You may have noticed on the left side of this screen that I have now added some Prospect Watches. You will notice first that I had a small section of "How Are These Guys in AAA?" That includes the Phillies Chris Coste and the Twins Jason Bartlett. I just don't get how either of them is not playing in the big leagues.

Then, after receiving your votes, the six Twins minor league prospects that you wanted to keep updated on were Matt Moses, Denard Span, Glen Perkins, Pat Neshek, Trevor Plouffe and Matt Garza. It is an interesting group. First thing you probably noticed is that it includes Twins first round picks from 2002 (Span), 2003 (Moses), 2004 (Plouffe and Perkins) and 2005 (Garza). That actually surprised me. I thought that some other guys including Alex Romero and others. Over the course of the year, that section is subject to change. Odds are, the only changes would be additions.

Finally, I need to point out Jim Mandelaro's Blog, Extra Bases, at the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle. You may remember that I had a Q&A with Mandelaro last July. His blog discusses the Red Wings, the Red Sox and much more.

Here are the Monday night updates of the four Twins full-season affiliates. If you have any thoughts on the Twins system, please e-mail me.

ROCHESTER REPORT

Monday - Red Wings 5, Pawtucket 0  – It was a good game for almost all involved with the Red Wings last night. On offense, Josh Rabe led the way by going 3-3 with two walks, a double, two runs and a stolen base. Andres Torres, making his Rochester debut, went 2-4 with a walk, a double, two RBI and a stolen base. Jason Bartlett went 2-4 with a walk, a run, and RBI and a stolen base. Shawn Wooten went 2-5 with an RBI. JD Durbin threw a no-hitter through four innings. Unfortunately, he walked four hitters which obviously is too many. On the positive side, he didn't give up a run and struck out five. Henry Bonilla went the next three innings for the Win. He walked one and struck out four. Kevin Cameron pitched the final two innings allowing only one hit and striking out two. On the negative, I do have to mention Glenn Williams. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts. He is now 0-7 with four strikeouts with Rochester. I know, that is a very small sample size. However, he struck out three times in his six WBC at bats and struck out far too much in his spring training outings. Former Twins OF Dustan Mohr is with Pawtucket, the Red Sox AAA affiliate. He went 0-3 with two strikeouts and is hitting .133 so far.

NEW BRITAIN NEWS

Monday - Rockcats 4, Portland 12 – Despite the score of this ball game, there were several very positive things that happened. For instance, Denard Span went 4-5 with a double. Doug Deeds was 3-5 with a walk, a double, and his 2nd home run. Trent Oeltjen went 2-4 with a walk and an RBI. He stole his fourth base (and was caught for the first time). Danny Matienzo went 2-5, and Jason Grove went 2-4 with a walk and a double. Errol Simonitsch got the start for the Rockcats. He gave up five runs in five innings, however, it is important to note that just two of the runs were earned. He gave up seven hits, walked two and struck out three. Tristan Crawford came in and gave up two runs in 2.1 innings. He did strike out four. Chris Schutt went the next 1.2 innings, and he gave up five earned runs on three hits and an uncharacteristic four walks.  

FT MYERS MEMOS

Monday - Miracle 5, Tampa 1 – Another nice win, and another nice pitching performance for the Miracle. I suppose a cynic could say that it should have been a strong starting performance since John Thomas spent last season at New Britain (with one start at Rochester). Anyway, Thomas went 4.2 innings without allowing a hit or a run. He walked one and struck out six. Angel Garcia came in to get the Win. He gave up just one hit over 2.1 innings. JP Martinez pitched the final two innings. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk. Trevor Plouffe led the offense with a 3-5 day. Garrett Guzman continues his amazing comeback with a 2-5 day, with a double.

BELOIT BITS

Monday - Snappers 2, Wisconsin 7 – Oswaldo Sosa started for the Snappers. He had a nice year at E-Town last year and pitched some in Venezuela this winter. In this game, he took the loss. In five innings, he gave up four runs (2 earned) on eight hits and a walk. Alexander Smit went the next 1.1 innings. He gave up and unearned run on a hit and two walks. Danny Vais went the next 1.2 innings, only walking one. David Shinskie then allowed two runs on three hits in his inning of work. Tarrence Patterson led the offense with a 3-4 day and two runs scored. Steven Tolleson went 2-3 with two walks, a nice day. However, he also committed two errors in the game. He has five  errors in five games. Caleb Moore went 2-4. Henry Sanchez was 0-4 with two strikeouts. He is now 3-21 on the year. He has two home runs, but he has struck out 11 times.