SethSpeaks.net Top 50 Twins Prospects: Part 3 (11-21)

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On Monday, I posted my choices for Twins Prospects 36-50. Tuesday, I presented my choices for Twins prospects 21-35. Today, we will see my choices for Twins prospects 11-21. Yes, that is correct, 11-21. I’ll just admit it. One of the prospects in this 11-21 range, I just completely missed, forgot as I was making my list. Just an oversight, but as we get into the Top 20, that would be a lot more difficult to hide. It would be noticed. So anyway, today we are profiling prospects 11-21, and if you want to, you can move each of the prospects I ranked between 21 and 50 down one spot. Anyway, as always, I welcome your comments. I hope you enjoy this and again, please feel free to comment.

#21 – Alex Burnett – RH RP – 22 (7/26/87)

 

#20 – Luke Hughes – 3B – 25 (8/2/84)

 

#19 – Blayne Weller – RHP – 19 (1/30/90)

 

#18 – Tyler Robertson – LHP – 21 (12/23/87)

 

#17 – Danny Rams – C/DH – 20 (12/19/88)

#16 – Trevor Plouffe – SS – 23 (6/15/86)

 

#15 – Jeff Manship – RHP – 24 (1/16/85)

 

#14 – Deolis Guerra – RHP – 20 (4/17/89)

 

#13 – BJ Hermsen – RHP – 19 (12/1/89)

#12 – Chris Parmelee – 1B/RF – 21 (2/24/88)

#11 – Joe Benson – OF – 21 (3/5/88)

 So there you have it, my selections for Twins prospects 11-21. Be sure to check back tomorrow for my choices for my Top 10 Twins Prospects. If you have any feedback, comments, opinions or suggestions, please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Minor League Awards

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On Thursday, the Twins announced their Minor League award winners. David Bromberg was the choice for the Jim Rantz Award for top minor league pitcher in the Twins system. For the second straight year, Ben Revere was named the recipient of the Sherry Robertson Award for the organization’s top hitter.

David Bromberg had another terrific season, and although there were several very good pitchers in the Twins system in 2009, this was really an easy choice. Bromberg went 13-4 with a 2.70 ERA. In 153.3 innings this year, he struck out 148 batters, which was the most in the organization. In 2008, Bromberg led all minor league pitchers with 177 strikeouts while pitching for the Beloit Snappers. He was named, by Baseball America, the top pitching prospect in the Florida State League. Bromberg spent the entire 2009 season at the age of 21 and is clearly a Top 10 Twins prospect.

Here are some others who were likely considered:

• In 51 games at AA New Britain, Anthony Slama struck out 93 in 65.1 innings. He was 4-2 with 25 saves and a 2.48 ERA. He pitched in 11 games at AAA Rochester. He was 0-2 with four saves and a 3.45 ERA. He struck out 19 in 15.2 innings. He gave up five of those six runs in one outing. Overall, he was 4-4 with 29 saves, a 2.67 ERA, and 112 strikeouts (with 40 walks) in 81 innings.
• Alex Burnett was moved from being a starter and into the bullpen. In 18 games in Ft. Myers, he went 2-1 with a 1.99 ERA. Then in 40 games after being promoted to New Britain he was 1-2 with a 1.79 ERA. Overall, he was 3-3 with a 1.85 ERA. In 78 innings, he had 78 strikeouts and just 26 walks.
• Steve Hirschfeld went 7-7 with a 2.2 ERA. He pitched in 15 games out of the bullpen before making 17 starts.
• Santos Arias was 6-3 with a 2.15 ERA in 100.2 innings. He made 29 relief appearances before ending the season with nine starts.
• Joe Testa spent the first half of the season pitching in Beloit. In 25 games, he was 0-2 with a 2.56 ERA in 45. 2 innings. Then in Ft. Myers, he was 5-0 with a 1.22 ERA in 21 games, and 37 innings. Altogether, in 82.2 innings, he struck out 116, and walked 41.
• Adrian Salcedo (3-2, 1.46 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 3 BB, 58 K in 61.2 IP), Blayne Weller (5-1, 1.58 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 8 BB, 49 K in 57 IP), BJ Hermsen (6-2, 1.35 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 4 BB, 42 K in 53.1 IP) and Andrei Lobanov (2-1, 0.82 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 1 BB, 35 K in 22 IP) all had strong showing for the short-season GCL Twins.

The choice for hitter of the year was much more difficult, so it is hard to argue the selection of Ben Revere for winning for the second straight season. Revere finished second in the Florida State League in batting average in 2009 with a .311 average. He was on base 37.2% of the time and had 19 extra base hits. He also stole 45 bases in 62 attempts. Something I like to see in a top of the order hitter, he walked 40 times with just 34 strikeouts. No question, Revere has proven a lot of critics wrong through his first two full minor league seasons.

There are several other hitters who warranted strong consideration:

• After a strong showing during big league spring training, Danny Valencia started his season back where he ended the 2008 season, in New Britain. There, he hit .284/.373/.482 with 14 homers, four triples and seven homers. That earned him a promotion to AAA where he got off to a fast start before tailing off late. He hit .286/.305/.454 with 24 doubles and seven home runs. All together, he his .285/.337/.466 with 38 doubles, four triples and 14 home runs.
• Brian Dinkelman spent the entire 2009 season at New Britain. He played primarily in 2B, but in the 2^nd half of the season, he played several games in LF as well. With the bat, he had a very strong season. He hit .296/.383/.440 with 38 doubles, two triples and eight home runs.
• Rene Tosoni hit .271/.360/.454 with 25 doubles, four triples and 15 home runs for the New Britain Rockcats.
• Also at AA was Erik Lis for the second straight full season. He hit .283/.353/.462 with 29 doubles and 17 home runs.
• Chris Parmelee hit .258/.359/.441 with 27 doubles and 16 home runs for the Ft. Myers Miracle.
• Ramon Santana spent most of the season at Beloit for the third season. There he hit .296/.384/.453 with 25 doubles, three triples and nine home runs. He went 4-15 in four games at AA New Britain at the end of the season.
• In short season Elizabethton, Josmil Pinto hit .332/.387/.610 with 14 doubles, two triples and 13 home runs in just 53 games. Brian Dozier hit .353/.417/.431 with 17 doubles.

There were several very good performances in the Twins minor league system, some that I didn’t mention here. It’s hard to argue with either of the Twins choices. So, congratulations to both David Bromberg and Ben Revere. If you would like to share your thoughts, please click here.

Arizona Fall League Update – Yesterday, the Mesa Solar Sox lost 12-5 to Surprise. Rene Tosoni was 0-4 with a walk. Chris Parmelee went 0-3 with a walk. Steve Singleton went 1-4 with his second double in two games.

In-Weekend Updates

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I thought a mid-weekend update would make a lot of sense. As the next couple of weeks will be consumed with trade rumors, determining whether teams are buyers or sellers and then finally the deadline, I thought it appropriate not to get too far behind. So, here is a quick Notes and Game Recap edition, be sure to leave your comments below. Again, as the Trade Deadline is now less than two weeks away, please consider picking up a copy of the TwinsCentric 2009 Trade Deadline Primer for just $9.95.

TWINS WIN TWO IN TEXAS

The Twins won the first two games of their series in Arlington against the Rangers. They completed the Texas two step and on Friday will go for the sweep.

On Friday night, the Twins won 5-3. Glen Perkins went five innings for the win. Bobby Keppel again pitched well for two innings. Jose Mijares and Matt Guerrier completed the eighth inning before Joe Nathan recorded his 24^th save. Jason Kubel knocked his 15^th home run of the season in the game. It was a three run homer that scored Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau. Carlos Gomez went 2-3 and drove in the two other runs with a triple. Joe Crede joined Gomez, Morneau and Kubel with two hits in the game.

On Saturday night, the Twins won 4-1. It was all about Scott Baker and Michael Cuddyer. Baker went eight strong innings. He gave up a just one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out eight for his 8^th win of the year. Joe Nathan struck out two in the ninth for his 25^th save. Cuddyer hit a run-scoring double in the 2^nd inning, and later came around to score on a Carlos Gomez single. In the 5^th inning, Cuddyer hit his 15^th home run of the season. Cuddyer, Morneau and Gomez each had two hits.

TWINS NOTES

• Over the Baggy asks, Do the Twins Need Julio Lugo?
• First of all, congratulations to Stick & Ball Guy whose terrific site (so terrific, in fact, that it is The World’s Greatest Online Magazine!) recently celebrated its 5^th Birthday!
• Another exciting note from Stick & Ball Guy. He will be hosting the 3^rd Annual SBG Convention on August 1^st. It will again be at Minnehaha Falls, in the park. I went last year and it was a great time. I currently plan to be there again this year, so if you’re able to make it, it’s always fun, so check here for details.
• Jesse from Twinkie Town participated in an AL Central Roundtable with other SB Nation bloggers in the division.
• It seems like the Twins have turned and hit into a lot of double plays this season. But Coffeyville Whirlwind reminds us of a game in 1990 when the Twins and Red Sox combined for the most double plays in a single game.
• Apparently Miguel Angel Sano passed a pretty important test. MLB had been investigating if he was actually 16 years old, and their report indicates that he is 16 years old. With that announcement, Sano is free to sign. Now, the Twins were rumored to have offered him a deal pending this investigation, but in recent weeks, the rumor became that the Twins were kind of taking themselves out of the running. However, now it is suggested that Twins Director of Player Personnel, Mike Radcliff, traveled to the Dominican Republic himself to check on Sano. So, will they re-enter the negotiations, or will they stay out of it. Well, we shall see.   

Any other Twins thoughts or stories? If you see a Twins-related story that you think readers would be interested in, please e-mail me the link. Let us know what you think.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Steve Singleton, New Britain Rockcats

Friday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Edgar Ibarra, Elizabethton Twins

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Brandon Roberts, New Britain Rockcats

Saturday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Weller, GCL Twins  

MINOR LEAGUE NOTES AND TRANSACTIONS

• LaVelle informed us yesterday that Yohan Pino had been promoted to AAA Rochester. Also some interesting stuff on Max Kepler coming to America from Germany with his mom to scout out high schools in Ft. Myers.
• I learned later in the day that Michael McCardell has been promoted to AA New Britain to take Pino’s spot.
• Heard a little later that Jeff Christy has been sent back to New Britain, but I have not heard if there have been any further catcher transactions. Currently in New Britain include Danny Lehmann and Allan de San Miguel.
• On Friday, Josh Johnson posted another excellent interview. Be sure to check out his Q&A with David Bromberg.
• Be sure to check out Roger’s Minor League Update from yesterday. Who was his player of the week?
• Jesse also asked the question, Who is Joe Testa?

ROCHESTER REPORT

Friday – Rochester, Lehigh Valley – Game postponed by Rain.

Saturday – Game 1 – Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 7 – Philip Humber started this game and gave up six runs on seven hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. All six runs scored against him in the fourth inning. Jesse Crain struck out two and got four outs. Juan Morillo gave up a run on two hits in his inning. He walked none and struck out two. Matt Macri went 2-3. Danny Valencia hit his fourth home run. David Winfree hit his 11^th homer.

Saturday – Game 2 – Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 6 – The second game was almost a copy cat of the first game. Jason Jones started and threw three shutout innings before he gave up six runs in the fourth inning. Tim Lahey and Sean Henn each pitched a scoreless inning. The offense came from the same two people as well. Danny Valencia hit a two run homer, his fifth of the season. David Winfree came to the plate next and hit his 12^th homer.     

ROCKCAT RECAP

Friday – New Britain 6, Reading 4 – Steve Singleton was strong again in his second AA game. The 2B went 3-4 with his third double and first triple. Matt Moses went 2-4 with his 10^th double and first triple. Erik Lis hit his 11^th home run. Cole Devries picked up his sixth win. In five innings, he gave up three runs on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. Frank Mata gave up two hits and a walk in an inning, but no runs scored. Carlos Gutierrez gave up two hits and a walk in 1.1 innings, but no runs scored. Jose Lugo gave up a run in 2/3 of an inning. Alex Burnett came in for the ninth and recorded his second save.  

Saturday – New Britain 11, Reading 3 – Deolis Guerra improved to 2-0 with a win in this game. In 6.1 innings, he gave up three runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out three. Kyle Waldrop threw 2.2 scoreless innings. Brandon Roberts went 4-6 with his 14^th double. Steve Singleton went 3-5 (so his batting average dropped!) with his fourth double and first stolen base. Toby Gardenhire went 2-4 with a walk and his seventh double. Juan Portes went 1-3 with three walks and his fifth home run. Erik Lis was 1-2 with two walks and his 12^th home run.     

MIRACLE MEMOS

Friday – Ft. Myers 2, Sarasota 3 – David Bromberg took a loss for the first time this season. He is now 7-1 (with a 2.97 ERA) after giving up three runs on seven hits in six innings. He walked one and struck out six. Santos Arias and Henry Arias each pitched a scoreless inning. Mark Dolenc went 2-3 with a walk, his 13^th double and third home run. Rene Leveret went 2-4 with a triple.

Saturday – Ft. Myers 2, Dunedin 4 – Chris Parmelee went 2-4 with his 13^th home run, but it wasn’t enough. Tyler Robertson took the loss. He gave up four runs on four hits and four walks over seven innings. He struck out five. Joe Testa struck out three in two scoreless frames. Evan Bigley went 3-4 on the night. Ben Revere went 2-5.       

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Friday – Beloit 9, Burlington 3 – Dan Berlind improved to 3-9 with five innings in this game. He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks while striking out three. Michael Allen and Steve Blevins each two scoreless innings. Tyler Ladendorf went 3-5. Drew Thompson went 2-4 with a walk and his 11^th double. Ramon Santana went 2-5 with his second triple.

Saturday – Beloit 4, Dayton 6 – Aaron Hicks hit his first home run of the season. Drew Thompson went 2-4 with his third stolen base. Ramon Santana was 2-3 with a walk and his seventh home run. Dan Osterbrock gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits and two walks in 6.1 innings. He struck out six. Bruce Pugh gave up a run on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings.  

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Friday – Elizabethton 4, Danville 5 – As is tradition, Danville brings a team that matches up well with the E-Twins. In this game, Miguel Munoz made the start. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out five. Edgar Ibarra came in and threw three shutout innings. Dan Rohlfing went 2-3 with a walk. Brian Dozier was 2-4 with his third double. Josmil Pinto went 1-2 with three walks. Derek McCallum went 1-3 with two walks.   

Saturday – Elizabethton 4, Burlington 3 – Martire Garcia made his best start of the season. The young lefty gave up two runs on four hits in five innings. He walked one and struck out four. Matt Bashore came in and gave up three hits, but no runs, in two innings. He struck out two. Kyle Carr gave up an unearned run on one hit in two innings. He struck out two. Derek McCallum went 2-3 with a walk and his seventh double. Jonathan Goncalves hit his second home run and stole his fourth and fifth bases. Tobias Streich hit his fifth home run.     

GCL TWINS THOUGHTS

Saturday –GCL Twins 6, GCL Rays 1 – Blayne Weller had another very strong start. He threw seven shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out five. Jean Mijares gave up an unearned run on a hit and a walk in his inning. Kelvin Mota gave up two hits, but no runs, in his inning. Jhonatan Arias went 2-4 with his second and third doubles. Daniel Santana went 2-5 with his third double.

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Monday Game Reports

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I was gone at the lake again for the weekend and even took an extra day. I know I didn’t blog, but that isn’t to say there wasn’t plenty of writing going on! Be sure to check back in the next week or so for more information. However, although I did review all of the weekend minor league box scores, I will just post the Monday game reports rather than filling up pages with old box scores.

The Twins were a game above .500, and then they lost to the Kansas City Royals last night, 4-2. They had plenty of opportunities against a wild Luke Hochevar early in the game but were unable to take advantage. At some point, things clicked for Hochevar and he was very good. Nick Blackburn wasn’t as good as he typically is, but he worked out of some tough situations. Until the 6^th inning that is, when he gave up back to back home runs to Alberto Callaspo and Miguel Olivo. Justin Morneau did hit a two run homer later, but it wasn’t enough.

I may not write much today, but if you are interested in my thoughts on a ton of Twins topics, you will certainly want to read through the transcript of yesterday’s SethSpeaks.net Live Twins Chat. Here are a couple of questions with my responses:

2:49	[Comment From Guest] Hi Seth, it is all quiet on the Mauer extension front. Any idea why?
2:50	Two potential reasons: 1.) They’re not talking about it at all yet (possible), and 2.) they are talking about it, but wisely keeping the media out of it. My hope is that it is done very quietly and just one day we hear that it is done.

 

2:56

[Comment From J-Mike] Who from the Twins will be making an All Star appearance this year?

2:58

I would say Mauer and Morneau have a pretty good shot. I think Joe Nathan makes it (or should). I think if it were in an AL park, that Jason Kubel would warrant the DH spot. (but it’s not, so he won’t) I think the Wins will get Kevin Slowey’s name brought up, but i don’t think he’ll make it. I think Nick Blackburn deserves it, but I think his lack of wins to this point probably means that he won’t make it.

 

3:12	[Comment From will] Would you be excited if the Twins sign Miguel Angel Sano? And do you think they really will?

 

3:39

I think that the Twins and Pirates are the two teams that seem to have the best shot, so yes, I do think that there is a decent chance that he signs with the Twins. He is apparently looking for a signing bonus of up to or around $3 million. I’ve said all along that I don’t care if the Twins use shared revenue on big league contracts as long as it is being used elsewhere. Scouting all over the world is one way to do that, and spending this significantly on someone believed to be this good would say a lot to me.

 

4:11

[Comment From darnell] it would be nice if a few more of the twins top prospects were higher than A ball.

4:13

I don’t disagree… but for the most part, the Twins have weaknesses at 2B, RP. They have guys like Tolleson and Dinkelman (and Casilla) as options at 2B. They have Delaney and Slama and Burnett at at least AA for hte bullpen. THey’ll need a 3B next year, and Valencia is in AAA. Martin and Tosoni are OF options at at least AA. Their top catching prospect, Wilson Ramos is at AA. And Mulvey and Swarzak and maybe even Duensing could come up and start if needed. So there is still some depth.

 

And if you’ve got head phones, be sure to listen to last night’s episode of the SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast. We were joined by John Bonnes (aka The Twins Geek) who was at the stadium in Kansas City, part of his baseball trip that has taken him to the Field of Dreams in Dyersburg, Iowa, to Clinton, Iowa, where he saw them playing the Beloit Snappers. He and TVOR then went to St. Louis to see the Twins and Cardinals play on Sunday before heading to Kansas City on Monday night. They will visit the Negro League Hall of Fame before heading home. So, that was a fun conversation. Next, I got a phone call from a listener with some questions and comments. That was unexpected and yet very fun. Then Phil Mackey came on and we talked baseball for awhile. He can be found at www.PhilMackey.com, is the host of Twins Weekly on KFAN, and one of the key contributors to the Minnesota Poker Magazine. Finally, Travis Aune and I discussed the Minor League affiliates for the final 15 minutes. It was a very good show.

MINOR LEAGUE REPORT

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Hitter of the Day – Chris Herrmann, Elizabethton Twins

Monday – SethSpeaks.net Pitcher of the Day – David Bromberg, Ft. Myers Miracle – Blayne Weller, GCL Twins

NOTES AND ANOTHER TRANSACTION

• Travis has been quite busy since I last posted. He posted his choices for the Twins #2 prospect, and the Twins #1 prospect. He also posted a very good Q&A with Tyler Robertson. 
• Aaron Gleeman wrote a good article, What Happened to All the Bunt Hits? He mentioned that last year the Twins tied an MLB record for more bunt hits and this year, they likely won’t have half as many.
• Pat Neshek posted an update on his blog. He basically said that everything is going well, but he talks about several other topics as well.   

ROCHESTER REPORT

Monday – Game 1 – Rochester 0, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 4 – Philip Humber got the game one start. He went all six innings and gave up five runs on eight hits. He didn’t walk any and struck out four. The Red Wings managed just two hits. Matt Macri hit his 15^th double.

Monday – Game 2 – Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 3 – Jason Jones went the distance in this game. He went all six innings and gave up three runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out four. The Red Wings had seven hits, three walks and two doubles in seven innings and still managed just one run.   

ROCKCAT RECAP

Monday –New Britain 3, Connecticut 6 – Carlos Gutierrez is being limited to the number of innings he can pitch. The Twins want to keep his innings down. In this game, he went four innings, but because of the first inning, he probably threw more pitches than they would want. In the first inning, he gave up four runs on six hits. All told, in his four innings, he gave up five runs on ten hits and a walk. He struck out two. Jay Rainville gave up a run in his inning. Then Kyle Waldrop, Jose Lugo and Frank Mata combined for four scoreless innings. Whit Robbins went 3-5 with his 17^th double. Erik Lis and Brian Dinkelman each went 2-4.     

MIRACLE MEMOS

Monday – Ft. Myers 5, Lakeland 1 – David Bromberg got the win in this game with a strong 6.1 innings. He gave up a run on five hits and a walk. He struck out three. Spencer Steedley got the save with 2.2 scoreless innings. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his second and third doubles. Chris Parmelee was 2-4 with his 13^th double. Jair Fernandez went 2-4 with his seventh double. Deibinson Romero was also 2-4. 

SNAPPERS SNIPPETS

Monday – Beloit – No Game Scheduled.  

E-TWINS EXTRAS

Monday – Elizabethton 11, Bristol 5 – The E-Twins got back in the win column in this game thanks to their bats. Chris Herrmann had a big game. He went 4-5 with his second and third doubles, and his first home run. Tyler Ladendorf was 3-5 with his second double. Herbert Lara went 3-5. Danny Rams hit his second and third home runs. Anderson Hidalgo went 3-4 with his first two doubles. Michael Gonzalez went 2-4 with his first double. Liam Hendriks got the start in this game. He went six innings and gave up four runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Kyle Carr gave up a run in two innings, striking out three. Billy Bullock threw another scoreless inning.    

GCL TWINS THOUGHTS

Monday – GCL Twins 2, GCL Orioles 2 (game postponed in bottom of 9^th, but I probably won’t go back and check the box score tomorrow!) – Blayne Weller gave up only an unearned run on two hits in five innings. He walked none and struck out five. Nelvin Fuentes struck out four in two innings. He gave up a run on two hits. Eliecer Cardenas struck out two in two scoreless innings. Hyeong-rok Choi went 2-4 with his second double. Wang-Wei Lin was 2-4 with his first double.   

Please feel free to Send me an e-mail, or leave your questions or comments here.

Blayne Weller Signs

This posting and more comments can be found at www.SethSpeaks.net

According to the same unnamed source, the Twins have also signed 14th round pick Blayne Weller. Again, the deadline for players to sign before they go back into next year’s draft is Friday (August 15th). That is why we are seeing things happen at this time. Weller is a Right Handed Pitcher from Key West High School in Florida. The Twins are obviously quite high on him. They have now signed their first 17 picks from this year’s draft. They have actually signed 25 of their 52 draft picks. Very impressive! Not sure if there are any more signings to come, but I will let you know if there are.