Minnesota Shakes | A Tale of Twin Cities (MLB14)

[WaitTilNextYear]

Amateur Draft
While the Twins had a sausage-fest on their hands with Bernie the Brewer and friends, Terry Ryan and his advisors were calling in draft picks to commissioner Bud Selig.

Industry insiders give Terry and his a crew high marks for working the draft from their #5 perch. The Twins ended up selecting prep lefthander Bill Bryson with the 5th overall pick. Bryson is touted as the highest ceiling pitcher in the entire draft (99 POT) and features a plus fastball and solid secondary offerings. Some have mentioned Gio Gonzalez with better command and control as a potential outcome for Bryson. The Twins gave Bryson a $5MM signing bonus.

The Twins other notable selection was advanced JUCO slugger 1B Aaron Aquavito. Aqua-man as his teammates call him, has a very advanced approach and power to spare. Most believe the lefty slugger will not take too long to marinate in the minors and a late 2015 arrival in the Twin Cities is not far fetched. His development plan could follow Kris Bryant's, for example.

All in all, the Twins snatched up 7 players of note, with potentials of 99, 88, 87, 86, 89, 86, and 67.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Twin Walkoffs Seal Clean Sweep Of 'Stros


Music courtesy of The Alan Parsons Project. "Sirius." Eye In The Sky. Artista Records, 1982.

Now Minnesota Twins fans can get excited. OK, well, maybe take it with a grain of salt.

The Twins encountered a side with less talent than them for only the second time all season--the Astros this time (the Padres earlier on). Minnesota is now 5-0 against all San Diego and Houston-based ball clubs and 21-36 vs everyone else.

Game 1 gave Minnesota their first look at George, George, George of the Astros and George Springer furthered his AL ROY candidate season with an RBI double. But, that was the only run Houston would score. Kyle Gibson was shaky (33% 1st strike pct.) but effective as he combined with a refurbished bullpen on a 1-run, 12-K smack down of Houston. Oswaldo Arcia is coming on and hit his 1st homer of the season along with a pair of ringing singles.

Game 2 was where the series got interesting. The 'Stros got another contribution from a rookie as OF Domingo Santana hit his 1st MLB homer, but, again, that was it for their offense. Ricky Nolasco pitched like he deserved a 4 year $47MM deal in giving up only the solo homer. The new-and-improved pen was outstanding; especially Michael Tonkin who went 3.2 clean IP. Ultimately, the Twins got to RHP Kyle Farnsworth in the 12th. A walk by Kendrys Morales, pinch runner Aaron Hicks, productive out Oswaldo Arcia (Hicks to 2B), and walkoff gap job by Jason Kubel to plate Hicks.

In Game 3, Minnesota fans were titilated once again. Alex Meyer provided 5.2 workman-like innings, although he was fighting his release point, his excessive fastball movement (a good problem to have), and another hack of an umpire. Meyer got the no decision, with the new look pen once again coming up big. LHP Logan Darnell and RHP Ryan Pressly gave Minnesota 3.2 scoreless and just enough time for Joltin' Joe Mauer to bang a hanging, 1st pitch Chad Qualls slider into the gap to plate Aaron Hicks for the walkoff run once again. 12.2 innings of scoreless relief, adequate starting pitching, and timely hitting was the magic potion for the sweep. And fans all across the great state of 10,000 lakes are saying "MOAR PLZ!"

Game 60: Twins 4, Astros 1










Game 61: Twins 2, Astros 1










Game 62: Twins 4, Astros 3

[CBoller1331]

Not sure if I love or hate the fact that pitching prospects have alternate positions. Kinda neat, but you usually only see a few two way prospect each year.

Anyway, looks like you had a good draft. Who did the Stros take #1 overall?

[WaitTilNextYear]

Quote: Originally Posted by CBoller1331

Not sure if I love or hate the fact that pitching prospects have alternate positions. Kinda neat, but you usually only see a few two way prospect each year. Anyway, looks like you had a good draft. Who did the Stros take #1 overall?

Oh don't worry, those secondary positions will be edited out of existence.

The Astros took a 1B named Richard Manning. 93 POT but only 45 OVR. 18 year old righty batter with a 2022 ETA.

Marlins took Howard Benoit 2nd. 18 y/o switch-hitting LF. 91 POT, 40 OVR, 2024 ETA (lol).

White Sox took 1B Raleigh Justice (any relation to David?). 21y/o righty batter 98 POT, 68 OVR. This guy is a beast. 74 con vR, 75 con vL, 41/46 power v L/R. 78 clutch. 75 speed. Secondary positions include 3B/CF/RF. What a stud.

Cubs took CF Rodger Loschi 4th overall. A tiny little dude 5'7" 190 lbs (but stacked). 21 y/o. 91 POT, 47 OVR. Bats lefty.

Other than the Top 5 here, the Padres got a total stud with 72 OVR 94 POT SS Domenic McDonald. 22 y/o, can run, steal, play D, and has 57 con vL and 70 power vL. 74 clutch. 74 discipline. 6'4" 209 so in the Ripken/A-Rod mold of SS.

[beamerball811]

You had a killer draft! Some of those specs sound like studs!

[WaitTilNextYear]

Twins' Bats Detained By Customs


Music courtesy of Lloyd Banks (feat. Kanye West, Swizz Beats, Ryan Leslie, & Fabolous). "Start It Up." The Hunger For More 2. G-Unit Records, 2010.

It was a forgettable foray north of the border. The Twins' offense was completely shut down by a trio of soft tossers, and even shut out by replacement-level Liam Hendriks.

Game 1 featured a 1st inning homer by Jose Bautista as the only offense. The Twins scraped together 8 hits off of Hendriks, but kept shooting themselves in the foot. Minnesota grounded into 3 double plays, and made a pair of costly baserunning snafus that kept them from scoring 1 run directly and perhaps more. Josh Willingham decided to try and score from 1st on a 0-out double and was hosed at home plate, whereas Joe Mauer randomly took off running, presumably due to USER error and accidental tapping of the L2 button, after a leadoff single and was caught easily.

Game 2 was more offensive in nature and Sam Deduno's performance was also offensive to Twins fans. Deduno has been the most dependable Twins SP this season, but he was rocked really, really hard for 8 runs in 3.1 IP. Everything was hit hard also. A 4th inning grand salami for Brett Lawrie and a 1st inning 3-run blast by Edwin Encarnacion were highlights for the Blue Jays. No cheapies in the bunch. Anthony Swarzak looked real good in relief, but the damage was already too damaging. Josh Willingham was replaced in the middle of the 4th inning by Sam Fuld after dogging it (and committing an error) on a fly ball. Josmil Pinto finally recorded his 1st XBH of the season with a double.

In Game 3, Minnesota again had trouble putting bat on ball, but at least it was in part due to a lively knuckler from R.A. Dickey. Dickey was a strike machine (79% strikes) and had his signature pitch roaming around and dipping back over the plate to nip corners. Fortunately, Kyle Gibson was on his game and combined with 3 RPs for the shut out of Toronto. Glen Perkins came on for his 16th save and set down a pinch-hitting Edwin Encarnacion to pull it out.

The Twinkies will continue on their difficult road trip to Detroit and then Boston and have just kicked off a stretch off 15 road games in 19 games.

Game 63: Blue Jays 2, Twins 0










Game 64: Blue Jays 10, Twins 3










Game 65: Twins 1, Blue Jays 0

[WaitTilNextYear]

2014 Southern League All-Stars
Midseason is upon the minor leagues and several leagues are wrapping up their first halves. The first league to do so was the Southern League of AA-level baseball.

The 43-27 Jacksonville Suns (Miami Marlins AA affiliate) took the 1st half crown in the South Division of the Southern League. The Chattanooga Lookouts (Los Angeles Dodgers AA affiliate) were victorious in the North Division with a 39-31 record.

Both teams are well-represented at the upcoming Southern League All-Star Game. The Suns have 7 players in the midseason classic, including All-Star starter LHP Justin Nicolino. Nicolino leads the Southern League in wins, he's 8-3 with a miniscule 1.68 ERA in 101.2 IP. The Lookouts have 6 players who made the North Division All-Star squad including 1st half batting champ 3B Daniel Mayora who hit .321.

The Jackson Generals (Seattle Mariners AA affiliate) are the most well-represented squad with an even 10 players on the North All-Star team. The Generals are led by 3B Patrick Kivlehan (.300/.370/.439 7 HR 43 RBI), speedy 20 y/o SS Ketel Marte (.288/.335/.368 1 HR 31 RBI 18 SB), and youngest-player-on-the-team 19 y/o RHP Victor Sanchez (6-4, 2.56 ERA, 85 K in 95 IP).

The Tennessee Smokies (Chicago Cubs AA affiliate) are bringing the 2nd largest contingent of All-Stars with 8 players on the team. Smokies 3B Kris Bryant (.272/.356/.474) leads the Southern League in HRs with 11 and is in the top 5 with 39 RBI. The Smokies also feature the Northern Division All-Star starting pitcher in 22 y/o RHP Tyler Skulina (7-3, 2.05 ERA, 81 K in 87.2 IP).

Scouts will get long looks at a handful of highly touted prospects in Braden Shipley (6-5, 2.75 ERA, 103 K in 98.1 IP), Micah Johnson (.306/.371/.442 4 HR 37 RBI 23 SB), Bryant (.272/.356/.474 11 HR 39 RBI), Nicolino (8-3, 1.68 ERA, 71 K in 101.2 IP), and Andrew Heaney (6-3, 2.23 ERA, 82 K in 92.2 IP). They can also see some hangers-on in 35 y/o Xavier Nady, 33 y/o Kyuji Fujikawa, and 32 y/o Ray Olmedo.

[WaitTilNextYear]

Meyers and Tigers and Scherzers, Oh My!


Music courtesy of Nas. "Come Get Me." Nastradamus. Sony Records, 1999.

After a series of soft-tossers north of the border, the Twins traveled to Detroit to face Max Scherzer and Co. Not surprisingly, Scherzer was his usual self in shutting the Twins down in Game 1 of the 3-game set. Minnesota swung through more fastballs than they had in quite some time. Nasty movement.

The rest of the series was a push. The Twins knocked Anibal Sanchez around for the 2nd time already this season and took the middle game behind their big rookie righty Alex Meyer. Meyer pitched a very solid 6 IP, but fell off the wagon a bit in the 7th and had to be saved by what has really been re-made into a strong pen.

The Twins got to Drew Smyly as well in Game 3, when Brian Dozier and Josh Willingham both homered in the 1st inning. But Detroit pulverized Phil Hughes to cancel their efforts. Hughes was a basket case once again and was tagged for 7 runs in only 2 IP of "work." Probably could have called down a random from the stands and gotten a better result. In a silver lining, however, RHP Ryan Pressly gave an outstanding 6 scoreless IP of relief, but the Twins couldn't climb back into the game. The Tigers hit .571 off Hughes (8-14) and .150 off Pressly (3-20).

Game 66: Tigers 3, Twins 1



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Game 67: Twins 5, Tigers 3










Game 68: Tigers 7, Twins 4