Travis Talks prospect list: Prospect #7

Tonight, I will be bringing prospect number 7 of the Twins organization. Tommorrow I will continue the countown as I will bring pick number 6 and so on until I finish with the top prospect in the Twins organization. I hope everyone enjoys and will comment on if they agree or disagree with the selection.

7. Angel Morales CF 19 (11/24/1989)

2008 teams: Elizabethton Twins

• Angel Morales was a third round pick of the Twins in the 2007 draft out of Puerto Rico. After signing with the Twins Morales started his Twins career at the age of 17 with the GCL Twins. In 38 games Angel hit .256 with 2 homeruns and 15 rbi's along with 6 doubles and 3 triples along with 11 stolen bases. In 121 at bats Morales only walked 12 times and struck out 44 times which was way too much and did not walk enough. In 2008 Morales moved up to E-town where he really took off as a prospect at only 18 years old. In 54 games at E-town he hit .301 with a very good 15 homeruns and 28 rbi's along with 12 doubles and a triple for an ops of 1.036. In 183 at bats Morales only walked only 26 times and struck out an outragous 72 times. This year Angel moved up to full season Beloit and it has been a struggle. In 56 games Morales is only hitting .219 with 6 homeruns and 24 rbi's along with 8 doubles and 3 triples for an ops of .673. In 196 at bats Angel has only 17 walks and terrible 58 strikeouts. Angel Morales is a very good prospect for the Twins who can hit alot of homeruns, but will also strikeout alot by his 174 career strikeouts in 148 games. Angel Morales is only 19 years old and won't be 20 until Novemaber so he is way young for his level. Morales will probably never hit for high average, but if he is going to keep moving up he needs to cut down on his strikeouts. He is a 5 tool player in that he can hit for power, hit for doubles, has speed, strong arm, will steal some bases. When you think about it most 19 years old are either in EST or GCL and he is 2 levels ahead of them. If he can get to Fort Myers in 3 years he will still be young for his level. His ceiling in my opinion will be limitless who I think will hit for a tremendous amount of power and play good defense. I think he has the ability in the future to be a 30-30 guy with his power and speed. If Angel can hit .260-.270 I would be very happy because his power numbers and defense will take care of the rest. Morales is still probably 5 or 6 years away from joining the Twins and even if it takes him 6 more years to get to the bigs he would still only be 25 years old which is young for the majors. The sky is the limit for Morales who I am looking for a better second half and a better season yet next year with Beloit. I view him as a corner outfielder who has the ability to play center, but with Aaron Hicks and Ben Revere around Morales will be more of a corner outfielder and that is fun because of his power and his strong throwing arm. Write it down right now eventually Angel Morales will be anchoring the middle of the lineup for the Twins.


• 2009: Outfield for Beloit all season and hopefully improve in second half.


• Projection: I project him to be a middle of the order hitter who will be around for 15-20 years with the Twins.

Sunday, June, 21st

Twins Talk
Astros 6 Twins 5

• The Twins lost a game that they had no business losing last night to the Astros by a score of 6-5. When you hit 4 homeruns in a game and get a quality start from your pitcher there is no excuse to lose and that is exactly what the Twins did last night. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and was excellent going 6.1 innings and only giving up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 1 walk and 6 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.22 on the year. Baker left the game with a 3-2 lead in the 7th with just a runner on 1st with 1 out. Sean Henn came on and was totally awful facing 3 batters and only getting 1 of them out. He gave up a double to the first guy and then a ground out and then a 2 run homerun to put the Astros upfront. In all Henn went 1/3 of an inning and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits to bring his era up to a very bad 7.36 on the year. Sean Henn got off to a good start, but it has become painfully obvious why he has gotten released by organization after organization and that is he is not a good enough pitcher to get big league hitters out. He did fine at AAA and that is where he should be. I can't take many more of these debacles by Henn as he has given up lead after lead everytime he comes into a game it means runs for the opposition. Luis Ayala then came into the game and was ok except giving up a solo homerun to Lance Berkman that would turn out to be the winning run of the game. Ayala's era rose up to 4.18 on the year and has been ok, but not what we were expecting when we signed him. R.A. Dickey then pitched a very solid 9th inning for the Twins to lower his era to 2.63.

• The Twins have changed their offense this year as they have gone from a team that has to manufacture runs to a team that relies on homeruns. Brendan Harris continued his recent hot streak for the Twins by going 3-4 with his 11th double and 4th homerun of the year along with an rbi and a run scored to bring his average up to .296. Joe Mauer added his 14th homerun of the year and his 42nd rbi and lowered his average to a still very good .417. Delmon Young went 1-4 with his 2nd homerun of the year and his 22nd rbi. Jason Kubel went 1-4 with his 12th homerun of the year and his 38th and 39th rbi's of the year. Brian Buscher and Jose Morales added a single each in a losing cause for the Twins in this game.
• Today, the Twins take on the Astros in game 3 of the series as they send Glen Perkins to the mound to try to win the series.

Rochester Wrap

• The Red Wings had their game with Toledo rained out and will make it up as part of a doubleheader today as Brian Duensing will start the first game. Kevin Mulvey will get the ball in the second game of the doubleheader.

New Britain Business

Bowie 5 New Britain 4

• The Rockcats tried to come back from a 5-0 1st inning deficit, but could not complete the comeback as they went down to Bowie last night by a score of 5-4. Ryan Mullins got the start for the Rockcats and continued what his problem has been all year and that is he gets drilled in the 1st inning and then shut down the team after that. He continued that last night as he gave up 5 runs in the first inning and then not giving up a run after that. Mullins went 4.2 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits along with 3 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era up to 5.18 on the year. To be all fair after the 1st inning Mullins went 3.2 innings and only gave up only 2 hits and no runs, but the damage was already done and he dropped his record to 3-8 on the year. Yohan Pino then came in and did a very good job for the Rockcats as he went 1.1 innings along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.19 on the year. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched a very effective 2 innings of scoreless ball along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.38.

• The Rockcats could only muster 4 runs against some good Bowie pitching and unfortunately that was not enough in this one. Rene Tosoni led the offense in this one as he went 1-3 with his 9th homerun of the year a 3 run shot that brought the Rockcats within 5-4, but the Cats could not get any closer. The 3 rbi's by Tosoni brought his season total up to a team leading 38 on the year. Erik Lis went 2-4 to bring his average up to .303 on the year. Danny Valencia continued his strong string lately as he went 1-3 to bring his average up to .282. Brandon Roberts drove in his 23rd rbi of the year with an rbi single to bring his average to .284. Danny Lehman added his 3rd double and Yancarlos Ortiz added a single in the losing cause.
• Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Bowie as Cole Devries gets the start for New Britain

Fort Myers Minutes

• The Florida State League had their all-star game last night and the Miracle had some good performances. Pitching wise David Bromberg got the start and went a scoreless 1st inning along with a hit and a strikeout. Spencer Steedley pitched an inning and gave up 2 hits and an unearned run. Steve Hirschfeld went an inning and did not give up a hit on 2 hits.
• On offense Ben Revere had a big game going 2-5 with a double and a stolen base. Chris Parmalee went 1-2 for the South All-Stars. Steve Singelton went 0-2 with a strikeout. Chris Cates went 1-3 with a walk for the South All-Stars.
• The Miracle have today off before getting back at it on Monday night as they will take on Jupiter in Fort Myers. Congratulations to all the All-Stars hope you all had a good time.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 Quad Cities 0

Quad Cities 6 Beloit 1

• The Snappers split a doubleheader with Quad Cities last night winning the first game 6-0 before dropping the nightcap 6-1. In the first game Bobby Lanigan got the start and he was very good going 6 shutout innings for the Snappers. In 6 innings Lanigan only gave up 4 hits along with a strikeout to lower his era to 4.82 on the season and picked up his 6th win of the year. Steve Blevins pitched a scoreless inning of relief to finish off the Snappers win in the first game of the doubleheader. In the second game Curtis Leavitt got the spot start for the Snappers and was not very good. In 4 innings Leavitt gave up 4 runs on 4 hits along with a walk and 3 strikeouts to bring his era up to 9.20. Bruce Pugh then came in and pitched an inning and gave up a run on a hit along with 2 walks and a strikeout to raise his era to 4.13. Thomas Wright made his first outing of the year after spending some time on the dl and gave up a run on 2 hits along with a homerun. Mike Allen then came on and pitched a very good inning on 1 strikeout to lower his era to 5.65 on the year.

• Offensively, the story of the game was the debut of 2008 first round pick Aaron Hicks who joined the Snappers for this game. Hicks went 2-4 with his first double and his first rbi to bring his average up to .500 after the first game. Ozzie Lewis went 1-3 with his 6th homerun of the year and his 29th and 30th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .302 on the year. Jeff Lanning added his 3rd double and Drew Thompson added his 7th double and 12th rbi of the year in the win for the Snappers. In the second game the Snappers did not do much against some good Quad Cities pitching as they were only able to muster 2 hits in the game. Michael Harrington had his organization leading 22nd double of the year along with his 23rd rbi of the year. Alex Soto added a hit in the losing cause to raise his average up to .254. Aaron Hicks went 0-2 with a walk and a run scored for the Snappers to bring his average after 1 day to .429.

Travis Talks prospect list: Prospect #8

I will be bringing you 2 of the top prospects in the whole minor league system today. First I wll bring you the number 8 prospect in the Twins organization. Later today I will be bringing you the number 7 player. I hope everyone enjoys and will add their 2 cents to the discussion on if you agree or disagree with the pick. Also I want to wish everyone a very happy Father's Day! I am trying out a new font let me know what you think of it.


8. Anthony Swarzak 23 (9/10/1985)

2008 teams: New Britain and Rochester

• Anthony Swarzak was a 2nd round pick by the Twins in the 2004 draft out of high school in Davie, Florida. After signing with the Twins Swarzak started his Twins career with the GCL Twins where he went 5-3 with a very good 2.63 in 9 starts. In 48 innings Anthony walked only 6 and struck out 42 for a whip of 1.08. In 2005 Swarzak split the season between Beloit and Fort Myers. He started season in Beloit where he went 9-5 with a 4.04 era in 18 starts. In 91.1 innings Swarzak walked 32 and struck an impressive 101 for a whip of 1.24. Those impressive stats led to a promotion to Fort Myers where in 10 starts Anthony went 3-4 with a 3.66 era. In 59 innings Swarzak walked 11 and struck 55 for a whip of 1.41. Swarzak spent the entire 2006 season back in Fort Myers at 20 years old. In 27 starts Swarzak went 11-7 with a very good 3.09 era. In 145.2 innings Swarzak walked 60 and struck out 131 to lower his whip to 1.31. The great season at Fort Myers led to a promotion to AA New Britain for the 2007 season and that is where his career and life would change forever. On April 20, 2007 Anthony Swarzak was suspended 50 games by Major League Baseball for abuse of a non performance enhancing drug. It was later revealed to be Marajuana and after the suspension Swarzak was punished by the Twins for this by being demoted to Class A Fort Myers. In retrospect it was something that really motivated Swarzak and probably changed his career in a positive way. Being suspended by MLB probably was the best thing that could of happened to Swarzak because it probably helped him turn his life around. Swarzak was not at Fort Myers very long as he only made 3 start with the Miracle and went 0-0 with a very good 2.30 era. In 15.2 innings Swarzak walked 5 and struck out 18 for a whip of 1.21. Swarzak then was promoted back to New Britain where he had a very good year for the Rockcats. In 14 starts Swarzak went 5-4 with a very good 3.23 era. In 86.1 innings Swarzak walked only 23 and struck out 76 for a whip of 1.17. Many including myself believed the 2007 season at New Britain would earn him a promotion to AAA Rochester for the 2008 season, well the Twins did not agree and sent him back to New Britain. I don't know if he was upset about not being promoted, but Swarzak was not very good at New Britain in 2008 as he went 3-8 with a not very good 5.67 era in 20 starts with the Rockcats. In 101.2 innings he walked 37 and struck out 76 and saw his whip jump from 1.17 in 2007 to 1.60 in 2008. Swarzak for some reason was then promoted to Rochester even though he really did not earn the promotion. For whatever reason when he got to AAA Rochester Swarzak took off once again. In 7 starts for the Red Wings Swarzak went 5-0 with an awesome 1.80 era. In 45 innings Swarzak only walked 14 and struck out 26 for a whip of 1.22. This year Anthony started the year back at Rochester and did very well leading to a promotion to the Twins. At Rochester Swarzak in 8 starts is 3-4 with a very impressive 2.29 era. In 51 innings he has walked 13 and struck out 34 for a whip of 1.20. After Glen Perkins went out with a elbow injury Swarzak got the call to the Twins and he did not disappoint. In 5 starts with the Twins Swarzak went 2-2 with a very good 3.90 era. In 27.2 innings he walked 10 and struck out 18 for a whip of 1.34. Including in those starts is 2 shutouts and his era is schewed by 2 bad starts. In 3 of the 5 starts Anthony made they were quality starts and gave the Twins a chance to win. Anthony Swarzak is a very good control pitcher with an awesome 12-6 curveball that when it is on is dominant. He has picked up a slider to go with it that is decent. Anthony is a control pitcher who will not walk many and will not strike out to many either. He works on the corners and when he hits his spots he is hard to hit. He usually goes from 89-94 on the radar gun and most of his pitches are 91-92 which is plenty fast enough. Anthony is back at Rochester now, but everyone knows it is just a matter of time before he is back up with the Twins either in the rotation or in the bullpen. Swarzak took the ball and ran with it when given a chance with the Twins this year. Anthony Swarzak has a very bright future at only 23 years old and projects out as a number 2 or 3 starter in the big leagues. He is a long ways from April, 20 2007 and has totally changed his life and career around from then. Lesser Men would of let that derail their career, but Anthony has shown what he is made of and I truly believe he will be a mainstay in the Twins rotation for many years to come.


• 2009: Split season between Rochester and the Twins


• Projection: I project Anthony to have a very successful and long career in the major leagues. Anthony Swarzak will be a mainstay in the Twins rotation for the next 10-15 years.