Seth Stohs

Talked to a lot of people in late April who had pushed Raley well ahead of Rooker in their eyes, people closer to it than me... on a number of levels. Now, Raley played alright in April. Rooker was off to a very bad start. Raley got hurt, and by mid-May Rooker was crushing the ball until his injury. So, I don't think from a prospect status they are too far apart, at least in the eyes of many... So, I think he's a 40-man add, but I don't think it's 100%

Yes, and also the Twins are happy to get him ABs at 3B and CF... No intent to play him at SS, but when he gets to spring training, he'll be at SS.

My ballot: 1) Polanco 2) Kepler 3) Cruz 4) Garver 5) Rogers 6) Sano

That was definitely something I considered. But I chose to "judge" each player by the role in which he pitched. So basically it was (for me) was Berrios a better starter, or was Rogers a better late-inning reliever, and because of that, I went with Rogers.

This is really good... I really enjoyed reading this. Thank you!

For most of the past decade, the Minnesota Twins have had one of the worst pitching staffs in baseball. Pick a meaningful statistic for pitchers and you would find the Twins usually at or very near the bottom of the rankings. That changed in 2019 when the Twins had one of the top five or six pitching staffs in the American League. The Twins' 4.18 ERA ranked eighth in MLB and fifth in the American League. Their 1.30 WHIP ranked 12th in the big leagues and sixth in the AL. Their 9.0 K/9 ranked 12th in MLB and fifth in the AL, and they did so while walking just 2.8/9 innings, second best in baseball. Baseball Reference’s Wins Above for All Pitchers ranks the Twins sixth in MLB, fourth in the league. The Twins had two All-Star starting pitchers (Berrios and Odorizzi), and a third starter (Pineda) who was arguably their best starting pitcher option when he was suspended. The team’s bullpen came on strong over the season’s final two month.Frankly, it was nice to see this year’s Twins Daily Pitcher of the Year ballots listing several viable candidates. The vote was close, but the 2019 Twins Pitcher of the Year is closer Taylor Rogers.Over the past couple of days, we have handed out the Twins Daily Awards for Twins Rookie of the Year (Luis Arraez) and Twins Most Improved Player (Mitch Garver). While there were solid candidate in each category, today’s Pitcher of the Year vote was much closer with votes cast for multiple pitchers. Taylor Rogers doesn’t have the typical background story for a Pitcher of the Year candidate. He was the Twins 11th-round draft pick back in 2012 out of Kentucky. The lanky lefty began his career as a starting pitcher and in 2013 was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. He moved up one level, as a starter, each season. In the first week of the 2016 season, Twins closer Glen Perkins got hurt. Taylor Rogers was recalled and worked out of the bullpen. Gradually he seemed to get more comfortable with the role, both on the mound and in his preparation for the job each day. He began getting more high-leverage opportunities in 2017. And frankly, over the last two seasons, he has been one of the top four left-handed relief pitchers in baseball. The names that you can put with or even ahead of Rogers might be Josh Hader, Aroldis Chapman and Felipe Vasquez. That’s it. Heading into the 2019 season, Rogers knew that he had a role as a late-inning reliever for the Twins. He had earned that. But early in the season, it was Blake Parker often getting save opportunities. Trevor May and Trevor Hildenberger also recorded a save or two in the season’s first month. Rogers was used anytime from the seventh inning on. Sometimes he would get a couple of outs, and sometimes he would work a couple of innings. Over the course of the summer, Rogers became the team’s most reliable reliever. At some points in the season, he was their only reliable reliever. He was often tasked with getting more than three outs to record saves, something we just haven’t seen much of in the last two decades of Twins baseball. Sure, he had a couple of hiccups throughout the long season, as all great relievers do. However, after the trade deadline, the rest of the bullpen really took off and allowed Rogers to get more regular rest. In the season’s final weekend, Rogers notched his milestone 30th save of the season. WHAT CHANGED? In researching Taylor Rogers’ 2019 stats and comparing them to his 2018 stats, one thing is clear… I think we may have overlooked just how good Taylor Rogers was in 2018, and 2017 too, for that matter. His ERA dropped from 2.63 to 2.61. His WAR increased from 1.9 to 2.1 over the past two seasons. However, fans who watched most Twins games noticed that he had become much more dominant, more aggressive (increased his first-pitch strikes percentage to 68%). He was able to get ahead and quickly dispatch of batters, either by strikeout or weak contact.There may be some numbers that illustrate that as well. First, Rogers increased his strikeout rate while reducing his walk. Both improvements were significant. His strikeout rate increased from 9.9 K/9 in 2018 to 11.7 K/9 in 2019. That speaks to his dominance, but to me, his ability to get those additional strikeouts while decreasing his walks from 2.1 BB/9 to just 1.4 BB/9 speaks to the sharpness of his stuff. Taylor Rogers really changed his approach on the mound in 2019.He threw a few fewer fastballs (53% to 50%), but his average fastball velocity jumped from 93.4 mph to 94.8 mph. In 2018, he threw 33.4% curveballs and just 12.4% sliders. In 2019, he went almost exclusively to the slider. He threw 45.5% sliders and just 4.1% curveballs. And that slider was a dominant pitch to both left-handers and right-handers. While his swinging strike rates stayed about the same, his Line Drive Percentage decreased which led to a big increase in Ground Ball Percentage. Rogers didn’t just come in to start clean innings. He was often called in to tough situations where his stuff really played well. In 2019, his Left On Base Percentage was an incredible 86.2%, up from 74.8% in 2018. All told, Taylor Rogers’ 2019 season was about as dominant as anyone could have hoped. LOOKING FORWARD Rogers will turn 29-years-old in December. He earned $1.53 million in his Super-2 arbitration season. He will have three more seasons of arbitration. He should get quite a raise in 2020. I would think a four-year contract could be discussed during the offseason. OTHER CANDIDATES As noted above, Jose Berrios and Jake Odorizzi were both All-Stars in 2019. Odorizzi went 15-7 with a 3.51 ERA in 30 starts and 159 innings. Berrios was 14-8 with a 3.68 ERA in 32 starts and 200 1/3 innings. Michael Pineda went 11-8 with a 4.01 ERA in 26 starts in 146 innings. When he was suspended in early September, it could have been argued that he was the Twins top starting pitcher. Tyler Duffey began the 2019 season in Rochester. He worked 57 2/3 innings over 58 games and struck out 82 batters (12.8 K/9). He posted a 2.50 ERA with a 1.01 ERA and ended the season with 21 scoreless innings. Trevor May struck out 79 batters over 62 1/3 innings with a 2.94 ERA. THE BALLOTS Here’s a look at the ballots from our 18 voters. Seth Stohs: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Jose Berrios, 3) Jake Odorizzi, 4) Michael Pineda Nick Nelson: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Jake Odorizzi, 3) Taylor Rogers, 4) Tyler Duffey John Bonnes: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Jose Berrios, 3) Jake Odorizzi, 4) Tyler Duffey Tom Froemming: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Jake Odorizzi, 3) Michael Pineda, 4) Taylor Rogers Cody Christie: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Jake Odorizzi, 3) Taylor Rogers, 4) Michael Pineda Ted Schwerzler: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Jake Odorizzi, 4) Jose Berrios Steve Lein: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Taylor Rogers, 3) Jake Odorizzi, 4) Michael Pineda S.D. Buhr: 1) Jake Odorizzi, 2) Taylor Rogers, 3) Jose Berrios, 4) Tyler Duffey Matt Braun: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Taylor Rogers, 3) Michael Pineda, 4) Jake Odorizzi Cooper Carlson: 1) Taylor Rogers 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Jose Berrios, 4) Jake Odorizzi Andrew Thares: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Jose Berrios, 3) Jake Odorizzi, 4) Tyler Duffey JD Cameron: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Taylor Rogers, 3) Jake Odorizzi, 4) Tyler Duffey Matt Lenz: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Trevor May, 4) Michael Pineda Nash Walker: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Jake Odorizzi, 3) Jose Berrios, 4) Tyler Duffey Patrick Wozniak: 1) Jose Berrios, 2) Jake Odorizzi, 3) Taylor Rogers, 4) Michael Pineda Thieres Rabelo: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Jose Berrios, 3) Tyler Duffey, 4) Jake Odorizzi Sabir Aden: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Jake Odorizzi, 3) Jose Berrios, 4) Tyler Duffey AJ Condon: 1) Taylor Rogers, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Jose Berrios, 4.) Jake Odorizzi POINTS Taylor Rogers 59 Jose Berrios 51 Jake Odorizzi 38 Tyler Duffey 21 Michael Pineda 9 Trevor May 2 PREVIOUS PITCHER OF THE YEAR WINNERS 2015: Kyle Gibson 2016: Ervin Santana 2017: Ervin Santana 2018: Jose Berrios OTHER 2019 AWARD WINNERS Rookie of the Year: Luis Arraez Most Improved: Mitch Garver Pitcher of the Year: Taylor Rogers Most Valuable Player: Coming tomorrow Click here to view the article

When the life blood of an organization with a strong belief in player development, it is crucial that players continue to develop, continue to improve. That improvement is needed to work through the minor league system, but it is especially important once a player gets to the big leagues. For the Twins to have improved from 78 wins to 101 wins, it required individual improvements from several players. There were many solid candidates for 2019 Twins' Most Improved Player, but ultimately the runaway choice was second-year backstop Mitch Garver.Yesterday, we handed out our award for the 2019 Twins Rookie of the Year to Luis Arraez. In 2018, that award was presented to catcher Mitch Garver. Garver is no stranger to Twins Daily awards. He was named our Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2014 and again in 2017. After posting an OPS over 1.000 as a junior at the University of New Mexico, Garver went undrafted. He returned to the Lobos and put up a second great season. The Twins used their ninth-round pick (260th overall) to select Garver, their third catcher selected in that 2014 draft. There were always concerns about his defensive abilities, but he worked hard and kept hitting. He earned his first big-league promotion in August of 2017. In 2018, he hit a solid .268/.335/.414 (.749) with 19 doubles, two triples and seven home runs in 335 plate appearances. It was a very solid season for a rookie who spent most of that season as the team’s backup catcher. Turns out, it was just a building block. Garver went to work. IMPROVEMENT AT THE PLATE In 2019, Mitch Garver went from a backup, part-time catcher role to being the must-play catcher late in the season and in the playoffs. Garver was given plenty of time off throughout the season. That is one potential reason for his improvement. Another reason might just be the confidence shown in him by new manager Rocco Baldelli. While Garver would typically hit near the bottom of the lineup in 2018, he was a middle-of-the-order bat much of 2019. In addition, Garver was usually in the leadoff spot against left-handed pitching. The results showed right away. He hit seven homers in 335 plate appearances in 2018. This year he hit his eighth home run on May 10th, within 75 plate appearances. I feel it important to point out that Garver had 359 plate appearances in 2019, just 24 more than he accumulated in 2018. He went from seven homers to 31 home runs. His batting average increased from .268 to .273, but his on-base percentage jumped from .335 to .365. His slugging percentage jumped from .414 to 630, and his OPS from .749 to .995. If you’re into wOBA, he went from .325 to .404. And, he did so while seeing his BABIP drop from .330 to .277 .In other words, it wasn’t based on luck at all. It was a concerted effort. In a post-game interview with Marney Gellner on FSN, Garver said, “It’s something that I wanted to do with this season. I want to be a force in the lineup.” He got more specific. He said he wanted to “focus on hitting it hard, pull side, in the air.” Well, he hit the ball hard. His Average Exit Velocity of 91.1 mph ranked behind only Miguel Sano (94.4 mph) and Nelson Cruz (93.7 mph) on the Twins roster. He was 13th in MLB in Barrels per Plate Appearance (4th on Twins). In 2018, he pulled the ball 38.8% of the time. In 2019, he pulled the ball 51.3% of the time. His Line Drive percentage dropped from 22.5% to 13.7% Meanwhile, he increased his Fly Ball percentage from 37.7% to 47.3% It’s fair to say that Garver gave his hitting philosophy a lot of thought, developed a plan and he not only stuck to it, but he succeeded with it. He succeeded with a season that should result in the American League Silver Slugger Award for catchers. IMPROVEMENT BEHIND THE PLATE It isn’t as easy to see, but as much as Garver improved at the plate, he took huge strides forward behind the plate as well. In 2018, according to FanGraphs, Garver’s DRS (Defensive Run Saves) was at -16.His FRM (Catcher Framing Runs Above Average) was at -9.2. Those are the kinds of numbers that create need for self-evaluation. Garver needed to improve, and he knew it. During spring training, Twins Daily talked to Garver, and he was very upfront about his need to improve on defense. Garver went to work with the help of Twins Minor League Catching Coordinator Tanner Swanson in the offseason. So, what did those defensive metrics look like in 2019? DRS: 0 FRM: 0.8 From those numbers, it is fair to say that Garver has made himself into an average defensive catcher. And while ‘average’ may not be exciting, when you consider how far he came in just one season, it was a huge improvement. Coupled with his offense, average defense makes Garver extremely valuable. Also something to consider, the bar for “average” is a moving target. Organizations much better understand the value of catcher defense. It has become more and more of a focus every year. In short, the “average” catcher has become a better catcher. So not only did Garver go from posting poor defensive metrics to average defensive metrics, but he moved up to the higher ‘average” level.And he did so without it effecting his throwing or blocking. DESIRE TO IMPROVE Garver has played with a chip on his shoulder going back to college when he was a walk-off. He wasn’t drafted after his junior year and became a “senior sign.” He was never considered a top prospect. People questioned his defense. And through it all, Garver was humble and kept on working. Late in the season at Target Field, Twins Daily asked Twins manager Rocco Baldelli about the improvement he's seen from Garver, particularly behind the plate. Baldelli said, “I think he’s coming into his own in a lot of ways.” The Twins rookie manager continued, “Experience matters behind the plate. It’s difficult to develop into a major-league player of any kind. There are challenges, but to develop into a major-league catcher. There are just so many more responsibilities that you have, and they're not even just personal responsibilities. You’re responsible for other people and what they’re doing out on the field. That’s tough for a lot of guys, but I think Mitch is certainly making huge strides in those areas. What we ask those guys to do behind the plate compared to what we ask everybody else to do, it’s kind of wild. Mitch has taken to it and he’s shown a very open willingness and desire to improve, whether it’s come to his flexibility and his body, or his receiving, or his game-calling, he spends a lot of time. He’s very diligent. I’ve been very happy with the work he’s put in this year. LOOKING FORWARD And as his college coach at New Mexico, Ray Birmingham, told us recently, that there just might be another level of improvement to come. “He has worked his butt off to get there, and he’s making an impact, and you haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s sure of himself now. He’s sure that he can do this now, and he will only continue to get better.” OTHER CANDIDATES While Garver was the runaway winner, as you can see from the results below that there were several strong candidates. After three seasons with very similar numbers, Max Kepler knocked 36 home runs, easily his best season. Jorge Polanco went from a solid start to his career to an All-Star Game starter. Miguel Sano showed great improvement midseason. He was struggling immensely while working on his swing. It took about a week, but after that, he took off. Tyler Duffey had been frequently up and down from the big leagues to Rochester over recent seasons and even began 2019 at AAA. He became one of the best, most dominant set-up men in the game in the season’s second half. THE BALLOTS Here’s a look at the ballots from our 17 voters. Seth Stohs: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Max Kepler Nick Nelson: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Max Kepler, 3) Tyler Duffey John Bonnes: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Miguel Sano, 3) Max Kepler Tom Froemming: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jorge Polanco, 3) Miguel Sano Cody Christie: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Max Kepler, 3) Jorge Polanco Ted Schwerzler: 1) Miguel Sano, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Max Kepler Steve Lein: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Miguel Sano S.D. Buhr: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Max Kepler, 3) Jake Odorizzi Matt Braun: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Miguel Sano Cooper Carlson: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Max Kepler Andrew Thares: 1) Miguel Sano, 2) Tyler Duffey, 3) Jake Odorizzi JD Cameron: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Max Kepler, 3) Jorge Polanco Matt Lenz: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Jorge Polanco, 3) Max Kepler Nash Walker: 1) Jorge Polanco, 2) Miguel Sano, 3) Byron Buxton Patrick Wozniak: 1) Mitch Garver, 2) Max Kepler, 3) Tyler Duffey Thieres Rabelo: 1) Max Kepler, 2) Miguel Sano, 3) Jorge Polanco Sabir Aden: 1) Tyler Duffey, 2) Miguel Sano, 3) Mitch Garver AJ Condon: 1) Tyler Duffey, 2) Miguel Sano, 3) Max Kepler POINTS Mitch Garver: 38 Tyler Duffey: 20 Max Kepler: 19 Miguel Sano: 19 Jorge Polanco: 10 Jake Odorizzi: 2 Byron Buxton: 1 Do you agree with our pick? Who would be your choice for Most Improved Twin and why? How would your ballot look? Leave a comment and make your case. Previous Twins Most Improved Player Award Winners 2015: Aaron Hicks 2016: Brian Dozier 2017: Byron Buxton 2018: Kyle Gibson Click here to view the article

I'm obviously just guessing on this too, but... Mostly it's about ABs and innings... For Lewis, I'm sure they were thrilled to know that there were other SS on the Salt River offense because it's valuable to Lewis and the organization to get him some time around the field. For Raley, it was likely just about getting him ABs after missing May through August. Rortvedt missed time... and isn't playing a lot, but there's still value, I'm sure. For Chalmers, it's about getting some starts, some innings, and proving he can throw consistent strikes. There are guys who have been hurt and they have to make 40-man roster decisions on guys... all that factors in... plus, for pitchers, their in-season innings pitched.

I would tell you that. Ha! Especially with someone who is as great of an athlete as Lewis...

He's got a potentially really good changeup too. Maybe they can be creative with innings and such.

If they want Graterol to be a starter, long-term (and I believe they do), then he needs a third pitch (changeup). I think he can develop that, but I think he starts the season in Rochester... should, at least.

I would argue that the hitters' bats were just really good in that top of the first inning.

As of today, the Twins starting 5 is: Berrios Dobnak Smeltzer Thorpe Stewart I think there'll be some changes, but that's the starting point. Sign Odo and he slots in after Berrios and everyone slides down one and Stewart drops off the list (note, Stewart may or may not have another transaction just for him in the near future too). Then sign someone else and drop people down. Again, I'm fine with Dobnak, Thorpe or Smeltzer being 4 and 5 starters, but ideally the Twins go into spring training with those three fighting for the 5th starter job and the other two (and Graterol, maybe Gonsalves, guys like Duran, Colina, Balazovic in AA, and so on) working at Rochester as the 6th, 7th and 8th options. Just gives them so much more depth. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens.

Ummmm. absolutely Cron is better than Astudillo... No question about that.

I can understand questioning the Gibson decision. I had no problem with going to LIttell or Stashak. Hey, if they're on the roster, they need to be able to get outs. Littell just didn't, at all. He just didn't have it, and Rocco got him out quick. Duffey threw in a walk and the big double too, so you never know what happens if he just started that inning. And, Littell had given up one ER over his last 16 MLB outings (19 IP)... and some were against Cleveland and Washington and Boston, not just Detroit and Kansas City. Stashak's been really good too. Not tonight, but he's earned the opportunities. I don't get the Gibson decision, and he was obviously kept in too long after three walks, but I had no problem with the other two decisions. I mean, hey, they could have brought Romo in and he would have struck out the side, or hung a couple of sliders. No way to know. May could strike out the side, or serve up a few runs. You never know.

Correct... 2017 has nothing to do with 2019 has nothing to do with 2004 or 2010...

Cron definitely should have made his play. Sano's play was way harder. That's a double almost every time regardless of who's playing 3B, except maybe with Arenado.

On Friday morning, the Minnesota Twins announced their ALDS roster. There were some surprises. Luis Arraez is in. Ehire Adrianza is in. Martin Perez and Willians Astudillo are out. See below for more.Here is the roster that the Twins will take in to the Bronx starting tonight. 12 Pitchers Jose Berrios Randy Dobnak Tyler Duffey Kyle Gibson Brusdar Graterol Zack Littell Trevor May Jake Odorizzi Taylor Rogers Sergio Romo Devin Smeltzer Cody Stashak Some interesting choices. Devin Smeltzer over both Martin Perez and Lewis Thorpe. Just two lefties against a Yankees lineup that really has only Brett Gardner and Didi Gregorius from that side of the plate. The 21-year-old Brusdar Graterol makes it as well. No real surprises in this group. Could Gibson be the Game 4 starter, or will they use him out of the bullpen, in a long-relief role. 13 Hitters Catchers Jason Castro Mitch Garver No surprise with these two, though certainly Willians Astudillo had to be a consideration. Infielders Ehire Adrianza Luis Arraez CJ Cron Marwin Gonzalez Jorge Polanco Miguel Sano Jonathan Schoop Luis Arraez is on the roster, something that would have shocked us about four or five days ago. Just as surprising is that Ehire Adrianza is on the roster. He provides the team with a strong backup plan at shortstop should something happen to Jorge Polanco. Outfielders Jake Cave Max Kepler Eddie Rosario Max Kepler is officially on the roster, and hopefully he is nearly 100% Gonzalez is also likely to get some time in the Twins outfield throughout the series. Designated Hitter Nelson Cruz No question markes with the Twins DH! This is the Twins roster for the ALDS. If the Twins are fortunate enough to win the series, they will set a new roster for the ALCS, so just because a player isn't on this roster, he could be on the ALCS roster. Also, a reminder that if a player is injured, he can be removed from this roster and replaced by another player. The injured player would be out for the rest of the ALDS and not eligible to play in the ALCS. What do you think? How do you feel about this Twins roster? Click here to view the article

There are so many similarities between the Twins offense and the Yankees offense in 2019 While the Yankees have the names that are known nationally, hopefully this series can put the names of several Twins players into the limelight. As we eagerly look to tonight’s Game 1, lets take a look at two powerful, prolific, historic offenses and see where the teams have some advantages. Most would predict that the teams will score a lot of runs, so get to know some of the guys to watch.Let’s take a position-by-position look at this Twins/Yankees series. Catchers Twins: Mitch Garver (28) - .273/.365/.630 (.995) with 16 doubles, 31 HR, 67 RBI (0 playoff games) Yankees: Gary Sanchez (26) - .232/.316/.525 (.841) with 12 doubles, 34 HR, 77 RBI (18 playoff games) Summary: Simply looking at 2019 numbers, it’s clear that Garver had the better season of these two. After hitting seven homers last year, he set out to hit the ball in the air more often in 2019, and he did that. Likewise, he went to work on his defense last offseason and has made himself into an adequate defensive backstop. That is where Garver gains the edge over Sanchez as well. Advantage: Slight edge to the Twins. First Base Twins: CJ Cron (29) - .253/.311/.469 (.780) with 24 doubles, 25 HR, 78 RBI (3 playoff games) Yankees: DJ LeMahieu (31) - .327/.375/.518 (.893) with 33 doubles, 26 HR, 102 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: CJ Cron had a terrific, powerful first half of the season with the Twins. Unfortunately a thumb injury before the All Star break cost him two IL stints and really sapped him of his power much of the rest of the season. LeMahieu can play all over the infield, but he’s found most of his playing time in the second half at first base. He should receive strong consideration for MVP as he was such a huge piece for the Yankees all season. Advantage: Edge to the Yankees. Second Base Twins: Jonathan Schoop (27) - .256/.304/.473 (.777) with 23 doubles, 23 HR, 59 RBI (12 playoff games) Twins: Luis Arraez (22) - .334/.399/.439 (.838) with 20 doubles, 4 HR, 28 RBI (0 playoff games) Yankees: Gleyber Torres (22) - .278/.337/.535 (.871) with 26 doubles, 38 HR, 90 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: We will find out on Friday morning whether or not Luis Arraez will be on the ALDS roster or not. He had such a positive impact on the team immediately after his promotion. The quality of his at-bats is veteran-like. Schoop’s at-bats may not be as pretty, but look at the numbers. He has had a solid season despite losing playing time. Regardless, Torres is an All-Star at a very young age. Sure, about 1/3 of his homers came against the Orioles, but he had a fantastic season and plays solid defense too. Advantage: Edge to the Yankees. Third Base Twins: Miguel Sano (26) - .247/.346/.576 (.923) with 19 doubles, 34 HR, 79 RBI (0 playoff games) Yankees: Gio Urshela (27) - .314/.355/.534 (.889) with 34 doubles, 21 HR, 74 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: Sano put up monster numbers in 2019 despite his season not starting until May 15th. He had his week of extreme struggle, but since then, he has been pretty well locked in. He’ll be making his postseason debut because he missed the 2017 Wild Card game with a broken tibia. Urshela did play in the 2017 postseason, for Cleveland. He’s been a backup player the last few years in Cleveland and Toronto. He got an opportunity to play in 2019 because of the Miguel Andujar injury, and he took full advantage. Advantage: Edge to the Twins. Shortstop Twins: Jorge Polanco (26) - .295/.356/.485 (.841) with 40 doubles, 22 HR, 79 RBI (1 playoff game) Yankees: Didi Gregorius (29) - .238/.276/.441 (.718) with 14 doubles, 16 HR, 61 RBI (19 playoff games) Summary: Gregorius missed the first half of the season due to Tommy John surgery. He returned in the second half and never got on a great roll. That said, he can be great, and he certainly has hurt the Twins in recent years. Polanco had a terrific, breakout season in 2019. He had a big first half and earned his first All-Star appearance (and start). Advantage: Slight Edge to the Twins. Left Field Twins: Eddie Rosario (28) - .276/.300/.500 (.800) with 28 doubles, 32 HR, 109 RBI (1 playoff game) Yankees: Giancarlo Stanton (29) - .288/.403/.492 (.894) with 3 doubles, 3 HR, 13 RBI (5 playoff games) Summary: Because of injury, Stanton was limited to just 18 games at 72 plate appearances in 2019. But if he’s healthy, the former MVP can have a huge impact in this series with his power. Rosario had a rough second half, but just looking at his numbers (except that OBP), he put together another solid season for the Twins. Staton has played in five postseason games. Rosario played in just one, but he homered in that game. Advantage: Push. The edge would clearly go to the Yankees if not for the injury factor. Center Field Twins: Max Kepler (26) - .252/.336/.519 (.855) with 32 doubles, 36 HR, 90 RBI (1 playoff game) Yankees: Brett Gardner (36) - .251/.325/.503 (.829) with 26 doubles, 28 HR, 78 RBI (52 playoff games) Summary: Gardner has played in 52 playoff games in his long Yankees career. He has really changed his game in the last couple of years from a slappy, on-base hitter to a power guy. If Kepler had stayed healthy and had played at all in the last three weeks, the edge would likely go to Kepler in this “matchup.” He had a huge breakout year. His health is the lone question. Advantage: Push Right Field Twins: Marwin Gonzalez (30) - .264/.322/.414 (.736) with 19 doubles, 15 HR, 55 RBI (30 playoff games) Yankees: Aaron Judge (27) - .272/.381/.540 (.921) with 18 doubles, 27 HR, 55 RBI (18 playoff games) Summary: Judge missed some time early in the season but returned to put up Judge-like numbers again. I have Gonzalez listed here, but he could play some at first base, and if he does someone like Jake Cave or LaMonte Wade could play right field. In addition, Gonzalez missed the final handful of games due to his oblique tightening, but he expects to be back. Advantage: Edge to the Yankees Designated Hitter Twins: Nelson Cruz (39) - .311/.392/.639 (1.031) with 26 doubles, 41 HR, 108 RBI (41 playoff games) Yankees: Edwin Encarnacion (36) - .244/.344/.531 (.875) with 18 doubles, 34 HR, 86 RBI (26 playoff games) Summary: This “matchup” pits two members of the 400 Home Run club. Both have been prolific power hitters for years. Both have missed time with injuries in 2019. Encarnacion is expected to return to the Yankees lineup for the playoffs after missing time with an oblique injury. Advantage: Slight Edge Twins Bench Twins: The Twins will likely have a bench that includes Jason Castro, Willians Astudillo, Jake Cave, LaMonte Wade (and Jonathan Schoop, if Arraez is healthy). Yankees: The Yankees will likely have Austin Romine as their backup catcher. Guys like Luke Voit (21 HR), Cameron Maybin and Clint Frazier will also possibly be on the bench. Mike Tauchman is another possibility if he is healthy. Overall Twins: .270/.338/.494 (.832) with 318 doubles, 307 HR, 939 Runs Yankees: .267/.339/.490 (.829) with 290 doubles, 306 HR, 943 Runs Advantage: Even Summary: Expect to see a lot of home runs, a lot of runs scored. Or, because baseball can be funny sometimes, maybe we will see a series of pitcher’s duels. Click here to view the article

The AL playoffs have been on MLB Network and FS1 for years now... this is just the first time that it has been an issue for Twins fans. I'm contemplating switching from cable to YouTube TV. It probably makes more sense for me anyway, and saves me money each month.

Mitch Garver had a breakout 2019 season. His college coach says that the best is yet to come for the talented backstop. Have you had Twins fans come up to you and ask about Mitch Garver? Often, you may hear them say that he came out of nowhere. But Mitch Garver did not just come out of nowhere. I ran into former Twins GM Terry Ryan at Target Field recently. We talked briefly about Garver, and I mentioned that so many people seem to think that Garver came out of nowhere, but Ryan quickly stopped me and said he definitely did not come out of nowhere. They always loved his bat, and he was also a Twins Minor League Player of the Year one year. Those who have followed Twins Daily for several years will remember that he was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year in both 2014 (Cedar Rapids) and 2017 (Rochester). Ask Mitch Garver where he came from, and it won’t take long for him to let you know that he is from New Mexico, and he is proud of it. Recently, Twins Daily caught up with Garver’s college coach at the University of New Mexico for four seasons, Ray Birmingham, to talk about his rise. Find out what he saw in Garver as a high school athlete and how he developed while in college. Learn how he helped the team on the field and off the field, and how he continues to show his New Mexico pride as a big leaguer. It won’t take long for you to see how much pride and belief Ray Birmingham has in Mitch Garver.Ray Birmingham has been coaching baseball for a long time. He has been coaching, he says, “for parts of six decades.” He became a head coach in 1988 at College of the South West. Two years later, he became the head coach at New Mexico Junior College. In 2007, he was named the head coach at the University of New Mexico. In his 12 seasons with the Lobos, he has won 384 games. He’s won over 1,200 games (65% winning percentage) over his 32 years as a head coach. He has sent over 150 players to professional baseball. In 2014, he was the hitting coach for USA Baseball’s College National team where he coached tournament MVP, and fellow New Mexican, Alex Bregman. photos from golobos.com Mitch Garver grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended La Cuevas High School where he was a star on the baseball diamond and on the soccer pitch. That is where and when Ray Birmingham first saw Garver and saw the talent that made him an intriguing prospect. Birmingham admits that he has a soft spot for New Mexico. “I took this job because of my passion for New Mexico kids. I grew up here. I”m a native, and I’ve watched so many kids who just needed a little good work to have a shot at playing pro ball. Mitch was one of those kids. He was one of those poster kids. He was a great goalie. He was a soccer player too. He was physical. He was raw. He had the physical tools, if he could take the time to develop and he wanted to. He was a good fit. He came from great parents. He has a great family. His head was on straight. He came to play. He walked on.” As a walk-on, Garver had to work for everything he got, and he did. But he wasn’t handed anything. In particular, he wasn’t immediately the Lobos starting catcher. That position was already taken. Birmingham notes, “We’ve had a lot of freshman All-Americans here, but unfortunately for Mitch, we had named Rafael Neda (who was drafted by the Brewers) who was a big-time catch-and-throw guy and a hitter. He was a junior that year, and Mitch was a freshman. So Mitch’s work was sporadic.” Garver played in 30 games that season, exactly half of the team’s games. He hit a respectable .277/.356/.385 (.741) with five doubles and a triple. Garver was a really good student, along with being an athlete. His goals heading to college had little to do with baseball, at least now beyond his four years of college. “Mitch wanted to be a chiropractor, and his girlfriend at that time, wanted to be a veterinarian. So he was going to school to become a chiropractor. They were very good academics, very intelligent young people. So he was going to school to play some baseball and to become a chiropractor. As most freshman, they take a back seat and wait their turn. Mitch was no different. Mitch was fine with that.” But Birmingham saw real baseball talent in Garver, and wasn’t afraid to let him know, to challenge him, and ultimately to believe in him. “I remember walking out of the weight room one day, and Neda was ahead of us, maybe a few yards in front of us. I told Mitch, ‘You’re better than he is if you just give yourself the effort and time. You’ll be an All American and get drafted.’ And Mitch went on a mission.” As a sophomore, Garver played in all 61 Lobos games. He hit .300/.380/.400 (.780) with 12 doubles and two homers. He still wasn’t catching all the time, but he was getting opportunities to play every game. “Mitch is capable of playing first base and the outfield very well. We had him at center field at one time, but that was later on. He just needed to get his feet wet in Division 1. That’s a big jump from La Cueva high school, especially with the schedule we played.” photo from golobos.com As a junior, Garver took a huge leap forward. He played 61 games again, and he hit .377/.438/.612 (1.050) with 27 doubles and ten home runs. He was a finalist for the Johnny Bench Award for the top catcher in college baseball. That season, Mike Zunino from the University of Florida won the award. Said Birmingham, “So I thought, he’ll win it next year for sure. And he repeated.” Garver was a candidate again in 2013, in part because he was not drafted after his strong junior season. “I was surprised. Well, I was and I wasn’t. I’m glad he didn’t. He wasn’t on anybody’s radar until then. You know the scouts, and they were likely wondering if this was an anomaly. What was this? So they were worried about him. So they said, he’s a junior. We’ll let it ride until his senior year.” That senior season, Garver hit a remarkable .390/.458/.589 (1.047) with 21 doubles and six homers. He was drafted in the ninth round by the Twins and went to Elizabethton where he was a teammate of Ole Miss catcher Stuart Turner, who the Twins had selected in the third round in 2013. One weekend, both players were excused and able to go to the Johnny Bench Award ceremony. Both were nominated. Birmingham wasn’t happy with the result. “Stuart Turner won it, and I was upset about it. I was. And I made it known that I was upset about it. No offense to Turner. He was a really good player. Mitch deserved it. Mitch won it, but Mitch wasn’t from the SEC, and the SEC gets more votes.” He continued, “I was upset, and I told Johnny Bench too. Mitch told me that Bench congratulated him on the achievement and we’re all good now, but I was upset.” Birmingham added, “I told Johnny Bench that Mitch is going to pass Mr. Turner, and he’s going to play in the big leagues and then you’re going to see that I was right. Mitch proved it. I believe in that kid, and I think there are a lot of kids that need a little confidence, a little time. People are asking why he’s hitting so well. Well, he’s playing a lot more and experience is the best teacher.” photo from golobos.com Fast-forward six years to today. Birmingham hopes that there isn’t a replay of that situation. “Silver Slugger is for the best hitter at each position. He should get it this year. There should be no doubt that he should get it. And if it comes out any other way, I’m going to be just like I was with the Johnny Bench award. I’m going to be upset.” No doubt, Mitch Garver has become a star, and he has put up the numbers to warrant being the 2019 American League Silver Slugger award winner at catcher. Garver ended his 2019 season by hitting .273/.365/.630 (.995) with 16 doubles and 31 homers in 93 games played. His nearest competition for the award would appear to be Yankees backstop Gary Sanchez. He hit .232/.316/.527 (.843) with 12 doubles and 34 home runs in 105 games. What’s more, Birmingham says that there is more to come. “He has worked his butt off to get there, and he’s making an impact, and you haven’t seen the best of him yet. He’s sure of himself now. He’s sure that he can do this now, and he will only continue to get better. ” ------------------------------------------------------------------ Ray Birmingham has had a lot of success at New Mexico, and he is continuing to build and develop a culture. “You’ll find that these small-population states, we don’t get out much. And Coach Anderson at Minnesota is a good friend of mine. We find that once we get our players the confidence and they realize they can, then stand back, baby, because here they come. And that’s Mitch. Once Mitch knows he can... get out of his way because he will.” Birmingham says that he has a picture in his office. There are of batting practices in January, before players head off to their spring training destinations. The weather is great. The pictures show Jordan Pacheco who played for three MLB teams between 2011 and 2016. He spent part of 2018 with the Rochester Red Wings. That picture also shows Alex Bregman, the Albuquerque native who was drafted 2nd overall by the Astros out of LSU. Blake Swihart, a former 1st round pick out of high school in New Mexico, who has spent part of each of the last five seasons in the big leagues. Former first-round pick from the Lobos DJ Peterson is in the pictures. “There are big leaguers hanging around, talking hitting, working on hitting, trying to talk about what they need to do. It’s a culture,” says Birmingham. “It takes time to build. It’s a culture of, we all have a chip on our shoulders, we’re all from New Mexico and we’re going to prove that we can play with anybody in the country.” Garver comes back and works out, but also talks to the current Lobo players as they prepare for their next season. And he gets involved in the community as well. “Mitch is showing that (he can compete with anybody). He comes back and he gets involved in the community. His wife is a sweetheart. His parents are unbelievably awesome. It’s a culture, and we’re all proud to be New Mexicans.” “Half our team is New Mexico kids. We take a bullet with them sometimes, and we’re going to get beat by giving them experience, but eventually they’ll come together. We’ve been nationally ranked in the top 25 six of the 13 years we’ve been there because they’ve learned and they’ve got a chip on their shoulder, which we promote. I put them in high competition, and they finally get that confidence that they can do that. Mitch is a poster child for that. So is Bregman. So is Swihart. So is Pacheco. I can go all the way back to Brendan Donnelly, who played for me. It’s a confidence deal that they can, and if they get the right work together, they’ll do it.” In the last couple of years, Birmingham has held some watch parties. “We’ve had the team get together and eat pizza and watch Mitch play.” They’ve done that for other New Mexico players including 2017 Marlins first-round pick Trevor Rogers, a graduate of Carlsbad (NM) High School. ------------------------------------------------------- In his senior season, Garver was the co-MVP of the Mountain West conference with teammate DJ Peterson. He was part of a team that went to four straight regional tournaments, a rarity in the college game. Peterson was a first-round pick that year (2013). That same season, an outfielder from Fresno State named Aaron Judge was a second-team all-conference, and a first round pick. But back to Garver, Birmingham sums up his thoughts real well. “He’s a fantastic human being and I love him like he’s my own child. That’s his strong suit, his character. And he gets that from his mom and dad. They are fantastic people. Mitch knows he can, and he will. We are family. We’re one family, and we try to promote that. New Mexico is one family. We’re all pushing the rock in the same direction. Mitch is not afraid of things being hard, and he’s very intelligent. Very intelligent. He’s going to be a big leaguer for a long time. You haven’t seen the best of Mitch yet.” And hey, if Garver and the Twins can beat Aaron Judge and the Yankees in the ALDS, there may just be a matchup between Garver’s Twins and Alex Bregman and the Houston Astros. If that’s the case, you can rest assured that Ray Birmingham will be hosting a watch party with a bunch of pizzas at the University of New Mexico. Click here to view the article