Brad Swanson

I like the outfield idea, but Buxton in 2015 might be too early. Having Joe Benson to play right field in the interim would be pretty nice though. A future outfield of Hicks, Benson and Buxton actually makes me drool. Each has a cannon and tons of speed/range. That might not happen until 2016/17, if at all though. Arcia might eventually be a 1B/DH anyway, so adding Benson back to the mix could make some sense.

The Twins are far from contending. It really is the sad reality. As much as we may think that adding two starting pitchers to the roster for 2013 will make the Twins contend, the reality is that 2 high quality starting pitchers added to this year's roster might have lead to a .500 finish. .500 teams are worthless in my mind. You either want to make the playoffs or rebuild, but you don't want to be in the middle. Middling teams usually do not compete for the playoffs and have difficulties drafting and developing high-end talent. The one caveat is that the Central is a weak division and a .500 team might be close to a playoff spot. We all know from history that a Central Division Championship is nice, but not a predictor of Twins' success in the playoffs. In my mind, a few years of rebuilding can really replenish the farm system and lead to a bright future. The tradeoff is an unpleasant present. However, reality is reality. Perhaps the Twins can have a Baltimore Orioles type success next year, but I doubt that would lead to the World Series. A long term plan is needed. I am going to look at the players on the current 40 man roster, to see who could help a contending Twins team (likely in 2014 at the earliest). There are a variety of factors to consider, but each player will be analyzed based more on their future value than their current value. While a playoff spot in 2014 is certainly possible, 2015 or 2016 seems a lot more reasonable. Let's start from the bottom: Drew Butera - Catcher No Matt Carson - Outfielder Carson is a 31-year-old outfielder with about 50 games of MLB experience. He is not a piece to the puzzle and he is not a piece to any team's puzzle. The fact that he made it back to the big leagues is a cool story, but that is about all it is. Alexi Casilla - Infielder Casilla has been a useful player over the past few years. Ok, useful might be a stretch, but a guy who can play both middle infield positions well is pretty useful. He really can't hit at all, but he is fun to watch. He has some charisma, but that doesn't really help a lot on the field. I have enjoyed watching Casilla play the infield these past few years, but I don't think he will be in Minnesota next year. A good team would maybe use him as a late inning defensive replacement/pinch runner, and nothing more. Oswaldo Arcia - Outfielder The future looks bright for Arcia. He is a great hitter, and his AA stats are pretty impressive. He isn't much of a fielder, and he might have to move to left field, as his arm is not right field quality. The way he is hitting in AA and the fact that he is already on the 40 man roster, could combine to get him to the Twins' active roster in September at the young age of 21. If Denard Span needs rest, he could easily get some playing time in right field with Ben Revere moving to center. He likely will not be a full-time regular until 2014, but he might be a bit of a Jason Kubel (at his peak) type player down the line, and that type of player can definitely contribute on a future playoff team. Joe Benson - Outfielder Benson did not leave a good taste in fans' mouths last September and his struggles continued throughout this year in the minors. He strikes out a ton. He likely always will. However, a strikeout is the same as a ground out, fly out, line out, pop out, and any other kind of out in the box score. If he can be productive around the strikeouts, he has a lot of potential value. He runs well, fields well, throws well and has power. Put it this way, he could be what Trevor Plouffe is right now, with the added defensive and speed values. Benson has a right field arm and potential 20 home run/20 steal ability. He is still pretty young and I think he can contribute. Personally, I hope the Twins can fit him in the lineup next year, regardless of his struggles in 2012. I would not give up on this player just yet. Eduardo Escobar - Infielder Escobar was acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade back in July. He is already 23 years old, and is likely a utility man at best. According to what I have read, he is a very good fielder. He is also versatile enough to play second, third and short. He could be a better version of Nick Punto, if he hits. As much as Punto was disliked in Minnesota, his type of player does have some value off the bench. Pedro Florimon - Infielder Florimon has a pretty similar skill set compared with Escobar. He is a skilled fielder, but not an accomplished minor league hitter. He could also be a utility player, but likely not one with as much value as Escobar. I don't think he can contribute to a playoff team. Brian Dozier - Infielder I am not a huge Dozier fan. He will be 26 for most of next year, and he didn't really impress while in Minnesota. He didn't hit enough to be valuable, especially when you consider that his defense needs work. As unexciting as Escobar might be, his glove makes his shortcomings with the bat a bit more tolerable. Dozier hasn't shown enough in the field or at the plate, and he is 2 years older. Some have compared him to Jamey Carroll, but he doesn't walk nearly enough for that to be an accurate comparison. Jamey Carroll - Infielder More than 10 percent of the Twins' current 40 man roster consists of utility players. Not all utility players are created the same way. Carroll is a very valuable utility player. He can play second, short and third in a pinch. He gets on base enough to make up for his lack of power. He is old. I would not be surprised if he was retired the next time the Twins are contending. Darin Mastroianni - Outfielder Mastroianni is exactly the type of player that when used properly, has good value, but might be just good enough to earn more playing time and become an issue. I know that might not make sense, but to me, Mastroianni is a good 4th outfielder. When he becomes a regular, he looks a lot less impressive. He clearly has the glove for any outfield position and he gets on base enough to be valuable. However, he also appears to be a "gamer" and that worries me. Gardenhire likes his gamers and a guy like Mastroianni may earn more playing time on that basis. If he works hard and plays well, he certainly deserves that opportunity. I just prefer to have players in positions that best emphasize their skill sets. So, in summary, 4th outfielder Darin Mastroianni good, starting outfielder Darin Mastroianni bad. Outfield is actually a position of strength here in Minnesota in the present. Looking to the future, I hope there is never a situation where a guy like Joe Benson or Aaron Hicks is blocked by Mastroianni. Then again, Matt Carson was getting starts over him the last week, so maybe Gardy doesn't like Mastroianni as much as I thought he would. Chris Parmelee - 1st Base/Outfield? I'm not sure Chris Parmelee should play the outfield on a contending team. I am also not sure he can be productive enough with the bat to play first base on a contending team. He is down in AAA earning the right for everyone to find out. If the power translates, like Trevor Plouffe's AAA power surge in 2011, then he could be valuable. He isn't likely to hit 30 bombs in the Majors, but 20 could be possible. If he can draw walks and mix in some doubles, he could contribute at first base. A player like that, under team control and cheap, can really contribute. Spending a million or so on a starting first baseman can free up a lot of money to spend in other places. Pitching comes to mind, but that is a story for next week. Ben Revere - Outfielder It is almost hard not to think of Juan Pierre when I think of Ben Revere. Both have tons of speed, good contact, no power whatsoever, great range in the outfield and no arm. This type of player is very dependent on stolen bases and batting average. Research shows that batting average can vary significantly from year to year. Without a .300 batting average, Revere is not a player that can help a good team. That is my worry. He makes contact so well and he is so fast, that he could defy variance and be productive for years. Realistically, he might be best served as a 4th outfielder. I will say, he is extremely fun to watch in the outfield and that provides some visual value for fans during down years. Trevor Plouffe - 3rd Base If Plouffe could just throw, the Twins would have an extremely valuable shortstop. At third, he still can contribute. The power surge in June/July was likely somewhat lucky. His home run to fly ball ratio was very high, but that doesn't take the home runs off the board. If he can provide an .800 or so OPS and can continue to make the throw from third base, he can be valuable in the same way as Chris Parmelee. He will be cheap and under team control for awhile. Corner infielders with average to good power have value and can help on a playoff team. Ryan Doumit - Catcher/Outfielder In many ways, Doumit is a perfect backup catcher for this team. The fact that he could catch 4-5 times per week and put up good numbers, gives him the versatility to move to corner outfield positions and not look out of place offensively. Catchers simply cannot play every day behind the plate, but having a good offensive player like Doumit to replace Joe Mauer a few days a week is extremely valuable. Doumit isn't even a good fielder, regardless of where he plays, but his bat is above average and his positional versatility makes him a good piece. He will be 33 in 2014, so the only way he contributes to a Twins playoff team is if they have success sooner than expected. Justin Morneau - 1st Base I don't see it. Morneau was a very important part of the Twins' success in the 2000s. He won an MVP award and may have won another had he not suffered a concussion in 2010. His season in 2012 has started to look good, but the looming head issues are a concern. In addition, he will be 32 years old next year. With Chris Parmelee seemingly ready for a shot and making more than 10 million dollars less in salary, I wouldn't be surprised if Morneau's healthy season earns him a ticket to another team. I hope he can contribute to another team's success, as he has been a player I have enjoyed watching over the years. Denard Span - Center Field I heard Span on the radio and the host asked him who the most underrated player on the Twins is. He said Jamey Carroll, but the correct answer would have been given had he said "me." Span is a player that it took me a while to warm up to. I focused too much on what he couldn't do (power, arm) and didn't see all the good things that he can do (hit, get on base, range in the outfield). His base running is not great, but he doesn't need to steal bases to have value. He gets on base at an above-average rate, he plays a good center field, and he has started to hit a lot of doubles this season. He is a legitimate leadoff hitter and his healthy (head-wise) season is very encouraging. All that being said, if the Twins can trade him for legitimate pitching prospects, I would do that. You can't just sign quality pitching prospects as free agents. You have to give something to get something. However, iIf Span can't fetch a good return, I wouldn't trade him right now. Down the line, if the outfield prospects (Arcia, Benson, Hicks) develop, you might trade him just because there are equally attractive options. Right now, he is still the best all-around outfielder in the organization. Josh Willingham - Left Field Josh Willingham is having a wonderful season. He is getting on base and hitting for a ton of power. He might have been the best free agent signing off the offseason in all of baseball. His contract is reasonable and he is signed at that reasonable rate for two more years. In addition, he replaced Michael Cuddyer, which earns him a special place in my heart. On the other hand, Josh Willingham is a terrible outfielder. He can only play left field, which is unique, but not cool. He has very little range and his arm isn't great. He is 33 years old, but if he stays healthy, there is no reason he can't put up similar offensive numbers for the next two years. I would prefer that he does that as a full-time DH though. With Joe Mauer on the roster, having a full-time DH is not an option. So, yes, he can contribute, but he might be too old and not versatile enough to contribute to a Twins playoff team. He is another candidate to trade for young pitching and after this season, he actually might bring something significant back in return. Joe Mauer - Catcher/DH Joe Mauer is an excellent player. It is very easy to look at all the things that he does not do and be critical. To do that would ignore all the things that he does extremely well. He gets on base as well as any player in baseball. Only 3 active players have gotten on base at a higher rate than Mauer in his career: Todd Helton, Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman (4 players if you count Manny Ramirez as active. He might not have home run power, but he does have good gap power. He may not be the elite catcher that he once was, but he can still play catcher at a respectable level. He has played more games this year than any other Twins player with the exception of Josh Willingham. Joe Mauer is the type of player that every team would want. Of course, he is almost certainly overpaid, but that was as much a business decision as a baseball decision. How could the Twins let a MN-born, homegrown player walk with a new ballpark opening. Plus, he was coming off one of the greatest seasons ever produced by a catcher human. The Twins had to overpay to keep him and it was the right decision. While his salary adds a degree of difficulty to the rebuilding process, his talent makes it a lot easier to build a good team. If the Twins contend in the next 6 years, he will be a positive contributor. In summary In my opinion, the following players will play a significant role on a future Twins playoff team: Joe Mauer, Trevor Plouffe, and Chris Parmelee The following players could play a significant role, if the Twins contend in 2014: Josh Willingham, Denard Span, Ryan Doumit The following players could play a bench role on a good Twins team: Ben Revere, Eduardo Escobar, Darin Mastroianni It is too early to tell, but these young players are exciting and could contribute: Joe Benson, Oswaldo Arcia The remaining players either will not be around, or will not contribute positively. Next week, I will tackle the pitchers. What do you think of this list?

The Twins are far from contending. It really is the sad reality. As much as we may think that adding two starting pitchers to the roster for 2013 will make the Twins contend, the reality is that 2 high quality starting pitchers added to this year's roster might have lead to a .500 finish. .500 teams are worthless in my mind. You either want to make the playoffs or rebuild, but you don't want to be in the middle. Middling teams usually do not compete for the playoffs and have difficulties drafting and developing high-end talent. The one caveat is that the Central is a weak division and a .500 team might be close to a playoff spot. We all know from history that a Central Division Championship is nice, but not a predictor of Twins' success in the playoffs. In my mind, a few years of rebuilding can really replenish the farm system and lead to a bright future. The tradeoff is an unpleasant present. However, reality is reality. Perhaps the Twins can have a Baltimore Orioles type success next year, but I doubt that would lead to the World Series. A long term plan is needed. I am going to look at the players on the current 40 man roster, to see who could help a contending Twins team (likely in 2014 at the earliest). There are a variety of factors to consider, but each player will be analyzed based more on their future value than their current value. While a playoff spot in 2014 is certainly possible, 2015 or 2016 seems a lot more reasonable. Let's start from the bottom: Drew Butera - Catcher No Matt Carson - Outfielder Carson is a 31-year-old outfielder with about 50 games of MLB experience. He is not a piece to the puzzle and he is not a piece to any team's puzzle. The fact that he made it back to the big leagues is a cool story, but that is about all it is. Alexi Casilla - Infielder Casilla has been a useful player over the past few years. Ok, useful might be a stretch, but a guy who can play both middle infield positions well is pretty useful. He really can't hit at all, but he is fun to watch. He has some charisma, but that doesn't really help a lot on the field. I have enjoyed watching Casilla play the infield these past few years, but I don't think he will be in Minnesota next year. A good team would maybe use him as a late inning defensive replacement/pinch runner, and nothing more. Oswaldo Arcia - Outfielder The future looks bright for Arcia. He is a great hitter, and his AA stats are pretty impressive. He isn't much of a fielder, and he might have to move to left field, as his arm is not right field quality. The way he is hitting in AA and the fact that he is already on the 40 man roster, could combine to get him to the Twins' active roster in September at the young age of 21. If Denard Span needs rest, he could easily get some playing time in right field with Ben Revere moving to center. He likely will not be a full-time regular until 2014, but he might be a bit of a Jason Kubel (at his peak) type player down the line, and that type of player can definitely contribute on a future playoff team. Joe Benson - Outfielder Benson did not leave a good taste in fans' mouths last September and his struggles continued throughout this year in the minors. He strikes out a ton. He likely always will. However, a strikeout is the same as a ground out, fly out, line out, pop out, and any other kind of out in the box score. If he can be productive around the strikeouts, he has a lot of potential value. He runs well, fields well, throws well and has power. Put it this way, he could be what Trevor Plouffe is right now, with the added defensive and speed values. Benson has a right field arm and potential 20 home run/20 steal ability. He is still pretty young and I think he can contribute. Personally, I hope the Twins can fit him in the lineup next year, regardless of his struggles in 2012. I would not give up on this player just yet. Eduardo Escobar - Infielder Escobar was acquired in the Francisco Liriano trade back in July. He is already 23 years old, and is likely a utility man at best. According to what I have read, he is a very good fielder. He is also versatile enough to play second, third and short. He could be a better version of Nick Punto, if he hits. As much as Punto was disliked in Minnesota, his type of player does have some value off the bench. Pedro Florimon - Infielder Florimon has a pretty similar skill set compared with Escobar. He is a skilled fielder, but not an accomplished minor league hitter. He could also be a utility player, but likely not one with as much value as Escobar. I don't think he can contribute to a playoff team. Brian Dozier - Infielder I am not a huge Dozier fan. He will be 26 for most of next year, and he didn't really impress while in Minnesota. He didn't hit enough to be valuable, especially when you consider that his defense needs work. As unexciting as Escobar might be, his glove makes his shortcomings with the bat a bit more tolerable. Dozier hasn't shown enough in the field or at the plate, and he is 2 years older. Some have compared him to Jamey Carroll, but he doesn't walk nearly enough for that to be an accurate comparison. Jamey Carroll - Infielder More than 10 percent of the Twins' current 40 man roster consists of utility players. Not all utility players are created the same way. Carroll is a very valuable utility player. He can play second, short and third in a pinch. He gets on base enough to make up for his lack of power. He is old. I would not be surprised if he was retired the next time the Twins are contending. Darin Mastroianni - Outfielder Mastroianni is exactly the type of player that when used properly, has good value, but might be just good enough to earn more playing time and become an issue. I know that might not make sense, but to me, Mastroianni is a good 4th outfielder. When he becomes a regular, he looks a lot less impressive. He clearly has the glove for any outfield position and he gets on base enough to be valuable. However, he also appears to be a "gamer" and that worries me. Gardenhire likes his gamers and a guy like Mastroianni may earn more playing time on that basis. If he works hard and plays well, he certainly deserves that opportunity. I just prefer to have players in positions that best emphasize their skill sets. So, in summary, 4th outfielder Darin Mastroianni good, starting outfielder Darin Mastroianni bad. Outfield is actually a position of strength here in Minnesota in the present. Looking to the future, I hope there is never a situation where a guy like Joe Benson or Aaron Hicks is blocked by Mastroianni. Then again, Matt Carson was getting starts over him the last week, so maybe Gardy doesn't like Mastroianni as much as I thought he would. Chris Parmelee - 1st Base/Outfield? I'm not sure Chris Parmelee should play the outfield on a contending team. I am also not sure he can be productive enough with the bat to play first base on a contending team. He is down in AAA earning the right for everyone to find out. If the power translates, like Trevor Plouffe's AAA power surge in 2011, then he could be valuable. He isn't likely to hit 30 bombs in the Majors, but 20 could be possible. If he can draw walks and mix in some doubles, he could contribute at first base. A player like that, under team control and cheap, can really contribute. Spending a million or so on a starting first baseman can free up a lot of money to spend in other places. Pitching comes to mind, but that is a story for next week. Ben Revere - Outfielder It is almost hard not to think of Juan Pierre when I think of Ben Revere. Both have tons of speed, good contact, no power whatsoever, great range in the outfield and no arm. This type of player is very dependent on stolen bases and batting average. Research shows that batting average can vary significantly from year to year. Without a .300 batting average, Revere is not a player that can help a good team. That is my worry. He makes contact so well and he is so fast, that he could defy variance and be productive for years. Realistically, he might be best served as a 4th outfielder. I will say, he is extremely fun to watch in the outfield and that provides some visual value for fans during down years. Trevor Plouffe - 3rd Base If Plouffe could just throw, the Twins would have an extremely valuable shortstop. At third, he still can contribute. The power surge in June/July was likely somewhat lucky. His home run to fly ball ratio was very high, but that doesn't take the home runs off the board. If he can provide an .800 or so OPS and can continue to make the throw from third base, he can be valuable in the same way as Chris Parmelee. He will be cheap and under team control for awhile. Corner infielders with average to good power have value and can help on a playoff team. Ryan Doumit - Catcher/Outfielder In many ways, Doumit is a perfect backup catcher for this team. The fact that he could catch 4-5 times per week and put up good numbers, gives him the versatility to move to corner outfield positions and not look out of place offensively. Catchers simply cannot play every day behind the plate, but having a good offensive player like Doumit to replace Joe Mauer a few days a week is extremely valuable. Doumit isn't even a good fielder, regardless of where he plays, but his bat is above average and his positional versatility makes him a good piece. He will be 33 in 2014, so the only way he contributes to a Twins playoff team is if they have success sooner than expected. Justin Morneau - 1st Base I don't see it. Morneau was a very important part of the Twins' success in the 2000s. He won an MVP award and may have won another had he not suffered a concussion in 2010. His season in 2012 has started to look good, but the looming head issues are a concern. In addition, he will be 32 years old next year. With Chris Parmelee seemingly ready for a shot and making more than 10 million dollars less in salary, I wouldn't be surprised if Morneau's healthy season earns him a ticket to another team. I hope he can contribute to another team's success, as he has been a player I have enjoyed watching over the years. Denard Span - Center Field I heard Span on the radio and the host asked him who the most underrated player on the Twins is. He said Jamey Carroll, but the correct answer would have been given had he said "me." Span is a player that it took me a while to warm up to. I focused too much on what he couldn't do (power, arm) and didn't see all the good things that he can do (hit, get on base, range in the outfield). His base running is not great, but he doesn't need to steal bases to have value. He gets on base at an above-average rate, he plays a good center field, and he has started to hit a lot of doubles this season. He is a legitimate leadoff hitter and his healthy (head-wise) season is very encouraging. All that being said, if the Twins can trade him for legitimate pitching prospects, I would do that. You can't just sign quality pitching prospects as free agents. You have to give something to get something. However, iIf Span can't fetch a good return, I wouldn't trade him right now. Down the line, if the outfield prospects (Arcia, Benson, Hicks) develop, you might trade him just because there are equally attractive options. Right now, he is still the best all-around outfielder in the organization. Josh Willingham - Left Field Josh Willingham is having a wonderful season. He is getting on base and hitting for a ton of power. He might have been the best free agent signing off the offseason in all of baseball. His contract is reasonable and he is signed at that reasonable rate for two more years. In addition, he replaced Michael Cuddyer, which earns him a special place in my heart. On the other hand, Josh Willingham is a terrible outfielder. He can only play left field, which is unique, but not cool. He has very little range and his arm isn't great. He is 33 years old, but if he stays healthy, there is no reason he can't put up similar offensive numbers for the next two years. I would prefer that he does that as a full-time DH though. With Joe Mauer on the roster, having a full-time DH is not an option. So, yes, he can contribute, but he might be too old and not versatile enough to contribute to a Twins playoff team. He is another candidate to trade for young pitching and after this season, he actually might bring something significant back in return. Joe Mauer - Catcher/DH Joe Mauer is an excellent player. It is very easy to look at all the things that he does not do and be critical. To do that would ignore all the things that he does extremely well. He gets on base as well as any player in baseball. Only 3 active players have gotten on base at a higher rate than Mauer in his career: Todd Helton, Albert Pujols and Lance Berkman (4 players if you count Manny Ramirez as active. He might not have home run power, but he does have good gap power. He may not be the elite catcher that he once was, but he can still play catcher at a respectable level. He has played more games this year than any other Twins player with the exception of Josh Willingham. Joe Mauer is the type of player that every team would want. Of course, he is almost certainly overpaid, but that was as much a business decision as a baseball decision. How could the Twins let a MN-born, homegrown player walk with a new ballpark opening. Plus, he was coming off one of the greatest seasons ever produced by a catcher human. The Twins had to overpay to keep him and it was the right decision. While his salary adds a degree of difficulty to the rebuilding process, his talent makes it a lot easier to build a good team. If the Twins contend in the next 6 years, he will be a positive contributor. In summary In my opinion, the following players will play a significant role on a future Twins playoff team: Joe Mauer, Trevor Plouffe, and Chris Parmelee The following players could play a significant role, if the Twins contend in 2014: Josh Willingham, Denard Span, Ryan Doumit The following players could play a bench role on a good Twins team: Ben Revere, Eduardo Escobar, Darin Mastroianni It is too early to tell, but these young players are exciting and could contribute: Joe Benson, Oswaldo Arcia The remaining players either will not be around, or will not contribute positively. Next week, I will tackle the pitchers. What do you think of this list?

I also think that Law might be looking at the ideal 5th starter, not necessarily the Twins' 5th starter. If Diamond was the 5th starter on your team, you would take that. If he is your ace, odds are, your team is 20 games under .500.

Yeah, looking at the stats again, it would be tough for any team to keep him in the Minors. I guess his High A stats in 2010 were great, but he still likely would have started there again with the Twins in 2011. He still probably would be in MLB by now. As for the injuries, I am not 100% certain that Trout isn't a cyborg.

Knowing the Twins' track record, I could certainly see this. I guess I figure if Trout is doing what he is doing this year, but in AA, his numbers would be off the charts insane for AA. If that was the case, I could see him cracking the lineup in 2013.

Thank you, I appreciate that!

Mike Trout is the toast of the baseball town. He was called up to the Majors on April 28 and has literally been the most valuable player in either league since that day. He has hit for power, stolen bases and made some outstanding catches in the outfield. Any team would be lucky to have a player like Trout, and he just turned 21, in case you needed extra convincing. Kyle Gibson has a bright future as well. Odds are, he will not suffer another injury as debilitating as he is recovering from. He was a top tier prospect for the Twins with great control. His AAA numbers last year looked bad, but if you looked closer, he did have a good strikeout rate, a great walk rate and a strikeout to walk ratio well above 3. While many would compare him to Brad Radke, he might have actually had more ability than Radke, who was a Twins mainstay for about a decade. Every single GM in baseball would take Trout over Gibson right now and going forward. Gibson still could be a number 3 starter on a good team, but Trout could end up as the best player in the AL for the next 10-15 years. Trout vs. Gibson is a 1st round knockout. That is not to say that every GM would have taken Trout over Gibson 3 years ago. Gibson was taken 22nd by the Twins and Trout was taken 25th by the Angels. In fact, 21 teams passed on Trout, with Washington and Arizona passing on him twice (imagine Trout with Harper and Strasburg!). Anaheim even passed on him once, although, they had consecutive picks, so there was no risk in losing him. That seems crazy now, but Trout came from a part of the country that is not known for baseball. Therefore, some wondered if he was just a big fish in a small pond. Turns out, Trout is a whale shark. Enough fish puns though. So, this is not a critique of the Twins' front office. They had taken Aaron Hicks, a toolsy, slick-fielding, cannon-armed, with good power potential outfielder, just one year earlier. While you should take the best player available in drafts, Gibson also fit the Twins' profile for a starting pitcher. He flew through the minor leagues, and likely would have been in Minnesota last September, had he not been injured. He will be only 25 years old next season, and likely will spend at least some time with the Twins in 2013. So, what if the Twins had drafted Mike Trout in 2009? First, I doubt Trout would be tearing up MLB pitching in 2012 in a Twins uniform. The Twins do not rush prospects, although, Trout was obviously not rushed. However, my gut says that Trout would be in AAA right now, at the highest. His minor league numbers aren't so insane that he would have forced the Twins' hand. He was good enough that he would have likely split years at different levels, as he did with the Angels, but he almost certainly would not have been called up in 2011 at age 19 with the Twins. The Trout Phenomenon would have almost certainly have started later, but I do not think he would be any less a player had the Twins drafted him; it just might have taken longer to find out. He likely would have debuted in September of this year, or possibly even mid- to late-2013. Second, Gibson almost certainly would still have all of his original ligaments. No, that's not true. Gibson would have been just as likely to get hurt with any other team. You cannot predict health with pitchers and Gibson could have just as easily blown his arm out pitching with another team. Although, I do think that he may have done so in the Majors. Gibson had pitched 3 years at Missouri, and was therefore 21 years old when drafted. In their 2010 prospect rankings, Baseball America listed his MLB ETA as 2011. By the way, those same rankings had Gibson rated 61st and Trout 85th as prospects in all of baseball. So, while Gibson has never reached the majors in real life, in this What If scenario, he may have. Finally, the Twins would have the number 1 prospect in baseball right now. As I said before, I think he would be in AAA at the highest, but I also think he would be coming up to the MLB any day. In fact, he may have been a very recent call-up, as Trout would make Denard Span an even better trade chip for the Twins. They might have been more willing to trade Span back in July for some pitching help, under this scenario. They would need even more pitching help, as they never drafted Kyle Gibson, and therefore do not have any sort of starting pitching prospect in the system. This type of transaction is not likely one that can change a franchise in the short-term. The 2012 Twins would likely still be a bad team with terrible starting pitching. Trout would be an exciting player for the fans, but ultimately would not make them a playoff team. This can be seen with the current version of the Angels, as they are falling dangerously close to missing out on the playoffs this year, even with Trout. The 2015 Twins might have been another story. A player like Mike Trout has the ability to be an MVP caliber player for many years. He has power, speed, and defense, at a premium position. While he cannot win a World Series on his own, he is a fantastic start for a rebuilding club. Kyle Gibson is the only actual Twin between the two players. Pre-surgery Gibson never threw the ball through a wall, and hopefully can reclaim the control and command that he had before his elbow issues. If he can, he still has the ability to be a number 3 starter in the MLB. If the Twins knew they would be getting a number 3 starter with the 22nd pick in any draft, they would take that every time. Gibson is no Trout, but he can still prove to be a good draft pick for the Twins. (Note: As I was writing this, Mike Trout hit a freaking missile out of the park off Felix Hernandez. I guess he felt I wasn't giving him enough credit.)

Mike Trout is the toast of the baseball town. He was called up to the Majors on April 28 and has literally been the most valuable player in either league since that day. He has hit for power, stolen bases and made some outstanding catches in the outfield. Any team would be lucky to have a player like Trout, and he just turned 21, in case you needed extra convincing. Kyle Gibson has a bright future as well. Odds are, he will not suffer another injury as debilitating as he is recovering from. He was a top tier prospect for the Twins with great control. His AAA numbers last year looked bad, but if you looked closer, he did have a good strikeout rate, a great walk rate and a strikeout to walk ratio well above 3. While many would compare him to Brad Radke, he might have actually had more ability than Radke, who was a Twins mainstay for about a decade. Every single GM in baseball would take Trout over Gibson right now and going forward. Gibson still could be a number 3 starter on a good team, but Trout could end up as the best player in the AL for the next 10-15 years. Trout vs. Gibson is a 1st round knockout. That is not to say that every GM would have taken Trout over Gibson 3 years ago. Gibson was taken 22nd by the Twins and Trout was taken 25th by the Angels. In fact, 21 teams passed on Trout, with Washington and Arizona passing on him twice (imagine Trout with Harper and Strasburg!). Anaheim even passed on him once, although, they had consecutive picks, so there was no risk in losing him. That seems crazy now, but Trout came from a part of the country that is not known for baseball. Therefore, some wondered if he was just a big fish in a small pond. Turns out, Trout is a whale shark. Enough fish puns though. So, this is not a critique of the Twins' front office. They had taken Aaron Hicks, a toolsy, slick-fielding, cannon-armed, with good power potential outfielder, just one year earlier. While you should take the best player available in drafts, Gibson also fit the Twins' profile for a starting pitcher. He flew through the minor leagues, and likely would have been in Minnesota last September, had he not been injured. He will be only 25 years old next season, and likely will spend at least some time with the Twins in 2013. So, what if the Twins had drafted Mike Trout in 2009? First, I doubt Trout would be tearing up MLB pitching in 2012 in a Twins uniform. The Twins do not rush prospects, although, Trout was obviously not rushed. However, my gut says that Trout would be in AAA right now, at the highest. His minor league numbers aren't so insane that he would have forced the Twins' hand. He was good enough that he would have likely split years at different levels, as he did with the Angels, but he almost certainly would not have been called up in 2011 at age 19 with the Twins. The Trout Phenomenon would have almost certainly have started later, but I do not think he would be any less a player had the Twins drafted him; it just might have taken longer to find out. He likely would have debuted in September of this year, or possibly even mid- to late-2013. Second, Gibson almost certainly would still have all of his original ligaments. No, that's not true. Gibson would have been just as likely to get hurt with any other team. You cannot predict health with pitchers and Gibson could have just as easily blown his arm out pitching with another team. Although, I do think that he may have done so in the Majors. Gibson had pitched 3 years at Missouri, and was therefore 21 years old when drafted. In their 2010 prospect rankings, Baseball America listed his MLB ETA as 2011. By the way, those same rankings had Gibson rated 61st and Trout 85th as prospects in all of baseball. So, while Gibson has never reached the majors in real life, in this What If scenario, he may have. Finally, the Twins would have the number 1 prospect in baseball right now. As I said before, I think he would be in AAA at the highest, but I also think he would be coming up to the MLB any day. In fact, he may have been a very recent call-up, as Trout would make Denard Span an even better trade chip for the Twins. They might have been more willing to trade Span back in July for some pitching help, under this scenario. They would need even more pitching help, as they never drafted Kyle Gibson, and therefore do not have any sort of starting pitching prospect in the system. This type of transaction is not likely one that can change a franchise in the short-term. The 2012 Twins would likely still be a bad team with terrible starting pitching. Trout would be an exciting player for the fans, but ultimately would not make them a playoff team. This can be seen with the current version of the Angels, as they are falling dangerously close to missing out on the playoffs this year, even with Trout. The 2015 Twins might have been another story. A player like Mike Trout has the ability to be an MVP caliber player for many years. He has power, speed, and defense, at a premium position. While he cannot win a World Series on his own, he is a fantastic start for a rebuilding club. Kyle Gibson is the only actual Twin between the two players. Pre-surgery Gibson never threw the ball through a wall, and hopefully can reclaim the control and command that he had before his elbow issues. If he can, he still has the ability to be a number 3 starter in the MLB. If the Twins knew they would be getting a number 3 starter with the 22nd pick in any draft, they would take that every time. Gibson is no Trout, but he can still prove to be a good draft pick for the Twins. (Note: As I was writing this, Mike Trout hit a freaking missile out of the park off Felix Hernandez. I guess he felt I wasn't giving him enough credit.)

This is like the mother lode for frustrated Twins fans. I mean, take both of these guys out in one fell swoop! I hardly enjoyed these two players as a fan. Blackburn was a player that I harped on repeatedly, refusing to give him credit for pitching one important game back in the 2008 Game 163 (we lost that game too, no one seems to remember that). I felt he was living off that reputation for far too long, considering his failures over the past 3 years. I did not know what to think about Nishioka when he signed, but wow, it did not take long for me to figure it out. I was not impressed with any part of his game, and I am not surprised he has been removed from the 40 man roster so quickly after his signing. I also know that we aren't supposed to feel sorry for millionaires that get to play a child's game for a living. Each of these men will likely earn more money next year than I will make in my entire life, even if they don't play a single inning. I know that both of these men will likely get to continue to play baseball for at least a few more years, maybe just not in Major League Baseball. I also know that their lives have not ended and that both are young men with plenty of life to live. I try to think about how it would feel to work so hard toward something that you really want, reach the highest level of your field, and then have such public, horrifying failure. Failure to the point that no organization really wants you around anymore. It is true that most do not reach this level, but that likely will not put these two at ease. They have reached the crossroads of their careers. There aren't a lot of people that reach that point in their career at such young ages. The reality is that either man can likely stay with baseball for as long as they want to. There is really no rational reason to feel badly for them, but I still do feel somewhat badly for them. There are plenty of minor leaguers who never get this far. I certainly don't feel badly for them. There is clearly some psychological difference here. With Blackburn, I feel like I have seen his entire career and it seems to be ending really early. He was an exciting prospect once upon a time, but in my eyes, he never really reached any sort of exciting potential. At his peak, he was average at best. At his worst, he might have literally been the worst pitcher in all of Major League Baseball. How much longer would he even be willing to keep playing at that level? Nishioka had some success in Japan, but is unlikely to have any sort of career in MLB. In fact, his MLB career will likely not be remembered much at all, except by those fans that remember just how poorly he played all parts of the game. He left his home as a successful player to try to play in the best league in the World. To fail so mightily and have to go back to those that he left would be extremely humbling. Who knows, maybe one or both of them will find something in their pasts that made them players that the Twins wanted on their team. If they both end up on the Twins' roster in September for some reason, please pretend you never read this. Thanks!

This is like the mother lode for frustrated Twins fans. I mean, take both of these guys out in one fell swoop! I hardly enjoyed these two players as a fan. Blackburn was a player that I harped on repeatedly, refusing to give him credit for pitching one important game back in the 2008 Game 163 (we lost that game too, no one seems to remember that). I felt he was living off that reputation for far too long, considering his failures over the past 3 years. I did not know what to think about Nishioka when he signed, but wow, it did not take long for me to figure it out. I was not impressed with any part of his game, and I am not surprised he has been removed from the 40 man roster so quickly after his signing. I also know that we aren't supposed to feel sorry for millionaires that get to play a child's game for a living. Each of these men will likely earn more money next year than I will make in my entire life, even if they don't play a single inning. I know that both of these men will likely get to continue to play baseball for at least a few more years, maybe just not in Major League Baseball. I also know that their lives have not ended and that both are young men with plenty of life to live. I try to think about how it would feel to work so hard toward something that you really want, reach the highest level of your field, and then have such public, horrifying failure. Failure to the point that no organization really wants you around anymore. It is true that most do not reach this level, but that likely will not put these two at ease. They have reached the crossroads of their careers. There aren't a lot of people that reach that point in their career at such young ages. The reality is that either man can likely stay with baseball for as long as they want to. There is really no rational reason to feel badly for them, but I still do feel somewhat badly for them. There are plenty of minor leaguers who never get this far. I certainly don't feel badly for them. There is clearly some psychological difference here. With Blackburn, I feel like I have seen his entire career and it seems to be ending really early. He was an exciting prospect once upon a time, but in my eyes, he never really reached any sort of exciting potential. At his peak, he was average at best. At his worst, he might have literally been the worst pitcher in all of Major League Baseball. How much longer would he even be willing to keep playing at that level? Nishioka had some success in Japan, but is unlikely to have any sort of career in MLB. In fact, his MLB career will likely not be remembered much at all, except by those fans that remember just how poorly he played all parts of the game. He left his home as a successful player to try to play in the best league in the World. To fail so mightily and have to go back to those that he left would be extremely humbling. Who knows, maybe one or both of them will find something in their pasts that made them players that the Twins wanted on their team. If they both end up on the Twins' roster in September for some reason, please pretend you never read this. Thanks!

The Mondayne Notes will be posted either late Sunday night or on Monday. They are best accompanied by of "Spinning in Daffodils" by Them Crooked Vultures.The Games Monday - Win over Detroit - 9-3 Samuel Deduno walked fewer than he struck out. Ryan Doumit hit a late bomb to put it away. Tuesday - Loss to Detroit - 8-4 The Twins scored 4 unearned runs in the 3rd inning, but Doug Fister pretty much shut them down the rest of the way. If anything will keep the Tigers from success in the regular season and postseason, it will definitely be their infield defense. Wednesday - Loss to Detroit - 5-1 Cole DeVries was pretty inefficient and Max Scherzer basically dominated the Twins with 10 strikeouts. Thursday - Off Day Friday - Loss to Seattle - 5-3 A late pair of solo home runs by Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham were not enough as Nick Blackburn gave up 3 runs in the first 2 innings and his season ERA jumped up to 7.39. Saturday - Loss to Seattle - 3-2 In a wonderful demonstration of how overrated wins and losses are for pitchers, Casey Fein gets the loss by facing one batter and getting him out. He inherited a based loaded, no outs situation. He got a sacrifice fly to shallow center, but deep enough to score the run. He also got the loss for that. On the other side, Tom Wilhelmsen faced one batter and got the win. He also got his batter out. Sunday - Loss to Seattle - 5-1 The game was close until Jeff Gray came in and showed us all how to win. Deduno had a "quality start" and also walked 6 more batters. His walk rate is almost historically high and I am planning to investigate just how high sometime in the future. Ben Revere did return to the lineup after missing the previous two games. Week in Review Not a great week. The Monday night game was fun, but the Twins' offense was not great the rest of the week. They scored 9 runs on Monday and then 10 runs the rest of the week. Unfortunately, they cannot win games without getting good or better offense. Sam Deduno and Scott Diamond had good results in their 3 combined starts, but the rest of the starting pitching dug holes for the team in the early innings. Deduno walked 11 guys in his 2 starts and had 4 double plays turned behind him. There are about 5 reasons (high strand rate, low strikeout rate, high walk rate, low BABIP, lack of any sort of track record) I can think of that point toward some major regression from Deduno, but it is hard to argue with the results right now. I am not a Nick Blackburn fan at all, but I am honestly starting to feel a bit sorry for him and I hope he has a couple lucky starts in a row because he isn't going to get good results based on his talent anymore. Pedro Florimon made his Twins debut and made some nice plays on deep pop-ups behind short. The Transactions 8/13 - Trevor Plouffe activated, Nishioka send to AAA The Plouffe is no longer on fire. I still like him though, and think he can be a cheap third baseman for the next couple years. Nishioka going back to AAA is probably the best thing for him. Each MLB game he plays is just more and more embarrassing for him. I honestly hope the Twins buy him out and let him go back to Japan. That is likely the best situation for all sides. 8/15 - Brian Dozier to AAA, Pedro Florimon called up This one surprised me. Florimon is not a prospect, so there is nothing to get too excited about with him. I am not super high on Dozier, but I am hopeful he can get some confidence back in AAA. I refuse to believe that there isn't a psychological element of baseball, as that would make it completely unique to all other human activities. He seems like the type that could have some good gap power and he isn't a terrible fielder. Long term, a move to 2B might be best for him though. He really doesn't have much AAA experience, so this time could be helpful. He'll be back in September regardless. 8/16 - Luis Perdomo to AAA, Jeff Manship to AAA Meh and Meh. Perdomo had a 1.50 ERA in 6 innings, but only 3 strikeouts to 7 walks. Sam Deduno would scoff at that ratio. Manship is just a guy. You can use him as a mop up guy when down by 10 runs. Otherwise, he actually hurts the team. 8/17 - Activated Anthony Swarzak, Called up Matt Carson, Outrighted Rene Tosoni Carson isn't a prospect, but can be on the bench if needed without hurting his development. While many would have liked Parmelee to be called up, it would be wasteful, unless he was going to play every day. His call-up in June/July pretty much proved that will not happen. Tosoni was awful in AA and AAA and with the surprising glut of outfield prospects that the Twins have now (Arcia, Hicks, Rosario and even Benson), they really just don't need a 26 year old corner-only outfielder who really didn't show that he could hit, run, get on base, or even field last year. He seemed like a nice guy though. Swarzak is a semi-useful pitcher as a long man out of the bullpen and spot starter. If nothing else, having a guy like Swarzak should allow the Twins to eventually cut the number of pitchers on the 25 man roster down to a reasonable number (long term of course, this year doesn't really matter much). The Injuries Scott Baker - out for season It seems that he is throwing more often. I am an advocate for signing him next year. He would likely be the ace of the staff, unfortunately. I mean that in the nicest way possible, as I do like Scott Baker. But, a number 3 starter coming off of TJ surgery is not a very exciting ace. Matt Capps - 15 day DL It sounds like he might be out until September. It is possible that he has pitched his last game for the Twins. Which is sad because we never got to give him the standing ovation he deserved as he walked off of Target Field for the last time. We might just have to settle for serenading him with cheers when he comes back next year with another team. Carl Pavano - 60 day DL Another guy who might not pitch for the Twins again, although he is likely to return late August. I wonder if he will even get a Jason Marquis type deal for next year. Ben Revere - day to day Revere sprained his ankle on first base during Wednesday's game. He stayed in the game, but the play looked pretty nasty. It must have been, as he missed the next couple games. He was back today and should be fine going forward. Denard Span - day to day Span last played on August 12, meaning he has missed over a week now. He can be put on the DL retroactively, but that doesn't really change the fact that this type of injury situation is all too common for the Twins. While it really doesn't mean a whole lot in a lost season, it is the type of situation you want to have fixed by the time the team is successful again. Having a two man bench of Drew Butera and Tsuyoshi Nishioka during an August pennant race is means for being disqualified from the playoffs out of principle. P.J. Walters - 15 day DL Currently pitching rehab starts in AAA. I guess it would be good to see what he has in September, just to see if he can be a stopgap starter in 2013. The Standings [TABLE] Team Win Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 39-83 -- 3-7 Colorado 46-73 8.5 6-4 Chicago Cubs 47-73 9 3-7 Twins 50-70 12 1-9 San Diego 53-70 13.5 4-6 Cleveland 54-67 15.5 3-7 Milwaukee 54-66 16 3-7 [/TABLE] Some are not going to like how I display the standings, but realistically, the best way to look at this season is from the bottom up. The worse the Twins' record at the end of the year, the better it is for the future. There isn't a bonus for finishing in 3rd place or getting to .500. But, finishing in the bottom five means a better draft pick, and more importantly, more draft money. Under the new system, you can get double punished for winning games you shouldn't or don't need to win. I am working on a column about losing with dignity that I will have up in a couple weeks. The team doesn't have to tank to lose, but there are ways improve your draft standing while still keeping the team interesting. It might not matter much, as the Twins are the worst of these listed teams over the past 10 games. The Future Jose Berrios struck out 11 batters in 5 innings on Friday night. Berrios is only 18 years old and was quickly promoted to high Rookie ball in Elizabethton. Berrios is fairly short for a pitcher (listed at 6' 1"), but does have good life on his fastball and is not the Twins' typical soft-tossing strike-thrower. According to ESPN's scouting page, Berrios might be a bullpen arm long-term or his three pitch arsenal of fastball, curve and change could help him stay in the rotation. Regardless, getting this guy with the first pick in the 1st supplemental round was a demonstration that the Twins are serious about drafting and developing some power arms with upside. The Big Picture This past year, the Twins drafted quite a few relievers that throw hard, in the hopes that they can turn a few into starters. Berrios is obviously one of them. To me, this is a great strategy, as these pitchers are talented enough to profile as good bullpen arms regardless of whether they can develop new pitches in the minors. Young relievers can be extremely valuable, as they save the club from spending too much on veteran relievers and give flexibility to the club to allocate their resources to other parts of the team. A young, talented, team-controlled and hard-throwing bullpen sounds to me like a winning formula. Fantasy Tip of the Week Use total bases in place of home runs. Home runs are fun, but so are triples and doubles. Plus, I find the higher the numbers, the more fun the category is. Total bases still give a bonus for home runs, but adds other extra base hits to the party. Have a great week everyone!

The Mondayne Notes will be posted either late Sunday night or on Monday. They are best accompanied by of "Spinning in Daffodils" by Them Crooked Vultures.The Games Monday - Win over Detroit - 9-3 Samuel Deduno walked fewer than he struck out. Ryan Doumit hit a late bomb to put it away. Tuesday - Loss to Detroit - 8-4 The Twins scored 4 unearned runs in the 3rd inning, but Doug Fister pretty much shut them down the rest of the way. If anything will keep the Tigers from success in the regular season and postseason, it will definitely be their infield defense. Wednesday - Loss to Detroit - 5-1 Cole DeVries was pretty inefficient and Max Scherzer basically dominated the Twins with 10 strikeouts. Thursday - Off Day Friday - Loss to Seattle - 5-3 A late pair of solo home runs by Joe Mauer and Josh Willingham were not enough as Nick Blackburn gave up 3 runs in the first 2 innings and his season ERA jumped up to 7.39. Saturday - Loss to Seattle - 3-2 In a wonderful demonstration of how overrated wins and losses are for pitchers, Casey Fein gets the loss by facing one batter and getting him out. He inherited a based loaded, no outs situation. He got a sacrifice fly to shallow center, but deep enough to score the run. He also got the loss for that. On the other side, Tom Wilhelmsen faced one batter and got the win. He also got his batter out. Sunday - Loss to Seattle - 5-1 The game was close until Jeff Gray came in and showed us all how to win. Deduno had a "quality start" and also walked 6 more batters. His walk rate is almost historically high and I am planning to investigate just how high sometime in the future. Ben Revere did return to the lineup after missing the previous two games. Week in Review Not a great week. The Monday night game was fun, but the Twins' offense was not great the rest of the week. They scored 9 runs on Monday and then 10 runs the rest of the week. Unfortunately, they cannot win games without getting good or better offense. Sam Deduno and Scott Diamond had good results in their 3 combined starts, but the rest of the starting pitching dug holes for the team in the early innings. Deduno walked 11 guys in his 2 starts and had 4 double plays turned behind him. There are about 5 reasons (high strand rate, low strikeout rate, high walk rate, low BABIP, lack of any sort of track record) I can think of that point toward some major regression from Deduno, but it is hard to argue with the results right now. I am not a Nick Blackburn fan at all, but I am honestly starting to feel a bit sorry for him and I hope he has a couple lucky starts in a row because he isn't going to get good results based on his talent anymore. Pedro Florimon made his Twins debut and made some nice plays on deep pop-ups behind short. The Transactions 8/13 - Trevor Plouffe activated, Nishioka send to AAA The Plouffe is no longer on fire. I still like him though, and think he can be a cheap third baseman for the next couple years. Nishioka going back to AAA is probably the best thing for him. Each MLB game he plays is just more and more embarrassing for him. I honestly hope the Twins buy him out and let him go back to Japan. That is likely the best situation for all sides. 8/15 - Brian Dozier to AAA, Pedro Florimon called up This one surprised me. Florimon is not a prospect, so there is nothing to get too excited about with him. I am not super high on Dozier, but I am hopeful he can get some confidence back in AAA. I refuse to believe that there isn't a psychological element of baseball, as that would make it completely unique to all other human activities. He seems like the type that could have some good gap power and he isn't a terrible fielder. Long term, a move to 2B might be best for him though. He really doesn't have much AAA experience, so this time could be helpful. He'll be back in September regardless. 8/16 - Luis Perdomo to AAA, Jeff Manship to AAA Meh and Meh. Perdomo had a 1.50 ERA in 6 innings, but only 3 strikeouts to 7 walks. Sam Deduno would scoff at that ratio. Manship is just a guy. You can use him as a mop up guy when down by 10 runs. Otherwise, he actually hurts the team. 8/17 - Activated Anthony Swarzak, Called up Matt Carson, Outrighted Rene Tosoni Carson isn't a prospect, but can be on the bench if needed without hurting his development. While many would have liked Parmelee to be called up, it would be wasteful, unless he was going to play every day. His call-up in June/July pretty much proved that will not happen. Tosoni was awful in AA and AAA and with the surprising glut of outfield prospects that the Twins have now (Arcia, Hicks, Rosario and even Benson), they really just don't need a 26 year old corner-only outfielder who really didn't show that he could hit, run, get on base, or even field last year. He seemed like a nice guy though. Swarzak is a semi-useful pitcher as a long man out of the bullpen and spot starter. If nothing else, having a guy like Swarzak should allow the Twins to eventually cut the number of pitchers on the 25 man roster down to a reasonable number (long term of course, this year doesn't really matter much). The Injuries Scott Baker - out for season It seems that he is throwing more often. I am an advocate for signing him next year. He would likely be the ace of the staff, unfortunately. I mean that in the nicest way possible, as I do like Scott Baker. But, a number 3 starter coming off of TJ surgery is not a very exciting ace. Matt Capps - 15 day DL It sounds like he might be out until September. It is possible that he has pitched his last game for the Twins. Which is sad because we never got to give him the standing ovation he deserved as he walked off of Target Field for the last time. We might just have to settle for serenading him with cheers when he comes back next year with another team. Carl Pavano - 60 day DL Another guy who might not pitch for the Twins again, although he is likely to return late August. I wonder if he will even get a Jason Marquis type deal for next year. Ben Revere - day to day Revere sprained his ankle on first base during Wednesday's game. He stayed in the game, but the play looked pretty nasty. It must have been, as he missed the next couple games. He was back today and should be fine going forward. Denard Span - day to day Span last played on August 12, meaning he has missed over a week now. He can be put on the DL retroactively, but that doesn't really change the fact that this type of injury situation is all too common for the Twins. While it really doesn't mean a whole lot in a lost season, it is the type of situation you want to have fixed by the time the team is successful again. Having a two man bench of Drew Butera and Tsuyoshi Nishioka during an August pennant race is means for being disqualified from the playoffs out of principle. P.J. Walters - 15 day DL Currently pitching rehab starts in AAA. I guess it would be good to see what he has in September, just to see if he can be a stopgap starter in 2013. The Standings [TABLE] Team Win Loss Games Back Last 10 Houston 39-83 -- 3-7 Colorado 46-73 8.5 6-4 Chicago Cubs 47-73 9 3-7 Twins 50-70 12 1-9 San Diego 53-70 13.5 4-6 Cleveland 54-67 15.5 3-7 Milwaukee 54-66 16 3-7 [/TABLE] Some are not going to like how I display the standings, but realistically, the best way to look at this season is from the bottom up. The worse the Twins' record at the end of the year, the better it is for the future. There isn't a bonus for finishing in 3rd place or getting to .500. But, finishing in the bottom five means a better draft pick, and more importantly, more draft money. Under the new system, you can get double punished for winning games you shouldn't or don't need to win. I am working on a column about losing with dignity that I will have up in a couple weeks. The team doesn't have to tank to lose, but there are ways improve your draft standing while still keeping the team interesting. It might not matter much, as the Twins are the worst of these listed teams over the past 10 games. The Future Jose Berrios struck out 11 batters in 5 innings on Friday night. Berrios is only 18 years old and was quickly promoted to high Rookie ball in Elizabethton. Berrios is fairly short for a pitcher (listed at 6' 1"), but does have good life on his fastball and is not the Twins' typical soft-tossing strike-thrower. According to ESPN's scouting page, Berrios might be a bullpen arm long-term or his three pitch arsenal of fastball, curve and change could help him stay in the rotation. Regardless, getting this guy with the first pick in the 1st supplemental round was a demonstration that the Twins are serious about drafting and developing some power arms with upside. The Big Picture This past year, the Twins drafted quite a few relievers that throw hard, in the hopes that they can turn a few into starters. Berrios is obviously one of them. To me, this is a great strategy, as these pitchers are talented enough to profile as good bullpen arms regardless of whether they can develop new pitches in the minors. Young relievers can be extremely valuable, as they save the club from spending too much on veteran relievers and give flexibility to the club to allocate their resources to other parts of the team. A young, talented, team-controlled and hard-throwing bullpen sounds to me like a winning formula. Fantasy Tip of the Week Use total bases in place of home runs. Home runs are fun, but so are triples and doubles. Plus, I find the higher the numbers, the more fun the category is. Total bases still give a bonus for home runs, but adds other extra base hits to the party. Have a great week everyone!

It makes a lot more sense now that I got the picture to work...

Baseball is certainly evolving. There are many experts. Their expertise comes from many different backgrounds. Some come from the scouting background, some come from a statistical background, some are journalists, and some are former baseball players. All of these experts have a lot to offer. Initially, I relied on the journalists and broadcasters to learn about baseball. As I got older, I read Moneyball, gave myself a Billy Beane haircut and started getting really into statistics. A couple years ago, I bought a Baseball Prospectus subscription and started learning more about the scouting side of things from some really fantastic writers like Jason Parks and Kevin Goldstein. I often find myself watching MLB Network and learning the intricacies of baseball from former players. Some former players are better than others, but it is always great to hear from those that played at the highest level. As a result, I have learned that using statistics to evaluate minor leaguers might not be the best way to predict their futures. I have learned that a good strikeout to walk ratio for a pitcher is 3.0 or higher. I have learned that power isn't necessary equal to home runs. I am also aware of the human side of baseball and that even though players make far more money than I ever will, they are still in possession of human brains and human faults. In summation, I have tried to become a very rational baseball fan. When Brian Dozier debuts for the Twins, I know that he will not be a superstar. When Francisco Liriano is on the trading block, I know the Twins cannot get Jurickson Profar from the Rangers just because the Rangers need a starting pitcher for their playoff run. I know that the Twins cannot fire Ron Gardenhire, in spite of his team's current issues, because he is well liked in the clubhouse and well respected in baseball. However, I am a fan. I have knee-jerk reactions. I have desires to see my favorite team reach massive levels of success. When Brian Dozier debuts for the Twins, I want him to come up and start bombing doubles into the gaps. When Francisco Liriano is on the trading block, I want the Twins to move him for two young pitching prospects that can throw 96-98 on the radar gun. I would like to see my favorite team have more success than simply winning division titles and I am bothered by the playoff record of Ron Gardenhire. This blog will be an attempt to reconcile the rational and irrational side of my fandom. I am not an expert on any of the subjects that I have mentioned above. I watch a lot of baseball, I read as much as I can, and I have a lot of ideas. Some of my ideas are going to seem very strange. Occasionally, I might deviate from analysis to storytelling. As much as I like baseball, I don't take it very seriously, so don't get upset if I get a little strange at times. Oh yeah, I'll probably be wrong a lot. I guess I should not admit that, but I hope it makes me look really humble. I am super humble. Enjoy!

Baseball is certainly evolving. There are many experts. Their expertise comes from many different backgrounds. Some come from the scouting background, some come from a statistical background, some are journalists, and some are former baseball players. All of these experts have a lot to offer. Initially, I relied on the journalists and broadcasters to learn about baseball. As I got older, I read Moneyball, gave myself a Billy Beane haircut and started getting really into statistics. A couple years ago, I bought a Baseball Prospectus subscription and started learning more about the scouting side of things from some really fantastic writers like Jason Parks and Kevin Goldstein. I often find myself watching MLB Network and learning the intricacies of baseball from former players. Some former players are better than others, but it is always great to hear from those that played at the highest level. As a result, I have learned that using statistics to evaluate minor leaguers might not be the best way to predict their futures. I have learned that a good strikeout to walk ratio for a pitcher is 3.0 or higher. I have learned that power isn't necessary equal to home runs. I am also aware of the human side of baseball and that even though players make far more money than I ever will, they are still in possession of human brains and human faults. In summation, I have tried to become a very rational baseball fan. When Brian Dozier debuts for the Twins, I know that he will not be a superstar. When Francisco Liriano is on the trading block, I know the Twins cannot get Jurickson Profar from the Rangers just because the Rangers need a starting pitcher for their playoff run. I know that the Twins cannot fire Ron Gardenhire, in spite of his team's current issues, because he is well liked in the clubhouse and well respected in baseball. However, I am a fan. I have knee-jerk reactions. I have desires to see my favorite team reach massive levels of success. When Brian Dozier debuts for the Twins, I want him to come up and start bombing doubles into the gaps. When Francisco Liriano is on the trading block, I want the Twins to move him for two young pitching prospects that can throw 96-98 on the radar gun. I would like to see my favorite team have more success than simply winning division titles and I am bothered by the playoff record of Ron Gardenhire. This blog will be an attempt to reconcile the rational and irrational side of my fandom. I am not an expert on any of the subjects that I have mentioned above. I watch a lot of baseball, I read as much as I can, and I have a lot of ideas. Some of my ideas are going to seem very strange. Occasionally, I might deviate from analysis to storytelling. As much as I like baseball, I don't take it very seriously, so don't get upset if I get a little strange at times. Oh yeah, I'll probably be wrong a lot. I guess I should not admit that, but I hope it makes me look really humble. I am super humble. Enjoy!