Moves that Should be Made

In light of the news that Adam Hawes, a righty pitching with the Beloit Snappers, has been promoted to High A Ft. Myers, I thought that I would list the five players in the Twins organization who are most deserving of a promotion.

1.) Jeff Manship - RHP - Beloit Snappers

Stats -- 1.49 ERA / 0.72 WHIP / 72.1 innings / 74-8 K-BB

Manship is the poster-child for a promotion, and the decision to promote Hawes rather than Manship is mystifying. Manship has pretty much dominated Midwest League opponents this season, and should be pitching for the Miracle before too long. The Twins seem to be taking a more restrained approach with Manship than they did with Matt Garza or Kevin Slowey a year ago, so they must feel that he's still getting something out of his time in Beloit -- but I for one (amongst many) think that it's time for him to move up.


2.) Matt Tolbert - IF - Rochester Red Wings

Stats -- .373 BA / .991 OPS / 3 HR / 26 RBI / 166 AB / 20 K

I was admittedly not on the band-wagon earlier in the year, when people started calling for Tolbert to be promoted. I just didn't feel that he had demonstrated enough earlier in his career to justify a call-up to the big leagues. Consider me convinced -- you don't hit .373 in AAA over 166 AB's and not have at least some ability to hit. I'm still not convinced that Tolbert is a Major League caliber ballplayer, but he couldn't possibly be a worse option that Luis Rodriguez, who rarely plays and almost never performs well even when he does get into ballgames. It's time to give Tolbert a shot.


3.) Garrett Guzman - OF - New Britain Rock Cats

Stats -- .291 BA / .762 OPS / 7 HR / 42 RBI / 230 AB / 22 K

Guzman's OPS is a little on the law side, but he's driven in plenty of runs this season, and his low strikeout numbers are impressive. The Red Wings have Garrett Jones and Denard Span set in the outfield, but the other two outfielders on the roster, Trent Oeltjen and Doug Deeds, are struggling this year, so there's a place for another outfielder on the roster. Not to mention the fact that Matthew LeCroy is taking up a roster spot that should go to somebody younger and with an actual chance of developing. Guzman's productive season has put him in a position to get the call-up, and he's deserving of the chance to play for the Red Wings.


4.) Yohan Pino - RHP - Ft. Myers Miracle

Stats -- 1.99 ERA / 1.03 WHIP / 49.2 innings / 46-13 K-BB

Pino has started a few games and relieved in a few games, so he's demonstrating right now that he can suceed in either role. His numbers are amazing, and with nearly 50 innings in Ft. Myers, he's demonstrated that his success is no fluke. He deserves a chance to advance to the Rock Cats.


5.) Robert Delaney - RHP - Beloit Snappers

Stats -- 0.47 ERA / 0.63 WHIP / 38 innings / 46-4 K-BB

His stats just jump off the page at you, don't they? Delaney is a little short on innings for a promotion, but his numbers are so incredible that he deserves one anyway. He and Manship could take the flight down to Ft. Myers at the same time, even . . .