Posted July 8, 2011    

•Denard Span

•Delmon Young

•Adrian Peterson

•Trevor Mbakwe

•Josh Harding

Outfield Vets & Prospects Give Twins Options 

Eddie Rosario is the Twins Minor League Player of the Week after hitting five home runs and driving in 12 runs from June 25-July 1 for Elizabethton in the Appalachian League.  Rosario is an intriguing part of the Twins’ organization outfield depth, a story to follow regarding how that talent might impact personnel decisions in the weeks, months and years to come. 

Rosario, 20, was a fourth round draft choice last year and he’s one of five worth watching center fielders in the organization.  The others are Denard Span and Ben Revere with the big league club, and Joe Benson at New Britain and Aaron Hicks with Fort Myers.  All five are young and fast, with Span the oldest of the group at 27. 

Rosario, Benson and Hicks are among the franchise’s better prospects, although none of them has yet to play a season in Triple A baseball.  Revere, 23, replaced Span last month when the Twins’ regular center fielder went on the disabled list. 

Revere wasn’t even on the roster at the start of the season but he’s impressed so much he might become more valuable than Span, a four year Twins veteran with a .289 career batting average who has been an okay center fielder.  Revere’s speed is superior and he can be a highlight maker in the field. 

Revere puts extraordinary pressure on infielders when he’s batting, using his speed to contest throws to first base.  In the outfield he seems to have better range than Span and moves back on fly balls more effectively. 

Revere was AL co-rookie of the month for June with Oakland’s Jemile Weeks.  In 25 games, Revere batted .294 with four doubles, one triple, nine RBI, 14 runs scored and seven stolen bases. 

Revere is hitting .279 with 11 stolen bases in 47 games.  His performance at the plate, in the field and on the bases makes for speculation that Span might move to the head of the line among Twins to be traded soon, or after the season. 

Span has proven his worth as a lead off man and fielder.  Other clubs could be interested, particularly if they’re not worried about the concussion that has been a past problem. 

The Twins are intrigued with speed but an outfield that included both Revere and Span, along with light hitting middle infielders Alexi Casilla and Tsuyoshi Nishioka, would give the lineup a foursome producing something like 16 home runs annually.  Moving Span in a deal that brought pitching or power hitting might be appealing to the club’s decision makers.

 

Ben Revere puts extraordinary pressure on infielders when he’s batting, using his speed to contest throws to first base.

Twins Need Middle Inning Relief Help 

In addition to center fielders, the Twins have outfield depth, too, with veterans Delmon Young, Jason Kubel and Michael Cuddyer, all starters at various times this year and in the past.   Any of the three has trade value, too. 

The Twins would like to add a quality middle inning reliever.  It wouldn’t be a surprise if the organization came up with some kind of a deal before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.  The organization’s present outfield depth could grow deeper some day if catcher Joe Mauer moves to right field.  

The Twins, who were 16.5 games out of first place in the Central Division on June 1, could have their playoff sights in focus by July 31.  The club is eight games out after defeating the White Sox last night in Chicago while first place Cleveland beat.  If the Twins are about six games back or better on August 1, they will be serious contenders for their seventh division title since 2000.   

The Twins finish the series against the White Sox on Sunday, and then look forward to more games against division rivals.  Kansas City, Cleveland and Detroit all come to Target Field for games from July 14-24. 

No wonder Twins general manager Billy Smith said on WCCO Radio’s Sports Huddle Sunday that this is a “huge” month for the Twins as they try to “make up some games.”

 

Worth Noting 

The Vikings have two players in the NFL’s top 100 as voted on by league players and reported by the NFL Network.  Running back Adrian Peterson is No. 3 and defensive end Jared Allen No. 80.  Quarterbacks Tom Brady (New England) and Peyton Manning (Indianapolis) are No. 1 and 2.  

Coach Leslie Frazier said in a video on the Viking website that Peterson reminds him of his former teammate in Chicago, Walter Payton, who Frazier described as perhaps the best back of “all time.”   Both Peterson and Payton have built reputations on attacking tacklers.  

Joe Mauer, who made his Twins debut at first base last night, drove in two runs with three hits and is batting .324 in his last 10 games to raise his average to .242. 

WCCO TV’s Mike Max reported on Tuesday that the St. Paul Saints had interest in signing former major leaguer Jose Canseco but didn’t want a package deal that included brother Ozzie. 

Gophers forward Trevor Mbakwe is participating in the LeBron James Skills Academy this week in Akron. 

Although Craig Leipold is a passionate fan, the Wild owner doesn’t determine personnel decisions, a hockey source told Sports Headliners.  General manager Chuck Fletcher has been busy in recent weeks with personnel moves that Leipold has been made aware of in advance. 

Franchise player Mikko Koivu has been informed about potential trades and may comment about players but Fletcher makes the decisions, the source said.  

Josh Harding is expected to compete for the Wild starting goalie job in training camp but the source also said the position is Niklas Backstrom’s to lose.  

This has been a notable year for Minnesota’s Joe Laurinaitis who was inducted into the WEE Hall of Fame and has written a book about his pro wrestling career.  Known as “Animal” during his wrestling career, the book documents the rise of the Road Warriors tag team.  Son Jim Laurinaitis. who played football at Wayzata High and Ohio State before joining the NFL Rams, is the No. 1 Laurinaitis to many sports fans now. 

The Wolves could add credibility and marketing pizzazz by hiring Kentucky coach John Calipari to fill their expected head coaching vacancy.  Calipari coached in the NBA before going back to college coaching with Memphis and now Kentucky. 

The MIAC was one of just six NCAA Division III conferences to place more than one school in the top 30 of the final 2010-11 Learfield Sports Directors' Cup standings.  Six MIAC schools were in the top 100 nationally: Gustavus 21^st, St. Thomas 26^th, Carleton 71^st, Saint John’s 74^th, St. Olaf 75^th and Hamline 97^th. The cup is awarded annually to the institution accumulating the most points in a scoring system that rewards teams based on their postseason finish. 

 

Leslie Frazier

Josh Harding

Niklas Backstrom