Cory Engelhardt

I don't prescribe to the belief that the Twins have too many shortstops in the system. Most of the guys listed above may not play shortstop when/if they make the majors. That said, I LOVE the idea of making a trade outside the organization to add a starting pitcher. Doesn't necessarily have to be someone that right now is a 1/2, but hopefully they can identify someone who is young/controllable who has the potential to become a 1/2. Free agency is not the end game, but I am completely on board with using that avenue to add pitching talent also. Will be interesting to see how aggressive they are both in trades and free agency this offseason. I'm thinking it will be time for the new regime to act differently than the old one.

Last night I had episode #7 of my podcast. My guest was Ron Wade. He is the Director of Marketing with the Detroit Tigers, and has been with the Tigers since the fall of 2005. I first met Ron when he and I worked together with the St. Paul Saints. He is an awesome person, and his background in biology and music and baseball was really fun to walk through together. Please give it a listen. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/07/14/episode-7

Let's do this! He would be great for the younger hitters as well on the roster. HUGE upgrade on Vargas, that can't be stated enough. Depending on the return, let's go for it!

Here is my optimistic and probably not realistic stab at a 2018 rotation... 1) Yu Darvish 2) Berrios 3) Pitcher they've acquired in trade, I'll say Kevin Gausman or Dan Straily, but it could be anyone. They've used at least Gonsalves in the deal, along with other prospects. 4) Pitcher they have acquired for Ervin Santana. I'll guess Luis Ortiz of the Brewers. 5) Mejia May and Romero and Derek Rodriguez and Kohl Stewart are all ready at AAA/bullpen to step in.

I don't know that I could stomach Gordon or Romero for Straily. I would almost be willing to listen on Gonsalves for him though. If they are shooting for a little higher than Straily, I believe anyone in the minors (or majors excluding Sano, Buxton, Kepler and Berrios) would be in play in my opinion.

He cost Matt Duffy and two a ball prospects a year ago (one of whom had been a big time 16 year old international signing years prior.) Moore is a year older and has a year less of control now, but his velocity is as good as it has been for years and his year so far this year has not been strong. I'd check in on him too to see about asking price

Next week, I will have Ron Wade on my podcast. He is the marketing director for the Detroit Tigers, and I worked with Ron about a decade ago when he was in the St. Paul Saints front office. Ron is a fantastic guy, and I will plan to ask him about why he loves baseball, what got him into the field, any memories he wants to share from his time with the Saints, what he does now with the Tigers and will absolutely bring up his awesome vinyl record collection. Please let me know if there are any questions you want me to ask Ron as well. Have a great day!

Episode #6 was last night. I talked with my friend Ben for the podcast. We went over the Twins first half so far, what we think of the upcoming all star break and ideas for the trade deadline. I also listed my top 10 prospects post draft (which turned into a top 17) and otherwise enjoyed chatting baseball. Please give it a listen! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/07/07/episode-6

Episode #5 was last night, and I did the podcast with my cousin Willie Swanson. We talked some baseball, but mostly it was just an hour of joking around (some inside jokes, I apologize for that) and catching up. Willie grew up with Brandon Warne, so he talked a little about their baseball team and team bus rides, as well as Willie's love for baseball and the Twins. If you want to laugh a little today, try listening to this podcast. I hope you enjoy it. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/06/30/episode-5

If the Twins are not selling off veterans, I would look to add young pitchers with multiple years of control who possibly have good stuff but are having a tough year this year. Kevin Gausman is someone I'd target, but I don't know if he is gettable. But then again, even with a 6 era this year, his fastball velocity hasn't dipped at all, and I think could be a buy low if Baltimore is willing to talk. I could also see trying to talk to the Giants about Matt Moore or Jeff Samardzjia. Maybe even Tyler Anderson of the Rockies? If they are willing to trade their veterans (still 2 months to see where they are at) I'm not certain the Twins will find a taker for Dozier. I do think Ervin will get some solid offers if the Twins want to listen, but it all comes down to what they see as a fair offer for him. I LOVE some prospects in the Yankees system, as well as the Astros, but who knows where they will be in the standings come the end of July. -

He is a 17 year old kid still, and he lives in the eastern time zone, so it was going on 10:30/11pm at that point. Not crazy to go to bed at that time for a teenager. But yeah, seems funny thinking about it as he is not a professional athlete.

The sense I got was that if he were taken in the 3rd round even, he was leaning towards signing. He didn't outright say that though.

From my understanding when he answered it, it was, that was how much time was left before the pick would be announced, and he had to decide between going pro and going to college. I don't believe money was discussed at that point, but I could be wrong.

I really enjoyed doing this interview. I hope everyone enjoys this as much as I did. Thanks!

Yesterday, we posted Ted's Q&A with Twins 2nd round pick Landon Leach. Today, we have a second Q&A with the hard-throwing right-hander. This one is from Cory Engelhardt, the host of the Baseball Is Good podcast. Remarkably, Ted and Cory asked Landon completely different questions despite not knowing that the other was talking to him. So, grab some coffee and enjoy a second interview with the intriguing prep pitcher from Canada. Yesterday, we posted Ted's Q&A with Twins 2nd round pick Landon Leach. Today, we have a second Q&A with the hard-throwing right-hander. This one is from Cory Engelhardt, the host of the Baseball Is Good podcast. Remarkably, Ted and Cory asked Landon completely different questions despite not knowing that the other was talking to him. So, grab some coffee and enjoy a second interview with the intriguing prep pitcher from Canada. Be sure to read the first Q&A with Landon Leach, but now enjoy a new conversation with the catcher-turned-pitcher. Cory: First off, happy early birthday (Landon’s birthday is July 12) Landon: Thanks! Cory: What was your draft experience like? Where were you when you were drafted? Landon: I was at home. It was like any other night. I wasn’t paying super close attention as I was projected to be a 3rd round pick. My mom told me to go to bed about ten minutes before I got the call from my agent, and my dad was already in bed. It was a shock when I got the call from my agent (because I was projected to be a 3rd round pick) and I had like 20 seconds to make a decision. Cory: What was that 20 seconds like? Landon: It was a shock, but very exciting! Cory: Ok, so why baseball? Why did you choose baseball as your sport? Landon: I’ll start from the beginning. I tried t-ball at age 4, and quit at that point because the competition was not good. I started baseball again at age 8, along with a number of other sports (football, Lacrosse, downhill skiing, hockey, along with volleyball). I have always loved baseball too, but quit playing competitive hockey at age 13 to mostly focus on baseball as a potential career. Cory: Ok, so growing up, did you have a favorite team or favorite player(s) for baseball? Or, maybe more so, are there any specific players you try to emulate or compare yourself to now? Landon: Growing up, I cheered for different teams, but not really specific players. Now, since I have been pitching, I try to follow and pitch like (Cory) Kluber. I love his mentality, his body type is similar to mine in a sense, and his cutter/2 seamer. Cory: Ok, tell me about your pitch arsenal. What do you throw, and what do you try to do with your specific pitches? Landon: I have a 4-seam fastball, 2-seam fastball, slider and a changeup. My 4-seam can get up to 96, and my slider is definitely my out pitch. I’m confident in my fastball(s) and my slider, and my changeup is getting there, for sure, since I have had to use it more in the last year as I was facing professionals while pitching for the Canadian national team. Cory: You only started pitching maybe two years ago. You were always a catcher before that point. Do you miss catching or are you happy with the change? Landon: I miss catching to an extent. Switching to pitching started when I was 15, and our team was warming up/training with long toss, and I was throwing it further than anyone else. That’s when my coaches asked if I would be ok trying pitching full time because of my arm. I had to get that ok’d by my parents, but once I/we made that decision, it has been a great one. Cory: What is a typical day like for you now, since you have become a professional? Landon: Not much different than before really, except I’m not in school anymore. Workout, eat a lot, rest and throw. Graduation for school is this Friday, and then my visa is getting worked out so I should be down in Florida in a week to a week-and-a-half. Cory: So do you anticipate beginning your career with the Gulf Coast League in Fort Myers? Landon: Yes, that is the plan. Cory: So, going back to the draft and turning pro, was it a difficult decision to forego college and become a professional baseball player? Landon: The University of Texas is a great school, and they have a great baseball program and a high-quality education. But at the end of the day, I wanted to start my professional baseball career, and I am excited for that opportunity. Cory: One last question; since being drafted and now signing, how has it been with you and your parents/family? Are your parents excited for you? Were they wanting you to go to college? What has that been like for you? Landon: My parents were obviously excited for this. My family is pretty low key but I will say my dad is wearing lots of Twins gear lately, and he is excited to have people ask him why he is a Twins fan. He is pretty proud, excited to say that his son was drafted by the Twins. Cory: Thank you so much for your time! I appreciate it, and good luck going forward with your career with the Twins! Have a great day! Landon: Thanks, have a great day too! ----------------------------------------------------- Thank you to Landon for taking time, a couple of times, to respond to questions for Twins Daily. Hopefully his visa will arrive soon, and he'll get to Florida and start working! Feel free to ask questions below, and/or wish him Good Luck! ------------------------------------------------------ If you missed any of the other Q&As with Twins 2017 draft picks, you can check them here: #1 - Royce Lewis #1 Comp - Brent Rooker #2 - Landon Leach, Part 1 #3 - Blayne Enlow View full article

Episode #4 I taped last night, 6/22/17, and I had the chance to talk with Tom Froemming (@BaseballbyTom) We talked Twins, how to disseminate analytics to a diverse audience, and if diving headfirst into baseball statistics makes the game more enjoyable. Please give it a listen! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/06/23/episode-4

Episode #3 was completed on 6/15/17. I had the opportunity to talk with Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) and we talked about baseball, the Twins, and amateur/town ball. Please give it a listen! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/06/16/episode-3

Episode #2 was completed on 6/8/17. I did the podcast with my friend Seth Stohs. (@sethtweets) He helps run this website, TwinsDaily, and I really had a great time talking baseball with him. Please give this a listen! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/06/09/episode-2-1

Episode #1 was back on 6/1/17. I did this podcast with my friend Ben. He comments on twinsdaily once in a while and loves the website, so I wanted to get him immersed into the world of podcasting, or at least my view of it. Please give it a listen... http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood/2017/06/02/baseball-is-good-episode-1

I've started a baseball-centric podcast. It touches on twins topics often, but otherwise it is more about the sport and life of baseball. I've had a great opportunity to interview some fun people, so far mostly people associated here with Twins Daily, including Seth Stohs (@sethtweets) Brandon Warne (@Brandon_Warne) and most recently Tom Froemming (@BaseballbyTom) The show is Thursday nights at 8:30pm. It's on ITunes, and the title of the show is Baseball is Good. Please let me know if you have questions or topics you would want to discuss. Or if you want to be on the show at some point, let me know and I can make that happen. Admittedly, I am not good at advertising or marketing this kind of thing. I'm doing it for the fun/joy of it all. If you want to listen and be a part of it, please feel free! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/baseballisgood On Facebook, @baseballisgood ITunes, https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-is-good/id1248100288?mt=2 Episode 1: Cory and Ben Episode 2: Cory with Seth Stohs Episode 3: Cory with Brandon Warne Episode 4: Cory with Tom Froemming Episode 5: Cory with Willie Swanson Episode 6: Cory with Ben Episode 7: Cory with Ron Wade Episode 8: Cory with Benjamin Chase Episode 9: Cory with Jennie Engelhardt Episode 10: Cory with Jon Sintes Episode 11: Connor Looker (hot stove stats) Episode 12: Graig Kreindler Episode 13: Steve Buhr Episode 14: Seth Stohs Episode 15: Nick Tuckner (KDWA) Episode 16: Town Ball Tuesdays Episode 17: JD Cameron Episode 18: Bob Sacamento Episode 19: Ted Schwerzler Episode 20: Myjah (Twinkie Town) Episode 21: Nick Nelson Episode 22: Ryan Meehan Episode 23: Zach Friesen Episode 24: Andy Ross Episode 25: Annie Huidekoper Episode 26: Darren Wolfson Episode 27: Luke Muellerleile Episode 28: Devlin Clark Episode 29: Chad Matthews Episode 30: Episode 31: Episode 32: Episode 33:

Loved the recap. Also, it's scary to think that the Twins are almost as close to 3rd as they are to 1st now. If the weekend doesn't go well, 2nd place may not be in the cards either.

Because of the power and speed combo (for potential) that Lewis brings, I almost have to put him at 1 ahead of Gordon. Yes, Gordon is having a great year at AA (and I have very high hopes for him too) but Gordon isn't going to be a 310 hitter in the majors, and he certainly isn't going to be more than 10-15 homeruns a year. Not that that is a bad thing, but with what his ceiling appears to be, I have to put Lewis at 1. Lewis does have that 20-25 homerun power potential, along with the speed. Neither of them may be a SS (who knows, it's years away) but for the bat alone, that's where I am looking right now. Also, I'm curious, why do you have Gonsalves ahead of Romero? I view Gonsalves' ceiling as more of a 3, and more likely 4, when I view Romero as having top of the rotation stuff. Even this year, their numbers are both great, but Romero is averaging more innings per start. Just my 2 cents.