Seth Stohs

Zarion Sharpe grew up in Pinetops, North Carolina, a small town of about 1,500 people. He went to school there until high school when he transferred to Oakwood School in Greeneville. He grew up playing baseball. His older brother played Division II baseball at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina. He watched his brother play and grew to love the game. He played some football before high school. He also was a good basketball player. It almost became his sport of choice. “I never played AAU. I just played school ball. Honestly, I tried to play basketball as my primary sport. Almost gave baseball up. Good thing I didn’t though.” As Sharpe now has an agreement to sign a professional baseball contract with the Minnesota Twins, I think we can agree that he made the right choice. In high school, Sharpe played center field and when he wasn’t pitching, he hit .487 as a senior. He was a four-year letter winner. He was named All State three times. He was his conference’s player of the year twice. As a senior, his team won a state championship. He played for the Dirtbags baseball program in North Carolina during his summers throughout high school. He had opportunities to be a two-way player at a couple of schools. It wasn’t until late in his senior year that he made his college choice. He was staying in-state, but headed south, to Wilmington. “Actually talked to them (UNCW) pretty late in my high school career. It was about two to three weeks before the end of my senior season. They saw video one time, and they texted me and told me they wanted to come watch me throw a bullpen. Then they got me on campus for a visit. When I got here, knowing their reputation for being a good mid-major and all the success they had in regionals and conference championships. And, you can’t go wrong with going to school on the beach.” As with most freshman in college, it took Sharpe a little bit of time to make some adjustments. “It was tough at first. The game was a lot faster. Margin of error was a lot smaller. Especially with the fall scrimmages with the offense we had at that time, with (Ryan) Jeffers and others. However, he ended the season strong by posting six straight wins and ended the season with a 6-1 record. He was feeling pretty good going into this sophomore season, but after just five games, his season came to an abrupt end. “I had an avulsion fracture, a build up of stress over time in my shoulder. I had a small, little crack in my bone. It wasn’t big enough to where I needed surgery. I had to just sit out and rest. The recovery time was six to seven months.” It was disappointing and frustrating for Sharpe who was a key cog in a team that was really good. “It was definitely frustrating. That year was probably the best team that we’ve had since I’ve been here because of the combination of the pitching staff and the offense that we had. It was definitely frustrating not being able to play with those guys, but also not being there when we won the conference championship. We got put into the East Carolina Region which is in Greeneville and that’s where I live. So that was definitely hard not being able to play there. I had to sit in the stands and watch.” He was able to get a medical redshirt, so he returned in 2019 as a redshirt sophomore. He returned by pitching out of the bullpen, but it wasn’t long before he was back in the starting rotation. One year ago, Zarion Sharpe heard his name called in the MLB Draft. In the 19th round, the St. Louis Cardinals selected the lefty. Sharpe had a big decision, but he decided to return to college for another year. He recalled, “It was tough. At first I thought about taking it, but then listening to some people close to me and my advisor. They were telling me that I had the chance to play summer ball in the Cape and get my name out there. I still had two years of eligibility, so I’d come back as a redshirt junior. I had a chance to come back, and go a little higher and earn a little more money. So those were the deciding factors for me to go back.” So he headed north to Chatham and played the summer in the Cape Cod League. He pitched well, posting a 1.35 ERA and striking out 24 batters in 20 innings. He loved the experience. “It was probably the best summer that I’ve ever had playing ball. The people up there just love baseball. The whole town comes out and watches. Everybody knows who you are. People are really nice. The competition was the best I’ve ever played against. So just all those things put together made it. It was everything I thought it would be, but it wasn’t what I thought because I didn’t realize how much people really liked going to the games up there.” Sharpe continued to pitch well when his 2020 college season started. The southpaw was 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. He has walked eight batters and struck out 20. And then came another abrupt end to a season, this time due to COVID-19. Sharpe recalled, “It was honestly kind of surprising. We had a mid-week game against East Carolina, and we won on a walkoff. I remember getting home that night, and we learned that the NBA was suspending its season, and some of the guys were saying it doesn’t mean they’ll cancel our games. We were fine. It was spring break. The next day we got to practice. I was eating lunch in the locker room. We all got the notifications on our phones that our conference was suspending the rest of our season too. It was a surprise obviously.” With so much uncertainty, Sharpe just tried to keep and stay busy. He finished his classes online. He is currently 18 hours shy of graduating with a major in Sociology with a minor in Public Health. “As far as workouts, I’ve been throwing at one of the parks with some of my teammates. A lot of it has been at-home workouts. I bought some dumbbells and a bar, a lot of body weight. A lot of running, just trying to keep myself in some decent shape.” Nikki Netzer, UNCW Then came June and the 2020 MLB Draft. Sharpe noted, “I thought there would be a 50/50 chance that I would get taken in the top five (rounds). I had a call and a chance to actually go, but that didn’t work out.” He was obviously disappointed, but he didn’t have a lot of time before things got busy again. “Once the free agent stuff started, things really picked up. Just really busy for three or four days, talking on the phone.” Sharpe continued, “I heard from quite a few (teams), and then it was about reducing it to a certain number of teams where I felt I would be a good fit.” Sharpe said that he had a few criteria that he went into the process looking for: “It was really just trying to find somewhere that needed some left-handed pitching, and” “A place with a reputation for really good player development.” The Twins fit both categories for Sharpe. “I felt that the Minnesota Twins had both of those. From talking to people that I know in the organization, and from being on the phone with scouts and people in player development, they just made it seem like a really good atmosphere, a place where I could grow and hopefully work my way through the system and get to the Major Leagues some day.” One of the people that Sharpe knows in the organization is the Twins area scout in North Carolina, Ty Dawson. He is the area scout who most saw Twins first-round draft pick Aaron Sabato. Dawson and Sharpe have known each other for years already. “Mostly talked to Ty Dawson. He actually recruited me. When I was in high school, he was at North Carolina A&T. So we’ve known each other for a couple of years. We have a really good relationship.” Another person that he talked to is the Twins top catching prospect and former UNCW star Ryan Jeffers. “He (Jeffers) was really the only (player) I know. We have a really good relationship. We played together for two years. We built a relationship just from him catching me a lot. I talked to him. He put in a good word. He talked really highly of the organization. So that was one thing that helped me out.” What’s Next? Sharpe hopes that he will soon be able to get his physical and get officially signed. “After that, just wait and see and find out what’s going to happen in the minor leagues and when I have to report and see what happens after that.” Scouting Report Sharpe stands 6-5 and about 210 pounds. He’s long, but he’s pretty strong with room to grow. He throws both a four-seam and a two-seam fastball. He currently tops out around 93-94 mph He’s also got a slider and a changeup. He says that his slider is his best pitch. Naturally, a baseball fan thinks about those lefty-lefty matchups either as a starter or in late-inning situations out of the bullpen. For his part, Sharpe is fine with whatever role the Twins choose to put him in. “They haven’t really told me anything. I guess I’ll have to get in and see what they need honestly. I’m willing to do whatever.” He has experience out of the bullpen and says he is comfortable with that. “When I came back from my injury, I actually came out of the bullpen in a relief role. When I went and played summer ball, my first two outings were out of the bullpen, so I’m comfortable doing either.” Sharpe is grateful for the opportunity with the Twins, but also for the opportunities he has had to this point. He said he is thankful for his high school and college coaches, but there is one person he gives a ton of credit to. “My mom. All the stuff she’s done as far as traveling, and financially. Without her, none of this would be possible” He is very appreciative of his time at UNCW and playing for coach Randy Hood. It was clear to me how close-knit the team is. When I tweeted news that the Sharpe had agreed to sign with the Twins, many of Sharpe’s teammates and coaches not only liked the tweet, but they sent him heartfelt responses. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/1273398628648968192 “It was great. From the first day I got onto campus my freshman year, it’s been a family atmosphere. We get guys drafted, but not the numbers like we see some of the bigger schools do. So a lot of the guys have been there for four or even five years. We all get to know each other personally. We get to know everything about each other, like a brotherhood. Just seeing some of the things those guys said about me, it was great. I love those guys. I’m definitely going to miss them, but I know the ones that are going back, I know they’ll do great things. The ones that are leaving, I know that they’re also going to do great things outside of baseball as well. It was nice to see that though.” . https://twitter.com/CoachHood17/status/1273584976307597314?cxt=HHwWgsC9oYm766wjAAAA Here is a recent interview between Sharpe and UNCW Assistant Director Athletic Communications, Tom Riordan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-t8hfEByUQg

The below is from the article in May when Cruz was named a finalist for the Ali Humanitarian Award. At Twins Daily, we congratulate Cruz on this great honor! https://twitter.com/espn/status/1274890214574612481 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Nelson Cruz has been working hard and giving back to his communities throughout his career, but when he heard that he was being given an award and recognized for that effort, he was deeply humbled. Cruz said, "It means a lot for me, my family, and my foundation. I think over the years, we've been working to make a positive impact for kids through sports in various locations. And we like to go beyond that. Helping my communities with whatever the needs might be. It's an honor It's something that makes you work harder, and makes you do more if you can." Cruz has always put “helping others” high on his list of priorities. Even before coming to the Twins, he has established many programs offering help to those less fortunate. For instance, Cruz has: Assisted in Las Matas De Santa Cruz, his hometown, by donating a fire engine and ambulance. The nearest hospital is nearly one hour away, so this is a huge assist for the community. Each year, Cruz brings dentists and optometrists, along with their equipment and medicines, to his hometown clinic. During this health event, more than 1,200 people were able to be evaluated and treated by volunteer doctors. He has purchased wheelchairs, crutches, walkers and canes for elderly and disabled residents in his hometown. His Boomstick23 Foundation is establishing a new education and technical center to help the youth of Las Matas De Santa Cruz advance their employability by learning different trades, such as carpentry and electrical, as well as how to better use farmland to produce crops. "We focus on sports. That's the main goal to help kids. We want to develop kids to be good athletes, but we also want to make sure they have a second choice, a plan B, to be able to come and be a professional in whatever area of life they want." He has raised funds through the Big League Impact ALL WIN campaign in 2019, impacting the Education Center in the Monte Cristi province. He hosted a vitilla clinic with Twins RBI All-Stars in 2019, engaging with many Twin Cities area youth. https://twitter.com/ncboomstick23/status/1263146457655214081 The Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award is given to an athlete whose continuous, demonstrated leadership has created a measured positive impact on their community through sports. Muhammad Ali was well known for his core principals including confidence, conviction, dedication, giving and respect. Candidates for this award embody those principals as well. There are a couple of other Twin Cities connections among the nominees this year. Former Timberwolves All Star Kevin Love, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, is a nominee. So is former Minnesota Lynx star Maya Moore. The other nominees are Devin and Jason McCourty of the New England Patriots and Titus O’Neil of WWE fame. By being a nominee for this award, Cruz’s Boomstick23 Foundation will receive a $25,000 grant. The winner, which will be announced July 21st at The 2020 ESPYs, will have $100,000 grant awarded to his or her charity. Each of the nominees will be featured on ESPN studio shows the week of June 15th. Roots in Giving Back Where did Nelson Cruz learn or develop the will to give back? The slugger said, "I think everything starts with my dad. He's the one who taught me the importance of giving back." Growing up in the Dominican, not everyone is able to give back financially to their communities, but Cruz's father, Nelson Cruz, Sr., was able to show his drive to help his community in other ways. "He wasn't able to give back (monetarily), but he was involved in any activities in the community."He continued, "My dad was always working with groups to develop the community. He created the first basketball tournament. He created the first community party. We saw him going to meetings just to create better atmosphere for kids and families and the community." In addition, as he grew as a ballplayer, signed and eventually became a big leaguer, he was able to work with several current and former players from the Dominican Republic on giving back. "We have a lot of good players that are doing a lot of great things for our country." He specifically mentioned players like Pedro Martinez, David Ortiz, and Robinson Cano as players that were leading the way in developing foundations to give back in their country. Going Forward When baseball starts again, there will be many requirements and restrictions for players on the field and in the clubhouse due to COVID-19. Things like social distancing and safe practices will also affect how work in the community will be going forward. "It's going to be difficult, but I think at this time more than ever, people need other people. So we will have to deal with that, the distance and how we take care of each other. But definitely, some way or another, we will have to go out there and be with kids, be with fans. You have to reach those people because they need joy. They need to see their heroes. They need to see the players, and need something to be happy about. I don't know how we'll do it, but we will come up with some ideas and we will get it done." In the short-term, he wants to make sure the clinics in the Dominican are getting what they need to help fight the Corona Virus, including needed tests. He wants to help in providing gloves, masks and other necessities for safety. He also wants to make sure doctors and nurses are provided with all the tools and equipment they may need. Join us in congratulating Nelson Cruz on being a finalist for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.

Last week, Nate Palmer wrote an article here at Twins Daily about the 1978 event in Waseca in which then owner Calvin Griffith, who brought the team to Minnesota from Washington DC in 1961, spoke to a group of citizens. In his discussion with the Waseca Lions, Griffith was quoted as saying, "“I’ll tell you why we came to Minnesota. It was when I found out you only had 15,000 blacks. Black people don’t go to ball games, but they’ll fill up a rassling ring and put up such a chant it’ll scare you to death. It’s unbelievable. We came here because you’ve got good, hardworking, white people here." In addition, he chose to go after Hall of Famer Rod Carew, calling him a "fool" for taking the contract he did. Carew released a statement, which you can read by clicking Aaron's tweet below. It begins: "I understand and respect the Minnesota Twins decision to remove the Calvin Griffith statue outside Target Field. While I've always supported the Twins decision to honor Calvin with a statue, I also remember how inappropriate and hurtful his comments were on that fateful day in Waseca. The Twins did what they felt they needed to do for the organization and for our community. While we cannot change history, perhaps we can learn from it." The decision to remove the statue continues a trend of the Twins doing great things in the organization and in the community including: First team to announce they would not be releasing any minor leaguers and would continue to pay them through August. Pohlad Family Foundation donated $25 million commitment to racial justice. The Twins released the following statement in regard to their decision to remove the statue of Calvin Griffith. “When we opened Target Field in 2010 in conjunction with our 50th season in Minnesota, we were excited and proud to welcome fans to our ‘forever ballpark.’ As such, we wanted to pay permanent tribute to those figures and moments that helped shape the first half-century of Minnesota Twins baseball – including a statue of Calvin Griffith, our former owner and the man responsible for moving the franchise here in 1961. “While we acknowledge the prominent role Calvin Griffith played in our history, we cannot remain silent and continue ignoring the racist comments he made in Waseca in 1978. His disparaging words displayed a blatant intolerance and disregard for the Black community that are the antithesis of what the Minnesota Twins stand for and value. “Our decision to memorialize Calvin Griffith with a statue reflects an ignorance on our part of systemic racism present in 1978, 2010 and today. We apologize for our failure to adequately recognize how the statue was viewed and the pain it caused for many people – both inside the Twins organization and across Twins Territory. We cannot remove Calvin Griffith from the history of the Minnesota Twins, but we believe removal of this statue is an important and necessary step in our ongoing commitment to provide a Target Field experience where every fan and employee feels safe and welcome. “Past, present or future, there is no place for racism, inequality and injustice in Twins Territory.”

The Twins had just four draft picks in the 2020 draft, as you know. 1st round - Aaron Sabato, 1B North Carolina Comp Balance Pick - Traded to Dodgers in Kenta Maeda trade 2nd round - Alerick Soularie, OF/2B Tennessee 3rd round - pick forfeited due to the signing of Josh Donalson 4th round - Marco Raya, RHP (HS pitcher from Texas) 5th round - Kala’i Rosario, OF (HS outfielder from Hawaii) Presumably, these four players will sign in the next few weeks, becoming professional ballplayers. What about the undrafted players? The draft ended on Thursday night and there was a 48-hour quiet period where teams could not contact those undrafted players. During that time, the players can “opt-out” of the process, essentially saying that they are not willing to sign at that time and would be going to school. For those willing to sign, on Sunday, that changes and teams will start their recruiting process. Two questions come to mind: How active do we anticipate the Twins being in signing undrafted players for up to $20,000? For those players they would like to sign, how will they go about recruiting them? So let’s start with the first question. How active will the Twins be in the post-draft, undrafted player process? Like all teams, there is no question that the Twins will be quite involved. How nice would it be to add a player on your draft board for just $20,000?! They would like to add several players. (Seth Prediction, I think they may sign a handful of players to $20K bonuses, but that's just a guess. It is going to be a very competitive market, to be sure.) However, several other factors have to come into play. For instance, the Twins didn’t release any minor league players this year. Several will become free agents at season’s end, but the team will have to make decisions on those players as well. Also remember that it is highly likely that at least one affiliate will be eliminated in 2021. That is potentially another 30 to 35 players that will find themselves out of jobs by next summer. So, it is possible that the overall pool available may not be real large. And there will be a lot of competition for jobs next spring (which isn’t the worst thing, in many cases). Following the draft, Twins scouting director Sean Johnson said the team has a plan for this unprecedented process. “We are certainly hopeful (to sign some players). We have a lot of the things in the works to approach and recruit these players. We have the next two days to see what that pool looks like.” So the first step is determining which players will be available and which ones they will target. Despite the 48-hour timeline between the draft and being able to sign players, the scouts did not get a day off on Friday. Instead, several spent time putting together their board of the best available players. Johnson said, “There are guys on the board we’d love to have and bring into our organization. Now, whether we’re the right fit for the player or that player actually wants to take $20,000 starting on Sunday is to be determined. I’d be guessing if I knew how it’d play out. We are ready to put our best foot forward.” Fair enough. It’s impossible to know the motivation for each individual eligible player. But for those that opt-in and make themselves eligible, the Twins can plan their full-court press to try to sign them. So what are the areas that the Twins will focus their recruitment of players? Johnson highlighted some of their plans, and the areas in which they feel they may have a competitive advantage. But the first one is probably the most important. ““I think at the heart of it, we want to show the player that we want them in the system.” He continued, “And (secondly), here are the things we see with your swing or your pitches or your body that we can do to advance you, to optimize you and to give you a chance to be a major-league prospect.” A player should be excited about that. We all want to know we are truly wanted, but I think that constructive criticism and willingness to accept it are huge in any career. For a player to hear that the Twins not only want them in their organization, but have already had their scouting and player development staff spend time looking at video of them and coming up with a plan of action to make them the best possible player is exciting. As we have seen and touted over the last few spring trainings and seasons, the Twins have invested in their player development in so many ways on the field (with more coaches, coordinators) and off the field (training and education). Johnson and his team of scouts draft and sign players, but then those players get turned over to the capable hands of Jeremy Zoll, Alex Hassan and the coaches and coordinators in Player Development. The nice thing is that the Derek Falvey regime has encouraged having the player development group get a glimpse at potential draft picks and voice thoughts and opinions. “Our player development has incredible staff. They have plentiful tools to educate and show the player the path toward becoming a prospect one day. We feel like our player development is at the top of the industry from a staffing perspective, from a technology perspective, facilities, our academy is unmatched. It’s an incredible place for players. We have players that want to be there year-round. We think that is a separator for us, from a facilities standpoint. We’re hoping that gets us a few wins in that column. So on Sunday morning at 8:00 am Central Time, it will primarily be the team’s area scouts around the country that will be relied upon to attract key targets. They have likely been in contact with the player over the years, especially leading up to the draft. They are the people doing background and talking to parents and coaches and teammates and school administrators and neighbors and, who knows, maybe even pets. The area scouts are the unsung heroes in any organization. In addition, the Twins front office is relying on other relationships that have been built over time. “We’re hoping that the right agents that know what we bring to the table may guide players in our direction.” For the players, they will all have legitimate reasons to sign and not to sign. Maybe they just think they can go to college and develop and eventually make more than $20,000. Maybe a college senior knows that he won’t make $20,000 now or in a year, so they want to take advantage of colleges allowing them an additional year to play. There are also non-economic factors. There will be factors out of the Twins control. Another may be location and geography. A kid from Georgia with a $20,000 offer from the Braves may just want to take that. Or, if you’re a Minnesota kid, maybe the idea of signing with the Twins for $10,000 might be very appealing. The Twins have a loaded offense and lots of great hitting prospects. They have begun to develop more pitchers as well. A player may look at the team’s organizational depth chart and believe they could be blocked or slowed, or simply have a better opportunity elsewhere. Ultimately, the decision is with the players. Some will want to sign, take some money, be done with school and start playing professionally (when possible). Many may decide to bet on themselves, thinking that in a year, they can end up with more money if things return closer to normal. Injuries certainly can factor into their decisions. For some, academics may be a factor. Family. Background. There are many factors that the players could consider. And, for those players willing to sign, the Twins scouts will try to counter any narrative and let them know the benefits of developing in the Twins organization as opposed to other organizations. Ultimately, Sean Johnson says, they will make their pitch and see what happens. “We’re basically going to show the player, here’s what we have to offer you, and we hope that you want to be a part of it. Check in often at Twins Daily as we will try to keep track of the Twins draft picks as they sign as well as trying to keep up with signings of any non-drafted players.