07/30/10

Hits since June 1, 2003

TwinsCentric Trade Deadline Primer Update – I understand that the site used to order the electronic books has been down for awhile, but it has been corrected and you can again order your copy now.   

Friday, July 30, 2010

Moving Day!

Before we get started, I want to let people in the Twin Cities know that I will be on Fox 9’s Primetime show tonight at about 10:15 for a few minutes to discuss the Twins and the trade deadline. If you have a chance to watch it, please let me know what you think. If anyone can send it to me, or youtube it, cool!

Wilson Ramos is packing and moving today. So is Joe Testa. Matt Capps is moving, and I am moving. The two Twins minor leaguers were traded late on Thursday night for the Nationals All Star closer. Me? After three years of living in the Twin Cities, I am packing up and moving back up to Warroad today and throughout this weekend. (in other words, I don’t know if I will be able to post any updates here, but I will be on Twitter a lot, so as I hear anything, I’ll post some quick thoughts there. So, follow me at www.Twitter.com/SethTweets.  

But to the important stuff, the Twins acquired a bullpen arm, but at what cost? I have to be honest, my thoughts on the deal have kind of gone back and forth in the last couple of hours since the deal was made official. When I first read the reports that Wilson Ramos had been pulled from the Rochester Red Wings lineup and there was speculation that the Twins were close on Capps, I didn’t think that the Twins would give up that much.

When I heard that the deal was official, and complete, I was in awe, shocked that the Twins would give up their most expendable trade prospect for a reliever that, frankly, isn’t any better than current closer Jon Rauch.

I know I’m not a good blogger in that I tend to look at everything from various angles, players, front office, fans and more. So, as I was driving home, my mind was all over the place on why this trade might make sense from the Twins perspective. Over the last few hours, I have had several conversations with people who have asked, “why does this move make sense for the Twins?” I have had to come up with answers, but in the end, my general opinion of the trade does not change.

So, why is this trade good for the Twins?

To get an established All-Star reliever for a minor leaguer makes the 2010 Twins bullpen and roster stronger. Specifically, he will be replacing Jon Rauch as the team’s closer and has been a little bit better than Rauch in 2010. So, the 2010 roster is better. Many Twins fans, and even players such as Torii Hunter and Johan Santana frequently complained and wondered aloud when this “future” would come, when would the future be now/ From that perspective, the Twins did make themselves a better team in 2010 by this move. This is that kind of move where they are giving up part of the future to help win now.

Secondly, he is just 26 years old. Most of these prospect-for-veteran deals involve someone in his 30s, or even on his last wind. Capps is Young and theoretically has room for improvement.

Following the 2010 season, Rauch, Matt Guerrier and Jesse Crain will become free agents. Capps still has one more year of arbitration remaining, so he will be around in 2011 as well. This provides some additional insurance for the Twins bullpen next year, specifically if Joe Nathan is unable to pitch right away.

Finally, there are a lot of similarities between Jon Rauch and Matt Capps. Rauch is a solid bullpen arm, so adding another solid bullpen arm is a good thing. Capps is slightly better than Rauch, but that’s not a ringing endorsement. 

So, why is this trade questionable for the Twins?

For this, I will start with the same answer I gave for my final reason this is a good trade; there are a lot of similarities between Capps and Rauch.

Most of these numbers and rates are very similar with a slight edge going to Capps. So Capps is an improvement over Rauch, but how much?

Yes, he will be under Twins control for 2011, but after making $3.5 million in 2010, he could make upwards of $6-7 million in 2011. That is one thing if Capps is the Twins closer, but if Joe Nathan does come back, do we really want a Rauch-esque 8^th inning guy making that kind of money? This likely means that the Twins will not keep at least two (and possibly three) of the current bullpen of Guerrier/Rauch/Crain.

As decent as Capps has been in 2010, he was non-tendered by the Pittsburgh Pirates after a 2009 season in which he had an ERA of 5.80 and a WHIP of 1.66. With 45 innings pitched this year, he is less than ten innings from exceeding his number of innings pitched each of the last two years. That is probably not a concern, but it is worth noting.

Capps is quite hittable, but he has struck out more than Rauch does. It allows Rauch to move back to the 8^th inning and Crain and Guerrier and Mijares and the rest of the bullpen to fill in starting earlier in the game. But Capps will keep ninth innings as nerve-racking as Rauch did. Rauch will make us equally nervous in the 8^th inning. Guerrier has been having us nervous for awhile. So, the bullpen has more decent options, but I don’t know that I will have a lot more confidence in it.

But trading Ramos?

Listen, I fully understand that Ramos was expendable. With Joe Mauer signed for most of the next decade, Ramos was not necessary, even if I have illustrated a way that they could co-exist on the same time. Despite his struggles in Rochester (hitting about .240), he remains a Top 5 prospect. He is a good defensive catcher with a strong arm. We believe that he can hit for average and that he has tremendous power potential. In spring training, Gardy and nearly all of the Twins players wanted Ramos to be on the team’s Opening Day roster. Ramos was hitting some of the longest, most impressive home runs. And yet, Ramos has never posted an OPS of .800 in the minor leagues. Of course, I believe that is due to development of that power and that the still-just-22 year old will develop a lot of power. He doesn’t walk and have particularly good plate discipline, something that could make reaching that potential less likely.

But he is a very good prospect, to be sure. We know that the Twins and Mariners did have a deal in the works for Cliff Lee that centered around Ramos. Some teams seem to think highly of Ramos. So, it makes it hard to believe that a future good defense/good offense catcher is only worth one of the worst closers in baseball. We are not talking about Joakim Soria here. Again, this is not a knock on Capps as much as just being incredibly surprised or disappointed that the Twins used their top trade chip and didn’t get more.

As I’ve alluded to a couple of times, the difference between Matt Capps and Jon Rauch is not very large. Last August, the Twins acquired Rauch for Kevin Mulvey, a pitcher who began the season last year as a bottom-of-the-Top-10 Twins prospect. By the time that he was dealt in August, he was probably not even a Top 20 prospect of the team. Two months ago, a Twins fan could have made an argument that Ramos was the Twins #1 prospect (I wouldn’t have, but it could have been made). Even with his struggles, he was still easily a Twins Top 5 prospect. It is just my opinion that the Twins could have received much more for such a prospect.   

The Nationals also receive left-handed reliever Joe Testa in the deal. It has been a tough year for Testa. After dominating at Beloit and Ft. Myers in 2009, he began 2010 in AA New Britain. He struggled with control and eventually was sent back to Ft. Myers. This is a great opportunity for him, and he is excited about the opportunity.

SUMMARY

Matt Capps makes the 2010 Minnesota Twins a little bit better. How much better? I don’t think he is a difference-maker, by any means. I think Wilson Ramos is a very good prospect and that he was expendable for the Twins. I just think they could have received something more for him. But maybe they really couldn’t and this was the best they could actually get for him. If that is true, I personally think they should have kept him. The Nationals signed Capps to a one year deal after he was non-tendered by the Pirates in the offseason and were able to turn him into a great young catching prospect who could be a key contributor to their club for the next decade.

Capps takes Ramos’s spot on the 40 man roster, but whose spot will he take on the 25 man roster? Who will be sent to Rochester to take Ramos’s roster spot there? I can’t help but think it would be Nick Blackburn although the Red Wings may need another catcher beyond Danny Lehmann who is there by himself now. So, it could be Jose Morales, but it also could be Nick Blackburn (so the Twins don’t have 13 pitchers) with someone like Allan de San Miguel heading back to Rochester.

If you have any thoughts on the trade and its affect on the Twins, feel free to leave them here. If there are other deals around baseball over the weekend, please feel free to discuss them here as well. I will likely not have internet access until Monday up north.

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Thursday in the Twins minor league system:

Red Wings Report   

Jacque Jones had two hits including his 20^th double and drove in four runs, but it wasn’t enough in the Red Wings 13-6 loss to Gwinnett. David Bromberg started and gave up three runs on seven hits and a walk in five innings. Brad Hennessey then gave up three runs and got just one out. Tim Lahey got the final two outs of the 6^th inning but not before he gave up two more runs. Jose Lugo got one out, but he gave up five more runs. Pat Neshek got the last two outs of the seventh inning. Then Rob Delaney pitched a scoreless inning during which he struck out two (which means that he has struck out eight of the last nine batters that he has faced).

New Britain Notes

A three run lead going into the ninth inning was not enough and New Britain lost 8-7 to Bowie. Bobby Lanigan started and gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings. Cole DeVries then got four outs without allowing a run. Carlos Gutierrez went the next 1.2 innings without giving up a run. But he started the ninth inning and gave up four runs in the ninth. He left the game with the based loaded, and Chris Province came in and gave up two hits and a walk to blow the save and give Gutierrez the loss. Chris Parmelee remains white hot. He was 3-4 with his 17^th double. Joe Benson had two hits including his 16^th AA home run (and his 20^th overall). Steve Singleton was 2-4 with his third triple and three RBI. Ben Revere was 2-5. Erik Lis was 2-4 with his seventh AA homer and three RBI.

Miracle Matters

 Bruce Pugh is back! The righty recorded his fifth win of the year (in the Miracle’s 3-2 win) with nine innings of two-run ball. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out eight. He left after nine innings in a 2-2 game. But Chris Hermann drove in a run on a single in the 10^th, and Dakota Watts pitched a scoreless bottom of the 10^th for the save. Brian Dozier and Nick Romero each went 3-5. Romero added his 13^th double. Angel Morales hit his second triple.

Snappers Snippets

Beloit had a nice, easy 13-1 win over Burlington. Danny Rams was 3-5 with his 19^th double and his 11^th home run. Derek McCallum was 2-5 with his 11^th double. Lance Ray was 2-4. Edgar Ibarra picks up the win. He gave up just one run on four hits in seven innings. The lefty walked one and struck out six. Nelvin Fuentes struck out five in two scoreless innings.

E-Twins Talkers

Elizabethton beat Johnson City 12-2. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-5 with his 11^th home run, one of three home runs for the E-Twins. Daniel Santana hit his 6^th double and second home run in five at bats. Brian Burke was 3-5 with his seventh double, first triple and fourth home run. Nate Roberts was 4-5 with his third double and first triple. Jamaal Hawkins and Andy Leer were each 2-4. Martire Garcia improved to 5-0 with 5.1 strong innings. He gave up a run on five hits and two walks. He struck out ten. Michael Tonkin came in and gave up a run on two hits in 2.2 innings. He did not allow a walk and struck out six. Logan Darnell pitched a scoreless ninth.

GCL Twins Topics

The GCL Twins won 7-2 over the Rays. Justin Parker gave up one run on six hits and a walk in five innings. Steve Hirschfeld struck out two in a perfect inning in his second rehab game. Matt Schuld gave up a run on three hits in two innings. Nick Alloway struck out two in a one-hit inning. Matt Parker was 2-3 with a walk and a double. JaDamion Williams went 2-4 with his second double. Rory Rhodes went 2-5.

Any thoughts on the trade, the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Thursday, July 28, 2010

Twins Topics

At about 9:15-9:20 this morning, I will be joining Paul Allen on KFAN, its affiliates around the state and on KFAN.com. It’s been a lot of fun talking about the Twins all season long and today is no exception. The Twins have given us a ton to talk about:

·         The Trade Deadline: Who should the Twins target, who would they be willing to give up, and what is their prioritized list of needs?

·         The Offensive Juggernaut: Although they were held down to six runs on Wednesday, the Twins have scored a ton of runs and tallied a bunch of hits

·         Danny Valencia has been incredible, but so has Joe Mauer. So has Delmon Young. So has, well, everyone.

·         The starting pitching has been terrific. In the last ten days, Carl Pavano is the only guy who started a game and didn’t get a Quality Start. He and Francisco Liriano should be mentioned as Cy Young candidates. Baker, Slowey and now Duensing have been solid their last couple of times out. Can it continue?

·         Gardy says Michael Cuddyer is the team’s most valuable player. I understand what he is saying and why he would say it, but who has been the Twins MVP?

·         The four TwinsCentric guys got together the other night, and there were several topics discussed. If the playoffs started today and the Twins were in it, who would you have start Game 1 against the Yankees, Rays, Rangers, whoever? Pavano or Liriano? Or is this like the old Twins debate about who was more valuable, Justin Morneau or Joe Mauer (Answer: just be happy we have them both right now!)?

·         Can Nick Blackburn really work on his struggles by pitching in the bullpen and rarely seeing game action? Would AAA time be better?

·         When Justin Morneau comes off the DL, who is sent down? What about when Orlando Hudson does? Alexi Casilla and Jason Repko are out of options. The team has three catchers? What to do. What to do!

·         What happens if Nick Punto has to go on the Disabled List now with his hamstring?

·         What prospects are “untouchable”? With Cliff Lee and Dan Haren already dealt, are there any players available worth giving up a Top 10 prospect for?  Could it be in their best interest to wait until August to deal?

·         Bullpen is now being discussed as a Twins need. How are Glen Perkins, Anthony Swarzak, Kyle Waldrop, Pat Neshek or others doing in AAA Rochester? Are there any dark horse minor leaguers that could help in 2010?

These are some of the topics that we could discuss. You’ll have to listen in to see how I answer these or any other Twins topics we discuss. It’s nice that they are playing well right now. They won six out of seven games on the road. That is impressive no matter who the opponent. How would you answer? What other topics and questions are there currently surrounding the Twins? Leave your questions or comments here.

Time will be at a premium for me the next several days with other, personal things, but I will try to blog occasionally.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Oh Danny Boy

Wilson Ramos was called up to the Twins for a few weeks in April. He had four hits in his big league debut and followed it with three more hits the next day. Quite impressive to say the least. Very few in big league history had knocked out seven base hits in their first two big league games. But what Danny Valencia has done in the last four games in incredible. Let’s not forget that since the All-Star break, Valencia started one game at 3B, then Nick Punto started three, then Valencia started three, then Punto started four (I’m not going to look it up, but it was something like that). So, when Valencia started on Saturday night in Baltimore, I thought that it was just his turn. What he has done should nearly cement his role as the Twins third baseman of the future and more important right now, their third baseman of the present. He had three hits on Saturday. He had another three hits on Sunday. He had four hits on Monday night including his first Major League home run, a grand slam off of the Royals’ Zach Greinke. And last night, he managed four more hits. You will want to check out Phil Mackey’s article to see the historical nature of this run that Valencia and the Twins are on.

Many were amazed when the Twins were able to draft Valencia in the 19^th round of the 2006 draft. Someone who had done so well at a national powerhouse like the University of Miami should not  be available on Day 2 of the draft, much less in the 19^th round. But to the credit of the Twins and their scouting department, they made the selection. Since then, Valencia has done nothing but hit all the way up the system. He got off to a slow start this year, no question. The lack of home runs was certainly noteworthy. But as you know, I’m big on minor league track record meaning something, so I believed that the power would come. He has five doubles and a home run among the 14 hits from the last four games.

The Twins did well in the 2006 draft. Jeff Manship was taken in the 14^th round out of Notre Dame, and he has already contributed at the big league level. Chris Parmelee was the first round pick that year, and he is on an absolute tear right now at New Britain. 2^nd round pick Joe Benson has established himself as one of the team’s best and most exciting prospects. Brian Dinkelman is playing well in Rochester, and he was an 8^th round pick. Steve Singleton leads the Twins system in doubles, in AA, and has to be considered an option as a future 2B. And don’t forget that Anthony Slama was the team’s 39^th round selection that year (although he went back to the University of San Diego and signed with the Twins before the 2007 draft. And Rob Delaney, who has two saves in two chances (with six strikeouts against six batters faced in those two appearances) since Slama was promoted to the Twins, signed after not being drafted that June. If that kind of success doesn’t scream the need to credit the Twins scouts, I don’t know what does.

Danny Valencia has been great in terms of his willingness to do Q&As. He has made four or five appearances on my podcasts. This is why it’s OK to be a blogger instead of a real journalist. It is OK for me to admit in writing that I am really happy for this success and hope that it continues for Danny, and of course because I’m a big Twins fan.

When I was figuring out a format and story ideas for the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook, I really wanted to have an article called Danny Valencia: On the Cusp. After finishing last year at Rochester, I figured it was just a matter of time before he would be in the big leagues. Valencia answered a lot of questions for me for the article and I think it turned out great.

Below is a small chunk of that article… (To read the rest, and much more, including a Q&A with Jeff Manship, a 2009 draft review with an interview with former Gopher Derek McCallum, and lots of information and stories on the Twins work with international signings including quotes from Tom Stuifbergen, Trevor Plouffe, Liam Hendriks and more… plus over 150 profiles on Twins prospects, click here to order you copy(ies) of the Minnesota Twins 2010 Prospect Handbook).

Danny Valencia was born in September of 1984 in Boca Raton, Florida. He played in many baseball leagues, and was playing on travel teams by the time he was eight years old. After a year at UNC-Greensboro in which he hit .338, Valencia headed back home to play for the University of Miami. As a sophomore, he hit .300/.355/.471. As a junior, he hit .324/.382/.475 with nine home runs.

In a 2007 Seth Speaks.net Q&A, Valencia said, “It was an awesome experience to play for one of the best programs in the country.  It was also great to play close to home.  I had a great time at Miami, and we are all very close with one another, like family.”

The Twins almost inexplicably were able to draft him in the 19^th round of the 2006 draft. Twins Director of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff, who was in charge of the draft at the time, told SethSpeaks.net, “Every year there are some unexplainable draft situations. We are very fortunate to be able to add a player of Danny’s abilities in such a late round. Our scouts Hector Otero and Tim O’Neil deserve credit for staying with their convictions in Danny’s talents and eventual desire to sign a professional contract.”

Valencia was expecting to be drafted much earlier too. “I was surprised not being selected the first day since I had been told I would go earlier. No one is sure why, but some thought I was going back for my senior year, but I really wanted to play pro ball.”

He signed quickly and reported to Elizabethton. In 48 games, he hit .311/.365/.505 with 13 doubles and eight home runs.

…

Danny Valencia is on the cusp. But he still has areas where he can continue to improve.

After walking a reasonable amount of time throughout his minor league career, Valencia walked just five times in over 280 plate appearances at Triple A. In the spring, he worked a lot with Twins legend Tony Oliva. “Tony is a great guy and constantly would give me pointers on my approach when I’m in the batter’s box. He pretty much told me to take what the pitcher gave me and not try to do too much at the plate. I feel it helped me this year a lot because I walked a bunch in AA. Since being in Triple A, I feel like the pitchers have 5 balls and 2 strikes.”

What about his defense? Remember that he only moved to third base during his college years. He had primarily been a first baseman.  When asked about his defense in a SethSpeaks.net interview in August of 2009, Valencia said, “I feel my defense has gotten better every year. I still have work to do and I will continue to work hard at it. Not everyone is Joe Crede. I’d like to be able to play with him so he could give me pointers that would help me be a better third baseman.”

…

Following the season, Valencia was added to the Twins 40 man roster. “Being added to the roster meant a lot to me. It made me feel like all the hard work and sacrifices I've made throughout my life are paying off, and I'm just thrilled that the Minnesota Twins organization has recognized it as well. It's also nice to have been able to make my family proud with this accomplishment and hopefully many more to come in the future.”

The Twins encouraged Valencia to play winter ball during the offseason, so he spent about a month playing for Indios de Mayaguez. “Playing winter ball in Puerto Rico has been a great experience all around. Aside from the fact that I've been able to work on certain baseball-related things, I feel as if I’ve been able to grow as a person through becoming more accustomed to other people’s ways of life. I have a newfound respect for Latin players and what they have to go through to be able to have a chance to play baseball in the US. Sometimes many people, including myself, forget how lucky we are to have the things we have, and the opportunities we get, being from the United States.”

Valencia will head to big league camp again in 2010. This time, he is on the 40 man roster, and this time, he has been there before.  “Going into this spring training, I’m most excited about being able to have the chance to really show our coaches and players that I could be a guy they can count on to help the team in the near future.”

What will it mean to get that final promotion, this one to the big leagues? “Getting the big league promotion would really just be probably one of the best feelings I could ever experience. Seeing my name on the back of our big league uniform really would be surreal. It would all just be a culmination of all the hard work, dedication, and sacrifice my family and I have devoted over the years. It would probably be one of the happiest days of my life.”

Valencia is now a big leaguer, and he has accomplished a ton. I think he has shown great improvement since his promotion less than two months ago and that should only continue as he gets more at bats and learns. But he has already shown that he can be counted on.

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Tuesday in the Twins minor league system:

Red Wings Report   

Despite Matt Macri’s 6^th home run of the year, a three run blast in the top of the 9^th, the Red Wings fell to Gwinett 6-3. Brian Dinkelman was 2-3 with a walk and his 25^th double. Matt Fox gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks in five innings. Alex Burnett gave up two runs on three hits in two innings. Pat Neshek then threw a scoreless inning.

New Britain Notes

The Rockcats lost 4-3 to league-leading Trenton. Deolis Guerra gave up four runs (3 earned) on nine hits (including 2 HR) in six innings. Tony Davis got two batters out, and then Carlos Gutierrez came in and got the final four outs. The team managed just six hits, but three of them were doubles. Steve Singleton hit his 32^nd. Joe Benson hit his 15^th AA double. Juan Portes hit a pinch-hit double, his 13^th of the year.

Miracle Matters

Dan Osterbrock continued to pitch great for the Miracle in the team’s 4-2 win over Dunedin. The lefty gave up two runs on six hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out eight. Michael Allen threw two hitless innings. Dakota Watts pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his first save. Nathan Hanson went 4-4 with his 12^th double. Deibinson Romero hit his fourth and fifth home runs. Angel Morales moved into the leadoff spot and went 2-5.

Snappers Snippets

The Snappers, and everyone else in the Midwest League, had the day off. Brad Stillings was activated from the Disabled List, and Sam Spangler was promoted from Elizabethton. 

E-Twins Talkers

With an out in the 10^th inning, Nate Roberts came up with Daniel Santana on 1B. He hit a walk-off double to give the E-Twins a 3-2 win over Greeneville. Manuel Soliman pitched well again. In 6.2 innings, he gave up two runs on seven hits. He walked two and struck out a very impressive 13 batters. Ryan O’Rourke threw 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up three walks, walked none and struck out five. Zach See improved to 5-0 out of the E-Twins bullpen by getting the final two outs of the top of the 10^th. Brian Burke went 2-3 with a walk and his third home run. Oswaldo Arcia added his 16^th double.

GCL Twins Topics

The GCL Twins lost 5-3 with the GCL Orioles. Miguel Sano played SS (committed his 7^th error and) went 2-5 with his sixth double. Candido Pimentel was also 2-5. Max Kepler went 2-4. Kennys Vargas hit his third home run. On the other side of the spectrum, it was a tough game for Niko Goodrum. The Twins 2^nd round pick went 0-5 with five strikeouts. Cesar Ciurcina gave up four runs (3 earned) on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Bart Carter gave up an unearned run in his inning. Pat Dean threw two shutout innings. He gave up a hit and struck out two. 

Any thoughts on the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Tuesday Notes

·         My TwinsCentric Star Tribune.com article for this week is called Timing is Everything!

·         Last night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast has a ton of information for Twins fans and all of the Monday minor league box scores and highlights. Yes, I even mention the 10^th Oswaldo Arcia home run for Elizabethton.

·         At 1:10 today, I will be a guest on Sports Talk on WDAY radio in Fargo (970 am).

·         With the Twins playing well again, you’ll want to hurry and book your Twins Train trip to Cleveland or Chicago in August. I’m sure they will fill up with Twins fans ready to watch the team play well and fight toward a division championship. Click here for everything you need to know.

·         Congrats to Danny Valencia on his first big league home run. How cool was it to see him hit a grand slam off of the reigning Cy Young Award winner. Also, a 4-4 day with four runs scored, four RBI, a walk, two doubles and a grand slam is a pretty solid game.

·         Joe Mauer was 5-5 with seven RBI, and his sixth home run.

·         Quietly, Delmon Young had another four hit game with two more doubles.

·         1500espn’s Tom Pelissero is saying that the Twins and Jays are ‘close’ to a deal. Details are uncertain, but it will be interesting to see if anything comes of the rumor.

·         On October 27, 2006, former Twins pitcher Joe Niekro suddenly died of a brain aneurysm. The Joe Niekro Foundation was established in 2007 in honor of the pitcher. On its website, “The Joe Niekro Foundation is committed to aiding in the research and treatment of aneurysm patients and families. Our goal is to raise awareness about aneurysm factors, causes, treatments and research.  All funds are used to educate the public about brain aneurysms, to support patients and families, and to develop awareness programs and educational materials for hospitals, clinics, and other institutions worldwide.”On Saturday, July 31, the Twins are hosting Brain Aneurysm Day at Target Field. During the game, fans will be encouraged to participate in a “Text to Give” campaign by texting the word Strikeout to 20222. By doing so, a $10 donation to The Joe Niekro Foundation will appear on the donor’s cell phone. A portion of the night’s proceeds will go to brain aneurysm research at Mayo Clinic. Joe’s daughter, Natalie, president and founder of The Joe Niekro Foundation will be on field with her father’s former teammates, Dan Gladden and Tim Laudner, as well as Mayo Clinic neurologist and brain aneurysm expert, Robert Brown, M.D.   

Monday, July 26, 2010

Getaway Lineup Dominates

Like I wrote yesterday, I liked the “Gardy Getaway Lineup” for a day. No, I didn’t expect it to score ten runs on 19 hits, but unlike most, I expect the backups to perform admirably. That is their role. That is why they are on the team. Now, we can’t expect Danny Valencia to get three hits in back-to-back games every time. We can’t expect Alexi Casilla to record three hits in games all the time, but he has done it before and can again. We can’t expect Jason Repko to get extra base hits or hit home runs (I mean, he’s only got 12 big league homers), but we can expect him to play very good defense. We can’t expect Joe Mauer to catch every day, especially not in the grueling conditions that Orioles Park provided for the four game series. We can’t expect Drew Butera to hit triples and have multi-hit games, but we can expect him to lead a pitcher through a start, block balls in the dirt and play great defense. We can’t expect JJ Hardy and Denard Span to play every day, but again, we can expect their backups to play hard and contribute.

Yes, I get a little annoyed at some of the discussion of “Gardy Getaway Day Lineups.” I’m not dumb, and I realize that in taking starters out, it means someone less likely to contribute will be in the lineup. I get if there are a couple of guys out of the lineup, it could compound the situation. But maybe I’m weird. Maybe I just look at things differently. I think that big leaguers are big leaguers. I believe that backup big leaguers and AAAA types of players are still really good at baseball and on a given day, they can contribute. I expect that they will play hard and do everything they can to help the team win because several of them don’t get many opportunities and simply want to take advantage of it.

The other thing to remember is that even when 3-4 regulars are out of the lineup, 5-7 regulars still are in the lineup and they continue to be expected to perform. Yesterday, the team got a grand slam from Jason Kubel and solo homers from Delmon Young and Jim Thome. One more nugget that can’t be ignored is that it was against the Baltimore Orioles, the worst team in the big leagues. And yet, that is a team that has hitters like Miguel Tejada, Luke Scott, Ty Wigginton, Brian Roberts, Adam Jones and more. That is why good teams like the Twins, the Yankees, the Red Sox, the Rays have to  be thrilled when they go there and win three out of four.

But it all comes down to starting pitching, doesn’t it? And the Twins got great pitching throughout the series. Yes, I do tend to give credit to Drew Butera for his work behind the plate. And no, I won’t apologize or feel bad for that. I know I took some grief late last week when I dared to say that he is a better defensive catcher right now than Joe Mauer. Lots want to say that Mauer is hurt, and I 100% agree with that. I think, when healthy, Mauer is a very good defensive catcher. But I added the “right now” part to indicate that Butera is healthy, and he does a very good job of blocking balls in the dirt, balls that Mauer likely plays differently if he is healthy.

But back to the pitching. Slowey looked pretty good yesterday. He still has some work to do. His control is not there yet. In fact, there were several times in one inning when Butera was set up inside, and Slowey split the plate. There were times when he was supposed to throw it outside, and the ball ran over the inner half of the plate. But it was a good outing. It was something to build on for his next start.

I get the frustration. I want to see the best too. I would love for Mauer and Morneau and Hudson to be in the lineup every day… all three are hurt. JJ Hardy has been playing well of late, but that doesn’t mean that he should not get a day off too. And frankly, I don’t know that there is a big drop off in production when you have Valencia at 3B and Punto at SS as compared to Punto at 3B and Hardy at SS. And although he had two hits on Saturday night, Span has not been consistent this year, so I have no problem with him being replaced in CF by Repko who is very good defensively.

Following the game, Hudson was put on the Disabled List and Jose Morales was called up to the big leagues. Of late, he has really started hitting. He raised his average from the .230s to .284 when he was summoned. I don’t expect him to catch much at all, unless in an emergency situation. I expect that he will be a solid pinch-hitting option off the bench who can hit from both sides. There is value in that. It also allows Joe Mauer to be the DH more over time since Morales would be there as a backup catching option.

To replace Morales in Rochester, Danny Lehmann will be heading to the Red Wings as Wilson Ramos’s backup.

The Twins now head to Kansas City, which ought to be good and hot and muggy too. Tonight, they get to face Zach Greinke, so even though the Royals are not a great team, they can’t be overlooked. They were hurt (literally) by the David DeJesus season-ending injury. He is someone that they could have received a nice package from a contender in a trade this week. Alex Gordon is back with the Royals as an outfielder after destroying the Pacific Coast League. The Twins can’t overlook the Royals.

And, speaking of the Trade Deadline, do you have your copy of the TwinsCentric Trade Deadline Primer yet? If not, get your copy today! (Or at least check out the FREE Sample!)

The Twins didn’t get Cliff Lee, and as of Sunday afternoon, they did not receive Dan Haren. Instead, the Arizona righty was shipped to the Angels in exchange for lefty Joe Saunders, whose 2010 ERA (4.62) is approximately the same as Haren’s 2010 ERA in Arizona, and three minor leaguers. John Bonnes wrote of the trade here, and is just fine with the Twins not acquiring Haren, and frankly, so am I.

By the way, an all-new SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast will begin at 9:00 central time tonight. Check it out. 

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Sunday in the Twins minor league system:

Red Wings Report   

On Sunday, the Red Wings lots 7-2 to Scranton/Wilkes Barre. Anthony Swarzak gave up six runs on nine hits and a walk in 3.1 innings. Brad Hennessey gave up a run on four hits and two walks in the next 2.2 innings. Jose Lugo threw two shutout innings before Kyle Waldrop pitched a one-hit inning. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his 24^th double. Dustin Martin was 2-4 with a walk.

New Britain Notes

The Rockcats and New Hampshire were tied going into the bottom of the 8^th. With two outs and no one on, the Rockcats managed consecutive singles from Chris Cates, Ben Revere, Brandon Roberts, Chris Parmelee and Jair Fernandez to take the 9-6 lead that they would hold for the game’s final score. Roberts was 3-4 with a walk, his first home run and four runs scored. Chris Parmelee went 3-5 with his 16^th double and three RBI. Ben Revere was 2-5. Jair Fernandez went 2-4 with a walk and his 10^th double. Chris Cates was 2-4. Steve Singleton hit his 31^st double and drove in two runs. Tyler Robertson went the first 5.2 innings and gave up three runs (2 earned). He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out two. Cole DeVries gave up three runs on three hits in 1.1 innings. Billy Bullock struck out four in two scoreless innings for the win.

Miracle Matters

Michael Tarsi gave up six runs (5 earned) in the first four innings, and the Miracle were unable to recover. The team lost 6-3 to Brevard County. Steve Blevins threw three shutout innings. Joe Testa threw two scoreless frames. Evan Bigley went 3-4. Jonathan Goncalves were 2-3 with a walk.

Snappers Snippets

The Snappers fell 8-4 to West Michigan. Clinton Dempster made his first Beloit start and went just two innings. He gave up four runs (2 earned) on three hits. He walked five and struck out one. Nelvin Fuentes went the next three innings and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. Matt Tone struck out two in two scoreless innings. Andrei Lobanov gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning. Aaron Hicks went 1-2 with three walks. James Beresford was 2-5 with his 11^th double and his 10^th and 11^th stolen base. Steve Liddle was 2-5.

E-Twins Talkers

On Sunday, the Elizabethton Twins defeated Burlington 7-1 behind the right arm of Adrian Salcedo. The 19 year old gave up just one run on four hits. He walked none and struck out ten in six innings. Jean Mijares gave up no runs in 1.1 innings despite giving up a hit and two walks. David Gutierrez struck out two in 1.2 perfect innings. Jamaal Hawkins went 3-5 with his fifth and sixth doubles. Nate Roberts was 2-4 with a walk and his fourth triple. Danny Ortiz was 2-5. Jhonatan Arias was 1-3 with a walk, his third home run and three RBI.

·         Salcedo has been terrific with the E-Twins. In his 47 innings with the team, he has four walks and 52 strikeouts. When he was at Ft. Myers, he held his own, but clearly he is where he should be now. In 27.1 innings with the Miracle, he walked eight and struck out just 16. Last year with the GCL Twins, Salcedo walked three and struck out 58 in 52 innings of work. It’s fun to watch such a young talent truly succeed at the level he should be at. That’s why I believe that it is best for BJ Hermsen and Michael Tonkin to be back with the E-Twins.

GCL Twins Topics

The GCL Twins had the day off on Sunday.

Any thoughts of the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Sunday Morning Notes

I went to church last night, a 100^th Anniversary celebration of St. Paul’s Lutheran School in Perham, MN. My mom is the current principal of the school, my dad was in from the mid-70s through the mid-90s, and my grandma was back in the day too. My siblings and I all went there in elementary school. It was a very nice service and event.

So, I have a little extra time on Sunday morning and thought I would post a quick update of what’s been going on in the Twins organization.

Let’s start with the Twins themselves. The team lost a 3-2 game on Friday night. It’s incredible how similar the careers of Pat Neshek and Anthony Slama really are. When Neshek was promoted, he had been dominating minor league opponents, accumulating a lot of strikeouts. Like Neshek, Slama did have some struggles against left-handed hitters. So when Luke Scott came to the plate against him in the 6^th inning, it was not a good matchup. That said, Neshek was just fine and we should not read too much into the Scott home run. Unfortunately, the Twins were not able to get another run to keep the game going.

On Saturday, the Twins got a nice 7-2 win over the Orioles. Scott Baker was very good. He gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out eight. Matt Guerrier and Jon Rauch each threw a scoreless frame. Delmon Young again led the offense. He went 4-4 with his 12^th home run and three RBI. Danny Valencia was 3-5 with his fourth double. Denard Span and JJ Hardy each had two hits and a stolen base.

On Sunday afternoon, the Twins will play Game 4 of this series in Baltimore against the Orioles. Kevin Slowey will take the mound, and he will be supported by this lineup:

Jason Repko – CF

Alexi Casilla – 2B

Delmon Young – LF

Jim Thome – DH

Michael Cuddyer – 1B

Jason Kubel – RF

Danny Valencia – 3B

Nick Punto – SS

Drew Butera – C

I know people will call it a Sunday Getaway lineup, and it is, but I also have no problem with it. With the heat and humidity in Baltimore, I think that it makes a lot of sense to give guys a break. Obviously Orlando Hudson is out of the lineup, and it only makes sense for Joe Mauer to be out of the lineup. Denard Span gets a day off, and Jason Repko gets another start after a big double the night before. Repko is a very strong defensive CF. Obviously I never have a problem with Valencia being in the lineup. And I am actually looking forward to seeing if Drew Butera can help Kevin Slowey on the mound today. And, these are all major leaguers, so I still expect them to play well and give the team a chance to win. 

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Thursday in the Twins minor league system:

You’ll also want to check out Roger’s Minor League Report at Twinkie Town.

Red Wings Report   

On Friday night, the Red Wings beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-4. Jeff Manship gave up three runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Tim Lahey threw two scoreless. Pat Neshek gave up a run on a solo home run in 1.1 innings. Rob Delaney recorded his first save of the year. Trevor Plouffe went 2-3 with a walk and his 19^th and 20^th doubles. Dustin Martin was 2-3 with his 10^th home. Jose Morales, Wilson Ramos and Brock Peterson each went 2-4.

On Saturday, the Red Wings beat the Barons 5-3. David Bromberg made his second AAA start and gave up three runs on five hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out seven. Alex Burnett and Rob Delaney each threw a scoreless inning, Delaney recording his second save. Brendan Harris went 3-4 with his seventh double. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 with his seventh home run, fifth stolen base and three RBI. Wilson Ramos added his fifth home run. 

New Britain Notes

On Friday, the Rockcats lost 6-2 to New Hampshire. Chris Parmelee went 2-4 with his 13^th and 14^th doubles. Jair Fernandez went 1-3 with a walk and his ninth double. The Rockcats had just those three hits. Kyle Gibson started and gave up no runs on one hit and one walk (with 4 strikeouts) in 3.1 innings. There was a rain delay, and when play resumed, Tony Davis came in. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. Chris Province had a rough one. He gave up four runs on six hits in one inning. Loek Van Mil gave up an unearned run in his two innings. Cole DeVries struck out two in a scoreless inning.

On Saturday, Parmelee remained hot in a 3-1 Rockcats win. He went 3-4 with his 15^th double and his second steal. Ben Revere stole his 27^th base. Bobby Lanigan got his first AA win. He went 6.2 inning and gave up no runs on just three hits. He walked one and struck out two. Carlos Gutierrez recorded the save. He gave up one run on four hits in 2.1 innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out three.

Miracle Matters

The Miracle game against Brevard County was postponed on Friday night, so they played two games on Saturday. In the first game, the Miracle lost 2-1. Matt Williams gave up two runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. Michael Allen struck out three in two scoreless innings. Estarlin de Los Santos hit his ninth and tenth doubles.

In the second game, the Miracle lost 8-3. Santos Arias gave up four runs on five hits and three walks (and a hit batter) in five innings. Shooter Hunt then went the final two innings and gave up four runs on two hits and three walks (and a hit batter). Angel Morales went 2-3 with his first triple, and he stole his sixth base.

Snappers Snippets

Friday night’s matchup between the Beloit Snappers and South Bend was cancelled. On Saturday, the Snappers beat West Michigan 6-4. Danny Rams went 3-5. Aaron Hicks went 2-4 with a walk. Anderson Hidalgo was 2-4 with a walk and his 25^th double. Lance Ray was 2-5 with his first double and second home run. James Beresford went 2-5. Tom Stuifbergen started and gave up two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out five. Eliecer Cardenas gave up two runs on no hits and three walks in two innings. Matt Hauser threw two scoreless innings.  

E-Twins Talkers

On Friday, the E-Twins lost 6-2 to Burlington. The team managed just four hits. Oswaldo Arcia hit his 13^th double. Buddy Munroe and Brian Burke each hit their second home run. BJ Hermsen made his first start for the E-Twins and gave up one run on four hits and a walk in seven innings. He struck out five. Logan Darnell came in and gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits in two innings.

On Saturday, it took 14 innings for the E-Twins to top Burlington 3-2. Oswaldo Arcia went 3-3 with three walks and his 14^th and 15^th doubles. Martire Garcia went the first 6.2 innings. He gave up two unearned runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out seven. Michael Tonkin went the next 4.1 innings. He gave up five hits and two walks, but he did not allow a run thanks, in part, to six strikeouts. Zach See went the final three innings. He walked none and struck out five for the win.

GCL Twins Topics

On Friday, the GCL Twins and Red Sox were postponed by rain.  On Saturday, the Twins beat the Sox 3-1. Justin Parker went five innings and gave up just one run on six hits. He walked three and struck out five. Pat Dean finally made his professional debut and pitched a scoreless inning. Nick Alloway struck out three in two scoreless innings. Eddie Ahorrio got the save with a scoreless ninth.

Any thoughts of the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Friday, July 23, 2010

Twins Minor League Weekly

And Pavano Does It Again!

Last night at 11:00, Travis Aune and I hosted this week’s episode of Twins Minor League Weekly. The show is always fun and based on the number of live listeners and call-ins, maybe it is starting to catch on. We can hope, but even if it doesn’t, you know how much I enjoy discussing the Twins minor league system, even through its struggles this year. So, if you have a chance, please listen to the podcast and let me know what you think.

But even in a blog entitled “Twins Minor League Weekly,” it would be sad if I didn’t at least mention Carl Pavano and his terrific performance last night. He threw yet another complete game and a shutout of the Baltimore Orioles. Shortly after the completion of the game, uber-blogger Aaron Gleeman tweeted, “Carl Pavano has now started 32 games for Twins: 17-10 with 3.72 ERA, 140/35 K/BB ratio in 217.1 IP.” To that, I could only respond, “Definitely worth Yohan Pino!” At the time of the trade, I actually liked the idea of Pavano coming to the Twins, but I thought that giving up Pino, who has been a very solid pitcher throughout his pro career including at AAA last year, was maybe a little much. Well, Pavano has not only stuck around for an extra year, but he has been one of the most consistent pitchers in the league. It was his second straight complete game win, his fifth complete game of the year, and the 15^th time in 20 starts that he has completed seven innings.

The front office and the advanced scouts that told the Twins brass that Pavano should be targeted deserve a ton of credit. That’s why, although I am not one willing to give up enough in terms of prospects to go after Roy Oswalt of Dan Haren, I believe the Twins will make a deal for a “lesser known” pitcher, and maybe they can’ find lightning in a bottle. The name that came up during our podcast last night was Paul Maholm of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 28 year old lefty is 6-7 with a 4.03 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP on the season, but he has completed six innings or more in 15 of his 19 starts this season. Just another name to put in the back of your mind as the Trade Deadline approaches. Maholm is in the second year of a three year, $14.5 million contract. He is making $4. 5 million this year and will make $5.75 million in 2011. He also has an option for $9.75 million for 2012 with a $750,000 buyout.

But back to Pavano. He has been everything that the Twins and we as fans could have hoped, and more. The only problem is that he only starts once in every five games. Also on Twitter last night, I asked the question about what the Twins should do with Pavano in terms of contract and the future. I tweeted, “I'd offer Pavano a 2 year, $19 mil deal right now. $9 mil in 2010, $9 mil in 2011, $1 mil buyout of $9 million option for 2012. Thoughts?”

And the comments were excellent, in general. The results were split. There were several that said that the Twins have got to sign him and keep him in the organization. What would they do without him next year?! There are others who essentially said “Take the two draft picks and run.” That’s right, Pavano is pitching at such a level that he is now a Type A free agent meaning that if they offer him salary arbitration and he does not accept it and signs elsewhere, the Twins will receive two draft picks. I typically favor going the way of draft picks in such scenarios. However, I think that the terms of the contract I outlined above are low enough that even if he were to sign it, I would not be upset in the least. Clearly he will be, and should be, looking for a multi-year contract. He says he likes pitching in Minnesota. The off seasons of second-tier Type A free agents the last few years have been difficult because teams are so unwilling to lose draft picks that maybe Pavano would be willing to give up that free agency for comfort and to stay out of that situation. What do you think?  

Tonight, it will be Brian Duensing pitching for the Twins. According to Rick Anderson in his interview with Paul Allen on KFAN yesterday, he will be on a pitch count limit of 60-70. Hopefully that means he can get through five innings, but that’s pretty optimistic probably. It will be interesting to see if Nick Blackburn would be the guy who comes in at that point. (You can listen to the Anderson interview, and my 9:20 segment with The Voice of the Vikings, by going to FAN ON DEMAND and downloading the segments.) 

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Thursday in the Twins minor league system:

SethSpeaks Thursday Minor League Hitter of the Day – Oswaldo Arcia – Elizabethton Twins

SethSpeaks Thursday Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Matt Fox – Rochester Red Wings

Red Wings Report   

Thursday – Rochester 10, Buffalo 0 – Matt Fox was excellent in this game. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked three and struck out four. Alex Burnett made his first AAA appearance and threw 22 pitches, but did not allow a run. Jose Lugo and Rob Delaney each threw a scoreless inning. D’Angelo Jiminez went 3-5 with his seventh double and second triple. Brian Dinkelman went 3-5 with his 23^rd double. Trevor Plouffe went 2-5 with a walk, his 18^th double and his career-high 15^th home run. Brendan Harris hit his 5^th and 6^th doubles. Wilson Ramos went 2-5. 

New Britain Notes

Thursday – New Britain 10, Harrisburg 11 (10 innings) – Deolis Guerra had another rough start. In five innings, he gave up eight earned runs on six hits and three walks. Cole DeVries gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. Loek Van Mil gave up a run on two hits in his inning. Billy Bullock gave up an unearned run in two innings to take the loss. Juan Portes went 3-4 with a walk and his 12^th double. Ben Revere went 2-5 with a walk and his 26^th stolen base. Steve Singleton hit his second triple and drove in three runs.  

Miracle Matters

Thursday – Ft. Myers 5, Brevard County 4 – Bruce Pugh gave up four runs (3 earned) on five hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out five. He also committed three of the six Miracle errors. Nick Romero, Angel Morales and Drew Thompson each went 2-4. Morales hit his fourth double, and Romero hit his third triple. 

Snappers Snippets

Thursday – Beloit 3, South Bend 8 – Edgar Ibarra started and gave up only an unearned run on four hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out five. Nelvin Fuentes gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings. Matt Tone came in and gave up four runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. Peter Kennelly then gave up two earned runs on two hits and three walks in an inning. Michael Gonzales went 2-4 with his 13^th double. James Beresford was also 2-4. 

E-Twins Talkers

Thursday – Elizabethton 7, Johnson City 3 – Oswaldo Arcia had another great game. He went 3-4 with a walk, his 12^th double, and his ninth home run. He is now hitting .388/.436/.777 on the season. Danny Ortiz went 3-4 with a walk and his third home run. Brian Burke went 3-4 with his sixth double and first home run. Andy Leer hit his third homer. Manuel Solimon improved to 4-2 by giving up three runs on six hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Jose Gonzalez recorded his first save by striking out three in two hitless, scoreless innings.  

GCL Twins Topics

Thursday – GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 6 – Ricardo Arevalo gave up three runs (2 earned) on two hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out four. Matt Schuld gave up a run on three hits and two walks in two innings. Matt Trau then gave up two runs (1 earned) on one walk in one inning.  Ramon Santana went 3-4 with his second double in his rehab assignment. Fred Hanvi went 2-4 with his second double. Miguel Sano hit 2-4 with his second home run. Jorge Polanco went 1-2 with two walks. Also, the Twins signed draft pick Derek Christensen, a right-handed pitcher from Salt Lake City CC.   

Any thoughts of the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Power Potential?

Please recall that I will be making my weekly appearance with Paul Allen on KFAN, its affiliates and KFAN.com at about 9:15 on Thursday morning.

It has been a difficult season in the Twins minor league system. There have been some injuries to key hitters and pitchers. And frankly, the Twins affiliates have played really poorly. But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t plenty of players still worth watching and mentioning. Today, I am going to provide the organization’s leaders in two categories that I believe indicate future power potential. . Obviously home runs are a strong indicator for future ability to hit home runs. But I also really like to look at doubles. Hitters that are driving the ball and getting doubles could (and that’s a big could) develop home run hitting power over time. As the player gets more comfortable facing pitching, or gets stronger, or better strike zone judgment. These are all skills that have to be developed.

First, the Twins minor league leaders in Home Runs through Wednesday:

1.      Joe Benson            19        (15 – New Britain, 4 – Ft. Myers)

2.      Brock Peterson      14        (Rochester)

3.      Trevor Plouffe       14        (Rochester)

4.      Danny Rams          10        (Beloit)

5.      Michael Gonzales  10        (Beloit)

6.      Erik Lis                    8        (2 – Rochester, 6 – New Britain)

7.      Steve Liddle             8        (Beloit)

8.      Oswaldo Arcia         8        (Elizabethton)

9.      Chris Parmelee         7        (5 – New Britain, 2 – Ft. Myers)

10.  Nathan Hanson        7        (Ft. Myers)

Summary – Joe Benson’s tools are certainly become skills in 2010, at least the power tool as he leads the organization with 19 home runs. Plouffe’s career high in home runs had been 13 in 2005 at Beloit. He had 10 in Rochester in 2009. The burly Peterson still has a ways to go to reach his career high. In 2006 in Ft. Myers, Peterson hit 21 home runs. In 2006, he had 14 homers in New Britain before adding two more with the Red Wings. So his power is legitimate. Yet, despite solid production in Rochester, he has not received an opportunity from the Twins, even with the Justin Morneau injury. Danny Rams is still so young, and he has as much or more power as any player in the farm system. Like Benson, he just has to cut down the strikeouts. Michael Gonzales is a powerful left-handed bat with a long, strong swing. He too is prone to the strikeout. Lis is back in New Britain for the third straight season after starting the season in Rochester. Liddle is the nephew of the Twins bench coach, and as a product of Vanderbilt University, it is no surprise to see him on this list. The most impressive performance after Benson has to be that of Elizabethton’s Oswaldo Arcia who has eight home runs in 124 plate appearances. Chris Parmelee has been solid since his return to New Britain after a brief demotion. Hanson was born in Chanhassen, went to Eden Prairie High School and the University of Minnesota before being drafted by his home town team.

Here are the Twins minor league leaders in Doubles through Wednesday:

1.      Steve Singleton      30        (New Britain)

2.      Joe Benson            25        (14 – New Britain, 11 – Ft. Myers)

3.      Anderson Hidalgo  24        (Beloit)

4.      Brian Dinkelman   22        (Rochester)

5.      Aaron Hicks          21        (Beloit)

6.      Evan Bigley           21        (Ft. Myers)

7.      Dustin Martin         20        (Rochester)

8.      Danny Rams          19        (18 – Beloit, 1 – New Britain)

9.      Jacque Jones          19        (Rochester)

10.  Brock Peterson      18        (Rochester)

Summary – Several are asking what should be done with Orlando Hudson in the offseason. Should he be brought back? What Steve Singleton does over the next two months could also factor into that decision. Benson is high on this list as well, which again says that when he puts the ball in play, he hits that ball hard. Anderson Hidalgo has easily been the best and most consistent hitter in the Snappers lineup all season. Dinkelman just continues to produce. An outfielder now, I am convinced that he could be a solid big league contributor if only given an opportunity. Hicks has certainly had an up and down season. It will be fun to watch Hicks and his tools develop. As they were with Benson, the Twins (and us, fans) need to be patient with the ultra-talented Hicks. Evan Bigley got off to a very slow start with the Miracle, but he certainly has shown that he can hit. Martin is having a very good comeback season in Rochester. Again, as much as Rams is ‘known’ for the strikeouts, when he makes contact, he hits the ball really, really hard and has tremendous power to right field as well. Jones has been solid when healthy this year. And Peterson has again been very good all-around with the bat in AAA.

Obviously stats alone are not the lone indicator of future performance, but it never hurts to put up numbers. When you couple some raw numbers with scouting reports on some of these guys’ athleticism, it’s easy to explain why I can be excited about the potential of certain players. Consider a talent like Joe Benson, who is as impressive of an athlete as anyone I’ve met (he could have been a Big 10 running back!). It is easy to see the improvements he has made while continuing to show a very patient approach at the plate, and now you look at the numbers starting to rack up, it’s hard not to be excited about such a player. Remember also that the Twins minor leaguers tend to play in pitcher-friendly leagues and home parks, and in some cases, that can make some of these numbers look even more impressive.

First of all, take these numbers for what they are. The main thing is that it is meant as recognition for some good numbers by several players who really deserve to be noticed. Who knows? We could see some of these guys in Twins uniforms in 2010, or sometime down the road. If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. Leave Comments here.

Twins Topics

After losing to Cleveland in one of the ugliest baseball games ever (Monday night) and in a close 4-3 decision (Tuesday), the Twins, behind another impressive performance by Francisco Liriano avoided the sweep with a 6-0 win on Wednesday afternoon. The lefty improved to 8-7 and reduced his ERA to 3.54 with seven shutout innings. He gave up six hits. He walked four and struck out eight. He also got nine outs on ground balls to four on fly outs. Jesse Crain pitched another scoreless inning.

And then came the much-anticipated debut of Anthony Slama. After a leadoff single to Matt Laporta, Slama struck out Shelley Duncan and Trevor Crowe before getting Jason Donald to ground out to 3B. A very impressive debut. Now, with Jon Rauch seemingly unable to pitch in the game, it would have been very interesting to see what would have happened had the Twins held a 3-0 lead going into the 9^th inning instead of a 6-0 lead. Would Slama have been brought into a save situation? Is there any chance that Slama was brought up to replace Rauch as the Twins’ closer? I highly doubt it, even with the Rauch’s struggles since the All Star break. That said, I do not believe that it would take long for that change to take place.

The Bunt. Alright, I wrote about it yesterday a little bit. It was the talker around the Twin Cities on Wednesday. For me, my final thought is that it was dumb, but we are making way, way too much out of it. The Baby Jesus does not deserve to be crucified for it. It was a mistake. No need to dwell on it.

That said, it was a microcosm of the Twins season. Expectations for the Twins and for Mauer were incredibly high coming into the season, and although many fans have been disappointed with their performances, both are still very good. The Twins are good. Joe Mauer is good.

Mauer was given the day off on Wednesday afternoon. It was the standard day game after a night game reason, and I fully support it. But I also fully believe that Drew Butera has earned his roster spot to this point. In all honesty, his defense is terrific. His fundamentals are far and away better behind the plate than Mauer’s. He catches the ball well, frames pitches, and he blocks the balls in the dirt perfectly. He has a strong and accurate arm. No, he can’t hit. No question about that. There has been talk of Butera being Carl Pavano’s personal catcher (something the Twins have been hesitant to do). Based on the work he did with Francisco Liriano as well, maybe he should be Liriano’s personal catcher. Who knows? Maybe he should be the personal catcher for Scott Baker… and Kevin Slowey… and Brian Duensing too?  (just in case it didn’t come across, there was a bit of sarcasm in that last sentence or two.)

It’s not terribly often that a player has the line score that Jim Thome had on Wednesday afternoon. He was 0-0 with four walks.

Delmon Young had three more hits and three more RBI on Wednesday. He is now hitting .314 with 67 RBI. In his last eight games, he is 14-34 (.412) with two doubles, a homer and nine RBI.

After the game, the Twins took Alexi Casilla off of the Disabled List and sent Jeff Manship back to AAA Rochester.

The team also announced that Brian Duensing will be making a start on Friday in place of Nick Blackburn. It was probably an easy decision, but I also believe that Twins fans need to curb their enthusiasm and expectations for Duensing. Although he was terrific for the Twins in the final month of the season last year, his AAA track record indicate that he won’t have an ERA much under 5. But hopefully whatever other moves happen in the pitching staff, it will give the Twins a better chance to win.

Here is a quick glance at what happened on Wednesday in the Twins minor league system:

SethSpeaks Wednesday Minor League Hitter of the Day – Brian Dinkelman – Rochester Red Wings

SethSpeaks Wednesday Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Miguel Munoz – Beloit Snappers

Red Wings Report   

Wednesday – Rochester 9, Buffalo 2 – Glen Perkins won for the third time in July. The lefty went seven innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on seven hits. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out just one. Kyle Waldrop threw two scoreless innings in relief, striking out three. The offense provided plenty of support. Brian Dinkelman went 3-3 with two walks. Wilson Ramos was 3-4 with his 13^th double. Brendan Harris went 2-5 with a double and his second home run. D’Angelo Jimenez went 2-5 with his sixth double and first triple. Jacque Jones went 2-5 with his 19^th double. Trevor Plouffe hit his 14^th home run.

1.      In July, Glen Perkins went 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings.

2.      In his last five games, Wilson Ramos has gone 9-18 (.500).

New Britain Notes

Wednesday – New Britain 0, Harrisburg 2 – Mike McCardell fell to 0-11, but he pitched a little better. He gave up two runs on six hits and four walks in 5.2 innings. Carlos Gutierrez went 2.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Jair Fernandez went 2-4. Steve Singleton hit his 30^th double. Chris Parmelee hit his 12^th with the Rockcats.  

Miracle Matters

Wednesday – Ft. Myers 13, Lakeland 4 – A day after he drove in the winning run in the 11^th inning, Nate Hanson went 3-4 with two doubles in this win. Nick Romero went 3-4 with a walk and two doubles. Chris Herrmann went 2-4 with his third triple. Brian Dozier and Allan de San Miguel each had two hits. Kane Holbrooks made his first start with the Miracle. He gave up four runs on three hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out six. Shooter Hunt walked three and struck out one in 0.2 innings. He was replaced by Steve Blevins who worked 3.1 scoreless innings of work. He gave up just two hits and a walk.  

Snappers Snippets

Wednesday – Beloit 4, South Bend 2 – Miguel Munoz gave up just one run on five hits over seven innings. He struck out seven without allowing a walk. Peter Kennelly walked two and got just one out. He was replaced by Matt Hauser who recorded his first MWL Save by getting the final five outs. Aaron Hicks was 3-5 with his fourth triple and 13^th stolen base. Tobias Streich and James Beresford each had two hits. 

·         Hauser was the Twins 7^th round pick in 2010 out of the University of San Diego. In 2010, he went 4-3 with eight saves and a 3.67 ERA. In 41.2 innings, he walked nine and struck out 37. He seems to be this year’s draft pick who is quickly moving. Last year, it was Billy Bullock who started in E-Town and progressed to Beloit after putting up terrific numbers in the Appalachian League. In nine innings, he gave up seven hits and two walks while striking out 13. The Twins, of course, have another reliever from the University of San Diego in the system who turned out pretty good; Anthony Slama.

E-Twins Talkers

Wednesday – Elizabethton 8, Johnson City 9 – Oswaldo Arcia continued his power barrage on the Appalachian League. He went 2-5 with his eighth home run. Andy Leer went 2-5 with his tenth double. Danny Ortiz hit his third and fourth triples. Daniel Santana went 2-5 with his fifth double. Jhonatan Arias went 1-2 with his second double and two walks. Sam Spangler started and gave up two runs on four hits in three innings. He struck out four. David Gutierrez then went the next three innings. He also gave up two runs on four hits. Ryan O’ Rourke came in and in 1.1 innings gave up five runs (3 earned) on four hits and a walk. Logan Darnell got the final two outs but not before giving up a hit that scored the winning run.

·         It was the professional debut of Logan Darnell, the Twins 6^th round pick out of the University of Kentucky. The lefty went 5-3 with a 5.62 ERA in 14 games. In 73.2 innings, he walked 28 and struck out 55. Certainly not the type of numbers that would warrant waiting so long to sign. He made 11 starts (and three bullpen appearances) in 2010. In his first two years at Kentucky, he pitched in 43 games, all out of the bullpen.

GCL Twins Topics

Wednesday – GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 7 – JaDamion Williams went 2-4 with his first career home run. After three doubles on Tuesday, Kennys Vargas hit his eighth double in this game. Cesar Ciurcina started and gave up six runs on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Brett Carroll threw two shutout innings. Eddie Ahorrio gave up a run on two hits and a walk in two innings.  

Any thoughts of the Twins or the minor league system? Feel free to leave your questions and comments here.

     Most Recent Postings (for a complete list, check out the Archives)

 

7/28/10 – Oh Danny Boy

7/26/10 – Getaway Lineup Dominates

7/25/10 – Sunday Morning Notes

7/23/10 – Twins Minor League Weekly/Pavano Does it Again

7/22/10 – Power Potential

7/21/10 – The Bunt

7/20/10 – Twins Notes

7/19/10 – Quick Update

7/16/10 – It’s Friday!

7/15/10 – My Twins Train Adventure

7/14/10 – Twins Minor League Weekly Midseason Awards

7/13/10 – Stop! Slama Time

 

 

11/27/08 – Now Available: Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook - 2009

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