Seth Stohs

Fielding percentage at 2B is .948, and at SS it is .949. Last year at SS, he was at .952. Reports have been good. He has risen up prospect rankings in my opinion.

He was pretty bad at Ft. Myers a year ago, and then his season ended early with injury. No problem having him repeat. He's been good offensively. Huge question mark defensively though. Also, TJ White just moved up to Chattanooga after starting on the DL. Let's see how he does over the next month and then something could happen to move Paul up.

The last two seasons have been a whirlwind for Aaron Whitefield. Recently, I had the chance to spend some time with Whitefield to talk about several topics. We talked a bit about his softball career and how and when he turned to baseball. How did the Twins find him and sign him? We talked about his approach at the plate, where he likes to play on the field, and who has helped him get to this point. With his background and athleticism, Whitefield has become one of the most intriguing prospects in the Twins system.Aaron Whitefield may want to read The Road Less Traveled. Why? His path to prospect status is a bit different than any other's. Than most. Maybe different than any. As you know from our original Get To Know ‘Em interview, Whitefield grew up playing softball, not baseball. Whitefield said, “My dad grew up playing softball. So did my mom. So I grew up on a softball field. Everyone says that I was pretty much born on a softball field. So baseball was never really the future for me.” Consider this, he did not play baseball until he was 17 years old. Instead, he grew up playing several sports. None of them was baseball. He said, “I played a lot of other sports like track, touch football, rugby, AFL, so I did every other sport but baseball.” He wasn’t just playing fast-pitch softball. He was thriving, playing for Australia in international competitions. “I didn’t play softball until juniors, when I was 13 or 14, and then I went to softball with my family and fell in love with it. We went to the World Series in Argentina.” When he came home, he was noticed by a baseball scout. “Somehow a scout from Cincinnati said ‘Hey, would you mind having a tryout with us?’ I was like, ‘Why not? I’ve got nothing to lose.’ We threw a baseball around. I was horrible. I couldn’t do what he said. (He told me to) go do a year of baseball and we’ll come back and look at you.” There aren’t necessarily a lot of people from his area of Australia in pro ball. Whitefield mentioned his friend Connor MacDonald, a first baseman in the Astros system. “It was a pretty big thing (when MacDonald signed) because no one in my area really signed for baseball. I was looking into it. My dad was like, ‘Why don’t you give it a go? You’ve got nothing to lose.’ So I played a year. I was a shortstop then, and I got a Gold Glove at our national event. Got looked at by scouts.” Unfortunately, he had a shoulder injury and had to sit out a year. “When I returned, my agent put me in a tournament. He told me ‘No one will see you. Just get your rhythm back.’ Twins scout Howie (Norsetter) came to the tournament. He offered me and I took advantage. I haven’t looked back since. I was 17. At that time I was still playing both (softball and baseball). When the Twins signed me is when I stopped playing softball completely.” What did he know about the Twins before signing? Did he know any of the players? How about the Australians in the Twins organization? “Didn’t know Jimmy Beresford. Didn’t know Logan Wade until I started playing here. He lives maybe 20 to 30 miles from me, and I didn’t meet him until I came here.” He continued, “I met Wellsy (Lachlan Wells) at our Australian academy after that tournament. That’s in Gold Coast in Queensland, where I’m from. I met him there. So I knew him. But the older guys like Beresford or even guys that played like (Luke) Hughesy, I didn’t know any of them. Until I made my first All Star game (in the ABL) and started making the Australian teams, that’s how I started meeting the older guys. All the younger generation that I played with at home, they all know those guys. I had to look on the web and research.” While he didn’t know the names or those players, he now credits them for helping him improve his game, physically and mentally. He’s played with some with Brisbane in the ABL and now in the WBC as well. “My coaches and the older guys back home helped, especially mentally. Hitting is a lot of a mental game as well as physical. You’re going to have bad days. You’re going to have really bad days and you’ll have good days. I was never used to playing every day. I was used to just playing weekends and I’d have the whole week to just just think about it and recover.” His manager with the Brisbane Bandits has been former big league catcher Dave Nilsson. Nilsson is incredibly interesting because in 1999, as a 29 year old, he became the first Australian to make an All-Star team. The catcher ended the season hitting .309/.400/.554 (.954) with 21 homers. He could have signed for big money. Instead, he chose not to sign. He wanted to focus his attention on playing for Team Australia in the 2000 Olympics. He didn’t play again in the big leagues. Of Nilsson, Whitefield said, “He’s awesome to talk with and easy to talk to. It’s fun (playing with the Bandits), the guys like Dave Nilsson.” The Bandits have won the last two Claxton Shields. “The year before was my first, so I got to meet all the guys. Now, they’re like brothers.” Fellow WBC participant and former Twins infielder James Beresford is a guy that Whitefield really admires. “The road he took, ten to eleven years, over 1,000 minor league games, but he stuck with it. He set his goal to make the big leagues and he made it. For us younger players, if you put the work in and you stick with it, good things can happen.” ----------------------------------------------------------- Here is a quick look at his schedule over the last two years. And we’re going to do it in bullet point view, just to try to keep it straight. It’s been a whirlwind tour for the 20-year-old. Signed with the Twins in May of 2015.Played in six games for the GCL Twins in late August 2015Played for Brisbane Bandits in the Australian Baseball League (ABL).Extended spring training 2016.Gulf Coast League Twins 2016.Played for Australia in the World Cup tournament.Played all season for the ABL champion Brisbane Bandits.Played for Australia in the World Baseball Classic in Japan.Spring Training 2017.Cedar Rapids Kernels.According to Whitefield, “I think I had about six to seven days from the end of the ABL season to the WBC. So that was kind of my break for the offseason.” The Australian World Baseball Classic roster was not necessarily something that he was expecting. The Australian team is usually comprised of older players who have reached higher levels of the minor leagues. However, it was clear that it meant a lot to him when he found out he had made the team. “It was always in question. There are a lot of older guys on the team that are still playing and playing in the ABL. I just tried to set myself up as well as I could during the ABL, trying to put up some good numbers, made the All-Star team back home in Australia. I had a really good season. Toward the end of the season I thought I really can’t do much better. Found out, I think it was the last week of the season which was about February. Then during the playoffs, I found out then and I was pretty excited to get the experience to play.” Just in case you missed it, Whitefield hit great for Brisbane in the ABL this season. He hit .338/.379/.490 (.869) with 12 doubles and four home runs. He also stole 20 bases in 23 attempts. Whitefield was excited to make the WBC roster along with fellow Twins minor leaguers Todd Van Steensel, Lachlan Wells and several former Twins and Twins minor leaguers. Before going to Japan, the Australian team played some games in Korea. “We had a warm-up tournament in Korea. We played a few teams, which was unreal. I’d never been to Korea before, and how much they love baseball is crazy. Their stadiums are huge and they’re all indoor facilities.” Then it was off to Japan for a few tune up games before starting the WBC. He noted that they played a couple of games in Osaka before going to Tokyo for the WBC. As far as what he learned from the WBC experience, it was more about learning the game from some veterans. “Probably more the mental game, it helped me with. Talking to the older guys like Luke Hughes, Trent Oeltjen, Ryan Rowland-Smith. People like that who have been through the whole system and made it to the big leagues. That kind of helped me out a lot.” -------------------------------------------------------------------- Immediately following the elimination of Australia from the WBC, Whitefield hopped on a plane and made the multi-time zone trek from Japan to Ft. Myers where he jumped right into spring training. He took advantage of the long plane flight to start thinking about his 2017 season and set some goals. “I wanted to make a full-season team and make that jump and show them that I can make that jump and I’m ready to go. Spring training is just getting the feel back. I kind of shut down a little bit. A bit of off time mentally. And then turning it back on and telling the body to go and do it again.” But the jump from the GCL to the Midwest League isn’t an easy one. According to Kernels manager Tommy Watkins, “I would say it’s a big jump from the GCL to here.” But Whitefield impressed the coaches and others this spring and earned a spot on the Kernels Opening Day roster. As of today, Whitefield is hitting .281/.324/.477 (.800) with six doubles, two triples and five home runs for Cedar Rapids. But the first thing people talk about with Whitefield is his defense. Last year, he played all over the diamond for the GCL Twins. He started 26 games at first base, 18 games in center field, eight games in right field, seven games at third base and three games in left field. Whitefield noted, “Last year, I played mostly in the infield because if I wasn’t at first base, I’d play third base, and if I wasn’t at third base, I’d play occasional outfield.” But it’s actually something that Whitefield enjoyed and sees value in. “I’d like to be noticed as a utility guy. If someone goes down, I can fill in. It’s a good thing. Now I’ve practiced in the outfield in the ABL and kind of got my feet in there. Left field still isn’t my favorite position out of them all, but center field, I like to take control and to be able to control the other guys. It’s a lot more room to run around.” Whitefield has played 38 games so far this year for the Kernels, and his manager has played him in center field in all 38 of them. Watkins said, “He’s been doing a good job for us. Defensively, hands down, I’d put him out there with the best. He can go get it.” At 6-4 and 200 pounds, Whitefield can really run. He’s very fast. He’s still learning in the field, but he does have a strong arm too. With his size, he is a tremendous athlete, and he’s got the tools to be an all-around player. Watkins agreed. “He’s got tools. We changed a couple of things at the plate with him and the quality of his at bats went up. He started hitting the ball with more power, driving the ball more. He’s a great talent. He’s fun to watch.” Last year, Whitefield was the lone representative from the GCL Twins on the Gulf Coast League’s postseason All-Star team. He hit .298/.370/.366 (.737) with seven doubles and two home runs in 51 games. He also stole 31 bases. There were a lot of challenges in jumping from softball in Australia to professional baseball in the United States. “It took me a little bit to get started because I wasn’t playing every day at the start of the season (in the GCL). Once I started performing, I was in the starting lineup every game. I got my feet wet, but then I would have a bad day and had to get over that mentally. So last year has really helped me get to where I am now. To be able to mentally be where I’m at now, especially thanks to those older guys.” Steve Singleton is a former Twins prospect who joined the organization in 2016 as a GCL hitting coach where he worked a lot with Whitefield. Singleton was promoted this year and is the hitting coach for the Ft. Myers Miracle. Whitefield gives Singleton a lot of credit. “Big shout out to Sing for helping me out. I still had a softball swing coming from there. He helped give me the confidence to say I can drive the ball and not just slap the ball and run it out. I worked with him last year and my numbers show the work that we put in.” What kind of player is Whitefield, and what kind of player can be become? That’s all to be determined. Even Whitefield can’t answer that question with any real certainty. “(The power is) Still coming. My heart size is there, but I haven’t put on the pounds yet to be noticed as a power guy. I’ve still got it in there, but I want to be noticed as a guy who can do everything. Like, he’s fast, he’s just using his speed. As well as offense, my defense is a big thing I take pride in.” So what are Whitefield’s goals for the remainder of this season? “Cutting down the strikeouts is a big thing this year. Put the ball in play. I’ve got the speed. I can beat it out and not just be an easy out. Also, my goal for the year is ten home runs and 60 steals. I want to be able to do both. Stolen base is slightly less at the start of the year than where I want it to be, but I’ve been driving the ball a bit better than what I thought I would as well.” In the GCL, Whitefield struck out 22% of his plate appearances. His strikeout rate with the Kernels is just 23% so far. He’s halfway to his home run goal already, but he’s got a long ways to go on the stolen bases. 60 may be tough, but I wouldn't be surprised to see him get to 35 or 40. While Whitefield does have a long ways to go to reach his big league dreams, it is important to remember a few things. First and foremost, he has only been playing baseball since he was 17. That’s less than four years. He’s got the size. He’s got the athleticism, and he’s already putting up numbers in the Midwest League against older pitchers. There’s no question that he fits in with the likes of Lewis Thorpe and Lachlan Wells as prospects to watch in the Twins system. Click here to view the article

In the last two day, lefties Lewis Thorpe and Stephen Gonsalves have returned to the mound. Several hitters have started heating up. In one week, you’ll notice there have been some changes in the Twins Minor League Leaderboard. Find out who is leading the Twins minor leagues in a variety of statistics, and then feel free to discuss.But first, let’s take a quick look at how the Twins’ affiliates currently stack up in their leagues. Rochester is 19-18. The Red Wings are 6.5 games back in the International League North Division. They’re in fourth place in the division.In the first half, Chattanooga is 23-20. That puts them tied for second place, 2.0 games in the Southern League’s South division.Ft. Myers has won seven straight games and is 23-20 and in second place in the Florida State League’s South division.Cedar Rapids is 25-17 so far this season. They are currently tied with Kane County (19-14) at the top of the Midwest League’s Western Division.With that, let’s look at the minor league statistical leader board (through games on Saturday, May 20). THE HITTERS (Rate numbers- minimum 114 plate appearances) Plate Appearances - Chris Paul (179), Nick Gordon (178), Zander Wiel (172), Max Murphy (171), Jermaine Palacios (168). Batting Average - Chris Paul (.337), Jermaine Palacios (.325), LaMonte Wade (.314), Edgar Corcino (.303), Nick Gordon (.300). On-Base Percentage - LaMonte Wade (.442), Chris Paul (.380), Edgar Corcino (.371), Jermaine Palacios (.369), Nick Gordon (.365). Slugging Percentage - Jermaine Palacios (.535), Lewin Diaz (.500), Jaylin Davis (.497), Aaron Whitefield (.477), Nick Gordon (.475). OPS - Jermaine Palacios (.904), LaMonte Wade (.896), Nick Gordon (.840), Chris Paul (.828), Lewin Diaz (.815). Hits - Chris Paul (55), Jermaine Palacios (51), Nick Gordon (48), Lewin Diaz (45), Max Murphy/Edgar Corcino (40). Doubles - Lewin Diaz (16), Chris Paul/Zander Wiel/Mitchell Kranson (12), Tommy Field (11). Triples - Jermaine Palacios/Zander Wiel/Nick Gordon (5), Rafael Valera (4), eight with 2. Home Runs - Jaylin Davis (9), Daniel Palka (7), Jermaine Palacios/Aaron Whitefield/Lewin Diaz (5), five tied with four. Runs Scored - Jermaine Palacios (32), LaMonte Wade (27), Max Murphy (26), Jaylin Davis (24), Jonathan Rodriguez/Chris Paul (23). RBI - Lewin Diaz (27), Zander Wiel (26), Jaylin Davis/Nick Gordon (23), Chris Paul (22). SB - Zach Granite (9), Tanner English (8), Aaron Whitefield (7), Jermaine Palacios/Jaylin Davis/Max Murphy (6). . THE STARTING PITCHERS (Rate number - minimum 32.0 innings) Innings Pitched: Dereck Rodriguez (50.0), Clark Beeker (45.2), Sean Poppen (45.1), Aaron Slegers (42.1), Randy LeBlanc/Lachlan Wells (41.0). ERA: Jose Berrios (1.13), Sean Poppen (2.38), Randy LeBlanc (2.41), Tyler Wells (2.65), Clark Beeker (2.76). WHIP: Jose Berrios (0.81), Clark Beeker (0.99), Tyler Wells (1.09), Sean Poppen (1.103), Cody Stashak (1.105). K/9: Tyler Wells (11.9), Eduardo Del Rosario/David Fischer (9.6), Jose Berrios (8.8), Sean Poppen (8.7). BB/9: Clark Beeker (1.4), Dereck Rodriguez/Sean Poppen (1.6), Tyler Beardsley/Jose Berrios (1.8). K: Nik Turley (54), Tyler Wells (45), Sean Poppen (44), Eduardo Del Rosario (43), Dereck Rodriguez/Jose Berrios (39) THE RELIEF PITCHERS (Rate numbers - minimum 13.0 innings, and less than 2 starts) Innings Pitched: Brady Anderson (30.0), Randy Rosario (26.0), Sam Clay (24.0), Anthony McIver (23.0), Williams Ramirez (21.1). ERA: John Curtiss (0.00), Nick Burdi (0.57), Nick Anderson (1.04), Williams Ramirez (1.69), Randy Rosario (1.73). WHIP: Nick Burdi (0.64), Tom Hackimer (0.65), Nick Anderson (0.75), Alan Busenitz (0.81), Randy Rosario (0.85) K/9: Andrew Vasquez (14.3), Luke Bard (13.7), Alex Robinson (13.5), Alan Busenitz (11.8), John Curtiss/Todd Van Steensel (11.7). BB/9: Brady Anderson/Tom Hackimer (0.9), Nick Anderson (1.0), Drew Rucinski (1.4), Hector Lujan (1.6) K: Luke Bard (31), Andrew Vasquez (26), Alex Robinson (25), Sam Clay (24), Tom Hackimer (22). Saves: John Curtiss/Tom Hackimer (6), Alex Wimmers (4), Mason Melotakis/Jonny Drozd/Max Cordy (3). Feel free to ask questions about any of the players or teams. Click here to view the article

If he was hurt, he would still be rehabbing... They can't release an injured player... That's probably enough on that, right?

On Friday night, Lewis Thorpe made his first start since August of 2014. On Saturday night, there was another talented left-handed pitcher who made his first start of the season. Stephen Gonsalves went to big league camp, but a few weeks in, he was shut down with a shoulder issue. He’s been in Ft. Myers working his way back since then and on Saturday night he made that start. Extra innings were needed to decide games for the Rochester Red Wings and Ft. Myers Miracle. One Twins minor league hitter got to play hero for the second time in a week. Another Twins prospect went home and had his best game of the year so far.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Saturday night, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Check out the transactions through the minor league system on Wednesday: The Twins have released catcher AJ Murray and pitcher Michael Cederoth. Both had been in extended spring training this season, on disabled lists.While we mentioned it in yesterday’s minor league report, Chattanooga officially removed Stephen Gonsalves from the disabled list.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 4, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 5 (11 innings) Box Score Nick Tepesch made the start for the Red Wings and gave up three runs in the first inning. But he settled in and finished with four runs on five hits over six innings. He walked one and struck out two. Three of the hits were home runs, producing the four runs he was charged with. Alex Wimmers made his return to the Red Wings and struck out three over two shutout innings. DJ Baxendale came on and threw scoreless ninth and tenth innings. However, with two outs in the bottom of the 11th inning, he gave up the winning run. In his 2.2 innings, he gave up the one run on two hits. He walked three and struck out three. Byungho Park cut the Wings deficit to 4-3 in the sixth inning with a two-run homer, his second of the season. An inning later, John Ryan Murphy singled in a run to tie the game. Niko Goodrum hit his fifth and sixth doubles of the year. Daniel Palka went 2-5 with his sixth double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Biloxi 2 (5 innings) Box Score Twins fans have been waiting for almost two months to see Twins Daily's #2 Twins Prospect Stephen Gonsalves. Gonsalves has been impatiently waiting to make his 2017 debut. And then… he had to wait a little longer. This game started on time. The Lookouts went scoreless in the top of the first inning. Gonsalves made his trek to the mound for the bottom of the first inning, but before the inning began, a torrential rainfall came, causing a delay. However, when the game resumed, Gonsalves was on the mound. In the first inning, he got two ground outs and an infield pop fly. In the second, he caught a comebacker, which should probably be a Top Play nominee. Then he fielded a groundball, gave up a double, and then fielded another grounder. He struck out the first two batters of the third inning and then got a line out to end the inning. In the fourth inning, he gave up a walk to start the inning. He then struck out the next batter and got a fly out to left for the second out. Unfortunately, he gave up a two-run homer to Angel Ortega before getting the final out. That ended the night for Gonsalves. In total, he gave up the two runs on two hits. He walked one and struck out three. 33 of his 57 pitches were strikes. According to Gonsalves, he had some adrenaline running early. "I had a little adrenaline today, but I kept telling myself I've been here and I've been able to compete well at this level. So I was getting myself comfortable." He put up solid numbers considering he didn't feel like he had all his pitches working. In fact, in his mind, he only had one of his pitches working. "Only thing working for me today was my fastball. I couldn't get anything over other than that. Curveball was getting spiked. Slider wasn't sliding. That's what the double was hit off of. And I kept pushing my change ups. I want to say I only three off speed pitches for strikes out of 15. But my fastball command was all I had working tonight, just beating up kids on the hands. I think I went outside twice and one was the home run." It's that kind of push for perfection and expectations for himself that has pushed Gonsalves up the prospect rankings and up the Twins organizational level. It also was the end of the game. The Lookouts batted in the top of the fifth. Randy LeBlanc went out to the mound to warm up, but then the rains came again. This time, the game was called. Because the game had passed the top of the 5th with the home team winning, the Lookouts lost 2-0. The Lookouts offense had just three hits, two by catcher Dan Rohlfing. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, Bradenton 8 (10 innings) Box Score For the second time within the last week, Chris Paul played hero for the Miracle. Earlier in the week, he hit a three-run walk off homer. On Saturday night, it was a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning. Paul went 2-4 with two walks and his 12th double. Bradley Strong and Sean Miller each had three hits in the game. Tanner English went 2-4 with a walk and his first homer. Zander Wiel went 1-2 with three walks and his fourth home run. Dereck Rodriguez started and gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings. He struck out seven. Jonny Drozd came on for the sixth inning. He gave up five runs (four earned) on five hits and a walk. Williams Ramirez got the next four outs. Sam Clay improved to 5-0 by throwing 2.2 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three to improve to 5-0 and drop his season ERA to 2.25. As you recall, Sam Clay gave up six earned runs in just ⅔ of an inning in his first outing of the season. Since then, he has thrown 23.1 scoreless innings. The Miracle extended their winning streak to seven games with the win. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Wisconsin 2 Box Score It was a very nice night in Wisconsin for the Kernels battery. Let’s start on the mound. Eduardo Del Rosario made the start. He gave up two runs on five hits in eight innings. He walked two and struck out eight. Through seven innings, he did not allow a run. Tom Hackimer came in for the ninth. He recorded his sixth save of the season as he had one strikeout in a perfect ninth inning. Ben Rortvedt was the Twins second-round pick a year ago out of Verona Area High School in Verona, Wisconsin. The Kernels were playing in Appleton which is about 120 miles, or a two-hour drive for Rortvedt’s friends and family. He came into the game hitting just .122. He went 2-3 with a walk and his fourth double, raising his average to .141 on the year. Christian Cavaness went 2-4 with the other RBI. Ariel Montesino added his fifth double. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Eduardo Del Rosario, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Ft. Myers Miracle SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (12:05 CST) - LHP Nik Turley Chattanooga @ Biloxi (1:05 CST) - LHP Matt Tracy Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:05 CST) - RHP Tyler Beardsley Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

I would say that health was a part of it, for sure...

"Like"

Busenitz has been tremendous...

ICYMI: The Twins released minor league catcher AJ Murray and RHP Michael Cederoth.

After reading this... I just dropped the price of the electronic version of the 2017 Twins Prospect Handbook by $2... http://www.lulu.com/shop/seth-stohs-and-jeremy-nygaard-and-cody-christie/minnesota-twins-prospect-handbook-2017/ebook/product-23012872.html

Two years, eight months and 19 days. A total of 992 days. On August 31, 2014, Lewis Thorpe threw four shutout innings for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. It was his last start of the season. Unfortunately, it was his last start until tonight (May 19, 2017) because he left that game with pain in his elbow. It’s been a long and winding road back for the talented left-hander from Melbourne, Australia, but on Friday in Ft. Myers, Thorpe made his return. It’s something he - and the Twins and their fans - has been awaiting for a long time. You can’t blame him if he was a little excited and anxious before the game. When he was warming up in the bullpen, he was definitely feeling it.Thorpe said he was “very nervous and had lots of emotions running through my head.” But he pitched well. The first Bradenton batter that he faced was shortstop Cole Tucker, and he struck out him. He got a pop up to the catcher and a fly ball to center field to end a clean first inning. The second inning was perfect for Thorpe as well. After one out in the third inning, he gave up a single. After a fielder’s choice, Thorpe picked off the runner for the third out. Nine batters faced, nine outs. Cole Tucker led off the fourth inning and hit a home run. Thorpe then responded with a strikeout, a ground out and another strikeout. That was it for Thorpe’s 2017 debut, but considering it has been nearly 1,000 days since his previous start, the 50-pitch limit probably makes a lot of sense. 31 of his 49 pitches were strikes. Thorpe noted after the game, “Everything was working well, and I had good command of all four pitches.” It’s been a long couple of seasons for Thorpe. He attempted to rehab the partially torn UCL. He had Tommy John surgery in April of 2015. There was the rehab from the shoulder injury, and there were some other setbacks in his return. “There’s always going to be some tough times when you rehab for two years. I think I handled myself pretty well overall. There were some times when I got really down, but I got through it.” As we know, there are several people in the Twins organization that Thorpe could talk to during his elbow rehab because they have been through it too. That kind of support is helpful. But Thorpe spoke of a lot of support he has received along the way. “Everyone including my family, coaches and teammates have been a huge support for me. It was a tough two years, but I’m finally back.” There is a lot of similarity between the return of Thorpe and last year’s return of Fernando Romero. Romero had missed about two years following his Tommy John surgery. His first start last year came on May 20th. Romero was shut down, missing only one start at the end of the season. Romero made 16 total starts a year ago, five in Cedar Rapids and nine in Ft. Myers. He didn’t throw more than 82 pitches until his eighth start. He worked a total of 90.1 innings on the year. We shall see if the Twins have Thorpe follow a similar path through the 2017 season. Despite not making a start for nearly 1,000 days (have I mentioned that?), Thorpe will not turn 22 years old until late November. His future remains bright. But he’s not thinking too far into the future. He is keeping his goals simple, to “just continue to throw the ball well and have fun out there. Staying healthy is going to be tough too.” Twins fans should be very excited about the return of Lewis Thorpe to the mound. He was a Top 10 Twins prospect by many (even most) publications. Henry Bonilla is the Miracle pitching coach. He pitched seven seasons in the Twins system, and three more in the Angels organization. This is now his sixth season as a coach in the Twins organization, his second with the Miracle. He was impressed by how Thorpe handled himself. "I'm really proud of how he controlled his emotions. Personally, Friday night, big crowd, against a first-place team, I would not be able to be as calm as he was. Or at least as calm and cool the way he did. Good first step after a long layoff." Oh, and on Saturday, Stephen Gonsalves will be making his first start of the 2017 season, for Chattanooga against Biloxi. Click here to view the article

As Keith Law said regarding Greene and Wright in his conversation with me the other day... Me Paraphrasing: Greene - ceiling is multi-time All Star, true Ace.... floor - his risks are such that he could top out at AA or something. Wright - barring injury, the floor for him is probably #3 starter in MLB (probably!), but there's a chance he could be a number two or even a #1. So, for both, ceiling is #1 starter... Floors are different (to reiterate, barring injury)... And yes, there is always the TINSTAAPP theory, which can happen to anyone.

Along with the Lewis Thorpe news, Stephen Gonsalves is pitching for Chattanooga tomorrow... (Saturday)...

Who would you suggest they call up for one game? Should be someone on the 40-man roster, and there aren't a lot of options. Of course, you could always DFA Rucinski to make room for someone, but again, for one game, seems like too much.

Carlson is in Top 15 (maybe 20 in some) rankings of draft-eligible players. Hand, Brown and Windle weren't in that neighborhood. Level of competition is important, but all these guys play each other in those summer showcases. So yes, Carlson's playing in MN and now California or Georgia, but he's proven himself against those guys, like Mauer did then. Listen, the draft is always a crap shoot. I'm not going to say he's going to be an MLB All Star, but based on his rankings by the national people/sites, he's worth of a mid-first round pick. And, since he's from here, we're really excited to profile him and will probably do more as the draft approaches.

That would be the dream, though he'll likely be long gone, regardless of his asking price, but the time the Twins pick again. We can hope though!

In the fourth and final installment of a conversation with Keith Law, we discussed what goes into the thinking when a team has the #1 overall pick in the draft. What factors would he use if he was the scouting director for the team with the top selection? I think his response speaks very well to the fact that it is not an easy decision this year. Law’s comments about the options remind us that there are choices at number one, that it’s not a slam dunk choice. One more reminder, tonight at 6:30, Keith Law will appear with fellow baseball authors Peter Schilling, Jr., and Michael Fallon for a book reading, discussion and signing. Head to Moon Palace Books in southeast Minneapolis to be a part of this event. Get your copy of Smart Baseball signed by Keith Law. We all know the catch phrase that teams like to use when talking about early draft picks. “Best Player Available” is the popular, and correct, thing to do. Who will be the best player in the minds of your scouting department? That is the player you want. However, there are many factors that a scouting department will consider in determining who they will select and invest millions of dollars.I asked Keith Law for his general thoughts on what a team should consider when making the #1 overall pick. “My personal philosophy… The history of the #1 pick, you are more likely to get a generational talent or an all-world sort of player than any other spot. It’s a rare opportunity. Of course, you never want to pick there again.” The top player on Law’s board is the top player on most people’s board right now, though even now that is subject to change. “If you look at Hunter Greene, the 17-year-old high school right-handed pitcher/shortstop from Southern California, he’s first on my rankings, and I believe he’s first on MLB.com’s too. I think he has a chance to be an absolute superstar. I would take him recognizing the risk, but you want to roll the dice on a chance to get a franchise-defining sort of player. However, that is simply my philosophy, and it isn’t my money so it’s pretty easy for me to say that.” Money is a factor. While the draft slots have changed a bit this year, teams at the top - those with the most slotted money available to use - can still be creative. The best example in recent years was the Astros selecting Carlos Correa first overall in 2012 and signing him for well under slot value. They then used the extra slot money to select Lance McCullers and Rio Ruiz later. Could the Twins consider that strategy? Should they? “And money is always a factor. If Hunter Greene wants $8 million and Kyle Wright of Vanderbilt says he’ll sign for $5 million, you might be able to do great things with that $3 million in savings.” Law continued, “Taking Wright, even if you don’t believe he’s the best player, may be the better choice because of the value. They have one extra pick and another at the top of the second round, you can overpay guys later and get more talent in total.” With the Twins farm system lacking the high-end talent (as we discussed in Part 3), adding three high-quality prospects in the draft certainly sounds appealing. We don’t know what Greene or Wright or McKay or others would ask. Those discussions will start occurring in the coming weeks. But the strategy is sound.” With the #1 overall pick, you simply cannot take a guy who busts completely. Ceiling is great, but floor likely comes into play as well. Law explains, “There is another philosophy that says if you pick first, you don't want to zero out on that. Hunter Greene is a high school right-hander. No high school right-hander has ever gone first overall. It’s risky. Maybe you take Wright, who’s at Vanderbilt, who’s the best college pitcher in the class for me. He’s been pitching out of his mind the last month. He’s got size. He’s got stuff. He’s got command. I mean, Vanderbilt is as good of pedigree as you can get for a pitcher. So maybe you say, we know that guy’s a big league starter. He’s at least a three, probably a two, and he might be a one. That’s good. You would take that. Especially the Twins. They’ve struggled to develop good young starting pitcher. You would take that.” In summary, Law agrees that Greene presents the highest ceiling. However, he comes with a lot of risk. Wright has a high ceiling, though not as high as Greene, but his floor is most likely significantly higher too. “Would you take that if I told you that in passing on Hunter Greene, there’s a 30% chance you’re passing on Bob Gibson. Maybe Hall of Famer is a bit much, but a multiple-time All-Star, a Cy Young contender in Greene. He might be that.” Law recently had the opportunity to see Greene and talk with him for an upcoming story. He came away incredibly impressed. “He might get to the big leagues by 20. He’s 17, and I got to interview him a couple of weeks ago. This is an impressive person. It’s an impressive body. You don’t see kids like that. I see kids all the time for the job. I don’t see many kids build like that, athletic like that, loose like that, still projectable and already throwing in the upper-90s.” With the Twins having so many young players in their pre-arbitration and pre-free agency years, maybe there is a goal to get someone who can help more quickly. “At the same time, do you want to wait 3-5 years for a high school pitcher, or do you want to take the college pitcher who could be in your rotation in 12 months?” These are all factors and considerations that Twins first-year Scouting Director Sean Johnson has likely thrown around in his head, and thrown off of all of the area scouts, and thrown off of Derek Falvey, Thad Levine and others. Simply, there isn’t an easy #1 overall choice in the 2017. There isn’t a Stephen Strasburg, there there isn’t a Bryce Harper. Making it even more difficult, Law acknowledges there are likely more than just the two players (Greene and Wright). “I could go back and forth, and I could make a good case for either side. Those are just two of them. You will hear Brendan McKay’s name though he’s falling off at this point. But he may still be a strong consideration at one. There are other names in this group because there’s not a hitter. There’s not a Bryce Harper where you look and say that’s a sure thing. The bat plays and he’s got power. I can check off a bunch of things that are virtual guarantees. We’re talking about pitchers, and pitchers are scary. I’ve been in draft rooms with Toronto where we took pitchers and we were sure of what we were getting, and we didn’t get that.” I mentioned to Law that I had just done a radio spot and when asked who I would take with the #1 pick, I surprised the show’s hosts by saying Kyle Wright. Law made me feel better about my (admittedly hypothetical) selection. “You’re not wrong. I guess there are wrong answers, but Kyle Wright is not a wrong answer. I don’t know if there’s really one right answer this year.” McKay’s name has surfaced with the Twin and the top overall pick. Those voices have seemingly quieted of late. And it’s because of the things scouts (and fans) have seen the last couple of weekends. “When I saw him in February, he was 90-95. We’ve had reports from the last two weekends where he’s been upper-80s and topping out at (91 or 92). That’s a little concerning. He was never overpowering. He’s going to live by command, by mixing his pitches. Now you’re telling me it’s an average fastball? It’s not a high school kid's where you’ve projecting it to get better. It’s a college arm thinking this is probably what it is. That would worry me. He’s still a good pitcher, but at this point, if I were in Falvey’s shoes, I’d say we’re not doing that at one. So what do you think? There are a lot of ways to think about who the Twins should draft with the first overall pick. All of them make sense. Things to consider include: CeilingFloorLikelihood of reaching ceilingFinancial creativity (can you get two of three high-level talents by signing someone for less at one?)TimelinesI would really like to thank Keith Law for spending some time talking to me the other day about a variety of topics. It was a nice conversation that felt like it could have gone much longer. One more time, you’ve got the opportunity tonight to rub elbows with Keith Law, hear a reading of his new book Smart Baseball, listen to some baseball discussion and get autographs. 6:30 tonight at Moon Palace Books in Minneapolis. If you missed any of the previous article, here they are: Part 1 - Keith Law On Smart Baseball Part 2 - Keith Law On Derek Falvey And The 2017 Twins Part 3 - Keith Law On The Twins Minor Leagues Click here to view the article

Yeah, he put up numbers that were better than Thorpe did in Cedar Rapids as a 19 year old... They're pretty similar.

The press release post-game said 92, so I changed it to that... I don't know which is right, to be honest.