25-year old lefty reliever Andrew Albers has been outstanding so far this year in the minors for the Twins. Albers has pitched in 30 games (4 starts) in A+AA-ball so far this year and he is 7-2 with 4 saves, a 2.38 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. Albers has only walked 11 batters in his first 75 2/3 innings so he is in tune with the Twins’ organizational philosophy of throwing strikes. Albers has now pitched in 75 games (6 starts) in his first three years in the minors and he is 11-2 with 21 saves, a 1.86 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. If he keeps pitching like he is right now, the Twins are going to save him a spot in the pen in the near future.

The Twins have lost 23-year old righty starting pitcher Kyle Gibson for the rest of the season due to a partial tear of the ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow. As of right now, he does not need Tommy John Surgery….and that is outstanding news. Gibson came into this season as the Twins’ #1 prospect according to Baseball America. Gibson pitched in 18 games (all starts) in AAA-ball this year and he was 3-8 with a 4.81 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP. He has now pitched in 44 games (all starts) in his first two years in the minors and he is 14-14 with a 3.68 ERA and a 1.26 WHIP. The Twins are hoping that Gibson will be ready for spring training in 2012.

The Twins have released 28-year old righty reliever/starter Thomas Diamond. Diamond pitched in 7 games (5 starts) in AAA-ball for the Twins and he was 0-4 with a 8.25 ERA and a 1.96 WHIP. He has pitched in 21 games (10 starts) overall in AAA-ball this year for the Cubs and Twins and he was 1-7 with a 8.52 ERA and a 2.00 WHIP. This is no loss for the Twins as Diamond wasn’t going to help them any time soon.

The Twins have released 25-year old switch-hitting 2B/SS Steve Singleton. Singleton played in 81 games in AA+AAA-ball for the Twins this year and he was 84 for 308 (.273 avg, .731 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 6 homers, 30 RBIs and 3 stolen bases. He played in 615 games in his six years in the minors with the Twins and he was 636 for 2,258 (.282 avg, .747 OPS) with 301 runs scored, 36 homers, 248 RBIs and 27 stolen bases. The Twins didn’t think Singleton would develop into a major leaguer which is why they let him go.

26-year old righty reliever Cole DeVries is starting to excel as a full-time reliever in the minors. He has pitched in 27 games (1 start) in AA+AAA-ball so far this year and he is 2-2 with 9 saves, a 3.42 ERA and a 1.22 WHIP. He has whiffed 54 batters in 50 innings this year while only walking 13 batters, and those are pretty impressive numbers. DeVries has now pitched in 152 games (80 starts) in his first five years in the minors and he is 29-38 with 10 saves, a 4.03 ERA and a 1.41 WHIP. He has given up 622 hits in his first 562 2/3 innings in his minor league career, but he seems to be getting a lot better with experience. If he keeps pitching well he could get a shot with the Twins later this year.