Moonshots, and Three Other Things That Might Matter from Twins Third Spring Training Game

[John Bonnes]

Frank Sinatra’s “Fly Me To The Moon” played on the Hammond Stadium speaker as Twins outdielder Harrison Bader walked up to the plate. Is that his walkup music?

“No, it’s not,” Bader said after the game. “But I appreciated it.”

Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images

Maybe that’s because he appreciates smooth crooners, but more likely it was because he sent a slider from Yankees right-hander Allan Winans to the moon—or at least beyond the left field wall. 

It might as well have been to the moon. The Twins and Yankees hit plenty of home runs Tuesday, but all except Bader’s took the easy route, to right field, where wind gusts exceeding 20 mph were carrying the ball. Harrison Bader’’s shot was into the teeth of that same wind.

The solo shot, paired with an earlier home run by fellow Twins newcomer Ty France, gave the Twins a 2-1 lead over the Yankees in the third inning. The team lost that lead when Michael Tonkin yielded three runs in the fifth inning, but tied it up again at 4-4 on a home run by Matt Wallner, and won the game in the ninth thanks to a walkoff hit by DaShawn Keirsey Jr.

The moonshots were fun to see, especially because manager Rocco Baldelli revealed after the game that Wallner and France were only in the lineup because yesterday’s game was rained out and the skipper wanted to get them some at-bats. But do they matter?

Considering the three guys involved, maybe. Wallner had a miserable spring training last year that led into a miserable April, which led to a demotion to St. Paul. France had a miserable midseason that led to him bouncing around the league and being stuck with a non-guaranteed contract. And Bader went from starting center fielder on the Mets to searching for backup jobs on the free-agent market. So yeah, a jolt of early success might matter quite a bit to these guys.

Or maybe it was just about a windy day in Fort Myers. Or a classical banger of a song played at the right time. Could it play a future role for him?

“I’m looking for [a permanent walkup song],” said Bader. “We’ll see.”

We Saw Simeon Wood Richardson’s Velocity
Simeon Woods Richardson started his 2025 season where he left his 2024 season, mixing pitches, being effective, and throwing in the mid-90s. Last year, Wood Richardson averaged 93.1 on his four-seam fastball, and he already averaged a tick over 92.5 with the twelve he threw in yesterday’s start. 

He also went through his full repertoire of pitches, though he gave up a home run on a wind-aided fly ball in the second inning. Unlike last year, Woods Richardson didn’t come to training camp a month early this year, needing his body to recover from a career-high 127 innings he threw last year between Triple A and the majors. He was pretty clearly gassed by the end of the season, posting a 5.91 ERA after Jul. 23 after posting a 3.27 ERA up to that point. 

So what should we expect this year?

“Refine, revamp, and keep it going,” said Woods Richardson when asked his goals for training camp earlier this week. “Nothing really changes on the prep part. No real changes on the mechanical part. It’s just kind of just revamp and rego this year.” 

So far, so good.

We Did Not See Jhoan Duran’s Velocity (Yet?)
It is not unusual for pitchers to have something less than their midseason velocity in their first couple outings of the spring. But Durán’s reduced velocity last year was a story, and there were reports earlier this camp that he was showing big velocity in some early sessions. But we didn’t see it Tuesday.

Duran threw 14 pitches in a scorelss inning, and six of them were his four-seam fastball, which averaged 100.5 mph last year. Objectively, that’s wonderful, except that it averaged 101.8 mph in 2023. Today, the fastest was 99.6 mph. 

Don’t hit the panic button. Just like we suggested not to hit the panic button just because Justin Topa gave up a run in Saturday’s game. Especially because…

Topa Had A Clean Outing
Three batters faced, one strikeout, no hits, no walks and his velocity was as expected. But what might matter is that the sweeper that he relied on to get out of his last outing got two outs, one on a swinging strike. We’ll keep an eye on that. 

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[ashbury]

Why the reference to yesterday in regard to SWR's start and Duran's relief appearance today?  Why the reference to yesterday in regard to Wallner's spring a year ago?  Asking for a friend who is a copy editor.

[thelanges5]

Tonkin pitching to make room for Castellano?

[ashbury]

1 minute ago, thelanges5 said:

Tonkin pitching to make room for Castellanos?

A true team player.

[Fatbat]

If we actually picked the league talent pockets with loose change from the pohlads couch cushions, we will make a deep playoff run.  I know its a super small sample size on a windy day but positivity is contagious!! 

[jimmyc]

Is it possible to get a translation of what and when SWR had for velocity??  2025, 2024, mid-90's, 93.1, 92.5...?

[mikelink45]

Sorry it is only ST game three - the only thing that counts is if they are getting in shape and not injured

[Parfigliano]

Now learn to beat those Yankees in the games that count

[Blyleven2011]

I just looked over the box score , twins had 5 hits , 3 rbis earned ...

The france and bader homeruns were solo homers ,  whoopee ...

Wallner batting leadoff  , Rocco will never change to a normal batting order , wallners homer had a runner on base so that is the game changer or in his case tied the score ... 

Keirsey  won the game with a hit , the twins 2 wins , the winning runs have been driven in by players most likely to not be on team by opening day  , Keaschall and Keirsey Jr ..

The biggest ouch I saw was canterino walked 3 and had 2 wild pitches , but didn't allow a run on 25 pitches and only 12 were strikes  ...

Duran and Varland pitched a clean inning ...

Woods richardson  started and went 2 innings , threw 33 pitches and 21 were strikes  , 3 hits , 1 was a homer and only rbi he gave up ...

The main thing is we won , the players need to build on those wins for momentum  , every win matters even in spring training ...

 

[jorgenswest]

3 hours ago, John Bonnes said:

Three batters faced, one strikeout, no hits, no walks and his velocity was as expected.

The velocity on his sinker (primary pitch in 2023) has not approached his average velocity on that pitch in his only successful year. Do we expect that it will average 95 and touch 97 on occasion once he gets a few more outings in?

[High heat]

In the Monday 2 inning game Wallner hit a long foul ball and then a ball deep to the wall in RF for an out.  And Lewis hit a laser to LF for a HR.  
 

Better to hit in ST than not.  

[tarheeltwinsfan]

I hate the Yankees.

[bean5302]

Guys are just getting tooled up at this point so it's hard to take much away from results. Spring training for pitchers is about getting a feel for their stuff and working on improving pitch movement and feel. For hitters, it more about getting familiar with any adjustments they've made and some experience in a game day setting.

Nice to see Canterino was even throwing. It'll be a huge accomplishment for him if he can remain healthy this Spring. I'm also glad to see Wallner showing power early. He was ice cold last spring and it carried into the start of the regular season.

[Parfigliano]

33 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

I hate the Yankees.

As all right thinking people do.

[jkcarew]

Is it too early to extend France and Bader?

No clue what the future holds for Canterino, but despite the shaky inning, that had to feel great just getting out there.

[DocBauer]

A couple games in and honestly who cares? I only say that because it's interesting and we have baseball again, but we don't know what to think about anything or anyone yet, despite the thrill of ball being played.

But I thank you John for your reports! You give spring us spring breaths of optimism as we breeze winter air.

Tonkin had a BAD DAY! He might K the side the next time out.

Canterino actually on the mound is a victory even if he was wild.

Wallner doing ANYTHING in ST is a good sign. I'm starting to think he's a "grower". He NEEDS ST AB to just "get going" and get in a rhythm. And that might explain his bad start in 2024. Anybody else notice that Rocco has been batting him leadoff so far that he can get as many AB as possible, including against LHP?

 

[arby58]

1 hour ago, bean5302 said:

Nice to see Canterino was even throwing. It'll be a huge accomplishment for him if he can remain healthy this Spring. 

IF he could ever get/stay healthy, he could be a big addition. You look at the minor league stats, and they are eye-popping - but just 85 innings over three seasons. Still, 1.48 ERA, 130 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.859. He's obviously got the stuff.

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, DocBauer said:

Canterino actually on the mound is a victory even if he was wild.

Yes, indeed. It's a start. Just happy to hear that he actually exists!

[Doctor Wu]

7 hours ago, jkcarew said:

Is it too early to extend France and Bader?

Please don't let the front office hear you!

[Mark G]

I do worry a little bit about SWR.  Are we sure the difference between the 3.27 ERA and the 5.91 ERA was just being gassed?  Or is it possible that the film caught up with him and the league figured him out?  ST is a great time to prove himself, and I hope he does.  

[Fatbat]

I can see why Canterino threw 25 pitches. He hasn’t been able to in a very long time so he subconsciously prolonged the inning to stay on the mound as long as possible and work thru a bases loaded situation.  Its not like anyone got a hit or scored a run.  ERA is 0.00

If wallner keeps hitting every ball hard, we are going to need to trade someone for a bag of balls. 
 

Holy cow our pitching staff is solid. 

Oh and we all know SWR lacks top end velocity but he has a great mix and arsenal.  He also works his butt off to improve so not much to worry about with him.

[LA Vikes Fan]

12 hours ago, DocBauer said:

A couple games in and honestly who cares? I only say that because it's interesting and we have baseball again, but we don't know what to think about anything or anyone yet, despite the thrill of ball being played.

But I thank you John for your reports! You give spring us spring breaths of optimism as we breeze winter air.

Tonkin had a BAD DAY! He might K the side the next time out.

Canterino actually on the mound is a victory even if he was wild.

Wallner doing ANYTHING in ST is a good sign. I'm starting to think he's a "grower". He NEEDS ST AB to just "get going" and get in a rhythm. And that might explain his bad start in 2024. Anybody else notice that Rocco has been batting him leadoff so far that he can get as many AB as possible, including against LHP?

 

Bader is here as the platoon RH hitting OF, the question is with whom he will platoon. It's early but I'm betting that both Wallner and Larnach will get more ABs against LH pitching this spring to see who can hit it. Wallner is the leader in the clubhouse, especially with Rocco saying that he wants Bader's defense in LF. My money is on Wallner as a most every day player in RF with Larnach in a pretty strict platoon with Bader in LF and Bader getting a day or three in CF with Buxton at DH or sitting. With Castro able to play a passable OF, there's no pressing need for a 5th OF and probably no room at the inn for Martin or Keirsey as a backup OF. 

Fight for the last two position player roster spots (unless there's trade, but I don't think there will be) - Lee, Julien, Martin, Gaspar, and Keirsey, and one of them has to play 2B so Castro can be the UTL.  Lee gets in if he hits at all because he's able to play 2B and also be the backup SS. Of the other 4, it cold be any of them for the last spot but I'm guessing Julien.. 

. 

[mnfireman]

15 hours ago, Blyleven2011 said:

The biggest ouch I saw was canterino walked 3 and had 2 wild pitches , but didn't allow a run on 25 pitches and only 12 were strikes  ...

 

 

Canterino pitched in a game for the first time since 2022, that in itself is a big story. Mixed results for sure, but let's see how he pitches going forward before we judge.

[bean5302]

13 hours ago, arby58 said:

IF he could ever get/stay healthy, he could be a big addition. You look at the minor league stats, and they are eye-popping - but just 85 innings over three seasons. Still, 1.48 ERA, 130 strikeouts, and a WHIP of 0.859. He's obviously got the stuff.

Yeah, I'm not so sure his stuff will play as well as people think. He's got very little experience above the low minors and his walk rate at AA was rough. He'll have to locate his pitches to have success, but it'd be great to see how his stuff works at the high minors level at least!

[h2oface]

17 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Sorry it is only ST game three - the only thing that counts is if they are getting in shape and not injured

Maybe. But Wallner was sooooo horrible and not ready in ST that he shouldn't have even made the team. He was in shape. And he didn't get injured. But he wasted so many team opportunities in April because of it, and it even took him a while in AAA to get going. That means it took him about 3 months to get up to speed. ST ABs and success does count for confidence, and preparation,

I just read this article about Julio Rodríguez and I wish more guys on this team that tanked the last month and a half of last season had the same attitude about ST. These guys should all be in shape coming in, and more at bats, not less, should only help them to be ready to be full throttle come opening day. Especially if you have a history of being a slow starter.

https://www.mlb.com/news/julio-rodriguez-getting-more-reps-in-spring-training?partnerId=it-20250226-12728275-mlb-1-B&utm_id=it-20250226-12728275-mlb-1-B&lctg=91699321

[Jeff K]

18 hours ago, High heat said:

In the Monday 2 inning game Wallner hit a long foul ball and then a ball deep to the wall in RF for an out.  And Lewis hit a laser to LF for a HR.  
 

Better to hit in ST than not.  

I was at the game.  The ball was caught at the RF wall and the wind was blowing directly in at 10 to 15mph.  He crushed it.

[chpettit19]

5 hours ago, LA VIkes Fan said:

Bader is here as the platoon RH hitting OF, the question is with whom he will platoon. It's early but I'm betting that both Wallner and Larnach will get more ABs against LH pitching this spring to see who can hit it. Wallner is the leader in the clubhouse, especially with Rocco saying that he wants Bader's defense in LF. My money is on Wallner as a most every day player in RF with Larnach in a pretty strict platoon with Bader in LF and Bader getting a day or three in CF with Buxton at DH or sitting. With Castro able to play a passable OF, there's no pressing need for a 5th OF and probably no room at the inn for Martin or Keirsey as a backup OF. 

Fight for the last two position player roster spots (unless there's trade, but I don't think there will be) - Lee, Julien, Martin, Gaspar, and Keirsey, and one of them has to play 2B so Castro can be the UTL.  Lee gets in if he hits at all because he's able to play 2B and also be the backup SS. Of the other 4, it cold be any of them for the last spot but I'm guessing Julien.. 

. 

Which righties do you think Rocco is going to sit to let either of his lefties hit against lefties? Even if Julien makes the team, too. Which righty is going to sit against lefties in order to get any of those lefties PAs against lefties?