The draft starts at 11:30 AM EDT and the Twins will probably pick a bit before noon EDT. Actually it is going much faster. Made their pick at 11:37

Here are the Twins’ picks in rounds 31-50 (pick number in parenthesis) :

Round:

31 (942): Cody Martin, 3B/SS/RHP, LHB, 6’2″. 205 lbs, Stevens County HS, GA. One of his claims to fame is that as a pitcher he hit an umpire (video link). Here a brief SI writeup of the incident when he was awarded their turkey of the year award and here is a newspaper article.

32 (972): Aaron Senne, RF, LHB, 6’2″, 205 lbs, Junior, Missouri (from Rochester, MN). Here is a batting video and here is an article about this former Minnesota State Player of the Year

33 (1002): (Frank) Nick Freitas CF, RHB, 6’1″, 215 lbs, senior, Southern Utah. Power hitter Broke his team’s home run record. Here is an interview from scout.com

34 (1032): Ricky Claudio, RHP, 6’2″, 195. American Senior HS, FL. Here is a brief scouting report (last paragraph). Ricky has a blog and apparently his favorite team is the Boston Red Sox. I hope this changes now.

35 (1062): David Hurlbut, LHP, 6’4″, 190 lbs, Diablo Valley College

36 (1092): Jason Zylstra RHP, 6’4″ Jacksonville State (same school as Ben Tootle the Twins’ third round pick)

37 (1122): David Gutierrez, RHP, 6’0″, 160 lbs, Miami. Carlos Gutierrez’ brother

38 (1162): Peter Kennelly, RHP, 6’2″, 190 lbs, Senior, Fordham

39 (1192): Ryan Sadler, RHP, 6’5″ 210 lbs, Naples HS, FL. Here is an article

40 (1222): Ryan Abrahamson, OF, RHB, 6’3″, 200 lbs, Tartan HS, MN Here and here are two articles

41 (1252): Pat Butler, RHP, 6’5″, 200 lbs Chatham HS, NJ. here is an article

42 (1282): Marc Bourgeois, OF, LHB, 5’11″, 205 lbs, Chipola Junior college

43 (1312): Jon Hedges, 1B, RHB, 6’5″ 230 lbs, Olney Central College Here is an article

44 (1342): Tyler Herr, RHP, 6’8″, 215 lbs, Katy TX HS

45 (1372): Eddie Ahorrio, RHP, Puerto Rico, HS Here is a scouting video

46 (1402): Jake Kretzer, OF, RHB, 5’11″, 205 lbs, Benton, HS, MO

47 (1432): Richard Calcano, RHP, Puerto Rico, HS Here is a scouting video

48 (1462): Cody Dordan, RHP, 6’2″, 180lbs, Newport HS, OR

49 (1492): Paul-Michael Klingsberg, 1B, LHB, 6’4″, 215 lbs, Cal State Domingos Hills

50 (1522): Alberto Cardenas, RHP, 5’10″, 190 lbs, Palm Ridge HS, FL

Here are the Twins’ picks in rounds 4-30 (pick number in parenthesis) :

Round:

4 (132): Derek McCallum. RHB, SS/2Bm 6’0″, 175 lbs, Junior, University of Minnesota. Here is a scouting video
and here is an article. He was drafted by the Twins in the 50th round of the 2006 draft but did not sign. Here is an article from Pioneer Press and here are his reactions after he was selected by the Twins.

5 (162): Tobias Streich, C, 6’0″, 215, RHB, Sophomore, West Virginia U. Here and here are two articles. Here is his reaction after he was selected by the Twins.

6 (192): Chris Herrmann, C/3B, LHB, 6’1″, 185 lbs, Junior. U of Miami. Here is a scouting video and here is his personal google profile page, if interested to read some tidbits about him. Here is his-post selection profile from U Miami.

7 (222): Brad Stillings, RHP, 6’4″, 210 lbs, Junior, Kent State. Here is an article and here a scouting video. Stillings threw a no-hitter this season

8 (252): Brian Dozier, SS, RHB, 5’11″, 190 lbs, Senior, U Southern Miss. Here are his numbers and here is an article.

9 (282): Nick Lockwood, SS, RHB, 5’11″, 175 lbs, Jesuit HS, FL. Here is an article.

10 (312): (Michael) Blake Dean, LF/DH, LHB, 6’2″, 208 lbs, Junior, LSU. Here is a scouting video and here a page of videos including several of long home runs and here are his numbers.

11 (342): Ronnie Richardson, SH, CF/INF, 5’7″, 171 lbs. Lake Region, HS, FL. Here is a detailed scouting report and here a scouting video. Also plays football as a wide receiver

12 (372): Tony Davis, LHP, 5’9″, 185 lbs, U Florida

13 (402): Clarence Davis, RHB, SS, 5’11″, 160 lbs. Campbell HS, GA

14 (432): Matt Tone, LHP, 6’1″, 210 lbs, Junior, SUNY Cortland. Here is an article

15(462): Steven Liddle, OF, LHB, 6’1″, 200 lbs, Sophomore. Vanderbilt. Nephew of the Twins’ bench coach, Steve Liddle. Here is a video interview, here and here are two articles

16 (492): Dakota Watts, RHP, 6’6″, 205 lbs, junior, Cal State Stanislaus

17 (522): Nick Tindall, C, RHB, 6’4″, 190 lbs, O’ Fallon HS, IL. Here is an article

18 (552): Beau Stoker, SS/3B, LHB, 6’1″, 200 lbs, Bishop-Ward HS, KS. Also a Reliever and starting QB and PK in football

19 (582): John Stilson, RHP, 6’4″, 190 lbs, Texarcana CC Here is a scouting video

20 (612): Thommy Mackoul, LHP, 6’3″, 205, Shophomore UC Riverside. Reliever

21 (642): Kane Holbrooks, RHP, 6’3″, 220 lbs, Senior, Texas State

22 (672): Buddy (Stewart) Munroe, C, RHB, 5’11″, 195 lbs, Senior, U Florida. Here is a scouting video

23 (702): Eduardo Encinosa, RHP, 6’5″, 225 lbs Miami HS. Here is a scouting video

24 (732): Mario Hollands LHP, 6’5″, 200 lbs, UC Santa Barbara. Here is a scouting video

25 (762): Anthony Bryant, RHP, 6’7″, 210 lbs, Kennewick HS, WA

26 (792): Mike Giovenco, RHP, 6’6″, 235 lbs, Junior, North Park U Here is a scouting video

27 (822): Eric Decker, CF, LHB, 6’3″, 215 lbs, Junior, Univerity of MN. Probably will return to the U as a senior because he is a top wide receiver update Decker has been quoted (closer to the end of this article) today that he wants to go back to college before he decides his future

28 (852): Pat Light, RHP, 6’5″, 190, Christian Brothers Academy, NJ Here is an article

29 (882): (James) Beau Wright, LHP, 6’2″, 220 lbs, Los Alamitos HS, CA Here is a scouting video. He had a scare on the field last season from which he recovered.

30 (912): Treyvone Johnson, C, RHB, 6’1″, 215 lbs, Los Angeles

I will be doing this again tomorrow starting at 11:30 EDT, covering picks from rounds 31-50.

Here are the Twins’ picks in the first three Rounds:

Round 1:

#22: Kyle Gibson, RHP, Missouri. 6’6″, 210 lbs, Junior. Here is his scouting report and a video from mlb.com and here is John Manuel’s take from Baseball America. Also, here is a scouting report from Saber Scouting with an additional video. Here is a scouting report from Project Prospect, and here is another from The College Baseball Blog. Here is a page full of videos of Kyle Gibson.

Round 1 supplementary (compensation round; the Twins got that pick because of Dennis Reyes singing as a free agent with another team) :

#46: Matt Bashore, LHP, Indiana. 6’3″, 200 lbs, Junior. Here are his numbers, here is a quick report, here is an article by Sporting News and here is a scouting video from mlb.com. He was named as one of the top 3 Big Ten starting pitchers by College Baseball Insider.

Round 2:

#70: Billy Bullock, RHP, U Florida. 6’6″, 225 lbs, Junior. Here are his numbers and here is an article from The Gainsville Sun.

Round 3:

#101: Ben Tootle, RHP, Jacksonvile State. Here is a scouting report and video from MLB.com and here is an article and here is another one. He was the ninth best college pitcher available according to the College Baseball Blog.

This is the way I am planning on covering the draft here:

• Have a close to live daily list of the Twins’ picks each day of the draft, which will be updated as additional players are drafted and will provide links to high level profiles of the players (I want to get those out as soon as the names are called, so there will be a lot of editing going on: adding picks as they are made, and editing to include the profiles as time permits. Make sure that you refresh to get the additional information.
• After the draft is finalized, probably around Friday or during the weekend, I will provide an aggregated list of all picks by the Twins, with links to as much information as I can find, including stats, scouting reports, interviews, video etc.
• As players sign, I will profile them individually. Since about half of the picks will never sign and will not wear a Twins-affiliate uniform, I will wait till they sign before I profile them. The deadline for signing draftees is August 17th, so these profiles will be coming sporadically as draftees are signed.

Please feel free to comment in all posts

Infielders:

Brian Dinkelman (LHB, 25, AA) .330/.421/.476 3 HR, 32 RBI, 221 PA
Danny Valencia (RHB, 24, AA) .284/.391/.503 6 HR, 26 RBI, 202 PA
Ramon Santana (RHB, 24, A) .360/.444/.576 5 HR, 22 RBI, 145 PA

(Tolleson is .400/.514/.633 in 36 PA at Rochester, but still has some catching up to do due to his slow start at New Britain)

Outfielders:

Rene Tosoni (LHB, 22, AA) .272/.371/.497 8 HR, 32 RBI, 203 PA
Ben Revere (RHB, 21, A) .327/.391/.381 1 HR, 23 RBI, 24 SB, 225 PA
Joe Benson (RHB, 21, A+) .293/.413/.444 3 HR, 14 RBI, 121 PA

1st basemen/DH:

Whit Robbins (LHB, 24, AA) .337/.412/.538, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 211 PA
Rene Leveret (RHB, 23, A+) .336/.430/.448 2 HR, 21 RBI, 135 PA

RH Starters:

Carlos Gutierrez (22, A+, AA) 1.97 ERA, 1.146 WHIP, 5.46 K/9, 1.50 K/BB
Matt Fox (26, AA) 2.83 ERA, 1.291 WHIP, 7.06 K/9, 1.96 K/BB
Mike McCardell (24, A+) 3.75 ERA, 1.059 WHIP, 7.22 K/9, 4.55 K/BB
Brad Tippett (21, A) 3.21 ERA, 1.106 WHIP, 6.29 K/9, 4.10 K/BB
Pedro Guerra(19, Rk/DSL) 0.00 ERA, 0.444 WHIP, 11.00 K/9, inf K/BB
Cesar Ciurcina (18, Rk/DSL) 0.00 ERA, 0.429 WHIP, 2.57 K/9, inf K/BB
Manuel Soliman (19, Rk/DSL) 0.00 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 6.43 K/9, 1.00 K/BB

RH Relievers:

Armado Gabino (25, AAA) 3.18 ERA, 1.059 WHIP, 5.82 K/9, 1.83 K/BB
Bob Keppel (27, AAA) 2.40 ERA, 1.185 WHIP, 4.14 K/9, 1.58 K/BB
Rob Delaney (24, AA,AAA) 2.77 ERA, 1.103 WHIP, 9.69 K/9, 6.00 K/BB
Alex Burnett (21, A+, AA) 1.98 ERA, 1.024 WHIP, 10.54 K/9, 3.20 K/BB
Steve Hirschfield (23, A+) 1.24 ERA, 0.759 WHIP, 6.52 K/9, 3.50 K/BB
Loek, Van Mil (24, A+) 0.00 ERA, 0.800 WHIP, 5.40 K/9, 3.00 K/BB
Eddy Santana (21, Rk/DSL) 0.00 ERA, 0.500 WHIP, 12.00 K/9, inf K/BB
Fransisco Nunez (17, Rk/DSL) 3.00 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 12.00 K/9, 8.00 K/BB
Renzo Reverol (18, Rk/DSL) 0.00 ERA, 0.000 WHIP, 6.00 K/9, inf K/BB

LH Relievers:

Spencer Steedley (24, A+) 0.68 ERA, 0.897 WHIP, 8.89 K/9, 3.71 K/BB
Joe Testa (23, A) 1.75 ERA, 1.000 WHIP, 12.00 K/9, 2.82 K/BB

Hard to talk about this series; another loss. 2 games under .500, 5 games behind in the loss column. They almost need to take 4 out of the next 6.

Inning 1 release point:

Fransisco’s release point is all over the place again.

Innings 1-2 release point:

You see that a nicer core release point is been established

Innings 1-3 release point:

the core is continuing to be established, few more pitches outside the core

Innings 1-4 release point:

Even nicer core

Innings 1-5 release point:

It really appears that there are two core release points established, one to the left of the other

Innings 1-6 (his whole performance) release point:

The two cores are even more established…

What does that mean? I was really surprised to see two different release points, so I wanted to look more into it, so I looked into release vs lefties and righties to see whether the chirality of the batter he faced made a difference.

Here is his release point against RHB:

nice and tight (well, as far as Liriano goes.) It coincides with the left-most core in the total.

and here is his release point against LHB:

Less tight, but it coincides with the right-most core in the total.

The conclusion here is that Liriano has two different release points. He drops his arm to the right (from batter’s view) when he faces lefties and pitches consistently upright when he faces righties. Is this just a coincidence in this game?

Let’s look at his splits from that 5/30 game.

Here is his release point against RHB:

decent core to the left with about 3 pitches probably slipping off his fingers

a core more to the right with a few pitches even further away.

Still, the core release points are there, but are not tight. And I am not sure what having 2 different release points does to someone’s ability to throw the ball accurately where he wants, but I suspect that it is not good. Let’s look at a very good tight core release point.

This is Kevin Slowey’s release point from his last game

Total pitches:

Against RHB:

Against LHB:

No difference against LHB and RHB and an extremely tight core. I think that the differences between Slowey’s tight release point and Liriano’s dual and loose release point translate to their differences in command and control: Slowey rarely walks anyone and has very good command of all his pitches, while Liriano has problems with his command and control. A single consistent release point could go a long way for Fransisco.

Is there anything that transforms Scott Baker, the Strikeout Maker to Scott “Home Run” Baker?

Lets start here:

Three weeks ago I indicated that Baker is tipping his pitches by having a higher release point for his breaking stuff that his fastballs and changes. The image I used (PitchFx data from Brooksbaseball.net) was this visualization of Baker’s release point on each of his pitches broken down by pitch type from his 5/19 game vs. the Chicago White Sox:

you can see that there is a baseball difference in the height of the release of his breaking stuff (sliders and curves) vs. his fastballs and changeups.

Let’s see how he did yesterday through out the game.

Here is Baker’s release point on each of his pitches broken down by pitch type yesterday from innings one through five:

Much better. Only two sliders are released higher than the core of his pitches and everything is mixed up. If you look at the height of his release point (Y-axis), Baker did not move the higher breaking release point lower down to match the lower fastball point, but instead, it looks like he is pitching in between, which means that he raised his release point for his fastballs (which are his bread and butter) by standing taller when delivering, and apparently are more effective.

Let’s look at his release point through the sixth inning (an additional inning of pitches added to the previous image: )

Still the core is tight with one change up (yellow) additionally thrown from the high release point.

Here is his release point through 7 innings (final for the game) :

Now you see a couple more sliders added to the high release point. When exactly were those high released sliders thrown? Guess when?

Here is Baker’s release point during Chris Gimenez’s AB in the 7th innning, which resulted to a home run:

Gimenez’s home run came on the fastball (green), which was the third pitch of the plate appearance and was released about 7 inches lower that the previous 2 pitches. Since the data was there that Baker tips his pitches and the ball was obvious to the batter that was released from a lower point that the two previous breaking balls, guessing “fastball” was probably easy and right on the mark…

So, it seams that Scott Baker the Strikeout Maker is transformed into Scott “Home Run” Baker, by inconsistent mechanics on his fast ball delivery. It could be fatigue. It could be something obvious to Rich Anderson.

But here is a question that begs to be answered: The pitchfx data isfreely available in the internets and updated by every pitch. Why doesn’t the Twins’ pitching coach, instead of using a 19th century clicker to keep track of his pitchers, use a laptop to look at pitchFx data? Believe me the pitch count is there. A variation to Baker’s release point should be a leading indicator for an upcoming disaster, warranting a visit to the mount and if it continues, replacement. The clicker cannot tell that. This is the 21st century Mr Anderson; welcome to it.

If you want to look at what kind of information is displayed in a pitchfx data page, here is the data from his start yesterday from Brooksbaseball.net. Make sure that you look at the different pull down menus because there is a lot of information there… More than in a clicker…

One of the biggest criticisms of Delmon Young is that Delmon is a singles hitter and will never develop any power. I tried to answer some of this with math and analysis here last month, but let’s play this game of looking at pictures and finding differences.

We’ll make it more interesting than that: We’ll look at pictures of swings by successful hitters and pictures of swings by Delmon to see whether there might be something obvious:

Let’s start with the successful hitters:

Some righties:

Kibry Puckett:

Mike Schmidt:

Albert Pujols:

Alex Rodriguez:

Mickey Mantle:

and some lefties:

Mickey Mantle again:

Darryl Strawberry:

Ted Williams:

Joe Mauer:

Here are some Delmon Young swings:

Do you see an obvious difference between Delmon Young’s swing and those of the other players’?

Here is some help: Draw an imaginary line from the base of the batter’s neck and see where and whether it meets the player’s tailbone during the swing.

Here is a visual comparing two of the above swings at the same point of the swing, with that line drawn:

As you can see, Ted Williams’ (and all those above players) has his neck aligned with his tailbone, while Delmon’s neck is way back aligned with the ground at about his back leg.

This is very unbalanced. One cannot generate any power this way. Actually one would be glad not to fall on his butt after such a swing. This indicates a top body and lower body imbalance and needs to be fixed for Young to be successfully hitting the ball far. (I could also talk about squaring one’s shoulders but this is a different story and somewhat controversial)

Do you know who else from the Twins’ team swings like this?

(Actually, in addition to Brian Buscher pictured above, Nick Punto and Mike Redmond also swing off-balance, with the known results)

Google images of swings of your favorite players and compare them to Delmon’s or watch closely next time players hit (but static images are better, just because swings are too fast)

This is so obvious that Vavra has to do something here. I suspect that he sees that, since it is extremely obvious. If he doesn’t (and at least four of his hitters swing like that), does he need to be a hitting coach?

Alternatively, the Twins should get this guy for their hitting coach. (The previous link is for a 15 minute instructional video on swinging by one of the best hitters and now coaches in the game of baseball; highly recommended to everyone who wants to look at the art of hitting. Have a look at it and then next time you watch the Twins have a look at Twins’ players at the plate)

What do you think?

Austin Adams, SS/RHP, Senior, Faulkner. Here is a video. Might be selected as a pitcher.

Brad Agustin, SS, Junior, University of Buffalo.

Stephen Batts, IF, Senior, East Carolina. Here are his numbers and here is a newspaper article about him. Also played 1B and LF

Chris Biguenet, 2B, Senior, U Texas-Dallas.

Shane Brown, 2B, Junior, Central Florida. Here are his numbers. Also played C, 3B, and the OF.

Anselmo Cantu 2B, Senior, Norfolk State. Here are his numbers. Great fielder, light hitting second baseman.

Chase Childers, SS, Senior, Georgia State. Here are his numbers.

Derek Dennis, SS, Forest Hills Central HS, MI.

Daniel Fields, SS, University of Detroit Jesuit HS. Here is an atricle from the Detroit Free Press.

Greg Folgia IF/LF/RHP, Junior, Missouri. Here are his numbers.

Nick Franklin SS, Lake Brantley HS, FL. Here is an article and here is a scouting report.

Scooter Gennett SS/2B, Sarasota HS. Here is a scouting report.

Mychal Givens, RHP/SS, Plant HS (FL). Here is a scouting report and here is a video. An additional scouting report can be found here. He may be drafted as a pitcher.

Ryan Goins 2B, Junior, Dallas Baptist.

Phil Gosselin 2B, Sophomore, Virginia. Here is an article.

Grant Green, SS, Junior, USC. Here is a scouting report, and here are his numbers.

Reed Gragnani, SS/2B, Mills Godwin HS, VA. Here is an article.

Billy Hamilton SS, Taylorsville HS, MS.Here is a scouting report. Recruited by Colleges as a three way athelete (Baseball, Football, Basketball)

Shaver Hansen. IP, Junior, Baylor. Here are his numbers and here is an article.

Gary Helmick IF, Senior, Towson. Here are his numbers.

Randy Henry SS/RHP, Freshman, South Mountain, AZ CC.

Bryant Hernandez, SS, Junior, Oklahoma. Here are his numbers and here is a profile article.

Ryan Jackson. SS, Junior, Miami.Here is a scouting report and here are his numbers.

Corey Jones. IF, Junior, CSU – Fullerton. Here are his numbers.

Mycal Jones. SS, Sophomore, Miami Dade JC. Here is a scouting report.

Dan Kaczrowski. 2B. Senior, Hamline University.Here is an article.

Chad Kettler. IF Coppell HS,TX. Here is a scouting video.

D.J. LeMahieu. SS, Sophomore, LSU. Here is a scouting report, here are his numbers and here is an article.

Deven Marrero. SS, American Heritage HS, He is the younger brother of Nats Chris Marrero. Here is a scouting report that also scouts Stephen Perez who is mentioned below.

Juan Martinez. IF, Senior, Oral Roberts. Here is an article

Derek McCallum. SS/2B. Junior, University of Minnesota. Here is an article. He was drafted by the Twins in the 50th round of the 2006 draft but did not sign.

Rich Michalek,IF, Senior, Slippery Rock University.

Jiovanni Mier. SS – Bonita HS, FL. Here is a scouting report and here is a video.

Cooper Moseley IF, Success Unlimited Academy, AL. Here is an interesting SI article from when Cooper was 10 years old.

Nick Natoli SS, Junior, Towson. Here are his numbers. He was rated as the best defensive college infielder by College Baseball Insider.

David Nick. SS/2B, Cypress HS, CA. Here is a scouting report.

Chris Owings SS, Gilbert HS, SC. Here is a scouting report and here is a video.

Stephen Perez SS, Gulliver Prep,FL. Here and here are scouting reports.

Josh Prince. IF, Junior, Tulane. Here is an article and here is a video of a great play in a game.

David Renfroe IF,South Panola HS, MS. Here is a scouting report and here is a video.

Keyvius Sampson SS/RHP, Florida High School. Here is an article. He may be drafted as a RHP

Ryan Schimpf SS, Sophomore, LSU. Here is a video and here are his numbers.

Kyle Seager, 2B, Junior, North Carolina. Here is a scouting report.

Robbie Shields IF, Junior, Florida Southern. Here is a scouting report.

Brandon Sizemore IF, Senior, College of Charleston. Here is an article.

Jason Stidham, SS, Junior, Florida State University. Here are his numbers

Montaous Walton INF, Playball Academy, WI.

LeVon Washington. CF/2B… Buchholz HS, FL. Here and here are a couple of articles.

Alfie Wheeler. SS, Senior, High Point.

A.J. Yoder IF, Senior, Virginia Military Insitute. Here are his numbers.

I highly suspect that the Twins will select one or more of these players in this year’s draft.