Seth Stohs

They wouldn't have taken him if they didn't already reach an agreement on numbers.

Ethan Wilson, another very talented college outfielder? Joe Mack, a prep catcher whose brother Charlie is a catcher with the Mighty Mussels (who is in Denver with the family)? Pitcher? Hitter? What to do???

Getting close!!!

Is it OK yet to start dreaming on Kumar Rocker now that he's fallen down to 9... can he make it to 26? OK, no, but I want to dream.

Hearing that money is very much playing a big role in many of these top picks. That strategy certainly isn't new. Also, the Mozzicato pick is loved by people with the Twins. Love his curveball.

When the team is bad, like this year, we would normally be excited about potential September call-ups, but remember teams can now only add two (or three?) players for September. LOVE that the Twins are letting Charlie Mack be with his brother in Denver tomorrow for the draft! The BJ Boyd story is cool. Played football after 7 years of minor league ball (reached AAA)... was ready to play at some solid D1 programs (had several offers) but now is back with baseball. No word on potential promotions. It's not something front office decisions makers discuss publicly... we can only speculate that Hamilton would be the next St. Paul pitchers brought up (though they'd need to drop someone from the 40-man (or 60-Day someone). Moran could probably be any time. Zach Neff deserves it too.

As he was talking, it really reminded me of Garver and Jeffers. Smart. Great perspective. Understands his role well. Not the hitting chops as those two, but the approach and thoughtful approach are similar. He's pretty impressive. He's not married. I believe he has a girlfriend.

He was a college catcher selected in the 29th round of the 2019 draft, but Alex Isola is garnering some much-deserved attention at the plate and behind it. Alex Isola has played catcher most of his ball-playing career. He grew up near Sacramento and attended Jesuit High School where he starred on the ball field and in the classroom. He went to the University of Utah for one season and played in 12 games. The next year, he headed to Arizona where he played for Yavapai College, a junior college. He hit .367 with eight homers and 37 RBI that year which provided him with the opportunity to go to Texas Christian University for his junior season. In 2019, Isola started 49 games for the Horned Frogs, 34 at catcher and 15 at DH. He hit .267/.377/.385 (.762) with seven doubles and five home runs. He also really grew as a catcher. The Twins drafted him in the 29th round in 2019 and sent him to Elizabethton. After just seven games in the Appalachian League, he finished the season with 18 games played for the then Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. This spring, Isola was invited to participate in the Twins depth camp at big-league spring training. He didn’t get many in-game plate appearances, but he learned a lot. He said in early May, “The experience was one full of learning and a taste of what it’s like to be at that level. Just to see guys go about their business and watch them on an everyday basis allowed me to see what it takes and gave me things to learn about and add to my game.” Isola continued, “I got to talk to Nelson Cruz and Josh Donaldson who were some of my favorite guys to watch in high school, but I tried not to be too in awe because I didn’t want them to feel uncomfortable. They really just showed me how to find a routine and the thing that impressed me the most was their discipline each day about doing the same things over and over with enthusiasm.” He spent a lot of time working with the big-league catchers. “It can be really complicated. Those guys do a good job of doing complicated better and making it as simple as possible. Just watching Garver, Jeffers and others, you find a routine that works for you, like a pregame routine, something that you can go to every day to get better. It was more about the way they approach every day and go about their business. Baseball is repetition. You have to do the same thing every day, and you have to love doing the same stuff every day. You see how they go about it. They don’t cheat themselves. They grind everyday.” Let’s get back to the defensive side of catching where that grind can be tough. I was always too chicken to want to don the tools of ignorance when I was young. I wanted to play shortstop or third base. I didn’t want to wear the gear or take foul tips. However, in summer amateur ball while in college, I agreed to play the position when the team’s catcher (OK, my brother) got hit in the face with a fastball that tailed right into his nose. I’ve got to be honest, I loved it. No, not that my brother had a broken nose and needed surgery. That was scary! But I loved catching. I wish I would have played there all along. You are involved in every pitch. You kind of run the show. What is it about the position that Isola most enjoys? His answer speaks volumes about him as a person and as a teammate. “I think my favorite part is the relationship you form with the pitchers. I take a lot of pride in that. It’s not about me back there. My job is to get the best out of those guys. For me, I try to be there for them if they want me to catch extra. Get to know them off the field. What’s their personality? And most important, what is their stuff like?” In addition to building that relationship, Isola has worked hard on other aspects of catching too. “(I want to) Make sure I’m on top of my game calling. That’s been a big thing for me. Such an important part of the game is game calling, but it’s also fun because it’s like solving a problem. You’ve got your guy’s strengths against a hitter's weaknesses. But you’ve got to first focus on your guy’s strengths and then form a plan based on that. Obviously you like throwing out runners. The receiving part is, the Twins are big on that, it took me awhile to learn, and I’m still learning everyday. We’re on the one-knee stance a lot. My favorite part is the relationship part, and then game-calling because that’s where I can solve problems.” With Kernels first baseman Gabe Snyder on the Injured List and Trey Cabbage up in Double-A, the team has to play others at first base. Many nights, that is a catcher, and Isola has been able to get extra at bats because of that flexibility. He had played a little bit there in junior college. “It was one of the things I worked on during quarantine. I had so much time. Some of the guys I worked with are infielders, so I figured why not. I got to see Astudillo, and you can create a lot of value for yourself just by playing other positions.” He added, “I’m open to it. I want to learn. You just play wherever the team needs you at this point. We’ve had so many injuries this year. I’m just trying to help where I can. I want to play every day, so whatever “Dink” wants, I can do.” Also during quarantine, Isola was able to rekindle something that will help him through the ups and downs of a long baseball season and career. “My faith is something that I grew up with and when I got to college strayed away from to be honest. This last year during quarantine I rekindled my relationship with God and it’s made me realize how important it is to have a relationship with Him. Early in the year when I was struggling at the plate, I had faith that God would get me through and reading the Bible allowed me to maintain a good perspective on things that normally would have had me panicking. Having that relationship with God is key for me along with my family in getting through the ups and downs of a season.” On Tuesday night in Cedar Rapids, Isola was behind the plate, but at the plate, he went 3-for-5 with two runs and three RBI. He had a single, a double and his seventh home run of the season. No, he didn’t have a triple. He hasn’t had one in his professional career. He didn’t have any in three seasons of college ball. He said, “I think I had one in high school. I’m not a fast runner. I’m a catcher. I’m going to need a deep ballpark.” In 42 games on the season, Isola is now hitting .234/.379/.438 (.817) with seven doubles, seven homers and 20 RBI. He also has 31 walks to go against 36 strikeouts. He is patient at the plate and yet has some really good pop in his bat. A couple of weeks ago, Brian Dinkelman said, “I think his eye and approach have always been there as far as laying off pitches and taking his walks. Now he’s getting stronger and is starting to hit the ball a little harder. The power is starting to come around. So if he can combine the walks with some power also, he can be a good hitter.” “For me as a hitter, I try to go in with an understanding of what I’m going to do. There are times when you are just reacting, but if I can go in with a good plan based on which pitcher we’re facing. The big thing with the walks is you just don’t want to give away at bats. That’s the tough thing about baseball. It’s a long season. You really have to be competitive in there. There are a lot of strikeouts in baseball right now. I choke up with two strikes. I foul off a lot of balls. I work deep in counts so I’ll get some walks.” He gives a lot of credit to Kernels hitting coach Bryce Berg. “I give it up to him. He does a great job of helping me develop a plan, trying that and executing it.” . Alex Isola used the time off in 2020 to his benefit. “I had a full year to just work on my game. Credit to the Twins. I’ve been working with hitting coaches and catching coaches during quarantine. As much as everyone was down because were weren’t playing, I tried to use it as a positive and try to focus on all aspects of my game.” Manager Brian Dinkelman notes that Isola has really grown as a player since he joined the Kernels late in the 2019 season. “He’s really improved his ABs. He’s really driving the ball a lot more this year in terms of power, which is good to see. He’s improving every day and becoming more of a complete player.” Isola hasn’t shown up on any Twins top prospect ranking articles. However, if he continues to work hard on presenting pitches and working with pitchers, and is able to maintain a solid approach at the plate, he is a guy who could slowly work his way up to the big leagues in time. View full article

Of course, that is a fair question for every pitching prospect, even the top prospects. Gross is a smart kid. He has and will continue to make adjustments. If he does that, he's got a chance.

Yeah, the organization will certainly fall in organizational rankings after Kirilloff (1), Larnach (3), Jeffers (4-6), Rortvedt (17-20) and Nick Gordon 'graduated." Bailey Ober should soon graduate as well. Likely, Griffin Jax will graduate this year.

Hopefully as people see the Top 5 soon, others will post their Top 10s as well.

Last week began with a flurry of big transactions, and each of the players involved has remained successful in their first week. This week, we’ve had some great performances, an update on minor league playoffs, and much, much more. Check it out. It’s hard to believe that two months of the minor league season are now complete. You’ll see in the week’s article links that we have named our hitter and pitchers of the month for June as well as updated our Midseason Top 20 Prospect rankings. I also encourage you to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday, and then jump into the minor league week. Before we get started, let’s check out the Transactions and the FCL Twins game on Monday: RHP Breckin Williams was signed to a minor league contract and assigned to the Cedar Rapids Kernels. FCL Twins Talk FCL Twins 3, FCL Pirates Black 6 Box Score The FCL Twins fell to 2-4 on their season with a loss on Monday. Jesus Feliz went 2-for-4. Wilfri Castro went 2-for-2 with an RBI double. Keoni Cavaco went 1-for-3 in his third rehab game. On the mound, Giovahniey German started and gave up three runs on four hits and three walks over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out four batters. Justin Wilson came on. He was also charged with three runs. He gave up four hits. Ramon Pineda came in and gave up a hit before getting the final out. With that, let’s look at Week 9 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (4-2, hosting Omaha), overall (25-28) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3 at Amarillo), overall (31-23) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (2-4, @ Quad Cities), overall (28-26) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3 hosting Bradenton), overall (31-23) Complex League: FCL Twins went 2-4 in their first week. IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Here are the week’s Twins minor league-related articles. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Promotions and FCL Opening Day Tuesday: It’s Jose Miranda’s World, We’re Just Living in it. Wednesday: Balazovic Blows them Away Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings 16-20 (plus honorable mentions) Thursday: Amarillo by Morning, Fun is Good RBS: Does Jose Miranda’s Rise Mean I have to Listen to Hamilton? Friday: Winder Dazzles in Saints Debut Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month - June 2021 Saturday: No Offense TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings 11-15 Sunday: Three Wins on the Fourth TD Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospect Rankings: 6-10 Twins Minor League Pitching Report: Jovani Moran Highlights We will start with the Twins choices for the organizational hitter and pitcher of the week, and then mention several other Twins prospects who had good Week 9 performances Twins Player of the Week: Jose Miranda, Wichita Wind Surge Miranda just continues to rake… wait! I said that last week when he was the player of the week. The difference, of course, is now he is raking in Triple-A. For the week, Miranda hit .385/414/808 (1.221) with two doubles and three home runs. And, what a memorable Triple-A debut last Tuesday when he went 5-for-6 with a double and three home runs. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Sawyer Gipson-Long, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Gipson-Long has been pretty solid since a rough first few starts. In his start this past week, he gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in six innings. He struck out nine batters without issuing a walk. In his past six starts, he has gone 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 33 1/3 innings. He has 48 strikeouts and just six walks. Gipson-Long was the Twins sixth-round pick in 2019 out of Mercer University in his home state of Georgia. Other Strong Performances this Week St. Paul Saints In a pretty neat highlight, infielder Drew Stankiewicz became the first player to suit up for the Saints when they were an independent team and now as an affiliate. Josh Winder made his Triple-A debut and was fantastic. He had a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out eight batters. Also this week, he was named to represent the Twins in the Futures Game in Denver. He will be joined by pitching coach Cibney Bello. Chandler Shepherd put together another terrific start. The veteran tossed five shutout innings. He gave up just two hits and didn’t walk a batter. Charlie Barnes threw seven innings and gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. Ian Hamilton pitched twice. He gave up only one hit, a solo homer over four innings. He walked none and struck out eight. Drew Maggi was named the Triple-A East Player of the Week by MiLB.com. For the week, he went 9-for-21 (.429) with two doubles. He also homered in four consecutive games. In five games, he hit .429/.455/1.095 (1.550). Brent Rooker continues to rake! In six games, he hit .318/.444/.818 (1.263) with a triple and three home runs. Jimmy Kerrigan played in five games and hit .474/.524/.579 (1.103) with two doubles. Damek Tomscha and Mark Contreras each added two home runs last week, and they had OPS over .900. Finally, it has been a rough (couple of) season(s) for outfielder Keon Broxton, but last week, he was quite good. In his five games, he hit .389/.450/.778 (1.228) with a double and two home runs. Wichita Wind Surge Jordan Balazovic had a nice start this week. He tossed 5 2/3 innings of scoreless, hitless ball in his start. He walked two and struck out six batters. Understandably, Yennier Cano and Jovani Moran got a lot of attention, but others in the Wichita bullpen have been very good too. Ryan Mason worked three games last week. He worked 3 2/3 scoreless innings and struck out four. Zach Neff worked three scoreless innings over three appearances. Alex Phillips tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out five and walked one. Like Jose Miranda in St. Paul, Spencer Steer has transitioned to Double-A quite well, at least through his first week. In six games, he hit .320/.393/.680 (1.073) with three homers. Cedar Rapids Kernels Jon Olsen had a tremendous start last week. He tossed five scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked two and struck out two batters. Ben Gross gave up one run on two hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out five batters. Zach Featherstone pitched four innings over three games. He didn’t give up any runs. He allowed just one hit and walked three. He also struck out six batters. Michael Helman had a real good week. In six games, he hit .333/.440/.714 (1.154) with two doubles and two home runs. He also walked four times. Like Miranda and Steer, Edouard Julien is adapting just fine to the High-A competition. In his first week, he played all six games and hit .250/.444/.550 (.994) with two home runs. He also walked seven times. Daniel Ozoria hit .364 (4-11). Among Alex Isola’s four hits this past week, he had a double and two home runs. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Osiris German and Steven Cruz each threw four scoreless innings over two games. Each walked one and struck out six batters. Matt Swain gave up zero earned runs over four innings over two appearances. Denny Bentley had three scoreless innings and struck out four without allowing a baserunner. Louis Varland gave up one run on six hits over six innings in his start. He struck out nine and didn’t walk anyone. Zarion Sharpe threw 3 2/3 innings and gave up only two unearned runs on two hits. He struck out three batters. Newcomer Nick Anderson had a solid week. He played in five games, though he had just nine plate appearances. He went 2-for-6 with a triple and two walks to post a 1.222 OPS. Lowlights We are talking about very small samples for these six-game weeks, so it’s important not to make any big decisions or develop a full impression on a player from this small size. It’s just a reminder of the fact that baseball is hard, and all players have good and bad stretches. St. Paul Saints The Twins added veteran Joe Harvey to the Saints roster this week. He made his first appearance and gave up four runs on two hits and two walks in just 1/3 of an inning. Another new veteran, Kyle Barraclough gave up three earned runs on four hits (2 homers) in 2 2/3 innings. Robinson Leyer gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in two innings. JT Riddle had a tough week. He hit just .143 (3-for-23). Wichita Wind Surge Adam Lau pitched twice and worked just 1 1/3 innings. He gave up six runs on two hits and two walks and two hit batters. Caleb Hamilton went 0-for-9 in three games. Wilbis Santiago went 1-for-12. Andrew Bechtold went 1-for-9. Aaron Whitefield played all six games and hit .167/.259/.167 (.426). Of the 12 Wind Surge hitters with nine or more at bats in Week 9, just three had a batting average above .200. Cedar Rapids Kernels The bad news for the Kernels last week was that three position players had to pitch. Yeltsin Encarnacion, Daniel Ozoria and Max Smith each spent time on the mound. Owen Griffith had a tough week. In two outings, he gave up seven runs on 10 hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings. Melvi Acosta gave up five earned runs on eight hits and two walks in his 2 1/3 innings. Cody Laweryson’s start this week was a struggle. The right-hander gave up five runs on six hits and a walk in three innings. Jair Camargo played in five games, but he had just one hit in 15 at bats (.067). Wander Javier hit just .118 while Seth Gray hit just .125 for the week. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Juan Pichardo gave up four runs on four hits in 3 1/3 innings in two games. Wander Valdez returned to the Mussels, but he went 0-for-7. Willie Joe Garry went 1-for-11 (.091), but that one hit was a walk-off hit. Will Holland hit .130 (4-23), though he had a double and a homer. Trending Storyline The plan was for there to be no playoffs in 2021. The assumption was that games and series might be lost in the minor leagues (as had happened in the big leagues) due to COVID. And, because of all of the lost development time from a year ago, it would be better for the players and organizations to scrap the playoffs and just have all teams play two or three extra weeks at the end of the season. Well, last week, it was decided that there will be playoffs in 2021. In Low-A, High-A and Double-A, the top two teams by record will play a series. That series will begin September 21st. There will be no Triple-A playoffs, presumably because there may be more need at the big-league level and players can only be called up from Triple-A. Instead, those seasons will continue through October third. Teams will get two additional five-game series. My personal opinion is that I would much rather see the Mighty Mussels, Kernels and Wind Surge play ten additional games than not play any playoff games. Obviously if the Twins’ affiliate is in the playoffs, great. If not, it’s two weeks of lost development time. However, from a player’s perspective, and probably from an affiliate’s perspective, it’s probably nice to have a carrot dangling at the end of the season. PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily PRESEASON Top 20 Twins Prospects have performed on the season (as well as too many unfortunate injuries). As you’ve seen, our MIDSEASON Top 20 Prospect rankings are being posted right now, so next week, we will update the below to reflect ‘graduations’ and the new rankings. #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (2 rehab games, went 3-6 with 2 homers, 2 K), Minnesota (48 games, .263/.300/.447 (.747) with 10 doubles, 1 triple, 7 homers, 29 RBI, 10 BB, 43 K) #2 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (3 games, went 3-11 with two homers, two walks, 8 strikeouts), Minnesota (47 games, .263/.359/.436 (.795) with 9 doubles, 6 homers, 17 RBI, 18 BB, 54 K) #4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (24 games, .217/.340/.446 (.786) with four doubles, five homers, 16 BB, 26 K), Minnesota (32 games, .187/.275/.374 (.649) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 5 home runs, 15 RBI, 13 BB, 40 K) #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 5 G, 4 GS, 16.0 IP, 16 H, 13 BB, 22 K, 5.06 ERA, 1.81 WHIP (on IL with a right forearm strain) #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 6 GS, 24.1 IP, 26 H, 8 BB, 33 K, 4.44 ERA, 1.40 WHIP #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – 28 games, .264/.333/.340 (.673) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 1 homer, 11 RBI, 10 BB, 32 K, 4 SB (on Injured List, Concussion, but played 2 rehab games in FCL this week) #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 53 games, .184/.373/.291 (.664) with 10 doubles, 3 homers, 18 RBI, 50 BB, 73 K #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – 4 GS, 18.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 35 K, 1.00 ERA, 0.72 WHIP (went on the IL with right elbow strain) #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP (underwent Tommy John surgery on June 9th) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesotal) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), Minnesota (15 games, .163/.200/.349 (.549) with 2 BB, 8 K) #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (46 games, .239/.381/.553 (.934) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 14 homers, 32 BB, 59 K), Minnesota (8 games, .103/.133/.241 (375) with 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K) #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 17 games, .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K. (on IL after having hamate bone surgery) #14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – 46 games, .201/.310/.278 (588) with 4 doubles, 3 triples, 1 homer, 27 RBI, 26 BB, 41 K, 9 SB) #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – 7 GS, 31.2 IP, 22 H, 18 BB, 42 K, 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP (about to go on the IL) #16 - Edwar Colina (Minnesota) - 60-Day IL (had surgery on his right elbow to remove bone chips) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota - Graduated) – St. Paul (5 games, .286/.318/.571 (.890) with 3 doubles, 1 homer, 1 BB, 6 K), Minnesota (23 games, .125/.183/.196 (380) with 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBI, 3 BB, 20 K) #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured) #19 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) – 53 games, .350/.409/.614 (1.023) with 10 doubles, 16 homers, 46 RBI, 19 BB, 31 K #20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – St. Paul (4 GS, 16.0 IP, 13 H, 5 BB, 21 K, 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP), Minnesota (6 GS, 24.2 IP, 28 H, 6 BB, 26 K, 5.84 ERA, 1.38 WHIP) LOOKING AHEAD Ft. Myers @ St. Lucie (TBD, Brent Headrick, Sawyer Gipson-Long; Louie Varland, Bobby Milacki, Miguel Rodriguez): Peoria @ Cedar Rapids:(Ben Gross, Cody Laweryson, Tyler Beck, Kody Funderburk, Jon Olsen, Tyler Watson) NW Arkansas @ Wichita: (Bryan Sammons, Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer, Jason Garcia, Jordan Balazovic, Bryan Sammons) St. Paul @ Iowa: (Andrew Albers, Josh Winder, Charlie Barnes, Chandler Shepherd, Beau Burrows, Andrew Albers): Feel free to provide some feedback below regarding these reports. What do you like to read? What types of information would you like added? Also, feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article

I see Nash already responded too, but I figured I would add what I can. Canterino is back to throwing. No timetable yet for return but he's ramping up. Wallner had the hamate bone surgery, so had to be in a cast for awhile. He may be ready to go late in July again. We'll have the pitching probables in the Week in Review which I'll post later tonight. As for Moran, I'd say that he (along with Neff and Mason) are all ready, or very close to ready, now. All three should move up fairly soon.

For the seventh time in his MLB career, Twins DH Nelson Cruz will play in the Midsummer Classic. With the Twins record sitting at just 34-48, it was probably too much to hope that the Twins would be represented by more than one All Star. While pitchers Jose Berrios and Taylor Rogers were certainly viable choices, it is Nelson Cruz who will represent the organization on July 13th in Denver. . It is Cruz's seventh All Star Game. He has previously represented the Rangers (2009, 2013), Orioles (2014) and Mariners (2015, 2017, 2018). Coming into play on Sunday, Cruz had played in 72 games. He has hit .306/.381/.571 (.952) with 11 doubles and 18 home runs. He has 45 RBI. He even has a triple, a stolen base and several infield singles. Over his two-and-a-half seasons with the Twins, he has twice been a Top 10 finisher in MVP voting and won a Silver Slugger both years. The starting DH for the American League this year will be Angels' slugger/ace Shohei Ohtani, who hit his 31st homer on Sunday. Jose Berrios is having another strong first half. He is 7-2 with a 3.52 ERA over 16 starts. Taylor Rogers has returned to the form that made him one of baseball's top left-handed relievers since 2017. He deserves to be an All Star. In 32 games, he is 2-3 with seven saves. He has a 2.73 ERA and after striking out two batters in a scoreless inning on Sunday has 46 strikeouts in 34 innings Hopefully Berrios and Rogers will be considered as potential replacement players if needed. Former Twins pitchers Kyle Gibson, Lance Lynn, Liam Hendriks and Ryan Pressly are on the American League All Star team. In addition, Eduardo Escobar is making his first All Star game as well, as a member of the Arizona Diamondbacks, at least for now. View full article

How would these top four do right now in the big leagues .You have to do 'random' minor league signings and pick guys up on waivers. If only so that these guys don't have to be rushed. Now, I would argue for promoting Moran and Neff to St. Paul... but they (and every other MLB organization) won't and shouldn't stop signing minor league guys. Especially this year when every team is facing pitcher injuries and needing to add.

To be fair, Jax was called up first because he was pitching better. I'm all for Barnes getting a shot, but I hope you would give him more than one start to decide if it's time to move on from him or not.

The last couple of days, we announced our choices for the JuneTwins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month (Jose Miranda) and Starting Pitcher of the Month (Josh Winder). Today, we will discuss the relief pitchers who pitched well and dominated in the season’s second month. In May, many, if not most, of the pitchers in the system were piggybacking, so it was hard to distinguish ‘starters’ from ‘relievers,’ and that made sense. In June, there were a few more pitchers who were used more consistently out of the bullpen and a few really distinguished this month. Here are four relief pitchers who were great in June, but let’s start with some Honorable Mentions: RHP Steven Cruz, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels - 6 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 2 hits, 5 walks, 22 strikeouts. RHP Matthew Swain, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels - 8 G, 1.93 ERA, 0.79 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 7 hits, 4 walks, 19 strikeouts. LHP Zach Neff, Wichita Wind Surge - 9 G, 1.98 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 9 hits, 2 walks, 20 strikeouts. LHP Jovani Moran, Wichita Wind Surge - 9 G, 2.51 ERA, 0.70 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 5 hits, 5 walks, 27 strikeouts. LHP Andrew Vasquez, St. Paul Saints - 9 G, 3.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 7 hits, 7 walks, 25 strikeouts. THE TOP FOUR RELIEF PITCHERS #4 - RHP Jordan Gore - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 9 G, 1.80 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 6 H, 9 BB, 27 K You know the story. Gore was the Twins 19th round pick in 2017 out of Coastal Carolina… as a shortstop. In fact, in 2019, he was the main starting shortstop until late in the season when Royce Lewis was called up. However, it was also at that time that Gore and the Twins started the conversation about moving to the mound. That transition started at the end of that season, but with the pandemic, he hasn’t been able to show off in his new position until this year. It took a little bit. In May, he struck out 22 batters in 13 2/3 innings, but he had a 4.61 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP. In June, he was fantastic. He worked a lot. 20 innings for a reliever in the minors is a lot. He kept his strikeout rate over 12 per nine. Opponents hit just .098 off of him! As impressive as the numbers, his stuff has come along quickly. Yes, he throws a mid-90s fastball, but he knows he needs more than that. If you watch him throw, he throws a lot of changeups and sliders, and both appear to have some potential. #3 - LHP Zach Featherstone - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 9 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 5 H, 10 BB, 25 K Featherstone was the Twins 12th round pick in 2016 out of community college. Like Gore, he was a position player. After one season splitting time between first base and the outfield, he moved to the mound. He pitched in 12 games in the GCL in 2017. In 2018, he got hurt, and when the GCL season started, he worked in three games to see how he was progressing. It was determined that he needed Tommy John surgery. He missed the 2019 season. He was ready to work some in the GCL late in the season, but a hurricane ended that season early. 2020 pandemic meant another season lost. So this spring when he finally got the chance to pitch again, he was very excited. In fact, in his first inning with the Kernels, he threw one pitch at 97 mph. Again, it took him some time to get into a groove. In May, he posted a 5.40 ERA and a 2.40 WHIP in 6 2/3 innings. He struck out 11 but walked nine. In June, he found the strike zone and showed dominance. Batters hit just .106 off of him. He throws into the mid-90s and has a sharp slider. He’s left-handed and certainly is worth watching. #2 - RHP Osiris German - Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels - 6 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.57 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 2 H, 5 BB, 22 K. German signed with the Twins back in 2016 from San Cristobal in the Dominican Republic. The 22-year-old has worked slowly up the ladder. He spent parts of 2017 and 2018 in the DSL. He ended the 2018 season in the GCL. In 2019, he posted a 3.11 ERA over 37 2/3 innings. He struck out 47. After missing the 2020 season, he made the move to the full season with the Mighty Mussels. In May, he posted a 6.55 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP over 11 innings. In June, he put up incredible numbers, several of them were zero, including the number of runs allowed. I mean, he gave up just two hits over the full month. Opponents hit just .053 against him. One report told me that he has a “Devin Williams-like changeup that is a plus-plus pitch.” That certainly is intriguing too. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: LHP Denny Bentley - Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels - 7 G, 1.35 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, 13.1 IP, 4 H, 5 BB, 25 K Denny Bentley was the Twins 33rd round draft pick in 2018 out of Howard College in Texas. He posted a 2.60 ERA over 17 1/3 innings. He struck out 21. In 2019, he moved up to Elizabethton and had some ups and downs. In 19 games, he went 2-3 with two saves. He had a 4.38 ERA and a 1.30 WHIP. When the E-Twins season ended, the Triple-A Red Wings needed some help on the final weekend. Bentley got that opportunity and made the best of it. He tossed two scoreless innings and gave up only a walk. He also struck out two batters. He also pitched for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in the playoffs. Like the others, Bentley did not pitch in 2020. As you might expect, it took Bentley a little while to get things going. In May, he posted a 7.15 ERA and a 2.29 WHIP over 11 1/3 innings. While he struck out 18 batters, he gave up 15 hits and 11 walks. However, it was night-and-day and Bentley earned the top spot on this list. Along with giving up just seven base runners over 13 1/3 innings, he was dominant striking out 25 batters (16.9 K/9). Opponents hit just .095/.184/.143 (.327). His control and command greatly and quickly improved. Also, his stuff just got much sharper. As you can see, there were several solid relief pitcher performances in June. These guys are all worthy of some recognition. It was a good month for each of these pitchers. Congratulations to Denny Bentley, the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for June 2021. View full article

I think the idea of ADDING at the deadline for the Twins this year is long gone. Also, Gibson will get the Rangers a huge haul as he has been one of the best pitchers in the American League all season (after Opening Day, of course).

No win for Emmy's 106th Birthday (though I heard the party was great! The Minnesota Twins fell to the Royals again on Saturday afternoon to extend their losing streak to five games. Box Score Griffin Jax: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 K Home Runs: Trevor Larnach (6) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-0.368), Alex Kirilloff (-0.129), Luis Arraez (-0.094) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Jax Makes First Start After earning his first MLB Win in his previous appearance, the Twins sent Griffin Jax to the mound on Saturday afternoon for his first major-league start. He struggled in the first inning. It started with a 10-pitch plate appearance for Whit Merrifield. Then Jorge Soler had a long at bat. Jax needed almost 30 pitches to work out of the first inning (without allowing a run, mind you). He then breezed through the second and third innings. Unfortunately, he ran into trouble again in the fourth inning. He gave up four runs and then gave up two more in the fifth inning. While he walked three batters, Jax threw 58 of his 88 pitches for strikes (65.9%). After Derek Law tossed two scoreless innings, Danny Coulombe pitched a scoreless eighth frame. I think that Jax can find several positives from the first three innings, but he can (and presumably will) learn a lot from all five innings. It's also very likely that had the Twins been in a different place in the standings, Jax probably would have been removed earlier in the fourth inning. But, it's all about development, and Jax was able to do just that. Donaldson Leaves Game Early Stop me if you've heard this before, Josh Donaldson was rounding first base on a hard smash when his looked as if he'd been shot in the back of the hamstring. Somehow, he continued to hobble toward second base and was safe with a double. Wisely, the Twins took him out of the game. It was later announced that Donaldson left with a tight hamstring. He was trying to remain in the game, and actually didn't look too bad. However, it's a long season. That means two different things. First, there were rumors late this week about the Twins and Mets having "preliminary discussions" about Donaldson, so no sense in letting him get hurt further. Also, if he isn't traded, he does still have two years left on his contract (plus an option), so no sense in seeing him make it worse by trying to score from second on a possible two-out single. Larnach Launch The Twins faced a lefty in Danny Duffy on Saturday. It seems that Baldelli & Company are going with a rotation when the team faces southpaws. Two of the Max Kepler, Luis Arraez, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach group start versus lefties with the other two on the bench. It seems this playing time is spread fairly evenly. On this day, Trevor Larnach was not in the starting lineup. However, a series of events put Gilberto Celestino in right field, and when a right-handed reliever entered the game, Larnach was called on to pinch hit and play the rest of the game. He responded with a hard-hit single, and then hit a LONG home run in the eighth inning off of Greg Holland. It was his sixth home run on the season. Celestino Holding His Own Before Larnach pinch-hit for him, Celestino was 1-for-2 with a double. He also threw out Hunter Dozier at the plate, showing off a strong arm. Since starting his MLB career by going 0-for-15, he is hitting .250 (7-for-28) with two doubles and two home runs. He has also played much better defense since the nervous blunders the first couple of games. Are those great numbers? Certainly not. But when we remember that he should be playing, arguably, in Double-A Wichita and has been pushed into big-league action before he was ready, it is encouraging for his future to see the adjustments he has made. And, as noted in the header, it's probably much more fun to play when you aren't just overwhelmed. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Coulombe 43 0 0 16 7 66 Duffey 15 0 0 13 0 28 Thielbar 0 16 0 0 0 16 Robles 0 0 34 0 0 34 Law 0 0 32 0 34 66 Colomé 0 14 0 17 0 31 Rogers 0 0 0 22 0 22 Alcala 0 0 19 0 0 19 Jax 0 0 0 0 88 88 View full article

Agreed... though I admit that I took that picture 2 days ago!! Very impressive young lady!