Jeremy Nygaard

This is version 1.0 (and most likely the only one). My mock draft: 1. Astros – P Mark Appel, Stanford. It comes down to him or Buxton. 2. Twins – OF Byron Buxton, Georgia HS. Correa gaining. 3. Mariners – SS Carlos Correa, Puerto Rico. The Mariners are unpredictable. I think it comes down to Correa or Buxton 4. Orioles – P Kevin Gausman, LSU. Bundy and Gausman could form a lethal combination. 5. Royals – P Kyle Zimmer, San Francisco. Will they pass on Zunino? Will they gamble on Giolito? 6. Cubs – OF Albert Almora, Florida HS. Correa dropping could make this pick interesting. 7. Padres – P Max Fried, California HS. Zunino is a possibility. 8. Pirates – C Mike Zunino, Florida. Zunino could go anywhere, staring at #3. Marrero is a possibility. 9. Marlins – P Andrew Heaney, Oklahoma State. Almora was the ideal choice. 10. Rockies – OF Courtney Hawkins, Texas HS. 11. Athletics – P Lance McCullers, Florida HS. Could Billy Beane figure out a way to afford Giolito? 12. Mets – 3B Corey Seager, NC HS. Wright heir-apparent? I like Seager more than most. 13. White Sox – P Marcus Stroman, Duke. In the race, how about a Chris Sale redux. 14. Reds – P Michael Wacha, Texas A&M. 15. Indians – P Chris Stratton, Mississippi State. 16. Nationals – OF David Dahl, Alabama HS. 17. Blue Jays – P Brian Johnson, Florida. I think the Blue Jays are going to save here to spend later. 18. Dodgers – P Ty Hensley, Oklahoma HS. 19. Cardinals – SS Deven Marrero, Arizona State. 20. Giants – P Shane Watson, California HS. 21. Braves – 3B Richie Shaffer, Clemson. 22. Blue Jays – P Lucas Giolito, California HS. 23. Cardinals – P Matt Smoral, Ohio HS. 24. Red Sox – SS Gavin Cecchini, Louisiana HS. 25. Rays – OF D.J. Davis, Mississippi HS. 26. Arizona – 3B Stephen Piscotty, Stanford. 27. Brewers – C Clint Coultier, Washington HS. 28. Brewers – SS Addison Russell, Florida HS. 29. Rangers – C/OF Stryker Trahan, Louisiana HS. 30. Yankees – P Mitchell Gueller, Washington HS. 31. Red Sox – OF Tyler Naquin, Texas A&M. PLUS ONE 32. Twins – P Mitch Brown, Minnesota HS. Players to be considered at #42: P Lucas Sims, Georgia HS; P Zach Eflin, Florida HS; P J.O. Berrios, Puerto Rico; P Hunter Virant, California HS; P Alec Rash, Iowa HS.

This is version 1.0 (and most likely the only one). My mock draft: 1. Astros – P Mark Appel, Stanford. It comes down to him or Buxton. 2. Twins – OF Byron Buxton, Georgia HS. Correa gaining. 3. Mariners – SS Carlos Correa, Puerto Rico. The Mariners are unpredictable. I think it comes down to Correa or Buxton 4. Orioles – P Kevin Gausman, LSU. Bundy and Gausman could form a lethal combination. 5. Royals – P Kyle Zimmer, San Francisco. Will they pass on Zunino? Will they gamble on Giolito? 6. Cubs – OF Albert Almora, Florida HS. Correa dropping could make this pick interesting. 7. Padres – P Max Fried, California HS. Zunino is a possibility. 8. Pirates – C Mike Zunino, Florida. Zunino could go anywhere, staring at #3. Marrero is a possibility. 9. Marlins – P Andrew Heaney, Oklahoma State. Almora was the ideal choice. 10. Rockies – OF Courtney Hawkins, Texas HS. 11. Athletics – P Lance McCullers, Florida HS. Could Billy Beane figure out a way to afford Giolito? 12. Mets – 3B Corey Seager, NC HS. Wright heir-apparent? I like Seager more than most. 13. White Sox – P Marcus Stroman, Duke. In the race, how about a Chris Sale redux. 14. Reds – P Michael Wacha, Texas A&M. 15. Indians – P Chris Stratton, Mississippi State. 16. Nationals – OF David Dahl, Alabama HS. 17. Blue Jays – P Brian Johnson, Florida. I think the Blue Jays are going to save here to spend later. 18. Dodgers – P Ty Hensley, Oklahoma HS. 19. Cardinals – SS Deven Marrero, Arizona State. 20. Giants – P Shane Watson, California HS. 21. Braves – 3B Richie Shaffer, Clemson. 22. Blue Jays – P Lucas Giolito, California HS. 23. Cardinals – P Matt Smoral, Ohio HS. 24. Red Sox – SS Gavin Cecchini, Louisiana HS. 25. Rays – OF D.J. Davis, Mississippi HS. 26. Arizona – 3B Stephen Piscotty, Stanford. 27. Brewers – C Clint Coultier, Washington HS. 28. Brewers – SS Addison Russell, Florida HS. 29. Rangers – C/OF Stryker Trahan, Louisiana HS. 30. Yankees – P Mitchell Gueller, Washington HS. 31. Red Sox – OF Tyler Naquin, Texas A&M. PLUS ONE 32. Twins – P Mitch Brown, Minnesota HS. Players to be considered at #42: P Lucas Sims, Georgia HS; P Zach Eflin, Florida HS; P J.O. Berrios, Puerto Rico; P Hunter Virant, California HS; P Alec Rash, Iowa HS.

Originally posted at www.ManCenter.com ----------- Looking through names that expect to called next week, there are a few that seem to fit various patterns that the Twins have followed over the last handful of years. None of these names have appeared in any other preview that I've written. Luke Anderson, RHP, North Dakota State - Anderson is originally from Prior Lake, MN, so there is a very good chance he's been on the Twins radar for awhile. A senior with local ties could be added late in the draft to provide organizational depth. Kyle Cody, RHP, Chippewa Falls, WI - The Twins took a flier last year on J.J. Dettmann, a projectable pitcher from Western Wisconsin who ended up going to Connecticut. While Cody is very likely to head to Kentucky this fall, it wouldn't surprise anyone for them to take Cody to show their interest. Also of note, Chippewa Falls is Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra's birthplace. Brian Hanson, OF, St. Cloud State - Another Minnesota native, Hanson was drafted by the Indians out of high school. Hanson does have another year of eligibility left, but the Twins have done a very thorough job of drafting players for the state of Minnesota. McClendon Hill, SS, Georgia Perimeter JC - The Twins have taken a couple of players from this Junior College over the last few drafts. They also like to take athletic players from the state of Georgia. Matt Milroy, RHP, Illinois - While Milroy's raw stuff is much better than his actual stuff, the Twins have drafted quite a few Big Ten pitchers. Milroy may be the best of the that lot this year. Alec Rash, RHP, Adel, IA - Rash's build and scouting report reads almost identically to current farmhand and former Iowan B.J. Hermsen, a 2008 draft pick. Hermsen was given 2nd round money as a 6th round to buy him out of Oregon State. Could we see something similar with Rash and his commitment to Missouri? Timmy Robinson, OF, Huntington Beach, CA - The Twins like prepsters from California. The Twins like relatives of current Twins. The brother of Alex Burnett figures to be on the radar in the first half-dozen rounds. Wilfredo Rodriguez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy - Rodriguez could continue the Twins run of getting the "bat tool" out of Puerto Rico. There are questions about whether he can stick at catcher... but if he can, the Twins would have added interest. Dalton Sawyer, LHP, Waconia, MN and Brent Strong, LHP, Andover, MN - The top two prep lefties in the state are committed to Minnesota and Bradley, respectively. If the Twins find themselves with extra money to spend in the late teens, it wouldn't surprise anyone if one of these two (or both) was the recipient of it. Similar to how the Twins got Austin Malinowski under contract last year. Julian Service, OF, Whitby, Ontario, Canada - The Twins have had past success in Canada with both Morneau and Rene Tosoni. Service is not the prototypical toolsy Twins outfielder, but he is slighty bigger, right-handed version of Tosoni. Storm Throne, RHP, Morningside (IA) - Similar to Rash, the Twins have taken pitchers from Iowa. Throne, who also is a basketball player, figures to return to college to play both sports as a senior, but this big, projectable righty fits the profile the Twins often look for.

Originally posted at www.ManCenter.com ----------- Looking through names that expect to called next week, there are a few that seem to fit various patterns that the Twins have followed over the last handful of years. None of these names have appeared in any other preview that I've written. Luke Anderson, RHP, North Dakota State - Anderson is originally from Prior Lake, MN, so there is a very good chance he's been on the Twins radar for awhile. A senior with local ties could be added late in the draft to provide organizational depth. Kyle Cody, RHP, Chippewa Falls, WI - The Twins took a flier last year on J.J. Dettmann, a projectable pitcher from Western Wisconsin who ended up going to Connecticut. While Cody is very likely to head to Kentucky this fall, it wouldn't surprise anyone for them to take Cody to show their interest. Also of note, Chippewa Falls is Twins hitting coach Joe Vavra's birthplace. Brian Hanson, OF, St. Cloud State - Another Minnesota native, Hanson was drafted by the Indians out of high school. Hanson does have another year of eligibility left, but the Twins have done a very thorough job of drafting players for the state of Minnesota. McClendon Hill, SS, Georgia Perimeter JC - The Twins have taken a couple of players from this Junior College over the last few drafts. They also like to take athletic players from the state of Georgia. Matt Milroy, RHP, Illinois - While Milroy's raw stuff is much better than his actual stuff, the Twins have drafted quite a few Big Ten pitchers. Milroy may be the best of the that lot this year. Alec Rash, RHP, Adel, IA - Rash's build and scouting report reads almost identically to current farmhand and former Iowan B.J. Hermsen, a 2008 draft pick. Hermsen was given 2nd round money as a 6th round to buy him out of Oregon State. Could we see something similar with Rash and his commitment to Missouri? Timmy Robinson, OF, Huntington Beach, CA - The Twins like prepsters from California. The Twins like relatives of current Twins. The brother of Alex Burnett figures to be on the radar in the first half-dozen rounds. Wilfredo Rodriguez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy - Rodriguez could continue the Twins run of getting the "bat tool" out of Puerto Rico. There are questions about whether he can stick at catcher... but if he can, the Twins would have added interest. Dalton Sawyer, LHP, Waconia, MN and Brent Strong, LHP, Andover, MN - The top two prep lefties in the state are committed to Minnesota and Bradley, respectively. If the Twins find themselves with extra money to spend in the late teens, it wouldn't surprise anyone if one of these two (or both) was the recipient of it. Similar to how the Twins got Austin Malinowski under contract last year. Julian Service, OF, Whitby, Ontario, Canada - The Twins have had past success in Canada with both Morneau and Rene Tosoni. Service is not the prototypical toolsy Twins outfielder, but he is slighty bigger, right-handed version of Tosoni. Storm Throne, RHP, Morningside (IA) - Similar to Rash, the Twins have taken pitchers from Iowa. Throne, who also is a basketball player, figures to return to college to play both sports as a senior, but this big, projectable righty fits the profile the Twins often look for.

I vaguely recall having a conversation with Seth at TwinsFest about how Herrmann will be the perfect complement to Mauer as soon as 2013. Herrmann also played a little 3B before being drafted, it'd be nice if he could (re)add that to his arsenal.

Baseball America recently released their Top 500 and the following players are guys that show up on the list that the Twins have previously drafted. [TABLE=width: 509] 2012 DRAFT ELIGIBLE POS DRAFTED BA RANK COLLEGE CLASS James Ramsey OF[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #51 FLORIDA STATE SR [TD=colspan: 6]Has been called "baseball's Tim Tebow", turned down a $500K offer from Twins because he didn't want to move to second base.[/TD] Pat Light RHP[TD=align: right]2009[/TD] #81 MONMOUTH JR [TD=colspan: 6]Big-bodied pitcher who pounds the zone. Will get a chance to start, but could end up in late-inning role with mid-90s fastball.[/TD] Ryan Tella OF[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #201 AUBURN R-SO [TD=colspan: 6]Compared to Clete Thomas, though scouting report reads more like Denard Span.[/TD] Ronnie Richardson OF[TD=align: right]2009[/TD] #231 CENTRAL FLORIDA JR [TD=colspan: 6]Five-foot-six, he's not as fast as Ben Revere, though he has a better arm.[/TD] T.J. Oakes RHP[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #292 MINNESOTA JR [TD=colspan: 6]Twins familiar with Oakes, whose dad is the Gophers pitching coach.[/TD] Eduardo (EJ) Encinosa RHP[TD=align: right]2009[/TD] #322 MIAMI JR [TD=colspan: 6]Has the Miami attitude (think Valencia), though he doesn't have the control or command to spot his mid-90s fastball.[/TD] Dylan Chavez LHP[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #339 MISSISSIPPI JR [TD=colspan: 6]Has bounced around. Is a strike-thrower, who throws a fastball in the low-90s out of the bullpen[/TD] Will Clinard RHP[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #367 VANDERBILT JR [TD=colspan: 6]Tough sign. Hasn't pitched much as Vandy's closer, has a low-90s fastball and a good slider.[/TD] [/TABLE]

Baseball America recently released their Top 500 and the following players are guys that show up on the list that the Twins have previously drafted. [TABLE=width: 509] 2012 DRAFT ELIGIBLE POS DRAFTED BA RANK COLLEGE CLASS James Ramsey OF[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #51 FLORIDA STATE SR [TD=colspan: 6]Has been called "baseball's Tim Tebow", turned down a $500K offer from Twins because he didn't want to move to second base.[/TD] Pat Light RHP[TD=align: right]2009[/TD] #81 MONMOUTH JR [TD=colspan: 6]Big-bodied pitcher who pounds the zone. Will get a chance to start, but could end up in late-inning role with mid-90s fastball.[/TD] Ryan Tella OF[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #201 AUBURN R-SO [TD=colspan: 6]Compared to Clete Thomas, though scouting report reads more like Denard Span.[/TD] Ronnie Richardson OF[TD=align: right]2009[/TD] #231 CENTRAL FLORIDA JR [TD=colspan: 6]Five-foot-six, he's not as fast as Ben Revere, though he has a better arm.[/TD] T.J. Oakes RHP[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #292 MINNESOTA JR [TD=colspan: 6]Twins familiar with Oakes, whose dad is the Gophers pitching coach.[/TD] Eduardo (EJ) Encinosa RHP[TD=align: right]2009[/TD] #322 MIAMI JR [TD=colspan: 6]Has the Miami attitude (think Valencia), though he doesn't have the control or command to spot his mid-90s fastball.[/TD] Dylan Chavez LHP[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #339 MISSISSIPPI JR [TD=colspan: 6]Has bounced around. Is a strike-thrower, who throws a fastball in the low-90s out of the bullpen[/TD] Will Clinard RHP[TD=align: right]2011[/TD] #367 VANDERBILT JR [TD=colspan: 6]Tough sign. Hasn't pitched much as Vandy's closer, has a low-90s fastball and a good slider.[/TD] [/TABLE]

Happy Memorial Day! Jason Marquis was not claimed on release waivers – and both Marquis and the Twins declined sending him to Rochester – thus making him a free agent. The Twins will continue to pay the remainder of the $3 million owed to Marquis. If another team signs him to the minimum, the Twins bill will go down that much (probably $480,000). His – and Erik Komatsu’s – removal from the 40-man leaves the roster at 38 men. Gardenhire also said he didn’t expect the Twins to work out a trade for Komatsu’s rights. The Twins – after a come-from-behind-win – are still tied with the Cubs in the race for the first pick in the 2013 MLB Draft. This year’s draft takes place a week from today. Let’s take a spin around the farm: ROCHESTER 1, CHARLOTTE 4 Box score David Bromberg made his return to AAA and was charged with four earned runs over 5 1/3 innings. He struck out four, walked two and allowed seven hits. Lester Oliveros got the next five outs, four by strikeouts and allowed two hits. Anthony Slama did Oliveros one better by striking out all the batters (three) that he faced while allowing no hits. The story of Slama this year has been well-documented on this site and others. The biggest story of today’s game was the returned presence of Terry Doyle (the Twins Rule V draft pick this year). Doyle’s no-hit bid was broke up with one out in the eighth (on a Matt Carson double). Pedro Florimon added a two-out home run in the ninth. Danny Valencia followed that up with a single before Sean Burroughs ended the game with a groundout to the second baseman. It’s worth noting that Danny Valencia is batting .325 over his last ten games. Also, before Sean Burroughs went 0-for-4 today, he went 8-for-his-last-15. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if either of these guys got the call to come play third base for the Big Club within the next week. NEW BRITAIN 3, PORTLAND 0 Box score The arms were the story for the RockCats. Brett Jacobson, all the Twins still have to show for J.J. Hardy, made a spot start in place of David Bromberg. He allowed only two hits, walking and striking out one in four shutout innings (therefore, not qualifying for the win). He was a little wild – as has been the hard-thrower’s problem in the past – hitting one, picking up an error on a pickoff attempt and throwing two wild pitches as well. Blake Martin struck out three in two innings of shutout ball (getting the win). Daniel Turpen allowed two hits in one inning of work, but struck out two and allowed no runs. Caleb Thielbar collected his second save by striking out two in two innings of no-hit baseball. The bats didn’t do much – but didn’t have to either. All three runs were scored in the third inning. Rene Tosoni hit a two-out double. Aaron Hicks (who also singled in the first) knocked Tosoni in with a single. Chris Colabello followed with a two-run blast. FT. MYERS IDLE The Miracle had a scheduled day off. They will face 2011 first-overall pick Gerrit Cole tomorrow. BELOIT 15, KANE COUNTY 9 Box score Matt Summers – who has had a fantastic May (9 ER, 31 IP) – went five innings, striking out eight while giving up seven hits, four runs (one earned) and a walk. The bullpen trio of Ryan O’Rourke, Michael Tonkin and Clint Dempster were not nearly as solid. Collectively, they went five innings. They allowed 11 hits, five runs (all earned) and a walk. They struck out six. Corey Williams got the win, but had some trouble of his own, allowing three hits to start the bottom of the 12th. He did strike out two and got an unassisted double play from A.J. Pettersen to end the game. Miguel Sano started the game 0-for-6, with two strikeouts and his 19th error of the season. He turned it around in the top of the 12th hitting a 3-run homerun to blow open the game big time. This came after a Matt Koch double that scored Jonathan Goncalves to give the Snappers the lead and Tyler Grimes, J.D. Williams and Pettersen added singles. Eddie Rosario plated a run with a sacrifice fly. And then there was Sano… The rest of the offense was even better than Sano. Williams, Pettersen, Koch and Grimes all had three hits. Rosario, Goncalves and Drew Leachman all hit two-hits. Rosario had five RBI. It’s loaded from top to bottom, so seriously consider checking out the box score linked above. Last year’s 11th round pick and Wisconsin-native Tyler Jones will be making his Snapper starting debut tomorrow. Milwaukee and Beloit are only about forty minutes apart, so hopefully any family that Jones has in Milwaukee will be able to make the trip. Jones has pitched four scoreless innings in relief since being brought up from extended spring training earlier this week. He had a rough professional start last year, giving up 10 earned runs in seven innings pitched in four games after signing last summer. --- Players of the Day for Monday, May 28, 2012 Hitters of the Day – Snappers offense (see above) [ATTACH=CONFIG]1065[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Brett Jacobson [ATTACH=CONFIG]1064[/ATTACH] (Kevin Pataky/MiLB.com) --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, May 29, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – RHP Nick Blackburn (Rehab) New Britain vs Binghamton – RHP B.J. Hermsen (2-1, 1.83) Ft. Myers vs Clearwater – RHP Madison Boer (0-5, 11.76) Beloit at Kane County – RHP Tyler Jones (0-0, 0.00) --- 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.

I read that New Hampshire just re-upped with the Blue Jays. My impression was that was the most logical destination for the Twins. At this point, I have to believe that the Twins stay in New Britain for a couple more years.

From what I hear, Hensley will be off the board in the late teens to mid-twenties. I haven't really taken the time to learn too much about him, simply cause I don't think he'll be in play when the sandwich round rolls around. Buttrey is a different case. I would lump him in with a lot of high school guys that will probably go late sandwich, early second. The thing about Buttrey is that he could go to Arkansas for two years and really improve his draft stock. That could cause him to slide.

As you probably know, the MLB Draft will be taking place in just a little over a week. There is a lot of draft-related material scattered all over this very website. Among them are a handful of Draft Previews that I've written. Recently, there was a lengthy thread started by "cmb0252" which is all about the draft. What follows is a tag team effort between myself and "cmb0252" (I'm not sure if he's ready to introduce himself to the world yet), which took place over the last couple of days. ---- Jeremy Nygaard: The assumption – right or wrong – is that the Astros take Mark Appel first overall. That doesn’t affect my board at all. I have Byron Buxton solidly at #1. I know there are knocks on him – and the perception that outfield is the deepest position in the system – but, as the organizational philosophy goes: he’s the best player available. No one, besides Miguel Sano (and maybe not even Sano), has the upside that this guy has. cmb0252: If we are going by the assumption that the Astros take Mark Appel with the first overall pick, that also doesn't affect my board. As Keith Law put it, "he could easily end up the best player out of this draft, given his youth and upside at the plate." No, he wasn't talking about Buxton, but Carlos Correa. Correa just turned 17, a year and a half younger than Buxton, and is considered to have the best high school bat in the draft. Where Buxton might have the defensive edge profiling as a plus plus up the middle player and while most feel Correa will outgrow SS he still profiles as a plus defensive 3B. Younger, better bat, huge upside, AND is at a position we actually need. Twins actually haven't been linked to Correa so for arguments sake I will bring up a name they have: Gausman. (EDITOR'S NOTE: The Twins were linked to Correa last night.) Once again quoting Keith Law, "Gausman is flashing two plus secondary pitches now and getting ground balls and has the velocity to match the other guys, not to mention better results as a sophomore in the nation's best conference. "While Gausman profiles as a #2, which would still put him in the top 40-50 pitchers in baseball, he does have a ceiling of a number one. I guess my question to my counterpart would be, why does a 18+ year old HS kid have a better chance to hit his ceiling than a 21 year old college kid? In the end they both have high ceilings but one also has a high floor. JN: If the Twins decide to go college pitcher, I really hope it is Gausman. I also think there is better chance that Gausman reaches his ceiling than Buxton. Buxton’s ceiling, though, is higher. The moment he signs he’s going to be a top-25 prospect in all of baseball. The same can’t be said for any of the college pitchers, in my opinion. While the Twins haven’t gotten a lot of opportunities to draft the top-of-the-line starters, they also haven’t had the chance to draft very many middle-of-the-order, middle-of-the-defense-type players either. We’re talking Justin Upton/Matt Kemp comps. That’s league MVP comparables. But that’s ceiling again and far from a slam-dunk. With all that being said, I wouldn’t fault the Twins for drafting Buxton, Gausman or Correa. Chances are one of those guys is going to sign for $3.5 million as the #5 pick, a much better value than the $6.2 million that the #2 pick is worth. Long story short, I don’t think there is a $2.7 million difference in those three guys, and a case can be made that any of the three are the best. ------ JN: I’m curious to see what happens with Mitch Brown. Being local, he’s as “can’t-miss” as we’ve seen since Mauer. My philosophy going in would be to let him know that we have him evaluated as a “sandwich round” prospect, tell him we really want him and offer him a little over “sandwich-round average” ($1.2 million) as the 32nd pick. I hope that buys him out of his commitment and the team can bank $350,000 savings. CB: For Twins fans who follow the draft outside of who the Twins are taking at #2 the hottest topic is Mitch Brown. For those of you that haven't heard of Brown "the best draft prospect out of Minnesota in 2012" here is MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo's take on him: "While not the biggest guy in the world, he is strong and durably built. He also has a good idea of what he’s doing on the mound. The right-hander can run his fastball up to 94 mph. He can spin a breaking ball pretty well, throws a good cutter and even shows a feel for the changeup. That gives him the chance to have four Major League average or well above offerings in the future." Mayo has him at 66, Law has him at 45, and BA has him at 44. While I won’t argue that we shouldn't target Brown- we need all the pitching we can get- I'm going to suggest it would be better to roll the dice and hope he is there at pick #42. There should still be premium talent around at #32, we need as much premium talent as we can get, and we can’t waste that pick on sentiment. Obviously we won’t know who will be there at #32 on draft day but looking at mocks there are is a good chance a player like Zach Elfin, Matt Smoral, Corey Seager, or Stryker Trahan could be waiting for us. JN: The industry sentiment is that teams are going to take guys they like early, pay them less than slot value and see what falls to them later, knowing they would be able to pay those guys more than slot value. I would argue that unless there is a guy the Twins like more (that has similar demands), they should absolutely draft Brown at #32. As you mentioned, Baseball America, who I trust more than the others, rates Brown 44, which is probably close to where I’d rank him on talent alone. But don’t forget to account for the guys that are rated higher that will drop because of their demands. If some of those guys are there at #32, I’d rather risk letting them slide to #42, knowing that I’ve at least gotten the guy I want (Brown) at #32. It would also be easier to stomach – from a pure financial standpoint – letting a lower draft pick go unsigned, as that money is removed from the spending pool. ---- JN: With the rules around bonuses changing, I’ve spent so much time wondering how the Twins squeeze every last penny out of their $12,368,200 bonus pool to make this draft as productive as possible. At the end of the day, though, I have a hard time believing the “cost-effective” team even spends $11 million. CB: I agree that there is a very slim chance the Twins use their whole‚ $12,368,200 bonus pool‚ but I wouldn't be surprised if they broke $11M. The Twins spent $5.9M on 2011 draft which was actually over the recommended amount last year. Where that sounds like a small number compared to this year you have to take into account that the #2 pick, $6.2M bonus, has a higher recommended bonus than our whole draft last year. Also, the 30th overall pick Levi Michael signed for $1.175M last year which is actually less money than the recommended signing bonus for the #32 pick this year. Not only do the Twins have the chance, money, and picks to bring a lot of talent into our minor league system, they have the need. JN: You’re right, obviously the $6.2 million figure skews the data. Looking at their signing history, though, the Twins – and every other team, presumably – are going to bank savings on college seniors: Adam Bryant signed for $25,000 last year (this year’s value: $125,600), Matt Hauser ($45,000 vs $141,700) and Kyle Knudson ($25,000 vs $129,300) in 2010. Heck, even Brian Dozier ($30,000 vs $139,500) was a great “value” pick. Yes, this could give them the chance to sign some later-drafted guys to bigger deals, but I just have a feeling: When all is said and done, the Twins will have shaved a lot of money off their full allotment. ----- JN: I’m going to dream a little bit. Pie-in-the-sky hope here: Buxton and Brown go #2 and #32. The team knows their demands and will have around $2 million to spend on #42. Keeping with the pie-in-the-sky theory, I really hope that a high-school pitcher with high demands, like a Matt Smoral, Zach Eflin, J.O. Berrios or Hunter Virant, can be convinced to take a couple million - that other teams won't be able to offer - to join the Twins. CB: Where we differ at who we prefer the Twins to take at #2, Buxton vs Correa/Gausman, we have pretty much the same names at #32/42.....just different order.‚ If you are asking me my realistic "dream" draft?‚ Gausman at #2, Elfin at #32, and Brown at #42 would work for me. Three guys that profile as mid to top of the rotation starters who have a chance to be more. Sounds exactly like what the doctor ordered to fix our woe minor league pitching staffs. In the end though I would be happy with a draft of one of Buxton/Correa/Guasman, Brown, and one of Virant/Smoral/Eflin/Seager. JN: I would be ecstatic if Seager fell out of the first round and the Twins were able to draft him and get him signed. If he’s fallen that far, though, I have to believe that no one was able to meet his demands and that would be enough to scare the Twins off too. If the Twins get two high-ceiling pitchers out of the first three picks, I’d end Day 1 of the draft a pretty happy Twins fan. --- Part 2: COMING SOON!

As you probably know, the MLB Draft will be taking place in just a little over a week. There is a lot of draft-related material scattered all over this very website. Among them are a handful of Draft Previews that I've written. Recently, there was a lengthy thread started by "cmb0252" which is all about the draft. What follows is a tag team effort between myself and "cmb0252" (I'm not sure if he's ready to introduce himself to the world yet), which took place over the last couple of days. ---- Jeremy Nygaard: The assumption – right or wrong – is that the Astros take Mark Appel first overall. That doesn’t affect my board at all. I have Byron Buxton solidly at #1. I know there are knocks on him – and the perception that outfield is the deepest position in the system – but, as the organizational philosophy goes: he’s the best player available. No one, besides Miguel Sano (and maybe not even Sano), has the upside that this guy has. cmb0252: If we are going by the assumption that the Astros take Mark Appel with the first overall pick, that also doesn't affect my board. As Keith Law put it, "he could easily end up the best player out of this draft, given his youth and upside at the plate." No, he wasn't talking about Buxton, but Carlos Correa. Correa just turned 17, a year and a half younger than Buxton, and is considered to have the best high school bat in the draft. Where Buxton might have the defensive edge profiling as a plus plus up the middle player and while most feel Correa will outgrow SS he still profiles as a plus defensive 3B. Younger, better bat, huge upside, AND is at a position we actually need. Twins actually haven't been linked to Correa so for arguments sake I will bring up a name they have: Gausman. (EDITOR'S NOTE: The Twins were linked to Correa last night.) Once again quoting Keith Law, "Gausman is flashing two plus secondary pitches now and getting ground balls and has the velocity to match the other guys, not to mention better results as a sophomore in the nation's best conference. "While Gausman profiles as a #2, which would still put him in the top 40-50 pitchers in baseball, he does have a ceiling of a number one. I guess my question to my counterpart would be, why does a 18+ year old HS kid have a better chance to hit his ceiling than a 21 year old college kid? In the end they both have high ceilings but one also has a high floor. JN: If the Twins decide to go college pitcher, I really hope it is Gausman. I also think there is better chance that Gausman reaches his ceiling than Buxton. Buxton’s ceiling, though, is higher. The moment he signs he’s going to be a top-25 prospect in all of baseball. The same can’t be said for any of the college pitchers, in my opinion. While the Twins haven’t gotten a lot of opportunities to draft the top-of-the-line starters, they also haven’t had the chance to draft very many middle-of-the-order, middle-of-the-defense-type players either. We’re talking Justin Upton/Matt Kemp comps. That’s league MVP comparables. But that’s ceiling again and far from a slam-dunk. With all that being said, I wouldn’t fault the Twins for drafting Buxton, Gausman or Correa. Chances are one of those guys is going to sign for $3.5 million as the #5 pick, a much better value than the $6.2 million that the #2 pick is worth. Long story short, I don’t think there is a $2.7 million difference in those three guys, and a case can be made that any of the three are the best. ------ JN: I’m curious to see what happens with Mitch Brown. Being local, he’s as “can’t-miss” as we’ve seen since Mauer. My philosophy going in would be to let him know that we have him evaluated as a “sandwich round” prospect, tell him we really want him and offer him a little over “sandwich-round average” ($1.2 million) as the 32nd pick. I hope that buys him out of his commitment and the team can bank $350,000 savings. CB: For Twins fans who follow the draft outside of who the Twins are taking at #2 the hottest topic is Mitch Brown. For those of you that haven't heard of Brown "the best draft prospect out of Minnesota in 2012" here is MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo's take on him: "While not the biggest guy in the world, he is strong and durably built. He also has a good idea of what he’s doing on the mound. The right-hander can run his fastball up to 94 mph. He can spin a breaking ball pretty well, throws a good cutter and even shows a feel for the changeup. That gives him the chance to have four Major League average or well above offerings in the future." Mayo has him at 66, Law has him at 45, and BA has him at 44. While I won’t argue that we shouldn't target Brown- we need all the pitching we can get- I'm going to suggest it would be better to roll the dice and hope he is there at pick #42. There should still be premium talent around at #32, we need as much premium talent as we can get, and we can’t waste that pick on sentiment. Obviously we won’t know who will be there at #32 on draft day but looking at mocks there are is a good chance a player like Zach Elfin, Matt Smoral, Corey Seager, or Stryker Trahan could be waiting for us. JN: The industry sentiment is that teams are going to take guys they like early, pay them less than slot value and see what falls to them later, knowing they would be able to pay those guys more than slot value. I would argue that unless there is a guy the Twins like more (that has similar demands), they should absolutely draft Brown at #32. As you mentioned, Baseball America, who I trust more than the others, rates Brown 44, which is probably close to where I’d rank him on talent alone. But don’t forget to account for the guys that are rated higher that will drop because of their demands. If some of those guys are there at #32, I’d rather risk letting them slide to #42, knowing that I’ve at least gotten the guy I want (Brown) at #32. It would also be easier to stomach – from a pure financial standpoint – letting a lower draft pick go unsigned, as that money is removed from the spending pool. ---- JN: With the rules around bonuses changing, I’ve spent so much time wondering how the Twins squeeze every last penny out of their $12,368,200 bonus pool to make this draft as productive as possible. At the end of the day, though, I have a hard time believing the “cost-effective” team even spends $11 million. CB: I agree that there is a very slim chance the Twins use their whole‚ $12,368,200 bonus pool‚ but I wouldn't be surprised if they broke $11M. The Twins spent $5.9M on 2011 draft which was actually over the recommended amount last year. Where that sounds like a small number compared to this year you have to take into account that the #2 pick, $6.2M bonus, has a higher recommended bonus than our whole draft last year. Also, the 30th overall pick Levi Michael signed for $1.175M last year which is actually less money than the recommended signing bonus for the #32 pick this year. Not only do the Twins have the chance, money, and picks to bring a lot of talent into our minor league system, they have the need. JN: You’re right, obviously the $6.2 million figure skews the data. Looking at their signing history, though, the Twins – and every other team, presumably – are going to bank savings on college seniors: Adam Bryant signed for $25,000 last year (this year’s value: $125,600), Matt Hauser ($45,000 vs $141,700) and Kyle Knudson ($25,000 vs $129,300) in 2010. Heck, even Brian Dozier ($30,000 vs $139,500) was a great “value” pick. Yes, this could give them the chance to sign some later-drafted guys to bigger deals, but I just have a feeling: When all is said and done, the Twins will have shaved a lot of money off their full allotment. ----- JN: I’m going to dream a little bit. Pie-in-the-sky hope here: Buxton and Brown go #2 and #32. The team knows their demands and will have around $2 million to spend on #42. Keeping with the pie-in-the-sky theory, I really hope that a high-school pitcher with high demands, like a Matt Smoral, Zach Eflin, J.O. Berrios or Hunter Virant, can be convinced to take a couple million - that other teams won't be able to offer - to join the Twins. CB: Where we differ at who we prefer the Twins to take at #2, Buxton vs Correa/Gausman, we have pretty much the same names at #32/42.....just different order.‚ If you are asking me my realistic "dream" draft?‚ Gausman at #2, Elfin at #32, and Brown at #42 would work for me. Three guys that profile as mid to top of the rotation starters who have a chance to be more. Sounds exactly like what the doctor ordered to fix our woe minor league pitching staffs. In the end though I would be happy with a draft of one of Buxton/Correa/Guasman, Brown, and one of Virant/Smoral/Eflin/Seager. JN: I would be ecstatic if Seager fell out of the first round and the Twins were able to draft him and get him signed. If he’s fallen that far, though, I have to believe that no one was able to meet his demands and that would be enough to scare the Twins off too. If the Twins get two high-ceiling pitchers out of the first three picks, I’d end Day 1 of the draft a pretty happy Twins fan. --- Part 2: COMING SOON!

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. 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 Hitter of the Day – Rene Tosoni [ATTACH=CONFIG]1006[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Jeff Manship [ATTACH=CONFIG]1007[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, May 22, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – RHP Daryl Thompson (1-4, 4.42) New Britain vs Binghamton – LHP Logan Darnel (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.

Yesterday was one of the better days the Twins organization has experienced in the last year. They followed that up with a day that ranks somewhere near the bottom. The Twins, attempting to sweep the Brewers in Milwaukee for the first time in over thirty years, fell flat on their face, mostly thanks to the right arm of Jason Marquis. While Mauer collecting four hits and Butera impressing in a relief appearance were both silver linings, many of us are left wondering: What is the next (or correct) step to take with Marquis? Suffice it to say that not only is Marquis’ rotation spot in jeopardy, but so is his roster spot… and, to be honest, his future as a major league baseball player. Unfortunately, the farm system experienced an equally dismal day. A quick spin around Sunday’s action: ROCHESTER 1, GWINNETT 2 Luke French battled through 5 1/3, allowing six hits, two earned runs, a walk and two strikeouts. Lester Oliveros – who was recently promoted after dominating in New Britain– accounted for two outs (one strikeout). Matt Maloney finished the game with three scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out two. It was believed that Maloney would eventually join Rochester’s rotation, so this appears to be the first step of stretching him out. Wilkin Ramirez is gaining a lot of notice as he continues to swing a hot bat after his promotion. After going 2-for-4 with a double today, he has hit safely in all six of his AAA games, including four multi-hit games. Ramirez is still relatively young (26), so as the Twins continue to look towards the future, there is a good chance Ramirez will be given a chance to prove his worth. Danny Valencia, Clete Thomas and Matt Carson each added one hit. NEW BRITAIN 4, READING 10 Brad Thompson made his first Double-A start since 2004 and it was a forgettable one. In 2 1/3 innings, Thompson allowed seven hits, five runs (four earned) without striking out any. Brett Jacobson entered in the third and put up similar numbers – six hits, five runs (three earned) – but lasted 3 1/3 innings and struck out three, walking one. Blake Martin pitched the final 2 1/3 innings, scattering three hits and a walk, but not allowing any runs while striking out one. The bats didn’t offer much support. Deibinson Romero and Evan Bigley each had two hits. A couple of things worth noting: Joe Benson has not played since homering Friday night. No word on injury or otherwise. Aaron Hicks went 1-for-4 with a double and a stolen base, driving in two runs, but was lifted in-between innings after his double. No word on Hicks either. Former Red Wing/Twin Juan Morillo pitched against the Rockcats in relief today. He was up to his old tricks – he struck out one and walked two. He now has eight Ks in eight innings, to go with his seven hits and 23(!) walks. FT. MYERS 2, BREVARD COUNTY 13 Another report; another loss. The Miracle took one on the chin this afternoon to the tune of 13-2. They only managed three hits: doubles by Danny Ortiz and Oswaldo Arcia and an Anderson Hidalgo single. Levi Michael is 3-for-24 (.125) over his last seven games. Lance Ray is 2-for-27 (.074) since being named FSL’s player of the week last week. Angel Morales is 4-for-38 (.105) with 15 Ks over his last ten games. The bats, as they say, have gone cold. Miguel Munoz started and lasted three innings. He gave up six hits, four earned runs, two walks and a strikeout. Cole Nelson relieved him and went 2 2/3 innings, giving up seven hits and five earned runs. He did manage to strike out six batters though. Bruce Pugh allowed two unearned runs in 1 1/3 innings. Ricky Bowen struck out two in a perfect eighth. BELOIT 0, BURLINGTON 12 …and the worst for last. The Snappers were blanked by the Bees and it was gut-wrenching ugly. Tim Shibuya (7 ER, 4.1 IP), David Hurlbut (2 UER, 1.2 IP) and Bart Carter (2 ER, 2 IP) were all bad. The bats were just as bad (if not worse): Miguel Sano (0-4, 3 K) and Eddie Rosario (1-3, 2 K) contributed very little to a 5-hit attack (J.D. Williams had two hits). The Snappers only had one batter reach second base… and that happened in the first inning. And as bad as both the pitching and hitting was, the defense may have been worse! Sano (12), Tyler Grimes (11), Rosario (9) and Drew Leachman (2) all added to their already-high number of errors. --- Players of the Day for Sunday, May 20, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Matt Maloney [ATTACH=CONFIG]1000[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Aaron Hicks [ATTACH=CONFIG]1001[/ATTACH] (from milb.com) --- A Look Ahead – Monday, May 21, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – RHP Jeff Manship (3-1, 3.48) New Britain at Reading - RHP Steve Hirschfeld (2-4, 3.28) *assumed, no listed starter Ft. Myers at Brevard County – RHP Jhon Garcia (0-5, 4.01) *assumed, no listed starter Beloit at Burlington – LHP Jason Wheeler (4-1, 2.86) --- 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.

The Twins extended their winning streak to four by beating the Brewers in extra innings today. (#ITSHAPPENING?) Ben Revere and Trevor Plouffe played big parts. Drew Butera finally found a bat that feels right in his hands. But that’s not what we’re here for, so let’s check out the system on this Saturday: ROCHESTER 6, GWINNETT 4 Cole DeVries got something tonight he hadn’t gotten yet this year – run support. DeVries, who picked up his first win, went eight innings, allowing six hits, four runs (all earned) and struck out six, walking none. DeVries had been cruising through eight (facing only one more than the minimum) and came out in an attempt to get the complete game. That stanza started with single, single, triple and then he got the hook. Anthony Slama – and all his mustache power – came in and retired all three batters he faced (allowing his inherited runner to score) to notch his eighth save. Slama’s numbers are absurd: 20 IP, 32 K, 1 ER (0.45 ERA). His walks (12) have always been an issue, but he’s only allowed 11 hits this year! His biggest problem might just be the fact that the big league bullpen has been really good and doesn’t have a need. The bats were also alive, notching 14 hits. Chris Parmelee, finally getting his first taste of AAA this week, went 3-for-5 with a double and a run. Wilkin Ramirez, Danny Valencia and Rene Rivera all had two hits. Pedro Florimon added a triple and – sit down for this – Tsuyoshi Nishioka contributed his first American home run – a 2-run blast in the fourth. NEW BRITAIN 3, READING 2 The Rockcats didn’t earn a run tonight, but they did get a win. Aaron Hicks had a big game going 2-for-4, with a double. His biggest contribution came in the 9th when he stole second with two outs. Getting into scoring position allowed him to score on an error when Mark Dolenc hit a grounder to the third baseman; that run proved to be the game-winner. Chris Herrmann also contributed two hits (one double) and the team’s lone RBI. Andrew Albers was solid through 6 innings, allowing nine hits, but only two runs. He struck out three and walked one. The bullpen combo of Bobby Lanigan, Blake Martin and Luis Perdomo pitched the final three innings. They allowed no hits, struck out two (both Lanigan) and Perdomo got all three of his outs by ground balls. FT. MYERS 2, BREVARD COUNTY 7 I’m not going to sugar-coat the ineptitude of Madison Boer. He didn’t make it out of the fourth (again), but did pitch enough to give up nine hits, seven runs and two walks. In another sign of how bad things are, he didn’t strike out any. At this point, I would be stunned if he made his next scheduled start. The phantom DL or Beloit would be more likely destinations. Jose Gonzalez rebounded nicely after his last outing. He got seven outs – four by strikeout. Matt Hauser allowed two hits and a walk in two innings, striking out two. The bats – especially those of the guys we’d expect (or hope?) to do well: Michael, Arcia and Morales – didn’t do much. Danny Ortiz hit his first home run for the Miracle. Andy Leer (both doubles) and Josmil Pinto had two hits. Lancy Ray also had a double. The trio of Michael, Arcia and Morales went 0-for-12 with 4 Ks. BELOIT 6, BURLINGTON 9 The Snappers lost their second straight (after a six-game winning streak). Miguel Sano continued his tailspin going 0-for-4. He’s now batting .152 over his last ten games. What’s still encouraging is that he’s only struck out five times over that span. The Snappers scored all six runs in the third inning, but no Snapper had more than one hit or one run. Kyle Knudson had a 2-run home run and Jonathan Goncalves added two RBI. Eddie Rosario had a stolen base and Goncalves and Drew Leachman successfully pulled off a double-steal of 2nd and home, respectively. Starting pitcher Steven Gruver left after only one innings (three hits, walk, run), but no word (yet) on why. A.J. Achter, who has been very successful this year, pitched the next four innings. He struck out four while allowing five hits and two runs. The wheels fell off for Ryan O’Rourke. He gave up three hits, two walks and five runs (four earned) over 1 2/3 innings. He did strike out three while earning the blown save/loss. Corey Williams walked two, striking out one, while allowing one unearned run in 1 1/3 innings. --- Players of the Day for Saturday, May 19, 2012 Pitcher of the Day – Cole DeVries [ATTACH=CONFIG]993[/ATTACH] Hitter of the Day – Chris Parmelee [ATTACH=CONFIG]994[/ATTACH] (images from dylanheuer.com) --- A Look Ahead – Sunday, May 20, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Gwinnett – LHP Luke French (0-0, 6.75) New Britain at Reading - RHP Steve Hirschfeld (2-4, 3.28) Ft. Myers at Brevard County – RHP Jhon Garcia (0-5, 4.01) Beloit at Burlington – RHP Tim Shibuya (2-1, 2.25) --- 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.

The Twins don’t appear to be playing real inspired (or inspiring) baseball, so let’s get right into the farm. A few transactions to sort through: The Red Wings released 1B Aaron Bates and recently-signed INF Joe Thurston. It was announced that OF Wilkin Ramirez (who has been tearing up AA) and RP Lester Oliveros have been promoted from New Britain to Rochester. 2B Tsuyoshi Nishioka - you may have heard of him - is expected to be activated before tomorrow’s game. The addition of Nishi, as well as Matt Maloney, pushes 1B/DH Matt Rizzotti from Rochester to New Britain. There is no word on any other corresponding moves to fill the other hole in New Britain (and it would be purely speculation to point out that neither Miracle OF Oswaldo Arcia nor INF Levi Michael were in the lineup tonight). Let’s take a spin around the farm: ROCHESTER 4, SYRACUSE 6 For the second straight Monday, the Red Wings faced a pitcher that has experienced major league success. This time around they got to see former Yankee hurler Chien Ming-Wang. The current National is rehabbing his left hamstring. He did pretty well scattering eleven hits and four runs over eight innings and change. Danny Valencia started off his return to AAA hitless in ten at-bats before doubling down the left-field line to lead off the 7th inning. He later scored after a Sean Burroughs single and a Ray Chang sacrifice fly. Valencia finished the day 1 for 4, upping his average to .086. All other Red Wing starters got hits too. Ben Revere, who had been hitting .440 over his last six games, went 1 for 5 and is currently hitting .306. Revere, however, hasn’t taken a walk in his last six games. Pedro Florimon stole two more bases and now has ten (in eleven chances) total this year. Burroughs collected three hits today and is up to .333 through eight AAA games. JR Towles is batting better now that he is getting regular at-bats. Towles gathered two hits today. Since Drew Butera’s promotion, Towles is batting .308 and has improved his season line from .111 to .208. Cole DeVries took his fourth loss of the year. He went 6 1/3 innings allowing nine hits and six runs (four earned). He also struck out two. Brendan Wise came in with a runner on in the 7th. He allowed his inherited runner to score, three hits and struck out one. Not-quite-former-Wing Steve Pearce was named International League Player of the Week with a 400/464/920 slash. He currently leads the league in batting (.361) and doubles (12). He’s also third in OBP (.444) and fourth in runs (26). Another “wish we could have signed you when we drafted you” case that doesn’t turn out great for the Twins (or the Red Wings). NEW BRITAIN IDLE Scheduled day off FT. MYERS 1, CHARLOTTE 13 The Miracle got drilled tonight. They were only able to scratch out five hits, scoring one run. Daniel Ortiz and Jairo Perez both tripled. Daniel Santana, Anderson Hidalgo and Michael Gonzales all singled. Madison Boer continued to struggle in the Florida State League. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning tonight, allowing 10 hits, seven runs (all earned), walking two and striking out three. He currently has an ERA of 14.25 and a WHIP of 2.75. Hopefully the 2011 2nd round pick out of Eden Prairie can figure it out soon. Jose Gonzalez, not only didn’t fare any better, but actually did much worse, giving up six earned runs on four hits (two home runs), while only getting four outs. His ERA ballooned from sub-4 to 6.43. Matt Hauser got the last out of the sixth. Kyle Waldrop made his second rehab appearance tonight. He struck out one and gave up one hit in one inning. It should be noted that his other two outs came by fly out and ground out. Waldrop relies on a heavy sinker to get a lot of ground ball outs. Expect him to be optioned to Rochester as soon as he is healthy. Manager Jake Mauer proved that there is some fire in the family, getting tossed in the 6th after P Jose Gonzalez was warned for hitting a Charlotte batter. OF Lance Ray overcame a rough April and was named Florida State League Player of the Week (May 7-13). Hitting .421 (with an OPS of 1.331) over the last six games, Ray has improved his batting average from .209 to .248. He remains an under-rated prospect in the system. Though he didn’t get any hits tonight, he did drive in the lone run. BELOIT 5, CLINTON 2 Steven Gruver has mixed some solid starts with some short starts. This was definitely more of a solid start. Gruver scattered six hits over 6 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs, a walk and striking out four. Bart Carter and Clint Dempster got the last eight outs without allowing any runs. Carter gave up one hit, striking out two in 1 2/3 innings. Dempster picked up the save, striking out one in an inning. Wang Wei-Lin had two doubles, a run and an RBI to lead the Snapper offense. Adam Bryant and Jhon Goncalves each added two hits. Überprospect Miguel Sano was 1 for 3 with a walk and two strikeouts. Eddie Rosario hit his 3rd home run of the season (and second in five games). --- Players of the Day for Monday, May 14, 2012 Hitter of the Day – Sean Burroughs [ATTACH=CONFIG]952[/ATTACH] Pitcher of the Day – Steven Gruver [ATTACH=CONFIG]953[/ATTACH] --- A Look Ahead – Tuesday, May 15, 2012 Schedule Rochester vs Louisville – LHP Luke French (0-0, 6.55) New Britain vs New Hampshire - Game 1 - RHP Steve Hirschfeld (2-3, 3.10) New Britain vs New Hampshire - Game 2 – LHP Logan Darnell (3-2, 5.40) Ft. Myers vs Charlotte – RHP Miguel Munoz (1-1, 2.77) Beloit vs Clinton – RHP Tim Shibuya (1-1, 2.83) --- If you have any questions or comments on the Twins minor league system, players, teams, etc., leave them in the Comments and we’ll try to answer them!