darwin22

Good analysis on current state of affairs. For what its worth, Balazovic had a strong (pitch limited) 1st start of season tonight against Arkansas (AA-Diamonbacks) going 3.1 IP while allowing only 1 hit, 2 walks and recording 5 K's. Hopefully, he stays healthy and earns a call up by the end of the season.

Without a long time investment, I can agree with that group of 10.

Agree on your comments regarding Ober and Gordon. Ober, imo, showed enough promise is his only start to get a promotion and has pitched solidly in his last 2 starts for Saints (9 IP...4 ER with 13-2 K/BB rate) against I-Cubs. I also think Gordon deserves a long look as I can't believe the FO has any plans to bring Simmons back next year. From what I've seen from Gordon in limited ABs looks encouraging. As for Rooker, I have to ask-----where do you (or others) seeing him play on a regular basis? Its not at DH, unless Cruz is traded. Its not at 1B as long as Sano & Kirilloff stay off IL. Moreover, it shouldn't be in the OF as Larnach, Refsnyder and Arraez (when he comes off IL) have shown to be at least average defensively. Rooker has a waffle iron for a glove and his set up and throwing mechanics are below average. In addition, what has Rooker done with his bat at AAA to deserve a promotion? He has had some decent pop (5 HRs and 11 RBI) and has a good OBP (.366) drawing 15 walks. What troubles me is his continued low batting average (.227) and propensity to whiff at nearly a "Sano-esque" rate....36% K rate with 24 K's in 66 ABs.

Having seen Miranda in person during Wichita's opening series at Springfield in early May and seeing what he continues to do with his bat, I definitely agree that Miranda should absolutely be in the conversation for regular play with Twins going into 2022. I think it all depends what the FO decides to do with Donaldson over the next 2 months or during the offseason. If JD can get his production going, with cash included, he could be a viable trade option that could net some decent prospects, which would open the door for Miranda to play 3B next season. Selfishly, hoping Miranda stays with Wind Surge for next 10 days as I have a road trip planned to Wichita for June 15 and 16, This kid has some SERIOUS pop.

Excellent point. Time to see results. Will be very interested to see what decisions are made over the next 6 weeks. Duran should be promoted within the next 2 weeks to take Shoemaker's spot. Promotion of Josh Winder from Wichita to St. Paul also, imo, should happen within the next month (or earlier). I'll be very interested to see how Balazovic performs tonight in his 1st start for Wind Surge.

Seth------I agree 100%.......I like Celestino's potential as a future everyday CF for Twins, but thats not until 2022 or 2023. Although it was VERY early in season--games #2 and #3--May 5 and 6, I personally witnessed Celestino struggle against less than overpowering pitchers from Springfield. He went 0-7 over the games I attended with 5 K's. His defense--other than the HORRIBLE 2 error play the other night in KC-----is far ahead of his bat. Although Broxton has struggled all season as everyday CF for Saints, I agree that Celestino needs to be pushed back to Wichita to get his bat going. In his most recent games there--before being promoted to AAA, he had brought his average up to .250 and hit a walkoff solo HR.

Good observation. First game I've watched for nearly a month since as rain prevented me from going golfing. Twins offense or lack thereof to put it more accurately, was so typical of what we've seen all season. It was brutal. Other than JD going 3-4, our 3-6 hole hitters---Kirilloff, Cruz, Garver and Sano-----combined to go 0-15. As horrible as that is, they made it worse with 10 whiffs.....3 each by Cruz and Sano. Easy to saw now, but the $13m we gave to re-sign Cruz could've been put to better use (BULLPEN ARMS) as Cruz had a horrendous month. Hit .221 (19-86) with only 6 RBI, 3 HR to go with a sub .400 slug % and 23 K's. Hopefully, he'll rebound soon as this squirt gun offense desperately needs him to produce. As for Sano, imo, the only option I see at this point is the return of Kepler or Arraez off the IL. This allows Rocco to play Kirilloff at 1B and sit Sano. The only potential alternative at AAA is Rooker, who at last glance was hitting under ,220. As for our 1st round 2020 draft pick, Aaron Sabato---he's actually worse than Sano right now. Hitting a less than robust .138 for the year (11-80) with a "Sano-esque" 40 whiffs in his 80 ABs. In a 4-47 (.085) slump over his last 13 games.

Good point and I'd add that there's more help on the way--------especially at AA Wichita as Jose Miranda (SS/#19 rated prospect) continued his excellent season tonight connecting on a game-tying 2-run HR in the bottom of the 9th. Miranda is hitting .311 for the year with 6 HRs and 24 RBI over Wichita's 23 games. He also has a .934 OPS. #8 rated prospect, Gilberto Celestino, who's had a rough start at AA (hitting only .241) delivered a walk off HR following Miranda's jack to give Wichita a dramatic 10-9 win. On the pitching side, Josh Winder (#14 rated prospect) had his 5th straight strong start allowing only 2 hits, 1 BB and 2 ER over 5 IP to go along with 7 K's. Will be surprised if Winder pitches much longer in AA as a promotion to AAA/SP seems likely.

Wholeheartedly agree with others that Dobnak should be in the rotation for the duration of this season. If/when Buxton returns off IL, Refsynder has earned his chance to stay on the active roster. Depending when that happens----later than sooner--with Buxton, Garlick should also remain on roster. Cave, if not on 60-DL, should've been DFA'ed a month ago. His time should be over with Twins. If Arraez is IL bound, Gordon should receive everyday starts at 2B with Polanco filling in at 3B, SS and 2B. Bullpen wise---- a continued cluster. I'd like to see Tom Hackimer (recently promoted to AAA) get a shot. Nothing against Luke Farrell, but at this point-----its EVALUATION TIME for next season. If not a demotion of Farrell, then Stashak could be sent down as he's proved nothing of quality or consistency to me. A big whiff on part of Falvey who envisioned him taking a big step forward this season. Another bullpen arm I'd like to see promoted is 27-year old Cuban undrafted free agent, Yennier Cano. Cano has put up outstanding numbers at Wichita: 1.00 ERA and WHIP with a 18/2 K to BB rate. He needs a promotion to AAA in near future to get some seasoning there. Would like to see what Cano could offer for next season getting regular innings after the All-Star break.

I'm NOT making this comparison, BUT.......the way Larnach turned with authority to pull his 1st MLB HR reminded me of a former Twin with #33. That ball was absolutely crushed as was the salami that Sano tagged in the 1st inning. This season is over, I realize that, but at this point any small positives, I will gladly take.

Absolutely agree with your analysis on this issue. Time to let this play out over the next 6-8 weeks. IMO, if Berrios can pitch to his recent past numbers AND he stymies management on agreeing to an extenstion, then you find the best trade partner possible.

I liked your perspective on Dobnak, Thorpe and Ober. I would like to add twopitchers, currently at Wichita to your list that I'd like to see this season: #1 Josh Winder (SP) Ranked as #14 prospect in organization. Winder improved his ERA to 0.93 today--his 4th start of season-- in a rare afternoon game vs. Tulsa throwing 4 shutout innings. Winder had 4 Ks with only 1 walk. #2 Yennier Cano (RP) Not rated. Age: 27/ Signed as free agent in June 2019. From Cuba Got the "W" in relief shutting down Tulsa in the 8th-9th striking out 5 of the 6 batters he faced. Over 5 relief appearances, Cano has a 1.04 ERA and WHIP with a K/BB rate of 17-2. On the hitting side-----2 guys that I think should get a look before September: #1 Jose Miranda (UT--plays mainly 2B, but has played 1B and 3B) Rated #19 prospect in organization. Ripped his 5th HR today (in 14 games) to raise his RBI total to 15. Is hitting .364. #2 Aaron Whitefield (OF)- not rated As many know Whitefield had a "cup of coffee" with Twins in 2020. Has great speed and is solid defensively. Went 2-4 today to raise his batting average to .339. Has improved his pop with 6 extra basehits this season while maintaining his speed (6-8 in SBs). Has .393 OBP and .947 OPS. If Buxton's IL stint continues past Memorial Day, I think Whitefield can offer our offense a better option than Garlick has shown recently.

1st of all to previous post-------Ozzie Guillen on MLB-------As much as it pains me to admit, especially to Ozzie---he's right. Pohlad, Falvey, Baldelli and all the players should be EMBARRASSED by their performance. Moving on------I do realize lineup is without Buxton and Kirilloff AND didn't have Donaldson nor Simmons in today------but 2 hits for the day? 2? Thats just plain horrible. But as most everyone know this is just not "1 bad day with the bats" against a tough pitcher. This offense stinks!! Game #23 of 41 (56% of games played) that this collection of "guys with wooden sticks in their hands" (I can't say HITTERS) have scored 3 runs or less. Twins record in those 23 games: 3 wins and 20 losses. Even worse when you factor out that 2 of those wins came in the 1st week of the season----April 3rd, 2-0 win over Milwaukee when Berrios outdueled Burnes and April 7th when Maeda got the "W" in a 3-2 win at Detroit. Since our 5-2 start, we're 9-25...a .264 winning percentage.

Agree with 99% of your post. I didn't watch much of the game especially after Twins fell into early 4-0 hole, but from the limited time I watched Ober I believe over time (2022) he could definitely fill a lower slot in our rotation. I would certainly rather see Ober (or Josh Winder) fill a rotation slot than Falvey going to the dumpster to overpay for a player in the Happ/Shoemaker mold. Will be interesting to see what happens to this rotation in the offseason as only Maeda and Berrios, imo, are "locks" for 2022. Where I disagree with you------if you were serious---was your description of pitch that got Duffey ejected. Lack of control by Duffey? He slipped? IMO that pitch was 100% intentional. Duffey knew where it was going and threw it low enough that it wouldn't have done any damage to Mercedes. I applaud Duffey for stepping up and making that pitch. What Mercedes did last night showed a complete lack of respect for his manager, his opponent and the game. Mercedes is a fine young player, don't get me wrong, but hopefully he'll learn from this incident and move forward. Not having watched the game, I was honestly shocked that Rocco got ejected also. Looked from replay that he actually MIGHT have "raised his voice and used a few expletives" on the ump. Good for you Rocco!! As for Sano, what can you say, but thank you for a HUGE night. Sure would be nice to see him rebound from here to show he can be anywhere close to the productive hitter he was in the 2nd half of the 2019 season. For those thinking Sano will be traded in the offseason, forget about it. I don't see ANY team trading any talented prospect or player with his recent resume. For those thinking Twins management will DFA him, forget about that for 9,250,000 reasons. No way the Pohlad group eats that much salary for 2022. With Cruz gone (by trade deadline) or for sure in offseason as free agent, Sano will move into full to semi-full time DH role next year with Kirilloff taking over at 1B. A lot of other problems to address for this team, but for one night revel in the FACT that the Twins overcame a 4-run deficit and a strong bullpen did their job.

Steve: Another nice report on results from our affiliates tonight. Pretty gruesome to see Surge allow 8 runs after 2 were out. On the flip side, the performance of Enlow tonight was very encouraging. I'd like to think if he can string a few more solid starts together, he'll be promoted to Wichita by early June. Have tickets for games June 15-16 in Wichita (road trip from KC area) it would be great to see Enlow and/or Josh Winder pitch.

So, sportsmanship/respecting your opponent AND ignoring your coaches & manager is superseded by individualism and money? Pretty obvious we disagree on this matter. I've said all I'm going to.

For anyone keeping score to the number of runs the Sox have piled on in just 4 games-----the count is now at 40. With 15 games still to play this season, is it possible they could score 200 runs against our collection of misfit toy pitchers? Their on pace to score 190 runs------just against the Twins. Think about that. Yes, very depressing. For anyone interested in replying, what's you prediction on this matter: Over/Under 150 runs scored by Sox this season? I'll take the over.

Ok, I didn't watch the game (who would?), but after watching replay---Mercedes at some point down the road------better "wear one"--below shoulder level------for his BUSHLEAGUE antics in 9th last night! Up 15-4 with a 3-0 count----you don't swing you moron! Moreover, you don't swing against a position player thats pitching. With Rocco at the helm, I'm sure they'll be ZERO repercussion in the foreseeable future as retaliation is "too old school," but I got to think a fair number of vets on this team--if they have ANY competitive fire----will make sure Mercedes pays for that. I got to believe LaRussa was not pleased with that swing either. If he did indeed sanction it, he's an idiot.

At this point you have to (my opinion) find some gallows humor don't you? I really think if the Sox had their "A" lineup----------missing Jimenez, Robert and Abreu--------they would've stood a great chance of scoring the most RUNS ever against the Twins tonight. They had 16, but with those 3 thumpers against our rag tag meatball pitchers they would've eclipsed 20 runs. For anyone wondering, the Twins lost 23-6 to the Royals on April 6th, 1974 in KC. The Twins trailed 10-0 after the 2nd inning in that 74 game. The Twins tonight trailed 10-1 after the 5th inning. JA Happ fared a tad better tonight (6 ER in 3.2 IP) than Bill Hands did back in 74 (0.2 IP 7 ER). However, Danny Fife was the only RP of the five that followed to give up 4 ER. Both Derrick (I did not beat the) Law and Shaun (don't call me Cassidy) Anderson BOTH allowed 4 ER in their combined 3.1 IP of gas can relief. One last note: Willians Astudillo even after his 1 ER allowed in the 9th has a better ERA (4.50) than either Law (8.53) or Anderson (9.00).

Finding "new" ways to lose is soooo disheartening. Was shocked that Rogers got Olson to hit a weak groundball back to him as Rogers has struggled mightily against good LH bats all season. Rogers 'may have" rushed his throw to Donaldson a tad, but there's no way that ball should've clanked off his glove. If it was Polanco, I understand as there's a history there, but not with JD. The backdoor slider that K'ed Chapman was, imo, a pitch that the vast majority of solid defensive catchers would've blocked. Not the case with Garver. Its time to bring Jeffers back from St. Paul to play on a regular basis. Jeffers is finding his stroke .273 avg (12-44) with 3 doubles and 3 HRs (walk off last night) 10 RBI and .545 slug pct. Jeffers defense is far superior. Time for the Rortvedt experience to end.

Tom: Appreciate the update and analysis of these 4 prospects. Selfishly, with trip planned to see Wind Surge play Springfield at home in mid June, I'm hoping to see Winder pitch and Seth Gray promoted by then. Will be interesting to see if Chalmers can get his game going over the next few weeks. Same is true for Cole Sands, who had a not so great performance, I think today. Celestino needs to get his bat going. Miranda's hot start may dictate a promotion to St. Paul within the next month or by early July. Same is true for Whitefield. Keep up the great work!

Although some regression would be expected by Whitefield, I'd think that he'd be a much more viable longer term replacement/4th OFer if/when Buxton comes back/returns to IL. Nice to see Whitefield's bat continue to make noise as he looked very good in the two games I saw him play May 5-6 in Springfield. I'd also like to think Miranda would be a strong candidate to be called up at some point this summer. Seth, again--"thank you" for your continued efforts in bringing such thorough updates on our prospects. Enjoyed your in-depth article on CR Kernels you recently posted. I'd expect that possibly Canterino & Enlow along with a possible hitter will be promoted to Wichita by the middle of June. That would make for a better road trip as I have another 2-day trip scheduled for June 15-16. Do you have any update on Celestino's recent absence from Wind Surge lineup. I know he had a rough 1st week with the bat.

True story......I've been following the Wind Surge all season, especially after taking in 2 of their games last week at Springfield--noticed they were trailing 7-1 in the 3rd after another poor start from Dakota Chalmers (not good), but kept checking back in as their hitters showed some true grit and fight in the games I saw last week. Sure enough, the Surge answered back with four runs in the bottom of the inning to cut deficit to 7-5. A De La Trinidad HR in 4th sliced the lead to 1 run and then the BULLPEN completely went into shutdown mode over the next 5+ innings. 3 runs in 8th gave Surge the lead and they held on to win in the 9th. Hmm........an offense that fights back and a bullpen that can throw up some zeroes-----what a concept!

One of the funniest articles I've seen in a long time. A needed humorous distraction from a colossal failure of a season.

Exactly. 21st game in which this putrid offense has scored 3 runs or less. Our record sits at 3-18 in those 21 games. Saw this in game thread the other day---can't remember after what loss, but it shouldn't be forgotten as we're now at 35th game of season---21.6% of games. Twins have not won 1 game this season in which they trailed by MORE THAN 1 RUN. No grit. No fight. Very sad.