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This week's Almanac features former Twins Sal Butera, Keith Atherton, Michael Cuddyer, Jim Perry, Bob Casey, Kirby Puckett, Ken Landreaux, Mickey Hatcher, Luis Tiant, and Dan Gladden, and Minnesotan major leaguers Mike Kingery, Tom Quinlan, Jake Esch, and Bill Carney. March 25, 1874 Birthdate of Bill Carney It’s the birthdate of Bill Carney, born 144 years ago in St. Paul. He played outfield in his only two major league games with the Chicago Cubs on August 22, 1904 at age 30, going 0-for-7 in a doubleheader. He played 16 professional seasons altogether, as both a pitcher and outfielder, including stints in Minneapolis and St. Paul. Carney passed away July 31, 1938 at age 64. He is buried at Grandview Cemetery in Hopkins. March 25, 1983 Twins Trade Butera The Twins and Tigers swap catchers, with Minnesota sending Salvatore Butera to Detroit for minor leaguer Stine Poole and cash money. Sal had made Twins history on May 29, 1982, throwing out four baserunners in a 6-4 loss to the Yankees at home in the Dome. The Twins re-signed Butera as a free agent on May 22, 1987. Sal and Drew Butera are the only father-son combination to play for the Twins. They have pretty impressive big league pitching résumés, too. Sal did not allow a hit in his two major league pitching appearances. He pitched a 1-2-3 inning for Montreal in 1985. In 1986 he pitched a scoreless ninth for the Cincinnati Reds, walking one and striking out one. Drew, meanwhile, pitched a hitless bottom of the eighth for the Twins on May 20, 2012, walking one Brewer and striking out Carlos Gómez. Playing for the Dodgers, he pitched a 1-2-3 top of the ninth versus the Marlins on May 14, 2014. While playing with the Dodgers in 2014, Drew pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning versus the Miami Marlins. Altogether, major league hitters have gone 3-for-15 (.200) with a walk in five games versus Butera. March 26, 1989 Twins Trade Atherton for Castillo The Twins trade relief pitcher Keith Atherton to Cleveland for corner outfielder Carmelo Castillo. The Twins had originally acquired Atherton from Oakland on May 20, 1986. On May 28 he was one of a Twins record five pitchers to work the eight-run eighth inning in a 14-8 loss to Toronto at the Metrodome on May 28, 1986. He made 59 regular season appearances, and three postseason appearances in 1987. He relieved Frank Viola in the bottom of the sixth of Game 4 of the ALCS with the Twins up 4-2 but with the tying run on first. He gave up a RBI single to Dave Bergman, moving Darrell Evans up to third representing the tying run. After Mike Heath bunted Bergman—representing the go-ahead run—up to second, Atherton was relieved by Juan Berenguer. Then, with Lou Whitaker at the plate, Tim Laudner made the play of the series, throwing to Gary Gaetti to pick Evans off third. The Twins escaped the inning clinging to a 4-3 lead, ultimately winning the game 5-3 to take a 3-1 Series lead. After Viola held the Cardinals to one run on just five hits over eight innings in Game 1 of the World Series, Atherton pitched a perfect top of the ninth for a 10-1 Twins win. He entered Game 5 in the bottom of the seventh with the Twins trailing 3-0. After grounding out pitcher Danny Cox to start the inning, he walked speedster Vince Coleman, and balked him to second before giving way to Jeff Reardon. Coleman then stole third, and scored on an Ozzie Smith infield single. The Cardinals went on to win 4-2, taking a 3-2 Series lead. 1989 would be Atherton’s final major league season. Carmelo Castillo had played seven seasons in Cleveland, averaging 66 games a year. After playing 94 games with the Twins in 1989, and 64 in 1990, his major league career fizzled out early in the 1991 season, going 2-for-12 over nine games. He played his final big league game on May 9. March 27 Happy 50th Birthday, Tom Quinlan It’s the birthday of 1986 Hill-Murray graduate Tom Quinlan, born in St. Paul in 1968. Tom was a “Mr. Hockey” finalist his senior season at Hill-Murray. He was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the 4th round, and Toronto Blue Jays in the 27th round out of high school. He made his major league debut on September 4, 1990 at age 22. His first at-bat was cut short when current White Sox Executive Vice President was caught try to steal second, ending the inning. Quinlan struck out leading off the following inning. He doubled off Frank Tanana in his next at-bat for his first major league hit. Quinlan hit his only big league homer while playing for the Phillies on May 29, 1994 off Doug Drabek, who would make his only All-Star team that season despite winning 22 games and the NL Cy Young Award in 1990. Quinlan only faced his hometown Twins once, pinch-hitting for Kelly Gruber on September 4, 1992 in Toronto, going 0-for-2 with two strikeouts against Paul Abbott. Altogether, Quinlan appeared in only 42 games over parts of four seasons. He was briefly a Minnesota Twin in 1996, going 0-for-6 in his final four major league games. Tom’s brother Robb Quinlan had one of the greatest careers in Gophers history, and went on to play parts of eight seasons with the Angels. Read about Robb here: TwinsAlmanac.com/RobbQuinlan. March 27 Happy 39th Birthday, Michael Cuddyer It’s the birthday of 2x All-Star, 2013 National League Batting Champion and current Twins Special Assistant Michael Cuddyer, born in Norfolk, VA in 1979. The Twins drafted Cuddy in the first round (9th overall) in 1997 out of high school. He made his major league debut on September 23, 2001 at age 22 in a 4-2 loss to Cleveland at the Metrodome. He walked in his first at-bat, struck out, and doubled, all off five-time All-Star Chuck Finley. On September 21, 2005, Cuddyer went 4-for-4 with three doubles, a home run, four RBI, and two runs scored in a 10-4 Twins win in Oakland, tying the team single-game record of four extra-hits established by César Tovar on May 21, 1967, and matched by Kirby Puckett in 1987 and ’89, Rich Becker in 1996, and Corey Koskie in 2001. Cuddyer hit eight grand slams in his career—five with the Twins (including his second career home run), and three with the Rockies. He hit two grand slams in a four-day span on June 7 and June 10, 2006. He homered leading off the second for the Twins’ only run of the game in Texas on August 19, 2007 as Johan Santana struck out a team record 17 in just eight innings. Joe Nathanpitched the ninth, saving a 1-0 win. Cuddyer hit for the tenth and most recent cycle in Twins history in an 11-3 win over Milwaukee at the Metrodome on on May 22, 2009. The first nine cycles were hit by Rod Carew (1970), César Tovar (‘72), Larry Hisle (‘76), Lyman Bostock (‘76), Mike Cubbage (‘78), Gary Ward (‘80), Kirby Puckett (‘86), Carlos Gómez (‘08), and Jason Kubel (April 17, 2009). Cuddyer became the only player in Twins history to homer twice in the same inning on August 23, 2009 in Kansas City. The game was tied 1-1 when Cuddyer led off the seventh with a homer. Delmon Young, Denard Span, and Orlando Cabrera combined to drive in five more runs before Cuddyer came up again, this time with Joe Mauer on first, and homered for the second time in the inning. The third place Twins would go on to win 10-3. Every game truly mattered in 2009, as the Twins finished the 162-game schedule in a tie with Detroit. We all know what happened next. Cuddyer collected the first regular season RBI in Target Field history, singling home Denard Span in the first inning on April 12, 2010. Cuddyer, Rod Carew, Tony Oliva, Frank Quilici, Joe Nathan, Justin Morneau, Ron Gardenhire, and Paul Molitor served as pallbearers at Harmon Killebrew‘s funeral on May 20, 2011 in Arizona. Cuddyer hit an 0-2 double off the Giants’ Madison Bumgarner as part of eight-straight hits to start the game on June 21, 2011, tying the major league record. Bumgarner struck out Twins pitcher Carl Pavano on three pitches for his first and only out of the inning. He was pulled after Ben Revere doubled for his second hit of the inning, giving the Twins a 8-0 lead. On July 25, 2011, Cuddyer became the first Twins position player to pitch since John Moses in 1990. After professional pitchers had given up 20 runs to the Rangers, Cuddyer pitched a scoreless bottom of the eighth. Cuddyer signed with the Rockies prior to the 2012 season. He won the National League batting title with a .331 average in 2013. Former Twins teammate Justin Morneau joined Cuddyer in Colorado for the 2014 season, and won the NL batting crown with a .319 average. Michael Cuddyer was inducted into the Twins Hall of Fame on August 19, 2007, the day before former general manager Andy MacPhail. March 27 Happy 28th Birthday, Jake Esch It’s the birthday of 2008 Cretin-Derham Hall graduate Jake Esch, born in St. Paul in 1990. The Marlins drafted the 6-foot-3 righty in the 11th round in 2011 out of the Georgia Institute of Technology. Esch made his major league debut on August 31, 2016 at age 26, making the start in New York against Bartolo Colón and the Mets. After inducing a groundout from four-time All-Star José Reyes, Esch struck out Asdrúbal Cabrera and Yoenis Céspedes swinging for a 1-2-3 first inning. That may have been the peak of his major career career so far. He started the second by walking Curtis Granderson and giving up a two-run home run to Wilmer Flores. He was pulled after 4.1 innings having given up the two runs on seven hits and three walks. He made three starts in total in 2016, pitching just 13 innings, giving up eight runs on 17 hits (four home runs) and six walks while striking out 10. He was selected off waivers by the Padres on March 31, 2017. He made one relief appearance for the Padres in 2017, walking both batters he faced on April 12 at Coors Field. Esch is currently a free agent. March 27, 1973 Perry Okays Trade to Tigers 37-year old pitcher Jim Perry okays a trade to Detroit for pitcher Danny Fife and cash money. The Twins had originally acquired Perry—who finished runner-up to Washington’s Bob Allison in 1959 AL Rookie of the Year balloting—from Cleveland in exchange for Jack Kralick on May 2, 1963. Kralick had pitched the first no-hitter in Twins history the previous season, on August 26, 1962. Perry was used as both a starter and reliever during his first five season in Minnesota, including the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 1965 World Series. He played one heckuva game at Yankee Stadium on April 13, 1968—the Twins’ third game of the season—pitching a four-hit shutout and homering in the top of the ninth. Teammate Jim Kaat pitched a shutout and homered in the same game twice in his career. Perry won 20 games in 1969 as the Twins won the American League West pennant. He won two games against the Seattle Pilots on July 20. First he earned the win in a game resumed in the 17th inning from the day before. Then he pitched a shutout in the regularly scheduled game. 1970 was the first season Perry was used exclusively as a starter, and he was used extensively, leading the league with 40 starts, and tying for the major league lead with 24 wins en route to winning the first Cy Young Award in Twins history. Perry played ten seasons in Minnesota altogether. He is fifth in Twins history in both wins (128) and innings pitched. He was inducted into the team Hall of Fame on June 11, 2011. Danny Fife, meanwhile, came up with the Twins in August 1973. After three quality outings, things got pretty ugly pretty fast. His major league career ground to a halt in April 1974, giving up 11 runs on 10 hits and four walks in just 4.2 innings pitched over four games. March 27, 2005 Bob Casey Passes Away World War II veteran and the only public address announcer in Twins history Bob Casey passes away at the VA in Minneapolis as a result of complications of liver cancer and pneumonia, which he had contracted while visiting Twins Spring Training earlier in the month despite his poor health. He was 79 years old. Casey, who was universally liked and respected, developed relationships with many players over the course of his career, one of whom was Alex Rodriguez. When A-Rod learned of Casey’s condition from Twins broadcasters John Gordon and Dan Gladden, he called Casey in the hospital. From Mark Sheldon’s story for the team website: Casey was hoping to work part-time for a 45th season and announce his retirement in June when Rodriguez and the Yankees were scheduled to be in town. “He spoke a lot, but it was hard to understand him,” Rodriguez said of the final conversation with Casey. “His son was kind of translating what he was trying to say. His son told me that Puckett and myself were his favorites, and that he wanted to go out this year in June … (and) have me take him out there and throw out the first pitch. It was very emotional.” Casey was eulogized at St. Olaf Catholic Church on March 30, 2005, and laid to rest at Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Tony Oliva, Kent Hrbek, Dan Gladden, Jack Morris, John Gordon, and Dave St. Peter served as pallbearers. Also in attendance were Carl Pohlad, Roy Smalley, Juan Berenguer, Tim Laudner, and Scott Leius. If you ask me, the Twins should find a way to incorporate Casey’s Kirby Puckett intro into every Target Field home game. And maybe his “No Smoking” proclamation. Maybe overdub Kent Hrbek saying “Target Field” instead of “Metrodome.” March 28, 1996 Puckett Wakes Up with Vision Problem 36-year-old superstar Kirby Puckett appears poised for a big year, hitting .344 in Spring Training, when, on the last day of camp, he wakes up unable to see out of his right eye. He would be diagnosed with glaucoma and, one day later, placed on the 15-Day Disabled List for the first time in his career. Quoting directly from a New York Times article from March 31, 1996: “Kirby Puckett’s blurry vision is being caused by a partial blockage of a blood vessel in his right eye, and the Minnesota outfielder will miss the season opener, the Twins said Friday after placing him on the 15-day disabled list … retroactive to Thursday, making him eligible to return April 12. During that time, he will undergo treatment and will be able to work out with the club. Matt Lawton, who went 2 for 4 with a run batted in in Puckett’s place Friday, will start against the Tigers tomorrow.” Unfortunately, four surgeries did nothing to improve Puckett’s vision, and he officially retired on July 12. Read the Twins Almanac’s complete profile of Puckett. March 29 Happy 57th Birthday, Mike Kingery It’s the birthday of 1979 Atwater High School graduate Mike Kingery, born in Saint James, MN in 1961. When he was six months old the Kingerys moved to Atwater where Mike’s father was proprietor of the Atwater Bowling Center. Kingery signed with the Royals as an amateur free agent on August 27, 1979. He made his major league debut in Kansas City on July 7, 1986 at age 25, going 2-for-4 in a 8-1 loss to the Orioles. He would go on to play 819 major league games over parts of 10 seasons with Kansas City, Seattle, San Francisco, Oakland, Colorado, and Pittsburgh. A career .268 hitter, Kingery’s best season by far came at age 33 in Colorado during the strike-shortened 1994 season when he hit .349 over 105 games. Kingery hit .290 in 24 career games versus the Minnesota Twins, including a home run off Les Straker on July 29, 1987. That same season he hit two home runs off 1973 Highland Park High School graduate Jack Morris. Kingery and Blix Donnelly headlined the seven-member 2014 inaugural class of the West Central Baseball Hall of Fame in Willmar. Mrs. Johnson and I swung into the Moose Lake Dairy Queen a few summers ago, and were interested to see a poster for “The Kingery Family,” a travelling singing and ministry troupe. Turns out Mike and his wife Chris are parents of EIGHT children. In addition to his minstrel work, Mike Kingery operates the Solid Foundation Baseball School in Grove City, MN. March 30, 1981 Twins Trade Landreaux for Hatcher The Twins trade Ken Landreaux to the Dodgers for Mickey Hatcher and a pair of prospects. They had acquired Landreaux and three prospects from the Angels two years earlier in exchange for Rod Carew. Landreaux made Twins history twice during the 1980 season. He compiled a Twins record 31-game hitting streak from April 23 to May 30. Then, on July 3, he tied the modern major league record (since 1900) with three triples in a 10-3 home victory over Texas. Denard Span matched that record on June 29, 2010. Landreaux made his lone All-Star team in 1980 despite actually having one of his least productive seasons, posting a -0.2 WAR (per Baseball Reference). Hatcher made Twins history on April 28, 1985, going 4-for-5 in a 10-1 Twins win over Oakland at the Dome. He had gone 5-for-5 the previous day, giving him nine consecutive hits, tying the team record established by Tony Oliva in 1967. Todd Walker matched the feat in 1998. Hatcher, who had become a real fan-favorite, was released near the end of Spring Training 1987, but more on that in a moment. March 31, 1971 Twins Release Tiant Luis Tiant posted double-digit wins his first five seasons in Cleveland, including 21 in 1968, with a league-leading 1.60 ERA and 0.871 WHIP. Detroit’s Denny McLain led the majors with 31 wins, while St. Louis’s Bob Gibson led the majors with a 1.12 ERA and 0.853 WHIP. Quite a season for pitchers. Tiant tied for the major league lead with 20 losses in 1969, while still posting a 3.3 WAR. The Twins acquired Tiant and Stan Williams from Cleveland in exchange for Dean Chance, Ted Uhlaender, Graig Nettles, and Bob Miller on December 10, 1969. Tiant pitched in only 18 games for the Twins in 1970, going 7-3 with a 3.40 ERA, 1.349 WHIP, and 1.2 WAR. He was released by the Twins on March 31, 1971, signed by Atlanta on April 16, and released again on May 15 before finally signing with the Red Sox May 17. After one of the worst seasons of his career in 1971, Tiant posted double-digit wins the next eight consecutive seasons, including three seasons with 20+ wins. Thirty-one years later the Twins released David Ortiz, but that’s a story for another Almanac. March 31, 1987 Twins Acquire Gladden, Release Hatcher The Twins release fan-favorite Mickey Hatcher and acquire the much more dynamic Dan Gladden from San Francisco in exchange for two prospects and a player to be named later, who turned out to be 1982 Bemidji grad and Golden Gophers all-time great Bryan Hickerson. Hatcher was still owed $650,000 for 1987, and had a $100,000 buyout clause for 1988. It was the most expensive contract the Twins had eaten to date, but it would prove to be a prudent business decision, as Gladden would be a key contributor to the only two World Series championship teams in Twins history. A major appeal of Gladden was his game-changing speed. A newspaper headline the morning after the trade read “Popularity Sacrificed for Steals,” a motivation confirmed by Twins executive vice president Andy MacPhail, who said that “the reason we got him is he gives us speed. He can steal bases. He’s a good turf player.” Hatcher, who had been with the Twins since 1981, and peaked in ‘84, was a pretty one-dimensional player. “He just didn’t fit in,” Tom Kelly said; “there’s no place for him to play on this team. We have better athletes. We didn’t need him as a designated hitter or a pinch hitter, either.” The Gladden trade was the third significant move of the 1987 offseason. In February the Twins had acquired Jeff Reardon and Al Newman in separate trades with Montreal. They would trade for Joe Niekro on June 6, Dan Schatzeder on June 23, Steve Carlton on July 31, and Don Baylor on September 1. Keep in touch with @TwinsAlmanac on Facebook and Twitter. Click here to view the article

Thursday is the final day of the 2014 Winter Meetings. The big event of the final day each year is the Rule 5 draft. The Minnesota Twins roster is currently at 39, so they will be able to participate in the Rule 5 draft. The Twins may have interest in several players from other organizations who are available. It is also possible that the Twins could lose a player or two if selected by other teams.It should be also pointed out that the MLB Rule 5 draft is just the first of three Rule 5 drafts. There is a AAA portion of the Rule 5 draft. Each organization can put up to 39 players on their AAA roster. The Twins have 38 players on their roster, according to GM Terry Ryan on the Twins Hot Stove Show last night, so they will likely make a selection in that phase. Finally, there is a AA portion of the draft, though very few players are selected in it. There are several differences between these drafts. To make an MLB selection, a team must pay $50,000. That player needs to be on the drafting team’s 25-man roster all season or be offered back to the original team for $25,000. The other option is that the teams can work out a trade. The Twins have examples of what can happen with their three most recent picks. Scott Diamond – Twins selected him from the Braves. He did not make the opening day roster, but the Twins and Braves were able to work out a trade. Diamond was taken off of the 40-man roster and the Twins sent RHP Billy Bullock to Atlanta.Terry Doyle – The Twins selected Doyle from the White Sox organization. He was returned to Chicago late in spring training.Ryan Pressly – The Twins drafted Pressly from the Red Sox organization. He remained on the Twins roster the entire 2013 season. He was able to be sent back to AAA during the 2014 season and pitched well enough to be called up during the season’s second half.To select a player in the AAA portion, the cost to the team is $12,000. For a player selected in the AA portion, the cost is $5,000. In both cases, the player remains with the new organization. It has become a lot more difficult to find high-level talent in the Rule 5. The rules changed a few years ago so that teams would have an extra year to determine whether or not to add a player to the 40 man roster. The Twins have had some success in the Rule 5 draft in their past. Diamond certainly had one very good season. Shane Mack came to the Twins in the Rule 5 draft in 1989 and was a big contributor to the Twins for five seasons. PLAYERS THE TWINS COULD LOSE We don’t know who is or isn’t on the AAA or AA roster, so it’s really hard to determine who could be lost. A year ago, the Twins lost Tim Atherton to the A’s in the AAA draft. We do know who is on the Twins roster and who is eligible to be lost by the team. We like to assume that first-round picks will be easy choices to add to the 40-man roster when that time comes. However, the Twins have several former first round picks who could be lost. There are several other players who could be taken. Alex Wimmers has been eligible to be selected the last two years and hasn’t been taken. He could be again this year. He got back to AA this year, but now he is out of the bullpen.This is the first year that Levi Michael needed to be added. The 2011 top pick was left vulnerable to be selected and could be taken as a second utility infielder for a team. He played well in Ft. Myers and then hit well over .300 in his 15 games at AA.He was the Braves first round pick in 2011, but Sean Gilmartin came to the Twins last offseason in exchange for Ryan Doumit. He pitched in AA and AAA this year and is left-handed, so he could be taken as a long-reliever or stashed away.Niko Goodrum was the Twins second round pick in 2010 out of high school in Georgia. He was moved from shortstop to third base in 2014. He didn’t hit for average or power, but he does take a lot of walks and runs well. Could a team stash him on their big league roster and use him as a pinch runner?Jason Adam came to the Twins last August in exchange for Josh Willingham. He reached AAA with the Royals organization as a 23-year-old last year. He pitched in the Arizona Fall League.Adrian Salcedo was a top starting pitching prospect in the Twins minor league system just three years ago. Then elbow and shoulder problems hit and he spent more than a season rehabbing. He’s back to throwing hard and was a solid contributor to the New Britain bullpen. He struck out 76 in 73 innings. He could have been a minor league free agent this offseason but signed with the Twins last month.Ryan O’Rourke pitched at AA New Britain in 2014. He is already 26 and the left-hander has some crazy splits. Right-handers hit .326/.398/.573 (.971), but left-handers hit just .114/.162/.129 (.291) against him. He has a good fastball and a sharp-breaking slider. He is a LOOGY who could be used in the big leagues in that role.SO, WHO COULD THE TWINS PICK? It’s impossible to know what the Twins and their decision-makers are thinking as it relates to the Rule 5 draft. It can’t be just about their stats. It can’t be just about their tools. It has to be about whether or not the player can be a contributor to the organization long-term. Here are some names that I find interesting. There may be more that you like. We’ll find out later this morning. Delino DeShields (OF/2B – Houston Astros) – We know how the Twins (and probably all scouts) like genetics. We also heard that the Twins offered DeShields’ father, a former big leaguer with the same name, their first base coaching job – which he declined to be the AAA manager for the Reds. DeShields, Jr. is a terrific athlete. He was the eighth overall pick in the 2010 draft out of high school in Georgia. In 2012 in Low A ball, he stole 100 bases. He moved up to AA for the 2014 season and hit .236/.346/.360 (.706) with 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 54 stolen bases. Is he ready for the big leagues? Probably not. Could he stick on the big league roster? He could be the #5 outfielder, a pinch runner and play from time to time.JR Graham (RHP – Atlanta Braves) – Graham was the Braves fourth round pick in 2011 out of Santa Clara. He became a top 100 prospect just two years ago. However, he has struggled with shoulder issues the last couple of seasons which has taken away some of his velocity. However, if healthy, he could still regain what he had two years ago. He could be a steal.Edgar de la Rosa (RHP – Detroit Tigers) – He is 6-8, 235 pounds and throws a triple-digit fastball. He has been a starter in the minor leagues though most believe his future will be in the bullpen. That is obviously the role he would have if the Twins selected him. He went 7-9 with a 3.01 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. In 139 innings, he walked 53 and struck out 91 for High-A Lakeland. He’s also already 24 years old.Jarlin Garcia (LHP – Miami Marlins) – He won’t turn 22 until June. The 6-1, 170 pound left-hander features a fastball reaching 94 with a good curveball. He pitched in Low-A in 2014 and went 10-5 with a 4.38 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He gave up 152 hits in 133.2 innings, but he walked just 21 and struck out 111. He has big upside, but he’s not close to ready and would need to be stashed and rarely pitch if he were taken.Jed Bradley (RHP – Milwaukee Brewers) – The 6-4, 225 lefty was the 15th overall pick in the 2011 draft out of Georgia Tech where he was a teammate of Luke Bard. He is already 24 and split the season between High-A and AA. Overall, he went 10-10 with a 3.91 ERA (2.98 in High-A, 4.55 in AA) and a 1.40 WHIP. He’s left-handed. He is advanced enough to handle a back-of-the-bullpen role and could eventually develop into a solid lefty reliever.John Stilson (RHP – Toronto Blue Jays) – Twins fans seem to “enjoy” when the team brings back players or coaches with any sort of connection to the organization. Well, Stilson was the Twins 19th round draft pick in 2009 out of junior college. He strongly considered signing at that time, but he was also playing in the American Legion World Series in Fargo. A day after not signing, he pitched in the championship game. He went to Texas A&M and in 2011 was the Jays third round pick. He is a very talented reliever, capable of hitting 97 with the fastball and also has a good changeup and breaking ball. Why is he left unprotected? He had shoulder surgery late this season and there is a chance he will miss most of the 2015 season. The Twins could put him on the 60 day disabled list for the entire season and then they would need to keep him on the active 25-man roster for at least the first 90 days of the 2016 season or be sent back to Toronto.Jake Esch (RHP – Miami Marlins) – Another guy with a mid-90s fastball, Esch is a 24-year-old who was drafted out of Georgia Tech in the 11th round in 2011. His fastball sits 91 to 95 mph. He also has a good slider and a good curveball. In High-A in 2014, he went 6-6 with a 4.05 ERA. In 135.2 innings, he gave up 147 hits, 34 walks and struck out 105 batters.There are some very interesting names out there, available for the Twins to take with the fifth pick on Thursday morning. What would you do? What will the Twins do? Check back shortly after the Rule 5 draft and we’ll have an article on Twins players affected by the Major League and Minor League portions. Click here to view the article