Seth Stohs

I don't really know the Why, but that was (maybe still is) something that teams are able to do. I'll see if I can find out more. I assume there has to be a scholarship involved or something.

I thought Carlos Carrasco was starting on Wednesday for Cleveland.

I may have missed one, but I believe that is the most pitches that any Twins minor league starting pitcher has thrown in a game so far this season. I think it's more about it being his second start of the year, and how disjointed the season has been due to weather and such.

There was only one Twins minor league affiliate whose game was postponed. Of course, only two of the four teams were even scheduled to play. The result? Well, tonight’s Twins Minor League Report has a few transactions and a Rochester Red Wings game story. But it was a good game in which Kennys Vargas and Tyler Duffey starred, and Fernando Romero started. Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system. Image courtesy of Jason Vinlove, USA Today There was only one Twins minor league affiliate whose game was postponed. Of course, only two of the four teams were even scheduled to play. The result? Well, tonight’s Twins Minor League Report has a few transactions and a Rochester Red Wings game story. But it was a good game in which Kennys Vargas and Tyler Duffey starred, and Fernando Romero started. Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system. TRANSACTIONS With Ryan LaMarre headed to Puerto Rico as the Twins 26th man, relief pitcher Ryne Harper was promoted to the Red Wings. Cody Stashak was then promoted from Ft. Myers to Chattanooga to take Harper’s spot. Presumably Ft. Myers will add a pitcher on Tuesday when they return to play. Will that be a pitcher from Cedar Rapids, or will they just bring someone over from extended spring training for a game or two? RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Charlotte 3 Box Score The Red Wings traveled to Charlotte from Gwinnett after being rained out on Sunday. There’s no question that Kennys Vargas would much prefer to be hanging out in Puerto Rico than in North Carolina this week. But after a DFA-filled spring training, he’s not on the 40-man roster, and not with his countrymen Jose Berrios and Eddie Rosario in the Caribbean. Maybe he decided to take it out on the baseball. Or maybe he just wanted to lead the Red Wings to a win, and that’s what he did. Vargas got the Red Wings on the board in the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly. In the sixth inning, he knocked his first home run of the season to give the team a 3-2 lead. In the seventh inning, he gave the team some insurance with another sacrifice fly. He ended the game 2-3 and added his first double of the season to go with his first home run. Taylor Featherston found himself on base often. He went 1-2 with three walks. Jake Cave reached three times via the walk. Brock Stassi was 1-3 with a walk. Fernando Romero was supposed to start on Sunday, but instead he made the Monday night start. He gave up two runs on four hits and three walks. He struck out four batters. However, he came out one out shy of being able to record a win, 4.2 innings, because his pitch count was already at 81 (48 strikes). Tyler Duffey came on and got the final out of the fifth inning. He then worked three more innings. In his 3.1 innings, he gave up just one hit. He didn’t issue any walks and struck out six. 28 of his 37 pitchers were strikes. John Curtiss came on for the ninth inning. He gave up a run on two hits. He struck out two. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga, Jacksonville The Lookouts were scheduled to start a home series against Jacksonville, but rains caused the game to be postponed. The teams will play a doubleheader on Wednesday. MIRACLE MATTERS The Miracle had a scheduled off day on Monday. KERNELS NUGGETS The Kernels had a scheduled off day on Monday. It will be interesting to see if they are able to play in Beloit starting on Tuesday. Steve Buhr recently caught up with Kernels manager Toby Gardenhire who said that the team has “a lot of guys are doing some really good things.” STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Kennys Vargas, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Duffey, Rochester Red Wings TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects (or, I guess just “Prospect” tonight, performed: #2 - Fernando Romero (Rochester) - 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04 CST) - LHP Dietrich Enns Jacksonville @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Zack Littell Ft. Myers @ Dunedin (5:30) - RHP Sean Poppen Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s game, or ask any questions you may have. View full article

On Thursday night, Joe Mauer reached the 2,000 hit milestone. The milestone has brought some well-deserved attention back to the Mauer. One topic that came back to my mind was the 2001 draft. Should the Twins take Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Mark Teixeira was also in that draft, but it really came down to Mauer versus Prior. We know what Joe Mauer's career has looked like. Mark Prior was tremendous the first two seasons of his career, 2002 and 2003, then injuries marred what could have been an incredible career. He didn’t pitch in another big league game after the 2006 season. He has spent the last few seasons as a pitching coordinator in the Padres system. Before this season, he was named the bullpen coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2010, I wrote an article about this topic and talked to Twins Director of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff. In 2001, he was the organization's scouting director. Since 2010, Mauer has continued to accumulate numbers. As you know, he was an All Star caliber player right up until that day in 2013 when he took a foul tip off of his face mask. In 2017, we saw some return to form for Mauer with a batting average over .300. He's off to a tremendous start in 2018. Image courtesy of Brad Rempel, USA Today On Thursday night, Joe Mauer reached the 2,000 hit milestone. The milestone has brought some well-deserved attention back to the Mauer. One topic that came back to my mind was the 2001 draft. Should the Twins take Mauer, or should they take Mark Prior? Mark Teixeira was also in that draft, but it really came down to Mauer versus Prior. We know what Joe Mauer's career has looked like. Mark Prior was tremendous the first two seasons of his career, 2002 and 2003, then injuries marred what could have been an incredible career. He didn’t pitch in another big league game after the 2006 season. He has spent the last few seasons as a pitching coordinator in the Padres system. Before this season, he was named the bullpen coach of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2010, I wrote an article about this topic and talked to Twins Director of Player Personnel Mike Radcliff. In 2001, he was the organization's scouting director. Since 2010, Mauer has continued to accumulate numbers. As you know, he was an All Star caliber player right up until that day in 2013 when he took a foul tip off of his face mask. In 2017, we saw some return to form for Mauer with a batting average over .300. He's off to a tremendous start in 2018. The Minnesota Twins went 69-93 during the 2000 season which "earned" them the Number One overall pick in 2001. There were several good prospects available in that draft including Georgia Tech third baseman Mark Teixeira, East Tennessee State University pitcher Dewon Brazelton, and Baltimore high school pitcher Gavin Floyd. Two players were generally viewed at the top of the charts; University of Southern California pitcher Mark Prior and Minnesota high school catcher Joe Mauer. Current Twins director of player personnel Mike Radcliff was the Twins scouting director in 2001. In that role, he was ultimately in charge of the Twins draft. In 2010, I talked to Radcliff and he said, "We scouted and considered all of [those] players, but it ultimately came down to Mauer and Prior for our selection.” CASE FOR MARK PRIOR The Californian native was well known in scouting circles. He had been the New York Yankees first-round draft pick in 1998 but decided to go to USC. As the 2001 draft approached, many were calling him the best pitching prospect ever (something that comes around about once every six to seven years). Prior was what every scout loves to see in a pitcher. At 6’5” and 230 pounds, he had a very projectable and durable body type. His fastball reached into the mid-90s. He had a very good curveball. He had impeccable control. His mechanics were said to be fluid, a perfect example of how a pitcher needed to throw to stay healthy. In his junior season with the Trojans, Prior went 15-1 with a 1.70 ERA and a 0.86 WHIP. In 138 innings, he walked just 18 batters (and two of those were intentional) and struck out 202. Most believed Prior would likely be able to contribute at the major league level almost immediately. However, that was a notion that Prior himself shot down at the time by telling USA Today, “I still have a lot to learn. Once you get into the majors - or even the minors - the learning curve is so great. For me to make that jump straight from the college level to the major leagues is kind of far-fetched for me to believe.” THE CASE FOR JOE MAUER Joe Mauer was a prep star from St. Paul's Cretin-Derham Hall High School, a catcher known for a flawless left-handed swing and strong arm. He was a terrific all-around athlete. At 6’5”, he was the National Player of the Year in football and baseball, and a two-time all-state performer on the basketball court. But everyone knew that baseball was Mauer’s sport of preference. When he was 16 years old, Mauer played for Team USA in an 18-and-under tournament in Taiwan and won the gold medal. He was the catcher for the Team USA Junior National Team for three years and hit .595 his final season. During his senior season of baseball, he hit .600 with 15 homers and 53 RBI. Radcliff noted that the Twins were well aware of Mauer early and followed him very closely. “Joe was on our follow list as a sophomore in [high school]. Our scouts watched him compete in all sports throughout his [high school] career. As a senior, Joe was being heavily scouted by most teams. We had someone from the Twins at all of his games that year.” THE CONCERNS WITH MARK PRIOR In baseball circles, the belief was that Mark Prior was looking for $20 million to sign. There were rumors that he would not sign with the Twins if they selected him. After having failed to sign other first-round picks in the past like Tim Belcher, Jason Varitek, and Travis Lee, it would have been discouraging if the Twins were not able to sign another top pick, especially the first overall pick. At that time, there was no compensation for not signing a first-round draft pick as there is today. According to Radcliff, Prior’s contract demands were not a concern for the Twins. He said, “We had complete support from the GM and ownership to select anybody we deemed worthy of the number-one pick. There were going to be significant dollars to whomever was selected.” There is the inherent risk with any pitcher for arm injuries. College pitchers are especially risky as many rack up a crazy number of innings. What do Ben McDonald, Matt Anderson, Kris Benson, Paul Wilson, and Brian Bullington have in common? Each of those pitchers was the number-one overall pick in their draft. Each of them had major arm injuries that kept them from reaching their potential. Add in top college pitchers (like Darren Dreifort, Kyle Sleeth, Philip Humber) who were also highly drafted, and you can see the reality is that there is no such thing as a sure thing pitching prospect. Even in recent years, Stephen Strasburg had to have Tommy John surgery. Regarding Prior, Radcliff said, “There is always risk for any pitcher to get hurt - most pitchers have had some sort of surgery or extended injury by the time they reach the major leagues. There was no more or less concern with Mark Prior before the draft.” THE CONCERNS WITH JOE MAUER Using a high draft pick on any high school player carries a substantial amount of risk. Teams spend a lot of money on a signing bonus for someone they are projecting may develop into a big leaguer in three years, or six years, or not at all. Drafting high school catchers can be especially difficult since they not only have to learn to hit at the pro level, but also to catch, call a game, work with pitchers, and more. One other concern with Joe Mauer was geographic. High school baseball in Minnesota (and other northern states) can involve a very short season. While games are usually scheduled to start in early April, most years snow still covers the ground until the middle of the month (see 2018). The short season leads to few opportunities for scouts to see players. Finally, Joe Mauer had a full scholarship offer and had already committed to play for Bobby Bowden and Florida State to play football (where he also would have played baseball). With his athletic prowess, Mauer certainly had options on which to fall back. THE TWINS DECISION After years of scouting both players, the Twins made Joe Mauer the first pick in the 2001 MLB Draft. He became the third player to be taken with the top pick by his hometown team. The Twins made their decision three days before the draft. Radcliff was very certain and confident in the selection. “The conviction level was the highest it could possibly be for a [high school] selection. The combination of athletic ability, skill level on offense and defense, and makeup was unanimous amongst all of us who were involved with the decision. He had the best swing mechanics and hit approach that many of us had ever seen and he profiled defensively as a Gold Glove receiver.” Signability may have been a greater concern with Prior, but the Twins knew Mauer would not be cheap either. Mark Wilson was the scout who signed Mauer. The $5.15 million bonus that the Twins handed him is still one of the largest signing bonuses given to a drafted player. Because Mauer was a two-sport athlete, the Twins were able to spread out payment of the bonus over five years. The Chicago Cubs selected Prior with the second pick in the draft that year. He signed late in the summer for a signing bonus was $4 million as part of a five-year, $10.5 million major league contract. In Part 2, I'll take a stab at how things may have been different if the Twins had selected Prior instead of Mauer. View full article

He's excited to be in Tennessee. I think he was hitting 3rd, in part, because Nick Gordon got the day off. He's been in the middle of that lineup almost every day though. He can hit a bit. And yes, it'll be nice when these affiliates,, and the Twins, can get going on a normal schedule and get their games in consistently.

Not sure what you're asking for. Are you asking for: 1.) an updated stat line? 2.) A sentence of some sort?

It appears that those runs are considered unearned.

Wells has a chance to be really good. He'd probably be in my post-going-to-spring-training-Top 30. He was close before. But he lost like 25 pounds in the offseason and looks much different, and he did so without losing his stuff... He definitely has a chance, but I don't think they'll rush him at all.

This is as good as anything Nick has ever written, which says a lot. This was fantastic!

It was a terrific night for the Twins and their fans on Thursday. Joe Mauer notched hit #2000 of his career, and Jose Berrios was fantastic in a Twins 4-0 win over the White Sox. It was also a fun night in the Twins minor league system. The Red Wings needed 14 innings to record their first win of the year. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Lookouts. The Miracle got a strong start, and a powerful prospect had a powerful game. And, the Kernels just keep on rolling. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photos of Lewin Diaz, Tyler Wells) It was a terrific night for the Twins and their fans on Thursday. Joe Mauer notched hit #2000 of his career, and Jose Berrios was fantastic in a Twins 4-0 win over the White Sox. It was also a fun night in the Twins minor league system. The Red Wings needed 14 innings to record their first win of the year. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Lookouts. The Miracle got a strong start, and a powerful prospect had a powerful game. And, the Kernels just keep on rolling. Keep reading to find out much more on the night in the Twins minor league system. TRANSACTIONS The Miracle announced following their Thursday night game that lefty Alex Robinson has been placed on the disabled list. A corresponding move will need to be made on Friday. The Kernels announced that RHP Randy Dobnak has been placed on the 7-day DL. RHP Derek Molina has been promoted from extended spring training to take his place. If the Twins play on Friday, they will have to make a roster move to add a starting pitcher. That would mean they’d need to option someone to Rochester. If the Twins are ‘weathered’ out on Friday, they could skip the fifth starter spot again. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Gwinnett 6 (14 innings) Box Score Minor league baseball announced before the season that they were making changes to the rules in extra innings under the “Pace of Play” category. Each inning after the ninth, teams start with a runner on second base. These teams did a lot of that as they went 14 innings. Both teams scored a run in the 10th and 13th frames, but the Red Wings scored two runs in the 14th inning - off of outfielder Jeff Decker - and Tyler Duffey came on to record the save for the Red Wings first win of the season. Myles Jaye started for the Red Wings and went the first 5.2 innings. He gave up three runs on seven hits. He struck out just one, but he walked no one. Matt Magill got the next four outs. John Curtiss struck out four in his two perfect innings. Nick Anderson gave up an unearned run over his two extra innings innings. He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out one. Alan Busenitz worked the 12th and 13th innings. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and three walks. He struck out one. Tyler Duffey gave up an unearned run in the 14th, but he struck out three batters to record the save. An interesting note, in a couple of the extra innings, the Red Wings manager had the pitcher intentionally walk the leadoff batter of the inning to set up a first and second situation. It worked the first two times. Offensively, Jake Cave led the way with a 4-for-6 game. He also walked and provided the final RBI. Gregorio Petit went 2-for-5 with a walk. Nick Buss and Willians Astudillo each went 2-for-6. Zack Granite walked three times. Jermaine Curtis provided a sacrifice fly in the top of the 14th to give the Red Wings the lead. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Pensacola 3 Box Score The Lookouts drop to 4-3 on the season after a tough loss in northern Florida. Brent Rooker got the night off. For the second straight night and the second time this season, Nick Gordon started at second base. Rooker and LaMonte Wade both had the night off. Stephen Gonsalves made the start for the Lookouts. The southpaw went four shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out five. He left the game with 71 pitches. Sam Clay came on and threw a scoreless fifth frame. However, he got two outs in the sixth inning before leaving .He was charged with two runs. Ryne Harper came on and gave up a hit to score Clay’s runners and another of his own. He struck out two over 1.1 innings. Omar Bencomo pitched a scoreless inning MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 8, Florida 2 Box Score Tyler Wells and Lewin Diaz helped get the Miracle off to a fast start tonight, and the team added on to improve to 5-3 on the young season. The 6-8 Wells started the game by throwing four perfect innings, 12 up, 12 down. He lost the perfect game, no-hitter and shutout to the first batter of the fifth inning on a solo home run, but he completed five innings to record his first win of the year. He walked one and struck out eight. Lewin Diaz knocked a long, two-run home run in the second innings, his first of the year. The next inning, he added another RBI on his second double of the season. Jimmy Kerrigan went 2-for-3 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Mitchell Kranson was 1-for-3 with two walks and his second double. Nelson Molina and Caleb Hamilton were both 1-for-3 with a walk. Cody Stashak replaced Wells and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out two. Max Cordy gave up one run on two hits over the final two innings. He struck out three. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Peoria 5 Box Score The Kernels fell behind early, but the bats warmed up and Toby Gardenhire improved to 6-0 as a manager of the Kernels. Nick Brown started for the Kernels. The right-hander went 4.2 innings and was charged with four runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out three. Kevin Marnon came on and held Peoria to just one run on three hits over the next 2.1 innings. He walked one and struck out five. Jared Finkel pitched two scoreless innings to end the game. Down 4-0, Royce Lewis came to the plate in the sixth inning and knocked a ball well over the wall in left centerfield. An inning later, Akil Baddoo came up with two on base. He drilled a ball off the wall in center field for a triple to give the Kernels their first lead of the game. After seven innings the game was tied at 5, but the Kernels scored the final four runs of the game. https://twitter.com/MiLB/status/984654286515855362 Mark Contreras made another diving catch in the outfield, and he went 3-for-3 with a walk and his second double. Alex Kirilloff also went 2-for-5 and knocked his second double. After going 1-for-12 in his first three games this season, he has gone 7-for-15 in his last three games and is hitting .296 on the season. Lewis and Baddoo were each 2-for-5. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Lewin Diaz, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Wells, Ft. Myers Miracle TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, HR (1), 3 RBI #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 0-4 #4 - Stephen Gonsalves (Chattanooga) - 4.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 2B (2) #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 3B (1), 2 RBI, SB (3) #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, 2B (2), HR (1), 3 RBI FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Gwinnett (6:05 CST) - LHP Adalberto Mejia Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:00) - LHP Charlie Barnes Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons Please feel free to ask any questions about Thursday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. View full article

Yeah, I hope that i didn't in any way imply that i think this means they'll win 97 games this season. I was just interesting to me that 6-4 is probably way better than we assume.

Tom Kelly used to always talk about playing 60 games before making many moves because only then do you really start seeing what you've got. I do like that leverage data as it shows Molitor's current confidence level in guys. It will be interesting to see how that changes. You all may be right. I thought that Hildenberger as at 7/7 also, but when I looked at the game log yesterday, I thought it showed runners on 2nd and 3rd (even though my memory of watching it was bases loaded). Well, then I just looked at it again, and it does show bases loaded. Should have trusted my gut. Will be interesting to see how patient they are with him. I would put almost zero stock in 10 games. I did think there are some interesting trends worth watching, but I probably woudln't make any huge statement. I also believe that the weather is a factor. You/They don't want to use it as an excuse because both sides are experiencing it. But it is a factor. It will be nice to see, ,hopefully starting next week in Puerto Rico, how good weather effects the pitchers and specifically their control/command.

I'm a Gonsalves fan. I''m not an Enns fan. But making anything from anyone's first start of the year in these conditions isn't really fair. I know that's not what you're doing.

An NFL regular season involved 16 games played. An MLB season includes 162 games played. The Twins have now played ten games, or about 1/16th of their schedule, the equivalent of one NFL game. If it was an NFL schedule, the Twins - with their 6-4 record - would get a Win for the first game of the season. While 6-4 may not seem real exciting, if the team were to go 6-4 for all 16 ten-game samples, they would be on pace to go 97-65 on the season. Today, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the trends that we’ve seen in the Twins pitching staff through the season’s first ten games. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs, Twins Daily (photo of Logan Morrison) An NFL regular season involved 16 games played. An MLB season includes 162 games played. The Twins have now played ten games, or about 1/16th of their schedule, the equivalent of one NFL game. If it was an NFL schedule, the Twins - with their 6-4 record - would get a Win for the first game of the season. While 6-4 may not seem real exciting, if the team were to go 6-4 for all 16 ten-game samples, they would be on pace to go 97-65 on the season. Today, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at some of the trends that we’ve seen in the Twins pitching staff through the season’s first ten games. The Starting Pitchers We all got pretty excited about the Twins starting rotation after the season’s first series in Baltimore. Why? Well, the three Twins starters went a combined 21 innings without giving up a run. In fact, they gave up just four hits, walked eight and struck out 19 batters. Odorizzi threw six scoreless. Kyle Gibson threw six no-hit innings. Jose Berrios threw a complete game shutout on Easter. However, since that series, it has been a challenge for the Twins starters. While I do think it is fair to ‘credit’ the cold weather conditions for some of the struggles of the pitching staff, including the starters, there could be more to it. In the past seven games, Twins starters have given up 21 runs (1 unearned) in 32.2 innings. They’ve give up 36 hits, walked 23 and struck out 32. First 3 Games: 21.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 8 BB, 7 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.19 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9, 8.1 K/9 Last 7 Games: 32.2 IP, 36 H, 20 ER, 23 BB, 32K, 5.51 ERA, 1.81 WHIP, 6.3 BB/9, 8.8 K/9 While the first three starts all provided at least six innings, only one start since has been even that long. Jake Odorizzi’s Tuesday start against the Astros was six innings. Just one of the other six innings went five innings (Lynn’s 5.0 IP start on Monday). Twins starters averaged seven innings per start over the first three games. Since then, they have averaged just 4 ⅔ innings per game. That is significant because, simply, it means that the bullpen will be used more, will be taxed more. The Bullpen It’s always interesting to start seeing the trends of pitcher usage by the manager and pitching coach. Five of the last seven starts have gone less than five innings. Who did Molitor go to first? Molitor has had to go to a relief pitcher in the fifth inning in five of the last seven games. I think that the below chart is quite interesting and clearly illustrates a number of things, including the manager’s confidence. Reliever Pitched In 5th inning: Taylor Rogers (3), Gabriel Moya (1), Trevor Hildenberger (1) 6th inning: Trevor Hildenberger (4), Taylor Rogers (2), Gabriel Moya (1) 7th inning: Zach Duke (4), Ryan Pressly (4), Addison Reed (2), Trevor Hildenberger (2) 8th inning: Addison Reed (6), Ryan Pressly (1), Trevor Hildenberger (1), Zach Duke (1) 9th inning: Fernando Rodney (4), Addison Reed (1), Ryan Pressly (1), Gabriel Moya (1), Tyler Kinley (1), 10th inning: Trevor Hildenberger (1), Fernando Rodney (1) 11th inning: Fernando Rodney (1) While Taylor Rogers spent the first half of 2017 being one of the most reliable bullpen arms in the league versus lefties or righties, his second half struggles have pushed him back into early-inning relief duties to start the season. Gabriel Moya got a couple of those games as well, and now Trevor Hildenberger has found himself working in those earlier situations after struggling in more crucial moments. It’s clear, when the Twins are close and late, Addison Reed is going to get the ball, unless he has strep throat, of course. He has been terrific so far. Paul Molitor has shown remarkable confidence in lefty Zach Duke early in the season as well. While his lefty-righty splits were not pronounced in 2017, Molitor has decided to use him often in situations where he will face multiple right-handers. Doesn’t seem like an ideal situation, but he has generally come through to this point. Ryan Pressly’s early success has kept him getting late-inning and close situations as well. At this point, Gabriel Moya and Tyler Kinley are only used in games that are not close. The Fernando Rodney Experience has been just that, an experience. While Joe Nathan did his lip quiver thing to relax, Fernando Rodney keeps fans and teammates on their toes. While he’s certainly got the fastball and the changeup to be effective, his control and command have not been great. He’s given up a couple of big hits. He’s in no danger of losing his job at this point, however, so just get yourself prepared for some late-inning intrigue when he comes into the games. The pitcher of most concern through the small sample size of ten games to start the season remains Trevor Hildenberger. He was arguably the Twins most reliable bullpen arm in the second half last season, so much so that the manager used him very often. In reality, the manager is still using him often this season. He’s already thrown seven innings in six appearances. His ERA is just 3.86 and his WHIP is just 1.29. Neither number is good, but it certainly doesn’t tell the story of his struggles so far. The below listing will let you know what his problem has been. Inherited Runners/Inherited Runners Scored Addison Reed (5/0) Fernando Rodney (3/0) Taylor Rogers (2/0) Zach Duke (2/0) Gabriel Moya (1/0) Trevor Hildenberger (6/6) That’s right. There have been three games in which Hildenberger has come in mid-inning with runners on base. He’s come into a situation with one runner on base, and that guy scored. He’s come into a game with two runners on base, and both of them scored. And, he came into a bases loaded situation, and all three scored. It’s not quite time to be concerned about Hildenberger, yet. Well, you can be concerned if you want, and it’s understandable. Spring training numbers don’t matter because they are often working on things. But the trends we saw in spring with Hildenberger, not throwing strikes and giving up home runs, have continued into the first ten days of the season. He’s fallen behind batters, and hitters have been ready when he does throw strikes. An adjustment will likely have to be made by Hildenberger (and his catchers). The Rochester Red Wings have played just two games so far this season because of weather. Tyler Duffey’s first outing of the year was three hitless innings. The other relievers who might be considered for early-season call up, like John Curtiss, Jake Reed and Alan Busenitz, have all worked just once so far this season. The Offense The Twins are going to score runs this year. Like last year, they will likely be a Top 4 team in the American League in runs scored. Through ten games, the Twins have averaged 4.7 points per game. Only twice have they scored fewer than four runs. They scored just two on Opening Day in Baltimore, and they were shut out on Monday night by Justin Verlander. Joe Mauer is on fire to start the season. He’s hitting .387 and has been on base 52.5% of the time. His OPS is 1.041. Max Kepler’s OPS is next in line at 1.020. He’s hitting .280 and getting on base just under 40% of the time. He’s got three home runs after hitting two on Wednesday including a walk-off. As impressive as that has been so far, he has five walks to go with six strikeouts and appears to have a much better approach. Brian Dozier is the third player with an OPS over 1.000. He’s hitting .293 with a .396 OBP and four early-season home runs. Despite a nearly 50% strikeout rate, Miguel Sano has a .925 OPS. Simply put, when Sano puts the ball in play, good things tend to happen. On the other side of the situation, Byron Buxton is again off to a slow start. He’s hitting just .184/.205/.237 with two doubles and two stolen bases. Logan Morrison really struggled early. However, in this Astros series, even on Monday night when he didn’t have a hit, he took very good at-bats against Verlander. Each plate appearance he saw several pitches and just missed several others, fouling them straight back. In his first two at-bats on Tuesday against lefty Dallas Keuchel, he hit the ball 110+ mph. He was finally squaring up the ball. He lined out in his first at bat on Wednesday too before adding a hit. So while he’s still hitting just .097 (3-31), it does appear that he’s turning a corner. Hopefully he will warm up soon, along with the temperatures of these Twins games. With a 6-4 record, the Twins would get a W in their 1/16th season mark, their first game of what would be the NFL schedule. Hopefully they can continue to perform. View full article

Every month, we present the Hitter, Starting Pitcher and Relief PItcher of the month awards for Twins Daily. We mention the top 5 or 6 players, prospects or not, and we generally will include several Honorable Mentions. Maybe we could do an update on the Top 20s within that. We'll see.

Not ever Miracle player or E-Twins player or Lookouts player or Red Wings player does. In fact, most don't. The Kernels have a great set up for the players. Much better than when they were in Beloit. But that's unusual. Van Steensel's' one of few who isn't afraid to say what most of them are thinking. It''s not even complaining as much as letting fans know the reality. They're professional ballplayers and yet it's anything but luxurious. They get paid almost nothing. They do take buses. (Though I do think that the Red Wings occasionally will fly from a place like Gwinnett or Norfolk, etc. when needed)

I haven't seen him on any Top 20s. He's in some Top 30s.

I'm guessing we all now know who just might start for the Twins on Friday night. Of course, weather may also factor into that. They aren't going to want to activate Hughes from his rehab stint if he's not going to pitch Friday and they can go back to their rotation on Saturday. So, they may have Mejia up here for just in case.

Stewart may be the first guy to go past 70. In spring training, they go to 90 pitches in their second-to-last start, and then they drop it down to like 40-50 in their final start so they're ready to go. It's clear there is a strategy. I think the weather could be a factor too. Gonsalves was taken out at 66 pitches with a no-hitter, but it was also like 32 degrees.

Way too early to know that. He's not bad at 3B or 2B. He's still working on both and has a ways to go, but I don't think they're hiding him... and you wouldn't hide a guy at either of those two positions.