Brad Swanson

This thread is amazing. Stupid post about Slama -> discussion about trading prospects -> Debate strategy discussion -> Princess Bride - > Peace Not bad in fewer than 12 posts.

This one is $137,500: 1 1 BVG 8 5 1951 Bowman Mickey Mantle Rookie 253 | eBay This one is better though, at $100,000: Signed Barry Bonds "Say No to Drugs" Autograph 1987 Fleer Rookie PSA RARE Card | eBay

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Ranking players is the single most important thing we can do as fans. If we don't know when players are better than other players, how can we properly argue about things? I certainly do not want to live in a world where rankings don't matter. However, the traditional measures - WAR, height, pants length, nicknames - are flawed. My solution: we agree to rank players based on the cost of their rookie card. I'm just going to say this, and I know it makes me sound like I'm a million years old, but baseball cards are too dern complicated. I searched eBay for this exercise and I am more confused than I would have ever thought possible. There are cards, then there are cards with different colored borders, then there are cards called "refractors." I had to look up what that word means - "one that refracts." Super helpful, dictionary. To refract is to deflect light. Why do baseball cards need to deflect light? Are we secretly developing baseball card technology to assist with fixing tears in the space/time continuum? What is going on? I am more upset than confused and I am really confused. I'm not that upset. If refractor technology exists, I suppose a baseball card is the best possible use for it. I was confused, but I've recovered. Anyway, since you know baseball cards are weird now, I present to you the ten best Twins, ranked by the cost of their most expensive rookie card. This is just simple science. I did an eBay search for each current Twin (including Aaron Hicks because I break all the rules) and made a dope spreadsheet. You can see it here. Oh, and every player has like 5000 rookie cards now, so if I got anything wrong, just calm the H down. Click each description to view/purchase the card on eBay. 10. Kevin Correia - 2003 Upper Deck Rookie Card BGS 9.5 GEM MINT Giants Twins - $79.99 Point, Terry Ryan. Obviously, Ryan knew to look up Correia's rookie card. I love the way people label their cards on eBay. Basically, you have to do anything it takes to get people to happen to search for your card. In this case, the seller knows that no one will ever look for a Correia rookie card, so you have to litter your description with other words that people might like. 80 bucks seems like a lot for any card, but this one is GEM MINT! If you are anything like me, you remember that guy with the mustache selling baseball cards in the middle of the night. Everything was gem mint, which I think is a good thing. I'm guessing it isn't a flavor. 9. Josh Willingham - 2003 Bowman Chrome GOLD Refractor SP Rookie Card RC /170 TWINS - $95.99 There's a lot going on here, so here are some translations for those who are not searching for baseball cards often. SP means short print, which I am assuming makes it more rare. /170 means there were only 170 of these cards made. RC is rookie card and also redundant when written right after the words "rookie card." The most baffling thing to me is that this card is $95.99. What kind of sociopath picks $95.99? I bet this seller tells people that he'll arrive at 7:13 and that he's about .37 miles away. Anyway, the card might be worth a little extra because Willingham is wearing one of those wrap-around ear flaps. Also, he was a first baseman, meaning he improved on the defensive spectrum as he aged. Value! 8. Glen Perkins - 2007 Exquisite Collection Rookie Futures Auto Silver Spectrum /5 - $99.99 This card is worth more because it has been autographed. The autograph sits right on a little plate, which is cute! This particular one is 4/5, and it makes me wonder if number 1 or 5 would be worth a bit more. This one is a history card as well, stating that "Perkins shines in his first contest on the hill." I wonder if Exquisite made cards like these in later years. For instance, "Perkins files his first grievance against the Twins" and "Perkins fails as a starter." That last one was unkind. A hundred bucks is a lot to spend, but you could own all five of these cards for just $500. No info on if it is gem mint or not. 7. Trevor Plouffe - SP Prospects Auto Rookie BGS 9.5/10 #'d/400 Minnesota Twins - $99.99 Plouffe wins the tie-breaker over Perkins because he had a second card also costing $100. This one is more fun than the other. Plouffe looks like he is 18 years old. He was. But, he also looks like James Franco. He wasn't. This one also contains a signature and is BGS 9.5/10. I looked that up and it means that Beckett has graded it for the seller. I grade papers all the time, maybe I should get Beckett to do them for me. There isn't much to this card. Plouffe is wearing a plain black hat and plain black shirt. I'm guessing SP did not have an MLB license, or Plouffe was trying to lose a few pounds of water weight. 6. Brian Dozier - 2012 Topps Chrome Baseball Rc Rookie Red Refractor Parallel 01/25 - $100.25 That extra quarter is really making me reconsider. Here's some solid research for you: most "chrome" cards come with various colored parallels. In this case, red is rare. There are also blues, golds, greens, xfractors (which we'll talk about later) and purples (personal fave). A hundred bucks for a Brian Dozier card is borderline crazy. This is especially true when you take advantage of this offer: 1,500 Brian Dozier rookie cards for $199.99! If you've ever thought to yourself, "man, I wish I had like 1,500 Brian Dozier rookie cards so I can swim in them like in Ducktales" then this is the eBay item for you. I did the math, that's 13 cents per card. Savings! 5. Aaron Hicks - 2011 BOWMAN CHROME RC ROOKIE GOLD REFRACTOR 14/50 - $179.99 If you had one of the fifty Aaron Hicks gold refractor rookie cards, you'd be shouting too. This one has been written on by Hicks, which the seller fails to mention. You'd think if you were trying to draw attention to your item by shouting, you'd mention one of the qualities that makes it most valuable. Regardless, this card looks very shiny. I certainly did not have any cards from my childhood that were this shiny. I noticed that it says "Topps certified autograph issue" but it was a Bowman card. I thought this must have been a huge conspiracy or a photoshop or some other shenanigans, but Topps and Bowman are the same company. How disappointing. 4. Chris Parmelee - 2006 Bowman Chrome GOLD REFRACTOR SP JERSEY 27/50 Rookie Card RC - $279.99 You're probably thinking "280 bucks for a Chris Parmelee anything?" Well one, it's an investment and two, it's marked down from $350. That's a 20% savings that you can apply to your Brian Dozier rookie card orgy. The description says "JERSEY," which confused me. First, there are cards that have pieces of jerseys in them. This is not one of those. Second, I thought maybe Parmelee is from New Jersey. He's not. I read the description and it says jersey because 27 is his jersey number and that is the number printed on the card. Well then. 3. Oswaldo Arcia - 2013 BOWMAN - MINI RED REFRACTOR ROOKIE #CC-MT3 5/5 SP!! TWINS - $299.00 I searched for "Oswaldo Arcia Rookie Card" and eBay switched it to "Oswaldo Garcia Rookie Card" and proceeded to give me results for Arcia. I immediately assumed that #CC-MT3 was some sort of robot, but it's just the card number. Also disappointing. This is a mini-card, so it's smaller. It also looks like it was rained on. I get that there are mini-cards and refractors, but it completely blows my mind that we have the technology to create mini refractor cards. And yet, we can't get to Mars. 2. Justin Morneau - 2001 BOWMAN CHROME XFRACTOR JUSTIN MORNEAU ROOKIE PSA 9 - $499.99 Morneau is listed as a catcher on this card. If you look closely though, he appears to be pitching while wearing catching gear. Safety first! According to the seller, "Card features very nice centering??" Not only is the seller not sure, he's double not sure. If you are purchasing this card for its centering, you might want to reconsider. "Xfractor" is not in the dictionary. I did look though. It appears that this technology makes the card look pixelated and might give you headaches. Perhaps this is the plan. If we can refract and xfract all at the same time, we could really do some damage. 1. Joe Mauer - 2002 BOWMAN'S BEST RED ROOKIE AUTO PSA 10 1/3 - $3,549.99 Finally, some metric shows Mauer's true value. This card has Mauer's name all over it. Literally; he autographed it. In addition, it looks pretty cool. It has the "M" logo in the back and Mauer is laying a sweet swing. It is GEM MINT 10!!! However, the "o's" and "a's" look a bit similar, so his name kind of looks like Joe Mouer. Joe Mouer can't carry a 3500 card. As it is, I can't imagine spending that much money on a baseball card, even if he did write his name on it. If nothing else, this clearly shows that Mauer is at least seven times better than anyone else on the team and roughly 35 times better than Josh Willingham. By the way, you can own Jamey Carroll's rookie card for the very affordable cost of 1 dollar with 1 dollar shipping. What a slap in the face. Perhaps if Carroll writes his name on the card, it could fetch five dollars. At long last, we have settled the debate of who the ten best Twins players are. You can officially update your personal rankings now. Maybe this was a flawed exercise. If nothing else, we have all learned that baseball cards are needlessly complicated, refractor technology can only take us so far, and if a guy writes his name all over your card, it improves the value. Happy collecting!

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Ranking players is the single most important thing we can do as fans. If we don't know when players are better than other players, how can we properly argue about things? I certainly do not want to live in a world where rankings don't matter. However, the traditional measures - WAR, height, pants length, nicknames - are flawed. My solution: we agree to rank players based on the cost of their rookie card. I'm just going to say this, and I know it makes me sound like I'm a million years old, but baseball cards are too dern complicated. I searched eBay for this exercise and I am more confused than I would have ever thought possible. There are cards, then there are cards with different colored borders, then there are cards called "refractors." I had to look up what that word means - "one that refracts." Super helpful, dictionary. To refract is to deflect light. Why do baseball cards need to deflect light? Are we secretly developing baseball card technology to assist with fixing tears in the space/time continuum? What is going on? I am more upset than confused and I am really confused. I'm not that upset. If refractor technology exists, I suppose a baseball card is the best possible use for it. I was confused, but I've recovered. Anyway, since you know baseball cards are weird now, I present to you the ten best Twins, ranked by the cost of their most expensive rookie card. This is just simple science. I did an eBay search for each current Twin (including Aaron Hicks because I break all the rules) and made a dope spreadsheet. You can see it here. Oh, and every player has like 5000 rookie cards now, so if I got anything wrong, just calm the H down. Click each description to view/purchase the card on eBay. 10. Kevin Correia - 2003 Upper Deck Rookie Card BGS 9.5 GEM MINT Giants Twins - $79.99 Point, Terry Ryan. Obviously, Ryan knew to look up Correia's rookie card. I love the way people label their cards on eBay. Basically, you have to do anything it takes to get people to happen to search for your card. In this case, the seller knows that no one will ever look for a Correia rookie card, so you have to litter your description with other words that people might like. 80 bucks seems like a lot for any card, but this one is GEM MINT! If you are anything like me, you remember that guy with the mustache selling baseball cards in the middle of the night. Everything was gem mint, which I think is a good thing. I'm guessing it isn't a flavor. 9. Josh Willingham - 2003 Bowman Chrome GOLD Refractor SP Rookie Card RC /170 TWINS - $95.99 There's a lot going on here, so here are some translations for those who are not searching for baseball cards often. SP means short print, which I am assuming makes it more rare. /170 means there were only 170 of these cards made. RC is rookie card and also redundant when written right after the words "rookie card." The most baffling thing to me is that this card is $95.99. What kind of sociopath picks $95.99? I bet this seller tells people that he'll arrive at 7:13 and that he's about .37 miles away. Anyway, the card might be worth a little extra because Willingham is wearing one of those wrap-around ear flaps. Also, he was a first baseman, meaning he improved on the defensive spectrum as he aged. Value! 8. Glen Perkins - 2007 Exquisite Collection Rookie Futures Auto Silver Spectrum /5 - $99.99 This card is worth more because it has been autographed. The autograph sits right on a little plate, which is cute! This particular one is 4/5, and it makes me wonder if number 1 or 5 would be worth a bit more. This one is a history card as well, stating that "Perkins shines in his first contest on the hill." I wonder if Exquisite made cards like these in later years. For instance, "Perkins files his first grievance against the Twins" and "Perkins fails as a starter." That last one was unkind. A hundred bucks is a lot to spend, but you could own all five of these cards for just $500. No info on if it is gem mint or not. 7. Trevor Plouffe - SP Prospects Auto Rookie BGS 9.5/10 #'d/400 Minnesota Twins - $99.99 Plouffe wins the tie-breaker over Perkins because he had a second card also costing $100. This one is more fun than the other. Plouffe looks like he is 18 years old. He was. But, he also looks like James Franco. He wasn't. This one also contains a signature and is BGS 9.5/10. I looked that up and it means that Beckett has graded it for the seller. I grade papers all the time, maybe I should get Beckett to do them for me. There isn't much to this card. Plouffe is wearing a plain black hat and plain black shirt. I'm guessing SP did not have an MLB license, or Plouffe was trying to lose a few pounds of water weight. 6. Brian Dozier - 2012 Topps Chrome Baseball Rc Rookie Red Refractor Parallel 01/25 - $100.25 That extra quarter is really making me reconsider. Here's some solid research for you: most "chrome" cards come with various colored parallels. In this case, red is rare. There are also blues, golds, greens, xfractors (which we'll talk about later) and purples (personal fave). A hundred bucks for a Brian Dozier card is borderline crazy. This is especially true when you take advantage of this offer: 1,500 Brian Dozier rookie cards for $199.99! If you've ever thought to yourself, "man, I wish I had like 1,500 Brian Dozier rookie cards so I can swim in them like in Ducktales" then this is the eBay item for you. I did the math, that's 13 cents per card. Savings! 5. Aaron Hicks - 2011 BOWMAN CHROME RC ROOKIE GOLD REFRACTOR 14/50 - $179.99 If you had one of the fifty Aaron Hicks gold refractor rookie cards, you'd be shouting too. This one has been written on by Hicks, which the seller fails to mention. You'd think if you were trying to draw attention to your item by shouting, you'd mention one of the qualities that makes it most valuable. Regardless, this card looks very shiny. I certainly did not have any cards from my childhood that were this shiny. I noticed that it says "Topps certified autograph issue" but it was a Bowman card. I thought this must have been a huge conspiracy or a photoshop or some other shenanigans, but Topps and Bowman are the same company. How disappointing. 4. Chris Parmelee - 2006 Bowman Chrome GOLD REFRACTOR SP JERSEY 27/50 Rookie Card RC - $279.99 You're probably thinking "280 bucks for a Chris Parmelee anything?" Well one, it's an investment and two, it's marked down from $350. That's a 20% savings that you can apply to your Brian Dozier rookie card orgy. The description says "JERSEY," which confused me. First, there are cards that have pieces of jerseys in them. This is not one of those. Second, I thought maybe Parmelee is from New Jersey. He's not. I read the description and it says jersey because 27 is his jersey number and that is the number printed on the card. Well then. 3. Oswaldo Arcia - 2013 BOWMAN - MINI RED REFRACTOR ROOKIE #CC-MT3 5/5 SP!! TWINS - $299.00 I searched for "Oswaldo Arcia Rookie Card" and eBay switched it to "Oswaldo Garcia Rookie Card" and proceeded to give me results for Arcia. I immediately assumed that #CC-MT3 was some sort of robot, but it's just the card number. Also disappointing. This is a mini-card, so it's smaller. It also looks like it was rained on. I get that there are mini-cards and refractors, but it completely blows my mind that we have the technology to create mini refractor cards. And yet, we can't get to Mars. 2. Justin Morneau - 2001 BOWMAN CHROME XFRACTOR JUSTIN MORNEAU ROOKIE PSA 9 - $499.99 Morneau is listed as a catcher on this card. If you look closely though, he appears to be pitching while wearing catching gear. Safety first! According to the seller, "Card features very nice centering??" Not only is the seller not sure, he's double not sure. If you are purchasing this card for its centering, you might want to reconsider. "Xfractor" is not in the dictionary. I did look though. It appears that this technology makes the card look pixelated and might give you headaches. Perhaps this is the plan. If we can refract and xfract all at the same time, we could really do some damage. 1. Joe Mauer - 2002 BOWMAN'S BEST RED ROOKIE AUTO PSA 10 1/3 - $3,549.99 Finally, some metric shows Mauer's true value. This card has Mauer's name all over it. Literally; he autographed it. In addition, it looks pretty cool. It has the "M" logo in the back and Mauer is laying a sweet swing. It is GEM MINT 10!!! However, the "o's" and "a's" look a bit similar, so his name kind of looks like Joe Mouer. Joe Mouer can't carry a 3500 card. As it is, I can't imagine spending that much money on a baseball card, even if he did write his name on it. If nothing else, this clearly shows that Mauer is at least seven times better than anyone else on the team and roughly 35 times better than Josh Willingham. By the way, you can own Jamey Carroll's rookie card for the very affordable cost of 1 dollar with 1 dollar shipping. What a slap in the face. Perhaps if Carroll writes his name on the card, it could fetch five dollars. At long last, we have settled the debate of who the ten best Twins players are. You can officially update your personal rankings now. Maybe this was a flawed exercise. If nothing else, we have all learned that baseball cards are needlessly complicated, refractor technology can only take us so far, and if a guy writes his name all over your card, it improves the value. Happy collecting!

Are Anoka and Coon Rapids rivals? I wouldn't know. I live in Blaine, but basically in Coon Rapids. CR seems nice enough.

I would order them the same way. I tend to favor proximity to the Majors with pitchers, but not with hitters. Pitchers get injured more frequently and tend to be harder to project. I wouldn't be shocked if I flipped Berrios and Stewart by seasons' end.

Congratulations Twins Daily! Best site on the internet, far as I am concerned.

I don't know about you guys, but when you see a time line of events like this one, it makes you wish the Twins had released Anthony Slama a long time ago: Kevin Slowey was Framed!: Anthony Slama's Time with the Minnesota Twins By the way, is it pants'ed or pants'd?

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1881-25-Minnesota-Twins-Drafts-in-25-Days-2013

25-740 Chad Christianson--Congrats! You can leave Nebraska! lolz

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The 2013 MLB draft has come and gone. The Twins have added somewhere between 20 and 40 new players to their organization and I have no clue who 99% of them are. I do have access to Baseball Reference and the internet as a whole. In an effort to better acquaint myself with some future Twins, I will also subject each of you to a bunch of clumsily constructed jokes and feeble attempts at punnery. In that way, we all benefit. I also plan to make statements regarding players I have never seen. But then, that's what makes me such a colorful character/scamp. I also threw together some 25 Drafts in 25 Days Bonus Features, as if that were a thing that anyone would want. You can find it here: 25 Drafts DVD Bonus Features. It's easily the most self-indulgent thing I have ever done, and I once made a t-shirt of my own face. 1st Round Pick With the fourth pick in the 2013 MLB Rule 4 draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Kohl Stewart, a right-handed starting pitcher out of St. Pius X High School in Tomball, Texas. Now that all the formal stuff is out of the way, I need to figure out a good way to work in a Kohls "joke." Stewart is an exciting young player. He throws hard and apparently has a nasty slider. I watched some video of him and I don't see any future loose or torn ligaments, so that's positive. I feel a bit badly for him, as he has to follow the legend of Byron Buxton, but hopefully everyone will remember that each player is different and we're all humans and be kind rewind, and whatnot. I know that I am excited that there is even a possibility that the Twins just selected a player who could one day become an Ace. Ah, but what if? The 2013 draft was characterized by the emergence of a "big three." Mark Appel and Jonathan Gray are two college pitchers considered to be high-end talents with great stuff and great command. Each could move through their new systems quickly. Kris Bryant is a power-hitting third baseman. Power-hitting is an understatement. At one point, he had hit more home runs than about 75% of college teams. Teams, Jerry! Each was drafted in the top three, so the Twins did not even have an opportunity to grab them. But what if they had dropped? It seems the Twins would have taken Stewart anyway, which would have opened them up to criticism. Luckily for everyone, Stewart was the best available player at 4 and the Twins liked him a lot. Win win. Best Late Round Pick The guy from Minnesota, right? Logan Shore pitched for Coon Rapids High School and the Twins drafted him in the 29th round. From what it sounds like, he will not sign with the Twins and instead will head to the University of Florida. I had a mean Coon Rapids joke here, but I don't have the heart for it. I love Coon Rapids. They have a Popeyes. Who'll be the first to reach the Majors? I have no clue. However, second-round pick Ryan Eades seems like he could make it to Minnesota before anyone else. Eades is far from MLB-ready, but he is older than many of the players the Twins drafted. Age is more than a number, Aaliyah. Eades didn't strike out a lot of batters in college, but coming to the Twins organization should solve that issue. Plus, he already had his major arm surgery, so that certainly gives him an additional boost. If he is good enough, he could be the first. Best Prospects Kohl Stewart is by far the best prospect from this group. That doesn't mean that a couple guys can't jump up and join him, but when you look at this equation, it's hard to argue for anyone else: age + stuff + delivery + Texas + pitcher + upside + name stars with K + K stands for strikeout = best prospect. Ryan Eades seemed to be a bit of an unpopular pick. His strikeout rate made everyone nutty, assuming the Twins had reverted back to their P2C ways. However, I actually like this pick. Eades has performed well in college and has held up after his labrum surgery. The 43rd pick is hardly a place where constant all-stars are found. If Eades can be a 4th or 5th starter, this would be a fantastic pick. 4th-round pick Stephen Gonsalves could be a guy who jumps up the Twins' prospect list, if he develops. Check out his . There's a lot going on in that wind-up, but his delivery looks fine. Working with pro coaches can only help. Anyway, he looks projectable, he's 6'5", he's left-handed, he throws in the 90s already, he looks athletic and he has a sweet name. I'm drooling. This could be a great pick. 3rd-round pick Stuart Turner, 6th-round pick Brian Navarretto, and 9th-round pick Mitchell Garver all share one quality: they protect the umpires. As catchers, they also represent one of the weaker areas in the Twins system. Each is considered a good defensive catcher, while Navarretto probably has some added offensive upside. He has also already punched at least one opposing player. Turner had great stats, but isn't considered to have much offensive upside. However, if any of these three can become even a quality backup catcher, it would be a win. Everyone loves home runs, but singles and walks win games too. Analogy! Best Name 35th-Round Pick Nick Lemoncelli Fun Facts The Twins selected Tanner Vavra in the 30th round. Not only is he Joe Vavra's son, but he is also blind in one eye. That's amazing. I literally have better than perfect vision (20/15, I know, bragger) and I can't hit a baseball to save my life. Good for him, I hope he makes it. Torii Hunter Jr was drafted in the 36th round, by Torii Hunter's Detroit Tigers. If you asked me, "Brad, what is Torii Hunter's son's name? Bear in mind, you get one guess and if you are wrong, I get to punch you in the trachea," I would guess Torii. In fact, it wouldn't shock me if Torii names all his kids, pets, bats, gloves, and just about anything Torii. The man loves Torii. Proof of concept - I asked my wife the same question (no trachea threat). Her response - Torii Jr. She didn't even hesitate. Zack Granite was drafted in the 14th round. If baseball doesn't work out, he would make a beautiful statue. The Twins did not draft Cory Hahn. The Diamondbacks selected him in the 34th round. If you don't know his story, Hahn was paralyzed when he slid into second base in his third college game with ASU. Hahn was a legit player, winning California's Mr. Baseball in 2010 and playing for Team USA while in high school. He wore number 34 for ASU and the Diamondbacks took him in round 34. Very cool. They want to get him into their front office. Baseball is cool. 2013 Twins? 2015 Twins? It's lunacy to think that any of these guys will play for the Twins in 2013. However, I do think there is an outside chance that Eades and/or Turner play for the 2015 Twins. If Turner is as good defensively as advertised, he might be able to back-up Joe Mauer in a couple seasons. If Eades is as "Twinspitchery" as advertised, he could be a spot starter by 2015. One Sentence Summary Twins Daily dominated 2013 Twins draft coverage.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! The 2013 MLB draft has come and gone. The Twins have added somewhere between 20 and 40 new players to their organization and I have no clue who 99% of them are. I do have access to Baseball Reference and the internet as a whole. In an effort to better acquaint myself with some future Twins, I will also subject each of you to a bunch of clumsily constructed jokes and feeble attempts at punnery. In that way, we all benefit. I also plan to make statements regarding players I have never seen. But then, that's what makes me such a colorful character/scamp. I also threw together some 25 Drafts in 25 Days Bonus Features, as if that were a thing that anyone would want. You can find it here: 25 Drafts DVD Bonus Features. It's easily the most self-indulgent thing I have ever done, and I once made a t-shirt of my own face. 1st Round Pick With the fourth pick in the 2013 MLB Rule 4 draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Kohl Stewart, a right-handed starting pitcher out of St. Pius X High School in Tomball, Texas. Now that all the formal stuff is out of the way, I need to figure out a good way to work in a Kohls "joke." Stewart is an exciting young player. He throws hard and apparently has a nasty slider. I watched some video of him and I don't see any future loose or torn ligaments, so that's positive. I feel a bit badly for him, as he has to follow the legend of Byron Buxton, but hopefully everyone will remember that each player is different and we're all humans and be kind rewind, and whatnot. I know that I am excited that there is even a possibility that the Twins just selected a player who could one day become an Ace. Ah, but what if? The 2013 draft was characterized by the emergence of a "big three." Mark Appel and Jonathan Gray are two college pitchers considered to be high-end talents with great stuff and great command. Each could move through their new systems quickly. Kris Bryant is a power-hitting third baseman. Power-hitting is an understatement. At one point, he had hit more home runs than about 75% of college teams. Teams, Jerry! Each was drafted in the top three, so the Twins did not even have an opportunity to grab them. But what if they had dropped? It seems the Twins would have taken Stewart anyway, which would have opened them up to criticism. Luckily for everyone, Stewart was the best available player at 4 and the Twins liked him a lot. Win win. Best Late Round Pick The guy from Minnesota, right? Logan Shore pitched for Coon Rapids High School and the Twins drafted him in the 29th round. From what it sounds like, he will not sign with the Twins and instead will head to the University of Florida. I had a mean Coon Rapids joke here, but I don't have the heart for it. I love Coon Rapids. They have a Popeyes. Who'll be the first to reach the Majors? I have no clue. However, second-round pick Ryan Eades seems like he could make it to Minnesota before anyone else. Eades is far from MLB-ready, but he is older than many of the players the Twins drafted. Age is more than a number, Aaliyah. Eades didn't strike out a lot of batters in college, but coming to the Twins organization should solve that issue. Plus, he already had his major arm surgery, so that certainly gives him an additional boost. If he is good enough, he could be the first. Best Prospects Kohl Stewart is by far the best prospect from this group. That doesn't mean that a couple guys can't jump up and join him, but when you look at this equation, it's hard to argue for anyone else: age + stuff + delivery + Texas + pitcher + upside + name stars with K + K stands for strikeout = best prospect. Ryan Eades seemed to be a bit of an unpopular pick. His strikeout rate made everyone nutty, assuming the Twins had reverted back to their P2C ways. However, I actually like this pick. Eades has performed well in college and has held up after his labrum surgery. The 43rd pick is hardly a place where constant all-stars are found. If Eades can be a 4th or 5th starter, this would be a fantastic pick. 4th-round pick Stephen Gonsalves could be a guy who jumps up the Twins' prospect list, if he develops. Check out his . There's a lot going on in that wind-up, but his delivery looks fine. Working with pro coaches can only help. Anyway, he looks projectable, he's 6'5", he's left-handed, he throws in the 90s already, he looks athletic and he has a sweet name. I'm drooling. This could be a great pick. 3rd-round pick Stuart Turner, 6th-round pick Brian Navarretto, and 9th-round pick Mitchell Garver all share one quality: they protect the umpires. As catchers, they also represent one of the weaker areas in the Twins system. Each is considered a good defensive catcher, while Navarretto probably has some added offensive upside. He has also already punched at least one opposing player. Turner had great stats, but isn't considered to have much offensive upside. However, if any of these three can become even a quality backup catcher, it would be a win. Everyone loves home runs, but singles and walks win games too. Analogy! Best Name 35th-Round Pick Nick Lemoncelli Fun Facts The Twins selected Tanner Vavra in the 30th round. Not only is he Joe Vavra's son, but he is also blind in one eye. That's amazing. I literally have better than perfect vision (20/15, I know, bragger) and I can't hit a baseball to save my life. Good for him, I hope he makes it. Torii Hunter Jr was drafted in the 36th round, by Torii Hunter's Detroit Tigers. If you asked me, "Brad, what is Torii Hunter's son's name? Bear in mind, you get one guess and if you are wrong, I get to punch you in the trachea," I would guess Torii. In fact, it wouldn't shock me if Torii names all his kids, pets, bats, gloves, and just about anything Torii. The man loves Torii. Proof of concept - I asked my wife the same question (no trachea threat). Her response - Torii Jr. She didn't even hesitate. Zack Granite was drafted in the 14th round. If baseball doesn't work out, he would make a beautiful statue. The Twins did not draft Cory Hahn. The Diamondbacks selected him in the 34th round. If you don't know his story, Hahn was paralyzed when he slid into second base in his third college game with ASU. Hahn was a legit player, winning California's Mr. Baseball in 2010 and playing for Team USA while in high school. He wore number 34 for ASU and the Diamondbacks took him in round 34. Very cool. They want to get him into their front office. Baseball is cool. 2013 Twins? 2015 Twins? It's lunacy to think that any of these guys will play for the Twins in 2013. However, I do think there is an outside chance that Eades and/or Turner play for the 2015 Twins. If Turner is as good defensively as advertised, he might be able to back-up Joe Mauer in a couple seasons. If Eades is as "Twinspitchery" as advertised, he could be a spot starter by 2015. One Sentence Summary Twins Daily dominated 2013 Twins draft coverage.

Buxton won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, because he is such a great teammate. He also won the Nobel Prize in Literature, because he wanted it.

I wouldn't be surprised if Buxton wears all of the numbers. Only Buxton wears a number.

I like it! What do you get when you cross Byron Buxton with...? I'll just stop right there, you don't cross Byron Buxton.

Thanks! Zimmermann is great. I was surprised how good his stats were over the past three seasons. I agree with you on Florimon and Parmelee. With Florimon, I'm employing blind optimism, just because the Twins rarely keep a competent shortstop and they seem to like Florimon. I'm with you on Parmelee and I'm about ready to see him put on the bench.

Thanks! I think that Turkey and Gardy are making the same face.

This is fantastic. Molitor is quite honest about these players, which is really helpful.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1869-Morning-Madness-June-10-2013

I would hope that a future outfield contains Buxton and Hicks, but I do agree with the general sentiments here.

The Scott Diamond Matrix? I made you a matrix: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 439] [/TD][TD]Plus Command Average Command Plus Stuff Jordan Zimmermann Sam Deduno Average Stuff Scott Diamond Rich Robertson [/TABLE] I chose to use the word "average" to be kind to all stakeholders. By average, I mean not plus. By plus, I mean great. In hindsight, these words would have been fine. Moving on, when you look at Jordan Zimmermann's numbers, you don't see a pitcher that much different from Scott Diamond. He doesn't strike out a ton of batters, although certainly more than Diamond. He gets ground balls and limits home runs. When you watch the two, especially when they pitch against each other, you can see the differences clearly. Zimmermann has better stuff. His fastball is better, he locates that fastball better and his secondary stuff is better. You wouldn't necessarily see that on paper, but it's hard to ignore when watching the two throw baseballs at batters. I threw in Sam Deduno and Rich Robertson to complete the matrix, not to take shots. Diamond will never have Zimmermann's stuff, so his margin of error is smaller. Deduno will never have Zimmermann's command, so he needs to rely more on his stuff. Rich Robertson is retired, so he will really struggle to get MLB hitters out. Pedro Florimon is pretty cool. Pedro Florimon has become pretty much what I had hoped he would become. In fact, I'm on record in the pro-Florimon column prior to the season's start. Don't believe me? Pudding. See, I'm so amazeing. Whoops, spelled that wrong. Cancelled out. Regarding Florimon, he's a steady, sometimes spectacular shortstop who can hit above .220. His plate discipline has improved, as his strikeout rate has decreased and his walk rate has increased. By any WAR-type measure, Florimon has been worth around one win this season. This projects to a 2.5-3.0 WAR player by season's end. I'll take that at shortstop, especially at a league minimum salary. Chris Parmelee is underwhelming. I was in the middle of writing about how I don't think Chris Parmelee is getting better when he lined a double off the top of the wall in the 6th inning of Game 1 on Sunday. I thought to myself, "Brad, he's got a nice swing, he hits some doubles, give him a chance." Then FSN put the "Chris Parmelee - 6th double on the season" graphic up. I feel my original thoughts are confirmed. Parmelee isn't getting better. I still think it would be wise to give him at least another month of starts. By July, if he is still hitting like he is right now, I'd call up Oswaldo Arcia and improve the team. Defending Aaron Hicks^n, when n = all the time I'm not going to expend any more energy writing about Aaron Hicks. I defended him immensely in my Friday mailbag. While it may seem crazy to move a .175 hitter up in the batting order, I think it is a wise move. Looking at who sits at the bottom of the order, Hicks at least has some power. He's still not going to get a lot of hits, but when he does, those hits could lead to runs. It makes sense while not making any sense. Speaking of not making any sense, here is some madness: Photoshop/Baseball Card from Past: Twins Daily member chuchadoro enjoyed my FSN girls/Gary Wayne photoshop but said that he prefers Keith Atherton to Gary Wayne. Fair enough. I dug up an Atherton card and made him this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--PcrjmzAqXc/UbTmbouf8KI/AAAAAAAAAuA/SlpdH5KJS-Y/s320/foxsportsathertongirls.png You know what? I think we're on to something. Former Twin Update: Francisco Liriano More like Fantastic Liriano! Through 36 innings with Pittsburgh, he's posted an ERA of 1.75 with a 1.17 WHIP. He currently has a walk rate lower than he has posted since 2010. He is also posting a higher strikeout rate than any season since before his TJ surgery. I don't think the Twins should have signed him, simply because of their history, but I am not surprised that he is pitching well. He isn't this good, but he should help the Pirates as they try to make the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Random Facebook Question - In reference to 1st-round pick Kohl Stewart Q: Great! So we'll see him in 6 years? That's if he doesn't go play QB for Texas A&M and go pro right? A: Oh, you are just the best kind of fan. Does everyone remember the scene at the end of Major League 2 when "Wild Thing" comes out of the bullpen to face Parkman in the ALCS and that one annoying fan has been razzing him for months? Vaughn basically tells the fan to "stick it" but with more colorful language. So, fans like these should be repeatedly told where they can stick comments like these and they should be told these things directly by the players. My proposal: One offensive fan per game. At the beginning of the game, the fan stands in the outfield while each player on the roster walks past telling them what their "loyalty" means to them. Basically, it's the hockey playoffs "props" line, but with insults and possibly curse words added in place of handshakes. The fan has to just stand there and take it. It's certainly controversial, but I know I would enjoy it. It might get me to a game in person too. Top 5 List - Why is Clete Thomas batting second? Clete Thomas wears number 11 and 1 + 1 = 2 2 people think it's a good idea, so that's where he'll bat Batting second enhances his arm accuracy and arm strength Lineup is alphabetical (this could be refuted using knowledge) This turkey was put in charge of making the lineup: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCzQ2Pn4Sto/UbTlcm6i7FI/AAAAAAAAAt4/kFuYkJl51A0/s320/turkey1.jpg Link to Something I wrote: I found some fun Twins batting records a couple months ago. You can read it here. The only reason I post this now is that I promised to find pitching records and I still plan to do so. Perhaps this week. I appreciate your patience, I am very busy photoshopping Keith Atherton and Gary Wayne's head in places. Poll Results! I had posted a poll on my blog and I have the results! Question - Which Twins Prospect do you look forward to the most? - 157 votes Byron Buxton - 78 votes Miguel Sano - 53 votes Alex Meyer - 5 votes Frank Stallone - 21 votes Ouch, I would have expected Meyer to fare better than Stallone, but you never know until you collect the data. Buxton surged ahead of Sano in the past week or so. I posted a new poll, please take a moment to vote. Democracy! Parting Haiku: Here come the Phillies Ben Revere is back for now Straighten your hat, man Have a great week!

The Scott Diamond Matrix? I made you a matrix: [TABLE=class: grid, width: 439] [/TD][TD]Plus Command Average Command Plus Stuff Jordan Zimmermann Sam Deduno Average Stuff Scott Diamond Rich Robertson [/TABLE] I chose to use the word "average" to be kind to all stakeholders. By average, I mean not plus. By plus, I mean great. In hindsight, these words would have been fine. Moving on, when you look at Jordan Zimmermann's numbers, you don't see a pitcher that much different from Scott Diamond. He doesn't strike out a ton of batters, although certainly more than Diamond. He gets ground balls and limits home runs. When you watch the two, especially when they pitch against each other, you can see the differences clearly. Zimmermann has better stuff. His fastball is better, he locates that fastball better and his secondary stuff is better. You wouldn't necessarily see that on paper, but it's hard to ignore when watching the two throw baseballs at batters. I threw in Sam Deduno and Rich Robertson to complete the matrix, not to take shots. Diamond will never have Zimmermann's stuff, so his margin of error is smaller. Deduno will never have Zimmermann's command, so he needs to rely more on his stuff. Rich Robertson is retired, so he will really struggle to get MLB hitters out. Pedro Florimon is pretty cool. Pedro Florimon has become pretty much what I had hoped he would become. In fact, I'm on record in the pro-Florimon column prior to the season's start. Don't believe me? Pudding. See, I'm so amazeing. Whoops, spelled that wrong. Cancelled out. Regarding Florimon, he's a steady, sometimes spectacular shortstop who can hit above .220. His plate discipline has improved, as his strikeout rate has decreased and his walk rate has increased. By any WAR-type measure, Florimon has been worth around one win this season. This projects to a 2.5-3.0 WAR player by season's end. I'll take that at shortstop, especially at a league minimum salary. Chris Parmelee is underwhelming. I was in the middle of writing about how I don't think Chris Parmelee is getting better when he lined a double off the top of the wall in the 6th inning of Game 1 on Sunday. I thought to myself, "Brad, he's got a nice swing, he hits some doubles, give him a chance." Then FSN put the "Chris Parmelee - 6th double on the season" graphic up. I feel my original thoughts are confirmed. Parmelee isn't getting better. I still think it would be wise to give him at least another month of starts. By July, if he is still hitting like he is right now, I'd call up Oswaldo Arcia and improve the team. Defending Aaron Hicks^n, when n = all the time I'm not going to expend any more energy writing about Aaron Hicks. I defended him immensely in my Friday mailbag. While it may seem crazy to move a .175 hitter up in the batting order, I think it is a wise move. Looking at who sits at the bottom of the order, Hicks at least has some power. He's still not going to get a lot of hits, but when he does, those hits could lead to runs. It makes sense while not making any sense. Speaking of not making any sense, here is some madness: Photoshop/Baseball Card from Past: Twins Daily member chuchadoro enjoyed my FSN girls/Gary Wayne photoshop but said that he prefers Keith Atherton to Gary Wayne. Fair enough. I dug up an Atherton card and made him this: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--PcrjmzAqXc/UbTmbouf8KI/AAAAAAAAAuA/SlpdH5KJS-Y/s320/foxsportsathertongirls.png You know what? I think we're on to something. Former Twin Update: Francisco Liriano More like Fantastic Liriano! Through 36 innings with Pittsburgh, he's posted an ERA of 1.75 with a 1.17 WHIP. He currently has a walk rate lower than he has posted since 2010. He is also posting a higher strikeout rate than any season since before his TJ surgery. I don't think the Twins should have signed him, simply because of their history, but I am not surprised that he is pitching well. He isn't this good, but he should help the Pirates as they try to make the playoffs for the first time in 20 years. Random Facebook Question - In reference to 1st-round pick Kohl Stewart Q: Great! So we'll see him in 6 years? That's if he doesn't go play QB for Texas A&M and go pro right? A: Oh, you are just the best kind of fan. Does everyone remember the scene at the end of Major League 2 when "Wild Thing" comes out of the bullpen to face Parkman in the ALCS and that one annoying fan has been razzing him for months? Vaughn basically tells the fan to "stick it" but with more colorful language. So, fans like these should be repeatedly told where they can stick comments like these and they should be told these things directly by the players. My proposal: One offensive fan per game. At the beginning of the game, the fan stands in the outfield while each player on the roster walks past telling them what their "loyalty" means to them. Basically, it's the hockey playoffs "props" line, but with insults and possibly curse words added in place of handshakes. The fan has to just stand there and take it. It's certainly controversial, but I know I would enjoy it. It might get me to a game in person too. Top 5 List - Why is Clete Thomas batting second? Clete Thomas wears number 11 and 1 + 1 = 2 2 people think it's a good idea, so that's where he'll bat Batting second enhances his arm accuracy and arm strength Lineup is alphabetical (this could be refuted using knowledge) This turkey was put in charge of making the lineup: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yCzQ2Pn4Sto/UbTlcm6i7FI/AAAAAAAAAt4/kFuYkJl51A0/s320/turkey1.jpg Link to Something I wrote: I found some fun Twins batting records a couple months ago. You can read it here. The only reason I post this now is that I promised to find pitching records and I still plan to do so. Perhaps this week. I appreciate your patience, I am very busy photoshopping Keith Atherton and Gary Wayne's head in places. Poll Results! I had posted a poll on my blog and I have the results! Question - Which Twins Prospect do you look forward to the most? - 157 votes Byron Buxton - 78 votes Miguel Sano - 53 votes Alex Meyer - 5 votes Frank Stallone - 21 votes Ouch, I would have expected Meyer to fare better than Stallone, but you never know until you collect the data. Buxton surged ahead of Sano in the past week or so. I posted a new poll, please take a moment to vote. Democracy! Parting Haiku: Here come the Phillies Ben Revere is back for now Straighten your hat, man Have a great week!