Twins minor league players of the week – Brent Rooker & Brusdar Graterol

The Twins have named Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder Brent Rooker and Single-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Brusdar Graterol Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Rooker

In seven games, the 23-year-old Rooker hit .290 going 9 for 31 with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, six runs scored and a .303 on-base percentage. It appears that the Twins are turning the right-handed hitting/throwing Rooker into a first baseman/DH after drafting him as an outfielder. In 39 games this season for Chattanooga he has played 21 games at first, 12 games as a DH and just 6 games if left field. We might just be looking at the Twins next first baseman. Rooker, who Baseball America has rated as the Twins seventh best prospect  is off to a slow start at Chattanooga this season just hitting .235 with a .270 OBP with just 4 home runs in 163 PA’s. The former Mississippi State outfielder was selected 35th overall in last year’s draft in Compensation Round A.

Graterol

Graterol made one start this week for the low-A Kernels, pitching 5.2 shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts versus Quad Cities earning his first win of the season. Graterol threw 76 pitches, 55 for strikes. In 14.1 innings this year he has allowed just 8 hits, one walk and struck out 21 batters and has a 0.63 ERA. WOW! The right-hander is just 19 and was signed by the Twins for $150,000 on August 29, 2014 from Calabozo, Venezuela as part if their 2014 International signing group.

Graterol pitched in just four games in 2015 before tearing his UCL and under-going Tommy John surgery causing his to miss almost two seasons of baseball. Prior to this season Graterol has pitched just 51 innings of pro ball. Entering this season, Baseball America named Graterol the fourth best prospect in the Twins system. 

The Twins pitching prospect you didn’t know you wanted

Twins Minor League Report 052018

 

Twins Mr. Everything Passes Away

Francis Ralph Quilici was born in Chicago, Illinois on May 11, 1938 and passed away on May 14, 2018 in Burnsville, Minnesota from kidney disease complications. The out-going Frank Quilici always had a smile on his face and was always willing to talk baseball.

After high school Quilici went to Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa, but his stay there was short, just one semester due to financial difficulties. He returned to Chicago and got a job and continued playing ball. Frank caught a break when a scout told him he could help him walk-on to the baseball team at Western Michigan.

Quilici took advantage of the offer and his freshman roommate turned out to be none other than Jim Bouton. Quilici hit .400 his Junior year and was named second-team All-American. The New York Yankees offered Quilici a $28,000 signing bonus but Frank passed it up keeping his promise to his father that he would finish school. In his Senior year Quilici was named first team All-American with a .369 average. Western Michigan had some good baseball teams and finished fifth in the 1959 and 1961 seasons.

The Yankees lost interest in Quilici but Minnesota Twins scout Dick Wiencek who also signed Bert Blyleven, Graig Nettles, Dick Woodson and others quickly signed Quilici to  a $15,000 bonus after graduation and the Twins sent him off to the Class D- Appalachian League Wytheville Twins to start his pro career in 1961, There, Quilici played with future Twins like Tony Oliva, Jim Manning, Ted Uhlaender, and Bill Whitby. Quilici worked his way up through the Twins system with stops in places like Erie, Wilson, Charlotte, and Denver. Quilici, known more for his glove work than his bat,  spent the entire 1964 season with the AA Charlotte Hornets playing in 140 games and hitting a respectable .261 average with 25 doubles and 60 RBI. That season earned him his first spring training invite in 1965 with the parent club Minnesota Twins. 

Guido, as Frank was known, started the 1965 season with the AAA Denver Bears under manager Cal Ermer. Quilici was playing well in Denver in 1965 hitting .277 in July when the Twins came calling. The Twins had Jerry Kindall playing second base but he was hitting under .200 and then suffered a leg injury so Quilici was on his way to Minnesota to start his big league career. The Twins were losing to the California Angels 5-1 at Met Stadium in the first game of a double-header when Manager Sam Mele had Quilici enter the game as the second baseman in the top of the eighth inning. In his first big league at bat in the ninth inning off Bob Lee, Frank fouled out to the first baseman.

In the second game of the DH Quilici started at second base hitting lead-off and hit a double to left off Angels starter Ken McBride for his first big league knock and ended up scoring later in the inning on a bases loaded double by Bob Allison. 

Quilici’s first taste of the big leagues was one for the ages as the Minnesota Twins won the American League pennant and went on to play the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1965 World Series and Frank went on to start at second base in all seven games. In game one, Quilici tied an MLB record when he had two hits (double and a single) off future Hall of Fame Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale in the third inning when the Minnesota lads scored six times and went on to an 8-2 win.

Quilici spent all of 1966 with the AAA Denver Bears where he played for manager Cal Ermer. Ermer said that Quilici was a “winner” and when Ermer replaced the fired Sam Mele as Twins skipper early in 1967 it didn’t take Ermer long to bring Frank up to the big leagues again but now as more in a utility player role. Quilici played for Minnesota through the 1970 season and appeared briefly in the 1970 ALCS series against the Baltimore Orioles.

On the eve of the 1971 season the Minnesota Twins released the soon-to-be 32-year-old Frank Quilici but his tenure with the Twins organization did not end as Twins owner Calvin Griffith offered him a job as a Twins coach under manager Bill Rigney. On July 6, 1972 Twins owner Calvin Griffith sent Bill Rigney packing after a 36-34 start to the 1972 season and moved the 33-year-old Quilici into the managers seat where he would be the youngest manager in baseball. Frank Quilici managed the Twins to a 280-287 record from 1972-1975 before he too was let go by Griffith. But Frank didn’t go far as he was hired as a broadcaster to team up with the great Herb Carneal to do Twins games on the radio from 1976-1977 and again from 1980-1982. After that Quilici took a position at Western Diversified Insurance where he would go on to become a VP. Baseball and the Twins called him back in 1987 to team up with Dick Bremer to do some Twins TV broadcasting.

Frank Quilici remained a Minnesota Twins ambassador and a baseball fan his entire life and devoted a lot of his time to the community and charitable causes. Frank had a kidney transplant in 2012 and was honored with the Kirby Puckett Award for Alumni Community Service in 2013 for his passion in promoting organ donorship. He was also a former member of the board of directors for the Twins Community Fund, the Killebrew Foundation and a number of other boards.

Frank Quilici is survived by his wife Lila and children, Kelly, Kolleen, Tony and Nick and numerous grand-children.

I had a few opportunities to work with and talk with Frank for some interviews I did with him back in 2009 when I first met him and he was a wonderful person who loved baseball and most of all loved life and enjoyed his time with family and friends to the very end. We will all miss you Frank Quilici!

Frank Quilici Obituary

Frank Quilici Obituary

Minnesota Twins Press Release

SABR Bio

Frank Quilici article by Pat Reusse

 

 

Twins minor league players of the week – Nick Gordon and Zack Littell

The Twins have named Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts infielder Nick Gordon and Triple-A Rochester right-handed pitcher Zack Littell Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Nick Gordon

In seven games this week, the 22-year-old left-handed hitting Gordon hit .400 (10-for-25) with four doubles, one home run, four RBI, four runs scored, four walks and a .484 on-base percentage. So far this season Gordon is hitting .346 in 34 games and has played shortstop in 27 games, 6 games at second base and 1 as the DH. Gordon was selected fifth overall by the Twins in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and is the son of former major league pitcher Tom Gordon and younger brother of Mariners outfielder Dee Gordon.

You have to figure Gordon is ready to move up a notch to AAA and is likely to see some action for the Twins this season.

Looking at the 41 picks in the 2014 first round, 21 of the selections are position players and ten of the 21 were drafted out of high school like Gordon and none of them have yet advanced to the big leagues. Out of the 11 position players picked out of colleges, seven have or are playing in the majors.

20 of the 41 first round selections in 2014 were pitchers, 10 out of high school and just one of these picks, Jack Flaherty from the Cardinals has thrown off a big league mound. On the other hand, the other 10 pitcher selections were out of a college and only one of the 10 has not seen big league action.

So I have to wonder, why do you spend a first round pick on a high school player? You would think you would want a return on your money sooner than later.

Zack Littell

Littell, 22, who was just recently promoted from Double-A Chattanooga, started two games for the Red Wings this week, going 1-0 with one run allowed on four hits in 12.0 innings, six walks and 14 strikeouts. 

Littell was a Mariners 11th round selection in 2013 and was traded to the Yankees in a minor league transaction after the 2016 season. The 6’4″ Littell was then acquired by the Twins via trade with New York Yankees on July 30, 2017 along with left-handed pitcher Dietrich Enns, in exchange for left-handed pitcher Jaime Garcia. In 2017 between 3 different minor league teams, he put up a 19-1 record with a 2.12 ERA. He too should see at least a cup of coffee with the Twins this season.

Twins Minor League Report 051218

Former Minnesota Twins first round pick Johnny Ard passes away

Johnny Ard

Broni John Ard who was better known as Johnny Ard was born on June 1, 1967 in Las Vegas, Nevada and passed away at the South Georgia Medical Center in Valdosta, Ga on May 3, 2018 at the age of 50 from various medical complications.

Ard played youth and high school baseball in Hemingway in the Peedee region of South Carolina where he was a standout pitcher before moving on to a college career at Francis Marion.

The Minnesota Twins used their 1988 first round selection and 20th overall pick on 6’5″ RHP Johnny Ard out of the State College of Florida. The 1988 draft was not a particularly strong draft for Minnesota with the best known players being Pat Mahomes, Scott Stahoviak and J.T. Bruett. 

Like many future Twins players to this day, Ard started his pro baseball career in 1988 with Elizabethton under manager Ray Smith before moving up for a cup of coffee with the low A Kenosha Twins under Ron Gardenhire. In 1989 Ard posted a 13-7 record with a 3.29 ERA in 186 innings with the Visalia Oaks for manager Scott Ullger and earned a 1990 promotion to the AA Orlando Sun Rays who were then managed by Ron Gardenhire and as the staff ace he posted a 12-9 record with a 3.79 ERA in 180 innings and 29 starts.

Star_Tribune_Thu__Dec_6__1990_

Star_Tribune_Thu__Dec_6__1990_ (1)

On December 5, 1990 the Twins traded the highly touted Ard to the San Francisco Giants along with a PTBNL (Jimmy Williams) for Steve Bedrosian. Ard spent the next three seasons bouncing between AA and AAA in the Giants system but it was a variety of injuries that kept Ard from reaching the big leagues. The Giants released Ard after the 1993 season. After sitting out 1994-1995 Ard got the baseball itch once again in 1996 and pitched for the independent league Aberdeen Pheasants and made 17 starts and posted a nice 9-4 record with a 3.37 ERA but retired from pro ball after that, I am not sure why.

Although Johnny Ard never put on a Minnesota Twins uniform in a big league game he still played a big role in Minnesota Twins history. We at Twinstrivia.com would like to pass on our condolences to the Ard family and friends. 

Johnny Ard GoFundMe page

Johnny Ard Obituary

Share a Memory page

 

 

Twins Minor League Players of the Week – Alex Kirilloff, Edwar Colina & Jovani Moran

The Twins have named Single-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Alex Kirilloff ML Player of the Week and Single-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Edwar Colina and left-handed pitcher Jovani Moran Co-ML Pitchers of the Week.

Kirilloff

This past week the 20-year old Kirilloff who was the Twins first round pick in 2016 and 15th overall hit .333 (8-for-24) with 4 doubles, a home run had 6 RBI helping lead the Kernels to a 4-1 record. Season-to-date the lefty outfielder is hitting .278 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI. Kirilloff has struck out 19 times in 90 at bats.

Colina and Moran overcame six walks and two errors, combining for the Kernels’ first no-hitter in five years as Cedar Rapids beat South Bend, 10-0, on Tuesday at Perfect Game Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium. 

Colina

The right-handed Colina earned his second win of the season when he tossed 6.0 innings with five walks and two strikeouts just two days before his 21st birthday. This season the Venezuela native has pitched 15 innings in his 3 starts and is 2-0 with a miniscule 0.60 ERA while striking out 7 and walking 11. Colina is in his third season of organized ball in the Twins system. 

Moran

Moran, a lefty, being used strictly as a relief pitcher finished the no-hitter game with 3.0 innings facing only 9 batters with a walk, HBP, and a strike-out in his longest outing of the season. Moran was the Twins seventh round selection in 2015 from Puerto Rico and is also in his third season working for the Twins.

 

 

Twins Minor League Report 050518

The Twins seem lost and no one seems to care

The Minnesota Twins play this season has been pitiful, I really don’t know any other way to describe it without using language not fit for this site. The Twins record in April was 8-14 and the team scored 90 runs (4.09) but gave up 129 (5.86) runs. Playing .364 baseball is totally unacceptable for a team that made the playoffs in 2017 and was expected to be even better this season with the additions the Twins made this past off-season. If you look back over all the April baseball that the Minnesota Twins have played since 1961 through 2017 you will find that the team has won 565 games and lost 610 and tied 2 games for a winning percentage of .480, but this years team isn’t even play up to that low bar.

Those of you that have watched the Twins play this season know the team is playing hideous baseball. In the 16 losses this season the team has lost by five or more runs seven times, to get blown out in 44% of your games is a bad sign. 

Yes, the team has had its shares of injuries, but who hasn’t? From what we have seen of Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton in their relatively short careers we can be pretty confident that neither one will have long consecutive game played streaks on the back of their baseball card. We can only wait and hope that Sano and Buxton aren’t a would of, could of, should of, type of player’s. 

Paul Molitor

So what is causing this team to play so bad? Everything, the pitching is bad, the hitters aren’t hitting, the fielding leaves a lot to be desired. When nothing seems to work you can’t fire the players, it comes down to leadership. The people in charge are responsible, for the Twins won-lost record and it starts with the manager Paul Molitor. I know the man just signed a new three-year deal but……. How about the pitching coach Garvin Alston? I haven’t heard his name mentioned in weeks, is he still on the coaching staff? Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have such a low profile that you wonder if they still work here. The only time these two guys show their faces is when something good happens.

Sure, this team will improve their play, but when? Is this going to be another wasted season when when the Twins organization tells us we have to be patient and give the young players a chance to mature? Winning is contagious, but so is losing.

The worst scenario is that the Twins play bad all season and management decides to “blow it up” and start over. That would be the final straw!

If you have a need to see some interesting facts about Minnesota Twins history on May 2nd  just click on our new This Day in Twins History.

 

2018 Team Marketing Fan Cost Index for MLB

The Team Marketing Report (who recently changed ownership) Fan Cost Index (FCI) was recently published and has some interesting facts as always. The TMR Fan Cost Index represents the cost for a family of four to attend a game. TMR staff compile costs for all 30 MLB ballparks using the price of four average weighted non-premium tickets combined with four sodas, four hot dogs, two beers and two souvenir caps, plus a parking spot. Here are some of the highlights:

  • The cost to attend a Major League Baseball game has increased by 2.4 percent for the 2018 season, according to the Team Marketing Report Fan Cost Index®. Real shocker huh?
  • The most expensive team to watch at the ballpark this year is the Chicago Cubs with their Fan Cost Index of $368.28. This marked the first time since 2009, and only second time since 2000, that the Boston Red Sox were not at the top of the list. They came in at second most expensive at $345.88. BOO!
  • The most affordable ballgame once again belongs to the Arizona Diamondbacks, with their FCI of $145.58. They’ve had a stranglehold on the lowest FCI since 2009, also boasting the least expensive average ticket price of $19.65. Nice job Arizona!
  • Taking into account all costs, the largest FCI jumps are the Blue Jays at 15.7, Minnesota Twins at 9 percent and Milwaukee Brewers at 8.9 percent. Twins apparently expect fans to pay for the free agents they signed.

 

The Minnesota Twins have a higher than average FCI and only the Red Sox, Yankees, Astros and Mariners are more expensive than our Minnesota Twins in the American League, that puts them in some pretty rarefied air. The Twins have the most expensive FCI in the AL Central Division. We give the Minnesota Twins a 

 

 

Twins minor league players of the week – Royce Lewis & Stephen Gonsalves

The Twins have named Single-A Cedar Rapids shortstop Royce Lewis ML Player of the Week and Triple-A Rochester left-handed pitcher Stephen Gonsalves ML Pitcher of the Week.

Royce Lewis

Royce Lewis hit .304 (7-for-23) with four runs and four RBI in four games for the Kernels (had 4-hit game previous week). For the season, Lewis is hitting .316 with one double, one home run and 10 RBI. 

Lewis, who was ranked Baseball America’s top prospect in the Twins system, was drafted by the Twins first overall in last June’s MLB Draft out of JSerra Catholic High School (San Juan Capistrano, CA). According to MLB.com (Jim Callis) Lewis signed a deal for $6.725 million, a record for a high school player. Lewis is represented by Scott Boras. The 6’2″ right-handed Lewis will turn 19 on June 5.

Gonsalves, a 6’5″ left-hander was promoted from Double-A Chattanooga this week to AAA Rochester, made one start for the Lookouts on Tuesday, allowing one run on four hits in 5.0 innings pitched with nine strikeouts. In Chattanooga, Gonsalves was 3-0 in 4 starts with a 1.77 ERA and 25 strikeouts in 20.1 innings. 

Stephen Gonsalves

Gonsalves, Baseball America’s fourth best prospect in the Twins system,
was drafted in the fourth round in 2013 out of Cathedral Catholic High School (San Diego, CA).

I think that Gonsalves will be a star sooner than later and I fully expect him to be a starter in the Twins rotation this season. He is going to be a “good” one, the only reason the Twins were able to get him in the fourth round was because of this issue.

 

Twins Minor League Report 04 29 18

FINALLY! An answer to why the New York Yankees keep beating the Twins

Posnanski: There is only one logical explanation for the Yankees’ hold over the Twins:

Witchcraft

Posnanski wrote a story on the Yankee-Twins “rivalry” in The Athletic” (pay site) I think that Posnanski is on to something. Can you think of a better explanation? Of course not, there is none.

So the thing to do here is to look at the silver lining in the dark gray cloud. The Twins could use some fans at Target Field so the Twins crack Marketing staff should have a “cast a spell on the Yankees” day when they come to town in September. The team can hire an expert in the field of Witchcraft and have him/her remove the spell that the New York Yankees have over the Minnesota Twins. Once that is complete, then casting a “no World Series” spell over the New York Yankees seems like fair retribution.

What a crowd this would draw and finally end this curse that has demoralized Minnesota Twins fans for years.

 

Yankees and the Twins

The Athletic had an interesting article recently by Jayson Stark – Stark: The Useless Info Dept., Swing and a Foul Edition  . Here is one of the points Stark brought up to put the Twins and Yankee games into perspective.

Is there a more one-sided rivalry in baseball than the Twins and Yankees? They got a chance to hang out together at Yankee Stadium again this week. And once the Yankees had finished sweeping a four-game series, it meant that since 2002 (if you count the postseason), the Yankees have gone an incomprehensible 94-33 against the Twins. That’s the equivalent of playing like a 120-win team (or in the Twins’ case, the ’62 Mets) over a full season.

Next-best record by any team against any other team in its league over that same period: The Angels are 84-45 against the Tigers.

I don’t think I would call Twins and Yankee games a rivalry, I would call it an annual beating. I see things in life always going full circle so that means the Twins are in for some good times in the future, the devil is in the details. I hope I am still around to see it happen.