tony&rodney

Hendry Mendez is fun to watch; he's a hitter. The reason Mendez was traded and the reason he is not ranked as highly as some others is directly related to his ability to contribute in the field. My hope is that with Falvey gone the Twins can begin to focus on players who can play defense as well as hit. It's fine to have a DH and maybe even one guy wearing a glove for his bat on defense. The Twins have too many DH types though which clogs up the roster with unplayable gloves. Mendez will get a chance to outhit every other fellow on the roster and claim the DH spot. There is a ton of value in a Yordan Alvarez. Just keep him as the DH five out of every seven days.

Rushing isn't much of a catcher. That other guy you mentioned was a damn good catcher and was terrific at the plate. So many long at bats where he fouled off pitch after pitch. Rushing? six pitches and two Ks. Rushing is a no thank you please guy. I do think I would call the Dodgers to ask what they are willing to offer. Maybe River Ryan, Christian Zazueta.

Old news. Who wants yesterday's papers ...

The question I have for people regards their experiences watching minor league games. Have you seen Marek Houston play? How many times? It seems like folks have crowned Houston as a web gem constant. We know what the scouts said before he was drafted and we know he has been only used as a shortstop by the Twins. Quite a few people like to go by what the so called "experts" say as far as who are the top defensive shortstops across the minor leagues. I don't really necessarily agree with that. It is worth noting that Marek Houston did not gain any accolades in 2025 for his defense. Konnor Griffin, Franklin Arias, and a half dozen others were highly acclaimed with Griffin walking away as the best by a fair bit as a defensive shortstop. I have been trying to catch Marek Houston in action as often as is possible (watching Wichita right now). Houston looks athletic at shortstop. He moves well and has a decent arm. He made a nice catch going back into the outfield tonight but was unable to successfully complete a difficult ground ball up the middle. There is no doubt in my mind that Houston is a good shortstop but he will need to hit to stick because I'm not seeing a glove that stands out as super special based on roughly 25+ plays. Where I see a big improvement from Houston is at the plate. Whether it is confidence, a few small adjustments, or just Marek getting better the bat looks quicker than last year. It also seems like Houston has a much improved idea of the strike zone as well as recognizing pitches more frequently. I'm higher on Marek now than I was earlier in the year. This is, naturally, just my own thoughts based on roughly several dozen games watched and in no way holds any weight compared to those who have watched much more of Houston much less the professional view from the coaches and guys who assess players for the Twins organization.

Matt is a DH. He cannot play in the field. The Twins are hoping a team thinks that Wallner could help their team. Recalling Wallner and playing him in RF would be a big step backwards in attempts to improve the 2026 Twins team (IMO). Watch a few Saints games and I think you will agree. Luke Keaschall is being given a lengthy look. The Twins are not blind. They see his weaknesses and are working with him and hoping some positive developments occur through patience and time. Be assured, the sands can run on the LK experience at second base if development fails or regression occurs. Part of the hangup has been the injuries to prospects that caused their development to slow down. Kaelen Culpepper could be up by mid July .... or sooner if ready and still needed. Walker Jenkins could be called up in August dependent on his development with the Saints. Roden and Rodriguez are also potential options. Lastly, Luke Keaschall can stall the legitimate talk about his defense if he can make more of the routine plays and end his parade of popups by returning to a line drive approach. Keaschall is working hard to implement the adjustments in play.

There isn't really such a thing as picking for need in the baseball draft, not for any team. It just isn't done. Basketball and football, even hockey lend themsleves to that practice. Players who are drafted high in football can make the starting lineup across the league on many occasions. The number of players who arrive immediately in baseball over the last 65 years can be counted on your hands. That said there are a few exceptional players who arrive after one full year of minor league baseball. Konnor Griffin was the ninth pick in 2024 out of high school and Nick Kurtz was the fourth pick in 2024 out of college. Nobody can predict success for any of the top prospects or guys to yet be drafted, but it is possible that a player from the 2026 draft is a success sooner than some of the current top prospects. We cannot make a claim that Culpepper, Houston, or others will be better or ready sooner than the guys in this coming draft. We can hope or at least I do. I have no feel for either of Cholowsky or Lackey and I haven't seen them play. That also goes for Emerson, Flora, and Lombard. The reports on Emerson are glowing though. Thus I will need to support the choice of the Twins scouting department to make the best judgment on which player will provide the best future for wins.

If we are to believe all the hype, then Cholowsky and Emerson are much more likely to be star players than either one of Kaelen Culpepper or Marek Houston. FWIW, I am very high on Culpepper.

He offered to sign for the minimum to play for any team. Despite the vitriol amassed by Barry Bonds because he never "officially" tested positive/ beat the system and despite his poor treatment of journalist among other people, Bonds was still one of the top players in MLB when his contract expired.

No reason to be overly concerned about the pick because it is a win-win-win situation regarding the first three players most likely in this draft. The luck will come in whether the players remain healthy and develop their skills in a timely fashion to the level required for success in MLB. Jamie, thank you for these level-headed articles.

Perhaps it would be a fair idea to consider that Ryan Jeffers is the one who will decide where he wants to continue his career next season after earning the right to be a free agent, which may have nothing to do with who owns a team.

Betts' athletic grab on Kreidler grounder up the middle was two runs and saved the game. It really was a beautiful play. It also highlights the small difference between wins and losses. One had to be impressed with how few times the Dodgers swung at pitches outside of the strike zone, particularly their role players. That team plays with extreme discipline. It sure seemed like Kody Clemens did not expect Freeman to tag up on a relatively short fly ball to right field. I think Clemens has played really well in the field this season but perhaps there was a small lack of concentration on that play. Clemens has been a big pick up for the Twins defense wherever he plays. Colorado is a decent team that catches a ton of rough breaks. The Twins need to reset themsleves tomorrow on their off day. Despite the big salaries on a few clubs, MLB is pretty balanced right now. Every team but Colorado is winning at least 40% of their games and the Rockies are only one victory away from that mark. I don't think the NFL or NBA have ever come close to that degree of parity.

Wow! Betts goes a long way and reaches down to make just an incredible play to keep two runs off the board.

And me as well, thick and thin. The Twins are down the list though for many and low attendance doesn't exactly push spending. Why people are insistent on boycotting a baseball team (we do read those comments) is well beyond my comprehension. I can understand boycotting companies who pay wages well below a living wage and other things.

What fan base?

During the Falvey Era, the Twins spent more on players' salaries than any of their fellow members in the ALC. Being consumed with all things Pohlad is a satire indeed.

Why does the message sound like a football fan who also follows some baseball wants to compare the two? I don't think that was your intent. You are correct in your point about change - it happens. The last few days the Dodgers rolled out two pitchers who make a living by changing speeds and displaying excellent command and control of each of their pitches. The focus on pitching ability delivered clean outings of length. The focus on velocity or pitchers incapable of showing full command and control of their pitches mostly results in short outings. Development of command and control remains important. It is why Greg Maddux (back a few years) and Joe Ryan (today) were or are excellent pitchers. An increase in roster size would disproportionally help the wealthier teams. Part of baseball is the starting pitcher going 5-7+ innings. Adding numerous pitchers would just mean more pitching changes and a race for high velocity arms to go 1-2 innings each. We can make our guesses about where the game of baseball goes by 2030, but I struggle to see improved parity or a better more interesting game resulting from larger rosters. However, the nature of thoughts is that people have differences thus there are bound to be disagreements, which is fine. Comparisons to other sports don't make any sense to me at all, but it is good if it does for others.

Interesting. Does Luke Keaschall bring back Reid Detmers? I thought this was where the comparison was going.

Pretty sure the future is uncertain but Ryan Jeffers will be looking for a lifetime contract. Maybe the Twins want to bring him back but they will need to compete with other clubs. Players tend to want a shot at playing in the World Series and we should believe that applies to Jeffers as well. The Twins will wait until the last few days before the trade deadline in the beginning of August to make a decision. If a team pushes forth a decent offer it seems likely Jeffers is traded.

I think the Dodgers won with Banda. Right?

Larger rosters would benefit the teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Phillies, etc. 40 person rosters are fine and they should go back to 25 person active rosters with 12 pitcher maximum. The game would change in a positive manner as clubs were forced to manage their pitchers and reduce maximum velocity in every inning.

Not endorsing Julien whatsoever. I called for Eddie to be traded, along with Lewis, after the 2023 season. The reality is that Julien is not a good fielder but he was not as bad as Keaschall is at this time.

Hope you aren't surprised or disappointed if all of them are still with the club after the trade deadline.

Can the Twins keep working and find some success. These next six weeks and the season are identifying who can and who cannot play.

Julien catches that ball.

All he had to do was catch the ball.