Jeremy Nygaard

27th round pick LP Jerad Grundy just announced on Twitter he will be heading back to Kentucky for his senior year. I thought the Twins had a shot to sign him, plus they have a handful of Wildcat lefties in their system. Apparently the pull of #BBN was too strong...

Jim Callis just tweeted that he expects Mazzilli to sign. I would guess that, if he does, he will receive a significant amount of the unspent bonus pool.

You can view the page at http://www.twinsdaily.com/content.php?788-Thursday-s-Minor-League-Round-up

Another slow day around baseball. The Twins activated RP Matt Capps and optioned Kyle Waldrop back to Rochester. The Wings currently have six pitchers on the disabled list, so getting another arm is probably pretty welcome. The Twins reached agreements with 23rd round pick P Travis Huber from Nebraska and 28th round pick P Carson Goldsmith. It was also announced that 6th rounder Andre Martinez (P) will not actually sign after it was reported he agreed to a deal that would pay him $60K over slot. Without knowing the details of this particular case, it should be mentioned that in the past – at least to my knowledge – when signed guys get “unsigned” it’s normally is because of a failed physical. We’ll keep you posted if any other details come out in this case. Tomorrow afternoon at 4pm CT marks the signing deadline (for all non-college seniors). Expect there to be another 3-5 guys that come to terms. Some names to keep in mind as the deadline approaches: L.J. Mazzilli, 2B, Connecticut, Round 9 – Sounds as though the two parties are not close. Erich Knab, P, S. Carolina HS, Round 13 – Probably will take over the 100K, but there is money there. Jarret Leverett, OF, Ga. Southern, Round 15 – College senior will sign at some point if he wants to play professionally. Zach Larson, OF, Florida HS, Round 20 – Considered signable. There are other late-round names that dropped due to signability concerns. They may become options if the Twins pony up all their unspent allowance. A spin around a quiet Thursday: ROCHESTER 4, TOLEDO 3 Box score The Red Wings have closed to within four games of .500. They are now 44-48 and after today, have had 21 different pitchers pick up a win this season. Tonight’s win was credited to Dan Sattler. Sattler gave up two earned runs in two innings allowing a walk and a home run while striking out three. He relieved Jeff Manship, who went five innings allowing eight hits, two walks and an unearned run. He also struck out three. Luis Perdomo picked up his sixth save on the year (with four coming for the Red Wings in July). He struck out two in one inning. Since his promotion to Rochester, he has pitched in seven games (10 2/3 innings) and has only allowed five hits (no walks) and struck out 13. That’s a WHIP of 0.47 and a K/9 of 10.97. Granted this is a very small sample size, but it’s a “lights out” sample size. The Wings had a hard time getting started against former Twin-draftee Andy Oliver. They didn’t get their first hit of the game until a Nishi single in the bottom of the fifth. Fortunately, when he came back out in the 6th, the Red Wings jumped all over him. They were able to plate four runs. Danny Valencia singled in two runs and Tsuyoshi Nishioka doubled in two later that inning. Matt Carson was the only other player to register a hit. According to the team’s post-game press release Danny Valencia has 6 RBI in his last six games. He has 12 in his last 13 games. With Trevor Plouffe firmly entrenched as the Twins third baseman, could Valencia have trade value? NEW BRITAIN 6, TRENTON 7 Box score A tough loss for the Rockcats tonight. Oswaldo Arcia continues to swing a hot bat. He had a triple and a home run (of Dellin Betances), scoring two runs and knocking in three. Five other Rockcats contributed singles. Chris Colabello and Nate Hanson both drove in a run. Defensively, Evan Bigley threw out two runners at home. Aaron Thompson scattered ten hits over five innings. He allowed five runs (four earned), walked two and struck out two. Marty Popham pitched two innings, giving up three hits and two runs (one earned), walking one and striking out two. Edgar Ibarra and Bruce Pugh each pitched one inning, each allowed two hits and each struck out two. FT. MYERS 3, CLEARWATER 4 (12 innings) Box score The Miracle started the night against a rehabbing Roy Halladay for three innings and ended the night allowing a walk-off hit in the twelfth inning. Though Madison Boer allowed 10 hits, there is a lot about his recent performances to be encouraged about. He struck out five in 6 1/3 innings and only walked one. He allowed three runs. This is his fourth straight start where he has made it six or more innings. In those four games, he’s pitched 25 1/3 innings. He has allowed 33 hits, but only five walks. He’s struck out 14. Considering he’s only allowed two home runs, you’d hope that as he progresses, the defenses behind him will improve and more of these batted balls will find gloves instead of holes. Jose Gonzalez pitched out of trouble twice, getting five outs and allowing only one hit. He inherited two runners and stranded them both. A.J. Achter pitched three innings of one-hit, two-strikeout ball. Ricky Bowen got two outs before allowing the walk-off hit. He gave up two hits, a walk and struck out one. Joe Benson, continuing his rehab, batted clean-up and arguably had his best hitting day of the year. He went 3-for-5, finishing only a triple short of the cycle. He drove in two and scored two. He walked once and stole a base as well. Danny Santana and Kyle Knudson each added two hits. Santana had a double and a stolen base. Beyond that, there were a lot of 1-for-5s or 1-for-6s. BELOIT 6, FORT WAYNE 2 Box score The Tincaps tried unsuccessfully to pitch around the top of the Snappers order. (Nine walks to the top five batters.) Jonathan Goncalves, batting in the 6-hole, collected three hits (including a double) and drove in two runs. Stephen Wickens and A.J. Pettersen both had doubles. Miguel Sano had a sacrifice fly to knock in his 62nd run. He trails Evan Bigley (New Britain) by two for the organizational lead. Jason Wheeler pitched eight strong innings. He allowed only two runs on five hits (one home run) and a walk. He struck out five. He improved to 10-4. Only Scott Diamond has more wins on the year. And no one in the organization has as many wins for one team. Clint Dempster struck out two in a one-hit ninth. ELIZABETHTON 12, GREENEVILLE 1 Box score Before you attribute the offensive success to a hitter-friendly league, let me remind you that Greeneville was held to one run on two hits. Hein Robb dominated for four innings. He allowed a walk and struck out four, but left with a no-hitter intact. Tyler Herr improved to 3-0, pitching two innings and allowing a hit and run. Zach Jones (K), Luis Nunez (BB, 3 K) and Mason Melotakis (H, 2 K) each pitched one inning. All nine hitters recorded hits and all but Rory Rhodes scored at least one run. Niko Goodrum had two hits (a double) and drove in three runs. Travis Harrison’s lone hit was a triple. Candido Pimentel had three singles. GCL TWINS 6, GCL ORIOLES 5 Box score Rene Tosoni went 2-for-4 with a double in a rehab start. Aderlin Mejia and Joel Licon both added two hits including a double each. John Murphy and Jacob Younis each had two singles. Murphy also stole two bases and now has nine on the young season. Sam Gibbons pitched three innings, allowing seven hits, but only three runs (two earned). He struck out three. Gerardo Ramirez allowed a hit and a walk and struck out four in three innings. Melciades DeLaCruz allowed two runs on three hits in two innings. Chris Mazza continues to pitch well, picking up his first save, giving up only a hit in one inning. --- Players of the Day for Thursday, July 12, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Hein Robb [ATTACH=CONFIG]1532[/ATTACH] (Facebook) Hitters of the Day – Joe Benson [ATTACH=CONFIG]1533[/ATTACH] (http://www.fsn.com) --- A Look Ahead – Friday, July 13, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Toledo – RHP Liam Hendriks (6-0, 1.69) New Britain vs Trenton – RHP Shairon Martis (0-1, 8.25) Ft. Myers at Clearwater – LHP Pat Dean (6-5, 4.02) Beloit at Kane County – RHP Matt Summers (8-4, 3.58) Elizabethton at Greeneville – NO STARTER ANNOUNCED GCL Twins at GCL Rays – NO STARTER ANNOUNCED --- 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.

Baxendale is pitching in E-town. Mazzilli will come down to the deadline. I'd put the percentage of him going unsigned at 80%.

Yeah, the Twins will lose the $200K for that spot, but his deal was reportedly for 260K, so the team will have an extra 60K. It probably won't make a difference, but you never know...

Jim Callis just reported an "unsigning". It was Andre Martinez. Purely speculation here, but I would guess they came to some sort of an agreement, he reported to Fort Myers for a physical and the Twins found something they didn't like. Now there will be no deal... and extra money in the pot (the overage that was reported he got).

If the Twins roster remains unchanged between now and the end of the year, the team payroll will be $99,676,000 (assuming that Joe Nathan's buyout was, as stated previously, on last year's books). As players are activated from the disabled list - and other players are sent down - that number should drop. Regardless, the number for this year is, in fact, under $100 million. The formatting is not great, but you can view it all here. I have also not added contract details for each player, but for most guys that have split time between the major and minors, you can figure out their prorated salary like this: PrS = (S/183 * D) with S being their yearly salary ($480k being the minimum) and D being their days of service time.

Agreed. All of the unsigned guys - as of now - aren't gonna sign. And of the big names (Appel, Gausman and Giolito), Appel has by far the least leverage.

From Jim Bowden's latest piece in discussion about the Nats potentially trading Alex Meyer:

I used to subscribe to BA's Top Performers email, but after looking at it - seeing batting and pitching lines for hundreds of prospects - and not getting much out of it, I unsubscribed. While browsing their website today, I found a link to "Yesterday's Top Performers". I clicked on it and expected to see the same format I saw with the emails. I was wrong. Instead what I saw where the top 10 daily performers based on Runs Created (for batters) and Game Score (for pitchers). I went through each day (through 7/6) and compiled the Twins Top 10 daily performances for hitters and pitchers. Date/Player/Runs Created 6/20 Niko Goodrum 4.09 4/22 Oswaldo Arcia 4.03 5/10 Oswaldo Arcia 3.76 4/9 Miguel Sano 3.69 5/20 Oswaldo Arcia 3.62 6/28 Rory Rhodes 3.56 7/2 Romy Jimenez 3.46 6/2 Oswaldo Arcia 3.42 6/28 Romy Jimenez 3.42 4/20 Miguel Sano 3.25 Date/Player/Game Score 6/9 Liam Hendriks 87 6/26 Matt Summers 84 6/4 Liam Hendriks 76 5/7 Matt Summers 74 5/24 Liam Hendriks 72 7/2 Kuo Hua Lo 72 6/10 BJ Hermsen 71 5/1 BJ Hermsen 69 4/13 BJ Hermsen 68 4/19 BJ Hermsen 68 6/3 Madison Boer 68 6/23 Taylor Rogers 68 7/5 BJ Hermsen 68 The conclusions that I drew from compiling these lists: Oswaldo Arcia has been even better than I realized. He made the Top 10 for the Twins a bunch, but his name also appeared a bunch more times on the daily report. Miguel Sano hasn't shown up on the daily report since April 30th. Chris Parmelee, Chris Herrmann, Max Kepler and Aaron Hicks all showed up multiple times. BJ Hermsen's name appeared nearly every time he started for Fort Myers. He also made the list pitching for New Britain. He's got to be moving up Twins prospect lists. Liam Hendriks dominates AAA like he sucks for the Twins. Matt Summers has had a few excellent games for Beloit and will continue to get better with experience. Logan Darnell was the only other player to be mentioned multiple times. Many lower-level pitchers made the Top 10 daily report list once. (There have been some games in the last couple of nights that will probably change the lists a little bit; unfortunately, those days aren't posted yet.)

I used to subscribe to BA's Top Performers email, but after looking at it - seeing batting and pitching lines for hundreds of prospects - and not getting much out of it, I unsubscribed. While browsing their website today, I found a link to "Yesterday's Top Performers". I clicked on it and expected to see the same format I saw with the emails. I was wrong. Instead what I saw where the top 10 daily performers based on Runs Created (for batters) and Game Score (for pitchers). I went through each day (through 7/6) and compiled the Twins Top 10 daily performances for hitters and pitchers. Date/Player/Runs Created 6/20 Niko Goodrum 4.09 4/22 Oswaldo Arcia 4.03 5/10 Oswaldo Arcia 3.76 4/9 Miguel Sano 3.69 5/20 Oswaldo Arcia 3.62 6/28 Rory Rhodes 3.56 7/2 Romy Jimenez 3.46 6/2 Oswaldo Arcia 3.42 6/28 Romy Jimenez 3.42 4/20 Miguel Sano 3.25 Date/Player/Game Score 6/9 Liam Hendriks 87 6/26 Matt Summers 84 6/4 Liam Hendriks 76 5/7 Matt Summers 74 5/24 Liam Hendriks 72 7/2 Kuo Hua Lo 72 6/10 BJ Hermsen 71 5/1 BJ Hermsen 69 4/13 BJ Hermsen 68 4/19 BJ Hermsen 68 6/3 Madison Boer 68 6/23 Taylor Rogers 68 7/5 BJ Hermsen 68 The conclusions that I drew from compiling these lists: Oswaldo Arcia has been even better than I realized. He made the Top 10 for the Twins a bunch, but his name also appeared a bunch more times on the daily report. Miguel Sano hasn't shown up on the daily report since April 30th. Chris Parmelee, Chris Herrmann, Max Kepler and Aaron Hicks all showed up multiple times. BJ Hermsen's name appeared nearly every time he started for Fort Myers. He also made the list pitching for New Britain. He's got to be moving up Twins prospect lists. Liam Hendriks dominates AAA like he sucks for the Twins. Matt Summers has had a few excellent games for Beloit and will continue to get better with experience. Logan Darnell was the only other player to be mentioned multiple times. Many lower-level pitchers made the Top 10 daily report list once. (There have been some games in the last couple of nights that will probably change the lists a little bit; unfortunately, those days aren't posted yet.)

Back in the lineup. Hit, couple RBI, error, playing third. Typical day at the office.

Thanks for the links.

Good for Walters after a rocky first rehab start.

Not that it's the top 50 prospects in baseball, but the original Future's Game rosters featured 6 AAA players (two of whom have since been promoted) and 24 AA players. To me, that's a pretty good indication where the best prospects reside (though other things obviously factor in).

He's out with a quad injury. And he's been brutal. There is no chance, wait... there is a 1% chance he gets promoted. Until I hear something more concrete, I'm gonna go with his release being due to "non-baseball" reasons.

It will be interesting to see what the rotation looks like when all are healthy.

Revere CF, Mastroianni RF, Mauer DH, Willingham LF, Morneau 1B, Plouffe 3B, Dozier SS, Butera C, Casilla 2B & Liriano

This thread wasn't started to compare Lee to Morneau. (The Morneau discussion is moot if he can't hit). It was started to compare Lee's expiring contract to Liriano's and what you can get for Frankie. Maybe it proves you can get more fo Frankie. Or maybe it doesn't...

Looking at the pitchers on the active roster and disabled list: Can't be optioned due to service time (3): Pavano, Capps, Liriano. Out of options (6): Perkins, Burton, Swarzak, Gray, Walters, Deduno. Option left, but not going anywhere (3): Diamond, Duensing, Burnett Options remaining (4): De Vries, Waldrop, Robertson, Fien My opinion is that the Twins planned on naming Deduno a starter as soon as Blackburn was demoted, but they also wanted to add to the bullpen in between those two starts. Fien provides an extra bullpen arm. The only other choice was Guerra, who has since been added to the D.L. When the Twins have to scale back an arm or two all of Fien, Waldrop and Robertson can simply be sent down. For as much flack as the team gets for leaving injured guys on the active roster and wasting roster spots, they weren't giving enough (any?) credit for this piece of roster maneuvering.

I noticed that too. Blackburn was definitely optioned, so he is still on the 40-man. My guess is that he hasn't repoted to Rochester yet, so that's why he's listed as "reserve".

Apparently my last post went through...