Travistalks

2012 Minnesota Twins offseason blueprint

2011-09-16T11:59:00.001-07:00

Here is my 2012 Twins Offseason Blueprint with those I feel will be added to the 40 man roster, those that will be signed as free agents, those that will be resigned or let go by the team and finally the Twins payroll for 2012. Let me know what you think and if you agree or disagree with some of my logic in this assessment.

1.) Remove Free Agents Jason Kubel, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Repko, Phil Dumatrait, Matt Capps, Kyle Waldrop, Rene Rivera, and Brian Dinkelman off the 40 man roster to leave the 40 man at 32 players on the 40 man.

2.) Non-Tender Kevin Slowey, Phil Dumatrait and Matt Tolbert to leave your roster at 30.

3.) Reinstate Nick Blackburn off the 60 day disabled list.

4.) Decline Joe Nathan’s 12.5 million option and instead pay him 2 million dollar buyout.

5.) Add minor leaguers Carlos Gutierrez, Tyler Robertson,and Yangervis Solarte to 40 man to bring total up to 33

6.) Sign Michael Cuddyer to a 3 year 33million dollar contract

7.) Sign Jason Kubel to 2 year 14 million dollar deal with a team option for 10 million for 2014.

8.) Sign Joe Nathan to a 2 year 16 million dollar deal

9.) Sign Jason Repko to a minor league deal

10.) Sign Matt Capps for 3years 9million

11.) Sign Jose Molina for 1 year 1 million

12.) Trade Denard Span, Angel Morales,and Jose Mijares for James Shields

13.) Sign Mike Cameron to a 1year 3million dollar deal

14.) Sign Frank Francisco to a 1 year 1million dollar deal

16. Sign Mike Redmond to manage in Rochester

17. promote Tom Brunansky to batting coach in Rochester

18. Part ways with Scott Ullger

19. Hire Paul Molitor as Bench Coach

Here is my 2012 team with Salaries

C Joe Mauer 23.0

1b Justin Morneau 15.0

2b Alexi Casilla 1.5

SS Tsyoshi Nishioka 3.0

3b Danny Valencia 800,000

LF Mike Cameron 3.0

CF Ben Revere 500,000

RF Michael Cuddyer 11.0

DH Jason Kubel 8.0

Bench

Luke Hughes 500,000

Trevor Plouffe 500,000

Jose Molina 1.0

Jason Repko 1.0

68.8million on offense

Pitchers

James Shields 7.0

Carl Pavano 8.5

Francisco Liriano 5.5

Scott Baker 6.5

Nick Blackburn 4.75

Bullpen

Joe Nathan 8.0

Matt Capps 3.0

Glen Perkins 1.5

Frank Francisco 1.0

Brian Duensing 800,000

Alex Burnett 500,000

Anthony Swarzak 500,000

Total 116.35

Let me know what you think all

The Future of Travis Twins Talk

2011-08-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

Anybody that knows me knows that I will be starting school in just over a week and am at the University level now so it is going to be way more intense. However, I still plan to blog it just will not be as often as it is in the summer. I will still be doing my minor league player profiles and you can look for them every Monday morning with my next one this coming Monday. However, that is probably all the blogging I will have time to do during the school year as school is hectic. I will blog as much as I find time for but I will atleast do the player profiles that everyone has come to expect. I will continue to cohost Twins Minor League Weekly for the rest of the Minor League Season with Seth Stohs. So thanks for reading me this summer and keep following me here on here or on twitter @travistwinstalk.

The Truth about the Twins minor league system

2011-08-14T09:54:00.000-07:00

I get asked this question quite a bit and I feel like it is about time I hit people with some truth on the subject. The question that I am asked repeatedly is has the Twins minor league slipped and if so why. I know everyone likes to blame Bill Smith for all the problems with talent as the Twins had a good farm system when Terry Ryan was the General Manager of the Twins. I have even heard Deron Johnson being blamed as he is head of the draft after Mike Radcliff was promoted when Bill Smith took over as General Manager. Some of the criticism is founded, but a great part of it is unfounded.

There is merit for criticism of the lack of top level prospects in the upper levels of the organization. You had misses like not signing Travis Lee, and busts such as Matt Moses, Ryan Mills, Jay Rainville, and Henry Sanchez. That left a vacuum that led to a watering down of the system. Some of these picks were earlier than would be in system right now. Also the Twins have been downright unlucky with some of these guys as former first round picks Matt Fox, Kyle Waldrop, and Matt Bashore were injured. You have had control issues with former first round picks Shooter Hunt and Alex Wimmers that you could not have see coming.

The bottom line is the Twins had a 2-3 year stretch were they did not do well in the draft as guys like Moses, Rainville, and Sanchez were taken early and did not turn out. That left a void as some of those guys would be in the higher levels right now. When you miss on three or four first round picks that will set your organization back a few years. The percentage of early round picks that make it to the pro’s is so small that I feel that Twins fans were spoiled when they went through a stretch when guys like Torii Hunter, Michael Cuddyer, Joe Mauer, Denard Span, Trevor Plouffe, Glen Perkins and Matt Garza became contributers. Twins fans after seeing all those guys come up and contribute forget about guys like Henry Sanchez, Matt Moses, Adam Johnson, B.J. Garbe, Ryan Mills who never even made the big leagues. Then you have guys that even the most adamant Twins fan has never heard of in Kelcey Mucker, Marc Borcelo, Dan Serifini, Scott Stahoviak, Midre Cummings, and Todd Ritchie. What I am trying to say is the draft is such an inaccurate science on who is going to make it and who is not that it is not an easy job for evaluaters. You hear all the time that in every draft you may have 1-2 players make it to the big leagues. So I don’t think it is fair for the evaluaters to get blamed for the lack of talent in the upper levels.

Another reason that expectations for the Twins minor league system are a little bit too much is the Twins in the 90’s were a bad team. From 1994 to 2001 a eight year stretch the Twins picked in the top ten 7 times. Fair or not most draftst have 5-10 blue chip prospects that are considered a high probibilty of making it to the big leagues. So when they were losing 90-100 games per year the odds of getting one of those top prospects was pretty high. Believe it or not that stretch is when the Twins farm system was considered the best in baseball. It is much like how the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals are considered the best farm systems in baseball right now as they have had some bad teams so they got high draft picks. From 2002-2011 the highest the Twins have drafted is 14th in 2008 with Aaron Hicks. I don’t know if its coincidence or not but Aaron Hicks is the number one prospect on my June prospect list. A big thing is when you draft late you need to be smart about who you take and you have to be willing to spend the money to get the guys signed as there is such competition for signing bonuses so the Twins have had to up the ante and they have done just that.

I also take exception that the Twins don’t have a very good farm system because I think the last 2-3 years the Twins have taken the bull by the horns and improved it immensely. It started in 2009 when they went way over slot to sign pitcher Kyle Gibson a starting pitcher who dropped down to the Twins due to a stress fracture in his forearm. The Twins could have sat and said he was too expensive, but they did what was necessary. They spent way over slot to sign BJ Hermsen. Then in 09 they spent over 3 million to sign the top Dominican prospect in years in Miguel Sano for over 3.15 million. This year they doubled slot to sign Corey Williams a hard throwing lefty from Vanderbilit. I know there is not a lot of talent in Rochester, but look at New Britain and below and there are tons of top end talent such as David Bromberg, Joe Benson, Brian Dozier, Chris Parmelee, and Deolis Guerra who has flourished as a reliever this year. In Fort Myers you have big prospects in James Beresford, Oswaldo Arcia, Aaron Hicks, Angel Morales, Alex Wimmers, and BJ Hermsen. Then in Beloit you have huge upside guys like Adrian Salcedo, and Madison Boer. Then in Elizabethton you got guys like Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler and Niko Goodrum. If anything I would say the Twins minor league system is loaded not the contrary.

Bill Smith gets a lot of guff for not having a lot of top end talent in AAA and I think the Twins need to take responsibility for a few bad drafts that did not produce the type of prospects thatother teams did. However the last 3-4 years have been phenomenal for the Twins minor league system. I believe in the next 2-3 years the Twins will be known as having one of the finest minor league systems in baseball as the lower levels are just loaded with top end prospects. I feel like the Twins should be commended for seeing a problem and fixing it the last few years. For those that feel Bill Smith, Deron Johnson and the whole Twins front office have not done their job producing prospects well I feel you are wrong and the contrary is true as I feel the Twins have just as many top prospects than any other team it is just the Twins do a good job at letting these guys go at their own speed and develop in a way that not only will they make the Twins when they are ready, but will remain with the team for years to come.

Oswaldo Arcia: The Hitting Machine

2011-08-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Oswaldo Arcia was signed by the Twins on July, 4th 2007 out of Anaco, Venezuela at the age of 16. As a foreign player it is always hard to know what to expect from young players, especially players so young. The Twins saw an outfielder that had a projectable body who people thought would be able to hit. I don’t think when the Twins signed him in 2007 that anybody thought that Arcia would hit the way that he has so far in his young Twins career. He can hit for average, hit for power, plays good outfield defense, and has a good arm. A very toolsy outfielder that the Twins love to put through the system. Guys like Joe Benson, Aaron Hicks, and Torii Hunter before them. After signing with the Twins Arcia spent the 2008 season back in the Caribbean with the DSL Twins. That is where Arcia really came on the scene as a 17 year old kid that turned heads in that season with his quick bat. Here is how Arcia did in 2008 in the DSL:

DSL: 61games .293avg 4hr 36rbi 12doub 4trip 99TB 16bb 27k 8sb .343//432/.775

Those numbers were not huge, but for a 17 year old kid those are very good numbers. The stat that impressed me the most was his 99 total bases and his .343 on base percentage. That is pretty good for anyone let alone a 17 year old. Arcia then moved to the United States for the 2009 season and played with the GCL Twins. He continued his steady progress for the team in 2009 if not eye opening at least it was solid. I will let you be the judge what you thought his numbers were like in 2009 with the GCL Twins.

GCL: 44games .275avg 5hr 24rbi 11doub 2trip 76TB 15bb 18k 8sb .337/.455/.792

Those numbers were very similar to his numbers in 2008 in DSL, but you should not take it as a step backward. Coming over to the states was a big deal as he had to learn so much that have nothing to do with baseball that it is a big learning curve. You have to learn a new culture along with facing good young pitching. He had a good obp again so there was hope that with another year under his belt that he could continue to develop. His .337 on base percentage may not seem like much but for his first year in the states that is quite impressive. In 2010 Oswaldo Arcia arrived, he went up to Elizabethton and had one of the finest seasons in Twins Minor League history. He went from an ok prospect to one of the best prospects in the organization. I have been following the Twins minor league system for a few years and there has not been a season where a player has had any better years than the 2010 season for Oswaldo Arcia.

Eliz: 64games .375avg 14hr 51rbi 21doub 7trip 174TB 19bb 67k 4sb .424/.672/1.096

Oswaldo Arcia’s 2010 is the be all end all of minor league seasons and all the numbers are impressive. However the stat that really impressed me was the 42 extra base hits which is awesome. The other stat that sticks out to me is his 1.096 OPS for a whole season. You really need to digest how good of a season that is to understand how good he was. Arcia’s season in historical reference was quite good as it is ranked as the 3rd best offensive season in Elizabethton since 1990. He only trailed Reuben Salazar’s 1999 season and Paul Russo’s 1990 season for the best individual seasons in E-town history. With that success Arcia became a top 10 prospect in just about everyone’s prospect lists for the Twins. So for the 2011 season the Twins decided the best course of action to send him to Beloit and see how he does for a full season. The problem was Arcia had injured his elbow in the offseason so he started the season as the Snappers DH and here is how he did.

Bel:20games 71ab .352avg 5hr 18rbi 8doub 1trip 50TB 9bb 16k 2sb .420/.704/1.124

Talk about building off his monster 2010 season it looked like Arcia was on the verge of doing that this year for the Snappers. He was mashing for the Snappers this spring and that was surprising as most Caribbean players usually struggle early on for the Snappers due to the cold weather. However, Arcia did well for Beloit and the thought was he could put up another great season in 2011 to match his 2010. However, the pain in his elbow became too much for him and he finally succumbed to his elbow. There were many rumors that he would need Tommy John surgery which would have ended his 2011 season. However, after multiple opinions and examinations it would be decided that the best course of action would be for Arcia to have arthroscopic surgery on his elbow and miss 4-6 weeks. So after his rehab and such he was ready to come back. He put up great numbers in the GCL and the time had come for him to return the Twins surprised everybody and kept him in Fort Myers with the Miracle instead of sending him back down to Beloit. After going up to Fort Myers these are the numbers Arcia put up with the Miracle.

FM: 34games .262avg 3hr 15rbi 8doub 1trip 52TB 5bb 32k .286/ .413/.698

Arcia is only 20 years old so to be up in Fort Myers is quite an accomplishment and probably a year ahead of schedule. His numbers in Fort Myers are quite impressive for his age and even he would say that he needs to get on base more and strikeout less. But I have been quite impressed with his extra base power and look for him to get better and better next year in Fort Myers. Enough of talk from me I asked Roger Dehring from Twinkie Town for his thoughts on Arcia and here is what he had to say.

First, I asked Roger what he thought were Arcia’s strengths and weaknesses were and this is his response. “His strengths are that he can flat out hit, better than anyone else in the system. He is also excellent defensively. I really don't see any weaknesses, other than like all young power hitters he could cut down on his strikeouts a bit.” I agree with him on most of those things except he has some weaknesses in my mind in that he strikes out too often and doesn’t walk at all. He can flat out hit, but there are others that can hit as well so I don’t see it as a clear cut thing, but make no mistake he is one of the best hitters in the system.

Next, Roger was asked how high of a ceiling he has for Arcia and a possible estimated time of arrival. “I see him as potentially becoming a frequent all-star. Looking at his numbers in the minors, he compares favorably with Justin Morneau, who turned 20 in May, 2001. Justin spent the first half of that year in the Midwest League, hitting .326/.420/.728 in 236 at bats with 12 home runs. He then hit .294/.385/.522 in 197 at bats at Ft. Myers. Arcia likewise turned 20 this past May. He began his year in the Midwest League where he hit .352/.420/.704 in 71 at bats with 5 home runs. Granted, that is a smaller sample because his stay was cut short with an injury, but the production is very similar. He is now in Ft. Myers, coming off his rehab and hitting .278/.305/.411 in 90 at bats with two home runs. I expect those numbers will rise as he gets used to the level of pitching and gets healthy, but it is scary how similar the two are at the same levels.” I am very high on Arcia as well, but I think we might be jumping the gun a little bit on Arcia comparison with Morneau as I view them as completely different hitters. I view Arcia as a gap hitter who will be doubles machine while Morneau was always a homerun hitter. I would compare Arcia more to a Jason Kubel who hit doubles like they were going out of style coming up.

Then, I asked Roger what he considers Arcia’s best position and his response was, “He has played some centerfield, however, doesn't have the speed to be a top centerfielder like Revere, Hicks or Rosario. He has a very good arm, thus either corner position works with right field being most likely.” I couldn’t agree more as he just does not have the speed for centerfield, but either corner spot would work fine for him.

Roger was then asked about how Arcia’s upside compares to a guy like Aaron Hicks and his response was, “Considering that he can become one of the elite hitters in baseball, I view him as a better prospect than Hicks.” I disagree with Roger on this one because Oswaldo Arcia and Aaron Hicks are totally different type of prospects. Hicks is the toolsy outfield prospect that the Twins thought that they were getting in Arcia. However, Arcia can just flat out hit and that will be his bread and butter going forward is being able hit. I think it is a personal preference with those two as they are just so different. I think Arcia has a better chance of fulfilling his potential, but it is just a personal opinion, but if I had to say if Hicks reaches his potential then I prefer Hicks by an eyelash.

I then asked Roger, What does Oswaldo Arcia need to get better at going forward and his response was, “He needs to play! Does he need to cut down on strikeouts a bit, yes. It is encouraging that as he has moved up two levels from last year, his strikeout rate hasn't gone up. I look for it to go down over the next few years.” The thing that I think he needs to improve is to take more walks, less strikeouts, and like Roger said he needs to play. Hopefully this was just a blip on the radar with this injury, but until he plays more we just don’t know.

Next, I asked Roger about Arcia’s defense and this was his response. “ Defensively, he has reasonable speed (he isn't Ben Revere) with an above average arm. As I stated, he doesn't make mistakes as supported by having one error since rookie ball in 2008...that is two and a half years with only one error earlier this year.” I think Arcia’s defense is fine, but the big question will be how did his arm come out of his elbow surgery. He had a solid arm, but if he lost much off his arm you could have a problem as he is too young to be a DH. Too athletic to be a DH so it will be interesting to see how his elbow comes around.

The final question I asked Roger was how high he has him rated and how much can he improve in his mind. “As you know, I don't have a Top 20 or Top 50. I have a rating system that I apply to the actual performances of all the players in the organization each year. Based on what Arcia has done so far this year, I will be shocked if he isn't the top rated player in the organization at the end of the year. In preparation for this response to your questions, I did a quick mid-year test of five of the Twins better players as of a few days ago. Arcia was comfortably first with Jairo Perez second. As for improvement, he needs to get healthy so that his last month at Ft. Myers will be more like the first month in Beloit.” I will say this about Arcia he is defiantly a top 5 prospect in the organization for the Twins. It really comes down to personal preference between 1-5 as I don’t believe there is a clear cut number 1 right now. I do think Arcia can continue to improve if he gets his walks up and his strikeouts down to be a top five prospect every year.

Oswaldo Arcia has transformed himself from a toolsy outfield prospect that the Twins signed for about $95,000 to one of the top prospects in the organization and one of the top 30 prospects in all of baseball. Arcia crushes the ball on a regular basis and seems to be getting better and better every day. After solid years in the DSL and the GCL he exploded in 2010 to put himself on the map. He has followed that up with another very good season in 2011 and if it were not for a balky elbow that forced him to miss a big chunk of games. Going forward the sky is the limit for Arcia as he has the ability to be off the charts. He is an extra base hit machine who reminds me of a young Jason Kubel. Think about it he is in Fort Myers at the age of 20 and really has the ability to get better and better. His weaknesses are relatively minor in that he strikes out a little bit too much and needs to learn to walk. However, those are things that are definitely fixable and I fully expect him to be a good major leaguer and the next line of great hitters that the Twins have been waiting to arrive. Arcia has the ability to be special and someone that we all will be talking about years from now.

Trip to Beloit Day 3

2011-08-06T11:16:00.000-07:00

Day 3 of the Beloit trip was a steamer even compared to days one and two. We got up at around nine after a long day on Saturday. We checked out of the hotel around eleven. Before we get any further I want to commend the Rodeway Hotel for being very hospitable to us while we were there. The room was clean with the beds comfortable and plenty of towels. We then stopped at my favorite restaurant and yours in Applebee’s for lunch once again. Once again we got a great meal as I had a chicked breast with some steamed veggies and steamed potatoe wedges. All I can say is magnificent once again. The only thing I was disappointed in was the fact that our buddy Josh was not there this day. Not to say our server did a bad job, but Josh was very entertaining and made our experience there on Saturday much better. We then bummed around until noon when it was time to get to the park as it was a 2pm game.

When I stepped out of the car Sunday the first thing that went through my mind was man is it hot. It was a real steamer out so we did not sit in the outside bleachers instead we headed to the closed bleachers to watch West Michigan take batting practice. You could tell how hot it was because the Snappers did a short workout early then headed back to the clubhouse without taking batting practice on this day. We sat and watched West Michigan taking BP and the two guys that really stood out to me is Nick Castellanos who is rated as the Tigers number two prospect in the system at third base. He kept hitting shot after shot out of the park you could really tell he was a top prospect. The other was Catcher Rob Brantley who was also a top 15 prospect for the Tigers. The funny story was we met a former coach of Brantley who had made the trek down to Beloit to see him play. That should tell you all you need to know how when someone makes it to pro ball it is not just the player who has a vested interest, but all those that helped him get there.

After watching BP we got a chance to talk to BJ Hermsen, Adam Bryant, Michael Gonzalez, and Andy Leer. Talk about nice guys as each of those guys seemed geniounly happy to talk to us. That kind of thing is what makes this type of trip a must is it makes you realize these guys are just like you and I they just get paid to do something they love to do. They are accomplishing a dream that most of us had when we were little kids. The thing that impressed me the most though was how it did not change who they are. The coolest thing that I saw on Sunday though was these three Snapper fans who come to all the games. These people were just good people so we got to talk to them for a while and they came up to us from Twins Minor League Weekly and knew who we were I found that really cool. Then to find out that 2-3 times a year they hold BBQ’s for the players at their house with the only rule that no autographs. That really allows the players to relax and just be themselves without having to worry about the one percent of leaches that try to profit off these guys. Instead they get to know these guys as people and just have a good time. When the players would walk by they would give the little girl a hug and they were on first name basis which I found really really cool. Some people put these guys on pedastal’s but at the end of the day they are just people just like you and I and deserve to be treated with that kind of respect.

The game started and my favorite pitcher for the Snappers AJ Achter got the start and was really good. His change-up is the real deal as he got quite a few swings and misses on it. He can place his fastball on the corners as he is not overpowering so if he can place his fastball and throw that change-up he can be tough. He is just learning how to throw a slider because after he signed they decided to replace the curveball that he threw at Michigan State with a slider and he really feels it is coming around. I would say 35-40% of his sliders were good so it definitely is a work in progress, but something that if he can perfect it can really be a really good pitch for him. Achter went seven very good innings and gave up two runs on only six hits with a walk and three strikeouts. A very good outing and has been one of the most consistant pitchers for the Snappers since he got up to Beloit. Jose Gonzalez then came on and pitched the last two innings to pick up the save with a strikeout. Gonzalez is nota very big guy, but he can hump it up there pretty good for his size. A comparable I could think of is a young Jose Mijares body type and ability to throw pretty hard.

Offensively, the Snappers were only able to score three runs on seven hits, but that was enough on this day. Seth and I discussed during the game that he was a bad luck charm for the Snappers as they were 0-4 in games he had attended until this game. The Snappers were led by Wang Wei Lin who went 2-3 at the plate with a double and a single. Reggie Williams went 1-2 with a single and a walk. Lance Ray went 1-4 with a double smashed down the right field line that I made a call on, but Seth disputes. Ill leave it up to the readers when you say someone is going to hit a gapper does it not include the gap between the right field line and the right fielder. I think it does, but Seth disagreed with me so let me know what you think. Derek Mccallum went 1-2 with a single and a sacrifice fly. Tobias Streich went 1-3 with a single along with reaching on an error and scoring a run.

The best part of the day was right after the game we were walking out and I look up and there is former Twins General Manager and current consultant for the team Terry Ryan standing their extending his hand and saying “hi Im Terry Ryan” I shook his hand and was thinking no duh I know who you are and had been trying to get enough nerve all weekend to go talk to him. He was like why didn’t you guys come seek me out I was expecting it. Seth told him we knew he was working so we didn’t want to bother him. The fact that a guy like Terry Ryan would seek us out was the highlight to my trip. I know he has talked to Seth before, but for him to introduce himself to me was so cool and something that I will never forget. We walked a few more feet and there is Reggie Williams waiting for us to shake our hands and thank us for coming this weekend. I found that so cool as it ceases to amaze me how nice of a guy that Reggie Williams is. I know we are supposed to be professional with this, but I am a fan not a journalist and I really am pulling for Reggie Williams to make it because you are not going to find a nicer guy then him so best of luck to him. We then took off and our fun filled trip to Beloit was over so fast.

Before I end this I want to personally thank Jeff Vohs for being so friendly to us that weekend as he went above and beyond what he needed to do. He is one of the hardest working people I have ever met and he does not only the Snappers, the city of Beloit, and the State of Wisconsin a honor by all the work that he puts on. Also want to thank Justin Waters for all the work he put in from setting up the interviews for us and helping getting everything set-up and then doing PA for the game. He is also a credit to the organization and a credit to Jeff that he hired him to do the job. For those that have considered going down Beloit to see some baseball don’t hesitate as it is a grade A experience. If you think it is good ball watching town team ball you would not believe how good these guys are. The park and experience are second to none so I guarantee you that you will have a blast. Plus it is only 5.5 hours from the Twin Cities so there is no reason not to go because I guarantee you that you will not be disappointed and will have a time that you will be talking about for weeks. I know I am already looking forward to going back next summer as it will again be something that I enjoy once again. Again thanks a lot to the Snapper staff for an experience I will never forget.

Trip to Beloit Day 2

2011-08-05T13:49:00.001-07:00

Day two of the trip to Beloit had an early start to it compared to the day previous as we had another edition of Twins Minor League Weekly scheduled for 9:00am Saturday morning. That was all well and good, but the problem was my charger for my phone was not working and without my phone there would be Twins Minor League Weekly. So there I am going to Wal-Mart at 7:00am on a Saturday morning after a long day Friday. I got into Wal-Mart and found the right charger and went to pay and realized that I had forgotten my wallet back at the hotel. I may have good looks, but the girl at Wal-Mart was not about to give me a free charger so I headed back to the Hotel and grabbed my wallet. I then headed back to Wal-Mart and picked up the charger this time with money. I headed back to the hotel and decided to rest before the show, but about a half an hour before the show I realized I had a problem in that I couldn’t find my phone. I pulled all the blankets off the bed, looked in the trash, looked in Seth’s car and could not find it anywhere. At this point I was kind of freaking out as I paid some money for this phone and the idiot I am I didn’t put insurance on the phone so I would have been out some money. Finally, I went back to the room for one last look around before I head back to Wal-Mart to see if I brought it there. Luckily for me I found the phone underneath the bed so I was ready for the show. We got going on the show and wasn’t more than two minutes later that I realized that there was an echo in each of our phones from being too close together so that would have made a bad show. So I did the honorable thing and stepped outside. The only problem with that is I have left my notes in the room with my room key so I had no stats to talk about on the show. I tried to lightly knock on the door hoping it would get Seth’s attention, but when Seth is in the middle of a show he has a one track mind so there was no getting his attention to let me back in the room. All in all though I felt it was a solid show and a very entertaining morning.

We left the room about 11am because we wanted to get to the park about two in order to do some interviews with players after batting practice. So for lunch we went to my favorite restaurant and really everyone’s and that is Applebee’s. My thing is if you don’t like Applebee’s you’re really not American as it is as American as it gets. Anyway we had a great meal as I had some pasta which was delicious. We met this waiter named Josh who was hilarious who kept coming back to our table several times. One time he asked us if we were scouts and I so wanted to say yes, but my conscious got in the way. He then told us a story about how he and his fiancé went to a Milwaukee Brewer game and how they had the best seats in the upper deck. It was just classic and made our lunch really fun.

We got to the field about 2:00pm and walked around a little bit before we saw Justin who got us an information packet. He gave us that because it was a new opponent in West Michigan after playing South Bend the night before. We went and sat down in another sweltering afternoon and saw Terry Ryan taking notes once again. The Snappers took a good round of BP once again and Lance Ray, Michael Gonzalez, and Jairo Perez just kept hitting shot after shot out of the park. I thought to myself what happens to those balls since this is not a Major League game do they have someone go find the balls or do they let the fans have the balls like they do in the game. After BP we got a chance and spend a few minutes to talk to Ben Tootle and Lance Ray. They were such level headed guys who seemed like they were geniounly happy to talk to us. Tootle talked about his recovery from Arm surgery and Lance Ray talked about what it has been like coming back from struggling in April to being one of the hottest hitters on the team. I will have more from these interviews when I do their player profiles, but just know these guys were great guys and the stereotype of professional athletes being jerks couldn’t be further from the truth with these guys as they are awesome guys.

The most interesting part of the pregame was once the fans were let into the stadium at 6pm how the autograph seekers go right for the locker rooms of the players and camp out there. Especially with Molitor being in attendance they were ready. When the players came out and went for their dugouts they were all over them. The players had a hard time getting to their dugouts, but what impressed me was Reggie Williams who had just arrived from Fort Myers after being sent back down to Beloit was very nice to us and took time to talk to us as he was hitting off the tee in cage. What a geniounly nice guy who had to be so disappointed to be back in Beloit, but you would never know it by talking to him as he was taking it as a challenge to get back to Fort Myers and the opportunity to get more playing time. I don’t know what is going to eventually happen to Reggie Williams, but for the rest of my life Reggie Williams will be an A+ person in my book. The funniest part of the pregame is when West Michigan came out from the lockeroom Tiger prospect Nick Castellanos, who most Tiger fans had come to see, ducked behind another player who was signing autographs and got to the West Michigan dugout. I am not saying he is a bad guy I don’t know the guy, but I found that hilarious how he avoided the throng of autograph seekers.

It was almost game time so we headed out to the picnic shelter in the right field line. I have to give the Snappers credit as that is quite a deal as it is all you can eat or drink for only 22.00 to me that is best deal in sports. Seth and I had a couple brats and a hamburger before we realized that it is really hard to see back there so we headed back to the grandstand and watched the game from there. Don’t get me wrong they are great tickets for big groups or fans that are there to visit or if they have families. However, Seth and I were there to watch the games so it was not a good fit for us so we found a seat back in the grandstand. The funniest part of sitting in the grandstand was about the 7th inning Seth went up to a guy thinking it was AJ Achter the scheduled Sunday afternoon pitcher who was doing a pitch count. He said something like “Hey AJ” and the guy was like “I’m not AJ” and later it turned out that the guy that he had talked to was the West Michigan pitcher for Sunday.

It was game time as Manuel Soliman was on the mound for the Snappers. He went 6 innings and gave up five runs on eight hits although only one of them were earned along with five strikeouts. The four unearned runs really were his undoing though as it was first and second with no one out and he fielded a bunt and threw to third. The only problem with that idea was there was no one covering third base at the time so two runs scored and he had trouble focusing again after that. Sam Spangler then came on and went two perfect innings along with three strikeouts and was very impressive. Michael Tonkin pitched the ninth allowing no runs on a hit along with three strikeouts. Soliman showed that he has a plus fastball in the low 90’s that can touch the mid 90’s with a good slider. The thing that he needs to work on in my opinion is keeping his composure when things are not going well for him other than that I came away very impressed with him.

Offensively for the Snappers it was not a great as they were only able to manage five hits off of West Michigan pitchers. Danny Ortiz led the way by going 2-3 with a double. Lance Ray went 1-3 with a double that was a rope down the right field line. Wang Wei Lin went 1-4 with a double of his own. Danny Santana went 1-3 at the plate while scoring one of the Snappers two runs on the night.

After the game the Snappers put on quite the impressive fireworks display and it puts to shame anything I had seen before in Perham for the 4th of July. It was quite impressive and lasted quite a bit. After talking to Jeff for a few minutes we went back to the Hotel and called it a night as we knew that Sunday was going to be a burner. Overall, it was a very fun day as we got to talk to some players and watched a very competitive baseball game. I will be back tomorrow with part 3 of my weekend in Beloit series.

Trip to Beloit Day 1

2011-07-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

As many of you know last weekend I went to Beloit, Wisconsin with Seth Stohs of sethspeaks.net to watch three games of the Class A affiliate of the Twins in the Beloit Snappers. I am sure most of you have read Seth’s accounts of the experience and it was very good like usual from Seth. However, my accounts are going to be a bit different than his because he has seen minor league ball before as he and Josh Johnson went to Beloit last summer and he attended Spring Training in Febuary. I on the other hand had never even been to a independent ball game such as the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks or the St. Paul Saints. The highest level of baseball I have seen besides the Twins is the state tournament in Amateur baseball so I really did not know what to expect. In my observations take into account that I am not a journalist, but just a fan who enjoyed every taste, smell, sight, and emotion that you can experience at a game. I am going to break the three days into three parts so check back for more insight.

The trip really started for me early in the week as I was so excited for this trip as I have never seen a professional baseball game outside the Twin Cities so I was so excited. The excitement built when I found out that Terry Ryan, Mike Radcliff, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, Joel Lepel, and Bill Springman would be in Beloit for the weekend. That got me excited because those guys are top guys in the organization and for them to be there that weekend was a big thrill for myself.

Seth picked me up at the Dairy Queen on Thursday night about 6:30pm and traveled down to Chanhassen and got there about 10pm at night. We then went to Buffalo Wild Wings and I had the pleasure to meet The Twins Geek John Bonnes for the first time. I had him on podcasts before and had been at Twins Centric events, but hadn’t met him before. We ate and visited at BWW and then went back to Seth’s sister and went to bed to get ready for a big day the next day.

We got started at 7 in the morning and made the five and a half hour trip to Beloit and got there about 1:30. We checked into our hotel about two and got ready and got to the park about 3pm. When we got there we went into the office and asked to talk to Jeff Vohs the GM for the Snappers and they were like who are you guys and when we told who we were they were like oh yeah like they were expecting us. The marketing guy Justin Waters then took us out to meet Jeff on the field. We then spent about 30-45 minutes on the field talking to Jeff and man what a nice guy he answered all our questions in a very patient way. I was very awestruck seeing Paul Molitor on the field and then looking up in the stands during BP and seeing Terry Ryan taking notes. We then sat down and just watched BP as we saw guys hit shot after shot out of the park. I have always enjoyed watching BP so I was pretty entertained just sitting and watching batting practice. We then just walked around and checked out the facility and were very impressed how nice it was. The field was not awe inspiring, but was very solid and the kind of what you expect in minor league ball. I was kind of impressed by the new scoreboard that was put in this season. It is not fancy by any means but from what we were told it was much improved then what was there the year previous.

What impressed me the most though was Jeff Vohs and his staff and how hard they work. They worked their butts off to get the field ready, the concessions ready, the ticket booth ready. What surprised me the most was that the guys in the office Jeff Vohs, Assistant GM Matt Bosen, and Justin Waters were out there working as hard as the volunteers and the interns which you don’t see every day. In fact Jeff got on the tractor and dragged the field and then chalked the lines and that is coming from your General Manager so that really impressed me.

Now was gametime and we had great boxseats in the front row and got to see some good minor league ball. Even though the game did not go the way the Snappers had hoped it would go it was a very entertaining game. The Snappers lost the game to South Bend by a score of 10-2. Ryan O’ Rourke went 4+ innings and gave up four runs although only three were earned on only three hits along with five walks with one of them intentionally with four strikeouts. Nelson Fuentes then came in and worked two innings and gave up two runs on four hits along with a walk and two strikeouts. Ben Tootle then came on an pitched an inning and gave up a run on a hit and a walk. Bart Carter then came in and his line did not do him justice at all. Carter worked one inning and gave up three runs on four hits along with a strikeout. The thing about Carter’s inning though was all four hits were infield singles that were not hit hard at all. Jose Gonzalez then pitched a perfect 9th inning in relief. Offensively, the Snappers were led by Lance Ray who went 2-4 with a homerun and a double. Danny Ortiz went 2-4 at the plate. Danny Santana also went 2-4 at the plate. Now I am going to do some observations that I noticed at the game.

 Ryan O’ Rourke- What impressed me so much about O’ Rourke was his slider as it was very filthy. Seth and I discussed the fact that we felt that his slider is major league ready. He throws in the high 80’s to low 90’s and struggled a little bit by controlling his fastball. Left handed hitters had no shot against his slider it is that good. He struggles a little bit more against rightys and that is more controlling the fastball. Overall I am very impressed with O’ Roarke and think he can be very good and continue to move through the system.

 Nelvin Fuentes- Fuentes was the total opposite of O’Roarke when it comes to pace of the game. It seemed like it took longer for Fuentes to get through two innings than it did for O’Roarke to get through four innings. I was not impressed at all with Fuentes who left a lot of pitches up and did not do anything toimpress me.

 Ben Tootle- Tootle is a guy who is still recovering from injury and it is still a struggle. His arms and legs and flying anywhere and it is not hard to figure out why he is walking as many guys as he is. He needs to get some of his velocity back as he was hitting high 90’s before injury and now is barely hitting 90 so it will be a challenge to get him back up to his velocity level.

 Adam Bryant- I was so impressed by the 9th round pick out of Troy as he played a very good shortstop in this one. You could see the speed he has in a triple. He just looked very smooth at short.

 Lance Ray- That guy is the hitter I have been most impressed with as he hit shot after shot in batting practice over the fence. Then hit another shot in batting practice and another double. He has such a sweet swing that I am shocked that he didn’t do better early in the season but man is he hitting now.

 Danny Ortiz- I was impressed with his smooth swing that he is right on top of the ball. He plays a very good outfield and really you can tell that he is a high prospect as he is a smooth hitter.

After the game we talked to Jeff some more before we headed back to the Hotel for the night. The moment that we got back to the room I crashed from a long day, but knowing that I had a blast with two more games to go.

Joe Benson: The Twins enigma

2011-07-19T17:32:00.000-07:00

When Joe Benson was drafted in the second round of the 2006 draft out of Joliet, Illinois everybody knew how talented he was. As a good football and baseball player he had scholarship offers from many different schools. However, his true love was baseball and let teams know that he wanted to play baseball. Benson is a toolsie type outfielder that the Twins seem to love in their prospects. He had the body type that the Twins love with a projectable body with a cannon for an arm along with the ability to run like a deer. From what I hear he is the second fastest guy in the organization behind Ben Revere. Coming out of high school he had quite a bit of projectable tools that would take time to develop. Take that along with such a competitive streak that has gotten him into trouble and you got quite a player. As he has gotten older and matured he has learned from his mistakes and has started to turn his tools into skills and that is what every prospects big goal is. Joe Benson is the reigning Twins minor league hitter of the year and was put on the 40 man roster after 2010. He has now established himself as a guy that has the ability to be crazy good and the only thing that can keep him from achieving his potential really is himself.
After quickly signing with the Twins after the 2006 draft it was not long for Benson to show his promise. He split the 2006 season between the GCL and Beloit where he put up very solid numbers. He started at the GCL and put up these numbers

2006GCL: 52 games 196ab .260avg 5hr 28rbi 9sb 11doubles 5triples 21bb 41k .335/.444/.779

2006 Beloit: 8games 5-19 2runs scored 1rbi 1sb 6k

In those 52 games Benson showed that he had some power with 21 xtra base hits to show for his efforts. The 21 walks were also impressive as he showed an ability to take a walk. The stat that would plague him as he went forward is he struck out too much and did not hit for a good average. He then finished the year with eight games in Beloit which did not mean anything just allowed him to get a taste of what the Midwest League would be like the next year.

In 2007 Benson spent the entire year in Beloit and did decently even though he would argue that he did not do as well as he would have wanted to. So here is what he did in Beloit in 2007 for the Snappers.

2007 Beloit: 122games .255avg 5hr 38rbi 18sb 18doub 8triples 73runs 49bb 124k .347/.368/.715

We learned a few things about Benson from his 2007 season at the young age of 19 is he is a xtra base machine as he had 31 extra base hits. That he has speen as his 18 stolen bases would attest to. However, the thing that would continue to plague him was the strikeouts as 124 strikeouts is way way too many. He knew that with his age and all the strikeouts he would be repeating Beloit again in 2008 and he did. Hereis how he responded in 2008 with the Snappers.

2008 Beloit: 69 games .248avg 4hr 27rbi 17sb 16doub 3triples 39runs 24bb 73k .326/.382/.708

2008 was a disappointing year for Benson as he got off to a really good start, but then was limited to just 69 games due to injury. The good part of his game continued to be the extra base hits as he had 23 extra base hits in those 69 games. However, the strikeouts were no better maybe even a little bit worth with over a strikeout a game during 2008. His stat line showed that there was promise there, but also he has so much talent that his first three years with the Twins had to be considered a disappointment as he is capable of so much more. In 2009 he moved up to Fort Myers and this is how he did with the Miracle

2009 FM: 80 games .285avg 5hr 29rbi’s 14sb 10doub 3triples 46runs 46bb 74k .414/.403/.817

2009 was a season that had its ups and downs for Benson and could have derailed his career. On the field it was his best season as a professional as he set a career high in batting average and cut his strikeouts down. He continued to rake extra base hits as he had 18 in only 80 games and a career high .817 OPS. However, the story that has to be told about his 2009 was late in the first half after striking out he punched a fence in frustration. The only problem with that was the part that he punched had the post which broke his hand. He missed a good portion of the rest of the year coming back from that injury. The Twins severely reprimanded him for not using more common sense and there were some that thought he would be released over this. There is a fine line between intensity and stupidity and he crossed that line. The thing about Joe Benson though that gained him a lot of respect is he did not make any excuses for his behavior and apologized to the Twins and worked his butt off to get back as soon as possible. It was a mistake that if he could do it over again would not do, but that is the thing about mistakes all you can do is learn from them and not make the same mistakes again. Joe Benson is a very intense baseball player and I don’t know for sure that something like this will never happen again, but the Twins are very hopeful that it won’t. After the frustrating 2009 season Joe Benson started the 2010 season in New Britain and would be demoted back in Fort Myers in May before returning to New Britain in July. These are the kind of numbers he put up at each of his stops.

2010 NB: 102games .251avg 23hr 49rbi 14sb 65runs 20doub 7trip 39bb 115k .336/.527/.862

2010 FM: 21games .294avg 4hr 13rbi 5sb 16runs 11doub 1trip 8bb 21k .375/.588/.963

2010 was the coming out party for Joe Benson as he put up some really good numbers hitting out of the leadoff spot. Benson hit 27 homeruns with 62rbi’s and 19sb along with 31doubles and 8triples. Those numbers are all career highs and gained him the 2010 Twins minor league hitter of the year. It was the breakthrough year that most Twins fans have been waiting out of Benson since he was drafted in the 2nd round in 2006. The key in my opinion was how he responded to being demoted to Fort Myers in May as he had been tearing it up in May after a terrible April. Instead of being angry and pouting he took it as a challenge and tore up FSL to earn a promotion back up to New Britain. Benson really showed maturity that he had failed to show the year previous with the post incident. Benson then started 2011 back with New Britain and was off to a good start before knee surgery put him on the shelf for 4-6 weeks. He is now back in New Britian and this is how he has done overall.

2011 NB: 62games .269avg 5hr 28rbi 8sb 19doub 2trip 37runs 25bb 64k .369/.443/.812

2011 has been another good year for Benson as he has continued you to just be a doubles machine and if not for the knee injury his numbers would be much much better. I wanted to get the guy that knows Benson best in blogging community and that is Seth Stohs who was nice enough to answer some questions on Benson.

First, I asked Seth what he considered Joe Benson’ strengths and weaknesses and his response was, “ Benson has incredible speed and a strong competitive fire. He is very strong and has tremendous power. He is also an elite defensive outfielder with a very strong arm. For his weaknesses, Benson's biggest hurdle at times is his ability to make contact. In the past, his competitiveness has got him in trouble, and that's something he works on.” I agree with Seth wholeheartedly as his athleticism is off the charts as I don’t think there is a better pure athlete in the whole organization. The contact is a big thing because he does not have enough power in order to strike out 100 times a year so he needs to clean that up.

Next, I asked Seth about what he considers Joe Benson’s best position and his response was, “He has the arm strength to play in Right Field. However, he is also almost as fast as Ben Revere and gets great jumps on fly balls. He can play all three positions well and his arm will play anywhere.” I really feel that Joe Benson’s future is in centerfield as you can’t teach his speed and feel that his skills fit best in center field. Not saying that he couldn’t be a success in a corner outfield position I just think his best position is center field.

I then asked Seth about what to make of Joe Benson’s up and down career thus far in his career, “Benson is a tremendous athlete. He played multiple sports in high school and was fairly raw in baseball. That is part of what creates the streakiness that we have seen. That's normal with athletic players like Torii Hunter and Aaron Hicks.” I agree with Seth to a point with Benson as he is very raw, but you would like to see a little bit more consistency out of him. He has all the tools now it is time to do it more consistently.

Seth was then asked if he felt if Joe Benson had turned the corner and he responded, “I don't know how to show 'turning a corner' but he has made a lot of improvements in each and every aspect of his game and we are starting to see those great tools become skills.” I really hope that Benson has turned the corner, but it is too soon to say whether he has or not. He still has some things to work on so until he fixes those things I wouldn’t say he has turned the corner.

I then asked Seth what kind of ceiling that Joe Benson has and when we could expect to see him in a Twins uniform and his response, “Benson has a high ceiling if he can make more contact and can stay healthy. We saw the power potential in 2010. He may never hit for a real high average, and he could strike out quite a bit, but he can be a 30/30 guy in time if all goes right. I think we could see him in a Twins uniform by the end of the 2012 season.” The comparison that comes to my head if Benson can develop is that of Torii Hunter who has the ablity to be the center fielderfor the Twins for many years and hit homeruns and doubles and just be a good player.

Next, I asked Seth what he feels that Benson needs to work on as he moves forward and his response was, “He needs to continue to make more contact” I would argue that is the thing that will determine whether he is a major leaguer or not as striking out as much as he has just is not going to work. If he can cut down his strikeout total he has the ability to be very good.

The Final question that I asked Seth was whether his temper issues were an isolated issue or something to be concerned with going forward, “It's a tough question because you want players to be strongly competitive and "get after it" but that does at times need to be controlled.” I totally agree with Seth in that there is a fine line between being competitive and being distracting. You don’t want him to lose his aggressiveness, but at the same time you can’t have things that happened in 2009 happen again. I believe he has learned from it and it won’t happen again so I think he will be fine.

Joe Benson is a prospect that has the ability to be an All Star or a bust. He has so much talent it is crazy and if he can make more contact he has the ability to be awesome. However, striking out 100 times a year just won’t work so that is why I consider him such an enigma because you really would have to grade him as an incomplete. He could go so many different directions it is crazy, but I really believe he will be one way or another. He either will be really good or not be anything and if I had to say right now I believe that he will be really really good. The big thing for Benson is if he can make more contact and cut his strikeouts down to say 70-80 a year than he would be awesome. He is a doubles machine who I believe can hit 40-50 doubles at the major league level. So the question becomes which Joe Benson develops because if the Joe Benson develops that is the doubles machine who can be very scary for opposing pitchers to have to face. Joe Benson is an enigma that really could be the future in center field for the Twins and be an all star caliber player, but he could go the other way so it will be interesting to see which way he goes.

Adrian Salcedo: The Future

2011-07-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Adrian Salcedo signed with the Twins as a free agent from the Dominican Republic on December, 13th 2007 at the young age of 16. From the moment that he signed there was talk that he could be special. That’s not to say that he was a bonus baby because his signing bonus was not huge. However, with his size and projectable many felt that he could become special. Now he has grown to 6’4 and 175 which is too skinny for his height, but he has the stuff that you could see him blossom into a number one type at the big leagues. Is he going to evolve into that who knows, but he is so far away from the majors the odds are not in his favor. However, he reminds me of Miguel Sano in that he has huge upside and if he can develop that upside into skills he can have the kind of impact that the Twins have not had out of a right handed pitcher in decades. At the age of 16 the Twins decided to keep him in the Dominican and he had pretty good numbers.

DSL: 4-4 1.65era 12 starts 65.1inn 47 hits 8bb 50k .198OBA

You could see the promise in those numbers as he held opponents to a less than .200 batting average and had almost a strikeout an inning and such a small era. Scouts that saw him began to salivate on what he could become if he continues to grow and improve. After those great numbers Salcedo made his American debut in 2009 as an eighteen year old with the GCL and did not disappoint.

2009 GCL: 3-2 1.46era 10 starts 61.2inn 60 hits 3bb 58 strikeouts .241OBA

That is when Salcedo exploded onto the scene as his walk to strikeout rate showed. Only three walks and 58 strikeouts is unbelievable. He gave up a few more hits than he did in 2008, but against better hitters and culture shock those numbers are unbelievable. He lowered his era in about the same inning total was quite impressive. The stat that impressed me the most was three walks in 61.2 innings which is like a walk every 20 innings which is crazy good. That season is where most felt he was a top 10 prospect in the Twins organization and felt that his potential was out of this world. In 2010 he started in EST with the idea to send him to Elizabethton when the time came. However, when the need arose in Fort Myers he took the big leap and amazingly held his own two to three levels too high for what he was ready for at the age of 19. He finished the season in Elizabethton and here is how he did.

2010 FM: 1-3 6.26 6starts 27.1inn 42hits 8bb 16k

2010 E-Town: 4-3 3.27era 16games 8starts 66inn 55hits 10bb 65k .230OBA

You may look at his Fort Myers numbers and said who he got rocked, but you got to remember that he was facing guys four to five years older than he was, but he went out there every time and competed. When he got to Elizabethton I expected him to dominate the way that he did in the DSL and the GCL, but he got off to a rough start and had an alright year. The thing that was big for him is he got the experience against some really good hitters. The stat that impressed me is as his velocity got higher and higher his walk total did not. In 93.1 innings he only walked 18 batters which are mighty impressive to me. This year the time came for Salcedo to see some stronger completion so at the age of 20 he got up to Beloit this year and has been solid.

2011 Beloit: 5-3 2.81era 16starts 99.1inn 90hits 24bb 68strikeouts .242OBA

Adrian Salcedo’s 2011 have been up and down as he has done some things very well and then there are some other things that leave you concerned. You got to love the 2.81 era and the .242 OBA. However, the question has to be what happened to the strikeouts as in every other year he averaged near a strikeout per inning and this year he is way less. With that he has been said to be touching 95 so you would think that his strikeouts would increase instead of decrease. That could be a number of different factors including the Twins wanting him to get more contact so that he can stay later in games. Or just that he is working on his secondary pitches and that has led to more contact. Regardless with him hitting 95 I really believe it is a matter of time before the strikeout rate not only gets back to where it was, but also improves. When you throw that hard it is just a matter of time for the strikeout numbers to rise. With that I am going to stop talking and let someone else have their say in this phenom. I am joined by fellow minor league guru Josh Johnson of josh’s thoughts on what he thinks of Adrian Salcedo.

First I asked him what he felt were Salcedo’s strengths and weaknesses and his response was, “Strengths: Projectable body, above average control, good velocity, and strong work ethic, young. Weaknesses: Underweight, this year he’s seen a dip in strikeouts, needs to refine his change-up and curveball.” I totally agree with Josh that his Velo will always be a strength for Salcedo and that is what will be his bread and butter. The thing with any pitching prospect though is they need to continually work on their secondary pitches as they move forward and that is no different for Adrian Salcedo. If he can refine his change-up and curveball to the level of his fastball then you have a package that will be really hard to handle.

Next, I asked Josh how high of a ceiling that he thinks that Salcedo has, “I think Salcedo’s ceiling is as a top of the rotation starter, but I’m still hesitant to call him a “future ace” because he’s so young. You can certainly make an argument though that he has more potential than any pitcher in the system.” That is where I disagree a bit with Josh as when I think of ceiling I think that if he develops how good can he be and when I see Salcedo I see a guy that has the potential to throw in the mid to high 90’s with great secondary pitches who defiantly can be an ace. So that is the ceiling that I see in him.

Next, I asked Josh what kind of reproitroire that Salcedo has and how hard he throws and his response, “Salcedo has a four-pitch repertoire. He has a 92-93 mph fastball, that he can sometimes crank up to 94 and 95 mph. He kind of throws two different variations of the slider; a big, loopy slider that he usually throws around 80-82 mph, and a sharp slider that he throws in the mid-80’s. His loopy slider is often confused with a curveball, but he does throw a regular curveball as well. His curveball has a big break, but he hasn’t been able to control it consistently throughout his career. If he’s able to control it, his curveball could be a nice weapon in his arsenal. He also throws a change-up in the low-to-mid 80’s. It’s a work in progress, but knowing the Twins, they’ll work hard with him to perfect his change-up before he reaches the Majors.” I couldn’t agree with Josh more on the the fact that the Twins love to see a plus changeup before they bring the prospect up to the big leagues. So I think Salcedo has to improve his change-up before we see him in the big leagues.

Then I asked Josh about what the future holds for Adrian Salcedo and his response was, “He’ll continue to move through the system at a steady pace until he reaches the majors. As I mentioned, he has the potential to be a top-of-the-rotation starter. Speaking optimistically, of course, Salcedo reminds me little like a young Ubaldo Jimenez. At Salcedo’s age, Jimenez’s frame was a lot like Salcedo’s. He also has the making of an impressive repertoire like Jimenez does. If Salcedo can become near the pitcher Jimenez is, the Twins would have to be ecstatic.” I really like the comparison to Jimenez as that was what I was thinking too for a comparison to what Salcedo can be if he fulfills his potential. If he can get to that level all Twins fans would have themselves quite a pitcher.

Next, I asked Josh about being at such a young age is it too early to judge how good he will be? Do you think he can be an ace and what would you consider his ETA and his response was, “When evaluating prospects, you are always taking a risk? Given his age, ability, and production, he’s definitely a guy to keep an eye on and I’m a believer that he has more potential than anyone else in the system. If things go as planned – which it’s important to note that it rarely does –Twins fans can expect to see Salcedo sometime in 2014 (keep in mind that he’ll only be 23-years-old in 2014).” I agree that it is so hard to project these guys at such a young age and with so many promotions to get to the big leagues. However, that is what I find fun to talk about is to see if these guys can meet their potential.

The final question I asked Josh was what makes Salcedo different than some of the other starters in the organization and his response was, “I think Salcedo’s work ethic and athleticism makes him stand out amongst other pitchers in the organization. This isn’t a slight at anyone in the system (at least in particular), but I’ve been told that Salcedo’s work ethic is incredible and that he’s a man amongst boys in the weight room. Seth Stohs recounted in Spring Training that Salcedo sprinted the mile-run. Given his skinny frame, he’s been hitting the weight room hard this season in order to get stronger and bigger. He was forced to the bullpen late in 2010 because he was exhausted by the time August rolled around. So hopefully this year he’ll be able to last the entire year in the rotation, but it’s important to note that he’s already at his career high in innings pitched.”

Adrian Salcedo is a long ways away from being on the verge of being a big leaguer and who knows if he is going to be anything. However, the potential is there and as a prospect guy that is what you are looking for is the promise to become special. For years the Twins have went with pitchers that were good, but not special and who had a high likelihood of reaching their potential. With a guy like Salcedo the chances of him getting to be as good as he could be is probably remote, but the potential is there and that is what gets everyone so excited. If Adrian Salcedo can get to where he needs to get he can be the right handed ace the Twins have been waiting on for years. It will be very interesting to see if he continues you to get better and better and to get stronger. Because if he does the Twins just might have hit the jackpot as a prospect and he could be the future ace for the Twins as they head into the next phase of Twins Baseball.

Miguel Sano: The Next Big Thing

2011-07-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

The Twins had a reputation of not spending big on international free agents so when it was announced Miguel Angel Sano would be signing with a major league team in the summer of 2009 most people didn’t think the Twins would be in the mix. Even when it was revealed that the Twins were one of the teams interested in acquiring Sano most Twins fans rolled their eyes. He was the kind of talent that signed with the Yankees, the Red Sox, and the Dodgers so what chance would the Twins have to acquire a talent like this. Then a big thing happened that not a lot of people want to talk about with Sano that changed everything.

It came out that there was some question whether Sano was really 16 years old as he had been touting. That has been a question revolving guys from the Caribbean for years from guys like Orlando Hernandez to Miguel Tejada there was thought that many players from the region would lie about their age. So with that question about Sano a bunch of the big market teams washed their hands of him not knowing if he was as old as he was saying he was. Major League Baseball then began an independent investigation in order to find out how old he really was. Most people then expected him to sign with the Pittsburgh Pirates who had developed a relationship with his family. However, the Twins stayed in the weeds and kept in contact with Sano’s representative that they felt they were the best fit for Sano. As the Pirates put more and more pressure on Sano the Twins stayed patient while the investigation continued to find out his age. Then in mid-July Major League Baseball decided that they could not prove that he was not 17 years old so they allowed him to sign with a Major League team. It was then announced that Miguel Angel Sano would be signing with the Twins for 3.15 million bonus. The largest international signing in Twins history. People in the Pirate organization claim that the Sano family did not do things in good faith, but whatever the Twins won the rights to Sano and began his career with the Twins in spring of 2010. After going to extended spring training the Twins sent Sano back to the Dominican Republic to start his career close to his family. Here is how he fared there.

DSL: .344 20games 22-64 11runs 2doub 1tri 3hr 10rbi 14bb 17k .463/.547/1.009

Those were the kind of numbers that Twins brass were thinking when they signed him so they brought him back to the United States in time to play in Gulf Coast League season in Fort Myers and this is how he did there.

GCL: .291 41games 43-148 23runs 14doub 4hr 19rbi 10bb 43k .338/.466/.804

To many the question would be why would you give three plus million to a 17 year old kid from the Dominican Republic and that is a very fair question. Miguel Sano is huge at 6’3 195 and only 18 years old now so you expect him to keep growing. Plus he has such quick hands he such high power potential. Just watching videos on Sano as a 17 year old kid made you salivate at the thought of what he could do when he got more experience and got stronger. You heard comparisons to such hitters as Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Cabrera, and Albert Pujols. To even be mentioned in the same breath as those guys is quite remarkable. He started at shortstop, but as he keeps getting bigger and bigger it is becoming clear he won’t be a shortstop. He does not have the quickness to play outfield so the two most likely positions he looks headed for 3rd base and first base. To be honest right now his defense is atrocious so likely he will end up a 1st baseman.

That brings the comparisons to Miguel Cabrera in my mind as they were built very similarly when they were 18 years old. So if you can get a guy of Miguel Cabrera’s potential for 3.15 million you do that in a heartbeat and just let the guy play. There is no doubt in my mind that Miguel Sano has the most upside of anyone in the Twins organization as he has the chance to be a 40 hr a year type of slugger and how often do you find guys like that. I asked these questions to my good friend Seth Stohs from sethspeaks.net to see what his opinion of Sano is and if it is as high as mine.

First question I asked Seth was what he considered Sano’s strengths and weaknesses and his response was, “He's huge. He has very quick hands. He has big power. He can hit. Lots of strikeouts and lots of errors. Hopefully he can improve in both of those areas. He's 18. He has a lot of maturing to do yet.” I totally agree with Seth on this as Sano is only 18 years old and has a lot of maturing to do, but that is par for the course with young prospects. The thing that you can’t teach though is the ability to hit the ball out of the park and he definitely has that skill and will continue to develop it.

Next, I asked Seth how surprised he was that the Twins got involved in the Sano bidding, “The Twins were always mentioned as being involved and that alone was quite surprising. When the bonus was believed to be in the $3-4 million range, I assumed that the Twins were out of it. So when it was announced he would sign with the Twins, I was rather surprised” I will go one step further when I heard how much the bonus was going to be I was positive that the Twins were out of it and when I heard that he had signed with the Twins I had to take a double take because I was quite shocked.

I then asked Seth, what does Miguel Sano need to work on the most in order to achieve his potential and he said, “Cut down the strikeouts, and find a position that he can be adequate at.” I agree with Seth somewhat as he probably will always strike out some as he won’t ever in my opinion be a guy that doesn’t strike out much, but if he can cut his strikeouts by a third with his power he could put massive numbers. More important in my opinion is find a position that you can feel good about putting at every day. Will he ever be a gold glove fielder probably not, but if you can find a position he can be decent at then that is what you are looking for.

Next, I asked Seth about Miguel Sano’s ceiling and he said, “Names like Alex Rodriguez and Miguel Cabrera are mentioned as comparables. He does have power and can be very good, but he is a long ways away.” I know Seth is much more conservative when rating prospects and he has been doing this longer and is quite respected. However, I am not going to put the cold water on the hope for Sano as I truly feel that is the ceiling for him and the Twins have not had that kind of power hitter in their lineup since Harmon Killebrew.

Then I asked Seth if he thinks putting a 17 year old kid that you never know if they are going to turn out in the top two-three in prospect lists is outrageous. Seth’s response was, “Prospect lists are so individualized and personal. Everyone has a different opinion and method for how to determine. If someone's ranking is based purely on potential, ceiling and upside, then Sano has to be near the top of the Twins lists. So, no, I don't find it outrageous. I just ranked him 5th” I totally agree with Seth as I had him as my third best prospect and look for him to rise with more experience.

I then asked Seth, what position he sees Sano eventually playing, “1B or DH. But despite the errors at SS and 3B, it's not impossible for him to improve. Isn't one of the popular things to note about Derek Jeter that he committed over 60 errors his first full pro season? I would say they should try to keep him on the left side of the infield for as long as they can.” I view Sano as a future first baseman, but I agree with Seth to keep him on the left side of the diamond as long as humanly possible as his value as a shortstop or a 3rd baseman is way higher than if he is a first baseman or a DH. Who knows he could improve and become the next Alex Rodriguez at 3rd base.

Seth was then asked about when Twins fans should expect to see Sano and his response, “2015 at the earliest” To me that is such a tough question to answer as he is five promotions away from the big leagues and if he goes a year per level then we are looking at 2016. However, I expect him to jump some levels when he figures out how good he truly can be. So my projection is sometime in 2014 season so he still is a ways from joining the Twins.

Finally, the last thing I asked Seth was what about his game really excites him as a prospect guru, “The power potential. He's a long ways away from being big-league ready, but he has potential to be special.” I totally agree I feel that Sano has the tools to be a special hitter who can be unbelievable as a power hitter.

Miguel Angel Sano is an enigma in that he could turn out to be the greatest power hitter in Twins history or he could be a bust. The great thing about prospects is you don’t know how these guys are going to turn out. The fun part is watching Sano either turn into the special power hitter he has the ability to be or into the guy that struggles. Sano has the potential to be one of the greatest power hitters that this organization has ever seen. It will be interesting to see how he develops as a player as he has the ability, the work ethic, and the support staff to help him develop into the player that Twins fans have been craving since the departure of the late Harmon Killabrew. Sano has the ability to hit bombs out of Target Field like Killebrew did in old Met Stadium it just will be interesting if he can harness those skills to achieve his destiny.

June 2011 Top 50 prospects with stats

2011-06-27T11:31:00.000-07:00

Here is my top 50 prospects with their stats so far and I am going to do something a little bit different in order for you to get to know them. I have been player profiles once a week well I am going to comtinue to do them and every week it will be on someone in my top 50. I am not going to follow the list to not make it too predictable, but everyone that made the top 50 will be profiled so check back every Friday for the newest edition of my player profiles to get know more and more about this great Twins prospects.

1Aaron Hicks:.274 2hr 23rbi 10stolen bases 19doub 3triples 43walks 56k.388/.412/.800

2 Kyle Gibson: 3-7 3.87era 15starts 81.1innings 85hits 21bb 83k .264OBA

3 Miguel Sano: .227 0hr 1rbi 1sb 0bb 8k 5-24 .208/.208/.417 5games

4 Ben Revere: .300 1hr 17rbi 14sb 7 doubles 1triple 10 walks 23k combined MLB&AAA

5 Liam Hendriks: 7-2 2.81era 13starts 2CG 77innings 74 hits 16bb 70k .253OBA

6 Joe Benson: .294 5hr 26rbi 7sb 28runs 16doub 2trip 19bb 50k .380/.489/.869 50games

7 Adrian Salcedo: 5-3 3.06era 13starts 1CG 79.1inn 72hits 19bb 58strikeouts .242OBA

8 Oswaldo Arcia:.352 5hr18rbi2sb 18runs 8doub 1tri9walks16k’s.420/.704/1.124 20games

9 Angel Morales: Has not Played

10 Chris Parmelee: .287 5hr 37rbi 42runs 15doubles 2triples 34bb 46k .371/.418/.789

11 David Bromberg: 1-1 3.63era 3starts 22.1innings 24hits 4bb 11k .282OBA

12 Rene Tosoni: .246 7hr 30rbi 4sb 24runs 12doub 11bb 48k

13 Max Keppler: .000 0-13 0hr 0rbi 1run 2bb 6k .133/.000/.133

14 Carlos Gutierrez: 2-2 3.66era 31games 46.2inn 41hits 21bb 35 strikeouts 3.82GB

15 Levi Michael: 2011 draft pick

16 Bobby Lanigan: 5-5 3.52era 14starts 84.1inn 91hits 19bb 52 strikeouts .279OBA

17 BJ Hermsen: 5-6 3.75era 12starts 1CG 72inn 88hits 19bb 47k .304OBA

18 Daniel Ortiz: .268 7hr 45rbi 4sb 33runs 24doub 2trip 15bb 44k .309/.464/.773

19 Trevor Plouffe: .280 13hr 35rbi 4sb 35runs 11doub 2trip 21bb 35k combined MLB&AAA

20 Pat Dean: 1-0 2.84era 7starts 38inn 34hits 8bb 34k .242OBA

21 Tom Stuifbergen: 2-4 3.25era 11starts 1CG 55.1inn 63hits 14bb 35k .288OBA

22 Eddie Rosario: .318 0hr 2rbi 2sb 7-22 5runs 1triple 3bb 8k .400/.409/.809 5games

23 Travis Harrison: 2011 Draft Pick from high school

24 Danny Rams: .249 4hr 23rbi 21runs 12doubles 2triples 21bb 65k .335/.391/.726

25 Michael Gonzalez: .304 9hr 46rbi 2sb 35runs 11doubles 33bb 57k .390/.473/.863

26 AJ Achter: 2-1 3.99era 6starts 29.1inn 25hits 8bb 27k .238OBA

27 Niko Goodrum: .250 1hr 2rbi 2-8 2 strikeouts .333/.625/.958

28 James Beresford: .254 0hr 22rbi 28runs 5 doubles 18bb 31k .298/.272/.570

29 Alex Wimmers: 0-1 Infinityera 1start 4 runs 6bb 0k 1.000OBA

30 Evan Bigley: .263 5hr 34rbi 4sb 31runs 16doub 3trip 18bb 51k .323/.416/.739

31 Jorge Polanco: .105 0hr 2rbi 2-19 1 double 1bb 2k .182/.158/.340

32 Steve Singleton: .272 5hr 24rbi 2sb 36runs 24doub 10bb33k.314/.418/.731comb AA&AAA

33 Scott Diamond: 4-6 4.94era 14starts 71inn 86hits 26bb 55k .301OBA

34 Miguel Munoz: 1-0 1.59era 1start 5.2inn 2hits 4bb 1k .125OBA

35 Hudson Boyd: 2011 draft pick from high school

36 Bruce Pugh: 2-4 5.91era 25games 13saves 35inn 41hits 19bb 37k .299OBA comb h-A&AA

37 Chris Hermann:.267 4hr 36rbi 3sb 36runs 11dou2tri42bb35k.375/.381/.756comb h-A&AA

38 Brett Jacobson: 3-1 2.78era 17games 8starts 1CG 55inn 37hits 38bb 41k .206OBA

39 Corey Williams: 2011 draft pick from Vanderbilt

40 Blayne Weller: 4-3 3.89era 24games 39.1inn 40 hits 24bb 36k .274OBA

41 Steve Hirschfeld: 4-4 2.70era 13starts 76.2inn 61hits 21bb 53k .221OBA

42 Dakota Watts: 2-2 4.91era 23games 8saves 29.1inn 32hits 14bb 23k .286OBA

43 Yangervis Solarte: .322 3hr 25rbi 4sb 37runs 19doub 3trip 11bb 18k .356/.452/.808

44 Madison Boer: 2011 draft pick from Oregon

45 Rory Rhodes: .353 1hr 2rbi 6-17 2runs 3doubles 2bb 6k .421/.706/1.127

46 Matt Hauser: 3-2 1.65era 24games 6saves 32.2inn 28hits 18bb 44k .228OBA comb A&h-A

47 Anderson Hidalgo: .291 2hr 21rbi 27runs 16doubles 15bb 36k .344/.399/.743

48 Logan Darnell: 6-3 3.42era 13starts 73.2inn 63hits 20bb 38k .228OBA comb A&Hi-A

49 Andrew Albers: 4-1 1.52era 19games 2starts 1save 47.1inn 43hits 7bb 40k .246OBA

50 Clint Dempster: 3-2 1.96era 25games 5saves 36.2inn 21hits 9bb 36k .164OBA

Kyle Gibson: On the Verge

2011-06-25T14:48:00.000-07:00

Going into the 2009 college season Kyle Gibson was one of the highest rated prospects for the 2009 draft. Most draft experts expected Gibson to be taken in the top 10 in the 2009 MLB draft from the University of Missouri. However, during the season Gibson suffered a stress fracture in his pitching forearm. He claimed that he was completely healed by the time the draft happened, but obviously teams did not believe him. For a guy that was projected to be a top ten guy, Gibson’s stock dropped worse than the stock market. The Twins were lucky to have Gibson drop to them at pick 22. The Twins got to the podium in record time in order to get the 6’6 right hander from Greenfield, Indiana. After the draft the question was could the Twins sign him as he made it known after the draft that he expected to be paid like a top ten pick like he should have been drafted. After much speculation the Twins and Gibson were able to compromise and signed was 1.8 million. Being that Gibson signed so late in the season they had him wait until instructional league to throw. Then in 2010 he came on the scene and just had a dominant season. Gibson started the season in Fort Myers with the Miracle and was just awesome. These are the numbers he put up with the Miracle:

FM: 4-1 1.87 era 7 starts 43.1 innings 33 hits 12 walks 40 strikeouts 1.00 whip

Gibson just showed his dominance with the Miracle, but the stat that just impressed the heck out of me was his 3.83 ground ball rate which is awesome. That just showed that he is a groundball machine as his heavy sinker would show. There are not many major leaguers that can induce that many ground balls and for a guy making his first major league stop it was quite impressive. Gibson then moved up to AA New Britain and it was there where he suffered through his first real ups and downs as a professional. However, what impressed me was after getting killed in two or three starts he made the proper adjustments and came on strong. That is the important thing for a prospect is being able to make adjustments when things are not going well and that is probably Gibson’s strengths as a pitcher is his ability to make the needed adjustments and get better and better. At New Britain he put up the following numbers, but keep in mind that most prospects hit the wall at the AA level, but Gibson hit the wall and then just broke through it.

NB: 7-5 3.68 era 16 starts 93 innings 91 hits 22 walks 77 strikeouts 1.22 whip

As I said it was a tougher level so he took some bumps in the road, but he persevered through it and became a better pitcher for it. Towards the end of the season they put him in the bullpen in order to limit his innings since he did not pitch very much in 2009 due to his injury. His groundout rate stayed strong at 2.21 which is not where it was in Fort Myers, but is still very very good. When you thought he would finish the year in New Britain then came some injuries in Rochester so he went up and made a few starts up with the Red Wings.

Roc: 3 starts 1.72 era 15.2 innings 12 hits 5 walks and 9 strikeouts 1.09 whip

Here is his numbers for 2010 season as a whole to show how good he was
11-6 2.96 era 26 starts 152 innings 136 hits 39 walks 126 strikeouts 1.15 whip

After his great 2010 season most prospect guys had Gibson as either the number one or two prospect in the whole organization for the Twins. That is saying something as the Twins have bulked up their farm system with better drafting and spending more money overseas than they had ever done before. There were some that wondered if Gibson would start the 2011 season with the Twins or more likely go to Rochester for a couple months in order to avoid the Super 2 status that organizations want to avoid at any cost as it will cost them more money as the player gets another year of arbitration which means one less year of having their contract renewed. So Gibson started the year in Rochester and again has had his ups and downs with a higher level. This is what Gibson has done in 2011 so far with the Red Wings.

Roch: 3-7 3.89 era 14 starts 76.1 innings 79 hits 20 walks 80 strikeouts 1.88 ground out rate

Well it has been a mixed bag for Gibson this season in Rochester as he has had his great outings as he almost threw a no hitter earlier this season and then he has also had his rough outings. However, through and through it has been a solid season for Gibson, but it is obvious that Gibson was not ready for the Twins at the beginning of the year and his time in Rochester has done him good. I know what I think, but I wanted to get a different perspective on Gibson so I got the blogger that probably knows Gibson the best and that is Seth Stohs from sethspeaks.net who has had Gibson on quite a few of his podcasts. Seth was kind enough to answer some questions about Kyle Gibson and really allowed me to see a different perspective of Kyle Gibson the prospect.

The first thing that I asked Seth was what he felt were Kyle’s strengths and weaknesses as a pitcher and he replied, “Strengths - he throws a bunch of pitches, has good control of all of them, gets a lot of ground balls and understand how to pitch and the mental side of the game. As for weaknesses, there really aren't any. Of coure, there are things he can improve, and he will work on those things, but that will just come with more innings and time.” I couldn’t agree more with Seth in that he has a lot of high quality pitches that he can control both sides of the plate to get guys out. I believe the old saying is true that the more bullets that you have in the gun to get guys out the better off your going to be. I do think that Gibson can become a little more consistant, but that will come with time. He just needs to pitch to get better at everything, but the thing I love about Gibson is his strengths way outweigh his weaknesses.

Next, I asked Seth what does Kyle Gibson throw and he is his response, “Gibson sits between 89 and 92, but he can touch 93 with his fastball. He has a very good slider, and a decent changeup. The big thing is that he gets a ton of ground balls because his pitches all sink.” The thing that I would like to add that some guys think if you don’t throw 97 you can’t be a top of the rotation starting pitcher and that is so not true. Gibson can control all of his pitches and get tons of ground balls, but he can also strikeout his share of hitters which makes him all the more dangerous.

Then I asked Seth if Gibson was ready for the Big Leagues, “If he was with another team, or if the Twins were currently in a position to need a starter, he could pitch in the big leagues and be a solid starter. The fact that he doesn't have to be pushed allows him to continue to work and get better.” My feeling on this is I do think that Gibson needs a little more time in AAA in order to become more and more consistant. Could he survive at the Big League Level probably, but another half of a year in AAA is not going to hurt him one bit and will allow him to work on things so he is ready to come out of spring training in 2012 in the Twins rotation.

Next, I asked Seth what he feels that Gibson needs to work on the most. “Sounds like a boring answer, but he really just needs to work on his consistency. Consistency with all of his pitches. Consistency from inning to inning. It is strange to say that because he seemingly gives up 2-3 runs every game. But in many of those games, he has given up those runs in one of the innings. So, consistency with his pitches, all of the basic stuff that can always get better.” I totally agree there is not one thing in particular that he needs to work on, but just to become more and more consistant in everything he does.

Then Seth was asked about what he likes most about Kyle Gibson, “What's not to like? He is a terrific pitcher with all of the attributes that make a potentially very good major league pitcher. But I think his best attributes have little to do with throwing a baseball. Gibson is a well-grounded individual with strong character. He is very smart. He is very competitive and hard working. He is humble and will never take anything for granted. Then we can talk about his pitching!” That is what impressed me the most about Gibson the few times that I have talked to him is how humble he is. A person with his talent you would think he would be all full of himself, but that could not be further from the truth as he is a geniounly good guy along with being a very good pitcher.

The big question I then asked Seth is why most prospect guides have Gibson ranked as the Twins number one prospect, “he's a great combination of everything you look for in a pitching prospect. He's got all of the intangibles. His 6-6, lanky, projectable. But he also is very close, and he is putting up the numbers. Prospect ratings are about upside and about likelihood of reaching that upside. Gibson has the ability to be an All-Star pitcher, and he is close and likely to be a very good big league pitcher.” My opinion is why he is so highly regarded is not only his high ceiling, but he is very likely to reach his ceiling because of his hard work and determination, but most of all because he makes good adjustments.

The final question I asked Seth was about Gibson’s ceiling, “Due to the sinkerball, his absolute ceiling would be Brandon Webb circa 2006-2008... An innings-eater, with very good ERA, low walks and lots of ground balls. As far as strikeouts, he'll likely be in the Scott Baker range where he will strikeout between 7 and 7.5 batters per nine innings. But that's where the Cliff Lee's and Roy Halladay's are as well. So, when people talk about Gibson not being a prototypical #1 because of the lack of strikeouts, don't buy it. I don't know if Gibson will be a #1, but the reason won't be the strikeouts because Halladay, Lee and other accepted #1s don't necessarily strikeout a ton either. That said, Gibson's strikeout totals this year have been encouraging as well!” My feeling is that Gibson absolutely has the potential to be a number one starter at the big leagues and at very worst a very good number two on a good rotation.

Kyle Gibson has taken the negative of dropping in the draft as a positive and made people forget about all the concerns in the draft. He is such a hard worker and so determined to succeed that I would not put anything past him. I think he has some things to work on and feel that he can be better than he is right now so that is exciting as his work effort will not allow him to accept being a pretty good pitcher, but to be the best he can be. I really believe in two to three years Kyle Gibson will be a all-star caliber pitcher for the Twins and the next in a long line of great pitchers that have made their home in Minnesota.

Players of the Week Part II

2011-06-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

Rochester Red Wings 28-42 14gb

Pitcher of the Week: Anthony Slama- The month of June has not been a good month pitching wise for the Red Wings. The starting pitching has been atrocious and the bullpen has not been much better. It was hard to pick a pitcher of the last week to ten days, however there was one guy that stood out in my mind and that was Anthony Slama. In his last ten outing Slama went 1-0 with a era of 1.38 in 13 innings of work including a save. In those 13 innings Slama only gave up seven hits with an incredible strikeout to walk rate of two walks and sixteen strikeouts. On the year now Slama is 3-1 with a very solid 3.16 era in 22 games. Slama has worked 31.1 innings on the year and only gave up 24 hits with just twelve walks and 33 strikeouts. Slama had a rough start to the season as he was injured early in spring training otherwise he likely would have made the Twins. So he missed the first 4-5 weeks of the year with arm issues which slowed him down. When he came back he did pretty well and with all the injuries with the Twins he earned a call up from the Twins and did pretty well even though he only appeared in two games where he threw 2.1 shutout innings with two walks and three strikeouts. The thing I don’t understand is all he has done at the minor league level is dominate. He however has not really gotten a fair chance with the Twins to show how good he can be. If he keeps dominating in Rochester it won’t be long until he gets another shot with the Twins.

Hitter of the Week: Trevor Plouffe- After suffering a hand injury in his last game with the Twins before his demotion that required Plouffe to miss some time with the Red Wings he sure came back strong. In the last 10 days Plouffe is hitting .326 with three doubles, a triple, three homeruns, and nine rbi’s along with three walks. He has a stat line of .326/.370/.651/1.021 which is quite impressive no matter how long it lasts. On the year now Plouffe is hitting .298 with seven doubles, two triples, a team high nine homeruns, and 22 rbi’s along with eleven walks. He had a stat line of /298/.353/.612/.965 which would be the best year of his career if he can keep it up. Trevor Plouffe did not get a quality opportunity with the Twins as everytime he made a mistake with the Twins Gardy wouldn’t play him for two to three days and Plouffe has such potential that you need to let him work through his mistakes. I think the best thing for him is probably to be traded by the Twins as he obviously is not going to get that kind of opportunity with the Twins. Maybe I am higher than most, but I am quite high on Trevor Plouffe and given a real opportunity he will be a quality shortstop. He will never be a star, but I think he can be a league average shortstop, it just is too bad that he won’t get that opportunity with the Twins so the best thing for everybody is to move him.

Twins players of the week

2011-06-21T10:57:00.000-07:00

Minnesota Twins
Weekly Record 5-0

Pitcher of the Week: Scott Baker- Big Spot Scott has reappeared in 2011 and was totally awesome the last week. After getting off to a good start in April, Baker struggled a bit in May. Now in June he has been unbelievable again and has been even better the last week. In his last three starts Baker has been unhittable as he is 3-0 with an unbelievable 1.50 era. In those three starts he worked 24 innings which equals out to eight innings a start which is totally unbelievable for a guy a year ago that a guy that many thought had no heart. In those 24 innings he gave up just 18 hits, but what impressed me the most was walking only one batter while striking out an incredible 22 batters. Baker has always been very talented just because he got so much ability it is nice to see him coming back. People forget why he received that big contract in the first place and that reason is he is a very good pitcher. On the year Baker is 5-4 with a very good 3.24 era in 91.2 innings in 14 starts which is almost seven innings a start. He has walked 24 while striking out a very good 88 batters in his 91.2 innings so it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that is almost a strikeout an inning which would be a career high. I am surprised he has not gotten more play as a candidate for the All Star game as he is nineteenth in era, 25th in innings pitched, and most impressively tenth in era. He has three starts remaining before the break so it will give him time to make a bigger case inclusion in the 2011 All Star Game.

Hitter of the Week: Michael Cuddyer- It seemed like when Justin Morneau went out of the lineup Michael Cuddyer really stepped up in a big way. He has been absolutely raking in the last week. In the last week he has hit a robust .368 on 7-19 hitting with three doubles, a homerun along with two RBI’s and five runs scored. Cuddyer has been one of the few guys that haven’t missed time due to injury this year and having one of his better years of his career. Cuddy is hitting .280 with a team leading 10 homeruns and 28 RBI’s along with twelve doubles, scored 30 runs and drew 22 walks. He has a stat line of .280/.343/.451/.794 which is ok, but he is defiantly capable of doing much more. With all the injuries to his teammates though the production from Cuddy has been key as the Twins are digging themselves out a monumental hole that they put themselves in early in the season. That is why he is my selection as the Twins representative for the 2011 All Star Game in Arizona. Cuddy epitomizes what it means to be a Twin on and off the field and his numbers that he has put up this year have been key as the Twins attempt to do the unthinkable and win their seventh division title in the last ten years. If they are able to do that than Cuddy will be a catalyst and someone worthy inclusion as an all-star.

Liam Hendriks: A flaming prospect

2011-06-17T17:09:00.000-07:00

Liam Hendriks is a name that creates questions, excitement, pessimism, optimism, and flat out intrigue every time his name is called. Not much was known from the Australian born Hendriks when the Twins signed him from Perth, Australia on February, 25th 2007 at the age of eighteen. When he was signed right away you could tell that he was mighty raw, but also mighty talented. At the time the Twins were one of the few teams that scouted in Australia so they had a leg up which would also lead to them to guys such as Brad Tippett and James Beresford. However, it is becoming clear that Hendriks was the crown jewel out of Australia so far and why many other teams are going into Australia with a renewed vigor as they feel the Twins have had success so why can’t we. After signing with the Twins, Hendriks spent the 2007 season in the Gulf Coast League and put up solid numbers.

10 starts 4-2 2.05 era 44innings 41 hits 11bb 52 strikeouts 1.18WHIP

The thought from that season was that they had something in this guy as the low ERA, low walk total and more than a strikeout an inning would attest to. It was almost like they had found a diamond in the rough. Then came the news that Hendriks would have to miss the 2008 campaign due to a spinal cord injury. When that happened those that saw such potential in the 6 foot 1 inch 190lb righty wondered if he would be just another guy that had his career derailed due to injuries. However, Hendriks would not have anything to do with I can’t and came back in 2009 and split the season between rookie league Elizabethton and Class A Beloit. Where he put up the following numbers.

Elizabethton: 3 starts 2-0 3.71 era 17 innings 19 hits 1bb 13k

Beloit: 11 starts 3-5 3.51 era 66.2 innings 73 hits 15 walks 62 strikeouts

Those were solid numbers and something to build upon. However, those were not the type of numbers that he was putting up in the GCL a couple of years earlier. It can be said after his injury it was a miracle that he was even back on the pitcher’s mound. Those that saw him pitch came to the conclusion that he was better than his numbers would indicate. They claimed that the further out he was from his injury the better he would get. Man were they right as he started the season in Beloit before getting up to Fort Myers.

Beloit: 6 starts 2-1 1.32 era 34 innings 16 hits 4 walks 39 strikeouts

Fort Myers: 12 starts 6-3 1.93 era 74.2 innings 63 hits 8 walks 66 strikeouts

With the performance in 2010 Liam Hendriks was back on the map in prospect status as he rose up prospect charts. His numbers in Beloit were off the chart before quickly earning a promotion up to Fort Myers. There he was better yet until the injury bug hit him once again, but this one was not an injury so much as an illness. When it seemed like things could not go any better for Hendriks he came down with Appendicitis and missed over a month before coming back to start a couple games in September. However, you really need to put his 2010 season in perspective as he went 8-4 with a combined 1.74 era. The stat that just makes you go wow though was 12 walks and 105 strikeouts. Stop and think about that and realize just how impressive those numbers were and how much better they would have been if not for the illness. Being back healthy going into 2011 the Twins decided to challenge him and move him up to AA New Britain and he hasn’t disappointed so far.

New Britain: 12 starts 6-2 2.96 era 70 innings 66 hits 15 walks 64 strikeouts

Hendriks has not struggled one iota in the tougher league and has flourished as he has gotten a little bit better every month. In a five start stretch from May 19th to June 9th Hendriks only gave up six earned runs with five walks and 31 strikeouts. He has gotten his fastball into the 93-94 range and has really good off-speed pitches to get guys out. With the performances that he has had this season I started to wonder how high would he be in my prospect list because I had him in the top five and wondered if it was just me or if others saw the same things as I did. So I went to one of the most well respected prospect guys out there and that is Roger Dehring from Twinkie Town who puts a wonderful minor league column every Saturday morning.

I started out asking Roger what he considered Liam Hendriks strengths and weaknesses were and this was his response. “I see Liam's strengths as being a complete pitcher without any glaring weakness. The two weaknesses I see are: 1) a history of injuries, missing all of 2008 (although his injuries may be behind him as you cannot consider last year's appendectomy a baseball injury...just bad luck); and 2) coming from Australia, he doesn't have the experience US and Latin kids have; again not a knock against him just that he needs more work;”

The next thing I asked him was if he was surprised by Hendriks quick rise through the Twins system that is usually slow on promotions. His response surprised me a bit, “No, he was very good in the GCL in 2007 and is performing as well as one could have hoped for.”

Then I asked What does Liam Hendriks need to do from here on out in order to make it to the big leagues and his response, “Stay healthy and continue pitching like he has, ie, he just needs more work at the AA and AAA levels, then should be ready for the Twins.

Next, I asked him something that I knew I would get an informative and intelligent response from being a loyal reader of Roger’s blog. I asked Roger how high he would rank him in the Twins as I had my opinion, but wanted Rogers, “Considering that I am amongst a small group that needs to see Gibson dominate more at AAA as well as pitching deeper in the games, I would put Hendriks right up with Gibson as the top pitching prospects in the upper levels of the organization. Which means I would rank them as co-#1. Just plugged both players into my formula to see what type of seasons they are having. It is a rough look as I need league averages at the end of the year to be 100% accurate (also didn't adjust a couple numbers for roughly half the season). In any case, Hendriks scored 140.114 with Gibson at 124.665. If they continue playing as they have, Hendriks just may grade out as the top pitcher in the organization.” As much as I respect Hendriks opinion I still have Gibson rated a little bit higher. I do believe that Hendriks can be a very good major league pitcher while I think Gibson can be special. Not that I am right or Roger is right just two different opinions.

Next, I asked Roger the question that everybody related to minor league baseball wants to know and that is how high of a ceiling does Hendriks have and this was Rogers response, “Does he have what it takes to be a true Ace, we will see, maybe! I don't see him having Liriano like stuff, but I see him as potentially an Ace, but more likely a #2/#3 starter.” I agree with Roger in that I see Hendriks as a really good 3 and maybe even a two if things go right for him.

The final thing I asked Roger was whether he thought he thinks that Hendriks would keep improving and his response, “ Look at the progress he made this year. Most pitchers hit a wall at AA, and if they finally succeed there it may take longer than a year. With only half a season, twelve starts, at Hi-A, Hendriks moved up to AA and has been dominant. Some pitchers can come straight to the big leagues from AA after pitching like he has...although not likely with the Twins. So yes, I see him continuing to improve and expect he will dominate at AAA next year before being called up...probably as a September, 2012 call up.” I again agree with Roger in that he has the chance to get better and better.

Liam Hendriks should be someone that is a lesson for guys that have dealt with injuries as he was a guy that would not give up on the game he loves. He went from a guy that who knew if he would ever pitch again to a guy that is a top prospect and someone that has to be thought of in the Twins plans. Liam Hendriks is probably the most talked about prospect in all the Twins organization because he went from the lows to the highs in just a couple years. If Liam Hendriks can maintain his health and stay on the pitcher’s mound there is no reason why in a couple years he can’t be a part of the Twins rotation. With guys like Kyle Gibson and Liam Hendriks the Twins future is in good hands.

My Apologys to Roger for not double checking what I put out there it was an honest mistake on my part. I appreciate his help on this article and i hope the readers don't use that against myself or Roger as he is a great minor league guy and a better person so thank you for the help Roger.

Players of the Week Part III

2011-06-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

Fort Myers Miracle

Pitcher of the Week: Tom Stuifbergen- After getting off to a awful start to the season due to injuries and ineffectiveness Stuifbergen has been lights out the last 24 innings. In those innings he has only given up two earned runs. In his last three starts he has been awesome by going 2-1 with a unbelievable 1.06 era in 19 innings of work. In those 19 innings the righty only gave up 16 hits which is very good for someone who doesn’t throw extremely hard. He had a good 5/11 walk to strikeout rate in those three starts. After getting off to a awful April with a 10.00 era in two starts in the month of April and then spending quite a bit of time on the disabled list it was a good comeback. However, comebacks are something that the big righty from The Netherlands is used to after coming back from arm surgery. He has all tools to be a unbelievable prospect he just needs to stay healthy and become a little bit more consistant. This bout of dominance is not something that is totally unexpected, but it is something that the Twins brass have been waiting a long time to see. It will be interesting to see if this is a short term thing or if one of the most talented pitchers in the whole system has finally found himself and can be skyrocket up the charts as a prospect and a future Minnesota Twin.

Hitter of the Week: Aaron Hicks- After a terrible April Aaron Hicks has come out a blazing in the month of May and specifically the last week. After hitting just .211 with a .593 OPS in April, he turned it up to hit .286 with a .830 OPS in the month of May, and now in June he has turned it up even more by hitting 324 with an OPS of 889. Quite an improvement every month of the season for the talented center fielder. In the last week he has turned it up even more as he is hitting .324 on 12-37. He also contributed four doubles and two rbi’s along with nine runs scored. The stat that impressed me the most was the fact that he walked as much as he struck out as he walked nine times while also striking out nine times along with also stealing two bases in three attempts. He had a statline of .324/457/432/889. The OBP is out of this world and a number he probably will never attain again. However, it is worth noting that he has cut down on his strikeouts this year without seeing a decrease in his walks. A game that epitomizes Aaron Hicks was against Bradenton on June, 11th he went 3-3 with two doubles, a single, three walks and a stolen base. You can’t have a game better than that and that just shows the potential out of him. It will be interesting to see if he can keep getting better and hit .300 with a .400 OBP because those are the stats we need to pay attention to. It will be an interesting summer for Hicks as he tries to force the Twins hand into possibly getting him in New Britain to start 2012.

Beloit Snappers

Pitcher of the Week: Clint Dempster- For the second consecutive week Dempster won pitcher of week honors for the Beloit Snappers. He just seems to be getting better and better for the Snappers and it is a mystery to me why he is still in Beloit. With that being said I expect him to join the Miracle to start the second half of the season. His numbers on the year are quite impressive as he is 2-2 with a great 2.12 era in 23 games including four saves. In the last week he has gotten even better by giving up only two runs in 14.2 innings which spanned ten games including two saves. In his 14.2 innings he only gave up seven hits and my Perham High School math tells me that is one hit for every two innings. He had an impressive walk to strikeout rate with three walks and 15 strikeouts and held opponents to a .143 batting average. You can’t get much better than what Dempster has done this season and a lesser person would allow the fact that he probably should have been demoted get to him, but if it is bothering him he is not showing it on the field. It will be interesting to see how long it is before Clint Dempster is promoted up to Fort Myers and more importantly how he does when he gets up there.

Hitter of the Week: Lance Ray- After getting off to a horrid start in April, Ray has continued to get better and better. After hitting just .162 in April with a .588 OPS, before rebounding in May to hit .280 with a .806 OPS and improved again so far in June by hitting .317 with a .843 OPS. However, as good as those numbers have been his numbers the last week have been out of this world. In his last ten games Ray is hitting .419 on 13 for 31 along five doubles, three rbi’s and scored six runs. He also walked two batters while striking out eight times and stole two bases on three attempts. He had a stat line of .419/.486/.581/1.066 the last ten games. With that said due to his awful month of April he is hitting just .249 with a .744 OPS. The big thing that Ray does is just keep getting better and if he does by the end of the year he will put up some very solid numbers. He is not a huge prospect, but he is starting quality and it will be interesting to see what kind of numbers he will put up at the end of the year.

Players of the Week Part II

2011-06-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

Rochester Red Wings

Pitcher of the Week: Andy Baldwin- After getting off to a terrible start early in the season Baldwin has gotten a little bit better as of late. After having a 7.24 era in April he has slowly, but surely brought his era back down to respectable levels. His ERA in the last six weeks has been in the 3’s just where Rochester was hoping it would be all season. In his last three starts Baldwin has gone 0-2 with a respectable 3.32 era in 19 innings of work. That would equal out to over six innings a start which is very decent. Baldwin at age 28 was a veteran free agent that was supposed to solidify the rotation for the Red Wings and really has not done so. In those 19 innings he gave up just 16 hits along with a impressive two walks and thirteen strikeouts. The only thing that he has struggled with lately and really all year has been giving up the gopher ball. In his last three starts Baldwin has given up six homeruns in those three starts. On the year he has given up fourteen homeruns in 58 innings which is way too many for a starting pitcher. If Baldwin can continue to be more consistent the Twins can their money out of their investment in Andy Baldwin.

Hitter of the Week: Aaron Bates- Aaron Bates has been quite a surprise since signing at the beginning of May. Even though he is not a big time prospect as he is 28 years old and was without a team at the beginning of the year. However, since his signing with the Red Wings he has been totally on fire. In his last ten games he is hitting .333 on 13-39 with a homerun and four rbi’s along with two doubles and scored five runs. He also walked three times while striking out a few to many times by striking out 14 times in 39 at bats. He had a strong .372 on base percentage along with a .462 slugging percentage for an ops of .834. Aaron Bates has put up numbers that normally would be begging for a promotion. However, with his age and his productivity Ifind it hard to believe that he would get a promotion. However, he is a very solid AAA player that will continue to be productive for the Red Wings during the summer.

New Britain Rockcats

Pitcher of the Week: Liam Hendriks- If you want to talk about a prospect coming into his own that is exactly what Liam has done in 2011. He has gone from a good prospect to an elite prospect. Lately, he has been just filthy on the mound especially in his last three outings. In his last three outings Hendriks is 2-0 with a 0.90 era in twenty innings of work he only gave up two earned runs. Everyone let that sink in for a minute two runs in 20 innings. He only gave up 18 hits and anytime you can have less hits than innings pitched you are doing your job. Hendriks is not overpowering as he throws in the low 90’s so he is the quote on quote pitch to contact type of pitcher so he is going to give up some hits. In those twenty innings he walked only three batters while striking out an impressive sixteen batters. Liam Hendriks has really established himself as the ace of the Rockcats rotation and put him in contention as the top pitching prospect in the organization. If I had a vote right now I would name Liam Hendriks as the the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the year. It will be interesting to see if he can keep it up as so far it has been very impressive.

Hitter of the Week: Jair Fernandez- After missing out the first five to six weeks of the season due to a broken hamate bone. He has come back and done decent for the Rockcats. However, the Rockcats have really struggled offensively the last week or so. If it was not for the Rockcats strong pitching they would be struggling in the standings. Fernandez had a solid week as he played a lot due to the shortage of players. Fernandez hit .267 on 8-30 along with two doubles and a homerun with six rbi’s. He also had an impressive eight walks in those 30 at bats with just nine strikeouts. He had a very impressive .421 on base percentage with a .433 slugging percentage for a OPS of .854. Fernandez is an offensive catcher who won’t wow you with his defensive capabilities so he has to hit in order to stay in the lineup. If he can continue to hit at this level he will continue to be in the lineup and contribute to the Rockcats as they try to make a run at a playoff spot.

That are the players of the week for the Red Wing’s and the Rockcats. Check back tomorrow as I finish my look through the organization as I will look at the players of the week for the Fort Myers Miracle and the Beloit Snappers. Then also check back Thursday night after Twins Minor League Weekly as I will present another player profile similar to the one I did on Aaron Hicks last weekend.

Twins players of the week

2011-06-13T10:35:00.000-07:00

I am starting a new thing over here at travistwinstalk.blogspot.com and that every Monday I will be bringing you pitcher and hitter of the week . With the pitchers I go back to their last three starts for the starting pitchers and last 10 outings for the relievers. I will be going back to the last 10 games for the hitters. I will also talk about promotions and demotions that happened in the current week for the teams. It will be kind of a one stop shop for minor league information. I will also be doing the Twins in the player of the week awards as well. Also check back Thursday night after Twins Minor League Weekly as I will be posting another Twins minor league player profile. I really enjoyed doing the one on Aaron Hicks and hope you come back either late Thursday night or read with your coffee on Friday Morning to learn about Twins prospects.

Minnesota Twins

Pitcher of the Week: Carl Pavano- The mustache has really bounced back from a rough month and a half to show the stuff that made the Twins resign him in the offseason. In his last three starts Pavano is 1-1 with a very good 2.63 era in 24 innings of work he has only given up seven runs. If you go a little bit further back it is even more impressive as in his last six starts he is 1-1 with a 2.51 era. So after getting off to a rough start Pavano has righted himself to be the innings eater we all thought he would be. On the year he has already put in 85.1 innings in thirteen starts so if you multiply that out to making 32 starts like he did in 2010 he would have over 200 innings once again. The only concerning thing is his strikeout rate as he only has 26 strikeouts so far this season in April and May while in 2010 he had 42 in that same time period. He is never going to be a strikeout pitcher, but you would expect more strikeouts than that. He went two straight games without a strikeout and that just can not happen. He has improved with that in his recent string getting three to four strikeouts a game and that is just fine. It will be key for the Twins to get back into the AL Central race for Pavano to keep being an innings eater and a staff leader.

Hitter of the Week: Delmon Young- Delmon Young has been the most disappointed hitter in the Twins lineup all season long. However, he came on the last week in a big way as he hit .407 on 11-27 with three doubles, a homerun, and three runs scored. Granted some of the hits were bleeders that were not hit very good, but .407 is .407. If Delmon can keep it up the Twins lineup could go from good to lethal with a healthy Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau along with good years from Michael Cuddyer and Denard Span. Young can not keep hitting the way he is right now, but if he can hit .300 with more extra base hits that would be huge. In 2010 Young hit .298 with 21 homeruns and 112 rbi’s. So far this year he is hitting .246 with two homeruns and 17 rbi’s. Young has to pick it up for the Twins to have any chance to get back in the AL Central race they need closer to the type of numbers he had in 2010.
Those are the weekly winners for the Twins and tomorrow I will bring the same awards for the Rochester Red Wings and the New Britain Rockcats. Then on Wednesday, I will bring the awards for the Fort Myers Miracle and the Beloit Snappers.

Aaron Hicks on the Rise

2011-06-11T05:32:00.000-07:00

From the moment that Aaron Hicks was drafted by the Twins in the first round, 14th overall in the 2008 draft out of high school in Long Beach, California much was expected out of him. Hicks had a full ride to USC so it took 1.7 million to sign him. Hicks was another in the long line of toolsy outfielders that the Twins love to draft. However, what made him different was the fact that some teams saw him as an outfielder and others saw him as a pitcher. What made him so different than most high school outfielders is he also pitched and could throw 95 miles per hour. When someone can throw that hard normally it is a no brainer that they should pitch. Hicks made it clear to teams though that he wanted to play outfield and that is where the Twins saw him as a prospect. That is why the Twins had no problem using their pick on him knowing that they would be able to sign him due to the fact that he wanted to play outfield. Aaron Hicks signed on August 3rd and was assigned to the GCL league to finish off his season and here are the stats he put up.

45 games .318 avg 4hr 27 rbi 10 doubles 4 triples 28 walks32 strikeouts 12SB .409/.491/.900

That was enough for talent scouts to salivate over Hicks and for most prospect guru's to put Hicks at the top of most Twins prospect lists. He really had it all he could hit for average by his .318 batting average. He could hit for power as his eighteen extra base hits would attest to. He could steal bases as his twelve stolen bases would show. He had great range in center field; he had a cannon for an arm. The tool that probably was the most impressive though was his eye at the plate as he had just about as many walks as strikeouts. That is key in a prospect as it keeps you out of slumps if you are able to take walks on a consistent basis and he showed that in the GCL.
In 2009 he skipped Elizabethton totally and went up to Beloit. It is not hard to figure out that he struggled a little bit as a 19 year old in Beloit. He put up decent numbers, but not what many expected out of him and that is when the doubt started to creep into prospect people’s minds how good can this guy really be.

2009: 67 games .251 avg 4 homeruns 29 rbi's 15 doubles 3 triples 40 walks 55 strikeouts 10 stolen bases .353/.382/.735OPS

Aaron Hicks numbers all across the board were a little bit down from the year previous and that should not have come as any big surprise since he skipped a year of development and getting up to Beloit at the age of 19. However, what impressed me so much was his obp was over a hundred points higher than his batting average then an incredible 40 walks in only 251 at bats. Being that he was young for his level and that he did not wow scouts in Beloit caused him to repeat Beloit again in 2010.
He improved immensely after starting out the season 1-31 and then was much better the rest of the year. In 2010 Hicks put up decent numbers for the Snappers;

2010: 115 games .279 avg 8hr 49 rbi's 27 doubles and 6 triples 88 walks 112 strikeouts 21 stolen bases .401/.428/.829OPS

I know that people expected more out of Hicks in 2010, but the key thing is he showed improvement in just about every stat except strikeouts which was disappointing. However, I was really surprised that some dropped him in Twins prospect lists even though he improved from year to year. Aaron Hicks strengths and weaknesses are many so I asked prospect guru Seth Stohs what he felt were Hicks strengths and weaknesses and he had this to say, "His strengths are pure athleticism, patience at the plate, and his speed, while his weaknesses are He's very raw, immense talent, but will take a while to put it all together." I agree with him on those, but what I like most about his game is that he is improving year to year. It may not show up on the boxscore from day to day, but when you look at his numbers at the end of the year the numbers are better than he had the year before. Look at this year in April he hit just .211, then in May he hit .286, and so far in June he is hitting a robust .348. If you go from May 1 the last six weeks Hicks has hit .299 which just shows how he is very good at making adjustments and improving parts of his game. The bottom line is Aaron Hicks is a slow starter so you just got to throw out his April numbers every year and go by what he does from May on.

Another question that I asked Seth was his struggles hitting left handed and if he thought that Hicks needs to stop switch-hitting. So far this year he is hitting .325 with a .857 OPS hitting right handed, while hitting .217 with a .650 OPS hitting left handed. This is Seth's perspective, "I don't think switch hitting is holding him back at this point. To maximize the type of player that he can be, it would be great if he would be able to switch-hit. Because he is so raw, and the organization can and will be patient with him, we need to be patient with his overall development. He is very good defensively, running things down and obviously throwing. But he has other things to work on, like instincts, base running, etc. It’s all part of the plan and the process. They need to play it out for at least the remainder of the season, if not another year." I would agree with Seth on this as his numbers hitting left handed has improved even since I started researching this piece. He will be much more valuable if he is able to switch-hit so I think we need to just give it some time.

The next thing I discussed with Seth is what does he need to do to keep advancing and his response was, "The main thing Hicks has to do to advance is just be more consistent, obviously that means the offense, but also the defense and the base running. That is not unusual and the only way to improve is through playing." I agree that Hicks has to become more consistent as thus far in his career he is a very streaky hitter as when he is hot he is really hot and when he is cold he is freezing.

The next thing I asked Seth was when can we expect to see Aaron Hicks in a Twins uniform, "Best case would be for Hicks to spend the entire 2011 season in Fort Myers and advance to New Britain next season. If he succeeds there you could see him early in 2013." I really agree with Seth on that assessment as he is only 21 years old which is quite young for the Florida State League. Even if you have him spend a year in FM, a year in New Britain, and a year in Rochester he would make his debut with the Twins at the young age of 24 which is still young for the big leagues.
The last thing I asked Seth was what position would he be best served playing and he said, "Although I think he can certainly play centerfield, right field may be his best position. He has got great speed, but he is not Ben Revere. His arm defiantly profiles to right field." I totally agree and being that he can play center field he will give Gardy the flexibility to play any of the three outfield positions if need be. I really view Hicks as a young version of Carlos Beltran who I totally feel will be special. His eye at the plate really excites me and I really believe his power at the plate will come to someday be a 20-25 homerun a year guy. I see him being the perfect number two hitter in the Twins lineup hitting in front of Joe Mauer for years to come. For those that have given up on him or felt that he has not lived up to what you thought he was going to be well I think you’re really wrong. I think in a year or two Aaron Hicks is going to be a top five prospect in all of baseball. I think he has as much upside as anyone out there and the key for him is just getting out there and playing every day and getting better. He has gotten better every season and he just needs to keep doing that and if he does that than the sky is the limit for my number one choice for Twins prospects. Maybe I am in the minority now who still believe he is going to be special, but I truly that if Harmon Killebrew was the past, Joe Mauer is the present, and then Aaron Hicks will be the future as in franchise players

Final May Awards

2011-06-08T09:06:00.000-07:00

Fort Myers Miracle 29-29 1.0 games back

Pitcher of the Month: Andrew Albers- It really came down to two guys for this award in Andrew Albers and Tom Stuifbergen. Albers was just a little bit better than Stuifbergen in the month of May. That is not to take anything away from Stuifbergen who put togeter a very a good month of May. Albers was just dominant in the month so that is way he earned the award. Albers went 2-1 with an awesome 1.80 era in six outings including a couple spot starts and a save for the Miracle. Albers pitched 21.2 innings and gave up 22 hits so about a hit an inning which is normal for a pitch to contact pitcher like Albers is. The key though is if you are going to give up hits you can not give up walks and he was excellent in that part of his game as he only walked three batters in those 21.2 innings which is like 1.5 walks per 9 innings. He also struck out fifteen batters so that was impressive as well. The stat that won me over was his ground ball rate of 4.38 which means he is a ground ball machine and why you can give up some hits if you throw ground balls you will get a lot of double plays. The only thing about him that concerns me is he is 25 years old and still in Fort Myers. I would love to see him get a chance in New Britain to see if he can continue to pitch like this because if he spends the whole year in Fort Myers guys will start to pass him by and he is way too talented for that to happen.

Hitter of the Month: Aaron Hicks- After getting off to another rough start in April he came on strong in May and is doing even better in June. Every year since he was drafted Hicks has struggled in May, remember last year when he started 1-31 at the plate. It was not that bad in April this year, but he definately is a streaky hitter who was the class of the lineup for the Miracle in May to keep them in the pennant race. In May Hicks hit .286 up from .211 in April with two homeruns and twelve rbi's along with seven doubles and fourteen runs scored. He also had an impressive 14 walks along with 22 strikeouts. Hicks also stole six bases in seven attempts. He had a stat line of .286/.390/.440/.830 which is quite good. The reason that Aaron Hicks doesn't go into prolonged slumps is his good eye at the plate and will take walks. As he moves forward that will be a big thing for him. The Twins like to go a year at a time for promotions with him so you are still looking late 2013 or early 2014 before you see Aaron Hicks patrolling the outfield for the Twins.

Beloit Snappers 28-30 11.5 games back

Pitcher of the Month: Clint Dempster- The left handed reliever for the Snappers has been excellent all year for Beloit, but was even better in May. Dempster has a 2.40 era on the year so its not like it was just one good month that did it for him. However, in May he took it to the next level for the Snappers as he went 2-1 with an awesome 1.50era in eleven games including picking up two saves. Dempster worked eighteen innings for the month and only gave up eleven hits. He had a impressive walk to strikeout rate as he only walked four batters in those eighteen innings while striking out a batter an inning with ninteen strikeouts. At only 21 years old Dempster is still young for his level and I look for him to get a callup to Fort Myers at the All-Star break as he has definately earned it. He has put behind him the disappointment of struggling as a starter in 2010 and has become the best pitcher out of that bullpen for the Snappers and a key to them trying to make it to the playoffs.

Hitter of the Month: Nate Roberts- Nate Roberts had quite a month of May after coming up to Beloit after the injury to Oswaldo Arcia. Roberts hit .302 with seven doubles and a triple along with twelve rbi's and an incredible 25 runs scored. He showed great patience at the plate with sixteen walks while only striking out only 13 times. Roberts also stole four bases in five attempts. He had a stat line of .302/.456/.396/.852 and the thing that impresses me the most is the .456 on base percentage. Roberts has struggled in June, but in May he showed he can be a good table setter and get on base and score a lot of runs. At age 22 Roberts is about right for Beloit, but you would think he needs to get up to Fort Myers by the end of the year in order to stay on the proper age track. But you can't take his month of May away and see if he can build on it going forward.

May Awards

2011-06-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

Rochester Red Wings 23-32 12.0games back

Pitcher of the Month: Carlos Gutierrez- Carlos had a very solid month for the Red Wings in May as he has gotten on the cusp of a call-up with the Twins. After getting off to a slow start in April Gutierrez was much better in May. Carlos went 1-1 with a very good 2.75 era in the month. He pitched in 12 games while working 19.2 innings and only gave up 16 hits so he was very strong. There are times the era can be a mirage if someone is giving up a lot of hits, but in May Carlos gave up less than a hit an inning which is very good for a pitch to contact pitcher who relies on guys pounding the ball into the ground. He cut the walk total down as he only walked seven guys in 19.2 innings. The walk total is the thing that he needs to work on and the thing that has kept him from the Twins so this is a positive step. The stat that impressed me most was his 4.22 ground out rate which is unbelievable and just shows you how many ground balls he gets. Gutierrez has the chance to be very special for the Twins and if he can keep his walk total in managable levels then he can be a big part of the Twins future out of that bullpen.

Hitter of the Month: Aaron Bates- Aaron Bates signed with the Red Wings and just started hitting and hasn't stopped since. He was out of baseball to start the season and has been the best hitter for the Wings. In May he was awesome as the backbone of the Wings offense. In 19 games with the Wings he hit .317 with four doubles along with two homeruns and 11 runs scored. He also drove in five runs for the Wings. However, the stat that impressed me was the fact that he had more walks then strikeouts and that is a big stat in my mind. He walked twelve times while only striking out ten times. His OBP was a healthy .434 thanks to the twelve walks he accumulated. His stat line was .317/.434/.476/.910 OPS which is very good for a month. Bates is 27 years old and was out of baseball to start the year so he is not a prospect by any means, but he is putting together some very good numbers especially at the plate. He is a very good AAA player and it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up as the spring turns into summer.

New Britain Rockcats 30-25 4.5 games back

Pitcher of the Month: Brett Jacobson- I know some will argue that guys like Liam Hendriks, Steve Hirschfeld, and Bobby Lanigan deserved it over Jacobson. They will say look at the walk rate out of Jacobson and I can't disagree with that statement. However, the name of the game in pitching is to not give up runs and he did that awesomely in May. Jacobson split the month between the bullpen and the rotation after the injury to David Bromberg. Jacobson appeared in eight games while getting four starts and was just awesome. Jacobson went 1-0 with a miniscule 1.54 era in 23.1 innings while only giving up 14 hits that says how hard he is to hit. The problem with Jacobson and the reason that could derail his prospect status is the walks as he has walked 26 batters in 37.2 innings which is way too many. In May he walked 17 in only 23.1 innings which is about 7 walks per 9 innings. There is no sugarcoating it that needs to change or he won't be anything. The flipside is he strikes out 7 per 9 innings as well which is very good. The thing about Brett Jacobson is if he can get his control improved he can be dominant and one of the top relief prospects in the Twins organization, but if he can't he will end up playing overseas so it really is all up to him.

Hitter of the Month: Evan Bigley- Evan Bigley was quite streaky in May, but when he was on he hit the cover off the ball. Bigley got off to a slow start in April, but really turned it on in May and led the Rockcats offensive attack. In May Bigley hit .301 with three homeruns and 18 rbi's along with an incredible ten doubles and three triples and an impressive 17 runs scored. He put up a very good .301/.363/.544/.907 line. The slugging percentage was the most impressive thing as he put up sixteen extra base hits for the month. That is a great month for just about anybody. For those of you who had given up on Bigley as a prospect you were wrong and he will continue to improve and improve. I think another good month out of Bigley could fine himself being promoted up to Rochester as he has developed into a legit prospect for the Twins and someone I am excited to see developed and see if he can make it up to the Twins before the end of 2012.

Tommorrow I will conclude my look at the month of May with looking at the Fort Myers Miracle and the Beloit Snappers so come back to look at it.

May Awards

2011-06-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

I know this is a little bit late, but my nephew graduated from high school and I had to help get ready for the party. That doesn't mean that I have not been paying attention to the minor leagues because I totally have. You can listen to Twins Minor League Weekly with myself and my co-host Seth Stohs of http://sethspeaks.net every Monday and Thursday night from 10-10:45pm at blog talk radio. We go over the box scores of that nights games, on the Monday show we go over who has been hot the last week, and then on the Thursday show we highlight some guys that don't get a lot of attention, but who work just as hard so be sure to tune in. Now back to the reason of this blog I will be doing a hitter and pitcher of the month at all the teams including the Twins. The one prerequisite is the player has to be on the team when I do the awards to be eligible for player of the month. That means if they got a promotion or a demotion they are ineligible for the awards. Meaning the player has to be on that roster today to be eligible to win player of the month. I enjoy your comments or questions and you can either leave them in the comment box or shoot me an email to travis_aune@yahoo.com. Thanks and enjoy.

Minnesota Twins 21-37 12.5 games back

Pitcher of the Month: Nick Blackburn- I am not going to pretend to understand how he does it, but the month of May the last two years have been unbelievable. In the last two May's Blackburn has gone 8-0 with a average era of 2.59 in 11 starts. Hopefully he has a better June in 2011 than he did in 2010 where he imploded and ended up in AAA. I think he will though as long as he can remain healthy. In May though in six starts Blackie went 3-0 with a very good 2.53 era. Nick pitched 42.2 innings including a complete game which is over seven innings a start. He only gave up 35 hits which is way down from his career averages as Blackie has always given up more than a hit an inning so it is excellent for him. The only thing I can knitpick a little is he is walking more guys this year than in years past, but he is not walking a ton as he walked 12 guys in 42.2 innings so it is less than three walks per 9 innings. The stat that really impressed me more than any from Blackie was that he held opponents to a .227 batting average in May way down from the .316 he gave up in April. Nick Blackburn was one of the top pitchers in baseball in the month of May and here is hoping that he can build on this because if the Twins want to make a historic comeback they need Nick Blackburn to be a middle of the rotation starter much like he was in May.

Hitter of the Month: Alexi Casilla- I never ever thought that I would be writing this as I have been as hard on Alexi Casilla as anybody. However, especially starting the second part of May until now Casilla has been the best hitter in the Twins lineup. Take a moment and reread what I just wrote because writing that myself I am having a hard time believing it. Before we go ahead to just May look at the last six weeks from Casilla. In those games Casilla is hitting .329 with five doubles and three triples. Those are what the Twins were hoping they would get out of Casilla when they allowed JJ Hardy and Orlando Hudson to leave after the season. He struggled so mightily the first six weeks that most of us had given up on him. In May he put it all together as he hit .288 with three doubles, three triples along with five rbi's and five walks with three stolen bases in five attempts. He had a stat line of .288/.351//.424/.775 which is way better than April where he only had a OPS of .427. Can Casilla keep it up probably not, but I do think he needs to have an OPS in the .600 range going forward. I really think that Casilla has a chance to be a catalyst for the Twins going forward and it will be interesting to see how he does.

I will be back with the Rochester Red Wings and New Britain Rockcats tommorrow so make sure to come back for those.

Minor League Update 5/15/11

2011-05-15T05:47:00.000-07:00

Rochester Wrap
Charlotte 2 Rochester 0 5inn

The Red Wings had their game with Charlotte ended after just five innings yesterday to drop to 14-20 on the year. Andy Baldwin got the start for Rochester and went 4.2 innings and gave up two runs on six hits along with a walk and four strikeouts to drop his record on the year to 2-3 and brought his era down to 6.68. Offensively, the Red Wings did not get much going against Charlotte starter and former major leaguer Jeff Marquez as they could only muster two hits in this one. Rene Tosoni went 1-3 at the plate with his seventh double to bring his average up to .286. Jeff Bailey also went 1-3 at the plate with his third double.

Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Charlotte as Anthony Swarzak gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 1:15 in Charlotte.

New Britain Bits

New Britain 6 Portland 3

New Britain 4 Portland 0

In game one Deolis Guerra got the start for the Rockcats and was much much better than he had been. Guerra went the first five innings and allowed just a run on two hits along with three strikeouts to raise his record to 3-4 and lower his era to 9.85. Tyler Robertson pitched the last two innings and gave up two runs on two hits along with two walks and five strikeouts. With the two runs allowed Robertson's era ballooned to 4.50 on the year. Offensively, the Rockcats were led by Yangervis Solarte who went 2-2 with his team high 14th double and 19th rbi to bring his average up to .362. Mark Dolenc went 2-2 with his 13th rbi. Chris Parmelee went 1-3 with his 11th double and 24th rbi along with two runs scored. Evan Bigley went 1-2 with his 10th double and 21st rbi and a run scored. Dan Rohlfing went 1-3 with his second double and drove in two runs.

In Game two Brett Jacobson got the start for the Rockcats and was good. Jacobson went the first three innings and did not give up a run without giving up a hit, but he did walk four batters along with two strikeouts. With the three shutout innings Jacobson saw his era lower to 2.78. Ryan Mullins made his return to New Britain by working three shutout innings of his own to pick up the win. Mullins gave up two hits along with a walk and two strikeouts. Santos Arias pitched a shutout inning of his own on one hit to lower his era down to 8.10. Offensively, New Britain was led by Chris Hermann who went 1-3 with his second homerun since his promotion and two rbi's to bring his total up to 10 with the Rockcats. Steve Singleton went 2-3 with his 13th double and eighth rbi to bring his average up to .295. Deibinson Romero also went 2-3 with his sixth double to bring his average up to .261. Chris Parmelee went 1-2 with a walk including his first triple of the year.

Today, the Rockcats try to stay in first place as they continue their series with Portland as Steve Hirschfeld gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 12:35 in New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 4 Daytona 1

The Miracle came off a rough series with Dunedin to rebound last night to beat first place Daytona by a score of 4-1. Matt Schuld had his best start of the year last night for the Miracle in the win. Schuld went six innings and gave up a run on only three hits along with a walk and a career high nine strikeouts. Schuld improved his record on the year to 3-0 and lowered his era down to 4.22. Blake Martin then came on and pitched two shutout innings with four strikeouts to lower his era down to 3.20. Bruce Pugh pitched an impressive 9th inning to pick up his sixth save of the year. Pugh struck out all three batters he faced to lower his era down to 3.71. Offensively, the Miracle were led by Aaron Hicks who went 1-4 with his fifth double and 13th rbi. Steve Liddle went 1-3 with his third double. Brian Dozier went 1-4 with his fourth triple of the year. James Beresford and Nick Romero also added base hits.

Today, the Miracle continue their series with Daytona as Kane Holbrooks gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 4:35 in Daytona.

Beloit Business

Beloit 6 Quad Cities 4

Quad Cities 6 Beloit 2

In game one of the double header they got great starting pitching and held on for a good quality 6-4 win. Adrian Salcedo got the start and was very good once again for the Snappers. Salcedo went 6+ innings and gave up 4 runs although more importantly was that only two of them were earned along with two walks and a strikeout. It was not as good as some of his other starts but it was solid although you would like to see a few more strikeouts. Ryan O' Roarke then came in and pitched a shutout inning of work to pick up his first save of the year. With the shutout inning O' Roarke's era on year to a very good 1.76. Offensively the Snappers were led by Gunner Glad who went 1-3 at the plate with his fourth double and drove in his ninth and tenth runs of the year. Daniel Santana went 1-3 with his fourth double and his sixth stolen base. Wang Wei Lin, Jamaal Hawkins, and Nate Roberts each contributed a base hit in the win.

In game 2 of the doubleheader it did not go as well for the Snappers as they fell to Quad Cities by a score of 6-2. Michael Tonkin got a spot start in the nightcap and was ok going three innings and giving up two runs on four hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era up to 6.98. Blayne Weller then came on and went two innings and gave up four runs although only two of them were earned. He also walked an incredible five batters along with a strikeout to take the loss and move to 3-1. Jose Gonzalez pitched the last two innings and did not give up a hit along with two walks and three strikeouts to lower his era down to 2.40. Offensively the Snappers were led by Wang Wei Lin who went 2-4 at the plate with his 11th rbi and brought his average up to .273. Daniel Santana went 1-3 with his fifth double. Andy Leer, Nate Roberts, Michael Gonzalez, Danny Ortiz, and Lance Ray each contributed a base hit, but the Snappers could not put it together to score runs as they left six guys on base in this one.

Today, the Snappers continue their series with Quad Cities as Andrei Lobanov gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 2pm in Beloit.

Sunday, May 15th

2011-05-15T05:19:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk

Blue Jays 9 Twins 3 11 innings

For those of you that are expecting me to go negative about the Twins you are wrong because times like this test a true fan's meddle. All us Twins fans have been spoiled the last 10 years with 6 division titles in those 10 years. Most small to mid-market teams have peaks and valley's and right now the Twins are going through one of their valleys. Even though they likely won't return to postseason play for the 7th time in 10 years they can still have a decent season. Trust me it will get better as their is no chance they will continue to play like this. As they continue to get healthier and more confident they will win more and more. The problem is they have dug themselves such a hole it is probably too much to dig themselves out of. I will continue to watch and cheer for the Twins no matter how bad it gets and I encourage everyone to stay positive as it will get better.

Yesterday at Target Field the Twins lost their 7th game in a row this time in heartbreaking fashion to the Blue Jays. After leaving eleven guys on in the first ten innings the Twins bullpen imploded and gave up six runs on only four hits along with four walks to blow the game. Glen Perkins was the tough luck loser as he started the debacle and gave up a leadoff hit to Corey Patterson before departing. He got the loss thanks to Jim Hoey giving up a two run homerun to Jose Bautista. In a more positive thing Nick Blackburn got the start and was awesome once again. Blackburn went 7.2 innings and only gave up two earned runs on just five hits along with two walks and a career high eight strikeouts. Blackburn had a 3-2 lead going into the eighth inning before giving up a swinging bunt single to Yunel Escobar then something unfortunate happened. Corey Patterson hit a drive to right center that Denard Span even though he gave it all he had couldn't quite get to as it went off the tip of his glove for an rbi triple. With the three runs allowed Blackburn lowered his era on the year to 3.70. Matt Capps then came on and pitched 1.1 perfect innings with two strikeouts to lower his era to 3.93. Glen Perkins then came on and pitched a scoreless innings with a walk and a strikeout before giving up the hit and moving his record to 0-1 and upped his era to an unbelievable 0.92. Jim Hoey then came in and was awful as he did not get an out while giving up three runs of his own on only one hit along with walking two to increase his era to 9.72. Jose Mijares then came in and was worse yet as he faced four batters and gave up two hits and walked the other two along with giving up two runs to raise his era to 5.40. Alex Burnett got the last three outs to lower his era to 7.00.

Offensively they had thirteen hits, but were only able to push three runs across and that was the biggest reason they lost. When you leave 12 guys on base you are not going to win very many games. The Twins were led by Michael Cuddyer who went 3-5 at the plate with his fourth homerun of the year and his sixth rbi to raise his average to .248. Justin Morneau went 2-5 with his ninth double. Danny Valencia went 2-4 at the plate along with a costly error in the first inning. Denard Span and Trevor Plouffe also contributed two hits for the Twins.

Today, the Twins finish their series with the Blue Jays as Brian Duensing gets the start and will be opposed by Brandon Morrow of the Blue Jays.

looking ahead to 2012

2011-05-10T07:25:00.000-07:00

I know some will say that I am jumping ship by looking forward to 2012, but we need to be realistic. Only the Twins of 2006 have come back from 10 games down and won a division title since 1917 so the odds are not very high that this team will make it back into postseason play this year. Do I think Cleveland will come down to earth some and that the Twins will play much better in the summer months well of course I do. Do I think it is possible for the Twins to make it back into postseason play yes I do, but a lot of things would have to go awful right for the Twins and a lot would have to go wrong for the rest of the divison as the Twins are in celler at 12-21 a whopping 10 games out of first. This question has to be asked whether the Twins are in the playoffs or if they aren't so I thought it would be fun to look at the decisions the Twins Front Office will have after the season barring a lockout that I think is very unlikely. I will go player to player and give his contract status and also what is status is with the team.

Joe Mauer- Their is no doubt the season may have turned out differently if Mauer had not gotten injured. He likely will be back by the first of June and hopefully puts up Joe Mauer numbers. Going forward a decision has to be made about whether to move Joe Mauer off of catcher. The Twins owe Mauer 7 years 161 million so Mauer will definately be back. My idea of what to do with him is the same thing I have heard others say and that is have him catch about 90 games with another 30 games at first base and 30 games as the DH. Whenever Mauer would play first I would have Morneau be the DH. I think a key to the Twins winning in the future is keeping Joe Mauer on the field and that is the best way to do it.

Justin Morneau- I still believe that Morneau will get it going and be the Justin Morneau Twins fans have come to expect. It is only 33 games into the season, but Morneau is only hitting .212 on the year. The bottom line is Morneau will be back no matter what because the way he is hitting right now no one would take the 28 million he has on his contract after this year. The thing about it is if Morneau comes back and hits the way he has in the past then the Twins need to seriously consider extending him. The 14 million per year is very managable on the payroll, however the injury risk with Morneau is great after missing great parts of 2009 and 2010 due to injury. With that being said if Morneau keeps hitting like this it will be a moot point.

Tsuyoshi Nishioka- Nishioka will be back in 2012 on the second year of a three year contract. We still don't know what we got in Nishioka after getting hurt so early in the season. I think with his arm strength Nishioka will be the second baseman in 2012 as he tries to build on this year.

Alexi Casilla- I think Casilla is spending his final year with the Twins if he even makes it through the year. Casilla has been given opportunity after opportunity to be a key player for the Twins, but he just has not been able to do it.

Danny Valencia- Valencia has been going through somewhat of a sophmore slump so far as has been consistantly in the .220's and .230's. He has driven in a team hight 18 runs though, but he has made some baserunning lapses and his defense has been inconsistant. However, he is the best 3rd baseman since Cory Koskie so he will definatly be back.

Delmon Young- Delmon Young has two things going against him. First he has missed quite a bit of time due to a rib injury. Second and probably most important he is making 5.4 million this year and due a jump to the 8-9 million range I look for the Twins to move him to try to acquire a shortstop and possibly bullpen help. Young's value is very high after his great season in 2010 so I look for them to captalize on it to get some good prospects especially with guys like Tosoni and Revere just about ready to start next season.

Denard Span- Denard Span has reestablished himself as a cataylst in the Twins offense at the top of the lineup. I still think he would be a better left fielder than a centerfielder, but am resigned to the fact that they will keep him in center for the next few years. The Twins have Span signed to a reasonable contract as long as he keeps his high on base percentage in 37-38 percent range. Span is owed 15 million over the next 3 years with a 9 million option for 2015 so it is very reasonable and at only 27 years old he is part of the solution in the Twins likely retooling operation.

Michael Cuddyer- This is a tough one for me as I value him as a person and he is solid, but his defense is detoriating and his price tag will likely be higher than I am willing to pay. At age 32 and making 10.5 million in the last year of his deal that is too rich for my blood. If he was willing to take half of that I would look to bring him back, but that is not going to happen. The writing is on the wall when the Twins would not talk to him about an extension in the offseason so I look for the Twins and Cuddyer to go their seperate ways this offseason.

Jason Kubel- Before the season I had my mind made up that 2011 would be Jason Kubel's final year with the Twins. However, he has looked like a different hitter this year by hitting close to .350 all year. He has not tried to hit homeruns and has got big hit after big hit. There is still 4 and a half months to go but he is starting to be in my plans. The more he has played in the outfield the more comfortable I have become with him in the outfield. At age 28 he is a younger version of Cuddyer and if he can continue to do ok against lefty's I would probably bring him back on a 2-3 year deal as a part time outfielder and part time dh.

Jim Thome- The clock seems like it is running out on Thome as a player as a 41 year old it seemed like his bat was slow even before he was injured. Here is hoping he can get the 9 more homeruns he needs to get to 600 so he can walk away into the sunset as this will be Jim Thome's last year in a Twins uniform.

Drew Butera- Drew Butera is an ok backup catcher as he is fine defensively, but he absolutely can not hit. With my plan for Joe Mauer the Twins are going to need a better hitting backup catcher. Nothing against Drew Butera, but hitting .112 is just not going to get the job done so I don't look for him to be back.

Carl Pavano- I don't know if this is a early in the season thing, but Carl Pavano has looked really old as of late. Being that they owe him 8 million next year it is going to be difficult to move him but I look for the Twins to find a taker to make room for Kyle Gibson in a Twins uniform

Nick Blackburn- That was another bad contract for the Twins as Blackburn is due 11 million the next two years after this season. His pitching has been so up and down that the Twins could not move him even if they tried.

Francisco Liriano- Liriano is such a tease as his no hitter would attest to, but he is so inconsistant you can't give him a long term contract. I would make him available and see what kind of offers you can get and if a team really values him I would jump on it. I don't think the Twins are going to get the kind of offers that they want so I look for Liriano to be back.

Brian Duensing- Duensing has been a pleasant surprise for the Twins and since he is signed so cheap he definatly will be back and possibly be signed to an extension.

Kevin Slowey- With so many other holes on the team keeping Slowey is not something that should be done. They need to move him and get the best package that they possibly can.

Joe Nathan- I feel bad for him, but Joe Nathan is not getting the job done and their can be no loyalty when it comes to business. Nathan has had a great Twins career, but it will come to an end after the season.

Matt Capps- Capps is not a dominant closer, but he does get the job done so i would give him a nice 3 year deal to continue closing for the Twins.

Overview
coming off Books
I have aproximatley 40 million coming off the books after this season in the moves that I have laid out so that should be plenty to become a better team.

Tentative 2012 lineup with additions that i am suggesting
C- Mauer
1b- Morneau
2b- Freddy Sanchez
ss- Nishioka
3b- Valencia
Lf- Revere
Cf- Span
Rf- Kubel
Dh- Mike Napoli

Bench
Hughes
Tolbert
Steve Singleton
Repko

Lineup
1. Span
2. Revere
3. Mauer
4. Morneau
5. Napoli
6. Kubel
7. Valencia
8. Sanchez
9. Nishioka

Pitching Rotation
1. Liriano
2. Baker
3. Gibson
4. Duensing
5. Blackburn

Bullpen
Capps
Perkins
Mijares
Michael Wuertz
Diamond
Hoey
Burnett

Let me know what you think if you disagree with me or agree with me I would love to know what you think. You can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Can the Twins rebound?

2011-05-09T06:09:00.000-07:00

The bottom line is the Twins are not playing very good right now as their 12-20 record would attest to. It is not very hard to figure out why though as they are missing Joe Mauer, Delmon Young, Jim Thome, and Tsuyoshi Nishioka who combined for 55 homeruns and 246 rbi's in the 2010 season. Granted none of the guys just mentioned were off to a very good start in 2011, but you know they are going to come around. The biggest reason for concern though is the start of the pitching staff in Carl Pavano and Francisco Liriano as they both have era's over six. This is not something that should be sneezed at as we are five-six weeks into the season and you would think that you would know what you got at the top of your rotation. If it was not for Scott Baker and Brian Duensing the Twins would be in much worse shape than they are and that is saying something as the Twins currently trail Cleveland by 9.5 games. Another problem has been the dismal performance of Justin Morneau. Currently Morneau is only hitting .202 on the year after being a .284 career hitter including hitting .300 three times. The thing with Morneau is none of us know what he is going through as he suffered a serious brain injury last year and he was not able to work out this winter due to the concussion. He did not swing a bat for over 8 months so is it that big of a surprise that he is not hitting. I think we all myself including were expecting too much too soon for Morneau. This was a very serious injury and I am sure he is just thankful that he is even playing. A judgement on him can not be made over 32 games and those that have given up on him are going to be wrong. With all those things that have gone wrong so far in 2011 the important thing is there is still 130 games to be played so it is too soon to give up on this team. The question is what do the Twins need to do to get back in the race.

The first and last thing that needs to happen is for the Twins to get healthy especially Joe Mauer. The Twins can not and will not win without Joe Mauer. He is the biggest contributer for the Twins and they need him. When Joe Mauer is well Joe Mauer the Twins have the capability to beat anyone and get on a run of great play. It was obvious that Mauer was not right early in the season so just as important to getting him back is getting him back when he is healthy. With Drew Butera, Steve Holm, and now Rene Rivera holding down the catching position that has been an automatic out. Getting Mauer back would take the pressure off of everyone else. Getting Delmon Young back will be big as he is coming off a career year in 2010 and adding him just deepens the lineup. Getting Nishioka back really stabalizes one of the worst positions in all of baseball in middle infield whether he plays second or short. Really a key to things is getting the players healthy.

The biggest thing that needs to improve if the Twins can rebound is the pitching staff. Other than Scott Baker, Brian Duensing, Glen Perkins, and Matt Capps the pitching staff has been awful. That has to change or there will be no turnaround. Francisco Liriano's no hitter hopefully will be the beginning of a turnaround because he has way too much talent to keep pitching like that. Carl Pavano won't pitch like he did last year, but he is a much better pitcher than he has shown lately so he is a key to getting back. The bullpen needs to become more consistant as they move forward. Joe Nathan, Alex Burnett, Jose Mijares, Jim Hoey have all been so inconsistant and they need them to develop some consistancy. Another area that needs to improve is their defense as it has shoddy at best. A great part of past Twins teams has been their defense and it has not been good this year. A big part of it has been the changing of players with all the injuries so it could help with the return of health. If some of these things happen its possible for the Twins to get back in it. The Twins dug themselves quite a whole and probably will need Cleveland and Kansas City to come back to the pack some, but the Twins can't worry about them they need to get healthy and put together some better play. If those things happen I really believe that the Twins could be in a pennant race again this summer.

Pitcher and hitter of the month for April

2011-05-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

I don't have time to write any comments about my choices for each of these awards, but Ill put the winner and their April stats along with another choice that could have won the award and let you decide if I made the right decision. If you have another name that you would like to nominate let me know that too by leaving a comment in the comment box or shooting me an email to travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Twins
Scott Baker- 1-2 3.16 era 5 starts 31.1inn=6.1 per start .239 OBA

Brian Duensing-2-1 2.91 era 5starts 34inn= 6.8 per start .264 OBA

Glen Perkins- 0-0 0.75 era 11games 12 innings .225 OBA

Hitter of the Month

Jason Kubel- .351 avg 2hr 10rbi 9 doubles .392/.511/.903 stat line .278 vs leftys/.365 vs rightys

Denard Span- .298 avg 1hr 5rbi 4 doubles and a triple .354/.385/.739

Rochester Red Wings

Pitcher of the Month

Kyle Gibson- 0-1 3.15era 4 starts 2oinn= 5inn per start 4bb 21k .221oba

Scott Diamond- 1-1 3.48era 4starts 20.2inn=5.1inn per start .208 opponents batting average

Hitter of the Month

Trevor Plouffe- .282 avg 6hr 13rbi's 4 doubles and a triple 11 runs scored .344/.590/.934 stat line.

Ben Revere- .293 avg 0hr 5rbi's 2 doubles, 7 stolen bases 10 runs scored .330/.315/.645 stat line

New Britain Rockcats

Pitcher of the Month

Cole Devries- 0-0 0.00era 7 games 4 saves 14.2inn 3 hits 1bb 21 strikeouts .063 OBA

Steve Hirscfeld- 1-0 2.05era 4starts 22inn= 5.5 per start 5bb/18k .190 oba

Hitter of the Month

Yangervis Solarte- .359 avg 2 homeruns 12 rbi's 9 doubles and a triple, .367/.577/.944 line

Joe Benson- .295 avg 2homeruns 12 rbi's 8 doubles and a triple .360/.500/.860 stat line

Fort Myers

Pitcher of the Month

Kane Holbrooks- 0-4 2.43 era 5 starts 29.2 inn=5.84 per start .248 OBA

Dakota Watts- 0-1 3.12era 5 saves 8 games 8.2 inn .273 OBA

Hitter of the Month

James Beresford- .325avg 0hr 8rbi's 2 doubles and 8 runs scored .353/.350/.703 stat line

Danny Rams- .338 avg 1hr 10rbi's 4 doubles and 2 triples .392/.500/.892 stat line

Beloit Snappers

Pitcher of the Month

Adrian Salcedo- 1-1 2.78 era 4 starts 22.2 innings= 5.55 per start 6bb/19k .259 OBA

Logan Darnell- 1-1 2.78 era 4 starts 22.2inn .148 OBA

Hitter of the Month

Danny Ortiz- .377 avg 6hr 15rbi's 7 doubles and a triple with 16 runs scored .429/.768/1.197

Oswaldo Arcia- .352 avg 5hr 18 rbi's 8 doubles and a triple with 18 runs scored .420/.704/1.124

Twins Organization Pitcher of Month for April: Cole Devries

Twins Organization Pitcher of Month for April: Danny Ortiz

Stream of Consciousness

2011-05-08T06:20:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone my name is Travis Aune and I am the author of Travis Twins Talk a blog I have had for a couple of years and sometimes the information is constant, but because I am also a college student sometimes it is not as constant. I have finals this week and then graduate on Friday with an Associates before I move on to get my Bachelors so I guess I am trying to explain why my posts have not been as often as other bloggers. That does not mean I am any less of a Twins fan because I am a huge Twins fan as I never miss a game along with Co-hosting Twins Minor League Weekly every Monday and Thursday night with Seth Stohs at 10pm central. I still try to read some other Twins blogs and listen to podcasts when I have an opportunity and I can honestly say that the amount of negativity surrounded the Twins blogging community and on Twitter is making me sick to my stomach. Twins fans should be ashamed of themselves right now. Are the Twins playing like we are accostumed to them playing right now of course not, but the amount of whining and complaining by so called Twins fans is unbelievable. I remember the 2000 season when the Twins threw guys like Matt Kinney, Sean Bergman, Hector Carrasco that was a bad pitching staff. They counted on position players like Matthew Lecroy, Jason Maxwell, Chad Allen, and last but not least Butch Huskey. That right there was a bad team, but in the darkness their was a glimmer of light as guys like Torii Hunter, Jacque Jones, Christian Guzman, Corey Koskie, Brad Radke, Johan Santana were getting their start. I remember that season all too well as day after day I sat and watched them compete their best every night and lose every night. The reason I continued to watch as a Twins fan is I knew things would get better as the Twins had a plan and that plan led to six division titles in nine years along with two mvp awards, multiple silver slugger awards, a manager of the year award, and most importantly hours and hours of enjoyment for Twins fans.

Now we are in 2011 the Twins are 12-19 and 9.5 games out of first, but instead of hearing about how can the Twins can get back in the race all I hear is about how this person sucks and that person should be replaced. Cmon guys this is the Twins they have given us so much enjoyment through the years and when they have a little bit of trouble you all jump ship and go negative. The thing I have always prided myself about being a Twins fan is we always stick by our team even when things are not going well. Right now it feels like I am cheering for the Yankees as every time they lose a game people are bitching that it was someones fault and someone should be benched, sent to the minors or released. Do I wish guys like Mauer, Young, Nishioka, and Thome were playing right now of course I do, but they are not so it doesn't help to bitch instead we should be cheering for guys like Butera, Tosoni, Revere, Hughes, Casilla to do well and not bitch everytime they get an out that they should be benched. The final two points that I feel I need to make is one, the Twins have had more success than just about any organization in baseball the last 10 years and we should trust that they will figure things out because the negativity is really getting sickening. Some nights I go on Twitter and all I see is this player sucks and that player sucks and it makes me sad. Justin Morneau didn't play for 8 months and had a very serious brain injury so I think we can give him a benefit of more than 31 games before we want to throw him overboard. All he has done for the Twins I think he has earned the Patience of Twins fans. I for one get frustrated sometimes when the Twins can't hit a pitcher, but the big picture is the Twins will figure it out they always do. Will they go to the playoffs again who knows, but its fun to find out. My final point is all the negativity towards manager Ron Gardenhire I think is the dumbest thing in the world. This is Gardy's 10th year as a manager and has taken teams to the playoffs six of those years and finally won the manager of the year award last year after many years he should have won it. Seems like the team goes through adversity every year and with Gardy's steady hand they find a way to make it through it a stronger team. The fact that some blame everything on Gardy is so stupid that I should not even answer that. So Gardy goes from the Manager of the Year to someone that should be fired that is so ridiculius. Mark my words the Twins will be in contention in August and all these tribulations will make the team stronger and more tight knit. I am going to get off my soap box now and just encourage before being critical look at the big picture and trust that the Twins know what they are doing as they haven't had a bad 10 year period and I for one am so thankful that the Twins give me hours of entertainment every week and makes me fall further in love with the great game of baseball every day. God Bless

NFL Mock Draft 3.0

2011-04-23T06:55:00.000-07:00

1. Carolina Panthers- Cam Newton QB Auburn

2. Denver Broncos- Marcel Dareus DT Alabama

3. Buffalo Bills- Vonn Miller LB Texas A&M

4. Cincinnati Bengals- A.J. Green WR Georgia

5. Arizona Cardinals- Blaine Gabbert QB Missouri

6. Cleveland Browns- Julio Jones WR Alabama

7. San Francisco 49'ers- Patrick Peterson CB LSU

8. Tennessee Titans- Nick Fairley DT Auburn

9. Dallas Cowboys- Tyron Smith OT USC

10. Washington Redskins- Robert Quinn DE North Carolina

11. Houston Texans- Aldon Smith LB Missouri

12. Minnesota Vikings- Jake Locker QB Washington

13. Detroit Lions- Prince Amakamara CB Nebraska

14. St. Louis Rams- Cameron Jordan DE California

15. Miami Dolphins- Mark Ingram RB Alabama

16. Jacksonville Jaguars- D'Quan Bowers DE Clemson

17. New England Patriots- JJ Watts DE Wisconsin

18. San Diego Chargers- Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue

19. New York Giants- Mike Pouncey OL Florida

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Muhammad Wilkerson DE Temple

21. Kansas City Chiefs- Anthony Castonzo OT Boston College

22. Indianapolis Colts- Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin

23. Philadelphia Eagles- Jimmy Smith CB Colorado

24. New Orleans Saints- Brooks Reed DE Arizona

25. Seattle Seahawks- Nate Solder OT Colorado

26. Baltimore Ravens- Brandon Harris CB Miami

27. Atlanta Falcons- Cameron Hayward DE Ohio State

28. New England Patriots- Derrek Sherrod OT Mississippi St.

29. Chicago Bears- Cory Liuget DT Illinois

30. New York Jets- Phil Taylor DT Baylor

31. Pittsburgh Steelers- Danny Watkins OG Baylor

32. Green Bay Packers- Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa

NFL Mock Draft 2.0

2011-04-17T07:15:00.000-07:00

1. Carolina Panthers- Cam Newton QB Auburn

2. Denver Broncos- Marcel Darius DT Alabama

3. Buffalo Bills- Vonn Miller LB Texas A&M

4. Cincinnati- AJ Green WR Georgia

5. Arizona Cardinals- Robert Quinn DE North Carolina

6. Cleveland Browns- Julio Jones WR Alabama

7. San Francisco 49er's- Patrick Peterson CB LSU

8. Tennessee Titans- Nick Fairley DT Auburn

9. Dallas Cowboys- Tyron Smith OT USC

10. Washington Redskins- Blaine Gabbert QB Missouri

11. Houston Texans- JJ Watt DE Wisconsin

12. Minnesota Vikings- Prince Amakumara CB Nebraska

13. Detroit Lions- D'Quan Bowers DE Clemson

14. St. Louis Rams- Aldon Smith DE Missouri

15. Miami Dolphins- Mark Ingram RB Alabama

16. Jacksonville Jaguars- Cameron Jordan DE California

17. New England Patriots- Jake Locker QB Washington

18. San Diego Chargers- Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue

19. New York Giants- Mike Pouncey C Florida

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers- Anthony Castanzo OT BC

21. Kansas City Chiefs- Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin

22. Indianapolis Colts- Nate Solder OT Colorado

23. Philadelphia Eages- Jimmy Smith CB Colorado

24. New Orleans Saints- Aldon Smith LB Missouri

25. Seattle Seahawks- Derrek Sherrod OT Mississippi St.

26. Baltimore Ravens- Torrey Smith WR Maryland

27. Atlanta Falcons- Akeem Ayers LB UCLA

28. New England Patriots- Muhammad Wilkerson,DT Temple

29. Chicago Bears- Aaron Williams CB Texas

30. New York Jets- Phil Taylor DT Butler

31. Pittsburgh Steelers- Kyle Rudolph TE Notre Dame

32. Green Bay Packers- Cameron Hayward DE Ohio State

NFL Mock Draft 1.0

2011-04-08T12:28:00.001-07:00

It is that time of year again where all the top college players converage onto NYC for the NFL Draft. I know there is a lockout, but that doesn't mean this won't be a great day for these young men who have worked their whole life for this moment. With the draft quickly approaching I thought it was time for the first of my mock drafts. Let me know what you think.

1. Carolina- Cam Newton QB Auburn

2. Denver- Marcel Dareus DL Alabama

3. Buffalo- Blaine Gabbert QB Missouri

4. Cincinnati- AJ Green WR Georgia

5. Arizona- Vonn Miller DE Texas A&M

6. Cleveland- Patrick Peterson CB LSU

7. San Francisco- Robert Quinn DE North Carolina

8. Tennessee- Nick Fairley DT Auburn

9. Dallas- Tyron Smith OT USC

10. Washington- Julio Jones WR Alabama

11. Houston- JJ Watt DE Wisconsin

12. Minnesota- Da'quan Bowers DE Clemson

13. Detroit- Prince Amukamara CB Nebraska

14. St. Louis- Corey Liuget DT Illinois

15. Miami- Mark Ingram RB Alabama

16. Jacksonville- Aldon Smith DE Missouri

17. New England- Cameron Jordan DE California

18. San Diego- Muhammed Wilkerson DT Temple

19. New York Giants- Mike Pouncey C Florida

20. Tampa Bay- Ryan Kerrigan DE Purdue

21. Kansas City- Phil Taylor DT Baylor

22. Indianapolis- Anthony Castonzo OT Boston College

23. Philadelphia- Gabe Carimi OT Wisconsin

24. New Orleans- Adrian Clayborn DE Iowa

25. Seattle- Jimmy Smith CB Colorado

26. Baltimore- Brandon Harris CB Miami

27. Atlanta- Nate Soldier OT Colorado

28. New England- Akeem Ayers LB UCLA

29. Chicago- Derreck Sharrod OT Mississippi State

30. New York Jets- Cameron Heyward De Ohio State

31. Pittsburgh- Aaron Williams CB Texas

32. Green Bay- Brooks Reed DE Arizona

Utility Decision

2011-03-25T06:15:00.000-07:00

With the spring season coming to the end next week it is likely the final decisions for the Twins needs to be made. More than likely 22-23 of the roster decisions are decided so it is just those couple of decisions that have to be decided. I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the final roster spots and how I think it will turn out.

Utility spot: Luke Hughes vs Matt Tolbert- If you would have asked me this question a week to ten days ago I would have said it would be Hughes in a landslide. However, as the spring has unfolded and the Twins have saw more and more of pitchers that will start the season in major league uniforms Hughes' numbers have plummeted. He has gotten plenty of playing time as his 63 spring at bats would attest to. He went a stretch where he did not get a hit in four straight games and with Gardy wanting to see more of him he has been playing most of the game so thats some serious at bats. He hit his team leading sixth homerun of the spring yesterday along with his team leading fifteen rbi's. However, he has seen his average plummet to a high in the .350's to now just .254. On the other hand Matt Tolbert has put together a Matt Tolbert type of spring. He is Mr. Steady in that he will not put up good numbers, but he will work his butt off and he can play four to five positions so he is very versatile. He is called Nick Punto Jr. for a reason by people as he does a lot of the same things that Punto did except his defense is not in Punto's class. He actually has hit better this spring than he normally will as he is hitting .306 in 36 at bats. At the end of the day this decision is tougher than I thought it would be as Tolbert has caught up to Hughes with Luke's struggles the last week to ten days. Then there is Tolbert is great defensively compared to Hughes so that has to come into account. I could change my mind before cut day on Wednesday, but my pick is Luke Hughes slightly and here is my reason why. The Twins lineup is very lefthanded and when teams bring in a tough lefty the twins are handicapped. So by having a guy like Hughes on the bench it will allow Gardy to bring gardy to bring Hughes off the besch to get a big hit. Tommorrow I will discuss the big bullpen decision so check back tommorrow.

Today, the Twins face the Orioles in Fort Myers and Scott Baker gets the start for the Twins as he tried to get ready for the start of the season. Gametime is at 12:05

Are the Twins done spending

2011-01-07T03:58:00.000-08:00

With the Twins likely signing Carl Pavano today after months of hand wringing by Twins fans the question has to be asked is this the team the Twins will bring to Fort Myers with them for Spring Training in about six weeks or is there room in the payroll to sign a Jim Thome or possibly a Brian Fuentes. The best way to figure out that is look at what the Twins have on the books already and see what the future holds for the Twins going into spring training.

C. Joe Mauer- 23.0 When the Twins signed Joe Mauer to the massive 8 year 184 million dollar deal last March Twins fans knew there would always be a lack of flexibility in the payroll, but that is just something you just need to do. Unless your the Yankees when you have superstar players you need to cut corners in other parts of your team and it is no different for the Twins.

1b Justin Morneau- 14.0 The Twins owe Justin Morneau 3 years and 42 million left on his contract. If he is healthy that is a market level contract for someone of his skill set and maybe even a little below market value. However, the last two years Morneau has had difficulty staying healthy so this contract does not look as good as it did two years ago. Here's hoping that Morneau can stay healthy this year and make his contract look fair.

2b Tsuyoshi Nishioka 3.0 The Twins made their first foray into Japan by bringing in the talented middle infielder into the fold and signing him to a 3 year 9.25 deal with a team option for a fourth year. No one knows how good he is going to be for the Twins, but he hit .346 in Japan last season so there is some hope that he can hit close to .300 and play good defense. He is such an unknown that it is hard to say whether this was a good signing by the Twins or a mistake.

SS Alexi Casilla- 800,000* The asterisk means a arbitration estimate for Casilla. Alexi Casilla gets one last chance to prove that he can be a every day player for the Twins. If he struggles this year he likely will not come back in 2012. So there is some pressure on Casilla to show what he has shown in flashes over a full season. If he fails Trevor Plouffe will be waiting in AAA awaiting the call.

3b Danny Valencia- 500,000* There has not been a rookie with the kind of impact that Valencia made last year in a number of years for the Twins. Valencia proved he can hit for average with some occasional power along with playing great defense. The key for Valencia in 2011 is to prove that 2010 was not a fluke and he is the 3rd baseman the Twins have been waiting for.

LF Delmon Young- 5.25*- Delmon Young had a breakout season for the Twins last year and is entering his 2nd try at arbitration this winter. Young is under team control for two more years and will be a free agent after the 2012 season. With the season that Young put up in 2010 there is some thought that maybe the Twins should try to sign him long term right now. I would wait to see if 2010 was an abberation or a sign of things to come as Young is only 25 years old. Here is hoping that last year was just the beginning for Delmon and he is in a Twins uniform for many years to come.

CF Denard Span- 1.0 After signing a five year 16.5 deal last spring training there was hope that Denard would take his game to the next level and add some stolen bases to his game. However, Span had his worst season as a Twin in 2010 including getting picked off 9 times and having career lows in batting average, on base percentage, and OPS. Those are the only stats that matter for a guy like Span so this is a big year for him to show last season was a fluke and he can get back to being the player we all hope he can be.

RF Michael Cuddyer 10.5 Michael Cuddyer was another one that did not have as good of a year in 2010 as he did in 2009. After hitting 32 homeruns in 2009 Cuddyer's total dropped in 2010 to 14 homeruns. Cuddyer is in the last year of his contract so it is a big year for Cuddy as he heads towards free agency.

DH Jason Kubel- 5.25 Jason Kubel is another guy that is in the last year of his contract. Kubel saw his batting average drop from .300 in 2009 to .249 in 2010 and saw his OPS drop from .907 down to .750 so 2011 is a huge year for Kubel. With Chris Parmelee knocking on the door Kubel really needs to step it up in 2011 if he wants to remain with the Twins.

Bench

C Drew Butera- 500,000 Butera returns for a second season as the backup catcher for the Twins. Offensively he is not someone you count for much, but defensively there are not a lot better defensively behind the plate. He will be back in 2011 and the hope that he can improve a bit offensively.

Inf Matt Tolbert- 500,000 With the Twins on a tight budget the Twins will likely turn the utility role over to Matt Tolbert who is not good, but he is cheap.

OF- Jason Repko 600,000 Jason Repko returns for a second season with the Twins as he did an outstanding job as a extra outfielder in 2010 and will do another good job in 2011.

PH Luke Hughes- 400,000 if the Twins decide to turn the page on Jim Thome then Luke Hughes would likely get a chance to win a roster spot. Hughes has a injury history, but when healthy he is a very accomplished hitter and I believe could do well.

Offense Salaries: $65.3 million

Pitching

1. Francisco Liriano- 4.5 After being at the lows of a 5-13 season in 2009 that led him to go to winter ball after the season to regain his confidence and having to battle for a roster spot in spring training. Liriano really took a step forward in 2010 by winning a career high 14 games and a solid 3.62 era. To be honest if not for all the innings he pitched in winter leagues he may have been better as he ran out of gas towards the end of the year. It will be interesting to see Liriano rebound in 2011.

2. Carl Pavano- 9.0 That is taking for granted that Pavano gets a 2 year deal for 18 million that is being reported. Pavano pitched 221 innings in 2010 which was the second most of his career so it will be interesting to see if he can do it again. By the Twins signing him they are gambling that he can.

3. Scott Baker 5.0 There was not a pitcher on the Twins last year that was as frustrating as Baker. Baker was one of the highest paid pitchers on the team last year and was not real good. Going 12-9 with an era of 4.49 is not what Twins fans were expecting out of their opening day starter. Baker has two years and 11.5 left on his deal along with a 9.5 club option for 2013 that the team is highly unlikely to pick up the way that he is pitching. Scott Baker will play a huge factor whether the Twins can win their third straight AL Central Title or not.

4. Brian Duensing- 500,000 Brian Duensing was outstanding once he joined the rotation last year and was a big reason the Twins were able to make the playoffs. With Carl Pavano likely returning Duensing will have to earn a rotation spot once again and that is nothing new for him. I look for him to come up big like he has every season at the major league level.

5. Nick Blackburn- 3.0 Nick Blackburn is as big as an enigma that I can find not only on the Twins, but in all of baseball. When Blackie is good he is very good, but when he is bad he is really bad. For example in May and August Blackburn went 6-1 with a 2.38 era. However, in April, June, and July he went 2-7 with an era over 8 which led to his demotion to AAA. So if the Twins can get the good Blackburn instead of the bad one then the Twins could be pretty good.

Bullpen

Joe Nathan- 11.25 Joe Nathan missed the entire 2010 season because of Tommy John surgery so it will be interesting to see if he is ready to start the season. Pat Neshek struggled coming back last season, but a guy like Billy Wagner came back even better. That is the biggest question mark on the Twins this year is what to expect from Nathan as that will be key in determining the AL Central race.

Matt Capps- 7.5 Matt Capps came over last season at the deadline and saved 16 games in 18 opportunities. So if Joe Nathan is not able to take back the closer's role than the Twins have a good one in Capps and even if Nathan does return to old form the Twins have a pretty good 1-2 combo at the end of games.

Jose Mijares- 500,000 Jose Mijares had a subpar 2010 season battling injuries and struggling with his weight. When he is good Mijares is a very good left handed pitcher out of the bullpen, but when he is not then he is not very good. He needs to return to the 2009 form if the Twins want to be back in postseason play.

Pat Neshek- 625,000 Pat Neshek returns to the Twins bullpen in 2011 and the hope is he can return to 2008 form. Neshek lost velocity after Tommy John surgery so the big thing is if he can get his velocity back. Another thing is his control as he was not as pinpoint as he was and that is to be expected as Liriano had the same problem.

Jim Hoey 800,000 Hoey was part of the J.J. Hardy trade and has some major league experience with the Orioles in 2006-2007 before suffering a shoulder injury. After surgery it took him a couple years to get back to possibly help at the major league level. The positive thing about him is he throws 95 and can strikeout some guys. The thing that you need to watch as he walks to many guys so he definately is a project.

Kevin Slowey- 2.75 There is some thought that the Twins might deal Slowey to get a good reliever, but with the age of Pavano and the durability issues so Slowey should stay. Slowey had a tough 2010 and the Twins really need Slowey to return to his previous form.

Scott Diamond- 400,000 The Twins selected Diamond in the first round of the rule V draft and will give him a chance to make the team out of spring training. He has a chance to be servicable for the Twins so it should be very interesting.

Pitching Payroll 43.8

Total Payroll: 109.1

The question then has to become can the Twins afford Jim Thome or Brian Fuentes or is this the end. It really depends on what the end payroll will end up being. If the payroll is 115 million then yes they can afford one of the two, but not both. However, if the payroll is 110 the Twins are likely done. So let me put it out to you if the Twins can afford one of the two who would you sign Jim Thome or Brian Fuentes. You can leave your comments in the comment box.

2011 Travis Talks Minnesota Twins offseason blueprint

2010-11-04T15:17:00.001-07:00

First to start off it has been a long time since I blogged, but with school and stuff it has been very difficult to find the time to blog. However, make no mistake I am a blogger it is what I enjoy doing and will continue to be a blogger. I don't know how frequent I will blog, but hopefully it will be atleast a couple times a week during the offseason and more during the season. So if you stopped following my blog I really hope you will tune back in as I try to get back at it and for those who are reading this thanks for sticking with me.

Withe the 2010 season over it is time to start looking ahead to the 2011 season. The Twins had another good season winning 94 games and claiming their sixth central division championship in the last nine years. However, they ran into the New York Yankees once again and once again they came on the short hand of it. However you can't forget the great seasons by Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, Jim Thome and the reemergence of Francisco Liriano. It was another gutty performance by do it all Michael Cuddyer who once again filled in admirabely for Justin Morneau who missed a chunk of the season due to a concussion. Gotta give some credit to Jon Rauch who filled in admirably for Joe Nathan who missed the season due to Tommy John surgery. Danny Valencia clearly established himself as the Twins starting 3rd baseman and most importantly Target Field turned into a true home field advantage as the Twins drew over three million people into the beautiful stadium. So to look at the 2011 season there will be many challenges as the Twins have a lot of free agents and not much money. So the Twins will have to make some difficult challenges and get help from guys on the farm once again. So without further adeiu here is my 2011 Minnesota Twins Offseason Blueprint.

1). Add Steve Singleton, David Bromberg, Joe Benson, Chris Parmelee, Rene Tosoni, Kyle Waldrop, and Tyler Robertson to the 40 man roster.

2.) Reinstate Joe Nathan and Justin Morneau from the 60 day D.L. and remove Esterlin De Los Santos from the 40 man roster.

3.) Let free agents Orlando Hudson, Nick Punto, Clay Condrey, Ron Mahey, Brian Fuentes, Matt Guerrier, Jon Rauch, and Randy Flores leave as free agents.

4.) Sign J.J. Hardy to a 3 year 18 million dollar contract with a vesting option for a 4th year based on plate appearances. The Breakdown is 6-6-6-9.

J.J. Hardy is only 28 years old and is very good defensively and will be much better offensively in 2011 and by signing him you develop cost control to let a guy like James Beresford develop slowly to take over in 2014.

5.) Reach Arbitrations agreements with Matt Capps(7.5) Delmon Young(5.25) Kevin Slowey(2.75), Alexi Casilla(800,000), Pat Neshek(800,000), and Jason Repko(750,000)

6.) Don't offer Carl Pavano arbitration

I would love to offer Pavano arbitration to get that extra two draft picks, but I can't take the chance that he would accept and be on the hook for 10 million bucks. So I politely thank him for his service and wish him luck.

7.) Sign Francisco Liriano to a 4 year 42 million extension with the breakdown being 4/8/15/15

Francisco Liriano really developed into a very good number two pitcher on a good team and even though he is not an ace he will be excellent in the role that is given to him. He might never be The Franchise again, but he has the ability to be a horse for the Twins and get every penny of this contract out of him.

8.) Resign Jesse Crain to a 4 year 16 million dollar deal.

Jesse Crain has developed into one of the best set-up men in the American League and that is what top setup men are getting on the free agent market. You put him, Matt Capps, and Joe Nathan at the back of the bullpen and you are looking at a six inning game.

9.) Trade Jason Kubel, Kevin Slowey, Aaron Hicks, and Anthony Slama to the Royals for Zack Greinke.

Now this is the big trade and before you laugh me out of the building I know Greinke got lit up like a Christmas tree last year by the Twins, but his era against teams other than the Twins was a very respectable 3.73. He is a young guy who in 2009 put up unbelievable numbers to win the Cy Young award. Just think of a 1-2-3 of Zack Greinke, Francisco Liriano, and a motivated Scott Baker. Can you say Championship.

2011 Projected Lineup

C- Joe Mauer
1b-Justin Morneau
2b-Alexi Casilla
ss- J.J. Hardy
3b. Danny Valencia
Lf- Denard Span
cf- Ben Revere
Rf- Michael Cuddyer
Dh- Delmon Young

Projected lineup payroll(appr-61.38)

Bench
Drew Butera
Matt Tolbert
Jason Repko
Luke Hughes

(Brenden Harris' 1.75 million dollar contract included)

Projected bench payroll(appr-3.72)

Starting Rotation
1. Zack Greinke
2. Francisco Liriano
3. Scott Baker
4. Nick Blackburn
5. Brian Duensing

Projected Starting Rotation payroll(appr-26.0)

Bullpen
Joe Nathan
Matt Capps
Jesse Crain
Jose Mijares
Pat Neshek
Alex Burnett
Jeff Manship

Projected Bullpen payroll(appr-24.9)

Total Payroll-116 million

Summary
I feel like I have improved the pitching staff immensely and their is room for manuevering if it becomes obvious that Joe Nathan is back as Matt Capps is basically an insurance policy in case he is not ready. If Nathan is ready you can move Capps for prospects that you lost when you acquired him last season. The big key in the lineup is what can you get out of Justin Morneau who was on pace for another mvp this year before getting kneed in the head. If the Twins can get a big year out of Morneau and like seasons from Delmon Young, Joe Mauer, and Michael Cuddyer with the improved speed in the outfield the Twins will be pretty good. Add the better pitching they will get and I like the Twins chances running this team out on opening day 2011. Let me know what you think of this down in the comment box. Thanks.

Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight at 9pm

2010-06-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

I am back with another edition of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight at 9 and it should be a fun show. I will start out with Darren "Doogie" Wolfson and we will talk the NBA draft and what his thoughts are for the future of the Timberwolves. I will then be joined by Dez Tobin of the great Blog of Dez Says and we will talk about the Twins and look back at the series against the Phillies and look forward to the Brewers series with maybe a little bit of minor league talk. So join us tonight at 9 for the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight and you can find the show at http://blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk

Travis Talks prospect List 50-46

2010-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

It is that time again to take a look at the Twins prospects and how they are doing and What i think about the future for them. I will take five at a time and give their stats in 2010 and talk a little bit about them. Don't expect a lot of info on them as it is a busy time for me, but I felt like it was important to get them down on paper and see what everyone thinks. I added the 2010 draft picks that I felt are worthy of being in the top 50. Let me know what you think by leaving comments in the comment box or shooting me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

50. Santos Arias RHP (3/17/1987) 23

2010 teams: New Britain and Fort Myers

2010 Stats: 0-7 4.50 era 22games 36 innings 20bb 25k .268 OBA

How Acquired:

Santos Arias had a rough time of it this year who had alot of expectations going into the year after a great year in Fort Myers last year. He recently was demoted down to Fort Myers to try to get his confidence back after struggling in New Britain. Twins fans should not give up on the tiny right hander who is still a good prospect. He throws hard and when he is throwing strikes he is hard to hit. I look for a bounce back second half out of the righty from The Dominican Republic as he is too good of a pitcher to pitch this horribly for the Twins.

49. Josmil Pinto C (3/31/1989) 21

2010 teams: Beloit Snappers

2010 Stats: .235 5 homeruns 26 rbi's 11 doubles 10bb 20k .282/.395/.678

How Acquired:

Josmil Pinto has a ton of power as you saw with his 13 homeruns in Elizabethton last season. He is struggling a little bit more this year and that is to be expected as he moved up a level to better competition. This year has been kind of a struggle as he is battling for playing time with Danny Rams and Tobias Streich so when he was playing sparingly it was hard to do much. However, since he has gotten more at bats his numbers have gradually come up. There is a lot of value in Pinto as he is one of the few hitters in the system that hits homeruns. He has tremendous power at the plate and given more time his average will improve also. His defense behind the plate is something that he is going to have to continuially work on as right now it is not great. I see him as a DH with occasionally some time at 1st base and behind the plate. He has no speed so he is going to have to do it with his bat and be a station to station player. I really think Josmil Pinto is one to keep an eye on as he moves through the system.

48. Andrei Lobanov LHP (1/25/1990) 20

2010 teams: Fort Myers Miracle

2010 stats: 1-0 2.29 era 12 games 19.2 innings 4bb 18k .269 OBA

how acquired: Signed as Free Agent in 2007 out of Moscow, Russia

Andrei Lobanov really has come on the scene the last year and a half as he put up good numbers last year in the GCL. So the big expectation was that Lobanov would move up to Elizabethton this year and work as the closer there. However, with a combination of injuries and bad pitching in Fort Myers the 6'3 Russian walked across the parking lot and has really been good for the Miracle. He has a good demeanor on the mound and like most Twins pitchers he pitches to contact as he has given up 21 hits in 19.2 innings of work. However, he works out of situations very well and his breaking pitches are very good. I still would not be surprised to see him go to Elizabethton, but I do think he has done enough in Fort Myers to stay there for the whole season. I don't think it would be the worst thing in the world for him to go to Elizabethton, but I feel like the right place for him is Fort Myers.

47. Edgar Ibarra LHP (5/31/1989) 21

2010 teams: Beloit Snappers

2010 Stats: 4-6 4.06 era 18 games 7 starts 1save 51 inn 33bb 55k .217 oba

How aquired: signed as a free agent in 2006 out of Venezuela

Edgar Ibarra is quite the prospect in that he has four pitches that he can throw for strikes in just about any situation. I am kind of perplexed why he hasn't had more success than he has so far. He has a good fastball along with a plus curveball and a decent slider and changeup. A friend of mine that saw him in person came away very impressed with what he brought to the table. Ibarra just turned 21 and in Beloit so he is ahead of the game and quite young for his level. He has pitched well at every level they have put him at, but for some reason every season they put him in the bullpen to start the season because he doesn't throw 95. However, he throws good enough to get guys out which is all that should matter. The one thing I think he needs to work on in the second half is his control as he has walked 33 batters in only 51 innings of work. That is just way too many walks and until he figures that out he won't get out of Beloit. I look for him to finish the season in Beloit and then next year move up to Fort Myers, but definatly Edgar Ibarra is someone to keep a close eye on as he has quite a bit of potential.

46. Brad Stillings RHP (1/20/1988) 22

2010 teams: Beloit Snappers

2010 stats: 6-3 4.15 era 13 starts 65 inn 29bb 51k .296 oba

How acquired: 7th round pick in 2009 draft out of Kent State

Brad Stillings is another college pitchers that the Twins love to take so much. I am a little perplexed that he has struggled as much as he has so far. He has three solid pitches and is only 22 years old so he is right on track. He got off to a rough start to the season, but seems to be rounding into form. In the month of June he is 3-0 with a 1.56 era so I don't think it will be much longer before he is up in Fort Myers. He has a pretty high upside being he is an experienced college guy who had some success in college and is doing well for Beloit right now. I really look for him to take off in the second half and get up to Fort Myers before the year is out. I am very high on Stillings and believe he really has a chance to succeed in the Twins organization. He is someone that Twins fans should keep an eye on as I think he will move through the system fast and he has a real chance in my opinion and it will be fun watching him develop.

May Awards/Beloit Snappers

2010-06-14T05:05:00.000-07:00

Today, I will finish off my look at the month of May as I look at the Beloit Snappers who did not have a great month of May, but had some decent performances that are worth looking at. The Snappers had a rough month in that they lost 12 out of 13 games in a stretch that took them out of playoff contention. After talking about the Snappers today I will begin my look at the top 50 prospects in the Twins organization. I will include the Twins 2010 draft picks in my look at the prospects so check back tommorrow for a look at that. However, today is about the Beloit Snappers and some of the good performances in the month of May. Like always you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com and let me know what you think.

Hitter of the Month: Anderson Hidalgo- Talk about a guy going under the radar as not many people talk about the quality season that Hidalgo is having this year with the Snappers. After hitting .314 in April, Hidalgo followed that up with an even better month of May. In 28 games in May, Hidalgo hit .317 with a homerun and 10 rbi's along with a very impressive 13 doubles. He does not have a lot of homerun power, but he is a doubles machine as he already has 16 doubles on the season. He does not walk much as he only walked four times in 101 at bats. However, he does not strikeout much either as he only struck out 14 times along with stealing two bases. Anderson Hidalgo had a very good .349 on base percentage along with a not bad .475 slugging percentage for a very good .824 OPS for the Snappers. The 21 year old out of Venezuela that the Twins signed in 2006 is not known as a huge prospect, but he has put up numbers so far this year that some of the higher prospects would be jealous of. He is struggling a little bit in June, but he still has half a month and I expect him to get his numbers back up before the end of the month. It will be interesting if people start getting on board with the young third baseman and put them on their prospect lists because this year he deserves the recognition.
Others Considered: James Beresford, Brian Dozier

Pitcher of the Month: Michael Tonkin- Tonkin really made quite the impression in his debut in Beloit. There were many that felt that he was not ready for A ball and that he would be better served going to Elizabethton. However, he really did well in May as he showed that he is ready for Beloit. Tonkin made four May starts and went 0-2 due to lack of run support and a very good 3.38 era. Tonkin worked 21.1 innings in those four starts so just over 5 innings a start for the 20 year old out of Palmdale, California who the Twins drafted in the 30th round of the 2008 draft. In his 21.1 innings he only gave up eight runs. The fact that he is Jason Kubel's brother in law should not fool you as he is a very talented pitcher that you will be hearing quite a bit about his good pitching. Tonkin only walked four batters in his 21.1 innings of work while striking out 13. Tonkin held opponents to a .282 opponents batting average.
Others Considered: Kane Holbrooks, Dakota Watts

May Awards/Fort Myers Miracle

2010-06-13T07:28:00.000-07:00

Today, I will continue my look at the month of May in the Twins organization. Today, I look at the Fort Myers Miracle who did not have a very good month as they fell out of playoff contention in the first half. They also had a talent influx with some guys coming from Beloit and some others coming back down from New Britain. They may not have a lot of wins in May, but they had some good performances that I feel deserve to be mentioned. Let me know what you think and you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com and let me know what you think.

Hitter of the Month: Joe Benson- I really wanted to choose someone that was in Fort Myers all month, but that was not possible as the offense for the Miracle in May was non-existant. Therefore I included the guys that spent half the month in Fort Myers guys like Chris Parmelee, Esterlin De Los Santos, and Joe Benson who were demoted from New Britain. Parmelee was under consideration, but since he went back up to New Britain he was disqualified and even he was still in Fort Myers I still would have gone with Benson. Joe Benson had to be upset that he was sent back to Fort Myers after hitting four homeruns and being the hottest hitter in New Britain in the month of May. However, after going down to Fort Myers he used it as a positive and not a negative to put together a good month of May. In Fort Myers in the month of May Benson hit .263 in 14 games for the Miracle. He showed his extra base power by hitting four homeruns along with five doubles along with 11 rbis. He walked eight times while striking out 14 times. He also stole four bases. Benson had a very good .364 on base percentage along with a very good .561 slugging percentage for an OPS of .925. Joe Benson really had a good month of May as he hit 8 homeruns if you combine his New Britain stats. Benson had a very good month and it won't be long until he is back in New Britain.
Others Considered: Esterlin De Los Santos, Dan Rohlfing

Pitcher of the Month: Liam Hendriks- After arriving from Beloit in early May Liam Hendriks kept it going all month long. After putting up a very good 1.32 in 34 innings in Beloit, he got promoted to Fort Myers and was also very good. Hendriks made four May starts and went 2-1 with a very good 2.70 era. He worked 23.1 innings so just about 6 innings a start for the Australian pitcher. In his 23.1 innings he only gave up seven runs which is very good. Now this is impressive he only walked four batters while striking out 25 batters. Hendriks held opponents to a .230 opponents batting average, which is very good. Liam Hendriks has taken huge steps in 2010 and has put his injury past behind him to become a very good prospect for the Twins. It will be interesting to see how good he becomes, because the talent is there and his arm is finally completely healthy and is finally showing it on the mound. He is definately you should keep an eye on in the years ahead as he moves through the system.
Others Considered: Billy Bulluck, Shooter Hunt, Andrei Lobanov

May Awards/New Britain Rockcats

2010-06-12T14:42:00.000-07:00

I will continue my look at the month of May in the Twins minor league affiliates. Today, I will talk about the New Britain Rockcats who had a terrible month of May as they continue to have a historically bad year. That is not to say that a few guys did not have solid months and I think it is good recognize their good play so that is what this posting is all about. I welcome your comments or questions whether they are positive or negative as long as they are constructive to make this blog better. You can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com. Thanks for reading

Hitter of the Month: Ben Revere- After getting off to a very un Ben Revere like start in April the phenom came out on fire in the month of May. After hitting only .274 in April Revere turned it on in May. In 30 games in the month of May Revere hit .336 in 119 at bats. He had six doubles, a triple, and a homerun along with a very good month of May in rbi's as he recorded 15 for the month. Revere is not usually a run producer as he is mainly a singles hitter, that is why the 15 rbi's in May is so noteworthy. Revere only struck out seven times while walking 13. You would like to see the walk total go up, but you can't complain about seven strikeouts in 119 at bats a rate of one strikeout every 17 at bats which is awesome. In May, Revere stole 12 bases that is what makes him special as in his first two full seasons he stole 90 bases as he is lightning fast. Revere had an awesome .412 on base percentage in May, while compiling a decent for him .429 slugging percentage for an ops of .840. Ben Revere is a hitting machine and it won't be long before he roaming the outfield with Denard Span and Delmon Young to form a new soul patrol.
Others Considered: Steve Singleton, Yangervis Solarte

Pitcher of the Month: Kyle Gibson- Although Gibson only made four starts in New Britain in the month of May after being promoted from Fort Myers he really made them count. Kyle Gibson is the real deal and will be a member of the Minnesota Twins sometime in 2011. In May Gibson was just absolutely filthy as he made four starts and went 3-0 along with a complete game and a miniscule 1.37 era in 26.1 innings. In those 26.1 innings he only gave up four earned runs. He had a very good five walks and 23 strikeouts in his 26.1 innings so almost a strikeout an inning and a little over a walk per nine innings. The most impressive stat that I found about Gibson's 3.23 ground ball to fly out rate as he is a ground ball machine. He also held opponents to a very good .208 opponents batting average. Kyle Gibson is the real deal and will be a key contributer for the Twins next season if not this year. He is going through a few bumps in early June, but I have no doubt that he will overcome them to have a very good rookie season in the Twins organization as he works his way up to the majors.
Others Considered: Carlos Gutierrez, Michael Allen

May Awards/Rochester Red Wings

2010-06-09T06:52:00.001-07:00

Today I will continue to look at the month of May in the Twins system. Today I will be moving to the Rochester Red Wings who did not have a very good month of May as a team, but collectively there was some solid performances. I thought I would acknowledge those performances. If you have a comment on my selections I welcome you to leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Hitter of the Month: Jose Morales- Jose Morales came on the scene in May for the Red Wings and had a very solid month at the plate. He has played mostly as the designated hitter with Wilson Ramos getting most of the catching duties. That has hurt Morales chances to make it back up to the Twins as he just has not had enough opportunities to show he ready to take over the backup catching duties for the Twins. However, swinging the bat was not a problem in May and I know he has struggled in June so far, but he is too good to not hit. He may not be a gold glove catcher or hit a lot of homeruns, but he is a 300 hitter and by years end that is where he will be if he is in Rochester that long and right now I think it is a 50-50 chance he spends the season in Rochester. In May Morales hit a very good .309 along with four doubles and five rbi's. He walked eight times while striking out eleven times. Morales had a very good .397 on base percentage which is very good for someone not taking a lot of walks. His .382 slugging percentage is pretty typical for a guy that is a singles hitter who does not hit for much power so that is not surprising. Morales OPS was a very respectable .779 at the plate and the big thing for him is if he can keep his on base percentage up he will be just fine. It will be interesting if he can bounce back the second half of June and get his average back in the 300's like it belongs. If that should happen I happen to think it would not be long before he gets called back up to the big leagues.
Others Considered: Brock Peterson, Trevor Plouffe, Danny Valencia

Pitcher of the Month: Kyle Waldrop- Normally I don't like to give this award to a reliever so one of two things needed to happen for a reliever to get the award. One if the starters weren't worthy of it, but that is not the case as their was a starter that was heavily considered. The second is if a reliever has an especially good month and that is totally the case in the month of May. Kyle Waldrop was filthy in the month of May and got himself in position for a promotion to the Twins if their is a need. Kyle Waldrop is a name many Twins fans are not familiar with as he has kind of came out of nowhere, but he was a 1st round pick in 2004 out of high school in Knoxville, Tennessee. He suffered a shoulder injury that forced him to miss the entire 2008 season and finally now he is completely healthy and showing what people thought of him coming out of high school. He has been awesome this year, but May was especially good for Waldrop as he put up great numbers in May for the Red Wings. In May, Waldrop went 1-0 with a miniscule 0.84 era in 11 games along with a save. Waldrop worked 21.1 innings and only gave up two earned runs. He only walked four guys while striking out 16. He held opponents to a very good .214 batting average. The stat that really stood out to me in May for Waldrop was he had a 3.27 to 1 ground ball to fly out rate which means he is a ground ball machine and that really transfers well into the Major Leagues. If Waldrop keeps it up it will not be long before he is up with the Twins.
Others Considered: Matt Fox, Anthony Slama

May Awards/Twins

2010-06-05T16:17:00.000-07:00

As you can see I am making some changes with the Travis Talks blog here. I have moved all my minor league talk over to http://twinstarget.com/minors. So if you want to read my material on the minor league affiliates go over there. If you want to read about Minnesota Twins material though this is the right place to be. There will be a little bit of minor league talk here as I will continue my monthly awards with all the teams in the Twins organization. Also I will after the draft next week bring the Travis Talks Minnesota Prospect Rankings. I will start my look at the month of May by looking at the Twins. I will give a hitter and pitcher of the month along with a pitcher and hitter that really struggled in the Month. Let me know what you think of it by either leaving a comment in the comment box or shooting me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Hitter of the Month: Justin Morneau 1b- Justin Morneau had a very historic month of May that will challenge the month of May that Joe Mauer made last year. Morneau hit for average, hit for power, got on base, played great defense, and made himself the early favorite for American League MVP. In the month of May Morneau hit an unbelievable .400 in 100 May at bats along with six homeruns and 19 rbi's and 13 doubles. Morneau also walked an unbelievable 20 times in May as he would not help the pitchers out who wanted to pitch around him in key situations. Morneau only struck out 23 times in comparision to the 20 walks. Morneau had a great .496 on base percentage in May which is very impressive. Along with a .710 slugging percentage and a season high 1.206 OPS. It was a great month for Morneau and if he can keep up anything close to this going forward he will win the MVP going away and led a good Twins attack in May.
Others Considered:Orlando Hudson, Denard Span, Delmon Young

Pitcher of the Month: Nick Blackburn- Nick Blackburn found his groove in May for whatever reason. After really struggling in April to a 6.85 era Black Jack really came back in May and was the ace of the staff in May. He still gave up a lot of hits, but did not walk anybody and got a lot of ground balls to put up zeros on the scoreboard. In the month of May Blackburn went 5-0 with a an awesome 2.65 era in 5 starts. He worked 37.1 innings which averages over 7 innings a start. Blackburn gave up 40 hits in those 37.1 innings so he still is very hittable, but walked only 5 batters in the five starts along with 10 strikeouts. Nick Blackburn really turned it around in May to become the pitcher that most Twins fans expect out of Blackburn. I know he has gotten off to a rough start in June, but the Twins need him to be the innings eater that he has been in the first 2 years of his career if the Twins want to stay on top.
Others Considered: Scott Baker, Brian Duensing, Alex Burnett

Tommorrow I will continue my look at the month of May as I will bring pitcher and hitter of the month in Rochester and so on for the rest of the week. After I finish that I will bring you my top 50 Twins prospect including the new Twins drafted this week. So keep checking back every day for this information.

Sunday, May, 30th

2010-05-30T08:08:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
Twins 8 (29-20) Rangers 3

For 5 and a half innings it looked like it was going to be one of those games as the Twins were not able to touch Rangers starter CJ Wilson as they had one hit thru the first 5 innings. A Denard Span solid single and a Orlando Hudson homerun tied the score and broke the ice and before the 7th inning was over the Twins were ahead 8-2 and held on for a 8-3 victory over the Rangers yesterday. Most everyone will talk about the offensive outburst in the 6th and 7th innings by the Twins offense, but if it was not an excellent start by Twins starter Carl Pavano it would not have been possible. Pavano continued his strong start to the season by pitching his 7th quality start in his 10 starts. In this one Pavano went 7 innings and gave up only 2 runs on seven hits along with a walk and a strikeout. Pavano has been much better than I thought he would be as he has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff and take away a couple bad starts and his numbers would be awesome. Jesse Crain then came on for the 8th inning and gave up an unearned run along with a hit and a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 5.57. Brian Duensing pitched a scoreless ninth inning on a hit along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to a very good 1.77.

For 5 innings the Twins offense was just dead, but somehow in the 6th and 7th innings it came alive and went crazy. In all the Twins scored 8 runs on 8 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving only 4 guys on base which is a stark improvement over other games. The Twins did commit two errors in the game which was surprising. JJ Hardy committed his 1st error and Jason Kubel committed his 2nd of the year. However, the Twins still only have 12 errors on the season so their defense has been unbelievable so far this season. The Twins were led offensively by Orlando "O-Dawg" Hudson who went 2-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun of the season that tied the game at 2 in the 6th inning. Hudson also contributed his 10th double of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 16 and his average up to .307. Hudson has been a one man demolition machine in this series by going 5-8 at the plate which is a .620 batting average. Orlando Hudson has been better than even I thought he would be as he has played gold glove defense and then hitting over .300 at the plate. I know its early but if he keeps this up I hope the Twins find a way to resign Hudson in the offseason he has been that good. Another good performance by JJ Hardy who went 2-4 at the plate with his 12th and 13th rbi's of the year and brought his average up to .244. Delmon Young went 1-4 at the plate with his 12th double of the year and drove in two runs to bring his rbi total up to 24. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 12th double of the year. Denard Span and Justin Morneau each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Twins.

Tonight, the Twins finish off their series with Texas and their homestand as Scott Baker gets the ball for the Twins and will oppose Rangers starter Derek Holland. Gametime is at 7:10pm at Target Field in Minneapolis as the Twins go for the three game sweep and their 4th win in a row overall.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 (19-30) Durham 4

The Red Wings got a well pitched game out of Jeff Manship and scored enough runs to get the victory over Durham last night by a score of 6-4. Jeff Manship got the start for the Red Wings and did an ok job not great, but not bad. Manship went 4 innings and gave up three runs on eight hits along with a walk and seven strikeouts to raise his era up to 4.37 on the year. Jeff Manship has been ok on the mound, but not what I am expecting out of him as he has way too much talent to be struggling in AAA. How is it possible that he can go up to the Twins and do well and then struggle in AAA. I hope that he can develop some more consistancy because the talent is there for him to take off and be contending for a spot in the rotation for the Twins in 2011. Tim Lahey then came on and was very good going two innings and only giving up a run on four hits along with two walks and a strikeout to lower his era to 6.55 and improve his record on the year to 4-1. Kyle Waldrop then came on and continued his strong start to the season as he pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on two hits along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.47. Anthony Slama then came on and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up his 10th save of the year on one hit along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.55.

The Red Wings had a solid night offensively as they supported good pitching to pick up the win for the Red Wings. Rochester scored 6 runs on 11 hits along with drawing 6 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. Jose Morales committed his first error of the season in the Red Wings victory. The Red Wings were led offensively by Matt Macri who went 2-4 at the plate with his 8th double of the year and his 10th rbi to bring his average up to .284. Brock Peterson went 2-4 at the plate with his 5th double to bring his average up to .243. Jason Repko went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .311 on the year. Danny Valencia went 1-3 at the plate with his 15th double and 24th rbi of the year. Matt Tolbert went 1-4 at the plate with his 10th rbi along with his 5th stolen base and 2 runs scored. Wilson Ramos, Jose Morales, and Toby Gardenhire each contributed base hits in the winning cause for the Red Wings.

Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Durham as Deolis Guerra gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 4:05 in Durham as the Red Wings try to win their second straight victory over the Bulls.

New Britain Business

Portland 11 New Britain 3 (14-34)

The Rockcats had another rough day yesterday as a close game turned into a laugher in the late innings and the Rockcats went down to Portland by the score of 11-3. After only trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the 7th inning Portland exploded for 6 in the 7th and 3 more in the 8th to put the game away. Mike Mccardell got the start and was pretty good in this one. When Mccardell left the game there was a guy on first in a 2-0 game and took the loss to drop his record to 0-5. Mccardell went 6+ innings and gave up 3 runs on 9 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts along with a homerun to lower his era to 4.55 on the year. Michael Allen then came on and was not very good in this one. Allen only got 2 guys out and gave up 5 runs on 4 hits along with a walk to raise his era on the year to 4.09. Cole Devries made his return to AA and it was not a very good one. Devries went 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on 4 hits along with a strikeout to raise his era on the year to a very robust 5.32.

The Rockcats really could not do much against Portland pitching until it was too late to make a difference. The Rockcats scored only 3 runs on only 5 hits along with drawing 6 walks and leaving 7 guys on base. The Rockcats did not help themselves as they committed an error. Yancarlos Ortiz committed his third error of the season for the Rockcats. The Rockcats were led offensively by Yangervis Solarte who went 2-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun with the Rockcats and drove in three runs to bring his season rbi total up to 12 and his average up to .309. Rene Tosoni, Erik Lis, and Mark Dolenc each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.

Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 12:00 in Portland as the Rockcats try to get back on the winning side of things.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 3 (21-28) Brevard County 2

The Miracle were able to come on top in a hard fought pitchers duel and got just enough hitting to pull out a 3-2 victory over Brevard County Saturday night. Adrian Salcedo got the start for Fort Myers and had a so so start, but what he did well was damage control as he gave up 10 hits but only 2 of them scored. It is pretty obvious that Salcedo is a little above his head in Fort Myers, but he has shown some moxie to not make this a total disaster. Salcedo has shown all the talent that he posseses and it is obvious that the 19 year old is going to be something special for the Twins. In a couple weeks he will go back down to either Elizabethton or Beloit and dominate like he has the potential to do. Even though his numbers do not look great he has been everything that we could have hoped he would be and the sky is the limit for Salcedo. Salcedo went 4.2 innings in this game and gave up two runs on 10 hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.27. Andrei Lobanov then came on and was awesome once again for the Miracle. Lobanov picked up his first win of the year as he went 2.1 scoreless innings on only two hits along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era to 1.59 on the year. The 20 year old from Moscow has really shown some good potential as he has been the Miracle's best reliever since he got to Fort Myers. Lobanov was scheduled to close for Elizabethton and it will be interesting to see if they continue that plan or keep him in Fort Myers he has been that good. Tony Davis then came on and pitched two shutout innings to pick up his first save on two hits along with three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.96 for the Miracle.

The Miracle did not do much offensively in this one, but they did not need much with the good pitching out of the Miracles pitchers. The Miracle scored 3 runs on 10 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 6 guys on base. Esterlin De Los Santos committed his 3rd and 4th errors since his demotion. The Miracle were led offensively by Chris Parmelee who went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .340 on the year. Chris Hermann went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .238. Nathan Hanson went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .231. Deibinson Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his second homerun of the year and his 16th rbi. Esterlin De Los Santos, Evan Bigley, and Jon Goncalves each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle.

Today, the Miracle finish off their series with Brevard County as Shooter Hunt gets a spot start for the Miracle as Brad Tippett gets back into form. Gametime is at 12:00 in Brevard County as the Miracle try to win their 2nd straight game as they try to get back into playoff contention.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 3 (26-24) Peoria 2 12 innings

The Snappers needed 12 innings in order to stop their 8 game losing streak last night with a 3-2 victory over Peoria behind good pitching from Brad Stillings and a James Beresford rbi single in the top of 12th inning to pick up the win for the Snappers. Brad Stillings got the start for the Snappers and was very good. Stillings went 7 innings and only gave up an unearned run on one hit along with three walks and five strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.10. This was by far the best start of the year for Stillings who was a 7th round pick in the 2009 draft out of Kent State so the talent is there. Stillings needs to work on being a little bit more consistant on the mound, but the talent is obviously there and heres hoping that the 22 year old can pull it together and live up to his promise. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched two shutout innings on a hit along with one walk and three strikeouts to lower his era to 2.08. Dakota Watts then came on pitched two innings to pick up the win and move his record on the year to 2-1. Watts worked two innings and gave up a run on a hit on a homerun with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era to 2.16. Kane Holbrooks worked a scoreless inning to pick up his 6th save of the year on one hit to lower his era on the year to 1.23. Holbrooks has done enough in my opinion to deserve a promotion to Fort Myers as he has been utterly dominant as the Snappers closer and is ready for a new challenge.

The Snappers could not get much going offensively, but got enough to pick up the win for the Snappers. The Snappers scored 3 runs on only 7 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. Brad Stillings committed his 1st and 2nd errors of the year in the Snappers win. The Snappers were led offensively by James Beresford who went 2-4 at the plate with the game winning single along with his 13th and 14th rbi's and 5th stolen base to bring his average up to .241. Angel Morales went 2-5 at the plate with his eighth double of the year to bring his average up to .259. Josmil Pinto went 1-4 at the plate with his 16th rbi. Aaron Hicks went 1-4 at the plate along with two walks. Daniel Santana also contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.

Today, the Snappers continue their series with Peoria as BJ Hermsen gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 1:00pm in Peoria as the Snappers try to win their second straight game.

Saturday, May, 29th

2010-05-29T15:30:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
Twins 2 (28-20) Rangers 1

The Twins combined good pitching and great defense to pick up their second straight win this time over the Texas Rangers in a hard fought 2-1 pitchers duel that the Twins came on top in. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and was very good in this one. Slowey went 6.2 innings and only gave up a run on 6 hits along with a walk and five strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.15 and improved his record to 6-3 on the year. Slowey finally got past the 6th inning, something he had only done in 1 start previous this year so that was a good sign. He hit his spots much better and that is what Twins fans have been waiting to see out of Slowey so it was very promising to see out of him. Slowey ran out of gas in the 7th inning loading the bases with two outs before needing help from the bullpen. The Twins turned to lefty Jose Mijares to retire Rangers slugger Nelson Cruz. There was some question putting Mijares in that situation because even at his best he can be a little bit wild and there was no room for error so it was a bit curious. However, Mijares did his job and got his batter out on a groundout. With the out Mijares lowered his era on the year to 2.89. Jose Mijares has really improved since coming off the DL and will see more and more opportunities in big situations. Matt Guerrier then came on and did his job phenomenally pitching a perfect 8th inning with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.64. Jon Rauch pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his 11th save of the year on one hit along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 2.84.

The Twins really could not get much going offensively, but they did not need much to get the win thanks to the good pitching out of the pitching staff. The Twins scored 2 runs on only 7 hits along with drawing 5 walks while leaving 9 guys on base including having the bases loaded and nobody out and only able to score 1 run so the score could have been a bit more lopsided, but a win is a win. The Twins were led offensively by O-Dawg Orlando Hudson who went 3-4 at the plate with his 9th double of the year to bring his average up to .303 on the year. Jim Thome went 1-4 at the plate with his 6th double of the year. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd triple of the year. Joe Mauer went 1-3 at the plate with his 23rd rbi and grounded into a double play that scored the winning run in the 5th inning. Denard Span went 1-4 at the plate to bring his average down to .289 on the season.

Today, the Twins continue their weekend series with Texas as Carl Pavano gets the start for the Twins against CJ Wilson of the Rangers. Gametime is at 3:10 at Target Field in Minneapolis as the Twins try to make it 3 wins in a row.

Rochester Wrap

Durham 4 Rochester 2 (18-30)

The Red Wings suffered a tough loss to Durham last night as they haven't gotten any consistancy out of the Red Wings as they lost 4-2 last night to Durham. The Wings got a great start out of Matt Fox, but the bullpen could not hold a 2-0 lead going into the 7th inning in the game. Matt Fox went the first 6 innings and did not give up a run on only 3 hits along with three strikeouts. With the 6 shutout innings Fox lowered his era on the year to 2.44. Matt Fox has been solid all year long for the Red Wings and besides a rough start or 2 he has been very good whether the Red Wings have chosen to have him start or come in relief. Jose Lugo then came on and saw his season long struggles continue in this one. Lugo got only one out and gave up two runs on two hits along with a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 7.03. It is amazing that a lefty that can throw 94 can struggle as much as Lugo has this year. It was just a couple years ago that he was taken in the rule V draft and now he is on the verge of either being demoted down to AA or even possibly being released all together. Rob Delaney then came on and had a rough outing which is surprising as he has pitched so good this year. Delaney picked up the loss and dropped his record on the season to 5-2. Delaney went 1.2 innings and gave up two runs on two hits along with a strikeout and a homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.39.

The Red Wings could not do much offensively as they tried to hang on to a 2-0 lead and were unable to do just that. The Red Wings scored 2 runs on 11 hits along with drawing a walk and leaving an unbelievable 8 guys on base. Brock Peterson committed his 4th error of the year in the loss. The Red Wings were led offensively by Brian Dinkelman who went 2-4 at the plate with his 10th and 11th doubles of the year to raise his average up to .279. Danny Valencia went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .302. Wilson Ramos possibly might be breaking out of his slump by going 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .167. Jacque Jones continued his hot May by going 2-4 at the plate with his 7th double of the year and his 10th rbi to bring his average up to .312. Jones has really caught fire in the month of May hitting .317. If the Twins need a corner outfielder it would not shock me at all if Jones did not get the call. Dustin Martin went 1-4 at the plate with his 8th double of the year and 33rd rbi. Matt Tolbert and Trevor Plouffe each added base hits in the losing cause for the Red Wings.

Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Durham as staff ace Jeff Manship gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 in Durham as the Red Wings try to get back on the winning track.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 (14-33) Portland 2

The Rockcats got a big win last night as they finally made Cats starter Carlos Gutierrez a winner after being a tough luck loser in quite a few starts this year. The Rockcats did not do much against Portland pitching, but did just enough to get the win. Carlos Gutierrez continued his strong May for the Rockcats in this one. Gutierrez went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.65 and improved his record to 2-3. Gutierrez really has had a good month of May and not much to show for it. In the month of May Gutierrez has gone 2-2 with a great 2.15 era in 6 starts. If Gutierrez keeps it up it won't be long before he is up in AAA knocking on the door for the Twins. Joe Testa then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings on only two hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era 7.15 on the year. Chris Province then came on and got the last two outs, but made it interesting as he walked two batters and a strikeout before getting out of the jam to get the win and pick up his 4th save of the year for the Rockcats.

The Rockcats did not get much going on offense, but they got enough offense to pick up the win. The Rockcats scored three runs on seven hits along with drawing four walks and leaving seven guys on base. Yangervis Solarte committed his first error of the year and Steve Singleton committed his 7th. The Rockcats were led offensively by Chris Cates who went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .158. Yangervis Solarte went 1-4 with his 5th double of the year. Erik Lis went 1-3 at the plate with his 4th homerun and 11th and 12th rbi's. Brandon Roberts, Rene Tosoni, and Steve Singleton each contributed base hits in the winning cause for the Rockcats.

Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Mike Mccardell gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 12:00pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to win their second consecutive victory over the Sea Dogs.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 6 (20-28) Brevard County 0

The Miracle got back on the winning track with a nice 6-0 victory over Brevard County behind a wonderful pitching performance by Dan Osterbrock and good hitting and defense in this one. Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Miracle and went 6.2 innings with only one measly hit allowed along with three walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 4.20 and picked up his first FSL win. Osterbrock is an interesting case that he does not throw hard at all and you wonder sometimes how he gets by. That is why sometimes he gets drilled because he only throws a mid 80's fastball. However, when he hits his spots with his fastball and gets his curveball over for a strike he can be very good. Jose Gonzalez then came on and pitched the last 2.1 innings of relief along with 4 strikeouts to finish off the shutout for the Miracle.

The Miracle did not do a whole lot offensively in this one, but just enough to get the job done. The Miracle scored 6 runs on 7 hits along with drawing 7 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. Deibinson Romero committed his 4th error of the year in the victory for the Miracle. The Miracle were led offensively by Deibinson Romero who went 2-5 at the plate with his 14th and 15th rbi's of the year to bring his average up to .203. Evan Bigley went 1-5 at the plate with his 13th double of the year. Joe Benson went 1-3 at the plate with his 11th rbi and 4th stolen base. Jon Goncalves went 1-3 at the plate with his 6th rbi and 2nd stolen base. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-4 at the plate with his 4th stolen base of the year.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Brevard County as 19 year old phenom Adrian Salcedo gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Brevard County as the Miracle try to pick up another win.

Beloit Beat

Peoria 10 Beloit 4 (25-23)

The Snappers have seen their promising first half go by the wasteside in another loss for the Snappers. The 10-4 loss to Peoria was the Snappers 8th consecutive loss that put them from first place to out of playoff contention. Miguel Munoz got the start for Beloit and pitched effectively the first 3 innings and then did not even make it out of the 4th inning in the loss. Munoz went 4 innings and gave up 9 runs on 8 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.89 and drop his record on the year to 1-4. Peter Kennelly then came on and pitched 2 scoreless innings on only a walk to lower his era on the year to 6.18. Matt Tone then came on and worked an inning and gave up a run on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 4.15. Kane Holbrooks finished the game with a scoreless inning of relief along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.27. If Holbrooks keeps it going it will not be very long before Holbrooks is up in Fort Myers.

The Snappers could not get much going offensively in this one as they lost their 8th straight game. The Snappers scored 4 runs on only 5 hits along with drawing 3 walks and leaving 4 guys on base. Danny Rams committed his 2nd error of the year and Reggie Williams committed his 7th. The Snappers were led offensively by Aaron Hicks who went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double along with a walk and two runs scored. Angel Morales went 1-4 at the plate with his 4th triple of the year. Danny Rams went 1-4 at the plate with his first triple of the year and his 11th rbi. James Beresford and Anderson Hidalgo each contributed hits in the losing cause for the Snappers.

Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Peoria as Brad Stillings gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30pm in Peoria as the Snappers try to break out of their 8 game losing streak.

April player awards: Rochester Red Wings

2010-05-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

I will be continuing to look at the month of April as I take a look at the Rochester Red Wings. They did not have a great month record wise, but they still had some very good performances that I feel deserve to be recognized. If you agree or disagree with me let me know who you think should be the players of the month. If you have any comments or questions you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo so enjoy and let me know what you think.

Pitcher of the Month: Anthony Slama- For a guy that really did not have much to prove in AAA Slama really outdid himself in April. For a closer to win pitcher of the month that means either that he pitched extroidanary or the starters did not do anything that really stood out. In this case it is a little bit of both as the starters did nothing to really stand out and Slama was very good in April. Slama pitched in 12 April Games with 5 saves. Slama pitched 15.1 innings and only gave up 2 earned runs in those 15.1 innings for an era of 1.17. He struck out 19 while walking 7 so he needs to work on the walks as he continues to struggle a bit with the bases on balls. That is the only thing really keeping him out of the major leagues and if he could take care of that he will be up with the Twins sooner rather than later. The most impressive stat that I saw in Anthony Slama was he held opponents to a .102 batting average.
Others considered: Jeff Manship, Kyle Waldrop

Hitter of the Month: Dustin Martin- Dustin Martin really stepped up in April to really show that he is still a prospect. After hitting only .254 in 2009 there were some thought that Martin's prospect status was a thing of the past. However, those that thought that could not have been more wrong. It is possible that not getting invited to spring training with the Twins this year put a spark in him. At the start of the year Martin was going to be a backup in the outfield and by the end of April he was starting for the Red Wings. In 18 April games Martin hit .338 with 4 homeruns along with 17 rbi's and scored 13 runs. Martin had two doubles along with a triple while walking 9 times and striking out only 13 times in 65 at bats. He had a phenomenal .419 on base percentange along with a good .585 slugging percentage for a very good 1.004 OPS. It will be interesting to see if Martin can keep it going all season long or if April was just a hot month and will come back down to earth.
Others Considered: Trevor Plouffe, Brian Dinkelman

Friday, May, 28th

2010-05-28T11:49:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
Twins 8 (27-20) Yankees 2

The Twins very easily could have swept the Yankees in this series, but at the end of the day have to feel fortuante to win the one game in the series. The Twins got something that a month ago would have seemed impossible a great start by Nick Blackburn and a big game out of Jason Kubel in the Twins 8-2 win against the Yankees. The Twins went 2-4 against the Yankees, but to look at the positive is that is two times as many wins as they had against New York all of last season and played them tough as they only got blown out in one of those games as they could of easily won 3 of those 4 losses. Nick Blackburn got the start in this one and was very good once again. I don't know what he took care of in Oklahoma, but since he came back he has been a different pitcher getting a lot of ground balls and just getting guys out. In the month of May he has a 5-0 record with a 2.67 era in the month of May. In this start Blackburn went 7 innings and gave up 2 runs on 9 hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era to 4.28 on the year and improve his record to a team leading 6-1 on the year. Jose Mijares then came on and continued his impressive pitching as of late pitching a scoreless inning on one hit and a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 3.00. Mijares has thrown 5.2 scoreless innings now spanning 4 outings and is quickly gaining back the trust of Twins manager Ron Gardenhire and pitching coach Rick Anderson and won't be long until he is back pitching in game deciding situations. Alex Burnett then came on and pitched a perfect ninth to lower his era to a very impressive 2.74. Burnett has been getting better and better just about every time out and he has a major league arm and as the season goes on look for him to go into more key situations as the coaching staff gains more confidence in him.

The Twins finally got some big hits off Yankee pitching when it counted. The Twins scored 8 runs on 12 hits along with drawing 5 walks while leaving 7 guys on base. The Twins also had an error committed by Joe Mauer, his second error of the year. The Twins were led by Jason Kubel in this one as he had one of his best days of the year. Kubel went 3-4 at the plate with his fourth and fifth homeruns of the year along with his fifth double and drove in 5 runs to bring his season total up to 27 and increased his average up to .233 on the year. Jason Kubel got off to a awful start to the season and hopefully this is the beginning of a rebirth for Kubel as he is too good of a hitter to be hitting this bad. Justin Morneau went 2-2 at the plate with his 15th double of the year and his 35th rbi of the year along with bringing his average up to .377. Denard Span went 2-5 at the plate with his 10th double to bring his average up to .290. Span is in a hot streak right now going 8 for his last 14 at the plate a .571 average. Denard is too good of a hitting to be toiling in the .230's and you just knew it was a matter of time before he got his average where it belongs in the 290's to 300's. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 11th double of the year. Orlando Hudson went 1-3 at the plate with his 2nd triple along with 2 walks and 2 runs scored. Joe Mauer, JJ Hardy, and Alexi Casilla each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

Tonight, the Twins will start a three game holiday weekend series with Texas as Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins and will face Colby Lewis of Texas. Gametime is at 7:10 at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 4 (18-29) Durham 3

The Red Wings got back on the winning track after not playing very well as of late as they rode the left arm of Glen Perkins and a three run top of the 7th inning to pick up a rare road win in Durham by the score of 4-3. Glen Perkins seems to have turned the corner a little bit as he has pitched two solid games in a row for the Red Wings. In this one Perkins went 5.2 innings and gave up 3 runs on only 4 hits along with 3 walks and an impressive and season high in strikeouts with 9. With the 3 runs allowed in 5.2 innings Perkins lowered his era on the year to a still bad 8.47, but he dug himself such a hole it is going to take a run of good outings to get it done. Kyle Waldrop continued his strong outings by pitching 2.1 scoreless innings to pick up his first win of the year. Waldrop went 2.1 innings and did not give up a hit only allowing a walk along with four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.54. I know everyone wants Anthony Slama to get the call to the Twins or even Rob Delaney and they both deserve the call, but in my opinion the person that is the most deserving is Kyle Waldrop. After having shoulder surgery a few years ago he has continued to get better and better and he is having his breakout year this year. He does not throw real hard but his ball moves like crazy and I feel he would be very effective in the bullpen when you need a ground ball. So if I am Bill Smith and I have only one need in the bullpen the guy I would call up is Kyle Waldrop. Anthony Slama then came on and pitched a scoreless 9th inning on only a walk while recording a strikeout to pick up his 9th save and lower his era on the year to 1.63.

The Red Wings struggled with Durham pitching for the first 6 innings, but figured it out in the seventh to pick up the win. The Red Wings scored 4 runs on 8 hits along with drawing 5 walks and leaving 7 guys on base in this one. The Red Wings were led in this one offensively by Jose Morales who went 2-3 at the plate with his third and fourth doubles of the year along with his fourth rbi to bring his average up to .341 on the year. Dustin Martin went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average back up to .309 on the year. Jason Repko went 1-4 at the plate with a walk along with a stolen base and two runs scored. Matt Tolbert, Brian Dinkelman, and Matt Macri each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Red Wings.

Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Durham as Matt Fox gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 in Durham as the Red Wings try to build on last nights win.

New Britain Business

New Hampshire 8 New Britain 7 (13-33)

The Rockcats suffered another heartbreaking loss to New Hampshire last night as the Rockcats blew a 5-4 lead going into the 7th inning and then had their rally in the bottom of the ninth come up short in a 8-7 loss to New Hampshire. Santos Arias got the start for the Rockcats in this one and was decent, but not great. Arias went 4.2 innings and gave up four runs on four hits along with two walks and two strikeouts including a homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.55. Santos Arias has been one of the biggest disappointments in the whole Twins organization. After doing very well in Fort Myers last year there was hope that Arias was on the verge of being a big time prospect, but that has not happened as he has digressed and on the verge of being demoted back to Fort Myers. Lets hope he can figure it out and figure it out soon. Michael Allen then came on and pitched 1.1 bad innings giving up three runs on three hits along with three walks and a strikeout to pick up the loss and lower his record to 1-1 on the year. With the three runs he also increased his era up to 2.61. Matt Williams followed and was actually pretty decent as he worked three innings and only gave up a solo homerun along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.09.

The Rockcats had a good night offensively, but when the pitching staff does not get it done there is not a whole lot you can do. The Rockcats scored 7 runs on 12 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 9 guys on base. The Rockcats also committed two errors in the game. Steve Singelton committed his 6th error and Juan Portes committed his 3rd error of the year. The Rockcats were led offensively by Ben Revere who went 4-4 at the plate with a walk along with his 7th double of the year to bring his average up to .329. Yangervis Solate went 2-3 at the plate with his second homerun of the year and his 4th double. He drove in three runs also to bring his season total up to 9 since his promotion and also scored 3 runs for the Rockcats. Yancarlos Ortiz went 2-4 at the plate with his 4th rbi to bring his average up to .300. Brandon Roberts, Mark Dolenc, Rene Tosoni, and Jair Fernandez each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats in this tough loss.

Tonight, the Rockcats begin a series in Portland against the Sea Dogs as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 6:00pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to bounce back from last night.

Fort Myers Minutes

Brevard County 4 Fort Myers 3 (19-28)

The Miracle lost another tough one last night to Brevard County by a score of 4-3. The Miracle took a 3-0 lead going into the bottom of the 7th and were unable to keep it together. Liam Hendriks got the start and was very good once again as he went the first six innings and did not give up a run on only three hits along with two walks and seven strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.70. Steve Blevins then came on and was not very good going 1.1 innings and gave up 3 runs on four hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era up to 3.75. Billy Bulluck then came on and was not very good giving up his first runs in the month of May. Bulluck went 1.1 innings and gave up a run on two hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to take the loss and drop his record to 0-3 and raise his era up 2.49.

The Miracle could not get much going offensively in this one as they could only muster 3 runs on 6 hits along with drawing 5 walks while leaving 8 guys on base. Nick Romero also committed his 3rd error of the year. The Miracle were led offensively by Chris Parmelee who went 2-4 at the plate with his 2nd homerun with Fort Myers and his 10th rbi to bring his average up to .357. Jon Goncalves went 1-4 at the plate with his first homerun of the year and his 4th and 5th rbi's of the year. Chris Hermann went 1-4 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Evan Bigley went 1-4 at the plate with his first triple of the year. Esterlin De Los Santos also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Miracle in this one as they went down to Brevard County.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Brevard County as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Brevard County as the Miracle try to bounce back from the loss last night.

Beloit Beat

Quad Cities 2 Beloit 0 (25-22)

The Snappers have seen a great chance to make the playoffs in the first half go by the wayside thanks to a 7 game losing streak that was added to 7 games with a 2-0 loss last night to Quad Cities. The Snappers just can't do it right now as if they pitch good they can't hit and when they hit they struggle pitching. In this one they got a good performance out of Michael Tonkin, but they could not get anything going offensively. Tonkin got the start and went the first 5 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits along with four walks and one strikeout to lower his era to 3.38 and dropped his record on the season to 0-2. Dakota Watts then went two innings and was utterly dominant in this one. Watts faced 6 batters and struck out 5 of them to lower his era on the year to 2.01. Tom Stuifbergen working his way back into the rotation pitched a scoreless inning on two hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.09.

The Snappers could not do much on offense in this one as they failed to score a run on only one hit. They drew 6 walks and left 9 guys on base and in a game like this it can really hurt you leaving that many guys on base. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-3 at the plate with his 15th double of the year. Daniel Santana stole his first base of the year and Steve Liddle stole his 5th base of the year. Aaron Hicks has saw his numbers really drop in the month of May as he is only hitting .210 and striking out 35% of the time in the month of May which is way too much. It is even worse if you look at the last 10 days. In the last 10 days Hicks is hitting .158 as in 6 of his last 38 at the plate and a .256 OBP. I am still very high on Hicks as he just having a rough time, but I would like to see him come out of it very soon.

Tonight, the Snappers begin a weekend series in Peoria as Miguel Munoz gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:3o in Peoria as the Snappers try to snap a 7 game losing streak and try to get back into playoff contention.

I want to invite everyone to come to the return of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast this Monday night at 9pm. The guests are still to be determined, but I will have a big announcement that will change the way you look at the Travis Talks blog from now on so tune in Monday night at 9pm at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk

April player awards

2010-05-27T12:26:00.000-07:00

I know this is very late as the month of May is almost over, but I thought better late than never. I will start with the Twins today and move down through the levels as I go. I hope you all enjoy and if anyone has any comments or questions you can either leave a comment in the comment box or shoot me an email at travis_aune@yahoo.com.

Pitcher of the Month: Francisco Liriano- Francisco Liriano really stepped up his game in April. After going 5-13 with a 5.80 era in 24 starts. His problem was the fact that he fell behind 2-0, 3-1 just about every hitter and then would have to come back with a fastball and would get hit hard. So going into the season Liriano had a lot to prove as there were some who felt that his dominant days were behind him. He has proved that wrong this year by showing his dominant self once again. Liriano has showed his good fastball that he placing well, a good changeup and the dominant slider that he had in 2006 has returned. In April Liriano was utterly dominant in his 4 starts. In 4 starts Liriano went 3-0 with a miniscule 0.93 era. Liriano worked 29 innings and only gave up 3 earned runs and only 18 hits. The biggest difference was he shut down the walks as he only had 10 walks in 4 starts along with 27 strikeouts and held opponents to a .180 batting average. Liriano has struggled in May, but that can not take away from his awesome month of April.
Others Considered: Jon Rauch, Brian Duensing

Hitter of the Month: Justin Morneau- Justin Morneau was another guy who had a lot to prove after missing the last 5 weeks due a back injury. He followed that up with a terrible spring training so he needed a good start to the season and that is just what he got. In 75 at bats in the month of April he hit .347 with 5 homeruns and 17 rbi's along with 21 walks. For a stat line of .490/.640/1.130 that really showed how good of a power hitter that he can be. Morneau led the Twins in order to get a early lead i n the Central and has put up the numbers that would make him a mvp candidate. Morneau had a good year last year, but he has been even more impressive this year so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it up this summer.
Others considered: Joe Mauer, Michael Cuddyer, Orlando Hudson

Wednesday, May, 19th

2010-05-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
Blue Jays 11 Twins 2 (24-15)

There is no pretty way to say this, but to say that the Twins got manhandled by the Blue Jays yesterday afternoon in Toronto by a score of 11-2. The Twins could not pitch, they could not hit, and could not get any clutch hits when the game was still in question. The good thing about it is every year the Twins have a few clunkers like this, but by and large you can count them on one hand while some less successful teams have quite a few of these in addition the Tigers lost to the White Sox so the Twins maintained their 2 game lead in the AL Central. Carl Pavano got the start and man was he bad as he put on his worst start of the season. Pavano only lasted 4 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits along with two strikeouts and allowed two homeruns and hit a batter. With the 6 runs allowed it raised Pavano's era on the year to 4.11 and dropped his record to 4-4. The good thing about Pavano is that he has in his 8 starts 6 of them have been quality starts which is very good. However, as we saw last year when Pavano is off he is really bad and this start really reinforced that notion. Don't get the wrong idea though in his 6 quality starts he has an era of 2.09 while in his 2 bad starts he has a 16.48 era so the bottom line is when he is good he is really good and when he is bad he is really bad. Ron Mahey then came on and was not m uch better giving up three runs on three hits including a homerun and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work to raise his era to 3.09. Mahey needs to pick it up as in his last two outings he has given up 4 runs on 4 hits along with two homeruns after pitching scorless ball his first 11 outings. Jesse Crain then came on and threw gas on the fire giving up two runs on two hits along with a homerun in 1/3 of an inning to bring his era up to 7.31. I have been a Crain fan for as long as he has been there, but I feel like the time is now to cut the cord and dfa Crain. He just does not got it anymore and a change of scenery would be the best for him and even better would be a trip to the national league. The thing about him is he throws 95 and if he can straighten things out he could be a very effective reliever for someone. Jose Mijares then came on and pitched his second consecutive scoreless inning this time with no hits and two strikeouts to lower his era to 4.26. It would be big if Mijares could return to his former form of last year and of 2008.

The Twins were shutdown by a good pitcher in Blue Jays starter Shaun Marcum as the Twins were only able to score 2 runs on only 6 hits along with drawing 3 walks and leaving 6 guys on base. Jesse Crain also committed his first error of the year on an errant throw. The Twins were led offensively by Michael Cuddyer who went 2-3 at the plate with his second triple of the year along with a walk to bring his average up to .266. Joe Mauer went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Alexi Casilla went 1-1 in relief with his first triple of the year and his second rbi to bring his average up to .273. Jason Kubel went 1-3 at the plate with his 16th rbi of the year. Orlando Hudson also contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Twins.

Tonight, the Twins begin a short two game series in Boston against the Red Sox as the Twins send Scott Baker to the mound versus Red Sox starter Clay Bucholz. Gametime is at 6:05 at Fenway Park in Boston.

Rochester Wrap

The Red Wings had their game with Syracuse rained out last night and will be made up as part of a day night doubleheader tonight in Rochester. The probables for game 1 will be Ryan Mullins and for game 2 it will be quite the matchup as Deolis Guerra gets the ball for Rochester and uber prospect Stephen Strasburg gets the ball for Syracuse in what should be an excellent game. Gametime for game one is 10:05 am and game 2 is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester.

New Britain Business

Portland 2 New Britain 1 (7-29)

The Rockcats suffered what is being known as a usual occurance as they lost a tough one run loss this time 2-1 to Portland yesterday. The Rockcats hit the ball pretty well, but where not able to take advantage so they had their record drop to 7-29 and fall 17 games out of first place in what is becoming a historically bad season in New Britain. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Rockcats and was very good once again. Gutierrez went 6 innings and gave up one earned run on only three hits along with walking three and striking out two to lower his era to 3.98 on the year and dropped his record on the year to 0-3. Gutierrez has been night and day between April and May as he was really bad in April by going 0-1 with a 6.63 era in 4 April starts and improved in May to 0-2 with a great 1.88 era in those 4 starts and has been victimized by lack of run support in May. Michael Allen then came on and pitched two shutout innings on one hit along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.42.

The Rockcats could not help their pitching as they were only able to put up 1 run on 11 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving an astonishing 9 guys on base. Carlos Gutierrez also committed his 2nd error of the year on an errant throw. The Rockcats were led by Ben Revere who went 3-5 at the plate with his first triple of the year to bring his average up to .291. Juan Portes went 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .185 on the season for the Rockcats. Erik Lis went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .500 in his first game with New Britain. Rene Tosoni went 2-4 at the plate with his 12th rbi and brought his average up to .286. Yangervis Solarte and Mark Dolenc each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for New Britain.

Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Portland as Tyler Robertson gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to break their 2 game losing streak.

Fort Myers Minutes

Clearwater 4 Fort Myers 2 (17-21)

The Miracle came on the short end of the stick in a good pitchers duel where runs came at a premium. Dan Osterbrock got the start for the Miracle and had his best start as a member of the Miracle. Osterbrock went 6.2 innings and gave up only two earned runs along with three walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 4.50. Billy Bulluck then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings on 2 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.57. He has been even better in the Month of May. After compiling a 5.23 era in 8 April outings and in May he has been perfect not giving up a run in 10.2 innings in May.

The Miracle could not get it going offensively last night as they were only able to put up two runs on 6 hits along with drawing four walks and leaving seven guys on base. They also committed three errors as Jair Fernandez committed his 3rd and 4th errors of the year and Joe Benson committed his 1st. The Miracle were led by Joe Benson who went 1-3 with his first double with the Miracle. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-2 at the plate with his first rbi to bring his average up to .167. Chris Parmelee, Chris Hermann, Evan Bigley and Jair Fernandez each contributed base hits for the Miracle in the losing cause last night against Clearwater.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as Adrian Salcedo makes his highly anticipated debut with the Miracle tonight. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 7 (23-15) Kane County 0

Kane County 3 Beloit 2 (23-16)

The Snappers split a doubleheader last night with Kane County as they won the first game 7-0 behind a great pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. However, in game 2 the Snappers went down 3-2 to maintain first place in the Midwest League South. In game 1 the Snappers got a great pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. Munoz went all 7 innings and gave up no runs on only 3 hits along with two walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 3.24 and raised his record to 1-2. Munoz has been one of the most consistant pitchers on the Snappers pitching staff as he has put up good outings just about every time he has pitched. In game 2 Peter Kennelly got the start going three innings and gave one unearned run in three innings along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.96. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings on two hits. Eliecar Cardenas then came on and pitched 1.2 innings and gave up a run on a hit along with three strikeouts to raise his era to 1.35. Kane Holbrooks came on and gave up the winning run in 2 innings of work with one run on one hit along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 1.14 and drop his record to 2-2. Matt Tone got the final out to lower his era to 3.38.

In Game 1 the Snappers put up 7 runs on 7 hits and took advantage of three unearned runs. They also drew a walk while leaving only 3 guys on base. The Snappers were led by Brian Dozier who went 2-3 at the plate with two rbi's to bring his total on the year up to 16 and his average up to .292. Michael Gonzalez went 1-3 with his 5th homerun of the year and 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 11. Aaron Hicks, James Beresford, and Danny Rams each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers. In game 2 the Snappers did not get much going as they were held to 2 runs on 5 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 5 guys on base. Anderson Hidalgo committed his 5th error of the season in the loss. The Snappers were led offensively by Brian Dozier who went 1-4 at the plate with his 7th double and his 17th rbi. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-3 at the plate with his 10th double of the year. Reggie Williams went 2-3 at the plate with his 2nd stolen base of the year to improve his average up to .190. James Beresford also contributed a base hit in the loss for the Snappers.

Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Kane County as Brad Stillings gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 in Beloit.

Just a reminder the Travis Twins Talk blog will be going on a temporary hiatus as I will be traveling back to Minnesota and will be unplugged from a computer so if anyone has any news they can email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com. I will be back online Monday or Tuesday so look back then for more Twins Talk.

Tuesday, May, 18th

2010-05-18T08:35:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
Twins 8 (24-14) Blue Jays 3

The Twins picked up their second consecutive win and tied a high water mark of 10 games over .500 with a convincing 8-3 win in Toronto last night against the Blue Jays. The Twins got an ok start out of Kevin Slowey along with great bullpen work and a big night from Justin Morneau to pick up the win. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and I was really not impressed. It seemed like every pitch he threw up there Blue Jay hitters were all over. It also seemed like every hitter had a 3-2 count on him and has only made it into the 7th inning in one of his 8 starts this year so that is a concern as every time he pitches he makes the bullpen work. I would really like to see Slowey show some improvement in the sharpness of his pitches and show the stuff that he showed last year when he was on pace for a 20 win season before his year was cut short because of wrist surgery. In this one Slowey lasted only 5 innings and needed 98 pitches in order to accomplish that. In those 5 innings he gave up three runs on eight hits along with two strikeouts and a Jose Bautista homerun to raise his era on the year to 4.70 and improved his record to 5-3 and the 5 wins are a team high. Alex Burnett then came on and was awesome in this one. Burnett pitched two innings on two hits along with a walk to lower his era on the year to 3.26. Alex Burnett has been one of the most pleasant surprises on the Twins in the early part of 2010 hopefully he can keep it going. Matt Guerrier then came on a pitched a perfect 8th inning along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.00. Jesse Crain then pitched a scoreless ninth inning on one hit along witha strikeout to lower his era to 6.32.

The Twins offense woke up from their slumber in New York to bounce back in a big way. They scored 8 runs on 12 hits along with drawing five walks and leaving 9 guys on base in this one. The Twins were led by Canada's own Justin Morneau who continued his hot May with his best day of the season in this one. Morneau went 3-4 at the plate with his 10th and 11th homeruns of the year and drove in 4 runs to bring his rbi total on the year to 29 and his average up to .374. Morneau was pretty good in April hitting .347 with 5 homeruns and 17 rbi's in 75 at bats. However, in May in only 56 at bats he is hitting .411 with 6 homeruns and 12 rbi's. He is off to one of the best starts of his career and here is hoping he can keep it going because if he does he should make room for another American League MVP award in his trophy case. Not to be outdone Joe Mauer had a big game also going 3-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .360 on the year. Right now Morneau and Mauer and 1-2 in the AL in batting average so that is quite a feat. Orlando Hudson making his return to Toronto for the first time since leaving in 2005 went 2-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year and his 12th rbi to bring his average up to .289. Denard Span went 1-5 at the plate with his sixth double of the year. Nick Punto went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd stolen base of the year. Delmon Young went 1-5 at the plate with his fourth homerun and 15th rbi of the year. Jason Kubel also contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

Today, the Twins finish off their short 2 game series with the Blue Jays as the Twins send Carl Pavano to the mound against Toronto starter Shaun Marcum. Gametime is an early 11:35 start at the Rogers Centre in Toronto.

Rochester Wrap

Louisville 5 Rochester 0 (15-23)

The Red Wings lost a tough one to Louisville last night as they were victimized by the long ball and could not take advantage of opportunities in the 5-0 victory for Louisville over Rochester. Matt Fox got the start and was not real sharp as he gave up 2 2run homeruns to put the game out of reach. In all Fox went 5 innings and gave up 5 runs on 6 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts with 2 homeruns given up. With the 5 runs allowed Fox saw his era balloon up to 3.06 and saw his record drop to 3-2. Cole Devries then came on and put up his best performance since coming on to Rochester. Devries pitched 3 shutout innings on no hits along with walking four and striking out three to lower his era on the year to 7.04. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched a scoreless ninth inning along with a walk to lower his era to 7.50 on the year.

The Redwings could not push any runs across even though they had chance after chance after chance. They did not score a run on 8 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving 9 guys on base and having a Jose Morales passed ball. The Red Wings were led by Jacque Jones who continued his strong May by going 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .290. With the start that Dustin Martin got off to and when Jones tweaked his hamstring he was sent to the bench and there were many myself included who wondered if he had hit the end of the line. However, with Luke Hughes dinged up and Brian Dinkelman moving to 2nd base that has given Jones another opportunity and he had really taken advantage of it. Brian Dinkelman went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Jason Repko, Trevor Plouffe, Dustin Martin, and Brock Peterson each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings. Danny Valencia went 0-4 at the plate to see his 20 game hitting streak come to an end.

Tonight, is a big night in Rochester as uber prospect Stephen Strasburg gets the start for Syracuse as they take on the Red Wings who will counter with Twins top prospect 21 year old Deolis Guerra. Gametime is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester as the Red Wings try to get back on the winning track.

New Britain Business

The Rockcats had yesterday off and will begin a series with Portland tonight as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5pm in Portland as the Rockcats try to get back on the right track.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 5 (17-20) Clearwater 2

The Miracle got back on the winning side thanks to contributions by the new members of the Miracle roster in Liam Hendriks, Joe Benson, and Chris Parmelee. Liam Hendriks got the start for the Miracle and was very good again. Hendriks went 6.1 innings and gave up two runs on 6 hits along with four strikeouts to bring his era up to 2.02 in 2 starts. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched the last 2.2 innings to pick up his first save with the Miracle on two hits along with a walk and three strikeouts.

The Miracle did not get a whole lot going offensively, but thanks to some clutch hits and good pitching they were able to get the win. The Miracle scored 5 runs on 10 hits along with drawing 5 walks and leaving 9 guys on base and most importantly no errors after committing 5 on Sunday. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann who went 2-4 at the plate with his 8th and 9th doubles of the year to bring his average up to .271 on the year. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 at the plate with his second triple of the year and his 9th rbi to bring his average up to .202. Nick Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his third double of the year. Joe Benson went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base of the year. Chris Parmelee went 1-4 at the plate with an rbi. Nathan Hanson, Evan Bigley, and Jair Fernandez each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Miracle in this game played in Fort Myers.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers as the Miracle try to get another win.

Beloit Beat

The Snappers had yesterday off and have a double header today as they welcome in Kane County. Miguel Munoz gets the start in game 1 with Peter Kennelly scheduled to pitch game 2. Gametime is at 4:30 with the second game 30 minutes after the first.

Travis Talks Minnesota Sports podcast returns tonight at 9pm

2010-05-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

The Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast will be making its return tonight May, 17th with a very fun show. First off I will be joined by Seth Stohs of SethSpeaks.net and we will talk some minor league talk to get you ready for the Twins Minor League Weekly show tommorrow night that will be hosted by Seth and myself. Then I will have Fanatic Jack Steal on and we will discuss the Twins in depth and I am sure have a few disagreements and there is one topic that I am going to debate him on that you sure don't want to miss. So join us tonight at 9pm for the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast at http://blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk.

Monday, May, 17th

2010-05-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk

Twins 6 (23-14) Yankees 3

Seriously what are the odds that the Twins would break their 12 game losing streak to the Yankees like this. It is so surreal that the way they break this jinx is a 5 run rally in the 8th inning against Joba Chamberlain and Mariano Rivera two of the best relievers in all of the American League. After going into the eighth trailing the Yankees 3-1 and on the verge of being 0-13 the last two years and having to answer why you can't beat the Yankees this was the most unlikely rally that i have seen in quite some time and if nothing else maybe it gives them a belief that they can win in Yankee Stadium if hopefully their is a return trip in October. In the eighth inning Denard Span worked a long at bat into a base hit to left and Orlando Hudson forced him before Chamberlain walked Joe Mauer and struck out Justin Morneau. Michael Cuddyer then hit a line drive that all weekend long the Yankee defenders were catching but Mark Teixeira dropped the ball then kicked it to load the bases for Jim Thome. However, the Yankees countered with bringing the greatest closer of my lifetime in Mariano Rivera so the game is over right well not so fast. Jim Thome had a nice at bat and layed off a tough pitch to work out a walk to bring the Twins within 3-2. Up walked Jason Kubel who has really struggled so far this year, but that all changed when he took an inside cutter and deposited it in the right field stands for a grand slam and a 6-3 Twins lead. After Jon Rauch gave up base hits to the first 2 hitters in the 9th he struck out Derek Jeter, Brett Gardner, and Mark Teixeira to pull off the miraculous win for the Twins. Nick Blackburn got the start and kept the Twins in the game with another very good outing. Blackburn went 7 innings and gave up three runs on 9 hits along with a walk and 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.63 and improved his record to 4-3 on the year. Brian Duensing then came on in the eighth and got two outs along with a walk to lower his era to 1.84 on the year. Matt Guerrier followed by picking up a strikeout to get out of the inning to drop his era to 2.12. Jon Rauch pitched a scorless ninth to pick up his 10th save in 11 opportunities on the year and lowered his era to 1.80.

The Twins could not do a whole lot against Yankee spot starter Sergio Mitre, but did good against their bullpen. The Twins put up 6 runs on 9 hits along with drawing five walks and leaving six guys on base. The Twins were led by Jason Kubel with that big homerun in the 8th inning. He went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun and drove in four to bring his season total up to 15. Orlando Hudson went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .285 on the year. Denard Span went 1-5 at the plate along with his ninth stolen base of the year. Justin Morneau went 1-4 at the plate with his 9th homerun of the year and his 25th rbi. Michael Cuddyer, Jim Thome, Matt Tolbert, and Nick Punto each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Twins.

Tonight, the Twins begin a short two game series with the Toronto Blue Jays as Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins vs Dana Eveland for the Blue Jays. Gametime is at 6:05 in Toronto.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 4 (15-22) Louisville 3

Yesterday must have been the day for comeback wins for the Twins in their organization as the Red Wings pulled out a 4-3 win over Lousville. The Red Wings trailed 3-0 going into the 7th inning, but a 4 run rally got the Red Wings into the winners circle. Jeff Manship got the start and he struggled, but worked out of some jams to keep the team in the game. Manship went 5.1 innings and gave up 2 earned runs on seven hits along with four walks and five strikeouts to lower his era to 3.93. The Twins need better performances out of Jeff Manship than this because he is the first in line if there is an injury to a pitcher and performances like this are not going to get it done. That is not to say that he is pitching bad because he isn't, but there is more expected out of Manship then he is showing right now and that is because he has the potential to be a middle of the rotation starter for the Twins not a so so pitcher in AAA. So hopefully he can find himself and pitch up to his capabilities. Tim Lahey then came on and had his best performance in quite a while pitching 1.2 shutout innings with two strikeouts to pick up his 2nd win of the year and lower his era to 7.76. Rob Delaney then came on and pitched a scoreless eighth inning on a hit along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.68. Anthony Slama came on and pitched a perfect 9th inning to pick up his 8th save of the year and lowered his era to 1.85.

It took until the 7th inning for the Red Wings offense to wake up from its slumber and in all scored 4 runs on 8 hits along with drawing four walks and leaving six guys on base. The more disappointing part was Trevor Plouffe committed two more errors and has 4 in the last 2 games and 8 on the season. That is something he is going to have to cleanup if he is going to make it up with the Twins. The Red Wings were led by who else offensively Dustin Martin went 2-4 at the plate to improve his average on the year to .339 a year after hitting .254 so we don't know how long this is going to last for Martin, but Red Wings fans will go along for the ride as long as it goes on. Danny Valencia went 1-4 at the plate to extend his hitting streak to a career high 20 games and is now hitting .305. Trevor Plouffe made up for his errors by going 1-2 at the plate with his 10th double of the year and his 20th rbi. Brian Dinkelman, Jose Morales, Jacque Jones, and Brock Peterson each contributed base hits in the winning cause. Jose Morales got his first start of the year behind the plate and allowed one stolen base.

Tonight, the Red Wings finish off their series with Louisville as Matt Fox takes the ball for Rochester. Gametime is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester as they try to win their second consecutive game over the Bats of Louisville.

New Britain Business

Harrisburg 2 New Britain (7-28)

After getting a rare win Saturday night the Rockcats returned to their former form by wasting a good pitching performance by David Bromberg and going down to Harrisburg by a score of 2-1. David Bromberg got the start and went 5 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with four walks and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.58 and drop his record on the year to 1-2. The only thing that concerns me on a pretty solid outing was his four walks. After having control problems two years ago in Beloit, but seemed to right that ship last year in Fort Myers. However, this season he has walked a few more guys than I would like as he has walked 19 batters in just over 37 innings which is not terrible, but is a little bit much for a starting pitcher especially in the Twins organization that they stress throwing strikes. I know it is early and by the end of the season he could very easily have this issue cleaned up, but right now this should be something that he emphathizes when working in bullpen. Chris Province then came on and did very well pitching two shutout innings on one hit along with a strikeout and most importantly no walks to lower his era to 6.65. Joe Testa then came on and got an out to lower his era on the year to 6.75. Santos Arias then came out and got two outs along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 4.82.

Just has been the problem all season the Rockcats could not score any runs as they were limited to 1 run on 7 hits along with drawing five walks and left 8 guys on base along with commiting 2 errors, one by Joe Benson, his 2nd of the year, and David Bromberg, his 1st of the year. The Rockcats were led by Joe Benson who went 1-3 at the plate with his 5th homerun of the year and his 9th rbi. Esterlin De Los Santos, Yangervis Solarte, Rene
Tosoni, Tobey Gardenhire, Steve Singleton, Mark Dolenc, and Alex Soto each contributed a hit in the losing cause.

The Rockcats have today off before beginning a series against Portland in Portland tommorrow night.

Fort Myers Minutes

Clearwater 9 Fort Myers 5 (16-20)

The Miracle suffered a tough loss last night to Clearwater and it was not pretty by any sense of the word. Not only did they go through almost a two hour rain delay, but also committed 5 errors. Michael Tarsi got the start for the Miracle and was not very good in this one but was not helped out by his defense at all. Tarsi went 5 innings and gave up 7 runs although only 5 were earned on 6 hits along with three walks and two strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.61 and dropped his record to 2-4. Tarsi has really struggled in the month of May after getting off to a decent start in April. In April Tarsi had a 4.32 era in 5 starts, while in May his era has ballooned up to 5.06 in three May starts. Tarsi does not throw hard enough for him to not be on with his location so here is hoping that he can figure it out because once Stuifbergen gets to Fort Myers he is looking like the guy who will go to the bullpen if he doesn't improve. Tony Davis then came on and pitched two innings and gave up a run on a hit along with two walks to lower his era on the year to 4.05. Loek Van Mil continued his comeback from elbow issues to pitch one inning and give up a run on three hits along with a strikeout to raise his era to 4.50. Andrei Lobanov pitch a scoreless ninth on one hit along with two strikeouts to finish off the game.

The Miracle had plenty of hits in this one, but were only able to score five runs even though they had 14 hits. They also drew a walk and left 8 guys on base, but they committed 5 errors a season high. The errors were committed by Chris Hermann, his 2nd of the year, Chris Cates, his 10th of the year, Dan Rohlfing, his fourth of the year, Paul Kelly, his 2nd of the year, and Nick Romero who committed his first of the year. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann who went 3-4 at the plate with his 7th double of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his season total to 11. With the three hits Hermann is now hitting .262. Chris Cates went 3-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .202. Nathan Hanson went 2-4 at the plate with his fourth double of the year to bring his average on the year up to .250. Paul Kelly went 2-5 at the plate with his 4th rbi to bring his average up to .286. Brandon Roberts went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average on the year up to .333. Deibinson Romero and Evan Bigley each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Miracle.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Clearwater as they send out Liam Hendriks who is making his second start for the Miracle. Gametime is at 6:05 in Clearwater as the Miracle tries to rebound from the loss.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 3 Beloit 1 (22-15)

The Snappers lost a tough game to Wisconsin yesterday and an opportunity to sweep the series against the Rattlers by going down 3-1 yesterday. They wasted a great outing by Michael Tonkin who showed what he is capable of and that he should not be overlooked with guys like Hermsen, Salcedo, and Weller in his level. Tonkin pitched 7 shutout innings on only three hits and took a no hitter into the 6th inning along with 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.45. Tonkin who many know is the brother in law of Twins designated hitter Jason Kubel, really showed everythign has he kept the hitters off balance and made it very hard to put the fat part of the bat on the ball. It will be interesting to see if he can build off of this start and continue pitching well for the Snappers. On the other end of the spectrum though is Ben Tootle who saw his struggles early in the season continue. Tootle gave up 3 runs on 3 hits along with a strikeout in one inning of work to raise his era on the year to 7.64 and lower his record to 0-1.

The Snappers could not do much offensively in this one as they were only able to push one run across on 8 hits and did not draw a walk while leaving 7 guys on base while Brian Dozier committed his 5th error of the year. The Snappers were led offensively by Anderson Hidalgo who went 2-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .340 on the season. James Beresford went 1-4 at the plate along with his 4th stolen base to bring his average on the year to .235. Aaron Hicks went 1-4 at the plate to bring his average down to .272. Brian Dozier, Steve Liddle, Josmil Pinto, and Reggie Williams each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.

The Snappers have today off before having a doubleheader tommorrow versus Kane County in Beloit.

Sunday, May, 16th

2010-05-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
Yankees 7 Twins 1 (22-14)

I am starting to wonder what the Twins need to do to get a win against the Yankees as they Yankees extended their winning streak over the Twins to 12 games with a 7-1 victory yesterday afternoon in the Bronx. In this series the bullpen has been the problem giving up 8 runs in 6 innings in this series, while the Twins offense did not do much to help Twins starter Francisco Liriano. Liriano got the start for the Twins and was effective, but not spectacular in this game. We as Twins fans have been spoiled by Liriano thus far this season as when he gives up more than a run or two we think it is a bad start. In this one he had a quality start in that he went 6 innings and only gave up three runs on nine hits along with seven strikeouts to raise his era to 2.63 on the year and drop his record on the season to 4-2. Liriano had his 6th quality start in his 7 outings and has really become the ace of the staff. To hold that Yankee lineup to 3 runs in 6 innings I think is quite a feat. He did give up a few to many hits, but 8 of the 9 hits were singles and has yet to give up a homerun in 48.2 innings. Jesse Crain came on in the 7th and to quote fellow blogger Fanatic Jack it was a Crain Wreck. Crain got only one out and gave up three runs on two hits along with a walk to raise his era to 6.75. Ron Mahey then came on and gave up a homerun and got two outs to give up his first runs of the year to increase his era to 0.90. Jose Mijares pitched a perfect 8th inning to lower his era to 6.23.

The Twins bats went silent in this one against Yankees starter Andy Pettitte as they managed one run on seven hits along with drawing four walks and leaving eight guys on base in this one. The Twins were led by Justin Morneau who went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .366. Joe Mauer went 1-4 at the plate with his 17th rbi of the year in the losing cause. Orlando Hudson, Brendan Harris, Alexi Casilla, and Drew Butera each contributed hits in the game against the Yankees.

Today, the Twins try to salvage the last game of the series as they send Nick Blackburn to the mound against Yankee starter Sergio Mitre as Blackburn tries to turn in his third straight quality start for the Twins. Gametime is at 12:05 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Rochester Wrap

Louisville 12 Rochester 9 (14-22)

The Red Wings could not build off their win Friday night as they lost again to Louisville last night by a score of 12-9 thanks to another rough outing by Glen Perkins. Perkins got the start and got shelled again, but if his defense hadn't let him down it would not have been as bad as it ended up being. Perkins went 5+ innings and gave up 7 runs on 7 hits although thanks to two errors only 4 of the 7 runs were earned along with 3 strikeouts and giving up two homeruns to drop his record on the year to 0-5 and actually lower his era to 10.08 on the year. Glen Perkins is someone I just can't figure out as he was a solid pitcher for the Twins just a couple seasons ago and now he has turned into this. In 27.2 innings of work he has given up 31 earned runs. I have heard rumblings that he is pitching hurt, but I just can't see the Twins allowing someone to keep pitching if there was something wrong with him. The bottom line is Glen Perkins is on the verge of being sent to the bullpen and possibly if that doesn't help on the edge of being without a job and this is the most unbelievable decline I have ever seen as he was a solid starter just a few short years ago and now look at him he is getting shelled in the minor leagues. Cole Devries then came on and threw gas on the fire going one inning and giving up four runs on four hits along with two walks and a strikeout to raise his era to 11.57. Jose Lugo then came in and pitched two innings and gave up a run on two hits along with three strikeouts to lower his era to 7.83 on the year. Anthony Slama pitched a perfect ninth along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.93.

The Red Wings picked a good time to get the bats going even though the pitching staff imploded and did not allow them a chance to win. They did put up 9 runs on 15 hits along with drawing 4 walks and leaving 8 guys on base. They did commit two errors that hurt them, which were both by Trevor Plouffe, his 5th and 6th errors of the season. The Red Wings were led offensively by Danny Valencia who continued his red hot month of May by going 3-5 with his 12th and 13th doubles of the year and drove in three runs to bring his rbi total up to 20 and his average up to high water mark of .307. It is amazing how he has come on in May compared to April. In April he hit only .256 with an ops of .652, but in May he has been on fire hitting .388 with an ops of .922. If Valencia can keep this up it won't be long till he is up with the Twins showing what he can do. Another guy that is hot for the Red Wings is Jose Morales who in two games for Rochester is 8-9 at the plate. In this one Morales went 3-4 at the plate with his 2nd rbi to bring his average to .889. Brian Dinkelman went 3-4 at the plate also to bring his average up to .289 on the season. Brock Peterson went 2-2 at the plate with his fourth homerun and drove in two runs to bring his rbi total on the year to 15 and his average up to .243. Trevor Plouffe went 2-5 at the plate with his ninth double of the year along with his 19th rbi to bring his average up to .297. Dustin Martin went 2-5 at the plate with his 31st rbi of the year to bring his average up to .333.

Today, the Red Wings finish off their series with Louisville as they send Jeff Manship to the mound for Rochester. Gametime is at 12:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester as the Red Wings try to bounce back.

New Britain Business

New Britain 6 (7-27) Harrisburg 0

Last night was the highly touted debut of starting pitcher Kyle Gibson in a AA uniform and man did he not disappoint in a 6-0 win for New Britain to break a 7 game losing streak for the Rockcats over Harrisbrug. Gibson in this one was everything that we thought he could be and more. Gibson went 7.1 innings and did not give up a run on only 4 hits along with a walk and an impressive 10 strikeouts. The most impressive part of his night in my mind was of the 22 outs that he recorded only 3 of them were on fly balls. He is a groundball pitcher who will get plenty of ground balls, but what is impressive to me is he throws between 92-94 with good breaking pitches in that he is able to get strikeouts as well. Really the sky is the limit for Gibson as realistically he could be pitching for the Twins right now, but I understand why they want to take their time with him. I am curious to see if he can follow up this outing with good outings the next couple of months and possibly get the call to Rochester before the year is up. You can write it down right here and now that I predict that Kyle Gibson will start the 2011 season in a Twins uniform. Joe Testa came in relief and got two outs along with a walk to lower his era to 6.89 on the year. The rejuvanation of Testa has been something behold as in May he has pitched 8.1 scoreless innings, while in April he had a 14.73 era and appeared on his way back to Fort Myers. However, now he is one of the most consistant pitchers out of the bullpen for the Rockcats and it will be interesting to see if he can keep it going. Matt Williams pitched a scoreless ninth inning along with a strikeout to lower his era to 6.23.

The Rockcats offense even got into the act in this one scoring 6 runs on 11 hits along with drawing 3 walks and leaving 5 guys on base. Even though they did commit an error by Esterlin De Los Santos, his 10th of the year, they still came out on top. The Rockcats were led offensively by new Rockcat Yangervis Solarte who went 2-4 at the plate with his first homerun and second double of the year and drove in his first and second runs of the year. Steve Singleton went 2-4 at the plate with his seventh double of the year and had his fifth rbi to bring his average up to .248. Juan Portes also went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .179. Ben Revere went 1-5 at the plate with his first homerun of the year and drove in two runs to bring his season total up to 10. Esterlin De Los Santos, Joe Benson, Mark Dolenc, and Tobey Gardenhire each contributed base hits in the winning cause for the Rockcats.

Today, the Rockcats continue their series with Harrisburg as David Bromberg tries to rebound from his worst start of the season. Gametime is at 1pm in Harrisburg as the Rockcats try to win their second straight game.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 6 (16-19) Bradenton 5

The Miracle pulled off quite a comeback coming back from a 5-0 hole going into the bottom of the 7th before scoring 6 runs in the seventh to take a 6-5 lead and holding on for the victory over Bradenton. Blake Martin got his first start of the season and working on getting more endurance so he only lasted 3 innings. He was effective in those three innings giving up a run on five hits along with two walks and a strikeout to lower his era to 3.43 on the year. It was a good start for Martin and will get some starts until Tom Stuifbergen is ready to move up to Fort Myers. Shooter Hunt then came on and if you needed a lesson on not getting to far ahead of yourself this was the game to look at. After pitching very effective lately fans were wondering why Martin was starting instead of Shooter Hunt and last night we found out why. Hunt went 2 innings and gave up four runs on no hits along with 4 walks and two strikeouts to raise his era up to 5.66 on the year. Hunt had no idea where the ball was going and it showed in this outing so we need to temper our expectations and just let him take it slow and try to put this outing behind him and just get better every day. Andrei Lobanov then came on and got the two batters that he was asked to get. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings to pick up his first FSL victory on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout. Billy Bulluck pitched the last 1.1 innings to pick up his 8th save of the year on two hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era to 2.89.

Better late then never is the moniker that has to go to Fort Myers offense in this one as they scored 6 runs in the 7th to win. They scored 6 runs on 10 hits along drawing 3 walks and leaving 10 guys on base. The Miracle were led offensively by Evan Bigley who went 2-3 at the plate with his eigth rbi of the year to bring his average up to .219. Nathan Hanson went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .237. Brandon Roberts went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .327. Nick Romero went 1-3 at the plate with his 2nd double of the year. Jair Fernandez went 1-3 at the plate with his third double of the year and his 7th and 8th rbi's of the year. Paul Kelly and Ramon Santana each contributed hits in the winning cause for the Miracle.

Today, the Miracle begin a series with Clearwater with Michael Tarsi getting the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 3:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers as the Miracle try to win again today.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 4 (22-14) Wisconsin 3

The Snappers won their third consecutive game yesterday afternoon and gained first place all alone with a 4-3 victory over Wisconsin. Edgar Ibarra got the start for the Snappers and did a decent job. Ibarra went five innings and gave up a run on four hits along with four walks and six strikeouts to lower his era to 3.51. Peter Kennelly got 2 outs and gave up two unearned runs along with two walks to lower his era to 6.86. Dakota Watts pitched 1.2 scoreless innings along with three walks to pick up his first win of the year and lower his era to 2.66. Matt Tone then came on and pitched a scoreless inning of relief on two hits to lower his era to 3.43. Kane Holbrooks pitched a scoreless ninth to pick up his fourth save of the year on one hit along with a strikeout to lower his era to 0.83.

The Snappers did not do a whole lot offensively, but just enough to get the win. The Snappers scored 4 runs on only 5 hits along with drawing 5 walks and leaving 7 guys on base and committing an error by Dakota Watts, his 1st of the year in the winning cause. The Snappers were led by Brian Dozier who went 1-3 with his 6th double of the year and his 14th rbi. Aaron Hicks, Anderson Hidalgo, Danny Rams, and Wang Wei Lin each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers

Today, the Snappers continue their series with Wisconsin as Michael Tonkin gets his second start for Beloit. Gametime is at 1:05 in Appleton as the Snappers try to sweep Wisconsin.

Saturday, May, 15th

2010-05-15T06:46:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk
New York Yankees 8 Twins 4 (22-13)

The Twins came on the short end of a tough 8-4 loss last night to the Yankees. What made it tougher was the usually effective Matt Guerrier gave up a grand slam to Alex Rodriguez that turned a Twins 4-3 lead into a Yankee 7-4 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. I know everyone is going to throw Gardy and Matt Guerrier under the bus for it not working out, but it was the right decision to make. I realize that A-Rod going into the at bat was 4-6 with 3 homeruns lifetime against Guerrier, but at the end of the day Guerrier is the best set up person in the bullpen. That is the kind of at bat that the Twins have Guerrier for it just so happened that A-Rod won the battle. If that situation happened 100 times I would bring in Guerrier 100 times and 90 percent of the time I really feel that Guerrier will get the job done. It is not like the Twins have a lot of choices right now with Pat Neshek on the disabled list and Jesse Crain not pitching well right now. My feelings are if you are going to get beat get beat with your best and that is Matt Guerrier so yes I am disappointed that it did not work out, but I can live with it because I believe that Gardy made the right call it just did not work out. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and was better than his line would indicate. If I was manager I would have taken Baker out of 6 innings and not sent him out there for the 7th inning. I know that the two hits he gave up were kind of lucky, but I think he was spent after the 6th inning. In all Baker went 6+ innings and gave up 5 runs on 10 hits along with a walk and a season high 9 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.93 and lowered his record to 4-3. Brian Duensing then came on with runners on 2nd and 3rd and no out and got the first guy to pop up before intentionally walking Mark Teixeira to raise his era to 1.93. Matt Guerrier then came on and gave up the grand slam and got the two outs that followed to raise his era to 2.16. Jose Mijares came back and gave up a run on two hits to raise his era to 8.10 on the year. Alex Burnett finished the game going 2/3 of an inning giving up a hit along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 3.63.

The Twins had opportunities against Yankees starter AJ Burnett especially in the early innings and could not knock him out. The Twins scored 4 runs on 9 hits along with drawing five walks including a bases loaded walk by Nick Punto along with leaving eight guys on base in this one. The Twins were led by guess who Joe Mauer who went 3-4 at the plate with his second homerun of the year and a base hit in the seventh inning that tied the game at 3 to bring his average up to .364 and his rbi total up to 16 with his 2 rbi's. Justin Morneau went 2-4 at the plate with his 9th double of the year that put the Twins up 4-3 in the 7th inning and his 24th rbi to bring his average up to .361. Jason Kubel came out of his slump a little bit going 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .224. Denard Span and Orlando Hudson each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Twins in this game against the Yankees.

Today, the Twins send ace Francisco Liriano to the mound against Andy Pettite in a afternoon mantinee. Gametime is at 12:07 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx as the Twins try to even the series.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 13 (14-21) Louisville 4

The Red Wings had an offensive outpouring against uber prospect Aroldis Chapman of Louisville as they romped to a 13-4 win last night at Frontier Field. Ryan Mullins got the start for Rochester and was alright once again. He was not great as he never is, but he kept the team in the game like he always does and let the offense get him some runs. Mullins went 6.2 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on nine hits along with a walk and four strikeouts to lower his era to 4.50 and improve his record to 3-2 on the year. You could make a case for the fact that Mullins has been the most consistant pitcher as they have had quite a bit of turnover with Mullins being a constant in the lineup and giving them a chance to win every time out there. Kyle Waldrop continued his good start of the season pitching the last 2.1 innings on only one hit along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.73. Waldrop has been the biggest surprise for me in the whole organization as he far exceeded what I felt he was capable of.

It may be a coincidence with the arrival of Wilson Ramos and Jose Morales to the lineup for the Red Wings to have their most explosive offensive game of the season. The Red Wings in this one scored a season high 13 runs on a season high 20 hits along with drawing 6 walks to leave 10 guys on base. Dustin Martin committed an error, his 4th of the year, in the winning cause. Jose Morales knows how to make an entrance after missing the first 6 weeks of the year with wrist surgery, he went 5-5 at the plate with his first double and first rbi. Jason Repko continued his hot start to the season going 4-4 at the plate with his fourth double of the year and drove in four runs to bring his season total up to 12 and his average up to .320. Danny Valencia continued his hot May going 3-5 at the plate with his 11th double and his 17th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .295. Valencia got off to a slow start, but in May he has been crushing the ball as his .364 May average would attest to compared to his .256 April average. Just look at his OPS in April he had a .652 OPS and in May it has jumped to .846. If he keeps this up he will force his way up to Minnesota and into the Twins lineup. Jacque Jones had a good game going 2-4 at the plate with his sixth double and his sixth and seventh rbi's to bring his average up to .281. Brock Peterson went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .228. Not to be outdone Red Wings top hitter Dustin Martin went 2-5 at the plate with his seventh double and drove in two runs to bring his season total up to 30 and his average up to .330. Trevor Plouffe went 1-5 at the plate with his third homerun and drove in three runs to bring his total up to 18. Wilson Ramos made his return to Rochester by going 1-5 with his second double of the year.

Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Louisville as Glen Perkins gets the start for Rochester as he tries to get on track as he brings in his 11.12 era into this start. Gametime is at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester.

New Britain Business

Harrisburg 9 New Britain 3 (6-27)

The Rockcats saw their losing streak hit seven games with a 9-3 loss last night to Harrisburg as when you think it can't get any worse for New Britain it obviously does as they have to be close to be hitting rock bottom as they try to get back to the .500 level before the end of the year. Mike Mccardell got the start for the Rockcats and was not very good in this one. Mccardell only lasted 3.2 innings in this one and gave up six runs on eight hits although only 4 of them were earned thanks in part with two Rockcat errors. Mccardell also walked two batters while striking out one to raise his era on the year to 4.70 and dropped his record to 0-4. Michael Allen then came on and pitched two innings and gave up two runs on three hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 2.08. Santos Arias then came on and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings on two hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era to 5.00. Arias has to be the biggest disappointement on the entire New Britain team and possibly in the whole organization as much was expected of him and his 0-5 record and 5 era is not what most people were expecting out of Arias. Matt Williams mopped up pitching an inning and giving up one run on one hit along with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era up to 8.10 as Williams has had a rough start to AA hitting.

The Rockcats in this game did not do enough offensively with the pitching doing as poor as they did. The Rockcats scored 3 runs on 7 hits along with drawing only one walk and leaving six guys on base. To make matters worse New Britain committed two errors which led to two Harrisburg runs. Mike Mccardell committed his first error and Steve Singleton committed his 5th. The Rockcats were led by Ben Revere who went 3-4 at the plate with his eighth rbi of the year to bring his average up to .292. Mark Dolenc went 1-4 at the plate with his first triple of the year. Steve Singleton, Joe Benson, and Chris Parmelee each contributed hits in the losing cause for the Rockcats.

Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Harrisburg as the Rockcats will see the much balleyood AA debut of Kyle Gibson. Gametime is at 6:05 in Harrisburg as the Rockcats try to stop their seven game losing streak in this one.

Fort Myers Minutes

Bradenton 1 Fort Myers 0 (15-19)

The Miracle suffered a hard fought and tough loss to take 1-0 decision to first place Bradenton. The Miracle got an awesome performance by staff ace Bruce Pugh in this one, but the offense could not get any runs for him. Sometimes you just have to tip your hat to the other team because games like this are fun to watch it just so happened that the Miracle came on the wrong end of this one as between the two teams their were only 6 hits. Bruce Pugh got the start and he was awesome throwing his best outing of the year and after getting off to a rough start has really taken the bull by the horns and is the ace of this staff along with Liam Hendriks. Pugh went 7 strong innings in this one without giving up only one hit and no runs along with one walk and an impressive 10 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.40. Pugh has been awesome as of late as in his last 26 innings of work he has only given up 4 runs a 1.38 era which spans 4 starts. More impressive than that in those 4 starts he has walked six batters which is very good while striking out 36 batters. I admit that I was not real high on Pugh when the season started, but he has really caught my eye and am curious to see if he can keep it going as the talent is there as he was a 19th round pick in the 2008 draft out of a small school. To look at the improvement of Pugh in April he was 1-3 with a 4.79 in four starts, while in May he is 1-1 with a 1.89 era in 3 May starts. Loek Van Mil then came on and took the loss giving up one run on a hit along with a strikeout to raise his era to 3.00 in his one inning of work.

In pitching duels like this you are not going to get many hits and the Miracle really didn't as they mustered only four hits in this one along with drawing one walk and committing an error by Paul Kelly, his first of the year, in this one while leaving four guys on base so they did not have many chances and when they did they squandered them. The Miracle were led by Brandon Roberts who went 1-4 at the plate with his sixth stolen base of the year. Chris Hermann, Nathan Hanson, and Dan Rohlfing each contributed base hits in the losing cause for the Miracle.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Bradenton as Blake Martin makes his first start of the year for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05pm in Bradenton as the Miracle try to end their 2 game losing streak.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 5 (20-14) Wisconsin 3

Beloit 2 (21-14) Wisconsin 1

The Snappers regained a piece of first place with a doubleheader sweep of Wisconsin in Appelton by scores of 5-3 and 2-1. In game 1 Brad Stillings got the start and was good going 5+ innings and giving up two earned runs on nine hits along with a walk and six strikeouts to lower his era to 5.04 and improved his record to 2-2. With Liam Hendriks gone and Tom Stuifbergen on the disabled list Stillings has to pick it up because you don't know what you are going to get from the young starters in Hermsen and Tonkin so it was good that he had a good start in this one. Dakota Watts then came on and got two outs one via the strikeout to lower his era on the year to 2.86. Nelson Prada then brought in closer Kane Holbrooks and he did a great job going 1.1 scoreless innings to pick up his 3rd save on only one hit along with 3 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 0.87. What is more impressive is his strikeout/walk rate. In 20.2 innings Holbrooks has only walked 3 batters while striking out an impressive 27 batters. In game 2 BJ Hermsen made his Beloit debut and was very good in this one. Hermsen went five innings and gave up a run on four hits along with two strikeouts and two walks. Hermsen's upside is so high that it will be interesting to see how he does in Beloit as he is only 20 years old. Jhon Garcia then came on and pitched 2 shutout innings on no hits along with a walk and a strikeout. Eliecer Cardenas then came on and pitched the last 3 innings to pick up his second win of the year on three hits along with two walks and four strikeouts.

Offensively in game 1 the Snappers scored 5 runs on 9 hits along with drawing one walk and leaving six guys on base while Steve Liddle committed his second error of the year in this one. The Snappers were led by Danny Rams who went 2-3 at the plate with his first homerun of the year and his 4th and 5th rbi's to bring his average up to .227. Brian Dozier also went 2-3 at the plate with his fifth double of the year to bring his average up to .283 on the year. Anderson Hidalgo went 1-2 at the plate with his ninth double to bring his average up to .321. Aaron Hicks, James Beresford, Steve Liddle, and Angel Morales each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers. In game 2 their was not much offense as the Snappers only mustered 2 runs on 7 hits along with drawing three walks and leaving four guys on base and committing an error by BJ Hermsen, his first of the year, in the winning cause. The Snappers were led by Josmil Pinto who went 2-4 with his second homerun of the year and his sixth double along with his 11th and 12th rbi's to bring his average up to .239. Anderson Hidalgo went 2-4 at the plate also to bring his average on the year to .330. James Beresford, Steve Liddle, and Reggie Williams each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.

Today, the Snappers continue their series with Wisconsin as Edgar Ibarra gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 1:05 in Appleton.

Friday, May, 14

2010-05-14T05:08:00.000-07:00

I am back after a stressful week with finals I am finally done with school so I will consistantly be bringing new information to the site along with bringing a new edition of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast on Monday night at 9pm. Also don't forget to join myself and Seth Stohs on the Twins Minor League weekly podcast Tuesday night at 10pm. So for today I will be coming back with my game recaps. I also have a few other things that I am working on that I will bring the next few days so make Travis Talks a part of your morning reading.

Twins Talk

The Twins had yesterday off and will begin a big seven game roadtrip with a ever interesting series in the Bronx against the Yankees. The Twins went 0-10 against the Bronx Bombers last year and will want to prove that this year the Twins have a better team and can beat the Yankees. Twins ace Francisco Liriano gets the start for the Twins and will face AJ Burnett for the Yankees with gametime at 6:05 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx.

Rochester Wrap

Indianapolis 8 Rochester 3 (13-21)

The Red Wings came on the shortend of a tough 8-3 loss to Indianapolis to drop their record on the year to 13-21. Once again the Red Wings got bad pitching and could not hit in this one to fall 6 games out of first. Deolis Guerra made his first AAA start in this one and was so so. Guerra only laster 4+ innings and gave up two earned runs on eight hits along with a walk and three strikeouts. On paper it does not look that bad as he only gave up two earned runs. The problem was he was only able to make it 4+ innings and that is not going to be good enough. Also the 8 hits that he allowed are a few to many, but I think it was a good building block start. The bottom line is Deolis Guerra is only 21 years old and won't turn 22 until next April so he is very young for AAA. He could spend three years in AAA and still be young for the major leagues. I think people need to keep that in mind when they are judging his numbers. I really think the future is bright for Guerra and wouldn't surprise me to see him in a Twins uniform sometime in 2011. Jose Lugo then came on and went one inning and gave up one run on no hits along with two walks to raise his era to 8.14. Tim Lahey then came on and did what he usually does and that is give up runs. Lahey went one inning and gave up two runs on three hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era up to 8.28. At 28 years old and still struggling in AAA you have to wonder how many more chances that the Twins will give him. Rob Delaney then came on and had his first rough outing in quite a while as he worked one inning and gave up two runs on three hits including a homerun along with a strikeout to raise his era to 3.86. Anthony Slama worked a perfect 8th inning to lower his era on the year to 2.01.

Offensively, the Red Wings were only able to put up three runs on seven hits along with taking two walks and leaving nine guys on base. Dustin Martin like usual led the offense for the Red Wings going 2-4 at the plate with his 28th rbi to bring his average up to .327 on the season. Brian Dinkelman went 1-4 at the plate with his 8th double of the year. Danny Valencia went 1-4 with his 10th double of the year. Jason Repko, Trevor Plouffe, and Matt Macri each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings in this game.

The Red Wings tonight begin a homestand with Louisville as Ryan Mullins gets the start for Rochester with first pitch at 6:05 at Frontier Field in Rochester.

New Britain Business

Harrisburg 3 New Britain 1 (6-26)

The Rockcats have seen their miserable start to the season careen out of control as they are now 20 games under .500. This is turning out to be a historically bad season in New Britain. It is all the more shocking with quite a bit of the Twins top prospects in New Britain. Last night they saw a all too often occurance where their starter had a good outing thwarted thanks to awful hitting. Last night the person that was the victim was Tyler Robertson who had a very good start, but took the loss to drop his record on the year to 0-2. Robertson went 5.2 innings and gave up two runs on seven hits along with two walks and five strikeouts to lower his era to 3.86. Chris Province then came on and pitched the last 2.1 innings and gave up a run on a hit along with a walk to bring his era down to 7.32 on the year.

Offensively, the Rockcats could only muster a run on five hits along with drawing one walk along leaving four guys on base and committing an error by Yancarlos Ortiz, his second of the year. The Rockcats were led by Joe Benson who went 2-3 at the plate wiht his first triple of the year to bring his average up to .208. After getting off to a really bad start offensively Benson has really gotten it going as of late and his tools are awesome and by seasons end I expect him to put up the numbers that we all expected him at the start of the season. Yangervis Solarte made his AA debut by going 1-3 at the plate with his first double. Ben Revere went 1-4 at the plate with his seventh rbi of the year. Steve Singleton also added a base hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.

Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Harrisburg as Mike Mccardell gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 6pm in Harrisburg.

Fort Myers Minutes

Tampa 6 Fort Myers 2 (15-18)

The Miracle had their two game winning streak come to an end with a 6-2 loss to Tampa last night. The Miracle have been playing some really good ball lately to get back in the FSL South division race with a roster that is less than talented then some of their other division champion rosters. In this one Dan Osterbrock got the start and struggled in this one. Osterbrock went 5.1 innings and gave up 6 runs on 11 hits along with 6 strikeouts to raise his era to 5.56 on the year. Osterbrock is not blessed with a very good fastball so he relies on his breaking balls to trick the other team and when his off speed pitches are not on he will get drilled and in this one that is exactly what happened as he dropped his record to 0-2. Andrei Lobanov made his Miracle debut and pitched 1.2 shutout innings on two hits along with two strikeouts. Steve Blevins then came on and made his FSL debut as he pitched a perfect 8th inning.

Offensively, the Miracle did not do much offensively as they only mustered two runs on six hits along with drawing one walk and leaving four guys on base in this one as they also commited two errors, Drew Thompson commited his ninth and Dan Rohlfing committed his third in this one. The Miracle were led by Brandon Roberts who went 1-4 with his second double and his eighth rbi. Dan Rohlfing went 1-4 at the plate with his 6th double. Paul Kelly, Chris Cates, Drew Thompson, and Michael Harrington each contibuted hits in the losing cause for the Miracle.

Tonight, the Miracle begin a series with first place Bradenton as Bruce Pugh gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6pm in Bradenton.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 3 Beloit 0 (19-14)

The Snappers suffered a hard fought loss to Wisconsin last night by a score of 3-0 and waste a good pitching performance by Miguel Munoz. Munoz got the start and went 5.2 innings and gave up two earned runs on eight hits along wtih two walks and five strikeouts to lower his era to 3.89 and dropped his record to 0-2 on the year. Munoz has been one of the most consistant pitchers on the Snappers with his 3.89 era, but has nothing to show for it except two losses. Matt Tone then came on and pitched 2.1 scoreless innings on two hits along with four strikeouts to lower his era to 3.60 on the year. Matt Tone, a 14th round draft pick in 2009, has been everything that the Twins were expecting out of him as he has 25 strikeouts in 20 innings of work. If he can get the walk total down he can be a very big piece to the puzzle going forward as he has a nice fastball and good breaking pitches so he is worth keeping an eye on.

Offensively, the Snappers did nothing as they were shutout on only five hits along with drawing five walks and leaving 11 guys on base and committing three errors, by Tobias Streich,his 3rd, Miguel Munoz,his 1st, and Brian Dozier, his 4th. The Snappers were led offensively by James Beresford who continued his hot streak by going 3-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .245. Beresford in his last 10 games is hitting .406 along with hitting .378 in the month of May after hitting .164 in April. Steve Liddle went 1-2 at the plate with his fifth double of the year along with drawing two walks. Angel Morales went 1-3 with his 7th double of the year. Aaron Hicks went 0-4 with a walk and three strikeouts to lower his average to .282 and drop his average in May to .256 after hitting .299 in April. Hicks has been very streaky this season and we should hope that he develops a little more consistancy going forward and striking out a little less. Last year he had 55 strikeouts in 251 at bats for a rate of one strikeout every 4.6 at bats which is a little high but not terrible. This year so far Hicks has struck out 33 times in 110 at bats an alarming 3.3 at bats. Meaning he is striking out one more time a game this year compared to last year. However, to counteract that last year he walked 40 times in 251 at bats a rate of 6.3 at bats. This year Hicks has walked 24 times in 110 at bats a rate of 4.6 at bats. What does all this mean on one hand you want him to strikeout less, but at the same time if he keeps this walk rate up he will be ok as his .407 on base percentage this year will attest to.

Tonight, the Snappers have a double header with Wisconsin as Brad Stillings gets the start in game 1. New Snapper BJ Hermsen gets his first Snapper appearance as he gets the start in game 2. Game 1 gametime is at 5:05 with game 2 about a half an hour later in Appleton.

The Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast on temporary hiatus until May 17th

2010-05-03T11:28:00.000-07:00

I was going to try to juggle everything with school and the blog and the podcast, but have decided to take a temporary hiatus from the podcast. The next new Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast will be Monday, May 17th, but I will have some blog entries the next two weeks but am unable to bring new material so I want to thank everyone who has listened to me and tune back on the 17th. I will still be on the Tuesday night podcast with Seth Stohs tommorrow night so check us out at http://blogtalkradio.com/twinsminorleagueweekly.

To my readers

2010-05-03T06:45:00.000-07:00

I just want to forewarn everyone that it is finals week coming up and my writing will be sporatic in the next week. I will have another edition of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast tonight at 9pm. I don't have any guests confirmed yet, but I will have that show no matter what so follow me over to blog talk radio at http://blogtalkradio.com/travistwinstalk. Then tommorrow night I will return to the Twins Minor League Weekly show with my cohost Seth Stohs tommorrow night at 10. You can find that show every Tuesday night with Seth and myself at http://blogtalkradio.com/twinsminorleagueweekly. I finish school next Tuesday, May, 11th and after that I will be bringing you something on this blog every day so just be patient with me and enjoy a good week and I will talk to you when I talk to you. Thanks for understanding.

Tuesday, April, 27th

2010-04-27T11:19:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk

The Twins had yesterday off and will continue their road trip with a three game series in Detroit. The pitching matchup is Francisco Liriano for the Twins facing off against Justin Verlander of the Tigers. Gametime is at 6:10pm at Comerica Park in Detroit. The Twins are trying to continue their franchise record for consecutive series won to start a season as they have won six straight series and will attempt to this week to win their seventh straight series.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 9 (7-11) Syracuse 6

The Red Wings salvaged the last game of the series against Syracuse in a much better playeed game than the final score would indicate with a 9-6 victory in Syracuse to win 1 out of four in the series. Jeff Manship got the start and he was good in this one. Manship went six innings and gave up three runs on eight hits along with two walks and two strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 3.48 and even up his win-loss record on the year to 2-2. Jose Lugo then came on and got hit again as he only got one out while giving up a run on three hits to bring his era up to 9.90. Matt Fox followed and went 2/3 of an inning with a walk to lower his era on the year to 2.13. Next up was Kyle Waldrop who did not have a very good day as he went one inning and gave up two runs on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era on the year to 2.02. Anthony Slama finished the game and picked up his fifth save of the year pitching a perfect ninth along with a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 1.35.

The Red Wings offense carried the team in this one as they scored nine runs on 13 hits along with drawing three walks in the victory. The Red Wings were led by Danny Valencia who is breaking out of a early season slump going 4-5 at the plate with his fourth and fifth doubles of the year and his sixth rbi to bring his average up to .246. Dustin Martin went 3-5 at the plate with two rbi's to bring season total up to 11 and his average up to .314. Matt Tolbert went 2-5 at the plate with his third double and first triple of the year along with his second rbi to bring his average up to .246 on the year. Brian Dinkelman went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .286. Wilson Ramos went 1-5 at the plate with his 3rd homerun and two rbi's to bring his season total up to 6. Brock Peterson went 1-2 at the plate along with two walks and his 2nd homerun of the year and two rbi's to bring his season total up to 9.

Tonight, the Red Wings go home and begin a series with Lehigh Valley as Yoslan Herrera is scheduled to pitch for Rochester. Gametime is at 5:35 at Frontier Field in Rochester as the Red Wings try to make it two in a row.

New Britain Business

The Rockcats had their game with Richmond rained out last night and will make it up as part of a doubleheader today. The starting pitchers in todays games are Mike Mccardell and Tyler Robertson. The first game begins at 4:05 with the second beginning about a half an our later.

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 8 Fort Myers 4 (5-12)

The Miracle suffered a heartbreaking loss as they blew a 4-0 lead and then a 4-1 lead going into the 7th inning to lose once again. The bright spot of not only the night, but also the season has got to be the improvement and excellence from Bobby Lanigan. Lanigan continued his excellent stuff by going five innings and only giving up an unearned run on four hits along with one walk and six strikeouts to lower his era on the year to a miniscule 0.81 as he has only given up two earned runs in over 22 innings of work so far this season for the Miracle. Matt Williams then came on and was not very effective as he gave up three runs on three hits including two homeruns along with three strikeouts in two innings of work to raise his era up to 3.72. Shooter Hunt then came in and did some good, but ultimately he will look at this as a negative outing. In his first two innings of work Hunt only gave up one hit along with two strikeouts so you think thats a great outing right. Well he went out for a third inning and got tatooed in that inning as he gave up four runs on five hits. In all Hunt went three innings and gave up four runs on six hits along with three strikeouts to take the loss and move his record to 0-1 and raise his era to 6.35. However, the thing that impresses me is he has not walked a batter in 8 innings spanning three outings and that was his real problem so if he can continue not to walk people he will be just fine.

The Miracle jumped all over Palm Beach pitching in the first inning scoring all four of their runs and you thought this is the night they are going to break out of their hitting slump. However, that is all they got and in all scored four runs on 10 hits along with taking three walks. The Miracle were led by Ramon Santana in this one as he went 2-3 with his fifth double and his sixth rbi to bring his average up to .211. The newest member of the Miracle Jonathon Goncalves went 2-4 at teh plate with his first double of the year. Chris Hermann went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .294 on the year. Deibinson Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his first triple and first two rbi's of the year. Nick Romero went 1-4 at the plate with his first homerun and third rbi of the year. Yangervis Solarte and Michael Harrington each contributed a base hit in the losing cause.

Tonight, the Miracle begin a series in Jupiter as Brad Tippett is scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Jupiter.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 6 (11-7) Burlington 4

The Snappers had quite the game with Burlington last night that was delayed by rain and then had some late inning heroics in the Snappers 6-4 win against Burlington last night. The Snappers found themselves down 3-1 going into the eighth inning and were able to score two runs in the eighth inning to tie the game. However, Burlington scored a run in bottom of the eighth to take a 4-3 lead. You would think the game would be over and against some Snapper teams you would be right, but not this one as they would not be denied scoring three runs in the top of the ninth to pick up the 6-4 victory. Miguel Munoz got the start for the Snappers and was good going six innings and giving up three runs on four hits along witha walk and eight strikeouts to raise his era to 2.75. Dakota Watts then came on and pitched one shutout inning along with a hit and a walk to lower his era to 2.25. Matthew Tone then came on and pitched 2/3 and allowed one run on no hits along with three walks and a strikeout to raise his era to 4.35. Kane Holbrooks then came on and got one out along with a hit to pick his 2nd win of the year. Steve Blevins finished the game with a perfect ninth with one strikeout to lower his era to 1.08.

The Snappers in this one took advantage of every opprotunity they had as they put up six runs on nine hits along with taking four walks. The Snappers were led by Angel Morales who went 2-3 at the plate with his fifth double along with a walk and two stolen bases and scoring the tying run in the ninth inning. Aaron Hicks continued his torrid streak going 2-4 at the plate along with a walk and a stolen base to bring his average up to .283. Danny Rams went 1-3 at the plate with his eighth double of the year. Josmil Pinto went 1-4 with his third double of the year along with driving in Angel Morales to tie the score in the ninth inning. Anderson Hidalgo, James Beresford, and Wang Wei Lin each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.

Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Burlington as Brad Stillings is scheduled to pitch for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 in Burlington.

Monday, April, 26th/Travis Talks Podcast Cancelled

2010-04-26T10:03:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk

Royals 4 Twins 3 (13-6)

The Twins came up short yesterday in the series ending game at Kansas City in a 4-3 loss to the Royals. The Twins had many chances, but could not come through and had to settle for taking 2 out of 3 and winning their sixth straight series of the year. Kevin Slowey got the start for the Twins and he was not sharp in this one. Slowey battled through 5.1 innings even though he did not have his good stuff. Slowey went 5.1 innings and gave up four runs including a go ahead homerun by Jose Guillen on eight hits along with three walks and two strikeouts to raise his era up to 3.42 and drop his record to 2-2. Slowey has been up and down so far this year as his last start was really good and this one was so so. The only thing about his line that concerns me is his walk total as he has already walked nine guys. Compared to last year when he walked 15 guys the whole season really makes you wonder is there something mechanically that he can change to throw more strikes. Ron Mahey then came on and got two outs with a strikeout. Alex Burnett then came on and bounced back from his last rough outing to pitch two shutout innings on one hit along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.45. Burnett is a young guy as he won't be 23 until July as he will have some rough outings, but more good ones than bad as he develops.

The Twins had their season long habit of leaving a ton of guys on base continue and for the first time it cost them a victory. The Twins had 12 hits along with drawing four walks, but were only able to push three runs across thanks to leaving twelve guys on base. The Twins were led offensively by Justin Morneau who went 2-4 at the plate with his fourth homerun along with his fifth double and rbi's 14 and 15 to bring his average up to .368. Delmon Young went 2-4 at the plate with his fourth double of the year to bring his average up to .245. Orlando Hudson went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .276 on the year. Joe Mauer went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .381 which is second best in the American League. Brendan Harris went 1-2 at the plate with his second double of the season. Jim Thome went 1-4 with his third double of the year. Michael Cuddyer and J.J. Hardy each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Twins yesterday in Kansas City.

The Twins have today off before beginning a three game series in Detroit starting tommorrow night. Pitching matchups are as follows. Tuesday: Francisco Liriano vs Justin Verlander, Wednesday: Scott Baker vs Max Scherzer, and Thursday: Carl Pavano vs Dontrelle Willis.

Rochester Wrap

Syracuse 4 Rochester 2 (6-11) 13 innings

The Red Wings suffered a heartbreaking loss their fourth in a row to Syracuse yesterday 4-2 in 13 innings. Ryan Mullins got the start for Rochester in this one and was very effective. Mullins went six innings and gave up a run on four hits along with one walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.12. Jose Lugo then came on and got drilled afer giving up a run on three hits along with three strikeouts in 1.1 innings of work to raise his era up to 9.31. Matt Fox then came on and got an out along with a walk to lower his era to 2.25. Next up was Anthony Slama who pitched 2.1 scoreless innings along with two walks and a strikeout to lower his era to 1.46. Rob Delaney then came on and pitched two scoreless innings on one hit along with two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 5.06. Tim Lahey lost the game giving up a two run homerun in the 13th to take the loss and saw his era rise to 6.92

The Red Wings struggled offensively as they were only able to score two runs on ten hits along with drawing eight walks. They were done in by leaving 13 guys on base in this one for Rochester. The Red Wings were led by Danny Valencia who went 2-5 at the plate with his third double and fifth rbi to bring his average up to .196. Matt Tolbert went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .234. Jason Repko went 2-5 at the plate with his fourth rbi to bring his average up to .325. Trevor Plouffe, Erik Lis, Wilson Ramos, and Dustin Martin each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings.

Today, the Red Wings finish off their series with Syracuse as Jeff Manship gets the start for Rochester. Gametime is at 11am in Syracuse.

New Britain Business

The Rockcats had their game with Harrisburg rained out yesterday and will begin a series with Richmond tonight in New Britain with Tyler Robertson scheduled to pitch for the Rockcats.

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 10 Fort Myers 3 (5-11)

The Miracle lost again to Palm Beach last night as they not only couldn't hit, but they were unable to pitch or play defense. Last night was one of those games that Manager Jake Mauer would like to throw away and come back today with a better effort. Michael Tarsi got the start for Fort Myers and was not very good in this one, but his defense did not help him out as Fort Myers had two errors which led to six unearned runs. Tarsi went five innings and gave up six runs although only two of them were earned on eight hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to actually lower his era to 4.74 and drop his record on the year to 1-2. Blake Martin then came on and gave up two unearned runs on one hit along with two walks to lower his era to 4.91. Tony Davis then came on and gave up two runs on two hits along with two walks in one inning of work to raise his era to 4.50. Billy Bulluck finished the game pitching the last inning and not giving up a run on one hit to lower his era on the year to 5.79.

The Miracle could not get a lot going on offense either as they only scored three runs on eleven hits along with taking three walks. The problem was they left an incredible 13 guys on base in this one. An offensively challenged team like Fort Myers can not leave 13 guys on base and expect to win the game. The Miracle were led offensively by Drew Thompson who went 3-5 at the plate with his fourth double and sixth rbi of the year to bring his average up to .294. Nick Romero went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average on the season to .200. Nathan Hansen went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .130. Chris Hermann, Michael Harrington, Jair Fernandez, and Dan Rohlfing added hits in the losing cause for the Miracle.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Palm Beach as Bobby Lanigan is scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 in Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

The Snappers had their game with Wisconsin rained out yesterday and will begin a series with Burlington tonight with Miguel Munoz scheduled to pitch for Beloit. Gametime is at 6:30 in Burlington.

Due to an unforseen occurance I have to cancel the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast for tonight. I will be back on the air next monday May 3rd so tune in next week for another edition of the Travis Talks Minnesota Sports Podcast next Monday, May 3rd at 9pm.

Sunday, April., 25th

2010-04-25T07:24:00.000-07:00

Twins Talk

Twins 9 (13-5) Royals 7 12 innings

Talk about a crazy game as the Twins obviously did not play their best in a rain soaked game last night with the Royals, but still found a way to win the game in 12 innings in a 9-7 victory that clinched the Twins sixth straight series win to start the season. The Twins showed that they are very resielient as they battled back from a 5-1 deficit to pull out the win thanks to a Denard Span base hit in the 12th inning. Nick Blackburn got the start for the Twins and really was not very good for the second consecutive start against the Royals. In this one Blackburn only lasted 4.1 innings and gave up six runs on 10 hits although only five were earned to raise his era on the year to 6.84. Something tells me that Blackburn is not right with that elbow because he is not a great pitcher, but he is better than this. My take is he is probably not being totally honest about how his elbow feels as every pitch he threw was up in the strike zone. They were belt high pitches that Kansas City took advantage of and drilled. I hope the Twins talk to him and really get soem answers because he can't continue to pitch like this. Ron Mahey then came on and pitched a shutout inning on two hits along with a strikeout. He was followed by Pat Neshek who got two outs along with a strikeout. Jesse Crain then came on and pitched 1.1 scoreless innings on one hit to lower his era on the year to 7.36. Brian Duensing then came on and got two outs along with a walk to lower his era to 2.00. Matt Guerrier then came on and struggled through two innings, but found a way to escape without any runs allowed on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout to lower his era to 0.79. Jon Rauch then followed in the 11th inning with the Twins up a run and gave up back to back hits to tie the score and suffer his first blown save as a Twin. He had guys on 1st and 3rd with one out, but found a way to escape more damage and give a chance to the Twins to win it in the 12th. In all Rauch went two innings and gave up a run on three hits along with a walk to increase his era to 2.00 and pick up his first win of the year.

The Twins offensive put up quite a performance scoring nine runs on 14 hits along with drawing six walks. The run total would have been much much more, but the Twins left 13 guys on base in this one. The Twins were led by guess who Mr. MVP Joe Mauer who had his best game of the year in this one. Mauer went 5-6 at the plate with his seventh double, first triple, and drove in his 11th and 12th runs of the year. Mauer was only a homerun short of hitting for the cycle in this one. His sacrafice fly in the 12th probably was just as important as any hit he got because it put the Twins up two and less pressure on Twins closer Jon Rauch. With the five hits Mauer increased his average up to .381 on the year. Justin Morneau went 2-5 at the plate with the biggest hit of the game as he turned a 6-4 Royals lead into a 6-6 tie with a two run homerun in the 7th inning. It was his third home run of the year and had two rbi's to bring his total on the year to 13. He also added his fourth double of the year. With the two hits Morneau is now hitting .359. Michael Cuddyer went 2-4 at the plate with a walk and his fourth double along with driving in his 14th and 15 runs of the year to bring his average up to .333. Brendan Harris went 1-4 at the plate with his first double of the year. Orlando Hudson went 1-7 at the plate with his fifth double and his fifth rbi. Delmon Young went 1-5 at the dish with his third double of the season. Denard Span and Alexi Casilla each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

Today, the Twins finish off their series with Kansas City as Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins against Royals pitcher Brian Bannister. Gametime is at 1:10 at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City.

Rochester Wrap

Syracuse 6 Rochester 3 (6-10)

The Red Wings had their third straight loss to Syracuse with a 6-3 loss yesterday afternoon that they couldn't pitch effectively or get any big hits in the loss yesterday to Syracuse. Glen Perkins got the start for Rochester and was not very good once again as he only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up five runs on six hits along with three walks and four strikeouts to raise his era to 10.80 and dropped his record to 0-2. I really can't figure out why Perkins can not get AAA hitters out as he was a decent major league pitcher before this season. I don't know if its that he is so mad about being in AAA or if he is injured or what. If he wants to be traded he has got to be better because right now he is pretty much untradable and I can't see the Twins releasing him no matter how bad he does in AAA because they used a first round pick on him and he has shown something at the big leagues. Kyle Waldrop then came on and continued his early season success by going 2.1 scoreless to lower his era on the year to 0.73. Rob Delaney then came on and gave up one runs on one hit a homerun along with a walk and two strikeouts to raise his era to 6.23. Anthony Slama finished the game by pitching a perfect ninth inning to lower his era to 1.80.

The Red Wings offense could not get it going in this one as they were only able to score three runs on twelve hits as they left 13 guys on base in this one. This was a game that the offense let get away as they should have scored way more than the three runs they scored in this one. The Red Wings were led by once again Trevor Plouffe who continued his early on success by going 3-5 to bring his average on the year up to .317. Matt Macri made his season debut going 2-3 at the plate with his first double along with two walks. Jason Repko went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .314. Danny Valencia had one of his best days of the year going 2-5 at the plate with his fourth rbi to bring his average up to .176. Brock Peterson went 1-5 at the plate with his second double of the year and his seventh rbi. Erik Lis went 1-4 at the plate with his second double and 8th rbi of the year. Matt Tolbert also contributed a bas hit in the losing cause for the Red Wings of Rochester in this game.

Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Syracuse as Ryan Mullins is scheduled to pitch today for Rochester. Gametime is at 12:35 at Frontier Field in Rochester.

New Britain Business

Harrisburg 15 New Britain 5 (4-12)

The Rockcats were out of the game last night in the top of the first as they gave up 6 runs in the top of the first to put the game away. Carlos Gutierrez got the start for the Rockcats and was not very good in this one. Gutierrez lasted four innings and gave up eight runs on ten hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 6.63 and drop his record to 0-1. Every starting pitcher is going to have stinkers like this every once in a while the only difference is its early in the season and he hasn't built up numbers yet so his era went through the roof. Gutierrez will be fine and I have no doubt that he will bounce back and pitch well next time around. Joe Testa then came on and was not very good either, but his defense did not help him at all as they committed three errors which led to two unearned runs. Testa went two innings and gave up three runs although only one of them were earned on four hits along with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his era to 11.05. Henry Arias then came on and got drilled in this one giving up four runs on five hits along with a walk and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings of work to raise his era to 9.53. Henry Arias is probably on his last leg in the organization as he gets drilled onsistantly and I would be surprised if he made it through the season as a member of the Twins organization. I hope I am wrong because you never want to see a persons dream end, but at the same time you got to admit that someone is not doing the job. Cole Devries finished the game off with 1.1 scoreless innings on three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.09.

The Rockcats did ok offensively in this one putting up five runs and that is quite a bit for them as they have struggled with the bats all year. The Rockcats were led by Ben Revere who went 2-3 at the plate along with two walks to bring his average up to .313. This is the first time Revere has been over .300 in quite a while, but it was only a matter of time as he is such a good hitter that I really believe Ben Revere could fall out of bed and hit .300. Mark Dolenc got a start and went 2-4 at the plate with two rbi's to bring his season total up to 6 and his average up to .303. Esterlin De Los Santos went 1-3 at the plate with his third double of the year and his third rbi. Juan Portes went 1-4 at the plate with his third double. Rene Tosoni went 1-5 at the plate with his second triple of the year. Joe Benson also contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats of New Britain in this game yesterday.

The Rockcats had their game with Harrisburg rained out and will next play Richmond Monday night in New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Palm Beach 5 Fort Myers 2 (5-10)

The Miracle lost their second straight to Palm Beach with a tough to take 5-2 loss that saw good pitching from starter Kyle Gibson and bad relief pitching and no hitting which is becoming a norm for Jake Mauer and the Miracle. Gibson got the start for the Miracle and was good once again, but pitch count only allowed him to make it 5 innings in this one. Gibson worked five innings and gave up a run on only four hits along with three walks and four strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.49. Gibson has done everything that Twins fans have been hoping out of him and showed that he is healthy and a good high upside pitcher. Look for Gibson to be up in New Britain by midseason and possibly a member of the Twins by next season. Tony Davis then came on and gave up a run on a hit along with three walks to lower his era to 3.00. He was followed by Michael Allen who pitched 1.2 scoreless innings to keep the game tied on two walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 6.43. Billy Bulluck then came on and got drilled in this one giving up three runs on two hits along with two walks and two strikeouts in one inning of work to pick up the loss and drop his record to 0-2 and see his era rise to 6.48.

Offensively, the Miracle did not do a whole lot scoring only two runs on five hits along with drawing three walks. The Miracle were led by guess who Yangervis Solarte went 3-4 at the plate with his fourth double of the year to bring his average up to .372 on the year and show that he should be playing everyday for the Miracle right now. Chris Hermann also contributed his fifth double of the year. Chris Cates also contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Miracle.

Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Palm Beach as Michael Tarsi is scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammonds Stadium in Fort Myers as the Miracle try to rebound.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 7 (10-7) Wisconsin 5

The Snappers won their third consecutive game with a nice 7-5 win after blowing a 5-2 eighth inning lead that allowed Wisconsin to tie the game in the eighth inning. Dan Osterbrock got the start for Beloit and was good once again going seven innings and giving up two runs on five hits along with a walk and eight strikeouts to lower his era to 3.10. Peter Kennelly then came on and gave up three runs on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era up to 7.71. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched 2/3 of an inning and gave up one hit along with two walks to lower his era to 1.23 even though he blew his first save of the year. Edgar Ibarra then worked the last 2/3 of an inning with a strikeout to get his first save of the year and lower his era to 3.60.

The Snappers did well offensively in this one scoring seven runs on 13 hits along with drawing six walks. It would have been more but the Snappers left 13 guys on base in this one. The Snappers were led by Aaron Hicks who continued his unbelievable resurgence going 4-5 at the plate with his second homerun of the year and his fifth rbi to bring his average up to .268. Hicks revival has been quite remarkable as I thought he would eventually get it going, but I thought it would be a gradual thing not a hot streak like he is on. After starting out the season 1-31 Hicks in his last six games is 14-30 a .467 average to get his average back in respectable terms. Josmil Pinto also had a big game going 4-5 as well with his first and second doubles along with his first stolen base to bring his average up to .242. Tobias Streich went 2-4 with his second double of the year and brought his average up to .160. James Beresford continued his improved play going 2-5 at the plate with his fourth rbi to bring his average up to .137. Angel Morales went 1-5 at the plate with his third homerun and two rbi's to bring his season total up to 11.

Today, the Snappers finish off their weekend series with Wisconsin as they go for the sweep. Miguel Munoz is scheduled to pitch today for the Snappers. Gametime is at 1:05 in Appleton.

Saturday, April, 24th

2010-04-24T06:00:00.000-07:00

Ok here is the deal being a college student took presedence the last few days so I have been unable to blog. However, I am going to make up for it and talk about all the games that I didn't get to blog about before so get a cup of coffee and enjoy.

Twins Talk

Twins 6 (11-4) Indians 0

Indians 8 Twins 1 (11-5)

Twins 8 (12-5) Royals 3

Wednesday Night

The Twins won their fifth series in a row to start the season with a dominating 6-0 victory over the Indians Wednesday Night. Francisco Liriano got the start for the Twins and was utterly dominant once again. After showing dominance in his last start against the Red Sox Liriano kept it going against the Indians. If the Twins can get this kind of performance consistantly out of Liriano the division race is over. In this one Liriano threw eight shutout innings on only six hits along with two walks and six strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 1.29 and picked up his 2nd win without a loss. In all Francisco Liriano has now thrown 15 consecutive scoreless innings spanning two starts. Jesse Crain then followed pitching a scoreless ninth inning on a hit and a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 9.00. It was a very important first step for Crain as he is trying to rebound from a few tough outings in a row so it was good to get back in it.

The Twins continue to grind out pitchers as they got Indians starter David Huff out after six innings on six runs on six hits along with taking six walks. The Twins were led by Michael Cuddyer who went 2-4 at the plate with his 3rd homerun of the year along with his first triple and drove in three runs to bring his rbi total up to 13 and his average up to .344. Denard Span went 1-2 at the plate along with two walks and drove in two runs of his own to bring his total up to 6. Joe Mauer, Justin Morneau, and Brendan Harris each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Twins.

Thursday Afternoon

The Twins dropped the final game of the three game series with a 8-1 clunker to the Indians as the Twins were unable to complete the three game sweep. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins and really was not very good in this one. Baker lasted 5.2 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits along with a walk and three strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 4.81 and drop his record to 2-2. Alex Burnett then came on and was a touch wild in this one. Burnett faced four batters and only retired one of them giving up two runs on a hit along with two walks and a strikeout to raise his era to 3.37. Alex Burnett is very talented, but he is also very young and will have stinkers like this as he gains more and more experience. The future is so bright for Burnett and I don't think people should get down on him as eventually he is going to be a lights out reliever. Ron Mahey then came on and pitched a scoreless inning along with a walk. Matt Guerrier followed and like usual pitched a perfect inning along with a strikeout. Jon Rauch pitched a perfect ninth along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.29.

The Twins were handcuffed in this one by Indians start Mitch Talbot as they were only able to score one run on only four hits along with taking three walks. Justin Morneau led the offense going 2-2 with a walk and his tenth rbi in addition to his third double of the year to bring his average up to .357. Denard Span and Drew Butera each added a base hit in the losing cause for the Twins. In fact Butera's hit was his first major league hit so congratulations on being a real major leaguer with an average Drew hopefully one of many in your career.

Friday Night

The Twins got back on track last night with a nice 8-3 victory over the Royals as it was a good trend setter as the Twins begin a tough 9 game roadtrip from Kansas City to Detroit and finishing up in Cleveland. Carl Pavano got the start and rebounded from his last start that he got drilled in to put up quite a performance. Pavano went 7 strong innings and gave up two runs on four hits along with five strikeouts and a David Dejesus homerun to lower his era on the year to 4.24 and raised his record to 3-1 on the year. Matt Guerrier then came on and was not real sharp but avoided major damage as he gave up a run on a hit along with a walk, but got Billy Butler to fly out to preserve the lead with runners on base. With the one run it raised Guerriers era to an outstanding 0.96. Brian Duensing pitched a scoreless inning on one hit and a strikeout to lower his era to 2.16.

The Twins continued grinding out pitcher as they had Royals starter Gil Meche out of the game in the fourth inning as they scored eight runs on eleven hits along with drawing seven walks. Orlando Hudson led the offense going 3-4 at the plate along with a walk to bring his average up to .281. Jim Thome went 2-5 with his 3rd homerun of the year and drove in three runs to bring his total up to 8. Witht he two hits Thomes average went up to .241. Michael Cuddyer went 1-4 at the plate with his 3rd double and drove in his 14th and 15 rbi's of the year. J.J. Hardy went 1-5 with his 3rd homerun and 8th rbi. Joe Mauer went 1-5 with his sixth double of the year. Denard Span, Justin Morneau, and Jason Kubel each contributed base hits in the winning cause for the Twins.

Tonight, the Twins try to clinch their 6th straight series win as they send Nick Blackburn to the mound against Royals starter Luke Hochevar. Gametime is at 6:10 at Kaufmann Stadium in Kansas City.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 6 (6-7) Buffalo 1

Buffalo 12 Rochester 3 (6-8)

Syracuse 8 Rochester 3 (6-9)

Wednesday

The Red Wings finished off their series with Buffalo with a big 6-1 win with some good pitching and some timely hitting. Jeff Manship got the start for the Red Wings and pitched excellent pitching six shutout innings on only four hits along with two strikeouts to bring his era down to 3.07 and improved his record to 1-2. Matt Fox then came on and gave up a run on three hits along with two strikeouts in 2 innings of work to raise his era up to 2.70. Kyle Waldrop then came on and pitched a perfect ninth inning with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.00.

The Red Wings had a good night at the plate as they put up six runs on twelve hits along with taking two walks. The night could have gone even better if it were not for the seven guys they left on base. Trevor Plouffe led the Red Wings attack going 3-4 at the plate with his second homerun, first triple, and a single to be just a double short of the cycle in this one along with his 8th rbi. With the three hits Plouffe is now hitting .298. It was a bit of a surprise that Plouffe has started out so strong as usually he is a slow starter so it will be interesting to see if he can keep it going. Wilson Ramos went 2-3 at the plate with his second homerun and fourth rbi to bring his average up to .225. Jason Repko went 2-3 at the plate with his first triple of the year with his third rbi to bring his average up to .292 on the season. Matt Tolbert went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .235. Luke Hughes, Danny Valencia, and Brock Peterson each contributed a hit in the winning cause for Rochester.

Thursday

The Red Wings had a bad game in the pitching department as they gave up 12 runs on 15 hits along with walking three guys. Yoslan Herrera got the start and went the first five and did an alright job giving up 2 earned runs on 7 hits along with six strikeouts to raise his era to 3.29 and dropped his record to 0-1. Jose Lugo then came on and got rocked giving up five runs on five hits along with two walks and two strikeouts in only 2/3 of an inning to bring his era up to 9.72. Rob Delaney then came on and pitched 1.1 innings and gave up three runs on two hits along with a walk and a strikeout to raise his era to 5.87. Anthony Slama then came on and pitching a perfect eighth with a strikeout to lower his era to 2.00. Kyle Waldrop then finished the game giving up an unearned run in his inning to lower his era to 0.90.

Offensively the Red Wings did not do much as they were only able to put up three runs on nine hits. The Red Wings were led by Jason Repko who went 2-4 at the plate to raise his average up to .321. Brian Dinkelman went 2-4 at the plate along with his fifth rbi of the year to bring his average up to .280. Erik Lis went 2-4 with his seventh rbi to raise his average up to .244. Luke Hughes went 1-4 with his eighth double of the year. Dustin Martin went 1-4 with his first double. Trevor Plouffe also added a base hit in the losing cause for Rochester.

Friday Night

The Red Wings lost their second consecutive game to Syracuse with a tough 8-3 loss as they did not pitch very good or get many timely hits in the loss in Syracuse last night for Rochester. Mike Maroth got the start and only lasted four innings and gave up four runs on five hits along with four strikeout and a homerun to raise his era on the year to a still very good 1.64. Tim Lahey then came on and got drilled as he gave up three runs on four hits along with three walks in 2.1 innings of work to raise his era up to 5.68. Matt Fox finished the game going 1.2 innings and giving up an unearned run on three hits along with a walk and a strikeout to lower his era to 2.31 on the year.

The Red Wings could not get much going offensively as they were only able to score three runs on four hits and drew one walk. Brian Dinkelman led the offense going 2-4 at the plate to raise his average up to .296. Trevor Plouffe went 1-4 at the plate with two rbi's to bring his season total up to 10. Brock Peterson also added a single in the losing cause for Rochester.

Today, the Red Wings continue their series with Syracuse as Glen Perkins is scheduled to pitch for Rochester. Gametime is at 12:05 in Syracuse.

New Britain Business

Richmond 5 New Britain 4 (3-10)

New Britain 2 (4-10) Harrisburg 1

Harrisburg 2 New Britain 1 (4-11)

Wednesday

The Rockcats lost a tough hardfought game in the conclusion to their series with Richmond by a score of 5-4 as Richmond scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th to take the win off reliever Cole Devries. Mike Mccardell got the start for the Rockcats and was ok going 6 innings and giving up three runs on 10 hits along with a strikeout and giving up a homerun to lower his era to 4.60. Cole Devries then came on and gave up two runs on three hits along with a walk and a strikeout in 1.1 innings of work to raise his era on the year to 3.48 and lower his record to 0-3. Chris Province then came on and got the last 2 outs to lower his era on the year to 5.79.

Offensively, the Rockcats got quite a few hits, but were only able to turn that into four runs on 11 hits along with drawing four walks. The main problem is the Rockcats left 9 guys on base in this one. The Rockcats were led by Esterlin De Los Santos who is trying to come out of a slow start went 2-4 at the plate with 2 rbi's and brought his average up to .184 on the year. Whit Robbins went 2-4 at the plate to raise his average on the year .189. Steve Singleton went 2-4 at the plate to raise his average to .222. Yancarlos Ortiz went 2-4 to raise his average on the season to .357. Ben Revere went 2-5 to bring his average up to .243. Danny Lehman added a base hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats in this one.

Thursday

The Rockcats got back on the winning side as they won a pitchers duel with Harrisburg as they got great pitching and just enough hitting to pull out a 2-1 win thanks to a Juan Portes rbi single in the bottom of the ninth to win the game. Deolis Guerra got the start for the Cats and was awesome once again going 7 strong innings and only giving up a run on only five hits along with 6 strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 3.50. Spencer Steedley then came on and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on two hits along with two strikeouts to lower his era to 1.54. Chris Province got the last out in the ninth to pick up his first win in the Twins organization and lowered his era to 5.59.

The Rockcats did not get a lot of offense in this one but just enough to pull off the win as they scored two runs on seven hits along with taking two walks in the win. Ben Revere led the offense going 3-4 at the plate with his first double to bring his average up to .293. Juan Portes went 2-4 at the plate with his sixth rbi to bring his average up to .167. Mark Dolenc went 1-4 at the plate with his first double of the year. Rene Tosoni also added a base hit in the victory for the Rockcats.

Friday

The Rockcats came on the short end of a 2-1 decision on this day one day after coming up on top of an identical 2-1 score. David Bromberg got the start and was awesome in this one. Bromberg went 7 innings and gave up a run on 4 hits along with one walk and nine strikeouts to lower his era to 1.00. Santos Arias then came on and gave up a run on three hits along with a strikeout in two innings to raise his era to 2.08 and drop his record to 0-3 for the Rockcats.

The Rockcats sure got good pitching in this one but they were unable to score more than one run in support on only four hits and drew three walks. TheRockcats were led by Rene Tosoni who went 2-3 at the plate with his fourth rbi to bring his average up to .365. Ben Revere and Esterlin De Los Santos each contributed a hit in the losing cause for the Rockcats.

Tonight, the Rockcats continue their series with Harrisburg as Carlos Gutierrez gets the start for New Britain. Gametime is at 5:35pm in New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 4 (4-8) Port Charlotte 2

Fort Myers 6 (5-8) Bradenton 3

Bradenton 3 Fort Myers 1 (5-9)

Wednesday

The Miracle got a well pitched game from Bobby Lanigan and got just enough scoring to pull off a 4-2 victory. Bobby Lanigan got the start for Fort Myers and was good once again going 6.2 innings and gave up a run on seven hits along with a walk and five strikeouts to move his record on the year to 1-1 and lowered his era to 1.04. Tony Davis then came on and went 1.2 innings and gave up a run on four hits along with a walk to lower his era to 2.35. Billy Bulluck got the last two outs one of them on a strikeout to lower his era on the year to 3.68 and his second save of the year.

The Miracle got out of their shell offensively in this one scoring four runs on an incredible 11 hits along with drawing a walk. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann went 2-4 at the plate with his first stolen base to bring his average up to .258. Michael Harrington went 2-4 at the plate to bring his average up to .242. Deibinson Romero went 2-4 at the plate with his first double of the year to bring his average up to .118. Evan Bigley went 1-4 with his third double of the year. Ramon Santana went 1-4 at the plate with his fourth double and had two rbi's to bring his season total up to 5. Nick Romero, Jair Fernandez, and Chris Cates each contributed a hit in the winning cause.

Thursday

The Miracle won their second straight and got their first win of the year against Bradenton with a 6-3 victory over the Marauders. Brad Tippett got the start and went four effective innings and allowed an unearned run on two hits along with three walks and four strikeouts. Matt Williams then came on and gave up a run on four hits along with a walk and three strikeouts in 3.1 innings to lower his era to 1.17 and pick up his first win of the year. Blake Martin finished the game and worked 1.2 innings and gave up a run on three hits along with a stikeout to lower his era to 6.00.

The Miracle kept their offensive pace going in this one scoring 6 runs on 8 hits along with taking three walks. The Miracle were led by Evan Bigley who went 2-5 with his fourth and fifth doubles of the year along with an rbi to bring his season total up to 2. Chris Hermann went 2-5 at the plate with his 3rd double to bring his average up to .278. Drew Thompson, Michael Harrington, Nick Romero, and Deibinson Romero each contributed a hit in the winning cause for the Miracle.

Friday

The Miracle had their two game winning streak come to an end with a hard fought 3-1 loss to Bradenton last night. Bruce Pugh got the start and was much better than he had been as of late. Pugh went 6 innings and gave up three runs on seven hits along with three walks and three strikeouts to lower his record to 0-3 and his era down to 7.24. Shooter Hunt then came on and continued his strong performance as of late. In his last two outings he has thrown 5 shutout innings with zero walks and 9 strikeouts. So hopefully this is the start of big things. In this one Hunt went 2 scoreless innings with no walks and three strikeouts to lower his era to 6.48.

The Miracle could not get much going offensively as they were only able to score one run on only four hits in this one. The Miracle were led by Chris Hermann in this one goiing 1-2 with two walks in this one along with his fourth double of the year. Evan Bigley went 1-4 at the plate with his first stolen base. Brandon Roberts on a rehab assignment went 1-3 at the plate with his first stolen base. Dan Rohlfing went 1-4 with his third double of the year.

Tonight, the Miracle begin a weekend series with Palm Beach as staff ace Kyle Gibson gets the start for Fort Myers. Gametime is at 6:05 at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Quad Cities 10 Beloit 9 (7-7)

Beloit 6 (8-7) Quad Cities 3

Beloit 7 (9-7) Wisconsin 2

The Snappers suffered a heartbreaking loss to Quad Cities in this game losing 10-9 especially heartbreaking after battling back to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth. Brad Stillings got the start and was not good, but his defense did not help him at all as the Snappers committed two errors which led to 6 unearned runs. Stillings gave up 8 runs on 10 hits although only 2 were earned along with 2 walks and two strikeouts to raise his era to 2.08. Edgar Ibarra then came on and pitched 2.2 perfect innings along with four strikeouts to lower his era to 3.86. Peter Kennelly then came on and gave up two runs on one hit along with a walk on two strikeouts to lower his record to 0-1 and his era went up to 5.19. Steve Blevins then came on and got the last out on one hit to lower his era to 1.35 on the year.

The Snappers offense really did their part in this one as they put up 9 runs on 15 hits along with taking three walks. The Snappers were led by Danny Rams who went 3-5 at the plate with his 5th and 6th double of the year to bring his average up to .209. Steve Liddle went 3-5 with his 3rd double and his 6th rbi to bring his average up to .327. Angel Morales went 2-5 with his fourth double and his 7th rbi to bring his average up to .267. Aaron Hicks, Brian Dozier, Michael Gonzalez, Reggie Williams, and James Beresford each contributed a base hit in the losing cause for the Snappers.

Thursday

The Snappers got back on the winning side of things with a nice 6-3 win over division leading Quad Cities. Tom Stuifbergen got the start for Beloit and was good once again going 6 innings and only giving up three runs on six hits along with two walks and three strikeouts to raise his era on the year to 1.42 and improved his record to 2-0. Matt Tone then came on and pitched 1.2 scoreless innings on three hits along with a strikeout to lower his era to 3.72. Dakota Watts then came on and worked the last 1.1 innings to pick up his first save of the year along with 2 walks and three strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 2.45.

The Snappers did not have quite as much offense as the night before, but still did enough to pick up the win as they scored 6 runs on 11 hits along with working out 2 walks in the game. The Snappers were led by Aaron Hicks who continued his revival going 3-3 at the plate with his 2nd double and his 4th rbi to bring his average up to .208. Brian Dozier went 2-4 at the plate with his second double and his fifth rbi to bring his average up to .360 on the year. Angel Morales went 2-4 at the plate with 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 9 and his average up to .286. Danny Rams went 1-4 at the plate with his seventh double of the year. James Beresford went 1-3 at the plate with his first double of the year for the Snappers. Steve Liddle and Lin each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.

Friday

The Snappers extended their winning streak to two games with a hard fought 7-2 victory over Wisconsin as they used good pitching and good hitting to the win. Liam Hendriks got the start for the Snappers and had his 18 inning scoreless streak come to an end, but another very good start for him. Hendriks went 5 innings and allowed one run on one hit along with a walk and six strikeouts to bring his era up to 0.41. Ben Tootle then came on and pitched two innings and gave up a run on two hits along with a walk and two strikeouts to lower his era on the year to 9.45. Kane Holbrooks finished the game with 2 scoreless innings of relief along with a walk and two strikeouts.

The Snappers got enough offense in this one to get another win as they scored seven runs on nine hits along with taking five walks. The Snappers were led offensively by Reggie Williams who went 2-3 at the plate with his first double and had 4 rbi's to bring his season total to 4 to bring his average up to .154. Brian Dozier went 2-5 at the plate to bring his average up to .364. Steve Liddle went 1-4 at the plate with his fourth double and his 8th and 9th rbi's. Aaron Hicks, Lin, and James Beresford each contributed a base hit in the winning cause for the Snappers.

Today, the Snappers continue their series with Wisconsin as Dan Osterbrock gets the start for Beloit. Gametime is at 12:05 in Appleton