 1-2 with two walks. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher – Pat Dean, New Britain Rock Cats (7 IP, 7 H’s, 2 ER’s, 2 K’s) Hitter – Eric Farris, Rochester Red Wings (1-4, HR, 2 RBI) SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester – TBD, 6:05PM CST New Hampshire @ New Britain – TBD, 6:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 1: TBD, 4:05 PM CST Fort Myers @ Jupiter – Game 2: TBD Cedar Rapids @ Clinton – Stephen Gonsalves (2-2, 1.91 ERA), 6:30PM CST

Burdi has made 2 appearances since the last update and pitched 2.1 innings. He allowed no hits, walked one, and struck out two. With Fort Myers he owns a 0.00 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and hitters are batting just .190 off him. He has struck out 10 in 6.1 innings in the FSL, and now 36 in 19.1 innings on the year, compared to just 10 walks, of which four were from his first appearance. (BB rate is an actually pretty good 2.79BB/9IP since that game). Burdi was briefly listed on the Salt River Rafters roster for the Arizona Fall League, but has since been pulled back. There is still a decent chance he is on the team, but for now the Twins are waiting to announce their seventh selection.

Gordon has hit safely in 9 of his last 10 games, and during that period is 15-45 with six RBI. After a blazing start to his pro career in June, with a .326/.362/.535 batting line in the month, Gordon cooled a bit in July, batting .269/.324/.280. He has picked his average back up in August, and is batting .297/.320/.352 in 22 games with 3 doubles, a triple, and 11 RBI. He's also stole 11 bases on the season, and has been caught 6 times. Overall, his .291/.329/.357 line on the year is a very strong one for High School drafted prospect in his first pro season, at the highest rookie level. The Twins front office has also been quoted recently that Gordon is likely to start next year at Cedar Rapids, which is a rarity for Twins prospects out of high school.