Tag: Eddie Rosario

Top 10 Twins draft picks this century

Position Players

Joe Mauer retires. Click on image to make it larger.
  1. Joe Mauer picked as a catcher 1st overall in 2001 and is retired with a 55.0 WAR all with the Twins from 2004-2018.
  2. Brian Dozier picked as a collegiate shortstop in the 8th round in 2009 and is currently playing for the Nationals. Current career WAR is 23.3 and WAR with Twins from 2012 to 2018 was 23.8.
  3. Denard Span picked as an outfielder in the 1st round (20th overall) in 2002 and is currently not playing. Current career WAR is 26.2 and WAR with the Twins from 2008 to 2012 was 13.2. 
  4. Eddie Rosario picked as an outfielder in the 4th round of the 2010 draft and currently playing left field for the Twins since 2015 and has a 10.2 career WAR.
  5. Trevor Plouffe was selected as a shortstop in round 1 (20th overall) of the 2004 MLB draft. Plouffe is not playing this season after being released by the Phillies and has a career WAR of 8.2. When playing for Minnesota from 2010 to 2018 his WAR was 8.6.
  6. Byron Buxton was selected as an outfielder in 2012 with the 2nd overall pick in round 1. Has played center field for the Twins off and on since 2015 and has a career WAR of 8.5.
  7. Jason Kubel was selected as an outfielder in round 12 of the 2000 draft and played for the Twins in 2004, sat out 2005 due to injury and from 2006-2011 putting up a 3.7 WAR before leaving as a FA. Career 4.1 WAR.
  8. Mitch Garver was drafted as a collegiate catcher in the 9th round of the 2013 draft and has been with the Twins off/on since 2017 and has put up a 2.6 career WAR.
  9. Aaron Hicks was drafted as an outfielder in round 1 (14th overall) and played for the Twins on/off from 2013-2015 before being traded to the Yankees. Hicks WAR with Minnesota was 2.3 and he now is up to a 10.2 career WAR with the Yankees.
  10. Danny Valencia was drafted as a collegiate third baseman in round 19 and played for the Twins from 2010 to 2012 before being traded to Boston. Valencia put up a 0.9 WAR with the Twins. I believe Valencia is not playing in 2019 and has a career WAR of 5.6.

 

Pitchers

Scott Baker – click on image to make it larger.

Scott Baker (collegiate RHP) was a 2nd round pick in 2003 and started for the Twins from 2005-2011 and had a 15.7 WAR. After TJ surgery he pitched for Cubs, Rangers and Dodgers thru 2015 and ended up with a 15.6 career WAR.

Kyle Gibson (collegiate RHP) was a 1st round pick and 22nd overall in 2009 and is currently in the Twins starting rotation (since 2013) with a current career WAR of 9.6.

Glen Perkins (collegiate LHP) was a 1st round compensation pick (22nd overall) in 2004 from the Mariners for signing Eddie Guardado as a FA. Perkins joined the Twins in 2006 and pitched thru 2017. Perkins was a starter in 2008-2009 but ended his career as a closer with a career WAR of 8.7.

Brian Duensing (collegiate LHP) was a 3rd rounder in 2005 and pitched for the Twins from 2009-2015 primarily in relief but he did some spot starting early in his career. Twins WAR was 6.3. Duensing is currently with the Cubs and has a career WAR of 6.2.

Jesse Crain (collegiate RHP) was picked in round 2 in 2002 and pitched in relief for Minnesota from 2004 thru 2010 before moving on to the White Sox where he finished his career in 2013. Twins WAR was 5.4 and career WAR was 11.4.

Jose Berrios (high school RHP) was picked in round 1 and 32nd overall as a compensation pick for the loss of FA Michael Cuddyer in 2012. Berrios is currently in the Twins starting rotation (since 2016) and has a career WAR of 5.2.

Taylor Rogers (collegiate LHP) was picked in round 11 in 2012 and has been a reliever in the Twins bullpen since 2016 and has posted a career WAR of 4.6.

Kevin Slowey (collegiate RHP) was picked in the 2nd round and 73rd overall in 2005 and was used primarily as a starter for Minnesota from 2007-2011 and had a 4.4 WAR. He finished his career with Miami 2013-2014 with a career WAR of 4.7. 

Nick Blackburn (collegiate RHP) wasn’t picked until round 29 (857th overall) in 2001 and spent his entire career with Minnesota from 2007-2012 and put up a 3.1 career WAR.

Pat Neshek (collegiate RHP) was picked by the Twins in round 45 in 1999 but didn’t sign and was again picked by the Twins in 2002 in round 6 and was a Twins relief pitcher from 2006-2010 with a year off in 2009 for TJ surgery and posted a WAR with the Twins of 3.0. Since then Neshek has pitched for six other big league organizations (currently with Philly) and has a career WAR of 10.9.

 

Some observations

Seven of the ten position players on the list were drafted out of high school.

Just one of ten pitchers on the list was drafted and signed out of high school.

Only five of the ten position players on the list are first round picks. 

Three of 10 pitchers are first round picks.

Position players on the list not picked in round 1 were selected in rounds 4, 8, 9, 12, and 19.

Pitchers on the list not selected in round one were picked in rounds 2, 2, 2, 3, 6, 11, and 29.

Seems like the Twins should draft position players out of high school and pitchers out of college.

 

 

Looking at Minnesota Twins drafts this century

With the June Amateur Free Agent draft just a month or so away maybe it is time to look back and see who the Twins have drafted this century that has made an impact on the Minnesota Twins major league team. We all know that very few prospects make it to the big leagues and even fewer are stars, here is how the Twins have fared. Keep this in mind before you get overly excited about the Twins picks in this years drafts.

 

Twins draft choices since 2000

 

2000 draft – 52 drafted, 30 signed and 5 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform

Best Twins player – Jason Kubel (OF) was a 2nd round selection picked out of high school and debuted on August 31, 2004 and had a career WAR of 4.1. RETIRED

Wore a Twins uniform briefly – Josh Rabe (OF), J.D. Durbin (RHP), Adam Johnson RHP was 1st rounder and second pick overall) and Jason Miller (LHP)

2001 draft – 50 drafted, 33 signed, 3 put on a Minnesota Twins uniform and 1 played in big leagues for another team

Joe Mauer

Best Twins players – Joe Mauer (C) a Minnesota native was the number one overall pick out of Cretin High School and he debuted on April 5, 2004 and played with Minnesota throughout his career that ended after the 2018 season. Won an MVP, six time All-Star, five time Silver Slugger, three time Batting Champion and three time Gold Glove winner. Career WAR of 55.0. RETIRED

Best Twins players – Nick Blackburn was a collegiate right-handed pitcher drafted in round 29 and debuted on September 7, 2007. Blackburn pitched his entire career for the Twins from 2007-2012. RETIRED with a 3.1 career WAR.

Wore a Twins uniform briefly –  Jose Morales (drafted as a shortstop but switched to catcher).

Played in big leagues for another team – Kevin Cameron (RHP).

Continue reading Looking at Minnesota Twins drafts this century

Did you know?

“Leader of the Pack” Eddie Rosario hits one out with credit to Michael Layton/Getty Images

With four more home runs yesterday, the 2019 Minnesota Twins have homered in 11 straight games, their longest streak of the season. It marks their longest stretch since homering in 16 straight games twice in 2017 and again in 1979. The Twins have hit 76 home runs, third most in baseball, trailing Seattle and Houston, both with 83. What I find interesting too is that only one AL team (Angels) have struck out fewer times than the Twins.

Twins leaders with two or more home runs in a game

No surprise here that it is Harmon Killebrew, right?
Results
Rk Player #Matching
1 Harmon Killebrew 35
2 Justin Morneau 20
3 Tony Oliva 18
4 Kent Hrbek 16
5 Bob Allison 15
6 Kirby Puckett 13
7 Gary Gaetti 13
8 Tom Brunansky 11
9 Don Mincher 9
10 Torii Hunter 9
11 Eddie Rosario 8
12 Corey Koskie 8
13 Jacque Jones 8
14 Jimmie Hall 8
15 Brian Dozier 8
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 5/1/2019.

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Eddie Rosario is climbing this list pretty quickly.

What have the last ten years of Twins drafts produced

In the last ten years the Twins have had four winning seasons and made the playoffs three times but in those seven play-off games their record is 0-7. So why the dry spell after the Twins had winning teams in 7 of 9 years before that? 

If you look at the Twins drafts from 2009 thru current you might find your answer. The way baseball works you can’t expect your draft choices to produce in the big leagues for three or four years and it has been that way since who knows when. That baffles me because the NFL takes it players straight out of college, some after just three seasons and the next year they are professionals in the NFL. The NBA does it the same way but takes the cream of the crop college players after just one collegiate season and moves them to the pros. Baseball on the other hand is convinced that players out of high school or college can’t play in the big leagues. Oh, a handful of them have but for the most part you have to spend a few years in the minors and work you way up the ladder. 

Continue reading What have the last ten years of Twins drafts produced

And he goes down swinging!

Harmon Killebrew

We all know that strikeout rates are up all across baseball for the last few years but today we will look at Minnesota Twins batters and their strikeout rates going back to 1961. We used B-R’s amazing Play Index to find what we were looking for.

The top two all time Twins leader in strikeouts are Harmon Killebrew with 1,314 and Joe Mauer with 1,034. Mauer? What the heck? Longevity can do strange things to numbers and the devil is in the details.

Continue reading And he goes down swinging!

Minnesota Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Between 1961-2018 there have been 70 players that have played at least 10 games in left field for our Minnesota Twins. However, to qualify for this list which ranks them in Baseball-Reference WAR order the player must have played left field in at least 51% of their games while wearing a Twins uniform. This eliminates players like Harmon Killebrew, Bob Allison, Tony Oliva, Gary Gaetti, Torii Hunter and Cesar Tovar who played left field at different points in their careers. Dan Gladden is the Twins all-time leader in games played in left field.

 

Shane Mack

 

Results
Rk Player WAR/pos From To G AB R H HR RBI BA OPS
1 Shane Mack 19.6 1990 1994 633 2161 351 668 67 315 .309 .854
2 Larry Hisle 17.2 1973 1977 662 2437 369 697 87 409 .286 .811
3 Gary Ward 10.6 1979 1983 417 1543 216 439 51 219 .285 .794
4 Eddie Rosario 8.8 2015 2018 503 1889 278 529 74 237 .280 .784
5 Marty Cordova 5.8 1995 1999 628 2322 336 643 79 385 .277 .799
6 Dan Gladden 5.7 1987 1991 644 2470 358 661 38 238 .268 .700
7 Shannon Stewart 4.9 2003 2006 333 1373 179 404 29 162 .294 .772
8 Josh Willingham 4.8 2012 2014 324 1132 161 263 61 192 .232 .799
9 Delmon Young 1.0 2008 2011 497 1845 233 530 47 273 .287 .753
10 Brant Alyea 0.5 1970 1971 173 416 47 103 18 76 .248 .753
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 12/22/2018.

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Twins Top 10 Catchers

Twins Top 10 First Baseman

Twins Top 10 Second Basemen

Twins Top 10 Third Baseman

Twins Top 10 Shortstops

Twins Top 10 Right Fielders

Twins Top 10 Center Fielders

Twins Top 10 Left Fielders

Top Twins DH

If you are a baseball fan you will love La VIDA Baseball

Not that long ago I ran across a site called La VIDA Baseball. La VIDA Baseball is produced in association with the National Baseball Hall of Fame, celebrates the past, present and future of Latino baseball through our own lens and voice.

If you are interested in Latin Baseball and legends of the past, current stars or future up and coming Latino stars than this site is for you. They publish new articles on a regular basis and the writers are very, very good. If you are a fan of baseball than you should check this site out and bookmark it. 

The Twins have had many Latino stars over the years and a lot of them have great stories written about them on this site. Here are just a few examples and there are many, many more.

ESCOBAR HUNTING FOR AN ARIZONA OCTOBER

TWINS’ ROSARIO WAS ALWAYS AN EARLY OVERACHIEVER

La Vida Voices: Tony Oliva’s Journey

Congratulations to Eddie Rosario

Eddie Rosario’s bat that hit the third home run is headed the the Twins archives. Credit-Dan Hayes

 

Congratulations to Minnesota Twins outfielder Eddie Rosario on becoming the first Minnesota Twins player in franchise history to hit three or more home runs in a game on two occasions.

Rosario did it for the first time on June 13, 2017 at Target Field against the Seattle Mariners and again less than a year later on June 3, 2018 again at Target field but this time the Cleveland Indians were the victims.

The Minnesota Twins and their predecessor Washington Senators have never had a player hit more than three home runs in a game but their players have hit three home runs in a game on 11 occasions and as mentioned earlier, Rosario is the only player to do it more than once.

Before the Washington franchise moved to Minnesota for the 1961 season, two Senators players had hit three home run in a single game, Jim Lemon on August 31, 1956 at Griffith Stadium against the New York Yankees and Goose Goslin on June 19, 1925 against the Cleveland Indians at Dunn Field. Lemon played for the Minnesota Twins from 1961-1963.

Twins opponents have hit three or more home runs in a game against the Twins a total of 26 times and no player has done it more than once.

List of franchise players who have hit 3 or more home runs in a single game

According to ELIAS – 2017 Minnesota Twins

Early fireworks at Yankee Stadium

The Twins scored three runs in the top of the first inning and the Yankees answered back with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning in the American League Wild Card game. Only one other postseason game in major-league history saw each team score at least three runs in the first inning. In Game 4 of the 1993 World Series, the Blue Jays scored three times in the top of the first only to relinquish the lead in the bottom half of the inning when the Phillies scored four times in what is still the highest scoring World Series game in major-league history, a 15-14 Toronto win at Veterans Stadium.

Dozier and Rosario go deep in first postseason plate appearance

Brian Dozier
Eddie Rosario

Brian Dozier and Eddie Rosarioeach homered in their first career playoff plate appearance in the first inning of the American League Wild Card game on Tuesday night. It’s only the third time in major-league history that multiple players from the same team each homered in their first postseason at bat in the same game. That previously happened on October 2, 1984, when the Cubs’ Bob Dernier (first inning) and Rick Sutcliffe (third inning) each did it; and on October 1, 1996 by the Orioles’ Brady Anderson (first inning) and B.J. Surhoff (second inning).

Yankees postseason domination of Twins continues

The Yankees beat the Twins in the American League Wild Card game on Tuesday. New York has now won each of the last 10 postseason games it has played against Minnesota, winning the last three games of the 2004 ALDS and registering three-game sweeps in the 2009 ALDS and 2010 ALDS prior to Tuesday’s win. That ties the second-longest postseason winning streak for one team against another in major-league history. The Red Sox won 11 straight postseason games against the Angels (1986-2008), the Yankees won 10 in a row against the Rangers (1996-2010) and the Athletics won 10 straight against the Red Sox (1988-2003).

Robertson’s strong relief effort lifts Yankees

David Robertson did not allow a run while getting 10 outs in relief in the Yankees’ win over the Twins in the American League Wild Card game. Robertson is the seventh pitcher in major-league history to record at least 10 outs without allowing a run while pitching in relief in a victory in a winner-take-all postseason game. Five of the other six pitchers to do it were starting pitchers during the regular season: Walter Johnson (1924 World Series), Vida Blue (1972 ALCS), Mike Torrez (1977 ALCS), Pedro Martinez (1999 Divisional Playoffs) and Madison Bumgarner (2014 World Series). The only other pitcher who was primarily a reliever to do that was the Yankees’ Joe Page in Game 7 of the 1947 World Series against the Dodgers. Page, who pitched in relief in 54 of his 56 regular-season appearances that season, pitched the final five innings and didn’t relinquish a run allowing New York to capture the World Series with a 5-2 victory. Robertson threw 52 pitches in his outing. Those are the most pitches Robertson has ever thrown in a game in his major-league career. His previous high was 45 on July 1, 2008.

Judge’s magical season extends into the playoffs

Aaron Judge hit a two-run home run in the fourth inning giving the Yankees a 7-4 lead in a game they would go on to win 8-4 over the Twins in the American League Wild Card game on Tuesday. Judge is the third rookie in Yankees history to homer in his first career postseason game, joining Elston Howard (1955) and Shane Spencer (1998).