Category: General Blogging

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Max Kepler is Southern League MVP

Max Kepler
Max Kepler

All of the Twins top prospects are not wearing a Twins uniform just yet, there are still more on the way. The Southern League announced yesterday that Chattanooga 1B/OF Max Kepler was the league MVP. “Max made a tremendous adjustment to his swing and stuck with it the whole season,” Lookouts hitting coach Chad Allen said. “He has been a pleasure to coach because of all the hard work he put in this year and definitely deserves this award.”

One of the Twins top prospects, the German born Kepler is on track to win the slash-line Triple Crown as the league leader in average (.327), on-base percentage (.415) and slugging percentage (.540). Kepler entered Thursday leading the Southern League with a .327 average and ranking among the top 10 also in hits (128), extra-base hits (53), total bases (211), runs scored (73), doubles (32), triples (12), RBI (69) and walks (60). He earned player of the week honors in May and June and was selected to the Futures Game and the Southern League All-Star Game. Kepler along with fellow Lookout’s outfielder Adam Walker II was also named to the Southern League post season All-Star team.

Adam Brett Walker II
Adam Brett Walker II

Walker who has hit a Southern League leading 30 home runs and has 103 RBI also led the Florida State League in home runs last season and was the league MVP. In 2013 he led the Midwest League in home runs. Walker will be reporting to the Twins AFL team when they begin play in October.

Max Kepler is on the Twins 40 man roster and once the Chattanooga Lookout’s finish their post season play, the chances are good that the Twins will call on Kepler to finish out the Twins 2015 season at Target Field and Twins fans will get a chance to see him play in Minnesota.

CONGRATULATIONS! to both Max and Adam on their great seasons.

E-Twins Dereck Rodriguez named APPY League Pitcher of the Year

Rodriguez, Dereck 2015 2Dereck Rodriguez, 23, was named the Appalachian League’s Pitcher of the Year after going 5-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 10 starts for Elizabethton. Rodriguez was selected by the Minnesota Twins as an outfielder in the sixth round (208 overall) of the 2011 First Year Player Draft out of Pace High School in Miami Gardens, Florida. Rodriguez, a right-hander played for Class A Cedar Rapids and Class A Advanced Fort Myers as an outfielder from 2011-2013. The 6-foot-1 starter was drafted by the Twins as an outfielder but made the career change to pitching after the 2013 season. . Rodriguez has 45 strikeouts and just 10 walks in 54 1/3 innings with the E-Twins this year. Dereck is the son of Major League All-Star catcher Ivan (Pudge) Rodriguez who spent 21 years in the Major Leagues, won 13 Gold Gloves and was a 14-time All-Star.

E-Twins outfielder LaMonte Wade and reliever Kuo Hua Lo joined Rodrigez on the 2015 Appalachian League All-Star team.

What to do, what to do?

 

Terry Ryan
Terry Ryan

This morning the Twins find themselves still holding one of the wild card spots by the skin of their teeth should the season end today. But we all know that 1/3 of the season still remains to be played, so what should the Twins do. The Kansas City Royals, Houston Astros, and the Texas Rangers are among a number of teams that have already made moves to beef up their teams and the trade deadline is coming up fast. The consensus is that the Twins need to beef up their relief pitching and also need to fill holes at short and at catcher.

GM Terry Ryan has stated several times that the Twins would like to make a deal for a relief pitcher but so far nothing has come to fruition. I appreciate how much the team has improved from the last four seasons but I think I am also being realistic in saying that this is not a playoff team. Yes this team plays good baseball on occasion but not consistently enough to make the playoffs.

I don’t think that the Twins planned on finding themselves in this position when the season began and now they face a difficult decision. Do they mortgage their future for a playoff run this year or do they stick to their plan for solid improvement this season and plan to make a serious run in 2016 or 2017? The declining fan base is watching to see what the Twins will do, do they make some deals to try to strengthen the team or do they stick to what they have and give their youngsters a chance to learn the game and learn how to win. The team is also watching to see what GM Ryan will do, will he try to add some pieces to help the team or will he simply say he tried to make some deals but they just didn’t pan out? A playoff run will help get some fans back to the ballpark while a white flag might signal to some Twins fans more of the same and the season ticket base will fall some more. Ryan is in a no-win situation, no matter which way he goes he will be criticized, but that is why he makes the big bucks. The thing to remember is that if the Twins do make some additions by giving up some prospects and still fall short of the playoffs then everyone loses.

The Twins are between the proverbial rock and a hard spot and the best option might well be to do nothing right now and keep playing the youngsters and watching them learn. The team still has too many holes to be a legitimate contender so let’s look at plugging the leaks this season before we sail off on that cruise to playoff land.

Last but certainly not least I want to mention this about prospects, a prospect is just that, he has proven nothing. A prospect today can be a dud tomorrow. If you trade your 5th best prospect today, you will still have a 5th best prospect tomorrow. Next man up! Look at the rosters of most teams, a lot of their best players started in another organization.

Kepler and Berrios to play for Futures World Team

Rosters were recently announced for the SiriusXM Futures Game to be played on Sunday, July 12 at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati during the All-Star break and the Twins will be sending two players, who will both play for the World Team, outfielder/1B Max Kepler and right-handed pitcher Jose Berrios.

Max Kepler
Max Kepler

The 22-year-old Kepler was born in Berlin, Germany has played 55 games for Double-A Chattanooga this season, hitting .342 (69-for-202) with 18 doubles, eight triples, three home runs, 29 RBI and 11 stolen bases. He was originally signed by the Twins on July 11, 2009.

Jose Berrios
Jose Berrios

The 21-year-old Jose Berrios, was born in Baymon, Puerto Rico, has made 14 starts for Double-A Chattanooga, posting a record of 7-3, 3.23 ERA (83.2 IP, 30 ER) with 23 walks and 86 strikeouts.Berrios, who was drafted in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, started for the World Team in 2014 at Target Field, tossing a perfect inning.

Barring injury I think there is at least a 50/50 chance both of these young players will make their big league debut with the Twins this season. Congratulations to both Max and Jose. Source Twins Notes

2015 Futures Game Rosters

Will the Axe Bat replace the round handled bat?

I have chopped a lot of wood of the years and played a little baseball but I have never considered the two related in any way. Matter of fact I thought that chopping wood often kept me from playing baseball. Come to find out now that someone has tied an axe handle and a bat together and it might just be catching on.

“In 2006, a New Yorker named Steve Leinert obtained a patent on the axe handle for a baseball bat, a concept Ted Williams hit on decades earlier in his book “The Science of Hitting,” in which he compared a baseball swing to that of an axe. “Try it for yourself,” Williams wrote. “Get a bat and swing it against a telephone pole. I do this with doubting young Washington players. Where is the wrist position at point of impact? Square and unbroken, that’s where, just as when you hit a tree with an ax.””

The Axe Bat made its debut in MLB two years ago when former Philly and now Dodger shortstop Jimmy Rollins occasionally used an Axe Bat in major league games. Now Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia has spent a month using it as his lone bat, and the results are promising.

Axe handled batOne of the benefits of the axe bat handle is that it is supposed to limit hamate bone injuries, it will be interesting to see if the axe handled bat catches on and if it really does help prevent hand injuries. I suppose like anything else, if someone has some success with it, the bat will find its way into clubhouses all across baseball.

Here is a story that Jeff Passon did on the bat for Yahoo Sports.

Can Mauer get 100 RBI?

Joe MauerManager Paul Molitor has Joe Mauer hitting in a run producing slot in his batting order and publicly has stated many times that he is happy with Joe’s production. The numbers however; seem to show a different story. Mauer’s best season from an RBI perspective was his MVP season in 2009 when he had 96 RBI. That season Mauer had an RBI every 6.31 plate appearances but don’t forget he hit .365 that year and clubbed 28 home runs.

Through yesterday Mauer has 35 RBI and is getting a RBI every 7.54 plate appearances and at this rate he would need over 750 plate appearances to get 100 RBI and Mauer has had over 600 plate appearances in his 12 year career just four times peaking at 641 in 2012. Even if Mauer gets 600 plate appearances he is on pace to get 80 RBI. The best bet that the Twins have in their line-up right now to knock in runs is Torii Hunter who gets an RBI every 6.5 plate appearances. Hunter will be 40 very soon but you have to ride the horse that is pulling the load right now no matter how old he is.

Looking back over Twins history the best ratio for RBI per plate appearance was Kirby Puckett‘s 1994 season when he had 112 RBI in 484 plate appearances for a RBI every 4.32 plate appearances. No one in American League history since the Twins started play in 1961 has ever had a better RBI ratio per plate appearance. Had that season not been cut short Puckett was on pace for an amazing 151 RBI.

I had zero RBI in a Twins uniform but yet I had a 24 year MLB career as a player.
I had zero RBI in a Twins uniform but yet I had a 24 year MLB career as a player.

Do you know who the only Twins hitter is that had 100 or more RBI in a season and yet have 9 or fewer home runs?

What Twins player was with the Twins for parts of four seasons and had 76 plate appearances and had zero RBI? After being traded by the Twins he actually had 99 career plate appearances to start his big league career without an RBI before getting his first RBI on his first career home run.

Congratulations Byron Buxton!

Buxton congratulated by Plouffe after scoring what turns out to be the winning run in his first big league game.
Buxton congratulated by Plouffe after scoring what turns out to be the winning run in his first big league game.

The Twins announced yesterday that they had selected the contract of outfielder Byron Buxton from Chattanooga (AA). Buxton, 21, made his major league debut today against the Texas Rangers at Globe Life Park in Arlington after hitting .283 (67-for-237) with seven doubles, 12 triples, six home runs, 20 stolen bases and 37 RBI in 59 games for the Lookouts this season. The Georgia native was ranked as the top prospect in baseball by MLB.com entering this season and Twins top prospect by Baseball America and earlier this week, he was named a Southern League All-Star. Buxton was drafted second overall in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft. Buxton has 263 minor league games and 1,168 plate appearances under his belt before making the jump from AA to the big leagues.

Buxton who was assigned number 25 went 0-4 in his first big league game but after reaching base on a fielder’s choice in the ninth inning scored the winning run on a double by Eddie Rosario.

Congratulations Byron Buxton on moving up to the big leagues and I can’t wait to see play at Target Field.

Check out these Chattanooga pictures

Chattanooga Lookouts logoIf you get a few minutes you need to check out these behind the scenes pictures of the Chattanooga Lookouts taken by Twins photographer Bruce Hemmeigam over the span of four days and posted on MiLB.com. Some great shots of players that we hope to see in Minnesota Twins uniforms soon.

By the way, May 20th is an very interesting day in Twins history, take a few minutes and check out our Today in Twins History page.

Who will reach the majors first? Buxton or Correa

The Houston Astros had the first overall pick in the 2012 June Amateur Draft and they used that pick to select 17 year-old Puerto Rico Baseball Academy shortstop Carlos Correa. The Minnesota Twins had the second choice and they used it to draft 18 year-old outfielder Byron Buxton from Appling County High School in Baxley, Georgia. Both players are currently rated as the top prospecst in their organizations and Buxton has been rated as baseball best overall prospect two years running. Both players have had injuries delay their arrival in the major leagues.

Carlos Correa Carlos Correa is  6’4″ and 210 pounds and is a right-handed hitter and missed all but 62 games in 2014 due to injury. Correa was recently promoted from AA Corpus Christi to AAA Fresno and is holding his own in six games in the PCL after tearing up AA to the tune of a .385 average with seven home runs, 32 RBI, and 15 stolen bases (with zero caught stealing) in just 29 games. To this point Correa has 264 minor league games and 1,180 plate appearances under his belt.

Miguel Sano Chattanooga 2Byron Buxton is 6’2″ and 190 pounds and also bats from the right side and as we all know all too well, missed all but 14 games in 2014 due to several injuries. Buxton too started this season in AA with the Chattanooga team but got off to a dismal start but has caught fire and is hitting .241 with seven triples, four home runs, 25 RBI, and 10 stolen bases in 11 attempts in 36 games. To this point Buxton has 240 minor league games and 1,061 plate appearances under his belt.

The fans for both teams are anxious for Correa and Buxton to be promoted to the big club. In recent years both the Astros and Twins have been their divisions cellar dwellers but both teams have played surprisingly well in 2015. Does the fact that their teams are playing good baseball slow down or speed up the process of reaching the big leagues for these two future stars?

Being the top picks in the 2012 does not guarantee that you will be up to the bigs sooner than players that are drafted further down the list. Todate there are eight other players drafted later in the first round of the 2012 draft that have tasted a sip of life in the major leagues, but all but one, Cubs shortstop Addison Russell (11) were drafted out of college (by the A’s and traded to the Cubs). Other 2012 first rounders that have reached the majors are catcher Mike Zunino (3), RHP Kevin Gausman (4), LHP Andrew Heaney (9), RHP Michael Wacha (19), RHP Marcus Stroman (22), catcher Kevin Plawecki (35) and RHP Eddie Butler (46). There are also two second round, three third round, two fourth round, two fifth round, one sixth round, one seventh round, and two ninth round selections that have spent time in the major leagues.

So when will Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton get that call to report to Houston or Minnesota? Which one of these future super stars will get the call first? These two players will be compared to each other from years to come, it will be interesting to see how their careers compare over time.

UPDATE: Carlos Correa was called up by the Astros on June 8th.

UPDATE: Byron Buxton was called up by the Twinss on June 14th.

These were some quick games

Frank ViolaI thought that with all the attention this year on the length of games that it would be fun to take a look at some of the quickest nine inning games in Twins history in terms of wall clock time. The fastest game turned out to be a Twins 3-0 loss at Exhibition Stadium to the Toronto Blue Jays as starter Jim Clancy and his Twins counterpart Frank Viola faced off.

Twins 9 inning games in 1 hour and 45 minutes and under

Rk Date Opp Rslt PA AB Attendance GmLen ?
1 1982-09-28 (1) TOR L 0-3 28 27 0 93
2 1973-07-01 CAL W 2-1 32 31 27,068 100
2 1968-09-13 BOS L 0-3 31 31 23,171 100
4 1968-08-22 NYY W 3-1 31 26 15,898 102
5 1979-08-12 OAK W 1-0 30 27 14,500 103
5 1974-06-17 BAL L 0-1 31 29 7,157 103
7 1975-09-26 CHW W 2-1 33 29 2,769 105
7 1966-04-12 KCA W 2-1 29 26 21,658 105
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/11/2015.

The fastest Twins nine inning game in this century you ask? That would be a 1-0 loss to the Oakland A’s in McAfee Park on June 2, 2007 when Joe Blanton beat Carlos Silva in one hour and 49 minutes. Since the 2000 season began, the Twins have played in only nine complete games that lasted two hours or less.

The Twins longest game in terms of time was a 17 inning six-hour and 36 minute affair back on May 7, 1995 when the Indians beat the Twins 10-9 at Jacob’s Field. I suspect that the 39,431 fans at the ballpark got their money’s worth that day. I wonder what Tom Kelly’s temperament was like after that game? The Twins used nine pitchers and the Indians used eight. Oddly enough, the Twins have played only two games that lasted six or more hours and they were both against the Cleveland Indians. The other long game against the boys from Cleveland was a six-hour and 17 minute affair at the Metrodome but this time the Twins came out with a 5-4 win in 22 innings on August 31, 1993.

I also took a look at the length of an average Twins game in 1961 versus an average Twins game in 2014. Back in the Twins initial season an average Twins game took two hours and 40 minutes, last year an average Twins game took three hours and 7 minutes.