I can't drive 55: The Twins' fireballers

One of the eyeballing observations of the 2012 2013 Minnesota Twins, is that, well, their pitchers do not throw that hard, compared to the other teams.  Putting this theory to test, here are the average fastball velocities of the Twins' pitchers this season (data from fangraphs):

Relievers:

Glen Perkins  94.8                   
Michael Tonkin 94.5    
Ryan Pressly  93.2
Brian Duensing  92.2
Jared Burton  92.0
Anthony Swarzak 91.9
Josh Roenicke  91.4   
Casey Fien  90.6
Caleb Thielbar 89.5

Starters:

Mike Pelfrey 92.2
Kyle Gibson 92.1       
Kevin Correia 90.4   
Samuel Deduno 90.3  
Liam Hendriks 90.0       
Vance Worley 89.5    
P.J. Walters 89.4  
Scott Diamond 88.4    
Pedro Hernandez 88.4          
Andrew Albers 85.

How do those compare with the rest of the pitchers in the majors?

Here are some rankings:

Glen Perkins: 64th
Michael Tonkin: 84th
Ryan Pressly: 166th
Brian Duensing: 256th
Mike Pelfrey: 257th
Kyle Gibson: 265th

And these are the guys above the MLB mean

So we have: 

- A "proven closer"
- A rookie reliever who has appeared in a couple of games (or three)
- Another rookie reliever who has appeared sparingly because he is a rule 5 guy, thus "not proven"
- A lefty set up guy who is so underrated and unappreciated that the Twins'  manager and pitching coached practically replace him with the softest tossing reliever in the team
- Two starters both of whom had Tommy John surgery, one of whom is a free agent and has made the fastest TJ recovery on the record, and the other one just had a cup of coffee in the major league club this season.

Any questions about why the Twins' pitching is a mess?

The Twins Front Office and Field Management Adopt a New Anthem

Without further ado:

Offensive performance, wRC+ and #PowerBananas: why Miguel Sano is the best prospect in the game

The art of evaluating performance inside a baseball diamond has undoubtedly changed the last few years with the infusion of science (math & statistic notations.)   In the "good old days" if someone "hit 300", with more than 30 home runs and either more than 100 runs scored or 100 "ribies", he had a great season.  That was the measuring stick that separated great from very good.  And it still does, mainly on the mainstream press, game broadcasts and talk radio.  The expressions "he hits two seventy five" and "he cannot hit his weight" will be there as performance measures, albeit as crude as an Amish scooter is for propelling devise when compared to a Tesla .  Still, even that is light years ahead than the Fred Flintstone mobile of a hitter's performance evaluation, the "eyeballing" method, which introduces measures such as "the special sound a ball makes when leaves the bat" or "the quickness of someone's wrists" or the way "someone is flying on the bases" or something.

There has been evolution.  OPS  as a concept was introduced in 1984, and then was refined to OPS+ or adjusted OPS, that normalizes for park and league effects, plus adds an easy to compare baseline of 100 that is the league average that season, for an easy reference.   So an OPS+ higher than 100 is better than average and less than 100 worse.  Much improved from "ribies" and other cumulative stats, but still one dimensional Gremlin-like.  What OPS lacks, is that it disregards the ability of someone to sacrifice runs, steal bases, score runs, avoid hitting into double plays, and all the other goodies that are happening in real life baseball with the bat or at the bases.

A year after OPS was created, in 1985, Bill James introduced a measure for offensive performance he called Runs Created . This concept has been improved (see previous reference) constantly to account for things like stolen bases and sacrifices.  Tom Tango, eventually improved the concept or Runs Created and morphed it into weighted Runs Created or wRC.  wRC is a good way of looking at someones performance, but (like RC) it is cumulative; think Runs, HRs and RBIs.  This is fine for evaluating a season (like who had the best season in an MVP type of consideration) or whether someone's career is HOF worthy (both cummulative questions; for the record I do prefer WAR over wRC to answer those, since it includes fielding, among other reasons); however it does not answer the question of who performed the best for the time he was on the field (and maybe play him more, or call him "up", if necessary.)  

So we moved from a Gremin to a 'cuda (Yes, I like 'cudas too, especially the Hemi version, but they are not without faults)  Enter wRC+ to the equation.  wRC+ is a lot like OPS+.  It is based on wRC (runs created with the bat and on the bases, independent of league and park,) but it normalized to 100 (denoting league average, like OPS+,) and furthermore it is a rate metric (think UZR/120 vs UZR) so you can look at chunks of performance, moving plate appearance variations (sample size) aside.    A good writeup in basic terms about wRC+ is found here:   This interesting article from Denver Post (an enlightened mainstream newspaper), uses wRC+ to argue the greatness of Carlos Gonzalez.

Here is a real life field test of the effectiveness of cumulative measures like wRC (and WAR) compared to rate stats, like wRC+.  Work with me: Let's rewind to the Twins' last good season (2010) and ask the question: who was the best Twins' player on the field (for the time he played, assuming that it was significant; I like the 200 PA mark as a cut-off point) and try to find an objective quantitative measure to support your argument.  "Ribies" and ball sounds and the like are not allowed.

Here are the top 6 in wRC, a cumulative measure, with Plate Appearances (and OPS for reference) in parenthesis, in descending order.

Joe Mauer 93 (584, .871)
Delmon Young 87 (613, .826)
Michael Cuddyer 82 (675, .753)
Justin Morneau 75 (348, 1.055)
Denard Span 73 (705, .679)
Jim Thome 71 (340, 1.039)

So basically, the cummulative stat, because of the disparity of sample size favors an average player (Cuddyer) and a below average player (Span) because they had twice as many PAs as Morneau and Thome; the "longevity" effect in HOF discussions. 

Let's look at the best wRC+ with a 200 PA minimum (to filter players like Luke Hughes and Carl Pavano who make the list but had less than 10 PAs) :

Justin Morneau 184
Jim Thome 178
Joe Mauer 136
Delmon Young 120
(Danny Valencia 118)
Michael Cuddyer 104
.
.
.
(4 players)
Denard Span 88

This is what wRC+ does.  And this was the season that every single Twins' fan was saying what that season would have been, "if" Morneau did not hit his head.  I hope this little example illustrates the value of wRC+ vs things like wRC and WAR.

After the long but necessary introduction, back to the original subject, Miquel Sano.  If trying to find objective measures that evaluate performance on the field is difficult, finding objective quantitative measures that can estimate future performance, used to discuss who is the best prospect or to create prospect "lists" is borderline impossible (like trying to create a vehicle that is using air for fuel and emits water for exhaust.)  But we can dream and play.   Earlier this year, during the off-season, I looked at potential future performance of the starting pitchers in the Twins' organization using objective quantitative measures.  I will repeat the exercise this coming off-season looking at the position players and the whole slew of pitchers and not only starters.   I will be using wRC+ as the basis of that endeavor, based on the discussion above.  In addition, age and level of play will also be major factors. But for this piece here, before it turns into War and Peace, let's focus on Miguel Sano's performance this season in a quantitative way and putting it in perspective:

Miguel Sano in 243 PAs in A+ (average league age for hitters is 23) at age 20  had a 201 wRC+.  In 190 PAs in AA(average league age for hitters is 24.5) at age 20  he is having a 158 wRC+.   His AA numbers are in flex and we can discuss more after the season is over, but his A+ number are final.  To put that 201 wRC+ in perspective:

- It is the highest in the minors this season (second highest is Chris Colabello with 197 in Rochester, who is well in his prime and older than the average AAA player)
- It has been achieved by only 5 major leaguers in the past 30 years  (mininum 200 PAs): Miguel Cabrera,  Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire, Jeff Bagwell, Frank Thomas; and Cabrera's is this season, so it is not final.

For the fun of it, and the perspective of Sano's dominance, here is a list of all the MLB leaders in wRC+ (and some close to the leaders) with career highs indicated for the last 30 seasons:


2013: Miguel Cabrera, 210, in progress
2012: Mike Trout & Miguel Cabrera tied,  166
2011: Jose Bautista, 180 (career high)
2010: Josh Hamilton, 175 (career high)
2009: Albert Pujols, 180 ; Joe Mauer, 170 (career high)
2008: Albert Pujols, 184 (career high)
2007: David Ortiz & Alex Rodriguez tied, 175 (career high for both)
2006: Travis Hafner, 176 (career high)
2005: Alex Rodriguez, 174
2004: Barry Bonds, 233 (Todd Helton, 166, career high)
2003: Barry Bonds, 212 (Albert Pujols, 184)
2002: Barry Bonds, 244 (Jim Thome 189, Manny Ramirez 185); all three career high
2001: Barry Bonds, 235 (Jason Giambi 193, Sammy Sosa 186; career high for both);
2000: Manny Ramirez, 181
1999: Manny Ramirez, 172 (Mark McGwire, 168)
1998: Mark McGwire, 205 (career high)
1997: Mike Piazza, 183, career high (Frank Thomas, 179, Larry Walker 177, career high)
1996: Mark McGwire, 190 (Garry Sheffield 185, career high)
1995: Edgar Martinez, 182 (career high)
1994: Frank Thomas & Jeff Bagwell, 205 (Albert Belle 186); all three career high
1993: Barry Bonds, 193
1992: Barry Bonds, 198
1991: Frank Thomas, 179 (Chili Davis, 139)
1990: Rickey Henderson, 190 (career high)
1989: Kevin Mitchell, 184 (career high)
1988: Jose Canseco, 169 (career high)
1987: Jack Clark 176, Wade Boggs 171; both career high (Kent Hrbek, 134)
1986: Don Mattingly 160 (career high)
1985: Pedro Guerrero 181 (George Brett 168); both career high
1984: Mike Schmidt 154 (career high)
1983: Wade Boggs 155

And here are the wRC+ career highs and career averages for selected Twins' hitters

Harmon Killebrew, high: 176, 1967; career average: 142
Tony Oliva, high: 154, 1971; career average: 129
Rod Carew, high: 175, 1977; career average: 132
Kent Hrbek: high: 146, 1988 career average: 126
Kirby Puckett: high: 150, 1988 career average: 122
Dave Winfield: high: 161, 1975; career average: 128
Paul Molitor: high: 145 1991; career average: 122
Joe Mauer: high: 170, 2009; career average: 133
Justin Morneau: high: 184, 2010; career average: 118

Sano's career worst wRC+ is 146 last season in Beloit.  As you can see, his wRC+ numbers this season, in combination with his age, his level of play and the average age in that level, are totally out of the stratosphere. 

How about Byron Buxton?   Buxton is only 7 months younger than Sano, and has been playing at a full level below Sano.  So the age/level combination is very similar (but still on Sano's favor).

Here are Buxton numbers:  in 321 PAs in A (average league age for hitters is 21.5) at age 19  had a 173 wRC+.  In 174 PAs in A+ at age 19 (average league age for hitters is 23) he is having a 129 wRC+.   For comparison's sake, the Angels' Mike Trout, at the same age (19), at the same league (Midwest), at the same team (Cedar Rapids) had an identical 173 wRC+.   Objectively, Byron Buxton, looks like he is the prospect Mike Trout was and had a great season in Cedar Rapids (and this is great news for the Twins), but Sano had a monumental season in Fort Meyers.  Better than Morneau's 2010 with the Twins.  I just cannot see how objectively anyone can justify ranking Buxton higher than Sano, or not rank Sano as the number one prospect in baseball this season; unless it is the sound the ball makes when it meets his bat (or something)

Sano is poised to be a centerpiece in the majors for years to come.  Fans will enjoy seeing his #PowerBananas for a long while.  I just hope that they are all with him in a Twins' uniform...

Is Twins' General Manager Terry Ryan preparing the ground for a second retirement and a successor after this season?

After a third 90-plus loss season, it seems that the Minnesota Twins will need to make some changes.  Terry Ryan, the current General Manager (who had the "interim" label removed in the beginning of the season) in plenty of occasions has been on the record defending the team's manager, Ron Gardenhire, placing the blame for the incompetence on the field on himself.

But is he ready to be accountable and step down?  Who might be the successor, if so?

There are signs that this might be the case and very recently an individual in the Twins' front office has been interacting with the press, giving daily updates in a pace that he has never done before.  More and more and more (and these are just three examples from the past couple of days,) Rob Anthony, assistant general manager, whose main job has been contract negotiations, is appearing front and center giving organizational updates suited to a GM position.

Will he assume the role of the Minnesota Twins General Manager this off-season?  Very difficult to tell, but the writing on the wall is starting to appear.  It will be an interesting situation for the Minnesota Twins' fans and the press to follow this late Summer into Fall...

Andrew Albers pitching videos

Just a couple, about 2:30 total from last season with the New Britain Rock Cats.  Not many Twins fans have seen him pitch, so here it is:

Number one:


Number Two:


And a bonus oldie from his Kentucky days:

The Miguel Sano home run that led to his suspension

Old story, but for the record. No comment from here.

What Terry Ryan did to Drew Butera

From AJ to DJ to Eddie, but no Sano: Rock Cats at Fighting Phils Saturday night.

Despite the current drama within the Twins' organization with their future star third baseman, which is getting to be about as bad as that of the Yankees with their former star third baseman, and unsure whether the unanimous number three prospect in baseball will play, I made the forty five minute trip to Reading (think of "ready" when pronouncing it, not "righting" and "rithmetic") to watch the Rock Cats face the Phillies' AA team, the Reading Fighting Phils.  The major attraction in my book was DJ Baxendale starting (whom I last watched live in Spring Training making the unanimous number one prospect in baseball look like a fool, striking out in three pitches.) 

Baxendale was different tonight.   Not sure whether it had to do with his recent three week stint in the disabled list, but his fastball was down a couple notches to 88-90 mph and he had a hard time command it, the way he did in the spring.  This game was almost rained out, but when he pitched the weather was not a factor.  His curveball in low 70s was his best pitch and he showed great command throwing for strikes and intentionally throwing it at the dirt.  Low 80s change up did have movement, but for some reason he was not throwing much of it.  I did not see any sliders.  His main arsenal was the curve today and he threw it a lot.   So he did not have his best stuff out there, but he looked very poised pitching despite that.  I checked him on the centerfield camera a couple times and the way he pitches reminds me of Brad Radke, but substitute curve for change up.  Very similar fluid mechanics with good follow through and easy motion.   In addition to not being 100% he was unlucky:  Nate Hanson let a couple of catchable balls go through at third (one for a double) and Jordan Paraz let a catchable ball fly over his head in short center.  These were good for 3 runs.  Add a Reading batter who got "hit" on the toe, but did not try to get out of the way and a two run error on Dan Rohlfing and you get the rest of the picture.

Eddie Rosario was impressive.  He might be the second player who will make it in the bigs from this bunch.  Excellent speed and very good feet and even cutting motion at second.  He is owning the position.  Add a batting average around .320 (he was batting third) and he might be on his way soon.  I have seen him hit and I know that he can hit, but color me very impressed with his glove at second.  For sure he will rise on the lists as soon as the national writers see him play.  He changed his number from 2 to 13.  This was what he was wearing today.  Rumors that he did it in support of Jerry White, are unsubstantiated.

Josmil Pinto likely will be the first guy up from this squad, maybe as soon as September, or earlier, trading deadline deals willing.  Since last Spring, he gained a good 20 pounds of solid muscle and looks pretty dominant out there.  He was the DH tonight.

I did not have much change to see Danny Santana and Danny Ortiz play live, but they are both solid with the bat.  Santana is very fast as well and he flashes a nice glove at short.  Definitely a possibility at short with the big club. 

Evan Bigley seems to slowly get back from his injury, which is a shame because he was close to becoming a mainstay in Rochester in a season that the big club is very thin in outfielders.   Journeymen Reynaldo Rodriguez and Jordan Paraz, neither of who have any future with the Twins were at first (Kennys Vargas anyone?) and center.  Nate Hanson was plainly disappointing with the glove today and he is 26.  I think that this might be the end of the road for him.  Dan Rohlfing has had a puzzling season.  After a great Spring, he has a very miserable summer both at the plate and on the field.  Blake Martin was better than I remember, with a fastball in the 90s and a variety of off-speed stuff.  Might have some future as a "crafty lefty", but he is 27 and the organization is full of these type of pitchers.

AJ Pettersen did not play.  So did Angel Morales and Miguel Sano.  I am not going to get into the Sano drama in this piece.  Morales and Sano shared first base coach duty. 

I took a whole bunch of pictures, but will put them up later, because it is getting late here on the east coast.  But I am leaving you with the following parting shot:

The skies opened on the top of the seventh inning with thunder while the score was 2-8.  I did not stay any longer.

One pitcher the Minnesota Twins should sell high

It is a weekend series with the Yankees away from the All Star break, and it is obvious that the 2013 version of the Minnesota Twins is not much better than the 2012, so understandable, they should be "sellers" in the fast approaching trading deadline.  Several names of players, like Justin Morneau, Josh Willingham, even Trevor Plouffe and Glen Perkins have been mentioned as potential "trade bait".  I strongly believe that non-contending teams with plenty of faults should rebuild by trading players at the last year of their contracts and trade veterans or players in their late 20s at their peak of their value ("selling high".)

From the aforementioned only Justin Morneau (last contract season) and Glen Perkins (value peak, plus friendly contract) fit the bill.  I would like to examine whether there other potential players who the Twins should think about trading based on peak of their value.   I have to mention that the Twins have been extremely bad about trading players at the peak of their value, and instead they sell low or give away.  For every Bobby Kielty, AJ Pierzynski and Denard Span (3 examples of players sold high,) there is an army of Delmon Young, Fransisco Liriano, Jose Mijares, Kevin Slowey, Alex Burnett, Joe Nathan, Nick Blackburn, Mike Cuddyer, Carl Pavano etc who just rode into the sunset.  Selling high and selling impeding free agents before they hit the market is how good teams, like the Tampa Bay Rays, keep themselves competitive year after year.

So the Twins should trade Justin Morneau and Glen Perkins (but not give them away.)  Anyone else who according to this formula should be a candidate?

Enter Casey Fien.

Casey Fien will turn 30 this October and arguably he is on the peak value for his career.  He has pitched in 42 games (36.2 innings), struck out 40 and walked 7 (2 intentionally), has a 3.19 ERA, 9.8 K/9, 5.7 K/BB and a miniscule 0.791 WHIP.   And last season, he became a fixture in the Twins' pen in the second half appearing in 35 games (36.2 innings), struck out 32 and walked 9 (4 intentionally), with a tiny 2.06 ERA, and a 0.971 WHIP.

Why trade him?  At first glance he appears as a pitcher who can be Glen Perkins' replacement as a closer potentially.  Why not go that route?  Here are the reasons:

• He has been pitching over his head.  This season his BABIP is .207; last season it was .229.  This is not sustainable and expect a Diamond-like regression once balls start to go through.
• His numbers are better than his stuff.  He is mainly a fastball and cutter/slider pitcher with an occasional slurve he uses as a change of pace.  His fastball is in the low nineties and the cutter in the high eighties.  This season he lost 2-3 mph of velocity in all of his offerings, with the fastball barely touching 90.  I do not want to speculate the reason.
• RH middle relievers are the easiest players to replace.  The Twins have a plethora of 6th starter/AAAA starters.  It is very possible that conversion to the pen will have a Glen Perkins' like effect for them.

So I would add another name for the Twins to shop, that of (the mighty) Casey Fien.

Next: a few more players the Twins should consider trading

The next generation of Latin American prospects for the Minnesota Twins

The lore of baseball has it that the jumps from single A to high A and from high A to AA are the hardest jumps in a pro player's minor league career.   In actuality, there is another jump that is much harder and only about one in five players make it:  The jump from the Dominican Summer League to the Gulf Coast League.  The players who make this jump are what an organization thinks is the cream of the crop of the next generation of their Latin American prospects who have been having their first taste of pro ball in the DSL.

Here are the names of the players who made the jump from the DSL to the GCL for the Minnesota Twins (with one exception) this season:

Jose Alexi Abreu, 20, (RHP) 5'11", 170
Birthday: 07/13/1992, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2010.
Not to be confused with the Cuban Jose Abreu or this former Twins' RHP.
(The article linked is a 1981 Sports illustrated article that is a must read for a historic perspective of Latin American Free Agent signings before the big bonus era.)

Damiam (Damian) Ismael Campusano Defrank, 18, (RHP), 6'3", 200
Birthday: 02/01/1995, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2012

Miguel Antonio Gonzalez, 18 (RHP), 6'1", 180
Birthday: 10/12/1994, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2011 for $650K.

Jonatan Hinojosa (Ynojosa) 20, (SS), 5'11", 150, SH
Birthday: 10/23/1992, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2009

German Amaurys Minier, 17  (SS/3B) 6'2", 190, SH
Birthday: 01/30/1996, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2012 for $1.4M
He did not play in the DSL last season but played in the Academy (the one exception here)

Adonis Alexander Beltran Pacheco, 21, (OF), 5'11", 175, LH
Birthday: 7/14/1991, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2009

Joel Bienvenido Polanco 20, (C), 5'11", 175, RH
Birthday: 08/15/1992, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2010
Not to be confused with Twins SS Jorge Polanco (now in Cedar Rapids) who also was signed in 2010 for $750K bonus

Fernando Ernesto Romero, 18, (RHP), 6'0", 215
Birthday: 12/24/1994, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2011

Engelb Vielma  19, (SS), 5'11", 155, SH
Birthday: 06/22/1994 , Venezuela
Signe in 2011

Reyson Andres Zoquiel, 19, (LHP), 5'11", 175
Birthday: 11/05/1993, Dominican Republic
Signed in 2010

In addition to the above players, Leonel Zazueta, and 18 year old RHP from Mexico with a very live mid 90s fastball, who signed last year with a large bonus, and like Minier is starting his pro career in the US, is on the GCL roster, skipping the DSL.

The Twins and the Yankees have been at it longer than anyone can remember.

For a large fraction of the Minnesota Twins fans, the Yankees clearly represent three things:  a franchise that has a bottomless pit for a budget and can buy players and championships, a team that after the wild card was established the Twins have to face in every  post-season, and the team that the Twins (the good Twins' teams) lost to in every post-season.   So the Yankees have been the proverbial thorn on the Twins' side or a major pain on their back side.  For most fans, this relationship of the Twins-Yankees franchises is a recent one and it became apparent as the Twins got better this Millennium, since the Yankees were always in the other division.   But this cannot be further than the truth.  The two franchises have a long intertwining history that goes all the way back to the dark ages (of baseball.)

Both the Twins and Yankees franchises were founding members of the American League in 1901.  The Yankees started their American League life as the Baltimore Orioles and the Twins as the new franchise in Washington that moved from Kansas City (the Blues,) which took the name of the NL team that was there and dissolved in 1899, the Senators.   The KC Blues were part of the old Western League the predecessor of the American League.  I am digressing here, but it is important for Twins' fans.  The league was founded in 1893 and was comprised by mainly Midwestern teams.  One of the founding teams of the Western League was the Sioux City Corn Huskers.  In 1894 Charles Comiskey bought the Sioux City club and transferred to St. Paul, MN and called them the St. Paul Saints.   The Saints moved to Chicago (the time the Blues moved to Washington DC to become the Senators) and became the White Stockings aka the White Sox.   So think about that the next time the Twins decide to wear Saints' uniforms.  But I am digressing.  Back to the Twins and the Yankees...

The Yankees did not last much in Baltimore.  Just a couple years before they moved to the Bronx and became the Highlanders with pretty much a brand new squad.  The first ever game of the Highlanders, fate has it, was against the Twins nee Senators in Washington.  Promptly the Senators won 3-1:

Both teams were wallowing in mediocrity in the aughts and the teens (and the Highlanders changed their name to the Yankees in 1913 to no avail). But in the roaring twenties, the Yankees and the Senators were the 2 teams that dominated the AL. The Yankees of Babe Ruth, Wait Hoyt and Lou Gehrig went to the World Series from '21-'23 and from '26-'28 (won in '23, '27 and '28) and the Senators of Walter Johnson, Goose Goslin and Sam Rice went in '24 and '25 and won their first trip.  

 

 

 

 

With the interruption of a World Series trip by the Senators in 1933, the two franchises went in opposite ways from then on, with the Yankees (well) being the Yankees and the Senators (well) being the Senators.   Twins' fans might dislike the Yankees right now, but the two teams have had pretty good relationships at least in their front offices since day one and a lot of cross-polination.

In addition to Billy Martin who managed both the Twins and the Yankees, the following two Hall of Fame managers managed in both franchises: Clark Griffith (1903-1908 Highlanders and 1912-1920 Senators; Bucky Harris (1924-1928, 1935-1942, 1950-1954 Senators and 1947-1938 Yankees.)  Harris won World Series with both teams (1924 and 1947, which were in his first year with each team).  Griffith and Martin, in addition to managing MLB teams in the Twins and Yankees franchises, they also played for both teams.

 

Speaking about playing for both teams, there are not 2 other teams in major league baseball that have more players playing for both than the Twins and the Yankees.   The proximity and the train between New York and Washington DC helped in the early ages before the airplanes (and there were a lot of players who were going up and down the east coast try to make a living before the '40s,)  but the exchanges have continued up to now.   The following 175 players (including many All Stars and four Hall of Famers) played for both the Yankees' and the Twins' franchises (and a lot of these players got traded between the 2 franchises; look for players who played for both in the same season or in consecutive seasons) :  

 

Spencer Adams (Senators 1925, Yankees 1926),
Bernie Allen (Twins 1962-66, Yankees 1972-73),
John Anderson (Senators 1905-07, Highlanders 1904-05),
Pete Appleton (Senators 1936-39, 1945, Yankees 1933),
Luis Ayala (Twins 2009, Yankees 2011),
Willie Banks (Twins 1991-93, Yankees 1997-98),
Walter Beall (Senators 1929, Yankees 1924-27),
Lou Berberet (Senators 1956-58, Yankees 1954-55),
Garland Braxton (Senators 1927-30, Yankees 1925-26),
Tommy Byrne (Senators 1953, Yankees 1943, 1946-51, 1954-57),
Bullet Joe Bush (Senators 1926, Yankees 1922-24),
Archie Campbell (Senators 1929, Yankees 1928),
John Candelaria (Twins 1990, Yankees 1988-89),
Roy Carlyle (Senators 1925, Yankees 1926),
Ben Chapman (Senators 1936-37, 1941, Yankees 1930-36),
Mike Chartak (Senators 1942, Yankees 1940, 1942),
Al Cicotte (Senators 1958, Yankees 1957),
Tex Clevenger (Senators 1956-60, Yankees 1961-62),
Orth Collins (Senators 1909, Highlanders 1904),
Wid Conroy (Senators 1909-11, Highlanders 1903-08),
Ron Coomer (Twins 1995-2000, Yankees 2002),
Don Cooper (Twins 1981-82, Yankees 1985),
Clint Courtney (Senators 1955-59, Yankees 1951),
Stan Coveleski, HOF (Senators 1925-27, Yankees 1928),
Herb Crompton (Senators 1937, Yankees 1945),
Roy Cullenbine (Senators 1942, Yankees 1942),
Nick Cullop (Senators 1927, Yankees 1926),
Jim Deshaies (Twins 1993-94, Yankees 1984),
Chili Davis (Twins 1991-92, Yankees 1998-1999),
Ron Davis (Twins 1982-86, Yankees 1978-81),
Rick Dempsey (Twins 1969-72, Yankees 1973-76),
Jimmie DeShong (Senators 1936-39, Yankees 1934-35),
Sonny Dixon (Senators 1953-54, Yankees 1956),
Jack Doyle (Senators 1902, Highlanders 1905),
Lew Drill (Senators 1902-04, Orioles 1902),
Kid Elberfeld (Senators 1910-11, Highlanders 1903-09),
Roger Erickson (Twins 1978-81, Yankees 1982-83),
Scott Erickson (Twins 1990-95, Yankees 2006),
Alvaro Espinoza (Twins 1984-86, Yankees 1988-91),
Alex Ferguson (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1918, 1921, 1925),
Wes Ferrell (Senators 1937-38, Yankees 1938-39),
Tom Ferrick (Senators 1947-48 and 1951-52, Yankees 1950-51),
Pete Filson (Twins 1982-86, Yankees 1987),
Ray Fontenot (Twins 1986, Yankees 1983),
Eddie Foster (Senators 1912-19, Highlanders 1910),
Ray Francis (Senators 1922, Yankees 1925),
George Frazier (Twins 1986-87, Yankees 1981-83),
Billy Gardner (Senators/Twins 1960-61, Yankees 1961-62),
Milt Gaston (Senators 1928, Yankees 1924),
Joe Gedeon (Senators 1913-14, Yankees 1916-17),
Al Gettel (Senators 1949, Yankees 1945-46),
Lefty Gomez, HOF (Senators 1943, Yankees 1930-42),
Wayne Granger (Twins 1972, Yankees 1973),
Clark Griffith, HOF (Senators 1912-14, Highlanders 1903-07),
Randy Gumpert (Senators 1952, Yankees 1946-48),
Bump Hadley (Senators 1926-31, 1935, Yankees 1936-1940),
Jimmie Hall (Twins 1963-66, Yankees 1969),
Joe Harris (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1914),
Harry Harper (Senators 1913-19, Yankees 1921),
LaTroy Hawkins (Twins 1995-2003, Yankees 2008),
Neal Heaton (Twins 1986, Yankees 1993),
Sean Henn (Twins 2009, Yankees 2005-07),
Steve Howe (Twins 1985, Yankees 1991-96),
Tom Hughes (Senators 1904-09, 1911-13, Orioles/Highlanders 1902, 1904),
Jackie Jensen (Senators 1952-53, Yankees 1950-52),
Don Johnson (Senators 1951-52, Yankees 1947, 1950),
Sad Sam Jones (Senators 1928-31, Yankees 1922-26),
Tim Jordan (Senators 1901, Highlanders 1903),
Jim Kaat (Senators/Twins 1959-1973, Yankees 1979-80),
Bill Keister (Senators 1902, Orioles 1901),
Roberto Kelly (Twins 1996-97, Yankees 1987-92),
Frank Kitson (Senators 1906-07, Highlanders 1907),
John Knight (Senators 1912, Highlanders/Yankees 1909-11, 1913),
Andy Kosco (Twins 1965-67, Yankees 1966),
Chuck Knoblauch (Twins 1991-97, Yankees 1998-01),
Bob Kuzava (Senators 1950-51, Yankees 1951-54),
Frank LaPorte (Senators 1912-13, Highlanders 1905-10),
Dave LaRoche (Twins 1972, Yankees 1981-83),
Lyn Lary (Senators 1935, Yankees 1929-34),
Chris Latham (Twins 1997-99, Yankees 2003),
Jack Lelivelt (Senators 1909-11, Highlanders/Yankees 1912-13),
Duffy Lewis (Senators 1921, Yankees 1919-20),
Jim Lewis (Twins 1983, Yankees 1982),
Slim Love (Senators 1913, Yankees 1916-18),
Kevin Maas (Twins 1995, Yankees 1990-93),
Danny MacFayden (Senators 1941, Yankees 1932-34),
Billy Martin (Twins 1961, Yankees 1950-57),
Tippy Martinez (Twins 1988, Yankees 1974-76),
Mickey McDermott (Senators 1954-55, Yankees 1956),
Danny McDevitt (Twins 1961, Yankees 1961),
Darnell McDonald (Twins 2007, Yankees 2012),
Mike McNally (Senators 1925, Yankees 1921-24)
Doug Mientkiewicz (Twins 1998-04, Yankees 2007),
Larry Milbourne (Twins 1982, Yankees  1981-82, 1983),
Willy Miranda (Senators 1951, Yankees 1953-54),
Chad Moeller (Twins 2000, Yankees 2010),
George Mogridge (Senators 1921-25, Yankees 1915-20),
Mike Morgan (Twins 1998, Yankees 1982),
Tom Morgan (Senators 1960, Yankees 1951-52; 1954-56),
George Murray (Senators 1926-27, Yankees 1922)
Dan Naulty (Twins 1996-98, Yankees 1999),
Denny Neagle (Twins 1991, Yankees 2000),
Graig Nettles (Twins 1967-69, Yankees 1973-83),
Bobo Newsom (Senators 1935-37, 1943, 1946-67, 1952, Yankees 1947)
Joe Niekro (Twins 1987-88, Yankees 1895-87),
Irv Noren (Senators 1950-52, Yankees 1952-56),
Jesse Orosco (Twins 2003, Yankees 2003),
Al Orth (Senators 1902-04, Highlanders 1904-09),
Champ Osteen (Senators 1903, Highlanders 1904),
John Pacella (Twins 1982, Yankees 1982),
Carl Pavano (Twins 2009-12, Yankees 2005-08),
Roger Peckinpaugh (Senators 1922-26, Yankees 1913-21),
Eddie Phillips (Senators 1934, Yankees 1932),
Sidney Ponson (Twins 2007, Yankees 2006, 2008),
Bob Porterfield (Senators 1951-55, Yankees 1948-51),
Jake Powell (Senators 1930-36, 1943-45, Yankees 1936-40),
Jerry Priddy (Senators 1943, 1946-47, Yankees 1941-42),
Pedro Ramos (Senators/Twins 1955-61, Yankees 1964-66),
Shane Rawley (Twins 1989, Yankees 1982-84),
Jeff Reardon (Twins 1987-89, Yankees 1994),
Harry Rice (Senators 1931, Yankees 1930),
Roxey Roach (Senators 1912, Highlanders 1910-11),
Eddie Robinson (Senators 1949-50, Yankees 1954-56),
Kenny Rogers (Twins 2003, Yankees 1996-97),
Jim Roland (Twins 1962-64, 1966-68, Yankees 1972),
Braggo Roth (Senators 1920, Yankees 1921),
Muddy Ruel (Senators 1923-30, Yankees 1917-20),
Dutch Ruether (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1926-27)
Allen Russell (Senators 1923-25, Yankees 1915-19),
Mark Salas (Twins 1985-87, Yankees 1987),
Fred Sanford (Senators 1951, Yankees 1949-51),
Ray Scarborough (Senators 1942-43, 1946-50, Yankees 1952-53)
Germany Schaefer (Senators 1909-14, Yankees 1916),
Art Schult (Senators 1957, Yankees 1953),
Johnny Schmitz (Senators 1953-55, Yankees 1952-53),
Everett Scott (Senators 1925, Yankees 1922-25),
Kip Selbach (Senators 1903-04, Orioles 1902),
Hank Severeid (Senators 1925-26, Yankees 1926),
Howie Shanks (Senators 1912-22, Yankees 1925),
Spec Shea (Senators 1952-55, Yankees 1947-49, 1951),
Ruben Sierra (Twins 2006, Yankees 1995-96, 2003-05),
Roy Smalley (Twins 1976-82, 1985-87, Yankees 1982-84),
Elmer Smith (Senators 1916-1917, Yankees 1922-23),
Gabby Street (Senators 1908-11, Highlanders 1912),
Eric Soderholm (Twins 1971-75, Yankees 1980),
Jake Stahl (Senators 1904-06, Highlanders 1908),
Dick Starr (Senators 1951, Yankees 1947-48),
Bud Stewart (Senators 1948-50, Yankees 1948),
Steve Sundra (Senators 1941-42, Yankees 1936-40),
Jesse Tannehill (Senators 1908-09, Highlanders 1903),
Dick Tettelbach (Senators 1956-57, Yankees 1955),
Bob Tewksbury (Twins 1997-98, Yankees 1986-87),
Myles Thomas (Senators 1929-30, Yankees 1926-29),
Jack Thoney (Senators 1904, Orioles/Highlanders 1902, 1904),
Luis Tiant (Twins 1970, Yankees 1979-80)
Cesar Tovar (Twins 1965-72, Yankees 1976),
Bob Unglaub (Senators 1908-10, Highlanders 1903),
Elmer Valo (Senators 1960/Twins 1961, Yankees 1960),
Hippo Vaughn (Senators 1912, Highlanders 1908-12),
Bobby Veach (Senators 1925, Yankees 1925),
Jake Wade (Senators 1946, Yankees 1946),
Danny Walton (Twins 1973, 1975, Yankees 1971),
Gary Ward (Twins 1979-83, Yankees 1987-89),
Jim Weaver (Senators 1928, Yankees 1931),
Rondell White (Twins 2006-07, Yankees 2002),
Bob Wiesler (Senators 1956-58, Yankees 1951, 1954-55),
Stan Williams (Twins 1970-71, Yankees 1963-64),
Archie Wilson (Senators 1952, Yankees 1951-52),
Dave Winfield, HOF (Twins 1993-94, Yankees 1981-90),
Barney Wolfe (Senators 1904-06, Highlanders 1903-04),
Harry Wolverton (Senators 1902, Highlanders 1912),
Dick Woodson (Twins 1969-70 & 1972-74, Yankees 1974),
Butch Wynegar (Twins 1976-82, Yankees 1982-86),
Tom Zachary (Senators 1919-25, 1927-28, Yankees 1928-29),
Bill Zuber (Senators 1941-42, Yankees 1943-46). 

 

 

 

And thus the story goes...  

If you are interested, you can find more Twins history posts here.

Local baseball team gets renamed in honor of a Minnesota Twins' player. Just not who you think.

It is really wonderful to see professional baseball players to be good corporate citizens and invest in their communities, appreciating what they did for them in their earlier steps on the way to becoming stars.

From the Twins' world, local Minnesotans, Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins have donated a lot of their money and time to several local causes.  But they never had a team named after them.  A third Twins' lefty just did.

LHP Brian Duensing, a graduate of Millard South at Omaha, Nebraska (the place where he met his wife as well), has donated a large sum of money to his local High School Legion team to be used for uniforms and baseball-related expenses.   In return, the team will be named the 52s (his uniform number) in his honor.

Always good to see the players of your favorite team do the right thing.  Congratulations to Brian Duensing!

Pitching video of the Twins' second round pick Ryan Eades

Twins 2013 mock MLB Draft: Rounds 6 to 12

I started the Twins mock 2013 draft a week ago, suggesting that they should select Sean Manaea with their first round and fourth overall pick.  A couple days ago I presented the second to fifth round picks for the Twins in this mock draft, and now I am concluding with picks from the 6th to the 12 round.  

As I indicated in the first pick presentation, like every single other mock drafts out there, unless someone can see all the draft boards from all teams, this is a purely recreational endeavor.

A reminder of the picks so far:

Round 1 (4 overall) Sean Menaea  LHP, Indiana State
Round 2, (43 overall): Hunter Dozier, SS,  Stephen F. Austin State
Round 3, (78 overall) Andrew Knapp, C, Cal
Round 4 (110 overall) Edwin Diaz, SS, Ladislau Martinez Otero HS, Puerto Rico
Round 5 (140 overall) DJ Snelten, LHP, Minnesota


And the new picks:

Round 6 (170 overall) Mike Wagner, RHP, San Diego

Starter turned closer turned starter again.  Plus plus fastball (peaking at high 90s) and average slider; could be a starter if he develops a third offering and improves his slider, otherwise a solid back of the pen guy.

Here is a 10 minute scouting video:

Round 7 (200 overall) Xavier Fernandez, C, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy

 Strong righty out of Puerto Rico.  6' 210 lbs and growing.  Good hand eye coordination, projected to hit with power.  Natural in the Catcher position, but still pretty raw.  Not on many radars, but well worth the pick for an organization starved for catchers.

Round 8 (230 overall) Mike Yastrzemski, OF Vanderbilt

The Twins' love bloodlines, and nothing like that of a Hall of Famer.  Carl's grandson was drafted by the Red Sox in 2009 in the 30th round and by the Mariners last season in the same round but did not sign.  This season he will be drafted higher, because his plate discipline, fielding and contact has improved. Might be a reach in the 8th round, but he is Yaz's grandson, which beats being Liddle's nephew who was picked in the 15th round (also from Vanderbilt) by the Twins in 2009. He was raised by his grandfather, after his father died from a heart attack in 2004 (not a pretty story - )  He is a senior and will get drafted. His grandfather's size (5'10", 185) and a lefty hitter and thrower.

 

Round 9 (260 overall) Marcos Ventura OF/1B Puerto Rico Baseball Academy

This is the third Puerto Rican High School kid I project the Twins to select and for a good reason:  If Dave Ortiz is Big Papi and Kennys Vargas Little Papi, Marcos Ventura is Baby Papi.  Tremendous physique for a growing17 year old (6'3" 220) with a lot of power and potential for more.  Fielding is a work in process, like the aforementioned two, but the lefty will have a job with his bat.

Round 10 (290 overall) Weston Wilson SS/3B Wesleyan Christian Academy (NC)

6'3" 190 lbs right, committed to Clemson so he will probably have to be over slot to sign.  Good hands and good range and natural on the field, but some feel that he is already too big for a shortstop.  Pretty good with the bat utilizing all fields, but his bat needs to mature.

Round 11 (320 overall) Tyler O'Neill C/SS Maple Ridge H.S. (BC, Canada)

Strong Canadian righty who started as a SS and ended up behind the plate.  Not an unusual combination, a lot like former Minnesota Twins' C Jose Morales.  Here is a story on him from last season.  Committed to Oregon State, so a team will probably have to go over slot that late in the draft.  Needs to mature with the bat a bit

Here is a short video:

Round 12 (350 overall ) Billy Waltrip LHP Oklahoma 

Closest comparables: Scott Diamond and Pedro Hernandez.  6'2", 215 Lefty with a 87-89 mph FB with good command, above average curve and work in progress change up.   Drafted by the Orioles in the 12 round last season but did not sign.  He will this season.  Unlike 2012 he lost his starting job due to some loss of command and has been pitching out of the Sooner's pen.  Just a Twins' kind of guy that it will be hard for them to pass at this spot.   His 2013 stats are here. 

Here is a 3.5 minute video of Waltrip pitching in a game:

This post completes the 2013 Twins mock draft selections.

As a reminder, you can find all 2013 MLB draft related posts here.

Twins 2013 mock MLB Draft: Rounds 2 to 5

Last week, I discussed the reasons why the Minnesota Twins should select Sean Manaea with their first round and fourth overall pick.  This week, I am presenting potential second to fifth round picks for the Twins.  The Twins do not have compensatory picks this season.  Brief profiles of the players also are included.


Round 2, (43 overall): Hunter Dozier, SS,  Stephen F. Austin State

Would history repeat itself and the Twins will select yet another college SS (and their second Dozier recently) in the high draft rounds, even though their previous selections have not moved with the speed the Twins' hoped?   He shall see, but Hunter Dozier is not like the previous college short stops they have been selecting.  He is a Cal Ripken-sized SS (6-4, 220) with a lot of pop.  He bats right handed.  His 17 HRs  have him in the top 3 in the NCAA he is hitting .394 and has 12 SBs.  His arm is very strong and he has good hands.  Range is an issue (and this, with his size, makes some think that he will project as a 3B at the next level) but very workable in the next level.   I think that he has the tools to stick at short and this is a huge position of need in the Twins' organization.    He was named Southland conference player of the year and hitter of the year.   His up to date 2013 stats are here.

Round 3, (78 overall) Andrew Knapp, C, Berkley

Catcher is another position in need in the Twins' organization with no clear replacement for Joe Mauer down the line, other than potentially Josmil Pinto.   Knapp is not mentioned as one of the top catchers on the draft (that would be a trifecta of high school kids) but he might as well be.  An excellent game caller (he goes to Berkley for a reason) with a strong bat that projects, but would require a bit of work with his receiving skills and foot work.   He hit left-handed as is 6'1" tall and weights about 200 lbs.  Mostly a line drive doubles machine who likes to use the whole field (sounds like another Twins' catcher?) but projects to have home run power.  Can run a bit too.  Dad also a Catcher at Berkley.

Round 4 (110 overall) Edwin Diaz, SS, Ladislau Martinez Otero HS, Puerto Rico.

From Jose Morales to Eddie Rosario to Jose Berrios, the Twins have been scouting and drafting high school kids from Puerto Rico in early rounds and they will do it again this season.    Diaz is close to the top of the 2013 draft class in Puerto Rico.  He is a tall (6'2" - 180) kid who is still growing.  Diaz is a lot like Pedro Florimon, but a bit more advanced with the bat at this stage of their careers. Good with the bat, hitting line drives at all fields.  Right handed.  Slick fielder.  I think that is will be one of the first Puerto Ricans on the board.  The 2013 draft class is not that great there.

Round 5 (140 overall) DJ Snelten, LHP, Minnesota

The Twins make a point of selecting several players from the University of Minnesota.  The ones that they have been selecting in the high rounds (the jury is still out for players like AJ Pettersen who were selected in lower rounds) have not really worked out, other than a certain LHP;  so I think that they will get another.  The lesser known of the 2 U of M starters and somewhat in the shadow of Tom Windle, might actually be the better pitcher.  He is 6'7" and 230 lbs.  Plus 91-93 mph fastball that peaks at 95 with great command and control, movement and positioning; curve and change up are serious works in progress but improving.  Pitched out of the pen mostly his first 2 seasons.  Could be a dominant reliever if his secondary offerings do not improve.

Here are highlights of his complete game one hitter this season against Ohio State (you can read about it here ) :

Next: Rounds 6-12.  As a reminder, you can find all 2013 MLB draft related posts here.

Kyle Gibson and the Red Wings at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs today and it was so close...

A couple days ago I realized that the Rochester Red Wings were playing the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at my back yard.  Literally, their ballpark (Coca Cola Park) is less than half an hour away from my door, so I make a point to go and see the Red Wings every year when they play there.  This was their second game here, and by choice I went today instead of yesterday, because Kyle Gibson was pitching.  There were a lot of conflicting reports about him and I wanted to see with my own eyes how he is doing...

Not the best day for a ball game, it was in the high 50s, overcast with occasional sprinkles here and there:

 The ball park is probably the best one in the minors and always a joy to be there (ok I might have home town bias :)  ) :

 I got to see Gibson pitch at the pen before the game and was fairly impressed.  His fastball was really popping in Eric Fryer's glove and both velocity and movement was there based on my point of view:

 After about 20 pitches I went back to my seat (1st row right next to the Red Wings dugout) from the outfield bullpen and watched the game.  I was very lucky to be there because this was a magnificent pitching performance by Gibson.  I came in with an open mind and nothing to expect and I left a strong believer in that Gibson is the best starting pitcher the Twins have today.  A bit about his performance (and I am not going to get into things like numbers, which you can read elsewhere:  He had four pitches that he threw when he wanted with a great command.  His fastball was his primary pitch and was sitting from 92-94 all night long.  It spiked to 95 a few times and went to 91 a couple.  It was at 94 in the 9th inning as well.  in the first 5 inning he mostly threw his fastball and his slider, which ran from 84 to 86 and really kept the IronPig hitters off balance causing a lot of swings and misses.  Have to mention that Gibson had impeccable command of the fastball: he would locate it up and down and inside and out.  And throw it at the dirt when he wanted to.  In the latest innings he started throwing more his changeup that was running from 81-83 mph with a good late motion; also he featured a tight slow curve (78-80 mph) that I did not realize he had.  He threw that pitch a few times late in the game.  He was totally on top of his game today.  In addition to what he did on the field, a thing that really impressed me was his composure in the dugout, knowing that he was having a no-hitter:  he was sitting there cheering his teammates and clapping when they were batting, instead of being "in his own world" and apathetic about the game.  This was a dominating performance that, I think that won him his first trip to the majors.   Frankly, I thought that I will witness history and it was that close...

Gibson being interviewed after the game:

 

It was Kyle Gibson's day but a few more observations about the team and a couple of players:  This looks like a close knit team with a lot of positive energy (A funny thing that happen was that when Antoan Richardson, who was the Red Wings' left fielder today, came back to the dugout, he got a hazing in jest by Clete Thomas, who did not play, and Brian Dinkelman, who was the first base coach, because the first IronPigs hit was at the left field...)

All players seemed to have fun but one.  And it was very obvious and the Twins as an organization have to do something to help him:  Joe Benson.   Joe was the starting Centerfielder today and had a great game at the field, getting to every ball that hit his way.  At the plate he had a 2-run scoring single in his third plate appearance, he almost ran out an infield hit in his fourth and struck out in his first 2 PAs against an IronPigs pitcher who threw 69-78 mph junk.  His body language was very obvious and a big sign that he is pressing and needs help.  After each unsuccessful plate appearance he went back to the dugout, slapping himself and sitting alone despondent with his head in his hands.  He needs help and coaching and needs someone of the Twins to tell him that it is not worth it.  He is still one of the top talents the Twins have and they should do something to help him.

 

Chris Colabello had another great night at the plate and played right field.  I will not be surprised if Chris Parmelee and him swap teams sometime soon.  His fielding at right was uneventful, but he is better than I thought on the base paths.  Speaking of base paths, Antoan Richardson late in the game hit a triple that would have been a double for most places and should have been an inside the park home run, if Gene Glynn (as a third base coach did not put the stop sign.)  Plenty of time to score but the Red Wings were up by ten at that point...  Chris Herrmann, another player who has been having a forgetable season so far, had a good game and looked like he enjoyed it.  Which is a good thing to see.

A few parting shots from the game:  

Chris Colabello:

 Brian Dinkelman, the first base coach:

  

Some of these guys will probably be starting for the Twins one of these days (Virgil Vasquez, Liam Hendriks, Cole DeVries) :

With the 4th pick of the 2013 MLB Draft the Twins select...

I feel that an introductory paragraph is in order here.  This is the fourth season I have been covering the Minnesota Twins' drafts (started about 2 years into the existence of this blog).  Since day one (you can see the humble 2009 beginnings here) I have been presenting potential target players' names and profiles and have been live-blogging each pick as they were happening providing mini-profiles.   This will happen this season as well, but a lot of things have changed and evolved in the internet and the Twins' blogosphere the last 4 years.  I remember that I did the 2009 live-blogging only with a radio feed of the draft.  Now mlb.com has taken over the show with clear and concise coverage so the need for live blogging those is not as much.

What is new here for this year?  The first (and hopefully) annual Twins mock draft:  I will present my mock draft results for the Twins selections in the first 12 rounds.  Yes.  Twelve.  We all have opinions and there are a lot of ideas about who the Twins might select with their first overall pick, but not many people are thinking about the later rounds, so I thought that I will give it a shot, just for fun.  Of course, like all other mock drafts out there, unless someone can see all the draft boards from all teams, this is a purely recreational endeavor.

Back to the story:  With the 4th pick of the 2013 MLB draft, the Twins select...

... Sean Manaea (pronounced mahn-EYE-ah)

Why?  Because a. he is the player with the highest upside in the draft, b. because of velocity and injury concerns will fall in their lap and c. because he represents something they are missing in their organization.

A little bit of a background:  Sean is a junior at Indiana State University.  He is a big (6'5", 240 lbs) LHP who has been starting with the Sycamores the last couple years and really made a name for himself at the Cape Code league last summer.

Here is a 10 minute video from his warmup to his pitching in one game there last summer




Sean dominated the Cape Cod league hitters, with Fastballs that were hitting 97-98 mph late in the games, sharp sliders and masterful change ups; he went 5-1 in 8 GS,  had a 1.22 ERA and broke the Cape Cod League record with  85 strikeouts in 57.1  IP.   He gave up only 7 walks and allowed 22 hits.

This sounds like a top overall pick, why would he fall down to the fourth pick?

He has not been the same as far as velocity goes this season as he has been at the Cape, he has a hip injury and scouts have been souring on him as a top pick.

Would that make him a risk for the Twins?

Every pick is a risk but there are a lot of things in Manae's favor that scouts overlook and will make him the perfect pick for the Twins:

• Cape Cod summer league aside, his 2013 performance (even though he has hip issues) is better than his 2012 performance.
• A pitcher cannot just lose "stuff".  He might lose control, but Manaea still has his control and stuff (see this, for an excellent recent scouting report that compares his performance now to his performance last summer)
• His velocity is down, but his has been the coldest spring in recent history and he is battling a hip issue (and has not lost control.)
• He has the best natural talent in the draft and the scary thing is that he has not really have much instruction (which is something that scouts avoid to say).   His mechanics are awful (as you can see in the video) and with proper instruction, the sky is the limit.
• Why he did not have much instruction?  Here is his story:  He is not a privileged kid.  He did not live in the suburbs and played in the best teams with the best coaches.   His dad, Faaloloi, immigrated to Indiana after he fought in the Vietnam war.  Both he and his mom are factory workers, settled at Wanatah, and could not afford special baseball instruction for their kid.  Sean went to a small High School, South Central Junior-Senior High School in Union Mills, where he showed his talent but was way under the spotlight to get a College scholarship.  To achieve this, he transferred to the bigger Andrean High School in Merrillville, where he flashed his excellent but raw offerings.   The only school that offered him a scholarship was Indiana State, which is not a baseball powerhouse playing in a powerhouse conference.  
• So, Manaea has incredible good stuff, despite horrible mechanics, despite his hip issue and he has never really received expert instruction.  As far as I am concerned, this makes sky proverbially the limit.
• The Twins have 4-5 RHPs who have flashed top of the rotation talent in the minors (Alex Gibson, Alex Meyer, DJ Baxendale, Trevor May, Jose Berrios) but not a lefty.  He would be the perfect top of the rotation lefty to complement some of those righties.

So you have it:  Sean Manaea, should be the Twins' 2013 first round draft pick and I think that they will pull the trigger.

Who the Twins select in the later rounds?  Check in this week to find out.

101 High School player names everyone should know before the 2013 MLB Draft

This is the third an last installment in this series.  Yesterday, I presented the names of 114 College position players who will likely be drafted and a couple days before those of 129 College pitchers likely to join an MLB organization this early June.   Today I am presenting the names of 101 High School players who are likely to get drafted (52 position players and 49 pitchers.)

The one thing that we learned from the 2012 MLB draft, the first one under the newest Collective Bargaining Agreement, which had slot bonuses implemented, was that it was harder to select and sign High School players from the mainland US and Canada at slot value.  Thus, fewer High School players were selected and even fewer signed.   Unless a player is selected on the top rounds, signability of a High School player will be an issue.

Before I present the list, I will give you a teaser about the next draft related installment here:  It will be the first ever Twins mock draft where I will be presenting the names of the players I think that the Twins will draft in the first 12 rounds of the draft, starting with the number four pick overall (and it is not a conventional wisdom pick, or consensus pick - those are listed here) in a couple days.  As always, you can find all 2013 MLB Draft-related posts here.

Here is the list of the 101 High School names you should know before the 2013 MLB draft (including those of a handful of Minnesotans) :

52 Position Players

Willie Abreu OF Mater HS (FL)
Christian Arroyo SS Hernando  HS (FL)
Cavan Biggio 3B/2B St. Thomas HS (TX) Craig's son
Ryan Boldt OF Red Wing HS (MN)
Nick Ciuffo C Lexington HS (SC)
Zach Collins C/1B American Heritage HS (FL)
JP Crawford SS Lakewood HS (CA)
Tyler Danish 3B Valrico HS (FL)
Edwin Diaz, ss, Ladislau Martinez Otero HS, (PR)
Travis Demerritte 3B Winder Barrow HS (GA)
Jon  Denney C Yukon HS (OK),
David Denson 1B La Puente HS (CA)
Xavier Fernandez, c, Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
Kevin Franklin 3B/OF Cerritos HS (CA)
Clint Frazier OF Loganville HS (GA)
Josh Hart OF Parkview HS (GA)
Connor Heady SS Prospect HS (KY)
Jan Hernandez SS/2B Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy (PR)
Nick Longhi 1B/OF Venice Senior HS (FL)
Joseph Martarano 3B Fruitland HS (ID)
Jeremy Martinez C/3B Mater Dei HS (CA)
Terry McClure OF Riverwood International Charter HS (GA)
Dane McFarland OF Laguna Niguel HS (CA)
Andy McGuire SS/3B James Madison HS (VA)
Reese McGuire C Kentwood HS (WA)
Billy McKinney OF Plano West HS (TX)
Ryan McMahon 3B Mater Dei HS (CA)
Matt McPhearson OF Riverdale Baptist HS (MD)
Austin Meadows OF/1B Grayson HS (GA)
Oscar Mercado SS Gaither HS (FL)
Brian Navarreto C/OF Arlington Country Day HS (FL)
Tucker Neuhaus SS Wharton HS (FL)
Sheldon Neuse SS Fossil Ridge HS (TX)
Dom Nunez SS Elk Grove HS (CA)
Chris Okey C Eustis HS (FL),
Tyler O'Neill C Maple Ridge H.S. (BC, Canada)
Dustin Peterson 3B/SS Gilbert HS (AZ)
Corey Ray OF Simeon Career Academy (IL)
Tim Richards SS Wilson HS (CA)
Chris Rivera SS El Dorado HS (CA)
Cord Sandberg OF/1B Manatee HS (FL),
Dominic Smith 1B/LHP Serra HS (CA),
John Sternagel 3B/SS, Rockledge HS (FL)
Jake Sweaney, C, Garces Memorial High School
Rowdy Tellez 1B Elk Grove HS (CA)
Riley Unroe SS Desert Ridge HS (AZ)
Marcos Ventura OF/1B Puerto Rico Baseball Academy
Drew Ward 1B Leedey HS (OK)
Justin Williams OF/3B Terrebonne HS (LA)
Ivan Wilson OF Ruston  H. (LA)
Weston Wilson SS/3B Wesleyan Christian Academy  HS (NC)
Stephen Wrenn OF/RHP Walton HS (GA)


49 Pitchers

Trey Ball LHP/OF New Castle HS (IN)
Derick Beauprez RHP, Cherry Creek HS (CO)
Phil Bickford RHP Oaks Christian HS (CA)
Akeem Bostick, RHP, HS (SC)
Jacob Brentz LHP South Ballwin HS (MO)
Ian Clarkin LHP/1B James Madison HS (CA)
Trevor Clifton RHP, Heritage HS (TN)
Wil Crowe RHP Pigeon Forge HS (TN)
Kevin Davis RHP Tr Miller HS (AL)
Dustin Driver RHP Wenatchee HS (WA),
Zach Farmer LHP Piketon HS (OH)
Stephen Gonsalves LHP/OF Cathedral Catholic HS (CA)
Hunter Green LHP Warren East HS (KY)
Hunter Harvey, RHP, Bandys High School (NC)
Thomas Hatch RHP Jenks HS (OK)
Clinton Hollon RHP Woodford County HS (KY)
Connor Jones, RHP, Great Bridge High School (VA)
Ryder Jones, RHP/3B, Watauga HS (NC)
Rob Kaminski LHP St. Joseph Regional HS (NJ)
John Kilichowski LHP Tampa Jesuit HS (FL)
Max Knutson LHP Mounds View HS (MN)
Chris Kohler  LHP Los Osos HS (CA)
Matt Krook LHP St. Ignatius HS (CA)
Brett Morales SP KIng HS (FL)
Chris Oakley RHP, St. Augustine HS (NJ)
Ryan Olson RHP Western Christian (CA)
AJ Puk LHP/1B Washington HS (IA)
Carlos Salazar RHP Kerman HS (CA)
Kyle Serrano SP RHP Farragut (TN)
Casey Shane RHP, Centennial HS (TX)
Jordan Sheffield RHP Tullahoma (TN)
Logan Shore RHP Coon Rapids HS (MN)
Kohl Stewart SP St. Pius X HS (TX),
Dominic Taccolini RHP Kempner  HS (TX)
Blake Taylor LHP Dana Hills HS (CA)
Keegan Thompson RHP, Cullman HS (AL)
Robert Tyler RHP Crisp County HS (GA)
Matt Vogel RHP Patchogue Medford HS (NY)
Jonah Wesely LHP, Tracy HS (CA)
Devin Williams RHP Hazelwood West (MO)
Garrett Williams LHP/1B Calvary Baptist HS (LA)

114 College position player names everyone should know before the 2013 MLB Draft

A couple days ago, in preparation for the 2013 MLB Draft, I listed 129 names of College Pitchers who will get drafter in that draft and several of them will be drafted by the Minnesota Twins.   In this second segment, I am listing the names of 114 College position players who will be drafted.   The Twins will likely draft several of them.

Will they redraft LJ Mazzilli who decided to not sign and return to University of Connecticut for his Senior year?   Maybe, but not as high as they did last season, because with a below par performance, his stock really fell recently.  The Twins do like players with "bloodlines" and in addition to Mazzilli, thee are a few players whose last names are pretty famous.   (Craig Biggio's son, is a High School Senior, also eligible for this draft, but it is a different story.)

You can find all the 2013 MLB Draft content in this site here.

Without further ado, here is the list, alphabetically:


Brenton Allen, OF, UCLA
Zach Alvord 3B Tampa CC
Mario Amaral C Miami-Dade CC
Tim Anderson SS East Central Community College
Michael Arencibia OF Tallahassee CC
Pat Biondi, OF, Michigan
Aaron Blair OF Fresno St
Krey Bratsen OF Texas A&M
Colin Bray OF Faulkner
Jake Bray, 3B Feather River
Aaron Brown, OF/1B/LHP Pepperdine
Jaycob Brugman OF Brigham Young
Kris Bryant 3B/1B San Diego
Elliot Caldwell, OF South Carolina Community College
Victor Caratini C Miami-Dade CC
Dale Carey, OF, Miami
Shon Carson, OF, South Carolina
Kyle Carter, OF Miami-Dade CC
Connor Castellano 2B Santa Fe CC
Danny Collins, 3B Troy
Chase Compton, 1B Louisiana-Lafayette
Ryan Cordell, OF Liberty
Conor Costello OF Navarro
Omar Cotto, OF USC
Johnny Coy, 1B Wichita State
Dustin DeMuth, 3B Indiana
Drew Dosch, 3B Youngstown State
Hunter Dozier, 3B/SS, Stephen F. Austin State
Jeff Driskel OF Florida
Jordan Dunatov, OF  Central Arizona College
Sean Dwyer OF Florida Gulf Coast
Kaiana Eldredge, 2B, Kansas
Adam Engel, OF  Louisville
Phil Ervin OF Samford
Kyle Farmer, SS Georgia
Jacob Felts C Texas
Dominic Ficociello 1B/3B Arkansas
Johnny Field OF Arizona
Eric Filia-Snyder, OF UCLA
Billy Flamion, OF, Grossmont
Adam Frazier SS Mississippi St.
Mitchell Garver, C New Mexico
Ryan Gebhardt OF Louisiana Tech
Conrad Gregor 1B Vanderbilt
Trey Griffin, OF Tennessee Wesleyan
Cody Gunter, 3B Grayson County CC
Conner Hale 3B Manatee CC
Jordan Hankins, 2B Austin Peay
Ryon Healy, 1B/C, Oregon
Tyler Horan, 1B/OF Virginia Tech
Mott Hyde SS Georgia Tech
CK Irby, OF/RHP Samford
Eric Jagielo 3B/OF Notre Dame
JaCoby Jones 2B/OF LSU
Kevin Jordan, OF, Wake Forest
Aaron Judge OF Fresno State
Lonnie Kauppila SS Stanford
Tony Kemp 2B/OF Vanderbilt
Jared King, OF Kansas State
Andrew Knapp, C California
Kevin Koziol, SS, Parkland
Tyler Kuresa, 1B UC Santa Barbara
Hunter Lockwood, C Weatherford CC
Dylan LaVelle, 3B Everett CC
Michael Lorenzen OF/RHP Cal State Fullerton
Tyler Marincov, OF North Florida
Jamal Martin OF Santa Fe CC
Trey Mancini, 1B Notre Dame
Jacob May, SS/OF Coastal Carolina
LJ Mazzilli 2B U Conn
Joel McKeithan, 3B Vanderbilt
Jason Monda, OF Washington State
Colin Moran 3B North Carolina
Matt Moynihan OF Texas
Spencer Navin, C  Vanderbilt
Case Nixon C Alabama
Adam Nelubowich, 3B, Washington State
Kelly Norris-Jones, C, Illinois
Michael O’Neill, OF Michigan
Daniel Palka OF/1B Georgia Tech
Jordan Parr, 3B, Illinois
Mark Payton OF Texas
DJ Peterson 3B New Mexico
Chad Pinder, SS/3B, Virginia Tech
Zack Powers 3B Florida
Vickash Ramjit 1B Florida
James Ramsay OF South Florida
Brian Ragira 1B Stanford
Matt Reida SS Kentucky
Hunter Renfroe, C/OF, Mississippi State
Raph Rhymes, OF LSU
JT Riddle, 2B Kentucky
Drake Roberts 2B Navarro
James Roberts, SS, Southern California
Matt Roberts, C North Carolina
Angel Rosa SS Alcorn State
Tyler Ross, C LSU
David Schuknecht C Riverside
Michael Suiter, OF, Kansas
Christian Summers SS Angelo State
Daniel Sweet OF Florida
Ryan Tella, OF, Auburn
Brandon Thomas, OF Georgia Tech
Brandon Trinkwon, SS/2B UC Santa Barbara
Stuart Turner C Ole Miss
John Underwood 1B Palm Beach State
Josh Van Meter, SS, Norwell
Erich Weiss, 2B/SS Texas
Conor Williams, OF Utah Community College
Trey Williams 3B College of the Canyons
Austin Wilson OF Stanford
Kyle Wren, OF Georgia Tech
Mike Yastrzemski, OF, Vanderbilt
Jimmy Yezzo, IF, Delaware

Byron Buxton looks like the steal of the 2012 draft by the Twins