Seth Stohs

Normally I would say 4-6 weeks, but I don't know this year. So many are shaking off rust or finding a new routine or figuring out pro ball for the first time.

The season moves on. It has been so nice having minor league ball back six nights a week. It’s hard to believe there have already been three weeks of the season complete. We’re almost to the end of the month and will need to announce our minor league hitter and pitchers of the month! For this week again, let’s start with a Question of the Week. Leave your responses in the Comments section. Question of the Week: Who do you think will be in the Twins Opening Day starting rotation in 2024? 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 3 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (2-4 hosting Indianapolis), overall (7-11) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3 at Tulsa), overall (11-7) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (2-4, hosting Beloit), overall (8-10) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (2-4 at Tampa), overall (8-10) 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: A Nice Distraction Tuesday: Enlow Sets Career-High Cedar Rapids Kernels Pitching Reports: Matt Canterino Wednesday: Longball Happy in Wichita Thursday: Five for the Price of Four, Wallner Shines (again) Friday: Late-Inning Drama and Disappointment Twins Top Prospect Jhoan Duran Deals in Season Debut Saturday: Hungry Like the Wolf (Duran’s First 2021 Start) Building a Pitching Pipeline Sunday: Starting Strong News & Notes Let’s start with the Monday transactions since we don’t have a daily minor league report. Trey Cabbage promoted from Cedar Rapids to Wichita. Max Smith promoted from Ft. Myers to Cedar Rapids. RHP Donny Breek transferred from Ft. Myers to the development complex. It was a big week for the St. Paul Saints off the field. On Saturday, they played their first of eight games on Bally Sports Network North. Their TV package now includes 28 of their 60 home games. In addition, Sunday afternoon’s game was on KFAN. Several more Sunday Saints games will air on KFAN. Their games regularly air on KFAN+. On Sunday, the Saints scored five runs. It was just the fourth time this season they had scored more than four runs. That said, they also are second in the Triple-A East by hitting .310 in the first inning. (Thank you Nick Gordon!) However, they are hitting over .250 in only one other inning (5th, .284). Also on Sunday, Tom Hackimer recorded his first Triple-A save. It was only the second Saints save in 18 games (7 wins). Interestingly, in the Saints’ 11 losses, their opponents have not yet recorded a save. If you want to watch the Saints on the road, Des Moines is not a far drive down I-35! 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 3 performances too. Twins Player of the Week: Matt Wallner, Cedar Rapids Kernels For the week, Wallner played in five games and hit .450/.450/.900 (1.350). He had nine hits in 20 at-bats including a double, a triple and two home runs. He has played in 17 of the Kernels 18 games this season. He is hitting .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with three doubles, two triples and four home runs. In 73 plate appearances, he has five walks and 28 strikeouts. Following a four-hit game this week, manager Brian Dinkelman said, “He squared some balls up really well, hit that big home run to give us the lead. Matt’s a good hitter when he stays in the zone and doesn’t expand too much.” Wallner pointed out, “I think I’ve done a better job of hitting the ball to all fields. I feel better trying to stay up the middle as opposed to being a pull-only hitter. I feel better with that, and I’m more comfortable with velocity. I feel good about that.” Wallner was the Twins 32nd round pick in 2016 out of Forest Lake High School where he named Mr. Minnesota Baseball. He went to Southern Mississippi where he became a power-hitting All American. The Twins took him with the 39th overall pick in the 2019 draft and he signed. Twins Pitcher of the Week: Matt Canterino, Cedar Rapids Kernels On Friday night in Cedar Rapids, Canterino struck out a career-high 10 batters over six innings. He gave up two hits, one was a solo home run. He has now made three starts this year and is 1-0 with a 1.29 ERA and a 0.71 WHIP. In 14 innings, he has walked three and struck out 25 batters (16.1 K/9). Canterino said, “You just want to make good pitches early in the count, in the zone, and force them to do something with it. There are so many swings and misses and so many easy outs to be had if you’re in the strike zone early on. It’s important to do that. Hitting is so tough. So if you’re in the zone early on with a couple of different pitches, you often find yourself in good counts where you’ll be able to get a strikeout in the end. Canterino was the Twins 2nd round draft pick in June of 2019 out of Rice University. Between a couple of GCL appearances and five starts at then-Low-A Cedar Rapids, he went 1-1 with a 1.44 ERA in 25 innings. He walked eight and struck out 31 batters. Manager Brian Dinkelman said, “He’s just throwing the ball really well for us right now. He gives us good starts, keeps us in the game. We’re excited about the way he throws the ball, and he keeps progressing and get himself to the big leagues hopefully one of these days.” Other Strong Performances this Week Nick Gordon, St. Paul Saints: Gordon started the week with two hits but left that game with a minor hamstring injury that cost him a couple of games. He returned, kept hitting and was called up to the Twins (again) three times. In his three games, he hit .500/.545/.500 (1.045). Jimmy Kerrigan, St. Paul Saints: On the week, Kerrigan played all six games and hit .250/.286/.600 (.886), but he had a walkoff single and two big home runs. Also, on Sunday, he threw out two baserunners at home. Mark Contreras, Wichita Wind Surge: The Gold Glove outfielder provided good power for the Wind Surge this week. He hit .261/.346/.565 (.911) with a double and two home runs. Ernie De La Trinidad hit .353 with a double. Jair Camargo, Cedar Rapids Kernels: The 21-year-old backstop has been impressive behind the plate and at the plate. This week, he hit .300/.300/.750 (1.050) with three home runs. He also picked off two base runners at first base. Michael Helman, Cedar Rapids Kernels: The nearly-everyday utility player got off to a rough start. In the season’s first week, he went 0-for-12, though we noted that he walked four times and put together good at-bats. In week three, he played all six games and hit .294/.368/.647 (1.015) with two homers. Charlie Mack, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The former infielder-turned-catcher played four games for the week. He hit .333/.556/.833 (1.389) with two homers and four RBI. In addition, he walked six ties and struck out four times. Edouard Julien, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: It was another strong week for the infielder from Canada via Auburn. For the week, he hit .421/.621/.526 (1.147) with two doubles. The on-base machine walked nine times and struck out just five times. In addition, he stole six bases in six attempts. Anthony Prato, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Like Helman, Prato was drafted as an infielder, but now he is playing all over the infield and the outfield too. He hit .348/.464/.435 (.899) with two doubles. He also walked five times. Kyle Schmidt, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The catcher is on this list for a second straight week. In four games, he hit .353/.421/.529 (.950) with three more doubles. Regi Grace, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Grace posted the best start of his minor league career this week when he gave up just one hit over five shutout innings. He walked three and struck out six batters. Casey Legumina, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The righty came out of the bullpen on Sunday and worked 4 1/3 innings. He was perfect until the final batter he faced who hit a solo homer. He struck out eight batters. Bradley Hanner, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: He gave up two runs (1 earned) on zero hits and two walks over 4 1/3 innings in his relief outing. He struck out five batters. ‘Blayne Enlow, Cedar Rapids Kernels: Enlow struck out a career-high ten batters over 5 2/3 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and walked three. Kody Funderburk, Cedar Rapids Kernels: The lefty needed just 55 pitches to complete 5 2/3 innings in his start. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk while striking out three batters. Tyler Beck, Cedar Rapids Kernels: Beck gave up just one run on one hit and one walk over five innings. He struck out four batters. It was the first start of his professional career. Jordan Gore, Cedar Rapids Kernels: His transition from shortstop to pitcher is going pretty well. He pitched twice this week and gave up one run on four hits over 4 1/3 innings. He struck out eight batters and didn’t walk any. Josh Winder, Wichita Wind Surge: Winder made one start in Tulsa and worked four innings. He gave up no runs and no hits over four innings. He walked one and struck out four batters. Then the rains came and he did not come back into the game after the delay. Cole Sands, Wichita Wind Surge: In his start, Sands gave up two runs (1 earned) on four hits in 5 2/3 innings. He struck out nine batters without walking anyone. Chris Vallimont, Wichita Wind Surge: In his first start of the season, he went 4 2/3 innings. He gave up one run on one hit. He walked two and struck out eight batters. Yennier Cano, Wichita Wind Surge: Cano pitched 2 1/3 innings over two games. He gave up zero runs and zero hits. He walked two, but six of the seven outs he recorded were on strikeouts. Chandler Shepherd, St. Paul Saints: Called upon to start when Bailey Ober was called up to the Twins, Shepherd gave up one run on four hits over four innings. He struck out six batters. Andrew Vasquez, St. Paul Saints: The lefty gave up just one hit over 3 1/3 innings in two games. However, one of those games covered two days. He pitched the eighth inning of the game that was then suspended by rain. The next day, he pitched the ninth inning. He struck out five batters. Jhoan Duran, St. Paul Saints: The flamethrowing right-hander made his first appearance of the 2021 season, and his first Triple-A start, on Saturday night. He gave up one run on four hits and a walk over three innings. He struck out six batters. Of course, the highlight was seeing him hit 102 and 103 mph on the Saints radar gun. Lowlight and Highlight? In Week 2, Wichita’s Austin Schulfer’s start was 5 1/3 scoreless innings. This Tuesday in Tulsa, he was charged with eight runs (7 earned) on seven hits, two walks and a hit batter in 2 2/3 innings. On Sunday, also in Tulsa, Schulfer did not allow a hit until there was one out in the seventh inning. He walked one and hit one batter. He got one more strikeout, his sixth of the game, and then was removed after 6 2/3 scoreless innings. St. Paul Saints starter Griffin Jax had a rough start this past week. On Monday, he was charged with seven runs on nine hits and a walk in his start against Indianapolis. Then on Sunday, he gave up just one run on seven hits and a walk. He struck out eight batters. On Friday night, Tom Hackimer made his Triple-A debut and got two outs, but he walked three batters and hit one. He did strike out the two batters he got out. On Sunday, he came on to protect a 5-4 Saints lead in the ninth inning. He gave up one hit, but then struck out three batters to record the save. 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. Daniel Descalso, St. Paul Saints: The Twins signed Descalso almost two weeks ago. The ten-year-MLB veteran did not play in the big leagues in 2020 after spending half of the 2019 season with the Cubs. He just wants to keep playing and the Twins have a need for infielders in the system. He played in five games this past week, and he went 0-for-16 with four walks and eight strikeouts. Ryan Jeffers, St. Paul Saints: Jeffers played in all six games. However, he hit just .105/.280/.158 (.438) with a double. He walked and struck out five times. Brent Rooker, St. Paul Saints: Rooker played in four games this past week and missed the last two games with a minor injury. For the week, he hit .143/.278/.143 (.421). He had three walks but also five strikeouts. JT Riddle/Keon Broxton: St. Paul Saints: I figured I would lump these two veterans together since they both posted OPS of .461 for the week. Broxton hit .150/.222/.472 with a double. Riddle hit .174/.200/.261 Andrew Bechtold, Wichita Wind Surge: In four games, Bechtold hit .143/.250/.214 (.464) with a double. Tyler Palm, Cedar Rapids Kernels: The lanky right-hander worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up five runs on four hits, a walk and two hit batters. He did strike out three batters. Misael Urbina, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: He was on the highlights list last week, and this week, the 19-year-old potential future star is on the other list. He hit .120/.267/.120 (.387) with nine strikeouts and three walks. Aaron Sabato, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: The Sabato struggles continued in Week 3. He hit .091/.286/.136 (.422) with a double. He continues to walk a bunch, but he also struck out ten times in 28 plate appearances. Keoni Cavaco, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: In six games, Cavaco hit .174/.240/.174 (.414) with two walks and nine strikeouts. It was a very rough week for the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels pitchers. Donny Breek, a right-hander from The Netherlands, pitched twice and got a total of two outs. He was charged with eight runs on four hits and seven walks. Lefty Zarion Sharpe came up for his pro debut after being signed after the 2020 draft. Over three games, he got six outs (three strikeouts) and gave up four runs on seven hits and three walks. On Sunday, he pitched a scoreless inning. Steven Cruz made a start and didn’t get out of the first inning. He walked four batters and hit one other batter. Both outs he got were on strikeouts. Brent Headrick was good in his first two starts, but it didn’t go as well in Start #3. He gave up eight runs (7 earned) on nine hits and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. And, while he still struck out six batters in three innings, Louie Varland also gave up six runs (4 earned) on seven hits and two walks. Trending Storyline With the minor league re-alignment also came a new schedule format. All four Twins affiliates will play six game series and have Mondays off for travel or just for a day off. Before the season started, Toby Gardnhire said that it might be an adjustment, and there are potential concerns “It’s going to be different. There are going to be challenges because you’re seeing the same guys in the lineup all week long, and you’re seeing some of the same pitchers. If a team has one of our hitters figured out, then that hitter is going to have to figure out how to make some adjustments pretty quick or he’s going to be owned for six days in a row. You worry about guys getting into fights on the field. Usually with a three-game series, if tempers flare in the second or third game, by the time you see them again, it’s a month later and things have cooled down. Now you’re playing six games.” On the other side, "The good part of a six-game series is the travel. We don’t have as many road trips. Once we get to a place, we’re able to stay there for six days. Scouts. Coaches. They’re able to come in. There are a lot of benefits. It’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be different. I’m excited about it. It’s going to be fun.” Brian Dinkelman, the Kernels manager said, “It’s something that we’re going to learn about this year. It’s uncommon. You’re going to face multiple pitchers and hitters throughout the six game series. There hasn’t been a lot of discussion (between the minor league managers). I think it’s something we’re just going to have to feel out as the season goes on. Logistically, with travel, it’s better for players and staff. You’re not on the road as much or having late-night commutes. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m looking forward to it.” Ft. Myers manager Brian Meyer was named the Mighty Mussels manager about a month before the season began. He thinks the six-game schedule is ideal for the Low-A level, especially this year. “I actually like it because, especially at our level right now, this is some players' first time traveling in the States. We play Bradenton 24 times. Especially this year, it’s just important that we play. But from a travel standpoint, it’s great. Getting every Monday off to clear their heads, get away from baseball and come back fresh on Tuesday. I see this as very beneficial for them in terms of their development.” It isn’t completely foreign to some in the organization. Ramon Borrego is the manager of the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. He was the manager in Pensacola in 2019 as well. In the Southern League, they played five-game series in the past. He said, “It was good because you play and you have Mondays off. Let’s see what we get. So far. So good.” Brent Rooker said, “The six game series is definitely something a little bit different, it’s something a lot of guys will have to get used to. It’s obviously another day longer than anything we have done in the past. We had five-game series in the Southern League in AA in Chattanooga. That obviously felt long. Six games is just an extra day.” Rooker added that another benefit of the Twins having their Triple-A affiliate in St. Paul rather than Rochester, especially for the guys who have gone back and forth. “It makes our lives significantly easier. My wife is up here with me. The ability to have one apartment for an entire season and to know we have a home base and that’s where we’re going to be no matter where I’m at is a huge relief. It’s a massive burden off my mind trying to find a way to move back and forth if that’s the case. It’s a lot easier for guys with families. We talk about that all the time. It’s a massive benefit. It’s a huge weight off our shoulders for sure. PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects have performed on the season. This was requested in the comments earlier in the 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 (15 games, .218/.241/.491 (.732) with 3 doubles, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 2 BB, 16 K) #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (Minnesota) – St. Paul (3 games, went 3-11 with two homers, two walks, 8 strikeouts), Minnesota (14 games, .186/.314/.326 (.639) with 3 doubles, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 7 BB, 14 K) #4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) – St. Paul (18 games, .222/.325/.429 (.753) with four doubles, three homers, 10 BB, 16 K), Minnesota (11 games, .147/.216/.176 (.393) with one doubles, 1 RBI, 3 BB, 18 K) #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) – St. Paul (1 GS, 3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 6 K, 3.00 ERA, 1.67 WHIP) #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) – Injured List (back) #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (18 games, .243/.321/.314 (.635) with 2 doubles, 1 homer, 8 RBI, 7 BB, 23 K, 4 SB) #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (18 games, .143/.349/.238 (.588) with 3 doubles, 1 homer, 5 RBI, 17 BB, 31 K) #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) – Cedar Rapids ( 3 GS, 14.0 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 25 K, 1.29 ERA, 0.71 WHIP) #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Cedar Rapids (3 GS, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 6 BB, 23 K, 1.84 ERA, 1.30 WHIP) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Wichita) – Wichita (15 games, .214/.343/.304 (.647) with 2 doubles, 1 homer. 10 BB, 17 K). #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) – St. Paul (15 games, .191/.381/.383 (.764) with three homers, 15 BB, 17 K), Minnesota (8 games, .103/.133/.241 (375) with 1 double, 1 homer, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 13 K) #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – Cedar Rapids (17 games, .333/.384/.621 (1.005) with 3 doubles, 2 triples, 4 homers, 14 RBI, 5 BB, 28 K). #14 - Misael Urbina (Ft. Myers) – Ft. Myers (12 games, .214/.353/.214 (567) with 7 RBI, 7 BB, 11 K, 3 SB) #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) – Wichita (4 GS, 18.0 IP, 12 H, 9 BB, 22 K, 3.00 ERA, 1.17 WHIP) #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (St.Paul) – St. Paul (1 game, went 2-4, 2B), Minnesota (12 games, .160/.250/.160 (.410) with 2 RBI, 2 BB, 10 K) #18 - Alerick Soularie (Complex) – N/A (injured) #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) – Wichita (18 games, .309/.372/.574 (945) with 3 doubles, 5 homers, 17 RBI. 5 BB, 10 K) #20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) – St. Paul (2 GS, 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 1.29 ERA, 1.14 WHIP), Minnesota (1 GS, 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 9.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP) LOOKING AHEAD Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (Brent Headrick, Regi Grace, Sawyer Gipson-Long, Louie Varland, Casey Legumina, Hunter McMahon): Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids: (Tyler Beck, Kody Funderburk, Matt Canterino, Andrew Cabezas, Ben Gross, Blayne Enlow) Springfield @ Wichita: (Bryan Sammons, Cole Sands, Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer, Josh Winder, Bryan Sammons) St. Paul @ Iowa: (Bailey Ober, Charlie Barnes, Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Chandler Shepherd, Bailey Ober): 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

WCCO's Cory Hepola and Seth Stohs discuss the current state of the Minnesota Twins. Topics include: When do you decide you need to make trades? What if the Twins rattle off 20 or 30 now, do you trade pieces? Would YOU trade him? What would you need in return? Would the TWINS trade him? Nelson Cruz? Josh Donaldson? Miguel Sano? Jose Berrios? Byron Buxton? Who are the Twins best four hitters in 2022? Who are the Twins best two pitchers in 2022? And, a little unwritten rule talk. Take a listen to the show and leave your thoughts.

Correct... With the Twins, they likely start Wells at AA and Baddoo at either High-A or AA. That is the purpose of the Rule 5.

Since Opening Day, Twins fans have spent a lot of time agonizing over the loss of Akil Baddoo in the Rule 5 draft. However, the Twins lost two players in December’s Rule 5 draft, and when the Baltimore Orioles come to Target Field today, reliever Tyler Wells will be a part of their bullpen. Following a series against the Nationals, the Baltimore Orioles flew to Minnesota where they will take on the Twins in a three game series starting tonight. The teams enter the series with an identical 17-29 record. For one member of the Orioles bullpen, the experience will be very special. Right-hander Tyler Wells said this afternoon, “I’m looking forward to moving forward. Even right now, playing the Twins, it’s kind of like a homecoming. It’s a bittersweet thing because I have a lot of friends over there. It’s going to be great to see them, but I’m also looking forward to competing against them.” The Twins drafted Tyler Wells in the 15th round of the 2016 draft out of Cal State-San Bernadino. The Twins scouts saw him and determined they definitely wanted to draft him. Deron Johnson, who was the Twins Scouting Director in 2016, told Twins Daily that he had traveled with Twins area scout and now West Coast Supervisor Elliot Strankman. “Elliot and I were going to see a junior college kid at another college. He said, ‘Hey, I like this reliever at Sonoma State. Let’s go see him on the way there.’ So we go there and they’re playing Cal State-San Bernadino. We see this big giant on the mound throwing up to 94 with a nice breaking ball. John Leavitt, our area scout, had him in (his reports), but he wasn’t a guy for me to see. We just stopped in there on a whim. John had seen him, but he hadn’t seen him throwing that hard. We just kind of had him on our radar after that. We didn’t hide him out, but we didn’t show a lot of interest. We knew there were two other clubs that had interest in him. We targeted him in the draft and thought, let’s not lose this guy.” Wells was the 2018 Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Between High-A Ft. Myers and Double-A Chattanooga, he went 10-6 with a 2.56 ERA and a 0.96 WHIP. He also had 121 strikeouts and just 31 walks over 119 1/3 innings. Unfortunately, the next spring training, he felt a pop in his elbow and ultimately had Tommy John surgery which cost him the 2019 season. He would have likely been rehab to come back sometime during the 2020 season, but as we all know, there was no 2020 season. And most likely, that is why the Twins decided not to add him to their 40 man roster in November. The Orioles took Wells with their second round Rule 5 pick. But even then, it didn’t necessarily mean that the Twins would lose him long term. Wells had to make the Orioles big-league roster out of spring training and still has to stay on the big-league roster throughout the entire 2021 season or be offered back to the Twins. Earlier in the Rule 5 draft, Wells’ good friend and fellow 2016 draft pick Akil Baddoo was selected by the Tigers. “We went through Tommy John surgery together and through that whole rehab process. We got pretty close. I was unbelievably happy for him. I hope he continues to absolutely rake and hope to see him up in Detroit.” Wells reported to Sarasota for his first major-league spring training. Wells pitched nine innings over five appearances. He gave up six hits, walked three and struck out 12 batters. He pitched well. Wells said this afternoon, “It was a lot of fun. A lot of the guys were super nice. It took a little time to get my feet wet, to understand how everything is going, how to go about my business. A lot of learning experiences. Got acquainted with a lot of the guys. As I continued to pitch, I learned more about myself and how my arm was feeling. I had an uptick in stuff from before I had Tommy John surgery. Everything went really, really well.” The Orioles decided to keep him on their roster for Opening Day. Getting the news was something that Wells will never forget. “I got called into the manager’s office on the last day of cuts. The GM and the manager are there. The first thing they said to me was ‘You ever been to Boston?’ Wells responded, “Nope.” They said, ‘Would you like to go?” Wells noted, “Obviously right then, I knew I made the team. It was an incredible moment.” On April 4th, the Orioles had an 11-3 lead over the Red Sox heading to the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Wells found himself jogging in from the Fenway Park bullpen to make his big-league debut. He gave up one hit, and he walked one, but he got three outs without allowing a run to end the game. “We were winning by a substantial amount, so they brought me in for the ninth and I got to finish the game. I ran out there and about halfway to the mound, I lost feeling in my feet. I started thinking I’ve got to remember how to do this pitching thing real quick.” In addition, he noted that the Red Sox fans in the right field corner were chanting his name. When he was warming up, fans were razzing him. “Wells… why are you not playing basketball? You should be playing tight end for the Patriots. Why are you even here?” Wells thought those aren’t even insults. “They were compliments. I appreciate that. I was keeping a straight face the whole time, and they liked that I didn’t even blink an eye. So they started chanting ‘Ty-Ler-Wells! Ty-Ler-Wells!’ as I was entering the game.” Since then, he has pitched in four more games against the Red Sox. His second MLB appearance came at Yankees Stadium. Primarily, he has pitched in low-leverage situations. He has completed two innings in seven of his 12 outings. Wells said, “The coaches have been pretty open about my situation. As a rookie, it’s low-leverage situations. I’m starting to get more comfortable in going in and hold games, certainly building more confidence in myself to be able to do that. I think that getting more innings as of late is really helping with that. I’m mostly a two-inning game. They try to bring me in and hold the game. I think they do have a lot of confidence in me doing that. I’m trying to help the team out as much as I can. Trying to help the bullpen as much as I can. Right now, they just want me to get more comfortable.” Overall, he has pitched in 12 games. He has a 5.14 ERA and a 1.10 WHIP. In 21 innings, he has given up 16 hits, walked seven and struck out 26 batters (11.1 K/9). One issue he has had is giving up home runs. He has already given up six homers (to Enrique Hernandez, JD Martinez, Jed Lowrie, Clint Frazier, Xander Bogaerts and Mike Zunino). This will not be Wells' first trip to Target Field. He’s been there one other time, but “not for the reasons I wanted to be. With my injury, I had to see the team doctor and got to attend a game.” On Monday night, the Twins will face left-hander John Means. As a rookie in 2019, he was the Orioles representative at the All Star game. In 2021, he has become a legitimate star. To this point, he is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA and a 0.75 ERA. Means is a guy that Wells has talked to and learned from already. “He’s been a guy that I’ve looked up to a lot. Very level headed. That is really what makes him so go. He’s level headed because of the experiences he’s been through. He considered retiring in 2018. He ended up making his major-league debut that year. Baseball is already difficult enough, and when he got the opportunity, he didn’t waste it. He’s a great leader in the clubhouse. For me, personally, I talked to him a lot in spring training. I’ve talked to him throughout the course of the season so far. He provides a lot of insights to the pitching, the lifestyle, how to take care of yourself. He’s been a huge help for, but he takes the stuff that he tells me and he applies it. Everything he tells me, he does. He doesn’t get too up or too down. He’s just cruising.” Another teammate that Wells really admires is Trey Mancini. As you know, the O’s first baseman first baseman missed the 2020 season fighting colon cancer. He has returned this year, and through 46 games, he is hitting .280/.352/.520 (.872) with 12 doubles, ten homers and a league-leading 41 RBI. Wells says, “You aren’t going to find a lot of better people in baseball than him. He’s such a down-to-earth guy. He’s another leader in our clubhouse. The word to describe him is ‘Incredible!’ He’s pushed. He’s fought. And I think you see a lot of that in his game. He’s continued to push himself and I’m so happy for him. He’s a phenomenal human being. He does everything with a purpose. He’s so resilient. It’s very inspiring, not just for me, but for the entire team, the entire league.” Hopefully Tyler Wells will be able to make an appearance this week on the Target Field mound. One of his best friends from the Twins organization is Twins star rookie Alex Kirilloff. “AK and I have the same type of conversation every week or two. We’ll see what’s going on in our lives. I keep up with him on how his daughter is doing, and see how his wife and the rest of his family are doing. We don’t really talk a lot about baseball, just about life and how things are going. It’s cool to take a step back and realize this game has brought a lot of great people into your life. It’s such a cool thing to see him grow into a bigger person, beyond just baseball. I’m looking forward to reconnecting to him.” He pointed out the the Orioles just finished a series with the Washington Nationals. He had forgotten that another former Twins minor leaguer Sam Clay is working out of the Nationals bullpen this season. He said it was nice to reconnect with him as well. Wells has been teammates with Luis Arraez, Cody Stashak and others. Wells is good friends with Travis Blankenhorn and Aaron Whitefield who are close to Trevor Larnach so he has had a chance to get to know him as well. “It’s going to be hard, with Arraez and AK, as soon as I see them walking into the box, it’ll be hard not to smile at them. It’s cool. It’s a lot of fun. It’s going to up the ante. It’s going to make you want to perform better, and I think it’s going to do the same for those guys. It’s a lot of friendly competition.” Wells noted, “It’s awesome to be able to come back and see everybody. I think that’s what I’m looking forward to most. Baseball is still baseball. I have a job to do. I still compete. It doesn’t matter what stadium it’s in. It’s game time. You lock it in. You go out there and do your thing. I don’t think it’s so much the place as it is the people.” Wells’ goal for the rest of the 2021 season may seem simple, but it’s important. “Stay healthy! That’s the big one because after not pitching for two years and coming from AA straight to the big leagues, it’s certainly a jump, but at the same time, you’re getting more intense innings. You have 162 games a year. You want to stay healthy, and that’s my #1 goal this year. I’d like to avoid any IL stints. And, on top of that, Win some ball games. I want to compete for the team and help the team win. If they ever need a guy, I want to be that guy.” Akil Baddoo understandably caught our attention early in the season when he got off to a fast start, and hit a grand slam, and a triple, and had a walkoff single against the Twins in the season’s first week. But the Twins lost two players in this past Rule 5 draft and both are finding means of success in their rookie big league seasons. View full article

Sure... in place of who? Maeda and Pineda are on the IL now, but they're not getting bumped. Berrios isn't getting bumped. Happ is a guy that could get traded, but he needs to build some value up over the next month. Then a spot opens. Shoemaker might bring back value if he has a good month, so might as well try that. If not, can drop him at that point. Dobnak is probably first in line. Thorpe is still in the starter conversation. Ober got the first opportunity since he is on the 40-man roster, and he'll get more chances, probably. So in addition to making more than a handful of AAA starts, it also is about opportunity. Also, we are talking about back-of-the-rotation upside, so do we care if he debuts at 26, 27, 28?

That makes sense at some point, for sure. He's already 27 because he came here from Cuba, but at the same time, it's also important not to over (or under) value what a guy does in three weeks. I would think if he stays healthy, he could get an opportunity.

Not believing in the value of pitcher wins isn't taking away anything from anyone in the past. It's actually making their case stronger. Bert Blyleven finally got in the Hall of Fame because people realized he was so much better than his Win total said. How many 1-0, 2-1, 2-0 losses did he have? Also, pitcher wins probably did mean more for starters in the past because they did pitch until the game was pretty much decided. The best ones went 7-8-9 innings. There are still a few guys that do that, but it's less and less. Team wins are most important. Who gets that W isn't as important.

That has been the strategy. They probably started winning during the Falvey years early, so they had to bring in free agents because they hadn't had time to build the pipeline. That takes 5 years, at least, when the cupboard was nearly empty. Like I wrote, Dobnak is the lone real success story to this point. Another point from the article is that Bieber, Civale, Kluber, Plesac weren't drafted in the first 2 rounds... Sure, they had Bauer, but they were opportunistic in getting him for very little just because Kirk Gibson was tired of Bauer already.

Absolutely true... And also they have had some guys that didn't make it. Or haven't made it yet. They have had guys who didn't make it and succeed. Maybe they didn't have the talent, but even then, the team probably deserves credit for getting a guy there when he probably never should have. When the Twins were winning pennants in the past decade, they would bring up one or two guys each year. Liriano one year. Garza the next. Valencia. You want to get to the point where you aren't bringing up six guys a year.

2021: Duran, Ober, Balazovic 2022: Jax, Barnes, Winder, Canterino, Sands 2023: Enlow, Funderburk, Grace While they will always need pitchers, obviously at some point, it just becomes about opportunity... Obviously it's imppssible to know what will happen... but the process is there.

As of today, I would rank them: Duran, Balazovic, Canterino, Winder, Enlow, Sands... But, part of the point of the article is that it is impossible to know. Cleveland's guys came out of nowhere (not literally, but they weren't top prospects). So, we are all wondering which ones have the talent to not only make it to MLB but to stick there and succeed.

I would sure hope so.

For the record, I too believe that pitcher Wins are a useless stat.

Sean Aronson, the voice of the Saints (and their PR/media director) has talked on their broadcast about the radar readings. They have Trackman information in the press box as well, so they can compare the actual mph (per Trackman) to the number shown using the stadium radar gun. Last night, Aronson noted that after talking to the Saints manager and pitching personnel, their radar gun appears to be pretty accurate until it reaches into the upper 90s. At that point, it appears to be 2-3 mph fast. So, 102 on their gun likely translates to 99-100. 103 translates to 100-101. As for Ober, he was (understandably) amped up... I think he showed he can hit 92-93, but he may just be one of those pitchers who is better at 89-90. May get more spin, or more movement. That's all part of the development too if figuring that out.

I think patience is important. Bieber took two years. Civale and Plesac took three years... But those were two or three "normal" years. Current minor leaguers lost a year of their development and routine, so we should expect that it'll take three or four years, even for college pitchers the Twins have drafted, to get to the big leagues... (and that isn't factoring in that there is that 'normal' MLB to AAA and back and forth). It certainly isn't something that we should have expected at this point, but it is something we should start expecting to see...

While that sounds good in theory, the reality is those teams need arms to get through the innings too. While Albers may not pitch for the Twins again, he can help protect the prospects.

Based on the video, it definitely appears that Wallner hurt his wrist on a swing... Hopefully it's nothing too serious!

Derek Falvey is often given at least some credit for the pipeline of starting pitchers that Cleveland has had over the past decade. Twins fans are starting to ask, “When will the Twins have that kind of pitching pipeline?” For years Twins fans have watched the Cleveland Baseball Club bring up pitcher after pitcher who finds success. In recent years, they have traded pitchers such as Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger and still have a top ten pitching staff in 2021. It seems to have started in July of 2010 when Cleveland acquired middling pitching prospect Corey Kluber as part of a three-team deal. At the time, Kluber was a 24-year-old just starting to put things together in Double-A. He was never a Top 30 prospect with the Padres, and he wasn’t a Top 20 prospect for Cleveland either. Kluber debuted in 2011 with three games. He made 12 starts in 2012 and went 2-5 while posting a 5.14 ERA. In 2013, he gained a regular rotation spot, went 11-5 and had a 3.85 ERA. In 2014, he won his first of two Cy Young Awards and finished in the top three in voting four of the next five seasons. Mike Clevinger was Cleveland’s fourth round pick by the Angels out of junior college. Four years later, in August of 2014, he had not reached Double-A and was traded to Cleveland in exchange for reliever Vinny Pestano. Clevinger debuted in 2016 as a 25-year old. He split time between the bullpen and the rotation through the 2017 season before becoming a full-time starter in 2018. Shane Bieber was Cleveland’s fourth round pick in 2016 out of UC-Santa Barbara. His timeline was pretty quick. He pitched at three levels in 2017. In 2018, he started at Double-A and dominated for five starts. He moved up to Triple A for eight starts and was great. He debuted in May 2018 at age 23 and moved up and down for awhile, but he’s been in their rotation ever since. He became an All Star in 2019 and was the unanimous Cy Young winner in 2020 at age 25. Bieber wasn’t a top ten Cleveland prospect until that 2018 season. Aaron Civale was Cleveland’s third round pick in 2016 out of Northeastern. He spent all of 2018 in Double-A. In 2017, he began at Double-A but quickly moved up. The rest of that season, his age-24-season, bouncing back and forth between Triple-A and Cleveland. He posted a 4.74 ERA in 12 starts in 2020, and has started 2021 6-1 with a 3.30 ERA. Civale found himself just outside of Cleveland’s Top 10 prospect rankings. Zach Plesac was Cleveland’s 12th round draft pick in 2016 out of Ball State. Three years later, he made his debut as a 24-year-old in May of 2019. Since then, he has posted season ERAs of 3.81, 2.28 and 3.93. So again, what can we learn? Don’t write off any pitcher in the minor leaguers, even if they aren’t a top 30 prospect in the organization. It is normal for pitchers, even good ones, to bounce between Triple-A and the big leagues for a little while. You don’t have to debut at 23 or younger to become a star. You can win Cy Youngs at age 25 like Bieber or 29 like Kluber. You don’t have to go to a top college to become a good big-league starter. Repeating a level doesn’t disqualify a pitcher from becoming a good starter. Maybe the most important thing to remember is that you just never know. Where are the Twins now? Jose Berrios is homegrown, though he was called up before the current regime took over. The current front office has signed Michael Pineda as a free agent (twice), J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker and others. They also traded for Kenta Maeda a year ago. In other words, they are still piecing things together as they wait for the pipeline to produce. While Lewis Thorpe was signed and developed early under a past regime, he has also developed the past four or five years under the current regime. Randy Dobnak is absolutely a success story, even if he never makes another start in the big leagues (which, by the way, after six shutout innings on Friday night, it won’t be). You know the story. Undrafted free agent from a Division II school. Signed from an independent league. Spent all of 2018 in Cedar Rapids. Pitched at four levels in 2019, including in the big leagues. Signed a long-term extension. But, now we want (and really, really need) to start seeing the pipeline. Remember, the first year with Derek Falvey at the helm, there weren’t a lot of changes. There was a lot of evaluation. So in 2017, they started adding some additional technology (Rapsodo, high-speed cameras, added Trackman capabilities). They have also now been adding coaches and coordinators. Each affiliate has two pitching coaches. Each affiliate has at least one Spanish-speaking coach. They have had a minor league pitching coordinator with a couple of assistants. Each pitcher has an individual improvement plan that they get to be part of making. So who are some of the pitching prospects that potentially could keep developing? Jhoan Duran (23) made his first appearance on Saturday night for the Saints. He was hitting 97-99 (the radar gun kept showing 102), though it was also clear he was shaking off some rust. The Twins acquired him in a trade from the Diamondbacks and have helped him develop as a starting pitcher. The Twins current front office has traded for some other pitching prospects early in their development. Luis Rijo (22) came to the Twins from the Yankees in the Lance Lynn deal. He was a pitcher with good command of his pitches. By 2019, he was hitting 95 with his fastball. When the Twins traded Lewin Diaz to the Marlins in 2019, they received Sergio Romo and Chris Vallimont (24). The hard-throwing right-hander made his Wichita debut on Saturday night and struck out eight batters in 4 2/3 innings. Jordan Balazovic (22) should be returning to action soon. He has been working back from an oblique injury in Ft. Myers, but he is obviously very talented. He was the Twins fifth round pick in 2016 out of high school in Canada. A year later, the Twins were able to sign Blayne Enlow (22) after drafting him in the third round of the 2017 draft and keeping him from LSU. Enlow is now throwing 95-96 mph with a four-pitch mix that has come a long way. Two other pitchers to watch are in St. Paul. Griffin Jax (26) was the team’s third round pick in 2016 from the Air Force. He was only able to participate part-time early in his career due to obligations, but he’s been a very consistent performer all the way up. Charlie Barnes (25) was the Twins’ fourth round pick in 2018 out of Clemson. Known for his changeup, he also has been quite good as he’s moved up the ladder. Both have been invited to big-league spring training the last two years. Bailey Ober (25) made his MLB debut this week, a spot start in place of Michael Pineda. He has put up just silly numbers in his minor league career, though he has missed time with arm issues. When healthy, he’s really good despite not throwing real hard. The 2018 draft brought the Twins a couple of very intriguing prospects. In the fourth round, they selected Cole Sands (23) out of Florida State. In 2019, he pitched at three levels and is starting well in Wichita this year. Wichita’s Opening Day starter was 2018 seventh-round pick Josh Winder (24). No one has increased their prospect value in the past year than Winder. After sitting 91-92 mph in 2019, he now is hitting 97 mph with a fastball and has a very sharp slider and a good change. Also from that 2018 draft, lefty Kody Funderburk (24, 15th round, Dallas Baptist) and Andrew Cabezas (24, 18th round, U of Miami) have started out well with Cedar Rapids. 19th round pick, Austin Schulfer (25, UW-Milwaukee) has made three starts at AA Wichita already. Regi Grace (21)was the Twins 10th round pick out of high school in Mississippi, and he just had his best start with the Mighty Mussels. The Twins grabbed Matt Canterino (23) with their second-round draft pick in 2019 out of Rice University. He was an advanced college pitcher when drafted, and then he ended 2020 at the Twins alternate site. He participated in the Twins depth camp at spring training and showed an upper-90s fastball to go with a terrific pitch-mix. The Twins drafted and signed ten more college pitchers between the sixth and 19th rounds that year. And then in the 30th round, they drafted Tyler Beck, a closer from Division II’s University of Tampa. He has started the 2021 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA. Through his first 12 2/3 innings, he has given up just three hits, walked two and struck out 15. Now, he is already 25, but he has taken a very circuitous route to where he is today and whatever he has been developing over the last year or more seems to be encouraging. And that brings me back to Age. Of course, Age-to-Level-of-Competition is a factor in prospect rankings, it should be only a minor piece to an organization’s evaluation of a player. If that’s the case, the Twins never would have signed Nick Anderson out of the independent leagues, and the Marlins and Rays certainly wouldn’t have traded for him. In addition, we just have to remember that the majority of these pitching prospects missed a full season of development. Again, it may be hard to figure out which pitching prospects will become big leaguers, much less big league rotation members, much less All Stars. So what can you look for? Stuff - Obviously to get to the big leagues, a pitcher has to have some ‘stuff’. Stuff, in my opinion, means velocity as well as quality pitch movement and shape. Velocity obviously helps make it possible to make some more mistakes and get away with them, but we have also seen so many successful pitchers who top out at 91-92 mph. Those guys need to have quality pitches, movement, shape, sharpness. It is also important to remember that pitchers are able to improve upon those things. Josh Winder bumping his fastball from 92 to 97 is just one example. The technology the Twins have provides the coaches and pitchers to work together to increase velocity, find a more consistent release point, increase spin and more. Command - As mentioned, a way to be successful even without triple-digit velocity is by being able to place the pitch exactly where you want to. “Control” just means that you don’t walk many batters. Command means that you are able to place the ball where you want it within the strike zone or just off it. Obviously there can be more factors for a pitcher’s success as well, but those are the two biggest. In addition, having a high baseball IQ is good. Being willing to ask questions is a good thing. Talking to both Josh Winder and Matt Canterino, they learned from the veteran pitchers while at big-league spring training. However, Canterino also talked about getting to spend some time talking with Josh Donaldson about his stuff, what a hitter might be thinking in certain situations and more. Being willing to learn is very important. And finally, being able to understand that the process is more important than the results, especially lower in the minor leagues. If you are doing the right things mechanically, mentally, in your preparation, and understand that it is understanding the big picture, you can continue to learn. Like all teams, the Twins have some very intriguing pitching prospects. A couple will make it. A couple may get a short stint. A few probably won’t get there. We will have a good idea of where the Twins front office and pitcher development programs are and will be going forward. View full article

Hackimer takes a lot of pride in his ability to hit batters. HA! Check out his career numbers. He always hits guys. The really encouraging thing about his performance last night was that the radar gun was showing 97. From a side-winder, that's crazy! Now, we also know that the St. Paul radar gun appears to be 2-3 mph fast, but even 94 from a sidewinder is VERY unusual.

I could probably add something like that to the Week in Review articles on Monday night.