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The first time I remember watching Minor League Baseball was when I was 11 years old on vacation to visit family living in Appleton, Wisconsin. At the time, the city was home to a Midwest League affiliate of the Seattle Mariners, the Appleton Foxes. That season, they had a player who went on to become one of the greatest and most hated baseball players the game has ever seen—a wiry shortstop by the name of Alex Rodriguez who would make his Major League debut at just 18 years old later that same
Some folks will tell you there's a special kind of magic to Opening Day. But ask a stathead to identify exactly what type of magic we're dealing with and the room goes quiet. Is it simply the crack of the bat, the taste of the hot dog, and the lack of parkas? Surely this magic is there, but there are levels of mysteries in this world. Some of these mysteries can disturb the very foundations of reality, yet when handled with a cool, level hand (such as mine), a baseball fan can learn of NEW WOR
We've made it, it's finally here, the last day without meaningful baseball for the next six months has arrived. On March 29th, the Minnesota Twins will kick off the 2018 Major League Baseball season with Jake Odorizzi toeing the rubber against Dylan Bundy and the Baltimore Orioles. Having offered some opinions on the league-wide awards, I figured now would be a good time to dive into my predictions for the hometown club. Going into the year, expectations are relatively high for Paul Molitor's
Travis Blankenhorn was drafted in the 3rd round in the 2015 MLB Draft out of Pottsville Area High School in Pennsylvania when he was 18. Blankenhorn has escalated to now be one of the top third baseman in the Twins farm system, with a career .260/.340/.463 slash line that will improve as he gets older and moves through the system. I got a chance to ask Travis a few questions via Instagram. Me: What is your favorite baseball memory with the Minnesota Twins organization so far? Travis Blankenh
It is time for round two of my player projections for the 2018 Minnesota Twins. In the first edition I broke down the starting pitchers, and now it is time to take a look at the bullpen. The Twins bullpen received an added boost this offseason, after replacing Matt Belisle, Dillon Gee and Buddy Boshers with Fernando Rodney, Addison Reed and Zack Duke. Hopefully these improvements can elevate the Twins bullpen out of the gutter it has been in during recent years. So, how good will the Twins b
Originally published at The Tenth Inning Stretch --- This is my last Spring Training Notes piece for this season. As with the previous seasons I finish my Spring Training notes with a prediction of how the Twins will do this season based on what I have seen this Spring. I think that 2018 will be an interesting season for the Twins. They improved a lot in the off-season addressing some of their glaring weaknesses, namely starting and relief pitching. On the other hand, there are some situations
Brand new Supershow! In preparation of Opening Day this Thursday, Dan and Panda called in reinforcements and got a who's who of guests to give their predictions on the 2018 Minnesota Twins! Marc Mastel, William Bohl (A Wolf Among Wolves), Tony Abbott & Joe Bouley (Hockey Wilderness), Cody Christie & John Bonnes (Twins Daily), Jim Sannes (numberFire), Ben Remington & Giles Ferrell (Giles and the Goalie - A Minnesota Wild Podcast / Zone Coverage), and Brandon Warne (The Athletic Mi
Back on March 10th, I made some tweaks to my initial Minnesota Twins roster project and dubbed it 2.0. Looking back at that entry, it seems near perfect to me, but there's been a few minor tweaks since that point. With Opening Day happening this week, I figured it a good time to put everything down in pen and make a final suggestion as to what Paul Molitor has available in Baltimore. Keeping with the previous theme, I'll include the players from roster projection 2.0 and simply strike-through
Yesterday, I started to unveil my top 10 prospects for the Minnesota Twins. In case you did not see that article, here is the rundown... 10. Akil Baddoo, OF 9. Blayne Enlow, SP 8. Brusdar Graterol, SP 7. Alex Kirilloff, OF 6. Brent Rooker, OF/1B Here is the rest of the list... 5. Wander Javier, SS (2017 team: Elizabethton) Last season was Javier’s first taste of pro baseball in the United States after being a big money International Free Agency signing in 2015. In his first season in th
The Minnesota Twins recently broke camp down in Fort Myers and have since headed to Washington, D.C. to play their last exhibition game of 2018. With the Nationals lined up as the last action before heading to Baltimore, Paul Molitor will have to soon set his 25 man roster in stone. Given that the lineup is all but a guarantee, the bench is really the only area of intrigue. Right now, there's two givens off the bench for the Twins. Both Ehire Adrianza and Mitch Garver are locked in. The former
We are close to the beginning of the baseball season, so it is time to release my top 10 prospects for the Minnesota Twins. There are so many prospects who could make a huge jump and knock on the door of the top 10. After losing 2016 first round pick Alex Kirilloff for the whole 2017 season, he will be back. This is a deep prospect list and many could eventually make the big leagues. 10) Akil Baddoo, OF (2017 teams: GCL, Elizabethton) Before Terry Ryan was fired, Baddoo was in his last draft
With the 2018 season right around the corner, perhaps the biggest topic in baseball circles right now is player projections. Whether it is for fantasy purposes, or for trying to predict how your favorite team is going to play this season, people can’t get enough of them. So, I decided to create my own projections for each player on the Twins 40-man roster, and then see how my projections stack up versus some of the other more prominent projection systems. The systems that I used to compare are
Before we begin let me get one thing out of the way, the Twins are making money. The team is profiting and the owner is increasing his wealth by retaining ownership of the team. There is no doubt about that. As a business professional I can accept this as the way of the world and I am OK with it. However, as a fan I don’t care about earnings and wish the front office had added Lance Lyn and Yu Darvish this offseason. Maybe, though, even as a fan I should care about earnings. At least a lit
FORT MYERS, Fla- On Saturday afternoon the Twins Opening Day starter; Jake Odorizzi pitched on the backfields of the Twins complex against the AAA Pawtucket Red Sox. The first inning for Odorizzi was rough giving up 1 homerun that was hit by Cole Sturgeon and after that, he struck out the side. Of course, Jake did settle down for the rest of the game and threw 10 strikeouts in the 5.2 innings he pitched while only walking one. He gave up 5 hits; one being the homerun, a double, and the rest sing
The Minnesota Twins come into the 2018 Major League Baseball season with high expectations. After making an appearance in the Wild Card game a season ago, Paul Molitor's club is expected to make some waves this year. Following success, this club isn't going to sneak up on anyone, and Vegas seems to be included among that bunch. After posting a betting primer for the 2017 season, a follow up only made sense. Last year however, offshore online bookmaker Bovada had a much lesser offering when it
Athletes and sponsorships go together like peanut butter and ladies. After recovering from the ultra-successful campaigns of Tinactin and Gold Bond, Odor Eaters has finally stepped out of the shadows; and one of the newest Twins’ pitchers is the benefactor. Between the usual Sheboygan Sausage and Kwik Trip commercials this season on FSN, expect to see Jake Odorizzi’s Odor-Eeze’s. Available at Target, Wal-Mart, Rite Aid, and other stores; Jake Odorizzi’s Odor-Eeze’s will tackle the toughest foo
I have been thoroughly following the Twins minor league farm system for about 2 years now. However, this is the first year that I am analyzing the players and writing blog entries about them. To me, this seemed like a fun and interesting way to view the best players in the Twins farm system and assemble the 2018 Twins MiLB Dream Team! 25 Man Roster Pitchers- SP Stephen Gonsalves SP Lewis Thorpe SP Zack Littell SP Blayne Enlow SP Landon Leach SP/RE Fernando Romero RE Tyler Jay RE Brustar Grater
As most of us know, April in Minnesota can be brutal. Snow, sleet, and rain accompanied by cold temperatures are always a possibility early in the season. The old saying April showers bring May flowers is thrown around everywhere, but it especially rings true in Minnesota. With the Twins having a 14 game home stand beginning the first week in April, and having 18 games total for the month, weather becomes a huge factor for the Twins’ attendance early in the year. Even the most die-hard baseball
Decades ago I worked as a tax accountant for Honeywell and National Car Rental Corporation. Taxes are complicated and state and federal laws impacted the businesses and decisions. Baseball is an interstate commerce and has had many laws passed to protect the teams. Now the new tax law creates another obstacle with unexpected consequences that could play into the teams ability to trade and move players. As we look at the Twins and their prospects we often think of assets that can be acquire
A season ago, the Minnesota Twins brought in James Rowson as their hitting coach. Following the dismissal of Tom Brunansky, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine handpicked a candidate of a lesser known name. WIth what he had done with some of the hitter in the Yankees organization however, there was excitement regarding potential results. Fast forward a year, and the growth with some young Twins hitters was incredible. In 2018, Minnesota will be looking for more of the same from their new pitching coach
If you believe that maintaining the status quo in minor league baseball is important, you aren't going to like this article. http://knuckleballsblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/baseballMoney900-1-600x401.jpg However, if you believe that some things - like simple human decency in the area of fair pay - are more important than whether or not the current minor league model is continued, I suspect you'll be joining me in raising your voice in objection to what Major League Baseball (alon
I have read and thoroughly enjoyed Aaron Gleeman’s Minnesota Twins the Big 50 and thoroughly enjoyed the nostalgia and stories. It is an excellent book and I am sure that Aaron dislikes the one big editing error that has the big page for Jim Kaat as Jim Katt. Otherwise Aaron should be very proud of the book and the quality he maintained. There are players for every era and some choices that surprised me, but nothing that I completely disagree with. I was surprised that it was not 50 players
*Note: This article has been updated. The previous image of Kershaw's release point was horizontal instead of vertical. This error has since been amended. 2018 is a pivotal year for Ryan Pressly. The Twins originally acquired Pressly from Boston in the 2012 Rule 5 draft. In five season in Minnesota, Pressly has oscillated between very good (2016 version), and so-so, (2017 version). With the front office adding significant major league talent this off-season, and a chunk of organizational relie
I am not a follower of Donald Trump. I have participated in several no kings rallies and am disgusted with what he and his followers have done to our country and the world. I would like to know what most Brazilians feel about the United States now and about the folks our citizens have elected to represent us.
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hello Seth......you'll wanna correct the date in headline of today's minor league report. :-) Brad· 0 replies
I am not a follower of Donald Trump. I have participated in several no kings rallies and am disgusted with what he and his followers have done to our country and the world. I would like to know what most Brazilians feel about the United States now and about the folks our citizens have elected to represent us.· 1 reply
