Steven Buhr

We were told by a source in the organization about a week ago that Kepler was "not close" to being ready. He apparently saw game action in EST today as a DH, but it doesn't sound like he's being allowed to throw yet.

Whoa, there, Seth. That's just crazy talk.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1719-Free-Agent-Pitching-20-20-Hindsight

Yeah, but he'd have to put down his beer or margarita long enough to point his phone/camera at the field and the guy you're talking about could find that to be problematic.

By the end of the coming weekend, the Twins will have reached the one-quarter mark of the season with 40+ games under their belts. It’s as good a time as any to reflect upon how some of the decisions made by General Manager Terry Ryan in building the team’s roster have turned out. As a team, the Twins have been hovering over the .500 mark most of the season and, after Monday night’s win over the White Sox, they are one game over the break-even point. Over the weekend, Ryan told 1500ESPN that .500 wasn’t what he was looking for out of this team, that he wanted them to be contenders. It’s great, of course, for your team’s GM to say that kind of thing, but I think most fans would have been pretty satisfied with the prospects of a .500 year out of this Twins team. This article was originally posted Tuesday, May 14 at Knuckleballsblog.com. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TerryRyan.jpg Terry Ryan (Photo: Knuckleballs/Jim Crikket) You also have to consider that those words were coming out of the same mouth that, last November, told TwinsDaily’s John Bonnes that the Twins would be pursuing one of the “pretty darn good” pitchers on the free agent market last season and then went out and made Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey the cornerstones of the team’s free agent class. In that same interview, Ryan also told Bonnes that he felt the free agent pitching market was, “thin,” when most of us felt there was a pretty solid group of middle-to-upper-half of the rotation arms available. Now, looking back over the first six weeks of the season, is it possible Terry Ryan was right? Back on November 20, I posted an article at Knuckleballs in which I shared my wish list of free agent pitchers for Ryan and the Twins to pursue. Other fans and writers were naturally sharing their own advice for the Twins GM about the same time. Let’s see how our suggestions have been panning out compared to the guys Ryan actually signed for the Twins. Not many of us were suggesting the Twins should (or even could) sign Zack Greinke, who eventually signed a six-year deal for $159 million with the Dodgers. Greinke was actually off to a decent start until he broke his collarbone (or rather, Carlos Quentin broke Greinke’s collarbone). Maybe Greinke will bounce back and pay dividends on his deal with the Dodgers, but I’m not sorry the Twins didn’t try to outbid the Dodgers for his services. I argued in my post that the Twins should go ahead and pursue not one, but two of the other big dogs among the free agent pitching class, Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson. Sanchez is one guy who is putting up the kind of numbers you would hope for, so far, as his 2.05 ERA , 1.082 WHIP and 66 strikeouts in 52.2 innings would attest. However, he eventually re-signed with the Tigers (5 years/$88 million), so there’s certainly doubt as to whether he and his agent would ever have even considered a move to Target Field. Jackson, on the other hand, is not exactly earning his 4 year/$52 million contract with the Cubs. Yes, he’s striking out almost one batter per inning pitched, but otherwise, his 6.02 ERA and 1.569 WHIP are pretty close to what the Twins are getting out of Mike Pelfrey (6.03/1.689)… and Ryan is on the hook for about $48 million less than Theo Epstein owes Jackson. The third pitcher on my wish list was Joe Saunders. I felt the Twins needed another lefty in the rotation and while he wasn’t likely to be a headliner, Saunders looked to me like a good bet to be a solid middle of the rotation pitcher for the next couple of years. When he eventually signed with the Mariners for just one year and $6.5 million, I was pretty certain the Twins would regret not outbidding the M’s for Saunders’ services (though I recall there was some talk about Saunders not being interested in pitching for the Twins, regardless). Saunders has pieced together a 3-4 record despite a 5.51 ERA and a 1.521 WHIP. He’s struck out exactly as many hitters (20) as Correia has for the Twins, but has walked more than twice as many batters. Correia’s ERA (3.09) and WHIP (1.200) are certainly looking better than Saunders’. So maybe my ideas, outside of Sanchez, weren’t as good as I thought they were (and apparently not as good as the ideas Ryan and his staff were having at the time). But what about the other pitchers on the market last off season? With all of the talent we thought was out there, surely there must have been several pitchers that have turned out to make the GMs who signed them look smart. Many of the best options, like Sanchez, were re-signed by their 2012 clubs or, in some cases, had options picked up by their teams. But there were still a number of pitchers generating buzz among the Twins faithful. There was some chatter about Dan Haren, who ended up with the Nationals on a one-year deal for $13 million. He’s put up a 5.17 ERA and a 1.487 WHIP while striking out 27 batters in 38.1 innings over seven starts. That’s not real impressive to me, but hey, he does have a 4-3 record if that’s what you’re in to. Brandon McCarthy was also a hot commodity in the blogging world. He got a two-year deal from the D’Backs totaling $18 million. For that, he’s accumulated a 5.63 ERA, a 1.542 WHIP, and has gone winless. I’ve read that McCarthy has been “unlucky,” as reflected in a higher than average batting average on balls in play (BABIP). That’s fine. But if you buy that, you need to also give a couple of the Twins (such as Pelfrey and, to an even greater degree, Vance Worley) pitchers the benefit of the same doubt for their “bad luck.” Ryan Dempster got beat up a bit by the Blue Jays on Sunday, but I don’t think the Red Sox are doubting their two-year/$26.5 million investment too much, so far. He’s got a 3.75 ERA, even after giving up six earned runs to the Jays in five innings of work. His 1.146 WHIP is certainly competitive, but it’s his 61 strike outs in 48 innings that’s perhaps more impressive. Again, I don’t think there was ever any chance Dempster would sign with the Twins since he likely had more than enough suitors from among contending teams. Shawn Marcum, though, was certainly a guy that a number of Twins fans thought might be obtainable by the club. Marcum signed a one-year deal with the Mets for just $4 million. It turns out the Mets may have overpaid. Marcum has put up a nasty looking 8.59 ERA to go with a 2.045 WHIP. He’s thrown only 14.2 innings covering three starts and one relief appearance. Were you one of the fans touting Joe Blanton as a possible Twins rotation addition? If so, you might want to keep it to yourself. Blanton signed with the Angels for $15 million over two years and has repaid them with a 0-7 record covering eight starts. His 6.46 ERA and 1.870 WHIP would indicate his record is not terribly misleading. It’s starting to look like Terry Ryan’s assessment of the pitching market as “thin” might have actually been pretty accurate, isn’t it? But certainly there must be some success stories, right? Of course there are. If, while the rest of us were laughing at the absurdity of the Royals signing Jeremy Guthrie to a 3 year/$25 million contract, you were actually going on the record saying it was a shrewd move certain to pay dividends, give yourself a pat on the back. Guthrie is 5-0 with the Royals and while he’s not striking a ton of hitters out (30 Ks in 47.1 innings), he’s put up a 2.28 ERA and a 1.183 WHIP in his seven starts for the Royals. He’s gone at least six innings in every start and has one complete game shutout of the White Sox to his credit. Oh yeah, and the Royals are three games above .500 going in to Tuesday night’s games, 1 ½ games behind Division leading Detroit. Of course, Guthrie isn’t the only free agent pitcher making his GM look wise. Carlos Villanueva and Scott Feldman were among the pitchers Epstein added to the Cubs and it’s pretty clear that neither of them are primarily responsible for the Cubs being six games under .500. Villanueva sports a 3.02 ERA and a 1.007 WHIP, but has only one win in seven starts to show for his efforts. Feldman’s ERA is even lower, at 2.53 and his WHIP is a very respectable 1.148. He’s actually gotten enough support to put up a 3-3 record. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just don’t recall a lot of wailing about Terry Ryan allowing Villanueva and Feldman to slip through his fingers. And before you credit Theo Epstein for being so much more brilliant than Terry Ryan, take a look at what Epstein and the Cubs are getting in return for outbidding Ryan for the services of Scott Baker this season. Baker’s next pitch in a Cubs uniform (if he ever makes one) will be his first. There are probably a few more pitchers worth checking in on that are escaping me at the moment. But from the looks of things, I’m starting to think Correia and Pelfrey weren’t such bad ideas after all. I’m not convinced Correia will continue to perform at the levels of his first few starts, but I do think that as Pelfrey continues to work out the post-TJ-surgery kinks, he may actually improve as the year goes on. Even with the benefit of perfect hindsight, I’m not 100% sure I’d jump for joy at those free agent signings, but I certainly like the way they’ve turned out so far a whole lot better than most of the other options.

By the end of the coming weekend, the Twins will have reached the one-quarter mark of the season with 40+ games under their belts. It’s as good a time as any to reflect upon how some of the decisions made by General Manager Terry Ryan in building the team’s roster have turned out. As a team, the Twins have been hovering over the .500 mark most of the season and, after Monday night’s win over the White Sox, they are one game over the break-even point. Over the weekend, Ryan told 1500ESPN that .500 wasn’t what he was looking for out of this team, that he wanted them to be contenders. It’s great, of course, for your team’s GM to say that kind of thing, but I think most fans would have been pretty satisfied with the prospects of a .500 year out of this Twins team. This article was originally posted Tuesday, May 14 at Knuckleballsblog.com. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/TerryRyan.jpg Terry Ryan (Photo: Knuckleballs/Jim Crikket) You also have to consider that those words were coming out of the same mouth that, last November, told TwinsDaily’s John Bonnes that the Twins would be pursuing one of the “pretty darn good” pitchers on the free agent market last season and then went out and made Kevin Correia and Mike Pelfrey the cornerstones of the team’s free agent class. In that same interview, Ryan also told Bonnes that he felt the free agent pitching market was, “thin,” when most of us felt there was a pretty solid group of middle-to-upper-half of the rotation arms available. Now, looking back over the first six weeks of the season, is it possible Terry Ryan was right? Back on November 20, I posted an article at Knuckleballs in which I shared my wish list of free agent pitchers for Ryan and the Twins to pursue. Other fans and writers were naturally sharing their own advice for the Twins GM about the same time. Let’s see how our suggestions have been panning out compared to the guys Ryan actually signed for the Twins. Not many of us were suggesting the Twins should (or even could) sign Zack Greinke, who eventually signed a six-year deal for $159 million with the Dodgers. Greinke was actually off to a decent start until he broke his collarbone (or rather, Carlos Quentin broke Greinke’s collarbone). Maybe Greinke will bounce back and pay dividends on his deal with the Dodgers, but I’m not sorry the Twins didn’t try to outbid the Dodgers for his services. I argued in my post that the Twins should go ahead and pursue not one, but two of the other big dogs among the free agent pitching class, Anibal Sanchez and Edwin Jackson. Sanchez is one guy who is putting up the kind of numbers you would hope for, so far, as his 2.05 ERA , 1.082 WHIP and 66 strikeouts in 52.2 innings would attest. However, he eventually re-signed with the Tigers (5 years/$88 million), so there’s certainly doubt as to whether he and his agent would ever have even considered a move to Target Field. Jackson, on the other hand, is not exactly earning his 4 year/$52 million contract with the Cubs. Yes, he’s striking out almost one batter per inning pitched, but otherwise, his 6.02 ERA and 1.569 WHIP are pretty close to what the Twins are getting out of Mike Pelfrey (6.03/1.689)… and Ryan is on the hook for about $48 million less than Theo Epstein owes Jackson. The third pitcher on my wish list was Joe Saunders. I felt the Twins needed another lefty in the rotation and while he wasn’t likely to be a headliner, Saunders looked to me like a good bet to be a solid middle of the rotation pitcher for the next couple of years. When he eventually signed with the Mariners for just one year and $6.5 million, I was pretty certain the Twins would regret not outbidding the M’s for Saunders’ services (though I recall there was some talk about Saunders not being interested in pitching for the Twins, regardless). Saunders has pieced together a 3-4 record despite a 5.51 ERA and a 1.521 WHIP. He’s struck out exactly as many hitters (20) as Correia has for the Twins, but has walked more than twice as many batters. Correia’s ERA (3.09) and WHIP (1.200) are certainly looking better than Saunders’. So maybe my ideas, outside of Sanchez, weren’t as good as I thought they were (and apparently not as good as the ideas Ryan and his staff were having at the time). But what about the other pitchers on the market last off season? With all of the talent we thought was out there, surely there must have been several pitchers that have turned out to make the GMs who signed them look smart. Many of the best options, like Sanchez, were re-signed by their 2012 clubs or, in some cases, had options picked up by their teams. But there were still a number of pitchers generating buzz among the Twins faithful. There was some chatter about Dan Haren, who ended up with the Nationals on a one-year deal for $13 million. He’s put up a 5.17 ERA and a 1.487 WHIP while striking out 27 batters in 38.1 innings over seven starts. That’s not real impressive to me, but hey, he does have a 4-3 record if that’s what you’re in to. Brandon McCarthy was also a hot commodity in the blogging world. He got a two-year deal from the D’Backs totaling $18 million. For that, he’s accumulated a 5.63 ERA, a 1.542 WHIP, and has gone winless. I’ve read that McCarthy has been “unlucky,” as reflected in a higher than average batting average on balls in play (BABIP). That’s fine. But if you buy that, you need to also give a couple of the Twins (such as Pelfrey and, to an even greater degree, Vance Worley) pitchers the benefit of the same doubt for their “bad luck.” Ryan Dempster got beat up a bit by the Blue Jays on Sunday, but I don’t think the Red Sox are doubting their two-year/$26.5 million investment too much, so far. He’s got a 3.75 ERA, even after giving up six earned runs to the Jays in five innings of work. His 1.146 WHIP is certainly competitive, but it’s his 61 strike outs in 48 innings that’s perhaps more impressive. Again, I don’t think there was ever any chance Dempster would sign with the Twins since he likely had more than enough suitors from among contending teams. Shawn Marcum, though, was certainly a guy that a number of Twins fans thought might be obtainable by the club. Marcum signed a one-year deal with the Mets for just $4 million. It turns out the Mets may have overpaid. Marcum has put up a nasty looking 8.59 ERA to go with a 2.045 WHIP. He’s thrown only 14.2 innings covering three starts and one relief appearance. Were you one of the fans touting Joe Blanton as a possible Twins rotation addition? If so, you might want to keep it to yourself. Blanton signed with the Angels for $15 million over two years and has repaid them with a 0-7 record covering eight starts. His 6.46 ERA and 1.870 WHIP would indicate his record is not terribly misleading. It’s starting to look like Terry Ryan’s assessment of the pitching market as “thin” might have actually been pretty accurate, isn’t it? But certainly there must be some success stories, right? Of course there are. If, while the rest of us were laughing at the absurdity of the Royals signing Jeremy Guthrie to a 3 year/$25 million contract, you were actually going on the record saying it was a shrewd move certain to pay dividends, give yourself a pat on the back. Guthrie is 5-0 with the Royals and while he’s not striking a ton of hitters out (30 Ks in 47.1 innings), he’s put up a 2.28 ERA and a 1.183 WHIP in his seven starts for the Royals. He’s gone at least six innings in every start and has one complete game shutout of the White Sox to his credit. Oh yeah, and the Royals are three games above .500 going in to Tuesday night’s games, 1 ½ games behind Division leading Detroit. Of course, Guthrie isn’t the only free agent pitcher making his GM look wise. Carlos Villanueva and Scott Feldman were among the pitchers Epstein added to the Cubs and it’s pretty clear that neither of them are primarily responsible for the Cubs being six games under .500. Villanueva sports a 3.02 ERA and a 1.007 WHIP, but has only one win in seven starts to show for his efforts. Feldman’s ERA is even lower, at 2.53 and his WHIP is a very respectable 1.148. He’s actually gotten enough support to put up a 3-3 record. Maybe I’m wrong, but I just don’t recall a lot of wailing about Terry Ryan allowing Villanueva and Feldman to slip through his fingers. And before you credit Theo Epstein for being so much more brilliant than Terry Ryan, take a look at what Epstein and the Cubs are getting in return for outbidding Ryan for the services of Scott Baker this season. Baker’s next pitch in a Cubs uniform (if he ever makes one) will be his first. There are probably a few more pitchers worth checking in on that are escaping me at the moment. But from the looks of things, I’m starting to think Correia and Pelfrey weren’t such bad ideas after all. I’m not convinced Correia will continue to perform at the levels of his first few starts, but I do think that as Pelfrey continues to work out the post-TJ-surgery kinks, he may actually improve as the year goes on. Even with the benefit of perfect hindsight, I’m not 100% sure I’d jump for joy at those free agent signings, but I certainly like the way they’ve turned out so far a whole lot better than most of the other options.

In the interest of full disclosure, I believe the tweet concerning Walker's amazing productivity with bases loaded this season originated from the official Kernels Twitter account, which I retweeted. By the time of Walker's grand slam, I was working on my 3rd margarita of the night (since I wasn't actually working the game, just enjoying it from my seat behind the Kernels dugout), so I wouldn't have been able to put together those numbers so quickly! Walker's home run was the first of the "I can't believe what I just saw" moments. Those of us in the general area of where I was sitting all just kept asking one another if we really just saw the ball go over the batters eye in CF. The ball was not hit way up in the air, but more of a line drive that just kept rising, so it was a little hard to believe it carried over the batters eye. I've never seen a four-base error before. Bees CF (and 2012 Kernel) Chevy Clarke drifted back and appeared to simply misjudge Buxton's deep fly ball. It hit off his glove and ended up rolling to Clarke's left a ways. Buxton did have considerable elevation on the ball and it would have been out of the park anywhere but CF, but obviously Buxton didn't just stand in the batters box and admire his work. He was near 2B when Clarke muffed the catch and by the time Clarke chased the ball down and got it to the relay man, Buxton was coming around 3B. The relay throw to home was way wide up the 3B line and never had a chance. I do think a guy really needs to just get in the habit of recording Buxton's and Walker's ABs on his phone every time they come up to the plate.

Catcher Michael Quesada has joined the Kernels following completion of his 50-game drug suspension. Jim Ecker at Metro Sports Report in CR interviewed Quesada, who expressed remorse but also was very grateful for the Twins support during the suspension. "I felt relieved that they were giving me a chance to wipe the slate clean. They've been amazing. The organization has been first-class. I can't thank them enough. They've really been on my side through this." You can read the entire interview by clicking the link below. Quesada eager for 'clean slate' with Kernels

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are sporting a 25-11 record through the first six weeks of the Midwest League season. That's good for a .694 winning percentage. How good is that? Over the course of a Major League 162 game season, a team would have to win 113 games to match that winning percentage. The Kernels are 12-2 at home and 13-9 on the road.They are 16-7 at night and 9-4 in day games. They've beaten right-handed starting pitchers at a 19-8 rate and have a 6-3 record when opponents have started lefties against them. The Twins' Class A affiliate in the Midwest League is, to say the least, off to a good start. They have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) and Beloit Snappers (Athletics), who share second place in the MWL Western Division with just over a month left to play in the first half of the MWL season. Offensively, the Kernels lead the MWL in slugging percentage (.440) and OPS (.792). They are third in the league in batting average (,269) and lead the league in total bases (525) and RBI (204). Actually, they are at or near the top of the league in almost every offensive category. The team's pitching has, overall, been pretty much a middle-of-the-pack staff in most statistical categories, but they have given up just 159 runs, which is 63 fewer runs than their offense has scored and that's a pretty nice run differential. But nobody is unbeatable so if we dig in to the statistics a bit, can we figure out how an opponent might go about conquering the juggernaut that is the Kernels? We've already determined that the Kernels are winning most of their games at home and on the road, in night games as well as day games and against right-handed starting pitchers and lefties. What else can you try? Here are just a few suggestions: Score first. The Kernels have only a 2-4 record when opponents get on the board first. That's right, only six times have opponents scored first, while the Kernels have plated the first run in 30 games and they are 23-7 in those games. Hold the Kernels to less than four runs. Once the Kernels put that fourth run on the board, they are tough to beat. They are 20-2 when they score four runs or more and just 5-9 when they score three or fewer runs. Don't mess up in the field. When opponents have made one error or more, the Kernels are 22-9. When opponents play an error-free game, the Kernels are just 3-2. Figure out how to get the same number of hits as the Kernels. When Cedar Rapids has outhit their opponents, they are 17-5 and when the Kernels are outhit by their opponents, they've still won more than they've lost (7-5), but in the two games where opponents have exactly the same number of hits as the Kernels, the team is just 1-1. Hit home runs. The Kernels are just 8-7 when an opposing batter has hit a home run. But you'd better keep the Kernels hitters in the park because they are 15-4 when a Kernels batter goes yard. If that all seems a bit too complicated for you, there's one other option. Just wait until the second half of the season and hope that the Twins' front office promotes most of the players that have been bashing the ball all over the Midwest League Kernels notes After spending the past two weeks on the road, the Kernels opened a seven-day (eight-game) home stand on Tuesday night with a 5-4 win over the visiting Burlington Bees (Angels). They will make up an April rainout with the Bees with a doubleheader Wednesday evening, starting at 5:30 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4075[/ATTACH] Byron Buxton On Tuesday night, Adam Brett Walker hit a grand slam home run and Byron Buxton turned a muff by Bees' outfielder Chevy Clarke in deep center field in to a four base error as Buxton flew all the way around the bases to score following Clarke's error. You can check out an interview with Walker and the game story here. In addition, the Kernels made several roster changes on Tuesday, including the addition of catcher Michael Quesada, who joined the Kernels after completing a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test. Metro Sports Report's Jim Ecker interviewed Quesada before Tuesday's game and you can read that interview here. SD Buhr covers the Kernels for MetroSportsReport.com in Cedar Rapids.

The Cedar Rapids Kernels are sporting a 25-11 record through the first six weeks of the Midwest League season. That's good for a .694 winning percentage. How good is that? Over the course of a Major League 162 game season, a team would have to win 113 games to match that winning percentage. The Kernels are 12-2 at home and 13-9 on the road. They are 16-7 at night and 9-4 in day games. They've beaten right-handed starting pitchers at a 19-8 rate and have a 6-3 record when opponents have started lefties against them. The Twins' Class A affiliate in the Midwest League is, to say the least, off to a good start. They have a 4 1/2 game lead over the Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros) and Beloit Snappers (Athletics), who share second place in the MWL Western Division with just over a month left to play in the first half of the MWL season. Offensively, the Kernels lead the MWL in slugging percentage (.440) and OPS (.792). They are third in the league in batting average (,269) and lead the league in total bases (525), runs scored (222) and RBI (204). Actually, they are at or near the top of the league in almost every significant offensive category. The team's pitching has, overall, been pretty much a middle-of-the-pack staff in most statistical categories, but they have given up just 159 runs, which is 63 fewer runs than their offense has scored and that's a pretty nice run differential. But nobody is unbeatable, so if we dig in to the statistics a bit, can we figure out how an opponent might go about conquering the juggernaut that is the Kernels? We've already determined that the Kernels are winning most of their games at home and on the road, in night games as well as day games and against right-handed starting pitchers and lefties. What else can an opponent try? Here are just a few suggestions: Score first. The Kernels have only a 2-4 record when opponents get on the board first. That's right, only six times have opponents scored first, while the Kernels have plated the first run in 30 games and they are 23-7 in those games. Hold the Kernels to less than four runs. Once the Kernels put that fourth run on the board, they are tough to beat. They are 20-2 when they score four runs or more and just 5-9 when they score three or fewer runs. Don't mess up in the field. When opponents have made one error or more, the Kernels are 22-9. When opponents play an error-free game, the Kernels are just 3-2. Figure out how to get the same number of hits as the Kernels. When Cedar Rapids has outhit their opponents, they are 17-5 and when the Kernels are outhit by their opponents, they've still won more than they've lost (7-5), but in the two games where opponents have exactly the same number of hits as the Kernels, the team is just 1-1. Hit home runs. The Kernels are just 8-7 when an opposing batter has hit a home run. But you'd better keep the Kernels hitters in the park because they are 15-4 when a Kernels batter goes yard. If that all seems a bit too complicated for you, there's one other option. Just wait until the second half of the season and hope that the Twins' front office promotes most of the players that have been bashing the ball all over the Midwest League. Kernels Notes: After spending the past two weeks on the road, the Kernels opened a seven-day (eight-game) home stand on Tuesday night with a 5-4 win over the visiting Burlington Bees (Angels). They will make up an April rainout with the Bees with a doubleheader Wednesday evening, starting at 5:30 at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids. [ATTACH=CONFIG]4074[/ATTACH] Byron Buxton On Tuesday night, Byron Buxton turned a muff by Bees' outfielder Chevy Clarke in deep center fieldeep in to a four base error as Buxton flew all the way around the bases to score following Clarke's error. You can check out the game story here. In addition, the Kernels made several roster changes on Tuesday, including the addition of catcher Michael Quesada, who joined the Kernels after completing a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test. Metro Sports Report's Jim Ecker interviewed Quesada before Tuesday's game and you can read that interview here.

It does probably make some sense for the Kernels to cut back to two catchers. It seems like they've had to use Tyler Grimes as the DH with some regularity just to get him plate appearances. That's not ideal.

If I'm not mistaken, Correa was supposed to have considerable power at the plate. While a .781 OPS for a shortstop just out of HS isn't awful, I certainly expected more from a guy who was the first player taken in the draft. The 3 home runs shows he has the power. But only 3 other XBHs would seem to indicate he's not squaring up on the ball much. I know he's been in and out of the lineup all year, so maybe he just hasn't been completely healthy much. I'm disappointed I won't be seeing both players on the field Thursday when I'm down there. As for whether Buxton will still be in CR June 5, I'm not convinced there's "no question." Keep in mind, that's only 11 days before the end of the first half of the MWL season (June 16). I still think he'll spend the entire first half in CR, but I'm not willing to bet on it.

You can view the page at http://twinsdaily.com/content.php?r=1679-Clash-of-Buxton-Correa-May-Have-to-Wait

Wednesday, May 8, was supposed to be a big night for fans that follow the top minor league prospects in professional baseball. Quad Cities shortstop Carlos Correa, selected with the No. 1 pick overall by the Astros in last June’s amateur draft, was set to go head-to-head against Kernels’ center fielder Byron Buxton, chosen as the No. 2 pick overall in the same draft by the Twins. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Buxton1.jpg Byron Buxton (Photo: SD Buhr) According to MiLB.com, it was the first time two position players of high school age were drafted in the first two spots in over 20 years. As a result, it is almost inevitable that Correa and Buxton will be compared closely to one another throughout their careers. But thanks to a pitch that hit Correa in the hand a week ago and put him on the River Bandits Disabled List, their first match up on the same field will have to wait. The question is, for how long? Correa was placed on the Bandits’ 7-day Disabled List on Friday, May 3, which would make him eligible to be reactivated for this Friday’s series finale with the Kernels. However, there’s been no indication from the team that they intend to do so. After this series, the Kernels and River Bandits are scheduled to face one another next on June 5 in Cedar Rapids. Then again, if Buxton continues to perform at current levels, there is legitimate reason to question whether he will still be wearing a Kernels uniform at that point. If Correa and Buxton don’t face one another this season, it’s unlikely they’ll match up again in a regular season game until they wear Big League uniforms for the Astros and Twins. The two organizations have no high-A, AA or AAA affiliates playing in the same league. How rare would an early meeting of No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the same draft be? Only three times have the top two picks in the draft made their full-season debuts in the same league in the same season. It hasn’t happened in the Midwest League since the No. 1 pick in the 1983 draft, Tim Belcher*, opened the following season with the Madison Muskies and No. 2 pick Kurt Stillwell was in a Cedar Rapids Reds uniform. It’s not difficult to understand, then, why many fans have looked forward to seeing Correa and Buxton on the same field this season. Though we may not see Buxton and Correa share a ball field this week, we can take a look at how their first years of full-season professional baseball have compared so far. There’s no doubt that Buxton is off to the better start. While there is already considerable speculation concerning how soon the Kernels’ center fielder might be promoted to the next level in the Twins’ minor league organization, there has been little, if any, such speculation where Correa is concerned. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Buxton31.jpg Byron Buxton (Photo: SD Buhr) Five weeks in to the season, Buxton has played in all but one of the Kernels’ 29 games and has the second highest batting average in the Midwest League at .373. Correa was having some trouble staying on the field for the River Bandits even before his current stint on the Disabled List. He has already missed 11 of Quad Cities’ 29 games and is hitting just .221 on the year. Buxton leads the MWL with a .488 on-base percentage and also leads the league with a .647 slugging percentage. Combined, that puts his OPS (on-base plus slugging) at a league-high 1.135. Of Buxton’s 38 hits, 15 (or almost 40 per cent) have been for extra bases. He has seven doubles, three triples and five home runs. Buxton has walked more times (24) than he has struck out (21) and has stolen 13 bases in 17 attempts. Correa has reached base at a .384 clip and is slugging just .397, for a .781 OPS. He has three doubles and three home runs. Correa has drawn just 15 walks while striking out 23 times. He has one stolen base and has been caught stealing once. Five very early weeks in the professional careers of these two prospects mean very little, of course, in terms of predicting their ultimate success or failure as Major League ballplayers. If both men stay with their current organizations long term, fans should eventually have plenty of opportunities for side by side comparisons at the Major League level, now that Correa’s Astros are in the American League. Regardless of whether Correa is activated in time to face Buxton and the Kernels this week, fans in Cedar Rapids should get their first opportunity to see the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft on June 5 when the River Bandits make their first appearance of the season at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Whether Byron Buxton will still be around to greet him remains to be seen. -SDB *As long time Twins fans know, Tim Belcher had been selected No. 1 by Minnesota in the 1983 draft and did not sign. He then was drafted No. 1 by the Yankees in the subsequent January 1984 Secondary Draft and ended up with the Athletics organization as a Free Agent Compensation selection a month later. SD Buhr covers the Kernels for MetroSportsReport.com in Cedar Rapids.

Wednesday, May 8, was supposed to be a big night for fans that follow the top minor league prospects in professional baseball. Quad Cities shortstop Carlos Correa, selected with the No. 1 pick overall by the Astros in last June’s amateur draft, was set to go head-to-head against Kernels’ center fielder Byron Buxton, chosen as the No. 2 pick overall in the same draft by the Twins. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Buxton1.jpg Byron Buxton (Photo: SD Buhr) According to MiLB.com, it was the first time two position players of high school age were drafted in the first two spots in over 20 years. As a result, it is almost inevitable that Correa and Buxton will be compared closely to one another throughout their careers. But thanks to a pitch that hit Correa in the hand a week ago and put him on the River Bandits Disabled List, their first match up on the same field will have to wait. The question is, for how long? Correa was placed on the Bandits’ 7-day Disabled List on Friday, May 3, which would make him eligible to be reactivated for this Friday’s series finale with the Kernels. However, there’s been no indication from the team that they intend to do so. After this series, the Kernels and River Bandits are scheduled to face one another next on June 5 in Cedar Rapids. Then again, if Buxton continues to perform at current levels, there is legitimate reason to question whether he will still be wearing a Kernels uniform at that point. If Correa and Buxton don’t face one another this season, it’s unlikely they’ll match up again in a regular season game until they wear Big League uniforms for the Astros and Twins. The two organizations have no high-A, AA or AAA affiliates playing in the same league. How rare would an early meeting of No. 1 and No. 2 picks from the same draft be? Only three times have the top two picks in the draft made their full-season debuts in the same league in the same season. It hasn’t happened in the Midwest League since the No. 1 pick in the 1983 draft, Tim Belcher*, opened the following season with the Madison Muskies and No. 2 pick Kurt Stillwell was in a Cedar Rapids Reds uniform. It’s not difficult to understand, then, why many fans have looked forward to seeing Correa and Buxton on the same field this season. Though we may not see Buxton and Correa share a ball field this week, we can take a look at how their first years of full-season professional baseball have compared so far. There’s no doubt that Buxton is off to the better start. While there is already considerable speculation concerning how soon the Kernels’ center fielder might be promoted to the next level in the Twins’ minor league organization, there has been little, if any, such speculation where Correa is concerned. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Buxton31.jpg Byron Buxton (Photo: SD Buhr) Five weeks in to the season, Buxton has played in all but one of the Kernels’ 29 games and has the second highest batting average in the Midwest League at .373. Correa was having some trouble staying on the field for the River Bandits even before his current stint on the Disabled List. He has already missed 11 of Quad Cities’ 29 games and is hitting just .221 on the year. Buxton leads the MWL with a .488 on-base percentage and also leads the league with a .647 slugging percentage. Combined, that puts his OPS (on-base plus slugging) at a league-high 1.135. Of Buxton’s 38 hits, 15 (or almost 40 per cent) have been for extra bases. He has seven doubles, three triples and five home runs. Buxton has walked more times (24) than he has struck out (21) and has stolen 13 bases in 17 attempts. Correa has reached base at a .384 clip and is slugging just .397, for a .781 OPS. He has three doubles and three home runs. Correa has drawn just 15 walks while striking out 23 times. He has one stolen base and has been caught stealing once. Five very early weeks in the professional careers of these two prospects mean very little, of course, in terms of predicting their ultimate success or failure as Major League ballplayers. If both men stay with their current organizations long term, fans should eventually have plenty of opportunities for side by side comparisons at the Major League level, now that Correa’s Astros are in the American League. Regardless of whether Correa is activated in time to face Buxton and the Kernels this week, fans in Cedar Rapids should get their first opportunity to see the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft on June 5 when the River Bandits make their first appearance of the season at Veterans Memorial Stadium. Whether Byron Buxton will still be around to greet him remains to be seen. -SDB *As long time Twins fans know, Tim Belcher had been selected No. 1 by Minnesota in the 1983 draft and did not sign. He then was drafted No. 1 by the Yankees in the subsequent January 1984 Secondary Draft and ended up with the Athletics organization as a Free Agent Compensation selection a month later. SD Buhr covers the Kernels for MetroSportsReport.com in Cedar Rapids.

The Twins/Kernels have announced C Jairo Rodriguez has been "transferred" to the Fort Myers Miracle. Interesting choice of words. The move leaves the Kernels with a 23-man active roster.

According to a Tweet from Mike Berardino of the Pionner Press, Jorge has been named the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. He's been on a roll for Cedar Rapids lately.

That really was amazing. Must suck to be a pitcher and see a guy take a cut like that and go yard on you.

Pitching elbow. Will go on DL today.

Buxton and Walker with doubles and Polanco with a triple. Kernels leading 4-2 in the 6th. This series in South Bend is matching the Western Division leading Kernels vs the Eastern Division leading Silver Hawks.

Beresford on the New Britain DL