John Bonnes

In case you didn't check out the blogs from today, you missed some good stuff...Download attachment: Personal-Blogging-Hullabaloo-All-the-Way.jpg If Stephen Strassburg can pitch on Opening Day this year, can Kyle Gibson next year? Cristian Guzman was released and is taking his (injured) talents to the Dominican Republic. It sounds like former top prospect Aaron Hicks will start the season at AA-New Britain. But is he ready? Shane wonders why not promote the veterans and let the prospects play everyday in Rochester? And Shawn wonders if David Bromberg can bounce back.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

At some (very depressing) point, as a season turns into an extended offseason, the focus needs to change. For the Twins, that change has been coming since the middle of last week. The turning point was tonight. Download attachment: francisco-liriano-versus-yankees.jpg At some point, the focus changes from the team to the players. The moves become less about what the team needs, and more about what each player needs. It doesn’t necessarily mean coming down on one side or the other, but the balance changes. That balance changed tonight. Tonight third baseman Danny Valencia was sent to AAA-Rochester and starting pitcher Francisco Liriano was sent to the bullpen. I like both moves, because I agree with the change in focus. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] I don’t know if Valencia is ever going to be a competent starting third baseman in the majors. Nobody does. But I sure used to think so. This move isn’t a punishment – it’s a release. Valencia is hitting .198, 50 points lower than last year, which was 50 points lower than 2010. As bad as that is, that’s not the most alarming of his statistics. He’s also struck out 23 times in 96 AB – and walked just twice. I don’t know what he needs, but he isn’t finding it here. I won’t argue with those suggesting that it’s foolish for a club to invest time in a 27-year-old’s career in AAA. But at this point, one needs to try things. Maybe AAA might reestablish Valencia’s confidence. With literally zero third base options in the Twins pipeline until at least 2014, why not try it? Which is exactly the philosophy for the other big move. Liriano is moved to the bullpen to try and regain some …. well, name it what you will. Confidence? Mojo? Momentum? Or, if you're especially cynical: Equity? They all work. The Twins and Liriano have tried everything else, and short of demoting him (which I suspect he and his agent would resist) this is the last option. If you’re of the opinion that Liriano needs to be traded for something valuable, I gotta think you like this move. Maybe Liriano can build some value. A decent reliever is valuable at the trade deadline. Even more so if he’s a southpaw. His value certainly can’t decrease. As for the rest – meh. Matt Maloney was the odd man out with another lefty moving to the bullpen. That's unlucky for him. I like Darin Mastoianni as a infield/outfield utility guy, though his infield coverage is limited. One can argue whether he’s the best fit, but I’m getting weary of sweating where deck chairs should be moved. PJ Walters must have had the right mix of control, BABIP and veterany goodness to make him the default pick for the open rotation spot. That's not the way I would go, but I’m not nearly as close to this situation, and it's close to a tie. Whatever. The bad news is that these look more and more like the moves of a last place team looking to the future. The good news is that is probably the correct philosophy to embrace. The focus is changing from the team to the individuals, and for both of these individuals, the change in focus looks to be wise. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: kfan_logo.jpg Aaron and John's Minnesota Twin podcast moves to KFAN 100.3 FM, but that's not the only change. The Twins relatively positive start also fuels their most optimistic episode, where they talk about Kevin Correia's fantastic start, the bullpen's impact and depth and the struggles some of the younger players in the lineup are facing. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Or click below to listen. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Benson_Joe_Original.jpg The Minnesota Twins made three roster moves today, the most significant of which was optioning outfielder Joe Benson to AAA-Rochester.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Benson had been nominally competing for the Twins centerfield spot with Aaron Hicks and Darin Mastroianni this spring. In addition, left-handed pitcher Pedro Hernandez was also optioned to Rochester and right-handed reliever Luis Perdomo was reassigned to minor league camp. Benson was always the longest of shots to win the center field job. Last year he struggled in AAA, was demoted to AA and finished the year with microfracture knee surgery. He also started slowly this spring, though he showed his potential later with a home run and some extra-base hits. The 25-year-old will try to regain his prospect status in Rochester this year. The Twins received Pedro Hernandez (along with infielder Eduardo Escobar) last year when they traded away Francisco Liriano at the trade deadline. The 23-year-old posted a 5.19 ERA in his four starts at Rochester last year before ending the season on the DL with a strained rotator cuff. Luis Perdomo threw 17 innings for the Twins last year, posting a 3.18 ERA, but he struggled with his control and was dropped from the 40-man roster this offseason. In addition, the Twins made some minor league cuts as well. Click here to view the article

If you're in the mood to listen to some Twins talk, but want to use your ears and give your eyes a break, check out these links:Download attachment: asustek_internet_radio_air_1.jpg Podcasts Seth does two weekly podcasts which you can download or listen to (and ask questions) live: Twins Minor League Weekly - Thursday Nights at 9 Twins Daily Weekly - Tuesday nights at 9John sits down with Aaron Gleeman at their favorite watering hole and talks Twins once per week, usually posting the results on Tuesday. You can find Gleeman and the Geek here, or you can subscribe, or you can check it out on iTunes, where you can do both. Radio If you would rather listen to us the old-fashioned way, you can often find us on the radio. John sits down with the PowerTrip Morning Show guys on KFAN every Tuesday and Friday morning from 6 to 9. You can listen here or find their podcasts here. Seth makes regular appearances on a number of stations, including: Dizzo's Den on WDAY 970 (Fargo) - The Sports Buffet on ESPN 99.1 (Sioux Falls) Twins Talk on 1700 The Champ (Des Moines) WQPM Radio at 1300 am (Princeton, MN)Front Row Sports with Scott Miller on KFGO (Fargo) Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Revere_Fielding_uspw_6390748.jpg Aaron and John start out with talk about Ben Revere's defense in center field, meander through the Minnesota Twins middle infield, rotation and bullpen, argue about Twins revenue projections and finish with mailbag questions and parenting advice. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.Or, just click on this link below to listen! http://traffic.libsyn.com/gleemangeek/Ep_58_Rating_Revere_and_Late_Night_Life_Decisions. mp3[/media] [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] . Click here to view the article

Download attachment: f-bomb-full.jpg Aaron and John talk about Francisco Liriano's latest ugly start, Luke Hughes leaving via the waiver wire, the clock ticking on Alexi Casilla and Danny Valencia, phone calls from listeners, why the bullpen has been better than expected, and why getting old stinks. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes (where you can listen, subscribe and leave ratings).[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Don't believe the hype. There might be 66 guys in Twins spring training, but they aren't really competing for roster spots. In fact, there may not be a single roster spot to compete for. Download attachment: 15518-Uncertain-Orange-Person-Shrugging-And-Weiging-Out-The-Options-Of-Yes-Or-No-Clipart-Illustr.jpg How come? Because of "options." Options are a MLB administrative rule that limits how long a team can keep a player on their 40-man roster but keep them in the minors. Basically, they have three years before they need to commit to bringing that player to the majors. For a little more on it, check out this entry, where I compared it to the amount of time before you move from dating to married. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] If a player doesn't have "options" left, they cannot be sent to the minors without being offered to every other major league team. So a team risks losing that player, and that isn't a risk the Twins are usually anxious to take. Thus, a player without options almost always has the inside track to make it to Opening Day. And when you look over the 25 spots the Twins have available, player without options look like they're going to gobble up most of the open spots. Let's run through them. The Twins entered spring training with their lineup and rotation pretty set, which (barring any injuries) takes care of 14 of the 25 spots on the roster C - Joe Mauer 1B - Justin Morneau 2B - Alexi Casilla SS - Jamey Carroll 3B - Danny Valencia DH - Ryan Doumit RF - Josh Willingham CF - Denard Span LF - Ben Revere Rotation - Carl Pavano, Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Nick Blackburn & Jason Marquis That leaves 11 spots, which probably includes four guys off the bench and seven guys in the bullpen. Here are heavy favorites for each of them: Drew Butera is likely the backup catcher unless the Twins are really enamored with newly acquired JR Towles.Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes are both out of options, so they're almost locks to be on the bench.The fourth spot might be the only open spot, but the obvious option is Tsuyoshi Nishioka, who the Twins will be paying $3M whether he plays in the majors or minors.And there are similar roster crunches in the bullpen. Four of the seven spots will likely go to Matt Capps, Glen Perkins, Joel Zumaya and Brian Duensing, all of whom are slotted for late-inning roles. And the other three spots? It turns out there are three relievers without options: Anthony Swarzak is out of options, is right-handed and did a nice job in the swingman role last year. It seems obvious that he would make it.Jeff Gray is a right-handed reliever who has pitched for several team the last couple of years. The Twins picked him up this offseason off of waivers because he was out of options. The Twins want at least one more right-hander in the bullpen, so he looks like a front-runner.Finally, Matt Maloney is a left-hander that the Twins also picked up this offseason because he was also out of options. He has mostly worked as a starter, but so did Perkins before the Twins moved him to the bullpen. And a third left-handed reliever might make sense given that Perkins won't be used situationally.Suddenly there are 0 spots left and another 41 guys in camp. So much for options. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: insurance-lrg.jpg So far, the Twins have invested $99M in their 2012 team. Whether you think they'll be competitive or not isn't the point. (I do.) Whether you think they should have cut payroll or not isn’t the point. (I don't.) The point is this: the Twins have invested $99M in their 2012 team. Now they need to spend a tiny fraction of that to insure it. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] You would think that would be obvious to the Twins, who have traditionally been a risk-adverse organization, especially under Terry Ryan. They demonstrated that again this offseason. They could've waited to sign their free agents, gambling that the market would go down and they wouldn't be left without competent players. Instead, they reversed course from the last few seasons, aggressively signing almost their entire roster before Christmas. But they also have a tradition of being extremely tied to a budget, and it appears they've hit it. But to stop now, when the free agent market is so affordable and they still have two enormous risks on the roster would be the definition of pennywise and pound-foolish. They created the first of these risks earlier this week when they signed Joel Zumaya to a super affordble one-year deal, heavy with incentives. The contract is awesome. Zumaya's health history isn't. Zumaya has failed to stay healthy for the last five consecutive seasons. The question isn't if he'll stay healthy. The question is when he'll break. When he does, the Twins are right back where they were a week ago - without a dependable right-handed arm in their bullpen other than Matt Capps. (Let's let the irony of that last sentence settle in for minute.) Zumaya has the potential to be a great signing or a dubious choice depending entirely on whether the Twins go out and sign someone else. There are a half-dozen competent right-handed relievers on the market, all of whom are likely to cost between one and two million dollars. That's how much it would take to transform the bullpen from “mess” to “average with upside.” The second risk was made clear last week on the MLB Network in an interview with Justin Morneau. "Most days, I wake up I feel pretty good. Usually after I get done, really exert myself, really working out hard after a long day, your brain gets tired and everything gets so worn down. It's not functioning the way it's supposed to be, and you kind of get done with the day and you go, 'Something's not right.' And you end up going home and taking a nap for a couple hours or whatever it is, and you wake up and the headache's still there and you kind of grind through it. But it's been a lot better lately.” “A lot better.” That’s an in interesting phrase. Not “good” or “fine.” Just “better.” Last year the Twins had a backup plan for Morneau: Jim Thome. He wouldn't play first, but manager Ron Gardenhire could move around the lineup and have Thome play designated hitter. He can do the same this year, except that the bats he is going to turn to are Trevor Plouffe and Luke Hughes. Meanwhile, one of the stories of the free agent market is how many designated hitter are looking for work. Vladamir Guerrero, Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Raul Ibanez, Magglio Ordonez and even Carlos Guillen are available and several of them are going to be available for about the same amount the Twins paid Thome. For $2-4 million, the Twins could pick up two key insurance policies on their #5 hitter and their bullpen. To not do so, to instead roll the dice on two critical areas that already look dubious, is foolhardy. ~~~ If you haven't taken advantage of the special pre-order price for Seth Stoh's Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, time is running out. This isn't an e-book, you can throw this on your bookcase, bring it to games, give it to the Twins fan in your life. Grab it quick to help retain your sanity during these cold snaps. You can order it HERE. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Hawkins_Latroy_600_321.jpg A few of our members have been writing about potential future Twins, but concentrating on groups of players that could not be more different. Cody Christie has taken a look at ex-Twins that are available as free agents this offseason. He started by taking a look at hitters, from Henry Blanco to Torii Hunter, but couldn’t find much of a fit. Then he dove into the free agent market for pitchers, which include some obvious names (Scott Baker) but stretch back to a 40-year-old that debuted with the Twins when he was just 22. Meanwhile, mnfanforlife reviewed the (so far) underrated career of Max Kepler, a German high schooler the Twins signed a few years ago. Then he summarized the seasons of five college relievers the Twins nabbed in the draft this year, several of whom Terry Ryan says will be looked at as starters soon. And since Ryan also hinted some could move up the ladder quickly, mnfanforlife speculates on each one’s arrival schedule. Thanks Cody and MFFL, and thanks everyone for reading, writing, conversing in the forums and keeping the Twins Daily community active. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 1994.pontiac.grandam.9010-300x189.jpg Aaron's car finally kicked, so we take this opportunity to go through each of the Twins players and talk about our expectations, including which car we would compare them to. (It's better than it sounds.) Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe andthe podcast on iTunes (where you can also subscribe and leave reviews).[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 2012-02-17-cicerone.jpg Aaron and John talk about potential spring training position battles, Miguel Sano's timetable, late-signing free agent pitching, new theme songs from New Zealand, a sponsor's resume, bar crawls, Terry Ryan's cancer diagnosis, mailbag questions from listeners, choosing an Olympic sport to pair up in, slumming it on other podcasts, and how to stupidly avoid moving at all costs. You can listen by clicking below, or download us from: iTunes,Stitcher orfind it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

John show off his motorcycle minutes after podcast #64 - and moments before he realizes he's killed the battery, which will undoubtedly be talked about at length in Episode 65. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Big-Hrbowski.jpg Aaron and John take the podcast to Town Hall Lanes and talk about Eddie Rosario's "drug of abuse" suspension, Oswaldo Arcia's Winter League drama, turning 31 years old and putting yourself out there, persistent Matt Garza rumors,Twitter rankings, a crowded pitching roster, paying money to podcast, buying low, our bowling skills, Chris Kluwe and picking fights, Philadelphia for Christmas, and being out of options. You can listen by clicking below, download us from: iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: patterson_bigfoot_lg.jpg Today's blogs feature the ponderous, whimsical and historical: First, Cody Christie wonders who the Minnesota Twins' franchise player really is. Joe Mauer is obviously on the list, but he's not the only - or even the best - candidate.Then Mr. Horrorpants brainstorms an idea for the Twins to boost their television revenue - and possibly contribute to "science" as well.Finally, John Swol investigates which pitcher in Twins history had the most success striking batters out. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: sabr.jpg Aaron and John talk about Joe Mauer making the All-Star team while Josh Willingham got snubbed, Aaron's vodka-filled experience at the SABR convention in Minneapolis, Ryan Doumit's contract extension, John returning from his East Coast ballpark tour, Trevor Plouffe staying hot, whether the Twins should be in full-on sell mode, the Francisco Liriano dilemma, and why Pizza Luce at 3:00 am is a bad life decision. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Terry Ryan_600-321.jpg Aaron and John talk about John's interview with Terry Ryan in the Offseason Handbook, cover a few minor moves, and argue a lot.Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe and the podcast on iTunes.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Fountain-pen-nib.jpg Plenty of good blogs the last couple of days, whether you like the minors, the historical or some random thoughts on the Minnesota Twins series win over the Tigers: In AA-New Britain, our beat reporter attended the Rock Cats Welcome Home Dinner. He meets a new player that reminds him what the minor leagues are all about - really loving the game. It's the birthday today of one the least popular Twins of all time. Thrylos is excited about the way the Twins are playing and has some random thoughts on the Tigers series. Alex is excited too - despite his best efforts to not be. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: 004.jpg Aaron and John take the podcast to the New Bohemia Octoberfest and talk about last week's Grand Drunk Railroad experience, Glen Perkins buying beers from the bullpen, who the Twins should purge from the 40-man roster, Joe Mauer's ongoing absence, Aaron Hicks not getting a September call-up, why everyone should use Ticket King, when and where baseball started, mailbag questions from listeners, and being hassled by the cops. You can listen by clicking below, download us from iTunes or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: mcguire_reese_metrodome_Other_250.jpg Who IS This Guy? Reese McGuire is a left-handed hitting high school catcher that is ready for the majors defensively, but will need several years to develop similar offensive skills. He has been projected to go anywhere in the draft from among the top five to 20th overall. The Minnesota Twins have been linked to him by Jim Callis of Baseball America and are definitely interested. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Besides McGuire’s skill set, he is intriguing for another reason: by signing him at a below-slot level value, the Twins could bank that leftover money for more aggressive (and expensive) draft choices later in the draft. Who Could He Be? His floor would be Drew Butera – a poor-hitting but defensively superior backup catcher. McGuire’s “pop” time – the amount of time it takes for him to receive a throw and get it to second base – is already at a major league level. Offensively, he is not nearly as developed but he projects to have some left-handed power (10-15 HR) and in this video Keith Law thinks he can hit .270 or .280 in the majors. Those stats line him up to be something like AJ Pierzynski only with Yadier Molina’s glove. That's a very valuable player. How Soon Could He Be Playing In Target Field? The last first round catcher the Twins drafted moved up in two-and-a-half years – but that was Joe Mauer. Four years is a much more realistic timetable, so he would debut in 2017, when Mauer is 34 years old, and a year before Mauer’s contract expires. If the Twins Draft This Guy, They Messed Up Because... If the Twins draft McGuire they are likely going to be widely criticized, some of which will be fair and some not. The widely held sense is that the Twins need to add pitching, that they are too enamored with defensive catchers and that they are unwilling to spend money. Drafting McGuire would reinforce these perceptions. But beyond the public relations problem this would cause, there are some real concerns. They will have passed on three college-age arms – Braden Shipley, Ryne Stanek and Sean Manaea - each of which could help alleviate a desperate need in the organization. They would also then have passed on a high school pitcher with as much upside as any arm in the draft – Kohl Stewart – and several other high-upside talents. Finally, high school catchers are inherently very risky draft picks. In last night’s Gleeman And The Geek podcast, Jeremy Nygaard listed the high school catchers drafted in the first round since Mauer in 2001. The only one who has made any kind of mark is Neil Walker – and he had to move from catcher. If the Twins Draft This Guy, They Nailed It Because... The Twins are in the unpleasant position of drafting fourth in what is widely considered to be a three-player draft. In any other sport, the wise strategy would be to move down in the draft, but MLB draft picks can’t be traded. However, if they sign McGuire for #7 money instead of someone else for #4 money, they can use the money they saved for “overdrafting” in later rounds, essentially adding two first round picks. For instance, if the Twins draft McGuire and sign him for #7 money, they would have an extra $1.3M to add to their budget for their 2nd round (43rd overall) pick, which is slotted at $1.3M. So they would have $2.6M to offer to the player they chose, who will be the 34th player chosen, which is as much as the 14th overall pick. That’s important in the MLB draft, because players drafted in high school or as juniors in college don’t need to sign. For instance, Manaea’s stock has been dropping as he has dealt with injuries. Once he falls into the second round, he’s unlikely to sign with whoever drafts him and teams know this, so he just keeps dropping. But the Twins could grab him there, offer him close to the money he originally thought he might get and end up with (essentially) two first round picks. Or, if the Twins feel like the value in this draft is in later rounds, they could use similar tactics in rounds three through ten. That’s the best case scenario, but the Twins would be taking a big risk that a player like Manaea falls to them and is willing to sign. This also requires a lot of preparation – you don’t want to draft a player if you’re not SURE he'll sign. MLB Draft Player Profiles: Monday, May 20-- Sean Manaea, SP Tuesday, May 21-- Austin Meadows, OF Wednesday, May 22-- Trey Ball, OF Thursday, May 23-- Ryan Stanek, RHP Friday, May 24—Clint Frazier, OF For MLB Draft Day Coverage, make sure you follow @TwinsDaily on Twitter! Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Aarons_Cat.jpg Aaron and John talk about Sam Deduno being on thin ice, pitching prospects Alex Meyer and Trevor May being almost ready, the Twins sending mixed messages about now vs. later, Josmil Pinto's demotion, weird phobias, Trevor Plouffe and Aaron Hicks getting hurt, the end of the line with Jason Kubel, Vance Worley rising from the ashes in Pittsburgh, and how to become a cat person in one week. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Click here to view the article

There was a lot of buzz on Twitter during the first inning of tonight's Twins game. Fans were excited to see Mike Pelfrey working significantly faster than they had seen last year. It was a conscious choice, and after his appearance, he talked about why he is making an effort to speed up. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Perkins_Mauer_600-321.jpg Here's today's top three trade deadline stories of the last couple days and how it might impact the Minnesota Twins: #3 - The Reliever Market Ken Rosenthal breaks down the "supply" side of MLB relievers for the trade deadline - and the Twins are completely omitted. That's a little surprising considering the Twins' seller status and the presence of Glen Perkins on the roster, but maybe Terry Ryan's protests about the subject are actually being heard. But there could be some other candidates too. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Lost in the recent slumps of Jared Burton and Brian Duensing is that they were both probably the most tradeable commodities in the Twins bullpen. Burton, prior to his groin injury, had been fantastic - a true closer candidate for a contending team looking to solidify it's late-inning strategy. And Duensing would work well with any of number of teams that are short on left-handed relief help, such as the Nationals, who we profiled this week. #2 - Yankees Could Use Catching It was revealed that Yankees starting backstop to start the year, Francisco Cervelli, is being shut down for two weeks before beginning his rehab again. The bulk of New York's playing time at catcher this year has gone to Chris Davis, who is sporting a .614 OPS. His backup has been Austin Romine, who has an OPS of .331 in his 31 games. Yikes. Even Drew Butera would be an upgrade on that. And now I notice that Ryan Doumit, after playing catcher just once the week before, started at catcher two times in the four games of the Yankees series. I don't know if that was planned - you'll recall Joe Mauer was out of the lineup completely on Monday - but we'll see how much time Doumit gets behind the plate in Yankee Stadium if he winds up in Gotham. There is a real fit there. I wonder how Yankees manager (and former catcher) Joe Girardi will feel about Doumit's defense. I suppose one could also speculate about moving a $23 million contract off the books, if one so desired. #1 - The Price Of Garza (and Perkins?) By far, the most talked about and valuable player on the trade market right now is Cubs starting pitcher Matt Garza, and there is quite a bit of speculation that he might be moved soon, with several teams pursuing him. But one of those teams will not be the Orioles, because they traded for Scott Feldman earlier this week. Yesterday we learned why. The Cubs were asking for Jonathan Schoop, a 21-year-old shortstop in AAA who ranked #50 nationally in Keith Law's preseason prospect list and Eduardo Rodriguez, a 20-year-old starter who was just moved up to AA and was #100 on Law's preseason list. From their stats this year, it doesn't look like either one is due for any major moves on the prospect lists. By comparison, here are how the Twins ranked on Law's list last offseason: Miguel Sano - 11 (moved up to 6 in an midseason Top 25 update) Byron Buxton - 22 (moved up to 2 in a midseason Top 25 update) Kyle Gibson - 41 Aaron Hicks - 49 Oswlado Arcia - 59 Alex Meyer - 61 Eddie Rosario - 65 The best equivalant trade I can come up with in the Twins system would be Aaron Hicks and JO Berrios. So now we know what the ceiling is for acquiring top prospects in this trade market. This was the premier guy, a starter, on the market a month before the deadline, and it was turned down by the other team. And it still wasn't anywhere near a Top 20 prospect. If you're looking to speculate on what it would require to pry Glen Perkins away, keep this in mind. Click here to view the article

For fans of the Twins minor league system, there were three of the organizations best pitching prospects all on the mound in one night. This is about as exciting as it gets, folks. Rochester starter Alex Meyer had pitched five straight starts of six innings by allowing two earned runs or less. New Britain starter Jose Berrios was making his fourth start at Double-A and he combined to pitch 13 innings of two-run ball in his last two starts. Lewis Thorpe has been showing signs of improvement even though his season numbers might not show it. One of these pitchers would have one of his best starts of the year. At the same time another pitcher would unfortunately be pulled early with an apparent injury.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score For the first time in five starts, Meyer didn't make a quality start but it was still enough to earn his sixth victory of the season. Over five innings, he allowed one run on two hits but he walked a career high five batters. It was his 13th start of allowing one or fewer earned runs this season. Lester Oliveros and Stephen Pryor each pitched two shutout frames to end the game and keep the Red Wings on top. Reynaldo Rodriguez hit his first Triple-A home run, a three-run shot, in the fifth inning. It was part of a five run fifth inning when the Red Wings sent 10 men to the plate. Doug Bernier extended his hit streak to nine games with a single in the fifth inning. With the win, the Wings take a 0.5 game lead in the Wild Card over idle Pawtucket. They also guarantee themselves a 4th straight winning month for the first time since 2006. Before the game, LHP Jason Wheeler was transferred to New Britain. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Clearwater 5 Box Score The Miracle were left without any extra-base hits and the team was a woeful 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Byron Buxton went 0-for-5 and struck out three times. Max Kepler reached base three times and Levi Michael went 2-for-4. Stuart Turner knocked in a couple of runs. The Miracle loaded the bases in the ninth inning but they couldn't plate a run. Steven Gruver was forced to make a spot start for the Miracle. He lasted three innings and was charged for two earned runs. After pitching two scoreless innings, Alex Muren allowed a couple of runs to score in the sixth as Clearwater took the lead for good. It was the fourth loss in the last six games for the Miracle. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Burlington 2 Box Score Lewis Thorpe had his strikeout mojo working for the Kernels. He struck out a season-high 10 batters over 5.2 frames for his second victory. He surrendered two runs on four hits while walking one batter. The bullpen had to do some work after Thorpe left with runners on the corners. Chris Mazza got out of the jam and limited the Bees to one hit. Jake Reed was perfect over the last two innings for his first save. Michael Quesada notched a couple of RBI in the fourth while Bryan Haar and Alex Swim each scored two runs in the game. Haar collected his 18th double of the season and Swim added his sixth two-bagger. Mitch Garver went 2-for-4 and stole his sixth base of the year. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Greeneville 4 Box Score The E-Twins struggled to find their offensive stroke in this one. The team combined to go 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position and the team left five on base. Dutch Deol had the only extra-base hit of the game a double that plated two runs. It was his third double of the year. Nick Gordon picked up a single to stretch his hitting streak to three games. Felix Jorge continued his stretch of strong starts since being send from Cedar Rapids to Elizabethton. In this contest, he went six innings and scattered four hits. He struck out four, walked one, and saw his ERA drop to 1.93 over seven starts in the Appalachian League. Keaton Steele was charged with the loss after he gave up two runs, one earned, in the ninth inning GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Rays 7 (7 Innings) Box Score The GCL Twins got within one run in two different innings in the first game of the double header but they weren't able to overcome the five run second inning by the Rays. Josh Burris took the loss after allowing four earned runs in a third of an inning. After the first three pitchers lasted less than an inning, Josh Guyer threw the last 4.1 innings by allowing two runs on three hits. It would turn out to be quite the day for Amaurys Minier. In this game, he slugged a grand slam with two outs in the third to bring the Twins within a run. It was the only extra-base hit for the team. Rainis Silva and Joel Polanco each added two hits and Silva had an RBI. GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 (7 Innings) Box Score Two runs in each of the first two innings were enough to put the GCL Twins on top in this one. Amaurys Minier knocked a two-run bomb to get the scoring started in the first inning. It was his fourth home run this season and his second of the day. In the second inning after some wild pitching by the Rays, Ruar Verkerk collected two RBI on a single passed the first baseman. Alex Tapia continued his winning ways tossing six innings and limiting the Rays to two runs on three hits. It was his fourth consecutive victory to start the season and it was his first time pitching at least six frames. Trevor Hildenberger allowed two base runners in the ninth but neither would score and he earned his fifth save. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Lewis Thorpe, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Amaurys Minier, GCL Twins WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (10:05am CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ Trenton (11:05am CST) – TBD (Listen) Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (6:05am CST) – Tim Shibuya (Listen) Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - Ryan Eades (Listen) Greeneville @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - Derrick Penilla GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD ---- Twins win last night and you do today. Order a large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com using the promo code TWINSWIN and get it for 50% off. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Valencia.jpg Aaron and John talk about dumping Danny Valencia, bringing back Tsuyoshi Nishioka, what the trade deadline inactivity means, what can be done about the Twins' medical staff, John's new motorcycle, Alex Wimmers' elbow surgery, and a report about Miguel Sano and the Beloit prospects from special guest Seth Stohs. Here are: the podcaststhe rss feed if you want to subscribe andthe podcast on iTunes. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Click here to view the article