Friday, June, 12th

Twins Talk
Athletics 4 Twins 3

• The Twins suffered a tough loss yesterday afternoon as the Twins fell to the Athletics in the last game of the series by a score of 4-3. After building a 3-0 lead the Twins could not add to it and gave up 4 runs in the last 2 innings to get the loss. Nick Blackburn got the start in this game and was phenomenal for 7 innings. He lost in a big way in the 8th and hindsight maybe he should of been taken out after 7, but he was dominant and didn't seem to be slowing down. It was one of those things that happens sometimes. In all Blackburn went 8 innings and gave up 3 runs on 6 hits along with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 3.31 on the year. Blackburn really has been the rock for the Twins staff this year and been the stopper when the Twins needed a win. Yesterday he had only given up 2 hits and no runs after 7 innings and looked like he was headed to his 6th win, but instead he ended up with his 3rd loss. The ending should not make Twins fans forget how good he was for the first 7 innings and how good he has been all year. The 9th inning was a disaster for the Twins bullpen in this one. Sean Henn came on and faced one batter and walked him on 4 pitches. Matt Guerrier then came on to hit a batter and then give up a single to bring in the winning run. That walk by Henn really set the tone for the inning and was a flare up for a bullpen that had been really pitching well lately. Hopefully, that was just an abberation and not a things to come.

• The Twins got off to a early 3-0 lead and it seemed like they just quit after that and that happens way too often. They need to keep adding on every inning and not after you get a few runs think that is enough and quit competing with the focus you need. Joe Crede put the Twins ahead early with a 3 run homerun in the 4th inning. It was Crede's 10th homerun of the year and it gave the Twins a false sense of security and that is never good because the Twins are not talented enough to take anything for granted and that seemed like what happened. At the plate Justin Morneau and Delmon Young led the attack with 2 hits each. With the 2 hits Morneau raised his average to .340 which was 4th highest in the American League. Young has really been coming on of late as his 2 hits raised his average to .252. In the last 5 games Delmon has gone 6-18 a .333 batting average. Hopefully, he can keep it up because the Twins need his offense if they are going to keep contending in the Central. Brendan Harris, Joe Mauer, and Jason Kubel each contributed hits also in the losing cause.
• Today, the Twins begin a 3 game series in Chicago with the Cubs. Kevin Slowey gets the start for the Twins as he tries to win his 9th game of the year.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 4 Toledo 0

• The Red Wings took the first game of their series last night with Toledo with a very impressive 4-0 win. Kevin Mulvey was the story of the game as he had his finest start of the year for the Red Wings. Mulvey threw a complete game shutout in this one. He went all 9 to pick up his 3rd win of the year along with his 3 losses. Mulvey went 9 innings and gave up 0 runs and scattered 7 hits along with only 1 walk and 7 strikeouts. Mulvey has been the most consistant pitcher on the staff for the Red Wings really their only consistantly good pitcher. With the 0 runs Mulvey lowered his starter low era down to 3.61. If the Twins need another starter this year it would not bother me at all to go to Mulvey because I believe he is ready to contribute to the big league team. However, I hope he doesn't take being in Rochester as a bad thing because he can continue to improve and become more consistant with his pitching.

• This game should not even of been close, but once again the Red Wings struggled to get the big hit as they once again left many runners on base. In this one they left 9 on base which is way too many. The positive though is that they pounded out 12 hits in this one, but the negative is they were only able to put across 4 runs. Jason Pridie and Dustin Martin were the stories of the offense as they each had 3 hits in this one. Pridie has been really good in June as he is hitting .306 with 7 rbi's in June to raise his average to .252. Martin has really been coming on after he went through quite a slump. Martin is now hitting a good .268 on the season. Justin Huber also contributed 2 hits in the game to bring his average up to .268. David Winfree hit his 14th double of the year and Trevor Plouffe hit his 8th. Steve Tolleson and Drew Butera also contributed hits in the game.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Toledo as Bobby Keppel gets the start for Rochester

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Altoona 3

• The Rockcats completed the sweep against Altoona with a big 7-3 victory over the Curve yesterday afternoon. Cole Devries got the start for the Rockcats and was not terrible, but also not great. In this one he only lasted 4 innings and gave up 3 runs on a way too many 9 hits along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts to raise his era to 3.27. Devries has been so good this season for New Britain that he is entitled a so so start. He was not terrible as he only gave up the 3 runs in the 9 hits so he made the big pitches when he needed them. Yohan Pino then came on and picked up his first win of the year by going 3 perfect innings in relief. Pino also struck out 2 batters to lower his era to 4.67 on the season. Jose Lugo then came on and pitched the last 2 innings and only gave up a hit and no runs along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 5.12. It was Lugo's 2nd save of the year for the Rockcats.

• The Rockcats brought their hitting shoes to the park yesterday by jumping on Altoona pitching for 5 runs in the bottom of the 2nd. In all the Rockcats scored 7 runs on 9 hits to take advantage of every opprotunity. Juan Portes and Erik Lis led the charge with 3 hits apiece in this one. Portes went 3-4 with his 11th double of the year and 3 rbi's to bring his season total up to 19. Portes is now hitting a very impressive .322 on the year. Lis went 3-4 with his 9th double of the year and his 28th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .286. Danny Valencia added his 9th double of the year late in teh game. Hopefully, that is the start of Valencia's return to good hitting after a horrible slump that started end of May and has continued into June. The slump has dropped his average from .341 to .282. Wilson Ramos and Yancarlos Ortiz each contributed rbi hits in the game also.
• Tonight, the Rockcats begin a weekend series with Bowie with Matt Fox on the mound for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Daytona 6 Fort Myers 4

• The Miracle suffered a tough loss last night to Daytona by a score of 6-4 in the opener of the weekend series. Tyler Robertson was on the mound for the Miracle and was so so in this one. He had been pitching so good as of late that it surprised me that he had a poor start. Robertson went 5 innings and gave up 6 runs on 10 hits along with a walk and 4 strikeouts to raise his era to 3.88. He also took the loss in the game to drop his record to 3-3 on the year. Even though Tyler was not at his best yesterday it should not take from the outing he has had of late. Those are the outings I am going to look at because they show the true Tyler Robertson and I think this start was just an anamoly and he will be good next time out. Santos Arias came in relief and did a good job like ususal throwing 2 shutout innings on only 2 hits along with 2 strikeouts. With the 0 runs allowed Santos lowered his era to a very good 2.48 on the season. Blair Erickson came on and pitched a clean 8th inning on 1 hit along with a walk and 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.95 on the season. I think Erickson is ready for AA and it would not surprise me if him and Spencer Steedley get the call to AA after the All-Star game.

• The Miracle had the same problems that Rochester had in this one as they had 11 hits, but were only able to score 4 runs. That was caused by 9 guys left on base in this one. At the plate Deibinson Romero and Nick Romero each had 3 hits apiece to pace the Miracle. Deibinson has really rebounded from his big slump. He went 3-5 with 2nd homerun and 2 rbi's to bring his total on the year up to 29. Deibinson is now hitting .227 on the year. Nick Romero went 3-4 to bring his average up to .302 on the year. Chris Parmalee connected on his 2nd homerun in as many days and his 8th homerun of the year and drove in his 32nd run of the year along with his 9th double. Ben Revere, Allan De San Miguel, and Chris Cates also contributed hits in the game.
• Tonight, the Miracle try to clinch the first half title with a little help from Charlotte. Deolis Guerra will get the start for the Miracle in a possible clincing game as they take on Daytona once again.

Beloit Beat

Burlington 4 Beloit 1

Beloit 4 Burlington 3

• The Snappers split a doubleheader with Burlington last night as they try to get out of last place before the end of the first half. In the first game Michael Tarsi made the first start of the season and pitched very well going 5.1 innings and only giving up 3 hits and no runs along with a walk and 7 strikeouts to lower his era to 2.95 on the year. Matt Williams then came on to nail it down but thanks to some errors he could not do that as he went 1.2 innings and gave up 1 run on 2 hits along with 3 walks to lower his era to 1.52. Danny Rondon came on in the 8th and was not very good giving up 3 runs on 6 hits along with a strikeout to raise his era to 5.73. These are the types of games the Snappers have lost all year long. Hopefully, in the second half some of these games will go the other way and the Snappers will win them. In the Second game Curtis Leavitt made his first start of the year and did alright giving up 3 runs on 3 hits in 3 innings of work along with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. Bruce Pugh then came on and was great pitching 2 scoreless innings with 4 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.35. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched the last 2 innings to pick up his first save as he had 4 strikeouts as well in those 2 innings. Blevins has really pitched well as of late lowering his era to 4.o2 on the year.

• The Snappers continue to have a hard time scoring runs as they were only able to score 5 runs combined in the 2 games. In the first game they only mustered 7 hits and 1 run. Michael Harrington and Nathan Hanson were the big hitters in the game. Harrington went 3-4 to raise his average up to .253 which is saying something after the dreadful start he got off to. Hanson went 2-4 with his 17th rbi of the year and raised his average to .243. Jon Waltenbury and Angel Morales added hits in the losing cause. In the second game the Snappers did more with the bats as they had 4 runs in this one. Drew Thompson had his 4th double of the year. Ramon Santana added his 12th double of the year along with his 25th and 26th rbi's of the year. Ozzie Lewis hit his 5th homerun of the year and drove in his 22nd and 23rd runs of the game. Nathan Hanson, Jon Waltenbury, and Angel Morales contributed hits in the winning cause as the Snappers salvaged a split in the doubleheader.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Burlington with Dan Berlind getting the start for Beloit

Travis Talks top 50: Prospects 40-31

Sorry I haven't been more consistant with my prospect list, but this week has been a nightmare with so much going on in my life. I will be bringing you prospects 40-31 today, 30-21 tommorrow, 20-11 on Sunday, and 10-1 on Monday so enjoy. Just to make it easier I will list the 50-41 prospects and if you want the analysis on them just scroll down on the article about them. Thanks.



50. Steve Hirschfeld

49. James Beresford

48. Erik Lis

47. Jon Waltenbury

46. Esterlin De Los Santos

45. Bobby Lanigan

44. Ramon Santana

43. Juan Portes

42. Alex Burnett

41. Brian Duensing



Now here is Prospects 40-31:



40. Steve Singelton 2b 23 (9/12/1985)

2008 teams: Beloit and then Fort Myers

• Steve Singelton was taken by the Twins in the 11th round of the 2006 draft out of San Diego University. After signing with the Twins after the draft Singelton was put with E-town and did very well there by hitting .340 with 4 homeruns and 24 rbi's in only 41 games. In 2007 he moved on to Beloit and hit .271 with 2 homeruns and 3o rbi's in 102 games. In 2008 he split the season between Beloit before being promoted to Fort Myers. In 65 games at Beloit Singelton hit .302 with 6 homeruns and 32 rbi's. He was then promoted to Fort Myers where he hit .298 with 5hr and 25rbi's. This season back at Fort Myers Steve has struggled only hitting .235 with 1 hr and 22 rbi. Going into this season there was a lot expected out of Singelton after he made the seamless transition from Beloit to Fort Myers. That coupled with the recovery he seems to be getting in his shoulder. He was drafted as a SS but a shoulder injury took all his arm strength so they moved him to 2nd. I thought if he got the arm strength back he would be fine because he has always had a good bat. Well up until this year that is and he may have a big second half and get his numbers back to where we are accustomed to seeing out him. If that happens I will eat a big piece of crow pie because in my mind he has been the biggest dissapointment in the organization this year because so much was expected out of him this year. I really hope I am wrong because he is too talented of a hitter to be hitting .235. I really thought he was going to be the 2nd baseman of the future and thought he would get a promotion to New Britain this year, but that likely won't happen. Here's hoping that he can find his swing and be the hitter we are so used to seeing out of him.


• 2009: Spend season playing 2nd at Fort Myers


• Projection: I still project him to be the Twins starting 2nd baseman in 2013.

39. Rene Leveret 1b 23 (11/19/1985)

2008 teams: 1st base at E-town

• Rene Leveret was signed by the Twins as a free agent out of Saint Maartin in 2003 as a 18 year old. After joining the 2004, 2005, and 2006 seasons in the Dominican Summer League, Leveret joined the E-town Twins in 2007. With E-town Leveret hit .307 with 8 homeruns and an Appalacian League leading 65 rbi's. In 2008 Leveret started the season at E-town once again and hit .306 with 2 hr and 7 rbi's in 9 games before moving up to Beloit. With the Snappers Leveret hit .286 with 3hr and 34 rbi's along with 9 doubles in 182 at bats with the Snappers. In 2009 Leveret joined Fort Myers and that is where his career has taken off. In 38 games with the Miracle Leveret is hitting .315 with 2 hr and 21 rbi's along with 8 doubles in only 127 at bats because he missed a couple weeks due to an injury. Rene Leveret plays a decent 1st base, but probably is more suited to DH duties. My sources say the Twins are not real high on him and I really don't get it as he is a .306 career hitter. I know he doesn't hit a lot of homeruns, but he is hitting more doubles as he has moved up. He reminds me a lot of Erik Lis and that he is probably better suited for DH duty and as he keeps maturing he will be a doubles machine. Maybe I am not seeing something other people are seeing, but I think he is a very solid prospect and if given the chance to advance could do very well.


• 2009: Spend season playing 1b/dh for the Fort Myers Miracle


• Projection: I could see him as a good pinch hitter off the bench for the Twins by 2013.

38. Alex Soto C 22 (11/8/1986)

2008 teams: Catcher at E-town

• Alex Soto was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 2005 out of Dominican Republic. Soto spent the 2005 and 2006 seasons in the Dominican Summer League before joining the US teams in 2007. In 2007 Soto spent the season with the gcl Twins where he hit .273 with 2 homeruns and 10 rbi's in 22 games with the gcl Twins. In 2008 he moved up to E-town and that is where he really started getting noticed. In 31 games at E-town he hit .276 with 10 homeruns and 26 rbi's. What stood out was the 10 homeruns in only 116 at bats which is a great percentage of at bats per homerun. This season he moved up to Beloit and it has been a little bit of a struggle for him. In 38 games with the Snappers Soto is hitting only .252 with 5 hr and 22 rbi's in 115 at bats along with 5 doubles. The homerun power is still there, but he is not hitting as many doubles and singles as he has in his career. The good news for Soto is though he is a very good defensive catcher. Most catchers in the system are not hitting a fraction of what he is so he is ahead of the game. That is not to say he is a sure fire prospect, because he needs to work on his hitting because he is only a .264 career hitter and he needs to improve on that. From what I hear his defense is probably the best in the system this side of Joe Mauer so that is a plus. Secondly, his other problem is Joe Mauer and as long as Joe Mauer is with the Twins he will be blocked from getting to the big leagues. However, he is only at Low A so he has plenty of time to develop into a big time prospect. The bottom line is with a lack of quality catchers in the organization Soto really stands out and is someone to keep your eye on.


• 2009: Spend season catching at Beloit


• Projection: I think he has the chance to be a Major League Starting catcher if he continues to develop.

37. Steve Blevins RHP 22 (11/17/1986)

2008 teams: Relief pitcher at E-town

• Steve Blevins was drafted by the Twins in the 21st round of the 2008 draft out of Marshall University. In 2008 Blevins made his debut in the organization with the gcl Twins going 1-1 with a 3.00 era in 8 outings. He then moved on to E-town and went 1-2 with a 5.47 era in 17 games along with a save. That really does not tell the whole story though as Blevins went 0-1 with a 2.31 era along with a save in 8 August outings. Blevins throws a fastball, changeup and a very good slider to go with a low 90's fastball. He was the closer last year at the end of the year at E-town. He moved on to Beloit this year and has had a up and down year going 2-2 with a 4.02 era. He got off to a rough start at Beloit as he had a 6 era in April. However, as the season has gone on he has done much better by having a 2.83 era in 12 games in May and June. I really am high on Blevins as I think his future is as a closer. That is something that there is a shortage in the system and I think Blevins if he can continue to improve on his command will be worth keeping an eye on. I really believe that Blevins may be a future closer for the Twins.
• 2009: Relief Pitcher for the Snappers maybe get closing responsibilities.
• Projection: Solid Big League reliever and possibly closer for Twins

36. Tyler Ladendorf SS 21 (3/7/1988)

2008: SS at the GCL Twins

• Tyler Ladendorf was drafted by the Twins in the 2nd round in the 2008 draft out of Howard College. After signing with the Twins Ladendorf played for the gcl Twins. He really struggled hitting only .204 with 1 hr and 13 rbi's along with 8 doubles and 6 stolen bases. That was not what the Twins were looking for when they took Ladendorf with the 60th overall pick, but we should not look too much into it. He played a lot of baseball last year playing a full season in college and then signing with the Twins and playing 45 games at GCL. With a offseason to rest I really look for a bounceback year from Ladendorf who is too talented of a player to have a year like that again. There was a reason he was taken in the 2nd round and I believe this year we will see what he is all about. At 6ft 180 Ladendorf has good size, good speed and a very good shortstop. I think he will hit for average and steal bases. I think he is a future shortstop for the Twins and be a very good one.
• 2009: Play Shortstop at E-town
• Projection: I project Ladendorf to be the eventual everyday shortstop for the Twins.

35. Matire Garcia LHP 19 (3/1/1990)

2008 teams: Starter at GCL Twins

• Matire Garcia signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2007 out of the Dominican Republic. Garcia spent the 2007 season in the Dominican Summer League before coming over to America for the 2008 season. Last year Garcia pitched for the GCL Twins. In 11 starts for the Twins he went Matire went 2-2 with a very good 2.91 era. In 52.2 innings Garcia only gave up 17 earned runs which is very impressive. Another interesting thing is he struck out 53 batters in his 52.2 innings of work. Which my Minnesota math tells me is 9 strikeouts per 9 innings which is very good. The main reason Matire Garcia made the list is because of his age. He is so young that the fact that he pitched at GCL level at 18 years old says a lot about his pitching. Garcia is tiny in that he is only 5ft 10in and only weighs 150 lbs. If he is going to be able to handle it when he eventually goes to full seasons he is going to have to put on some weight. However, the sky is the limit with his potential. It should be fun to see how he does as he develops.
• 2009: Start season at GCL and then get promotion to E-town
• Projection: He is so young it is hard, but I could see him as a middle of the rotation guy.

34. Jay Rainville RHP 23 (10/16/1985)

2008 team: New Britain and Fort Myers

• Jay Rainville was a 2nd round pick by the Twins in the 2004 draft out of Warwick, Rhode Island. After signing with the Twins Rainville went to the GCL and went 3-2 with a 1.84 era in 7 starts. In 2005 Jay split the season between Beloit and Fort Myers. He started in Beloit and going 8-2 with a very good 3.77 era before being promoted to Fort Myers where he went 4-3 with a even better 2.67 in 9 games at Fort Myers. In 2006 Jay spent the entire season on the Disabled List because of a Right Shoulder nerve problem. He bounced back in 2007 and went 9-11 with a very good 3.29 era at Fort Myers. In 2008 Jay got promoted to AA New Britain where he went 9-9 with a 5.48 era. In 2008 Rainville's career stalled a little bit after overcoming the shoulder injury Jay got the chance to go to New Britain and really was not very good. So this year he is repeating New Britain and the results have been very similiar as he is 3-2 with a 4.87 in 12 starts for the Rockcats. Jay's problem is inconsistancy because he definately has the stuff to be a big time prospect. There are games where he just blows people away. However, just as often Jay will struggle to throw strikes and when he does throw a strike it gets hit. Jay Rainville needs to develop better command of his pitches because he walks to many batters. Last year he walked 44 batters in 138 innings which is way to many. I still have him on the prospect list because he is too talented and he should be way higher than this. I really hope he can find the consistancy the Twins are looking for because he has the talent to be a really good pitcher.
• 2009: Starting pitcher all year for the New Britain Rockcats
• Projection: I hope he can be more consistant, but I see him as probably a career minor leaguer.

33. Brad Tippett RHP 21 (2/11/1988)

2008 teams: E-town and Beloit

• Brad Tippett signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2006 out of Australia. Brad started his career in 2006 at GCL where he 3-5 with a very good 2.53 era in 19 games. In 2007 Brad moved to E-town where his career really took off and got him noticed. Tippett went 7-1 with a awesome 0.93 era in 21 games. Because of the good games the Twins decided to switch Brad into a starter to maximize his potential. In 2008 Brad started season at Beloit where he went 2-1 witha 4.24 era in 13 games before they sent him back to E-town to transition him into a starter. At E-town he went 8-3 with a very good 2.55 era in 14 starts. This year he moved up to Beloit as a starter and is having a phenomenal half. He is 5-3 with a very good 3.17 era in 10 starts so far. Brad Tippett is one of those guys that could succeed as a Starter or a Reliever he has that good of stuff. He has done both so that will help in the future because I believe he has a future as a Tweener that could be in the bullpen, but also make spot starts. Brad has very good control as his 11 walks in 60 innings says and also can overpower some hitters even though he doesn't throw real hard. The only thing with Brad is he going to keep getting better because he will be 22 in Febuary so he probably is a little behind for his age. If he works hard I think he really has a big league future.
• 2009: Spend season in Rotation for the Beloit Snappers
• Projection: I project him to be a long reliever in the big leagues who can make some spot starts.

32. Jose Morales C 26 (2/20/1983)

2008 teams: Rochester Red Wings

• Jose Morales was drafted by the Twins in the 3rd round of the 2001 draft out of Puerto Rico. Jose began his pro career at GCL in 2001 by hitting .248 along with 18 rbi's. In 2002 Jose spent his second season at GCL hitting .309 in 53 games. After the 2002 season the Twins moved Morales from 2b to Catcher to maximize his potential. In 2003 he moved up to A ball where he hit .271 with 2 hr and 25 rbi in 48 games. In 2004 he moved up to Fort Myers where he hit .286 with 4 homeruns and 46 rbi's in 91 games. In 2005 Morales moved on to New Britain where he missed most of the year due to an injury. In 2006 Jose bounced back and played in 80 games and hit 3 homeruns and 26 rbi's. In 2007 Morales moved up to AAA Rochester where he hit .311 with 2 homeruns and 37 rbi's in 108 games before getting promoted to the Twins in September. In 2008 Morales returned to Rochester and suffered through a injury plagued season where he hit .315 in only 54 games for the Red Wings. This season He started the season with the Twins and hit .358 in 22 games. He was then sent down to Rochester where he is hitting .274 in 28 games. That is a lot of baseball in a long time and at age 26 Morales probably needs to get to the bigs soon and stay there. Thats the negative the positive is he is a phenomenal hitter that is just waiting for the opprotunity with the Twins. That chance is probably coming after this season when the Twins are not expected to bring back Mike Redmond so there will be a spot open with the Twins. Morales is more known for his offense then defense, but he has worked very hard to improve his defense. I really look at him as the backup catcher for many years who can fill in if a catcher gets hurt. I really like Jose Morales as a prospect and he is probably the best catching prospect in the system right now.
• 2009: Spend season Catching with Rochester
• Projection: I see him as a backup catcher in the Majors

31. BJ Hermson RHP 19 (12/1/1989)

2008 teams: none

• BJ Hermson was a 6th round pick for the Twins in the 2008 draft out of high school in Iowa. You may be surprised that I would pick someone this high that has not thrown a professional pitch, but this guy's potential is phenomenal. Noone expect him to sign because he had a scholorship to Oregon St all lined up and was expected to go there. He was a 2nd round talent that dropped to the 6th round because noone thought the Twins could sign him. 500,000 seemed to change his mind. That is not taking away from the potential as he had filthy stuff last year. He has a mid 90's fastball and great breaking pitches. After the year I really think he will fly up the prospect chart after this season so get ready because BJ Hermson is going to be the next big Twins pitching prospect.
• 2009: Starting pitcher at GCL
• Projection: I think potentially he could be an ace of a staff

Thursday, June, 11th

Twins Talk
Twins 6 Athletics 3

• The Twins won their second consecutive game on the road last night with a comeback victory over the A's last night by a score of 6-3. The Twins did this in dramatic fashion as they came back from a 3-2 8th inning lead to score 4 runs in the last 2 innings against the A's bullpen. To lead off the 8th inning Jason Kubel pinch hit and hit his 9th homerun to tie the score at 3. In the 9th Delmon Young singled in the go ahead run and they added 2 more to pick up the win. Even though they had some clutch offense finally the story of the game was Francisco Liriano. Liriano pitched a very solid 6 innings for his 2nd consecutive quality start. Liriano went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 7 strikeouts to lower his era down to 5.99. The bottom line is the Twins can not reach their goals without contributions from Baker and Liriano they are too important to the team. Its good that they both seem to be figuring it out now and getting hitters out. If Liriano can stay away from that big inning he will be really good because pretty much every start a majority of his runs come in 1 inning. In this one he gave up 2 runs in the 4th inning to fall behind. If he can minimize those big innings he will be just fine. Another story to the game was the excellent work of the bullpen as they pitched 3 shutout innings of relief with only 1 hit allowed. Luis Ayala was the first out of the bullpen pitching a perfect 7th inning with a strikeout. Jose Mijeras and Matt Guerrier combined to pitch a perfect 8th. Joe Nathan then came on and picked up his 13th save of the year with a clean ninth inning. Nathan lowered his era to a very good 1.93 on the season.

• The Twins offense for 7 innings was shut down by A's starter Dallas Braden as they were only able to push 2 runs across. Thankfully, they got it going against the A's bullpen. Offensively, the Twins were led by Joe Mauer and Mike Redmond who each had 2 hits in this one. With the 2 hits Mauer is back hitting .415 on the season. After a dreadful series in Seattle Mauer has bounced back to go 6-13 which is a .462 batting average. Last night he also drove in his 36th run of the year. Mauer only has 1 homerun in June after 11 in May so this is back to being the hitter we are used to seeing as he is hitting .417 in June. I still think he will hit between 20-25 homeruns on the year and still hit .350 to win his 3rd batting championship. Redmond seems to be getting it going after a rough start. He went 2-3 to raise his batting average to a decent .271. In June Redmond is hitting .300 which is much better than what he had been doing. Delmon Young had that big rbi single in the 9th to put the Twins ahead that was his 18th rbi of the year. Hopefully, this is the start of a rebirth for Young who has struggled mightily since leaving to be there for his mother. The Twins really need Young to be the run producer they traded for. Carlos Gomez added his 8th rbi, and Brendan Harris added his 11th in the winning cause for the Twins.
• Today, the Twins finish off their series with Oakland as they try to take the series from the A's as Nick Blackburn is on the hill for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

• The Redwings had yesterday off before beginning a weekend series in Toledo with Kevin Mulvey scheduled to pitch for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 3 Altoona 1

• The Rockcats picked up their 3rd consecutive win and 2nd in a row against Altoona with a hard fought 3-1 victory over the Curves yesterday afternoon. The Story of the game again was the much improved pitching out of the Rockcats. That has been the reason that the Rockcats are only 1.5 games behind first place Connecticut. The offense has been there all year, but the improved pitching has been the reason they have taken off. Jay Rainville got the start in this one and was very good. He went 5.2 innings and gave up only 1 run on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to lower his era down to 4.87. Rainville probably could of gone longer but since they are in the middle of the year they are watching his innings so they have him late in the year. Rainville has been so inconsistant this year because you know he has ace stuff, but half the time he does not show it out on the mound. The story lately is the job of Alex Burnett since his callup from Fort Myers. He has done Rob Delaney's job with the Rockcats and has done it so well they haven't noticed a difference. Burnett went 2.1 innings and only gave up 1 hit and struck out 3 to lower his era down to 1.23 on the year. Anthony Slama came on in the 9th to pick up his 13th save of the year. With the good inning Slama lowered his era to 2.73 on the season.

• The Rockcats did not have a big offensive day as they only picked up 8 hits, but that was enough to pick up the win. Wilson Ramos continued his hot streak since coming off the dl. He went 2-4 with his 2nd homerun and 2 rbi's to bring his rbi total up to 17. Ramos is now hitting .305 on the season after a slow start he has come back from the disabled list on fire. Danny Valencia came back from his slump to go 2-4 to bring his average up to .282. Hopefully, this is the start of a rebound for Valencia who has been in a horrible slump for the Rockcats. He is too good of a hitter to hit like that so it is only a matter of time before Valencia goes back to hitting like we are used to seeing him. Toby Gardenhire had a big game going 2-3 with his 5th rbi of the year and brought his average up to .250 on the year. Brandon Roberts and Erik Lis added hits for the Rockcats in their winning cause.
• Tonight, the Rockcats finish their series with Altoona tonight as they go for the sweep as Ryan Mullins is scheduled to start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Lakeland 5 Fort Myers 4

• The Miracle suffered a tough loss last night going down 5-4 to Lakeland. The good news though was because of a loss by Charlotte last night. With the Charlotte loss the Miracles magic number to clinch the first half division title is down to 2. Which means 1 Miracle win and 1 Charlotte loss or 2 Miracle wins will bring the first half title to the Miracle and return Fort Myers to the playoffs. Chris Parmalee led the Miracle attack by hitting his 7th homerun of the year and his 2nd in as many days. With the homerun Parmalee now has the 7 homeruns and 31 rbi's which is very good in the FSL. Steve Singelton, Evan Bigley, and Danny Lehman each contributed 2 hits to the Miracle's attack. Rene Leveret added his 8th double of the year in the loss.

• Even though the Miracle had a good hitting night they really struggled on the hill on this night. David Bromberg got the start and really struggled as he gave up 4 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings of work along with 7 strikeouts without a walk which is a very important thing. With the 4 runs Bromberg raised his era to still a very good 2.44 on the year. The big thing I take from this start though was his no walks because that is the thing about him when he throws strikes he is hard to hit. Henry Arias then came on and did alright giving up only a solo homerun in 2 innings of work. The bad part was the homerun came at a bad time as he took the loss for the Miracle. Arias' record dropped to 1-2 on the year with the loss. Loek Van Mil pitched another inning of relief to continue this strong comeback from arm injuries this year. Van Mil has not given up a run since his return from the disabled list and hopefully this will continue.
• The Miracle start a first half ending 8 game roadtrip with a 4 game weekend series in Daytona with Deolis Guerra scheduled to pitch for Fort Myers.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 4 Burlington 2

• The Snappers continued their better play as of late as they won their 3rd game in their last 4 games. It is too late to get back into the first half playoff chase, but I am really glad that they are still playing hard and still doing whatever they can to win. Michael Allen got the start for the Snappers and pitched very good pitching 4.1 innings and giving up 1 run 0n 6 hits along with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. With the good outing Allen lowered his era to 5.63 on the year. Allen has pitched much better than his 0-8 record would say. Lately he has pitched even better having only a respectable 4.26 era in his last 4 starts so there is some improvement. Blake Martin then came on and pitched 2 clean innings with 2 walks and a strikeout to pick up his first win of the year and lower his era down to 6.75. Joe Testa pitched the 9th to pick up his 5th save of the year.

• Offensively the Snappers did not get much done as they left 6 guys on base in this one to result in only 3 runs coming across the plate. It was a very even lineup as Drew Thompson was the only one with more than 1 hit as he went 2-3 to raise his average to .200. Everyone in the lineup had atleast 1 hit so everyone contributed to the win. Jon Waltenbury got his 9th double and Dominic De La Osa picked up his 4th double of the year. James Beresford picked up his 10th rbi of the year, Jeff Lanning picked up his 3rd, and Dominic De La Osa picked up his 1oth. It was a very balanced lineup in this one and if the Snappers can have this kind of offensive showing the Snappers should have better luck in the second half.
• Tonight, the Snappers continue their series with Burlington as Michael Tarsi gets the start tonight for Beloit

Wednesday, June, 10th

Twins Talk
Twins 10 Athletics 5

• The Twins snapped a 3 game losing streak last night with a very nice 10-5 victory over the Athletics last night. Scott Baker got the start for the Twins last night and put on his 2nd consecutive quality start and his 3rd in 4 starts. In his last 4 starts Baker has went 3-1 with a very good 3.72 era in those starts. Baker went 8 plus innings last night giving up 3 runs on 4 hits along with 1 walk and 8 strikeouts. Baker took a shutout into the 9th inning on only 2 hits, but just ran out of gas as he let the first 3 guys reach base in the 9th before leaving the game. That withstanding Baker pitched a great game when the Twins really needed it because after losing 3 in a row the Twins really needed a win and Baker kept the A's offense down giving the Twins offense time to come back. As good as Baker was on the mound the bullpen was equally as bad as they almost blew this one. Jesse Crain saw his struggles continue as he came on for Baker and did not get an out and gave up 2 runs on 1 hit along with a walk to raise his era to a very bad 7.79 on the year. I really don't know the problem with Crain as he has been really bad this year after being good in years past. Right now all you can do is keep running him out there and hope that he will start making better pitches because for the Twins to succeed the Twins need Crain to be a big part of it and right now he is not doing his part. Jose Mijeras then came on and was awful again as he faced 3 batters and walked 2 of them and struck out the other. Mijares has to quit walking people or he is no good for the Twins. He has all the talent in the world, but if he keeps walking people he will buy himself a trip to Rochester. He reminds me so much of JC Romero as he also has tons of talent that can't put it together. Hopefully, Mijeras can figure it out before we ship him somewhere else because Mijeras has too much talent to struggle like this. Joe Nathan then came into a terrible situation with the bases loaded and only 1 out and the tying run on deck. What did he do just what he always does and that is blow people away. Nathan struck out both batters he faced to pick up his 12th save of the year for the Twins. Joe Nathan is worth every penny he gets paid because games like this could easily have slipped away and games like this is the reason the Twins made sure to lock him up.

• The Twins finally woke up at the plate last night as they put 10 runs on the board along with 16 hits. Just about everyone pitched into the game with Joe Crede the only starter that played the whole game and didn't get a hit. Justin Morneau led the attack as he went 4-5 with his 16th homerun of the year which is 3rd most in the American League. Morneau also drove in his 53rd and 54th runs of the year. With the 2 hits Morneau raised his average to a very good .339 on the season. Jason Kubel also contributed his 8th homerun of the year a 3 run shot that brought his rbi total up to 34 on the year. Morneau and Kubel both had been struggling with the bat in Seattle and the beginning of the Oakland series. In the first 4 games of the roadtrip they had combined to go 1-26 in those 4 games. That really says it all why the Twins have been struggling as of late because Morneau and Kubel are arguably 2 of the top 3 hitters on the team and when they do that bad its not surprising they went 1-3 in those games. Joe Mauer also went 2-4 to raise his average to an awesome .413 on the year. Brendan Harris also went 3-4 to continue his hot streak as Harris is hitting .342 in his last 10 games to get his average up to .290 on the year. It sounds like even when Nick Punto comes back Harris is going to stay at short with Punto moving to 2nd. Harris is too good of a hitter for him not to be in there just about every day. Delmon Young also contributed 2 hits and 3 rbi's to bring his rbi total up to 17 on the year. Hopefully, that is the start of things for Young because the Twins really need for Young to step it up and be the hitter we all know he can be. Carlos Gomez, Matt Tolbert, and Michael Cuddyer each contributed 1 hit apiece in the winning cause.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with the A's as Francisco Liriano tries to build off his last start and will be faced by A's starter Dallas Braden.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 9 Syracuse 8 10 innings

• The Red Wings pulled out their 2nd straight extra inning game last night as the Red Wings defeated Syracuse 9-8 in 10 innings. Jason Pridie sent the Red Wing fans home happy for the second consecutive night as his rbi double in the bottom of the 10th gave the Wings a come from behind 9-8 victory. The Wings came back from an unbelievable 7-1 deficit to pull within 6 games of first place Scranton. Matt Macri had an unbelievable game in this one going 4-5 with his 5th homerun and 3 rbi's to bring his total up to 19 on the season. He added his 10th and 11th doubles of the year. Hopefully, that is the beginning of a comeback for Matt Macri as he is only hitting .209 on the year. Dustin Martin bust out with 3 hits in the game to bring his average up to .260 on the year. Martin was doing really good and then went into a bad slump, but appears to have it going once again. Trevor Plouffe and David Winfree each had 2 hits in the game as Plouffe improved his average to .239 and Winfree improved his average to .284. Steve Tolleson, Jose Morales, Brock Peterson, and Drew Butera each added a hit in the winning cause.

• The pitching for the Wings was not as good as the hitting in this one as they gave up 8 runs on 12 hits, but still found a way to win the game. Jason Jones got the start in this one and in a word he was bad. Jones went 5 innings and gave up 7 runs on 10 hits along with 2 walks to bring his era up to 6.98 on the season. Jones really has not gotten the job done, but it is too soon for the Twins to give up on a pitcher with his background. In my opinion the Twins have 2 choices for Jones and that is one send him to the bullpen or two send him back to New Britain for more seasoning. I think for right now the best thing to do is for the Wings to put Jones in the bullpen and try Reid Santos back in the rotation after they receive Anthony Swarzak back from the Twins. Armando Gabino then came on and did much better going 3 innings and only giving up a run on 2 hits along with 2 walks to bring his era down to 3.16 on the year. Gabino has been very consistant in the bullpen for the Wings and it has been very unexpected. Juan Morillo had a really good outing pitching the last 2 innings to pick up his 3rd win of the year along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 3.22. When Morillo has games like this it shows the promise that he can be when he throws strikes so hopefully this will continue.
• The Wings have today off before they begin a series with Toledo in Toledo Thursday night.

New Britain Business

New Britain 7 Altoona 2

• The Rockcats got their 2nd straight victory with a very easy 7-2 victory over Altoona last night. The story of the game was the pitching of Jeff Manship as he picked up his 5th win of the year to go along with his 4 losses. Manship went 7 innings and only gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts to lower his era down to 4.70 on the season. Jeff Manship has really turned it on as of late with 4 straight quality starts for the Rockcats. In those 4 starts Manship has an era of 2.24 in those starts. Manship got off to a rough start on the year, but right now he is the ace of the New Britain staff and is doing exactly what was expected out of him. It would not surprise me if he continues this if he may not get a promotion to Rochester sometime this summer. Yohan Pino then came on and pitched a clean inning in relief to lower his era down to 5.12 on the season. Closer Anthony Slama then came on in the 9th even though it was not a save situation. Slama needed a pressure less inning to get his confidence back. Slama did a good job pitching a clean ninth along with his 48th strikeout of the year. With the good inning Slama lowered his era to 2.81 on the year. A few more good outings by Slama will likely lead Slama to getting a promotion to Rochester sometime in the next month.

• The Rockcats continued their strong hitting as of late as they put on 7 runs on 11 hits. Whit Robbins continued his strong first half as he went 3-3 in this one with his 15th double of the year. Robbins is now hitting .348 on the year after the 3 hit game. Wilson Ramos, Juan Portes, and Yancarlos Ortiz each had 2 hits in this one. Ramos added his 9th double and 15th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .298. Portes had 2 hits to bring his average on the season to a very good .316 and Ortiz brought his average up to .205 on the season. Ramos has really turned it on since his return from the disabled list by hitting a very good .400 in the 9 games since his return from the disabled list.
• This morning the Rockcats continue their series with Altoona as Jay Rainville gets the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 4 Lakeland 0

Fort Myers 5 Lakeland 4

• The Miracle put their magic number to clinch the first half division title within striking distance as they swept a doubleheader from Lakeland by the scores of 4-0 and 5-4. The Miracle's magic number to clinch the first half title is down to 3 which means 3 wins or 2 wins and 1 Charlotte loss and the Miracle are division champs and return to the playoffs for the 2nd straight year. In the first game Twins pitcher Glen Perkins made his final rehab start and after pitching not so good in his first game by giving up 5 runs he was much better in this start. Perkins went 7 shutout innings on only 2 hits for the Miracle along with a walk and 4 strikeouts. Perkins will rejoin the Twins this weekend and pitch Tuesday against Pittsburgh. In the 2nd game Steve Hirschfeld got the start as he tries to gain arm strength as he tries to take Carlos Gutierrez' spot in the rotation with the Miracle. In this one Hirschfeld went 2.1 innings and gave up 3 runs and 4 hits along with 2 walks and 1 strikeout to bring his era up to 1.99. Santos Arias then came on and pitched 1.2 innings and gave up a run on 2 hits along with a walk to bring his era up to 2.67. Spencer Steedley then came on and pitched a shutout inning to lower his era to 0.65. Kyle Waldrop pitched 2 innings to pick up his 3rd win of the year for the Miracle. Waldrop has really improved as the season has gone on and that makes sense since he missed all of last year due to injuries.

• The Miracle continued their struggles offensively, but are being saved by the good pitching staff. In the first game the Miracle only got 6 hits in the game and were led by Mark Dolenc and Danny Lehman who each had 2 hits. Dolenc brought his average up to .277 and Lehman brought his average up to .300 on the year. Evan Bigley hit his first homerun in a Miracle uniform in the game and drove in his 9th run of the year. Nick Romero also added a hit in the game. In the second game Steve Singelton and Evan Bigley led the attack as they each had 2 hits. Singelton added 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 22 on the season. Hopefully, this is the start of a comeback by Singelton who has really struggled with the bat this season which is a surprise because he is too good of a hitter for that. Bigley added his 3rd double and his 10th rbi of the year to bring his average up to .289. Ben Revere added his 7th double of the year to bring his average up to a very good .322 on the year. Chris Parmalee added his 6th homerun and added his 29th and 30th rbi's on the year.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their march to a division championship as they finish their series with Lakeland. Deolis Guerra is the scheduled starter for the Miracle.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 3 Beloit 1

• The Snappers had their 2 game winning streak come to an end last night after a tough 3-1 loss to Wisconsin. Brad Tippett got the start for the Snappers and was very good once again. In this start he went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs on 5 hits along with a walk and a very good 9 strikeouts. With the 1 run Tippett lowered his era to a very good 3.16. Bruce Pugh then came on and pitched 1 inning of relief and gave up a run on 2 hits along with a walk and a strikeout. After giving up the run Pugh's era is 4.28 on the year. Steve Blevins then came on and pitched a clean 8th inning along with 2 strikeouts to lower his era to 4.30 on the season.

• The Snappers continued their recent streak of leaving many runners on base as they got 11 hits, but were only able to push across 1 run. The Snappers left 7 runners on base in the game. James Beresford and Jon Waltenbury led the attack with 3 hits apiece in this one. Beresford continued his very solid first half by bring his average up to a very good .304. Waltenbury brought his average up to .259. Juan Richardson added 2 hits in this one to bring hsi average up to .278 on the year. Ozzie Lewis, Alex Soto, and Angel Morales added a hit in the losing cause.
• The Snappers begin a series with Burlington tonight as Michael Allen gets the start for Beloit.

It has been a busy couple of days for me so I haven't been able to get my prospect list going, but I will be bringing that list too you. Hopefully, tommorrow I will be getting back to it with Players 40-31 if not more so check it out.

Twins draft RHP Kyle Gibson in first round of draft

The Twins have selected RHP Kyle Gibson in the first round of the Draft. Gibson was highly thought of, but he lost some velocity because of a strained forearm. He was rated as the 4th best prospect coming into the draft but many teams were scared off thinking he might need Tommy John Surgery so he lasted until pick 22. The Twins obviously must believe it is a minor injury or you would not risk a first round pick on someone who could never pitch. The belief is that he will miss 4-6 weeks and probably will not debut until next spring in extended spring training. I think if it is just a strained forearm then the Twins got the steal of the draft. However, if he needs Tommy John surgery the Twins just made a bad pick. Only time will tell.

UPDATE: The Twins selected left handed pitcher Matt Bashore out of the University of Indiana with their supplemental first round pick. They received the pick when the St. Louis Cardinals signed former Twins reliever Dennys Reyes. Bashore has good size being 6'3 200 for a Lefty is good. He was clocked in the mid 90's, but works mainly in the low 90's with a good splitter. If you are left handed you have a chance to be good. He also has had arm problems so there is a red flag on him as well. Time will tell if the Twins were right in taking these chances.

• I got in a time crunch today and was not able to get 40-31 on my prospect list up today, but I plan on doubling up by bringing you 40-21 tommorrow so look back for that action packed article tommorrow.

Tuesday, June, 9th

Twins Talk
Oakland 4 Minnesota 3

• The Twins saw their road woes continue with a tough 4-3 loss to Oakland last night that saw the Twins record on the road fall to 7-19. It was also the Twins 3rd consecutive loss on the road. Thank goodness the other teams in the division are also having their difficulties or the Twins would be in more dire straits then 4 games out of first. Anthony Swarzak got the start last night and with his last 2 performances we have likely seen the last of Anthony Swarzak for a while as he will probably go down to Rochester. In this game Swarzak only lasted 3.2 innings and gave up 3 runs o 4 hits along with a career high 3 walks and a hit batsman and 3 strikeouts. With the outing Swarzak's era dropped to a not good 5.23 on the year. Through these 4 starts we have seen that Swarzak has the talent to be a major league pitcher, but we have also found out that he is not quite ready for the bright lights of the major leagues. For the first time since he came up he looked like a rookie last night who let the situation get the best of him. That is something he can work at in Rochester and if he goes there with the right mindset of improving he will be back with the Twins sometime this season. Luis Ayala came in and made one bad pitch in his 1.1 innings. The only problem was the one bad pitch was a homerun to Jack Cust that put the A's ahead and gave Ayala his 2nd loss of the year. Sean Henn then came on and continued his impressive outings by pitching 2.1 perfect innings with 2 strikeouts and lower his era to a very good 2.70 on the year. Matt Guerrier then came on to get the final 2 outs in the losing cause.

• The Twins offense could not get anything going against A's starter Josh Outman as they could only muster 5 hits in the game. Joe Mauer was the only one who really did anything in this game going 2-4 to raise his average to .413. Michael Cuddyer, Delmon Young, and Matt Tolbert all contributed hits. Matt Tolbert had the biggest hit for the Twins as he had a 2 run single in the 4th that put the Twins ahead 3-0 that turned out to be shortlived. The Twins hitters are relying on Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau too much right now and when they don't have big games the Twins usually lose. If the Twins are going to turn this around guys like Delmon Young and Carlos Gomez are going to need to turn things around because our lineup right now is not very good. I really believe the Twins can turn this around and contend for a playoff spot, but guys like Young, Gomez, Alexi Casilla, and Nick Punto need to start pulling their weight because Mauer and Morneau can not do it all by themselves.
• Tonight, the Twins continue their series with the Athletics as Scott Baker looks to build on his last start as he gets the ball for Minnesota.

Rochester Wrap

Rochester 4 Syracuse 3 11 innings

• The Red Wings were able to stop a 5 game winning streak with a gut check 4-3 victory in 11 innings over Syracuse last night. Losing 5 in a row makes you wonder what your really made of and what has impressed me all year is how they don't give up and that continued last night with the big win. Brian Duensing had his best start in quite a while last night. Duensing went 8 innings and only gave up 3 runs on 4 hits along with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts. With the outing Duensing lowered his era down to 4.95 on the season. If the Red Wings are going to make a move in the IL standings Duensing has to be the catalyst by being much more consistant which he really has not been so far this year. If he doesn't become more consistant there is no way the Red Wings are going to be able to contend in the tough IL North. Another great sign was the outing by new Red Wing Rob Delaney who showed everyone last night why everyone is so high on him as a prospect for the Twins. After getting hit hard last time out Delaney pitched 3 perfect innings to pick up his first win for the Red Wings along with 3 strikeouts. With the great outing Delaney dropped his era to 6.00 on the year. Don't worry he has only pitched in 3 games so far so his era will come down fast if he keeps pitching good. Last night was the Rob Delaney that we are used to seeing as fans of his. I really look forward to see if he can continue this and possibly get a promotion to the Twins.

• Last night's game should not of been even close as the Red Wings knocked out 14 hits, but were only able to put 4 runs across. Thanks to leaving 12 guys on base the Red Wings almost dropped this one. That should not take for granted that the Red Wings stung the ball pretty good last night and there were several guys that had big games. Jose Morales, Justin Huber, Trevor Plouffe, David Winfree, and Tommy Watkins all each had 2 hits apiece. Justin Huber hit his 6th double of the year and brought his average up to .264 and brought his rbi total up to 26. Tommy Watkins had his 5th double of the year. Jason Pridie and Steve Tolleson each had rbi's in this one. For Pridie it was his 17th and for Tolleson it was his 4th. Jose Morales put the game away in the bottom of the 11th with an rbi single, his 11th rbi of the year, to score Steve Tolleson to send everyone home happy.
• Today, the Red Wings finish off their series with Syracuse as Jason Jones gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

• The Rockcats had yesterday off and begin a series at home with Altoona with Jeff Manship getting the start for New Britain.

Fort Myers Minutes

• The Miracle had their game last night with Lakeland rained out and will play a doubleheader today. The scheduled pitchers are Steve Hirschfeld to pitch the first game and Twin Glen Perkins making his final rehab start in the nightcap.

Beloit Beat

Beloit 7 Wisconsin 5

• The Snappers won their 2nd consecutive game last night after losing 8 in a row previously. The Snappers hope to continue their roll and go into the all-star break on a little bit of a roll. The Snappers continued their recent string of good hitting as they put 12 hits on the board which is the second consecutive game they have had over 10 hits. In this one Ozzie Lewis was the calalyst going 3-5 with his 10th double and 2oth rbi of the year. Lewis is now hitting a very good .294. Michael Harrington, Jon Waltenbury, and Angel Morales each contributed 2 hits in this one. Morales added his 8th double and 24th rbi to bring his average up to .220 on the year. Ramon Santana had 2 rbi's in this one to bring his total up to 24 along with his 11th double of the year.

• The Snappers got so so pitching in this one, but were bailed out by the hitters who carried the day in this one. Bobby Lanigan got the start in this one and went 4.2 innings and gave up 2 runs on 4 hits along with a walk and 6 strikeouts to bring his era down to 5.37. This is the kind of start that they need to get from Lanigan all the time because he is too good of a pitcher to have a 5 era this late in the season. I am sure he could of went longer, but this time of the year the Twins are probably watching his innings being this is his first full season year in the minors. Michael Tarsi then came on and pitched 1.1 innings and was not real sharp giving up 2 runs on 2 hits along with a strikeout, but picking up his first win of the year. Danny Rondon then came on and he wasn't real sharp either going 1 inning and giving up a run on 2 hits. That is when the studs of the Snapper bullpen took over and that is Matt Williams and Joe Testa. Williams came on and pitched 1.1 perfect innings along with a strikeout to lower his era to 1.64. Joe Testa finished the game by getting the last 2 outs to pick up his 4th save on the year. Williams and Testa both should be at Fort Myers and hopefully after the All-Star break that is where they will be.
• Today, the Snappers finish off their series with Wisconsin and Brad Tippett gets the start for Beloit.

Travis Talks Top 50 Twins Prospects: Prospects 50-41

I will be starting with prospect number 50 and work my way down until we get to number 1 and do 10 a day so Friday will have prospects 10-1 so I hope everyone enjoys and gives me as much feedback as possible. You can either email me at travis_aune@yahoo.com or leave a comment in the comment box. Thanks!

50. Steve Hirschfeld P 23 (9/8/1985)

2009 team: Fort Myers Miracle

• Steve was a 9th round pick in 2007 out of San Diego St University and has been very solid in his career. Last season he went 11-7 with a combined 3.76 era in 39 games between E-town and Beloit. This season he has a 1.23 era out of the Fort Myers bullpen which is good in itself, but I think he can be a very good starter and that is why I am so high on him. Now with Carlos Gutierrez in New Britain I hope the Miracle give Hirschfeld a chance to start and see how he does. If nothing else he will make a very solid reliever and someone we should continue to hear from. Steve was a midwest league all star last year with the Snappers and has very good stuff to rocket through the system.




• 2009 projection: Join starting staff at Fort Myers and start rest of year.




• Potential: Long reliever for the Twins

49. James Beresford- Shortstop 20 (1/19/1989)

2009 team: Beloit Snappers

• James was a free agent signing by the Twins in 2005 out of Australia. His entire 2006 season and part of his 2007 injury were in rehab after he had to have shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum. In 2007 in 45 games with the GCL Twins he hit .288. In 2008 he moved up to E-town and hit .246 in 55 games with the Twins. However, he hit .328 in home games. This year after spending time on the DL again he has come back and been very good for the Beloit Snappers hitting .295 in 39 games with the Snappers. Beresford is a very slick infielder that is blessed with great speed as his 8 stolen bases so far this season have shown. Even after the surgery James is blessed with a strong arm and is a very good defensive shortstop. He will hit for a high average no matter where he is playing and if he can stay healthy he has a bright future.




• 2009 Projection: Spend season playing shortstop for Beloit




• Potential: Starting Shortstop for Twins with high OBP

48. Erik Lis- 1b/Dh 24 (3/8/1985)

2009 : New Britain Rockcats

• Erik was the Twins 9th round pick of Evansville University in 2005. Erik has progressed through the Twins system, but has kind of stalled at New Britain. The main problem is he does not have a position and he is best used at DH and the Twins don't normally keep progressing players without a position. Another problem is he is not hitting as good as did last year. Last year Lis hit .277 with 36 doubles and 11 homeruns in New Britain. After that there was a clamoring for Lis to get promoted to AAA and for some reason it did not happen. I don't know if he is disappointed or what the problem is, but he is not having as good of a year this year. Although he is hitting .276 he only has 7 doubles and 5 homeruns in 163 at bats. Erik Lis has a big bat and if he can start hitting some more doubles he could be the type of bat that the Twins are looking for.




• 2009: Spend season at New Britain




• Projection: Major League Bat but might get stuck in numbers crunch with the Twins so might make it elsewhere.

47. Jon Waltenbury- 1B 21 (4/1/1988)

2009 team: Beloit Snappers

• Jon Waltenbury was the Twins 7th round pick in 2006 out of Canada. Spent the 2007 season with the GCL Twins and did ok hitting .242 in 41 games at gcl. In 2008 Jon moved to E-town and took off hitting .319 with 10 homeruns and 45 rbi's along with 22 doubles in 263 at bats. The Canadian first baseman has all the makings of another Canadian First Baseman that you might know and that is Justin Morneau. Waltenbury has found the adjustment to full season to be very challenging as he has hit .245 with only 3 homeruns and 2o rbi's in 184 at bats. Jon has all the talent to really take off and the power to be a middle of the order guy for the Twins. He just needs to be a little bit more consistant at the plate to be the kind of hitter the Twins need him to be.




• 2009 teams: Spend season with Beloit Snappers




• Projection: Has chance to be middle of the order power hitter

46. Esterlin De Los Santos- SS 22 (1/20/1987)

2009 team: Fort Myers Miracle

• Esterlin De Los Santos signed with the Twins as a free agent in 2005 out of the Dominican Republic. Started Twins career with 24 games at the gcg hitting only .195. In 2007 he spent the year at E-town and really thrived there scoring 60 runs, along with 6 triples, and finished 4th in the league in hits with 75 and 3rd in stolen bases with 24. In 2008 De Los Santos spent the season with Beloit and struggled with injuries and only hit .242 with 15 stolen bases for the Snappers. This season he moved on to Fort Myers and was doing awesome before a stress fracture in his leg landed him on the disabled list. In 15 games with the Miracle he was hitting .300 at the plate and playing great defense. Esterlin De Los Santos is tiny as he is only 5'10 165lbs, but for as little as he is he is a very good prospect. He is very smooth playing short and has a great arm. He is probably the best defensive shortstop in the system and if he can hit enough to stay in the game he will be very good because his defense and his speed will take care of itself. I am very high on him and if he stays healthy will shoot up the rankings.




• 2009: Spend season with the Fort Myers Miracle




• Projection: Future starting shortstop with Twins who can steal 40-50 bases.

45. Bobby Lanigan- RHP 22 (5/5/1987)

2009: Beloit Snappers

• Bobby was a 3rd round pick by the Twins out of Aldephi University in 2008. Bobby spent the 2008 season with E-town after signing with the Twins and did very good going 6-5 with a 2.78 era with E-town. This year he moved up to Beloit and has been very uneven in his performances. In 11 starts with the Snappers so far this year he is 5-4 with a 5.49 era. There are starts that Lanigan will look lights out and then there are other starts where he gets shelled. Going into the season I had high hopes for Bobby that he would breeze through Beloit and be a prime canidate for a promotion to Fort Myers. However, after the season he has had he needs to develop more consistancy in his pitching. The good thing is doesn't walk batters much by his 14 walks in 60 innings says. He is a pitch to contact pitcher, but the hitters have been putting a little too much contact on the ball so far this year. I still have high hopes for him and expect a big second half out of him and look for him much higher on the list next spring.




• 2009: Spend season starting for Beloit




• Projection: I look at him as a back of a rotation guy who could develop into a middle of the rotation starter.

44. Ramon Santana- SS 22 (6/20/1986)

2009 team: Beloit Snappers

• Ramon Santana signed with the Twins in 2004 out of Venezuela. Made his American debut in 2007 where he hit .211 in 18 games at gcl and spent rest of the year at Beloit. Spent the entire 2008 season in Beloit compiling a .241 average with 8 homeruns and 26 rbi's in 75 games with the Snappers. This season he has totally taken off for the Snappers. In 34 games Santana has hit .360 with 5 homeruns and 22 rbi's. If it were not for a sprained ankle the numbers would of been better yet. Ramon Santana is tiny only 5ft 9 and weighing 152 lbs so injuries are always going to be a worry with him. He is very good defensively, but you have to wonder is 2009 an anomaly or has he finally gotten it after his 3rd season in Beloit. I really think he could develop into a very good utility player as he moves along in the system. It will depend on two things and they are one can he stay healthy and two is he this good of a hitter or is just having a career year.




• 2009: Start season in Beloit and move up to Fort Myers midseason




• Projection: A very good utility player who can play any infield position very well.

43. Juan Portes- OF 23 (11/26/1985)

2009 teams: New Britain Rockcats

• Juan Portes was a 15th round pick by the Twins in 2004. Spent 2004 season at gcl where he led the league in homeruns and slugging and second in batting. In 2005 spent the season in e-town and was 4th in homeruns with 12. In 2006 he moved on to Beloit and struggled hitting only .231 with 2 homeruns and 33 rbi's in 75 games with the Snappers. Spent 2007 and 2008 in Fort Myers with the Miracle and gradually got better. In 2008 he hit .270 with 12 homeruns and 54 rbi's. This year so far has been Juan's coming out party as he was moved up to New Britain and has done a terrific job there. In 37 games with the Rockcats Portes has hit .309 with 2 homeruns and 15 rbi's along with 10 doubles. Juan Portes came into the season without much fan fest and a bad year might of led to his release. But, Juan has shown all the promise that was expected out of him when the Twins drafted him. He has power and speed and is a very good defensive outfielder. If he can continue to hit like this he will continue to progress through the system.



• 2009: Spend Season with the Rockcats



• Projection: 4th outfielder with the Twins

42. Alex Burnett- P 21 (7/26/1987)

2009 teams: Fort Myers and now New Britain

• Alex Burnett was selected by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2005 draft. After signing with the Twins went 4-2 with a 4.10 era in 13 games with the gcl Twins. In 2006 spent year at E-town compiling a 4-3 4.04 era in 13 starts for E-town. In 2007 Burnett moved on to Beloit where he had a great year tieing for 3rd in innings with 155 and 5th in era at 3.02. Struck out 117 batters in 155 innings. In 2008 he moved up to Fort Myers and compiled a 8-6 record with a 3.76 era in 143 innings. This year he found a new role and that is as a short reliever and has done a phenomenal year going 2-1 with a 1.99 era in 18 games with the Miracle before he was promoted to AA New Britain. Alex Burnett has really turned the corner and has good strikeout totals and is way above his level to be at AA at age 21 is great. I really have a lot of excitement when it comes to Burnett. I really look for him to take off now that he has found a role as a closer. In a game in New Britain he hit 94 on the gun so I think he could jump through the sytem quickly.



• 2009: Set Up Man for New Britain



• Projection: a middle reliever for the Twins

41. Brian Duensing- LHP 26 (2/22/1983)

2009 teams: Minnesota Twins and now Rochester

• Brian Duensing was taken in the 3rd round by the Twins in 2005 out of Nebraska University. After signing with the Twins Brian went 4-3 with a 2.32 era for E-Town. In 2006 Duensing made stops at Beloit, Fort Myers, and New Britain in the same year. At Beloit he went 2-3 with a 2.94 era in 11 starts. In Fort Myers he went 2-5 with a 4.24 era in 7 starts. For New Britain he went 1-2 with a 3.65 era in 11 games with the Rockcats. In 2007 he started season at AA and went 3-0 with a 2.14 in 6 starts before being promoted to Rochester. With Rochester he was third in era and 3rd in wins. After his 2007 season Duensing was thought of as the next great Twins pitching prospect. In 2008 Brian took a step back going 5-11 with a 4.22 era. This year he got a break and started the season with the Twins as a lefty out of the bullpen but did not get much of a chance only pitching in 1 game. Duensing was sent back to Rochester and has been not very good going 3-4 with a 5.21 era. Duensing is at a crossroads in his career as he seems to have peaked and getting worse every year. He either needs to show something soon or he will probably not be back with the Twins next season.



• 2009: Spend season starting for Rochester



• Projection: A AAAA pitcher who probably will pitch his entire career in the minors.

That is it for today and will bring you prospects 31-40 tommorrow so come back.

top 50

I am working on my top 50 prospects and will be releasing players 50-41 sometime this afternoon so check back as many times as possible.

Monday, June, 8th

Twins Talk
Mariners 4 Twins 2

• The Twins fell again to the Mariners in another close hard fought game to lose the series to the Mariners by a score of 4-2 yesterday afternoon. The Twins road woes continued as they dropped to an unbelievable 7-18 away from the friendly confines of the Metrodome. Really this was the same as the other 2 games in this series as the Twins wasted opprotunity after opprotunity. In this one the Twins left an astounding 12 men on base in this one. For the series the Twins left a crazy 31 men on base in the 3 games. That is the biggest difference between last year and this year is they are not getting runners in when they have opprotunities. Last year they hit an unbelievable .313 with runners in scoring position and this year they are not doing nearly as well. In this one Denard Span was the only one with more than 1 hit as he went 2-4 to bring his average back up to .300 on the year. Joe Mauer hit his 9th double of the year and Brendan Harris hit his 9th double of the year and extended his career long hitting streak to 12 games. Mauer is now hitting .410 and Harris is hitting .284. Justin Morneau and Joe Crede each drove in runs in the game. For Morneau it was his 52nd of the year which is 3rd best in the American League and for Crede it was his 24th runs batted in. Michael Cuddyer and Carlos Gomez also contributed hits for the Twins in the losing cause.

• Kevin Slowey had his roughest start in quite a while yesterday as he was only able to last 4.2 innings and gave up 4 runs on 10 hits along with 2 walks and 2 strikeouts to raise his era to 4.21 on the year. You have to give him a break because going into this start Slowey had 5 consecutive quality starts and even though he was off in this one he still only gave up 4 runs which is not great, but also not terrible. He has been so good for the Twins this year that he deserves a free pass from Twins fans. If he has another one like this then it is ok to question what is going on with him, but it is way too early to worry about Slowey he will be just fine. RA Dickey continues to do the job in long relief as he went 2.1 innings of shutout relief of Slowey to bring his era down to 2.86 on the year. It took 3 relievers to get through the 8th inning as Jesse Crain got the first 2 outs, but gave up a hit and a walk, then Jose Mijeras came in for one batter which he walked, and Luis Ayala came on and got the last out to give the Twins to win it in the ninth inning.
• Tonight, the Twins begin a 4 game series down the coast in Oakland with rookie Anthony Swarzak getting the start for the Twins.

Rochester Wrap

Syracuse 11 Rochester 4

• The Red Wings continued their bad play as of late as the Red Wings dropped their 5th game this one to Syracuse 11-4. Philip Humber got the start in this one and was once again awful only lasting 5 innings and giving up 6 runs on 6 hits along with 5 walks and 5 strikeouts to raise his era to 6.37 and lower his record to 1-3. Ben Hendrickson came in relief and was no better than Humber in this one giving up 2 runs on 4 hits in only 2 innings of work along with 2 strikouts to raise his era to 6.48 on the season. I was expecting more out of Hendrickson when he was activated from the disabled list because he has big league experience and has thrown some quality innings. Hopefully, he get rebound and get it going because the Red Wings need some better pitching. Reid Santos then came on and got pummelled for 2 runs on 4 hits in his 1 inning of work. Santos era is now a very bad 5.91 on the season. Tim Lahey finished the game by doing what he always does and that is give up runs as he gave up a solo homerun to end the scoring.

• The Red Wings offense put some hits up, but far from enough to match the hitting Syracuse had against the Wings pitching. David Winfree and Jason Pridie led the Wings attack with 3 hits apiece. Pridie added his 9th double of the year and his 16th rbi. Winfree went 3-3 at the plate to bring his average up to .277 and added his 28th rbi of the year. Steve Tolleson contributed once again going 2-5 with his 4th double and his 3rd rbi to bring his season average up to .400. Tolleson has been a pleasant surprise since his callup as he has much better since his callup than he did at New Britain. Jose Morales, Justin Huber, Tommy Watkins, and Drew Butera each contributed hits for the Red Wings in the losing cause.
• Tonight, the Red Wings continue their series with Syracuse as Brian Duensing gets the start for Rochester.

New Britain Business

New Britain 11 Harrisburg 7

• The Rockcats broke out of a 2 game losing streak in a big way as they defeated Harrisburg yesterday 11-7 to salvage a game out of the three game series. The Rockcats were led by Wilson Ramos and Whit Robbins in this one as they had 3 hits apiece. Ramos went 3-5 with his 7th and 8th doubles of the year and 2 rbi's to bring his season total up to 14. With the 3 hits Ramos' average is up to a very good .292 on the year. Whit Robbins went 3-4 with his 14th double of the year and 2 rbi's to bring his total up to 29 on the year. With the 3 hits Robbins is now hitting a very good .337 which is the highest on the team. I was so not expecting this out of Robbins this year as he did ok last year at Fort Myers by hitting .268 with 6 homeruns and 42 rbi's. He has already surpassed his homerun total of all of last year and is closing in on the rbi's all the while hitting much better. I really can't explain the change, but it is a good thing. Juan Portes also had a big game going 2-5 to bring his average up to .309 on the year. Danny Valencia finally broke out of a 0-19 streak by getting his 11th double and driving in his 26th rbi of the year. Valencia is still only hitting .139 in his last 10 games, but hopefully that late double is the start of Valencia breaking out of this slump because he is too good of a hitter to continue to hit like this.

• Twins super prospect Carlos Gutierrez made his debut with the Rockcats and it could of been better, but it also could of been much worse. He really made one bad pitch that made his start look worse than it was. The good news is he picked up his first win with the Rockcats in this one. Gutierrez went 5 innings and gave up 5 runs on 7 hits, including a tough 3 run homerun with 2 outs in the 5th, along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts. It was not a perfect first start, but sometimes it takes time to make the adjustment to a new set of hitters who you have not seen before and a new set of teammates that you have not played with before. In the end he is too talented and I really believe he will be just fine and will do good things for the Rockcats. Jose Lugo then came on and gave a run on 2 hits in 1.2 innings to raise his era to 5.46. Alex Burnett then came on and did a great job like usual going 2 innings and giving up a run on 2 hits to raise his era to a great 1.80 since the callup. Frank Mata then came on and finished it by getting an out to pick up his 2nd save of the year.
• The Rockcats are off today before they begin a series tommorrow at home against Altoona.

Fort Myers Minutes

Fort Myers 2 Lakeland 1

• The Miracle continued their climb to a first half division championship with a big 2-1 victory over Lakeland yesterday. With the win the Miracle's magic number to clinch the first half title is down to 5. Mike Mccardell was the story in this one as he continued the Miracles recent run of great pitching as he went 6 innings and only gave a run on only 4 hits along with 2 walks and 3 strikeouts to lower his very good era to 3.73 on the year. Mccardell has really come on after a slow start to be one of the most reliable starters for the Miracle all year. Just as impressive was the outing of Loek Van Mil who came in for Mccardell and pitched 2 perfect innings along with 2 strikeouts. Van Mil has not given up a run in 3 outings since his activation from the disabled list. Kyle Waldrop came in the 9th and picked up his 2nd save of the year by pitching a clean 9th inning for the Miracle.

• The Miracle continue their struggles as of late as they scored 2 runs in the first and were not able to add that after. Deibinson Romero hit a 2 run homerun in the bottom of the first to give the Miracle all the offense that they would need in this one. It was Romero's 1st homerun as a Miracle and drove in his 26th and 27th rbi's of the year. Romero is now hitting .219 on the year for the Miracle after a 1-35 stretch got his average down to .201. Deibinson Romero is too talented of a hitter to hit so badly so I am looking for a good 2nd half out of Romero to have a big year. Chris Parmalee added his 8th double of the year and Chris Cates added a single in the limited Miracle attack in this one.
• Tonight, the Miracle continue their series with Lakeland as Steve Hirschfeld is expected to get the start to replace Carlos Gutierrez who was promoted to New Britain.

Beloit Beat

Wisconsin 2 Beloit 1

Beloit 4 Wisconsin 1

• The Snappers finally got off the schnide as they broke a very tough 8 game losing streak as they were able to get a win in the night cap against Wisconsin. In the First game Dan Berlind pitched a very good game going the 7 inning complete game and only giving up 2 runs on 4 hits along with 3 walks and 5 strikeouts to be the tough luck loser. With the 2 runs allowed Berlind lowered his era to 3.94 on the year. In the 2nd game Dan Osterbrock continued his up and down season with a phenomenal start going all 7 innings for the complete game and giving up only a run on 4 hits with no walks and 6 strikeouts to pick up his 3rd win of the year. With the 1 run allowed Osterbrock's era is down to 5.55 on the year.

• In the 2 game series the Snappers continue to struggle with the bats as they were only able to muster 14 hits combined in the 2 games. In the first game the Snappers were led by Drew Thompson who had 2 hits along with 8th rbi on the year. Michael Harrington and Jeff Lanning added hits in the tough loss. In the 2nd game the Miracle did much better with the bats and were led by Ozzie Lewis who went 3-3 with his 9th double to bring his average up to .284. James Beresford and Ramon Santana also added 2 hits apiece. Santana also added his 10th double in the game. The Snappers had 5 doubles in the game by Santana his 10th, Lewis his 9th, Alex Soto his 5th, Jon Waltenbury his 9th, and doubles machine Michael Harrington with his organization high 19th double of the year. Harrington has really turned it on after a horrible April to bring his average up to .242 on the year. I really look for Harrington to have a big second half after struggling so much early on as he is showing now how good of a hitter he is. Angel Morales added his team high 23rd rbi to lead the Snappers to a big victory.
• Today, the Snappers finish off their series with Wisconsin as Bobby Lanigan is scheduled to pitch for Beloit.