The
SethSpeaks May Player of the Month is... (drum roll please)Friday, August 11, 2006
July Minor League Update
Good morning to everyone! Did you hear?!?!? Matt Garza is pitching for the Twins tonight! Matt Garza is starting for the Twins tonight! By the way, I can't say too much, but I would encourage everyone who can to watch the Twins pregame show tonight at 6:30. If you are able, you will understand.
I know I am a little bit late on the July Minor League update, but I have been struggling with time and with finding statistics. I wasn't in a place to print out the player's numbers on July 1, so I wasn't able to do the math my self. Well, there is a new site out there called Minor League Splits. Creative name, I know, but it has provided me with the July numbers. So today, I will discuss some of them.
Today, I will be discussing the Twins Minor Leaguers. I will count down the Top 5 Twins Hitters and Pitchers in the month of July. Each list will lead to the SethSpeaks Hitter and Pitcher of the Month. You will notice a couple of changes. For instance, with the pitchers, you will not find the W-L record. First, I just don't believe that is important for a minor leaguers, particularly in the lower levels. But second, and maybe more importantly, I just don't have those numbers. But again, I really don't care. W-L record does not necessarily say how well a pitcher is throwing.
I hope you enjoy this and learning more about the goings on in the Twins system. Oh, one quick note, this will mark the first month that Pat Neshek will not appear in the Top 2 or 3 minor league pitchers. I am just guessing, but I would say he is probably just fine with that.
So let's get to the July Minor League Players and Pitchers of the Month. Please, feel free to leave some comments or send me an e-mail with any thoughts that you may have. Let's get started (Note - Stats are only for July)
THE HITTERS
#5 - Tommy Watkins - IF - Rochester Red Wings
A most unlikely Top 5 guy, Watkins has never hit well, at any level. He was called up to Rochester to fill a utility role, but with all the injury and changeover with the Red Wings, Watkins became almost an every day player. He responded very well. For the month, Watkins was 28-83. he hit .337/.402/.482 with six doubles and two homers. He walked eight times.
#4 - Eli Tintor - Outfielder - Beloit Snappers
Eli Tintor had a strong start to the season, but he faded a little in the middle. He came up big in July though. The former catcher went 30-90 for the month. He hit .333/.381/.533. He had three doubles and five homers.
#3 - Chris Parmalee - OF/1B - GCL Twins
The Twins first round draft pick out of his Chino, California, high school started out his pro career slowly. He has certainly come on of late! For July, the sweet-swinging lefty hit .306/.365/.624. He was 26-85 with five doubles, two triples and six home runs. He also showed a good eye with nine walks.
#2 - Brandon Roberts - Outfielder - Ft. Myers Miracle
Roberts came over to the Twins organization in the mid-June trade for Juan Castro. He started his Twins tenure with a rather pedestrian start, but he has really been good since then. The speedy outfielder hit .394/.445/.523 in July. He was 43-109 with eight doubles and two home runs. He really took off once our #1 July hitter was moved up to New Britain.
The
SethSpeaks May Player of the Month is... (drum roll please)
# 1 - Alexi Casilla - Infielder - New Britain Rockcats
Alexi Casilla was having a very strong season at Ft. Myers, but he started July so well there that he was promoted to New Britain where he just kept hitting. In Ft. Myers in July, he hit .538/.667/.654. He was 14-26 with a double, a triple and an astounding 10 walks. He moved up to New Britain and didn't miss a beat. He hit .303/.370/.424 for the month. He was 20-66 with five doubles and a home run. He is also a stolen base machine! I expect the Twins to deal Luis Castillo around the trade deadline in 2007 to make room for Casilla.
HONORABLE MENTION - Doug Deeds, New Britain Rockcats (.314/.419/.465, 27-86, 7-2B, 2-HR, 15-BB) - Felix Molina, New Britain Rockcats (.322/.341/.483, 28-87, 6-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR) - Paul Kelly, Beloit Snappers (.315/.376/.380, 29-92, 4-2B, 1-3B) - Erik Lis, Beloit Snappers (.305/.376/.486, 32-105, 2-2B, 1-3B, 3-HR, 11-BB) - Danny Valencia, Elizabethton Twins (.356/.427/.616, 26-73, 7-2B, 4-HR) - Deibinson Romero, GCL Twins (.329/.387/.500, 27-82, 4-2B, 2-3B, 2-HR, 7-BB).
THE PITCHERS
#5 - Anthony Swarzak - Starter - Ft. Myers Miracle
Swarzak is still such a young pitcher. Last year, he started the season at Beloit, but quickly he was promoted to Ft. Myers. He has been up and down this season, but July was a definite "up" month for him. In 32 innings, he gave up 18 hits. He walked too many (14) and didn't strike out many either (23, or 6.5 per nine). However, he held the opposition to .164/.256/.236. That's a remarkable .492 OPS against! If he can get that walk rate down, he could keep moving up this list.
#4 - Dan Leatherman - Reliever - GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins/Beloit Snappers
Leatherman was signed by the Twins as a free agent after the draft. He had pitched at West Virginia U. this spring. He started the month with the GCL Twins where he pitched just six innings. He gave up just two hits and three walks. Opponents hit just .105/.227/.158 against him and his WHIP was 0.83. He moved up to Elizabethton where he continued to dominate hitters. In 14 innings, he gave up seven hits and walked just one. He struck out 14. Opponents hit .146/.163/.292 against him and his WHIP was 0.57. He moved to his third spot in July, the Beloit Snappers and in his one July appearance, he threw a perfect inning which included one strikeout.
#3 - Mike Smith - Starter - Rochester Red Wings
There was a good reason the Mike Smith was called up to the Twins in early August for a spot start. He was the Red Wings best pitcher in July. The righty threw 44 .1 innings last month. He gave up 32 hits and walked 12 for a 0.99 WHIP. Opponents hit just .203/.270/.297 against him. He struck out 36 for a 7.3 K/9 rate.
#2 - Kevin Slowey - Starter - New Britain Rockcats
It seems like the top two spots in my monthly rankings are the same guys, huh? Well, usually they are. In the two slot this month, Kevin Slowey reappears. He spent the month in New Britain. He threw 36.1 innings. He allowed 30 hits and seven walks, so his WHIP was 1.02. He struck out 30 for a 7.4 K/9 rate. Opponents hit just .222/262/.356 against him. Another very strong month for Slowey. Also, the Twins brass deemed him as untouchable at the trade deadline, along with this month's #1 choice, so that's a good thing that happened to him in July too!
The
SethSpeaks July Pitcher of the Month is... (drum roll please)
# 1 - Matt Garza - Starter - New Britain Rockcats/Rochester Red Wings
You had to know. Yes, he is making his major league debut tonight against the Blue Jays... at 7:05... in the Metrodome, but it is so deserved. He started July pitching in New Britain. He made just one July start and he threw eight innings. He gave up just five hits, walked none and struck out nine. In the game, opponents hit just .179/.207/.179 against him. So, he moved up to Rochester, where he made a few starts. In 27 innings, he gave up 16 hits and six walks, so his WHIP was 0.81. He struck out 22 for a 7.3 K rate. Opponents hit just .176/.242/.286 against him. Hopefully we never have to see him eligible for another Twins minor league player of the month award!
HONORABLE MENTION - Omar Alcala, GCL Twins (0.89 WHIP, 5.3 K/9 (18 K in 30.1 IP), 12 BB, .241/.313/.260) - Brian Kirwan, Elizabethton Twins (1.15 WHIP, 8.0 K/9 (24 K in 27 IP), 11 BB, .202/.292/.313) - Danny Hernandez, Elizabethton Twins (0.93 WHIP, 10.9 K/9 (17 K in 14 IP), 6 BB, .143/.263/.245) - Oswaldo Sosa, Beloit Snappers (1.04 WHIP, 8.2 K/9 (28 K in 30.2 IP), 10 BB, .198/.276/.243) - Alexander Smit, Beloit Snappers (1.13 WHIP, 10.7 K/9 (39 K in 32.2 IP), 15 BB, .191/.290/.322) - Yohan Pino, Beloit Snappers (0.74 WHIP, 8.0 K/9 (18 K in 20.1 IP), 4 BB, .157/.200/.200).
So there you have it. The July SethSpeaks hitter and pitcher of the month along with some other very worthy candidates. Of course, I could have commented on several others too without feeling like I was hurting the list. This month's list was so much more difficult to rank from 1-5 than usual, but again, that is a positive.
Are there any other thoughts that I missed or should have pointed out. Feel free to send me any notes or tidbits on any of the players. Feel free to discuss below in the comments or send me an e-mail.
The Twins lost 5-0 to Ted Lilly and the Toronto Blue Jays. Carlos Silva started out well, not allowing a hit until the fourth, but then a home run to Bengie Molina put the Jays ahead. And then Silva had one of those typical Silva innings where one hit becomes two hits becomes three hits... and you get the picture.
How good was Pat Neshek again!? Last night, he came in to replace Silva with one out and a runner on in the 7th. He struck out the next two batters... on six pitches!
Did you hear that it was Joe Mauer sideburns night at the dome?!
The most important bit of information yesterday involved the status of Francisco Liriano. The MRI showed again that there is no structural damage and that his pain is just inflammation. All he can do is rest and rehab the arm which apparently he has begun to do. This is certainly far better news for Twins fans than surgery would have been! He will likely still be out until September, but that is not as bad as we may have been thinking.
Rondell White will return to the Disabled List and Lew Ford will be activated in time for tonight's game.
Matt Garza starts tonight against the Blue Jays' AJ Burnett. I still am shocked that the Blue Jays signed him for that kind of money. We are talking about a pitcher who has never pitched to his potential. He has already missed significant time with arm injuries, including a Tommy John surgery. He also was kicked off of the Florida Marlins roster during the final week of last season for comments he made. I have no problem with their signing of BJ Ryan. That is a move that makes sense. Ryan has been successful at a high level for a long time. Burnett has done very little!
A little bit of positive news for me... JC Romero gave up six runs on five hits and a walk in 1/3 of an inning last night for the Angels against the Indians! Can't help but smile.
Do you have any thoughts on the Twins or anything else? If so, send me an e-mail, or post some Comments below.
SethSpeaks Player of the Day - Alexi Casilla, New Britain Rockcats
SethSpeaks Pitcher of the Day - Alexander Smit, Beloit Snappers
Reliever David Shinskie was promoted from Low-A Beloit to AA New Britain. It seems strange to have a guy jump two levels. However, I believe that the Twins will have to make a decision on Shinskie after the season as to whether or not to put him on the 40 man roster. That is why I think that this level-skip is a good thing.
2006 draftee Jeff Christy, a catcher out of Nebraska, was promoted to Hi-A Ft. Myers after 24 games with Elizabethton.
If you have any thoughts on the Twins system, please e-mail me.
ROCHESTER REPORT
Thursday - Red Wings 6, Buffalo 5 – Garrett Jones went 2-4 with his 17th homer and two RBI. Gil Velazquez added a three run homer, his first of the year. Alex Romero went 2-4 with a triple. Peter Munro started and gave up four unearned runs over 4.2 innings. Levale Speigner, just up from AA, picked up the Win with 3.1 one-run innings of relief. Bobby Korecky pitched a scoreless ninth for his sixth save.
NEW BRITAIN NEWS
Thursday - Rockcats 5, Erie 3 – Glen Perkins made another start that this time went three innings. The lefty gave up two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out five. Tristan Crawford then went three shutout innings in relief. However, in his AA debut, David Shinskie gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in his inning. Julio DePaula followed with two shutout innings. Scott Whitrock went 2-3 with his third home run. Matt Moses was 2-4 with a triple. Denard Span was 2-5.
FT MYERS MEMOS
Thursday - Miracle 4, Vero Beach 2 – Kyle Aselton got a win with 5.2 innings in his start. He gave up just two unearned runs on three hits and four walks. He struck out eight. JP Martinez went 3.1 shutout frames in relief. David Winfree went 3-4 with a double. Brock Peterson was just 1-2 but he walked twice and knocked his 16th home run. Deacon Burns went 2-4.
BELOIT BITS
Thursday - Snappers 6, Ft. Wayne 3 – Alexander Smit improved to 7-1 with seven one-hit innings. He walked none and struck out 11 hitters. Danny Vais gave up three runs in his inning. Frank Mata struck out two in his shutout inning for the save. Eli Tintor was 2-3 with a walk and a double. Matt Betsill went 2-4. Erik Lis hit his 16th home run.
E-TOWN REPORT
Thursday - E-Twins 4, Bristol 4 (suspended after 8) – Since it is tied and has been suspended, the odds of me remembering to look back at how the game ends are not good, so I am going to credit players for what they did through this point. Alex Burnett started and went six innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out six. Matt Williams gave up two runs over the next two innings. Greg Yersich went 2-3 with an RBI. Brian Dinkelman and Danny Santiesteban each hit a solo home run.
GCL REPORT
Thursday - GCL Twins 3, GCL Pirates 2 – Loek Van Mil started and the 7-foot righty gave up just two unearned runs in his six innings. He gave up six hits, walked two and struck out five. Carlos Garcia improved to 3-0 with a two strikeout seventh. Mark Dolenc went 2-4.
Do you have any further thoughts on any Twins prospects, minor leaguers, or these summaries? I would love any input, or ideas to make it better. Thanks! E-mail me, or also feel free to leave comments below.
That is it for today and for this week! Have a terrific day!
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