Jeremy Nygaard

A couple of feel-good notes from earlier today: Minnesota native and former St. Paul Saint, LRP Caleb Thielbar was recalled and will take the roster spot of LP Pedro Hernandez. He was impressive in his big-league debut as well. (The TwinsDaily Roster & Payroll page has been updated to reflect this move as well as all the others that have occurred.) Chris Colabello was named IL Player of the Week for last week when he batted .586 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI. Rob Antony said over the weekend that he is under consideration to be called up to help the Twins. He also played some corner outfield over the weekend. (You hearing this, Parms?)[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Twins also signed minor-league free agent OF Jordan Parraz and sent him to New Britain. It also appears that OF Chris Pettit is on his way to New Britain. Pettit is currently playing in Mexico and is being loaned to the Twins. Let’s check the results of today’s farm action: Rochester Red Wings 5, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 14 Box Score It was a pretty brutal night for the Red Wings pitchers and that might be putting it lightly. Cole De Vries made his second start for Rochester, but only his first since officially being added to the roster. When De Vries was activated and optioned over the weekend the reason was that he “wasn’t ready” to help the Twins. Well, you can say that again. In three innings (and 61 pitches) of work, De Vries allowed nine runs (eight earned) on six hits and three walks. He only struck out one. He was replaced by Shairon Martis, who didn’t fare much better. Martis allowed five runs on five hits in only two innings. Aaron Thompson made his first appearance in AAA this season. He retired the side 1-2-3 in his first inning and finished two innings with one hit allowed and three strikeouts. Tyler Robertson gave a hit in his lone inning of work. The bats – who weren’t going to keep them in the game anyway – didn’t do much better. The only excitement, really, came with one swing of Chris Colabello’s bat, producing a fifth inning grand slam. The opposite-field poke was Colabello’s 12th of the season. It’s to the point where it would be an upset for Colabello to not make his big-league debut in the near future. Joe Benson collected two singles and improved his batting average to .190. New Britain Rock Cats 3, Binghamton Mets 6 Box Score Pat Dean, coming off of one his worst starts as a professional, appeared headed to the showers early again tonight after giving up four runs in his first inning and a third. He calmed down, though, and was able to complete five innings allowing six runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out one and threw only 76 pitches; he clearly was not throwing his best stuff. The bullpen combination of A.J. Achter, Edgar Ibarra and Michael Tonkin pitched four innings of scoreless baseball. That included Tonkin striking out the side in the 9th. Offensively, Deibinson Romero was the star. Romero homered, doubled and finished 3-for-4. He’s now batting .370. Josmil Pinto (.325) added his 10th double. Danny Santana (.280) and James Beresford (.340) both had two hits. Download attachment: DRomeroST11.jpg (photo courtesy of Jim Crikket/SD Buhr of Knuckleballs and TwinsDaily.com.) Ft. Myers Miracle vs Lakeland Flying Tigers Tonight’s game was postponed due to “unplayable field conditions” and will be made up tomorrow as part of a doubleheader. The Miracle (31-11) will begin the two-game set at 10:35 am ET. Both games will be of the seven-inning variety. Kyle Davies (0-1, 5.40) was tonight’s scheduled starter. Cedar Rapids Kernels 8, Kane County Cougars 7 Box Score For the second consecutive day, the Kernels defeated the Cougars by the score of 8-7, improving to 30-13. The Cougars jumped on Brett Lee early and pushed six runs across the plate by the time Lee had completed the fourth. He made it through five, but not before allowing those six runs on eight hits and four walks. He also hit a batter and balked. He struck out five. Tim Atherton earned the win by pitching two innings of no-run, one-hit ball. He struck out one. Steven Gruver, who has done a lot of everything this year, recorded his third save. He allowed a run on two hits, striking out two. Even after struggling through a spot-start late last week, Gruver has been a very valuable asset in the Kernel bullpen and a mid-season move to Fort Myers isn’t only possible, but expected. Travis Harrison was the offensive catalyst today, going 3-for-4 with a HR and two runs scored. Niko Goodrum, playing first base and hitting in the 3-hole, had a triple and four RBI. Candido Pimentel and Tyler Grimes both had two hits. Byron Buxton went 1-for-5 and had his batting average drop to (a season-low as far as I can tell) .317. But he also hit his 7th home run and stole his 19th base. He struck out twice. After his scorching start, he’s obviously cooled off a little. But if you extrapolate his current stats over a 162-game season, Buxton would put up a line something like this: .317/.420/.559, 39 2B, 15 3B, 27 HR, 131 RBI, 112 BB and 73 SB. And, that my friends, “ain’t bad”. (I did the math and that’s actually the exact same stat-line that the entire Twins team is on pace to put up this year. OK, I’m joking. Cool it.) Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. Click here to view the article

Happy Memorial Day! Jason Marquis was not claimed on release waivers – and both Marquis and the Twins declined sending him to Rochester – thus making him a free agent. The Twins will continue to pay the remainder of the $3 million owed to Marquis. If another team signs him to the minimum, the Twins bill will go down that much (probably $480,000). His – and Erik Komatsu’s – removal from the 40-man leaves the roster at 38 men. Gardenhire also said he didn’t expect the Twins to work out a trade for Komatsu’s rights. The Twins – after a come-from-behind-win – are still tied with the Cubs in the race for the first pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. This year’s draft takes place a week from today. Let’s take a spin around the farm:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 1, CHARLOTTE 4 Box score David Bromberg made his return to AAA and was charged with four earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four, walked two and allowed seven hits. Lester Oliveros got the next five outs, four by strikeouts and allowed two hits. Anthony Slama did Oliveros one better by striking out all the batters (three) that he faced while allowing no hits. The story of Slama this year has been well-documented on this site and others. The biggest story of today’s game was the returned presence of Terry Doyle (the Twins Rule V draft pick this year). Doyle’s no-hit bid was broke up with one out in the eighth (on a Matt Carson double). Pedro Florimon added a two-out home run in the ninth. Danny Valencia followed that up with a single before Sean Burroughs ended the game with a groundout to the second baseman. It’s worth noting that Danny Valencia is batting .325 over his last ten games. Also, before Sean Burroughs went 0-for-4 today, he went 8-for-his-last-15. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if either of these guys got the call to come play third base for the Big Club within the next week. NEW BRITAIN 3, PORTLAND 0 Box score The arms were the story for the RockCats. Brett Jacobson, all the Twins still have to show for J.J. Hardy, made a spot start in place of David Bromberg. He allowed only two hits, walking and striking out one in four shutout innings (therefore, not qualifying for the win). He was a little wild – as has been the hard-thrower’s problem in the past – hitting one, picking up an error on a pickoff attempt and throwing two wild pitches as well. Blake Martin struck out three in two innings of shutout ball (getting the win). Daniel Turpen allowed two hits in one inning of work, but struck out two and allowed no runs. Caleb Thielbar collected his second save by striking out two in two innings of no-hit baseball. The bats didn’t do much – but didn’t have to either. All three runs were scored in the third inning. Rene Tosoni hit a two-out double. Aaron Hicks (who also singled in the first) knocked Tosoni in with a single. Chris Colabello followed with a two-run blast. FT. MYERS IDLE The Miracle had a scheduled day off. They will face 2011 first-overall pick Gerrit Cole tomorrow. BELOIT 15, KANE COUNTY 9 Box score Matt Summers – who has had a fantastic May (9 ER, 31 IP) – went five innings, striking out eight while giving up seven hits, four runs (one earned) and a walk. The bullpen trio of Ryan O’Rourke, Michael Tonkin and Clint Dempster were not nearly as solid. Collectively, they went five innings. They allowed 11 hits, five runs (all earned) and a walk. They struck out six. Corey Williams got the win, but had some trouble of his own, allowing three hits to start the bottom of the 12th. He did strike out two and got an unassisted double play from A.J. Pettersen to end the game. Miguel Sano started the game 0-for-6, with two strikeouts and his 19th error of the season. He turned it around in the top of the 12th hitting a 3-run homerun to blow open the game big time. This came after a Matt Koch double that scored Jonathan Goncalves to give the Snappers the lead and Tyler Grimes, J.D. Williams and Pettersen added singles. Eddie Rosario plated a run with a sacrifice fly. And then there was Sano… The rest of the offense was even better than Sano. Williams, Pettersen, Koch and Grimes all had three hits. Rosario, Goncalves and Drew Leachman all hit two-hits. Rosario had five RBI. It’s loaded from top to bottom, so seriously consider checking out the box score linked above. There is a good, eyewitness report by TwinsDaily user Adam Krueger here. Last year’s 11th round pick and Wisconsin-native Tyler Jones will be making his Snapper starting debut tomorrow. Milwaukee and Beloit are only about forty minutes apart, so hopefully any family that Jones has in Milwaukee will be able to make the trip. Jones has pitched four scoreless innings in relief since being brought up from extended spring training earlier this week. He had a rough professional start last year, giving up 10 earned runs in seven innings pitched in four games after signing last summer. --- Players of the Day for Monday, May 28, 2012 Hitters of the Day – Snappers offense (see above) Download attachment: snappy.jpg Pitcher of the Day – Brett Jacobson Download attachment: jacobson.jpg (Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com) --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – RHP Nick Blackburn (Rehab) New Britain vs Binghamton – RHP B.J. Hermsen (2-1, 1.83) Ft. Myers vs Clearwater – RHP Madison Boer (0-5, 11.76) Beloit at Kane County – RHP Tyler Jones (0-0, 0.00) --- 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. Click here to view the article

Monday was a pretty busy day for it being just a regular Monday in late June. The Twins left Texas on Sunday knowing that both 3B Trevor Plouffe and SS Eduardo Nunez were ready to be activated from the DL, yet no move was made after last night's game. And, from the sounds of it, all 25 guys in Texas took the plane back to Minneapolis. Download attachment: murphy.JPG Monday afternoon, though, the Twins announced that, to make room for Plouffe and Nunez, SS Pedro Florimon (to Rochester) and SS Jorge Polanco (to Ft. Myers) would be optioned to the minor leagues. The Miracle made room for Polanco by sending 2B Rafael Valera back to the GCL and also announced that LP Brett Lee would be activated with SS Aderling Mejia being placed on the DL. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Rochester had two spots available. One of those was filled with Florimon. The other with the activation of OF Wilkin Ramirez. Let's move down to the farm: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Norfolk 1 Box Score Doug Bernier hit a fifth inning grand slam and Deibinson Romero backed that up with a seventh inning three-run blast. Both long balls followed up a Chris Colabello solo shot in the fourth. Romero and Chris Herrmann had doubles, while Bernier, Colabello and Danny Ortiz (in addition to Romero) all had two-hit games. Scott Diamond struck out three in six innings that saw him allow only four men to reach (three hits, one walk) and the one run that he allowed helped lower his season ERA to 6.56. Lester Oliveros and Deolis Guerra closed the game out with three scoreless innings. The Red Wings are five games behind Syracuse, despite winning their last two. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 3, Binghamton 8 Box Score Reynaldo Rodriguez hit a pair of solo home runs and Kyle Knudson added an RBI double to complete the scoring for the Rock Cats. Aaron Hicks was 1-for-3 with a walk, but was picked off stealing. Eddie Rosario was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. Taylor Rogers pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks. He struck out three. Adrian Salcedo gave up four hits in recording four outs. He also allowed two runs (one earned). He struck out three. Jim Fuller gave up a walk and home run in his one inning of work. He also struck out three. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 10, Palm Beach 6 Box Score Jorge Polanco came back and was dialed in. He went 3-for-4 with a double. He also walked once. The bottom third of the lineup (Travis Harrison, Stuart Turner, Max Kepler) provided two hits apiece and four total RBI. Nate Roberts, Mike Gonzales and Dalton Hicks all added doubles. It should be noted that Roberts doubled in the first inning, but was replaced at DH by Gonzales in the third inning. DJ Baxendale allowed two home runs and six runs total in four innings. He struck out two and walked none. Eight hits, though? Too much. Brett Lee, fresh off of the DL, picked up his 6th win, this one in relief. He allowed one hit in three innings. He struck out two and should re-gain his spot in the rotation. Steven Gruver (K, BB) and Brandon Peterson (2 K, H) each pitched an inning to shut it down. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids vs Clinton (Suspended after 9th inning, tied at 3) Box Score This game will get due coverage when it finishes, but we should talk about Kohl Stewart. He only lasted four innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out two. Eyewitness reports had him as throwing "way too many pitches" and, frankly, "not very good". The real news of this game is the storm that hit the stadium hard. Video is courtesy of Jeff Johnson, who covers the Kernels for the Cedar Rapids Gazette. [h=3]Kernels Wind Tarp[/h]http://cdn.bimvid.com/KCRG/01ebe4c246a5cb45fe6d84fa2fcbffa0ce71407a_fl9-360p.jpg view on site E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 8, Bristol 5 Box Score (Game 1) Trey Vavra had three hits including a double and a stolen base. Dutch Deol (two hits, two RBI) and Tanner English (two hits, two RBI) also had stand-out offensive performances. The star, though, was Max Murphy, who was 2-for-3 with a HR. He also walked twice. Pat Kelly stole two bases. Nick Gordon was 0-for-4, but drove in a run. Derrick Penilla pitched an inning yesterday before the game was suspended. Josue Montanez struck out three in two innings, but gave up two runs on four hits. Keaton Steele gave up a run on three hits in three innings. Kuo Hua Lo gave up two runs in two innings. Jake Reed picked up the save, his second, with a strikeout in an inning. Elizabethton 12, Bristol 1 Box Score (Game 2) Well, E-town erupted for nine first-inning runs in game 2 and never looked back. Again, Max Murphy got it done: 3-for-4, 2B, 2 3B, 3 RBI. Tanner English and Austin Diemer each had three hits and a double. Jonatan Hinojosa had a two-hit game. The team combined for 16 hits. Michael Cederoth pitched 3 2/3 innings. He struck out six, walked one and allowed two hits that resulted in one run. Sam Clay got the win with two innings of one-hit, one-walk, three-strikeout ball. C.K. Irby got the final four outs. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Rays 8 Box Score Logan Wade and Amaurys Minier both had two hits including a double each. Rainis Silva added a triple. Silva's two RBI and Minier's RBI accounted for all three runs. Michael Theofanopoulus took the loss. He allowed six runs (five earned) in 1 1/3 innings. He struck out one and gave up six hits. Wilfredy Liranzo pitched the next 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five and allowed only three hits and a walk. Zach Hayden and Seth Wagner put up scoreless frames. Eduardo Del Rosario gave up two runs (one earned) in two innings. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter - Max Murphy, Elizabethton Twins (Nominated for "Best Daily Performance of the Year") Pitcher - Scott Diamond, Rochester Red Wings TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Norfolk (12:05pm CT) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain vs Binghamton (6:05pm CT) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) Ft Myers @ Bradenton (5:30pm CT) - TBD (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (7:05pm CT) – Aaron Slegers (Listen) Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00pm CT) – TBD (Listen) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00am CST) – TBD The Twins lost to the Royals on Monday, so Papa John's Pizza is available at full menu price. Click here to view the article

As most eyes of the baseball world turn their focus to the Home Run Derby on Monday night and the All-Star Game on Tuesday, a few minor league affiliates are still playing. Both AA and AAA have their All-Star Game on Wednesday night. Red Wings Report The Red Wings have a three-day break before returning to the field on Thursday. Rochester already has Trevor May listed as their scheduled starter. This would put him in line to pitch again next Tuesday... or the same day as the Twins would need their #5 starter for the first time after the break. It's definitely something worth monitoring. Rock Cats Review New Britain 3, Reading 2 Box Score This morning, Ben Badler of Baseball America released an article promoting the prospect status of Tyler Duffey (subscription required). Essentially, Duffey has developed a changeup (in the 79-84 mph range) that Badler calls a "plus pitch". On Monday, Duffey threw 86 pitches and lasted 7 1/3 innings. He allowed only four hits and a walk. The result: two runs, one earned. He struck out eight. Download attachment: duffey.jpg Ryan O'Rourke struck out one finishing the eighth and Cole Johnson struck out one in the ninth, getting the save. Offensively, Mike Kvasnicka, Tony Thomas and Kyle Knudson all had two-hit games. Kvasnicka, Aaron Hicks and Reynaldo Rodriguez all had doubles on Monday. Kvasnicka, Hicks and Eddie Rosario (1-for-4, 2 K) each drove in a run. Hicks was picked off and caught stealing. Many players for the 47-47 RockCats will be representing the club in Wednesday's Eastern League All-Star Game. Miracle Matters Fort Myers 8, Dunedin 2 Box Score Danny Santana made his first rehab start today. He started in centerfield while Byron Buxton made his first professional start in right field. By design, after five innings, Kepler came in for Santana and played right, while Buxton slid over to center. Santana, though, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. Byron Buxton continues to shake the rust off. He was 1-for-5 tonight with two strikeouts. He did throw a runner out at second base. Dalton Hicks, Travis Harrison, Mike Gonzales and Stuart Turner all had two-hit games. Hicks had a double, walk and drove in a run. Harrison drove in two runs and has quietly taken over the team batting average lead (.287). Gonzales doubled and drove in three runs. Niko Goordum and Aderling Mejia both had RBI doubles. Tim Shibuya managed to pitch six innings of one-run ball without striking out a single player. He improves to 6-3. Alex Wimmers had an eventful inning allowing three hits and a walk, but escaped by letting in only one run. He struck out two. Brandon Peterson and Tyler Jones each pitched scoreless innings. Peterson struck out two. The Miracle are now 56-36 on the year. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 5, Clinton 8 Box Score Ryan Eades had his fourth consecutive rough start Monday night. He gave up seven runs (four earned) in four innings. He struck out three and walked one. Chris Mazza allowed an unearned run in two innings. Nick Burdi's out-by-strikeouts streak ended at 10. He struck out the first batter and got the final two outs via ground outs. His 2014 stats will never be pretty on account of the short season and his rough first outing, but I think he's redeemed himself. A move up to Fort Myers in the near future wouldn't surprise me. Dallas Gallant allowed a hit in his inning of work. Mitch Garver hit a two-run home run, his ninth. Jason Kanzler had a double in a multi-hit night. Ryan Walker doubled and scored. Logan Wade drove in two runs. Chad Christensen stole his 22nd base. Cedar Rapids dropped to 42-52. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 2, Danville 4 Box Score The E-Twins wasted a good start by Stephen Gonsalves and fell to 16-9. Gonsalves pitched the first five innings. He struck out four, allowed four hits and a walk and allowed only one run. Sam Clay relieved Gonsalves and had another terrible outing, his fourth multi-run appearance in seven games. His ERA is up to 14.40. Kuo Hua Lo and Dereck Rodriguez both pitched scoreless innings. Rodriguez, a converted outfielder, has now made seven relief appearances totaling 12 innings, hasn't given up a run and has kept his WHIP under 1.00. Nick Gordon and Tyler Kuresa each had two-hit games. Gordon also stole a base. Trey Vavra doubled. Dutch Deol and Pat Kelly, the 8- and 9-hitters, drove in the team's two runs. GCL Twins Takes GCL Twins 2, GCL Rays 7 Box Score The GCL club lost their third straight and fell to 7-14 on the season. Rainis Silva was 3-for-5 with a double. Roberto Gonzalez was 2-for-5, but struck out three times. Rafael Valera was 1-for-1 with three walks. Zack Larson was 0-for-3 with two walks in his third rehab game. He is 0-for-7 so far, but should re-join the Kernels shortly. Onesimo Hernandez got the start and took the loss. He allowed six runs (three earned) in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out five. Seth Wagner pitched two scoreless innings. Callan Pearce bounced back from a rough outing to pitch a scoreless inning. DSL Twins Notes DSL Twins 7, DSL Padres 1 Box Score The Twins used a 6-run 6th inning to propel their way to victory on Monday. Junior Amarante went 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. The 19-year-old outfielder is now batting .340 in his third go-around in the DSL. Jorge Andrade was 2-for-5 with a double. Andrade has cooled off and is still hitting .344. Seventeen-year-old SS Emmanuel Morel drove in two runs. Jose Ramirez started and struck out four in four innings. Argenis Silva earned the win with two strikeouts in two innings. Daulin Ramirez struck out four in two innings of work, but also walked three. Both runs scored were unearned. Twins Daily Minor League Players of the Day Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day - Tyler Duffey, New Britain Twins Daily Hitter of the Day - Even though he's not eligible to win, Giancarlo Stanton wins all the hitter awards on the account of the home run he hit to the middle of the third deck. Tuesday's Probable Pitchers Rochester returns to play on Thursday at 6:05 (Listen) New Britain returns to play on Thursday at 6:05 Central (Listen) Fort Myers returns to play on Wednesday at 6:05 Central (Listen) Cedar Rapids returns to play on Wednesday at 6:35 Central (Listen) Elizabethton returns to play on Wednesday at 6:05 Central (Listen) GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 AM Central) - TBD DSL Diamondbacks @ DSL Twins (9:30 AM Central) - TBD Click here to view the article

If you haven't noticed, it's Tuesday again. This week's Hangout had been listed as day-to-day which, in TwinsSpeak, could mean a day, a week, or possibly that we'd never do another Hangout again. You just. Don't. Know. Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg But we're trying to give the term day-to-day a new meaning and that starts now: We're back. With no missed time. We've dealt with some not so great circumstances the last couple of weeks. Namely, key contributors (our computers) crapping the bed. But fear now. The Hangout lives on. So tonight, what are we going to talk about? We're going to cover the two biggest things to happen to the Twins over the last seven days: The Draft and Kendrys Morales. We've have to talk more, obviously, but that's where it begins... Miss an episode? Well, they're all available on our webpage and iTunes. 9:00 Intro and talk about icy balloons. 9:06 Kendrys Morales 9:15ish Joe Mauer - and that only happened when we started to talk about where Morales fit into the "best lineup". 9:33 Back to Morales 9:43 Minor League update 9:44 A.J. Pettersen retirement 9:48 Kernels update 10:04ish Miracle update 10:20ish Rock Cats update 10:35 Red Wings update 10:40 Questions 10:47 Draft (and we talked for a half hour) Click here to view the article

Sunday was an interesting day in the world of Twins baseball. The Twins had a chance to complete a 4-game sweep in Fenway Park. Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit both homered in the ninth to make it interesting, but the rally fell short. At one point early in the game I overheard Dick Bremer announce that Danny Valencia had been traded to the Red Sox. I can't say I was surprised that he was traded, though the timing - with Plouffe being hurt - did catch me off guard. Read more about the Valencia trade here. Ee[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The return on Danny V. was a young - but not "league young" - outfielder named Jeremias Pineda. Pineda will report to the GCL as a 21 year old, sometime typically reserved for current-year, late-round college draft picks, not international free agents, with the belief he'll have a chance to play low-A (Beloit?) ball next year. Pineda's route to pro ball isn't typical, signing as a 20-year old. You want more Pineda? Look here. The next domino today was the announcement that Tsuyoshi Nishioka would take Valencia's spot on the active roster. Nishi's recall is the result of many things: the Twins want Eduardo Escobar to get AAA at-bats, not having a lot of other alternatives and the fact the Nishi is on the major league payroll anyway, to name a few. Maybe you're into conspiracies and think that the Twins are calling him up to simply sit on the bench and never play, hoping to drive him to the point we're he'll take a buyout to go to Japan. However you look at it though, he's back. And you can talk about it here. Seth, Travis and Jim Crikket took in today's Snapper action before heading back to Southern Canada, Northern Mexico and Cornfield, USA, respectively. Fortunately for them, they got to see some neat things today, which you'll be able to read below as well as in Seth's column later. If you're late to the dance and missed Seth's earlier posts about the weekend, find those threads here and here... and here. If you're even considering taking in a Snappers game or two, do it. I've done it every year for the last four (or five) and twice this year and enjoy each trip more than the last. If you're considering traveling all over the U.S. to watch Twins affiliates, you can read all about sbknudson's "Kick-Ass Trip" here. Let's move on and talk about Sunday's action: ROCHESTER x, TOLEDO x Box score The Red Wings didn't play a double-header. If they did, they would have only played 14 innings. Instead, thanks to a Chris Parmelee game-tying ninth-inning home run, the Red Wings played a really long extra-innings game today. I thought it was going to end in the 18th, when Deolis Guerra put runners on 1st and 3rd with no out. But then he struck out three batters (around an intentional walk) to end the threat. The 19th inning saw a two-out barrage started by a Clete Thomas single and followed by a double off of the bat of Evan Bigley to score Thomas. Brian Dinkelman added to the two-out assault with a single to score Bigley. Ray Chang added another insurance run with a double. Guerra gave up a two-out two-run home run in the bottom of the 19th but was able to escape with the win. The Red Wings dodged a bullet when Saturday's game was called early and only rehabbing P.J. Walters and typical starter Esmerling Vasquez had to throw. Unfortunately tonight they had to use all of their bullpen: Luke French (3.1 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K), Dan Turpen (2 IP, 2 H, R, 2 BB, 3 K), Kyle Waldrip (2.1 IP, 2 H, K), Caleb Thielbar (3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 4 K), Bobby Lanigan (3 IP, H, BB, K) and Deolis Guerra (3 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K) That followed up the dismal (and maybe last?) start by Eric Hurley (2.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, BB). The positive spin is that the bullpen combined to go 16 2/3 innings, allowing three runs (with 11 hits and 11 walks) and struck out 19. Offensively, there were many hits. Of course, in 19 innings, there should be. Chris Parmelee continued his tear. He hit his 12th HR in 40 games, a game-tying shot in the 9th. He also added a double. Eduardo Escobar hit his first HR of the year and his first in AAA. Wilkin Ramirez, Matt Carson and Ray Chang all went 4-for-9. Escobar, Bigley and Parmelee had three hits. Brian Dinkelman led the team with three RBI. Danny Lehmann was the lone Wing who had less than 2 hits, going 0-for-7. You wonder if this is going to leave the Red Wings scrambling to add arms for their upcoming series. NEW BRITAIN 13 , ALTOONA 4 Box score The Rock Cats had a very good game today against a very good pitching prospect. Oswaldo Arcia and Joe Benson each had three hits and 2011 #1 overall pick Gerrit Cole didn't make it out of the fifth inning. Benson went 3-for-5 with a home run and a double, driving in five and scoring three times. Arcia also scored three times, doubling once. One-time prospect Deibinson Romero is clawing his way back into the discussion. He hit his 16th home run of the year and drove in four runs. Aaron Hicks was only 1-for-5, but stole three bases... and struck out three times. He also left four runners in scoring position. Chris Colabello and Shawn Roof added doubles. B.J. Hermsen went six solid innings, allowing four hits and three runs. He walked one. He didn't strike out any, and that's why his ceiling is that of an innings-eating back-of-the-rotation-starter. A much cheapter alternative to Nick Blackburn. Marty Popham gave up two hits in two innings, striking out three. Edgar Ibarra allowed a home run in an inning of work. FT. MYERS 1, ST. LUCIE 9 Box score There's not a lot of positive coming out of this game today. Steven Liddle, Danny Rams, Kyle Knudson and Angel Morales each collected singles. Rams had an RBI. That's it offensively. Tom Stuifbergen had a rough outing. He only lasted four innings giving up eight hits and five runs. He struck out four while walking two. Ryan O'Rourke had a forgettable game. He lasted 2 2/3 but gave up six hits and four runs. Ricky Bowen gave up two hits in 1 1/3 innings, striking out one. BELOIT 8, WISCONSIN 2 Box score David Hurlbut gave the Snappers their third consecutive dominant performance from a starting pitcher. Hurlbut allowed only two hits, two walks and a run over six innings while striking out five. Tim Atherton faced the minimum six batter in two innings, walking one and striking out two before giving way to Mason Melotakis, who allowed a home run in the ninth. Miguel Sano was the story offensively. He hit a long home run in his first at-bat, walked and singled in his next two at-bats before flying out in his last at-bat. J.D. Williams, who struggles putting wood on the ball, got serious wood on the ball with the bases loaded, hitting a grand slam to right field. He also stole a base after singleing. Drew Leachman added two hits. Nate Roberts went hitless, but reached base after getting hit. ELIZABETHTON vs DANVILLE - POSTPONED GCL TWINS - OFF DAY --- Players of the Day for Sunday, August 5, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut Download attachment: hurlbut.jpg milb.com - Rinaldi Photos Hitters of the Day – Joe Benson Download attachment: bensoncard.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Monday, August 6, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Empire State – LHP Pedro Hernandez (Twins Debut) New Britain - OFF Ft. Myers - OFF Beloit vs Wisconsin – LHP Taylor Rogers (0-1, 6.00) Elizabethton vs Danville (game 1) – LHP Hein Robb (2-2, 2.81) Elizabethton vs Danville (game 2) – TBA GCL Twins at GCL Rays – 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. Click here to view the article

Oh, it's going to be a good one on Tuesday night! Seth and Jeremy are going to be joined live by John Manuel (of Baseball America fame) and Jim Crikket/Steve Buhr (of Knuckleballs Blog fame) on the newest edition of Twins Hangouts. Miss an episode? Well, they're all available on our webpage and iTunes. Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg There is plenty to discuss, like the draft (that's why John is coming on) and the first half of the minor-league season (Boom! Here's Steve.) [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] There's also the Twins. We obviously need to cover Trevor Plouffe's injury and the recall of Pedro Florimon. But we're looking straight into the face of a pitching "situation" and I have a feeling that people aren't going to be happy about it. Hangout run-down: 0:00 - We're back 0:05 - Pino a little bit... 0:06 - John Manuel!!! 0:37 - Draft recap 0:38 - Steve Buhr - TMI 0:41 - Steve talks Kernels 1:20 - Yohan Pino and the roster decisions 1:35 - Perkins vs Pinto 1:43 - Jeremy makes a great point, according to Seth After Jeremy's good point he forgot to updated this... 2:03 - Jose Berrios 2:15 - Preview the Etown/GCL rosters 2:20 - Viewer questions Oh, and if you have questions... leave them below! Click here to view the article

People love mock drafts. I think, mostly, so that you can mock the people that put some guesses down on paper for the world to scrutinize. I'm not above that. Download attachment: mlb-draft.jpg I regret not putting one together two years ago. Somewhere, on a message board on this site, I predicted that the Twins take Adam Brett Walker (though I had the round incorrect). Last year, I noted how much I liked Brian Navaretto, who the Twins also drafted. I was a big fan of Stephen Gonsalves (though I never saw him falling as far as he did) and pegged Kohl Stewart for the #4 pick pretty early in the whole process. I'm telling you that not for the virtual pats on the back. I'm simply preparing you for the fact that there is a very good chance that I go 0-for-10 and would like you to forgive me. The reason I put this together, actually, was to try to get a sense of the positions the Twins may look to add on Days 1 and 2. While I know how the Twins feel about some guys, I don't have access to their scouting reports and, personally, don't have the mental capacity to take that much information in. So, without further ado, here's one of approximately 86 billion different ways the Twins may draft on Thursday and Friday. Round 1 (Pick 5 - $3,851,000): SS Nick Gordon, Florida prep. While I'm not sure who will be on my final mock on Thursday morning at this spot, it's been a pretty consistent belief that Gordon would be the choice. There's no point in disputing that. Plus, the Twins would love to add a potential middle infielder. They'll take a prep SS (or more) every year in the first 15 rounds and this year isn't any different. (Other prep shortstops they may consider - obviously later in the draft: SS Milton Ramos, Florida prep; SS Justin Twine, Texas prep; SS Jonathan Oquendo, P.R. prep.) Round 2 (Pick 46 - $1,218,800): LHP Cody Reed, Alabama prep. Reed is all over the place if you put any stock into the Top 100s you can find scattered over the internet. The facts are this: Reed is from a place that doesn't have a great track record of producing major league pitchers and Reed is accumulating an incredible number of strikeouts due to his mid-90s fastball. Reed will have to watch his conditioning, but definitely has a fan in the Twins. (Other pitchers to pop here: Well, there're likely a few dozen that would be looked at. I'd focus most on LHP Mac Marshall, Georgia prep and RHP Luke Weaver, FSU. Round 3 (Pick 79 - $703,900): RHP Grant Hockin, California prep. Hockin has everything you'd want ablitiy-wise to get drafted here including a four-pitch mix. Though scouts don't see a lot of projection in his 6' 3", 215-lb frame, he's got an added connection to the Twins: His mother is Erin Killebrew, daughter of the late, great Harmon Killebrew. Hockin is committed to UCLA, so there is also that piece to be considered. Round 4 (Pick 110 - $476,100): RHP A.J. Vanegas, Stanford. Not a real likely pick, but the Stanford senior offers a lot that could interest the Twins. For one, he's a senior. More importantly, though, is that he's got a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider. So what the heck, right? Yeah, well Vanegas has had some serious injury issues. It's put him in the position where he's destined to be a reliever in the pro ranks. We've seen what the Twins have done with that recently. The ceiling of a guy with his ability - though he'd need to add a third pitch to return to starting - mixed with the floor of a fast-track reliever seems to make a lot of sense. (There would also be a gajillion other college relievers the Twins could look to convert. And that remains in play for all 40 of their selections.) Round 5 (Pick 140 - $356,400): C Brett Austin, NC State. Austin was drafted in the supplemental first round out of high school and has struggled in his three years in college. There are questions about his bat and his defense, but when you get to this point in the draft, you're going to have that. Austin could profile as a Chris Herrmann-type who can play the corners of the outfield too. Not a sexy pick, but the Twins always seem to add catching on Day 2 and this would be a solid pick. (Other catchers: C Matt Morgan, Alabama prep; C K.J. Harrison, Hawaii prep; C Shane Zeile, UCLA) Round 6 (Pick 170 - $266,900): RHP Josh Richy, UNLV. Richy probably won't last this long, but if he did, it would be a steal for the Twins. It's usually around this time the Twins pluck a guy who has the reputation of pitching a lot of innings a la Ethan Mildren in 2013. Richy throws a little harder and shows a feel for a couple breaking pitches as well. Round 7 (Pick 200 - $199,900): RHP Jake Jewell, Oklahoma JC. Jewell has come out of nowhere with a big fastball and an easy motion. He's a project, but that's not uncommon for the Twins to peg, especially when the payoff could be huge. Round 8 (Pick 230 - $161,300): RHP Chandler Shepherd, Kentucky. Though the Twins are more likely to tap the left-handed "pitching well" at UK, Shepherd could join Alex Meyer as a right-handed Wildcat turned Twin. Shepherd has undergone Tommy John surgery already and has returned to throw a solid three-pitch mix, including a swing-and-miss curveball. Shepherd has had success in the Cape Cod League and still offers some projection in his 6' 2", 215-lb frame. Round 9 (Pick 260 -$150,600): OF Max Murphy, Bradley. The organizational dearth of outfielders may have the Twins going to the college ranks to draft outfielders even earlier. Murphy is a guy who makes a ton of sense for the Twins, partially because he played his high school ball in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Murphy's best tool is he power. He's compact (only 5' 11"), runs well and has a clue in the outfield. While his arm could play in right (his current position), some think he could move to center. The question about Murphy is his hit-tool. Round 10 (Pick 290 - $140,700): RHP Brock Dykxhoorn, Arizona JC. This is about where Dykxhoorn should go, so I originally was going to put him here solely on the account that he has a sweet name. But after some digging, there's more to him. He's 6' 8" (Twins have done that - and taller - lately), but isn't overpowering (like Jason Wheeler), doesn't have an out pitch, but commands his repertoire low in the zone (and induces a lot of worm killing). The final ingredient is that he hails from our neighbor to the north (and because of Justin Morneau, the Maple Leafs will always hold a special place in Twins fans' hearts). In all honesty though, Dykxhoorn would be another pitcher with a some projection to add to an already impressive Day 2 haul. While you don't have to like or agree with these picks, you should have a better idea of one way the Twins can handle their first ten selections. Look for a continuation of hard-throwing bodies. The Twins aren't likely to re-visit their three-catchers-in-the-first-ten-rounds magic of last year, but they always seem to add one with defensive abilities. The Twins have an overall lack of outfield depth, so adding some college seniors, or any outfielders, would jibe well with both what the Twins do and how they like to go about it. And while the likelihood remains that I go all Jason Kubel and strike out on all ten of these, it was worth a shot. Right? Now let's see your projections! Follow me on Twitter at @jeremynygaard, where I'll be kicking it draft-style all week. [/hr]Twins beat the Yankees on Sunday, so you win today. Get 50% of a Large or XL pizza at PapaJohns.com when using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

I just had a lot of fun telling Brock exactly what I wanted to see if he could make it happen. Sometimes I asked for things that I didn't even want... just to see if he could make it happen. The R&P page and organizational chart will always be a work-in-progress... but this is going to blow the roof off the old one. Big thanks to Brock for, well, being awesome.

One of my favorite things to do in regards to this website - whether in conjunction with the Prospect Handbook or not - is to have an ongoing dialogue with scouts in the organization. My favorite article I've ever posted still remains the interview I did with West Coast Scouting Supervisor Sean Johnson. In the 2013 edition of the handbook, I had an interview with Jack Powell, who is the scout responsible for signing Byron Buxton. The full interview was available in the book, with a brief preview here. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In an effort to make/keep the tradition of featuring a scout in each year's handbook, I reached out to one of the newest members of the Twins scouting fraternity: Freddie Thon. Download attachment: fthon.jpg This picture of Freddie was during his minor-league All-Star days of 2006, but you get the point - he's a former baseballer and now his job is to locate the next generation of Twins prospects. Located primarily in southern Florida and Puerto Rico, Thon's job is especially important, given the success the Twins have had in that area. I'd love for you to read the whole interview, but that's only going to be available in the Handbook (which is available in both paperback and eBook versions). Some excerpts here: Freddie talks about his background, which is very baseball heavy and also his path from high school through college and into the minor leagues. Of course, I had to ask him about next year's draft class: Freddie spoke at length about many other things as well. Pick up the Handbook, you won't be disappointed. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Another Tuesday signals another episode of Twins Hangouts. Seth and I will be live tonight at 9pm. There's been a ton of things that have happened over these last seven days. We'll certainly talk about a number of them, such as the All-Star Game, the Futures Game, Ricky Nolasco and updates on all of the minor league affiliates. Miss an episode? Well, they're all available on our webpage and iTunes. You can also view the event page. Tuesday's show went like this: Introduction and what's up! (:00) We jump into the Ricky Nolasco conversation at the :05 mark. We've turned to Trevor May talk at :18 and continued with other pitching approaches in the organization. At 0:31, we moved onto the All-Star Game. Also, what's up with Suzuki long-term? 0:34 Talking trade deadline: Suzuki, Morales, Willingham. We move on at :49 to talk about the Futures Game and talk about pitchers' debuts. Seth talked Players of the Month at :58. Minor League Update - Rochester (1:02), New Britain, Fort Myers (1:34), Cedar Rapids (1:38), Elizabethton (1:46), GCL Twins (1:54) International Update (2:00) Viewer questions (2:08) Click here to view the article

What a difference a day makes! A day after getting beaten at all levels; the system did an about-face and took all four games in convincing fashion. Some big-league news: Word came out late afternoon that the Twins are planning to designate Jason Marquis for assignment. Later in the evening it was reported that it wouldn’t happen immediately and that Marquis was with the team in Chicago. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] How you interpret that all is entirely up to you, but I will offer my two cents: The Twins will most likely be promoting someone to start Thursday’s game and that player will not be called up until Thursday. (Although the plan may be announced before then.) The corresponding roster move with be removing Marquis from the active (and also the 40-man) roster. This also gives the team a couple of additional days to make a final decision on Marquis. All signs point to clearing waivers and being given his unconditional release. Let’s take a spin around the farm: ROCHESTER 10, GWINNETT 1 It what could be the best “on-the-field” news of the last 48 hours, the Red Wings got after former major-league Jair Jurrjens. Big time. They didn’t stop there either. They hammered out 10 runs on 18 hits. Rene Tosoni led the surge going 5-for-5, knocking in two runs, scoring two runs and stealing a base. He improved his average to .177. (Seth pointed out to me that Tosoni came into the game with 6 hits in 57 at-bats this year.) Danny Valencia went 3-for-4, scoring twice and hitting a three-run home run. Every hitter made contributions offensively and I would encourage you to check out the box score here. Jeff Manship channeled his inner-Scott Diamond and went seven innings, allowing only four hits, one run and a walk. He struck out six. Though the plan was to keep Manship in relief, he deserves to stay in the rotation after an outing like this. Esmerling Vasquez finished off the game with two perfect innings, striking out three. Tomorrow’s game will begin at 11:05 am ET and be on MLB Network. NEW BRITAIN 10, BINGHAMTON 7 Joe Benson, not in the lineup again, apparently injured his wrist and was placed on the 7-day DL. The product on the field, on the other hand, played extremely well. Every hitter in the lineup recorded at least a hit and seven of the nine crossed home plate. Chris Herrmann led the charge going 4-for-5 with three runs and a double. As I suggested with the Red Wings game, it’s worth checking out the box score for this game too. Steve Hirschfeld pitched five solid innings, giving up a run on six hits. He walked one and struck out two. Caleb Thielbar pitched two scoreless innings in relief, giving up a hit while striking out two. Daniel Turpen got roughed up in his two innings, to the tune of five hits, six runs, two walks and a strikeout, but it was too little, too late. FT. MYERS 7, CLEARWATER 1 The Miracle got it going early with back-to-back-to-back doubles in the first inning by Jairo Perez, Oswaldo Arcia and Dan Rohlfing and never looked back. Danny Ortiz continued to hit well going 3-for-4 and is now batting .317 over his last ten games. He does, though, continue to struggles to hit lefties at all. Lance Ray had a solo home run in the eighth to hopefully turn his slump around. In addition to Perez’s first inning double, he added a single and two runs batted in. Michael Gonzales had two hits as well. Jhon Garcia pitched a very solid six innings to earn his first win of the year. Garcia allowed four hits, one run and a walk, while striking out three. He also hit a batter. He recorded six outs by flyball, which is at least worth noting, since the wind was blowing out. Edgar Ibarra recorded a three-inning save, allowing only a hit and a walk. He struck out three. While an encouraging outing, this was Ibarra’s first appearance in nearly a month where he didn’t allow a run. BELOIT 4, BURLINGTON 2 Jason Wheeler had another stellar outing. He went a season-high seven innings, allowing eight hits, two runs and a walk. He struck out five. He also recorded twelve outs by groundball to only one on flyball. That’s an impressive feat for a guy that stands 6’ 8”. In 51 IP this year, he has a 36:9 K/BB ratio. While he’ll never project to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, Wheeler might become the definition of “innings-eater”. Michael Tonkin continued his impressive year, striking out five in two innings. The Snapper bats were just good enough to get a win, scoring all four runs in the fifth inning. A.J. Pettersen and Matthew Koch both delivered 2-RBI hits. Wang-Wei Lin had two hits in the nine-hole. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-4 with a stolen base (his ninth). Miguel Sano continued to struggle. He went 0-for-4, with a strikeout. He’s now batting .256. He also had a throwing and fielding error and is up to 14 on the season. We all knew it wouldn’t be easy (or pretty), but I wouldn’t be shocked if he started getting some reps at 1B and DH. --- Players of the Day for Monday, May 21, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship Download attachment: manship.jpg Hitter of the Day – Rene Tosoni Download attachment: tosoni.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – RHP Daryl Thompson (1-4, 4.42) New Britain vs Binghamton – LHP Logan Darnell (4-2, 5.27) Ft. Myers vs Clearwater – RHP Marty Popham (3-1, 4.91) Beloit – OFF DAY --- Happy 6th birthday tomorrow to my daughter Marin! 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. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Well, Opening Day didn't produce a win, but at least we know that for the next six months, we will have Minnesota Twins games to watch five to seven days a week. You also now that each Tuesday night, you can join Seth and I at 9:00 p.m. CST to talk about the Twins, their minor league affiliates and more. This week, we will recap the Twins Season Opener and preview the minor league affiliates. . Interact with us by asking questions here, on Twitter or during the live show. It will also be available on iTunes tomorrow. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As always, leave us your questions and/or comments. Click here to view the article

The Twins started their final road-trip before the All-Star Game on Monday in Seattle. They'll make a stop in Colorado before heading home. As was announced Sunday night, the Twins will be represented by RP Glen Perkins and C Kurt Suzuki in next Tuesday's Mid-Summer Classic. Ricky Nolasco is heading back to the Twin Cities to get his "bit of a sore right elbow" checked out. Today's Twins All-Star-related news revolves around two of their top pitching prospects: P Alex Meyer will be replacing P Trevor May (calf) in Sunday's Futures Game. May's "feeling good", but his return to the mound doesn't "line up with" pitching in Sunday's game. My belief - and it's 100% just my opinion - is that May still makes his Major League debut this month. In other All-Star news, several RockCats were named to the Eastern League All-Star game, which will take place next Wednesday night: 1B Kennys Vargas, 2B Tony Thomas, OF Reynaldo Rodriguez, RP Cole Johnson, P Taylor Rogers. Congrats to that group! Also, Kennys Vargas has been placed on the temporarily inactive list to head back to Puerto Rico while his wife has a baby. Let's just say it's going to be a busy next 10 days for Kennys! http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=8149&stc=1 This afternoon, Miguel Sano met with his surgeon and was given the ok to begin light throwing. He will begin swinging in early August and there is some hope that he will be able to make up for some lost at-bats in the Arizona Fall League before heading down to the Dominican Winter League to work off the rust. All indications are that Sano will be 100% when spring training opens next spring. Other transaction news: The Kernels activated OF Jeremias Pineda and transferred him to Elizabethton. You can view all rosters here. Let's move to the action on the farm: Red Wings Report Rochester 6, Buffalo 7 Box Score Rochester couldn't hold onto a big lead despite getting big games from Doug Bernier (3-for-5) and Eric Farris (2-for-4, 2 2B). James Beresford and Pedro Florimon also added doubles. Sean Gilmartin made it to the seventh inning (6 1/3) allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk. He struck out five. Lester Oliveros struggled. He allowed his lone inherited runner to score and gave up two more runs while recording only one out. A.J. Achter picked up four outs while not allowing a hit. Michael Tonkin took the loss on a home run in the top of the ninth. It was former Twins P.J. Walters starting for Buffalo and Bobby Korecky getting the save. Rock Cats Review New Britain 0, New Hampshire 2 (Game 1) Box Score Jason Wheeler threw a (six-inning) complete game, but took the loss. He walked two, but struck out only one. Of his six hits yielded, one was a home run. Eddie Rosario singled. Stephen Wickens doubled. All of the hitters except for Reynaldo Rodriguez managed to strike out. New Britain 2, New Hampshire 0 (Game 2) SUSPENDED - SECOND INNING Box Score This game - a scheduled make-up of a mid-April game - was suspended in the second inning. Too bad too. Adrian Salcedo got the start and had pitched two hitless innings. It's been a rough couple of seasons for Salcedo, who was starting for the first time since 2012. Mike Kvasnicka doubled and Lance Ray tripled in a contest that will be completed tomorrow in a seven-inning game. Miracle Matters Fort Myers has a scheduled day off, so there is no Byron Buxton Monday update. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids also has a scheduled day off. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 15, Johnson City 7 Box Score Another offensive outburst from the E-Twins. Max Murphy (now .411) was 3-for-3 with two walks, a double, a home run and four RBI. Newly-demoted Jeremias Pineda went 2-for-6 with four runs scored. Alex Real was 3-for-6 with two doubles and three RBI. Those are just a handful of the offensive highlights of today. Everyone wants to know about Nick Gordon: He went 2-for-5, drew a walk, scored three runs and was picked off/caught stealing. He committed his fourth error of the season and is now batting .359. Michael Cederoth got his first professional win. He went five innings, allowing seven hits. He struck out two and let four runners score. Cameron Booser and Dereck Rodriguez each struck out two in two innings of hitless baseball apiece. GCL Twins Takes The GCL Twins got another day off, though this one comes as the result of a rainy morning. DSL Twins Notes DSL Twins 6, DSL Orioles 15 Box Score Junior Amarante isn't a name even the most buff of prospect buffs is familiar with, but he's doing his best to start earning some recognition. Today he went 2-for-5 with a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth. Amarante, a right fielder, just turned 19, so he's a tad old for the DSL. (Baseball Reference has his age comp at 0.8.) On the season, Amarante has 14 stolen bases with only one caught stealing. He has a 15-to-15 walk-to-strikeout ratio on the year and is batting .354 on the season. Jermaine Palacios and Luis Arraez both had three-hit days. Twins Daily Players of the Day Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Jason Wheeler, New Britain Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Max Murphy, Elizabethton Tuesday's Probable Starters Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 Central) – Alex Meyer (Listen) New Britain @ New Hampshire (6:05 Central) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) New Britain @ New Hampshire – TBD (completion of Monday's suspended game) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 Central) – B.J. Hermsen (Listen) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 Central) - Lewis Thorpe (Listen) Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 Central) - Stephen Gonsalves (Listen) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (10:00 AM Central) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (10:00 AM Central) - TBD (make up of Monday's game) DSL Twins @ DSL White Sox (9:30 AM Central) - TBD Click here to view the article

Like every other team in the MLB, the Twins spent countless hours preparing for "J2" or the International Free Agency period that begins July 2nd. With a spending pool that was the fourth-largest in MLB, the Twins were aggressive early, inking two players from the Dominican Republic the first day they were eligible to sign. TwinsDaily learned that another player they were interested in, Dutch 3B Ruar Verkerk, signed shortly thereafter. We had a chance to exchange some questions with the young Dutchman earlier this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: verkerk.jpg Verkerk, after signing, with Twins Head of International Scouting Howard Norsetter. ------- TwinsDaily: Ruar, thanks for the taking the time to help introduce yourself to this community of Twins fans. The International Free Agency system is something that we get less exposure to, so it's nice to be able to get some answers from someone who was acquired this way. Obviously, coming from Europe where the most popular sport is soccer (to us anyway, football to you), what was it about baseball that hooked you and when? Ruar Verkerk: I came in contact with baseball because my dad was a baseball player. Also, my (older) brother played and I joined him and his team at the age of 3 or 4 years. TD: Did you ever play soccer? RV: No, only a few games with school on a tournament. TD: How familiar are you with Major League Baseball? The Twins have a pretty significant presence in Europe, were you more familiar with them? RV:Of course I know Major League Baseball. We often watch games on ESPN. I wasn’t more familiar to one team or another. TD: The process that ultimately led you to signing with the Twins. When did that begin? How many teams were involved? When did you know you would be signing with the Twins? RV: I have heard that they started following me at the age of 14. From my agent, I heard that five teams showed interest in me. But the Twins really made an effort to sign me. They have a good development plan for me and they want to give me time to adjust to play pro ball. TD: You told me the day the signing period opened that you were strongly considering waiting until after the European Championships later this month to sign. What changed your mind? RV: Things went fast after the 2nd of July. (The) Twins made a good offer and they really want to take care of me and sign me, so I decided not to wait until after the EC. Now I am more relaxed and I want to do my best (in) the Championship. My focus is now to win the EC with the Dutch team. TD: Before the period opens there are all sort of projections about what guys will eventually sign for. The dollar amount I saw hung on you was $500,000. Is that what you got? RV: The Twins have made a fair offer. I am not in the game for money. I am satisfied and happy. The information about the bonus I (would like to) keep to myself. TD: So what's next? I've heard all the "signees" head to Fort Myers, Florida, for a physical and an age verification/background check. Is that what's on tap for you? How does the rest of the year look? How much have they told you? RV: Because I am very young and not used to (playing) in the heat, I will go to Australia for a couple of months this winter. In April, I will travel to Florida. After that, I am not sure. It depends on my development. TD: The Twins have a Dutch presence currently, with P Tom Stuifbergen pitching in AA, Shairon Martis in AAA and Hall-of-Famer Bert Blyleven in the press box. They also recently released Curt Smith. Do you know any of these guys and have they contacted you since signing? RV: Yes I have had contact with Tom Stuifbergen. I saw him at the training in Holland this winter. Of course, I know Bert Blijleven (Editor: maybe the Dutch spelling, which is cool) by name . I have never met him, but I hope I will have a chance to meet him one day. TD: Was there any of your other teammates that signed with the Twins or another team? RV: A teammate from the Dutch AAA team got signed by the Baltimore Orioles. TD: Obviously, you're 16, so there is still a lot to "project" with you. Can you give us a scouting report on yourself? RV: I have a lot to learn, that’s for sure. I am a tall guy. I like to hit. I am a left-handed hitter, with - so I am told - a very good, smooth swing. I have a strong arm. I got the advice to go dancing, because my footwork needs improvement. Furthermore, I have to work on my speed (and) strength. I am very proud to be a Minnesota Twin. I want to work hard and my goal is to play for the Twins in the Majors one day.Thank you for the interest in me. TD: And, thank you, Ruar, for taking your time to introduce yourself to us. ------- If you're interested in following Ruar on Twitter, you can do so @ruarverkerk. Click here to view the article

Don't forget, a special Hangout will happen on Thursday at 6pm to cover the draft. It's Tuesday again, so be sure to join Seth and Jeremy at 9 pm for another Hangout. We'll be joined live by Eric Pleiss of Talk2Contact fame. Feel free to ask him lots of questions (like, why the perma-sweater?) Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg As far as baseball goes, we'll be talking about the Yankees series, the Brewers series, the minor leagues (as always) and some very impressive pitching lines from the last week. There's been some exciting transaction news in the last 24 hours and last, but probably most importantly, the upcoming MLB Draft. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] (The time that is listed is the actual time, so if you want to here the #AskERolf segment, go to the 25 minutes mark.) 9:00 - Yes, I inadvertently stole the GatG intro. John will take me over his knee on Thursday night. 9:00 - Joined by Talk2Contact's Eric Pleiss - we covered his life, basically, facial hair and what the heck does "Rolf" mean? 9:15 - Seth took over the conversation and made it more baseball related. We got the history of Talk2Contact. 9:25 - #AskERolf 9:30 - Upcoming plans for ERolf, and then ERolf and Seth talk Twins Baseball. 9:50 - How we feel about the "powder blues". 9:52 - Steve Buhr's interview with Terry Ryan. 9:57 - Seth breaks down Joe Mauer. 10:06 - Kurt Suzuki and Josmil Pinto. What gives with the lack of Pinto's at-bats? 10:13 - Buying Eduardo Escobar? Is he the everyday shortstop? Short-term? Long-term? 10:15 - The musical chairs that are the centerfield position. 10:22 - Twins take 2 of 3 from the Yankees behind three stellar pitching performances. 10:26 - Willingham and Arcia are back... much to the appreciation of those that like the Twins to score runs. 10:29 - Minor League Transactions 10:30 - Seth's report on Lewis Thorpe and Fernando Romero and the minor league scoreboard and other "minor" tidbits. 10:50 - Seth's "Players of the Month" 10:55 - Draft preview/recap Miss an episode? Well, they're all available on our webpage and iTunes. [/hr]The Twins evened up the series vs the Brewers yesterday, winning 6-4, so you can get 50% off your large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code 'WINTWINS' on Wednesday. [/hr] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Join Seth and Jeremy at 8:30 tonight as we discuss Twins Baseball. It will be viewable in link on this page as well as on Jeremy's Google+ page. We don't have a verified guest yet, and even if our planned guest falls through, we'll have plenty to talk about... we always do! See you tonight at 8:30 pm. (Click below to watch The Twins Hangout Live.) Feel free to send us your questions or thoughts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sJOyhIUCJ-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Click here to view the article

The Twins lost to the Mariners this afternoon and Denard Span was placed on the disabled list. Placing Span on the DL was a curious move, since rosters expand in a couple of days, and there are rumblings that he may be shut down for the rest of the year. If you've noticed that the "Rosters & Payroll" page hasn't been updated in a couple of days, I apologize. Hopefully by Monday it will be back up-to-date. Let’s take a look around today’s action: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]ELIZABETHTON 2, DANVILLE 9 (SEMIFINAL GAME 2 – SERIES TIED) Box score The E-Twins jumped out early tonight against Danville, leading 2-0 heading into the top of the fourth inning. Brett Lee, who only walked 12 batters all season, walked three batters with two outs and the flood gates opened. Chris Mazza replaced Lee and allowed a double. A throwing error by Niko Goodrum allowed the seventh, and final, run of the inning to score. Lee, who had a rough outing last Friday night as well, allowed six runs over 3 2/3 innings. Chris Mazza struck out four and allowed an unearned run (in 2 1/3 innings). Ricardo Arevalo struck out four in two scoreless frames. Goodrum’s second throwing error of the night resulted in two more unearned runs, these on Luis Nunez’s record. The Elizabethton batters managed only five hits: a single by Byron Buxton, a home run by Max Kepler, a single by Adam Walker, a double by Travis Harrison and a single by Candido Pimentel. Danville and Elizabethton will face-off tomorrow night for a spot in the Appy League finals. ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 10 Box score The winning streak is over. But even though the season won’t end with a playoff appearance, I think we’d all consider this season a success. Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Ray Chang (who Denard Span may still not be able to tell apart) each had two hits. Chang had a double, as did Brian Dinkelman. Eduardo Escobar added a triple. P.J. Walters threw 93 pitches in a five-inning rehab start. He gave up four earned runs and struck out five. Deolis Guerra allowed a run in two innings. Bobby Lanigan gave up five runs in two innings. A few of these guys may be joining the big club soon. Matt Carson, who didn’t play today, will join the Twins tomorrow. NEW BRITAIN 5, TRENTON 3 Box score Aaron Hicks hit his 13th – and final? – AA home run tonight. Will we see him in the Twins outfield on Saturday? Oswaldo Arcia, now batting .324, had two hits and two runs. Will we get a chance to see him too? Chris Colabello drove in his 96th run of the year. B.J. Hermsen (probably) cemented his spot on the 40-man roster with a six-inning, three-run performance. He’s now thrown a career-high 161 innings. That is probably the reason he won’t be a September call-up or participate in the Arizona Fall League. Hermsen, who doesn’t have great strikeout numbers, will be in the mix for a rotation spot next spring, though he will probably spend more time in the minors. Blake Martin and Dakota Watts combined to pitch three scoreless innings. FT. MYERS 8, CHARLOTTE 7 (10 INNINGS) Box score Kyle Knudson’s one-out walk-off single in the 10th was the highlight of tonight’s high-scoring affair. Danny Santana and Danny Rams each hit home runs. Danny Ortiz added two hits. Steven Liddle had a double. Madison Boer pitched the first six innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits. He struck out four and didn’t walk any. Nelvin Fuentes allowed only one hit over four scoreless innings to pick up the win. Fuentes, who seems to be injured just as often as healthy, had a very good 2012. BELOIT 9, WISCONSIN 2 Box score Congrats to Miguel Sano and Corey Williams who were named post-season MWL All-Stars. Sano missed his third straight game due to what is believed to be a minor ankle injury. It sounds as though he will be back for the playoffs. Eddie Rosario and Tyler Grimes provided plenty of offense in his absence. Rosario doubled twice and now has 30. Grimes homered and doubled. He is still batting below .200, but he does offer the occasional pop. It should also be noted that he didn’t have any errors. Kennys Vargas and “Our Favorite” AJ Pettersen had multi-hit games. Cole Johnson scattered seven hits over four innings, only allowing one run. Taylor Rogers picked up the win striking out six in 2 2/3 innings. DJ Baxendale and Mason Melotakis each struck out two. This Snappers bullpen is definitely ready for the postseason! --- Players of the Day for Thursday, August 30, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Nelvin Fuentes Download attachment: fuentes.jpg Flickrhivemind.com Hitters of the Day – Tyler Grimes Download attachment: grimes.jpg Beloitdailynews.com --- A Look Ahead – Friday, August 31, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Buffalo – RHP Kyle Gibson (0-1, 12.00) New Britain vsNew Hampshire – TBA Fort Myers vs Charlotte – TBA Beloit at Wisconsin – LHP Jason Wheeler (14-6, 3.44) Elizabethton vs Danville – RHP Hudson Boyd --- 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. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: bookkeeping.263192700_std.jpg The Twins made their first round of cuts this morning. I figured this was as good of time as any to highlight some things that are important (to nerds like me) as the regular season opens and progresses. The Roster and Payroll page has been updated to include a lot of new information. It was mostly re-shuffling of where minor league guys might go. It also included the batch of most recent international signings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] PAYROLL One of the reasons that I started this page was to keep updated tabs on what the Major League payroll is. We often get reports about what the "Opening Day payroll" is but then after that there aren't many updates. Payroll fluctuates whenever there is a transaction. The other thing is that only the 2014 salaries would be included when figuring that payroll. There are a couple other things that affect that number. OPENING DAY PAYROLL: Without knowing exactly what the final group of 25 is going to look like, it's impossible to say where that number is going to fall. At this moment, we're looking at the neighborhood of $83 million. OTHER ITEMS TO CONSIDER: The Twins have three players on their rosters that have an option year at the end of their contracts. Those years can either be picked up or bought out. The "buyout" portion of those contracts are paid out over the life of the contract (up until the option year). The Twins have a $1m buyout on the fifth year of Nolasco's contract. The Twins will pay him an additional $250,000 each year for the next four years. Both Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are owed an extra $100,000 this year. Burton's option year is next year, while Perkins's doesn't happen until 2016. That adds an extra $450,000 to payroll. ARTICLE XX( FREE AGENTS: The Twins signed both Jason Kubel and Matt Guerrier to minor league contracts. Because those players are coming directly off of major league deals, they would have to be paid $100,000 to be assigned to the minor leagues. Both of these players - as well as Jason Bartlett - will make significantly more than league minimum if and when they do suit up for the Twins. INCENTIVES: Perkins and Burton both have clauses in their contracts that pay them more for "games finished". Perkins also has a unique clause that will increase his salary for 2015 based on the incentives he earns in 2014. Mike Pelfrey and Phil Hughes can both earn more money if they hit innings-pitched milestones. Anthony Swarzak can earn more money by making 10 starts. Kurt Suzuki has triggers in his contract that will pay him more, basically, for being the starting catcher. And both Kubel and Guerrier have incentives that will pay them for their performances too. CREDITS: While it's not common to sell a player's rights, the Twins did just that this year. In agreeing to release Andrew Albers, the Twins were paid about $500,000 by a Korean team. The exact figure is not known, but two outlets have confirmed the amount was very close to that $500,000. There also always remains the possibility of trading a player under contract and having that team pick up the contract. That happened last year with Morneau and saved the Twins almost $3 million. LOOKING AHEAD ARBITRATION: The Twins avoided the arbitration process this past off-season by agreeing to deals with Brian Duensing, Trevor Plouffe and Swarzak. Next year, the Twins could face arbitration with as many as eight players. Duensing will enter his third and final year of arbitration. Swarzak will enter his second year of arbitration. Plouffe will enter his second year too, but has three years remaining as he was a Super Two player last year. Vance Worley would exceed three years of service if he plays a full year in the majors. Scott Diamond, Casey Fien, Eduardo Escobar and Alex Presley all currently have less than two years of experience, but with one more full season should have more than the Super Two cutoff and be eligible for arbitration the first time (of four). ROSTER ADDS: The Twins will have to add players to their roster in November to avoid exposure in the Rule 5 draft, and it's never too early to speculate who those guys might be. Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano and (the good) Eddie Rosario are must adds. Sean Gilmartin, Corey Williams, Brett Lee, Jason Wheeler, Matt Summers, Tyler Jones, Randy Rosario and Yorman Landa are some pitchers that will be discussed. I led off with Gilmartin, Williams and Lee because they're left-handed. Rosario and Landa have not yet played full-season ball, but might have upsides that aren't worth exposing. Aderlin Mejia and Niko Goodrum are two hitters worth mentioning. Former first-round pick Levi Michael would also be eligible for the first time. Let's hope Levi puts together a monster season. FREE AGENTS: The trio of Kevin Correia, Kurt Suzuki and Josh Willingham all are entering their final season under contract and will be eligible for free agency five days after the conclusion of the World Series. --- Obviously, that's a lot of information to try to digest. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or contact me @jeremynygaard on Twitter. If there's anything that can't be covered on either of those avenues, send me an email at jeremynygaard1@gmail.com. Hope you enjoy! Click here to view the article

The big news today was that the Twins reached an agreement on a contract with Nick Gordon, the 5th overall pick in last week's draft. His career will shortly begin in Elizabethton. The other news was that Kendrys Morales has had enough watching and started the game at DH before getting pinch run for late in the game. If you missed the action in that game (the beginning and end), make sure you catch it. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Gwinnett 2 Box Score Brad Nelson's home run to dead-center field in the 4th inning cut Gwinnett's lead in half. Unfortunately, the Gwinnett pitchers were able to minimize the Red Wings' bats. Eric Fryer was the only batter to record multiple hits with two. Kris Johnson took the loss - a complete-game loss - pitching all eight innings. He gave up eight hits (NO WALKS) and struck out five. He threw 71 of his 116 pitches for strikes. The Red Wings fall to 36-28 and a half of a game behind Syracuse in the IL North. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain - CAR! Game off! The Rock Cats had a day off today, but will be back on tomorrow. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 8 Box Score Fort Myers took a three to one lead in the top of the 8th and the duo of Brian Gilbert and Madison Boer, usually so reliable, promptly combined to give up seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks. They recorded two outs. B.J. Hermsen (remember him?) stranded three runners while recording the final out. Starter D.J. Baxendale gave up a run in five innings; Mason Melotakis pitched two scoreless frames. So allowing seven runs while up two means the Miracle still scored four in the ninth inning? Yep. That happened. The team was able to string together a number of singles and scored four runs before Adam Brett Walker flew out to deep right field to end the game. Download attachment: Grimes_640x360_dr7yyg6z_h1gh9mro.jpg Tyler Grimes was the offensive star: 4-for-4, a triple, two runs scored and two RBI, all while playing center field. Aderling Mejia, Stephen Wickens and Michael Gonzales added doubles. Walker went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. The Miracle fall to 36-27. Fort Myers still has a 1.5 game lead on St. Lucie as the first half is drawing to a close. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 2 Box Score When Chad Christensen drove in Ryan Walker on a 1st inning fielder's choice, it represented the one and only run the Kernels would score on Monday. Only singles by Joel Licon and Jon Murphy were added to the box score. Additionally, the Kernels struck out 14 times. Kohl Stewart pitched six innings and allowed only one earned run. He walked two and struck out two. He hit one batter and got 11 outs by groundball, compared to four by air. Reports had Stewart throwing an easy 95, with an 86-88 slider and a 77 mph curveball. The command of his pitches needs to come, but everything else is there. Yes, the lack of strikeouts is enough to cause an eyebrow to raise, but nothing to get alarmed over. Can you imagine when people start swinging and missing? No one's hitting him hard though they are actually hitting him. Jared Wilson finished the game off with two scoreless innings. The Kernels drop to 28-36 this year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kris Johnson, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Grimes, Ft. Myers. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:35 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ Reading – TBD (Listen) Ft. Myers vs Charlotte (6:05 CST) – Tim Shibuya (Listen) Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:35 CST) – Aaron Slegers (Listen) Feel free to question or comment below... Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ynoa.jpg Shortly after the International signing period opened today at 8am, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez tweeted that the Twins had an agreement with RHP Huascar Ynoa. Ynoa ranked 17th on MLB.com's top prospects. Baseball America placed Ynoa 14th on their list. Ynoa is a 6-2, 190 lb righthander who just recently turned 16. Earlier in the process, there was some belief that Ynoa was the top available pitcher in this signing period. Over a year ago, while participating in the 15U WWBA National Championship, Ynoa's fastball sat between 85-91 and Perfect Game called him "among the most impressive arms" at the tournament. As of late, he's been clocked at high as 94. But his ability is polarizing... Baseball America's profile of Ynoa said this: MLB.com said this: Ynoa's older brother, Michael, still holds the record for the largest bonus given to an international pitcher ($4.25m). Michael is 6-7, so there this plenty of time for lots of projection with Huascar. His ceiling is that of someone who could potentially be a top-of-the-rotation starter - he throws four pitches - but saddling anyone at 16 with that label is irresponsible. At the minimum, the Twins have added a potentially high-upside arm for less than $1m. He'll get all the time in the world to develop and will join the DSL Twins in 2015. The Twins still have $2,886,600 to play with in this signing period, but it sounds like Ynoa will be the most expensive signing. [/hr]Twins beat the Royals on Tuesday so on Wednesday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza at PapaJohns.com when using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

Last Tuesday night during Seth's weekly podcast, I expressed some surprise that the Twins hadn't drafted a middle infielder yet. Right away Wednesday morning, the Twins drafted a high schooler from Lexington (KY) Catholic (Ben Revere's alma mater). Not only did they get a guy who can slot in nicely to the system's middle infield, but they got a guy that will go far in MiLB.com's annual "best name contest". I had the chance recently to exchange some emails with one of the newest Twins. Twins fans, meet Will Hurt.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: hurt(1).jpg (examiner.com) The following interview was originally posted at ManCenter.com Jeremy Nygaard: First of all, congratulations on getting drafted. Tell us what this week has been like for you, not only in baseball terms, but also with high school. Will Hurt: Thank you! It's been a very fun and exciting process but at the same time a very hard decision to make. All of my friends at school have been very supportive throughout the whole thing and I cannot thank them enough for that. What were your expectations coming into the draft? WH: I always have high expectations of myself but there's always doubt that something could go wrong. However, I've known throughout the year that my chances of getting drafted were very high it was just a matter of where and how much. Now that the draft is over, you have made, presumably, a very difficult decision: Sign instead of going to Coastal Carolina. Tell us how you arrived on that decision and now that you've made your decision, what's next for you? WH: It was an extremely hard decision, by far the hardest I've ever had to make. The coaches at Coastal are great guys, I don't think there is a college program with greater guys as coaches. Coach Gilmore and Coach Schnall were the biggest reason I decided so early to go ahead and choose where I wanted to play college ball. It was privilege and an honor for them to think so highly of me to give me the chance to play baseball at such a great school. I made my decision because it's obviously something I've always wanted to do so why not go ahead and take advantage of having three years of pro experience instead of those three years in college ball? I feel like it was in my best interest to go ahead and get started. Coach Gilmore at Coastal Carolina says losing you to professional baseball would be a “crushing blow”. As a Twins fan, I read that as getting you to sign was a “huge steal.” Speaking of steals, it sounds as though speed is your number one tool. How do you use your speed to produce on the field? WH: I always want to try and make everyone I'm involved with happy as best I can. Unfortunately, in the situation, I can't do that. I've got to do what I think is best for me and my future. I love stealing bases and laying down drag bunts to use my speed as my advantage. On the defensive side, speed gives me a huge advantage at SS by being able to get to balls most people cannot. The Twins were introduced to Lexington Catholic when they took Ben Revere in the first round of the 2007 draft. Have you had a chance to meet Ben Revere? And if so, did you seek his guidance in making a decision to play pro ball? WH: Ben actually tweeted me the day after I got drafted and told me he'd make sure to get in contact with me as soon as possible. Everyone I've met that knows Ben have told me nothing but good things about him. I love the way he plays the game. He looks like he's having so much fun out there, always smiling and playing hard. I made my decision before I had a chance to speak with him, however. If I'm ever in need of advice I feel like he'll be a guy I can go to. Revere was signed by scout Billy Corrigan. Was Corrigan the scout responsible for drafting you and what types of conversations did you have with him leading up to the draft? WH: The scouts I interacted with the most were Rick Sellers and Tim O'Neil. Both are great guys who were very informative and helpful with every question my family and I had (there were a lot). Both told me to do what I think is best for me and that nobody else can make this decision for me. They not only told me about the positives of playing pro ball but how hard and how much work it is which really made me trust in them that they weren't just trying sign me for their own benefit but that they also wanted what's best for me. Will, thanks a ton for taking the time to help us learn more about you. Good luck with the rest of the season; great to have you in the system! WH: Thank you and I appreciate it! Can't wait to get started. ---- Will will report to Fort Myers on Friday and will receive his assignment then. He will most likely remain there with the GCL Twins. You can follow Will on Twitter @will_hurt. Click here to view the article

http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=6142&stc=1 The Winter Meetings have come to an end and with that, so will our special edition Google Hangouts. We do have one left, though, and you can watch it here, live at 9pm. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1v0aMRMDe-0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Wednesday night we talked about potentially adding Pelfrey and/or Arroyo and what it could mean for the starting pitching staff. We also discussed Josmil Pinto's shoulder, the signing of a Indy League MVP, the return of former scouts and the future of Liam Hendriks. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cWMRlzaRW5E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> You can also use the links below to find it on iTunes and on YouTube. ------ Tuesday night's episode featuring John Bonnes can be seen below. MIKE PELFREY!! <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wm5xzNjE8q0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> While the Big Pelf took up a too-large segment of our show, it was very entertaining to visibly see John Bonnes's blood pressure go up at the idea of re-signing him. John also talked about TwinsDaily's Winter Meltdown and other current endeavors (not limited to TwinsDaily's re-upping with the Cedar Rapids Kernels). We addressed other news of the day - such as the rumored interest in Stephen Drew - and answered random questions. So once you get by the first three minutes of confusion, you're in for a real treat! You can view the video embed above, the link to or the audio-only version here on iTunes at https://itunes.apple...d776886965?mt=2.--------- Guestless on a Monday. Seth and I spent an hour talking about today's Twins news. Well, it was like 57 minutes of talking about the Twins and four minutes of utter confusion when Jeremy's volume stopped working. We were able to reconnect the old school way - telephone - to complete our discussion and even made some room for the day's newest news: Rajai Davis to the Twins? Oh, just another day in the life of a Twins fan. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/d5Wc5BU3ZWc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> You can view the video embed above, the link to or the audio-only version here on iTunes at https://itunes.apple...d776886965?mt=2 (though that seems to be an episode behind). ----------------------------- Sunday edition: Seth and Jeremy were joined by 1500 ESPN/Eyewitness News' Doogie Wolfson as we kicked off our Winter Meetings Edition. When it comes to local sports, no one knows it better than Doogie. Doogie suggested the Twins might be busy this week, what positions they may be targeting as well as a few players who the team might be targeting for extensions. He also mentioned one (surprise?) name that may be available in trade talks. Drink it all in. video or Audio-only? <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kKpwZaCotQk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- Please leave your questions/comments below. If you're viewing live, you can ask questions during the show using the Q and A feature that we enable. These Hangouts are unlikely to last full hours each night, but this is great way to catch up on your Twins-related news of the day without having to pay close attention for the rest of the day. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: garver.jpg So here's the deal: I spent the last 90 minutes typing up the minor league report only to have the whole thing vanish when trying to add the picture you see over there. If it was 10:30... fine, I could handle that. But it's not. It's 1:15 am and I just got worked over by my wife TWICE playing Ticket to Ride. Well, not just worked over. Worked over about three hours ago before I started to write my original piece. So instead of getting the full version, you're going to get a slightly expanded Jeremy's Twitter-like Minor League Report. RED WINGS (box scores are linked) Durham 5, Rochester 1 Chris Rahl continues to hit well, but the team is starting to feel the effects of the Twins' playing musical chairs with their pitchers. They've lost 8 of 10 after tonight's 5-1 loss to Durham. Gilmartin struck out 9. ROCK CATS New Britain 4, Altoona 2 Tyler Duffey struck out 9 in 7 innings to beat Altoona and Aaron Hicks proves he's a AA baseball player. Rosario drops an 0'fer and so does Vargas (sorta). MIRACLE Ft. Myers 4, Brevard County 2 Tomshaw improves to 9-2, but team will need a Miracle for Buxton to stay healthy. Good thing they dropped two deuces tonight; Walker and Gonzales double. KERNELS Cedar Rapids 8, Fort Wayne 1 Garver drops bombs (x3). Hu deals (6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K) in win. E-TWINS Elizabethton 4, Burlington 3 Max Murphy might be the greatest player ever (three more hits, now .408). Gordon 1-3, BB, K. Gonsalves pretty ordinary (three walks, three runs, three strikeouts, five innings) in E-town win. GCL TWINS GCL Orioles 7, GCL Twins 2 Easton/Nordgren struggle in loss, Roberto Gonzalez drives in two on two hits. Next week will be better... or at least more normal. [/hr]The Twins hung on to beat Cleveland on Monday so today you can get a half-price large or extra-large pizza at PapaJohns.com by using the code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

It was a very eventful day all through Twins Territory. Read on for jammed-pack excitement... or at least a recap of what happened while you enjoyed the "unofficial" last day of Summer. Download attachment: 2011-11_FinalCountdown.jpg ROCHESTER RED WINGS 13, SCRANTON/WB RAILRIDERS 3 Box Score[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] From today's pregame notes: The Red Wings made a total of 140 transactions this year, which included housing 60 different players over the course of the season. That is the highest number since 1995 (62). Only five players made it through the whole season on Rochester's roster: Shairon Martis, Eric Fryer, Jeff Clement, Brian Dinkelman and Ray Olmedo. Scott Diamond will take the mound at 1:05 pm at Frontier Field in hopes of securing a win. With a win, the Red Wings also need Norfolk to lose to clinch a playoff berth. That is the only way the Red Wings season doesn't end today. In an effort to keep you up-to-date, I posted live updates throughout the Norfolk and Rochester game. If you still don't know - isn't the anticipation killing you? - you can re-live the moment. Right now. UPDATE 12:25 CT Scott Diamond gave up a run in the top of the 1st, but the Red Wings answered back in the bottom of the inning scoring three runs. They currently have runners on first and third with nobody out. Durham and Norfolk are currently tied at 0 in the top of the 6th. Durham put a runner on base with a 2-out single. Update 12:30 CT Norfolk got out of the inning. Heading to the bottom of the 6th. Still scoreless. Ray Olmedo singled home Jeff Clement. 4-1, still none out in the bottom of the first. Update 12:40 CT Norfolk started off the bottom of 6 with a double and a walk. Durham followed that with a strikeout and double-play. On to the 7th... Meanwhile, Rochester is still batting in the 1st. Eduardo Escobar has doubled twice and has four RBI so far in a 9-1 game. Scranton/WB has made a pitching move already. (These Red Wings must really not want to re-join the Twins. #jajaja) Update 1:30 CT Durham just stranded a runner on second base. He singled and later stole second. But with one out, they went strikeout/weak groundout to end the inning. Norfolk comes to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Rochester, on the other hand, continues to pull away... Update 1:34 CT Strikeout, groundout... we're one out from extra innings. Update 1:40 CT Durham is now batting in the top of the 10th. Eduardo Escobar is killing it, by the way. Two doubles and home run, so far. Update 1:45 CT Durham has a runner on first and third with one out in the top of the 10th. Update 1:47 CT A single scores the game's first runner. 1st and 2nd, one out. Red Wings gotta love this... Update 1:49 CT Inning over on double-play. Three outs from a Durham win. Update 1:55 CT Of course, Norfolk singles to lead off bottom of 10th. Former Twin Jason Pridie can't get him over to second. One out. Update 1:57 CT That's two swinging strikeouts in the bottom of 9 for closer Kirby Yates. One out to go... Update 2:00 CT It's an epic battle between Yates and Buck Britton... and it ends in another swinging strikeout. It's all on the Red Wings now... a win and they're in. Update 2:04 CT I gotta take a break from all of this excitement. Top of the 6th. 12 outs away. FINAL UPDATE They did it. They won and, by tiebreaker, are the International League Wild Card. Scott Diamond gave up three runs over seven innings and Virgil Vasquez tossed the final two frames. Diamond got a Olmedo-Beresford-Parmelee triple play behind him as well. Escobar finished with three doubles, a home run and 5 RBI. Ray Olmedo and Antoan Richardson each finished with three hits. The Red Wings will host the PawSox on Wednesday (Cole De Vries) and Thursday (P.J. Walters) before heading to Pawtucket for games Friday through Sunday, as necessary. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS 2, READING PHILLIES 3 Box Score Miguel Sano was getting the season finale off, until Evan Bigley was ejected. Sano finished the year with 2 Ks and a line-out to third. Brad Boyer and Kyle Knudson ended their seasons with 2-hit games. Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario each had a hit and a stolen base. D.J. Baxendale struck out nine over 7.1 innings. He gave up 12 hits and 3 runs. Ryan O'Rourke recorded the final five outs, with 1 K. FORT MYERS MIRACLE The Miracle are off today and will kick off a three-game set tomorrow with Charlotte at 6:30 ET. Game 1 is on the road with Games 2 and 3 scheduled for Fort Myers. CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 15, CLINTON LUMBERKINGS 6 Box Score Miguel Sulbaran improved to 9-4 on the season with a win today. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs. He struck out only one. The bullpen handled the rest of the game in small pieces and most of them threw successfully. Hudson Boyd (H, K, IP), Josue Montanez (.2 IP, 2 H), Brandon Bixler (.1 IP, K) and Brian Gilbert (IP, H) all had scoreless efforts in relief. Dallas Gallant was had a bit of a hiccup. Gallant got three outs, but also gave up back-to-back home runs and a walk for four total runs. He struck out two. The offense was pretty explosive today. They scored 15 runs on 14 hits. Adam Brett Walker (27) and Jonathan Murphy (2) both homered. Niko Goodrum, Jorge Polanco, Walker, Tyler Grimes and Michael Quesada all had doubles. Quesada actually reached base in all five of his plate appearances (two hits, three walks). The 88-50 record that Cedar Rapids finished with ties a franchise record and, to my knowledge, was the most wins in baseball this year. The Kernels will travel to Quad Cities for Game 1 on Wednesday night. Brett Lee is on the mound. The Kernels will return home for games Thursday and Friday night. Tim Shibuya and Tim Atherton (if necessary) are the scheduled starters. Leave your questions and/or comments below. Click here to view the article