Seth Stohs

Here is the new show on YouTube and Twitter. https://twitter.com/twinsdaily/status/1328397712211918849

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'm going to try to keep a running list of all of the Twins Spotlight episodes here. Feel free to discuss any of them, ask questions or let me know who you would like to see me try to line up as guests... These shows can be watched LIVE when scheduled on the Twins Daily Twitter, Facebook or YouTube pages live. It can also be seen at each of those platforms after the show's completion. In addition, you can subscribe to the Twins Daily podcast wherever you download podcasts. Previous episodes Season 1 (Offseason 2020-21) 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 Episode 8: Brent Rooker Episode 9: Bailey Ober Episode 10: Talkin' Torii, with Jacque Jones, Royce Lewis and Niko Guardado. Episode 11: Top 60 Twins Players in 60 Seasons in Minnesota Episode 12: Charlie Mack Episode 13: Edwar Colina Episode 14: Tyler Wells Episode 15: Sawyer Gipson-Long Episode 16: Adam Bray Episode 17: Chris Vallimont Episode 18: Ben Gross Episode 19: Regi Grace Episode 20: Louie Varland Episode 21: Max Smith Episode 22: Zander Wiel Episode 23: Blayne Enlow Episode 24: Royce Lewis Episode 25: Trey Cabbage Episode 26: Keoni Cavaco Episode 27: Casey Legumina Episode 28: DaShawn Keirsey Episode 29: Twins Wives (Maci Blankenhorn, Lexi Jeffers, Jordan Kirilloff) Episode 30: Thomas Nicholas Episode 31: Bryan Sammons Episode 32: Marco Raya Episode 33: Willie Joe Garry, Jr. Episode 34: Brent Headrick Episode 35: Jordan Gore Season 2 (Offseason 2021-22) Episode 36: Jose Miranda Episode 37: Kala'i Rosario Episode 38: Bailey Ober Episode 39: Simeon Woods Richardson Episode 40: Josh Winder Episode 41: Tyler Beck Episode 42: Cade Povich Episode 43: Sean Aronson, St. Paul Saints Episode 44: Christian MacLeod Episode 45: Tim Grubbs, Wichita Wind Surge Episode 46: Jordan Gore Episode 47: Ryan Mason Episode 48: John Vittas, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Episode 49: Cody Laweryson Episode 50: Drew Strotman Episode 51: Louie and Gus Varland

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.

On Wednesday, Cleveland's' Shane Bieber was named the unanimous winner of the 2020 AL Cy Young Award. The Twins Kenta Maeda finished second in voting. He received 18 second place votes and finished just ahead of Hyun-Jin Ryu. The last Twins pitcher to finish that high in the AL Cy Young vote was when Johan Santana won the award in 2006. Others to receive votes: Lance Lynn finished sixth. Liam Hendriks finished 10th.

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