Seth Stohs

When he signed he touched 92... I'm still checking in to find out where he was at this year, but in that area.

I can find out. I have gone by how you have gone, so we'll see.

The Twins have a long history of signing players from Australia. From Grant Balfour to Luke Hughes. From Liam Hendriks to James Beresford. From Michael Nakamura to the subject of today’s Get to Know ‘Em Q&A, Lachlan Wells. Wells was signed by the Twins in August of 2014. This summer, he made his pro debut with the GCL Twins. He pitched well, especially for an 18-year-old. He was 5-2 with a 2.09 ERA and a 0.97 WHIP. In 47.1 innings, he walked 11 and struck out 49. As the season came to an end, Wells left and pitched for Australia in an international tournament. Sound familiar? Two years earlier Lewis Thorpe did the same thing. In fact, Wells was on that Australian team two years ago when Thorpe beat Team USA. This summer, with Thorpe rehabbing from Tommy John surgery, the two roomed together at the Twins academy in Ft. Myers.Recently, Wells was gracious enough to answer a series of questions for Twins Daily. Continue reading to get to know Lachlan Wells. Seth Stohs (SS): As an amateur, how much contact did you have with MLB teams and what was it that caused you to decide to sign with the Twins? Lachlan Wells (LW): As an amateur, I had a few teams interested in me. The reason I chose the Twins was that it was a good system and there have been plenty of Australian boys that have been through the system and well looked after. SS: What was the adjustment like for you last spring moving from Australia to Florida? What were the biggest challenges? LW: The adjustment from moving to Fort Myers was pretty big. Moving halfway around the world was tough. The time difference and not knowing many people were challenges I faced. SS: What was the highlight of your 2015 season, your first year in the Twins organization? LW: My highlight from my first season would be throwing my first outing of the season. SS: You had a successful first professional season with the GCL Twins. What were your keys to your success? LW: My keys to success were working hard and keeping my pitches down in the zone. SS: What pitches do you throw? What is your best pitch, and what is the pitch that you really want to improve? LW: The pitches I throw is fastball, curveball and change up. My best pitch is my change up. SS: After the GCL season, you were impressive while representing Australia in an international tournament. What’s it like to pitch for your country? LW: There is no greater feeling to pitch for your country. Words cannot describe it. SS: Away from baseball, what do you enjoy doing in your free time? LW: I like to play golf and hang out with my family and mates. SS: Growing up, who were some of your role models in the game of baseball? LW: My role model growing up was Grant Balfour. SS: You are following a similar path, and roomed this year with Lewis Thorpe. He's still young, but what have you been able to learn from him? LW: I learnt a lot of Lewis, little things here and there, on the field and even off the field. SS: Your twin brother signed with the Orioles. How happy are the two of you for each other to get signed? LW: We are both very happy that we are both signed. The feeling when it happened was indescribable. SS: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? LW: A lot of people have helped me to get where I am today. The support from people back home is awesome! SS: What are some of your goals for the 2016 season? Are there certain statistics that you focus on? LW: My goals for the 2016 season are to move up out of rookie ball and to work on making my pitches better. SS: What would it mean to you and your family to be able to reach the major leagues and put that uniform on for the first time? LW: It would mean a lot. Words can't describe how good it would be to reach the major leagues. We would like to thank Lachlan Wells for taking time to respond to our series of questions, and a couple of follow up questions. Feel free to ask questions and discuss in the comments below. Photo by Jim Donten Click here to view the article

This is what he CAN be, and that is incredible.... We (myself and many here, I'm sure) probably were a little unrealistic last year. Burdi and the Twins have both said that his struggles this year may be the best thing for him... Hard to disagree.

Good point... Steve, you should add him...

Today we will get to know another Twins minor leaguer, and another member of the Minnesota Twins 2015 draft class. Hector Lujan was the Twins 35th round pick in June out of NAIA Westmont College where he was a teammate of Twins 32nd pick LHP Andrew Vasquez. In his 2015 Draft Supplemental, Jeremy Nygaard wrote this of Lujan, “His fastball touches 95 mph, and he couples that with an 86 mph slider.”He recently answered some questions from Twins Daily. So continue on to learn a little more about right-handed pitcher Hector Lujan. Seth Stohs (SS) Growing up in California, who was your favorite team to follow, and who were some of your favorite players? Hector Lujan (HL): Growing up in Mira Loma, California, my favorite team was the Los Angeles Dodgers while my family were Angels fans. Some of my favorite players during the time were Bartolo Colon, Mariano Rivera, and Orel Hershiser. (SS): You went to UC-Santa Barbara before going to Westwood College for your junior season. What were some of your favorite moments from you college years? (HL): Some of my favorite college memories were making a regional with UCSB during my freshman year of college, and then making a regional at Westmont College the year I was drafted. Another favorite moment in my college career was making my first collegiate start against Pepperdine University at UCSB. One more favorite moment from college was being able to compete with a bunch of hardworking teammates and meeting new people and coaches. (SS): What was your interaction with scouts before the draft? Did you think you might be drafted? (HL): I had good interaction with scouts. Talking to them, I knew I had a really good chance of being drafted so it pushed me even more to reach my dream in playing professional baseball. Being able to speak with teams about the draft was one of the best moments in my life. (SS): The Twins took you in the 35th round. How did you find out you had been drafted? (HL): The way I found out I was drafted was that my scout, Taylor Cameron, from the Twins had texted me in the morning (to see) if I still wanted to sign. So I texted him telling him “yes.” I was. Then a couple hours later while the draft was going on and he texted me if I was listening to the draft. I told, “No, I was watching it on twitter.” He then told me that they took me in the 35th round. To this day, I remember the excitement I had and the best feeling was that I was with my parents when I found out. (SS): Was it a difficult decision for you to sign with the Twins versus going back to college for one more year? (HL): It wasn’t a difficult choice because I had already decided I was going to sign if I was drafted. It was an easy decision, especially with my parents 200% behind me on my decision. (SS): You and Andrew Vasquez were teammates at UC-SB and at Westmont, and the Twins took him in the 32nd round this year. What can you tell us about Vasquez as a pitcher and a teammate? (HL): Andrew Vasquez was a great teammate and still is a great teammate and a great friend as well. He lives close to me at home during the offseason. He and I plan on working out together and throwing as well. It was great having him as a teammate both at UCSB and Westmont because we would push each other really hard and had two things on our minds, get drafted and win during our last college season together at Westmont. (SS): What was the biggest adjustment you had to make, going from amateur/college season to the pro game, on or off the field? (HL): The biggest adjustments that I had to make was probably getting used to the heat down here in Florida, also being able to maintain my body during the season playing every day. I felt I did a really good job adjusting to this. (SS): How would you describe yourself as a pitcher? What do you throw? What is your best pitch, out pitch, etc? (HL): The way I would describe myself as a pitcher would be as a really competitive pitcher. No matter who steps into that box, my plan is to get you out no matter what it takes. Talking to older guys that have pitched in the big leagues or higher minor league levels have told me that, and that is something I have taken into my game as well as to being a smart pitcher and not just a thrower. My best pitch. I would say, is my change up, and my slider I have been working on which I’m still developing more. My pitches will be ready in my arsenal when spring training comes around. (SS): In these very early stages of your career, what would you say are your biggest strengths as a player? (HL): My biggest strengths as a player, I would say, are leadership and maturing as pitcher. (SS): What are the things that you feel you need to improve over the offseason and going forward? (HL): Somethings that I plan on improving during my offseason are developing my pitches and getting more velocity/movement on my pitches. (SS): What are your plans for the offseason? (When do you start preparing for the 2016 season, but also what do you enjoy doing away from the game of baseball?) (HL): My plans for the offseason for starting to prep have already started. I’m really looking forward to starting my throwing program in a couple of weeks and seeing more results of my offseason work pay off. Somethings I really enjoy away from baseball during my offseason is being able to spend time with my parents and family, horseback riding with my father and being able to help my mom at work down at the old elementary school. (SS): Who are some of the coaches and others who have helped you get to this point in your career? (HL): Two of the most important people that have helped me get to this point I am right now in my career would be my mother and father. They always stood by me with everything from baseball to school, etc… They would always push me and would always help by playing catch with me to sometimes my father catching my bullpens or running with me after my high school games I pitched. I am really blessed to have parents like them that have always had my back with my career in baseball. Other people that have really helped get me to my professional career would be my three pitching coaches. My high school pitching coach Che Edmonds high, school head coach Chuck Arementa, and my two college pitching coaches UCSB Andrew Checketts and my Westmont pitching coach Tony Cougole. Also my head coach at Westmont College Robert Ruiz. Coach Ruiz gave me the opportunity to pitch for his team at Westmont college before the start of my last college season. We would like to thank RHP Hector Lujan for taking the time to answer our questions today. Please feel free to ask questions and comment. Click here to view the article

I ranked Chargois pretty high in my Top 50 Twins Prospect rankings last month. I have a good feeling about Meyer as well. I think a full offseason to clear his mind, to get married and to kind of just start over will help. He's a really good guy, works hard, and has a ton of talent.

Good questions... To your first comment, about Sipp, I agree with what you're saying. I guess I would say that it shouldn't be about the numbers as much as what they are doing... In other words, if there is some scouting reason that he made these improvements and it can be repeatable (like, something clicked), that's more important to me than the numbers... As for the list, my opinion is that Burdi or Chargois will be the first from that group to get to the big leagues - unless Meyer gets off to a great start. Those two, along with Jones and Reed, should start in AA again, and could move quickly. Melotakis likely won't return to game action until May or June, and I'm sure they'll mainly just try to keep him healthy this year. But he's a gas-throwing lefty.

A couple of days later, I've settled into what I felt all along. I really think this is a good trade for both players and for both teams. We'll see how it plays out, but I get the logic, it's sound. I want to see Hicks take off. If he does, I'll be happy for him.But there is some depth. They still have Rosario, Buxton, Arcia and Kepler. They could add a veteran for the short-term or encourage Danny Santana to get some time in the corner outfield spots too. They needed catching. Murphy's just 24 and could be the starter by June. I'd expect Suzuki and Murphy to split time in the first couple of months, but for Murphy to take maybe 2/3 of the starts after that. We shall see.

I can honestly say I never heard that rumor! I remember the Cliff Lee rumors, but never Greinke.

Alex Meyer, Taylor Rogers, Logan Darnell, JT Chargois, Jake Reed, Nick Burdi... All guys who could come up this year. Chargois and Burdi can tough triple digits while Meyer and Reed are generally 95-97... Also, Tonkin's out of options, so they need to make a call there or open up a spot and let him sink or swim And assuming May isn't given a starter's job, he'll be sitting 94-97 out of the bullpen. They're close.

To be fair, that's Molly and every other manager in baseball...

I agree. In talking to pitchers as they move up the levels of the minor leagues, they'll often talk about how the strike zone shrinks. That always confused me because the strike zone is supposed to be a constant. In reality, what the pitchers are saying is that hitters as they move up don't expand the strike zone as much. They (many) have improved plate discipline and don't swing outside the zone as much. Where does the Atlantic League fit into the typical affiliated ball hierarchy? Some say AA. Some say Hi-A. The reality is that it's all over the place. There are several former Major Leaguers, and there are some guys just out of college looking for an opportunity.

And if he performs as well as Boyer did in 2015, we'll all be thrilled. The Twins have always done a good job with minor league RP signings. Maybe Runzler is the good story for 2016. If not, it hurt nothing.

There's really no way to know how a reliever will perform when signed. Tony Sipp could get 3 years and $21 million (or so), and he was pretty non-good for 5 years in the big leagues before becoming terrific last year... Which is real? There are a million examples of this over time.

I pointed out this morning on Twitter... Santana has made 7 starts now in the Dominican Winter League. Five of the have been in CF, and he has one start each at SS and 2B.

Sano is much, much faster than Plouffe.

He had Will Smith in the deal too, and he might be the best, stud reliever out there.

A contingent from the Minnesota Twins front office is currently at the GM Meetings in Florida. It is fair to say that they have been busy. On Tuesday, Chris Herrmann was sent to the Diamondbacks for Daniel Palka. On Wednesday, the Twins received catcher John Ryan Murphy from the Yankees in exchange for Aaron Hicks. The offseason is just getting started, and the Twins will likely make a few more moves before spring training starts… in three months. With that in mind, I’m going to do a way-too-early roster projection. Normally, we don’t do these until mid-to-late January, but we’ll try it here today. These aren't my ideas for a Roster Blueprint. I’m not going to try to predict which free agents the Twins will sign. I’m not going to predict trades. The purpose of this is just to talk about the Opening Day roster, with players currently in the organization. Here is what I think the Twins Opening Day roster could look like if the season were to start today, which is doesn't.Check out my roster projections, and then let’s discuss. Be sure to add your projections too. Catchers (2): Kurt Suzuki, John Ryan Murphy The trades from the past two days make this a pretty easy choice for right now. Chris Herrmann is out, and John Ryan Murphy is now in. My guess is that these two catchers will split time pretty evenly the first few months. By midseason or so, I think that Murphy will gradually start getting more playing time. One goal, unspoken for sure, will be to keep Suzuki under the 485 plate appearances which would make his vesting option for 2017 kick in. At this time, we still don’t know whether or not Pinto will catch again. Following his second concussion of 2015, he didn’t catch any more. The Twins said he will likely get another opportunity to catch in 2016, but I don’t think that is a given either. He may fit onto the roster more as a pinch hitter at this point. However, he is out of options in 2016. Gone from 2015: Chris Herrmann, Eric Fryer Infielders (7): Joe Mauer, Byung-ho Park, Brian Dozier, Trevor Plouffe, Eduardo Escobar, Eduardo Nunez, Danny Santana What do we know? Joe Mauer will be the primary first baseman. Brian Dozier will be at second base. I want to say that Eduardo Escobar is a given to be the team’s starting shortstop from the get go in 2016. He has earned it, and there isn’t a free agent shortstop available who is really a better option than what they already have. Unfinished Business: Byung-ho Park will get some time at first base too, but he will likely be the primary DH. I realize he hasn’t signed yet, but it’s hard to imagine that he wouldn’t want to come to the States to pursue his dream. The Elephant in the Room: What will the Twins do with Trevor Plouffe? Terry Ryan is saying all the right things. There is no reason for him to come out and flatly say that he wants to trade the third baseman. He has been in the organization since being drafted in 2004 as a 17-year-old. He does have two years of team control remaining and has been an above-average third baseman, offensively and defensively, the last two seasons. Ryan will likely try to maximize the return for Plouffe and to do that, he has let it come out that they would consider Miguel Sano in the outfield. As of today, Plouffe is the third baseman, but expect this to be a very fluid situation, full of rumors. And frankly, Terry Ryan doesn’t have to trade Plouffe. Keeping him should remain on the table. The Bench: Danny Santana is out of options in 2016. He has all the tools to be a solid regular. He did a great job in 2014 offensively and playing center field. As the everyday shortstop in the first half of 2015, he struggled mightily. Sure, he could be a trade option for the right return, but my sense is that he will be the utility player, able to play shortstop, second base, and centerfield. My guess is that he’ll see time at third base and in left field in spring training. Eduardo Nunez had a really nice season as a role player for the Twins in 2015. In his second year of arbitration, he could make between $1.75 million ad $2 million, not a ton for a solid utility player. Nunez can play three infield positions and both corner outfield spots. To me, it’s an easy decision to offer him arbitration, but it is also possible that he could be traded to a team looking for a solid utility player. Kennys Vargas is a guy who would be ready in-season if there were an injury to Mauer or Park. Jorge Polanco would be an option in the middle of the diamond. Gone from 2015: Doug Bernier, Outfielders (4): Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Oswaldo Arcia I wrote much of this a day ago, before the Twins traded Aaron Hicks. I listed Hicks and Rosario as strong trade candidates. Now I look at who is likely to make the roster as of today, and there are not as many options. With the Aaron Hicks trade, it may be more possible that Byron Buxton will make the team right out of spring training. Eddie Rosario and Danny Santana can play center if Buxton needs a little more AAA seasoning. Max Kepler is not far off either. Is it really possible that the Twins could put Miguel Sano in the outfield? Despite his size, Sano has great athleticism and could likely be an adequate defender. However, since he’s never really played out there, it’s impossible to know. Sano is a given to be on the roster, of course. I mean, he was the team’s MVP and is a finalist for AL Rookie of the Year after an impressive debut. It feels more likely that he’ll be the regular third baseman, but this is an option. Personally, with a large left field at Target Field, I would prefer Sano in right field if he were to play out there. Don’t Forget: Oswaldo Arcia hit 20 home runs, in the big leagues, in 2014. 2015 was a disaster and yet he is still just 24-years-old. He is out of options, so he will need to be on the big league roster or potentially be lost for nothing. He is definitely a sell-low trade candidate… who could go elsewhere and find his power stroke again. Can you imagine an outfield of Miguel Sano, Rosario and Oswaldo Arcia? That is a little scary. Gone from 2015: Torii Hunter, Aaron Hicks, Shane Robinson Starting Pitchers (5): Phil Hughes, Ervin Santana, Kyle Gibson, Tyler Duffey, Tommy Milone In my opinion, Hughes, Santana and Gibson are locks to make the Twins Opening Day roster and starting rotation barring, of course, an unforeseen trade. In my opinion, Tyler Duffey showed in his last nine starts that he is ready for the job and should be in the rotation right from the start. Though his name may not be in Sharpie ink, it should be in that erasable ink that really doesn’t erase very well and actually just makes a mess but doesn’t really erase. After that, the question marks. If Tommy Milone is on the roster, he deserves to be a starter. The Twins will most likely tender him a contract and look to trade him. The return won’t be a lot, but Milone was good most of 2015, except when he was hurt. Likewise, Trevor May was told he would be given an opportunity to start again in 2016 after being moved to the bullpen around the All-Star break. He’s got the best strikeout stuff in the rotation, but he also showed that he could be dominant in the late innings. Ricky Nolasco’s salary may be able to be dumped, but at what cost to the Twins. Could they get anything in return for someone taking on all, or at least some, of his two remaining years? If not, he should come to spring training with a chance to make the starting rotation. And, of course, everyone wants to see JO Berrios get an opportunity. No question, he will be given a real chance to make the Opening Day roster, but he will have to be very good. More likely, he begins the season with the Red Wings and is the first to be called up. Gone from 2015: Mike Pelfrey, Bullpen (7): Glen Perkins, Kevin Jepsen, Trevor May, Casey Fien, Michael Tonkin, Ryan Pressly, Logan Darnell The bullpen is a huge priority for the Twins in the offseason, and to this point they haven’t made any moves there. Glen Perkins is a given to be back. Assuming he isn’t starting, Trevor May is a lock. Kevin Jepsen will be offered arbitration and come back. I would offer arbitration to Casey Fien, though that is certainly not a given to happen. Michael Tonkin is out of options. Few have traveled back and forth from Minneapolis to Rochester as many times, ever, so the Twins will either need to give him a job or risk losing him on waivers. He would be claimed. Ryan Pressly was pitching well when he got injured and will likely be in the running for a spot in 2016. I went with Logan Darnell on this roster, and he is the only left-hander I’ve shown. He probably fits the roster more as a long reliever than a LOOGY. So who else could be considered from inside? If they want another left-hander, there are some internal options. Ryan O’Rourke is an option against lefties. Taylor Rogers should be given an opportunity right out of spring training. He could be a long-reliever or he could be good facing only left-handers. It’s also entirely possible that Brian Duensing comes back on a lower contract. Likewise, Blaine Boyer could be brought back from the right side. AJ Achter is an option in the 6th or 7th innings. At some point, Alex Meyer could again become an option. JT Chargois, Nick Burdi and Jake Reed are certainly candidates to make the Twins roster at some point in 2016, though Opening Day is probably unrealistic. It is likely that any potential Trevor Plouffe deal would bring back at least one controllable reliever as part of the package. Gone from 2015: Blaine Boyer, Brian Duensing, Aaron Thompson This offseason has a long ways to go. A lot will happen yet, even before spring training. What are your thoughts? What does your roster look like today? Click here to view the article

My thoughts: I think this is a good trade for both sides. I think Hicks has the potential to take off, especially in that ballpark. Murphy should be the primary starter by about June and could be for several years to come. He can be an average hitting catcher and an average defensive catcher, and if he is, then it's a good deal for the Twins. I'm curious the next phase, but I don't have a problem with this deal, especially coupled with yesterday's Herrmann for Palka deal. I don't think the Twins are selling low. I think they may be selling high since Hicks really only had the great 6 week stretch followed and preceded by mediocrity. I want him to take off and become a star, but the Twins did fill a big need.

From Andro Cutura (pronounced Chew-tor-ha), his dad, Miroslav Cutura, is from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

He had some back issues.