https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/page/581/?d=1enhttps://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/notebook-smeltzer-named-probable-starter-for-grapefruit-league-opener-r10434/WE HAVE OUR FIRST PROBABLE PITCHER https://twitter.com/millerstrib/status/1365017865368313870?s=21 Smeltzer will be looking to compete for a spot in the rotation or bullpen. Somewhat of an afterthought with the signing of Shoemaker, and before that many penciling Randy Dobnak or even Lewis Thorpe...10434Fri, 26 Feb 2021 04:00:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/timeline-for-top-prospects-2021-edition-r10421/In recent years, this piece has been a mainstay in the Twins Prospect Handbook. With only Alternate Site action in 2020 however, Seth decided to shelve the project for 2021. Although development is rarely linear, it also wasn’t as accessible or visible a season ago. There are some guys that should...10421Fri, 26 Feb 2021 03:30:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/getting-geeky-part-2-leverage-index-and-your-blood-pressure-r10433/Wednesday we talked about the movement away from the closer dominant hierarchy that has ruled MLB bullpens since the 80s. The Twins are leading that movement, and were surprised to find reliever Tyler Duffey casually drop the sabrmetric stat Leverage Index (LI) in an interview. It’s useful for und...10433Fri, 26 Feb 2021 02:35:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/a-good-comp-for-jhoan-duran-and-his-splinker-r10423/As Seth Stohs chronicled so well last week, Duran is one of the top prospects in the Twins’ system, and (arguably) the team’s highest-upside hurler. He’s not an easy player to project or evaluate, though, because there remains a strange air of mystery around his arsenal. Famously, he throws a pitc...10423Thu, 25 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/al-central-rundown-right-field-r10413/The Rundown The AL Central provides a paltry offering in right field. Cody Pirkl wrote recently about how pivotal the 2021 season is for Max Kepler. If he’s able to return to 2019 form, he should easily be the best in the division. Besides the Royals, right field is a relatively weak position for...10413Thu, 25 Feb 2021 17:02:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/report-from-the-fort-out-of-left-field-r10427/The English language is full of idioms that have a relationship to baseball. “Out of left field” is one of them. It essentially means “crazy” or at least “unexpected” but its origin is debated. Some point to an early New York ballpark that had a sanitarium beyond the left field wall. Others think...10427Thu, 25 Feb 2021 06:40:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/predicting-minnesota%E2%80%99s-4-potential-breakout-players-in-2021-r10422/Jorge Alcala, RHP Alcala has 18 big league games under his belt, but the 2021 season can be an opportunity to prove he belongs in Minnesota’s long-term relief plans. Twins manager Rocco Baldelli already showed confidence in Alcala by using him in the seventh inning or later in every September app...10422Thu, 25 Feb 2021 03:30:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/twins-daily-2021-top-prospects-1-of-alex-kirilloff-r10425/Position: OF Age: 23 (DOB: 11/9/1997) 2019 Stats (AA): 411 PA, .283/.343/.413, 9, 43 RBI ETA: 2021 2020 Ranking: 2 2019 Ranking: 2 National Top 100 Rankings BA: 18 | MLB: 26 | ATH: 7 | BP: 71 | ESPN: 22 | FG: 17 What's To Like When tantalizing upside and MLB-readiness collide, you get an elite pro...10425Thu, 25 Feb 2021 03:00:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/notebook-twins-sellouts-and-prospect-peril-r10424/Royce Lewis Tears ACL Much like plenty of top Twins prospects before him, Royce Lewis was hit with devastating news following concerns during his intake screening. Knee discomfort led to an MRI and ultimately it revealed he had a torn ACL. The 2021 season is over for Minnesota’s prospect before it...10424Thu, 25 Feb 2021 03:00:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/service-time-fixing-what-is-clearly-broken-r10419/Mather, inexplicably, shared unspoken but well-known secrets about how teams… well, his team, specifically, will keep MLB-ready players in the minors to prolong team control for an additional season. This isn’t new and certainly isn’t a secret. The Cubs did it to Kris Bryant. The Blue Jays did it...10419Thu, 25 Feb 2021 01:00:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/how-well-could-the-twins-hide-luis-arraez-in-the-field-r10410/I recently wrote about why I think the Twins should make Alex Kirilloff their Opening Day left fielder. That position is predicated on him having a solid spring training, though. Should he struggle, or deal with nagging injuries, the team would be wise to have him spend not merely a few token week...10410Wed, 24 Feb 2021 21:00:00 +0000https://twinsdaily.com/news-rumors/minnesota-twins/al-central-rundown-center-field-r10417/The Rundown Center field is a position filled with youth in the AL Central, as the average age of the five projected starting center fielders within the division is just under 27-years-old. Throughout the division, there is a good mix of superstar upside, and solid everyday starter. However, ther...10417Wed, 24 Feb 2021 17:00:00 +0000