Seth Stohs

How good have Game 1 and Game 2 of the World Series been? Two teams in the bottom half of payroll competing against each other. Two teams who have to compete against teams with significantly higher payrolls all season but had the best record in their respective leagues. The Milwaukee Brewers and Tampa Bay Rays tied for the major-league lead with a .258 team batting average. The Brewers had baseball's best on-base percentage (.341) while the Rays led the AL in OBP at .326. Brewers had 1,422 hits to lead baseball while the Rays were #2. The Brewers scored the second most runs in baseball (832) while the Rays ranked fourth in the American League (736 runs). Meanwhile, the Rays ranked 11th in the American League with 169 homers. The Brewers 154 homers was just two more than the Blue Jays who had the lowest long-ball total. The teams put the ball in play. The Rays had the fewest strikeouts in baseball, and the Brewers had the fourth fewest. Tampa had 164 stolen bases, most in the AL and second in MLB. The Brewers stole 162 bases. (See the Addendum at the bottom of this article to see where the Twins ranked in these categories.) Add in dominant bullpens and starters who throw strikes with good stuff. As important, they are helped by generally very good defense. Jackson Chourio and Brice Turang are finalists for 2026 Rawlings Gold Gloves. Turang won the platinum winner just a couple of years ago. Garrett Mitchell is very good in centerfield, and Sal Frelick has previously won Gold Gloves. The Rays have a Gold Glove finalist at shortstop (Taylor Walls) and in left field (Chandler Simpson). This week, Sports Info Solutions announced their 2026 Fielding Bible Awards. Brice Turang and Taylor Walls were winners at second base and shortstop, respectively. But to the main point of this article. Beyond the statistics, what do the two World Series team do as an organization, and how do they compare to the Twins? The first topic is the MLB Draft. One of the fun things going back to when we added Brewer Fanatic to the DiamondCentric family has been following how the Brewers do things. I have developed several thoughts on how the Twins draft based on paying attention to it for 30 years. My time following the Brewers draft goes back about five years. And, frankly, I had to research the Rays draft the last week or so, preparing for this article. Here are thoughts on how the three organizations have drafted in the last decade or so. Milwaukee: Mix and Match to Maximize Draft Board The Brewers like to draft high school players with upside. While many teams go safe after the first three or four rounds by selecting mostly college players. The Brewers are one of just a few organizations that you will find taking high school picks often in the final 10-15 rounds of the draft. It takes creativity with the draft's bonus pool. In 2022, they took infielder Eric Brown Jr with the 27th pick out of Coastal Carolina and signed him for about $650,000 under slot value. Then in the second round, they drafted Jacob Misiorowski out of junior college and doubled the $1.13 million slot value. They drafted several college players and signed them for $100-150,000 under slot to give to The Miz. That's worked out quite well. In 2023, they drafted college hitters Brock Wilken and Mike Boeve which gave them almost $2.5 million in slot space. That allowed them to sign prep stars Cooper Pratt (6th round), Bishop Letson (11th round) and Josh Adamczewski (15th round). That strategy certainly comes with risks. A high school player may have a higher ceiling, but they also have much lower floors. Milwaukee drafted 10 high school players among their 21 picks in 2024. In 2024 and 205, they picked 12 high school players to 10 college guys. Tampa Takes Toolsy Teens with Top Picks When the Rays used the second overall pick in the 2026 draft to take high school shortstop Grady Emerson, it marked the sixth time in the last seven drafts that they took a high school player. And frankly, aside from a few big-time college players (Evan Longoria, David Price, Dewon Brazelton, and Brendan McKay), the Rays have drafted a lot of high school athletes with their top picks over their three decades of existence. And they've generally done a very good job. You remember the names like Josh Hamilton, Carl Crawford, Rocco Baldelli, and Delmon Young, Tim Beckham certainly fits that category. He was the top overall pick in the 2008 draft. The biggest difference appears to be how willing to use their draft picks in trades. Of the 26-man World Series roster, just three were drafted, signed and developed by the Rays. Certainly, a different story from their first World Series run in 2008. It's a strategy that relies upon patience and player development. It takes time for a 17-year-old to fully develop as a player, as a person. A 21- or 22-year-old college draft pick is nearly full developed. But the Rays take the tools a player already has and goes to work with them. Simpson was the Rays' second-round pick out of Georgia Tech from 2022. He's got a good eye, bat-to-ball skills, and incredible speed. His development plan didn't include a check box for "Hit more homers." No, they let him develop into a guy who hit .306 in 2026, his second MLB season, and led the league with 46 stolen bases. He won't be walk much. He won't have much power, so he won't have a great OPS., However, Kevin Cash is one of the smartest managers in baseball and he's had him batting third in the World Series. Twins Take Tools Early, Then Go to College When drafting near the very top of the MLB Draft, the Twins are not afraid of taking the player with the most upside. Obviously in most cases, that is a high school pick (Byron Buxton, Royce Lewis, Walker Jenkins), but many believe that Vahn Lackey, the team's 2026 top pick from Georgia Tech, might just be scratching the surface of his talent. As the first round moves to its second half and into the competitive balance picks, the Twins history is to take college bats, mashers like Matt Wallner, Brent Rooker, Aaron Sabato, or even college middle infielders who hit well in college with a couple of strong tools, like Luke Keaschall, Kaelen Culpepper and Levi Michael. While there are plenty of examples of taking pitchers in various spots of the draft, they seem to like taking pitchers with "Ace" upside, but they have missed time with injury. Connor Prielipp and Riley Quick fit into that category. It seems once the team gets past about pick 100, they have really focused their attention almost solely on college players. In 2026, the Twins made 21 draft picks. 20 of them were college players. They drafted right-handed prep pitcher Ethan Wachsmann was the team's third-round pick (#79 overall). Rounds 4-10 were all pitchers. Most recent years, rounds 11-20 for the Twins have been 8-10 pitchers. In 2026, they selected more infielders. The Twins scouts and pitcher development deserve credit for finding arms that provide the team with more organizational depth. SUMMARY At season's end, 22 out of 46 players on the Twins 40-man roster (six on 60-Day IL) had been drafted by the team. The Brewers have eight players on their World Series roster that they drafted. The Rays have just three players on the World Series roster that they drafted. Of course, that's not the only measure of draft success. It's not even the best. And there is no way to truly grade a draft. Personally, I like the Brewers method the most as a draft and development fan. Consider it's important to be strong up the middle. Pratt and Turang are the keystone combo. Frelick and Mitchell are Brewers in center and right field. Misiorowski and Henderson are their top two starters, and Aaron Ashby has starred out of the bullpen this offseason. The Rays draft doesn't have a strong presence on their playoff roster, but that's because they are big on trades. Consider their deadline deal with the Marlins involving Liam Hicks. They gave up two former high school first-round picks and a Twins 2023 draft pick for him. Addendum The Twins hit .245 (4th in AL), .317 OBP (5th in AL), .403 SLG (4th in AL) and a .720 OPS (4th in AL). They scored 739 runs which tied with the Yankees for second in the AL. They ranked fifth in the league with 1,337 hits. Their 256 doubles ranked fifth. They were second with 26 triples, and their 187 homers ranked sixth in the AL. On the other side, the Twins had the second fewest walks and fifth fewest in strikeouts (7th fewest in MLB). They had 91 steals (9th in the AL). And to summarize the pitching, the Twins finished in the bottom third of most pitching stats in the AL. And while the Twins don't commit many errors, we know that their defense leaves a lot to be desired. Image courtesy of USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect View full article

Make no sense to me at all to consider Lowe. He's a guy a team signs as a pinch-hitter, part-timer, a veteran bat. Not any sort of answer. His numbers are not close to be enough better to not give Royce another year. We've seen this scenario before. Twins draft an athlete high in the first round. He faces a variety of injuries on the way up the ladder. He debuts, shows flashes of greatness, struggles, injuries, and ultimate they become pretty strong players. I'd much, much rather lock him up long-term than lose him for pretty much nothing.

100% agree with IL'ing him. He did pull up having clearly felt a pull. The hamstrings are too important. Gie him the 10 days and don't even think twice about it.

And, I think an argument could be made that Colby Turner and Isaiah Lane performed better. Good showing for the '26 class.

When Derek Falvey left the Twins organization in February, there was no question that he would have plenty of opportunities in his future to be a team's GM or President of Baseball Operations, as he was with the Twins. It likely would be more about when he wanted to get back into the daily, 24/7, 7 days/week, 12 months/year job. That timeline could be coming in the near future. Michael Marino, a national baseball writer tweeted that the "Mets have identified former Twins President of Baseball Operations Derek Falvey as someone of interest as they look to expand their front office." An interesting tidbit to the comments, Marino added, "Falvey was once co-director of baseball operations for the Cleveland Indians alongside none other than (Mets President of Baseball Operations) David Stearns. Stearns, 41, was also the GM for the Milwaukee Brewers from 2015 and later became their President of Baseball Operations. The two are close and have a tremendous amount of respect for each other. Matt Arnold has continued that Brewers run of success on a middling budget. A potential job for Falvey and/or others is the Mets GM job, but it could also be advisory roles and the link. Mets billionaire owner Steve Cohen has certainly never been afraid to spend money, and the Mets have a huge budget. Cohen and Stearns went all-in to sign Juan Soto a couple of offseasons ago. There have been other good and bad moves. Right now, he's being heavily criticized for not bringing back Pete Alonso and trying to replace him with the likes of Jorge Polanco and Luis Robert. They fired their manager, Carlos Mendoza, in June, but on Tuesday, the Mets removed the "interim" tag, making Andy Green their manager. He joined the TV broadcast and said, "We're going to add certain voices to the front office that are going to be helpful." Twins fans now remember the whole "right-sizing" of the budget that Falvey was pushed to do. But when he was given payroll, he wasn't afraid to stretch it and make some bigger moves than we typically have seen from the Twins. With his analytic skills, focus on pitcher development and now nine years of experience as The Leader, Falvey would be a nice addition for the Mets staff. I believe most of the Twins personnel that was let go last offseason have wound up elsewhere. Rocco Baldelli was quickly hired by the Los Angeles Dodgers for their front office staff. Hitting coach Matt Borgschulte is with the Washington Nationals. 1B Coach Hank Conger quickly joined the Orioles as a bullpen coach. Jayce Tingler is the bench coach with the Giants. Colby Suggs is the bullpen coach for the Texas Rangers. Tommy Watkins is the third-base coach for the Atlanta Braves. There are coaches with Twins ties all over the league. Same with front office personnel. Expect Derek Falvey to get a pretty nice job soon too. View full rumor

Image courtesy of Kiyoshi Mio - IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Twins organization on Saturday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 0, Columbus 4 Box Score The St. Paul Saints offense has been a juggernaut throughout most of the 2026 season. Coming into Saturday’s game, the Saints 250 home runs placed them one over the 249 homers hit by Greensboro Grasshoppers, the High-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. The next three teams on the team home run leaderboard are the Chicago Cubs (211), New York Yankees (209), and Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders (209), the Yankees Triple-A affiliate. With one more game to go, 13 players have hit 10 or more home runs for the Saints in 2026. Aaron Sabato and Matt Wallner are tied at the top with 25 home runs. Kyler Fedko his 17 homers. Gabriel Gonzalez and Cody Morissette each have hit 16 home runs. Ben Ross hit 15, and Kaelen Culpepper hit 14. Noah Cardenas hit 13 long balls while Orlando Arcia and Walker Jenkins hit a dozen each. Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala'i Rosario each have 11 Saints homers. Finally, Royce Lewis had 10 home runs in 15 games for the Saints. Alan Roden may have joined that list, but he and his nine Saints homers were called up to the big leagues this weekend. Hendry Mendez can join the list if he hits two homers on Sunday. In addition, the Saints came into Saturday’s game leading the 20-team International League in Runs Scored (836). So, their performance in their penultimate game of the 2026 season was certainly not indicative of their season. On Saturday night in Columbus, the Saints had four hits and no walks. With two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning, Tanner Schobel knocked his 18th double of the season. It marked the first time that the Saints had a runner reach second base in the game. It was followed by a ground out which made them 0-for-1 with Runners in Scoring Position in the game. In fact, the top of the second and third innings ended with double plays. The Saints ended the game with just two runners left on base. Jack Anderson made the start. The right-hander went four innings and gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and a walk. He had three strikeouts. Paulshawn Pasqualotto struck out one batter over two perfect innings. Matt Bowman gave up a hit and a walk in a scoreless seventh inning. Eric Orze struck out one batter in a quiet eighth frame. The Saints are now 82-66, tied with the Memphis Redbirds for the best overall record in the International League West Division. The Redbirds grabbed the IL’s first-half playoff spot. The Saints finished the first half at 42-32, 4.5 games back of Memphis. In the second half, the Saints are 40-34. That’s three games behind Indianapolis in the division, and four games behind East-leading Rochester who is currently in the lead for the second playoff spot. They currently have a ½-game lead over the Syracuse Mets. Hitter of the Day: Tanner Schobel (St. Paul): 1-for-3, 2B(5), 1 RBI. Pitcher of the Day: Paulshawn Pasqualotto (St. Paul): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 23 pitches, 16 strikes (66.7%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they performed. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, BB, R (batted eighth, played CF) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, K (Pinch Hit in 7th, stayed in LF) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 (batted second, played LF) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 1-for-4 (batted first, played RF) UPCOMING PROBABLES Sunday, September 20 St. Paul @Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (4-6, 4.37 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 72-83 (Final Game 9/27) St. Paul Saints: 82-66 (Final Game (9/20) Wichita Wind Surge: 55-81 (Season Complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 48-82 (Season Complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 68-60 (Season Complete) FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Kala'i Rosario) TRANSACTIONS The Twins placed OF Trevor Larnach on the Injured List. The corresponding move is OF Alan Roden returning to the Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Columbus 3 Box Score Occasionally you will hear a Baseball Guy say that the hardest out to get is the 27th. And something that’s true even if you have 26 outs and two strikes. More on that later. The Saints got the scoring started in the top of the second inning when Cody Morissette hit his 17th home run of the season to make it 1-0. Kendry Rojas started for the Saints, and by design, he went two innings. He gave up one hit and walked one, but he gave up no runs. He also struck out three batters. Alejandro Hidalgo gave up one hit but struck out three batters in a scoreless inning. Ryan Gallagher came on and gave up just one run on three hits and two walks over four innings. Tied at 1-1 through five innings, the Saints reclaimed the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Aaron Sabato hit a one-out single. Then with two outs Kala’i Rosario doubled him in to make it 2-1. In the bottom of the eighth, Garrett Acton took over for Gallagher. However, things didn’t go great for him. The first batter he faced, Kody Huff, led off with his 23rd homer of the season to make it 2-2. Blake Perkins followed with a triple, and he scored on a Dom Nunez sacrifice fly that gave the Guardians Triple-A affiliate the 3-2 lead. But things started well for the Saints in the top of the ninth. Matt Wallner and Kala’i Rosario started the innings with singles. Morissette came up and grounded into a force out which left runners on first and third. Tristan Gray came up and lined out to shortstop for the second out. That brought Jake Rucker to the plate. The first pitch was a called strike at 99.3 mph. The second pitch was 98.8 mph and Rucker was able to just tip it. Down to the final strike, Carlos Hernandez tried to sneak one more fastball by Rucker. On 0-2, Rucker lined a 98.7 mph drive to left field. Wallner scored, and Morissette scored from first to give the Saints a 4-3 lead. Marco Raya came in for the bottom of the ninth. He got a groundout before issuing a walk. With Kyle Manzardo batting, Raya got ahead 1-2 before a changeup was grounded up the middle. Tristan Gray fielded it, stepped on second base and threw to first base to end the game. The Saints scored their four runs on eight hits and two walks. Rosario went 3-for-4 with his fifth double and an RBI. Hendry Mendez was 1-for-2 with two walks and his 13th double. Morissette’s homer was his 17th signing joining the Saints. Rucker’s double was his second with the Saints this year. The Saints named Aaron Sabato their team MVP for 2026. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Kala’i Rosario (St. Paul): 3-for-4, 2B(5), 1 RBI. Pitcher(s) of the Day Kendry Rojas (St. Paul): 2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 39 pitches, 26 strikes (66.7%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they performed. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota) - 3-for-4, HR(3), R, RBI (batting eighth, playing CF) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 3 K (batting sixth, played LF, robbed a homer) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, 2 BB, 2B(13) (batted second, played DH) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 0-for-4 (batted first, played LF) #15 - RHP Ryan Gallagher (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, WP, 75 pitches, 50 strikes (66.7%). UPCOMING PROBABLES Saturday, September 19 St. Paul @Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - Jack Anderson (5-6, 4.84 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 72-82 (Final Game 9/27) St. Paul Saints: 82-65 (Final Game (9/20) Wichita Wind Surge: 55-81 (Season Complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 48-82 (Season Complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 68-60 (Season Complete) FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Gabriel Gonzalez) TRANSACTIONS No Transactions today. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 16, Columbus 6 Box Score The Saints held a fairly comfortable lead throughout most of this game, but a seven-run eighth inning rally put it out of reach. Before the game started, the team knew that the Rochester Red Wings had already won an afternoon game which eliminated the Saints from playoff contention. So maybe a game like this, where everyone contributed something. Eight out of nine batters in the lineup had at least one hit, and five hitters had multi-hit games. After two scoreless innings, the Saints scored in six straight innings. Trent Baker made the start. He gave up one run on four hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out seven batters. C.J. Culpepper gave up three runs on three hits and a walk in the fifth inning. He struck out two batters. Ricky Castro came in and worked the final four innings. He was charged with two runs on four hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts. Hendry Mendez went 3-for-5 in the game with his 12th double. Jake Rucker went 3-for-4 with a walk and his first Saints double. Matt Wallner went 2-for-5, was hit by a pitch and hit his 17th double. He also hit his 25th home run of the season, tying him with Aaron Sabato for the Saints single-season home run record. With three more games to go, it will be interesting to see who wins that title. Gabriel Gonzalez went 2-for-4 and was hit by two pitches. He also hit his 16th home run of the season. Alan Roden led off and went 2-for-5 with a walk. Roden, Gonzalez, and catcher Ian Daugherty each drove in three runs in the game. Wallner, Rucker, and Cody Morissette each drove in two runs. Morissette went 1-for-3 and walked three times. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter(s) of the Day Matt Wallner (St. Paul): 2-for-4, HBP, 2B(17), HR(25), 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 K. Walker Jenkins (Minnesota): 3-for-4, HR(2), 2 R, 2 RBI, K. Pitcher(s) of the Day Trent Baker (St. Paul): 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our Twins Top 20 prospects. See how they did today. #1 - OF Walker Jenkins (Minnesota) - 3-for-4, HR(2), 2 R, 2 RBI, K (batted eighth, played CF) #6 - OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 3 K (batted fifth, playing LF) #7 - OF Hendry Mendez (St. Paul) - 3-for-5, BB, 2B(12), 3 R (batted fifth, played LF) #9 - 1B/OF Gabriel Gonzalez (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, 2 HBP, HR(16), 3 R, 3 RBI (batted second, played 1B) UPCOMING PROBABLES Friday, September 18 St. Paul @Columbus (6:05 pm CT) - LHP Kendry Rojas (2-0, 3.00 ERA) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 71-81 (in progress) (Final Game 9/27) St. Paul Saints: 81-65 (Final Game (9/20) Wichita Wind Surge: 55-81 (Season Complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 48-82 (Season Complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 68-60 (Season Complete) FCL Twins: 33-26 (Season Complete) DSL Twins: 19-35 (Season Complete) Please feel free to ask questions about the teams, the rosters, and discuss today’s games, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

On Wednesday, Rachell Wolfe updated her Facebook page writing "I'm sorry to write this but after a really really difficult and torturous battle Brian Worlfe passed away early this morning." Brian Wolfe was just 45 years old. He never played in the big leagues with the Minnesota Twins, but he spent parts of six seasons in the Twins minor-league system. They drafted him in 1999 out of high school, and he climbed the organizational ladder slowly, reaching Triple-A. The Twins released him in May of 2005. Ten days later, he signed with the Brewers, and in January of 2006, he was traded to the Toronto Blue Jays in exchange for Corey Koskie. In 2007, he got off to a strong start at Triple-A Syracuse. Through 17 games and 26 innings, he had a 1.04 ERA and a 0.92 ERA. He was called up to the big leagues and went 3-1 with a 2.98 ERA over 45 1/3 innings. In 2008, he went 0-2 with a 2.45 ERA and a 1.09 WHIP in 20 games and 22 innings. In 2009, he pitched in 14 games and 15 1/3 innings for the Blue Jays. From 2010-2018 in Japan. He spent time with the Nippon Ham Fighters, the Softbank Hawks, and the Seibu Lions. In 1999, the Twins drafted him with their sixth round pick out of Servite High School in Anaheim. That draft, the Twins took high school players with their first four picks, then after taking a pitcher from Auburn, they took Wolfe out of the prep ranks too. The team's first-round pick was OF B.J. Garbe. He was in the organization until the trade deadline of 2004. In the second round, the Twins drafted prep catcher Rob Bowen. He was in the organization through the 2005 season and played in 24 games for the Twins between 2003 and 2004. The Twins third-round pick was another prep catcher, a Canadian named Justin Morneau. He debuted in 2003 and then was with the Twins until the 2013 trade deadline. He became one of the best Twins players in their history, a four-time All Star, two-time Silver Slugger, and the 2006 AL MVP. He's part of the Twins front office and the television booth. The Twins fourth-round pick was LHP Jeff Randazzo, a prep pitcher from Pennsylvania. He remained in the organization through the 2005 season, topping out at Double-A. Randazzo has been a long-time sports agent. In the last year, he began his own agency, Covenant Sports Group. Fifth-round pick RHP Brent Schoening was drafted out of Auburn. A pitcher, he remained in the Twins organization through the 2005 season. He spent the last two years in Triple-A Rochester. Eighth-round pick OF Matt Scanlon played for the Gophers. Like Wolfe, Scanlon remained in the Twins organization until early in the 2005 season. Others from that 1999 draft class that signed include: OF Kevin West (16th), Waseca High School infielder Barry Quickstad (18th), RHP Travis Bowyer (20th), RHP Willie Eyre (23rd), infielder Terry Tiffee (26th), RHP Jason Richardson (35th), I mention each of these players, noting that those that signed stuck in the Twins organization five or six seasons. These players get close, and even if they're at different levels, the relationships are still there. Then add in 1998 draft picks such as Tommy Watkins and Kevin Frederick. Or players from the 2000 draft such as Josh Rabe, J.D. Durbin , Jason Kubel, Jason Miller and others. Our thoughts turn to his wife Rachel who is likely in pain, and from how words, has been for quite some time. 72 big-league games for Toronto may not sound like a lot, but he pitched in nine games for the FCL Twins in 1999. He spent the 2000 and 2001 seasons in Davenport, IA, pitching in 59 games for Quad Cities. Between 2002 and 2005, he pitched in 32 games for the Ft. Myers Miracle, 42 games for New Britain, and another three games for Rochester. With the Brewers, he spent time in Brevard County, Florida and Huntsville, Alabama. He also represented the organization in the Arizona Fall League. With the Blue Jays, he pitched in Dunedin, New Hampshire, and Syracuse before his big-league time in Toronto. He also pitched some for Las Vegas in 2009 when it became the Triple-A affiliate of the Jays. Nine seasons in Japan. And, he did some coaching upon retirement. That's a pretty large baseball family. View full rumor