Twins Sign RHP from Taiwan; Also Sign Dereck Rodriguez

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

The Twins have signed 18-year-old right-handed pitcher Kuo-hua Lo from Kaohsiung, Taiwan. He is believed to be the top high school pitching prospect in the country. At 5-11 and 170 pounds, he throws a fastball that touches 94 on occasion. He has a slider and a split-finger fastball that have good speed differential from the fastball. He is working on a curveball. He has a very good makeup and he has been very successful in international competition.

He was signed by Twins International Scout Cary Broder and International Scouting Director Howard Norsetter. Last year, the same combination signed another right-hander from Taiwan, Hung-yi Chen. Chen made his first start last week for the GCL Twins and threw four shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked none and struck out six. Also, outfielder Wang-Wei Lin signed with the Twins in October of 2006 out of Taiwan and is currently hitting .276/.380/.392 with 16 doubles, a triple and three home runs.  

Another quick note, the Twins have signed their 6^th round pick, OF Dereck Rodriguez, from high school in Florida. He is the son of Nationals’ catcher and future Hall of Famer Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez. He is making his debut today for the GCL Twins in centerfield.  

Looks like another terrific international signing for the Twins. Any comments?

Nine Innings with Seth

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

It’s been awhile, but I think it is time for a new Nine Innings with Seth. Here are nine topics or subjects that are at least a little different. As with a regular ball game, there are some quick innings, and other innings tend to drag on a little bit! Hopefully there is plenty of information here today that you will enjoy.

Pregame – Radio/Podcast Time

As has now become a regular time slot, I will be on The Paul Allen Show on KFAN, its affiliates and www.KFAN.com (and iheartradio, and…) this morning at 10:20 to talk about the Twins.

Last night, I was a guest on Fanatic Jack’s Twins Talk on 612sports.net. We talked several Twins topics and a lot of discussion of Twins prospects. It was actually a lot of fun!

Tonight at 10, Travis Aune and I will co-host Twins Minor League Weekly and discuss the goings on in the Twins farm system We will also spend quite a bit of time comparing and contrasting our Top 50 Prospect lists. Should be a fun show!

1^st Inning – Twins 2, Dodgers 1 (The Right Way to Judge the Series)

When the Twins lost the first game of the series 15-0, it was their sixth straight loss, and the team was once again ten games back in the division after cutting their deficit to just 6.5. Frustration had set back in. Two days later, the Twins now have a two-game winning streak, the Tigers have lost two in a row to the Mets (and given up 30 runs). So now the Twins are just eight games behind the Tigers. As frustrating as the six game losing streak was, let’s not forget that after the games of June 1, the Twins were 16.5 games back in the division. How thrilled would we have been in the Twins had only been eight games back by the All Star break, which is still two weeks away.

Some negatives will point out that the Dodgers outscored the Twins 19-7 in the series. Doesn’t matter! The Twins won the series 2-1.

Nick Blackburn had a rough one on Monday night. His complete lack of strikeouts and pitch to contact mean that every once in awhile he will have a game like that, but it should in no way affect anyone’s thoughts on Blackburn or his season. Obviously the offense did nothing and the defense did no favors. It was an ugly game in every way. However, getting over big losses like a 15-0 loss is easy to go. In fact, it was probably easy to be over it by the late innings.

Brian Duensing pitched “well enough” on Wednesday night for the Win. He really fought himself and his control in the fourth and fifth innings. Thankfully Luke Hughes hit a big two-run homer in the bottom of the 5^th to give the Twins a 6-4 lead and the bullpen got the job done after that. Most impressive for me was the performance of Joe Nathan. He was touching 94 mph on the radar gun, and his pitches were all moving a lot. The value that a fully-healthy Joe Nathan could provide for the Twins is huge.

And finally, Wednesday afternoon’s game was all about Scott Baker. He threw another 7.1 scoreless innings. He gave up six hits, walked one and struck out nine. As the Twins Geek wrote, whether or not you want to admit it, Scott Baker is an ace-type pitcher. Who would have known that two batters into the game, the lone run of the game would score?!

I have to admit that for me, it was a lot of fun getting to see former Twins farmhand Trent Oeltjen do well too. It led to my TwinsCentric blog on the Twins from Down Under.

2^nd Inning – Tsuyoshi Nishioka

When the Twins signed Nishioka, I was excited. I thought it was a great decision to get a solid baseball player from Japan. The primary reason it was a great decision was because of the marketing potential. With all the scouting reports and people I had talked to about Nishioka, I was hoping he could post an OPS of .700. I thought if he could hit .280/.340/.360 it would be a solid rookie season. Well, six games into the season, he had a broken leg and miss the next two months. He has been back for a little over a week, and he has really struggled both offensively and defensively. That is no surprise. Clearly he has looked nervous and is making a lot of adjustments. The game in Japan and the game in the US are not identical.

To think that what we are seeing in Nishioka is the finished product is not fair. We don’t know. However, right now, he looks really bad from the left-side of the plate. More disturbing, he has looked awful at shortstop. As bad as some thought Trevor Plouffe was at shortstop, Nishioka has been much worse. That’s not to say that he is much worse, just that he is playing much worse right now.

I really wish that the Twins would have let Nishioka spend the full 20 day rehab limit. It would have been a great way for him to get at bats, to see the pitches and the strike zones. It would have been a good way for him to get a lot more ground balls on natural surface as opposed to the artificial turf in Japan. Also, another week to ten days of rehab would have helped them realize even more that Alexi Casilla was doing a great job at shortstop and he was one of the team’s top hitters over the previous six weeks. As nice as it likely was that Nishioka could get reps at shortstop, there was no reason to make the move. He could still be at second base, playing better defense, and maybe relaxing more.

Also, there is absolutely no reason in the world for Trevor Plouffe’s bat not to be in the big leagues. He has been an extra base machine. And frankly, his defense was better than Nishioka’s. As Nick Nelson mention on his TwinsCentric blog yesterday, the Twins should send Nishioka to Rochester and bring up Plouffe to play shortstop. I have no problem with that plan, with one exception. I would call up Plouffe to play second base and move Casilla back to shortstop.

Most important point of this “inning” is that I am in no way saying that Nishioka is not or cannot be a big league player. He just isn’t a big league shortstop with the glove or the arm. Trevor Plouffe may or may not be a big league shortstop defensively either, but at least he has a big league bat.

3^rd Inning – Top 50 Twins Prospects

As you can tell, I really enjoy following the Twins minor league system, and one of the most fun things to do is to make and update my Top 50 Twins prospects. Typically I update it before the June draft, following the minor league season and then finalize for the Prospect Handbook. I was a little bit late, but yesterday, I did update my Top 50 Twins prospect list and encourage people to comment and ask questions. There was a change at the top of the list, and there was plenty of movement from January through June. So, scroll down to check out the updated list.

4^th Inning – AL Central Standings

It is far too early in the season to be scoreboard watching or to worry about the standings, but I needed to fill nine innings and a lot of fans seem to need to know the day-to-day standings. And hey, when the Twins were 16.5 games down four weeks ago and are now just 8.0 games back now, I don’t mind showing it.

Cleveland Indians      42-37

Detroit Tigers             43-38     —-

Chicago White Sox    39-42      4.0

Minnesota Twins       34-45      8.0

Kansas City Royals    33-48   10.0

So again, just because I was a math minor and occasionally feel the need to do some word problems, let’s do this:

Word Problem 1: The Twins are currently 34-45. To win the AL Central will require 85 wins. What would the Twins record have to be the rest of the way to win the AL Central? What would their winning percentage be?

Answer 1: The Twins would need to have a record of 51-32 which would be a winning percentage of 61.4%

Word Problem 2: What would the records of Cleveland and Detroit and Chicago need to be to win 84 games (meaning they would finish a game behind the 85-win Twins)

Answer 2: Cleveland 42-41 (50.6%), Detroit 41-40 (50.6%), Chicago 45-36 (55.6%)

Essay 1: Give TWO reasons that the Twins can win the AL Central.

Answer 3: First, the Twins have had a ton of injuries and when rosters are healthy, the Twins have the most talent in the division. They just need to get healthy and get rolling. Second, the AL Central is really bad.

Essay 2: Give TWO reasons that the Twins will NOT win the AL Central.

Answer 4: Although there may be several answers to this question, my response is that it’s still June and there is no reason to think that the Twins can’t win the division. Not yet!

You’re the teacher. How did I do?

5^th Inning – All-Star Discussion

For the last three or four weeks, the general discussion has been that the Twins would have one representative at the Major League All-Star game next month in Arizona.

Without doing the complete review of each American League roster, I now believe that despite the Twins record, there should be TWO Twins representatives at the All-Star game. I still completely believe that Michael Cuddyer should be a representative. I have said that he should be named the Utility Player for the AL roster since he has started at five different positions for the Twins this year. And, he is now hitting .286/.351/.454 with 16 doubles, ten homers and 30 RBI. There is no question that he should represent the Twins.

However, Scott Baker should also be added to the AL roster. He is 6-5 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP. In his 105.2 innings, he has issued just 29 walks and struckout 101 players. He has been a work horse and has never pitched better.

At the end of the day, I am not certain that the Twins will get two representatives. I think the fact that so many Yankees will be voted in will hurt those chances. But regardless of the honor, Twins fans have to know that both players are very deserving.

6^th Inning – Minor League Notebook

Rochester lost 4-1 to Pawtucket and managed just two hits. Dustin Martin went 1-2 with a walk. Eric Hacker started and gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. Carlos Gutierrez faced five batters. He gave up one hit, walked three and hit another batter. Jim Hoey came on and got the four batters he faced out. Cole DeVries pitched a scoreless eighth inning.

New Britain lost to Portland 4-3. Bobby Lanigan posted another Quality Start. He gave up three runs on six hits and three walks in six innings. Tony Davis went the next 1.2 innings and did not allow a run despite a hit and four walks. Bruce Pugh got an out but gave up a solo home run to take the loss. The Rock Cats had just five hits. Chris Herrmann, Brian Dozier and Yangervis Solarte were each 1-3 with a walk. Herrmann hit a double.

By the way, did anyone notice that in Deolis Guerra’s seven games out of the bullpen, he has walked three and struckout 23 in 13 innings? (hat tip to SethSpeaks.net contributor mini_tb)

Beloit beat Clinton 14-5. Michael Gonzales 3-5 with his 10^th and 11^th home runs and five home runs, and I continue to wonder why he is in Beloit. Jairo Perez was 3-5 with his fourth home run. Danny Santana went 3-5 with his 10^th double. Nate Roberts went 2-4 with a walk. Ryan O’Rourke gave up two runs on five hits in five innings. He struckout six. Blayne Weller gave up one run on two hits in three scoreless innings. Ben Tootle gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in one inning.

Elizabethton was able to beat Johnson City for the first time in a 4-3 decision. Eddie Rosario came into the game with a home run in three straight games. In this one, he went 2-3 with a walk and his fourth and fifth home runs. Matej Hejma hit his first homer. David Hurlbut gave up one run on five hits in five innings. Bart Carter struckout four in two scoreless innings. Steven Gruver gave up two runs on two hits and a walk and got two outs. Madison Boer came in and got the final four outs, two of them on strikeouts.

The GCL Twins lost 2-0 to the GCL Rays. Hein Robb started and threw four scoreless, no-hit innings. He walked two and struck out six. Cole Johnson threw two scoreless innings. Mark Trau gave up one run on one hit and two walks in two innings. Matthew Tomshaw gave up one run two hits in his inning. Kelly Cross went 2-3. Philip Chapman went 2-4. Estarlin de Los Santos played in his second rehab game and went 1-4.

7^th Inning – Doug Simonich Wins 1,000

Doug Simunic is the manager of the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks and has been since their first season in 1996. Over the weekend, he recorded his 1,000^th career win as a manager. In his 15+ seasons with the Redhawks, Simunic has led the team to a league title five times. He has led the team to 50-win seasons in all but one of those years. Congratulations!

8^th Inning – National Coach of the Year – Perham’s Dave Cresap

I’ve written a lot about the Perham High School Boys Basketball team this year and for good reason. The Zach Gabbard story is tremendous, and when I was at the Turtle Fest parade in Perham, he was sitting in a float commemorating the team’s state championship and passing out candy. One Clap for Zach generated a lot of dollars to help the Gabbard family. Assistant coach Brent Hanson is producing a movie, For Three, that will be opening and available on July 14.

On Wednesday, Perham’s coach, Dave Cresap was honored by Max Preps as the National Male Sports Coach of the Year. He beat out legendary hoops coach Bob Hurley and the coach of the Texas Class 5A football championship team for the honor.  

9^th Inning – Alright, the game was called after 8 innings due to rain, or heat, or curfew, or something…

That’s it for today. Thanks for reading! As always, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below.

SethSpeaks.net Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospects

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Normally I like to post my Top 50 Twins prospect lists before the draft and then following the minor league season in September. I then have updated my top 30 or 40 for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. Life, writing, kid, work and other things have been crazier this year than ever before. No surprise, but it definitely has affected blogging. Of course, I do encourage people to listen to the four half-hour podcasts that I’m involved in each week to get the most recent information if I don’t blog it.

Typically I have done a four or five part announcement of my Top 50 prospect list, but due to time, here it is today, in one installment. It also has a little different look. The below chart provides the ranking, position, age, team(s) and then some brief comments on the players.

Summary – to be honest, this is the most difficult time I have had putting together a prospect ranking for the Twins. This year, it was pretty easy to rank the top eight to ten, but beyond that, it was quite difficult. I think that the top of the Twins prospect list is very good, with some future all-stars and several big-league regulars. Beyond that, there are a bunch of prospects that I can see coming up and being back-of-the-rotation starters, bullpen types, solid big leaguers who can help the team. However, overall, I don’t think that this top 50 is necessarily as strong as it has been in year’s past.

Here are a couple of quick notes before we get started. First, Ben Revere (probably would rank 7th) and Luke Hughes (probably would be in the late teens) are now beyond rookie status (130 at bats), so they not in this list. I also did not include any of the 2011 draft picks. 2^nd round pick Madison Boer is the highest selection to sign. Their three first-round picks have not signed yet. I know the question will come up, so I will answer it now. Where would I rank top pick Levi Michael on this list? Sadly, I would probably rank him somewhere between 13 and 17 on this list. Travis Harrison would probably be in the high-20s, and Hudson Boyd would be in the low-20s. I would probably rank Madison Boer in the mid-30s.

The purpose of these lists is really twofold. First, I think that minor leaguers deserve to be recognized for the work they’re doing without notoriety for the most part. Second, for discussion on these prospects.

Yes, I did flip-flop at the top again. With what Aaron Hicks has done over the last two weeks, I am again really excited about his future. He’s always been about the tools, but having seen him work in person for a few days and to see the numbers, I hope that we are seeing those tools turn into skills. It is in no way a knock on Kyle Gibson who continues to be a great prospect who will certainly contribute to the Twins for years. I’ve been touting Liam Hendriks as a top prospect considerable as well, and I will stand by that. I think he can be a Twins starter for years as well. Miguel Sano has a ton of talent and the comparisons to the likes of A-Rod and Miguel Cabrera are exciting. I don’t question the bat, I’m just curious about a few things. Will he be able to play defense adequately anywhere? Can he cut down the strikeouts? That’s why I now have Oswaldo Arcia up at #3. I think that he can be very solid defensively, but he can also hit for average and power. I am intrigued by his promotion to Ft. Myers after his elbow surgery and am very interested in how he does.

My  Twins Minor League Weekly co-host, Travis Aune posted his Top 50 Twins prospects the other day, and I definitely encourage everyone to check that out as well. He and I both love following the Twins minor league system and see most of the same information. We then generate our own thoughts on the players and you will notice that there are many similarities and many differences. Some of the differing opinions mean a big difference in where we rank the players. The reality is neither of us know for sure what these minor leaguers’ careers will amount to. No one does. And that’s the fun of these lists. We can all have different opinions on the various prospects, generate our own opinions, and then over the next several years, we’ll see how it goes.

With all that introduction, I present to you, the SethSpeaks.net Top 50 Twins Prospects for mid-season 2011. I definitely welcome any questions, comments or opinions on my rankings. I also encourage you to post your Top 5, 10, 20 prospect list as well. Feel free to post any comments here. (Note – See www.SethSpeaks.net for the Comments)

Rank	Player	Pos	Age	Team	Comments
1	Aaron Hicks	OF	22	Ft. Myers	Hicks is now turning his tools into skills. Future All-Star.
2	Kyle Gibson	RHP	23	Rochester	Great K rate, GB rate, K:BB rate, so ignore that 3-7 W-L, Future All-Star.
3	Oswaldo Arcia	OF	20	Bel/FM	Missed a month and still promoted, impressive bat!
4	Liam Hendriks	RHP	22	New Britain	pushed to AA, has been terrific. 7-2, 2.81 ERA. Good K rate.
5	Miguel Sano	IF	18	Elizabethton	No question about the bat potential. Bad D, need to be patient.
6	Joe Benson	OF	23	New Britain	Streaky hitter, but great D, arm, speed, power, competitive
7	Trevor Plouffe	IF	25	Roch/Minnesota	How is his bat not in the big leagues right now??
8	Adrian Salcedo	RHP	20	Beloit	Long and lanky, and pitching well for Beloit!
9	Angel Morales	OF	21	Has Not Played	Hasn’t played this year, still ranks in top 10. Good power/speed.
10	Rene Tosoni	OF	24	Roch/Minnesota	Kubel-Lite has been pushed too fast this year, but terrific talent.
11	Chris Parmelee	1B	23	New Britain	Solid all-around hitter, improving 1B. Needs to keep improving.
12	Eddie Rosario	OF	19	Elizabethton	Complete package, line drives, HR power, great glove and arm.
13	Carlos Gutierrez	RHP	24	Rochester	throws 97, good ERA, too many walks, not enough Ks.
14	David Bromberg	RHP	23	New Britain	broken ulna cost him time, but he’s young and has the pitches
15	Danny Ortiz	OF	21	Beloit	April Hitter of Month, small guy, but huge power, good D
16	Tom Stuifbergen	RHP	22	Ft. Myers	4 ER in last 43+ IP. Touching 94, great changeup, good SL & CB
17	Pat Dean	LHP	22	Bel/FM	missed first six weeks, 7 Beloit starts, now to Ft. Myers.
18	Manuel Soliman	RHP	21	Beloit	Still learning to pitch, but he can get some strikeouts. Throws hard!
19	Bobby Lanigan	RHP	24	New Britain	Overshadowed in New Britain rotation. Has a great slider!
20	Niko Goodrum	SS	19	Elizabethton	Still very raw, but immensely talented, strong, fast.
21	Max Kepler	OF	18	Elizabethton	Still very raw, but immensely talented, strong, fast.
22	BJ Hermsen	RHP	21	Beloit	has improved since the beginning of season.
23	Brian Dozier	SS	24	FM/NB	Overlooked by me, he is a very steady, solid hitter and fielder.
24	Chris Herrmann	C/OF	23	FM/NB	Great approach at plate, catcher versatility, very good outfielder.
25	Yangervis Solarte	IF/OF	23	New Britain	Hit .350 most of year with pop, would like to see more walks.
26	Steve Singleton	IF	25	NB/Rochester	lots of doubles again this season, would like to see more walks.
27	Nate Roberts	OF	22	Beloit	On-Base machine. Little power, but a very good, line drive hitter.
28	Danny Rams	C	22	Ft. Myers	Approach at plate has improved, still lots of Ks and power potential.
29	Rory Rhodes	3B	19	Elizabethton	6-7 Australian will put up big numbers in E-Town, all-around hitter.
30	Logan Darnell	LHP	22	Bel/FM	Lefty with great stuff has pitched well at two levels.
31	Bruce Pugh	RHP	22	FM/NB	Rough 1st outing in NB, dominant since. Big fastball!
32	Anderson Hidalgo	3B	22	Ft. Myers	Just hits .300 everywhere, probably overlooked prospect.
33	Deolis Guerra	RHP	22	New Britain	Terrible as a starter, but so far, so good in the BP! Still young!
34	Lance Ray	OF	21	Beloit	Horrible April, steadily improve since. Good all-around  bat.
35	Nick Lockwood	2B	20	Elizabethton	Line Drive after line drive. Good 2B, will hit for gap power too.
36	Evan Bigley	OF	24	New Britain	Another overlooked prospect, very good all-around.
37	Alex Wimmers	RHP	22	Ft. Myers	1 outing, 6 batters, 6 walks… shut down. We can hope!
38	Scott Diamond	LHP	24	Rochester	After being tremendous in ATL system, pretty bad with Red Wings
39	Dakota Watts	RHP	23	Ft. Myers	Throws really, really hard.
40	Miguel Munoz	RHP	22	Ft. Myers	1 start, rehabbing elbow since. He has good stuff. Hope for health!
41	Michael Gonzales	1B	23	Beloit	Repeating Beloit, lost weight, quicker bat, great power, good AVG
42	James Beresford	IF	22	Ft. Myers	2-time Beloit MVP hit well early. Struggled of late. Great glove!
43	Ryan O’Rourke	LHP	23	Beloit	Lefty has pitched well out of BP and now as a starter too!
44	Anthony Slama	RHP	27	Roch/Minnesota	Can’t do any more in minors, needs a chance, with someone!
45	Angel Mata	RHP	18	GCL	Very young, very talented Dominican.
46	Danny Santana	SS	20	Beloit	Speed. Swings hard for little guy. Lots of Es. Did I mention Speed?
47	Brett Jacobson	RHP	24	New Britain	When he throws strikes, he can be really good. Not enough strikes.
48	Steve Hirschfeld	RHP	25	New Britain	My April and May Twins Min. Lg Pitcher of the Month!
49	Dan Rohlfing	C	22	FM/NB	Keeps getting pushed, much improved behind plate and at bat!
50	Matt Bashore	LHP	23	Elizabethton	He’s now healthy and can begin the slow trek up the system.

Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment here.

Baseball Bloggers Alliance Names 2011 All Stars

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net -

Outfielders Jose Bautista of the Toronto Blue Jays and Matt Kemp from the Los Angeles Dodgers led their respective leagues in balloting for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game as conducted by members of the Baseball Bloggers Alliance and announced today.

Bautista, who has an American League-leading 1.133 OPS to go along with his 24 home runs, was named on 50 ballots, not including one ballot that placed him at third base.  Bautista was joined in the outfield by Curtis Granderson of the New York Yankees, who received 48 votes, and Jacoby Ellsbury of the Boston Red Sox, who tallied 23 votes.

There were few close races in the AL voting by the BBA.  The tightest was at third base, where Yankee Alex Rodriguez outpolled Adrian Beltre of the Texas Rangers 30-16.  All other races were decided by at least twenty votes save the nod for starting pitcher.  Detroit Tigers ace Justin Verlander won that 16-6 over Jered Weaver of the Los Angeles Angels, but many bloggers did not designate a specific starter so fewer votes were cast in that category.

Other American League nods were to Tigers catcher Alex Avila, first baseman Adrian Gonzalez of the Boston Red Sox, Yankee second baseman Robinson Cano, and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera of the Cleveland Indians.  Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz was selected at that position.

Over in the National League, Kemp’s stellar first half–he sits second in batting average, first in home runs, second in RBI and has 21 stolen bases to boot–earned him mention on 54 ballots.  Accompanying him in the outfield was Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers and Lance Berkman of the St. Louis Cardinals.

As in the junior circuit, the closest race in the NL was at the hot corner.  Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco edged out Chase Headley of the San Diego Padres 21-14, with Atlanta Brave Chipper Jones receiving 10 votes.

The other races were not a contest, as Braves catcher Brian McCann, Brewers first baseman Prince Fielder and second baseman Rickie Weeks, and New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes all won their slots by at least 25 votes.

Starting the contest for the NL was Roy Halladay, who easily outpolled his Philadelphia teammate Cole Hamels for the honor.

The Baseball Bloggers Alliance was formed in 2009 with the purpose of encouraging collaboration and communication among bloggers from across baseball.  As a secondary goal, they vote on various awards throughout the year.  In January, they recommended Roberto Alomar and Bert Blyleven for the Baseball Hall of Fame and in March, they created a new award to honor the top internet writer and then named it after the first recipient, Sports Illustrated’s Joe Posnanski.  You can find the BBA at their website or on Facebook.  You can follow the Alliance at @baseballblogs on Twitter or via the hashtag #BBBA.

For reference, these are the ballots posted by members:

American League
22gigantes
500 Level Fan
85% Sports
90 Feet of Perfection
The Ball Caps Blog
Baseball Addict
Baseball Is My Boyfriend
Baseballism
The Bat Shatters
Blogging From The Bleachers
Blue Heaven
The Blue Jay Hunter
Boston Red Thoughts
Bronx Baseball Daily
Camden Crazies
Chicken Fried Baseball
Colorado Springs Fantasy Baseball Addict
Detroit Tigers Scorecard
Diamond Hoggers
Double G Sports
Dropped Strike Three
Dugger Sports
Dugout24
Fightin Phillies
The Flagrant Fan
The Full Count
Fungoes
Going Yard
I70 Baseball
John’s Big League Baseball Blog
Kings of Kauffman
Left Field
MLB Live Wire
Motor City Bengals
Nationals News Network
North Dakota Twins Fan
Off Base Percentage
Old English D
Old Time Family Baseball
The On Deck Circle
Orioles Hangout
Oysta Buns
Pitchers Hit Eighth
The Platoon Advantage
RetroSimba
Seed Spitters
Snow Woulda Had It
Splice Today
Tee Ball Baseball Blog
The Tribe Daily
Twins Trivia
What’s Brewin In Sports
Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?
World Series 41, Rangers Fan 1

National League
22gigantes
500 Level Fan
85% Sports
90 Feet of Perfection
The Ball Caps Blog
Baseball Addict
Baseball Is My Boyfriend
Baseballism
The Bat Shatters
Blogging From The Bleachers
Blue Heaven
Boston Red Thoughts
Bronx Baseball Daily
C70 At The Bat
Camden Crazies
Chicken Fried Baseball
Colorado Springs Fantasy Baseball Addict
The Crazy Crabbers
Detroit Tigers Scorecard
Diamond Hoggers
Double G Sports
Dropped Strike Three
Dugger Sports
Dugout24
Feeling Dodger Blue
Fightin Phillies
The Flagrant Fan
The Full Count
Fungoes
Going Yard
I70 Baseball
John’s Big League Baseball Blog
Left Field
Marlin Maniac
Marlins Diehards
MLB Live Wire
Motor City Bengals
Nationals News Network
North Dakota Twins Fan
North Side Notch
Off Base Percentage
Old English D
Old Time Family Baseball
The On Deck Circle
Orioles Hangout
Oysta Buns
Pitchers Hit Eighth
The Platoon Advantage
RetroSimba
Seed Spitters
Snow Woulda Had It
Splice Today
Stan Musial’s Stance
Tee Ball Baseball Blog
The Tribe Daily
Twins Trivia
Victoria Seals Baseball Blog
What’s Brewin In Sports
Where Have You Gone, Andy Van Slyke?
World Series 41, Rangers Fan 1

Feel free to comment here.

Twins From Down Under

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net

As Trent Oeltjen and the LA Dodgers knocked around Twins pitching last night, it became clear what the subject of my TwinsCentric blog should be. We all know that the Twins have signed a lot of players from Australia, but I think when you look at the caliber of some of the prospects and how many big leaguers the Twins have produced from Down Under, it really is impressive.

Remember in 2005 when infielder Glenn Williams finally got a big league opportunity? He played in 13 games for the Twins and had at least one hit in each of those games. He was 17-40 (.425) when he dove back into first base and jarred his shoulder. The injury kept him out the rest of the season, and he never appeared in the big leagues again.

Williams was a high-profile prospect, signed to a huge bonus as an 18-year-old. The Twins had other Australians in their system, and several of them reached the big leagues.

• Remember side-winding Michael Nakamura? In 2003, he walked just two batters and struck out 14 in 12.2 innings for the Twins. Of course, he gave up twenty hits, including four home runs, and posted a 7.82 ERA.
• Brad Thomas was a solid reliever for the Tigers in 2010, and he is still in their bullpen this year. Did you remember that he debuted with the Twins as a 23-year-old in 2001 and pitched in 23.1 big innings over parts of three seasons from 2001 through 2004?
• Justin Huber was a huge prospect in the Royals system but never got an opportunity with them. He came to the Twins in 2009 and after a strong AAA campaign got a September call-up to the Twins. He went 1-2 before an oblique injury cost him the rest of that season.
• Grant Balfour debuted with the Twins in 2001 as a 23-year-old. He came back in 2003 and again in 2004. He impressed with a big fastball but was often hurt. He missed all of 2005 and 2006 after a few arm surgeries, including Tommy John surgery. His career took off in 2008 with the Rays, and became one of the league’s top setup men. He was a Type A free agent this past offseason and signed a big contract with the Oakland A’s, where he is currently 4-1 with a 2.48 ERA in 32.2 innings.
• Ryan Rowland-Smith was the Twins Rule 5 selection from the Mariners after the 2004 season. He was returned to the Mariners late in Spring Training 2005. He pitched for the Mariners the last four years. He signed with the Houston Astros before this season.
• Trent Oeltjen signed with the Twins in 2001 and moved all the way up to AAA Rochester where he spent the 2007 season. He was generally one of the better players on his teams. I had the chance to do a Q&A with Oeltjen following the 2006 season, which was fun. In my June of 2007 Top 50 Twins Prospect Rankings, I had Oeltjen at #10. He peaked in my rankings at #9 following the 2006 season. Oeltjen got into 24 games in 2009 with the Diamondbacks, and has now played in 24 games for the Dodgers over the past two years. By the way, his numbers in Albuquerque before the Dodgers called him up? .339/.429/.583 with 14 doubles, three triples and eight home runs in 180 at bats.  

Luke Hughes is the only current Twins player from Australia in the big leagues. He debuted in style in 2010 when he homered in his first big league at bat, against the Tigers’ Max Scherzer. He was one of the big stories of spring training again in 2011 but was the last cut. Of course, he has spent all but a couple of weeks in the big leagues this season and hit .246/.308/.313 with six doubles and a home run while playing 1B, 2B and 3B.  Hughes is followed by several very good prospects:

• Allan de San Miguel is in his seventh season in the Twins minor league system yet is still just 24 years old. The 5-9, 200 pound catcher is currently rehabbing an elbow injury in Ft. Myers. He has a career hitting line of .202/.321/.290, playing at every level of the Twins farm system. In an organization with several very good defensive catchers, De San Miguel is among the most respected behind the plate.
• Liam Hendriks is a Top 5 Twins prospect, and may still be underrated. The 22 year old was recently named to this year’s Futures Game in Phoenix. He was named to the team a year ago too, but he suffered an emergency appendectomy and missed a month. This year with Double-A New Britain, Hendriks is 7-2 with a 2.81 ERA and a 1.17 WHIP.
• James Beresford is a 22 year old middle infielder for the Ft. Myers Miracle. He is hitting .251/.297/.259 with five doubles. He was the MVP of the Beloit Snappers the last two years. He is 6-2 but weighs barely 165 pounds. The most frequent saying around Beresford is that if he can add some weight, he will be really good. He is already a solid player and a tremendous glove and a leader.
• Todd Van Steensel signed with the Twins late last year. The 20 year old was the Opening Night starter for the Elizabethton Twins. He has made two starts and has three walks and 14 strikeouts in 10 innings.
• Also at Elizabethton is Rory Rhodes. The 19 year old third baseman stands 6-7 and weighs 200 pounds. Though seventeen at bats, he is hitting .353/.421/.706. Of his six hits, he has three doubles and a home run.
• Tim Atherton was in the Twins system a few years ago and recently resigned with the team. The 21-year-old has two walks and nine strikeouts in six innings with the GCL Twins.
• Mark Trau is a right-handed pitcher who just turned twenty. He has made just one appearance with the GCL Twins this year and pitched a scoreless inning.
• First baseman Josh Hendricks is 19 years old and 6-3, 217 pounds. He is currently 0-16 with the GCL Twins.
• Jacob Younis is a 17 year old infielder with the GCL Twins. At 5-9 and 180 pounds, he is now 5-12 (.417/.533/.417).

Hendriks is far and away the best prospect, but Rhodes has a chance to fly up prospect rankings this year. The Twins continue to have a very strong presence in Australia and the pipeline continues to grow. Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers from Australia or elsewhere? Feel free to comment here or here.

Twins Minor League Update

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I was driving on Thursday night, so here is a quick minor league update for you of the last couple of days in the Twins minor leagues, starting with an injury update:

• Jeff Manship is expected to begin a rehab assignment soon in the GCL after missing the last month with a shoulder injury.
• Ray Chang continues to improve, but is still at least a month out after suffering his broken fibula.
• There is no time table yet for a return for Jeremy Reed from a lower back injury.
• Brandon Roberts started his rehab assignment on Thursday in the GCL and played on Friday as well. See how well he did down below.
• David Bromberg is feeling very well but is likely still about a month from returning from breaking his ulna.
• Spencer Steedley’s elbow has again kept him out of action and there is no time table yet for his return.
• Allan de San Miguel also was having elbow issues. He is in Ft. Myers rehabbing and is still a few weeks out.
• Joe Benson had his knee scoped earlier this month and is probably a week to ten days away from a return.
• Paul Bargas is at his home undergoing treatments for his cancer. He continues to make progress. This ‘injury’ is obviously much, much different than any of the others.
• Miguel Munoz continues to rehab his elbow and is at least a month from a return.
• Dan Osterbrock’s shoulder continues to be an issue with no time table for return at this time.
• Still no time table on Paul Kelly’s return after surgery in April to remove a blood clot from his shoulder area.
• Oswaldo Arcia started his rehab and played right field after having arthroscopic surgery on his elbow in early May.
• Angel Morales had the same elbow procedure done in early June, so he is several weeks away from a return.

Twins 33^rd round pick Stephen Wickens is signed and ready to play, but visa issues currently have him waiting up in Canada. The shortstop went to school at Florida Gulf Coast University.

And another exciting piece of news for Twins fans is that 2009 supplemental first round pick Matt Bashore is on the Elizabethton roster. He has been working throughout spring training to return from two arm surgeries, including Tommy John surgery over the past 22 months. He has made two appearances for Elizabethton. He is touching 90 mph again, which is certainly a positive. The Twins will definitely be monitoring his every step and his innings throughout the season.

Now that North Carolina and Vanderbilt have been eliminated from the College World Series, the Twins are free to negotiate with 1^st round pick Levi Michael and 3^rd round pick Corey Williams, just like any other draft picks.

• Be sure to listen to yesterday afternoon’s Twins Minor League Weekly episode.
• Be sure to head to Twinkie Town later this morning to see Roger’s Minor League Report for this week.
• Be sure to head to Travis Twins Talk today when he is expected to post another prospect profile.

If you have other Twins minor league questions, please feel free to ask, or discuss in the comments section.

Rochester Red Wings

The Red Wings lost a 7-2 decision on Thursday to Charlotte. Eric Hacker started and gave up two runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out six. Carlos Gutierrez and Kyle Waldrop each threw a scoreless inning with a strikeout. Anthony Slama then struck out two in his perfect ninth. Dustin Martin led off and went 2-4 with a walk and his sixth homer. Jeff Bailey went 2-4 with his second triple. Aaron Bates and Toby Gardenhire each went 2-4.

On Friday night, the Red Wings and Syracuse played just three innings before the game was suspended. The Red Wings were already down 8-1. Ryan Mullins went just 2.1 innings and gave up seven runs on seven hits and a walk.

Following the Twins 4-3 loss on Friday night to the Brewers, the Twins activated Jim Thome and sent Rene Tosoni back to the Red Wings.

New Britain Rock Cats

The Rock Cats game against Bowie was postponed by rain for the second straight day on Thursday. On Friday, the team played against Trenton. Bobby Lanigan started and gave up just one run on five hits. In eight innings, he walked two and struckout nine. Deibinson Romero was 2-4. Mark Dolenc and Dan Rohlfing each knocked a double. And the Rock Cats won 3-2. 

Ft. Myers Miracle

On Thursday night, the Miracle lost 6-5 to Bradenton in 14 innings to start the second half of their season. Logan Darnell started and gave up two runs on four hits in six innings. He walked three and struck out two. Shooter Hunt came in and faced five batters. He gave up two runs on a home run and four walks without recording an out. Matt Hauser came in and gave up one run on two hits. He walked none and struck out four. Matt Tone walked two and struck out three in two scoreless frames. Edgar Ibarra threw two shutout innings before allowing a run in the 14^th. Nick Romero went 2-6 with his 12^th double. Six other Miracle hitters had one hit in the long game.

On Friday, the Miracle fell 16-5 to Bradenton. Aaron Hicks went 2-4 with a walk and his 18^th and 19^th home runs. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-5 with his 16^th double. Ricky Bowen started and gave up nine runs on nine hits and a walk before being ejected after hitting his second batter of the third inning. Andrew Albers replaced him and  gave up two unearned runs on four hits in 3.1 innings. Shooter Hunt came in and gave up five earned runs on one hit and seven walks in 0.2 innings. Steve Liddle came to the mound and went the final 1.1 innings. He gave up no runs on one hit and one walk. He even struck one out.

Beloit Snappers

The second half of the Snappers season started on Friday night with a 3-2 win over Cedar Rapids on a walk-off squeeze bunt. Ryan O’Rourke started and was terrific again. The left-hander gave up one run on four hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out nine. Manuel Soliman then struck out three in two one-hit innings. Clinton Dempster worked a scoreless innings. Jose Gonzalez gave up a game-tying solo homer in the top of the ninth. After singles by Lance Ray and Tobias Streich, Ray scored on a bunt by Daniel Santana to win the game. Nate Roberts went 2-3 with his first home run of the season. He was also hit by a pitch for the 22^nd time this year.

Again, the Snappers are hosting a Twins-related weekend in Beloit with lots of activities involving the Twins who are just down the road in Milwaukee. If you have a chance, head on over and catch a Snappers game and enjoy some of the festivities.   

Elizabethton Twins

On Thursday night, the E-Twins scored three runs in the bottom of the 9^th to capture a 6-5 win over Bluefield. Nick Lockwood hit a game-tying single before Kennys Vargas drove in the game winner. Jhonatan Arias went 2-3 with his first homer. Roy Larson went 2-4. Kennys Vargas and Eddie Rosario each went 2-5. Rosario also recorded outfield assists, throwing out runners at third base and home. Cesar Ciurcina started and gave up five runs on seven hits and three walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out five. Sam Spangler threw 2.1 scoreless innings. Nick Alloway then walked two and gave up one hit but no runs in 0.2 innings. Corey Kimes gave up two walks and a hit in 1.1 innings. Madison Boer made his season-debut with a scoreless, two strikeout ninth.

On Friday night, the E-Twins topped Burlington 8-7. David Hurlbut gave up three runs on three hits in four innings. He walked two and struckout four. Garrett Jewell worked a perfect fifth. Matt Bashore gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in his inning. Bart Carter struckout five in two innings. He gave up one run on three hits. Steven Evans gave up an unearned run on two walks in his two innings. Matej Hejma went 3-4 with a walk. Kennys Vargas was 2-4 with a walk. Miguel Sano and Tyler Koelling each had two hits. AJ Pettersen went 0-2 with three walks and a stolen base.

GCL Twins

The GCL Twins lost 9-2 on Thursday to the Rays. Brandon Roberts made his first rehab appearance and went 2-2. Aderlin Mejia was 2-4. Bobby O’Neill went the first 3.2 innings and gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits. He walked two and struck out three. Nick Cicio also gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits, but in just 1.1 innings. Tyler Herr then struck out two in two scoreless innings. Luis Nunez gave up three runs on five hits in two innings.

Hung-Yi Chen, an 18 year old from Taiwan, made his debut and threw four shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struckout six. Cole Johnson threw two scoreless innings. Marcus Limon then gave up a solo home run over his two innings. Matthew Tomshaw struck out two in a perfect ninth of the GCL Twins’ 10-1 win over the GCL Red Sox. Along with Chen’s performance, the big news in this game was the first rehab appearance for Oswaldo Arcia. He batted third and played right field. He was 3-4 with a triple. Aderlin Mejia went 2-3 with a walk. Wander Guillen went 2-4. Brandon Roberts was 1-3 with a walk.     

Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment here.

Twins Lose to Giants

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Before we start, a reminder that at 10:20 this morning, I will be joining the Paul Allen Show to discuss Twins topics on KFAN, its affiliates and at www.KFAN.com.

Here are some quick notes on the Twins 5-1 loss to the San Francisco Giants that ended shortly after midnight tonight:

• Nick Blackburn was good again. He threw another Quality Start, giving up three runs (2 earned) in six innings. There were a couple of errors behind him that hurt. Uncharacteristically, he walked three batters. But his ERA is still sitting at 3.15. He again gave the Twins a chance to win.
• Three errors in a game is never a good formula to winning baseball games. When you have a ground ball pitcher like Blackburn and three infielders commit an error, it reduces the odds of winning. Nishioka has been solid at shortstop since his return. He has a couple of errors, but he has also made a couple of nice plays. The announcers and many people that I read and listen to seem to think he’s doing a good job. I’m not quite convinced yet. I personally think that Alexi Casilla is better defensively at shortstop than Nishioka. That’s not to say that they should flip-flop them now at all. Nishioka needs more opportunity. But from what I have seen, I prefer Casilla.
• Phil Dumatrait and Jim Hoey pitched last night. Neither has pitched much of late, which is a good thing. Each gave up a run, although Hoey’s was unearned. I actually feel comfortable with Capps, Perkins, Mijares and usually Burnett. I have little confidence in Dumatrait or Hoey. With Joe Nathan likely activated in time to pitch (if needed) on Friday, it is likely that Hoey would be sent back to Rochester again.
• Delmon Young has been terrific in June. Maybe not Michael Cuddyer good, but he has definitely been better of late. Last night, he had a well-hit double. He needs to add more extra base hits.
• The loss, coupled with wins from Cleveland and Detroit, means that the Twins are now back at 7.5 games out of the division lead. I’ve had people say that it was a big loss and that they can’t afford to be giving games to those division leaders. Did people really think that the Twins needed to win all of their remaining games? Because, that isn’t really realistic. They will lose from time to time. They will play a few more stinkers, and they will simply lose a couple of games. But no, the loss last night does not alter my thinking that the Twins are back in it.
• I love hearing about former Twins player and minor leaguers making good in the big leagues, especially if they were role players or guys who didn’t get much opportunity. I love seeing the Trent Oeltjen is currently with the Dodgers, and he has had big league time the last three seasons. I love the Luis Maza got opportunities with the Dodgers. I like seeing Luis Rodriguez playing in Seattle. I like seeing former Twins do well. Except, I don’t like seeing them play well against the Twins. Eli Whiteside was in the organization in 2008. He played in just eight games for Rochester before going to the Giants organization.  

The Twins and Giants will complete their series on Thursday at 2 with Brian Duensing matching up against Tim Lincecum.

Rochester Red Wings

The Red Wings lost an 8-7 decision to Charlotte. Joe Nathan started for the Red Wings and worked just the one inning. He gave up an unearned run on one hit. He walked one and struck out three and should be heading to Milwaukee for the weekend series in Milwaukee. The regularly scheduled starter, Duluth native Andy Baldwin, gave up six runs on six hits in 4.1 innings. He walked two and struck out six. Jake Stevens gave up a run on a hit and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Chuck James gave up a hit and two walks, but no runs, in 1.1 innings. Eden Prairie’s Cole DeVries came in and struck out the one batter he faced. Aaron Bates hit his 10^th and 11^th doubles in five at bats. Michael Holliman went 1-2 with two walks and his second triple. Dustin Martin was 2-4.

New Britain Rock Cats

The Rock Cats game against Bowie was postponed by rain.  

Ft. Myers Miracle

Tom Stuifbergen’s impressive run continued on Wednesday night. However, the Miracle lost 6-5 in 10 innings. The Dutch right-hander gave up two unearned runs on four hits in five innings. He has now allowed just four earned runs over his past 36.2 innings. Andrew Albers threw two scoreless innings. Dakota Watts gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in two innings. He did strike out four. Matt Tone got the loss. He struck out two in the bottom of the 10^th, but he gave up a run on a hit and a walk. Speaking of on fire, Aaron Hicks has been remarkable since early May. In this game, he went 3-4 with a walk, his 17^th double and third triple. Steve Liddle went 2-4 with a walk and his ninth double. Reggie Williams and James Beresford each had two hits.

Beloit Snappers

The Snappers were on their final day of their All Star break. Their second half begins on Thursday night.  

Elizabethton Twins

The E-Twins completed the game they started on Tuesday night. Unfortunately, after completing nine innings before the lightning and rains came, they were delayed and the game was suspended. It took four more innings, but the E-Twins fell to Bluefield 6-5. Aside from the highlights mentioned yesterday, there was little to talk about in the final four innings. That said, Derek Christensen threw great. The sidewinding right-hander threw three shutout innings before allowing a run in his fourth inning of work. He walked none and struck out five. Speaking of strikeouts, the E-Twins did plenty of it! In 13 innings, the team struck out 23 times. Max Kepler, Miguel Sano and Rory Rhodes each struck out four times.

In the regularly scheduled game, the E-Twins again lost, this time 4-3 to Bluefield. Kennys Vargas went 2-3 with his second home run in as many games. Eddie Rosario hit a double, and JD Williams hit a triple. Justin Parker made the start and gave up four runs on eight hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out three. Pedro Guerra threw three innings of one-hit ball. He walked none and struck out four. Steven Gruver threw a scoreless inning.  

GCL Twins

The GCL Twins lost 5-1 to the Rays. The team managed just four hits. Kelvin Ortiz hit a double. Hein Robb started and gave up four runs on six hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. Tim Atherton struck out three in 2.2 scoreless innings. Mark Trau walked one in a scoreless inning. Kyle Wahl gave up one run on two walks in his inning. Markus Solbach threw two scoreless innings.   

Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment here.

Twins Notes and Links

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The Twins won for the 13^th time in their last 15 games last night thanks to scoring eight first inning runs against Madison Bumgarner and the World Champion San Francisco Giants. Frankly, the rest of the game was fairly uneventful, and after watching so many one-run games, a blowout was kind of nice. Carl Pavano said that he didn’t have good stuff, and yet he was able to work through eight innings and gave up just two runs. Alexi Casilla hit a late home run to give the Twins their final 9-2 score.

With the late game, I was able to read through a lot of other Twins blogs and here are some links. There are also a few more of my thoughts for your consideration.

• First, be sure to listen to last night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast. I made myself take a night off and thankfully, Cody Christie (North Dakota Twins Fan) was willing and able to host the show for me. Be sure to check that out.
• I really am a big Ben Revere fan and I believe that he can be a big part of the future of the Minnesota Twins. However, I do think that the credit being given to him right now is a bit much. After going 2-4 (with two first inning hits) on Tuesday night, he is now hitting .269/.303/.298. That equates to a .601 OPS. I get it. He’s really fast. He has game-changing speed. We have seen how much range he has defensively. He is 6-8 in stolen base attempts. Remember a year ago when many thought that Denard Span had a bad year as a leadoff hitter? He got on-base 33% of the time. He is a career .366 OBP guy. So to think that Revere is a better leadoff hitter (and we have heard that a lot from many Twins fans) is kind of silly. Delmon Young has been hitting very well in June (.323/.343/.431). Michael Cuddyer is playing great. Jason Kubel was the team’s best hitter when he was healthy. Denard Span needs to play. When those outfielders and Jim Thome are healthy, how can a .600 OPS justify playing time? Jason Repko has posted a .601 OPS in his two years with the Twins. He plays good defense and has a rocket for an arm. I have no problem with Repko playing once a week or once every ten days. I have a problem with a 23 year old with a good future being a role player in the middle of the season. I’m not negating the intangibles, but I think a realistic look at the situation tells us that we really need to calm our thoughts and expectations on Revere.
• Andrew from Off the Mark blogs about Ben Revere, and he uses a Joey Gathright comparison and says that Revere has been “awful” offensively. Maybe a little strong.
• K-Bro wrote a Primer on DL Moves that is very educational and interesting.
• Nick Nelson wrote about the Denard Span situation and compared it to a similar situation that happened to the Twins a year ago.
• Travis Aune posts his choices for Twins Player and Pitcher of the Week.
• Giles makes the case for Scott Baker to make the All Star team.
• Twin Nation posted a Q&A with AJ Petterson, the Gophers SS who the Twins drafted with their 25^th round pick.
• Stadium Journey gives their assessment of Hammond Stadium, the home of the Ft. Myers Miracle and the Twins spring training stadium.
• The Rochester Baseball Observer asks if we should have a campaign for Trevor Plouffe, who has been on fire again since returning to the Red Wings lineup.
• Aaron Gleeman also posted several Twins Notes.
• For much more frequent notes and updates, be sure to follow me on Twitter.

Any other thoughts or questions? Feel free to comment here.

Twins Tuesday Minor League Highlights

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The Twins are playing in San Francisco as I type this… I thought I would post a quick blog entry on each of the Twins minor league affiliates for Tuesday. Please feel free to ask any questions, or comment on anything.  

By the way… this is fun!

Top 1st: Minnesota

 

- B. Revere singled to shallow left

- A. Casilla doubled to left, B. Revere to third

- J. Mauer singled to shortstop, B. Revere scored, A. Casilla to third

- M. Cuddyer doubled to left, A. Casilla scored, J. Mauer to third

- D. Young singled to shallow center, J. Mauer scored, M. Cuddyer to third

- D. Valencia doubled to shallow left center, M. Cuddyer scored, D. Young to third

- L. Hughes singled to left, D. Young and D. Valencia scored

- T. Nishioka doubled to deep center, L. Hughes to third

- C. Pavano struck out swinging

- B. Revere doubled to shallow left, L. Hughes and T. Nishioka scored

- G. Mota relieved M. Bumgarner

- A. Casilla safe at first on third baseman P. Sandoval’s fielding error, B. Revere to third

- J. Mauer lined into double play second to first, A. Casilla out at second

8 runs, 9 hits, 1 errors

Minnesota 8, San Francisco 0

Rochester Red Wings

Aaron Bates doubles in Brian Dinkelman to give the Red Wings a 5-4 win over Charlotte in the bottom of the 10^th tonight. Trevor Plouffe went 4-5 with his seventh double and ninth home run. Jeff Bailey went 3-4 with his 12^th double. Scott Diamond started and gave up four runs (3 earned) on 10 hits and a walk in 5.2 innings. He struck out five. Kyle Waldrop got all four batters he faced out. Joe Nathan worked a scoreless inning, allowing just a bloop single. Anthony Slama struck out the side in the 9^th and struck out two more in the 10^th to improve to 3-1.

New Britain Rock Cats

The Rock Cats got another terrific start from Liam Hendriks. The right-hander improved to 7-2 and dropped his ERA to 2.81. He gave up two runs (1 earned) on eight hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out six. Tony Davis came in and gave up two hits and a walk. Deolis Guerra came in and gave up a walk but held the lead recording three outs. Tyler Robertson gave up one run on three hits in the 9^th, but still recorded his eighth save. Brian Dozier was back in the lineup and he went 2-4. Yangervis Solarte went 2-4 with his 17^th and 18^th doubles. The big hit came off the bat of Deibinson Romero, a three-run homer.  

Ft. Myers Miracle

The Miracle are finishing out the first half, and in this game, they fell 5-0 to Palm Beach. Jhon Garcia made his first Miracle start and gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. Edgar Ibarra got the next four outs without more damage. Shooter Hunt gave up one run on two hits and a walk in his inning. Ricky Bowen and Matt Tone each struck out two in a scoreless inning. Aaron Hicks’ hot streak continues. He was 1-2 with three walks and his 16^th double. Reggie Williams went 2-4 with a walk and his second double.

Beloit Snappers

The Snappers were on day two of their All-Star break. Well, except for three of their players. Danny Ortiz started in left field and batted third. He went 0-5. Michael Gonzales started at 1B and batted sixth. He went 1-2. Adrian Salcedo gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in 0.2 innings.  

Elizabethton Twins

The E-Twins started their season tonight, but they didn’t have a win or a loss to show for it. Instead, they had a lightning delay and when they returned, they had a rain delay, so they will complete the game tomorrow morning. It will begin in the 10^th inning with the score tied at five a piece. Todd Van Steensel got the starting nod for the E-Twins in their opener. He exhibited some nerves in the first inning when he gave up three runs on two home runs. But he settled down. In five innings, he gave up just the three runs on just the two hits. He walked two and struck out eight. Bart Carter struck out the side in the 6^th inning. He then gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in the 7^th. In great news, Matt Bashore struck out one in a perfect inning. Garrett Jewell started the 9^th and gave up a hit when there was the first delay. When play resumed, Steven Evans came in and finished the top of the 9^th. Niko Goodrum was the offensive hero. He got the E-Twins on the board with his first home run of the year. He later singled in the game-tying run. Miguel Sano and Nick Lockwood each went 2-5 with a stolen base. Rory Rhodes was 2-4 with a double. Kennys Vargas hit a big two-run homer as well.

GCL Twins

The GCL Twins improved to 2-0 with a 4-0 win over the GCL Orioles. Angel Mata started and gave up just two hits and two walks in four scoreless innings. Matthew Tomshaw came in and struck out two in two scoreless innings. Cole Johnson threw two scoreless innings. Marcus Limon struck out all three batters he faced in the 9^th. Aderlin Mejia went 2-3 with a walk. Candido Pimentel was 2-5. Jorge Polanco was 2-5 with a double. Wander Guillen was 0-1 but had two walks.  

Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment here.

Twins Minor League Weekend

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Here are some notes from the Twins Minor League Weekend. Be sure to join Travis Aune and myself at 10:00 tonight for a new Twins Minor League Weekly. On Monday, the GCL Twins started. On Tuesday, the Elizabethton Twins will play their first game of the season. Here are notes from all four full-season affiliates and short-season notes and rosters.

Rochester Red Wings

On Friday, the Wings won 7-4 over Indianapolis. Andy Baldwin gave up one run on five hits and two walks in six innings. Carlos Gutierrez struck out three in two scoreless innings. Dusty Hughes gave up three runs on four hits in 0.2 innings. Anthony Slama got the final four outs. Aaron Bates went 3-4 with his eighth double. Chase Lambin was 2-2.

On Saturday, the two teams played two games. In the first, the Red Wings lots 7-5. Chase Lambin went 3-4. Steve Holm went 2-3 with a walk and his third and fourth doubles. Dustin Martin went 2-5 with his ninth double. Michael Holliman went 2-4. Trevor Plouffe went 2-4 with a walk, his fifth double and his seventh home run. Eric Hacker gave up five runs (1 earned) on four hits and two walks in five innings. Kyle Waldrop gave up two unearned runs on three hits. Chuck James went two scoreless innings.

In the second game, Plouffe again led the offense. He went 3-5 with his sixth doubles, second triple and eighth home run. Steve Holm went 2-4 with his first home. Brian Dinkelman went 2-3 with two walks. Steve Singleton went 2-5. Jeff Bailey hit his fifth home run. Jake Stevens gave up three runs on six hits in 2.2 innings. Cole DeVries gave up one run on five hits in 3.1 innings. Joe Nathan struck out two in a scoreless inning. Carlos Gutierrez then gave up three runs (1 earned) on one hit and a walk in 0.1 innings. Anthony Slama went 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing a hit and a walk.

And on Sunday the Red Wings lots 8-3. Trevor Plouffe continued a torrid stretch, going 3-4. Toby Gardenhire went 2-4. Ryan Mullins gave up six runs on 11 hits and two walks in four innings. Dusty Hughes struck out two in two scoreless innings. Kyle Waldrop threw two scoreless frames, allowing two hits. Chuck James then gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in his inning.

Again, be sure to bid on the game-used Red Wings uniforms from this weekend. All proceeds from the auctions will go to terrific causes.

New Britain Rock Cats

Brett  Jacobson was the story for the Rock Cats on Friday night. New Britain beat Reading 6-0 behind the right arm of Jacobson. He threw nine shutout innings, allowing just three hits, walking one and striking out eight to improve to 3-0 with a 1.92 ERA. Mark Dolenc went 3-4 with a walk and his 11^th stolen base. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with a walk and his 11^th double. Nate Hanson was 2-5 with his second double.  

On Saturday, the Rock Cats topped Reading 2-1. Dennis Suarez started and was terrific again. He went six shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out four. Deolis Guerra came in and struck out five in two scoreless innings. Tyler Robertson gave up one run on two hits in 0.2 innings. Bruce Pugh came in to get the final out, a strikeout, for his third save. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his 12^th and 13^th doubles. Chris Parmelee and Yangervis Solarte were each 2-4. Evan Bigley knocked his fifth home run.

On Sunday, the Rock Cats completed the sweep of Reading with a 5-3 win. Steve Hirschfeld went 5.2 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits. He walked none and struck out seven. Mike Tarsi gave up two hits in 1.1 scoreless innings. Bruce Pugh gave up one run on two hits and a walk in two innings, but he recorded his fourth save. Chris Parmelee went 2-5 with his fifth home run. Chris Herrmann went 1-2 with three walks. Yangervis Solarte went 2-4. Mark Dolenc tripled, his third. Chris Cates and Dan Rohlfing each hit a double.

Be sure to check out Travis’s blog on Twins pitching prospect Liam Hendriks.

Ft. Myers Miracle

The Florida State League hosted its All Star game in Clearwater on Saturday night. Danny Rams caught a couple of innings and went 0-1. Dakota Watts came in and faced two batters. He got both out, one of them on a strikeout. The Miracle play three more games, starting tonight, before the start of the 2^nd half of the season.

Beloit Snappers

The Snappers are finishing out their first half. On Friday night, they lost 5-4 in 11 innings to Burlington. Pat Dean started and gave up two runs on five hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out six. Nelvin Fuentes gave up a run in his inning, although he struck out two. Jose Gonzalez gave up only an unearned run in his three innings. Blayne Weller started the bottom of the 11^th and gave up a leadoff, walk off home run. Kyle Knudson went 2-4 with his third double. Wang Wei Lin and Jairo Perez each went 2-5. Perez stole two bases.

On Saturday, the Snappers beat Burlington 7-4. Michael Gonzales (who really should be promoted to the Miracle following the Midwest League All-Star game) went 4-5 with a stolen base. Jairo Perez went 2-5 with his third and fourth steals. Wang-Wei Lin went 2-5. Danny Ortiz knocked his 24^th double. AJ Achter got the win. He gave up just one run on four hits in seven innings. He walked two and struck out five. Andrei Lobanov gave up three runs on four hits in his inning. Michael Tonkin recorded his second save with a scoreless ninth.

On Sunday, the Snappers got the series win with a 5-1 decision over Burlington. Manuel Soliman gave up one run on four hits and three walks in six innings. He was followed by scoreless frames from Ryan O’Rourke, Ben Tootle and Nelvin Fuentes. Daniel Santana went 3-4. Nate Roberts went 2-4 with his second triple. Danny Ortiz was 2-3 with a walk. Jairo Perez went 2-4.

The Snappers are off tonight. The All Star game is on Tuesday night.

Elizabethton Twins

The Appalachian League gets started on Tuesday night. On Sunday evening, the team and their bus finally arrived in Elizabethton despite some issues well chronicled by Todd Van Steensel.

ROSTER:

• Pitchers: Nick Alloway, Matt Bashore, Madisor Boer, Bart Carter, Derek Christensen, Cesar Ciurcina, Steven Evans, Steven Gruver, Pedro Guerra, David Hurlbut, Garrett Jewell, Corey Kimes, Justin Parker, Tim Shibuya, Sam Spangler, Todd Van Steensel.
• Catchers: Jhonatan Arias, Matt Parker
• Infielders: Niko Goodrum, Roy Larson, Nick Lockwood, AJ Pettersen, Rory Rhodes, Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas
• Outfielders: Matej Hejma, Brandon Henderson, Max Kepler, Tyler Koelling, Eddie Rosario, JaDamion Williams

GCL Twins

The Gulf Coast League got started on Monday afternoon. The GCL Twins started with a 2-1 win over the GCL Orioles. Nothing like starting the season with a walk-off. Tied 1-1 going to the bottom of the 9^th, Kelvin Silvania doubled. With two outs, 37^th round draft pick Drew Leachman singled him in with the winning run. Ricardo Arevalo got the start. He went five innings and gave up an unearned run on three hits, walked three and struck out five. Tyler Herr followed with two scoreless innings. Luis Nunez gets the win. He threw two scoreless innings as well.

ROSTER:

• Pitchers: Ricardo Arevalo, Tim Atherton, Hung Yi Chen, Nick Cicio, Nathan Fawbush, Tyler Herr, Cole Johnson, John Krogstad, Marcus Limon, Angel Mata, Luis Nunez, Bobby O’Neill, Hein Robb, Markus Solbach, Matthew Tomshaw, Mark Trau, Kyle Wahl.
• Catchers: Phillip Chapman, Kelly Cross, Michael Quesada, Jairo Rodriguez
• Infielders: Wander Guillen, Josh Hendricks, Aderlin Mejia, Jorge Polanco, Kelvin Silvania, Stephen Wickens, Jacob Younis
• Outfielders: Drew Leachman, Kelvin Mention (DL), Kelvin Ortiz, Candido Pimentel.

Any other thoughts or questions on the Twins minor leaguers? Feel free to comment here.