Jeremy Nygaard

He looks like a Marvin Gaye-Kimbo Slice love child. Last I heard, though, he was beardless... no word on how long it takes to regrow.

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I don't think the Reds have any desire to trade Mesoraco, he's their future catcher. And color me crazy, but I think the Mauer/Doumit/Butera is the way to go moving forward. I read up a lot on Reds prospects last night and if the Twins could get either Cingrani or Daniel Corcino, SS Didi Gregorius and a lower-level pitcher (or Yorman Rodriguez), I think I would pull the trigger.

The Twins were off today, but there was still plenty of action. Trevor Plouffe announced on Twitter this morning that he would be back tomorrow. And before their afternoon (or was it morning?) game, the Red Wings activated Deolis Guerra from the DL and placed Dan Sattler on the DL. Later this evening, the Twins announced they were placing Anthony Swarzak on the DL with a rotator cuff strain. To take his place, the Twins will purchase the contract of RP Luis Perdomo. Since the 40-man roster is full, Carl Pavano was transferred to the 60-day DL. Pavano last pitched on June 1, so he will be eligible to come off the DL well before he’s actually ready to be activated. (He's starting his rehab in Fort Myers, so who knows how long it will take for him to get ready.) Throughout the day, there were various trade rumors involving many current Twins. As the deadline approaches, Francisco Liriano (Orioles and Angels) appears almost certain to be moved. Denard Span (Reds) is mentioned prominently. Both Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham have had their names brandished about, though the Twins appear set (and rightfully so!) on keeping Willingham around. (Seriously, if he hits 40 HRs, stays healthy and has a decent first half next year... then let's talk about trading him.) And now today’s round-up: ROCHESTER 9, SYRACUSE 17 Box score I’m not gonna lie: After reading up on newest addition, Eric Hurley, I was a little excited. Not because I thought he’d dominate AAA and be the answer for the Twins of 2013’s problems; but because he was once a highly-ranked, untouchable prospect. The Rangers wouldn’t trade him for anybody… and then he got hurt… and stayed hurt. He made a brief appearance for the Angels this year (so brief he didn’t even pitch) before eventually electing to become a free agent. The Twins/Red Wings picked him off the scrap heap and inserted him into their rotation to see if he had anything left in the tank. 2 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, BB, K, 2 HR, HBP, 35 strikes on 55 pitches. His current 23.63 IL ERA makes his 5.81 PCL ERA look pretty good. The crazy thing about today’s game was that when Hurley left in the 3rd inning, the game was tied at 7. Obviously the Red Wings bats showed up to play. Unfortunately, the Syracuse Chiefs were a little more ready to play. The bullpen combined to finish the game, but not before yielding 15 more hits and 10 more earned runs. Caleb Thielbar (2 ER, 4 H, 4 outs), Kyle Waldrop (5 ER, 5 H, 5 outs) and Luke French (2 ER, 3 H, 4 outs) were all pretty brutal. The lone pitching bright spot was the return of Deolis Guerra who allowed only one run on three hits in two innings. He struck out two. For as bad as the pitching was today, the offense was exactly opposite. The offense contributed nine runs on nine hits. The three guys that stood out offensively were Brian Dinkelman (2-for-5, 3 R, 2B), Chris Parmelee (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB) and Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI). It wasn’t enough however as the 3-6 hitters combined to go 2-for-15, including Danny Valencia’s 0-for-4 showing. The Red Wings hit the road to continue their pursuit of a playoff berth, playing a 4-game series in Columbus starting tomorrow. NEW BRITAIN vs READING - postponed FT. MYERS 4, BREVARD COUNTY 3 Box score Tom Stuifbergen pitched his best game of the season, lasting into the eighth inning. He allowed only five hits and a walk, yielding two runs and striking out a season-high seven batters. Miguel Munoz recorded the last five outs (all groundouts) for his first save. He allowed one hit and one run. The Miracle scored all four of their runs in the 2nd inning. Josmil Pinto got the scoring started with a solo home run. Anderson Hidalgo knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly before Danny Santana plated two with a triple. No batter had more than one hit. BELOIT 1, BURLINGTON 4 Box score The Snappers bats didn’t do much damage tonight, scoring only one run on six hits. Stephen Wickens led the offensive charge with two singles. He added a stolen base (but was caught stealing once too). Kennys Vargas continues hitting the ball, knocking a double to drive in the team’s lone run. Miguel Sano went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. David Hurlbut went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one. Tim Atherton allowed a hit in one inning. Steven Gruver made his fourth bullpen appearance of the season allowing a run in one inning. DJ Baxendale made his Snappers debut striking out one in an inning of work. Baxendale’s professional numbers are pretty sick so far: 7 G, 8 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 18 K. Next year will be a better indication for Baxendale’s prospect status, as he will more-than-likely be moved to Beloit’s starting rotation. ELIZABETHTON 10, GREENEVILLE 2 Box score The E-Twins did what the E-Twins do… pound the ball on offense and get great pitching from their staff. Adam Walker continues to show off his power, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. Walker is a legitimate power prospect. Max Kepler hit his 6th home run (of the season and in his last ten games). Kepler recently said he wants to bulk up to about 240 and views himself in the “Josh Hamilton” mold. Rory Rhodes continues to hit since his demotion, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Niko Goodrum added his 7th double of the season. Ricardo Arevalo had another rough outing. He last 4 1/3 innings giving up two runs on four hits. He allowed two walks and struck out five. While not a terrible stat line, He’s now given up multiple earned runs in his last six starts. This is his 4th year in rookie ball and he has a career record of 1-14… not exactly awe-inspiring numbers. Brett Lee continued his stellar season in relief. He pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball. Luis Nunez, who’s been hot-and-cold all year, pitched the last two innings. He allowed no hits and struck out three. When Nunez is on – which he was today – he is nearly unhittable. GCL TWINS 7, GCL RAYS 2 Box score The GCL affiliate was powered by a 6-run 5th inning. Three of those runs came on one swing of Byron Buxton’s bat, a home run to left field. (Buxton improved his BA to .190.) Bryan Haar (3-for-4) also doubled in the innings. Brian Compton, son of Twins scout Ken Compton, went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in his professional debut. Compton was an undrafted free agent out of Cal State – L.A. Sam Gibbons had his best outing since the beginning of the month, allowing two hits in five innings. He struck out two. Gibbons will try to continue the trend of unearthly successful players from Down Under. Andre Martinez, of the “signed, unsigned, signed again” fame, made his pro debut by walking two and allowing a hit in 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs (one earned). Martinez was signed at a much-discounted rate after his physical showed some shoulder issues. Hung Yi Chen allowed one hit in 2 2/3 innings. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, July 26, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Tom Stuifbergen [ATTACH=CONFIG]1676[/ATTACH] Hitters of the Day – Chris Parmelee [ATTACH=CONFIG]1677[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Friday, July 27, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – RHP Jeff Manship (6-1, 2.29) New Britain at Reading – LHP Logan Darnell (8-7, 4.47) Ft. Myers vs Brevard County – RHP Madison Boer (4-9, 6.69) Beloit at Burlington – RHP Tyler Jones (1-3, 5.06) Elizabethton vs Greenefield – RHP Hudson Boyd (2-3, 1.32) GCL Twins vsGCL Red Sox – TBA --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome.

The Twins were off today, but there was still plenty of action. Trevor Plouffe announced on Twitter this morning that he would be back tomorrow. And before their afternoon (or was it morning?) game, the Red Wings activated Deolis Guerra from the DL and placed Dan Sattler on the DL. Later this evening, the Twins announced they were placing Anthony Swarzak on the DL with a rotator cuff strain. To take his place, the Twins will purchase the contract of RP Luis Perdomo. Since the 40-man roster is full, Carl Pavano was transferred to the 60-day DL. Pavano last pitched on June 1, so he will be eligible to come off the DL well before he’s actually ready to be activated. (He's starting his rehab in Fort Myers, so who knows how long it will take for him to get ready.) Throughout the day, there were various trade rumors involving many current Twins. As the deadline approaches, Francisco Liriano (Orioles and Angels) appears almost certain to be moved. Denard Span (Reds) is mentioned prominently. Both Justin Morneau and Josh Willingham have had their names brandished about, though the Twins appear set (and rightfully so!) on keeping Willingham around. (Seriously, if he hits 40 HRs, stays healthy and has a decent first half next year... then let's talk about trading him.) And now today’s round-up: ROCHESTER 9, SYRACUSE 17 Box score I’m not gonna lie: After reading up on newest addition, Eric Hurley, I was a little excited. Not because I thought he’d dominate AAA and be the answer for the Twins of 2013’s problems; but because he was once a highly-ranked, untouchable prospect. The Rangers wouldn’t trade him for anybody… and then he got hurt… and stayed hurt. He made a brief appearance for the Angels this year (so brief he didn’t even pitch) before eventually electing to become a free agent. The Twins/Red Wings picked him off the scrap heap and inserted him into their rotation to see if he had anything left in the tank. 2 2/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, BB, K, 2 HR, HBP, 35 strikes on 55 pitches. His current 23.63 IL ERA makes his 5.81 PCL ERA look pretty good. The crazy thing about today’s game was that when Hurley left in the 3rd inning, the game was tied at 7. Obviously the Red Wings bats showed up to play. Unfortunately, the Syracuse Chiefs were a little more ready to play. The bullpen combined to finish the game, but not before yielding 15 more hits and 10 more earned runs. Caleb Thielbar (2 ER, 4 H, 4 outs), Kyle Waldrop (5 ER, 5 H, 5 outs) and Luke French (2 ER, 3 H, 4 outs) were all pretty brutal. The lone pitching bright spot was the return of Deolis Guerra who allowed only one run on three hits in two innings. He struck out two. For as bad as the pitching was today, the offense was exactly opposite. The offense contributed nine runs on nine hits. The three guys that stood out offensively were Brian Dinkelman (2-for-5, 3 R, 2B), Chris Parmelee (3-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, BB) and Tsuyoshi Nishioka (1-for-4, 2B, 3 RBI). It wasn’t enough however as the 3-6 hitters combined to go 2-for-15, including Danny Valencia’s 0-for-4 showing. The Red Wings hit the road to continue their pursuit of a playoff berth, playing a 4-game series in Columbus starting tomorrow. NEW BRITAIN vs READING - postponed FT. MYERS 4, BREVARD COUNTY 3 Box score Tom Stuifbergen pitched his best game of the season, lasting into the eighth inning. He allowed only five hits and a walk, yielding two runs and striking out a season-high seven batters. Miguel Munoz recorded the last five outs (all groundouts) for his first save. He allowed one hit and one run. The Miracle scored all four of their runs in the 2nd inning. Josmil Pinto got the scoring started with a solo home run. Anderson Hidalgo knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly before Danny Santana plated two with a triple. No batter had more than one hit. BELOIT 1, BURLINGTON 4 Box score The Snappers bats didn’t do much damage tonight, scoring only one run on six hits. Stephen Wickens led the offensive charge with two singles. He added a stolen base (but was caught stealing once too). Kennys Vargas continues hitting the ball, knocking a double to drive in the team’s lone run. Miguel Sano went 1-for-4 with a strikeout. David Hurlbut went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out one. Tim Atherton allowed a hit in one inning. Steven Gruver made his fourth bullpen appearance of the season allowing a run in one inning. DJ Baxendale made his Snappers debut striking out one in an inning of work. Baxendale’s professional numbers are pretty sick so far: 7 G, 8 2/3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 18 K. Next year will be a better indication for Baxendale’s prospect status, as he will more-than-likely be moved to Beloit’s starting rotation. ELIZABETHTON 10, GREENEVILLE 2 Box score The E-Twins did what the E-Twins do… pound the ball on offense and get great pitching from their staff. Adam Walker continues to show off his power, hitting two home runs and driving in three runs. Walker is a legitimate power prospect. Max Kepler hit his 6th home run (of the season and in his last ten games). Kepler recently said he wants to bulk up to about 240 and views himself in the “Josh Hamilton” mold. Rory Rhodes continues to hit since his demotion, going 3-for-5 with a double, two runs and an RBI. Niko Goodrum added his 7th double of the season. Ricardo Arevalo had another rough outing. He last 4 1/3 innings giving up two runs on four hits. He allowed two walks and struck out five. While not a terrible stat line, He’s now given up multiple earned runs in his last six starts. This is his 4th year in rookie ball and he has a career record of 1-14… not exactly awe-inspiring numbers. Brett Lee continued his stellar season in relief. He pitched 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball. Luis Nunez, who’s been hot-and-cold all year, pitched the last two innings. He allowed no hits and struck out three. When Nunez is on – which he was today – he is nearly unhittable. GCL TWINS 7, GCL RAYS 2 Box score The GCL affiliate was powered by a 6-run 5th inning. Three of those runs came on one swing of Byron Buxton’s bat, a home run to left field. (Buxton improved his BA to .190.) Bryan Haar (3-for-4) also doubled in the innings. Brian Compton, son of Twins scout Ken Compton, went 2-for-4 with a run and RBI in his professional debut. Compton was an undrafted free agent out of Cal State – L.A. Sam Gibbons had his best outing since the beginning of the month, allowing two hits in five innings. He struck out two. Gibbons will try to continue the trend of unearthly successful players from Down Under. Andre Martinez, of the “signed, unsigned, signed again” fame, made his pro debut by walking two and allowing a hit in 1 1/3 innings. He allowed two runs (one earned). Martinez was signed at a much-discounted rate after his physical showed some shoulder issues. Hung Yi Chen allowed one hit in 2 2/3 innings. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, July 26, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Tom Stuifbergen [ATTACH=CONFIG]1676[/ATTACH] Hitters of the Day – Chris Parmelee [ATTACH=CONFIG]1677[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Friday, July 27, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Syracuse – RHP Jeff Manship (6-1, 2.29) New Britain at Reading – LHP Logan Darnell (8-7, 4.47) Ft. Myers vs Brevard County – RHP Madison Boer (4-9, 6.69) Beloit at Burlington – RHP Tyler Jones (1-3, 5.06) Elizabethton vs Greenefield – RHP Hudson Boyd (2-3, 1.32) GCL Twins vsGCL Red Sox – TBA --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome.

Hey-yo! He last pitched June 1... so somewhere around the 1st of August.

Some details about Perdomo... Was optioned in 2010, so he has two remaining. If he spends the rest of the season in the big leagues, he'll make (71/183rds) of the vets minimum, which is roughly $186,200. This puts the approximate team payroll at $99,647,000.

Jim Rantz said Tuesday that he had "more discomfort" after throwing, so he'll be backed up, according to the Pioneer Press. If I had to guess - and I'm not probably not alone - he'll go under the knife soon and resume throwing late next season, pretty much wasting two full season.

You're "HOPING" it's Beloit! I think the fact the Snappers season is going to last longer than Fort Myers will play into the decision. All things being equal, he'd probably continue his rehab in Fort Myers with the Miracle... but this year, it's not equal!

Buxton is Jimmy John's fast, has a cannon arm on plus defensive body and a ton of raw power. With that ceiling, it's no wonder he ranks so high on prospect lists.

I would take the value, though I wouldn't necessarily want my return centered around a "toolsy" outfielder. The Twins, on the other hand...

I think the Twins would take either of these minor league pitchers for Carroll. Pat Lehman, AAA RHRP, drafted by the Twins in the 41st round of the 2008 draft out of George Washington. (Washington took him the next year in the 13th round.) Aaron Barrett, hi-A RHRP, drafted by the Twins in 20th round of 2008. Also drafted in 2006 (Dodgers/44) and 2009 (Rangers/27) before the Nats took him in 2010, round 9. Barrett's (lack of) production probably makes him a more likely candidate... regardless, the Twins do like to get their hands on guys that they drafted at one point and these are two in Washington's system.

If, in fact, the Dempster deal falls through, I wonder if the Braves offer Delgado for Frankie.

Ichiro to the Yankees for junk. Glad it wasn't Span...

I'm a big fan of Bogaerts, but he'll probably have to move off SS too... and him and Sano would become redundant. (Unless Sano moves to RF... Bogaerts is another power RH bat in the lineup.) I don't see it happening regardless. Lee is a stud, yes. He's higher-rated than Delgado, but Garza isn't a rental like Dempster. The parallels to the Dempster trade are easy to make. The fact that the Garza domino is falling - not necessarily who he's fetching - is a benefit to the Twins.

I'm not going to disagree with you, because I started to feel the same way... But when Sano's name came up in a BA chat the response was something along the lines of, "it's too early to panic, we expected him to strikeout and we expected him to struggle at third. He has the best raw power in the minors and that hasn't changed. He can improve footwork and he's got a cannon." Don't panic.

It has been widely assumed that after Ryan Dempster gets traded that Francisco Liriano would be the next domino to drop. The report is that Dempster is heading to the Braves for (a package centered around?) Randall Delgado. Delgado was a borderline top 50 prospect coming into year. I expected to immediately hear the attention turn to Frankie... Instead the newest rumor is that the Cubs are going to deal Matt Garza to the Dodgers for Zach Lee and others. This is great news for the Twins. Dempster, a two-month rental, fetched a good prospect and if Garza's off the market this early, there is one less option for buyers. I hope the Frankie is lights out tonight and the price continues to go up... and that the Twins can cash in, if they choose to trade him. I prefer Frankie in a Twins uniform, but I also am a fan of the team adding some pitching quality at the lower levels.

That's a clown question, bro!

It's hard to say on Salcedo. I think he's highly regarded enough that he'd be hard to expose. Santana - like DeLosSantos before him - fits the mold of "speedy MINF" the Twins always add. He's probably 50/50 right now, but if he cools off, they could probably risk it with him. Hermsen was the same draft as Hicks, high schooler, 2008 While I don't think he would stick on a big-league roster, he's done enough for himself this year to be added. I thought Pugh would be added last year before he bombed in AA. If he keeps it up, he will be in the conversation for sure.

Additions to 40-man: Gibson, Hicks, Herrmann (for sure), probably Salcedo and possibly Danny Santana and BJ Hermsen. I kinda doubt that Pugh or Watts will be added. (Pugh was Rule V eligible last year). I think you're probably right on Florimon, but the Twins could probably bring Bromberg back without adding him to the roster. In regards to September my guess would be: Benson, Tosoni and, depending on how depleted the OF is, possibly Arcia. Hicks would probably be better suited going back to the AFL (if that's allowed...?). It would make sense to get both Valencia and Nishi back up as well. (Though if Plouffe's thumb keeps him out, we'll see Valencia sooner than that...) Hendriks, Oliveros and Waldrop will all come up. If Manship doesn't (and possibly even if he does), his Twins career is over. The Twins would also benefit from getting a look at Deolis Guerra, as he's out of options. So, I guess... there's a chance that the full 40 is up minus the injuries... Of course, it's hard to speculate on any of this when the 25- and 40-man may look significantly different come August 1st.

Romy Jimenez = Romy Trinidad. Not sure why MiLB still uses Trinidad.

I don't know about that... but they have a pretty kick-ass waterpark. Their attendance yesterday was approximately what the Snappers pull in an entire year. Oh, and they sell beer too... so I'd guess a lot of those people would fit at a baseball game.

I'm in Rapid City, SD tonight. Far west SD, mountain time zone. The hotel had two FSNs. Colorado and Midwest I figured I'd be watching Cuddy, but Midwest had the Twins broadcast on it... so Twins territory reaches farther than I imagined.

BA lists Tosoni as being transferred to Ft Myers.