TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
2016 Arizona Fall League participants were announced a couple of days ago, the Twins will be sending catcher Mitch Garver, outfielder Tanner English, infielder Nick Gordon, right-handed pitcher John Curtiss and left-handed pitchers Mason Melotakis and Randy Rosario. Ivan Arteaga will serve as pitching coach and the Twins players will be part of the Surprise Saguaros along with players from the Rangers, Red Sox, Royals, and Pirates and will start play on October 11 versus Mesa.
There are six teams in the Arizona Fall League: the Scottsdale Scorpions, Mesa Solar Sox, Salt River Rafters, Glendale Desert Dogs, Peoria Javelinas and Surprise Saguaros. The roots of the Arizona Fall League go back several years, when the Major Leagues wanted to create an easily accessed off-season league. A concern was that some of the best ball players left to play winter ball out of the country, such as in the Caribbean and there was no way to monitor them.
Major League Baseball created a league that it could govern and monitor, it would be better organized. If a player was injured, proper care and treatment would be on hand. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts and league officials could participate.
The Arizona Fall League’s 10th annual Fall Stars Game presented by Bowman Baseball Cards will be played at 6:08 p.m. AZ (7:08 p.m. CT) this Saturday, November 7 at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick. MLB Network and MLB.com plan to televise the game.
Two players from the Twins system, outfielder Adam Brett Walker and pitcher Nick Burdi have been selected to represent the Minnesota Twins in 2015. Last year outfielder Eddie Rosario was the Twins representative.
The World Series could end as early as today and there will be no more baseball to watch, or so it seems. If you get the MLB Network or want to check in at MLB.com you can watch some games from the Arizona Fall League and see what some of the up and coming young stars are doing. The Minnesota Twins contingent of players is with the Salt River Rafters and they will be on a number of times as you can see on the schedule below.
The Fall Stars game will be taking place on Saturday, November 1 and you don’t want to miss that one where supposedly the best of the best are playing. Byron Buxton and Jake Reed were named to the team but now Buxton is hurt once again so it remains to be seen if he will play or not. I have to add though that it must be a cruel Halloween joke that Eddie Rosario who is second in the league in hitting with a .407 average the last time I looked, is not on the team. Maybe he will be added before this week-end.
Oct. 30 – Surprise at Salt River
Watch live on MLB.com at 9:35 p.m. ET/6:35 MST Oct. 31 – Scottsdale at Salt River
Watch live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 3:35 p.m. ET/12:35 MST Nov. 4 – Mesa at Salt River
Watch live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 8:35 p.m. ET/6:35 MT Nov. 6 – Mesa at Salt River
Watch live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 8:35 p.m. ET/6:35 MT Nov. 8 – Mesa at Surprise (Military Appreciation Game)
Watch live on MLB Network at 8:05 p.m. ET/6:05 MT Nov. 15 – AFL Championship Game at Scottsdale Stadium
Watch live on MLB Network and MLB.com at 3:08 p.m. ET/1:08 MT
In addition, the Fall Stars Game featuring Arizona Fall League All-Stars from the East and West divisions will play at Salt River Fields at 8 PM ET on Saturday November 1, which will be shown on the MLB Network.
It is getting to be time for everyone to start publishing their 2015 prospect ratings and I noticed that TopProspectAlert.com had published their list a few days ago, you can see it here.
Twins prospect Eddie Rosario is hitting .409 in the Arizona Fall League and I haven’t seen a word about him. I know the AFL season has just started and the Salt River Rafters have only played six games (going 5-1) and Rosario has played in five of those games. Small sample size I know, but the man is on fire in Arizona.
The 23 year-old from Puerto Rico with the sweet left-handed swing has been playing left field Rafters and follows Byron Buxton (who hits lead-off) in the Rafters batting order. Yesterday’s game was the first time since play began that Rosario has not gotten two hits in a game. Rosario has nine hits in 22 at bats with two runs scored and five RBI to go along with his four stolen bases in as many attempts. Todate Rosario has only one extra base hit, a double but he has a slick .391 on-base percentage.
Rosario put himself in the Twins doghouse when he had to sit out the first two months of 2014 on a 50-game suspension for a second violation of Major League Baseball’s drug-of-abuse policy. Had this suspension not occurred, it is very likely that Rosario would have made an appearance in a Twins uniform at Target field this past season.
As it turned out, after his suspension Rosario started the season in Ft. Myers where he hit .300 albeit in just 30 at bats before being bumped up to New Britain. Rosario struggled at New Britain both on and off the field. Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith benched Rosario in late July for four games for what Brad Steil the Twins director of minor league operations called “just a team situation.” Rosario, who continues to play second base while spending time in the outfield hit only .237 in 316 at bats, scored 40 times and hit eight home runs and knocked in 36 while stealing eight bases in 12 tries. Rosario has never hit below .284 in any season prior to 2014 has a lifetime batting average of .294. It was a bad year for Rosario all around but he seems to have caught a second wind in Arizona this fall.
The Twins didn’t call Rosario up to the big leagues for a cup of September coffee and maybe Rosario got the message loud and clear. I sure hope so because this man can hit the ball and he has some pop in his bat as he showed in 2011 when he hit 21 round trippers for Elizabethton and 12 in Beloit in 2012 in just 392 at bats.
Rosario was the Twins fourth round (135th pick over all) in 2010 and signed for about $200,000. Baseball America had him rated as the Twins sixth best prospect after the 2013 season. BA also had Rosario rated as the Twins best hitter for average in 2011 and 2012. There is a spot for Rosario with the Twins next season but he needs to wake up and smell the roses or his dream of wearing a Twins uniform in Minnesota will fade quickly. I sure hope that the Minnesota Twins organization does not give up on Eddie Rosario because down the road this man can help the Twins, he just needs some help staying on the right road.
The Minnesota Twins have named six players that will participate in the 2014 Arizona Fall League season and will announce one additional player at a later date. The Twins players that will play for the Salt River Rafters this season are outfielders Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler as well as RHP Jason Adam, LHP Mason Melotakis, and LHP Taylor Rogers. Players do not often play in the AFL two years in a row but in the case of the Twins they will Buxton, Rosario, and Kepler back for a second try. Not because of how they played in the AFL in 2013 but because they all need more at bats this season. Buxton the number one prospect in baseball has been out most of the season with wrist injuries and now is coming off a concussion. Kepler has had various nagging injuries all season and has not played up to his potential at Ft. Myers this season. Rosario missed the first 50 games of the season due to his suspension. All three outfielders have something to prove this fall.
The Salt River Rafters roster will be made up of players from the Rockies, Diamondbacks, Astros, Marlins and Twins organizations. The team will be managed by Andy Haines and the hitting coach will be Kevin Riggs and the pitching coach will be Joshua Miller.
The six-team league, owned and operated by Major League Baseball, will play six days per week (Monday-Saturday). As always, the AFL will be chock full of future big leaguers when the six-week league, which has established itself as the finishing school for the game’s best prospects since its inception in 1992, begins its season on Tuesday, October 7. The Fall League season runs through Saturday, November 15, with a championship game held at Scottsdale Stadium. The league’s Fall Stars Game, which will feature many of those Top 100 prospects, will be held Saturday, November 1, at Salt River Fields.
According to MLB, approximately 60 percent of AFL players will reach the Major Leagues. 14 players on the Twins current roster have participated in the Arizona Fall League. Since its inception in 1992 about 2,300 AFL players have reached the major leagues.
MLB TV will carry some of these AFL games so make sure you check it out and watch some of these young stars play this fall and maybe, just maybe you will see some of the players in the major leagues in 2015.
UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 30 – The Twins have announced that RHP Jake Reed will also join the Salt River Rafters this fall.
The Twins recently announced their contingent of players to participate in the 2013 Arizona Fall League that begins play on October 8 and ends play about mid November. This season the Twins will be part of the Glendale Desert Dogs and the team will be managed by New Britain Rock Cats manager Jeff Smith. Their pitching coach will be Tom Browning who pitched for the Cincinnati Reds for a long time and the hitting coach will be Johnny Washington who never played in the majors but spent a number of years in the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers organizations. The AFL team rosters are usually made up of players from five or six different big league teams and this years Desert Dogs team is made up of players from the Twins, Dodgers, Marlins, Reds, and White Sox. This year the Twins will be sending outfielder Byron Buxton, infielders Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler along with pitchers Trevor May, Alex Meyer, A.J. Achter, and Zach Jones.
The AFL started play in 1992 and will be playing their 22nd season this year. The league was started by MLB in order to create “an easily accessed offseason league. A concern was that some of the best ball players left to play winter ball out of the country, such as in the Caribbean and there was no way to monitor them. If Major League Baseball created a league that it could govern and monitor, it would be better organized. If a player was injured, proper care and treatment would be on hand. With the Arizona Fall League, managers, coaches, scouts and league officials could participate.”
Since the AFL started play in 1992 the Minnesota Twins have sent 125 players to play ball in the desert. Of these 125 players 74 of them (59.2%) have gone on to wear a Twins uniform at one time or another and several others went on to wear big league uniforms for other teams. 14 players (7 hitters and 7 pitchers) on todays Twins team have participated in the AFL at one time or another.
The eligibility rules to play in the AFL are simple.
The roster size is 30 players per team.
Each Major League organization is required to provide six players subject to the following requirements:
All Triple-A and Double-A players are eligible, provided the players are on at least a Double-A level roster no later than Aug. 1.
One player below the Double-A level is allowed per Major League team.
One foreign player is allowed, as long as the player does not reside in a country that participates in winter ball, as part of the Caribbean Confederation or the Australian winter league.
No players with more than one year of credited Major League service as of August 31 are eligible, except a team may select one player picked in the most recently concluded Major League Rule 5 Draft.
To be eligible, players on Minor League disabled lists must be activated at least 45 days before the conclusion of their respective seasons.
Players that get picked to participate in the AFL are usually the “cream of the crop” and stand a good chance of making it to the big leagues. Naturally there are no guarantee’s but your odds are pretty good as the Twins 59.2% success rate shows us. I have spent some time in Arizona over the years and have gone to a few of these AFL games and they are fun to attend. Since there are only a couple of hundred people at each game, you can sit pretty much where ever you wish and ticket prices are very reasonable. I would say there are probably as many scouts and various officials from major league team attending each game as there are fans. When I was there I was able to interact with some scouts and actually chat with the pitchers in the bullpen as the game was taking place. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. Arizona is a great place to be in the fall and all the ballparks are relatively close together so you can watch the teams of your choice at home and away. If you get a chance to take in some of these AFL games, I would highly recommend them if you are a baseball fan because the players you will see could and probably will be on a major league team in the very near future.
Good luck to these future Twins and the Glendale Desert Dogs this season.
The Twins announced yesterday that they will have seven players going to the Arizona Fall League Peoria Javelinas this season. The players are catcher Chris Hermann, outfielders Evan Bigley and Nate Roberts along with pitchers Kyle Gibson, Caleb Thielbar, Logan Darnell and Michael Tonkin. Trainer Alan Rail will also be representing the Twins. 13 players on the current Twins roster have participated in the AFL in past years. The roots of the AFL go back to 1992 and that season the Twins participants were Derek Parks, Chip Hale, Jon Henry, Ray Ortiz, Rex Delanuez and Scott Ullger participated as a manager. The reason for the league was to have an easily accessible offseason league where players could be monitored closely and did not have to leave the country. The six clubs in the league are in close proximity to each other so not a lot of travel is required. The rules for participation have changed over the years but currently Major League clubs hold a position draft in August to determine the players who will go to Arizona, most are Double-A or Triple-A players but each club can also send one Single-A player if they wish.
A couple of days ago the Double-A New Britain Rock Cats announced that the team had three players named to the Eastern League Season Ending All-Star Team, first baseman/DH Chris Colabello, outfielder Aaron Hicks and third baseman Deibinson Romero were all named to the team which was announced from the Eastern League office. Congratulations to all three players.
Samuel Deduno
We went to the Twins /Mariners game yesterday and the Twins and Samuel Deduno won 10-0. It was a warm and muggy Wednesday evening game and my wife was playing Twingo and before the first inning was over all she needed was a “base on balls” to be a Twingo winner. With Jason Vargas pitching for Seattle with a 2.3 BB/9 and Samuel Deduno pitching for the Twins with a 7.9 BB/9 I thought that would be the least of her issues but it took her until the third inning before she finally got that BB when Vargas walked Trevor Plouffe in the bottom of the third and she became a Twingo winner for the second game in a row. Who would have thought it would be tough finding a walk with Deduno pitching? Samuel Deduno pitched a superb game last night going 7 innings only allowing 2 hits with no walks. 68 of his 98 pitches were strikes, an amazing number for Deduno. I enjoy watching Deduno pitch, he does not have the best command but he knows how to get out of trouble and I hope he keeps getting better.
Denard Span
Then there is outfielder Denard Span. I used to real enjoy watching Denard Span play baseball but now that Span has been in the big leagues for a couple of years I see him as a malingerer. Span is not making superstar money but he is making $3 million this year, and will make $4.75 million in 2013, $6.5 million in 2014, $9 million in 2015. For that kind of money I expect Span who is still only 28 years of age to play in at least 155 games per season and since he became the full-time center fielder in 2009 he has appeared in 145, 153, 70 games and so far this season in 108 games. That does not cut it for me, if you are my regular center fielder I expect your butt in the line-up day in and day out regardless if the team is winning or losing. You get paid to play, not to sit on the bench belly aching that you are not 100%. Who is ever feeling perfect day in and day out? No one. If you worked for me in a regular job Denard, you would have been put on notice a long time ago and if you didn’t starting showing up ready to work day after day you would find yourself on the unemployment line. If I was one of Span’s teammates I would be pretty unhappy with Span and his lack of desire to play. When he does play, I am not sure that Span is willing to do what it takes to win. In my opinion a player of Span’s ability and experience should be stealing at least 25-30 bases a year and yet when he is on base he stands there and waits for someone to knock him in. Is he afraid that he will get hurt if he tries to steal a base? If I was GM Terry Ryan I would trade Span in a heart beat. Now that I am reasonably sure that Ben Revere can play center field at the big league level I get what I can for Span. I trade Span before the rest of the baseball world realizes that Span only plays when he is feeling great and his team is winning. Denard Span is part of the problem on this Twins team, he is not part of the solution. If I am building a team I want players that want to play day after day, I don’t need someone with a low pain threshold that would rather sit than play if he is not feeling 100%. Now I see that the Twins have recalled Matt Carson and put Span on the DL and there is a chance Span is done for the season. What a shocker…..
Speaking of injuries, who is making the decisions for the Twins on who stays on the roster and who goes on the DL? For the second year in a row we have players that seem to be day-to-day for a week or more. Why should Gardy manage with one hand tied behind his back because he has players sitting on his bench that can’t play that day but claim they will be ready tomorrow? I am tired of tomorrow’s, either you play or you find yourself on the DL, it seems simple enough to me, what am I missing here.
2016 Arizona Fall League participants were announced a couple of days ago, the Twins will be sending catcher Mitch Garver, outfielder Tanner English, infielder Nick Gordon, right-handed pitcher John Curtiss and left-handed pitchers Mason Melotakis and Randy Rosario. Ivan Arteaga will serve as pitching coach and the Twins players will be part of the Surprise Saguaros along with players from the Rangers, Red Sox, Royals, and Pirates and will start play on October 11 versus Mesa.
