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.

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve pointed out the organizational depth charts for the Twins hitters. We’ve looked at catchers, 3B, 1B, Middle Infielders and Outfielders. Today, I’ll take a look at the starting pitchers. Now, especially as I move to the lower levels, I won’t pretend to know which players will move to the bullpen. Often, due to innings limits, some ‘starters’ will begin the season in the bullpen. Others will begin the season as starters and get moved to the bullpen later due to innings. Frankly, most of the pitchers in the lowest levels have been starters their whole lives and some will be given at least some opportunity. As we saw with Carlos Gutierrez, even guys destined for the bullpen can be given an opportunity to start to work on pitches and gain arm strength.  

That’s OK, though, because the biggest purpose of this was to provide the organization’s depth. I need to reiterate that these are just 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  

Carl Pavano (RHP), Francisco Liriano (LHP), Scott Baker (RHP), Jason Marquis (RHP), Nick Blackburn (RHP)

Gardy has announced Pavano as his Opening Day starter, an obvious choice based on last season. He’s been solid in his 2 ½ seasons with the Twins, most important he has provided a ton of innings despite an alarmingly low strikeout rate. There’s no question that Francisco Liriano has the best stuff of anyone on the staff, but if he can’t find control of his fastball, it will be another frustrating season. It is a contract season for Liriano, so the goal has to be for him to have a strong season. In 2011, Scott Baker was easily the Twins top starting pitcher. He was pitching the best he had in his career, until elbow problems curtailed his season. Nick Blackburn averaged 200 innings pitched his first two seasons while posting solid ERAs. He’s been pretty bad ever since getting the long-term contract. Unfortunately, the contract has given him many opportunities and likely will continue to do so. He misses very few bats, so we can just hope that a lot of baseballs get hit right at a defender. Many Twins fans are down on the Jason Marquis signing, and although I’m not a bit fan of the contract, he has actually had a pretty solid big league career.

Rochester Red Wings

Liam Hendriks (RHP), Scott Diamond (LHP), Aaron Thompson (LHP), Jeff Manship (RHP), Deinys Suarez (RHP)

We saw Hendriks and Diamond late in the 2011 season. Hendriks was the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year and likely needs another half-season. Diamond had his moments, but overall 2011 was the first year in his career that he really struggled. He says he has made some adjustments, so we’ll see how it goes. Manship came up with the Twins and his first major league victory came on the final weekend of the 2009 season, when the Twins needed to sweep the Royals. He was supposed to be in the Twins bullpen last season, but he was hurt the entire season. He likely will pitch in the Twins bullpen, but they may have him start in Rochester first. Aaron Thompson is intriguing, at least. He will turn 25 years old later this month. He debuted with the Pirates last season, but in 7.2 innings, he gave up 13 hits, walked six and struck out just one. He has just six AAA games under his belt, and his AA career numbers are 15-37 with a 5.03 ERA in 96 games (80 starts). Deinys Suarez signed with the Twins last spring. The Cuban defector split time between New Britain and Rochester, not pitching particularly well either place.

New Britain Rock Cats

David Bromberg (RHP), Logan Darnell (LHP), Tom Stuifbergen (RHP), Marty Popham (RHP), Dan Osterbrock (LHP), Bobby Lanigan (RHP)

Bromberg’s 2011 season was unfortunately a lost season. He began the season in Twins spring training, but he went back to New Britain, had a line drive break his arm, spent a lot of time rehabbing, came back too quickly, shut it down, worked hard and then found out the Twins had removed him from the 40 man roster. However, he will be just 24 years old throughout the 2012 season, so don’t forget about him. Logan Darnell was a 2010 draft pick who started last year in Beloit and got all the way to New Britain. Stuifbergen had a solid season in Ft. Myers, had a terrific one-start showing in Rochester, and then was the pitcher of the year in the World Cup tournament that his Netherlands team won. He was then knighted in his homeland. Sir Tom Stuifbergen should spent this season with the Rock Cats. Dan Osterbrock missed most of last season with shoulder problems which was unfortunate because he was coming off of a very good season in 2010. Bobby Lanigan was in the Rock Cats rotation all throughout the 2011 season. Some think his stuff (specifically his slider) will play very well out of the bullpen, and we may see some of that this year too. Marty Popham was selected by the Twins in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft. He has pitched in Hi-A, AA and AAA each of the past two seasons. He should spend this season in AA.

Ft. Myers Miracle

BJ Hermsen (RHP), Pat Dean (LHP), Adrian Salcedo (RHP), Alex Wimmers (RHP), Manuel Soliman (RHP), Ryan O’Rourke (LHP), AJ Achter (RHP)

This is certainly an intriguing group of pitching prospects. If not for Liam Hendriks’ terrific 2011 season, my starting pitcher of the year choice would have been BJ Hermsen who pitched very well in Beloit and followed it up with a solid performance in Ft. Myers (minus a rough final start). Alex Wimmers had a rough 2011 season too in Ft. Myers, but it ended with the seven inning no hitter. Assuming he has his control issues under control, he could move quickly. Adrian Salcedo has long been a top ten Twins prospect, and he’ll move up to the Miracle. Manuel Soliman was the innings-eater for the Snappers last year despite only having pitched now for three years. He is an intriguing prospect, but for him to remain a starter, he will need to improve his secondary pitches. Pat Dean is definitely a solid prospect  but like so many others, he missed a lot of time with injury in 2011. His season started about six weeks late, but he still pitched for three teams (including a late-season spot start in New Britain). Ryan O’Rourke is a tough, competitive left-hander with a nasty slider. When I saw him pitch in Beloit last summer, my comment was that I didn’t think big league left-handed hitters could hit that slider. He was successful as a starter, but he could also become a very good relief pitcher, so it will be interesting to see how his career progresses. The game I saw AJ Achter start last year, he was tremendous. He touches 90-91 with the fastball, but he has a terrific changeup and a curveball that had good bite.

Beloit Snappers

Tim Shibuya (RHP), Madison Boer (RHP), Matt Summers (LHP), Matt Bashore (LHP), Tim Atherton (RHP), Matt Tomshaw (LHP), Derek Christensen (RHP) 

Tim Shibuya was the Appy League Pitcher of the Year and threw seven innings of a no-hitter for the E-Twins. A smart pitcher with a full mix of pitches, he should adapt well to the Midwest League. Madison Boer and Matt Summers both began their pro careers in the E-Town bullpen. Each unsurprisingly dominated. Boer struggled upon his promotion to Beloit. It is likely the Twins will have each start. I believe Boer will move to the bullpen, but I think Summers can stick as a starter. Matt Bashore was a first-round pick in 2009 and has pitched very little since. However, reports indicate that in Instructs last fall, he was looking really good and throwing as high as 93 mph again. He could be one to watch in 2012. Matt Tomshaw was the Twins 43^rd round pick just last year. Like many, he was given a shot with the Ft. Myers Miracle after a couple appearances with the GCL Twins. Like few, he was very successful for the Miracle. My guess, however, is that he will step back to Beloit and start. Derek Christensen had a terrific season as a starter with the E-Twins. The side-winder may eventually move to the bullpen but his combination of deception, fastball and slider make him a very intriguing prospect. Tim Atherton was with the Twins organization a few years ago as an infielder. The team let him go, but he came back in 2011 as a pitcher, and he pitched very well. He has all the pitches, but all will need to further develop.

Elizabethton Twins

Tyler Jones (RHP), Corey Kimes (LHP), Brett Lee (LHP), Chris Mazza (RHP), Angel Mata (RHP), Hung-yi Chen (RHP)

There are plenty of pitchers from the 2011 draft and from last year’s GCL team that will not be heading to Beloit to start the season. Tyler Jones was the 11^th round pick a year ago out of LSU. He’s got great upside, throws hard, good breaking pitches. Kimes is a four year college guy who should probably be up in Beloit due to age, but he got hurt last year shortly after signing. Brett Lee and Chris Mazza both signed very near the deadline and didn’t pitch in 2011. Angel Mata and Hung-yi Chen were the two most intriguing pitching prospects from last year’s GCL team. Both have good stuff and are young.

GCL Twins

Hudson Boyd (RHP), Trent Higginbotham (RHP), Kuo-hua Lo (RHP), Austin Malinowski (LHP)

Boyd and Higginbotham are two very high ceiling high school picks from last year. The Twins had to go over-slot to sign their second supplemental first round pick from Ft. Myers. He touched 96-97 at times last year. Higginbotham was a late-round pick but the Twins went way over slot to sign him as well. He touches 94-95, and some believe he can be a top of the rotation starter or a dominant closer. Time will tell for both of them. Lo signed last year from Taiwan, and he’s fairly advanced for his very young age. He also has hit 94 mph on a radar gun. He debuted in Instructional League last year, and will likely be with the GCL Twins in 2012. Malinowski was the Twins 16th round pick out of Centennial High School (MN). He gave up a scholarship to Arizona to sign at the last minute with the Twins.   

TOP THREE (OR SO…) PROSPECTS 

1.)    Liam Hendriks, 2.) Kyle Gibson, 3.) Alex Wimmers, 4.) Adrian Salcedo, 5.) Tom Stuifbergen, 6.) Manuel Soliman, 7.) Hudson Boyd, 8.) BJ Hermsen, 9.) Pat Dean, 10.) Matt Summers 

SUMMARY  

The Twins starting pitching was really bad last year. That was a combination of struggles, injury and poor defense. For the Twins to be successful, Carl Pavano needs to throw 220 innings with a league-average ERA and WHIP. Francisco Liriano will have to pull his regain control of his fastball and show a little bit of self-confidence. Scott Baker needs to pitch like he did the six weeks before he got hurt. All three need to stay healthy. I personally think Jason Marquis will be just fine. He’s not going to post a sub-3 or sub-4 ERA, but I think he can do what Pavano did in 2011. Blackburn needs to pitch like he did his first two seasons… or so badly that Liam Hendriks gets called up. Frankly, there’s not much else waiting in the wings, ready to contribute right away as a starter. Manship can be solid, but I think the team has moved him to the bullpen in their minds. Diamond will have had to improved quite a bit to say he’s ready (which is possible).

That doesn’t mean the cupboard is bare though. There are some solid pitching prospects throughout the minors. Kyle Gibson should be back in 2013 (if not late in 2012). Alex Wimmers could move very quickly as well. There are several pitchers that have the potential to be a decent #3 pitcher, if all goes well on the way up. The Twins have been successful with “Twins-like” pitchers. Guys like Hermsen, Salcedo, Stuifbergen and Shibuya fit that mold. The Twins have added some power arms in the last draft or two, especially in 2011’s draft with Boyd, Higginbotham, Jones, Boer, Summers, Corey Williams and others. It will be interesting to see how they develop. 

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!

99 losses. Confusing injuries and rehabilitation stories. Players traded, and players lost via free agency. 2011 was a really tough season for the Twins organization. However, there were a few positive moments during the season as well.

Blyleven to the Hall of Fame

• Early in January, the Baseball Hall of Fame announced that Bert Blyleven was finally to be enshrined in the Hall of Fame. The Twins had some special nights for him, and in August he was inducted.

20 Year Anniversary of the 1991 World Series

• Also in August, the Twins celebrated the 20th Anniversary of the greatest World Series of all-time, that 1991 thriller against the Atlanta Braves. Many of the Twins players from that roster were in attendance for the reunion. It’s always great to see so many of those players coming back.

No-Hitters

• On May 4 in Chicago, Francisco Liriano was wild, and yet he completed a no-hitter against the White Sox. The final out came on a line drive to Matt Tolbert off the bat of Adam Dunn. Liriano was pitching to stay in the rotation at the time, and despite all the walks, the no-hitter continued to show how good his stuff can be.
• On July 6, Jeff Manship made his first start for the Rochester Red Wings. Due to injury, it was his first appearance in seven weeks. Manship threw four no-hit innings. He was followed by Jake Stevens who threw three no-hit innings. Kyle Waldrop gave up no hits in the 8th innings, and Jim Hoey finished the job with no hits in the 9th inning.
• On July 16, Tim Shibuya, the Twins 23rd round pick a month earlier, started for the Elizabethton Twins. The right-hander threw seven no-hit innings. He was followed by 31st round pick, RHP Garrett Jewell, who threw a no-hit 8th inning. 7th round pick, lefty Steven Gruver, struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning to preserve the no-hitter.
• September 3, Alex Wimmers tossed a seven-inning no hitter for the Ft. Myers Miracle. His season started with a six batter faced, six walk outing. He was shut down for a couple of months and brought back slowly. But to end the season in such fashion was a nice way to end a rough season.

Major League Debuts

• April 1 – Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 1-4 on Opening Day against the Blue Jays.
• April 28 – Rene Tosoni went 2-4 with an RBI in his debut against the Rays.
• June 4 – Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 with a walk. In his first plate appearance, he was hit by a pitch. His walk was intentional. The Twins beat the Royals 7-2.
• July 18 – Scott Diamond was called up for a spot start in the second game of a double header against Cleveland. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks in 6.1 innings.
• September 5 – Kyle Waldrop gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in 1.2 innings against the White Sox. The first inning he pitched was scoreless.
• September 6 – Joe Benson led off for the Twins and went 0-3 after walking in his first plate appearance in a 3-0 loss to the White Sox.
• September 6 – Chris Parmelee batted fifth and went 2-4 in the same game.
• September 6 – Liam Hendriks made the start for the Twins in this game. He gave up three runs on four hits and three walks in seven innings.

The Killebrew Tribute

• Obviously one of the saddest moments during the 2011 season was the death of legendary Twins great Harmon Killebrew. However, listening and reading the stories of what a great man he was made us almost forget what a great baseball player he was. The Twins had a tribute for Killebrew on May 26. It was great to see so many former players there. Mudcat Grant was again amazing with his rendition of What a Wonderful World. However, the highlight had to be the speech of Nita Killebrew. Her poise and strength in that moment were amazing. Her words were inspirational. It was a great tribute to a great man.

Nathan Sets Twins Saves Mark

• On August 10, Joe Nathan set the Twins all-time saves record by recording his 255th save. He surpassed Rick Aguilera’s mark of 254.

Thome Hits 600th Home Run

• On August 15, the Twins traded Delmon Young to the Tigers in the afternoon. That was fairly big news that day, but fortunately, there was much bigger news coming later that night. Through his first two at bats, Jim Thome was 1-2 with a single. In the 6th inning, he hit home run #599 against the Tigers in Detroit. For many, it takes awhile to hit that 600th home run. Thome’s came just one inning later with two runners on against lefty Daniel Schlereth.

Draft Picks Sign

• Within the final hour before the deadline for teams to sign their draft picks, the Twins signed all three of their first round picks. Levi Michael was the 30th overall pick and signed for $1.175 million (about $86,000 over slot). Supplemental first-rounder, Hudson Boyd, the 55th overall pick, signed for a $1 million bonus (about $350,000 over slot). Travis Harrison, the 50th overall pick in the draft, signed for $1.05 million (about $350,000 over slot). The Twins signed several other players with big potential on that final day, including Minnesota’s top high school player in 2011, LHP Austin Malinowski (the team’s 16th round pick).

Award Winners

• Brian Dozier and Liam Hendriks were named the Twins minor league hitter and pitcher of the year, respectively.
• Eddie Rosario was named the player of the year in the Appalachian League after putting up monstrous numbers including 21 home runs, one better than teammate Miguel Sano. Teammate Tim Shibuya was the pitcher of the year in the Appalachian League.

Terry Ryan Reclaims the GM Role

• On November 7, the Twins announced the Bill Smith was being relieved of his duties as GM of the Twins and that former GM Terry Ryan would resume the duties in an interim role. The question is how long “interim” might be.

It was a tough year, and when trying to come up with positives from 2011, it was quite difficult to make it even this lengthy. I’m certain I missed some things. Were there any other positives from the 2011 Twins season that you can think of? Help me out here!!

TwinsCentric Notes

• John and Aaron Gleeman released their newest Gleeman and the Geek episode (Episode 21), so be sure to tune in to that.

• Be sure to listen to Thursday night’s episode of Twins Minor League Weekly.
• Check out Roger’s Weekly Minor League Report at Twinkie Town.

The Twins lost yet again. They are bad. The Rochester Red Wings will lose over 90 games this year. The Ft. Myers Miracle have had a bad second half after nearly winning their division title in the first half. The GCL Twins are in second place, but will not make the playoffs in the Gulf Coast League. The Beloit Snappers were competing for a Wild Card spot in the Midwest League until their recent losing streak. However, there are two Twins affiliates that do have a chance to make their league’s playoffs.

ELIZABETHTON TWINS

As they do pretty much every year, the E-Twins will most likely make the playoffs again this year. In fact, it is possibly that the team could clinch a spot today. They will finish in second place behind Johnson City, but the E-Twins are playing really well right now. They are being led by Appalachian League co-MVP Eddie Rosario, who has hit eight home runs in the team’s last ten games.

On Thursday, the E-Twins beat Bluefield (the team they could play in the first round of the playoffs) by a score of 17-8. Rosario went 3-5 with a walk and his 18^th and 19^th home runs. Matt Koch went 3-6 with his fourth and fifth doubles, his second home run and four RBI. AJ Pettersen went 3-4 with two walks. Niko Goodrum was 3-5. Miguel Sano went 2-6. Tyler Koelling went 2-4 with a walk. JD Williams was 2-6 with his third home run. Tyler Jones made his first start and gave up six runs on six hits and two walks in three innings. David Hurlbut came in and gave up just one run on five hits and a walk in five innings. Corey Williams finished the game.

On Friday, the E-Twins picked up an 11-4 win over Bluefield, who decided it wouldn’t let Rosario beat them. He went 0-1 before being walked the next four times he came to the plate, twice intentionally. Miguel Sano made them pay for it. He was 2-5 with his seventh triple, 17^th home run and five RBI. Nick Lockwood went 3-5 with a walk and his 11^th and 12^th doubles. Jairo Rodriguez was 3-5. Niko Goodrum went 2-4 with a walk, his 10^th double and eighth stolen base. Max Kepler was 2-4 with a walk. JD Williams was 2-5 with his 11^th double. Tim Shibuya, the Appalachian League’s Pitcher of the Year started and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in six innings. He left with a 4-1 lead, in line for his 9^th win. However, Steven Gruver gave up three runs in the seventh inning to create a 4-4 tie. He got two outs in the 8^th inning before Steve Evans came in and got the final four outs.

Eddie Rosario is now hitting .317/.384/.635 (1.018 OPS) with nine doubles, seven triples, 19 home runs and 54 RBI. He also has 15 stolen bases, and he plays an incredible centerfield. In his last ten games, he is hitting. 417/.553/1.139 (1.692 OPS) with one triple, eight home runs and 16 RBI. He also has 11 walks with just six strikeouts. Over the same period, Miguel Sano is hitting .318/.388/.659 with four doubles, a triple, three home runs and 16 RBI. In his last ten games, Niko Goodrum is hitting .459/.545/.649 (1.194 OPS) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, and seven walks.  

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS

Over the last two days the Rock Cats have made up two games in the standing and currently are tied with Reading for a wild card spot in the Eastern League playoffs.

On Thursday night, the Rock Casts grabbed an early 9-2 lead through seven innings when the game was delayed by rain. When they came back, Trenton scored six runs in the bottom of the eighth to cut the lead to 9-8. However, in the top of the 9^th, Chris Cates came through with a two-run single to score Yangervis Solarte and Joe Benson and give the Rock Cats some insurance and an 11-8 win. Spencer Steedley started and gave up two runs on five hits and a walk in five innings. Steve Hirschfeld gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings and struck out three. Michael Tarsi came in for the 8^th inning and faced five batters. He gave up three hits, and he and Cates each commented an error before Dakota Watts came in. Tarsi was charged with five runs (2 earned). Watts got two outs but gave up another run. Tyler Robertson came in and gave up another hit and walk in the 8^th but got out of that inning with the one run lead. He then got all three outs in the 9^th for his 16^th save. Chris Herrmann went 3-4 with his seventh home run and four RBI. Brian Dozier was 2-5 with his sixth double. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 with his 26^th double. Evan Bigley was 2-5.

On Friday night, Andrew Albers gave the Rock Cats a chance to win. The lefty started and went the first six innings. He gave up one run on seven hits. Deolis Guerra came in for the 7^th inning and gave up a run. So, the Rock Cats were down 2-1, a deficit they faced until the top of the 9^th. However, with two runners on, Joe Benson hit a triple that gave the Rock Cats a 3-2 lead. Chris Parmelee came up next and singled in Benson for the 4-2 lead. Deolis Guerra went three innings and gave up just that one run. He gave up just one hit, walked two and struck out six for the Win. Benson was 1-3 with two walks and that big triple. Yangervis Solarte had two hits. Brian Dozier went 3-4.

The Rock Cats were to play two more games in Trenton over the weekend. However, they decided to move Sunday’s game to Saturday and play a double header. Of course, Hurricane Irene may have something to say about that as they have called a state of emergency in New Jersey for today.

THE REST STILL MATTERS

Hey, just because your favorite team or teams may not be in the playoff hunt doesn’t mean that we stop watching them, right? I mean, who wants to be a fair-weather fan!? Even in bad seasons and bad games, good things can happen.

For instance, the Rochester Red Wings played a double header on Friday against Syracuse, and they threw two of the organization’s best pitching prospects. In the first game, Liam Hendriks (who I expect to make a start for the Twins within the next eight to ten days) started and threw six shutout innings. He allowed five hits, walked none and struck out five. Jim Hoey then pitched a perfect seventh for his 8^th save. Sure, the Red Wings managed just three hits, but one of them was a big, two-run home run off the bat of Aaron Bates (his fifth).

In the second game, Tom Stuifbergen made his AAA debut. Not wanting to mess with the New Britain playoff hopes, the Red Wings called down to Ft. Myers and Stuifbergen was summoned. He gave up two runs in the first inning, and that was it. The Dutch right-hander gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in five innings for his first AAA win. He walked none and struck out five. Chuck James came in and got the final six outs for his first save. He walked three and struck out four. Jair Fernandez went 2-3 with his fifth double and first stolen base. Jeff Bailey was 2-2. Dustin Martin drove in two runs.

The GCL Twins lost 6-1 to the GCL Red Sox. Hung-yi Chen started and gave up five runs (4 earned) on seven hits in 1.2 innings. Ricardo Arevalo came in and gave up only an unearned run on two hits in 3.1 innings. He walked two and struck out four. Nick Cicio threw three one-hit, no-run innings. The Twins managed just five hits. Dereck Rodriguez went 2-3 with a walk.

The Ft. Myers Miracle got a nice start from Pat Dean and the offense for a 6-3 win over Charlotte. Dean gave up two runs on seven hits in seven innings. He walked none and struck out five. Ricky Bowen then gave up one run on three hits and a walk in two innings. He struck out three. Oswaldo Arcia went 2-4. Dan Rohlfing went 1-2 with two walks. Reggie Williams was 1-2 with two walks and his first triple. Angel Morales hit his second home run, and Danny Rams hit his 15^th double and drove in three runs.

Beloit got a terrific start and some power in their 6-3 win over Burlington. Pedro Guerra started and gave up only an unearned run on four hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out 11. In his 20 innings with the Snappers, he has nine walks and 34 strikeouts! Bart Carter then struck out two in two scoreless innings. Jose Gonzalez struck out three in his one-hit inning. Madison Boer then gave up two runs (1 earned) on three hits in his inning. He struck out two. Lance Ray went 2-4 with his 33^rd and 34^th doubles. Nate Roberts was 1-3 with his fourth home run. Andy Leer was 1-2 with a walk and his third home run.  

Care to share any thoughts? Comment here.

Good morning, all!

Justin Verlander is a beast! That is all. If I could pick any pitcher in baseball to build a staff around, I think it might be Verlander. Although, Felix Hernandez and Michael Pineda would also be consider. And so would pretty much any of the young Braves pitchers like Julio Teheran, Randall Delgado, Arodys Vizcaino, etc.

Twins lost 7-1. Blackburn was Blackburn. It really wasn’t much of a game. Tonight, it will be Carl Pavano against Brad Penny. Both pitchers refuse to strike out anyone, so hopefully it’s a high scoring affair… for both teams.

The Twins announced the Player To Be Named Later yesterday. The Twins (actually the Rochester Red Wings, for now) will receive right-handed relief pitcher Lester Oliveros. Obviously we all were hoping for more than that, and it probably perpetuated that hope. When I heard Bill Smith basically say that the player was currently not eligible to be traded, I thought maybe it was someone who the Tigers drafted last year and couldn’t be traded for the first year. Instead, Oliveros could not be traded because the Tigers had to put him through waivers and he had to get to the Twins to claim. Obviously that process takes up to 48 hours which is why they were able to announce him so quickly. If someone like Kansas City would have claimed Oliveros, the Twins could not have received him and likely they had a second name ready for that scenario. Oliveros looks a lot like Jim Hoey. He throws hard, up to 95, he gets a lot of strikeouts. However, he walks a batter about every other inning which isn’t good. The difference is that the Venezuelan is still just 23 years old, dominated AA this year, struggled in AAA and even made several appearances for the Tigers in June. Considering it was an August trade for Delmon Young, I actually think that the Twins did alright in the deal.

Last night, RHP Tim Shibuya improved to 7-2 for the Elizabethton Twins. He worked seven innings and gave up just one run on two hits. He walked none and struck out 12 in a very impressive performance. What did he do after the game to celebrate? He appeared as a guest on last night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins Podcast!!    

Speaking of podcasts, be sure to listen to the Inaugural Gleeman and The Geek podcast in which the two most senior Twins bloggers sit around, had a few drinks but all they kept talking about… was baseball.

Here are some minor league highlights from the last two days:

ROCHESTER RED WINGS

On Monday, the Red Wings split a double header with Columbus. In the first game, they lost 2-0. Scott Diamond pitched all seven innings and gave up two runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out three. Jeff Bailey went 2-3 with his 19^th double. Luke Hughes and Aaron Bates were each 2-3.

Rochester won the second game 4-3 on a single from Ray Chang. Jeff Bailey hit his 13^th home run of the season. Jake Stevens started. He gave up three runs on three hits in three innings. He walked three and struck out… do I even have to type it… that’s right, three. Carlos Gutierrez then struck out four in two scoreless innings. Chuck James got the win with two shutout frames.

On Tuesday night, the Red Wings lost 5-2 to Lehigh Valley. Liam Hendriks got back on track with a solid start. He gave up two runs on six hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out four. Dusty Hughes then gave up three runs (1 earned) on one hit in 1.2 innings. He walked three and struck out two. Kyle Waldrop got the final out. Rene Rivera went 2-4 with his fifth home run. Dustin Martin went 2-4 with his 24^th double. Chase Lambin and Brian Dinkelman each went 2-4. Luke Hughes hit his fifth home run.

NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS

New Britain did not play on Monday. On Tuesday night, the Rock Cats lost 17-5 to Binghampton. David Bromberg started and gave up eight runs on eight hits and four walks in 2.2 innings. Matt Schuld then gave up five runs (3 earned) on three hits in 2.2 innings. Dakota Watts gave up four runs on four hits and four walks in 2.1 innings. Steve Hirschfeld came in and struck out the lone batter he faced. Chris Parmelee went 2-4 with a walk and his 12^th home run. Chris Herrmann was 2-4. Evan Bigley hit his 30^th double.  

FT MYERS MIRACLE

The Miracle got a much-needed day off on Monday. The Miracle returned on Tuesday night and lost 7-1 to Jupiter. Alex Wimmers made the start. He gave up one run on two hits in four innings. He walked three and struck out four. Cole Nelson came in for his Miracle debut. He walked the bases loaded, then got two outs before allowing a two run single and then got out of the inning. Matt Tone then came in and gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in two innings. Shooter Hunt pitched the eighth inning and pitched a 1-2-3 inning with one strikeout. The Miracle had eight hits and five walks but scored just one run. James Beresford went 2-4.  

BELOIT SNAPPERS

Beloit lost to Burlington 2-1 on Monday. Blayne Weller started and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits in four innings. He walked two and struck out two. Bart Carter struck out two in two scoreless innings. Michael Tonkin gave up three hits but no runs in two innings. Madison Boer pitched a scoreless inning. Danny Ortiz went 2-4. Jhonatan Arias was 1-2 with a walk. Jairo Perez was 1-3 with a walk.  

The Snappers did not have a game scheduled on Tuesday.

• On July 15^th, Travis Aune and I were at the Beloit game. Bart Carter came in and gave up three runs on four hits in one inning. Not one of the four hits left the infield. Not one. Since that game, he has pitched nine more times out of the Snappers bullpen. He has given up one run on nine hits in 14.1 innings. So, in 11 total games for the Snappers, he is 1-1 with a 2.20 ERA. Yet, take away that one weird infield single outing, and he’s been exceptional. Which is to say, he has been exceptional. He is already 24 years old, so he’s old for AA players, but the numbers for the lefty have been good and deserve note. In 12.2 innings and Elizabethton, he walked two and struck out 24. In 16.1 innings for the Snappers, he has walked three and struck out 19.

ELIZABETHTON TWINS

Elizabethton had Monday night off. As I mentioned above, Tim Shibuya got the nod for the E-Twins and improved to 7-2 with a strong performance. The 21 year old righty gave up just one run on two hits. He walked none and struck out 12 in seven innings. Steve Evans struck out two in his scoreless inning. Matt Bashore also pitched a scoreless inning in the E-Twins 5-1 win over Bristol. Miguel Sano hit his 14^th home run. Rory Rhodes and Tyler Koelling each hit a double.

GCL TWINS

The GCL Twins lost 7-1 on Monday to the GCL Orioles. Hung-yi Chen started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on five hits in three innings. He walked none and struck out three. Josue Montanez gave up an unearned run in this two innings. Gonzalo Sanudo gave up two runs on four hits in two innings. Tyler Herr pitched two scoreless innings. The Twins managed just four hits. Jorge Polanco had a single, a walk and his sixth stolen base.

On Tuesday, the Twins and O’s were postponed by rain.

Any thoughts?? E-mail me, or leave some Comments.

The Twins drafted Levi Michael, a shortstop from the University of North Carolina believed to be the college position player closest to being ready for the big leagues, with the 30^th pick in the first round. But they didn’t stop there. The Twins had two more picks in the supplemental first round, compensation for losing Orlando Hudson and Jesse Crain via free agency.

With the 50^th overall selection, the Twins drafted Travis Harrison, a high school third baseman from California. He is committed to USC, but I’m sure a little money could convince him to forgo that opportunity. At 6-2 and 215 pounds, he is a power hitter. He was a preseason high school All-American and during the season, he hit 13 home runs. He was up and down during the season which may have dropped him down the draft to some degree. But when a guy has that kind of power potential, it’s never a bad pick.

Soon after, the Twins used the 55^th overall pick to take Hudson Boyd, a stocky, right-handed pitcher from Ft. Myers. He is committed to the University of Florida, but he could see the Twins training facility location as a good reason (along with the near-million dollar signing bonus he would get) to sign with the Twins. He is about 6-3 and 235 pounds, not exactly what you would call projectable at this point. In his analysis, mlb.com’s Jonathan Mayo said that he may end up as a reliever. He already throws into the mid-90s, so that is a positive. The Twins, as any smart team would, will have him work as a starter first.

No, I’m not going to bash any of their picks. The reality, as we have said here for years, is that we won’t be able to judge this draft for six to eight years, maybe longer. What looks like a questionable pick now may prove to be great, and what people think might be a great pick may prove not to be.

The Twins will make their 2^nd through 30^th picks today, and then tomorrow they will make their final 20 picks. You can find a little information on each pick they make by going to SethSpeaks.net, so be sure to check there throughout the day for more. Here will be the Twins draft tracker with minimal thoughts:

• 1 – Levi Michael (30) – SS – U. of North Carolina
• 1s – Travis Harrison (50) – 3B from Tustin, CA (HS)
• 1s – Hudson Boyd (55) – RHP from Ft. Myers (HS)
• 2 – Madison Boer (87) – RHP from U. of Oregon – Eden Prairie native, good athlete.

• 3 – Corey Williams (117) – LHP from Vanderbilt U.-
  •  From John Manuel of Baseball America (via Twitter) – “Ooh, #Twins take a tough sign in LHP Corey Williams, power reliever this year, redshirt soph., highest ERA on Vandy staff but touched 94-95”
  • From Jordan Schelling: Corey Williams had his knee cap shattered by a line drive last April. Got up, made throw to first.
• 4 – Matthew Summers (148) – RHP from UC-Irvine (drafted in 43^rd round by Yankees… was an OF, so arm may be fresh (via Jonathan Mayo).)
• 5 – Tyler Grimes (178) – SS – Wichita State -
• 6 – Ivan Rodriguez (208) – CF – High school in Florida – Yes, the Hall of Fame catcher’s son.  
• 7 – Steven Gruver (238) – LHP University of Tennessee – It’s one of those names that just isn’t good for a pitcher. Like Balfour. Or Homer.
• 8 – Jason Wheeler (268) – LHP – Loyola Marymount

• 9 – Nick Bryant (298) – SS – Troy University
• 10 – Brett Lee (328) – LHP – St. Petersburg JC    
• 11 – Tyler Jones (358) – RHP – LSU    
• 12 – Matthew Koch (388) – C – Loyola Marymount    
• 13 – Steven Evans (418) – LHP – Liberty University    
• 14 – Adam McCreery (448) – LHP from California    
• 15 – Josue Montanez (478) – LHP from Miami-Dade CC   
• 16 – Austin Malinowski (508) – LHP – from Centennial High School in Lino Lakes, MN.
• 17 – Josh Burris (538) – RHP – from LSU-Eunice
• 18 – Corey Kimes (568) – LHP – from U of Illinois    
• 19 – Tyler Koelling (598) – CF – from U. of Southern Mississippi
• 20 – Brian Anderson (628) – SS – from Deer Creek (OK) HS
• 21 – Michael Howard (658) – LHP – from Prescott (AZ) HS
• 22 – James Ramsey (688) – RF – from Florida State U.
• 23 – Timothy Shibuya (718) – RHP – from UC-San Diego
• 24 – Nick Burdi (748) – RHP – from Downers Grove South (HS) in Illinois
• 25 – AJ Petterson (778) – SS – from the University of Minnesota
• 26 – Trent Higginbothom (808) – RHP – from Clay Chalkville (AL) HS
• 27 – Chris Mazza (838) – RHP – from Menlo College   
• 28 – David Hurlbut (868) – LHP – from Cal State – Fullerton
• 29 – Derek Thompson (898) – LHP – from Teutopolis (IL) HS
• 30 – William Clinard (928) – RHP – from Vanderbilt
• • 31 – Garrett Jewell (958) – RHP – from Southern New Hampshire U
  • 32 – Dylan Chavez (988) – LHP – from American River College
  • 33 – Stephen Wickens (1018) – SS – from Florida Gulf Coast U
  • 34 – Ryan Tella (1048) – CF – from Ohlone College
  • 35 – Philip Chapman (1078) – C – from the University of Memphis
  • 36 – Austin Barrois (1108) – OF – from Belle Chasse HS in LA
  • 37 – Andrew Leachman (1138) – LF – from Birmingham Southern
  • 38 – Alexander Keudell (1168) – RHP – from U of Oregon
  • 39 – Edwin McCord (1198) – RHP – from Spanish Fort HS in AL
  • 40 – Kyle Barraclough (1228) – RHP – from St. Marys College (CA)
  • 41 – TJ Oakes (1258) – RHP – from U of Minnesota
  • 42 – Matthew Tomshaw (1288) – LHP – from Jacksonville U.
  • 43 – Robert O’Neill (1318) – RHP – from Biola University
  • 44 – Cole Johnson (1348) – RHP – from Notre Dame
  • 45 – Julio Torres (1378) – 2B – from Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
  • 46 – Jared Dettmann (1408) – LHP – from Somerset HS in Wisconsin
  • 47 – John Hochstatter (1438) – LHP – from San Ramon Valley HS (CA)
  • 48 – Garret Peterson (1468) – RHP – from Du Bois Area HS (PA)
  • 49 – Drake Roberts (1498) – 2B – from Brenham HS (TX)
  • 50 – Bryan Burgher (1527) – RHP – from Emerald Ridge HS (WA)     

Any thoughts on the picks, please feel free to comment