Twins Minor League Players of the Week – Zander Wiel and Tyler Duffey

This weeks Twins minor league players of the week are first baseman Zander Wiel of the Chattanooga Lookouts and Tyler Duffey.

Zander Wiel

This past week Zander Wiel appeared in six games and had 9 hits in 21 at bats with four doubles, two home runs, six RBI and scored five times posting a batting average of .429 and had a 1.405 OPS. For the season, the 25 year-old Weil is hitting .370 with 20 hits in 54 at bats.  Zander is about 6’3″ and goes about 232 and bats and throws right-handed. 

Weil, a Tennessee native is now in his fourth season of pro ball was drafted by Minnesota in the 12th round of the June 2015 amateur draft out of Vanderbilt University where he played on two CWS teams and has one championship on his resume. Weil is not currently rated as a Twins Top 30 prospect by  MLB.

Tyler Duffey

Tyler Duffey who has pitched for the Twins 2015-2017 and had a rough spring training started the season with the AAA Rochester Red Wings. This past week Duffey appeared in two games, pitched 6.2 innings and allowed no runs, just two hits, and struck out 10 while walking just one batter. Did I mention he is 3-1 this season with 14 strikeouts in 11 innings without allowing a single earned run? The Twins called Duffey up to the big club yesterday. Hopefully Duffey can keep it going with the Twins in the long relief role. 

Twins Minor League Report 042218

Yikes! Yankees 14 and Twins 1

I took some facts from an article about the Twins vs Yankees game from The Athletic, a pay site that I am checking out as I usually don’t usually visit pay sites. The article is entitled Ryan LaMarre’s pitching cameo and a Twins flop in the Bronx, by the numbers

Brian Dozier

24 – Straight games with a hit for Brian Dozier, dating back to last season, including 17 since the start of the 2018 campaign. Dozier extended his streak with a two-out, RBI single to left in the fifth inning off Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka, who was outstanding. Dozier’s hit streak is rapidly approaching the longest in Twins history, a 31-game run by Ken Landreaux in 1980. It’s also the longest hitting streak to span two seasons since Arizona’s Paul Goldschmidt hit in 26 straight games between 2013-14. The longest two-season hit streak of the past 25 years, according to The Athletic’s Jayson Stark, is Jimmy Rollins’ 38 games between 2005-06. The single also allowed Dozier to extend his stretch of reaching base in a game to 34, dating back to September 12.

This is the second hitting streak for Dozier of 24 or more games, he is the only Twins player with two long streaks like this. Next up on the list is 25 in a row by Brian Harper. You can see the Twins longest hitting streaks by going to “Hitting Streaks” on the right hand side of the page.

10.43 – Twins team earned-run average on the road trip through four of seven games. Twins pitchers have allowed at least eight runs in all four contests and at least seven earned runs in each, too. Overall, the numbers have been putrid as Twins pitchers have allowed 40 runs (39 earned) in 33 2/3 innings along with 50 hits, 18 walks and 41 strikeouts.

Tyler Kinley

Question for the day – How long are the Twins going to hang on to Rule 5 pick-up Tyler Kinley?

 

Dozier ties club record hitting streak to start the season

Brian Dozier

Second baseman Brian Dozier extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a lead-off double last night in a 10-1 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. The knock handed Dozier a share of the club record hitting streak to start the season, along with Kirby Puckett (1994) and Josh Willingham (2012). Dozier has now hit safely in 22 consecutive games, dating back to September 22. Dozier added a third-inning single to finish 2-for-4. He’s hitting .376 (35-for-93) during the streak.

Twins minor league players of the week – Kerrigan & Stewart

Position player of the week

Jimmy Kerrigan

The Twins minor league position player of the week is Fort Myers Miracles outfielder Jimmy Kerrigan. From April 8-14, Kerrigan was 11 for 26 for a .423 average with two doubles, two home runs and six RBI.

Kerrigan was playing in the Independent Frontier League when the Twins signed Kerrigan to a minor league contract on July 27, 2017 , sending him to the low A Cedar Rapids Kernels of the Midwest League and in 31 games, he batted .250, with four triples, five home runs and 20 RBIs. The 24 year-old Kerrigan who bats and throws right-handed started the 2018 with the Fort Myers Miracle.

 

Pitcher of the week

Kohl Stewart

The Twins minor League pitcher of the week is Kohl Stewart. The Twins 2013 first round selection (fourth overall) started the 2018 season with the Chattanooga Lookouts. In his first start of the season Stewart went five innings, allowed just three hits, one run, struck out nine with zero walks and threw 75 pitches and claimed his first win of the year. The 23 year-old Stewart now is in his sixth season and the Twins have been waiting for the 6’3″ right-handed Texan to show the promise that the Twins saw in him when they drafted and signed him out of high school for $4.544 million. Stewart needs to have a strong breakout season this year.

Minnesota Twins, No. 1 draft pick Kohl Stewart agree to terms

 

Don’t forget to check out our new and updated This Day in Twins History on the right hand side of the page.

Forbes 2018 MLB Team Values

Forbes magazine recently published their 2018 MLB team values for the 21st year. As you might guess, MLB teams and their owners are doing pretty well. The only team in MLB that is not yet worth at least $1 billion is the Tampa Bay Rays and their value is $900 million. The most valuable team is the New York Yankees who are worth $4 billion according to Forbes.

The Minnesota Twins are worth $1.15 billion, up 12% from last year and are the 22nd on the list. The Twins are shown with $261 million of revenue and that seems like a lot of money to most of us but only nine teams brought in less revenue last season. 

The Forbes article can be found here and the list of team values can be found here. When looking at the list, if you click on the Minnesota Twins you will find more detailed financial data.

More historical information on Minnesota Twins values can be found on my “Salaries” page.

 

Chilly Ball in 2018 and Frozen Balls in 1965

The Minnesota Twins opened the 2018 season on the road in Baltimore where first pitch temperatures were 65, 55 and 61, nothing to really complain about in late March. The Twins then moved on to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates and the weather there was a bit cooler with first pitch temps were 40 and 37 and it snowed almost the entire game when the Pirates had their home opener on April 2 At times the snow was coming down so hard it was difficult to see the ball.

The Twins then went home to host their own opening day against the Seattle Mariners on April 5th, the weather predictions were dire, temps for the first pitch could be in the low 30’s. After all, the Twins Cities had seen a freakish snowstorm on April 2-3 that dumped about 9 inches of snow on the Twins Cities and Target Field. Fans and players alike were grumbling about the opener being so cold. Logan Morrison a new Twins player in 2018 said that games shouldn’t be played when it is that cold and Minnesota’s stadium should have had a roof. Twins President Dave St.Peter said something to the effect that we live in the “Bold North” meaning that everyone should just suck it up and watch some baseball. Then again it is easy for him to say that because he is the team president and that is what we expect him to say, besides, he sits behind glass when he watches the games anyway. We need Mr. St. Peter and owner Jim Pohlad to lead by example and sit down with the fans and watch the game like Calvin Griffith used to do. Turns out the Twins Target Field Opening Day temperature at first pitch was 38 degrees, the home team won and everyone went home happy.

But enough about that, we are here to tell you about a time back in August, yes I said August, of 1965 when the Detroit Tigers complained about ice-cold frozen baseballs that the Chicago White Sox were supposedly providing when these two teams met in a double-header on August 1 at White Sox Park. Who knows, maybe it was pay back for a week earlier when The White Sox complained that the balls used in Detroit were all dried out and hitting them was like hitting a lively golf ball. American League President Joe Cronin ordered an investigation but I have no clue as to how things turned out. The article below seems to state that back then there were no rules for storing baseballs other than they had to be delivered one hour prior to the game. I’m sure that has changed since then….

Here I though that only the NFL had issues with it balls.

According to ELIAS – Kyle Gibson

Gibson doesn’t allow a hit in six, Twins cruise

Kyle Gibson

Kyle Gibson did not allow a hit, he did walk five in six innings of work in the Twins’ 6-2 win in Baltimore yesterday. Gibson became the first player in Twins/Senators history to throw more than two innings and not allow a hit in his first start of a season.

By the way, the Twins have played seven games on April 1 since 1961 and their record on April Fool’s Day is 3 wins and 4 losses, none of the games were against the Orioles.

According to ELIAS – Baltimore Orioles

Déjà vu all over again in Baltimore

 

Fernando Romero

Adam Jones hit a walk off home run in the 11th inning off Twins reliever Fernando Rodney on yesterday, a year after his teammate Mark Trumbo hit an 11th-inning walk off homer in the Orioles season opener. The Orioles are the first team in major-league history to hit a first-game walk off home run in consecutive seasons, let alone one in extra innings.

Notes from the Twins Game Notes

The Twins open the 2018 season with 13 players on their 25-man roster who were not on the Twins 2017 Opening Day roster: pitchers (9) – Jose Berrios, Zach Duke, Trevor Hildenberger, Tyler Kinley, Lance Lynn, Gabriel Moya, Jake Odorizzi,  Addison Reed, and Fernando Rodney; catcher (1) – Mitch Garver; infielders (2) – Ehire Adrianza and Logan Morrison; outfielder (1) – Ryan LaMarre.

Of the 25 players on the Twins active roster, 11 began their professional careers in the Twins organization. Tyler Kinley is the only player looking to make his major league debut. The oldest on the club is Fernando Rodney (41 years, 11 days) and the youngest is Gabriel Moya (23 years, 2 months, 20 days).

Zach Duke was signed to a one-year contract December 28, Tyler Kinley was selected in the Rule 5 Draft, Lance Lynn was signed to a one-year contract March 12, Jake Odorizzi was acquired via trade with Tampa Bay on February 17, Addison Reed was signed to a two-year contract January 15, Fernando Rodney was signed to a one-year contract (club option in ’19) December 15, Logan Morrison was signed to a one-year contract February 25, Ryan LaMarre was signed to a minor league contract with an invite to spring training November 22. The Twins had just five new players on their 2017 Opening Day roster.

The Twins are returning to their original radio home for the 2018 season in 830 WCCO. The Twins were broadcast on ‘CCO for the first 46 years of their existence from 1961-2006, since then they have been on ESPN 1500 from 2007-12 and Go 96.3 from 2013-17. It is about time!

Source: March 29, 2018 Minnesota Twins Game Notes

We won’t see these kinds of starts again anytime soon

Today we are going to look at the Twins starting pitchers that went to the mound to pitch and they didn’t let pitch counts and innings pitched stop them. Here we have a list of Twins starting pitchers that started a game and pitched a minimum of 11 innings, Jim Merritt is the top man on the list and will probably remain there forever. 

Since 1961 starting pitchers have stayed in a game 11 or more innings on 430 occasions but the last pitcher to do so was Dave Stewart who went 11 very efficient innings throwing just 129 pitches in his start and complete game 1-0 shutout of the Seattle Mariners in August 1, 1990. Can it happen again? Sure, but the chances are slim to none with today’s coddled and pampered pitchers.

Jim Merritt
Results
Rk Player Date Tm Opp Rslt App,Dec IP H R ER SO
1 Jim Merritt 1967-07-26 (2) MIN NYY W 3-2 GS-13 13.0 7 2 2 7
2 Camilo Pascual 1963-07-23 MIN CLE L 2-3 CG(13), L 12.2 7 3 3 11
3 Dave Boswell 1969-07-14 MIN CHW W 4-3 GS-12 12.0 10 3 2 7
4 Jim Kaat 1969-05-20 MIN BAL W 3-2 GS-13, W 12.0 8 2 1 4
5 Camilo Pascual 1964-10-01 MIN KCA L 4-5 CG(12), L 12.0 12 5 1 14
6 Jim Roland 1964-05-19 MIN NYY W 7-2 GS-12, W 12.0 7 2 2 8
7 Camilo Pascual 1962-09-12 MIN CHW L 1-2 CG(12), L 12.0 12 2 2 7
8 Dave Goltz 1977-07-25 MIN OAK W 2-1 CG(11), W 11.0 8 1 1 14
9 Bill Singer 1976-09-01 MIN MIL W 3-2 GS-11 11.0 6 2 2 3
10 Dave Goltz 1976-05-18 MIN OAK W 4-3 CG(11), W 11.0 7 3 3 7
11 Bert Blyleven 1975-08-27 MIN MIL W 1-0 SHO(11), W 11.0 6 0 0 13
12 Jim Kaat 1973-06-23 MIN CAL L 1-3 CG(11), L 11.0 11 3 3 6
13 Jim Kaat 1972-05-24 MIN KCR W 1-0 GS-11, W 11.0 5 0 0 7
14 Jim Perry 1970-08-07 MIN OAK W 2-1 CG(11), W 11.0 5 1 1 7
15 Jim Kaat 1969-04-09 MIN KCR L 3-4 GS-12 11.0 8 3 2 4
16 Jim Kaat 1964-04-26 MIN DET W 3-2 CG(11), W 11.0 7 2 2 11
17 Jim Kaat 1962-08-01 MIN BAL W 3-1 CG(11), W 11.0 9 1 1 12
18 Pedro Ramos 1961-04-28 MIN LAA L 5-6 GS-11 11.0 6 4 4 10
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 3/27/2018.

 Jim Kaat did it six times while wearing a Twins uniform and the all-time leader in these kinds of starts since 1961 is Gaylord Perry with 17 starts of 11 innings or more. Bill Singer (1973), Mickey Lolich (1971) and Mark Fidrych (1976) each did it four times in a single season.