Here they are in chronological order.
Who: Luke Hughes
Position: 2nd base
Call up: April 7th
Why: Tsuyoshi Nishioki broke his leg
Red Wings stats: Hughes hadn't even played a game yet.
Twins stats: 16 games, 1 2B, 1 HR, 4 RBI, 12 Strikeouts, .234 Avg
Hughes is the resident Aussie on the team, hailing from Perth, Australia. He is one of 5 Twins that have homered in their first major league at-bat, doing so last year. The first since Andre David in 1984. Hughes is a combination 3B and 2B, but hasn't seen any third base yet. However, in the minors Hughes has played every position except catcher (yes he even pitched for an inning in AA ball).
Who: Alex Burnett
Position: Relief Pitcher
Call up: April 9th
Demoted: April 18th
Called-up: April 28th
Why: Kevin Slowey placed on DL for right shoulder strain
Red Wings stats: 3.2 IP, 3 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K's, 7.36 ERA
Twins stats: 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 0 HR, 5 BB, 4 K's, 3.86 ERA
You should know Burnett by now. He spent the majority of the 2010 season with the team, racking up 47 IP while going 2-2 with a 5.29 ERA. Burnett is a mop-up guy at this time in his career. He rarely gets action in tight ball games, and if so, its likely a one hitter-matchup situation. With the uncertainty and inconsistency of the bullpen, Burnett has the chance to stay with the team again in 2011 if he can be moderately effective like he was last year. At age 23, there's no reason to think Burnett can't be one of the best in the bullpen. He was a 12th round draft choice and has already surpassed dozens if not hundreds of players picked before him.
Who: Steve Holm
Position: Catcher
Call up: April 14th
Demoted: May 4th
Why: Joe Mauer placed on DL with bilateral leg weakness
Red Wings stats: 4 games, 2 hits, 2 BB, 0 extra base hits, .250 avg
Twins stats: 6 games, 2 hits, 1 2B, 0 RBI, 4 strikouts, .118 avg
Holm wasn't expected to make much of an impact. If anything, Holm was brought up because of experience and the fact that he's not on the Twins prospect lists to become an everyday player. Therefore he can sit on the bench or back up Butera without having to give the Twins valuable prospect at-bats in the minors. Holm is 31 and played sparingly in 53 games for the San Franciso Giants in 2008 and 2009. He was drafted in the 17th round in 2001 by the Giants and should be given praise for being able to stick around in baseball for 10 years and make more than 1 trip up to the big leagues.
Who: Jim Hoey
Position: Relief Pitcher
Call Up: April 17th
Why: Jeff Manship was demoted to Rochester.
Red Wings stats: 6.2 IP, 2 ER, 1 HR, 1 BB, 8 K's, 1-0, 2.70 ERA
Twins stats: 4.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 4 K's, 0-0, 5.79 ERA
You may not know much about Jim Hoey, other than he's got a killer fastball. But you should know that Hoey was at one time one of the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. He earned the Minor League Pitcher of the Year award in 2006 and was in line to be the Orioles new closer. But after less than spectacular call-ups by the O's in 2006 and 2007, Hoey's future came crashing down when he had to undergo arthroscopic shoulder surgery and miss the entire 2008 season. Since then, he's had a long road back. The Twins however, have hope that the old Hoey will emerge and in the offseason they traded JJ Hardy, Brendan Harris, and minor league pitcher Brett Jacobson to the Orioles for him. He's in a similar situation to Alex Burnett, where he's not the set-up or closer, but given the current bullpen situation, he has the ability to really prove his worth and stay up with the team for a long time.
Who: Eric Hacker
Position: Relief Pitcher
Call up: April 18th
Demoted: April 27th
Why: Alex Burnett demoted to Rochester.
Red Wings stats: 13 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 1 BB, 13 K's, 1-0, 0.00 ERA
Twins stats: 5.1 IP, 4 hits, 0 ER, 4 BB, 2 K's, 0-0, 0.00 ERA
This isn't Hacker's first time on the merry-go-round, but it's close. Hacker had what they call a "cup of coffe" with the Pirates in 2009, appearing in just 3 games and 3 innings with a strikeout. In Hacker's 18 innings between the minors and majors, he's done a pretty good job impressing the Twins brass, especially since he has yet to allow an earned run. While the Twins sent him back to Rochester, you can bet that he's on the short list for an injury replacement or even a promotion and it's likely we'll see Hacker again before September.
Who: Rene Tosoni
Position: Outfield
Call-up: April 27th
Why: Delmon Young placed on DL for a strained left oblique
Red Wings stats: 19 games, 20 hits, 6 doubles, 3 HR, 16 RBI, .286 Avg
Twins stats: 7 games, 5 hits, 0 extra base hits, 2 RBI, 4 K's, .208 Avg
While Tosoni has had an impact in a few games, his numbers are no where near what he was doing in Rochester and he's obviously having a tough time adjusting to the talent level. But give Tosoni credit for making it this far, he was a 34th round selection by the Twins in 2004, didn't sign, then was a 36th round selection by the Twins the following year. Tosoni gives the Twins their 2nd Canadien, joining Morneau, as Tosoni was born in Toronto, but like Morneau, grew up in British Columbia.
Who: Anthony Swarzak
Position: Starting Pitcher
Call-up: April 27th
Demoted: April 28th
Why: Eric Hacker demoted; emergency starter needed
Red Wings stats: 25.2 IP, 28 hits, 13 ER, 3 HR, 6 BB, 20 K's, 1-1, 4.56 ERA
Twins stats: 5.1 IP, 8 hits, 5 ER, 2 HR, 1 BB, 1 K, 8.44 ERA
Swarzak was called up for a rain suspended game that had to be played as part of a double header against the Indians. It has been 2 years since Swarzak made his major league debut with the Twins in 2009 and he was left out of any major league call-ups last year. While he had to be excited to get the call, I'm sure it was a little mooted as he knew it was just for 1 game. Regardless, the Twins gave him a chance to impress and he failed miserably. His start lasted 5.1 IP, but he gave up 8 hits and 5 ER, while giving up 2 HR and only striking out 1. At 25, the Twins still think highly of him, for now, and if he does well considering the Twins pitching situation, he's got a good chance to redeem himself again this year.
Who: Ben Revere
Position: Outfield
Call up: May 4th
Why: Jason Repko placed on DL for right quad strain
Red Wings stats: 23 games, 27 hits, 2 2B, 5 RBI, 7 SB, .293 Avg
Twins stats: Yet to play in 2011
Revere is a name that you should have heard by now. He was a 1st round pick in 2007, which means a lot is expected of him. Revere just turned 23 this week and he's got a bright future ahead of him. Known for his speed and ability to get on base, he's not a power hitter and would settle into the 1 or 2 spot in the order eventually. He's basically Denard Span in a different uniform. Revere was called up last year and played in 13 games, but they were for the most part unimpressive, batting just .179 with 5 singles, 2 RBI and no stolen bases. But, I have a feeling those numbers are not indicative of what we'll see from Revere.
Who: Trevor Plouffe
Position: Shortstop
Call up: May 4th
Why: Jim Thome placed on DL with a left oblique strain
Red Wings stats: 22 games, 21 hits, 4 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 13 RBI, .282 Avg
Twins stats: Yet to play
It was fitting the Plouffe was called up the same day as Revere. Both players are 1st round draft picks in the 20's (Plouffe 20th, Revere 28th), both players made their major league debut with the Twins last year, and both players hit under .200 during their 2010 stint in the bigs (Plouffe .146 in 41 at-bats). Unlike Revere, however, Plouffe was drafted 3 years earlier in 2004 and has had to wait his turn to get to the majors. By contrast, Glen Perkins was picked just 2 spots behind Plouffe that year at #22 and is in his 6th year playing at least partially with the Twins. With Alexi Casilla's struggles, and Matt Tolbert's inability to grasp the opportunity, a golden ticket has opened up for Plouffe to seize the spot he was drafted for 7 years ago.
Who: Rene Rivera
Position: Catcher
When: May 5th
Why: Steve Holm demoted to Rochester
Red Wings stats: 13 games, 9 hits, 3 2B, 1 HR, 6 RBI, 10 K's, .200 Avg
Twins stats: Yet to play
Rivera's Rochester roommate, Ben Revere, was called up just the day before. As he tweeted good luck to Revere, he didn't realize he would be the recipient of good luck tweets the next day. Rivera also makes the Twins the only team in baseball to carry 2 guys with the first name Rene (I didn't look that up, but the chances of that happening elsewhere are ridiculous). Rivera is no stranger to the major leagues, but it's been awhile since he's stepped onto the big stage. Rivera played with the Mariners from 2004 to 2006, getting first called up before he was even legal to drink at age 20. So it's been a long 5 year wait to get back for Rivera. His call-up is more out of desperation than it is offensive numbers. Rivera's mendoza line batting average just shows how desperate the Twins are to find someone to fill in for Mauer and give Butera a break since Butera's .111 average is not giving Gardy or the Twins any reason to play him full time.
Alright, well I hope this has allowed you to catch up to speed on the Rochester...I mean Minnesota Twins. If history suggests anything, there's likely to be several more names to learn.
Until next time, remember object in mirror are closer than they appear.
Brock
TCW
p.s. Special nod to Francisco Liriano for his no-hitter against the White Sox this week. The 5th in Twins Franchise history and first since Eric Milton in 1999!
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