Matt VS

A few notes from the past week regarding the 2012 Draft Class: Jose Berrios jumps to the #1 ranking thanks to a dominant performance last Friday against Kingsport (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K) As I suspected last week, Taylor Rogers made his next appearance out of the bullpen, likely due to his high number of innings pitched. Three players didn't accumulate any stats this past week. Luke Bard, who I suspect is still dealing with the injury that caused him to leave his Aug 10th appearance after one batter. Carson Goldsmith, who hasn't appeared since Aug 2nd. Jake Proctor, who missed the last part of his college season due to an injury. Anyone have any updates on Goldsmith or Proctor? I do realize that in the lower levels of professional ball, pitchers have the upper hand and their stats do inflate their value a bit, but I am excited to see that the top performers so far are pitchers who are posting K/9 numbers that are beyond promising. I am also excited the Twins got a few bats with pop (Walker, Buxton, Proctor when healthy). There are always early-round busts, but I'm looking forward to seeing more positives out of disappointing starts from Buxton, Bard, Martinez, and Hurt. As usual, comments are welcome and appreciated! [TABLE=width: 641] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL-ELZ 0.70 ERA, 0.55 WHIP 2-0, 25.2 IP, 43 K/4 BB 2 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.68 ERA, 0.53 WHIP 0-0, 13.1 IP, 25 K/1 BB 3 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.57 ERA, 0.77 WHIP 0-0, 15.2 IP, 25 K/6 BB 4 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.68 ERA, 1.16 WHIP 3-3, 53.2 IP, 62 K/15 BB 5 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 2.02 ERA, 0.96WHIP 0-0, 13.1 IP, 17 K/4 BB 6 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 2.60 ERA, 1.21 WHIP 4-2, 17.1 IP, 21 K/6 BB 7 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP 2-0, 15.0 IP, 22 K/2 BB 8 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .256/.314/.522 21 XBH, 3/3 SB, 67 K/16 BB 9 Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .270/.341/.351 2 XBH, 3/3 SB, 9 K/3 BB 10 Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 1.04 ERA, 1.27 WHIP 1-0, 8.2 IP, 12 K/4 BB 11 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .269/.387/.419 8 XBH, 1/1 SB, 31 K/16 BB 12 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .254/.352/.331 9 XBH, 5/7 SB, 33 K/17 BB 13 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL-ELZ .208/.304/.400 14 XBH, 6/9 SB, 34 K/14 BB 14 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .300/.419/.380 4 XBH, 1/4 SB, 9 K/8 BB 15 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .291/.319/.314 2 XBH, 1/1 SB, 22 K/3 BB 16 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .235/.309/.326 9 XBH, 3/6 SB, 31 K/13 BB 17 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 5.74 ERA, 1.60 WHIP 1-0, 15.2 IP, 20 K/7 BB 18 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 1.59 ERA, 0.93 WHIP 3-2, 22.2 IP, 11 K/9 BB 19 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL-ELZ 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP 0-0, 7.0 IP, 7 K/7 BB 20 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .204/.285/.270 9 XBH, 13/19 SB, 34 K/15 BB 21 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 5.82 ERA, 1.48 WHIP 2-1, 17.0 IP, 21 K/5 BB 22 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .216/.273/.255 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 10 K/4 BB 23 Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP 0-0, 4.0 IP, 5 K/5 BB 24 Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 6.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP 0-1, 10.0 IP, 6 K/8 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .141/.221/.141 0 XBH, 1/3 SB, 23 K/7 BB 26 Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 10.80 ERA, 2.16 WHIP 1-0, 8.1 IP, 8 K/4 BB [/TABLE]

A few notes from the past week regarding the 2012 Draft Class: Jose Berrios jumps to the #1 ranking thanks to a dominant performance last Friday against Kingsport (5 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 11 K) As I suspected last week, Taylor Rogers made his next appearance out of the bullpen, likely due to his high number of innings pitched. Three players didn't accumulate any stats this past week. Luke Bard, who I suspect is still dealing with the injury that caused him to leave his Aug 10th appearance after one batter. Carson Goldsmith, who hasn't appeared since Aug 2nd. Jake Proctor, who missed the last part of his college season due to an injury. Anyone have any updates on Goldsmith or Proctor? I do realize that in the lower levels of professional ball, pitchers have the upper hand and their stats do inflate their value a bit, but I am excited to see that the top performers so far are pitchers who are posting K/9 numbers that are beyond promising. I am also excited the Twins got a few bats with pop (Walker, Buxton, Proctor when healthy). There are always early-round busts, but I'm looking forward to seeing more positives out of disappointing starts from Buxton, Bard, Martinez, and Hurt. As usual, comments are welcome and appreciated! [TABLE=width: 641] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL-ELZ 0.70 ERA, 0.55 WHIP 2-0, 25.2 IP, 43 K/4 BB 2 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.68 ERA, 0.53 WHIP 0-0, 13.1 IP, 25 K/1 BB 3 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.57 ERA, 0.77 WHIP 0-0, 15.2 IP, 25 K/6 BB 4 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.68 ERA, 1.16 WHIP 3-3, 53.2 IP, 62 K/15 BB 5 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 2.02 ERA, 0.96WHIP 0-0, 13.1 IP, 17 K/4 BB 6 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 2.60 ERA, 1.21 WHIP 4-2, 17.1 IP, 21 K/6 BB 7 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 1.80 ERA, 0.60 WHIP 2-0, 15.0 IP, 22 K/2 BB 8 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .256/.314/.522 21 XBH, 3/3 SB, 67 K/16 BB 9 Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .270/.341/.351 2 XBH, 3/3 SB, 9 K/3 BB 10 Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 1.04 ERA, 1.27 WHIP 1-0, 8.2 IP, 12 K/4 BB 11 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .269/.387/.419 8 XBH, 1/1 SB, 31 K/16 BB 12 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .254/.352/.331 9 XBH, 5/7 SB, 33 K/17 BB 13 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL-ELZ .208/.304/.400 14 XBH, 6/9 SB, 34 K/14 BB 14 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .300/.419/.380 4 XBH, 1/4 SB, 9 K/8 BB 15 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .291/.319/.314 2 XBH, 1/1 SB, 22 K/3 BB 16 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .235/.309/.326 9 XBH, 3/6 SB, 31 K/13 BB 17 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 5.74 ERA, 1.60 WHIP 1-0, 15.2 IP, 20 K/7 BB 18 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 1.59 ERA, 0.93 WHIP 3-2, 22.2 IP, 11 K/9 BB 19 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL-ELZ 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP 0-0, 7.0 IP, 7 K/7 BB 20 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .204/.285/.270 9 XBH, 13/19 SB, 34 K/15 BB 21 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 5.82 ERA, 1.48 WHIP 2-1, 17.0 IP, 21 K/5 BB 22 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .216/.273/.255 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 10 K/4 BB 23 Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP 0-0, 4.0 IP, 5 K/5 BB 24 Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 6.30 ERA, 1.70 WHIP 0-1, 10.0 IP, 6 K/8 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .141/.221/.141 0 XBH, 1/3 SB, 23 K/7 BB 26 Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 10.80 ERA, 2.16 WHIP 1-0, 8.1 IP, 8 K/4 BB [/TABLE]

Here are my updated Class of 2012 Power Rankings. In short, a few things that jump out: Honestly, any one of the top three (Baxendale, Berrios, Jones) could be ranked #1. I have Baxendale there because of his unbelievable K/BB and K/9 ratios. 11th round pick Taylor Rogers out of the University of Kentucky has now thrown a total of 140 innings this year (89.1 in college, 50.2 as a Twin). His numbers for Beloit, although not terrible, are significantly worse than the numbers he was putting up at Elizabethton. He has 10 total appearances with the Twins, all starts. I wouldn't be surprised to see him come out of the bullpen soon if not shut down completely. Adam Walker continues to impress with the stick. He has four HR's in his last ten games which, according to Seth's Minor League leaderboard, places him in the top 10 among all Twins minor leaguers in just 45 games. [TABLE=width: 641] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.79 ERA, 0.53 WHIP 0-0, 11.1 IP, 23 K/1 BB 2 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL-ELZ 0.87 ERA, 0.58 WHIP 1-0, 20.2 IP, 32 K/4 BB 3 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.73 WHIP 0-0, 13.2 IP, 23 K/6 BB 4 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP 3-3, 50.2 IP, 59 K/15 BB 5 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 2.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP 3-2, 16.1 IP, 20 K/6 BB 6 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP 0-0, 12.1 IP, 15 K/4 BB 7 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .264/.316/.527 21 XBH, 1/1 SB, 58 K/13 BB 8 Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .308/.400/.423 2 XBH, 3/3 SB, 7 K/3 BB 9 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 2.53 ERA, 0.75 WHIP 2-0, 10.2 IP, 13 K/2 BB 10 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 3.29 ERA, 1.31 WHIP 1-0, 13.2 IP, 18 K/5 BB 11 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .260/.355/.344 9 XBH, 4/6 SB, 31 K/15 BB 12 Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 1.17 ERA, 1.30 WHIP 1-0, 7.2 IP, 9 K/4 BB 13 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .256/.368/.367 6 XBH, 1/1 SB, 30 K/14 BB 14 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL-ELZ .218/.312/.436 13 XBH, 5/8 SB, 30 K/12 BB 15 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .333/.463/.429 4 XBH, 1/4 SB, 7 K/8 BB 16 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .299/.325/.325 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 19 K/2 BB 17 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .227/.310/.300 6 XBH, 3/5 SB, 28 K/12 BB 18 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 1.96 ERA, 1.15 WHIP 2-2, 18.1 IP, 10 K/9 BB 19 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL-ELZ 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP 0-0, 7.0 IP, 7 K/7 BB 20 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .214/.300/.286 9 XBH, 12/18 SB, 30 K/15 BB 21 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 5.74 ERA, 1.40 WHIP 2-1, 15.2 IP, 19 K/5 BB 22 Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP 0-0, 4.0 IP, 5 K/5 BB 23 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .208/.255/.250 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 10 K/3 BB 24 Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 9.64 ERA, 1.93 WHIP 0-1, 9.1 IP, 3 K/9 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .132/.213/.132 0 XBH, 1/2 SB, 20 K/6 BB 26 Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 14.21 ERA, 2.84 WHIP 1-0, 6.1 IP, 5 K/4 BB [/TABLE]

Here are my updated Class of 2012 Power Rankings. In short, a few things that jump out: Honestly, any one of the top three (Baxendale, Berrios, Jones) could be ranked #1. I have Baxendale there because of his unbelievable K/BB and K/9 ratios. 11th round pick Taylor Rogers out of the University of Kentucky has now thrown a total of 140 innings this year (89.1 in college, 50.2 as a Twin). His numbers for Beloit, although not terrible, are significantly worse than the numbers he was putting up at Elizabethton. He has 10 total appearances with the Twins, all starts. I wouldn't be surprised to see him come out of the bullpen soon if not shut down completely. Adam Walker continues to impress with the stick. He has four HR's in his last ten games which, according to Seth's Minor League leaderboard, places him in the top 10 among all Twins minor leaguers in just 45 games. [TABLE=width: 641] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.79 ERA, 0.53 WHIP 0-0, 11.1 IP, 23 K/1 BB 2 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL-ELZ 0.87 ERA, 0.58 WHIP 1-0, 20.2 IP, 32 K/4 BB 3 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.73 WHIP 0-0, 13.2 IP, 23 K/6 BB 4 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.66 ERA, 1.15 WHIP 3-3, 50.2 IP, 59 K/15 BB 5 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 2.20 ERA, 1.22 WHIP 3-2, 16.1 IP, 20 K/6 BB 6 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 2.19 ERA, 0.81 WHIP 0-0, 12.1 IP, 15 K/4 BB 7 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .264/.316/.527 21 XBH, 1/1 SB, 58 K/13 BB 8 Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .308/.400/.423 2 XBH, 3/3 SB, 7 K/3 BB 9 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 2.53 ERA, 0.75 WHIP 2-0, 10.2 IP, 13 K/2 BB 10 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 3.29 ERA, 1.31 WHIP 1-0, 13.2 IP, 18 K/5 BB 11 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .260/.355/.344 9 XBH, 4/6 SB, 31 K/15 BB 12 Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 1.17 ERA, 1.30 WHIP 1-0, 7.2 IP, 9 K/4 BB 13 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .256/.368/.367 6 XBH, 1/1 SB, 30 K/14 BB 14 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL-ELZ .218/.312/.436 13 XBH, 5/8 SB, 30 K/12 BB 15 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .333/.463/.429 4 XBH, 1/4 SB, 7 K/8 BB 16 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .299/.325/.325 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 19 K/2 BB 17 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .227/.310/.300 6 XBH, 3/5 SB, 28 K/12 BB 18 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 1.96 ERA, 1.15 WHIP 2-2, 18.1 IP, 10 K/9 BB 19 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL-ELZ 3.86 ERA, 1.71 WHIP 0-0, 7.0 IP, 7 K/7 BB 20 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .214/.300/.286 9 XBH, 12/18 SB, 30 K/15 BB 21 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 5.74 ERA, 1.40 WHIP 2-1, 15.2 IP, 19 K/5 BB 22 Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP 0-0, 4.0 IP, 5 K/5 BB 23 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .208/.255/.250 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 10 K/3 BB 24 Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 9.64 ERA, 1.93 WHIP 0-1, 9.1 IP, 3 K/9 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .132/.213/.132 0 XBH, 1/2 SB, 20 K/6 BB 26 Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 14.21 ERA, 2.84 WHIP 1-0, 6.1 IP, 5 K/4 BB [/TABLE]

Before I go into detail on these two players, I want you to look at their A-AAA stats, as well as parts of two MLB seasons. Player A [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] League G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS MLB 84 299 265 25 58 12 1 10 32 3 3 28 65 .219 .304 .385 .689 AAA 163 697 613 112 206 52 3 49 163 9 8 66 141 .336 .405 .670 1.075 AA 107 467 414 66 109 30 0 20 80 7 1 45 100 .263 .334 .481 .815 A+ 84 364 317 49 88 28 0 8 44 5 0 41 71 .278 .357 .442 .799 A 85 361 328 49 104 27 0 9 53 2 1 28 75 .317 .374 .482 .856 [/TABLE] Player B [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] League G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS MLB 61 208 184 18 49 11 1 6 20 0 0 21 41 .266 .351 .435 .786 AAA 42 187 154 30 54 11 0 12 34 1 1 32 27 .351 .465 .656 1.121 AA 253 1073 941 127 265 55 7 19 127 3 3 111 164 .282 .355 .416 .771 A+ 145 594 502 70 136 29 2 18 90 2 3 78 120 .271 .370 .444 .815 A 208 817 695 99 166 34 8 29 121 11 7 103 229 .239 .341 .436 .777 [/TABLE] Both players were drafted out of high school in consecutive years. Without going into the history of these players, simply by digging into the stats, here's what I see: 1) Player A moved quickly through the lower levels of the minors and developed power after reaching the AA level; Player B moved much slower through the lower levels, showing the ability to get on base via the walk and hit for marginal power before struggling at the AA level. 2) Both players have shown the ability to consistently hit HR's throughout their years in the minors (Player A: 27.3 AB/HR, Player B: 28.6 AB/HR) 3) MLB WAR comparison: Player A- 2011: -0.4, 2012: 1.0, Total: 0.6 WAR Player B- 2011: 1.3, 2012: -1.0, Total: 0.3 WAR 4: Age: Player A- 23 years Player B- 24 years 5) Both players' MLB teams suffered through 90+ loss seasons in 2011. Fans and writers for Player A team couldn't wait for "the future" to arrive. Fans and writers for Player B's team would rather he stayed in AAA for the 2012 season, even after ripping AAA pitching for a .351/.465/.656 line and 12.8 AB/HR. Alright, enough with the stats although many of you may have figured out who the two players are already (or just scrolled down like I always seem to do on these comparisons). Player A is 1B Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs while Player B is 1B/OF Chris Parmelee of our Minnesota Twins. I do realize that there are factors than stats to consider, such as Morneau's contract through 2014, but it is interesting to compare the two young sluggers. Living in the Chicago area, I was in the midst of the buzz that surrounded Rizzo when he was finally called up after raking AAA pitching. Since his callup the Cubs aren't much better (going 17-18 since June 26th), however, Rizzo is batting .292/.329/.518 while finding his niche at 1B on the north side. I've been following the discussions in the forums on Parmelee (trading or promoting) and Morneau (trading or extending). I'm not going to pretend I have the right answer as far as which option is better, but I do believe that one of these options must be done before the start of the 2013 season: 1) Trade Morneau and promote Parmelee 2) Trade Parmelee and extend Morneau What I would be disappointed to see is Morneau begin the 2013 season as the starting 1B with Parmelee beginning the year in AAA. In my opinion, another minor league season would not do the Twins or Parmelee any good. Any ideas on what your best option would be?

Before I go into detail on these two players, I want you to look at their A-AAA stats, as well as parts of two MLB seasons. Player A [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] League G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS MLB 84 299 265 25 58 12 1 10 32 3 3 28 65 .219 .304 .385 .689 AAA 163 697 613 112 206 52 3 49 163 9 8 66 141 .336 .405 .670 1.075 AA 107 467 414 66 109 30 0 20 80 7 1 45 100 .263 .334 .481 .815 A+ 84 364 317 49 88 28 0 8 44 5 0 41 71 .278 .357 .442 .799 A 85 361 328 49 104 27 0 9 53 2 1 28 75 .317 .374 .482 .856 [/TABLE] Player B [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500] League G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS MLB 61 208 184 18 49 11 1 6 20 0 0 21 41 .266 .351 .435 .786 AAA 42 187 154 30 54 11 0 12 34 1 1 32 27 .351 .465 .656 1.121 AA 253 1073 941 127 265 55 7 19 127 3 3 111 164 .282 .355 .416 .771 A+ 145 594 502 70 136 29 2 18 90 2 3 78 120 .271 .370 .444 .815 A 208 817 695 99 166 34 8 29 121 11 7 103 229 .239 .341 .436 .777 [/TABLE] Both players were drafted out of high school in consecutive years. Without going into the history of these players, simply by digging into the stats, here's what I see: 1) Player A moved quickly through the lower levels of the minors and developed power after reaching the AA level; Player B moved much slower through the lower levels, showing the ability to get on base via the walk and hit for marginal power before struggling at the AA level. 2) Both players have shown the ability to consistently hit HR's throughout their years in the minors (Player A: 27.3 AB/HR, Player B: 28.6 AB/HR) 3) MLB WAR comparison: Player A- 2011: -0.4, 2012: 1.0, Total: 0.6 WAR Player B- 2011: 1.3, 2012: -1.0, Total: 0.3 WAR 4: Age: Player A- 23 years Player B- 24 years 5) Both players' MLB teams suffered through 90+ loss seasons in 2011. Fans and writers for Player A team couldn't wait for "the future" to arrive. Fans and writers for Player B's team would rather he stayed in AAA for the 2012 season, even after ripping AAA pitching for a .351/.465/.656 line and 12.8 AB/HR. Alright, enough with the stats although many of you may have figured out who the two players are already (or just scrolled down like I always seem to do on these comparisons). Player A is 1B Anthony Rizzo of the Chicago Cubs while Player B is 1B/OF Chris Parmelee of our Minnesota Twins. I do realize that there are factors than stats to consider, such as Morneau's contract through 2014, but it is interesting to compare the two young sluggers. Living in the Chicago area, I was in the midst of the buzz that surrounded Rizzo when he was finally called up after raking AAA pitching. Since his callup the Cubs aren't much better (going 17-18 since June 26th), however, Rizzo is batting .292/.329/.518 while finding his niche at 1B on the north side. I've been following the discussions in the forums on Parmelee (trading or promoting) and Morneau (trading or extending). I'm not going to pretend I have the right answer as far as which option is better, but I do believe that one of these options must be done before the start of the 2013 season: 1) Trade Morneau and promote Parmelee 2) Trade Parmelee and extend Morneau What I would be disappointed to see is Morneau begin the 2013 season as the starting 1B with Parmelee beginning the year in AAA. In my opinion, another minor league season would not do the Twins or Parmelee any good. Any ideas on what your best option would be?

Normally I live for Saturday afternoons with absolutely nothing to do. As a middle school teacher, my week is typically filled with cleaning up spills, writing up dress code violations, and holding back indescribable rage. I even manage to slip in a few minutes of instruction when my kids least expect it. So when my wife asked me if I wanted to spend a summer Saturday afternoon at the "Best of the Midwest" flea market, for unknown reasons I agreed. When we arrived, I was absolutely blown away at the amount of "junk" that filled six buildings at the county fairgrounds, not to mention a couple more buildings worth of vendors that set up shop outside. As I wandered through what seemed was going to be an endless maze of knick-knacks dusted off from grandpa's basement, I noticed that a number of dealers were selling sports memorabilia and souvenirs. I saw metal signs (which will be perfect for the future baseball room of the house), wooden bats (which would be perfect for the wooden baseball bat coffee table I'm planning to build in the near future), and...to my delight...baseball cards. Now, I'm not sure I'm I am what you would consider your typical baseball card collector. I absolutely treasure my baseball cards. Growing up, I can remember only a handful of times where I traded my beloved baseball cards. My parents weren't the parents that would let me buy a pack a week, or even a pack a month. It was truly a special day when my mom finally gave in to my brothers and I and let us pick out a pack to take home and add to our small collection. I remember feeling each pack in the box, convinced that some packs felt thicker, and hoping that the thickest packs might contain an extra card. I remember when we found a "card store" an hour away from our small farming town in southwest Minnesota that had binders of cards for 25 cents/each. I have to laugh at myself (mostly since I still do it) that I would spend our entire trip to the mall paging through those albums, searching for a card that the dealer misplaced, hoping to find that $10 card that somehow was stuck in the 25 cent folder. I remember coming home with a Jose Cruz Jr. Donruss Elite and a Shawn Green Bowman's Best because I was convinced they were worth serious money. After purchasing my beloved card for the trip, I would tell my mom of my "steal of a deal", and her response was always the same, "Who would pay you that much for that card?". She knew me better than I thought. I wouldn't ever find someone to pay what I thought it was worth, much less entertain the thought of selling one of my precious cardboard treasures. So that was my childhood, one card at a time, one pack at a time. So when I saw a dealer selling baseball cards at the flea market, my heart jumped. I had to know the value of these cards better than these dealers who were seemingly emptying their basements, attics, and garages just to make an extra buck. I bought a tin of a dozen cards for a couple bucks from a dealer that contained replica cards of Honus Wagner, Tris Speaker, and Walter Johnson. Also in the box were a couple of team cards (Milwaukee Braves and Boston Red Sox) from the early 60's. I was pretty sure I was carrying around a tin of cards worth much more than what I just paid for them (again, fully knowing I would never sell them, but I felt like I got the best of the deal, so it was a win for me) when I stumbled upon another dealer selling boxes of hundreds of cards, some for $1, some for $2. I could hardly contain my excitement as I wolfed down the last of my homemade peach ice cream waffle cone (which could be an entire blog post of its own). I had always dreamed of buying a "box" of cards that would entertain me for days on end. I can't begin to explain the hours I spent while growing up reading stats, organizing "teams", and researching prices. Now that dream was right in front of me, and only the dollar in my pocket was separating me from it. There was a card taped to the top of the box, a 1990 Topps Rafael Palmeiro which I can vividly recall having in my collection growing up. As I flipped open the box, I saw that all the cards were from the 1990 Topps set. On the side of the box was scrawled in pen "extras", presumably the cards that weren't worth selling on their own, which was just fine with me. A dollar later, I couldn't wait to get home and start picking through the cards to see what treasures lay ahead (and I actually didn't wait until I got home, I got out of driving home and started organizing the cards by team during the 45 minute drive). When I got home, the real investigation started. I pulled a stack of cards out of the box and as I flipped through them, arranged them on stacks alphabetically by team. Some of the cards, as obscure as the players may have been, brought back so many memories from my days of flipping through my albums in my bedroom. As I flipped through them, the names came flying back to me from 20 years ago. Mike Devereaux, Mickey Tettleton, Mariano Duncan, Danny Tartabull, Billy Hatcher, Robby Thompson, and more. I came across a B.J. Surhoff and remembered that card was the reason I knew he had been converted from a catcher to an outfielder. I pulled out a Tim Burke card and remembered reading his book "Major League Dad" in middle school and being amazed how he had to have been one of the most underrated pitchers of his time. (In '87 he went 7-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 55 games out of the bullpen for the Expos for a 4.2 WAR, 6th best among NL pitchers.) As I continued through the stack of cards, I could clearly see that many of the best players were removed and sold in smaller packs or individually. Honestly, the best card in the box may have been the Palmeiro card taped to the top. However, after going through the first 3/4 of the cards in the box, my luck began to change. All of a sudden the Pat Clements and Chuck Crims of the world were replaced by Lee Smith, Joe Carter, Dante Bichette, Wally Joyner, Jimmy Key, and some Indians slugger by the name of Joey Belle (I knew Albert had gone by that name, but it surprised me to see it on the card regardless!). I even pulled out a few Rookie/Future Star cards out that contained the faces of Tom Gordon, Greg Vaughn, and Todd Zeile. In the end, I ended up with 399 player cards, 2 checklists, and 1 All-Star/Hot Prospects Collector's Set offer (which expired in December 1990). I had cards from twenty-five of the twenty-six teams in existence in 1990. The top 10 player cards I pulled out were: (listed by career WAR) [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500, align: left] Player WAR Fred McGriff 48.2 Jamie Moyer 44.9 Jack Morris 29.3 Joey (Albert) Belle 36.9 Kirk Gibson 35.5 Harold Baines 34.0 Tom Gordon 32.5 Lee Smith 27.9 Greg Vaughn 27.7 Jay Buhner 20.0 [/TABLE] So on a weekend where the Twins began to show some life and take three of four in Boston and the monster that is Miguel Sano smacked his 22nd HR of the year, the real victory for me was found in the fact that off the 399 player cards that I pulled out I came away with two things that put a smile on my face. First of all, off the 399 cards I pulled out a stack of 37 Twins, more than any other team. Secondly, you may have noticed that I was one team away from having all twenty-six teams from the 1990 season. The team I was missing? None other than our beloved Chicago White Sox, who I was just fine being without. So there you have it...the best dollar I ever spent.

Normally I live for Saturday afternoons with absolutely nothing to do. As a middle school teacher, my week is typically filled with cleaning up spills, writing up dress code violations, and holding back indescribable rage. I even manage to slip in a few minutes of instruction when my kids least expect it. So when my wife asked me if I wanted to spend a summer Saturday afternoon at the "Best of the Midwest" flea market, for unknown reasons I agreed. When we arrived, I was absolutely blown away at the amount of "junk" that filled six buildings at the county fairgrounds, not to mention a couple more buildings worth of vendors that set up shop outside. As I wandered through what seemed was going to be an endless maze of knick-knacks dusted off from grandpa's basement, I noticed that a number of dealers were selling sports memorabilia and souvenirs. I saw metal signs (which will be perfect for the future baseball room of the house), wooden bats (which would be perfect for the wooden baseball bat coffee table I'm planning to build in the near future), and...to my delight...baseball cards. Now, I'm not sure I'm I am what you would consider your typical baseball card collector. I absolutely treasure my baseball cards. Growing up, I can remember only a handful of times where I traded my beloved baseball cards. My parents weren't the parents that would let me buy a pack a week, or even a pack a month. It was truly a special day when my mom finally gave in to my brothers and I and let us pick out a pack to take home and add to our small collection. I remember feeling each pack in the box, convinced that some packs felt thicker, and hoping that the thickest packs might contain an extra card. I remember when we found a "card store" an hour away from our small farming town in southwest Minnesota that had binders of cards for 25 cents/each. I have to laugh at myself (mostly since I still do it) that I would spend our entire trip to the mall paging through those albums, searching for a card that the dealer misplaced, hoping to find that $10 card that somehow was stuck in the 25 cent folder. I remember coming home with a Jose Cruz Jr. Donruss Elite and a Shawn Green Bowman's Best because I was convinced they were worth serious money. After purchasing my beloved card for the trip, I would tell my mom of my "steal of a deal", and her response was always the same, "Who would pay you that much for that card?". She knew me better than I thought. I wouldn't ever find someone to pay what I thought it was worth, much less entertain the thought of selling one of my precious cardboard treasures. So that was my childhood, one card at a time, one pack at a time. So when I saw a dealer selling baseball cards at the flea market, my heart jumped. I had to know the value of these cards better than these dealers who were seemingly emptying their basements, attics, and garages just to make an extra buck. I bought a tin of a dozen cards for a couple bucks from a dealer that contained replica cards of Honus Wagner, Tris Speaker, and Walter Johnson. Also in the box were a couple of team cards (Milwaukee Braves and Boston Red Sox) from the early 60's. I was pretty sure I was carrying around a tin of cards worth much more than what I just paid for them (again, fully knowing I would never sell them, but I felt like I got the best of the deal, so it was a win for me) when I stumbled upon another dealer selling boxes of hundreds of cards, some for $1, some for $2. I could hardly contain my excitement as I wolfed down the last of my homemade peach ice cream waffle cone (which could be an entire blog post of its own). I had always dreamed of buying a "box" of cards that would entertain me for days on end. I can't begin to explain the hours I spent while growing up reading stats, organizing "teams", and researching prices. Now that dream was right in front of me, and only the dollar in my pocket was separating me from it. There was a card taped to the top of the box, a 1990 Topps Rafael Palmeiro which I can vividly recall having in my collection growing up. As I flipped open the box, I saw that all the cards were from the 1990 Topps set. On the side of the box was scrawled in pen "extras", presumably the cards that weren't worth selling on their own, which was just fine with me. A dollar later, I couldn't wait to get home and start picking through the cards to see what treasures lay ahead (and I actually didn't wait until I got home, I got out of driving home and started organizing the cards by team during the 45 minute drive). When I got home, the real investigation started. I pulled a stack of cards out of the box and as I flipped through them, arranged them on stacks alphabetically by team. Some of the cards, as obscure as the players may have been, brought back so many memories from my days of flipping through my albums in my bedroom. As I flipped through them, the names came flying back to me from 20 years ago. Mike Devereaux, Mickey Tettleton, Mariano Duncan, Danny Tartabull, Billy Hatcher, Robby Thompson, and more. I came across a B.J. Surhoff and remembered that card was the reason I knew he had been converted from a catcher to an outfielder. I pulled out a Tim Burke card and remembered reading his book "Major League Dad" in middle school and being amazed how he had to have been one of the most underrated pitchers of his time. (In '87 he went 7-0 with a 1.19 ERA in 55 games out of the bullpen for the Expos for a 4.2 WAR, 6th best among NL pitchers.) As I continued through the stack of cards, I could clearly see that many of the best players were removed and sold in smaller packs or individually. Honestly, the best card in the box may have been the Palmeiro card taped to the top. However, after going through the first 3/4 of the cards in the box, my luck began to change. All of a sudden the Pat Clements and Chuck Crims of the world were replaced by Lee Smith, Joe Carter, Dante Bichette, Wally Joyner, Jimmy Key, and some Indians slugger by the name of Joey Belle (I knew Albert had gone by that name, but it surprised me to see it on the card regardless!). I even pulled out a few Rookie/Future Star cards out that contained the faces of Tom Gordon, Greg Vaughn, and Todd Zeile. In the end, I ended up with 399 player cards, 2 checklists, and 1 All-Star/Hot Prospects Collector's Set offer (which expired in December 1990). I had cards from twenty-five of the twenty-six teams in existence in 1990. The top 10 player cards I pulled out were: (listed by career WAR) [TABLE=class: grid, width: 500, align: left] Player WAR Fred McGriff 48.2 Jamie Moyer 44.9 Jack Morris 29.3 Joey (Albert) Belle 36.9 Kirk Gibson 35.5 Harold Baines 34.0 Tom Gordon 32.5 Lee Smith 27.9 Greg Vaughn 27.7 Jay Buhner 20.0 [/TABLE] So on a weekend where the Twins began to show some life and take three of four in Boston and the monster that is Miguel Sano smacked his 22nd HR of the year, the real victory for me was found in the fact that off the 399 player cards that I pulled out I came away with two things that put a smile on my face. First of all, off the 399 cards I pulled out a stack of 37 Twins, more than any other team. Secondly, you may have noticed that I was one team away from having all twenty-six teams from the 1990 season. The team I was missing? None other than our beloved Chicago White Sox, who I was just fine being without. So there you have it...the best dollar I ever spent.

A few changes in the rankings for this week. Pitchers still dominate the top of the list, but the hitters are starting to pick it up. Larson has gotten off to a great start, while Buxton is starting to show why he was picked 2nd overall as he now leads the class with 11 extra base hits. I made two changes: 1) Formatting the stats into two lines to hopefully make it more readable on mobile devices, and 2) Using extra base hits (XBH) instead of listing 2B, 3B, and HR individually. Again, all the comments on the last post were greatly appreciated. If there's any other pertinent information you feel should be included, let me know! My goal is to give an easy way to keep up with the newest bunch of Twins. [TABLE=width: 632] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP [/TD] 0-0, 10.0 IP, 22 K/1 BB 2 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL 1.08 ERA, 0.60 WHIP 1-0, 16.2 IP, 27 K/3 BB 3 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.77 WHIP 0-0, 11.2 IP, 20 K/5 BB 4 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 1.23 ERA, 1.09 WHIP 3-2, 14.2 IP, 19 K/5 BB 5 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.77 ERA, 1.10 WHIP 2-2, 39.0 IP, 47 K/12 BB 6 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 2.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP 1-0, 11.1 IP, 17 K/3 BB 7 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 0.96 ERA, 0.54 WHIP 0-0, 9.1 IP, 9 K/2 BB 8 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .259/.352/.343 8 XBH, 4/6 SB, 26 K/11 BB 9 Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .368/.455/.474 1 XBH, 2/2 SB, 4 K/2 BB 10 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .250/.304/.494 17 XBH, 0/0 SB, 49 K/11 BB 11 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP 1-0, 8.0 IP, 10 K/2 BB 12 Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 1.93 ERA, 1.71 WHIP 1-0, 4.2 IP, 6 K/2 BB 13 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .256/.368/.367 6 XBH, 1/1 SB, 30 K/14 BB 14 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL .214/.327/.476 11 XBH, 3/6 SB, 25 K/11 BB 15 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .266/.358/.351 6 XBH, 3/5 SB, 25 K/12 BB 16 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .258/.429/.355 3 XBH, 0/3 SB, 5 K/8 BB 17 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .281/.313/.297 1 XBH, 0/0 SB, 16 K/2 BB 18 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .218/.308/.290 8 XBH, 10/16 SB, 26 K/14 BB 19 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 2.51 ERA, 1.33 WHIP 2-2, 14.1 IP, 8 K/7 BB 20 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL-ELZ 4.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP 0-0, 6.0 IP, 7 K/6 BB 21 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 6.59 ERA, 1.39 WHIP 2-1, 13.2 IP, 15 K/5 BB 22 Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 8.10 ERA, 1.80 WHIP 0-0, 3.1 IP, 1 K/3 BB 23 Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP 0-0, 4.0 IP, 5 K/5 BB 24 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .136/.191/.182 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 10 K/3 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .103/.188/.103 0 XBH, 1/2 SB, 18 K/5 BB 26 Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 20.77 ERA, 3.92 WHIP [TD] 0-0, 4.1 IP, 3 K/4 BB [/TABLE]

A few changes in the rankings for this week. Pitchers still dominate the top of the list, but the hitters are starting to pick it up. Larson has gotten off to a great start, while Buxton is starting to show why he was picked 2nd overall as he now leads the class with 11 extra base hits. I made two changes: 1) Formatting the stats into two lines to hopefully make it more readable on mobile devices, and 2) Using extra base hits (XBH) instead of listing 2B, 3B, and HR individually. Again, all the comments on the last post were greatly appreciated. If there's any other pertinent information you feel should be included, let me know! My goal is to give an easy way to keep up with the newest bunch of Twins. [TABLE=width: 632] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.40 WHIP [/TD] 0-0, 10.0 IP, 22 K/1 BB 2 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL 1.08 ERA, 0.60 WHIP 1-0, 16.2 IP, 27 K/3 BB 3 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.77 WHIP 0-0, 11.2 IP, 20 K/5 BB 4 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 1.23 ERA, 1.09 WHIP 3-2, 14.2 IP, 19 K/5 BB 5 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.77 ERA, 1.10 WHIP 2-2, 39.0 IP, 47 K/12 BB 6 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 2.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP 1-0, 11.1 IP, 17 K/3 BB 7 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 0.96 ERA, 0.54 WHIP 0-0, 9.1 IP, 9 K/2 BB 8 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .259/.352/.343 8 XBH, 4/6 SB, 26 K/11 BB 9 Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .368/.455/.474 1 XBH, 2/2 SB, 4 K/2 BB 10 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .250/.304/.494 17 XBH, 0/0 SB, 49 K/11 BB 11 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 3.38 ERA, 1.00 WHIP 1-0, 8.0 IP, 10 K/2 BB 12 Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 1.93 ERA, 1.71 WHIP 1-0, 4.2 IP, 6 K/2 BB 13 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .256/.368/.367 6 XBH, 1/1 SB, 30 K/14 BB 14 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL .214/.327/.476 11 XBH, 3/6 SB, 25 K/11 BB 15 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .266/.358/.351 6 XBH, 3/5 SB, 25 K/12 BB 16 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .258/.429/.355 3 XBH, 0/3 SB, 5 K/8 BB 17 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .281/.313/.297 1 XBH, 0/0 SB, 16 K/2 BB 18 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .218/.308/.290 8 XBH, 10/16 SB, 26 K/14 BB 19 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 2.51 ERA, 1.33 WHIP 2-2, 14.1 IP, 8 K/7 BB 20 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL-ELZ 4.50 ERA, 1.83 WHIP 0-0, 6.0 IP, 7 K/6 BB 21 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 6.59 ERA, 1.39 WHIP 2-1, 13.2 IP, 15 K/5 BB 22 Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 8.10 ERA, 1.80 WHIP 0-0, 3.1 IP, 1 K/3 BB 23 Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP 0-0, 4.0 IP, 5 K/5 BB 24 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .136/.191/.182 2 XBH, 0/0 SB, 10 K/3 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .103/.188/.103 0 XBH, 1/2 SB, 18 K/5 BB 26 Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 20.77 ERA, 3.92 WHIP [TD] 0-0, 4.1 IP, 3 K/4 BB [/TABLE]

J-Dog, I was confused on what was going on until I switched from viewing on my laptop to viewing on my iPad, now I see what you mean. I was able to see all the stats by scrolling left/right on the table, but it was a bit inconvenient since you can't see both players and stats at the same time. I'll experiment with a two-line format and see how it looks. Thanks for the suggestion!

Here's my updated Twins 2012 Draft Power Rankings. I intended to update weekly, but I moved and was without internet for about a week which actually turns out nice, seems like Mondays would be a better day to update the rankings rather than Thursdays. Since the first look at our new prospects (on 7/19), five have began their professional careers. They are marked with an asterisk (*), and bring the total to 26 players. All stats were taken from BaseballReference.com and the stats for the players that have been promoted to Beloit also include their rookie league (GCL or ELZ) stats. I've added round, age, and team thanks to the comments on the last post. [TABLE=width: 827] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.23 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 18 K, 1 BB 2 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL 0.64 ERA, 0.43 WHIP 14.0 IP, 21 K, 2 BB 3 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 18 K, 3 BB 4 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 42 K, 11 BB 5 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 2.89 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 15 K, 3 BB 6 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 17 K, 5 BB 7 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 3.55 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 14 K, 5 BB 8 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .284/.367/.376, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4/5 SB, 21 K/9 BB 9 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 0.00 ERA, 0.41 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 6 K, 2 BB 10 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .264/.318/.500, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 45 K/10 BB 11 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB 12 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .321/.345/.340, 1 2B, 10 K/2 BB 13 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .256/.368/.367, 4 2B, 2 HR, 1/1 SB 30 K/14 BB 14 *Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 3 K, 1 BB 15 *Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .400/.500/.600, 1 3B, 1/1 SB, 2 K/1 BB 16 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .266/.358/.351, 5 2B, 1 HR, 3/5 SB, 25 K/12 BB 17 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .225/.310/.297, 6 2B, 1 3B, 10/15 SB, 24 K/12 BB 18 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 2.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 6 K, 7 BB 19 *Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 4.50 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 3 K, 3 BB 20 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 3 K, 5 BB 21 *Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 1.1 IP, 1 K, 2 BB 22 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL .197/.293/.409, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 2/4 SB, 20 K/8 BB 23 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .211/.429/.263, 1 2B, 0/2 SB, 4 K/6 BB 24 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .143/.182/.190, 2 2B, 10 K/2 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .089/.180/.269, 1/1 SB 16 K/4 BB 26 *Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 21.60 ERA, 4.80 WHIP, 1.2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB [/TABLE]

Here's my updated Twins 2012 Draft Power Rankings. I intended to update weekly, but I moved and was without internet for about a week which actually turns out nice, seems like Mondays would be a better day to update the rankings rather than Thursdays. Since the first look at our new prospects (on 7/19), five have began their professional careers. They are marked with an asterisk (*), and bring the total to 26 players. All stats were taken from BaseballReference.com and the stats for the players that have been promoted to Beloit also include their rookie league (GCL or ELZ) stats. I've added round, age, and team thanks to the comments on the last post. [TABLE=width: 827] Rank Player Position Round Age Team Stats 1 D.J. Baxendale RHP 10 21 ELZ-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.23 WHIP, 8.2 IP, 18 K, 1 BB 2 Jose Berrios RHP 1 18 GCL 0.64 ERA, 0.43 WHIP 14.0 IP, 21 K, 2 BB 3 Mason Melotakis LHP 2 21 GCL-BEL 1.29 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 18 K, 3 BB 4 Taylor Rogers LHP 11 21 ELZ-BEL 2.38 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 34.0 IP, 42 K, 11 BB 5 Christian Powell RHP 8 21 ELZ 2.89 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 15 K, 3 BB 6 Zack Jones RHP 4 21 GCL-BEL 0.00 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 17 K, 5 BB 7 Kaleb Merck RHP 33 22 ELZ 3.55 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 14 K, 5 BB 8 Joel Licon IF 25 21 GCL .284/.367/.376, 7 2B, 1 3B, 4/5 SB, 21 K/9 BB 9 J.T. Chargois RHP 2 21 ELZ 0.00 ERA, 0.41 WHIP, 7.1 IP, 6 K, 2 BB 10 Adam Walker OF 3 20 ELZ .264/.318/.500, 5 2B, 2 3B, 8 HR, 45 K/10 BB 11 Tyler Duffy RHP 5 21 ELZ 3.86 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB 12 Jorge Fernandez C 7 18 GCL .321/.345/.340, 1 2B, 10 K/2 BB 13 D.J. Hicks 1B 17 22 ELZ .256/.368/.367, 4 2B, 2 HR, 1/1 SB 30 K/14 BB 14 *Andrew Ferreira LHP 32 21 ELZ 3.00 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 3 K, 1 BB 15 *Zach Larson OF 20 18 GCL .400/.500/.600, 1 3B, 1/1 SB, 2 K/1 BB 16 Bryan Haar 1B 34 22 GCL .266/.358/.351, 5 2B, 1 HR, 3/5 SB, 25 K/12 BB 17 John Murphy OF 19 22 GCL .225/.310/.297, 6 2B, 1 3B, 10/15 SB, 24 K/12 BB 18 Alexander Muren RHP 12 20 GCL 2.45 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 6 K, 7 BB 19 *Carson Goldsmith RHP 28 22 GCL 4.50 ERA, 2.50 WHIP, 2.0 IP, 3 K, 3 BB 20 Luke Bard RHP 1 21 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, 4.0 IP, 3 K, 5 BB 21 *Andre Martinez LHP 6 19 GCL 6.75 ERA, 2.25 WHIP, 1.1 IP, 1 K, 2 BB 22 Byron Buxton OF 1 18 GCL .197/.293/.409, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 2/4 SB, 20 K/8 BB 23 Bryan Santy C 30 22 GCL .211/.429/.263, 1 2B, 0/2 SB, 4 K/6 BB 24 Bo Altobelli C 21 21 ELZ .143/.182/.190, 2 2B, 10 K/2 BB 25 Will Hurt SS 16 18 GCL .089/.180/.269, 1/1 SB 16 K/4 BB 26 *Travis Huber LHP 23 22 ELZ 21.60 ERA, 4.80 WHIP, 1.2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB [/TABLE]

Six weeks have passed since the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft and I thought it would be interesting to see which new Twins players have jumped out to a quick start to begin their professional career. Obviously the players that were drafted in the earlier rounds still have the higher upside, and therefore would be listed higher on organizational prospect lists, but this ranking is strictly based on the player's production in the Twins minor league system. Here is the 1st edition of the Twins 2012 Draft Power Rankings with 20 total players accumulating stats: 1) RHP D.J. Baxendale- 0.00 ERA, 0.30 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 16 K, 1 BB 2) RHP Jose Berrios- 1.29 ERA, 0.57 WHIP 7.0 IP, 12 K, 2 BB 3) LHP Mason Melotakis- 1.35 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 10 K, 2 BB 4) LHP Taylor Rogers- 1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 29 K, 4 BB 5) RHP Kaleb Merck- 3.38 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 8 IP, 12 K, 1 BB 6) RHP Christian Powell- 0.00 ERA. 0.80 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB 7)IF Joel Licon- .277/.360/.400, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3/3 SB, 16 K/ 6 BB 8) RHP Zack Jones- 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6 IP, 9 K, 4 BB 9) OF John Murphy- .230/.329/.270, 3 2B, 9/11 SB, 18 K/10 BB 10) RHP J.T. Chargois- 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 4 IP, 4 K, 2 BB 11) OF Adam Walker- .232/.290/.404 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 38 K/7 BB 12) C Jorge Fernandez- .325/.341/.350, 1 2B, 7 K/1 BB 13) 1B D.J. Hicks- .246/.373/.333, 3 2B, 1 HR, 24 K/12 BB 14) RHP Tyler Duffy- 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2 IP, 4 K, 0 BB 15) 1B Bryan Haar- .250/.333/.309, 4 2B, 18 K/8 BB 16) RHP Alexander Muren- 2.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7 IP, 4 K, 3 BB 17) OF Byron Buxton- .156/.240/.244, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2/4 SB, 10 K/4 BB 18) C Bryan Santy- .200/.333/.200, 0 K/1 BB 19) C Bo Altobelli- .118/.143/.147, 1 2B, 8 K/1 BB 20) SS Will Hurt- .063/.167/.063, 1/1 SB, 10 K/3 BB

Six weeks have passed since the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft and I thought it would be interesting to see which new Twins players have jumped out to a quick start to begin their professional career. Obviously the players that were drafted in the earlier rounds still have the higher upside, and therefore would be listed higher on organizational prospect lists, but this ranking is strictly based on the player's production in the Twins minor league system. Here is the 1st edition of the Twins 2012 Draft Power Rankings with 20 total players accumulating stats: 1) RHP D.J. Baxendale- 0.00 ERA, 0.30 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 16 K, 1 BB 2) RHP Jose Berrios- 1.29 ERA, 0.57 WHIP 7.0 IP, 12 K, 2 BB 3) LHP Mason Melotakis- 1.35 ERA, 0.60 WHIP, 6.2 IP, 10 K, 2 BB 4) LHP Taylor Rogers- 1.88 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 29 K, 4 BB 5) RHP Kaleb Merck- 3.38 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 8 IP, 12 K, 1 BB 6) RHP Christian Powell- 0.00 ERA. 0.80 WHIP, 5.0 IP, 9 K, 2 BB 7)IF Joel Licon- .277/.360/.400, 6 2B, 1 3B, 3/3 SB, 16 K/ 6 BB 8) RHP Zack Jones- 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 6 IP, 9 K, 4 BB 9) OF John Murphy- .230/.329/.270, 3 2B, 9/11 SB, 18 K/10 BB 10) RHP J.T. Chargois- 0.00 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, 4 IP, 4 K, 2 BB 11) OF Adam Walker- .232/.290/.404 4 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 38 K/7 BB 12) C Jorge Fernandez- .325/.341/.350, 1 2B, 7 K/1 BB 13) 1B D.J. Hicks- .246/.373/.333, 3 2B, 1 HR, 24 K/12 BB 14) RHP Tyler Duffy- 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 2 IP, 4 K, 0 BB 15) 1B Bryan Haar- .250/.333/.309, 4 2B, 18 K/8 BB 16) RHP Alexander Muren- 2.57 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 7 IP, 4 K, 3 BB 17) OF Byron Buxton- .156/.240/.244, 1 2B, 1 HR, 2/4 SB, 10 K/4 BB 18) C Bryan Santy- .200/.333/.200, 0 K/1 BB 19) C Bo Altobelli- .118/.143/.147, 1 2B, 8 K/1 BB 20) SS Will Hurt- .063/.167/.063, 1/1 SB, 10 K/3 BB