Notes from the weekend

Max Kepler is greeted at home plate Sunday afternoon as
he brings home his game-winning home run.

Pretty sweet moment Sunday for Max Kepler, the Berlin Basher, who hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th for a rare Twins win in which they never trailed. It was the first career homer for Kepler,.

Kepler has been playing right field on a regular basis this month with Miguel Sano sidelined, and one would be hard pressed to claim that he's taken the job and run with it. His 1-for-5 Sunday leaves him 8-for-36 in June, a .222 average, and he's struck out 12 times. He's also had four hits in his three most recent starts.

It may be some time before Sano is deemed ready to return from his hamstring injury, and presumably Kepler will remain a lineup fixture until then. What will happen when Sano is back, I haven't the slightest. I think the highest-ceiling outfield the Twins can assemble would be Kepler in left, Byron Buxton in center and Sano in right, but that leaves no place for Robbie Grossman, and he is playing, overall, better than any of that trio.

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J.T. Chargois came up, made one awful appearance, and got shipped back to Rochester. The Twins claimed Neil Ramirez off waivers from Milwaukee to take his place on the 25-man roster.

In theory, I dislike this move. Chargois is more talented, and he's not that much younger. Milwaukee is the second club to dump Ramirez this season, and that should be a red flag.

But theory has to give way to reality, and reality is that

• the Twins are reluctant to use Chargois two days in a row and
• they have trouble getting five or six innings from their starters.

If the bullpen has to pick up four or five innings every game, they can't afford to carry an arm that's only available for one inning every two or three games.

To make room for Ramirez on the 40, the Twins moved Phil Hughes to the 60-day disabled list. Hughes suffered a "compression fracture" when he was hit by a line drive in the leg the other day. Michael Tonkin also got drilled by a comebacker; it's been a bad week in that regard.

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Wrapping up the draft: The Twins made 42 picks over the three days. On Day One they selected four high-school hitters; after that they went heavy on collegians. Thirty-one of their 42 picks are college guys, including 24 of the 30 Saturday selections.

By the numbers: 17 pitchers, 10 outfielders, eight infielders. seven catchers. We knew the Twins regarded their catching depth as suspect, and they certainly went for backstops early (second round), often and late (40th round).

One of the Twins' first day selections was compensation for failing to sign 2015 second-rounder Kyle Cody of the University of Kentucky. Cody fell to the sixth round this year (Texas Rangers), and the big righty will have a substantially smaller signing bonus as a result.

The Twins may well have wound up with the better prospect in Akil Baddoo, a high school outfielder. Still, punting a high pick like that isn't a good strategy.

Notes, quotes and comment (draft day 2)

The Twins opened the second day of the draft by taking Griffin Jax, a right-handed pitcher from the Air Force Academy, with the 93rd overall pick (third round).

Deron Johnson is here: "We loaded up on bats yesterday. Jax is very interesting kid. Really good makeup. Reminds me of Radke. Up to 95."

— Mike Berardino (@MikeBerardino) June 10, 2016

Deron Johnson is the Twins scouting director, which means he's the guy making the call in the rapid-fire rounds of the draft's second and third days. 

Obviously the Twins like Jax, who apparently draws the Brad Radke comp mentioned above by having a good change up. I have no basis to judge the talent, but I don't particularly care for pursing somebody from a service academy.

My thinking is related to a hoary Branch Rickey rule. He refused to sign a player who was in medical or divinity school on the basis that the world needs physicians and ministers more than it needs ballplayers. My take on the service academies is: The nation has a deal with these students. We the people provide a no-charge, high-level college education, and we get well-trained military officers. I object to the notion that they can/should be encouraged/allowed to walk away from that bargain three years in, with a heavy public investment in that bargain.

Berandino reports that Jax "will petition for a deferment of his five-year active military commitment, and the Twins are hopeful that he will be able to convert that to the reserves at least."

Maybe so. That doesn't make it right.

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I predicted in Friday's post that Trevor May would go on the disabled list. He did. So, too, did Phil Hughes, who took a wicked liner off his leg. 

Kyle Gibson was reactivated off the disabled list; he's to start today's game against the Red Sox. And J.T. Chargois was called up.

I've mentioned Chargois a few times this year as somebody I thought should be here. The reports on his callup gave a good reason for the Twins to have gone slow: He has only once pitched on consecutive days this year. That's by design as his continues to return from Tommy John surgery.

Still, I'm glad to see him in the majors. He is a absolute power arm. It's time to start seeing some of them in Minnesota.

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ESPN's Keith Law, in a chat Friday about the first day of the draft, said he hasn't seen Twins second-round pick Ben Rortvedt himself, but that the word he has from scouts is that he won't stick behind the plate.

The Twins suggested otherwise on Thursday, and time will tell. He'll catch until he convinces the Twins he shouldn't catch.

The Twins did take another potential backstop in the ninth round Friday, Mitchell Kranson of California Berkeley. Apparently he played mostly third base for Cal (and hit third), but the Twins intend to put him behind the dish. That parallels the career path of Terry Steinbach, who played third base for the Gophers and converted to catcher after signing with the A's. 

May it work that well with Kranson.

Notes, quotes and comment (Draft day 1)

High school outfielders and college pitchers. As a general rule, that's what the Twins take in the first round of the draft.

This year, it was a prep outfielder, Alex Kirilloff of Plum, Pennsylvania, which is near Pittsburgh. He's a left-handed hitter with, according to the scouting reports, big power and a right field profile. Presumably he'll sign (he does have a college commitment to Liberty University), and also presumably he's five years or so away from showing up on the major league roster. He was the 15th overall pick.

Minnesota had three other picks on the first day of the draft:

56th pick: prep catcher Ben Rortvedt of Verona, Wisconsin. He was the first high school catcher taken. The ideal policy is to take the best player available, but the Twins system certainly needs catchers. MLB.com and Baseball America each ranked him in the 50s for this draft pool.

73rd pick: prep shortstop Jose Miranda of Puerto Rico. Not yet 18, right handed hitter, likely to get moved to second or third at some point.

74th pick: prep outfielder Akil Baddoo of Georgia. Some speed, some power, or so they said on the MLB Network draft show.

All high schoolers, no collegians for the Twins on Day 1. It will be years if ever for any of them to reach the majors. But they're all guys to dream on, and dreams are what Twins fans have to lean on right now.

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Trevor May faced three hitters Wednesday. Wild pitch, double, double, single. Then came a homer off the next pitcher, and May was charged with three earned runs in zero innings.

May's ERA is now 6.07. I rather expect him to go on the disabled list.

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Speaking of bad ERAs ...

ERAs of Current Twins Rotation:
Dean: 4.75
Santana: 4.77
Duffey: 4.79
Nolasco: 5.17
Gibson: 6.10

— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) June 10, 2016

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#OldFriend Justin Morneau signed with the Chicago White Sox and was immediately placed on the disabled list. He had elbow surgery during the winter and says he hopes to be ready after the All Star break.

Even with the White Sox, I wish him well. (It's easier to do so knowing that the Twins aren't contending for anything.)

Feeling a draft

The baseball draft begins Thursday evening (first round to air on MLB Network), and that is presumably the immediate focus of most if not all front offices, although the active participation of the general managers themselves should be pretty limited. Terry Ryan is known for his scouting expertise, but he's not traveling the country looking at high school kids.

The Twins draft 14th this year -- pretty much in the middle of the pack -- and there doesn't seem to be any genuine consensus about the top of the draft this year. A lot of names are said to be in play for the Phillies at No. 1, and there's a good chance that they will go a bit lower than the top of their draft board with 1-1 if they can strike a good bargain that will free up more pool money for tough signs later in the draft.

The lack of clarity at the top of the draft makes the mock draft game even dicier than usual, and I have no idea who the Twins are likely to wind up with out of the first round. The organization has an obvious need for catchers, but I don't expect the Twins to pop one on the first day. The top rated backstop is likely to be gone before the Twins pick, and the next best might be there when the Twins pick (twice) in the second round.

Picking for need in baseball is a silly proposition anyway; most picks are years away from helping the major league team. The Twins last year took a college reliever, Tyler Jay, with the sixth overall pick; he's in High A as a starter and thriving (2.44 ERA at Fort Myers with 55 strikeouts in 51-plus innings). The year before that, they took high school shortstop Nick Gordon; he's also thriving at Fort Myers. And the year before that they took high school righty Kohl Stewart, who just moved up from Fort Myers to Double A Chattanooga.

None of those three will see Target Field this year. So the fact that three members of the 2012 draft -- Byron Buxton, J.O. Berrios and Taylor Rogers -- have been on the major league roster so far this year is worthy of notice.

Notes, quotes and comment II

On Friday morning I noted Baseball America's Mock Draft 2.0. Later on Friday, BA issued Mock Draft 3.0.

The high school pitcher they had had the Twins taking at No. 14 in the previous mock in this one goes five picks earlier to the Chicago White Sox. This time they have the Twins taking right-hander Dakota Hudson of Mississippi State.

They also link the Twins to Zach Burdi, brother of Nick Burdi, a bullpen prospect of note currently on the disabled list with Class AA Chattanooga. Like his elder brother, Zach is the closer for the University of Louisville. The idea of two Burdis in the bushes is intriguing, but No. 14 overall is a bit high for a reliever. Of course, the Twins have drafted a lot of college relievers and moved them to starting.

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The Twins have trailed in all but one game this year. Incredible.

— Derek Wetmore (@DerekWetmore) May 14, 2016

Yeah, it is. Twins now 8-26.

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Byung Ho Park, whose Baseball Reference page is sponsored by yours truly, hit a pair of homers Friday in Cleveland. That's nine on the season for Park Bang, and if you want to play the on-pace game, he's on pace for roughly 45 homers. And about 75 RBIs, because eight of those homers have been solo shots.

Which, especially since this game was in Cleveland, reminds me of Brook Jacoby, third baseman for the 1987 Indians. He hit .300 that year with 32 homers and just 69 RBIs, Why so few ribbies? Because he spent the year hitting behind Joe Carter (.304 on-base percentage with 32 homers) and Cory Snyder (.272 OPB with 33 homers.) Only five of Jacoby's homers that year came with men on base.

Notes, quotes and comment

The Twins had an off day Thursday to contemplate their 8-25 record. Let's look at something -- somethings -- else, because almost anything is more appealing.

* Casey Fien, who was claimed by the Dodgers on waivers by the Twins and optioned to their Triple A affiliate in Salt Lake City, has now been waived by the Dodgers. This time he went unclaimed. So he's not only in the minors, but he's off the 40-man roster.

* Baseball America's mock draft 2.0 -- the Twins pick 14th, just above the mid-point of the first round -- has the Twins picking a high school pitcher. The specific name in the mock draft is Matt Manning of Sacramento, but BA links the Twins to a few other prep pitchers.

The baseball draft is always an exercise in patience, and drafting high school pitchers is particularly so. If that's the route the Twins go, it will be a long wait for this selection to make an impact in the majors.

After reading "The Arm," the Jeff Passan book about Tommy John surgery, I'm not enthused by the notion of spending high picks on pitchers, on the basis that anybody who shows enough velocity to be a first round pick already has a damaged arm. But ... there are a lot of ways for first round picks to go sideways or collapse on teams, and somebody has to pitch.

* Public Policy Polling did a survey on sports fandom. According to PPP:

• 42 percent consider themselves fans of major league baseball, second to the NFL;
• Almost two-thirds (65 percent) would prefer to do away with the designated hitter;
• A slim majority want Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens in the Hall of Fame.

I personally agree with the latter two points, but I also notice that the poll says more fans side with the players in labor disputes than with the owners, and I really doubt that's the case.

"Competitive balance" and trades

For the second year in a row, the Twins on Wednesday were awarded an extra draft pick between the second and third rounds.

The "Competitive Balance B" pick is noteworthy not only because it means another draft pick in the top 100 next June. It adds something in the high six figures to the Twins 2016 draft bonus pool, meaning more flexibility. And, unlike other draft picks, it's tradeable, at least during the regular season(s). (That is why MLB holds the lottery before the trading deadline.)

Having last year's Competitive Balance B pick in hand last winter made it easier for Terry Ryan and Co. to surrender their official second round pick by signing Ervin Santana. Of course, they then failed to sign the pitcher they selected with that pick (Kyle Cody). So they now have two picks in the 2016 "Competitive Balance B" section of the draft, the one they won Wednesday and the Cody compensation pick. (Both will add to the draft pool; I don't know that the Cody comp pick is tradeable, but I assume it is.)

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A followup on Wednesday's post and Jonathan Papelbon: The Phillies closer apparently has partial trade protection. There are 17 clubs on his no-trade list. I don't know if the Twins are among them. It's presumed that he'll insist that his 2016 option -- $13 million -- be vested before approving a trade to a team on his list.

The source I relied on in writing that post said he needs 55 games finished in 2015 to vest that option. Another source this morning says the number is 48. He's at 32 now. (Here is a Ken Rosenthal piece from January on how Papelbon's contract snarls trade possibilities. The specifics about the Brewers are outdated, but the issues remain the same.)

So the complicating factors in such a deal are, from this distance, less certain than I thought a day ago.