More Twins Cuts

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

LaVelle E. Neal posted this morning that the Twins have made a couple more roster decisions.

·         Jose Morales won the backup catcher job, edging Drew Butera. This was my assumption all along, but Butera clearly made a strong impression on the coaching staff and pitching staff with his defense, arm and leadership skills. Morales is OK behind the plate, but as a switch-hitter, he gives a left-handed option. Also, and I do believe this is important with the Twins, Morales has been around longer and unlike Butera, he does have AAA experience.

·         Jose Mijares was finally sent down to minor league camp. No real surprise here. It will be interesting to see how he does at Rochester. When he played there two years ago, it didn’t go so well. He’s still got potential. This should not be viewed as a failure or anything more than it is. He came up last year and did well in a very small sample size. As I’ve said all offseason, Rob Delaney is the better pitcher. But Mijares still has great potential and upside, and being left-handed doesn’t hurt him either. 

·         Another obvious cut was Alejandro Machado who got a well-deserved, long look this spring.

·         This doesn’t mean that Brian Duensing has won an Opening Day job though as LaVelle says that the final bullpen spots will be decided in the coming days. It will likely come down to whether they feel they need a second lefty (Duensing) or want the knuckleballer (Dickey).

·         The backup infielder decision will go down to the last days as well.  

 

OTHER NOTES

I also received information this morning on some of the Twins minor leaguers who have been released from the organization. So, you’ll want to jot these updates down in your Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009! Although this is obviously not good news for them, I like to mention it just because they were a part of the Twins organization and deserve notice, even if just one last time.

 

·         Andrew Schmiesing – The former St. Olaf star in baseball and football got caught in the OF numbers game.

·         Chris Anderson – left-handed reliever came back to the Twins after recovering from Tommy John surgery.

·         Nathan Fritz – was an undrafted free agent signing last summer.

·         Mauro Schiavoni – had become a pitcher after catching for a couple of years in Europe.

·         Nick Lobonov – The Moscow native showed signs in the GCL.

·         Luis Matos – he asked for his release and the Twins likely were happy to grant it to him.

·         Greg Yersich – probably the biggest surprise, for me. The catcher had a very strong arm but just didn’t show enough bat. Also, there are a lot of catchers in camp and unfortunately some have to go.  

 

Any thoughts? Feel free to Comment here.

Weekly Twins Podcast at 9:00 Tonight!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Tonight is going to be yet another busy night for me. I have yet another fantasy baseball draft which starts at 7:30. I don’t know where we will be in the draft at 9:00, but I will be starting my Weekly SethSpeaks.net Minnesota Twins Podcast at that time. Be sure to tune in if you are able to. The chat room will be open for your questions, and the guest list is full, and I think pretty impressive. Here is the schedule for the show:

·         9:00-9:05 – Seth Introduction

·         9:05-9:20 – Dan Osterbrock, LH Pitching Prospect

·         9:20-9:38 – Kelly Thesier, TwinsBaseball.com

·         9:40-9:57 – Aaron Gleeman, aarongleeman.com

 

That should be a fun show, so I am looking forward to it. Please listen live if you are able, but if not, be sure to go there later and listen in. I’d love to hear your feedback!

 

OTHER NOTES

 

·         Over at Baseball Digest, our Twins writers continued our predictions of the major baseball awards. The series continued today with our predictions for the Cy Young Awards.

·         Nick Nelson previewed each of the American League teams and included a player to watch on each team.

·         Pat Neshek has remained quite busy in updating his blog, including some very impressive autographs received.

·         Josh Johnson took a look at where the four outfielders stand today.

 

We should be hearing about those final roster cuts and decisions within a day or two. Should be interesting! Any other Twins thoughts as the season approaches? Feel free to Comment here.

A Minor Trade?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Pioneer Press’s Phil Miller reported on Saturday that the Twins will be keeping Rule 5 draft pick Jason Jones. To do so, the Twins and Yankees worked out a trade in which the Twins sent minor league reliever Charles Nolte to the Yankees.

 

When the Twins drafted Jones in the Rule 5 draft at the Winter Meetings in December, it really didn’t surprise me. I read a lot of minor league box scores throughout the season and it seemed like whenever the New Britain Rockcats played Trenton, Jason Jones pitched. And after Jones was promoted to AAA, he made a couple of starts against the Rochester Red Wings. On several occasions, I wrote about how Jones is a prototypical Twins pitcher. He doesn’t walk many. He doesn’t throw terribly hard or strike many out. And he just has kept working his way up the system. It was obvious when the Twins selected him that he would not make the Twins roster, so all along the big questions were, “How do the Twins keep him? Who will they have to trade to the Yankees to be able to keep Jones and put him into the Rochester rotation?”

 

And now we know the answer to that question. The Twins had to send reliever Charles Nolte to the Yankees.

 

So, taking a high-level look at this trade, the Twins acquired a 26 year old who will likely be the fourth or fifth starter at AAA, and if there are three or four injuries in the Twins starting rotation this season, he could get a shot. And they got him for a 23 year old reliever who hasn’t pitched above Low A ball. But that reliever had a pretty impressive 2008 season, and earned accolades. In the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2009, here is what I wrote:

Sleeper Watch! Nolte was the Twins 24^th round pick out of San Diego State in 2007. In his two seasons at SDSU, he pitched in 16 games and threw 24.2 innings. He walked 27 and struck out 24. So, it is shocking in some ways that he has become such a dominant reliever, even in the Twins lower levels. After signing, he went 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA in 14 games for the GCL Twins. He was Beloit’s best reliever in 2008. In 44 games, he went 4-3 with a 2.05 ERA. In 70.1 innings, he gave up 63 hits and walked 35. He struck out 75. He gave up just one home run.

So, I don’t think that we should pretend that this is an insignificant trade. The Twins obviously really like Jason Jones and his potential. To acquire him, they had to give up something of value, and Charles Nolte could be very good (obviously depending up on his ability to throw strikes with his sinker). My initial reaction is not to be real happy about this transaction. But then I realize that as good as Nolte was in that Beloit bullpen, he is still behind the likes of Jose Mijares, Rob Delaney, Anthony Slama, Brian Duensing, Zach Ward, Blair Erickson and likely several current minor league starters who could eventually be vying for a spot in the Twins bullpen. So this is a fair trade.

 

OTHER NOTES

I stayed away from the computer much of the weekend, so today is about catching up, but not too much!! We are one week away today from the Twins opener at home against Seattle. Over the week, there will certainly be plenty to discuss here, so be sure to stop back. Here are a couple of topics from the weekend:

·         Over at Baseball Digest, our Twins writers will spend the week predicting award winners, playoff teams and then several Twins predictions. The series started today with our predictions for the MVP Awards.

·         NOT SO FAST – Tyler Hissey writes about how the Rays “Fleeced” the Twins in the Garza/Young trade, but I think when the 2009 season comes to an end, people may feel a little differently about it!

·         Another New Twins Blog – Take a few minutes to read the Twins Band Director. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw the link, but it really provides a lot of interesting Twins content.

·         Fanatic Jack posted his All Metrodome team which is actually very interesting to think through. I’m sure he’d appreciate your comments on his list. My first thought? That’s the best we can do in LF???

·         According to a report from FanHouse.com, the Twins are quietly looking for an 8^th inning guy who throws strikes. The Twins sure like their strike throwers, don’t they? Actually, I like the theory and agree completely. But in the 8^th inning, isn’t some level of dominance fairly important too? Is the combination of dominance and control the ideal?

·         Chris Coste was named the Phillies backup catcher over the weekend when the team traded Ronny Paulino. Also, The 33 Year Old Rookie is now available in paperback.

 

Any other Twins thoughts as the season approaches? Feel free to Comment here.

Friday Twins Notes

also found at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Good morning! It’s been another busy week, so today will be another bullet point-filled blog posting. We have really gone over the question marks on the Twins roster at length, but if you want, you can still discuss those topics.

·         First of all, I will be on the radio again this morning. I will be on the Jack Michaels Show at 11:00 this morning. If you’re in the Bismarck (ND) area in your vehicle, tune in ESPN 710, the Fan. If you’re not in the area, you can Listen Live online.

·         If you are curious about the flooding in Fargo and along the Red River Valley, be sure to follow the Fargo Forum’s Flood Blog.

·         The Twins lost to the Reds last night in spring training action. The game was on Fox Sports North, so during the game, I set up a live chat, and there were quite a few that listened to it. All kinds of topics were discussed, and there were even some heated exchanges. So, take some time and read through the transcript.

·         One of the topics was rather interesting and Dan Wade wrote about it. At The Bleacher Report, he wrote an article called The Negativity-Objectivity Myth. Is a true fan one that questions everything and every decision, or is a true fan one that ‘drinks the kool-aid’ for their team? Can’t it be a little of both?

·         Nick Nelson posted and article at BaseballDigest.com about the Twins Defense in 2009. It should be excellent, or at the very least significantly improved over last year!

·         Over at the great MLBTradeRumors.com site, they posted a Q&A with Kevin Slowey that is very entertaining.

·         Heard from Mark Hamburger (the Minnesota native and former Twins prospect traded to Texas for Eddie Guardado last August) last night and he told me that training camp is going well, and he is being transitioned back into starting to work on his secondary pitches. It may be short-term, but I think it’s a good move for his overall development.

·         By the way, click here to vote for Mark Hamburger and Shooter Hunt in MLB.com’s Minors Moniker Madness competition. They are both in the Sweet Sixteen!

·         Glen Perkins got back to blogging and explained that he is working really hard and hasn’t had as much time to blog lately.

·         Trevor Plouffe discusses Walk-Up Songs on his blog this week.

·         Thrylos gave his take on a potential Ft. Myers Miracle roster at Tenth Inning Stretch.

·         There could be another round of cuts today. If I had a guess, the next round will include Alejandro Machado, Brock Peterson, David Winfree, Sean Henn and Bobby Keppel. All five of them actually impressed this spring but will not make the opening day roster.

·         Jeff Christy and Jason Pridie also will not make the big league roster to start camp, but I do think that they are needed through the final week. In that same category of probably lasting until the final cut would be 1.) The Buscher/Tolbert decision, 2.) the Butera/Morales decision, and 3.) the Dickey/Duensing/Mijares decision.

·         Also, it is apparent that Jason Jones will not make the opening day roster, so it is my guess that talks are already occurring between the Twins and Yankees about the Twins possibly keeping him.

·         The Twins lost 24 year old (25 on April 10^th) Jose Lugo when he was drafted in the Rule 5 draft by the Oakland A’s. Lugo is left handed and throws hard. He pitched at Ft. Myers last year. With a good slider, he could be a good pitcher, but he does need to find better control. Anyway, the A’s immediately traded him to Seattle. This spring, Lugo has pitched 6.2 innings over 10 games for the M’s. He is 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He has given up just two hits and walked three. However, he has struck out just one. It is possible that Lugo will break camp with the Mariners.         

 

What else is going on with and around the Twins these days? I will try to update as I have time throughout the weekend if anything happens. Feel free to Comment here.

Twins Live Game Chat

The Twins and Reds are on TV tonight. Starting at 6:30, I will take your questions throughout the game. We can talk Twins, minor leagues or whatever you like.

To join the chat,

Click Here

Thank you, Corey Koskie! Thank you!

I just posted my new blog entry at the Star Tribune Your Voices site. I thought it was appropriate to take a few minutes and look at what Corey Koskie has done on the field and off for the Minnesota Twins and for Minnesota. I’d love to hear what you think. Click here to read the article.

MLBTR Fantasy Draft

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Tonight I participated in my second fantasy baseball draft of the year. Fantasy baseball is a wonderful thing for the baseball fan, and that is why I have chosen to include my rosters, if only to give the readers an idea of where some players are going. If you care to comment on the team, where it is weak, where it is strong, any recommendations, please feel free to do so. Tim Dierkes of MLBTradeRumors.com e-mailed me a couple months ago and asked if I was interested in participating in his 2009 Baseball Bloggers League. Of course the answer was Yes! The league consists of Tim, myself and ten top baseball bloggers from around the league. Here are the bloggers in the league with links to their sites:

1.  MLB Trade Rumors – Tim Dierkes
2.  River Ave. Blues – Joe Pawlikowski
3.  Rays Index – Cork Gaines
4.  NPB Tracker – Patrick Newman
5.  Shysterball – Craig Calcaterra
6.  Desipio – Andy Dolan
7. Drunk Jays Fans – Andrew Stoeten
8. MetsBlog – Mike Nichols
9. Sox Machine – Jim Margalus
10. Big League Stew – Kevin Kaduk and Dave Brown
11.  McCovey Chronicles – Grant Brisbee
12. Seth Speaks – Seth Stohs

 

So as you can see, it’s a 12 team league. 5×5 rotisserie league (R, HR, RBI, SB, AVG, W, SV, K, ERA, WHIP). Each team will have 14 hitters, here are the positions: C, C, 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, MI, CI, OF, OF, OF, OF, OF, DH. Each team will have 9 pitchers.  2 must be relievers, 2 must be starters, and the rest is up to you. Each team will also have 3 bench spots and 2 DL spots. I drafted in the 10^th spot of a serpentine draft.

 

Below is my team after a solid draft. What do you think? Feel free to Comment here.

 

Fantasy Baseball Draft #2 –

  

1.      Josh Hamilton – OF – Texas Rangers

2.      Evan Longoria – 3B – Tampa Bay Rays

3.      Jason Bay – OF – Boston Red Sox

4.      Brandon Phillips – 2B – Cincinnati Reds

5.      Cole Hamels – SP – Philadelphia Phillies

6.      Joe Nathan – RP – Minnesota Twins

7.      Josh Beckett – SP – Boston Red Sox

8.      Daisuke Matsuzaka – SP – Boston Red Sox

9.      Matt Weiters – C – Baltimore Orioles

10.  Howie Kendrick – 1B – LA Angels of Anaheim

11.  Carlos Marmol – RP – Chicago Cubs

12.  Kevin Slowey – SP – Minnesota Twins

13.  Conor Jackson – 1B/OF – Arizona Diamondbacks

14.  David Price – LHP – Tampa Bay Rays

15.  Scott Baker – SP – Minnesota Twins

16.  Carlos Guillen – 1B/3B/OF – Detroit Tigers

17.  Kelly Shoppach – C – Cleveland Indians

18.  Fausto Carmona – SP – Cleveland Indians

19.  Jason Kubel – OF – Minnesota Twins

20.  Billy Butler – 1B – Kansas City Royals

21.  Jose Guillen – OF – Kansas City Royals

22.  Anthony Reyes – SP/RP – Cleveland Indians

23.  Oliver Perez – SP – New York Mets

24.  Michael Cuddyer – OF – Minnesota Twins

25.  Jason Bartlett – SS – Tampa Bay Rays

26.  Chris Coste – C – Philadelphia Phillies

 

I wasn’t real happy in the middle of the draft, but I happen to feel really good about this team. It is deep. I think I got some really good veterans late, as well as some guys who have shown plenty of glimpses. I did take a lot of Twins, but I really don’t believe that I took any of them earlier than I should have. Jason Kubel, potentially the team’s #3 hitter to start the season, in the 19^th round is good. Michael Cuddyer, who will likely be the team’s #5 hitter most of the year in the 24^th round? Jason Bartlett? He was bad last year and yet still hit .286 and stole 20 bases. 20 steals from your 25^th round pick is alright. And yes, I took Chris Coste with my last pick. I felt the need to carry a third catcher at least until we know whether or not Weiters will head north with the Orioles. And really, he can put up as good of offensive numbers as many of the starters in the league, so I’m fully comfortable with him. What do you think?

 

What Would You Do? Part 3 (Bullpen)

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Last night was the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. Be sure to put it on your iPod, or spend some time at work listening to it at work. Twins pitching prospect Zach Ward called in to the show at the beginning of the show. As you know, Ward spent most of the 2008 season in the New Britain bullpen. He then spent much of his offseason as a starter pitching in Puerto Rico. It was fun to learn a little more about Zach Ward. The two other guests were two new Twins bloggers. First, Wally Fish recently started writing two blogs, a Twins blog (TwinkieTalk.com) and a Royals blog (royaleswithcheese.com). Also, Jack Steal started his Twins blog (Fanatic Jack Talks Twins) this week and came on and talked Twins for awhile. It was a solid show, and there are a couple more Twins blogs that you should check out and potentially bookmark.

 

But for today, I would like to talk about three issues that seem to be hot topics as it relates to the Twins. I will post my thoughts, and ask for your thoughts. I would appreciate your comments on each. I’d like to read what you predict will happen, and what you think will happen. As we know, those two things can be very different.

 

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Bullpen – What do we know? Joe Nathan will be the closer. Jesse Crain, Matt Guerrier, Luis Ayala and Craig Breslow are givens. If the Twins go with 11 pitchers, only one other pitcher can make the Opening Day roster. If they go with 12 pitchers, then two can make it. Here is the list of possibilities. What would you do?

·         Philip Humber – Right-Hander, he is out of options. Throws a good fastball, and an excellent curveball. Can eat some innings?

·         Jose Mijares – Left-hander, he has an option left. Many thought he was ready because of 10 games in September. Many upset that he came to camp overweight. Definitely easy to question his attitude.

·         RA Dickey – Veteran right-hander who became a knuckleball pitcher a couple of years ago. He has had a good spring. Can eat innings.

·         Brian Duensing – Left-hander, he has always started, except during the 2008 Olympics. He’s had a good spring, and if the Twins feel they need a second lefty, he may beat out Mijares.

·         Sean Henn – Left-hander, he has primarily started until last year. Has had a solid spring, but history of walking a lot of hitters.

·         Jason Jones – Right-hander, primarily has been a starter. Rule 5 pick would have to be offered back to the Yankees, a trade could be possible.

·         Seth’s Opinion – In my mind, Humber is a given. So if the Twins go with 11 pitchers that is it. Mijares clearly needs more time, and that isn’t a bad thing. Remember, he missed most of last year after breaking his arm. He will be fine, just needs more time. I think Jones is a guy that the Twins could keep in a trade with the Yankees. I would attempt that at least. The final spot could be between Dickey and Duensing. If Gardy insists on having a second lefty in the bullpen, then it would be Duensing. Both Duensing and Dickey can eat some innings out of the back of the rotation or serve as a spot starter. So, I don’t really have a strong feeling either way between those two. The benefit that Duensing has would be that he is on the 40 man roster.   

What Would You Do? Part 2 (Infield)

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Last night was the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. Be sure to put it on your iPod, or spend some time at work listening to it at work. Twins pitching prospect Zach Ward called in to the show at the beginning of the show. As you know, Ward spent most of the 2008 season in the New Britain bullpen. He then spent much of his offseason as a starter pitching in Puerto Rico. It was fun to learn a little more about Zach Ward. The two other guests were two new Twins bloggers. First, Wally Fish recently started writing two blogs, a Twins blog (TwinkieTalk.com) and a Royals blog (royaleswithcheese.com). Also, Jack Steal started his Twins blog (Fanatic Jack Talks Twins) this week and came on and talked Twins for awhile. It was a solid show, and there are a couple more Twins blogs that you should check out and potentially bookmark.

 

But for today, I would like to talk about three issues that seem to be hot topics as it relates to the Twins. I will post my thoughts, and ask for your thoughts. I would appreciate your comments on each. I’d like to read what you predict will happen, and what you think will happen. As we know, those two things can be very different.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————   

 

Backup Infielder – If the Twins go with 12 pitchers, they would have four bench spots. They would be comprised of the extra outfielder, the backup catcher, and probably two backup infielders. If they go with 11 pitchers, they could keep all three, which may be why they had Matt Tolbert out of CF for a game.  What would you do?

·         Brian Buscher – can play 3B and 1B, although not terribly well. Provides a very professional left-handed bat off the bench. However, he has not shown power throughout his career.

·         Brendan Harris – can play all four infield positions, very little range, but makes all the plays. Right-handed bat with plenty of pop.

·         Matt Tolbert – Can play 3B, 2B, SS, and fairly well. He is a solid switch hitter with good speed.

·         Seth’s Opinion – I really think that the Twins need to go with 12 pitchers, at least to start the season, as there are plenty of question marks in it. Therefore, I think only two of these guys can make it. Because of that, I would send Matt Tolbert back to Rochester to start the season. He doesn’t necessarily deserve that, but in my mind, you can justify that because he missed so much time in 2008. I wouldn’t mind seeing him go to Rochester for six weeks and play every day and everywhere. At that point, hopefully the bullpen questions have worked themselves out, and the Twins starters are able to consistently go 6-7 innings. At that point, they can go to 11 pitchers and Tolbert can come back up.

What Would You Do? Part 1 (Catchers)

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Last night was the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. Be sure to put it on your iPod, or spend some time at work listening to it at work. Twins pitching prospect Zach Ward called in to the show at the beginning of the show. As you know, Ward spent most of the 2008 season in the New Britain bullpen. He then spent much of his offseason as a starter pitching in Puerto Rico. It was fun to learn a little more about Zach Ward. The two other guests were two new Twins bloggers. First, Wally Fish recently started writing two blogs, a Twins blog (TwinkieTalk.com) and a Royals blog (royaleswithcheese.com). Also, Jack Steal started his Twins blog (Fanatic Jack Talks Twins) this week and came on and talked Twins for awhile. It was a solid show, and there are a couple more Twins blogs that you should check out and potentially bookmark.

 

But for today, I would like to talk about three issues that seem to be hot topics as it relates to the Twins. I will post my thoughts, and ask for your thoughts. I would appreciate your comments on each. I’d like to read what you predict will happen, and what you think will happen. As we know, those two things can be very different.

 

——————————————————————————————————————————   

 

Catchers – With Joe Mauer likely to start the season on the Disabled List, the Twins will need a catcher to work with Mike Redmond and the pitchers. Wilson Ramos was sent down this past weekend, so it is really between Drew Butera and Jose Morales. What would you do?

 

·         Drew Butera – All about the defense. Doesn’t hit much, but occasionally will hit a home run. May not hit much better than .230 with an OPS approaching .550, but I also know Brad Ausmus and others have made a pretty good career as a great defensive catcher.

·         Jose Morales – adequate defensively. He is a switch-hitter and he can hit for average. He may be able to hit .275 at the big league level, but again, I don’t think he’ll ever have an OPS of .650.

·         Seth’s Opinion – As you can tell from my comments, I really am not too concerned about this idea. I am very much intrigued by what Butera does behind the plate. I want to see if I can see what makes him so good. But I would probably go with Morales if only because he can bat left-handed and you could possibly better platoon him. I don’t really want to see Redmond catch more than half of the time.