Seth Stohs

Last I heard, he was about to start hitting, and that was in early September. He should be ready for 2019 spring training. And yes, non-throwing shoulder.

It's Javier's non-throwing shoulder which still is a big deal, but not quite as big of a deal as if it was his throwing shoulder.

https://usabaseballshop.com/blogs/blog/prospects-on-deck-royce-lewis In their most recent Prospects On Deck article, USA Baseball talked to Royce Lewis about his season and offseason: Just reviewing this, Lewis has played for Team USA a lot over the last 4 years.

I'm guessing that I will rank Tyler Wells significantly higher than any of the national prospect rankers... And, I would guess that I rank Alcala lower than all of the national prospect rankers will. I wouldn't make too much of Alcala's ERA during his time with the Twins at the end of the season. Dude throws 95-100 mph with the makings of secondary pitches. I personally think he'll be a reliever, and a dominant one, which is why I rank him a little lower for now. Wells had a phenomenal season, ,no doubt. But the tools aren't as highly considered as Alcala's. Fastball is more in the low 90s. That said, I like him because he does have better secondary pitches at this point. I also think that Wells can be a starting pitcher, or is more likely to be a starting pitcher, ,than Alcala. So yeah, I'll stand by the first paragraph I wrote here. To be honest, I was sure there would be far more comments about how low I rank Alcala. Many will have him in the Top 10.

I think he was in the 40s somewhere. He is another example of the strong depth in the organization. But, he was an 11th round pick this year. Would that mean that I should almost have the 8-10 players drafted ahead of him ahead of him? He got off to a great pro debut,, but I always try to temper that just a little.

Stewart's showing in the final 6+ weeks moved him from somewhere in the 30s to 19 or whatever now. Gonsalves's showing moves him from #4 to #7. Making much out of player's MLB debuts is dangerous. Nothing that happened for either was particularly surprising, so I don't feel that the rankings should be altered all that much. We know what the strengths are of each that give them a chance, and we know the areas that they need to improve. Rortvedt is probably a bit too low... I thought that too when I was making the list and the multiple times I went back and looked at it again and again. I just, for now, couldn't put him above the others ahead of him.

55 2/3 innings is over 50, so he's no longer deemed a 'prospect.' Gonsalves threw 24 2/3. Stewart threw 36 2/3 innings. If I could place Romero on this ranking,, it would probably be #4.

Greg Gagne was a plus-plus defender with range and a big arm. He just couldn't hit much. Gordon's question marks are on defense where he didn't have many errors, ,but the question marks are range and arm strength. Most believe that Gordon will be a pretty solid hitter.

I've been tweeting out their stats about weekly on Twitter. Fun to watch Arraez keep hitting!

Alex Kirilloff missed an entire season as well, ,came back just fine... He hadn't played any full-season baseball yet either. When they're that young, it's obviously all about the talent tools and upside, but Javier's tools are incredible. I would also say that I think that the difference between 4 and maybe 14 is all a matter of opinion.

I voted. Felt good to vote some red, some blue and actually think about who to vote for, or against.

Correct. It's the best place for him right now. No one is signing DH-only types at this stage, and he wouldn't come anywhere near $1.5 million in the states.

Former Twins 1B/DH Kennys Vargas has signed this morning with the Chiba Lotte Marines in Japan. https://twitter.com/SethTweets/status/1059813553052499968 I've seen reports that the deal is worth $1.5 million - $2 million. Could be $1.5 million with incentives that could make it $2 million. I'm not certain.

The offseason is officially upon us. Baseball America is starting to publish its American League Central Prospect rankings. Soon we will see how the popular site ranks the Top Ten Twins Prospects. Today, I will share some quick thoughts in my preliminary Top 30 Twins Prospects rankings.Work has begun in earnest on the 2019 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. It will be the 11th annual Twins Prospect Handbook for me, and Cody Christie and Tom Froemming will be involved in the writing, editing, formatting and overall development of the book. As we do every year, we will publish our official prospect rankings in the book along with our history of prospect rankings. But today, I am posting my preliminary Top 30 Twins Prospect ranking. It is subject to change up until the handbook comes out (likely in mid-December or very early January, so get it on your Christmas wish list!) as I do much more research and chat with more people about the 162 Twins Prospects that are currently planned to be profiled in the book. This will be a quick rundown of my Top 30 Twins prospects with minimal description of the Top 10 Twins prospects. I welcome your feedback in the comments below. What would your rankings look like? And, I’ll be happy to answer any questions that you post about any Twins minor leaguers in the comments. With that let’s get started: 1. Royce Lewis - SS - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle The 2017 #1 overall pick put together a really strong first full season of minor league ball. The shortstop showed range and a good arm. Offensively, he showed a good approach and added more power than most were expecting. His status nationally has risen and he should be a Top 10 overall prospect in the game this winter. 2. Alex Kirilloff - RF - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle In about 2/3 of the organizations in baseball, Alex Kirilloff would be the easy choice for the team’s #1 prospect. After missing the entire 2017 season, the Twins 2016 top pick put up some monster numbers in 2018 in both Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers. He will likely be a Top 10 prospect in baseball this winter too as he is one of the best hitting prospects in the game. 3. Brusdar Graterol - RH SP - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle Graterol returned from his Tommy John surgery in 2017 with big velocity. In 2018, he debuted in May with the Kernels and after a couple of months, he moved up to Ft. Myers. A triple digit fastball and a changeup and breaking ball that also could be plus pitches, and it’s understandable why Graterol is finally getting national recognition. 4. Wander Javier - SS - Did not play Javier had left shoulder surgery early in the season and missed the full year. However, he is still very young and immensely talented. He’s got good speed, size and he barrels up the ball well. He should have his breakout season in 2019. 5. Trevor Larnach - OF - Oregon State/Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels The Twins top pick in 2018, he helped lead Oregon State to a College World Series championship. He’s got big power potential and he could be a strong all-around hitter. 6. Nick Gordon - SS/2B - Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings Gordon was the Twins first-round pick in 2014 out of high school. He has quickly moved up the ladder. He certainly struggled after he was promoted to Triple A where he was very young for the level. He continues to be a strong prospect with the potential to be a long-time big leaguer. 7. Stephen Gonsalves - LH SP - Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins Gonsalves struggled in his big league debut, but he continues to be a top prospect with a big league future. He again put up strong Triple-A numbers in 2018 despite struggling with his control through most of the season. 8. Lewis Thorpe - LH SP - Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings In his first full season back from Tommy John surgery, Thorpe pitched well for Chattanooga. He regained his velocity and was able to miss a lot of bats. He pitched in the Futures Game. Late in the year, he moved up to Rochester where he continued to pitch well. 9. Brent Rooker - OF/1B - Chattanooga Lookouts Rooker continued to be pushed aggressively and spent the full season in Chattanooga. He struggled early in the year, particularly with contact, but in June and July, he crushed Southern League pitchers. He hit 32 doubles and 22 home runs. 10. Jhoan Duran - RH SP - Kane County Cougars/Cedar Rapids Kernels Duran came to the Twins from Arizona in the Eduardo Escobar trade. In his Kernels/Twins debut, he threw seven no-hit innings. He continued to pitch well. He has good size (6-5) and throws hard. He had 115 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings of Low A ball in 2018. 11. Gilberto Celestino - OF - Tri City Valleycats/Corpus Christi Hooks/Elizabethton Twins 12. Akil Baddoo - OF - Cedar Rapids Kernels 13. Blayne Enlow - RH SP - Cedar Rapids Kernels 14. Jorge Alcala - RH SP - Buies Creek Astros/Corpus Christi Hooks/Chattanooga Lookouts 15. Zack Littell - RH SP - Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins 16. LaMonte Wade - OF - Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings 17. Ryan Jeffers - C - UNC-Wilmington/Elizabethton Twins/Cedar Rapids Kernels 18. Tyler Wells - RH SP - Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts 19. Jose Miranda - 2B/3B - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle 20. Kohl Stewart - RH SP - Chattanooga Lookouts/Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins 21. Travis Blankenhorn - 2B/3B - Ft. Myers Miracle 22. Yunior Severino - 2B - Elizabeththon Twins 23. Luis Arraez - 2B - Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts 24. Gabriel Maciel - OF - Kane County Cougars/Cedar Rapids Kernels 25. Luke Raley - OF/1B - Tulsa Drillers/Chattanooga Lookouts 26. Griffin Jax - RH SP - Ft. Myers Miracle 27. Edwar Colina - RH SP - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle 28. Jordan Balazovic - RH SP - Cedar Rapids Kernels 29. Ben Rortvedt - C - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle 30. Jacob Pearson - OF - Cedar Rapids Kernels The Next Ten: Lewin Diaz, Charles Mack, Chase De Jong, DaShawn Keirsey, Prelander Berroa, Andrew Bechtold, Landon Leach, Luis Rijo, Zander Wiel. There you have it... My current Top 30. Who do I have too high? Who is ranked too low? Who is missing from this list? Let's spend some time talking Twins prospects. Discuss the above, but also feel free to ask me any questions you would like. Click here to view the article

Sounds like Chris Woodward is getting the Rangers job. Hopefully that means Shelton is coming back.

So will I, for what its worth. That said, I think this could be an 80 win team, so it should be encouraging to Twins fans that any additional moves, free agent or trade, would push that win total up.

Probably not. I don't' know. Adding Michael Reed certainly changed the likelihood of Field sticking, so that was an expected move. Drake is probably just about numbers, but he showed he can pitch in the big leagues. We'll see what they do.

I would think both would be looking to find guys to help them win. Drake is 31, but he was terrific for the Twins. Field is only 26 and hit 9 home runs in limited MLB at bats last year. While I agree that both could be multi-DFA candidates in the offseason, they are guys that can help teams.

Over the next week or so, Twins Daily writers will be providing several Twins offseason blueprints. These will be a little bit different. They won’t be so much what we would do or the types of decisions that we would personally make. Instead, these blueprints will present to you several options that the Twins front office have likely considered. Over the course of this series of blueprints, you can consider which philosophy you like, you think is realistic, or some combination that just makes sense to you. The first offseason blueprint came out recently when Tom Froemming envisioned changing course with big trades. Today, I'll look at what an internally-focused rebuild, which conserves future spending flexibility, might look like. In these blueprints, we will use the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook as the basis for salaries of internal options, free agents or trade candidates. If you have not downloaded your copy, you can do so by clicking here. And as you read these, start thinking about what your Offseason Blueprint would look. You can create your own Twins Offseason Blueprint here.In today’s installment, I will consider what the 2019 Twins roster might look like by continuing on the path of investing innings and at-bats with their young core and other young players who deserve an opportunity. The theory might be that if the front office still believes in the talent, the tools and the upside of the younger players, and you believe in Rocco Baldelli and the coaching staff and the research and development, maybe you give these young players another year to see if they can reach their perceived ceilings. Catchers: Jason Castro ($8.0M), Mitch Garver ($0.6M) - (Total - $9.2M) Castro returns for the final season of his three-year contract in 2019. While he missed most of the 2018 season, he could provide valuable information to the other catchers but also to the young pitchers. Mitch Garver made big strides offensively and defensively and proved that he is a big leaguer who is capable of providing right-handed power. His bat should allow him time at first base and also at DH. To allow for Garver to get more at-bats, I can see a scenario in which the Twins carry three catchers. Like Garver, Castro and Astudillo. Yes, I would keep Willians Astudillo on the 40-man roster. He is capable of playing third base and can DH or pinch hit as well and can be summoned at any time as needed. The Twins may consider a couple of minor league free agent catchers like Chris Gimenez or Bobby Wilson. INFIELDERS: Tyler Austin ($0.6M), Matt Adams ($7.0M),Daniel Descalso ($6.0M), Miguel Sano ($3.0M), Jorge Polanco ($0.6M), Ehire Adrianza ($2.0M) Acquired from the Yankees at the deadline in the Lance Lynn deal, Austin showed the kind of power that made him a prospect in New York. In 2018, he had 17 homers in 268 plate appearances. What can he do with 500 or 600 plate appearances? Could he take a step and become a better all-around hitter, or would it expose his swing-and-miss tendencies even more? I’d be curious to find out. Signing a one year flyer on a left-handed power bat like Adams is intriguing because he shouldn’t take a long-term commitment, and he can fill in at first base and DH. Since playing in the 2017 All-Star Game, things have gone horribly wrong in the career trajectory of Miguel Sano. Some has been injury-related, and some has been due to some really poor decisions. But Sano has 84 home runs in 384 MLB games, and he’s still just 25 years old. The Twins had him take three (or more) steps backward in an attempt to help him get back on track. Then came another injury. There’s so much talent, and when he’s in decent shape, he’s shown himself to be an adequate defensive third baseman. Jorge Polanco came on again toward the end of 2018 and will certainly continue to be a key piece. For me, I’d like to see him get another year at shortstop before making any formal move to second base. I would sign Daniel Descalso for a year or two. He could be Eduardo Escobar Light. He’s mostly played second base and third base in his career .He may be intrigued by knowing he’d have an everyday job. And, if at some point the decision is made to move Sano away from third base or Nick Gordon is deemed ready, Descalso can move to the hot corner. (Note - I would be fine with Josh Harrison on a one or two year deal because of his versatility.) Ehire Adrianza has done a nice job as a utility infielder the last two seasons for the Twins and can play all four infield positions pretty well. OUTFIELDERS: Eddie Rosario ($4.0M), Byron Buxton ($2.0M), Max Kepler ($3.0M), Jake Cave ($0.6M), Michael Reed ($0.6M) - (Total - $10.2M) Eddie Rosario slowed down in the final couple of months of the season, largely due to injury, but he was the easy choice for Twins Daily MVP. He showed in 2018 that his 2017 season wasn’t a fluke. Max Kepler didn’t hit for average, but he improved his walk rate and improved against left-handers. He’s also tremendous defensively. In what many are deeming a disappointing 2018 season (and I can’t completely disagree), he was worth 2.8 fWAR. Jake Cave had a nice, solid rookie season. He is about three months older than Kepler, but he showed himself being a capable big leaguer. He was solid in the outfield and showed good power from the left side. He’s earned himself a spot on the roster. Michael Reed was claimed this week from Atlanta. He hits right-handed and plays good defense. No surprise. The question mark is Byron Buxton. Injuries derailed his 2018 season before it even got started and clearly affected his play when he did return. Let’s not forget that he was worth 3.5 fWAR in 2017. His defense is elite in centerfield and helps make the pitching staff better. Hopefully he comes back in 2019, healthy and in a good frame of mind to play 150 games, and thrive under Rocco Baldelli. STARTING PITCHERS: Kyle Gibson ($8.5M), Jose Berrios ($0.6M), Jake Odorizzi ($10.0M), Michael Pineda ($8.5M), Fernando Romero ($0.6M) - Total ($28.2M) Jose Berrios was an all-star in 2018. He was great in the first half. He struggled some in August but ended strong. He set career highs in innings pitched and ended the year with a career-high 202 strikeouts. Kyle Gibson put together the best season of his career, certainly his most consistent. His career strikeout rate coming into the 2018 season was just 6.2 K/9. In 2018, he struck out 8.2 per nine. Odorizzi is a non-tender candidate after arguably the worst season of his MLB career, but he did end strong and he will be familiar with Rocco Baldelli. (also, I don’t think he’ll get $10M in arbitration). If he’s open to some of the new systems, and doesn’t have to face lineups a third time in a game, he could thrive. Michael Pineda signed with the Twins a year ago. He was paid $2 million in 2018 to rehab and he’ll be paid to (hopefully) pitch in 2019. When healthy he does throw hard and has a chance to be an upper-rotation pitcher. That leaves one spot for a lot of guys that the Twins need to make decisions on in the next year or two. Fernando Romero may have the highest upside, but we also saw Kohl Stewart, Stephen Gonsalves, Zack Littell, Chase De Jong and Adalberto Mejia make starts in 2018. Lewis Thorpe and Brusdar Graterol are guys that could surface in the big leagues in 2019. RELIEF PITCHERS: Trevor May ($1.5M), Taylor Rogers ($1.5M), Trevor Hildenberger ($0.6M), Gabriel Moya ($0.6M), Addison Reed ($8.5M), Alan Busenitz ($0.6M), Adalberto Mejia ($0.6M) - (Total: $13.9M) It will be interesting to see how bullpens are comprised as the Opener or Bullpen concepts gain more traction. Could there be more guys capable of going two or even three innings in a bullpen? Will it look the same? In this plan, the biggest “acquisition” would be a healthy Addison Reed. The hope is that he was just hurt and overused early in the 2018 season. I am excited to see what May can do in a full, healthy season. Is he a closer, or would he be used in the game’s crucial moments. Can Taylor Rogers repeat his incredible 2018 season? Hildenberger has shown for extended periods of time that he can be reliable, but he struggled late. Moya is a solid second lefty, and he made a lot of starts (opens?). Could Adalberto Mejia, who is out of options, be a solid opener or long reliever? Alan Busenitz was good for the Twins late in the 2017 season. He was on a frequent shuttle between Minneapolis and Rochester throughout 2018 and he just gave up too many homers for the Twins. But if he can get that breaking ball more consistent (admittedly, a big IF) he deserves this opportunity to show he can be a late inning guy. If not, John Curtiss has the ability to pitch in late innings, and possible 40-man adds like Jake Reed and Nick Anderson can be options too. Andrew Vasquez would be the next lefty reliever up when needed. ROSTER SALARIES: Catchers: $8.6 million Infielders: $19.2 million Outfielders: $10.2 million Starting Pitchers: $28.2 million Relief Pitchers: $13.9 million Total: $80.1 million Free Agents Added: 1B/DH Matt Adams, 2B/3B Daniel Descalso POTENTIAL LINEUP Daniel Descalso 2B/3B Jorge Polanco SS/2B Eddie Rosario LF/RF Miguel Sano 3B/1B/DH Matt Adams DH/1B Max Kepler RF/CF Tyler Austin 1B/DH Jason Castro C Byron Buxton CF Bench: Mitch Garver - C/DH/1B Ehire Adrianza - SS/2B/3B/LF Jake Cave - LF/CF/RF Michael Reed - LF/CF/RF Next in Line: Willians Astudillo - C/DH/3B Nick Gordon - SS/2B LaMonte Wade - OF Brent Rooker - 1B/LF/DH Zack Granite - OF A reminder that this is not an offseason blueprint that we are necessarily advocating. However, a look at a roster like this, with minimal change (a few strategic free agent adds), can give you a starting point. It’s also a reminder that you do need to ask yourself which players you are ready to move on from. Adding another free agent means subtracting a current player, or maybe even DFAing a player. A trade would obviously come at the price of a player or three. That’s not a bad thing if it makes the team better. So, use this blueprint, maybe jot down the players, consider other current Twins players (big leagues or AAA) that might be impacted by any move, and then start mixing and matching. And in reality, if things were to go well for a large majority of these players - and yes, that may be a big if - and they stay healthy and the make progress, this could be a solid team. If you believe in the talent of that core group of young players, you could hold on to hope that they can win. That includes the likes of Eddie Rosario, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Jose Berrios, Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano and others. If you consider some of the veterans on this roster, there are some guys who have succeeded on winning teams, and they can continue to do that. It does so without signing players to long-term deals, keeping the door open for players like Brent Rooker, Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis as soon as they are ready. In addition, the team would have a ton of money to add at the trade deadline. But also, no one wants to leave the owner’s money on the table. Personally, I may advocate the idea of signing Jose Berrios and others to long-term deals, maybe with large, upfront signing bonuses to be paid in 2019. That’s an option that would continue to build the organization. So discuss this roster below. Which players have you given up on, and which would you like to see get another year? Download the 2018 Twins Daily Offseason Handbook here. Create your own Twins Offseason Handbook and see others here. Click here to view the article

Interesting to see "smart" organizations like the Rays and Cubs picking up guys that so many Twins fans thought were ridiculous for the Twins to claim just three months ago. So, my assumption is if you/we thought that the Twins were dumb for making such moves, we assume the Rays and Cubs are dumb as well?

Terry was the best... In probably 2010, I was in Beloit watching the Snappers play a few games. Ryan was there. I was in the stadium early, watching BP and infield practice and such. Ryan was in the stands, sitting high, watching the minor leaguers. After one of the games, he approached me. I had never met him before. He introduced himself. "Hi, I'm Terry Ryan." "Yup... you sure are." "I was just wondering why you didn't come up and chat with me." I told him that I was there for fun and my own view of hte players, but that he was there working. He was great to talk to. In Ft. Myers, he would always come over and chat with me on the minor league side. He would have fans come up and ask him questions about who was practicing, and he would push them over to ask me because "he is down here more than I am unfortunately." His pre-game media chats were great, and obviously he couldn't tell us everything, but he appreciated the Twins Daily types as much as the mainstream media guys because he knew our passion. He got the we don't make any money doing this (or very little), and he knows we care. One year, I asked him a question about a minor leaguer in a spring training media session, and he smiled like he was just happy to talk about a different topic and about a guy that he thought was a good story. I could go on and on. I still see him occasional in spring training on the minor league fields or in the press box, and always make it a point to talk to him for a bit. Usually it's him who comes over to me... Things didn't necessarily go well in his return to the GM job, but I will always admire the person that Terry Ryan is.

I've always thought Rosario and Kepler should have switched too. Not because of the glove hand, but because of the arms. Kepler has a plus arm, but Rosario has a plus-plus arm (though sometimes a bit wild). As for the balls toward the corner, I don''t think that''s a huge deal by any means. Maybe it's' a 3-inch difference or so, even somewhat depending on the angle that they're running.

Just curious... why would it be nice to have a righty-throwing outfielder... Why would that be a benefit? I get it that it's nice to have another right-handed hitting outfield option, just not sure why what arm they throw with matters.