Monday, November 29, 2004
Baseball America's Top 10 Twins Prospects
Lotsa Ketchup
Good morning All! I hope everyone had a great, long weekend and enjoyed your Thanksgiving. Just a few topics covered today on the Twins, a Vikings win and a few Wolves games and more.
In case you missed it, I would like to encourage everyone to head to the all-baseball.com site. The site is full of many great baseball writers and I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity to contribute. Christian Ruzich asked for some information on what went right and what went wrong with the 2004 Minnesota Twins, and then what the Twins should do this offseason, so I answered him and the results are now posted on the website. You can also leave comments there, so check it out here.
Last week, the Twin Cities Chapter o the Baseball Writers announced their baseball awards. To no one's surprise, Johan Santana won both the Calvin Griffith Most Valuable Player and the Joseph Haynes Award for the Pitcher of the Year. I don't think I need to even explain either of those. Pretty obvious choices!
Juan Rincon won the Charles O. Johnson Most Improved Twin award. 77 games, 11-6. 2.63 ERA.
Joe Mauer won the Bill Boni Award for the Twins best rookie. He played in just 35 games, but showed us just what an incredible talent he can be hitting .308 with a surprising six home runs. He played so well that the Twins actually put him into the 3-hole of the lineup before the All-Star break. Unfortunately, after having knee surgery the second week of the season and coming back, he missed the entire second half. Hopefully we will see a lot more of Joe Mauer in 2005.
Mauer was also named to the Topps All-Rookie team earlier.
Finally, the Keith Foulke of the Red Sox was given the Dick Siebert Award for the player from the Upper Midwest. Foulke is from Rapid City, SD.
BASEBALL AMERICA TOP 10 TWINS PROSPECTS
I got my new Baseball America in the mail over the weekend. One of the biggest reasons that I love BA is their prospects lists. It is always fun to anticipate who these "experts" will say the Twins top prospects are (along with all of the other teams, followed by a list of the Top 100 in all of baseball). For me, it is fun to compare what they think, to my list of the Top Twins Prospects. Anyway, here are Baseball America's Top 10 Twins prospects and other lists that they provide. (Some of this information will appear on the Baseball America website later this week!)#1 - Joe Mauer - This surprises me because normally I thought that BA included only players who were still eligible for Rookie of the Year. Although Mauer had just 107 ABs for the Twins last year, he will not be eligible for ROY in 2005. (if I'm wrong, please let me know)
#2 - Jason Kubel - Even with the knee injury, Kubel ranks this high. Hopefully Kubel will miss the entire 2005 season and that's it. He will still be just 23 and have lots of years to play! For what it's worth, the 2B who took out Kubel's knee, Ryan Raburn, is the #8 prospect of the Detroit Tigers.
#3 - Jesse Crain - I have to wonder about his ROY eligibility too. He pitched just 27 innings with the Twins, but in 22 games. His 2.00 ERA was impressive, especially considering he had about three really bad outings. He will fit into a dominant, overpowering Twins bullpen next year!#4 - JD Durbin - The Real Deal should be in the Twins rotation next year. He spent the Arizona Fall League working on his changeup. If he can perfect that pitch to go along with the organization's best fastball and curveball, he could be very special!
#5 - Francisco Liriano - Another power arm, Liriano (21) was just added to the Twins 40 man roster. He made just seven starts at AA last year, so I would expect him to start there this season. But, he throws as hard as 97 mph, and he's left-handed, an added bonus. If reports that he is working on a changeup are true, he has as much talent as Johan Santana does!
#6 - Kyle Waldrop - The Twins third 1st round pick in 2004, Waldrop is a lanky 6-4 righty! He throws 86-92 with a good changeup. BA already has ranked him as the Twins minor leaguer with the best control. Not bad for a 19 year old, just out of high school.
#7 - Anthony Swarzak - The Twins 2nd round pick in 2004, he was the 5th of 6 pitchers the Twins took in the first three rounds. I actually didn't even include Swarzak on my Top 26 prospects, so this one surprised me a little. But he throws harder than Waldrop and also has a good changeup.
#8 - Matt Moses - The Twins top pick in 2003, Moses got just 112 at bats at Quad Cities before a number of injuries, specifically a back injury, cost him a lot of playing time. That was his problem in his first pro experience too. However, when he has played, he has shown a great ability to hit!
#9 - Jason Bartlett - He is seen as a legitimate prospect by so many sources. It really seems like Ron Gardenhire is the only baseball person who doesn't see it. I really hope that he is given a real shot at the starting SS job. And if he wins it, I really hope that he isn't on the short leash that I fear he might be!
#10 - Scott Baker - I am really surprised that Baker ranks this low. I had him tied with JD Durbin for the #2 spot on my list. Like Crain the year before, Baker rose from Class A to AAA. However, Baker did struggle at times at Rochester.
Seth's Thoughts on Baseball American's Top 10 Twins prospects -
For most organizations, their top pick is generally put on this list. The Twins drafted Trevor Plouffe (who was listed as the best defensive infielder) first, then Glen Perkins and then Kyle Waldrop. But then they took Matthew Fox and Jay Rainville both before they took Anthony Swarzak. It just kind of makes me wonder about these rankings when Rainville had incredible numbers (38/3 K/BB ratio, in 34+ innings). And, I realize that Perkins came out of college and is 3 years older than the high school guys, but he is quite the prospect. Plouffe would likely make all of the other organization's top 10s.
Also, first round picks from previous drafts usually stay on the list excessively long in some cases. Matt Moses (2003) shows up as their 8th rated Twins prospect. But I am almost surprised that despite still playing and struggling and being injured at Quad Cities this year, Denard Span does not show up on this list. Granted, I had him ranked 16th on my list. But then again, there are probably five or six other Twins prospects that it could be argued they should make this list. It is just another testament about the Twins minor league system. He is also named as the Best Defensive Outfielder in the Twins minor league system, along with Fastest Baserunner and Best Athlete.
To illustrate this point, I will look at the other AL Central teams that are in the same issue. The White Sox top prospect, Brian Anderson, was their first round pick in 2003. Their 2004 #1 pick, Josh Fields is ranked #4. The Cleveland Indians top two prospects, Adam Miller and Michael Aubrey, were both 1st round picks in 2003, as was their #4 prospect, Brad Snyder. Their #1 pick in 2004, Jeremy Bowers, is ranked #5 even though he didn't play pro ball in 2004 because he signed late. Likewise, the Tigers top pick in 2004, Justin Verlander signed late and is ranked #3. Their #2 prospect is Kyle Sleeth, their #1 pick in 2003. The Royals top prospect was also their top pick in the 2004 draft, high school 3B Billy Butler. Chris Lubanski and Mitch Maier, rated #4 and #8 respectively, were both 1st round picks in 2003.
Any thoughts on these rankings, my rankings or any Twins prospect thoughts? E-mail me.
The Vikings defense, it appeared, was just about to give up another lead late yesterday as the Jaguars were driving down by just four points with less than three minutes to play. But then the Vikings finally reaped the benefits of their last two first round picks. Byron Leftwich was scrambling to his right, and this year's top choice, Kenechi Udeze caught up to Leftwich and slapped the ball aggressively out of his hand. The ball fell to the ground and last year's top pick, Kevin Williams, picked the ball up and raced 77 yards yards for the game-clinching touchdown, giving the Vikings a 27-16 win.
It seemed appropriate that the two young defensive linemen would come up with such a big play at the game's end. Chris Hovan, the former top pick who hasn't done much of anything in the last five years, was finally left off of the active list for yesterday's game. I really thought that John Randle was overrated in his last couple of seasons with the Vikings. However, he got double and triple teamed which made Hovan look good.
Daunte Culpepper is having an incredible season. Of the Vikings 11 games, I think it would be fair to say that he has only had one sub-par game so far. No, his TD numbers are dwarfed by Peyton Manning's, but all of the rest of Culpepper's numbers are as good, or even better. He has thrown for more yards and at a near record-breaking percentage. He has also brought the team back for wins now. Yesterday, he was 19-27 for 236 yards and a TD. He was actually sacked four times, which is unusual. And, the Daunte-Bashers will probably want to talk about his 4th quarter fumble. Get over it!
Randy Moss was back, and clearly he was nowhere near 100% However, even in a lesser role, his presence was certainly a factor. He still warranted double-teams when he was in the game. He did have four catches for 40 yards. He also had an impressive touchdown reception. Him going deep also allowed Jermaine Wiggins and other receivers to roam the middle of the field. Hopefully with another week of rehab and practice, he can be at 100%. And hopefully, Nate Burleson will not be forgotten in future weeks!
Byron Leftwich is legit! He was 19-34 yesterday for 237 yards and a TD. Fred Taylor, when healthy as he has been the last couple of seasons, is as good as anyone. Yesterday, he had 22 carries for 146 yards and some impressive moves!
Next week, the 7-4 Vikings will play the Chicago Bears in Chi-Town. Will they be able to control the running game of Thomas Jones and Anthony Thomas? Will Jeff George be ready to start, or will Craig Krenzyl start?
Any thoughts on the Vikings? E-mail me.
OK, I had been writing thoughts on each game the last few weeks. Well, not all games are worth writing about, or simply don't have anything worth writing about. So, here are just some thoughts from Week 12:
Seriously, what Peyton Manning is SICK! Six touchdowns, three to Brandon Stokely in the first half and three to Marvin Harrison, in the third quarter. Manning could have easily had more. The Colts got the ball back on a turnover at about the 30 yard line with 3 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, but Tony Dungy sent backup Jim Sorgi in. The amazing thing about the Colts is that Edgerrin James is quietly leading the NFL in rushing! Unbelievable!
In one of my fantasy football teams we play three RBs each week. As we know, we have to play Shawn Alexander every week. We also felt good about playing Fred Taylor against the Vikings. So, we had to decide between playing Willis McGahee and Rudi Johnson. So, when Johnson lit it up for 200 yards rushing and a TD, I was thinking we made the wrong choice. But then McGahee rushed for 111 yards and 4 touchdowns, so it really didn't matter much which we chose. If only we had played them both and had the foresight to sit Alexander!
Rudi Johnson had a great day helping the Bengals score 58 points! And they needed almost all of them as they beat the Browns 58-48. That is just sad! Kelly Holcomb got the start for the Browns and threw for 408 yards and 5 touchdowns. And lost! Carson Palmer was actually not bad, completing 22-29 for 253 yards and four TDs. Steve Heiden had three TDs and Antonio Bryant had two for Cleveland. TJ Houshmandzadeh had two TDs, while Chad Johnson caught 10 balls for 119 yards. What a game! Amazing that a defensive play, a Deltha O'Neill interception return in the final minutes is what finally iced the game.
Drew Brees is playing incredibly! 28-37 for 378 yards and 2 TDs. The Chiefs lose again despite two TDs by Derrick Blaylock, one by Larry Johnson and a 96 yard kickoff return by Dante Hall. But, LT had two TDs rushing and Antonio Gates had two more TD receptions.
2 more TDs for Brian Westbrook!
Ben Roethlesberger was 9-20 for 131 yards, but no turnovers. Jerome Bettis had 31 rushes for 100 yards and a TD.
Clinton Portis carried six times for 17 yards. Not good!
Steve McNair is talking about retiring after the season. It really is unfortunate because he is great when healthy, and arguably greater when not really healthy. He just has not been healthy for a few seasons.
Eli Manning 6-21, 2 INTs, and sacked five times.
Michael Vick threw for 2 TDs, which is more surprising than him rushing for one. Alge Crumpler is a good target to be able to throw to.Vick led with 71 yards rushing, but Warrick Dunn had 59 and TJ Duckett had 58.
Jerry Porter sighting! Granted it was in a snow storm in Denver, so it wasn't clear. But he did have six catches for 135 yards and 3 TDs! Ronald Curry, the former North Carolina quarterback and point guard showed off his basketball skills on his TD leap/catch! He had six catches for 110 yards.
Did anything catch your eye? If so, e-mail me.
In what had to be an incredibly entertaining game, the Wolves beat the Sacramento Kings 121-110 in Sac-Town. After losing Thursday night to the depleted Indiana Pacers, the Wolves did play well in a big win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday.
Kevin Garnett was the man again last night, leading the Wolves with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Sam Cassell finally came through with a great game, scoring 25 while dishing out 6 assists. Wally Szczerbiak added 15 points.
But Eddie Griffin was the top spark off the bench. He played 27 minutes, scored 20 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked five shots. He was 7-12 from the field, including 4-5 from three-point range. Not bad range for a guy who played the majority of his minutes as the 'center.' Griffin has certainly been worth his contract so far. I really hope he can stay clean and help the Wolves all season. It could make for a great story!
An equally bad story for Wolves fans is the Michael Olowokandi story from last Wednesday night in Indianapolis. Kandi was arrested at 3 a.m. on Thanksgiving for refusing to leave a bar. Police actually had to use a taser to contain him. Classy, huh? Seriously, I understand that the players are just people, but it should never get to the point where that is necessary! Just imagine how this would be talked about if it had been Ron Artest that did this!
The Wolves next game is on Wednesday at Golden State.
Any thoughts on the Wolves, please e-mail me.
Maybe this is a good group to get some ideas for your picks! This week, we have six sitting with 11 of 15 correct picks. Three more got ten. Not too bad. And, all six who are 11-4 now have the Packers tomorrow, so they are our winners. Missy Olson, Aaron Gleeman, Ryan Maus, David Bergner, David Bloom and Vic Quick are this week's winners. So, lets see who picks whom:
Seth Stohs Melissa Olson Ben Jacobs Aaron Gleeman John Bonnes Ryan Maus SethSpeaks.net SethSpeaks.net Hardball Times Aaron's BB Blog Twins Geek Twins Chatter Indianapolis @ Detroit Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Chicago @ Dallas Cowboys Bears Bears Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cleveland @ Cincinnati Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Browns San Diego @ Kansas City Chargers Chiefs Chargers Chiefs Chiefs Chargers Jacksonville @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Jaguars Vikings Baltimore @ New England Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Philadelphia @ NY Giants Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Washington @ Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Tampa Bay @ Carolina Buccs Panthers Buccs Panthers Buccs Panthers Tennessee @ Houston Texans Texans Texans Texans Texans Texans New Orleans @ Atlanta Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Miami @ San Francisco 49ers Dolphins 49ers 49ers 49ers 49ers Buffalo @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks NY Jets @ Arizona Cardinals Jets Jets Jets Cardinals Jets Oakland @ Denver Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos St. Louis @ Green Bay Packers Packers Packers Packers Packers Packers Michael Labuda David Bergner David Bloom Vic Quick Mike Brasel Jeremy Kovash ChiSox Daily Baseball Savant Ya Gotta Believe KDUH-Sports FFB Guru Wolf Lake Mgr Indianapolis @ Detroit Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts Chicago @ Dallas Bears Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Cowboys Bears Cleveland @ Cincinnati Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Bengals Browns San Diego @ Kansas City Chargers Chiefs Chiefs Chargers Chiefs Chiefs Jacksonville @ Minnesota Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Vikings Jaguars Baltimore @ New England Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots Philadelphia @ NY Giants Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Eagles Washington @ Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Tampa Bay @ Carolina Buccs Panthers Buccs Buccs Buccs Buccs Tennessee @ Houston Texans Texans Texans Texans Texans Texans New Orleans @ Atlanta Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Falcons Miami @ San Francisco Dolphins 49ers 49ers 49ers 49ers 49ers Buffalo @ Seattle Seahawks Seahawks Bills Seahawks Seahawks Bills NY Jets @ Arizona Cardinals Jets Jets Jets Cardinals Jets Oakland @ Denver Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos St. Louis @ Green Bay Packers Packers Packers Packers Packers Rams
That's it for today. Please feel free to let me know what you think. Have yourself a great week!
If you have any questions, comments or ideas for future topics, please e-mail me.