Seth Stohs

He is younger than several of the prospects that we are excited about...

Note that the Twins players of the week literally are the players that the Twins chose as their players of the week. Not me. I'm just grabbing that from the Twins media notes each Sunday. And again, to be fair, they announce that Sunday morning, so their week may be Sunday through Saturday, rather than Tuesday through Sunday like I look at.

After a 5-1 week, the Mighty Mussels had another strong week behind some incredible pitching. The Kernels had a really good week in large part due to some big offensive performances. It was a tough week for Wichita in Tulsa, and the Saints saw several rehabbing big leaguers in their lineups, but still finished below .500 for the week. Week 6 was busy for the Twins organization. All four full-season affiliates played in six games. There were a lot of minor league signings, and more injuries. Let’s take a look back and Transactions: Released by the Twins last week, RHP Tom Hackimer has signed with the Mets. The Twins signed RHP Ramon Pineda to a minor league contract. The 23-year-old is the younger brother of Twins starter Michael Pineda, he signed back in 2016 with the White Sox and pitched at three rookie levels through the 2019 season. He was released in May of 2021. As always, I welcome your feedback on what you would like to see from these Week in Review articles, so let me know in the comments below. Of course, I also encourage you to read Nick’s Twins Week in Review from yesterday. With that, let’s look at Week 6 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (2-4 hosting Omaha), overall (17-19) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (2-4 @ Tulsa), overall (20-16) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (4-2, @ Beloit), overall (17-19) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (4-2, @ Jupiter), overall (20-16) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT With the Twins struggles early this season, we have had a lot of minor league articles including articles on players who could be promoted and the daily minor league reports. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Walk-Offs and Wins 2017 MLB Draft Retrospective: Was Royce Lewis the Right Choice? Blayne Enlow to Undergo Tommy John Surgery Tuesday: Buxton Begins Rehab Assignment Wednesday: Early Arms Dazzle Down South Thursday: Big Scores and Big Performances Nick Gordon is Carving Out a Role in the Big Leagues Friday: Late Drama for Kernels Cano, Moran are Relievers to Watch with the Wind Surge Saturday: Rehabbing Big Leaguers and Another Breakout? Sunday: Miranda, Winder Shine Again on Sunday 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 6 performances too. Twins Player of the Week: Spencer Steer, Cedar Rapids Kernels On the week, Spencer Steer played all six games and hit .222/.276/.703 (.980). He had hits last week, a single, a double and four home runs. The third round pick from 2019 out of Oregon has had a solid start to his season. He has hit .248/.372/.473 (.845) with five doubles and eight home runs. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Jordan Gore, Cedar Rapids Kernels Gore pitched twice this past week. The former shortstop posted a win and a hold. In five innings, he gave up one run (1.80 ERA) on two hits. He struck out nine and did not issue a walk. Gore was the Twins 19th round pick in 2017 out of Coastal Carolina. He spent the first three seasons of his professional career as a smooth-fielding, strong-armed shortstop. In 2019, he was the starting shortstop at Pensacola (having skipped High-A) and hit .204 in 84 games. He was sent to the GCL and worked on transitioning to the mound. That is where he worked throughout the lost 2020 season. So far in 11 games out of the Kernels bullpen, he is 3-1 with a 3.91 ERA. In 23 innings, he has give up 14 hits, walked 11 and struck out 38 batters. He’s got a big fastball, but he also has a solid slider, curveball and changeup. As you would expect, he needs innings and time, and hopefully his control and command will continue to improve. Other Strong Performances this Week First, here is a highlight for OF Gilberto Celestino. St. Paul Saints Brent Rooker remains very productive. In five games last week, he hit .278/.409/.667 (1.076) with a double and two more homers. Byron Buxton played in three games for the Saints and went 5-for-12> He hit .556/.583/1.556 (2.139) with a single, double, a triple and two home runs. He also walked twice with just one strikeout. On the mound, the Saints lone good start was by the rehabbing Kenta Maeda who gave up one run over four innings. Danny Coulombe had a nice week. He pitched in three games and finished two of them, one was a save. He gave up zero runs in three innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out six batters. Ian Hamilton also threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out seven batters in two appearances. Wichita Wind Surge Josh Winder had a solid week. He went 1-0 with a 2.45 ERA. Over 11 innings, he gave up three runs on nine hits. He walked one and struck out 16 batters. Cole Sands had a very good start last week. He tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three and struck out eight batters. Jovani Moran struck out six batters over 3 2/3 innings (2 games). Hector Lujan went 3 1/3 innings in his outing. He gave up zero runs, zero hits, one walk and struck out four. Caleb Hamilton had another solid week. In five games, he hit .333/.455/.667 (1.121) with two homers. He had four walks. Roy Morales also hit .333 and got on base 48% of his plate appearances. Ernie De La Trinidad played all six games. He hit .261/.393/.478 (.871) with two doubles and a homer. Andrew Bechtold got on base 41% of the time and posted a .476 slugging percentage thanks to two doubles and a home run. Cedar Rapids Kernels While Spencer Steer was named the player of the week by the Twins, three other Kernels hitters had a higher OPS for the week. (Note, for our purposes, we look at the week as Tuesday through Sunday. The Twins announce their award on Sunday, so they may go Sunday to Saturday.) Gabe Snyder played in four games. He hit .333/.474/.800 (1.274) with two doubles, a triple and a home run. Alex Isola has been an on-base machine all season, but this week, he hit .333/.364/.810 (1.173) with a double and three homers in five games. Wander Javier played all six games. He hit .296/.321/.741 (1.062) with four homers. In addition, Trey Cabbage hit .269/.321/.577 (.898) with two doubles and two home runs over six games. Melvi Acosta pitched in two games and finished both of them with a save. In three innings, he gave up zero hits, zero walks and struck out four batters. Jon Cheshire and Zach Featherstone each pitched twice and combined for five innings. They gave up zero runs on zero hits. They walked three and struck out nine batters. Ben Gross tossed four scoreless innings in his start. He walked four but struck out five. Cody Laweryson made his first start of the year. He gave up one run on two hits over four innings. Ft. Myers Might Mussels The Mussels had a 4-2 week based almost entirely on their pitching staff. Their starters had strong starts. Brent Headrick went five scoreless innings in his start with eight strikeouts. Sean Mooney tossed four scoreless innings in his start, with seven Ks. Louie Varland struck out 11 batters over six, two-hit innings. Miguel Rodriguez gave up two runs (1 earned) over 4 2/3 innings in his start. They also got strong bullpen work. Osiris German, Denny Bentley and Steven Cruz each pitched twice and each worked four innings and gave up zero earned runs. Bentley struck out ten batters. Cruz struck out four. German struck out six and was credited with a Save. In addition, Erik Mahoah, Bobby Milacki, Juan Pichardo, Zarion Sharpe and Johnny Wilson all pitched and didn’t give up a run. Yunior Severino played all six games. He hit .273/.407/.500 (.907). Aaron Sabato got on base 43% of the time thanks to seven walks and posted an .857 OPS due to hitting a double and a homer. Justin Washington played just three games, but he hit .429/.467/.571 (1.038). Keoni Cavaco also hit .556/.600/.667 (1.267) with a double. Unfortunately, he played just three games and is on the IL with a concussion. Lowlights We are talking about 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 Starting pitching was not good for the Saints this week. It started out well as Charlie Barnes gave up one run on three hits over six innings in his start on Tuesday. Unfortunately, he ended the week by giving up eight runs (6 earned) on seven hits (including four homers) in just three innings. Jhoan Duran came in after Kenta Maeda’s rehab appearance. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. Andrew Albers gave up four runs on seven hits in 5 1/3 innings. And Chandler Shepherd took one for the team this week. He gave up 11 earned runs on 14 hits and four walks in just 3 2/3 innings. Wichita Wind Surge Reliever Calvin Faucher had a tough outing. He gave up five runs on six hits and a walk over just 1 2/3 innings. Jordan Balazovic made his second start after returning from the Injury List with an oblique issue. It’s also just his third Double-A start total, so he’s working back physically and pitching at a new level. In his start this week, he gave up four runs on four hits and two walks over just two innings. Peter Mooney’s offensive struggles continued. He hit just .105 last week (2-for-19). BJ Boyd went 3-for-22 over six games (.136). Cedar Rapids Kernels Tyler Palm gave up five earned runs on three hits and four walks over 1 2/3 innings (27.00 ERA). Derek Molina gave up five runs on two hits and four walks over 3 2/3 innings (12.27 ERA). Jon Olsen gave up four runs on five hits and three walks in just 3 1/3 innings in his start this week. Ft. Myers Might Mussels Bradley Hanner has done a nice job for the Mussels this year, but he would acknowledge this wasn’t his best week. He gave up six earned runs on three hits and eight walks over 1 1/3 innings. Charlie Mack went 0-for-10 in just three games. Willie Joe Garry went 2-for-16 with nine strikeouts. Nick Anderson was also 2-for-16. Misael Urbina played all six games. He hit .126/.276/.167 (.442). He went 3-for-24. Trending Storyline Not really a storyline, but something that those of us who contemplate prospect rankings will need to consider. Three of the Twins top four prospects are about to graduate from prospect status. Alex Kirilloff (#1), Trevor Larnach (#3) and Ryan Jeffers will surpass the 130 at-bat limit. Kirilloff and Jeffers will reach that plateau in this Seattle series. Larnach is not far behind. Ben Rortvedt has just 40 at-bats, but as a backup catcher, he may surpass the days on the active roster plateau. Nick Gordon, Gilberto Celestino and Brent Rooker are all 80 to 100 at-bats from passing that mark. At this point, Bailey Ober and Griffin Jax are the lone pitchers who appeared with the Twins in 2021. Randy Dobnak, Lewis Thorpe, Jorge Alcala and Cody Stashak all lost their “rookie” status in 2020. Newcomer Shawn Anderson lost his rookie eligibility in 2019. As for innings, the number to watch is 50. When a pitcher reaches the 50 inning mark, he passes prospect status. Of course, they also have the same service time requirements as well, which is how Alcala and Stashak surpassed the number. So, in the coming weeks, we will need to update our Twins Prospect Rankings. Who will remain? I would appear that Royce Lewis would be the easy choice to take back the #1 spot. The next two on the list would be pitchers Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic. Blayne Enlow and Matt Canterino are both in that next category, though both are currently on the IL with elbow issues (Enlow had Tommy John surgery last week). Jose Miranda could be in line for a nice bump in his prospect ranking. Josh Winder was just outside our preseason Top 20, and he’s certainly moved up both because more is known about his stuff, his makeup and his performance has been very good. Maybe Wander Javier is working his way back up your rankings. So, let’s get some conversation going on this? Our minor league writers need input from you on the Risers and Fallers in your opinion. Maybe how does your Top 10 or Top 20 list look? Share your thoughts in the Comments below. PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects have performed on the season (as well as too many unfortunate injuries). This was requested in the comments last week. Let me know if it provides value. #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) – St. Paul (2 rehab games, went 3-6 with 2 homers, 2 K), Minnesota (34 games, .254/.292/.443 (.735) with 6 doubles, 1 triple, 5 homers, 19 RBI, 7 BB, 32 K) #2 - Royce Lewis (Wichita) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – St. Paul (3 games, went 3-11 with two homers, two walks, 8 strikeouts), Minnesota (32 games, .273/.390/.434 (.824) with 7 doubles, 3 homers, 9 RBI, 14 BB, 34 K) #4 - Ryan Jeffers (Minnesota) – St. Paul (24 games, .217/.340/.446 (.786) with four doubles, five homers, 16 BB, 26 K), Minnesota (21 games, .203/.247/.406 (.652) with 3 doubles, 1 triple, 3 home runs, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 26 K) #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – 4 G, 3 GS, 15.1 IP, 14 H, 10 BB, 22 K, 4.11 ERA, 1.57 WHIP #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – 2 GS, 5.1 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 8 K, 6.75 ERA, 1.69 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 #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – 35 games, .182/.377/.306 (.683) with 6 doubles, 3 homers, 12 RBI, 35 BB, 53 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 (Minnesota) – Wichita (21 games, .250/.344/.381 (.725) with 5 doubles, 2 homers. 11 BB, 24 K), Minnesota (9 games, .138/.138/.276 (.414) with 0 BB, 6 K) #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (30 games, .235/.373/.520 (.893) with 2 double, 9 homers, 22 BB, 41 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 with wrist injury) #14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (28 games, .165/.288/.223 (511) with 2 double, 2 triples, 17 RBI, 16 BB, 29 K, 5 SB) #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Wichita (7 GS, 31.1 IP, 22 H, 18 BB, 42 K, 2.84 ERA, 1.26 WHIP) #16 - Edwar Colina (Minnesota) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) – St. Paul (5 games, .286/.318/.571 (.890) with3 doubles, 1 homer, 1 BB, 6 K), Minnesota (18 games, .150/.209/.250 (459) with 1 double, 1 homer, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 17 K) #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured) #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – 35 games, .307/.381/.521 (903) with 6 doubles, 8 homers, 28 RBI. 13 BB, 17 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 (3 GS, 13.0 IP, 17 H, 2 BB, 15 K, 4.85 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) LOOKING AHEAD Lakeland @ Ft. Myers (Louie Varland, Sean Mooney, Miguel Rodriguez, Brent Headrick, Casey Legumina, Sawyer Gipson-Long): South Bend @ Cedar Rapids:(Kody Funderburk, Jon Olsen, Andrew Cabezas, Cody Laweryson, TBD, TBD) Springfield @ Wichita: (Jordan Balazovic, Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer, Cole Sands, Josh Winder, Jordan Balazovic) Iowa @ St. Paul: (Jhoan Duran, Chandler Shepherd, Rob Whalen, Andrew Albers, Charlie Barnes, Jhoan Duran): 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

That's a really good question... That said, guys get added to the 40-man from High-A often. Looking back, Polanco and Kepler were added after their full seasons at Cedar Rapids when Cedar Rapids was in Low-A. So I don't think they HAVE TO move him up to AA. The other thing I keep forgetting is that he's only 22. Adding him to the 40-man means three option years. So, in reality that means there is no rush to promote him this year. That said, how 40-man rosters are used now compared to even 8-10 years ago is much, much different. So, they can't necessarily add a guy with more questions about their future. So, I do think it'd be good for him to get up to AA this year, even if just for the final 4-6 weeks... but I also would like to see him experience some sustained success for awhile. I think that would be great for him mentally in terms of confidence. Long-winded answer for you. Sorry. Ha!

His ERA was 2.20 before this today's game... they're all still working on things. They're all going to have games like that. And, the Saints are literally playing 4-5 teams this year, so they're going to see each other a lot. By the way, Luis Rijo left today's game with an elbow "injury"... at least according to the assumption made by the Beloit radio people. Just not good... hopefully it isn't serious, but we'll find out, I'm sure.

I agree on Mason. I just happened to ask Borrego about Cano and Moran. Mason is ready to move up. And, while Shoemaker has not been good, Thielbar's K numbers have been amazing, and definitely worth giving opportunities to. And COlome has been much better since mid-May. Too good to release. Need to give him some opportunity to try to gain some trade value. His track record is great, so there could/should be teams interested.

They can't go straight from WIchita to the Twins without stopping in St. Paul, even if just for one day (like Celestino). Cano has given up more hits than innings pitched, so I think he's behind Moran. to be honest, I think that Ryan Mason should or at least could be ahead of Cano.

There is no question that the Twins need help in the bullpen. However, there are a couple of big-time arms in Double-A Wichita that we are likely to see later this season. Hearing Wichita Wind Surge manager Ramon Borrego talk about lefty Jovani Moran and right-hander Yennier Cano, one can’t help but be excited about the idea of them joining the Twins bullpen, maybe even later this year. Both have been really good so far through the season’s first six weeks. Through games on Friday, Jovani Moran was 2-1 with a 0.84 ERA over 11 games. In his 21 1/3 innings pitched, he has given up just seven hits, walked six and struck out 32 batters (13.5 K/9). Yennier Cano has also pitched in 11 games. He is 3-1 with a 1.65 ERA. In his 16 1/3 innings, he has given up 17 hits, walked five and struck out 27 batters (14.9 K/9). “Cano is a monster,” stated Borrego. “He’s a hard worker. He’s a Cuban guy. He’s so fun. Cano is one of those guys that wants the ball. It’s unbelievable. Give me the ball. If he pitched the night before, he wants to pitch the next day.” The Twins signed Cano in the summer of 2019. He got into a couple of GCL games to start his career before joining High-A Ft. Myers where he pitched in eight games before the end of the season. Borrego shared a story that Cano had told him recently. When in Cuba, Cano started one night and went six innings. The next night, he came in and was the closer and recorded the save. His team played the next day again, and he worked three innings. Cano told Borrego, “That’s what we do there.” Because of his Cuban backstory, Cano didn’t sign until he was 25. Now 27, the Twins could choose to move him aggressively this season. Cano has a mid-90s fastball with some movement as well as a slider that can be devastating. For Moran, he has a devastating pitch too, his changeup. Borrego said of the lefty, “Everybody is talking about how he’s throwing 94 with a changeup that’s reminding us of Johan Santana. That changeup is unbelievable. He can even say (to the batter) ‘Here comes the changeup. Here we go.’ and nobody’s going to hit it. That changeup is nasty.” Borrego emphasized how dominant Moran has been. “ It’s kind of like, you give the ball to (Moran), and you can relax and go drink some coffee. That guy is going to dominate. That happened two nights ago. We brought Moran into a really tough situation because we needed strikeouts. That’s what he did. He faced two batters. Bang. Bang. Strikeouts. Went to the next inning easily.” Bringing up memories of that Johan Santana changeup will certainly create excitement. It hasn’t been a smooth road for Moran since the Twins made him their 7th round draft pick in 2015 out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. He pitched a little that summer but then he missed the season in 2016 after having bone chips removed from his elbow. He returned in 2017 and struck out 45 batters in 24 2/3 innings at Elizabethton. He went 3-1 with a miniscule 0.36 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. He was again good in 2018. Between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers, he went 9-3 with a 2.25 ERA. In 76 innings, he struck out 107 batters. In 2019, he struggled in his jump to Double-A, but also missed quite a bit of time due to injury. He ended the season with nine innings in the Arizona Fall League. Borrego noted, “he lost his confidence a little bit. Spike one in the dirt. He wasn’t as consistent. We tried a lot of things to help him out. I was worried about him.“ But after a lost 2020 season, Jovani Moran and his confidence appear to be back. “This year, we have that guy back. Now, he’s a different guy. It’s unbelievable. You can see it.” Borrego relayed a conversation he had with Moran during batting practice earlier this week. When Borrego asked him how he is feeling, Moran responded by saying, “I’m ready to play in the big leagues. I’m ready to show that I’m ready to pitch at that level.” Borrego agrees. “I have no doubt about it. He’s dominated. I’m glad for him. He’s healthy. That’s a big thing.” The Wind Surge manager knows that Cano and Moran probably won’t be in Wichita for much longer. “It’s our job. When we can move guys up, we feel so happy for them.” “At some point, you’re going to see those guys in St. Paul. I don’t know when, but it’s right there. It’s really close. For right now, those guys have fun. They are competing really well. Those guys just want to play the game and they want to win.” And hopefully, before too long, these two intriguing pitchers will be helping the Twins win. View full article

He was a two-way player in college, 1B and reliever. So I think he's adjusting to being a starter. He doesn't throw real hard, maybe 91-92. Good curveball/slider, changeup. Just needs to be more consistent with all of them.

He was drafted as a shortstop. Got to AA as a shortstop. He jokes that he just couldn't hit, but that's not entirely true. That said, with a fastball at 95, a changeup and a slider, he's got a chance with his arm. We talked a lot about it in this Twins Spotlight:

The tough part is that Dobnak's got a spot, and then Ober and Jax are already on the 40-man and up, and Duran is probably going to come up at some point. So, I think he's deserving of an opportunity, but he's likely behind those other guys.

Not that I recall...

A Refsnyder injury may move his return ahead a day or two...

Coming into the game, he was hitting .291/.322/.618 (.940) against left-handed pitching...

Yeah, it certainly is a big factor for consideration when the Twins make their adds in November. Would a team take him and stash him for a year?

On Wednesday, Twins Daily’s #10 Twins prospect RHP Blayne Enlow will undergo Tommy John surgery. He will obviously miss the remainder of the 2021 season and hopes to return strong sometime in 2022. On May 18th, Blayne Enlow struck out ten batters in 5 2/3 innings If there was one thing that Enlow’s “prospect status” needed, it was to bump up the strikeout totals, and he had 23 strikeouts in his first 14 2/3 innings over three starts. Following the game, Enlow discussed how important strikeouts are for him, and it gives us a strong glimpse into his strong and confident mentality. It's a mentality that will certainly help him out through the rehab process. Unfortunately, days after that performance, he was throwing a bullpen and it wasn’t going well. He wasn’t throwing with the same velocity, so they shut him down. He was put on the Injured List with an elbow strain. He returned to Ft. Myers to start rehabbing, but imagine showed a torn UCL and the decision was quickly made to schedule Tommy John surgery and start the process to get back. Last week, I mentioned to Enlow that many have been coming back from Tommy John surgery better than ever. His response. “Yeah. I know I will!” He is excited about the prospect of coming back and being part of what could be a very exciting Twins starting rotation of the future. While he hasn’t had Tommy John surgery, Enlow is fully aware of it and the process for recovery and return. He and Akil Baddoo were roommates the year that Baddoo had his surgery. Enlow hasn’t been afraid of work, and now he can work to make his own Return from Tommy John story. This isn’t the first time that Enlow has had a major injury. When he was a sophomore in high school in Louisiana, he was in a horrible car accident. He broke his ankle and pelvis. However, he returned to play that summer and became a huge prospect. He teamed with fellow Twins prospect Royce Lewis on Team USA’s 18-and-Under team that beat Cuba for a championship. He committed to LSU, but when the Twins drafted him with the first pick of the third round of the 2017 draft, the Twins were able to meet the $2 million signing bonus that he was looking for. It was able to happen because the Twins were able to sign top overall pick Royce Lewis below slot. After missing all of the 2020 season (pandemic), Enlow arrived at Instructional League last fall and was hitting 95-96 mph with his fastball. He’s always been known for his ability to spin the ball, and his changeup appeared much improved this season. He remains a top pitching prospect in the organization and I know we all look forward to his return. More injury updates below, but be sure to watch Blayne Enlow's appearance on Twins Spotlight in February. ------------------------------------------------ A week after Enlow was placed on the Injured List with a right elbow strain, fellow Kernels/Twins top pitching prospect Matt Canterino went on the injured list with a right elbow strain too. Like Enlow, it came immediately following a 10-strikeout game (in four innings). The Twins announced to the media at Target Field on Tuesday night that imaging showed that Canterino has no structural damage. The same day Enlow was placed on the IL, slugger Matt Wallner was also placed on the Injured List. He suffered a wrist injury on a swing. Wallner noted, “I’m down in Ft. Myers, just starting the rehab process and look forward to getting back to Iowa as quickly, and as responsibly, as possible.” Hard-throwing right-hander Edwar Colina has been on the 60-Day Injured List since the beginning of the season. On May 26, Colina had an “arthroscopic debridement of his posterior elbow.” Summary? He had some bone chips removed. He mentioned to me that he still has the stitches, but he’s feeling good. “I hope to be back as soon as I can. I just want to be healthy and come back at 100% to help my team. That’s my goal right now.” Join us in wishing Enlow and all of these players well upon their rehab and eventual return to the field. View full article

I was surprised when I got the press release. Certainly he could have headed back to Wichita... could be more to it, but not sure if we'll ever hear.

He did. They just announced that prior to tonight's game.

I don't think any of the minor leagues are even having playoffs this year. Because they started a month late, they're just having everyone play later. So now, Miranda being at Double-A is because that's where he believe he should be and/or to make sure he keeps playing every day and they don't lose people. It's been 5 weeks... it's a great start and he has been consistent. Nothing wrong with him experience some sustained success before moving him up.

When Javier was struggling early, I asked Brian Dinkelman about his defense. I think Javier is a plus-plus defensive shortstop. But by about Week 3, just watching the games, Javier was putting together better at bats, making more contact and better contact. I asked Dinkelman about that, and he agreed. So, I think it was a matter of time.

I made a note about how these 2021 numbers will change. It'll be interesting to see how. Will it mean younger players, or will it mean signing independent guys that are a little older? We'll find out.

My "votes" would have gone to Edouard Julien and Charlie Barnes.