TwinsAce

I didn't realize how much the Twins have focused on SS (with the occasional CF game) for Martin since 5/14. 29 games into the season he had 15 starts at SS (7 errors) with 6 at 2nd, 5 at CF, and a few additional DH and LF/RF games. Since then, he has only played CF 2 times and DH 1 time it looks like. I definitely thought he was still playing around the field more often. I guess some of that is because they gave Steer the occasional start at SS and they had Kevin Merrell. Kevin was brought up to the Saints on May 7th and back down May 24th, but released in July. Steer went up to the Saints on May 24th. But also since then they seemed to give him off days rather than play a different position. (Likely due to his results and other teammates doing better.) Yake, Ozoria, Prato, and Knight are the others who have started at SS. Glad to hear since the injury he has looked better in the field too. Even if he doesn't make it at SS, any sort of confidence should help and potentially help his hitting too. Always love seeing your tidbits here and there, Seth.

Random, but on the Rogers point, I'd argue the wrong decision they made with Rogers was not pulling the trigger at last year's deadline. If they did it then, they would have most likely gotten even better value and would have known he wasn't going to be on the roster come April. (Downside would have been trading the player rep IRRC for the Twins and so having a slightly newer player rep going into the lockout.) Trading Rogers was the right move. Not replacing Rogers in the offseason was the wrong move. I'm also fine with Paddack as the return. (Keeping the unnamed player after he has struggled the past 12 months was not the right move.) Regarding the leadership, it makes you wonder if Buxton has a hard time leading while he is struggling through his ABs and his knee. Hopefully someone steps up the rest of the year and also shows that leadership going into next year.

Okay - it was bugging me too much. I had to take a look at the rookie and summer league stats for the past 20 years. In 2011, Elizabethton Twins hit .782 OPS as a team. (Rosario, Sano, Koch, JD Williams, Vargas, etc.) In 2008 and 2009, they hit .823 and .808 as a team. (2008 was a bunch of names that never made it to MLB, 2009 included Danny Rams, Tyler Ladendorf, Pinto, Liddle, Dozier, Herrmann, etc.) Meanwhile, the DSL was typically batting .600-.670 OPS as a team while GCL Twins were closer to .650-.700. GCL in 2000 batted .751 thanks to Justin Morneau batting 1.143 in 52 games. (Also Kubel was on the team with .739.) 2008 GCL was also pretty good at .753 with Pinto & Aaron Hicks leading the way. 2014 DSL Twins batted .702 OPS. On their team, they had Lewin Diaz, Arraez, and Palacios all hitting .800 OPS or better. But their team had almost no power - Lewin Diaz had 5 of the 7 homeruns the team hit! 2017 DSL Twins finally hit .771. Unfortunately, I don't think any of these players made top 20 lists. But the best performers were 18-20 vs. 17-18. 2018 was similar with .775 (Jeferson Morales, Victor Heredia, Luis Gomez, Luis Milla, etc.) Jump to this year, and the DSL Twins are batting .820 OPS as a team! Rafael Cruz, Rodriguez, Mercedes, Nova, Pena, Acuna, Pena #2, etc. (Pena #3 is only at .701.) Since 2006, the most homeruns hit in the DSL has been 15 in 2016 by Brian Sanchez. Then there are 2 with 13 and a few more with 10-11. But most years, 8-9 is tops in the league. Oddly enough, this year there are already 4 with 10 or more home runs...makes you wonder. I guess to summarize - We have seen some good team hitting at the rookie level, but rarely at the summer league (DSL/GCL) level. For better or for worse, some of the best DSL years are by players who mostly topped out at low A and were older. This year should be more encouraging given the ages (17.3 average age!) and a few more higher profile players. Fingers crossed! 2011: 2009: 2017 DSL: 2022 DSL:

Right - 2011 was rookie Elizabethton when he had the 21 homeruns. That year was pretty good. Rosario, Sano, JD Williams, Vargas, etc. Otherwise, I really don't remember a short season hitting dominance in the past 20 years like we are currently seeing in the DSL Twins. Especially at the DSL level.

I know we have had some talented players come through the DSL, but it seems like a long time since they have had so many players hitting like crazy. Makes me think back to like the Rosario / Sano days IIRC. Really trying not to get my hopes up too soon. But sure would be nice if they were dominating low A in the next two years.

Similar thoughts to the above comments. I was thinking about how I'd almost rank Duran higher than Miranda in team MVP, but Miranda has done so much in the past few weeks when a lot of the other players aren't hitting. I would argue that Duran has been our most irreplaceable player this year though. If Joe Ryan can put together a final month+ with a 3.00 ERA and average 6 innings a start during that time, he would get back up to that same range as Miranda and Duran.

lol - forgot about the recent price increase for new customers. Hasn't hit us yet...but probably will.

FYI - Netflix standard (Full HD 1080p) is $9.99/month. The basic, which you are referring to, is $7.99/month.

On the flip side, the Twins won't be facing the Yankees or Astros, the obvious two top teams in the AL. And they should be hosting the entire 3 game series. (Ryan has done well at home, depending on what you make of that.) If they make the playoffs, it means they showed at least something against Cleveland and Chicago. I'd still give them a chance to win 1 of the first 2 games against the wild card team.

When reading the article, I also was like...I don't remember any top SS prospect at AA. Wander going to AA would make sense to make room for Lee. Agree with you and Rosterman.

I noticed this a few weeks back when looking at Correa's baseball reference page. His "clutch" stats during the regular season are actually pretty low in his career. It seems that his "clutch skill" has been more focused in the playoffs vs. regular season. On the flip side, it is possible these numbers are still pretty good compared to the average "clutch" stats. sOPS+ I think addresses this, in which case his "Late & Close" for 2022 is 125, so surprisingly good. Seems his biggest issue this year has been RISP and also 2 outs. Sure would be nice if that evened out a bit. (Also odd - June is his favorite month by far in his career. .969 OPS vs. career OPS of .831.) First picture below is career, second is current season.

Correa's numbers are dragged down by a poor May defensively. Also, IIRC, Celestino is ranked surprisedly poor in LF, but pretty decent in CF.

A bit of an echo chamber in here, but I also have enjoyed seeing Yasser's name in the box scores the past few weeks. Currently on a 10 game hitting streak. During that time, he has several 3 or 4 hit days as well! Before July 7th, he was a bit streakier during his first 13 professional games. Seth - Any chance Yasser or Jose Rodriguez (who's July box scores look great as well) crack the top prospect lists as early as this offseason? Or any other guys we might expect to make the top 20 in the DSL or FCL? I know it is early...

BAL and ARZ were expected, so like you said, Rocker was the big twist at #3. I'd imagine if Texas had gone a more typical approach, Lee might have been the pick. But a college SS/INF doesn't fit a "need" (arguable since BPA) for them since they have Semien and Seager locked up along with Josh Jung as their top prospect at AAA (and Ezequiel Duran and Josh Smith and Justin Forscue....you get the point.) PIT went with the HS player and great hitter, but I think they liked Termarr from earlier reports. (Also are similar to TEX with some higher prospects in the INF either at MLB level or still coming.) WAS, MIA, and CHC were a bit surprising though. WAS must be looking at replacing their Soto spot...going with the high upside. They also just need prospects in general... MIA needs a big bat and fast, so Berry isn't that crazy to picture for them. (Also 4 SS prospects in their top 15, all at A+ or lower.) And Cubs going with Horton makes it seem like they had a crazy plan in place, kind of like TEX. Still, surprising to see Lee drop as well as Parada (or even Collier.)

Agreed - there are also other prospects not mentioned. Emmanuel Rodriguez is also injured, but could be a centerpiece. Raya and Povich seem like decent pieces as well, if not Varland and Miller too.

Uh oh...what do we do now?? They picked a second HS SS. IDK - Seems uncalled for. ? Ortiz, Jankel from Academia Presbiteriana HS (PR)

The knuckleball was interesting to hear about. I know it won't happen since just drafted, but it would be kind of funny to see Gary Sanchez catch a knuckleball pitcher. ?

Not Twins related, but Cleveland with another HS pitcher drafted, picking Jackson Humphries finally. I'm not an expert, but I don't really see any obvious reaches (or 4YR SRs) early on that indicate a ton of draft slot savings. Anyone else know?

Zebby Mathews with pick 234 - another senior sign and slider pitcher sounds like. Random - but it was nice to hear Jim Callis call out the Twins for providing a quick scouting report on Zebby since he isn't a scouted/draft board type guy.

Andrew Morris sounds interesting. Slider is best pitch, which matches. Slight pick savings probably?

Good call. Crazy, but makes sense.

Yeah...so close to not even having to worry about a #8 prospect. lol

I have a hard time believing the Marlins are going to sell much this deadline, similar to the Orioles. I wonder if the Angels would be easier to trade with to get Aaron Loup (lefty), Ryan Tepera, Archie Bradley, or Jose Quijada (lefty)? Maybe Aaron and Ryan aren't likely since they both signed multi-year contracts this year with the Angels and also hard to know how much they would be upgrades. Thielbar's Whiff% and pitch values are pretty good, other than his curveball struggling at times. The slider especially has looked good.

Man, I remember there was a slight chance for the Twins to pick at 7 late last year. The Cubs went 6-14 at the end while the Twins went 12-8. (71-91 vs. 73-89.) But Royals were also one game above us and Rockies just barely above that. 2 weeks before, it would have been Baltimore, Arizona, Texas, Pittsburgh, Washington, Miami, and Twins. (With Cubs 2 games behind the Twins, followed by Royals.) So other than the Orioles almost blowing it by tying with the Diamondbacks (with tie breaker going to the Orioles), the Twins and Cubs were the only other pick that might have changed in the top 7.

Obviously would love if one of the top 7 players made it to us, especially Parada and Collier, but after that, Prielipp, Neto, and Lesko are probably my favorites or the ones I'd be most excited about. (Although like you said, it seems likely that they skip the arm at #8 and go get one later, maybe with some extra cash.) Thought the quotes from the Star Tribune article was interesting though. Makes it almost seem like Berry or Jung are not likely at the moment. https://www.startribune.com/twins-could-have-pick-of-pitchers-with-eighth-overall-pick-in-mlb-draft/600190323/