Seth Stohs

Our Rankings: Seth: 10 Nick: 7 Tom: 9 Cody: 7 https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/1361906859511267328

On Wednesday night (5:30 central time), Seth will be chatting with Twins minor league right-handed pitching prospect Blayne Enlow on a new episode of Twins Spotlight. The discussion was live on the Twins Daily social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages. Blayne Enlow was the Twins third-round pick in 2017 out of high school in Louisiana. He had a scholarship to pitch at LSU, but the Twins were able to agree to terms with him. Enlow has worked his way up the organizational ladder. In 2019, he began the season with eight starts in Cedar Rapids before finishing the season in Ft. Myers. Combined, he went 8-7 with a 3.82 ERA. Enlow ranked as the #10 Twins prospect by Twins Daily last week. Join us live at 5:30 tonight to watch, and participate by sending your questions. We'll cover a ton of topics from his youth ball, getting drafted, his development and more. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please watch LIVE at 5:30 pm (central time) Wednesday night on the Twins Daily Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages live. Also feel free to ask questions in the comments below or on those platforms during the show and we'll ask them. Subscribe to the Twins Daily podcast on Libsyn, Apple iTunes or anywhere you download podcasts. Here is the YouTube link where you can watch the show. For More on Blayne Enlow: Follow Blayne on Instagram at @blayne_enlow. Follow Blayne on Twitter at @blayneenlow22. Previous Episodes Click here to see more previous episodes of Twins Spotlight. Episode 13: Edwar Colina Episode 14: Tyler Wells Episode 15: Sawyer Gipson-Long Episode 16: Adam Bray Episode 17: Chris Vallimont Episode 18: Ben Gross Episode 19: Regi Grace Episode 20: Louie Varland Episode 21: Max Smith Episode 22: Zander Wiel Episode 23: Blayne Enlow View full article

Corrected... thank you!

Our rankings: Seth: 11 Nick: 12 Tom: 9 Cody: 7

Ian Hamilton has cleared waivers and will remain with the Twins. He has been invited to spring training, so I added him back to the above.

On Tuesday night (6:00 central time), Seth will be chatting with Twins minor league first base prospect Zander Wiel on a new episode of Twins Spotlight. The discussion was live on the Twins Daily social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages. Zander Wiel grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Like fellow Blackman High School graduate David Price, he then headed northwest on highway 24 to Nashville where he went to Vanderbilt. He had a terrific career that included a College World Series championship in 2014 and a runner up in 2015. He was the Twins 12th round pick in 2015 and went to Elizabethton. He led the Midwest League in RBI in 2016. He moved up to Ft. Myers in 2017. In 2018, he hit well in Double-A Chattanooga before finishing the season with 15 games in Rochester. In 2019, he had a terrific season for the Red Wings. In 126 games, he hit .254/.320/.514 (.834) with 40 doubles, five triples and 24 RBI. He was invited to big league spring training in 2020 and was getting a lot of playing time in games when the pandemic cut things short. He worked at the alternate site in St. Paul throughout the 2020 season. On Monday, he was among players invited to big-league spring training. Join us live at 6:00 tonight to watch, and participate by sending your questions. We'll cover a ton of topics from his youth ball, Vanderbilt, draft, development, his '2020 season' and heading to Ft. Myers for spring training and more. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Please watch LIVE at 6:00 pm (central time) Tuesday night on the Twins Daily Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages live. Also feel free to ask questions in the comments below or on those platforms during the show and we'll ask them. Subscribe to the Twins Daily podcast on Libsyn, Apple iTunes or anywhere you download podcasts. Here is the YouTube link where you can watch the show. For More on Zander Wiel: Follow Zander on Instagram at @zwiel43. Follow Zander on Twitter at @Zander_Wiel. Previous Episodes Click here to see more previous episodes of Twins Spotlight. Episode 13: Edwar Colina Episode 14: Tyler Wells Episode 15: Sawyer Gipson-Long Episode 16: Adam Bray Episode 17: Chris Vallimont Episode 18: Ben Gross Episode 19: Regi Grace Episode 20: Louie Varland Episode 21: Max Smith Episode 22: Zander Wiel View full article

The 2019 Minnesota Twins set the MLB record for most home runs in a single season and won 101 games. That gave them the 27th overall pick in the 2020 draft and they selected another big college bat, 1B Aaron Sabato, a future Bomba Squad member. He debuts in our rankings as the #8 Twins Prospect.Age: 21 (DOB: 6-4-1999) 2020 Stats (UNC): .292/.478/.708 (1.185), 6-2B, 7-HR (in 19 games) ETA: 2023 2020 Ranking: NR National Top 100 Rankings BA: NR |MLB: NR | ATH: NR |BP: NR What’s To Like Shortly after the Twins selected Aaron Sabato last June, Scouting Director Sean Johnson said, "We thought he was the best offensive player left on the board from every standpoint possible. Going back to his season last year, if you look at him analytically, he lined up with some of the guys who went at the very top of the board." A quick look at the stats of Sabato and top overall pick Spencer Torkelson in 2019 and the shortened 2020 season, shows that the two put up very similar numbers. Those were Sabato’s freshman and sophomore seasons at North Carolina compared to Torkelson’s sophomore and junior seasons at Arizona State. Torkelson: 74 games, .349/.480/.719 (1.199) with 21 doubles, 29 homers. Sabato: 83 games, .332/.459/.708 (1.158) with 31 doubles, 25 homers. So while there is a lot more that goes into scouting than just these offensive numbers, it certainly illustrates the offensive firepower of Sabato. He fits into the mold of recent Twins draft picks such as Brent Rooker, Ryan Jeffers and Matt Wallner. Sabato pointed out a few days later that he feels that his hitting philosophies closely match the Twins hitting philosophies. He recalled a conversation with Twins minor league hitting coordinator Donegal Fergus. “We want you to swing at strikes. We want you to take balls, and we want you to hit the ball a long way and do it at a high rate without striking out and walking a ton. For me, that’s what I base my hitting about. I’m trying to do the most damage on every pitch, but also be disciplined enough to take my walks and spit on the good pitches.” He continued, “Right there, (I realized) that I was in a pretty good spot with the organization that had just drafted me.” Sabato may not possess all of the baseball tools, but he has a plus hitting tool, and plus-plus power potential. What’s Left To Work On Sure, Sabato will have to adjust to the pro ball game, even offensively. But really, it’s about that continued development and improvement, and this year, it’s about just getting at bats again. Sabato is not a speed guy, so don’t expect him to be stealing a lot of bases. Defensively, there have been assumptions made that he will be limited to first base, and he will need to improve there as well. It is possible that he ultimately will be a Designated Hitter, but the Twins will work hard with him at first base. What’s Next Sabato gets to make his actual professional debut. Sure, he went to the Twins instructional league in October, but 2021 will be his debut. Because of the missed time, it will be interesting to see where he starts the 2021 season when it begins in May. Because he hasn’t played in an official game, they could start him in Low-A Ft. Myers and get some at bats under his belt. It’s also possible that he will jump straight up to High-A Cedar Rapids. While the general belief is that Sabato has a very advanced bat, the Twins have the luxury of being patient with him. He will be given time to work on the other aspects of his game. Twins 2021 Top 20 Prospects Honorable Mentions 20. Bailey Ober, RHP 19. José Miranda, 3B/2B 18. Alerick Soularie, UTIL 17. Ben Rortvedt, C 16. Edwar Colina, RHP 15. Cole Sands, RHP 14. Misael Urbina, OF 13. Matt Wallner, OF 12. Brent Rooker, OF/1B 11. Gilberto Celestino, OF 10. Blayne Enlow, RHP 9. Matt Canterino, RHP 8. Aaron Sabato, 1B 7. Coming tomorrow! Click here to view the article

Every team signs a bunch of minor league free agents. Obviously that varies based on needs and organizational depth and such. Every year there are a few that get called up, and if you can have success with any of them, it's great. Caleb Thielbar last year being just one example. I don't think anyone would/should expect an All Star from a minor league signing, but they are important. They also fill up AAA rosters so that the prospects don't have to get rushed.

Dan is not playing professionally anymore. I believe he recently got married and has moved on. He was a nice catching prospect, very athletic.

No word on Ian Hamilton yet... Hopefully he does clear and sticks!

On Monday morning, the Minnesota Twins invited several non-roster players to big-league spring training. Teams are allowed up to 75 players (40 man roster plus Non-Roster Invites) at camp this year. The team intentionally remains shy of that number to allow more players to be signed to minor league deals.As per usual, the team’s non-roster invitations are an interesting combination of veterans competing for jobs at Triple-A and to make an impression should a need come later in the season, and prospects, who are getting seen by the big-league coaches and trying to just make an impression. Some of the players will be participating in what's being called the Depth Camp. Because there is MLB camp and the MLB and AAA seasons will be starting in about six weeks and Double-A and down won't start their spring training until MLB camp is over, they are bringing in extra players. (At the end of each profile, we will point out if the player is a Non-Roster Invite (NRI) or a minor league Depth player (Depth).) THE MINOR LEAGUE VETERANS C Tomás Telis (29) - Telis has played in 122 games in the big leagues for the Rangers and Marlins between 2014 and 2018. With the Rochester Red Wings in 2019, he hit .330/.3364/.490 (.854) with 21 doubles and eight homers. He spent the 2020 season in St. Paul. (NRI) SS Tzu-Wei Lin (27) - Lin signed with the Red Sox out of Taiwan in June of 2012 and played in 101 games for Boston from 2017-2020. He hit just .223/.298/.316 (.614) with nine doubles, three triples and a home run over 2018 plate appearances. He is known for his defense at shortstop. (NRI) IF Drew Maggi (31) - 2019 was Maggi's tenth season in pro baseball. Between Pensacola and Rochester, he hit .258/.380/.407 (.788) with 23 doubles and 11 homers. He was a non-roster invite of the Twins in 2020 as well. (Depth) IF JT Riddle (29) - The slick-fielding infielder debuted with the Marlins in 2017 and played in 223 games for them over the next three seasons. In 2020, he played in 23 games for the Pirates. He has hit a combined .222/.261/.355 (.616) with 31 doubles and 19 homers in his MLB time. He is tremendous with the glove at shortstop, something the Twins brass clearly has prioritized this offseason. (NRI) OF Keon Broxton (30) - The speedy centerfielder has played in 376 big league games between 2015 when he debuted with seven games with the Pirates and 2019 with Seattle. In between, he played with the Mets, Orioles and 269 games with the Brewers. In 2017, he played in 143 games in Milwaukee and hit .220 with 15 doubles, 20 homers and 21 stolen bases. (NRI) OF Rob Refsnyder (29) - Refsnyder has played in 181 games over parts of five MLB seasons between 2015 and 2020. He has played at least 30 games at second base, left field, first base and right field. He has played in the big leagues for the Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays and Rangers (2020). (NRI) LHP Andrew Albers (35) - The Twins signed Andrew Albers way back in 2012 out of independent league baseball. He made his MLB debut in 2013 and tossed 17 ⅓ scoreless innings to start his career. He pitched in Korea in 2014. Then he pitched in a game for Toronto in 2015. He returned to the Twins in 2016 and pitched in six games. In 2017, he went 5-1 with a 3.51 ERA in nine games with the Mariners. He has now spent the past three years pitching in Japan. He signed back with the Twins last week. (NRI) LHP Danny Coulombe (31) - Coulombe made his MLB debut in 2014 with the Dodgers and spent part of 2015 with them too. He was traded to the A’s and pitched out of their bullpen through the 2018 season. He was injured and didn’t pitch in 2019. The Twins signed him before the 2020 season and he pitched in two games (2.2 scoreless innings) for the team last summer. (NRI) LHP Brandon Waddell (26) - Waddell was the Pirates fifth round draft pick from the U of Virginia in 2015. He made his MLB debut in 2020, pitching 3 1/3 innings over two games. The Twins claimed him shortly after the end of the 2020 season and DFAd him last week. He cleared waivers and will remain in the organization. (NRI) RHP Luke Farrell (29) - Farrell is the son of former Blue Jays and Red Sox manager John Farrell. He has pitched for the Royals, Reds, Cubs and Rangers over the past five seasons. He has pitched in 63 innings and 43 games in the big leagues. (NRI) RHP Ian Hamilton (25) - Hamilton was the White Sox 11th round pick in 2015 from Washington State. He debuted with ten games in 2018, and then after some injury and bad luck in 2019, he pitched in four games for Chicago in 2020. Since the end of the season, he has been DFAd by the White Sox and claimed by the Mariners, DFAd by the Mariners and claimed by the Phillies, DFAd by the Phillies and claimed by the Twins, DFAd by the Twins, cleared waivers and will stay in the Twins organization. RHP Derek Law (30) - Law did not pitch in the big leagues in 2020, but he was a frequently-used bullpen arm the previous four seasons. In 2016, he debuted with 61 games for the Giants. He pitched in 41 games the following year. He pitched just seven games in 2018, but then he went to the Blue Jays in 2019 and pitched in 58 games. He has 164 career strikeouts in 166 1/3 innings. (NRI) RHP Robinson Leyer (27) - Leyer made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 2020. He gave up 11 runs on 12 hits, eight walks and nine strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. (Depth) RHP Juan Minaya (30) - Minaya pitched in 125 games for the White Sox between 2016 and 2019. He has 142 strikeouts over 128 1/3 innings in his MLB career. He even has ten saves. He signed with the Twins before the 2020 season and spent the summer at the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. In fact, he was called up to the Twins active roster once, but he didn’t get into a game. He re-signed with the team. (NRI) RHP Chandler Shepherd (28) - Shepherd worked 19 innings in 2019 for the Baltimore Orioles and posted a 6.63 ERA. (Depth) RHP Glenn Sparkman (28) - Another veteran pitcher, half of Sparkman’s 52 career MLB games have been starts. Most of them came in 2019 when he went 4-11 with a 6.02 ERA in 31 games (23 starts). He pitched in four games out of the Royals bullpen in 2020. (NRI) THE PROSPECTS C David Banuelos (24) - Banuelos came to the Twins from the Mariners for international spending dollars in late 2017. A very strong defensive catcher, he split 2019 between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. (NRI) C Caleb Hamilton (26) - The Twins 23rd round pick in 2016 from Oregon State, he transitioned to the catcher position, though he can also play all around the diamond. He spent 2019 with the Blue Wahoos, though he also played 11 games in Rochester. He was invited to big-league camp a year ago and participated throughout the summer in St. Paul. (NRI) C Alex Isola (22) - Isola was the Twins 29th round pick in 2019 out of Texas Christian University. He split that summer between Elizabethton (7 games) and Cedar Rapids (18 games) and hit a combined .309 with five doubles and three homers. (Depth) C Kyle Schmidt (23) - Schmidt was the Twins 33rd round pick in 2019 from the U. of Richmond. He played that summer in the GCL, at Elizabethton and in Cedar Rapids. He is a defense-first catcher. (Depth) C/1B Chris Williams (24) - Williams was the Twins eight-round pick in 2018 out of Clemson. He was the Twins Daily short-season Minor League Hitter of the Year that year. In 2019, he split time between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers and hit 11 homers. He went to Twins Instructional League in 2020. (Depth) SS Royce Lewis (21) - The top pick in the 2017 draft, Lewis finished the 2019 season at Double-A Pensacola and then was the Arizona Fall League MVP. He spent 2020 in St. Paul at the Twins alternate site. This is his third big league spring training. (NRI) IF Jose Miranda (22) - Miranda was the Twins second, second-round pick in 2016 out of high school in Puerto Rico. He has consistently moved up one level each year. In 2019, he played in Ft. Myers before going 3-for-5 in his one game at Pensacola. He went to Instructional League in 2020 and then hit .302/.377/.472 (.849) with six doubles and a homer in Puerto Rico this winter and participated in the Caribbean Series. (Depth) 1B Aaron Sabato (21) - The Twins top pick a year ago from North Carolina can mash. In his 83 college games over the past two seasons, he hit a combined .332/.459/.698 (1.158) with 31 doubles and 25 homers. (Depth) 1B Zander Wiel (28) - Wiel was the Twins 12th round pick in 2015 from Vanderbilt. In 2019 at AAA Rochester, he hit .254 with 40 doubles, five triples and 24 home runs. He earned an invitation to Twins spring training last year and participated in the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. (Depth) OF Trevor Larnach (23) - The Twins first-round pick in 2018 from Oregon State, Larnach also spent 2020 working at CHS Field, the Twins alternate site. In 2019, he was the Twins (and Twins Daily) Minor League Hitter of the Year. He also was the Florida State League MVP. This is his second spring training at big-league camp. (NRI) LHP Charlie Barnes (25) - The southpaw was the Twins 4th round pick in 2017 out of Clemson. In 2019, he pitched at Ft. Myers, Pensacola and Rochester. He earned an invitation to big-league camp a year ago and ended 2020 with a couple of weeks at the alternate site in St. Paul. (NRI) LHP Andrew Vasquez (27) - Vasquez was the Twins 32nd round pick in 2015 out of Westmont College. He had an incredible 2018 season, pitching at four levels and ending the season with five innings in the big leagues. He made one appearance in 2019 before being DFAd. (Depth) RHP Matt Canterino (23) - Canterino was the Twins second-round pick in 2019 out of Rice University. He debuted with two games in the GCL before making five starts in Cedar Rapids (1-1, 1.35 ERA in 20 innings). He participated in St. Paul last summer for a couple of weeks before going to Ft. Myers for Instructional League. (Depth) RHP Griffin Jax (26) - Jax was the Twins third-round pick in 2016 out of the Air Force Academy. His story has been well chronicled. He pitched in Pensacola in 2019 and also made three starts in Rochester. Combined, he posted a 2.90 ERA in 127 1/3 innings. He was invited to big-league camp in 2020. (NRI) RHP Tom Hackimer (26) - Hackimer was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2016 out of St. John’s. After missing much of the 2018 season with biceps surgery, he returned in 2019 and went 6-2 with a 2.54 ERA in 36 games between Ft. Myers and Pensacola. He went to Instructional League in 2020. Depth) RHP Ryan Mason (26) - Mason was the Twins 13th round pick in 2016 out of Cal-Berkeley. In 2018, between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers, he went 10-3 with seven saves and a 2.77 ERA. In 2019, he pitched in just 15 games for Double-A Pensacola. He went 2-0 with seven saves and a 2.35 ERA, but missed time due to some injury. (Depth) RHP Josh Winder (24) - Winder was the Twins seventh-round pick in 2018 from Virginia Military Institute. He made 21 starts in Cedar Rapids in 2019 and went 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 125 2/3 innings. He impressed at Instructional League last year, flashing a 97 mph fastball. (Depth) Combining the 40-man roster players with the invites, here are the players who will be participating in Twins Spring Training. Click here to view the article

Our individual rankings: Seth: 8 Nick: 8 Tom: 17 Cody: 8

I really enjoyed watching him in the bullpen twice (I think) last spring training. Hard worker, very focused. I talked to him a little bit about it on Twins Spotlight in November. He's got a bunch of pitches and continues to work on all of them.

Our individual rankings: Seth: 9 Nick: 10 Tom: 13 Cody: 9

Glenn Williams signed with the Atlanta Braves in 1993 as arguably the best prospect to come out of Australia. He played 1,260 minor league games. In 2005, he played in (and got a hit in) 13 games for the Minnesota Twins. He remains very active in Australian Baseball to this day. In the history of Major League Baseball, there have been 32 players from Australia. Twelve of those players have spent at least part of their career in the Minnesota Twins organization. Williams looked to infielder Craig Shipley as his role model growing up. Shipley was really the first Australian to play in the big leagues in the modern era. He played for five teams over parts of 11 major-league seasons. Williams said, “I was fortunate that my dad had a baseball store with Craig’s father and brother at the time. I grew up with Craig being my baseball hero. To know him and get to talk to him as an eight, ten, twelve year old was really cool.” Williams was already becoming a star in Australian baseball in his own right. He was on an Australian national team traveling to a tournament in Mexico. They stopped in Los Angeles and went to a Dodgers game. It was the first MLB game he had seen in person. The Mets shortstop got hurt in the first inning. Shipley played the rest of the game. “It was a dream come true, and to see an Aussie run out on the field and play shortstop. I remember it was almost like, ‘Hey, maybe I can do that as well.” In the early ‘90s, players like Graeme Lloyd and David Nilsson were surfacing in the big leagues. There were more minor leaguers from Australia. And scouts were spending more time in Australia trying to find a new hotbed of talent. When he was 13, Williams was a batboy with Sydney in the Australian Baseball League. He got to work out with the team. They had an affiliation with the Blue Jays, so occasionally their coaches would come to Australia. Before he turned 16, Williams and his parents got on a plane and flew to the States to spend time talking to the various teams that had shown interest in him. “They wanted to get a comfort level for their 16-year-old to sign a professional contract and go away to play. Will they feel comfortable with the way I was going to be treated? In hindsight, it was a showcase event in front of a bunch of decision-makers in major-league ballparks. His tour included some time with the Twins. “I worked out at the Metrodome on the field. I took BP before a game. Tom Kelly threw me BP. Kirby Puckett’s out there. It was almost like, as a 16-year-old, I look back at it now, it was amazing. Didn’t realize it at the time, but what a great thing my mom and dad did.” However, he signed soon after with the Atlanta Braves for a signing bonus of $925,000. He split the 1994 season between the Gulf Coast League and the Appalachian League, nearly four years younger than the average player. That became a theme. At 17 in 1995, he was playing in Low-A ball against players as much as seven years older than him. He spent six years in the Braves organization, and he definitely struggled. He reached Double-A, and called the whole thing a big learning experience. “First time lifting weights, coming to the States, being a kind of uber-prospect at the time. Let’s have him in the baserunning group, and the extra hitting group and the extra infield group. It was a large volume of work. Then the way to get players better and develop is to put them out there as much as possible. So mentally, physically and emotionally it was a really difficult transition to come from Australia and not only compete against players who were significantly older, had more experience but were also better than me. Mentally, the Braves got me a lot of money. My expectation was to get off the plane, hit .300 and hit 20 home runs a year.” He continued, “I wish I would have concentrated on just getting better. I worked really, really hard, but it was more about me trying to improve and trying to prove myself. I think the way teams are handling younger players better now with work loads, easing them into it. At the time, it was just pretty rare to have a 16-year-old from a country where baseball isn’t their #1 sport.” He joined the Blue Jays organization and played three years in Triple-A Syracuse (2002-2004). In 2004, he hit .264 with 23 doubles and 23 home runs. Still, no big-league call up. “I really liked my time in Toronto, but I didn’t walk. So, analytically, JP Ricciardi didn’t like that. With the SABRmetrics, I wasn’t fitting what the organization was looking for.” He was again a free agent. This time, he chose the Twins. The first day that they could, the Twins called Williams. “They gave me an opportunity to sign a minor league deal and come to spring training with them. I grabbed it with both hands. It worked out well.” He noted, “Funny enough, when I went on my trip before I turned 16, I had 14 or 15 teams that had interest. The Twins were a team that showed the most interest. The Blue Jays showed a lot of interest, and the Braves had the most interest.” In early June of 2005, Williams was in Rochester, playing well with the Red Wings. There were rumblings that the Twins were planning to make a couple of moves. Williams recalled, “In the clubhouse, people figured that it was between me, Michael Ryan and Brent Abernathy. His girlfriend (now his wife) was visiting for a couple of weeks. Abernathy got called up, and so did Mike Ryan. They were good friends of mine, so I was pumped for them, but at the same time I was thinking ‘Well, that’s it!’” His girlfriend was flying back to Australia. He was at the airport for a flight to Norfolk. He remembers having a conversation with his future wife and saying “This is it. If I don’t get a call up this year, I’m hanging it up.” She got on a plane and flew back to Australia. Williams went to Norfolk. Three days later, Red Wings manager Rich Miller called him into the office. There was a day game the next day. Miller told him that he was going to give him the day game off to rest up. For some reason, he had to play in that game after all. After that day game, Miller called Williams into the office and said, “I know I said you weren’t playing today, but I had to get you in there. You’re definitely not playing for us tomorrow. You’ll be playing in Phoenix.” Williams looked at his manager… “Right. It didn’t click right away. What does that mean? Have I been traded? What’s happened?” The Twins had some inter-league games coming up. They were dealing with some injuries and had a run of National League games. His manager told him that he could play several positions and was a switch-hitter who could get pinch hitting chances. And he reminded him that he had been playing really well and earned it. His fiance (now wife) Laila had just arrived home. He called her first and gave her the news. She wasn’t able to get to Phoenix, but she surprised Glenn by showing up in Los Angeles for the three days before returning to Australia, again. His second call was to his parents and his sister. His parents spent three days in Arizona. Three days in Los Angeles, and then went to Minnesota as well. On June 7th in Phoenix, the Twins were down 5-2 going into the sixth inning. Torii Hunter, hitting fourth for the Twins that game, led off the innings with a double. “Gardy said to me, if Radke’s spot comes up, you’re hitting for him. Get ready. Shawn Estes was pitching and there were two quick outs.” However, Michael Cuddyer walked and Juan Castro singled Cuddyer to second. Radke’s spot came up, and Williams was called on to hit. “They had a pitcher’s meeting. I swung at the first pitch, and hit it hard. It was probably going to go up the middle, but it hit Estes’s hand and rolled to second base. Williams beat the throw to first base for a single to load the bases.” For those curious, Estes was removed from the game. Mike Koplove came in and gave up a two-run, game-tying single to Shannon Stewart. The Twins went on to a 9-8 win. Williams played in 13 games for the Twins between June 7th and June 28th. He had at least one hit in all 13 games. At that point, in 40 at bats, he was hitting .425/.452/.450 (.902) with a double and two walks. Unfortunately, those were his career numbers between Williams got hurt. He dove into first base and his shoulder was hurt. He had shoulder surgery in 1999, so he knew immediately what was wrong. “You hope it’s not bad, but you know right away that it’s not great. It was kind of awkward. The next pitch, Shannon Stewart hit a double down the left field line. I’m trying to run to third base and I couldn’t move my arm. I slid in awkwardly. I was down for a moment. I looked down and there were three or four sets of shoes, including Gardy’s. It must have looked really bad, the way I was running. That was it. I was out of the game.” He continued. “It was really devastating at the time because I had worked so hard to get there. I’m really appreciative of every opportunity that I get. Just by circumstance and by performance, I had worked my way into the lineup, and I was trying to put my stamp on it, and really trying to establish myself. It was all taken away pretty quickly. It was pretty difficult to deal with.” He came back and spent 2006 and 2007 with the Rochester Red Wings, but he didn’t get another shot in the big leagues. “I probably wasn’t the same player after the surgery.” However, 15 years later, Williams is still so thankful for the opportunity he got for a month in the big leagues. “It was really cool. For me, it’s almost like I could have played for another month or six weeks. Then they would have figured me out as big league pitchers do, and you go up and down and maybe I go up and down. It’s unique to be remembered for having a hit in every game I played in. The way that I view it is that I could have had it happen in Rochester on a Friday night two weeks before getting the chance to call up. I worked really really hard to get to the Major Leagues and enjoyed every minute of it. I was appreciative of Terry Ryan and Gardy calling me up, and then Gardy putting me in the lineup and giving me a chance and going with the hot hand like he likes to do. He was putting me out there, and I was really enjoying it. I was feeling like a part of it, feel like you belong a little bit. I was there. I competed.” Asked about his fondest memory or a moment with the Twins that stands out, he paused for a moment. He said that playing third base behind prime Johan Santana was really special. “He’s just carving up hitters like it’s Little League. The next thing, it’s a strikeout. The next thing, it’s a ground ball. It just felt like the tempo that he had; he’s pounding the strike zone. He’s keeping these guys off balance. Playing defense in Metrodome, there’s a big crowd, the Cy Young winner is on the mound, and he’s just carving guys up. Playing defense behind that was incredible. We’re throwing the ball around, and I’m the guy giving it back to him to pitch. He’s got a big smile on his face. That was just him. That’s Johan Santana out there, and he’s absolutely dealing and I’m part of this.” When Australia didn’t qualify for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, he was ready to hang up the cleats and move forward. His first job in baseball, post-playing career was as a coach at the MLB academy in Australia. In 2009, he was offered a job as baseball manager in his home of South Wales. “I’m a jack of all trades, master of none.” In the role, he says he looks after baseball programs from Little League up to working with players as they sign professional contracts. He’s looking out for state teams in national championships. He’s been a hitting coach for the national teams at times. “It’s a really steep learning curve to be able to learn how to be an administrator and manage programs and budgets and those things. That was my foray into my second career in sports.” He has been working to try to help fund several programs in Australia. He’s been developing partnerships with people in the US to help kids have the opportunities that he did and do it more efficiently. In 2015, he got a job as the General Manager of Team Australia. He worked with the WBC team, the Premier 12 team, an Olympic team, and all the way to a 12-and-under national team. He works on operations and budgets, team and coach selections as well as performance planning. He’s essentially a Minor League Director but for all of baseball in Australia. A lot of his time in the last couple of years has been focused on the Olympics, though that has been postponed to an unknown time. He continues to work on special projects. He has also been a part-time scout for the Detroit Tigers for the past ten years. “My playing career opened the door for a lot of opportunities. I do enjoy it. It has been challenging.” He was part of the most recent Premier 12 tournament in Japan. “The experience of being in the background at the Tokyo Dome when Team Australia, a bunch of guys who are former pros, and we love baseball. School teachers or they drive a forklift or they work in the mines or they’re fire fighters. And these guys go out and beat Team USA in the Premier 12. That’s the kind of stuff that makes it really exciting and really worth it.” While you can see that he remains quite busy in the game of baseball, he still finds time to watch Major League games and highlights during the seasons. While Williams is still just 43 years old, he has had a busy, full baseball life for him. From watching his dad play and playing on youth international teams, to signing with the Atlanta Braves and becoming a huge prospect. He experienced ups and downs throughout a long career. It was only a month, but he got to live his dream of playing in the big leagues, and he had a hit in every game he played in. And since retiring, he has become a coach, a general manager, and a leader in working with the current and next generation of ballplayers in Australia. View full article

I typed something about a Spicy Transaction, but yeah, I couldn't do that.

While the Twins may be done making high-profile moves this offseason, the front office continues to may tweaks at the edges. On Thursday, the Twins claimed outfielder Kyle Garlick from the Atlanta Braves.The waiver-wire rollercoaster can be awful for players, to be sure. Many have been through it, and that includes the newest member of the Twins organization. After being drafted by the Dodgers in 2015, he reached the big leagues for 30 games in 2019. Last February, he was traded to Philadelphia and played in 12 games for the Phillies. Just three weeks ago, days before his 29th birthday, Garlick was DFAd by the Phillies and claimed by the Atlanta Braves. However, when the Braves signed Marcell Ozuna earlier this week, Garlick was put back on the waiver wire. Today, the Twins claimed him. Garlick spent four years as the University of Oregon. He received a fifth year because of a medical redshirt and played at Cal Poly in Pamona in 2015. The Dodgers drafted him in the 28th round. Already 23, he reached the Midwest League in 2015 and spent most of his 2016 season at Double-A. In 2017, he missed time with an injury and remained in Doube-A where he hit 17 homers in 74 games. In 2018, he started at Double-A but quickly moved up to Triple-A where he hit .253/.287/.478 (.766) with 18 doubles and 17 homers in 97 games. In 2019, in 81 games at Triple-A Oklahoma City, he hit .314/.382/.675 (1.057) with 25 doubles and 23 homers in 81 games. He was called up to the Dodgers and played in 30 games between mid-May and mid-August. In 30 games, he hit .250/.321/.521 (.842) with four doubles and three homers. He played both corner outfield positions. In 2020’s abbreviated season, he played in 12 games for the Phillies. He hit just .136 with a double in 22 at-bats. Garlick can play both corner outfield positions, but he has also played eight games at first base (in 2016) in his career. But clearly, the tool that might excite the front office and fans is his power. He has hit 40 homers in AAA and 30 in AA. Against lefties in 2019, he hit .292/.364/.708 (1.072) with 13 doubles and eight homers in 99 plate appearances. It’s entirely possible that bringing in Kyle Garlick can be considered Brent Rooker insurance. Rooker’s forearm should be at 100% for spring training, but he also didn’t get much playing time in 2020, so he could get every day at bats in St. Paul for a little while at the start of the season. After the LaMonte Wade trade last week, Garlick can compete for the 5th outfielder spot with Rooker and Keon Broxton and others. To make room for Garlick on the roster, the Twins designated LHP Brandon Waddell, putting him back on the waiver carousel. The Twins had claimed Waddell from the Pirates in November. Click here to view the article

Our individual rankings: #15 Sands: Seth (14), Nick (15), Tom (15), Cody (16). #14 Urbina: Seth (17), Nick (17), Tom (12), Cody (13) #13 Wallner: Seth (13), Nick (13), Tom (8), Cody (15) #12 Rooker: Seth (12), Nick (11), Tom (10), Cody (12) #11 Celestino: Seth (7), Nick (9), Tom (16), Cody (11)

I'm not worried about Wallner. Yeah, he struggled late with his introduction to Low A, but like you said, that was after a long year. Pro debut. I'm not any more worried about him than I am about everyone having missed a full year. It'll be interesting to see what they do with Celestino. He could start in High-A since that's where he spent just a little time at the end of 2019. But if he does, it'll be back in Cedar Rapids, rather than in the Florida State League where it makes almost no sense to look at stats. He could also start in AA. He won't be in a time-share with Buxton, but if he gets off to a decent start and Buxton goes on a 10-Day IL (and they think it'll literally only be 10-12 days), Celestino could come up for the short-term. He just needs a ton of at bats.