2012 Twins Take of the Week for Week 5 – Transactions – Danny Valencia or ValenSeeYa?

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Robb

7052039787 5664d525d7 2012 Twins Take of the Week for Week 5 Transactions Danny Valencia or ValenSeeYa?

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Danny Valencia was the victim of change due to losing games! or was he? It’s hard to call Danny a victim when he has a .190 batting average (AVG), a .204 on-base percentage (OBP) and a slugging percentage of .290 (SLG), even if Drew Butera thinks those numbers are pretty good.*  Those are numbers that are screaming THIS ISN’T WORKING so the Minnesota Twins optioned Danny Valencia down to Triple-A Rochester on Thursday, May 10th. He needs to go down there, get to work and get some confidence back into his game.

*Haha, sorry Drew! My first thought was to go with Junior Ortiz for that, then Tim Laudner but I decided to go with a current Twin so everyone would know who it was. How ’bout Brendan Harris or Matt Tolbert or maybe Alexi Casilla so I can match up the ValenSeeYa with the CaSeeYa? ValenSeeYa is supposed to be a good thing like when Danny hits a home run or gets a clutch hit not when he’s sent down to the minors! 

Danny has gone through some struggles on his way to the Major Leagues but I doubt he’s gone through anything like this where he’s struggled for so long. He had a tremendous 2010 season for the Minnesota Twins to the point where it’s hard to find an area he didn’t do well in, at least with the bat.  He only had half a season in the majors but he seemed to adapt to the major leagues quickly. Did his success make him relax in the off-seasons or was it teams learning how to pitch him?

In 2011, Danny Valencia was hitting basically the same way he was in 2010 but getting different results and less hits. He started to struggle against right-handed pitchers. That will tend to happen after teams get some film on young players. That’s probably not close to the whole reason Danny struggled in 2011. I’m far from an expert in analyzing swings. I’ll leave that to the scouting types.*

*I do find it fascinating how a batter’s swing can be divided into so many parts and then adjusted or fixed to speed up or slow down a swing for various situations. Think of what that takes to do and do it in a timely manner to fix your swing from day to day or even week to week. The discipline to first admit there’s something wrong, even if you can see it on video, then know what to do (or try) to fix it and, most of all, to change a part of your swing and get to the point where it becomes natural to you again. I’m not sure most fans realize how much this happens. Another thing that’s amazing is that these players obviously had success before they changed a part of their swing so it was working and it just shows that baseball is a game with adjustments going on all the time and that’s why I love the game!

So Danny’s hitting struggles go back to 2011 and have not really ended and have actually gotten worse. At least in 2011 he was still getting some walks where as in 2012, he has 2 walks and 23 strikeouts in 27 games and 100 at-bats. That tells me that he’s trying to swing his way out of his slump which usually means swinging at more bad pitches. The opposing teams and pitchers know he’s struggling so they’ll try to take advantage of that by not giving him much to hit and seeing if he’ll bite on the breaking balls and off-speed stuff and throwing more outside pitches as well.

The trouble with being in a slump is most players try to swing their way out of it, swinging at more pitches and at more pitches out of the strike zone but contacting on less of those pitches. Look at Danny’s plate discipline stats and it’s easy to see what I’m talking about. His swing percentage on pitches out of the strike zone has gone from 24.9 % in 2010 to 30.9% in 2011 and a whopping 40.1% so far this season while his swing percentage on pitches in the strike zone has gone down (60.3 to 57.8 to 50.5.) Not surprisingly, his contact percentage has gone down as well (82.9 to 79.8 to 74.6.) He’s getting down in the count early which is getting him into pitcher’s counts and he’s swinging at the junk they are throwing out of the zone which, of course, is harder to hit. Danny is 0-for-May and he’s struggling big time. The Minnesota Twins could’ve tried sitting him down for a couple games but they obviously didn’t want to go in that direction. Hopefully Danny is able to correct this in the minors because we’ve seen that he’s capable of being a pretty good hitter.

Defensively, Danny has kind of been on the questionable side so when he performed so well in his initial call-up, it took most people by surprise. His defense went from above average to really bad. Was it playing more games and the small sample size fooling us? Ron Gardenhire started to show frustration with Danny’s approach at the hot corner and hinted that the team’s future at 3rd base might be in question. Danny worked on his defense in the off-season and has looked a lot better but he still has his deficiencies.

The bad thing about sending Danny Valencia to the minors is the Minnesota Twins don’t really have another 3rd baseman on the roster. They have some guys they can put over there, like Jamey Carroll, Trevor Plouffe, or Alexi Casilla, but they have never really played 3rd base full-time. This should allow the Twins to get Trevor Plouffe more playing time to see if he is worth keeping or if they eventually have to make a move with him as well.* This points to the problems of the Twins depth in the minors at 3rd base and infielders as a whole.

*Plouffe is hitting a whopping .145/.280/.585 although in the last two games he is 2-9 with 2 home runs, 3 RBIs and 4 strikeouts so we may have witnessed a slump…BUSTED! Trevor is out of options so he would have to clear waivers to be sent to triple-A. I would prefer they keep Plouffe in the outfield as he’s shown that he might not have the skills to play infield in the Majors. He seems to be on a Michael Cuddyer path where the Twins are trying to find a place for him and it might end up being right field because his glove isn’t good enough in the infield. He could probably fill in at 1st base here and there but that’s about it.

The bottom line is if players aren’t performing and they still have options left to be sent down to the minors, at some point they need to play better or someone else needs to be given a chance in The Show! That’s what has to happen when you have a losing team.

Other Minnesota Twinsactions
5/7 – 1B Justin Morneau placed on 15-Day disabled list (retroactive to May 1, 2012) with sore right wrist
5/7 – SS Brian Dozier recalled from AAA Rochester Red Wings
5/7 – RHP Liam Hendricks optioned to AAA Rochester Red Wings
5/7 – LHP Scott Diamond recalled from AAA Rochester Red Wings
5/9 – signed free agent DH Shawn Roof
5/10 – LHP Matt Maloney designated for assignment
5/10 – RHP P.J. Walters recalled from AAA Rochester Red Wings
5/10 – 3B Danny Valencia optioned to AAA Rochester Red Wings
5/10 – LF Darin Mastroianni recalled from AAA Rochester Red Wings

  • SS Brian Dozier is the big name on this list. He’s moved through the organization quickly and made a bid to make the team out of spring training. Don’t expect him to be the savior or anything like that but it’s always exciting to see how a prospect does in his debut. It’s fun to see the firsts of a player’s major league career (hit, rbi, home run, etc…). He should be pretty good defensively and alright with the bat.
  • LHP Scott Diamond was up with the Twins at the end of last season for 7 starts (a spot start in July and a regular rotation spot in late August) going 1-5 (W-L). He got his 1st Major League win in a 7-6 win in Chicago against the White Sox. He ended up with a 5.08 ERA & 1.744 WHIP (Walks + Hits per Innings Pitched) with 17 walks and 19 strikeouts in 39 innings. Not great but he got a taste of what it’s like in The Show and had a couple good starts.
    • He’s been great so far this season no matter where he’s pitched. In triple-A Rochester, he was 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA, 1.212 WHIP with only 7 walks and 26 strikeouts in 34.2 innings. He’s been spectacular with the Twins. In his 2 starts, he’s 2-0, has yet to give up a run (0.00 ERA), has a WHIP of 0.714 and has only 1 walk and 10 strikeouts in 14 innings. Can he keep this going?
  • RHP P.J. Walters was signed as a free agent in December. He was part of the Colby Rasmus trade from St. Louis to Toronto for Edwin Jackson. He’s been up and down between AAA and the majors since 2009 getting some starts and some time in the bullpen.
  • LF Darin Mastroianni was claimed off waivers from Toronto in the off-season. He’s got a lot of speed, good plate discipline, a decent bat although very little power and he’s good defensively in the outfield. He can play 2B as well although I doubt he’d be put there much for Twins but nice to have that option if you need it.

 

Alright, those are my TwinsTakes. What are your TwinsTakes? Are the Minnesota Twins doing the right things with their roster? When will we see Danny Valencia back up with the Twins?

Tell us what you think in the comments!

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GO TWINS!!!

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Twins Take of the Week – Week 4 – No-hitter, Fire Gardy? & the Worst Team in Baseball?

Posted on May 5, 2012 by Robb

7089272671 ef68b0c903 Twins Take of the Week Week 4 No hitter, Fire Gardy? & the Worst Team in Baseball?
cc Twins Take of the Week Week 4 No hitter, Fire Gardy? & the Worst Team in Baseball? Photo Credit: acase1968 via Compfight

Nice Picture, huh? Kinda Gross!

Did the offense give the pitching a break for a week?

No Hits in L.A.
Well, there’s nothing like having a pitcher throw a no-hitter against you to get the focus off the pitching, huh? On Wednesday, the 2nd of May, Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher, Jered Weaver, pitched a no-hitter against our Minnesota Twins. That also made it two games in a row the Twins were kept off the scoreboard having been shut out the previous game by Jerome Williams. They ended up scoring only 3 runs in the 3-game series after scoring 13 runs in 2 games at home against the Kansas City Royals.

A no-hitter is a tremendous accomplishment for any pitcher and the team around him! There are other players on the field though. Pretty much every no-hitter has a few great defensive plays that keep it a no-hitter, even if those plays aren’t really remembered much, if at all. The pitcher is remembered for the no-hitter so it seems like the pitcher was solely responsible for the whole game.* Every ball hit the web of the glove that was put in play unless, of course, there was an error. The pitcher knows this and I would imagine they all do something to make it known how thankful he is for all the plays his defense made for him.

*Maybe it should also be known as an all-webber? or a Web-fest? I’ll come up with something! Ooh, how ’bout All-Leather Performance? No?

Most fans seemed to react as if this was rock bottom for the Minnesota Twins. They have the worst record in baseball, were shut out by a 5th starter and now they’ve been no-hit by a pitcher who is the ace of the Angels staff. I obviously don’t want it to get worse for the Twins but I’m not sure that’s rock bottom! How different would people have reacted if they got one hit? Would that have changed their reaction?

In the end, it is just one game and they have to be ready to play the next game.  The Twins had a day off so they had time to think about, hopefully work on and go over the struggles they are going through. They need to forget about not getting a hit and just go play baseball in Seattle.

Worst team in baseball?
Have the Twins been as bad as their record shows? Maybe, but they have played some decent baseball at times. The offense has been performing alright but the pitching has been horrible. They aren’t getting the big hit when they need it, especially with the bases loaded, where they are hitting .200 (5-25) with 1 double, 14 runs batted in (RBIs), 1 walk and 6 strikeouts. Usually when they have gotten a big hit, the pitching has given up the lead and the game more often than not.

They’ve been in games with chances to win. 11 of their 25 games have been one run games and they are 5-6 in those games. Only 2 of their games have been 2-run games and they lost both of those in Baltimore, 4-2 & 3-1. In 1-run games, they have been outscored 60 to 59. In the other 14 games, they’ve been outscored 76 to 31! It’s no wonder pitching was my take in week 2 and week 3. OUCH!

Have the Twins been as bad as they were last season when they were committing errors on defense and just playing bad baseball? I don’t think so or at least I think it’s too early to say with just 25 games played. A lot can happen in 137 games! It will be interesting either way, good or bad.

25 Scoreless Innings? Who Cares?
The Twins broke their scoreless innings streak last night when they scored in the 7th inning last night in Seattle. A lot of people made a big deal of that since they were shut out two straight games. Sometimes fans make too big a deal of those things. After shutting out the Twins for two straight games, the Angels have been shut out twice at home by the Toronto Blue Jays and have been shut out a whopping 6 times in 27 games and they have Albert Pujols on their team!*

*How often does a team with Albert Pujols get shut out 6 times in a season? It can’t be many, right? WRONG! Since 2001, Pujols 1st season, the St. Louis Cardinals were shut out 89 times! Only 3 of those seasons did they get shutout less than 6 times.

Sometimes stats don’t mean anything and they almost always don’t mean anything to the players playing the game. Do you think any of the players knew their scoreless innings streak was at 25 innings in the 7th inning last night? At most, they knew they hadn’t scored in two straight games but don’t care about the one inning they didn’t score in the 1st game of the Angels series and the 6 innings to start the 1st game in Seattle.

Jared Burton
How many of you know that Jared Burton has gone 8.1 innings without giving up a hit? That’s right! He gave up 2 runs (both home runs) in his Twins debut on April 7th and 1 run in his appearance on April 12th but since then he hasn’t even given up a hit. In those 8.1 innings, he’s struck out 8 and walked 2 with 11 groundball outs and 5 fly ball outs. He’s been pitching great and is or should be the right-handed setup guy. I hope I didn’t just jinx him but if I did, I’ll take credit for it! Hey, any publicity is good publicity, people! Tell EVERYBODY! Haha!

Is the Fire Gardy Bandwagon Fueling Up?
With the Twins record at 7-18, a lot of fans have taken to the Fire Gardy bandwagon! A lot of fans have been on that bandwagon for a long time and have never been fans of Ron Gardenhire.

I don’t really know what Gardy is supposed to do with this team. He lost one of his best pitchers in Scott Baker before the season began and Francisco Liriano, his supposed best pitcher, apparently forgot how to pitch. The rest of the staff is either young or old! How much should we really expect from Liam Hendriks, Carl Pavano and Jason Marquis? So the two guys he was depending on are nowhere to be seen or shouldn’t be seen.

It is almost impossible to win without good pitching. You can have the greatest offense in the world but if you can’t keep the other team from scoring, you’re probably not going to be winning a lot of games. The Texas Rangers finally figured that out and look where they are now.

Gardy won’t be in Seattle as he went back to Minnesota for his daughter’s graduation. Or is it Garduation?

Maybe the Twins needed more than three extra days in Spring Training? Gardy?

Twinsactions of the Week – Ups & Downs
4/28 – OF Ben Revere optioned to AAA Rochester Red Wings
4/28 – LF Josh Willingham activated from Paternity leave
5/1 – C Drew Butera recalled from AAA Rochester Red Wings
5/1 – 3B Sean Burroughs designated for assignment
5/4 – RF Erik Komatsu claimed off waivers from St. Louis Cardinals
5/4 – RF Clete Thomas designated for assignment
5/4 – 3B Sean Burroughs outrighted to AAA Rochester Red Wings

  • Sean Burroughs accepted his assignment to Rochester so we’ll see how he does there. That could be good for the Twins.
  • Erik Komatsu might be a better option for the Twins than Clete Thomas. Komatsu looks to have a better feel for the strike zone with a .389 career minor league on base percentage (OBP)
  • Clete Thomas had a minor league OBP of .348 and as you saw, he struck out a tad – in his last 7 games, he was 1-18 with 14 strikeouts and no walks


Those are my TwinsTakes! What are your TwinsTakes? Will the Twins get better as the season goes on? Will it be a repeat of last season?

We want to know what you think! Tell us in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook!

Twins Take on Seattle tonight at 8pm CST – RHP Jason Marquis vs RHP Felix Hernandez! Maybe the Twins can start a winning streak!

As always….GO TWINS!

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2012 Minnesota Twins Take of the Week – Week 3 – Redundancy

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Robb
4871967125 33fbe8c8c3 2012 Minnesota Twins Take of the Week Week 3 Redundancy
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Giving up a ton of hits, home runs and an ERA of 5.77 = LOSING!

It also equals a redundant take! I know last week the take of the week was on the starting pitching and it would be great to have a different take this week but the pitching is the obvious reason why the Twins are losing 3 out of every 4 games in the first 20 games of the season.

If your team is giving up the 3rd most hits, the most earned runs and the 2nd most home runs, your not going to be celebrating too much! For the longest time the Twins were winning with Pitching and Defense. That’s been the “Twins Way” and would always give the Twins a chance to win games and the division. Carl Pavano leads the staff with a 4.91 Earned Run Average (ERA), not counting bullpen pitchers where Alex Burnett has an 0.77 ERA! I’ll say that again. Alex Burnett has a 0.77 ERA to lead the bullpen! He’s been pitching great so far this season!

Obviously with 142 games to play, there’s plenty of time for the pitching to get better. Every pitcher in the starting rotation should pitch better as the season goes along. Francisco Liriano won’t have an ERA over 11 all season long and Liam Hendriks looks like he has the “stuff” to post a decent ERA by the end of the season, down from the 6.89 ERA he has now. Jason Marquis and Nick Blackburn, with ERAs above 7, will get closer to their career ERAs of 4.5 or so. The starters will start getting more quality starts and we’ll see what that leads to, hopefully more wins!

It’s sad because the offense has stepped up and given the team a chance to win but it’s hard to ask them to score 6-7 runs a game in order to win. Yes, the offense could have, or maybe should have, come through in some situations, mainly the bases-loaded situations, but they’ve done enough to win some games where the pitching wasn’t getting the job done.

We’re in for a rough season if the pitching doesn’t get better quickly. Sadly, with a 6-16 record, the Twins are only 6 games back of division leader Cleveland. That being said and with where the Twins are, nobody should be looking or worrying about the division right now. Get your team playing good baseball, pitching good baseball and start winning some games. The theory goes that you get back to .500 before you start thinking about catching the division leader.

The first 20 games were filled with opponents that were either in the playoffs or in contention for the playoffs last season except for the season opening series in Baltimore (and one against Kansas City.) Did the Twins need some time to get it going this season?

The Twins have already dealt with some injuries and other incidents that have caused pitchers to miss starts or delay their season so let’s see where they are after the next 20 games where they get some division opponents and maybe some “average” opponents. There are no easy teams but there are definitely some teams that should be easier to pitch and hit against, right?

That’s my take! What’s your take on the Twins last week? Will the losing continue? Will they right the ship and start winning some games?

Tell us what you think in the comments or on Twitter or Facebook!

As always….GO TWINS!

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2012 Minnesota Twins Take of the Week – Week 2

Posted on April 20, 2012 by Robb

3421332175 a6306cb66c 2012 Minnesota Twins Take of the Week Week 2
cc 2012 Minnesota Twins Take of the Week Week 2 Photo Credit: Michael Donovan via Compfight

Welcome to the 2012 Minnesota Twins Take of the Week!

Even though this is the 2nd week of the 2012 Minnesota Twins season, this is my 1st Twins Take of the Week! That’s because I just had a thought to post my thoughts on a weekly basis literally minutes ago.

Here’s my Twins Takes of the Week for the 2nd week of the season.

The starting pitching needs to get a lot better!

This is obvious but it still needs to be said. Losing Scott Baker for the season is quite a blow to the starting rotation although the bigger blow might be Francisco Liriano’s horrible start to the season. Pavano and Blackburn have basically been their normal selves. Swarzak pitched well in his first two starts but got lit up last night in the series finale in New York. Jason Marquis didn’t pitch great but got out of some tough jams and never gave up the lead in his first start while getting his first win as a Twin. Liam Hendriks pitched about as well as you could ask from a young pitcher but still lost 4-3 in his only start against Texas. He allowed 1 run on 7 hits in 6 innings. Glen Perkins ended up taking the loss in that game.

Other thoughts on Week 2:

The Minnesota Twins bats finally woke up from the offseason and have given the team a chance to win some games after an 0-4 start. After scoring only 6 runs in the first 4 games (1.5 runs per game), the Twins have scored 42 runs in their last 9 games (4.66 runs per game) and have won 4 of those 9 games. That record won’t get it done but at least they are in most of those games with a chance to win. They do need to get better at capitalizing on chances to score though. Way too many runners left on base already and too many bases loaded opportunities with nothing to show for it.

It was very nice to see Justin Morneau have a break out series in New York. He went 5 for 11 in the 3 games he was in the lineup with 3 home runs, 4 RBIs, 6 runs scored with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts and is now hitting .267 with a .353 on-base percentage while slugging .578 for an OPS (On-base Plus Slugging percentage) .931 for the season.

Josh Willingham will take a 13-game hitting streak to Tampa Bay as he has a hit in every game this season and is now hitting .340, getting on-base at a .411 clip and slugging .700 for a 1.111 OPS with 5 home runs, 9 RBIs, 9 runs scored with 4 walks and 13 strikeouts. He even has a stolen base.

Interesting fact so far this season for the Twins. Before the season started if you were asked who would be the last pitcher to be scored on, how many people would’ve guessed…..Alex Burnett? Huh? How many? NONE OF YOU! I wouldn’t have either but Alex has pitched very well to begin the season and maybe he’s showed the coaching staff that he’s finally turned a page in his career. He has pitched in 6 games, going 8.1 innings, giving up 8 hits while walking one and striking out 4 for a 1.08 WHIP (Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched).

Gardy has even put Alex in some high stress situations. Tonight in New York, Alex was brought into the game in the bottom of the 6th with the Twins trailing 7-6, a man on first and no outs and he was able to get out that inning and the next inning with a couple inning ending double plays from Robinson Cano & Russell Martin. I’m happy for Alex and hopefully he can keep pitching well as the season goes on.

The Twins head to Tampa Bay to face the Rays for a 3-game series that starts on Friday night then they start a 6-game homestand on Monday starting against the Boston Red Sox & the Kansas City Royals:

Friday, April 20th - 6:10pm CST

  • @ Tampa Bay – Liam Hendriks (0-0, 1.50 ERA) vs Matt Moore (0-1, 5.54 ERA)

Saturday, April 21st - 6:10pm CST

  • @ Tampa Bay – Carl Pavano (1-1, 5.23 ERA) vs James Shields (2-0, 3.38 ERA)

Sunday, April 22nd - 12:40pm CST

  • @ Tampa Bay – Francisco Liriano (0-2, 11.91 ERA) vs Jeff Niemann (0-2, 4.50 ERA)

 

What’s your take on my Twins Take, your take on the Twins so far this season and how do you think the Twins will do next week?

Let us know in the comments or on Facebook or Twitter or TwinsDaily.com!

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Michael Cuddyer and the Minnesota Twins – WWCD – What Will Cuddy Do?

Posted on December 15, 2011 by Robb

6003771079 d13691d428 Michael Cuddyer and the Minnesota Twins WWCD What Will Cuddy Do? Photo Credit: Stephanie via Compfight

Update: Michael Cuddyer has signed a 3-year, $31.5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies.

Michael Cuddyer has apparently been offered a 3-year, $25 million contract by the Minnesota Twins that he is mulling over along with the other things going on in his life.

He has been somewhat busy with the birth of twins of his own. Gardenhire thinks that’s an omen. Since Cuddyer had twins, he should remain a Twin. That’s probably not much of an influence for him on staying here and it’s probably easier to move to a new city with younger children than older children. Put it this way, if he signs with another team, he will always have twins and the Minnesota Twins will always have Michael Cuddyer.

Rumors have the Colorado Rockies very interested in Cuddyer. The Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies are believed to still have interest in the RF/1B as well. The Phillies acquired Ty Wiggington from the Rockies back in November and that quieted the rumors of Cuddyer to Philly while turning up the volume on rumors of Cuddy going to Colorado.

Supposedly, Cuddy would like a couple more million added to the contract offer.* I’m all for players trying to get as much as they can get but what is the difference between $25 and $27 million really? It’s two million, you’re right but that’s not what I mean. When you are getting paid by the millions, I’m not sure 2 more million should be a big hurdle to signing a contract.

*An extra couple million could buy a lot of diapers for the Cuddyer twins though. Heck you could just use the money as diapers at that point. Make sure it’s the paper money though although that could make “changing” the diapers have a whole new meaning. “Do these quarters smell like crap to you?”

It’s easy to think that money is the only reason Cuddy hasn’t made a decision but for a guy like Michael Cuddyer, it might be the better chance to win. Having gone through possibly the worst Twins season ever, he might be looking for a quicker or easier path to the World Series. It’s easy to see him looking at different organizations with the Twins appearing to be pretty far away from contending for the World Series.

Now, maybe the Twins could put some incentives in the deal that could make him earn that difference in the contract. These could include performance incentives like games played, plate appearances, home runs, RBI’s and All-Star appearances. That’s a better deal in my opinion as the player has some motivation to earn an extra bonus in pay.

I do think Cuddyer brings some other intangibles to the table with his leadership and off the field community service. That’s not usually something you think of when a team is trying to sign a player to a new deal but it should be taken into account. It’s hard to put a price on leadership, unfortunately.

Another thing is Michael Cuddyer is probably not going to sell tickets in Minnesota because we know who he is and we’ve watched him for so long. He’s fun to watch and gives 100% every game but he’s probably not getting people into Target Field as much as he would if he signs with a different organization.

In the end, if Cuddy signs with another organization, he’ll be missed by Twins fans as a player that gave his all every time out and a player that could be counted on for some home runs, some clutch hitting and a few outfield assists.

There was an area in right field that the groundkeepers had to replace that was a different shade of green. Michael Cuddyer would usually stand on that piece of right field so I liked to call that piece of land Cuddyland. Michael Cuddyer was the mayor of Cuddyland.* It might say everything that in the offseason, the groundskeepers will be able to grow out that part of right field and it will no longer be a different shade of green.

*With the official signing of Josh Willingham, right field might be manned by Denard Span, Ben Revere and/or Josh Willingham. Now that piece of right field might be changed to the Land of Span or Spanopolis or Willingham, Minnesota or Joshua, Willingham or Willingham Field or Castle Willingham (where’s the moat?) or RevereInRight (welcome to Reverenwright!) or Bentopia or…

Did the Twins err in not re-signing Michael Cuddyer? Are they better off without him? Was Josh Willingham the better option for them?

Tell us what you think in the comments!

Follow us on Twitter and on Facebook and subscribe to our feed!

Robb

Michael Cuddyer Stats
Michael Cuddyer – Fangraphs.com
Michael Cuddyer – Baseball-Reference.com

Other articles about Cuddy
If Michael Cuddyer spurns Twins, it’s probably not about money – (1500espn.com – Phil Mackey) – 12/9/2011
Why Josh Willingham was built for Target Field – (OverTheBaggy.com – Parker Hageman) – 12/13/2011
Will Josh Willingham boost Twins power? – (ESPN.com Sweetspot Blog – Christina Kahrl) – 12/14/2011
Willingham would add pop, brings line-up into focus – (NoDakTwinsFan.com – Cody Christie) – 12/14/2011
Twins Better Off Without Cuddyer – (Fangraphs.com – Chris Cwik) – 12/15/2011
Negotiations with Willingham were ‘sensitive’, Terry Ryan says – (1500espn.com – Phil Mackey) – 12/16/2011
Twins sign Josh Willingham, say goodbye to Michael Cuddyer – (AaronGleeman.com – Aaron Gleeman) – 12/16/2011
Twins Sign Josh Willingham – (WeAreOffTheMark.wordpress.com – Andrew) – 12/16/2011


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2011 Minnesota Twins – Happy Endings To A Bad Season

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Robb

This might be the worst season ever for the Minnesota Twins since all of us thought they would once again compete for the division title and get another shot at the postseason. It wasn’t meant to be so it was almost a good thing to see it come to an end on Wednesday night. There’s probably a lot of people who stopped watching the Twins a long time ago. They haven’t been very fun to watch for quite awhile now. This is not what we’ve come to know as Twins baseball.

I’m more optimistic about the Minnesota Twins than most people. I still think they have a chance until they’ve been mathematically eliminated. The main reason I think this is because I believe the players believe they still have a chance and if they haven’t given up then why should I? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?

Anyways, it can still be fun to watch so I try to watch every game and especially the last game of the season for various reasons:

  • 1. It’s the last game to see our Minnesota Twins for like five months
  • 2. It could be the last game for some Minnesota Twins players – Cuddyer, Kubel, Capps, Tolbert, Dumatrait, Nathan and almost anyone could be traded. Almost.
  • 3. To see how bad the team wanted to avoid losing 100 games in a season
  • 4. Carl Pavano started so he might destroy a garbage can
  • 5. I love the end of season highlight package.
  • 6. IT’S BASEBALL!!! What other reason do you need?

There was a playoff feel to Tuesday night’s game when Rene Tosoni became the first Minnesota Twin to hit a Grand Slam at Target Field,* leading the Twins to a 7-4 victory.

*The first grand slam at Target Field was hit by Matt Joyce on July 3rd, 2010. Jose Bautista hit one on September 30th, 2010 so it was almost a year to the day since the last grand slam at Target Field.

Last night’s game had the same feel to it. That sounds strange since neither team had a lot to play for. The Royals were 23 games back of 1st place Detroit and the Twins were 32 games back, on the verge of losing 100 games. The Twins really wanted to avoid losing 100 games so they were literally playing “not to lose.” You play to WIN THE GAME! We know Herm. We know.

It was a pitcher’s duel between Carl Pavano & Bruce Chen. Chen pitched 8 scoreless innings giving up 8 hits and 2 walks with 4 strikeouts. Carl went the distance giving up only 5 hits, no walks and striking out 3. He got some defense behind him for a change. Ben Revere made another highlight catch in the top of the 6th inning.

 

Mike Moustakas led off the 8th inning with a triple but Carl induced two groundouts to the pitcher and a groundout to third to get out of that jam, keeping the game scoreless.

The game remained scoreless until the bottom of the ninth inning when Denard Span came in to pinch hit for Drew Butera. Drew had a good night. He threw out two guys at second base, a caught stealing and a pick off  of Mike Moustakas, and he went 1-1 with two sacrifices.

Denard had a pretty rough season so it was nice to see him get some hits in the last couple games including the double down the right field line to get into scoring position with 1 out in the inning. Ben Revere grounded out moving Denard to third. I was hoping Michael Cuddyer would somehow get a chance for the game-winning hit as this might have been his last game as a Minnesota Twin. It would never get to Cuddy because Trevor Plouffe hit a game-winning, season-ending single and the Twins celebrated!

 

Here’s a recap if you didn’t see the whole game:

It was a nice way to end John Gordon‘s career as the Twins Radio announcer and to christen the John Gordon broadcast booth. Here’s the last call of his Twins radio announcing career.

What did you think of the end of the Minnesota Twins season? Did you watch? Did you care? Was it important to avoid 100 losses?

Tell us what you think in the comments!

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Robb

h black 2011 Minnesota Twins Happy Endings To A Bad Season
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TwinsTakes Update – 8/8/2011 – HOF, Trade Deadline, Bad Baseball

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Robb

It’s Official! Bert Blyleven is in the Hall Of Fame!
It took 14 years* but it was worth the wait! Bert now has a plaque in the National Baseball Hall of Fame! Get souvenirs here!

*I never quite understood why it took 14 years for Bert to get voted into the Hall of Fame! His numbers never changed during those 14 years! He always had 3701 strikeouts, 287 wins and 60 shutouts and the best curveball in baseball! It should take 14 seconds to add Bert to their ballot! Gotta love the Baseball Writer’s Association of America! It’s difficult to understand why Bert wouldn’t end up on more ballots over a 14-year span.

Trade Deadline!
The trade deadline came and went with the Twins not making one deal. They talked to a lot of teams but couldn’t finalize anything. I’m assuming they were asking for too much or value their prospects more than other teams do or just weren’t willing to give them up. It’s easy to look back and say that was probably a good thing. This team isn’t playing good baseball right now!

The closest thing to a trade acquisition right now will be getting Morneau back and maybe bringing up Kevin Slowey to take a spot in the rotation.

Ten & Twelve!
After the White Sox completed the sweep on Sunday, the Twins are now 10 games back of division leading Detroit and 12 games under .500 at 51-63 (26-28 at home & 25-35 on the road). They had been playing pretty good baseball for awhile there and looked like they could make it interesting in the division race.

Since their 8-game winning streak and their run of 15 wins in 17 games at the beginning of June, they’ve gone 19-24! That’s not going to get it done! They have played pretty well within their division at 22-20 (7-4 vs CHW, 6-3 vs CLE, 1-8 vs DET, 8-5 vs KC) and still have 30 division games left (13 at home, 17 on the road) so they still have a chance to do something but it’s hard to believe in them the way they are playing right now.

The Twins have 7 games left against Chicago (3 road, 4 home), 9 against Cleveland (6 road, 3 home), 9 against Detroit (6 road, 3 home) and 5 against Kansas City (2 road, 3 home). Their other 18 games left are against Boston (3 home), New York (4 home, 1 road), Baltimore (4 home), Los Angeles (3 road) and Seattle (3 home).

Winning every series until the end of the season would be a 34-14 record for the rest of the season giving them a record of 85-77. Detroit would need to go 24-24 the rest of the way to bring their record to 85-77. That’s not so crazy considering they went 29-30 last season and 33-29 in 2009 from August to October but it all depends on the Twins playing better baseball.

Obviously they have to find a way to beat Detroit. Going 1-8 so far this season in embarassing and if that continues, the season will be over if it isn’t already.

Playing the Boston Red Sox may be just what the Twins need! Sometimes playing the best team in the league will bring out the best in your team. Well, here they are, the Boston Red Sox will bring their 69-43 record to Target Field starting tonight with Scott Baker pitching against Tim Wakefield!

Canadian Rehab
Justin Morneau has played the last three days for the Twins triple-A minor league affiliate Rochester Red Wings and has gotten better with every game. Friday he went 0 for 4 in a 4-1 loss, Saturday he went 1 for 4 in a 9-1 loss and Sunday he went 3 for 5 with a 3-run double, 2 runs and 4 RBI in an 8-0 victory.

He’s expected to play around 10 games in Rochester and could return when the Twins go to Detroit next week. Morneau’s return could make it difficult to get Joe Mauer more starts at first base so could he play somewhere else in the future?

The Return of Slowey?
With the recent struggles of Nick Blackburn and Brian Duensing, you have to wonder if Kevin Slowey will get a chance to start again for the Twins. He’s been pitching well in his last couple starts in Rochester.

Blackburn is expected to make his start on Wednesday against the Red Sox but if he struggles, expect some kind of change to the rotation with possibly Anthony Swarzak taking his spot with Slowey being another option.

20 years ago in 1991
1991 was the last time the Twins won the World Series and it was one of the most memorable and greatest series in baseball history with a Puckett home run in game 6 to force possibly the greatest game 7 ever. Reminiscing this weekend was fun especially when you get stories like this. “It’s only a game” after all.

This is great and probably how most people react to a Jim Thome Home Run!!

Links to great articles from the past couple weeks
The Jose Bautista Story- (SI.com – Joe Posnanski) – 6/22/2011

  • Great article on how Bautista persevered and stayed confident in his ability as a hitter.
  • A little older than a couple weeks but I probably follow too many things in my Google Reader so I’m always way behind in reading everything

Tom Powers: Michael Cuddyer, the man who makes the Twins go, adds crafty baserunning to his resume- (Pioneer Press – Tom Powers) – 7/20/2011

  • I’m not sure “crafty” is the right word but Cuddy definitely made an impact running the bases late in the game on July 19th. Every day he’s “hustlin’!”

The catcher: Baseball’s most demanding and least appreciated job – (thestar.com – Morgan Campbell) – 7/20/2011
Twins’ Mauer has been first-rate at first base – (foxsportsnorth.com – Tyler Mason) – 7/20/2011
Joe Mauer, Twins both benefit when he plays at first base – (Pioneer Press – John Shipley) – 7/20/2011
Gardenhire’s treatment of Mauer could backfire: A Fan’s View – (Yahoo! Contributor Network – Blair Reynolds) – 7/21/2011
Tsuyoshi Nishioka: A study of two hitters – (TwinkieTown.com – Jesse Lund) – 7/21/2011
Trevor Plouffe, Denard Span and the hope of a late-blooming prospect – (AaronGleeman.com – Aaron Gleeman) – 7/21/2011
Baseball: Who among today’s stars are most likely to get in and who figures to be left out of the Hall of Fame? – (LATimes.com – Ben Bolch) – 7/22/2011
Twins Talk: Mauer’s best position for Twins is still catcher – (argusleader.com – Matt Zimmer) – 7/23/2011
Booing the boy next door – (nytimes.com – Tyler Kepner) – 7/25/2011
The Delmon Young Quandary - (Fangraphs.com – Brandon Warne) – 7/26/2011
Norristown Catcher Finds Himself In Special Company- (NorristownPatch.com – Joseph Santoliquito) – 7/29/2011

  • Chris Harvey is a catcher that stands at 6’5” tall and weighs 215 pounds so he is getting a lot of Joe Mauer comparisons and should be drafted in the 2012 MLB First-Year Player Draft

Slowey’s future with Twins is “completely up to him” Gardenhire says – (1500espn.com – Phil Mackey) – 8/7/2011

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TwinsTakes – The 2011 Trade Deadline is Today!!!

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Robb

The trade deadline is always exciting! Your team can get better no matter where they are in the standings. If they are buyers, they can get a player that could be another piece & possibly the final piece to make that run at a championship. If they are sellers, they can improve by filling a need at a weaker position or just upgrade a position with some better prospects.

A trade can also open up a spot for a deserving prospect that has been tearing it up or pitching lights out in the minors.

It can be a sad experience also. Your team might trade your favorite player and you won’t see anything positive from the trade for a long time. If they get lower level prospects, you might not see them for 4-5 seasons! By the time they show up, it might not be mentioned how the player came to you team.

There’s always a ton of trade rumors that never get completed and might have never been discussed to begin with. It’s fun to see some of them while others leave you dumbfounded.*

*Some of the dumbfounded ones turn into reality and are never forgotten. Hopefully last year’s Capps for Ramos trade doesn’t turn into one of those but it doesn’t look good right now. Starting catcher for a relief pitcher who has gone from good to not so good. Capps needs to turn it around this season if the Twins hope to make the playoffs.

Still 6 games back of 1st place Detroit, the Twins have a plethora of players that could be traded including Delmon Young, Michael Cuddyer, Jason Kubel, Jim Thome and more.

Trade Denard Span?
The biggest rumor going around involving the Twins has the Washington Nationals trying to pry Denard Span away for a combination of RHP Tyler Clippard, RHP/Closer Drew Storen, OF Roger Bernadina & 2B Stephen Lombardozzi.*

*That would be a Lombardozzi of a trade! Haha! Yes, that Lombardozzi! He is the sun of former Twins 2B Steve Lombardozzi who played 5 seasons with the Twins including a somewhat memorable season in 1987!

Trading Span makes some sense as the Twins are pretty deep in outfield prospects with Aaron Hicks, Joe Benson, Angel Morales, Oswaldo Arcia, Rene Tosoni & Eddie Rosario. Some of those prospects should make it to the Twins soon so moving Denard might be inevitable anyways.

It would also open up the center field spot for Ben Revere, who has made an impact when he’s in the lineup. He needs to improve his on-base skills and he has a weak arm that may be better suited for a corner outfield spot. If the Twins could get their closer of the future in this trade in Drew Storen, they could drop some salary in Capps and/or Nathan in another trade.

Of course, trading Span would mean your trading your leadoff hitter whose put up some good numbers since his debut in 2008. He knows how to get on base and has been one of the best centerfielders in the American League (2nd in Defensive WAR this season) if not all of baseball. Target Field has sapped some of his power (or the ‘Dome increased his power) but he will still hit for extra-bases and he’s a good base stealer.

It comes down to how Revere & Span compare and if Ben can replace Denard?

  • Offense
    • Span – will hit around .300 every season with some extra-base power with 7-10 home runs; Good on the basepaths with 30 stolen-base potential (he’s had a better stolen base percentage in the majors than he did in the minors – 76% > 66%); great on-base skills, good eye at the plate (career 0.82 walk to strikeout ratio)
    • Revere – too early to speculate on MLB stats but looking at his minor league stats he hit over .300 every season in the minors with less power but more speed on the bases (5 career HRs & 154 SBs in 4+ minor league seasons); more of a singles-hitter but the ability to steal second consistently (SB% – 79% in minors (154-195), 75% w/Twins (18-24); he doesn’t walk much or strikeout much (0.65 BB/K ratio)
  • Defense
    • Span – Very good defensively in center field but still may be better in a corner outfield spot, decent arm strength
    • Revere – Very good defensive center fielder, might make some outs with his glove that nobody else can with his speed but his arm is a weakness that might move him to a corner outfield spot

Denard has been out with concussion symptoms since June 10th which is a worrisome situation. We’ve seen what a concussion has done to Justin Morneau. He was out for half of the 2010 season and got back to begin the 2011 season but has suffered other injuries that look unrelated to a concussion. Denard is rumored to be close to ready to return to the Twins soon.

Denard Span & Ben Revere are very similar players that can make an impact on the game in a variety of ways. They would be alright with either player in center field now and in the future.

UPDATE: Denard Span was NOT traded at the trading deadline and will be activated to begin the Twins series in Los Angeles on Tuesday!

Sometimes the best trades are the ones that are never completed. The Twins should get Justin Morneau back around the middle of August which will be like getting him in a trade and a boost to the Twins offense. Maybe they’ll get Kevin Slowey, if he isn’t traded, back up to the rotation too. He would be a nice addition to the rotation if Blackburn keeps pitching the way he has been lately.

That’s my TwinsTake! What’s yours? Are you excited for the trading deadline this year? Do you think the Twins should be buyers or sellers? or stand pat?

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Robb Dahlen

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TwinsTakes Update – 7/17/2011 – On to the 2nd Half

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Robb

I’m going to try to post a weekly update that focuses on the Twins and how their week has gone and what’s happened in the most recent week. This week might have some material older than a week as it’s the first update.

All-Star Break
The All-Star break is over and the National League won the All-Star game 5-1 behind Prince Fielder’s 3-run Home Run (he was named MVP of the game also.) So the National League gets home field advantage in the 2011 World Series.

How much longer will the All-Star game decide which league gets home-field advantage in the World Series? It alternated between leagues before the current format was instated. Teams battle all season long to win as many games as possible and have the best record in baseball. Whatever team that is should get home-field advantage!

16 players opted out of or missed the game due to injury, ineligibility or “emotional & physical exhaustion.”* The league and the player’s union wanted the players to have more incentive to win. The best starting pitchers can’t even pitch because they pitched two days earlier making them ineligible.

*If Jeter had a legitimate injury, then I don’t have a big problem with him opting out of the All-Star game. I still think he should’ve showed up being he was voted in by the fan’s and is baseball’s most recent player to get 3000 hits. Jeter is one of the few Yankee’s I can stand along with Robinson Cano, Mariano Rivera and Curtis Granderson.

The All-Star game is about fun and it shouldn’t have anything to do with the outcome of the World Series.

More problems with the All-Star Game – (StarTribune.com – Lavelle E. Neal) – 7/12/2011

Cuddyer is an All-Star
Michael Cuddyer was the lone Minnesota Twins All-Star this season and it was well deserved. He’s been on fire since the calendar turned to May.

If you take out the month of April, Cuddy would have a batting average (AVG) of .320 (72/225), an on-base percentage (OBP) of .391 and a slugging percentage (SLG) of .511 with 13 doubles, 10 HRs and 39 RBIs with 29 walks and 34 strikeouts in 61 games. With a triple slash of .320/.391/.511, Cuddy has an on-base plus slugging (OPS) of .902. His career OPS is .796.

That’s awesome but here’s the crazy stat, in the 25 games Cuddy has played 1st base this season, he’s hitting .341/.398/.634 for an OPS of 1.032 with 6 doubles, 6 HRs and 19 RBIs with 8 walks and 13 strikeouts. To put that into perspective, an OPS of 1.032 would land him between Jose Bautista and Prince Fielder as the only other hitters with an OPS over 1.000. Cuddy likes the #3 position! Maybe that’s Cuddy’s way of honoring Harmon Killebrew!*

*Sorry, I like to look at splits and situational stats. As a RF, Cuddy is hitting .303/.396/.451 for an OPS of .847 with 6 HRs and 20 RBIs and 25 walks and 30 strikeouts which isn’t too shabby either. Cuddy must want to keep that high salary when he becomes a free agent in the offseason.

June is when Cuddy started crushing the ball. 16 of his 30 hits were of the extra-base variety (11 doubles and 5 HRs). His numbers for June are similar to his 1st base numbers – .323/.402/.602 for a 1.004 OPS with those 16 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs.

He’s continuing to hit in July as well with 3 HRs and 13 RBIs. Hopefully Cuddy keeps this great season going and the Twins can make something out of this season that started out so ugly.

Cuddyer: Behind the Lens - (foxsportsnorth.com – Michael Cuddyer) – 7/10/2011

  • Some pretty cool photography from Cuddy while he travels with the Twins – This gallery is from Miller Park in Milwaukee – some great pictures in here

Mauer at First Base
It was fun to watch Joe Mauer make his first appearance at 1st base in Chicago right before the All-Star break. He played great in his first start at 1st, making all 3 outs in the first inning and making a tough catch on a low Valencia throw later in the game.

I’m not going to get too used to seeing Joe play first base. It’s a nice option to be able to put him over there every now and then but his best position is catcher. He’s won gold gloves there, he can shut down a running game and he calls a good game for the pitchers. He loves being a catcher as well.

On the other hand, if he keeps getting injured, Joe could move to another position if he had to. It’s not that easy to just say he’s your new everyday third baseman or left fielder. Do you trade a Valencia or a Delmon Young or some of the outfield prospects to make room for Joe? How long does it take Joe to get comfortable at a new position? An offseason and a spring training?

Having Wilson Ramos available would’ve been nice too. Who’s the best catching prospect in the Twins system? Herrman, Lehmann, Rohlfing, Rams? Do they have to go sign a starting catcher? Get one in a trade? A permanent move to a different position is still a long ways off if you ask me.

Moving Mauer may be magnificent: A Fan’s Opinion – (Yahoo Contributor Network – Blair Reynolds) – 7/7/2011
The Value of Joe Mauer – (Fangraphs.com – Chris Cwik) – 7/8/2011
In Praise of Joe Mauer – (Puckett’sPond.com – Adam Krueger) – 7/8/2011

2nd Half Twins! Getting Healthy and Making a Run for the AL Central Division!
The Twins are still in a 6-game whole behind first place Cleveland and the .500 mark. They seemed to have turned the corner to playing good baseball and should start getting back some players soon. Delmon came back and has been hitting well.

Most of the injured players are on track to return including Baker who should start one of the games on Monday against Cleveland. Justin Morneau, who had neck surgery on June 29th, is “doing great” according to trainer Rick McWane. They will see where they are with Justin on Monday and go from there.

Kevin Slowey started for Rochester on Friday, went 4.2 innings and was given the loss after giving up 6 hits, 3 ER with 1 walk and 3 strikeouts. He is probably pretty close to returning but what will happen with him? He’s not too popular with Gardy and the front office right now so he could be traded but would that be the right thing to do? Will they leave him down in Rochester or bring him back up to the Twins even though they don’t have a spot in the starting rotation for him?

Denard Span has been cleared for a rehab assignment which is great news! He and Jason Kubel will start for Rochester on Sunday!

What can the Twins do with everybody healthy and playing well? It would be nice to see what this lineup – Span, Casilla, Mauer, Morneau, Cuddyer, Kubel, Young, Valencia, Nishioka – could do. Maybe you flip Casilla and Nishi or just put Casilla 8th and put Cuddyer between the M&M boys.

Bert Blyleven enters the Twins Hall of Fame
Congratulations to Bert Blyleven on going into the Twins Hall of Fame and having his number retired last night! It probably should’ve happened a long time ago but I’m sure it’s worth the wait. He should have a pretty good week this week with everything that comes with entering the National Baseball Hall of Fame!

Here’s some interesting articles I’ve read over the last week or so:
Skeptics view Pujols’ return as unnatural – (Yahoo! Sports – Jeff Passan) – 7/6/2011
Scouting the Futures Game for deals – (ESPN.com The GM’s Office Blog – Jim Bowden) – 7/10/2011

  • Denard Span & Ben Revere mentioned in trade rumors

The Price of a Baseball – (weareoffthemark.wordpress.com – Andrew) – 7/12/2011

  • What people will do to get a ball at a baseball game! Is it really worth it?

Cuddyer Will Be Back - (TwinsGeek.com – John Bonnes) – 7/13/2011

  • The Twins Geek shows us the reasons why Cuddy will be back as a Minnesota Twin

Team says Cuddyer won’t be dealt this season – (StarTribune.com – Joe Christensen) – 7/16/2011

 

Tell us what you think of the update! Let us know if you like something or don’t like something or if you have any suggestions for the update.

 

Robb

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TwinsTakes – Twins Pick SS Levi Michael With 30th Pick In 2011 MLB Draft

Posted on June 6, 2011 by Robb

It was a good night for the 2011 Minnesota Twins as they won their 5th straight game by beating the American League Central division leading Cleveland, 6-4. They also added 3 new players to the organization through the MLB Draft.

The MLB First-Year Player Draft is an exciting and optimistic time for every franchise because it gives them and their fans hope for the future. Any pick could be the next great player for your favorite team, even if you might not know it for years. Sometimes a player can reach the majors in a little over a season but its pretty rare* and they may never make it to the highest level of professional baseball.

*Matt Garza, at the age of 21, was picked in the 1st round (25th Overall) of the 2005 MLB Draft on June 13th, 2005. He made his Major League Debut on August 11th, 2006 so it took him just over a year to get to the Twins. He still spent some time in the minors in 2007 but its not often that a player advances through 5 levels of the minor leagues that quickly. By July of 2007, he was a full-time major league pitcher. Kyle Gibson looks to be on a similar path.

The 2011 Minnesota Twins might’ve addressed their biggest need with the 30th pick in the first round by taking University of North Carolina Junior SS Levi Michael. In his 3rd season with UNC, the switch hitting infielder is currently batting .297 with an on-base percentage of .444 while slugging .455 with 14 doubles, 3 triples, 5 HRs and 48 RBIs. He’s stolen 15 bases on 16 attempts and has 47 walks and 41 strikeouts. He’s had 8 errors in the 60 games he’s played so far this season. North Carolina is the 3rd overall seed in the NCAA Baseball Tournament. UNC made it to the Super Regionals and will host Stanford in a best of 3 series starting Friday at 2pm Central time on ESPN.

It sounds like Levi Michael has great makeup as he finished high school early in January of his senior year so he could enroll at UNC and be their starting 2nd baseman by the time the season began in February of 2009. That’s pretty amazing for an 18-year-old kid. He finished that season with a .290/.377/.527 line while hitting 15 doubles, 4 triples, 13 HRs and 57 RBIs with 26 walks and 56 strikeouts. He was 5 for 9 in stolen base attempts and had 15 errors in his 65 games at second base.

He got even better in his sophomore season. Levi had to move over to 3rd base for 59 of the 60 games played throughout the college season and he ended up with 13 errors and a .913 fielding percentage. He made up for it with the bat, his plate discipline and his speed. He batted .346/.480/.575 with 14 doubles, 4 triples, 9 HRs and 54 RBIs with 44 walks and 26 strikeouts. He also stole 20 bases in 22 attempts.

It should be fun to watch Levi Michael progress through the Twins system. He has the versatility to play either middle infield spot although a lot of scouts think he will end up at second base.

What do you think about the Twins first pick of the 2011 MLB Draft?

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Robb Dahlen

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