Heiny

Yesterday was a rough day for me. I have been fighting cancer for 5 years and this spring it had metastasized. I continue to fight every day. Up at 4:30 to do my stretch, strength and balance work followed by a 5 mile run. With that fight I feel pretty good and have a high energy level in spite of all the meds. Baseball helps keep me going. There are still many more games ahead of me and they matter so much more than a championship. That final Twins trade of Varland set off a trigger in me. We had Varland through 2030. While at a large family gathering as the news kept rolling that 2030 hit hard. The odds are against me that I will be around in 2030. Thinking of the Twins led me to thinking of my first grandchild due in January. I can handle missing the next championship but I got pretty choked at the thought of what I will miss with my granddaughter.
Byron, Ryan, Kody, Royce, Matt, Trevor, Brooks, Christian, DeShawn, Joe, Pablo, Bailey, Simeon, David, Zebby, Cole and Justin I appreciate your fight. No one can make it to the major leagues without fighting everyday. You have fought through slumps. You have fought through injury. We will need your fight more than ever now. To the rest putting on that Twins uniform. I appreciate you. You have fought hard for this opportunity. Use this opportunity to make your mark in the major leagues. Fight to get better every day.
Mr. Falvey and Mr. Baldelli I need you to put up a fight. Make every day matter. Make every game matter. I am counting on you. To the Pohlad’s, you have stopped fighting. This is a concept that I can’t grasp. Every day I wake up excited to take on the day and fight for the next. You wake up every day as owners of a Major League Baseball team. How can you not be driven to fight for their success? I don’t get it. I do appreciate what Carl did for this franchise and what your family did for the community but you have stopped fighting. Please step aside and let someone else lead this franchise.
We need a fighter because every day and every game matters. I will be watching.

Any front office member who would rather take a promotion than quit out of principle amid payroll cuts is no true integritus [Aristotle, 348 BCE].
Let me start with an anecdote. In my youth, I was riding a city bus in Omaha, Nebraska. It was night. A man dressed in all blue walked up to me. “I like your shoes,” said he. I looked down and they matched the blue he was wearing. “Thanks,” I said. “I want them,” said he. “No you don’t; they’re too small for you,” I spake. “Take them off,” he ejaculated. I told him “No, if I take off my shoes how am I supposed to walk home?” I stood up. “You’re right,” he said. I got off at my stop (24th and Douglas) and walked home.
I tell you this story because I’m trying to communicate that I’m a man of integrity. They don’t make men like that anymore nowadays. Certainly not on the Twins beat reporters. Look up and down the lineup and you know what you won’t find? Intgrity. That’s why it’s on me, a brave blogger, to ask the hard questions of the Twins. My first question? “Jeremy Zoll should be fired.” I’m prepared to say it to any Twins executive, staffer, Senor Smokes vendor, or intern.
I am not the first to call for Zoll’s job. Zoll also calls for his job, because sometimes he calls players and other executives, so he calls for his job. But I am the first media member to do so, please let the record show
In 2023 immediately after winning the first playoff game since Pat Borders was a catcher versus Toronoto, cheap pohlad approached the mic and said “no Jhoan Duran I have something to say and that thing is this: we are cutting payroll.” Of course the beat reporters had no follow up questions. I would of asked him “Shut your mouth and change your mind,” but my press pass must of gotten lost in the mail.
And so we set the scene. No self-respecting executive (can you say oxymoron) should of kept their jobs after that. Have you ever seen the movie Radio? When all of the Noter Dame football players give the coach their jerseys so Radio can play. That’s what should have happened. Every front officeman, front officewoman, and front officeperson should have turned in there key card and said “ no sir, I will not work as abusiness such as this. I’m pretty sure that’s what Dick Bremer did but the Pollyanna media in this town won’t investigate and/or is covering it up. Also Dick probably wouldn’t tell us himself because he’s always covering for the Twins. Burinyg his feelings like their Jimmy Hoffa and he’s in that Irish Mob from the movie.
If you remember I started this by talking about integrity. Aristotle came up with the idea and it basically means “Integritus: to be fulfilling ones integrit which is in order with its own nature of doing the right thing.” I’ll forgive you if you forgot that because no one has an attention span anymore with the apps that read reddit to you while you watch Mincraft people jump on trampolines
So Jeremy Zoll should have quit right then and there after cheap pohlad’s declaration. What message it sends that he didn’t is he doesn’t care about winning and if ther’s one thing owners like its winning elsewise why would the purchase the team.
So, day 1, the new owner, which I have it on good evidence that ir’s gonna be Mark Cuban or Alex Rodriguez or Mark Truck (this is America we don’t call them Lorries) or Sam Walton or someone else who’s a billionaire I’ve read many good articles explaining the economics of owning a team some on this very webpage, that first day the first order of business should be to load TC Bear into a trebuchet but the next thing they should do is fire Zoll for not having a competitive edge enough.
I mean, come on, imagine this. It’s the 1991 World Series, Game 7, and it’s the 10th inning. Tom Kelly comes out and tells Jack Morris “Now John (Tom Kelly was a serious man who had no time for newaged fiddlestickery like nick names if it was good enough name for God its good enough for TK), he would say “Now John, cheap pohlad is cutting the payroll and you are the highest paid pitcher in the league and I support it because I’m a company man through and through like Jeremy Zoll or Rocco Baldelli.” Imagine if he said that. Blackjack would take his head off. Thankfully TK has never done a bad baseball thing ever so we don’t have to have it to come to this, but imagine if he would. Probably wouldn’t win in 91 or 87. Kirby would have driven the bus right into him because remember he told the team he’s driving the bus and its time to get on board. Never would have flown (John Madden Reference) in those days when men had integrity and drank some questionable coffee.
Honestly, I don’t know a single true man who would ask to be led by man who wouldn’t quit his job out of principle when ownership cuts payroll. General William Tecumseh Sherman once said “That devil Forrest must be hunted down and killed if it costs ten thousand lives and bankrupts the federal treasury” about the other team’s general manager Nathan Bedford Forrest.
Have you ever heard that song by Deep Purple (not the artist formerly known as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince’s colors), where they talk about smoke being on the water? Have you ever listened to the lyrics? Of course you haven’t because all this generation cares about is the little riff they play at the beginning which mind you by the way my grandmother could play if given like 5 minutes. Well listen to the lyrics its about a building on Lake Geneva burning down and a man named Funky Claude rescuing children. Do you think Jeremy Zoll would do that? Probably not, given the fact he didn’t quit on principal 12 months ago.
I’ll leave you with this one antidote. When I was 12 the Twins won the World Series in 1987 and it has permanently altered the chemicals of my brain and I can’t feel happiness again for some odd reason. All 25 of those men and the coaches are all my father figures.
Here’s a riddle for you: “Who has four eyes but cannot see?” Need a hint? She’s married. Okay time’s up it’s Mrs. Sippi. Get it? Before modern sensibilities took over and infiltrated corporate America, use to be the lady in the pancake bottle was named Mrs. Butterworth. Notice how I said “in” and not “on” well that’s because the bottle use to be shaped like Mrs. Butterworth. Corporate heads prevailed though and said “No, it costs too much and even though we won’t send the savings on to the consumers we will be doing away with the createive bottle design.” Consumers lost twice in this case between shrinkflation, not getting the savings anyway, and not having a hot mistress shaped bottle anymore. Can you imagine if TK went out to the mound in Game 7 of the World Series inning 10 and said “Blackjack Morris, I am taking away the Mrs. Butterworth bottle design.” Wouldn’t happen but I’ll just say Kent Hrbek would have a new skeetshooting target in the form of TK’s hat they’d take TK’s hat away from him and Kent would shoot it like a clay pidgeon.
And speaking of Skeets I have seen that the buddy buddy media in this town is on Blue Sky. Well, Mr. Blue Sky Please Tell Us Why the beat reporters and columnists are hiding the information over there. We pay their salaries even though I don’t subscribe to the Strib and if you post something behind a paywall I will threaten you. The media is accountable to us. While they pay the players’ salaries we pay the medias’ salaries. You can’t hide the news at a different site that steal our data.
This is just another classic case of Cancel Culture Run Amok, silencing brave truth tellers like myself who have ammased tens of Twitter Followers. You want to know something interesting about the word amok? It’s a word that’s unable to stand on its own, called a fossil word. Have you ever used it without saying “run”? it no longer means anything on its own. Well technically it means “in an uncontrolled manner” but I degress. Other such words are “champing” at the bit, days of “yore” and “bandy” about. They’re stuck in idioms and are unusable elsewhere. The whole “shebang”
Speaking of unusable and shebang’s there was a whole shebang about Byron Buxton finally making it to 100 games and I think that’s what all this trouble comes back to. Talk about a segway. He might as well drive a segway because his knee is bad and theres a loose flap in there that the doctors didn’t remove and still no one in the media will ask any questions of Dr. Camp as to why no one removed it. But If the Twins didn’t have Byron Buxton none of this would happen. The team cannot advance without cutting him and giving a young prospect like DeShawn Kiersey some time to shine.
 

Very soon, you will be able to update your Top 20 Minnesota Twins prospect rankings again (so watch for that!). In thinking about it over the past week or two, I actually ended up ranking my top 203 Twins prospects. Again, I include only players who remain a "prospect." It's the same criteria used the MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and any other credible prospect ranking site. 
This won't be a real deep dive into these prospects. In fact, I will attempt to keep the Top 10 prospect summaries to 3-4 sentences. The goal will be to keep the reports on prospects 11-20 to 2-3 sentences. For prospects 21-30, I'll limit myself to just 1-2 sentences. My hope is that you will use this as the starting ground and ask me a ton of questions. Ask questions on these 30 players, or ask about other players that don't appear on the list. (My hope is that I didn't miss anyone, but that is possible too.) Update - I didn't keep anywhere near my goals of keeping it short!
What do I consider in my rankings? In my opinion, the biggest factor is upside and ceiling. Just how good can this player be? But also, what is the players' floor? How likely is that player to get to the big leagues. Have they been hurt? For pitchers, I consider their velocity, stuff, reports on spin, etc. For position players, I consider athleticism, speed, defense, arm, ability to hit and the potential to turn doubles into home runs down the line. What level is the player at? How old is the player relative to level of competition? Was the player drafted out of high school or college (because that will effect age-to-level)? What types of decisions are being made regarding the player in terms of promotions, timing, place in batting order, how the teams take care of the players, etc.? And then ultimately it comes down to comparing a player versus another player and which I would have higher. 
Let's get started! When you get to the end, let's discuss the rankings, the players, who was snubbed, who's too high or too low? 
#1: Walker Jenkins - 19 - OF
It was just over a year ago that the Twins used the #5 overall pick in the 2023 draft. When he has been on the field, he has hit very well. Hurt in the Mussels first game of the season, he is hitting .265/.402/.398 (.800) with five doubles, a triple, and two homers in 27 games. Most impressive has been his patience. He has 23 walks to just 15 strikeouts. The sky is the limit. Jenkins has all five tools. 
#2: Brooks Lee - 23 - IF 
After impressing throughout spring training, Lee missed the first two months of the season with a back injury. He was brought back slowly with five rehab games in the FCL and five more in Fort Myers. He played 20 games for St. Paul and hit .329/.394/.635 (1.029) with five doubles and seven homers. He got off to a fast start, with eight hits in his first four big-league games. Since then, he has three hits over his past six games. A solid contact hitter, line drives from gap-to-gap, with potential for more power, Lee can also play solid defense across three infield positions. 
#3: Emmanuel Rodriguez - 21 - OF
In the offseason, E-Rod was added to the Twins 40-man roster. In 37 games at Double-A, he has hit .298/.479/.621 (1.100) with 12 doubles, two triples, and eight home runs. He has 42 walks in 166 plate appearances. His on-base skills are incredible for his age. His power is legit. He has great speed and does a very nice job in center field. You may have noticed... Twins prospects get hurt, and Rodriguez has not been able to avoid that. He has missed time two or three times due to a hand/wrist injury that keeps coming back. When he can play, he's as talented as anyone. 
#4: Luke Keaschall - 21 - 2B 
One of the biggest risers among Twins prospects this season, Keaschall represented the Twins in the Futures Game recently. He began the season with 44 games in Cedar Rapids where he hit .335/.457/.644 (1.001). In 42 games at Wichita since, he is hitting .315/.415/.457 (.872). Combined, he has 21 doubles, a triple, and 11 home runs. He has 53 walks already. he is also 20-for-25 in stolen base attempts. After seeing him hit early in the season, I compared his approach, set up and swing to that of Mike Trout. He's big, strong, and he's got a ton of potential. 
#5: Andrew Morris - 22 - RHP  
The next guy on the list is getting all the headlines, but Morris is putting up very similar numbers. Sure, a few more walks, but some impressive overall numbers. He was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2022 from Texas Tech. He began the 2024 season in Cedar Rapids. In seven starts, he went 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA. He moved up to Wichita. He has pitched nine times and has gone 5-2 with a 1.19 ERA. In 83 combined innings, he has 87 strikeouts and just 16 walks. He's got the numbers, but he also has the stuff. He's got a mid-90s fastball. He also has a really good slider and a slower, 12-6 curveball. 
#6: Zebby Matthews - 24 - RHP
Matthews was the Twins eighth round pick in 2022 from Western Carolina. Like Morris, Matthews started in Cedar Rapids. After four starts, he was 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA. He moved up to Wichita and has pitched in 10 Double-A games. He has gone 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA. In a combined 78 innings, he had 91 strikeouts and just six walks. Morris fills the strike zone. Matthews just picks the spot within the zone and throws it there. And it's worked because he now has the stuff to get whiffs in the strike zone. His mid-90s fastball also touches 98 mph now. He's also really, really worked to improve his secondary pitches. He has four strong pitches. 
#7: Austin Martin - 25 - UT 
After struggling in his transition to professional baseball and fighting some injuries the last couple of seasons, Martin has shown exactly what type of player he can be in the big leagues. He may not hit a huge number of home runs, but he hits a lot of line drives from foul line to foul line. He can run well, and run the bases well. And, defensively, he is at least adequate at second base, left, and center field. He will soon lose prospect eligibility, but the on-base machine has shown that he can be a productive big leaguer. 
#8: Charlee Soto - 18 - RHP 
A year ago, the Twins made him the 34th overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Reborn Christian Academy in Florida. He made his pro debut in 2024. A look at his overall numbers is fair, but not necessarily indicative of what he's done. In 15 starts, he is 0-3 with a 5.73 ERA. In 48 2/3 innings, he has struck out 60 and walked 22 batters. Soto is all about projection. First, he is huge; tall and very strong. He throws hard, touching 98 and 99 at times. He's also working on his secondary pitches, but each of them have shown some potential. Despite the lack of numbers, he's worked and improved and his most recent start was the best of the season.  
#9: Kaelen Culpepper - 21 - SS/3B
The Twins selected "KC" with the 21st overall pick this month in the 2024 MLB draft. The Memphis native was not recruited heavily out of high school, but he went to Kansas State and got the opportunity to play right away. In 2023, he hit .325/.423/.576 (.999) with eight doubles and 10 homers. He had the opportunity to play for Team USA last summer, playing for Larry Lee. This season, he played 61 games and hit .328/.419/.574 (.993) with 15 doubles, six triples, and 11 home runs. Culpepper is a contact, line-drive hitter who puts the ball in play and makes things happen. He played third base his first two years before moving to shortstop this season. I personally think that Culpepper is a great example of a prospect with a high floor but also has the tools to become a high-ceiling performer too. 
#10: Yasser Mercedes - 19 - OF 
A top international signing in 2022, he put up a great stat line in the DSL that summer. Last year, he moved up to the FCL, but a shoulder injury cost him performance before finally being shut down. Now healthy again, Mercedes is back. In 49 games, he has hit .337/.426/.577 (1.003) with 17 doubles, two triples, and six homers. He also has 18 stolen bases already. Mercedes can hit for average and doubles, but he'll get bigger and stronger and could add significant power. He's got really good speed, and he has the ability to play strong defense in center field. 
#11: David Festa - 24 - RHP 
A bit of a drop for Festa since the most recent prospect rankings, but honestly, for me at least, it's a lot more about the players that made big jumps in the season's first half. Sure, he had a couple of rough starts in the big leagues. He went 1-1 with an ERA over 10. I don't care about that at all. He gave up too many homers, but what did I see? I saw a fastball between 95 and 99. I saw a slider that was sharp and got some swing-and-misses. He also had some really good changeups. He's got three potentially big-league pitches. He just needs to get to St. Paul and keep working on the consistency and command of each of his pitches in and outside the zone. The stuff is definitely good enough. 
#12: Gabriel Gonzalez - 20 - OF
Did we place Gonzalez too high before the season started? Maybe. But what did we know? All we saw were his numbers, stats, and other information available online. Now he has been in the organization for a little over half of a season. Unfortunately, He missed nearly two months with a back injury which cost him valuable development time. Should he have been a Top 100 prospect as some in the industry had him? Maybe. He struggled a bit early in the season with his new organization and then got hurt. Overall, he is hitting .267/.303/.437 (.740) with 10 doubles, two triples and three home runs. So yes, he drops for now, but he is very young for the level. He is incredibly strong with a quick bat. He likes to swing. He's got things to work on, as does everyone on this list, but he's got a ton of talent and power potential.
#13: Marco Raya 21 - RHP 
It's just really hard right now to rank Raya. His "stuff" is as good as anyone's in the system, and I don't have a big problem with how he's been used. The other day when he threw 78 pitches in a game and it was the most he's thrown since 2022, it definitely gives pause. He has fought injury early in his career. He is not a big guy. He needs to continue gaining strength. I have no problem if his "future big league" roll is seen more as a 3-4 inning reliever where he just throws his big fastball and sharp breaking pitches and changeup at max effort. That can be an immensely valuable pitcher. But how do we rank that type of pitcher? Not as high as a full-time starter, but ahead of relievers. The stuff is good. The numbers haven't matched this year. 
#14: Rayne Doncon - 20 - IF 
Doncon came to the Twins this offseason with Manuel Margot from the Dodgers in exchange for SS Noah Miller. Doncon was a big international signing in 2021. He hit in the DSL, and then in the ACL. However, in 2023 at Low A, he hit just .215/.283/.368 (.651), and while those numbers aren't great, he hit 21 doubles and 14 homers. He began this season with 38 games and hit .283/.374/.464 (.838). He moved up to Cedar Rapids and in 43 games, he has hit .253/.333/.446 (.779). Combined, he already has 21 doubles and 10 home runs. Doncon is a really great athlete, very strong and quick. He's got a solid approach at the plate and does a decent job defensively around the infield. 
#15: Brandon Winokur - 19 - IF/OF
Winokur was the Twins third-round pick just a year ago out of high school in California. Winokur just might be the most athletic player in the Twins system. He stands 6-6 and is lean. Right now, he's able to play shortstop and third base as well as center field and right field. He's got a ton of power potential on his frame. Right now, he's got really good speed as well. In 56 games this season, he has hit .252/.347/.393 (.740) with 13 doubles and five homers. He has 23 walks, but he's also struck out a lot. He also have 14 stolen bases. 2024 is about getting him games and at-bats and time at each of the defensive positions. He'll have an offseason to work on things, so I believe 2025 will be a bigger year for him. 
#16: Dasan Hill - 18 - LHP 
Hill was the Twins fourth pick in last week's draft, a competitive balance pick following the second round. The lanky lefty had committed to Dallas Baptist. At 6-4 and 175 has plenty of room to add some weight and mature. He's already throwing 95 mph at times. He also has the makings of really good slider in the low-80s and high-70s slower curveball. He also has a changeup. He's all about upside. 
#17: Kala’i Rosario  - 22 - OF
Rosario was the Twins' fifth and final pick from the 2020 draft. The Hawaiian-born slugger was the High-A Midwest League's home run and RBI champ and the league's MVP. He went to the Arizona Fall League and tied for the league lead in home runs. Rosario only recently turned 22, so he is very young for the Double-A level. In 52 games, he hit .241/.342/.417 (.759) with 15 doubles and six homers. Unfortunately, his season came to an end due to injury. 
#18: Cory Lewis - 23 - RHP
Lewis was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2022 out of UC-Santa Barbara. He made his professional debut in 2023. He made nine starts in Fort Myers and 13 starts in Cedar Rapids. He went a combined 9-4 with a 2.49 ERA. In 101 1/3 innings, he had 118 strikeouts and 33 walks. He was named the Twins minor-league pitcher of the year and the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Unfortunately, he missed the first two months of this season with injury. He is now back and with the Wichita Wind Surge where he has made five starts. 
#19: Ricardo Olivar - 22 - C 
The Twins signed Olivar in July of 2019 which meant that his professional career really didn't get underway until the 2021 season. He had a breakout season in the FCL in 2022. In 40 games, he hit .349 (1.046) with 12 doubles, three triples and five homers. He validated that season by hitting .285 (.855) with 28 doubles and 10 homers in Fort Myers. He has played in 75 games for Cedar Rapids .He is hitting .294/.403/.489 (.892) with 15 doubles, three triples, and 11 home runs. He's a good athlete for a catcher and can play some left field. He's got a strong arm. He takes very good plate appearances and is willing to walk. He also has the talent to be a solid all-around hitter. 
#20: Danny De Andrade - 20 - SS 
De Andrade was a top international signing for the Twins in January of 2021 from Venezuela. He has generally held his own offensively while playing very strong defense at shortstop. In 2023 in Fort Myers, he hit .244/.354/.396 (.750) with 21 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs. He was also 20-for-24 in stolen base attempts. In 29 games with Cedar Rapids this year, he hit .243/.333/.359 (.693) with six doubles, two homers and five steals. Unfortunately, his season came to an end after a high-ankle injury. 
#21: Kyle DeBarge - 21 - SS 
Barely recruited out of high school, the Louisiana native stayed in-state and played for the Ragin' Cajuns at Louisiana-Lafayette. He played in 60 games that first season and hit .293 (.750), a solid freshman season. In 2023, he hit .371 (.994) with 15 doubles and seven home runs. He spent last summer in the Cape Cod League. This spring, DeBarge was the Sun Belt Conference player of the year after hitting .356/.418/.699 (1.117) with 19 doubles, three triples and 21 homers. At the same time, few question his ability to stay at shortstop defensively. He's just 5-9, but it's fair to call him a "ballplayer." 
#22: Jose Rodriguez - 19 - OF
Rodriguez is a big, strong youngster with a ton of power potential. He's shown it at various times. As a 17-year-old in the DSL in 2022, he hit .290 (.966) with 15 homers, three triples, and 13 home runs. In 2023, he came to the FCL and really had to adjust but by season's end, he had. He hit .262 (.737) with 10 doubles and six homers. This year, he played 33 games with the Mussels and hit just .186 (.569) and struck out about 33.3% of the time. But few in the organization have as much power potential as Rodriguez. Unfortunately, his season came to an early end as well which is costing him valuable development opportunities. 
#23: Jair Camargo - 25 - C 
Camargo signed with the Dodgers out of Colombia in January of 2015. In February of 2020, he was traded with Kenta Maeda to the Twins. It's been a slow progression through the Twins system ever since. Last year in St. Paul, he hit .259/.323/.503 (.826) with 16 doubles and 21 homers. This year, he's been injured a couple of times and was called up for a little while. The burly backstop is a good athlete, and he's quite strong. He has improved his plate discipline and contact rate the past couple of years. 
#24: Yunior Severino - 24 - IF 
It's been an interesting career for Severino, going back to signing with the Braves, being deemed a free agent, and signing with the Twins to a second seven-digit signing bonus. He could always hit, and he's made himself playable at the corners. In 2023, he played 84 games for Wichita and 36 games at St. Paul. Combined, he hit .272/.352/.546 (.898) with 17 doubles and a minor-league-leading 35 home runs. His 2024 started out very slowly. That makes his .253/.362/.451 (.813) stat line look better. He's got nine doubles and 16 home runs. Tons of swing and miss, but a lot of pop in his bat too. 
#25: Dameury Pena - 18 - 2B 
A right-handed Luis Arraez? Probably not fair, but Pena is a really good hitter as a very young player. Signed in January 2023, he hit .382/.453/.496 (.949) with eight doubles and three triples. This year, as an 18-year-old in the FCL, he has hit .294/.400/.431 (.831) with four doubles, a triple, and three home runs in 33 games. Over the two years, he has 32 walks to go with just 18 strikeouts. Hard contact, uses the whole field, lots of singles and doubles. Pena is a very intriguing prospect. 
#26: Rubel Cespedes - 23 - 3B/1B 
Cespedes has been in the organization for a long time, but I would bet most people really didn't know his name before this season. He signed with the Twins out of the Dominican Republic back in April of 2019. He made his pro debut in the DSL that summer. In 2021, he hit just .158 in the FCL. However, in 2022, he was doing well in Extended Spring and got an opportunity with Fort Myers. He stuck, hitting over 74 games. He remained with the Mussels in 2023. In 115 games, he hit .233/.313/.398 (.711) with 26 doubles and 13 homers. He played some winter ball this offseason which he said really helped him prepare for this year. In 71 games with the Kernels, he is hitting .289/.361/.459 (.820) with 12 doubles and 10 home runs. Cespedes has really cut his K-Rate. He's got a fairly smooth but strong left-handed swing that can generate a lot of power around the field. Defensively, he's solid at both corner infield spots and possesses a tremendously strong arm. 
#27: C.J. Culpepper - 22 - RHP
Culpepper was the Twins 13th round pick in 2022 out of Cal-Baptist. He split 2023 between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids. In 21 starts, he went 6-5 with a 3.56 ERA. He had 89 strikeouts per inning. This offseason, he found himself featured in national publication's Top 10 Twins prospect rankings? He isn't a flame-thrower, though he sits 92-94. What makes him so intriguing is that he has six pitches, and he's been encouraged to continue working with all of them. This season, he's been limited to just seven starts. He's been fine, posting a 3.26 ERA and more than a strikeout per inning. However, he has been on the IL when forearm/elbow issues. 
#28: Billy Amick - 21 - 3B 
A South Carolina native, Amick stayed in-state out of high school and went to Clemson. His first season, he had just 19 plate appearances over nine games (and had 11 strikeouts). However, as a sophomore, he played in 46 games and hit .413/.464/.773 (1.236) with 17 doubles and 13 home runs. After spending time in The Cape, he took advantage of the transfer portal and went to Tennessee and the SEC. In 65 games, he hit .306/.387/.639 (1.026) with 14 doubles and 23 home runs. He helped lead the Volunteers to the College World Series championship. The Twins used their second-round pick on the slugger, and he could move swiftly once he gets acclimated. 
#29: Spencer Bengard - 22 - RHP
This is the Cal-Baptist section of my prospect rankings. Bengard was the Twins 15th round pick in 2023 from the same school as CJ Culpepper. (No, I couldn't quite fit FCL right-hander and 2023 Undrafted Free Agent signing into this range.) Bengard, to some degree has become this year's Day 3 Find. He began the season working out of the Fort Myers bullpen. He's made six starts and six relief appearances, but even coming out of the bullpen he works 3-5 innings at a time. He is 6-2 with a 1.79 ERA. In 55 1/3 innings, he has 57 strikeouts to just 10 walks. Bengard throws a low-90s fastball (90-91, touch 94), a low-to-mid-80s changeup, a mid-80s slider, and some upper-70s curveballs. 
#30: Eduardo Beltre - 17 - IF 
At the 30th spot, it's always fun to consider the youngest players in the organization. In January, the Twins signed Beltre out of the Dominican Republic with a bonus just shy of $1.5 million. Only Daiber De Los Santos received a larger bonus this year ($1.9M). His DSL season got going a little bit late due to a wrist injury, but once he got in the lineup, he's been unreal. In 22 games, he is hitting .339/.500/.554 (1.054) with two doubles and four homers. He's also got 18 walks to go with just 14 strikeouts, something I sure like to see. He's got huge power potential, but he is also a very good athlete. He likely has the speed to stay in center, but he's been getting a lot of time in right field too. 
The Next 20 (in alphabetical order)
Adrian Bohorquez - RHP 
Darren Bowen - RHP
Matt Canterino - RHP 
Noah Cardenas - C 
Byron Chourio - OF 
Miguel Cordero - RHP 
Khadim Diaw - C
Daiber De Los Santos - SS 
Jaime Ferrer - OF
Tanner Hall - RHP 
Ronny Henriquez - RH RP 
Kyle Jones - RHP 
DaShawn Keirsey - OF
Cesar Lares - LHP 
Jeferson Morales - OF 
Jaylen Nowlin - LHP 
Pierson Ohl - RHP 
Connor Prielipp - LHP 
Tanner Schobel - IF
Patrick Winkel - C
 

The Athletic just published an article about "FIve Trades I'd Like To See" before the MLB trade deadline. One of them involved the Twins trading for Pete Alonso:
Twins get: Pete Alonso
Mets get: Alex Kirilloff, David Festa, Luke Keaschall
I for one would be very irritated if the Twins made this trade. Let's start with what we get. Pete Alonso is a great hitter and would be a great fit in the middle of our lineup for the next two or three months. After that, he is going to a high revenue team for 2025 and beyond, most likely returning to the Mets. He likes it there, he likes New York, and it's only a matter of whether they will pony up the money. If the Mets won't pony up the money, another East Coast team will. I have to think the Yankees are looking for a first basemen for next season given Anthony Rizzo's struggles. Alonso is the very definition of a short term one season rental. And that's before we think about whether ownership would be willing to part with the about $8 million he still owed for the rest of the 2024 season.
Now let's think about what we would give up. I am down on Kirilloff as are many others, but he still has high end upside. I wouldn't mind using him as part of a trade given his redundancy with Larnach and Wallner (I think Miranda has won the first base job starting next season unless he falls off the table), but not when you have to give up two quality pieces to go with him. Festa is probably our best starting pitching prospect and certainly the one closest to the Majors. Keaschall is only 21 and looks to have some real upside in the middle infield. That's important when we remember that Correa is only going to be the starting SS for another 3-4 years, when he will age out. Lewis' knee injuries probably leave him at 3B for the foreseeable future. Lee or Keaschall may be the Shortstop starting in 2026 or 2027. Way too big a package for two or three months of Pete Alonso, way too much. I might give up one of the three as long as it wasn't Festa plus a less heralded prospect or two like Schobel or Rosario, but not the three listed. 
My conclusion is this is classic clickbait from a New York homer wanting to improve his team. What say each of you?

The Twins and Dodgers have done a few trades over the past few years, including most recently the trade for Margot.  Of course the one that comes to mind that really benefitted both clubs was the Kenta Maeda trade that brought Graterol to the Dodgers.
Could/should the Twins Dodgers look to make another potential win/win trade?
Take away both teams potential needs for starting pitching.  Dodgers due to injuries, and Twins due to an unproven rotation, and there seems to be a perfect matchup here for a trade.
The Twins thought they "solved" their RH OF issue by trading for Margot, but really that was a dud from the get go. Margot was not significantly better than anyone on the Twins roster or in the Twins system.
There is another player would completely fit, and we will get to that name shortly, but first the Dodgers "need".
the Dodgers love Gavin Lux's bat, so much so that they have moved him to 2B and have moved Mookie Betts once again. This time to SS.  Now Betts very well may make the transition to SS without any issues and not risk injury or any negative impact to his offense, but do you REALLY want to risk that?? For a unproven bat, even with his potential? Plus the kid is already 26.
I would suggest that the Dodgers may be open to acquiring a SS upgrade, even if it means jettisoning Lux.   HMMMM, what team that we all know and love seems to have a middle infield glut?
I COULD say the Twins should involve Correa in a trade if the Twins truly are concerned about their finances, but who wants to have such a major shakeup of a potential contending roster this close to the start of the season? Not to mention I actually like Correa on this team.
Correa then is set at SS.
Lewis is not going anywhere, an he is set at 3B.
Julien is presumably set at 2B (or even a slide to 1B for future infield set up), and he is purely a 2B, Dodgers would  need a SS in this scenario.
That leaves Brooks Lee as a potential option to be moved. Yes, I love Lee as much as the next person, and I think he COULD be a long time Twins great. And there are options fo rhim to get AB's this year, as well as starting next year if we do move Julien to 1B, but there is a bat I love in the Dodgers system, one that fits our needs.
I say we reach out to the Dodgers, offer the Dodgers Brooks Lee in exchange for Adny Pages (plus another player such as Maddux Burns who has a high upside arm).
Pages is near MLB ready, if not MLB ready right now, the only reason he has not made debut yet, was a shoulder injury he suffered last year. which he has shown he is recovered from. The kid has massive power, the most power in the Dodgers system, he has a cannon of an arm equal to, if not better than Wallner, decent to above average speed. Most of all, he is a right handed hitting outfielder.  HE checks every box the Twins need to compliment the lineup, PLUS he is young and can be a core piece in the future, and is ready right now.
Pages would be the PERFECT platoon with Wallner in 2024, and then transition next year to an OF of Pages, Buxton, Wallner. (Walker Jenkins, Rodriguez and Gonzalez are all AT LEAST 1 year away). Both have huge power, and hit opposite pitching well. both have huge arms.
and if we get a pitcher liek Maddux Bruns as well (Dodgers #16 overall) with a big armed lefty with tons of potential (albeit control issues).
 
A trade with Dodgers centered around Lee and Pages coudl be another one of those (although tougher to swallow) win/win trades.
 
 
 
 
 

Now that spring training is quickly coming upon us. I'd like to ask the question, will the Twins get their promised postseason SP? There hasn't been any inkling that they were focusing on anyone. Jesus Luzardo was my favorite but looks like that's he's out of the question, if ever FO was willing to make the necessary sacrifice. The rentals Glasnow & Burns are gone if FO was ever willing to pay the price (I wouldn't either). Do we have a shot at Cease (CWS)? Interdivisional trade will up the already high ante for us, I doubt it. So we're shot, right?  
I'd like to throw out a last year's suggestion. Everyone needs a 2nd chance, Trevor Bauer. He was cleared of any wrongdoing, He has made peace with Rob Manfred, he has been humbled & has matured. Now IMO isn't a great clubhouse person, but IMO he's not a clubhouse wrecker. & he has shown a willingness to work with young pitchers & he's motivated.
The best part of this is his price tag. He's asking minimal salary with incentives. Something that we can afford. IMO MN is a great place for him to start a comeback. Or would you rather wing it with what we have?

The last weekend of January can be brutal for Twins fans and Minnesotans alike. Brutally cold weather, losing sports teams, general malaise and seasonal depression just to name a few. But it also means Twinsfest Live, Diamond Awards and the granddaddy of them all: Twinsfest. 
Reduced down to just a single day for autographs, Twins fans nevertheless came out in droves after a successful 2023 season that saw the end of The Streak (no, not a repeat of Brock beating Taker, and that still wasn't the right choice imo, but I digress). Yes, the Twins have now officially won a playoff GAME (two in fact) the last 2 decades. 
Twins fans came out in droves, in fact it was announced Friday night that Twinsfest Saturday was sold out! 
I attended Twinsfest Autograph Saturday and here are some of my personal takeaways, as always, feel free to comment below!
1. Twins fans are just as excited as ever: Winning playoff games will do that to a fanbase. But it wasn't just that, it was the team they put on the field. I spoke to many people who were just as excited to meet Pablo Lopez and Joe Ryan as they were Rod Carew or Kent Hrbek. Winning is contagious and this fan base has been waiting so long for post season success. The fans showed up on Saturday, now its up to the team to show up again in October. 
2. Royce Lewis is by far the MOST popular player on the roster. His line for Autographs was insanely long. He started signing at 3:15 and fans were lined up at 11:30 to get his autograph. He was a busy man and never took the smile off his face. Every fan I talked to said he was the player they were most looking forward to saying hi to or seeing play next year. When I yell you he's as exciting as Kirby was in his heyday, it's true. Now, with some success (and Twins history) under his belt, it's time for him to take the reigns and become the undisputed fave of the franchise. 
3. Byron Buxton is healthy and ready, that should excite fans. Buxton is the most divisive Twins player since Joe Mauer(not including Miguel Sano). Fans either love him or hate him, there's no in between. He's either an All Star caliber player that makes tough plays look easy, or he's an often injured soft bum whose collecting a paycheck. Wherever you lie on that scope, know this: Byron is ready. He hasn't been this ready for a while. I asked him on Saturday while going through his autograph line when we might see him back in the field and how he's feeling, and he said "I feel great, hopefully in the field on Opening day". That is music to this fans ears. Buxton makes the lineup better. You can't teach his speed and given the Twins haven't (and likely wont) re sign Michael A Taylor, who was his backup last year, a healthy Buxton is required for a deep playoff run. 
4. Players are excited about this year's team. Almost to a man, every player I spoke to briefly and asked how they were feeling about the 2024 season said something similar: "Excited" "Can't wait" "Build on last year". This team has, in my opinion, a perfect mix of veterans (Buxton, Correa, and Pablo Lopez) combined with younger players still looking for sustainable success/consistency or looking to take a step forward and build from 2023 (Ober, Wallner, Julien, Lewis). This is a mix the Twins haven't had in years, it showed last October and hopefully will again this year.
5. Joe Mauer is still a beloved figure, and a first ballot Hall of Famer. That's right, whether it's old school Twins fans who dont understand concussions and what exactly "bi lateral leg weakness" is, young fans to whom he's just a name in team history, to fans in their 30s and 40s like myself who saw his entire career, Mauer is as popular as ever. You can debate the first ballot thing, but you can't say that he isn't popular. He was signing at 9:15 on Saturday morning and my wife was in line at 9:02 (just after the doors opened) and she said there was already 150 people in his line. Hometown player, entire career with the Twins, Twins Hall of Fame and now the MLB HOF, he is without a doubt, the most popular Twins player, since Kirby Puckett. He helped the Twins stay relevant and was often the face of the franchise as a Catcher. I've always been a fan and always will be. Congrats on your incredibly well deserved induction, Joe! 
(Side note: I talked to people who said the Mauer line stretched out the room, down the hall and around the corner, roughly 400+ people)
Final Takeaways: Twins fans and players alike are excited for 2024. The players I spoke to (albeit briefly) all mentioned how much fun last year was and how they want more of that success in October, and the players feel like the team is built for it. In my opinion, it's going to come down to two big keys (health, as always; and growth). If they stay healthy and Lewis, Julien and Wallner continue to improve, they will make a deep October run, and then maybe next year, Twinsfest will go back to Two days for autographs. 

I didn't wanna see him go in 2018.
While I sat at home watching the Twins play on a perfect Minnesota night in September, Mauer came to the plate in the bottom of the 5th inning against the nemesis New York Yankees, and the ingredients were in place for this at-bat to be something special. The Twins were up 6-1 and the bases were loaded, and everyone watching knew Joe Mauer had exactly one thing on his mind: taking the first pitch, which he did, for a ball.
Because that was Joe's process. A quiet, understated patience that drove pitchers to frustration and subtly nudged umpires to up their game. Without saying a word, he communicated to his opponent that he was going to force him to deliver a pitch he could hit.
This was also evident in the broadcast booth, as Mauer's old teammate, Justin Morneau, commented on what we were about to see with just a tinge of excitement in his voice.
"I'll be surprised if Joe swings early, and I'll be surprised if he swings at anything out of the zone."
Joe took another pitch, a 96 mph fastball which caught the corner for a strike. Joe barely reacted while he kicked the dirt and began setting up for the next pitch. It was then that Morneau said something which made me catch my breath.
Upon Dick Bremer remarking that Mauer's average with RISP was still 5th in the league despite having dipped a bit, Morneau offered more than just platitudes: he offered an opinion.
"And that's the part that tells me he still has something left in the tank - he still should continue to play baseball when he can come through in those situations."
With Mauer's future uncertain and his contract coming to a close, this felt like a papal decree. For Justin Morneau, one of Mauer's closest friends, to make a statement like that during a broadcast?! Surely he would know what Mauer was planning for the future and wouldn't comment otherwise, right? 
Mauer took his third consecutive pitch for another strike on the outside edge, making it 1-2.
"Come on, Joe! Swing at 'em!" someone shouted from the stands.
Joe stepped out of the box and calmly looked around, resetting his focus and taking a big breath before watching the 4th pitch hit the dirt, and the 5th pitch follow right behind for a full count.
5 pitches, and the crowd was beginning to buzz without Joe ever taking the bat off his shoulder. 
"This is what Joe Mauer does, he makes you throw him something that he wants to hit."
And so it was, on this crisp autumn night, as Yankees pitcher Tommy Kahnle grooved a fastball directly down the center of the strike zone. and Joe Mauer let loose all the energy that he'd been holding in reserve up until that point.
Dick Bremer was immediately on the mic. "A high blast to center field! Going back is Hicks!"
"Go ahead, ball!" implored Roy Smalley.
"That ball is GONE, a grand slam!"
The only swing that Joe Mauer made was a no-doubter, and Target Field let their appreciation for their hometown kid be known. Sitting in my office with my dog asleep on my lap, it was all I could do to raise my arms in silent appreciation. He's still got it. He's still my guy.
"Like I said, there's plenty left in the tank right there. That's fun to watch," Morneau repeated. From his mouth to the front office's ears, I thought.
I didn't wanna see him go.
But baseball isn't a scripted narrative, and life doesn't revolve around sports, despite how much we believe it to be true. Mauer would take his final curtain call at catcher a few weeks later, while I tried to convince myself that this was simply him hedging his bets - this was just in case things didn't work out when he'd come back to the team to talk about a short extension. The lies we knowingly tell ourselves when the truth would be too painful.
Joe Mauer's legacy is one that is almost amusing in its stubborn adherence to form: an understated stature that loomed large when it needed to, never flashy, and knowing what was needed at the right time. In 2018, Mauer knew that it was time to be a dad, looking back on his career and deeming it a fine enough journey to be proud of. 
Later today, Joe Mauer will get the delicious icing of finding out that the baseball world wholeheartedly agrees with that assessment with his election to the Hall of Fame. A perfect ending to the career of an unassuming kid who, throughout it all, let his patience do the talking.
Here's to you, Joe.

Rocco Baldelli has been a polarizing figure in Twins Territory since his 2019 managerial debut. His new-school, analytics-forward approach led the Twins to back-to-back AL Central crowns in Baldelli’s first two seasons at the helm. Since then, the Twins have disappointed with consecutive sub-.500 seasons, including a last place finish in the 2021 AL Central.
Entering his fifth season as manager, Baldelli needs to demonstrate that he is a source of success, not an obstacle that Twins players need to overcome.
Why is the jury still out on Rocco? Let’s argue both sides of his case.
 
(Rah-Rah Rocco) Supporters might say…
Baldelli debuted in 2019 by taking over a team that went 78-84 a year earlier and immediately winning 101 games, overseeing the franchise’s first 100-win season since 1965. This feat won him AL Manager of the Year. For his second act, Rocco skillfully handled the extreme roster flux of the Covid-shortened 2020 season to repeat as AL Central champs.
Modern baseball favors data-savvy franchises, and Baldelli is the quintessential modern manager. He began his coaching career with the Tampa Bay Rays, getting an inside look at the small-market franchise best at using analytics to squeeze extra wins out of every dollar they spend. The Twins’ payroll will always be middling; they need a manager who knows how to leverage the troves of data at their disposal. Baldelli embraces data and uses analytics to optimize his players’ probabilities of success, even if that sometimes means pulling his starting pitcher after four or five effective innings.
Next point: Twins players like playing for Rocco. He’s a relatable 41-year-old former player who keeps things light in the clubhouse. Manager-player chemistry isn’t insignificant. Last year’s White Sox showed how a rift between manager and players can create an on-field disaster. Byron Buxton has blossomed under Rocco, who lets Buck swing freely and tap into his extraordinary athleticism. Meanwhile, after one year under Baldelli, Carlos Correa re-signed with the club knowing Baldelli would be leading the team going forward.
During his two losing seasons, Baldelli was tormented by injuries. In 2021, Twins players missed more games due to injury than any other team in the AL Central (see the data here). And last season, the Twins were the most injury-plagued team in MLB, missing out on 10.06 wins due to injury, according to this analysis. Rocco was forced to regularly trot out lineups featuring the likes of Rob Refsnyder, Jake Cave, Gilberto Celestino, and other backups while his team sputtered. It’s not the manager’s fault when they don’t have any good buttons to press.
 

Rocco Baldelli ranks 10th in managerial wins in Twins/Senators franchise history. If he wins 91 games this season, Baldelli would vault himself up to 6th place all time.
(Boo Baldelli) Haters might say…
Ah yes, 2019, the glorious year of the hyperbouncy baseball and the Bomba Squad. If you hired a squirrel to be an MLB manager and its team set an MLB record by hitting 307 homeruns in 162 games, the squirrel would probably have a division championship on its managerial resume. Baldelli deserves little credit for the Twins’ 2019 AL Central crown. Sure, Rocco followed up 2019 with another division title in 2020, but are we certain that a 60-game MLB season packed with Covid-list absences means anything in the big picture? And Baldelli is 0-5 in the playoffs, after all!
In the post-2020 world, Baldelli’s teams have consistently underperformed. Twins ownership is spending more money than ever before, only to be rewarded with two losing seasons.
Baldelli’s offenses never bunt or steal to stimulate run-scoring, despite mediocre offensive numbers. The Twins ranked 14th and 17th in runs scored in 2021 and 2022, respectively. And Baldelli’s knack for prematurely pulling starting pitchers hasn’t paid off either, with his pitching staffs finishing 26th and 19th in ERA during those two seasons. His overreliance on underperforming veteran relievers has cost the team wins. It’s impossible to forget Alex Colomé blowing save after save to start the 2021 season. More recently, Emilio Pagán has filled the role of overused bullpen punching bag.
Baldelli’s in-game pitching management clearly rubs some players the wrong way. Earlier this week Sonny Gray effectively called out Baldelli, saying this year’s starting staff won’t take kindly to being yanked early.
An MLB manager should subtly complement their roster like a fine wine accents a good meal. Instead, Baldelli is a pungent sauce that smothers everything on its plate.
 
It’s time for a verdict.
Personally, I’m conflicted about Baldelli. I support using analytics to supplement decision making and I value his management style. He’s data-savvy with good vibes, but his in-game tactics seem to consistently backfire.
Barring a World Series title, Baldelli will continue to have his detractors; however, a successful 2023 season would do a lot to lend him legitimacy as Twins manager. If the Twins instead miss the playoffs for a third straight season, Baldelli’s tenure in Minnesota will probably come to an end.
Bottom line, Baldelli is out of excuses. The Twins have two bona fide stars in Buxton and Correa. The front office built a pitching rotation that is at least six deep, and the Twins’ bench is full of starting-caliber position players. Heading into the 2023 season, Baldelli’s control panel has more buttons, levers, and switches than ever before. If he is indeed the man for the job, Baldelli needs to prove that he can press the buttons, pull the levers, and flip the switches that spur his team to a postseason berth (and a freaking playoff win!!).
It’s go time, Rocco.

Much of this off-season has been frustrating for Twins fans. Once again, the Twins failed to pick up a bona fide ace to front the rotation. They did however pull off a major coup by re-signing Carlos Correa for a contract valued will below what many predicted he would get going into the off-season. They also solidified the depth in the rotation by trading fan-favorite Luis Arraez for Pablo Lopez. As we approach Spring Training, where do the Twins stand? 
Let us take a look at predicting the Twins' record based on WAR. Last year, the Twins totaled 36.1 WAR as a team, resulting in a 78-84 record. There is a strong correlation between team WAR and overall wins. 
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2018/12/26/18155292/correlation-war-wins-pythagorean-expectation-second-order-wins-third-order-wins
A team constructed of all 0 WAR players is said to be around a 50 win team. It could be argued that the Twins under-performed based on their season WAR total last year and probably should have been in the low to mid-80's for wins. A team war total of 45 or better should get the team to a win total in the 90's.  So how do the changes made by the front office equate to 45+ WAR for the 2023 Twins? Below is a projection for individual WAR values for the upcoming season. Each player listed below is followed by a projected number of games and their associated WAR (based on b-WAR). 
Starting IF (12.8 Combined WAR) Vazquez (105, 1.2), Kirilloff (120, 1.5), Polanco (140, 3.0), Correa (140, 5.6) Miranda (130, 1.5). The question marks here are Kirlloff and Miranda. Neither is projected to add huge numbers to the team's total and players such as Kyle Farmer and Joey Gallo can mitigate those two. Both Kirlloff and Miranda have the potential to produce higher WAR values than projected.
Starting OF/DH (12.6 Comined WAR) Gallo (120, 1.8), Buxton (60 CF, 60 DH, 5.0), Kepler (120, 1.8), Taylor (120, 2.5), Larnach (110, 1.5). There are several question marks here, starting with Gallo. The Twins obviously feel Gallo still has some of what he showed in Texas.  Kepler, Gallo and Larnach are all projected to be similar and if one slips, Gordon gives some additional protection. Having Michaeal A. Taylor to play 100 games in CF allows the Twins to keep Buxton healthy and potentially play 120 games in 2023. This could be done by a rotation of something like this every eight games:  CF, DH, Bench, CF, DH, CF, Bench, DH. Obviously projecting 120 G from Buxton is a gamble, but he did put up 4.0 WAR in 92 G in 2022.
Bench (1.9 Combined WAR) Jeffers (55, 0.7), Farmer (100, 0.7), Gordon (60, 0.5). While this may not appear a strength, this may be where this year's Twins may be set up to improve on 2022. They appear to have more depth and players not listed (Wallner, Celestino, Garlick, Lewis, Julien and Lee) potentially able to come up and fill in as needed.
Rotation (12.8 Combined WAR) Gray (3.0), P.Lopez (3.0), Ryan (2.4), Mahle/Maeda/Ober (4.4). Projecting games here was a bit of a challenge. Gray and Lopez's WAR values are in the range of their past two season and Ryan's projects a slight increase from last season (2.2). Mahle, Maeda and Ober all have health concerns, but the hope is that they can hold down the fort between the three of them.  Having Varland, Winder and Woods-Richardson in AAA as players ready step in also mitigates a huge drop in WAR production. There is no "horse" raising this group's WAR, just a bunch of solid contributors.
Bullpen (6.8 Combined WAR)  Duran (2.5), J.Lopez (1.5), Jax (1.0), Thielbar (0.7) Moran (0.7), Alcala (0.4), Pagan (0), Megill (0). The biggest concerns here are Lopez producing closer to what he did in Baltimore as well as Pagan and Megill being used in situations that do not produce negative WAR. This is one area the front office could still help the 2023 Twins. A Michael Fullmer signing makes a ton of sense.
Altogether, this projection gives the Twins 46.9 WAR as a group, enough to push them to 90+ wins for 2023. This should put them solidly into playoff consideration with the new playoff format. While some of the projections may seem optimistic, it could be argued that they are all well within historical performances and allowing for some development from younger players. This squad seems better situated to deal injuries than the past couple of years. The Twins have above average  backups for the three toughest defensive positions (Jeffers, Farmer and Taylor). While there may have been moves that the front office could have made this year to make this team better, it seems as though the floor for this squad is as high as we've seen for a few years. 
 
 

It's prospect season again. Pitchers and catchers will soon report, so our effort at Twinsdaily to cover the minor leagues will fire up once again, and that includes our prospect rankings.
The system looks surprisingly strong. Despite a flurry of trades over the last 18 months or so, the Twins still have a top nucleus of elite talent, and the franchise enjoys solid upper-level pitching depth. They're a little low on gamechangers at the elite positions—centerfield and shortstop—but so is basically every system, and Minnesota could easily cover that deficiency with a healthy season from Emmanuel Rodriguez and continued development from their two DSL stars. Remember: tier matters more than ranking.
Royce Lewis 6’2” / 200 (Prev: 1) Age: 23
Position: SS
Highest level reached: MLB
Nothing has changed my view of Royce Lewis since I last updated my list. He’s a potentially franchise-altering talent with a frustrating lack of baseball in his recent resume. Lewis’ short playing time in 2022 was a revelation, as he checked significant boxes—his ability to play shortstop and his hitting prowess—before the brutal knee injury cut off his time playing baseball. A much quieter batting stance appears to have unlocked his hitting potential. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do when he is healthy again.
Brooks Lee 6’2” / 205 (Prev: 2) Age: 21
Position: SS/3B
Highest level reached: AA
If you think Brooks Lee deserves to be in the one spot, I can’t argue with you; Lee is an incredibly safe bet to hit well, no matter where his defensive home is. Despite being drafted just seven months ago, Lee reached AA, playing in a handful of games for Wichita before calling it a season; he smoked A+ ball with a 140 wRC+. His immense hitting pedigree, combined with his lineage as a coach’s son indeed points towards an ideal makeup package that should serve him well as he transitions to big leaguer. He’ll probably impact the 2023 Twins and will undoubtedly affect the team in 2024.                                                        
-------------------------       
Emmanuel Rodriguez 5’10” / 210 (Prev: 4) Age: 19
Position: OF
Highest level reached: A
Potentially the most dynamic prospect in Minnesota’s system, Emmanuel Rodriguez’s nuclear 2022 fell violently when he tore his ACL in June. Still, Rodriguez walked an absurd 28.6% of the time while slugging .551 in a league that favors pitchers. Granted, it was just a 199 plate appearance sample. Still, I’m excited to see Rodriguez return to action healthy, and he could quickly become the Twins’ best prospect sometime next season.
Noah Miller 6’1” / 190 (Prev: 3)    Age: 20
Position: SS
Highest level reached: A
I am too high on Noah Miller; I will remain too high on Noah Miller until his hitting falls entirely off a cliff. Prospects who are locks to play shortstop do not grow on trees—at least none that I know—and Miller’s bat is just good enough to keep him a valuable contributor at the position. If it clicks offensively—and his strike zone awareness is already elite—we’re looking at a potential successor to Carlos Correa in a few years; he’ll need to gain more power, though.
Marco Raya 6’1” / 170 (Prev: 8) Age: 20
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: A
“[Marco] Raya’s slider is Charon, come to ferry batters back to the dugout,” wrote Jeffery Paternostro for Baseball Prospectus in November—a perfect sentence. Raya carries the same risk all pitchers do—injury potential, a future in the bullpen—compounded by his smaller frame. But if he can stay healthy, Raya could vault into the top of the Twins rotation, dominating hitters with a compelling four-pitch mix and a bulldog mentality. Raya struck out 28.9% of batters over 65 innings with Fort Myers in 2022. 
Jose Salas 6’2” / 191 (Prev: n/a) Age: 19
Position: SS
Highest level reached: A+
A new name! A critical, underrated addition to the Pablo López trade, Jose Salas adds another intriguing infield wrinkle to a system bursting with “people who can play shortstop,” not necessarily “shortstops.” A super young 19 in A+, Salas hit like an overwhelmed prospect, but some AFL seasoning plus an off-season of recovery could cleanse him anew. Salas hit .267/.355/.421 in A ball before his promotion in 2022. 
Edouard Julien 6’2” / 195 (Prev: 7) Age: 23
Position: 2B
Highest level reached: AA
If this were a list of favorite prospects, Edouard Julien would be top three, potentially sitting at the top spot. What’s not to love? The lefty smoked AA Wichita with a .300/.441/.490 line and then hit—and I’m not kidding here—.400/.563/.686 in the Arizona Fall League before ending his terror on pitchers for the season. He lacks a defensive home, but a team would move Heaven and Earth to find a spot for that bat somewhere. Minnesota added him to the 40-man roster this past season; we will probably see Julien in the majors soon.                                                                                                                                                                                                                  
Connor Prielipp 6’2” / 210 (Prev: 5) Age: 22
Position: LHP
Highest level reached: n/a
Who is John Galt Connor Prielipp? The baseball world has seen startlingly little from Prielipp, as injuries limited his time with Alabama to seven starts. Still, he owns a mid-90s fastball and a power slider when healthy; 2023 will illuminate his prospect status.
Simeon Woods Richardson 6’3” / 210 (Prev: 6) Age: 22
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: MLB
Maybe one of the more crucial cogs in Minnesota’s 2023 pitching machine, Simeon Woods Richardson appears well-set to impact the major league roster soon. Armed with unique fastball traits, Woods Richardson held his own in a harsh Texas League environment in 2022, then torched AAA at the end of the year for fun. He earned enough respect to make his first Twins start—a five-inning outing notable in that he’ll never have to debut again; the nerves are behind him. Still somehow just 22, Woods Richardson struck out 27% of batters in the minors last season.
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Louie Varland 6’1” / 205 (Prev: 10) Age: 25
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: MLB
Louie Varland should rank higher on this list, but something in his profile doesn’t fully click for me. His fastball is excellent—a real jumper he can use in any count because of his low angle. But none of his other pitches stood out as difference makers, turning Varland into a one-pitch pitcher. His slider and changeup command was non-existent, and batters brutalized his cutter. That’s a negative paragraph for the supposed 10th-best prospect on the team, but that’s what I’ve seen from Varland, and until it changes, I remain bearish on his starting capabilities. 
Austin Martin 6’0” / 185 (Prev: 13) Age: 23
Position: SS/OF
Highest level reached: AA
Austin Martin’s wild 2022 bounced him more than any other player around this list. After slugging a dreadful .315 in a hitter’s league, Martin crushed in the Arizona Fall League, showcasing his older, successful mechanics in a dramatic redemption arc. He’s not a shortstop—that much is obvious now, but if his bat is back, then the Twins could have a quality 3-win utility player capable of playing a variety of positions. 2023 will be a crucial test. 
Matt Wallner 6’5” / 220 (Prev: 9) Age: 25
Position: OF
Highest level reached: MLB
It’s hard to hold 18 major league games against a guy, but Matt Wallner’s Adventures in the Outfield stunk enough to deeply sour me on any notions of him replacing Max Kepler soon. The Twins appear to agree. With approximately 30,000 outfielders ahead of him, it would take a series of great tragedies before Wallner earns significant MLB playing time soon. Still, he shaved points off his strikeout rate in 2022—the biggest knock against him—and he could ride his outstanding power stroke to an elongated playing career. 
Yasser Mercedes 6’2” / 175 (Prev: 11) Age: 18
Position: OF
Highest level reached: DSL
Yasser Mercedes did things as a 17-year-old that teenagers aren’t supposed to do. Yes, it was in the noisy environment that is the DSL, but 30 steals with a .555 slugging percentage is impressive, no matter the level. Mercedes will likely play in rookie ball in 2023, and I imagine his prospect package will become much more apparent in 2024 when he’ll still be just 19. 
David Festa 6’6” / 185 (Prev: 20) Age: 22
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: A+
One of the most “pop-uppiest” prospect in the Twins system in 2022, David Festa commands a tremendous fastball/slider combo that torched hitters in the low minors. Although his numbers dropped following a promotion to A+ ball, Festa punctuated his season with a 10-strikeout performance over six shutout innings in a playoff game against the Cubs. We will see how Festa pitches in a tougher environment in 2023.
Misael Urbina 6’0” / 190 (Prev: 12) Age: 20
Position: OF
Highest level reached: A
Misael Urbina is an excellent example of why prospect evaluations are a snapshot in time, not the law in written form: he couldn’t hit for any power in 2021 but re-played A ball again in 2022 and showcased a much-improved power stroke. Soon to be 21, Urbina should unleash even more strength this year, potentially shooting him further up the list. 
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Brent Headrick 6’6” / 235 (Prev: 14) Age: 25
Position: LHP
Highest level reached: AA
A surprise 40-man addition, Brent Headrick’s numbers are perhaps more impressive than his raw tools. His breaker is a bit of a looping pitch, which MLB hitters–especially righties—could lay off of, but his fastball lands perfectly at the top of the zone, and his command is good enough that the breaker shape may not matter. He will probably impact the Twins in 2023—though it’s unclear in what capacity—and he could become a regular, reliable lefty swingman. 
Jordan Balazovic 6’5” / 215 (Prev: 15) Age: 24
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: AAA
How do you rank Jordan Balazovic? Long considered the promised arm, delivered by our wonderful friends Up North, Balazovic faced a nightmare 2022 season, one so hideous that I don’t even want to post any stats from it. The Twins claimed he was healthy, but such a shocking drop-off in performance is almost unbelievable; hopefully 2023 will be a kinder year for Balazovic.
Ronny Henriquez 5’10” / 155 (Prev: 17) Age: 22
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: MLB
One of the more exciting arms in Minnesota’s system, Ronny Henriquez spent a few months getting bullied by AAA hitters before turning around and delivering an adequate July through end-of-season performance. Armed with a fastball, slider, and changeup, Henriquez will pepper well-commanded off-speed pitches around the zone, hopefully enticing the hitter to bite before the end of the at-bat. His issue? A fastball that ends up either 1. In the heart of the strike zone 2. In the gap (if he’s lucky) 3. In the hands of a fan sitting in right-center field. Whether Henriquez can improve his heater will determine his success at the major league level. 
Noah Cardenas 6’1” / 195 (Prev: 18) Age: 23
Position: C
Highest level reached: A
I am still trying to understand why Noah Cardenas is not more well-regarded as a prospect. Catchers who hit for a 146 wRC+ aren’t common, and while he was older than your average A-ball hitter, I feel confident that Cardenas should continue to hit as he elevates through the system. Although catcher development is often strange, so he may run into weird pitfalls and unusual traps that keep him from improving linearly. 
Jose Rodriguez 6’2” / 196 (Prev: Unranked) Age: 17
Position: OF
Highest level reached: DSL
Like Yasser Mercedes, Jose Rodriguez is a 17-year-old whose only time in professional baseball is in the DSL—a sign that all hype should involve grains of salt and the such. Still, as a player even younger than most DSL hitters, Rodriguez pounded 13 homers and slugged over .600. He’s about as far away from the majors as possible. Still, you should keep his name in mind over the next few years as a potential big-league powerhouse. 
Cody Laweryson 6’4” / 205 (Prev: 23) Age: 24
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: AA
A personal favorite, Cody Laweryson prefers to trick hitters with his pitching motion: a lanky, swan-like delivery that combines the sudden violence of Carter Capps with the grace of Joe Ryan. Lawyerson crushed AA, striking out over 30% of hitters while holding an ERA just over 1.00. The Twins left him unprotected in the rule 5 draft, and no other team claimed him, giving Laweryson another year to prove that his play isn’t a fluke.
Cole Sands 6’3” / 215 (Prev: 16) Age: 25
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: MLB
Cole Sands owns one of the nastiest pitches in Minnesota’s system: a whirling breaking ball, here to alter planes and send batters home wondering if they even saw the pitch. The issue? The offering moves so much that Sands has difficulty commanding the pitch. He mixes in an effective splitter—which actually outperformed his breaker by xwOBA during his time in the majors—but his fastball drags down his profile. Sands might be a kitchen sink reliever if he doesn’t improve his heater. 
Blayne Enlow 6’3” / 170 (Prev: 14) Age: 23
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: AA
Blayne Enlow pitched in an entire season for the first time since 2019, and his results were mixed. He struck out 24.8% of hitters—which is good—but walked 11.6% of them—which is not good. The Twins DFA’d him earlier in the offseason, but after no team claimed him, Enlow will have another year in the system to prove he was worth his high draft pick. 
Tanner Schobel 5’10” / 170 (Prev: 27) Age: 21
Position: 2B
Highest level reached: A
The Twins sent Tanner Schobel on the fast track, pushing their 2022 2nd-round pick to A Ball, where he held his own. Although lacking in power, Schobel could carve out a career as a contact/OBP/defense threat capable of putting together a 3 WAR season if everything works out; many teams could use a player like that. 
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Alejandro Hidalgo 6’1” / 160 (Prev: n/a) Age: 19
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: A
A newcomer, Alexander Hidalgo joined the Twins in the Gio Urshela trade. The Angels handled him with kid gloves, as he didn’t touch 40 innings despite making 10 starts. The owner of a plus changeup, Hidalgo’s pitch mix is otherwise unimpressive, but he could grow into an off-speed specialist if he finds more consistency with his curveball; his fastball lacks crucial characteristics. 
Matt Canterino 6’2” / 222 (Prev: Unranked) Age: 25
Position: RHP
Highest level reached: AA
I highly doubt that Matt Canterino will even become an effective starter for the Twins. His minor league innings total is barren, and the righty looks to be standing in a long line of Rice products driven into the ground by an indifferent coaching staff. Still—and this is the only thing keeping him on the list—his electric stuff could allow him to live as a 1-2 inning reliever.
Alex Isola 6’1” / 215 (Prev: 24) Age: 24
Position: C/1B
Highest level reached: AA
A 29th-round pick, Alex Isola has hit well at every step in his minor league journey. He owns a well-rounded hitting package, trading off a touch of power for excellent plate control (13.0% walk rate vs. 18.2% K rate at AA), and could find himself playing some first base for the Twins if a few injuries take out key players. 
Cesar Lares 6’0” / 155 (Prev: 28) Age: 19
Position: LHP
Highest level reached: DSL
Another DSL prospect, Cesar Lares crushed his competition in 2022, holding an impressive 2.23 FIP over 46 innings. Again, he’s literally a teenager; we don’t know much about how he’ll perform against older, tougher competition, but he appears to be on the right track. Keep his name in mind. 
Aaron Sabato 6’2” / 230 (Prev: 29) Age: 23
Position: 1B
Highest level reached: AA
For two years now, Aaron Sabato has done just enough to keep his name in these prospect conversations, but time is running out for the former 1st-round pick. After hitting well at A+ ball, AA smacked into Sabato like a truck; whether he can recover in 2023 will potentially define his time as a Twins prospect.
Yunior Severino 6’1” / 189 (Prev: 25) Age: 23
Position: 2B/3B
Highest level reached: AA
A post-hype prospect received after the Braves got caught with their hands in the cookie jar, Yunior Severino broke out with big numbers at A+ ball before falling back to earth at AA. We will see if he can rebound at a higher level.
Honorable mentions:
Brayan Medina, RHP:
Brayan Medina came over in the Chris Paddack trade and struggled to throw strikes in his time at Rookie Ball. He can touch the mid-90s and works well off a curveball.
Danny De Andrade, 3B/SS:
Danny De Andrade is an all-around player, lacking in one elite category but doing everything mostly well. He has yet to break out of rookie ball and could burst with his first (probable) playing time in full-season ball. 
Kala’i Rosario, OF:
Kala’i Rosario strikes out far too much, but he has good power for a 20-year-old and could improve with extra seasoning.
Michael Helman, 2B/OF:
Michael Helman hasn’t exploded with an overwhelming season yet, but he’s snuck his way into AAA, and his overall package could serve him well if the Twins need to call him up.
Alerick Soularie, 2B/OF:
Alerick Soularie still hasn’t tapped into his power potential, which makes his high strikeout rate hard to stomach. Still, he could figure it out any day now and shoot back up this list.
 

MLB Trade Rumors is reporting that Blayne Enlow passed through waivers and has been outrighted to AA. I thought he might be part of a trade package or get picked up by a lesser team. Guess the FO knew better than I or many of us here did. I don't like everything they do but you have to give them props when they take a calculated risk and it works out. 

Who cares. A common phrase I hear more and more often. Did you hear about the Carlos Correa fiasco? Who cares. Do you think Dansby Swanson is worth the money and years he received? Who cares. Did you see the new rules for this year? Who cares. This feeling of apathy loomed over most of the conversations I tried to have about baseball while home for the holidays, and when I was done sipping eggnog out of frustration, I came back to Iowa for some more of the same. To them, the upcoming ‘who gives a damn’ bowl that the Hawkeyes were playing in was far more interesting than the insane contracts being thrown about like money was going out of style (I’m talking to you Steve Cohen). The more time I spend trying to talk baseball with those that aren’t as into it as myself, a truth harder than the plate in Carlos Correa’s leg becomes obvious to me. Baseball is failing to market itself properly to gain interest from both the average fan and potential young fans alike. There is no singular solution and I certainly don’t have all the answers. However, the lack of visibility for its star players, fun-killing unwritten rules, and media blackouts are all core issues that are eating away at the popularity of the sport.
Similar to the ‘who cares’ response I receive from folks a lot is the even simpler, ‘who?’ My mother-in-law, who is about as far from a sports fan as you can be and is from Texas, mentioned the huge contract that Dak Prescott signed with the Cowboys. I tried pulling the conversation towards baseball and followed up with the Aaron Judge contract and the insane amount of money and years dropped into the lap of a player already in his 30s. I expected her response to be related to the amount of money we pay to professional athletes, instead she said, “who?” That’s a problem MLB. Your star players need to be recognizable to the average person and need to be highlighted and promoted as such. Everyone knows who Lebron James or Tom Brady is, but not too many people outside of us baseball fans know who Aaron Judge, Fernando Tatis (I know…), or Bryce Harper are.
I think part of the issue is that there are unwritten rules in baseball that don’t allow its star players to show off their personality and become icons and known to the general public. The best example I can think of happened to Fernando Tatis (again, I know…) in 2021 I believe. The Padres were up big and the bases were loaded. It was 3-0 and Tatis got an absolute meatball and hit an epic blast. Four more runs. Afterwards, the cameras showed Tatis in the dugout getting chewed out for swinging 3-0 when his team was up big. He later apologized. APOLOGIZED. This infuriated me. One, why shouldn’t he swing? Two, he gets paid based on performance. Three, it gets his team a larger cushion. Lastly, home runs are awesome and incredibly difficult to hit. Honestly, the odds are he would have gotten himself out (pace of play, you’re welcome). Not only that, but now you have taken one of the young and amazing talents in your sport, whom you wish to be one of the faces of the league (really, again, I know…) and reprimanded him for doing something exciting and scoring four runs for his team. Absolutely absurd. In contrast, the NFL lets Justin Jefferson do the griddy every time he scores and really show off his personality. Baseball needs to start promoting their players better and do the same. Bat flips to the sky and pitchers screaming their heads off after a 3rd out strikeout? Yes, please.
Even if those unwritten rules erode, players become known, and fans are ready to put their butts in seats and couches to see it, there is the final issue… REGIONAL BLACKOUTS. This might be the most egregious offense of all. To watch an MLB game, you must do one of three things. One, purchase cable in your region and spend well over 100 dollars on channels you don’t need or care about. Two, purchase MLB TV and hope you aren’t located in a market for whomever you are trying to watch (Iowa blocks Twins, Brewers, Cubs, White Sox, Royals and Cardinals by the way). Three, pay a king’s ransom in purchasing a ticket, food, parking, etc. to attend a game in person. This option is becoming insanely expensive when it does not need to be. MLB makes the bulk of its money off media rights (hence the regional black outs forcing the purchasing of cable) and attendance becomes less important each year. In fact, attendance has dropped every year since 2012, but revenue has been steady. With inflation, attending a game as a family of four is becoming almost impossible, which means fans need to be able to watch on TV. This however, is incredibly difficult and expensive as well. I think the solution could be moving on from the regional markets and leaning into a streaming service with no blackouts. This would involve having different priced packages for how many teams you want to follow or if you want ads or not. There could be single, 10, 20, and 30 team packages.
By moving away from some of the unwritten rules that dampen a player’s personality, more stars worth watching will begin to emerge. If MLB can combine that with making the game easier to access and view, the youth will be drawn in by these exciting and vibrant players. This will result in kids becoming engaged with baseball at a young age and hopefully herald in a new age of baseball popularity. MLB needs to make the first move however, and I don’t see them moving on from the regional sports networks that have been an absolute cash cow for them.

Can you smell it? Piss and peanuts…? Wait, I forgot the Metrodome was demolished a decade ago. I meant the glorious aroma of hotdogs, peanuts, and fresh cut grass, which will soon will fill the air and bring the 2023 MLB season with it. However, this season is unique in that it comes with a set of impactful new rules. As a quick overview for the unaware, bases are getting 3 inches larger, a pitch clock will be enforced, and defensive shifting will be limited. As I looked at the details of these game changing, era defining, fix-all rule changes, it would have been easy to sit back and say to myself, well at least they are trying to speed up the game and make it more ‘exiting.’ Instead, I will say that MLB has completely missed the mark on why people aren’t attending or watching the games, and these rule changes make it all the more obvious. This is the clearest to me in their attempt to shorten the length of games with the addition of the pitch clock and limiting of pickoff attempts.
Rhythm, timing, and mental warfare are a few of the major components that make baseball the amazing sport that it is. Limiting a pitcher to 20 seconds between pitches and only allowing two pick off attempts should be a criminal offense. Whoever thought that was a good idea should be in prison. Not only is the 20 second limit going to basically force a pitcher to give one look at the runner and then either come home or throw over, the two-pick policy will allow the runner to get an INSANE jump on the next pitch. A pitcher needs to be able to vary his timing and throw over. The bigger bases are already allowing the runner to be four and a half inches closer, which is significant if you think about how close a lot of stolen base attempts are. Combining bigger bases with the addition of the pitch clock and pick off limit is going to make it almost impossible for a pitcher to control the running game. We will see a dramatic drop off in catcher’s throw out percentages, which will have even the likes of Yadier Molina in his prime shaking his head.
Next up is the limiting of defensive shifts. Learn to hit the ball where they ain’t, that’s all I have to say about that. However, I would be more than happy to hop on one foot with the other firmly placed in my mouth if Joey Gallo and Max Kepler become .300 hitters because of this.
The fact that MLB is trying to promote offense and shorten the game through a series of absurd rule changes tells me they have grossly miscalculated why people don’t watch baseball. That, or I am completely wrong on this issue. For the sake of going down a rabbit’s hole on the latter, I will stick to the assumption that it’s the former. The reason people aren’t watching baseball is NOT because the games are too long. MLB games averaged three hours and five minutes in 2022. The NFL, America’s most popular sport, averaged three hours and twelve minutes. In addition, according to a study from the Wall Street Journal, albeit from 2013, the amount of actual game action in an NFL and MLB game was 11 and 18 minutes respectively. That data was collected a while ago, but the idea that stems from it holds true. Both sports have significant down time between action, and I would argue that the downtime is far more interesting in baseball. In football they just huddle up and call a play. In baseball that time between pitches IS action. The mind games happening between the runners, pitchers and hitters are crucial to the outcome of the next pitch. That ‘down-time’ is part of what makes the game so rich and unique when compared to other sports. Where the NFL succeeds and MLB fails, is their ability to market and highlight the sport so fans actually want to sit down for three hours for a few precious minutes of action. MLB needs to find a way to get people to understand the game, not dumb it down.
The real issues plaguing baseball’s popularity are not being addressed (see part II), and these ridiculous rule changes not only do nothing to solve the problem, but end up diluting what makes the game of baseball truly great to begin with. The more MLB doubles down on trying to speed up the game as a solution, the quicker the game will lose people’s interest, and attendance will continue to drop as it has each year since 2012. Do we want to play baseball or do we want to play dumb and fast? I believe the two to be mutually exclusive.

2023 marks a distinct revolution in MLB scheduling.  For the first time, the Minnesota Twins will play every MLB team during the regular season.
In the ever evolving nature of sport, some changes can fly under the radar.  This scheduling change will impact the entire league in both extreme and subtle ways, and I'm not sure the Twins will be on the winning end of any of them.  Here are a few of the main changes that I'm noticing as I plan the All 81 trip.
1.  In-Division games are reduced from 19 to 12 per team.  For the Twins, this means that feasting on KC or Detroit gets portion-controlled.  One might also argue that since our Guardians head-to-head record was so ratty, this will help the Twins stay in the running within the division.  Pundits are arguing that for teams in "weak" divisions, the new balance of schedule does not help.  Time will tell.
2.  At the very least, it amplifies the 12 games that we do have within the division.  A 3-game series in April gets magnified in the new revised standard schedule system.  Series tended to get lost in the shuffle when conceptually there were 5 others waiting down the road.  Now, a 3 day rough patch in KC could make or break division hopes.
3.  There are the same amount of road series, but little replication.  Why does this matter?  In baseball, routine matters.  In the next few years, finding a way to adapt to new travel and surroundings on a week to week basis will replace almost a month of traveling to the same AL Central destinations.  Keeping rhythms now that interleague travel and new ballpark navigation becomes the norm rather than the exception will be vital to success.
4.  Now, you could argue that every team has to deal with these same issues, so nobody will really benefit from the switch in scheduling.  Yet, because of their unique and isolated geography, the Twins gain no benefits from an expanded list of destinations each season.  Everywhere they go is definitely "away."  Think Cleveland as a counter-example.  Adding stops in Pittsburgh or Cincinnati or Washington mean less in terms of travel and time than it does for Minnesota.  Again you could argue that taking one trip to Chicago or Cleveland or Detroit out of the Twins' annual travel schedule provides room for this change.  But because of how the geography and divisional alignment work, those new interleague journeys will always be further away for the Twins.
5.  If you think the Twins have it rough...try being Seattle, or Miami.  Losing those 4 in-division trips up and down the coast inevitably ends up with more 3 series road trips, thousands of more miles of travel, and the inevitable time-travel through time zones that can mess with a player's focus.  
6.  What is gained with the new scheduling?  Potentially more parity.  In most recent history, a team could convince its fanbase that playing to the ability of your division resulted in "success."  Now, every team will be increasingly exposed for how they stack up across the entire MLB.  Good teams will rise to the top regardless of division.  Teams will have live-action experience with every MLB roster every season for scouting and analysis purposes.  Trades to teams in the other league now have the chance of biting you each year, not just every three.  
7.  On the positive, to the members of Twins Territory scattered across this country (and Toronto!) the new schedule opens up far more opportunities to experience your favorite squad live and in person.  Transplanted Twins fans in San Diego know that they get 3 games every other year in their backyard.  South Beach influencers who cut their teeth on Kirby Puckett's heroics will get a guaranteed chance every two years to wave their homer hankies in Miami.  If attending a Twins game live is the practice that strengthens the relationship, then Twins Territory is prime for expansion and growth.
In summary, I'm pretty sure that the new schedule will not help the Twins reach their playoff goals this season, or any season.  But if the schedule benefits the ability of Twins fans to engage with their club and their passion for MLB baseball, then its a move worth making.  And if there is even the slightest chance for bringing some element of parity into the MLB conversation, then such a change is long overdue.
What are you most interested in seeing with regards to how the new MLB interleague scheduling shakes out?
Grace and peace,
Steve

Right now, the general consensus is that the Twins are going to miss the playoffs. Some might go as far as saying that they are a 90-100 loss team. You could point at the two consecutive losing seasons or the loss of Correa, but is that the fully story? Are the Twins really that bad? Lets take a look. 
Shortstop
After missing on Correa (twice), This is the most pressing issue on the Twins. All four of the top free agent shortstops are gone so the Twins will have to make do with in-house options. That lands on Kyle Farmer. 
Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards 31 CIN NL 145 583 526 58 134 25 1 14 78 4 3 33 99 .255 .315 .386 .701 90 203 20 16 2 6 0 65D/H3   in 2022, Farmer had a relatively average season with a slash of .255/.315/.386 for a .701 OPS and a 1.0 war. He does provide defensive value with his ability to play all over the infield. This past year, the Twins were very inconsistent with their infield defense so Kyle Farmer certainly helps to support that. 
One of the biggest things to get excited about this season is the eventual return of Royce Lewis. 
Year Age Tm Lg G PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB CS BB SO BA OBP SLG OPS OPS+ TB GDP HBP SH SF IBB Pos Awards 2022 23 MIN AL 12 41 40 5 12 4 0 2 5 0 0 1 5 .300 .317 .550 .867 145 22 2 0 0 0 0 6/8 Lewis broke into the league in early May to fill in for a injured Correa and he took advantage of his opportunity. While it was short term, Lewis demonstrated his ability to hit for both Average and Power. Similar to Farmer, he has defensive flexibility and can move between the infield and outfield. However, Lewis suffered his second torn ACL so his return isn't immediate or guaranteed. When healthy, his value to the team is immense and will be one of the most fun players to watch for years to come. 
It may still be way to soon, but Brooks Lee is a name to keep an eye out for. He is the Twin's highest nationally ranked prospect and is an incredible hitter. He progressed quickly through the farm system and ended the season on AA. 
Starting Rotation
Year after year, The Twins have had incomplete and weak rotations and often relied on cheap, old free agents to fill out the back end. This year is different as the Twins have the deepest and most talented rotation in years. As it currently stands:
1. Sonny Gray
2. Tyler Mahle
3. Joe Ryan
4. Kenta Maeda
5. Bailey Ober
Depth: Louie Varland, Josh Winder, SImeon Woods-Richardson
Sonny Gray was excellent for the Twins with a 125 ERA+ and a 3.40 FIP. The Twins should see similar results from him this year and as of now, remains our ace. Tyler Mahle Is somewhat of an unknown. He only made two complete starts for the Twins before ending his season with a shoulder injury but those two starts were excellent. He has similar stuff to Sonny Gray and is five years younger so it may be possible to see him competing with Gray for the top spot in the Rotation. 
In his first full year in the MLB, Joe Ryan excelled. He was incredibly reliable, posting the most innings pitched by any starter. He also has the most potential of any of the starting pitchers and will hugely contribute to the team. 
Kenta Maeda is a complete wild card. He was excellent in the shortened 2020 season and came second in the cy young. He wasn't the same in 2021 and he ended the season with tommy john surgery. It is unclear which version the Twins will get in 2023 but he has the chance to fit into the top of our rotation. 
The remaining four guys are all interchangeable. They are all young and have good potential but we haven't seen enough of them to truly see where they lie in this rotation. 
Bullpen
This was debatably the worst aspect of the Twins last year and was the cause of way to many late inning collapses. This year however, the Bullpen is already looking significantly stronger. 
Jhoan Duran was absolutely elite. He had one of, if not the best rookie reliever seasons of all time and he is crucial to the Twins success. 
Year Age Tm Lg W L W-L% ERA G GS GF CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP BK WP BF ERA+ FIP WHIP H9 HR9 BB9 SO9 SO/W Awards 2022 24 MIN AL 2 4 .333 1.86 57 0 18 0 0 8 67.2 50 15 14 6 16 3 89 4 0 6 266 208 2.52 0.975 6.7 0.8 2.1 11.8 5.56 Duran was untouchable last year and could easily cement himself as one of the best relievers in all of baseball. 
The other backend relivers - Jorge Lopez and Griffin Jax - aren't quite as good as Duran but should set up for elite late inning group. Jorge Lopez was lights out for the Orioles but faced some command issues with the Twins. He should get back on track and fit right in as the closer. 
Another piece to keep an eye out for is Jorge Alcala. He had a solid 2021 season with a .972 WHIP and 9.2 K/9 but missed all of 2022. He has a chance to join Jax, Duran and Lopez in an elite reliever core. 
As for middle relief, it still looks relatively strong. 
Caleb Thielbar and Jovani Moran are the two lefties. Thielbar was incredibly reliable and Moran is still young but has one of the best changeups in the league.
While Trevor Megill and Emilio Pagan were the weak links last year, they still fill out this bullpen nicely. Each of them have high velocity and great strikeout numbers. Towards the end of the year, Pagan added a new pitch and excelled. He finished the season with five straight scoreless outings. They certainly aren't fan favorites but to have big strikeout guys for middle relief is huge. 
Youth
I already mentioned Ryan, Duran and Lewis but the list goes on and on. 
Jose Miranda was a everyday, middle of the lineup bat with a slash of .268/.325/.422 and 13 homeruns. In 2023 he will play third base consistently and his defensive should improve. 
Trevor Larnach and Matt Wallner both played few games but look like they could become starting outfielders next year. Larnach was elite defensively and both of them hit for good power. If healthy, Alex Kirilloff will play a big role in the offense as he was great when he played. 
The Twins have the arguably the best young core of players in years and they are going to make the largest impact on the team going forward. For any sustained success, the team is going to have to rely on these guys.
 
It's easy to write the 2023 Twins off as a lost cause after last years disappointing finish but I still see reason to believe that next year will greatly improve on last year. 
People are losing faith on the front office for missing Correa but they are still working to make this team better. The Joey Gallo signing adds defensive flexibility and a big bat with huge upside, but that won't be the last move. Whether it's another small free agent signing or trades, Falvey and Levine know what the Twins need and are hopefully working to address it. I would expect multiple, possibly creative deals prior to opening day to truly fill out the Twin's roster. 
At the end of the day, The AL central is wide open. The Guardians and White sox haven't taken massive steps forward and are still easily within reach of the Twins. If we avoid being battered by injuries like last year, this team could win 90 games and be right in the playoff mix. 
All we can do right now is stay optimistic and let it all play out.   
   
 
 

BTV stands for Baseball Trade Values. It's a website that gives a trade value on every single ball player in the system, where you can put together a  fantasticized trade and when posted are given a chance to accept or deny those trades.  Although they're not perfect, they give you a good consenses of a player's worth in a trade by reading reports, talking to scouts and managers.
Like every real life trade, you can't just balance the value but you need to figure in the need, undetermined variables and how it effects the 40 man roster. That said I reject about 90% of the Twins proposed trades because they don't meet my criteria. Yet it's fun to research teams to see where their needs are and if they have anyone who'd fit our needs and what it would take put together a reasonable trade.
I know some don't like it but I think it's a nice tool to put together a "in the ballpark" trade suggestion.

Maybe I am just looking for something to gripe about after another walkoff loss.  I got off work only to walk into the bottom of the 9th.  in a 6-6 game there are probably NUMEROUS things you could point to that could have lost the game. And what I am pointing to is probably LEAST valid among the reasons for the loss, it is more of a philosophical complaint.
Why do you use biggest bullpen arm in the 8th of a 6-6 game on the road as opposed to the 9th???
Now sure if Duran had a quick 8th he most likely comes back out, and yes if Duffey pitched the 8th like he did the 9th we still would have lost, and yes,, Duffey has been great lately, and yes... I may just be too  "old school", but you have a CLOSER for a reason, use him as such.
the 8th was not a "high leverage" situation to justify burning Duran n the 8th, and while Duffey has been good he has had TWO save opportunities during that run and 5 all year. Duran on the other hand ... OK it just FEELS like he has had more... surprisingly Duran has only had 2 save opportunities since June as well, but Duran just SEEMS like the 9th inning guy. with Duran having an ERA a full run and a half lower.
 
While the result may have been the same, the feeling is MUCH different. IF Duran and Duffey had swapped places, and Duran blew the game, then it would have felt like... "UGH!! we just got beat by a better team" or "UGH Duran was just off tonight"  losing the way we did screams of "we lost because we dont know how to manage a frickin ballgame!!"  it feels like incompetence...
Again, a loss is a loss, but why does this loss "FEEL" so different? Or am I just looking for a lawn to yell at someone to get off of?

Welcome back to another Mill1634 blog entry. I've been away for a while as I just finished up my degree and started out my first job, but I've still been hanging around in the game threads. Like many Twins'' fans, I am thrilled with the way things have gone so far but am also realistic that this team is not in a position to threaten the true top teams in the league. However, I do not believe that they are all that far away. It's no secret that the bullpen has been horrendous outside of Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, and the rotation has been surprisingly productive despite being with Bailey Ober, Chris Paddack, and Kenta Maeda for a large portion of the year while also getting poor performance from Dylan Bundy and losing Sonny Gray to the IL twice. Part of the reason that the starting pitcher's have performed so well is because of the leash Rocco has had on his pitchers. However, this isn't as effective when the bullpen is terrible. Today, I'll attempt to fix both the rotation and the bullpen. I believe that it is realistic for the Twins to trade for two relievers and one starter, but today I'm going to be aggressive and add two starters and three relievers. I'll also add a surprising bat that would have many Twins fans excited. 
 
Identifying the Sellers
The first thing to do as the fake front office is to identify the sellers. I've put these teams into three separate categories: Will sell, should sell, and could sell. The first category is the true bottom teams in the league that I would be shocked if they don't have a selloff. The middle category are teams that are sticking around but don't have enough talent to really go for it. The final category, could sell, features a small set of teams that are either near or above .500 but are either over performing or play in a great division. 
Will Sell 
Orioles
Tigers
Royals
A's
Nats
Cubs
Pirates
Reds
Rockies
I don't think that any of this list is shocking or controversial at all. None of these teams have a shot at the playoffs, and a fair amount of them are at least another year from competing. The one team on here who will maybe hold onto some pieces is the Orioles, who have been playing good baseball as of late and are nearing a contention window. For that reason, I would be uber shocked if they trade someone with team control like reliever Felix Bautista. However, I think players that are expiring can be had.
Should sell
Marlins
DBacks
Rangers
 
Again, this is a small set of teams that I think should sell, and probably will end up selling. The Marlins feature a great rotation and are near .500 for the first time in forever, but are in 4th place in the NLE, and really have no path to the playoffs. The DBacks are another team similar to the Orioles, where they are playing better baseball than they have in a long time, but have some pieces that can be sold off to future on 2023 and beyond. The final team, the Rangers, spent a ton of money this off-season but still aren't in a position to push for the playoffs. 
 
Could sell
White Sox 
Guardians 
Angels
Two AL central foes here in the final section in the White Sox and Guardians. I do not expect either of these teams to sell, but could see it. The White Sox have been playing poorly all year and certainly have some pieces that would get a haul at the deadline like Liam Hendricks or Lucas Giolito. The Guardians, who got insanely hot last month, have settled back to earth and aren't really a true thread in my mind. Their owner refuses to spend money which is the main reason that I have them in this section, but I think it would take a run of poor play leading up to the trade deadline to truly see a sell off. The Angels, who have been terrible despite having two of the best players on the planet, are a prime team that should sell but I don't think they will. 
 
The Goal
The goal of this trade deadline is to make the team a true contender. This is going to be tough for some fans as I am going to trade some prospects that are highly thought of, including by myself. However, I believe that this may be the best team the Twins will have with Byron Buxton on it, as Carlos Correa is unlikely to stick around. The goal is to add one starter that is better than both Joe Ryan and Sonny Gray, and another starter that I am comfortable starting in game 4 of the divisional series. As far as the bullpen, I want to add an arm that I am comfortable throwing in the 8th or 9th inning, and arm that is in the Griffin Jax/Caleb Thielbar tier, and a left handed pitcher, as I'm not uber high on Jovani Moran's control issues playing out well in the playoffs.
 
Acquire RH SP Tyler Mahle from Cincinnati for IF Austin Martin, IF Keoni Cavaco, and IF Yunior Severino 

This is clearly the biggest acquisition I'll be making as the GM of the Twins, acquiring Tyler Mahle from the Reds. Mahle has great stuff and another year of team control remaining. He's certainly better than Joe Ryan, and is probably a half-step up from Sonny Gray. Mahle is likely to be one of the more sought after pitchers at the deadline, but isn't even the best starter the Reds will trade this deadline, as that title belongs to Luis Castillo. However, I prefer Mahle as I believe the cost will be a lot less. In the deal, we give up Austin Martin, who has struggled this year but still has all the talent in the world. The Reds may not view Martin as a centerpiece, but there is a chance that they do. Keoni Cavaco was a first round pick a few years ago and has finally started to come around for Fort Myers this year. Severino is a young middle infield prospect who is thrown is a lottery ticket. Predicting these types of guys is nearly impossible as all organizations value different things. 
Acquire RH SP Merrill Kelly and LH RP Joe Mantiply from Arizona for SP Blayne Enlow, OF Matt Wallner, IF/OF Edouard Julien, and OF Mark Contreras
Kelly, who dominated the Twins earlier this year, is one of the least talked about names at the deadline. He doesn't have elite stuff and he probably isn't going to dominate a playoff caliber lineup, but he's a veteran that knows how to pitch similar to Sonny Gray. He's signed through 2024, although that may not be a great negotiation tool for the DBacks as he's likely not going to age all that well. He has an ERA in the mid-3's with the FIP numbers to back that up. Mantiply is another pitcher that isn't talked about nearly enough, and is the left hander that I would be seeking out if I was in an MLB front office. Mantiply has an ERA below 2 and isn't arb eligible until 2027. However, he's already 31 years old and with the volatility of relievers I would expect the DBacks to strike while the iron is hot. The headliner in this deal is Matt Wallner, who's been crushing the baseball at Wichita and is likely MLB ready. Blayne Enlow and Mark Contreras are both included to clear space off the 40 man, but both does have a small amount of value. Enlow is working his way back from injury, and Contreras is probably a 4th OF. Edouard Julien has an OPS of .876 for Wichita and has an OBP in the .420s. 
 
Acquire RH RP Daniel Bard from Colorado for RHP Ronny Henriquez
Daniel Bard is one of the better stories in baseball. He left the game for quite some time but returned last season and is now a fireballing reliever who has found success in Colorado, which is not something to take for granted. The main reason the return on Bard is so light is because he is already 37 years old and is expiring after this season is over. He's struck out 38 hitters in just 30.2 innings of work, and has 16 saves with an ERA of 2.35. Bard would immediately slot in as the teams 2nd best reliever behind Jhoan Duran, and could slide everyone down in the pecking order. Henqiuez was acquired in the Mitch Garver trade and has had an up and down season for St Paul. I believe that he is destined for the bullpen, and could maybe even help the Twins, but I'd rather acquire someone who I know can help the Twins in the year we're "going for it."
 
Acquire RH RP David Robertson from Chicago for OF Yesser Mercedes
Similar to Bard, Robertson is a 37 year old reliever on a bad team that was out of baseball for a year and came back as a lights out bullpen weapon. He too becomes a free agent after this season. This is your classic lottery ticker prospect in Yesser Mercedes, who was an IAFA signing a few years ago and not much is known about him, although he is a top 30 prospect in the Twins system. Robertson too would become one of the better arms in the Twins bullpen, although I would have him 4th in the hierarchy behind Duran, Bard, and Jax. 
Acquire 1B/DH S Josh Bell from Washington for IF Spencer Steer, 1B Aaron Sabato, and RHP Drew Strotman

This would easily be the 2nd biggest trade pulled off with myself in the GM chair, adding a game changing bat in Josh Bell. Bell boast in OPS+ of 158 this season in his expiring contract year, and will be one of the most sought after bats on the market. He hits for average and power and would provide power from both sides of the plate and would hit in the middle of the order. Of course, this requires us to give up rising prospect Spencer Steer, who I think should've been included on the top 100 prospects list at mid-season update. We also include former first rounder Aaron Sabato, who has huge power and draws walks, but also has a ton of swing and miss stuff. We also send back Drew Strotman who is a lottery type of guy in this deal as the Nats may believe he can still start, or be a weapon out of a terrible Nationals bullpen.
 
The Results
Now let's take a look at where the pitching staff as a whole stands assuming we are in the playoffs. I'll assume we're only going to use 4 starters in the playoffs, as most teams do. I will also assume that everyone is healthy, but I am assuming that Jorge Alcala does not make a comeback this year. I am also assuming that Kenta Maeda does not show enough to make an impact on the staff so he will be left off of this hypothetical playoff pitching staff, as well as what the lineup would look like with Josh Bell in the middle of it. 
Starting Rotation
1. Tyler Mahle
2. Sonny Gray
3. Joe Ryan
4. Merrill Kelly
Bullpen
CL - RH Jhoan Duran
SU - RH Daniel Bard
SU - RH Griffin Jax
MR - LH Joe Mantiply
MR - LH Caleb Thielbar
MR - RH Emilio Pagan
MR - RH David Roberson 
LR - RH Josh Winder
LR/Spot Starter - RH Chris Archer
Left off: RH Dylan Bundy, LH Jovani Moran, RH Bailey Ober, RH Kenta Maeda, RH Trevor Megill, RH Jharrel Cotton, RH Jorge Alcala, RH Tyler Duffey 
 
This gives us a 9 man bullpen and a 13 man pitching staff with a great mix of right handed relievers that can blow hitters away. It also features two crafty lefties in Joe Mantiply and Caleb Thielbar, both of whom are deadly against left handed hitters. It also slides Emilio Pagan way down in the pecking order where I think he's best suited, and allows Tyler Duffey to throw mop up duty. Josh Winder can come in in the playoffs and give you multiple innings of effective relief. Chris Archer is a guy who can do similar things to Winder. I left off Bundy because he isn't playoff quality, Moran because I don't see the club carrying 3 lefties, Ober because he isn't good enough for the rotation and don't think his stuff plays up out of the bullpen, and Kenta because I don't know how his rehab will shake out so we won't count on him, as well as Jorge Alcala for similar reason. Megill and Cotton are both left off as I do not see them remaining on the 40 man roster if all these moves were to come to fruition.
 
The Lineup
DH Luis Arraez
CF Byron Buxton
SS Carlos Correa
1B Josh Bell
LF Alex Kirilloff
2B Jorge Polanco
3B Jose Miranda
RF Max Kepler
C Ryan Jeffers
Bench: C Gary Sanchez, 3B Gio Urshella, IF/OF Nick Gordon, OF Kyle Garlick
Left off: 1B Miguel Sano, OF Gilberto Celestino, OF Trevor Larnach
 
This gives the Twins a potent lineup with that adds depth in Josh Bell pushing Jorge Polanco to the 6 spot with Alex Kirilloff being the lefty that hits in the middle of the order, and Jose Miranda getting the start at 3rd over Urshella because he is such a better hitter than Gio. Jeffers gets the start at catcher as he's much better defensively, but both would play in the playoffs. Nick Gordon is taken on the playoff roster over Trevor Larnach as he provides speed off the bench and also the ability to play CF without Gilberto Celestino on the roster, whos off because of Josh Bell's arrival. Kyle Garlick is obviously kept on the roster to start against left handed pitchers.
 
How would you grade this deadline? Drop a comment below! Thanks for reading, and Go Twins!
 

 
 
 

Royce Lewis Royce Lewis is still the best prospect in the Twins’ system, but the soul refuses to accept that truth. Lewis will now miss extended time with another ACL surgery, and it’s impossible to feel anything but grief and sympathy for the man; he’s an elite talent that life continues to deal poor hands to maniacally. His major league performance proved that he’s capable of great things, and all we can do is hope that he’ll come back without missing a beat as he did before.                                                                                     
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Austin Martin  .311. That number represents a crappy rock band from the 90s and Austin Martin’s season slugging percentage as of June 29th. It will be impossible for Martin to fulfill his destiny as a high-level number 2 hitter unless he—at the very least—finds his .380s slugging mark from last season. I’m not sure why he’s suddenly trying to put the ball in play with no regard for extra-base damage, but it is failing; he has 11 extra-base hits in 60 games. We knew Martin would never become Sammy Sosa at the plate, but he desperately needs a buoyant power level from which his excellent OBP skills can consistently launch upwards. Martin is also not a shortstop.
Noah Miller      Now we get to the messy part of the system. I like Noah Miller, but he has cooled off tremendously since his blistering May; this is the danger in trying to rank recently-drafted high school players. I’ll stick with my guns and say that he’s a future star—his defense and on-base abilities are still undeniably elite—but that statement carries less oomph than it did just a month ago. I believe he’ll grow into some power, but he probably will never be Fernando Tatís Jr. out there; instead, I see him as a jack-of-all-trades type of quality shortstop.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
Emmanuel Rodriguez    Have you ever heard about the tragedy of Emmanuel Rodriguez the wise? Rodriguez was laying waste to low-A pitchers before he tore up his knee, costing him at least the rest of this season. Knee injuries for athletic marvels like Rodriguez are still scary, but Lewis’ success in returning from one proved that it might not be worrisome. It’s a shame, Rodriguez’s play was cartoonishly dominant, but we’ll have to wait a while before seeing him on the field again. The long-term outlook remains sturdy, but the short-term playing time loss hurts.
Jordan Balazovic Aaron Gleeman recently noted that Jordan Balazovic is dealing with a knee issue that has curtailed his effectiveness this season. Maybe it’s weird to say this, but knowing that fact improves my opinion on Balazovic; his under-performance has to do with injury, not a sudden loss in ability. Still, he’s walking far too many hitters at AAA and gives up contact loud enough to break the sound barrier. I’ve knocked him down a few spots already, and the slide will continue unless he changes something quick.
Spencer Steer Is Spencer Steer the only top name here with an unimpeachable performance in 2022? The Oregon product is slaying the ball, slashing .277/.360/.577 between AA and AAA with only a slight drop-off in production since his promotion; a low BABIP may be the culprit. He’s no defensive whizz, but he doesn’t need to be with that bat, and he should be firmly implanted in the Twins’ future infield plans. I debated placing him above Balazovic, but since Steer has less overall time as an elite player, I gave the nod to the pitcher for now.
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Simeon Woods Richardson Simeon Woods Richardson was pitching well, and then he got injured because of course he did. I was still deeply suspicious of his performance—4.87 xFIP and all—but he at least had a nice ERA, and that’s better than nothing. I don’t think he has unquestionably shed the narrative that he can’t pitch at AA; Woods Richardson is striking out fewer batters than he did at every other level in the minors before this season. Yet, he’s still just 21 years old, so it would be foolish to write him off yet. It’s strange that that team placed him on the IL with no explanation or announcement. 
Edouard Julien I’m uncomfortable placing Edouard Julien this high on the list, but I also don’t know who would reasonably overtake him. Julien is positionless, but who cares about that when you walk 20% of the time. He has had a suspicious drop-off in power (.138 ISO this season), which could be an ominous sign of future disappointment; until that shoe drops, he’ll remain a top-10 prospect on my list.
Cade Povich Cade Povich is probably my new favorite Twins pitching prospect. The lefty has been dominant, striking out hitters at a 32.7% clip with an average walk rate and few homers; that’s a great combination, by the way. Povich has little left to prove at A+ and will be pitching in Wichita sooner than later. Just pray that his arm doesn’t fall off.
Marco Raya I think the hype train on Marco Raya has accelerated a touch too quickly, but I can understand why. Raya combines the top-dog mentality needed in an ace with top-tier stuff; that’s an excellent combination for a pitching prospect. The drawback remains: Raya has 36 innings over 10 appearances and just recently left a start after netting two outs. Are the Twins using kid gloves to handle him? Probably, but I need a nice, unquestionably dominant run from Raya before I move him up any further; TINSTAAP and all that jazz. 
Cole Sands Yeah, I’m still too high on Cole Sands. His command needs tweaks that may be beyond his abilities—how many players suddenly drastically improve in their fourth year with a team—but that sweeper is what keeps Sands up here. His breaking ball is ridiculous, mimicking the great American migration of the early 1900s in how it moves from East to West with great efficiency. The rest of his profile is meh, but he’ll always have potential thanks to his vicious breaking ball.
David Festa David Festa is the most pop-up-y pitching prospect in the system; as a 13th-round pick, he’s punching out hitters at a 30.4% mark over 54 ⅔ innings split between A and A+ ball. His status as an “un-prospect” may benefit him, as the team is less likely to baby him, instead throwing him to the wolves where he can prove his ability. Festa may reach AA this season—he’s pitched that well—and we should know more about him once he does.
Christian Encarnacion-Strand It’s been a while since CES went berserk in April to the tune of a billion RBIs (at least that’s what it felt like). No, he’s not that good, but he is a solid hitter. Encarnacion-Strand’s beautiful slash line is .291/.357/.567, which will play in any league, which is good because he cannot field even a little bit. Errors are far from the end-all stat they used to be, but he has 21 of them in just over 400 innings at 3rd base this season; that’s bad. Being a future 1st base/DH type player curtails his upside, so his entire prospect pedigree rests on the power of his bat.
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Matt Wallner I think I was too harsh on Matt Wallner last month. I emphatically stated that a player with his strikeout numbers would need to be otherworldly in other aspects to offset the K. His response? Walk a lot. I still hold those reservations, but if his new monstrous walk rate (21.4% in June) is even slightly sticky, he has a solid shot at becoming a major league contributor. Also, he owns an absolute cannon in right field.
Blayne Enlow Blayne Enlow is dipping his toes into the minor league waters after a missed year, so I find it difficult to evaluate him too harshly. The numbers aren’t great, but that barely matters; him just being on the mound is good enough for the moment. At some point, slack will no longer exist, but I’m okay with punting on criticizing him for now. 
Louie Varland In a season that has been chaotic for so many players, Louie Varland chugs along like nothing is wrong. The Minnesota native’s under-the-hood stats aren’t the best—he’s walking more batters than he did in his stellar 2021 campaign—but the rest of his profile appears solid. His 68 ⅓ innings leads the entire Twins minor league system.
Brent Headrick Brent Headrick might be the biggest under-the-radar name in the Twins system. As a late-blooming 24-year-old in A+ ball, Headrick has utterly dominated with a 2.40 ERA and a strikeout rate above 30%. It’s hard to scout prospects in this vein; I give Headrick the benefit of the doubt until/if his numbers reverse.
Ronny Henriquez What do we make of Ronny Henriquez? Sure, he’s still just 22 years old, but there’s little to latch onto regarding his AAA play so far. It seems that the Twins are okay with letting him die at that level, given that his ERA is 6.95 and his FIP isn’t far behind (6.07). At some point, I need performance to outweigh pedigree; that needs to change soon for Henriquez.                                                                          
Matt Canterino      I’ll try to be as diplomatic as possible: Matt Canterino has not yet shown the ability to be a consistent, innings-eating top-level arm. He recently set his single-season record for innings pitched as a professional (34 ⅓) before another elbow injury sidelined him for a significant time. I don’t see real reasons for optimism; the Rice background combined with these injuries leaves little faith in him ever becoming the big front-of-the-rotation starter we expected of him. 
Steve Hajjar Steve Hajjar was following in the Cade Povich breakout mold until a shoulder injury in the middle of June stopped him in his tracks. Shoulder problems are not the death sentence they once were, but that ailment is still something to keep an eye on for the future.
Sawyer Gipson-Long Sawyer Gipon-Long is shockingly similar to Brent Headrick; he is also an old-for-his-level breakout prospect looking to prove that he isn’t a fluke. The process is farther along for Gipson-Long as he recently enjoyed a promotion to AA Wichita; he has one clunker and two solid starts. The rest of the season will be essential to understand Gipson-Long more as a prospect.
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Kala’i Rosario Kala’i Rosario dropped three points off his strikeout rate since I last wrote about him, but that still leaves him at 36.0%. My view on players with a penchant for whiffing is well known; you must do something extraordinary to offset the Ks. Rosario has good power (.204 ISO) and is still just a teenager, so he still possesses the rare chance to evolve into an elite power threat.
Michael Helman Not mentioning Michael Helman was probably my last ranking’s worst mistake. The 26-year-old has quietly hit well at every level in the minors and is now knocking on the Major’s door thanks to his 125 wRC+ at AAA. Is this just Brian Dinkelman 2.0? Maybe, and that’s not just because of how similar their last names are. Helman could debut soon if the Twins desperately smash the “break in case of emergency” glass if a few too many infielders suffer injuries.
Brayan Medina Brayan Medina finally pitched in the Twins system for the first time this month. He’s thrown fewer than 10 innings, so who knows where he’s at in his development, but the stuff descriptions are good, so he’ll stay here until further notice.
Aaron Sabato Aaron Sabato’s slash line is still not optimal for a great 1st base prospect. The walks are good (14.2%), but he doesn’t neutralize his strikeout tendencies with overwhelming power (.171 ISO). I remain skeptical that Sabato will develop into the type of player the Twins expected when they drafted him.
Alerick Soularie I didn’t rank Alerick Soularie in my last write-up, but the guy put up a 144 wRC+ in June, and now here he is. His play rounded more into form; he struck out a little less, walked a little more, and ballooned his ISO from .114 to .167. If he’s genuinely backing his elite athletic ability with a more sound game, Soularie could rocket up this list.
Misael Urbina Misael Urbina just recently popped back up in the Twins system after dealing with visa issues earlier in the year. He’s played a few games in the DSL; he’ll likely rejoin Fort Myers when he’s back in the groove. 
Keoni Cavaco Keoni Cavaco rebounded a little bit in June (101 wRC+), but his walk and strikeout rates remain heavily lopsided, and his power does not make up for it (.151 ISO). Maybe the play improvement will aid his confidence; he needs to improve his performance before people buy back into his prospect stock.
Jake Rucker Jake Rucker recently earned a promotion to A+ ball after holding his own with Fort Myers (100 wRC+). He’s 22 years old, so the Twins might accelerate his movement through the system; keep an eye on him in the Michael Helman under-the-radar vein. 
Travis Adams All Travis Adams has done this season is pitch well for Fort Myers. The former 6th-round pick is crushing with a 3.10 ERA and peripherals to match. There’s still an unknown factor to his game that will only clear once he plays in A+ ball and beyond, which should be soon.
 

What exactly is the Twins FO waiting on to fill out our roster? From the outside looking in it seems to most that we still need at least 1 more pitcher, we need a SS, and bullpen help never hurts.  Yes, I understand it take two to tango, and of course we hear all over the place that the Twins are "talking" to this team or that FA, but seriously??? sitting with a payroll of just $72M (prolly closer to $90M when you add in the final pre-arb salaries) which means we have between $30-50M to spend, just to get mirror last years level. Are we once again nickel and diming other teams and FA?  Are we once again going to hear how the Twins were "in on", or "had interest in" or "had made offers to" different pitchers ONLY AFTER THEY SIGN ELSEWHERE???  It is easy to claim interest after the fact.
 
If we truly want to contend, it is OK to occasionally overspend if it allows you at actually get quality pieces and contend. You dont always have to spend 80 cents on the dollar.
Michael Pineda is still unsigned. Obviously there are reasons why any unsigned player is still unsigned. with the exception of the few at the top if they arent signed yet, that means noone else is really beating down the doors to sign them. and there are most likely reasons.
Michael Pineda is still out there. While not a game changer and not ultra reliable for the long run, when he has pitched he has given us quality innings. Why not bring him back??? can get him cheap and if he can give us innings on the front end, we will have our young kids ready on the back end of the season.
Jake Arrieta is still available. While HORRID over the last year plus, why not take a low cost flier? His TRUE value is not necessarily any innings he can provide, but to serve as a role model of the work ethic needed for our young guys.
Johnny Cueto. He is older but still serviceable.
On the position player front, while I do NOT want the Twins to sign Trevor Story unless it is a 1 year deal mainly for his defense, can we get going with setting our infield already???? Story has reportedly previously turned down multiple $100M contract offers. If this is what it will take ot get him, then RUN AWAY!!!  if his ask drops down and he is wiling to take a 1 year "prove it" deal to show he can hit outside of Coors as well, then get him, but lets go already!!!  Unless of course we are hoping one of the youngsters actually turns out to be ready.
We are less than 3 weeks from opening day, and do not have a full 5 quality starters, and do not have a set SS, We do not REALLY have a settled catching situation, can you REALLY plan on putting Sanchez behind the dish to control a young rotation even is a split role??? 
At this point we might as well just throw record contract out to Carlos Correa, we have little future commitments!! so could afford him and Buxton even with his incentives. Obviously we are resetting our "core".  Sano not so much "core" so we wont have to be paying him his FA money. we have Buxton locked up, Polanco is still locked in, we will be having 5-6 years of control on 3B = Miranda, OF = Lewis and/or Martin. 1B = Kirilloff and/or Larnach. We are positioning ourselves to have a god young pitching rotation, with a potential full pre-arb rotation by next year with Ryan, Ober, Balazovich, Winder, Canterino, Woods RIchardson et all, you know the group by now.
So if we are actually looking to contend, and we look to teh future and see most near FA contracts gone, and we have the talent to win with at AA & AAA, then lets overspend and get Correa, or for heck sakes overspend in prospects to get BOTH Manea and Montas.  Just DO SOMETHING!!!!!!!!
 

A wise gal once said “Cold days like these have me dreaming about baseball.”
Actually, that was me on Twitter a few days ago.
Regardless, here we are on the eve of yet another meeting between Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association, where on February 12 the MLB and its owners plan to make a new proposal to the MLBPA. As I’m sure we all know, thus far very little progress has been made and both sides remain quite far apart on issues ranging from service time rules to free agency structure. The pace of negotiations has thus far been definitively glacial. 
Here's a theory that gives me some hope that the CBA negotiation pace is going to pick up big time- hopefully starting with this February 12 meeting. Spring training makes way more money now than it did even 10 years ago; it’s big business. The price of tickets continues to rise and complexes are becoming more built out. It’s a whole experience (and might I mention, a wonderful one for those lucky enough to find themselves at Hammond Stadium- I'll give my Fort Myers sightseeing guide in a future blog post). Therefore, the MLB has a real incentive to not only prevent the disruption of regular season games, but to prevent the loss of spring training games as well and the scores of beer-buying, sunburnt snowbirds they draw. Here’s an interesting graph courtesy of the the online ticket marketplace Tickpick showing the average price of spring training tickets per team on its platform as of 2020- the Twins appear to be on the lower end of prices.
As a quick aside, I did not view the MLB's desire to use a mediator as negatively as the players did. I actually thought it was a good idea- we've seen it work recently in other sports like the NHL's 2012-2013 lockout. The players rejected the use of the mediator, saying that they did not need to use one because their proposals have been "fair." I do side with the players, but in my opinion each side believes they are being fair in their proposals- the impasse remains anyway. I thought a mediator might help the parties work through the hyper-toxic environment we have seen during the negotiating process. However, mediation isn't not happening, so hopefully the two sides can work through their differences one-on-one. As mentioned above, spring training profits likely provide an extra incentive for the MLB to move things along on their end. The players, on the other hand, don't get paid until regular season Opening Day (meaning they do not get paid for spring training).
So for now I'll keep daydreaming about baseball and remain optimistic that a deal will get done. But really, as I look outside and see steam pouring out of chimneys, how nice does a 73 degree June night at Target Field, Dollar Dog in hand, sound right about now?
 
By the way, any pictures I use on my blog/within its posts are my own!
Below: Centurylink Sports Complex in 2019. There are a bunch of walls with really cool artwork and murals that line the complex's buildings and backstops.
Feature photo: Spring training game I attended on March 6, 2018 during law school spring break, an 8-9 loss to the Orioles. Wave to TC down the third baseline!

Prospects are exciting, but they do come with some risks. The Twins currently seem to have as deep of a system as ever, but until the prospects reach the majors, it doesn’t matter. Today I will be revisiting the 2018 Twins Top 30 Prospects, according to MLB Pipeline, going through #1 to #15 on the list, and give some reason for hope, and some for fear for the current crop.
 
#1 Royce Lewis
Acquired: Drafted 2017, 1st Overall
Current Team: Twins Organization
Royce Lewis was a bit of a surprise being drafted #1 overall in 2017, many believed it would be high school flamethrower Hunter Greene going to the Twins instead. He is still currently the #1 prospect in the Twins system. Royce Lewis has shown plenty to be excited about, but also has shown some concerns, especially tearing his ACL right before spring training in 2021. He figures to be the most important piece to the Twins success in the coming years, will he be able to live up to the hype?
 
#2 Fernando Romero
Acquired: Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2011, $260,000 Signing Bonus
Current Team: Yokohama DeNA BayStars (Japan)
Likely the biggest letdown on this list, Romero was a late find for the Twins, who had some competition in signing Romero. Ultimately, it all worked out and the Twins got a deal done. Romero played well in his first couple years of minor league ball before tearing his UCL and requiring Tommy John surgery, knocking him out of the 2014 and 2015 seasons. He came back and worked his way up to his debut in 2018, pitching well for a few starts and ended the season with a 4.69 ERA. The Twins tried to turn him into a bullpen piece in 2019, but to no avail. It failed miserably and he was sent back to the minors. In 2020 he could not get into the United States for Spring Training due to visa issues, and was ultimately released late in 2020.
 
#3 Stephen Gonsalves
Acquired: Drafted 2013, 110th Overall
Current Team: Cubs Organization
Another massive letdown. Unlike Romero, Gonsalves never found any big league success, even for a few starts. He was expected to go higher, but an incident where he lied to the dean of his high school was made public and as a result, he fell lower in the draft. The Twins signed him away from his San Diego college commitment. He only pitched 24.2 innings in the majors for the Twins, all in 2019 ending with a 6.57 ERA. He has been in multiple other organizations throughout the past 2 years, only having big league time with the Red Sox in 2021.

 
#4 Nick Gordon 
Acquired: Drafted 2013, 5th Overall
Current Team: Twins
Gordon has had a rather long journey to the big leagues. He was drafted very high in 2013 and posted solid stats in the minors, and was finally added to the 40-man after the 2018 season. Gordon’s season was limited in 2019 due to injuries, and he endured a rough battle with Covid-19 during the cancelled 2020 minor league season, knocking him out of any possible baseball activity. He finally made his long awaited debut with the Twins, playing his way into a possible future role as a super-utility man. I personally am a big fan of Gordon and think he will be a good player for the Twins in the coming years. Fun fact: Outside of baseball, Nick Gordon also raps with his stage name of G Cinco.
 
#5 Wander Javier
Acquired: Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2015, $4 Million Signing Bonus
Current Team: Twins Organization
When the Twins signed Wander Javier out of the DR, they gave him the highest signing bonus in franchise history, breaking Miguel Sano’s $3.15 Million in 2010. The first 2 years of his professional career looked good, and he could be a big contributor for the Twins in the future. Since then, not much has gone right. He has battled injuries and has been inconsistent to say the least. On the bright side, he is still only 22 years old, and plays a premium position, shortstop. If he can find what he seemed to once have he still has enough time to become a solid Major Leaguer.
 
#6 Alex Kirilloff
Acquired: Drafted 2016, 15th Overall
Current Team: Twins
Alex Kirilloff was drafted out of Pennsylvania as a good hitting corner outfielder. He didn’t disappoint in his first taste of pro ball in 2016, but in 2017 he needed Tommy John surgery, knocking him out for the year. He really broke out in 2018 and earned a top 20 rank in most prospect lists. Kirilloff had a good first showing in the MLB in 2021, but just had some bad luck on batted balls as well as a wrist injury ended his season early. Although he can play outfield, it appears he will be the Twins first baseman of the future.
 
#7 Brusdar Graterol
Acquired: Signed out of Venezuela in 2014, $150,00 Signing Bonus
Current Team: Dodgers
Saying Brusdar throws hard is an understatement, he throws extremely hard. He also has good offspeed. The Twins traded him along with Luke Raley to the Dodgers in exchange for Kenta Maeda. Graterol has only been used in the bullpen by the Dodgers, and rightfully so. He had posted mixed results. Personally, I am content with the trade. Sure, Brusdar could have been a good bullpen arm for the next 5+ years, but we got a near Cy Young season with Maeda. An elbow injury ended his season early and will likely eat up his whole 2022 season, but he has shown how good of a pitcher he can be, and in my opinion, you cannot be too upset with the trade.
 
#8 Brent Rooker
Acquired: Drafted 2017, 35th Overall
Current Team: Twins
What could have been, and what might still be. Rooker has shown off the light-tower power he was drafted for, but also hasn’t been very consistent. He has proven just about everything he has needed to in the minors, but can’t quite figure it out in the majors. Over his 2 partial year Major League career, he has had a 32.1% strikeout rate. He also plays below average defense in right and left field. If he can find his swing in the majors, he could be a great DH or good corner outfielder, but time is running out, especially since he is already 27.
 
#9 Blayne Enlow
Acquired: Drafted 2017, 76th Overall
Current Team: Twins Organization
The Twins paid Enlow over twice slot value at $2 million, to keep him from going to LSU. He had pitched very well in the minors, but has been injured a fair amount too. A few weeks into the 2021 season it was revealed that he would need Tommy John surgery, keeping him out until mid-2022. The Twins have shown they have faith in him though, adding him to the 40-man roster this offseason rather than risk losing him. He is still young enough though, he is currently 22 and will be 23 on opening day. I think he will become a good starter in the majors.
 
#10 Lewin Diaz
Acquired: Signed out of Dominican Republic in 2014, $1.4 Million Signing Bonus
Current Team: Marlins
Lewin Diaz was the guy we traded for Sergio Romo at the 2019 trade deadline. More importantly, along with Romo, we obtained Chris Vallimont, who has shown signs of brilliance, but also has had trouble. Lewin Diaz can hold his own at first base defensively, but he has had trouble hitting in the majors. He has hit well enough in the minors, but like Rooker, has never figured it out at the major league level. In his Major League career over 161 AB’s, he owns a .193 batting average. He is currently 25 years old.
 
#11 Akil Baddoo
Acquired: Drafted 2016, 74th Overall
Current Team: Tigers
The one that got away. The Tigers selected Akil Baddoo in the 2020 Rule 5 draft. Nobody could have expected he would play this well. He only had one really good season in the minors, that being in 2017. In 2019, early in the season it was revealed he would need Tommy John surgery, which seems to be a recurring theme in Twins outfield prospects on this list. Anyways, the Tigers selected him in the Rule 5 draft and he was a well above average hitter in the majors, posting a 113 OPS+.You cannot really blame the Twins for losing him, they appeared to have all of the outfield depth in the world, and Baddoo still looked multiple years away from the show.
 
 
#12 Lewis Thorpe
Acquired: Signed out of Australia in 2012, $500,000 Signing Bonus
Current Team: Twins Organization
There were reports that he was finally reaching his potential this past spring training. He had increased fastball velocity and was in the best shape of his life. None of that translated to games that mattered. He was signed as a crafty lefty out of Australia in 2012, with a fastball sitting around 90 MPH. He has had no big league success to this point, in all 3 years he has appeared in a major league game (2019 ,20, 21), he has been below average. The only way that seems possible for him to stick in the majors is if he becomes a bullpen arm, and like many other Twins fans, I am not buying it.
 
#13 Lamonte Wade Jr.
Acquired: Drafted 2015, 260th Overall
Current Team: Giants
Another one that got away. Lamonte Wade Jr. looked like he could have been a decent 4th outfielder for the Twins. The Twins chose Jake Cave over him, and sent Lamonte packing to San Francisco in exchange for project piece Shaun Anderson. Anderson ended up pitching less than 10 innings for the Twins before being released. Wade Jr. on the other hand, broke out in a huge way. He posted a 117 OPS+ for the Giants and looks to be a big piece of their future. He even received MVP votes in 2021. For the record, I always liked Lamonte Wade over Cave, but no one could have expected he would be this good. I am happy Wade broke out, and even happier it wasn’t for an AL team.
 
#14 Travis Blankenhorn
Acquired: Drafted 2015, 80th Overall
Current Team: Mets
Blankenhorn was pretty average throughout his minor league career for the Twins. His ceiling seemed to be a good utility player. He made his debut in 2020, going 1 for 3 with a double. He played one game for the Twins in 2021, as a defensive replacement. He made a costly error against the Athletics, which was paired with a Luis Arraez throwing error, which cost the game. That game seemed to send the season to the trash can and kind of lost hope for everyone. Days after the error, he was DFA’d and picked up by the Mets, which is where he currently plays. It never seemed meant to be with the Twins, and I hope for the best of luck in the future for Travis.
 
#15 Zack Littell
Acquired: From Yankees (Traded for Jaime Garcia at 2017 Deadline)
Current Team: Giants
Littell was originally drafted by the Mariners, then a few years later traded to the Yankees. Soon after, he was sent to Minnesota along with Dietrich Enns, in exchange for Jaime Garcia and cash considerations, in one of the most puzzling trades in team history. Littell had success out of the pen in 2019, and then looked lost in 2020. I was always a believer in him but it doesn't really matter what I think. He was eventually released and picked up by the San Francisco Giants. Littell rebounded in a huge way in 2021, posting a 2.92 ERA for the Giants in 61.2 innings. He looks to be a reliable bullpen arm for them in the coming years.

Notable 16-30
#19 Mitch Garver
Acquired: Drafted 2013, 260th Overall
Current Team:Twins
Garver broke out fairly late in his career, during his age 27 season. However, he broke out in a huge way, cementing himself as one of the best offensive catchers in the MLB. As a result of Garver breaking out late, he is already getting up there in age for a catcher. He will be 31 on opening day, which is decently old for a catcher. If he is still with the Twins after this offseason, he looks like he will catch for a few more years, and then it is likely he will transition over to a 1B/DH role. There is also a small chance he will play one of the most physically demanding positions in sports, catcher, for 5+ more years, due to how Baldelli rests his catchers.
 
#23 Luis Arraez
Acquired: Signed out of Venezuela in 2013, $40,000 Signing Bonus
Current Team: Twins
You always know what you will get with Arraez, high average, not a whole lot of power. That is what has made him one of my favorite Twins to watch. Some people believe Arraez will be dealt this offseason, but only time will tell. He currently holds down a utility role for the Twins. He broke out defensively this year, becoming a top 5 defensive 3rd baseman in 2021. He may have found his defensive home for the future, but he will have to beat out young buck Jose Miranda, who is mentioned soon in this list. Arraez also carries injury concerns, he has torn an ACL during his minor league career, and overall has “balky” knees. I think he could be a great leadoff hitter for the next 10 years if his body can hold up.
 
#25 Ben Rortvedt
Acquired: Drafted 2016, 56th Overall
Current Team: Twins
Like Arraez, you know what you are getting with Rortvedt. Rortvedt isn’t a force with the bat, but does have some power. He is highly regarded for his defense, profiling as the best in the system. With the Twins surplus of catching, he will likely serve as the 3rd catcher, playing most of his games in Saint Paul. It is nice to have him on hand though, as there could be some moves involving catchers after the lockout, and freak injuries happen with catchers. If he can bump his offense to average for a catcher, his defense will carry him to being an above average MLB catcher.
 
#28 Jose Miranda
Acquired: Drafted 2016, 73rd Overall
Current Team: Twins Organization
It wasn’t until this year that Miranda broke out, and he did it in a big way. Everybody knew Miranda had good tools, maybe they didn’t know they were this good though. He finally put them all together and hit over .340 on the season with 30 bombs between AA and AAA. He looks like he will be the 3rd baseman of the future for Minnesota, but stats don’t matter until the show, so we'll just have to wait and see. He is still fairly young, being 23 years old and he is one of, if not the best hitter in the whole system.
 
This list should provide a good realization that prospects are just prospects. Some are more likely to contribute at the MLB, hence the rankings, but odd things can happen. Also, it should show that lower ranking prospects can provide a big impact in the big leagues, so don’t always write them off. This list likely brought up some names you have forgotten, and some you wish you could forget *cough cough Baddoo* The future of this team is resting on their current farm system, which should hopefully provide fun baseball for years to come. After all, even Mike Trout was a prospect once. Thank you for reading. Leave a comment. Go Twins!!!
 

With the Buxton turmoil recently and much of the negative eye on the FO, there hasn’t been much talk about Baldelli. However, Baldelli has received just as much heat from this site over the past 7 months as the FO has. I’ve touched on Baldelli before in this thread, but that was incredibly one sided toward Baldelli and I never really talked about some of my criticisms toward Baldelli. Also, that was written in May. It is now November. Time has passed and we have more to look at. Baldelli now has his first losing season.
I’m going to look at some of the things I think make Baldelli the right guy for this team and I’m also going to look at some of the things I think make Baldelli not the right guy for this team.
Why he’s the right man for this team
The Twins had a real clunker of a season in 2018. Paul Molitor was fired as a result, and Baldelli was hired. Many other changes were made to the coaching staff as well. In 2019, the team looked much better and played really well throughout the year, en route to 101 wins. The team simply played much better under Baldelli, which implies good things about the manager. Even if you include the awful 2021 season, the team has averaged 88.6 wins per season (162 games) throughout three years under Baldelli. That’s better than any season they had from 2011-2018.
This might not look like much in terms of the things going for Baldelli, but the case here is that it doesn’t need much explanation.
Why he’s not the right man for this team
My first critique of Baldelli is that his team, particularly in 2021, looked poorly prepared. IMO, it hasn’t been talked enough how much this team struggled with the fundamentals of baseball. Failing to make the most basic of plays. I watched every game through late May (after May not every game, but most games) and I saw this team fail at the fundamentals, comedically at times. This could be attributed towards a coaching staff as a whole, but Baldelli is a pretty big part of that.
I talked about how the team performed better under Baldelli in the Pros section, but there are times where I wonder if Baldelli is getting less out of his team than the sum of its parts. To me, the biggest example of this is the 2020 Wild Card Series against the Astros. The Twins were favored to win, but they didn’t even show up to the ballpark. They lost the series without a single victory. Many on this site lamented about poor relief work, and while I agree that the bullpen was not good, you can’t overlook the fact that this team scored 2 runs in 2 games against a pitching staff composed entirely of Zack Greinke, Ryan Pressly, and a bunch of rookies. The Twins offense was underwhelming in 2020, but they were at least competent, especially at home. This is not a case of an incapable lineup being exposed, this is a case of everyone performing well below their talent level in a situation of high magnitude. It’s been obvious since January of 2020 that Mike Zimmer would consistently get less out of his Vikings than the sum of their parts, and I’m wondering if the same thing is happening with Baldelli. The 2020 Wild Card Series isn’t the only example of this, I also think that parts of the 2021 season are an example. This team had dog**** offensive performance after dog**** offensive performance for much of the beginning of the season, with the occasional 12-run blow-up.
All and all, those are my thoughts about Baldelli. What do I think his future should be on the Twins? As of right now, IDK. I want to say he would be on the hot seat for 2022 but right now, next season is on the FO. They need to untangle themselves with the Buxton situation and fill out a pitching staff. If they can do that, Baldelli should then be on the hot seat at the start of the season. But if they can’t and decide to punt 2022, it wouldn’t be Baldelli’s fault if the team doesn’t do well.
That was a lot. I think I’m going to go eat a cookie now.

Well T-giving has passed and Xmas has come early..  Today, I just received a copy of Derek Falvey's business planner from a disgruntled FO employee wishing to make public DF's plans starting in August 2021 thru opening day 2022.  For brevity sake I have removed all the confusing algorithms, statistics, and doodlings that comprise most of these pages, but the words are his!   Hope you enjoy this rare insight into the brain of Derek Falvey!!
Aug.  2021
1. Make up list of all preseason pitching Minor League FAs and add to roster as spaces open up.  Need to see who looks promising for 2022 pen.  Just can't understand why none of my prized draft pitchers from the past 5 years haven't yet made a contribution to our big league bullpen?  Maybe trading Pressley was a little premature.
2. Confer with Rocco and staff about feasibility of reinstituting pregame practice now that season is down the tubes.  Make sure this act does not lower team morale, especially the young players.
3. Reminder: contact BB's agent to renew contract talks.
Sept. 2021
1.  Tell Rocco to keep Barnes in the rotation.  He looks like a late bloomer.
2. Looks like we've found our bullpen closer for next year.  Alcala pitching much better now that pressure is off.
2.. Glad Rocco brought back Refsnyder.  Love to see these bargain basement veterans succeed at big league level!
4. Reminder: contact BB's agent to renew contract talks.
Oct. 2021
1. Season finally over!  No more worries about presiding over team's record-breaking playoff loss streak.
2.  Excited about having the #8 first round draft choice next year.  Should be some excellent power hitters to supplement our DH/corner OF depth in the first round.  Of if we get lucky, might be able to find an under-the-radar HS SS we can develop into a utility player.  Be still my heart!!
3,  Filled two huge offseason needs;  Hitting Instructor and Bench Coach.  Whoopee!!  Saved a ton of money hiring Mary  from Dodger Org.  Who cares if he never coached higher than Class A.?  He is a statistical whiz and is raw enough to listen to FO suggestions.  Veteran bat coaches are a dime a dozen, but it takes a sharp mind like mine to ferret out the unpolished gems.   And grabbing Tingler from the Pods is a real coup.  He'll be a great asset in restoring team morale by providing strong leadership that Rocco lacks.  His success managing Pods convinced me he would be the best mangerial candidate available if Rocco continues to fail on fundamental instruction.
4. Reminder: contact BB's agent to renew contract talks.
Nov. 2021
1.  Whew, finally got the Cave contract wrapped up.  Worried we might not have capable CF when BB down.  And JP will be thrilled we saved $200K on the budget.  Maybe I'll get a bonus!
2. Working 24/7 to decide on who to add to 40 man roster.  Hate to give up on anyone  now, as team played so much better after trade deadline.  I was particularly worried about losing Enlow as it would make me look bad, given fact he was highest paid 3rd round pick.  I know talent when I see it!  Hard to lose gamers like the Turtle, Gant, Smeltzer, Garlick.  You just can't have enough minor league depth in case of injuries.
3.  Exciting to see our fast-rising prospects in the AZ Fall League.  Wallner looks like he's in the hunt for our DH next year and our pitching prospects look like valuable additions to the pen in 3-4 years.
4. Nov. 15th : Finally vacation time.  Let the contenders overspend on starting pitchers.  We're waiting for the real bargains to filter down.  Thad will keep things at a slow simmer during the GM meetings.  Besides, we haven't yet developed our strategy yet for the offseason(hard to do when JP hasn't issued his budget for 2022).
5. Reminder: must check on long distance service from Mongolia so I can answer any callbacks from BB's agent.
6.  Damn!  Had to cancel rest of vacation as Thad needed my input on whether to tender BB by the new Nov. 30th deadline.  Tough call here, given how hard it's been to schedule a meeting with his agent, but JP put his foot down and said for PR purposes we had to offer BB arbitration.  We were sort of surprised as Jim had earlier said he was reluctant to increase the budget while the virus was still prevelant.
Dec. 2021
1. Glad to see the CBA deadline put a halt to any trades or FA signings.  Frankly, just too much to do yet to determine our offseason plans.  Still big divide in the FO whether to attempt to try to contend in 2022 or rebuild completely.  As usual, no direction from ownership, but of course that's what I love about this job.  Future plans are all in my hands and, being the smartest guy in the room, I can't wait to finalize my new 5 year rebuild plan.  Just have to keep it on the QT.  We have season ticket sales to push!
2.  Returning to Mongolia as not much more can happen without new CBA.  Gave the FO the rest of the month off as a reward for a successful 2021.  Glad we got the BB 2022 contract settled.
Jan. 2022
1. The New Year has started with a bang!  The phone is ringing off the hook now that player transactions have recommenced.  Can't believe how these foolish GM's anxious to trade starters think they can grab any of our prized Top 20 prospects.  I learned from TR that you must always stay in a rebuilding mode, so why would I give up any of our prize draft choices, even though we're a bit short of experienced starters.  We need depth at all positions in the minors and majors if we are ever going to be successful with our rebuild.  Judging from my success in developing a home-grown bullpen from draft choices, why should we change course now.
2. Had a surprise call from Scott on Carlos Rodon.  Said he'd accept a short term 1-2 year contract at $20 MM/yr.  The Fool!  Just think of the risk with this guy.  Scott should know by now that we never take risks!  Just imagine if it went south?  My adoring public would find I have no clothes.
Feb. 2022
1. Finally, my favorite month of the year!  Time to show everyone how smart I really am.  Signed Michael Wacha to be our staff ace and Rich Hill and Pineda to be our #2 & 3 starters, while resigning Colome(just can't believe no one picked this guy up) to close games.  And hit the trifecta when we resigned Simmons fo half his 2021 salary.  All in all a very successful offseason.  Can't wait for ST to start!
Mar. 2022
1.  So nice to be back at Lee Stadium!  First game was today.  Funny no fans showed up.  Hmmm!  Such pessimists these fans are!!