Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2012 – Now Available as an e-book for $6.99 by clicking here. You can, of course, still get the print version for $13.99 by clicking here. 

We have looked at the catchers and the first basemen in the Twins organization the past two days. Today, I’ll be looking at the third basemen. Again, the purpose of this series is two-fold (if not more). First, it’s a look at the depth at or near the big leagues. Second, it’s a glance at the depth at the position throughout the system. You can find out who might be coming up to the Twins if there is a need, and you can find out who the prospects to watch might be.

I need to reiterate that these are my thoughts. I have no insider information to know where players will be playing for certain in 2012. Obviously after spring training, some of these players will be let go. There will be Disabled List players, extended spring training and more.

Minnesota Twins  

Danny Valencia (Luke Hughes, Jamey Carroll)

2011 was a difficult year for Valencia. In the first half, his numbers struggled thanks to a lot of at-‘em balls. His high BABIP in his rookie season was evened up by his low BABIP in his sophomore season. He can hit, and hitting in the bottom third of the lineup, he will succeed. His defense wasn’t as good in 2011 as 2010 either. More disturbing, he was the player blamed most by the manager, which makes no sense. I expect a solid season out of Valencia in 2012, maybe somewhere along the lines of .280/.340/.450 with 30+ doubles and 12-15 home runs. As I’ve pointed out before, I won’t be even a little surprised if Ron Gardenhire says that Sean Burroughs is competition for a starting job. Burroughs will get plenty of at bats in spring training though. And Luke Hughes, who is out of options, should again receive plenty of at bats and time in the field at three infield positions including 3B. Jamey Carroll is really a middle infielder, but some seem to think he might be a 3B option as well. I can’t see that.  

Rochester Red Wings

Sean Burroughs. Ray Chang

Burroughs was once one of baseball’s top prospects, then struggled, then got into drugs and alcohol. But he had a nice comeback season last year that saw him reach the big leagues for the first time since 2006. He did a nice job as a pinch hitter for Arizona. He is known as a very good defensive third baseman, which bodes well for him. He has also shown the ability to hit for average. I really believe that although he likely isn’t in direct competition with Valencia for a starting job, he is likely going to be battling Luke Hughes and maybe Tsuyoshi Nishioka for the final bench spots. With Trevor Plouffe also likely on the bench many nights, Gardy may find it important to have a left-handed bench bat.

Ray Chang made a very good impression last year in spring training. He went to New Britain and played well. He was promoted to Rochester where he played even better, hitting 3^rd many games for them. Unfortunately, he broke his fibula and missed almost two months. He will likely get time at 3B and at SS for the Red Wings.

New Britain Rock Cats

Deibinson Romero, Michael Hollimon

Romero was once considered a very good, high ceiling prospect. Following a injury-riddled season in Beloit, the Twins added him to the 40-man-roster. He struggled and was removed from the 40-man-roster a year later. Many questioned his work ethic, but he responded in 2011 with a solid year in AA. He could have become a free agent after the 2011 season, but he quickly resigned with the Twins.

Likewise, the Twins and Hollimon quickly agreed that he would return to the Twins rather than enter free agency. Between New Britain (97 games) and Rochester (29 games), he hit 19 doubles and 18 home runs. He primarily played 2B and LF but also go some time at the hot corner. The Twins drafted him in the 49^th round in 2003 but he didn’t sign. In 2008, he got 25 plate appearances with the Tigers. He had six hits, including two doubles, a triple and a home run.

Ft. Myers Miracle

Anderson Hidalgo, Jairo Perez

Hidalgo has been in the organization since 2006. He has moved up one level each year and was with the Miracle last year. His .274 batting average was the lowest of his career. In 2010, he was the only Beloit Snappers player to hit over .300 (.316). He has an unorthodox swing at the plate that many wonder if it will adapt as he moves up the ladder. Defensively, he’s a little below average.

Jairo Perez seemingly came out of nowhere last year. He spent the first two months of the year in Extended Spring Training, but after joining the Snappers in mid June, he hit .337/.413/.580 with 20 doubles and 15 home runs. He had missed all of 2010 with Tommy John surgery. He primarily played 3B but also played a few games at 2B. He is a little guy who takes a monstrous swing. He is not fast and his range is limited, so 3B is a better option.

Beloit Snappers

Miguel Sano, Roy Larson, Adam Bryant

I think most Twins fans have heard pretty much everything about Miguel Sano. He is the consensus top prospect in the Twins farm system. He got the big signing bonus. He draws comparisons to Miguel Cabrera and other great power bats in the game. He had a lot of errors last year in Elizabethton at both shortstop and third base, but he can flat-out hit. He hit .292/.352/.627 with 18 doubles, seven triples and 20 home runs in 66 games for the E-Twins. His power potential is off charts. The Twins are typically patient with their young prospects’ development. The same should be true of Sano. As much as his offensive game is advanced, there are more aspects of the game that he needs to work on. He needs to make more contact. He needs to run the bases better. And he needs to play better defense and just mature, in general. I would expect him to spend the whole season at Beloit.

Adam Bryant was the team’s 9^th round pick just last year, and as a four-year college senior, he signed quickly and was sent to Beloit where he held his own. He played all three infield positions and was solid with the bat. He’s a solid, all-around player who will likely advance as a utility player. The Twins signed Larson out of the University of St. Thomas. He’s 6-6 and struggled in E-Town, but he has very quick hands and bat speed. He can play both corner infield spots. Due to his age (he’s 24), he’ll likely have to advance through the lower levels quickly.

Extended Spring Training/Short-Season

Travis Harrison, Javier Pimentel

It will be interesting to see where Harrison and Pimentel will play in 2012. The assumption is that both will go to Extended Spring Training. Harrison was the team’s supplemental first-round pick in 2011 out of high school in California. He has a bunch of power potential and some believe that he could also become an all-around hitter. Pimentel was signed in 2010 out of the Dominican Republic for about a $700,000 signing bonus. He split the 2011 season between the Dominican Summer League and the GCL. I think he would likely head to the GCL again, but he has very good potential as well. Signed as a shortstop, he already spent most of his time at third base in 2011.

TOP THREE PROSPECTS

1.)    Miguel Sano, 2.) Travis Harrison, 3.) Jairo Perez

SUMMARY

Third base is Danny Valencia’s for the near-term. Sean Burroughs provides some quality depth. This would be a position where the Twins are quite strong at the lower levels (with Sano, Harrison and Pimentel), but there is not much help above Beloit for 2012, at least not anyone that would have any long-term potential. We’ll need to wait until at least 2014 to see Sano (and that’s only if he advances on the Joe Mauer path), and Harrison and Pimentel are likely 2016 arrivals. Will Sano be able to stick at 3B? How will Valencia fare through his pre-arbitration and arbitration years? 

If you have any further questions, please feel free to e-mail me at sethspeaksnet@hotmail.com or leave your thoughts in the Comments Section!

Good Saturday morning! It sure was frustrating waking up this morning to an inch of snow on the ground. Almost as frustrating as watching the Twins has been lately. Here are my thoughts on the Twins right now:

Now, with that, here are some Saturday morning links from around the Twins blogosphere:

• First and foremost, just this morning, one of the longest tenured Twins bloggers called it a blogging career. Stick and Ball Guy decided that he will be shutting down the excellent World’s Greatest Online Magazine. SBG built up an incredible and thought-provoking community of writers. You could find information on the Twins, the Timberwolves, music and so much more. Having met SBG several times and some SBG Conventions and elsewhere, he is a terrific guy with a great family. He is a very successful person, and hopefully we will continue to see him around the Twins blogosphere!
• Over at Puckett’s Pond, they are doing a series called The Winning Teams, and here is a look at the 1969 Twins.
• Here is a look at Roger’s Minor League Report over at Twinkie Town.
• Ed Thoma, the Baseball Outsider, wrote about Mauer, Holm and Eli Whiteside! Great stuff!
• For the Love of the Game wrote some great Twins notes and updates and shared a bunch of great pictures.
• Peanuts from Heaven had Two Options to write a blog post about… See what they went with.
• Is it too early for the last paragraph of this Hitting the Foul Pole article yet? Sadly, if nothing else, it is a fair question at this point.
• Aaron Gleeman’s up to #20 in his Top 40 Twins players.
• Nick Nelson notes that the Twins have gone From Bad to Worst.
• Parker Hageman asked What’s Behind the Offensive Plight?

MINOR LEAGUE UPDATES

SethSpeaks.net Minor League Hitter of the Day – Anderson Hidalgo, Ft. Myers Miracle

Seth Speaks.net Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Steve Hirschfeld, New Britain Rock Cats, Brad Stillings, Ft. Myers Miracle  

Red Wings Ramblings

Friday – Red Wings 4, Lehigh Valley 9 – The Red Wings again played without Trevor Plouffe, and Ben Revere missed his first game after bruising his knee on Thursday night. Dustin Martin picked up the offense. He was 2-3 with two walks. Chase Lambin logged a triple. Rene Tosoni and Toby Gardenhire each drove in a run. Scott Diamond started and in 4.1 innings, he gave up two runs on five hits. He walked three and struck out two. Carlos Gutierrez was charged with four unearned runs in 2.1 innings. He gave up just two hits and a walk. Anthony Slama made his 2011 debut. In one innings, he gave up three runs on a hit, two walks, a hit batter and two wild pitches. Yorman Bazardo got the final four outs, two of them on strikeouts.

Andy Baldwin will get another chance to start against Scranton/Wilkes Barre on Saturday.  

Rock Cats Report

Friday – Rock Cats 2, Portland 1 – Steve Hirschfeld made his second consecutive very good start on Friday. He gave up one run on four hits and two walks in six innings. He struck out four. Jake Stevens threw two shutout innings. Tyler Robertson gave up two hits but no runs in a scoreless ninth inning. He got the win because Steve Singleton came up in the bottom of the 9^th and drove in Yangervis Solarte with a walk-off single. Solarte had been 3-3 with a stolen base in the game. Chris Parmelee had doubled in a run in the bottom of the 8^th to tie the game.

On Saturday, Liam Hendriks will make the start for the Rock Cats against Portland.  

Miracle Matters

Friday – Miracle 9, Bradenton 1 – The Miracle scored more than enough runs, but they also got tremendous pitching again. Brad Stillings started and went the first six innings. He gave up one run on five hits. He walked one and struck out five. Edgar Ibbarra threw two scoreless innings, striking out three. Matt Tone struckout one in a perfect inning. There were lots of contributions from the offense. Jhonathan Goncalves went 3-5 with two RBI. Nate Hanson had two doubles in five at bats. Brian Dozier went 2-4 with a walk. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-4 with his first homer. Danny Rams and James Beresford each had two hits. Chris Herrmann went 1-5, which dropped his batting average to .379, but the one hit was his first home runs of the year.

Minnesota native and St. Thomas alum Matt Schuld will make the start for the Miracle today against Bradenton.

Snappers Bites

Friday – Snappers, Cedar Rapids – The Friday night game was postponed by rain. On Saturday afternoon, the Snappers will send Adrian Salcedo to the mound. The teams are scheduled to play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. 

Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions or comments.

• Step 1: Finalize 2011 Minnesota Twins roster – Check.
• Step 2: Find a way to keep Scott Diamond in the organization – Check.
• Step 3: Configure the 2011 Triple-A Rochester Red Wings 24-man roster – In progress.
• Step 4: Configure the 2011 Double-A New Britain Rock Cats 24-man roster – In progress.
• Step 5: Configure the 2011 Hi-A Ft. Myers Miracle 25-man roster – In progress.

It may have been easier to project these rosters if I would have done them a week ago. By waiting until now, I am getting reports of which players are going where, so my projections continue to be updated. I can’t verify, but I have been told that Brian Dozier will start the season at New Britain. I hadn’t included him yesterday, and now I won’t include him today, which is why I needed to write about it. Not only does that confuse my Ft. Myers projection, but now consider the infield options in New Britain. Between the three positions, Deibinson Romero, Estarlin de Los Santos, Brian Dozier, Steve Singleton, Ray Chang and Chris Cates, not to mention Toby Gardenhire. I continue to hear about some minor injuries that either mean a season will be started on the Disabled List or at a lower level to work back.

With all that in mind, I present to you my thoughts on a projected roster for the Twins High-A affiliate, the Ft. Myers Miracle. (the below roster is my opinion and my guesses, and nothing official.)

Catchers: Danny Rams (40 man – No) – Dan Rohlfing (40 man – No) 

Danny Rams made a strong impression on the Twins this spring. After two years in Beloit, he will move up to the Miracle. He continues to be a work in progress behind the plate, but he does continue to improve. He will also get time at DH and at 1B. Rohlfing skipped Beloit last year and held his own until a couple of freak injuries cost him much of the second half to his season. There was some talk that he would go to Beloit to start the season so he could get even more playing time. Also, don’t forget that Chris Herrmann was a non-roster invitee to big league spring training as a catcher and he will get plenty of time behind the plate.  

Infielders: 1B – Nate Hanson (40 man – No), 2B – Nick Romero (40 man – No), 3B – Anderson Hidalgo (40 man – No), SS – James Beresford (40 man – No), Utility – Paul Kelly (40 man – No),

Nate Hanson had a very good 2010 season with the Miracle. However, assuming Chris Parmelee returns to New Britain (as he will), he won’t be platooned, so Hanson will likely return to Ft. Myers. Anderson Hidalgo missed time last year and it wouldn’t surprise me if he drops back to Beloit, but I will put him here. Nick Romero, James Beresford and Paul Kelly will be the three players to man the middle infield spots, and Romero and Kelly can also play 3B while Beresford is a solid 2B.  

Outfielders: LF – Chris Herrmann (40 man – No), CF – Aaron Hicks (40 man – No), RF – Lance Ray (40 man – No), 4th outfielder – Jonathan Goncalves (40 man – No), 1B/OF/DH – Steven Liddle (40 man – No), DL – Angel Morales (40 man – No)

Angel Morales is fighting some elbow soreness and will likely start the season on the Disabled List. He told me last night that it is feeling better, so it should not cost him too much time. Aaron Hicks tweeted the other day that he will play for the Miracle this season which likely surprises no one. Chris Herrmann was called the best defensive left fielder in the Florida State League, but he will also get time behind the plate. Steve Liddle will get time in left field, first base and DH. Jonathan Goncalves will likely return to the Miracle outfield where he did a nice job last year, especially defensively. Finally, at least while Morales is out, Ray will get a lot of playing time with the Miracle. One person told me that Ray is the team’s best pure hitter right now.  

Starting Pitchers: RHP Kane Holbrooks (40 man – No), RHP Tom Stuifbergen (40 man – No), RHP Alex Wimmers (40 man – No), Miguel Munoz (40 man – No), Brad Stillings (40 man – No)

Holbrooks is scheduled to make the Opening Day start for the Miracle. He was terrific at Beloit, in the bullpen the first half of last year, and did a very good job for the Miracle as a starter. He ended the season with one start in New Britain. Alex Wimmers signed late and impressed in 15 innings with the Miracle in August. It will be interesting to see if he stays with the Miracle through the season’s first half. Stuifbergen and his changeup have people in Ft. Myers talking. He is a smart, young pitcher with very good stuff who just needs to stay healthy. Brad Stillings has a terrific changeup and has pitched in the bullpen and rotation in his two seasons with the organization. Miguel Munoz throws hard, but sometimes he thinks too much on the mound. He does have really good stuff though.  

Bullpen: RHP Bruce Pugh (40 man – No), RHP Shooter Hunt (40 man – No), RHP Jhon Garcia (40 man – No), LHP Blake Martin (40 man – No), RHP Brad Tippett (40 man – No), RHP Edgar Ibarra (40 man – No), LHP Tony Davis (40 man – No), LHP Nelvin Fuentes (40 man – No)

Bruce Pugh ended last season with a couple of starts in New Britain. He has been experiencing some back problems this spring, so the hard thrower will return to the Miracle and work out of the bullpen to start the season. It was surprising to hear that, after spending the 2^nd half of 2010 in New Britain, Tony Davis returns to the Miracle. Hopefully he will find his control. Speaking of, Shooter Hunt returns to the Miracle in hopes of improving up his 2010 season. Brad Tippett has been a terrific pitcher for the Twins, whatever role he finds himself in, but last year was a wasted year thanks to some arm injuries. He is throwing well this spring though. Jhon Garcia actually got better and better as the season went along, and e pitched quite well in the Miracle bullpen at the end of 2010. Edgar Ibarra impressed me in a start I watched last year in Beloit. He has four pitches and is left-handed and throws hard. He and lefty Nelvin Fuentes will really make it difficult for left-handed hitters.  

Overall: Hicks is obviously the biggest name on this roster, but he is not alone. Alex Wimmers and Tom Stuifbergen are exciting pitchers. Angel Morales has tremendous upside. Danny Rams, Anderson Hidalgo, James Beresford and Miguel Munoz are all solid prospects who will try to improve in their jump to the Miracle. And, if Twins fans are looking for someone to cheer loudly for this year in the Twins farm system, look no further than Paul Kelly. Pat Dean will start the season in Extended Spring with some shoulder discomfort, but he could move up quickly to the Miracle. Matt Bashore and Ben Tootle will also be starting at EST, but could be moved up to the Miracle, if not first in Beloit.

Later today, I will post my roster projection for the Low-A Beloit Snappers.

If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to comment or ask.

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• TWINS MINOR LEAGUE WEEKLY PODCAST TONIGHT – If you are interested in the Twins minor league system, Twins Minor League Weekly podcast will begin on Thursday night at 10:00. Travis Aune and Seth will host the 10:00 p.m. podcast each Thursday throughout the season. We will talk about what’s going on with each Twins affiliate, how the teams are doing, who is hot, who is not, transactions, and much more.

It is always strange to me when I hear Twins fans and some minor league baseball fans talking about how disappointing Aaron Hicks has been in Beloit. I think part of it is because many, myself included, thought he would end the 2010 season in Ft. Myers. I realize everyone from fans to players to front office personnel are eagerly awaiting his breakout year when his incredible tools become skills and he puts up some terrific numbers. But I wanted to take a look at how his numbers at Beloit compare to other Twins players and their numbers in the Midwest League.

Let’s start by reviewing the numbers that Aaron Hicks has put up the last two years in Beloit:

Here are some current and former Twins players and how they did in the Midwest League (Note – Delmon Young’s A-ball numbers from the Sally League):

Here are a few notes:

• Everyone talks about how Torii Hunter didn’t put up great numbers in the Midwest League. Well, he did, and he did it at the age of 18. He was already showing some of that power.
• Michael Cuddyer put up some incredible minor league numbers all the way up the ladder, and it started as a 19 year old in 1998. Look at all those extra base hits.
• Justin Morneau didn’t get to the Midwest League until he was 20, and he only spent a half season there because he completely dominated the level.
• Joe Mauer’s OPS isn’t exciting, but we did get a glimpse of the player he has become too. Many more walks than strikeouts, a few doubles, and a good batting average.
• How fun would it have been to see Quad Cities play in 2002 with Mauer and Jason Kubel? You can see why so many people back then saw Kubel as a mix between Morneau and Mauer.
• Denard Span didn’t exactly put up monster numbers, and he did miss quite a bit of time with injury. The take-away from those numbers is that he had a very nice Isolated Discipline already even though he was, like Hicks, very raw at the time.
• Delmon Young was a beast after being taken with the 1^st overall pick in the 2003 draft. Ever wonder why people still think he’ll develop a lot of power, check out those numbers!
• Alexi Casilla was with the Angels organization, but what he did for Cedar Rapids made him the guy they wanted in a trade of JC Romero the next offseason.
• I included international players and high school drafted players in this group. Danny Valencia hit .302/.374/.500 (874) with 15 doubles and 11 homers in a half-season with the Snappers, but he was 22 years old after spending three years playing Division I baseball. Matt Tolbert played four years at the University of Mississippi, so the Twins had him skip the Midwest League and go right to Ft. Myers.

Can we take anything away from these numbers? With Hicks, you have to love his Isolated Discipline and On-Base skills from both years. The strikeouts increased some in 2010, but he has shown some extra base power. Delmon Young, Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel put up really tremendous numbers in the Midwest League, and that has translated to the big leagues eventually. Cuddyer was an extra base machine as a 19 year old in Beloit, and yet his OPS was lower than Hicks’ was in 2010, as a 20 year old. Joe Mauer has always had a terrific eye, and yet Hicks has produced significantly better IsoD while producing more extra base hits.

Of course, we don’t know what will happen. We know that all players develop differently, but I think that this quick, cursory glance at Hicks’ numbers compared to current big leaguers gives us no reason to believe he won’t continue developing and become a very good big league player.

Let’s also take a look at the Midwest League numbers of some of the other Twins hitting prospects to see how they compare:

• Trevor Plouffe put up those numbers only because he played much better in the 2^nd half of the season. Good power numbers, but he could have used another year with the Snappers.
• Both Joe Benson and Chris Parmelee struggled in their first seasons in the Midwest League. Then both got hurt halfway through their second season with the team. However, in the second year, you can see why people are excited about his patience and power potential.
• Looking at Revere’s Beloit numbers, what a year he had. Very much batting average based, of course. But if we were to only look at OPS, his is right up there with anyone (except Morneau). And he stole 44 bases that year too.
• Angel Morales… how/why is he so overlooked in many prospect rankings?
• James Beresford showed good improvement from 2009 and 2010. Reports are that he has gained some weight this offseason. If he can add any semblance of power to his game, he could jump up prospect rankings quickly!
• Danny Rams has so much power potential, but he just needs to put the ball in play more. His 77 strikeouts in 2009 came in just 175 at bats. He struck out 145 times in 407 at bats in 2010. Yet, his power numbers still make him intriguing.
• Anderson Hidalgo may be the least known, or maybe underrated, prospect in the organization. He had another solid year in 2010.

What is the summary? There really isn’t one. There is no science to prospect rankings and we don’t know how things will turn out, but if nothing else, I believe this data shows that Twins fans should continue to be very excited about the future of Aaron Hicks.

Any thoughts? Feel free to leave your comments here. Also, for more links to Twins articles and thoughts throughout the weekend, be sure to follow me on Twitter where I like to retweet Twins-related articles and post thoughts frequently. Have a great weekend!

Interview – Did an interview for Bullpen Banter regarding the 2010 Twins and many Twins minor leaguers. Check it out here.

Before we jump into Part 1 of a two-part prospect ranking, I need to point out a terrific article in today’s Ft. Myers News-Press. Remember last week when Bert Blyleven got into the Hall of Fame? (You’re Twins fans… you remember!) He, and many others, gave a lot of credit to BaseballAnalysts.com’s Rich Lederer for pushing Blyleven’s case. It should have been an easy case for baseball’s writers, but obviously it took 14 attempts to get it right. Lederer and Blyleven had spoken several times on the phone in the past with Blyleven frequently crediting Lederer for his help and efforts. On Tuesday night, the two met and embraced. The Twins surprised Blyleven by inviting Lederer to their fantasy camp. Lederer’s answer to their request was easy. Blyleven’s response to Lederer being there was priceless. Just a great story by the News-Press’s David Dorsey; a must read.

SethSpeaks.net Minnesota Twins Top 50 Prospects List 2011

As you know, I have been working on the 2011 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook for months. After of research and writing, a conclusion is finally in sight. In the next week, I will provide more information on the book, and how you can order or pre-order.

One thing that the book includes is my Top 30 prospects and a reminder of my previous Top 30s, going back to 2005. The book will include top 10 lists from many of your favorite bloggers.

I did something a little bit different in compiling my Top 50 list. I took the entire list of Twins minor league prospects from the GCL through Rochester, and in an Excel spreadsheet, I put each name in the first column and each name in the first row. Then I went through and compared every prospect to every other prospect, picking which of the two I thought was the better prospect. My ‘vote’ on each was based on a ton of research, stats, scouting reports and more. I considered which of the two players I would trade if a team said that I could pick which prospect to send in a potential deal. I compared Aaron Hicks to Kyle Gibson and Miguel Sano, and also against Matt Schuld and Matt Trau. I compared Manuel Soliman to Dan Osterbrock, Joe Benson and Dallas Gallant. After doing that for every player (which took WAY too long), I added up the total number of times I selected each player. The player that I chose above all players obviously ended up with the most points at the end of the day. The one with the second most votes would be the #2 prospect. And so on. Of course, there were ties, sometimes three-way ties, which I broke by my head-to-head results, so to speak. The results were interesting, at least in the middle of the list, but really throughout. Today I will post my choices for Twins Prospects #26 through 50 with a brief description. As you would expect, there was a tie at 50, so in fact, here are prospects 26-51. As always, your thoughts and opinions are welcome.

#50 (Tie) – Kyle Waldrop – RHP – Rochester

The Rochester relief pitcher has a terrific 2010 season and will head to spring training with the Twins again in 2011. Throws strikes and gets ground balls.

#50 (Tie) – Dan Osterbrock – LHP – Ft. Myers

Based on the season he had in 2010, he should be way up this list. A no-hitter in Beloit and sub-3 ERAs in Beloit and Ft. Myers. The soft-tossing strike thrower is intriguing. It will be interesting to see how he does when he gets to New Britain

#49 – Rory Rhodes – 3B – GCL Twins

                The 6-7 infielder from Australia had a solid season in the GCL. I have mentioned him as a 2011 breakout candidate.

#48 – Cesar Ciurcina – RHP – GCL Twins

                The righty came to the States and held his own in 2010 after putting up very good numbers in the Dominican in 2009. A long way to go, but plenty of potential.

#47 – Daniel Santana – SS – Beloit

                Split time between E-Town and Beloit. Little guy who struggled some in Beloit, but played well in E-Town, including showing some decent power numbers.

#46 – Evan Bigley – OF – New Britain

                The outfielder struggled to start the season back in Ft. Myers, but heated up in June. Played very well following a promotion to New Britain.

#45 – Anderson Hidalgo – 3B – Beloit

                Lone Snappers hitter to hit over .300 in 2010. Has good doubles power already. Missed some time with injury again.

#44 – Lance Ray – OF/1B – Beloit

                Twins 8^th round pick in 2010 out of Kentucky, he quickly moved up from Elizabethton and played very well in Beloit. Good power.

#43 – Brian Dozier – SS – Ft. Myers

                Just one of those solid, solid players. Hit about .280 at both Beloit and Ft. Myers. Good defense. OK speed. No power. Surprise non-roster invitee to big league camp.

#42 – Edgar Ibarra – LHP – Beloit

                Experienced ups and downs throughout the season, but the lefty has four good pitches, just needs to be more consistent with them.

#41 – Dakota Watts – RHP – New Britain

                2009 pick pitched at three levels in 2010. Some control issues, but the guy throws consistently in the upper 90s and hit 99 in Ft. Myers.

#40 – Logan Darnell – LHP – Elizabethton

                Twins 6^th round pick from Kentucky (yes, he teamed with Lance Ray and non-drafted free agent Gunner Glad there), the lefty had a nice debut with the E-Twins. Three good pitches.

#39 – Kane Holbrooks – RHP – New Britain

                Began the season by dominating in the Beloit bullpen, then made a couple of starts before being promoted to Ft. Myers where he pitched even better. Ended season with a start in AA.

#38 – Nate Roberts – OF – Elizabethton

                Twins 5^th round pick in 2010 from High Point University put up some of the best numbers of an Elizabethton Twins player over the last quarter-century.

#37 – Chris Herrmann – OF – Ft. Myers

                The 2009 pick skipped Beloit and held his own (including an All Star appearance) with the bat. Tremendous defensive LF but will also catch, including in big league training camp.

#36 – Michael Tonkin – RHP – Beloit

                It was surprising when he was the first starting pitcher promoted from Extended Spring Training, but he pitched well in Beloit before going back to Elizabethton.

#35 – Luke Hughes – IF/OF/DH/PH – Minnesota

                Homered in first big league at bat. OK at Rochester, but again was injured and didn’t play after June 6. Two surgeries (knee and groin). Potential big league super utility bat and pinch hitter.

#34 – Danny Rams – C/1B – Beloit

                Returned to the Snappers in 2010. Tremendous power. Improving catcher. If he can learn to hit a breaking ball, he could fly up this list. Time will tell.

(NOTE  – I just realized that I neglected to include Anthony Slama in my analysis/rankings. I will put the right-handed reliever with the tremendous K-Rate who should be in the Twins bullpen throughout 2011 right here at #33.5)

#33 – James Beresford – SS – Beloit

                Also returned to Beloit for second straight year, and was the team’s MVP for the second straight year. Amazing defensive middle infielder who just needs to get bigger to be a real big time prospect.

#32 – Rene Tosoni – OF – New Britain

                He’s been a top 10 guy for me in previous years. He was OK last year in New Britain before his season-ending shoulder surgery. Just a solid all-around player. If healthy, he will move up quickly.

#31 – Miguel Munoz – RHP – Beloit

                Hard-throwing right-hander did a nice job as a starter early in the Snappers season. Tired late, and did alright in the Snappers bullpen. Has great stuff.

#30 – Tom Stuifbergen – RHP – Beloit

                Another guy who will move up this list if he is healthy in 2010. He was top pitcher in Beloit after Hendriks and Osterbrock promoted, when healthy. Good stuff, and a very smart pitcher.

#29 – Martire Garcia – LHP – Elizabethton

                Garcia struggled in E-Town in 2009 after strong ’08 in GCL. Returned to E-Town in ’10 and started 6-0 before promotion to Beloit. Throws hard, good movement. Young.

#28 – Scott Diamond – LHP – Gwinnett

                Pitched well in Braves organization since signing as undrafted free agent after 2008 college season. He’ll give up some hits, but he gets a lot of ground balls. Twins Rule 5 pick has legitimate shot to make Twins roster.

#27 – Steve Singleton – 2B – New Britain

                After bad April, Singleton played well for Rock Cats the rest of the season. Led organization with 43 doubles (2 behind Doug Mientkiewicz’s New Britain record). 54 extra base hits. Just 57 strikeouts. Not sure why the Twins don’t seem to like him more.

#26 – Niko Goodrum – IF/OF – GCL

                Don’t worry about the numbers that he put up in the GCL. Goodrum is as good of an athlete as Hicks, Torii Hunter, Joe Benson, any other great athlete in the Twins system. He’s just very raw and has a long way to go, but the sky is the limit.

So there you have it, my choices for Twins Prospects 26-50. What do you think? Any surprises? Remember that the top 25 prospects are yet to come. If I’m able, I will separate them, maybe posting 11-15 later tonight and my top ten around noon on Friday. Check back when you are able to. Feel free to e-mail me or leave your comments here.

Before we dive into Roger’s All-Stars, a couple of quick notes:

• Last night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast was one of my favorites. Baseball America posted its Twins Top Ten Prospects yesterday, and John Manuel came on to talk about his choices and other Twins prospects. Then Danny Valencia came on and talked about his 2011 Twins season for a good 15 minutes. He hadn’t been on a podcast since spring training, so it was great to catch up with him after such a memorable season.  
• Yesterday on the TwinsCentric blog at StarTribune.com, I wrote about the Twins arbitration decisions. They had to decide whether to offer arbitration to their six Type A and Type B free agents. During the podcast, the Twins announced their decisions. They offered arbitration to Carl Pavano, Jesse Crain and Orlando Hudson. They decline offering arbitration to Matt Guerrier, Brian Fuentes and Jon Rauch. The three that were offered arbitration have until next Tuesday to decide whether or not they will accept. If none of three accept, the Twins will gain four draft picks next June. If the three accept, then it could cost the Twins an extra $19-21 million in 2011.
• Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!! Blogging and podcasting and all this writing can be a lot of fun, but a huge part of what makes it fun is the interaction with the readers. I definitely appreciate all of you for coming to SethSpeaks.net daily, and hope that you will continue to find it worth your time.

With that, those that are interesting in the Twins minor leagues know about Roger Dehring. He has written here before, but he writes a weekly Twins Minor League Report for Twinkie Town. He is very detailed and does a great job. He has even developed a very interesting prospect ranking in which he considers performance, age, level of competition and many other factors. We are trying to make it a tradition to include his Twins Minor League All Stars every year around Thanksgiving. By the way, thank you to Twins Cards for the pictures of the autographed cards you see below. Here are his 2010 Twins All Stars:

2010 Twins Organization All-Stars

Thanksgiving is the time each year when Seth provides me the opportunity to post my annual Twins Organization All-Star Team on his site.   

This year’s Team will include the best players at each position, including a designated hitter.  There will be six pitchers; the top right and left handed starters, a long reliever, right and left handed set-up men and a closer.  As with all all-star teams, some very good players are left out.  One of those is Liam Hendriks who was my second ranked pitcher.  Unfortunately, my top ranked pitcher, Kyle Gibson, is also a right handed starter leaving Hendriks out in the cold.  Same holds for Brandon Roberts, who was my fifth ranked player.  Unfortunately, all five of the top ranked players on my list were outfielders so he also has been left off this team.

Looking back at the previous teams, it was somewhat surprising that this will be the sixth year we have done this.  It was also interesting seeing which players made it and many others who had great seasons and are no longer in the organization.  What the future holds for this group remains to be seen. They all had special years this past season, including four of the six pitchers who were selected by the Twins in the 2009 draft. 

 Following are this year’s All-Stars, including my year-end ranking which ranks position players and pitchers separately:

Danny Rams  (18)                   Catcher                                                                                                     

Chris Parmelee  (9)                  First Base                                                                                     

Steve Singleton  (15)              Second Base                                                                                  

Trevor Plouffe  (6)                  Shortstop                                                                              

Anderson Hidalgo  (25)          Third Base                                                                                           

Ben Revere  (2)                       Left Field                                                                                          

Aaron Hicks  (3)                     Center Field                                                                                          

Joe Benson  (1)                       Right Field                                                                                                  

Oswaldo Arcia  (4)                 Designated Hitter                                                                          

Kyle Gibson  (1)                   Right Handed Starter                                                                      

Dan Osterbrock  (8)               Left Handed Starter                                                                   

Kyle Waldrop  (3)                 Long Relief                                                                                        

Kane Holbrooks  (4)              Right Handed set-up                                                                                                                                                       Tony Davis  (16)                   Left Handed set-up                                                                          

Billy Bullock  (11)                Closer

Danny Rams was a player who was recognized as having a powerful bat when drafted in the second round in 2007.  Rams didn’t hit as expected his first two years, then gained notice when he hit .355 average in 62 at bats in Elizabethton in 2009.  Rams had another slow start this year, hitting for only a .217 average before the all-star break.  Rams would hit for a .266 average following the break to finish at .238/.302/.439 in 421 at bats.  More important, Rams hit 4 triples and a team best 28 doubles and 16 home runs so that nearly half (48 of 100) of his hits would be for extra bases.  Rams has developed the power expected of him when drafted.  The one area of his game he must improve is that like many young power hitters, he strikes out to often (154 times or 36.5%).  If he can cut down on his strikeouts as he moves through the organization, he will have an exciting future with the Twins. 

Chris Parmelee is a former first round pick who saw his star become a bit tarnished with a slow start at AA New Britain.  Parmelee would be sent back to Ft. Myers in May where he would hit .338/.430/.463 in 80 at bats.  He would return to New Britain as a different hitter, going on to hit .275/.341/.389 in 411 at bats.  When drafted, Parmelee was considered the best high school power hitter in the 2006 draft.  Although he hit 25 doubles; he wouldn’t hit many home runs (6) at New Britain.  After striking out more than 25% each year since joining the Twins, he would reduce his strikeout ratio to 16.5%.  Parmelee joined the Peoria Saguaros in the AFL where he hit .339/.405/.477, in 109 at bats while tying for the most doubles (11) in the league.  He walked twelve times while striking out seventeen times for a strikeout ratio of 15.6%.  Parmelee, who began his career alternating between first base and right field, played about two-thirds of his games at first base and appears poised to move up to Rochester in the spring. 

Steve Singleton returned to New Britain this spring for a second season.  He would go on to hit .267/.325/.410 in 502 at bats with a team best 68 runs scored and 134 hits.  His 43 doubles were the most in the organization and tied for the most in the Eastern League.  A solid defensive second baseman, Singleton is often overlooked when discussing the top prospects in the organization.  The Twins are high on his abilities as evidenced by their inviting him to spring training.  A solid number two hitter who struck out only 57 times in 502 at bats, Singleton could move up to Rochester next spring.

This past spring Trevor Plouffe returned to Rochester for the third straight season, yet, on opening day he was only 23 years old.  Should he return to Rochester next spring for a fourth year, he will still be about two years younger than the average player in the International League.  Plouffe hit .244/.300/.430 in 402 at bats which at first glance isn’t impressive.  He did, however, improve his power numbers with 22 doubles, 4 triples and 15 home runs.  What may be most promising, he reduced his errors from 26 in 2009 to 12 this season.  Plouffe also made a couple trips to Minnesota where he had his first exposure to the major leagues.  While with the Twins he hit only .146/.143/.317 in 41 at bats, however, did hit two home runs.  Plouffe has a role in the Twins future plans.  It just isn’t known whether he will go north with the Twins out of spring training or join them later in the year.  

After being one of the top hitters in 2008/2009 with the GCL Twins and Elizabethton, Anderson Hidalgo was the Beloit Snappers leading hitter in 2010.  When he suffered a season ending injury in late July, Hidalgo was one of the league’s leading hitters and had he had enough at bats he would have finished second in the league.  In 81 games (282 at bats), Hidalgo hit a team best .316 average with a .375 on base percentage and .443 slugging percentage.  He would finish his shortened season with 25 doubles which trailed Rams by three with 125 less at bats.  Hidalgo isn’t your typical power hitting third baseman, however, with Danny Valencia moving up to the Twins he is the organization’s best third baseman.

Ben Revere likely is the organization’s best leadoff man.  He spent this year at AA New Britain where he seemed to be out of the lineup every few weeks with five different injuries.  When he suffered a broken orbital bone when hit in the face with a pitch in early August, it was thought that his season was over.  We would learn that this young man is a quick healer and his season was far from over.  Revere returned from his injury to play in the last few games of the Rock Cat season, finishing with the Eastern League’s third most stolen bases (36) and tied for the second highest batting average (.305).  Revere’s play at New Britain earned a spot for him in the prestigious Arizona Fall League.  But before heading to Arizona, the Twins had a big surprise for Revere as they added him to their 40-man roster and called him up in September.  Revere’s play with the Twins was limited as he hit only .179 average (5-28).  After the Twins season ended, Revere reported to the Peoria Saguaros where he was one of the hottest hitters in the league before cooling the last two weeks.  He finished his AFL season hitting .295/.358/.330 in 112 at bats with a league best thirteen stolen bases without being thrown out.  He also demonstrated great patience at the plate as he struck out only twelve times while taking eleven walks.           

Aaron Hicks has been thought by many to have the highest ceiling of anyone in the organization.  He is a player who would blossom into that special player who a future championship Twins team could be built around.  Thus, when Hicks returned to Beloit for a second season it was a surprise to most fans.  Most assumed that Hicks stay in Beloit would be a short one and he would move on to Ft. Myers where his star would continue to brighten.  That progress was not to be as Hicks spent his entire season in Beloit, hitting .279/.401/.428 in 423 at bats with 27 doubles, 6 triples, 8 home runs and a team best 21 stolen bases.  Hicks would improve throughout the year, hitting for a .308 average following the all-star break.  Hicks continued to strike out to much (112 times), however, he also took an amazing 88 walks.  Following the season, Baseball America ranked Hicks the fifth best prospect in the Midwestern League.

Joe Benson was the Twins second round pick in 2006 who has often been compared to Torii Hunter who also was a highly recruited football player out of high school.  Although Benson began his season in a slump and returned to Ft. Myers with Parmelee in May, he certainly had his break-out season this year.  Benson finished his Rock Cat season hitting .251/.336/.527 in 374 at bats.  He had 20 doubles, 7 triples, 14 stolen bases and 23 home runs, which were the fourth most in the league although he had 135 less at bats than the leader who had 33.  Benson’s 27 home runs at New Britain and Ft. Myers led the organization with his eight triples second most.  Benson finished his year playing in the AFL where he got off to a slow start and would go on to hit .236/.300/.400 in only 55 at bats with six doubles and one home run.

            We all remember players who put up eye popping numbers in the Appalachian League, but none had years like nineteen year old Oswaldo Arcia had this year.  Arcia led the Appalachian League (his closest competitor and their age is listed in parenthesis) with a .375 batting average (Ramon Morla/20, .323), .424 on base percentage (Marcus Nidiffer/23, .393), .672 slugging percentage (Morla, .610), 259 at bats (Drew Lee/22, 255), 97 hits (Morla, 81), and 51 runs batted in (Morla, 49).  Arcia also tied for the league’s second most triples (7) and home runs (14) while hitting the third most doubles (21).  Arcia didn’t make a single error this year, playing centerfield in more than half his games although his bat is ideally suited for a corner outfield spot in a future Twins lineup.  Following the season, Baseball America named Arcia the third best prospect in the Appy League this season. 

Kyle Gibson began his professional career a year ago in the Twins Fall Instructional League.  The few people to comment about him glowed as to what we could expect in the future.  In a move unusual for the Twins, Gibson began his career in the Florida State League.  After posting a 4-1 record with a 1.87 ERA and 1.04 WHIP in seven starts (43.1 innings), Gibson moved on to New Britain where he would be voted an Eastern League Mid-Season All-Star.  While with the Rock Cats, Gibson pitched so well that he earned recognition from Baseball America as their seventh ranked Eastern League prospect.  On a team that was one of the worst in franchise history, Gibson posted a 7-5 record with a 3.68 ERA and 1.22 WHIP in 16 starts (93.0 innings).  The Twins kept Gibson on a fast track as he finished his first professional season in Rochester where he had an excellent 1.72 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in three starts (15.2 innings).  Gibson is not the hard thrower that many fans would like to see at the front of the Twins rotation.  He is however, an excellent pitcher who just may have the ability to be the front of the rotation Ace the Twins are looking for.

            Daniel Osterbrock had an awesome rookie season in 2008 following his being drafted out of the University of Cincinnati in the seventh round.  After posting a 7-2 record and 3.00 ERA at Elizabethton in 2008, Osterbrock would struggle some at Beloit last year where he had a 7-9 record and 5.19 ERA.  Osterbrock would return to Beloit this spring, but not for very long.  After making only five starts, He got the call to move up to the Florida State League after pitching a 7.0 inning complete game no hitter and being selected the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week for two consecutive weeks.  He left Beloit after posting a 2-1 record with a 2.30 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 27.1 innings.  Osterbrock moved up to Ft. Myers where he would lead the Miracle in innings pitched (112.0) while posting a 7-8 record with a league best 2.73 ERA and league fourth best 1.13 WHIP.  With his break-out season behind him, Osterbrock should move up to New Britain next spring where if successful he will be one step away from joining the Twins.

            Kyle Waldrop was a 2004 first round pick who missed all of the 2008 season following shoulder surgery.  A former starter who had been on the fast track, Waldrop returned in 2009 when the Twins put him in the bullpen at Ft. Myers.  He earned a mid-season promotion to New Britain where he would have a 1.46 ERA in 55.2 innings.  He spent all of this season at Rochester where he had a first half as good as anyone in the International League, a first half that included one month in which he didn’t allow a single earned run.  Waldrop would tire the last few months, yet, he finished with an excellent 2.57 ERA with a 5-3 record on a team that was within a few losses of being the worst season in their 100+ year history.  Waldrop continued his reputation as one of the better control pitchers in the organization as he walked only 20 batters in 87.2 innings while ringing up 60 strikeouts.  Waldrop was assigned to this fall’s Arizona Fall League where his numbers weren’t good.  In a hitter’s league, Kyle had a 1-0 record with a 16.05 ERA in only 12.1 innings.

            Kane Holbrooks wasn’t high on any team’s prospect lists when selected by the Twins in the twenty-first round of the 2009 draft.  After an ordinary first exposure to professional ball at Elizabethton in 2009, no one expected the year Holbrooks would have this season.  He began as Beloit’s closer where he posted a 5-3 record with 9 saves, a 1.67 ERA, a 1.11 WHIP and 71 strikeouts in 54.0 innings (11.8/9 innings).  After earning a spot on the Midwest League Mid-Season All-Star Team, Holbrooks moved up to Ft. Myers where after one relief appearance he was converted to a starter.  Holbrooks would post a 3-3 record with an excellent 2.27 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 43.1 innings.  He didn’t strike out as many (36) which may have been the result of his moving to the starting rotation or perhaps because he was pitching to hitters at a higher level.  The Twins were so impressed with his work at Ft. Myers however, that they gave him a late season promotion to AA where he made one start, allowing three earned runs in 5.0 innings.  With a logjam of starters ahead of him, look for Holbrooks to begin next spring back at Ft. Myers with an early season promotion likely.

            Tony Davis was selected in the twelfth round of the 2009 draft out of the University of Florida.  Like Holbrooks, his 5.35 ERA in 35.1 innings in his professional debut was not an indication of what he would accomplish this season.  The Twins would assign him to Ft. Myers this spring, skipping Beloit.  He would become one of their best set-up men, pitching 31.1 innings with a 2.87 ERA.  That performance would earn him a mid-season promotion to New Britain where he was even better, pitching 37.0 innings with a 2.68 ERA.  The one concern that may limit his progress is a low strikeout ratio (45 strikeouts in 68.1 innings) and a relatively high number of walks (46).  Davis overcame this concern by holding hitters to a .203 average.  What was surprising was that right handed hitters hit for a lower average (.194) than did left handed hitters (.214).  In an organization with few lefty relievers in the upper levels, look for Davis to return to New Britain next spring where he will attempt to prove that he still has the magic to get nearly 80% of the hitters facing him out when the ball is put in play.

            The Twins selected Billy Bullock, a hard throwing closer out of the University of Florida, in the second round of the 2009 draft.  After opening his professional career with the Elizabethton Twins, Bullock moved up to Beloit where he had a 2.73 ERA in 26.1 innings with eight saves.  This past spring, Bullock reported to Ft. Myers where he would become a Florida State League Mid-Season All-Star before moving on to New Britain.  Bullock had a 0-4 record with the Miracle with 14 saves, a 3.63 ERA, 45 strikeouts and 19 walks in 37.1 innings.  Bullock would move up to AA where he had a 0-2 record with 13 saves, a 3.44 ERA, 60 strikeouts and 24 walks in 36.2 innings.  There is no question that 43 walks in 74.0 innings are more than the Twins like to see, however, nearly fifteen strikeouts per nine innings in AA is an indication that Bullock may have what it takes to become a closer on the big stage a few years from now.  There were higher ranked closers, such as fifth ranked Anthony Slama, however, Bullock is my all-star closer based on his leading the organization with 27 saves. 

Of course, I’m certain Roger would love to hear your feedback. I want to thank him for putting this together. It’s another great look at the 2010 Minor league season and some of the guys who deserve to be recognized. As always, please feel free to e-mail me or leave your comments here.

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

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

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

1. Joe Benson            19        (15 – New Britain, 4 – Ft. Myers)
2. Brock Peterson      14        (Rochester)
3. Trevor Plouffe       14        (Rochester)
4. Danny Rams          10        (Beloit)
5. Michael Gonzales  10        (Beloit)
6. Erik Lis                    8        (2 – Rochester, 6 – New Britain)
7. Steve Liddle             8        (Beloit)
8. Oswaldo Arcia         8        (Elizabethton)
9. Chris Parmelee         7        (5 – New Britain, 2 – Ft. Myers)

10.  Nathan Hanson        7        (Ft. Myers)

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

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

1. Steve Singleton      30        (New Britain)
2. Joe Benson            25        (14 – New Britain, 11 – Ft. Myers)
3. Anderson Hidalgo  24        (Beloit)
4. Brian Dinkelman   22        (Rochester)
5. Aaron Hicks          21        (Beloit)
6. Evan Bigley           21        (Ft. Myers)
7. Dustin Martin         20        (Rochester)
8. Danny Rams          19        (18 – Beloit, 1 – New Britain)
9. Jacque Jones          19        (Rochester)

10.  Brock Peterson      18        (Rochester

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

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

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

Twins Topics

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Red Wings Report   

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

• In July, Glen Perkins went 3-0 with a 2.19 ERA in 24.2 innings.
• In his last five games, Wilson Ramos has gone 9-18 (.500).

New Britain Notes

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

Miracle Matters

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

Snappers Snippets

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

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

E-Twins Talkers

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

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

GCL Twins Topics

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

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

Last night, Travis Aune and I hosted Twins Minor League Weekly, our weekly review of the goings on throughout the Twins farm system. Last night was a special show. We spent the first half hour discussing the Twins affiliates and their seasons. The second half of the season, we ‘presented’ our Midseason Awards. For the awards, we enlisted some extra help. Travis and I voted, but so did six others who know something about the Twins minor leaguers. They are: LaVelle E. Neal from the Star Tribune, Josh Johnson from Josh’s Thoughts, Roger Dehring from Twinkie Town, Andrew Kneeland from Twins Target, Dez Tobin of Dez Says, and Steve Lien from Gear up for Twins Baseball.

Each voter voted for their top three in five categories; Best Hitter, Best Relief Pitcher, Best Starting Pitcher, Biggest Surprise, and Biggest Disappointment. They each then sent me their current Top 5 Twins Prospects. The results were very interesting. I’m going to ask that you listen to the podcast for the final results, but below, I will give you the top three finishers in each category, in alphabetical order, for you to consider.

Best Hitter: Joe Benson, Anderson Hidalgo, Ben Revere

Best Relief Pitcher: Kane Holbrooks, Anthony Slama, Kyle Waldrop

Best Starting Pitcher: Kyle Gibson, Liam Hendriks, Dan Osterbrock

Biggest Surprise: Joe Benson, Jonathan Goncalves, Liam Hendriks

Biggest Disappointment: Wilson Ramos, Tyler Robertson, Anthony Swarzak

Top 6 Twins Prospects: Joe Benson, Kyle Gibson, Aaron Hicks, Wilson Ramos, Ben Revere, Miguel Sano

Again, the lists above are in alphabetical order. To hear who the ‘winners’ were in each category, or who ranked first through sixth in the Top Prospect list, click here to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly.

A couple more notes:

• At 11:10 today, I will join Jack Michaels on am710 in  Bismarck to talk about the Twins.
• I really am working on my trip report for the Twins Train trip to Detroit. I had such an incredible time and so many good stories and memories that I don’t want to post it too quickly. But I would encourage people to click here to learn a lot more about the Twins Train, or to schedule your trip to watch the Twins on the road.
• Don’t forget to pick up your copy of the TwinsCentric 2010 Trade Deadline Primer today. If you want to see all of the Trade Deadline Primers (all 24) that TwinsCentric produced, just go to www.TwinsCentric.com where you can also find a FREE ¼ book to give you an idea of what you would be purchasing.

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them here.

In the past, I have tried to do my Top 50 Twins prospect reports right before the June draft and then shortly following the completion of the minor league seasons which is generally in mid-September. This past year has been so much more busy than ever before on so many fronts, so this year, I am still going to update my Top 50 list and do some of my other pre-draft blogs, they will just have to be a bit condensed. With that, today I will be posting my updated Top 50 Twins prospect list. I would love to hear your thoughts or comments on any of the rankings. You don’t have to agree with me. So ask questions and present your Top 10, 20, 50 list for discussion too.

#1 – Kyle Gibson – RHP – New Britain Rockcats – Prospect lists are a combination of potential with likelihood to reach potential. Gibson can be a top of the order, #2 type of pitcher, and there is a very good chance that it will happen.

#2 – Aaron Hicks – OF – Beloit Snappers – Hicks has all of the tools, including the 6^th tool (plate discipline). The Midwest League is not an easy place to play, but 2010 has been a very streaky season. His strong streak told us just how good he can be.

#3 – Miguel Sano – SS – DSL Twins – All of the potential in the world, but still a long way to go. He wants to be up in the big leagues by 19. The Twins will be wise to note let that happen.

#4 – Wilson Ramos – C – Rochester Red Wings – Strong spring training. Horrible start at Rochester. Seven hits in his first two big league games. Reality set in. Ramos is immensely talented, both offensively and potentially defensively when he puts in the effort. Will be interesting to see if he’s still with the organization in August.

#5 – Adrian Salcedo – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – 19 years old. Throws hard. Working on the breaking pitches, but he has been impressive in his short stint at Ft. Myers so far, even though he should probably be waiting for the Elizabethton season. Very high ceiling.

#6 – Angel Morales – OF – Beloit Snappers – It’s been a disappointing 2010 so far for Morales. He hasn’t hit for as much power, but the tools are all there. It would be nice for him to have a strong second half. He is one of the better base stealers in the organization.

#7 – Joe Benson – OF – Ft. Myers Miracle – Speaking of all the tools, Benson’s ability to hit for power and get on base very well have him high on this list. The ability to put the ball in play seems to be the one thing that he needs to improve most, which is likely why he is back in Ft. Myers.

#8 – Davis Bromberg – RHP – New Britain Rockcats – It’s been an up and down season for Bromberg, but he has four or five pitches, and he’s quite young. He also has great confidence and will work through any struggles. I expect that he will have a strong second half.

#9 – Ben Revere – OF – New Britain Rockcats – Comparing Revere to Hicks, Morales and Benson isn’t really fair. The other three are all much better and have much higher potential in terms of power and defense and arm. But Revere is a great singles hitter with tremendous speed and his base stealing has continued to improve. His likelihood to be a solid big league player is higher than the other three OF prospects.

#10 – Danny Valencia – 3B – Minnesota Twins – Valencia is currently with the Twins with Michael Cuddyer out. Everywhere he has played, he has hit for average. He has never hit below .282. He doesn’t like to walk too much, but an IsoD of over .050 is at least adequate. He is yet to homer this year, but his minor league track record indicates that he can hit for some power. And his defense has continued to improve.

#11 – Deolis Guerra – RHP – Rochester Red Wings – Is he ready for AAA? Probably not. But he’s holding his own and continues to learn. Best changeup in the organization, and his incredible improved control is very impressive.

#12 – Alex Burnett – RHP – Minnesota Twins – Burnett was a surprise when he made the team out of spring training, but he has proven that he is ready and has pitched very well for the Twins. He always had good control, even as a starter. He throws hard and has three very good pitches. He’s still young, but he is a guy who could be a future closer.

#13 – Trevor Plouffe – SS – Rochester Red Wings – Plouffe has seemingly put things together in 2010, and it’s hard to believe that he is still just 23 years old. He has the ability to be an everyday Major League shortstop, which alone should probably move him even higher up this list.

#14 – Liam Hendriks – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – I don’t know if Hendriks’ terrific start this season is a surprise, but it certainly has been noticed. He was the organization’s pitcher of the month in April which earned him an early promotion to Ft. Myers where he has continued to be very good. His stuff is very good, and he understands how to get hitters out.

#15 – BJ Hermsen – RHP – Beloit Snappers – Hermsen started the year at EST, but when needed, he was promoted to Beloit. He has been good at times, and at other times shown that he might be best served by pitching at E-town. But he has good stuff, good size and very good control, and the Twins love that.

#16 – Carlos Gutierrez – RHP – New Britain Rockcats – I still believe that Gutierrez will be a big league relief pitcher, and a very good one. It’s important to remember that he is working on adding pitches while in AA. He gets a ton of ground balls. He throws 95 with sink. Just has to trust his stuff and he can dominate.

#17 – Rene Tosoni – OF – New Britain Rockcats – How much has the shoulder injury hurt Tosoni in 2010? He is still hitting around .280, but to this point, the power hasn’t shown up the way it did last year. Tosoni is very good, so this ranking doesn’t feel right. I think he should be higher, but right now, today, I just can’t do it.

#18 – Bruce Pugh – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – Although he was called a sleeper this offseason, Pugh was also a very pleasant surprise this year… until an elbow injury which has sidelined him for a few weeks already. Hopefully he will be alright because he throws hard and has a couple of improving secondary pitches that make him potentially dominant.

#19 – Jeff Manship – RHP – Rochester Red Wings – Again, a guy who is the big league club’s sixth start, and gave up two runs in six innings for the Twins shouldn’t be ranked this low. Manship can pitch in the big leagues, although his time in AAA this year will be valuable as well. He can help the Twins already when needed, but he can still continue to get better.

#20 – Chris Parmelee – 1B – Ft. Myers Miracle – Parmelee has a ton of potential as well, but he was overmatched in AA. Getting sent back to Ft. Myers was the best thing that could happen. He can now work on his game without being overwhelmed. The contact rate is always the question with Parmelee, but hopefully with the Miracle, he can regain his ability to take walks and to hit for power.

#21 – Max Kepler – OF – Extended Spring Training – All the talent in the world, but it will be very interesting to see how Max Kepler is able to put it together. Very good speed. Solid already defensively. Needs work on the offensive part of the game. But he’s just 17, and the Twins will be very patient with him. I’d expect him to spend two years with the GCL Twins before advancing.

#22 – Tom Stuifbergen – RHP – Beloit Snappers – Hopefully his elbow issues and his upcoming MRI reveal nothing and that Stuifbergen can rest and come back strong soon. He is another guy who just knows how to get hitters out. He has very good stuff, but he knows how to pitch, and that’s important too.

#23 – Blayne Weller – RHP – Extended Spring Training – I’m surprised and curious as to why Weller has not been promoted from EST to a full-season team, and yet, it is in his best interest to pitch for the E-Twins this year. He’s got good stuff and great control. Just a notch behind Hermsen.

#24 – Luke Hughes – 2B – Rochester Red Wings – How cool was it to see Hughes hit a home run in his first at bat with the Twins? Again, this feels like a low ranking, and yet, as good as Hughes has shown he can be, he just keeps getting hurt and isn’t able to sustain the success very long. If he could stay healthy, he can help the Twins, maybe as a pinch hitter. I also think he could compete for the starting 2B job next year.

#25 – Chris Herrmann – C/OF – Ft. Myers Miracle – Herrmann has done a very good job adjusting to the catcher position. He’s quick and has a strong arm. But he is also an excellent defensive left fielder. He is also a solid hitter. The Twins typically do not have players skip levels, but Herrmann was pushed from Elizabethton last year to Ft. Myers this year and hasn’t been completely over his head. He’s got a chance to be a solid all-around player.

#26 – Bobby Lanigan – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – Gibson got all the notice, but Lanigan was even better in April. Unfortunately, he has only pitched once since then. He has a good fastball and a very good slider, so hopefully he can get back soon.

#27 – Steve Singleton – 2B – New Britain Rockcats – Another guy who should be much higher on this list probably.  

#28 – Billy Bullock – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – The 2009 second round pick from Florida can throw hard. He can dominate and gets a lot of strikeouts, but he should continue to get better and better. He is a future closer option.

#29 – Tyler Robertson – LHP – New Britain Rockcats – Robertson has really struggled in 2010 at AA, allowing hitters to bat about .330 against him so far this year. The lefty does have decent stuff and a high baseball IQ, but he’s still so young for the level, even after spending two years at Ft. Myers. Hopefully his arm strength will continue to increase and he can move up this list. Remember, he was my choice for the Twins #1 prospect after the 2007 season.

#30 – Anthony Slama – RHP – Rochester Red Wings – Again, I know most won’t like this ranking, but it’s clear that there must be some reason that Slama has not been promoted, and I think a big part of that is the number of walks, which would likely increase more in the big leagues. But his ability to get strikeouts is pretty impressive, and he needs to get a shot soon. I mean, he’s already 26!

#31 – Michael Tonkin – RHP – Beloit Snappers – Tonkin was pitching best at EST when Beloit had a need, so he was the first promoted. He has actually done better than I would have thought. He’s got good control. He has a decent fastball and an improving curveball. He has a long way to go.

#32 – Yangervis Solarte – IF/OF – New Britain Rockcats – Like Hughes, Solarte can play a lot of places. His most natural position is 2B, but he can play basically all of the infield and outfield positions adequately. His biggest asset, however, has been his bat. Not sure how confident I am that he will sustain it, but he certainly could, and I’m comfortable with this ranking.

#33 – Danny Rams – C/1B – Beloit Snappers – Rams hit two home runs last night. I really, really hope that he can find a way to put the ball in play more because when he makes contact, he hits the ball so hard and can hit the ball a long way!

#34 – Shooter Hunt – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – It is good to see the improvements that Hunt has made this year. But he has a long way to go before we can feel confident in his future. But the potential is so high, he has to be on the list. He’ll be making another start today.

#35 – Jorge Polanco – SS – DSL Twins – When Baseball America named Polanco the top defensive infielder in the Twins organization, I wasn’t sure how to take that. It means he is very good, but it could also be an indictment of the rest of the system’s infielders. Polanco will have to show some bat to move his way up the list. I don’t expect him to hit much for a couple of years.

#36 – Edgar Ibarra – LHP – Beloit Snappers – I may be biased because I saw him pitch in Beloit, but I was very impressed with the high-side of his four pitches. Good fastball, worked both sides of the plate. Very good slider. Devastating changeup. Now, he wasn’t consistent with any of those pitches, and hasn’t been all year, but the pitches are there, and his potential is high.

#37 – Kyle Waldrop – RHP – Rochester Red Wings – Waldrop has impressed this entire year. 2009 was about staying healthy. 2010 has been about ground balls, throwing hard, getting a ton of movement on his pitches, and great success. There is a good chance that Waldrop, even with his lack of strikeouts, gets promoted before Anthony Slama.

#38 – Miguel Munoz – RHP – Beloit Snappers – The numbers haven’t been there in Beloit, but the stuff is incredible. Munoz throws quite hard and has good stuff. He just needs to throw more strikes and be more consistent.

#39 – Santos Arias – RHP – New Britain Rockcats – Arias fell a bit on this list, but even with his horrible performance in late innings for the Rockcats, his ERA isn’t bad. He still has good stuff. He has been healthy. He’s got a very good fastball, and a very good changeup. I’m not giving up on him at all.

#40 – James Beresford – SS/2B – Beloit Snappers – he was the player in Beloit that I was most impressed with. He will have to get bigger to make it to the next level. I assume that will happen, so he could move up this list very quickly. He got off to a very tough start in April, and is still hitting just .240, but he could very well be a big leaguer.

#41 – Anderson Hidalgo – 3B – Beloit Snappers – Hidalgo has been a doubles machine. He doesn’t play every day and splits some time with Reggie Williams at 3B, but he just hits. He’s the one hitter at Beloit that is actually putting up numbers, and not just singles. He doesn’t like to walk, and he doesn’t have much range, but he can continue to improve, and definitely is worth watching.

#42 – Michael McCardell – RHP – New Britain Rockcats – It’s been a tough season for McCardell in terms of wins and losses, but he hasn’t pitched terribly at all. He is a solid starter, probably a future bottom of the rotation guy, or even a long reliever. He has good stuff and is mentally strong, so he will be fine.

#43 – Brian Dinkelman – OF – Rochester Red Wings – This is probably a case of Age-ism. Dinkelman has done nothing but play well since the Twins drafted him in 2006. He is playing in AAA this year, and continues to walk more than strikeout, get extra base hits, hit for average and “do the little things.” He has also transitioned to the outfield pretty flawlessly.

#44 – Brad Tippett – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – Tippett is back on the DL with forearm issues. He just has not been able to get going. He has never thrown hard, but he’s got good size, so if he can continue to gain strength, he can add a few mph. And again, the Australian knows how to pitch.

#45 – Oswaldo Arcia – OF – Extended Spring Training – Arcia is young and did a nice job last year in the GCL. Has all kinds of tools.

#46 – Andrei Lobanov – LHP – Ft. Myers Miracle – One walk and 35 strikeouts in 22 innings in the GCL last year. He likely will go to E-town, but he has done quite well with the Miracle.

#47 – Steve Liddle – OF – Beloit Snappers – I thought he would do more this year with the Snappers. He has shown good power at times, but you would hope for more from a college hitter.

#48 – Rob Delaney – RHP – Rochester Red Wings – This is way too low, but Delaney has been hittable in Rochester after dominating all the way up to that level. That said, he still is walking very few and striking out about a batter an inning. He is ready.

#49 – Josmil Pinto – C – Beloit Snappers – The guy can hit a bit. Seems adequate behind the plate. No speed whatsoever.

#50 – Reggie Williams – IF – Beloit Snappers – Lots of talent. Getting a chance to play this year. He doesn’t seem to be a 3B, but should be a 2B. He has also played in the OF. Takes decent at bats and has doubles power.

There you have it. There is my Top 50 Twins Prospects list as of June 4, 2010. Let me know what you think, agree or disagree, and feel free to post your comments and questions in the Comments section.

Be sure to listen to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Travis Aune and I were joined by the play-by-play man of the Ft. Myers Miracle, Alex Margulies. We discussed many of the players on the Miracle roster. Later, we were joined by New Britain infielder Steve Singleton who is on a tear. In the Rockcats double header on Tuesday night, he went 3-5 with a home run. Since May 6, he is 27-73 (.370) and has raised his average from .192 to .279. Travis and I then discussed all four Twins full-season affiliates. Travis asked me for mini-scouting reports on what I saw in Beloit over the weekend. Finally, after the show’s live stream ended at 11:00, Travis and I spent about another 20 minutes podcasting, which you can listen to now as well. Each of us discussed the five Twins prospects that would move up our prospect lists the most right now. Listen to ours and then discuss yours. Which Twins minor leaguers have made the strongest impression and moved up your lists so far this season?

The Twins and Yankees were tied at zero through five innings last night when the rains came. After a long delay, the game was suspended and will be continued at 4:05 on Wednesday. Here are some more links to Twins blogs:

·         Aaron Gleeman posted several Twins notes.

·         Nick Nelson says that Kevin Slowey really needs to step it up.

·         Parker, at Over the Baggy, wrote about the selectivity and connectivity of Justin Morneau this year.

·         Between Phil Mackey and Tom Pelissero, they are doing a tremendous job covering the Minnesota Twins at 1500espn.com.

·         Ed Thoma speculates on the Twins interest in Roy Oswalt.

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

SethSpeaks Tuesday Minor League Hitter of the Day – Steve Singleton – New Britain Rockcats, Anderson Hidalgo – Beloit Snappers

SethSpeaks Tuesday Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kyle Gibson – New Britain Rockcats

Red Wings Report   

Tuesday – Rochester 1, Norfolk 2 – Anthony Swarzak returned to the Red Wings rotation. He gave up just one run on three hits and two walks in four innings. Jose Lugo came in and gave up one run on one hit in three innings. Tim Lahey pitched a scoreless inning. Jason Repko went 2-5. Dustin Martin and Brock Peterson were each 1-3 with a walk.   

New Britain Notes

Tuesday – Game 1 – New Britain 5, New Hampshire 7 – Tyler Robertson returned to the Rockcats after one AAA start. He gave up seven runs on 11 hits and three walks in six innings. Santos Arias struck out two in a scoreless inning. Erik Lis was 2-4 with his first double. Rene Tosoni hit his third homer and drove in two runs. Steve Singleton was 1-2, was hit by a pitch, hit his fourth home run and drove in two runs.

Tuesday – Game 2 – New Britain 2, New Hampshire 1 – Kyle Gibson was again this story in this game. Gibson gave up only an unearned run (thanks to his own error) in seven innings. He gave up seven hits, but he walked none and struck out four. He recorded 11 groundball outs to five fly outs. In the bottom of the seventh, Steve Singleton singled, advanced to 2B on a sacrifice bunt and to 3B on an error. Ben Revere reached on an error that allowed Singleton to score the winning run. Rene Tosoni was 1-2 with a walk.   

Miracle Matters

Tuesday – Ft. Myers 2, Bradenton 6 – Blake Martin made another start for the Miracle. In 5.2 innings, he gave up four runs on ten hits. He walked one and struck out four. Andrei Lobanov gave up two runs on two hits in 1.1 innings. Jose Gonzalez made his first appearance with the Miracle and pitched a scoreless inning, despite two hits. Dan Rohlfing went 2-4 with his eighth double. Nick Romero was 2-4 with his fifth double.   

Snappers Snippets

Tuesday – Beloit 7, Cedar Rapids 13 – BJ Hermsen was in line for a win when this game was delayed after the top of the 6^th inning. He had allowed three runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk through five innings. He went back out to start the sixth inning, after the delay, and gave up two hits and two walks and all four came around to score. Matt Tone relieved him and got two outs, but not before he gave up five runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks). Dakota Watts gave up an unearned run in 1.1 innings. Kane Holbrooks pitched a scoreless inning. Anderson Hidalgo went 3-4 with three more doubles and now has 14 on the year. Josmil Pinto went 2-4 with his seventh double. Angel Morales was 2-3 with a walk and his 14^th stolen base. Reggie Williams hit his seven home run and drove in four runs. Steve Liddle hit his fifth homer. 

If you have any thoughts, please feel free to comment here.