Seth Stohs

At noon (central time) today(Monday), Seth will be chatting with Minnesota Twins outfield prospect and Minnesota native Matt Wallner. The discussion will be live on the Twins Daily social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages. The Twins drafted Matt Wallner, a tall, lanky, right-handed pitcher from Forest Lake (MN) High School in 2016. He had just been named Mr. Minnesota as the top high school player in the state. Following his junior year of high school, he had committed to play at the University of North Dakota. However, when the school eliminated their baseball program, Wallner went to Southern Mississippi. While he was used as a late-inning reliever, he became an All-American right away as a freshman. He put up big power numbers all three college seasons. When the 2019 draft came around, the Twins used their Competitive Balance pick (#39 overall) on the slugger. After signing, Wallner went to Elizabethton and played in 53 games. He hit .269/.361/.452 (.813) with 18 doubles, six homers and 28 RBI. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he played in 12 games and in the Kernels ' playoff run. For the efforts, Twins Daily named him the 2019 Twins Short-Season Hitter of the Year. Recently, Wallner was in Ft. Myers to participate in the Twins Instructional League. We'll talk to him about the draft, his pro debut, a strange 2020 season and what lies ahead for him during the offseason. Please watch LIVE at noon 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: More on Matt Wallner: Twins Select Minnesotan Matt Waller with 39th Pick (June 2019) Twins Bring Local Product Home: Q&A with Matt Wallner (June 2019) Twins 2019 Short-Season Hitter of the Year (Sept 2019) Episode 7: Get to Know Matt Wallner. (Nov 2019) Follow Matt on Twitter at @Matt_Wallner. . Previous episodes Episode 1: Tom Hackimer Episode 2: Matt Canterino Episode 3: Aaron Whitefield Episode 4: Spencer Steer Episode 5: Travis Blankenhorn Episode 6: Cody Laweryson Episode 7: Matt Wallner View full article

I don't remember any of the names. The regular Nintendo baseball game was fun. I would actually keep stats for my games and play seasons and stuff, even if that wasn't part of the game at that time. After that, I haven't really played a lot of baseball games. I've found that I am really not good at them at all. I loved Sega 1995 NHL and Madden, but I was terrible at the baseball option.

Kirilloff's bat is ready, but Larnach has just as much bat as Kirilloff, or it's very close. Tom's right. The similarities are plentiful. I don't understand why there are 40-50 prospect ranking positions between the two. Kirilloff could possibly have been more ready based on St. Paul stuff that we would have no idea of, but a big factor in why he was called up for that situation as opposed to Larnach is because he had to be added to the 40-man roster after the season anyway, whereas Larnach has a year left before he needs to be added. Don't get me wrong. I tweeted two years ago predicting that Kirilloff would win multiple batting titles and an MVP... But... that doesn't minimize just how high Larnach's ceiling and floor are.

I love watching Eddie Rosario play baseball!! That said, Kepler and Sano agreed to the Twins long-term deals so they don't have to go year to year with them. Rosario was offered similar deals at those times (I don't know which offseason or what the offers were, of course). He chose to go year-to-year and this becomes the downside of that... though he could become a free agent in a couple of weeks and maybe end up with a long-term deal from somewhere. And Buxton has another year beyond 2021 of arbitration. If 2021 doesn't go well for Buxton, there may be a tough decision on him a year from now.

The question, in my opinion, is can the Saints provide the same fan experience as an affiliate as they provided as an independent league team? That needs to be considered with and against being the AAA affiliate of the MLB team across the river?

I think there are a lot of similarities between Jacque Jones and Eddie Rosario... I also think that the advent of social media and the much more readily available advanced metrics today than in 2015 has altered the perception that most fans have. Is that a fair statement?

Regular Season... 1.) Erickson 2.) Aguilera 3.) Tapani 4.) Morris Morris had the one game that made him a Hall of Famer, and for that I am forever grateful. I'm sure a lot of Twins fans are. But for my money, Erickson was the best in the regular season, especially though the season's first three months. He was as good in that stretch as anyone I've seen in a Twins uniform since then (if I weren't to count Johan Santana in the discussion, of course). Liriano is 2006 was the best I've ever seen, but that was a half-season as well, like Maeda in 2020. Tapani was Brad Radke before Brad Radke, just not for as long. But he was great in 1991. Morris was just solid. Not great at all in the regular season. Aguilera was fantastic!!

La Russa may or may not be back...

Thanks for pointing this out. Not sure what happened, but the video is now updated. E-Twins (And the whole Appy League) will be part of a college wood bat league. There are definitely going to be changes in the minors. Most recent rumors online have the Midwest League and Florida State League switching High-A to Low-A and vice versa. Looks like Pensacola will be a Miami AA affiliate. Probable that the Saints will be a Twins affiliate. AA? Maybe? Or AAA? But could the International League drop to AA? I'm just not sure what it will look like in the end.

Amed Rosario will be Cleveland's shortstop. Guessing he'll be part of the deal to get Lindor.

At noon (central time) today (Monday), Seth chatted with Minnesota Twins right-handed pitching prospect Cody Laweryson. The discussion is available live on the Twins Daily social media platforms, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages. Cody Laweryson was the Twins 14th round draft pick in 2019 out of the University of Maine. Upon signing, he spent most of the rest of that season at Elizabethton where he pitched in ten games. In 41 innings, he walked nine and struck out 59 batters. He posted a 1.76 ERA and a0.83 WHIP. He made one start in Cedar Rapids and threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four batters. For the efforts, Twins Daily named him the 2019 Twins Short-Season Pitcher of the Year. Recently, Laweryson participated in the Twins Instructional League in Ft. Myers. We'll talk to him about the draft, his pro debut, a strange 2020 season and what lies ahead for him. Please watch LIVE at noon 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: More on Cody Laweryson: Twins 2019 Short-Season Pitcher of the Year (Sept 2019) Follow Cody on Twitter at @CodeBreker49er. Check out his Instagram page at @claweryson25. Previous episodes Episode 1: Tom Hackimer Episode 2: Matt Canterino Episode 3: Aaron Whitefield Episode 4: Spencer Steer Episode 5: Travis Blankenhorn View full article

So much to think about with this article. Great talker, Cody! Service Time is a tough one... There really isn't a better system, and whatever system is used, teams will look to take advantage of it, as they should. Regarding Kiriilloff (or Kris Bryant or whoever), why would any team want to NOT wait 20 days to call him up to make a debut when it means getting an extra season at age 28 or 29 because of it. That's just smart. And yes, passing the Super 2 date is smart too, but I don't care about that one as much as about team control for an extra season. As for Kirilloff, it's hard for me to imagine Scott Boras being OK with him signing an long-term deal before (officially) debuting. Cody mentioned the Luis Robert contract at 6/50. I'd add the 6/24 deal for Evan White. Understanding that the first three years of a player's career, they will make a little less than $2 million by just going year to year, I would just say based on prospect ranking, Kirilloff is in between the two. Robert was #1. White was about 50 or 60. Kirilloff is in the 20s of 30s. So, we'd probably be looking at 6/35-6/40 or so. So, he'd get an average of $11-12 million for each of those three extra years. However, the key to these deals is getting 2-3 option years at the end at reasonable costs. These are not easy decisions.

That is the challenge. Normally we would have a sample of 400+ at bats or 50-130 innings to consider, and scouts would have had lots more opportunities to see something. I just don't know what's going to happen. As for Rortvedt, the catcher position is so demanding. Rortvedt can catch in the big leagues right now. Don't see a lot of catchers taken in the Rule 5 draft... But sometimes I wonder if that's because the prospects and mid-level prospect catchers get protected?

Colina was already protected when he was put on the 40-man roster in-season. Rijo, Javier and Jax all passed through this year and none of them were even brought to the player pool, so I 'think' their odds of being selected are lower than I thought last year, but again, it just takes one team taking a shot.

I don't think so. I was worried last year and we have no more information on him going into this year's Rule 5 draft. We might assume that if guys (Rijo, Jaiver, etc) and didn't get selected then, that it isn't likely they would be added this year. I think that's fair. I have Rijo further down the list this year than I did last year with several first-timers ahead of him, so yeah, I won't be as worried this year. I also won't be surprised if he is taken.

If I was the one who got to decide this, I absolutely would add him. He was the player I most worried about the Twins losing a year ago...

Those are definitely two guys that I would/will worry about being selected. They were the two that I was most worried about last year as well.

There are a lot of guys on that list that I wouldn't want to lose. I don't think he's a Given, but as you said, with his defensive abilities, there might be a team willing to take the risk. With the Twins, you've got Garver, Jeffers and Telis behind the plate. Rortvedt would be a nice developmental piece that because of his defense you don't mind him as the #3 or #4 catching option.

On Thursday night, Twins Nelson Cruz was awarded his second straight Silver Slugger Award for top offensive American League Designated Hitter.Yet another award for Twins DH Nelson Cruz as he won his second straight Silver Slugger Award and the fourth in his career. The now-free agent DH hit .303/.397/.595 (.992) with six doubles, 16 home runs and 33 RBI in 53 games. The slugger turned 40 years old on July 1st. According to the Twins, he joins Kirby Puckett (1986, ’87, ’88, ’89, ’92 and ’94), Chuck Knoblauch (1995 and ’97), Joe Mauer (2006, ’08, ’09, ’10 and ’13) and Justin Morneau (2006 and ’08) as the only Twins to win the award in multiple seasons. He was named the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award from ESPN this summer. He was also named the Marvin Miller Man of the Year, "an honor voted on by his peers for a player they “most respect based on his leadership on the field and in the community.” Click here to view the article

In just over two weeks (November 20th), the Twins and the rest of the league will have to submit their additions to their 40-man rosters. 2020 was a lost season for many minor leaguers, so who do the Twins need to add… or risk losing to the Rule 5 draft?As Nick wrote earlier this week, this will be an offseason filled with uncertainty. How much will payroll be decreased? When will free agents sign? Will anything much happen before February? Will there be Winter Meetings? Well, certainly there won’t be a big gathering in a hotel as there normally is. But there certainly will be a Rule 5 draft… right? And with that, teams have until November 20th to add players to their 40 man roster. With teams less likely to spend big money in the offseason, could acquiring players in other ways, including the Rule 5 draft, be an option? On the other side, will teams wanting to cut back want to spend $100,000 to add a player that may or may not be offered back to their previous team for $50,000? Since the completion of the World Series, the Twins have been able to remove their free agents from the 40-man roster. Sergio Romo also became a free agent when the Twins declined his option for 2021. The Twins have claimed pitchers Ian Gibaut and Brandon Waddell. Nick Gordon will need to come off of the 60-Day Injured List, and when that happens the team will be at 34 players on their 40-man roster. Will he stay on the 40-man roster? If not, he would need to clear waivers, and even if he did, he would become a minor league free agent. Also before then, teams will need to offer 2021 contracts to their current arbitration-eligible players. If they don’t, those players will become free agents as well. Certainly Eddie Rosario is the most likely to be non-tendered, but the team has several arbitration-eligible players. With that as the backdrop, the Twins could potentially add as many as eight or even nine players from their system to their 40-man roster (pending others being removed from the 40-man). So, here is a quick reminder of what players will be eligible for the 2020 Rule 5 draft if not protected on the 40-man roster. Here is this year’s criteria: Players who signed when they were 18 or younger in 2016 (during the minor league season).Players who signed when they were 19 or older in 2017.Players who were eligible in previous seasons are also eligible again.Players drafted or signed during the 2014 season became free agents after the World Series was complete.So, let’s take a look at the eligible players, starting with The Givens: THE GIVENS When I first reviewed which players might need to be added to the 40-man roster (last January), I felt that there were four “Givens.” Three of them made their MLB debut in 2020. Alex Kirilloff (#1) - The 2016 first-round pick was added to the Twins rosterfor the 2020 playoffs. He became the third player to make his MLB debut in the playoffs, the first ever to start a game in that scenario. (The other two were A’s Mark Kiger and Royals Adalberto Mondesi) Kirilloff is such a natural hitter, he was an easy choice to add. It’s done. Brent Rooker (#3) - The Twins Competitive Balance pick after the first round in 2017 from Mississippi State has provided a lot of power with his bat since the team drafted him. A few weeks before Kirilloff, Rooker made his big-league debutand hit well. He knocked his first home run in a game in St. Louis. Unfortunately, he was hit by a pitch and needed season-ended surgery. But again, was an easy choice then, and it happened in-season. Edwar Colina (#4) - Colina was the one maybe surprising name to some that he would have been included in the Given category. He was signed in late September of 2015 and has slowly but consistently worked his way up the organizational ladder. But when a pitcher hits triple digits with a fastball and is known to have “the best slider in the organization,” he’s a given. He was added to the 40-man roster and called up on the final weekend. His one game did not go well, but that shouldn’t change anyone’s opinion on his upside. So, ,who was Given #2 when this was done in January? RHP Jordan Balazovic - The right-hander from Canada remains an easy choice to be added to the Twins 40-man roster. He’s 6-5 and lean, though he has also added strength and velocity to his frame over the past couple of seasons. People believe that he can be a starting pitcher, which is a key point.OTHER POSSIBLES This is where it gets more difficult. When so few players get selected in the Rule 5 draft, is it necessary to protect as many players? Or, are so few players selected because more (or the right) players get added to 40-man rosters. Of course, making it even more difficult to determine who should be added is the fact that there was no minor league season. These players did not get a typical, normal opportunity to earn a spot on the 40-man roster or not. So, for me, I saw many of the players for a week in spring training. They had a few more days of spring training after I left there before they were sent home. They were quarantined and there was no minor league season. A few of these players were at the Twins alternate site in St. Paul. Approximately 60 players were invited to the instructional league. Those are the new points for the Twins to factor into their decisions. That’s not a lot. While I have this group ranked by how I would consider adding them, I think the Twins should have a good conversation to consider each. (which they most certainly have) OF Akil Baddoo - The 74th overall pick in the 2016 draft out of high school in Georgia. Missed most of 2019 season with Tommy John surgery, but is a great athlete who has a good approach at the plate and great power-speed combination potential. Had there been a 2020 season, he likely would have began as a DH before gradually moving back to center field.C Ben Rortvedt - 2nd round pick in 2016 from Wisconsin. He has moved up the system pretty quickly and spent half of the 2019 season at Pensacola before a knee injury ended his season. Terrific defensively and very strong. Mitch Garver and Ryan Jeffers are likely going to be the big-league catchers. Williams Astudillo may or may not remain on the 40-man roster and in the organization. Tomas Telis has been re-signed on a minor league contract. Rortvedt should be considered for a roster spot.SS Wander Javier - Left off the 40-man roster last offseason, he went unclaimed. Still immensely talented and could break out at any time. The hope would have been that after a strong 2020 season, he would have been a Given. He didn’t play in 2020, another missed season. But, they have invested in him and he is still young and still immensely talented.RHP Luis Rijo - 21-year-old from Venezuela posted a 2.86 ERA in 107 innings in Cedar Rapids in 2019 but still went unclaimed in the Rule 5. Of all the players left off the Twins 40-man roster last year, Rijo was the one I was most worried about losing. Still young, he was throwing 95 at times in 2019 with three pitches. Now he’s a year older, hopefully more mature and strong.3B Jose Miranda - The 73rd overall pick in 2016 draft from Puerto Rico, Miranda has hit some and displays a lot of power potential. Has played some second base but profiles much more as a third baseman. He’s got good size and strength and could develop into a power hitting option.RHP Griffin Jax - Jax was also left unprotected and went unclaimed this year. He’s already had success in AA and could be MLB ready sometime in 2020. He was invited to big-league spring training, but he was not in the Twins player pool. But he is another guy who profiles as a starter, which matters.2B Yunior Severino - Enough of an international prospect that he received two nine-figure signing bonuses. He had a solid season in E-Town in 2018. Unfortunately fractured his thumb early in the 2019 season. Could break out in 2020 if he stays in the lineup. He got into several games in spring training and did a nice job.OF Gabriel Maciel - Signed with the Diamondbacks in June 2016 from Brazil. Came to the Twins in the Eduardo Escobar trade in July 2018. Not a big guy, but he hits a lot of line drives, runs really well and plays good outfield defense. Twins bench coach Mike Bell is very familiar with Maciel and his potential.LHP Charlie Barnes - 4th round pick in 2017 from Clemson. He lefty pitched at three levels in 2019 (8 starts in Ft. Myers, 13 starts in Pensacola, 4 starts in Rochester). Barnes was invited to Twins spring training and had a nice showing. Originally, he was not added to the player pool, but he was added later in the summer and got a couple of weeks of work in that atmosphere.RHP Bailey Ober - Twins 12th round pick in 2017 out of the College of Charleston, he has put up video game numbers when he has been on the mound. If healthy, he’s got a chance. He did not work at the Twins alternate site or participate in instructional league.LHP Jovani Moran - The lefty dominated the lower levels of the minors, but injuries cost him time in 2019. But, he’s young, left-handed and has a couple of plus-pitches. Definitely could contribute in 2021, and because of that, he probably profiles well as the type of player that does get selected in the Rule 5 draft.RHP Tyler Wells - Wells may have been an easy add in 2019 if he hadn’t missed the season due to Tommy John surgery. He rehabbed most of that year and had all of 2020 to keep working his way back to full strength without rushing. Can he get back to his 2018 performance level? If so, he’s worth a roster spot.LHP Bryan Sammons - The Twins 8th round pick in 2017 from Western Carolina, he dominated at Ft. Myers in 2019 before spending the final four months of the season in Pensacola. Left-handed, he has four quality pitches.He has proven strong and durable as well.1B/OF Trey Cabbage - 4th round pick in 2015 from high school in Tennessee. Broke out early in Cedar Rapids in 2019 and showed some of his immense power potential in 2019. 2020 was a big year for him as he was starting to really come into his own. Hopefully that can happen in 2021.1B Zander Wiel - Twins 12th round pick in 2015 from Vanderbilt. Wiel wasn’t added or selected after his 2019 season in Rochester in which he hit 40 doubles and 24 home runs. He was invited to Twins spring training and performed well. He also spent the 2020 season at the Twins alternate site in 2020.Others in their first year of eligibility:Tyler Benninghoff, David Banuelos, Andrew Bechtold, Mark Contreras, Ernie De La Trinidad, Calvin Faucher, Jordan Gore, Derek Molina, Ricky Ramirez, Joe Record, Yeremi De La Cruz, Jesus Feliz, Osiris German, Jimmy Kerrigan, Michael Montero, Junior Navas, Daniel Ozoria, Ruben Santana, Jesus Toledo, Janigson Villalobos.Others returning to Rule 5 eligibility after 2020.Melvi Acosta, Adam Bray, Yeltsin Encarnacion, Zach Featherstone,Tom Hackimer, Caleb Hamilton, Hector Lujan, Ryan Mason, Alex Robinson, Carlos Suniaga, Tyler Watson, Lachlan Wells, Aaron Whitefield.SUMMARY The Twins again have several interesting options for guys who could be added to the 40-man roster or potentially be lost in the Rule 5 draft. Like the rest of the offseason, it’s hard to feel confident about anything that’s going to happens and that includes what the Rule 5 draft might look like. PREDICTION If forced to make an official prediction, I think that the Twins will only add Jordan Balazovic and Ben Rortvedt to the 40-man roster in two weeks. Balazovic is the given. I just think that having strong catchers is important, and Rortvedt fits that category with his defense, and there is still offensive potential too. I think they’ll be busy in free agency and will want those roster spots available to them. They may be busy with trades too, including some of these players mentioned on the Possibles list. What do you think? Click here to view the article