Mike in SD

With the Padres being my local team, I have seen Stauffer a fair amount over the years. I like him--he always seems to be a steady pitcher, not unhittable but not prone to nasty hiccups either. Since the Padres always seem to have 16-inning games once a month, his long relief stints proved important. The Padres have had great late-inning relievers, so he didn't see a lot of other high-leverage situations. More than anything, though, he seemed like a super guy. The Padres have a thing where the serve breakfast on the warning track before every Sunday home game. 2 of the 4 times I partook, Tim was out mingling with the dining fans and posing for picts. [if any of you are in San Diego for a weekend game, I highly recommend the Breakfast On the Field. $14 for made-to-order omlets (and the like) plus drinks. (Excellent Bloody Mary's cost extra though.) The only downside is that STHs are seated first, so the rest of us have to wait or eat elsewhere.]

The article over at Slate ("Should we care that minor league baseball players make as little as $1100 a month?") made me think about this lawsuit again. I am conflicted. I do think they are being treated unfairly, but I also selfishly worry that I wouldn't like the consequences as a Twins fan if players did gain the ability to negotiate fairly. The best personal parallel I can draw (and it is not a very good one, granted) is from when I was a biology grad student 15 years ago. My stipend was $1000/month (and waived tuition) while working ~80h/week. In exchange for being poor and having almost no outside life for 5-7 years, ~60% of us got PhDs. Minor leaguers work hard for about the same time for a much lower chance of getting a shot at the glory/paycheck of a Major Leaguer. Another big difference is that grad students (that teach or do research) ARE part of a union (at least at most major universities). My stipend then was significantly more than those just a few years ahead of me, and stipends have more than doubled in the decade since I graduated. Although it seems unions started the trend, there are hundreds of grad schools competing for the best grad students and that competition seems to be driving it more today. Aside from the international signings, there is essentially no competition between teams for prospects. And MLB is doing everything in its power to squash competition for those international players as well with the current bonus limits and the push for an international draft. Giving every minor leaguer in an organization a $10K/year raise would cost about the same as their back-up MLB catcher's salary (a bit over $1M). If they continue to fight this in court, it wouldn't be too surprising if other aspects of the minor league system were found to also illegally suppress the bargaining power of players. As a fan of two small/medium-market teams, I probably wouldn't like the initial result if players had more say in where they played. I think, in time, the kinks could be worked out so that the rich franchises do not get an unfair advantage (like having 'luxury' taxes at each level).

I'll take Tim Shibuya again this year. - Mike in S(an) D(iego)

Tim Shibuya was named the league's Topps pitcher of the month for August.

On Thursday, Tim Shibuya pitched the second game of the MWL playoffs and gave up 4 runs on 9 hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked two. He yielded his first home run of the season (63 innings between APL & MWL). With the loss, the Kernels were swept out of the best-of-three playoff. Two days earlier, Shibuya was named MWL Pitcher of the Week for his complete-game shutout on August 31. Season Stats (not including MWL playoffs): [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]Team[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]League[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #E51937, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]ELZ[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]APP[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.33[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]19.1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]17[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]5[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].230[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]CR[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]MID[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0.96[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]10[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]37.2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]23[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]5[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]25[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1.38[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center].173[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow highlightRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]Minors[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center][/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]7[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1.42[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]16[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]57.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]40[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]11[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]9[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]8[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]38[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1.56[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center].193[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Credit: http://www.milb.com

Tim Shibuya is in a fairly uncommon situation in that he has a solid 'plan B' for when/if his baseball career stalls. (At least, I'm assuming this. He has a degree in pharmacological chemistry from an elite school, which usually leads to pharmacy school.) A recent episode of Freakonomics actually discussed how long a minor-league baseball player should hang on to the dream, and I actually thought about Mr. Shibuya's situation after last year. As long as he continues in baseball, I will be his #1 (non-family, non-acquaintance) fan. On the other hand, if he ever decides to hang up his cleats, I will not be disappointed. Well, I might be disappointed a bit that a (DII) UCSD grad never made it to Target Field, but I wouldn't think any less of him.

In Saturday's game against Clinton, Shibuya pitched a complete-game shutout. He allowed 4 hits and walked one while striking out 6 LumberKings. The Kernels won 5-0. His ERA at Cedar Rapids is now 0.96 in 37 2/3 innings. According to Jeremy Nygaard, Tim will start game 2 of the playoffs. Shibuya is pitching amazingly well right now at low A, but I wonder how he'd do against higher-level hitters. For that reason, I am curious what will happen after the playoffs. Given his late start this season, it would seem to make sense that he would continue to get some innings elsewhere. Any ideas? In the past, minor leaguers were not really on my radar until FM or NB, so I don't know the norm. [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]Date[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]OPP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Aug 25[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]PEO[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]7.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.38[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].136[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: right]Aug 31[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]@CLI[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]9.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1.33[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center].129[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow highlightRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right]Totals[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center][/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0.96[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]10[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]37.2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]23[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]5[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]25[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1.38[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center].173[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

In today's game against the Peoria Chiefs, Shibuya was again very efficient throwing only 66 pitches in seven innings. He allowed three hits and one walk, struck out two, and ceded just one unearned run. He is now 3-0 with a 1.26 ERA with the Kernels.

Making his second start of the season, Tim Shibuya took a shut out to the ninth inning before a bunt single and an RBI double ended his night after throwing just 76 pitches. The Peoria paper quoted Jake Mauer “That was really fun to watch. When he attacks the zone like he did, he will not strike many guys out and gets balls put in play early. If we catch behind him he makes out pretty good.” This start was decidedly better than his first when he was pulled in the 3rd inning after an uncharacteristic bases-loaded walk. [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]Date[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]OPP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: right]Aug 09[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]@BEL[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]6.75[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2.2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center].333[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Aug 15[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]BEL[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].000[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: right]Aug 19[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]@PEO[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1.13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]8.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]5[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1.56[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center].172[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Tim Shibuya will make his first start of the year tonight in Beloit to try to complete a sweep of the Snappers.

Shibuya pitched two scoreless 3-inning relief appearances the past week to lower his ERA to 0.90 since returning to the MWL. (10/zero K/BB in 10 innings!) After Monday's game, Jake Mauer told a reporter that Shibuya and David Hurlbut will slide into the Kernels' starting rotation as the current starters approach their 125-inning limits.

Shibuya has been used sparingly, making only 3 relief appearances (4IP) in his first 11 days with Cedar Rapids. Also, Pucket's Pond had a blurb on him in last week's transactions post. [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]Date[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]OPP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Jul 17[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]@LC[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].000[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: right]Jul 22[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]@FW[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]9.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center].400[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Jul 26[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]PEO[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0.50[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].143[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow highlightRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right]Totals[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center][/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2.25[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center].200[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

...and Shibuya had a nice first outing as a Kernel. After the Kernels took the lead in the top of the 12th, Shibuya entered and pitched a perfect inning for his first professional save. (K K 3-1) (He did not have any saves in college either.)

As anticipated, Tim Shibuya has been moved to the Cedar Rapids Kernels roster to take one of the four spots vacated by the quartet moved to Fort Myers. Shibuya and Dallas Gallant moved up from Elisabethton and Jairo Rodriguez moved down from Fort Myers. All three have played previously in the Midwest League. Last two E-Twin appearances: [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]Date[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]OPP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Jul 09[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]BUR[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]6.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].286[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, align: right]Jul 14[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]@GRN[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center]3.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, align: center].000[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow highlightRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right]Totals[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2.33[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]19.1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]17[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]5[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center].230[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

In his return to Elizabethton, he has pitch well in relief. He has pitched 3+ innings in all four outings and has picked up three wins (which leads the league). Jeremy and Seth have suggested that Shibuya will probably head back to the Midwestern League once a spot opens on the Cedar Rapids roster. [TABLE=width: 630, align: center] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center] Date [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]OPP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]AVG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Jun20[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]BRS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4.1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3.00[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].133[/TD] [TD=align: right]Jun25[/TD] [TD=align: center]@GRN[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]4.50[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]4.0[/TD] [TD=align: center]3[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]2.00[/TD] [TD=align: center].214[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Jul 01[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]@KNG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3.00[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3.0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.50[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].333[/TD] [TD=align: right]Jul 06[/TD] [TD=align: center]@BLU[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=align: center]1[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]3.0[/TD] [TD=align: center]4[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]0[/TD] [TD=align: center]2[/TD] [TD=align: center]1.33[/TD] [TD=align: center].308[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right]Totals[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center] [/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1.88[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]14.1[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]7[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2.18[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center].241 [/TD] [/TABLE]

Career Stats: [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]Year[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]Team[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]League[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #666666, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: left]2011[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]ELZ[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]APP[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]8[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3.30[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]73.2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]70[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]32[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]27[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]7[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]11[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]70[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.70[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].249[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: left]2012[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]BEL[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]MID[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]6[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]5.59[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]17[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]15[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]74.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]88[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]62[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]46[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]8[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]15[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]56[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.93[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].281[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: left]2013[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]ELZ[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]APP[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1.88[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]14.1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]7[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.18[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].241[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE]

Tim Shibuya is a right-handed pitcher starting his third season in the Twins organization after being drafted in the 23rd round of the 2011 draft. Tim played for four years at a division II school, University of California San Diego (where I work), known more for academics than for athletics, where he received his degree in pharmacological chemistry. Tim was the first UCSD player selected in the MLB draft in nearly a decade (Guido Knudson followed him 5 rounds later). I have read nothing but good things about him on and off the diamond--from volunteering to serve as a translator during interviews with the Spanish-speaking players to reading his blog back in 2011. It has been fun to follow his professional career. Tim is currently pitching for the Elizabethton Twins of the Rookie-level Appalachian League after a few months rehabbing at extended spring training following arm surgery. [Note: I am having trouble finding much info on what happened other than his being shut down with shoulder issues last year.] This is his second go-around in the league he dominated two years ago earning the League's 2011 Pitcher of the Year award. In 2012, he pitched at low-A Beloit where he got off to a decent start before hitting a wall results-wise. He was eventually being shut down for shoulder soreness, but he stuck around the team acting as translator in the many Miguel Sano interviews. (Last year's Adopt-a-Prospect link.)

Nice. Also, Joe Niekro had an unbelievably long career.

I'll stick with the UCSD kid, Tim Shibuya, for another year when he comes off the DL.

Has anyone heard any news about Tim Shibuya? After going on the DL midseason, I heard at one point he was rehabbing in Florida. Towards the end of the season, I saw he was back with Beloit doing his side-gig of acting as Miguel Sanó's translator for interviews. Seth left him off his top 50 prospect list.

Cool, I've been meaning to make a trip to the Midwest to visit family--perhaps I should plan a trip to Beloit. [Ack, I see I misread the team they're being sent to...] Seth, did you hear any updates on Tim Shibuya on your trip (or otherwise)? I think that was him in a Snappers twitter pic as Sanó's interpreter during a radio interview recently, but I haven't heard anything in almost a month.

I just watched the movie via iTunes and loved it. There weren't any huge revelations to me about the international signing system, but it was a well-pieced together story to illustrate how messed up the system is, how there are people manipulating the international signing system to their own benefit, and how the people hurt by the corruption vastly outnumber those responsible. Most of all, it was nice to see where Sanó came from and I can't wait to see Bocatón up with the Twins!

Tim Shibuya was placed on the 7-day disabled list a couple days after his two-inning, two-runs-allowed outing. I haven't heard anything about the injury. Phil Miller's piece on the Beloit Snappers features Tim prominently.

In Baseball America's list/discussion of the top pitching game scores of the year so far, Shibuya's complete game shut-out tied for first for low A leagues. The only other Twins minor leaguer among the top 20s was Liam Hendriks with the second best game at AAA.

Tim Shibuya returned to the rotation today and had a nice outing. He held the Cedar Rapids Kernels scoreless for six innings, giving up just one hit, one walk, and two HBPs. According @JimCrikket, Terry Ryan made the trip down to Iowa. [TABLE=class: dataTableClass, width: 615] [TR=class: headerRow] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]Date[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]OPP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]W[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]L[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]ERA[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]G[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]GS[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]CG[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]SHO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]SV[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]IP[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]H[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]R[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]ER[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]HR[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]BB[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]SO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]GO/AO[/TD] [TD=bgcolor: #002A5C, align: center]AVG[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right]Jun 13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]PEO[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]2.1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1.50[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center].000[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: right]Jun 16[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]BUR[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]4.50[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center]2.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #CCCCCC, align: center].300[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow odd] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: right]Jun 23[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]@CR[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0.00[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]6.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center] 1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center]1.80[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #FFFFFF, align: center].000[/TD] [/TR] [TR=class: dataRow highlightRow even] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: right]Totals[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center] [/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]3[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]4[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]5.16[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]15[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]13[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]1[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]68.0[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]75[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]55[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]39[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]5[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]15[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]54[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center]2.10[/TD] [TD=class: dataCell, bgcolor: #EEEEEE, align: center].265[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] Here's Jim Crikket's piece on the game.