Shane Wahl

Purdue: Kevin Plawecki Cameron Perkins Nick Wittgren Eric Charles Barrett Serrato Blake Mascarello

Purdue: Kevin Plawecki Cameron Perkins Nick Wittgren Eric Charles Barrett Serrato Blake Mascarello

I agree completely. Do you get any sense that the increase in power and the decrease in OBP is due to experimenting with a different approach at the plate, trying to raise batting average and power (like when Parmelee originally hit for some power, but low average, they had reverse that, and he eventually has put the two together adequately)? Because I am a little concerned about the BB/K rate this year. Hopefully it is a part of an intentional learning/adjustment and not that which would make the great isolated discipline of 2011 a fluke. Herrmann seems like a good complement to Mauer and is a defensive upgrade over Doumit for a fraction of the cost.

Championship: Purdue 6, Indiana 5 A nearly-empty stadium in Columbus is not the usual setting for a Purdue-IU matchup. Usually the rivalry brings out the best (or worst) of the schools' respective fans in packed stadiums and arenas. The two teams made up for the lack of fan frenzy with a ninth inning brawl around third base, of all places. After Field of Twins draft-endorsed catcher Kevin Plawecki's second homer of the tournament and 7th of the season put Purdue up 5-4 in the 8th inning, Indiana tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a sac fly (which came after a blatantly blown third strike call by the umpire). In the top of the ninth, Purdue put men on the corners. With one out, Eric Charles chopped a grounder to third, forcing a rundown. As Indiana's third basemen made the tag he pivoted and threw wildly to third base to try to get the runner advancing from first. The runner scored easily, but Charles, for whatever reason tried to make it all the way to third on the play. What happened next was either an intentionally violent slide or an example of a runner getting stuck between a head-first and feet-first slide and unintentionally running into the third basemen. The third baseman initially reacted, but stood up and Purdue coach Schrieber got in between the players. Then IU's shortstop charged into the back of the third basemen, knocking him down into Charles. Both benches poured out and Charles eventually threw a punch and was ejected. The melee last for a few minutes, but the game was delayed for over 15 minutes because one of the umpires was injured. The game resumed in the bottom of the ninth and Field of Twins draft-endorsed pitcher Nick Wittgren struck the first two batters out before coaxing a fly ball to center to end the game. Plawecki was named tournament MVP. Purdue will likely host in the CWS, but it will be at Gary's U.S. Steel Yard instead of in West Lafayette due to delayed construction on the new stadium. Michigan State is the only other team that could make it into the tournament as the Big Ten is a weak conference. Later in the week, I will wrap up a discussion of those players who could be drafted.

Championship: Purdue 6, Indiana 5 A nearly-empty stadium in Columbus is not the usual setting for a Purdue-IU matchup. Usually the rivalry brings out the best (or worst) of the schools' respective fans in packed stadiums and arenas. The two teams made up for the lack of fan frenzy with a ninth inning brawl around third base, of all places. After Field of Twins draft-endorsed catcher Kevin Plawecki's second homer of the tournament and 7th of the season put Purdue up 5-4 in the 8th inning, Indiana tied the game in the bottom of the inning on a sac fly (which came after a blatantly blown third strike call by the umpire). In the top of the ninth, Purdue put men on the corners. With one out, Eric Charles chopped a grounder to third, forcing a rundown. As Indiana's third basemen made the tag he pivoted and threw wildly to third base to try to get the runner advancing from first. The runner scored easily, but Charles, for whatever reason tried to make it all the way to third on the play. What happened next was either an intentionally violent slide or an example of a runner getting stuck between a head-first and feet-first slide and unintentionally running into the third basemen. The third baseman initially reacted, but stood up and Purdue coach Schrieber got in between the players. Then IU's shortstop charged into the back of the third basemen, knocking him down into Charles. Both benches poured out and Charles eventually threw a punch and was ejected. The melee last for a few minutes, but the game was delayed for over 15 minutes because one of the umpires was injured. The game resumed in the bottom of the ninth and Field of Twins draft-endorsed pitcher Nick Wittgren struck the first two batters out before coaxing a fly ball to center to end the game. Plawecki was named tournament MVP. Purdue will likely host in the CWS, but it will be at Gary's U.S. Steel Yard instead of in West Lafayette due to delayed construction on the new stadium. Michigan State is the only other team that could make it into the tournament as the Big Ten is a weak conference. Later in the week, I will wrap up a discussion of those players who could be drafted.

Haha. I think by July of 1989 I had become a pretty foul-mouthed 8-year old too. And I liked Frankie a lot, too. I may repressed that memory.

Game one: Michigan State def. Nebraska 10-9 Game two: Ohio State def. Penn State 12-5 Game three: Nebraska eliminated Penn State 12-3 Game four: Indiana def. Michigan State 6-4 Game five: Purdue def. Ohio State 5-4 Game-by-game player notables: In game one, Tony Bucciferro was very good, giving up only one earned run in 8 innings. In game two, Jaron Long struggled for Ohio State, only going three innings. In game three, Michael Pritchard went 2-for-6 to continue a very strong tournament for the Big Ten's leader in batting average. Chad Christiansen hit is 10th homer. In game four, Sam Travis went 2-for-4 with a double. Joey DeNato gave up 4 runs in 7 2/3 innings. In game five, Big Ten hitter of the year, Kevin Plawecki went for 2-for-3 with 3 rbi, and a 2-run homer in the 7th. Nebraska plays Ohio State in an elimination game at noon (EST) today. The winner takes on Michigan State at 3:30 (EST). IU and Purdue face off at 7 (EST). I expect Nebraska to win the first game, but Michigan State to beat them. Purdue should handle IU. I imagine that Michigan State will work its way back to the title game by beating IU on Saturday. For those watching the nightcap, Kevin Plawecki impressed at the plate. He has a great approach. He is aggressive, but still works walks. And he delivered the key homer, with Purdue down a run.

Game one: Michigan State def. Nebraska 10-9 Game two: Ohio State def. Penn State 12-5 Game three: Nebraska eliminated Penn State 12-3 Game four: Indiana def. Michigan State 6-4 Game five: Purdue def. Ohio State 5-4 Game-by-game player notables: In game one, Tony Bucciferro was very good, giving up only one earned run in 8 innings. In game two, Jaron Long struggled for Ohio State, only going three innings. In game three, Michael Pritchard went 2-for-6 to continue a very strong tournament for the Big Ten's leader in batting average. Chad Christiansen hit is 10th homer. In game four, Sam Travis went 2-for-4 with a double. Joey DeNato gave up 4 runs in 7 2/3 innings. In game five, Big Ten hitter of the year, Kevin Plawecki went for 2-for-3 with 3 rbi, and a 2-run homer in the 7th. Nebraska plays Ohio State in an elimination game at noon (EST) today. The winner takes on Michigan State at 3:30 (EST). IU and Purdue face off at 7 (EST). I expect Nebraska to win the first game, but Michigan State to beat them. Purdue should handle IU. I imagine that Michigan State will work its way back to the title game by beating IU on Saturday. For those watching the nightcap, Kevin Plawecki impressed at the plate. He has a great approach. He is aggressive, but still works walks. And he delivered the key homer, with Purdue down a run.

Very interesting idea. Of course teams could just adjust, if that "setting the lineup" thing as merit (one way to check this would be to see how the top three do elsewhere in the game if they lead off the inning 1-2-3--which happens sometimes in the 4th) I do think, however, that perhaps a lot of the 1st inning scoring might have to do more with pitchers and getting "settled" into the game. You would still have that problem with whoever came into pitch the second. But very interesting. As far as the lineup goes, Willingham should bat third behind Mauer. You want your best power hitter batting third because he often comes up with 2 outs and no one on in that first inning. With 2 outs and no one on, the most likely run-producing situation is simply the homer.

I would trade Revere.

Here is an update on my top 50 prospects list from February. I will actually construct a new list soon. 1. Miguel Sano (2): Confirming the unanimous #1 ranking. Will go through some ups and downs this year and strikes out a lot, but his ceiling keeps getting higher. Ranking status: stays at the top. 2. Aaron Hicks (1): Some scoffed at keeping Hicks so high. This season is a mixed bag of good and not-so-good for Hicks (as is true of many New Britain players, see throughout). His OPS is basically the same as FTM last year, but with a drop in OBP and a rise in SLG. (He had as many homers this year as he did all season last year). Perhaps the changes are an attempt to expand Hicks' offensive capabilities as was the case with Chris Parmelee through the years. One thing to be looking for is a decision about the switch-hitting status. The splits are still there this year. I would personally like to see Hicks try batting right against righties to see if he hits them better from that side. Ranking status: probably down a spot. 3. Oswaldo Arcia (10): After a so-so 2011 season in Fort Myers, Arcia is hitting well again and is flat-out destroying RH pitching. Arcia has more walks this year than all of last year in Fort Myers. I would like to see him dominate in A+ for 2 more months, hopefully hitting better against lefties, before a late promotion to New Britain to get him ready for 2013. Ranking status: probably up a spot. 4. Eddie Rosario (19): Rosario's offensive performance this year justifies my trepidation about putting him at the two spot, which was almost unanimous heading into the season. Granted, as a second baseman his numbers are still fantastic. But if he doesn't stick at second base, then his numbers are very good but not great. He's still young, though, and his BB/K rate after moving up a level has risen immensely, so that is a great sign. Ranking status: stays the same. 5. Liam Hendriks (7): It would be nice if, given Hendriks performance as a Twin this year, there would be someone behind him on the list to knock Hendriks out of the top 5, but that isn't happening (especially if Dozier's days in the minors are over). And maybe it shouldn't as Hendriks needs more time mastering his approach in AAA. I really like what he can offer the Twins as a 3 or 4 starter down the road. Ranking status: stays the same. 6. Joe Benson (8): Benson has been injured and demoted (foolishly) this year. He has enormous upside, but needs to hit the ball. I am more worried about some underlying injury than about any actual troubles with AAA pitching at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 7. Kyle Gibson (4): Gibson's injury doesn't affect his prospect status for me at the moment. He is on track to pitch some minor league innings late in the season. Ranking status: drops one. 8. Adrian Salcedo (12): Salcedo's year has been bad. He just recently got hit in the face on a come-backer that came back too fast. Hopefully he can get it together in June again and show that he is worthy of Fort Myers at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 9. Chris Parmelee (14): The Twins were misguided in judging Parmelee by a September showing and spring training performance instead of his minor league track record. Finally at AAA for the first time, he is coming around and needs to stay there for an extended time. Ranking status: drops one. 10. Brian Dozier (36): Dozier is going to be a solid player. He may not be great, but he is going to get the job done, and I will say that the ceiling for him is still up in the air. Good defensively and offensively is what the Twins need. He sounds smart, knows what he is doing, and cares about achieving as much as he can. I actually liked seeing him struggle against Gavin Floyd. He will learn from it. Ranking status: up to 6. ---- 11. Alex Wimmers (5): Terrified for him. Ranking status: stays the same. 12. Max Kepler (13): Can't wait to see him dominate E-Town. Ranking status: stays the same. 13. Chris Herrmann (35): Big season to shine. Ranking status: stays the same. 14. Angel Morales (5): Really struggling. Ranking status: drops several. 15. Manuel Soliman (16): Injured, hopefully gets it going. Ranking status: drops a few. 16. Travis Harrison (NR): Very interested to see him actually playing. Ranking status: stays the same. 17. Niko Goodrum (24): Should excel in E-Town, move to Beloit late. Ranking status: stays the same. 18. Hudson Boyd (NR): Same as Harrison. Ranking status: stays the same. 19. David Bromberg (11): Excited to see him striking people out in AA. Has to be promoted soon and I would think is a Twin at some point this year. Ranking status: rises several. 20. Levi Michael (NR): Not a great start, but the plate discipline is there. stays the same ---- 21. Madison Boer (NR) drops some 22. B.J. Hermsen (18) rises some 23. Nate Roberts (27) drops some 24. JaDamion Williams (NR) drops some 25. Carlos Gutierrez (15) drops some 26. Jairo Perez (NR) rises a bit 27. Tom Stuifbergen (32) drops some 28. Matt Hauser (NR) rises some 29. Deolis Guerra (39) rises some 30. Lance Ray (41) stays the same 31. Pat Dean (23) stays the same 32. Scott Diamond (26) rises some 33. Danny Santana (50) rises some 34. Tyler Robertson (NR) stays the same 35. Terry Doyle (NR) gone 36. Corey Williams (NR) rises some 37. Matthew Summers (NR) stays the same 38. Tim Shibuya (NR) rises some 39. Logan Darnell (48) stays the same 40. Bobby Lanigan (40) rises some 41. Danny Ortiz (21) stays the same 42. Danny Rams (46) drops some 43. Rory Rhodes (HM) drops some 44. Angel Mata (NR) stays the same 45. Evan Bigley (42) drops off 46. Bruce Pugh (34) rises some 47. Dakota Watts (29) stays the same 48. James Beresford (30) rises some 49. Anderson Hidalgo (31) drops off 50. Jorge Polanco (NR) stays the same

Here is an update on my top 50 prospects list from February. I will actually construct a new list soon. 1. Miguel Sano (2): Confirming the unanimous #1 ranking. Will go through some ups and downs this year and strikes out a lot, but his ceiling keeps getting higher. Ranking status: stays at the top. 2. Aaron Hicks (1): Some scoffed at keeping Hicks so high. This season is a mixed bag of good and not-so-good for Hicks (as is true of many New Britain players, see throughout). His OPS is basically the same as FTM last year, but with a drop in OBP and a rise in SLG. (He had as many homers this year as he did all season last year). Perhaps the changes are an attempt to expand Hicks' offensive capabilities as was the case with Chris Parmelee through the years. One thing to be looking for is a decision about the switch-hitting status. The splits are still there this year. I would personally like to see Hicks try batting right against righties to see if he hits them better from that side. Ranking status: probably down a spot. 3. Oswaldo Arcia (10): After a so-so 2011 season in Fort Myers, Arcia is hitting well again and is flat-out destroying RH pitching. Arcia has more walks this year than all of last year in Fort Myers. I would like to see him dominate in A+ for 2 more months, hopefully hitting better against lefties, before a late promotion to New Britain to get him ready for 2013. Ranking status: probably up a spot. 4. Eddie Rosario (19): Rosario's offensive performance this year justifies my trepidation about putting him at the two spot, which was almost unanimous heading into the season. Granted, as a second baseman his numbers are still fantastic. But if he doesn't stick at second base, then his numbers are very good but not great. He's still young, though, and his BB/K rate after moving up a level has risen immensely, so that is a great sign. Ranking status: stays the same. 5. Liam Hendriks (7): It would be nice if, given Hendriks performance as a Twin this year, there would be someone behind him on the list to knock Hendriks out of the top 5, but that isn't happening (especially if Dozier's days in the minors are over). And maybe it shouldn't as Hendriks needs more time mastering his approach in AAA. I really like what he can offer the Twins as a 3 or 4 starter down the road. Ranking status: stays the same. 6. Joe Benson (8): Benson has been injured and demoted (foolishly) this year. He has enormous upside, but needs to hit the ball. I am more worried about some underlying injury than about any actual troubles with AAA pitching at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 7. Kyle Gibson (4): Gibson's injury doesn't affect his prospect status for me at the moment. He is on track to pitch some minor league innings late in the season. Ranking status: drops one. 8. Adrian Salcedo (12): Salcedo's year has been bad. He just recently got hit in the face on a come-backer that came back too fast. Hopefully he can get it together in June again and show that he is worthy of Fort Myers at the moment. Ranking status: drops one. 9. Chris Parmelee (14): The Twins were misguided in judging Parmelee by a September showing and spring training performance instead of his minor league track record. Finally at AAA for the first time, he is coming around and needs to stay there for an extended time. Ranking status: drops one. 10. Brian Dozier (36): Dozier is going to be a solid player. He may not be great, but he is going to get the job done, and I will say that the ceiling for him is still up in the air. Good defensively and offensively is what the Twins need. He sounds smart, knows what he is doing, and cares about achieving as much as he can. I actually liked seeing him struggle against Gavin Floyd. He will learn from it. Ranking status: up to 6. ---- 11. Alex Wimmers (5): Terrified for him. Ranking status: stays the same. 12. Max Kepler (13): Can't wait to see him dominate E-Town. Ranking status: stays the same. 13. Chris Herrmann (35): Big season to shine. Ranking status: stays the same. 14. Angel Morales (5): Really struggling. Ranking status: drops several. 15. Manuel Soliman (16): Injured, hopefully gets it going. Ranking status: drops a few. 16. Travis Harrison (NR): Very interested to see him actually playing. Ranking status: stays the same. 17. Niko Goodrum (24): Should excel in E-Town, move to Beloit late. Ranking status: stays the same. 18. Hudson Boyd (NR): Same as Harrison. Ranking status: stays the same. 19. David Bromberg (11): Excited to see him striking people out in AA. Has to be promoted soon and I would think is a Twin at some point this year. Ranking status: rises several. 20. Levi Michael (NR): Not a great start, but the plate discipline is there. stays the same ---- 21. Madison Boer (NR) drops some 22. B.J. Hermsen (18) rises some 23. Nate Roberts (27) drops some 24. JaDamion Williams (NR) drops some 25. Carlos Gutierrez (15) drops some 26. Jairo Perez (NR) rises a bit 27. Tom Stuifbergen (32) drops some 28. Matt Hauser (NR) rises some 29. Deolis Guerra (39) rises some 30. Lance Ray (41) stays the same 31. Pat Dean (23) stays the same 32. Scott Diamond (26) rises some 33. Danny Santana (50) rises some 34. Tyler Robertson (NR) stays the same 35. Terry Doyle (NR) gone 36. Corey Williams (NR) rises some 37. Matthew Summers (NR) stays the same 38. Tim Shibuya (NR) rises some 39. Logan Darnell (48) stays the same 40. Bobby Lanigan (40) rises some 41. Danny Ortiz (21) stays the same 42. Danny Rams (46) drops some 43. Rory Rhodes (HM) drops some 44. Angel Mata (NR) stays the same 45. Evan Bigley (42) drops off 46. Bruce Pugh (34) rises some 47. Dakota Watts (29) stays the same 48. James Beresford (30) rises some 49. Anderson Hidalgo (31) drops off 50. Jorge Polanco (NR) stays the same

J-Dog, no "now" he isn't. Going into the season he was. That will change for some people. I had him at 50+ (51 here). But he actually isn't going to jump that much. Take from that what you will--either the Twins are really starved for MLB-ready pitchers, or there is actually more talent in the system than a lot of people know about. Last year's draft was big for that.

The one-stop shop for prospect lists. I have compiled a master using 4 lists before . . . and that was a lot. Great work! And your brief analysis is correct. The (middle) infield has some potential if Levi Michael and Tyler Grimes get it going, Danny Santana continues doing what he is doing, and Eddie Rosario sticks at second. Third base is a big hole unless Sano stays there. Like . . . they got Jairo Perez and Anderson Hidalgo sorta playing those positions. But it is all about pitching. The system is full of guys who could be 5th starters and middle relievers. Other than that, injuries are causing major problems.

Final standings: [TABLE] [/TD] [TD] 1. Purdue 17-7 .708 41-12 .774 2. Indiana 16-8 .667 30-26 .536 3. Penn State 15-9 .625 29-25 .537 4. Nebraska 14-10 .583 34-21 .618 5. Michigan State 13-11 .458 35-19 .648 6. Ohio State 11-13 .458 31-25 .554 Illinois 11-13 .458 28-25 .528 Minnesota 11-13 .458 29-27 .518 9. Iowa 10-14 .417 23-27 .460 10. Michigan 8-16 .333 22-34 .393 11. Northwestern 6-18 .250 18-36 .333 [/TABLE] Today's games: Penn State vs. Ohio State and Nebraska vs. Michigan State Purdue is the only team guaranteed of advancing to the CWS without winning the tournament. Michigan State is the only other team with a chance. The rest are going to have to win the Big Ten tournament and get an automatic bid. I don't see that happening. The Boilermakers are in a class by themselves in this conference. Next week I will give a final rundown of all of the draft-worthy players, but here are the guys to watch in the tournament (and CWS): Purdue: Kevin Plawecki Nick Wittgren (cut above the rest) Eric Charles Cameron Perkins Blake Mascarello Indiana: Sam Travis (the freshman will get drafted, but he will likely stay another year at IU) Kyle Schwarber Joey DeNato Penn State: Jordan Steranka Joe Kurrasch Nebraska: Michael Pritchard Josh Scheffert Chad Christensen Michigan State: Tony Bucciferro Ryan Jones David Garner Jordan Keur Torsten Boss That's a list of 18 guys who could be in the minors later this year (and add T.J. Oakes) I will be posting more after today's games.

Final standings: [TABLE] [/TD] [TD] 1. Purdue 17-7 .708 41-12 .774 2. Indiana 16-8 .667 30-26 .536 3. Penn State 15-9 .625 29-25 .537 4. Nebraska 14-10 .583 34-21 .618 5. Michigan State 13-11 .458 35-19 .648 6. Ohio State 11-13 .458 31-25 .554 Illinois 11-13 .458 28-25 .528 Minnesota 11-13 .458 29-27 .518 9. Iowa 10-14 .417 23-27 .460 10. Michigan 8-16 .333 22-34 .393 11. Northwestern 6-18 .250 18-36 .333 [/TABLE] Today's games: Penn State vs. Ohio State and Nebraska vs. Michigan State Purdue is the only team guaranteed of advancing to the CWS without winning the tournament. Michigan State is the only other team with a chance. The rest are going to have to win the Big Ten tournament and get an automatic bid. I don't see that happening. The Boilermakers are in a class by themselves in this conference. Next week I will give a final rundown of all of the draft-worthy players, but here are the guys to watch in the tournament (and CWS): Purdue: Kevin Plawecki Nick Wittgren (cut above the rest) Eric Charles Cameron Perkins Blake Mascarello Indiana: Sam Travis (the freshman will get drafted, but he will likely stay another year at IU) Kyle Schwarber Joey DeNato Penn State: Jordan Steranka Joe Kurrasch Nebraska: Michael Pritchard Josh Scheffert Chad Christensen Michigan State: Tony Bucciferro Ryan Jones David Garner Jordan Keur Torsten Boss That's a list of 18 guys who could be in the minors later this year (and add T.J. Oakes) I will be posting more after today's games.

True, Jlovren, but he is left-handed. Lefties are a different breed and the Twins have a dearth of them at the moment.

RBIs are not the end all, be all in terms of value. His OBP is highly valuable. His value is more like a $15 million guy now. Mauer is not simply a .300 hitter, he's a .380+ OBP batter. He gets on base for Willingham and company to drive him in (and hopefully Dozier, who should be hitting 5th). And what is a "true leader" exactly?

Yes, I believe he should be indeed. I think he can succeed as an excellent setup man.

I don't know much about him and there is a pretty small sample size to work with.

Because there has to be something positive to talk about, and in part as a lead-in to going through my top 50 prospects heading into the year, there are a number of players of interest to look at instead of looking at Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis, and Nick Blackburn starts. Here are 6 stories at each currently-playing level (and one extra): At Rochester: 1. Ben Revere is hitting well again, and while he is not drawing walks, it is interesting to see that batting average rise above .320. I still wonder what the season would look like if the Twins had decided, properly, to make Willingham be a professional baseball player and move to RF while Revere platooned in LF with Plouffe or by now, Matt Carson. That decision to keep the Hammer in left had a chain effect. Parmelee was kept where he didn't belong. Clete Thomas and Eric Komatsu were signed and Mastroianni has been brought up. Those last three moves made the nice compliment to Revere, Matt Carson, not a possibility, even though it looks like a good platoon in LF with Revere and Carson. Willingham is going to have to move to RF or maybe first base. Or at least he should. I don't really understand it. I am not claiming that this would have been a monumental shift in the outcome of the season, but it is undoubtedly the case that Revere would have brought more than those players trying to play RF this year. 2. Matt Carson is hitting very well. .780 OPS, and he can play all three OF spots. Can hit the ball a long way, even if he has only homered once so far. 3. Anthony Slama's numbers are ridiculously good. He is deserving of a shot with this team struggling so much. I almost would say that the Twins are trying to save face . . . like they don't want to promote him and have it turn out that he is a good reliever after all of this time keeping him in AAA while he dominated every year. The walks do not make his WHIP egregious at all. 4. Deolis Guerra will be up with the Twins this year. And it won't just because the Twins have to see what he can do--he will have deserved the chance. The velocity is down, but he and Slama are interesting hurlers who don't hurl very hard, yet are still dominating at triple AAA. 5. Lester Oliveros. Powerish reliever, should get a chance again with the Twins this year. He got some good innings in AA since the AAA bullpen was crammed. With Guerra, could be an effective RH middle relief duo who pitch rather differently (and maybe they may Alex Burnett a trade candidate) 6. Pedro Florimon. A solid pickup to add minor league depth, but may be appearing this year for the Twins if injury hits any of the three middle infielders. At New Britain: 1. Deibinson Romero is returning to serviceability, and at a position of need for the Twins right now. I am surprised that he has not been called up to AAA yet, but given that the Twins have sent their two third basemen down to AAA, my surprise is unfounded. 2. Chris Colabello is a good story. The indy league acquisition is holding his own at AA with a .768 OPS. He has shown some good power. 3. Aaron Hicks--the prospect some Twins fans have come to love to hate--is doing fairly well this year and is showing that he belongs at AA. He is striking out too much, but is on base for a 15 homer/30 steal season this year. 4. Steve Hirschfeld--off-speed pitcher who is repeating New Britain with slightly better numbers. He is not a strikeout pitcher, but 32 in 40.2 innings isn't terrible. 5. David Bromberg--Please let this poor guy have a comeback year. A lot of people have forgotten about Bromberg who a few years ago looked like the guy who would be the first replacement once the Twins starting pitching started going down the toilet. He turns 25 in September. As a starter for New Britain, he has been dominant. He has struck out 20 in his last 16 innings while giving up only five hits and no runs. 6. Andrew Albers--Albers has had some struggles as a starter, but he profiles as a middle or long reliever. He has struck out 34 and walked only three in 42 innings. At Fort Myers: 1. Oswaldo Arcia--It was a little scary seeing Arcia struggle out of the gate this year after falling off last year after his promotion to Fort Myers. He still strikes out too much, but he has already drawn more walks this year than he did in nearly twice the time in Fort Myers last year. If his numbers keep improving and he gets above the .850 OPS mark, he may be moving up to New Britain. 2. Danny Santana--Santana has hit better than I thought, and I actually had high expectations for him this year. He is young like Arcia, but still getting the job done at high-A. The .430 slugging from the middle infielder is very encouraging. The 4/18 BB/K ratio is not. He should work on his plate discipline and he may also be knocking on the door for a promotion late this season. 3. Lance Ray--Ray's numbers in Fort Myers project to be almost identical to those last year in Beloit. That's good in itself, but he also has improved with BB/K rate significantly at the same time. He could be a valuable corner OF/1B guy for the Twins down the road. He is crushing RH pitching this year. 4. Jairo Perez--Perez is showing that his gaudy Beloit numbers in 2011 weren't some fluke. He is killing LH pitching. If he can manage 3B at all, he might be a guy to see time if the post-Danny Valencia era arrives soon. 5. Ricky Bowen--Bowen has pitched 24 innings, striking out 20 and walking only five. He is rather old for Fort Myers, so I would like to see what he does in New Britain. 6. Matthew Hauser--Another guy who belongs in New Britain rather soon. Hauser throws hard and strikes guys out. He has now logged over 62 innings at Fort Myers with 63 strikeouts and 22 walks. At Beloit: 1. Miguel Sano--Sano hasn't slowed down--he has sped up. And now he has more walks than he did all of last year. He could hit 30 homers this year if he stays in Beloit. He strikes out a lot, but that shouldn't shy the organization away from promoting him at some point this year. Striking out isn't the end of the world, and this kind of power is obviously terribly rare in the organization. 2. Eddie Rosario--The power numbers are down, but Rosario's BB/K rate is fantastic (20/17) and the .830 OPS is still very good. The homers are becoming doubles, but that is OK, especially if he can stick at 2B. He still needs ample time at Beloit this year. 3. Matthew Koch--The sample size is very small (49 plate appearances), but Koch's OPS is .879 and he has two homers. Oh, and he is a catcher. 4. Adam Pettersen--The .711 OPS for the guy forced to move all-around the field defensively has been a good showing. I actually think he showed perhaps be promoted first to Fort Myers given his age and defensive versatility. And he was born eight years to the day after yours truly, so there's that. 5. Tim Shibuya--Shibuya just threw a complete game shutout and has been excellent with very similar projected stats from E-Town. He could be a fast-riser in the system plagued by starting pitching prospect injuries and starting pitchers who are terrible yet still pitch in MLB. 6. A.J. Achter--Not sure why he isn't pitching at Fort Myers already. He now has 120+ innings at Beloit with 131 Ks and 40 BB. He is dominating righties this year. And one more: My adopted prospect, Chris Herrmann. In the interest of having two catchers on this "roster" I wanted to include Herrmann. He is not repeating his plate discipline from 2011, and that is rather alarming. His power numbers have certainly jumped. Hopefully he can put it altogether in the remainder of the year. So, that's: C: Chris Herrmann and Matthew Koch. 1B: Chris Colabello and Lance Ray 2B: Eddie Rosario and Adam Pettersen SS: Pedro Florimon and Danny Santana 3B: Miguel Sano, Jairo Perez, and Deibinson Romero OF: Ben Revere, Matt Carson, Aaron Hicks, and Oswaldo Arcia Pitchers: Steve Hirschfeld, David Bromberg, Andrew Albers, Tim Shibuya, Anthony Slama, Deolis Guerra, Lester Oliveros, Ricky Bowen, Matt Hauser, and A.J. Achter

Because there has to be something positive to talk about, and in part as a lead-in to going through my top 50 prospects heading into the year, there are a number of players of interest to look at instead of looking at Carl Pavano, Jason Marquis, and Nick Blackburn starts. Here are 6 stories at each currently-playing level (and one extra): At Rochester: 1. Ben Revere is hitting well again, and while he is not drawing walks, it is interesting to see that batting average rise above .320. I still wonder what the season would look like if the Twins had decided, properly, to make Willingham be a professional baseball player and move to RF while Revere platooned in LF with Plouffe or by now, Matt Carson. That decision to keep the Hammer in left had a chain effect. Parmelee was kept where he didn't belong. Clete Thomas and Eric Komatsu were signed and Mastroianni has been brought up. Those last three moves made the nice compliment to Revere, Matt Carson, not a possibility, even though it looks like a good platoon in LF with Revere and Carson. Willingham is going to have to move to RF or maybe first base. Or at least he should. I don't really understand it. I am not claiming that this would have been a monumental shift in the outcome of the season, but it is undoubtedly the case that Revere would have brought more than those players trying to play RF this year. 2. Matt Carson is hitting very well. .780 OPS, and he can play all three OF spots. Can hit the ball a long way, even if he has only homered once so far. 3. Anthony Slama's numbers are ridiculously good. He is deserving of a shot with this team struggling so much. I almost would say that the Twins are trying to save face . . . like they don't want to promote him and have it turn out that he is a good reliever after all of this time keeping him in AAA while he dominated every year. The walks do not make his WHIP egregious at all. 4. Deolis Guerra will be up with the Twins this year. And it won't just because the Twins have to see what he can do--he will have deserved the chance. The velocity is down, but he and Slama are interesting hurlers who don't hurl very hard, yet are still dominating at triple AAA. 5. Lester Oliveros. Powerish reliever, should get a chance again with the Twins this year. He got some good innings in AA since the AAA bullpen was crammed. With Guerra, could be an effective RH middle relief duo who pitch rather differently (and maybe they may Alex Burnett a trade candidate) 6. Pedro Florimon. A solid pickup to add minor league depth, but may be appearing this year for the Twins if injury hits any of the three middle infielders. At New Britain: 1. Deibinson Romero is returning to serviceability, and at a position of need for the Twins right now. I am surprised that he has not been called up to AAA yet, but given that the Twins have sent their two third basemen down to AAA, my surprise is unfounded. 2. Chris Colabello is a good story. The indy league acquisition is holding his own at AA with a .768 OPS. He has shown some good power. 3. Aaron Hicks--the prospect some Twins fans have come to love to hate--is doing fairly well this year and is showing that he belongs at AA. He is striking out too much, but is on base for a 15 homer/30 steal season this year. 4. Steve Hirschfeld--off-speed pitcher who is repeating New Britain with slightly better numbers. He is not a strikeout pitcher, but 32 in 40.2 innings isn't terrible. 5. David Bromberg--Please let this poor guy have a comeback year. A lot of people have forgotten about Bromberg who a few years ago looked like the guy who would be the first replacement once the Twins starting pitching started going down the toilet. He turns 25 in September. As a starter for New Britain, he has been dominant. He has struck out 20 in his last 16 innings while giving up only five hits and no runs. 6. Andrew Albers--Albers has had some struggles as a starter, but he profiles as a middle or long reliever. He has struck out 34 and walked only three in 42 innings. At Fort Myers: 1. Oswaldo Arcia--It was a little scary seeing Arcia struggle out of the gate this year after falling off last year after his promotion to Fort Myers. He still strikes out too much, but he has already drawn more walks this year than he did in nearly twice the time in Fort Myers last year. If his numbers keep improving and he gets above the .850 OPS mark, he may be moving up to New Britain. 2. Danny Santana--Santana has hit better than I thought, and I actually had high expectations for him this year. He is young like Arcia, but still getting the job done at high-A. The .430 slugging from the middle infielder is very encouraging. The 4/18 BB/K ratio is not. He should work on his plate discipline and he may also be knocking on the door for a promotion late this season. 3. Lance Ray--Ray's numbers in Fort Myers project to be almost identical to those last year in Beloit. That's good in itself, but he also has improved with BB/K rate significantly at the same time. He could be a valuable corner OF/1B guy for the Twins down the road. He is crushing RH pitching this year. 4. Jairo Perez--Perez is showing that his gaudy Beloit numbers in 2011 weren't some fluke. He is killing LH pitching. If he can manage 3B at all, he might be a guy to see time if the post-Danny Valencia era arrives soon. 5. Ricky Bowen--Bowen has pitched 24 innings, striking out 20 and walking only five. He is rather old for Fort Myers, so I would like to see what he does in New Britain. 6. Matthew Hauser--Another guy who belongs in New Britain rather soon. Hauser throws hard and strikes guys out. He has now logged over 62 innings at Fort Myers with 63 strikeouts and 22 walks. At Beloit: 1. Miguel Sano--Sano hasn't slowed down--he has sped up. And now he has more walks than he did all of last year. He could hit 30 homers this year if he stays in Beloit. He strikes out a lot, but that shouldn't shy the organization away from promoting him at some point this year. Striking out isn't the end of the world, and this kind of power is obviously terribly rare in the organization. 2. Eddie Rosario--The power numbers are down, but Rosario's BB/K rate is fantastic (20/17) and the .830 OPS is still very good. The homers are becoming doubles, but that is OK, especially if he can stick at 2B. He still needs ample time at Beloit this year. 3. Matthew Koch--The sample size is very small (49 plate appearances), but Koch's OPS is .879 and he has two homers. Oh, and he is a catcher. 4. Adam Pettersen--The .711 OPS for the guy forced to move all-around the field defensively has been a good showing. I actually think he showed perhaps be promoted first to Fort Myers given his age and defensive versatility. And he was born eight years to the day after yours truly, so there's that. 5. Tim Shibuya--Shibuya just threw a complete game shutout and has been excellent with very similar projected stats from E-Town. He could be a fast-riser in the system plagued by starting pitching prospect injuries and starting pitchers who are terrible yet still pitch in MLB. 6. A.J. Achter--Not sure why he isn't pitching at Fort Myers already. He now has 120+ innings at Beloit with 131 Ks and 40 BB. He is dominating righties this year. And one more: My adopted prospect, Chris Herrmann. In the interest of having two catchers on this "roster" I wanted to include Herrmann. He is not repeating his plate discipline from 2011, and that is rather alarming. His power numbers have certainly jumped. Hopefully he can put it altogether in the remainder of the year. So, that's: C: Chris Herrmann and Matthew Koch. 1B: Chris Colabello and Lance Ray 2B: Eddie Rosario and Adam Pettersen SS: Pedro Florimon and Danny Santana 3B: Miguel Sano, Jairo Perez, and Deibinson Romero OF: Ben Revere, Matt Carson, Aaron Hicks, and Oswaldo Arcia Pitchers: Steve Hirschfeld, David Bromberg, Andrew Albers, Tim Shibuya, Anthony Slama, Deolis Guerra, Lester Oliveros, Ricky Bowen, Matt Hauser, and A.J. Achter

Pavano has got to rest that shoulder and get some velocity back so the Twins can get him pitching well enough again to be trade bait at the end of July. I don't know if there aren't better pitchers ready to take over for him (DeVries, Bromberg).

Maybe an earlier than late-season promotion to Fort Myers for Shibuya.

Most blog entries are either not commented on, or the comments are very few. Not sure about your comments . . . Anyway, it take all kinds to have a diversified community of contributors. I could hardly describe the general atmosphere as "rose-colored"!!!