Notes, quotes and comment

Another big inning fueled by a poor defensive play involving a comebacker to the mound. On Thursday in Boston it was a mental mistake by Kyle Gibson; on Friday it was a poor throw by Ervin Santana.

I say it a lot, but it's true: This pitching staff isn't good enough to bail out the fielders. That's true even when the fielding miscues come from the pitchers themselves.

---

Roster stuff: Alan Busenitz got eight outs on 35 pitches Friday night to mop up behind Santana. He also committed an error of his own that led to an unearned run, but he knocked his ERA down to 2.08. (The underlying numbers are considerably less impressive.)

His reward was to be optioned back out to Rochester, with Ryan Pressly and his 8.18 major league ERA recalled. Pressly has a 0.90 ERA in Rochester with 15 strikeouts in 10 innings (and five walks), so it's not like it's an unwarranted return.

The Twins have been doing this for much of the year. They have a handful of relievers who are staying -- the big three of Brandon Kintzler, Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey, the optionless veterans Matt Belisle and Craig Breslow -- and everybody else is subject to the Rochester shuttle. Busenitz isn't going to be available for a few days, the Twins have a double header today in Kansas City, the Twins have a fresh arm.

Pressly and Busenitz are essentially the same type of pitcher: Good velocity, less good command. On Friday, Busenitz had the bullpen's highest velocity; today that designation belongs to Pressly.

---

Both Alex Wimmers and Mason Melotakis cleared waivers and remain in the Minnesota organization. The move a week ago to clear Melotakis off the 40-man roster raised some eyebrows in the Twins internets, but we now know that nobody else thought the lefty was worth a 40-man roster spot.

---

One Twins prospect was selected for the Futures Game this year. middle infielder Nick Gordon. whose offensive game has stepped up in all areas this season. (Moving up from Hammond Stadium probably helped.)

Notably absent is outfielder Zach Granite, who is hitting about .370 in Triple A, albeit with few walks and minimal power.

The Futures Game is intended to showcase top talent regardless of level. Granite is obviously having a fine season despite the shortcomings in his game, but he doesn't truly fit the idea of the Futures Game.

Notes, quotes and comment

Scratch the notion of a September return for Phil Hughes. The veteran right-hander will have thoracic outlet syndrome surgery next week.

From the Pioneer Press' Mike Berardino:

Former Twins pitchers Deolis Guerra and Hector Carrasco also underwent the procedure, which involves the partial removal of a rib to relieve nerve and circulation issues in the throwing shoulder area.

The hope -- expectation? -- is that this will solve Hughes' shoulder fatigue issues. He was already out with a leg fracture, but now he won't be back until spring training 2017.

---

Also from Berardino: Max Kepler got a fairly high-level rebuke last weekend from Reggie Jackson, who watched the rookie take aim at the right field seats during batting practice in Yankee Stadium and told him: "I'm 70 years old and I can do that. Let me see you go the other way."

I'll bet Kepler hears that from Tom Brunansky and Rudy Hernandez a lot. Hearing it from a 500-homer Hall of Famer apparently had some influence on the German.

---

Only one Twins prospect named to the Futures Game rosters Tuesday, J.T. Chargois. I'm mildly surprised at one; there are a handful of others I would have thought worthy, such as Tyler Jay or Stephen Gonsalves.

Nobody gets more than two on the initial rosters, and there are a few teams that only get one. It's possible that the Twins declined to send one of the lower level prospects across the country to San Diego.

Visiting the Futures

Jose Berrios throws a perfect first inning as the
starting pitcher for the World team Sunday.

I am enough of a prospect nerd that the Futures Game is more interesting to me than the All-Star Game itself.

Kennys Vargas runs out his double Sunday in the
Futures Game. "Run" is a generous term.

As such, it generally irritates me that the Futures Game is played at the same time as several regular season games. It gets buried in the daily grind of the MLB schedule. Meanwhile, the Yankees and Orioles were playing a night game, complete with rain delay, with the All-Star contingent from both teams having to fly halfway across the continent either overnight or Monday morning for the festivities in Minneapolis

I'd like to see the Futures game moved to prime time, with all the regular season games on that All-Star Sunday played in the early afternoon.

But that's just me. My wife and I attended the Futures Game Sunday and ducked out before the "Celebrities and Legends" softball game.

This, apparently, makes us a minority:

Target Field crowd much larger and louder for the celebrity softball game. some things never change at the @futuresgame
— John Manuel (@johnmanuelba) July 14, 2014

And I did notice a number of empty seats in my section filling in the last couple of innings of the Futures Game.

Alex Meyer didn't give the photographers much
opportunity to get a photo: He got three outs on
just four pitches.

That there are people more interested in watching Adrian Peterson and someone calling himself "Fat Joe" play slow-pitch than in watching Francisco Lindor and Noah Snydergaard play baseball baffles me, but I've long said nobody has to share my tastes. (I'm just glad my wife accommodates them enough to accompany me to three minor league games and the Futures Game in a span of five days.)

I do know this: As long as the softball game is a bigger draw than the Futures Game, what looks to me to be a flawed schedule will never be repaired.

---

The Twins provided three of the 50 players in the Futures Game: Pitchers Jose Berrios (who started for the World team) and Alex Meyer (U.S) , and first baseman Kennys Vargas (who hit cleanup for the World).

All three performed well. Berrios tossed a perfect first inning (no pitchers work more than an inning in this game), showing a fastball in the mid 90s and a breaking ball some 15 mph slower. Vargas drilled a double in his second at-bat and played a clean first base as one of the few players who went all nine innings. And Meyer needed just four pitches to get three outs in his inning of work.

Baseball America named Meyer's the best fastball of the contest, noting velocities of 97, 97, 98 and 97.

How quick was Meyer's outing?

Tom Kelly: "Meyer came in, I turned around to write the change on the lineup card, and when I turned back, he was walking into the dugout."
— Phil Miller (@MillerStrib) July 14, 2014

All told, not a bad showing at all -- especially considering that the two best prospects in the organization weren't there.

The good, the bad and the Nolasco

Ricky Nolasco might be the
worst starter in the American
League this season.

It seemed pretty obvious Sunday from Ron Gardenhire's postgame comments that Ricky Nolasco is coming out of the starting rotation.

This can't be much of a surprise to anybody. Nolasco's ERA, after surrendering six runs in two innings Sunday, is now an ugly 5.90, and he leads the league in hits allowed and runs allowed.

The Twins have made a heavy investment in him -- four years, $49 million -- and it is not paying off.

The manager couched a bullpen assignment in terms of something that will be discussed, and that how most of the beat writers were putting it in their tweets. But I agree with LaVelle Neal, who has covered the Twins since before Gardy became manager (and, I dare say, longer than all the rest of them put together:

Sometimes when Gardenhire makes statements like that, the decision has already been made.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) July 6, 2014

So why not just say he's pulling Nolasco? Probably because there are discussions to be had -- not about if to do it, but how. Gardenhire would want to talk to Nolasco about it before telling reporters. He'd likely want to talk with Terry Ryan, and certainly with pitching coach Rick Anderson, about rotation alternatives. Shift Deduno to the rotation? OK, how does that affect the bullpen, especially after a pair of two-inning starts this weekend? Do the Twins need another arm?

Gardenhire denied Sunday that there are any physical issues with Nolasco, but I'm not completely buying that. Dan Gladden was talking on the radio about Nolasco's fastball velocity being down. Ron Darling and Cal Ripken, calling the game on TBS, speculated that Nolasco is injured based on the paucity of breaking balls.

Remember, as I wrote last winter after the Twins signed Nolasco, he doesn't throw his fastball nearly as often as most major league starters. If he's now relying heavily on the fastball -- and the fastball is of lower velocity than usual -- it does suggest that something is wrong physically.

---

OK, on to the good news.

*Byron Buxton played Sunday for the Fort Myers Miracle, going 0-for-2 and making, according to the Miracle's radio announcer's Twitter feed, a spectacular catch. He was only in the game for three innings, which was the plan.

* Kurt Suzuki and Glen Perkins were named to the American League All-Star team. Former Twin Carlos Gomez will start for the National League, and ex-Twin reliever and Minnesota native Pat Neshek, having a huge year with St. Louis, was named to the pitching staff.

* Justin Morneau is one of the "Final Five" up for a online fan vote between now and Thursday. Details at mlb.com. I normally don't care too much about such things, but I would love to hear the Target Field reaction to Morneau coming to the plate in the All-Star Game.

* J.O. Berrios, who has dominated the high A Florida State League, has been promoted to Double A New Britain. Berrios is to pitch for the World Team in the Futures Game at Target Field on July 11.

---

File this under the "bad": Neal also tweeted this Sunday:

And the Twins might have to pull Trevor May from the Futures Game because his right calf strain is not healing as hoped.
— LaVelle E. Neal III (@LaVelleNeal) July 6, 2014

Sigh.

Notes, quotes and comment

Trevor May is 8-4,
2.94 for Rochester

A third Twins farmhand was named Wednesday to a Futures Game roster: Trevor May, named to the U.S. squad to replace a pitcher who had been called up to the majors.

I saw some social media consternation Tuesday over May's exclusion from the original roster, but as a rule no organization gets more than two prospects on the preliminary rosters. I have no problem at all with J.O. Berrios and Kennys Vargas getting the Twins' initial berths. At age 25, May isn't a real good example of what the Futures Game is supposed to be about: The brightest talents in the minors, regardless of closeness to the majors.

May has a much better shot at playing in the majors this year than Berrios or Vargas, but he's not as highly regarded, certainly, as Berrios.

---

Second-round draft pick Nick Burdi signed this week and was sent to Cedar Rapids. That is a more aggressive placement than we're used to seeing with college picks, and mirrors a similarly aggressive placement with first-round pick Nick Gordon. Gordon, fresh out of high school, was sent to Elizabethton rather than the complex league; the collegiate Burdi to low A rather than Elizabethton.

The other college bullpen guys the Twins loaded up on in the early rounds were sent to E-Town, the Twins standard for college picks. (John Curtiss, who like Burdi was pitching in the College World Series, has not signed yet.) So this more aggressive approach isn't universal.

---

No surprise here: The Twins reactivated Aaron Hicks from the disabled list Wednesday and optioned him to Double A New Britain.

The New Britain destination was signaled when they sent him there for the rehab assignment.

What does interest me about this: Hicks isn't playing strictly center field there. He was in left the other day, and in right on Wednesday. Eddie Rosario started Wednesday at second base but finished the game in center. This may be an indication of where the two rank in the Twins current estimation.

Bottom line: expect to see Rosario in the majors before we see Hicks again.

Into the futures

Kennys Vargas has hit
14 homers in Double A —
and cut down his
strikeout rate.

You really know you're a prospect nerd if you're more interested in the Futures Game than in the All-Star Game.

In which case, I am very much a prospect nerd.

The Futures Game -- an annual USA-vs.-World contest that kicks off the All-Star festivities on Sunday -- will be July 13 at Target Field. When I ordered my tickets last winter, I was figuring that the Twins's two representatives would probably be Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano, just as they were in 2013.

But both sustained significant injuries during spring training, and it's been obvious for some time that neither would be involved in this year's game.

The Twins' contingent instead will be J.O Berrios, right-handed pitcher for the Fort Myers Miracle (High A ball) and Kennys Vargas, a switch-hitting "first baseman" for the New Britain Rock Cats (Double A).

J.O. Berrios — or Jose—pitched for Puerto
Rico in the World Baseball Classic
when he was still just 18.

They're both having marvelous seasons, and Berrios in particular has been a highly regarded prospect from the time the Twins drafted him. The two Puerto Ricans are legitimate selections for the World team, even if they aren't Buxton and Sano.

So July 13 figures to be their first taste of Target Field, and maybe their last for the year. Vargas is already on the 40-man roster, but I don't know how likely he is to be called up this year. Joe Mauer is at first base, and Kendrys Morales is the DH, they're the two highest-paid players on the team, and where would Vargas get at-bats? Outfield is NOT an option for him; he's listed at 275 pounds, and that may be an understatement.

Barrios isn't on the 40 and he's in A ball, so he's not coming up this year. Indeed, I doubt he's going to move up to Double A. He turned 20 a month ago, and the Twins are using him in a six-man rotation (that's their policy in A ball and lower). Move him up to New Britain, and he'll have to jump into a five-man rotation. I don't think the Twins are going to subject his arm to that. As it is, he's one of the youngest pitchers in the Florida State League.

Belated comments on the Futures Game

Miguel Sano went 0-for-2 with a walk and a HBP
while playing the whole game at third base for the
World Team on Sunday.

Bryon Buxton during batting
practice with Team USA.

"Hype" is too strong a term for the lead-in to the annual Futures Game, which is probably the most pure baseball, and thus least popular, event of All-Star week. (There were plenty of seats available at Citi Field, or so it appeared on the telecast).

But there was a certain level of pre-game buzz for the prospect-laden exhibition, and that buzz was heavily focused on the Twins duo of Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. The attention laden on those two  — certainly among Twins fans, and in the industry as well — probably does qualify as hype. Buxton is now being touted as the brightest prospect in the minors, Sano as the best power hitter, they're in the same system ... They got a lot of the media attention in the week before the game, and they deserved it.

It would not be surprising if Buxton and Sano were in the Futures Game next summer (in Target Field) as well. It's possible — and I hope this is the case — that either or both will make themselves ineligible by forcing their way to the majors, but reality is that Buxton right now is in high A ball and Sano is not getting a lot of hits in his initial foray into Double A.

And neither got a hit Sunday either. Sano played the entire game at third base for the World team (and hit cleanup); he had, I would say, a good 0-for-2. He hit the ball hard for his outs (Buxton caught his final fly on the warning track in center) and drew a walk with a good selective plate appearance. He didn't get himself out.

Buxton, on the other hand, was a mid-game substitute for Team USA (Billy Hamilton, a more advanced prospect, got the start ahead of him) and struck out in his two plate appearances.

That they combined to go 0-for-4 Sunday is perhaps disappointing but no more significant than the fact that Kirby Puckett once went 0-for-4 in an All-Star game (1987).

Into the Futures

The (initial) rosters for the Futures Game were announced Wednesday, and -- no surprise -- Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano were selected for the U.S. and World teams respectively.

J.J. Cooper of Baseball America, the publication that dreamed up the Futures Game, noted in a chat that organizations are limited to two players on the initial rosters, so the selection of Buxton and Sano foreclosed on Eddie Rosario and other Twins prospects. Cooper:

Overall, I think the Twins are bringing the best one-two punch of any team, and really it’s not all that close. ... Rosario would have been a very good fit at second base, but I’m glad he’s not there. Nothing against Rosario, but only two Twins can go and I can’t wait to see Buxton and Sano.

(Cooper's chat also touches on Adam Brett Walker as an example of why it's a good idea for teams to be hesitant about quick promotions, particularly in the lower levels; what Buxton's "80" speed tool means; and Sano's defense.)

In recent years the Twins appeared reluctant to allow more than one of their prospects play in the Futures game. Last year only Oswaldo Arcia played, and a BA chatter noted, without being specific, that they were turned down on some players by organizations. Sano came to mind; as noted in that link, the Twins view such things as rewards, and they probably weren't interested in rewarding Sano at that point.

This year is another matter. And by this time next year, Sano may not be eligible for the Futures Game.

Notes, quotes and comment

The regular season is a grind, and players welcome the respite offered by the All-Star break. Certain obsessive bloggers might benefit from taking a break also, but what's the point of taking a vacation from an obsession? There are always things that have fallen through the cracks:

Oswald Arcia's Futures
Game double was a
bullet pulled off a
97-mph heater.

* Twins outfield prospect Oswald Arcia doubled in two at-bats during the Futures Game last Sunday.

In a lot of ways, I'm more interested in the Futures Game than in the All-Star Game, but by scheduling it on the last day of the first half MLB has guaranteed it a smaller audience.

Arcia is a 21-year-old out of Venezuela who is already on the 40-man roster and has pushed his way to midseason promotions this year and last. He has less than 100 at bats in Double A at this point and isn't dominating the small sample size, so I don't expect to see him in Target Field this season even if one of the outfielders is traded this month. But his day is coming.

He was the sole Twins prospect selected for the Futures Game. Noteworthy by omission was Miguel Sano; missing for obvious injury reason (broken bone in face) was Eddie Rosario.

Baseball America consults with MLB in setting up the rosters, and one of its writers said in a chat that there were players they wanted but whose teams didn't agree. He didn't name Sano specifically, but his name came to mind immediately. The Twins are known to use such honors as a reward, and they may not wish to reward Sano while his defensive struggles are so glaring.

* Reggie Jackson was effectively suspended from his front office job with the Yankees for telling Sports Illustrated that Alex Rodriguez' admitted PED use raises questions about his Hall of Fame candidacy.

Reggie's title with the Yankees is "special advisor to the managing general partner," which is vague enough to encompass almost anything. My guess is that he is essentially vice-president in charge of being Reggie Jackson, which is probably more lucrative than anything I do without being much of a strain on his capabilities.

Criticizing A-Rod is an unpaid hobby for a lot of people, and nothing Reggie said about the Yankee third baseman broke any ground, but publicly badmouthing one's fellow employees is generally frowned upon. And put in the context of Jackson's listing of guys he doesn't think belong in Cooperstown -- including Kirby Puckett, Bert Blyleven, Jim Rice and Phil Niekro -- Jackson simply comes off to me as one of those guys who wanted the door shut behind him.

I happen to agree with Jackson on Rice's qualifications. I don't on Puckett, Blyleven and, especially, Niekro. While I don't find anything objectionable about being a "small Hall" guy, I believe that a Hall of Fame too small for Niekro is also too small for Jackson.

Among the players depicted: Ty Cobb, Honus Wagner and Christy Mathewson.

*I was fascinated by the story out of Ohio of the 700 rare, high-quality, century-old baseball cards found in an attic.

I happen to own five cards from that era -- no big names or money involved: John Titus, Dots Miller, Billy Sullivan, Larry McLean, Charley O'Leary. The pasteboards connect me to the deadball era, to generations past. Miller played second base next to Honus Wagner; O'Leary cut off Ty Cobb's throws; McLean took orders from John McGraw; Sullivan was part of the founding of the American League.

They may not have made history, but they were part of it.

I haven't seen the Futures

At last check, 82 players had been named to one of the All-Star teams, what with excessive 34-man rosters and a bevy of injury withdrawals (including Justin Morneau but not Joe Mauer).

Which is part of why I'd much rather watch the Futures Game than the All-Star Game, much less Home Run Derby. The Futures Game is a minor-league all-star game of top prospects, the brainchild of Baseball America, pitting U.S.-born prospects against foreign-born.

Unfortunately, it's buried in the middle of Sunday's regular season games and aired on MLB Network, which isn't available on my cable system. It's easier to see the celebrity softball game, which is an All-Star event even more ridiculous than HR Derby.

The Twins had two prospects named to the teams -- Ben Revere to the U.S. team, Liam Hendricks, a pitcher from Australia working for the Fort Myers Miracle in High A ball, to the World team. Hendricks apparently had to drop out (not sure why), and Anthony Slama wound up on the U.S. pitching staff.

Revere went 0-for-3. Slama had a shutout inning, although he allowed three hits (and struck out one.)