Seth Stohs

Im sure there is. He'll have to come up about September 1st (30 day rehab time). This might be a good opportunity to use the "Opener" strategy in the big leagues. That way Pineda can work on the regular 5-day schedule and he could piggyback with another starter (which is piggybacking, not opener strategy).

He might be fine in AAA. Probably. I personally don't think it matters a whole lot either way. He's probably not being called up, unless it's in September in which case it doesn't matter if he's made 2 starts in AAA or not. He's pitching fine. He's got stuff to work on. he's on the 40 man and he'll start 2019 in AAA either way, so I don't personally see any urgency to get him to AAA. Stewart's obviously in a different spot. They had to make a decision on him because with how well he's been pitching in Rochester of late, he wouldn't sneak through the Rule 5 again. So, very different situations.

I mean, until the last 4-5 starts, his control/command was not good. That's the big reason why. And timing has been a reason at times too. I'll be shocked if he's not called up for September. And, I just think that if scouting reports matter at all - and they absolutely should - Stewart's stuff has a chance to be good. Great ground ball tendencies, etc. And they made a decision on Gonsalves last offseason. They have to make a decision on Stewart this offseason and this gives them an up-close look. Can he show enough to keep on the roster? Can he be a starting option? Is he a bullpen guy.

I've heard this as well. Many think that he could be a really good reliever as well.

If they did call up Wade, then they would need to play him and they would ahve to play him or it doesn't make sense. My thought is that a guy that's 24+ and still a prospect should play at least 4 games a week to justify not playing 6 games a week in AAA.

While I don't agre that he's been 'mostly a failure.' (he's put up solid numbers most of the way, just without the pretty Ks), and I think that Romero and Gonsalves have done more in the past, I think we have to be a ltitle careful. I've talked to several people around Rochester and Chattanooga, and they will say that Stewart's stuff is really good, and he has been pitching really well. If they are going by reports that I'm sure they're getting form Rochester, I'm sure that it makes sense to call up Stewart. At least if they're talking to people who think the same as people I've talked to.

Thank you!! Only took me a week to make that change in my template... Thank you!

Sure, they could do that... though I'm sure they'd like for him to at least play a few games first. But it's the age-old question that I know how I feel about, but others may feel differently. Is it better for Wade's development to: 1.) stay in AAA and play every single day, or 2.) come up to the Twins as a 4th OF and play twice a week? For me, it's an easy choice. let him play every day. Let Cave play every day. Let Field be the twice a week guy who probably starts against some lefties. Call up Wade right after the Red Wings season ends (Labor Day) when his two options are get called up and play 2-3 times a week or go home and not keep playing.

One of the new Miracle players hit a huge home run in the ninth inning to help the team to a come-from-behind win. Another newcomer fell a double away from a cycle. A 2018 draft pick was a home run from a cycle. And another prospect whose name has graced these minor league reports nearly every day this season had yet another multi-hit game. And a former top pick and top prospect found out that he is heading to the big leagues.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Friday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins announced their trade of Fernando Rodney late on Thursday night. On Friday morning, they announced that Adalberto Mejia was headed to the disabled list (wrist). Those two roster spots were filled by RHP Tyler Duffey and 1B/DH Tyler Austin.Reports surfaced on Friday late afternoon that RHP Kohl Stewart had been scratched from his Friday night start in Rochester. He was called up to the Twins and will start on Sunday.RHP DJ Baxendale and OF LaMonte Wade were activated from the Rochester DL.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 2, Charlotte 8 Box Score DJ Baxendale returned from the DL and made the start. He worked a perfect first inning, but all three batters he faced in the second inning got on base. Luke Bard came in and gave up five runs (three earned) on five hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Nick Anderson came on and threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out three. John Curtiss struck out two over three, one-hit innings. Alan Busenitz pitched a scoreless ninth inning. The Red Wings had six hits in the game.Only LaMonte Wade, also just off the DL, had two hits. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 8, Jackson 2 Box Score Luke Raley had a breakout game for the Lookouts. He hit his second Chattanooga home run and his first triple. He had three hits. Brent Rooker had three walks to go with a single and three runs scored. Zander Wiel had two hits and a walk while Jaylin Davis had two hits as well. Jordan Gore added this second triple. Dietrich Enns started and went the first 4 2/3 innings. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. He struck out seven. Omar Bencomo came on and struck out three over 4 1/3 scoreless innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Florida 4 Box Score Down 4-3 going into the top of the ninth inning, Ryan Costello hit a game-tying, leadoff home run. Aaron Whitefield (pinch running for Ben Rortvedt) later scored on a wild pitch. Ernie De La Trinidad provided some insurance with an RBI single to score Royce Lewis. Alex Kirilloff led the offense. He went 3-for-3 with his 17th double. He also threw out a runner trying to advance to second base. Costello went 3-for-4. The homer was his second with the Miracle. De La Trinidad went 2-for-5. Lewis was 1-for-3 with a walk. He was also hit by a pitch. Andro Cutura started and worked the first seven innings. He gave up two runs on six hits and a walk. He walked one and struck out six. Jovani Moran struggled a bit, but he got the win. He went two innings and gave up one run on two hits and three walks. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Clinton 1 Box Score It was a low-scoring game in Clinton. Blayne Enlow started and gave up a second-inning run. Enlow gave up only the one run on three hits over five innings. He walked one, hit two, and struck out four. Jared Finkel came on and gave up two hits over three shutout innings. He struck out one. The Kernels managed just five hits and were unable to cross the plate. Trevor Larnach went 2-for-4 with his second double. Trey Cabbage added his 17th double. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton , Bluefield Box Score The game was postponed by rain. The teams will play two games on Saturday. GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 6 Box Score Casey Crosby made another rehab start for the Twins. The lefty gave up two runs (one earned) on one hit and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two. Niklas Rimmel came on. He gave up four runs (three earned) on seven hits over 2 1/3 innings. Dylan Stowell and Denny Bentley each threw two scoreless innings. Bentley struck out three. Charlie Mack led the offense. He had a single, his third double and his first triple in this game. Estamy Urena went 2-for-4. Erick Rivera walked twice. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Ryan Costello, Ft. Myers Miracle (3-4, HR(2)). Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Andro Cutura, Ft. Myers Miracle (7 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that this Prospect Summary has been updated. #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB, 2 R, K, HBP #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - 3-3, 2B(17), R, RBI #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #4 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-4, RBI, K #5 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Did not pitch #6 - Trevor Larnach (Elizabethton) - 2-4, 2B (2) #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-2, 3 BB, 3 R #8 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #9 -Wander Javier - out of for the season #10 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not play #11 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 2 HBP #12 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 2-4, K #13 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-2, HBP, SH #14 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch. #15 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB #16 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) - Rained Out. #17 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - Out for the season (wrist). #18 - Ryan Jeffers (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, K #19 - Jacob Pearson (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, K, SH #20 - Luis Arraez (Chattanooga) - 1-4, R #21 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 0-5 *Since Wander Javier is out, I’d add #21 to the list. SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Charlotte @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero (4-3, 2.71 ERA) Jackson @ Chattanooga - RHP Sean Poppen (5-5, 3.63 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Florida (5:31 CST) - RHP Michael Pineda (rehab) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities - RHP Jordan Balazovic (5-3, 4.18 ERA) Bluefield @ Elizabethton (DH @ 4:00 CST) - RHP Carlos Suniago, RHP Austin Schulfer GCL Red Sox @ GCL Twins (9:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

I had him at #17 when we did our rankings and before the trade deadline... He's at 21 on my living rankings right now, but this kind of success in AA will push him further up the ladder.

The Minnesota Twins have announced that they have traded RHP Fernando Rodney to the Oakland A's in exchange for RHP Dakota Chalmers.The Twins have traded their closer, Fernando Rodney, to the A's. In return, the Twins receive 21-year-old RHP Dakota Chalmers. Chalmers was the A's 3rd round pick in 2015 out of high school in Georgia. He received a seven-figure bonus, well over slot value, to keep him from a commitment to the University of Georgia.. He pitched a couple of games with Beloit this year, but according to Darren Wolfson, he had Tommy John surgery in April. Here is another report on Chalmers from Jeff Johnson of The Gazette in Cedar Rapids: The Twins will make a corresponding roster move tomorrow before their game. Click here to view the article

Fastball touches 90, 91. Slider is tremendous...

Age has nothing to do with why Rortvedt is in Ft. Myers. Development is. And comparing people to the Correa timeline isn't fair... I did it with Royce Lewis the other day...there it can be fair since they are both #1 overall picks. Most others aren't on anywhere near that kind of timeline. Has little if anything to do with age. Does anyone think it was a bad thing that Rortvedt started the season back in Cedar Rapids?

Because it's just a matter of time before we see the Twins do it in the big leagues.

Is this about Rortvedt? Because he'll start next season in Ft. Myers again, I'm pretty sure. He may get to AA.

As for Gibson, I think there are a number of things to consider: 1.) He should make about $9-10 million next year in Arbtration. 2.) If he becomes a free agent (after pitching well again next year), he'd probably be in line for a 3-4 year deal in this new world of free agency. Probably at $14-16 million a year (think Alex Cobb range). 3.) It'd be nice to sign him to a 3 year deal this offseason, buying out two years of free agency, but he should want another year or two added to that because he would get those year if he actually did become a free agent. 4.) If he doesnt pitch well next year, he would likely be a one or two year guy at something like $15 million total, so him becoming a free agent is him betting on himself. So,, I think I'd look to do something like: 2019: $10 M 2020: $12 M 2021: $14 M 2022: $14 M Four years, $50 million.

Last offseason, tried to figure out what an extension might look like for Berrios using similar pitchers. http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins/diving-into-the-offseason-a-berrios-extension-r6173 It was 2018 - $0.75M 2019 - $1.00M 2020 - $3.25M 2021 - $5.00M 2022 - $8.00M 2023 - $12.0M 2024 - $14.0M 2025 - $16.0M (option) Obviously the 2018 comes off of this, but it would then be a 6 year, $45M or a 7 year, $60M if the option was picked up. After an All Star season, probably have to bump up about $5-6 million for the arb years by waiting. and another million a year for those three free agent years... So, I think you could add $10 million to my deal from last year.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/minnesotasportsweekly/2018/08/09/minnesota-sports-weekly-episode-82 On his Minnesota Sports Weekly podcast last night, Travis Aune interviewed Chris Blessing from Baseball HQ. Hes' been a guest before... but in the episode, he talks about the players the TWins received in all five trades, but then he talked about Thorpe and Kirilloff and several other players. I think you all will be interested in his thoughts on Brent Rooker too. Fast-forward to the 4:00 mark to hear the interview. It's about 15-20 minutes long or so. Good stuff from Chris as he has seen the majority of these guys. He scouts Chattanooga often. He got up to see Cedar Rapids in Bowling Green earlier in the year. He gets to E-Town and the Appy League quite a bit too.

Transaction: JT Perez promoted from GCL to Elizabethton today.

Regi Grace was the Twins 10th-round pick in the June 2018 draft out of high school in Mississippi. The talented, hard throwing pitcher had a commitment to Mississippi State, but the Twins found a way to convince him to start his professional career (they went well over slot to sign him). Recently, Regi Grace was kind enough to take some time to answer questions for us. Continue reading to Get To Know more about a very young, very intriguing pitching prospect in the Twins system.Regi Grace was a multi-sport star in high school. Since signing, Grace was assigned to the Gulf Coast League. He pitched in three games and gave up zero runs over 8 1/3 innings. He hasn’t pitched since mid-July but tells me that the Twins know he’s already thrown a season, so they are working with him and protecting his arm. He is certainly one to watch in the coming years because he is blessed with a very strong arm. We do appreciate Grace taking time to answer our questions below, and we wish him the best of luck through the rest of the season going forward. . Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in Mississippi, did you have a favorite MLB team to follow? Who were some of your favorite players? Regi Grace (RG): The Atlanta Braves because of Fox Sports South, and also we had the Mississippi Braves in Theo to watch. Jason Heyward, Chipper Jones and Kris Medlen. SS: What were some of the better memories of your high school baseball career? Did you play other sports or were you involved in other activities? RG: Better memories were winning state championships and getting to know other really talented high school players. I was involved in track, basketball and football at one point in high school. SS: What was the recruitment process like for you in high school. You had committed to Mississippi State, but did you have a lot of coaches talking to you? RG:The recruitment process was interesting. I had coaches calling me wanting to attend their program, and if I told one No, he would not be the happiest camper. (lol) So it came down to what was best for me. SS: Did you have the chance to speak with many scouts before the draft? What was your interaction with the Twins scout? RG: I had a chance to get to know each of the scouts that were interested in me, and me and Derrick Dunbar (my area scout) grew a relationship as time went on before the draft. SS: The Twins took you in the 10th round. Was that about where you expected to be selected? How did you find out that you had been drafted? How busy were your home and your phone at that moment? RG: Yes, sir. I was expecting at least the top 10 rounds and through prayers and hard work, I was able to achieve a goal. I was actually playing a basketball video game when I got the call I had been drafted, I said “Thank you,” and continued my game. The fourth quarter on 2K doesn’t play around. After I was drafted, I probably didn’t pick up my phone for the next hour. It was filling with texts and notifications and what not. SS: With the Mississippi State commitment, how difficult (or easy) was the decision to sign with the Twins? RG: It was a very difficult decision because I wanted to attend college, but I knew about the goal I had in mind and this is going to help me get that to goal I feel. SS: What has the adjustment like for you so far (admittedly very early), from the high school game to the professional game, both on and off the field? RG: On the field, it’s a whole new world. Bigger arms. Bigger bats. Quicker guys. So the game is really speeding up. Off the field, everything is very professional and have to adjust doing everything like professional nowadays, which is going to help me in life. SS: At this very early stage in your career, what would you say are your best tools and biggest strengths? RG: My biggest tool, I would say, wouldn’t be my arm because every guy down here has a 90+ arm, I would say that it is my ability to learn and adapt and be open to suggestions on my game. SS: What are the areas of your game that you would like to spend time working to improve? RG: I would like to learn how to command my pitches and pickoff move, and I feel like the staff we have here in the Minnesota Twins organization is going to help me. SS: Favorite Baseball movie? RG: 42 Again, a big Thank You to Regi Grace for his thoughtful responses to our questions. Please feel free to comment or ask questions below. Click here to view the article

He got a $10,000 signing bonus because he was a senior sign. Twins liked him enough to take him in the 8th round,, the same round they took Brian Dozier as a senior sign in 2009. A round before they took Mitch Garver as a senior sign in 2013. I don't know that scouts don't think he can be an MLB player, but hes about the power right now and then we'll see how it goes over time. Has at least one elite tool, so that's a good start.

Yup, the fences were moved back a year or so after that year.