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Prospect rankings are meant to be fun, but they're also meant to recognize players that work hard throughout the season. I choose to update my personal Top 40 Twins prospect rankings before the draft, before an influx of 25 or so new prospects. Obviously the draft, particularly the #1 overall pick but also several others in the top rounds, will affect any organization’s rankings. When the season is complete I do a quick preliminary Top 50 rankings before diving deep into the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. It is in that publication where you can find my “official” preseason rankings, and a lot more on all Twins minor leaguers.

The Twins are in first place, but where would they be sans Miguel Sano and Ervin Santana? Sano has established himself as one of the primary candidates to finish as the runner up to Mike Trout for AL MVP (yep, pretty confident we can already call that one). While Santana's peripherals don't stack up against guys like Chris Sale, he'd still be a contender for AL Cy Young right now.

Our Twins return home carrying a four-game winning streak. It was a quick, three-win roadtrip to Baltimore and right back home to face the Rays for a weekend series. That is like the ideal trip to the store. You find a parking spot by the door, you walk in and right there is the grill you came for. You head to the counter to pay for it and you walk past a cooler that you also need, so you grab that. The lines are long but just as you arrive a brand new register light comes on, so you avoid the lines. As the cashier rings up the purchases, you notice that licorice you like in the impulse buy rack, so you grab a bag. After the cashier informs you that all these items were 50% off, you pay and off you go with the whole experience taking 5 minutes.

BTW… that has never happened in my life so I’m not really sure what happened in Baltimore.

Here are some things to think about:

The Twins were off, but there was plenty of notable news to share across the minor league sytem from Thursday evening. Tyler Jay made his 2017 debut, Lewis Thorpe looked good again in his second start of the year and Nick Gordon set a new career high in home runs.

Find out what else happened around the Twins' minor leagues on Thursday.

Through their first 41 games, Miguel Sano has been nothing short of a monster for the Minnesota Twins. He's been every bit the offensive stalwart he was expected to be, and he's taken it to a whole new level. He's been the most impressive player on the club, and in terms of WAR, Fangraphs quantifies him as the best player in baseball not named Mike Trout. The question is, how much of it is a mirage?

The Saints opened the season in front of a sellout crowd of 8294 at CHS Field on Thursday, May 18^th. Even through the rain and cold, good baseball and fun prevailed, with St. Paul defeating the Gary Southshore Railcats en route to taking the series three games to one.

Prospect rankings are always fun. I choose to update my personal Top 40 Twins prospect rankings before the draft, before an influx of 25 or so new prospects. Obviously the draft, particularly the #1 overall pick but also several others in the top rounds, will affect any organization’s rankings. When the season is complete I do a quick preliminary Top 50 rankings before diving deep into the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. It is in that publication where you can find my “official” preseason rankings.

Ft. Myers had their game postponed. The three Minnesota Twins affiliates did all play each received a quality start from their starting pitcher. That’s always good, at least enough to keep a team in a game until late. John Curtiss kept a streak going. And, Tommy Watkins experienced a first as a manager. To find out what it was, well, you’ll just have to keep reading.

It's hard to believe but baseball has already passed the quarter-mark of the season. What might be even harder for Twins fans to believe is that Minnesota finds themselves in contention. This is a welcome surprise after a tough to watch 2016 season.

There will be some questions facing the Twins in the weeks ahead as there will be plenty of tough decisions left to be made. The future of the franchise could tilt with the first overall pick. However, that player likely won't be making his Target Field debut in 2017.

So what other questions will the new front office have to answer?

The Twins will officially be on the clock with the first overall pick on the evening of June 12th. They should be making their selection shortly after 6pm. This will be the first time the franchise selects first overall since taking catcher Joe Mauer in 2001.

Along with the first overall pick - and two other first day picks (35th and 37th overall) - the Twins also have the largest combined draft pool, $14,156,800. Round 3-10 will be on Tuesday. The final 30(!) rounds are on Wednesday.

It stands to be an exciting few days for Twins fans and draft enthusiasts. There will plenty of draft coverage right here in the weeks leading up, so check back often.

Earlier this week, we posted Part 1 of a Q&A with Burnsville High School's Sam Carlson. The right-handed pitcher and outfielder is believed to be a mid-to-late first round pick on June 12.

The questions in Part 2 of the Q&A are different than part 1, so continue reading to learn more about the hard-throwing right-hander. His team's playoffs start on Thursday, so we can watch them through their playoff run.

Only three of the Twins four full-season affiliates were in action on Tuesday, as the Chattanooga Lookouts enjoyed a much needed day off. They also got some good news for their already stalwart bullpen, as a top prospect was activated from the disabled list. A much talked about name in the offseason made an appearance in AAA, but Rochester’s starter made the bigger story. A couple of hitters also continued impressive showings in the last week with home runs.