Anthony Slama vs Rob Delaney

I am trying something new, I hope you all like it. Everyday I am going to pose a question for the readers and give a point for one side and a side for the other and finally I will give my take and ask for everyones take on the question.

1. Who is the better Twins relieving prospect Rob Delaney or Anthony Slama.

• Argument for Rob Delaney: Rob Delaney is one of best pitching prospects in the whole Twins organization. At age 24 Delaney can boast a very good minor league track record. In 2007 he set a Beloit record with 28 saves. He was the Milb relief pitcher of the year in 2007. 2008 Florida State League all star. In 3 full seasons he has compiled a 8-7 record with a 1.96 era. Along with 55 career saves. He has a low 90's fastball and good offspeed pitches to keep the hitters off balance. He has everything needed to be a very good relief pitcher for the Twins

• Argument for Anthony Slama: Anthony Slama has been absolutly dominate in his short Twins career. At 25 he is a little older than I would like for someone at AA but he has dominated every league he has been in. In 95 career games he is 8-2 with a awesome 1.31 career era. Along with that he has 46 saves in his career. What sets him apart from most pitchers is his strikeout totals he has struck out 192 batters in 123.2 innings. His only red flag is he has also walked 46 batters, which is a concern for a relief pitcher in the lower leagues.

• My take: Really there is no wrong answer for these two because I believe next season both will be with the Twins. I am a little higher on Slama because of his strikeout totals. When I am looking at a reliever I am looking for someone who can get a big strikeout to get out of an inning. Delaney is also very good but he can't get that big strikeout. Many will argue the walks well the more innings he has gotten the less walks he has committed and I expect that to continue. He throws harder than Delaney with more movement and his strikeout totals tip the scales in my opinion to Anthony Slama.

Your Take: You can give me your take either by emailing me at travis_aune@yahoo.com or leave a comment in the box below. I really want some feedback on this because this is something we all have an opinion on and want to find a winner. I will keep the polls open until Monday at 5pm so let me know.

Friday, May, 22nd

Twins Talk

• The Twins rebounded from their tough 6 game losing streak in a big way yesterday winning at Chicago 20-1. There were many hitting heros for the Twins but were let by Joe Mauer who went 3-4 with his 8th homerun, a grand slam, that capped a six run sixth inning. Michael Cuddyer was also awesome going 4-6 with his 6th homerun. Joe Crede also homered for the Twins. Nick Blackburn continued his strong pitching of late pitching 7 shutout innings on only 4 hits to bring his team leading era down to 3.83 on the season. Jose Morales also had 3 hits, but was sent down to Rochester after the game because Delmon Young's time on the Family Emergency ended after the game. Young won't be there until Sunday so Friday and Saturday the Twins will be playing a player short.
• The Twins begin a 7 game homestand with a 3 game series with the first place Milwaukee Brewers at the Dome. Tonight Kevin Slowey gets the start against Manny Parra.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings won in extra innings last night 5-4 in 11 innings against first place Norfolk. Kevin Mulvey was masterful going 8.2 innings and only giving up 3 runs. He lowered his era to 3.95 on the season and very easily should of gotten the win. Mike Gosling came in relief to pickup his 5th win of the year. Bobby Keppel pitched the 11th for his first save of the year. He will probably pick up closing responsibilities with Sean Henn now with the Twins. Alexi Casilla had 3 hits and 2 rbi's to pace the Red Wings. The 3 hits brought his average up to .353 on the season. Matt Macri also had 3 hits for Rochester. Justin Huber had 2 hits and his 3rd homerun of the year. David Winfree also homered for the Red Wings, his 6th of the year.
• Transactions: Jose Morales was added to the Roster yesterday after the game along with reinstating Ben Hendrickson off the disabled list. Hendrickson will take Anthony Swarzak's spot in the rotation while he is with the Twins.
• Tonight, Rochester will continue their series with Norfolk with Ben Hendrickson getting his first start of the year.

New Britain Business

• The Rockcats continued their string of strong play with a 7-1 win against Reading. With the win New Britain pulled within 2.5 games of first place Connecticut. Ryan Mullins continued his strong pitching performances by going 6 innings and only giving up a run on 5 hits. He walked 1 batter and struck out 4 to lower his era to 4.38 on the season. Steve Tolleson continued his hot streak with 2 more hits to bring his average up to .250. But looking at how hot he has been has been unbelievable. He is 14 for his last 28 which is a .500 batting average in his l ast 7 games. The Rockcats connected for 4 homeruns on the day. Danny Valencia hit his 5th, Rene Tosoni hit his 6th, Brian Dinkelman hit his 3rd, and Erik Lis also hit his 3rd.
• Tonight, the Rockcats take on Binghamton with Cole Devries scheduled to get the Start.

Fort Myers Footnotes

• The Miracle won an old fashioned pitchers duel last night to improve their record to 25-14 on the season with a 2-1 win over St. Lucie. Mike Mccardell was masterful on the night only giving up a run in 6 innings along with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts. His strikeout to walk ration is a very good 5:1 on the season. Alex Burnett came in relief to pitch the last 3 to get the win. Nick Romero making his first start of the year at Fort Myers was the hitting hero going 2-3 with the go ahead rbi.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with St. Lucie with Ace Carlos Gutierrez scheduled to start.

Beloit Beat

• The Snappers suffered another tough loss, going down 7-5 to Fort Wayne. The Big news was Michael Tarsi and Curtis Leavitt making their season debut. It did not go so well as they gave up 3 runs in 3 innings, but the important part is they are back out there pitching. Ramon Santana was the big star going 2-4 with 2 rbi's to bring his average up to .414 on the season. He really has this level mastered I really think they need to give him a new challenge at Fort Myers. Angel Morales also had 2 rbi's to bring his team high total up to 18 on the season. Dan Berlind got the start and was pretty good giving up 3 runs in 5 innings. He struck out 7 batters with only 1 walk which was very good.
• Tonight the Snappers continue their series with the Lugnuts as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for the Snappers.

I will be back later with the first edition of a new set of articles that I really think everyone is going to like so check back later this afternoon