Twins Minor League Report (8/10): Gabriel Gonzalez Crushes First AAA Home Run, Leads Saints to Win

[Seth Stohs]

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez)

Since the calendar turned to August, wins have been hard to find for the Cedar Rapids Kernels and Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. Gabriel Gonzalez had a walkoff for the Saints on Saturday night. On Sunday at Target Field, the Twins topped the Royals in 11 innings when Luke Keaschall walked it off with an opposite field home run. 

TRANSACTIONS
OF Misael Urbina was activated from the IL by Cedar Rapids. 

SAINTS SENTINEL
St. Paul 3, Iowa 2
Box Score
Clutch hits from Gabriel Gonzalez and James Outman, and strong bullpen work sealed the Saints win.

Through three innings, there was no score. Jordan Wicks started for the I-Cubs, and Mick Abel threw for the Saints. 

Abel was not as sharp as he was in his Saints debut last weekend when he tossed five scoreless innings. He had to work in this one. However, he still limited damage. In his 4 1/3 innings, he gave up just one run on four hits and four walks. He had five strikeouts. As you would expect, he needed to throw a lot of pitches. He threw 83 pitches, and just 47 were strikes. The run he gave up in the fourth inning came on a wild pitch.

The Saints got on the board and took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. Gabriel Gonzalez led off the inning by crushing his first Triple-A home run. 

DaShawn Keirsey Jr followed with a well-placed bunt single down the third base line. A throwing error by the pitcher sent the ball down the right field line allowing Kiersey to reach third base. Aaron Sabato hit a high fly ball to the warning track in left field. Keirsey scored easily. 

Aaron Rozek entered the game with one out and a runner on first base. He got two fielders choice ground balls to end that inning. Jonathan Long led off the top of the sixth inning with his 17th home run of the year to tie the game at 2-2. The southpaw went three innings and gave up just one run on three hits. 

In the bottom of the sixth, Kyler Fedko singled to left field and then stole second. James Outman drove him in with a double to give the Saints a 3-2 lead, one they held onto the rest of the game. 

Trent Davis came on with one out in the eighth inning. He got the next five outs, one on a strikeout, to earn his first save. 

Keirsey Jr went 2-for-3. Outman’s double was his second since joining the Saints.  

WIND SURGE WISDOM
Wichita 3, NW Arkansas 11
Box Score
Surge fall despite early offense from Cossetti and Jenkins as the Naturals pulled away in the middle innings.

The Wind Surge were able to face a rehabbing big leaguer on Sunday afternoon. Royals starter Michael Lorenzen tossed 5 2/3 innings. 

The Wind Surge actually did alright against him. In the second inning, Rubel Cespedes scored on an Andrew Cossetti double to the wall. 

Walker Jenkins led off the third inning with a single to center. He went to second on a wild pitch. Lorenzen tried to pick him off at second but threw it into center. Jenkins raced all the way home to score. Later in the inning, Nate Baez, Cespedes and Cossetti hit back-to-back singles which tied the game at 3-3. 

However, NW Arkansas scored three runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings, plus single runs in the sixth and seventh innings. 

Sam Armstrong started and was charged with six runs on five hits over four innings. He also hit three batters. 

Jacob Wosinski gave up three runs on two hits and two walks in the fifth inning. Jaylen Nowlin pitched the sixth inning and gave up one run on three walks and one hit. Next up was Kyle Bischoff who gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the seventh inning. Kade Bragg and Gabriel Yanez each threw a scoreless inning in relief. 

Andrew Cossetti went 2-for-3 with a walk, his 12th double, and two RBI. Walker Jenkins was 2-for-5. Rubel Cespedes was 2-for-3 with a walk. 

KERNELS NUGGETS
Cedar Rapids 2, West Michigan 4
Box Score
Despite homers from Winokur and Houghton, Kernels Swept in West Michigan.

It was a series that the Kernels will want to just forget. Not only did the Kernels lose all six games of the series, they were outscored 49-12. They have lost eight of nine games since the calendar turned to August. Maybe a little home cooking will help. The Kernels will be hosting Quad Cities in a seven-game series. They will be playing a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, making up for a rain out a month ago. 

Sunday’s game was competitive. However, West Michigan manufactured two runs in the bottom of the eighth and held on in the ninth to complete the sweep. 

Needing pitchers to eat some innings, the Kernels couldn’t have asked for much more from their first two arms. Jacob Kisting started and gave up just one hit over the first three innings. He had three strikeouts. He was efficient and used just 33 pitches. Matt Gabbert came on and gave up two runs on three hits over four innings. He walked none and struck out three. Again, he was very efficient, needing just 38 innings to complete four innings. Unfortunately, a two-run Brett Callahan homer in the fifth inning proved big in a low-scoring game. 

The Kernels actually took the first lead. In the top of the fifth inning, Maddux Houghton hit his third Kernels home run to make it 1-0. 

The Whitecaps went ahead in the bottom of the inning on the Callahan homer. However, in the top of the sixth inning, Brandon Winokur crushed a solo home run to tie the game at 2-2.

Lefty Brennan Oxford entered the game to start the bottom of the eighth. He gave up a single and a walk to start the inning. Seth Stephenson laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, and it paid off when Jack Penney singled to drive in both runs and give the Whitecaps a 4-2 lead. 

The Kernels managed just five hits. No singles. Brandon Winokur led the way. He went 2-for-4 and hit his 19th double and 15th home run. Maddux Houghton hit his third Kernels homer. Jefferson Valladares hit his first double with the Kernels. Misael Urbina returned from the IL and knocked his 12th double. 

MUSSEL MATTERS
Fort Myers, Clearwater (Canceled)
With the second half reaching the final four or five weeks of the season, it becomes much more difficult to make up games. Therefore, a Sunday afternoon rain out is going to mean a cancellation rather than a postponement.

The Mussels lost all five games to Clearwater this week, and they have lost six in a row.   

PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Hitter of the Day  
Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids): 2-for-4, 2B(19), HR(15), R, RBI

Pitcher of the Day 
Jacob Kisting (Cedar Rapids): 3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 33 pitches, 21 strikes (63.6%) 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did today.

#1– Walker Jenkins (Wichita) - 2-for-5, R (played CF)
#2 - Luke Keaschall (Minnesota) - 3-for-5, 2B(6), GW-`HR(2), R, 2 RBI (played 2B) 

#5 - Eduardo Tait (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K (catcher)
#7 - Dasan Hill (Fort Myers) - 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 65 pitches, 41 strikes (63.1%)
#8 - Mick Abel (St. Paul) - 4 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 R,4 BB, 5 K, 83 pitches, 47 strikes (56.6%)  
#11 - Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, BB, HR(1), R, RBI (played RF)
#14 - Brandon Winokur (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2B(19), HR(15), R, RBI (played 3B)
#20 - Hendry Mendez (Wichita) - 0-for-3, K (played LF)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Monday:
Minnesota @ NY Yankees (6:05 PM CT) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-3, 5.17 ERA)
DSL Twins @ DSL Phillies (10:00 AM CT) - TBD (Monday)
Tuesday:
St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35 PM CT) - TBD
Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM CT) - TBD
Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CT) - TBD
Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35 PM CT) - TBD

CURRENT W-L Records
Minnesota Twins: 56-61
St. Paul Saints: 51-61
Wichita Wind Surge: 57-51
Cedar Rapids Kernels: 59-48
Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-60
FCL Twins: 39-20 (finished 2nd in FCL playoffs)
DSL Twins: 20-28

Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related!

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[jkcarew]

 I remain confused that lack of power is González’s biggest risk regarding major league potential. The bat speed sure looks decent. And look at the body.

I mean, maybe he’s actually 25 years old, and this is right about where he peaks? Maybe he never develops the ability to consistently launch? I don’t know.

All I know is that he looks very, very hitterish.

[Linus]

27 minutes ago, jkcarew said:

 I remain confused that lack of power is González’s biggest risk regarding major league potential. The bat speed sure looks decent. And look at the body.

I mean, maybe he’s actually 25 years old, and this is right about where he peaks? Maybe he never develops the ability to consistently launch? I don’t know.

All I know is that he looks very, very hitterish.

That swing certainly looked powerful and he has years to mature as a hitter. All I know is somebody has to provide a jolt to the big league lineup in the next year or so and maybe he will be it. 

[jmlease1]

Was watching the Saints game, since I couldn't watch the Twins. GG absolutely murdered that ball, a no doubt HR that out of the park everywhere. nothing wind-aided or band-boxy about it. Like it. Abel was interesting: you could see the arm talent, but he just wasn't locating consistently. Battled pretty well. Miranda looked bad at the plate IMHO, hitting those weak grounders, and basically looking lifeless. Even the announcers are like "Jose Miranda just wants this nightmare season to end".

Keep on rolling Walker Jenkins. And stay healthy, please!

[Dman]

Winokur had an .800 OPS in July and so far he is doing the same in August.  I wonder if that will be enough for them to move him up AA next year.  Hopefully this is his break out with the bat.

Nice to see Gabby with the long ball.  AAA seems to have been a challenge for him at least at the start here. It's hard to keep a good bat down though.

If Abel is wondering why he is still in AAA he just needs to look at the 4 walks in the Box score.  I don't know what it is going to take for him to find some consistency, but that seems to be the only thing holding him back. It's impressive stuff but if you want to get guys to chase you have to through strikes as well.

[DJL44]

Keirsey learned how to bunt in a week?!

[Seth Stohs]

1 hour ago, DJL44 said:

Keirsey learned how to bunt in a week?!

Huge difference between bunting for a hit and sacrifice bunting. He's a really good bunter for hits (or hit attempts). 

[jkcarew]

1 hour ago, Dman said:

Winokur had an .800 OPS in July and so far he is doing the same in August.  I wonder if that will be enough for them to move him up AA next year.  Hopefully this is his break out with the bat.

This! Winokur quietly having a pretty nice year as a 20-year old in A+ ball. Strike-outs inching down, finding some power, steeling bases even more efficiently, continuing to play both CF and SS.

Very, very encouraging. Starting to feel like his ceiling is very high. Obviously, a long way to go.

[AlLagoon]

Jenkins hitting over .300 and with an OPS over 900 as a 20 year old in AA, that's star stuff.

 

[tony&rodney]

18 minutes ago, AlLagoon said:

Jenkins hitting over .300 and with an OPS over 900 as a 20 year old in AA, that's star stuff.

 

Jenkins just needs to stay healthy and get as many plate appearances as possible. Not sure if the Arizona Fall League is a good thing for him. As the AA season winds down hopefully Walker can stay focused and drive all the way through the last game. He may be fresher than others due to missing time early in the year. Right now, Jenkins is hot. I can see him being at Target field next year. He looks bigger than his listed size. 

[SaberNerd]

Abel threw some sweepers today, which he hadn't thrown in a game in AAA or the majors.  Threw that and the changeup for 10% of his pitches each, and didn't have control of either.  Guessing they are keeping him down to work on those, as he wasn't using his curve as much which is his best secondary and maybe best pitch.

[FlyingFinn]

6 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Not sure if the Arizona Fall League is a good thing for him.

I believe I remember hearing the TV announcers saying Jenkins will not be participating in the AFL.

[Trov]

8 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Jenkins just needs to stay healthy and get as many plate appearances as possible. Not sure if the Arizona Fall League is a good thing for him. As the AA season winds down hopefully Walker can stay focused and drive all the way through the last game. He may be fresher than others due to missing time early in the year. Right now, Jenkins is hot. I can see him being at Target field next year. He looks bigger than his listed size. 

Rare that the top top prospects play in the AFL unless they missed a ton of time.  That would be only reason they would send him there, but my guess they will not. I could see him if he is healthy I could see him be an early call up next year. I could also see either E-Rod or Gonzalez getting an early call too.  I bet Larnach gets non-tendered/DFA this offseason.  

[Old Twins Hat]

9 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Jenkins just needs to stay healthy and get as many plate appearances as possible. Not sure if the Arizona Fall League is a good thing for him. As the AA season winds down hopefully Walker can stay focused and drive all the way through the last game. He may be fresher than others due to missing time early in the year. Right now, Jenkins is hot. I can see him being at Target field next year. He looks bigger than his listed size. 

Noticed that too.  His body, he looks almost uncomfortable in it, as if he is swelling up and his uniform won't hold him.  Man-child at 20 and a big-time stud by 24.  Wow!

[mikelink45]

10 hours ago, jkcarew said:

This! Winokur quietly having a pretty nice year as a 20-year old in A+ ball. Strike-outs inching down, finding some power, steeling bases even more efficiently, continuing to play both CF and SS.

Very, very encouraging. Starting to feel like his ceiling is very high. Obviously, a long way to go.

Watching him in the field convinced me that he will not be a SS for the Twins.  Time to move him around and find a place for his bat.  He looks awkward and slow for a SS based on my limited observations.

[jmlease1]

46 minutes ago, Trov said:

Rare that the top top prospects play in the AFL unless they missed a ton of time.  That would be only reason they would send him there, but my guess they will not. I could see him if he is healthy I could see him be an early call up next year. I could also see either E-Rod or Gonzalez getting an early call too.  I bet Larnach gets non-tendered/DFA this offseason.  

I think this is right. Jenkins missed a bunch of time early in the season but he's been playing consistently since with no trouble. He'll get over 75 games in, so I don't think the Twins are going to look at it as necessary that he go to the AFL just to get game time in. (If he was going to finish the season with only 30, they might feel differently)

I'm increasingly of the opinion that Larnach gets non-tendered as well; he simply hasn't developed enough as a hitter, and a LH platoon bat with no real defensive value simply isn't worth a lot. And with the Pohalds possibly still being in charge of payroll, it's also not where you want to spend $4M...

In conclusion, Eff the Pohlads and Sell the Team!

[Dman]

8 hours ago, SaberNerd said:

Abel threw some sweepers today, which he hadn't thrown in a game in AAA or the majors.  Threw that and the changeup for 10% of his pitches each, and didn't have control of either.  Guessing they are keeping him down to work on those, as he wasn't using his curve as much which is his best secondary and maybe best pitch.

That is good to know.  Probably explains the walks.  I think it is a good idea for him to work on a sweeper.  He has good vertical movement so if he can add some horizontal movement for strike three that could help him tremendously.  He seems to have an electric arm, just needs better control.

[DJL44]

12 hours ago, Seth Stohs said:

Huge difference between bunting for a hit and sacrifice bunting. He's a really good bunter for hits (or hit attempts). 

He didn't appear to know how to hold the bat when he was sac bunting last week. That isn't different.

[bunsen82]

13 hours ago, Dman said:

Winokur had an .800 OPS in July and so far he is doing the same in August.  I wonder if that will be enough for them to move him up AA next year.  Hopefully this is his break out with the bat.

Nice to see Gabby with the long ball.  AAA seems to have been a challenge for him at least at the start here. It's hard to keep a good bat down though.

If Abel is wondering why he is still in AAA he just needs to look at the 4 walks in the Box score.  I don't know what it is going to take for him to find some consistency, but that seems to be the only thing holding him back. It's impressive stuff but if you want to get guys to chase you have to through strikes as well.

Lets not undersell Winokur.  He has had 2 months of being the best positional player at Cedar Rapids.  His April and May numbers are really bringing down his averages.      

July          .286/360/841

August    .343/.395/.852

I personally think Winokur does not do as well in the cold weather,  and takes a while to find his swing (let alone at higher levels of competition).  Overall other than 1 blowout month in June last year, I honestly like the numbers this year better at Cedar Rapids.  Continued improvement from month to month.  He has had 45 days of really strong performance.  I do think he wore out a bit last year with the longer season.  So far he has not shown any signs of wearing down.  He is such a unicorn prospect.  The Twins would know better what their expectations are moving forward.   With his upside I am sure he would be an excellent trade chip with his minor league numbers to end the season.  If he can replicate this at AA next year though,  he will look like a legitimate  MLB player.   

Gabby is beginning to settle in at a higher level.  I expect an adjustment period from the performance he was having at AA.  In either case he is doing very well.   He appears to be exactly the type of player we need at the MLB level.  OBP, contact hitter who can keep the runners moving around the basepaths. 

Abel is really close.   You just need a little more consistency.  This is the reason why you don't rush development and shove them up to MLB.  Say what you will, the Twins are much more conservative that other teams in progressing prospects.  In this case its warranted and smart.    He also makes the pitches when he needs to.   You don't throw 98 pitches with 47 strikes and only giving up 1 run without getting the strike out or out to get out of the inning.  They can't hit him, so the only thing he needs to work on is limiting the walks.   

 

[bunsen82]

15 hours ago, jkcarew said:

 I remain confused that lack of power is González’s biggest risk regarding major league potential. The bat speed sure looks decent. And look at the body.

I mean, maybe he’s actually 25 years old, and this is right about where he peaks? Maybe he never develops the ability to consistently launch? I don’t know.

All I know is that he looks very, very hitterish.

With that swing I expect more power to begin to show up.   He definitely has more power than Arraez,  He could be the perfect blend of contact and power the Twins could utilize.  

[Dman]

14 minutes ago, bunsen82 said:

Lets not undersell Winokur.  He has had 2 months of being the best positional player at Cedar Rapids.  His April and May numbers are really bringing down his averages.      

July          .286/360/841

August    .343/.395/.852

I personally think Winokur does not do as well in the cold weather,  and takes a while to find his swing (let alone at higher levels of competition).  Overall other than 1 blowout month in June last year, I honestly like the numbers this year better at Cedar Rapids.  Continued improvement from month to month.  He has had 45 days of really strong performance.  I do think we wore out a bit last year with the longer season.  So far he has not shown any signs of wearing down.  He is such a unicorn prospect.  The Twins would know better what their expectations are moving forward.   With his upside I am sure he would be an excellent trade chip with his minor league numbers to end the season.  If he can replicate this at AA next year though,  he will look like a legitimate  MLB player.   

 

Yeah if Winokur can finish the year strong he can make a believer out of me. .840 to .850 OPS's for a 20 year old at high A would be really, really good. AA would be a good strong challenge for him next year.  I know some don't love him at short, but I think he is fine.  I don't see him as an elite defender there, but certainly someone who can solidly play the position.  I don't mind him splitting time there as it would allow him to fill a Willie Castro type role with the Twins if needed.  Still as things stand he will have more value in the outfield going forward. 

I agree that lot's of bats struggle in the cold weather to start the season.  Hard to concentrate when cold and hard to feel loose in the cold.  Still a sub .600 OPS is pretty bad. I give him a pass as it was the start of a new level for him as well.

If he has even an league average or slightly below bat I don't think you trade a guy like this.  If he can hit just .250 with his power he could be a 5 tool player.  You don't trade guys like that.  If he can't hit he won't make it so it's boom or bust IMO. Right now it looks like boom but there is a ways to go.  AA is hard on hitters and AAA even harder.  Then the toughest jump of all MLB.  He's been young for the level every year and adjusted in the second half so far.  If he keeps doing that Twins scouts are going to look really, really good for finding him late in the draft.

[bunsen82]

33 minutes ago, Dman said:

Yeah if Winokur can finish the year strong he can make a believer out of me. .840 to .850 OPS's for a 20 year old at high A would be really, really good. AA would be a good strong challenge for him next year.  I know some don't love him at short, but I think he is fine.  I don't see him as an elite defender there, but certainly someone who can solidly play the position.  I don't mind him splitting time there as it would allow him to fill a Willie Castro type role with the Twins if needed.  Still as things stand he will have more value in the outfield going forward. 

I agree that lot's of bats struggle in the cold weather to start the season.  Hard to concentrate when cold and hard to feel loose in the cold.  Still a sub .600 OPS is pretty bad. I give him a pass as it was the start of a new level for him as well.

If he has even an league average or slightly below bat I don't think you trade a guy like this.  If he can hit just .250 with his power he could be a 5 tool player.  You don't trade guys like that.  If he can't hit he won't make it so it's boom or bust IMO. Right now it looks like boom but there is a ways to go.  AA is hard on hitters and AAA even harder.  Then the toughest jump of all MLB.  He's been young for the level every year and adjusted in the second half so far.  If he keeps doing that Twins scouts are going to look really, really good for finding him late in the draft.

Winokur has a ton of variability.  In my opinion Winokur has a ton more value if he can maintain at shortstop, or if he can be a utility player rather than just regulated to the outfield.  His numbers and power profile will be much more valuable at the shortstop position.   If someone believes he can be a shortstop they may well overpay for someone like Winokur.  Yes you will lose on the trade if he becomes an elite player.  But if you could get a value of someone like Duran for Winokur for 2 or 2 1/2 years, I think you would do that everyday of the week.   

The flip side of the coin is the Twins need multiple elite players to be able to win the World Series.  So if Winokur increases the odds we have multiple elite players for a stretch of 4-5 years with Culpepper, Jenkins, Keashall, Rodriguez, Gonzalez ,  still a slim possibility on Lee and any other drafted prospects,  we may be better off to keep him.  I have been touting Winokur since we drafted him, so ultimately I really do hope he becomes a great Twin,  but as well as he has done so far,  with extreme variability on performance, I could see it as being timely to cash in on those chips.   

[Dman]

1 minute ago, bunsen82 said:

Winokur has a ton of variability.  In my opinion Winokur has a ton more value if he can maintain at shortstop, or if he can be a utility player rather than just regulated to the outfield.  His numbers and power profile will be much more valuable at the shortstop position.   If someone believes he can be a shortstop they may well overpay for someone like Winokur.  Yes you will lose on the trade if he becomes an elite player.  But if you could get a value of someone like Duran for Winokur for 2 or 2 1/2 years, I think you would do that everyday of the week.   

The flip side of the coin is the Twins need multiple elite players to be able to win the World Series.  So if Winokur increases the odds we have multiple elite players for a stretch of 4-5 years with Culpepper, Jenkins, Keashall, Rodriguez, Gonzalez ,  still a slim possibility on Lee and any other drafted prospects,  we may be better off to keep him.  I have been touting Winokur since we drafted him, so ultimately I really do hope he becomes a great Twin,  but as well as he has done so far,  with extreme variability on performance, I could see it as being timely to cash in on those chips.   

I guess if you don't see him fulfilling his potential a trade would make sense, but the Twins are and have been starved for actual athletes in the field with above average traits that letting one of the few they have go doesn't make much sense to me.  A 60 runner with 60 power that can play multiple positions. I'm not trading that away, but that's just one guy's opinion.

You look at Clemens and his .220 batting average and near .800 OPS and if  Winokur's could do that with plus defense at any outfield position, plus the ability to play any infield position and that could be a star player right there. He would be a very rare player to be able to do all of that.  Would be hard to trade that away.

[Mike Sixel]

Teams don't put elite players into utility roles. They give them a position and let them run with it. There's likely good reason for that. I've said my piece on him at SS......

[Steve Lein]

4 hours ago, Trov said:

Rare that the top top prospects play in the AFL unless they missed a ton of time.  That would be only reason they would send him there, but my guess they will not. I could see him if he is healthy I could see him be an early call up next year. I could also see either E-Rod or Gonzalez getting an early call too.  I bet Larnach gets non-tendered/DFA this offseason.  

This isn't completely true. It has certainly had fewer top guys in recent seasons (and hardly any such pitching), but they still get sent there... Just not by the Twins 😅

I believe there were 16 players from MLB Pipelines top 100 that were there last year. Andrew Painter was the only pitcher of note, who definitely needed to make up some innings. Leo De Vries, Ethan Salas, Jac Caglionone, and Nick Kurtz were a couple of the other names I remember.

[jkcarew]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

Watching him in the field convinced me that he will not be a SS for the Twins.  Time to move him around and find a place for his bat.  He looks awkward and slow for a SS based on my limited observations.

He’s not slow, he’s fast. But, yes, he might not end up being ‘quick’ enough to play SS at the major league level. Because of his arm, 3B will be the most likely second choice on the IF, and they’re already giving him a taste there. But in the meantime, they are challenging him primarily at SS (in the IF), which I agree with and is consistent with what they did with Lewis and Lee. He’s 20. Years away. Much easier and quicker to transition to 2nd and 3rd if you’ve been developed at SS than the other way around.

[Linus]

I think he is misjudged a bit due to his size. He’s got good speed and good hands with a really strong arm. He’s not going to look “typical” because few players are as tall as he is that play the infield. Ive seen him make some plays that no other Twins SS can make. He’s a unicorn for sure. 

[DocBauer]

For 2026, the Twins have RF and CF basically locked down in Wallner and Buxton. LF is wide open. From the LH side they have Rodriguez and Roden. One has to stay healthy and I think the Twins will "throw him out there" and live with some mistakes unless he just looks lost. The other, Roden, has a nice overall skill set but needs to translate his really solid bat from MILB to the ML level. There might even be room for BOTH between OF and DH.

From the RH side, you'd like to see one of Gonzalez or Fedko to take a job. I'd much rather take place than bring in a FA on a 1yr deal. In regard to Gonzalez's power, does he just need to get more elevation? The power seems to be there. Elevation is my guess.

I'd rather roll with the kids or roll through them rather than temporary FA fill ins.

IMO, Larnach is being a bit undersold. As a LH bat, he's pretty solid...around a .740 ish OPS...against RHP. He's only average defensively...with a good arm...but I don't think he's as bad as others believe. But I think he's traded in the offseason...possibly with a prospect...for help elsewhere. I believe there are teams that could use/want his bat LH bat as a platoon option at DH and occasionally in the OF.

In regard to Winokur, he's really doing well at a 20yo at A+ ball and is one of the most talented players in the system. I've seen him look very average at SS, and I've seen him make some very good plays and show an AMAZING arm at times. I don't have a problem with him playing some SS because there's some potential there, so why not? But to be fair, he's also played some 3B as well. But he's also played as many games in CF as he has at SS. Personally, unless he grows too much to stick, I think he might be the best CF prospect in the system. As young as he is, I could see him begin 2026 at CR again to work on a couple things as a 21yo. But a strong finish could put him at AA next year.

Jenkins doesn't NEED to finish at St Paul. But a couple weeks as a reward and a good jump off point for 2026 might be in order.

[Dman]

3 hours ago, Mike Sixel said:

Teams don't put elite players into utility roles. They give them a position and let them run with it. There's likely good reason for that. I've said my piece on him at SS......

I don't disagree, but I wasn't really thinking of him as a "true" utility player.  More like Mookie in that he could play any position the team needs him to play.  Granted up the middle positions are the most important, but if guys get hurt he might be a better option somewhere else and he has the skills to help your team that way.  It's a rare skillset IMO and makes him more valuable than a player that can only really play one position well.

[DJL44]

25 minutes ago, DocBauer said:

For 2026, the Twins have RF and CF basically locked down in Wallner and Buxton. LF is wide open. From the LH side they have Rodriguez and Roden. One has to stay healthy and I think the Twins will "throw him out there" and live with some mistakes unless he just looks lost. The other, Roden, has a nice overall skill set but needs to translate his really solid bat from MILB to the ML level. There might even be room for BOTH between OF and DH.

From the RH side, you'd like to see one of Gonzalez or Fedko to take a job. I'd much rather take place than bring in a FA on a 1yr deal. In regard to Gonzalez's power, does he just need to get more elevation? The power seems to be there. Elevation is my guess.

You left out Austin Martin and Trevor Larnach who are both still around. I expect they will trade Larnach but doubt they do the same with Martin. I would also bet they give the LF job to Walker Jenkins before they give it to Fedko. They will need 6 guys for 4 spots between OF and DH. They have options but I doubt they start the 2026 season with Gonzalez, Jenkins, Rodriguez, Fedko or McCusker on the 26-man roster. AAA could have a very interesting outfield with Gonzalez, Jenkins and Rodriguez. I think the OF they have tonight is your likely outfield in April.