Twins Fan From Afar

You've probably heard the news by now that the Twins are out, and the Colorado Rockies are in, as New Britain's class AA affiliate. It's been a strange few months here in Connecticut on the baseball and political fronts, culminating with yesterday's news. Back in June, Rock Cats managing partner Josh Solomon triumphantly (and surprisingly) announced from the steps of Hartford City Hall that the Rock Cats would be moving from their longtime home of New Britain to a brand new stadium in Hartford, effective for the 2016 season. That announcement shocked many, including the entire New Britain community, who apparently had been left in the dark and were at no point appraised of the fact that the new Rock Cats owners were negotiating with other parties with the goal of leaving Hardware City. I'll be honest -- I would go so far as to call Solomon's behavior arrogant. But the plans for the stadium were nice, and if you accept the fact that the team's owners were going to leave Connecticut for another city if they could not get a deal in Hartford (I don't), well, then I guess it's better to keep AA baseball in Connecticut than to let it go. When Solomon made this announcement, he indicated on the radio that the Twins were aware of and supported the move, though they had no part in the negotiations. My, how things changed in 3 months. The new stadium deal, however, has become a disastrous headache, and was not, as Hartford's mayor stated during that initial press conference, a "done deal." Hartford, like many other cities, doesn't have much money to spare. So when news broke that the city of Hartford would be financing part of the stadium through about $60 million in bonds, many bristled at that idea. Solomon and Hartford's mayor had a lot of explaining to do -- not just for the financing of the stadium, but for their purported secret negotiations to get out of New Britain. Here's a good read on that subject. Now, we're at the end of September, and there still is no stadium deal in Hartford. After a request for proposal process, the mayor's office reviewed 3 different stadium plans, and selected 1 plan to forward to Hartford's city council. That plan is interesting in that it includes much more than just a ballpark. Specifically, a brewery (with brewpub and outdoor patio), a grocery store, and commercial and residential development are all part of this comprehensive plan. The financing is very complicated, so I'll condense it to one sentence: the city of Hartford still will be paying millions of dollars to partially finance this project -- it just is not bonding the money. In fact, when all is said and done, it could be just as expensive as that initial $60 million figure that was floated under the original proposal. The new proposal has not yet been fully vetted by the council, and I have no indication that it will be approved any time in the near future. So where does that leave the Twins? Well, you know by know that it left them in Chattanooga, Tennessee. A minor league player development contract (PDC) is for a minimum of 2 years. 2015 is the last season under the Rock Cats' lease with the city of New Britain (the city owns the ballpark), but 2016 is, as you get by now, uncertain. I'm not sure how the Twins could have signed a 2 year deal for a facility that hasn't been built, and the details of which haven't even been agreed upon. I can hardly blame the Twins for exercising some caution. As you can read here, the Twins also reportedly had concerns about the quality of the playing field in New Britain (not the first time I had heard that) and the team's travel schedule. The Colorado Rockies, however, were apparently happy to come to Connecticut. So where does his leave the Rock Cats? Well, they're lucky to have a team. There's no real penalty possible -- if no one voluntarily affiliated with them, baseball would have assigned them a team. But I think Colorado could be a good fit. They're similar organizationally to the Twins, and of course we'll get to see Justin Morneau or Michael Cuddyer on a rehab assignment next season (hopefully not, actually). But here's my sneaking suspicion, which I have long harbored: the Rock Cats' owners eventually want a local team. The New York Mets' affiliation in Binghamton is up after the 2016 season. If that doesn't get renewed, I look for the Rock Cats to team up with the Mets. It makes tons of sense. Perhaps that's why the Rock Cats-Rockies deal is only 2 years. Most importantly, where does this leave me? First, a little disappointed. The Rock Cats were a great tie to Minnesota for me. The Rock Cats were my niche. The Rock Cats were my hobby. The Rock Cats grew to comprise probably 75% of this blog at times. I'm especially bummed I won't get to see Buxton, Sano (again), and several others come up next season. But, as you know, I've had a tough time writing on the team this past season. Between work and life, I couldn't get out to the ballpark nearly as much as I wanted to. I'll still go to Rock Cats games now and then. I'll be excited if they open a new stadium in Hartford. But that's about it. As of today, I think I'll still cover the Chattanooga Lookouts "from afar" to the best of my ability. We'll see what I can come up with.

I met these guys last year in New Britain. Super nice, really dedicated to this project. Glad to see them seeing this through to the end.

You kind of dismiss Molitor by saying he is a popular choice with fans "for some reason." I think he deserves better than that. Prior to his MLB job, Molitor worked with many (nearly all??) of the guys that are now coming into their own. I saw him in New Britain busting his butt -- doing real coaching. Doug M. has done a great job with his teams the past 2 seasons. And I would be fine with either. Just seems like you're almost forgetting the large amount of individual coaching Molitor has done with the guys -- most if not all of the guys you list in this article. Yes, managing is very different than coaching, but it's not as if Molitor is at all unfamiliar with the system.

Last season, I'm sure you remember the Twins' ill-fated attempt to charge a select group of fans to watch the Twins take batting practice at home games. To be fair, fans currently don't get to watch the Twins take BP at Target Field, and several teams have a similar program in place, so this idea was not at all unfounded. But the reaction was crazy. People railed against the team such that, only a few hours after the team released the announcement, it was retracted. I didn't blog about this at the time, because it was covered everywhere. But to me, this was an example of really poor timing -- not a poor idea.The team was bad and fielding rather pathetic lineups. The idea that fans would pay extra to watch players like Wilkin Ramirez or Pedro Florimon take BP -- players that would be in AAA on a good team -- suggested to me that the organization was out of touch with a large portion of its fan base. Yesterday, as I'm sure you've heard by now, the Twins released a "brand" survey to some fans, which included the question "[c]urrently, which one brand is the most similar to the Twins brand?" The answer choices were all automobiles: Taurus; Volvo; Mustang; Ford pick-up; Cadillac Escape; BMW; Mercedes; Mini Van; Dodge Viper; Prius Hybrid. Accompanying the car names were descriptors such as "fast and sporty," "quality and luxury," and "efficient and forward-thinking." Of course, none of these automobiles, and none of these descriptors, match the Twins. Maybe mini van comes the closest, but perhaps a more accurate descriptor for the current Twins brand -- "cruising" toward its 4th consecutive 90-loss season -- would be "my '97 Honda Civic after the CD player was stolen and there was a big hole so you could see almost into the engine." Not surprisingly, this question became a laughingstock. How bad did it get? Keith Olbermann named the Twins' marketing department as his nightly "World's Worst." On national television. Fast-forward nearly 24 hours, and the Twins have yet to say anything publicly about this. Nothing on Twitter from the team, President Dave St. Peter or Mike Kennedy (Twins PR). Do they need to apologize? Of course not. It was a stupid little marketing brand question that went viral, and that seems to happen frequently these days as businesses realize the importance of social/digital marketing and venture into previously uncharted territory. But it did suggest that, perhaps, the organization hasn't learned much in the past year. If the front office really thinks that the Twins are anything like a BMW, or are "urban and street-wise" (how can that even translate into athletics???), or any of those other vehicles or descriptors, the front office is still very much out of touch with what is apparent to everyone else. Social media and digital marketing failures happen all the time. And people get past them. But this is still an embarrassment for the Twins who, in my opinion, are usually pretty good with their ads and marketing stuff. To do nothing for 24 hours, especially after you've been taken down on national television, is just stupid. So what do I suggest? Think like a minor league team would. Do something outside the box. Just. Do. Something. I'm not just going to sit here and make fun of the team without suggesting alternatives. So here are two awful ideas. 1) Really own this failure and give away a mini van at the last home game of the season. Or donate one to one of the many deserving MN nonprofits. It can be from Mauer Chevrolet. 2) Have a Keith Olbermann day at the ballpark. Invite him to throw out the first pitch. Or ban him from the ballpark for life. Whatever. Free or discounted tickets to people with the legal name "Keith" or "Olbermann." If your birth name is "Keith Olbermann," you get Champions Club seats. Now, I'm an attorney, and I rarely get involved on the creative side at my job. You can see why. But at least these ideas are something. It's better than silence. At the very least, Dave St. Peter should get on Twitter (where he is very accessible and patient with fans), and say something funny to Olbermann. Maybe take him down a peg?? Again -- something. Like the batting practice thing, this will go away in a few days. But the team: a) demonstrated once again that it's out of touch with reality, and missed an opportunity to turn an embarrassing negative into something positive, or at least a little funny. Click here to view the article

Last season, I'm sure you remember the Twins' ill-fated attempt to charge a select group of fans to watch the Twins take batting practice at home games. To be fair, fans currently don't get to watch the Twins take BP at Target Field, and several teams have a similar program in place, so this idea was not at all unfounded. But the reaction was crazy. People railed against the team such that, only a few hours after the team released the announcement, it was retracted. I didn't blog about this at the time, because it was covered everywhere. But to me, this was an example of really poor timing -- not a poor idea. The team was bad and fielding rather pathetic lineups. The idea that fans would pay extra to watch players like Wilkin Ramirez or Pedro Florimon take BP -- players that would be in AAA on a good team -- suggested to me that the organization was out of touch with a large portion of its fan base. Yesterday, as I'm sure you've heard by now, the Twins released a "brand" survey to some fans, which included the question "[c]urrently, which one brand is the most similar to the Twins brand?" The answer choices were all automobiles: Taurus; Volvo; Mustang; Ford pick-up; Cadillac Escape; BMW; Mercedes; Mini Van; Dodge Viper; Prius Hybrid. Accompanying the car names were descriptors such as "fast and sporty," "quality and luxury," and "efficient and forward-thinking." Of course, none of these automobiles, and none of these descriptors, match the Twins. Maybe mini van comes the closest, but perhaps a more accurate descriptor for the current Twins brand -- "cruising" toward its 4th consecutive 90-loss season -- would be "my '97 Honda Civic after the CD player was stolen and there was a big hole so you could see almost into the engine." Not surprisingly, this question became a laughingstock. How bad did it get? Keith Olbermann named the Twins' marketing department as his nightly "World's Worst." On national television. Fast-forward nearly 24 hours later, and the Twins have yet to say anything publicly about this. Nothing on Twitter from the team, President Dave St. Peter or Mike Kennedy (Twins PR). Do they need to apologize? Of course not. It was a stupid little marketing brand question that went viral, and that seems to happen frequently these days as businesses realize the importance of social/digital marketing and venture into previously uncharted territory. But it did suggest that, perhaps, the organization hasn't learned much in the past year. If the front office really thinks that the Twins are anything like a BMW, or are "urban and street-wise" (how can that even translate into athletics???), or any of those other vehicles or descriptors, the front office is still very much out of touch with what is apparent to everyone else. Social media and digital marketing failures happen all the time. And people get past them. But this is still an embarrassment for the Twins who, in my opinion, are usually pretty good with their ads and marketing stuff. To do nothing for 24 hours, especially after you've been taken down on national television, is just stupid. So what do I suggest? Think like a minor league team would. Do something outside the box. Just. Do. Something. I'm not just going to sit here and make fun of the team without suggesting alternatives. So here are 2 awful ideas. 1) Really own this failure and give away a mini van at the last home game of the season. Or donate one to one of the many deserving MN nonprofits. It can be from Mauer Chevrolet. 2) Have a Keith Olbermann day at the ballpark. Invite him to throw out the first pitch. Or ban him from the ballpark for life. Whatever. Free or discounted tickets to people with the legal name "Keith" or "Olbermann." If your birth name is "Keith Olbermann," you get Champions Club seats. Now, I'm an attorney, and I rarely get involved on the creative side at my job. You can see why. But at least these ideas are something. It's better than silence. At the very least, Dave St. Peter should get on twitter (where he is very accessible and patient with fans), and say something funny to Olbermann. Maybe take him down a peg?? Again -- something. Like the batting practice thing, this will go away in a few days. But the team: a) demonstrated once again that it's out of touch with reality; and missed an opportunity to turn an embarrassing negative into something positive, or at least a little funny.

The way it seems right now, even with the optimism that accompanies Spring Training, it's tough to imagine the Twins hoisting the 2012 World Series trophy. In fact, I can't reasonably imagine the Twins having the AL Cy Young award winner on their pitching staff, or the AL MVP in their batting order. But there is one award that this team was built for: The Comeback Player of the Year. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Download attachment: trophy.jpg According to the criteria, the award is given to a player judged to have "re-emerged on the baseball field during a given season." It's worth noting, for no other reason than that it's sort of funny, that the award is sponsored by Viagra. Historically, Comeback Player award winners, not surprisingly, were sidelined much of the previous season before returning to glory. For example, Lance Berkman won the award for the NL in 2011, after having a fantastic season. But in 2010, he batted only .248 and needed a knee surgery. Jacoby Ellsbury -- for many a favorite for the 2011 MVP award -- locked up the AL Comeback Player award in 2011. If you recall, he only played 18 games in 2010, primarily the result of an early season collision that fractured several ribs. So to say that he came back bigtime in 2011 is an understatement. Our own Francisco Liriano won the award in 2010, and was likely cited for his "full" recovery from Tommy John surgery that sidelined him in 2007, and that took a few years from which to rebound. Doesn't this award just scream Twins in 2012? Here are a few odds-on favorites for the 2012 AL Comeback Player award. Joel Zumaya: He hasn't thrown a pitch in a major league game since June 28, 2010, when he suffered a non-displaced fracture to his elbow. Prior to that, Zumaya had a solid career, winning the setup man of the year award in 2006. He had a 2.58 ERA in 2010 prior to his injury, and, for his career, Zumaya has a 3.05 ERA. If he's somehow healthy this season, I don't have much doubt he could instantly come to the top of the list of Twins relievers. It would be a good comeback story, especially considering the painful way that Zumaya last exited a game. Joe Mauer: Since this award cites players for "re-emerg[ing] on the baseball field," it could rightfully be awarded to a player who, for several reasons, simply wasn't on the baseball field much in 2011. Whether it was the bilateral leg weakness that kept him out most of the first half of 2011, or the pneumonia that eventually sidelined him for good, Joe Mauer simply wasn't around much of last season. Reportedly, he spent a lot of time on the trainer's table, and even went to the Mayo Clinic for diagnosis and treatment. Sure, Mauer's story doesn't have the same appeal as, perhaps, Zumaya's, but it is worth mentioning. If Mauer can stay on the field, and remain healthy and productive this season, he could be a worthy candidate. Justin Morneau: Here's a guy I would love to see win the award. Sidelined the final month of the 2009 season with a stress fracture in his lower back, the second half of 2010 after suffering a concussion, and off-and-on in 2011 as a result of approximately 30 different injuries, this could actually be more of a "lifetime achievement comeback" award for Morneau. A win for Morneau would mean that he stayed healthy (which in turn would mean that he remained symptom-free from his concussions), and that he played good baseball. In fact, Morneau probably doesn't have to hit 30 home runs and drive in 120 RBIs to win this award. A decent season might be enough for him. Francisco Liriano: I'm pretty sure that simply being awful the previous season, in and of itself, doesn't qualify you for the award, but Liriano did have some time on the disabled list in 2011 -- in May, and again in August, if I recall. If, somehow, Liriano were to return to 2010 form, he might get some votes. In the end, it looks like it takes a special story, such as overcoming a serious injury, coupled with good on-the-field play the next season, to win this award. The Twins, though, do have some promising candidates. Perhaps all the maladies suffered in 2011 could mean hardware in 2012? I'm not sure what the award itself looks like, but the fact that it is sponsored by Viagra does raise a red flag. Click here to view the article

[TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] [TD=align: center]http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-153Rzgp09_w/Uc5onmSMGpI/AAAAAAAAAng/JU--lXBIfOQ/s320/IMAG0501.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Windy skies tonight in New Britain[/TD] [/TABLE] This is a night where I'm glad I'm not a real journalist with a real deadline. Wow, what a game. Well, more specifically, what a game for Miguel Sano: 3-for-4, 2 HR, 5 RBIs. And the 1 out he made was a 400 ft monster fly ball that the Phillies' center fielder made a fantastic, leaping catch on. OK, I'll start at the beginning: The conditions at New Britain Stadium were damp, to say the least. About an hour before game time, a brief but severe storm passed through. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The infield remained in good condition thanks to the tarp -- more accurately thanks to the grounds crew pictured above -- but parts of the outfield (lacking the advanced drainage system of Target Field) were soaked. The grounds crew did a great job taking care of that issue, however, and the game started just over an hour late (one neat thing about minor league baseball is that it's very much an all-hands-on-deck mentality -- the same people helping with the tarp or the drainage might be some of the same people you encounter in the press box or the concourses later). Perhaps Rock Cats starter Trevor May was off his rhythm due to the delay, because he surrendered a long and loud homer on the very first pitch of the game. It seemed as if May would settle down, though, and fortunately had his very good curve going early on, but it wasn't going to be that easy. A control problem that plagued May ended up (more or less) costing him 2 more runs: in the second inning, he walked the #7 hitter with 2 outs, then gave up another no-doubter to right field. It was his only walk of the night -- accompanied by 6 strikeouts -- but it was damaging. On the whole, I'd call it an up-and-down performance for May. On the one hand, he struck out 6, only walked 1, and had flashes of excellent pitching. On the other hand, he allowed 2 long home runs, issued a costly 2-out walk that preceded a home run, and was over 50 pitches with only 1 out in the third inning. He ended up tossing 93 pitches to make it through 5 innings. Definitely not an awful performance, but also not the kind of performance that's going to make Terry Ryan pick up the phone and set May up in Rochester. His final line: 5 innings; 4 ER; 6Ks; 1 BB. 2 HR. Offensively, wow. Have you heard of this prospect the Twins have? Miguel something-or-other? I'm no baseball expert, but I sure have been to a ton of MLB and MiLB games. Sano's performance tonight ranks right up there with any individual performance I have ever seen: A long, frozen rope single to left field; a first-pitch homer; and an amazing 9th inning homer. And his one out was a long, long fly to center. Ridiculous. Boy does that guy know how to hit. In fact, I have video of all his at-bats on my YouTube channel. Check it out. Again, I apologize for the poor quality of the video and the finger(s) that may occasionally appear in the corner of the screen. Hey, I never said I was Steven Spielberg! Two funny things about Sano's at-bats this evening: his single was hit harder than either of the homers; and the flyout to center field probably traveled farther than either of the home runs. The power he generates is amazing. Jeez, the guy is impressive. Back to the game and the other 20-some players on the team. The problem with tonight's game is that there wasn't nearly enough Rock Cats offense. 5 hits -- 3 from Sano; one from Josmil Pinto; 1 from Nate Hanson. Although Trevor May wasn't great tonight, he did deserve better performance from the other 6 guys in the lineup. I spoke to Rock Cats' manager Jeff Smith after the game. The obvious questions would have been about Sano. But what could Smith say besides "he's great" or "he's a rare talent." "Wow. He hit the ball hard and far tonight???" I can write crap like that (in fact, you're reading it!). Instead I asked about May. As I've written before, May's downfall typically has been issuing too many walks and prematurely driving up that pitch count. But what about tonight? Only 1 walk and 6 strikeouts -- peripherally good numbers. Smith stated: "Home run on the first pitch of the game, and just fell behind. . . . If you look back, [May] only gave up 5 hits, but his pitch count got up there pretty fast. . . . There were about 2 or 3 at-bats that the other team had that were about 10-pitch at-bats. It might have started 1-0, 2-0 [on the batters], and the next thing you know, a guy starts fouling pitches back. [May] didn't pitch that bad. A lead-off home run, and then an 0-2 home run." For the most part that's an accurate assessment. There were a couple very, very long at-bats. May wasn't bad by any means. I didn't get a chance to speak to him -- and I'm pretty sure he would not have been one to make excuses -- but you do have to wonder what happens to a starter after an hour-long delay. Especially when the starter gives up a first-pitch homer. Although May took the loss, there were plenty of good things about his performance tonight: first-pitch strikes seemed to be better; the curve was great, especially early in the game; the extremely wet conditions on the field didn't seem to affect his control; 6 Ks to 1 BB in 5 innings with 5 hits is a solid performance, excepting that 2/5 hits were homers. All in all, what a crazy night. I'll be honest: I wanted to see a Miguel Sano home run tonight. I got what I came for, and then some. I'll leave you with a couple funny Sano stats: he's 4th on the Rock Cats in home runs despite playing only 17 games for them. He has more homers than singles. He has 16 RBIs in 17 games. And get this, HE'S BATTING A LOUSY .236. What a freak of nature. Thanks for reading. Click here to view the article

It's been a fast 40 percent of the New Britain season. The team has played all right -- about what I expected, given the difficulty of replacing guys like Aaron Hicks, Chris Herrmann, Oswaldo Arcia and Chris Colabello, who were the mainstays of the 2012 team, and who have all gone on to varying degrees of success in 2013. One of the most exciting things about following the Rock Cats is realizing how quick the path from central Connecticut to Minneapolis can be. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] A comment about minor league baseball: it's not very helpful to focus on a minor league team's win-loss record. Sure, it's great to watch the Ft. Myers Miracle and the Cedar Rapids Kernels win most of their games (and it bodes well for the Twins' future), but those teams are temporarily fortunate to have clusters of great talent on the same roster. Rather, for me, Rock Cats' baseball is mostly about following individual performances. With nearly half the season in the books, let's take a look at a few of the players that I think deserve a call-up from AA New Britain to AAA Rochester in the near future. [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container, align: center] [TD=align: center]http://mlb.mlb.com/images/2012/11/07/3zZ4tfaM.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Logan Darnell, New Britain's most consistent pitcher this season. Image: Kevin Pataky, MiLB.com[/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] James Beresford. He was called up on Sunady. Beresford has played over 150 games for New Britain. His glove is great at both second base and shortstop -- that's never been an issue. He's third in the Eastern League in batting. Yes, there's little power. But so what? A middle infielder with a good glove that can hit .300 and reach base 40% of the time has value. Beresford deserves a long look in AAA to see how he can hit the pitching there. This is his second full season in New Britain, and I've seen enough. Also factoring into my recommendation to promote Beresford is Eddie Rosario. Clearing Beresford's spot made Rosario's path easier, and ensures that Rosario will get the reps he needs at second base. Nate Hanson -- Great organizational guy. Plays all positions, but especially third base. Hanson has played over 180 games for the Rock Cats, and is hitting a solid .284 this season. He had an abbreviated look at AAA Rochester last month, but needs a dedicated chance to succeed at that level. 64 at-bats -- what he received at Rochester -- is simply insufficient to judge any player. Reportedly, he hit the ball hard, but hit into some outs. If you only have 60 or so at-bats, a few hard outs, which could easily have been hits, makes a big difference. With Sano moving to New Britain, Hanson to AAA makes sense all around. Logan Darnell: Like Beresford, this is Darnell's second full season in AA, and he is showing improvement. In fact, he's been New Britain's most consistent starting pitcher. How consistent? 7 of his last 10 starts have met the definition of a quality start (not a great statistic, but worth something). Darnell has posted a 2.76 ERA, a 60/20 K/BB rate, and has allowed only 3 home runs in 75 innings pitched. I'm not sure what Darnell's future will be, but I am certain that the 24-year-old needs to pitch against more experienced hitters so that the Twins' front office can get a better picture of what his ceiling is. If you're a fan of the Twins' Top 10 organizational prospects, you might not like what I'm about to write: Alex Meyer isn't ready to be promoted. Yes, there are many, many more positives than negatives. One big positive is that he's second in the Eastern League in strikeouts, with 73. That's why we traded a good player, Denard Span, for him. But if I'm a member of the Twins' front office, I need to see more consistency from Meyer. By comparison to Darnell's seven quality starts in his past ten, Meyer has four. Meyer also has yet to pitch into the 7th inning in any game he's started. Let that sink in for a second. If there's one thing the Twins need -- and expect -- it's that their best starters go deep into games. Meyer, who regularly throws over 100 pitches -- hasn't reached the 7th frame nearly halfway into his 2013 season. Meyer's season is somewhat similar to Kyle Gibson's in AAA -- a couple good starts followed by a clunker. Not that I expect ten Ks and one earned run every single outing (which occurred in Meyer's most recent, and best, start), but in my opinion, there are composure and consistency issues that needs to be resolved -- or at least mitigated -- before it makes sense to send Meyer north and west to Rochester. So in short, I'm ready to say goodbye to 3 mainstays. Beresford, Hanson and Darnell have put in their AA time. I don't like to think of "sink-or-swim" situations, but I think it's clear that each needs a solid couple months in Rochester to see how their games fare against better competition. But I'm not ready to let Meyer leave yet. There's no reason to rush him to AAA (especially considering how quickly the Twins are willing to pull "ready" players from Rochester after they arrive) before he is ready. One final note: The Rock Cats host the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 10. I'm not sure how, if at all, personnel decisions may factor into this. It may be that some promotions would happen after that date, so players are rewarded by an appearance in the All-Star game at their home park. Click here to view the article

The Twins conclude their 3 game series against the Angels tonight. Here's the link to the TwinsDaily game thread. Hopefully Liam Hendriks can right the ship for Minnesota, without Justin Morneau (who hopefully will be back for Friday's game against Seattle) and Danny Valencia (back stiffness). It would be good not to be swept by the Angels. It would also be good to keep Albert Pujols from doing any damage. It's not looking good so far (6-0 Angels in the 4th, and the Twins have no hits), but perhaps this team can turn it around. In any event, I'll be asleep by the time the Twins game concludes, so here's a recap of Wednesday's minor league action:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 1, SCRANTON-WILKES BARRE 2 This was a defensive struggle. The Red Wings only managed 5 hits all night. Ben Revere, Matt Carson, Rene Tosoni and Ray Chang (who stole his second base of the season) all had singles, and Brian Dozier hit his 7th double of the season. Dozier, whose hit scored Revere, accumulated Rochester's only RBI tonight (11th of the season for him). Dozier is now batting .283 on the season, for those keeping close tabs. Pitching was a bright spot for Rochester tonight. Cole DeVries was charged with the loss (0-2) but was effective tonight, going 6 and 1/3 innings and allowing 6 hits and 2 runs, but striking out 4 and and walking none. Deolis Guerra, suddenly one of the brightest pitching prospects in the entire Twins farm system, pitched 1 and 1/3 innings in relief, allowing 2 hits, but striking out 3. He's allowed no runs at AAA. Tyler Robertson accounted for the other 1/3 of an inning, and struck out the only batter he faced. Although it was a tough loss for Rochester, the pitching performances were encouraging. NEW BRITAIN 5, HARRISBURG 4 New Britain has been involved in many close contests lately. Tonight, they eeked out a victory against the Harrisburg Senators. Chris Colabello, an 8-year independent league baseball player until 2012 (primarily with the Worcester, MA Tornadoes), had a great night offensively. He went 2-for-5 for New Britain, with his 5th home run of the year, a 3 run shot in the third inning with two outs. Wilkin Ramirez and Pedro Florimon each had two hits, including a double, Estarlin De Los Santos picked up 2 singles, Evan Bigley had a run-scoring single and a walk, and Nathan Hanson had a sacrifice fly. Definitely a team effort on offense. De Los Santos stole his 5th base of the season. Aaron Hicks was 0-for-3 with a walk, was caught stealing, and is batting .268 on the year. Andrew Albers got the start for New Britain tonight. The bad: he gave up 3 home runs and 4 runs on 7 hits. The good: he lasted 6 innings, issued 0 walks, and struck out 5. The bullpen was better, though. Bobby Lanigan pitched 2 and 1/3 innings, gave up 0 runs, allowing 3 hits and striking out 1. Luis Perdomo picked up the win tonight (2-2), tossing 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. New Britain is now 17-9. FT. MYERS 2, PALM BEACH 1 In another defensive contest, the Miracle edged out the Palm Beach Cardinals in a pitchers' contest that went 11 innings. First, the offense. The Miracle only accumulated 5 hits all night, but it was just enough to get the win. Daniel Rohlfing was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI (his 10th of the season), top prospect Oswaldo Arcia, playing right field today, was 1-for-5, and drove in Ft. Myers' other run. Arcia is batting .263 on the season, and has driven in 5 runs. Andy Leer (a double), Michael Gonzales and Josmil Pinto had the other Ft. Myers hits. The pitching was excellent tonight. Pat Dean got the start, and went 7 full innings, allowing 1 run on 7 hits. He struck out 3 and walked 2, and his ERA stands at a respectable 3.68. Bruce Pugh went 3 innings and picked up the win (1-2) in relief for the Miracle. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks, but kept the Cardinals off the board when it mattered. Lefty -- and Minnesota native -- Cole Nelson earned the save tonight, allowing 1 hit and 1 walk, but striking out 1 in a scoreless 11th inning. BELOIT 6, CEDAR RAPIDS 5 It was a see-saw night in Cedar Rapids, but the Snappers prevailed. There were some very good offensive performances tonight. Miguel Sano led the way, going 3-for-5 with a double (6th of the year) and 2 RBIs (23 on the year). Adam Bryant was 2-for-5 with a double (3rd of the year) and 2 RBIs (12 on the year). Weng-Wei Lin was 2-for-4 with a walk, and first baseman Rory Rhodes was 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season. Matthew Koch and Adam Pettersen also contributed hits for Ft. Myers. Matthew Summers got the start for Beloit, going 5 innings and allowing 3 runs -- only 1 earned -- on 6 hits; he struck out 2 and walked 3. In relief, Ryan O'Rourke got both a blown save and the win, pitching 2 innings, allowing 2 runs -- only 1 earned; he struck out 2 and walked none. Corey Williams picked up the save (his 4th of the season), tossing 2 scoreless innings, striking out 2 and walking 1. One big issue tonight for Ft. Myers was defense. As you can see from the pitching lines above, only 2 of the 5 runs allowed were earned. The Miracle committed 4 errors tonight. Sano had 2 -- one throwing and one fielding (7 on the season); Summers had an error on a pickoff (2nd of the season); and Rosario had a fielding error (8th of the season). Clearly, the team could use a little work on fielding. But that's what the lower levels of the minor leagues are for -- player development. ----------- Players of the day for Wednesday, May 2 Pitcher of the day: Pat Dean Download attachment: Dean.jpg Hitter of the day: Chris Colabello Download attachment: Colabello.jpg ----------- A look ahead: Thursday, May 3 schedule Rochester @ Scranton Wilkes-Barre -- LHP Lucas French New Britain @ Harrisburg -- RHP Steve Hirschfeld Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach -- RHP Madison Boer Beloit @ Cedar Rapids -- LHP Matthew Tomshaw ----------- If you have any questions or comments, leave them here, and I'm sure Seth will answer them. Click here to view the article

When Target Field opened, I was living in Connecticut (as I do now), but harbored a dream of moving back to Minnesota. I was naive. I thought -- even though I was an attorney licensed to practice in Connecticut only, even though I owned a home in Connecticut, and even though many of my professional ties to Minnesota had dwindled -- that I could somehow easily move across the country and re-establish things back home. For many, many reasons (the prolonged economic crisis being one of them), that didn't happen. I'd be lying if I said that a part of me doesn't dream of going back to the Twin Cities, but I am very happy personally and professionally now. But that's not the focus of this post, believe it or not (but for my self-help blog, ). No, I do aim to write about the Twins tonight. So read on, it's all connected. When I thought, or, rather, naively dreamed, that Minnesota was in the cards for me, I filled out a form and paid something like $200 to get in the "On-Deck Circle" for Twins season tickets. I was only interested in a 20-game plan, which was the lowest that was offered. Yes, there was a time when demand for season tickets -- any package, anywhere in the stadium -- was so significant that the Twins simply couldn't supply tickets and seats for everyone that was interested. Long story short, I ended up getting out of the "On-Deck Circle," and of course am still writing this blog from Connecticut (side note: there's no "On-Deck Circle" for my awesome Rock Cats seats, which I very much enjoy). The amazing part of this story is that my membership in the on-deck circle, and exit therefrom, took place in 2010. Only 3 years ago. Tonight, I could click on this link and place a deposit for up to 8 tickets for a 2014 20-game, 40-game, or full season plan for the team who will host next season's All-Star festivities, a team only 3 years removed from being one of the best teams in baseball playing in one of baseball's best stadiums. What frustrated me in 2010 was that there was a certain hubris in the Twins organization. "We can't offer you any season ticket plan this year, or maybe not even next year or the year after, but we will hold your $200 in trust in the event that something ever becomes available. Then, we'll give you a call and take the rest of your money. OK? Talk to you later." [TABLE] http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-J1TpJTrYsD4/Ui5yL3T0wBI/AAAAAAAAArI/ZpLD4HP7JhM/s320/Crowd.jpg Good Seats Still Available [/TABLE] And now, in September, 2013, here is the Twins' crowd tonight (first image from Brandon Warne's Twitter account) as Pedro Hernandez was taking his warm-up tosses just before the game started. Yes, many of these seats were paid for, so the Twins received that money, but they sure are missing a lot of food, merchandise and beer revenue from that American Legion-esque crowd. The part that bothers me, aside from the fact that the Twins are cruising toward their 3rd straight 90+ loss season, is that what I would consider to be the requisite humility from the front office simply isn't present. On the one hand, they are saying the right things, as in: "The losing is unacceptable"; "We're committed to doing better"; "This isn't the `Twins Way.'" But on the other hand, these are the exact sentiments fans heard after 2011. And after 2012. Heck, there was even anger in 2010 after they were swept -- again -- by the Yankees. I swear they recycle the same press releases. On paper -- in the win-loss ledger -- there hasn't been improvement. [TABLE] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fkk65tC52n0/Ui50YxbK-RI/AAAAAAAAArU/qfk3YnK7Wa4/s320/wheresthecrowd.jpg Thank you to @Tappen2Feet for this image [/TABLE] I'll be the first person to tell you that the organization is in much better shape than it was a couple years ago. To be sure, I watched it all summer with Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, Josmil Pinto and others. But with the exception of Pinto, those guys aren't contributing to the major league team now, and probably won't be on Opening Day 2014. I hit a point where I need more. I need more than the promise of prospects (even though I understand that good prospects are the best way to build a sustainable winning franchise). I need actual accountability. I need results. On Twitter, I noted, after the Twins were swept at Target Field by the Yankees in a 4-game series over the 4th of July, that some managers in Ron Gardenhire's tenuous position would have been fired after that series. Not for losing 4 consecutive games, mind you, but for how those 4 games, against the Yankees, at home on a holiday weekend with fans having paid "premium prices," were representative of this organization's deficiencies. [TABLE] http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9rEoUjDYM5g/Ui50-QSV34I/AAAAAAAAArc/_-kzkGgRWno/s320/UpperDeck.jpg As @Kayla_86 noted, the upper deck is empty [/TABLE] The Twins can't sell me, and many fans, on the All-Star Game in 2014. I wouldn't be there anyway, and it's really just a few events. At some point, the Twins have to sell fans on at least a few established players purchased in free agency. I'll just say it: they need to spend probably $30 million in free agency in order to make this team competitive for 2014. They have to make at least some changes at the very top levels of management, if for no other reason than that is the way it works in the business world. The problem with the Twins, though, is that unlike most businesses, even when their "product" is awful, they still turn a significant profit. So understand that the impetus might not be there to make the wholesale changes that some expect. There is no grand point to this post, so apologies if you are looking for it. I would, however, sum it up this way: The organization doesn't have the humility I would expect for a team that has been one of the very worst in baseball for the past three seasons, and I am not at all confident that losing records are sufficient -- on their own -- to force the organization into wholesale changes. As fans, I guess we are forced to hope that this solid group of prospects does indeed pan out. I have little faith in the Twins hitting a home run on each one of their Top 10 prospects. One final note: 2013 was the first year since Target Field opened that I didn't make it there for a game. In fact, I didn't make it to a Twins game in Boston, Baltimore or New York, either. I -- not intentionally, really -- didn't purchase any memorabilia related to a current Twins player. Heck, I didn't even renew my Twins radio subscription for $21.95 (or so) a season. I guess I'm unwilling to pay for this product. In the end, while I'll pay to watch the minor leaguers any day of the week, I'm unwilling to pay to watch the Twins waste the rest of Joe Mauer's prime years. Click here to view the article

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend! All of the affiliates were in action today and this evening, and the Twins lost a tough one to the Tigers. There was some roster news, if you haven't heard it: Erik Komatsu was designated for assignment, and Jeff Manship joined the Twins. Best of luck to Komatsu in his professional career, and to Manship, as well. Additionally, starting pitcher David Bromberg was promoted from the AA Rock Cats to AAA Rochester. Congratulations to him! Let's take a look at what happened down on the farm today.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 0, GWINNETT 1 Brendan Wise started for the Red Wings today (best described as a spot start, because Manship was scheduled to start before his promotion), and threw 3 innings. He gave up 5 hits, struck out 3 and walked 1, surrendering no runs. Carlos Gutierrez tossed 2 scoreless innings in relief, striking out 2. Casey Fein was charged with the loss, giving up 1 run 2 hits in 2 innings. He struck out 2. Tyler Robertson threw a scoreless 8th. In all, the pitching performances were very good -- only 7 total hits, 7 Ks and 1 walk. On offense, it's safe to say that hits came at a premium for the Red Wings. There were only 3 all day: a single by shortstop Pedro Florimon, and 2 hits by Sean Burroughs, a single and a double. The Red Wings walked 0 times today. Danny Valencia was 0-for-4 today, but is batting .268 since his demotion. Tsuyoshi Nishioka, also hitless today, is batting .202 this season. Here's the link for the box score. NEW BRITAIN 5, PORTLAND 8 Logan Darnell got the start for the Rock Cats, and was solid, going 5 and 2/3 innings, giving up 8 hits and allowing 2 runs. He struck out 6 and walked only 1. Bobby Lanigan relieved Darnell, and the wheels came off in the 7th inning. After getting the final out of the 6th, Lanigan allowed 6 consecutive batters to reach to open up the 7th, on 5 hits and a walk, and ended up giving up 5 runs in the 7th, and only got one out in that inning. He threw 2/3 of an inning total. Caleb Thielbar came on in relief. He threw the final 2 outs of the 7th (including a ground out that scored a run charged to Lanigan), but gave up a solo home run in the 8th. In all, Thielbar threw 1 and 2/3 innings, allowed the 1 run, and had no walks or strikeouts. On defense, third baseman Deibinson Romero committed his 6th error of the season. Mirroring a recent trend, the Rock Cats didn't get many hits today; 6, in fact. But, for the second consecutive game, Evan Bigley had a 3 run home run, his 4th in 2012. Deibinson Romero had a solo home run, his 5th of the season. Nathan Hanson had an RBI single, Rene Tosoni had a double, and Aaron Hicks and James Berersford each had a single. Hanson also stole his first base of the season. Here's the link for the box score. FT. MYERS 4, PALM BEACH 1 Pat Dean started for the Miracle today, went 5 innings, gave up 1 run on 3 hits, and issued 1 walk with no strikeouts. His ERA stands at 2.70 on the season. The bullpen was very good today. Kyle Waldorp pitched a scoreless 6th inning, striking out 2 and walking 1; Matthew Hauser tossed 2 scoreless frames, striking out 1 and walking 1; Bruce Pugh picked up his 4th save of the season, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. In all, the bullpen allowed 1 hit in 4 innings of work. Prospect Oswaldo Arcia had a great day. He was 3-for-3 with a solo home run, his 4th of the season, and 2 singles. He drove in 3 runs and walked in his other plate appearance. Arcia is batting .299 on the season. Daniel Ortiz had an RBI single, which accounted for the Miracle's other run. The other Miracle players with hits today were Daniel Santana, Jairo Perez, Anderson Hidalgo and Andy Leer. All singles. Here's another good stat: Ft. Myers walked 6 times today, including 2 walks by Hidalgo. Here's the link for the box score BELOIT 7, KANE COUNTY 2 Jason Wheeler got the start for the Snappers this evening, and he was great. He went 8 innings. Wheeler gave up 5 hits and 2 runs, striking out 5 and walking only 1 along the way. Corey Williams tossed a scoreless 9th, allowing 1 hit and and striking out 1. On offense, the Snappers banged out 12 hits tonight, and almost all the starters were in on the action. Designated hitter Jonathan Goncalves went 3-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. Eddie Rosario was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI. Shortstop Tyler Grimes was 3-for-3 with a double, and first baseman Adam Bryant was 3-for-5 with an RBI. Miguel Sano had two singles and an RBI, and TwinsDaily's own Adam Pettersen had a single. Here's the link for the box score --------------------------------------- Sunday's Players of the Day Hitter of the Day: Oswaldo Arcia Download attachment: Arcia.jpg Pitcher of the Day: Jason Wheeler Download attachment: Wheels2.jpg ----------------------------- Schedule for Monday, May 28, 2012 Rochester @ Charlotte -- RHP David Bromberg New Britain @ Portland -- ??? Beloit @ Kane County -- RHP Matthew Summers ------------------------------ Leave any questions or comments here, and either Seth or I will try to answer them! Click here to view the article

Last season in New Britain, I watched 4 or 5 of Trevor May's starts. I'm still higher on him than most people are, because a few things became apparent to me after watching him -- all of which are fixable (to a degree, anyway): 1) The defense behind him was sometimes lousy (I'm looking specifically at the left side of the infield -- Danny Santana and Miguel Sano), leading to extra pitches made and extra batters faced to get the job done; 2) Control issues plagued May, despite the fact that his walks/9 decreased somewhat; and 3) He didn't get ahead of batters often enough, thus forcing him to work from behind in the count too often. It's that last item that I want to focus on in this post. (This is the condensed version of this story, believe it or not. Supersized version -- more stats and explanation -- available at Twins Fan From Afar) http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=6738&stc=1 Unfortunately, there's no data tracking first pitch strikes for minor league pitchers, like there is for major leaguers. But because this interested me, I decided to go through May's starts, game-by-game using Gameday so I could view what happened in each at-bat. This took a while, as you can imagine. Trevor May started 27 games for the Rock Cats in 2013, but no data was available for 2 starts. Accordingly, I compiled data the remaining 25 games. Here are my findings: Trevor May threw a first-pitch strike to 52.9% of batters he faced for New Britain in 2013. Yes, good that it's over 50%, but it is by no means an encouraging number. MLB DATA What's an average first pitch strike percentage in the majors? 59 or 60 percent. May, then, is well below. Does that matter? Over 15,000 MLB plate appearances in the 2013 season (same source as previous link), hitters that get ahead 1-0 have a .269/.383./.442 slash line, while hitters that fall behind 0-1 have a .221/.261/.341 slash line. That ends up being a pretty huge difference over the course of a single game, let alone an entire season. Now, I'm not suggesting that May (or any other pitcher) should just groove the first pitch of every at-bat, but it's also important to note that only 7.3 percent of those first pitch strikes turned into hits. Fangraphs also tracks the first pitch strikes in baseball. Here's the list for 2013's top first-pitch strike hurlers. The Top 30 are by no means full of all-stars, but is a list of generally solid pitchers. Read the list for yourself, but just for fun here are the Top 5: Patrick Corbin (70.2); Cliff Lee (68.5); David Price (67.7); Jordan Zimmerman (66.9); Ervin Santana (65.9). Other notables in the Top 30 include Bronson Arroyo, Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander, CC Sabathia, Adam Wainwright, Max Scherzer, Matt Harvey, John Lackey, Cole Hamels and Chris Sale. Those players are all over 62 percent. MAY IN DEPTH With that background, let's examine May. Here's a rough breakdown of his 2013 season with respect to first pitch strikes. There were 2 games with first pitch strike percentages in the 30s; 6 games with first pitch strike percentages in the 40s; 13 games with first pitch strike percentages in the 50s; and 4 games with first pitch strike percentages in the 60s. Additionally, May had 11 quality starts in 2013 (meaning at least 6 innings pitched and 3 or fewer earned runs). Of those 11 starts, May had 50% or higher first pitch strikes in 9 of those games. But there's not necessarily a magic correlation for May between first pitch strikes and dominant performances. May's most efficient performance -- in terms of first pitch strikes -- 67.8%, was in a 5 inning, 4 earned run performance in which he gave up 5 hits and walked 3 batters, proving that strike 1 isn't always effective when you are very hittable on the night and are still walking batters. Trevor May is an interesting case. Maybe he's at his best when he's throwing first pitch strikes somewhere in the 50s? Let's separate the high 50s from the low 50s, just for fun: When May throws first pitch strikes 55-59 percent of the time, he averages 6.57 innings pitched for those starts. That covered 46 innings and May had a 1.56 ERA. Now for the low 50s -- 50-54 percent first pitch strikes. In those starts, May averaged 5 and 1/3 innings pitched. That covered 42 innings and May had a 4.29 ERA. Incidentally, in those games where he was at or above 60 percent first pitch strikes, May's ERA was 7.25. I think there are 2 takeaways here. The first is that May needs to do a better job getting ahead of hitters. He's wasting pitches, is not maximizing his efficiency, and is allowing (approximately) 5-7 percent of batters to gain an unnecessary edge over him. The second is that perhaps, for May, having a first strike percentage of 65 or 70 percent of the time (like Corbin, Lee, or Price) isn't optimal. Every pitcher is different, and May has to find out what works for him. When he was grooving first pitch strikes last season, May was a little too hittable, too predictable perhaps. I don't expect Trevor May will be a #1 or #2 starter on the next Twins playoff team. I do, however, see him as a reliable starter who can strike out double digits in a game -- keep in mind he did lead the Eastern League in strikeouts last season. But in order to get to that level, I see reducing walks, putting hitters away and getting ahead in the count more consistently as the three major (and interrelated) things standing in his May's way. 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The Twins were swept by the White Sox. I didn't watch the game, but apparently this was ugly -- even by 2012 Twins standards. Luckily, there are other things on which to focus our attention, especially the Twins' affiliates. Let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER 5, SYRACUSE 3 Esmerling Vasquez got the win for the Red Wings tonight, throwing 5 and 1/3 innings, and giving up 3 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits, striking out 7 and walking 3. Luis Perdomo tossed the rest of the game, 3 and 2/3 innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 2 while walking 1.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] 4 Red Wings players -- Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Chris Parmelee, Danny Valencia and Evan Bigley -- each had 2 hits. Valencia and Bigley each had doubles. Wilkin Ramirez and Ray Chang added singles. Valencia had his 7th error of the season. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 11, BINGHAMTON 2 B.J. Hermsen earned his 7th win on the season for the Rock Cats, tossing 7 innings, giving up only 2 runs, striking out 8 and walking 3. Daniel Turpen and David Bromberg each pitched scoreless innings in relief. On offense, this was Aaron Hicks' day. He was 5-for-6 and was just a triple shy of the cycle. He had 2 doubles, a home run (10th on the season), and 2 singles. He accumulated 10 total bases and 2 RBIs. Deibinson Romero quietly had 4 hits, including a double. Oswaldo Arcia, Chris Colabello, Joe Benson and Rene Tosoni each had 2 hits, and James Beresford had a single. Hicks now has a very respectable .284/.379/.456 line on the year. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 12, CHARLOTTE 4 Matthew Hauser had an excellent outing, throwing 7 scoreless innings, and allowing only 2 hits. He struck out 4 and walked 4. Cole Nelson tossed 2 innings, and had a rough outing. He allowed 4 runs on 5 hits, including 2 home runs, and struck out 2. Steven Liddle had 2 hits, including a home run, and 4 RBIs. Josmil Pinto was also 2-for-4 with a home run and a double. Daniel Rams, Anderson Hidalgo (3 RBIs) and Andy Leer each had 2 hits, as well. Jonathan Goncalves, Daniel Santana and Kyle Knudson each had 1 hit in this mass offensive effort. In fact, 8 of the 9 Miracle starters registered at least 1 hit. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 4, BURLINGTON 1 Jason Wheeler picked up his 12th win of the season, throwing 6 scoreless innings. He allowed 4 hits , struck out 4 and walked 2. A great performance from one of Beloit's most reliable arms this season. Dallas Gallant threw 2/3 of an inning, allowing 1 run on 1 hit, striking out 1 and walking 2. Mason Melotakis finished the game, throwing 2 and 1/3 innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 3. Matthew Koch was 2-for-4 with a double and a home run, and Nate Roberts also had 2 hits. TwinsDaily's own Adam Pettersen, Miguel Sano, JaDamion Williams and Tyler Grimes all had 1 hit. Sano walked 3 times, and also picked up his 70th RBI on the season. Sano also stole his 7th base of the season. Here's the link to the box score. GCL TWINS 1, GCL RAYS 2 Felix Jorge was effective in 4 innings of work today, allowing only 2 hits, striking out 5 and walking just 1. Gerardo Ramirez picked up a tough loss, allowing 2 runs on 2 hits, and walking 2 along the way. Melciades De La Cruz tossed 3 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits, striking out 1 and walking 1. Bryan Haar was 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, and Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Aderlin Mejia, John Murphy, Kelly Cross, and Zach Larson all singled. Buxton also had a center field-to-second base assist. Here's the link to the box score. -------------------------------------------------------- Players of the Day for Wednesday, July 25 Hitter of the Day: Aaron Hicks Download attachment: AHicks.jpg Pitcher of the Day: Matthew Hauser Download attachment: Hauser.jpg ------------------------------------------------- Schedule for Thursday, July 26, 2012 Rochester vs. Syracuse --- RHP Eric Hurley New Britain @ Reading --- ??? Ft. Myers vs. Brevard County --- RHP Tom Stuifbergen Beloit @ Burlington --- ??? GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays --- ??? ------------------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments, and either Seth or I will be happy to respond. Click here to view the article

Oh boy, it was a rough one for the Twins, who took the "pitch-to-contact" mentality to a new level when they gave up a combined 21 hits to the White Sox in what ended up being an ugly 12-5 loss. After the game, it was announced that pitcher Kyle Waldrop had been recalled to Minnesota, and Jeff Manship was optioned. It was also announced that the Twins acquired pitcher Shairon Martis from the Pirates. Don't get too excited; this sounds just like a move to acquire some minor league depth. The 25 year old is expected to join New Britain, where every pitcher that has been halfway decent has already been promoted to Rochester, where every pitcher there that has been halfway decent has seen time with the Twins. The other minor league news story of the day was that Rochester shortstop Pedro Florimon was selected as a reserve for the International League All-Star Game. He started off the season in New Britain, and was quickly promoted to AAA. He's hitting .260 on the season for Rochester, but is batting .333 over his last 10 games. Congratulations, Pedro! After that preamble, let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 3 Samuel Deduno started for the Red Wings tonight, and threw 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. He issued 4 walks, but struck out 9! Caleb Thielbar pitched 1 inning of relief, and gave up 1 run on 2 hits. Luis Perdomo earned the win, tossing 2 and 2/3 innings and allowing only 1 hit while striking out 2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka was an offensive catalyst tonight. Yes, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, and RBI and a run scored. Danny Valencia, hitting pretty well lately, was 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and 2 RBIs. Ray Chang was 3-for-4 (all singles), and designated hitter Michael Hollimon contributed a double. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 4, TRENTON 9 Starter B.J. Hermsen had a rare rough start, and New Britain's 6 game winning streak was snapped. Hermsen lasted only 2 innings, and gave up 6 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 1. Even after this outing, his AA ERA is a respectable 3.60. New Rock Cat Daniel Sattler picked up the slack, throwing 4 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, and walking 1. Daniel Turpen threw 2 innings, allowed only 1 hit, and struck out 2. Finally, Edgar Ibarra pitched the 9th inning, and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, striking out 1. Hermsen, Sattler and Ibarra all surrendered a home run tonight. New Britain had 10 hits tonight, and most players got in on the action. Chris Colabello was 2-for-5 and hit his 13th home run. Chris Herrmann and Oswaldo Arcia were also 2-for-5, Deibinson Romero was 2-for-3, Aaron Hicks was 1-for-4, and Nathan Hanson had a double in 3 at-bats. Arcia also picked up his 7th RBI in his brief Rock Cats career. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 6, TAMPA 2 Pat Dean had a very solid start for the Miracle. In 6 innings of work, he gave up just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2. Dean retired the last 9 batters he faced before being pulled. Following Dean's lead, Marty Popham tossed 2 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 1, and Nelvin Fuentes threw a scoreless 9th, giving up 1 hit, striking out 1 and issuing 1 free pass. 8 of the 9 Miracle starters had at least 1 hit. Jairo Perez was 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run, his 5th of the season. Lance Ray hit his 8th homer, a solo shot. Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a double. Kyle Knudson continues to swing a hot bat, and was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Daniel Santana, Levi Michael, Daniel Rams and Anderson Hidalgo all contributed singles. There are lots of Daniels on this team. Here's the linkto the box score. BELOIT 1, KANE COUNTY 3 David Hurlbut took a tough loss in this one. He threw 6 strong innings, giving up 2 runs (none earned) on 6 hits, striking out 6 and walking only 1. Hurlbut's ERA stands at 1.71. Cole Johnson pitched the remaining 2 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 2 and walking 1. Tyler Grimes and Adam Bryant had the errors that proved costly. Beloit only had 6 hits all night. Left fielder Nate Roberts had a double in 3 at-bats and walked twice, Steven Liddle was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, and Adam Pettersen, Drew Leachman, Jonathan Goncalves and Jairo Rodriguez each singled. The Snappers walked 7 times tonight, but couldn't convert. Miguel Sano had the night off, except for a pinch hit appearance, where he walked. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON 5, BRISTOL 0 Angel Mata picked up his first win of the young season, throwing 5 scoreless innings. He allowed only 2 hits, and struck out 4 while walking only 1. Hein Robb was great out of the bullpen, tossing 3 scoreless innings. He allowed no hits and struck out 4. Finally, Mason Melotakis threw a scoreless 9th, striking out 2. In all, only 2 hits allowed, 10 strikeouts and 1 walk. E-Town compiled only 6 hits, but they also walked 6 times. Romy Jimenez was 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Candido Pimental, Niko Goodrum, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco all contributed singles. Here's the link to the box score. ------------------------------------------ Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 27 Pitcher(s) of the Day: The E-Town Trio of Mata, Robb and Melotakis Download attachment: Etown.jpg Hitter of the Day: Romy Jimenez (photo credit Thrylos from Tenth Inning Stretch -- thanks!) Download attachment: Romy.jpg ---------------------------------------- Schedule for Thursday, June 28 Rochester @ Lehigh Valley --- RHP Steven Hirschfeld New Britain vs. Trenton --- LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers @ Charlotte --- LHP Cole Nelson Beloit vs. Clinton --- ??? Elizabethton vs. Pulaski --- LHP Taylor Rogers GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays --- ??? ---------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments and either Seth or I will be happy to respond. Click here to view the article

Well the big news of the day, of course, was the Twins selecting pitcher Kohl Stewart with the 4th overall pick in the amateur draft. Not surprisingly, all the MiLB experts at TwinsDaily are providing great draft coverage, so I'm pinch-hitting and piecing together the daily minor league report. Here's hoping that, in the coming couple years, we see Stewart's name popping up very often in this nightly report! It's fun to think about a rotation in, say, 2015 or 2016 that could feature Alex Meyer, Trevor May, Stewart, Kyle Gibson, and even Alex Wimmers. From where this organization was just a year ago (prospect-wise), it's tough not to be at least a little optimistic. Now to tonight's action:[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] ROCHESTER 3 GWINNETT 11 Unlike in his previous start, Vance Worley was not very effective today. He lasted 3 innings and gave up 7 runs, but only 2 were earned. The big problem: he allowed 8 hits, including a home run, struck out 2 and walked 1. Blake Martin tossed 2 scoreless innings, before Anthony Slama came in and allowed 3 runs in 2 innings on 5 walks and a hit. Virgil Vasquez threw the final frame, allowing a run on 3 hits. The Red Wings had 10 hits tonight, just not enough runs. Eric Farris, Deibinson Romero and Brian Dinkelman all had 2 hits, and Oswaldo Arcia, Dan Rohlfing, Doug Bernier and Ray Olmedo each had 1 hit. Bernier tripled, and Romero doubled, incidentally. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 9 RICHMOND 4 Trevor May pitched well tonight. He went 6 innings and allowed only 1 run on 5 hits. The best part, though, is the 6 Ks and 2 walks. It's important that he limits the walks. AJ Achter tossed a scoreless 7th, before Cole Johnson ran into trouble in the 8th, allowing 3 runs on 2 hits and a walk. Daniel Turpen pitched a scoreless 9th. Download attachment: TrevorMay.jpg The Rock Cats only amassed 5 hits tonight, but they made them count. TwinsDaily contributor, nice guy, and occasional pro ballplayer Adam Pettersen was 1-for-3 with a double, 2 RBIs and 2 walks. Danny Santana had a double and 2 RBIs in 5 at-bats. Nate Hanson, Daniel Ortiz and Kyle Knudson also had hits tonight. Here's the linkto the box score. FT. MYERS --- CANCELLED There was a rumor floating around that Brevard County forfeited both games of this doubleheader because Miguel Sano is just too damn good, but apparently there was bad weather. CEDAR RAPIDS 5 QUAD CITIES 9 Well we learned that J.R. Berrios is human. Tonight, anyway. The young righty lasted only 3 and 1/3 innings, allowing 9 runs (6 earned) on 5 hits. He struck out 6, which is good, but walked 4, and also allowed a home run. But the home run was to last season's #1 overall pick Carlos Correa. Josue Montanez threw 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings, walking 2, striking out 1 and allowing 1 hit. Tyler Jones tossed 3 scoreless innings, striking out 3 and walking 2. A nice performance for him out of the bullpen. There just wasn't enough Kernels offense tonight. Dalton Hicks did his best, blasting 2 solo home runs, giving him 9 on the season. Travis Harrison and JD Williams doubled (Williams also had 2 singles and 2 RBIs). Candido Pimentel singled, and Jhonatan Arias had 2 hits. Jeremias Pineda tripled and scored a run, as well. Pimentel had a rough night in the field, committing 3 fielding errors. Here's the link to the box score. All 4 teams are back in action tomorrow night. Click here to view the article

New Britain only amassed 3 hits in the first of two 7-inning contests tonight, but to be completely honest, that wasn't the main -- or perhaps even secondary -- story. Make no mistake, fans and reporters (including this fan/reporter) were here to see Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Angel Morales, the newest additions to the Rock Cats. I was fortunate to be in attendance, to take a few pictures, and even produce an awful video of the debuts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] [TD=align: center]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-n1M9A5gvsug/UbkKbZgOh2I/AAAAAAAAAi0/Tj6D4qelVDo/s320/IMAG0464.jpg[/TD] [TD=class: tr-caption, align: center]Miguel Sano (#24), nicknamed "Boacton," warming up[/TD] [/TABLE] One interesting item: the home plate umpire wore a camera on his facemask for the first part of the game. This was in connection with the documentary being filmed about Sano, The Miguel Sano Story. Here's more information on that. I loved the first documentary, Ballplayer: Pelotero, and it's pretty cool that the sequel is (partly) being filmed right here. I suspect, though, that the filmmakers hope that the end of the documentary takes place a little west of Connecticut. My biggest takeaway from the first game: Sano's defense looked good. The arm got the job done. Sano had to come in on a bunt early on and made a nice play; he also snagged a hard grounder right after (he actually took a few steps back to third base in a decent attempt to catch the runner on third, who had just broken home). At no point was there any awkward footwork or anything that would suggest that Sano was uncomfortable at that position. To be sure, he wasn't tested with a diving play, and didn't have to barehand a ball in this first game, but he looked good. Solid. At bat, he was decent. He wasn't challenged in his first plate appearance, which ended in a 5-pitch walk. He was, however, thrown out stealing second. Don't forget -- Sano does have some speed (he stole 9 bases with Ft. Myers this spring). In his second at-bat he grounded rather routinely to third base. His final at-bat was probably the best. He was just under a fly ball, which went for a sac fly. He didn't "connect" with the pitch, yet it ended up just shy of the warning track. You can check out awful videos of Sano's at-bats here. Again, the videos are jittery. I took them with my phone. I'll get better, maybe. I thought Rosario played well also. He took a 4-pitch walk in his first at-bat, hit a sinking liner to center in his second at-bat (that took a decent play from the centerfielder to produce an out), and singled with a grounder up the middle in his final at-bat. No big defensive challenges that I recall. Angel Morales batted 9th in the order. He struck out in his first at-bat, grounded out to second in his second at-bat, and grounded to short in his final trip to the plate. General thoughts: Rosario has a compact swing, and is not a huge guy, but you can see where the power comes from. For lack of a better word, he is coiled when he bats. I'm excited to watch him hit. Wow, Sano is huge. Look at that picture of him compared to the other professional athletes next to him. I think Sano is used to getting pitched around. The difference between High-A pitching and AA pitching is significant. Let's see if Sano gets tons of pitches to hit early on, or if pitchers try to paint the corners when he bats.In the nightcap it wasn't just Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario I was excited to see. This was also my first time seeing righty Trevor May in person. May consistently hit 93 with his fastball in the 1st inning, and was moving it in and out pretty effectively. Same control problems we have all heard about, though. Had a 4-pitch walk and a wild pitch in the first inning. 20 pitches to get out of it. The second inning, though, was much better -- 14 pitches, 1-2-3. Ironically, former Twins' farmhand David Bromberg got the start for the Altoona Curve. He pitched very, very well tonight. The Twins' big prospects: Rosario walked in his first at-bat. Sano K'd mightily. Morales -- who shouldn't be forgotten -- also struck out swinging. Control issues came back in the 3rd inning for May. He walked the leadoff batter and took 13 pitches to record an out (swinging strikeout). Then May came back with a convincing strikeout. He started off the next hitter with 3 balls before giving up a well-struck homer to left-center. With May, it's not just the walks -- it's the extra pitches the walks and control problems generate. One positive: I like May's curve. Another: he was still throwing the fastball 93 in the 6th inning, about 90 pitches into his outing. In Rosario's second at-bat, he really turned on a 1-1 offering for a hard single to right. It was a quick, decisive and powerful swing. Sano's second at-bat: worked a 3-1 count, got a pitch to hit, and again just missed it. Another high sacrifice fly just shy of the warning track, to put the Cats on the board. Morales second at-bat: half-swing strikeout. Not a good at-bat. Rosario's third at-bat, half-swinging strikeout. He did take a vicious cut on a fastball early in the at-bat. I can definitely see where the power comes from. Rosario made a great play at second -- picking a low throw from C Kyle Knudson and applying the tag just in time. Definitely an average to above-average play. The kind of thing that makes a manager curse: Trevor May immediately walked that batter with 2 outs. All in all, May had a decent start. 6 and 1/3 innings, charged with 3 earned runs. The control problems were on display, but so was his strikeout potential. 8 Ks and 3 walks; 106 pitches; 62 for strikes. The players were pretty tired after the doubleheader, and the locker room was already clearing out when I arrived. There was one guy at his locker, eating a plate of food in silence. It was Sano. I asked for just a moment of his time. Clearly Sano was tired from a whirlwind few days, but obliged. No translator, either! Regarding his 2 sacrifice flies tonight, Sano admitted that "when [he] hit them, [he] thought they were home runs," but he was just "a little under" the ball. On his call-up: "I was so happy, I have been working so hard." Describing the moment he was called up, Sano told me: "[Doug] Mientkiewicz said 'Sano, Rosario, Morales come here. You're ready to be promoted to Double-A.'" Regarding his defense, at third base, Sano confirmed that he is "totally comfortable there." And again, he looked very comfortable fielding tonight. In all, it was 2 Rock Cats losses, but solid offensive and defensive performances from Sano and Rosario. More notes forthcoming, but it's been a long night of baseball. Click here to view the article

Tonight's game was a laugher. No real offense to speak of for New Britain until the game was well out of hand. In fact, it's not even worth discussing Sano or Rosario (on offense, at least, where they were non-factors). Let's get right to what's worth covering tonight: Trevor May, and New Britain's defense. I've seen Trevor May pitch probably 3 or 4 times this season. I'd be lying if I said that May hasn't been frustrating, or that the Twins really pulled one over on the Phillies. Don't get me wrong -- May has been OK -- but not fantastic any means. Control problems have plagued him. Tonight, though, was not a bad outing, despite what the box score will tell you. May started off the game hitting 92-94 on his fastball, 83ish with the change-up, and upper 70s or lower 80s with a nice curve. http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2VOxLNM-otc/Ug2WpSSKA3I/AAAAAAAAAps/zGUWT-GFVWQ/s400/May1.jpg Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar May lasted 5 and 2/3 innings and gave up 4 runs on 10 hits; he took the loss. He also struck out 9 and walked only 1 -- the last hitter he faced. On the night, he threw 107 pitches, 75 of them for strikes. In fact, perhaps he was a little too accurate, or threw too many strikes, leading to the 10 hits? He threw strike 1 to the majority of batters, consistently working ahead in the count. He changed speeds, and got a fair number of weakly hit pitches that were either choppers or pop-outs. In short, he did what you would coach any pitcher to do. The results just weren't there. But there's more to the story than that. New Hampshire's first run of the game, in the second inning, came partially as the result of an infield chopper up the middle that died behind the mound. The next batter hit a well struck opposite field double to right center. Just like that, 1-0 New Hampshire. In the third inning, a 2-out, 2-strike opposite field solo homer may have rattled May, as he gave up a single past Sano to the next batter, but then worked out of the jam. Aside from these hiccups and despite the runs allowed, May pitched to, generally, what his ceiling should be: low/no walks; the ability to strike guys out; and the ability to induce weakly hit balls by changing speeds. Of the hits he gave up, probably 5 were well struck, 3 were extremely weak (i.e., choppers or flares), and a couple were average. The fateful 6th inning started with a pop-up behind second base that went for a single (good argument for the "team error" category) after Eddie Rosario and Danny Santana either didn't communicate, or miscommunicated. Thereafter, a clean single, an out (a fantastic diving play by Miguel Sano), a double that Jordan Parraz just missed in CF (which then rolled to the wall) scored 2 more runs. And that was it for May. That pop-up behind second base felt worse than a lead-off walk. It was deflating, in fact. You just knew that it was going to be the death knell for May, who already was tiring. May deserved better this evening. Was he perfect? No. But it's important to note that 2 of the 4 runs were partially a result of infield singles -- one of which was really a "team error" type of play. And there was no offensive support, either. Sure, you can't take away infield singles, and sure, team errors happen, but I only count 2 things that went May's way this evening (Daniel Ortiz making a great play to throw out a runner headed to second, and Miguel Sano making a nice diving stop and strong throw to save a hit), while a few things definitely went the other way. It was 4 earned runs. It easily could (should?) have been 2 or 3, and May could (should?) have been able to complete 6 innings. Honestly, it's a strange, strange start to strike out 9 and walk 1 and not be able to make it through 6 innings. I hope people aren't ready to relegate May to the bullpen for his career. Look at tonight's start: 100+ pitches, still hitting 92 on the gun on his fastball when he came out. 9 Ks; 1 walk (on his last batter when he was gassed). The ERA doesn't support it, but I would absolutely argue that May has been better this year than last. Sure, it's not ideal that he's repeating -- and not dominating -- AA, but there has been improvement. His walks per 9 innings have decreased about .5 walks per game; Ks per 9 are consistent; HRs allowed per 9 have decreased a little; but hits per 9 have increased. Kyle Gibson, who just debuted a couple months ago, is 25. May is still 23 for another month. Let's not talk about May as if he's a Chris Colabello-esque journeyman. Sure, Gibson was delayed as a result of Tommy John surgery and recovery, but my point is only that May isn't "old," even if he is repeating AA. I'm still hopeful that he can figure it out; it just May take a little while longer than Twins fans would prefer. ******************************************************************* One final note. I'm having a Twitter contest to win a Rock Cats Joe Mauer bobblehead that was just given away in New Britain a few weeks ago. Of course, you have to be on Twitter and following me to enter. Go herefor details. Click here to view the article

ROCHESTER 14, NORFOLK 3 Deibinson Romero and Chris Parmelee led the offense tonight, each homering. Eduardo Escobar delivered 2 doubles. The Red Wings offense delivered 15 hits. A good night! Virgil Vasquez turned in a quality start, going 6 innings and giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. Shairon Martis went the other 3 innings, giving up a run on 2 hits. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 9, READING 3 Miguel Sano returned to the lineup after a . . . hiatus, we'll call it.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] He helped the Rock Cats end an ugly losing streak. He was 1-for-3 with 2 RBI, 2 K's, and 2 BB's. For my take on Sano's suspension, click here. Eddie Rosario hit his third AA homer and his 12th double, leading the offense. Kyle Davies earned his first Rock Cats win, giving 7 innings of 1-run baseball. Dakota Watts and Jose Gonzalez finished the game. Download attachment: Sano Bocaton.jpg Sano was back after a brief "naptime." Here's the link to the box score. CLEAR WATER 5, FT. MYERS 4 The Miracle had only 6 hits tonight, and they fell just short. Number 1 prospect Byron Buxton led the way with a homer and a single, and is batting .277 since his promotion. J.D. Williams also had 2 RBI's on a double. Taylor Rogers took the loss for Ft. Myers, giving up 4 earned runs in 6 innings of work. He struck out 3 and issued 0 walks. Adrian Salcedo and Manuel Soliman turned in scoreless performances. Here's the link to the box score. CEDAR RAPIDS 3, CLINTON 1 Left fielder Jeremias Pineda led the way with a double and 2 RBI today. Max Kepler, playing first base, had 2 singles and an RBI. Jonathan Murphy and Travis Harrison also had hits. The real story was Mason Melotakis, who tossed 8 innings, gave up 1 unearned run, struck out 7 and walked none. What a good night for him! Madison Boer picked up his 7th save, allowing 1 hit and striking out 1. Here's the link to the box score. JOHNSON CITY 3, ELIZABETHTON 1 Dereck Rodriguez and Bryan Haar each had 2 hits for the E-Town Twins, and Ryan Walker, Romy Jimenez, Kelvin Ortiz and Mitch Garver all singled. But there just wasn't enough offense tonight. Tanner Mendonca got the start, going 4 innings and giving up 1 run. He walked 5, though. Ryan Eades tossed 2 perfect innings. Brandon Bixler also threw 2 innings, giving up 1 walk, but striking out 2. Brandon Peterson was very good tonight, tossing 3 innings. He gave up 4 hits, but struck out 3. Finally, Andre Martinez gave up 2 runs on a walk and a hit in 2/3 of an inning. Here's the link to the box score. Every affiliate is in action tomorrow, so be sure to check back here for a rundown! Click here to view the article

 [TABLE=class: tr-caption-container] http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CCa8MxdTpjY/T7o4SKD50wI/AAAAAAAAAWM/loUcirSMPdM/s320/Dozier.bmp [TD=class: tr-caption]Brian Dozier, new Twins shortstop[/TD] [/TABLE] [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] One player you probably have heard of since he was 15 years old. Between the prodigious 500 foot home runs as a teenager, the eye black that could be mistaken for war paint, and an ego big enough to handle a $6.25 million signing bonus, he came into professional baseball already anointed as "the chosen one." Despite putting up fairly pedestrian numbers in relatively short stints at AA and AAA, it was of little surprise that the Washington Nationals promoted him early in the 2012 season: they want to sell tickets and be successful, and there's little doubt that he is a long-term solution to both those issues. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The other player only fans of the Twins minor league system had heard of up until this past spring. He is a college graduate and was a 4-year starter on the Southern Mississippi baseball team, he's 25 and just getting his first taste of the big leagues, was an 8th round draft pick, and (mostly) flew under the radar until he was named 2011 Twins minor league player of the year. He's not flashy, does not hit 500 foot home runs, and from what I have seen, he does not even wear eye black. He's not viewed as the second coming of Babe Ruth, and he's not expected to permanently change the face of the Twins franchise. But just for kicks, I thought it might be fun to do a side-by-side comparison of Bryce Harper and the Twins' new shortstop Brian Dozier. On paper, of course, they couldn't be less similar players: one is a power-hitting teenage outfielder that may hit 500 home runs in his career; the other is a solid middle infielder expected to hit for decent average and with moderate power. It's interesting, though, that both broke into the big leagues at almost the same time -- Dozier's first game was May 7; Harper's was April 28 -- and both were brought up to inject some life into their clubs. The point here isn't to compare Dozier and Harper to one another -- that would be senseless. Rather, I'm just comparing what they have done, in a similar time span, with what fans of both organizations might have hoped for or expected. As of today, Harper has a .244/.333/.449 slash line with 2 home runs, 2 triples, 6 doubles and 7 RBIs. His OPS is .782. Dozier stands at .279/.292/.426 with 2 home runs, 3 doubles and 8 RBIs, with an OPS of .719. Just looking at those basic stats, a couple things stand out: first, although Harper "only" has 2 home runs, his ability to hit for extra bases is noteworthy. Second, it's not surprising that Harper is batting under .250 -- he hit .256 in 37 games at AA, and .250 in only 20 games at AAA. Yes, you're reading that right: he only played 57 games above A level minor league baseball before being called up. As I mentioned, his promotion was not solely merit-based. With respect to Dozier, he has been as advertised: capable in the field, some power, and the ability to hit for a good average. In short, in the extremely small sample sizes, both players are performing pretty much like you might expect. Dozier has been good on defense, has hit for average, and has shown occasional pop; Harper's batting average is lower than it was at AA or AAA, but he has demonstrated that, when he does hit, the power is there. It's funny that there is so much hype for one player, Harper, and the other, Dozier, will play this season in relative obscurity (it doesn't help Dozier's case that the Twins will be out of the national spotlight all summer). Yes, I do think that Harper will be an excellent major league player for years to come, and I also admit that I have enjoyed watching the way he hustles on the field 100 percent of the time. But this season, while ESPN is cutting into other broadcasts to alert us as to what great athletic feat (turning a single into a hustle double) or crazy behavior (hitting himself in the head with a bat) Harper is engaged in, I'll be content to watch a solid-fielding shortstop, who seems like a genuinely decent guy, who hopefully can anchor the Twins' infield for the foreseeable future. Click here to view the article

It feels like almost every Wednesday night when I write this, the Twins have lost, or are in the process of losing. I didn't watch or follow today's game. It looked from the highlights like Max Scherzer had a pretty good day. Oh well. Let's take a look at tonight's minor league action. ROCHESTER 6, INDIANAPOLIS 2 Esmerling Vasquez had a great game tonight, going 7 innings, allowing only 4 hits, striking out 10 and walking 2. Deolis Guerra pitched the remaining 2 innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits. Guerra struck out 4 and allowed a home run. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Evan Bigley had the big hit of the night (see what I did there??), with a 3-run homer in the 7th inning. It was his third AAA home run. Clete Thomas was 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs, Wilkin Ramirez was 2-for-3 with a double and an RBI, "new" Red Wing shortstop Brian Dozier had a double in 4 at-bats (and 2 strikeouts), and Nishi and Rene Rivera each singled. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 4, RICHMOND 3 Starter B.J. Hermsen was very effective tonight until the 5th inning, when he gave up 4 hits and 1 run. He struck out 4 and issued no walks tonight. Blake Martin tossed a scoreless inning in relief, allowing 1 walk and striking out 1. Aaron Thompson also threw 1 scoreless frame, giving up 1 hit and striking out 1 batter. Dakota Watts had a tough night, giving up 2 runs on 2 hits in 1 inning of work, striking out 1 and walking 1. Jose Gonzalez also threw a scoreless inning, striking out 1. There was virtually no New Britain offense tonight until there were 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. After Chris Colabello and Joe Benson singles, Deibinson Romero homered to tie up the game, his 18th of the season. A pretty exciting finish followed for those that stayed. After holding Richmond scoreless in the top of the 10th, the Rockcats walked off in the bottom half. Minnesota's own Nathan Hanson led off the inning with a single, and was replaced by Estarlin De Los Santos as a pinch runner. After James Beresford grounded out to advance De Los Santos to second, Aaron Hicks singled, and De Los Santos moved to third. Chris Herrmann walked, and it was up to . . . Oswaldo Arcia, who had been 2-for-4 on the night. He delivered with a walk-off single to score De Los Santos, and the Rock Cats won. Arcia finished the evening 3-for-5 with an RBI, and is batting .337 for New Britain. Joe Benson did have 2 outfield assists tonight, so that was a positive for him. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 2, JUPITER 16 A tough night all around for the Miracle. Matthew Summers started, and lasted 4 innings, giving up 1 unearned run on 3 hits, striking out 2 and walking 4. Ryan O'Rourke lasted only 1/3 of an inning, and gave up 6 runs on 5 hits, walking 1. Miguel Munoz finished that inning, not before giving up 5 runs on 4 hits and a walk. Munoz allowed 2 home runs. A.J. Achter and Ricky Bowen settled things down a little; each tossed a scoreless inning, striking out 1 and 2, respectively. Michael Tonkin also threw 1 inning in relief, and gave up 4 runs (2 earned) on 3 hits, striking out 2 and walking 1. Right fielder Lance Ray was 2-for-4 with a double, Jonathan Goncalves had a double and an RBI, and Daniel Santana, Levi Michael and Josmil Pinto all singled. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 13, WISCONSIN 10 Cole Johnson started and went 2 and 2/3 innings. He gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, striking out 6 and walking 1. Tim Atherton went 2 and 1/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 3 and walking 1. Corey Kimes gave up 3 runs on 3 hits in 2 innings. Kimes issued 2 walks and struck out 1. Corey Williams tossed 1 inning and allowed 2 runs, striking out 3. Zachary Jones allowed 1 run in his inning of work on 2 hits. Snappers pitchers gave up 4 home runs tonight. Luckily, the Beloit offense was better than its pitching. JaDamion Williams and Eddie Rosario both homered. It was Williams' 5th and Rosario's 8th. Rosario also doubled. Matthew Koch was 1-for-3 with a homer of his own, as well. Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas, Drew Leachman and Stephen Wickens all had 2 hits apiece, and Nate Roberts had a single, as well. Nate Roberts stole his 22nd base of the season. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON vs. BLUEFIELD --- POSTPONED GCL TWINS 2, GCL RAYS 3 Felix Jorge started for the Twins today, and went 4 innings. He gave up 2 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 and issuing no free passes. Josue Montanez threw 2 and 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing 3 hits and striking out 4. Hung Yi Chen completed the game, going 2 and 1/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 1 hit, and striking out 1. Second baseman Logan Wade was 2-for-3 with a double, a triple and a walk. Great game for him. Aderlin Mejia, Bryan Haar and Will Hurt all singled. That was it for the offense! Here's the link to the box score. ------------------------------------------ Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 15 Pitcher of the Day: Esmerling Vasquez https://encrypted-tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQuau8PhlGYLf6As-k-CAnVJlwZaftXUcMhHFybj3vVSdxJS9ogkw Hitter of the Day: Deibinson Romero (bottom of the 9th, 2 out clutch HR gets the nod tonight) https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRgZU83AxrjGfoMk3cGE48QfkHShkj5cTmyO0YawbezEKfl_c-P ------------------------------------------ Schedule for Thursday, August 16 Rochester vs. Indianapolis --- LHP Pedro Hernandez New Britain vs. Richmond --- LHP Andrew Albers Ft. Myers @ Jupiter --- LHP Cole Nelson Beloit vs. Wisconsin --- LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethton @ Bluefield (Game 1) --- RHP Hudson Boyd Elizabethton @ Bluefield (Game 2) --- ??? GCL Twins @ GCL Rays --- ??? ------------------------------------------ Please leave any questions or comments! Thanks for reading. Click here to view the article

Every now and then, I'm asked by someone over Twitter or email about traveling to see a Rock Cats series. Usually the questions are pretty basic -- what airport do I fly in to, do I have to buy tickets in advance -- but sometimes the questions are more detailed. I'm always happy to give information, and in fact I've even met up with a couple "displaced" Twins fans at New Britain Stadium. I thought it might be helpful to give some information and provide links in the event that people reading this blog might want to see Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, and the rest of the gang before they wear Twins uniforms. So what follows is a quick guide to seeing the Twins' AA team. Getting There: First, I should tell you where New Britain is. It's roughly in the middle of Connecticut, approximately 10 miles southwest of Hartford (capital city), and 30 miles north of New Haven. If you're coming from Minnesota, you'll be flying. If New Britain is your only destination, you'll probably fly into Bradley International Airport, which is located north of Hartford. If you are planning a larger east coast trip, you can definitely fly into Boston or New York, and drive to Connecticut -- I'd say roughly 2 hours from New York or Boston. In addition to air travel, there is also the Metro North Railroad, a commuter train between New York and either New Haven or Hartford. It won't take you right to New Britain, so you'd have to rent a car, but it can get you pretty close. Finally, there are bus services, such as Peter Pan, that transport around New England. [Originally published at Twins Fan From Afar] http://twinsdaily.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=6981&stc=1 Lodging: Admittedly, I haven't really stayed at any of these places. I live about a half hour from Rock Cats Stadium, and am fortunate that my office is only about 10 minutes away from it. If your goal is to stay as close as possible to the stadium (we'll talk about that in the next paragraph), there is a La Quinta Inn 2 miles away from the stadium. If you don't have a car you can probably catch a ride with Byron Buxton or something. I'm going to recommend that you stay in Hartford. Hartford isn't a magical city by any means, but it is small, there are great restaurants (see below), and it's only a 15 minute drive to New Britain. There are several good hotels -- The Marriott Downtown, The Hilton Hartford, and the Homewood Suites by Hilton, just to name a few of the reliable ones You could also stay in New Haven, which is closer to New York City and home to great pizza and Yale University, but that's a bit of a hike to New Britain Finally, it's also worth noting that there are several smaller hotels and B & Bs in the Hartford suburbs that are within a half hour of both Hartford and New Britain. If that's more your style, check out West Hartford, Farmington, Avon, and Simsbury (my town). If you're looking for an authentic "New England Weekend" experience, this is a good option Eating & Drinking: If you're at all like me, you like local food and drink when you're traveling. In and around Hartford, there is a great restaurant group called the Max Restaurant Group. Over the years, I've been to almost all of their restaurants. They are not cheap, but hey, you're on vacation and are "only" paying minor league ticket prices. All their restaurants are distinct, but I've never had a bad experience, and the food is always great. There is an authentic German restaurant right in New Britain, called East Side. I've never dined there, but have had their food multiple times at catered events -- and it's great. It seems like the kind of place where you'd have to really work to not have a fun time. Another place, just a half mile from the stadium, is Portofinos Italian Restaurant. I've never been there, so I can't recommend it, but maybe it's worth a try. Here are a few other Hartford restaurants I wholeheartedly recommend: Firebox; Salute; La Kerencya (Peruvian!); Franceso's. Honestly, for a small city, you can really find anything you want in/around Hartford. I have a bunch more spots that I enjoy, but this is a good beginning list Now on to the beer and wine. I'm lucky in that the greater Hartford area has a couple wonderful breweries/brew pubs and wine bars. My favorite local brewery is the Thomas Hooker Brewery, located in Bloomfield, about 5 miles north of Hartford. Also in Bloomfield is a relatively new brewery, Back East Brewing Company. Both places offer tours and samples, but are strictly breweries -- no food/brewpub atmosphere. But if you are looking for brewpubs, I have two places -- City Steam (right in Hartford and basically connected to the Homewood Suites), and The Cambridge House, in Granby, CT (about a half hour away from Hartford, but worth it). If you like wine, like I do, I'd strongly recommend Bin 228, a very affordable wine bar right in Hartford. Also, Max Downtown has (arguably) the best wine list in Hartford. Hey, What About Baseball?: Oh yea. You want to watch some baseball! I can help you there. New Britain Stadium, home of the Rock Cats, is easy to find. It's right off a pretty major highway (Route 9). Parking is $5, or $7 for VIP (right next to the stadium entrance). Cash only, of course. The stadium itself is nice. Nothing too fancy, but it's not "old" by MiLB standards, having opened in 1996. The Rock Cats do a very good job there. The tickets are affordable. If you're going all the way out here, I'd spring for the good seats. In my opinion, those are the $17 "Club Seats" located right above the home and visitor dugouts. What I like about these seats is that they are so, so close to the action that you can hear the guys talking, but also you're not obscured by the netting that wraps around behind home plate. Bring a glove, though, or at least a friend you can use as a human shield if necessary. Most of the "Field Box" level seats are great, as well. And to be perfectly honest, there really isn't a bad seat -- there's only like 7,000 of them to begin with, and you can get in the gates for $8. My seat is above the home (first base) dugout. The plus is that I can hear and see the Rock Cats players during the game as they goof around. The negative part is that the first base side, in the summer, gets the evening sun, and can get uncomfortably hot. So if you need a little shade, I'd recommend the third base/left field side of the ballpark. Food & Drink @ the Ballpark: I'd recommend the grill located in the upper deck behind third base. The hot dogs, sausages, etc., are better (even if a dollar or so more expensive) than the normal concessions. Additionally, every Thursday there is a Sam Adams Happy Hour before the game, where Sam Adams drafts are $1 off in that upper deck/left field part of the stadium. Otherwise, you can't go wrong with Long Trail drafts (in a concourse kiosk more or less behind home plate), and the basic hot dog/nachos/peanuts available everywhere. I'll admit to having had, and enjoyed, the chicken fingers and fries, in a pinch. Autographs & Related Stuff: Because I have a press pass, I don't ask the players for autographs. But I can tell you, generally, that they are very accommodating. I saw Miguel Sano sign endlessly on one of his off days last summer. And as a rule, the Twins make sure that their minor leaguers treat fans well. Of course, they cannot sign during games, but I have seen fans catch the guys on the way back to their cars after the game is over. Summary: Connecticut probably isn't the coolest state in the Union, and Hartford is no Boston or San Francisco. But there is a lot going on here. I've neglected to mention that the entire New Haven area is on the ocean and full of beaches, that there is an area in Massachusetts (about an hour north of Hartford) that is comparable (though not as great IMO) as "Lake Country" in northern Minnesota, and that you could even make it to Philadelphia in 4 hours, give or take, to watch the aging Phillies demonstrate how to really ruin an organization. If you come for a Friday-Sunday Rock Cats series, there's plenty to do within 20 minutes. If you choose to spend a week here, you'll need to expand your horizons a little, but it really is a great part of the country. If anyone reading this decides to travel to CT for a Rock Cats game or series, please drop me a line. If I'm around, I'm happy to meet up at the stadium. Beers on me! Anyone who has been to New Britain, please leave comments for places I've neglected to mention! (Please note: I don't do get any revenue from this blog, or from linking to or mentioning restaurants or other businesses. These links are just my own personal opinions, and I'm a normal paying customer at all of these places.) Click here to view the article

I'll be honest -- I was a little disappointed with the trade deadline. Aside from dealing Liriano, no big moves, no small moves. But if the offers weren't there, then they weren't there. But this is certainly a tough time to be a Twins fan! If you're reading this, though, you realize that there are other things to focus on besides the action/inaction at Target Field. So let's take a look at how the #futuretwins did tonight. ROCHESTER (OFF) NEW BRITAIN 3, BOWIE 11 A rough one for the Rock Cats. Logan Darnell had a tough start, lasting only 3 innings and giving up 5 runs on 8 hits, striking out 1 and walking 2. David Bromberg tossed 2 innings, giving up 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 5 and walking 1. Edgar Ibarra lasted 1 and 2/3 innings, surrendering 3 runs on 3 hits, striking out 2 and walking 3. Finally, Marty Popham went 1 and 1/3 inning, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, striking out 1. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Unfortunately, the offense couldn't keep pace. Chris Herrmann led the way, going 3-for-5 with his 8th home run and 2 RBIs. Joe Benson doubled and walked in 3 at-bats, and Aaron Hicks, Deibinson Romero and Rene Tosoni all singled. This was an ugly game. There were 3 Rock Cats errors tonight. I'm not going to name names, but they rhyme with Sherrmann, Nicks, and Feresford. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 1, DAYTONA 2 Madison Boer turned in a very good start for the Miracle, going 6 innings and giving up just 1 run on 6 hits, striking out 4 and walking 3. Ricky Bowen tossed an inning in relief and gave up 1 run on 1 hit, striking out 1 and walking 2. Michael Tonkin pitched a scoreless inning, striking out 3 and giving up 1 hit. Daniel Santana and Josmil Pinto each had 2 hits, including a double, and Lance Ray doubled in 3 at-bats. Pinto was responsible for plating the Miracle's lone run, and also walked. Santana stole his 14th base of the season. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 8, KANE COUNTY 6 Taylor Rogers started for the Snappers, and went 5 innings, giving up 5 runs (only 2 earned) on 4 hits, striking out 5 and walking 1. Tim Atherton came on in relief, and threw 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, walking 1. Mason Melotakis lasted 2/3 of an inning, giving up 2 hits and 2 walks, striking out 1 along the way. Finally, Zachary Jones threw 1 and 2/3 innings, allowing no hits and striking out 3. On offense, tonight was about two of the top Twins prospects. Miguel Sano was 2-for-5 with a double, a home run, and 5 RBIs. He now has 20 doubles, 21 home runs and 81 RBIs. Eddie Rosario was 3-for-5 with a double and an RBI. Nate Roberts had a great game, as well, going 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI and 2 runs scored. Tyler Grimes was 2-for-4 with a triple. Kenny Vargas doubled and walked in 3 at-bats, and Stephen Wickens and JaDamion Williams each had singles. Notably, these young prospects are not perfect. Rosario had 2 errors, and Sano and Atherton each had 1. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON 3, BURLINGTON 2 This was a pitchers' duel, to be sure. Ricardo Arevalo started for E-Town and went 4 innings, surrendering 1 run on 1 hit, walking 5 and striking out 3. Despite the walks, the lone run came on a solo homer. Luis Nunez threw 2 scoreless innings, giving up 2 hits and striking out 2. J.T. Chargois also tossed 2 innings, giving up 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 3. Christian Powell threw a scoreless 9th and 10th innings, allowing 1 hit and striking out 2. Tyler Duffey tossed a scoreless 11th, striking out 1. There wasn't much offense to speak of tonight for E-Town. Through the first 10 innings, this is what happened: Joshua Hendriks doubled, and Candido Pimentel, Niko Goodrum, and Michael Quesada singled. Jorge Polanco doubled and singled. Polanco and Goodrum had RBIs, and Quesada and Kelvin Mention walked. In the home half of the 11th, Adam Walker led off with a triple, and 3 batters later, Quesada drove him in with a game-winning, walk-off single. An exciting way to end the game! Here's the link to the box score. GULF COAST TWINS 2, GULF COAST ORIOLES 3 Felix Jorge started for the Twins today, and went 3 and 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up 2 hits, and struck out 3 and walked 2. In relief, Andre Martinez threw 2 innings, and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, walking 1. Alexander Muren tossed 2 and 1/3 innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits, striking out 1. Aderlin Mejia led the offense today, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, and is batting .341 on the season. John Murphy, Jose Ramirez, Kelly Cross, Zach Larson and Will Hurt all singled. Here's the link to the box score. ------------------------------------------- Players of the Day for Wednesday, August 1 Hitter of the Day: Miguel Sano Download attachment: Sano.jpg Pitcher of the Day: Madison Boer Download attachment: Boer.jpg ------------------------------------------ Schedule for Thursday, August 2 Rochester @ Toledo --- ??? New Britain @ Bowie --- ??? Ft. Myers @ Daytona --- LHP Pat Dean Beloit vs. Kane County --- RHP Tyler Jones GCL Twins vs. GCL Orioles --- ??? ------------------------------------------ Please leave any questions or comments, and thanks for reading! Click here to view the article

Download attachment: Hanson.jpg As of this writing, the New Britain Rock Cats sit at 4-6. It's important before reading this piece -- or really any piece related to baseball -- that we all realize that we're only 10 games (or so) into the season. Everything anyone says should be couched with the "small sample size" caveat. Still, it is worthwhile to start to look at how Twins' prospects are beginning to perform against what we, the fans, expect to see this season. The Rock Cats seem ... serviceable. Something is missing this spring. I've been fortunate, since I began closely following this team in 2012, to have had at least one Top 10 Twins prospect on this team at pretty much all times. Aaron Hicks; Oswaldo Arcia; Trevor May; Alex Meyer; Miguel Sano; Eddie Rosario. Not this year. Take a look for a second at Baseball America's 2014 Twins Top 10 Prospects List. The talent on that list is all above AA, below AA, injured (Sano & Buxton), or just elsewhere (Rosario). This will change, for sure. Once Buxton's wrist heals and he gets back into playing shape, he'll likely spend the rest of 2014 in New Britain. And that's just what this team needs: a game-changer. Eddie Rosario will also be back in New Britain later this season, I hope. And Miguel Sano will log another stint in Connecticut on his way back up. For now, though, New Britain needs to make do with their current roster. Indeed, there are bright spots, including some MiLB veterans who have been performing well. Offensively, New Britain veteran (really, a super-veteran) Nate Hanson has been leading the offense, hitting .350/.372/.475 with five doubles and seven RBIs in ten games. He's hit safely in 8 of the 10 games. Shortstop Aderlin Mejia has a line of .375/.464/.417, but also has four errors in eight games. Let's not forget emerging prospect Kennys Vargas. He only has a .216/.302/.405 line, but has two of the Rock Cats' three home runs, a double, and six RBIs. Additionally, after starting out 2-for-20, Vargas is 6 for his last 17 (which includes both homers and the double). Pitching results have been mixed. Pat Dean has had the most success of the starters, going 2-0 with a 4.76 ERA. He's struck out 12 and walked only two in 11 1/3 innings. DJ Baxendale, a really nice guy, hasn't had as much luck. After two starts, he has a 5.91 ERA. He's simply given up too many hits -- 14 in 10 2/3 innings. Atlanta Braves pick-up Sean Gilmartin has had one good and one bad start. Out of the bullpen, AJ Achter has already gone to Rochester (where he should have started in the first place). BJ Hermsen was recently reassigned to extended spring training, and former Twins reliever Matt Guerrier is now a member of the Rock Cats. Kind of interesting, to say the least. Adrian Salcedo, who I was looking forward to watching, has had a rough start, giving up runs in two of his four outings, including a six run one third-of-an-inning performance that will really skew his stat line. Ryan O'Rourke has been another bright spot in relief, giving up only one run in four appearances (3 2/3 innings). One of the things Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith stressed at the Annual Welcome Home Dinner was that he believed the 2014 Rock Cats would play as a team, as opposed to some minor league teams comprised of a few talented individuals who care more about individual stats. It's a nice thing to say, of course, but I do see what he was getting at. Let's not forget -- Smith doesn't choose his roster; he gets who he gets. This current team -- composed largely of MiLB vets and AA first-timers, with no Top Prospects -- will have to learn to play as a team. Plan to hear more from me next Tuesday -- if not before. The Rock Cats are wrapping up a road trip, and I should get to the ballpark over the weekend. A few things to watch for in the meantime: does Kennys Vargas continue to warm up to AA; how do the starting pitchers fare as their pitch limit increases (most are at a 75-85 pitch limit this early in the spring); and who steps up offensively and defensively while the Twins (and their fans) wait for Buxton to come back? One final note: I spent a lot of time covering/following Trevor May, James Beresford and Alex Meyer the last couple seasons. They are all off to strong starts at AAA. Christopher Fee is doing a great job covering the Red Wings for TwinsDaily, so be sure to check out his stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if all three ended up with the Twins in 2014. Click here to view the article