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The Minnesota Twins have struggled this year. They have been swept six times and have only two victories on the road. Instead of building on last year's success, they have brought plenty of things into question. I could spend several days on what the reasons are behind the failures. That would just end up in a lot of head shaking and maybe even some tears. Instead, I intend to start a bar room type discussion. Some of you remember the Twins of the 60s or 70s or even the 80s. For me, it is the 1990s to now. I was born in 1989 and have been alive for 15 losing seasons. Some of those 15 seasons have been worse than the others and at a different time I may rank them accordingly.Today, though, I'm going to pick out the worst players for the Twins at each position, DH included, since 1989. Here are the stipulations. 1. The players have to come from a losing season. 2. They had to have played at least half of their season at the specific position during a losing season. 2a. For the DH position, they had to lead the team in appearances as a DH in that given year. 2b. The starting pitcher had to make at least 15 starts during the season. 3. While the Twins have strung together consecutive losing seasons, I am not allowing players to span seasons. They had to play in a specific year. 4. We are excluding 2016 because we are not even a quarter of the way into the season. We could revisit this at the end of the season. 5. I'm only picking one starting pitcher and no one from the bullpen. Again, that is a post for another time. The rules are set! Let's do this. Catcher - Matt Walbeck 1994 Walbeck was never known for his offense but really had no business ever being a starting catcher. He played in 97 games for the Twins in 1994, starting 89 of them at catcher. He hit a measly .204 and had a minus 20 runs above average. His defense was above league average and he threw out a career high 39 percent of base stealers that season. That still wasn't enough to avoid putting him on this team. Especially when you consider the 1994 Twins had the fifth best team batting average in the American League. First Base - Scott Stahoviak 1997 The Twins thought they had found the first baseman of the future in 1996 when Stahoviak hit .284 with 13 home runs and 30 doubles. Problem was that Stahoviak did not return in 1997. Stahoviak hit .229 in 91 games, was a minus 13 in runs above average and committed seven errors on defense. Stahoviak also struck out a lot. He struck out 114 times in 1996 and 73 times in 1997. His career percentage of at bats that ended in strikeouts was 24. The league average over that time span was 16.3 percent. We should have seen the dramatic drop off. Stahoviak hit .364 on balls put in play in 1996. That dropped to .270 in 1997. The Twins would move on from one tough-to-spell last name to another in the next couple seasons. Second Base - Wally Backman 1989 The Twins probably believed they were getting a middle-of-his-prime player in Wally Backman when they received him in an off-season trade. Backman, at age 28, had hit .303 in 99 games in 1988. He was a veteran and the term "professional" was probably thrown around a bunch of times when describing him. He ended up being pretty terrible in his lone season with the Twins. A .231 average was just the half of it. His WAR, -2.7, and RAA, -18, were both career lows for Backman. He hit .268 on balls put in play and had a .306 on base percentage. Both were well below his career averagesfor those stats. He was never a great defensive second baseman but was solid during his time with the Mets. With the Twins, though, he had a minus 6 total zone fieldiung runs above average. Backman would spend 14 years in the league and never have one more trying than his season with the Twins. He would move on to Pittsburgh the next season and only return to the American League in 1993 when he played 10 games in Seattle. Shortstop - Cristian Guzman 1999 This one was hard. It was between Guzman and 2013 Pedro Florimon. Both were pretty terrible at the plate but it was Guzman's struggles in the field that give him the edge. He committed 24 errors as a shortstop that season. That ended up being tied for second in the American League for a shortstop and tied fifth most in the AL for any position that season. His batting didn't win him any fans either. He hit .226 with 90 strikeouts. He was striking out in nearly 20 percent of his plate appearances. Considering that he played 131 games in 1999 shows you how committed the Twins were to the young man. It would eventually pay off as he led the league in triples three times and go on to be a career .271 hitter. Third Base - Danny Valencia 2011 Known more for his looks than playing ability, Valencia surprised some people with a strong 2010. His power numbers were solid in 2011 but it was the strikeouts and defense that were down right ugly. He struck out 102 times in 608 plate appearances. He was a team leader in that category. The defense was even worse. Valencia committed 18 errors at third base and had a total zone rating of minus 18. He would never again close in on the nearly 1,300 innings he played in 2011. In defense of Valencia, he was the Twins most consistent player in 2011. His 154 games led a team that was plagued by injury. There really was no other option but to play the guy. Left Field - Josh Willingham 2013 Josh Willingham mashed 35 home runs and drove in 110 RBIs in 2012. Both career highs and numbers the Twins hoped he would duplicate in 2012. Instead they got a .208 hitter that had a runs better than average of minus 15. His homer per at bat rate in 2012 was 14.8. It dropped to 28.8 in 2013. Never a great fielder, Willingham's defensive runs saved above average was minus 8. That number was minus 13 the year prior but you could ignore that when you are driving in 110 runs. The other problem Willingham tended to encounter was injuries and 2013 was no different. Maybe a healthy Willingham, much like the one the Twins had in 2012, would've performed differently. We will never know. Center Field - Rich Becker 1995 Rich Becker's first full season in the majors was one to forget. He was not quite ready for the duties of patrolling the outfield. Add in the pressure of replacing the greatest Twins of all-time in Kirby Puckett and you have the makings of a disaster. Becker's runs above average was minus 24 as a hitter and his .303 on base percentage was the worst of his career. His defense was not terrible but he was taking over for a six-time gold glove winner. Unless you are Torii Hunter, you are not going to win approval based on being average. Becker would improve and hit .279 while driving in 116 runs over the next two seasons. Numbers the Twins would gladly take from their center fielder today. Right Field - Oswaldo Arcia 2014 Arcia hit 20 home runs in 2014 and at the age of 23 was believed to be an up-and-coming power hitter. However, the power numbers belied the reality behind Arica. He struck out 127 times or once every three at-bats. His patience was starting to go away as well as he swung at the 1st pitch 32 percent of the time. He struck out 31 percent of time and would have been 4th in the majors had he qualified. His defense wasn't much better. He had a .975 fielding percentage, well bellow the league average of .986 for a right fielder. He would become way more impatient at the plate the next season and was eventually sent down to the minors. He's back, now, and showing more patience at the plate although the strike outs are still prevalent. Designated Hitter - Ryan Doumit 2013 Doumit led the team with 49 games played as the DH in 2013. He hit .220 with a .351 slugging percentage and just five homers as a DH that season. He also struck out 43 times in 191 at-bats. He split time between there, right field and catcher in 2013. The Twins would trade him in the off-season to the Atlanta Braves. Starting Pitcher - Nick Blackburn 2012 Nick Blackburn appeared in 19 games for the Twins in 2012, all of them starts. He had a 7.39 ERA, a ERA+ of 56, gave up an average of 2.1 home runs per nine innings over the span of 98.2 innings pitched. All 81 runs he gave up were earned and he only once got past the seventh inning. You have to take into account the starting pitching rotation to really appreciate how bad Blackburn was. The Twins had Scott Diamond start 27 games. Francisco Liriano started 17 games. Cole De Vries and Liam Hendriks both started 16 games. Sam Deduno started 15 and P.J. Walters started 12. Of all of those players, only Hendriks and Liarano are still in the league with several being out of the majors by 2013. It might be the Twins worst starting rotation ever. Of course, that is a different discussion for a different post. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins have been aware of Ryan Doumit for more than fifteen years, but it was only in the last 15 months that he was in the organization. In 1999, the Twins drafted outfielder BJ Garbe with the 5th overall pick in the draft. In the second round that year, the Pittsburgh Pirates drafted Doumit from the same high school as Garbe, Moses Lake High School in Washington. Ryan Doumit debuted as a 24-year-old with the Pittsburgh Pirates in June of 2005. For the next three seasons, he split time at catcher, first base and right field but never played in more than 83 games in a season because of various injuries. In 2008, he had his breakout season. He played in 116 games and hit .318/.357/.501 (.858) with 34 doubles and 15 home runs. Following that season, he signed a three year, $11.5 million contract that included club options for the 2012 and 2013 season. However, after playing in less than 80 games in two of the next three years, the Pirates chose not to pick up his 2012 option after he posted an .830 OPS in just 77 games. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] The Pirates’ loss was certainly the Twins’ gain. Terry Ryan acted quickly and signed Doumit to a one year, $3 million contract before Thanksgiving 2012 for the 2013 season. 2012 Recap Signing the switch-hitting Doumit made so much sense to the Twins. Following a 2011 season in which Joe Mauer fought various injuries and illnesses, the Twins needed someone who could provide offense at the catcher position. Doumit allowed the Twins to play Mauer behind the plate less frequently and yet be in the lineup more. In fact, Mauer finished the 2012 season with a career-high in plate appearances (641). Doumit’s versatility allowed him to also play a career high 134 games and reach a career-high 528 plate appearances. Doumit started 56 games behind the plate. He also started at DH in 48 games. He started 16 games in left field and six games in right field. He even played three innings at first base. Sure, he had his issues with the glove at each of those positions, but the value of the versatility was in allowing Mauer and Justin Morneau to get time away from their positions and time at DH. Offensively, Doumit was very good. He hit .275/.320/.461 (.781) with 34 doubles, 18 home runs and 75 RBI. The 34 doubles tied a career high. The homers and RBI were also career highs. In late June, the Twins and Doumit agreed to a two year contract extension that could keep the catcher in a Twins uniform through the 2014 season. Why He’ll Be Worse To be truthful, the success of Ryan Doumit in 2013 is greatly dependent upon his ability to stay healthy. Of the eight years that he has spent in the big leagues, he has played more than 84 games just three times. The first two times he played over 100 games, the following season he played less than 80. Can he avoid injury in 2013? There are other reasons for some concern. His 5.5% walk rate was his lowest since he walked just 4.9% of the time in 2008. His 18.8% strikeout rate was the second-highest of his career. If those numbers continue to go in opposite directions, he could really struggle. Why He’ll Be Better Doumit’s first year in the American League was certainly a success. Ron Gardenhire did a great job of keeping Doumit, Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and to a lesser extent, Justin Morneau, healthy. Doumit’s versatility is a great way for him to help the team while at the same time helping himself stay on the field, and more importantly, in the lineup more often. If Doumit is able to take a few more walks and drop his strikeout rate to rates that are closer to his career averages, it will certainly help. Although he posted a very solid .781 OPS, his career high OPS was .858, so if he can be healthy, he can be even more productive. Doumit is likely to hit sixth in the Twins lineup on most nights. Mauer, Willingham and Morneau will be on base in front of him. He will have Trevor Plouffe and Chris Parmelee hitting behind him. Now, there is some debate about how much protection in the lineup truly means to a hitter’s statistics, but in theory, if those younger guys are productive, it can only help Doumit. Seth Projected 2013 Stats for Ryan Doumit – 127 G, 505 PA, 470 AB, .257/.305/.430 (.735), 49 R, 31-2B, 1-3B, 16-HR, 63 RBI, 33 BB, 92 K. So, what do you think it will it be? Will Ryan Doumit be better or worse in 2013? Let us know what you think. View full article

Last week, we began to look at the Minnesota Twins organizational depth by looking at all of the outfielders and then all of the infielders in the in the system. Today, we return and take a look at all of the catchers. As with all spring trainings, a lot of catchers are needed just to catch bullpens and to allow players to gradually work up to squatting for nine innings.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As we have done in the previous articles, we will consider which players may fill the rosters of the Twins minor league affiliates. Of course, this is all just an educated guess. As I’ve said, any of this could be altered by an unexpected free agent signing or a trade. For instance, if the Twins sign a big bat for their bench, the odds of a third catcher with the big league roster drops significantly. Sadly, not all of these players will remain in the organization beyond spring training. Some may wind up on the Disabled List. Others may find themselves looking for another job in baseball, or maybe not in baseball. Hopefully this list will remind you of which players are in the organization. So let’s get to it. Here are the Catchers in the Minnesota Twins organization: Minnesota Twins Joe Mauer, Ryan Doumit (DH), Drew Butera In 2012, Manager Ron Gardenhire seemed to find the perfect mix among his catchers. Joe Mauer started 72 games behind the plate, 30 games at first base and DHed most of the other games on his way to career highs in games played and plate appearances. Ryan Doumit was the team’s primary DH, but he also started 52 games behind the plate as well as played some in the outfield. Having them in the lineup most days meant that Drew Butera was rarely a starter, just 27 games all season. Although Joe Mauer will want to catch some more in 2012, hopefully they will be able to maintain a similar balance and keep his bat in the lineup most days. Doumit also was able to stay healthy which will be important to the 2013 Twins. Butera remains the team’s third catcher, although it is possible he will being 2013 in Rochester, as he did a year ago. Rochester Red Wings Chris Herrmann, Eric Fryer, Danny Lehmann Chris Herrmann debuted with the Twins in mid-September after thinking his season was complete. He was able to record his first Major League hit, but he has had a rough spring training and will begin his first season in Triple A. The hope would be that he’ll hit a little bit and continue to improve his defense. He should also play some in the outfield and take over the third catcher role for the Twins by mid-season. Fryer is a 27-year-old backstop who has eight big league hits over the past two seasons. Lehmann is generally considered the top defensive catcher in the Twins system. He’s Butera without quite the arm. New Britain Rock Cats Josmil Pinto, Dan Rohlfing Rohlfing has had a very nice showing in big league camp this year. Of his four hits, two are doubles and one is a home run. He is an athletic catcher who plays left field well. He has also done well in his time at first base in the past week of spring training. Pinto had a breakout season in Ft. Myers in 2012 and ended it with a nice showing in his brief time with New Britain. For his efforts, the Twins re-signed him as a minor league free agent and then added him to the 40 man roster. Ft. Myers Miracle Kyle Knudson, Matt Koch, Jairo Rodriguez Kyle Knudson was invited to spring training after splitting 2012 between Beloit and Ft. Myers. For the first time since signing with the Twins after being drafted out of the University of Minnesota, he is healthy. Matt Koch started out the 2012 strong with the Beloit Snappers. He did a nice job behind the plate and also was the team’s DH sometimes. Jairo Rodriguez was the #2 catcher most of the year in Beloit a season ago. Cedar Rapids Kernels Jhonatan Arias, Tyler Grimes, Bo Altobelli, Bryan Santy Arias played primarily for Beloit in 2011, but he returned to Elizabethton in 2012 and finally put up some good offensive numbers. Grimes is likely to spend his third straight year (including his drafted year) in the Midwest League. However, he transitioned to catcher during the instructional league after the 2012 season and will continue to play there in 2013. Altobelli and Santy were both late round 2012 draft picks from colleges. Extended Spring Training/Short-Season Kelly Cross, Brian Compton, Jorge Fernandez, Joel Polanco, Michael Quesada (Suspended) Kelly Cross will be entering his fourth season in the organization. He spent two years in the GCL, and did move up to Elizabethton and played a little last year. He will have to take some major strides in 2013. Jorge Fernandez was a Twins draft pick in 2012 out of Puerto Rico. He has a chance to be solid, but patience will be needed. Brian Compton was signed a year ago for depth in the GCL and likely remains through EST for the same. Polanco is a 20-year-old who spent the last two seasons in the Dominican Summer League. Last year, he hit .254/.369/.381 (.749) with 15 doubles. He also threw out 56% of would-be base stealers. Quesada was drafted in 2010, and in 2012 made his first appearances in Elizabethton. Unfortunately, he received a 50 game suspension and he will need to serve that into the Elizabethton season, which will start in late June. TOP PROSPECTS 1.) Chris Herrmann, 2.) Dan Rohlfing, 3.) Jorge Fernandez, SUMMARY Fortunately the Twins have Joe Mauer locked up for the next half-dozen years. Ryan Doumit is likely to be around for two more seasons. Chris Herrmann is close and can fill a utility/catcher role for several years. Beyond that, there is not much in terms of upside catching prospects in the Twins system. If you have any further questions, please feel free to leave your thoughts in the Comments Section! View full article