Seth Stohs

In 2015, Eddie Rosario was called up in mid-April to replace an injured Oswaldo Arcia. At the time of his promotion, it was assumed he would be up for two weeks and go back to Rochester to continue his development. Instead, he became a key cog to the Minnesota Twins surprise success. Join me for this Prospect Retrospective on Eddie Rosario, and later, see how you can meet Eddie Rosario. In his rookie season, he experienced a lot of success. He filled the stat sheet in most offensive categories as well as playing great defense and leading the league in outfield assists. However, his free swinging tendencies have made him a strong candidate for regression in 2016. That’s been what has happened to this point, just eight games into the season, but he is immensely talented and has long qualified as a prospect despite some on and off the field issues that he has dealt with. Image courtesy of Kim Klement, USA Today In 2015, Eddie Rosario was called up in mid-April to replace an injured Oswaldo Arcia. At the time of his promotion, it was assumed he would be up for two weeks and go back to Rochester to continue his development. Instead, he became a key cog to the Minnesota Twins surprise success. Join me for this Prospect Retrospective on Eddie Rosario, and later, see how you can meet Eddie Rosario. In his rookie season, he experienced a lot of success. He filled the stat sheet in most offensive categories as well as playing great defense and leading the league in outfield assists. However, his free swinging tendencies have made him a strong candidate for regression in 2016. That’s been what has happened to this point, just eight games into the season, but he is immensely talented and has long qualified as a prospect despite some on and off the field issues that he has dealt with. BACKGROUND In late September of 1991, Eddie Rosario was born in the Puerto Rican community of Guayama. The city is home to approximately 45,000 people and located on the Caribbean Sea, on the southwest side of the island. Reports have indicated that he lived in some tough neighborhoods and wasn’t in the baseball hotbeds of the island. However, it was baseball that helped him break out. THE DRAFT The Twins drafted Rosario in the fourth round of the 2010 draft out of Rafael Lopez Landron High School. At the time, he was considered the most polished hitter from Puerto Rico in the draft. Immediately, he was drawing comparisons to former Phillies and Yankees outfielder Bobby Abreu. PRO CAREER 2010 After signing, he went right to the GCL. In 51 games, he hit .294/.343/.438 (.781) with nine doubles, two triples and five home runs. He also used his speed to steal 22 bases in 27 attempts. The numbers themselves don’t matter in the low levels of the minor leagues, but Rosario started to show some of the tools that he was drafted for. He showed that he could hit for average as well as showing plenty of extra-base pop in his bat. He also showed speed. Though he was known as a guy who didn’t have any great tools, he was known for being solid all around. 2011 In 2011, Rosario became a top prospect. He would again team with Miguel Sano and provide the fans of Elizabethton with many thrills that summer. While Sano put up a tremendous offensive line, hitting .292/.352/.637 (.988) with 18 doubles, seven doubles and 20 home runs, it was Rosario who was named the Appalachian League’s Most Valuable Player. Rosario played 67 games and hit an incredible .337/.397/.670 (1.068) with nine doubles, nine triples and 21 home runs. He also stole 17 bases in 23 attempts. Most nights, Rosario hit third with Sano hitting fourth. Following the box scores that year was a lot of fun as the two compete with and against each other. They fed off of each other and pushed each other to be better. They also weren’t afraid to support each other. Rosario and Sano both graced the cover of the 2012 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. 2012 In 2012, Rosario moved up to Beloit. Because the Twins liked his bat and envisioned him being able to move up quickly, they moved him to second base. At the time, there was not a clear future second baseman in the system. Despite having above average range in centerfield and a powerful arm, Rosario was willing to do what was needed of him. Early in the season, he showed very little range at second base. Later in the year, he had become an adequate-at-best defensive second baseman. Throughout the season, he would get a weekly start in center field for the Snappers. However, once the Midwest League playoffs started, Rosario found himself in center field each game. Offensively, he played in 95 games and hit .296/.345/.490 (.835) with 32 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. He also stole 11 bases but was caught 11 times as well. Rosario was limited to 95 games because he needed surgery on his face. One day before a game, he was around third base when a line drive in batting practice hit him squarely in the mouth. He required surgery and missed about six weeks of game action. 2013 Sano and Rosario continued to team together throughout 2013 as well. They began the season in Ft. Myers. Rosario hit .329/.377/.527 (.903) with 13 doubles, five triples and six home runs. The Miracle won a first half title more than a week before the league All Star game. While both players earned Florida State League All Star honors, they moved up to New Britain the day after the team clinched a playoff spot. He finished with 70 games in New Britain. There, he hit a solid .284/.330/.412 (.742) with 19 doubles, three triples and four home runs. He played nearly exclusively at second base throughout the season. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he hit just .238/.262/.275 (.537) with two extra base hits in 20 games. It was in the AFL that things kind of got out of control for Rosario. Soon after he returned to Puerto Rico, reports came out that he acknowledged that he had tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug. Of course, several months later, it came out that he had been suspended for a drug-of-abuse and would miss the first 50 games of the 2014 season. 2014 Rosario was given permission by the Twins to miss spring training for ‘personal’ reasons. That carried over into his 50 game suspension. When the 50 games were complete, he played eight games in Ft. Myers, almost as a rehab of sorts. He then went back up to AA New Britain and he struggled mightily. In 79 games, he hit just .237/.277/.396 (.672) with 20 doubles, three triples and eight home runs. He returned to the Arizona Fall League and this time really played well. In 24 games, he hit .330/.345/.410 (.755) with four doubles and two triples. He also homered in the championship game. In November, he was added to the 40-man roster. 2015 Paul Molitor became the Twins manager in the offseason. Molitor had spent a lot of time working with Rosario in his previous role as a roving minor league instructor. They worked together at second base, and they worked on base running and more. Rosario had an advocate in Molitor. Rosario went to spring training and really impressed the manager. He hit just .233/.227/.442 (.669), but Molitor frequently praised the outfielder. In 23 games in Rochester, he hit .242/.280/.379 (.659) before getting called up. That’s when he was called up, and that’s why it was so surprising when he hit .267/.289/.459 (.748). He hit 18 doubles 15 triples and 13 homers. He stole 11 bases and had 16 outfield assists. 2016 Sure, Rosario has looked like a different player so far this season. He has been even more aggressive but at some point he’s going to have a hot streak. SCOUTING Rosario is not a big guy. He’s listed at just 6-1 and 180 pounds. However, he is strong. He also has some very strong hands and wrists. When he is on, he is driving line drives to the left side of the diamond because he is able to wait longer and still hit the ball hard the other way. At times, it’s clear he tries to do too much and pulls too much. He swings at everything. As you can see from his pre-AA stats, he used to be more willing to walk. He’ll never walk in 10% of his plate appearances, but if he can get that back up to 7-8%, he should be successful. Looking back at my Top 30 Twins Prospects history, here is where I had ranked Eddie Rosario coming into each of his seasons. 2011 - 17 2012 - 2 2013 - 7 2014 - 5 2015 - 8 SEE EDDIE ROSARIO You can meet EddieRosario at AME Sports in the Rosedale Mall this Saturday from 5-6:30 PM. Tickets are just $20 and allow you to get ANY item signed and a photo opportunity FREE. If you haven’t been to an AME event, you’ll find it different than other autograph signings where fans are herded through just for an autograph. Indeed, AME Sports was created to provide a private, personal and fun experience for the fans to meet their favorite athletes. And Twins Daily readers get a special welcome. Just mention Twins Daily when you buy your ticket and you’ll be entered to win a $25 gift card from AME. View full article

Is Quantril's dad Paul?

The Chattanooga Lookouts roster returned 19 players who were part of the 2015 Southern League championship. Heading into Wednesday’s game, they were just 1-5 on the season. They used some power to get their second win, and their first home win. An intriguing prospect was promoted to the big leagues. The Miracle rotation began its second time through the rotation with a good start! Really good. Continue reading to find out more detail about Wednesday in the Twins farm system: Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photos of Stephen Gonsalves, Daniel Palka) The Chattanooga Lookouts roster returned 19 players who were part of the 2015 Southern League championship. Heading into Wednesday’s game, they were just 1-5 on the season. They used some power to get their second win, and their first home win. An intriguing prospect was promoted to the big leagues. The Miracle rotation began its second time through the rotation with a good start! Really good. Continue reading to find out more detail about Wednesday in the Twins farm system: TRANSACTIONS As you now know, Glen Perkins was placed on the disabled list, while Taylor Rogers received his first promotion to the big leagues. Expect Stephen Wickens to be removed from Rochester’s disabled list on Thursday. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Lehigh Valley 6 Box Score In a back and forth game, it came down to whoever had the last at-bat. Fortunately, the Red Wings were the home team and got to bat last. Reynaldo Rodriguez singled to the gap to score Buck Britton with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth. Tyler Duffey made his second start, and for the second time, he was unable to complete five innings (though the first time was due to rain). Duffey flirted with danger the first four innings but was able to get out of those innings unscathed. However, in the fifth inning, a couple of runs crossed the plate. In all, Duffey went 4.2 innings and gave up two runs on six hits. He walked four and struck out four. He needed 96 pitches. He was replaced by Loek Van Mil who gave up a soft single to right to score the second run. He went 0.2 innings and gave up one run on three hits and two walks. Buddy Boshers relieved him and got the next five outs. He was charged with one run on three hits. Brandon Kinzler got the final two innings and gave up two runs in the top of the ninth. Along with his game-winning single in the bottom of the ninth, Rodriguez went 3-5 with his first double. Lead off hitter Darin Mastroianni went 3-4 with a walk and a double. Wilfredo Tovar went 2-3 with a walk and a double. James Beresford went 2-4. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Jackson 2 Box Score A couple of big flies help the Lookouts to their first home win of the 2016 season.. Dalton Hicks got the scoring started in the 4th inning with a long, two-run, opposite field home run. When Jackson cut the lead to one, Daniel Palka pushed the lead back to two in the 6th inning with his first home run of the year. In the 8th inning, Travis Harrison knocked in a run with a sacrifice fly. Later Dalton Hicks added another RBI, singling in a run. Hicks was 2-4 with his first home run and three RBI. Hicks also stole his first base of the year, matching his career high which he also hit in 2012, 2014 and 2015. Palka had a big game. He went 3-4 with his second double to go with his first home run. Mitch Garver was also 2-4. DJ Baxendale got the start and was credited with his first win of the year. The right-hander gave up just one run on seven hits and a walk in five innings. He struck out three. Brett Lee came on and gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Brandon Peterson struck out two in a perfect inning. Marcus Walden pitched a perfect ninth for his first save of the year. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Brevard County 0 Box Score In his first start of the season, Stephen Gonsalves gave up a three-run homer in the first inning. He proceeded to throw five scoreless frames after that. On Wednesday, he made his second start and threw six shutout innings. The lefty gave up just two hits, walked three and struck out four. That is 11 consecutive scoreless innings, if you’re counting. Another left-hander, Luke Westphal came in for the 7th and struck out the side. Righty Trevor Hildenberger worked two scoreless innings to record the save. Hildenberger needed just 16 pitches to get through the two innings. Nick Gordon again led the way on offense. The shortstop went 3-4 with a double and drove in a run. The Miracle had seven total hits. Trey Vavra had the only other extra base hit, a double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 4 Box Score The Kernels were unable to muster much offense. LaMonte Wade had two of their four hits in this game, raising his season batting average to .385. Jermaine Palacios had the lone extra base hit, a double. He scored later on a sacrifice fly from Zander Wiel, who also walked once. Randy LeBlanc made his second start. The right-hander from Tulane went the first six innings. He gave up just two runs on four hits. He walked two, hit three and struck out six. Logan Lombana pitched the seventh and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk. John Curtiss came on for the eighth inning and struck out one in a perfect inning. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Stephen Gonsalves, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Daniel Palka, Chattanooga Lookouts THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (1:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – LHP David Hurlbut Brevard County @ Ft. Myers (12:00 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (1:15 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Wednesday games. View full article

I believe that he felt find and that he wasn't experiencing any issues.

So, you're saying he's not hurt and is just making it up because he's off to a slow start?

Man, reading some of these comments is embarrassing. 1.) The velocity could be down because he's 33, not 31 or 29. If he wasn't experiencing any pain, there was no reason for him to say anything. 2.) Are people really accusing him of using this injury as an excuse for bad pitching? That's amazing to me that people would even thing that. 3.) Someone said this kind of thing makes him harder to cheer for... him getting hurt and not being as great as he once was makes it hard for people to cheer for him? That's sad! Then again, it doesn't surprise me based on how many treat Mauer and his injuries.

We can assume that they waited until this morning because they didn't have a game yesterday, and no need to call up Rogers until today. He found out yesterday.

I think he can be very good. Never know what to expect early in anyone's career, but he has the stuff and makeup to be a good reliever.

Left-hander Taylor Rogers was the 11th round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins out of the University of Kentucky in June of 2012. He has gradually, but very consistently, worked his way up the Twins farm system as a starter. After a solid big league spring training as a relief pitcher, he is now on the cusp of being a big leaguer. Today seems like a good day to take a look back at the career of Rogers and his prospect status as he has moved up. Who knows? With the state of the Twins bullpen, he could literally be called up anytime, so let’s take a look back at his career to this point. Image courtesy of Jerome Miron, USA Today Left-hander Taylor Rogers was the 11th round draft pick of the Minnesota Twins out of the University of Kentucky in June of 2012. He has gradually, but very consistently, worked his way up the Twins farm system as a starter. After a solid big league spring training as a relief pitcher, he is now on the cusp of being a big leaguer. Today seems like a good day to take a look back at the career of Rogers and his prospect status as he has moved up. Who knows? With the state of the Twins bullpen, he could literally be called up anytime, so let’s take a look back at his career to this point. BACKGROUND Taylor Rogers was born 25 years ago in Littleton, Colorado. As he said in an article in the 2014 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook, he grew up a Rockies fan and often went to games. “We went to a bunch of games every year and always kept close tabs on how the season was going. The $1 tickets up in the nose-bleed section was a staple for us.” His Chatfield High School was consistently one of the best teams in the state of Colorado. There were a lot of very good players from the school. One of those talented players is Taylor’s twin brother Tyler who started the 2016 season at AA with the Giants organization. “We never took it easy on one another, which I believe, helped us get to where we are,” said Taylor. COLLEGE Taylor Rogers was drafted in the 37th round of the 2009 draft out of high school, but he chose to go to the University of Kentucky where he played under Coach Gary Henderson. The Twins have had quite the pipeline in from Kentucky in recent years including lefties Andrew Albers and Logan Darnell, and right-hander Alex Meyer. According to Henderson (from a 2013 interview for this Twins Daily article on the Kentucky connection), “He had really good arm action. He threw strikes. He looked like he would fill out and get better. He had a really good frame. Most impressive about him were his work ethic, drive and honesty. The character issues with him were outstanding.” Kentucky plays baseball in the very strong SEC. It is a league where not a lot of freshman jump into the starting rotation. Rogers did and his numbers showed it, but over his three years with the school, he continued to improve. Who knows? Twins fans are welcome to dream that Taylor Rogers can have the same affect on the Twins in his rookie season that another UK alum Karl-Anthony Towns had on the Timberwolves. (OK, slight exaggeration and very different roles in very different games.) THE DRAFT The Twins drafted him in the 11th round in 2012 following his junior season at Kentucky. Tim O’Neill was a Twins scout and national cross-checker who saw Rogers several times. O’Neill said “He was a three-year starter, and we saw him pitch a lot. His stuff was light, but he knew how to pitch and compete. His hits per nine were high, but he had pitches, and he threw it over.” Sometimes, there are fun stories that lead up to the draft. With Rogers, O’Neil said that some intangibles, such as character, come into play. O’Neill recounted, “During the winter prior to Taylor’s junior season, I was working out a former UK pitcher and quarterback, Shane Boyd. That day, our usual catcher couldn’t make it, so Taylor volunteered to catch Boyd - in shorts, no cup, with his pitching glove. Boyd threw hard with a heavy ball and erratic command. Taylor gutted out numerous balls in the dirt and never flinched. It was pretty impressive.” PRO CAREER 2012 Upon signing, Rogers was sent to Elizabethton where he made six starts and posted a 1.80 ERA. He was promoted to Beloit and finished the season with four more starts and five relief appearances. He had a 2.70 ERA with the Snappers. In a combined 63.1 innings, he walked 17 and struck out 74. 2013 Rogers began his first full season back in the Midwest League where he was given the Opening Night nod in the first Cedar Rapids Kernels game as a Twins affiliate. He made just three starts with the Kernels, and although he didn’t pitch particularly well in the cold he was quickly promoted to Ft. Myers where he was terrific. He went 11-6 with a 2.55 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP. He was named by Twins Daily a the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. 2014 Rogers moved up to New Britain for the 2014 season and posted the same 11-6 record. His ERA was a solid 3.29 and he had a WHIP of 1.29. His K/9 rate moved up to 7.0 while his walk rate stayed at 2.3. He ended the season with a stint in the Arizona Fall League. His brother Tyler played in the AFL that season as well. Unfortunately, Rogers was hit by a line drive early in the AFL season and missed most of the seven-week season. He returned right at the end of the season. 2015 With his solid 2015, Rogers earned an invitation to big league spring training as a non-roster invite. Though he didn’t pitch much in big league games, he used the experience to learn a lot. Rogers again moved up, this time to AAA Rochester.Overall,he went 11-12 with a 3.98 ERA in 174 innings. He seemed to tire late and saw his numbers fall a bit the last six weeks of the season. He was again sent to the Arizona Fall League. The thought was that he would pitch out of the bullpen, but since the Twins sent three other relievers to the AFL, Rogers ended up starting. He pitched quite well. He posted a 2.88 ERA in 25 innings, and he was the starter and winning pitcher in the AFL Championship game as well. In total, he threw 202 innings in 2015. 2016 With those splits, and the domination against left-handers, Rogers was an easy choice to be added to the Twins 40-man roster. Immediately, there was talk about him being a legitimate option as a bullpen guy, a lefty reliever, early in the 2016 season. He made his Twins Fest debut, and he was given a legit opportunity to earn a spot on the Opening Day 25-man roster. He was given appearances. He struggled early, but he pitched well late. Late in camp, he was optioned to Rochester to start the season. The Red Wings have played just five games this year, and Rogers has pitched in just one. He pitched two innings in the outing. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out on in a scoreless appearance. SCOUTING Rogers is long and lanky. He is listed at 6-3 and 170 pounds. He throws from a ¾ slot. He has become a solid, reliable pitcher that you can count on most times out. In his 28 appearances for Rochester in 2015, he failed to go five innings just twice. He failed to go six innings just six times. However, his splits with the Red Wings were also quite telling. Against left-handed batters, the southpaw was dominant. Lefties hit just .177/.209/.193 (.402) with three doubles in 202 plate appearances. He also walked just five while striking out 55. Against right-handers, he allowed a slash line of .326/.374/.457 (.831) with 41 extra base hits in 530 plate appearances. He walked 39 and struck out 71. Again, people really talk about his makeup and character and think that he can be a very successful big league pitcher because of it… along with his stuff. He’s got good stuff, obviously stuff that works well against left-handers. He has a couple of fastballs. Sometimes he sits 89-91, and other times, you can see him hitting 94. Out of the bullpen, it’s likely there is some uptick when the temperatures move up.He also has a very good breaking ball. Some have called it a left-handed version of Tyler Duffey’s curveball. I wouldn’t go quite that far, but I would say that it is a definite weapon against left-handers. He also throws a change-up though it is a pitch that needs more consistency. When asked who his favorite player was growing up, he said it was Todd Helton. Why? “I really liked him because of his poise and calm body language during pressing situations.” Rogers exudes that kind of calm demeanor on and off the mound. It is a characteristic that will serve him well if he is pitching in tight situations late in games out of the Twins bullpen. Rogers ranked 21st in my Top 30 Prospect rankings before the 2014 season. In my 2015 rankings, he was #11. This year, knowing he was most likely moving to the bullpen, I placed him at 17th in my rankings. Here is where he ranked in other preseason Twins Prospect lists: Baseball America: 14 FanGraphs: 16 MLB.com: 14 Twins Daily: 16 TIMELINE Rogers is either ready, or very close to ready, to pitch out of the Twins bullpen. I expect that he would be the first relief pitcher called up to the big leagues if and when there is a need. The question is when. It could happen with an injury. It could happen if the Twins decide they would like a long reliever who has a history of being able to pitch five or more innings. It could happen if the team decides to make some moves quickly after their 0-7 start. In the story in the 2014 Twins Prospect Handbook on Rogers, he was asked what i would mean to put on a big league uniform in a regular season game. He had not yet pitched in AA, so I’m certain the thought seemed far off, but he said “Putting on a big league uniform would be a dream. It sounds cliche but the process that it takes to get there, and how hard it is makes it such a great thing. Putting on a major league uniform is something that can never be taken away, and the memory stays with you forever.” Soon, and very soon, Taylor. Soon, and very soon. View full article

Whoa! Jeremy Nygaard is in the picture. I think I might even be able to see him and his wife on the field!

... or by his terrific job there last year...

Some people, whose opinions I respect, think that Jorge's struggle in 2014 in Cedar Rapids was an inability to figure out how to pitch in the cold that he had never played in before. He got over that last year. Right now he's in most people's 20-25 range for Twins prospects, so another solid season of starting in Ft. Myers and he could easily move into the 10-15 range. Based on what Jeremy wrote in the article, his velocity is definitely where it would need to be. It's up from where it was a year ago. He's very thin... but he got to 142 innings last year. Can he get to 165 this year? He definitely didn't get much bigger since last season, so we'll likely find out this year. But, Chris Sale is able to throw lots and lots of innings every year, so I think Jorge can do it.

Easily the most consistent pitcher in the Twins farm system last year and a nice star to this season.

WPA can be interesting. For me, it's about what the biggest plays were. In many cases, these Shutdown or Meltdowns might be the same. I think iit speaks to Jeremy's leverage comment/idea. I think it'll be fun to compare this stat to the fangraphs stat and see how they look side-by-side.

I'll add JT. Amazing that he's the name I left out since I think he'll be the first one called up.

2015 was a positive season for the Minnesota Twins. Yet, when the season ended, it was clear that there were needs in the organization that needed to be addressed. Foremost among them was the bullpen. In Parker’s interview for the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook, he asked Terry Ryan, “Where would you prioritize the bullpen in general this offseason?” Ryan responded with, “High.” Parker probed, “Highest priority?” Ryan said, “It’s pretty close up there. Pitching is always the most prioritized area of any team.” That interview was in October. The offseason came and went and the Twins signed exactly zero pitchers to major league contracts, starters or relievers. Image courtesy of Jerome Miron, USA Today 2015 was a positive season for the Minnesota Twins. Yet, when the season ended, it was clear that there were needs in the organization that needed to be addressed. Foremost among them was the bullpen. In Parker’s interview for the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook, he asked Terry Ryan, “Where would you prioritize the bullpen in general this offseason?” Ryan responded with, “High.” Parker probed, “Highest priority?” Ryan said, “It’s pretty close up there. Pitching is always the most prioritized area of any team.” That interview was in October. The offseason came and went and the Twins signed exactly zero pitchers to major league contracts, starters or relievers. Granted, the Twins signed MLB veteran lefty reliever Fernando Abad to a minor league contract. There was never really any question that he would make the Opening Day roster. Abad was one of several pitchers signed to minor league deals. Besides Abad, the only pitcher who really had a chance at cracking the Opening Day roster was right-hander Brandon Kintzler, another veteran with several years of big league service time. Dan Runzler and Buddy Boshers were nice stories for spring training, and maybe one of them will perform at AAA and eventually get a promotion back to the big leagues. There were not many bullpen jobs available. Glen Perkins is signed for another year. Kevin Jepsen, after what he did for the Twins after last year’s trade deadline, was coming back, and that’s a good thing. We can debate bringing back Casey Fien, but once he was re-signed, he was a given. Trevor May got some opportunity this spring to start, but we all knew that he would go to the bullpen. Michael Tonkin was out of options. Ricky Nolasco was a possibility for a bullpen spot depending upon spring training performance. Again, there were only one or two jobs to be competed for. In my opinion, I was always comfortable with Twins not wanting to go beyond one year with any relief pitcher for a few reasons. First and foremost, there are very few relievers who are good for multiple years, especially free agent pitchers who are already 31 years old, or older. Most likely, during a two-year contract, the pitcher would be good one of the years. In a three-year contract, you could hope beyond hope that you get two decent years. Of course, we can follow the next three years of Tony Sipp and Antonio Bastardo to see how they pan out. Secondly, the Twins are loaded with relief pitching prospects, guys that we hope are ready sometime in 2016. Guys that we don’t want to see blocked by mediocre veterans. In the same Offseason Handbook Terry Ryan interview, Ryan was asked about the power arms in the system and if they could surface in 2016. He said, “Yeah, we do. I do. I would expect some of those guys to surface this year. I was hoping maybe last year but it was maybe one year premature. Some of those guys had a few struggles, and that’s not a bad thing. Alright, now you know what you’ve gone through. Now you can take a step back. A few of them are out in that Arizona Fall League which is good. I would think that some of those guys are going to surface this year which would be well received here. We can use some of that influx of people. I would like to see some of those relief pitchers there.” In 2016, the following pitchers could come up and contribute to the Minnesota Twins. (Note-That is not saying all of them will, just that they are at a point in their career and development that it is possible) 40-Man Roster Alex Meyer JR Graham JT Chargois Taylor Rogers Ryan O’Rourke Mason Melotakis Pat Dean Non-Roster Nick Burdi Jake Reed Logan Darnell Brandon Peterson Alex Wimmers Now that’s 12 names. Most likely no more than two to four will actually come up in 2016, but by the end of 2017 several more of them will and potentially other names like Luke Bard, Trevor Hildenberger and Yorman Landa will be ready. All of that is well and good, but for a team that expected to compete in 2016, performance matters. And through one week - a very small percentage of the season - the bullpen has been one of the biggest issues contributing to the Twins 0-7 loss. It’s not the only contributing factor. The complete lack of offense and run scoring has pushed the bullpen issues into the spotlight a lot this first week. They have had three one-run losses and two-two run losses. In a couple of the games, the Twins lost leads in the late innings. I’ve always wanted to establish a statistic of sorts to help measure the effectiveness of a relief pitcher. I think it’s fair to say that ERA and even WHIP are not the best statistics to measure the reliability of a reliever. Because relief pitchers generally pitch one, and maybe two, innings once or twice a week, one or two really bad outings can affect how the pitcher’s numbers look for much of the season. To me, I want to know how often a reliever came into a game, into a situation and got the job done. All pitchers are going to have a few clunkers, so I’m going to try something new this year. I’m going to look at each and every appearance by relief pitchers throughout this season and determine whether or not the pitcher did what he was brought in to do. Someone else can name this stat, if it’s worthwhile. Frankly, the reality is that this is subjective. Pitching well or getting the job done can mean different things to different people. For instance, if Trevor May comes in to a situation where there are runners on 1st and 3rd and nobody out and gets out of that inning with just one run scoring, I think he got the job done. If Michael Tonkin comes in with runners on and the Twins already down 8-0 in the 2nd inning, but he leaves the game with the Twins down 11-0 after the fifth or sixth inning, I think he did his job. If Glen Perkins comes in to a game with a 2-run lead and give up just one hit but no runs in the inning, he got the job done. If he comes in to a game with a three-run lead, gives up two runs on three hits and two walks but gets the save, I can’t say that he did his job. So using my opinion, along with box scores and often watching on TV, here are how the members of the 2016 Twins bullpen grade out by this method through the way-too-small-of-a-sample-size of seven games. This stat may be more valuable in six to eight weeks, but here is the introduction: Pitcher Y N Success Glen Perkins 0 2 0.0% Kevin Jepsen 1 2 33.3% Trevor May 0 3 0.0% Casey Fien 1 2 33.3% Ryan Pressly 3 1 75.0% Michael Tonkin 0 1 0.0% Fernando Abad 3 0 100.0% Y=Yes, they got the job done. N=No, they didn't Success = percentage Aside from Fernando Abad and Ryan Pressly, it’s been a tough go for the Twins bullpen so far this season. As I would say to everyone after a poor seven-game start to the season, it is a long season, and things will (most likely) normalize over the course of the next couple of months. I don’t know what is good or bad with these percentages. Is 85% good, or is 70% good? I think we can agree from the start that 50% and lower would not qualify as good. The bullpen was said to be a focus in the offseason. Little significant was done to address it in the offseason which has made it a large focus in the team’s slow start. It is certainly something that warrants monitoring throughout the season. View full article

I slept from like 7:00 - 8:30... Woke up to the end of these games. Should have just gone back to bed. However, three more starts tonight. All three went six innings. So far, Twins minor leaguers have made 18 starts. 17 of them have gone five or more innings. The only one that didn't go 5 innings was Tyler Duffey and that's because he had only gone 4 innings (no runs) before the rains came on Opening Night.

My main point is that if we solely go by age and level, then no player who goes to college has a chance to be a prospect. OK, he turned 22 at the beginning of the year. My bad. How he performs in CR will determine his prospect status more than last year. Consider Max Murphy the year before and how much he dominated in E-Town and then he moved up to CR, and he's back in CR in 2016 after struggling in 2015. I guess my point is that LaMonte Wade is the prospect he is. There are lots of facets to a prospect ranking and one of them is age-to-level. But it's just one part of it. To me, prospect status is more on the other end of this... Luis Arraez is young for CR, so his prospect status is likely to be based on age much more than a college guy in his first full season of pro ball is. Now, if he is still in CR next year at 23, then I'll worry about it. OK, I won't worry about it even a little bit, but the prospect status will be affected.

Ah yes, jumping on one of my biggest minor league pet peeves right away. Ha! I HATE when someone who is in their first full season is considered old for the level if they are in the Midwest League. He's 21. He's where he should be. But to your bigger point, he has definitely shown a tremendous approach at the plate, and a willingness to take walks. He also has a lot of pop. As I wrote in a report a few days ago, talking to Mike Radcliff a bit about Wade, they really like him and note that he doesn't have any great, eye-popping tools, but he doesn't have any real weaknesses and they say his character is off the charts.

He was scheduled to start on Sunday for the Red Wings, with Berrios starting on Saturday. But when they postponed Saturday's game, they kept Berrios as the Home Opener starter and kept the rest of the rotation on schedule by having Meyer work extended pitches out of the bullpen. It really worked out perfectly.

Yup, I missed Escobar... my bad. He's been terrific.