Travis Talks Minnesota Sports podcast

I did a podcast tonight my maiden voyage about everything about Minnesota sports including the Vikings, Twins, Wolves, and the Gophers. I welcome you to listen to archive of the show and leaving a comment in the comment box or emailing me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. To listen to the episode go here. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk/2009/12/21/travistalks-weekly-minnesota-sports-podcast

Twins prospect list: 40-36

I will be continuing my look at the Twins top 50 prospects in the organization. Today, I wll look at prospects 40-36 as I work my way down all the way to number one. I hope all enjoy and check out prospects 50-46 and also 45-41. If you have any comments or questions you can leave a comment in the comment box or you can shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com. Hope all enjoy and have a great day.

• 40. Brad Tippett P (2/11/1988) 21

2009 stats: 9-8 3.21 era in 25 games including 24 starts. He worked 146 inn and only walked 25 batters while striking out 107. Held opponents to a very good .239 batting average.

2009 teams: Beloit Snappers

• Brad Tippett had one of the best years of anyone in the organization and I don't think he gets the credit that he deserves. He was the staff ace for Beloit last year and really noone is talking about him as a prospect. I get why as he doesn't throw real hard only in the mid 80's which as he goes forward may not be good enough. However, in my opinion you need to respect the season Tippett put up in 2009 as he was Beloit's best pitcher and besides David Bromberg he might of had the next best season by a pitcher in the whole Twins organization last year. He has pinpoint control as his 25 walks in 146 innings would attest to. He is just a very solid pitcher in that he finds a way to get hitters out. There are guys that have more talent than he is, but they struggle and Tippett continues to get better and better as he moves through the organization. I look for Brad to have another good and solid season in 2010 as he will join the Fort Myers pitching staff and with all the room in FSL outfields he should be able to continue putting zero's on the board. I look forward to seeing if Tippett can develop a solid second pitch to go with his control to make him a prospect to watch. The way it is right now he relies on his guile and control to get guys out, but if he could develop a very good second pitch he could be dominant.
• 2010 projection: Starting pitcher at Fort Myers
• Estimated time of Arrival: 2013

• 39. Brian Dozier SS (5/15/1987) 22

2009 stats: .349 avg 0 hr 14 rbi in 58 games. Along with 17 doubles and 3 stolen bases. Walked 25 and struck out 27. A very good .414/.422/.837 splits.

2009 teams: GCL Twins and Elizabethton Twins

• Brian Dozier had a very solid first year in the Twins organization as he was a 8th round pick out of Southern Mississippi. As most college guys that end up in Elizabethton do Dozier dominated the competion as was shown by his .349 average. However, we should not look past that as it is hard to hit .349 at any level and he should be commended for doing that along with a very good .414 on base percentage. The question is how much credit should you give him as almost everyone he played against was younger than him. Dozier played a very good shortstop for the Twins and showed some extra base power with 17 doubles even though he did not have a homerun. He showed very good plate discipline with only 27 strikeouts in 232 at bats along with 25 walks. 2010 is going to tell a lot about Dozier as he will move up to Beloit and the question was his 2009 a start of a very good career or was 2009 a by product of being a college guy. That is something that is hard to judge until he plays against some better competition so it will be interesting to see what happens.
• 2010 projection: Play shortstop at Beloit
• Estimated Time of Arrival: 2013

• 38. Rob Delaney RP (9/8/1984) 25

2009 stats: 8-4 3.44 era in 62 games and 7 saves. Worked 83.2 inn and walked 21 while striking out 78. Held opponents to a very good .241 batting average.

2009 teams: New Britain Rockcats and Rochester Red Wings

• Rob Delaney had another outstanding year in 2009 for the Twins as he worked his way up to Rochester after starting the season with AA New Britain. Even though he struggled a bit when he got to Rochester overall he had another outstanding season. A very good 3.44 era in his two stops is the type of numbers that a person wants to see out of him. With his awesome month of July Delaney proved that he can get hitters out of that caliber. In July, Rob worked 12 games and 15 innings while only giving up 3 earned runs. He had his struggles, but is at the point now that he is ready to make an impact with the Twins. After the 2009 season Rob got a feather in his cap as he was added to the 40 man roster for the Twins so you know they think of him very highly. Rob has 3 very solid pitches and continues to get better and better for the Twins. He will battle in spring training for a spot with the Twins coming out of Spring Training and even if he doesn't make the team he will return to Rochester after learning a lot. The experience that he learns this spring will help him when he returns to Rochester if he does as he will be facing big league hitters and learn how to get them out. If he is smart he will pick the brain of Joe Nathan on some of the things he does to get hitters out. The future for Delaney is very bright, but the only thing about him that concerns me is does of have powerful enough stuff to get major league hitters out. He does not have lights out stuff so he needs to get by on guile and his control. Overall, I think Rob Delaney is a solid relief prospect, but does not have the upside guys like Anthony Slama, Alex Burnett, or Billy Bulluck possess and will end up a middle reliever in the big leagues while the others will be late inning guys. Overall, though Rob Delaney is someone that is worth keeping an eye and don't be shocked to see him on your Opening Day Minnesota Twins roster.
• 2010 projection: Relief pitcher for Rochester and probably make debut with Twins.
• Estimated time of Arrival: 2010

• 37. Ramon Santana INF (6/20/1986) 23

2009 stats: .295 avg 9 hr 61 rbi's along with 26 doubles and 3 triples in 386 at bats. Stole 8 bases in 107 games. Walked 51 times while striking out 97 times. Had a .383/.448/.831 split

2009 teams: Beloit Snappers and New Britain Rockcats

• Ramon Santana, a freakishly small 5 foot 9 152 lb, infielder put up a very good 2009 season up at Beloit and New Britain. For being as small as he is Santana has quite a bit of power as his 38 extra base hits would attest to. A guy that small you would not think would be able to formulate that type of power, but he does. He got off to a unbelievable start and continued it pretty much all season as he hit .295 and had a very good .383 on base percentage. He struggled a bit in the 2nd half only hitting .267 after hitting about .400 in the first half. You ask with all the good things about him that I mentioned why is he not higher on the lists and there are 2 major reasons why. First, his defense is not real great as he played 2nd, short, 3rd, and a little outfield and did not play great defense at any of the positions. Second, is with his size injuries hit him alot as he had a hamstring injury which cost him a few weeks and forced him into DH duty when he came back. Another thing that brings him down is his strikeout total is he struck out 97 times in 386 at bats which is about 33% of the times he came up he struck out which is terrible. If he doesn't figure that out the rest of his game will be forgotten. With that being said I think he has a decent future and a good future if he can stay healthy. So if he can stay healthy and cut his strikeouts down in half in 2010 I look for Ramon Santana to shoot up the prospect charts in 2010.
• 2010 projection: Play shortstop at Fort Myers
• Estimated Time of Arrival: 2014

• 36. Liam Hendricks P (2/10/1989) 20

2009 stats: 5-5 3.55 era in 14 starts. Worked 83.2 innings and walked 16 batters while striking out 75 batters. Held opponents to a very good .276 batting average.

2009 teams: Elizabethton Twins and Beloit Snappers

• Liam Hendricks had a very nice bounce back season in 2009 after missing the 2008 season due to Spine issues. He did very well at Elizabethton before getting the call up to Beloit and doing well there too. At only 20 years old he is very young for his level. He started out at Elizabethton and went 2-0 with a 3.71 era in 3 starts for the Twins. He then moved up to Beloit where he did well there also going 3-5 with a very good 3.51 era in 11 starts. He has all the tools to be a very good pitcher and it will be interesting to see after getting back out there in 2009 if he takes the next step in 2010 and become the very good pitcher we all know he can be. He has all the tools all he needs to do is stay healthy. I think what helped him last year was pitching on the Australian national team and gaining that experience. I really look for Liam to be a guy that is going to take a jump in 2010 as I look for him to spend first half in Beloit and put up good numbers and then move up to Fort Myers where he will be very good as well. Liam Hendricks is one everyone should keep an eye on for the future.
• 2010 projection: Start in Beloit and midseason move up to Fort Myers
• Estimated time of arrival: 2013