Seth Stohs

In 2022, the Twins selected right-handed pitcher CJ Culpepper from California Baptist University in the 13th round of the draft. He made 10 starts and posted a 2.33 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP. He finished the season with 11 starts in Cedar Rapids. Overall, he worked 86 innings and had 89 strikeouts with just 32 walks. He was a key contributor in the Kernels Midwest League championship. In this interview, we get to know about Culpepper's background in baseball, from his youth days in southern California, to playing water polo in high school, to picking a college and eventually being drafted. Get to know CJ Culpepper. View full video

Great questions, and great responses...

He talks about that in great detail and what Dr. Meister and the Twins staff have been telling him.

I think really it is a case where it doesn't matter too much. I think they should get him to Wichita fairly quickly... whether that's April 2nd or May 2nd doesn't really matter much... And, depending on how things progress, he could be in St. Paul by June 2nd. I would say that's a pretty aggressive return and it can't be about stats as much as healthy and process and pitches, etc. But also the long-game of the 2024 season and how to have him available in October should be considered.

I would hope his Age wouldn't factor into their decision-making. They need to do what is right for him, but also right for the organization. Let's just say he debuts in July at 26. The Twins will hold his rights through the 2030 season, and that encapsulates his entire 'prime.'

From the conversation, it sounds like he'll be given the chance to start and they'll go with that but obviously listen to his body, listen to his arm, etc. So yeah, I think they'll ease him in for the first month and see where he's at. But hopefully by May or at least June he'll go a bit longer. I also think he can be great in the role Louie Varland had in September and that may be a good way to limit his innings.

On the offseason debut of Twins Spotlight, Matt Canterino provides us with an update on his rehab and much more. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Late in September, the Twins had taken over the American League Central and were playoff-bound. After starting all season, Louie Varland was moved to the bullpen, and he aired it out, sitting in the upper 90s and breaking off some really sharp sliders. In addition, Chris Paddack came off of the Injured List. The 27-year-old from Cedar Park, Texas, hadn’t pitched since April 2022 after his second Tommy John surgery. On September 24th, Paddack ran from the Target Field bullpen to the Target Field mound, but before he could throw a pitch, the rains came, and a delay pushed back his return to MLB game action. Two days later, he finally had the opportunity. In his first inning, Paddack struck out the side and let out a yelp, releasing pent-up emotion that was fun for Twins fans to see. At that same time, Twins pitching prospect Matt Canterino was sitting in his room in Fort Myers watching the game, about 13 months into his Tommy John recovery. Was seeing that performance motivational for the 25-year-old from Southlake, Texas? “I would say it was more joy for Chris than anything. I saw his process. I saw how hard he worked every day. And I saw how much he got to know some of the minor leaguers and formed relationships with people that he didn’t have to in Fort Myers. It was a lot of joy for him, knowing it was a culmination of everything he’s been working on.” Nevertheless, seeing Paddack’s return come to fruition is something that the two Texans who grew up about three hours apart talked about while they worked and rehabbed in Fort Myers. Canterino noted, “he was a great teammate to rely upon in the process, especially because we were in fairly similar spots in rehab the entire year. I was able to bounce a lot of ideas off of him, and we were able to have a lot of good conversations about how we wanted to develop and how we wanted to be better than we were pre-surgery. I’m really thankful for that friendship.” (this video can also be found by clicking on this link. If you right-click and select Open Link in New Tab, you can watch this while continuing to read this article or others at Twins Daily.) Now Canterino is ready to show that he is back. However, let’s not minimize the timeline. The first issue came early in the 2021 season after just five (dominant) starts in Cedar Rapids. He had a 0.86 ERA, a 0.67 WHIP, and 43 strikeouts to just four walks in 21 innings. He spent the rest of the 2021 season in Fort Myers rehabbing. He worked two innings in a game for the Mussels later that summer, but it didn’t feel right. He began 2022 with the Double-A Wichita Wind Surge. He was being eased in, working three innings at a time and then four innings. However, after 11 games and 34 1/3 innings (with 50 strikeouts but also 22 walks). He went and met Dr. Meister in Texas, and while they had met before, this was the first time they had mentioned the term “Tommy John surgery.” Meister and Dr. Camp (the Twins' surgeon) were on the same page. They could give it one more try just rehabbing, but he had been doing that for a long time. Canterino had given it “one more try,” and the pain was terrible after one inning in the GCL. He had never had a complete tear, but the ligament was compromised enough. Rehab hadn’t worked. So, on August 25th, 2022, Canterino had Tommy John surgery. Dr. Meister’s timeline is a 14-month plan to return to competitive pitching. For the first six months, there was no throwing. It’s all about building strength in the shoulder, elbow, and forearm. Over the next six months, throwing is built up slowly. The first three months involve throwing on flat ground, and the next three months include a return to a mound. That leaves two months where the focus can be on a return to pitching. While he is very competitive on the mound, Canterino appreciated the process. “I am a pretty process-oriented person, and I like hitting little check marks along the way. Everything is written out and well-recorded within the rehab. The Twins do a great job of that. I was able to keep hitting those check marks and able to stay optimistic with how things were progressing.” The most challenging part, he said, was “just building up to go home for the offseason. I wasn’t building up to face hitters in any games. I still have to wait for spring training.” However, before heading to Texas for the offseason, he was able to get back on the mound and face live batters. What was the goal? What was the plan for facing live batters? “(It marks) The last step to start building up to be ready in games. So, we definitely pushed it a bit. We wanted to see where I was at so we could get an accurate judge. This is what you need to work on this offseason. This is what you need to be ready for coming into spring training. It definitely was a little bit of Let it Rip in terms of velocity and using offspeed pitches as well. So it was good.” How did it go? “I was missing bats, so that was good. I was up to 96 (mph). My slider felt completely returned to normal. My changeup felt completely returned to normal. And I was getting swings and misses on all of them. You never want to put too much stock into the results of those things, but in terms of my process, going through, getting ready, Letting it Rip, and recovering the next day, it was exactly what I wanted to do.” Canterino is set to enjoy his offseason. He’s got a couple of trips planned and will spend time with his closest support group. But he will also be working on improving to impress in Fort Myers in spring training. “I feel like I’m back to where I was, and I know that I’m going to come to spring training and be able to compete for a job and show that I can still compete at the highest level.” From Paddack’s return, Canterino notes. “This is doable. There will be ups and downs, but this is doable. You can get back, treat the rehab process with a lot of respect, and give it the attention it deserves. You can come back even better than wherever you were when you had to go down.” Canterino was the Twins second-round pick in 2019. His goal in 2023 is to get to the big leagues, where seven from his draft class have already played. He was excited to watch Matt Wallner, Brent Headrick, Louie Varland, and Edouard Julien play critical roles at various times for the Twins during the season and playoffs. “I was beyond happy for my friends that debuted this year and got to be big-time contributors both during the regular season and in the playoffs.” In conclusion, it was great to catch up with Matt Canterino. The interview is about 42 minutes long, and we talked about several other topics beyond what you read above. You’ll want to take a listen. But it was also great to see the excitement on his face and hear it in his voice as he talked about looking ahead. I’ll leave you with a few final quotes that are exciting. “I feel strong. I feel ready. This is the moment to prove it now.” “I just want to be the best teammate I can be. I just want to get back there and play baseball with the boys.” “I love baseball. I want to be able to contribute. I want to be a part of that winning culture that the Twins are establishing.” Matt Canterino was previously a guest on Episode 2 of Twins Spotlight back in October of 2020. That episode was more of a Get to Know 'em show, and as you can imagine, Canterino is fantastic at that. View full article

Minnesota Twins right-handed pitching prospect Matt Canterino had Tommy John surgery in August of 2022. He spent the entire 2023 season rehabbing in Fort Myers. Find out how he has handled his recovery, what he has learned about himself and where he is at heading into the offseason. He also was a cheerleader from afar of his Twins teammates and kept in contact with several players from an impressive 2019 Twins draft class. What are the hopes and goals for 2024? Starter? Reliever? Find out more in this interview. View full video

Hader never had a long-term contract. He went year-to-year, so there isn't anything similar to compare it to.

And if that's the case... there's no reason for the Twins to do it. Then they might as well go year to year and avoid the risk... Of course then Duran takes the risk of getting hurt and never reaching those Hader dollars.

Obviously US Bank Stadium is only used by the Gophers when they can't play outside. If they can play at all these other stadiums, they could just play at their beautiful, fairly new stadium on campus.

How fun was watching the Twins bullpen late in the season and the playoffs? Rocco Baldelli and Pete Maki could turn to power arm after power arm. But there isn’t a more powerful arm in baseball than the right arm of Jhoan Duran’s. Might the Twins be wise to lock him up on a long-term contract extension? Image courtesy of Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports When contemplating a long-term, life-altering extension with a ballplayer, many factors must come into play. We will discuss a few of them below before jumping into my thoughts on what such a contract might look like for Jhoan Duran. You can also watch the short video that @Nash Walker put together with his ideas about a Duran extension. Background Jhoan Duran has two full seasons in the big leagues and has been remarkably dominant in both seasons. What’s even more remarkable is what he is doing when you consider what he went through in the seasons leading up to his 2022 debut. Duran came to the Twins organization in a July 2018 trade deadline deal that sent infielder Eduardo Escobar to the Diamondbacks. Just days after the trade, he joined the Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels. The right-hander struck out eight batters in seven scoreless, no-hit innings in his first start. He had another start with nine strikeouts in seven innings of one-run ball. He followed that start with 10 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings of one-hit ball and gave up only an unearned run. While few Twins fans had heard the name Jhoan Duran before the trade, he made a solid first impression in the organization. He began the 2019 season with High-A Fort Myers. He made 15 starts and one relief appearance. While he went 2-9, he posted just a 3.23 ERA over 78 innings. He had 95 strikeouts as well. He ended the season going 3-3 over seven starts with Double-A Pensacola. Following the season, the Twins added him to the 40-man roster. Injury Risk Unfortunately, he did not pitch in games in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season because of Covid. He was having elbow and forearm pain during the spring of 2021. His debut with the St. Paul Saints featured six strikeouts in three innings in late May. He followed that with eight strikeouts in four one-hit, scoreless innings. He was hitting triple digits with regularity at CHS Field. When the calendar turned to June, he started to struggle. Three runs on three hits and five walks over four innings. Three runs on six hits and two walks in 4 1/3 innings. And then, on June 15th, he recorded just two outs and gave up two runs on two hits and three walks. He was immediately shut down and spent the rest of the season rehabbing. He never did have elbow surgery. In 2022, he went to spring training with many questions surrounding him. But he pitched very well in his outings, dominating enough to make the Opening Day roster. As you would expect, the Twins were very patient with Duran. He didn’t pitch in back-to-back games. If he pitched two innings, he would get two days off, at least. And as the season went on, it was increasingly clear that he was the team’s best bullpen arm. It didn’t take long for him to start working in high-leverage situations. In 2023, the 25-year-old should have been an All-Star but didn’t get selected inexplicably. His ERA was slightly higher (2.45 after 1.86), and his WHIP jumped from 0.98 to 1.14 this year. His strikeout rate rose a little, from 11.8 K/9 to 12.1 K/9. However, his walk rate jumped from 2.1 BB/9 to 3.6 BB/9. That was the issue at times, yet he continued to be one of the most dominant relievers in the game. His fWAR as a rookie was 1.5. In 2023, he was at 1.0 fWAR. Research suggests that higher velocity could play a role in pitcher injuries, and Duran certainly does not lack that. He throws a 104 mph four-seamer, a splinker at 98-to-100 mph, and one might argue that his best pitch is his incredibly sharp upper-80s curveball. His arsenal will be a concern for opposing hitters and potentially doctors who work on arms. Watch Nash's video Before you continue, take two minutes and watch Nash’s video on a Duran contract extension so you can compare it to what I show below. Jhoan Duran has exactly 2.000 years of service time. Assuming he doesn’t ever use his final option, he will be arbitration-eligible for the first time following the 2024 season. If he goes year-to-year, Duran will have three years of arbitration before becoming a free agent following the 2027 season. In other words, the Twins already have his rights for the next four seasons, and he will be a free agent heading into his age-30 season. Renewed In my mind, this is a topic that hasn’t been addressed. And truthfully, I don’t know if it is a big deal. With the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement, the minimum salary went from $700,000 in 2022 to $720,000 in 2023. In 2024, it will be $740,000. For pre-arbitration players, they typically get small bumps in pay each season. For example, Ronny Henriquez had 18 days of service time in 2022. According to Cot’s Contracts, he would have made $720,900 had he spent the entire 2023 season in the big leagues. With 73 days of service time coming into the season, Josh Winder would have made $725,650 in 2023. Jhoan Duran had precisely one year of service time coming into 2023. Two players were reasonably close to that timeline. Jose Miranda entered 2023 with 157 days of service time (180 days equals one year). He was set to make $727,850. Joe Ryan entered 2023 with 1.033 years (one year, 33 days) of service time. In 2023, he made $730,250. Considering those two numbers, it’s fair to suggest that Duran should have made around $729,000 in 2023. However, if unable to reach an agreement on a 2023 contract, teams can “renew” a contract at the previous year’s value. That happened with Duran, as his salary bumped from the 2022 league minimum of $700,000 to the 2023 league minimum of $720,000. So what? He should have made $9,000 more than he did this year. Who cares? Right? Does that mean the two sides disagreed over what couldn’t have been more than a couple thousand dollars? Does it mean they were working on a long-term deal last offseason, and it didn’t happen? Does it mean things were contentious between Duran and his representatives and the Twins brass? Probably not. With MLB allocating $50 million for pre-arbitration players, Duran should have made well over $9,000 of that chunk. It's probably much ado about nothing, but it could be something to watch later in the offseason. Contract Details The Twins would want to extend a player to save money down the road and buy out some years of free agency. A player might be willing to give up some long-term dollars to get the guaranteed money in case of injury or lack of sustained production. As Nash mentioned in his video, the most similar extension might be the five-year, $20 million extension that Emmanuel Clase reached with the Guardians a couple of years ago. It comes with a couple of option years as well. Along with throwing hard, Clase already has an 80-game PED suspension, which likely creates some risk. Josh Hader has gone year-to-year in arbitration. He had four years of arbitration and earned $4.1 million in 2020, $6.675 million in 2021, $11 million in 2022, and this season, he pitched for $14.1 million. He will become a free agent in a couple of weeks, and it will be interesting to see what kind of deal he gets. So, here is my proposal: In summary, this contract would cover five years, and $33 million would be guaranteed. It also includes two option years. It includes a $1.5 million signing bonus. The $2.5 million in 2024 is over three times more than he would make on a one-year, pre-arbitration contract. This contract would buy out his final pre-arbitration season, three years of arbitration, and one free-agent season. And, as you can see, it includes up to two more free-agent seasons and could be worth up to seven years and $56 million. So, what do you think? Is this a contract you would feel comfortable with the Twins and Duran agreeing to? What would be your biggest concerns about the deal? How do you feel about extending a reliever with some elbow issues in his past? Leave your thoughts below. For much more Twins Daily content on Jhoan Duran, click here. View full article

I was wondering if this was the forum thread for this topic... Just to think... Tom Brady played in high school (baseball) with Dan Serafini, and then played in the NFL with Aaron Hernandez... Coincidence? Fans of my age who collected cards back in the day probably have a bunch of Serafini draft pick cards like I do. I wonder if they're worth more now?

I enjoy doing these too... I like to take advantage of the fact that Killebrew played a variety of positions. I'd put him at 3B... and I think I'd have Gaetti over Koskie, though that's close too. That allows you to have Hrbek and Morneau at 1B/DH.

I think the immediate moves would be Luplow and Stevenson, and De Leon makes sense too (though I'd offer him a 2 year, minor-league deal). They'll add Camargo (before the end of the World Series) and then they'll add Martin and Rodriguez in late November. May make a couple of drops at that point. No need to drop players until they need to drop players.

I would love this. As you pointed out, there are a number of ways that they could go with this... I think there are numerous possibilities. Ownership/Revenues could be split something like Twins: 35%, Wolves: 25%, Wild: 20% That leaves another 20%... Maybe they get a deal with the Gophers. Or, maybe they get a deal with the NSIC or the MIAC... Maybe they get a deal with St. Thomas. Maybe they put together an agreement with the MSHSL. Twins #1 priority, Wolves and Wild try to work their schedules with their leagues to work as many alternate nights as possible and when they play the same night, maybe they alternate playing at 2:00 and 7:00. Or they have a "Plus" station. The MIAC games can have a Live game of the week, but can also air replays at any open times during the day, etc. I think there could be a SportsCenter like show an hour every day with some highlights and analysis. It could be at like 10:30 pm and they could re-air it a couple times in the morning (MLB Network does this). How good would that be for those leagues to have those teams on a prominent, legitimate TV station? It'd be a great recruiting feature for the regional D2 and D3 schools and a source for their athletic departments. But the odds are incredibly low... certainly not by the 2024 season.

The Twins signed him out of the USPBL (same day as Malik Barrington, and Jackson Hicks, and Ricardo Velez... July 21, 2021). So no, he'll likely never be on a prospect ranking. But, that doesn't mean he can't or won't get to the big leagues. First, he's left-handed, second, some video of his curveball makes it look legit. If he can add a couple of mph to his low-90s fastball, then maybe. Or maybe he can be the next Kody Funderburk. He's the kind that you just let keep pitching well and see where it goes. He's... in my opinion... the kind of minor leaguer you want to root for.

Where? Why? (Or did I need a #sarcasm included... if so, my bad!)

And where is that, or where should that be? Lewis is likely the better 3B. Correa's not moving off of short. Polanco should play 2B. Julien and Miranda can platoon at 1B. Lee could come up right now and play any of those four spots. Any of those players could miss time with injury and Lee would be ready to take their spot. Martin can play LF, CF, 2B. Larnach and Wallner can play the corners. And, it'll all paly out over the next 4 1/2 months. And depth is good.

That's what people would have said this year about Willi Castro or Donovan Solano too. Gordon's 2022 was equivalent to Castro's 2023... I would say that Castro is a little better defensively.