roger

After signing, Kepler and his Mom moved to Fort Myers in September. He enrolled at the high school across the street from the Twins complex and began his career in EST. The next spring he was in spring training followed by a summer in the GCL. I am not certain how long his Mom stayed in Florida, however, I don't believe she was in Elizabethton in 2011.

Seth, the Fort Myers score was a 5-4 loss, not a 9-5 win! Have a great day Seth

I see comments like this all the time, yet is it true? 2007...Ben Revere taken in the first round is developing into an exciting outfielder and lead off hitter. Rams and Morales second and third haven't panned out. Not a great draft, but it did have a very good one in the first round. 2008...Gutierrez should be here by now and Hunt was a disaster. Hicks still has the potential to be special, but is coming along more slowly, somewhat like Hunter did. Hermsen was an excellent pick in the sixth round and Pugh and Tonkin both are intiguing lower round picks. A sub-par to average draft based on how Hicks develops. 2009...Gibson projects as a #2 starter who had his development delayed by TJ surgery. Bashore was lost because of injuries. Bullock was used to obtain Scott Diamond. Chris Herrmann remains a solid prospect with Brian Dozier, who is starting for the Twins, having the potential to be a starter for a long time. With Gibson, Diamond, Herrmann and Dozier, certainly above average while losing a first round pick to career ending injury. If Gibson reaches his potential, a very good draft with three starters including Diamond. 2010...Certainly to early to tell, however, having Wimmers go down with another injury hurts. But you can't project most injuries. Goodrum, Rosario, and JaDamion Williams were high school picks who we won't know the outcome for years, however, all could be special. Dean and Darnell were both college lefties who are moving up the ladder as expected for guys taken after the first round. Toss in several pitchers, Achter, Gallant and Hauser, and you have a class that could be average or very special should Rosario and Goodrum reach their potential with Wimmers getting healthy. 2011...Don't need to say anything more than Boyd and Harrison. Two young kids taken high who are doing very well in their first exposure to professional ball. Add Boer, Williams and Summers and you have three college pitchers who could all make it. Then there is Burris and Malinowski who are two more young kids doing very well out of the chute at ETon. When you take a lot of high school kids you won't know for five or more years what the draft was like. Certainly too early to say this was a poor draft, however. Will any of these classes be above average? 2009, 2010 and 2011 all have a real chance of being very good. If not, they should be at least average? Have they drafted poorly in the last five years? I would have to disagree with that statement, although 2007 will likely only contribute Ben Revere.

I am in agreement with most of your claims until this one. Being a director or officer of a corporation in no way signifies that you are also a shareholder. Most closely held corporations, which this is, will have many officers who are not in fact shareholders. As for the comment about the operating income. They do not show their source or explain what they mean by operating income. Normally however, normal GAAP accounting standards would have operating income different than 'net income.' Thanks for an interesting post!

+1. I believe that Scott and Mr. Ryan will work out something beneficial to both sides. Seth, there was language in the old CBA that restricted the amount a player could be cut, etc. Are you aware of any limitations in the new CBA that could make working something reasonable out with Baker impossible?

I agree with your comments John. And doesn't Revere's constant smile say it all?

What is missing from all of these numbers is the players age when in Elizabethton. If you add that, you will see a trend beginning to develop, ie, younger players with great numbers means the player has a real chance of being something. Older players have to have obscene numbers and even then only one of many will develop into something, ie, Dozier. Of the younger players, Sano, Arcia and Rosario all had big numbers at a young age and remain top prospects. So did Morales, thus, he proves that not all will make it. As for Jimenez/Trinidad, he didn't play much last year but is also older than Morales/Arcia/Sano/Rosario were at ETon.

Where does Benson fit in the lineup when he returns next month?

Good analysis Parker, thanks!

Good review, although you didn't mention that Salcedo was dealing with an arm problem early this year and has been on the disabled list much of the year. We don't know what he will be like at Fort Myers when healthy. Also, no mention of the two lefties taken in the third and sixth rounds in 2010, Pat Dean and Logan Darnell. Dean is an all-star at Fort Myers and their top starter (after Hermsen moved up), and Darnell has been on a fast track getting to New Britain late last year. Both certainly have the potential to someday be in the Twins starting rotation. As far as how good they can be, the jury is still out.

Excellent take on the current situation. Thanks Nick!

Sorry to say Seth, this is the reason I dreaded you giving up your own site. At least you had the creditability of having some class. In the future, I will no longer be commenting on your site.... Have a good day my friend!

+1, It is amazing Seth that before some of these guys have played their first inning of professional ball some of us already have them destined to repeat next year at ETon. Personally, I am pumped that both of these young men, Boyd and Harrison, will begin their careers at ETon. That tells me the Twins are very high on them.

John, have you inquired who the hotel's insurance carrier is?

Who are the four arbitration eligible players who will get $20mm?

Great article Parker, thanks!

Yes, I do. I also suspect that the person with all the power, Mr. Pohlad, does as well. Please take a look at what Mr. Ryan accomplished last winter. He fixed a horrible bullpen, filled spots for two players we couldn't afford (Kubel and Cuddyer) while also plugging an infield hole with Carroll. That is one good winter. Did he fix the starting rotation, no, because that is one area which most people thought was relatively solid. No way of knowing that his top starter, Baker would miss the entire season.

Grimes signed a bit later than Bryant, but did play last year. He was assigned to Beloit where he hit .225 average in 138 at bats.

There are two good reasons to keep Pinto at Fort Myers. First, he is on the all-star team which is coming up. Let him stay in the FSL and enjoy it. Second, the player moving up will see a lot of bench time while Herrmann plays. Keep the better catcher at Fort Myers where he will play most of the time rather than sit.

It is. Commonly thought to be until next year's draft, but I think it is a specified date shortly before the draft.

32-33 home runs and 107 RBI

The pitcher hung a breaking ball and Sano put the Snappers ahead of 1st place Wisconsin. Trying to win the final game of this series after losing four straight to Wisconsin over the last ten days. In earlier at bats, Sano had another hit and didn't look good on a couple sliders in the dirt. Game is on MiLB, for those interested.

I have from time to time found Souhan's articles to be excellent. Yes, there are some that kinda make you wonder where he is coming from or getting his information. For the most part, I don't have a problem with him. I also have wondered where all the hatred comes from. I guess a lot of it is that blogs enable people to say things they normally wouldn't, or at least not to the person's face.

Slama is on the disabled list.

Thank you TRex! I have been saying this for years and every time I do, I usually get my head handed to me. As for how many scouts the Twins actually have, the last time I saw the actual number it was over 50. They have area scouts, regional scouts, national scouts, international scouts, hell, they probably have scouts that scout scouts. When a player is drafted, he has been seen by several of their scouts and I suspect in the case of Buxton that would be over a dozen. With this type of coverage, I have to believe there are lots of interesting debates that go on before a final selection is made. Try to look at it like the rankings of Scout and Rivals of high school football players, the 2-3-4-5 star evaluations they give to recruits. Last time I checked, so many of the real stars for the team I follow (Badgers) weren't that highly ranked coming out of high school. In 2006, Scout ranked 100 offensive lineman which didn't include Gabe Carimi, who they gave three stars on a five star scale. None of those 100 turned out to be as good as Carimi, who won the 'Outland Trophy' as college's best offensive lineman his senior year before being taken in the first round by da'Bears. Different sport, same results. You have confidence in your scouts and pick the players they believe in. The outside sources are nice for fans and help us get to know who we should be following. But whether someone is ranked 10-20-50 spots better or worse by the fan services shouldn't bring the wrath we often see brought on the Twins and their management.