Random Twin of the Week
By Editorial Staff
Random Twin of the Week is a feature I decided to start because, well, things tend to get kind of slow during the offseason and I need something to write about. So, without further ado, this week’s random Twin is Mike Lincoln.
This week’s random Twin isn’t completely random, as I came across Mike Lincoln while doing research for another post and decided to just write about him. Lincoln was drafted by the Twins in the 13th round of the 1996 amateur draft. The Twins were actually the third team to draft Lincoln; the Expos selected him in the 51st round of the 1993 draft, then the Giants drafted him twice: in the 37th round of the 1994 draft, and in the 46th round of the 1995 draft. Obviously he did not sign, choosing to return to school at the University of Tennesse instead. He made his debut on April 7th 1999, and, in typical Mike Lincoln fashion, he got shelled. He gave up five runs on seven hits in just 3.1 innings, including an RBI single to future Twin Shannon Stewart (as well as back-to-back home runs to Tony Fernandez and Carlos Delgado). Lincoln made 15 starts that year, posting a 6.84 ERA, 5.36 FIP, and 1.94 K/BB ratio over 76.1 innings. He didn’t show much improvement the next season, posting a 10.89 ERA, 10.15 FIP, and 1.15 K/BB ratio in just four starts. The front office decided it had seen enough, releasing Lincoln in December of 2000.
Lincoln has been a mop-up man for most of his career, though he did have a couple of good seasons in Pittsburgh, where he posted ERAs of 2.86 and 3.11 in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Lincoln signed with the Cardinals in January 2004 and was starting to put up some decent peripherals and show some promise as a middle reliever, but a string of arm injuries essentially derailed his career. He had Tommy John in mid-2004, missed all of 2005, then needed more surgery and was forced to miss all of 2006 and 2007. After all that, he finally found a home in Cincinnati, signing with the Reds in 2008. He was actually pretty good in his first season with the Reds, but he’s been mediocre at best since then, posting FIPs of 9.27 in 2009 and 4.35 2010. Lincoln will be a free agent after the 2011 season, but given his relatively poor performance and the fact that he will be 36 years old, it’s unlikely the right-hander will draw much interest.