Seth Stohs

Happy Opening Day! Several Twins Daily writers and a community of readers from this site or Twitter made their predictions for the 2024 Minnesota Twins season. How will this version of the Twins do in the AL Central, and which players will help along the 162-game journey? At the end, be sure to add in your predictions in the comments. Image courtesy of William Parmeter Over the past week or so, we surveyed the Twins Daily writers for their predictions about the 2024 season. A similar survey was posted in the forums and promoted on Twitter. Here are the results. How many wins will the Twins have, and where will they place in the AL Central? Seventeen Twins Daily writers responded to our survey (though not necessarily to each question), while 111 Twins Daily readers and/or Twitter followers responded. The majority of the questions were related to the Twins' 2024 season. How many wins will the Twins have this season? Will they have any Silver Slugger or Gold Glove Award winners? Who will be their top hitters and pitchers? In this article, I will make my prediction and compare it to the Twins Daily writers, which will then be compared to the Twins Daily Community. It’ll be interesting to see how they compare. Your part in this is going to the comments and giving your answers so that - at least in theory - we can take a look at our predictions in October and see how we did. Let’s get started with some predictions for the Twins and the AL Central. Question 1: How many Wins will the Twins have in 2024? I decided to predict 85 wins for the 2024 Twins. Fifteen Twins Daily writers shared their predictions. The lowest came in at 83 wins. The highest prediction was 93 wins. On average, the Twins Daily writers predicted 88.6 Wins in 2024. On the public survey, I broke up the wins predictions into smaller categories. Just shy of 40% of the 111 Twins Daily readers and followers said the Twins will win between 86 and 89 games in 2024. 24% said ‘90 or more’ wins. 19.8% said 82-85 wins. So, combined, 83.8% of respondents think the Twins will finish with a record above .500. A year ago, the Twins Daily prediction was 87 wins for the 2023 Twins. The 2023 Twins won the division with a record of… 87-75. Having fun with math, I calculated that the overall average win prediction at Twins Daily is again 87 wins. Question 2: Where will the Twins finish in the American League Central in 2024? All 16 Twins Daily writers that responded to the survey believe that the Twins will win their second straight division crown in 2024. A robust 75.2% of the fan respondents agree that the Twins will win the division again. Sixteen of the 111 respondents (14.7%) predicted the Twins to finish in second, while 11 believe the Twins will finish in third place. There might be a bit of homerism in this one, at least in the percentages. That said, the Twins generally are believed to be the favorite to win the division. Question 3: Which team will win the AL Central in 2024? This is obviously a slightly different question than the previous question. Of course, with all 16 Twins Daily writers predicting the Twins to finish in first place atop the AL Central. How about the Twins Daily community? Again, 84 of the 111 respondents (75.7%) said the Twins will win the division. Thirteen respondents predicted that Cleveland will win the division, and 12 others predicted that the Tigers will win the division. The other two think that the Royals did enough to make up the 31 games they were behind the Twins in 2023. The Royals are much-improved, and they locked up one of baseball’s best players in the offseason, but that’s a big task. The Tigers have Skubal. They added Flaherty and Maeda. Casey Mize is coming back. They should be better. The most important thing: Zero people predicted the White Sox to win the AL Central, which is very important! Player Awards and Recognition Question 4: Will the Twins have any Silver Slugger Award winners for the 2024 season? If so, who? Nine of the 15 Twins Daily writers (60%) wrote that the Twins would not have a Silver Slugger winner. Forty-six of the 104 fan respondents (44.2%) agree that the Twins hitters will be shut out. Royce Lewis led the way among the writers, with three believing he’ll be the AL’s top-hitting third baseman. Edouard Julien got two votes. Byron Buxton, Carlos Correa and Ryan Jeffers each received one vote. Lewis led the way with 34 (of 104) saying he will beat out the likes of Rafael Devers, Jose Ramirez, and Alex Bregman for the AL Silver Slugger at third base. Ryan Jeffers had 18 people say that he could take the Silver Slugger for catcher away from Adley Rutschman or the veteran Salvador Perez. Edouard Julien is the third Twins player in double-digits with 16 people saying that he’ll top Marcus Semien. I mention those other names because it illustrates just how difficult winning a Silver Slugger can be. Others to receive votes include Byron Buxton (8), Carlos Correa (4), Matt Wallner (2), Max Kepler (1), and Alex Kirilloff (1). After that, several players received one or two votes. Jose Miranda came in third in voting by both groups. He's undoubtedly been crushing the ball this spring. Question 5: Will the Twins have Gold Glove Award winners for the 2024 season? If so, who? A minority (46.1%) of our fan respondents don't think the Twins will have any Gold Glove winners in 2024. Similarly, six of the 15 Twins Daily writers (40.0%) think the Twins will be shut out of the Gold Glove hardware. Twins fans and writers want to believe, and we are all incredibly excited to see a healthy Byron Buxton in center field. Five Twins Daily writers (33%) and 34 community respondents (32.7%) believe he will meet the innings requirements and play some great center field! Likewise, we all believe that Carlos Correa is past his plantar fasciitis and can regain some of the range and footwork that he simply was unable to do a year ago. 20% of Twins Daily writers and 24 community respondents (23.1%) believe he will win another Gold Glove. Max Kepler received eight votes between the two groups. Royce Lewis received three votes. Carlos Santana received two votes, and Bailey Ober, Pablo Lopez and Ryan Jeffers each got one vote. Question 6: Who will be the Twins' top rookie in 2024? He had a terrific showing in his second big-league spring training after reaching Triple-A in 2023. Brooks Lee was also this year’s Sire of Fort Myers! He also is being predicted on the Twins preseason Top Rookie. Seven of 15 writers thought that he would take this award. 47 of 110 community respondents (42.7%) foresee Lee as the 2024 top rookie. Among writers, Austin Martin received four votes. He finished second among community respondents with 20 votes (18.2%). He received one more vote than David Festa (17.3%). Simeon Woods Richardson showed well this spring, regaining confidence among many Twins fans. He received nine votes from the community. Others who received votes include Matt Canterino, Brent Headrick, Yunior Severino, and Kody Funderburk. 2024 Top Twins Rookie (Preseason): Brooks Lee Question 7: Who will be the Most Improved Twins player in 2024? This can be a very interesting category. "Most Improved" can mean something different to different people. Could it be a young player who just got a cup of coffee getting more opportunities? Could it be a player returning from injury or after a disappointing season? As I reviewed the Twins Daily writer ballots, the first eight I looked at were different, and by the end, 10 players' names were mentioned. Byron Buxton led the way with four votes, followed by Louie Varland and Christian Vazquez with two votes. On the other respondent ballots, Alex Kirilloff led the way with 25 votes. Byron Buxton was next in line with 20 votes. A close third was Carlos Correa with 17 votes. Christian Vazquez was the other player who hit double digits. He had 11 votes. Ryan Jeffers and Joe Ryan each had a half-dozen votes. In all, 18 different players received votes. I should also point out that two people said that no one would improve. In fact, one said, “Everybody regresses, window missed.” 2024 Most Improved Twins Player (Preseason): Alex Kirilloff. Question 8: Who will be the Twins' top starting pitcher in 2024? 14 of 16 Twins Daily writers (87.5%) selected the obvious choice, Pablo Lopez. He was also the choice a year ago, and he had a fantastic season. He made the All Star team and proved to be very Ace-like in the Twins postseason run. The other two votes - including mine - went to Bailey Ober. An even higher percentage of the community voted for Lopez. He received 104 of the 110 votes (93.7%). Bailey Ober got three votes. Joe Ryan got two. Louie Varland and Chris Paddack each received one vote. 2024 Twins Top Starting Pitcher (Preseason): Pablo Lopez Question 9: Who will be the Twins' top relief pitcher in 2024? Without an injury, the choice is pretty obvious. Most would vote for Jhoan Duran even though there are a couple more relievers that should be relied upon as well. However, Duran begins the season on the IL with an oblique injury. No, it’s not an arm injury, which is great, but after seeing the struggles Caleb Thielbar had in his return from an oblique injury, it’s hard to predict how long Duran will be out. Was that concern enough to alter the voting? Well, it certainly did with the Twins Daily writers. 10 of 16 writers (62.5%) said Griffin Jax will be the top reliever. Duran still received 31.3% (5 votes). Brock Stewart also received one vote. Would the Twins Daily community respondents react similarly? To some degree, yes. Jhoan Duran led the way with 47 votes (42.3%), but Jax received 44 votes (39.6%). After that, Stewart led the way with eight votes. Next was Kody Funderburk with four and Jorge Alcala with three. What does it mean? Nothing. It’s just a fun preseason prediction. But on another level, it tells us that most of the Twins community has a strong confidence in Griffin Jax being able to get the job done in whatever role he is presented. It also tells me that they really should be careful and patient with Duran because he is so good, so talented, and so important. Of course, the Twins brass knows that as well and having two (or more!) potentially dominant options late in the season will be really important. 2024 Twins Top Relief Pitcher (Preseason): Griffin Jax Question 10: Who will be the Twins' top hitter in 2024? 16 Twins Daily writers voted for this category. They provided just three names. Atop the list is Royce Lewis who received nine votes (56.3%). Edouard Julien received four votes, and Byron Buxton got three votes. The community provided a fairly similar result. Royce Lewis received 68 of the 111 votes (61.3%). Julien received 15 votes (13.5%), and Carlos Correa got 14 votes (12.6%). Buxton received just seven votes from the 111 respondents, the same number as the others who received at least one vote. 2024 Twins Top Hitter (Preseason): Royce Lewis. As the season begins today, please leave your predictions for these awards in the COMMENTS below, and discuss your thoughts on the players. Your Turn In the COMMENTS below, please let us know how you would vote for how the Twins will do in 2024, and which players will help lead the way. View full article

Dave Engle was born on November 30, 1956, in San Diego. His father and Hall of Famer Ted Williams were best friends, so Engle has all kinds of memories around sports or fishing or more (article/Q&A). In 1978, he was the third-round pick of the California Angels out of USC (Southern California). In college, he was a part of USC's national championship team in 1978. He was also part of the USC football team that was a championship in 1974. In February of 1979, he was traded to the Twins with Paul Hartzell, Brad Havens and Ken Landreaux in exchange for Rod Carew. Just two years later, on April 14, 1981, in Seattle, Engle came in as a pinch-hitter for Hosken Powell in the top of the 9th inning and walked. He stayed in the game and played right field in the bottom of the inning. He received rookie of the year votes in 1981. He was a part-time player in 1982. In 1983, he played in a career-high 120 games including behind the plate for the first time in his career. Engle was named to the 1984 All Star team. The Twins lone representative in that game was Engle. He didn't play in the game. By 1985, Engle was a part-time DH and catcher for the Twins. Mark Salas was the primary catcher, Jeff Reed got some time, and Tim Laudner continued to get a lot of time behind the plate too. In addition, he would lob the ball back to the pitchers, which gradually became a bigger and bigger issue. Engle said he had a shoulder problem, but tests showed nothing. Quote "Hopefully, it's just muscles in his shoulder and not a problem with his head," Twins manager Billy Gardner said at the time."" Before the 1986 season, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Chris Pittaro and Alejandro Sanchez. The Tigers released him in August. He signed a minor-league deal with the Expos... He played in 59 games as a bench player. He played 34 more games for the Expos in 1988 before they released him in July. He signed with the Brewers right before the season started. He was soon called up, got into 27 games, and was released in July. He got a little Triple-A time with the Rangers' affiliate in Oklahoma City. In 1991, he played in one game for the Astros Triple-A club in Tucson. Following his playing career, he went into coaching. In 1995, he became the manager of the Astros' High-A affiliate in Kissimmee, Florida. The following season, he managed Double-A Jackson to a .500 record (70-70). He returned to a managerial role in 1999 for the Mets' Low-A affiliate, Capital City. They went 83-58, and in 2000, he moved up to High-A St. Lucie where the team went 81-58. He has also done some scouting. Did you know? Dave Engle and Tom Brunansky are brothers-in-law. Engle was the Angels sixth-round pick in 1978. Brunansky was the Angels' first-round pick that same year. In 2014, the Star Tribune's Dennis Brackin wrote an article on Engle. At the time, he was a major-league scout with the Orioles. View full player

Twins minor-league pitcher Travis Adams is set to travel to Wichita to start the 2024 season. However, the starting pitching prospect recorded the save of a lifetime, literally, this week in Fort Myers. Image courtesy of WINK News (Fort Myers) For most of his baseball playing days, Travis Adams has been a starting pitcher. His goal most nights is to work five or six innings, hope the offense gives him some run support, and let the bullpen close the door. Maybe a closer even comes in and gets the save. Earlier this week, it was Adams who found himself in a save situation, and he came through with flying colors. Following a day at the ballpark, Adams was at his rental house, just relaxing and probably starting to think about the upcoming season and packing to head out to the Twins' Double-A outpost in Wichita. According to WINK news in Fort Myers, Adams heard a loud bang, and went into a friend's room to look out the window. The house across the street was on fire. Without hesitation, Adams ran out of the house. With the help of a couple other neighbors, they yelled to see if anyone was in the house. They pounded on the windows and doors, and a neighbor yelled, "Howard, your house is on fire, get out." However, Howard couldn't get out of the house by himself. "We couldn’t get in," Adams told reporters later. "And so I had to go around. And let’s see, there’s another door. And so there was a door on the side. So I end up like tearing a little bit little part of the fence down and get back there and we end up getting the door open and kind of moving some stuff out of the way of that door and getting him out. "My goal was just to help him out of the house, because I didn’t know how much of the house is on fire or, you know, what was on fire. I saw a big old blaze and fire and smoke coming from the house." They pulled the homeowner out of his house and got him to safety, as the Fort Myers Fire Department arrived on the scene. Adams told the reporters he's not a hero--that he "just tried to do as much as possible and did the right thing." The 24-year-old from Palm Springs, California, was the Twins' sixth-round draft pick in 2021 out of Sacramento State. With so many veterans signed to minor-league deals and heading to St. Paul, Adams will return to Wichita, where he spent the 2023 season. He made 25 starts and pitched 109 2/3 innings for the Wind Surge. Known for remarkable control, in his three college seasons, he had just 25 walks in 151 innings. Of course, he wasn't throwing quite as hard then or getting as much movement on his secondary pitches. Despite a 5.66 ERA last year, he is a very intriguing prospect because he's strong, he now touches 97 mph with the fastball, and with another year of seasoning, could potentially have three solid big-league pitches. And who knows. Maybe at some point he could end up in the bullpen. And at that point, he could record the first save of his career (zero in college, zero in pro ball). However, I think we can all agree, whether he wants to call himself a hero or not, that he recorded a pretty huge Save on Monday night in Fort Myers. For much more on Travis Adams (mostly baseball-related), click here to find articles he has been tagged in on Twins Daily. And he was a guest on Twins Spotlight early last March. You can watch that full episode here. View full article

Love it!!! Here's hoping he can connect for 30+ homers again!

This takes like 5-8 minutes, but please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. Lots of questions on how the Twins will do, who will win the division, Any award winners? Best pitchers and hitters? Etc. Please take the survey by about noon on Wednesday as I'll share the results on the site. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/7QMQLDB

Parker is in Fort Myers for a few days, watching the Twins. After watching Twins Opening Day starter Pedro Lopez start a game on the backfields, he and Seth talked about how he looked, the Twins pitching coaches, the starting rotation, Brooks Lee, Baseball Day in Minnesota and much more. View full video

It's hard to know because it's impossible to know when an injury will happen. But it's clear that they wanted to see Martin at 2B, LF and CF because he could be called up quickly and until the Margot deal, maybe had a chance. Larnach likely ready when a need in LF or RF or DH. If the need is at SS, it'd likely be Lee early in the year (if he'd be out an extended time). However, once the season gets going and we're in June, it'll come down to who is playing well in St. Paul, and I would assume guys will play all over. I know that Lee spent time at 2B and 3B on the back fields and took a lot of ground balls at those spots throughout the spring. He'd be fine there if needed too.

It's sure hard to get rid of old narratives, even if they haven't been true for a long time.

Ability to hit spin was pretty important then too. And people still cared about batting average.

Spring training stats shouldn't be a factor.

I don't think it's a failure to encourage hitting the ball in the air. Doesn't mean pop ups. The goal is always to know the zone, know your swing, and hit the ball hard. If the swing produces launch between like 16 and 34, that's a good thing. Launch Angle and Exit Velocity are nothing to be afraid of. They don't take away from player strengths, they are just stats, numbers, etc. Launch Angle = just a result, and all know that ground balls are generally outs, and pop ups aren't good. Exit Velocity = hit the ball hard. I can't imagine anyone disagreeing with that.

No, because I know they have different, unique improvement plans for each player. That said, we've heard it with Austin Martin. The Twins wanted to pull more power out of him, and after trying it, and struggling, he went back to his old mentality with the bat (get on base, use the whole field, etc.). Adding power has helped a lot of players over the years. It's probably helped Larnach as he does have the ability. I just think it'd also be good for him to hit the ball the opposite way more, focus on contact. he's still got enough power to launch homers, but contact now is the key.

On Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins reduced their spring training roster to 41 players by sending a group of three former top prospects to minor-league camp. Image courtesy of © Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports Just 10 days away from Opening Day, the Twins have little time left to reduce their roster to 26 active players. On Sunday, we learned that Jhoan Durán, Caleb Thielbar and Anthony DeSclafani will start the season on the Injured List. Josh Winder is already on the 60-day injured list. So really, they have fewer cuts left to make than it appears, because injured guys won't take up those active places. Take a quick look through Twins top prospect lists between 2019 and 2022, and you are likely to find Jordan Balazovic, Trevor Larnach and José Miranda quite high on them. All three of these players have shown up on some global Top-100 rankings in their time. Yet on Sunday, March 17, 2024, all three of them were told that their seasons would begin in Triple-A. All three have had highs and lows in their young careers. At times, their prospect lights shone bright. At other times, injuries or on-field (or even off-field) issues kept them from reaching the potential many believe that each possesses. Let’s take a look at all three and figure out what they most need to work on not only to get back to the Twins, but also to stick with the team. Jordan Balazovic It’s a strange place to be for a former top prospect. Balazovic burst onto the scene in 2018, when he put together a strong rookie season in the Gulf Coast League and Keith Law pointed him out as a top prospect. The 2016 fifth-round pick from Mississauga, Ontario has had ups and downs in his time with the Twins. In fact, earlier this year, he was designated for assignment to make room for a waiver claim. He cleared waivers and was outrighted to St. Paul, so he’s not on the 40-man roster. A quick look at the Balazovic profile and it’s impossible not to see why people would be excited. He's 6-foot-5 and lanky. His fastball averaged 95.2 mph. He’s got a sharp mid-to-high-80s slider that can be a strikeout pitch. He also has a low-80s curveball that can be 12-6 or 11-5 in shape, because of his high release point. He also can throw a splitter. It will be interesting to see if or how his pitch mix is updated throughout the season and in his transition full-time to the bullpen. The stuff is there. What he needs to focus on most: Consistency and command. There are times when Balazovic has shown good control and kept the walks down. Other times, he can have extended stretches of poor control. As we all know, too, control is just part of the equation. Command is even more vital. Being able to command the ball within the strike zone is crucial in the big leagues, where hitters just don’t miss mistakes as often. José Miranda Miranda was the third of four high-school hitters selected in the first 75 picks of the 2016 draft. He had the size and strength to be a top prospect, but he often found himself in the 15-25 range of prospects. We kept hearing about his potential, and it definitely showed up at times with power. However, it always felt like there was a limiting factor. He didn’t strike out much, but he also didn’t walk. In other words, he was a very aggressive hitter who would not only swing at too many pitchers’ pitches, but had tremendous bat control and often put those pitches in play with weak contact. During the lost 2020 season, Miranda put in a lot of time really working on better understanding the strike zone. He wanted to understand not only what was a strike, but what pitches he could put into play with authority. If you look at Miranda’s Contact% in the big leagues, it was 77.5% in 2022 and 77.3% in 2023. That’s negligible. But digging into the details, we see something that might be a factor. In 2022, when swinging outside the zone, he made contact on 63.8% of swings. In 2023, that number bumped up to 66.9%--not a huge jump, but noticeable. On the other side, on pitches inside the strike zone, he made contact 88.2% of the time in 2022 and that number dropped to 85.8% in 2023. These aren’t huge changes on their own. However, it can be noted that he made contact more often with pitches outside the zone, likely resulting in weaker contact. At the same time, more swing-and-miss on pitches in the zone. Again, that combined 5.5% doesn’t seem like a huge deal. But sometimes that turns a 2-1 count into a 1-2 count, or a 3-1 count (hitter’s advantage) into a 2-2 count (pitcher’s advantage). So as I’ve said throughout spring training, with Miranda it isn’t so much about the stat line for me. It’s all about plate discipline. When he improved his ability to lay off tough pitches, as he did in 2021 and 2022, he mashed. He hit for average and power. In 2023, when he swung at more pitches outside the zone, the numbers just weren’t there. So, I will be watching how his strike zone judgment improves in 2024. What he needs to focus on most: Controlling the zone. To be fair, Miranda spent the 2023 season fighting a shoulder injury. It cost him time in spring training, and during the season, and then late in the season he had surgery. This spring, he really only acted as a designated hitter and played some first base. Hopefully, the shoulder continues to improve and he can get back to third base as well. Trevor Larnach The Twins' first-round pick out of Oregon State in 2018, Larnach is still struggling to establish himself. While he didn’t play during the COVID-marred 2020 season, he did spend that year at CHS Field. Despite the lost season, he was called up quickly in 2021. Each year when he has been called up, he has done very well. He has shown immense power and offensive ability. At his best, he has a great swing that hits line drives to the opposite field. There was some concern about his ability to turn on pitches with authority, but a look back at some of his home runs in Triple-A and the big leagues shows that he’s got plenty of power to the pull side. You hear it talked about often: Larnach’s struggles have come from an inability to hit breaking balls or changeups. There’s no denying that. There has been a lot written on these pages about that, which you can find here. His Barrel rate has increased in each of his three seasons. His Hard Hit rate has increased each season, from 33.5% in 2021 to 46.0% in 2023. His average exit velocities have been either 90.0 mph or 90.1 mph during those three years, and his maximum exit velocity is a robust 112.0. Two things jump out to me, though. His Launch Angle was 13.1 degrees his first two MLB seasons. In 2023, it jumped to 17.5 degrees. In addition, his fly-ball rate jumped from 39.0% in 2022 to 47.8% in 2023. Don’t get me wrong. Launch angle is good. Obviously, avoiding ground balls is a good thing. However, there is also a limit to productive launch angles. Lazy fly balls and pop-ups are just as easily turned into outs as grounders. But has it been preached into his mind so much that hitting the ball in the air and pulling the ball and hitting homers are what he needs to do, has it messed up what makes him a great natural hitter? In an ideal world, I’d love to watch Larnach with a season full of line drives to left or left-center. Every once in a while, turn on a pitch, but go back to hitting the ball hard somewhere on a line. What he needs to focus on most: Hit the ball where it’s pitched. Get back to some basics, the things that made him a first-round pick. Keep it simple. Don’t overthink it. See ball in zone, hit ball. Larnach is a big, strong dude. He’s going to hit a lot of homers one year soon. "Back to the basics" is a good theme for any pitcher or hitter to remember. For pitchers, mix up your pitches, throw strikes and really work on command inside the zone. For hitting, know the strike zone. Try not to expand the zone. Hit it hard where it is pitched. This is a big season for all three of these former top prospects. Larnach turned 27 last month. Miranda and Balazovic will turn 26 during the season. Larnach has been passed up, at least for now, by Matt Wallner. However, Wallner has struggled this spring, and Max Kepler is likely gone into free agency a year from now. Miranda knows that Royce Lewis is going to get the majority of time at third base. Edouard Julien has taken over at second base, and Brooks Lee and Austin Martin are getting close. Alex Kirilloff hasn’t taken hold of a position, first base or DH yet, and Carlos Santana is on a one-year deal. Playing time can be had. And with how liberally the Twins use their 40-man roster in the bullpen, Balazovic could get more chances. The Twins' spring roster now stands at 41 players. Nine of them are non-roster guys. Twenty-one pitchers are still in camp (three of them non-roster invitees). There are still four catchers (two non-roster). There are eight infielders; just one is a non-roster player. There are five outfielders, all on the 40-man roster. Two utility players remain. Non-Roster players remaining include right-handed pitchers Matt Bowman, Jeff Brigham, and Daniel Duarte. Brian O’Keefe and Chris Williams are the two non-roster catchers. The versatile Niko Goodrum, Michael Helman, Anthony Prato, and Brooks Lee remain in big-league camp as well. View full article

A few of my thoughts: 1.) E-Rod's PA vs Drew Sommers was awesome!! Lefty-Lefty match up. Sommers had a rough outing after the E-Rod PA, facing all right-handers. However, he threw Rodriguez some really tough fastballs and sliders. For him to work the walk was incredibly impressive. 2.) Jack Noble was really good for two innings. Interesting for him to be on this roster as a guy who was a non-drafted free agent late in 2022 from Long Beach State. 3.) Rays prospect Xavier Isaac was pretty impressive. Two homers, one to dead center, the other to the opposite field. . 4.) Charlee Soto has a chance to be special.

Nick Nelson is hanging out around the ballpark in Fort Myers, so we put him to work. Seth and Nick went live to talk about several Twins-related topics including: Caleb Thielbar throwing some Live BP, an Anthony DeSclafani update, which pitchers could be Next Up if needed, today's Spring Breakout game, a Walker Jenkins update, Matt Wallner's roster spot, and Jose Miranda's approach... and more. View full video

and some 2B and DH.

The Twins traveled north to Lakeland to take on the Detroit Tigers on Tuesday afternoon. Four of the players returned with the news that they have been optioned and will report to minor-league camp. Image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA Today Sports (photo of Camargo), Sam Navarro-USA Today Sports (photo of Martin) On Tuesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins announced that four players were optioned and will soon report to minor-league camp. Some of the organization's top offensive prospects will begin the season in the minor leagues, but it's possible we could see each get time with the Twins in the 2024 season. Twins Daily's #3 prospect, outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, was optioned to Double-A Wichita. During his first big league spring training, he went 4-for-21. He went .190/.292/.333 (.625) with one home run. He had three walks and 13 strikeouts. Along with being the #3 Twins prospect, the 21-year-old center fielder is a consensus Top 100 prospect in baseball. Last year, he played in 99 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and hit .240/.400/.463 (.863) with 13 doubles, nine triples, and 16 home runs. He added three huge home runs in helping the Kernels win the Midwest League championship. Rodriguez will walk a lot, strike out a lot, and hit for power. Twins Daily's #7 prospect, Austin Martin was optioned to St. Paul. Finally healthy, Martin had a solid run with the Saints. In 59 games, he hit .263/.387/.405 (.791) with 11 doubles, six homers, and 16 stolen bases. This spring, Martin spent time at second base, left, and center field. In 10 games, he went 5-for-24. The Vanderbilt alum hit .208/.321/.250 (.571) with a double and three walks. He also did a really good job defensively and showed that he should be ready for a call-up when needed. Yunior Severino, the #16 prospect at Twins Daily, was optioned the St. Paul as well. After leading minor-league ball with 35 home runs in 2023, the Twins added him to the 40-man roster. He went just 1-for-15 over 12 spring games. He hit .067/.067/.125 (.192) with one walk and eight strikeouts in 16 plate appearances. He played first base, second base, and third base during the spring training. In 2023, he played in 84 games in Wichita before he finished the season with 36 games in St. Paul. Combined, he hit .272/.352/.546 (.898) with 17 doubles, three triples, and 35 home runs. Finally, catcher Jair Camargo was optioned to St. Paul. He played in 90 games for the Saints in 2023 and hit .259/.323/.503 (.826) with 16 doubles and 21 home runs. Camargo likes to swing the bat. He had just 29 walks to go with 119 strikeouts. But Camargo has really made big strides the last couple of seasons with the power. He's also come a long way defensively. He is a good athlete with a very strong arm. He has improved his pitch calling and works very well with pitchers. Last year, Ryan Jeffers and Christian Vazquez stayed healthy. If either spends time on the Injured List, Camargo will be the guy. This spring, Camargo played in nine games. He went 5-for-21 and hit .238/.273/.476 (.749) with two doubles and a homer. There are now 46 active players in Twins spring training, 22 pitchers, five catchers, 10 infielders, seven outfielders, and two utility players. There are 10 non-roster players. What are your thoughts on these four players optioned on Tuesday. What role do you see each contributing for the Twins in 2024 and beyond? View full article