Maybe it's being Minnesota nice? I don't know. But once someone plays for the Minnesota Twins, I care about how they are doing, whether with the Twins or with another organization. Some players have left via free agency. Some have been traded. Some were role players that the Twins were able to replace from within. Some just had a quick cup of coffee. Here is a look at where some former Twins are spending 2010 and how they are faring:

  • Jason Bartlett - Tampa Bay Rays - The shortstop is hitting .248/.314/.523 with six doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI.
  • Matt Garza - Tampa Bay Rays - The right-hander is off to a great start. He is 5-1 with a 2.38 ERA in eight starts. In 56.2 innings, he has 17 walks and 48 strikeouts.
  • Grant Balfour - Tampa Bay Rays - The hard-throwing Australian is having another nice season in the Rays bullpen. He is 0-1 with a 2.60 ERA in 17 appearances. In 17.1 innings, he has two walks to go with 18 strikeouts.
  • AJ Pierzynski - Chicago White Sox - AJ's name has been coming up in trade rumors lately as the Sox season has been disappointing and he gains 10/5 rights in June. He is hitting just .212/.262/.314 with six doubles and two home runs so far.
  • Torii Hunter - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - The outfielder is hitting .283/.352/.517 with 13 doubles, seven homers and 26 RBI.
  • Johan Santana - New York Mets - The two-time Twins Cy Young Award winner is 3-2 with a 3.72 ERA through his first nine starts. In 55.2 innings, he has allowed 52 hits, walked 14 and struck out 44.
  • Luis Castillo - New York Mets - He had a solid 2009, but Castillo is hitting just .256/.341/.299 with one double and two triples on the season.
  • Craig Breslow - Oakland A's - The lefty has been terrific since the Twins let him go early in the 2009 season. This year, the lefty reliever is 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA in 18 appearances. In 16 innings, he has walked seven and struck out 17.
  • Cristian Guzman - Washington Nationals - The former Twins All-Star has been an All Star for the Nationals too, and despite losing the SS job to young Ian Desmond this spring, he has moved to 2B and is having a terrific season. He is hitting .328/.351/.430 with seven doubles and three triples.
  • Livan Hernandez - Washington Nationals - The most unlikely of stories so far in the 2010 season has been the performance of the soft-tossing righty. He is 4-2 with a 1.62 ERA in eight starts. There is basically zero percent chance he keeps it up, but it's fun to see. In 55.2 innings, he has allowed just 40 hits, walked 18 and struck out 19.
  • Carlos Silva - Chicago Cubs - Speaking of unlikely starts (and unlikely to continue starts), Silva has been very good for the Cubs. He is 5-0 with a 3.35 ERA in eight starts. He has thrown 48.1 innings, walked ten and struck out 30.
  • Carlos Gomez - Milwaukee Brewers - How ironic was it that Gomez and JJ Hardy were each put on the Disabled List on the same day. The speedy outfielder is hitting .276/.321/.447 with five doubles, a triple and two home runs. He is also 6-6 in steal attempts.
  • Garrett Jones - Pittsburgh Pirates - Jones was a feel-good story in 2009, and he's doing well in 2010 as well. He is hitting .275/.366/.444 with nine doubles, five home runs (two came on Opening Day) and 29 RBI.
  • Mike Redmond - Cleveland Indians - The backup catcher is hitting .244/.295/.341 with four doubles in 41 at bats this year.
  • Henry Blanco - New York Mets - Another backup catcher, Blanco is hitting .289/.356/.421 with two doubles and a home run.
  • Randy Ruiz - Toronto Blue Jays - We saw the Blue Jays' DH earlier this week, but he was hitting just .150 with two doubles and a home run in 40 at bats. Yesterday, the Blue Jays let him go and he signed with a team in Japan.
  • Casey Blake - Los Angeles Dodgers - The 3B is hitting .250/.333/.435 with nine doubles, a triple, four home runs and 23 RBI for the Dodgers.
  • Kyle Lohse - St. Louis Cardinals - The right-hander is 1-3 with a 5.11 ERA on the season. In 44 innings, he has allowed 56 hits, walked 15 and struck out just 24.
  • JC Romero - Philadelphia Phillies - The lefty has been hurt much of the season and is 0-0 with a 3.60 ERA in eight games. In five innings, he has walked four and struck out five.
  • Juan Castro - Philadelphia Phillies - The shortstop got a chance to play some when Jimmy Rollins was injured. He is hitting .265/.278/.309 with three doubles in 68 at bats.
  • Dennys Reyes - St. Louis Cardinals - The Big Sweat is 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA in 11.1 innings spread over 19 games. He has allowed just three hits. He has walked seven and struck out six.
  • Ramon Ortiz - Los Angeles Dodgers - The rail-thing righty has pitched in 15 games, including one start, for the Dodgers. In 26.2 innings, he is 1-1 with a 5.40 ERA. He has given up 27 hits, walked 13 and struck out 20.
  • Augie Ojeda - Arizona Diamondbacks - He is 2-17 (.118) in just 16 games off the D-Backs bench.
  • David Ortiz - Boston Red Sox - After a slow start again, he has been terrific in May. Overally, the DH is hitting .248/.314/.523 with six doubles, eight homers and 21 RBI.
  • Latroy Hawkins - Milwaukee Brewers - The hard-throwing veteran righty is off to a rough start in Milwaukee. He is 0-3 with a 9.26 ERA. In 11.2 innings (13 appearances), he has given up 15 hits, walked six and struck out 15.
  • Mike Lincoln - Cincinnati Reds - The righty reliever is 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA. In 13.1 innings (in 15 games), he has seven walks and nine strikeouts.
  • Mike Lamb - Florida Marlins - After hitting .250 with the New Orleans Zephyrs, Lamb was promoted to the Marlins where he has gone 4-18 (.222) with a double as a pinch hitter.
  • R.A. Dickey - New York Mets - After going 4-2 with a 2.23 ERA in eight starts for the Buffalo Bisons, Dickey made a start for the Mets and gave up two runs in six innings.
  • Juan Rincon - Colorado Rockies/Colorado Springs Sky Sox - Rincon is 2-1 with a 4.80 ERA in 15 games in AAA. In 15 innings, he has 16 strikeouts. He gave up a run on two hits and a walk in one inning with the Rockies.
  • Darnell McDonald - Boston Red Sox - The speedy outfielder didn't get much time with the Twins, but he's kept working and did a nice job after being promoted to the Red Sox. With Jacoby Ellsbury and Mike Cameron injured, he has hit .261/.316/.409 with four doubles, three home runs and 11 RBI for the Sox.
  • Doug Mientkiewicz - Los Angeles Dodgers - The Dodgers released the former 1B after just 16 at bats, in which he had four hits.
  • Brian Bass - Pittsburgh Pirates - The righty went 0-1 with a 3.77 ERA in 14.1 AAA innings for the Indianapolis Indians. In 6.1 innings with the Pirates, he wetn 0-0 with a 12.79 ERA in three games before he was Designated for Assignment.
  • Kevin Mulvey - Arizona Diamondbacks - The Twins didn't have any patience with Mulvey and shipped him off for Jon Rauch in a deal that looks great so far. Mulvey has gone 0-3 with a 4.38 ERA in seven AAA starts with the Reno Aces. He has a 6.00 ERA in two games (3 innings) with Arizona.
  • Steve Tolleson - Oakland A's - The Twins took Tolleson off their 40 man roster to make room for Jim Thome. The A's claimed him. He has hit .297/.393/.545 with seven doubles and a home run with the Sacramento River Cats. He got a brief promotion to the A's during which time he went 1-4 with his first big league hit.
  • Michael Ryan - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim - probably the top story of anyone on this list, Ryan has not played in the big leagues for five years and has spent time with an organization a year in between. This year, he was hitting .351/.372/.545 with eight doubles, two triples and a home run with the AAA Salt Lake Bees when the Angels called him up to the big leagues. He has gone 2-13 with a double in limited duty with the team, but still a great story.

Here are some other names you will recall:

  • Jason Pridie - Buffalo Bisons (Mets AAA) - .282/.331/.387 with six doubles, a triple, three homers and nine stolen bases.
  • Luis Rodriguez - Charlotte Knights (White Sox AAA) - .286/.380/.482 with four doubles and a home run in 42 at bats before being let go.
  • Brian Buscher - Columbus Clippers (Indians AAA) - .248/.317/.394 with five doubles, a triple, three homers and 20 RBI.
  • Corky Miller - Louisville Bats (Reds AAA) - .309/.380/.556 with eight doubles and four homers.
  • Boof Bonser - Pawtucket PawSox (Red Sox AAA) - 0-1 with a 7.64 ERA in five rehab starts.
  • Chad Moeller - .Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees (Yankees AAA) - .207/.233/.310 with three doubles.
  • Michael Restovich - Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers AAA) - .253/.306/.430 with eight doubles and two homers.
  • Luis Ayala - Albuquerque Isotopes (Dodgers AAA) - 1-3, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP in 14 innings over 14 games.
  • Matt Kinney - Fresno Grizzlies (Giants AAA) - 0-2 with a 13.40 ERA in 8.2 innings in three games followed by injury.
  • Sean Henn - Las Vegas 51s - 1-0, 3.00 ERA. 17 walks, 17 strikeouts in 21 innings over 14 games.
  • Willie Eyre - Oklahoma City Redhawks (Rangers AAA) 1-3, 5.68 ERA, 1.63 WHIP with 19 strikeouts in 19 innings over 13 games.
  • Philip Humber - Omaha Royals (Royals AAA) - 2-3 with a 4.57 ERA, a 1.23 WHIP in 41.1 innings in seven starts.

And just a few other names for the minor league followers over the years (these guys never did play for the Twins but were Twins prospects):

  • Doug Deeds - Reno Aces (Diamondbacks AAA) - .310/.410/.472 with 13 doubles, two triples, two homers.
  • David Winfree - Scranton/Wilkes Barre Yankees (Yankees AAA) - .282/.314/.451 with 12 doubles, for homers and 25 RBI.
  • Trent Oeltjen - Nashville Sound (Brewers AAA) - .287/.316/.487 with 12 doubles, a triple, three home runs and 7/7 in steal attempts.
  • Luis Maza - Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies AAA) - .241/.317/.286 with three doubles and a triple.
  • Yohan Pino - Columbus Clippers (Indians AAA) - 5-2 with a 4.93 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP.
  • Frank Mata - Norfolk Tides (Orioles AAA) - 1-1, 1.96 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP

There you have it. A not-so-quick look at fomer Twins players. Some good, some bad, and many somewhere in between.