Seth Stohs

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

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

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

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

Totally worth it!

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

Who knows? Could be any number of things beyond baseball.

2019 debut season... He made three non-opener starts... Completed five innings in three out of three starts. 2020 season... He completed five innings in 6 of his 10 starts. He went four inning in his first start of the Covid season in late July. And his final two starts he didn't go five innings (though pitched into the 5th in his final start). And, what did the deal hurt them? Through the first four years of the deal, it cost $5.25 million... in 2025, it'll cost $3 million, and after the year, they'll give him another $1 million to buyout his contract. If he would have been healthy those first couple of years, the deal would have paid for itself... Good deal for him. Good job by his agent. Well worth the risk for the Twins.

100% correct. For a role player type, who cares what age they get called up? Geez, or a starter, who cares what age they get called up? Like you said, the Twins would get his ages 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33 (or as much of it as they want). Age only matters on prospect lists.

Was there any reason to assume that I was writing that Keirsey is to be compared with those big leaguers?? That list simply shows how rare it is at any level.

26-year-old DaShawn Keirsey Jr. had an incredible 2024 season. Certainly the highlight was the 7-10 days he spent in the big leagues, but he put up some of the best offensive numbers in minor-league baseball this season. And to think, he has always been touted for his great defense (which is elite, by the way). Keirsey had three more hits on Saturday to break another single-season franchise record, and he could add more on Sunday. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of DaShawn Keirsey) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 81-73 (8 games to go) St. Paul Saints: 70-78 (1 game to go) Wichita Wind Surge: 58-80 (season complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS On Saturday, the Twins optioned RHP Ronny Henriquez to the Saints. They recalled LHP Brent Headrick. Very nice for Headrick, who missed the majority of the season with a left forearm strain, to get back to the Twins for the last week of the season. In case you missed it, the Twins released DSL Twins infielders Ruben Velazquez and Luis Rodriguez a couple of days ago. In addition, RHP Sean Mooney retired. The 2019 draft pick had Tommy John surgery that spring, and he just hasn’t been able to get healthy since them. He’s had more elbow surgery and injuries. He reached Double-A which is impressive with the time missed and for being a Day 3 draft pick. We certainly wish him the best in whatever is next for him. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 7, Indianapolis 8 Box Score There were a lot of runs scored early in this game. Unfortunately the Saints fell just shy in yet another one-run loss. Randy Dobnak was on the mound to start for the Saints. If nothing else, he was able to get through four innings for his team. He gave up five runs in the first inning and two more in the second inning. In four innings, he gave up seven runs on six hits and four walks. He had six strikeouts. Five of the runs scored on the two home run balls hit off of him. However, in the top of the second inning, the Saints responded and made it a game again. The rally started with two outs. Jair Camargo walked and moved up a base on a Carson McCusker single to center. Jeferson Morales, batting ninth, followed with his first Triple-A home run. Payton Eeles walked and scored on a double off the bat of Austin Martin. Martin scored when DaShawn Keirsey singled to center. The five-run inning cut their deficit to 7-5. Dobnak tossed two scoreless innings, and in the bottom of the fourth, the Saints put together another rally. Carson McCusker led off with a single. He was erased on a force out by Morales. Eeles followed with a triple that made it 7-6. He scored on Keirsey’s third hit of the game, a single off of the pitcher. Travis Adams came in to start the fifth inning. He worked three innings and gave up a run on three hits and a walk. He had one strikeout. Giovanny Gallegos gave up a hit and a walk, but no runs, in the eighth inning. Steven Okert struck out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning. The Saints tried to match Indianapolis. In the bottom of the eighth, the inning started with singles by Chris Williams and Jair Camargo, but Geronimo Franzua responded by striking out the next three batters. Camargo went 2-for-3 with a walk. McCusker went 2-for-4. Morales’s first homer with the Saints drove in three runs. Martin hit a double, and Eeles had a walk to go with his fourth Saints triple. DaShawn Keirsey went 3-for-5 in the game with his 22nd double and two RBI. It has been a tremendous 2024 season for the 26-year-old outfielder from southern California (via the University of Utah). His third hit in this game gave him 133 hits for the Saints this season which is a new single-season franchise record. He surpassed the 132 hits that Andrew Stephenson recorded in 2023. In addition, his 81 RBI this season is the Saints single-season franchise record. However, he is just two ahead of teammate Yunior Severino, so that distinction could still be up for grabs. He is the only International League player, and one of just four Triple-A players, with at least 100 hits, 10 home runs, and 30 steals. He is one of just three minor-league players, and the only Triple-A player, with at least 100 hits, 20 doubles, 10 homers, 30 steals and 70 RBI. In addition, only six MLB players have reached those totals this season. They are Elly De La Cruz, Jarren Duran, Zach Neto, Shohei Ohtani, Jose Ramirez, and Bobby Witt Jr. Those are some pretty good names. (Hat tip to the game notes of Saints broadcaster and all-around good guy Sean Aronson. Also, a huge thank you to Rob Thompson, the Saints fantastic photographer, for letting us display some of his great work with our stories the last couple of seasons.) With one more Saints game to go, here are a couple of things to watch. If Keirsey hits a triple, it will be his eighth of the season, a franchise single-season record. If Anthony Prato is activated from the Development List and hits a triple, it would tie Keirsey for the single-season single-season record. If he were to hit two triples, he would tie Keirsey for the career franchise record with nine. That is, of course, if Keirsey doesn’t triple too. With one home run, Yunior Severino would set the new single-season record with 22 Saints home runs. If Severino walked one time on Sunday, he would set the single-season record with 68 walks. Head out to CHS Field for the Saints final game of the season. Here’s the schedule, and where you can get your tickets. WIND SURGE WISDOM The Twins affiliate in Wichita had a few alternate uniforms and team names. Most minor-league teams do. At MILB.com, the Wichita Chili Buns are up for the award for Best Alternate Identity. Vote for them here, and see what other names were also considered for the award. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - DaShawn Keirsey (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, 2B(22), 2 RBI. Pitcher of the Day - Steven Okert (St. Paul) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing that none of them played on Saturday. Be sure to frequently stop by Twins Daily throughout the offseason. Minor-League coverage does not stop with the end of their seasons. Starting next week, we'll start handing out our 2024 Minor League Awards and name the 2024 Twins Minor League All Stars. We will be sure to update the Twins Daily Top 20 prospect rankings. We will follow how the Twins prospects perform in the Arizona Fall League and see if any prospects play winter ball. Of course, I will try to connect with a ton of Twins prospects in a new (off)season of Twins Spotlight. There is no offseason in baseball writing! SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Caleb Boushley (9-5, 4.98 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Saturday’s game, Keirsey’s great season, or anything else Twins minor-league related! View full article

To be fair, the combined signing bonuses of these four players is less than $290,000... and $250K of that was Rucker's as a sixth-round pick two years ago. And even though MILB players are finally making halfway decent money, it's not much more than $2000 per month for the lower levels and no more than $3-4,000 for the upper levels. That's not to take away from the classiness of the players. I've met a ton of Twins minor leaguers and big leaguers over the past 15-20 years and 90% of them are really good people, down to earth, just 'regular' people... And I've met some that have made some big money and for the most part they are good people as well.

A Top 20 Twins prospect made his Triple-A debut with the Saints on Thursday night. He was strongly supported by the Saints offense and earned a win. Speaking of wins, help the Wichita Wind Surge to a win in a huge MILB award! Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Cory Lewis) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 80-73 (9 games to go) St. Paul Saints: 69-77 (3 games to go) Wichita Wind Surge: 58-80 (season complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS Randy Dobnak has rejoined the Saints active roster after accepting his outright assignment after being DFAd. To make room on the roster, RHP Andrew Morris was placed on the Development List. Morris made his final start of the 2024 season on Wednesday, so that is really just a formality. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 8, Indianapolis 3 Box Score The big story from CHS Field on Thursday night was the Triple-A debut for right-hander Cory Lewis. He gave up two runs, one in the second inning and one in the fifth inning. He gave up seven hits, walked three and had two strikeouts. Lewis threw 86 pitches including 26 sliders, 26 four-seam fastballs, 15 changeups, 10 curveballs, and nine knuckleballs. He had just four Whiffs, all on his slider. His fastball velocity averaged 89.8 mph with a max of 91.5. His slider came in at an average of 81 mph. The changeup average was at 80.7 mph, about nine less than the fastball which is where one would like to be. The slow curveball came in at 79.1 mph on average. And, the pitch you’re most curious about, the knuckleball averaged 83.3 mph with a maximum of 85.8 mph. I think with Lewis’s pitch mix, it has to be somewhat difficult to differentiate the various pitches without seeing the data, the movement, the spin and the break. The one pitch that should be easiest to differentiate is the knuckleball. That is the fifth row in the above chart. As you can see, the spin on his knuckleball was between 114 and 419 RPM, an average of 243 on the nine pitches that were coded as a knuckleball. However, as you can see, that 213 wasn’t a slider, and that 153 wasn’t a slider. Those were obviously knuckleballs. Add those two pitches to the knuckleball category, and removed them from the other two categories and those averages will change significantly. So, the Twins minor-league staff has a little postgame work to do to just verify some of these numbers (as they always do). Lefty Aaron Rozek came on in relief and tossed two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits. Rozek was terrific and only needed 24 pitches. He threw just one four-seam fastball. It was his fastest pitch at 89.6 mph. He threw nine cutters. Diego Castillo pitched the eighth inning, and as he tends to do, he struggled quite a bit. He gave up one run on one hit and two walks Jorge Alcala came in for the bottom of the ninth to hold onto a five-run lead. He gave up a leadoff single before getting a groundout and two strikeouts to end it. He was consistently touching triple digits with the fastball but the second strikeout came on a very nice slider. The Saints had a three-run, fifth inning, but as impressive, they scored in five of their eight innings at the plate. In the bottom of the first inning, Payton Eeles led off the game with his eighth home run since joining the Saints. The game was tied by Indianapolis in the top of the second. The Saints reclaimed the lead in the third when DaShawn Keirsey led off with a double and came in to score on a Michael Helman double. In the fourth inning, 2024 Killebrew Award recipient Chris Williams crushed his 15th home run of the season. Lewis gave up a run in the top of the fifth inning which cut the team’s lead to 3-2. But the Saints batters must have sensed Lewis’s will to get a win in his Triple-A debut. They added three runs in the bottom of the inning to provide some cushion. Keirsey led off with a single. With one out, Yunior Severino went to the opposite field for his 21st home run of the season. That homer tied him with Williams and Jair Camargo, both from 2023, for the franchise single-season home run record. He will have three games remaining to break that record. Diego A. Castillo Followed with a walk and moved to second on a ground out. After a pitching change, Patrick Winkel singled to drive in Castillo with the third run of the inning. The Saints maintained that 6-2 lead until the eighth inning when Indianapolis scored a run to make it 6-3. However, in the bottom of the inning, the Saints responded. Jeferson Morales led off with a walk. He stole second. Winkel flew out to left, deep enough to allow Morales to tag and advance to third base. Chris Williams walked. Then Eeles singled to right field to drive in Morales. Williams then led a double steal to move runners to second and third with one out. Austin Martin walked to load the bases. Keirsey followed with a line drive toward center that Jack Suwinski dove and caught, but Williams scored the team’s eighth run on the play. Eeles led off and went 2-for-4 with a walk, the home run, and two RBI. He also stole two bases to give him 16 with the Saints. Keirsey went 2-for -4 with his 21st double and two RBI. He also had an outfield assist from right field to third base that you’ll want to see. Williams went 1-for-2 with two walks and his 15th homer. He also joined the 5-15 club when he stole his fifth base of the season. Three more games remain in the Saints season. Head on out to CHS Field for some quality, Triple-A baseball and see some big leaguers and much more. Here’s the schedule, and where you can get your tickets. Friday, 6:37 pm: Teacher Appreciation Night with post-game fireworks. (You’ve got to love the theme for the fireworks display, the music will feature prom night ballads!) Saturday, 5:07 pm: Fan Appreciation Night with post-game Monster Food Truck Rally and Fireworks Super Show! Sunday, 12:07 pm: Last Game of the Season. WIND SURGE WISDOM The Twins affiliate in Wichita had a few alternate uniforms and team names. Most minor-league teams do. At MILB.com, the Wichita Chili Buns are up for the award for Best Alternate Identity. Vote for them here, and see what other names were also considered for the award. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles (St. Paul) - 2-for-4, BB, HR(8), R, 2 RBI, K, 2 SB(16). Pitcher of the Day - Cory Lewis (St. Paul) – 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 85 pitches, 50 strikes (58.8%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Thursday. #13 – Cory Lewis (St. Paul) – 5 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K, 85 pitches, 50 strikes (58.8%) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Marco Raya (first Triple-A start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday night’s game! View full article

With just nine games remaining, the Twins are now tied with the red-hot Detroit Tigers. For the second straight game, the Guardians walked off the Twins in extra innings. That gave them three of four games in the series. Cleveland clinched a playoff berth, and the Twins head to Boston to try to turn things around. Image courtesy of © Ken Blaze-Imagn Images Box Score SP: Simeon Woods Richardson - 4.2 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K (72 pitches, 51 strikes (70.8% strikes)) Home Runs: None. Bottom 3 WPA: Byron Buxton (-0.305), Matt Wallner (-0.219), Carlos Correa (-0.209). Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Running, er, Throwing on Fumes As we have talked about, three-fifths of the Twins starting rotation are rookies. None of them have pitched this late into a season in their careers and they’re reaching innings counts they haven’t approached before. What does a pitcher running on fumes look like? On Thursday afternoon, Simeon Woods Richardson threw 72 pitches, but 29 of them were fastballs. This season, his average four-seam fastball has had a velocity of 93.2 mph. His average on Thursday was 91.3 mph, nearly two mph less than average. His slider was 1.8 mph short of his season average. His changeup was about 2.3 mph slower than his season average (maybe that’s a good thing, about a 10 mph difference from the fastball). His slider was down 0.2 mph, and his curveball actually was up 0.6 mph. Honestly, that makes his performance look even better. He had to work. He had to hit spots. He got about 2 inches more in vertical and horizontal break on the four-seamer. He used guile. And he gave his team a chance. Some High-Quality Cole Production Woods Richardson was removed with two outs and a runner on first base. Left Cole Irvin came in to face left-handed Kyle Manzardo. On a sort-of check swing, the Cleveland rookie got a 30.2 mph infield single, perfectly placed. However, Irvin got Jose Ramirez to ground out to end the inning. He came back out for the sixth inning. Josh Naylor led off with a ground ball single. Andres Gimenez hit what should have been a double play ball to short, but with second baseman Kyle Farmer playing way into the pull shift. A small bobble, the look to second, and Gimenez’s speed meant that he was credited with an infield single instead. Jhonkensy Noel played along. He took a low changeup and went down and blooped a 74.7 mph single into left center to load the bases with nobody out. Brayan Rocchio flied out deep enough to score Naylor with the tying run, but he struck out the next two batters to keep it tied. Irvin stayed in to start the seventh inning and got Angel Martinez on a ground out. When David Fry was announced as a pinch hitter for Manzardo, Rocco Baldelli turned to Cole Sands. The 2024 All Star blooped a single into shallow right field. However, he got two pop outs to end the inning. That’s 2 ⅓ solid innings from The Coles. Sands appears to just be getting stronger. In fact, if you look at his fastballs, splitters, sinkers and cutters, he only threw one pitch that was lower than his season average. Louie, Louie! Louie Varland came on for the eighth inning. It was the first time in his MLB career that he has worked in back-to-back games. Showing a fastball at 97-98 (97.5 average) and a cutter in the low-90s (91.5), he got a groundout and a fly out before blowing a fastball past pinch hitter Bo Naylor. Griffin Jax got the ninth inning and threw a scoreless inning. He worked in three of the four games this series. No Offense, but… The Twins offense continued to struggle. Against lefty starter Joe Cantillo, the Twins scored two runs (1 earned) on three hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. However, against the bullpen options of Nick Sandlin, Tim Herrin, Andrew Walters, Hunter Gaddis, Emmanuel Clase, and Eli Morgan (10th), the Twins had zero hits and just one walk over 6 2/3 innings. We can talk all we want about pitching and bullpen decisions, but if that’s all you’re going to do offensively, you’re not going to win many games. To Bunt or not To Bunt In the top of the 10th inning, Kyle Farmer was the Manfred Man. Matt Wallner was hit in the shoulder by a pitch. Then Willi Castro laid down a really good sacrifice bunt. That brought up Manuel Margot with runners on second and third and one out. Margot put together a strong plate appearance and coaxed a walk. However, Carlos Correa - who came through the night before in the same situation - popped out to first base, and then Byron Buxton lined out to right. Was it a good decision to have Castro bunt the runners over with Margot coming up? Would it have been better to have Castro hit away? Earlier in the season, I would prefer Castro hit. Right now, with the offense as bad as it has been, I'm comfortable with trying other things to make things happen. Other Notes More to come. What’s Next? At 6:10 on Friday night, the Twins begin a three-game series against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. David Festa (2-6, 5.07 ERA) will take on recently-promoted right-hander Richard Fitts (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Saturday (3:10 pm): RHP Pablo Lopez (15-8, 3.84 ERA) vs RHP Kutter Crawford (8-15, 4.19 ERA) Sunday (12:35 pm): RHP Zebby Matthews (1-3, 6.30 ERA) vs RHP Nick Pivetta (5-11, 4.37 ERA) A reminder, you can keep up with the other perspective throughout the series through Twins Daily's newest venture (or adventure), Talk Sox. Playoffs?! Playoffs! The Twins have nine games to go, the Twins will not win the AL Central. I think we can say that confidently. With this loss, coupled with an off day by Detroit, the Twins and Tigers are now tied for the final wild card spot in the American League. It’s been a rough six weeks! The Twins have the tiebreaker over the Tigers, Mariners and Royals, but you can see why this upcoming series in Boston is so crucial. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Availability Chart View full article

573 homers. 1969 AL MVP. Played in 13 All Star games. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Harmon Killebrew was a great baseball player, but those who knew him will always talk about how kind he was and how much he did for people in the community. Image courtesy of Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Harmon Killebrew spent 22 seasons in the big leagues. After parts of seven seasons with the Washington Senators, he came to Minnesota with the organization before the 1961 season. He remained with the Twins through the 1974 season. He also played for the Royals in 1975, but he struggled and retired after the season. Between 1959 and 1969, Killebrew played the league in home runs six times. He led the league in RBI three times. A power hitter, he led the league in walks four times and walked more than 100 times seven times. He won the AL Cy Young Award in 1969 when he hit .276/.427/.584 (1.011) with 20 doubles, 49 home runs and 140 RBI. He walked a career-high 145 times and struck out just 84 times. He finished second in MVP voting in 1967, third in 1962, and fourth in 1963 and 1966. Along with other Twins greats, Killebrew led the Twins to the 1965 World Series. Killebrew was voted into the Hall of Fame in 1984. Hard to believe that was his fourth year on the Hall of Fame ballot. Following his career, he was involved in several endeavors. He spent time in the ‘80s as a color analyst on broadcasts. He was active in the Twins community and at events. Those that knew him will tell you that as great of a ballplayer as Killebrew was, he was an even better person. He grew up in Payette, Idaho. In 2011, at the age of 74, he passed away due to cancer. The Twins decided to continue the Killebrew legacy of community work by creating the Harmon Killebrew Award for Community Service. Each season, the organization recognizes one player from each of the Twins four full-season affiliates. Each affiliate’s General Manager nominates players and lets the organization know what type of community work the players have done. Recently, the Twins announced their 2024 Killebrew Award winners. St. Paul Saints: C/1B/OF/DH Chris Williams Williams was the Twins eighth-round pick in the 2018 MLB draft out of Clemson University. That summer, he played in Elizabethton and was named the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. Since then, he has had a gradual rise through the Twins organization. He joined the Saints for the final third of the 2022 season. That year, he had 18 homers in 75 games in Wichita and added 10 more long balls in 42 games with the Saints. In 2023, he hit 21 homers with the Saints. This season, he has hit another 14 home runs for St. Paul. He passed Mark Contreras for the home run lead in Saints history since they became a Twins affiliate in 2021. The 27-year-old took part in a variety of community events. During the Twins Week of Service, he spent time at Crossroads Motessori School and played with the kids for recess. He talked to classes and encouraged all to participate. He was active with the Saints Reading Tree program. He joined author Nancy Carlson in presenting “Sometimes You Barf” to kids and their families before a home game. He also co-hosted the Children’s Minnesota Star Studio during a hospital visit with patients and families battling pediatric cancer. Wichita Wind Surge: IF Jake Rucker Jake Rucker was the Twins seventh-round draft pick in 2021 out of the University of Tennessee. After signing, he was quickly assigned to Fort Myers. In 2022, he started with with the Mussels but then ended the season at Cedar Rapids. He was able to spend the last couple of weeks with the Saints. He moved up to Wichita for the 2023 season. In 119 games, he hit .248/.323/.381 (.704) with 21 doubles, four triples and nine home runs. In 2024, he returned to the Wind Surge and in 121 games, he hit .261/.321/.372 (.693) with 23 doubles, one triple, and nine home runs. His biggest area of improvement was with putting the ball in play. After striking out 25.8% of the time in 2023, he reduced that number to 15.0% in 2024. Regarding the award, Rucker, who turned 25 early this week, recently told Twins Daily, “It means a lot because it shows that we are more than just baseball players. Giving back to the community is something we should all do, especially us players who have this platform of playing at a high level with a lot of people watching us.” The Wind Surge do a lot in their community. Rucker said, “I helped with all the baseball camps the Wind Surge and Twins hosted in Wichita as well as delivering canned goods and food to the local food bank.” However, he said that it wasn’t just him and credited others. “A lot of the guys on the team helped chime in with the funds for the food. This award is for them too and all their hard work and love for the community as well.” Cedar Rapids Kernels: RHP John Klein John Klein graduated from Osseo High School in the spring of 2020. Out of high school, he went to Iowa Central Community College. After not being selected in the 2022 MLB Draft, Klein signed with the Twins as a non-drafted free agent in August of 2022 and was assigned to the FCL Twins. In 2023, he made six starts in the FCL, six starts for Fort Myers, and one start for the Kernels. This season, he pitched in 22 games for the Kernels and made 20 starts. He went 8-3 with a 4.57 ERA, and in 100 1/3 innings, he had 90 strikeouts to just 38 walks. Overall, a very solid season for the 6-5, 22-year-old. It wasn’t just on the mound that Klein had an impact. He was busy working with a variety of people and groups around the Cedar Rapids area. Klein was active in the Kernels Home Run for Hunger campaign. He helped collect and deliver food for the HACAP Food Reservoir. He also was active in the Kernels kids camps. He told Twins Daily, “Thank you! I’m grateful to be able to use the platform I was blessed with to give back to the people who support my team and I. I pride myself on being the best role model I can be for people that look up to me. I remember being a young kid looking up to guys like Joe Mauer and Tim Tebow. Noticing how not only they are great ball players, but even better people.” Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: Maddux Houghton Maddux Houghton grew up and went to high school in Dalton, Georgia, a city in the northwest corner of the state. At Dalton High, he starred on the baseball diamond and the gridiron. He went to Lipscomb University. He took advantage of the bonus Covid year and played five seasons. He went undrafted. In January of 2023, Houghton signed with the Twins. He hit .216 over 99 games in 2023 for the Mussels. In the first half of this season, he was playing every day and played very well. In total, he played in 84 games for the Mussels and hit .254/.346/.363 (.709) with 12 doubles, two triples and four homers. Over the past two seasons, he had 42 stolen bases in 47 attempts. He was promoted to St. Paul twice when they just needed players. In five games, he went 3-for-13 (.231). Off the field, the Mussels noted that Houghton “enthusiastically participated in every available volunteer opportunity while conducting himself with professionalism and positivity.” Regarding the award, Houghton told Twins Daily, “Receiving the Harmon Killebrew Award for community service means a lot to me. Anytime your name is associated with the name of a Hall of Famer, that is extremely humbling and an incredible honor.” He continued, “As a Christ-follower, I try to do my best every day to share His love with others and bring positivity to the ballpark every day. Jesus was the ultimate servant leader, and that’s how I strive to live my life. To see that others recognized these qualities in me, was very special.” While a lot of community work is done away from the field, it starts at the ballpark. “First, I try to interact with the fans everyday, especially kids. I will never forget the feeling of excitement I got from going to a professional baseball game when I was younger. It was the coolest thing ever if one of the players acknowledged me, so I try to keep that in mind when I interact with people at the park. I also have enjoyed getting to build relationships with some of the season ticket holders, ushers, and Mussels front office staff. These people are vital to the success of an organization and sometimes don’t get the appreciation they deserve. I love the daily interactions with these people and the Mussels community.” “I helped as a group of us went to Franklin Park Elementary school and got them packed up to move into their new school building. Again, this was a great opportunity to be around and interact with the kids of the Fort Myers community. Finally, I worked at the D3Day Camp for children with disabilities, which is such an impactful camp. To see those kids run around and have the time of their lives playing baseball is such a special experience. That camp is a true joy every year.” As these guys pointed out, they aren’t the only players on these teams and rosters who do work in their communities. The Twins have their Week of Service each June where the big-league club and the affiliates do something almost every day, but the minor league affiliates keep the players busy with various programs in the cities they play. Working with food shelves, providing meals, reading or just spending time with kids. Congratulations to each of these players on their well-earned and well-deserved recipients of the Killebrew Award. View full article

The Saints took an early lead but giving up seven runs over the final three innings is never a great idea. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (Yunior Severino) CURRENT W-L Records Minnesota Twins: 80-72 St. Paul Saints: 69-76 Wichita Wind Surge: 58-80 (season complete) Cedar Rapids Kernels: 67-63 (season complete) Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 66-59 (season complete) FCL Twins: 27-31 (season complete) DSL Twins: 30-25 (season complete) TRANSACTIONS As expected, RHP Randy Dobnak passed through waivers and was outrighted to the Saints. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 2, Indianapolis 10 Box Score Scoring first is usually a good thing. The Saints grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI single by Michael Helman that scored Austin Martin. In fact, at that point, the Saints Win Probability was at 70.4% Of course, the opponent, in this case the Pirates Triple-A affiliate from Indianapolis, had eight more innings to make up that one-run deficit. It didn’t take long. Andrew Morris made the start for the Saints. He went five innings, but he gave up three runs, all in the third inning. In all, he gave up six hits, walked two and had five strikeouts. The Saints cut their deficit to 3-2 with a fifth-inning run. Yunior Severino ripped a single, deflected by the shortstop and into center field. That allowed Helman to score. That was it for the Saints offense, and Indianapolis piled on at that point. Brent Headrick pitched a scoreless sixth inning, but an error led to a three-run seventh inning. Headrick got the first two outs, and Zack Weiss got the third out. Weiss then gave up three earned runs of his own in the eighth inning. Jaylen Nowlin gave up a solo homer in the top of the ninth to complete the scoring in this game. The recent big leaguers provided much of the Saints offense. Martin went 3-for-4. DaShawn Keirsey went 2-for-4. Helman had an RBI. Jeferson Morales went 1-for-2 with his sixth Saints double and two walks. Four more games in the Saints season. Head on out to CHS Field for some quality, Triple-A baseball and see some big leaguers and much more. Here’s the schedule, and where you can get your tickets. Thursday, 6:37 pm: It’s Fighting Saints Hockey Night. Friday, 6:37 pm: Teacher Appreciation Night with post-game fireworks. (You’ve got to love the theme for the fireworks display, the music will feature prom night ballads!) Saturday, 5:07 pm: Fan Appreciation Night with post-game Monster Food Truck Rally and Fireworks Super Show! Sunday, 12:07 pm: Last Game of the Season. PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitter of the Day - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 3-for-4, CS(1). Pitcher of the Day - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 86 pitches, 56 strikes (65.1%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on our recently-updated Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-4. #11 - Andrew Morris (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 86 pitches, 56 strikes (65.1%) THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) – RHP Cory Lewis (first Triple-A start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s game! View full article

Irvin has certainly shown moments in his time in Baltimore. I would think he's a guy you keep on the 40-man roster, offer him arbitration and work on things with him with the goal of him making strides. Perfect world, the Twins could get him for 3 starts this season and two more arbitration years. People will note how he does in these three games that he'll pitch yet this year, but this is a potentially nice long-term move too. And his salary is low so if it doesn't go well, it's not detrimental.