Seth Stohs

Prato in 2023: Games Played by Position (can be more than one position per game): 1B: 2 (both in AA) 2B: 36 3B: 11 (10 in AAA) SS: 13 LF: 12 (all in AA) RF: 5 (all in AA) Prato is a nice player, a potential utility guy in the big leagues (assuming he hits like he has in AAA, not AA this year). But as for a trade piece, he's the third or fourth chip in any deal.

What? We want Prato at 3B instead of Castro or Farmer? Which position players on the 40-man roster would you drop to add Prato? And Larnach was up because of paternity listing Buxton. Now he'll head back down. Larnach is a future piece. Prato is maybe a utility guy going forward. (which isn't a bad thing) And Lee has only been crushing Double-A pitching for about two weeks. I can definitely see moving Lee and Severino to Triple-A, but not the big leagues yet.

Pretty much means that Shohei Ohtani isn't getting traded, right? Baseball Trade Values sure seems to think that the White Sox did very well in this deal. Lopez has always had great stuff ,and I'd love to see what Pete Maki and crew could do with him. Giolito's going to have more good years. He's basically heading home and maybe that gives him an idea of if he would want to stay there.

"Walks will Haunt." So do home runs, and errors and several other things. Wednesday was a tough afternoon for pitchers throughout the Twins organization. But several hitters had huge days. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of DaShawn Keirsey) You may notice a theme throughout the Twins organization. First, they all played Wednesday afternoon games which is unusual. But more so, I’m referring to the fact that pitching was not a strength for Twins pitchers on Wednesday. The Twins gave up a ton of runs. And the affiliates gave up a bunch of runs too. Here are the records of the Twins and their six affiliates through games on Wednesday. Minnesota Twins: 54-50 St. Paul Saints: 57-40 Wichita Wind Surge: 37-54 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 57-35 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-47 FCL Twins: 16-19 DSL Twins: 8-26 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins optioned RHP Oliver Ortega and recalled Josh Winder. The Saints activated catcher Mark Kolozsvary from the Developmental List. Infielder Dalton Shuffield was activated from the Fort Myers Injured List and assigned to Cedar Rapids. Following their Wednesday afternoon game, the Twins made a trade. They sent RHP Jorge Lopez to the Miami Marlins in exchange for RH RP Dylan Floro . SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Toledo 7 Box Score Brent Headrick made the start in this game. He gave up three runs in the top of the first inning and another in the third. In total, he gave up four runs on three hits. All three hits were home runs. He also walked four batters and struck out two. Patrick Murphy came on and gave up one run on five hits and a walk over 2 1/3 innings. He struck out two batters. Austin Brice got four outs, all on strikeouts. Ronny Henriquez got four outs, but he gave up two runs on two hits and a walk. The Saints found themselves down 4-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning. In that inning, Andrew Stevenson, Jorge Polanco, and Kyle Garlick singled, the third driving in the inning’s first run. Next, Chris Williams doubled to score two more runs. After two outs, Williams scored on an Anthony Prato single to give the Saints a 5-4 lead. However, the Mudhens tied it in the top of the seventh inning. The bottom of the seventh inning started with walks to Alex De Goti and Andrew Stevenson. Jorge Polanco singled to load the bases. Kyle Garlick followed with a grand slam to give the Saints a 9-5 lead. Tyler Nevin hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth. Henriquez then hit a batter and gave up a double to put runners on second and third base. However, a hard-hit line drive was caught in center field by Mark Contreras to end the game. Garlick went 3-for-4 with five RBI. He hit his 11th double and 10th home run. Stevenson went 3-for-4 with a walk and his 17th double. Polanco has two hits in five at-bats. Anthony Prato was 2-for-4. He also stole his eighth base. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Frisco 19 Box Score With winds blowing out early in the game, runs piled up quickly. And they just kept piling up, higher, and higher, and high… you get the picture. In the top of the first inning, David Festa gave up a two-run homer to Thomas Saggese. The bottom of the first started with singles from Brooks Lee and DaShawn Keirsey, the latter driving in the former to put the Wind Surge on the scoreboard. Two batters later, the second run scored on a Patrick Winkel sacrifice fly. Then Jake Rucker connected for his seventh homer of the season to give the Surge a 3-2 lead after one frame. Unfortunately, the second inning didn’t go well for Festa at all. He gave up a grand slam to Evan Carter. Wind may have been a factor, but two walks before it didn’t help either. Things went quiet in the bottom of the second and the top of the third. But in the bottom of the third, Keirsey hit his 13th homer of the year and cut the deficit to 6-4. Festa went just 2 2/3 innings and was charged with six runs on seven hits and two walks. He had four strikeouts and all six runs came on the two homers he allowed. Hunter McMahon was next up for the Wind Surge. He was charged with five runs (4 earned) on four hits and a walk. Isaac Mattson gave up an unearned run over 1 1/3 innings. Taylor Floyd tossed three scoreless innings. Things had kind of settled down. In the ninth, catcher David Banuelos came on to pitch. It didn’t go well. He gave up seven runs on six hits and a walk. Four of the hits were home runs. He got just two outs. Will Holland got the third out. The top two batters in the Wind Surge lineup provided most of the offense. Brooks Lee went 4-for-6 with three runs scored. He hit his 11th home run of the season, a two-run blast, in the ninth inning. DaShawn Keirsey went 5-for-6 with three runs scored. He hit his fifth triple and the 13th home run of his season in the game. Third-place hitter, Yunior Severino, became the first player in the Twins organization to his 20 home runs this season. Holland went 2-for-4 with a walk and his ninth double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Wisconsin 8 Box Score Speaking of strong first innings, the Kernels jumped on the Timber Rattlers with a six-run top of the first inning. With one out, Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario walked before Jorel Ortega hit an infield single to load the bases. Misael Urbina walked in a run. Next, Andrew Cossetti cleared the bases with his 10th double since joining the Kernels. Following a strikeout, there was a pitching change. Jeferson Morales welcomed Miguel Guerrero with a two-run homer to make it 6-0. In the top of the second, Emmanuel Rodriguez lined to right field, but an error allowed him to reach third base. Kala’i Rosario drove him in with a sacrifice fly to make it 7-0. With C.J. Culpepper on the mound, one could think that would be enough run support. However, with some really rough defense in the bottom of the second inning, Wisconsin scored five runs, and just one of them was earned. There were two Catcher’s Interference calls, and one what could have been a double play, a throwing error meant three additional runs scored. CJ Culpepper’s day ended after just 1 1/3 innings. He gave up five runs (1 earned) on four hits and two walks. Matthew Swain came in and gave up a run on two hits over 1 2/3 innings. Alejandro Hidalgo came in to start the fourth inning. He gave up one run on two hits over 2 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out four batters. Niklas Rimmel walked three batters but gave up no runs on no hits over the next 1 2/3 innings. John Wilson gave up one run on one hit, one walk and one hit batter in the eighth inning to take the loss. Andrew Cossetti led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his 10th double and three RBI. Jorel Ortega went 2-for-4 and was hit by a pitch. Kala’i Rosario and Emmanuel Rodriguez each walked twice. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 7, Palm Beach 5 (10 innings) Box Score Through four innings in this game, the score was just 1-1. However, in the top of the fifth frame, Palm Beach scored three runs. Things stayed quiet until the bottom of the ninth. Down 4-1, Kyle Schmidt was hit by a pitch to lead off the ninth. Yohander Martinez ran for him. With one out, Alec Sayre reached on an error. Then Gregory Duran ripped a double down the right field line to score two runs. He went to third on a throwing error. Maddux Houston lifted a ball to center field, deep enough to drive in Duran and tie the game. Unfortunately, Palm Beach scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning. Jose Olivares started for the Mussels. In 4 2/3 innings, he gave up four runs on six hits and a walk. He had five strikeouts. Ricardo Velez came on and gave up just one hit over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. Wilker Reyes came in and put zeros on the board in the eighth and ninth. He started the 10th inning but gave up two runs (1 earned, the other the Manfred Man) on two hits and a walk. Gabriel Yanez came on and allowed an inherited runner to score and one more run on three hits before getting the three outs in the 10th inning. The Mussels scored one run on a passed ball in the bottom of the 10th, but that was it as they fell 7-5 in this game. Gregory Duran went 2-for-4 with his ninth double and three RBI. Kyle Schmidt went 2-for-3 with his fourth double and was hit by a pitch. Ricardo Olivar added his 18th double. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins, DSL Reds The DSL Twins were supposed to be making up a game that was supposed to be played two weeks ago. It was again postponed due to weather. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Co-Hitter of the Day – DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. (Wichita) - 5-for-6, 3B(5), HR(13) 3 R, 2 RBI, K. Pitcher of the Day – Taylor Floyd (Wichita) - 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 4-for-6, HR(11), 3 R, 2 RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, 2 BB, 2 R, RBI, K. #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 2-for-4, 2-HR(4), 2 RBI, K #7 - David Festa (Wichita) - 2 2/3 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 64 pitches, 37 strikes (57.8%) #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, K, 32 pitches, 19 strikes (59.4%) #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, R, RBI, SF, K #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-5, BB, HR(20), R, 2 RBI, K, CS(4) #19 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 2 K (3 HR), 72 pitches, 43 strikes (59.7%) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (3-5, 6.18 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Pierson Ohl (1-3, 4.89 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-1,5.02 ERA) vs rehabbing Brandon Woodruff Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - LHP Jarret Whorff (2-1, 2.54 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Braves (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Dodgers @ DSL Twins(10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! 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Looking at the return, seems like a package of maybe Josh Winder and Austin Schulfer?

The Red Sox aren't going anywhere this season. On Tuesday afternoon, reports came out that Boston has traded the veteran SS/2B/CF to the Dodgers. At this time, there was no mention of what the return would be. It won't be much. Hernandez has a sub-.300 OBP. I do admit that I was starting to wonder if the Twins might have interest in Hernandez. While players like Dylan Carlson would have more upside, and he's got multiple years of pre-free agency remaining, so the price would be high. Hernandez, a native of Puerto Rico, might fit well with the Twins with his ability to play several positions. Is he better than Willi Castro? Honestly, he may not be. Are there other similar players that might be available at the deadline? Update: The Red Sox receive: RHP Nick Robertson and RHP Justin Hagenman. Robertson just turned 25. He is on their 40 man roster. He was a 7th round pick in 2019. Made his MLB debut on June 7. He pitched 10 1/3 innings over nine games. He has a 6.10 ERA, a 2.03 WHIP. Four walks, 13 strikeouts. In 27 Triple-A games, he has a 2.54 ERA and a 0.99 WHIP in 28 1/3 innings. Nine walks, 42 strikeouts. Hagenman is 26, a 23rd round pick in 2018 out of Penn State. In 25 games (5 games) this season, he is 4-0 with a 2.78 ERA. In 55 innings, he has given up 48 hits, walked 11 and struck out 60 batters. View full rumor

Only the two short-season affiliates played games on Monday, but we have pitching probables, a bunch of transactions, and our encouragement to get out to a minor-league ballpark and see the Twins affiliates this week if you are able to. As we jump into another week of six-game series, here are the records of the six Twins affiliates through games on Monday. St. Paul Saints: 55-40 Wichita Wind Surge: 37-52 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 56-34 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 45-45 FCL Twins: 16-18 DSL Twins: 8-25 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Byron Buxton was placed in the paternity list on Monday. Trevor Larnach was called up from St. Paul to take Buxton’s roster spot. LHP Jaylen Nowlin was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Double-A Wichita. RHP Andrew Morris was promoted from Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids. Catcher Nate Baez, a 2022 draft pick, began his rehab assignment. His season has been altered by a broken hamate bone. OF Argenis Jimenez was released by the Twins. He had been on the FCL Twins roster. RHP Alejandro Crisostomo was assigned to the DSL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL Weekly Matchup - St. Paul, Toledo The Saints will be hosting the Detroit Tigers Triple-A affiliate, the Toledo Mudhens this week at CHS Field. Tuesday: RHP Louie Varland Wednesday: LHP Brent Headrick Thursday: RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Friday: LHP Dallas Keuchel Saturday: RHP Randy Dobnak Sunday: RHP Louie Varland Tuesday they will be celebrating Christmas in July (sponsored by Hamline University). Wednesday is Play Hooky Day, with a 1:07 game time! Cory Cove, Chris Hawkey and “Meatsauce” Paul Lambert from the Power Trip Morning Show on KFAN will be there. Thursday is Irish Night (presented by Cub). Friday night will have Fireworks (sponsored by Xcel Energy) with music from bands that are no longer together, and everyone in attendance will get an LED light bulb when they leave the ballpark! Saturday will be Hottest Day of the Year (presented by the Minnesota Corn Growers Association). Did you know that the highest temperature recorded in Minnesota history is 114.5 degrees? The Saints are celebrating and the first 2,000 fans will receive a blanket! Sunday is Copa de la Diversion dia numero dos (presented by Corona Hard Seltzer. This is the second of three nights that the Saints will celebrate the state’s Latino history. The “Saints” will become the “Santos de San Pablo” and wear specialty uniforms. If you’re able to, head over to CHS Field this week. Watch the Saints and have a lot of fun. Check out SaintsBaseball.com for more information and tickets. WIND SURGE WISDOM Weekly Matchup - Wichita, Frisco Tuesday: RHP Chad Donato Wednesday: RHP David Festa Thursday: RHP Pierson Ohl Friday: RHPs Marco Raya and Travis Adams piggyback Saturday: TBD (could this be the Double-A debut of Jaylen Nowlin?) Sunday: RHP Carlos Luna KERNELS NUGGETS Weekly Matchup - Cedar Rapids, Wisconsin For those interested, and able, you can head over to Appleton, Wisconsin, to check out the Kernels this week. You can also get us scouting reports on Brewers prospects for Brewer Fanatic. Tuesday: RHP Cory Lewis Wednesday: RHP C.J. Culpepper Thursday: RHP Zebby Matthews Friday: RHP Kyle Jones Saturday: LHP Christian MacLeod Sunday: RHP Andrew Morris With the addition of Andrew Morris, the Twins 2022 draft class is well represented in the Kernels starting rotation. RHP Kyle Jones (7th round) RHP Zebby Matthews (8th round) RHP Cory Lewis (9th round) RHP C.J. Culpepper (13th round) RHP Andrew Morris (4th round) LHP Connor Prielipp (2nd round) - Unfortunately, he is back on the Injured List. In addition, fellow 2022 draft picks infielders Ben Ross (5th round) and Jorel Ortega (6th round), and catcher Andrew Cossetti (11th round) are with the Kernels. Obviously first-round pick Brooks Lee has been in Double-A Wichita all season, but Competitive Balance pick Tanner Schobel was just promoted to Double-A as well. The lefty in the rotation is 2021 fifth-round pick Christian MacLeod. He missed the full 2022 season after having Tommy John and has done a nice job in his return. MUSSEL MATTERS Weekly Matchup: Fort Myers, Palm Beach Tuesday: RHP Miguelangel Boadas Wednesday: RHP Jose Olivares Thursday: LHP Jarret Whorff Friday: RHP Juan Mercedes Saturday: RHP Ben Ethridge Sunday: TBD COMPLEX THOUGHTS from FLORIDA FCL Twins 6, FCL Pirates 5 Box Score The Twins fell behind early but had just enough two-run innings to pull out a win in the end. Lefty Cesar Lares started and gave up four first-inning runs. However, he settled in and gave the team five innings. Overall, he gave up five runs (four earned) on three hits (two homers) and a walk. He notched eight strikeouts. Jacob Wosinski came in and struck out three batters over two perfect innings. Yon Landaeta gave up a hit and walked two over the final two innings, but he allowed no runs to score and struck out three batters. Already down four runs when they came to the plate in the bottom of the first, the Twins responded with two runs. A rehabbing Dalton Shuffield led off with a walk. Next up was another rehabber. 2022 draft pick Nate Baez has been out all season. This was his first game, and in his first at-bat, he drilled a double that sent Shuffield to third base. Yasser Mercedes walked to load the bases. Shuffield scored the first run on a wild pitch. Two batters later, Baez scored on a Byron Chourio ground out. The Twins tied the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Isaac Pena scored on a Daniel Pena sacrifice fly. Later, Endy Rodriguez scored on a passed ball. They fell behind 5-4 in the top of the fifth, but as you know, that was all the team allowed. In the bottom of the eighth, the Twins had their third and final two-run inning to take the lead. Again, the runs scored weren’t anything exciting, but they count just the same. They tied the game when Daniel Pena knocked in Byron Chourio with his second sacrifice fly of the game. Then Jankel Ortiz gave the team the lead on a sacrifice fly that drove in Isaac Pena. Dalton Shuffield led off and played second base. He went 1-for-3 with two walks. Nate Baez batted second and played behind the plate the first seven innings. The Twins had just four hits, but they were patient and took 10 walks in the game. Byron Chourio went 1-for-3 with a walk and his second double. Endy Rodriguez hit his fourth double and walked twice. Isaac Pena and Yasser Mercedes each walked twice. COMPLEX THOUGHTS from BOCA CHICA DSL Twins 10, DSL Braves 9 Box Score While the FCL Twins fought back to grab a one-run win in the late innings, the DSL Twins jumped out to a big lead in the middle innings and held on for a one-run win. After two innings, the score was tied 1-1. After four innings, they were tied 4-4. The Twins responded with a four-run fifth inning and two more in the sixth frame to take a 10-5 lead. The Braves fought back with two in the eight and two more in the ninth, but ultimately, the Twins finished out a 10-9 win. Yilber Herrera provided several key hits for the Twins. He drove in a run in the second inning with a double. In the third frame, he drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. In the fifth inning, his 10th double of the season drove in two more runs and gave the Twins a 6-5 lead in the fifth. Later that inning, he scored on a balk. In the game, he went 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBI. Moises Lopez went 4-for-4 at the plate (and was hit by a pitch) with three runs scored. He had two stolen bases. In the third inning, he had a two-run single. Jayson Bass went 2-for-3, was hit by a pitch, and scored twice. Ewing Matos went 2-for-3 as well. Dameury Pena went 2-for-3 with a walk and his eighth double> He also stole his ninth base.. Ariel Castro went 1-for-4 with his second triple. The pitching side of the ledger wasn’t quite as impressive in this game. Miguel Cordero started and gave up three runs (2 earned) on four hits and two walks. In three innings, he had four strikeouts. Jose Vasquez gave up two runs on one hit and three walks over two innings. Luis Rincon walked one and struck one batter out in a scoreless sixth inning. Alejandro Crisostomo made his Twins debut. He pitched a scoreless seventh inning. He left the game with two runners on in the eighth. Jose Ojo came in and allowed both inherited runners to score. He then gave up two runs of his own in the ninth but got the 27th out on a strikeout with the tying run standing at third base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Co-Hitter of the Day – Yilber Herrera (DSL Twins) - 3-for-4, 2-2B(10), 1 R, 4 RBI. Co-Hitter of the Day – Moises Lopez (DSL Twins) - 4-for-4, HBP, 3 R, 2 RBI, 2 SB(5). Pitcher of the Day – Jacob Wosinski (FCL Twins) - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, BB,K. E(5) #11 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL Twins) - 0-for-2, 2 BB. #15 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K. #20 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL Twins) - 0-for-4 TUESDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland (3-1, 3.81 ERA) Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (1-5, 8.59 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis (3-0, 2.20 ERA) vs Minnesota native Nate Peterson, making his first High-A start. Palm Beach @ Fort Myers (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Miguelangel Boadas (0-2, 7.56 ERA) FCL Braves @ FCL Twins (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Twins @ DSL Mariners (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Atlanta's bullpen has been solid much of the season, but they are looking to bolster it with a couple of fairly minor moves on Monday. Do these moves tell us anything about the trade market for relievers? They received RHP Pierce Johnson from the Rockies in exchange for RHPs Victor Vodnik and Tanner Gordon. Johnson was terrible after being named the Rockies closer, but he's been pretty solid since moving out of that role. He was good for a few years in San Diego previously. The cost? A Double-A reliever (Vodnik) and a AA/AAA starter (Gordon). Vodnik is 23 and has 25 walks and 56 strikeouts in 40 2/3 innings at AA. Gordon is 25 and has split the season between AA and AAA. At AA, he's 4-5 with a 4.61 ERA. He has 15 walks to go with 55 strikeouts in 56 2/3 innings. In 6 games (5 starts) in AAA, he's 1-4 with a 8.28 ERA. He has 10 walks and 21 strikeouts in 29 1/3 innings. In the second deal, the Braves acquired lefty Taylor Hearn (former Twins draft pick) from the Texas Rangers in exchange for cash considerations. Hearn is 28 and was in his 5th season with the Rangers. He has just four appearances with Texas this year and has been pitching at Triple-A. He has shown some glimpses at times of some pretty good stuff, but he's walked over 4 batters per nine innings in his career. This comes the day after the Braves claimed RHP Yonny Chirinos off of waivers from the Rays. He's been a starter and a reliever for Tampa this season and can be solid. These are both pretty minor deals, but it shows that teams are looking to create depth on the mound and in the bullpen. What does this mean for the Twins? Probably nothing, but who knows? Dereck Rodriguez was DFAd by Atlanta to make room for Hearn, so they could bring him back again. I think the return on Johnson is more indicative of what the Twins might be willing to give up for a decent set up man. The Hearn deal just says that there are some intriguing arms out there who have had their flaws that you can try to get for little and then have depth. View full rumor

Will be adding Mac Horvath, Max Carlson and Seth Halvorsen. All three were draft this year and have now signed. Keep adding to this list.

Hardy was just hurt most of the season.

In the beginning of the Cardinals' deadline dealings, they began with Genesis Cabrera's exodus to Toronto.

100% When I'm looking at minor leaguers and prospect rankings and such, one of the first things I look at is doubles... Doubles can turn into homers, and if not, doubles are still a good thing.

Wait for Lewis to return, i assume. Lee has had a good week since returning from the All Star break. Before that, he was very solid, but not knocking at the Triple-A door. Certainly not the big-league door. This week, he's hit for more power, so at this point, seems he could move up to AAA anytime.

It wasn't easy, but the Twins got some big performances and found a way to another win in Seattle. Image courtesy of Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Kenta Maeda - 6.1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 9 K (80 pitches, 56 strikes (70.0%)) Home Runs: Edouard Julien (9), Max Kepler (14), Alex Kirilloff (7) Top 3 WPA: Max Kepler (0.355), Kenta Maeda (0.231), Edouard Julien (0.191) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) In Game 3 of their four-game series against the Mariners, the Twins found themselves in a highly-competitive game again. They got a fantastic start and added some power in the second half of the game to take back the lead and add on after losing their initial lead. Jhoan Duran thing made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning, but finished the job to secure another Twins win. King Kenta Kenta Maeda was very good in his first three starts after missing two months on the Injured List. His most recent start in Oakland was more of a struggle. He gave up three runs on four hits and four walks in just three innings. He added six strikeouts, so as you would expect, he used a lot of pitches. He needed 80 pitches to get through those three innings. On Wednesday in Seattle, he also threw 80 pitches, but this time he was much more efficient and in control of the game. He recorded an out in the seventh inning before leaving the game after giving up his third hit of the game. He was efficient, and yet he mixed and matched pitches and got tremendous movement on his pitches so he was able to record nine strikeouts. King Julien Edouard Julien is absolutely on fire right now. And he's doing so in the manner that we have seen him do it the last two seasons in the minor leagues. He has shown a fantastic eye at the plate. In the first inning, he worked a walk after falling behind in the count. And that is against Mariners All-Star Luis Castillo who came into the game with no walks in his past three starts and just one walk in his previous 25 innings. And Castillo was very good in this game. He struck out a season-high 11 batters which is also the most he has had in a game since joining the Mariners about this time last year. In his second plate appearance, Julien lined a single to right field (99.8 mph). And in his third plate appearance, he crushed a ball 415 feet. It left the bat at 107.8 mph. He came to the plate one more time and worked another walk after falling behind. In his past seven games, he has gone 15-for-23 with three doubles and three home runs. He has three walks to go with three strikeouts. In that time, he has raised his slash line from .256/.340/.464 (.804) - which is very solid - to .318/.394/.574 (.968). Mighty Max Speaking of players that have been really good of late, Max Kepler continues to hit well and provide power when needed. In this game, he had two hits including his 14th home run of the season. He had a little bit of a resurgence before the All-Star break but then went through another slump. However, he has returned from the break and been really good. He has hits in all six games on this West Coast trip. In this series against the Mariners, he is 6-for-13 with two doubles, two homers, and six RBI. The Correa Catch He's been hitting well, but in this game, Carlos Correa was 0-for-5. However, his defense at shortstop is tremendous. He seemingly makes all the routine plays, and every once in a while, we get to see this: Anti-Jacks Jax Allows First Homer of Season Griffin Jax came into the game with a runner on base and one out in the seventh inning. Maeda got one out in the inning but then gave up a single and was removed from the game. It marked the 42nd time that Jax had come into a game this season. He had not yet allowed a home run, so of course, the powerful Eugenio Suarez took a hanging slider and crushed it into the stands in left center field to tie the game. As Trevor Plouffe said in the booth, "That's baseball." How good has Jax been? Before giving up the homer to Suarez, he had not given up a run (earned or unearned) since May 23 when he gave up two unearned runs against the Giants. Since last giving up an earned run (May 19), he had worked in 19 1/3 innings over 20 appearances. He had just one walk to go with 18 strikeouts. Batters hit just .097/.111/.097 (.208) against him. The last homer that Jax allowed was on September 7, 2022, in Yankees Stadium. That was a two-run homer by Gleyber Torres in the sixth inning. You may recall, he entered the game following the MLB debut of Louie Varland. Now Griffin Jax can start a new streak. Pagan Dominates the Eighth I know how much Twins fans like to see Emilio Pagan come into late-and-close situations, but that's exactly what happened. He responded with a dominant eighth inning to hold a one-run lead. This was his 38th appearance of the season, and he has given up zero runs in 31 of those outings. Four times, he has given up one run. And yes, he has given up three or more runs in three games (three runs twice, and six runs once). K is for Kirilloff… Then Klutch Clinging to a one-run lead going into the ninth inning, Alex Kirilloff came to the plate. Strangely, the Mariners turned to Devin Sweet who made his major-league debut. With a runner on base, Kirilloff came into the ninth inning 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, one would think that Kirilloff would just want to put the ball in play to avoid a fifth strikeout in the game. Instead, he took two fastballs outside to get ahead 2-0 in the count. He then swung at a curveball that dropped just below the strike zone. He saw that curveball again, but this time it stayed above the knees and on the outer part of the plate. He swung and crushed another opposite field homer. He hit it 104.3 mph. Now that is a good way to end a four-strikeout game. And it proved to be important when Jhoan Duran started the bottom of the ninth inning with the first two batters reaching base. A three-run lead is much better than a one-run lead. Like others mentioned above, Alex Kirilloff has been hitting well on this road trip. He has hits in each of his past four games. In those games, he is 8-for-17 with a double, a triple, three homer runs and nine RBI. That's incredible even with the six strikeouts in that time too. In four games, Kirilloff has raised his slash line from .267/.368/.386 (.754) to .285/.377/.456 (.833). And it's so encouraging because he had gone a month without a home run before this road trip. Duran Makes Things Interesting Jhoan Duran recorded three saves in three days in Oakland. Fortunately, the team has been able to avoid using him in the first two games in Seattle. However, with a three-run lead, they put him into another save situation. If we're being honest, Duran almost looked a little sluggish early. His first three pitches where 99 mph "splitters." J.P. Crawford reached on an error, and then on an 0-2 pitch, Duran hit Julio Rodriguez with a fastball at 102.7. It's almost as if his closer mentality turned on right then and there. Over the final three batters faced, Duran threw nine more four-seam fastballs, and not one of them was as "slow" as that 102.7 mph pitch to Rodriguez. In the outing, he threw 11 four-seamers. The average was 103.6 mph. The 'slowest' was 102.7 mph, and he topped out at 104.8 mph. Nine of the 11 were at 103.0 or greater. Four pitches were at 104.0 or faster. Notes Old Friend Alert: Along with calling up Devin Sweet, the Mariners also recalled right-handed pitcher Prelander Berroa before the game. Both made the flight from Arkansas to Seattle. Both are making the jump from Double-A to the big leagues. Are you looking at that name, and just wondering where you've seen it before? That's because the 23-year-old Dominican signed with the Twins as a 16-year-old in 2016. At the trade deadline in 2019, Berroa was playing with the rookie-league Elizabethton Twins. He was sent to the Giants along with Kai-Wei Teng and Jaylin Davis in exchange for the infamous Sam Dyson. Berroa was traded to Seattle last May. He touches 100 mph with a fastball and now that he's a reliever, he's developed a very good slider. In 46 innings for Arkansas this spring, he has a 2.93 ERA and 69 strikeouts... but also 31 walks. In case you are wondering, Teng made 12 Double-A starts and has made four Triple-A starts in the Giants organization this year. In 68 1/3 innings, he has 89 strikeouts to go with 35 walks and 13 hit batters. Davis played in 26 games for the Giants between 2019 and 2021. He played in 12 games for the Red Sox in 2022. The 29-year-old has 13 doubles and 13 home runs in 74 games for the Mets Triple-A affiliate in Syracuse. My Oh Why postgame podcast. Chris Crawford has been a part of the baseball blogosphere for a long time, yes, even longer than me. Interesting to get the Mariners' fan's perspective on the game. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will finish their four-game series in Seattle on Thursday afternoon (2:40 pm central time). In an All Star matchup, the Twins will send former Mariner Pablo Lopez to the mound to face the Mariners’ George Kirby. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Durán 12 18 0 0 20 50 Ortega 19 0 27 0 0 46 Pagán 0 12 0 8 11 31 J. López 0 18 10 0 0 28 Jax 6 0 0 0 15 21 Sands 0 0 0 17 0 17 Balazovic 0 0 0 15 0 15 Morán 13 0 0 0 0 13 Updated Standings View full article

We have an updated Top 20 Twins Prospects rankings now available, and several from that list had big games. Check out all that happened in the Twins farm system on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (photo of Tanner Schobel) Before we start talking about Wednesday's games, here are the updated records for the Twins six affiliates. St. Paul Saints: 54-37 Wichita Wind Surge: 35-50 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 52-34 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 42-44 FCL Twins: 14-15 DSL Twins: 7-23 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS It’s unusual, but there were no transactions in the organization on Wednesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Omaha 4 Box Score The Saints scored in four of the first five innings, but the four-run fifth inning is what made this a rather relaxed win. Let’s start with the pitching though. Louie Varland was back on the mound to start this one. The St. Paul native gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He had three strikes and did not issue a walk. Aaron Sanchez tossed two scoreless innings before giving up a two-run homer in the ninth. But he earned the three-inning save. The Saints got a run in the first inning on a Chris Williams double. In the second, Austin Martin walked with the bases loaded to give the team a 2-0 lead. In the fourth inning, it was a double by Andrew Stevenson that scored Ernie Yake. Then came the fifth inning. With a 3-1 lead, Mark Contreras ripped a two-run homer. It was his ninth blast of the year. Incredibly, Austin Martin had another bases-loaded walk which was followed by a wild pitch to score Alex De Goti. The 7-1 lead was a great thing. In the top of the ninth, Martin came to the plate with runners on second and third, and he added his third RBI, this time on a sacrifice fly. A couple batters later, it was Williams that had a bases loaded walk to score the Saints ninth run. Williams went 2-for-3 with two walks, a hit-by-pitch, and his ninth double. He also stole a base for the third time this year. Andrew Stevenson went 3-for-4 with his 15th double. He was also hit by a pitch twice (so was Anthony Prato). He stole his 32nd base of the year. Martin added a third walk in the game as well. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Amarillo 7 Box Score Going into the seventh inning, this game was tied at two. The Wind Surge scored three runs, but the Sod Poodles countered with four runs in the bottom of the inning. They added a single run in the bottom of the eighth inning. The Surge loaded the bases with one out in the top of the ninth, but a pop out and a ground out later, the game was complete. Brooks Lee remained hot. In this game, he went 3-for-4 with a walk, his league-leading 30th double, and his 10th home run. Tanner Schobel made his Double-A debut. His first at-bat came in the first inning with an RBI single. He went 2-for-4 in the game with two RBI. DaShawn Keirsey walked twice in the game. Chad Donato started and gave up two runs on five hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out five batters. Curtis Taylor came in and struck out the side in the sixth frame. Taylor Floyd came in to start the seventh inning. However, he gave up four runs on four hits (including a three-run homer). He got one out on a strikeout but he was replaced by Hunter McMahon who got the final two outs of the seventh and pitched the eighth inning as well. He was charged with a run on two hits and a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Peoria 6 Box Score Let’s start at the end. This was a back-and-forth game, but as the Kernels came in to bat in the bottom of the ninth inning, they were down by a score of 6-5 to Peoria. Mikey Perez led off the inning with a walk and with one out advanced to second on a wild pitch. Noah Miller then walked. That brought up Emmanuel Rodriguez who put together a picturesque swing and drilled a liner over the shortstop and into the left-center field gap. Perez scored the tying run, and Miller advanced to third. Rodriguez dove headfirst into second with a double. That brought Kala’i Rosario to the plate. He got jammed on a fastball, but because the infield was in, it dropped just beyond the second baseman which allowed Miller to score the game-winning run. And then the Kernels rejoiced. The Kernels got things going on the scoreboard in the second inning on a strange play. With the bases loaded, Andrew Cossetti drilled a single to left field. Jorel Ortega scored. Noah Cardenas scored on an error by the left fielder. Then when the pitcher backed up the ball, he made a throw that went quite errant and allowed Cossetti to score as well. A Little League Home Run! Cory Lewis made the afternoon start for the Kernels. The righty gave up three runs on three hits and two walks over five innings. He had two strikeouts. Mike Paredes came on and worked the next three innings. He was charged with three runs (2 earned) on three hits. He had five strikeouts without any walks. John Stankiewicz tossed a scoreless top of the ninth inning to take the Win. Rodriguez went 2-for-3 with two walks and the clutch double, his sixth of the year. Cossetti went 1-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Bradenton 9 Box Score The Mighty Mussels took advantage of some wildness early in the game to grab a 4-0 lead after one-and-a-half innings. Unfortunately Ft. Myers was equally - ok, even more - wild as the Marauders. Miguelangel Boadas started and gave up three runs on two hits, four walks, and two hit batters in just 2 1/3 innings. Of the seven outs he recorded, five of them came on strikeouts. Samuel Perez came in and stranded an inherited runner. He worked two innings and was charged with three unearned runs on just one hit and one walk. Danny Moreno came in with two runners on and both scored. He gave up another run of his own before getting the final two outs of the fifth inning. Gabriel Yanez came in and gave up a solar homer over his 1 2/3 innings of work. Develson Aria got the final four outs, but not before he gave up one more run. Perez, Moreno and Aria each hit a batter as well. Ricardo Olivar was the team’s leadoff hitter. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and his 16th double of the season. Yohander Martinez went 2-for-2 with two walks in the game. Danny De Andrade went 2-for-5. Dylan Neuse drove in two runs on his 10th double of the year. Carson McCusker walked three times, including once with the bases loaded. Rubel Cespedes walked twice, also once with the bases loaded. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Hitters of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(30), HR(10), 3 R, RBI. Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K. 95 pitches, 65 strikes (68.4%) PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Note - Our Top 20 Prospect Rankings have been updated. Click the above link to see who moved up or down, and where the 2023 draft picks slot in.) #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(30), HR(10), 3 R, RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for3, 2 BB, 2B(6), RBI. #5 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-2, BB, K. #8 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 0-for-2, 3 BB, 3 RBI, SF #10 - Tanner Schobel (Wichita) - 2-for-4, HBP, 2 RBI #16 - Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, K, GW RBI #17 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-5, RBI, 2 K. E(11) THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Omaha (7:05 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (3-1, 3.81 ERA) Wichita @ Amarillo (7:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.03 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Jose Olivares (2-3, 6.71 ERA) FCL Twins @ FCL Pirates (11:00 AM CST) - TBD DSL Giants Black @ DSL Twins (10:00 AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games or any other Twins minor league topics! View full article

Walker JenkinsBrooks LeeEmmanuel RodriguezMarco RayaCharlee SotoMatt WallnerAustin MartinDavid FestaYasser MercedesDanny De AndradeKala'i RosarioYunior SeverinoBrandon WinokurTanner SchobelBrent HeadrickMatt CanterinoJose SalasConnor PrielippBen RossJose Rodriguez I have Dylan Questad at #18 and he wasn't available on the list. This is a very cool tool. I really enjoy it. I think Tanner Hall is the only other one in my Top 30.

I'm not sure that's even possible. That is an example of a trade for now, understanding the Petty has a big upside and could be great in a few years. The reality is the Gray has been good for the most part. He deserved being an All Star this year. He did his part. How the Twins do in a season or in the 80% of games that Gray doesn't pitch in have to be a factor.

They wouldn't have drafted them if they didn't know they could sign him. Especially Soto. No question that they had an agreement before they picked him.

Added RHP Dylan Tebrake. 8th round pick in 2022 out of Creighton (senior sign). In 26 innings at High-A this season, he has 40 strikeouts.