Jeremy Nygaard

People love mock drafts. I think, mostly, so that you can mock the people that put some guesses down on paper for the world to scrutinize. I'm not above that. Download attachment: mlb-draft.jpg I regret not putting one together two years ago. Somewhere, on a message board on this site, I predicted that the Twins take Adam Brett Walker (though I had the round incorrect). Last year, I noted how much I liked Brian Navaretto, who the Twins also drafted. I was a big fan of Stephen Gonsalves (though I never saw him falling as far as he did) and pegged Kohl Stewart for the #4 pick pretty early in the whole process. I'm telling you that not for the virtual pats on the back. I'm simply preparing you for the fact that there is a very good chance that I go 0-for-10 and would like you to forgive me. The reason I put this together, actually, was to try to get a sense of the positions the Twins may look to add on Days 1 and 2. While I know how the Twins feel about some guys, I don't have access to their scouting reports and, personally, don't have the mental capacity to take that much information in. So, without further ado, here's one of approximately 86 billion different ways the Twins may draft on Thursday and Friday. Round 1 (Pick 5 - $3,851,000): SS Nick Gordon, Florida prep. While I'm not sure who will be on my final mock on Thursday morning at this spot, it's been a pretty consistent belief that Gordon would be the choice. There's no point in disputing that. Plus, the Twins would love to add a potential middle infielder. They'll take a prep SS (or more) every year in the first 15 rounds and this year isn't any different. (Other prep shortstops they may consider - obviously later in the draft: SS Milton Ramos, Florida prep; SS Justin Twine, Texas prep; SS Jonathan Oquendo, P.R. prep.) Round 2 (Pick 46 - $1,218,800): LHP Cody Reed, Alabama prep. Reed is all over the place if you put any stock into the Top 100s you can find scattered over the internet. The facts are this: Reed is from a place that doesn't have a great track record of producing major league pitchers and Reed is accumulating an incredible number of strikeouts due to his mid-90s fastball. Reed will have to watch his conditioning, but definitely has a fan in the Twins. (Other pitchers to pop here: Well, there're likely a few dozen that would be looked at. I'd focus most on LHP Mac Marshall, Georgia prep and RHP Luke Weaver, FSU. Round 3 (Pick 79 - $703,900): RHP Grant Hockin, California prep. Hockin has everything you'd want ablitiy-wise to get drafted here including a four-pitch mix. Though scouts don't see a lot of projection in his 6' 3", 215-lb frame, he's got an added connection to the Twins: His mother is Erin Killebrew, daughter of the late, great Harmon Killebrew. Hockin is committed to UCLA, so there is also that piece to be considered. Round 4 (Pick 110 - $476,100): RHP A.J. Vanegas, Stanford. Not a real likely pick, but the Stanford senior offers a lot that could interest the Twins. For one, he's a senior. More importantly, though, is that he's got a mid-90s fastball and a plus slider. So what the heck, right? Yeah, well Vanegas has had some serious injury issues. It's put him in the position where he's destined to be a reliever in the pro ranks. We've seen what the Twins have done with that recently. The ceiling of a guy with his ability - though he'd need to add a third pitch to return to starting - mixed with the floor of a fast-track reliever seems to make a lot of sense. (There would also be a gajillion other college relievers the Twins could look to convert. And that remains in play for all 40 of their selections.) Round 5 (Pick 140 - $356,400): C Brett Austin, NC State. Austin was drafted in the supplemental first round out of high school and has struggled in his three years in college. There are questions about his bat and his defense, but when you get to this point in the draft, you're going to have that. Austin could profile as a Chris Herrmann-type who can play the corners of the outfield too. Not a sexy pick, but the Twins always seem to add catching on Day 2 and this would be a solid pick. (Other catchers: C Matt Morgan, Alabama prep; C K.J. Harrison, Hawaii prep; C Shane Zeile, UCLA) Round 6 (Pick 170 - $266,900): RHP Josh Richy, UNLV. Richy probably won't last this long, but if he did, it would be a steal for the Twins. It's usually around this time the Twins pluck a guy who has the reputation of pitching a lot of innings a la Ethan Mildren in 2013. Richy throws a little harder and shows a feel for a couple breaking pitches as well. Round 7 (Pick 200 - $199,900): RHP Jake Jewell, Oklahoma JC. Jewell has come out of nowhere with a big fastball and an easy motion. He's a project, but that's not uncommon for the Twins to peg, especially when the payoff could be huge. Round 8 (Pick 230 - $161,300): RHP Chandler Shepherd, Kentucky. Though the Twins are more likely to tap the left-handed "pitching well" at UK, Shepherd could join Alex Meyer as a right-handed Wildcat turned Twin. Shepherd has undergone Tommy John surgery already and has returned to throw a solid three-pitch mix, including a swing-and-miss curveball. Shepherd has had success in the Cape Cod League and still offers some projection in his 6' 2", 215-lb frame. Round 9 (Pick 260 -$150,600): OF Max Murphy, Bradley. The organizational dearth of outfielders may have the Twins going to the college ranks to draft outfielders even earlier. Murphy is a guy who makes a ton of sense for the Twins, partially because he played his high school ball in Robbinsdale, Minnesota. Murphy's best tool is he power. He's compact (only 5' 11"), runs well and has a clue in the outfield. While his arm could play in right (his current position), some think he could move to center. The question about Murphy is his hit-tool. Round 10 (Pick 290 - $140,700): RHP Brock Dykxhoorn, Arizona JC. This is about where Dykxhoorn should go, so I originally was going to put him here solely on the account that he has a sweet name. But after some digging, there's more to him. He's 6' 8" (Twins have done that - and taller - lately), but isn't overpowering (like Jason Wheeler), doesn't have an out pitch, but commands his repertoire low in the zone (and induces a lot of worm killing). The final ingredient is that he hails from our neighbor to the north (and because of Justin Morneau, the Maple Leafs will always hold a special place in Twins fans' hearts). In all honesty though, Dykxhoorn would be another pitcher with a some projection to add to an already impressive Day 2 haul. While you don't have to like or agree with these picks, you should have a better idea of one way the Twins can handle their first ten selections. Look for a continuation of hard-throwing bodies. The Twins aren't likely to re-visit their three-catchers-in-the-first-ten-rounds magic of last year, but they always seem to add one with defensive abilities. The Twins have an overall lack of outfield depth, so adding some college seniors, or any outfielders, would jibe well with both what the Twins do and how they like to go about it. And while the likelihood remains that I go all Jason Kubel and strike out on all ten of these, it was worth a shot. Right? Now let's see your projections! Follow me on Twitter at @jeremynygaard, where I'll be kicking it draft-style all week. [/hr]Twins beat the Yankees on Sunday, so you win today. Get 50% of a Large or XL pizza at PapaJohns.com when using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

I just had a lot of fun telling Brock exactly what I wanted to see if he could make it happen. Sometimes I asked for things that I didn't even want... just to see if he could make it happen. The R&P page and organizational chart will always be a work-in-progress... but this is going to blow the roof off the old one. Big thanks to Brock for, well, being awesome.

One of my favorite things to do in regards to this website - whether in conjunction with the Prospect Handbook or not - is to have an ongoing dialogue with scouts in the organization. My favorite article I've ever posted still remains the interview I did with West Coast Scouting Supervisor Sean Johnson. In the 2013 edition of the handbook, I had an interview with Jack Powell, who is the scout responsible for signing Byron Buxton. The full interview was available in the book, with a brief preview here. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] In an effort to make/keep the tradition of featuring a scout in each year's handbook, I reached out to one of the newest members of the Twins scouting fraternity: Freddie Thon. Download attachment: fthon.jpg This picture of Freddie was during his minor-league All-Star days of 2006, but you get the point - he's a former baseballer and now his job is to locate the next generation of Twins prospects. Located primarily in southern Florida and Puerto Rico, Thon's job is especially important, given the success the Twins have had in that area. I'd love for you to read the whole interview, but that's only going to be available in the Handbook (which is available in both paperback and eBook versions). Some excerpts here: Freddie talks about his background, which is very baseball heavy and also his path from high school through college and into the minor leagues. Of course, I had to ask him about next year's draft class: Freddie spoke at length about many other things as well. Pick up the Handbook, you won't be disappointed. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Another Tuesday signals another episode of Twins Hangouts. Seth and I will be live tonight at 9pm. There's been a ton of things that have happened over these last seven days. We'll certainly talk about a number of them, such as the All-Star Game, the Futures Game, Ricky Nolasco and updates on all of the minor league affiliates. Miss an episode? Well, they're all available on our webpage and iTunes. You can also view the event page. Tuesday's show went like this: Introduction and what's up! (:00) We jump into the Ricky Nolasco conversation at the :05 mark. We've turned to Trevor May talk at :18 and continued with other pitching approaches in the organization. At 0:31, we moved onto the All-Star Game. Also, what's up with Suzuki long-term? 0:34 Talking trade deadline: Suzuki, Morales, Willingham. We move on at :49 to talk about the Futures Game and talk about pitchers' debuts. Seth talked Players of the Month at :58. Minor League Update - Rochester (1:02), New Britain, Fort Myers (1:34), Cedar Rapids (1:38), Elizabethton (1:46), GCL Twins (1:54) International Update (2:00) Viewer questions (2:08) Click here to view the article

What a difference a day makes! A day after getting beaten at all levels; the system did an about-face and took all four games in convincing fashion. Some big-league news: Word came out late afternoon that the Twins are planning to designate Jason Marquis for assignment. Later in the evening it was reported that it wouldn’t happen immediately and that Marquis was with the team in Chicago. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] How you interpret that all is entirely up to you, but I will offer my two cents: The Twins will most likely be promoting someone to start Thursday’s game and that player will not be called up until Thursday. (Although the plan may be announced before then.) The corresponding roster move with be removing Marquis from the active (and also the 40-man) roster. This also gives the team a couple of additional days to make a final decision on Marquis. All signs point to clearing waivers and being given his unconditional release. Let’s take a spin around the farm: ROCHESTER 10, GWINNETT 1 It what could be the best “on-the-field” news of the last 48 hours, the Red Wings got after former major-league Jair Jurrjens. Big time. They didn’t stop there either. They hammered out 10 runs on 18 hits. Rene Tosoni led the surge going 5-for-5, knocking in two runs, scoring two runs and stealing a base. He improved his average to .177. (Seth pointed out to me that Tosoni came into the game with 6 hits in 57 at-bats this year.) Danny Valencia went 3-for-4, scoring twice and hitting a three-run home run. Every hitter made contributions offensively and I would encourage you to check out the box score here. Jeff Manship channeled his inner-Scott Diamond and went seven innings, allowing only four hits, one run and a walk. He struck out six. Though the plan was to keep Manship in relief, he deserves to stay in the rotation after an outing like this. Esmerling Vasquez finished off the game with two perfect innings, striking out three. Tomorrow’s game will begin at 11:05 am ET and be on MLB Network. NEW BRITAIN 10, BINGHAMTON 7 Joe Benson, not in the lineup again, apparently injured his wrist and was placed on the 7-day DL. The product on the field, on the other hand, played extremely well. Every hitter in the lineup recorded at least a hit and seven of the nine crossed home plate. Chris Herrmann led the charge going 4-for-5 with three runs and a double. As I suggested with the Red Wings game, it’s worth checking out the box score for this game too. Steve Hirschfeld pitched five solid innings, giving up a run on six hits. He walked one and struck out two. Caleb Thielbar pitched two scoreless innings in relief, giving up a hit while striking out two. Daniel Turpen got roughed up in his two innings, to the tune of five hits, six runs, two walks and a strikeout, but it was too little, too late. FT. MYERS 7, CLEARWATER 1 The Miracle got it going early with back-to-back-to-back doubles in the first inning by Jairo Perez, Oswaldo Arcia and Dan Rohlfing and never looked back. Danny Ortiz continued to hit well going 3-for-4 and is now batting .317 over his last ten games. He does, though, continue to struggles to hit lefties at all. Lance Ray had a solo home run in the eighth to hopefully turn his slump around. In addition to Perez’s first inning double, he added a single and two runs batted in. Michael Gonzales had two hits as well. Jhon Garcia pitched a very solid six innings to earn his first win of the year. Garcia allowed four hits, one run and a walk, while striking out three. He also hit a batter. He recorded six outs by flyball, which is at least worth noting, since the wind was blowing out. Edgar Ibarra recorded a three-inning save, allowing only a hit and a walk. He struck out three. While an encouraging outing, this was Ibarra’s first appearance in nearly a month where he didn’t allow a run. BELOIT 4, BURLINGTON 2 Jason Wheeler had another stellar outing. He went a season-high seven innings, allowing eight hits, two runs and a walk. He struck out five. He also recorded twelve outs by groundball to only one on flyball. That’s an impressive feat for a guy that stands 6’ 8”. In 51 IP this year, he has a 36:9 K/BB ratio. While he’ll never project to be a top-of-the-rotation starter, Wheeler might become the definition of “innings-eater”. Michael Tonkin continued his impressive year, striking out five in two innings. The Snapper bats were just good enough to get a win, scoring all four runs in the fifth inning. A.J. Pettersen and Matthew Koch both delivered 2-RBI hits. Wang-Wei Lin had two hits in the nine-hole. Eddie Rosario was 1-for-4 with a stolen base (his ninth). Miguel Sano continued to struggle. He went 0-for-4, with a strikeout. He’s now batting .256. He also had a throwing and fielding error and is up to 14 on the season. We all knew it wouldn’t be easy (or pretty), but I wouldn’t be shocked if he started getting some reps at 1B and DH. --- Players of the Day for Monday, May 21, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship Download attachment: manship.jpg Hitter of the Day – Rene Tosoni Download attachment: tosoni.jpg --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – RHP Daryl Thompson (1-4, 4.42) New Britain vs Binghamton – LHP Logan Darnell (4-2, 5.27) Ft. Myers vs Clearwater – RHP Marty Popham (3-1, 4.91) Beloit – OFF DAY --- Happy 6th birthday tomorrow to my daughter Marin! If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Well, Opening Day didn't produce a win, but at least we know that for the next six months, we will have Minnesota Twins games to watch five to seven days a week. You also now that each Tuesday night, you can join Seth and I at 9:00 p.m. CST to talk about the Twins, their minor league affiliates and more. This week, we will recap the Twins Season Opener and preview the minor league affiliates. . Interact with us by asking questions here, on Twitter or during the live show. It will also be available on iTunes tomorrow. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As always, leave us your questions and/or comments. Click here to view the article

The Twins started their final road-trip before the All-Star Game on Monday in Seattle. They'll make a stop in Colorado before heading home. As was announced Sunday night, the Twins will be represented by RP Glen Perkins and C Kurt Suzuki in next Tuesday's Mid-Summer Classic. Ricky Nolasco is heading back to the Twin Cities to get his "bit of a sore right elbow" checked out. Today's Twins All-Star-related news revolves around two of their top pitching prospects: P Alex Meyer will be replacing P Trevor May (calf) in Sunday's Futures Game. May's "feeling good", but his return to the mound doesn't "line up with" pitching in Sunday's game. My belief - and it's 100% just my opinion - is that May still makes his Major League debut this month. In other All-Star news, several RockCats were named to the Eastern League All-Star game, which will take place next Wednesday night: 1B Kennys Vargas, 2B Tony Thomas, OF Reynaldo Rodriguez, RP Cole Johnson, P Taylor Rogers. Congrats to that group! Also, Kennys Vargas has been placed on the temporarily inactive list to head back to Puerto Rico while his wife has a baby. Let's just say it's going to be a busy next 10 days for Kennys! http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=8149&stc=1 This afternoon, Miguel Sano met with his surgeon and was given the ok to begin light throwing. He will begin swinging in early August and there is some hope that he will be able to make up for some lost at-bats in the Arizona Fall League before heading down to the Dominican Winter League to work off the rust. All indications are that Sano will be 100% when spring training opens next spring. Other transaction news: The Kernels activated OF Jeremias Pineda and transferred him to Elizabethton. You can view all rosters here. Let's move to the action on the farm: Red Wings Report Rochester 6, Buffalo 7 Box Score Rochester couldn't hold onto a big lead despite getting big games from Doug Bernier (3-for-5) and Eric Farris (2-for-4, 2 2B). James Beresford and Pedro Florimon also added doubles. Sean Gilmartin made it to the seventh inning (6 1/3) allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits and a walk. He struck out five. Lester Oliveros struggled. He allowed his lone inherited runner to score and gave up two more runs while recording only one out. A.J. Achter picked up four outs while not allowing a hit. Michael Tonkin took the loss on a home run in the top of the ninth. It was former Twins P.J. Walters starting for Buffalo and Bobby Korecky getting the save. Rock Cats Review New Britain 0, New Hampshire 2 (Game 1) Box Score Jason Wheeler threw a (six-inning) complete game, but took the loss. He walked two, but struck out only one. Of his six hits yielded, one was a home run. Eddie Rosario singled. Stephen Wickens doubled. All of the hitters except for Reynaldo Rodriguez managed to strike out. New Britain 2, New Hampshire 0 (Game 2) SUSPENDED - SECOND INNING Box Score This game - a scheduled make-up of a mid-April game - was suspended in the second inning. Too bad too. Adrian Salcedo got the start and had pitched two hitless innings. It's been a rough couple of seasons for Salcedo, who was starting for the first time since 2012. Mike Kvasnicka doubled and Lance Ray tripled in a contest that will be completed tomorrow in a seven-inning game. Miracle Matters Fort Myers has a scheduled day off, so there is no Byron Buxton Monday update. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids also has a scheduled day off. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 15, Johnson City 7 Box Score Another offensive outburst from the E-Twins. Max Murphy (now .411) was 3-for-3 with two walks, a double, a home run and four RBI. Newly-demoted Jeremias Pineda went 2-for-6 with four runs scored. Alex Real was 3-for-6 with two doubles and three RBI. Those are just a handful of the offensive highlights of today. Everyone wants to know about Nick Gordon: He went 2-for-5, drew a walk, scored three runs and was picked off/caught stealing. He committed his fourth error of the season and is now batting .359. Michael Cederoth got his first professional win. He went five innings, allowing seven hits. He struck out two and let four runners score. Cameron Booser and Dereck Rodriguez each struck out two in two innings of hitless baseball apiece. GCL Twins Takes The GCL Twins got another day off, though this one comes as the result of a rainy morning. DSL Twins Notes DSL Twins 6, DSL Orioles 15 Box Score Junior Amarante isn't a name even the most buff of prospect buffs is familiar with, but he's doing his best to start earning some recognition. Today he went 2-for-5 with a walkoff single in the bottom of the ninth. Amarante, a right fielder, just turned 19, so he's a tad old for the DSL. (Baseball Reference has his age comp at 0.8.) On the season, Amarante has 14 stolen bases with only one caught stealing. He has a 15-to-15 walk-to-strikeout ratio on the year and is batting .354 on the season. Jermaine Palacios and Luis Arraez both had three-hit days. Twins Daily Players of the Day Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Jason Wheeler, New Britain Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day - Max Murphy, Elizabethton Tuesday's Probable Starters Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 Central) – Alex Meyer (Listen) New Britain @ New Hampshire (6:05 Central) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) New Britain @ New Hampshire – TBD (completion of Monday's suspended game) Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:35 Central) – B.J. Hermsen (Listen) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 Central) - Lewis Thorpe (Listen) Elizabethton @ Johnson City (6:00 Central) - Stephen Gonsalves (Listen) GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (10:00 AM Central) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (10:00 AM Central) - TBD (make up of Monday's game) DSL Twins @ DSL White Sox (9:30 AM Central) - TBD Click here to view the article

Like every other team in the MLB, the Twins spent countless hours preparing for "J2" or the International Free Agency period that begins July 2nd. With a spending pool that was the fourth-largest in MLB, the Twins were aggressive early, inking two players from the Dominican Republic the first day they were eligible to sign. TwinsDaily learned that another player they were interested in, Dutch 3B Ruar Verkerk, signed shortly thereafter. We had a chance to exchange some questions with the young Dutchman earlier this week.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: verkerk.jpg Verkerk, after signing, with Twins Head of International Scouting Howard Norsetter. ------- TwinsDaily: Ruar, thanks for the taking the time to help introduce yourself to this community of Twins fans. The International Free Agency system is something that we get less exposure to, so it's nice to be able to get some answers from someone who was acquired this way. Obviously, coming from Europe where the most popular sport is soccer (to us anyway, football to you), what was it about baseball that hooked you and when? Ruar Verkerk: I came in contact with baseball because my dad was a baseball player. Also, my (older) brother played and I joined him and his team at the age of 3 or 4 years. TD: Did you ever play soccer? RV: No, only a few games with school on a tournament. TD: How familiar are you with Major League Baseball? The Twins have a pretty significant presence in Europe, were you more familiar with them? RV:Of course I know Major League Baseball. We often watch games on ESPN. I wasn’t more familiar to one team or another. TD: The process that ultimately led you to signing with the Twins. When did that begin? How many teams were involved? When did you know you would be signing with the Twins? RV: I have heard that they started following me at the age of 14. From my agent, I heard that five teams showed interest in me. But the Twins really made an effort to sign me. They have a good development plan for me and they want to give me time to adjust to play pro ball. TD: You told me the day the signing period opened that you were strongly considering waiting until after the European Championships later this month to sign. What changed your mind? RV: Things went fast after the 2nd of July. (The) Twins made a good offer and they really want to take care of me and sign me, so I decided not to wait until after the EC. Now I am more relaxed and I want to do my best (in) the Championship. My focus is now to win the EC with the Dutch team. TD: Before the period opens there are all sort of projections about what guys will eventually sign for. The dollar amount I saw hung on you was $500,000. Is that what you got? RV: The Twins have made a fair offer. I am not in the game for money. I am satisfied and happy. The information about the bonus I (would like to) keep to myself. TD: So what's next? I've heard all the "signees" head to Fort Myers, Florida, for a physical and an age verification/background check. Is that what's on tap for you? How does the rest of the year look? How much have they told you? RV: Because I am very young and not used to (playing) in the heat, I will go to Australia for a couple of months this winter. In April, I will travel to Florida. After that, I am not sure. It depends on my development. TD: The Twins have a Dutch presence currently, with P Tom Stuifbergen pitching in AA, Shairon Martis in AAA and Hall-of-Famer Bert Blyleven in the press box. They also recently released Curt Smith. Do you know any of these guys and have they contacted you since signing? RV: Yes I have had contact with Tom Stuifbergen. I saw him at the training in Holland this winter. Of course, I know Bert Blijleven (Editor: maybe the Dutch spelling, which is cool) by name . I have never met him, but I hope I will have a chance to meet him one day. TD: Was there any of your other teammates that signed with the Twins or another team? RV: A teammate from the Dutch AAA team got signed by the Baltimore Orioles. TD: Obviously, you're 16, so there is still a lot to "project" with you. Can you give us a scouting report on yourself? RV: I have a lot to learn, that’s for sure. I am a tall guy. I like to hit. I am a left-handed hitter, with - so I am told - a very good, smooth swing. I have a strong arm. I got the advice to go dancing, because my footwork needs improvement. Furthermore, I have to work on my speed (and) strength. I am very proud to be a Minnesota Twin. I want to work hard and my goal is to play for the Twins in the Majors one day.Thank you for the interest in me. TD: And, thank you, Ruar, for taking your time to introduce yourself to us. ------- If you're interested in following Ruar on Twitter, you can do so @ruarverkerk. Click here to view the article

Don't forget, a special Hangout will happen on Thursday at 6pm to cover the draft. It's Tuesday again, so be sure to join Seth and Jeremy at 9 pm for another Hangout. We'll be joined live by Eric Pleiss of Talk2Contact fame. Feel free to ask him lots of questions (like, why the perma-sweater?) Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg As far as baseball goes, we'll be talking about the Yankees series, the Brewers series, the minor leagues (as always) and some very impressive pitching lines from the last week. There's been some exciting transaction news in the last 24 hours and last, but probably most importantly, the upcoming MLB Draft. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] (The time that is listed is the actual time, so if you want to here the #AskERolf segment, go to the 25 minutes mark.) 9:00 - Yes, I inadvertently stole the GatG intro. John will take me over his knee on Thursday night. 9:00 - Joined by Talk2Contact's Eric Pleiss - we covered his life, basically, facial hair and what the heck does "Rolf" mean? 9:15 - Seth took over the conversation and made it more baseball related. We got the history of Talk2Contact. 9:25 - #AskERolf 9:30 - Upcoming plans for ERolf, and then ERolf and Seth talk Twins Baseball. 9:50 - How we feel about the "powder blues". 9:52 - Steve Buhr's interview with Terry Ryan. 9:57 - Seth breaks down Joe Mauer. 10:06 - Kurt Suzuki and Josmil Pinto. What gives with the lack of Pinto's at-bats? 10:13 - Buying Eduardo Escobar? Is he the everyday shortstop? Short-term? Long-term? 10:15 - The musical chairs that are the centerfield position. 10:22 - Twins take 2 of 3 from the Yankees behind three stellar pitching performances. 10:26 - Willingham and Arcia are back... much to the appreciation of those that like the Twins to score runs. 10:29 - Minor League Transactions 10:30 - Seth's report on Lewis Thorpe and Fernando Romero and the minor league scoreboard and other "minor" tidbits. 10:50 - Seth's "Players of the Month" 10:55 - Draft preview/recap Miss an episode? Well, they're all available on our webpage and iTunes. [/hr]The Twins evened up the series vs the Brewers yesterday, winning 6-4, so you can get 50% off your large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code 'WINTWINS' on Wednesday. [/hr] Click here to view the article

Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg Join Seth and Jeremy at 8:30 tonight as we discuss Twins Baseball. It will be viewable in link on this page as well as on Jeremy's Google+ page. We don't have a verified guest yet, and even if our planned guest falls through, we'll have plenty to talk about... we always do! See you tonight at 8:30 pm. (Click below to watch The Twins Hangout Live.) Feel free to send us your questions or thoughts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/sJOyhIUCJ-E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Click here to view the article

The Twins lost to the Mariners this afternoon and Denard Span was placed on the disabled list. Placing Span on the DL was a curious move, since rosters expand in a couple of days, and there are rumblings that he may be shut down for the rest of the year. If you've noticed that the "Rosters & Payroll" page hasn't been updated in a couple of days, I apologize. Hopefully by Monday it will be back up-to-date. Let’s take a look around today’s action: [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]ELIZABETHTON 2, DANVILLE 9 (SEMIFINAL GAME 2 – SERIES TIED) Box score The E-Twins jumped out early tonight against Danville, leading 2-0 heading into the top of the fourth inning. Brett Lee, who only walked 12 batters all season, walked three batters with two outs and the flood gates opened. Chris Mazza replaced Lee and allowed a double. A throwing error by Niko Goodrum allowed the seventh, and final, run of the inning to score. Lee, who had a rough outing last Friday night as well, allowed six runs over 3 2/3 innings. Chris Mazza struck out four and allowed an unearned run (in 2 1/3 innings). Ricardo Arevalo struck out four in two scoreless frames. Goodrum’s second throwing error of the night resulted in two more unearned runs, these on Luis Nunez’s record. The Elizabethton batters managed only five hits: a single by Byron Buxton, a home run by Max Kepler, a single by Adam Walker, a double by Travis Harrison and a single by Candido Pimentel. Danville and Elizabethton will face-off tomorrow night for a spot in the Appy League finals. ROCHESTER 3, BUFFALO 10 Box score The winning streak is over. But even though the season won’t end with a playoff appearance, I think we’d all consider this season a success. Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Ray Chang (who Denard Span may still not be able to tell apart) each had two hits. Chang had a double, as did Brian Dinkelman. Eduardo Escobar added a triple. P.J. Walters threw 93 pitches in a five-inning rehab start. He gave up four earned runs and struck out five. Deolis Guerra allowed a run in two innings. Bobby Lanigan gave up five runs in two innings. A few of these guys may be joining the big club soon. Matt Carson, who didn’t play today, will join the Twins tomorrow. NEW BRITAIN 5, TRENTON 3 Box score Aaron Hicks hit his 13th – and final? – AA home run tonight. Will we see him in the Twins outfield on Saturday? Oswaldo Arcia, now batting .324, had two hits and two runs. Will we get a chance to see him too? Chris Colabello drove in his 96th run of the year. B.J. Hermsen (probably) cemented his spot on the 40-man roster with a six-inning, three-run performance. He’s now thrown a career-high 161 innings. That is probably the reason he won’t be a September call-up or participate in the Arizona Fall League. Hermsen, who doesn’t have great strikeout numbers, will be in the mix for a rotation spot next spring, though he will probably spend more time in the minors. Blake Martin and Dakota Watts combined to pitch three scoreless innings. FT. MYERS 8, CHARLOTTE 7 (10 INNINGS) Box score Kyle Knudson’s one-out walk-off single in the 10th was the highlight of tonight’s high-scoring affair. Danny Santana and Danny Rams each hit home runs. Danny Ortiz added two hits. Steven Liddle had a double. Madison Boer pitched the first six innings and allowed seven runs on nine hits. He struck out four and didn’t walk any. Nelvin Fuentes allowed only one hit over four scoreless innings to pick up the win. Fuentes, who seems to be injured just as often as healthy, had a very good 2012. BELOIT 9, WISCONSIN 2 Box score Congrats to Miguel Sano and Corey Williams who were named post-season MWL All-Stars. Sano missed his third straight game due to what is believed to be a minor ankle injury. It sounds as though he will be back for the playoffs. Eddie Rosario and Tyler Grimes provided plenty of offense in his absence. Rosario doubled twice and now has 30. Grimes homered and doubled. He is still batting below .200, but he does offer the occasional pop. It should also be noted that he didn’t have any errors. Kennys Vargas and “Our Favorite” AJ Pettersen had multi-hit games. Cole Johnson scattered seven hits over four innings, only allowing one run. Taylor Rogers picked up the win striking out six in 2 2/3 innings. DJ Baxendale and Mason Melotakis each struck out two. This Snappers bullpen is definitely ready for the postseason! --- Players of the Day for Thursday, August 30, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Nelvin Fuentes Download attachment: fuentes.jpg Flickrhivemind.com Hitters of the Day – Tyler Grimes Download attachment: grimes.jpg Beloitdailynews.com --- A Look Ahead – Friday, August 31, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Buffalo – RHP Kyle Gibson (0-1, 12.00) New Britain vsNew Hampshire – TBA Fort Myers vs Charlotte – TBA Beloit at Wisconsin – LHP Jason Wheeler (14-6, 3.44) Elizabethton vs Danville – RHP Hudson Boyd --- If you have any questions on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them! Comments also welcome. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: bookkeeping.263192700_std.jpg The Twins made their first round of cuts this morning. I figured this was as good of time as any to highlight some things that are important (to nerds like me) as the regular season opens and progresses. The Roster and Payroll page has been updated to include a lot of new information. It was mostly re-shuffling of where minor league guys might go. It also included the batch of most recent international signings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] PAYROLL One of the reasons that I started this page was to keep updated tabs on what the Major League payroll is. We often get reports about what the "Opening Day payroll" is but then after that there aren't many updates. Payroll fluctuates whenever there is a transaction. The other thing is that only the 2014 salaries would be included when figuring that payroll. There are a couple other things that affect that number. OPENING DAY PAYROLL: Without knowing exactly what the final group of 25 is going to look like, it's impossible to say where that number is going to fall. At this moment, we're looking at the neighborhood of $83 million. OTHER ITEMS TO CONSIDER: The Twins have three players on their rosters that have an option year at the end of their contracts. Those years can either be picked up or bought out. The "buyout" portion of those contracts are paid out over the life of the contract (up until the option year). The Twins have a $1m buyout on the fifth year of Nolasco's contract. The Twins will pay him an additional $250,000 each year for the next four years. Both Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are owed an extra $100,000 this year. Burton's option year is next year, while Perkins's doesn't happen until 2016. That adds an extra $450,000 to payroll. ARTICLE XX( FREE AGENTS: The Twins signed both Jason Kubel and Matt Guerrier to minor league contracts. Because those players are coming directly off of major league deals, they would have to be paid $100,000 to be assigned to the minor leagues. Both of these players - as well as Jason Bartlett - will make significantly more than league minimum if and when they do suit up for the Twins. INCENTIVES: Perkins and Burton both have clauses in their contracts that pay them more for "games finished". Perkins also has a unique clause that will increase his salary for 2015 based on the incentives he earns in 2014. Mike Pelfrey and Phil Hughes can both earn more money if they hit innings-pitched milestones. Anthony Swarzak can earn more money by making 10 starts. Kurt Suzuki has triggers in his contract that will pay him more, basically, for being the starting catcher. And both Kubel and Guerrier have incentives that will pay them for their performances too. CREDITS: While it's not common to sell a player's rights, the Twins did just that this year. In agreeing to release Andrew Albers, the Twins were paid about $500,000 by a Korean team. The exact figure is not known, but two outlets have confirmed the amount was very close to that $500,000. There also always remains the possibility of trading a player under contract and having that team pick up the contract. That happened last year with Morneau and saved the Twins almost $3 million. LOOKING AHEAD ARBITRATION: The Twins avoided the arbitration process this past off-season by agreeing to deals with Brian Duensing, Trevor Plouffe and Swarzak. Next year, the Twins could face arbitration with as many as eight players. Duensing will enter his third and final year of arbitration. Swarzak will enter his second year of arbitration. Plouffe will enter his second year too, but has three years remaining as he was a Super Two player last year. Vance Worley would exceed three years of service if he plays a full year in the majors. Scott Diamond, Casey Fien, Eduardo Escobar and Alex Presley all currently have less than two years of experience, but with one more full season should have more than the Super Two cutoff and be eligible for arbitration the first time (of four). ROSTER ADDS: The Twins will have to add players to their roster in November to avoid exposure in the Rule 5 draft, and it's never too early to speculate who those guys might be. Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano and (the good) Eddie Rosario are must adds. Sean Gilmartin, Corey Williams, Brett Lee, Jason Wheeler, Matt Summers, Tyler Jones, Randy Rosario and Yorman Landa are some pitchers that will be discussed. I led off with Gilmartin, Williams and Lee because they're left-handed. Rosario and Landa have not yet played full-season ball, but might have upsides that aren't worth exposing. Aderlin Mejia and Niko Goodrum are two hitters worth mentioning. Former first-round pick Levi Michael would also be eligible for the first time. Let's hope Levi puts together a monster season. FREE AGENTS: The trio of Kevin Correia, Kurt Suzuki and Josh Willingham all are entering their final season under contract and will be eligible for free agency five days after the conclusion of the World Series. --- Obviously, that's a lot of information to try to digest. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or contact me @jeremynygaard on Twitter. If there's anything that can't be covered on either of those avenues, send me an email at jeremynygaard1@gmail.com. Hope you enjoy! Click here to view the article

The big news today was that the Twins reached an agreement on a contract with Nick Gordon, the 5th overall pick in last week's draft. His career will shortly begin in Elizabethton. The other news was that Kendrys Morales has had enough watching and started the game at DH before getting pinch run for late in the game. If you missed the action in that game (the beginning and end), make sure you catch it. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Gwinnett 2 Box Score Brad Nelson's home run to dead-center field in the 4th inning cut Gwinnett's lead in half. Unfortunately, the Gwinnett pitchers were able to minimize the Red Wings' bats. Eric Fryer was the only batter to record multiple hits with two. Kris Johnson took the loss - a complete-game loss - pitching all eight innings. He gave up eight hits (NO WALKS) and struck out five. He threw 71 of his 116 pitches for strikes. The Red Wings fall to 36-28 and a half of a game behind Syracuse in the IL North. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain - CAR! Game off! The Rock Cats had a day off today, but will be back on tomorrow. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 8 Box Score Fort Myers took a three to one lead in the top of the 8th and the duo of Brian Gilbert and Madison Boer, usually so reliable, promptly combined to give up seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks. They recorded two outs. B.J. Hermsen (remember him?) stranded three runners while recording the final out. Starter D.J. Baxendale gave up a run in five innings; Mason Melotakis pitched two scoreless frames. So allowing seven runs while up two means the Miracle still scored four in the ninth inning? Yep. That happened. The team was able to string together a number of singles and scored four runs before Adam Brett Walker flew out to deep right field to end the game. Download attachment: Grimes_640x360_dr7yyg6z_h1gh9mro.jpg Tyler Grimes was the offensive star: 4-for-4, a triple, two runs scored and two RBI, all while playing center field. Aderling Mejia, Stephen Wickens and Michael Gonzales added doubles. Walker went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts. The Miracle fall to 36-27. Fort Myers still has a 1.5 game lead on St. Lucie as the first half is drawing to a close. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 2 Box Score When Chad Christensen drove in Ryan Walker on a 1st inning fielder's choice, it represented the one and only run the Kernels would score on Monday. Only singles by Joel Licon and Jon Murphy were added to the box score. Additionally, the Kernels struck out 14 times. Kohl Stewart pitched six innings and allowed only one earned run. He walked two and struck out two. He hit one batter and got 11 outs by groundball, compared to four by air. Reports had Stewart throwing an easy 95, with an 86-88 slider and a 77 mph curveball. The command of his pitches needs to come, but everything else is there. Yes, the lack of strikeouts is enough to cause an eyebrow to raise, but nothing to get alarmed over. Can you imagine when people start swinging and missing? No one's hitting him hard though they are actually hitting him. Jared Wilson finished the game off with two scoreless innings. The Kernels drop to 28-36 this year. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Kris Johnson, Rochester Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Grimes, Ft. Myers. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (5:35 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain @ Reading – TBD (Listen) Ft. Myers vs Charlotte (6:05 CST) – Tim Shibuya (Listen) Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:35 CST) – Aaron Slegers (Listen) Feel free to question or comment below... Click here to view the article

Download attachment: ynoa.jpg Shortly after the International signing period opened today at 8am, MLB.com's Jesse Sanchez tweeted that the Twins had an agreement with RHP Huascar Ynoa. Ynoa ranked 17th on MLB.com's top prospects. Baseball America placed Ynoa 14th on their list. Ynoa is a 6-2, 190 lb righthander who just recently turned 16. Earlier in the process, there was some belief that Ynoa was the top available pitcher in this signing period. Over a year ago, while participating in the 15U WWBA National Championship, Ynoa's fastball sat between 85-91 and Perfect Game called him "among the most impressive arms" at the tournament. As of late, he's been clocked at high as 94. But his ability is polarizing... Baseball America's profile of Ynoa said this: MLB.com said this: Ynoa's older brother, Michael, still holds the record for the largest bonus given to an international pitcher ($4.25m). Michael is 6-7, so there this plenty of time for lots of projection with Huascar. His ceiling is that of someone who could potentially be a top-of-the-rotation starter - he throws four pitches - but saddling anyone at 16 with that label is irresponsible. At the minimum, the Twins have added a potentially high-upside arm for less than $1m. He'll get all the time in the world to develop and will join the DSL Twins in 2015. The Twins still have $2,886,600 to play with in this signing period, but it sounds like Ynoa will be the most expensive signing. [/hr]Twins beat the Royals on Tuesday so on Wednesday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza at PapaJohns.com when using the promo code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

Last Tuesday night during Seth's weekly podcast, I expressed some surprise that the Twins hadn't drafted a middle infielder yet. Right away Wednesday morning, the Twins drafted a high schooler from Lexington (KY) Catholic (Ben Revere's alma mater). Not only did they get a guy who can slot in nicely to the system's middle infield, but they got a guy that will go far in MiLB.com's annual "best name contest". I had the chance recently to exchange some emails with one of the newest Twins. Twins fans, meet Will Hurt.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] Download attachment: hurt(1).jpg (examiner.com) The following interview was originally posted at ManCenter.com Jeremy Nygaard: First of all, congratulations on getting drafted. Tell us what this week has been like for you, not only in baseball terms, but also with high school. Will Hurt: Thank you! It's been a very fun and exciting process but at the same time a very hard decision to make. All of my friends at school have been very supportive throughout the whole thing and I cannot thank them enough for that. What were your expectations coming into the draft? WH: I always have high expectations of myself but there's always doubt that something could go wrong. However, I've known throughout the year that my chances of getting drafted were very high it was just a matter of where and how much. Now that the draft is over, you have made, presumably, a very difficult decision: Sign instead of going to Coastal Carolina. Tell us how you arrived on that decision and now that you've made your decision, what's next for you? WH: It was an extremely hard decision, by far the hardest I've ever had to make. The coaches at Coastal are great guys, I don't think there is a college program with greater guys as coaches. Coach Gilmore and Coach Schnall were the biggest reason I decided so early to go ahead and choose where I wanted to play college ball. It was privilege and an honor for them to think so highly of me to give me the chance to play baseball at such a great school. I made my decision because it's obviously something I've always wanted to do so why not go ahead and take advantage of having three years of pro experience instead of those three years in college ball? I feel like it was in my best interest to go ahead and get started. Coach Gilmore at Coastal Carolina says losing you to professional baseball would be a “crushing blow”. As a Twins fan, I read that as getting you to sign was a “huge steal.” Speaking of steals, it sounds as though speed is your number one tool. How do you use your speed to produce on the field? WH: I always want to try and make everyone I'm involved with happy as best I can. Unfortunately, in the situation, I can't do that. I've got to do what I think is best for me and my future. I love stealing bases and laying down drag bunts to use my speed as my advantage. On the defensive side, speed gives me a huge advantage at SS by being able to get to balls most people cannot. The Twins were introduced to Lexington Catholic when they took Ben Revere in the first round of the 2007 draft. Have you had a chance to meet Ben Revere? And if so, did you seek his guidance in making a decision to play pro ball? WH: Ben actually tweeted me the day after I got drafted and told me he'd make sure to get in contact with me as soon as possible. Everyone I've met that knows Ben have told me nothing but good things about him. I love the way he plays the game. He looks like he's having so much fun out there, always smiling and playing hard. I made my decision before I had a chance to speak with him, however. If I'm ever in need of advice I feel like he'll be a guy I can go to. Revere was signed by scout Billy Corrigan. Was Corrigan the scout responsible for drafting you and what types of conversations did you have with him leading up to the draft? WH: The scouts I interacted with the most were Rick Sellers and Tim O'Neil. Both are great guys who were very informative and helpful with every question my family and I had (there were a lot). Both told me to do what I think is best for me and that nobody else can make this decision for me. They not only told me about the positives of playing pro ball but how hard and how much work it is which really made me trust in them that they weren't just trying sign me for their own benefit but that they also wanted what's best for me. Will, thanks a ton for taking the time to help us learn more about you. Good luck with the rest of the season; great to have you in the system! WH: Thank you and I appreciate it! Can't wait to get started. ---- Will will report to Fort Myers on Friday and will receive his assignment then. He will most likely remain there with the GCL Twins. You can follow Will on Twitter @will_hurt. Click here to view the article

http://twinsdaily.co...ntid=6142&stc=1 The Winter Meetings have come to an end and with that, so will our special edition Google Hangouts. We do have one left, though, and you can watch it here, live at 9pm. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/1v0aMRMDe-0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Wednesday night we talked about potentially adding Pelfrey and/or Arroyo and what it could mean for the starting pitching staff. We also discussed Josmil Pinto's shoulder, the signing of a Indy League MVP, the return of former scouts and the future of Liam Hendriks. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/cWMRlzaRW5E" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> You can also use the links below to find it on iTunes and on YouTube. ------ Tuesday night's episode featuring John Bonnes can be seen below. MIKE PELFREY!! <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Wm5xzNjE8q0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> While the Big Pelf took up a too-large segment of our show, it was very entertaining to visibly see John Bonnes's blood pressure go up at the idea of re-signing him. John also talked about TwinsDaily's Winter Meltdown and other current endeavors (not limited to TwinsDaily's re-upping with the Cedar Rapids Kernels). We addressed other news of the day - such as the rumored interest in Stephen Drew - and answered random questions. So once you get by the first three minutes of confusion, you're in for a real treat! You can view the video embed above, the link to or the audio-only version here on iTunes at https://itunes.apple...d776886965?mt=2.--------- Guestless on a Monday. Seth and I spent an hour talking about today's Twins news. Well, it was like 57 minutes of talking about the Twins and four minutes of utter confusion when Jeremy's volume stopped working. We were able to reconnect the old school way - telephone - to complete our discussion and even made some room for the day's newest news: Rajai Davis to the Twins? Oh, just another day in the life of a Twins fan. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/d5Wc5BU3ZWc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> You can view the video embed above, the link to or the audio-only version here on iTunes at https://itunes.apple...d776886965?mt=2 (though that seems to be an episode behind). ----------------------------- Sunday edition: Seth and Jeremy were joined by 1500 ESPN/Eyewitness News' Doogie Wolfson as we kicked off our Winter Meetings Edition. When it comes to local sports, no one knows it better than Doogie. Doogie suggested the Twins might be busy this week, what positions they may be targeting as well as a few players who the team might be targeting for extensions. He also mentioned one (surprise?) name that may be available in trade talks. Drink it all in. video or Audio-only? <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/kKpwZaCotQk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> --- Please leave your questions/comments below. If you're viewing live, you can ask questions during the show using the Q and A feature that we enable. These Hangouts are unlikely to last full hours each night, but this is great way to catch up on your Twins-related news of the day without having to pay close attention for the rest of the day. Click here to view the article

Download attachment: garver.jpg So here's the deal: I spent the last 90 minutes typing up the minor league report only to have the whole thing vanish when trying to add the picture you see over there. If it was 10:30... fine, I could handle that. But it's not. It's 1:15 am and I just got worked over by my wife TWICE playing Ticket to Ride. Well, not just worked over. Worked over about three hours ago before I started to write my original piece. So instead of getting the full version, you're going to get a slightly expanded Jeremy's Twitter-like Minor League Report. RED WINGS (box scores are linked) Durham 5, Rochester 1 Chris Rahl continues to hit well, but the team is starting to feel the effects of the Twins' playing musical chairs with their pitchers. They've lost 8 of 10 after tonight's 5-1 loss to Durham. Gilmartin struck out 9. ROCK CATS New Britain 4, Altoona 2 Tyler Duffey struck out 9 in 7 innings to beat Altoona and Aaron Hicks proves he's a AA baseball player. Rosario drops an 0'fer and so does Vargas (sorta). MIRACLE Ft. Myers 4, Brevard County 2 Tomshaw improves to 9-2, but team will need a Miracle for Buxton to stay healthy. Good thing they dropped two deuces tonight; Walker and Gonzales double. KERNELS Cedar Rapids 8, Fort Wayne 1 Garver drops bombs (x3). Hu deals (6 IP, 0 ER, 6 K) in win. E-TWINS Elizabethton 4, Burlington 3 Max Murphy might be the greatest player ever (three more hits, now .408). Gordon 1-3, BB, K. Gonsalves pretty ordinary (three walks, three runs, three strikeouts, five innings) in E-town win. GCL TWINS GCL Orioles 7, GCL Twins 2 Easton/Nordgren struggle in loss, Roberto Gonzalez drives in two on two hits. Next week will be better... or at least more normal. [/hr]The Twins hung on to beat Cleveland on Monday so today you can get a half-price large or extra-large pizza at PapaJohns.com by using the code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article

It was a very eventful day all through Twins Territory. Read on for jammed-pack excitement... or at least a recap of what happened while you enjoyed the "unofficial" last day of Summer. Download attachment: 2011-11_FinalCountdown.jpg ROCHESTER RED WINGS 13, SCRANTON/WB RAILRIDERS 3 Box Score[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] From today's pregame notes: The Red Wings made a total of 140 transactions this year, which included housing 60 different players over the course of the season. That is the highest number since 1995 (62). Only five players made it through the whole season on Rochester's roster: Shairon Martis, Eric Fryer, Jeff Clement, Brian Dinkelman and Ray Olmedo. Scott Diamond will take the mound at 1:05 pm at Frontier Field in hopes of securing a win. With a win, the Red Wings also need Norfolk to lose to clinch a playoff berth. That is the only way the Red Wings season doesn't end today. In an effort to keep you up-to-date, I posted live updates throughout the Norfolk and Rochester game. If you still don't know - isn't the anticipation killing you? - you can re-live the moment. Right now. UPDATE 12:25 CT Scott Diamond gave up a run in the top of the 1st, but the Red Wings answered back in the bottom of the inning scoring three runs. They currently have runners on first and third with nobody out. Durham and Norfolk are currently tied at 0 in the top of the 6th. Durham put a runner on base with a 2-out single. Update 12:30 CT Norfolk got out of the inning. Heading to the bottom of the 6th. Still scoreless. Ray Olmedo singled home Jeff Clement. 4-1, still none out in the bottom of the first. Update 12:40 CT Norfolk started off the bottom of 6 with a double and a walk. Durham followed that with a strikeout and double-play. On to the 7th... Meanwhile, Rochester is still batting in the 1st. Eduardo Escobar has doubled twice and has four RBI so far in a 9-1 game. Scranton/WB has made a pitching move already. (These Red Wings must really not want to re-join the Twins. #jajaja) Update 1:30 CT Durham just stranded a runner on second base. He singled and later stole second. But with one out, they went strikeout/weak groundout to end the inning. Norfolk comes to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Rochester, on the other hand, continues to pull away... Update 1:34 CT Strikeout, groundout... we're one out from extra innings. Update 1:40 CT Durham is now batting in the top of the 10th. Eduardo Escobar is killing it, by the way. Two doubles and home run, so far. Update 1:45 CT Durham has a runner on first and third with one out in the top of the 10th. Update 1:47 CT A single scores the game's first runner. 1st and 2nd, one out. Red Wings gotta love this... Update 1:49 CT Inning over on double-play. Three outs from a Durham win. Update 1:55 CT Of course, Norfolk singles to lead off bottom of 10th. Former Twin Jason Pridie can't get him over to second. One out. Update 1:57 CT That's two swinging strikeouts in the bottom of 9 for closer Kirby Yates. One out to go... Update 2:00 CT It's an epic battle between Yates and Buck Britton... and it ends in another swinging strikeout. It's all on the Red Wings now... a win and they're in. Update 2:04 CT I gotta take a break from all of this excitement. Top of the 6th. 12 outs away. FINAL UPDATE They did it. They won and, by tiebreaker, are the International League Wild Card. Scott Diamond gave up three runs over seven innings and Virgil Vasquez tossed the final two frames. Diamond got a Olmedo-Beresford-Parmelee triple play behind him as well. Escobar finished with three doubles, a home run and 5 RBI. Ray Olmedo and Antoan Richardson each finished with three hits. The Red Wings will host the PawSox on Wednesday (Cole De Vries) and Thursday (P.J. Walters) before heading to Pawtucket for games Friday through Sunday, as necessary. NEW BRITAIN ROCK CATS 2, READING PHILLIES 3 Box Score Miguel Sano was getting the season finale off, until Evan Bigley was ejected. Sano finished the year with 2 Ks and a line-out to third. Brad Boyer and Kyle Knudson ended their seasons with 2-hit games. Danny Santana and Eddie Rosario each had a hit and a stolen base. D.J. Baxendale struck out nine over 7.1 innings. He gave up 12 hits and 3 runs. Ryan O'Rourke recorded the final five outs, with 1 K. FORT MYERS MIRACLE The Miracle are off today and will kick off a three-game set tomorrow with Charlotte at 6:30 ET. Game 1 is on the road with Games 2 and 3 scheduled for Fort Myers. CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 15, CLINTON LUMBERKINGS 6 Box Score Miguel Sulbaran improved to 9-4 on the season with a win today. He pitched five innings and allowed two runs. He struck out only one. The bullpen handled the rest of the game in small pieces and most of them threw successfully. Hudson Boyd (H, K, IP), Josue Montanez (.2 IP, 2 H), Brandon Bixler (.1 IP, K) and Brian Gilbert (IP, H) all had scoreless efforts in relief. Dallas Gallant was had a bit of a hiccup. Gallant got three outs, but also gave up back-to-back home runs and a walk for four total runs. He struck out two. The offense was pretty explosive today. They scored 15 runs on 14 hits. Adam Brett Walker (27) and Jonathan Murphy (2) both homered. Niko Goodrum, Jorge Polanco, Walker, Tyler Grimes and Michael Quesada all had doubles. Quesada actually reached base in all five of his plate appearances (two hits, three walks). The 88-50 record that Cedar Rapids finished with ties a franchise record and, to my knowledge, was the most wins in baseball this year. The Kernels will travel to Quad Cities for Game 1 on Wednesday night. Brett Lee is on the mound. The Kernels will return home for games Thursday and Friday night. Tim Shibuya and Tim Atherton (if necessary) are the scheduled starters. Leave your questions and/or comments below. Click here to view the article

Listen in on last night's Twins Hangouts podcast. Seth and Jeremy discussed many topics over two hours. The Twins pitching, some of the interesting roster moves coming up in the coming weeks (Willingham, Arcia, Pelfrey, Fuld and who could get sent down). We went through the minor leagues more quickly than normal, but we also spent some time on the draft. An interesting question... Where would some of the top draft prospects rank in our personal Top 10 Twins prospects, and how does that play into your thoughts on who the Twins should select? All episodes available on our webpage and iTunes. -------------------------------- Seth and I will be live again at 9pm tonight. You can turn down the Twins game and listen to us as we spend a couple of hours discussing the team and its system. Download attachment: hangoutspic3.jpg We'll run the gamut tonight. We'll talk about transactions made (and not made), top performances in both the major league and minor league system and much more. Please leave questions below or @TwinsHangouts. [/hr]The Twins beat the Padres last night so on Wednesday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code TWINSWIN. Click here to view the article

What an interesting day in Twins Territory! It was announced this afternoon that the Twins were awarded the 4th pick in Comp Round B of the 2015 MLB Draft. (This is fantastic news... especially for me!) Adding a pick like this will give the Twins around $800,000 extra in their draft pool. Shortly after that, the Twins completed an Anthony Swarzak-led victory. And after that, Matt Guerrier was designated for assignment.Of course, you can't be a Twins fan and expect all (or mostly all) good news... so Kohl Stewart was scratched from his start tonight with "a little shoulder soreness". If I had to guess, I'd say the smart money would be on shutting him down for the rest of the season, which is only a handful of starts anyway. My personal target was 100 innings for Stewart this year, which he was likely to eclipse, but those 19 innings might now be hard to come by. Also of note: Taylor Rogers was placed on the 7-day DL today. Alex Wimmers joins the Rock Cats to take his place. Max Kepler was placed on the DL in Fort Myers and Rafael Valera comes over from the GCL to fill his spot. Let's check out the game action: RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 5 (11 innings) Box Score Of course a game with six runs scored in the first nine innings would have five runs scored in the two extra frames. Fortunately, Rochester scored three of those extra inning runs and the Red Wings withheld a late charge from the Durham Bulls. Alex Meyer was the story tonight. We all recognize the need for legitimate starting pitchers and Meyer answered the bell tonight. Six innings, five hits, no runs, eight strikeouts and, maybe most importantly, no walks. Meyer was efficient too, throwing only 86 pitchers. Could he be in line to make a start for the Twins soon? The answer may have gotten clearer when a 40-man roster spot was opened earlier Wednesday. The bullpen did their best to give it away, though. Literally none are worth mentioning in a positive light, so be depressed and look at the box score if you're into that sort of thing. The Red Wings needed everything they got offensively - including five Durham errors - to win this game. Doug Bernier continues to be a catalyst. His three hits, including a double and two RBI, were huge. Pedro Florimon had a multi-hit game, including a double and he scored two runs with an RBI. Wilkin Ramirez also had two hits. The win put Rochester at 57-48 and in a dead heat with the PawSox. Two other teams sit only 1.5 games back. It's going to be a grueling August. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 5, Altoona 8 Box Score Pat Dean struggled through four innings (94 pitches), allowing back-to-back-to-back second inning home runs and six runs total on nine hits. Jim Fuller and Alex Wimmers (AA debut) also gave up runs before Mason Melotakis (two strikeouts) and Matt Summers pitched scoreless frames. Brandon Waring hit two solo home runs (his 10th and 11th) and Kennys Vargas hit his 16th. All three bombs were solo. Reynaldo Rodriguez did more damage with his two-run double in the 8th inning. New Britain drops to 50-52 and continues to find themselves in a massive hole as they continue to try to make a run for a playoff berth. They are currently in third place (top two advance), but 10.5 games out of second place. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 9, Brevard County 2 Box Score Byron Buxton didn't play again today. He's missed five straight days with a right wrist injury that has left him day-to-day. Frustrating? You betcha. So the Miracle must be spinning their tires with the best prospect in baseball out, right? Wrong. Dalton Hicks homered twice and drove in four. Adam Walker homered and now has 21 and has tied former Miracle player Brock Peterson, who did it in 2006. Travis Harrison and Tyler Grimes both added doubles and two-hit games. Jorge Polanco had two hits and stole his 10th base. He also committed his 26th error of the season. He played shortstop tonight. In regard to Polanco, it wouldn't surprise me if Levi Michael sees some time at short when he returns, which could be any day now. The Miracle are now 63-37 on the year, with a ridiculous home record of 40-16. Obviously the rosters have been full of talent the last two seasons, but at what point does Dougie Baseball get more recognition? If I'm making the call, he would be managing somewhere else next season, with any one of the three higher levels a possibility. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Bowling Green 2 Box Score As mentioned above, Kohl Stewart didn't make the start. Aaron Slegers did though and pitched well. Six innings with five hits and a walk. Only two runs (one earned) and seven strikeouts. And as much as we've liked to complain about the Bullpen Draft of '14, consider tonight: Jake Reed (two innings) and Nick Burdi (one inning) recorded eight of their nine outs by strikeout. Burdi's were both swinging strikeouts. Offensively, all nine starters got hits. Tanner Vavra, Logan Wade and Mitch Garver (BOOM) all hit home runs. There were fourteen hits total. You can check out how each player contributed to the hit parade in the box score if you're so inclined. Despite a sub-.500 record (48-52), the Kernels are still in the thick of the MWL playoff race. There are currently three teams with identical second-half records (17-14) that would qualify for two playoff spots. A fourth team is a half game back. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 5, Bluefield 2 Box Score Trailing 2-1 heading into the ninth, E-town put a four-spot on the board and won going away. Multiple fielding errors gave them a much better chance in the ninth. The ninth-inning action climaxed with the double-steal resulting in Alex Real stealing home. Mat Batts struck out eight in five innings. He allowed two runs. C.K. Irby and Kuo Hua Lo each struck out two in two innings of work. Nick Gordon was 0-for-4, but did score the game-tying run. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 8 (completion of yesterday's game) Box Score Manuel Guzman tripled and Levi Michael drove in a run early in the game. Not much else happened offensively. The pitching staff coughed up runs early and often. They also issued eight free passes. Zach Tillery was good, striking out six in 4.1 innings on Wednesday. GCL Twins 4, GCL Orioles 6 Box Score I said not a lot of offense in the first game. Even fewer hits in game two. Three hits for the GCL Twins, though one was a home run by Joel Polanco, who drove in two runs. Josh Guyer gave up four runs (three earned) in 4.1 innings. Trevor Hildenberger gave up two runs and recorded the last 1.2 innings. Neither pitcher struck out a single batter. DSL DIALED IN DSL Twins 6, DSL Reds 4 Box Score Twins Daily Minor League Players of the Day Pitcher - Alex Meyer, Rochester Hitter - Brandon Waring, New Britain Thursday's Probables Rochester @ Durham (6:05 CST) – Trevor May (Listen) Portland @ New Britain (6:05 CST) – Jose Berrios (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Tampa (6:05 CST) – TBD (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Bowling Green (7:05 CST) - Lewis Thorpe (Listen) Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - Felix Jorge GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) – TBD --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Twins stuck it to Cleveland on Wednesday so today you can get a half-price large or extra-large pizza at PapaJohns.com by using the code 'TWINSWIN'. Click here to view the article