Twins AFL Report (Week 1): Cossetti, Sabato Homer, Pitching Shines

[Steve Lein]

With the Major League playoffs now in full swing, and the Minnesota Twins getting the “win a playoff game” and “A SERIES!” monkey off their backs, prospects looking to make their marks for the 2024 season got going in the Arizona Fall League. The Twins sent eight prospects to the circuit, and they are again playing on the roster of the Glendale Desert Dogs, where Edouard Julien and Austin Martin led them to the championship game last year.

Image courtesy of William Parmeter, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels (photo of Andrew Cossetti)

Game Results:
Monday, 10/2 | Glendale 1, Salt River 3
Tuesday, 10/3 | Glendale 0, Scottsdale 1
Wednesday, 10/4 | Surprise 1, Glendale 7
Thursday, 10/5 | Scottsdale 3, Glendale 2
Friday, 10/6 | Glendale 3, Peoria 8
Saturday, 10/7 | Surprise 7, Glendale 2

It was a bit of a rough start for the Desert Dogs in Week 1, as runs were hard to come by as a team and they finished with just one win and five losses. A couple of Twins hitters had big blasts, and their pitchers for the most part got their jobs done, but it didn’t translate to much success as a team. That could largely be attributed to Glendale’s lineup finishing a paltry 7-for-60 (.117) with runners in scoring position, something they will need to change significantly in Week 2.

C Andrew Cossetti
Week: 1-for-7, R, HR (1), RBI, BB, 2 K (2 games)
Overall: .143/.250/.571 (.821 OPS)
Cossetti got one start at catcher, and one at DH, in his two games. He served as the cleanup hitter in both contests.

He was the catalyst for Glendale’s lone win on the week, leading off a four-run fourth inning in Wednesday’s 7-1 victory over Surprise with his first AFL home run.

As the catcher in Wednesday’s win, the Saguaros did go 3-for-3 in stolen base attempts, but the pitching staff allowed just one run on six hits in the game. As the DH on Thursday, he finished 0-for-4 with a pair of K’s.

OF Kala’i Rosario
Week: 1-for-17, 2B, 2 BB, 8 K (5 games)
Overall: .059/.200/.118 (.318 OPS)
The reigning Midwest League MVP got the most run of any Twins prospect in week 1, starting in five of six games and splitting his time in the outfield corners (3 games in RF, 2 in LF). He batted seventh in the lineup three times, and second and fifth once each. While he managed only one hit in his 17 at-bats, it was a double that came in Friday’s loss to Peoria. With how the Desert Dogs offense fared as a whole on the week, he was predictably left stranded at second and will look to cut down the K’s and make some more contact in week two.

1B Aaron Sabato
Week: 1-for-14, 2 R, HR (1), RBI, 3 BB, 8 K (4 games)
Overall: .071/.235/.286 (.521 OPS)
Sabato saw action in four games on the week, getting the start at first base in three contests while DH-ing in the other. He batted fifth in his first two games of the week, and was slotted up to third in his final two.

In the season opener on Monday, with his team down 3-0 heading into the ninth inning, he provided their only offense, and his only hit on the week, with his first home run out in the desert. It was just the teams' fourth hit in the game, but did prevent them from getting shut out.

In his next two games, he ended up striking out in three of his four at-bats in each but finished the week with a better effort in Friday’s loss to Peoria, where he drew three walks and scored another run.

LHP Jordan Carr
Week: 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K W (1 start)
Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, .231 BAA, 0 BB, 1 K (4 IP)

Carr got the starting nod in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions. He took care of his business, finishing four strong innings by allowing zero runs. He scattered just three hits, walked none, and struck out one. He needed just 49 pitches to get through his four innings, and 35 of them went for strikes (71%). The game was still scoreless when his time on the mound was over, so he would end up with a no-decision (just as a note: pitching wins and losses in the AFL are not awarded like you’re used to seeing. As an example, if Glendale had been up 1-0 when he was done and gone on to win, he likely would have been credited with the ). 

It was a great outing for the southpaw, who functioned as somewhat of a swingman with Cedar Rapids and Wichita this year, so it was good to see him get a starting nod and I’ll be curious to see if that continues.

RHP Malik Barrington
Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, 0 BB, 1 K (1 IP)
The big right-hander was the first reliever summoned from the bullpen in Glendale’s lone win of the week on Wednesday. After four one-run innings from their starter, Barrington got the fifth inning and made quick work of the Saguaros, retiring them one-two-three including a strikeout. He threw 12 pitches, with seven of them going for strikes, and the K was of the swing-and-miss variety.

RHP A.J. Labas
Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, 2 BB, 1 K (1 IP)
Labas followed Barrington in Wednesday’s win by pitching the sixth inning. While it wasn’t as efficient of an outing as his counterpart, needing 26 pitches with just 12 going for strikes (46%), he did deliver another scoreless frame. He struck out the first hitter he faced before allowing a pair of two-out walks. He was able to escape by coaxing a groundout and kept Glendale out front comfortably at 5-1. 

RHP Ben Ethridge
Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, 0 BB, 1 K (1 IP)
Ethridge made his lone appearance in Thursday’s contest against the Scottsdale Scorpions. With his team down 2-0 at the time, he delivered a one-two-three inning on 12 pitches (seven for strikes). He got a groundout, strikeout, and a flyout from the bottom of the Scorpions lineup. His offense would go on to tie the game in the bottom of the inning before the next man up from the Glendale bullpen got tagged for the loss by allowing one run in the eighth.

LHP Zach Veen
Week: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (1 appearance)
Overall: 1-1, 2.45 ERA, 1.64 WHIP, .227 BAA, 8 BB, 9 K (11 IP)
Veen was the first reliever to follow teammate Jordan Carr in Thursday’s close loss to Scottsdale and was the only Twins pitcher of the week to allow any damage on the scoreboard. He got the first two outs, including a strikeout, before consecutive doubles led to the first run of the game from either team, but that would be it as he got a groundout to keep the score 1-0.

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week!

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[Guest]

So long, Sabato....

[TWTwinsFan]

Sabato and Cavaco both very disappoint 1st round selections

[Doctor Wu]

Thanks for a very thorough report. Malik Barrington looks like an intriguing prospect for the bullpen, and is now officially one of my favorite new player names. 

[jmlease1]

Ooof. rough start for the hitters!

Carr isn't a guy I know much about, but nice to see him have a good outing. Never know what can launch a player to the next level, but we've seen players take this opportunity in the AFL to show they can contribute. Maybe this helps Carr advance up a little bit.

[roger]

One earned run from five pitchers throwing 8 innings is a very nice week from the Twins pitchers.  Sure as heck a lot better than their hitters.

Appreciate this report, Steve.  To be honest with all the excitement coming from the Twins I had forgotten that the AFL was getting going.  Do have one question.  Considering Rosario was coming out of Hi-A ball, it could be expected that he would struggle as I assume many/most of the pitchers in this league are older and more experienced.  At least historically there were few A ball players in the AFL.  Is that still the case?  Or has this league become more of an A ball league?

[TopGunn#22]

It's a rather uninteresting mix of players.  Cossetti I've heard of.  Sabato as well.  The others, with the possible exception of Jordan Carr (who I THINK I've heard of) I don't recall reading much about them and I pretty much read the minor league report every week.  The only reason I can see Sabato is there is to showcase him for a possible off season trade.  At 1 for 17 with 32 K's (sarcasm) I don't think anyone will be interested.  I'd rather hear about what's going on with Walker Jenkins and some of the pitchers we drafted along with him.   

[Steve Lein]

3 hours ago, roger said:

One earned run from five pitchers throwing 8 innings is a very nice week from the Twins pitchers.  Sure as heck a lot better than their hitters.

Appreciate this report, Steve.  To be honest with all the excitement coming from the Twins I had forgotten that the AFL was getting going.  Do have one question.  Considering Rosario was coming out of Hi-A ball, it could be expected that he would struggle as I assume many/most of the pitchers in this league are older and more experienced.  At least historically there were few A ball players in the AFL.  Is that still the case?  Or has this league become more of an A ball league?

You're welcome! I love following this league, so am happy to keep us all updated!

The rules around players that could be sent were changed a few years ago. It used to be you could only send one player out of the single-A levels, unless you got an exception for more. That is not the case specifically anymore, but I would still say most of the guys have double-A experience, and that's generally where your comparison comes from. I would actually say the hitters are slightly above double-A level overall, while pitching is slightly below.

Generally speaking, big pitching prospects do not go here unless they are making up innings. That is the case with both the top 100 pitchers that are there this year (Ricky Tiedemann and Jackson Jobe).

The Twins went extremely young this year, with 6 of their 8 players coming out of the single-A leagues. Last year as a comparison, only 2 of the 7 came out of single-A.

[DocBauer]

Ethridge is worth following as he was a 2022 selection. As was Veen.

Cossetti caught 3 baserunners? Outstanding!

Didn't expect Rosario to rake his 1st week, let's see what happens going forward. Same with Cossetti. 

The rest of the arms are fliers that have a chance and and have opportunity to show they have a ticket for 2024 advancement. Nothing special there.

The AFL is about AA quality, but most top arms are held back so it's mostly a hitters league.

Cossetti and Rosario are what I'm focused on. Anything else is gravy for some arms who might surprise.

[roger]

17 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Ethridge is worth following as he was a 2022 selection. As was Veen.

Cossetti caught 3 baserunners? Outstanding!

Didn't expect Rosario to rake his 1st week, let's see what happens going forward. Same with Cossetti. 

The rest of the arms are fliers that have a chance and and have opportunity to show they have a ticket for 2024 advancement. Nothing special there.

The AFL is about AA quality, but most top arms are held back so it's mostly a hitters league.

Cossetti and Rosario are what I'm focused on. Anything else is gravy for some arms who might surprise.

Is Ethridge the one, Doc, who was drafted with either a tired arm or coming off an injury?  The one who scouts thought should have gone much higher hadn't his injury/over use been a big concern? 

[DocBauer]

1 hour ago, roger said:

Is Ethridge the one, Doc, who was drafted with either a tired arm or coming off an injury?  The one who scouts thought should have gone much higher hadn't his injury/over use been a big concern? 

Not that I'm aware of, in regard to Ethridge anyway. At least, I can't recall an injury. 

They've had a couple of those guys in recent years, however, such as Prielipp in '22 and Macleod in 2021.