Joe Benson was the #2 prospect in the Twins’ organization when this season started according to Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook. But, 2008 has been a nightmare for Benson so far as he has not improved at all over the 2007 season. Benson has played in 69 games in A-Ball this season and he is 63 for 254 (.248 avg, .708 OPS) with 39 runs scored, 4 homers, 27 RBIs and 17 stolen bases. The Twins will likely continue to take it slow with Benson until he starts to show he deserves to get promoted.

The next time the Twins need to bring up a starting pitcher from the minors it will likely be 24-year old lefty Francisco Liriano. Liriano has started 16 games in A+AAA ball this season and he is 6-3 with a 3.97 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP. Liriano has whiffed 86 batters in 95.1 innings in the minors this season which shows that his stuff is starting to come back. They rushed Liriano early this season and it hurt his performance in the majors. Liriano started 3 games for the Twins this season and he was 0-3 with a 11.32 ERA and a 2.71 WHIP. Look for Liriano to do a good job when the Twins call him up the next time.

Jesse Crain missed a lot of last season due to having to undergo a major surgery. He looks like he’s all the way back however as he’s been pitching really good this year. Crain has pitched in 34 games (0 starts) for the Twins this season and he is 3-2 with a 2.80 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP. He needs to tighten up his control a bit as he has walked 14 batters in only 35.1 innings for the Twins this season. But, that’s nitpicking as Crain has really looked good this year.

Livan Hernandez is giving the Twins a lot of innings this season but the problem is that many of them are bad ones. Hernandez has allowed a whopping 157 hits this season in only 110.1 innings for the Twins but he’s only walked 20 batters which is helping minimize the damage. He has been lucky this season as he is somehow 8-5 despite owning a 5.22 ERA and a 1.60 WHIP. It’s hard to imagine Hernandez finishing with a winning record when he has to put his whole butt behind his fastball to get it up to 85 mph.