Jeremy Nygaard

Stanek had another rough outing. He will not make the Top 4 in Draft Board 2.0.

Appel's 15 strikeouts last night was a career-high, but took the loss on the heels of two unearned runs. Game story You have to think many teams in the Top 10 are going to better prepare themselves in the event that Appel drops. I would very much assume that the Twins will have a strong plan in place if Appel is on the board at #4 (i.e. have a lot of college seniors ready to go to save money in rounds 2-10)

Highlights from last night's no-no. (A hit changed to an error in the 6th inning.) [video=youtube;kqSYdR1znBs]

Windle threw a no-hitter today. Update tomorrow.

I'm at the point now where I think Hicks should be an opening day starter. If - at some point this year - he goes into a giant swoon, send him down for three weeks to help him restore confidence and bring him back when he's showing it. Oh, that gives the Twins another year of service too.

Roberts has had knee injuries before right? Same knee? Same issues? If meniscus is fixable, it's a longer recovery. If they just clip the cartilage off, it is much quicker.

Not a good day for Tom Windle today.

I don't know that it would be worth the time the collection of us would put into it. Even if we covered 30 guys, the reality is that one (maybe 2) would end up being Twins. My hope is that I can get enough of a pulse of what the Twins plan to do that I can point readers to guys that may be of interest. Or have enough information at my disposal that after the draft, you can get an idea of who the guy is. With that being said, feel free to start a thread on any potential draftee. I'll offer anything information that I can.

I mentioned Anderson on my initial draft board. And I agree. He was also rock-solid today.

Stanek came out firing, throwing in the low 90s before hitting 96-97 later with a good slider in the mid-80s. At this point, Stanek should be a guy the Twins have even more solidly in their cross-hairs (due to Appel pulling away - though it's early). Stanek is fighting a little of this production vs perception identity-crisis that Appel was dealing with early last year. Stanek's ceiling isn't as high, but still appears to be a Top 5 guy.

Indiana State's game tonight was cancelled. Manaea should be on the bump tomorrow.

Appel dominates Texas. Box.

Thanks to our favorite beat writer for MLB.com, I was able to add some incentives for Burton and (assuming they are the same) Perkins. Perkins should stand to make a few hundred thousand dollars extra thanks to the incentives.

I'm on board. Rodon and Beede both highly-regarded.

I don't discount that. That would be my preference too.

Soriano is similar. Older, not as good offensively anymore. Probably would cost the Yankees less in money and players. I wouldn't debate that he would be a decent fit for the Yankees.

Given what the Twins renewed their contracts at: Tim Wood - 675K Alex Burnett - 510K Josh Roenicke - 505K Anthony Swarzak - 502.5K I think Wood is a given and Swarzak might feel the squeeze. I also wouldn't be surprised if Swarzak cleared waivers and was stretched out in Rochester as a starter.

I hope to make this the first edition of a series where I weigh in on debatable topics at appropriate times. Maybe this particular one would be more appropriate at the trade deadline. In fact, I know it would be. However, given the news out of Tampa that Yankees LF Curtis Granderson broke his arm today and will miss 10 weeks, I think taking a look at this scenario during Spring Training seems somewhat appropriate. [ATTACH=CONFIG]3340[/ATTACH] (http://www.gogonzojournal.com) WILLINGHAM'S PROS: Power. The Hammer hit 35 home runs in his Twins debut. While Harmon Killebrew owns the Top 8 Twins single-season home run records, Willingham is tied with Bob Allison for 9th. Simply put, Willingham is one of the best home run hitters the Twins have ever had. Contract. There is no arguing that Willingham is signed to a very team-friendly contract. He is on the hook for $7 million this year. If he makes 525 plate appearances in 2013, he will trigger a clause that makes his contract worth $8 million in 2014, which is still very reasonable. Likability. While it's possible no one will ever be more likable than Jim Thome, Willingham is up there. While not hitting Jackjobs (that's for you, Parker), Willingham (or, more accurately, his wife) was tweeting pictures of him and his newborn son. Willingham is very active in the community and has his own charity. It should also be noted that if you google "Josh Willingham arrested" the results you're going to get are stories about Alabama and Auburn football. Value. We'll get more into this in the next topic, but Willingham's value might never be higher. WILLINGHAM'S CONS: Age. The Hammer just turned 34 last week. On a team that is struggling to compete - and appears to be rebuilding - it is unlikely that Willingham will be there when things turn around. Durability. While Willingham had career-highs in both Home Runs and RBI, he also set new marks in games played (145) and plate appearances (615). He's been sidelined due to varying degrees of back, neck, shoulder and ankle injuries. The likelihood that Willingham sustains improved durability as he approaches his mid-30s is not high. Which brings me back to why his "value" is not only high, but also delicate. Defense. Willingham's value is tied up in his bat, as his defense is below replacement-level and declining. His defense may even appear worse now that he's not sharing ground with Ben Revere and Denard Span. SUMMARY: I believe I share the same opinion as the Twins Front Office exhibited last season and this offseason: We'd have to be blown away to make Willingham available. So could the Yankees do it? Well, maybe would they want to is the first question. Losing Granderson (lefty) means that Matt Diaz and Juan Rivera assume his spot for now. Both are right-handed, but neither very good. Even if Granderson misses only 5 weeks, he'll return to a lineup that features Brett Gardner and Ichiro (both lefties) in the outfield and Travis Hafner (also a lefty) as the primary DH. Wouldn't they benefit from adding another right-handed hitter? I would think so. So begs the question again... could the Yankees blow the Twins away? That's a question I've been considering since the Granderson news broke this afternoon. The rumor last year was that a return on Willingham wouldn't be higher than a back-of-the-rotation starter. I thought it was crazy then and I think it's crazy now. WHAT WOULD IT TAKE: I don't think the Yankees would part with prospect C Gary Sanchez. Maybe I draw the line in the sand there: He'd need to be included in any deal. The 57th ranked prospect in baseball (so says BA) will probably be ready in 2015. He would fit into prospect rankings right next to Alex Meyer. Sanchez and a low-level "C" pitching prospect (like LHP Rony Bautista) would likely be enough of an offer to say "yes". Without Sanchez, is there any other way? I would never say never. My favorite Yankees prospect is OF Tyler Austin, who is the youngest of the Yankees top three OF prospects (Mason Williams and Slade Heathcott), but has already advanced to the highest level (AA). Austin, who bats right-handed, could join Oswaldo Arcia as the "Future of the Corners". The Twins could also give him another shot at 3B, where he logged a majority of his innings in 2011. Austin ranked #77 (BA) and #75 (MLB.com) on pre-season prospect lists. Like Arcia, Austin "flat-out rakes". In addition to Austin, I would ask for RHP Jose Campos (who has a checkered injury past) or LHP Manny Banuelos (who is out this year after having Tommy John surgery) and, for good measure, I still want that low-level pitching prospect included as well. If the Yankees balk - and Willingham plays out his contract as a Twin - I'm still a happy camper for all of the reasons I listed above. What are your thoughts? Is Josh Willingham part of the Twins solution as their Left Fielder? Or is what he could bring back in a trade a better part of the solution?

Impressive list! It stuns me that a rookie-league pitching coach has the most followers in the organization.

With contract renewal details in the books, I think the R&P might be put to bed until first cuts... but who knows?! LINK

There's a difference between "these are the greatest Twins of all time" and "these are the guys who had the greatest potential at 18". I'll stand by my statement that Buxton fits into the latter category. I'll agree that some guys probably fit into both categories. Teams don't pass on guys that fit into the second category. And for every Oliva (or Carew or Puckett or whoever) there is a Brien Taylor (or 30). Hindsight's 20/20. Foresight is a little better than 20/200.

Its all "arguable". He could fall completely on his face, sure. I'm not sure why you continue to talk about his lack of power. He didn't hit them as a high school senior, I get that. He did finish 2nd in the HR Derby at the UA game, not a game situation but still "power". He also hit 4 HRs in 88 at-bats in the GCL. Sano had 4 in 148 at-bats in the GCL in 2010. (Arcia had 5 in 167 at-bats at 18.) I get that Sano was a year younger, but that's his major tool. You can point to small sample-sizes. To which I would refer you back to the small sample size that you're basing this argument on. Buxton is a legit five-tool prospect. He's also only 19. Let's dream on him a little bit and continue this discussion on the Buxton thread. In fairness, I didn't put Buxton #1 on my own prospect list because he's so far away from his ceiling. I think he can be a 30/30 guy that plays plus-plus D with a plus-plus arm. That's a ceiling I wouldn't have put on anyone in my lifetime as a Twins fan. Will he be that guy? Who knows...

Twins. 50 some years. And yes it is.

If Buxton was eligible for this draft, he would be gone before the Twins pick. So the Twins would end up with two guys held in lesser regard than Buxton... I'd take Buxton and 2013 #4 over 2013 #3 and #5, without a doubt. Other organizations may disagree, but the scout who signed Buxton says he's got almost as many tools (5) as Meadows and Frazier do combined (6), and the Twins would likely take one of those two with that #5 pick. Of course, it's all on projection... and many times, projections are wrong. In my estimation, Buxton has the highest-ceiling of any Twins prospect. Ever. (Didn't realize this was the Manaea thread when I posted it... I'm make sure to take my Buxton discussion to another board.)