Shane Wahl

Download attachment: Morneau_Carroll_celebrate.jpg I am not sure many really expected all of this. The Twins are now 8-7 and have won four games in a row. This is while without their best 2012 starting pitcher for the first nine games, with Vance Worley being bad until his fourth start, with a horribly struggling rookie in Aaron Hicks, with Justin Morneau at even sub-2012 levels of production, with Ryan Doumit struggling, with . . . . well you get the idea. The fact that the Twins are over .500 is surprising when you consider that only Joe Mauer, Eduardo Escobar, Pedro Florimon, and Kevin Correia are actually performing beyond expectations right now. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] So there's that--the Twins have gotten off to an above average start, literally, and that means a good start when looking at a, predicted by some, .410 win percentage (66 wins) for the year. To make things better, there is enormous good news in the minors. While Kyle Gibson has been fairly bad and has pitched too many innings per start if he is on an overall innings limit, Alex Meyer and Trevor May have looked good. When Gibson gets it going and when Meyer and May progress further, the Twins will have legitimate options at starting pitcher. Drafting a lefty starter (Sean Manaea?) with their #4 pick might add immensely to the 2015 season. Meyer has struck out 19 in 16 innings and he is giving up more hits then he is accustomed to, but he is moving right along toward a September call-up. May is going to struggle at times, but he is also going to make B.J. Hermsen out to be a non-prospect. (No offense, but Hermsen does not currently have a strike out pitch). Offensively, it seems that Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano, and Eddie Rosario are too big for where they are. There is zero reason for the Twins not to promote Buxton to Fort Myers immediately (and Angel Morales could then graduate to New Britain and get a true make it or break it season at AA). Sano and Rosario should remain until about June to be promoted to AA and then we can see the experiment really begin (Sano at third, Rosario at second). Buxton has produced a .415/.523/.642 line in 15 games. Buxton has two of each type of extra base hits while Sano has a slash of .375/.438/.734 and Rosario brings in a .352/.385/.507 slash. Rosario has no errors so far, a good sign for the biggest positional question in the system. Sano can move to first, Buxton can be the CF, pushing Hicks to RF. And Rosario as a second baseman makes the team strong at a position that has been a debacle since Chuck Knoblauch. D.J. Baxendale is a great honorable mention right now. In the future, Michael Tonkin, A.J. Achter, and Jose Berrios will rate honors. Baxendale, in particular, is notable for his success as a starter this year. This is all a sign of a very bright future. The 2013 team is competing for first place in the division AND the prospects are looking quite good. This year is already different than 2012. And that is worth a lot. Click here to view the article

There are 13 players born in 1990 who make it on my top 80 Twins prospects list. Download attachment: new_britain2.jpg 72. Taylor Rogers, LHS, DOB: 12/17/90 2013 A-/A+ (A+ stats): 130.2, 2.55, 83/32 (7.4/2.3) 2013 was an impressive season for the lefty. His K rate fell dramatically but he really kept the ball in the ballpark, giving up only five homers in A+. It was a solid step forward for Rogers and some more time in Fort Myers could help him develop further. 52. Jason Wheeler, LHS, DOB: 10/27/90 2013 A+: 143.1, 3.70, 91/58 (6.2/3.0) Wheeler walked more and struck out fewer in fewer innings at Fort Myers than his 2012 effort in Beloit. He has logged 300 innings in the past two seasons with a 3.57 ERA. I imagine he is heading back to Fort Myers to improve his K/BB rate in 2014. 45. Luke Bard, RHR, DOB: 11/13/90 2013 GCL/ELZ/A+ (combined stats): 12.1, 3.65, 9/9 (7.4/7.4) Bard has been a disappointing injury case. Now, in 19.1 career innings, he has 16 strikeouts and 16 walks. He remains an interesting prospect but needs to remain healthy in 2014 or his stock will drop even more dramatically. 43. Corey Williams, LHR, DOB: 7/4/90 2013 A+/AA (A+ stats): 45.1, 5.16, 43/23 (9.3/4.7) Williams has stagnated on this list due to a subpar performance in 2013, though I am confident that he can make headway, even by being promoted to the AA bullpen at the beginning of 2014. The lefty had big trouble with the long ball this year, and when a pitcher also walks to many, it is a recipe for disaster. 2014 is an important year for Williams. 36. Daniel Ortiz, OF, LH, DOB: 1/5/90 2013 AA: 521, .258/.301/.405 (.706) (.725), 27-4-12, 27-88, 1-4 Ortiz has a tendency to start seasons very well and then get progressively worse as the season goes on. A great April was followed by consistent decline every month, with a bad August to wrap up the season. Ortiz is very much like Santana, but with some more pop, less contact, and a lot less speed. He might be served best by starting out in New Britain again for 2014 and then work to earn a promotion to Rochester. It is hard, at this point, to imagine Ortiz as anything but a fourth OF, but it will be interesting to watch his power numbers going forward. 28. JD Williams, SH, LF/CF DOB: 11/20/90 2013 A-/A+ (combined stats): 486, .265/.372/.403 (.775) (.729), 17-6-9, 66-105, 26-13 Williams was looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2012 and he really did so in Cedar Rapids, posting an .852 OPS. His numbers fell after his promotion to Fort Myers 2/3 of the way through the season. There is still quite a bit of promise and Williams is perhaps only second to Buxton in speed in the organization. Much of the drop at A+ came in slugging, so we will see if Williams can get that pop back and force a promotion about 2/3 of the way through 2014. 24. Tyler Duffey, RHS, DOB: 12/27/90 2013 A-/A+ (combined stats): 121, 3.64, 91/23 (7.6/1.6) Duffey was dominant for Cedar Rapids in the first half of the year. He went through a rough patch in Fort Myers, but that was to be expected. They moved him between the rotation and bullpen, but he still ended with a solid number of innings. He will start next season back in A+. 22. DJ Baxendale, RHS, DOB: 12/8/90 2013 A+/AA (combined stats): 150, 3.90, 112/33 (7.6/1.9) Baxendale was great for Fort Myers at the beginning of the season and a lot of people got very excited about his potential. This was tempered somewhat by his struggles at AA. He has good enough stuff to get his strikeout rate back to around his career level. Look for Baxendale to return to AA and perhaps push his way forward for a serious look in the AFL after next season. 20. Zach Jones, RHR, DOB: 12/4/90 2013 A+: 48.2, 1.85, 70/28 (13.6/5.1) Jones is off to the AFL after a dominant performance out of the bullpen for Fort Myers. The strikeouts are huge. The walks are also huge, but that comes with the territory sometimes. Jones doesn't give up many hits so his WHIP remains low. Should be the closer for New Britain next year. 19. Dalton Hicks, 1B, LH, DOB: 4/2/90 2013 A-/A+ (combined stats): 576, .289/.358/.468 (.826) (.824), 39-0-17, 56-123, 0-2 Hicks earned a promotion well into 2013 and did fairly well after the move. His 56 extra base hits are impressive and he can work on improving his BB/K rate with a return trip to Fort Myers to start 2014. I would expect Hicks to earn a promotion for the second year in a row at some point during the season. He is a solid all-around prospect who could soon make us forget Chris Parmelee. 17. Kennys Vargas, 1B, SH, DOB: 8/2/90 2013 A+: 520, .267/.344/.468 (.813) (.861), 33-1-19, 50-105, 0-0 Vargas felt the effects of fatigue in his first season with more than 191 plate appearances. The power is there but dropped off considerably in the second half of the season. This is really not something to be too concerned about. Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario also left him for New Britain, so he lost some help in the lineup. He just turned 23, so the majority of his age-24 season will be in AA. 2014 might be telling for Vargas' future in the organization. 16. Danny Santana, SS/2B, SH, DOB: 11/7/90 2013 AA: 587 plate appearances, .297/.333/.386 (.719) (.712 career), 22 doubles, 10 triples, 2 homers, 24 walks, 94 strikeouts, 30 stolen bases, 13 times caught stealing Santana is still mistake-prone at shortstop but the Twins seem set on keeping him there. He went through some natural growing pains in 2013, but had quite similar numbers to his 2012 season in Fort Myers. The power is not there, but the stolen base total is climbing. Santana should begin 2014 with Rosario and Beresford in the Rochester middle infield. 3. Alex Meyer, RHS, DOB: 1/3/90 2013 GLC/AA (AA statistics): 70.0 innings pitched, 3.21 ERA, 10.8 K/9, 3.7 BB/9 (10.4/3.3 career) Meyer gave everyone a scare with an arm injury this year, but things are back on track and he is heading to the AFL to get some innings. Hopefully this will put him on a course for 150 or so innings next year. Meyer appears to be the real deal and it is exciting to see him now on the cusp of competing for a Twins rotation spot. Hopefully the Twins do not repeat the Kyle Gibson experience by not limiting Meyer's AAA innings early in the season. There is no reason that if Meyer dominates AAA that he shouldn't be called up to the Twins for 100 innings or so. There is the 1990 group. Careful observers will note the fact that J.T. Chargois is not listed. This isn't a mistake. He has thrown 16 professional innings and will be basically 24.5 years old by the time he even gets going again in the 2015 season. I am going to keep him off my list until he comes back. 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No to Buxton being up this year. So, replace him with Santana (who is maintaining this excellence so far . . . what the hell??) and this is a good list. Pinto should be the sixth.

In the early-to-mid part of the season, legitimate question marks about the outfield depth were raised. Joe Benson (24, AA/AAA), and Rene Tosoni (26, AA/AAA), the two outfield prospects who spent time with the Twins in 2011, were struggling with injuries. The only prospect having a good year was Oswaldo Arcia. Download attachment: Chris_Parmelee_uspw_6362378.jpg Now at the beginning of September, things have changed dramatically, though it isn't because of Benson or Tosoni. Instead, Oswaldo Arcia (21, AA) and Aaron Hicks (22, AA) have turned in good-to-great seasons at AA. Arcia has not missed a step in his promotion to AA. He posted a .328/.398/.557 line with 10 homers in 299 plate appearances. Hicks emerged with a 286/.384/.460 line that amounted to the highest OPS of his career since the GCL in 2008. He also increased his power (13 homers) and stole 32 bases in 43 attempts. The AAA/AAAA contingent of outfielders (Darin Mastroianni, Matt Carson, Evan Bigley and Wilkin Ramirez) provide good 4th and 5th OF options. Chris Herrmann (24, AA), while mainly a catcher this year, still would provide 5th OF status for the Twins and could be a solid bench player for the Twins in the near future. Further down in the organization, Lance Ray (23, A) and Danny Ortiz (22, A) each produced OK seasons, but still show promise and, most importantly, improved overall from 2011. Ray's .234/.327/.403 slash with 13 homers and and improved BB/K rate signals good progress in his development. Ortiz's .269/.313/.424 line with 8 homers is also a step in the right direction, and he was promoted early in the season from low-A. While Angel Morales (22, A) and JD Williams (21, low-A) are now big question marks, Nate Roberts (23, A) has been excellent once again. He posted a .299/.433/.427 slash in his repeat Beloit season and walked more than he struck out (44/37). If healthy in 2013, he could end the season in New Britain. Romy Jimenez (21, Rookie) turned in a great year for E-Town and Candido Pimentel (22, Rookie) had a small breakthrough there while also playing some second base. Most importantly, Max Kepler (19, Rookie) had a huge breakout season and may move on to Beloit next year with increased power and plate discipline. His statistics were a sight for sore eyes: .297/.387/.539 with 16 doubles, 5 triples, and 10 homers in 269 plate appearances. He is emerging as a top 10 prospect for the Twins. Finally, Byron Buxton (18, Rookie) was promoted from the GCL and actually improved a bit after the promotion. Dereck Rodriguez (20, Rookie) was very good (.783 OPS) for the GCL Twins and the Danny Valencia trade brought in another quality player in Jeremias Pineda (21, Rookie). While Rodriguez will likely start for E-Town next year, Pineda might move up to Beloit as a 4th OF. I have not discussed Rory Rhodes (21 A/Rookie)--who was a 3B, then a 1B, and is now a potential corner OF--nor did I mention Zach Larson (18, Rookie) or Kelvin Ortiz (20, Rookie) from the GCL. With Benson and Tosoni included, I have mentioned 23 outfield candidates from Mastroianni and Carson currently on the Twins 25 man roster to players drafted in 2012. These players range from potential stars to never-will-make-it-to-The-Show-players, but they are all valuable contributors and demonstrate, as a whole, that there is significant OF depth in the system, especially up through Beloit. Only time will tell with these players, but I think it is now safe to say that there really is OF depth in the Twins' system. Click here to view the article

It's all looking pretty good now! Really do like that "guitar pick" a lot.

Download attachment: Anthony Slama 600.jpg When coming to form one's beliefs or making evaluations about things, the rather vast ocean between blind faith and evidence sets up a stark contrast in reasoned (or un-reasoned) judgment. This post is not about evolution or theism, but about something much less important in the grand scheme of things. This post is about the Twins' evaluation of Anthony Slama. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Let's first examine the evidence, sticking to Slama's minor league and major league statistics. In parts of four seasons in AAA Rochester, Slama has 146 2/3 inning pitched, a 2.21 ERA, 183 K, 72 BB (2.54 K/BB), and a 1.152 WHIP. In 2012, Slama has improved upon the K/BB rate (3.0) with a whopping 15.1 K/9 together with a 5 BB/9. Let me repeat, this year he has been striking out 15 batters per 9 innings. With such impressive AAA stats (and much the same or better at the lower levels in the minors), certainly Slama has seen ample time up with the Twins, right? He pitched 4 2/3 innings in 2010 and 2 1/3 innings in 2011. Yes, the guy striking out AAA batters at an incredibly high rate has only seven total innings up with the Twins. So, clearly stats lie, in the view of the relevant decision makers for the Twins. What, then, are the Twins basing their evaluation of Slama on instead? I submit that it is blind faith, but more importantly it is blind faith in their (the Twins' decision makers) ability to evaluate players and make projections into the major league future. Slama does not "have the stuff" and Gardenhire himself has made the claim that Slama's fastball is too straight vertically and horizontally for the majors, or in his eloquent words, "up here you've got to make it do something." Instead of using the evidence of Slama's AAA success to make a reasonable projection about his MLB projected performance, the Twins would rather rely on the faith they have in their seeing-eye assessment of Slama's stuff. AAA batters are actually pretty well-equipped to hit straight fastballs as well (in fact, that is usually the one thing hitters in AAA can do, even if they can't hit anything else and never make it to the majors). I could perhaps forgive this blind faith evaluation (in their own talents as evaluators, not in Slama) if the Twins A: had a bullpen full of better pitchers who were going to mean something for the Twins in the future, and B: if the Twins were in a division or wild card race and couldn't afford 20 innings given to a reliever they were leery of promoting. But neither A or B are true. While, Alex Burnett has been incredibly lucky not to get destroyed this year, he does have an option left and that should not be burned this season (it will next season, trust me!). But Jeff Gray is a pitching abomination. He (like Burnett) walks almost as many as he strikes out and he isn't striking many out to begin with. He has somehow been given 51 2/3 innings to pitch this year. And Gray has no future with the Twins, isn't getting better, and will be 31 in a few months. It is mind-boggling to me to consider the thought process involved in keeping Jeff Gray on the roster instead of Anthony Slama. Now, plenty of people at Twins Daily will wonder why one might complain about the last bullpen spot on a horrible team. Well, first, I am for improving the team at all roster spots if possible and it never matters how good or bad the team is in the first place. Second, is that there has to be some kind of justice in the baseball world! Anthony Slama deserves an opportunity with the Twins. We are also talking about livelihoods here as well. I have come to the point where I actually believe that the Twins are not promoting Slama because they are scared that he will succeed. That would prove them wrong and would make them have to question how they evaluate pitchers. The faithful do not like either of those two things happening. Click here to view the article

I contend that there is no reason to keep certain players who are blocking prospects in the minor league system. I cannot imagine that minor league attendance is really driven by aging players. From Rochester: Chris Rahl Eric Farris Doug Bernier Mark Hamburger Aaron Thompson (potential add-on trade bait) Kris Johnson (I know, but the future? potential add-on trade bait) To Rochester, given these 6 moves: Kennys Vargas Aaron Hicks Eddie Rosario Ryan O'Rourke Cole Johnson Jim Fuller

In the remainder of the season, I would like to see the following: 1. The Twins trade Kurt Suzuki for a top 150 prospect, Josh Willingham for a top 300 prospect, Casey Fien for a top 500 prospect, Eduardo Escobar for a top 700 prospect, Kevin Correia for a top 1000 prospect, and Brian Duensing for a top 1000 prospect. 2. I would *really* like for the first three of those to happen. 3. Jared Burton gone and Alex Meyer called up to the bullpen. 4. Trevor May called up to start. 5. Josmil Pinto and Chris Herrmann to be the sole catchers post Suzuki. 6. Kennys Vargas, Danny Ortiz, and James Beresford to be called up in September for position player additions, and the subsequent and easy 40-man decisions to be made for the latter two. 7. Michael Tonkin, AJ Achter, and Lester Oliveros to be called up for pitching additions, with the easy 40-man moves to be made for the latter two here as well. 8. Some of those 40-man moves can be made through trading the above no-future as Twins players, at least not for guys who have to be added to the 40-man right away. 9. All trades must be for A or maybe AA players and pitchers. 10. Aaron Hicks gets promoted to AAA, as does Eddie Rosario. 11. Byron Buxton and Nate Roberts get promoted to AA. 12. All other proper promotions occur, giving prospects some time at a higher level before next season begins.

I like it when guys show dramatic improvement at a level. He posted terrible numbers in 2013. I mean it was really, really bad. Even last year, however, he didn't strike out very much and his BB/K rate this year is very good. He was also drafted in the 11th round last year, so there is that. I do like throwing in a long shot or two in there as well.

This is the second installment breaking down each minor league affiliate for players to watch as the season winds to a close. The GCL has six players worthy of mention: 1. Amaurys Minier, SH, LF/1B, DOB: 1/30/96 2014 statistics: 90 plate appearances, .304/.378/.456, 6 double, 0 triples, 2 homer, 9 walk, 29 strikeouts, 0 steals, 2 times caught stealing. Minier has shown big improvements in his second stint in the GCL. His power is still developing and there are still many improvements to make, but Minier is the biggest bright spot on the GCL roster by far. 2. Alexis Tapia, RHP, DOB: 8/10/95 2014 statistics: 16.2 innings, 2.70 ERA, 17 strikeouts, 1 walk. Tapia's K and BB rates have improved significantly from his 2013 season in the DSL. 3. Rafael Valera, RH, Util, DOB: 8/15/94 2014 statistics: 78 PA, .333/.462/.429 (.890), 4 doubles, 1 triple, 0 homers, 13 walks, 5 strikeouts, 1 stolen base, 1 time caught stealing Significant improvement over his 2013 DSL numbers. Lots of walks. 4. Wilfredy Lirianzo, RHP, DOB: 10/26/94 2014 statistics: 8.2 IP, 1.04 ERA, 13 strikeouts, 5 walks Lirianzo was fantastic in 2013 in the DSL and looks to be continuing to strike batters out in the GCL. He is still very young. 5. Roberto Gonzalez, LH, OF, DOB: 3/14/95 2014 statistics: 39 PA, .270/.308/.351 (.659), 3 doubles, 0 triples, 0 homers, 2 walks, 16 strikeouts, 3 steals, 1 time caught stealing Drafted in the 15th round of this year's draft, Gonzalez is struggling with strikeouts but also could grow into a solid speed-first guy. 6. Nelson Molina, LH, INF, DOB: 4/30/95 2014 statistics: 71 PA, .259/.353/.328 (.681), 0 doubles, 2 triples, 0 homers, 9 walks, 4 strikeouts, 5 steals, 0 times caught stealing Molina was drafted in the 11th round of the 2013 draft and has rebounded from a bad first season in the GCL.

I am working through the minor league system team by team and providing six to ten players to watch for the remainder of the season. I will start here at the bottom in the Dominican Summer League and work all the way through Rochester. This provides a nice mix of known and unknown players to pay attention to for the rest of the dismal 2014 Twins season. My DSL players to watch: 1. Lewin Diaz, 1B, LH, DOB: 11/19/96 2014 statistics: 92 plate appearances, .272/.359/.457 (.815), 6 doubles, 0 triples, 3 homers, 10 walks, 15 strikeouts, 0 steals, 0 times caught stealing. He turns 18 on my 34th birthday. There is some real slugging potential here and he is not striking out at an alarming rate. It will be interesting to see if the organization decides to give him any time in the GCL this year. 2. Jermaine Palacios, 3B, RH, DOB: 7/19/96 2014 statistics: 114 PA, .299/.442/.460 (.902), 6 doubles, 4 triples, 0 homers, 20 walks, 19 strikeouts, 9 steals, 1 time caught stealing. May end up being a second baseman soon. Good speed and patience and he just turned 18. 3. Jadison Jimenez, LH SP, DOB: 3/19/94 2014 statistics: 50 innings pitched, 1.98 ERA, 42 strikeouts, 10 walks. Dramatic improvement over the previous two seasons in the DSL. Seems to be making the proper adjustments and should be someone the Twins move eventually to E-Town (perhaps this time next year). 4. Jorge Andrade, SH, 2B, DOB: 12/7/94 2014 statistics: 123 PA, .343/.423/.524 (.947), 5 doubles, 7 triples, 0 homers, 14 walks, 31 strikeouts, 10 steals, 4 times caught stealing. Third year in the DSL and he has really blossomed. Another player who could be in E-Town one year from today. 5. Luis Arraez, 2B, LH, DOB: 4/9/97 2014 statistics: 118 PA, .330/.419/.390 (.809), 6 doubles, 0 triples, 0 homers, 15 walks, 8 strikeouts, 9 steals, 4 times caught stealing. Absolutely no problem with the DSL as a 17-year-old. Should move through the system. Phenomenal BB/K ratio. 6. Roni Tapia, 3B, RH, DOB: 4/3/97 2014 statistics: 102 PA, .253/.294/.389, 5 doubles, 4 triples, 0 homers, 5 walks, 31 strikeouts, 0 steals, 1 time caught stealing. These six will provide a good foundation for paying attention to the league as it deserves.

Here, here. Fantastic post.

Three out of four ain't bad. I just don't agree with the Hughes trade. For one, other teams might not be convinced that he fits for them. Second, I can't imagine the Twins wanting to trade their best pitcher. Let's hope to get a mid-tier prospect from Correia. Suzuki, Willingham, Morales, Duensing, and Fien are all great trade-bait.

Tomshaw is 25 at Fort Myers and doesn't strike people out. And Jones' strikeouts are down this year too.

Haha. I am really not sure why he has been regarded so highly by so many. Hopefully Cederoth is like Gonsalves last year (fantastic draft steal).

My post 2014 draft list of the top 70 prospects in the Twins organization: 1. Byron Buxton 2. Miguel Sano 3. Alex Meyer 4. Jose Berrios 5. Kohl Stewart 6. Eddie Rosario 7. Jorge Polanco 8. Kennys Vargas 9. Nick Gordon 10. Danny Santana 11. Trevor May 12. Stephen Gonsalves 13. Nick Burdi 14. Travis Harrison 15. Lewis Thorpe 16. Adam Walker 17. Max Kepler 18. Sean Gilmartin 19. Fernando Romero 20. Michael Cederoth 21. Michael Tonkin 22. A.J. Achter 23. Zach Jones 24. Niko Goodrum 25. Yorman Landa 26. Lester Oliveros 27. Aderlin Mejia 28. Daniel Ortiz 29. Amaurys Minier 30. Deibinson Romero 31. Randy Rosario 32. Jorge Felix 33. Dalton Hicks 34. D.J. Baxendale 35. Tyler Duffey 36. Jason Wheeler 37. James Beresford 38. Levi Michael 39. Logan Darnell 40. Adrian Salcedo 41. Tyler Jones 42. Brett Lee 43. Taylor Rogers 44. Aaron Slegers 45. Jason Kanzler 46. Alex Wimmers 47. Mason Melotakis 48. Edgar Ibarra 49. Cole Johnson 50. Zach Larson 51. Brian Navaretto 52. Sam Clay 53. Ryan Eades 54. Luke Bard 55. John Curtiss 56. Matt Tomshaw 57. Mitch Garver 58. Chad Christensen 59. Matt Koch 60. Todd Van Steensel 61. Steven Gruver 62. Kyle Knudson 63. Hudson Boyd 64. Mike Kvasnicka 65. Stuart Turner 66. Brandon Peterson 67. Pat Kelly 68. Andrew Cutura 69. Jared Wilson 70. Madison Boer

That's a good shorter list. Clearly not a lot is going to be done, but some things will need to be done. One thing I was doing was trying to then fill the lower level with guys after losing players due to promotion.

Also, 15 of these players were just listed in the first 3 parts of your minor league top players for May!

Romero's addition doesn't come at Plouffe's expense, but would be to replace Kubel on the roster. Anyway, something's got to give since the draft is coming and also some ESTers are likely not going to stick around in E-Town for long before moving up.

I was looking at statistics, not age, Seth. I should have noted Williams and Michael's injuries, but it still applies. Boyd has now thrown 130 innings for Cedar Rapids and is finding a niche as a reliever. Pushing him as a reliever one level soon doesn't seem to irrational. Ivory Thomas is really strange. His walk rate is astounding. I realize he hasn't hit anything, but his isolated discipline is .283! Anyway, I would be curious to see if that continues after a move. I wouldn't be all that serious about promoting him given the lack of hitting. Really strange statistics there.

Here are some possible promotions throughout the minor league system. This is not meant as an actual prediction or plan, but I am simply laying out the possibilities. From Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers: J.D. Williams (OF) Jason Kanzler (CF) Mitch Garver (C, 1B) Chad Christensen (OF, 1B) Ivory Thomas (OF) Kohl Stewart (RHS) Todd Van Steensel (RHR) Hudson Boyd (RHR) Jared Wilson (RHR) (release John Murphy) From Fort Myers to New Britain: Levi Michael (2B/SS) Jorge Polanco (2B/SS) Dalton Hicks (1B) Adam Walker (RF) Jose Berrios (RHS) Jason Wheeler (LHS) Matt Tomshaw (LHP) Tyler Jones (RHR) Madison Boer (RHR) Alex Wimmers (RHS) From New Britain to Rochester: Danny Ortiz (OF) Kennys Vargas (1B) Reynaldo Rodriguez (1B/OF) Sean Gilmartin (LHS) Cole Johnson (RHR) Lester Oliveros (RHR) (Release Tony Thomas and Brad Boyer) From Rochester to the Twins: Deibinson Romero (3B) Trevor May (RHS) A.J. Achter (RHR) Deolis Guerra (RHR) Michael Tonkin (RHR) (Release Chris Rahl, Brad Nelson, Scott Diamond, and Brooks Raley from Rochester) (Trade/demote/release Kevin Correia, Jared Burton, Jason Kubel, etc.)

Rosario should stay at 2B for a few reasons: 1. He is already a true outfielder, so more time at second fills out his potential. 2. There are other middle infielders like Santana and Polanco who are still working through SS possibilities. 3. If the Twins are interested in trading away any prospects and Rosario is one, his bat is very good as a second baseman and only above-average to good as a corner OF.

I am relenting on my meh-ness to this idea. I do think he should probably try to give it up.

I am EXTREMELY glad that this is his "problem." He will be looking fine in LF with Buxton in CF and Hicks in RF at the start of 2015.

Absolutely. Calling Parker . . . Hicks, even with all his struggles last year, still generated some power. This is completely absent this year (same with Florimon, and it is the same problem).