Month: May 2012

How well have AL Central teams drafted in the last 10 years

The 2012 first-year player draft will take place June 4-6 and begins with the first round and compensation round A on Monday, June 4, at 7 p.m. ET. The first night of the event will be broadcast live on MLB Network and streamed live on MLB.com. The Twins will have the second over-all pick in what is widely being reported as lower in quality than what has been available in the last few years. There appears to be no clear-cut choice for the number 1 overall pick this year, no Stephen Strasburg or Bryce Harper. It will still be interesting to see who is picked first and who the Twins will pick next. A lot of the reports have Georgia high school outfielder Byron Buxton as the best player available but yet most  of the so called experts agree that the Houston Astros who have the first pick will pass on Buxton. So what do the Twins do if Buxton is available when it comes their time to pick? I just can’t see the Twins passing on Buxton if he is available, no matter how much the Twins may need pitching. You can never have too many 5-tool players and if you do indeed have to many outfielders in a few years, you can always make a deal. It will be interesting to see what the Twins will do.

But this piece is not about what will happen in 2012, it is about what has transpired in the draft from 2002 through 2011 for the teams in the AL Central Division. Over the 10 years I am covering here, each team has drafted about 500 players give or take depending on compensatory picks and picks lost due to free agent signings. The chart I have put together shows how many players drafted by the Central division teams have made it to the big leagues regardless if it is with the team that drafted them or if they made it to the bigs with another team. Keep in mind too that I am not taking into consideration the fact that some of these players chose not to see with the original team that may have drafted them. For example, Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum was picked by the Cubs in 2003 in round 48 and by the Indians in round 42 in 2005 and chose not to sign until he was picked in rond 1 and 10th over all by the Giants in 2006. Keep in mind too that I do not differentiate between appearing in 1 big league game or 500 big league games, all I am tracking here is how many of each Central Division draft picks made it to the Show by year drafted as of May 20, 2012.

P = pitchers, H = hitters

YEAR TIGERS WSOX INDIANS ROYALS TWINS
2011 0 0 0 0 0
2010 2 P, 0 H 2 P, 0 H 1 P, 0 H 0 0
2009 3 P, 0 H 0 1 P, 1 H 2 P, 0 H 0 P, 1 H
2008 3 P, 2 H 1 P, 2 H 1 P, 2 H 0 P, 2 H 0
2007 3 P, 2 H 3 P, 0 H 1 P, 1 H 2 P, 1 H 0 P, 1 H
2006 3 P, 2 H 3 P, 0 H 4 P, 1 H 3 P, 1 H 3 P, 5 H
2005 4 P, 8 H 4 P, 3 H 3 P, 5 H 0 P, 1 H 5 P, 3 H
2004 4 P, 2 H 6 P, 3 H 3 P, 2 H 3 P, 1 H 4 P, 3 H
2003 5 P, 2 H 1 P, 2 H 2 P, 4 H 2 P, 5 H 3 P, 3 H
2002 3 P, 4 H 10 P, 2 H 3 P, 1 H 3 P, 4 H 4 P, 5 H
TOTALS 52 – 30 P, 22 H 42 – 30 P, 12 H 36 – 19 P, 17 H 30 – 15 P, 15 H 40 – 19 P, 21 H

It appears that the Twins either have not drafted well in recent years or it is taking longer for the players they draft to get to the big league level. No pitcher drafted by the Twins between 2007 – 2011 has reached the majors and only 2 hitters picked in that time frame have made a big league debut and they would be Ben Revere picked in 2007 and Brian Dozier chosen in 2009. During that same time frame the Tigers have had 15 players (11 pitchers and 4 hitters) debut, the White Sox have had 8 players (6 pitchers and 2 hitters) debut, the Indians have had 8 players (4 pitchers and 4 hitters) debut and the Royals have had 7 players (4 pitchers and 3 hitters) debut in the big leagues.

Other points I find interesting is that 12 players (4 pitchers and 8 hitters) from the Detroit Tigers 2005 draft have reached the big league level and that 12 players (10 pitchers and 2 hitters) from the 2002 draft by the White Sox have reached the promised land. The best the Twins have done is 9 players from their 2002 draft. This chart kind of shows how few players that are drafted ever reach the big leagues at all and how long it does take for those that do make it. It was fun doing the research on a cool wet day when the Twins were getting trounced 16-4 in Milwaukee, I hope that you enjoyed it.

This Day in Twins History – May 20

Ray Moore

1962 – The Twins split a double header at Yankee Stadium losing the first game 4-3 and winning the second game 4-2. Twins reliever Ray Moore becomes the first Twins pitcher to lose and win a game in the same day. There is a nice SABR Biography of “Farmer” or” Old Blue” that you can read here.

 

1970 – Rod Carew becomes the first Twins player to hit for the cycle when he accomplishes that rare feat in a 10-5 win over the Royals in Kansas City.

1984 – Boston’s Roger Clemens strikes out 7 batters in 7 innings en route to his first ML victory, 5-4 over the Twins.

1986 – The Twins trade pitcher Eric Broersma to Oakland for pitcher Keith Atherton.

1989 – Danny Gladden ties a major league record when get gets 7 official at bats against the Texas Rangers in a 9 inning game. Randy Bush ties a Twins record with 8 RBI’s in a 19-3 win at Arlington Stadium.

1994 – The Twins are hot having won 9 out of their last 10 games and are beating the Boston Red Sox 10 to 1 after 4 1/2 innings at the Metrodome. Then in the bottom of the fifth the Twins send up 16 batters, get 10 hits (8 singles, 1 double, and 1 home run), 2 walks, a hit batter, score 11 runs and leave 2 on base against three Red Sox pitchers and take a 21 – 1 lead and they hold on for a 21-2 victory. Now that is a fun inning if you are a Twins fan.

outfielder Marty Cordova

1995 – Minnesota Twins outfielder Marty Cordova ties a rookie record of home runs by hitting home runs in five consecutive games.

Carlos Silva

2005 – In an amazing pitching performance, Carlos Silva beats the Brewers 7-1 at the Metrodome with a 74 pitch complete game win in a game that lasted 2 hours and 27 minutes.

 

2011 – The funeral for Harmon Killebrew was held at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, Arizona. Several hundred mourners, including past and present members of the Minnesota Twins, attended the service on a gorgeous sunny morning. The Twins just happened to be in town because they were scheduled to play the Arizona Diamondbacks in their first interleague play of 2011. Current Twins Joe Nathan, Michael Cuddyer, and Justin Morneau, as well as manager Ron Gardenhire, were pall bearers, along with ex-Twin Paul Molitor and Killebrew’s former teammates Rod Carew, Tony Oliva and Frank Quilici. Bert Blyleven, now a Twins broadcaster, was the only non-family member other than the pastor to speak at the service. A private burial is planned for Monday, May 23 in Killebrew’s hometown of Payette, Idaho.

Twins Minor League Player of the Week

pitcher BJ Hermsen

The Twins Minor League Player of the Week for May 12-18 is New Britain (Eastern League – Double-A) right-handed pitcher B.J.  (Brett Joseph) Hermsen. Hermsen, 22, made 2 starts for the Rock Cats, going 2-0 allowing just four runs over 14.2 innings. BJ struck out five and did not walk a batter in either start. Hermsen, who was drafted by the Twins in the sixth round of the 2008 First-Year Player draft, entered the season having appeared in 56 games (53 starts) in the Twins minor league system after being drafted out of West Delaware High School in Iowa where he played on the varsity team all four years and was also an All-State athlete in football and basketball. When he wasn’t pitching for his high school team, he was usually playing shosrtstop and was a pretty good hitter ending his high school career with 57 homeruns, which was 5th all-time in Iowa history. The 6’5″ Hermsen throws in the high 80’s, usually around the 86-89 mark and throws a four-seam and two-seam fastball, along with a curveball and change-up.

This Day in Twins History – May 19

1961 – Outfielder Dan Dobbek hits the Twins first grand slam home run at Metropolitan Stadium. The unlucky hurler is Kansas City Athletic pitcher Ed Rakow. 1961 was Dobbek’s first and last season in Minnesota and he only had 125 at bats as a Twin hitting .168 with 4 home runs. In January of 1962 the Twins traded Dobbek to Cincinnati for catcher Jerry Zimmerman.

1990 – Twins outfielder John Moses makes his second appearance as a Twins pitcher in Fenway Park in a 13-1 loss to the Red Sox. John pitched one inning allowing two hits and one run. This is the sixth time that a Twins position player has turned pitcher. Red Sox RF anf former Twins player Tom Brunansky has a huge day going 5 for 5 with a double and 2 home runs, scoring three times and knocking in 7 more.

 

Bobby Korecky

2008 – The Twins beat the Texas Rangers 7-6 in 12 innings at the Metrodome. After blowing a lead, the Twins scored one in the bottom of the 9th inning to tie the score at 6 apiece. The Twins give up their DH in the 10th inning and Twins reliever Bobby Korecky is forced to hit in the bottom of the 11th and delivers a single in what turns out to be the only time that a Twins pitcher has had a base hit in the Metrodome. The Twins end up scoring on a walk-off double by Howie Clark in the 12th inning. Korecky also gets the victory, his first major league win.

 

According to Elias

Justin Morneau and Trevor Plouffe hit back-to-back home runs off Tigers starter Doug Fister in the third inning and the Twins were never caught, posting a 4-3 win over the Tigers. Fister had allowed only two home runs is his previous 55.2 innings at Comerica Park, and he had allowed homers to consecutive batters only once before in his major-league career–to a different pair of Twins, Michael Cuddyer and Jason Kubel (May 31, 2010). Source: Elias

According to Elias

Derek Lowe threw a six-hit shutout in the Indians’ 5-0 victory over the Twins in Minnesota yesterday. Lowe’s gem snapped a streak of 214 consecutive starts without pitching a shutout. That was the fourth longest active streak entering Tuesday’s action, behind Freddy Garcia (247), Kevin Millwood (238) and Jeff Suppan (218). Prior to Tuesday, Lowe’s last shutout came on August 31, 2005 against the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Only three players other than Lowe that were in the starting lineup for that game are currently on a major-league roster: Jerry Hairston Jr., Jayson Werth and Jason Repko (currently on the disabled list). Source: Elias

Where do starting pitchers come from?

The Twins starting pitching situation this year is in dire straights. Coming into the 2012 season the Twins starting pitchers were expected to be Scott Baker, Francisco Liriano, Carl Pavano, Nick Blackburn and Jason Marquis. Not a great group of starters by any means but you had to think they would keep the Twins near the .500 mark. But things don’t always go as planned and after Monday’s game the Twins have played 35 games and their record stands at 10-25, the worst record in all of baseball.

The Twins starters are rated as last in the American League with a 7-20 record and a 6.30 ERA. The starters are pitching just slightly over 5 innings per start with no complete games. Opposing batters are hitting .315 off the Twins starting staff and the the next closest starting rotation is the Yankees starting staff and opponents are hitting them at a .282 clip, a huge difference. On the other end of the spectrum, the Chicago White Sox opponents are only hitting .226 against the Mighty Whities starters. Twins starters have given up 234 hits in just 187 innings. If you combine the hits and the walks, the Twins starting rotation has a 1.55 WHIP. Twins starters have also given up the most runs, most home runs and they have struck out the least amount of opposing hitters.

So why is Minnesota starters pitching so bad as compared to the AL teams? Where did the Twins starting pitchers come from? I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the starting staffs of the AL teams and see what we come up with.

New York Yankees

 1. CC Sabathia (31) – signed by the Yankees as a free agent in December 2008. Was originally a 1st round pick, 20th over all of the Cleveland Indians in 1998 and made his major league debut in 2001.

2. Ivan Nova (25) – signed by the Yankees as an amateur free agent in 2004, drafted by the San Diego Padres as a Rule 5 pick in December 2008 and returned to the Yankees in 2009 and made his major league debut in 2010.

3. Hiroki Kuroda (37) – signed by the Yankees as a free agent in January 2012. Was originally signed by the Dodgers as a free agent in December 2007 and made his major league debut in 2008.

4. Phil Hughes (26) – drafted by Yankees in round 1 and 23 over all in 2004 and made his big league debut in 2007.

5. Andy Pettite (39) – drafted by the Yankees in round 22 of the 1990 draft and made big league debut in 1995.

 Boston Red Sox

1. Jon Lester (28) – drafted by Boston in the 2nd round of the 2002 amatuer free draft and debuted in 2006.

2. Clay Buchholz (27) – drafted by Boston in the 1st round and 42 pick over all in the 2005 amatuer free agent draft and made his big league debut in 2007.

3. Felix Doubront (24) – signed by Boston as an amateur free agent in May 2005 and made his big league debut in  2010.

4. Josh Beckett (31) – acquired via trade. Originally a 1st round pick and 2nd over all by the Florida Marlins in 1999. Made big league debut in 2001.

5. Daniel Bard (27) – drafted by Boston in 1st round and 28 pick over all in 2006 and made big league debut in 2009.

Baltimore Orioles

1. Jake Arrieta (26) – Orioles 5th round pick in 2007 and made big league debut in 2010.

2. Tommy Hunter (25) – acquired in a trade and was originally a 1st round pick and 54th over all of the Texas Rangers in the 2007 amateur free agent draft and made his big league debut in 2008.

3. Jason Hammel (29) – acquired in a trade and was originally a 10th round pick by Tampa in 2002. Made his big league debut in 2006.

4. Wei-Yin Chen (26) – signed as a free agent in January 2012 and made his big league debut in 2012.

5. Brian Matusz (25) – drafted by Orioles in 1st round and 4th over all in 2008 and made his big league debut in 2009.

Tampa Rays

1. Jamie Shields (30) – drafted in round 16 by Tampa in 2000 and made his big league debut in  2006.

2. David Price (26) – drafted 1st over all in the 2007 draft by Tampa. Big league debut in 2008.

3. Jeremy Hellickson (25) – A Tampa 4th round pick in the 2005 draft. Made big league debut in 2010.

4. Matt Moore (22) – Tampa’s 8th round pick in 2007 and made his big league debut in 2011.

5. Jeff Nieman (29) – Tampa’s 1st round pick and 4th over all in 2004. Made big league debut in 2008.

Toronto Blue Jays

1. Henderson Alvarez (22) – signed by Toronto as an amateur free agent in 2006. Big leaqgue debut in 2011.

2. Ricky Romero (27) – 1st round pick by Toronto and 6th over all in 2005. Big league debut in 2009.

3. Brandon Morrow (27) – acquired in trade from Seattle who picked Morrow in the 1st round and 5th over all in 2006. Big league debut in 2007.

4. Kyle Drabek (24) – acquired in trade from Philly where he was their 1st round pick and 8th over all in 2006. Big league debut in 2010.

5. Drew Hutchinson (21) – Toronto 15th round pick in 2009 and made big league debut in 2012.

Texas Rangers

1. Derek Holland (25) – Texas 25th round pick in 2006, big league debut in 2009.

2. Colby Lewis (32) – Texas 1st round pick and 38th over all in 1999. Big league debut in 2002.

3. Yu Darvish (25) – purchased from Japan and signed as free agent in January 2012. Debuted same year.

4. Matt Harrison (26) – acquired in trade from Atlanta. He was the Braves 3rd round pick in 2003. Made debut in majors in 2008.

5. Neftali Feliz (24) – acquired in trade from Atlanta. He was signed by the Braves as an amateur free agent in 2005 and made big league debut in 2009.

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

1. Jered Weaver (29) – Angels 1st round pick and 12th over all in 2004. Big league debut in 2006.

2. Dan Haren (31) – acquired via trade. Was a St. Louis Cardinals 2nd round pick in 2001. Big league debut in 2003.

3. CJ Wilson (31) – signed as a free agent in December 2011. Rangers 5th round pick in 2001 and made big league debut in 2005.

4. Ervin Santana (29) – signed by Angels as an amateur free agent in 2000 and made big league debut in 2005.

5. Jerome Williams (30) – signed as free agent in June 2011. Originally picked in round 1 and 39th over all by San Francisco Giants in 1999. Big league debut in 2003.

Oakland A’s

1. Bartolo Colon (39) – signed as free agent in January 2012. Originally signed by the Cleveland Indians as amateur free agent in 1993. Big league debut in 1997.

2. Brandon McCarthy (28) – signed as free agent in 2010. Originally picked by the White Sox in round 17 in 2002. Big league debut in 2005.

3. Tommy Milone (25) – acquired via a trade with Washington. Was originally a Nats 10th round pick in 2008. Big league debut in 2011.

4. Jarrod Parker ar(23) – acquired in a trade with Arizona. Was originally drafted by D-Backs in 1st round and 9th over all in 2007. Big league debut in 2011.

5. Tyson Ross (25) – drafted by A’s in 2nd round 2008. Big league debut in 2010.

Seattle Mariners

1.  Felix Hernandez (26) – signed by Seattle as an amateur free agent in 2002 and made big league debut in 2005.

2. Jason Vargas (29) – acquired in a 3 team trade in 2008. Was originally a Florida Marlins 4th round pick in 2004. Big league debut in 2005.

3. Kevin Millwood (37) – signed as free agent in January 2012. Originally a Braves 11th round pick in 1993. Big league debut in 1997.

4. Blake Beavan (23) – acquired in a trade from Texas. Originally a Rangers 1st round pick and 17th over all in 2007. Big league debut in 2011.

5. Hector Noesi (25) – acquired in trade with the Yankees. Originally signed by Yankees in 2004 as an amateur free agent. Big league debut in 2011.

Kansas City Royals

1. Bruce Chen (35) – signed with KC as a free agent in 2009. Was originally an Atlanta Braves amateur free signee in 1993. Big league debut in 1998.

2. Luke Hochevar (28) – was drafted by Royals in 1st round and 1st over all in 2006. Big league debut in 2007.

3. Danny Duffy (23) – Royals 3rd round pick in 2007. Big league debut in 2011.

4. Jonathan Sanchez (29) – Acquired in trade with the Giants. Originally was the Giants 27 round pick in 2004 and made big league debut in 2006.

5. Felipe Paulino (28) – Purchased from Colorado Rockies in May 2011. Was originally signed by the Astros as an amateur free agent in 2001. Big league debut in 2007.

Detroit Tigers

1. Justin Verlander (27) – was the Tigers 1st round pick and 2nd over all in the 2004 draft. He made his big league debut in 2005.

2. Rick Porcello (23) – was the Tigers 1st round pick and 27th over all in 2007. Made his big league debut in 2009.

3. Max Scherzer (27) – acquired in trade with Arizona. Was originally drafted in 1st round and 11th over all by Arizona in 2006. Made his big league debut in 2008.

4. Doug Fister (28) – acquired in trade with Seattle. Was originally picked by the Mariners in round 7 of the 2006 draft. Made MLB debut in 2009.

5. Drew Smyly (23) – was the Tigers 2nd round pick in the 2010 draft. Made big league debut in 2012.

Cleveland Indians

1. Justin Masterson (27) – acquired in a 2009 trade with the Red Sox. Was originally a 2nd round pick by the Red Sox in 2006 and made big league debut in 2008.

2. Derek Lowe (39) – acquired in a 2011 trade with  the Atlanta Braves. Was originally picked in the 8th round of the 1991 draft and debuted in the big leagues in 1997.

3. Ubaldo Jiminez (28) – acquired in a trade with Colorado. Originally signed as a amateur free agent back in 2001 with the Rockies. Made big league debut in 2006.

4. Josh Tomlin (27) – was drafted by the Indians in the 19th round of the 2006 draft. Made big league debut in 2010.

5. Jeanmar Gomez (24) – signed as an amateur free agent with the Indians in 2005. Made his big league debut in 2010.

Chicago White Sox

1. Jake Peavy (31) – acquired in a trade with the Padres. Originally picked by San Diego in round 15 of the 1999 draft. Big league debut in 2002.

2. John Danks (27) – acquired in a trade with Texas. Was originally a 1st round pick and 9th over all in 2003. Big league debut in 2007.

3. Gavin Floyd (29) – acquired in a trade with the Phillies. Was originally a Phillies 1st round pick and 4th over all in 2001. Made big league debut in 2004.

4. Chris Sale (23) – drafted by the White Sox in the 1st round and 13th pick over all in 2010 draft. Made big league debut just 2 months after being drafted and after pitching in just 11 minor league games.

5. Philip Humber (29) – selected off waivers from Oakland in January 2011. Originally drafted in 2004 in the 1st round and 3rd over all pick by the New York Mets. Made big leage debut in 2006.

Minnesota Twins

1. Francisco Liriano (28) – acquired in trade with San Francisco in November 2003. Was originally signed for the Giants as an amateur free agent in 2000. Made big league debut in 2005.

2. Carl Pavano (36) – acquired in a trade with the Cleveland Indians in 2009. Originally drafted in the 13th round by the Red Sox in 1994. Made big league debut in 1998.

3. Nick Blackburn (30) – drafted by the Twins in round 29 of the 2001 draft. Made big league debut in 2007.

4. Jason Marquis (33) – signed by Twins as a free agent in December 2011. Was originally an Atlanta Braves 1st round pick and 35th over all in 1996. Made big leaague debut in 2006.

5. Liam Hendriks (23) – signed by the Twins as an amateur free agent in 2007 and made his big league debut in 2011.

6. Anthony Swarzak (26) – drafted by the Twins in round 2 of the 2004 amateur draft and made his big league debut in 2009.

7. Scott Diamond (25) – A Rule 5 pick by the Twins from the Atlanta Braves in December 2010. Was originally signed by the Braves as an amateur free agent in 2007. Made big league debut in 2011.

8. PJ Walters (27) – Signed with the Twins as a free agent in December 2011. Was originally a St. Louis Cardinals 11th round pick in 2006 and made big league debut in 2009.

9. Scott Baker (30) – out for the 2012 season with TJ surgery. Was a Twins 2nd round pick in 2003 and made big league debut in 2005.

The Twins current starting rotation of Pavano, Marquis, Blackburn, Diamond and Walters is made up of  one 1st round pick, an 11th rounder, a 13th rounder, a 29th rounder and an amateur free agent.

If you look at the rest of the current 5 man starting rotations for the 13 other AL teams you have a total of 65 pitchers and here is how they break down.

25 of the 65 (38%) were first round picks

12 of the 65 (18%) were signed as amateur free agents

5 of the 65 (8%) were 2nd round picks

3 of the 65 (5%) were Japanese baseball free agents

2 of the 65 (3%) were 3rd round picks

2 of the 65 (3%) were 4th round picks

2 of the 65 (3%) were 5th round picks

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 7th round pick

2 of the 65 (3%) were 8th round picks

2 of the 65 (3%) were 10th round picks

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 11th round pick

2 of the 65 (3%) were 15th round picks

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 16th round pick

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 17th round pick

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 19th round pick

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 22nd round pick

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 25th round pick

1 of the 65 (2%) was a 27th round pick

The AL team with the most first round picks in the starting rotation is the Chicago White Sox with four starters in Danks, Floyd, Humber and Sale and the Cleveland Indians are the only team with no first rounders in their starting rotation. But just because you are a first round pick does not mean that you will make the teams starting rotation that drafted you as only 13 of the 25 or only 52% of the first round picks end up starting for the teams that drafted them in round 1. Of course many other 1st rounders either do not make the starting rotation or do not make it to the big leagues at all.

Since 1972 the Minnesota Twins have drafted 27 pitchers in the first round, 8 out of high school and 19 out of college. Three of their picks did not sign with the team. RHP Dick Ruthevan was picked in round 1 and 8 over all in 1972 but did not sign and went on to start 332 big league games. RHP Tim Belcher was the Twins 1st round and the first over all pick in 1983 but he did not sign and he went on to start 373 big league games. The Twins drafted RHP Derek Parks in round 1 and 10th over all in 1986 and turned him into a catcher. The Twins picked RHP Aaron Heilman in round 1 and 31st over all in 200o but Heilman did not sign and went on to start 25 big league games pitching maninly in relief. This may be hard to believe but since the draft started in 1972, the most career starts that any Twins 1st round pick has ever had in a Twins uniform is 45 and that pitcher was Willie Banks who the Twins picked in round 1 and number 3 over all in 1987. Banks started 45 games with a 16-17 record before being traded to the Chicago Cubs for pitcher Dave Stevens and catcher Matt Walbeck. The next higest number of starts for a Twins 1st rounder is 44 and that belongs to Minnesota native Glen Perkins who is currently a Twins top reliever. Only 10 of 27 first round pitchers picked by Minnesota in the first round ever started a game in a Twins uniform. Only 5 of 27 Twins first rounders have started 100 or more career big league games and they are Dick Ruthven, Tim Belcher, Todd Ritchie, Mark Redman, and Matt Garza. 15 of the 27 Twins first round pitchers have never started a single big league game.

With that kind of a record in taking pitchers in the first round, I have to wonder if the Twins should even try. Then again, you could argue that they are due to get a good one…..

According to Elias

Washington Nats rookie outfielder Bryce Harper hit his first home run on Monday at the age of 19 years and 211 days. He’s the youngest player in Expos/Nationals history to hit a home run, breaking the record held by Gary Carter since Sept. 28, 1974, when he was 20 years, 173 days old. And he’s the youngest to hit a home run for a Washington team since Harmon Killebrew did it on Sept. 25, 1955 at 19 years, 88 days old. Pretty good company I would say.

On this Day in Twins History – May 14

1972 – Twins starter Jim Kaat hits a 2 run home run off Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Skip Lockwood in the third inning at Met Stadium in a Twins 4-2 victory. It turns out that this is the last home run that a Twins pitcher has hit in a home game.

Matt LeCroy

2003 – Matthew LeCroy suffers a broken nose after being hit by a pitch from Kansas City’s Runelvys Hernandez in the 4th inning of a game at the Metrodome. Rick Reed pitches a shutout and the Twins win 7-0. LeCroy asked Twins manager Ron Gardenhire to put him back in the lineup as soon as possible, so he wouldn’t have time to develop any insecurity. LeCroy returned after one game and swung at the first pitch he saw.

2006 – On a Mother’s Day nationally ESPN broadcast game from the Metrodome the Twins lose 9-7 to the White Sox in a crazy game after scoring 7 runs in the bottom of the first inning and taking a 7-3 lead. White Sox Mark Buehrle became only the second ML pitcher to win a game after giving up 7 runs in the first inning. In the sixth inning, Twins 2B Luis Castillo hit into a triple play.

Twins Minor League Player of the Week

Ft. Myers infielder Daniel Santana is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week for May 5-11. Santana, 21, appeared in six games for the Miracle, hitting .414 (12-for-29) with one double, one home run, three RBI, two stolen bases and eight runs scored. Santana was signed as a non-drafted free agent on December 6, 2007 enters play today hitting .303 (43-for-142) with five doubles, two triples, three home runs, 16 RBI and 4 stolen bases in 32 games. Santana has played 10 games at 2B, 19 games at SS and 2 games in the outfield. Although only 21, Santana is in his fifth year in the Twins organization.