Seth Stohs

Correct. The fact that Correa missed 2+ months, Buxton missed a month, and Kepler missed a month. And losing Joe Ryan was arguably the biggest loss. The hitters certainly struggled. Doesn't mean the hitting coach is a bad hitting coach.

I was a huge fan of USA Today's Baseball Weekly. I coached little league and such in high school and had Fridays off for a couple of those years. I would ride my bike to the Holiday store a few blocks away in the morning, and then sit outside and read it... Almost the whole thing... This was a very fun read... There were several others, as has been mentioned above... I'll add Alan Newman to the conversation. 1989 Bowman cards were best best!!

Well, we have had a little time since the long and brutal end to the Twins season, but if there's something that can always cheer us up, it's talking about the minor leagues. Hey, we haven't voted to update the Twins Daily Prospect rankings in a few months. We need to do that. It's prospect voting time again! A rundown of the rules again: 1. You must have an account and be logged in to vote. If you don't have an account, click here. It literally requires 60 seconds to create an account. 2. Review our current top 20 prospect list, catch up on stats, rankings, etc. (you can do so from the voting page link below) 3. Have your prospect list in your dirty little paws? Then flip on over to the new prospect voting page (after reading the rest of this, please). https://twinsdaily.com/prospect-voting 4. Voting is super simple, you drag-and-drop players in the order you wish them to be. After you move a prospect, the list automatically renumbers so you don't lose track of the order. This works on mobile devices but it's a *vastly* better experience on desktop. Sorry, that's just how this kind of thing works. There's no great way to make something like this be as awesome on a phone screen. 5. Each prospect has a comment section where you can add any commentary you have on that player. At the bottom of the list, there is a general comment section to explain over-arching things you wish to mention. 6. Don't see a prospect you want to put on the list? Just pop back here and give me a mention (in a comment, start typing @Brock Beauchamp or @Seth Stohs as they appear). Mention the prospect you want added and I will do that asap. 7. Once you're done with all of it, click Save. You've now voted! 8. When the voting closes, a new thread will automatically generate in this forum with all of your rankings and comments for everyone to read and talk about. 9. You can only vote once. If you have voted in error, pop back here and tag Brock, asking to have your vote deleted. It will be removed and you can vote again. Voting will close at end of day Thursday, October 24th!

They made a pretty significant organizational philosophical change last offseason. After all the strikeouts the previous year, they cut down that number significantly this year. And, talking to some guys in Cedar Rapids and elsewhere, that was voiced throughout the organization. I think the big area of focus this year needs to be on the situational hitting and understanding.

News broke this afternoon that the Twins will be bringing Matt Borgschulte in as the new hitting coach. He is not new to the organization. Image courtesy of USA Today Network Following the conclusion of the frustrating end of the 2024 regular season, the Minnesota Twins announced the firings of assistant bench coach Tony Diaz and hitting coaches David Popkins, Rudy Hernandez and Derek Shomon. Brandon Warne was the first to tweet the news today that the Twins will be hiring Matt Borgschulte as Rocco Baldelli's next hitting coach. He was a finalist for the same role three years ago when they selected Popkins. He was with the Twins as a hitting coach from 2018-2021 at various levels from the Gulf Coast League to Triple-A St. Paul in 2021. He became one of two hitting coaches for the Baltimore Orioles starting with the 2022 season. Just think of some of the hitters he has worked with and helped develop in Baltimore. To what level of credit a hitting coach gets (or should get), he has worked with likes of All Stars Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Anthony Santander. He's worked with other young, talented Orioles hitters like Colton Cowser, Heston Kjerstad, Jordan Westburg, and Jackson Holliday. As the Twins look to continue adding to their coaching staff, it's important to remember how well they have done in naming minor-league coaches and coordinators. How do we know? Because other teams have taken them from the Twins and placed them in the big leagues. A quick look at the AL East is a good reminder of that. Along with Borgschulte, the Red Sox hitting coach is Peter Fatse. He avoided Boston's mass coaching changes announces recently. He was the Twins Minor League Hitting Coordinator in 2019. The Red Sox hired him as an assistant hitting coach after that season. He became the team's hitting coach before the 2022 season. Obviously James Rowson, the Yankees hitting coach, was the Twins hitting coach given a lot of credit for the 2019 Bomba Squad. Of course, he left to join Derek Jeter and the Marlins, which didn't exactly go well. He spent some time with the Tigers in 2023, but given the role with the Yankees and suddenly he's one of the top hitting coaches in baseball. In addition, the Twins hired Wes Johnson from the college ranks as the big-league pitching coach in 2019. That same year, they brought in Pete Maki to be the minor-league pitching coordinator. Maki joined the big-league staff for the 2020 season, and when Johnson went back to college, he took over as the pitching coach. In addition, Royals Director of Major League Pitching Strategy and Assistant Pitching Coach Zach Bove spent four seasons in the Twins organization, starting in the Florida Complex League and eventually became the assistant minor-league pitching coordinator before Matt Quatraro brought him onto the Royals' big-league staff. Of course, Bove was the assistant minor-league pitching coordinator under Justin Willard. Last offseason, the Red Sox plucked the Canadian from the Twins and made him the organization's Director of Pitching. He spends significant time working with Red Sox pitching coach Andrew Bailey but also a lot of time with pitchers and pitching coaches in the rookie leagues. Of course, the pitching coach of the New York Mets is former Twins coach Jeremy Hefner. When he retired, he joined the Twins as an advanced scout in 2017. In 2019, he was named the Twins assistant pitching coach (and bullpen coach). Following the 2019 season, the Mets hired him as their pitching coach. The Twins hired Tanner Swanson as the organization's first minor-league catching coordinator after the 2017 season. He immediately was given a ton of credit for working with Mitch Garver. After the 2019 season, the Yankees hired him as their major-league quality control coach and catching coordinator. I recall at the time, the Twins wanted to avoid losing him by offering him a big-league spot, but at the time, there wasn't a spot available. Soon after, 2018 and 2019 Twins bench coach Derek Shelton was named the manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates starting in the 2020 season. While he inherited a really bad team, he's helped the Pirates improve. He has one of the most exciting young pitching staffs in baseball which should make Pittsburgh a playoff team starting as soon as 2025. It is great to hear that Matt Borgschulte will be the Twins new hitting coach. Will he get one assistant or two assistants? We shall see. Names to consider include a few from within the organization. The current minor-league hitting coordinator is Bryce Berg. Ryan Smith is the assistant minor-league hitting coordinator. Both of them are highly respected in the organization and around baseball. While it's impossible to score 100% in hires, the Twins have done a nice job of hiring coaches and coordinators and promoting them from within with a lot of success. View full article

Hey now, these guys are now Twins Daily All Stars. This season, they got their game on and went and played. Which Twins minor league pitchers were voted as Twins Daily All Stars for the 2024 season. Twins Daily’s minor-league writers voted for the awards and for an all-star team of Twins prospects. To reiterate, this isn’t a Top Prospect ranking or list, but which players in the Twins system had the best seasons in 2024. We’ll vote for Twins top prospects again here soon. Each writer chose five starting pitchers, a right-handed reliever, a left-handed reliever, and two more relievers. Before we get to the All Star pitchers, here are our 2024 Twins Daily Award winners (and links to the articles to see who else received votes). Short-Season Hitter of the Year: Eduardo Beltre Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Melvin Rodriguez Minor League Hitter of the Year: Luke Keaschall Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Zebby Matthews Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Spencer Bengard Twins Minor League All-Star Hitters Read through our choices for each position. And then discuss and cast your votes as well. Here we go. Starting Pitchers RHP Zebby Matthews - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 8th round draft pick in 2022 out of Western Carolina University 2024 MILB Stats: 6-3, 2.60 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 0.6 BB/9, 10.6 K/9 2024 MLB Stats: 1-4, 6.69 ERA, 1.65 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 10.3 K/9 What a season 2024 was for the sturdy right-hander from North Carolina. The 2022 draft pick began the season with the Cedar Rapids. After four starts, he was 3-0 with a 1.59 ERA and a 0.75 WHIP. He moved up to Double-A Wichita and he pitched 10 times (9 starts). He was 2-1 with a 1.95 ERA and a 0.76 WHIP. It was time to move up again. He made four starts in St. Paul. Two went well. Two didn’t. That ended his minor-league season. The numbers shown above look great, and they are. Just to put the counting numbers out here instead of the rate numbers. In 97 innings, he had 114 strikeouts to just seven walks. Seven walks. Jeepers! And that’s about the time that Joe Ryan got hurt and missed the rest of the season. Matthews was called up and on August 13th, he made his first start of the season. He gave up two runs on five hits over five innings to earn his first Win against the Royals. He made nine starts for the Twins. I would argue that six went pretty well and three went poorly. In my opinion, it’s clear that he has the ‘stuff’ to pitch in the big leagues. His fastball averages 94.9 mph. His cutter comes in at 90.9 mph. His slider drops a little bit more than a cutter and averages 87.2 mph. Those three account for 85% of his pitches, but he also throws the occasional mid-80s changeup and low-80s curveball. In the minor leagues, he threw an incredible number of strikes and dominated. In the big leagues, it’s clear that command is just as important as control, spotting pitches and consistently. ETA: August 2024 RHP Andrew Morris - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 4th round draft pick in 2022 out of Texas Tech 2024 Stats: 10-5, 2.37 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 9.0 K/9 Andrew Morris has always been young for his level, going back to when he skipped a grade in elementary school. He was a 17-year-old freshman at Colorado Mesa University. After going 18-2 in his three years at the Division II school, he transferred to Texas Tech and went 8-2 as a 20-year-old senior. The Twins made him their fourth-round pick in 2022. He began his first full-season in Fort Myers and went 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA in 11 games (10 starts). He moved up to Cedar Rapids and went 5-1 with a 3.28 ERA in seven regular-season starts. He helped the Kernels to the 2023 Midwest League Championship. That’s where he began the 2024 season. He went 3-1 with a 2.15 ERA in seven starts before moving up to Double-A. With Wichita, he pitched in 12 games (10 starts and two games finished). He went 6-3 with one save with a 1.90 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP. He ended his season with seven starts in St. Paul. He went 1-1 with a 3.48 ERA and a 1.13 WHIP. In 133 total innings, he had 133 strikeouts and just 32 walks. Essentially, Morris found himself about eight-to-ten starts behind Matthews. He is 15 months younger than Matthews and has a similar pitch mix. His fastball sits between 93 and 96 mph. He throws a lot of sliders and throws them anywhere from 84-91 mph. His changeup currently is about seven to 10 mph slower than his fastball. He throws an occasional slow curveball too, maybe just to show it. ETA: June 2025 LHP Christian MacLeod - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 5th round draft pick in 2023 out of Mississippi State 2024 Stats: 4-4, 3.41 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 4.5 BB/9, 10.4 K/9 Christian MacLeod, like most Twins pitching prospects, stands at least 6-4. He’s a lanky lefty with a smooth motion and delivery. While he doesn’t throw as hard as many of the other prospects, he is able to really mix and match his velocities to keep batters off balance. His fastball sits right around 90 mph. He mixes it well with a lot of changeups. He also throws a quality slow curveball. MacLeod grew up around the game. His dad, Kevin MacLeod, was drafted by the Oakland A’s in 1987 and reached Double-A over four minor-league seasons. Christian grew up in Alabama and went to Mississippi State where he pitched in the College World Series. The Twins took him in the 5th round of the 2022 draft and he had five strikeouts over 1 2/3 innings in the FCL. Unfortunately, he needed Tommy John surgery and missed the 2022 season. He came back midway through the 2023 season with two games in Fort Myers before pitching in 15 games (14 starts) in Cedar Rapids. He began the 2024 season with 12 starts for the Kernels. In 48 2/3 innings, he had 58 strikeouts but 25 walks. He was 3-1 with a 2.77 ERA. He moved up to Wichita and pitched eight times (7 starts). He was 1-2 despite a 3.72 ERA. He also made one late-season spot start for the Saints in St. Paul. He gave up four earned runs in five innings. In 92 1/3 total innings, he had 107 strikeouts and 46 walks. The southpaw is still working his way back. The lefty throws a fastball in the 89-91 mph range. He throws a lot of changeups and is able to get swings and misses with both. The walks have been a bit high, but that should improve as well as her distances himself from surgery. ETA: May 2026 RHP Ty Langenberg - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels. Acquired: Twins 11th round draft pick in 2023 out of University of Iowa 2024 Stats: 8-5, 3.67 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 9.7 K/9 Langenberg grew up in Urbandale, Iowa, just outside of Des Moines. After high school, he stayed in-state and went to the University of Iowa in Iowa City. In 2022, he went 7-2 in 14 games. In 2023, he went 6-3 with a 4.15 ERA. The Twins liked what he showed and made him their 11th round draft pick that summer. After two appearances in the FCL, he made three appearances in Fort Myers. This season, he began with nine starts in Fort Myers. He went 3-3 with a 3.38 ERA. And then he got to head back home, sort of. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids in mid-June and pitched 12 times, likely with friends from just down the road at his old college stomping grounds. He went 5-2 with a 3.90 ERA. Combined, he threw 108 innings and had 116 strikeouts with just 30 walks. Langenberg throws five different pitches. He has a four-seam fastball that sits between 91 and 93 mph, but he touched 95 at times. . He also throws a sinker that is thrown at about the same speed but with a little different movement. He throws a cutter between 86 and 91 mph. His changeup is a mid-80s. Finally, he has a breaking ball in the high-70s and low-80s. ETA: May 2027 RHP Travis Adams (24) - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 6th round draft pick in 2021 out of Sacramento State 2024 Stats: 5-9, 3.90 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 8.4 K/9 A California native, Adams headed north to attend Sacramento State. In college, he had impeccable control to go with good stuff. Following the draft, Adams made one appearance in the FCL. In 2022, he made 15 starts in Fort Myers before ending the season with seven starts. Combined, he had 108 strikeouts and 26 walks over 22 starts and 100 2/3 innings. The Twins aggressively pushed him to Double-A Wichita where he pitched in 26 games (25 starts). While the numbers weren’t great (4-10, 5.66 ERA), he made every start and went 109 2/3 innings. He returned to the Wind Surge to start this season. He pitched in 22 games for the Surge (19 starts). He went just 5-7 with a very solid 3.67 ERA and 1.14 WHIP. He earned his promotion to St. Paul late in the season and pitched in four games. Combined, Adams worked 127 innings. He had 118 strikeouts and just 35 walks. Adams has a very interesting pitch mix. He has no less than six pitches, and he throws them anywhere from the mid-70s to the mid-90s. He throws both a two-seam (sinker) and four-seam fastball. He throws those pitches between 93 and 95 mph. He throws a cutter in the 87-92 mph range. He has a slider between 83 and 86 mph. And he throws a slow curveball in the high-70s and low-80s. Finally, his changeup sits 86-89 mph. I’m sure he would like to drop that a couple of mph. As you can see, he’s got a strong variety of pitches. He’s got multiple fastballs. He’s got multiple breaking pitches. And he’s got a changeup. He certainly has the pitch-mix to be a starter. ETA: August 2025 Bullpen Right-Handed Relief Pitcher: Spencer Bengard (22) - Ft. Myers Miracle, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 15th round draft pick in 2023 out of California Baptist University 2024 Stats: 8-2, 1 Save, 1.51 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, 7.8 K/9 Spencer Bengard grew up in southern California and went to Valley View High School in Moreno Valley. He stayed very close to home and went to California Baptist in Riverside. While there, he was teammates with fellow Twins prospects C.J. Culpepper and Liam Rocha, as well as Anthony Silva in 2022. He transferred to Riverside City College and was the Twins 16th round pick in 2023, one round after they took Bengard. Bengard got into two games with the FCL Twins last summer before the end of the season. This year, his season started about a month late. He began his season in Fort Myers where he went 7-2 with a 1.64 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP in 13 games (7 starts). He ended the season with six games (1 start) with the Kernels. He went 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA and a 0.93 WHIP. He fits into the “reliever” category because just eight of his 19 appearances were starts. However, even pitching out of the ‘pen, it was almost always in a long-relief role. He completed five innings in 10 of his outings. He went less than three innings only twice. Bengard isn’t a flame-thrower. His fastball tops out at 93 mph but sits 89-92 mph. He also throws both a slider and a changeup in the low-to-mid 90s. Occasionally, he will throw the breaking ball a bit slower, in the upper-70s. ETA: May 2017 Left-Handed Relief Pitcher: Samuel Perez (24) - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: signed as free agent (6/3/21) from Venezuela 2024 Stats: 2-1, 3 Saves, 2.49 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 10.2 K/9 Originally signed by the Angels in 2017 from Venezuela, he came to the Twins organization during the 2021 season. He was the Twins Daily short-season pitcher of the year that year. And he has spent a lot of time with the Mighty Mussels since then. He was briefly in Cedar Rapids in 2022. He pitched 35 times this season for the Mussels and ended the year with five games for the Kernels. Perez is unique in the game, and maybe it helps him find success. The lefty’s “fastball” tops out at about 86-87 mph. He’s also got a changeup and a curveball that comes in about 10 mph slower and keeps hitters off balance. ETA: May 2029 Relief Pitcher: Kyle Bischoff (25) - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: signed as undrafted free agent (May 30, 2023) 2024 Stats: 5-2, 6 Saves, 3.23 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, 11.4 K/9 Bischoff certainly has an interesting back story. In 2018, he started at the University of Toledo where he pitched for four seasons. Given an extra season, he pitched for Michigan State in 2022. He went undrafted and went to the United Shores Baseball League where he pitched for Westside in 2022. He made two USBL appearances in 2023 before he signed a minor-league free agent contract with the Twins. He spent that summer in the FCL. In 2024, Bischoff rose all the way from the cornfields of Iowa to one call away from the big leagues in St. Paul. He pitched in 28 games with the Kernels, 14 games at Double-A Wichita and ended the season with three games with the Saints. The 6'2", 210 pound righty put up stronger numbers in Wichita than Cedar Rapids and held his own in St. Paul. Bischoff is primarily a two-pitch pitcher. He throws a two-seam fastball that sits 94-96 mph. He also throws a cutter at 87 to 90 mph. He’s got good velocity and a pitch that moves each horizontal direction. That can make it difficult for a batter to guess. ETA: August 2025 Relief Pitcher: Nolan Santos (23) - Ft. Myers Miracle, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 7th round draft pick in 2023 out of Bethune-Cookman University 2024 Stats: 4-5, 11 Saves, 2.93 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 3.5 BB/9, 10.6 K/9 A Florida native, Santos headed to Bethune-Cookman University in Daytona Beach after a season at Miami Dade College. In 2022, he had 113 strikeouts and 33 walks in 90 1/3 innings. In 2023, he had 138 strikeouts and 35 walks in 97 1/3 innings. The Twins drafted him in the seventh round and then pitched five games and 6 1/3 innings between the FCL and Fort Myers. He pitched in 29 games for the Mussels this season before ending the season with 14 games in Cedar Rapids. In 67 2/3 combined innings, he had 80 strikeouts with 26 walks. To this point, he keeps the pitches down and the ball in the ballpark. Santos isn’t a flamethrower, but he is a true pitcher. He leads with his four-seam fastball which comes in between 89 and 93 mph. He also breaks bats and misses barrels with a mid-80s cutter. And then he throws a slow curveball, like low-70s curveball. ETA: May 2027 So there you have it. The first annual Twins Daily Minor League All Star team. Who would get your vote? Below are the votes/selections of our Twins Daily Minor League writers: Previous Twins Daily Minor League All Stars Looking Back: 2016 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars RH SP: Fernando Romero, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: Trevor Hildenberger, LH RP: Michael Theofanopoulos. Looking Back: 2017 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars RH SP: Clark Beeker, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: John Curtiss, LH RP: Andrew Vasquez. Looking Back: 2018 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars RH SP: Tyler Wells, LH SP: Stephen Gonsalves, RH RP: Cody Stashak, LH RP: Andrew Vasquez. Looking Back: 2019 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars RH SP: Randy Dobnak, LH SP: Devin Smeltzer, RH RP: Moises Gomez, LH RP: Zach Neff Looking Back: 2021 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars SP (4): Louie Varland, Josh Winder, Cole Sands, Jordan Balazovic, RH RP: Jordan Gore, LH RP: Jovani Moran. Looking Back: 2022 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars SP (4): Louie Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson, David Festa, Brent Headrick, RH RP: Cody Laweryson, LH RP: Evan Sisk. Looking Back: 2023 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars SP (4): Cory Lewis, Pierson Ohl, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, C.J. Culpepper, RH RP: Miguel Rodriguez, LH RP: Kody Funderburk, RP: Regi Grace, John Stankiewicz. View full article

News broke moments ago that the Twins will not be bringing back Thad Levine, the organization's general manager for the past eight years. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports Days after announcing several changes to their coaching staff, the Twins announced on Friday morning that the team's Senior Vice President and General Manager Thad Levine will not return. According to Levine (via press release), "The time is right for me to pursue my next enriching, professional challenge." I will forever cherish the friendships that I have made in the Minnesota Twins organization and throughout Twins Territory." Levine was hired as general manager in November of 2016 by Derek Falvey who had been hired about a month earlier. He had spent the previous 11 seasons as an Assistant GM with the Texas Rangers. Before that, he spent six years as senior director of Baseball Operations with the Colorado Rockies. He also spent a year in the Dodgers Business Development group. Prior to a life in baseball, he worked in marketing for companies such as Coca-Cola, the Rockport Company and Reebok. The press release notes that he will "pursue new challenges and opportunities, both inside and outside of baseball." Falvey noted, "Thad's impact on the Minnesota Twins cannot be overstated. He has been a true partner and leader, always striving to elevate the organization and care for people around him. That helped create a strong team culture, one focused on excellence and collaboration. We are equally excited to see the next chapter of his journey unfold, and we wish him nothing but success in his future endeavors." There was no announcement on who might become the next Twins General Manager. Certainly a search will take place, though there are several very strong candidates from within. Jeremy Zoll and Daniel Adler are both Assistant GMs at this time. Adler leads the Twins efforts regarding arbitration, international scouting and baseball R&D. Zoll works with Dr. Chris Camp, the team's physician, to oversee the organization's performance team and continues to work in developing initiatives in the minor leagues. Kevin Goldstein has spent three years in the organization and is currently the VP of International Scouting and Special Advisor to Baseball Operations. Often a GM can come through the scouting ranks. Maybe VP of Amateur Scouting, Sean Johnson, would be considered. Brad Steil has held a number of roles over his 25 years in the organization. He is currently the Twins Direction of Professional Player Procurement. There are likely several others within the organization who could fulfill the role, and Falvey may have some ideas from other organizations. Since Falvey and Levine (lovingly referred to as Falvine by many), the Twins have spent seemingly up to and even slightly beyond their payrolls. They are responsible for handing out nine-digit contracts to Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton. They also outbid teams for Josh Donaldson. They had a few good trades (Donaldson to the Yankees, and Arraez to the Marlins for Pablo Lopez). They had several bad trades, as every organization does. Levine was also part of the Twins ending their long playoff losing streak. So, as frustrating as the final six weeks of the 2024 season was for the Twins and their fans. On a different level, Levine was enjoyable to listen to in the rare times he spoke publicly. He has a tremendous sense of humor and the vocabulary to impress. So, what do you think, Twins fans? Is this a good transition move for the Twins? How do you see it playing out? View full article

probably because they're both shorter than 5-8.

I don't know which ones you'd be referring to as "do not seem to be major league talent." Larnach, Wallner, Lewis, Miranda, Jeffers, SWR, Duran all seem to be MLB talent. Julien and Kirilloff have more question marks now, but both have shown MLB talent. Sometimes it takes a little longer, a new role, and some ups and downs, like Sands and Jax. And I think that both Zebby Matthews and David Festa have shown MLB talent, but like others, they'll need to keep improving. Again, this isn't a list to show future major-league success. It's not a prospect ranking. It's just kind of honoring players on a great season.

The Twins major-league season came to an abrupt end last weekend, and we’ve had to watch the Royals and Tigers not only pass them, but move past the Wild Card series to the Division Series. A week earlier, the minor-league season came to an end. Over the past week, we have handed out our year-end awards, and over the course of today and tomorrow, we will announce our 2024 Twins Minor League All Stars. Twins Daily’s minor-league writers voted for the awards and for an all-star team of Twins prospects. This isn’t a Top Prospect ranking or list, but just which players in the Twins system had the best seasons. We’ll vote for Twins top prospects again here soon. Each writer chose a catcher, first baseman, second baseman, third baseman, shortstop, three outfielders, a DH and a Utility player. Tomorrow, we’ll finalize the All Star team with the pitchers. Before we get to the All Stars, here are our 2024 Twins Daily Award winners (and links to the articles to see who else received votes). Short-Season Hitter of the Year: Eduardo Beltre Short-Season Pitcher of the Year: Melvin Rodriguez Minor League Hitter of the Year: Luke Keaschall Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year: Zebby Matthews Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year: Spencer Bengard Read through our choices for each position. And then discuss and cast your votes as well. Let’s get started. Catcher: Ricardo Olivar (23) - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge. Acquired: International signing out of the Dominican Republic on July 2, 2019 2024 Stats: .275/.381/.441 (.823) with 19 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, and 51 RBI Signed in 2019, Olivar didn’t debut until the 2021 season. He posted a 1.046 OPS with 20 extra base hits in 40 games. He really broke out in 2023 with the Mighty Mussels. In 100 games, he hit .285/.403/.452 (.855) with 28 doubles and 10 homers. Behind the plate, he’s got work to do, but he’s a good athlete with a strong arm. He still spends time in the outfield, and makes the plays that he gets to, but his future is likely behind the plate. It is his bat that will get him noticed, and likely placed on the Twins 40-man roster this offseason. In 81 games with Cedar Rapids, he hit .287/.393/.473 (.867) with 17 doubles and 11 homers. He earned a late-season promotion to Double-A Wichita. That’s where he’ll start the 2025 season. ETA - June 2026 First Base: Yunior Severino (25) - St. Paul Saints Acquired: International signing out of the Dominican Republic on December 8, 2017 2024 Stats: .254/.342/.434 (.775) with 21 doubles, two triples, 21 home runs and 79 RBI After leading all of minor-league baseball with 35 home runs last year, Severino was added to the Twins’ 40-man roster last offseason. He struggled very early in the 2024 season at the plate. Through April, he was hitting just .134 (.556) with 30 strikeouts in 98 plate appearances. He had improvements in May (.221, .717), but in June, he hit .425/.544/.688 (1.231) with six homers. He even had 21 walks to go with 19 strikeouts. He hit .288 in July before slowing down as the season came to an end. By season’s end, he set the Saints’ franchise record with 21 home runs, and he had 79 RBI which would have been a franchise record if not for a teammate. Will he remain on the 40-man roster? Under what scenario would he be promoted? ETA - May 2025 Second Base: Luke Keaschall (22) - Cedar Rapids Kernels, Wichita Wind Surge. Acquired: Twins 2nd round pick in 2023 out of Arizona State University. 2024 Stats: .303/.420/.483 (.903) with 21 doubles, 1 triple, 15 home runs and 48 RBI. Hard to believe that Keaschall put up the offensive numbers that he did, and played as much defense as he did, knowing that at some point late in the season, it was likely he would need Tommy John surgery on his right elbow. Batting leadoff for the Kernels, he began the season by going 1-for-11 with a walk. And then he started crushing baseballs and didn’t stop until his season came to an end. In 41 more games with the Kernels, he hit .354/.476/.578 (1.054) with 12 doubles and seven home runs. He also had 29 walks to just 24 strikeouts. He was hit by seven pitches, and went 14-for-14 on stolen base attempts. In late May, he was promoted to Double-A. In his first 18 Wind Surge games, he hit .353 (.959) with six doubles, a triple and a home run. He represented the Twins in the Futures Game and upon his return, he only played first base and DH. He played for the Surge on August 8th and then went on the Injured List. It was quickly announced that he would have Tommy John surgery with the goal of being ready for spring training or opening day or 2025. ETA: April 2026 Third Base: Rubel Cespedes (24) - Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: International signing out of the Dominican Republic on April 29, 2019 2024 Stats: .282/.346/.431 (.777) with 22 doubles, two triples, 12 home runs and 72 RBI. Cespedes had a nice breakout in 2023, showing some power in Fort Myers. He saw a lot of time with the Twins big-league club in spring training. In his first home game of the season, he went 3-for-4 with a double and a homer. The next night, he was 4-for-5 with a home run and seven RBI. He had two more multi-hit games in that series on his way to a Twins Daily Hitter of the Month award for April. He ended the first month hitting .373/.447/.657 (1.104) with seven doubles, four homers and 22 RBI. Over the rest of the season, he hit .265 (.714) with 15 doubles, eight homers and 50 RBI. He struck out just over 20% of his plate appearances, down one-percent from the previous year. A left-handed hitter, lefty-righty splits were interesting this season. His batting average is .007 apart (.284 vs RHP, .277 vs LHP). His on-base percentage was also close (.343 vs RHP, .354 vs LHP). It’s the power, the slugging percentage, where the splits make a difference (.461 vs RHP, .348 vs LHP). His power numbers come primarily off of the traditional splits. Cespedes primarily played third base where he has a very strong arm. He also played some second base and a bit at first base too. ETA: April 2020 Shortstop: Brandon Winokur (19) - Fort Myers Miracle Acquired: Twins 3rd round draft pick in 2023 out of high school in California 2024 Stats: .249/.327/.434 (.761) with 19 doubles, three triples, 14 homers and 54 RBI Winokur is one of the best athletes in the organization. At 6-6, he may have people thinking about Dave Winfield comps, but hey, he’s 19, let’s give him a little time. While none of the specific numbers jump off of your screen, the body of work is impressive nonetheless. Consider, nearly 97% of his plate appearances came against pitchers older than him. Consider that he played a solid shortstop (61 games) but also played in center field (20 games), third base (10 games) and had two games in right field. Winokur is long and lanky, but he’s got good speed. He was 23-for-29 in stolen base attempts this season. And despite his youth, he showed a bit of power too, especially for a young hitter in the traditionally pitcher-friendly Florida State League. He had a three-homer game late in the season. Overall, Winokur more than held his own in his first full season as a pro, and with his athleticism, he has a chance to really take off at some point. ETA: June 2027 Outfielder: Emmanuel Rodriguez (21) - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: International signing out of the Dominican Republic on July 2, 2019 2024 Stats: .280/.459/.567 (1.026) with 14 doubles, two triples, nine home runs and 27 RBI. Rodriguez made this list despite playing in just 44 non-rehab games this season. He was added to the Twins 40-man roster a year ago and made the jump to Double-A Wichita. In his 37 games there, he showed why he is a Top 30 prospect in all of baseball. He hit .298/.479/.621 (1.100) with 12 doubles and eight home runs. He was also 9-for-12 in stolen base attempts. However, it was on a steal attempt that he jammed his thumb and wrist and had to miss significant time. Twice he tried to come back and within a game or two went back on the IL. Late in the season, he came back but was promoted to the Saints. He played just seven more games before re-injuring the wrist. However, even within that time, he showed off his talent. The exciting play was his inside-the-park grand slam. Even in the shortened season, we continued to see E-Rod being E-Rod. Hit for a decent average. Take a TON of walks and get on base often. Immense power potential. Great speed and really solid defense. Hopefully the offseason will provide rest and healing so that he can play a full season in 2025. If he does, it’s very likely we see him at Target Field. ETA: June 2025 Outfielder: DaShawn Keirsey (27) - St. Paul Saints Acquired: Twins 4th round draft pick in 2018 out of Utah 2024 MILB Stats: .300/.368/.476 (.845) with 22 doubles, seven triples, 14 homers and 81 RBI. 2024 MLB Stats: .154/.214/.385 (.599) with one home run and one RBI. Keirsey is a tremendous athlete and arguably the fastest player in the organization. Early in his career, he struggled to get on the field. He played in 36 games in 2019, there was no season in 2020, and he played in 45 games in 2021. However, since then, he has been able to stay on the field, and with that opportunity, he has performed. He was a Twins Daily All Star in 2023 and ended the season with 39 games in St. Paul. That’s where he spent the 2024 season and had a tremendous season. He hit for average. He set Saints franchise records with 133 hits and 81 RBI. He stole 36 bases. He turned 27 in the season, and in September, he was called up to the big leagues and made his MLB debut. He was up for about 10 days, ended his season with the Saints, and then was called up to the Twins for their final two games. In the final game, he crushed his first MLB home run. Defensively, Keirsey is as good as any center fielder in the organization. He has tremendous range and a strong, accurate arm. Keirsey can play all three outfield positions, play great defense, and while he hits better against right-handers (.859 OPS), he more than held his own against southpaws too (.793 OPS). He can be a fourth outfielder in the big leagues today, given the opportunity, and a team could feel comfortable playing him every day for an extended period of time if needed. ETA: September 2024 Outfielder - Walker Jenkins (19) - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels Acquired: Twins 1st round draft pick in 2023 out of High School in North Carolina. 2024 Stats: .282/.394/.439 (.833) with 22 doubles, four triples, six home runs and 58 RBI. The Twins top pick in the 2023 draft finds himself as a Top 5 prospect in all of baseball still despite missing significant time. He started the season with Fort Myers. He batted in the top of the first inning. He went out to center field. On a deep fly ball, Jenkins ran back to the wall, jumped and was unable to bring back a home run. He came out of the game and didn’t return to game action until late May when he began a rehab stint in the FCL. He was there for about two weeks before rejoining the Mussels. In his first 10 games back, he hit just .200 (.583). However, even in that time, he had more walks than strikeouts. Over 22 more games, he hit .306/.439/.482 (.922) with four doubles and three homers. He also walked 21 times with just 11 strikeouts. He moved up to Cedar Rapids for the final six weeks of their season. In 34 games, he hit .290/.382/.481 (.863) with 12 doubles, two triples and three home runs. Wichita still had one week remaining on their schedule. In six games, he went 4-for-25 with a double. That’s the season. The scouting report remains the same and just as exciting. Jenkins is big and strong with a ton of power potential, but he’s also got great speed. He’s got a strong approach at the plate, knows the strike zone, and makes solid contact by using the whole field. A look at his swing and approach reminded many of us of a young Joe Mauer. That’s something to dream about! ETA: August 2026 Designated Hitter: Carson McCusker (26) - Wichita Wind Surge, St. Paul Saints Acquired: signed as undrafted free agent (June 29, 2023) 2024 Stats: .282/.353/.488 (.841) with 30 doubles, four triples, 19 home runs and 75 RBI In 2017, the Brewers drafted McCusker out of high school in California. He didn’t sign and spent the next four years playing at Oklahoma State. He spent 2021, 2022, and 37 games in 2023 playing for Tri-City in the independent Frontier League. At that time, he signed with the Twins. He played 25 games in Fort Myers before ending that 2023 season with 21 games in Cedar Rapids. He hit seven home runs for both teams. So this season, he was pushed up to Wichita. In 98 games, he hit .281/.357/.489 (.846) with 26 doubles and 15 homers. He finished with 24 games in St. Paul where he hit .286/.337/.484 (.820) with four doubles and four homers. At 6-8 and 250 pounds, McCusker is big and strong, but he’s got some sneaky speed and can handle left field adequately. When it comes to power, McCusker has as much as anyone in the organization. Drafted by the Brewers, he is reminiscent of former slugger Richie Sexson. And yes, that comes with the strikeouts. In his 50 games in 2023, he struck out 36.8% of his plate appearance. In his 98 games for Wichita this season, he struck out 27.9% of the time. In his 24 Saints games, he struck out 33.7% of the time. Players (and people) develop at their own pace and in their own time. McCusker is already 26, but he seems to be finding himself and coming into his own. He’s put himself into the range of “potential call up.” ETA: July 2025 Utility Player: Payton Eeles (24) - Fort Myers Mighty Mussels, Cedar Rapids Kernels, St. Paul Saints Acquired: signed as undrafted free agent (May 7, 2024) 2024 Stats: .307/.435/.497 (.932) with 19 doubles, eight triples, 12 home runs and 60 RBI Most years, the McCusker Story would be top of mind for story of the year. However, Payton Eeles came to the organization this year and did incredible things on the season. Let’s very quickly look at the timeline and his story. Born in Scottsdale, Arizona, Eeles grew up in Acworth, Georgia, and went to high school in nearby Allatoona (NW of Atlanta) where he starred on the diamond and the gridiron. He headed north to Ohio where he attended Division II Cedarville University. The 5-5 middle infielder was one of the best Division II players. With the ability to play a fifth college season, he transferred to Division I Coastal Carolina. In 63 games, he hit .374/.500/.492 (.992) with 17 doubles and four homers. He also had 42 stolen bases. Whether it is about his size or the level he played at in college, Eeles went undrafted again. He spent the summer of 2023 with independent Chicago. He began this season with independent Southern Maryland of the Atlantic. League. After six games, the Twins called upon him, needing some help and depth in Fort Myers, given no signing bonus and no promises. Just an opportunity. In 34 games with Fort Myers, he hit .331/.448/.517 (.965). He moved up to Cedar Rapids for 13 games in which he hit .275/.473/.425 (.898). At that time, the Saints needed bodies due to call ups and injuries, so Eeles jumped over Double-A to join St. Paul. Instead of being a short-timer there, he performed at a very high level and ended up in the top of their lineup a lot later in the season. In 64 games, he hit .299/.419/.500 (.919). Combined, he had 19 doubles, eight triples and 12 home runs. He had 67 walks to 68 strikeouts. He also had 41 stolen bases in 51 attempts on the year. While he mostly played in the middle infield, he also got time at third base and all three outfield spots. Anything to keep his name in the lineup and make his value to the organization. As the season ended, he was added to the MLB Pipeline Top 30 Twins prospect rankings. ETA: June 2025. What do you think about this team? A lot of talent, and a lot of solid performances. We'll be back tomorrow with the pitchers. Previous Twins Daily Minor League All Stars Looking Back: 2016 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Mitch Garver, 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Luis Arraez, 3B: Nelson Molina, SS: Nick Gordon, OF: LaMonte Wade, Zack Granite, Daniel Palka, DH: Adam Brett Walker. Looking Back: 2017 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Mitch Garver, 1B: Jonathan Rodriguez, 2B: Travis Blankenhorn, 3B: TJ White, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF: LaMonte Wade, Zack Granite, Akil Baddoo, DH: Brent Rooker. Looking Back: 2018 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Taylor Grzelakowski, 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Luis Arraez, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Royce Lewis, OF: Alex Kirilloff, Jaylin Davis, Akil Baddoo, DH: Brent Rooker. Looking Back: 2019 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Ryan Jeffers, 1B: Zander Wiel, 2B: Travis Blankenhorn, 3B: Spencer Steer, SS: Nick Gordon, OF: Trevor Larnach, Jaylin Davis, Brent Rooker, DH: Gabe Snyder. Looking Back: 2021 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Jeferson Morales, 1B: Alex Isola, 2B: Spencer Steer, 3B: Jose Miranda, SS: Drew Maggi, OF: Trey Cabbage, BJ Boyd, Mark Contreras, DH: Edouard Julien, UT: Michael Helman. Looking Back: 2022 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Noah Cardenas, 1B: Chris Williams, 2B: Edouard Julien, 3B: Yunior Severino, SS: Jermaine Palacios, OF: Anthony Prato, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Matt Wallner, DH: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, UT: Michael Helman. Looking Back: 2023 Twins Daily Minor League All Stars C: Andrew Cossetti, 1B: Chris Williams, 2B: Anthony Prato, 3B: Yunior Severino, SS: Brooks Lee, OF: Emmanuel Rodriguez, DaShawn Keirsey, Andrew Stevenson, DH: Kala’i Rosario, UT: Jorel Ortega. View full article

I don't think that's necessarily true. And him being dropped isn't necessarily an indication of his ability to coach. The reality is that he was the #3 hitting coach. Who knows if they'll even keep 3 hitting coaches. It's also possible that because he's young and inexperienced, they may think he needs more time, or that currently he isn't reaching some of the veterans. That doesn't mean he can't coach or isn't capable of reaching younger players. I don't know Shomon, and I don't know if he's a good coach or not. I know he came to the Twins out of the indy leagues and didnt' spend much time coaching in the minors before being named the #3.

I'd have to say Yes.... I don't have a real memory of 1984, so since then, I think 2011 was previously the most disappointing. I just kept thinking that at some point "reality" would set in and the team would start playing better, and it never happened. More injuries and it just got worse. Uggh! It's just hard to know how much to say expectations are altered by injury or other facts. In 1992, they had a better regular season record than 1991, so I don't see that as disappointing at all. And, 2001, I don't think the expectations were there. They were such a surprise in the first half that I think most assumed there would be a return the center.

Looks like the Hayes article has been updated to note that Derek Shoman won't return to the MLB staff. I assume he'll be reassigned to the minor leagues somewhere.

This weekend, the Twins will welcome the Baltimore Orioles to Target Field for the final series of the regular season. As disappointing as the past six weeks have been, there are several reasons to head to the ballpark for some Twins games this weekend. Maybe especially on Friday night. Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports After such a major collapse, and a series loss to the Marlins at home, and arguably the worst loss of the season on Thursday night, I’m trying hard to think of reasons to get to the ballpark this weekend. The biggest reason, in my opinion, is because you won’t be able to watch the Twins again until spring training. That’s four-and-a-half months away. However, I have not been able to stop thinking that Friday night could be the last Pablo Day with the Twins. Am I overthinking this, or is this a realistic concern? Let’s go back and just remember Pablo Lopez’s time with the Twins. It started in January of 2023 when the Twins traded the popular Luis Arraez to the Marlins in exchange for Lopez (along with minor leaguers Jose Salas and Byron Chourio). Acquiring a potential top of the rotation starting pitcher was just what the Twins needed. Lopez got off to a strong start for the Twins and soon after the season started, he agreed to a four-year, $73 million contract extension to remain with the Twins through the 2027 season. Without that deal, he would be a free agent at the end of this season's World Series. Lopez made his first All Star game in 2023. He made 32 starts for the Twins and tossed 194 innings. He went 11-8 with a 3.66 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP. He had 234 strikeouts which was 10.9 K/9, some of the biggest strikeout numbers since Johan Santana. After the regular season, he etched his name in Twins lore by ending their 0-for-18 playoff game losing streak, two decades in the making. Before Game 1 of the Wild Card series against the Toronto Blue Jays, Lopez walked into Target Field wearing a Johan Santana jersey, a tribute of sorts to the Twins Hall of Famer. More important, he tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball on his way to the Win. Sonny Gray was strong in Game 2 and the Twins won their first series in more than 20 years. Twins fans were excited about the series win, and excited to have a true ace in Lopez. But that took one further step when he threw seven shutout innings in Game 2 against the Houston Astros in the ALDS, improving to 2-0 in the playoffs. Then the two generations came together. Before Game 3 against the Astros, Johan Santana was set to throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Joe Mauer. The Twins asked Lopez to bring out the first-pitch ball and present it to Santana, his childhood hero. Before Lopez got to the mound, Santana stopped him, pulled off his jacket, and showed that he was wearing a Lopez jersey under it. That’s as far as it went for the Twins as they fell in four games to the Astros. Early this season, the Twins and Lopez began Pablo Day. Every time Lopez makes a start at Target Field. Proceeds are spread between three local non-profits. They are Children’s Minnesota, Ruff Start Rescue, and Project Success. He is active with the University of Minnesota’s Children’s hospital and often visits patients facing childhood cancer. In other words, he has ingrained himself and given a lot back to the community. That’s why he is the Twins 2024 Roberto Clemente Award nominee. Lopez hasn’t been quite as good in 2024 as he was last year, but he still had a really solid season. Coming into Friday night’s game, he is 15-9 with a 4.11 ERA (3.63 FIP) in 31 starts. In 179 2/3 innings, he has 190 strikeouts to just 38 walks. Last offseason, Twins fandom was at a high it hadn’t felt since probably 2002. It’s possible that the excitement level among Twins fans hadn’t been as high since 1991. The playoff losing streak was over. Pablo Lopez would be the anchor of the pitching staff, Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran were stalwarts in the bullpen. They have two $100 million players, and they have several high-ceiling young players (Royce Lewis, Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner) who were incredible down the stretch for the Twins. Larnach, Jeffers, Varland, Ryan, and Ober were continuing to show improvement. And Brooks Lee was looking ready. Spring Training. A time for excitement and belief. The grass is green and hope springs eternal. Except there was a cloud over everything. We heard that the Twins were hoping to cut $30 million in payroll from last year, but we kept wanting to believe that all it would take is Blake Snell being able to take a Correa-like deal and the Twins could jump on it. No. They didn’t. And then came the Joe Pohlad interview with WCCO in which he insisted that they weren’t spending any more. “Right-sizing” is the term he used. They were not going to be adding Snell, or Bellinger, or really anyone else. The trade deadline illustrated that the Twins were not going to spend. That’s how you end up with Trevor Richards. And, the lone options at the point in bringing in more players was via waiver claims. That’s how you end up with Cole Irvin. And now as this frustrating season is coming to an end, we are already hearing that payroll will be about what it was last year, maybe even a little less. There are questions around their TV contract again. I believe radio rights are up for grabs again. The team went from being one of the top teams in baseball from mid-April until mid-August, but the complete collapse down the stretch meant that attendance stayed down all year. A little thinking tells us that means that revenues will end up being lower, and that will potentially tell ownership that payroll should maybe come down again. So it is going to be a very interesting offseason. Sure, Max Kepler and his $10 million 2024 contract will come off the budget. Carlos Santana, Manuel Margot, and Kyle Farmer might mean another $15-16 million off the books. But then we start going the other way. Alex Kirilloff ($1.7M), Willi Castro ($5M), Ryan Jeffers ($5M), Jorge Alcala ($1.8M), Justin Topa ($1.6M), and Michael Tonkin will all be arbitration-eligible again. Certainly Castro, Jeffers, and Alcala are due for decent raises. In addition, Joe Ryan ($3M), Brock Stewart ($1M), Griffin Jax ($2.5M), Jhoan Duran ($2.75M), Bailey Ober ($3M), and Trevor Larnach ($2.25M) will be first-time arbitration-eligible players. And, Royce Lewis ($3.2M) is likely to be a Super-2 arbitration case this offseason. Jose Miranda will be close, but I would guess he’ll fall just short of Super-2 eligibility. By my very rough calculations, the Twins will likely offer 2025 contracts to 11 of these players and their increase from nearly-league minimum to Year 1 arbitration and the other arbitration eligibles will be about $20 million. In other words, losing Kepler, Santana and Margot from the books will basically be offset by these arbitration increases. Which brings me back to reasons for going to Target Field on Friday night? Is it possible that it will mark the final Twins start of Pablo Lopez’s career? I want to say No. I want to think that Lopez is a building block that they would want to keep around for a number of reasons. However, after making $8 million in 2024. Lopez is scheduled to receive $21.5 million each of the next three seasons. That’s a $13.5 million increase in salary. Can the Twins afford to keep Lopez with his contract while maintaining the same payroll? What about a small decrease to the payroll? The Twins front office has their work cut out for them this offseason. It should be interesting to see what the plan might be and if Lopez fits into that plan. But for Friday night, the Twins have not been officially eliminated, and they are sending their best pitcher to the mound against the Orioles. Don’t spread the word, but depending on where the Twins set their 2025 payroll and what their offseason needs are, it’s very possible that Pablo Lopez will be making his final start in a Twins uniform on Friday night. But let’s hope not. View full article

The Twins needed to win. Instead, they lost a home series to the 100-loss Miami Marlins. Their playoff hopes are hanging by the thinnest of threads. Image courtesy of Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: David Festa - 4.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K (72 pitches, 53 strikes (73.6% strikes)) Home Runs: Carlos Correa (14) . Top 3 WPA: Brooks Lee (0.566), Jorge Alcala (0.310), Jhoan Duran (0.165) Bottom 3 WPA: Ryan Jeffers (-0.468), Royce Lewis (-0.425), Justin Topa (-0.252) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins Certainly Knew the Assignment The Marlins and Twins played a night game in their series finale at Target Field. Earlier in the day, they watched the Tigers come from behind to beat the Rays, and they saw the Royals score three runs in the top of the ninth to beat the Nationals. If the Twins won, they kept those team’s magic numbers at two with three games to play. If the Twins lost, they needed to win all three of their games against the Orioles this weekend and either Kansas City or Detroit to be swept. Festa, or Famine In such a big game, the Twins again turned to one of their rookie starters. For the third time in this series, the Twins fall behind in the top of the first frame. But David Festa worked out of that first inning giving up just one run. He then settled in and was very good in the second and third innings. Then after one out in the top of the fifth inning, Xavier Edwards went with a pitch and singled to left to score a run. Then Jake Burger added an RBI single. Caleb Thielbar came in for three batters and then Michael Tonkin came on to get the final out. But the Marlins held a 4-0 lead. It's clear Festa's goal was to throw more strikes. He threw 73% strikes in this game. He gave up one walk and had five strikeouts. No Offense, but… The Marlins threw soft-tossing Valente Bellozo to start the game, and he baffled Twins hitters through five innings. He may have topped out at 88 mph, but he kept hitters off balance. Until the bottom of the sixth inning when Carlos Correa was very balanced and crushed a long home run. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== All Hands on Deck We include the bullpen update every day in these game recaps. The purpose is to show fans and readers which pitchers might be available for the next game. Or, more important, who really should not be pitching that day. With that in mind, the Twins are in a must-win situation which means Griffin Jax in the seventh inning. It means Jhoan Duran for the eighth and the ninth innings. It means, despite a bum knee, Cole Sands is called on for the 10th inning. Unfortunately, some bad offensive baseball meant that pretty much the whole bullpen was needed again. Buxton’s Speed Gives Twins a Second Run Buxton hit a long homer run on Wednesday night. On Thursday, it was his speed that really helped the Twins. With two outs and two runners on base, Buxton hit a standard ground ball to shortstop. Xavier Edwards’ throw to first was strong, but the first baseman had to come off the base to make the catch. (though it took a review to prove it) Biggest Hit of His Life With Royce Lewis on third and Carlos Santana on first base and two outs, Brooks Lee came to the plate. It’s no secret Lee has struggled somewhat offensively since he rejoined the Twins after a IL stint. He got a pitch to his liking and went down and got it. He barreled it and crushed a line drive high off the wall in right field. It bounced hard and allowed Santana to score all the way from first to tie the game. The players were happy and rejoiced. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== The 10th Inning In the top of the 10th inning, Cole Sands entered the game. Griffin Conine entered the game as the Manfred Man at second base. A leadoff single pushed Conine to third, and Jonah Bride drove him in with a deep center field fly out. Sands struck out the next two batters, but the Twins had some work to do. In the bottom of the inning, Royce Lewis started the inning at second base. Michael Peterson came in for the Marlins. He tried to keep the Twins season alive. Carlos Santana led off with a walk. Brooks Lee followed by showing bunt for four pitches, but all four were balls. So, the Twins had the bases loaded with nobody out. Ryan Jeffers popped up to the catcher. But Willi Castro came up and lined a deep fly ball to dead center. Derek Hill, playing shallow due to the situation, had to go a long ways, straight back. He was able to twist and turn and somehow catch the fly ball. Royce Lewis scored the tying run from third base, and Santana and Lee each advanced a base. With two outs, Austin Martin got jammed and grounded out to third base. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Onto … The 11th Inning Jorge Alcala came in for the Twins. Derek Hill was the Manfred Man at second base. Alcala got a fly out to right field, short enough that Hill was unable to advance. Johnny Pereda, the backup catcher, making his first at-bat of the game, grounded out to shortstop. Hill remained at second base. A two-out walk to Xavier Edwards brought Brooklyn Park-born Connor Norby to the plate. Austin Martin started on second. Anthony Maldonado came on for the Marlins. Byron Buxton led off with a fly out to center. For the second time in the late innings, Carlos Correa was intentionally walked. Trevor Larnach came up and lined a low single to right, just past a diving first baseman. Not wanting to be doubled up, Martin was held at third base. With the bases loaded and one out, Royce Lewis came to the plate for the second time with a chance to win it. The first time, he hit a ball 18 inches. This time, on a 1-2 pitch, he grounded right to the fifth infielder who threw home to get Martin for the second out. Carlos Santana then flew out to center… Frustrating! Some bad baseball! 12th Inning… Scott Blewett came on to start the 12th inning with Norby on second base. Blewett struck out Griffin Conine to start the inning, but Jesus Sanchez lined a single to right. Inexplicably Norby froze and only got to third base. Blewett won a tough battle with Jonah Bride to strike him out, but Sanchez stole second. Willi Castro made a nice play on a slow roller to third base off the bat of Dane Myers to get the third out. While Scott Blewett didn’t blow it, check out the Twins bottom of the 12th. With Carlos Santana on second base, the Marlins intentionally walked Brooks Lee. Ryan Jeffers was asked to bunt, something he has been quite successful with in the past. Unfortunately this time, he popped the bunt to first base, maybe even lined out to first base it was hit so hard. That’s not the worst part. For whatever reason (obviously wanting to get to third base successfully on a good bunt), Santana got way too far off of second base and was doubled out. Two pitches later, Castro grounded out to end the inning. data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Entertaining... or? That’s just bad baseball. 13th Inning… Blewett remained in the game. Myers was the runner at second base. The inning started with a strikeout, but Otto Lopez followed with a double, switching places with Myers and giving the Marlins a 6-5 lead. A ground out moved Lopez to third base with two outs. The Twins intentionally walked Xavier Edwards to bring up Norby who was 0-for-6 with five strikeouts coming into the plate appearance. He walked to load the bases. Rocco Baldelli turned to Justin Topa with the bases loaded and, as Cory Provus said, "the Twins season hanging in the balance." Griffin Conine swung early in the count and came through with a huge, two-run, bloop single to center to give the Marlins the 8-5 lead. The blooper had an exit velocity of just 73 mph, and that just makes a lot of sense for the way things have gone for the Twins of late. Other Notes 2-for-19 with Runners in Scoring Position. 15 runners left on base. The Twins finished the season with an 18-28 record against the National League in this first season under the new schedule. The Twins lost their fourth straight series. That is the first time that has happened all season. The Marlins won their first series in a month. Austin Martin wasn't in the original lineup. Jose Miranda was but was removed due to low back pain. Martin went 2-for-6 with a double. Carlos Correa went 3-for-5 and was twice intentionally walked. What’s Next? The Twins will hope to keep hope alive on Friday night. At 7:10, Pablo Lopez will take the mound, looking for his 16th win and even more, keeping his team alive. He will face #OldFriend, rookie lefty Cade Povich and the Baltimore Orioles. The Twins don’t have to worry about seeing the top Orioles pitcher Corbin Burnes since the O’s spot in the playoffs is set. Friday (7:10 pm): RHP Pablo Lopez (15-9, 4.11 ERA) vs LHP Cade Povich (2-9, 5.59) Saturday (6:15 pm): RHP Zebby Matthews (1-3, 5.71) vs RHP Albert Suarez (8-7, 3.74) Sunday (1:10 pm): RHP Bailey Ober vs RHP Dean Kremer (8-10, 4.10) Postgame Interview Coming soon. Bullpen Availability Chart View full article

Just as a personal opinion... I WANT to see as many of the prospects keep playing. If I was a front office person, I also wouldn't want to send my top pitching prospects to the AFL... Several of them already hit 100 innings. That's enough.

Totally worth it!

We finally have the rosters for the 2024 Arizona Fall League. The Twins' group is certainly not going to excite fans too much, but we'll still write about them here and follow them starting when the season begins Oct. 7. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge / Seth Stohs (photo of Danny De Andrade) The Arizona Fall League is often touted as a great place to find prospects after the season. The season begins October 7th and will conclude on November 16th with the championship games. The Twins players will play for the Salt River Rafters, along with the prospects of the Diamondbacks, Nationals, Rockies, and Yankees. Specifically, Tyler Smarslok (Saints Defensive Coach) will be the manager of the Rafters. Smarslok (MGR, 32) joined the Twins organization for the 2020 season. He was set to be a coach in the GCL before the season was canceled. Since 2021, he has been on the Saints coaching staff with Toby Gardenhire. The defense/infield coach was a four-year starter at Kean University. He went to three Division III World Series and won a Rawlings Gold Glove. If I'm being honest, the Twins aren't sending any pitching prospects. None of the five pitchers would be near a Top 50 Twins prospect list. That doesn't mean that they aren't intriguing, especially with the way that the Twins pitcher development has helped several pitchers reach their full potential. But these names aren't going to excite fans. That's normal. Teams hardly ever send high-end hurlers to that meat grinder of a showcase circuit. As it relates to position players, they are sending three players. Two of them are Top 25 Twins prospects who missed significant time this season due to injury. Let's take a look at the players representing the Twins in the AFL. Kade Bragg (LHP, 23) Bragg was the Twins 17th round pick in 2023 out of Angelo State University in Texas. He pitched in six games for the Mighty Mussels early in the year. He had a 1.08 ERA. He gave up five hits, five walks and nine strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings. Then he went on the Injured List and missed the rest of the season. After he was drafted, he was a guy that was very intriguing due to good stuff and the fact that he went 15-1 with a 1.20 ERA at Angelo State in 2023. He had 124 strikeouts in 104 2/3 innings. Jacob King (RHP, 22) King was signed by the Twins after the 2023 college season. He spent four years at UC-Irvine, pitching solely in relief. He pitched in two games and 1 2/3 innings that season in the FCL. This year, he pitched in just one game and recorded two outs and walked three. He missed the early part of the season, pitched in that game, and then was on the IL the rest of the season. Devin Kirby (RHP, 25) Kirby signed with the Twins after the 2023 college season. He had spent two seasons at U-Conn. The Twins saw that he threw a knuckleball, encouraged him to work on it and signed him. In 2023, he pitched in three games for the FCL Twins. This season, he pitched in 11 games for the FCL Twins before ending the season with six games at Fort Myers. Combined, he went 3-1 with a 3.55 ERA over 38 innings. He walked 18 and struck out 51 batters. Jack Noble (RHP, 24) Noble signed as an undrafted free agent following the 2022 season at Long Beach State. He pitched in just two games that year in the FCL. In 2023, he pitched three times in the FCL (1.72 ERA) and 10 games (9 starts) for Fort Myers (3.38 ERA). He began the 2024 season in Cedar Rapids, but by the first weekend, he moved up to Wichita where he pitched once and gave up one run in three innings. He spent most of the season in the Fort Myers bullpen where he went 8-2 with a 4.78 ERA over 58 1/3 innings. The highlight may have been his immaculate inning. Liam Rocha (RHP, 22) Rocha signed with the Twins after his 2023 season at California Baptist where he was teammates with fellow Twins prospects C.J. Culpepper and Spencer Bengard. He pitched twice for the FCL Twins in 2023. He made 10 appearances in the FCL this season, five starts and five relief appearances. He was 2-1 with a 4.30 ERA with a 1.71 WHIP in 29 1/3 innings. Danny De Andrade (SS, 20) De Andrade is a legit prospect. The youngster signed from Venezuela in January of 2021. He had a solid debut in the DSL that season. In 2022, he came to the States and posted a .704 OPS in 48 games in the FCL. He moved up to Fort Myers in 2023 where he posted a .750 OPS in 105 games. He showed some pop with 21 doubles and 11 homers. The Twins promoted him to Cedar Rapids this year. Unfortunately, he played in just 29 games before his season came to an end with an ankle injury. De Andrade is young and has all the tools to be good, so getting him ABs will be important. Ben Ross (UT, 23) Ross was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2022 out of Division II Notre Dame College in Ohio. He played 22 games in Fort Myers to end that season. In 2023, he played in 103 games for Cedar Rapids and hit .240 with 25 doubles and 19 home runs before ending the season with 10 games in Wichita. He spent the full season this year in Wichita and played 123 games. He struggled offensively the first half of the season, but was much improved as the season went along. He ended the year with a .212 batting average and a .626 OPS. He had 18 doubles, 11 homers and also stole 20 bases. Maybe as important, he is a really good defensive player, particularly in the infield. He remained in the lineup most days despite his offensive struggles, because of his defense. Kala'i Rosario (OF, 22) Rosario played in the AFL last year. In fact, he and Aaron Sabato tied for the league lead in Home Runs, and Rosario was the winner of the Home Run contest. The Twins fifth-round pick in 2020 out of high school in Hawaii was the Midwest League MVP and led the league with 21 homers and 94 RBI in 2023. He moved up to Wichita this season. In 67 games, he hit .235/.321/.405 (.726) with 19 doubles and eight homers. He missed about three months of this season due to a fractured elbow. Fortunately, he came back late in the season and looks to be back to himself. Feel free to share your thoughts on the Twins contingent to the Arizona Fall League. We'll provide updates on them once the season gets started. View full article