Brad Swanson

Do you love baseball? How about listening to things? If you like both, can I just take one dern second and suggest that you check out the Baseball Prospectus podcast - Effectively Wild? Thanks. Effectively Wild is hosted by Ben Lindbergh and Sam Miller and sometimes co-hosted by some crickets. In the podcast, Ben and Sam each bring one topic per day to the table and then they present and discuss. Every so often, they each bring the same topic, which usually makes me drive right off the road. Before I explain the many reasons why this podcast should be the first thing you do in the morning, I need to give some background. Both are writers for Baseball Prospectus. Ben Lindbergh is also the Editor-in-Chief. Baseball Prospectus is outstanding. If you don't subscribe... well, why don't you? It costs 40 bucks per year. By comparison, this Ryan Braun designed abomination is on sale for 50 bucks. Are you really going to try to argue that shirt is worth 25% more than a BP subscription? For the visual learners, here is a nice chart: [ATTACH=CONFIG]2332[/ATTACH] Ok, that part is out of the way. Clearly, if you do not subscribe to BP, you should. However, if you followed that link and then bought the shirt (against my wishes), you can still listen to the podcast because it is free! In addition, it is a daily podcast. That's right, every Monday through Friday, you can wake up, download the podcast and then make your drive to work. Unless you work from home 3 days per week like I do, then I would not suggest driving to work just to listen to the podcast. Just listen from home or whatever. For the attention deficient individual, this podcast is perfect. It isn't one of those 3 hour podcasts that you hear about every day. They try so hard to keep it to 10 minutes, but it usually ends up being 15-20. I am thankful for those extra minutes though. The podcast is short enough to not take up a large chunk of the day, but long enough for the two of them to get into detailed and in-depth conversations on the topics that they bring. The fact that they only discuss two things per day make for almost no repetition of topics. The daily frequency means that they still cover a lot of baseball throughout the week. A few more reasons to enjoy. Ben Lindbergh podcasts from New York, Sam Miller from California. So, it is not clear which coastal bias is in play. You can listen yourself and try to figure it out. Both have a great dry sense of humor. They each record from weird places like Honda Fits and showers. Every so often, a rock star will randomly guest host. If you stay up really late, you can usually listen around 1am central time. Both of their first names have 3 letters. I always wanted to see a blue duck. My favorite part of this podcast is that they do not take it too seriously. I mean that in an endearing way. They discuss their topics and present their arguments, but they do it without any sort of arrogance. I think a lot of people are turned off by learned baseball writers for a sort of condescending, know-it-all confidence. I also think that some associate Baseball Prospectus with some sort of stat-nerd haven, which is just simply not the case. These two are knowledgeable, informative and entertaining. They are far from any of the following things: nerds, jerks, or stat-heads. They are two guys who happen to know a lot about a sport that you all enjoy. They are also really polite with each other, which I bet my mom really enjoys. All joking aside, I strongly suggest that you check this podcast out. Most mornings, it is waiting for me in my iTunes and you can have a fresh podcast waiting for you each morning too! These two know so much about baseball, it really is amazing. The level of knowledge that they have about individual players and teams is impressive. They are both able to come up with names and facts from past seasons without much pause. It really is something to listen to two professionals talk so eloquently about a subject that I enjoy and that I am pretty sure you all enjoy as well. Give it a listen, you won't be disappointed. If you are, you can tell them on Twitter at @ben_lindbergh and/or @SamMillerBP. Confession: I bought the shirt.

I didn't provide a video last week, so here are two by Brad: The Games Monday - Loss to Chicago - 4-2 I did not watch this game, as I had an awesome bout of food poisoning to keep me occupied. Deduno seems to have had a quality start, although the 3 Ks and 3 BBs don't make for a good ratio. Joe Mauer was caught stealing, so he is clearly overpaid. Tuesday - Win over Chicago - 18-9 Well, that was something. The offense lit up the White Sox and Phil Humber was far from perfect. Chris Parmelee hit another home run too. I am to the point with him that I want to see what he does with 500 or more at bats next year. Between these two Septembers (granted one is still in progress) and his AAA numbers this year, he has earned it. I wouldn't be too surprised if he put up numbers similar to Justin Morneau's 2012 numbers, if given the chance. With 2013 a very unlikely year for actual contention, it seems to make sense to see what he can do. Wednesday - Loss to Chicago - 6-2 Well, that was the P.J. Walters we were waiting for. You could say it was just Alex Rios that killed him, but 99 pitches in 5 innings is not done by one hitter. Chris Parmelee had a couple more hits, and hit play just seems to be begging for a full-time job next year. Thursday - No Game Friday - Loss to Cleveland - 7-6 As hopeful as I was about Liam Hendriks and his potential for MLB success, I am starting to think it might not happen. He doesn't look comfortable at all. I realize that is not a great statistical argument, but maybe something in his personality will keep him from being a successful pitcher. Perhaps he is just adjusting to this league. It seems that the way he works on the mound (slowly) is not going to make him popular in this organization. He might have a shorter leash than others, but that could just be conjecture on my part. Saturday - Win over Cleveland - 3-0 Cole De Vries deserves praise for this pitching performance. I have criticized him for being inefficient with his pitches and in this game he got through 6 innings using just 84 pitches. That is much better. However, it is a bit telling that he didn't get to go out for a 7th. Maybe the team wanted to make sure he got the win, and maybe Gardenhire thinks 6 innings is all you need from your starter when you can go Duensing-Burton-Perkins in the last 3. I think it is a bit odd that he didn't get to start the 7th inning. I'm not really criticizing the decision as much as I am curious as to whether it means something. Sunday - Win over Cleveland - 8-7 Esmerling Vasquez is not great. He nibbles with bad stuff. That just a brutal combination. Greg Maddux can paint corners, Vasquez cannot. It shouldn't be too surprising that he isn't good, as his relief numbers with Arizona were pretty bad too. Sometimes, a player is what he is. Ben Revere made a play that really bothered me and the broadcasters in this game. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Revere caught a fly ball in deep center and tried to throw the runner out at 3rd. He has a really weak arm. That is just the reality. His throw wasn't even close and it allowed the runner on 1st to get to 2nd. Ultimately, it didn't matter much, but it does seem Revere doesn't know his own limitations. What an interesting idea to pursue further... Walk off home runs - always fun. The Transactions 9/4 - Called up Eduardo Escobar and Luis Perdomo It seems the more significant news related to these call-ups is the fact that these were the only call-ups. It seems odd that Brian Dozier went from starting shortstop to not on the roster. There is a petition started to get Anthony Slama an opportunity. It isn't surprising that guys like Arcia and Hicks weren't called up, but it would have been fun to see them play. Escobar is probably better than Pedro Florimon. Is that really something though? Perdomo is nothing more than bullpen depth. The Injuries Matt Capps - Shoulder - September? Capps is throwing off of flat ground and I guess he could pitch at some point. But, what is the point? Denard Span - Shoulder - Soon? It sounds like Span should be back soon, which will be nice. Span is still one of the better players on the team, and I like to watch him play. Josh Willingham - Hamstring - Day to Day Willingham is likely to get a lot of days off as the year winds down. He has been the team MVP, so he certainly deserves some rest. The Standings [TABLE] Team Win-Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 44-96 --- 4-6 Chicago Cubs 54-86 10 4-6 Colorado 56-82 13 3-7 Twins 58-82 14 5-5 Cleveland 59-81 15 4-6 Boston 63-78 18.5 1-9 Miami 63-78 18.5 4-6 [/TABLE] The Twins have actually been the best of these 7 rotten teams over the last 10 games. I have become resigned to the fact that Cleveland will finish in last place and many Twins fans will rejoice. I will not be one of them. Boston doesn't seem to be trying at all, and could be a dark horse bottom 5 team. I still hope the Twins can finish in the bottom 3, but I am a notoriously negative nerd. The Future MLB.com updated their prospect lists! 4 Twins were in their top 100 and I am sure Oswaldo Arcia (who wasn't) was close. The farm system outlook is seemingly looking up. The four guys in the top 100 - Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Aaron Hicks and Eddie Rosario, all have a lot of promise. Sano and Buxton have star potential. However, this system has a lot of interesting prospects outside of the top 100. I'll highlight my excitement over these players in the future, but I am certainly keeping an eye on Travis Harrison, Max Kepler, Niko Goodrum and Jose Berrios, to name a few. I also like that there are three guys outside the top 5 who could still deliver big on past promise - Kyle Gibson, Alex Wimmers and Joe Benson. What was considered a weak farm system going into 2012 certainly looks more promising after a good 2012 in the Minors. The Big Picture In a previous post, I posited that the Twins in 2013 would at best be a 2012 Baltimore Orioles type of contender. I am starting to think that might be a whole lot of fun, possibly more fun than a season of assumed success. If you were an Orioles fan going into this year, you had almost no hope of getting to the playoffs. They started out well, and just kept defying odds and statistics. Now it is September and they are currently a playoff team (if the season ended today, which it won't). How much fun would that be for the fans? You basically have no expectations and the whole season is gravy. Even if they ultimately miss the playoffs, it would still be an extremely fun ride. It would be hard to be disappointed with a season like that. For Twins fans, this would be a more than welcome change from the past two seasons. Fantasy Tip of the Week DROP ADDISON REED ALREADY! He just makes you angry. Even when he gets a save, he gives up like 50 hits and walks everyone else. He has been a train wreck for a month now. It is time to cut ties, if only for your own health and well-being. You don't even need saves. You have plenty of good pitching, just drop him and be done with it. Sorry, that one is aimed at the author. I need to talk some sense into myself. Have a nice week everyone!

I didn't provide a video last week, so here are two by Brad: The Games Monday - Loss to Chicago - 4-2 I did not watch this game, as I had an awesome bout of food poisoning to keep me occupied. Deduno seems to have had a quality start, although the 3 Ks and 3 BBs don't make for a good ratio. Joe Mauer was caught stealing, so he is clearly overpaid. Tuesday - Win over Chicago - 18-9 Well, that was something. The offense lit up the White Sox and Phil Humber was far from perfect. Chris Parmelee hit another home run too. I am to the point with him that I want to see what he does with 500 or more at bats next year. Between these two Septembers (granted one is still in progress) and his AAA numbers this year, he has earned it. I wouldn't be too surprised if he put up numbers similar to Justin Morneau's 2012 numbers, if given the chance. With 2013 a very unlikely year for actual contention, it seems to make sense to see what he can do. Wednesday - Loss to Chicago - 6-2 Well, that was the P.J. Walters we were waiting for. You could say it was just Alex Rios that killed him, but 99 pitches in 5 innings is not done by one hitter. Chris Parmelee had a couple more hits, and hit play just seems to be begging for a full-time job next year. Thursday - No Game Friday - Loss to Cleveland - 7-6 As hopeful as I was about Liam Hendriks and his potential for MLB success, I am starting to think it might not happen. He doesn't look comfortable at all. I realize that is not a great statistical argument, but maybe something in his personality will keep him from being a successful pitcher. Perhaps he is just adjusting to this league. It seems that the way he works on the mound (slowly) is not going to make him popular in this organization. He might have a shorter leash than others, but that could just be conjecture on my part. Saturday - Win over Cleveland - 3-0 Cole De Vries deserves praise for this pitching performance. I have criticized him for being inefficient with his pitches and in this game he got through 6 innings using just 84 pitches. That is much better. However, it is a bit telling that he didn't get to go out for a 7th. Maybe the team wanted to make sure he got the win, and maybe Gardenhire thinks 6 innings is all you need from your starter when you can go Duensing-Burton-Perkins in the last 3. I think it is a bit odd that he didn't get to start the 7th inning. I'm not really criticizing the decision as much as I am curious as to whether it means something. Sunday - Win over Cleveland - 8-7 Esmerling Vasquez is not great. He nibbles with bad stuff. That just a brutal combination. Greg Maddux can paint corners, Vasquez cannot. It shouldn't be too surprising that he isn't good, as his relief numbers with Arizona were pretty bad too. Sometimes, a player is what he is. Ben Revere made a play that really bothered me and the broadcasters in this game. With runners on 1st and 2nd, Revere caught a fly ball in deep center and tried to throw the runner out at 3rd. He has a really weak arm. That is just the reality. His throw wasn't even close and it allowed the runner on 1st to get to 2nd. Ultimately, it didn't matter much, but it does seem Revere doesn't know his own limitations. What an interesting idea to pursue further... Walk off home runs - always fun. The Transactions 9/4 - Called up Eduardo Escobar and Luis Perdomo It seems the more significant news related to these call-ups is the fact that these were the only call-ups. It seems odd that Brian Dozier went from starting shortstop to not on the roster. There is a petition started to get Anthony Slama an opportunity. It isn't surprising that guys like Arcia and Hicks weren't called up, but it would have been fun to see them play. Escobar is probably better than Pedro Florimon. Is that really something though? Perdomo is nothing more than bullpen depth. The Injuries Matt Capps - Shoulder - September? Capps is throwing off of flat ground and I guess he could pitch at some point. But, what is the point? Denard Span - Shoulder - Soon? It sounds like Span should be back soon, which will be nice. Span is still one of the better players on the team, and I like to watch him play. Josh Willingham - Hamstring - Day to Day Willingham is likely to get a lot of days off as the year winds down. He has been the team MVP, so he certainly deserves some rest. The Standings [TABLE] Team Win-Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 44-96 --- 4-6 Chicago Cubs 54-86 10 4-6 Colorado 56-82 13 3-7 Twins 58-82 14 5-5 Cleveland 59-81 15 4-6 Boston 63-78 18.5 1-9 Miami 63-78 18.5 4-6 [/TABLE] The Twins have actually been the best of these 7 rotten teams over the last 10 games. I have become resigned to the fact that Cleveland will finish in last place and many Twins fans will rejoice. I will not be one of them. Boston doesn't seem to be trying at all, and could be a dark horse bottom 5 team. I still hope the Twins can finish in the bottom 3, but I am a notoriously negative nerd. The Future MLB.com updated their prospect lists! 4 Twins were in their top 100 and I am sure Oswaldo Arcia (who wasn't) was close. The farm system outlook is seemingly looking up. The four guys in the top 100 - Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Aaron Hicks and Eddie Rosario, all have a lot of promise. Sano and Buxton have star potential. However, this system has a lot of interesting prospects outside of the top 100. I'll highlight my excitement over these players in the future, but I am certainly keeping an eye on Travis Harrison, Max Kepler, Niko Goodrum and Jose Berrios, to name a few. I also like that there are three guys outside the top 5 who could still deliver big on past promise - Kyle Gibson, Alex Wimmers and Joe Benson. What was considered a weak farm system going into 2012 certainly looks more promising after a good 2012 in the Minors. The Big Picture In a previous post, I posited that the Twins in 2013 would at best be a 2012 Baltimore Orioles type of contender. I am starting to think that might be a whole lot of fun, possibly more fun than a season of assumed success. If you were an Orioles fan going into this year, you had almost no hope of getting to the playoffs. They started out well, and just kept defying odds and statistics. Now it is September and they are currently a playoff team (if the season ended today, which it won't). How much fun would that be for the fans? You basically have no expectations and the whole season is gravy. Even if they ultimately miss the playoffs, it would still be an extremely fun ride. It would be hard to be disappointed with a season like that. For Twins fans, this would be a more than welcome change from the past two seasons. Fantasy Tip of the Week DROP ADDISON REED ALREADY! He just makes you angry. Even when he gets a save, he gives up like 50 hits and walks everyone else. He has been a train wreck for a month now. It is time to cut ties, if only for your own health and well-being. You don't even need saves. You have plenty of good pitching, just drop him and be done with it. Sorry, that one is aimed at the author. I need to talk some sense into myself. Have a nice week everyone!

The end of a season is almost always disappointing. Only one team wins the World Series each year, and for each and every other team, there is some level of failure. Some teams fail a lot more spectacularly than others. Some fail like a gas main breaking or a lady falling out of a grape-stomping rig. In a lot of ways, the 2012 Twins are like the grape-stomping lady. They asked everyone for a break while they gathered themselves from the 2011 filled with injuries and disappointment, only to fall flat on their face, writhing in agony as their biggest supporters looked on without a clue how to respond. September of 2012 is going to be a very important month. The future of the organization can see a slight improvement, if the present it not quite so tolerable. Losing every game in September is really in the best interest of this team. Tanking is not cool though. The Minnesota Timberwolves tanked pretty visibly in the final game of the 2005-06 season, and were able to get a slightly better draft pick. They totally blew it though, and drafted Brandon Roy, only to trade him for Randy Foye. Rhymes and basketball aside, tanking has some karmic negatives, which cannot be proved using sabermetrics. The Twins can lose as many games as needed, without resorting to all-out tanking. Last September, it was an easier task. There were so many injuries last year, the team had no issues putting out a lineup and pitching staff that couldn't match up to other teams. This year, the rotation is terrible, but the lineup and bullpen have been good. This team seems more equipped to win games this year, compared with last year's team. Now, many probably don't care about draft picks much, but under the new CBA, higher draft slot means more money to spend. Having more money could allow the team to draft some high school players and keep them from going to college. Tanking is not an option. They can't just roll Matt Carson out every game or karma will get suspicious. This takes a more delicate touch. They have to use the best team they have available, while also giving "rest" to the veterans that need it. They are in a position to give a lot more rest to these older players. They can also introduce some youth. Young players need to be evaluated at the MLB level, and this seems like the perfect opportunity. However, all of this means that Ron Gardenhire is going to have some very difficult conversations to have. This is what they might sound like: Gardy's Conversation with Denard Span: "SpanMan, we need to talk. SpanMan, I know you're a gamer. You want to get out there and get at it. Your shoulder is barking and we'd love to see you back on the field. However, we want you to rest that shoulder, to be ready to get at it in 2013. We're going to give some at bats to some young guys, to see how they get at it. If you want to battle, I get it, but let's save the battle for next year." Gardy's Conversation with Trevor Plouffe: "Plouffey, we need to talk. Plouffey, I know you are a gamer. You are back out there and you're getting after it. Your thumb is still bothering you, but we need to see how you get at it in September. Next year, we are going to need you to battle through 162 games, because that is a full season. So, get out there, battle, and play hard through September." Gardy's Conversation with Justin Morneau: "Morney, it's good to see you out on that field, getting after it. We've always known that you're a gamer and that you battle. We've got some young bucks that we want to get a look at though, so we're going to give you some rest here and there. That way, you are ready to get after it again next year. Gardy's Conversation with Josh Willingham: Big Joshy, we have to have a chat. Joshy, I know that you want to be out there, getting after it. We want you out there battling too. We're going to sit you down a few days though, just to see how the other guys get after it. We need to see more from Benjamin, The Family Parm, and Matty Cars. We'll get you in the lineup most nights. Gardy's Conversation with Samuel Deduno: Deduner, time to talk. I've been impressed with how you are battling these last months. We need you keep going out there, getting after it, but start pounding the strike zone. Make sure those hitters put those balls in play and let your defense get after it as well. Battle, pound and get after it, ok? Gardy's Conversation with Matt Capps Capper, take a seat. I'm happy to see how the rehab is going. You could have given up, but you kept battling. We're going to need you in September to throw some innings. Keep working hard, get after it and battle. We have to see what's in the tank, so that we can find some innings for you in 2013. Gardy's Conversation with Terry Ryan: Terry, I need some time. I need Blackie back up here. The pitching staff is battling, but they are tired. Blackie is a bulldog and we can really use him right now. He will come up and get after it, and that is what I want in one of my pitchers. We need to see what he can give us next year and see if that sinker is sinkin' Gardy's Conversation with Joe Mauer Joseph, can I have a second? I know you want to be out there every day, and I'll make sure you are. Are you sure you don't want some breaks though? Maybe rest your knees? We could get you some DH time or even some days off? Will that work? You've been a warrior and a bulldog, so it would be great to give you some time off. Is that cool? As you can see, Gardy has a lot of tough talks coming up. Resting regulars, giving "young" players some time and seeing what some retreads can do next year, are all good ways to lose without trying to lose. But really, they seem to have the losing thing down, if the last two seasons are any indication. Yikes, this one got away from me. Sorry about that.

The end of a season is almost always disappointing. Only one team wins the World Series each year, and for each and every other team, there is some level of failure. Some teams fail a lot more spectacularly than others. Some fail like a gas main breaking or a lady falling out of a grape-stomping rig. In a lot of ways, the 2012 Twins are like the grape-stomping lady. They asked everyone for a break while they gathered themselves from the 2011 filled with injuries and disappointment, only to fall flat on their face, writhing in agony as their biggest supporters looked on without a clue how to respond. September of 2012 is going to be a very important month. The future of the organization can see a slight improvement, if the present it not quite so tolerable. Losing every game in September is really in the best interest of this team. Tanking is not cool though. The Minnesota Timberwolves tanked pretty visibly in the final game of the 2005-06 season, and were able to get a slightly better draft pick. They totally blew it though, and drafted Brandon Roy, only to trade him for Randy Foye. Rhymes and basketball aside, tanking has some karmic negatives, which cannot be proved using sabermetrics. The Twins can lose as many games as needed, without resorting to all-out tanking. Last September, it was an easier task. There were so many injuries last year, the team had no issues putting out a lineup and pitching staff that couldn't match up to other teams. This year, the rotation is terrible, but the lineup and bullpen have been good. This team seems more equipped to win games this year, compared with last year's team. Now, many probably don't care about draft picks much, but under the new CBA, higher draft slot means more money to spend. Having more money could allow the team to draft some high school players and keep them from going to college. Tanking is not an option. They can't just roll Matt Carson out every game or karma will get suspicious. This takes a more delicate touch. They have to use the best team they have available, while also giving "rest" to the veterans that need it. They are in a position to give a lot more rest to these older players. They can also introduce some youth. Young players need to be evaluated at the MLB level, and this seems like the perfect opportunity. However, all of this means that Ron Gardenhire is going to have some very difficult conversations to have. This is what they might sound like: Gardy's Conversation with Denard Span: "SpanMan, we need to talk. SpanMan, I know you're a gamer. You want to get out there and get at it. Your shoulder is barking and we'd love to see you back on the field. However, we want you to rest that shoulder, to be ready to get at it in 2013. We're going to give some at bats to some young guys, to see how they get at it. If you want to battle, I get it, but let's save the battle for next year." Gardy's Conversation with Trevor Plouffe: "Plouffey, we need to talk. Plouffey, I know you are a gamer. You are back out there and you're getting after it. Your thumb is still bothering you, but we need to see how you get at it in September. Next year, we are going to need you to battle through 162 games, because that is a full season. So, get out there, battle, and play hard through September." Gardy's Conversation with Justin Morneau: "Morney, it's good to see you out on that field, getting after it. We've always known that you're a gamer and that you battle. We've got some young bucks that we want to get a look at though, so we're going to give you some rest here and there. That way, you are ready to get after it again next year. Gardy's Conversation with Josh Willingham: Big Joshy, we have to have a chat. Joshy, I know that you want to be out there, getting after it. We want you out there battling too. We're going to sit you down a few days though, just to see how the other guys get after it. We need to see more from Benjamin, The Family Parm, and Matty Cars. We'll get you in the lineup most nights. Gardy's Conversation with Samuel Deduno: Deduner, time to talk. I've been impressed with how you are battling these last months. We need you keep going out there, getting after it, but start pounding the strike zone. Make sure those hitters put those balls in play and let your defense get after it as well. Battle, pound and get after it, ok? Gardy's Conversation with Matt Capps Capper, take a seat. I'm happy to see how the rehab is going. You could have given up, but you kept battling. We're going to need you in September to throw some innings. Keep working hard, get after it and battle. We have to see what's in the tank, so that we can find some innings for you in 2013. Gardy's Conversation with Terry Ryan: Terry, I need some time. I need Blackie back up here. The pitching staff is battling, but they are tired. Blackie is a bulldog and we can really use him right now. He will come up and get after it, and that is what I want in one of my pitchers. We need to see what he can give us next year and see if that sinker is sinkin' Gardy's Conversation with Joe Mauer Joseph, can I have a second? I know you want to be out there every day, and I'll make sure you are. Are you sure you don't want some breaks though? Maybe rest your knees? We could get you some DH time or even some days off? Will that work? You've been a warrior and a bulldog, so it would be great to give you some time off. Is that cool? As you can see, Gardy has a lot of tough talks coming up. Resting regulars, giving "young" players some time and seeing what some retreads can do next year, are all good ways to lose without trying to lose. But really, they seem to have the losing thing down, if the last two seasons are any indication. Yikes, this one got away from me. Sorry about that.

This is an excellent article. It seems like this has been such a common, recurring question since the 90s. I have no answer, but I tend to think that the answer is not currently on the roster. If Escobar is as good with his glove as I have heard, I might just be willing to completely sacrifice offense to watch a good defender every day. Is that what it has come to?

One other name that I think will creep up draft lists in 2013, a la Albert Almora in 2012 is Clint Frazier. This guy is a Gamer with the biggest capital G you can find. I watched him in the Under Armour Game and he was really impressive. I think John Manuel called him "Ginger Mike Trout" or something like that. I am very interested in Karsten Whitson too. I hope he bounces back, but not so much that he becomes a premier prospect again. I'd love to see the Twins get a guy like Whitson past the first round.

Yeah, I am not sure about that. I Googled it, but gave up quickly. Gaetti popped back into my head when Ron Santo was elected to the HOF. Gaetti is clearly not the player Santo was, but their careers compare more favorably than I thought they did.

I was shocked at how good his '95 and even '96 seasons were. Also, if you Google him, his Google Image is quite awesome.

A couple months ago, a bunch of extremely talented baseball writers came together to write a book about players who are not Hall of Fame worthy, but had careers worth remembering. The book is called The Hall of Very Good The Hall of Nearly Great. It is an eBook, it highlights about 40 players and it is amazing. It was a Kickstarter deal, and I can say I proudly contributed. There are three Twins profiled in this book: Frank Viola, Brad Radke and Mr. Battery-Magnet himself, Chuck Knoblauch. If you bid enough money on Kickstarter, you were allowed to pick a player to have profiled. I would have picked Gary Gaetti. Gaetti was a very valuable player for quite a few years. He was also a not-so-great player for a few years. 1986 was a year where he was an extremely valuable player. 1986 was also a pretty significant year for the Twins and its players. Tom Kelly became the manager, and eventually led the team to two World Series titles. 2 players hit 30 or more home runs and the same 2 players won their first Gold Gloves. Kirby Puckett was one player and Gary Gaetti was the other. According to Baseball Reference, Puckett and Gaetti shared the team lead with a 5.5 WAR. Puckett made the All-Star Team, Gaetti didn't. We all know that Kirby Puckett was the star of the Twins. What I didn't remember was just how valuable and important Gary Gaetti was to the Twins in that era. Here are some of his 1986 numbers: .287/.347/.518, 34 home runs, 108 RBI, and 34 doubles. Throw in Gold Glove quality third base play, and it is easy to see just how important Gaetti was to this Twins team. Gaetti was 27 that year and went into 1987 as the clear starting third baseman. Gaetti hadn't really had a good season before 1986. He didn't hit for much average, didn't get on base and didn't have much power. He was getting older and not really fulfilling a lot of his 1st round promise. Defensively, he was good, but his hitting was not there. That clearly changed in 1986. Gary Gaetti's 1986 season made him a pillar of the 1987 Championship team. He would stay with the Twins through 1990, when he left via free agency to play for the Angels. The Twins won the World Series in 1991 without him, but he continued to be a good (1991), sometimes great (1995) and sometimes not-so-great (1992) player. When I thought of the 1987 World Series Champion Twins, I thought of players in this order: Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Bert Blyleven, Kent Hrbek and then Gary Gaetti. That year, that order was about right. For that era, Gaetti was on par with those players and sometimes better than those players. All 5 are in the Twins Hall of Fame, right where they should be. Gaetti's strong 1986 made sure that he was remembered as one of the best players on a Championship team.

A couple months ago, a bunch of extremely talented baseball writers came together to write a book about players who are not Hall of Fame worthy, but had careers worth remembering. The book is called The Hall of Very Good The Hall of Nearly Great. It is an eBook, it highlights about 40 players and it is amazing. It was a Kickstarter deal, and I can say I proudly contributed. There are three Twins profiled in this book: Frank Viola, Brad Radke and Mr. Battery-Magnet himself, Chuck Knoblauch. If you bid enough money on Kickstarter, you were allowed to pick a player to have profiled. I would have picked Gary Gaetti. Gaetti was a very valuable player for quite a few years. He was also a not-so-great player for a few years. 1986 was a year where he was an extremely valuable player. 1986 was also a pretty significant year for the Twins and its players. Tom Kelly became the manager, and eventually led the team to two World Series titles. 2 players hit 30 or more home runs and the same 2 players won their first Gold Gloves. Kirby Puckett was one player and Gary Gaetti was the other. According to Baseball Reference, Puckett and Gaetti shared the team lead with a 5.5 WAR. Puckett made the All-Star Team, Gaetti didn't. We all know that Kirby Puckett was the star of the Twins. What I didn't remember was just how valuable and important Gary Gaetti was to the Twins in that era. Here are some of his 1986 numbers: .287/.347/.518, 34 home runs, 108 RBI, and 34 doubles. Throw in Gold Glove quality third base play, and it is easy to see just how important Gaetti was to this Twins team. Gaetti was 27 that year and went into 1987 as the clear starting third baseman. Gaetti hadn't really had a good season before 1986. He didn't hit for much average, didn't get on base and didn't have much power. He was getting older and not really fulfilling a lot of his 1st round promise. Defensively, he was good, but his hitting was not there. That clearly changed in 1986. Gary Gaetti's 1986 season made him a pillar of the 1987 Championship team. He would stay with the Twins through 1990, when he left via free agency to play for the Angels. The Twins won the World Series in 1991 without him, but he continued to be a good (1991), sometimes great (1995) and sometimes not-so-great (1992) player. When I thought of the 1987 World Series Champion Twins, I thought of players in this order: Kirby Puckett, Frank Viola, Bert Blyleven, Kent Hrbek and then Gary Gaetti. That year, that order was about right. For that era, Gaetti was on par with those players and sometimes better than those players. All 5 are in the Twins Hall of Fame, right where they should be. Gaetti's strong 1986 made sure that he was remembered as one of the best players on a Championship team.

The Games Monday - Loss to Seattle - 1-0 Felix Hernandez is the Maestro. I have no problem calling him that. Roy Smalley was saying that he really has 12 pitches, and I totally agree. He is truly one of the best pitchers of this generation. Liam Hendriks was really good too. He doesn't work quickly, but if he can keep runners off the bases and pitch efficiently, he can be successful. He has good enough stuff to get hitters out, if he trusts it. No offense to discuss here. Tuesday - Loss to Seattle - 5-2 I watched this whole game and I don't remember a thing. Diamond was neither good nor bad. When pitchers put a lot of balls in play, sometimes they fall and sometimes they fall over the fence. Diamond is bound to regress a bit, but hopefully this is just a blip on the radar. Hisashi Iwakuma owns the Twins. Wednesday - Win over Seattle - 10-0 When you follow and root for a bad team, games like this are really important. The Twins have lost so much recently, that you sometimes forget how fun it is to watch winning baseball. The team hit, pitched and fielded well in this game. Trevor Plouffe had a big game and hopefully it was a sign that he is going to get back on track and have a strong September. The Samuel Deduno that pitched in this game can help a team going forward. It was only one game, but as always, he deserves credit for that one game. Thursday - Loss to Seattle - 5-4 I didn't watch this one (day job), but from the box score, it doesn't look like I missed much. It is too bad that Mastroianni couldn't have stolen home in the 9th. That seems a bit unfair though. Duensing pitched well for awhile, but couldn't get out of the fifth. Friday - Postponed Saturday - Win over Kansas City - 3-1 and Win over Kansas City 8-7 Considering how hard it has been for the Twins to win one game per day over the last month, two wins in one day is a bonanza. In game 1, Cole DeVries was a lot more efficient and almost got through 7 innings. In game 2, Liam Hendriks pitched poorly, after being staked a big lead. I still like Hendriks more than DeVries, this doubleheader notwithstanding. Joe Mauer launched a grand slam. It was the Twins' first grand slam of the season. Chris Parmelee hit his first home run since being recalled. Sunday - Loss to Kansas City - 6-4 Chris Parmelee hit his second home run since being recalled. Esmerling Vasquez didn't pitch particularly well in his first start. He walked 3 and gave up 7 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. Brian Duensing pitched in relief; a role he will likely employ next season. Oh, Tim Collins pitched like crap and got the win for Kansas City. The Transactions 8/29 - Outrighted Jeff Gray and Recalled Chris Parmelee I had some hilarious and snarky comments about Jeff Gray in my Pitchers that can Contribute post from last Friday, but I had to delete them when Gray was taken off the 40-man roster. No one will ever read those words. We all know that Gray was awful and Parmelee needed to be in the majors. Span seems to still be favoring his shoulder, so maybe Parmelee will get some playing time this go around. He has certainly earned the opportunity. 8/31 - Recalled Matt Carson from AAA This is nice for Carson, but I honestly hope he doesn't play much. With so many younger and more promising outfielders on the roster, I am hoping that Carson is only used on occasion. 9/1 - Recalled Esmerling Vasquez from AAA, Activated P.J. Walters from the DL We should all get a decent look at what these two can do over the next month. I don't expect much from Walters. His AAA stats over the last few years are very unimpressive. Vasquez was pretty good at AAA but not great as a reliever for Arizona the previous 3 seasons. It definitely does not hurt to give him a chance, as the season is lost anyway. The Injuries Denard Span - Shoulder - 15 day DL Time will tell if this injury is more serious than let on, but he certainly is missing a lot of time with this "minor" injury. Putting him on the DL takes the choice of playing out of his hands. To me, that is the fairest way to do things. I hate putting the onus on players to report their injuries. If they are hurt and don't play, they aren't tough. If they tough it out when they shouldn't, the can get re-injured. It is a zero-sum game. On the bright side, his absence could open up playing time for other outfielders, but that is a pretty morbid way of looking at things. Joe Benson - Knee - Needs 3 months of rest Wow, what an awful season for Benson. He has been terrible when he has played and injured the rest of the year. Hopefully, this injury will heal with rest and he will be ready for Spring Training. I still insist he has a bright future, but the bright spots are certainly not shining right now. Lester Oliveros - Out - Tommy John Surgery This is a bummer. Oliveros likely isn't headed for stardom, but he was young enough to see what he had. He'll almost certainly miss all of 2013 as well. Josh Willingham - Day to Day - Hamstring Doesn't sound serious; we'll see him in 2014. Just kidding; it was just an excuse to use a semi-colon. The Standings [TABLE] Team Win-Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 41-93 --- 2-8 Chicago Cubs 51-82 10.5 4-6 Twins 55-79 14 4-6 Colorado 55-77 15 6-4 Cleveland 56-78 15 2-8 Miami 59-75 18 2-8 Kansas City 60-73 19.5 5-5 [/TABLE] Although they have played better the last 10 games, The Twins seemed destined for a top-5 draft pick next year. However, if one team can crash the bottom 5 party, it might be Miami. They are pretty terrible. The Twins are going to have difficulties winning games with this pitching staff, but you could say that about a lot of these teams. Everyone points toward this 2013 draft being a weak one. Which to me is all the more reason that you want a top 5 or higher pick. The Future Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this past week. I have to say, I am not super excited about the names that the Twins are sending, but I'll get over it. It will be fun to watch Kyle Gibson pitch. A lot of the games are broadcast on the MLB Network, if you want to check them out. There are some very interesting names being sent from other teams though. Here they are: Javier Baez (Cubs), Anthony Rendon (Nationals), George Springer (Astros), Kolten Wong (Cardinals), Christian Yelich (Marlins), and Billy Hamilton (Reds) just to name a few. The Big Picture 2014 could be a huge year for the Twins. They will be hosting the All-Star game (and the Future's Game by proxy, which is super dope) and it might be the first year in their movement back toward the top of the AL Central. I have been very clear that I do not see any sort of real contention in 2013. However, with some smart moves, prospects starting to contribute and a return to the budget that they opened Target Field with, 2014 could be a year that we remember along the same lines of 2001. There is still a lot of talent in this organization. Some will need to be traded away, some will need to be retained and others will need to improve and grow. However, 2014 is a year that I am very excited for. After the disappointing 2011 and whatever this 2012 is, I know I will be very excited to see what 2014 brings. Fantasy Tip of the Week Auction instead of drafting. Drafting is fascist. You have to fit these specific slots, you don't have access to all the players, and you just can't build your team the way you want it. Auctions are more democratic. Everyone gets to participate in all parts, but they can sit out on players they don't like. If you want to pursue the American Dream of owning Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander, you can do that. If your American Dream is to buy cheaper players to show off what a huge genius you are, you can do that too. So, I beg of you, give auctioning a try. It's the American Way. Have a nice week everyone!

The Games Monday - Loss to Seattle - 1-0 Felix Hernandez is the Maestro. I have no problem calling him that. Roy Smalley was saying that he really has 12 pitches, and I totally agree. He is truly one of the best pitchers of this generation. Liam Hendriks was really good too. He doesn't work quickly, but if he can keep runners off the bases and pitch efficiently, he can be successful. He has good enough stuff to get hitters out, if he trusts it. No offense to discuss here. Tuesday - Loss to Seattle - 5-2 I watched this whole game and I don't remember a thing. Diamond was neither good nor bad. When pitchers put a lot of balls in play, sometimes they fall and sometimes they fall over the fence. Diamond is bound to regress a bit, but hopefully this is just a blip on the radar. Hisashi Iwakuma owns the Twins. Wednesday - Win over Seattle - 10-0 When you follow and root for a bad team, games like this are really important. The Twins have lost so much recently, that you sometimes forget how fun it is to watch winning baseball. The team hit, pitched and fielded well in this game. Trevor Plouffe had a big game and hopefully it was a sign that he is going to get back on track and have a strong September. The Samuel Deduno that pitched in this game can help a team going forward. It was only one game, but as always, he deserves credit for that one game. Thursday - Loss to Seattle - 5-4 I didn't watch this one (day job), but from the box score, it doesn't look like I missed much. It is too bad that Mastroianni couldn't have stolen home in the 9th. That seems a bit unfair though. Duensing pitched well for awhile, but couldn't get out of the fifth. Friday - Postponed Saturday - Win over Kansas City - 3-1 and Win over Kansas City 8-7 Considering how hard it has been for the Twins to win one game per day over the last month, two wins in one day is a bonanza. In game 1, Cole DeVries was a lot more efficient and almost got through 7 innings. In game 2, Liam Hendriks pitched poorly, after being staked a big lead. I still like Hendriks more than DeVries, this doubleheader notwithstanding. Joe Mauer launched a grand slam. It was the Twins' first grand slam of the season. Chris Parmelee hit his first home run since being recalled. Sunday - Loss to Kansas City - 6-4 Chris Parmelee hit his second home run since being recalled. Esmerling Vasquez didn't pitch particularly well in his first start. He walked 3 and gave up 7 hits in 5 and 2/3 innings. Brian Duensing pitched in relief; a role he will likely employ next season. Oh, Tim Collins pitched like crap and got the win for Kansas City. The Transactions 8/29 - Outrighted Jeff Gray and Recalled Chris Parmelee I had some hilarious and snarky comments about Jeff Gray in my Pitchers that can Contribute post from last Friday, but I had to delete them when Gray was taken off the 40-man roster. No one will ever read those words. We all know that Gray was awful and Parmelee needed to be in the majors. Span seems to still be favoring his shoulder, so maybe Parmelee will get some playing time this go around. He has certainly earned the opportunity. 8/31 - Recalled Matt Carson from AAA This is nice for Carson, but I honestly hope he doesn't play much. With so many younger and more promising outfielders on the roster, I am hoping that Carson is only used on occasion. 9/1 - Recalled Esmerling Vasquez from AAA, Activated P.J. Walters from the DL We should all get a decent look at what these two can do over the next month. I don't expect much from Walters. His AAA stats over the last few years are very unimpressive. Vasquez was pretty good at AAA but not great as a reliever for Arizona the previous 3 seasons. It definitely does not hurt to give him a chance, as the season is lost anyway. The Injuries Denard Span - Shoulder - 15 day DL Time will tell if this injury is more serious than let on, but he certainly is missing a lot of time with this "minor" injury. Putting him on the DL takes the choice of playing out of his hands. To me, that is the fairest way to do things. I hate putting the onus on players to report their injuries. If they are hurt and don't play, they aren't tough. If they tough it out when they shouldn't, the can get re-injured. It is a zero-sum game. On the bright side, his absence could open up playing time for other outfielders, but that is a pretty morbid way of looking at things. Joe Benson - Knee - Needs 3 months of rest Wow, what an awful season for Benson. He has been terrible when he has played and injured the rest of the year. Hopefully, this injury will heal with rest and he will be ready for Spring Training. I still insist he has a bright future, but the bright spots are certainly not shining right now. Lester Oliveros - Out - Tommy John Surgery This is a bummer. Oliveros likely isn't headed for stardom, but he was young enough to see what he had. He'll almost certainly miss all of 2013 as well. Josh Willingham - Day to Day - Hamstring Doesn't sound serious; we'll see him in 2014. Just kidding; it was just an excuse to use a semi-colon. The Standings [TABLE] Team Win-Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 41-93 --- 2-8 Chicago Cubs 51-82 10.5 4-6 Twins 55-79 14 4-6 Colorado 55-77 15 6-4 Cleveland 56-78 15 2-8 Miami 59-75 18 2-8 Kansas City 60-73 19.5 5-5 [/TABLE] Although they have played better the last 10 games, The Twins seemed destined for a top-5 draft pick next year. However, if one team can crash the bottom 5 party, it might be Miami. They are pretty terrible. The Twins are going to have difficulties winning games with this pitching staff, but you could say that about a lot of these teams. Everyone points toward this 2013 draft being a weak one. Which to me is all the more reason that you want a top 5 or higher pick. The Future Arizona Fall League rosters were announced this past week. I have to say, I am not super excited about the names that the Twins are sending, but I'll get over it. It will be fun to watch Kyle Gibson pitch. A lot of the games are broadcast on the MLB Network, if you want to check them out. There are some very interesting names being sent from other teams though. Here they are: Javier Baez (Cubs), Anthony Rendon (Nationals), George Springer (Astros), Kolten Wong (Cardinals), Christian Yelich (Marlins), and Billy Hamilton (Reds) just to name a few. The Big Picture 2014 could be a huge year for the Twins. They will be hosting the All-Star game (and the Future's Game by proxy, which is super dope) and it might be the first year in their movement back toward the top of the AL Central. I have been very clear that I do not see any sort of real contention in 2013. However, with some smart moves, prospects starting to contribute and a return to the budget that they opened Target Field with, 2014 could be a year that we remember along the same lines of 2001. There is still a lot of talent in this organization. Some will need to be traded away, some will need to be retained and others will need to improve and grow. However, 2014 is a year that I am very excited for. After the disappointing 2011 and whatever this 2012 is, I know I will be very excited to see what 2014 brings. Fantasy Tip of the Week Auction instead of drafting. Drafting is fascist. You have to fit these specific slots, you don't have access to all the players, and you just can't build your team the way you want it. Auctions are more democratic. Everyone gets to participate in all parts, but they can sit out on players they don't like. If you want to pursue the American Dream of owning Albert Pujols, Miguel Cabrera and Justin Verlander, you can do that. If your American Dream is to buy cheaper players to show off what a huge genius you are, you can do that too. So, I beg of you, give auctioning a try. It's the American Way. Have a nice week everyone!

Last week, I investigated which position players on the current 40-man roster can help a potential Twins playoff team. If you want to read it, click here. In my mind, the first possible contending season is 2014, although I feel that could be a bit of a stretch. For the purposes of this post, I am going to look at 2014 as the first year of the turnaround, which might be putting too much faith in the rebuilding process. There are some very interesting position players on the 40-man roster. Pitchers, not so much. Again, we will start at the bottom and work our way up. First, there are a few minor leaguers who are not on the 40-man roster, who likely will be a part of the 2013 and 2014 teams. Pitchers can really come and go, especially cheap pitchers. However, I don't see these arms as huge contributors, beyond potential middle relievers or spot starters. There are also a few AAA starters who could get a shot, but none really interest me long term. There is one exception: Kyle Gibson John Sickels of SB Nation wrote extensively about Gibson this past week. You should read it. In this piece, he states that Gibson still has the ceiling of a number 2 starter, if all things click. Gibson was drafted as a low ceiling, low floor pitcher. The fact that he will be fully recovered from Tommy John surgery in 2013 will give us a good idea of how close he gets to that ceiling. I see him as a mainstay in the Twins rotation starting in 2014 and I think he can contribute significantly as a young, cheap command specialist. I am very high on Gibson. Luis Perdomo, Jeff Manship, and Kyle Waldrop To save your time and mine, let's lump these three together. Nothing to see here, let's just move along. Lester Oliveros Oliveros has actually pitched well in AAA this year. He is young enough (24) to get a shot. If he can maintain his AAA strikeout and walk ratios, he could be an effective reliever. He hasn't maintained those rations when in the MLB in the past, but he is worth a look. I doubt he is pitching high-leverage innings on any playoff team though. He also had Tommy John surgery this week, so he won't be doing much of anything in 2013. Pedro Hernandez He has really good minor league walk rates and really poor minor league strikeout rates. I'll go out on a limb and say he has about zero upside. He could spot start here and there, but lots of spot starts don't typically equate to fantastic team success. Carlos Gutierrez According to Wikipedia, Carlos Gutierrez is an American former CEO and former U.S. Cabinet Member who is currently a Vice Chairman of Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group. He has previously served as the 35th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2005 to 2009. I don't remember any of this. He lost most of this season to injury and he will be 26 next season. His business skills must be pretty good though. Deolis Guerra Ah, the Crown Jewel! The most intriguing piece in the Johan Santana trade might finally be MLB ready. He is actually posting his highest walk rate since he was 19 years old and his strikeout rate is not good enough to mask it. It seems like we have been hearing about him for 50 years, but he is only 23 years old. If he can get his control in order a bit, he might be able to help in the bullpen. Of course, you can say that about quite a few pitchers and sometimes, it still doesn't work out. Alex Burnett Speaking of not working out; zing! That is unfair. His walk rate has dropped each of his three MLB seasons. But, his strikeout rate has dropped as well. In fact, he currently sports a nifty 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Nifty is the wrong word, I think I was looking for terrible. His ERA and WHIP aren't bad though. I do not know what to think of Alex Burnett. I think there have to be better options. Tyler Robertson Man, Robertson is a hoss. He is left-handed, doesn't throw all that hard, but has a good strikeout rate since being called up. Currently, he is walking too many batters to have long term success. If Glen Perkins closes next year, having a second lefty to go with Brian Duensing could be useful. The thing with all these bullpen guys is that they are so interchangeable. Many are so much the same that you can use just about anyone and get similar results. In 2012, the Twins drafted a bunch of college relievers. These guys could move fast and take the place of these mediocre relievers that are currently playing for the Twins. Most of these draftees throw a lot harder too. PJ Walters 6.47 ERA in 87 MLB innings over 4 different seasons. The best thing that ever happened to his 2013 chances of playing with the Twins was the long term injury he is almost over. Oh, he also has an ERA over 4.5 in over 500 AAA innings. That seems like a big enough sample. Anthony Swarzak Swarzak isn't a bad guy to have around. A long man/spot starter can have value, if used properly. Instead of having a 13 man pitching staff, a properly used long man/spot starter can help increase the bench players on the offensive side. Ideally, an 11 man pitching staff would be used. This doesn't seem likely though. Times have changed and the long man/spot starter has a lot less value these days. Swarzak isn't terrible, but he can't start long term. So, he doesn't really have much value. Matt Capps Capps was once a useful reliever. Back when he was young and cheap, the Pirates used him as a closer and he had success. Washington signed him to a short term deal, he had success as a closer there and they parlayed him into a young, promising catcher. Let's not discuss that. Now that he is free agency eligible, he has not been a useful reliever. However, some team is going to sign him to a super cheap contract next year and he could pay off. He has good control to go with a decent strikeout rate. It isn't crazy to think that he could help a playoff team as early as next year. He will only be 29 and if he was just injured the last two years, he might return to the pitcher he basically was from 2006-2010. Carl Pavano I think Pavano is done with Minnesota. He might not retire, but he has been injury prone almost his entire career and will be 37 next year. I actually forgot how well he pitched in 2010, but that magic is almost certainly gone. Oh well, at least he had a mustache. Cole De Vries I have devoted a decent amount of words to Cole De Vries in my weekly notes. I am not a fan. He nibbles and he has no out pitch. As a AAA starter who can come up in a pinch, he's fine. On a playoff team, you really don't want a guy like this in your rotation. A team like the Yankees could use him I guess, since they can score a million runs and they are pretty much a lock for the playoffs every year. The degree of difficulty is just a touch higher here in Minnesota. Samuel Deduno I plan to spend a lot more time discussing why I have no faith in Sam Deduno, but not here. Let's just say that it is better for everyone involved if he regresses to the mean during September. His strikeout to walk ratio is below 1. I realize this isn't the only stat that matters, but come on. He isn't going to have long term success, based on the history of well, baseball. He was compared to R.A. Dickey and Justin Verlander during a recent Twins broadcast though. Not bad company. Casey Fien He's fien. Well, that was irresistible. Actually, he has been more than fine since getting called up. His minor league track record is actually pretty good, although he didn't start pro ball until age 22. He didn't have any MLB success in the past, but his minor league peripherals seem to have come with him to the MLB this time around. His hit rate is super low and he hasn't thrown a lot of innings, so he could certainly come back to Earth a bit. It seems like giving him a chance in 2013 wouldn't hurt too much. The point I made about younger relievers coming up does affect his long-term value a bit though. Brian Duensing Now we get to the "two players" portion of the roster. In this case, Duensing is one player in the rotation and one player in the bullpen. That one player in the bullpen is a lot better than that one player in the rotation. He likely was only put in the rotation this year because there were so many injuries. He is clearly better off as a lefty specialist. I made a crude Carlos Beltran reference in my weekly notes column on Monday, but basically Duensing vs. right handed batters = nonstop Carlos Beltrans. It is best to leave him where there are not nonstop borderline hall of famers facing him. As a lefty middle reliever, he can have some value. Liam Hendriks Liam Hendriks seems to be two different players as well. AAA Hendriks is dominant, MLB Hendriks loves home runs. He is still young and promising enough to figure it out. If he does, he can be a 3 or a 4 in a good rotation. I hope he doesn't have to ever masquerade as a 1 or a 2 though. A playoff Twins team in 2014 likely depends on Hendriks at the end of the rotation. Scott Baker There are two Scott Bakers as well, because I love this gimmick. Scott Baker healthy is great. Scott Baker injured is injured. Unfortunately, Scott Baker injured seems to be more common. It is a shame because his season last year was really fantastic. He was finally getting good results to go with his excellent peripheral stats. Scott Baker injured showed up and then stuck around through the offseason. Hopefully, he can come back from Tommy John and pick up where he left off. I am a huge advocate for finding out if he can as a Twin. I hope they sign him to a one or even two year deal and see what he has. He will only be 31 next year, so he could still have 4-5 good years left. At this point, given his injury history, it is very hard to rely on him as an impact player going forward. If anyone on this list can exceed expectations, it is Baker. Scott Diamond Every statistical bone in my body says that his success cannot be sustained. His strikeout rate is just way too low. Throw in the fact that he wasn't much of a prospect at any point and the fact that he was taken in the rule 5 draft, and it just doesn't add up. However, I have a hard time arguing with his results. He just doesn't walk anyone, ever. He basically is the left-handed Brad Radke (or at least he has been for half a season). I want to see it repeated at least once. If he has a comparable season in 2013, then I will be ready to admit that he is a statistical anomaly. Anomalies exist, so it is certainly possible. I still don't think a good Twins team is relying on Scott Diamond to pitch a Game 1 or Game 2 in the playoffs, but maybe Game 3? A pretty decent statistical comparison for Diamond is Mark Buehrle. Although, Diamond actually gets more groundballs and has a lower walk rate. Again, he has to repeat it, but it's possible. Jared Burton Jared Burton was a really nice find. He has cut his walks down significantly since his days in Cincinnati and it has made him into a really good pitcher. His surface stats are fully supported by the peripheral stats. Having a good, cheap set-up man or closer is very valuable. He does hit free agency in 2014, which is worrisome. It is especially worrisome if he closes next year. Saves are expensive. It is possible that he falls victim to the young relievers that are coming down the line as well. If he pitches like he has this year, he can help any team. If he gets expensive, I hope it happens elsewhere. Glen Perkins The brightest star in the Twins pitching sky just happens to be a failed starter. This is not entirely unique, as a lot of relievers are failed starters. Not all failed starters take to the bullpen as easily and dominantly as Perkins has. He has good stuff, a good strikeout rate and a good walk rate. I also think he has something that some would argue does not exist: the closer mentality. I will always believe that some pitchers just can't handle the 9th inning, regardless of the numbers not supporting that claim. Arguing against the concept of a closer mentality argues against the concept of human psychology, in my opinion. Ok, that is a separate subject for another day. Perkins is great though. There really isn't much more to say. He looks calm on the mound, he throws a good fastball and he isn't afraid to go right at hitters. I really like him and I am glad they locked him up cheaply for a few years. In summary In my opinion, the following players will play a significant role on a future Twins playoff team: Glen Perkins, Kyle Gibson, Scott Baker (if resigned) The following players could play a significant role, if the Twins contend in 2014: Jared Burton The following players could play a smaller but maybe not significant role on a good Twins team: Brian Duensing, Liam Hendriks, Scott Diamond It is too early to tell, but these young players are exciting and could contribute: None The remaining players either will not be around, or will not contribute positively. What do you think of this list?

Last week, I investigated which position players on the current 40-man roster can help a potential Twins playoff team. If you want to read it, click here. In my mind, the first possible contending season is 2014, although I feel that could be a bit of a stretch. For the purposes of this post, I am going to look at 2014 as the first year of the turnaround, which might be putting too much faith in the rebuilding process. There are some very interesting position players on the 40-man roster. Pitchers, not so much. Again, we will start at the bottom and work our way up. First, there are a few minor leaguers who are not on the 40-man roster, who likely will be a part of the 2013 and 2014 teams. Pitchers can really come and go, especially cheap pitchers. However, I don't see these arms as huge contributors, beyond potential middle relievers or spot starters. There are also a few AAA starters who could get a shot, but none really interest me long term. There is one exception: Kyle Gibson John Sickels of SB Nation wrote extensively about Gibson this past week. You should read it. In this piece, he states that Gibson still has the ceiling of a number 2 starter, if all things click. Gibson was drafted as a low ceiling, low floor pitcher. The fact that he will be fully recovered from Tommy John surgery in 2013 will give us a good idea of how close he gets to that ceiling. I see him as a mainstay in the Twins rotation starting in 2014 and I think he can contribute significantly as a young, cheap command specialist. I am very high on Gibson. Luis Perdomo, Jeff Manship, and Kyle Waldrop To save your time and mine, let's lump these three together. Nothing to see here, let's just move along. Lester Oliveros Oliveros has actually pitched well in AAA this year. He is young enough (24) to get a shot. If he can maintain his AAA strikeout and walk ratios, he could be an effective reliever. He hasn't maintained those rations when in the MLB in the past, but he is worth a look. I doubt he is pitching high-leverage innings on any playoff team though. He also had Tommy John surgery this week, so he won't be doing much of anything in 2013. Pedro Hernandez He has really good minor league walk rates and really poor minor league strikeout rates. I'll go out on a limb and say he has about zero upside. He could spot start here and there, but lots of spot starts don't typically equate to fantastic team success. Carlos Gutierrez According to Wikipedia, Carlos Gutierrez is an American former CEO and former U.S. Cabinet Member who is currently a Vice Chairman of Citigroup's Institutional Clients Group. He has previously served as the 35th U.S. Secretary of Commerce from 2005 to 2009. I don't remember any of this. He lost most of this season to injury and he will be 26 next season. His business skills must be pretty good though. Deolis Guerra Ah, the Crown Jewel! The most intriguing piece in the Johan Santana trade might finally be MLB ready. He is actually posting his highest walk rate since he was 19 years old and his strikeout rate is not good enough to mask it. It seems like we have been hearing about him for 50 years, but he is only 23 years old. If he can get his control in order a bit, he might be able to help in the bullpen. Of course, you can say that about quite a few pitchers and sometimes, it still doesn't work out. Alex Burnett Speaking of not working out; zing! That is unfair. His walk rate has dropped each of his three MLB seasons. But, his strikeout rate has dropped as well. In fact, he currently sports a nifty 1:1 strikeout to walk ratio. Nifty is the wrong word, I think I was looking for terrible. His ERA and WHIP aren't bad though. I do not know what to think of Alex Burnett. I think there have to be better options. Tyler Robertson Man, Robertson is a hoss. He is left-handed, doesn't throw all that hard, but has a good strikeout rate since being called up. Currently, he is walking too many batters to have long term success. If Glen Perkins closes next year, having a second lefty to go with Brian Duensing could be useful. The thing with all these bullpen guys is that they are so interchangeable. Many are so much the same that you can use just about anyone and get similar results. In 2012, the Twins drafted a bunch of college relievers. These guys could move fast and take the place of these mediocre relievers that are currently playing for the Twins. Most of these draftees throw a lot harder too. PJ Walters 6.47 ERA in 87 MLB innings over 4 different seasons. The best thing that ever happened to his 2013 chances of playing with the Twins was the long term injury he is almost over. Oh, he also has an ERA over 4.5 in over 500 AAA innings. That seems like a big enough sample. Anthony Swarzak Swarzak isn't a bad guy to have around. A long man/spot starter can have value, if used properly. Instead of having a 13 man pitching staff, a properly used long man/spot starter can help increase the bench players on the offensive side. Ideally, an 11 man pitching staff would be used. This doesn't seem likely though. Times have changed and the long man/spot starter has a lot less value these days. Swarzak isn't terrible, but he can't start long term. So, he doesn't really have much value. Matt Capps Capps was once a useful reliever. Back when he was young and cheap, the Pirates used him as a closer and he had success. Washington signed him to a short term deal, he had success as a closer there and they parlayed him into a young, promising catcher. Let's not discuss that. Now that he is free agency eligible, he has not been a useful reliever. However, some team is going to sign him to a super cheap contract next year and he could pay off. He has good control to go with a decent strikeout rate. It isn't crazy to think that he could help a playoff team as early as next year. He will only be 29 and if he was just injured the last two years, he might return to the pitcher he basically was from 2006-2010. Carl Pavano I think Pavano is done with Minnesota. He might not retire, but he has been injury prone almost his entire career and will be 37 next year. I actually forgot how well he pitched in 2010, but that magic is almost certainly gone. Oh well, at least he had a mustache. Cole De Vries I have devoted a decent amount of words to Cole De Vries in my weekly notes. I am not a fan. He nibbles and he has no out pitch. As a AAA starter who can come up in a pinch, he's fine. On a playoff team, you really don't want a guy like this in your rotation. A team like the Yankees could use him I guess, since they can score a million runs and they are pretty much a lock for the playoffs every year. The degree of difficulty is just a touch higher here in Minnesota. Samuel Deduno I plan to spend a lot more time discussing why I have no faith in Sam Deduno, but not here. Let's just say that it is better for everyone involved if he regresses to the mean during September. His strikeout to walk ratio is below 1. I realize this isn't the only stat that matters, but come on. He isn't going to have long term success, based on the history of well, baseball. He was compared to R.A. Dickey and Justin Verlander during a recent Twins broadcast though. Not bad company. Casey Fien He's fien. Well, that was irresistible. Actually, he has been more than fine since getting called up. His minor league track record is actually pretty good, although he didn't start pro ball until age 22. He didn't have any MLB success in the past, but his minor league peripherals seem to have come with him to the MLB this time around. His hit rate is super low and he hasn't thrown a lot of innings, so he could certainly come back to Earth a bit. It seems like giving him a chance in 2013 wouldn't hurt too much. The point I made about younger relievers coming up does affect his long-term value a bit though. Brian Duensing Now we get to the "two players" portion of the roster. In this case, Duensing is one player in the rotation and one player in the bullpen. That one player in the bullpen is a lot better than that one player in the rotation. He likely was only put in the rotation this year because there were so many injuries. He is clearly better off as a lefty specialist. I made a crude Carlos Beltran reference in my weekly notes column on Monday, but basically Duensing vs. right handed batters = nonstop Carlos Beltrans. It is best to leave him where there are not nonstop borderline hall of famers facing him. As a lefty middle reliever, he can have some value. Liam Hendriks Liam Hendriks seems to be two different players as well. AAA Hendriks is dominant, MLB Hendriks loves home runs. He is still young and promising enough to figure it out. If he does, he can be a 3 or a 4 in a good rotation. I hope he doesn't have to ever masquerade as a 1 or a 2 though. A playoff Twins team in 2014 likely depends on Hendriks at the end of the rotation. Scott Baker There are two Scott Bakers as well, because I love this gimmick. Scott Baker healthy is great. Scott Baker injured is injured. Unfortunately, Scott Baker injured seems to be more common. It is a shame because his season last year was really fantastic. He was finally getting good results to go with his excellent peripheral stats. Scott Baker injured showed up and then stuck around through the offseason. Hopefully, he can come back from Tommy John and pick up where he left off. I am a huge advocate for finding out if he can as a Twin. I hope they sign him to a one or even two year deal and see what he has. He will only be 31 next year, so he could still have 4-5 good years left. At this point, given his injury history, it is very hard to rely on him as an impact player going forward. If anyone on this list can exceed expectations, it is Baker. Scott Diamond Every statistical bone in my body says that his success cannot be sustained. His strikeout rate is just way too low. Throw in the fact that he wasn't much of a prospect at any point and the fact that he was taken in the rule 5 draft, and it just doesn't add up. However, I have a hard time arguing with his results. He just doesn't walk anyone, ever. He basically is the left-handed Brad Radke (or at least he has been for half a season). I want to see it repeated at least once. If he has a comparable season in 2013, then I will be ready to admit that he is a statistical anomaly. Anomalies exist, so it is certainly possible. I still don't think a good Twins team is relying on Scott Diamond to pitch a Game 1 or Game 2 in the playoffs, but maybe Game 3? A pretty decent statistical comparison for Diamond is Mark Buehrle. Although, Diamond actually gets more groundballs and has a lower walk rate. Again, he has to repeat it, but it's possible. Jared Burton Jared Burton was a really nice find. He has cut his walks down significantly since his days in Cincinnati and it has made him into a really good pitcher. His surface stats are fully supported by the peripheral stats. Having a good, cheap set-up man or closer is very valuable. He does hit free agency in 2014, which is worrisome. It is especially worrisome if he closes next year. Saves are expensive. It is possible that he falls victim to the young relievers that are coming down the line as well. If he pitches like he has this year, he can help any team. If he gets expensive, I hope it happens elsewhere. Glen Perkins The brightest star in the Twins pitching sky just happens to be a failed starter. This is not entirely unique, as a lot of relievers are failed starters. Not all failed starters take to the bullpen as easily and dominantly as Perkins has. He has good stuff, a good strikeout rate and a good walk rate. I also think he has something that some would argue does not exist: the closer mentality. I will always believe that some pitchers just can't handle the 9th inning, regardless of the numbers not supporting that claim. Arguing against the concept of a closer mentality argues against the concept of human psychology, in my opinion. Ok, that is a separate subject for another day. Perkins is great though. There really isn't much more to say. He looks calm on the mound, he throws a good fastball and he isn't afraid to go right at hitters. I really like him and I am glad they locked him up cheaply for a few years. In summary In my opinion, the following players will play a significant role on a future Twins playoff team: Glen Perkins, Kyle Gibson, Scott Baker (if resigned) The following players could play a significant role, if the Twins contend in 2014: Jared Burton The following players could play a smaller but maybe not significant role on a good Twins team: Brian Duensing, Liam Hendriks, Scott Diamond It is too early to tell, but these young players are exciting and could contribute: None The remaining players either will not be around, or will not contribute positively. What do you think of this list?

He is a prospect that I am really excited about as well. I really like the reports that he works hard, because hopefully he will keep working and developing. Versatility is an underrated element of baseball, and he seems like a player that could have some ability at three up the middle positions if things work out.

Niko Goodrum is far from an elite prospect. He was a 2nd round pick in 2010 out of a high school in Georgia. Baseball America and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus both listed Goodrum as the 19th best prospect in what is generally considered a weak Twins farm system. Aaron Gleeman listed him 16th and Seth Stohs listed him 19th. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com did not have him in his top 20 and Keith Law did not have him in his top 10 (which really should not surprise you if you read the previous few sentences). The rankings are not exciting, but at the same time, I can't help but have an interest in this particular player. I am not going to pretend that I have seen any more of Goodrum than a few YouTube clips, but I will say that what I have read about him has me intrigued. He is listed at 6' 3" and 175 lbs. He is only 20 years old, so he will likely add some size. If he can, the height could help produce and upward lift and some powerful swings. He has a very strong arm and according to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, he is a hard worker, which we all know goes a lot way in this organization (probably all others too). The fact that he runs well could result in a player that plays up the middle, can steal some bases and hit for some power. That kind of player has immense value. However, his projectable size could work against him as well. If he fills out too much, he may slow down and lose range. If that happens, he may have to move off of short. There is also the possibility that he never fills out and doesn't hit enough to play any position. In addition, Goodrum is somewhat old for rookie ball, and his stats aren't eye-popping for a player repeating a level. Frankly, his numbers aren't that exciting for a player in his first year at that level. His numbers point toward decent to good on-base skills, with little power. His K:BB ratio is good, but it is hard for me to know how much that represents a more patient hitter or an inexperienced set of pitching staffs. His walk rate has increased from last year, and he deserves credit for that. I have read that some think he may be a future centerfielder, which could be great. Personally, I think that third base could be a landing spot, especially if he does add some power to his game. He clearly has the arm strength for that position and working hard to learn the position seems like something he would be willing to do. The nice thing is that he does seem to be a player who will be versatile enough in the field to find a home, as he was working a bit at second base last year as well. I would think that Goodrum would go to Beloit next year, as a 21 year old entering his third full pro season. The odds of seeing Goodrum in Minnesota before 2015 are pretty small. In fact, there are pretty good odds that he never gets to Minnesota at all. That is just the way of the minor league world though. Most minor leaguers don't get to the Majors. In fact, most minor leaguers aren't prospects at all, for this very reason. As far as I am concerned, there are two types of minor league players. There are guys with upside and guys without upside. Niko Goodrum has upside, which makes him a prospect and makes him interesting to me.

Niko Goodrum is far from an elite prospect. He was a 2nd round pick in 2010 out of a high school in Georgia. Baseball America and Kevin Goldstein of Baseball Prospectus both listed Goodrum as the 19th best prospect in what is generally considered a weak Twins farm system. Aaron Gleeman listed him 16th and Seth Stohs listed him 19th. Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com did not have him in his top 20 and Keith Law did not have him in his top 10 (which really should not surprise you if you read the previous few sentences). The rankings are not exciting, but at the same time, I can't help but have an interest in this particular player. I am not going to pretend that I have seen any more of Goodrum than a few YouTube clips, but I will say that what I have read about him has me intrigued. He is listed at 6' 3" and 175 lbs. He is only 20 years old, so he will likely add some size. If he can, the height could help produce and upward lift and some powerful swings. He has a very strong arm and according to the Baseball America Prospect Handbook, he is a hard worker, which we all know goes a lot way in this organization (probably all others too). The fact that he runs well could result in a player that plays up the middle, can steal some bases and hit for some power. That kind of player has immense value. However, his projectable size could work against him as well. If he fills out too much, he may slow down and lose range. If that happens, he may have to move off of short. There is also the possibility that he never fills out and doesn't hit enough to play any position. In addition, Goodrum is somewhat old for rookie ball, and his stats aren't eye-popping for a player repeating a level. Frankly, his numbers aren't that exciting for a player in his first year at that level. His numbers point toward decent to good on-base skills, with little power. His K:BB ratio is good, but it is hard for me to know how much that represents a more patient hitter or an inexperienced set of pitching staffs. His walk rate has increased from last year, and he deserves credit for that. I have read that some think he may be a future centerfielder, which could be great. Personally, I think that third base could be a landing spot, especially if he does add some power to his game. He clearly has the arm strength for that position and working hard to learn the position seems like something he would be willing to do. The nice thing is that he does seem to be a player who will be versatile enough in the field to find a home, as he was working a bit at second base last year as well. I would think that Goodrum would go to Beloit next year, as a 21 year old entering his third full pro season. The odds of seeing Goodrum in Minnesota before 2015 are pretty small. In fact, there are pretty good odds that he never gets to Minnesota at all. That is just the way of the minor league world though. Most minor leaguers don't get to the Majors. In fact, most minor leaguers aren't prospects at all, for this very reason. As far as I am concerned, there are two types of minor league players. There are guys with upside and guys without upside. Niko Goodrum has upside, which makes him a prospect and makes him interesting to me.

Here is a fun 14 minute version of You Can't Quit Me Baby, by Queens of the Stone Age to accompany these notes. The Games Monday - Win over Oakland - 7-2 WHOOO! Monday wins count double right? Oh, they don't. Well, at least they stopped the losing streak. Brandon McCarthy was awful in this game. He didn't command any of his pitches and he looked to be nibbling a lot. The Twins took advantage and Brian Duensing gave them a good start. Tuesday - Loss to Oakland -4-1 Cole DeVries does not have an out pitch, in my opinion. That is likely why he wasn't a prospect and why he isn't long for the big leagues. He is a nice story, and he comes from the state that I come from, but I don't see him being successful for multiple years. He isn't efficient with his pitches and while he can get hitters down 0-2 in counts, he doesn't have a pitch that can put them away. This leads to high pitch counts and short starts. Wednesday - Loss to Oakland - 5-1 Liam Hendriks is back and he didn't give up a home run! He also didn't pitch well. The offense couldn't get anything going against Tommy Milone. Did you guys know that there is a lot of foul territory in Oakland? Thursday - Loss to Texas - 10-6 I am not a fan of the "eye for an eye" code of baseball. I don't like things that are done just because "that's the way things have always been done." Diamond likely was tossed because the ball was too close to Hamilton's head. I think that if he connected in the back or ribs, he would have stayed in the game. The ump really had no choice when he missed high like that. It was good that the fireworks stopped after that. That 8th inning was hard to watch. Friday - Loss to Texas - 8-0 Well, the Twins were nearly no-hit and gave up a cycle to Adrian Beltre. It would have been interesting had both happened, instead it was just the 4th straight loss for a team that is starting to look like it might lose 99 games again. Sam Deduno regressed before our very eyes, although he only walked one batter. He also did not strike anyone out. This game could have been worse, as Deduno had 2 double plays turned behind him and a runner picked off of first base. His WHIP is now 1.667 for the season. A pitcher cannot be successful when putting 5 batters on base every three innings, just ask Nick Blackburn. Saturday - Loss to Texas - 9-3 Brian Duensing was not effective at all. It does seem that in a perfect world, he would be a lefty specialist. He just doesn't get right handed hitters out. His OPS against vs. righty handed batters is .856. That is roughly Carlos Beltran's OPS for his career. So Duensing basically faces Carlos Beltran every time he faces a right handed batter. Or something like that (it's actually nothing like that). He is still better off in the bullpen long term. Sunday - Win over Texas - 6-5 Cole De Vries was fine. He really was nothing more than that. He pitched poorly in the first inning and then settled down. It took him 98 pitches to get through 19 batters though. Denard Span and Ben Revere did a great job of setting the table in this game. Ah, Jeff Gray... Jeff Gray won't be a Twin much longer, so that is something. Glen Perkins was great. His emergence is one of the few obvious bright spots from these past two years. The Transactions 8/20 - Outrighted Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Nick Blackburn to AAA. I covered this in an emergency blog last week. If you want, check it out. 8/21 - Called up Liam Hendriks from AAA. With the injuries to the starting pitching, and Hendriks' great pitching at AAA, this was a no brainer. He didn't pitch all that well on Wednesday, but he should be given a shot to work out his MLB struggles when it really doesn't matter much for the team. He does seem to be the one promising, young starter in the system without major injury issues. His good control and semi-decent strikeout potential could make him a reasonable 4th or 5th starter down the line. 8/24 - Optioned Matt Carson to AAA, Recalled Kyle Waldrop This was done because Scott Diamond was ejected after 2+ innings the previous night. Waldrop pitched Friday night. Carson will be back soon, although I don't expect his "good" hitting to continue. The Injuries There are no new injuries to report this week, but there are a few updates. Carl Pavano - out for the season Pavano has a bone bruise and now will not pitch again this season. He is almost certainly done with the Twins, unless he will accept a very cheap one-year contract. He also kind of ripped the Twins' medical staff when asked about this news, which would put him in a non-exclusive club of people who have (perhaps justifiably) questioned the competence of this team's medical experts. Denard Span - Back! Span returned to the lineup on Thursday. He missed about 10 days with a day-to-day injury. I guess as long as they measure in days, all injuries are day-to-day. P.J. Walters - Rehabbing in AAA Walters pitched his 4th and 5th rehab starts this week. It seems he should join the rotation sometime in September. Who do you take out of this historic rotation though? The Standings [TABLE] Team Win-Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 40-88 --- 1-9 Chicago Cubs 49-77 10 3-7 Colorado 51-75 12 6-4 Twins 52-75 12.5 2-8 Cleveland 55-72 15.5 1-9 Kansas City 56-70 17 5-5 Toronto 56-70 17 1-9 [/TABLE] Well, the Twins are still in line for the 4th pick in next year's draft. Colorado made some progress toward passing the Twins too. Cleveland looks awful right now, so they seem like the best bet to knock the Twins out of the bottom 4. Hopefully next year we can look at the standings the right way. The Future Kyle Gibson is back in AAA! This is actually pretty exciting news. His rehab has gone well and he should be ready to start next year at AAA. If he can show the good command that he had before his injury, he should force his way into the rotation by the middle of next year. It is easy to forget how bright Gibson's future was just a little over a year ago. Baseball America had him listed as the 34th best prospect in all of baseball before 2011. He has had a strikeout to walk ratio over 3 in the minors and his strikeout rate might be high enough that he won't simply be another Radke-clone. He has a chance to be a good 3rd starter for a long time, which is something to get excited about. The Big Picture This is obviously the second consecutive lost season for the Twins. There are some positives though. Trevor Plouffe has been a pleasant surprise. I worry that he was almost too hot back in June/July and that expectations are higher than they should be for him. I do think that he could be a 20 HR, .800 OPS player with a good (if only a little wild) 3B arm. He might even have some upside from there too. He is cheap right now and will only get expensive down the line if he continues to develop. I think that would be a pretty good trade-off. However, he has been awful since returning from the DL. His thumb might still be bothering him, and eventually shutting him down in September might be a good idea. Fantasy Tip of the Week Get rid of Wins. Nothing is more frustrating than having a starter give you 8 dominant innings and then have Matt Capps blow the whole game for you. Wins are lucky. Try to find a category that captures the value of a starting pitcher without using wins. If you figure that out, please let me know. Have a good week!

Here is a fun 14 minute version of You Can't Quit Me Baby, by Queens of the Stone Age to accompany these notes. The Games Monday - Win over Oakland - 7-2 WHOOO! Monday wins count double right? Oh, they don't. Well, at least they stopped the losing streak. Brandon McCarthy was awful in this game. He didn't command any of his pitches and he looked to be nibbling a lot. The Twins took advantage and Brian Duensing gave them a good start. Tuesday - Loss to Oakland -4-1 Cole DeVries does not have an out pitch, in my opinion. That is likely why he wasn't a prospect and why he isn't long for the big leagues. He is a nice story, and he comes from the state that I come from, but I don't see him being successful for multiple years. He isn't efficient with his pitches and while he can get hitters down 0-2 in counts, he doesn't have a pitch that can put them away. This leads to high pitch counts and short starts. Wednesday - Loss to Oakland - 5-1 Liam Hendriks is back and he didn't give up a home run! He also didn't pitch well. The offense couldn't get anything going against Tommy Milone. Did you guys know that there is a lot of foul territory in Oakland? Thursday - Loss to Texas - 10-6 I am not a fan of the "eye for an eye" code of baseball. I don't like things that are done just because "that's the way things have always been done." Diamond likely was tossed because the ball was too close to Hamilton's head. I think that if he connected in the back or ribs, he would have stayed in the game. The ump really had no choice when he missed high like that. It was good that the fireworks stopped after that. That 8th inning was hard to watch. Friday - Loss to Texas - 8-0 Well, the Twins were nearly no-hit and gave up a cycle to Adrian Beltre. It would have been interesting had both happened, instead it was just the 4th straight loss for a team that is starting to look like it might lose 99 games again. Sam Deduno regressed before our very eyes, although he only walked one batter. He also did not strike anyone out. This game could have been worse, as Deduno had 2 double plays turned behind him and a runner picked off of first base. His WHIP is now 1.667 for the season. A pitcher cannot be successful when putting 5 batters on base every three innings, just ask Nick Blackburn. Saturday - Loss to Texas - 9-3 Brian Duensing was not effective at all. It does seem that in a perfect world, he would be a lefty specialist. He just doesn't get right handed hitters out. His OPS against vs. righty handed batters is .856. That is roughly Carlos Beltran's OPS for his career. So Duensing basically faces Carlos Beltran every time he faces a right handed batter. Or something like that (it's actually nothing like that). He is still better off in the bullpen long term. Sunday - Win over Texas - 6-5 Cole De Vries was fine. He really was nothing more than that. He pitched poorly in the first inning and then settled down. It took him 98 pitches to get through 19 batters though. Denard Span and Ben Revere did a great job of setting the table in this game. Ah, Jeff Gray... Jeff Gray won't be a Twin much longer, so that is something. Glen Perkins was great. His emergence is one of the few obvious bright spots from these past two years. The Transactions 8/20 - Outrighted Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Nick Blackburn to AAA. I covered this in an emergency blog last week. If you want, check it out. 8/21 - Called up Liam Hendriks from AAA. With the injuries to the starting pitching, and Hendriks' great pitching at AAA, this was a no brainer. He didn't pitch all that well on Wednesday, but he should be given a shot to work out his MLB struggles when it really doesn't matter much for the team. He does seem to be the one promising, young starter in the system without major injury issues. His good control and semi-decent strikeout potential could make him a reasonable 4th or 5th starter down the line. 8/24 - Optioned Matt Carson to AAA, Recalled Kyle Waldrop This was done because Scott Diamond was ejected after 2+ innings the previous night. Waldrop pitched Friday night. Carson will be back soon, although I don't expect his "good" hitting to continue. The Injuries There are no new injuries to report this week, but there are a few updates. Carl Pavano - out for the season Pavano has a bone bruise and now will not pitch again this season. He is almost certainly done with the Twins, unless he will accept a very cheap one-year contract. He also kind of ripped the Twins' medical staff when asked about this news, which would put him in a non-exclusive club of people who have (perhaps justifiably) questioned the competence of this team's medical experts. Denard Span - Back! Span returned to the lineup on Thursday. He missed about 10 days with a day-to-day injury. I guess as long as they measure in days, all injuries are day-to-day. P.J. Walters - Rehabbing in AAA Walters pitched his 4th and 5th rehab starts this week. It seems he should join the rotation sometime in September. Who do you take out of this historic rotation though? The Standings [TABLE] Team Win-Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 40-88 --- 1-9 Chicago Cubs 49-77 10 3-7 Colorado 51-75 12 6-4 Twins 52-75 12.5 2-8 Cleveland 55-72 15.5 1-9 Kansas City 56-70 17 5-5 Toronto 56-70 17 1-9 [/TABLE] Well, the Twins are still in line for the 4th pick in next year's draft. Colorado made some progress toward passing the Twins too. Cleveland looks awful right now, so they seem like the best bet to knock the Twins out of the bottom 4. Hopefully next year we can look at the standings the right way. The Future Kyle Gibson is back in AAA! This is actually pretty exciting news. His rehab has gone well and he should be ready to start next year at AAA. If he can show the good command that he had before his injury, he should force his way into the rotation by the middle of next year. It is easy to forget how bright Gibson's future was just a little over a year ago. Baseball America had him listed as the 34th best prospect in all of baseball before 2011. He has had a strikeout to walk ratio over 3 in the minors and his strikeout rate might be high enough that he won't simply be another Radke-clone. He has a chance to be a good 3rd starter for a long time, which is something to get excited about. The Big Picture This is obviously the second consecutive lost season for the Twins. There are some positives though. Trevor Plouffe has been a pleasant surprise. I worry that he was almost too hot back in June/July and that expectations are higher than they should be for him. I do think that he could be a 20 HR, .800 OPS player with a good (if only a little wild) 3B arm. He might even have some upside from there too. He is cheap right now and will only get expensive down the line if he continues to develop. I think that would be a pretty good trade-off. However, he has been awful since returning from the DL. His thumb might still be bothering him, and eventually shutting him down in September might be a good idea. Fantasy Tip of the Week Get rid of Wins. Nothing is more frustrating than having a starter give you 8 dominant innings and then have Matt Capps blow the whole game for you. Wins are lucky. Try to find a category that captures the value of a starting pitcher without using wins. If you figure that out, please let me know. Have a good week!

I agree with a lot of your points. I think in a perfect world, you want either Plouffe or Parmelee at a corner, but not both. In a perfect world, you want a masher at the other corner. I would say that using these two as starters frees up a lot of money though. If these guys can get on base at a league average rate, with 20 HR power, they can have value. I'm not sold that either has consistent 20 HR power though. The nice thing about the middle infielders is that Escobar, Florimon and Dozier are all super cheap. I'd rather have those guys over Casilla and Carroll, just for the extra money. My perfect roster has 2 of those guys, not 5. Unfortunately, the Twins are back on a budget and every million matters. If the team isn't going to be good anyway, having cheap players can help build long term.

I completely agree that Revere has earned more than a bench role. Based on what he has done this year, he should start for this team going forward. I just worry that his on-base skills are highly dependent on his batting average. I think he has more value as a 4th outfielder than a starting outfielder long term and with an improved team. I guess that projecting toward 2014, I hope there are three better options than Revere and Mastroianni and about 500 better options that Matt Carson. Benson has a ton to prove, I totally agree, but I hope he gets the chance to do so. If Arcia is as good as Kubel was in 2009, I will be very happy with that.