Seth Stohs

Not worried about walks (lack of) for Arraez. I mean, no one really worries about the actual stats of these guys, just that they're making some adjustments and getting more development at bats. He may never walk a ton, but it would be good to see more. But, he has such good contact skills. He doesn't swing and miss often.

Last night (Saturday), Daniel Palka was 1-2 with 2 walks.

Here is your weekly update of how Twins players and prospects are performing in the Winter Leagues. With the conclusion of the World Series, several players have become free agents so these reports are a little bit smaller than they have been the last few weeks. As the Twins sign players to minor league deals, we'll keep you updated. Continue reading to see who performed well in the Winter Leagues the past week.Venezuelan Winter League Report Luis Arraez has been a story all year, since the 19-year-old put together an incredible season in Cedar Rapids where his .347 average led the Midwest League. He was a multi-hit game machine. He had 34 two-hit games, 13 three-hit games, three four-hit games, and a five hit game. In the first two Kernels playoff games, he had a three-hit game and a four-hit game. He's kept it up in the Winter League. Through games on Friday night, Arraez has played 27 games. He is hitting .358/.386/.519 (.905) with seven doubles and five triples. He has 15 RBI and 21 runs scored. He doesn't like to walk (6), but he also doesn't strike out (6). In the past week, he played five games. He went 13-21 (.619) with two doubles and a triple. Over his last seven games played, he has five three-hit games. He's had multiple hits in seven of his last nine games. Niko Goodrum has now played 28 games in Venezuela. He missed the first half of the 2016 season with a stress reaction in his foot, so these at bats are really good for him. He's hitting .297/.368/.450 (.818) with eight doubles, three triples and a homer in 124 plate appearances. He's struck out a fair amount (28 times), but he's also walked 13 times. In this past week, he has played in six games. He's 9-23 (.391) with a double, two triples and a home run. He had four straight games multi-hit games in the middle of the week. In one game, he was a single short of a cycle. Ryan O'Rourke's Venezuelan season started out very poorly, so it's taken some time for him to bring his season ERA down. Overall, he has a 7.82 ERA and a 1.89 WHIP in 12 games and 12.2 innings. He has made two starts. This past week, he pitched twice and made a start on Friday night. In it, he threw four shutout innings. He gave up four hits walked none and struck out three. Victor Tademo and Edwar Colina did not play during the week. Dominican Republic Winter League Report Daniel Palka was our choice for Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year. He has now played 15 games in the Dominican. He is hitting .217/.266/.367 (.632) with three doubles, two triples and nine RBI. He has walked four time and struck out 19 times. This past week, he played in four games. He had two hits in 13 at bats (.154). Both hits were doubles. Leonardo Reginnato made his Dominican debut last Friday night. In his seven games so far he is hitting .227/261/.227 (.488) with a walk and a run scored. However, in his past three games, he is 5-11 (.455). Confesor Lara has pitched nine games so far this winter. In 8.2 innings he has a 2.08 ERA and a 0.83 WHIP. Over the past week, he worked in one inning of one game. Puerto Rican Winter League Report Kennys Vargas has played in nine games already. He is hitting .188/.297/.344 (.641) with two doubles and a homer. He's got seven RBI and four runs scored. He's walked five times with eight strikeouts. In the last week, he played in five games. He had just four hits in 18 at bats (.222). He had a double, and on Friday night he hit his first home run. JJ Fernandez has also played in nine games. He is 7-29, hitting .241/.290/.483 (.773) with two doubles, a triple and a home run. In six games this past week, Fernandez is 3-18, hitting .167 with a double and a home run. Juan Centeno has played seven games so far. He is 4.28. He's hitting .143/.226/.179 (.404) with a double. This week, he went 3-14 (.214) in three games played. He hit the double and drove in both runs. Nelson Molina had just one plate appearance during the week. He drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Lean Marrero went 0-2 over the two games he played. Dereck Rodriguez is yet to give up a run in his three outings. In 6.2 innings, he gave up two hits, walked one and struck out four. He has a 0.45 WHIP. He pitched in just one inning this past week. He gave up a hit, walked one and struck one out in a scoreless inning. Please feel free to ask questions. Click here to view the article

Brian Dozier posted some incredible numbers in 2016. Despite a very slow start and missing games at the end with injury, he hit .268/.340/.546 (.886) with 35 doubles, five triples, 42 homers, 104 runs scored and 99 RBI. On Thursday, the Silver Slugger Awards were announced. Jose Altuve of the Houston Astros won the Award for AL Second Baseman for the third straight year. They don't give any ranking for the awards, but it's possible that, despite his remarkable numbers, Dozier could have finished as low as third among AL second baseman. Long considered a defense-first position, second base has become a position where offense matters. This isn't necessarily new. Altuve, Ian Kinsler, Dustin Pedroia and Robinson Cano have been putting up strong offensive numbers for most of a decade. This year, however, ten American League second basemen posted an fWAR of at least 2.0.There's no real 'analysis' to the below. I'm just going to post the Top 10 rankings among American League second basemen in 2016. What's remarkable to me is that 22-year-old Rougned Odor of the Texas Rangers knocked 33 home runs in 2016 and isn't among the Top 5 in other categories and he's not in the upper half at the position in most categories. Read below to see where Brian Dozier ranked among American League second basemen. In the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook, Nick wrote an article on Dealing Dozier. It's well worth the read. You can download a copy of the Handbook right now at no charge (or you are welcomed to give a donation if you choose). Top 10 (Runs Scored) Ian Kinsler - 117Jose Altuve - 108Robinson Cano - 107Dustin Pedroia - 105Brian Dozier - 104Jason Kipnis - 91Rougned Odor - 89Jonathan Schoop - 82Logan Forsythe - 76Starlin Castro - 63Top 10 (RBI)Robinson Cano - 103Brian Dozier - 99Jose Altuve - 96Rougned Odor - 88Ian Kinsler - 83Jason Kipnis - 82Dustin Pedroia - 74Starlin Castro - 70Logan Forsythe - 52Devon Travis - 50Top 10 (Doubles)Jose Altuve - 42Jason Kipnis - 41Jonathan Schoop - 38Dustin Pedroia - 36Brian Dozier - 35Robinson Cano - 33Rougned Odor - 33Starlin Castro - 29Ian Kinsler - 29Devon Travis - 28Top 10 (Home Runs)Brian Dozier - 42Robinson Cano - 39Rougned Odor - 33Ian Kinsler - 28Jonathan Schoop - 25Jose Altuve - 24Jason Kipnis - 23Starlin Castro - 21Logan Forsythe - 20Dustin Pedroia - 15OPS+ (100 is average)Jose Altuve - 154Robinson Cano -138Brian Dozier - 136Ian Kinsler - 124Dustin Pedroia - 124Logan Forsythe - 113Devon Travis - 108Jason Kipnis - 107Rougned Odor - 105Brett Lawrie - 99Top 10 (bWAR - Wins Above Replacement by Baseball Reference)Jose Altuve - 6.7Robinson Cano - 6.0Brian Dozier - 5.9Ian Kinsler - 5.8Dustin Pedroia - 5.2Jason Kipnis - 4.8Logan Forsythe - 2.8Devon Travis - 2.5Rougned Odor - 2.0Jonathan Schoop - 2.0Top 10 (fWAR - Wins Above Replacement by FanGraphs)Jose Altuve - 6.7Robinson Cano - 6.0Brian Dozier - 5.9Ian Kinsler - 5.8Dustin Pedroia - 5.2Jason Kipnis - 4.8Logan Forsythe - 2.8Devon Travis - 2.5Rougned Odor - 2.0Jonathan Schoop - 2.0Of course, FanGraphs also assigns a value in dollars to their WAR calculation. For 2016, that value was approximately $8 million. So just for fun, that would mean that Altuve's 2016 season was valued at $53.4 million. Cano was valued at $47.6 million. Brian Dozier's 2016 season was valued at $47.2 million. Before the 2015 season, Dozier signed a four year, $20 million contract. In 2016, he more than earned his $3 million salary. Since joining the Twins during the 2012 season, he has been valued at $124.5 million to the Twins. For some context, Joe Mauer's 2009 season was valued at $48.4 million. (7.6 WAR at about $6.4 million per) Mauer's 2009 season was the only season in which he eclipsed Dozier's 5.9 fWAR of 2016. Mauer had seasons with 5.8 fWAR () and 5.7 fWAR () and he accumulated 5.3 fWAR in 2013 when his season ended six weeks early with his concussion. Brian Dozier had an incredible 2016 season, one of the best in organization history. He had an incredible season, historically, for a second baseman. In a year of many great second basemen, Dozier was right near the top. ------------------------------------------------------ Again, the Offseason Handbook can be downloaded now at no charge (or, name your price). Click here to view the article

Pretty much... but that doesn't mean they were teaching it and encouraging it as the most important thing a pitcher can have.

In their press conference on Monday, Falvey and Levine talked about the communication between them and Molitor and others. My guess, and that's all it is... is that the new regime is willing to give most people a year to determine their future. These decisions would seem to be almost fully made by Paul Molitor with some input from the big two based on their discussions and information they have.

The Twins aren't teaching fastball control in the lower levels? My assumption is that there isn't an organization in baseball where that wouldn't be taught.

Falvey/Levine are analytical and scouting types... Allen and Vavra are guys that are into the analytics... it "may" make more sense than we initially think.

Author Note: Apologies on the late report this week, but it’s hunting season! The Surprise Saguaros went 3-2 in the fourth week of the AFL season, and all of the Twins prospects were back in action on the week as Stephen Gonsalves made his return to the starting rotation after sitting out with a sore back. Their squad was also no-hit in one of those losses, but we can take solace in the fact that none of the Twins players contributed to that effort! To see how each of the Twins prospects performed in Week 4, read on! (links provided to each player’s overall stats by clicking their name) Stephen Gonsalves – 1 game started, 2.0 IP, 2 ER’s, 1 H, 1 BB. Gonsalves made his return to the starting rotation for Friday’s contest against the Salt River Rafters. As he had not pitched in a couple of weeks, it was a short appearance for him and he had to shake off a little rust. He walked the first batter of the game, and then hit the second with a pitch to put two runners on. A line out to right field from the next hitter advanced the lead runner to third, and then a fielder’s choice ground out scored the first run but got an out at second. This means the batter ended up on first base and this is where the game recap gets a little confusing. With two outs, the next batter singled to center field, and the runner who was on first…scored? However this anomaly went down this accounted for the two earned runs allowed in Gonsalves’ line. His second inning went much better and was of the one-two-three variety, with all three outs coming via ground outs to third base. Gonsalves threw thirty-three pitches total in his return to AFL action, with nineteen of those going for strikes. Nick Gordon – 3 games, 4-12, 3 R’s, 3B, RBI, BB, 6 K’s, SB. On Halloween, Surprise and Glendale were locked in 0-0 pitching staff duel until the eighth inning, when two Twins prospects broke the tie. Tanner English led off the frame with a single, and Gordon promptly drove him in with a triple for the game’s first run. Gordon scored his team’s second run on a double later in the inning and that was it in the 2-0 win. In a somewhat scary play to start the game, Gordon shook off a 90-MPH fastball to his helmet to stay in the game and then stole his fifth base, but was left stranded. On Wednesday, Gordon again was in the leadoff spot for the Saguaros 6-0 win over Peoria, but he didn’t factor into the box score much in this one. His 0-4 day included two strikeouts. He would make up for that on Friday, though his team came out on the losing end in the extra-inning affair against Salt River. Down 2-0 after the top of the inning started by Gonsalves, Gordon led off with a single in the bottom half. He later scored on a double that also tied the game at two. After strikeouts to end each of the second and fourth innings, Gordon led off the seventh inning with a single, and trotted the bases on a home run from the next batter. With the game tied at six in the eighth, Gordon again reached base with a single, but was caught stealing second for the inning's final out. Gordon was also the Twins lone representative in Saturday’s Fall Stars game, which his West division squad won 12-4. He was the leadoff man, and finished 0-3 with three ground outs before the mass substitutions came into play. For some more reading, check out Baseball America’s feature on Gordon, where it discusses what he’s working on in the AFL. Mitch Garver – 3 games, 1-11, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 4 K’s. It was a bit of a quiet week for Garver, but his lone hit was a big one that came in the first inning of Wednesday’s game against Peoria. With a runner on second, Garver blasted his fourth AFL home run to make it 2-0, and they never looked back in the 6-0 win. He was the designated hitter in this one. Earlier in the week on Hallow’s Eve, Garver was 0-4 with a pair of strikeouts while playing catcher. He did however, cut down top Dodgers prospect Cody Bellinger at second on a steal attempt late in the game. On Thursday Garver was back behind the plate, but finished his day 0-3. He drew a two-out walk in the third inning, but advanced no further than that. He also had a throwing error on the defensive side. Tanner English – 3 games, 2-9, 2 R’s, 3B, RBI, BB, 4 K’s. English saw action in the same three games as Garver during the week, playing center field in each. As mentioned above, in their Halloween win English broke the stalemate with single leading off the eighth inning and came around to score the first run of the game on Gordon’s triple that followed. In Wednesday’s shutout victory, he drew a walk in the second inning but played a bigger part in the Saguaros three-run fifth to break the game open. His triple drove in the first run of the inning, and he scored the second on a wild pitch. In Thursday’s 3-1 loss to Mesa, English moved up a spot in the batting order to eighth, but went 0-3 with a pair of strikeouts to halt his hitting streak at six games. Mason Melotakis – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 4 H’s, 2 K’s, 1.00 ERA (overall). Melotakis picked up the win on Halloween as he pitched the top of the eighth inning before his organizational teammates accounted for Surprise’s two runs in the bottom half. He got through the inning without allowing a run, but it wasn’t quite that easy. Cody Bellinger led off with a single, but that’s when Garver cut him down trying to move into scoring position. An error and a single later put runners on first and third, but he got the final out on a pop-out to end the threat. In Thursday’s loss to Mesa, Melotakis again got the eighth inning, and again he had to work out of a jam. The first two batters reached on ground ball singles to center field, but that’s when he bucked up. Two strikeouts and a grounder later he was out of the inning and had lowered his Fall League ERA to an even 1.00. Randy Rosario – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 3 H’s, K, 5.59 ERA (overall). The lefty Rosario got the sixth inning on Halloween and kept the game tied at zero with a scoreless inning. He did allow two singles including one to the leadoff batter, but with two outs and runners on the corners he closed the door on the rally with a strikeout. Like Melotakis, Rosario also saw action in Thurday’s 3-1 loss, pitching the fifth inning in that one to relieve the Saguaros starter Tanner Anderson. The leadoff man again reached base with a single, but essentially two sacrifice bunts (one legit, one a weak tapper back to him on the mound) and a can of corn later he had a scoreless inning in the book. John Curtiss – 2 games, 2.0 IP, 3 K’s, 3.72 ERA (overall). Curtiss had two solid appearances on the week, pitching in Wednesday’s win and Friday’s extra-inning loss. In the victory, he was the first reliever up after their starter finished the first four innings, and made quick work of the Javelinas lineup after the offense had made it 5-0 in the top-half. He bookended his inning with strikeouts and threw just ten pitches (seven for strikes). On Friday he pitched the seventh inning, again making short work of the opposing lineup to keep the game tied at six. On eleven pitches he picked up two ground ball outs to third, and ended the inning with a strikeout, his fourteenth on the AFL season in 8.2 innings pitched (that’s a good ratio, if you were wondering). Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the week! Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins announced tonight that hitting coach Tom Brunansky and first base coach Butch Davis will not be offered contracts to return to the staff in 2017. The remainder of the 2016 Twins coaching staff were offered contracts to return. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were quickly at work in determining the futures for the coaching staff who have been in limbo since the season's end.Tom Brunansky came back to the Twins organization in 2010 and coached in the GCL, AA and AAA before being named the Twins hitting coach before the 2013 season. Brian Dozier often gave Brunansky a ton of credit for his successes. They worked together in the minors, both the AA and AAA levels. Reports indicate that Rudy Hernandez will not be promoted to the hitting coach. He was named the Twins assistant hitting coach two seasons ago. One name to watch is Chad Allen. He has been back in the organization the last couple of years. He has had success with several of the young Twins players the last couple of years. Kennys Vargas, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton have all thrived under his leadership. It is, of course, also possible that the new regime will go outside the organization. Butch Davis came to the Twins organization from the Orioles system when Paul Molitor was named manager. He also worked with the outfielders. Besides Hernandez, those remaining on the coaching staff are pitching coach Neil Allen, third base coach Gene Glynn, bullpen coach Eddie Guardado and bench coach Joe Vavra, Click here to view the article

Where are they going to get all these guys, you know, since the other organizations aren't giving up any of their guys at this point. To be fair to those around, let Falvey/Levine see them work for the next year and make decisions based on what they're doing in a year, not what they've been doing to this point. There are a lot of very bright people in this organization that deserve a real chance, not to just be cut just because.

1.) he's signed through next year. 2.) He's a very smart guy with a strong knowledge of the current programs and systems and players and coaches and more.

A new era of Minnesota Twins baseball began on Monday morning as Derek Falvey and Thad Levine were introduced in front of a crowd consisting of Twin Cities media, some current and former players, and fans watching online and on TV. As Dave St. Peter tweeted prior to the press conference, “Today marks dawn of a new era for @Twins baseball as we welcome Derek Falvey & Thad Levine. Right leadership tandem at the right time.”Derek Falvey was officially announced as the Twins Chief Baseball Officer last month. However, due to an agreement between Minnesota, Cleveland and MLB, he remained with Cleveland through the World Series. However, in that time, he was able to hire his choice for Twins General Manager, and he chose long-time assistant GM of the Texas Rangers, Thad Levine. In addition, interim GM Rob Antony told reporters that his new title would be essentially be his old title, Assistant General Manager. To summarize, the messages shared from the mouths of both Falvey and Levine included a lot of collaborations and synergy at every level. From scouting, to player development, to the Major League club, the goal will be to share a common system of beliefs and structure. As you will find with many companies, they will focus on People, Process and Culture. Good people who are interested in communication and continuous improvement will work within some established processes to develop a culture. Hopefully that culture involves winning, and a lot of it. According to Falvey, the goal is “long-term, sustainable, championship-caliber” success for the organization he had earlier described as “one of the most proud, resilient franchises in baseball.” Getting to that level will require a lot of work. And that work starts right away. Tonight, Falvey, Levine and Antony fly to Scottsdale, Arizona, for the GM Meetings. According to Falvey, they will “dive underneath the hood of this team here.” He added, “We would expect that we’ll go through player personnel decisions and evaluations over the next 72 hours aggressively and work forward from there.” As we all know, part of the arrangement with a restructured front office was that Paul Molitor was to remain the team’s manager. That came directly from owner Jim Pohlad. Falvey and Molitor have met a few times and it sounds like the discussions have been good. “He and I share the same vision which is building a winning organization and a winning Major League team.” On Molitor, Levine added, “My opinion is that the healthiest franchises in the game have strong synergies between ownership, front office, business and the clubhouse. So when we walk in the door having inherited a manager of the caliber of Paul Molitor, we feel like we’ve got a partner in this process, someone we can invest in the future with, so we view it as a prominent positive.” The team isn’t starting from scratch. As Falvey noted, “There are some building blocks here. There are some good young players. There’s talent in this organization. I think that’s a credit to Terry Ryan and the staff that came before us and built a good foundation, particularly on the position player side. It’s something I’ve always admired from a distance.” Falvey wasn’t willing to say how good this team is or how good they can be in 2017. “I don’t want to put restraints on teams. I want to go into the year with the hope that we are a competitive team that continues to build and gets better every single day.” The big question, of course, is how to go about adding pitching, something the Twins are greatly in need of. For Falvey, he said it’s the same philosophy for hitters or pitchers. “We’re trying to seek and find the best possible talent that exists out there, and then align that talent with a development plan that will maximize those strengths.” It’s a system that worked with Cleveland. They were able to bring together scouting, development and major league operations to bring the best results. He talked about working with other departments such as medical and strength and conditioning, and potentially some departments that currently do not exist. The new staff will attempt to bring balance to the organization. They will communicate internally. It is a sound strategy. Listen, the reality is that Falvey and Levine have their work cut out for them. Aside from some of the specifics as it relates to analytics, the message was the same you would have heard from Ryan and his group, or any new collection being brought in. Falvey and Levine use bigger words and speak very well. They do bring knowledge and experience from outside the current Twins system, but they also know that it isn’t 100 percent about analytics. I was impressed with Levine noting that the opinions of former players like Michael Young and Darren Oliver, who are senior advisers in the Rangers’ front office, were helpful in the evaluation as well. Corey Koskie, Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins were in attendance. Falvey talked about being a “data-driven organization.” Levine thinks that data needs to be “married up with the scouting acumen of your field staff. The talent evaluators are really the difference-makers in the game. I subscribe to the theory that the competitive advantage is that whoever has the best talent evaluators... who then has it married up with an ownership group who will support you to acquire that talent, is probably going to win a lot of games.” Levine also noted that relationship building, the human side, is just as important. Working with the media. Building relationships with agents. All in an attempt to be able to bring in the best talent. Young talent. Talented veterans. Leaders. It all fits into the equation. So while the theme most Twins fans want to hear are words like “analytics” and “advanced stats,” it’s good to hear that these new leaders will always understand the human element as well. Things are changing in the front office of the Minnesota Twins. The goals remain the same. Build a winner. Build a team that can win in the short and long terms. It is certainly going to be a challenge. Press conferences are an opportunity to meet the new guys. We had the opportunity to listen to them speak and see some personality. It’s hard to lose in an introductory press conference. But for the most part, I feel like it was a successful unveiling of the new direction. Falvey and Levine are both very well spoken and articulate. They flash business acumen, but they have also been in great organizations that have won. They are very convincing and appear to be strong leaders. Levine showed a sense of humor and hinted humility with a few of his remarks. Of course now the work begins. Coming off of a 59-win season, much work needs to be done to make the team more competitive. It feels like the Twins have made some strong choices. Now the fun of the offseason begins. We know that those reading this on the pages of Twins Daily will be watching closely to see what will happen! Click here to view the article

They pushed him fast this year. As bad as he was for two months in Cedar Rapids, they pushed him to Ft. Myers after about 3 good starts. He'll be alright, I think. I think patience is key...They'll have a big decision on him next offseason.

Three winter leagues are up and running now. The Venezuelan Winter League has been going for nearly a month already. They’ve been playing about two weeks in the Dominican Republic, and they have now played just over a week in Puerto Rico. Several players from the Twins organization are already participating and more certainly will in time. Australia has a U23 team playing in the World Cup, and doing well.VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE Let’s start in Venezuela. Young Victor Tademo did not play during the past week. Neither did catcher Jairo Rodriguez. Wilfredo Tovar was limited to three games, and he went 2-13 (.154). Infielder Niko Goodrum played in four games. He went 4-17 (.235) with two walks and a double. Heiker Meneses played in five games and went 5-19 (.263). Reynaldo Rodriguez always hits. He played in five games and went 6-18 (.333) with two doubles. Luis Arraez was terrific again. The 19-year-old hit hits in all four games he played. In face he went 8-18 (.444) with two doubles and a triple. Throughout the season in Cedar Rapids, Arraez was a multi-hit game machine. That has remained the case in Venezuela. Of the four games he played this week, he had multiple hits in three of them. Omar Bencomo made two starts during the week. In the first, he gave up just one run despite eight hits over five innings. The second one didn’t go so well. He gave up seven runs on eight hits in just three innings. Ryan O’Rourke has been slowly working his ERA down after a rough first couple of weeks. He pitched twice during the week. He gave up one run on three hits and a walk in 1.1 innings in his first appearance. In his most recent outing, he gave up just one run on two hits over three innings.He struck out six in his 4.1 innings. Nick Greenwood did not pitch. DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE Leonardo Reginnato, who split 2016 between Chattanooga and Rochester and will play for Brazil in the WBC, played his first game in the Dominican on Friday. He went 0-3 with a walk. Carlos Paulino caught three games. He went 3-9 (.333) in those games. Late last week, Palka was hitting just .182 without an extra base hit. In his past two games, he is 4-10 with a double and two home runs. The home runs came in back-to-back games on Thursday and Friday. Confesor Lara worked in three games over the week. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. PUERTO RICO WINTER LEAGUE Lean Marrero, who has played in the GCL the last two years, has played in just one game. He is 0-1. Nelson Molina has played in two games and is 0-2. Juan Centeno has played just three games so far. He is 1-9 (.111). JJ Fernandez has spent the last three seasons in Cedar Rapids. Through three games in Puerto Rico he has gone 4-11 (.364) with two doubles and a home run. Kennys Vargas is playing again this winter. He two hits in 14 at bats (.143) with a double and three walks. Dereck Rodriguez has pitched twice. On Friday night, he pitched one inning of a no hitter for his Puerto Rico team. There is your weekly update of how Twins players have performed in the Winter Leagues. In just a couple of weeks, we’ll add the performances from the Australian Winter League. Aaron Whitefield signed with the Twins last summer and played in the GCL this year. After Instructional League, he joined the Australia World Cup U23 team. He was their leadoff hitter. In five qualifier games, he went 8-23 (.348) against teams like Austria, Argentina, Chinese Taipei and Japan. Australia qualified for the championship round this weekend. They did beat Panama in the first round. Feel free to discuss any of these players or leagues. Ask questions if you like. Click here to view the article

Much has been made about the Twins' aversion to making young slugger Miguel Sano an everyday designated hitter. But it hasn't been just Sano, The club has avoided committing regular DH at-bats to any single player for several years now. There were five teams that had a player DH at least 100 games in 2016: the Red Sox (David Ortiz, 140), Tigers (Victor Martinez, 138), Royals (Kendrys Morales, 138), Angels (Albert Pujols, 123) and Mariners (Nelson Cruz, 107). Four more teams had a DH meet that mark in 2015: the Yankees (Alex Rodriguez), Rangers (Prince Fielder), Astros (Evan Gattis) and A's (Billy Butler). That's nine of the 15 AL teams who've had a player meet the century mark in games at DH the last two seasons. How about the rest of the league?You have to go back to 2011 to the last time the Orioles (Vlad Guerrero) and Rays (Johnny Damon) had a 100-game DH, and 2010 for the Blue Jays (Adam Lind) and Indians (Travis Hafner). The White Sox have had their share of veteran sluggers, but the last time they had a player DH in 100 games was 2008 (Jim Thome, who also reached 99 games at DH in '09). That would be the longest drought without an "everyday" DH, except for the fact the Twins have them beat ... by a decade. The last Twins player to DH 100 games? Paul Molitor in 1998 (he also accomplished the feat in '97 & '96). The last time the Twins even had a guy DH in half their games was in 2009 (Jason Kubel, 82). Things were especially unstable at DH last season. Miguel Sano and Byungho Park shared the team lead in appearances at DH with just 36. Joe Mauer (34), Robbie Grossman (19) and Kennys Vargas (13) also had at least 10 games at DH. The only other teams to fail to have a player reach even 60 games at DH were the Yankees (led by A-Rod's 57 games) and A's (led by 53 games at DH for Khris Davis). But it's not like that was all by design. Of course, if Park continued his hot start Paul Molitor would have gladly penciled him in at DH 100-plus times last season. Park had a .900 OPS through his first month and a half in the big leagues before falling apart. And maybe Terry Ryan would never have brought in Park if the team didn't feel it was too early to make 23-year-old Sano an everyday DH. To be fair, that was an entirely sensible approach to take (deciding to put him in right field is another discussion). Even the greatest designated hitters of all-time spent many of their younger years in the field. Any discussion about great designated hitters has to start with David Ortiz, right? Despite being in his mid-20s, the Twins were primarily DHing Ortiz in his last three years in Minnesota, but he played first base in 79 games over his first two seasons in Boston. Once he turned 29, Ortiz never played in more than 10 games in the field in a season. Chili Davis mostly played outfield prior to coming to Minnesota in 1991 and switching to DH as a 31-year-old. Jim Thome was a third baseman through age 25 and didn't switch to DH until joining the White Sox at age 35. Paul Molitor played all over the diamond before becoming a primary DH at age 35. Edgar Martinez primarily played third base until he was 32. Harold Baines was an outfielder before he switched to DH in his age 28 season. Frank Thomas was one of the biggest dudes to play the game, but even he played more first base until he was 30. One last bit of DH info fun, since the DH was instituted in 1973 the Twins have had a 100-game DH 12 times. That's the exact number of seasons David Ortiz played at least 100 games as a DH. Here is the list of Twins' leader in DH games for each season (over 100 games in bold): 16: Miguel Sano/Byungho Park 36 15: Miguel Sano 69 14: Kennys Vargas 40 13: Ryan Doumit 49 12: Ryan Doumit 48 11: Jim Thome 59 10: Jim Thome 79 09: Jason Kubel 82 08: Jason Kubel 85 07: Jason Kubel 36 06: Rondell White 54 05: Matt LeCroy 63 04: Jose Offerman 39 03: Matt LeCroy 63 02: David Ortiz 95 01: David Ortiz 80 00: David Ortiz 88 99: Marty Cordova 85 98: Paul Molitor 115 97: Paul Molitor 122 96: Paul Molitor 143 95: Pedro Munoz 77 94: Dave Winfield 76 93: Dave Winfield 105 92: Chili Davis 125 91: Chili Davis 150 90: Gene Larkin 43 89: Jim Dwyer 73 88: Gene Larkin 86 87: Roy Smalley 73 86: Roy Smalley 114 85: Roy Smalley 56 84: Randy Bush 88 83: Randy Bush 104 82: Randy Johnson 66 81: Glenn Adams 62 80: Jose Morales 85 79: Jose Morales 77 78: Glenn Adams 100 77: Craig Kusick 85 76: Craig Kusick 79 75: Tony Oliva 120 74: Tony Oliva 112 73: Tony Oliva 142 Click here to view the article

I want to state this, and I think it came out in the article, but maybe not. 1.) I believe managers often over-manage in the playoffs. 2.) Joe Maddon and Terry Francona are both great managers. 3.) Maddon made some decisions that I would questions. That doesn't mean I'm smarter than him, just that we disagreed... which again, fits the second-guesser mold. 4.) All managers will make decisions in game that fans will agree with or disagree with. It doesn't have to be - and shouldn't - always be based on certain things. They have inside information that none of us do. 5.) I think Grady Little getting fired - basically for that one decision - is crazy.

On Wednesday night, World Series Game 7 was played in Cleveland. And what a game it was. I’m biased as a Twins fans into saying that the 1991 World Series was the greatest of all-time. The 2016 Game 7 was right up there. There were big plays, big hits, big defensive plays. There was good pitching. There were questionable calls by umpires, and by the managers. The game had everything. Congratulations to the Chicago Cubs on their World Series championship.As with any baseball game, there are usually a series of plays, calls or decisions that can affect the final outcome. In the playoffs in general, and especially in a World Series Game 7 atmosphere, the second-guessing is done by millions and millions of people across the country, around the globe. Let’s be honest, social media makes it very easy. Frankly, second-guessing (or first-guessing, if you prefer) is part of the allure of baseball. It’s a game that so many played when they were young. It’s a game that doesn’t appear to be anywhere near as hard as it is. It’s a game in which everyone can be questioned. It’s part of what makes Twins Daily successful. Every decision a GM makes can be argued and discussed. A manager’s lineup construction or in-game tendencies can be questioned. Pitcher-catcher pitch-selection is always up for debate. Generally speaking, I try not to take any real hard stands on those types of things. I may not understand, but I’d say with certainty that the person making the decision (GM, manager, player) did so with a lot more information at his fingertips than I would have had. The World Series provided plenty of opportunity for second guessing. Here are just some examples. It has been well over a decade since a starting pitcher has thrown games 1, 4 and 7 of the World Series. The game has changed and teams seem to prefer to use their pitchers on more rest rather than pitch their starters on short rest. Terry Francona chose to go with a three-man starting staff in the World Series (Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, Josh Tomlin) rather than go with a fourth starter. Meanwhile, Maddon’s Cubs rotation included Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Kyle Hendricks and John Lackey. To be fair to Francona, he’s had to piece things together from a starting pitcher standpoint throughout the playoffs. He hasn’t been able to use two of his best starters, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, in that role. He used Ryan Merritt for one game in the ALCS. What will some fans may think? The game has changed. Starters don’t do this, and the numbers generally back up the fact that when a pitcher works on short-rest, the numbers aren’t as good. (What I was thinking? When Cleveland had a 3-1 series lead - after Kluber pitched well on short-rest in Game 4 - I may have gone back to Merritt to start Game 5. Bauer hasn’t been on - even when he wasn’t bleeding out - this postseason, and Tomlin wasn’t very good most of the year. I would have started Bauer in Game 6 with Tomlin in relief, if necessary. But I have no problem with going back to Kluber for Game 7.) What was Francona is thinking? He’s thinking that his starter only needs to give him five innings before he’ll start going to his dominant bullpen of Brian Shaw, Andrew Miller and Cody Allen. In doing so, he is able to limit the number of pitches that his starter throws in each game and cumulatively. In Game 7, Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks - who is the favorite to win the NL Cy Young Award this year - gave up one run over 4 ⅔ innings. He issued a walk - that should have been a strikeout if not for a missed strike call - and Joe Maddon removed him from the game. Hendricks isn’t dominant. He’s a pitcher in the Brad Radke mold. But Hendricks was pitching well. Jon Lester, who started Game 5, warmed up in the bullpen. For a long time. With Jason Kipnis coming up, Maddon went to Lester. How it panned out isn’t as important as the process (for this discussion, at least, obviously the results are all that matter in a Game 7 situation) for our discussion. Kipnis nubbed a ball down the third base line. David Ross, who came into the game when Lester did (replacing Willson Contreras), threw to first and it got away, allowing runners to go to 2nd and 3rd. Lester then bounced a slider that hit off of Ross’s helmet and toward the 1B dugout, far enough that two runs scored on it. In the moment, it didn’t look like the decision would pay off. (To make it more interesting, Ross hit a solo home run to dead center off of Andrew Miller to bump the Cubs lead back up to 6-3. Lester settled down and got out of the 5th inning. He worked scoreless 6th and 7th frames and got two outs in the 8th as well.) What are fans are thinking? Hendricks is pitching well, and he’s had a good year. We don’t care about pitcher wins, the stat, but it’s hard not to feel bad for Hendricks who deserved better. What’s Maddon’s thinking? This is Hendrick’s third time through the lineup. I’ve got Lester, who has been warming up a long time. If I don’t go to him now, he’ll have thrown too many pitches in the bullpen and won’t be available. In the end, Maddon’s job is to use information he has to make the best decision with the goal of winning that one game. And then the big one… In Game 6, the Cubs had a big lead in the 7th inning. Joe Maddon decided to bring Aroldis Chapman into the game. He got out of a situation, but then despite the Cubs adding on more runs, Chapman remained in the game. What do many fans think? Chapman isn’t really a multiple inning guy and what if he’s needed in an actually close game in Game 7? Will he be available to pitch? What was Maddon thinking? First and foremost, he’s thinking win Game 6. If they don’t do that, there is no Game 7. Win Game 6 and worry about Game 7 when it comes. The Result - Clearly Chapman was not himself in Game 7. Sure, he hit 101 and 102 a couple of times, but it wasn’t the same. He wasn’t as sharp. He looked tired. He gave up a two-run, game-tying home run to Rajai Davis. Then again, he got the final out of the eighth and worked a perfect ninth inning. Was it completely because of his excessive usage the night before? It’s impossible to say. It is something that Joe Maddon will likely ask himself over and over again in the offseason. Game 7s are always great. Do you ever wonder how the 1987 or 1991 World Series might have been different if Twitter and blogs would have been around then? Let’s be honest, Twitter was still in its infancy when the Twins were last in a playoff series. Remember when Grady Little decided to stick with his ace, Pedro Martinez. The decision backfired. The Red Sox lost. Little was fired. Joe Maddon made several very questionable decisions in Games 6 and 7. Using Chapman for so long in a blowout. Taking Hendricks out of the game in the 5th inning for no reason. Having Javier Baez attempt a safety squeeze bunt on a full-count with a runner on third and one out? The decision to fire Little, in my opinion, was silly. I’m certainly not advocating for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer to fire Maddon. I do think that the playoffs magnify everything, and Maddon made some questionable choices. And you know what… he also helped bring the Chicago Cubs their first World Series title in 108 years! At the end of the day (or even into the morning of the next day), we were able to witness two great baseball teams who both had long World Series droughts play an epic Game 7. We are all winners for it, even the second-guessers. ---------------------------------------------------- Why did I write an article that really has little or nothing to do with the Minnesota Twins? Honestly, while watching Game 7, my thought was… this type of second-guessing of a manager is so much more fun than questioning whether Paul Molitor should bring in Pat Light or Pat Dean to replace Andrew Albers with the Twins down 8-2 in the 5th inning of a mid-September game. I long for the days of questioning Ron Gardenhire decisions in the playoffs! Click here to view the article