Twins Stand Pat

As was expected, the Twins didn't end up making any major moves today. As I suggested yesterday, the Nationals didn't move Alfonso Soriano at all (something that CNNSI at one point had said was 100% not going to happen...I guess I out-scooped Sports Illustrated). The Nats now have to make a push to sign Soriano, and the grade on this non-trade won't really come in until we find out whether Soriano sticks around. If he leaves, and all the Nats get in return for him is two compensatory draft picks, than this was an idiotic decision. Soriano is too good to give up for a couple of draft picks. On the other hand, if Soriano does re-up with the team, then the Nationals will have a solid piece to build a contending team around. We'll find out sometime in December.

This was the right decision for the Twins. The Tigers picked up Sean Casey, but that doesn't improve the team that much. The White Sox didn't do much either. The race didn't change too much. The one major change is that the Yankees are now the favorites to win the AL East after acquiring Bobby Abreu, Cory Lidle, and Craig Wilson. Those pieces make the Yankees a much better team, and they will be getting Matsui and Sheffield back before the end of the year. The Red Sox...did nothing. I think the Wild Card race is going to come down to the Twins, White Sox, and Red Sox. It's going to be a wild ride.

It's Official...

To the surprise of no one, Kyle Lohse has been traded. In a move that also perhaps shouldn't have been that surprising, Reds GM Wayne Krivsky, formerly of the Twins, continued his quest to have a roster filled with former Twins by trading single A prospect Zach Ward to the Twins for Lohse. More on that momentarily.

First, as has been mentioned by virtually anyone who writes on the Twins, it's been a foregone conclusion since April that Lohse would be traded if a taker could be found for him. His continued ability to win arbitration against the Twins, despite having lackluster seasons; the complete inconsistancy in his pitching; the fact that Scott Boras is his agent. All of these things made him undesirable from a Twins standpoint. As a fan, this move pleases me to no end. I wish him well, but am not in the least sad to see him go.

As for Zach Ward, he seems like a steal for the Twins. A third round pick in last year's draft, Ward has the kind of stats that instantly put Twins fans on notice that his is a name we should be hearing more of. His stat line is amazing; 7-0, 2.29 ERA, 95-37 K-BB ratio. If you've read much of my blog, you know that I believe K-BB ratio is one of the most important stats for minor league pitchers, certainly more valuable than wins and losses. He looks like an outstanding prospect, and Terry Ryan did a great job with this deal.

Now, on to Wayne Krivsky. I'm sure he did a great job with the Twins. I'm sure he had a great interview with the Reds to get hired as their GM. But what is he doing!?! Since joining the Reds, he has brought in Joe Mays, Juan Castro, Eddie Guardado, and now Kyle Lohse to join Eric Milton as former Twins on the Reds squad. The Mays addition, not surprisingly, ended with Mays being designated for assignment last week. Guradado has been injured. My question is, what makes these players attractive to Krivsky? Not that I mind...his interest in Lohse allowed the Twins to get a solid prospect in return for somebody who simply was not contributing to the team anymore, and cost a ton to boot. I hope Krivsky does well in his new job, but I think he needs to get away from picking up Twins who haven't been good in...well...a very very long time.

With the Lohse deal done, Torii Hunter can be activated from the DL without making another move. It also will allow Matt Guerrier to be activated on Tuesday or Wednesday with Willie Eyre being the likely casualty, since the Twins would like to cut back to 11 pitchers. We'll see if this deal was just a precurser to further trades, or if this marks the only move the Twins will make at the deadline this season. My prediction is that the Twins are done for the day.

Down on the Farm: AAA Report

Rochester Red Wings

Starting Pitchers
1.) Jason Miller - 2-5 / 3.69 ERA / 63.1 inn / 55-28 K-BB
2.) Pete Munro - 7-10 / 4.24 ERA / 123 inn / 76-35 K-BB
3.) Mike Smith - 9-4 / 3.52 ERA / 125.1 inn / 94-43 K-BB
4.) Boof Bonser - 6-4 / 2.84 ERA / 79.1 inn / 76-31 K-BB
5.) Matt Garza - 2-1 / 2.33 ERA / 27 inn / 22-6 K-BB
DL - J.D. Durbin - 4-3 / 2.33 ERA / 89 inn / 81-50 K-BB

Jason Miller got 2 starts over the past 2 weeks, losing both and making it through just 7.1 innings. His ERA jumped by 1.12 points, and he had a horrendous 3-8 K-BB ratio.

Pete Munro started 2 games and got his first relief appearance of the year, picking up 1 win and 1 loss. His ERA went down by .06 points, and he had 4 K's against 5 BB's in 12 innings.

Mike Smith made three starts and picked up 2 wins, pitching 22.1 innings (including a complete game victory). His ERA went down by .32 points, and he had an unbelievably K-BB ratio of 26-7.

Boof Bonser started 3 games, picking up wins in all three. His ERA went down by .24 points, and he had 19 K's and 8 BB's in 18 innings of work.

Matt Garza made 3 starts, picking up wins in two (including a much ballyhooed 127 pitch complete game). His ERA went down by 1.53 points, and he had 17 K's against just 4 BB's.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Ricky Barrett - 5-1 / 3.42 ERA / 47.1 inn / 49-26 K-BB
2.) Beau Kemp - 6-2 / 2.20 ERA / 65.1 inn / 26-22 K-BB
3.) Henry Bonilla - 3-6 / 4.52 ERA / 73.2 inn / 45-26 K-BB
4.) Kevin Cameron - 3-2 / 2.45 ERA / 47.2 inn / 41-20 K-BB
5.) Matt Ford - 1-1 / 4.67 ERA / 44.1 inn / 22-23 K-BB
6.) Bobby Korecky - 2-3 / 4.11 ERA / 30.2 inn / 15-7 K-BB

Ricky Barrett made just 1 appearance, going 2.1 innings. His ERA went down by .18 points, but he had a not so good 1-3 K-BB ratio.

Beau Kemp made 6 appearances covering 13 innings and took a loss. His ERA went down by .21 points, and he struck out 4 and walked 3.

Henry Bonilla made 2 relief appearances and 1 start, pitching 9.2 innings. His ERA went up by .30 points, and he had 4 K's and 6 BB's.

Kevin Cameron pitched 9 innings in 4 games. His ERA went down by .63 points, and he had a very solid 9-2 K-BB ratio.

Matt Ford made 1 relief appearance and started a game, taking a loss. He pitched 5.2 innings, and his ERA went up by .25 points. He notched 3 K's against 2 BB's.

Bobby Korecky got into 4 games and pitched 6 innings, taking 2 losses. His ERA jumped by 1.19 points, and he had just 1 K against 3 BB's.

Catchers
1.) Shawn Wooten - 84 games / .248 BA / 6 HR / 35 RBI
2.) Chris Heintz - 71 games / .286 BA / 2 HR / 28 RBI

Shawn Wooten started 11 games behind the plate. His batting average went up by 9 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 5 RBI's.

Chris Heintz started 4 games at C and 10 at 3B. His batting average took a hit, falling 18 points. He did pick up 6 RBI's.

Infielders
1B - Garrett Jones - 107 games / .228 BA / 14 HR / 64 RBI
2B - Luis Maza - 78 games / .213 BA / 3 HR / 33 RBI
3B - Glenn Williams - 90 games / .244 BA / 5 HR / 26 RBI
SS - Tommy Watkins - 31 games / .315 BA / 3 HR / 15 RBI
DH - Erubiel Durazo - 14 games / .267 BA / 1 HR / 3 RBI
IF - Donaldo Mendez - 10 games / .263 BA / 1 HR / 1 RBI
DL - Gil Velazquez - 38 games / .287 BA / 0 HR / 13 RBI

Garrett Jones started 13 games at 1B and 1 in RF. His batting average went up by 2 points, and he hit 2 HR's while picking up 4 RBI's.

Luis Maza started 4 games at 2B. His batting average stayed where it was, and he picked up an RBI.

Glenn Williams started 5 games at 3B, 8 at 2B, and 1 at 1B. His batting average went up by 7 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 6 RBI's.

Tommy Watkins started 12 games at SS and 3 at 2B. His batting average went up by 40 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 8 RBI's.

Erubiel Durazo started 13 games as the DH. His batting average fell by 400 points...but obviously that doesn't mean too much. He hit his first Red Wing HR, and picked up 2 RBI's.

Donaldo Mendez started 3 games at SS. His batting average fell by 24 points.

Outfielders
LF - Alex Romero - 40 games / .235 BA / 0 HR / 16 RBI
CF - Andres Torres - 86 games / .244 BA / 2 HR / 22 RBI
RF - Kevin West - 52 games / .223 BA / 8 HR / 31 RBI
OF - Quinton McCracken - 5 games / .267 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Alex Romero started 12 games in LF and 2 in RF. His batting average went up by 40 points, and he picked up 7 RBI's.

Andres Torres started 14 games in CF. His batting average fell by 13 points, but he picked up 3 RBI's.

Kevin West started 12 games in RF and 2 at DH. His batting average rose by 9 points, and he hit 3 HR's with 9 RBI's. Very nice week for West, who maybe is starting to pick it up with the bat again, something the Twins have been hoping for since he returned from an injury.

Quinton McCracken, former Twin, was signed by the team to alleviate the problem of having too few outfielders with the team. He made 3 starts in LF and 1 in CF, hitting reasonably well. He's not going to blow anybody away, but he's really just insurance against further injuries anyway.

Answering Some Questions

Before I left for vacation, I left five questions to ponder. Here are my answers to those questions based on what has happened over the last week.

1.) Can the Twins beat AL Central opponents on the road?
Well, the answer to this question is obviously a resounding yes. The Twins went 5-1 against Cleveland and Chicago at the start of the week, but over the next couple of weeks have 4 games at Kansas City and 3 at Detroit that will be vital to their push for a playoff spot. The question ended up not being whether the Twins could beat AL Central opponents on the road, but whether they could do so at home. Today's Tiger meltdown was a godsend, and hopefully can prevent the two losses that started the series from doing any lasting damage.

2.) Will there be any trade deadline activity?
It doesn't look like there is going to be anything major. The Twins are still in, sort of, the Soriano sweepstakes. However, the Nationals are asking for a major league level pitcher to go along with some prospects. The Twins aren't going to give up anyone in their bullpen or Matt Garza, but if the price comes down on Soriano anything is possible. For the record, I now think Soriano is going to stay in Washington, with the team making a heavy push to sign him long term.

With Lew Ford still MIA, he can't be traded. Neither can Shannon Stewart. And while Torii Hunter will probably come off the disabled list sometime tomorrow, there isn't any time to make a move involving him either. As a result, it looks an awful lot like there aren't a lot of obvious moves for the Twins to make at this point.

Everyone still expects Kyle Lohse to go somewhere, and I expect someone to take a flyer on him for a very low level prospect. A deal should happen sometime tomorrow. If there is no deal, I'm not sure what the Twins are going to do with Lohse for the rest of the year. There is virtually no chance that he will be kept with the team for next season, so it really makes sense for the Twins to unload him.

Are there any surprises awaiting Twins fans? It seems exceedingly unlikely. I can't imagine the Twins unloading anybody right now from the regular roster (other than Lohse), because this team has been so succesful. If there is anything surprising to come, it will be in the form of trading prospects for a name that hasn't been slung around too much, possibly a player like Craig Wilson of the Pirates who could be used in the outfield, at first if Morneau needed a day off, or as the DH. Not that I've heard a single rumor to this effect, but I think the Twins might make a play for someone who hasn't been mentioned.

3.) Are the White Sox really in trouble?
YES! The Twins swept them with relative ease in Chicago (although that 4-3 nailbiter was absolutely HORRIBLE to listen to on the radio). The Sox just took 2-of-3 from the Orioles, but they needed a couple of miracles in the form of terrible pitching from the O's to get it done. Today, Bobby Jenks finally lost it and blew his second save of the year. His numbers are hard to argue with (28-of-30 now), but many of his saves are somewhat shaky, and his ERA of 3.78 isn't bad, but it isn't Joe Nathan-esque either. In fact, other than Todd Jones (and how he hasn't been replaced yet is beyond me), Jenks ERA is amongst the worst of all closers in the MLB. Today's choke job neutralized any "turn around" the White Sox gained from their comeback in the first game of the Orioles series. Unless they start pitching better, they will fall in the standings.

4.) Can Pat Neshek and Rondell White continue to produce?
So far the answer has been yes. Neshek has finally given up a couple of runs, on 2 solo homers. However, he also is striking people out and not giving up many hits. He finally picked up first win of the season, and he appears to be a solid fixture in the bullpen. As for Rondell, he hasn't hit a homerun in awhile, but he's still pulling balls for hits and, remarkably, when he comes up to the plate, I actually expect good things to happen. Rondell's playing time will probably suffer from the return of Torii Hunter, since Jason Tyner has played well and adds speed to the team. Nevertheless, he's proven me and the other haters wrong, and can clearly still be a productive member of a Major League lineup. Meanwhile, on the Rondell White Option Watch, White needs 155 more plate appearances for his option to vest. With 59 games left to play, that's an average of 2.62 plate appearances per game. It's going to be hard with Torii Hunter's return for him to get a lot of action, but there is still a chance.

5.) Will the Starting Pitching continue to shine?
Umm...long term the answer is yes, but the last couple of games weren't fantastic. Liriano's start was fine once he got out of his 1st inning blues. Brad Radke's shoulder problem popped up again, and whether that shoulder can keep going for another 2 (and hopefully 3) months will be a major story line for the remainder of the season, and will go a long way towards determining whether the Twins make it to the playoffs. Johan Santana was tired today, but he has such a proven track record that it would be foolish to worry right now. Also, Carlos Silva and Scott Baker need to contribute, giving the Twins a chance to stay in ball games. I think the Twins will be OK, but they need to play .500 ball when the 4-and-5 guys are going, and .600 ball when the other three guys are pitching. It they can do that, a playoff spot will be forthcoming.

Enemy Intel Report

After a week where the Twins took 4-of-6 from the White Sox and Tigers, and briefly moved into a tie for the wild card lead, things don't let up. Here's the report for the next week:

Minnesota Twins
3 games vs. Texas (Mon-Wed)
4 games @ Kansas City (Thu-Sun)

Detroit Tigers
4 games @ Tampa Bay (Mon-Thu)
3 games vs. Cleveland (Fri-Sun)

Chicago White Sox
3 games @ Kansas City (Mon-Wed)
Off Day (Thu)
3 games @ Toronto (Fri-Sun)

New York Yankees
Off Day (Mon)
3 games vs. Toronto (Tue-Thu)
3 games @ Baltimore (Fri-Sun)

So the Twins have to play the newly Carlos Lee-enhanced Rangers for three games before going to Kansas City for four. While the Kansas City series should be very manageable for the Twins (especially if, as expected, the Royals make some more trades and get rid of some veterans), they didn't play well in KC before the break. They need to take three games in that series and win two against Texas.

Hopefully the Sox will continue to struggle, and those games against the Blue Jays aren't going to be easy for them. Four games for the Tigers against the Devil Rays are also problematic, but with the Twins trailing by 9.5 games, a Wild Card berth is far more likely. Maybe Joe Maddon and the go-go Rays will find a way to halt the Tigers; perhaps the breakdown in today's 8th inning will be a turning point in the Tigers season.

I'm baaaaaaack...

My vacation is essentially complete, with my dad leaving tomorrow. Remarkably, despite spending much of the last week in places such as Durango and Montrose, (that's Colorado for those of you unfamiliar with the West), I was able to follow the Twins through a bit of accidental good luck. My dad rented a car for his visit, since mine has seen better days and would be a bit...untrustworthy (read that as "scary") driving over mountain passes 11,000 feet in the air. On Sunday, when we were driving to Durango, we realized that the car was XM radio equipped, meaning we were able to pick up Twins games. As a result, I heard the last game of the Indians series and all three games of the White Sox series. Considering how things turned out, I'm pretty glad luck was smiling on us.

Incidentally, I also finally made it to Coors Field this week. I've been living in Boulder for nearly a year, and had yet to make it to a Rockies game. The Rockies picked up the win on (another) Trevor Hoffman blown save, in a dramatic come-from-behind mad scramble for runs. It reminded me of the old-style Rockies games, the kind that basically were nothing more than glorified home run hitting contests. It was pretty fun, though, and anytime I get a chance to knock another ball park off my list, I'm pleased. So here's my idea; sometime in the next couple of days, I'm going to post MY list ranking the 30 current MLB parks. This list will be unbelievably subjective, with no attempt made to be fair or accurate. Since I haven't been to anywhere near all 30 parks, it will be filled with hearsay and rumor. Since I hate the Yankees, I'll probably knock the Stadium down a few rungs. You get the idea. After I post it, I'd be interested to hear comments from anyone with a few minutes to do so.

I'll return tomorrow with regular posts, including the next Enemy Intel report, along with a rundown of trades that may or may not happen, and my thoughts on why things are progressing as they are. If a trade happens tonight, I'll post on it with some cheap analysis.

So, my faithful readers (ironic plural included for laughs), I have returned, and am none the worse for wear. I look forward to providing some insight and analysis for the remainder of this remarkable season, and hope you continue (or begin) to stop by and check things out once in awhile.

Vacation

I'm off to visit the beautiful Western Slope of Colorado for the next week or so. I won't be posting anything until Sunday, July 30, when I'll return with an enemy intel report for the next week, along with a roundup of anything truly significant that I missed, including any trades the Twins make in the next 9 days. Starting on Monday, I'll be back with regular Down on the Farm reports.

I've posted some new stuff today, so don't forget to check that out before you leave. And don't forget to stop by again in 10 days when I return!

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that I appeared on Jeffrey Straub's podcast again this week, discussing mostly the minor leagues but also a few other things. Head over to his site to check it out if you get the chance (It's the Friday, July 21 version of his show.)

Early Enemy Intel Report

I wanted to post this, and won't be around on Sunday to do it. Here's the report, for games from Monday until next Sunday.

Minnesota Twins
3 games @ Chicago (Mon -Wed)
Off Day (Thu)
3 games vs. Detroit (Fri-Sun)

Detroit Tigers
3 games @ Cleveland (Mon-Wed)
Off Day (Thu)
3 games @ Minnesota (Fri-Sun)

Chicago White Sox
3 games vs. Minnesota (Mon-Wed)
Off Day (Thu)
3 games @ Baltimore (Fri-Sun)

New York Yankees
3 games @ Texas (Mon-Wed)
Off Day (Thu)
3 games vs. Tampa Bay (Fri-Sun)

So, the Twins have a brutal, but very interesting schedule this week. There is a great opportunity to gain ground, but this week could also kill the Twins playoff hopes and make them sellers over the last few days before the deadline. What a week for me to go on vacation!

Thoughts for the Next Week

Here are five things to think about/consider/follow while I'm gone over the next week or so.

1.) Can the Twins beat AL Central opponents on the road?
The next six games against the Indians and White Sox, in Cleveland and Chicago, will be tremendously important for the team. They've managed to pull themselves back into the wild card race, but unless they can win on the road (and unless they can beat Chicago at all), they won't be able to get any closer than they are now.

2.) Will there be any trade deadline activity?
The Twins won't be able to move Shannon Stewart or Torii Hunter at the deadline, but will they make a play to pick up an outfielder, third baseman, or reliever? It seems unlikely that there will be any major moves, but it seems very likely that Kyle Lohse will be going somewhere, and it's possible that Lew Ford will also be on the move if he gets healthy and someone is interested in him.

3.) Are the White Sox really in trouble?
It's only indirectly a Twins question, but I'm pretty sure Twins fans are curious. They're 1-5 since the All-Star break, and their pitching is nothing like what it was last year. Will the White Sox continue to struggle, or will they pull out of their rut? I believe it will be hard for the Sox to recover if they go through much more of a rough stretch, because everything came so easily for them last year. They aren't used to having to battle, and they look just plain tired. That, and Ozzie Guillen seems like the type to overreact, so if the team continues to lose games he isn't going to be a lot of fun to play for, and that could easily affect how the White Sox finish the season.

4.) Can Pat Neshek and Rondell White continue to produce?
Two completely different players, at completely different stages of their career. I lump them together because they're both important for the Twins continued success. If Neshek can continue to hold down the 7th inning job, it frees up Dennys Reyes for situational relief. Meanwhile, the Twins need Rondell to hit, preferably for power, if they are going to weather the current injury storm, and also if they are going to make a run for the playoffs. The next week will go a long way to showing whether or not White is really better, or whether it's been a bit of a fluke.

5.) Will the Starting Pitching continue to shine?
It seems that almost nothing can stop Francisco Liriano or Johan Santana, but the Twins need Brad Radke to continue to pitch solidly, and they need Carlos Silva to get quality starts regularly. If they were ahead in the race, they could afford to just survive when the 5th starter pitches, but they need Scott Baker to step up and contribute as well. Can the back three in the rotation keep it up, or is there going to be trouble there?

Down on the Farm: Rookie League Report

Elizabethton Twins

Starting Pitchers
1.) Alex Burnett - 2-1 / 2.88 ERA / 34.1 inn / 31-5 K-BB
2.) Brian Kirwan - 2-3 / 4.85 ERA / 26 inn / 21-13 K-BB
3.) Jose Lugo 3-2 / 4.33 ERA / 27 inn / 29-9 K-BB
4.) Sean Land - 1-0 / 1.67 ERA / 27 inn / 26-12 K-BB
5.) Jose Castillo - 1-1 / 2.88 ERA / 25 inn / 15-11 K-BB

Alex Burnett started 2 games this week, going 10 innings and picking up a win. His ERA went up .29 points, and he had 10 K's to 2 BB's.

Brian Kirwan went 6 innings and got the win in his start. His ERA went down by .55 points, and he had 4 K's with 3 BB's.

Jose Lugo went 5.1 innings and took the loss. His ERA went up by .59 points, and he had 2 K's and 1 BB.

Sean Land started twice, going 12 innings and picking up a win. His ERA went down by .73 points, and he had 9 K's against 4 BB's.

Jose Castillo went 6 innings. His ERA went up by .04 points, but he had 6 K's.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Danny Hernandez - 0-0 / 4.09 ERA / 11 inn / 16-5 K-BB
2.) Matthew Williams - 3-0 / 4.26 ERA / 12.2 inn / 14-5 K-BB
3.) Aaron Craig - 2-0 / 7.15 ERA / 11.1 inn / 13-5 K-BB
4.) Matthew Fox - 1-0 / 2.87 ERA / 15.2 inn / 21-3 K-BB
5.) Brandon McConnell - 1-1 / 6.23 ERA / 17.1 inn / 18-6 K-BB
6.) Patrick Bryant - 0-0 / 9.45 ERA / 6.2 inn / 10-4 K-BB
7.) Dan Leatherman - 2-0 / 0.00 ERA / 7 inn / 5-1 K-BB
8.) Jon Staatz - 0-0 / 0.00 ERA / 3 inn / 4-0 K-BB
9.) Walter Patton - 0-0 / 135.00 ERA / 0.2 inn / 2-8 K-BB

Danny Hernandez went 3 innings in 3 games. His ERA went down by .41 points, and he had 5 K's against 1 BB.

Matthew Williams went 3 innings in 2 games while picking up a win. His ERA went down by 1.33 points, and he had 4 K's.

Aaron Craig pitched 2 innings in 2 games. His ERA went down by 1.53 points, and he had 3 K's and 1 BB.

Matthew Fox went 2.2 innings in 1 game. His ERA went down by .59 points, and he had 3 K's.

Brandon McConnell went 1 inning in 1 game. His ERA went up by .17 points, and he had 2 K's and 1 BB.

Patrick Bryant went 1 inning in 1 game. His ERA went down by 1.67 points and he picked up a K.

Dan Leatherman was promoted very quickly from the Low Rookie GCL Twins. His story is a good one, as he was signed by the Twins at a try-out and has been dominating everyone he has faced so far. He didn't allow a run in 9 innings for the GCL team, and has gone 7 innings now without allowing a run for Elizabethton.

Jon Staatz also was promoted from the GCL to Elizabethton, after going 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 innings. He also had an outstanding 20-3 K-BB ratio (in 11.2 innings, remember!). He's kept it up so far with 4 K's in 3 innings thus far for Elizabethton.

Walter Patton, perhaps not surprisingly, did not pitch this week.

Catchers
1.) Jeffrey Christy - 16 games / .291 BA / 1 HR / 9 RBI
2.) Gregory Yersich - 20 games / .244 BA / 1 HR / 9 RBI

Jeffrey Christy started 3 games at C and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 26 points and he picked up an RBI.

Gregory Yersich started 3 games at C and 2 at DH. His batting average went up by 3 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 5 RBI's.

Infielders
1B - Daniel Valencia - 8 games / .321 BA / 1 HR / 2 RBI
2B - William Luque - 18 games / .266 BA / 0 HR / 5 RBI
3B - Garrett Olson - 18 games / .276 BA / 0 HR / 7 RBI
SS - Steven Singleton - 14 games / .326 BA / 0 HR / 8 RBI
IF - Joshua Dean - 12 games / .212 BA / 1 HR / 2 RBI
IF - Daniel Berg - 21 games / .239 BA / 2 HR / 12 RBI
IF - Michael Lysaught - 11 games / .033 BA / 0 HR / 0 RBI
IF - Yancarlos Ortiz - 15 games / .178 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
IF - Brian Dinkelman - 13 games / .255 BA / 1 HR / 11 RBI
IF - Henry Sanchez - 12 games / .220 BA / 1 HR / 8 RBI

Daniel Valencia started 3 games at 1B, 3 at 3B, and 1 at DH. His batting average jumped by 71 points, he hit a HR, and he picked up 2 RBI's.

William Luque started 3 games at 2B. His batting average fell by a precarious 45 points, but at least he picked up 2 RBI's.

Garrett Olson started 4 games at 3B, 1 at SS, and 1 at DH. His batting average jumped by 54 points, and he picked up 3 RBI's.

Steven Singleton started 3 games at SS. His batting average went up by 23 points.

Joshua Dean started 2 games at 1B. His batting average fell by 10 points.

Daniel Berg started 2 games at 1B, 2 at DH, and 1 at C. His batting average fell by 6 points, and he hit 2 HR's with 6 RBI's.

Michael Lysaught started 3 games at 2B. He actually has a batting average now, at least, which is an improvement; sadly, it's not much of one.

Yancarlos Ortiz started 3 games at SS. His batting average fell by 4 points and he picked up an RBI.

Neither Brian Dinkelman or Henry Sanchez played this week.

Outfielders
LF - Josh Land - 15 games / .175 BA / 1 HR / 7 RBI
CF - Danny Santiesteban - 26 games / .240 BA / 3 HR / 15 RBI
RF - J.W. Wilson - 19 games / .235 BA / 4 HR / 6 RBI
OF - Richard Sojo - 13 games / .267 BA / 0 HR / 8 RBI
OF - Wesley Connor - 14 games / .136 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Josh Land started 4 games in LF. His batting average fell by 7 points.

Danny Santiesteban started 7 games in CF. His batting average went up by 46 points, and he hit 2 HR's with 7 RBI's. Very nice!

J.W. Wilson started 4 games in RF. His batting average fell by 29 points, and he hit a HR with 2 RBI's.

Richard Sojo started 2 games in LF and 1 in RF. His batting average went up by 32 points, and he picked up 4 RBI's.

Wesley Connor started 2 games in RF and 1 in LF. His batting average went up by 7 points.


GCL Twins

Starting Pitchers
1.) Curtis Leavitt - 0-0 / 7.20 ERA / 20 inn / 23-11 K-BB
2.) David Bromberg - 2-1 / 2.74 ERA / 23 inn / 15-10 K-BB
3.) Dave Gassner - 0-0 / 3.60 ERA / 5 inn / 4-0 K-BB
4.) Michael Allen - 0-0 / 9.00 ERA / 1 inn / 2-2 K-BB
5.) Adam Revelette - 1-1 / 4.05 ERA / 6.2 inn / 7-1 K-BB

Things got werid in the GCL rotation this week, as 3 of the regular starters either didn't pitch at all or made starts out of the bullpen. I adjusted as appropriate, but be aware that the pitchers on this team have roles that take them in and out of the rotation regularly.

Curtis Leavitt went 4 innings in his start. His ERA went up by 1.01 points, and he had a pretty bad 3 K's against 5 BB's.

David Bromberg went 7 innings and picked up the win in his start. His ERA went down by .07 points, and he had 5 K's with just 1 BB.

Dave Gassner made his first couple appearances of the year, but he's only with the GCL Twins for rehab. He should be in AA or AAA before too long.

Michael Allen pitched 1 inning in his start. There's not much else to say, but he's a new addition to the team.

Adam Revelette started a game and also made a relief appearance. Like Allen, he's new to the team.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Robert Delaney - 1-1 / 3.63 ERA / 17.1 inn / 14-1 K-BB
2.) Jakub Toufar - 0-0 / 7.56 ERA / 8.1 inn / 3-4 K-BB
3.) Carlos Garcia - 2-0 / 4.24 ERA / 17 inn / 12-10 K-BB
4.) Bradley Tippett - 2-2 / 1.42 ERA / 12.2 inn / 11-3 K-BB
5.) Bruno Sanchez - 1-2 / 9.31 ERA / 9.2 inn / 5-8 K-BB
6.) Omar Alcala - 1-1 / 2.16 ERA / 25 inn / 18-9 K-BB
7.) Ludovicus Van Mil - 1-1 / 3.63 ERA / 22.1 inn / 17-11 K-BB
8.) Thomas Wright - 0-0 / 9.00 ERA / 2 inn / 0-2 K-BB
9.) Joan Ortiz - 1-0 / 3.86 ERA / 2.1 inn / 0-1 K-BB
10.) Luis Carreras - 0-0 / 2.89 ERA / 9.1 inn / 8-1 K-BB
11.) Nathan Crawford - 0-0 / 18.00 ERA / 2 inn / 2-1 K-BB
12.) Jeffrey Schoenbachler - 0-0 / 0.00 ERA / 1 inn / 0-0 K-BB
13.) Jose Acosta - 0-1 / 2.25 ERA / 4 inn / 1-1 K-BB
14.) Tyler Robertson - 2-0 / 3.74 ERA / 21.2 inn / 20-5 K-BB

Robert Delaney went 2.1 innings in his 1 appearance. His ERA fell by .57 points and he picked up a K.

Jakub Toufar pitched 3.1 innings in 1 game. His ERA rose by 2.16 points, and he walked a batter.

Carlos Garcia pitched 4 innings in 2 games. His ERA went up by .78 points, and he had 2 K's against 1 BB.

Bradley Tippett pitched 1.1 innings in 2 games and took a loss. His ERA rose from 0.00 to 1.42, and he walked a batter.

Bruno Sanchez pitched an inning in 1 game. His ERA rose by 2.04 points, and he had a K and a BB.

Omar Alcala went 5 innings in a relief appearance. His ERA went down by .09 points, and he struck out 6 hitters.

Ludovicus Van Mil went 3 innings over 2 games, and took a loss. His ERA went up by 1.30 points, but he had 3 K's and just 1 BB.

Thomas Wright joined the team and made his first 2 appearances.

Joan Ortiz, Luis Carreras, Nathan Crawford, Jeffrey Schoenbachler, and Jose Acosta did not pitch this week.

Tyler Robertson went 4.2 innings and got the win in a relief appearance. His ERA rose by 1.09 points, however, but he did have 3 K's.

Catchers
1.) Wilson Ramos - 21 games / .203 BA / 1 HR / 12 RBI
2.) Rodolfo Palacios - 20 games / .339 BA / 0 HR / 10 RBI
3.) Gilbert Buenrostro - 8 games / .316 BA / 0 HR / 0 RBI
DL - Migheul Barrientos - 3 games / .182 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Wilson Ramos started 3 games at C and 1 at 1B. His batting average fell by 4 points, but he picked up 2 RBI's.

Rodolfo Palacios started 2 games at C and 2 at 1B. His batting average fell by 25 points but remains solid, and he picked up 3 RBI's.

Gilbert Buenrostro started a game at DH. His batting average jumped by 85 points.

Infielders
1B - Deibinson Romero - 24 games / .272 BA / 2 HR / 20 RBI
2B - Thomas Cowgill - 17 games / .200 BA / 2 HR / 6 RBI
3B - Matthew Betsill - 7 games / .190 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
SS - Starling De Los Santos - 21 games / .169 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
IF - Matthew Lawman - 10 games / .120 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI
IF - Eric Santiago - 18 games / .233 BA / 0 HR / 5 RBI
IF - Juan Delgado - 14 games / .298 BA / 1 HR / 9 RBI

Deibinson Romero started 2 games at 1B, 2 at 3B, and 1 at DH. His batting average went up by 5 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 6 RBI's.

Thomas Cowgill started 4 games at 2B. His batting average fell by 22 points.

Matthew Betsill started 2 games at 3B and 2 at DH. His batting average went from .000 to .190, and he picked up an RBI.

Starling De Los Santos started 4 games at SS. His batting average fell by 21 points.

Matthew Lawman started 1 game at 2B. His batting average went up by 2 points.

Eric Santiago started 1 game at 3B. His batting average went up by 39 points.

Juan Delgado started 1 game at SS. His batting average went up by 41 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 5 RBI's.

Outfielders
LF - Kevin Harrington - 17 games / .088 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
CF - Joe Benson - 26 games / .313 BA / 3 HR / 17 RBI
RF - Chris Parmalee - 19 games / .281 BA / 4 HR / 14 RBI
OF - Mark Dolenc - 24 games / .205 BA / 1 HR / 13 RBI
OF - Jilmer Arratia - 1 game / .333 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Kevin Harrington started 3 games in LF. His batting average rose by 24 points.

Joe Benson started 5 games in CF. His batting average fell by 38 points.

Chris Parmalee started 4 games in RF. His batting average fell by 14 points, but he did hit a HR and pick up 3 RBI's.

Mark Dolenc started 2 games in LF and 1 in RF. His batting average rose by 19 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 4 RBI's.

Jilmer Arratia did not play this week.

A Few Notes

I don't want to get in the habit of posting game recaps, because there are a lot of good sites out there for that sort of thing. However, since today's game wasn't on TV, I thought I'd make an exception and just mention a few of the things that caught my eye.

First, Johan Santana was very, very beatable today. He would not have won against the White Sox or Tigers. Reason to be concerned? I'd say no...every pitcher struggles sometimes, and I think he'll bounce back fine. That said, at no point today did he seem comfortable on the mound. Of course, he lost it completely in the fifth inning (I like how when Johan loses it completely, it results in a couple of runs for the other team, whereas when someone else loses it, they get bombed for 5 or 6 runs and have to leave the game). His control was not present, and he had to throw fastballs in the strike zone that were getting hit hard.

Next, how about Pat Neshek? Clearly the Twins have decided already that he can get major league hitters out in tight situations. He seems to be the pseudo-setup man (i.e. the guy who pitches the 7th with a lead). That was a role that belonged to Jesse Crain coming into the season, but he coughed it up. Dennys Reyes has been used in that role, but as the only lefty in the 'pen, the Twins would probably prefer to have him available for situational matchups. The way he handled every batter he faced today was marvelous; he sure looks to be a keeper.

Those are the big things for tonight. I'll leave some parting shots tomorrow for people to think about while I'm on vacation next week, as well as the Rookie League Report. Until then...

Down on the Farm: Low A Report

Beloit Snappers

Starting Pitchers
1.) Oswaldo Sosa - 7-7 / 2.90 ERA / 105.2 inn / 82-34 K-BB
2.) Ryan Mullins - 2-5 / 3.97 ERA / 102 inn / 88-34 K-BB
3.) Adam Hawes - 4-3 / 4.52 ERA / 75.2 inn / 53-30 K-BB
4.) Alexander Smit - 2-1 / 4.00 ERA / 54 inn / 64-28 K-BB
5.) Jose Cordero - 0-1 / 5.94 ERA / 16.2 inn / 16-10 K-BB

Oswaldo Sosa went 4.2 innings and took the loss in his start. His ERA jumped by .40 points, and he had 3 K's and 3 BB's.

Ryan Mullins went 6.2 innings and also took the loss. His ERA actually dropped by .18 points, however, and he had 10 K's (!) against just 2 BB's.

Adam Hawes went 6 innings, keeping his ERA right where it was. He picked up 4 K's against just 1 BB.

Alexander Smit went 5 innings and lowered his ERA by .41 points. He picked up 6 K's and just 2 BB's.

After Kyle Waldrop's promotion, I suggested that Armando Gabino (who was demoted to make room for Waldrop) would slide into the rotation. I was wrong, as Jose Cordero got the start in that spot this week, going 4 innings and lowering his ERA by 1.17 points while picking up 3 K's and 3 BB's. It remains to be seen if Cordero will remain in the rotation, or if this spot will bounce around a bit before someone claims it.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Yohan Pino - 8-2 / 1.53 ERA / 53 inn / 64-16 K-BB
2.) Frank Mata - 5-3 / 3.06 ERA / 35.1 inn / 17-10 K-BB
3.) David Shinskie - 6-5 / 2.25 ERA / 64 inn / 49-13 K-BB
4.) Danny Vais - 2-2 / 2.04 ERA / 53 inn / 47-17 K-BB
5.) John Cline - 0-2 / 15.00 ERA / 3 inn / 3-3 K-BB
6.) Armando Gabino - 0-0 / 10.80 ERA / 3.1 inn / 5-1 K-BB

Yohan Pino pitched 5 innings over 3 games. His ERA continued to go down, somehow, this week by .16 points. He also picked up another win, and is on pace for something like 13 wins. Out of the bullpen. Amazing. He had 5 K's and 3 BB's.

Frank Mata pitched 3 innings in 2 games, and took a loss. His ERA jumped by .55 points, and he had just 1 K against 2 BB's.

David Shinskie went 4 innings in 2 games. His ERA went up by .18 points.

Danny Vais went 6 innings in 2 games and picked up a win. His ERA went up by .13 points, and he had 4 K's and 4 BB's.

John Cline did not pitch this week, not surprising since he's been terrible in his few brief outings this year.

Armando Gabino went 3.1 innings over 2 games, and was pretty bad, although the 5-1 K-BB ratio is encouraging.

Catchers
1.) Allan de San Miguel - 48 games / .187 BA / 0 HR / 15 RBI
2.) Jose Leger - 12 games / .194 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI

Allan de San Miguel caught 3 games, dropping his batting average by 5 points.

Jose Leger started 2 games at C, and raised his batting average by 9 points while picking up an RBI.

Infielders
1B - Erik Lis - 84 games / .317 BA / 11 HR / 49 RBI
2B - Andrew Thompson - 74 games / .261 BA / 3 HR / 23 RBI
3B - Whitney Robbins - 18 games / .349 BA / 3 HR / 20 RBI
SS - Paul Kelly - 90 games / .274 BA / 3 HR / 47 RBI
IF - Toby Gardenhire - 50 games / .219 BA / 0 HR / 11 RBI
IF - Juan Portes - 34 games / .180 BA / 0 HR / 10 RBI

Erik Lis started 4 games at 1B. His ERA increased by 2 points, and he hit a HR with 3 RBI's.

Andrew Thompson started 4 games at 2B. His batting average fell by 5 hits and he picked up an RBI.

Whitney Robbins started 2 games at 3B and 1 at 1B. His batting average fell by 51 points, but .349 isn't too shabby. He hit a HR and picked up 3 RBI's as well.

Paul Kelly started all 5 games at SS. His batting average ticked down a point, and he picked up an RBI.

Toby Gardenhire started 2 games at 3B and 1 at 2B. He continues to raise his batting average, this time by 13 points; .219 isn't great, but he seems to be getting more confidence at the plate. He picked up an RBI this week as well.

Juan Portes started 1 game at 3B and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 18 points, which isn't too good when you start the week under the Mendoza line.

Outfielders
LF - Mark Robinson - 18 games / .209 BA / 0 HR / 4 RBI
CF - Edward Ovalle - 88 games / .274 BA / 8 HR / 45 RBI
RF - Eli Tintor - 74 games / .283 BA / 5 HR / 31 RBI
OF - Tarrence Patterson - 69 games / .263 BA / 0 HR / 12 RBI
OF - Dwayne White - 56 games / .239 BA / 3 HR / 15 RBI

Mark Robinson started 2 games in LF, 1 in RF, and 1 at DH. His batting average went up by 29 points, and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Edward Ovalle started 4 games in CF. His batting average went up by 7 points, he hit a HR, and he picked up 3 RBI's.

Eli Tintor started 4 games in RF and 1 at DH. His batting average jumped by 8 points, and like Ovalle he hit a HR and picked up 3 RBI's.

Tarrence Patterson (whose name I have been habitually misspelling as "Tarrance"...sorry about that) started 1 game in LF, 1 in CF, and 1 at DH. His batting average went up by 4 points.

Dwayne White started 1 game in LF and 1 at DH. His batting average went up by 3 points, he had a HR, and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Matt Guerrier

I suggested in a recent post that Matt Guerrier would be starting a rehab assignment soon, and probably would be back in mid-August. Count me half right.

The Twins website is reporting that Guerrier will join the Rock Cats tomorrow in Erie, PA to begin his rehab assignment, and probably will only be with the team for a little over a week. The site is projecting that Guerrier could be ready to rejoin the team in time for a series that begins on July 28.

This is good news, because it means that Guerrier, who had been having a very solid season before the injury, will be able to replace Willie Eyre in the bullpen. I assume that this means the Twins won't bring up Chris Heintz to replace Eyre anytime soon, because they'd be sending him right back down again in a week.

The more interesting question is what the Twins do if Guerrier returns and the Twins then decide to cut down to 11 pitchers. The untouchables are, of course, Joe Nathan, Juan Rincon, and Dennys Reyes. Willie Eyre is going to be sent down when Guerrier is called back up, and Guerrier won't be going anywhere. That leaves Jesse Crain, Kyle Lohse, and Pat Neshek.

For me, there is no question here. The Twins only use Lohse in blowout situations, and he should be gone by the time the trade deadline goes, as hopefully some contender will get desperate and make a deal to pick him up. To send Neshek down after giving him a chance to pitch in the 7th inning of a one-run game doesn't seem to make any sense. And if the Twins stuck with Jesse Crain when he was struggling early this season, they aren't going to send him down now that he's regained his form.

Of course, this may not even be a consideration. So long as the Twins stick with 12 pitchers, it isn't a question. But sometime in August, we may be considering this question, especially if aches and pains keep more players out of the lineup on an everyday basis, Kubel-like.

Dear Rondell White:

I'm sorry.

Trade Deadline Prep: Part 3

It's been a LONG time since I posted anything on the trade deadline and what the Twins should do with the roster as it rolls around. But sitting here 12 days away from the deadline, and with me taking a vacation next week (yes, it's true, you'll all have to do without minor league updates from me for a week; I recommend you visit Seth's blog for minor league info, although you should be doing that already - the link is on the right side) it seemed the appropriate time to write something up.

So, without further ado, here's part three of the Trade Deadline Prep series, focusing on the Twins free agents (and those with options), and what should happen in the next two weeks and beyond.

Brad Radke - $9 million in 2006
It sure doesn't sound like the Twins are going to have many options with Radke, even if they were interested in re-signing him. Radke is widely believed to be retiring at the end of the season, and it may be none-too-soon. As solid as he has been recently, just remember how bad he was at the beginning of the year. I have a feeling that we would be seeing more of that Radke as he loses even more speed from his fastball. The Twins are paying Radke $9 million this year, and it's unlikely he'd return for much less. The Twins will need that money to pay Mauer and Morneau, so even if Radke changes his mind and decides not to retire, it is time to let him go.

Savings: $9 million

Carlos Silva - $3.2 million in 2006; $4 million option for 2007
This is a tough decision, but in the end I think the Twins will have to pick up the option on Silva. Certainly he isn't going anywhere this year at the deadline. If the Twins weren't losing Radke, I would probably advocate for a change here, declining the option or making a deal to get rid of Silva. However, there will already be a couple of youngsters in the rotation next year, and keeping Silva around is probably the best option. Having three rookies in the rotation next year (or 2 rookies + Scott Baker) isn't the way you make the playoffs. I see the Twins picking up this option and banking on Silva overcoming the mechanics issues he's faced this year.

Savings: -$800,000

Dennys Reyes - unknown
Reyes has had a very solid year for the Twins as the only lefty out of the bullpen. I suspect the Twins will be interested in keeping him around, but he may be tempted to go on the market to see what he can make. The Twins won't pay him a lot, but I'd give even odds on his returning to the team. He definitely won't be traded, because the Twins need him in the bullpen. If the Twins did decide to move him, though, he'd probably be worth something.

Savings: none

Mike Redmond - $900,000 in 2006
The Twins will make every effort to re-sign Redmond, just like they made every effort to re-sign Henry Blanco a couple of years ago. That didn't work out, and it turned out to be a good thing for the Twins, because Redmond is a much better player than Blanco was. I suspect that Redmond will gladly re-sign with the Twins. Obviously he won't be traded at the deadline; there's no one to replace him within the organization.

Savings: none

Luis Castillo - $5 million in 2006; $5.75 million option for 2007
If the Twins had an up-and-coming player ready in the system to take over 2B, I would argue that Castillo is expendable, and that the team should decline the option in order to save the cash. However, the Twins don't have such a player at first glance, and so I expect them to pick up the option. Unless . . . the Twins do have Nick Punto, and I think most Twins fans want to see him stay in the lineup every day, but probably not at 3B. If the Twins make a move at the deadline to pick up a third baseman, then it would make sense to me to decline the Castillo option and give the job to Punto. It's even conceivable that Castillo could be part of a bigger deal that could net the Twins a more solid third baseman at the deadline. I don't EXPECT that to happen, but it's a possibility. If the Twins don't have anybody in the system at 3B by the end of the season, however, then they can't risk cutting Castillo loose and should pick up the option. I expect Castillo to still be a Twin next season.

Savings: -$750,000

Shannon Stewart - $6.5 million in 2006
Stewart will absolutely be gone at the end of the season, and the only unfortunate thing is that he was injured and so couldn't be traded away for value. Don't get me wrong, I like Shannon Stewart. I just don't think he's worth $6.5 million per season, and I don't think the Twins do either. The Twins will end up with draft pick compensation for Stewart when he signs with another team. They'll have to settle for that.

Savings: $6.5 million

Torii Hunter - $10.75 million in 2006; $12 million option for 2007
The big one. Lots of ink has been spilled over what the Twins should do with Hunter, but his injury took the option of trading him away from the Twins. I think that's fine; the Twins couldn't afford to trade him anyway while they are actually competitive and in a position to battle for a playoff spot. The question, then, becomes whether the Twins should pick up the option or let Torii walk, understanding that all they are getting is draft pick compensation. I've been an advocate of picking up the option for a long time, because I don't think the Twins should commit themselves to a long-term deal with Torii. If they fail to pick up the option, they will lose a valuable player for nothing in return; if they pick it up, they will have the option to trade him next year at the deadline and get significant value in return. I defer for now the question of whether the team should tear up the option and sign him to a 3 for 4 year deal. The option should be (and, I'll go on record as saying it will be) picked up.

Savings: -$1.25 million

Rondell White - $2.5 million in 2006; vesting option for 2007
Rondell needs to reach 400 plate appearances for his 2007 option to vest. He's currently sitting at 202 plate appearances, and two weeks ago I would have said there is no way that the option would vest. With 70 games to go, White would need to average just under 3 plate appearances per game to pick it up. Due to all the injuries, he'll probably get a lot of playing time, and if he starts to hit like he has in the last few games, he'll get even more. In other words, it's not out of the question. The Twins don't really have the option of trying to find a taker for White now, and so I expect him to remain a Twin for the rest of the season. I think he'll fall about 25 plate appearances short of what he needs for the option to vest, and I expect the Twins to let him walk away at the end of the season.

Savings: $2.5 million (based on this years salary, and not what the option would vest at)

Results
If things shake out as I suggest they will above, the Twins will save a total of $15.2 million in salary to spend next year. That money will largely go to pay Justin Morneau and Joe Mauer after arbitration, but there should still be some money available to go after a mid-level free agent or two. The other result of this: don't expect the Twins to be moving many free agent eligible players at the deadline. Luis Castillo could potentially be involved in a major deal, but that probably isn't going to happen. Instead, if the Twins do anything at the deadline, look for it to include either arbitration eligible players like Lew Ford (who, if anybody wants him, will probably be dealt), or prospects.

Down on the Farm: High A Report

Ft. Myers Miracle

Starting Pitchers
1.) Anthony Swarzak - 5-6 / 3.82 ERA / 99 inn / 98-39 K-BB
2.) Justin Jones - 1-3 / 5.33 ERA / 49 inn / 29-18 K-BB
3.) Josh Hill - 5-2 / 5.60 ERA / 62.2 inn / 39-22 K-BB
4.) Kyle Aselton - 5-2 / 3.79 ERA / 59.1 inn / 52-28 K-BB
5.) Kyle Waldrop - 1-0 / 3.86 ERA / 7 inn / 2-1 K-BB

Anthony Swarzak pitched 7 innings and got the win in his start. His ERA went down by .29 points, and he had 8 K's against 3 BB's.

Justin Jones went just 1.2 innings in his start and got hammered. His ERA skyrocketed by 1.34 points, and he had 1 K and 1 BB.

Josh Hill went 6 innings in his start, taking a no decision. His ERA went down by .12 points, and he had 2 K's and 2 BB's.

Kyle Aselton made 2 starts, going 8 innings total and picking up a win. His ERA went down by .59 points. He had 7 K's and 2 BB's.

Kyle Waldrop received a promotion from Low A Beloit, picking up a win in his first start.

Relief Pitchers
1.) J.P. Martinez - 2-3 / 3.24 ERA / 50 inn / 58-27 K-BB
2.) Ryan Callahan - 3-4 / 4.57 ERA / 45.1 inn / 39-18 K-BB
3.) Chris Schutt - 2-2 / 3.29 ERA / 38.1 inn / 42-19 K-BB
4.) Colby Miller - 2-2 / 5.03 ERA / 39.1 inn / 26-18 K-BB
5.) Tim Lahey - 5-0 / 4.11 ERA / 50.1 inn / 34-18 K-BB
6.) Jose Mijares - 1-5 / 4.34 ERA / 47.2 inn / 57-25 K-BB
7.) Danny Powers - 3-2 / 3.96 ERA / 36.1 inn / 34-10 K-BB
DL - Angel Garcia - 2-1 / 2.93 ERA / 15.1 inn / 13-9 K-BB

J.P. Martinez went 3 innings in 3 games, taking a loss. His ERA went down by .02 points, and he had 5 K's against 4 BB's.

Ryan Callahan went 4.1 innings over 2 games. His ERA went down by .48 points, and he had 4 K's and 1 BB.

Chris Schutt pitched 4.1 innings in 3 games. His ERA went down by .42 points, and he had 2 K's and 2 BB's.

Colby Miller went 7.2 innings in 3 games. His ERA went up by .48 points, but he had 7 K's and just 4 BB's.

Tim Lahey went 5 innings in 2 games and picked up another win. His ERA went down by .46 points, and he had 2 K's and 2 BB's.

Jose Mijares pitched 3 innings in 2 games and finally picked up a win to balance against all those losses. His ERA went down by .09 points, and he had 4 K's against 3 BB's.

Danny Powers pitched 4.1 innings in 2 games. His ERA fell by .54 points, and he had 5 K's and just 1 BB.

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - 60 games / .210 BA / 1 HR / 13 RBI
2.) Caleb Moore - 3 games / .182 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Korey Feiner caught 4 games this week, and raised his batting average by 12 points. He also picked up an RBI.

Caleb Moore got his first Florida State League action, but didn't knock the cover off the ball in his 3 starts, as you can see above.

Infielders
1B - Brock Peterson - 76 games / .281 BA / 11 HR / 41 RBI
2B - Steve Tolleson - 14 games / .269 BA / 1 HR / 9 RBI
3B - Luke Hughes - 69 games / .227 BA / 2 HR / 26 RBI
SS - Trevor Plouffe - 81 games / .216 BA / 2 HR / 25 RBI
IF - David Winfree - 21 games / .250 BA / 3 HR / 17 RBI
IF - J.R. Taylor - 4 games / .278 BA / 0 HR / 5 RBI

Brock Peterson started 5 games at 1B and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by a point, but he hit a HR and knocked in 5 RBI's.

Steve Tolleson started 4 games at 2B and 2 at DH. His batting average fell by 76 points, but he picked up 6 RBI's.

Luke Hughes started 4 games at 3B. His batting average fell by 5 points, but he picked up 2 RBI's.

Trevor Plouffe regained the starting shortstop job after the promotion of Alexi Casilla to AA New Britain. He started 5 games at SS and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 2 points, but he hit a HR and picked up 2 RBI's.

David Winfree started 3 games at 3B, 2 at 1B, and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 21 points, but he picked up 6 RBI's.

J.R. Taylor was demoted from AA to make room there for Alexi Casilla. He started 2 games at 2B and 2 at SS, and hit reasonably well. Picking up 5 RBI's in 4 games isn't too shabby either.

Outfielders
LF - Deacon Burns - 76 games / .223 BA / 1 HR / 19 RBI
CF - Brandon Roberts - 27 games / .349 BA / 0 HR / 12 RBI
RF - Jeremy Pickrel - 70 games / .228 BA / 4 HR / 31 RBI
OF - Justin Arneson - 47 games / .221 BA / 2 HR / 15 RBI
OF - Erold Andrus - 36 games / .212 BA / 3 HR / 23 RBI

Deacon Burns started 5 games in LF. His batting average increased by 6 points, and he picked up 3 RBI's.

Brandon Roberts had an unbelievable week. He started all 7 games in CF, and was a monster, increasing his batting average by 108 points. He had at least 2 hits in each of the last 6 games this week, and went 4-for-5 twice. He picked up 4 RBI's as well, but the Twins have to be thrilled that he has finally found his stroke after starting a little cold following the trade.

Jeremy Pickrel started 4 games in RF. His batting average fell by 2 points, but he hit a HR and picked up 2 RBI's.

Justin Arneson started 3 games in RF and 1 in LF. His batting average jumped by 15 points, he hit a HR, and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Erold Andrus started 2 games at DH and 1 in LF. His batting average fell by 3 points, but he hit a HR and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Nick Punto

It happened to me without my even realizing it. Somewhere, somehow over the past few weeks I became an outright fan of Nick Punto.

Don't get me wrong; I never didn't like the guy, exactly. He was a Twin, and I like all the Twins. Always have. I was a fan of Scott Stahoviak, for Pete's sake. So I never sat at home watching the Twins and wondering why Nick Punto was a Twin. I do confess that I recently spent a lot of time wondering why he was the club's starting 3B, however. And I always laughed a bit when the man that Bat-Girl calls "Little Nicky Punto" was mentioned as a possible starter anywhere on the field. He's a utility guy, I thought. The second coming of Denny Hocking or Jeff Reboulet.

And then...

I think it started to come to me while watching him take an extra base innumerable times, with that look of absolute ferocity on his face. Or maybe when he trotted out there night after night, completely unable to conceive of not playing because of an ache or pain.

No matter where it came from, though, I realized it full force tonight. The way he took care of Liriano on the mound (something any good infielder is going to do, but man, he did it with class). And the way that he, along with Mike Redmond, was right up on that top step when Josh Rabe got his first major league hit.

I don't care if he doesn't hit homeruns at the pace of Troy Glaus (or even Corey Koskie). I don't care that he keeps diving into first base on plays where it can't possibly make him faster to the bag. All I know is that this man needs to play for the Twins, as often as possible.

Count me in as a convert to the cult of Little Nicky Punto.

Down on the Farm: AA Report

New Britain Rock Cats

Starting Pitchers
1.) Errol Simonitsch - 6-10 / 3.81 ERA / 104 inn / 62-25 K-BB
2.) Glen Perkins - 2-10 / 4.05 ERA / 91 inn / 96-32 K-BB
3.) Jay Sawatski - 1-1 / 4.69 ERA / 40.1 inn / 35-16 K-BB
4.) Kevin Slowey - 2-2 / 3.30 ERA / 30 inn / 22-3 K-BB
5.) Brian Duensing - 0-0 / 4.76 ERA / 5.2 inn / 1-2 K-BB

Errol Simonitsch went 8 innings and picked up the win in his start. His ERA dropped by .32 points, and he had 5 K's and 2 BB's.

Glen Perkins did not get a start this week.

Jay Sawatski went just 2 innings and took the loss in his start. His ERA jumped by .70 points and he walked a batter.

Kevin Slowey pitched a complete game and got the win in his start. His ERA actually went up by .30 points, but he had 5 K's against 1 BB.

Brian Duensing was just promoted to the Rock Cats and didn't do so well in his first start yesterday, going 5.2 innings and giving up 3 ER's on 8 H's. Not terrible, but not that good either.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Levale Speigner - 3-1 / 3.04 ERA / 50.1 inn / 34-11 K-BB
2.) Tristan Crawford - 2-4 / 3.92 ERA / 59.2 inn / 62-22 K-BB
3.) Julio DePaula - 1-2 / 2.50 ERA / 36 inn / 29-15 K-BB
4.) Nick Blackburn - 5-7 / 5.16 ERA / 90.2 inn / 52-28 K-BB
5.) Adam Harben - 2-5 / 3.74 ERA / 79.1 inn / 35-46 K-BB
6.) Justin Olson - 6-2 / 4.45 ERA / 56.2 inn / 67-26 K-BB

Levale Speigner went 4.1 innings over 3 games, picking up a win. His ERA increased by .11 points, and he had 5 K's and 1 BB.

Tristan Crawford went 5.1 innings over 3 games. His ERA dropped by .06 points, and he had 5 K's and 1 BB.

Julio DePaula went 2 innings in 1 game. His ERA went down .15 points and he picked up a K.

Nick Blackburn went 5 innings in 1 game. His ERA went down by .30 points and he picked up 2 K's.

Adam Harben got a spot start, going 7 innings and picking up the win. His ERA went down by .12 points, and he had 2 K's and 1 BB.

Justin Olson also got a spot start, going 6.2 innings and picking up the win. His ERA went down by .05 points, and he had 8 K's against 3 BB's.

Catchers
1.) Kyle Geiger - 4 games / .071 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI
2.) Steve Lomasney - 42 games / .189 BA / 2 HR / 12 RBI
DL - Jose Morales - 59 games / .212 BA / 3 HR / 22 RBI

Kyle Geiger started 4 games behind the plate after being promoted from Ft. Myers, but he hasn't exactly been hitting lights out so far, as you can see from the numbers above.

Steve Lomasney started 2 games at C. His batting average went up 4 points and he picked up an RBI.

Infielders
1B - Doug Deeds - 85 games / .293 BA / 6 HR / 40 RBI
2B - Felix Molina - 76 games / .261 BA / 7 HR / 34 RBI
3B - Matt Moses - 79 games / .244 BA / 10 HR / 41 RBI
SS - Alexi Casilla - 5 games / .348 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
IF - Matt Tolbert - 36 games / .287 BA / 3 HR / 19 RBI
DH - Daniel Matienzo - 81 games / .244 BA / 12 HR / 55 RBI

Doug Deeds started 5 games at 1B and 1 at DH. His batting average increased by 4 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 7 RBI's.

Felix Molina started 4 games at 2B. His batting average fell by a point.

Matt Moses once again was the regular 3B, starting 4 games there and 2 at DH. His batting average increased by 4 points, and he picked up 6 RBI's.

Alexi Casilla was promoted from Ft. Myers, a very deserving honor after having a very solid season at High A. He started 5 games at SS, and has picked up right where he left off.

Matt Tolbert started 2 games at 2B, 2 games at 3B, and 1 at SS. His batting average fell by a point, but he hit a HR and picked up 5 RBI's.

Daniel Matienzo started 2 games at DH and 1 at 1B. His batting average increased by a point, and he hit 2 HR's with 5 RBI's.

Outfielders
LF - Garrett Guzman - 25 games / .284 BA / 3 HR / 9 RBI
CF - Denard Span - 89 games / .286 BA / 1 HR / 32 RBI
RF - Scott Whitrock - 51 games / .210 BA / 2 HR / 12 RBI
OF - Trent Oeltjen - 70 games / .303 BA / 1 HR / 28 RBI

Garrett Guzman started 4 games in LF and 1 at DH. His batting average increased by 14 points and he picked up an RBI.

Denard Span started 5 games in CF. His batting average increased by 8 points and he picked up 6 RBI's.

Scott Whitrock started 4 games in RF. His batting average fell by a point, but he picked up 2 RBI's.

Trent Oeltjen started 2 games in LF, 2 games in RF, and 1 in CF. His batting average jumped by 10 points, and he picked up 5 RBI's.

Down on the Farm: AAA Report

Rochester Red Wings

Starting Pitchers
1.) Jason Miller - 2-3 / 2.57 ERA / 56 inn / 52-20 K-BB
2.) Pete Munro - 6-9 / 4.30 ERA / 111 inn / 72-30 K-BB
3.) Mike Smith - 7-4 / 3.84 ERA / 103 inn / 68-36 K-BB
4.) Boof Bonser - 3-4 / 3.08 ERA / 61.1 inn / 57-23 K-BB
5.) Matt Garza - 0-1 / 3.86 ERA / 7 inn / 5-2 K-BB

Jason Miller went 5 innings and got a no decision. His ERA increased by .10 points, and he had 3 K's against 2 BB's.

Pete Munro went 6 innings and picked up a win. His ERA went down by .24 points, and he had a 4-3 K-BB ratio.

Mike Smith went 7 innings and got the win. His ERA went down by .19 points, and he had 3 K's and 2 BB's.

Boof Bonser went 5 innings and took the loss. His ERA went up by .52 points, but he had 5 K's against 3 BB's.

Matt Garza lost his first start for the Red Wings after his promotion, but pitched pretty well. If he continues to pitch like this, wins will come.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Ricky Barrett - 5-1 / 3.60 ERA / 45 inn / 48-23 K-BB
2.) Beau Kemp - 6-1 / 2.41 ERA / 52.1 inn / 22-19 K-BB
3.) Henry Bonilla - 3-6 / 4.22 ERA / 64 inn / 41-20 K-BB
4.) Kevin Cameron - 3-2 / 3.08 ERA / 38 inn / 33-18 K-BB
5.) Matt Ford - 1-0 / 4.42 ERA / 38.2 inn / 18-21 K-BB
6.) Bobby Korecky - 2-1 / 2.92 ERA / 24.2 inn / 14-4 K-BB

Ricky Barrett pitched in 1 inning over 2 games. His ERA decreased by .08 points, and he walked a batter.

Beau Kemp pitched in 3 innings over 2 games. His ERA increased by .04 points, and he struck out a batter.

Henry Bonilla pitched 1 inning in 1 game. His ERA went down by .07 points.

Kevin Cameron pitched 2.2 innings in 2 games. His ERA went up by .28 points, and he had 2 K's and 2 BB's.

Matt Ford did not pitch this week.

Bobby Korecky pitched 2.1 innings in 2 games. His ERA went down by .30 points and he had 2 K's.

Catchers
1.) Shawn Wooten - 72 games / .239 BA / 5 HR / 30 RBI
2.) Chris Heintz - 57 games / .304 BA / 2 HR / 22 RBI

Shawn Wooten started 3 games behind the plate. His batting average increased by 2 points, and he had 3 RBI's.

Chris Heintz started 2 games at C and 3 at 3B. His batting average increased by 10 points, he hit a HR, and he had 2 RBI's.

Infielders
1B - Garrett Jones - 92 games / .226 BA / 12 HR / 60 RBI
2B - Luis Maza - 73 games / .213 BA / 3 HR / 32 RBI
3B - Glenn Williams - 75 games / .237 BA / 4 HR / 20 RBI
SS - Tommy Watkins - 16 games / .275 BA / 2 HR / 7 RBI
IF - Donaldo Mendez - 3 games / .429 BA / 1 HR / 1 RBI
DH - Erubiel Durazo - 1 game / .667 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI
DL - Gil Velazquez - 38 games / .287 BA / 0 HR / 13 RBI

Garrett Jones started 5 games at 1B. His batting average went down by 2 points, but he did hit a HR and picked up 3 RBI's.

Luis Maza started 1 game at 2B. His batting average fell by 3 points.

Glenn Williams started 3 games at 2B and 2 at 3B. His batting average fell by 12 points, but he did hit 2 HR's and picked up 4 RBI's.

Tommy Watkins started 4 games at SS and 1 at 2B. His batting average increased by 35 points and he picked up an RBI.

Erubiel Durazo got into his first game, going 2-for-3 and picking up an RBI.

Donaldo Mendez started 1 game at SS. His batting average went up by 179 points, he hit a HR, and he picked up an RBI.

Outfielders
LF - Alex Romero - 25 games / .195 BA / 0 HR / 9 RBI
CF - Andres Torres - 72 games / .257 BA / 2 HR / 19 RBI
RF - Kevin West - 38 games / .214 BA / 5 HR / 22 RBI

Clearly, the team can't last for too long with only 3 outfielders. I expect some re-arranging by the Twins with their minor league system to give Rochester some reinforcements.

Alex Romero started 3 games in LF and 1 in RF. His batting average increased by 21 points and he picked up 4 RBI's.

Andres Torres started 5 games in CF. His batting average increased by 6 points.

Kevin West started 4 games in RF. His batting average increased by 9 points, and he hit a HR while picking up 2 RBI's.

Enemy Intel Report

The Tigers did as expected against Kansas City this past week, but the Yankees did the Twins a favor and beat up on the White Sox. Here's the scuttlebut for the next week.

Minnesota Twins
4 games vs. Tampa Bay (Mon - Thu)
3 games @ Cleveland (Fri-Sun)

Detroit Tigers
Off Day (Mon)
3 games vs. Chicago White Sox (Tue-Thu)
3 games vs. Oakland (Fri-Sun)

Chicago White Sox
Off Day (Mon)
3 games @ Detroit (Tue-Thu)
3 games vs. Texas (Fri-Sun)

New York Yankees
3 games vs. Seattle (Mon-Wed)
4 games @ Toronto (Thu-Sun)

Toronto Blue Jays
3 games vs. Texas (Mon-Wed)
4 games vs. New York Yankees (Thu-Sun)

This will be an interesting week. The Twins have a winnable series against Tampa Bay, followed by three games against Cleveland, a team the Twins have to beat up on if they have any hope of catching Chicago or Detroit.

After losing 2 (and hopefully 3) games to New York, the White Sox now have to face off against the Tigers. This head-to-head battle between the two best teams in the American League will be fun to watch, and it will be good for the Twins to have these two teams beat up on each other.

The 4 game series between New York and Toronto is also very compelling, as the Blue Jays will have a chance to pass the Yankees in the standings, or else to fall very far behind.

All in all, a very interesting week in baseball, and one where the Twins have a very good chance to gain some ground in the standings. With time starting to run out, the Twins need to gain a couple of games on the White Sox this week.

Hunter to the DL

Torii Hunter's MRI has come in, according to Dick & Bert, and the news is not good. I suggested last night that Hunter probably would be heading to the Disabled List, based on how he appeared when he left the game last night, and the fact that the initial X-Rays were inconclusive. The word is that he has a stress fracture of a metatarsal, and there is at this point no estimate on when he will return.

The Twins did the smart thing by calling up Josh Rabe from AAA Rochester to replace Hunter. The only other real option was going with Denard Span from AA, but he really isn't ready yet to play in the Majors. Rabe is untested, but is doing well this season for Red Wings.

The bigger question is what happens long-term. Neither Stewart nor Hunter's injuries sound like they will be short; I don't expect either to contribute significantly for the rest of the season, at least not until well into September. Obviously, this puts the kibosh on any possible trade involving those players, which is unfortunate in the Stewart case because he's a free agent who the Twins seemingly never had any intention of bringing back. Now, instead of being able to move him for a prospect, the Twins will have to watch him leave. They will get compensation in the form of a draft pick, but a trade would have produced more reliable results.

Hunter also will not be able to traded, but I don't think the Twins had any intention of moving him. It does make a decision on what to do with him more difficult; is he now to be classified as "injury prone?" How long will it take his left foot to heal, and will he be the same player that he was before the injury? Terry Ryan already faced an extremely difficult decision on what to do with Hunter, but this development makes that much, much tougher.

Incidentally, this development probably means that Rondell White will be kept with the team through this season, if only as a stop-gap. Lew Ford is likely to return in 12 days or so when his time on the DL is up, and Josh Rabe will likely be sent down at that time. After that, though, there is no guarantee when the Twins will get Stewart or Hunter back. Keeping White seems like one of the only options for the team.

Of course, this is not good news for the Twins playoff chances. However, no teams luck is based entirely on one player. The Twins are built to win through pitching, and players like Morneau, Mauer, and Cuddyer will need to continue to produce enough offense for the team to win. The loss of Hunter and Stewart is a blow, but it's a blow the team can survive if the pitching doesn't implode.

Welcome Back, Rondell

As reported on the Twins website here, Shannon Stewart has been placed on the 15-day disabled list and Rondell White has been activated, and will rejoin the team in time for tomorrow's game against the Indians.

I have said several times on this blog that I hoped Rondell would be cut or otherwise disposed of rather than rejoining the Twins, but it's hard to fault Terry Ryan for the decision to add White to the team. With Lew Ford and Shannon Stewart on the disabled list and Torii Hunter unavailable for tomorrow's game (and very possibly joining Ford and Stewart on the DL soon), the Twins needed to call up an outfielder. Add to that the fact that Rondell's rehab stint, capped at 20 days, was set to expire on Wednesday, and the fact that the Twins have already called up Jason Tyner, leaving only Josh Rabe (who has no Major League experience) at the AAA level who would make any sense as a call-up, and all signs pointed to a return trip for Rondell.

I still hope that the Twins will find a way to part ways with Rondell, but I can't fault the decision to bring him back here. Incidentally, the Twins will have a very difficult decision to make if Torii has to go on the DL as well, especially considering that the team would like to send down a reliever in order to get back to a full 14-man position player roster.

What do I see happening? If Torii goes on the DL, I think the Twins will have to decide whether to call up Rabe or Denard Span. My preference would be for Rabe, with Jason Tyner sliding over to become the regular center fielder in Torii's absence and Nick Punto backing him up. I also think there is a chance that the Twins will send down Willie Eyre and add Chris Heintz to the team, as I discussed in a recent post.

Keep in mind that Matt Guerrier is soon to be sent off on a rehab stint that will last for an indeterminate amount of time. When Guerrier is ready to come back, probably in early- to mid-August, the Twins will have to decide whether Pat Neshek or the 14th man on the bench goes down.

I'm sure Terry Ryan's office is a mess right now as he tries to deal with a whirlwind of changes brought on by these injuries. Hopefully the Twins can hang on while they battle through this stretch.

Erubiel Durazo

The Star Tribune is reporting that the Twins have picked Erubiel Durazo off the scrap-heap and assigned him to AAA Rochester. The club is willing to consider bringing Durazo up if he proves that he can hit in the minors, as a left-handed bat off the bench.

I wish Durazo well, and would love to see this move pay off. Unfortunately, it smacks a little bit too much of the same mentality that brought the Twins Rondell White, Tony Batista, and Ruben Sierra this year. Durazo is a re-tread who hasn't played consistently at the major league level in several years. Sound familiar?

The reason this doesn't concern me quite as much as it could is that the Twins didn't sign Durazo with any expectations. When they signed White and Batista, the team essentially handed them major league jobs and major league contracts. Durazo was given a minor league deal and no promises. Since the Twins have picked Rochester clean this season, it's not a bad idea to sign a veteran and give him a shot. If Durazo can find his swing and start hitting for power, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to have him available at the major league level.

However, I'm not completely comfortable with this signing even with those caveats. While Durazo would help if he actually hit, I don't think that he's GOING to hit. Durazo's career ended a few years back, just like Tony Batista's, and the Twins seem to be trying to re-animate it. Batista looked like a zombie on the field, and I think Durazo is going to look the same. While I'm not going to classify this as a bad signing based on what I said above, I'm also not going to classify it as a good signing. If you're a Twins fan, don't expect to see Durazo in the Metrodome anytime soon.

Down on the Farm: Rookie League Report

Elizabethton Twins

Starting Pitchers
1.) Alex Burnett - 1-1 / 2.59 ERA / 24.1 inn / 21-3 K-BB
2.) Brian Kirwan - 1-3 / 5.40 ERA / 20 inn / 17-10 K-BB
3.) Jose Lugo - 3-1 / 3.74 ERA / 21.2 inn / 27-8 K-BB
4.) Sean Land - 0-0 / 2.40 ERA / 15 inn / 17-8 K-BB
5.) Jose Castillo - 1-1 / 2.84 ERA / 19 inn / 9-11 K-BB

Alex Burnett went 7 innings and took a no decision. His ERA went down by .01 points and he had 6 K's.

Brian Kirwan went 3 innings and took the loss in his start. His ERA skyrocketed by 2.85 points, and he had a pretty bad 3-5 K-BB ratio.

Jose Lugo went 5.2 innings and got a win. His ERA went up by .36 points, but he had a solid 7-1 K-BB ratio.

Sean Land went 7 innings and took a no decision, lowering his ERA by 2.10 points. He had 9 K's against 2 BB's.

Jose Castillo made 2 starts and took a loss, pitching 10 innings. His ERA increased by .84 points, and he had a 5-7 K-BB ratio.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Danny Hernandez - 0-0 / 4.50 ERA / 8 inn / 11-4 K-BB
2.) Matthew Williams - 2-0 / 5.59 ERA / 9.2 inn / 10-5 K-BB
3.) Aaron Craig - 2-0 / 8.68 ERA / 9.1 inn / 10-4 K-BB
4.) Matthew Fox - 1-0 / 3.46 ERA / 13 inn / 18-3 K-BB
5.) Brandon McConnell - 1-1 / 6.06 ERA / 16.1 inn / 16-5 K-BB
6.) Patrick Bryant - 0-0 / 11.12 ERA / 5.2 inn / 9-4 K-BB
7.) Walter Patton - 0-0 / 135.00 ERA / 0.2 inn / 2-8 K-BB

Danny Hernandez went 3 innings over 3 games. His ERA went down by 2.70 points, and he had 5 K's with 1 BB.

Matthew Williams went 2.2 innings in 2 games, picking up a win. His ERA increased by 1.73 points, but he did pick up 5 K's.

Aaron Craig pitched an inning in 1 game, picking up a win. His ERA increased by .04 points, and he had 1 K and 1 BB.

Matthew Fox pitched 3.1 innings in 2 games, picking up a win. His ERA increased by 2.55 points, but he had a 5-1 K-BB ratio.

Brandon McConnell pitched 7 innings over 2 games. His ERA decreased by .69 points, and he had 4 K's with 1 BB.

Patrick Bryant pitched 2 innings in 1 game, lowering his ERA by 6.06 points. He had a 3-1 K-BB ratio.

Walter Patton continues to have a horrible season. He got into a game but didn't retire anybody, and increased his already astounding ERA by 13.50 points.

Catchers
1.) Jeffrey Christy - 12 games / .317 BA / 1 HR / 8 RBI
2.) Gregory Yersich - 15 games / .241 BA / 0 HR / 4 RBI

Jeffrey Christy 3 games at C and 1 at DH. His batting average increased by 58 points, he hit a HR, and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Gregory Yersich started 3 games at C and 3 at DH. His batting average fell by 53 points, but he did pick up 2 RBI's.

Infielders
1B - Daniel Berg - 15 games / .245 BA / 0 HR / 6 RBI
2B - William Luque - 13 games / .311 BA / 0 HR / 3 RBI
3B - Garrett Olson - 12 games / .222 BA / 0 HR / 4 RBI
SS - Steven Singleton - 11 games / .303 BA / 0 HR / 8 RBI
IF - Henry Sanchez - 12 games / .220 BA / 1 HR / 8 RBI
IF - Brian Dinkelman - 13 games / .255 BA / 1 HR / 11 RBI
IF - Joshua Dean - 10 games / .222 BA / 1 HR / 2 RBI
IF - Michael Lysaught - 8 games / .000 BA / 0 HR / 0 RBI
IF - Yancarlos Ortiz - 12 games / .182 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI
IF - Daniel Valencia - 1 game / .250 BA / 0 HR / 0 RBI

Daniel Berg started 4 games at 1B and 1 at DH. His batting average increased by 81 points and he picked up 3 RBI's.

William Luque started 4 games at 2B and 1 at 3B. His batting average fell by 59 points and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Garrett Olson started 4 games at 3B. His batting average fell by 5 points, but he picked up 1 RBI.

Steven Singleton started 3 games at SS. His batting average fell by 30 points, but he did pick up 2 RBI's.

Henry Sanchez started just 1 game, at DH. His batting average stayed put.

Brian Dinkelman started 1 game at 2B. His batting average fell by 6 points.

Joshua Dean started 2 games at 1B. His batting average fell by 5 points, but he did hit a HR and pick up 2 RBI's.

Michael Lysaught started 1 game at 2B. He still does not have a hit this season.

Yancarlos Ortiz started 3 games at SS. His batting average fell by 26 points.

Daniel Valencia started 1 game at 3B, making his first appearance of the year.

Outfielders
LF - Josh Land - 11 games / .182 BA / 1 HR / 7 RBI
CF - Danny Santiesteban - 19 games / .194 BA / 1 HR / 8 RBI
RF - J.W. Wilson - 14 games / .264 BA / 3 HR / 4 RBI
OF - Richard Sojo - 10 games / .235 BA / 0 HR / 4 RBI
OF - Wesley Connor - 10 games / .129 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Josh Land started 3 games in LF. His batting average plummeted by 85 points.

Danny Santiesteban started 5 games in CF. His batting average fell by 14 points, but he did hit a HR and picked up 2 RBI's.

J.W. Wilson started 4 games in RF and 1 in CF. His batting average fell by 30 points, but he hit a HR and picked up an RBI.

Richard Sojo started 2 games in LF and 1 in RF. His batting average fell by 15 points, but he picked up 3 RBI's.

Wesley Connor started 1 game in RF. His batting average continued to fall, this week by 45 points.


GCL Twins

Starting Pitchers
1.) Omar Alcala - 1-1 / 2.25 ERA / 20 inn / 12-9 K-BB
2.) Ludovicus Van Mil - 1-0 / 2.33 ERA / 19.1 inn / 14-10 K-BB
3.) Curtis Leavitt - 0-0 / 6.19 ERA / 16 inn / 20-6 K-BB
4.) David Bromberg - 1-1 / 2.81 ERA / 16 inn / 10-9 K-BB
5.) Tyler Robertson - 1-0 / 2.65 ERA / 17 inn / 17-5 K-BB

Omar Alcala went 6 innings and got the win in his start. His ERA fell by .32 points, and he had 4 K's and 3 BB's.

Ludovic Van Mil went 6 innings and got the win in his start as well. His ERA increased by .30 points, but he had 6 K's and just 1 BB.

Curtis Leavitt went 5 innings in his start, but it didn't go so well; his ERA increased by 1.28 points, and he had a 4-4 K-BB ratio.

David Bromberg went 7 innings and got the win in his start. His ERA fell by 2.19 points, and he had 2 K's and 2 BB's.

Tyler Robertson went 4 innings and took a no decision. His ERA fell by .81 points, and he had 4 K's against just 1 BB.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Robert Delaney - 1-1 / 4.20 ERA / 15 inn / 13-1 K-BB
2.) Jakub Toufar - 0-0 / 5.40 ERA / 5 inn / 3-3 K-BB
3.) Carlos Garcia - 2-0 / 3.46 ERA / 13 inn / 8-9 K-BB
4.) Bradley Tippett - 2-1 / 0.00 ERA / 11.1 inn / 11-2 K-BB
5.) Jon Staatz - 2-0 / 3.09 ERA / 11.2 inn / 20-3 K-BB
6.) Dan Leatherman - 1-0 / 0.00 ERA / 9 inn / 8-3 K-BB
7.) Bruno Sanchez - 1-2 / 7.27 ERA / 8.2 inn / 4-7 K-BB
8.) Joan Ortiz - 1-0 / 3.86 ERA / 2.1 inn / 0-1 K-BB
9.) Luis Carreras - 0-0 / 2.89 ERA / 9.1 inn / 8-1 K-BB
10.) Nathan Crawford - 0-0 / 18.00 ERA / 2 inn / 2-1 K-BB
11.) Jeffrey Schoenbchler - 0-0 / 0.00 ERA / 1 inn / 0-0 K-BB
12.) Jose Acosta - 0-1 / 2.25 ERA / 4 inn / 1-1 K-BB

Robert Delaney went 2.1 innings in 1 game. His ERA fell by .06 points and he had 2 K's.

Jakub Toufar went 1.2 innings in 1 game. His ERA fell by 2.70 points, but he walked a batter.

Carlos Garcia pitched 2.1 innings in 2 games. His ERA increased by .08 points, and he had a BB and a K.

Bradley Tippett pitched 2.2 innings in 3 games. He continues to be amazing, not having allowed an Earned Run so far this season. He had 3 K's and 1 BB.

Jon Staatz went 4.1 innings in 2 games, picking up a win. His ERA fell by 1.82 points, and he had 8 K's against 3 BB's.

Dan Leatherman pitched 4 innings in 1 game. Like Brad Tippett, he continues to shine and also hasn't allowed an earned run. He had 8 K's and 1 BB.

Bruno Sanchez got a spot start this week, but only went 1.2 innings. His ERA increased by 1.13 points, and he took the loss. He had 1 K and 2 BB's.

Jose Acosta went 2 innings and took a loss, increasing his ERA by 2.25 points. He did pick up a K.

No one else pitched this week for the GCL Twins.

Catchers
1.) Wilson Ramos - 16 games / .207 BA / 1 HR / 10 RBI
2.) Rodolfo Palacios - 14 games / .364 BA / 0 HR / 7 RBI
3.) Gilbert Buenrostro - 5 games / .231 BA / 0 HR / 0 RBI
4.) Mighuel Barrientos - 3 games / .182 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Wilson Ramos started 2 games at C and 2 at 1B. His batting average fell by 32 points, but he picked up an RBI.

Rodolfo Palacios started 2 games at C and 2 at 1B. His batting average increased by 21 points and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Gilbert Buenrostro started 2 games at C. His batting average increased by 9 points.

Mighuel Barrientos did not play again this week.

Infielders
1B - Deibinson Romero - 18 games / .267 BA / 1 HR / 14 RBI
2B - Thomas Cowgill - 12 games / .222 BA / 2 HR / 6 RBI
3B - Matthew Betsill - 3 games / .000 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI
SS - Starling De Los Santos - 17 games / .190 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
IF - Matthew Lawman - 7 games / .118 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI
IF - Juan Delgado - 11 games / .257 BA / 0 HR / 4 RBI
IF - Eric Santiago - 15 games / .194 BA / 0 HR / 5 RBI

Deibinson Romero started 3 games at 3B, 1 at 1B, and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 25 points.

Thomas Cowgill started started 3 games at 2B and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 5 points, but he hit a HR and picked up 2 RBI's.

Matthew Betsill joined the team and started 2 games at 3B. Unfortunately, he does not yet have a hit, but he did pick up an RBI.

Starling De Los Santos started 3 games at SS and 1 at 2B. His batting average fell by 10 points.

Matthew Lawman started 2 games at 2B. His batting average increased by 27 points.

Juan Delgado started 1 game at 3B, 1 at SS and 1 at DH. His batting average increased by 40 points and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Eric Santiago started 2 games at SS and 2 at DH. His batting average fell by 56 points.

Outfielders
LF - Mark Dolenc - 20 games / .186 BA / 0 HR / 9 RBI
CF - Joe Benson - 20 games / .351 BA / 3 HR / 17 RBI
RF - Chris Parmalee - 13 games / .295 BA / 3 HR / 11 RBI
OF - Kevin Harrington - 14 games / .064 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
OF - Jilmer Arratia - 1 game / .333 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Mark Dolenc started 5 games in LF. His batting average fell by 18 points, but he picked up 3 RBI's.

Joe Benson started 4 games in CF, 1 in RF, and 1 at DH. His batting average increased by 43 points, and he hit 3 HR's with 8 RBI's. Nice week, Joe!

Chris Parmalee started 5 games in RF and 1 at 1B. He also had a great week, increasing his batting average by 103 points, with a HR and 7 RBI's.

Kevin Harrington started 2 games in CF. His batting average fell by 7 points.

Jilmer Arratia started a game in LF, and has played in only that game since joining the team.

Donw on the Farm: Low A Report

I was unfortunately unable to post the Snappers report yesterday. As a result, all totals are good through yesterday's game, so there is an extra game recorded on this week's Low A Report.

Beloit Snappers

Starting Pitchers
1.) Oswaldo Sosa - 7-6 / 2.50 ERA / 101 inn / 79-31 K-BB
2.) Ryan Mullins - 2-4 / 4.15 ERA / 95.1 inn / 78-32 K-BB
3.) Adam Hawes - 4-3 / 4.52 ERA / 69.2 inn / 49-29 K-BB
4.) Alexander Smit - 2-1 / 4.41 ERA / 49 inn / 58-26 K-BB
5.) Armando Gabino - no record
DL - Eduardo Morlan - 3-4 / 2.60 ERA / 65.2 inn / 78-28 K-BB

Oswaldo Sosa went 8 innings and picked up a win in his start. His ERA went down by .11 points, and he had a 6-2 K-BB ratio.

Ryan Mullins went 6 innings and took the loss in his start. His ERA went down by .08 points, and he had 4 K's against 2 BB's.

Adam Hawes got 2 starts and picked up 2 wins, going 12.2 innings. His ERA dropped by .53 points. He had 6 K's and 6 BB's.

Alexander Smit went 6 innings and got a no decision. His ERA fell by .19 points, and he picked up 7 K's with 2 BB's.

Armando Gabino was promoted from Elizabethton, and replaces Kyle Waldrop in the rotation.

Relief Pitchers
1.) Jose Cordero - 0-1 / 7.11 ERA / 12.2 inn / 13-7 K-BB
2.) Yohan Pino - 7-2 / 1.69 ERA / 48 inn / 59-13 K-BB
3.) Frank Mata - 5-2 / 2.51 ERA / 32.1 inn / 16-8 K-BB
4.) David Shinskie - 6-5 / 2.07 ERA / 61 inn / 49-13 K-BB
5.) Danny Vais - 1-2 / 1.91 ERA / 47 inn / 43-13 K-BB
6.) John Cline - 0-2 / 15.00 ERA / 3 inn / 3-3 K-BB

Jose Cordero pitched 3.1 innings over 3 games. His ERA went down by .60 points, and he had a 5-1 K-BB ratio.

Yohan Pino got into 2 games, pitching 3.1 innings and taking a loss. His ERA went up by .28 points, but he had a 3-1 K-BB ratio.

Frank Mata pitched 2 innings in 1 game, picking up the win. His ERA went down by .25 points and he had 2 K's.

David Shinskie pitched 8.1 innings over 4 games. His ERA went down .32 points, and he had 6 K's with 1 BB.

Danny Vais pitched 4 innings in 3 games. His ERA went down .18 points, and he had 2 K's and 1 BB.

John Cline did not pitch this week.

Catchers
1.) Allan de San Miguel - 45 games / .192 BA / 0 HR / 15 RBI
2.) Jose Leger - 9 games / .185 BA / 0 HR / 1 RBI

Allan de San Miguel caught 4 games this week, and raised his batting average by 2 points while picking up 1 RBI.

Jose Leger got 2 starts behind the plate, and his batting average fell 50 points.

Infielders
1B - Erik Lis - 80 games / .315 BA / 10 HR / 46 RBI
2B - Andrew Thompson - 70 games / .266 BA / 3 HR / 22 RBI
3B - Whitney Robbins - 14 games / .400 BA / 2 HR / 17 RBI
SS - Paul Kelly - 85 games / .275 BA / 3 HR / 46 RBI
IF - Toby Gardenhire - 47 games / .206 BA / 0 HR / 10 RBI
IF - Juan Portes - 31 games / .198 BA / 0 HR / 10 RBI

Erik Lis started 5 games at 1B and 2 at DH. His batting average fell by 9 points, but he hit a HR and picked up 2 RBI's.

Andrew Thompson started 5 games at 2B and 1 at SS. His batting average fell by 9 points, but he picked up 3 RBI's.

Whitney Robbins started 4 games at 3B and 2 at 1B. His batting average fell by 83 points, but he did hit a HR and picked up 3 RBI's.

Paul Kelly started 6 games at SS and 1 at 3B. His batting average increased by 8 games, and he picked up 8 RBI's.

Toby Gardenhire started 2 games at 2B. His batting average fell by 3 points and he picked up 1 RBI.

Juan Portes started 2 games at 3B and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 14 points and he got 3 RBI's.

Outfielders
LF - Tarrance Patterson - 66 games / .259 BA / 0 HR / 12 RBI
CF - Edward Ovalle - 84 games / .267 BA / 7 HR / 42 RBI
RF - Eli Tintor - 69 games / .275 BA / 4 HR / 28 RBI
OF - Mark Robinson - 14 games / .180 BA / 0 HR / 2 RBI
OF - Dwayne White - 54 games / .236 BA / 2 HR / 13 RBI

Tarrance Patterson started 3 games in LF and 2 in CF. His batting average fell by 5 points and he picked up 2 RBI's.

Edward Ovalle started 5 games in CF. His batting average fell by a point and he picked up 4 RBI's.

Eli Tintor started 5 games in RF. His batting average went up by 8 points.

Mark Robinson started 2 games in RF, 1 in LF and 2 at DH. His batting average fell by 46 points.

Dwayne White started 1 game in LF and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 6 points.

Ford to the DL

The Twins suffered two losses last night; the game, and outfielder Lew Ford, who was placed on the 15-day Disabled List. His replacement was Jason Tyner, who is having an All-Star season for AAA Rochester this year.

The move makes a lot of sense. If you look back to my post on arbitration-eligible Twins, I suggested that Lew Ford would be gone either at the trade deadline, if a team was desperate enough for an outfielder to take him, or at the end of the year when I expect him to be non-tendered (the same process, incidentally, that led to the departure of David Ortiz). Ford is a solid but unremarkable player whose batting average has gone down every year that he's been a big-leaguer; not a good career trend.

By bringing Jason Tyner up now, the Twins get an opportunity to see if he can fill Ford's role for the rest of the year, and possibly next season as well. Tyner can play every outfield position, like Ford; he is a scrappy player, like Ford; and hopefully, unlike Ford, he can hit. I'm not expecting miracles, mind you; Tyner is a career .261 hitter in 834 big-league at-bats. But Ford is hitting around .230 right now, so the Twins haven't exactly been getting a lot out of him.

While I never hope for an injury, this one presents the Twins with an opportunity to test a replacement, and my hope is that Tyner shines over the next two weeks, freeing the Twins hands to move Ford.

Matt Garza Promoted
The Strib article linked to above also mentions the promotion of Matt Garza to AAA Rochester. Garza made 10 starts in AA New Britain, most of them very, very good. The numbers are in the article, so I see no reason to repeat them here. Suffice it to say that Garza'a path so far has been remarkable, being drafted in June 2005, and making it to AAA just over a year later. I don't expect Garza to get Major League playing time this year (although there is a slightly higher possibility that he'll get a chance to come up in September after the rosters expand), but this move clearly indicates that the Twins believe Garza will be an important piece in the very near future. The timetable for him would now see him competing for a spot in the rotation next spring, and probably becoming a fixture with the team by the end of the 2007 season at the latest, barring a setback.

Congratulations to Garza, and hopefully he can keep on dominating the opposition.

Down on the Farm: High A Report

Ft. Myers Miracle

Starting Pitchers
1.) Anthony Swarzak - 4-6 / 4.11 ERA / 92 inn / 90-36 K-BB
2.) Justin Jones - 1-3 / 3.99 ERA / 47.1 inn / 28-17 K-BB
3.) Brian Duensing - 2-4 / 2.77 ERA / 39 inn / 32-5 K-BB
4.) Josh Hill - 5-2 / 5.72 ERA / 56.2 inn / 37-20 K-BB
5.) Kyle Aselton - 4-2 / 4.38 ERA / 51.1 inn / 45-26 K-BB

Jay Sawatski got a promotion, Kyle Aselton came off of the disabled list, and Danny Powers returned to the bullpen, so the Miracle have a much tidier situation with their starting pitching than they did a week ago.

Anthony Swarzak went 6 innings and took a loss in his start, but lowered his ERA by .29 points and picked up 7 K's.

Justin Jones also went 6 innings, getting a no decision. His ERA fell by .36 points, and he had 2 K's against 1 BB.

Brian Duensing went 7 innings and picked up a win, lowering his ERA by .32 points in the process. He struck out 5 and walked 1, adding to that excellent K-BB ratio.

Josh Hill went 5.1 innings and got a no decision. He lowered his ERA by .07 points, and had a 4-3 K-BB ratio.

Kyle Aselton went just 2 innings in his return from the disabled list, but actually lowered his ERA by .18 points while picking up a K. Hopefully he left the game because they're easing him back into things, as opposed to re-injuring himself.

Relief Pitchers
1.) J.P. Martinez - 2-2 / 3.26 ERA / 47 inn / 53-23 K-BB
2.) Ryan Callahan - 3-4 / 5.05 ERA / 41 inn / 35-17 K-BB
3.) Chris Schutt - 2-2 / 3.71 ERA / 34 inn / 40-17 K-BB
4.) Colby Miller - 2-2 / 4.55 ERA / 31.2 inn / 19-14 K-BB
5.) Tim Lahey - 4-0 / 4.57 ERA / 45.1 inn / 32-16 K-BB
6.) Jose Mijares - 0-5 / 4.43 ERA / 44.2 inn / 53-22 K-BB
7.) Danny Powers - 3-2 / 4.50 ERA / 32 inn / 29-9 K-BB
DL - Angel Garcia - 2-1 / 2.93 ERA / 15.1 inn / 13-9 K-BB

J.P. Martinez pitched 1 inning in 1 appearance this week, raising his ERA by .13 points and picking up 1 K against 2 BB's. He picked up the win in that game.

Ryan Callahan pitched 1.2 innings in his 1 appearance, and his ERA suffered, jumping by .70 points. He had 1 K and 1 BB.

Chris Schutt took the loss in the game he appeared in, pitching 3 innings. His ERA actually fell by .06 points and he had 2 K's. Tough luck.

Colby Miller pitched 1.2 innings in his 1 game. His ERA fell by .25 points and he had 3 K's.

Tim Lahey went 2 innings in his 1 appearance, dropping his ERA by .21 points and picking up a K.

Jose Mijares went 4 innings in his 1 game, lowering his ERA by .44 points and picking up a fantastic 9 K's against just 2 BB's.

Danny Powers returned to action with 1.1 innings in 2 games. His ERA exploded by .98 points and he took a loss, but he did pick up 1 K.

Catchers
1.) Korey Feiner - 56 games / .198 BA / 1 HR / 12 RBI
2.) Caleb Moore - no stats

Kyle Geiger, who was a Florida State League All-Star this season, was just promoted to AA New Britain today. To replace him, the Twins promoted Midwest League All-Star Caleb Moore from Low A Beloit to the Miracle. He should get the bulk of the playing time behind the plate for the rest of the year.

Korey Feiner started 3 games at C, lowering his batting average by 11 points.

Infielders
1B - Brock Peterson - 70 games / .282 BA / 10 HR / 36 RBI
2B - Steve Tolleson - 8 games / .345 BA / 1 HR / 3 RBI
3B - David Winfree - 15 games / .271 BA / 3 HR / 11 RBI
SS - Alexi Casilla - 77 games / .326 BA / 0 HR / 32 RBI
IF - Luke Hughes - 64 games / .232 BA / 2 HR / 24 RBI
IF - Trevor Plouffe - 75 games / .218 BA / 1 HR / 23 RBI

Brock Peterson started 4 games at 1B and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 3 points, but he did hit a HR and pick up an RBI.

Steve Tolleson started 3 games at 2B and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 110 points, but is still pretty shiny.

David Winfree started 2 games at 3B, 2 at DH, and 1 at 1B. His batting average fell by 54 points, but he did hit a HR and pick up an RBI.

Alexi Casilla got 4 starts at SS and 1 at 2B. His batting average rose by 6 points as he continued to put up solid numbers for the season.

Luke Hughes started 1 game at 2B and 1 at 3B. His batting average went up by 4 points.

Trevor Plouffe started 2 games at 3B, 1 at SS, and 1 at DH. His batting average fell by 8 points, but he picked up 2 RBI'.s

Outfielders
LF - Deacon Burns - 71 games / .217 BA / 1 HR / 16 RBI
CF - Brandon Roberts - 20 games / .241 BA / 0 HR / 8 RBI
RF - Jeremy Pickrel - 66 games / .230 BA / 3 HR / 29 RBI
OF - Justin Arneson - 43 games / .206 BA / 1 HR / 13 RBI
OF - Erold Andrus - 33 games / .215 BA / 2 HR / 21 RBI

Deacon Burns started 3 games in LF and 1 in RF. His batting average increased by 2 points.

Brandon Roberts started 4 games in CF. His batting average went up by a 31 points as he started to find his swing, and he picked up 3 RBI's.

Jeremy Pickrel started 3 games in RF. His batting average went up by a point and he picked up an RBI.

Justin Arneson started 1 game in CF and 1 in RF. His batting average went up by 3 points, and he hit his 1st HR of the year, picking up 3 RBI's as well.

Erold Andrus started 2 games in LF. He raised his batting average by 4 points and he picked up 2 RBI's.