A couple weeks after their most disappointing week of the season, the Twins organization produced their first 30 win week at 30-16.  Rochester and Ft. Myers played .500 ball this week while the other five teams had winning records.  New Britain remains in the hunt for a playoff spot as does the DSL Twins with Ft. Myers, Elizabethton and the GCL Twins all in first place. 

Today I will take a look at a few prospects on each team who I believe have an excellent chance of some day playing for the Twins.  I will be returning from vacation next week so my report will be posted either Saturday night or Sunday morning. 

There was a lot of movement in the organization this week, which began with the Twins moving Glen Perkins to the disabled list.  Perkins' spot on the 25-man roster was filled by the promotion of Jeff Manship who was also added to the 40-man roster.  A spot on the 40-man roster was created by moving Kevin Slowey to the 60-day disabled list.  Rochester activated Sean Henn from the disabled list.  Anthony Slama finally received his promotion to AAA with Loek Van Mil moving up to New Britain from Ft. Myers to replace him.  Bobby Lanigan moved up to Ft. Myers with Brad Stillings moving up a level to Beloit.  Reliever Kelvin Mata and starter Jhon Garcia moved up to Elizabethton from the GCL. 

New Britain also activated Alex Burnett and Michael McCardell from brief stays on the disabled list.  Wilson Ramos completed his rehab assignment with the GCL Twins and returned to New Britain yesterday.  New Britain placed Juan Portes on the disabled list following being hit in the wrist with a pitch last week.  Seth Stohs is reporting that Jay Rainville retired following a two year battle to return from shoulder surgery.  The Twins released Mark Grudzielanek who was in New Britain on a minor league assigment.  A week ago the Snappers activated Adan Severino from their disabled list.  Alejandro Machado moved up from the GCL Twins to the Miracle while on his rehab assignment.  Yangervis Solarte and Oswaldo Sosa both joined the GCL Twins this week on rehab assignments.  The Twins signed several recent draft picks, including Steve Liddle (#15 round), who joined Elizabethton.  Two Puerto Rican high school pitchers appeared in their first games with the GCL Twins, Richard Calcano (#47 round) and Eddie Ahorrio (#45 round).   

Rochester Red Wings (AAA) (4-4, 56-62, 4th place, -11.0 gains)

The Wings dropped another game to division leading Scranton/WB.  Their week began by splitting two games with Louisville.  Philip Humber pitched his best game of the year in Saturday's 3-2 win, 7.0 innings with only  4 hits, 2 unearned runs and 5K/0BB.  Yohan Pino may be their best starter of late.  He didn't get the decision in Sunday's 7-2 loss after pitching 8.0 innings with 3 hits, 2 runs (1 earned) and 10K/1BB.  Pino followed up last night in a 3-4 loss to Syracuse, pitching 5.2 innings with 8 hits, 2 runs and 4K/1BB.  The Wings won their five game series with Buffalo behind Philip Humber Thursday as he beat Buffalo 9-4, pitching 6.0 innings with 8 hits, 4 runs and 4K/0BB.  The back end of the bullpen was nearly perfect with Rob Delaney pitching 2.0 shutout innings with 1 hit.  Anthony Slama made his AAA debut by pitching 1.0 inning with no hits, no runs and 2K/1BB.  Armando Gabino was very good in the opening game of the Buffalo series as he pitched the Wings to a 8-2 win with 6.2 innings, 5 hits, 2 runs and 4K/0BB.    

The two pitchers currently with the Red Wings who have the best chances of taking that next step are the two top relievers in the organization, Rob Delaney and Anthony Slama.  These two have been together every step of the way with Delaney usually receiving his promotion before Slama.  Delaney has a 5-3 record, 3.00ERA, 1.05WHIP and 30K/12BB in 27 games (39.0 innings) with the Wings.  Delaney, who had a 1-1 record with a 2.00ERA and 40K/6BB in 36.0 innings with New Britain earlier this year, appears destined to join the Twins as a September callup.  Slama's only problem appears to be issuing a few to many walks at New Britain where he had 93K/32BB in 51 games (65.1 innings) with a 4-2 record, organization high 25 saves and 2.48ERA.  With only one appearance at AAA to date, it will be interesting to see if Slama also gets a September callup.       

The player that most Twins fans see as the Red Wing player who can make a difference next year is third baseman Danny Valencia.  After a torrid start to his AAA career, Valencia slipped into a slump in late July.  He has made the necessary adjustments and is hitting .324 in his last ten games with 2 doubles and a home run.  In his first 47 games (176 at bats), Valencia is hitting .301/.321/.483 with 6 home runs.  Although his AAA experience is very brief, the only negative one can see is that he has taken only 6 walks compared with a relatively low 25 strikeouts.     

New Britain Rock Cats (AA) (4-2, 59-59, Tied/2nd place, -9.0 games)

The Rock Cats got back to .500 and are now tied with Trenton a half game ahead of Portland in their battle for a play-off spot.  Their week began by splitting two games with Akron.  Matt Fox returned to his early season form as he picked up his seventh win (8 losses) in a 4-1 win Sunday when he pitched 7.0 innings with 5 hits, 1 run and 5K/1BB.  Deolis Guerra wasn't good in Saturday's 11-7 loss, pitching only 3.1 innings with 8 hits, 8 runs and 2K/1BB.  Guerra got a chance to redeem himself as the Cats opened another series with Akron last night.  Guerra was up to the challenge as he pitched his most dominating game of the year in the Cats 7-0 win with 6.0 no-hit innings with 9K/3BB before being pulled because of his pitch count.  Loek Van Mil came in for his AA debut, pitching 2.0 shutout innings with 1 hit and 1K/0BB. 

In between the Akron series, the Cats took two of three from Erie behind Michael McCardell's 4-1 win with 5.0 innings, 4 hits, 1 run and 4K/2BB and Ryan Mullins best start of the year, a 1-0 twelve inning win.  Mullins received a no decision after pitching 7.0 shutout innings with 8 hits and 9K/1BB.  Kyle Waldrop came on to pitch 3.0 perfect innings to pick up his second win.  Perhaps the biggest story of the Erie series was Cole DeVries who allowed 8 hits and 5 runs in 5.2 innings of their Tuesday 5-3 loss.  DeVries has a 7-12 record with a 4.26ERA in a team high 118.1 innings.  Following Tuesday's loss, DeVries has a 1-9 record at home with a 5.89ERA compared with a 6-3 record on the road with an excellent 2.84ERA.......I don't know how to explain an ERA that is more than double at home than on the road?

Following last season, USA Today named Michael McCardell as their selection for the Twins Minor League Player of the Year.  Following 2008 when he had a 9-4 record with a 2.86ERA in 135.1 innings with 139K/25BB, McCardell moved up to Ft. Myers this spring.  Although his strikeout rate is down a bit, he responded with a 9-6 record, 3.93ERA and 78K/16BB in 17 starts, 94.0 innings.  McCardell was promoted to AA several weeks ago where his numbers are a bit deceptive.  He has a 2-1 record with a 5.57ERA in 4 starts (21.0 innings) with 20K/8BB.  After his first game that was a disaster, 11 earned runs in 4.0 innings, McCardell has made three starts (17.0 innings) with 11 hits, 2 earned runs and 13K/5BB.  All indications are that McCardell has taken that big step to AA and is on track to become a solid starter for the Twins perhaps as early as late 2010.  Only time will tell whether he is another third or fourth man in the rotation or can become that special front of the rotation starter.

Another New Britain pitcher who appears destined to a career with the Twins is Alex Burnett, who recently celebrated his 22nd birthday.  After a solid 2008 for the Miracle, Burnett returned to Ft. Myers this spring as the Twins converted him to a short reliever.  Burnett responded with a 2-1 record, 4 saves, 1.99ERA and 26K/7BB in 18 games (22.2 innings).  With the experiment proven to be a success, the Twins moved Burnett up to AA where he has been even better.  In 31 games (41.0 innings), Burnett has a 1-2 record, 1.76ERA, 1.05WHIP and 35K/17BB.   

New Britain has several players who may eventually make it to the Twins.  They have two however, who appear capable of becomming stars several years from now.  Some of us thought that Wilson Ramos had a chance to be the Twins back up catcher out of spring training as the Twins waited for Joe Mauer to recover from his winter physical problems.  Yet, this is the Twins and moving a top prospect all the way from Ft. Myers to Minnesota just isn't in their philosophy.  Following being named the MVP of this past winter's Caribbean Series, Ramos began his season playing like a future star, hitting .308/.326/.444 with 3 home runs and 18 RBI in 133 at bats.  Unfortunately, a broken finger followed by a nagging hamstring injury limited him to only 36 games.  Ramos returned last night with a couple hits in three at bats and a walk and may give the Cats the lift they need to get into his second playoffs of the year.

The other future star playing for the Rock Cats is outfielder Rene Tosoni.  After moving up to AA following only 40 some games beyond rookie ball, Tosoni struggled in April by hitting .180/.261/.361.  Tosoni learned from that month and has hit for better than a .300Average three of the four months since to get his numbers up to .278/.365/.464 in 371 at bats with 24 doubles, 3 triples, 13 home runs and a team high 64 RBI.  Tosoni, who was the sole selection from the Twins in this year's Futures game, appears to be the next young outfielder who should be vying for a position with the Twins in spring training, 2011.

Ft. Myers Miracle (Hi-A) (3-3, 25-22, Tied/1st place)

After winning the first half, the Miracle is battling to win both ends of this season and go one step further in this year's playoffs and win a FSL championship.  They began their week with two wins over Sarasota, 8-7 and 6-1, behind Tyler Robertson (6.0 innings with 6 hits, 4 runs (2 earned) and 5K/0BB) and Santos Arias (7.0 innings with 3 hits, 1 run and 5K/2BB), who improved his record to 6-1.  Steven Hirschfield, who may be their best starter the second half, started the Palm Beach series  with a 5-2 win on Tuesday.  Hirschfield pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 4 hits and 5K/1BB and his 2.00ERA is tied for the best on the league.  David Bromberg picked up his second loss Thursday, 4-2, pitching 6.0 innings with 6 hits, 4 runs and 7K/2BB.  Robertson was again very good last night in a 3-1 loss to Sarasota, pitching 6.0 innings with 4 hits, 2 runs and 4K/2BB.

With several good young starters having moved on to New Britain (McCardell, Gutierrez, Guerra), the starter on the Miracle staff with the highest ceiling is David Bromberg.  Bromberg has the league's third most wins (11) and fifth best ERA, 2.60, to go with a 1.23WHIP and a team high 131.1 innings.  Although his strikeout rate is down from last year (177 in 150.0 innings), his 120 strikeouts is the most in the FSL this season.  All indications are that Bromberg has what it takes to make it all the way to the Twins.  The question remains whether or not he can be that special player who will some day be an opening day starter?

There are several players with the Miracle who have the potential of being an every day player for the Twins, however, two have a higher probability of someday fulfilling their dreams.  Former first round pick Ben Revere's game is all about speed.  Although he has at best an average arm, his speed gives him incredible range in the outfield.  On the bases, it appears he needs to work on his instincts as demonstrated by his 37 stolen bases in 52 attempts.  For a player with a game based on speed, the Twins must be concerned about the knee injuries that have affected his play the last two seasons.  Where he plays defensively may be a question, however, their is no question that he can be a big asset for the Twins if his legs don't betray him.

The other player is also a former first round pick, Chris Parmalee.  Known as a power hitter with little else, Parmalee has quietly improved his game this season and is now hitting a respectable .271/.358/.464 in 362 at bats.  Parmalee leads the pitching rich FSL with 14 homes runs, his 64 RBI trail the league leader by one, his 49 walks are sixth best in the league and his 92 strikeouts are to many and also in the league's top 10.  When drafted the Twins believed he was the best power hitting high school prospects in the draft.  It appears that unlike other power hitters taken by the Twins in recent drafts, they may have been right about Parmalee.  He will likely become a future Twin who will hit 20+ home runs as a corner outfielder, first baseman, designated hitter sometime after 2011. 

Beloit Snappers (A) (5-3, 20-28, 7th place, -8.5 games)

The Snappers have been playing better the second half with this week being one of their best of the season.  Bruce Pugh, who was recently inserted into the starting rotation, responded with two great games this week.  He pitched 4.2 innings with 6 hits, 3 runs (2 earned) and 3K/1BB in Sunday's 9-7 win over Cedar Rapids.  Pugh followed with one of the best Snapper starts this season in last night's 2-0 win over Clinton.  Pugh pitched 6.0 shutout innings with 2 hits and 7K/3BB.  Team Ace Brad Tippett was good in Wednesday's 4-2 loss to Clinton, pitching 6.2 innings with only 3 hits, 2 runs and 5K/1BB. 

Tippett has been the Snappers' best starter all season as evidenced by his 8-5 record, 2.74ERA, 1.00WHIP and 95K/22BB in 20 starts (125.0 innings).  After returning to Elizabethton last year when the Twins converted Tippett from a reliever to starter, Tippett eventually moved up to Beloit where he has also been this season.  He is a control pitcher without a high strikeout rate, yet, this young Australian has one of the better WHIP's of any starter in the organization in part because he allows less than 2 walks per 9 innings.  It is a long way from Beloit to the Twins, however, Tippett appears to be someone who has an chance of making that journey.

The Snappers have three young men who will be very high on this coming winter's prospect lists.  Aaron Hicks is considered by many to have the highest ceiling of any prospect in the organization.  Although Hicks hasn't hit this season at Beloit like Revere did last year, there are many aspects of his game that are encouraging for someone hitting .244/.353/.355 in 172 at bats.  Hicks has given us a glimpse of his power with 9 doubles, 2 triples and 2 home runs, yet 5 stolen bases in 12 attempts is an indication that his baseball skills are very raw.  Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of his game is his plate discipline as he has taken 29 walks compared to 34 strikeouts.

A second player with Beloit who appears to have a high ceiling is catcher Danny Rams.  Rams put up ridiculous numbers at Elizabethton earlier this year when he hit .355/.444/.790 with 6 home runs and 23 RBI in 62 at bats.  The Twins promoted Rams to Beloit in July where he is hitting very well in the more advanced league.  Rams has continued to demonstrate his power with 11 doubles and 7 home runs in 109 at bats while hitting .284/.345/.578 for the Snappers.  For the season, Rams has 13 home runs and 20 doubles in only 171 at bats at Elizabethton and Beloit.  Although his first two years in the organziation caused many to question whether the Twins errored in taking him in the second round of the 2007 draft, he appears to have figured it out and has become one of the best power hitting prospects in the organization.  The third player with the Snappers who has a very high ceiling will be discussed later as this week's Player of the Week.

Elizabethton Twins (6-1, 35-16, 1st place, +6.0 games)

The ETon Twins expanded their lead over Johnson City this week and appear desitined to another playoff battle with the Danville Braves.  Highlites this week include a 5.0 inning shutout start by Edgar Ibarra (5.0 innings with 4 hits and 8K/4BB) in Tuesday's 12-3 win over Greenville.  Tom Stuifbergen also had a great start in Monday's 3-2 win when he pitched 8.0 innings with 4 hits, 1 run and 3K/0BB.  Miguel Munoz and Martire Garcia also had excellent starts in 5-1 and 4-2 wins when they pitched 8.0 and 6.0 innings respectively, with each allowing only 1 run. 

Billy Bullock and Ben Tootle are both high picks from this year's draft who have had excellent starts to their careers with the ETon Twins.  When talking about players in rookie ball it is difficult to predict who may eventually make it to the Twins, however, the player from this year's draft (14th round pick) who is doing the best is lefty, Matt Tone.  Tone, who has picked up 4 wins and 1 loss working out of the bullpen, has a 1.24ERA and 37K/21BB in 13 games (29.0 innings).  Seth Stohs recently pointed out that in his last seven appearances, 17.2 innings, Tone allowed only 1 hit and no runs...although he did give up 12 walks.

Two players from this year's draft, Brian Dozier and Chris Herrmann, and a young Venezuelan, Josmil Pinto, have been hitting very well.  I have however, been converted by Eric of Madison into someone who is suspect of the gaudy numbers we see from the Appy League and will wait until next season to see how these young men perform when they get to A ball.  I expect we will all follow the career of Brian Dozier, who is hitting .338/.405/.407, closely now that shortstop Tyler Ladendorf has been shipped off to Oakland in the Cabrera trade.

GCL Twins (4-1, 26-16, 1st place, +3.5 games)

The Twins added another 2.5 games to their lead over the second place Orioles this week, splitting two games with the Orioles.  Jhon Garcia was the loser, 5-4, to the Orioles last Saturday when he pitched 5.0 innings with 7 hits, 3 runs and 3K/0BB.  Blayne Weller got the start in a crucial rematch with the Orioles on Thursday, pitching the Twins to a 2-1 win with 5.0 shutout innings with 4 hits and 4K/1BB. 

I don't know who from this team will eventually make it to the Twins, however, Andrei Lobonav has been the talk of the league with his 1-1 record, 5 saves and 1.00ERA and 0.67WHIP in 18.0 innings with 30K/0BB.....yes, that is 1.67 strikeouts per inning (15 per 9 innings) with NO walks.  Another reliever who is pitching excellent out of the bullpen is Zach See who has a 0.86ERA, 1.14WHIP and 28K/10BB in 21.0 innings. 

Two starters who have been very, very good are B.J. Hermsen and Dominican Republic native, 18 year old Adrian Salcedo.  Hermsen has an excellent 5-1 record, 0.92ERA, 0.69WHIP and 29K/3BB in 39.1 innings.  Although his strikeout rate isn't high, he appears to be a young starter with a very bright future.  Seth Stohs and I have both written a lot about Salcedo who was last year's young star in the DSL.  Salcedo, who reportedly throws at or better than 90mph, has a 3-1 record with a 1.67ERA, 1.12WHIP and 42K/2BB in a team high 43.0 innings.  Both of these young men should move rapidly through the Twins system and we all will be following them very closely

In what may be surprising for a first place team, no GCL Twin active player has a batting average over .300 with Hyeong-rok Choi the team leader at .292/.395/.431.  Like Tyler Ladendorf last season and Danny Rams the year before, there may be several players who will become top prospects in the future, however, no one is hitting like Revere, Hidalgo and Hicks have the past few years.

DSL Twins (4-2, 42-23, 2nd place, -1.5 games)

The Twins held serve with the Yankees-2 this week and remain a game and a half out of first place.  They again had three excellent starts with Cesar Ciurcina (7.0 innings, 3 hits, 1 run and 10K/1BB), Manuel Soliman (6.0 innings, 4 hits, 0 runs and 6K/0BB) and Pedro Guerra (7.0 innings, 5 hits, 0 runs and 5K/3BB) all picking up wins. 

We have read a lot about Pedro Guerra (19 years old) who has allowed only 3 earned runs in 13 games (68.0 innings), yet, all indications are that Cesar Ciurcina (18 years old) may be the top prospect playing with the DSL Twins this year.  Ciurcina has a 8-2 record with a 1.45ERA, 0.70 WHIP and 64K/7BB in a team high 74.2 innings.  It should be exciting to see if Ciurcina will pitch next season with the GCL Twins like Adrian Salcedo is this year.

The most exciting prospect playing for the DSL Twins is 16 year old third baseman, Wander Guillen.  Guillen, who joined the Twins shortly after the July 2nd International signing date, is their leading hitter at .326/.439/.400 in 95 at bats.  Guillen has 2 doubles, 1 triple, 1 home run and 17 RBI with 17 walks and 22 strikeouts.  Will Guillen be playing for the GCL Twins as a 17 year old next summer?  Although several years away, is Guillen a player who will rise rapidly throught he system and break into the major leagues in four or five years as a 20 or 21 year old? 

Player of the Week

This week's selection is a player that is oft referred to as a five tool player.  A young man who was the leading hitter in the Appalachian League last summer as an 18 year old, moved up to Beloit this year where we all expected him to continue his rise to stardom. 

In what was a surprise to many, Angel Morales struggled his first month in a full season league when he hit only .172Average in 58 at bats.  Like would be expected of a top prospect, Morales adjusted to hit .265/.356/.480 in 102 at bats in May.  Morales struggled again in June, however, he battled injuries the entire month that limited him to only 50 at bats and 16 games. Morales caught fire in July and although limited by his injury during the first part of the month, hit .361/.375/.541 in 61 at bats in July. 

Morales' selection as this week's Player of the Week is more reflective of his play this month when he has hit .356/.412/.667 in 15 games (45 at bats) with 5 doubles, 3 home runs and 11 RBI.  For the season, Morales is hitting .256/.317/.449 with 53 runs scored, 47 RBI, 19 doubles, 4 triples, 11 home runs and 12 stolen bases in 16 attempts. 

In the past, one criticism of Morales has been his high number of strikeouts (72 strikeouts in 183 at bats last year at Elizabethton).  Morales has improved this year with 88 strikeouts in 316 at bats and the number has been improving during the year as he has struck out only 24 times in 106 at bats in July and August.  He also isn't known for taking a lot of walks which again holds true with only 23 free passes this season.  But walks shouldn't be a concern for a player who has 34 extra base hits in 82 total hits.  

Although he will likely be a corner outfielder for the Twins some day, Morales has both the speed and arm needed for a center fielder which makes him one player that the term "five tool player" is not a stretch.