Brad Swanson

I really enjoy these too. I'm sure these articles take a long time to compile, but they are excellent for the lazy types like me.

More podcasts! As a person who is barely literate, I appreciate being able to hear words.

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I didn't catch any of the Twins' series with Seattle this weekend, so it seemed a bit disingenuous to write about it. I'm sure everyone will survive a week without stupid photoshops and my silly antics. Instead, I present to you another draft, one day early. If you missed my 2008 or 2009 summary, you can click the year and check them out. I did declare my secret love for a player, so that is certainly worth seeking out. Here is 2010: 2009 was the final Twins' draft to produce a Twins player. Obviously, these recent drafts are quite recent and thus there is plenty of time to produce some MLB players in the future. It just hasn't happened yet. As such, these recaps need to change a bit. As Shannon Hoon said, "when life is hard, you have to change." Life is hard, so even though I just made changes a few drafts ago, further changes are needed. I'm not sure why you need to know this. Perhaps I couldn't come up with a good opening. We'll never know. 1st Round Pick The Twins selected The Alex Wimmers, a right-handed starter out of The Ohio State University, with the 21st overall pick. The Twins went consecutive drafts selecting college starters who appeared close to MLB-ready with picks in the early 20s. Wimmers, and Kyle Gibson the year prior, have not made their MLB debuts. Wimmers looked fantastic in his pro debut back in 2010. Since then, he has had a lot of troubles throwing strikes and then he had Tommy John surgery in 2012. Wimmers is likely to miss almost all of this season. He may return for some Winter ball, but he'll basically be starting over as a prospect next season. Even so, if he recovers from his injury and can get his command back, he could be playing for the Twins by 2015. If that happens, this was a good pick. If not, it was an unfortunate pick. Ah, but what if? This is a little tougher now, due to the youth of these players. However, Christian Yelich was drafted two picks after Wimmers and he looks like a can't miss prospect. Yelich can flat-out hit. Of course he's an outfielder and the Twins have like 455 outfielders/outfield prospects. If the Twins preferred a pitcher, they could have taken Jesse Biddle (27th overall), Zach Lee (28), Aaron Sanchez (34), Noah Syndergaard (38) or Taijuan Walker (43). Each is considered a good prospect, while Sanchez and Walker are elite. Of course, they also could have taken Peter Tago (47) because he has a cool name. Best Late Round Pick I like 10th-round pick J.D. Williams. He was drafted out of Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa, Florida. I always like schools that sounds like Law Firms, so this one makes me happy. Williams wasn't anything special for Beloit last season, but he has been great with Cedar Rapids this season. Sure, he's repeating a level and he's 22 and in the Midwest League, but blah blah blah, I don't care. If he can keep developing as an outfielder (he signed as a shortstop) and keep developing as a hitter, then he'll be one of the best 10th round picks from this draft. That's something, right? San Diego drafted Houston Slemp with their 10th round pick and I'm pretty sure that's a fake name. Just some perspective. Oh, 10th round isn't late enough for you? You ingrate. Fine. A.J. Achter was drafted in the 46th round, which is pretty freaking late. Achter was drafted out of Michigan State and just recently earned a promotion to AA New Britain. If he even sniffs the Majors out of the 46th round, he'll be the best 46th round pick ever!!!!! That may not be true, but I refuse to do research. This isn't school. Who'll be the first to reach the Majors? This is tough. There are quite a few guys at New Britain, but none are very exciting. I'm going to guess Eddie Rosario, simply because I think he is the best prospect and therefore, he has the best chance to actually reach the Majors. Rosario was the Twins' fourth-round pick and he's real and he's spectacular. The man can hit. He's only at Fort Myers, so he won't be a Twin soon, but his talent should carry him to Minnesota before anyone else in this draft. Best Prospects Gold Silver Rosario, for reasons I just explained. Seriously, I just explained them. Second-round pick Niko Goodrum and not just because he has a sweet name. He's a shortstop and he's starting to hit. He was carried off of the field on a stretcher a few nights ago, but hopefully he will be ok and can resume his breakout season. I love him. I love him like a milkshake. Wimmers. I know he was wild and I know he is hurt, but he had number 3/4 upside when he was drafted and if he can recover from his injury, there's no reason he can't recover his ceiling. 5th-round pick Nate Roberts. OBP machine/mustachioed mofo. Best Name James Buckelew, the Twins' 45th-round pick. Fun Facts 3rd-round pick Pat Dean has two Baseball Reference pages. Seriously. Here's the other one. Four Twins' 2010 draftees are currently pitching for New Britain: Dean, Achter, 6th-round pick Logan Darnell, and 7th-round pick Matt Hauser. 9th-round pick Kyle Knudson is also playing for New Britain, but he is not a pitcher, so the others probably razz him. Twins' 23rd-round pick Dallas Gallant has the most Texas name of all time. That Law Firm High School I talked about earlier? J.D. Williams wasn't the only Twins' 2010 draftee from that school. The Twins also selected Kelvin Mention in the 36th round. These two jokers make up half of the players ever drafted from this Firm. The Twins drafted Lance Ray in the 8th round and Jared Ray in the 38th round. I don't think they are brothers, but there is certainly a Ray of hope that they are. 2013 Twins? None, but perhaps a couple in 2014? Eh? EHH? One Sentence Summary If Niko Goodrum needs a house family, he is welcome at my house - although he is playing 250 miles away and should probably have a home by now. Link to the Twins' 2010 draft from Baseball Reference

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! I didn't catch any of the Twins' series with Seattle this weekend, so it seemed a bit disingenuous to write about it. I'm sure everyone will survive a week without stupid photoshops and my silly antics. Instead, I present to you another draft, one day early. If you missed my 2008 or 2009 summary, you can click the year and check them out. I did declare my secret love for a player, so that is certainly worth seeking out. Here is 2010: 2009 was the final Twins' draft to produce a Twins player. Obviously, these recent drafts are quite recent and thus there is plenty of time to produce some MLB players in the future. It just hasn't happened yet. As such, these recaps need to change a bit. As Shannon Hoon said, "when life is hard, you have to change." Life is hard, so even though I just made changes a few drafts ago, further changes are needed. I'm not sure why you need to know this. Perhaps I couldn't come up with a good opening. We'll never know. 1st Round Pick The Twins selected The Alex Wimmers, a right-handed starter out of The Ohio State University, with the 21st overall pick. The Twins went consecutive drafts selecting college starters who appeared close to MLB-ready with picks in the early 20s. Wimmers, and Kyle Gibson the year prior, have not made their MLB debuts. Wimmers looked fantastic in his pro debut back in 2010. Since then, he has had a lot of troubles throwing strikes and then he had Tommy John surgery in 2012. Wimmers is likely to miss almost all of this season. He may return for some Winter ball, but he'll basically be starting over as a prospect next season. Even so, if he recovers from his injury and can get his command back, he could be playing for the Twins by 2015. If that happens, this was a good pick. If not, it was an unfortunate pick. Ah, but what if? This is a little tougher now, due to the youth of these players. However, Christian Yelich was drafted two picks after Wimmers and he looks like a can't miss prospect. Yelich can flat-out hit. Of course he's an outfielder and the Twins have like 455 outfielders/outfield prospects. If the Twins preferred a pitcher, they could have taken Jesse Biddle (27th overall), Zach Lee (28), Aaron Sanchez (34), Noah Syndergaard (38) or Taijuan Walker (43). Each is considered a good prospect, while Sanchez and Walker are elite. Of course, they also could have taken Peter Tago (47) because he has a cool name. Best Late Round Pick I like 10th-round pick J.D. Williams. He was drafted out of Brooks-DeBartolo Collegiate High School in Tampa, Florida. I always like schools that sounds like Law Firms, so this one makes me happy. Williams wasn't anything special for Beloit last season, but he has been great with Cedar Rapids this season. Sure, he's repeating a level and he's 22 and in the Midwest League, but blah blah blah, I don't care. If he can keep developing as an outfielder (he signed as a shortstop) and keep developing as a hitter, then he'll be one of the best 10th round picks from this draft. That's something, right? San Diego drafted Houston Slemp with their 10th round pick and I'm pretty sure that's a fake name. Just some perspective. Oh, 10th round isn't late enough for you? You ingrate. Fine. A.J. Achter was drafted in the 46th round, which is pretty freaking late. Achter was drafted out of Michigan State and just recently earned a promotion to AA New Britain. If he even sniffs the Majors out of the 46th round, he'll be the best 46th round pick ever!!!!! That may not be true, but I refuse to do research. This isn't school. Who'll be the first to reach the Majors? This is tough. There are quite a few guys at New Britain, but none are very exciting. I'm going to guess Eddie Rosario, simply because I think he is the best prospect and therefore, he has the best chance to actually reach the Majors. Rosario was the Twins' fourth-round pick and he's real and he's spectacular. The man can hit. He's only at Fort Myers, so he won't be a Twin soon, but his talent should carry him to Minnesota before anyone else in this draft. Best Prospects Gold Silver Rosario, for reasons I just explained. Seriously, I just explained them. Second-round pick Niko Goodrum and not just because he has a sweet name. He's a shortstop and he's starting to hit. He was carried off of the field on a stretcher a few nights ago, but hopefully he will be ok and can resume his breakout season. I love him. I love him like a milkshake. Wimmers. I know he was wild and I know he is hurt, but he had number 3/4 upside when he was drafted and if he can recover from his injury, there's no reason he can't recover his ceiling. 5th-round pick Nate Roberts. OBP machine/mustachioed mofo. Best Name James Buckelew, the Twins' 45th-round pick. Fun Facts 3rd-round pick Pat Dean has two Baseball Reference pages. Seriously. Here's the other one. Four Twins' 2010 draftees are currently pitching for New Britain: Dean, Achter, 6th-round pick Logan Darnell, and 7th-round pick Matt Hauser. 9th-round pick Kyle Knudson is also playing for New Britain, but he is not a pitcher, so the others probably razz him. Twins' 23rd-round pick Dallas Gallant has the most Texas name of all time. That Law Firm High School I talked about earlier? J.D. Williams wasn't the only Twins' 2010 draftee from that school. The Twins also selected Kelvin Mention in the 36th round. These two jokers make up half of the players ever drafted from this Firm. The Twins drafted Lance Ray in the 8th round and Jared Ray in the 38th round. I don't think they are brothers, but there is certainly a Ray of hope that they are. 2013 Twins? None, but perhaps a couple in 2014? Eh? EHH? One Sentence Summary If Niko Goodrum needs a house family, he is welcome at my house - although he is playing 250 miles away and should probably have a home by now. Link to the Twins' 2010 draft from Baseball Reference

Thanks for all the kind words everyone, I really appreciate them. Rosin would be the second Mustang to reach the Majors. Mark Hamburger, MVHS class of 2005, signed with the Twins as a Minor League free agent in 2007. The Twins later traded him to Texas for Eddie Guardado. On a side note, I had completely forgotten about Guardado's 2008 stint with the Twins. Back to Hamburger, he eventually reached the Majors in 2011, pitching 8 innings with the Rangers. He bounced around a bit after that, then was suspended 50 games in February for recreational drugs (shocking for a Mounds View kid) and he will have to serve those games if he signs with a team. As of now, he has not. So, Rosin would be second and hopefully he can have a more prolific career.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1815-25-Minnesota-Twins-Drafts-in-25-Days-2007&

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Welcome once more to 25 drafts in 25 days. We are nearing the end of this endeavor, which means we are also nearing the actual 2013 draft. I know that I am very excited to see who the next wave of future Twins will be. In the meantime, here are my recaps from 2005 and 2006, to tide you over. Just click the years and enjoy the beautiful layout. Here is 2007: The 2005 and 2006 drafts were Snickers bars, just packed with peanuts. In this analogy, players are peanuts. The Twins added 2 current Twins and 10 more former Twins. While there were no superstars added to the organization, this is still a windfall of peanuts/players. The 2007 draft is more of a tumbleweed or perhaps a Milky Way with a rogue peanut. Only two players have reached the Majors and realistically, maybe two or three more have a chance to join them. However, one of the more popular recent Twins was added... 1st Round Pick The Twins selected the diminutive (required adjective) Ben Revere with the 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft. Revere was a high school kid out of Kentucky. He's small, listed at 5' 9" and 170 lb, but that is part of what made him so much fun to watch. Revere has crazy range in the outfield and could track down fly balls like a homing beacon. Plus, he was kind of clumsy, so he'd fall and do somersaults and whatnot. It was all very entertaining. Ah, but what if? The Twins pretty much nailed the Revere pick. If you can get a starting player with the 28th pick, it's a success. However, since I am legally obligated to present a "what if" scenario, you could make the case that Giancarlo Stanton would have been a nice selection. Stanton went 76th overall, which was somehow in the second round because there were roughly 400 compensation picks in 2007. For serious, take a look (at the bottom). Stanton is an excellent power hitter, but rarely falls down while trying to make amazing catches. Just stating the facts. Best Player Drafted Well hey, welcome back Ben Revere! I think I need to change these categories for the more recent drafts. The Twins finally rid themselves of the malcontent that is Ben Revere last off-season, acquiring Trevor May in a trade with the Phillies. Worst Player to Reach MLB Worst At Hat-Wearing I apologize for the previous section. Ben Revere is neither a malcontent or a "worst player" in any way. However, he is the only player who the Twins signed in 2007 who also made it to the Majors. Thus, in a totally unfair way, and based on an extreme technicality, he is the worst player to reach the MLB from this draft. More accurately, he always wore his hat poorly, and that cannot go unpunished. So, Revere is not the worst player, but he was the worst hat-wearer from the '07 draft. The One Who Got Away The only other Twins' 2007 draftee to make the Majors (so far) is Mickey Storey. Storey was drafted in the 22nd round, and went back to school to become a Senior and thus the "top dog" on campus. If I have learned anything from movies, he wasted this year partying before ultimately learning a lesson right before finals. He was drafted in the 31st round just one year later. Storey is currently pitching for the Blue Jays organization, and has a career ERA of 4.24. He strikes out a lot of batters. Best Name With the 1453rd overall pick in the 2007 MLB draft, the Twins selected Christopher Freshcorn, a catcher out of Alonso High School in Alonso, Florida. The Twins' 50th round selection does not have any stats. Fun Facts Despite Ben Revere being the only player from the 2007 draft to play for the Twins, he still has a higher WAR than all seven players drafted in 2006 who also played for the Twins combined. Andrew Schmiesing, the Twins' 11th-round pick, went to St. Olaf College and played for the St. Paul Saints. He's from Northfield, Minnesota! So many local angles! Third-round pick Angel Morales is currently playing with Fort Myers. He is a local Angel. He has played over 260 games in Fort Myers. He's spent more time in Fort Myers than long-time Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, Jr. EEEYYY-OOO! That's actually not true. Twins' 8th-round pick and current Rochester Red Wing Danny Lehmann has hit eight career Minor League home runs in over 1000 at-bats. Twins' 14th-round pick Dan Rohlfing was playing in New Britain but just got the call to Rochester. He has seven career Minor League home runs in over 1100 at-bats, but of course, he hit one in his first AAA game. Your move, Danny Lehmann. Twins' 16th-round pick Nelvin Fuentes has never hit a professional home run. He's a pitcher, so that's not a fair way to assess him. In the 28th round, the Twins drafted Seth Rosin out of Mounds View High School. I went there! He did not sign and went to the University of Minnesota. I went there! In 2010, Rosin was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round. Rosin is pitching well at AA for the Phillies now. This is more of a fun fact for me. I am going to really enjoy reading it later. All those drafted who made it to the Bigs (so far) Ben Revere and Mickey Storey. One Sentence Summary The 2007 draft was all about Ben Revere and that wonderful smile. Link to the Twins' 2007 draft from Baseball Reference

Originally posted at Kevin Slowey was Framed! Welcome once more to 25 drafts in 25 days. We are nearing the end of this endeavor, which means we are also nearing the actual 2013 draft. I know that I am very excited to see who the next wave of future Twins will be. In the meantime, here are my recaps from 2005 and 2006, to tide you over. Just click the years and enjoy the beautiful layout. Here is 2007: The 2005 and 2006 drafts were Snickers bars, just packed with peanuts. In this analogy, players are peanuts. The Twins added 2 current Twins and 10 more former Twins. While there were no superstars added to the organization, this is still a windfall of peanuts/players. The 2007 draft is more of a tumbleweed or perhaps a Milky Way with a rogue peanut. Only two players have reached the Majors and realistically, maybe two or three more have a chance to join them. However, one of the more popular recent Twins was added... 1st Round Pick The Twins selected the diminutive (required adjective) Ben Revere with the 28th overall pick in the 2007 draft. Revere was a high school kid out of Kentucky. He's small, listed at 5' 9" and 170 lb, but that is part of what made him so much fun to watch. Revere has crazy range in the outfield and could track down fly balls like a homing beacon. Plus, he was kind of clumsy, so he'd fall and do somersaults and whatnot. It was all very entertaining. Ah, but what if? The Twins pretty much nailed the Revere pick. If you can get a starting player with the 28th pick, it's a success. However, since I am legally obligated to present a "what if" scenario, you could make the case that Giancarlo Stanton would have been a nice selection. Stanton went 76th overall, which was somehow in the second round because there were roughly 400 compensation picks in 2007. For serious, take a look (at the bottom). Stanton is an excellent power hitter, but rarely falls down while trying to make amazing catches. Just stating the facts. Best Player Drafted Well hey, welcome back Ben Revere! I think I need to change these categories for the more recent drafts. The Twins finally rid themselves of the malcontent that is Ben Revere last off-season, acquiring Trevor May in a trade with the Phillies. Worst Player to Reach MLB Worst At Hat-Wearing I apologize for the previous section. Ben Revere is neither a malcontent or a "worst player" in any way. However, he is the only player who the Twins signed in 2007 who also made it to the Majors. Thus, in a totally unfair way, and based on an extreme technicality, he is the worst player to reach the MLB from this draft. More accurately, he always wore his hat poorly, and that cannot go unpunished. So, Revere is not the worst player, but he was the worst hat-wearer from the '07 draft. The One Who Got Away The only other Twins' 2007 draftee to make the Majors (so far) is Mickey Storey. Storey was drafted in the 22nd round, and went back to school to become a Senior and thus the "top dog" on campus. If I have learned anything from movies, he wasted this year partying before ultimately learning a lesson right before finals. He was drafted in the 31st round just one year later. Storey is currently pitching for the Blue Jays organization, and has a career ERA of 4.24. He strikes out a lot of batters. Best Name With the 1453rd overall pick in the 2007 MLB draft, the Twins selected Christopher Freshcorn, a catcher out of Alonso High School in Alonso, Florida. The Twins' 50th round selection does not have any stats. Fun Facts Despite Ben Revere being the only player from the 2007 draft to play for the Twins, he still has a higher WAR than all seven players drafted in 2006 who also played for the Twins combined. Andrew Schmiesing, the Twins' 11th-round pick, went to St. Olaf College and played for the St. Paul Saints. He's from Northfield, Minnesota! So many local angles! Third-round pick Angel Morales is currently playing with Fort Myers. He is a local Angel. He has played over 260 games in Fort Myers. He's spent more time in Fort Myers than long-time Fort Myers Mayor Randy Henderson, Jr. EEEYYY-OOO! That's actually not true. Twins' 8th-round pick and current Rochester Red Wing Danny Lehmann has hit eight career Minor League home runs in over 1000 at-bats. Twins' 14th-round pick Dan Rohlfing was playing in New Britain but just got the call to Rochester. He has seven career Minor League home runs in over 1100 at-bats, but of course, he hit one in his first AAA game. Your move, Danny Lehmann. Twins' 16th-round pick Nelvin Fuentes has never hit a professional home run. He's a pitcher, so that's not a fair way to assess him. In the 28th round, the Twins drafted Seth Rosin out of Mounds View High School. I went there! He did not sign and went to the University of Minnesota. I went there! In 2010, Rosin was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in the 4th round. Rosin is pitching well at AA for the Phillies now. This is more of a fun fact for me. I am going to really enjoy reading it later. All those drafted who made it to the Bigs (so far) Ben Revere and Mickey Storey. One Sentence Summary The 2007 draft was all about Ben Revere and that wonderful smile. Link to the Twins' 2007 draft from Baseball Reference

My dream scenario: McGuire at 4, Karsten Whitson at 43. Although, I wouldn't actually do that. I'd take Stewart and pay him what it takes. Personally, I think there are quite a few interesting high school players who could slip to 43 that might sign if paid well (Chris Okey and Ryan Boldt to name two) and Whitson has huge upside, but I wouldn't take the risk that all the guys like them will be there later.

Hey Sam, shouldn't you be icing your arm?

He's slugging almost .500 in May. Plus, the BABIP, plus a better line drive rate in May, plus a better ground ball rate in May, plus a better strikeout rate in May. I apologize for the terrible sentence, but there are reasons to believe he is improving.

I just read your 2003 NBA finals preview and you totally nailed it. I thought the Nets were going to win too. I'll never forget that Game 6 when Stephen Jackson just completely caught fire. I still don't fully believe that happened. What fun. I wish I had all my thoughts on sports and other stuff written down somewhere. I barely remember the NBA in 2003, but that really jogged my memory.

Congratulations! I wish my first blog post had a Todd Sears mention.

Thanks guys, I definitely appreciate the kind feedback! I tend to think that any draft pick getting to the Majors is a success, even Adam Johnson types. Baseball players are so prone to injury and one injury changes everything. I try to mention that all of these players are amazing athletes and baseball players at least every third recap or so, just to remind myself. Wasn't Jay Rainville a big-time hockey prospect too? I vaguely remember him being an even better NHL prospect. Could be wrong. It's always great to get additional information on these guys.

This is a really good point. A player might be told "we want you to learn to take the ball the other way" but they might hear "we want you to ALWAYS take the ball the other way." They might perceive that the organization feels their approach is "wrong" but the Twins just want them to practice a new skill. If the Twins don't make it clear that this is the case, it really is their fault. You can't punish the learner. I'd say it is at least possible that the Twins want their hitters to become more well-rounded, but don't make that point very clear. Of course then it isn't a philosophy issue but more of a teaching issue. Either way kind of sucks. Hopefully these are just isolated cases.

I finished all the episodes yesterday. My wife and I watched the first five on Sunday night and seriously considered stopping there. After the second Lindsay episode, things really got good, in my opinion. The last four episodes were fantastic, not surprisingly George Michael and GOB are prominently featured.

I couldn't agree more, BPA all the way! Baseball players take a long time to develop and so much can change over time. A need right now might be an area of strength in three years. It is just too hard to predict.

Great profile! I'm not opposed to Shipley for the Twins, but the fact that he needs more development than the average college pitcher does take some of the shine off of him. I'd prefer Stewart and possibly even Ball, but Shipley looks promising too. This "weak" draft might end up being stronger than everyone thinks.

Thanks, that is very kind! I am just happy that people are reading them.

I know I am still somewhat new to blogging, but I didn't think I was the cause for all the Twins' struggles. Maybe some of them, but not all of them.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1790-25-Minnesota-Twins-Drafts-in-25-Days-2004

Benson's "two years" of failure spanned 108 games.