Seth Stohs

I might have been slow-playing it when I said he should be in everyone's top five Twins prospects this year...

All good picks... Wimmers was alright in the bullpen in Chattanooga, but he's been better than expected in Rochester. In fact, he's been pretty good. Ramirez was our pick for TD Short-Season pitcher of the year, so I'm not surprised he's succeeded, though I didn't know as much about him as I do now. He's impressive. Rodriguez was the Appy League Pitcher of the Year. HE was really bad for two months, but he's been tremendous for the last two months. IF this was a list of overcoming poor 2016 starts, Rodriguez would be at the top of my list.

Strong list, and I really like the Matt Lawton comp for LaMonte Wade. Lawton was an on-base machine before that became cool. Some of my list was more about surprise, but you make a good case for your guys too. I expected Ynoa to come over and be solid. I expected Palka to hit for a bunch of power. Both have been better than I expected, but not surprisingly so.

One of the fun things about following the minor league season each year and over several years is to see which players take the biggest strides forward from year to year. That can mean different things to different people, of course. It not only can mean jumping up prospect rankings, but it could mean guys who needed to play well to remain in the organization for another year. For instance, a guy like Lachlan Wells was ranked in the high 30s or low 40s in many Top 50 Twins prospect lists. Now, he should be in most people’s Top 25 Twins prospects after pitching very well since his promotion to Cedar Rapids as a 19 year old.My focus is going to be on eight guys, four hitters and four pitchers, who have gone from relative unknowns before the season to guys who may find themselves in the Twins future. Please feel free to add other names to this list, guys who have taken a big step forward in 2016. FOUR HITTERS LUIS ARRAEZ - 19 - 2B As an 18 year old in the GCL last year, Arraez hit .306/.377/.388 (.765) with 15 doubles. It was a solid season and MiLB.com listed him as the second baseman on their Twins post-season all-star team. He played in the Venezuelan Winter League. My assumption was that he would spend the 2016 season in extended spring training before going to Elizabethton. Instead, he began the season in Cedar Rapids. He began the season playing one in three games. It took about a week for him to be in the lineup almost every day. He has just kept hitting. In fact, now he’s hitting third or fourth in the Kernels lineup every game. He hasn’t stopped hitting. He’s now hitting .344/.383/.450 (.833) with 27 doubles, three triples and three home runs. He doesn’t walk a lot, but he also doesn’t strike out often. Before the season, he would have ranked in the 40s in my prospect lists, and now he’s easily in the Top 25 prospects or so. ZACH GRANITE - 23 - OF Granite has always been thought of as a professional, top-of-the-order type of hitter. He had a difficult, injury-plagued 2014 season in Cedar Rapids and played in just 21 games. That’s where he started 2015, but he moved up to Ft. Myers on May 1st because he had a great month. He did all right at Ft. Myers, but he hit .249/.328/.304 (.632) with ten doubles, four triples and a home run. He began 2016 in AA Chattanooga, maybe due to injury to others, but he has been the team’s leadoff hitter from day one. He has hit .295/.351/.385 (.736) with 14 doubles, seven triples and four home runs. He leads the Southern League in stolen bases with 42. He has as many walks as strikeouts. He has put himself into consideration for a 40-man roster spot this offseason. NELSON MOLINA - 21 - IF Molina was the Twins 11th round pick in 2013 draft out of high school in Puerto Rico. He spent two years in the Gulf Coast League where he hit .110 and .243.Last year in Elizabethton, he hit .207. There are rules that say an organization can only have so many players in the rookie leagues for a fourth year, so this was an important year for Molina. He began the season in extended spring training, but the Kernels needed an infielder in late April so he was summoned to Iowa. I’ve always said, at 6-3 and 175 pounds, he looks the part. Molina looks like what you would envision a professional shortstop to look like. At the plate, he has a balanced stance with a nice swing. It just didn’t come together offensively for him in the rookie leagues. However, he has grown both in terms of strength and maturity, and he is seeing the benefits on the field. In 74 games with the Kernels, he is hitting .304/.378/.375 (.754) with 11 doubles, two triples and a home run. He’s still got room to grow, but experiencing the success has to be a huge boost in confidence. RYAN WALKER - 23 - IF He was the Twins 18th round pick in 2013 out of Texas-Arlington. He spent most of that year in E-Town, though he moved up to Cedar Rapids for a week or so at the end of the season. In 76 games in 2014 in Cedar Rapids, he hit .239/.296/.299 (.595). In 2015, he played 83 games in Ft. Myers and hit .269/.311/.312 (.623). He began this year in Ft. Myers and hit just .262 in 24 games before being promoted to AA Chattanooga. He’s played all three infield positions and hit .287/.357/.368 (.725). In talking to him before the season, he pointed out that he worked really hard to add a lot of weight in the offseason. He got up to 185 and hoped to maintain it throughout the season, something players struggle to do. He has always been above average defensively in the infield, but he has improved offensively as he has moved up to AA this year. FOUR PITCHERS DJ BAXENDALE - 25 - RHP Baxendale was the Twins 12th round pick in 2012 out of Arkansas. He’s primarily been a starter. He moved quickly from the Midwest League to the Florida State League. He moved quickly to AA, but he experienced a lot of struggles in AA the last coupele of seasons. This year, he made 14 starts for the Lookouts and went 6-7 with a 3.44 ERA and made the All-Star team. Immediately following the game, he moved up to AAA Rochester. He was put into the bullpen and has been very good since. He has a 1.61 ERA in 17 appearances for the Red Wings. His pitches work very well out of the bullpen. He can add a couple of ticks to his fastball, and his slider can be devastating. He can be a decent starter, but he has a chance to be a quality relief pitcher. SAM CLAY - 23 - LHP Clay was the Twins 4th round pick in 2014 out of Georgia Tech. He began last season in Cedar Rapids, but he really struggled. Through nine games and 18 innings pitched, he had 19 strikeouts but 18 walks. He was sent back to EST where he worked on his control as a starter. He ended the season with three appearances in Cedar Rapids. Clay was much improved when the 2016 season started. In 14 starts for the Kernels, he went 5-4 with a 3.39 ERA. He still is walking too many, but he is striking out over a batter per inning. After starting the All-Star Game in the Midwest League, he was promoted to Ft. Myers where he’s had some ups and downs, some good starts and some bad starts but he continues to get strikeouts. FERNANDO ROMERO - 21 - RHP Romero became a prospect in 2013 when he posted a 1.60 ERA in the Gulf Coast League as an 18-year-old. Reports had him throwing a fastball in the mid-90s. In 2014, he began in EST, but he was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he made three starts. Unfortunately, he experienced elbow pain and needed Tommy John. He had the surgery in 2014, and during his rehab in 2015, he needed knee surgery which cost him more time. This spring, he was hitting 94 and 95 consistently. In mid-May, he was sent back to Cedar Rapids. He needed just five starts before he was promoted to Ft. Myers where he posted a 2.39 ERA in nine starts (49 innings). His fastball is touching 97 and 98 mph with regularity. He’s got three quality pitches that have a chance to be plus pitches. He gets strikeouts. He has really good control. He was a Top 30 prospect coming into the season. He was my #7 Twins prospect at midseason, and he will most likely be a Top 5 Twins prospect following the season. JASON WHEELER - 25 - LHP Wheeler was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2011 out of Loyola-Marymount. He worked up the system, one year at a time. Following the 2014 season, the left-hander was added to the Twins 40 man roster. He began 2015 in Rochester, but when he was 1-7 with a 6.58 ERA in 15 starts before being sent back to Chattanooga. He went 4-3 with a 3.92 ERA with the Lookouts and was removed from the 40-man roster. After that, he was really good. In fact, he was the MVP of the Southern League Championship series. He began this season in AA, but after posting a 1.88 ERA in four starts, he moved up to Rochester. He has gone 9-4 with a 3.44 ERA and was the International League’s Starting Pitcher in the AAA All-Star Game. As frustrating as 2015 was for Wheeler, 2016 puts him back on the radar. He’s warranted consideration for a September call up. So there are eight players who have made the most out of their 2016 season and have taken a step forward in their careers. Not all of these guys will show up on Top 30 prospect lists, but they have had very strong seasons. Which prospects make your list? Click here to view the article

Why Dean? Because they needed someone who could pitch 3+ innings if necessary. O'Rourke pitched 3.2 innings once this year. Other than that, completed two innings just twice. Dean made sense. Now, I too would like to see Wimmers and Baxendale, but for those 3 days, they played it how they had to.

He definitely got a talking to after that.

Maybe it would have been easier if Hawkins had just done this:

Agreed... don't want to make too much out of it. Obviously learn from it and secure the ball a little better, but weird stuff happens in this game.

No, I don't think he moves up this year. He'll start at AA to begin 2017 regardless.

He was drafted in 2011, so he can become a 6-year minor league free agent after the 2017 season. He's been Rule 5 eligible the last couple of years, but since he hadn't pitched in a full season team yet he wasn't a risk to be taken. They may need to consider adding him this year... but they would have to add him before the World Series ends next year when he would become a free agent.

Not sure there's much incentive to doing so, unless the Lookouts have a chance to be in the playoffs.

He's had two stints on the disabled list. That could be a big part of it.

I think it's very possible, especially if the Kernels end up in the playoffs.

To be determined... My guess is Albers will be back in Rochester and on their roster by Monday night. I'd guess Bencomo will go back to Chattanooga. But it would be good for a Van Steensel or Anderson or Westphal or something to move up to Chattanooga.

While the Twins focused their draft and signings on pitching in recent years, it’s clear that the focus has again been put on hitting and we’re seeing that in the lowest levels. The organization’s top pitching prospects (still in the minors) are in Ft. Myers and Chattanooga. However, there are certainly some intriguing bats on the rookie league rosters. On this night, the Twins got some nice starts from some of their second-tier pitching prospects, showing that they continue to add depth in terms of pitching prospects. There were a couple of transactions of note on Saturday as well: On Friday night, we learned that Andrew Albers had been designated for assignment by the Twins. On Saturday afternoon, we learned that fellow-lefty Ryan O’Rourke had been added to the 40-man roster and the 24-man roster.The Red Wings roster was down to just 22, so they needed help. As we noted yesterday, lefty David Hurlbut was promoted from Chattanooga and was supposed to start for the Red Wings on Saturday. Jake Reed and Omar Bencomo were also promoted from the Lookouts to Rochester.With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Saturday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Scranton/Wilkes Barre Box Score This game was rained out. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Birmingham 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart struggled with control again, and fell to 6-6 with a 3.25 ERA with the loss. The right-hander gave up three runs on four hits and five walks in 4.2 innings on the mound. He also hit two batters. He struck out three. Alan Busenitz came into the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth and allowed two of the three runners to core. He gave up two hits and struck out one in 1.1 innings. Mason Melotakis struck out three in a scoreless seventh inning. Raul Fernandez worked a perfect eight inning. The Lookouts managed just five hits in the game. Ryan Walker hit his third triple. Jairo Rodriguez hit his first double. Zach Granite had a single and added to his league-leading stolen base total with this 41st steal. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 1 Box Score It’s hard to remember that Dereck Rodriguez had a 7.71 ERA through his first seven starts in Cedar Rapids. Over his final nine starts in Iowa, he posted a 3.02 ERA. After throwing 6.2 innings of one-run ball on Saturday night, Rodriguez has a 1.98 ERA through his first two starts with the Miracle. He earned his first Florida State League win. The right-hander gave up four hits, walked none and struck out seven in this game. Todd Van Steensel gave up a single before he got the final out of the seventh inning. He then threw a perfect eighth frame. Nick Anderson struck out two in a one-hit, scoreless ninth. The Miracle scored seven runs despite having just four hits in the game. They were assisted by ten walks. Infielder Chris Ibarra went 2-4 with a walk and his first Florida State League double, well, and his first Florida State League single, his first two hits since joining the Miracle last week. Joe Maloney and Tanner English each walked twice. AJ Murray and Daniel Kihle both had a walk and went 1-3. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Kane County 1 Box Score Through six innings, the game was tied at one. However, the Kernels scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the lead. They added two insurance runs in the ninth to complete their seventh straight win over Kane County this season. Lachlan Wells started the game with five scoreless innings. He gave up an unearned run in the sixth, but that was it. He gave up four hits, walked two and struck out five to improve to 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA. Max Cordy gave up a hit and walked two, but he didn’t give up a run in his inning. Tom Hackimer worked the final two innings without allowing a run for his third save. Sean Miller had hits in his first three at bats. His sacrifice fly in the seventh inning gave the Kernels a lead they didn’t relinquish. He ended the game 3-4 with two RBI. Luis Arraez with another multi-hit game. He weas 3-5. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Bluefield 9 Box Score It was a rough game for the Twins pitching and defense in this one. Five errors certainly didn’t help the cause. Jose Martinez gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits and three walks in five innings. He struck out three. Alex Robinson came on and gave up a run on one hit, three walks and a hit batter over two innings. Johan Quezada walked a batter and hit a batter in a one-run eighth inning. Alex Kiriloff went 2-5 and hit his sixth home run. Ariel Montesino went 3-5. Shane Carrier went 2-5. Lewin Diaz added his 13th double. For Bluefield, Vlad Guerrero, Jr. went 3-5, his second straight three-hit game. The 17-year-old is hitting .277 on the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 6, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score For the second straight day, the Twins topped the Red Sox. Huascar Ynoa set the tone with another strong start. The right-hander gave up one run over five innings. He surrendered four hits, walked one and struck out six. He improved to 3-4 and dropped his ERA to 2.13. Matz Schutte allowed two hits over 1.1 scoreless innings. Zach Strecker struck out three over 2.2 perfect innings to record his fourth save. The Twins had nice offensive performances from several players on Saturday. Zach Featherstone went 2-3. He was hit by a pitch and hit his third and fourth homers. Aaron Whitefield went 2-4 with a walk, his fifth double and his 25th stolen base. Akil Baddoo went 1-2 with two walks and his second home run. Lean Marrero hit his second double. Dane Hutcheon walked three times and stole his fourth base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Dereck Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Akil Baddoo/Zach Featherstone, GCL Twins SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (12:35 CST) (doubleheader) - LHP David Hurlbut and RHP Omar Bencomo Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Ryan Eades Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Tyler Beardsley Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday's games. Click here to view the article

While I agree with the first paragraph... I disagree with the second paragraph... Wiel shouldn't be hurt by the fact that no one was in scoring position before he came to bat or drove him in. Five hits in Five at bats is ALWAYS an impressive feat. He didn't get out. But I do think extra base hits are good too, which is why I had a hard time picking.

Played SS in high school, drafted as a 3B... They have Trey Cabbage at third base, so they moved him over to 2B. Blankenhorn's 3-4 years from the big leagues, so giving him some flexibility is a good thing.

I don't necessarily disagree, but a couple of things... 1.) he's a second baseman... Cavaness is an OF and Wiel is a 1B, so they have nothing to do with Blankenhorn playing 2B. 2.) Miller's going to play some 2B, some 3B and some SS, and he's worthy of playing time too. 3.) Arraez plays 2B too...

I don't disagree... though Wiel had 5 total bases... Granite had 6 total bases, a single, double and triple and drove in five runs... That's the hesitation for me.

It was a busy night in the Twins minor league system. The Red Wings held their Hall of Fame ceremony pre-game and then hit four home runs in their game. Was it enough? The Lookouts got a quality start, but their offense was tremendous. One of the organization’s top pitching prospects put on a display in Ft. Myers. The Kernels had a batter with a five-hit game. The E-Twins had a big inning. And, Minnesota kids got the win and save for the GCL Twins on Friday. We also need you to help vote for today's Hitter of the Day. Too many good choices. There were a couple of transactions of note on Friday as well: With Tommy Milone going on the disabled list, the Twins called up Pat Dean to fill the long-relief role that Andrew Albers successfully filled on Thursday night.Following the Twins game, they announced that Andrew Albers has been DFAd and a pitcher will be added before the game on Saturday.With two of their starters now with the Twins, the Red Wings announced that lefty David Hurlbut has been promoted from Chattanooga and will start on Saturday.With that, let’s get to the Minor League Report for Friday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 12 Box Score In the last few days, the Red Wings have lost ⅖ of their starting rotation to the Minnesota Twins. First, it was Andrew Albers and on Friday it was Pat Dean. Things didn’t go as planned, however. Jason Wheeler, who has been the Red Wings most consistent starter all season, gave up four runs in the first inning. He gave up another in the second and two more in the third. Through three innings, he had given up seven runs. Normally that would be a time to remove the starter. However, manager Mike Quade stuck with Wheeler and the left-hander threw three scoreless innings. So his final line says that he gave up seven runs on seven hits (including three homers) and three walks in six innings. Key Play: If you had a chance to watch the game on milb.tv, you may have seen the unfortunate first inning against Wheeler. With one out and runners on first and second Wheeler coaxed a ground ball to third base. Leonardo Reginnato fielded and threw to James Beresford at second for the first out. Beresford made the turn and made a terrific throw to first base, a step before the batter reached first. However, Reynaldo Rodriguez casually caught the ball and stepped away from the bag... the problem was that he casually stepped off the bag before he caught the ball. The umpire made the correct call. Safe. Could have been out of the inning, and after the blunder, Wheeler gave up four runs in that first inning. Can't help but wonder how the game goes if that play is made properly. At that point, the Red Wings offense had caught up. Adam Brett Walker hit a three-run homer, his International League-leading 23rd homer of the season. Byron Buxton added his seventh Rochester homer, a solo blast. Reynaldo Rodriguez added his third homer to cut the deficit to 7-6. DJ Baxendale came in for the seventh inning. His ERA jumped to 1.67 as he gave up three runs (two earned) on three hits and two walks in the inning. Neil Ramirez threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out four. John Ryan Murphy added his second homer of the year to give the Red Wings their seventh run. Buxton was the lone Wings player to have multiple hits. He was 2-4 and stole his sixth base. Before the game, the Red Wings added Jason Bartlett and Merv Rettenmund to their Hall of Fame. Bartlett played parts of the 2004, 2005 and 2006 seasons in Rochester. In those seasons, he hit .331, .332 and .306. He played ten seasons in the big leagues. Rettenmund played 13 seasons in the big leagues after one season in Rochester. That season he was The Sporting News Minor League Player of the Year after hitting .331 with 22 homers for the Red Wings. He was the International League’s Rookie of the Year and MVP in 1968. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 12, Birmingham 1 Box Score Aaron Slegers returned to nearly his pre-disabled list form in this game, and his offense provided plenty of offensive support. Before going on the DL, Slegers had a run of nine straight quality starts. Since his return, he has thrown two innings twice and worked up to five innings in his most recent start. On this night Slegers gave up one run on six hits in seven innings. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Brandon Peterson worked two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. The Lookouts scored six runs in the third innings. They got an RBI double from Zach Granite, an RBI double from Niko Goodrum, a two-run double from Stuart Turner and a two-run single from TJ White. They added four more runs in the sixth inning, and two more runs in the ninth inning. Zach Granite led the way. He went 3-6 with his 15th double, sixth triple and five RBIs. Turner went 3-4 with a walk and his 17th and 18th doubles. Goodrum went 2-5 with his fourth double. TJ White was 2-5. Travis Harrison hit his 21st double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 0, Charlotte 2 Box Score The Miracle lost, but Fernando Romero was as impressive has he has been all year. The hard-throwing right-hander from the Dominican went the first seven innings. He gave up no runs. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out 11. His Miracle ERA drops to 2.39. One of the hits Romero gave up was off the bat of a rehabbing Oswaldo Arcia. Cam Booser replaced Romero in the 8th inning. He walked a batter and then gave up a two-run homer to Arcia which was the entirety of the game’s scoring. It was the only hit Booser gave up. He struck out two. Luke Bard worked a perfect ninth inning. The Miracle offense managed just three hits in the game. Joe Maloney hit his 13th double. Tanner Witt and Trey Vavra were each 1-2. Witt walked once as well. Vavra was hit by a pitch. Miracle Manager Jeff Smith was ejected in the 8th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 10, Kane County 1 Box Score The game was delayed by rain in the third inning, but it didn’t slow down the Kernels’ bats. Speaking of bats that haven’t cooled down, out hitter of the month of July, Zander Wiel, went 5-5 in this game to lead the way. Sean Miller and JJ Fernandez were both 2-5. Casey Scoggins went 2-4. Travis Blankenhorn added his second double. Brandon Lopez went 1-3 with two walks. It was a pretty unique game for catcher Kevin Garcia. He was on third base early in the game when Christian Cavaness stole second base. Garcia took off for home and scored. In the ninth inning, he hit a three-run homer. I am guessing that it is the first time Garcia has stolen home and homered in the same game in his career. They were his first stolen base and first home run of the season. Miles Nordgren started and returned to the mound even after the 42-minute rain delay. He went seven innings for his fourth win. He gave up only an unearned run on five hits. He walked two and struck out four. Logan Lombana threw two scoreless innings in relief. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Kingsport 4 Box Score A four-run third innings gave the Twins a lead that they were able to hang on to the rest of the way. In the big inning, infielder Caleb Hamilton hit a two-run double. Soon after, Amaurys Minier hit a two-run homer to give them a 4-0 lead. Minier went 1-2 with two walks and the homer, his eighth. Hamilton went 2-4 and both hits were doubles to give him four on the season. Sean Poppen started. He threw four scoreless innings, though he gave up four hits and walked three. He struck out four. He met his pitch count after just four innings, and Austin Tribby came into the game. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on six hits over three innings. He struck out three and didn’t walk any. He was credited with the Win to improve his season record to 4-0. Patrick McGuff gave up a run on three hits over the final two innings to record his fourth save. He struck out three without issuing a walk, something he has called a key to his success so far as a pro. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 1 Box Score Left Bo Hellquist made the Friday start for the GCL Twins. The Minnesota-Duluth alum threw five shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out three. Moises Gomez came on and threw three scoreless frames. Onas Farfan came on for the ninth to protect a two-run lead. He gave up three hits and one run, but he held on to record his fourth save of the year. Hellquist improved to 4-1. Jorge Munoz has been hitting well of late. The infielder went 2-4 in this game with his ninth and tenth doubles. Max Murphy, in another rehab appearance, added a double. Lean Marrero went 2-3 and stole his second base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Fernando Romero, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – You Vote: Zach Granite, Chattanooga LookoutsStuart Turner, Chattanooga LookoutsZander Wiel, Cedar Rapids KernelsSATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (6:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut Chattanooga @ Birmingham (6:30 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells Elizabethton @ Bluefield (6:05 CST) - RHP Jose Martinez GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am CST) - RH Huascar Ynoa Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games. Click here to view the article

I'm in agreement with the commenters so far, and I hope that came across. I think there are plenty of pros to signing him, but in the end, there just aren't any at bats for him, and he doesn't want that.

Tonight, Alex Rodriguez will be playing in his final game for the New York Yankees. On Sunday, he and the team announced that he would get one final game at Yankees Stadium before being let go. He will become an advisor in the team’s system. But there has been a lot of discussion about whether or not tonight will be the final game in the storied career of A-Rod. Many assume he will return to play for someone. In fact, some have suggested that the Twins might be a reasonable match. Though I find it rather unlikely, I do think it’s worth the discussion.Let’s start with this. Alex Rodriguez is one of the greatest baseball players of the last 25 years. His numbers speak for themselves. He arrived in Seattle about a year after being the #1 overall pick in the 1993 draft. He was a 14-time All-Star, starting at age 20. In 2,783 games, he has a career line of .295/.380/.550 (.930) with 547 doubles, 696 home runs and 2,085 RBI. He has won three MVP awards, won ten Silver Slugger awards and even a couple of Gold Gloves. But for all of his accomplishments on the field, most people in and around and outside of baseball choose to jump straight to his PED usage and his elaborate cover-up. He missed the entire 2014 season because of suspension. It’s an era of baseball that we can’t move past and that’s understandable. This year with the Yankees, he is hitting just .199/.247/.348 (.525) with nine homers in 64 games. He has been relegated to Joe Girardi’s bench the last few weeks. It makes sense for the Yankees to get rid of him. But again, the assumption is that he will sign somewhere. If I was a betting man, I’d say he winds up signing with the Miami Marlins. It just makes the most sense. But, I did want to take just a little bit of time to consider whether it makes any sense at all for the Twins to sign A-Rod. The Pros While my sense as I start typing this is that the Cons will outnumber (and out-value) the Pros, there are legitimate reasons to at least consider it. While 2016 has been a bad year for Rodriguez, he was really pretty good in 2015. He hit .250/.356/.486 (.842) with 22 doubles, 33 homers and 86 RBI in 151 games as a 39-year-old. He can still provide some power. At 696 home runs, it would be pretty cool for a fan base to be able to watch a chase to 700 home runs. It certainly was fun watching Jim Thome chase his 600th home run. Many have indicated that Rodriguez has done a very nice job as a teammate, particularly with the young Yankees players. Many have said that the Twins need a veteran leader on the roster, particularly with so many young players. Rodriguez is eloquent and fluent in both English and Spanish, and with the Twins having so many young players from Latin American countries, his voice could be helpful. It would not require much money, if he chose to sign. He is owed and will be paid $23 million by the Yankees in 2017, the final year of his 10-year, $275 million deal. The Cons I think it’s fair to say that Alex Rodriguez comes with some baggage. The PED stuff is always a topic in the minds of media and fans. There certainly would be plenty of public scrutiny. Some of it fair. Some of it unnecessary. His age-40 season has been a disaster. Age is certainly not his friend. While his 2015 season was solid, the precipitous drop in production in 2016 doesn’t bode well for his presumed productivity in 2017. The Twins already have plenty of DH options. As much as it may be nice to have Alex Rodriguez around as a mentor for Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Jose Berrios, Eddie Rosario, Kennys Vargas, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and other young players, he would have to accept that he would basically be a pinch-hit option. Miguel Sano, Kennys Vargas, Byung Ho Park, Daniel Palka and Adam Brett Walker are all DH candidates, as well as DH days for Joe Mauer. While the reports of Rodriguez's work with young players has been positive, there does seem to be a general uneasiness and lack of trust in him. Signing an aging veteran could be positive, but it could be destructive if it doesn't play out as you hope. My Opinion Certainly you have your opinions on Rodriguez the player, Rodriguez the person, or Rodriguez the legacy. Maybe there are other Pros or Cons that you would include. Feel free to (respectfully) discuss them below. While I would love to watch Alex Rodriguez finish his career in a Twins uniform, I just don’t think it makes a lot of sense for the Twins. He likely would be a terrific mentor for the Twins' young players. It would be fun to watch a chase for 700 wins. However, his at-bats would likely come at the expense of some young players who either are, or hope to be, a part of the Twins future. With that, it makes it harder to justify the PR hit that the Twins might take (by some) for signing someone with such a tainted history. In the end, I would be very excited if the they signed Rodriguez either yet this season or going into the 2017 season. I just can’t see it as making sense for the Twins. Click here to view the article