The Twins finished the week with a 3-3 record putting them at 12-13 on the season. They remain in 4th place in the division.

Minnesota

IP

H

R

ER

BB

SO

HR

PC

ERA

WHIP

Scott Baker

6.0

6

4

4

1

7

0

99

6.0

5

5

5

1

4

1

104

6.75

1.08

Francisco Liriano

6.2

7

2

2

2

3

0

96

2.70

1.35

Nick Blackburn

7.0

8

2

2

1

3

0

104

2.57

1.29

Kevin Slowey

5.0

8

5

5

0

4

0

76

9.00

1.60

Glen Perkins

6.0

10

5

5

0

4

1

84

7.50

1.67

Totals:

36.2

44

23

23

5

25

2

5.64

1.34

Rotation Assessment:
Week 1: 5.40 ERA and 1.34 WHIP
Week 2: 4.23 ERA and 1.32 WHIP
Week 3: 5.96 ERA and 1.46 WHIP
The good news is that the Twins rotation only walked 5 batters in 36.2 innings. The bad news is they allowed more than a hit per inning. Baker looks like he is slowly working back into form and is surrendering far fewer long balls than he did his 1st two starts of the [...]

The Twins lost two of the three games against the Kansas City Royals. Minnesota is now 12-13 and remains in 4th place 2 games behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals.
Friday 5/1
Matchup: Sidney Ponson vs. Kevin Slowey
Result: 7-5 Win
Slowey wasn’t great, but he was better than Sidney Ponson. In 5.0 innings he allowed 8 hits, 5 runs, and struck out 4. For one night the bullpen was lights out. Guerrier, Mijares, and Nathan combined for 4.0 innings of 2-hit shutout work. The offense was led by Mauer, Morneau, and Harris who each had 2 hits in the game. For the [...]

The first month of the season has recently concluded, so I thought now would be a good time to look at how some of the Twins top prospects are faring in the minors. For this edition I used Baseball America’s top ten list. Stats listed are as of May 2nd, 2008.

#10:  OF-Angel Morales (11/24/89)  B-R/T-R  (2007 3rd Round)

Beloit Snappers (Low-A)

AB

BA

OBP

SLG

HR

BB

SO

SB

67

.179

.214

.358

2

2

22

1

#9:  RHP-Carlos Gutierrez (9/22/86)  (2008, 1st Round)

Fort Myers Miracle (High-A)

ERA

G

GS

IP

H

ER

BB

SO

0.78

5

4

23.0

10

2

5

13

#8:  RHP-Kevin Mulvey (5/26/85)  (2006, 2nd Round by Mets)

Rochester Red Wings (AAA)

ERA

G

GS

IP

H

ER

BB

SO

3.26

4

4

19.1

20

7

8

20

#7:  RHP-Shooter Hunt (8/16/86)  (2006, 1st Round Supplemental)

Beloit Snappers (Low-A)

ERA

G

GS

IP

H

ER

BB

SO

10.43

5

5

14.2

10

17

29

14

#6:  RHP-Anthony Swarzak (9/10/85)  (2004, 2nd Round)

Rochester Red Wings (AAA)

ERA

G

GS

IP

H

ER

BB

SO

2.25

4

4

24.0

18

6

4

17

#5:  3B-Danny Valencia [...]

The Twins won two of the three games in their series against the Tampa Bay Rays.  Minnesota is now 11-11 and remains in 4th place in the division only 1 game behind the 1st place Kansas City Royals.
Monday 4/27
Matchup: Jeff Niemann vs. Scott Baker
Result: 7-1 Loss
Baker pitched better in his 3rd start going 6.0 innings.  He allowed 6 hits, 4 runs, 1 walk and struck out 7.  The bullpen was awful giving up 3 runs in 3.0 innings while the bats were silent against Niemann.  They hit .161 as a team with no extra base hits outside of Crede’s HR.  [...]