2012 Twins Prospects 40-36

Here is my third installment of 2012 Minnesota Twins prospects. I recently posted 50-46 & 45-41. I originally had Pedro Guerra in this range, but he was recently released. It would be interesting to see why the Twins let him go, given that he his young and has had decent numbers. Oh well, let's continue the countdown.

40. Michael Gonzales First Base 6/16/1988.
Gonzales was drafted by the Twins in the 9th round of the 2008 draft out of Diablo Valley College. He hit .289/.371/.468 with 15 HRs in 477 plate appearances in his second year at class A Beloit. His walks have increased his strikeouts have decreased as he has matured. He looks to be rounding into a good all around hitter but in his age 24 year, he really needs to start moving up. Last year he did not make my top 50, but in 2010, I ranked him #39.
2012 Outlook: Will probably spend most of the season at Class A Fort Myers with potential promotion to AA.

39. Kennys Vargas First Base 8/1/1990.
Vargas was signed in 2009 out of Canovanas, Puerto Rico. He hit .322/.377/.489 with 6 HRs in 191 plate appearances for Elizabethtown. Vargas has shown a decent bat in both levels of rookie ball and at 6'5", he sure has the size. The interesting test will be once he plays a full season. He will not have a chance to play a full season in 2012, due to a 50 game suspension handed down in August for taking phentermine. Rumors are, he has problems keeping his weight down. Hopefully, he can shake off the suspension when he returns and continue his progression.
2012 Outlook: Should get to Beloit eventually upon completion of his suspension.

38. Matt Summers Right-Handed Pitcher 8/17/1989.
Summers was drafted in the 4th round of the 2011 draft out of UC Irvine. He went 1-1 with a .87 ERA in 20 appearances at Elizabethtown. He struck out a whopping 36, walked 5 and only gave up 2 runs in 20.2 innings. He started in college, throwing a no-hitter and going 11-4 with a 2.15 ERA in 2011. Big West pitcher of the year is one of the accolades he has earned.
2012 Outlook: Will probably head to Beloit or Fort Myers probably as a starter.


37. Kane Holbrooks Right-Handed Pitcher 6/8/1987.
Holbrooks was drafted in the 21st round of the 2009 draft out of Texas State University. He went 5-9 with a 4.87 ERA in 19 appearances for Fort Myers, 16 of them starts. He struck out 47 and walked 26 in 94.1 innings. He really struggled in his first full year as a starter, though injuries probably played a part. He might be better served as a reliever. 2012 will be a big year for Holbrooks who rocketed up the prospect charts last year and back down this year. I ranked him #11 last year and Andrew at TwinsTarget wrote the prospect profile here.  I also wrote something about him and Dakota Watts here. Holbrooks is a real character and the Twins could us someone like him on the big club to add personality to the room.
2012 Outlook: I would look for the Twins to send Holbrooks to New Britain and try him as a starter a little longer.

36. Bruce Pugh Right-Handed Pitcher 7/18/1988.
Pugh was drafted in the 19th round of the 2008 draft out of Hillborough (Florida) Community College. He went 2-7 with a 5.91 ERA and 17 saves in 43 appearances between Fort Myers and New Britain. He struck out 75 and walked 32 in 64 innings. His ERA was pretty ugly, but some of it can be traced back to the 8 earned runs in 1.1 innings he gave up on June 1st. This was his maiden voyage in AA. Pugh has a chance to be a useful pitcher, he has a good fastball and decent breaking pitch but he walks too many. He could be a decent starter or dominant reliever if he could control the walks. I ranked him 26th last year.
2012 Outlook: A full year at New Britain unless he starts really strong.

2012 Minnesota Twins Prospects 45-41

Today is the official beginning of spring. The Seattle Mariners pitchers and catchers report today. It's not the Twins, but its still baseball.

Recently, I counted down 5 prospects in my top 50. today it's time to knock out 5 more in a series that will probably take me up to opening day. :)

45. Rory Rhodes Third Base 7/28/1991.
Rhodes was signed in 2008 out of Brisbane, Australia for $220,000. He hit .261/.363/.389 with 2 HRs in 182 plate appearances for Elizabethtown. He's very tall, he strikes out a lot and he has a lot of power. He plays in the Australian Baseball League during the winter, where he was runner-up Rookie of the year in 2010-2011. He will eventually transition to first base due to his height, but his bat could someday make him a real force. Will be interesting to see how he he does in a full season league.
2012 Outlook: He should start the season in Beloit.

44. Phillip Chapman Catcher 3/28/1989.
Chapman was drafted in the 35th round of the 2011 draft out of the University of Memphis. He hit .308/.392/.442 in 124 plate appearances for the Gulf Coast Twins. He proved to be a doubles machine in college and had 12 in just 124 plate appearances in his first pro season. A catcher with gap power and a good on base percentage comes in pretty handy but, Chapman was pretty old for the GCL, so, it'll be important for him to continue to hit at the next level and move up pretty quick.
2012 Outlook: He may start in extended spring training, but should spend at least a decent amount of time in Beloit.


43. Lester Oliveros Right Handed Reliever 5/28/1988.
Oliveros came over to the Twins organization late in the 2011 season in the Delmon Young trade. He went 3-3 with a 4.12 ERA between AA Erie and AAA Toledo & Rochester. He struck out 58 and walked 21 in 48 innings. He struggled in his 21.1 major league innings for the Tigers and the Twins as he probably isn't yet major league ready. He has a good hard fastball and a good slider and has struck out more than one batter per inning every step of his minor league career. With his age and stuff, he could soon become an elite reliever in the majors, but he needs to improve his command.
2012 Outlook: Has a good chance of making the Twins out of spring training, though he could use more time in AAA. He will impact the major league club in 2012.

42. Deolis Guerra Right Handed Pitcher 4/17/1989.
Guerra has been in the Twins system since 2008. He came over in the Johann Santana trade and has never come close to the prospect hype (hope) that was bestowed on him. Many had him as a top 50 prospect at the time of the trade, but his fastball and raw numbers have never come close lived to the early hype. His 2011 stats look like a lot like those from 2010 on first blush. He was 8-7 with a 5.59 ERA for AA New Britain. Taking a deeper look, maybe the numbers really say more about Guerra as an awful starter. He gave up 43 earned runs in 10 starts and 43 innings, striking out 30 and walking 15. That's a 9.00 ERA. Since converting to reliever full time, Guerra was much better. He gave up only 16 earned runs, struck out 60 and walked 13 in 52 innings for a 2.25 ERA. I think Guerra's time as a starter has passed and he should stay in the pen! If he is used primarily as a reliever, he should move up the rankings as well as provide a late inning reliever for the Twins relatively soon.  I had him #47 last year and #19 in 2010.
2012 Outlook: Should spend most or all of the season at AAA Rochester in the bullpen.


41. Anthony Slama Right Handed Reliever 1/6/1984.
Slama was drafted by the Twins in the 39th round of the 2006 draft out of the University of San Diego. He went 3-2 with a 2.92 ERA for AAA Rochester. He struck out 42 and walked 16 in 37 innings. Slama continued to have great strikeout numbers with average stuff in AAA. For the second straight year, he spent some time in the majors. He didn't get much of a chance to show what he could do in the majors because of an elbow injury. After the season, he was dropped from the 40 man roster and at 28 years old, 2012 is probably Slama's last chance to find his way into the Twins bullpen. I ranked him #29 last year and #31 in 2010.
2012 Outlook: Will start at AAA, but will be available for a call-up if the Twins need a reliever added to the 40 man roster.

2012 Twins Prospects 50-46

This is one of my favorite times of the year. The Super Bowl is over and pitchers and catchers start reporting this weekend. What better time to look at the future of the Minnesota Twins. This year was tougher to rank the Twins prospects than the past two years. Several years of the big club raiding the system, questionable front office decisions and a little bit of bad luck have left the Twins system weaker than it has been in most seasons.

We'll start with prospect 50-46.

50. Luis Nunez Left Handed Reliever 9/26/1991.
Nunez was signed as a free agent out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 2008. Repeating Gulf Coast ball in 2011, Nunez continued to improve. He went 5-0 with 5 saves with a 1.67 ERA in 16 appearances. He struck out 37 and walked only 6 in 32.1 innings. He's a hard thrower. He's small at 5'11" 160, but is only 20. He could be a closer someday.
2012 Outlook: Will probably start the season in extended spring training and either report to Elizabethtown or Beloit.

49. Dakota Watts Right Handed Reliever 11/16/1987.
Watts was drafted in the 16th round of the 2009 draft out of Cal State-Stanislaus. He went 3-4 with 10 saves and a 6.30 ERA in 48 appearances between High A Fort Myers and AA New Britain. He struck out 53 and walked 33 in 65.2 innings. His strikeouts have slipped as he's moved up the system but he still walks WAY too many batters. I ranked him #33 last year. I also wrote about him here. He still has late inning big league reliever potential because throws hard, but he has to throw more strikes.
2012 Outlook: Will return to AA New Britain.

48. Matt Bashore Left Handed Starter 4/6/1988.
Bashore was drafted #46 in the first round of the 2009 draft out of Indiana University. He has pitched very little since being drafted and has just recently come back from Tommy John surgery. He went 0-0 with a 3.24 ERA in 12 appearances and 3 starts for rookie league Elizabethtown. He struck out 15 and walked 8 in 16.2 innings. If he can regain the form that made him a first round pick, he will move through the system quickly.
2012 Outlook: Will probably start in extended spring training and then report to Beloit.


47. Darin Mastroianni Center Field 8/26/1985.
Mastroianni was claimed off waivers today (February 9th) from Toronto Blue Jays. He hit .268/.353/.370 with 3 HRs and also stole 34 bases in 44 attempts for AA New Hampshire and AAA Las Vegas. Going into his 26th year, Mastroianni is almost as major league ready as he is going to be. He made his major league debut in 2011, playing in one game. He enters an organization set at starting OF in the majors and with many highly rated OF prospects that will be seen later in my countdown. Where he provides value is at the 4th OF spot. A backup who can play CF, get on base, steal some of those bases, be a late inning defensive replacement to Josh Willingham and provide a right handed bat off the bench (backing up two lefties) certainly has value. I like the pickup. If nothing else, he is younger and strikes out less than Jason Repko.
2012 Outlook: He is on the 40 man, so he may break with the Twins or spend time in AAA.

46. Jorge Polanco Shortstop 7/5/1993.
He was signed in 2009 out of San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic for $750,000. He hit .250/.319/.349 with 1 HR in 193 plate appearances for Elizabethtown. He also stole 6 bases in 10 attempts.  I ranked him #37 last year. He is still very young and an excellent defensive prospect, but hasn't yet found a bat. He is the elite fielding SS prospect in the Twins system. If he finds a bat, he could become one hell of a ballplayer some day.
2012 Outlook: Due to his young age, I'd expect the Twins to start him in instructional league before sending him back to Elizabethtown or Beloit.

Similarities Between Poker and Baseball

While baseball is clearly the American pastime, poker has slowly and surely become a worldwide pastime for many of legal gambling age. Both baseball and poker have huge similarities in excitement levels. Let's take a look at how the two games can be similar.

How can poker be similar to baseball in terms of excitement. Imagine for a moment nine men competing against each other for one of the top prizes in their game. Websites like Pokerlistings and other major poker and media sites are covering all the action and broadcasting on national television. As each hand goes by, action proceeds somewhat slowly with one player making a raise and the other folding. This goes on for minutes, and sometimes even hours.

All of a sudden, there is a raise and a call by an opponent. After the flop cards are dealt, the initial bettor makes a sizable bet, followed by a raise by his opponent. Suddenly, the original bettor goes all-in followed by a quick call. The fans quickly rise to their feet or start to gather around the table to see what their favorite player holds and if their player is behind, what he or she needs to win.

Now fans of the player behind in the hand start screaming out the card that their player needs while the other fans start screaming for their player's hand to hold. The turn card comes, and bam! the behind player caught his needed card. Fans erupt in cheers and high fives as their player is now behind and looking to knock out a player. However, there is still a card to come. The other player has a few outs that can still put him ahead and give him the win. The fans sit cheer on as the dealer gets ready to deal the final card.

We've got your interest now don't we? Sounds very similar to a baseball game where there was little action and all of a sudden a team happens to get ahead with just an inning or two left. A big home run or a big rally can get your team right back into things or even give them the win. Think about all that excitement and put literal Millions of dollars at stake for the winner of the game, and you get an idea of what it is like to play poker at a high level.

Goodbye Bob

Last Sunday, my good friend Bob O'Neill passed away at 36 years old.

I don't completely know the circumstances of his last days, but he was having tough times. I'm still numb to the whole situation.

I met Bob in 1996, when he moved into my college apartment replacing a roommate that had moved out. We got along right away! Bob came from a different background than I did, but we bonded over music, the Simpson's, beer and sarcasm. We had some good times in college, listening to Iron Maiden and singing 665, the Neighbor of the Beast.....

I also turned Bob into a little bit of a Rolling Stones fan and he even lifted weights with me for a little bit. Usually weighing around 127, Bob was all proud of getting to 131.

Eventually, I moved on to a different school and Bob moved on as well. Some of my favorite stories about Bob were at his new apartment. There's the one where we were listening to Metallica so loud that the cops not only came, but they could identify the exact song we were listening to. I believe it was "Seek & Destroy". Well, the cops message to turn it down was lost on us a little. We were so excited that he could hear it so clearly and he knew the song. We wanted him to stay and listen to tunes with us. There is also the night that Bob was talking smack to "Satan" the cat. Well, not only did Satan deserve his name, but he was also going to be neutered soon. Bob had a couple beers in him and he kept saying to the cat, "you think you're hot shit, but just wait". The looks on his face and the sound of his voice as he was talking down to that cat is one of my favorite memories ever.

Bob was a fun guy to hang out with but he also cared about people. I had fallen on some hard financial times and I asked Bob if I could move in to his house. I didn't really think that he'd go for it but, not only did he let me move, he charged me almost no rent. All he asked is that I help him around the house, pay what I could & when my situation improved, pay him  more.

I moved out of Bob's place in 2004. I moved to New York state for a decent job. Early on, I always made it a point to hang out with Bob when I came to town..... but, eventually, I came to town less, I moved more times and met my Allison and got married. Life happened and I had fallen out of touch with Bob a little. I have fallen out of touch with other buddies as well.

I know now that Bob had fallen on hard times. I knew he had been out of work when we spoke in the spring of 2010. I tried to convince him to apply to my company in Texas. He wasn't terribly interested in a Texas move (not sure why, the Republican values, gun laws and wide open spaces seemed like a good fit). I since lost that job and had to take a job in New Hampshire. That job keeps me constantly busy. I also spent nearly 2 years away from my family and often commuting to see them. I haven't even been to Minnesota since May 2010. Life happened to me and didn't know that Bob was in such a bad place.

When I got the news on Tuesday and was told how I was one of Bob's best friends and I realized I hadn't spoken to him in a year and a half, I felt terrible. I still feel terrible. I feel bad that I hadn't seen him in awhile. I feel bad that I wasn't aware or able to help him in his dark times. 

I was looking forward to seeing after Christmas and I plan on having a beer in your honor at Dubliner. I will always remember the good stories. Bob commenting on something smelling so bad "That it really Vikings"

Life is short! Call your friends, visit as often as you can. I've lost 2 of my best friends in the last 2 years and I hadn't seen either of them in their last 2+ years before they'd passed away. I wasn't even able to go to his funeral.

God Bless you Bob and the entire O'Neill family.

A Big Night for Twins prospects

It has been awhile since I have written, so tonight, I will post some stuff I have written about Liam Hendriks, Joe Benson & Chris Parmelee.


Andrew Kneeland of TwinsTarget and I ranked Liam Hendriks number 6 overall. Here is what I wrote about him in January.

6. Liam Hendriks, RHP, 21 years old


courtesy: (baseballinstinct.com)
2010 stats: 8-4 with a 1.74 ERA, 105/12 K/BB in 108.2 innings between Beloit and Fort Myers.
Last year's rank: N/A
Acquired: Signed out of Perth, Australia in February 2007.

So, what makes someone a top prospect? Some prospects are more tools than numbers. The guys that scouts just look at and drool over the possibilities. They say, this guy will be the next.... Other guys become top prospects through hard-work and sheer numbers. Liam Hendriks is part of the latter group.

The Australian hurler made his debut in the GCL at 18 years of age, striking out 52 and walking 11 in 44 innings. A nice start to his professional career. In 2008, back surgery derailed his entire season. In 2009, he came back from injury and made the Australian roster in the World Baseball Classic. He was the roster's youngest player. After the WBC, he split the season between Elizabethtown and Beloit. He had a decent year with a 3.55 ERA, 75 strikeouts and 19 walks in 83.2 innings. Not a bad year for such a young guy, especially one who had missed a year of development.

In 2010, Hendriks returned to Beloit and he took off. Total Domination! In 6 starts and 34 innings he struck out 39 and walked 4. He only gave up 16 hits. That's a .59 WHIP! This earned him a quick promotion to Fort Myers. He was almost as dominant after his promotion. In 74.2 innings, he struck out 66 and walked 8. For the season, he had a 1.74 ERA, 8.75 K/BB rate and a .837 WHIP between Beloit and Fort Myers. He only gave up 2 HRs all season.These are crazy, off the charts type numbers.

He has 4 good pitches, but no single dominating pitch. His fastball touches the low 90s and he also features a decent curve and change-up. What made Hendriks so dominant in 2010 was his control. He only walked 12 guys in 108.2 innings. Coincidentally, Cliff Lee walked 12 in 108.2 innings for the Texas Rangers in 2010. While I'm not saying Hendriks can be the next Cliff Lee*, his 2010 numbers and stuff profile out to a similar kind of pitcher, albeit a right-handed one. *Lee only walked 6 in 103.2 innings in Seattle and 2 of his TX walks were intentional.

Hendriks will only be 22 years old in 2011 and it would seem he is just starting to hit his stride. The only thing slowing Hendriks down is injury. He's already had back surgery. Hopefully the nerve issue doesn't lead to something chronic. He was selected to the 2010 All-Star Futures Game but he missed the game due to appendicitis. These are two un-related types of maladies. Hopefully Hendriks is getting through a rash of random injuries early in his career and and is about to settle in for a long healthy career.

Ideal Scenario: Hendriks will probably start where he left off in Fort Myers. If he hits the ground running like he did in 2010, he should see an early New Britain promotion.

Path to the majors: Another good season in 2011 will leave Hendriks on the cusp of an MLB debut in 2012. With guys like Gibson, Bromberg, Wimmers and a decent major league staff all older and more advanced then the 22 year old Hendriks, 2013 is more realistic. If Hendriks has a season in 2011 like he did in 2010 however, the Twins might not be able to hold him back. He has middle of the rotation stuff but if he can keep his walk rate down, he could become an ace.


Andrew and I ranked Joe Benson #4.


Here is something Andrew Kneeland wrote about Joe Benson.


Below is something I posted at TwinsTarget last September.


With my first post, I will introduce you to my favorite Twins prospect, Joe Benson. He plays all outfield positions and is capable of playing a very good center field. The 22 year old was a Twins 2nd round draft pick in 2006 out of Joliet Catholic Academy in Joliet, Illinois. He is not as highly thought of in Twins prospect circles as Aaron Hicks, Ben Revere, or Angel Morales, but he should be. He is a similar, if more advanced player than Aaron Hicks and Angel Morales. Hicks most likely will walk a little more than Benson. He is the same age as Revere and has much more power and is a better fielder, if not as fast a runner.


In 2009, he batted .285/.414/.403 for Fort Myers with 14 stolen bases in 21 attempts. He ranked #4 overall in my Twins prospect list coming into 2010. At the time, I said "he is developing into a prototypical lead off or #2 hitter. He's another of many high-end outfield prospects in the Twins organization." Well in 2010, his power has taken off. The 6'2" 211 lb. Benson finally added power that his frame would suggest. Prior to 2010, Benson topped out at 5 HRs in a season. He had a .259/.343/.538 line with 27 HRs, 31 doubles and 8 triples for Fort Myers and New Britain. He also stole 19 bases in 28 tries. His .527 slugging percentage at New Britain ranked 5th in the Eastern League of players with 300 plus plate appearances. His .862 OPS ranked 11th of players with 300 plus PA. His 23 HRs ranked 4th in the league. He probably isn't a going to be a 1 or 2 hitter after-all, though he hits at the top of the order for New Britain. 


I have seen him play 3 times this season. When he was named as one of seven Twins to make the Arizona Fall league, I posted a scouting report on the 7 players.This was my scouting report on Benson:


I saw him in June and wrote this: He's 22 and LaVelle E. Neal thinks he'll arrive in 2012. For some reason, he was sent back to Fort Myers this year. I personally think he is a better player than Revere right now. He certainly looks to have more upside. He is almost as fast as Revere but also has power. He went 2-5 with a 2B and a walk on Wednesday and 1-4 with a HR in Thursday's game. He leads New Britain with 9 HRs. The bounce in power is great especially since he is considered more of a speed guy. He already has 13 HRs in 2010 between Fort Myers/New Britain. He's never had more than 5 HRs in a season. If Micheal Cuddyer were traded in the off-season, Benson may be better equipped then Revere to replace some of his offense by next season.


I also saw him in August: He went 0-5 and some of his swings were really hard. Carlos Gomez hard. He is certainly the best prospect in AA for the Twins currently, but he has some work to do. I love watching him in the field and he has legitimate power. He also might be wound to tight. He got mad a couple times during the game, tossing his helmet hard into the dugout and also on the field after just missing his pitch and flying out. The kind of reaction usually reserved for strikeouts. Benson has a ton of tools and potential that is starting to show. I hope he is able to keep his emotions in check and just enjoy the game a little more. He has enough ability to go a long way someday soon. 



Benson is a 5 tool player that could be a future star for the Twins. He can hit, hit for power, steal a base, plays great defense and has a good arm. He is more than capable in center field but may eventually shift to a corner. 


When he is in the lineup with Ben Revere, Revere has played center. Benson has also improved his on-base skills in the last couple of seasons. The one flaw in his game is his strikeout rate. Benson struck out 136 times in 519 plate appearances in 2010. His 115 Eastern League K's ranked 11th and his total of 136 would have placed him in 6th place for the league. That's a strikeout every 3.82 plate appearances. Many mention his strikeout rate as a reason to keep Benson in AA for another season and it may be a fair reaction. Give him more time to work on this flaw before promoting him to AAA or the majors. As a comparison, the Twins strikeout leader this year is Jason Kubel. He has 102 strikeouts in 515 plate appearances. Kubel never had more than 59 Ks in any minor league season. Benson's strikeouts are a problem. Mark Reynolds and Adam Dunn never struck out that much in the minors. 


Joe Benson will be added to the 40 man roster over the winter and will get a look in spring training before he gets sent back to AA. Between Arizona Fall league and his return to New Britain, Benson should be tasked with lowering his K rate. If he can do that, he will be ready to make an impact with the big league club as soon as mid-season. Guys like Aaron Hicks, Angel Morales and Ben Revere could be great players for the Twins, but Joe Benson is the most likely to do it first.


Finally, here is what I wrote here about Parmelee in January: I ranked him as my 18th prospect.

18. Chris Parmelee First Base/Outfield 2/24/1988.

He was a Twins 1st round draft pick in 2006 out of Chino Hills high school (CA). He hit .285/.356/.401 for Fort Myers and New Britain. He hit .258/.359/.441 for Fort Myers before his promotion but his HR power really dropped off after he was promoted. He had only 6 HRs for New Britain, but he did have 25 doubles in 463 plate appearances. He has a good walk rate and his strikeout rate has come down every year, but his prospect value lies in his HR power. I ranked him #12 last year.
2011 outlook: Will probably spend all season in New Britain, unless he has a HUGE year.

Nothing new here, but given the big night for the Twins, I figured I'd post something.

So Long Pat

Pat Neshek was claimed off of waivers by the San Diego Padres today. The announcement came from Neshek, via his twitter page: "I just got news that I am now a member of the San Diego Padres, packing up & heading west."

With that statement, Neshek was gone.  Pat was let go to provide the Twins with flexibility on the 40 man roster. The Twins could have optioned Neshek to AAA. He had an option left. They chose to let him walk for nothing. Any American League team could have had him and passed and 11 National League teams passed on him before San Diego picked him up.

Neshek had an excellent to start his career. He went 11-4 in 2006 and 2007 with a 2.19 ERA in 06 and 2.94 ERA in 07. He hasn't been good since. He has had an ERA of nearly 5 since 2008 and hasn't fully recovered from 2009 Tommy John surgery. He's only pitched 22.1 innings for the Twins since the end of the 2007 season. He's essentially been a WAR 0 player since 2007. His quirky delivery and deception made him a dominant reliever early in his career, but with a fastball in the mid 80s, deception might not be enough anymore.

Once Neshek made his announcement, twitter exploded in mostly anti-Twins, pro-Neshek grumbling.

Why all of the stress over a fringe player who is already 30 years old and he has gotten roughed up this spring?

First, he's one of us. He graduated from Park Center High School in Brooklyn Park, MN. We love our Minnesota guys in Twins Territory.

Second and most important, he's a great guy. He speaks with fans on his site, (one that has a similar name to this one), as well as Facebook and twitter. His site is very comprehensive in reaching out to his fans. Fans can trade cards with him or chat with him and each other on the site's message board. The site has a lot of good content for fans. His site even helped him meet his wife. The first thing you see on the page, pretty much says everything about his fan friendliness. There is a standard greeting from Pat followed by instructions, for fans, to send him items to autograph.

I followed those instructions and received this:

I sent him this card in early November 2009. I'd asked if he could put a Christmas message to my stepson, if he had a chance to before the holiday. It was already November, the season was over and he's a busy guy. I honestly didn't expect he'd get to the card before Christmas. I received the signed card back in less than 2 weeks. What a great Christmas gift to a kid. A Personalized message from a major league player.

Many feel sad for Pat as well. Sad that his hometown team gave up on him. Don't be sad. His time with the Twins was up. He wasn't going to make their opening day roster. Now he gets a chance to make a team who calls home Petco Park. The best pitcher's park in the majors. He gets a chance to play in one of the nicest cities in America.

He only pitched 129.2 innings for the Twins, but will forever be a fan favorite. 

Good Luck to one of my favorite players. I hope he is an all star for the Padres. 

I hope to get a signed Padres card someday!