At the end of last season, the Twins had plenty of options to play center field for the club. Denard Span and Ben Revere spent most of the year manning that position. Darin Mastroianni made a good fourth outfielder because he could play center field when it was necessary. Joe Benson and Aaron Hicks were on the 40-man roster but there wasn't much room for them with three other players in front of them. Things have certainly gone from crowded to scarce in a hurry. As most fans know, Span and Rev
Before the season began, Deibinson Romero wasn't cracking many top prospect lists. As a 26-year old prospect(?), there had been some tough seasons in the minor leagues. He needed multiple seasons in Beloit, Fort Myers, and New Britain. After 2,600 plate appearances in the minors, Romero had never faced a pitch above Double-A. Things have changed so far this season for Mr. Romero. This year it took another trip back to the Eastern League for Romero to get back on track and he did so in a big
It's Day 2 of Major League Baseball's Rule 4 Draft and the Twins continued to add some new talent to an already strong organization. A variety of pitchers and one college catcher highlight the Twins second day of making picks. Those players haven't signed yet but there are plenty of other players already in the system and on the field on Friday night. Let's see how the organization fared under the Friday Night Lights. Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Rochester Red Wings 11
We are only a couple days away from getting a new influx of talent into the Twins minor league system. The MLB First Year Player Draft will start on Friday night and the Twins have the fourth overall selection. It will be the second year in a row that the Twins are picking in the top five picks. Last year's first round selection, Byron Buxton, has been a great addition to the organization. By the end of this year, he could be the top ranked prospect in all of baseball. Last week, Seth Stohs mo
Earlier this week, the Twins made a roster move to bring in some center field help for Aaron Hicks. For most of the season, the club has been without a back-up center fielder because Darin Mastroianni has been dealing with a nagging ankle injury. Even last week, Chris Parmelee had to play a defensive inning in center field in the late portion of a game. The Twins need a back-up center fielder and Thomas was one of the few options. When Hicks was struggling at the beginning of the season, Thoma
After some miserable baseball in Twins Territory, this week wasn't so bad for the hometown nine. It helps to play the lowly Brewers but it is still important to win games no matter who the opponent is. There were some close games but the club was able to steal a couple wins in Milwaukee before the two teams switched venues. The trip back to Target Field turned out to be just as good for the Twins. Minnesota won both games on their home turf. It was also nice to see the team pound out a bunch o
Who IS This Guy? Shipley is a former shortstop that only moved to the mound full-time last year. He is still among the top 10 talents in the draft because of his low-effort delivery and the effectiveness of some of his pitches. His recent performances for Nevada have him moving quickly up the draft boards. In the past, he has hit 99 mph with his fastball but he is more consistently in the 92-95 mph range. His best pitch is his changeup, which counters his fastball nicely. His change sits 83-86
It has been four seasons since Carlos Gomez last wore the uniform of the Minnesota Twins. At that point in his career, he was a hotshot 23-year old outfielder that was heading to his third club in four years. The defensive side of the ball was his calling card and his offensive game still looked to be in the infant stages. The Twins acquired Gomez as the top prospect in the famous deal that sent Johan Santana to the New York Mets. He would play 290 games in Minnesota while hitting .248/.293/.3
After ending their 11 game losing streak on Saturday, the Twins couldn't make it two wins in a row. The Tigers offense pounced on Mike Pelfrey for five runs on five hits in less than six innings of work. The offense didn't help him out much with three hits and a single run on the board. There were a few different story lines to follow in the minors so let's see what went down! Originally posted at http://www.NoDakTwinsFan.com Rochester Red Wings 2, Charlotte Knights 3 Box Score Rochester
It was a rough week for the Twins with nine straight losses. The club hasn't won a game since May 13th. Two fifths of the starting rotation was replaced including sending down Opening Day starter Vance Worley. Even on a night where Josh Willingham hits two home runs, the club still can't find a way to win. Minnesota does have two of the best team's in all of the minor leagues. This can make it fun to dream about the future. Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton could turn into monster MLB players. The
Who IS This Guy? Frazier is a high school center fielder from Georgia. He is widely considered to have the best bat speed in the entire draft. This enables him to have very good raw power. His 5-foot-11 frame has a muscular build at 190 pounds. This makes it tough to project him adding more weight but he looks like an MLB player. He also plays with a ton of energy. On the defensive side of the ball, there are some questions about whether he can stick in center field. He is starting to track th
Two men were having very different feelings on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta. Chris Colabello continued his remarkable journey by making his MLB debut. The 29-year old rookie failed to get a hit but he made it to the big leagues. There had to be nights along the way where he wondered if it would ever happen. His dream came true today. It has been a nightmare season for Vance Worley after the Braves roughed him up for 10 hits and eight earned runs in less than four innings of work. His ERA b
I originally posted this story back in spring training under the title "Chris Colabello continues his fairy tale." With the recent news of his promotion to the Twins, I thought it would be appropriate to move it back to the front page of this blog. I have added in some information about his season so far. One of the best stories in the Twins organization in 2012 was the tale of a 28-year old man that got his first taste of baseball with an affiliated club. Chris Colabello had molded himself into
It has been quite the wild ride for Mr. Caleb J. Thielbar on his way to the major leagues. The 26-year old left-hander was called-up by the Minnesota Twins on Monday after the team demoted fifth starter Pedro Hernandez. Thielbar is not a starter so the team will need to make another roster move before Friday's game to fill out the rotation. Options for this spot include Kyle Gibson, Sam Deduno, and PJ Walters. Thielbar was drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th round of the 2009 MLB D
It wasn't the best week for the Twins as the team lost the rubber game of their three game set with the Orioles on Sunday. This was followed by losing two out of three games to the dreaded White Sox. Even with the poor play, Joe Mauer continues to be one of the best hitters in the game (.519/.594/.704 in the last 7 days). Aaron Hicks showed off all of his skills in one game to help the team to their only win of the week. It wasn't all bad for Justin Morneau either as he hit over .460 for the w
The Twins concluded their three-game series with the White Sox by playing a little Wednesday afternoon baseball. With how bad the White Sox looked in recent weeks, it seemed like the Twins should be able to earn a series win. That didn't happen as the Sox took the final two games of the three-game set. Joe Mauer has been on fire lately and his recent hot streak has him in some rarefied air. He took over the active career leader board for batting average. Albert Pujols (.323 BA) had been on the
Episode 37 of the Twins baseball podcast, Talk To Contact (@TalkToContact), is now available for download via iTunes or by clicking here. http://assets.podomatic.net/mymedia/thumb/2324540/285%3E_8237541.jpg On Episode 37, Cody and Eric are joined by Baseball Prospectus‘ Jason Parks to talk about the Twins Minor League system. Jason Parks has plenty to say about Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, as well as some of the pitching prospects. Before Jason Parks comes on to the show, Cody and Eric go
The Twins keep finding ways to surprise as the team still sits around the .500 mark and it is close to a month and a half into the season. Minnesota's bats finally woke up in Boston with some big numbers put up in the four game series by Oswaldo Arcia and Joe Mauer. The club took three out of the four games to close out their recent road trip. This weekend the Baltimore Orioles are coming to Target Field for a three game set. Baltimore is off to another good start after last year's trip back
On Tuesday over at ESPN's Sweetspot, an article was penned about the golden age of leadoff hitters. Major League Baseball could be in the middle of one of the best year's ever for the leadoff hitter. 1965, 1975, 1987, and 2004 were some other great years for men at the top of the order but this year could be historic. Players like Shin-Soo Choo, Austin Jackson, Alex Gordon, Ian Kinsler, and Carl Crawford are leading a pack of leadoff hitters that are among some of the best in all of baseball.
CAUTION: This exercise is meant to be a fun. There is obviously a lot that goes into finding a starting pitcher for the top of the rotation. In the past, the Twins have had the opportunity to draft some of the top pitchers in the game. The Twins have struggled to accumulate starting pitching. This stems from a variety of factors. Their drafting strategy, their ability to sign international players, and their willingness to spend big money on the free agent market are all factors that have gon
The Twins continue their longest road trip of the year so far with games in Cleveland over the weekend. A four game series with the Boston Red Sox is looming at the beginning of next week but Minnesota needs to concentrate on beating opponents from the AL Central. To the surprise of many experts and fans, the Twins are still sitting around the .500 mark. The team recorded their 12th win on the first day of May. Last year, the Twins didn't record win number 12 until May 17 so it is easy to see
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?
At this point in the pre-season, I’m just so happy to be seeing games again, I don’t care about the Twins record in 2023. I think they’ll win it all, unrealistically speaking 🙂
I really hold back what I would like to say about then payroll arguments here. The fact that people don't accept the amount taken in dictates the amount going out requires one of two things. Extreme financial ignorance or fanatical bias that prevents the acceptance of something some basic. I did not change the argument. It's the same idiocy over and over. Do you really want to be on the side that suggests revenues does not determine spending capacity?· 0 replies
