Tough loss today, but the Twins are still in first place (albeit in a 3-way tie) in the AL Central. Tomorrow's game looks promising because the Twins are hitting a collective .317/.349/.466 of Chicago's projected starter, Mark Buehrle. Some notable performers against Buehrle:
Michael Cuddyer (69 AB) .304/.333/.493
Justin Morneau (38 AB) .237/.279 /.421
Nick Punto (33 AB) .303/.294/.394
Mike Redmond (28 AB) .500/.483/.571
Delmon Young (18 AB) .389/.421/.611
Brendan Harris (16 AB) .313/.389 /.375
Alexi Casilla (13 AB) .231/.333/.231
Carlos Gomez (11 AB) .545/.545/1.091
Denard Span (6 AB) .333/.429/.833
Jason Kubel (3 AB) .000/.250/.000
Based on this, I expect Redmond to start at catcher, Gomez and Span to be on the field as one of Cuddyer and Young, while the other is the DH, with Kubel sitting. I suspect that Crede will start at 3B, but I will not be surprised if Harris takes his spot.
The numbers match up looks really good for the Twins.
4/11/09
4/10/09
This might summarize tonight's game
and, yes, the Twins are leading the Central.
(if you do not know why I selected that tune, it was because that is the song playing in the Cellular field before Crede's first plate appearance there. After his home run it was just booos)
Cold weather and knuckleballs: R.A. Dickey and the season opener in Chicago
It is a somewhat accepted myth that knuckleball pitchers are doing better in domes (part of the Twins' intrigue by R.A. Dickey.) What is driving this argument is the theory that the lack of wind in a dome would not affect a knuckleball, allowing it to have its fluttering motion that makes it difficult for the catchers to catch and hitters to hit.
So, would it have been better for the Twins to start Dickey in the dome and give someone like Blackburn, Dickey's Cellular Field start tonight?
The answer is no.
There is another physical factor that affects a knuckleball more than the wind: Air density. The colder the temperature, the denser the air, the less the spin. And throwing a knuckleball with no spin, is like throwing a brick to the batters. I am not going to in depth on the physics of a knuckleball, other than try to explain in basic terms what makes it flutter and then I will go into the temperature stuff:
Here is a knuckleball grip (Hoyt Wilhelm):
It is very similar to that of a fastball, but instead of running the middle and index fingers along the seams and trying to hold onto the ball only by the fingertips and thumb tip, the nails of the index and middle fingers dig into the seams, the first knuckles are close on the seams (thus the misnomer; a "nailball" would be more appropriate), which also has the effect of placing the ball closer to the palm, making it more of a change up grip.
the above image shows a knuckleball grip in the manner of a two-seam fastball (sinker), Dickey's grip is across the seams, in the manner of a four-seam fastball:
Both grips have the same effect, with Dickey's resulting to a slightly faster ball towards the plate (low 70s). Dickey, also throws the traditional, two-seam variation that results in a ball thrown about 5 mph slower. So tonight, when you see knuckleballs in the high 60s, low 70s, he is using the 4-seam variation, and when you see knuckleballs in the mid to low 60s, he is using the 2-seam variation.
Why the motion: ideally, a knuckleball from the pitcher to the plate will do only one half spin, moving the seams that held them into the side (90 degrees). The drag (air resistance) of the seams (which increases relatively by the lower velocity of the ball towards the plate than traditional pitches) will cause the ball to have an increased sideways movement, thus "flutter". The argument against the wind is that a lateral (side to side) wind, would exaggerate the natural lateral movement of the knuckleball, making it more "wild".
That's what throwing a knuckleball is all about. How about the temperature effects? Higher temperature decreases the density of air molecules and low temperature increases their density. When it is cold and the air molecules are denser, this has two effects: a. it slows the velocity of the ball which, in turn, b. decreases the spin of the ball, thus making a knuckleball, flutter better. Here is an extreme example to make it clearer: Cold increases water molecule density. Is it easier to push your finger through liquid water, or through ice? The same principle applies to the air.
If you are not yet convinced:
Tonight's game conditions are perfect for R.A. Dickey.
So, would it have been better for the Twins to start Dickey in the dome and give someone like Blackburn, Dickey's Cellular Field start tonight?
The answer is no.
There is another physical factor that affects a knuckleball more than the wind: Air density. The colder the temperature, the denser the air, the less the spin. And throwing a knuckleball with no spin, is like throwing a brick to the batters. I am not going to in depth on the physics of a knuckleball, other than try to explain in basic terms what makes it flutter and then I will go into the temperature stuff:
Here is a knuckleball grip (Hoyt Wilhelm):
It is very similar to that of a fastball, but instead of running the middle and index fingers along the seams and trying to hold onto the ball only by the fingertips and thumb tip, the nails of the index and middle fingers dig into the seams, the first knuckles are close on the seams (thus the misnomer; a "nailball" would be more appropriate), which also has the effect of placing the ball closer to the palm, making it more of a change up grip.
the above image shows a knuckleball grip in the manner of a two-seam fastball (sinker), Dickey's grip is across the seams, in the manner of a four-seam fastball:
Both grips have the same effect, with Dickey's resulting to a slightly faster ball towards the plate (low 70s). Dickey, also throws the traditional, two-seam variation that results in a ball thrown about 5 mph slower. So tonight, when you see knuckleballs in the high 60s, low 70s, he is using the 4-seam variation, and when you see knuckleballs in the mid to low 60s, he is using the 2-seam variation.
Why the motion: ideally, a knuckleball from the pitcher to the plate will do only one half spin, moving the seams that held them into the side (90 degrees). The drag (air resistance) of the seams (which increases relatively by the lower velocity of the ball towards the plate than traditional pitches) will cause the ball to have an increased sideways movement, thus "flutter". The argument against the wind is that a lateral (side to side) wind, would exaggerate the natural lateral movement of the knuckleball, making it more "wild".
That's what throwing a knuckleball is all about. How about the temperature effects? Higher temperature decreases the density of air molecules and low temperature increases their density. When it is cold and the air molecules are denser, this has two effects: a. it slows the velocity of the ball which, in turn, b. decreases the spin of the ball, thus making a knuckleball, flutter better. Here is an extreme example to make it clearer: Cold increases water molecule density. Is it easier to push your finger through liquid water, or through ice? The same principle applies to the air.
If you are not yet convinced:
- Here is a New York Times article, where Mike Marshall, the former Cy Young winner, explains why a knuckleball is aided by the cold
- As a further support, Dickey's ERA last season in the open was more than 2 points lower than in a dome (4.48 vs. 6.52), opponents had a .751 OPS in the open vs .952 in the dome, his ERA was 3.66 in night games vs. 8.50 in day games, and opponents had a .715 OPS in day games vs. .980 in night games
- Hoyt Wilhem threw the only no-hitter by a knuckleball pitcher on September 20, 1958 against the Yankees in a cold and drizzly afternoon
Tonight's game conditions are perfect for R.A. Dickey.
4/9/09
Who is where in the Twins' minor league system - part B: pitchers
In the previous post, I listed all the current Twins' minor league position players with their former and current affiliations. Here is a list of all the 98 pitchers in the system, including whether they are left handed (*), their age in the middle of the 2009 season, the team they played for 2008 (if they played in other organizations, the level is included instead.), and the team they are playing for in 2009. The ones with no 2009 team assigned are either in extended spring training or in the Dominican Republic. I will try to keep it up to date and please let me know whether I have listed anyone wrongly or omitted anyone.
Player age 2008 team 2009 team
Ramon Acosta 22 DSL
*Omar Alcala 22 ELZ
Michael Allen 22 BEL BEL
Edison Alvarez 20 DSL
Henry Arias 24 A FTM
Santos Arias 22 BEL FTM
Daniel Berlind 21 BEL
*Elliot Biddle 22 GCL
Steven Blevins 22 ELZ BEL
David Bromberg 21 BEL FTM
Alex Burnett 21 FTM FTM
*Alvaro Caceres 23 DSL
Eliecer Cardenas 21 DSL
*Kyle Carr 22 ELZ
Carlos Carrillo 19 DSL
Cesar Ciurcina 18 DSL
Aaron Craig 23 FTM
Alex Curry 21 ELZ
Robert Delaney 24 NB NB
Cole Devries 24 FTM NB
Raynard Doran 21 DSL
*Brian Duensing 26 ROC
*Jarrad Eacott 18 ELZ
Blair Erickson 24 FTM FTM
Matthew Fox 26 FTM NB
Armando Gabino 25 NB ROC
Jhon Garcia 22 DSL
*Martire Garcia 19 DSL
Deivi Germosen 19 DSL
*Jose Gonzalez 19 DSL
*Mike Gosling 28 AAA ROC
Wilmer Guanchez 22 GCL
Deolis Guerra 20 FTM FTM
Pedro Guerra 19 DSL
Carlos Gutierrez 22 FTM FTM
Ben Hendrickson 28 AAA ROC
B.J. Hermsen 19
Danny Hernandez 22 FTM BEL
*Sean Henn 28 MLB ROC
Steven Hirschfeld 23 BEL FTM
Philip Humber 26 ROC
Shooter Hunt 22 BEL BEL
*Edgar Ibarra 20 GCL
Jason Jones 26 AAA ROC
*Ben Julianel 29 NB ROC
Bobby Keppel 27 AAA ROC
Brian Kirwan 22 BEL BEL
Timothy Lahey 27 ROC ROC
Bobby Lanigan 22 ELZ BEL
Curtis Leavitt 22 ELZ BEL
*Andrei Lobanov 19 GCL
*Jose Lugo 25 FTM NB
Jeffrey Manship 24 NB NB
*David Martin 23 BEL
Lee Martin 23 ELZ BEL
Frank Mata 25 NB NB
Michael McCardell 24 BEL FTM
*Jean Mijares 21 GCL
*Jose Mijares 24 MLB ROC
*Michael Mopas 21 GCL
Kelvin Mota 21 GCL
*Ryan Mullins 25 NB NB
Kevin Mulvey 24 ROC ROC
Miguel Munoz 20 GCL
Khol Nanney 24 GCL
*Daniel Osterbrock 22 ELZ BEL
Leonardo Parra 22 DSL
*Carmen Pignatiello 26 MLB ROC
Yohan Pino 24 NB NB
Bruce Pugh 20 GCL
Jay Rainville 23 NB NB
Renzo Reverol 18 DSL
*Henry Reyes 24 BEL BEL
*Tyler Robertson 21 FTM FTM
Dominique Rodgers 24 BEL
Danny Rondon 22 ELZ BEL
Adrian Salcedo 18 DSL
Angelo Sanchez 20 GCL
Eddy Santana 21 DSL
* Reid Santos 26 AAA ROC
Mauro Schiavoni 22 GCL
Anthony Slama 25 FTM NB
Oswaldo Sosa 23 NB NB
*Spencer Steedley 24 FTM FTM
Tom Stuifbergen 20 GCL
Anthony Swarzak 23 ROC ROC
*Michael Tarsi 22 BEL BEL
*Joe Testa 23 FTM BEL
Bradley Tippett 21 BEL BEL
Michael Tonkin 19 GCL
Ludovicus Van Mil 24 BEL FTM
Lesmir Vargas 22 DSL
Orlando Villaroel 19 DSL
Kyle Waldrop 23 FTM FTM
Zachary Ward 25 NB NB
Blayne Weller 19 DSL
Matthew Williams 22 FTM FTM
Thomas Wright 21 ELZ BEL
Who is where in the Twins' minor league system - part A: position players
In order to keep up with the different developments in the Twins' minor league system, I created a database of all the minor league players in the organization. Here is a list of all the 102 position players in the system, including whether they are batting left handed (*) or are switch hitters (#), their age in the middle of the 2009 season, the team they played for 2008 (if they played in other organizations, the level is included instead.), and the team they are playing for in 2009. The ones with no 2009 team assigned are either in extended spring training or in the Dominican Republic. I will try to keep it up to date and please let me know whether I have listed anyone wrongly or omitted anyone. Pitchers to follow.
Player age 2008 team 2009 team
#Oswaldo Arcia 18 DSL
Jhonatan Arias 20 DSL
Tim Atherton 19 GCL
Joe Benson 21 BEL FTM
*James Beresford 20 ELZ BEL
Daniel Berg 24 NB FTM
Evan Bigley 22 ELZ BEL
Juan Blanco 20 DSL
*David Bromberg 21 BEL
*Brian Buscher 28 MLB MLB
Drew Butera 25 NB ROC
Felix Caro 19 DSL
Chris Cates 24 BEL FTM
Hyeong-rok Choi 19 GCL
*Hyun-wook Choi 19 GCL
Jeff Christy 25 ROC ROC
Dominic De La Osa 23 ELZ BEL
#Estarlin De Los Santos 22 BEL FTM
Allan de San Miguel 21 FTM NB
*Brian Dinkelman 25 NB NB
Mark Dolenc 24 BEL FTM
Jair Fernandez 22 BEL FTM
Yancarlo Franco 20 DSL
Joe Gaetti 27 NB NB
Lesther Galvan 19 DSL
Toby Gardenhire 26 NB NB
Wilfy Gil 19 DSL
Jonathan Goncalves 20 GCL
*Michael Gonzales 21 GCL
Xavier Gonzalez 20 GCL
Jakub Hajtmar 22 GCL
Nathan Hanson 22 ELZ BEL
Frederic Hanvi 20 GCL
*Michael Harrington 23 ELZ BEL
#Aaron Hicks 19 GCL
Anderson Hidalgo 20 GCL
Justin Huber 26 MLB ROC
Luke Hughes 24 ROC ROC
Jae-Hyung Jang 22 GCL
Paul Kelly 22 BEL BEL
Tyler Ladendorf 21 GCL
Jeff Lanning 22 ELZ
#Herbert Lara 21 GCL
Danny Lehmann 23 FTM FTM
Rene Leveret 23 BEL FTM
Ozzie Lewis 23 BEL BEL
*Wang-Wei Lin 21 GCL
*Erik Lis 25 NB NB
Alejandro Machado 27 ROC ROC
Matthew Macri 27 ROC ROC
*Dustin Martin 25 NB ROC
#Yorby Martinez 20 DSL
Jean Carlos Mercedes 21 DSL
Angel Morales 19 ELZ BEL
#Jose Morales 26 ROC
*Matt Moses 24 NB NB
Yancarlos Ortiz 24 FTM NB
*Daniel Ortiz 19 GCL
Nicholas Papasan 21 ELZ
*Chris Parmelee 21 BEL FTM
Jairo Perez 21 DSL
Brock Peterson 25 ROC ROC
Ben Petsch 24 BEL
Randy Pina 18 DSL
Josmil Pinto 20 GCL
Trevor Plouffe 23 ROC ROC
Juan Portes 23 FTM NB
*Jason Pridie 25 ROC ROC
Wilson Ramos 21 FTM NB
Daniel Rams 20 ELZ
*Ben Revere 21 BEL FTM
Juan Richardson 22 BEL BEL
*Whitney Robbins 24 FTM NB
*Brandon Roberts 24 NB NB
Jairo Rodriguez 20 DSL
Daniel Rohlfing 20 GCL
Deibinson Romero 22 BEL FTM
#Nicholas Romero 21 ELZ BEL
Henry Sanchez 22 GCL BEL
Rafael Sanchez 19 DSL
#Daniel Santana 18 DSL
Ramon Santana 23 BEL BEL
Eric Santiago 21 BEL
*Adan Severino 22 ELZ BEL
Eliel Sierra 23 DSL
#Steven Singleton 23 FTM FTM
#Yangervis Solarte 21 FTM FTM
Manuel Soliman 19 DSL
Alexander Soto 22 ELZ BEL
Eli Tintor 24 FTM BEL
#Matt Tolbert 27 MLB ROC
Steven Tolleson 25 NB NB
*Andrew Thompson 22 DL BEL
*Rene Tosoni 22 FTM NB
Daniel Valencia 24 NB NB
Lesmir Vargas 22 DSL
Carlos Vasquez 18 DSL
*Jonathan Waltenbury 21 ELZ BEL
Tommy Watkins 29 ROC ROC
Matthew Williams 22 BEL
*Reggie Williams 20 GCL
David Winfree 23 NB ROC
The Seattle series in review
The first series of the year is over. The Twins tied 2-2 with the Seattle Mariners and are in second place in the AL Central, half a game behind the Kansas City Royals, half a game a head of the Chicago White Sox, a game ahead of the Detroit Tigers and a game and a half ahead of the win-less Cleveland Indians.
This series concluded with a classic pitcher's duo in which Jarrod Washburn, outlasted Glen Perkins to lead his Mariners to a 2-0 matinee victory. A few observations from this series, in a random order:
First Series MVP:
Denard Span
First Series Best Pitcher:
Glen Perkins
Next series: 3 games against the White Sox in Chicago. Probable Starters:
Friday: R.A. Dickey vs. Jose Conteras
Saturday: Fransisco Liriano vs. Bartolo Colon
Sunday: Nick Blackburn vs. TBD
On another note, Rochester beat Syracuse 7-4, powered by home runs by Martin, Plouffe, Winfree and Hughes. Interestingly, Tim Lahey was the closer today.
The New Britain game in New Hampshire just started and the Rock Cats are winning 1-0 on the top of the 1st after a Rene Tosoni home run at the first AB of the game. Jay Raiville is pitching.
This series concluded with a classic pitcher's duo in which Jarrod Washburn, outlasted Glen Perkins to lead his Mariners to a 2-0 matinee victory. A few observations from this series, in a random order:
- The Mariners are not as bad as they look on paper. The addition of Guterriez and Chavez in the outfield will help them win several games (one could argue that today's was one of them) with the glove. With the Angel's rotation a huge question mark and the Rangers and A's unpredictable, it could be possible that the Mariners might contend this season, if they get the right bounces like they did in this series. A split with the Mariners at home might sound discouraging, but lets not forget that the Twins last season spit a home series with the Rays and we all know what happened to the Rays...
- There were a lot of nerves at the starting rotation, but Perkins and Liriano performed very well pitching 8 and 7 innings of 0.88 and 0.57 WHIP, respectively. As a matter of fact, that was Perkins' best start with the Twins.
- Having Crede at third base will be a huge factor for the Twins, even if his bat is slow to wake up. Just in this series Crede made at least 5 plays that Buscher could not make in his dreams.
- The biggest surprise as far as the bats go, was Denard Span who followed an awful spring with a .308/.438/.538 performance, one home run, a team leading 4 RBI and 1 SB. Other than Span, Morneau, Kubel and Harris (who owns Washburn) had good series with the bat.
- Nathan was perfect in his single save opportunity and Guerrier, who gave only one hit in 2.1 innings (0.43 WHIP), showed promise that last season might have just been a fluke
First Series MVP:
Denard Span
First Series Best Pitcher:
Glen Perkins
Next series: 3 games against the White Sox in Chicago. Probable Starters:
Friday: R.A. Dickey vs. Jose Conteras
Saturday: Fransisco Liriano vs. Bartolo Colon
Sunday: Nick Blackburn vs. TBD
On another note, Rochester beat Syracuse 7-4, powered by home runs by Martin, Plouffe, Winfree and Hughes. Interestingly, Tim Lahey was the closer today.
The New Britain game in New Hampshire just started and the Rock Cats are winning 1-0 on the top of the 1st after a Rene Tosoni home run at the first AB of the game. Jay Raiville is pitching.
4/8/09
Twins-Mariners 6-5
There were a lot written about last night's game. It was indeed a game for the ages. I am sure that there is not a single Twins' blog or newspaper site that does not have a myriad of descriptions for the game, so I will not add to them. What I will add is the following, because a picture is worth more than 1000 words:
This is the win probability graph from fangraphs.com that shows the swing in the game in the 9th inning. Fangraphs has a live scoreboard that gives live graphs like the one above with win probability updated with each at bat. If you are not familiar with the site, it is a very enriching way to follow the game!
The third game of the series is tonight and Kevin Slowey is facing Twins' alum Carlos Silva.
This is the win probability graph from fangraphs.com that shows the swing in the game in the 9th inning. Fangraphs has a live scoreboard that gives live graphs like the one above with win probability updated with each at bat. If you are not familiar with the site, it is a very enriching way to follow the game!
The third game of the series is tonight and Kevin Slowey is facing Twins' alum Carlos Silva.
4/7/09
Here is a different Twins-Mariners competition
Last year's Dominican Summer League (DSL) game, where the Twins hosted the Mariners.
I love the shot of the Twins' catcher (17 year-old Randy Peña) dancing Salsa with the spectators.
A very sad day yesterday...
Steve Cannon passed at 10:00 PM. He was 81. Rest in peace Steve, Morgan, Ma and Backlash...
You got the money
here are a couple of samples from Cannon's show, preserved by radiotapes.com:
You got the money
here are a couple of samples from Cannon's show, preserved by radiotapes.com:
- show beginning from the basement studio with Steve Cannon, Morgan Mundane, Ma Linger and Backlash LaRue
- The Cannon Mess with Mike Lynch and James St. James
4/6/09
Oh well...
Crap happens, but it doesn't have to happen like that: burn the best pitchers in your pen when you are 3 runs behind and play lefty/righty match ups.
So, for tomorrow only Duensing and Humber will be rested enough to bridge the starter to Nathan. Rejoice...
So, for tomorrow only Duensing and Humber will be rested enough to bridge the starter to Nathan. Rejoice...
Here is a quote when pondering the starting lineup for the opener.
Last winter, after the Fargo gaffe, Ron Gardenhire gave an interview to scout.com. Among other things he was asked about who he will start in the outfield. Here is his response:
Gardenhire: Well, they have to earn it. In the course of spring training next year, they will decide who is going to be out there playing. Either they get it done or they don’t. I don’t have to decide stuff like that, unless they all hit .500 in spring training and that makes it a little more difficult. But they have to decide who is going to go out there and play.
As a reminder:
This spring training:
Cuddyer .317/.358/.583, 2 HR, 5 BB. 9 RBI (60 AB)
Gomez .283/.358/.583, 3 HR, 6 BB, 5 SB, 8 RBI (60 AB)
Young .292/.313/.492, 3 HR, 1 SB, 9 RBI (65 AB)
Span .190/.274/.286, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 SB, 10 RBI (84 AB)
Opening day lineup:
Span LF, Gomez CF, Cuddyer RF
This is not perjury, but Ron Gardenhire is a liar, any way you slice it.
Gardenhire: Well, they have to earn it. In the course of spring training next year, they will decide who is going to be out there playing. Either they get it done or they don’t. I don’t have to decide stuff like that, unless they all hit .500 in spring training and that makes it a little more difficult. But they have to decide who is going to go out there and play.
As a reminder:
This spring training:
Cuddyer .317/.358/.583, 2 HR, 5 BB. 9 RBI (60 AB)
Gomez .283/.358/.583, 3 HR, 6 BB, 5 SB, 8 RBI (60 AB)
Young .292/.313/.492, 3 HR, 1 SB, 9 RBI (65 AB)
Span .190/.274/.286, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 SB, 10 RBI (84 AB)
Opening day lineup:
Span LF, Gomez CF, Cuddyer RF
This is not perjury, but Ron Gardenhire is a liar, any way you slice it.
About an hour or so for the first pitch...
Lineups posted, and my biggest decision for the day was made: I am wearing the #22 (Carlos Gomez) alternative home (blue) jersey and the batting practice cap.
And if the Twins need bulletin board material, here is a quote from Dave Cameron's (a usually respected blogger) latest post at U.S.S Mariner:
The Twins have some jerks. I don’t know that it’ll matter, what with Felix pitching.
niiiiice
Go Twins!
And if the Twins need bulletin board material, here is a quote from Dave Cameron's (a usually respected blogger) latest post at U.S.S Mariner:
The Twins have some jerks. I don’t know that it’ll matter, what with Felix pitching.
niiiiice
Go Twins!
4/5/09
Ten Reasons to be optimistic about 2009:
On Saturday, La Velle Neal III, penned 5 questions about the Twins entering this season. Here, not in a direct response, I am listing 10 reasons why the Twins' fans should be optimistic about 2009:
The season starts tomorrow. Twins fans should enjoy the run to the fourth world championship of the franchise and the third in the Metrodome, so appropriate in its last year of hosting the team.
- Carlos Gomez spent the off-season working specifically on his plate discipline both in the Dominican Winter League and in Spring Training and the results show that all that work paid dividends. In addition, he worked out on his physique, translated to a bigger lower body. That also paid dividends, since he was the co-leader in Spring Training with 3 home runs and led the team with 5 stolen bases
- Delmon Young is beginning to show some power. Like Gomez, he also had 3 home runs to co-lead the team in Spring Training.
- The quest for quality set up may be over. Jesse Crain, another year removed from shoulder surgery and with a newly found sharpness in his curveball had a fantastic spring both with the Twins and team Canada in the WBC. Louis Ayala was not scored upon with the Twins this spring training and Craig Breslow led all relievers with 10.77 K/9
- Joe Mauer is getting better. Friday, he took swings off a tee and caught R.A. Dickey on the side.
- R.A. Dickey was probably the surprise of the spring. He showed both great control (4.5 K/BB) and excellent strike out ability (9.5 K/9), a rare feat for a knuckleball pitcher, suggesting that his performance as a reliever last season was not a fluke and that he can be an integral part of this team in 2009
- Justin Morneau and Jason Kubel had great springs. They led the Twins in power numbers last season and they are set to be even better this season. Morneau's slight back issues are a thing of the past, since he played with no pain
- Mike Cuddyer's performance is suggesting that he is set to put 2008 in the rear view mirror and have a very good season in 2009 (a contract season for him, which will determine whether the Twins will pick his option for 2010.)
- Joe Crede had 53 AB and there was no pain in his back
- The rotation, including its newest temporary appointee, R.A. Dickey, and excluding the injured Scott Baker, was nothing short of excellent, led by Kevin Slowey who continued to build on his 2008 by posting the following otherworldly numbers: 11 K/BB, 7.83 K/9, 0.87 WHIP. Kevin will be a Cy Young candidate this year
- Last but not least, the Twins finished the spring with a 19-13 record and a .594 winning performance, tying in second with the 2003 team, behind the .625 2006 team, in the Gardenhire era. As I showed earlier the spring training record for these Twins, does translate to season success, and based on Spring 2009, 2009 will be a very successful season for the Twins.
The season starts tomorrow. Twins fans should enjoy the run to the fourth world championship of the franchise and the third in the Metrodome, so appropriate in its last year of hosting the team.
2009 opening day rosters for Rochester Red Wings. New Britain Rock Cats and Beloit Snappers
The rosters for the Rochester Red Wings, New Britain Rock Cats and Beloit Snappers are up at their respective official sites and starting to shape up. A few surprises, mainly the Delaney/Slama duo in New Britain and Tolleson in New Britain. Also, I was hoping that Ben Revere will be in New Britain... There are a few too many older players (esp. pitchers + Watkins) for my taste, who are blocking talent like Delaney, Tolleson and Valencia from AAA. And this has a domino effect, like Slama is blocked from being the closer in New Britain and Deibinson Romero, with one more year in the 40-roster before he has to be added to the 25-man roster or being lost, is stuck in Ft. Myers. In addition, Joe Gaetti and Toby G. are in New Britain at ages (27 and 26, respectively) that they should be able to play in AAA or be released. Another surprise: Eli Tindor, an outfielder with the Ft. Myers Miracle in 2008 is repositioned as a catcher and will be playing with the Beloit Snappers in 2009. Also, there are a three players that are not included in the rosters: Steven Tolleson, Oswaldo Sosa and Daniel Berg. I do not expect them to get a demotion... There are a still few days left at the minor league spring training camp and by then these rosters might change a bit.
The rosters are listed below. Rosters for the Ft. Myers Miracle and the Elizabethton Twins are not yet final. The short season rookie GCL-Twins' players will be in extended spring training until GCL games commence. I will update the other teams' rosters as soon as they finalize. Reading between the lines, based on who is on Beloit (and about two thirds of the 2009 Beloit roster were in Elizabethton last season) and in New Britain, expect Aaron Hicks and Ben Revere to man the outfield in Ft. Myers. And this is worth a trip to Florida.
Rochester Red Wings:
Pitchers:
Armado Gabino
Mike Gosling
Ben Hendrickson (DL)
Sean Henn
Jason Jones
Ben Julianel
Bob Keppel
Tim Lahey
Jose Mijares
Kevin Mulvey
Carmen Pignatiello
Reid Santos
Anthony Swarzak
Catchers:
Drew Butera
Jeff Christy
Infielders:
Justin Huber
Luke Hughes
Alejandro Machado
Matt Macri
Brock Peterson
Tevor Plouffe
Matt Tolbert
Outfielders:
Dustin Martin
Jason Pridie
Tommy Watkins
David Winfree
New Britain Rock Cats:
Catchers:
Wilson Ramos
Allan de San Miguel
Infielders:
Erik Lis
Whitney Robbins
Yancarlos Ortiz
Toby Gardenhire
Danny Valencia
Brian Dinkelman
Outfielders:
Joe Gaetti
Juan Portes
Rene Tosoni
Brandon Roberts
Matt Moses
Pitchers:
Cole Devries
Matthew Fox
Anthony Slama
Jose Lugo
Ryan Mullins
Robert Delaney
Jeff Manship
Zachary Ward
Frank Mata
Jay Rainville
Yohan Pino
Beloit Snappers:
Pitchers:
Michael Allen
Steven Blevins
Danny Hernandez
Shooter Hunt
Brian Kirwan (DL)
Bobby Lanigan
Curtis Leavitt (DL)
Blake Martin (DL)
Dan Osterborck
Henry Reyes
Danny Rondon
Michael Tarsi (DL)
Joe Testa
Bradley Tippet
Thomas Wright
Catchers:
Alexander Soto
Eli Tindor
Infielders:
James Beresford
Dominic de La Osa
Nathan Hanson
Paul Kelly (DL)
Juan Richardson (DL)
Nicholas Romero
Hank Sanchez
Ramon Santana
Andrew Tompson (DL)
Jon Walernbury
OUtfielders:
Evan Bigley
Michael Harrington
Ozzie Lewis
Angel Morales
Adan Severino
The rosters are listed below. Rosters for the Ft. Myers Miracle and the Elizabethton Twins are not yet final. The short season rookie GCL-Twins' players will be in extended spring training until GCL games commence. I will update the other teams' rosters as soon as they finalize. Reading between the lines, based on who is on Beloit (and about two thirds of the 2009 Beloit roster were in Elizabethton last season) and in New Britain, expect Aaron Hicks and Ben Revere to man the outfield in Ft. Myers. And this is worth a trip to Florida.
Rochester Red Wings:
Pitchers:
Armado Gabino
Mike Gosling
Ben Hendrickson (DL)
Sean Henn
Jason Jones
Ben Julianel
Bob Keppel
Tim Lahey
Jose Mijares
Kevin Mulvey
Carmen Pignatiello
Reid Santos
Anthony Swarzak
Catchers:
Drew Butera
Jeff Christy
Infielders:
Justin Huber
Luke Hughes
Alejandro Machado
Matt Macri
Brock Peterson
Tevor Plouffe
Matt Tolbert
Outfielders:
Dustin Martin
Jason Pridie
Tommy Watkins
David Winfree
New Britain Rock Cats:
Catchers:
Wilson Ramos
Allan de San Miguel
Infielders:
Erik Lis
Whitney Robbins
Yancarlos Ortiz
Toby Gardenhire
Danny Valencia
Brian Dinkelman
Outfielders:
Joe Gaetti
Juan Portes
Rene Tosoni
Brandon Roberts
Matt Moses
Pitchers:
Cole Devries
Matthew Fox
Anthony Slama
Jose Lugo
Ryan Mullins
Robert Delaney
Jeff Manship
Zachary Ward
Frank Mata
Jay Rainville
Yohan Pino
Beloit Snappers:
Pitchers:
Michael Allen
Steven Blevins
Danny Hernandez
Shooter Hunt
Brian Kirwan (DL)
Bobby Lanigan
Curtis Leavitt (DL)
Blake Martin (DL)
Dan Osterborck
Henry Reyes
Danny Rondon
Michael Tarsi (DL)
Joe Testa
Bradley Tippet
Thomas Wright
Catchers:
Alexander Soto
Eli Tindor
Infielders:
James Beresford
Dominic de La Osa
Nathan Hanson
Paul Kelly (DL)
Juan Richardson (DL)
Nicholas Romero
Hank Sanchez
Ramon Santana
Andrew Tompson (DL)
Jon Walernbury
OUtfielders:
Evan Bigley
Michael Harrington
Ozzie Lewis
Angel Morales
Adan Severino
4/4/09
Spring Training Final Summary
I have been doing a weekly summary of the Twins' players' performance during this spring training. The 25-man roster is set, all their bags are packed, they are on their way to Minneapolis and the season opener is less than 2 days away. This is an overview on the spring performance for the players who are coming up north. As in the weekly reviews, I will indicate the position player of the Spring, but instead of having one pitcher for the best spring performance as I did in the weekly reviews, I am breaking it out to the Starting Pitcher of the Spring and Relief Pitcher of the Spring. These are the cummulative statistics of all Spring Training. (The rankings are by decreasing OPS for position players and by decreasing WHIP for pitchers, the leaders in individual statistics on each category have their numbers in the leading stats in bold) :
Position Players:
Morneau .395/.439/.711, 3 HR, 3 BB, 10 RBI (38 AB)
Buscher .393/.470/.534, 2 HR, 9 BB, 11 RBI (56 AB)
Kubel .369/.429/.524, 3 HR, 7 BB, 12 RBI, (63 AB)
Cuddyer .317/.358/.583, 2 HR, 5 BB. 9 RBI (60 AB)
Punto .353/.395/.500, 3 BB, 5 RBI (34 AB)
Gomez .283/.358/.583, 3 HR, 6 BB, 5 SB, 8 RBI (60 AB)
Harris .311/.417/.410, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 SB, 3 RBI (61 AB)
Young .292/.313/.492, 3 HR, 1 SB, 9 RBI (65 AB)
Redmond .306/.370/.367, 5 BB, 3 RBI (49 AB)
Casilla .306/.354/.361, 5 BB, 4 SB, 6 RBI (72 AB)
Crede .189/.259/.321, 1 HR, 4 BB, 6 RBI (53 AB)
Span .190/.274/.286, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 SB, 10 RBI (84 AB)
Morales .233/.226/.265 4 RBI (30 AB)
Position Player of Spring Training:
Justin Morneau
Honorable mention: Jason Kubel, Brian Buscher, Mike Cuddyer, Nick Punto, Carlos Gomez
Pitchers:
Starter Performance:
Blackburn ERA 2.57, WHIP 0.64, 1 BB, 4 K, 14 IP
Slowey ERA 2.13, WHIP 0.87, 2 BB, 22 K, 25.1 IP
Dickey 2.04 ERA, WHIP 0.96, 4 BB, 18 K, 17.2 IP
Liriano ERA 4.94, WHIP 1.17, 12 BB, 27 K, 27.1 IP
Perkins ERA 2.03, WHIP 1.23, 6 BB, 13 K, 31 IP
(Baker ERA 6.85, WHIP 1.73, 3 BB, 16 K, 23.2 IP)
Starting pitcher of spring training:
Kevin Slowey
honorable mention: Nick Blackburn, R.A. Dickey
Reliever Performance:
Ayala 0.00 ERA, WHIP 0.71, 2 BB, 4 K, 7 IP
Crain 4.22 ERA, WHIP 0.84, 1 BB, 8 K, 10.2 IP
Nathan 2.70 ERA, WHIP 0.90, 2 BB,10 K, 10 IP
Breslow 3.09 ERA, WHIP 1.20, 6 BB, 14 K, 11.2 IP
Duensing 2.65 ERA, WHIP 1.35, 6 BB, 7 K, 18 IP
Guerrier 5.40 ERA, WHIP 1.46, 4 BB, 8 K, 11.2 IP
Humber 7.53, WHIP 1.47, 2 BB, 5 K, 11 IP
Relief pitcher of spring training:
Jesse Crain
honorable mention: Luis Ayala, Craig Breslow, Joe Nathan
Position Players:
Morneau .395/.439/.711, 3 HR, 3 BB, 10 RBI (38 AB)
Buscher .393/.470/.534, 2 HR, 9 BB, 11 RBI (56 AB)
Kubel .369/.429/.524, 3 HR, 7 BB, 12 RBI, (63 AB)
Cuddyer .317/.358/.583, 2 HR, 5 BB. 9 RBI (60 AB)
Punto .353/.395/.500, 3 BB, 5 RBI (34 AB)
Gomez .283/.358/.583, 3 HR, 6 BB, 5 SB, 8 RBI (60 AB)
Harris .311/.417/.410, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 SB, 3 RBI (61 AB)
Young .292/.313/.492, 3 HR, 1 SB, 9 RBI (65 AB)
Redmond .306/.370/.367, 5 BB, 3 RBI (49 AB)
Casilla .306/.354/.361, 5 BB, 4 SB, 6 RBI (72 AB)
Crede .189/.259/.321, 1 HR, 4 BB, 6 RBI (53 AB)
Span .190/.274/.286, 1 HR, 9 BB, 2 SB, 10 RBI (84 AB)
Morales .233/.226/.265 4 RBI (30 AB)
Position Player of Spring Training:
Justin Morneau
Honorable mention: Jason Kubel, Brian Buscher, Mike Cuddyer, Nick Punto, Carlos Gomez
Pitchers:
Starter Performance:
Blackburn ERA 2.57, WHIP 0.64, 1 BB, 4 K, 14 IP
Slowey ERA 2.13, WHIP 0.87, 2 BB, 22 K, 25.1 IP
Dickey 2.04 ERA, WHIP 0.96, 4 BB, 18 K, 17.2 IP
Liriano ERA 4.94, WHIP 1.17, 12 BB, 27 K, 27.1 IP
Perkins ERA 2.03, WHIP 1.23, 6 BB, 13 K, 31 IP
(Baker ERA 6.85, WHIP 1.73, 3 BB, 16 K, 23.2 IP)
Starting pitcher of spring training:
Kevin Slowey
honorable mention: Nick Blackburn, R.A. Dickey
Reliever Performance:
Ayala 0.00 ERA, WHIP 0.71, 2 BB, 4 K, 7 IP
Crain 4.22 ERA, WHIP 0.84, 1 BB, 8 K, 10.2 IP
Nathan 2.70 ERA, WHIP 0.90, 2 BB,10 K, 10 IP
Breslow 3.09 ERA, WHIP 1.20, 6 BB, 14 K, 11.2 IP
Duensing 2.65 ERA, WHIP 1.35, 6 BB, 7 K, 18 IP
Guerrier 5.40 ERA, WHIP 1.46, 4 BB, 8 K, 11.2 IP
Humber 7.53, WHIP 1.47, 2 BB, 5 K, 11 IP
Relief pitcher of spring training:
Jesse Crain
honorable mention: Luis Ayala, Craig Breslow, Joe Nathan
4/3/09
The Roster is finalized
The last cut was just announced: Matt Tolbert is going to Rochester and Brian Buscher won the last spot. Gardy is going with a 12-man pen.
Do I think that it was a good decision? No. Let me count the ways:
that's how I feel about it. And I am wishing Buscher the best and hope he turns into a star overnight now that he made the team. However, I hope that the person who made that decision is held accountable (for once) if it does not work out.
What do you think?
And here is a scouting report for Brian Buscher from his Norwich Navigator days with the Giants:
"Stocky player who is going wrong direc. Body is getting worse. Dumpy lower 1/2. Low energy. Barrel chested. Sets up open and off plate. Short arms make it hard for him to cover plate. Swinging off his back ft. Very slow bat. Swings like he's in a swimming pool. Makes contact and clean contact but ball goes absolutely no where. Must've raked w/aluminum. Takes some of the worst swings in the league. Rolls over lots of balls. Can't go the other way with authority, in fact he can't pull the ball with any authority. Gd feel for bat head allows him to make contact against soft stuff but power is essentially nonexistent for such a big strong guy playing a premium offensive position. Gets blown away by gd stuff. Don't see much in the way of offense @ upper levels. Mediocre raw power. Defense seems to have gone backwards as well. Not likely to be able to stay @ 3B @ upper levels. 2B is out of the question with slow ft. Basically looking at a guy who belongs @ 1B from a defensive standpoint. Bat won't play anywhere. Should get back to AA next yr but can't see him moving any higher. Don't see org. value."
Have enough things changed in 3 years? Time will tell.
Do I think that it was a good decision? No. Let me count the ways:
- First and foremost, they did not have to send Tolbert to Rochester, until April 10th, when Dickey is projected to make his first start: Keep an extra player who might be useful in some situation, instead of wasting a roster spot on a guy will will not see any work in 4 games. This is exactly what the Mets are doing with Livan Hernandez, their fifth starter; he will be added to the roster the day he has to pitch, so the team can have an extra player. No-brainer. Earth to Bill Smith: you gotta to act smarter to hold that office for long
- By adding Buscher, you got a singles bat from the left side, who is better suited to be a pinch hitter. Last time I checked, there were 4 more powerful LH bats in the lineup (based on 2008 isoP: ) Justin Morneau, Jason Kubel, Denard Span, and (surprise) Nick Punto. As a matter of fact, Tolbert has higher isoP in the majors than Buscher (and he is more than a year younger.) And can an American League team with only 4 bench spots, really afford a leftie pinch hitter taking one of those spots?
- You bring Buscher up north, Gardy will put him on the field. This is begging for a repeat of the Anaheim disaster last season, while Buscher's two errors in the third, that allowed 3 runs to score, singlehandedly cost the (4-6) game for Nick Blackburn and the Twins
- Tolbert would have provided more flexibility in case one of the injury-prone middle infielders and outfielders got hurt and were in a day-to-day situation. That said, he did make a huge gaffe on the bases today, costing the Twins the game and was probably the final nail on his coffin. Tolbert would not have been a perfect solution to the problem (I was hoping that Steve Tolleson was given a more than an 11 AB chance to show what he has this spring training, but anything that would have kept Buscher off the field would have been a plus)
that's how I feel about it. And I am wishing Buscher the best and hope he turns into a star overnight now that he made the team. However, I hope that the person who made that decision is held accountable (for once) if it does not work out.
What do you think?
And here is a scouting report for Brian Buscher from his Norwich Navigator days with the Giants:
"Stocky player who is going wrong direc. Body is getting worse. Dumpy lower 1/2. Low energy. Barrel chested. Sets up open and off plate. Short arms make it hard for him to cover plate. Swinging off his back ft. Very slow bat. Swings like he's in a swimming pool. Makes contact and clean contact but ball goes absolutely no where. Must've raked w/aluminum. Takes some of the worst swings in the league. Rolls over lots of balls. Can't go the other way with authority, in fact he can't pull the ball with any authority. Gd feel for bat head allows him to make contact against soft stuff but power is essentially nonexistent for such a big strong guy playing a premium offensive position. Gets blown away by gd stuff. Don't see much in the way of offense @ upper levels. Mediocre raw power. Defense seems to have gone backwards as well. Not likely to be able to stay @ 3B @ upper levels. 2B is out of the question with slow ft. Basically looking at a guy who belongs @ 1B from a defensive standpoint. Bat won't play anywhere. Should get back to AA next yr but can't see him moving any higher. Don't see org. value."
Have enough things changed in 3 years? Time will tell.
4/2/09
There are a lot of ways on getting into Target Field next season...
And I was just emailed a different one... so I am sharing
I suspect that the airwaves in and around the Twins Cities are buzzing about this already (but, alas, they are outside my range) and here is the deal:
The Minnesota Lottery is having a promotion that runs until October 19, in which you can send special tickets in through the mail (these are non-winning scratch tickets) or entering some numbers (sorry, not a big lottery fan here) in their web site and there will be a drawing for several Twins-related prices, including:
(that was cut and paste)
but, still, this is a cool promotion and even though I buy approximately 5 scratch lottery tickets a year (to put into Christmas stockings), I'd spent $5 bucks just for it (too bad that here in Pennsylvania this is not that applicable)
and those scratch tickets look mighty cool:
I suspect that the airwaves in and around the Twins Cities are buzzing about this already (but, alas, they are outside my range) and here is the deal:
The Minnesota Lottery is having a promotion that runs until October 19, in which you can send special tickets in through the mail (these are non-winning scratch tickets) or entering some numbers (sorry, not a big lottery fan here) in their web site and there will be a drawing for several Twins-related prices, including:
- Four-packs of regular-season game tickets in the new Target Field.
- Ballpark VIP section seats in the new Target Field.
- A suite experience for you and your friends in the new Target Field.
- Spring Training trips to Fort Myers, Fla., in 2010.
(that was cut and paste)
but, still, this is a cool promotion and even though I buy approximately 5 scratch lottery tickets a year (to put into Christmas stockings), I'd spent $5 bucks just for it (too bad that here in Pennsylvania this is not that applicable)
and those scratch tickets look mighty cool:
The pitching battle is over... for now
Scott Baker was placed in the 15 day DL, retroactive to March 27, which means that Brian Duensing, Phillip Humber and R.A. Dickey will all make the trip North. The starters will slide a day ahead with Liriano starting the opener against Seattle next Monday. It is reported that R.A. Dickey might be the 5th starter, starting at April 10th in Chicago. Baker will probably come off the DL on April 12, which means that the battle for that last spot will continue for a week or so in the bigs in meaningful games.
I will be doing profiles on Phillip Humber and Brian Duensing soon.
About the last 2 bench positions, for which there is a battle between Brandon Harris (he is close to a "lock" because he is out of options), Matt Tolbert and Brian Buscher, there are a couple of interesting developments today;
Could it be that Buscher will be a Cardinal in the near future settling that battle?
I will be doing profiles on Phillip Humber and Brian Duensing soon.
About the last 2 bench positions, for which there is a battle between Brandon Harris (he is close to a "lock" because he is out of options), Matt Tolbert and Brian Buscher, there are a couple of interesting developments today;
- It has been reported that Cardinal Scouts were in the stands in Twins' games, and Troy Glaus' rehab after his shoulder surgery took a turn for the worse
- Today, Mike Cuddyer started at 1B (Morneau was scratched with back tightness) instead of Brian Buscher
Could it be that Buscher will be a Cardinal in the near future settling that battle?
3/31/09
One spring training position battle was won today; and another round of cuts.
José Morales was told today, according to La Velle Neal III, that he will make the 25-man roster and will be Mauer's temporary replacement. La Velle, in his article indicated that it was a hard decision for the Twins. Drew Butera had a better offensive spring and is regarded as a better defensive catcher, but the facts that Morales: a. is a switch hitter and has been better offensively b. has more experience in higher levels of the organization that Butera and c. at some point in his career caught all the Twins' starters regularly, weighted on his favor. I was not surprised by the move, regardless the buzz that Butera might be the choice. I actually had Butera starting the season in Rochester, when I posted my take on the Rochester Red Wings roster last week. The fact that it was a difficult decision is a good problems for the Twins to have. It seems that Jeff Christy will still stick around the major league camp until it breaks, while Drew Butera was optioned to Rochester.
José Mijares, in an anticipated move, was optioned to Rochester and Alejandro Machado was reassigned to the minor league camp. There were indications that the bullpen battle for the last 2 spots will be settled by today, but this does not appear to be the case. Also the last position player spot on the bench will be settle no earlier than the end of the week.
José Mijares, in an anticipated move, was optioned to Rochester and Alejandro Machado was reassigned to the minor league camp. There were indications that the bullpen battle for the last 2 spots will be settled by today, but this does not appear to be the case. Also the last position player spot on the bench will be settle no earlier than the end of the week.
3/30/09
Goodbye Charles Nolte
Over the weekend the Twins traded Charles Nolte to the Yankees to retain the rights of Jason Jones. This made somewhat obsolete my predictions for the Rochester Red Wings and Ft. Myers Miracle rosters, since Jason Jones was not accounted in the former and Charles Nolte was projected to be in the latter. Looking at the rosters for those teams, it is likely that one of Sean Henn or Bobby Keppel will opt or be forced out and Jason Jones will take that spot in the Red Wings' rotation. As far as the Miracle pen goes, Michael Allen would be the most likely person to make the jump from the Beloit Snappers to the Miracle.
I profiled Jason Jones when the Twins' drafted him in the rule 5 draft; so, who is Charles Nolte? Charles is an interesting case. He has a very highly rated RHP prospect in the beginning of his senior year of high school (Junipero Serra High in San Diego), throwing a mid 90s four-seamer and a plus curve as a prep athlete and a lock to be a top 2-3 round pick. However, he blew his elbow later in his senior season in high school and required Tommy John surgery. He accepted an earlier scholarship offer from San Diego State and went to College majoring in Business Administation. He played for the Aztecs as a reliever in his junior and senior years and never found the control he had in high school before his surgery: He appeared in 8 games in each of his junior and senior seasons (all but 3 games in his senior season as a reliever) and issued more walks than strikeouts. Regardless, the Twins took a flier and drafted him in the 24th round of the 2007 draft. He spent the 2007 with the GCL Twins (Gulf Coast, low Rookie) where he pitched in 14 games (all in relief) and 24.1 innings, accumulating a 1.85 ERA and 1.15 WHIP producing 8.1 K/9 and having 2 K/BB. A very encouraging sight for someone who lost the plate in College. This allowed him to start the 2008 season in Beloit (Midwest League, A) where he pitched in 44 games for 70.1 innings (he is not an one inning guy), resulting in a 2.05 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, while striking out 9.6 batters per 9 innings and having a 2.14 K/BB ration. That was his age 22 season.
It is very hard to predict what Nolte could have become in the Twins' organization, but there are probably about 10-15 relief prospects ahead of him at this point. Is this a good trade for the Twins? Only time will tell, but I think that at this point it is all about organizational depth at the higher levels.
I profiled Jason Jones when the Twins' drafted him in the rule 5 draft; so, who is Charles Nolte? Charles is an interesting case. He has a very highly rated RHP prospect in the beginning of his senior year of high school (Junipero Serra High in San Diego), throwing a mid 90s four-seamer and a plus curve as a prep athlete and a lock to be a top 2-3 round pick. However, he blew his elbow later in his senior season in high school and required Tommy John surgery. He accepted an earlier scholarship offer from San Diego State and went to College majoring in Business Administation. He played for the Aztecs as a reliever in his junior and senior years and never found the control he had in high school before his surgery: He appeared in 8 games in each of his junior and senior seasons (all but 3 games in his senior season as a reliever) and issued more walks than strikeouts. Regardless, the Twins took a flier and drafted him in the 24th round of the 2007 draft. He spent the 2007 with the GCL Twins (Gulf Coast, low Rookie) where he pitched in 14 games (all in relief) and 24.1 innings, accumulating a 1.85 ERA and 1.15 WHIP producing 8.1 K/9 and having 2 K/BB. A very encouraging sight for someone who lost the plate in College. This allowed him to start the 2008 season in Beloit (Midwest League, A) where he pitched in 44 games for 70.1 innings (he is not an one inning guy), resulting in a 2.05 ERA and 1.39 WHIP, while striking out 9.6 batters per 9 innings and having a 2.14 K/BB ration. That was his age 22 season.
It is very hard to predict what Nolte could have become in the Twins' organization, but there are probably about 10-15 relief prospects ahead of him at this point. Is this a good trade for the Twins? Only time will tell, but I think that at this point it is all about organizational depth at the higher levels.
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