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Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezCharlee SotoMarco RayaYunior SeverinoDavid FestaAustin MartinDanny De AndradeKala'i RosarioTanner SchobelYasser MercedesBrandon WinokurNoah MillerLuke KeaschallAndrew MorrisRicardo OlivarCory LewisMatt CanterinoPierson Ohl

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezCharlee SotoMarco RayaYunior SeverinoDavid FestaAustin MartinDanny De AndradeKala'i RosarioTanner SchobelYasser MercedesBrandon WinokurNoah MillerLuke KeaschallAndrew MorrisRicardo OlivarCory LewisMatt CanterinoPierson Ohl

No Buxton, but Royce Lewis and Carlos Correa are back! Image courtesy of ​ Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports The Minnesota Twins had to submit their Wild Card Round roster by 10:00 this morning, 5 1/2 hours before Game 1. There were certainly a lot of questions, but now we have answers. Pitchers (12) Starters: Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan Bullpen: Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Brock Stewart, Emilio Pagan, Louie Varland, Chris Paddack, Kody Funderburk, Kenta Maeda. Position Players (14) Infielders: Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Donovan Solano, Kyle Farmer, Royce Lewis Outfielders: Max Kepler, Michael A. Taylor, Matt Wallner, Willi Castro, Andrew Stevenson Catchers: Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vazquez. For those interested, the Blue Jays roster includes 12 pitchers and 14 hitters. View full article

All week, we have been handing out the Twins Daily Minor League Awards. Today, we conclude that series by recognizing the top hitters in the Minnesota Twins organization during the 2023 season. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints We have been handing out proverbial hardware this week at Twins Daily. Dameury Pena is our Short-Season Hitter of the Year. Juan Cota is our Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Kody Funderburk was named the Minor League Reliever of the Year. Cory Lewis is the choice for Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Today, we announce our Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. You might agree with our choice when you're done reading this article, but hopefully, you will see many excellent options. There were several solid offensive performances this season by players up and down the organizational ladder. Does this year's winner fit well into our list of previous winners? Certainly. PREVIOUS WINNERS 2012 - Oswaldo Arcia 2013 - Miguel Sano 2014 - Mitch Garver 2015 - Max Kepler 2016 - Daniel Palka 2017 - Mitch Garver 2018 - Alex Kirilloff 2019 - Trevor Larnach 2021 - Jose Miranda 2022 - Matt Wallner Here are the guys that rounded out the Hitter of the Year ballots: Honorable Mentions 2B/OF Austin Martin, 24, St. Paul - 59 G, 54-205, .263/.387/.405 (.791), 11-2B, 6-HR, 28 RBI, 36 BB, 43 K. C/OF Ricardo Olivar, 22, Fort Myers - 100 G, 106-372, .285/.403/.452 (.855), 28-2B, 2-3B, 10-HR, 58 RBI, 59 BB, 93 K. IF Jorel Ortega, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids - 120 G, 117-456, .257/.361/.445 (.807), 34-2B, 5-3B, 14-HR, 75 RBI, 69 BB, 133 K. IF/OF Anthony Prato, 25, Wichita/St. Paul - 115 G, 92-361, .255/.402/.435 (.847), 25-2B, 2-3B, 12-HR, 60 RBI, 79 BB, 104 K. C/1B Chris Williams, 26, St. Paul - 95 G, 73-309, .236/.352/.495 (.846), 13-2B, 2-3B, 21-HR, 75 RBI, 51 BB, 122 K. Others Receiving Votes Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Isola, Noah Cardenas, Yoyner Fajardo, Rubel Cespedes. Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year Here are the top seven players for the Twins Daily Hitter of the Year, leading up to the choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year. 7. OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., 26, Wichita / St. Paul 130 G, 144-490, .294/.366/.455 (.821), 18-2B, 8-3B, 15-HR, 61 RBI, 50 BB, 124 K. Keirsey was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2018 out of the University of Utah. After he missed time with injuries in 2019 and 2021, he has been one of the organization's more exciting and underrated prospects. His combination of speed with some power is very intriguing. He can be a top-of-the-order type of Hitter or hit anywhere in the lineup. He takes pitches, knows the strike zone, gets on base, and once there, he can steal bases. After stealing 42 bases in 2022, he stole 39 bags in 2023. Defensively, he has excellent speed and range and can play all three outfield positions. 6. SS Brooks Lee, 22, Wichita / St. Paul 125 G, 138-501, .275/.347/.461 (.808), 39-2B, 3-3B, 16-HR, 84 RBI, 56 BB, 91 K For many, Brooks Lee was the best pure hitter in the 2022 draft, and somehow, he was available for the Twins with the eighth overall pick. He signed fairly quickly, and after four games in the FCL games, he played in 25 games for Cedar Rapids and the final two games in Wichita, where he was also on the Wind Surge playoff roster. He spent most of 2023 with the Surge and played well. In 87 games, he hit .292/.365/.476 (.841). He hit 11 homers, and his 31 doubles led the league at the time of his promotion. He ended the season with 38 games in St. Paul. He hit just .237/.304/.428 (.731), but he added eight doubles, three triples, and five home runs. Lee strikes me as someone whose tools and athleticism won't jump off the charts. He may not stand out if you were to watch one game. But his at-bats will be good, and he will make all of the plays at shortstop. And at the end of the year, he will be hitting .280ish, get on base about 35% of the time, hit a ton of doubles and up to 20 homers, and have a high fielding percentage. When drafted, we knew his floor was high. Then he put up these solid numbers as a 22-year-old in his first full professional season, and it's fair to say that his ceiling also continues to move up. 5. OF Emmanuel Rodriguez, 20, Cedar Rapids 99 G, 85-455, .240/.400/.463 (.863), 13-2B, 9-3B, 16-HR, 55 RBI, 92 BB, 134 K Like Lee, Rodriguez is a consensus top-50 prospect in baseball, and for a good reason. He originally signed as a top international free agent in 2019. Unfortunately, he was unable to make his pro debut until 2021. In the GCL, he began to show his immense power potential with 10 home runs in 37 games. He spent the 2022 season in Fort Myers, where he hit nine home runs in just 47 games before a season-ending knee injury. There were some question marks coming into this season, but E-Rod was pushed to Cedar Rapids and continued his rise. He missed some time early in the season with an injury, and he wasn't consistent throughout the year, but the power was there. And considerable speed continued to be a big part of his game. Along with his 38 extra base hits, he had 20 stolen bases in 25 attempts. Defensively, he does a nice job in center field and has good range. Rodriguez certainly profiles as a modern player. He is unlikely to hit for a very high average. However, he will take a ton of walks and hit for plenty of power. The key will be to keep his strikeout rate as low as possible because good things happen when he puts the ball in play. He has a flair for the dramatic. In the Midwest League championship series, he hit two home runs in Game 1 to help the Kernels to a comeback win. Then, in the decisive Game 3, hit a big grand slam to put the Kernels ahead early and held on to win the league's championship. 4. OF Kala'i Rosario, 21, Cedar Rapids 118 G, 112-445, .252/.364/.467 (.832), 27-2B, 3-3B, 21-RBI, 94 RBI, 75 BB, 157 K Rosario was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2020 out of high school in Hawaii. The previous summer, he and Red Sox prospect Blaze Jordan put on shows in home run contests nationwide. Of course, Rosario's pro debut didn't start until 2021. In the GCL that year, he hit .277 with 10 doubles, four triples, and five homers on his way to the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. In 2022, he moved up to the Mighty Mussels. In 109 games, he hit .239/.320/.408 (.727) with 21 doubles, three triples, and 12 home runs. Not huge numbers, but he held his own for a 19-year-old in the pitcher-friendly atmosphere. The Twins were aggressive with him in 2023, and he proved them right. In 118 games in Cedar Rapids, he hit .252/.364/.467 (.832) with 27 doubles and three triples. His 21 homers and 94 RBI led the Midwest League and earned him the league's MVP award. No surprise Rosario will have to work hard to cut down the strikeouts as he continues to grow and develop. He will get some extra opportunities in the Arizona Fall League over the next six weeks. Will the Twins add him to their 40-man roster in November? That will be an interesting decision. 3. OF Andrew Stevenson, 29, St. Paul 106 G, 132-416, .317/.395/.522 (.916), 23-2B, 7-3B, 16-HR, 57 RBI, 42 BB, 97 K Stevenson was the second-round pick of the Nationals in 2015 out of LSU. Just over two years later, he made his big-league debut. Between 2017 and 2020, he played in 139 games for the Nationals. Then, in 2021, he played in 109 games for the Nationals. He spent the full 2022 season with Matthew Lecroy at the Rochester Red Wings. The Twins signed him on a minor-league deal in early March and sent him to the Saints. While he provided a potentially young team with a veteran presence and some depth, I can't imagine they believed he would put up the tremendous numbers he did. He hit for average. He has on-base, leadoff batter skills. He has some extra base hit power with his 23 doubles, seven triples, and 16 home runs. He had 44 steals in 49 chances. What a great season, he 100% earned and deserved his call to the Twins in late August. He can be a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive replacement in the big leagues. He also takes the kind of plate appearances that he can be a fourth or fifth outfielder. 2. C/1B Andrew Cossetti, 23, Fort Myers / Cedar Rapids 95 G, .287/.426/.534 (.960), 23-2B, 4-3B, 15-HR, 63 RBI, 64 BB, 79 K Cossetti grew up in the northwest suburbs of Philadelphia and stayed home for college by attending St. Joseph's University. He spent four seasons playing in the A10. He played 47 games as a freshman and 10 games before the Covid shutdown of the 2020 season. In 2021, he hit .318 (1.170) with 16 homers. Then in 2022, he hit .327 (1.167) with 19 home runs in 54 games. After that season, he played 28 games in the MLB Draft League and hit .410 (1.112) with 13 extra base hits. The Twins used their first pick on Day 3 of the 2022 draft. He played in just one FCL Twins game after signing. He began the 2023 season in Ft. Myers and started fast. In 35 games, he hit .330/.462/.607 (1.069) with 11 doubles and six home runs. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids, and after a slow start, he hit .262/.406/.492 (.898) with 12 doubles, three triples, and nine home runs over 60 games. Considering the power potential Cossetti has shown, his 79 strikeouts in 392 plate appearances (20.2%) is very solid. Defensively, he is a work in progress behind the plate, but he knows what he needs to work on and will do so in the Arizona Fall League. He made 44 starts this season as a catcher and 20 at first base. 1. IF Yunior Severino, 23, Wichita / St. Paul 120 G, 127-467, .272/.352/.546 (.898), 17-2B, 3-3B, 35-HR, 84 RBI, 51 BB, 173 K Severino was a high-profile international signing by the Atlanta Braves in 2016. When the Braves were found to have violated rules, Severino and others were deemed free agents. The Twins swooped in and signed him to a second seven-digit signing bonus. He has been moved up consistently by the Twins since the lost 2020 season. It has been a consistent improvement from year to year. In 2021, he hit eight homers. He hit 19 homers in 2022 between High-A and Double-A. This year, he tied for the minor-league lead with 35 home runs. "Anytime you tie for first in the minor leagues in home runs, you're deserving of Minor League Hitter of the Year consideration," said Twins Director of Player Development Drew MacPhail. He continued, "Yunior's calling card is his massive raw power and ability to hit the ball hard - which he did an awesome job of translating into games this year." It is hard to believe that it has been over seven years since Severino signed, yet he is still just 23. He is still growing physically and in his knowledge of the game. A big part of his power development may sound simple, but it's huge. He kept the ball off the ground. He hit many more line drives, and 35 fly balls became home runs. MacPhail said, "(That was) an issue he's worked hard at over the course of his career." For the Twins player development team, from the front office to the coaches and coordinators, it has to be a lot of fun and a source of pride to work with a kid over the years and see the work rewarded. Now the question becomes, will he be added to the team's 40-man roster this fall? He'd be a quick addition as soon as the Twins playoff run ends, hopefully after a third World Series title. The next question is a lot more complicated. Where will he play? MacPhail noted, "What won't go mentioned, but equally impressive, is the work and dedication Yunior put into his defense this year." So, we are going to mention it here. In 2023, he made 64 starts at third base and 21 at second base. He also made 14 starts at first base after joining the Saints. The infield has plenty of options on a potential Twins' 2024 roster that already includes Alex Kirilloff, Edouard Julien, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Jose Miranda, and Jorge Polanco (who has two options remaining). Add in Severino, Brooks Lee, and Austin Martin; it is a good "problem." Congratulations to Yunior Severino on his fantastic 2023 season. He earned himself the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year award. In addition, join us in congratulating the others written about today. Also, with our Top 7, the Honorable Mentions and the others that received votes deserved recognition. To read much more Twins Daily content on each of these players, click on their names below. Yunior Severino, Andrew Cossetti, Andrew Stevenson, Kala’i Rosario, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Brooks Lee, DaShawn Keirsey, Austin Martin, Ricardo Olivar, Jorel Ortega, Anthony Prato, Chris Williams, Kyle Garlick, Trevor Larnach, Alex Isola, Noah Cardenas, Yoyner Fajardo, Rubel Cespedes. View full article

Yesterday, we announced Kody Funderburk as the Twins Daily relief pitcher of the year. Today, we shift our attention to the starting pitchers, and there were several very impressive pitching prospects who took bit strides in 2023. If we have learned anything over the past couple of years, it's that when the Twins draft a college pitcher on the third day of the draft, don't just assume they will be an organizational filler. Who knows? That Day 3 draft pick may become an organizational thriller (like Louie Varland, Bailey Ober). A look through the top starting pitchers in the Twins minor leaguers, we see more examples of this. Pitchers drafted out of college on Day 2 or 3 fill up much of this list. The Twins 2022 college draft picks helped lead the Cedar Rapids Kernels to the Midwest League championship this year. It's fun to see these pitchers enter the organization with one scouting report, and one or two years later, they have added four to six mph of velocity and a second and/or third pitch that are now at least an average pitch. Before getting into the top four starters, here are some others who received votes. . Others Receiving Votes RHP C.J. Culpepper, 21, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids: 21 GS, 86.0 IP, 72 H, 31 BB, 89 K, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.3 K/9. RHP Andrew Morris, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids: 18 G, 17 GS, 84.1 IP, 86 H, 19 BB, 79 K, 2.88 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 8.4 K/9. RHP Marco Raya, 21, Cedar Rapids/Wichita: 22 GS, 62.2 IP, 45 H, 22 BB, 65 K, 4.02 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 9.3 K/9. RHP Louie Varland, 25, St. Paul: 16 G, 15 GS, 81.2 IP, 84 H, 26 BB, 88 K, 3.97 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 9.7 K/9. Others Receiving Votes Blayne Enlow, Ben Ethridge, Ronny Henriquez, Simeon Woods Richardson Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year Here are the top four vote-getters for Twins Starting Pitcher of the Year. 4. RHP David Festa, 23, Wichita/St. Paul 24 G, 22 GS, 92.1 IP, 86 H, 42 BB, 119 K, 4.19 ERA, 1.39 WHIP, 4.1 BB/9, 11.6 K/9. Festa was the Twins 13th round pick in 2021 out of Seton Hall. He had a tremendous first full season in pro ball in 2022. After five starts (with a 1.50 ERA) in Fort Myers, he moved up to Cedar Rapids and went 7-3 with a 2.71 ERA. In 103 2/3 innings, he had 108 strikeouts with 34 walks. As important as the numbers, Festa had developed some really awe-inspiring “stuff,” including a fastball in the upper 90s. The 23-year-old began this season in Wichita and pitched in 21 games (19 starts). He went 3-3 with a 4.39 ERA, and in 80 innings, he struck out 104 batters. He also walked 34 batters. In July, he pitched an inning in the Futures Game. He ended his season with three starts for the Saints. He was 1-1 with a 2.92 ERA. He had 15 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings. He also walked nine batters. He will need to hone in on his control, but David Festa should spend the 2024 season at St. Paul, eagerly awaiting an opportunity. He should continue to start, but like Louie Varland this year, Festa has the arm to finish the season as a dominant, late-inning reliever if needed. 3. RHP Zebby Matthews, 23, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids 22 G, 20 GS, 105.1 IP, 96 H, 15 BB, 112 K, 3.84 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 1.3 BB/9, 9.6 K/9. A native of North Carolina, Zebby Matthews began his college career at Walters State. In 2020, he transferred to Western Carolina and went 3-1 before the season ended due to Covid. Over the next two seasons, he went 10-8 and posted sub-4.00 ERAs both years. In 157 innings, he had 182 strikeouts and just 28 walks. The Twins drafted him in the 8th round in 2022. He pitched in just two games. Matthews began the 2023 season at Fort Myers. However, after eight games (7 starts), he went 3-1 with a 2.56 ERA and was promoted to Cedar Rapids. He made 14 games (13 starts) for the Kernels. As he did in college, he continued to show great control. In 105 1/3 total innings, he has 112 strikeouts with just 15 walks. Matthews has a fastball that reaches 94-95 mph. He has also developed a sweeper and cutter, making them effective secondary pitches. The combination of three potentially average-or-better pitches and his ability to throw strikes and command the zone makes him very intriguing. 2. RHP Pierson Ohl, 24, Cedar Rapids/Wichita 24 G, 21 GS, 127.1 IP, 117 H, 18 BB, 115 K, 3.32 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 1.1 BB/9, 9.1 K/9 A southern California native, Ohl headed east, to Phoenix and Grand Canyon University for his college years. As a freshman, he posted a 3.45 ERA in 16 starts. He had a 2.89 ERA through his four pre-Covid starts in 2020. Then in 2021, he went 10-2 with a 2.60 ERA. Over those final two college seasons, he struck out 120 batters and walked just 13. Based on those numbers, the Twins had to be thrilled to draft him in the 14th round in 2021. He spent the entire 2022 season at Fort Myers and went 6-7 with a 3.53 ERA. In 91 2/3 innings, he had 101 strikeouts and just 13 walks. Oh began the 2023 season in Cedar Rapids where he pitched in eight games (7 starts). He started the season with five really good starts and had just two walks and 26 strikeouts in 26 innings. But then, over the next three starts, he gave up 15 runs (13 earned) in 14 1/3 innings, which made it very interesting that he was promoted to Double-A. He gave up nine runs in 10 2/3 innings in his first two Wichita starts. However, over his final 14 starts, he went 7-2 with a 2.00 ERA. In 76 1/3 innings, he struck out 65 and walked just 13. Opponents hit just .197 against him. While working as a starter, he touched 97 on the radar gun, well above the high-80s, low-90s he threw when drafted. He also has a good curveball and a change-up that can be very good most days. 1. RHP Cory Lewis, 22, Fort Myers/Cedar Rapids 22 GS, 101.1 IP, 74 H, 33 BB, 118 K, 2.49 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 2.9 BB/9, 10.5 K/9 I’m sure you won’t be surprised to learn that Cory Lewis was a star on his Marina High School baseball team. He was a four-year letter winner. He was the league’s freshman of the year. He was named the league’s top pitcher as a sophomore. He was also All-League as a first baseman. He was the league’s MVP his senior season. After high school, he went to UC-Santa Barbara. He was set to redshirt his first year, which worked out fine since it was the Covid season. In 2021, he pitched in 15 games and made 10 starts. He was 7-4 with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In 80 innings, he had 86 strikeouts to go with 31 walks. In 2022, he made 16 starts and went 9-1 with a 3.57 ERA. In 88 1/3 innings, he had 107 strikeouts and 42 walks. As a redshirt sophomore, Lewis was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2022. He didn’t pitch at all in the Twins organization. So he made his professional debut in 2023, and it went well. He began the season with nine starts in Fort Myers. He went 4-3 with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. In 39 2/3 innings, he struck out 55 batters and issued 15 walks. In mid-May, he threw the first 5 2/3 innings of a combined no-hitter for the Mussels. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids where he made 13 starts. He was 5-1 with a 2.32 ERA. In 62 innings, he had 63 strikeouts and 18 walks. And all that work led him and the Kernels to their Midwest League championship. Twins Director of Player Development Drew MacPhail began by simply saying, “Big Game Cory!” He continued, “Not only did Cory Lewis dominate across two levels this year. He also pitched in two, winner-take-all playoff series at Cedar Rapids (including a championship rubber match) and dominated both outings! Not only does Cory have outlier fastball pitch qualities and traditional secondary offerings, but he pairs that with an 84 mph knuckleball that got outlier miss across Low A and A+ this year.” You’ve been reading about Lewis throughout the season here at Twins Daily, so you knew he threw a knuckleball. However, he is not a knuckleball pitcher, per se. He doesn’t just throw a 60 mph knuckleball every pitch. No, with Lewis, the knuckleball is just one of his quality pitches. He threw it about 10% of the time in 2023, and as Mr. MacPhail noted, he throws it hard, generally between 82 and 85 mph. That is very unusual. And those pitches are typically seen heading toward the plate at less than 200 RPMs. Lewis has a fastball in the 91-93 mph range, but he can throw it very well up in the zone. He also has a solid changeup, curveball and slider. It will be interesting to see how his pitch repertoire changes as he continues to move up the organizational ladder. Congratulations to Cory Lewis on winning the Twins Daily Starting Pitcher of the Year award for 2023. He’s obviously joining an impressive group of previous winners. And congratulations to all of the pitchers mentioned in today’s articles on fantastic 2023 seasons! Join us in congratulating Lewis and the rest of these pitchers and discussing them and the Twins pitching pipeline in the comments below. For more Twins Daily content on the pitchers mentioned in today's article, click on the links below: Cory Lewis, Pierson Ohl, Zebby Matthews, David Festa, CJ Culpepper, Andrew Morris, Marco Raya, Louie Varland, Blayne Enlow, Ben Ethridge, Ronny Henriquez, Simeon Woods Richardson. Previous Starting Pitcher of the Year Winners: 2022 winner - Louie Varland 2021 winner - Louie Varland 2019 winner- Randy Dobnak2018 winner - Tyler Wells2017 winner - Stephen Gonsalves2016 winner - Stephen Gonsalves2015 winner - Jose Berrios2014 winner - Jose Berrios2013 winner - Taylor Rogers 2012 winner - BJ Hermsen View full article

The 2023 Twins Daily Minor League Reliever of the Year is familiar to Twins fans since he's been in the big leagues for about a month. Learn more about lefty Kody Funderburk and other top relievers this year in the Minnesota Twins organization. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints We started this week by naming the Twins Daily short-season minor league award winners. Infielder Dameury Pena was named the hitter and Juan Cota was named the top pitcher. Today, we start handing out the full-season awards. Relief Pitchers are often overlooked in the big leagues, much less in the minor leagues, but not here at Twins Daily. Relievers need to be recognized too! We have seen the value of having a lock-down bullpen in the big leagues. Unfortunately, the times that relievers get talked about are when they have a bad day. So let's discuss several relievers that had good days most of the 2023 season. Past Winners of the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award 2021: Jovani Moran 2019: Anthony Vizcaya 2018: Andrew Vasquez 2017: John Curtiss 2015 & 2016: Trevor Hildenberger Honorable Mention RHP Patrick Murphy (St. Paul): 42 G, 4 GS, 85.1 IP, 83 H, 50 BB, 97 K, 3.69 ERA, 1.56 WHIP, 5.3 BB/9, 10.2 K/9. RHP Oliver Ortega (St. Paul): 24 G, 34.2 IP, 24 H, 10 BB, 44 K, 1.82 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 11.4 K/9. RHP John Stankiewicz (Cedar Rapids): 37 G, 66.2 IP, 51 H, 15 BB, 66 K, 3.11 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 8.9 K/9. Others Receiving Votes Jordan Carr, Jackson Hicks, Isaac Mattson, Hunter McMahon, Samuel Perez , Cole Sands, Ricardo Velez. Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year Here are the top three Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year vote-getters. 3. RHP Miguel Rodriguez, 24 (Cedar Rapids/Wichita) 46 G, 54.2 IP, 51 H, 15 BB, 66 K, 3.13 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, 10.9 K/9 Rodriguez has been in the organization for a long time, and in 2023, we started getting a strong feel for why. The Twins signed Rodriguez in 2017, and he has slowly worked up the organization's ladder. He spent a season in the DSL and one in the GCL. He missed the 2020 season. He pitched for Fort Myers in 2021, and in 52 innings, he struck out 58 batters. In 2022, he pitched in 39 games in Cedar Rapids and posted a 3.36 ERA. He had 67 strikeouts in 56 1/3 innings. For whatever reason (likely a numbers game, and too many walks), he returned to the Kernels in 2023. He went 2-3 with a 2.85 ERA and 14 saves. He was quite dominant in the closer's role. In 41 innings, he had 11 walks to go with 42 strikeouts. He was promoted to Wichita in early August and struggled a bit. However, in his 13 2/3 innings, he had 24 strikeouts and four walks. He was hurt by unearned runs (just 6 of 14 runs allowed were earned). 2. RHP Regi Grace, 23 (Cedar Rapids/Wichita) 44 G, 73.2 IP, 52 H, 28 BB, 83 K, 3.18 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9, 10.1 K/9 Regi Grace took some positive strides forward in 2023. He was the Twins 10th round draft pick out of high school in Mississippi in 2018. He spent 2018 and 2019 in the GCL, and then after missing the 2020 season, he appeared in the FCL in 2021 before ending that season with the Mussels. He spent most of the 2022 season in Ft. Myers, where he shifted to the bullpen. In doing so, he struck out 74 batters in 56 2/3 innings. He ended the season with three games in Cedar Rapids. That is where Grace began the 2023 season. In 17 games, he posted a 1.16 ERA and a 0.73 WHIP. In his 23 1/3 innings, he gave up just 12 hits, walked five, and struck out 30 batters. He posted a 4.11 ERA in 27 games with the Wind Surge, but a handful of games certainly inflates it. In his 50 1/3 innings, he had 23 walks, but he struck out 53 batters. At 23, Grace remains a very intriguing bullpen arm. He works hard and is very strong. 2024 could be an exciting season for him. 1. LHP Kody Funderburk, 26 (Wichita/St. Paul) 42 G, 2 GS, 61.0 IP, 42 H, 27 BB, 89 K, 2.36 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9, 13.1 K/9 Not all prospect development is linear. It very rarely is. And that is true for several reasons beyond just that baseball is tough. Funderburk was the Twins' 15th-round pick in 2018 and has slowly moved up the organizational ladder. He finally got The Call to the big leagues in late August, and you have to feel good for him considering the journey. Funderburk is from Arizona and was an All-State performer his senior season. He went to Mesa Community College. As a freshman, he was 8-4 in 15 games (13 starts) and hit .324 with four homers. As a sophomore, he hit .400/.504/.651 with eight home runs and 55 RBI. He pitched in eight games and just 12 2/3 innings. He then went to Division I Dallas Baptist and hit .304/.429/.584 (1.013) with 19 doubles and 13 home runs in 63 games. He had 47 walks and just 53 strikeouts. He pitched in 15 games (14 starts) on the mound and went 1-3 with a 6.84 ERA. In 50 innings, he struck out 53 batters and walked 31. However, the Twins scouting staff saw something they liked when watching him on the mound. It's easy to understand why he fell to the 15th round, but as we have seen from Sean Johnson's drafts, their ability to find little characteristics in a pitcher to take a shot. Player development deserves a ton of credit, too. Despite putting up huge offensive numbers in college, he has zero plate appearances in his professional career. Instead, the southpaw has been developed on the mound. He finished the summer of 2018 at Elizabethton. He pitched at Low-A Cedar Rapids in 2019 and ended the season with one game in Fort Myers. Like most others, he didn't pitch in 2020. He was the Kernels' (now High-A) Opening Day starter in 2021 and made ten starts. He moved to Wichita and pitched 21 2/3 innings over seven relief appearances. He was 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA in that stretch. He ended that year with six starts in the Arizona Fall League. In 2022, Funderburk began the season making starts for Wichita. In total, he pitched in 32 games and made 17 starts. He went 10-5 with a 2.94 ERA over 107 innings. And that brings us to the 2023 season. Funderburk began the season back at Wichita but gave up one run over nine innings and was quickly promoted to the Saints. In St. Paul, he went 4-1 with a 2.60 ERA with a 1.06 WHIP. In 52 innings, he gave up just 37 hits, walked 21, and struck out 75. He has worked on his fastball and has gained velocity. Earlier in the season, he hit 96 on the radar gun. Since joining the Twins, he has been in the 91-94 range. However, his breaking ball has become very good. He's got a sharper slider/cutter, but he also sometimes slows it down with more of a slurve. Both have been good strikeout pitches. In nine games with the Twins, he had given up one run on four hits and four walks over nine innings. He has 13 strikeouts. Twins Director of Player Development Drew MacPhail touted Funderburk and his makeup, "Few players have improved as much year in and year out as Kody Funderburk, and that's a total testament to his buy-in and work ethic." For example, MacPhail added, "Kody had a tough assignment going back to Double-A to start the year. He didn't complain once. Instead, he proved he was better than the level by dominating and moving quickly through the minor leagues this year." What is clear is that if Kody Funderburk continues to develop and throw more and more strikes, he can be a reliable late-inning reliever for years to come. Congratulations to Kody Funderburk and the other relievers mentioned today. For more Twins Daily content, click on the below links: Kody Funderburk, Regi Grace, Miguel Rodriguez, Patrick Murphy, Oliver Ortega, John Stankiewicz. View full article

Alright, alright... Morris and Ohl will be close to Top 20.

@Brock Beauchamp - Andrew Morris, Pierson Ohl, Ariel Castro, Dameury Pena, Miguel Cordero, Kody Funderburk, Andrew Cossetti, Noah Cardenas,

Today, we continue to hand out our proverbial hardware. Who were the top pitchers for the Twins Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League? Yesterday, we named DSL Twins second baseman Dameury Pena the Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year. Today, we will discuss the pitchers in the two Twins Complex Leagues, the Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League. These seasons started in June. By the end of July, some of the 2023 draft picks began getting into some games. However, none of those 2023 draft picks pitched enough in the FCL to qualify for this award. The drafted college pitchers got into no more than two games in the FCL. Several, including the high school pitchers (Charlee Soto and Dylan Questad) didn’t pitch. Before getting into the 2023 crop of short-season pitchers, here are the previous recipients of this award: 2016: Huascar Ynoa 2017: Jovani Moran 2018: Andrew Cabezas 2019: Cody Lawyerson 2021: Samuel Perez 2022: Miguel Olivares The Twins and their fans truly saw the value of solid pitching in the big leagues this year. Pitcher development is crucial to that process and has been a focal point throughout the Derek Falvey Era. We have seen the type of pitchers drafted and signed have a different profile. We have seen those pitchers working with the best technology and working to add velocity. There were a lot of success stories throughout the organization, including a few in the lowest levels, the Complex Leagues. The Twins Daily minor league writers and video providers were asked to vote on these awards. Before getting into the top three, some others received votes. Others Receiving Votes RHP Kyle Bischoff, 24, FCL Twins: 9 G, 5 GS, 3.18 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 22.2 IP, 15 H, 9 BB, 33 K RHP Eduardo Soriano, 20, DSL Twins-FCL Twins: 12 G, 7 GS, 3.67 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 21.1 IP, 25 H, 6 BB, 29 K Short Season Pitcher of the Year Here are the top three vote-getters for Twins Short Season Pitcher of the Year. 3. RHP Yency De Jesus, 21, DSL Twins 10 G, 4 GS, 4.24 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 40.1 IP, 30 H, 22 BB, 44 K Not all DSL prospects sign when they are 16 or 17 years old. It’s a good reminder that players develop at different times and in different ways. While this may affect the player’s prospect status, it does not mean they cannot become a big leaguer. One example is Yency De Jesus. The 5-11 right-hander from Sabana Grande De Boya (Dominican Republic) signed with the Twins in late September 2022. He was already 20 years old. 2023 was his professional debut. He averaged four innings per outing, which is impressive for a guy who made just four starts. He walked too many but also struck out more than a batter per inning. In his 40 1/3 innings, he gave up 19 earned runs and 14 unearned runs. 2. RHP Miguel Cordero, 17, DSL Twins 9 GS, 2.81 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 41.2 IP, 38 H, 18 BB, 46 K Cordero is on the complete other side of the prospect spectrum. The Maracaibo, Venezuela, native signed on January 15 this year, just four months after his 16th birthday. He didn’t turn 17 until after the 2023 DSL season. In his second start of the season, he gave up just one hit and struck out six over four shutout innings. He had one walk and eight strikeouts over four scoreless, hitless innings in his next start. He earned his lone “Win” of the season in his fourth start when he completed five innings and gave up two runs. He gave up three earned runs in one of his nine starts. Just one. He was one of the youngest players in the league. He earned a spot on the DSL All-Star team. And he is easily the top pitching prospect from this 2023 DSL Twins team. 1. RHP Juan Cota, 18, DSL Twins 10 G, 5 GS, 2.73 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 29.2 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 30 K The Twins signed Cota in September of 2022 out of Los Mochis, Mexico, the same town as teammate Jayson Bass. Cota turned 18 just days before the start of the DSL season. He made five starts during the season and came out of the bullpen five times. A glance at his numbers, and it’s easy to see why he would take this award this year. He gave up just 6.1 hits per nine innings. His walk rate was just 2.1 BB/9, and he struck out more than one batter per inning. Good control and the ability to miss bats and avoid hard contact are good characteristics for a pitcher. Listed at 6-1 and about 170 pounds, Cota is not a big guy. However, he is a good athlete and has some growth potential. He also has the kind of pitch mix and stuff that is very intriguing. At this point, his fastball sits right around 91 mph, but he gets very strong spin on the pitch. He also has a slider and a changeup that need to continue developing, but they show promise. Generally speaking, he has been able to fill up the strike zone. His potential will depend on growth. Will he get bigger and stronger and find a way to add three or four mph to his fastball? Can his second and third pitches continue to improve? Will he be able to develop a fourth pitch? If he does those things, he has the potential to be a big-league starter down the line. It was slim pickings in terms of solid pitching performances in the complex leagues this year, but these top three all have a chance to keep progressing with health, time, and development. While Miguel Cordero is by far the top pitching prospect among these young pitchers, for 2023, Juan Cota earned and deserved our choice for Twins Daily Short-Season Minor-League Pitcher of the Year. For more Twins Daily content on these players, click on the following links: Juan Cota, Miguel Cordero, Yency de Jesus, Eduardo Soriano, Kyle Bischoff. View full article

Every year, each MLB organization sends several prospects to participate in the Arizona Fall League. This year, the Twins are sending eight players to play for the Glendale Desert Dogs. Learn more about all eight players and read their thoughts on this great opportunity. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photos of Cossetti, Ethridge, Veen) On Friday morning, the Arizona Fall League announced their rosters. The Twins prospects will be playing for the Glendale Desert Dogs this season. Eight Twins players will team with minor leaguers from the Los Angeles Dodgers, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox. The league will begin play on October 2nd and continue until the league’s championship game on November 11th. While the Arizona Fall League is often touted as a high-level of competition, teams don’t always send their top prospects. In fact, this year, just 10 players on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 prospect rankings will participate. Of the eight players that the Twins are sending, only Kala’i Rosario ranks in their Top 20 Twins prospects (#19). Often, the players who participate in the Fall League are players who missed time during the regular season due to injury. Teams don’t often want to send their starting pitchers because they have already thrown a lot of innings. So you’ll see relievers sent. Those players typically don’t rank high on prospect lists, but several of them will make it to the big leagues. Let’s take a look at the eight players that the Twins are sending to Arizona next week. In addition to discussing the player’s background, I had the opportunity to chat with several of the players on what they are looking forward to during their time in Arizona and what they hope to work on and improve while they are there. Outfielder Kala’i Rosario was the Twins fifth and final draft pick in 2020. The Hawaii native made a name for himself on the national circuit as one of the most powerful bats in that high school class. He has had some ups and downs throughout his minor-league career, but generally, 2023 was a fantastic season for him. Rosario was recently named the MVP of the Midwest League. He led the league with 21 home runs and 94 RBI. He had 27 doubles and three triples. Twins Daily ranks Rosario as the Twins #13 prospect. First baseman Aaron Sabato is also heading to the Fall League. The Twins top pick in 2020 out of North Carolina has had several roadblocks since signing. Obviously that starts with the lost 2020 season. Early in his career, he struggled to make contact. His 2022 season ended early with a broken wrist. Early in the 2023 season, he missed significant time after being hit by a pitch and breaking his wrist again. In 77 games with the Wichita Wind Surge this year, he hit .221/.329/.439 (.768) with 19 doubles and 12 home runs. Catcher Andrew Cossetti will continue his season in Arizona. The Twins drafted the slugger in the 12th round in 2022 out of St. Joseph's University. He played in one game in the FCL in 2022. He began the 2023 season with 35 games in Fort Myers where he destroyed pitching to the tune of .330/.462/.607 (1.069) with 11 doubles and six home runs. He moved up to Cedar Rapids, and in 65 games, he hit .262/.406/.492 (.898) with 12 doubles and nine homers. Cossetti is looking forward to playing in the Fall League for arguably the best reasons. “I’m looking forward to working with a wide range of coaches and players. Baseball is unique in that everyone does something a little differently and I think learning how other players and coaches work is one of the best ways to improve yourself.” Of the 95 total games he played in 2023, he was behind the plate in just 47 of them. He is an offensive juggernaut, but admits to needing to keep working to improve his defense. “The biggest thing I want to improve on is my catching skills. Becoming a more well-rounded and consistent catcher is the next big step I need to take as a player. More ABs always helps too, and I believe in my ability to hit so in that aspect it’s just about getting more reps and gaining knowledge that way. Overall, I’m excited and thankful for the opportunity and my goal is to leave in November a better catcher than I am now.” In addition to the three hitters, the Twins are sending five pitchers to Glendale. Three of them have been full-time relievers, and two of them have been swingmen, making some starts and working often in long relief. Right-hander Ben Ethridge was the Twins 15th round pick in 2022 out of Southern Mississippi. He didn’t pitch in a professional game after the draft and pitched well in Fort Myers in his debut season, posting a 2.99 ERA. He made 13 starts and came out of the bullpen 12 times. But there certainly are things to work on. In 78 1/3 innings, he walked 36 (4.1 BB/9) and struck out just 63 batters (7.2 K/9). Ethridge told Twins Daily recently, “One of my big focuses is to develop and learn from some of the more experienced players and coaches. Trying to work on fine tuning pitches and figuring out when is the best time to use them. After my first full season, I started to figure out what pitches work when, but I really want to work with it more and get more comfortable with it.” He added, “I am excited about getting the opportunity to go out there and compete with and against some of the best. I have heard nothing but good things from people that have played there and I’m looking forward to getting to experience it!” Left-hander Zach Veen was the Twins 18th round pick in 2022 out of Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. He spent the 2023 season and went 5-4 in 41 bullpen appearances. He also had five saves. In 58 1/3 innings, he walked 26 and struck out 48 batters. The control was an issue which is likely surprising because in his 2022 college season, he struck out 59 batters and walked just three over 49 innings. That said, he went 4-0 with six saves, a 1.29 ERA, and a 0.51 WHIP. So, that is the potential and the hope is that spending some time in the Fall League will help him reach it. Veen told Twins Daily, “I’m looking forward to facing some really good competition out in Arizona. There are some really good guys out there, and to compete on the same level is extremely cool.” He continued, “(I’m) also looking forward to meeting some new people and seeing what makes the good and being able to talk to them and learn some new things” It will be a good learning experience for Veen and the other minor leagues. Veen want to “expand what I learned throughout the year at Ft. Myers. That includes using the new pitches I learned and executing pitches, locating where I want them.” Lefty Jordan Carr pitched in 22 games in 2023, 18 in Cedar Rapids before ending the season at Double-A Wichita. In his 60 2/3 Kernels innings, he posted a 1.48 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP. He has had a long and winding road to the Fall League. He was born in Baltimore and began his college career in 2016 at UNC Asheville. He was redshirted in 2017 and then pitched a lot in 2018 and 2019. He transferred to the College of Charleston for the 2020 season and made four starts but thanks to Covid, he took advantage of an extra year of eligibility and pitched again in 2021. He went undrafted and went to the USPBL and pitched in seven games for Utica before the Twins signed him and sent him to Fort Myers. The 26-year-old is excited for this opportunity and certainly not taking it for granted. He said, “I’m really looking forward to it. I think it’ll be a great opportunity for me to continue the success I’ve had this season and grow as a player. I know there will be a few familiar faces I’ll be competing against and with. I’ll have the opportunity to learn from a whole new set of guys and compete against some of the best players in baseball. It’s an honor to be considered and I’m looking forward to competing with and against some of the best.” As for what Carr is hoping to work on in the AFL is what might be called an Advanced Pitching course. “I just need the experience of taking my game and what I’m good at to the next level and knowing who I am as a pitcher against really good hitters. And that’s one of those things you don’t learn till you go through it. Learning how to miss bats and get weak contact at this level, working my pitches off of each other/tunneling and sequencing, reading hitters and adapting the at bat with my strengths.” The Twins have been active in signing guys out of the USPBL. Another pitcher heading to the Fall League signed with the Twins out of the USPBL on the same day as Carr. Malik Barrington played his college baseball at Albany State in Georgia, just a three-hour drive from his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida. After his final college season of 2021, he pitched in eight games for Birmingham-Bloomfield before the Twins signed him. Barrington spent the entire 2023 season with the Midwest League champions in Cedar Rapids. He went 6-2 with a 4.29 ERA over 39 games and 65 innings. He walked too many (40), but he also had 80 strikeouts. The right-hander said he’s looking forward “to seeing the plethora of high level talent and being able to talk to and Learn from those guys everyday. You’d be shocked how much you can learn about pitching and the game of baseball by just talking to guys.” No surprise what he’s hoping to work on over the next six weeks. “While I’m there I would like to work on cleaning up my mechanics a bit and hopefully getting more consistency in the strike zone.” And by being in the Fall League, he’ll work with new people, new voices. He’ll be able to watch others in their bullpen sessions and ask questions about pitch grips or mechanical things. AJ Labas was the Mets 17th round pick in 2017 out of Trinity Christian Academy where he was in the same graduating class as 2022 AFL standout Austin Martin. Instead of signing, Labas went to Louisiana State where he made 29 starts over three seasons. In 2018, he was a freshman All-American, but he missed the 2019 season with He came back as a weekend starter in the Covid-shortened 2020 season and then made 15 starts in 2021. However, he went undrafted and signed with the Twins later that summer. He began the 2023 season with the Mussels and worked in 20 games. He moved up to the Kernels where he worked in 18 more games. He had seven saves overall. About his AFL opportunity, Labas said, “I'm looking forward to facing the competition that’s going to be out there and seeing friends and former teammates from high school and college and catching up with them. Also learning from the different coaches and working with the coaching staff.” In addition to Austin Martin, Pirates pitching prospect J.C. Flowers was on their same Trinity Christian Academy teams. They won a lot of games. So there you have it. The Twins will send eight players to Arizona later this week for the Fall League. Remember that we will have weekly updates on how the Twins prospects are performing, so be sure to check back for that. For more information on these eight Twins minor leaguers, click on the links below for Twins Daily articles in which they were tagged. Andrew Cossetti, Aaron Sabato, Kala’i Rosario, AJ Labas, Zach Veen, Malik Barrington, Jordan Carr, Ben Ethridge. View full article

The minor league seasons are two games from being complete. It's time to start handing out some awards. Today, we start by naming our choices for Twins short-season hitter of the year. The Twins' regular season is coming to a successful end with a division title. The Cedar Rapids Kernels won the Midwest League championship. It's been a good year throughout the Twins minor league system, from St. Paul to the Dominican Summer League. Today, we begin our 2023 Awards series by looking at the top hitters from the two Twins short-season affiliates. We considered stats from the two Complex leagues, the Florida Complex League and the Dominican Summer League. These leagues are for the players just beginning their journey in professional baseball. Regarding prospect status, the stats are less meaningful than they are as players move up. But we want to celebrate those players who did put up substantial numbers. Before we get into the hitters that impressed this season, here are the previous winners of this award: 2016: Lewin Diaz 2017: Akil Baddoo 2018: Chris Williams 2019: Matt Wallner 2021: Kala'i Rosario 2022: Jose Rodriguez The Twins Daily minor league writers and videographers were asked to vote for these awards. Below, we will share information on the Top 6 hitters, but first, here are some Honorable Mention hitters that received votes. Others Receiving Votes OF Ariel Castro, 17 - DSL Twins - 44 G, 33-160, .206/.323/.375 (.698), 7-2B, 4-3B, 4-HR, 24 RBI, 24 BB, 63 K. OF Byron Chourio, 18 - FCL Twins - 24 G, 22-84, .262/.415/.298 (713), 3-2B, 11 RBI, 20 BB, 19 K. OF Walker Jenkins, 18 - FCL Twins - 14 G, 18-54, .333/.390/.537 (.927), 3-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 12 RBI, 5 BB, 8 K. IF Endy Rodriguez, 20 - FCL Twins - 16 G, 12-41, .293/.453/.634 (1.087), 6-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 10 RBI, 10 BB, 20 K. C/1B Javier Roman, 20 - DSL Twins - 42 G, 28-99, .283/.374/.414 (.788), 7-2B, 2-HR, 19 RBI, 14 BB, 20 K. SS/CF Brandon Winokur, 18 - FCL Twins - 17 G, 19-66, .288/.338/.545 (.833), 5-2B, 4-HR, 17 RBI, 4 BB, 23 K. Short Season Hitter of the Year Here are the top six players for the Twins Daily Hitter of the Year, leading up to the choice for Short-Season Minor-League Hitter of the Year. T5. OF Jose Rodriguez, 18, FCL Twins 49 G, 49-187, .262/.325/.412 (.737), 10-2B, 6-HR, 23 RBI, 18 BB, 41 K. The Twins signed Rodriguez in January 2021 from Nizao in the Dominican Republic. He debuted last year in the DSL and was the choice for Twins Daily Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2022. In 55 games, he hit .290/.361/.605 (.966) with 15 doubles, three triples, and 13 home runs. He was also 5-for-5 in stolen base attempts. He has been a consensus Top 20 Twins prospect throughout the 2023 season. As you can see, he didn't match those DSL numbers, but he did show power and even reduced his strikeout rate slightly. This season, he mostly played right field, but he also played left field and even nine games at first base. T5. OF Jayson Bass, 17, DSL Twins 46 G, 44-143, .308/.406/.378, 5-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 16 RBI, 22 BB, 24 K. Bass signed this February as a 16-year-old from Los Mochis, Mexico. He was a DSL All-Star in his professional debut. He played in 46 games in the outfield. Thirty-seven of those were in right field. He played nine games in left field and one game in center field. Bass got a fast start, hitting .349 in 18 June games. While he didn't match that productivity, he stayed above .300 and did a nice job putting the ball in play. 4. IF Isaac Pena, 19, FCL Twins 44 G, 39-139, .281/.388/.381 (.769), 5-2B, 3-3B, 1-HR, 17 RBI, 24 BB, 28 K. The Twins signed Pena in December of 2021 out of Monte Plata, in the Dominican Republic. He made his pro debut in the DSL in 2022 and was quite impressive. Pena played in 46 games and hit .341/.432/.434 (.866) with four doubles and four triples. While he didn't match his DSL batting average, he was solid at the higher level and maintained his walk rate and isolated power. One area he improved upon was base stealing. In 2022, he had four steals in 14 attempts. This season, he was a perfect 11-for-11. Pena played all four infield positions but made the most starts at third base, followed by shortstop. 3. IF Moises Lopez, 17, DSL Twins 46 G, 39-145, .269/.379/.462 (.841), 7-2B, 3-3B, 5-HR, 32 RBI, 22 BB, 52 K. Lopez was another member of the Twins international signing class from January 2023. At 17, he stands 6-1 and 170 pounds, but he's got the frame to continue growing. The Twins signed him out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In his professional debut in the DSL, he solely played third base, and he has a lot of development to make to be adequate there. However, offensively, he showed the ability to take walks, and his 15 extra-base hits are impressive. Five home runs in the DSL is outstanding. In addition, he was 10-for-11 in stolen base attempts. While he will need to improve defensively and cut down on the strikeouts, there is a lot of talent for the Twins development staff to work with. 2. C/IF Daniel Pena, 18, FCL Twins 34 G, 27-97 .278/.376/.474, 4-2B, 5-HR, 23 RBI, 15 BB, 14 K. Pena signed with the Twins in January of 2022 from Barquisimeto, Venezuela. He debuted in 2022 in the DSL and hit .304/.403/.378 (.781) with seven doubles and 22 RBI. He came to the States this season and proved he belonged. He played 21 games behind the plate and 13 at first base. He is a work-in-progress at both spots. Offensively, he hit for a decent average, walked more than he struck out, and showed off some home-run power. Will he continue to develop all of those aspects of his game? 1. 2B Dameury Pena, 18, DSL Twins 39 G, 47-123, .382/.453/.496 (.949), 8-2B, 3-3B, 16 RBI, 14 BB, 9 K. A couple of years ago, the start of the international signing period shifted from July 2nd to January 15th. Every year, we hear and read about big-name 16-year-old players from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and other countries. The Twins signed three players in January to seven-digit bonuses. However, the organization signed a couple dozen international free agents each year, many to bonuses below six figures. Remember, Luis Arraez didn't get a six-figure signing bonus when he signed. One of those players who signed this past January with few noticing is infielder Dameury Pena. For 2023, he stood out as the top performer in an exciting class. He hit well. He was a DSL All-Star. He has earned recognition as Twins Daily's choice for Short-Season Hitter of the Year. His .382 batting average was the best on the DSL Twins by .076. His .453 on-base percentage was .047 higher than any of his teammates. His .496 slugging percentage was .034 higher than others on the team. Finally, his .949 OPS was .108 higher than anyone else on the roster. He led the team with 47 hits in 139 plate appearances, and he had just nine strikeouts, the lowest on the team. The next five DSL Twins on the fewest strikeouts list all had under 90 plate appearances. To summarize, Dameury Pena really impressed in his first professional appearance. He stands at about 5-9 (listed at 5-10) and may or may not weigh over 150 pounds. However, he is really strong. He can put the ball in play, not just by slapping the ball. He does a nice job of getting a lot of barrels and hits the ball hard. Bryce Berg is finishing his second season as the organization's Minor League Hitting Coordinator. Regarding Pena, he said, "Dameury has an impressive contact ability and showed a good eye for the strike zone this year being aggressive on pitches in the heart of the plate and doing a solid job laying off pitches outside the zone. This helped DaMeury carry an average walk rate and a well better than average strikeout rate in addition to a good ability to collect hits and hit for a high average when he got good pitches to hit in the zone. I only had a chance to be around Dameury once at the beginning of the year and will see him again in about a month, but our staff raves about the way he plays the game, how hard he works, and his overall competitiveness." Pena just turned 18 following the DSL season. Who knows? He may become the next Luis Arraez in the Twins organization. If you were wondering, a 17-year-old Arraez hit .348/.433/.400 (.833), with six doubles in 2014. Like Arraez, Pena's best defensive position might be DH, but there will be lots of development when it takes him to earn six more promotions. For now, we recognize a fantastic season for Dameury Pena. Drew MacPhail was named the Twins' Director of Player Development after the 2022 season. When asked about Pena, MacPhail noted that he did an "incredible job of controlling the zone this year at the DSL level. Dameury had the sixth lowest K% out of qualified batters in the DSL with at least 50 plate appearances. He paired that with an average exit velo three mph harder than the average exit velo in the league. He has a bright future in the organization!" There you have it. Congratulations to Dameury Pena and each of the players above on terrific 2023 seasons. For more Twins Daily content on these players, click on the following links: Dameury Pena, Daniel Pena, Moises Lopez, Isaac Pena, Jayson Bass, Jose Rodriguez, Ariel Castro, Byron Chourio, Walker Jenkins, Endy Rodriguez, Javier Roman, Brandon Winokur. View full article

That's fair... also think that the 200 more ABs matters too.

Good comments so far. Keep the discussion going. If Buxton is able to play, he will always be on any roster I would get to put together. I don't care what his stat line looks like. He's the best, most talented player on the roster, and I'll take my chances with him anytime. That said, I think I noted that he'd play within a platoon. He hasn't played a lot, so he doesn't need to play like a starter, but he needs to be part of the rotation. It's another part of the Go Big or Go Home thing... too much upside. I'm still baffled by the idea of playing Julien at 2B ahead of Polanco. Julien has come a long way, and that last play last night was really, really impressive, but Polanco is very good defensively at 2B. Julien is adequate. Like I said, I think it's a coin flip between Ryan or Maeda. The fact that Maeda was great out of the bullpen 4+ years ago means nothing to me because he's a different pitcher now than he was then, but if that's the tie-breaker, that's fine. Unless there are setbacks, have to believe Correa will play, and Lewis's diagnosis is certainly positive. I have no problem with Funderburk as a second lefty. I'm not certain the value of the second lefty now that there is the three-batter requirement though. Just some of my thoughts in response to the tremendous comments so far. I'm just glad we can now talk postseason and roster construction and such.

What?? Why??

Narrator: Derek Falvey, your team has just won its first American League Central title since 2020. What are you going to do next? Falvey: Well, Narrator, we have eight regular-season games remaining. Then we have some difficult decisions as we put together our Wild Card Round roster. And then, if we win that series, and a few more series, and you ask me the same question at the end of October, then I might acknowledge that I will be traveling to some big theme park located in Florida or southern California. Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports On Friday night at Target Field, the Minnesota Twins clinched the AL Central division championship and a spot in the playoffs for the first time since the Covid-shortened 2020 season. Yes, there are eight more games to play, but c'mon, it's OK to start talking playoffs now, right? And to do so, let's first consider the roster. You should do this exercise with me as you read through this article. I think it will show how many difficult decisions that the front office, Rocco Baldelli and the staff create their roster. And, while some of the choices may not be difficult, it is also interesting to see how many players will likely at least be considered (or even kept around in case of injury, or to potentially be part of a following round. So, go grab a sheet of paper and a writing utensil. Now, Round 1, aka the Wild Card round, starts on Tuesday October 3rd. Our roster drops back down to 26 players instead of the 28 players that could be on the September rosters. The Wild Card round is a Best of Three series and all games will be played at Target Field. Sure, it is theoretically possible to pass all three AL West teams and jump to the #2 seed (and get a first-round bye), but it is very unlikely. In addition, that may not be decided until the very last day of the season, and we will want to have a roster established for the Wild Card scenario. If the season ended following games played on Friday night, the Twins would be playing the Houston Astros. However, over the next nine days, lots can happen and the Twins could play the Astros, Blue Jays, Rangers, or Mariners. While it is feasible that the makeup of the roster, and probably specifically the bullpen, might change slightly based on opponent, we generally just want to put the best roster out there, the roster that can win at least one, and preferably two Wild Card games. Alright, at the top of your sheet of paper, you will want to write "Pitchers" on the top left of the page and "Hitters" on the top right of the page. If you want, you can make a little line to the right of both words. The first decision you must make is the composition of your 26-man roster for Round 1. Remember that the roster can be altered for a potential Round 2. (Side note: Wouldn't it be great if the Twins played in a Round 2? I would like that!) So the question becomes, how many pitchers do the Twins need in a three-game series? Personally, I would prefer to have a 10-man pitching staff for this series (3 starters, 7 relievers), but I am also going to try to think about what the Twins might do, and I think that they may go with 11 pitchers, just in case. So, at the top-left of my page, I will have: Pitchers __11__, and on the top-right, I will have Hitters __15__. Your page might look a little different. Alright, now let's get to the specifics, starting with the pitching. The Pitchers (11) Pitching wins, right? So let's start there. Unlike previous playoff teams, the 2023 pitching staff has actually been a strength. On your paper, under the Pitchers column, write "Starting Pitchers (3)" and "Relief Pitchers (8)." You may have seven relievers, or you might has nine relievers. You should have three starting pitchers. Starting Pitchers (3): Pablo Lopez, Sonny Gray, Kenta Maeda Sonny Gray could legitimately finish second in AL Cy Young voting this season, and Pablo Lopez has been racking up strikeouts like Twins fans haven’t seen since Johan Santana. They are the easy choices for Game 1 and Game 2. The question, of course, is who would make the Game 3 start if it is necessary. Many believe that Joe Ryan has solidified himself as the third starter with how he has returned after his mid-season struggles. You won't get a big argument from me. I'm comfortable with Ryan too. But Kenta Maeda deserves more than a cursory look. The fact that Maeda was successful pitching out of the Dodgers bullpen in postseasons in the past should not play a factor in the decision. In fact, I think that a logical analyst could probably even make the case for Bailey Ober in that spot. In reality, you could call it a coin flip between Maeda and Ryan - I would pick Maeda - with the other joining the bullpen as a long relief option. Unfortunately, the third pitcher likely finds himself off of the Round 1 roster, yet he could also find himself starting a Game 1 in the second round, depending on the scheduling. Bullpen (8): Jhoan Duran, Griffin Jax, Caleb Thielbar, Louie Varland, Emilio Pagan, Chris Paddack, Brock Stewart, Joe Ryan While he has begun to make games interesting of late, Jhoan Duran remains one of baseball’s best closers. Griffin Jax and Emilio Pagan have been there all year, and most of the time, they have been successful. Caleb Thielbar had a couple of extended stints on the IL, but he has come on strong at the end. Louie Varland has a chance to be a long-term starter in a strong rotation, but right now, he has the opportunity to come in and air it out for an inning or two. Certainly he can be the X-Factor out of the Twins bullpen! He’s been able to do that the last few weeks with the Twins. Joe Ryan gets the final spot. The team could choose to piggyback him with Maeda, or just have him ready if any of the starters need to be removed in the third or fourth inning for any reason. The interesting choices, if they go with an eight-man bullpen, remain. And, of course, lots can still happen before the end of next weekend. The Twins could go conservative. That would likely mean going with Josh Winder and Kody Funderburk. Both are still very early in their big-league careers, and both have had some successes that say they could have long big-league careers. Both would be reasonable choices. However, if it was me, I’d say go big or go home. To me, that means big arms. To me, that means taking Chris Paddack and Brock Stewart off of their rehab assignments, off of the 60-Day Injured List, and place them onto the Twins roster. Stewart has made three rehab appearances with the Saints, has shown a fastball in the upper-90s, and looks ready. Paddack hasn’t pitched in a big-league game since April of 2022 and had his second Tommy John surgery. He has been rehabbing all last season and this season, hoping to be able to help the team at the end of the season in whatever role. He has made one rehab start at Fort Myers and another at Wichita. He has tossed three strong innings in St. Paul as well. Most impressive, he’s throwing 96-98 mph, just as hard or a little harder than before the surgery. On one level, it doesn’t feel fair to the guys who have been on the active roster throughout the year. On the other side, Paddack has been working. He’s been doing his job. He has been on the team and doing what he has needed for himself and the team. If Paddack being on the roster gives the Twins a better chance for a win, then that should be the choice. Jorge Alcala hitting 97 and 98 mph in St. Paul on Friday night certainly gets his name into the conversation as well. Stick Around for Round 2, or for Emergency: Jorge Alcala, Dylan Floro, Kody Funderburk, Brent Headrick, Josh Winder, Dallas Keuchel, Bailey Ober. If there is a Round 2, I would think Ober should be included, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Hitters (15) In this Round 1 prediction, we went with 11 pitchers, we can place 15 hitters on the Round 1 roster. Under the Hitters column on your sheet of paper, break it down into Catchers, Infielders, Outfielders, and Designated Hitters. I have 15 hitters on the roster, so I included three players currently on the Injured List but who all should be ready for this series. You may not want to do the same. Catchers (2): Ryan Jeffers, Christian Vazquez Pretty easy choice here. While the playing time breakdown has shifted some throughout the season, these two have been ready to go day in and day out. Kyle Farmer can remain the emergency catcher. Infielders (6): Alex Kirilloff, Donovan Solano, Jorge Polanco, Carlos Correa, Royce Lewis, Kyle Farmer. Hopefully Carlos Correa will get back and play in a game before the end of the season. Hopefully Royce Lewis’s hamstring will be ready to go for Game 1. Platoons are good. Putting players in the best position to succeed is good. Jorge Polanco should play second base every game. Correa will play shortstop. If healthy, Royce Lewis will play third base. There will be a platoon of Alex Kirilloff and Donovan Solano at first base. Farmer can be a bench bat, and would also be the insurance for Correa at short and Lewis at third base. Willi Castro could also Outfielders (5): Matt Wallner, Michael A. Taylor, Max Kepler, Willi Castro, Andrew Stevenson. Against a right-hander, I would expect to see a lineup with Matt Wallner in left, Willi Castro in center, and Max Kepler in right field. Against a lefty, it’s probably a little more uncertain. I would suggest Castro in left, Taylor in center and then Kepler in right field. Stevenson would primarily be used for pinch running and potentially late-inning defense. Taylor and Castro can be pinch runners on days they don’t start. Designated Hitters (2): Edouard Julien, Byron Buxton. Of course Julien can play second base, but in the playoffs, the switch-hitting Jorge Polanco should play there every day. So Julien should get the majority of the DH at-bats. If they face a left-hander, I have no problem with Buxton starting at DH given Julien's extreme struggles versus southpaws. In the same way that Kirilloff and Solano are a tag-team at first base, Julien and Buxton should be the tag-team at DH. In addition, I have no problem taking a chance with Buxton in a pinch-hitting role too. Stick Around for Round 2 or for an Emergency: Jair Camargo (catcher), Joey Gallo, Nick Gordon, Trevor Larnach, Jordan Luplow. So, what do you think about this potential Round 1, 26-man Twins roster? If you were in charge, how might your roster look different? Where are the question marks? Can this team with this roster give the Twins and their fans a playoff win for the first time in forever? View full article

How can you have McLain ahead of Spencer Steer??

The Arraez story is cool, but he's been back to Venezuela fairly recently... The Brusdar Graterol situation is much more emotional... He hadn't seen his mom in 7 years, and she was finally able to come to the States this week to see him pitch for the first time.