Seth Stohs

Of note... Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez aren't playing due to ankle injuries. Kaelen Culpepper isn't playing today. Haven't heard why. None of their top pitching prospects are on the Twins roster for this game (Morris, Soto, Raya, Lewis, Culpepper, Prielipp, Hill, etc.).

In the second, Jake Bloss struck out Kala'i Rosario (swinging), got Billy Amick on a groundout to Nimmala at short, and then got Rayne Doncon looking.

From our sister site, Jays Centre, here are the Blue Jays top 20 prospects: 2025 Toronto Blue Jays Top Prospects Ranking - Jays Centre JAYSCENTRE.COM A comprehensive ranking of the top Toronto Blue Jays prospects complete with scouting reports, stats, articles and stories, and...

It is an interesting aspect to this game (or this time of game). Jake Bloss made his MLB debut last year. Eduardo Beltre made his professional debut last year. 24 year old vs 19 year old. But still, it's a fun little test.

Luke Keaschall singled to center to lead off the game. Eduardo Beltre struck out on three pitches. Keaschall was caught stealing. Brandon Winokur struck out.

Here is the Jays lineup:

The Twins and Jays are playing in today's spring breakout game... Here's the Twins lineup:

7 Ks, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 IP... I would assume he'll start in Wichita. If they start him in the bullpen, he could be in the big leagues by June/July. I wouldn't mind seeing him on the Raya innings plan for the first half of the season, maybe 15 starts, get up to 50-55 innings. Then move him up to the Saints bullpen in July and get him a few outings in that 1-2 inning role. Then at that point, he could come up at any point. Dude is so talented, and - business side of baseball - he doesn't need to be added to the 40-man roster until after the 2025 season (and they will). At that point, you have three years. Again, not that he'd need all of that, but if they wanted to stretch him, even to 5-6 innings, they could. His "stuff" could be completely dominant for 1 inning at a time... or he could be regular dominant for 3-5 innings at a time. It's an interesting conversation, I'm sure, and hopefully the Twins front office, pitching coaches and coordinators and Prielipp himself are part of that discussion. Ultimately, it is his career.

I'm with all of this. I've been doing prospect rankings and analysis for 20+ years. Rankings are fun, and they're for discussion, and for me, it's about getting their names out there too. I like to think I've improved my 'valuation' of prospects and I certainly understand how difficult it is to not only get to the big leagues but to stay there. Catcher was always a position of attrition with injuries, but that's really the same for position players and pitchers alike. And, the game is hard and those in the big leagues are crazy good. And yes, defense is absolutely valued and considered in rankings, or at least they should be. I would guess that most consider it now, even if many don't have the ability to actually see the players. I'll always look at a player's athleticism and have more patience with better athletes knowing they may have some versatility. So much thought goes into the rankings for something we all acknowledge just kind of is what it is.

Not to get into my personal rankings too much, but I felt there was a split between 9 and 10 and then another right around 18/19...

I didn't even have to look to know that @rdehring was going to like this comment. You Wisconsin guys!! Hey, you've got Carpenter and Prielipp. That is a pretty nice set of lefties!!

Those were the days, my friend. Was always fun talking prospects, and I remember you putting some equations to your rankings, and to me, these are just always fun.

As minor-league spring training officially kicks off, check out the official Twins Daily Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospect rankings. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (Top L to R: Dasan Hill, Luke Keaschall, Charlee Soto, Walker Jenkins; Bottom L to R: Andrew Morris, Cory Lewis, Kala'i Rosario) At the beginning of the offseason, we ran our Top 20 Twins prospect rankings. We did very early, in large part, because we thought there was some chance that the Twins could be active in the trade market. There was a thought at that point that they wanted to trade off some salary, and if that could be done, they might be in line to trade for high-level pitching. Fast-forward about four months, and the only trade the Twins made was a Christmas Eve deal which sent lefty Jovani Moran to the Red Sox for utility man Mickey Gasper. Gasper is a 29-year-old with just 70 games played in Triple-A, and a 13-game big-league stint. Then in early January, the Twins acquired Diego Cartaya from the Dodgers for DSL right-hander Jose Vasquez. For the first time since 2017, the Twins made a selection in the major-league portion of the Rule 5 draft. They picked right-handed pitcher Eiberson Castellano from the Phillies organization. One more bit of information before jumping into the Twins Daily 2025 Minnesota Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings. There has been a bit of confusion as to whether or not right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews meets “prospect” requirements. We use MLB’s rookie requirements as our limits for prospect status. As a reminder, hitters must have fewer than 130 at-bats to remain prospect-eligible. For pitchers, they must have fewer than 50 innings pitched. Matthews threw 37 2/3 innings for the Twins in 2024. The third criteria is that the player must have fewer than 45 days of service time. Matthews has 48 days of MLB service time. So therefore, he is not “prospect-eligible.” However, when I reached out to Twins Daily writers to vote, Baseball-Reference said that he was under the rookie limits. Of course, as I look at it today, it has been changed to “Exceeded rookie limits during 2024 season.” With that, let’s get to our rankings. But first, don’t forget that the current Twins Daily Top 20 Twins can always be found at this link. No only can you see the rankings, but you will be able to see more information on that player, find a listing of all articles and videos that each player has been tagged in on this site. You may want to bookmark that site. The Twins Daily Top 20 Minnesota Twins Prospects If you click on the link of the player’s name here, it will take you to their prospect page or to a page showing the search results of articles they’ve been tagged in. #1: OF Walker Jenkins (20) - The fifth overall pick in the 2023 draft is now a Top 5 prospect in the game of baseball. He played 33 games at Low-A Fort Myers and 34 games at High-A Cedar Rapids last year before ending the season with a week at Double-A Wichita. Size, strength, and speed, Jenkins is on a fast track and is a true five-tool talent. #2: OF Emmanuel Rodriguez (22) - It was a rough, injury-plagued season for Rodriguez. Hand and wrist injuries meant he was only able to play in 37 games at Wichita. In that time, he hit .298/.479/.621 (1.100) with 12 doubles, two triples and eight home runs. He played in seven games for the Saints before his season came to an end with another wrist injury. Unfortunately, he sprained his ankle in mid-February and hasn’t seen game action yet. If healthy, the Top 40 global prospect should debut in 2025 and display his immense talent and skills. #3: 1B/2B/CF Luke Keaschall (22) - Didn’t play after August 8th so that he could finally have Tommy John surgery, but showed enough to be the Twins minor league player of the year. He showed that he could hit for average, get on base, and slug, doubles and home runs. He’s got good speed too. Seemingly came out of nowhere to be a consensus Top 100 prospect. #4: RHP Charlee Soto (19) - So young by age, but Soto has a grown up body. He’s already 6-4 and certainly over the 210 pounds he’s listed at. He uses his strong legs for leverage and a strong arm to reach back and fire fastballs near (and frequently above) 100 mph. He’s working on the secondary pitches and consistency, but the stuff and work ethic are there. #5: RHP Andrew Morris (23) - Morris’s career appears to be about six weeks behind Zebby Matthews. Both started the 2024 season with seven starts at High-A and ended the year with seven starts at Triple-A. He’s got a mid-90s fastball, a sharp slider, and a quality changeup. Most years, he would have run away with the Twins minor league pitcher of the year awards. He’s close to big-league ready. When will he get that opportunity? #6: RHP Marco Raya (22) - A leg injury has slowed Raya’s progress in his first big-league camp this spring, but people are rightfully excited about his potential. What role will he have? Last year, he made 25 starts and reached 97 2/3 innings. The team limited him to three or four innings for most of the season. He ended the season with five shutout innings for the Saints. Will he start? Will he be a guy that the Twins bring in for three or four innings at a time. With his fastball and slider, he’s got a chance to be an impact arm in whichever role. #7: SS Kaelen Culpepper (22) - The Twins top pick in 2024 out of Kansas State University made his professional debut with nine games at Fort Myers and 17 games at Cedar Rapids. I believe Culpepper is a really nice combination of high floor prospect with a fairly high ceiling as well. He is a good athlete that can hit for average and gets on base well. There is potential to add some power and steal more bases while playing strong defense. #8: SS/CF Brandon Winokur (20) - The 6’-6” Winokur is one of the top two or three athletes in the Twins system. Offensively, he hit .249/.327/.434 (.761) with 19 doubles, three triples, and 14 home runs. He also had 23 stolen bases. He was two years younger than the average hitter in FSL. The average hitter in the league hit just .229/.332/.347 (.679). Winokur was about 11% better than the average hitter while playing a quality shortstop and center field. It’s exciting to see what happens as he continues to gain strength. #9: RHP Cory Lewis (24) - While Lewis may not reach into the upper 90s with his fastball, he is generally in the low-90s with sharp secondary pitches. And, everyone talks about the knuckleball, and for good reason. He throws it into the mid-80s with very little spin. It almost acts like a changeup, but a changeup that bounces all over. Another starting pitcher who reached Triple-A by season’s end in 2024. Like Morris (and Matthews, Festa, Raya, MacLeod, etc), Lewis is close, just needs to keep working, and make himself as ready as possible when the call comes. #10: LHP Connor Prielipp (24) - The Wisconsin native was the Twins second round pick in 2022 out of Alabama knowing he had Tommy John surgery in 2021. Over the past two seasons, he has pitched a combined 30 innings. However, he is back this spring, showing a fastball at 98 and a slider at 93-94, and we are all hoping!! #11: LHP Dasan Hill (19) - In the second round of the 2024 draft, the Twins went with another left-handed pitcher, Dasan Hill from Grapevine, Texas. At 6’-5” and (maybe) 165 pounds, he has the potential to grow into his body and add velocity. That’s pretty exciting when you consider he’s already hitting 100 in bullpens. He will make his pro debut in 2025, presumably with the Mighty Mussels. #12: RHP CJ Culpepper (23) - The Twins have signed several pitchers out of Cal Baptist the past few years, but Culpepper has the highest upside. A mid-90s fastball is one of his six pitches that he is comfortable using at any time. He missed time with some arm issues but was able to return each time and even moved up to Double-A late in the season. #13: IF Kyle DeBarge (21) - He has been the starting shortstop at Louisiana-Lafayette. In his three seasons, his OPS jumped from .750 to .994 to a gaudy 1.117 in 2024. Don’t be fooled by his 5’-9” height, he had 43 extra base hits including 21 home runs. The Twins used their bonus pick for losing Sonny Gray in free agency to select him. He debuted with 26 games with the Mighty Mussels last year where he had 15 stolen bases. #14: OF Eduardo Beltre (18) - Every year, teams sign a whole bunch of 16-17 year olds and then try really hard to develop them. The Twins gave Beltre a seven-figure signing bonus in January of 2024, and when the DSL season began, he came out hitting. In 44 games, he hit .326/.453/.618 (1.071) with nine doubles and 11 home runs. He had 10 stolen bases and played all three outfield positions. Should come to the States and play in the FCL in 2025. #15: OF Yasser Mercedes (20) - Mercedes was a seven-figure bonus guy from the Dominican in 2022. He also had a big pro debut in the DSL (.975 OPS). He came to the States in 2023, but he had an injury that affected him throughout the season. In 2024, he went back to the FCL and dominated, hitting .331/.421/.568 (.989) with 18 doubles and six homers. He stole 18 bags. He struggled in 10 Mighty Mussels games after the FCL season, but that shouldn’t diminish the excitement surrounding this talented player. #16: IF Rayne Doncon (21) - It was about this time last year that Doncon came to the Twins from the Dodgers organization with Manuel Margot in exchange for shortstop Noah Miller. He played well in the rookie leagues before struggling in his first full-season in 2023. He played in 38 games for Fort Myers and hit .283 (.838) with 13 doubles and four homers. He finished the season with 56 games in Cedar Rapids where he hit .235 (.730) with 11 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. He is an impressive athlete with size and speed and the world of potential. #17: RHP Eiberson Castellano (23) - The Twins Rule 5 pick in December, we have seen him throw a couple of times this spring. We have seen him hit 94-96 with a fastball and he’s got a very impressive breaking ball. No question the Twins would love to keep him in the organization, but can they afford to keep him on the big-league roster all season? He split 2024 between High-A and Double-A Reading. In 103 2/3 innings, he walked 29 and had 136 strikeouts. #18: IF Billy Amick (22) - Amick was the 60th overall pick in the 2024 draft out of the University of Tennessee where he hit .306/.387/.639 (1.026) with 14 doubles and 23 homers. He had spent two seasons at Clemson. As a sophomore, he hit .413/.464/.773 (1.236) with 17 doubles and 13 homers. He’s a masher who will need to find a corner infield position. Huge power potential. #19: OF Kala’i Rosario (22) - After winning Midwest League MVP and a championship in Cedar Rapids in 2023, Rosario displayed his power in the Arizona Fall League. He moved up to Wichita in 2024. Unfortunately, an elbow injury cost him over two months of his season, so he did return to the Fall League. Left off of the 40-man roster, Rosario will look to remain healthy and continue to show the power that has made him an intriguing prospect. #20: OF Gabriel Gonzalez (20) - Gonzalez was one of four players that the Twins received last spring from the Mariners for Jorge Polanco. Just 20, he began the 2024 season with the Kernels. He didn’t show the power in games that he is touted to have, but he more than held his own despite being more then two-and-a-half years younger than the league average. He also missed a couple of months in Fort Myers rehabbing a back injury. 2025 will be an opportunity for him to reclaim his prospect status if he can remain healthy. So there you have it, the official Twins Daily 2025 Minnesota Twins Top Prospect Rankings. Below are some additional thoughts from looking at the voting, rankings, and such. Next Up? Should one of the Top 20 Twins prospects be unable to accept the duties and responsibilities of a Top 20 Twins Prospect, or graduates from 'prospect-dom,' the #21 prospect by our vote was catcher Ricardo Olivar. Over the past two seasons, Olivar has consistently ranked in the 16-22 range. He spent most of the 2024 season in Cedar Rapids before ending the year with a few weeks in Wichita. The Next 10 So, you know the rankings of our top 21 Twins prospects. I think it’s fun and interesting to see which minor league prospects were next in line, and that group is really interesting as well. Instead of stopping at #30, we’ll give you 10 more names and you’ll have the names of our Top 30 Twins prospects. However, just to keep you on your toes, I’ll just give you the names of prospects 22-31 in alphabetical order. RHP Travis Adams (25) - Sixth round pick in 2021 from Sacramento State, Adams finished the 2024 season with the Saints. Then in November, he was added to the team’s 40-man roster. RHP Adrian Bohorquez (20) - The young flamethrower just turned 20 on Monday. So young, and so much to work on, but he’s got a strong frame and an upper-90s fastball as a starting point. RHP Matt Canterino (27) - What we wouldn’t give to see this former second-round pick get one healthy year. We held out hope. After one outing this spring, he has been shut down with shoulder discomfort. Still no questioning the talent or the work ethic. C Diego Cartaya (23) - The Twins acquired Cartaya from the Dodgers last month when he was DFAd. Before the 2022 and 2023, he was a top 30 prospect by both Baseball America and MLB Pipeline. While his bat has slowed since hitting Double-A, he remains strong behind the plate and he’s still got some pop. 1B/3B Rubel Cespedes (24) - Strong left-handed bat with a lot of power, Cespedes had a big season in Cedar Rapids in 2024. SS Danny De Andrade (20) - De Andrade got the big signing bonus and moved up one level every year, more than holding his own. Unfortunately, an ankle injury caused him to play just 29 games. Strong bat and defense. If healthy, should fly back toward the Top 10. SS Daiber De Los Santos (18) - Like Beltre, De Los Santos got a big bonus and came up big in his pro debut in the DSL. In 48 games, he hit .301/.384/.460 (.844) with 11 doubles, five homers and 17 steals. IF Payton Eeles (25) - He was the minor-league story of the year in 2025. Non-drafted, the Twins signed him in April and he went to Fort Myers. Soon after, he got a chance in Cedar Rapids. Then the Saints needed a roster spot filled. Payton Eeles went up to the Saints and not only stayed there the rest of the year, but played almost every game, often playing shortstop at leading off. Will he get a big-league shot in 2025? OF DaShawn Keirsey (27) - A fourth-round pick in 2018, Keirsey has remained healthy the past three seasons and has been terrific, filling the box score and stat lines. Can hit for average, uses the whole field, knows the strike zone, surprising power, incredible defense, range and arm. Finally got a big-league opportunity in September. Can definitely play in the big leagues. IF Tanner Schobel (23) - The Twins second round pick in 2022 from Virginia Tech spent the full season in Wichita and struggled. He hit just .211, though he had 20 doubles and 10 homers. Played mostly third base. Top 3 Remain the Same, but… No surprise. The top three prospects didn’t change. Walker Jenkins is the top guy, followed by Emmanuel Rodriguez and then Luke Keaschall. However, it should be noted that approximately 25% of our voters moved Keaschall ahead of Rodriguez in their rankings. Ultimately, that’s not terribly important, and all three of those guys are Top 100 global prospects with a chance to contribute to the Twins, maybe in 2025, but certainly down the line. The Value of a Twins Player Development Tweet The reality is that unless you not only go down to Fort Myers and hang out on the back fields, but also sit close enough to the radar gun, it’s hard to know what’s going on and who is looking good. Thankfully, we get the occasional “Tweet” from the Twins Player Development account to give us a look. In my opinion, a couple of tweets really helped the prospect rankings of both Connor Prielipp and Dasan Hill. Quick note if any Twins Player Development twitter account managers see this… Thank you, and More, Please. The Pitching Pipeline is Real Since Derek Falvey took over, the dream for Twins fans was that he would develop a pitching pipeline that could measure up to what he helped build in Cleveland. As expected, especially when there was a fully lost season in 2020, it took time. They brought in good coaches and coordinators. They spent money on all the equipment and technology. There was great communication between the player development group and the scouting department. We had some hope in 2019 when Randy Dobnak went from independent ball to legit, quality starting pitcher in 2019 and 2020. The fact that he became that is a credit to Dobnak and the pitcher development staff. And there is no way of knowing, but if not for the finger injuries that lingered for three seasons, that storyline could have been vastly different in recent years. I think that Bailey Ober exemplifies the Twins Pitcher Development more than anyone else. They worked with him with all the analytics and video and came up with a plan that not only got him to the big leagues, but he has become a Top 30 starter in the game. Joe Ryan was a good, one-pitch pitcher when they acquired him from the Rays. He has remade himself with quality secondary pitches to go with his fastball and command. Louis Varland and David Festa were low-90s fastball guys in college, drafted on Day 3 of their respective drafts. Both are upper-90s pitchers with a chance to be huge contributors. Zebby Matthews was an eight-round pick. Andrew Morris was a fifth-round pick with one year of Division I competition after three seasons of Division II. And there are more names that we know will be much more well known by more fans by the end of the season? Ty Langenberg comes to mind, but don’t forget about Kyle Jones or Tanner Hall or Spencer Bengard. Honestly, it’s to the point where, if the Twins draft a pitcher in the 20th round of the draft, there is a chance that he could add five or six mph to their fastball and sharpen a secondary pitch and contribute in the big leagues down the road. That’s a great feeling to a Twins fan. I don’t know if that has ever been the case. What are your thoughts on the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins prospects for 2025? What jumps out? View full article

The Twins traveled to Tampa to play the Yankees on Wednesday afternoon. Joe Ryan tossed two scoreless innings. Zebby Matthews came in for the third inning. He gave up a couple of hits but got an inning-ending double play to end any threat. He came back out for the bottom of the fourth inning. On his second pitch to Paul Goldschmidt, the former MVP grounded a slow roller down the third base line. Matthews raced to it, fielded it and then threw to first for the out. A very nice play. However, before making another throw, Ryan Jeffers slowly walked to the mound, and a trainer soon followed. Matthews moved and stretched a little as if he may have pulled a muscle near his hip or side. He didn't appear to be in pain, maybe more discomfort. Rocco Baldelli quickly removed him from the game. John Stankiewicz came in and got the final two outs of the innings. Matthews, who has been very impressive all spring, throwing hard, with a good changeup and a slider. Replay showed that his right foot slid a little bit when planting. Before going to the mound, Matthews bent at the waist, stretching his back and/or side. He walked off looking fairly comfortable, but at this stage, taking him out was the right decision. Hopefully it is nothing. However, a day after Justin Topa walked off the mound mid-inning, and with the news of Matt Canterino being shut down again, keeping all of the pitching depth as healthy as possible will be important. And speaking of important, Matthews will play a very important role with the Twins in 2025 and beyond. View full rumor

Billionaire Justin Ishbia is apparently increasing his minority ownership with the Chicago White Sox and is ending his pursuit of the Minnesota Twins. Image courtesy of © Jonah Hinebaugh/Naples Daily News/USA Today Network-Florida / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On the eve of the 2025 Minnesota Twins spring training opener, big news surfaced online. The news would presumably shock the Pohlad family, and it is likely to be incredibly disappointing for Minnesota Twins fans. Justin Ishbia, the billionaire businessman and private investor, has notified the team that he will not continue to pursue ownership of the Minnesota Twins. Instead, Ishbia will be, according to The Athletic's Jon Greenberg, "buying more shares from other limited partners to increase his existing minority stake in the Chicago White Sox." The report also indicates that Ishbia may allowed to take control of the White Sox in the future by buying shares from long-time White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf. Twins ownership believed that the team would be sold before Opening Day. Now, the search for a new owner will continue. That said, reports over the last couple of months noted that there was a "robust market" for potential suitors. A source told Greenberg that while Ishbia was pursuing the Twins, the Reinsdorfs talked to him about increasing his share of the White Sox. Ishbia and his brother Mat (owner of the Phoenix Suns) had bought a minority stake in the White Sox four years ago. It is noteworthy that, at this time, Justin Ishbia has declined comment. For Twins fans, this news is crushing. When news came out at the Winter Meetings that the 47-year-old who lives just outside of Chicago was interested in buying the Twins, fans got excited. He and his brother spent immediately on improving the Phoenix Suns, famously taking ownership and OKing a trade to bring in All-Star Kevin Durant. Twins fans began to dream about having an owner who might push the budget envelope and allow Twins fans to dream. Tonight's news certainly darkens that optimism. Then again, it is certain that the Pohlad family would like to sell, and they appear to be eager to sell quickly if a deal can be made. If there were other potential ownership groups snooping around in December and January, there certainly will be again in February and March. Unfortunately, it means that there will not be an ownership transfer by Opening Day. Maybe the All-Star break can be the next goal. And now, Twins fans have Reason #4,728 to hate the Chicago White Sox! View full article

With just reading the question in the article's title, I'd say this... SWR deserves the #4 spot over Paddack at this point.

On Friday (Feb 14th), the 2025 Division I schedule opens its season. As I did last year, I went through the rosters of all the D1 schools (like 340 or so) and noted all Minnesotans on those rosters. Please go to THIS LINK and check out the variety of schools that Minnesota prep ball players are going to. Here are some notes, but if you have additional names or updates to add, let me know in the comments. In addition, I've always wished that we could find someone to cover each of the Minnesota college baseball programs in our Blogs. A weekly Gophers update or Tommies... For Division II, there are a bunch of NSIC teams that you could cover. And in Division II, there is the MIAC. Lots of junior/community colleges. If anyone is interested in providing an update on a college baseball team throughout the season, go for it. If you want ideas, let me know. I found 152 Division I players from Minnesota. No surprise, but the top two schools in terms of signing Minnesotans are the two D1 schools in Minnesota. 23 Minnesotans are on the St. Thomas roster. There are 20 Minnesotans on the Gophers roster. Also, probably not a huge surprise that the two schools closest to Minnesota are next. South Dakota State has 13 Minnesotans. North Dakota State has 8 players from Minnesota. Teams with 3+ Minnesotans: Creighton (5), Purdue (4), UW-Milwaukee (4), Valparaiso (3), Missouri (3), Xavier (3). Chris Olean is the head coach at St. Thomas and he was long before they made the jump from Division 3 to Division 1. His Associate Head Coach is former Twins minor league infielder Tanner Vavra. Former long-time Twins coach (hitting, bench) Joe Vavra is a volunteer for the program. After leading the Minnesota Gophers for 43 years as head coach, John Anderson retired. Former Gopher player (2012-16), Ty McDevitt, takes over the reins this season. He has been on the coaching staff the past eight year. He's been the team's pitching coach the past six years. In the link above, you'll see that I also made some notes when I happened to find them. Not always consistent. But it's always interesting to see former big leaguers coaching at these programs. For instance, former Twins infielder and pinch hitter Chip Hale, who was a coach in the big leagues for a long time, has been the head coach at the University of Arizona. Larry Lee returns as the coach of Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo where his pitching coach is Seth Moir, who was a scout for the Twins for several years. He was the area scout who signed Bailey Ober. Jarrod Hocking, son of former Twins infielder Denny Hocking whose uniform number has been retired by the Twins, plays at UCLA. Jakub Guardado, son of Twins Hall of Famer Eddie Guardado, pitches and hits at Pacific. Caleb Koskie, son of new Twins Hall of Famer Corey Koskie, is a freshman at Indiana. Paul Jones is a freshman at Maryland. He is the grandson of Twins Hall of Famer Cesar Tovar. Ian Koosman is a junior pitcher from Willmar who will pitch for Creighton this year. His great uncle, Jerry Koosman, is most famous for being a Miracle Met, but he also spent time with the Twins. Former Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson left the Twins to be the pitching coach at LSU. He worked with Paul Skenes that year. After the season, he became the head coach at Georgia. 2025 will be his second season. Steven Rosen became a Twins minor league coach before the 2020 season. Late in the 2021 season, he left the Twins. He has been at Manhattan University as a pitching coach the last couple of seasons. At the end of the 2024 season, he was named the team's head coach and became the youngest head coach in Division I at age 29. Similarly, Nate Rasmussen was a Twins coach from 2019-21. Rasmussen went to Utah Valley University as an assistant coach. After the 2024 season, Rasmussen was named the team's head coach. The 2024 Minnesota Mr. Baseball finalists were: Max Arlich (East Ridge HS): Arizona State University. Tyler Guerin (Mounds View HS): University of Iowa PJ Jones (Cretin-Derham Hall HS): University of Maryland Caleb Koskie (Benilde-St. Margaret's): Indiana University Riley Leatherman (Winner, Wayzata HS): University of North Carolina Wilson Magers (Mankato West HS): Creighton University Luke Skinner (East Ridge HS): Loyola Marymount University The 2023 Minnesota Mr. Baseball finalists were: Easton Breyfogle (Winner, Benilde-St. Margaret's HS): University of Arizona Kade Lewis (Sartell HS): Wake Forest (after a year at Butler) Mason McCurdy (Stillwater HS): Creighton University Josh Och (Chanhassen HS): University of Southern Mississippi Tyler Phelps-Hemmesch (Sartell): U of Minnesota Jack Taxdahl (Cretin-Derham Hall HS): U of Minnesota Will Whelan (Centennial HS): U of Minnesota The 2022 Minnesota Mr. Baseball finalists were: Drew Berkland (Wayzata HS): U of Minnesota Easton Fritcher (Hayfield HS): U of Minnesota Blake Guerin (Mounds View HS): University of Iowa Kristofer Hokenson (St. Louis Park HS): U of Minnesota Kyle Law (Andover HS): North Dakota State University Maddox Mihalakis (Hopkins HS): University of Arizona Derrick Smith (White Bear Lake HS): North Carolina State The 2021 Minnesota Mr. Baseball finalists were: Lincoln Berry (Eagan HS): Minnesota State-Mankato Trenton Burkhalter (Forest Lake HS): U of Nebraska-Omaha Noah Bush (Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted HS): University of Louisville Ben North (East Ridge HS): Creighton University Tucker Novotny (Park HS): Drafted by A's (2024) Will Rogers (Mounds View HS): University of Michigan Ero Wallin (William Kelley HS): Upper Iowa (3 years at St. Cloud State)

There have been several names mentioned as potential Twins first base options. In reality, the choice should be really easy. Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images I keep hearing name after name being suggested as a first-base option for the 2025 Twins. A year ago, the Twins brought in veteran Carlos Santana on a one-year, $5-million deal. The then-37-year-old had a strong season, posting a .749 OPS with 26 doubles and 23 home runs. He was tremendous defensively and earned his first career Gold Glove Award for his work around first base. Santana was a godsend when Alex Kirilloff again struggled to stay on the field and ultimately was forced to retire after the season at age 27, due to extreme back pain. Last month, Santana signed a one-year, $12 million deal with the Cleveland Guardians, where he spent a dozen professional seasons. With Kirilloff’s November retirement, many Twins fans have pointed out that the Twins have a void at first base. “We’re going to have to lean on some of the internal guys to take on some of those at-bats for sure, at least in terms of backup consideration," said Derek Falvey, shortly after the end of last season. "And then we’ll just have to see how the offseason plays out there.” In other words, on the Twins' list of offseason priorities, first base (rightfully) didn’t rank highly. The Twins have acted accordingly. After DFAing Yunior Severino, he returned on a minor-league contract. They brought in 32-year-old Mike Ford on a minor-league contract. He hasn't done much in the big leagues after hitting 12 homers in 50 games for the 2019 New York Yankees. He did hit 16 home runs for the Mariners in 2023, but then he split the 2024 season between the Reds, their Triple-A affiliate, and Japan. Armando Alvarez was also signed to a minor-league deal. The 30-year-old made his MLB debut in 2024 with the Oakland A’s. He had 39 plate appearances. He has played all over the infield defensively. They did acquire infielder Mickey Gasper in a Christmas Eve trade with the Red Sox. He made his big-league debut in 2024, but he went 0-for-18 with four walks and eight strikeouts in 23 plate appearances. Before his promotion, he played 44 games at Double-A Portland and 48 at Triple-A Worcester. You can put him into the same category as Ford and Alvarez, but he does have a 40-man roster spot and will be competing for a utility role and to keep said place on the roster. Raise your hand if you thought the Twins would be a player for free agents such as Christian Walker, Pete Alonso, or even Paul Goldschmidt. Now, put them down and go to the corner. Here is a list of remaining free agents who could play first base: Ty France, Justin Turner, Rowdy Tellez, Anthony Rizzo, Jose Abreu, Yuli Gurriel, and Jared Walsh. They could bring back Miguel Sanó. Joey Gallo would play well defensively at first base. You could go with a 40-year-old Turner, or you could try a veteran like Rizzo, who has posted injury-marred OPSes of .706 and .637 despite being a left-handed hitter in Yankee Stadium. Does a 38-year-old José Abreu appeal to you, coming off a disastrous stint in Houston? Alternatively, you could use two offensive-minded internal options, both of which have had strong stretches and fought significant struggles. José Miranda is still just 26 years old. He has played 286 MLB games over the past three seasons. In two of those seasons, he posted OPSes over .750. In 2024, Santana posted a .749 OPS, which made him a finalist for a Silver Slugger Award. Offensively, there is little doubt in my mind that Miranda can meet or exceed Santana’s performance (with the necessary caveat of assuming health). In 2023, Edouard Julien came up to the Twins early in the season and became one of their most reliable, consistent hitters. He showed the skill set that made him an intriguing prospect over his 2021 and 2022 minor-league seasons. First and foremost, his eye at the plate was impeccable. He posted an OPS of .839 due to a superb walk rate, 16 doubles, and 16 home runs. Many of his extra-base hits were driven to the opposite field. Everything about Julien’s 2023 led us to believe he could be a fixture at the top of the Twins lineup for years to come. Then came 2024, and he was again really consistent. Unfortunately, it was a consistent struggle. He hit just .199. His strikeout rate increased from 31.4% to 33.9%, while his walk rate fell from 15.7% to 11.0%. Julien often toes the line between patience and passivity. In 2024, he appeared more passive. It feels like we have seen the two extremes for Julien. Combined, he’s got a .742 OPS over those two MLB seasons. The Twins need to get Miranda and Julien a ton of work at first base this spring. Bring in Justin Morneau. Bring in Joe Mauer. Bring back Doug Mie… OK, maybe not that one. Get them a ton of innings at first base in spring training, then go with it into the season. Show confidence. Tell them their job is to catch the ball at first base. Keep it simple. Keep it positive. Fans will have to understand this, as well. Gallo is still available, if you want plus-plus defense at first base. Julien has played in five big-league games at first base. He has made just two starts there. Last year in St. Paul, the Quebecois made six starts at first base and had two errors in 57 innings. He only played second base in the minor leagues in 2022 and 2023. In 2021, he made 20 starts at first base. Miranda has played significantly more first base in his career. In St. Paul, he played six games in 2024, eight in 2023, five in 2022, and 28 in 2021. In 2024, the stocky boricua played about 100 innings over 13 games for the Twins. In 2023, he played just two innings over two games, but in 2022, he played 77 games at first base for the Twins. He had just three errors. And yes, I know that errors are not the best way to judge the work of a first baseman. Saving infielders from errors is the more significant factor, meaning the ability to scoop balls in the dirt or knowing when to leave the base to catch the ball. Bunt plays and how far to move from the bag to field grounders can also be learned. I assume both players have been getting some work at first base throughout the offseason. We know they also have been working out and working in the cage. Good hitters make adjustments to the adjustments that were made to them. Add in a new voice. The three Twins hitting coaches in 2024 were let go after the season, replaced by Matt Borgschulte, Trevor Amicone, and Rayden Sierra. Sierra worked with Julien in Fort Myers in 2021. Borgschulte played a significant role in Miranda’s jump from “the talent is there” to a legitimate prospect with massive numbers in St. Paul in 2021. Willi Castro can purchase a first baseman's mitt if he wants to, and add it to his collection of gloves to bring to the ballpark every day. The Royals have Cole Ragans. The Tigers have Tarik Skubal. The White Sox have Martin Perez. There is a chance that those three are the only left-handed starting pitchers in the AL Central, at least early in the season. In my opinion, and assuming health, Miranda should start at first base in two out of every three games, playing matchups. Julien should take the rest of those starts. The other can spend time as the DH, which should be split between many players. Miranda would make about 108 starts at first base in that situation, with Julien starting around 54. It’s a situation where both should get 400 to 450 plate appearances when considering DH time, pinch-hitting opportunities, and such. Sure, you can try to collect lightning in a bottle on a one-year contract with an aging veteran again. Or, you can provide an opportunity for two mid-20s players who have shown their potential. Miranda has four seasons of team control remaining, and Julien has five. They should just try to get one of those guys over the hump and into a full-time, potentially long-term job. Oh, and be sure to get Luke Keaschall and his Trout-like swing plenty of starts at first base in Wichita and St. Paul this season. View full article

#PerhamRepresent Wayne Caughey was easily the best player I played against in townball. Great hitter. Great shortstop. He was already 45 but he was so smooth. He would come help our high school team too with fielding work, etc.

Started watching The X-Files again on YouTube TV. Fun seeing the people that were on one episode before they became really really famous. I have it record Ghosts, Sister Wives, Catfish, and a few other shows. Loving Dexter: Original Sin and looking forward to the upcoming new series. I believe that's on Paramount. School Spirits is also good. On Peacock, the new season of The Traitors US is really good. I've watched the US, UK, Australia versions too. The Anonymous was also awesome! I'd love to be on that show! On Amazon, I'm really enjoying Beast Games. I've watched a couple of episodes of The 1% Club and that's fun. Also, there's Pop Culture Jeopardy. Coach Prime is good. Surviving Jeffrey Epstein was good. It's in the Game (Madden NFL) is really good, very interesting history of the game. The Money Game LSU was really good. Interesting look at NIL in college sports, specifically the first years of it for Livvy Dunne, Jayden Daniel, Angel Reese and a few others at the school. And, The Evolution of the Black Quarterback is fantastic! The new OJ Simpson four-part documentary on Netflix is pretty good. I watched American Primeval, and it wasn't bad, but when it was over, I sat there wondering what I had just watched... what it was trying to tell me, or even just what happened. Enigma (Aaron Rodgers) is kind of interesting, just don't like watching Aaron Rodgers). I watched the Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action documentary. That was kind of fun. HA! It Ends With Us has become topical since it came out, but it is an excellent movie. On Max, Hard Knocks is always good. I don't miss Real Tim with Bill Maher. I tried Succession. Again, I enjoyed season 1 but haven't been able to get into season 2.

I watched the first season. By the time I got through that, I wasn't too interested in watching Season 2.