Seth Stohs

I don't think anyone in the organization has more tools than him... He's really impressive.

Wallner was fantastic. After the game, he talked about simplifying his approach. He took some huge swings in his first at bat and struck out. He said that he tried to homer that at bat and "you saw how that worked out." But to get the homer off the lefty and then a huge three-run homer in a huge spot to turn a two-run deficit into a one-run lead was fantastic. That one left the bat at 107 too... Just crushed! I asked Dinkelman about Steer too, about his professional at bats. He's just a good player. Asked if he profiles as a utility player (because he played 2B the first game and SS the second game), Dinkelman said that he probably profiles as a second baseman going forward, but they're obviously going to make sure he's comfortable at all three infield spots and get him time at each. His at bats are incredible. I came away impressed with Jordan Gore as well. Yes, he gave up a game-tying homer, but it was on a 97 mph fastball in. So, not even a bad pitch. But, he was also throwing a bunch of changeups and curve/sliders that looked good. Easy to see why he's getting this opportunity to pitch. Spin rates are good. Just very impressive.

So much here to respond to. Willie Joe Garry is so talented, and so is Cavaco. Fun to see them both have a good night to start out. Nice to see the walks. And yes, what a nice pro debut for Julien. He's a very intriguing prospect too. Young for his draft class, then hurt while playing for Team Canada, Tommy John, but fully ready to go, and that's a good thing. I had heard that Sabato really struggled with the bat in minor league spring training too. He'll be fine, but the adjustment isn't going to necessarily be quick. I wouldn't make too much of one game or one week. It's all a process. I was in Cedar Rapids, and I came away impressed with what Funderburk did. The name that popped into my head as a comparison is Ryan O'Rourke. I think if he has enough fastball, and if that slider can become O'Rourke-like, he can be a reliever. Steer was impressive. Just seems to hit the ball hard all the time. Seth Gray has the swing, and he made a really nice play at third base. Wallner is impressive, great power potential, and he showed more athleticism than I probably would have guessed. Snyder also looked more athletic than I recall. I didn't know a lot about Camargo, other than he came over in the Maeda/Graterol deal, but he's got a nice swing and seemed to do well behind the plate. Again, one game, but nice first impressions. The bottom of the order took walks, but I don't think they were being at all passive. They were good plate appearances. Trey Cabbage had a couple of really impressive PA's that ended in walks. One interesting thing... In the bottom of the 1st inning, Cabbage was up. He got ahead 3-0. He got greenlighted and just missed a pitch and fouled it off. Then the Peoria pitcher came out of the game. So, 5-minutes or so later, the PA finished with a walk. I asked Dinkelman after the game if he'd seen that before, and he said its rare, but their starter was already at about 40 pitches in that inning. Albers will be fine. First start of the year. I'm guessing it was a last-minute start. Maybe Thorpe was supposed to start on Opening night and then they found out he's starting for the Twins today. Albers will fill a role.

I thought Funderburk was pretty impressive last night. Left. Low-90s. Two other good pitches. He also hasn't been a full-time pitcher until he became a pro. He was an All-American 1B in college (who also pitched). Laweryson is on the IL and still in FM, but he's certainly intriguing too.

He's got really good stuff, and his home run earlier this year was impressive too.

I think he was surprised by the move, but he will handle it well. He's smart. The key for him is getting playing time and at bats on a consistent basis. He's going to be terrific, but he just wasn't playing enough or consistently enough with the Twins as they were trying to get Garver going.

That ball was well struck. He takes a big swing. Spencer Steer also just seems to have a knack for hitting the ball hard.

Just got to Veteran's Memorial Stadium in Cedar Rapids! The Peoria Cardinals are taking BP. The sun is shining...

Happy Minor League Opening Day!! After a completely canceled minor league season in 2020, it is exciting to have minor league ball back, and we are excited to bring back the Twins Minor League Reports. Here is a refresher below, with some stories, pitching probables and more in there.We expect that over the course of the season, the Minnesota Twins will be good, and they will attract much of our attention. As you know, at Twins Daily we take a ton of pride in our minor league coverage. We are bringing back the daily Twins Minor League Reports. We have six writers who will help us cover the games each night. Below, you will find some reminders of what to expect from the daily reports. I have also included Tuesday’s Twins minor league starting pitchers as well as the opening series starters for both St. Paul and Ft. Myers. You will find information on the Saints 2021 broadcast and more. You will find a long-ish story on the Mighty Mussels with some information from their press conference on Saturday. You will see that we’ll continue to post updated on the team’s top prospects, and we’ll pick the hitter and the pitcher of the day each day as well. And then, we will spend time in the comments section, answering any questions you may have. I know I am very excited about being able to follow the Twins, but also follow four more box scores each night. I know the players are very excited to get back on the field for games against players from other teams. I will be in Cedar Rapids this first week, so feel free to ask questions below and I’ll try my best to answer as many as I can. With that, let’s get to the Opening Day Twins Minor League Report primer, re-introduction and more. But first, a couple of links to recent stories about the upcoming minor league season and prospects. Depth Camp Opportunities: Hear from six Twins players about their first big-league spring training experience. Follow the Affiliates: Find out how you can keep tabs on the Twins four full-season affiliates throughout the season. TRANSACTIONS On Monday, the Twins announced that RHP Randy Dobnak had been optioned to St. Paul, and that LHP Brandon Waddell had been called up to the Twins.SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul, Omaha Box Score Each game played by a Twins affiliate will have the score and a link to the box score. Then in this area, we will write up highlights of the games. Who pitched? Who had multi-hit games or extra-base hits? We will hopefully be able to add some tweets or video from the game when possible. If there are stories on players from the team, we want to link to them. For instance, the Saints announced that all 120 of their games will be broadcast. Most of the games will air on KFAN Plus (96.7 in the Twin Cities), but some Sunday games will air on KFAN (100.3 in the Twin Cities). All games will be on iHeart radio. Sean Aronson will be entering his 15th season as the Saints play-by-play broadcaster and is scheduled to do all 120 games. The Saints begin their first affiliated season with a trip to Omaha. Here are the expected starters for the first five games: Tuesday: LHP Andrew Albers, Wednesday: LHP Charlie Barnes, Thursday: RHP Randy Dobnak, Friday: LHP Devin Smeltzer, Saturday: RHP Bailey Ober, Sunday: TBD. Here is the Opening Day Saints' roster (before the Dobnak/Waddell transaction). Recently, Matthew Trueblood talked to Saints pitching coach Mike McCarthy about keeping these pitchers ready at the alternate site.Lucas Seehafer chatted with OF Trevor Larnachabout several topics including things he's working on and more.Prospect Retrospective: Nick GordonOpening Day starter Andrew Albers remains Appreciative, and Hopeful.WIND SURGE WISDOMWichita, Springfield Box Score The Wind Surge begin their season with a series on the road in Springfield, Missouri. Josh Winder will make the start for Wichita in Game 1. Take a look at the Wind Surge Opening Day roster. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria Box Score I am excited as I will be at four or five games in Cedar Rapids this week, starting tonight. Lefty Kody Funderburk, a former 1B/OF, is the Opening Night starter for the Kernels. Here is the Kernels Opening Day roster. We also want to highlight articles on players written in their local newspaper or by the team’s beat writers. Here’s a good example. Jeff Johnson, the terrific beat reporter for The Gazette in Cedar Rapids wrote this season preview and story on OF Trey Cabbage. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Bradenton Box Score Fort Myers announced earlier this week that RHP Regi Grace will be their Opening Day starter. The 2018 tenth round pick will be making his full-season debut. Asked how the team could be this year, Grace said, “We’re going to dice! Every guy we send out there is going to do his job. Of course we want to get to CR (Cedar Rapids), but at the end of the day, we want to win. Up-and-down, one-through-nine in the lineup and whoever is going to toe the rubber, we’re just going to go out there and compete.” A quick look at the Mighty Mussels’ roster shows a pitching staff with a lot of guys with starter experience. In a press conference on Saturday afternoon, pitching coach Peter Larson said that we can expect to see a lot of piggybacking throughout the year. “Coming off the missed year, workload volume management is the most important thing. We don’t want to blow these guys out. We have a lot of starters and 15 pitchers. We’re going to look to piggyback starters, especially in the early months, and it could go the full season. So that’s the exciting part because you look at the guys who progressed through our system like Dobnak and Smeltzer, they started and came out of the ‘pen. I could definitely expect to see a mixture of that. Maybe one guy starts the first week and comes out of the bullpen the next week. We’re just very mindful of the workload. We’re not trying to tax anyone especially in the first month. It’s going to be critical. The adrenaline is going to be high.” Larson was the rehab coach in 2019, so he got to see pitchers like Casey Legumina, Sean Mooney and Hunter McMahon work that year and then worked with pitchers throughout the 2020 season. Shortstop Keoni Cavaco pointed out that he’s excited to get the season started, but it was also important for him to make a full-season squad to start the season. “I put a lot of work in last year when we didn’t have a season. Just to know that all the hard work that I put in is paying off. It’s exciting to play 120 games. I’m excited for it.” Cavaco pointed out that he has moved around a little bit in spring training but is mostly at shortstop. Manager Brian Meyer said, “One thing that we have been stressing from an infield standpoint is to be able to play multiple positions, second base, third base, shortstop, even first base. We’re trying to get them comfortable at each because if you look at the trend right now in the big leagues, guys can play multiple positions, and if you’re hitting, we’re going to get your bat in the lineup. The more ability you have to play different positions, the more flexible it makes rosters. But it is going to be a challenge.” Here are the Mighty Mussels starters for their opening series: Tuesday: RHP Regi Grace, Wednesday: RHP Casey Legumina, Thursday: RHP Sean Mooney, Friday: LHP Brent Headrick, Saturday: RHP Steven Cruz, Sunday: RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Every day, we will select one hitter of the day, and one pitcher of the day, and you can discuss who it should have been. Hopefully many days we will have many good options! Pitcher of the Day – Hitter of the Day – PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. For tonight, only Twins 1B Alex Kirilloff and catcher Ben Rortvedt have stats. Tuesday night, several more will. Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Alex Kirilloff (Minnesota) - 2-4, 2-2B, 3 R, RBI, K #2 - Royce Lewis (Rehab) - Out for Season (torn ACL) #3 - Trevor Larnach (St. Paul) - Did not play #4 - Ryan Jeffers (St. Paul) - Did not play #5 - Jhoan Duran (St. Paul) - Did not pitch #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Wichita) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (Ft. Myers) - Did not play #8 - Aaron Sabato (Ft. Myers) - Did not play #9 - Matt Canterino (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #12 - Brent Rooker (St. Paul) - Did not play #13 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play #14 - Misael Urbina (Complex) - Did not play #15 - Cole Sands (Wichita) - Did not pitch #16 - Edwar Colina (Rehab) - 60-Day IL (elbow) #17 - Ben Rortvedt (Minnesota) - 0-3, 2 K #18 - Alerick Soularie (Rehab) - Did not play #19 - Jose Miranda (Wichita) - Did not play #20 - Bailey Ober (St. Paul) - Did not pitch TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Omaha (6:35PM CST) - LHP Andrew Albers (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (6:35PM CST) - RHP Josh Winder (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - LHP Kody Funderburk (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:05PM CST) - RHP Regi Grace (0-0,0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions! It sure is exciting to have minor league baseball back. Click here to view the article

Age matters in prospect rankings. That's all. The Twins are in Win-Now mode, so the front office's job is to make sure they've got options in Triple-A to come up if needed. Broxton may have a role at some point. Riddle could. Derek Law should. The other thing is that this year, age means even less than normal. The 'prospects' are taken care of and they are going to play where it is best for their development. They've just missed a full year... Low A starters are normally 22. This year, it's OK if they're 23-24. St. Paul has a nice mix of veterans as well as a bunch of prospects.

I would think maybe others have skipped the DSL, but it's very rare. sounds like just a lot up in the air on the DSL... lots of kids in a small area. It may be limited.

St. Paul, Wichita and Cedar Rapids games will be on milb.tv.

I'm heading to Cedar Rapids for their opening series next week. looking forward to that! I'm hoping to get to Wichita once this summer sometime. I did look at how far Springfield is from Cedar Rapids... but the answer was too far. Be sure to send us some updates on the games you see in the comments of those minor league reports those nights. And if you get pictures, let us know!

Colina is on the Twins 60-Day IL with forearm/elbow issues. Urbina, Rodriguez and Raya are at the Twins complex in Ft. Myers. They'll play for the "GCL" team when it gets to that point. Of course, if needed, they could be promoted to Ft. Myers. Possible, but not likely they would play with the Mussels this year. Depends on need and injuries, etc. Danny De Andrade will be in the Dominican Summer League, if there is a Dominican Summer League this year. That's kind of still up in the air.

yes, that's because these guys are a lot of the 2019 draft picks, guys who likely would have been in Low A a year ago. Now they're here a year older. Of course, that doesn't matter even a little bit.

Learned also this afternoon that minor league Rule 5 pick Jhonleider Salinas will also be on the Wichita roster. Like Luis Rijo, visa issues made him late for camp.

I don't know a lot of specifics... Laweryson expects to be in Cedar Rapids by about late May. Rijo had some visa issues so he got to spring training late.

Balazovic is on the Wichita IL... I got that list just now... May be some IL... they also are accounting for taxi squad needs.

Javier is still just 22... just so much missed time... talent is certainly still there. I expect the same with Canterino, but they'll let them pitch.

In my projections, I had Celestino teetering between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. I think at some point we may see Rortvedt head to AA, but for right now, he's getting a nice opportunity.

Just got the IL list and added it to the article above. Balazovic Bray Lewis Vallimont Balazovic has an oblique injury, so they're starting him slowly.

Today, the Cedar Rapids Kernels announced their first Opening Day roster as the High Class-A affiliate of the Twins. After eight seasons as the team’s Low-A affiliate, the Kernels earned their promotion. Find out which players will start their season in Iowa.The Kernels became the Twins Low-A Midwest League affiliate in 2013. In 2021, they are now the team’s High-A affiliate. It’s an interesting case where a lot of the players who spent time in Cedar Rapids in 2019 are moving up the organizational ladder to start 2021, but remain with the same team. This roster has a lot of talent and should be fun to watch. Find out who is on their Opening Day roster, starting with the coaching staff. The Coaching Staff: Manager: Brian Dinkelman Pitching Coaches: Mark Moriarity, Richard Salazar Hitting Coach: Bryce Berg Coach: Jairo Rodriguez The Pitchers LHP: Kody Funderburk (24), Tyler Watson (23), Zach Featherstone (25) RHP: Melvi Acosts (25), Tyler Beck (25), Andrew Cabezas (24), Matt Canterino (23), Jonathan Cheshire (26), Blayne Enlow (22), Ben Gross (24), Jordan Gore (26), Tyler Palm (26), Derek Molina (23), Jon Olsen (23), Owen Griffith (23). The starting rotation of the Kernels is very exciting. Canterino and Enlow are also Top 10 Twins prospects and have high ceilings. Ben Gross was a tenth round pick in 2019 out of Duke. Jordan Gore is starting his transition from shortstop to pitcher. Inactive: Cody Laweryson (injured list), Luis Rijo (temporary inactive list). The Catchers Jair Camargo (21), Alex Isola (22), Chris Williams (24) Isola and Williams were in big-league spring training, though Williams hurt his shoulder playing some first base early in camp. Camargo came to the Twins in the Maeda/Graterol trade. The Infielders Seth Gray (22), Michael Helman (24), Wander Javier (22), Spencer Steer (23), Yeltsin Encarnacion (22), Gabe Snyder (26), Spencer Steer was part of big-league spring training. The 2019 third-round pick can play second and third base. Gray is an exciting third base prospect from the 2019 draft. Snyder was a Midwest League All Star in 2019 and provides a lot of power. Helman struggled with the Miracle in 2019, but he’s back in Cedar Rapids where he played great during his 2018 draft season. Wander Javier moves up to Cedar Rapids after his struggles with the Low-A Kernels in 2019. He remains a high ceiling prospect. Encarnacion is quietly a solid shortstop prospect with the glove and a developing bat. The Outfielders Trey Cabbage (24), DaShawn Keirsey (23), Gabriel Maciel (22), Matt Wallner (23), Minnesota native and 2019 first-round pick Matt Wallner returns to Cedar Rapids to start the 2021 season. Cabbage started showing his massive power potential in 2019 and looks to continue that. Keirsey had a great offseason and looks to stay on the field and produce in 2021. Maciel came to the Twins in the Eduardo Escobar trade. He’s got a lot of skills. Check out these Cedar Rapids Kernels sites and social media: Team Website Team Store Kernels on Twitter Kernels on Facebook Kernels on Instagram Kernels on YouTube All Ears podcast Minnesota Twins 2021 Top 20 Prospects with the Kernels 13. Matt Wallner, OF: 10. Blayne Enlow, RHP: 9. Matt Canterino, RHP: Click here to view the article

Today the St. Paul Saints announced their first Opening Day roster as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. Many of these players have been working at CHS Field, but find out more about who you can see when you go to Twins Triple-A games in St. Paul.CHS Field is beautiful. Maybe you’ve already been there for some Saints games, but if not, you will certainly want to make the trek east of the river starting this year. The Saints are now the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. You can watch future Twins working and preparing to get the call across the Mississippi River to join the Twins at Target Field, and you can do so with the great atmosphere that the staff at CHS Field provide. Let’s take a look at the team’s 2021 Opening Day roster, starting with the coaching staff and working through the players. The Coaching Staff: Manager: Toby Gardenhire Pitching Coaches: Cibney Bello, Mike McCarthy Hitting Coach: Matt Borgschulte Coach: Tyler Smarslok The Pitchers LHP: Andrew Albers (35), Charlie Barnes (25), Daniel Coulombe (31), Devin Smeltzer (25), Lewis Thorpe (25), Andrew Vasquez (27), Brandon Waddell (26). RHP: Shaun Anderson (26), Jhoan Duran (23), Luke Farrell (29), Ian Gibaut (27), Ian Hamilton (25), Griffin Jax (26), Derek Law (30), Robinson Leyer (27), Juan Minaya (30), Bailey Ober (25), Chandler Shepherd (28), Glenn Sparkman (28). The Saints have quite the pitching staff. There are prospects like Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax Charlie Barnes and Bailey Ober. There are veterans with a lot of big league time like Andrew Albers, Juan Minaya, Glenn Sparkmann, Luke Farrell and Derek Law. There are guys like Lewis Thorpe and Devin Smeltzer who have had a role with the Twins the past two seasons. The Catchers Caleb Hamilton (26), Roberto Pena (28), Ryan Jeffers (23), Tomas Telis (29). Ryan Jeffers was optioned to St. Paul on Friday. He should get the majority of the starts behind the plate and potentially DH when he’s not catching. He will need consistent at bats again and remains the likely catcher of the future. Hamilton can catch, but he can also play first base, third base and in left field. Telis is a veteran with big-league time in parts of four seasons. In 2019 at Rochester, he hit .330. Roberto Pena has been in pro ball since signing with the Astros in 2010. He’s also been in the White Sox, Rays and Angels organizations. The Infielders Travis Blankenhorn (24), Nick Gordon (25), Drew Maggi (31), Zander Wiel (28) JT Riddle (29) and Tzu-Wei Lin (27) were DFAd on Friday, so it will be interesting to see if either is claimed. If not, they could be on this roster too. Nick Gordon was called up to the Twins last weekend but didn’t get into a game. The former first-round pick (2014) can play both middle infield positions. He just needs to get at bats and stay healthy. Blankenhorn saw one game with the Twins, and it didn’t go well for him, but don’t let that alter your thoughts on him. He’s a big kid, capable of playing third base and second base, and he has power potential. Maggi is a minor league veteran who played well in Double-A and Triple A in 2019. Zander Wiel had a monster season in Rochester in 2019 and has been in big-league spring training the past two years. The Outfielders Keon Broxton (30), Trevor Larnach (24), Rob Refsnyder (30), Brent Rooker (26). Rooker was optioned to the Saints on Friday after playing in a handful of games with the Twins following a stint on the Injured List. He will be a middle of the lineup bat. Larnach is the #3 Twins prospect and 2018 first round pick. His bat has nearly as much potential as Alex Kirilloff. He just needs time and some at bats. Refsnyder has several years with MLB time but hopes to get back to the big leagues this year. Broxton is interesting because just a few years ago, he had a 20/20 season for the Brewers. He’s a strong defender, capable of playing all three outfield spots. Check out these St. Paul Saints sites and social media: Team Website Team Store Saints on Twitter Saints on Facebook Saints on Instagram Saints on YouTube Minnesota Twins 2021 Top 20 Prospects on the Saints roster: 20. Bailey Ober, RHP: 12. Brent Rooker, OF: 5. Jhoan Duran, RHP: 4. Ryan Jeffers, C: 3. Trevor Larnach, OF: Click here to view the article