Twins Organizational Depth Chart: The Outfielders

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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. 

At this point, we have reviewed the infielders and catchers throughout the Twins organization. Today, we will jump to the outfield. This information, of course, could be completely altered by an unexpected free agent signing or a trade. This exercise is not so much an attempt to perfectly predict where all of these players will wind up. In reality, there will be changes. Several players will be released. Some will be placed a level higher (or lower) than I would guess. This is just giving readers a reminder of who remains in the Twins system from last year, and who are the new players brought in this year. That said, I try to think about where these guys will

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  

Ben Revere (LF), Denard Span (CF), Josh Willingham (RF), Trevor Plouffe, Ryan Doumit

A lot of people seem to wonder why Willingham would be the right fielder. To me, that’s an easy choice. At Target Field, left field, centerfield and the gaps are pretty huge. I want Span and Revere covering the ground. Willingham isn’t a good left fielder. As far as playing the strange bounces off of the right field wall, anyone can have difficulties and will have to adjust to hit. Willingham will walk a lot and hit a bunch of home runs. I was chatting with Jamie Ogden at Twins Fest, and the comment that we agreed upon was the he will have the ability to take advantage of a pitcher’s mistakes and hit them a long way. It’s nice to have a guy like that in the middle of the lineup. As for Revere, I think it’s much better for him to play 3B. Simply, the throw from LF to 3B is much shorter than it is from CF. Also, the throw to home from CF is longer. Span doesn’t have a rocket for an arm, but he can throw. Span, when healthy, is a good on-base guy with speed and some extra base pop. Revere should be much improved, at least in terms of OBP, in 2012. He said that his goal is to steal 100 bases on 2012. He dropped that number to 80, but he plans on going whenever he gets a chance. Even though he didn’t play great in 2011, he made the Twins fun to watch and he made things happen. Imagine what he can make happen when he actually gets on base at a good clip! Trevor Plouffe should get plenty of time in left field, but he could also DH. He can hit lefties, and it will be interesting to see how he does in left field now that he doesn’t have the infielder’s glove. Ryan Doumit could get some time in right field as well.

Rochester Red Wings

Wilkin Ramirez (LF), Joe Benson (CF), Matt Carson (RF), Rene Tosoni, Mark Dolenc, Dustin Martin

Ramirez and Carson were minor league free agents brought in by the Twins. Carson is a power hitter. Ramirez is an all-around player who was a top prospect with the Tigers just a couple of years ago. Joe Benson has spent the past two years at New Britain, so he is ready for the challenges of AAA. He could move up to the Twins as necessary throughout the year, at least after the June Super 2 timeline. The same can be said of Rene Tosoni who will likely play nearly every day between the three outfield spots as well as DHing.  Benson could be a star if everything comes together. He could be a 30/30 guy with plus-defense in time. Tosoni is a guy who I think could fill a role as a platoon player and bench bat and occasional DH. He showed at times the power the he possesses. Dolenc has spent the past two years in New Britain and will likely need to advance to Rochester in 2012. He has averaged 439 plate appearances over the past four years and had a career-high 467 plate appearances in 2011. He has terrific tools, can play all three positions, gets on base, has very good speed, and plays really good defense with a strong arm. Dustin Martin put together his best year at Rochester (in his third season there).

New Britain Rock Cats

Angel Morales (LF), Aaron Hicks (CF), Evan Bigley (RF), Steve Liddle, Michael Hollimon

Aaron Hicks had a frustrating and inconsistent season in 2011 in Ft. Myers. He was tremendous in June and then struggled for a couple of months. He definitely represented himself well in the Arizona Fall League. His defense and arm are certainly ready for advancement. It is a big year for Hicks. He will be added to the 40 man roster following the season, but he will have to continue to show improvement on the field, in his approach at the plate and show consistency. What he does in 2012 may determine whether he remains a switch-hitter as well. Evan Bigley spent all of 2011 in New Britain and showed that he could be a candidate for a midseason promotion. Angel Morales is younger than Hicks (something many seem to forget). 2011 was a lost year for him. He missed three months with his elbow injury. He had arthroscopic surgery and came back at the end of the season. He has good speed and a vastly improved approach at the plate. Although he hasn’t hit as many home runs the last couple of seasons, no one seems to be worried about his power. Liddle really struggled last season in Ft. Myers, and he had shoulder surgery following the year. The Vanderbilt product is the nephew of Twins 3B coach Steve Liddle. Hollimon can play all around the infield and can also play around the outfield. He could be the guy to go back and forth between New Britain and Rochester regardless of where the need is.   

Ft. Myers Miracle

Lance Ray (LF), Nate Roberts (CF), Oswaldo Arcia (RF), Wang-Wei Lin, Danny Rams, Dan Rohlfing

I was surprised when the Twins sent Arcia to Ft. Myers following rehab of his elbow. I would be surprised if he jumps up to New Britain to start the season, but not completely. If he has one thing to work on, it is cutting down on the strikeouts. I think he can end the year with the Rock Cats. Lance Ray can hit, even if his 2011 Beloit numbers didn’t strongly indicate that. He has a very fluid swing and good power. Nate Roberts was the 5^th round pick a couple of years ago. He missed a lot of time on the DL with a knee injury. He is an on-base machine, taking walks and always willing to get hit. Wang-Wei Lin has steadily improved over his time, and after two years in Beloit, he will need to play in Ft. Myers. He has a good, line drive swing but the Taiwan native still has plenty to improve. Dan Rohlfing impressed behind the plate and will go to big league spring training in that role, but he can also play the outfield. At Instructs, Rams was moved to the outfield, although he will continue to catch some. The goal is to let him really focus on his swing and his bat.  

Beloit Snappers

Danny Ortiz (LF), JD Williams (CF), Tyler Koelling (RF), Drew Leachman, Matej Hejma, Jhonatan Goncalves

Ortiz was my choice for player of the month last April in Beloit, but it was a struggle through most of his season. He could start with the Snappers and spend a couple of months there (he already played in the Midwest League All-Star game last year). Tyler Koelling and Drew Leachman are two college outfielders who should advance to Beloit. JD Williams had an incredible season in Elizabethton in 2011, yet it went almost unnoticed thanks to Rosario and Sano. Baseball America just called him the fastest player in the Twins farm system, and he has the ability to bunt for hits from both sides of the plate. He played RF usually for the E-Twins because Eddie Rosario was in center. Matej Hejma is from the Czech Republic. Although he didn’t play a lot, or that well, in Elizabethton, he has to move up to Beloit because he has already played three seasons in the short season leagues. Goncalves is an interesting case. He has played most of the past two seasons in Ft. Myers, but he ended last year in Beloit which is probably where he should have been all along.  

Extended Spring Training/Short-Season

Max Kepler (CF), Candido Pimentel, Romy Jimenez, Kelvin Mention, Kelvin Ortiz, Dereck Rodriguez

Like Niko Goodrum, I suspect that Kepler will begin the season at Extended Spring Training. Like Goodrum, I suspect that Kepler will not return to Elizabethton but will instead advance to Beloit before the short season begins. He has so much talent but is still very raw. Pimentel is similar to Otis Nixon, very thin and very fast. Romy Jimenez (formerly known as Romy Trinidad) missed most of last year with an injury in his first year in the States. Kelvin Mention did miss all of 2011 with injury. Kelvin Ortiz came to the States and really struggled. He should go back to the GCL. And Dereck Rodriguez (the son of Ivan Rodriguez) will certainly spend another season in the GCL.  

TOP THREE (OR SO…) PROSPECTS

1.)    Oswaldo Arcia, 2.) Aaron Hicks, 3.) Joe Benson, 4.) Angel Morales, 5.) Max Kepler, 6.) JD Williams, 7.) Lance Ray, 8.) Danny Ortiz

SUMMARY

Barring injury, the Twins starting outfield should be solid despite the losses of Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel (And to a lesser extent, Jason Repko). Benson and Tosoni are fairly close to being ready to contribute on a regular basis. Beyond that, there is a lot of talent but a lot of question marks. Can Aaron Hicks take that next step? Will Angel Morales return in 2012 with some added power? How quickly will the Twins advance Oswaldo Arcia? The ceilings of JD Williams and Max Kepler are very high, and there are so college draft picks (Roberts, Ray, etc.) who could advance fairly quickly. Of course, Eddie Rosario and Miguel Sano also remain in the future outfield situation as well which provide even more depth over time. Outfield is a position of strength for the Twins system. 2012 will be a big year for many of them! 

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!

Twins Outfield Situation

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If the Twins season were to start today, the Twins outfield would be pretty well set. Denard Span would be leading off and playing in centerfield. Josh Willingham will be hitting somewhere in the middle of the lineup and playing in right field. Ben Revere will be playing in left field most days with Trevor Plouffe spelling him from time to time, particularly against some tough left-handers. Ryan Doumit can spell Willingham in right field from time to time while also DHing.

Waiting in the wings will be Rene Tosoni and Joe Benson, both of whom we saw in 2011, and both of whom likely would need another half-season of Triple-A seasoning before being ready for more full-time duty in the big leagues. Dustin Martin is as ready as he’ll ever be after putting up very solid numbers in 2011, his third Triple-A season. The Twins also added some minor league free agents with big league service time. Wilkin Ramirez was a highly touted prospect in the Tigers system just two years ago. Brian Dinkelman saw time during the 2011 season with the Twins and is now a career .301 hitting in the big leagues. Matt Carson hit 24 Triple-A home runs in 2011 and spent time with the A’s in 2009 and 2010.

Waiting in the wings are several outfielders including Aaron Hicks, Angel Morales and Oswaldo Arcia who could all spend time in Double-A in 2012. Also, Chris Herrmann will primarily be catching, but he is also a terrific outfielder.

Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel and Jason Repko will all be playing elsewhere in 2012. Willingham was added and will do a fine job providing power and on-base percentage to the middle of the lineup.

Trade Options

From time to time we hear a rumor about the Twins potentially trading Denard Span. Obviously that all originated with the Nationals rumors last year at the trade deadline revolving around Drew Storen. Trading Span before the season makes absolutely no sense. With the injury concerns that affected him much of the second half of the 2011 season, the Twins would be trading low. With his defense and on-base skills, he can provide a lot of value to a team, but he will need to rebuild that value. He is signed to a very reasonable contract and can be a new team leader for the Twins.

Then some turn their attention to Ben Revere. Should the Twins trade Revere? What is his upside? That has certainly been a discussion topic for blogs the last year or more. However, he will make league minimum for a couple more years, and if the team is working on a salary cap, and has some huge contracts (Mauer, Morneau, etc.), then having production at the league minimum is necessary. Revere will hit for more average than he did in 2011 and with that will increase his on-base percentage. He plays good defense and is a terror to opponents on the base paths.

Of course, the appropriate saying for both is that they should remain with the Twins unless Terry Ryan is overwhelmed by an offer.

Free Agents

The Twins have really filled out the offense for their 2012 season, it appears. There are some names available in free agency. There are some DH types like Luke Scott, Vlad Guerrero, Johnny Damon, Magglio Ordonez and Hideki Matsui that are still available. There are names like JD Drew and Kosuke Fukodome who certainly can get on base at a good clip. The only outfielders that would be worth going after, in my opinion, are Cubans Yoenis Cespedes and Jorge Soler, but those two will get huge signing bonuses from the big money teams.

Others: Alfredo Amezaga, Rick Ankiel, Milton Bradley, Jay Gibbons, Scott Hairston, Bill Hall, Willie Harris, Brad Hawpe, Eric Hinske, Conor Jackson, Austin Kearns, Ryan Ludwick, Xavier Nady, Corey Patterson, Juan Pierre, Cody Ross, Ryan Spilborghs, Marcus Thames and Dewayne Wise.

Frankly, outside of Cespedes and Soler, I’m not really interested in any of the above outfielders or DHs. Does that mean that I think Trevor Plouffe is better than someone like Cody Ross? No, but Plouffe makes league minimum while Ross will be very overpaid. And, Plouffe, being out of options, needs an opportunity to show whether he is a capable big leaguer or not.

I feel the Twins outfield situation is fine. Obviously they will have to play well on the field, but I wouldn’t make any additions. Would you? What would you do? Feel free to leave comments in the Comments section.

Saturday Minor League Scoreboard

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As Denard Span to the Nationsls’ rumors continued to swirl, he was not in the Red Wings Saturday lineup. Officially, the Twins said it was because of the travel from Louisville to Rochester… I am not certain I believe that. Today if the trade deadline and after a rough loss by the Twins last night, it will be a very interesting day, to be sure. Saturday was very interesting. First, the Tigers acquired starting pitcher Doug Fister and reliever David Pauley from Seattle. Later, Cleveland gave up Alex White and Drew Pomeranz and two other prospects for Ubaldo Jimenez. Cleveland then dealt Orlando Cabrera to the Giants.

So, what will today bring? Will the Twins get Drew Storen, Steve Lombardozzi and Roger Bernadina from the Nationals for Span. Will Jason Kubel remain a Twin? How about Jim Thome, Michael Cuddyer and others? How will Kevin Slowey’s performance for the Red Wings on Saturday affect his trade prospects today, or is it possible he remains with the Twins?

To see how Slowey and the rest of the Twins minor leaguers did on Saturday, see below:  

Rochester Red Wings

Rochester 6, Scranton/Wilkes Barre – Amid all the trade discussions surrounding him, Kevin Slowey put together his best start in his time with the Red Wings. The righty went eight innings and allowed only an unearned run. He gave up just five hits, walked none and struck out eight. Kyle Waldrop gave up only a run on two hits in his inning. Aaron Bates went 3-5. Michael Hollimon, promoted due to the Luke Hughes promotion, went 2-4. Jeff Bailey and Toby Gardenhire were also 2-. Rene Rivera celebrated his 27^th birthday just a little early with his fourth home run with the Red Wings.  

New Britain Rock Cats

New Britain 0, Bowie 1 – Joe Benson went 2-2 with two walks and two stolen bases in this game. Those were the only two hits and two of the three walks that the Rock Cats managed in this game. Blake Martin started and gave up one run on five hits. He walked three and struck out three in 5.2 innings. Spencer Steedley threw two scoreless innings, and Dakota Watts got the final four outs.   

Ft. Myers Miracle

Ft. Myers 9, Lakeland 2 – The Miracle ended its losing streak at nine games with a big win on Saturday night. James Beresford went 3-5 with his ninth double. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-4 with a fourth-inning grand slam. It was his fifth home run of the year. Oswaldo Arcia hit his sixth double, and Danny Rams went 1-2 with a walk. Logan Darnell improves to 8-2 with the Miracle. The lefty went the first seven innings and gave up one run on four hits. He walked two and struck out six. Ricky Bowen gave up an unearned run in two innings with three strikeouts.

Beloit Snappers

Beloit 10, Cedar Rapids 5 – BJ Hermsen improved to 11-7 with a Quality Start in front of friends and family in Cedar Rapids. The righty went the first six innings and gave up three runs on eight hits and a walk. Blayne Weller then gave up two hits and a walk in two innings ,but no runs. Ben Tootle came in and gave up two unearned runs in the 9^th on two hits and a walk. Reggie Williams went 4-5. Tobias Streich went 3-4. Lance Ray was 2-3 with two walks and his 30^th double. He also stole his ninth base. Jairo Perez went 2-5.Michael Gonzales doubled for the 21^st time. Danny Ortiz hit his ninth home run.   

Elizabethton Twins

Elizabethton 2, Danville 3 – The E-Twins recorded ten hits, but just two runs, in this loss. Eddie Rosario went 2-4 with his sixth double. Niko Goodrum also had two hits. Rosario also stole his ninth base. David Hurlbut started and gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks in 5.2 innings. Derek Christensen got the next four outs. Steve Evans and Madison Boer each pitched a scoreless inning.  

GCL Twins

GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 4 – The Twins managed just four hits in this game and Jacob Younis had two of them. Josh Hendricks hit his fifth double and drove in both runs. Hung-yi Chen went the first three innings and gave up two hits and a walk and struck out three. Ricardo Arevalo went the next 1.1 innings and gave up two runs (1 earned) on one hit. He walked four and struck out one. JR Krogstad came in and gave up just one hit in 1.2 innings, striking out two. Tyler Herr gave up a run on three hits and a walk in two innings. Luis Nunez pitched a scoreless inning.

Any other questions on the Twins minor leagues? E-mail me, or leave some Comments.

Span for Storen?

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Before We Begin

Scroll down to see last night’s Minor League Scoreboard. Also, I will be on the Paul Allen Show this morning on KFAN, I believe at 10:20. We will be taping the segment head of time because my morning is jam-packed, but be sure to listen in and let me know what you think!

By the way, the Twins got a very nice win over the Rangers last night. Brian Duensing was excellent again, keeping the Rangers’ hitters off-balance. It was great to see Joe Mauer turn on an inside fastball for his first home run of the year. It was nice to see Michael Cuddyer unload on a hanging slider. And then with a 4-1 lead with two outs in the top of the 9^th, it was fun to see the Twins score three more times, on a long, bases-clearing double by Jason Kubel. Matt Capps and Glen Perkins were excellent out of the bullpen. After that 20-6 debacle, and then falling behind the Rangers 7-3 on Tuesday night, it was great to see the Twins come back and win that one and then play a really terrific game on Wednesday. With the win, the Twins climbed to six games back again in the Central. It could be an interesting next four days! The White Sox bolstered their bullpen, but to do so, they traded Edwin Jackson, who has an ERA below four, so I’m not sure what to make of that deal. Were they buying, or were they selling? They also benched Alex Rios for Alejandro de Aza, who was the Marlins Opening Day starting CF in 2007 and who, until last night, had never hit a big league home run in 86 games and 217 plate appearances. The AL Central will be a lot of fun to follow again the last two months of the season!

The Main Story: Span for Storen?

Where there is smoke, there is usually at least a little fire, right? For at least a week, we have heard that the Nationals are targeting Twins centerfielder Denard Span. Originally reports indicated that they wanted Span, but would be unwilling to deal relievers Tyler Clippard or Drew Storen. Yesterday came the report that the Nationals may be willing to include Storen in the package to get Span. That set off Twitter throughout Wednesday afternoon.

I am pretty sure that The Twins Geek is the only one who thinks that Span for Storen, straight up, would be a good idea. Check out his reasoning.

To get something, you have to give something up. I get that. I understand that.

I fully admit that part of the reason for my dislike in that deal, if one-for-one, is last year’s trade between the Nationals and the Twins. The Twins received a “proven closer” in Matt Capps for a Top 5 prospect at a demanding position. We all understood that Joe Mauer was signed for eight more years, but we also knew that the demands of the position meant that he would potentially move, or at the very least we would see the scenario where Mauer plays some 1B and DHs and having a talent like Ramos would sure be nice.

I agree with The Geek in that Drew Storen is not Matt Capps. When the Twins acquired Capps, he was the second worst closer statistically in all of baseball when looking at statistics other than “Saves.” If memory serves, Chad Qualls was the only worse closer in the game at the time. In fact, the Nationals were thrilled to trade Capps so that they could get Storen into the closer’s role. And to be fair, Matt Capps was very good in 2010. I admit that he is a good relief pitcher most of the time, but not the kind of guy that you give up a top prospect for. Drew Storen is 23 years old, is 5-2 with 25 saves and a 2.37 ERA and a WHIP of 0.93. He is very good. He was the 10^th overall pick in the 2009 draft (in part due to the fact that the Nationals knew he would sign instantly). He made his big league debut less than a year later, on May 17, 2010. He has been in the big leagues ever since. I’m not sure why the Nationals didn’t wait an extra three weeks to call him up so he would not be a Super 2 after 2012, but that is a choice they made.

I really like Drew Storen and I would love for him to be the Twins closer for the next five years or more. However, there is also a reason that the Nationals have made Storen available (maybe) in a deal for Span. Span has a career line of .289/.366/.375. Most important as a leadoff hitter is that .366 on-base percentage. He posted OPS over .800 his first two seasons and struggled in 2010. He was mentioned as a Twins all-star representative this season until his concussion knocked him out. But the Nationals, like many teams, want a prototypical leadoff hitter. Span has good on-base skills, can steal 25 or more bases, and he can play a very good centerfield defense. And, as much as I like Storen, Span will play 145 or more games each year. Storen may pitch one inning in 60 games. Sure, in a dozen or so, that one inning may be coming in to a game with a one-run lead and no one on and no one out in the Bottom of the 9^th.

Span is signed to a very team-friendly contract. He is set to make $3 million in 2012, $4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014 and there is a club option at $9 million for 2015 (with a $0.5 million buyout).

Storen will make about $420,000 this year. He will make about $450,000 in 2012. He most likely will be a Super-2 free agent in 2013, and if he’s a successful closer until that time, he will likely jump to a price somewhere north of $3 million in 2014. He would then go up from there as he would be arbitration-eligible in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Trading a top prospect for a mediocre (at best) closer was crazy. Trading a proven, productive middle-of-the-field position player for a closer, even a good, exciting, talented one, is just too much for me. Especially for a guy like Span who, like Michael Cuddyer, represents the Twins very well, with class and dignity.

Now, as I discussed on Twitter, I am not against a deal. However, if the Twins are to consider trading Span, they should be blown away. I said that I would be OK with trading Span to the Nationals for Storen, RHP Brad Peacock, and 2B Steve Lombardozzi.

Yes, Lombardozzi is the son of the 1987 World Champion Minnesota Twins Steve Lombardozzi. The 22 year old was the Nationals 19^th round pick in 2008 out of high school in Maryland, where he was also quite the basketball player. He has quickly risen through the Nationals’ minor league ranks. He began 2011 in Double-A where he hit .309/.366/.454 with 12 doubles, seven triples and four home runs in 65 games before being promoted to Triple-A. In 34 games at that level, he has hit .324/.368/.441 with eight doubles and three home runs. No, he’s not a shortstop, but the Twins inability to produce middle infielders tells me that getting one that can hit like this would be a good thing. Yes, Twins fans, I know it will take awhile, but this Lombardozzi can hit!

Brad Peacoack was the Nationals 41^st round pick in 2006 out of high school in Florida. He’s had to work his way up through the system, but he has had a big year in 2011 and is still just 23 years old. He began this season in Double-A where he went 10-2 with a 2.01 ERA. In 98.2 innings, he walked just 23 and struck out 129. Last night, he made his third start at Triple-A Syracuse and carried a no-hiter into the 8th inning against Columbus. He gave up just one hit in seven innings and struck out seven. His fastball sits between 92 and 94 and frequently hits 96. I would say a Triple-A rotation including Kyle Gibson, Liam Hendriks, eventually David Bromberg, and Brad Peacock would be pretty exciting for Twins fans.

Obviously the Nationals aren’t trade Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper to get Denard Span. Catcher Derek Norris would be nice to get too. But I think a deal of Span for Storen, Lombardozzi and Peacock would be what the Twins should hope for. In fact, I’d even throw in a third-tier Twins prospect into the mix.

That said, I just have a hard time trading Denard Span unless you can get a package like the one I listed above. I like Ben Revere as much as anyone, and I think that in time, he will be a very good on-base guy for the Twins, Span is already there, plus with pop. My other fear is that if the Twins trade Span, will they keep Delmon Young? Does that deal mean anything in regard to potentially bringing back Michael Cuddyer and/or Jason Kubel?

However, if the Twins acquire Storen and make him their closer for the next five years, the team would not have to bring back Matt Capps and Joe Nathan’s option would not be picked up. That is a lot of money off of the books to be used other places. (Hat Tip to Travis Aune for pointing that out). That’s why I say, I’m not completely against trading Span if the Twins get Storen and more.

And, if Denard Span isn’t activated from the Disabled List before Sunday, he can’t be traded anyway, so all this angst may be for naught. (UPDATE – thanks to the comments section, I was reminded that a player on the DL can be traded with the commissioner’s approval. The example was Jake Peavy to the White Sox a couple of years ago.)

What do you think? E-mail me, or leave some Comments.

How the Twins won 8 out of 10

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

Before we start, a quick reminder:

World Series Contest

I am going to be holding some contests here and on Twitter and Facebook over the next week or two thanks to A&E who has now come out with “A&E Minnesota Twins Vintage World Series Films DVD.”  It includes both the 1987 and 1991 teams! The ’87 team beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. The ’91 World Series was the first that had two worst-to-first teams as the Twins and the Atlanta Braves played one of the greatest seven-game series ever, including Jack Morris’s amazing Game 7. So be sure to look here and other places for some contests for a free copy.

On Saturday afternoon, the Twins scored five first inning runs and Scott Baker threw a complete game as the Twins won for the eighth time in ten games. First, it was a four-game sweep in Kansas City. Then they won two out of three in Cleveland against the division leaders. With the win on Saturday, the Twins have won two of the first three games of this four-game series against arguably the best team in the American League, the Texas Rangers.

After playing horrible baseball through the first 54 games of the season, the Twins have found a way to play great baseball over the past ten games. They have managed to do that without Joe Mauer, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Jim Thome, Jason Kubel and in recent days without Denard Span or Justin Morneau.

Do I believe that this type of success is sustainable? With the current roster? No. But as those aforementioned players come back, along with Glen Perkins, the team is certainly moving back in the right direction.

So, how did a team that was playing so poorly suddenly run off eight wins in ten games? I went to the numbers and it has been a combination of good starting pitching, great bullpen work and very strong offense. Here are some of the numbers for you to consider:

• Over those ten games, the starting pitchers have thrown 65.1 innings. They have given up 70 hits, walked 11 and struck out 41. That’s a 2.62 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP. They have given up eight unearned runs, four of them came on Friday night in Brian Duensing’s seven run second inning. Scott Baker and Carl Pavano each threw a complete game during that time frame and seven innings in their other start. Brian Duensing threw eight shutout innings in one of his starts. Anthony Swarzak picked up his first career win to start this run. Francisco Liriano returned with five shutout innings.
• As good as the starters have been, the bullpen has been even better. There may be a direct correlation there as well. Starters go longer and pitch better, maybe it’s easier to come in and perform. But they have come through in some tough situations. In those ten games, the bullpen has a 1.09 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP in 24.2 innings. They have given up just 16 hits, walked eight and struckout 12.
• Ben Revere made the comment in his Fox interview following Saturday’s win that he likes being a leader and getting the team going. I assume that he meant that he enjoys being a leadoff hitter and setting the table for the game. Revere has been a catalyst, but he has not been the only offensive performer over the past ten days. Here’s proof that a lot of people are contributing:
  • Revere has gone 13-44 (.295) with two walks and a double. He has scored seven runs, driven in four runs. He also has three stolen bases.
  • Alexi Casilla has gone 14-42 (.333) with four walks and three doubles. He has four stolen bases, has scored six runs and driven in four runs.
  • Michael Cuddyer has gone 12-38 (.316) with four walks. He has four doubles, three home runs, six runs scored and ten RBI.
  • Delmon Young has gone 14-40 (.350) with a walk, three doubles and a long home run. He has scored seven runs and driven in six.
  • Matt Tolbert has gone 10-33 (.303) with a walk, three doubles, five runs scored and six RBI.
  • Luke Hughes has gone 9-25 (.360) with a walk, three doubles and seven runs scored.
  • Drew Butera has gone 8-20 (.400) with a walk, three doubles, six runs scored and six RBI.
  • Before his concussion, Denard Span went 4-14 (.286) with a double, a triple, a run scored and three RBI.
  • Jason Repko was 3-12 (.250) with a double, a run and three RBI. He played a huge role in one of the wins in Kansas City.
• Before missing a couple of days lately, Justin Morneau had gone 2-24 (.083). Danny Valencia has gone 5-35 (.143) with four walks, a double, two runs and two RBI. Rene Rivera has gone 3-16 (.188) with a walk, a double, two runs and an RBI.

So again, in order to go on a nice ten-game run like the Twins have, it takes a whole team. The Twins have been able to get strong starting pitching and bullpen work. They have received offensive contributions from some unlikely sources, some young players and some of the veterans that much had been expected earlier. Ben Revere has been a catalyst, and Michael Cuddyer has been an incredible run producer.

And, as a fan, the best thing is that the Twins have been fun to watch again. Not just because of the wins, but primarily because the brand of baseball is just much better.

Of course, as we are now down to 98 more games, the Twins will need to play very well for the next nine or ten ten-game stretches. Are they capable? As those injured players return, how will they impact the Twins team? Are you surprised to see any of the above numbers? Feel free to comment here.

Nine Innings with Seth

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

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

1^st Inning – Seven out of Eight Ain’t Bad

It started with a sweep of the Royals in Kansas City. It continued with winning two out of three games in Cleveland. Last night, the Twins beat one of the best teams in the American League, the Texas Rangers. The Rangers’ starting pitcher, Derek Holland, is going to be a stud. 95 and left-handed is generally a great combination. But Delmon Young hit a home run (GASP!) and later Michael Cuddyer came through with a big, three-run blast that gave the Twins a 4-1 lead. Of course, the Rangers came back to tie the game at four. But Alexi Casilla, who has been tremendous lately offensively and defensively, came through with another big, game-winning hit, a solid single down the left field line.

The Twins have won seven of their last eight games, and they have gone from 16.5 games back of Cleveland to “just” 11 games back of Cleveland. More important, they are 10 games back or Detroit and 5.5 games back of the Chicago White Sox. Both of those teams have won eight of their last ten games. Those are the two teams that we said all along the Twins should be comparing themselves against. Cleveland came back to the pack. The Royals were done awhile ago.

So, again, in my mind, the Twins are now ten games back in the AL Central. What happens if by the end of June, they are seven games back of the Tigers? Or if by the All Star game, they are five or six games back? If we believe that 85 wins will win the AL Central, the Twins will need to go 61-39 over the final 100 games of the season. Which way of looking at it makes it look better for the Twins chances the rest of the way?

Consider that in the next two or three weeks, the Twins will gain Joe Mauer, Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Jim Thome, Jason Kubel, Denard Span and maybe a more healthy Kevin Slowey and Joe Nathan. As Twins fans, we’ve got 100 more games to go. Hopefully most of you are able to think Glass Half Full!

2^nd Inning – Span to 7-Day Disabled List

The Twins did announce that Denard Span will be put on the new 7-Day Disabled List for Concussions. He acknowledged last night that he has a “mild concussion.” On Twitter this morning, he acknowledged, “having my first concussion ever sucks. It seems like my energy level isn’t the same. I feel lazy.” And that’s understandable. Obviously the key point here is that we hope that he is able to return soon to 100% physically and mentally. Rene Tosoni will be back with the Twins tonight.

I find it hilarious that some people saw Tosoni struggle during his brief time with the Twins last month and make an assumption that he will not be a big league caliber player. Sure, he struggled and at times really looked the role of guy who had played just 19 games at AAA. He also hit a ball into the Powerball area in deep right centerfield. He’s always been a solid performer throughout his minor league career. I don’t expect his stay this time to be long-term, but I do expect him to be a Twins contributor for years to come.

3^rd  Inning – Minor League Scoreboard

Here is a quick update of the Twins minor league affiliates’ games from Thursday:

• Rochester lost 7-1 to Columbus. Scott Diamond struggled again. He gave up seven runs on eight hits and four walks in just 4.1 innings. Cole DeVries gave up one hit and one walk but no runs in 1.2 innings. Michael Tarsi walked one in a scoreless innings. Anthony Slama gave up a hit but no runs in his inning. Dustin Martin went 2-4 with his sixth double. Jeff Bailey walked twice.
• New Britain got a big win. They topped Akron 14-3. Chris Parmelee went 3-5 with a walk. Dan Rohlfing went 3-5 with his third and fourth doubles. Mark Dolenc went 3-5. Evan Bigley went 2-5 with his fourth home run. Jair Fernandez went 1-3 with two walks. Brian Dozier was 1-2 before being hit in the face by a fastball. It fractured his sinus bone and will likely be out for awhile. Liam Hendriks improved to 6-2 when he gave up one run on seven hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out three. Tyler Robertson picked up his seventh save. He gave up two runs on seven hits in three innings.
• Ft. Myers lost 11-5 to Palm Beach. Brad Stillings started and gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in three innings. He struckout five. Kane Holbrooks came in and gave up four runs (2 earned) on five hits and a walk in 2.1 innings. Jhon Garcia threw 1.2 scorless innings, with two strikeouts. Shooter Hunt gave up three runs on one hit and four walks in 0.1 innings. Dakota Watts got the final five outs. Anderson Hidalgo went 3-5 with his second home run. Aaron Hicks remained hot. He was 2-4 with two walks. Jhonathan Goncalves went 2-3 with two walks. Tsuyoshi Nishioka went 1-3 with a walk. Joe Mauer went 1-3 with a double.
• The Beloit Snappers and Ft. Wayne completed a game which was suspended the night before and the Snappers won 11-8. Manuel Soliman started on Wednesday night and gave up five runs on ten hits and a walk in 4.1 innings. Nelvin Fuentes came in and gave up a run on a hit before the game was suspended. When they resumed play on Thursday, BJ Hermsen took the mound. He gave up two runs on eight hits and two walks in 3.1 innings. Jose Gonzalez picked up the save as he struckout two in 1.1 innings. Lance Ray went 3-3 with his 11^th and 12^th doubles, and his fifth stolen base. Michael Gonzales went 3-4 with his ninth double. Jairo Perez was 2-4. Wang-Wei Lin hit his second home run.
• In the second (regularly-scheduled) game, the Snappers won 3-0. Ryan O’Rourke started and struckout four in 3.2 one-hit innings. Michael Tonkin then gave up just one hit in his 2.1 scoreless innings. Clinton Dempster recorded his fourth save with a perfect final frame. Andy Leer was 2-3 with his eight and ninth doubles. He drove in two runs. Nate Roberts drove in the third run. Danny Santana went 2-3.

4^th  Inning – Twins Returns/Roster Situations

Because of all of the injuries, there are a lot of players that are on the rosters (25 and 40 man) who will be sent down or taken off of the 40 man roster. Here are some thoughts on some of the injuries:

• Joe Mauer – I hope that Gardy gets his way and Mauer spends more time rehabbing to show he can play four or five games in a row without a day off. However, when Mauer comes back, the Twins will have to decide between Drew Butera and Rene Rivera. To me, it is an easy choice, but in reality, it is pretty difficult. On the field, both are similar. Neither can hit. Both occasionally get a hit. Both are terrific defensively. Butera has a couple of options. Rivera does not have options. I don’t think that Rivera would be claimed, but with the slim catching situation, I would keep Rivera up and option Butera. (That said, the Twins are going to need 40 man roster spots when Mauer and Nishioka come off the DL.)
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka – I hope that Nishioka gets an opportunity to rehab and get some development time. I think he will have to go to New Britain very soon because the Rock Cats need players. I also think it would be good for him to get more and more at bats before throwing him back into the Twins lineup. Nishioka is going to be very solid for the Twins, but it will be good for him to get more time. When Nishioka comes off the Disabled List, I would anticipate that Brian Dinkelman would return to Rochester. I would also project that Dusty Hughes would be removed from the 40-man roster.
• Denard Span – It will be interesting to see how long Span is out. I assume that it won’t be long and that Rene Tosoni would be sent back down to Rochester.
• Jason Kubel – I hope he is able to return from the DL on time. At that point, I think that it would make sense to send Rene Tosoni down to Rochester again (unless he’s already sent down because Span is back). However, After that, the options would be Ben Revere, Luke Hughes or Matt Tolbert.
• Jim Thome – The story is the same with Thome. When he is able to come back, a second of that above group would be sent down.

Obviously the Twins could work out a trade for Delmon Young during that time, but that wouldn’t be likely. Due to his struggles through this much of the season, I think it is increasingly possible that Danny Valencia is a possible guy who could be optioned, and Luke Hughes could eat some of his playing time. If Nishioka is back and shows he is able to play SS, then Tolbert could be sent down. In other words, it it going to be very interesting to see how the transactions look as these five regulars come back over the next couple of weeks.   

5^th Inning – Draft Thoughts and Notes

The Major League Baseball draft might be the least scientific event in sports. Think about it. Each team drafts for 50 rounds and hopes that they can find one impact player each year. The hope is that three or four of the players drafted will make it to the big leagues. Well, that isn’t entirely true. I’m sure they want each of their picks to be great, All Star caliber players, but history tells us that if they can get just one in a draft, it’s a good draft.

So, over the past three days, the Twins selected 52 players. It started with the selection of Levi Michael, the 30^th overall pick, on Monday night and ended with their selection of high school pitcher Bryan Burgher, the 1,527^th overall pick. The Twins are required to make at least some sort of offer to each of those players. However, it is typical that they would sign between 20 and 25 of them. They will really focus on signing their top 10 picks and hopefully their top 15 picks. Here are some quick numbers about the Twins 2011 draft:

• The Twins drafted 35 pitchers (19 right-handed, 16 left-handed), eight middle infielders, six outfielders, two catchers and one corner infielder.
• “You can never have too much pitching” is a cliché. It is a cliché because it is true.
• Since the Twins will likely focus on signing their first 15 picks (and then whichever of the rest are willing to take a low offer), here is a breakdown of those picks: 11 pitchers (7 left-handed, 4 right-handed), three shortstops, one catcher, one outfielder and one corner infielder.
• 5^th-round pick Tyler Grimes has already signed and will report to Beloit over the weekend.
• The Twins drafted 17 high school players, but just three of those were in the first 15 rounds. In fact, their final six picks were from the high school ranks. That’s not to say that they won’t sign. In fact, two years ago, the Twins signed Tyler Herr, a 6-8 right-handed high school pitcher who was drafted very late. But most likely, they will watch these guys this summer and determine if they want to sign them or let them go to college.
• 12 of the 52 players were college seniors. They will get very small bonuses because they have no leverage, so they will all likely sign and get an opportunity to start a career in Elizabethton.
• There were a few local stories. When the Twins drafted Madison Boer from the University of Oregon with their 2^nd round pick, they got a guy who is from Eden Prairie, Minnesota, and was a 2008 All-Metro player. 16^th round pick, LHP Austin Malinowski pitched for Centennial High School in Lino Lakes this spring. He’s committed to Arizona, so it will be interesting to see if the Twins can sign him. Then the Twins drafted a couple of Gophers. In the 25^th round, they took AJ Petterson who played SS for the Gophers but will likely move to 2B right away. In the 41^st round, they drafted TJ Oakes, a right-handed pitcher who will go to the Cape Cod League this summer.
• In the 24^th round, the Twins drafted a RHP from an Illinois high school named Nick Burdi. He was projected to be a 2^nd or 3^rd round draft pick, but is likely to go to Louisville. It would be fun to hear how those negotiations go.
• 14^th round pick Adam McCreery and 8^th round pick Jason Wheeler are both 6-8 tall.
• 7^th round pick, Steven Gruver went 5-7 with a 3.95 ERA this year at Tennessee. He’s got one of those last names that just doesn’t work for a pitcher.
• It was another good day for the Northwoods League who saw many of their alumni drafted again this year. Wheeler was the Pitcher of the Year there last year when he went 8-1 with a 1.35 ERA for the St. Cloud River Bats.

Now it’ll be fun to see which guys sign and when and how they get their careers started.  

6^th Inning – Who’s Number 1

This spring when I finished the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook – 2011, it included my Top 40 Twins prospects listing. I argued that I could really have chosen any of three players for the top spot. I went with Kyle Gibson because I think he can be a tremendous big league starter, a very good #2 type of pitcher. He has been very good this year in Rochester. He continues to get ground ball outs, but he is also striking out more than a batter an inning. Prospect rankings can also be based to some degree on likelihood that a player will make it.

I chose Miguel Sano as my #2. Again, prospect rankings are based on upside and when it comes to upside, Sano has a ton of it. Now, he’s likely to spend this full season with Elizabethton and I anticipate that he will be very good and put up some big power numbers, but he’s just 18, so we shall see. If he puts up numbers similar to those that Angel Morales and Oswaldo Arcia put up there in recent years, it will be great to see. But the reality is that he has a long ways to go.

Aaron Hicks is still #1 on a lot of Twins prospect rankings, and again, for good reason. He is an incredible athlete who got stronger this year. After a slow April start in Ft. Myers, he has been terrific since mid-May. Having seen him a few times in Ft. Myers, I definitely understand the ranking. I still believe he can be a very good big league ball player. He’s already a plus defensive centerfielder with the best arm in the organization (better than all but a couple of pitchers). He has great speed, and I think that the power will develop.

But I would like to add another name to the Twins top prospect mix. In my mind, the discussion now has to contain RHP Liam Hendriks. He turned just 22 years old in February, but the Australian was pushed to AA New Britain even though he made just 12 starts in Ft. Myers last year. He missed 4-5 weeks due to an emergency appendectomy and started the season in Beloit. He missed the entire 2008 season due to a spinal injury. Currently with the Rock Cats, he is 6-2 with a 2.63 ERA. In 65 innings, he has allowed just 14 walks and struck out 61. He is listed at 6-1 and 190 pounds. He throws 92-93, has good movement, and has four pitches that are good and improving. He is a very smart pitcher, but he is also incredible competitive. As Travis pointed out on Twins Minor League Weekly last night, he has had a Quality Start in eight of his last nine starts. In his last three starts, he has given up two runs in 20 innings. He just keeps getting better.

I’m not certain how I would officially rank these four right now. And if you asked me again tomorrow, you might get a different answer. I think Gibson is still number one. Today, I think I would have Hendriks at #2. I would have Aaron Hicks at #3 and Sano at #4. (and Sano only because I look forward to seeing what he will do). Joe Benson was my #4 prospect, and he has been very good again this year, so this is in no way a knock on him. I just think Hendriks has solidified himself as a Twins Top Prospect.  

7^th Inning – World Series Contest

I am going to be holding some contests here and on Twitter and Facebook over the next week or two thanks to A&E who has now come out with “A&E Minnesota Twins Vintage World Series Films DVD.”  It includes both the 1987 and 1991 teams! The ’87 team beat the St. Louis Cardinals in 7 games. The ’91 World Series was the first that had two worst-to-first teams as the Twins and the Atlanta Braves played one of the greatest seven-game series ever, including Jack Morris’s amazing Game 7. So be sure to look here and other places for some contests for a free copy.

Here is Contest #1: As you know, I’m always looking for people to give me blog ideas, or even write a guest blog. For Contest #1, all you need to do is send me an e-mail telling me why you are a Twins fan. Send me an e-mail with 80-120 worlds saying “Why I’m a Twins fan.” I will accept all entries through Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. I will put your name on paper, and I will put all names into a hat. I will likely then have my five-year-old daughter pull one name out of the hat, and that will be the winner.

As I mentioned, all entries will be posted on SethSpeaks.net at some point over the next couple of weeks (unless you specifically say “Seth, Do Not Post this.” Again, to enter this contest, just send me an e-mail with a small article (80-120 words) on Why you are a Twins fan!

I look forward to your responses, and again, thanks to A&E and MLB Productions for letting me do these contests. It should be fun, and it is obviously a great item any Twins fans would want. I remember those 1987 and 1991 World Series, and this is a great reminder, so fun to remember! (Of course, if you would like, you can also just purchase the DVDs here.)

8^th Inning – Jim Perry

In May of 1963, the Twins traded pitcher Jack Kralick to Cleveland in exchange for a right-handed pitcher named Jim Perry. At that point, Perry had gone 52-49 with ERAs of 2.65, 3.62, 4.71 and 4.14. He would go on to be one of the best pitchers in Twins history. This weekend, Perry is being inducted into the Minnesota Twins Hall of Fame.

In his ten seasons with the Twins, he went 128-90 with a 3.15 ERA and a 1.20 WHIP. In 1883.1 innings, he gave up just 1,711 hits, walked 541 and struck out 1025. He finished third in Cy Young Award voting in 1969 when he went 20-6 with a 2.82 ERA in 261.2 innings. In 1970, he was named the Cy Young Award winner when he went 24-12 with a 3.04 ERA in 278.2 innings. He was an All Star in both 1970 and 1971. But the thing about Perry was that he was remarkably consistent throughout his time with the Twins. In his nine full seasons with the Twins, he only had one season in which he posted an ERA over 3.44 (and that was 4.23 in 1971 when he still through 270 innings).

In March of 1973, the Twins traded Perry, then 37, to the Tigers for Danny Fife and some cash. Fife threw 56.1 innings for the Twins over just two years.

Bert Blyleven credits Perry (and Jim Kaat) in helping him out early in his Twins career. Now Perry will join those two in the Twins Hall of Fame, and really, it’s about time!   

9^th Inning – Blog Spotting

• Aaron Gleeman’s Link-O-Rama today has a lot of topics and I get to be featured in it quite a bit!!
• North Dakota Twins Fan posts an interesting look at the Topps rookie card of Tsuyoshi Nishioka. Check it out!
• Nick Nelson wrote a tremendous blog on some of the curious comments from Gardy on Delmon Young.
• The Baseball Outsider takes a look at the Twins Disabled List. Uffdah!
• Granny Baseball astutely points out that it is not (just) the bullpen.
• K-Bro discusses the Range of Emotions for Twins fans!
• Peanuts from Heaven provides analysis on all of the Twins 2011 draft choices… in 5 words or less!
• Travis Talks hands out his final May Awards.
• Knuckleballs says it is about time to Get Reacquainted with the Twins team we remember.
• That’s Twins Baseball provides a new Motivational Poster
• Twins Fan from Afar looks at Ron Gardenhire vs. Danny Valencia.
• Here is a link to last night’s Twins Minor League Weekly. Travis and I discussed minor leaguers and the Twins draft.
• On Saturday morning, about 11:05, I will again be on WQPM in Princeton, Minnesota, talking about the Twins. You can listen live here. (1300 am)

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

2011 Twins Predictions

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

Thursday was officially Opening Day, and I have to admit, it was a strange day for me. First, it was on a Thursday for the first time. I had enough troubles with ESPN getting a Sunday night season opener, after Opening Day had always just been a Monday thing. MLB decided to start the season three or four days earlier in an attempt to keep the World Series out of November. Second, the Twins didn’t play on Opening Day. Only 12 teams did. So, I guess all I can say is:

Happy Minnesota Twins Opening Day to you!

Predictions are always fun because at the end of the year, I can pick and choose which ones I will remind you that I made. Or, if they’re that far off, I can forget to remind you about my picks and hopefully you won’t remind me too often. Below are some predictions, some more bold than others, for the 2011 Minnesota Twins season with some other predictions randomly thrown in.

2011 MINNESOTA TWINS PROJECTIONS

• Matt Capps will record twice as many saves as Joe Nathan.
• Joe Mauer will hit less than .320, but he will hit more than 40 doubles and more than 16 home runs. He will win his fourth straight, and fifth total, Silver Slugger Award.
• Justin Morneau will post an OPS of just over .880.
• Delmon Young will:
  • Hit over .300.
  • Hit more than 28 home runs
  • Drive in more than 120 runs
  • Post an OPS of less than .900.
• Tsuyoshi Nishioka will post an OPS of over .720 and steal more than 25 bases. He will also deserve to win the AL Gold Glove, but he won’t because Robinson Cano is a really good hitter.
• Alexi Casilla’s OPS will be within .030 of JJ Hardy’s. He will also be within 2.0 UZR of the former Twins shortstop.
• The date that I will stop watching the Twins on FSN with the volume on will be April 6^th.
• Denard Span will post an OBP over .370. He will steal more than 30 bases.
• Michael Cuddyer will lead the Twins with more than 40 doubles. He will also top 20 home runs.
• Danny Valencia will post an OPS greater than .820 with more than 32 doubles and more than 15 home runs.
• Jim Thome will NOT post an OPS of over 1.000 again in 2011. In fact, he won’t post a .900 OPS. He will hit less than 15 home runs but more than the 11 home runs he needs to reach career home runs number 600.
  • Let’s go on a limb and say that he will his Home Run #600 on August 24^th at Target Field in the 2^nd inning off of Jake Arrieta.
• Carl Pavano will throw 200 innings, but his ERA will be over 4.40.
• Francisco Liriano will throw less than 190 innings with an ERA over 3.50 and a K-rate less than 8.5 per nine innings.
• Brian Duensing will throw 175+ innings with an ERA of under 4.25.
• Nick Blackburn will throw more than 210 innings with an ERA just under 4.00.
• Scott Baker will throw 190+ innings with an ERA under 4.20.
• Kevin Slowey will not make a start for the Twins in 2011, and he will average more than a strikeout per inning
• I will be wrong about one of the five starters pitching well, Kyle Gibson will make his Twins debut on June 18 at Target Field against the Padres.
• Joe Mauer and Delmon Young will represent the Twins at the All-Star game.
• The Twins will open their 2011 home schedule with a 3-4 record, including a split against the Yankees at Yankees Stadium.
• Ron Gardenhire will be ejected eight times in 2011.
• No Twins hitter will top 30 home runs, however, Justin Morneau and Delmon Young will come close, while Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel will hit over 22 each.

AL CENTRAL STANDINGS (Projected)

Minnesota Twins        93-69

Chicago White Sox      91-71

Detroit Tigers              80-82

Cleveland Indians        72-90

Kansas City Royals     63-99

AMERICAN LEAGUE PLAYOFF TEAMS

AL Central – Minnesota Twins (2)

AL East – Boston Red Sox (1)

AL West – Oakland A’s (3)

Wild Card – Chicago White Sox (4)

ALDS: Boston over Chicago in 4 games, Oakland over Minnesota (in 5 games, the A’s rotation contains lefties Gio Gonzalez, Brett Anderson and Dallas Braden, and the bullpen has Brian Fuentes, Craig Breslow and Bobby Cramer. The Twins have not addressed their need for a right-handed bat. Unless they do, it could be another one and done.)

ALCS – Boston over Oakland in 5 games.

NATIONAL LEAGUE PLAYOFF TEAMS

NL Central – Milwaukee Brewers (3)

NL East – Atlanta Braves (2)

NL West – Los Angeles Dodgers (1)

NL East – Philadelphia Phillies

NLDS: Braves over Brewers in 4 games. Phillies over Dodgers in 4 games.

NLCS: Braves over Phillies in 7 games.

WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS

                Braves over Red Sox in 6 games.

 What are your predictions for the 2011 season, for the Twins or the league. If you have any thoughts or questions, please feel free to comment or ask.

——————————————————–

• TWINS MINOR LEAGUE WEEKLY PODCAST LAST NIGHTNIGHT – If you are interested in the Twins minor league system, check out Twins Minor League Weekly podcast from last night. Travis Aune and I will host the 10:00 p.m. podcast each Thursday throughout the season. Last night, we discussed the projected rosters and picks to click for the Rochester Red Wings and New Britain Rockcats. We started talking about the Ft. Myers Miracle when the 45 minute podcast abruptly came to an end. Next Thursday, we’ll discuss minor league opening night and continue to look at the Miracle and Snappers rosters.

Should Twins Fans Worry about Aaron Hicks?

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

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:

Player	Age	Year	Team	BA/OBP/SLG (OPS)	2B/3B/HR/RBI	BB/K
Aaron Hicks	19	2009	Beloit	.251/.353/.382 (735)	15/3/4/29	40/55
Aaron Hicks	20	2010	Beloit	.279/.401/.428 (829)	27/6/8/49	88/112

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):

Player	Age	Year	Team	BA/OBP/SLG (OPS)	2B/3B/HR/RBI	BB/K
Torii Hunter	18	1994	Ft. Wayne	.293/.358/.439 (797)	17/1/10/50	25/80
Michael Cuddyer	19	1998	Ft. Wayne	.276/.364/.451 (815)	37/7/12/81	61/107
Justin Morneau	20	2001	Quad Cities	.356/.420/.597 (1017)	17/2/12/53	26/38
Joe Mauer	19	2002	Quad Cities	.302/.393/.392 (785)	23/1/4/62	61/42
Jason Kubel	20	2002	Quad Cities	.321/.380/.521 (901)	26/4/17/69	41/48
Denard Span	20	2004	Quad Cities	.267/.363/.308 (671)	4/3/0/14	34/49
Delmon Young	18	2004	Charleston	.320/.386/.536 (922)	26/5/25/115	53/120
Alexi Casilla	20	2005	Cedar Rapids	.325/.392/.409 (801)	11/3/3/17	29/31

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:

Player	Age	Year	Team	BA/OBP/SLG (OPS)	2B/3B/HR/RBI	BB/K
Trevor Plouffe	19	2005	Beloit	.223/.300/.345 (645)	18/0/13/60	50/78
Chris Parmelee	19	2007	Beloit	.239/.313/.414 (727)	23/5/15/70	46/137
Chris Parmelee	20	2008	Beloit	.239/.385/.496 (881)	10/3/14/49	52/83
Joe Benson	19	2007	Beloit	.255/.347/.368 (715)	18/8/5/38	49/124
Joe Benson	20	2008	Beloit	.248/.326/.382 (708)	16/3/4/27	24/73
Ben Revere	20	2008	Beloit	.379/.433/.497 (930)	17/10/1/43	27/31
Angel Morales	19	2009	Beloit	.266/.329/.455 (784)	22/5/13/62	30/104
Angel Morales	20	2010	Beloit	.289/.381/.474 (855)	13/7/4/36	24/65
James Beresford	20	2009	Beloit	.289/.342/.313 (655)	11/0/0/38	34/70
James Beresford	21	2010	Beloit	.297/.349/.363 (712)	19/5/1/59	34/56
Danny Rams	20	2009	Beloit	.229/.308/.429 (737)	14/0/7/23	18/77
Danny Rams	21	2010	Beloit	.243/.310/.450 (760)	28/4/16/68	31/145
Anderson Hidalgo	21	2010	Beloit	.316/.375/.443 (818)	25/1/3/28	24/50

• 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!

In Defense of Denard

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

With Nick Punto out with injury so much this second half, it appears that some Twins fans feel the need to find a new player to bash for any and all reasons. It appears that that guy is Denard Span, at least for the foreseeable future. Some of it is earned. He is not having a good season by the high standards he set in his first two seasons. His OPS+ of 122 in 93 games in 2008, and his 114 OPS+ in 145 games in 2009 were remarkable standards. An OPS+ of 100 is league average, so he was well above that with OPS of .819 and .807. In 119 games so far in 2010, his OPS is .691, and his OPS+ is at 88.

I don’t think OPS is the best stat to look at when looking at a leadoff hitter. Most leadoff hitters do not have the power to have a high slugging percentage which is half of the OPS equation. However, I believe that the On-Base Percentage half of the OPS equation is very important for a leadoff hitter. After posting OBP of .387 and .392 his first two seasons, his OBP is just .337 in 2010. That is significant.

Defensively, we knew he wasn’t Carlos Gomez in centerfield. He certainly wasn’t going to be like Torii Hunter or Kirby Puckett out there. That said, I think we all assumed that he would be better than he has been. Too many times he has been tentative. Carlos Gomez was horrible at running routes to fly balls, but his incredible speed more than made up for it. Kirby Puckett wasn’t as fast as Denard Span, but he got tremendous reads on fly balls and too charge of centerfield. Outfielders are going to make errors. They all have a couple of bad drops throughout a season, and lose a ball or three in the lights/sun/high sky. It happens. However, Span did such a nice job in the corner outfield positions his first two years that the move to center field should have been easier.

And Span’s base running has not been terribly good or smart. He has been picked off more than a half-dozen times. That really wasn’t an issue his first two seasons, although as someone who monitors the minor leagues, it was definitely an issue for him throughout his minor league career, including in AAA.

So, has it been a particularly good year for the Twins leadoff hitter and centerfielder? Not at all. Not even an optimist like me can spin it to make it look like Span is having a good 2010 campaign. But there are several things to consider before judging too harshly, or at least some numbers that you may want to consider, just food for thought.

Let’s start with the offense, and I looked at a few numbers to compare Span to. I didn’t compare him to other centerfielders. That doesn’t make much sense. I mean, to compare Span to someone like Josh Hamilton doesn’t make a lot of sense. He’s a #3 hitter. So, I compared Span’s numbers in 2010 to those of other leadoff hitters in 2010. Actually what I did was compared Twins leadoff hitters to other leadoff hitters around baseball, with the understanding that Span has been the team’s leadoff hitter in about 95% of their games.

OPS – .701 ranks 17^th among the 30 teams.

OBP – .337 ranks 14^th among the 30 teams.

IsoD – .071 ranks 10^th in the league.

GB/FO – The 1.26 ground outs to fly outs is 7^th in the league.

So again, Denard Span has some disappointing numbers compared to his numbers in previous season. No question about that. However, I think that when we take a look at the production compared to league average leadoff hitters, we see something different. He has been very average in 2010. His OPS is just below the middle of the pack. Again, when power is factored in, his numbers aren’t as high. Consider that he may have lost two or three home run balls in centerfield, and realize that he already has a career high in doubles and seven triples, and those numbers could be a little higher. On base percentage is huge, and he has taken a large step back. However, he is right about average among the league’s centerfielders. I thought looking at his Isolated Discipline would make sense too. That is simply his on-base percentage minus his batting average. In the two previous seasons, Span was at .093 and then .081. This year it is down to .071 which is still not bad at all, and it is still in the top third in baseball. It also indicates that his lower numbers are directly attributable to batting average. A leadoff hitter should ground out more than he flies out. It is cliché, but you want speed guys to hit the ball hard and low, and he is doing that.

How about his defense? And, I am still one who is skeptical of any defensive metrics, but many are starting to buy into them. UZR (Ultimate Zone Rating) and UZR/150 seem to be the metrics that more and more are subscribing too (and you can find them and many more stats at fangraphs.com). Let’s look at how Denard Span compares to other centerfielders around baseball:

UZR (0 is average) – 2.6 – this is 8^th among regular starting centerfielders and above average.

UZR/150 – 3.9 – this is also 8^th in the league.

RZR – .940 – according to this, Span is #2 in baseball among CF.

To add a little perspective to those numbers, Torii Hunter’s UZR this year is -3.9, and his UZR/150 is -5.5. Matt Kemp is by far the worst with a UZR of -15.6 and a UZR/150 of -21.2. Again, certainly not a great or elite center fielder, but Denard Span, by these metrics, is playing at a slightly better than average level.

Last night in the reactionary or over-reactionary social media form of Twitter, many Twins fans were talking about the fact that Denard Span didn’t make a leaping catch at the wall that turned out to be a double. Would Torii Hunter have caught it? Maybe. Would Carlos Gomez have caught it? Probably. But in this one case, Span didn’t make the catch. Should he have? That’s debatable. Twitter was all a-Twitter with people bashing Span (again!), and that’s the point where I started realizing that he has become the new Nick Punto. If making leaping catches at the wall have become expectations, then I definitely think that we have been spoiled as Twins fans by the CF defense.

Has Denard Span had a good 2010 season? Of course not. No one is insinuating that he has. He wouldn’t tell you that he’s happy with his season. Has it been disappointing year for him? Absolutely.

But should Twins fans give up on him? Of course not!! He’s 26 years old. He has been one of the best leadoff hitters in the game the last two years. Right now, he is in a funk both offensively and defensively as well as on the base paths. It’s not pretty, but the Twins would be crazy to quit on such a talent, such an athlete. He will be just fine.

As I said on last night’s SethSpeaks.net Weekly Minnesota Twins podcast, he has been one of the more disappointing members of the team this year. I would put Scott Baker, Kevin Slowey, Nick Blackburn and the Twins medical and training staff ahead of him.  But I did note that for the Twins to win the AL Central and advance, Span will have to pick it up. It would be great if for the final four weeks of the season, Span can find his 2009 form and be a force at the top of the order. He is absolutely capable of it. He has done if before and will again.

What do you think? Is this just me being too positive again? Have you given up on him?

Here are some notes from Monday’s minor league games:

• Rochester 0, Lehigh Valley 7 (6 innings) – This game was rained out after six innings, and based on how well it was going for the Red Wings, that is just fine. Cole DeVries was called up to make the start in place of the promoted Nick Blackburn. He went 2.1 innings and gave up three earned runs on four hits and two walks. He struck out three. Jose Lugo then gave up three runs on four hits and five walks in 1.2 innings. Tim Lahey then gave up one run on three hits and two walks in 1.1 innings. The Red Wings managed six hits, and Erik Lis hit a double.
• Beloit 6, Burlington 4 – James Beresford went 3-4 with a walk and his 18^th double. Wang-Wei Lin hit his fifth and sixth doubles. Steve Liddle added his 12^th home run. Clint Dempster started and gave up four runs (2 earned) on seven hits and a walk. He struck out three in five innings. Brad Stillings came on and gave up one hit and one walk in three scoreless innings. He struck out five. Eliecer Cardenas picked up the save with a scoreless ninth.
• Elizabethton 9, Bluefield 6 – Danny Ortiz had a big game! He was 3-5 with his 13^th doubles, his ninth and tenth homers and four RBI. Oswaldo Arcia went 3-5 with his fourth steal. Kyle Knudson went 2-3 with two walks. Andy Leer was 2-5 with his 14^th double. Jean Mijares made the start and gave up two runs on five hits in five innings. He walked just one and struck out nine. Adam Achter made his professional debut and gave up four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings. But of the four outs he got, three came on strikeouts! BJ Hermsen got the next five outs. Jose Gonzalez struck out two in a scoreless inning for his sixth save.
• New Britain, Ft. Myers and the GCL Twins all had games postponed by rain.

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

Twins Win Again!

also available at www.SethSpeaks.net –

Leading Off with Quick Hits:

• I’ll be on KFAN, its affiliates and KFAN.com on Thursday at about 9:20 with Paul Allen, talking about the Twins. Listen live or listen later.
• I posted a blog on the StarTribune.com TwinsCentric page last night with an update on the 2010 Twins draft. Now that the signing deadline has passed, who did the Twins sign, and how have those guys been playing?
• Finally, in conjunction with Sooze, the next TwinsCentric Viewing Party will be Saturday, August 28^th, and this time, we are heading out of the Metro and up highway 10 or highway 94 to St. Cloud. It will be held at Howie’s Sports Bar in down town St. Cloud. There will be prizes and drink and appetizer specials. And, as always, it’s just fun to bring a bunch of Twins fans together. I always tell people that the outstate produces more Twins fans than the Metro, so help prove me right!

For the second straight night, the Twins were able to get in the end zone and kick the extra point. On Tuesday night, the White Sox got two field goals but were unable to hold the late lead. On Wednesday night, the White Sox got a touchdown, but were unable to take advantage of it by missing the extra point. Two straight games ended with a final score of Minnesota 7, Chicago 6. And in both games, the White Sox had their opportunities. On Tuesday night, they fought back and took the lead only to see Jim Thome walk-off in the bottom of the 10^th with a long blast. On Wednesday night, the Sox were unable to take full advantage of a wild Francisco Liriano.

But this is where it is important to look at the big picture. The Twins beat the White Sox on Wednesday night and now hold a five game lead over the Sox in the AL Central. Think about that for a second. Last Tuesday when the Twins were set to start a three game series in Chicago, the two teams were tied atop the division. The two teams split the first two games of that series. So going into last Thursday’s game, the two teams were again tied. That means that in the last seven days, each team has played six games and the Twins have gained five games in the standings on the White Sox. It is incredible how quickly things can change. Of course, remember in late May, the Twins had a 9 ½ game lead on the White Sox, and it was not long before the Twins were four games behind the White Sox in the division. So, regardless of what happens tonight, there still are a lot of games to be played, and nothing is yet guaranteed. The Twins are now 70-50 and have 42 more games to play. The Twins are twenty games over .500. How about this… the Twins Magic Number to clinch the American League Central title is 38.

With that, let’s take a quick look at the Good and the Bad from last night’s game. Fortunately, there should be much more good than bad!

THE GOOD

• Joe Mauer – He is pretty good at playing the game, baseball. Since the All-Star break, he is now hitting .446. He has raised his batting average from .295 to .335 in no time. He is a doubles machine, tied for the league lead with 39 doubles. He is on pace to set a new doubles record for catchers. He had four more hits last night including his very first official home run at Target Field, a line drive to left field that barely went over the fence.
• Michael Cuddyer – Cuddy went 3-4 in the game and is 5-9 in this series. Always a streaky hitter, Cuddyer was 0-9 in the Oakland series (with three walks). He went 5-12 in last week’s series in Chicago. Or, maybe he just plays his best when the team is playing its best competition. Also, his 1B defense has become very good.
• Denard Span – He had another two hits on this night. He now has four multi-hit games in his last six games. Not only that, but he has started to hit the ball with more authority.
• Ron Gardenhire’s Bullpen Usage – Jeff Manship replaced Francisco Liriano and had a 1-2-3 sixth inning. He got one out in the seventh inning and allowed one single. With the middle of the White Sox lineup coming up, Gardy brought Jesse Crain into the game and he got the job done! Again! He then got three more outs in the eighth inning. Credit obviously goes to these two pitchers as well, but I thought that the usage of the best bullpen arm against the best hitters from the White Sox was great strategy by the Twins manager.

THE BAD

• Francisco Liriano might be fighting a little dead arm phase. He went just five innings last night and walked four. That is the alarming number. But he struggled with control in and out of the strike zone. The four walks show the lack of control outside the strike zone, but the fastball right down the middle to Andruw Jones (that he launched into the Twins bullpen) shows lack of control in the strike zone. In his past three starts, Liriano has gone only a combined 15.1 innings. He will be fine, but the most beneficial thing of getting a large lead would be to feel more comfortable giving Liriano and Pavano some extra rest.
• Matt Capps – “Threevolts” tweeted during the top of the 9^th “Capps has become the new Guardado.” Fair, but I responded by saying, “Capps has become the new Rauch.” Let’s face it, even if Capps looks a little better as a closer than Rauch, there is a reason that his overall numbers were so similar to Jon Rauch’s numbers. Yes, he throws a mile or two per hour faster than Rauch, but he is almost as hittable. I still stand by my comment that adding Capps does make the Twins bullpen a little bit better, but I will also stand by my comment that giving up Wilson Ramos, who was called up by the Nationals, for him was WAY too much.
• Gardy’s Repko Usage – Don’t get me wrong, I like Jason Repko and think that his defense is terrific. However, I don’t understand why Gardy insists on putting him into the game late in place of Jason Kubel. If we have visually seen anything in the Twins outfield, it is that Jason Kubel doesn’t do a bad job out there, and if he gets to a ball, he catches it. He does a nice job playing the wall and has a very strong arm. Meanwhile, Delmon Young struggles out in left field. He is not a real natural outfielder in left, and even if he gets to a ball, it isn’t a certain out. He does have a very strong, accurate arm though. I guess my comment would be that I don’t know that it is Jason Kubel is the one outfielder that would or should require a defensive replacement. In fact, I think an argument could be made that Denard Span in centerfield of late could be the outfielder replaced.

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

Red Wings Report   

The Red Wings lost in the bottom of the ninth at Buffalo 7-6. Nick Blackburn made another start. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on eight hits and a walk. In 5.1 innings, he struck out five. Kyle Waldrop got the final two outs of the sixth inning, but not before allowing an unearned run and the two inherited runners to score. Anthony Slama then threw two shutout innings. Rob Delaney got two outs in the ninth but then allowed the final run to score. Matt Tolbert went 3-4. Brandon Roberts went 2-5. Erik Lis hit his fourth Triple-A home run and drove in three runs. He has been on a tear.  

New Britain Notes

Chris Province was the story in the Rockcats 3-1 win over Richmond. Province came to the Twins organization from the Red Sox in exchange for Boof Bonser before spring training. Province has been forced to make a few spot starts for the team, and on this night, he was very good. He gave up one run on two hits over the first 6.2 innings. Carlos Gutierrez came on and got the final seven outs, three on strikeouts, to record his second save. Chris Parmelee went 2-4. Jair Fernandez hit his fourth home run, a two run blast.

Miracle Matters

The Miracle figured out Rays top prospect Matt Moore after seeing him late last week and beat Charlotte 5-0. Angel Morales was 2-4 with his ninth double and three RBI. He also stole his ninth base. Nick Romero went 2-4 with his 22^nd double. Ramon Santana was 2-3. But Kane Holbrooks was again up for the challenge. The 2009 draft pick threw seven shutout innings. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out six. Dakota Watts came in and got the final six outs.  

Snappers Snippets

The Snappers got a big 14-7 win over Wisconsin. Reggie Williams went 3-6 with his third triple, sixth home run and three RBI. Lance Ray went 3-3 with a walk and his 6^th and 7^th doubles. Michael Gonzales went 3-5 with his 22^nd and 23^rd doubles and four RBI. Danny Rams was 2-5 with a walk and his 26^th double. Michael Harrington was 2-5 with his first double. Yorby Martinez was 2-5. Aaron Hicks returned to the lineup and went 1-4 with two walks. Clinton Dempster was the recipient of the great run support. He went the first five innings and gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits. He walked two and struck out five. Matt Tone gave up two runs on two hits and a walk in two innings. Zach See worked a perfect inning. Andrei Lobanov came in and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in his inning.

E-Twins Talkers

Elizabethton and the rest of the Appalachian League did not have games scheduled for this game.  

GCL Twins Topics

The Twins lost 3-1 to the Rays. Cesar Ciurcina started and gave up just one run on three hits and a walk in six innings. He struck out seven. Hein Robb gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in two innings. Bart Carter pitched the ninth and was perfect. Rory Rhodes and Kennys Vargas were both 2-4 and had four of the team’s six hits.  

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