Seth Stohs

The Twins announced that OF Shane Robinson, LHP Aaron Thompson and C Eric Fryer have been outrighted from the Twins 40 man roster. They each can (and likely will) elect free agency. These are the first moves that the Twins have made on their 40 man roster this offseason. More to come, I'm sure.

Cretin-Derham Hall's field house is now called The Joe Mauer Field House because of his (and his wife Maddie's) philanthropic efforts.

No... I just mean it needs to show up on the front page from time to time to encourage people to write prospect rankings.

Right after I posted the above, I saw this... Mat Batts wrote a quick article about his decision for The Dispatch in Lexington.

There is a reason that Alex Meyer hasn't appeared in these reports yet.

I don't know the whole story. I do know that minor leaguers basically lose money to play, especially in those early years. He got a very nice job, near his home, in the field that he wants to cover. He's getting married and maybe just realizes the odds of him reaching the big leagues are very small (like most minor leaguers)... maybe he thought this was the right opportunity at the right time. And, there is life beyond baseball for a lot of people. Batts is a very smart guy and he'll be alright.

I like this thread. We need to keep moving it up from time to time to encourage people to post theirs.

Except he throws about 5-7 mph faster than Young. It's why we should never 'give up' on anyone because of age, height, velocity, etc. You just never know which pitchers will take off and succeed. Chris Young is a back-of-the-rotation type and has been for a long time.

Berardino and Hunter got over it within about 15 minutes... So can we... not a big deal.

A quick reminder of the Twins Daily award winners: MVP - Brian Dozier Best Pitcher - Kyle Gibson Top Rookie - Miguel Sano Most Improved - Aaron Hicks

Correct... and hopefully when we get to our Top 5, we'll see some of you post Blogs showing your Top 30, Top 40, Top 50, Top 150... will be fun to discuss those as well.

The Twins this morning announced their 2015 Award winners, voted on by the Twin Cities chapter of the BBWAA. Calvin Griffith (MVP) - Miguel Sano Joseph W. Haynes (Pitcher of the Year) - Kyle Gibson Charles O. Johnson (Most Improved) - Aaron Hicks Jim Kaat (Best Defensive Player) - Eddie Rosario Bill Boni (Rookie) - Miguel Sano Bob Allison (Courage, Leadership) - Torii Hunter Mike Augustin (Media Good Guy) - Torii Hunter Carl Pohlad Award (Community Service) - Brian Dozier Dick Siebert (Upper Midwest Player of Year) - Pirates LHP Tony Watson Kirby Puckett Alumni Award - Julio Becquer These awards will be presented at the Diamond Awards at Target Field on the Thursday night before Twins Fest in late January.

The combination of these two comments tells me I just might have him in about the right spot. I am a big fan of Travis Harrison's. Really good person. Very hard worker. Very smart. Still quite young. I'd like to see him repeat in Chattanooga at least the first half of 2016. I think that makes a ton of sense and would be good for his development. I definitely believe he can be a big leaguer.

I would think so. He's pretty dominant out of the bullpen.

Last week, we began my preliminary Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospect countdown with Part 1 (41-50) and Part 2 (31-40). Today the countdown continues with Part 3. We’ll run down prospects 26 through 30. This group today starts with a couple of very young, high potential bats and ends with two pitchers who are very different. Image courtesy of Seth Stohs (photo of Aaron Slegers) Last week, we began my preliminary Top 50 Minnesota Twins Prospect countdown with Part 1 (41-50) and Part 2 (31-40). Today the countdown continues with Part 3. We’ll run down prospects 26 through 30. This group today starts with a couple of very young, high potential bats and ends with two pitchers who are very different. As a quick reminder, players eligible to be on this list include players who remain eligible for Rookie of the Year voting in 2016. That is to say, hitters with less than 130 at bats and pitchers with less than 50 innings. (The list is preliminary. Following research for the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2016 - which Cody Christie, Jeremy Nygaard and I are working on - I’ll provide my final Top 30 prospects list.) Part 3: Top Prospects 26-30 #30 – Trey Cabbage - 18 – 3B – GCL Twins Cabbage was the Twins fourth-round draft pick in 2015 out of high school in Rutledge, Tennessee. He gave up a commitment to the University of Tennessee to sign with the Twins. He is a terrific athlete. At 6-3 and about 190 pounds, he is best known for his bat. He primarily played third base, but he also got time in the two corner outfield positions as well as a few games at shortstop. In his professional debut with the GCL Twins, he hit .252/.302/.269 (.571) with two doubles in 129 plate appearances. His season was cut short by a couple of weeks when he strained his back. He will likely begin the 2016 season in Extended Spring Training. Most likely he’ll play in Elizabethton, but if a need came up in Cedar Rapids, it is possible he could spend time there as well. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A #29 – Amaurys Minier - 19 – 1B – GCL Twins/Elizabethton Twins Minier signed a seven-digit signing bonus with the Twins in July of 2012. He played for the GCL Twins in 2013 and 2014, showing big improvement the second year. Hopes were high for Minier heading into this season. Unfortunately, toward the end of spring training, he was hit by a pitch and broke his hand. He rehabbed the injury throughout Extended Spring Training and played in two rehab games in the GCL. He moved up to Elizabethton, but he really struggled offensively. In 50 games, he hit .184/.279/.280 with nine doubles and two homers. He struck out 66 times in 201 plate appearances. Signed as a third baseman, he moved quickly to the outfield and when that didn’t go well, he was moved to first base. It will be interesting to see if he moves up to Cedar Rapids to start the 2016 season, or if he returns to Extended Spring Training and spends a fourth season in the rookie leagues. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2015 (22), 2014 (16) #28 – Travis Harrison - 23 – OF – Chattanooga Lookouts Harrison was the Twins second supplemental first round pick in 2011 out of high school in California. At 6-1 and 220 pounds, he is very strong. He played outfield in high school and then moved to third base for his first two seasons as a pro. In 2014, he moved back to the outfield which is where he played in 2015 (though he played left field in 2014 and right field in 2015). In 115 games with the Lookouts, he hit .240/.363/.356 (.719) with 23 doubles, four triples and five home runs. After hitting 15 homers for Cedar Rapids in 2013, he has hit just eight over the last two seasons. He has an advanced approach at the plate, and if patient, the power will come. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2015 (23), 2014 (14), 2013 (14), 2012 (12) #27 – Yorman Landa - 21 – RHP – Cedar Rapids Kernels The Twins signed Landa from Venezuela in 2010. He spent a year in the DSL, a year in the GCL, and then a year in the Appy League. He began the 2014 season with the Kernels and was named to the league’s All Star game. However, he missed the second half of the season after having shoulder surgery. He returned to the Kernels on May 19th and pitched an inning. However, he returned to Florida. A month later, he began a rehab assignment in the GCL which lasted eight games over three weeks. In mid-July he returned to the Kernels and was terrific the rest of the way. In 26 innings, he walked 14 and struck out 30 while allowing opponents to hit just .191. He was frequently hitting 98 and 99 on the radar guy. Like others, it was most important for Landa to get through the season healthy. He did and is pitching in Venezuela this winter. He should start 2016 in Ft. Myers with the Miracle. Previous Top 30 Rankings: 2014 (30) #26 – Aaron Slegers - 23 – RHP – Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts Slegers was the Big 10 Pitcher of the Year while at Indiana in 2013. The Twins made him their fifth round pick. At 6-10 and 250 pounds, the lanky right-hander has impeccable control. He ended his 2014 season with three starts with the Miracle. That’s where he began the 2015 season. In 19 starts, he was 8-6 with a 2.87 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP. In 119.1 innings, he walked just 21 and struck out 80. He earned a late-season promotion to Chattanooga where he went 1-4 with a 4.91 ERA in six starts. That’s where he’ll begin the 2016 season as well with the possibility of a promotion to Rochester at some point. He doesn’t throw real hard, but he has three pitches and a sense of how to pitch. Previous Top 30 Rankings: N/A So, what do you think of Part 3, Prospects 26-30? Later this week, we’ll continue the countdown. Feel free to share your thoughts on these prospects. Who is too high or too low on this list? View full article

This is a good opportunity for them to get 6 more weeks of playing time. Of course, the catchers will catch just twice per week over that time, and the relievers will appear in maybe 2 games per week. Taylor Rogers will start once a week. It's a very small sample so it's important not to make too much of it, but it's good exposure and opportunity. I'm guessing the Twins know where they both will start next year.

Ah semantics! :-)

I like it... And, I do believe Turner and Garver will catch in the big leagues.

Yup, when guys have had Tommy John or other major surgeries, age is less important in the rankings. When a college draft pick misses two years and is 24 in A-Ball, it's not going to affect me a lot. The hope is that, now fully recovered, they can move quickly.

Mat Batts announced his retirement this morning... So, I guess Quezada moves up, and I believe Dalton Hicks was next in line.

Moments ago, Mat Batts officially announced (Via Twitter) that he is retiring from baseball. He tweeted: I assumed that meant an offseason job, as he has been covering high school football for a newspaper in his home of North Carolina this offseason. A second tweet told more: We certainly wish him the best as well.

They have a lot of pitchers and typically relievers will work twice a week for 1, maybe 2 innings. I haven't heard anything more about those two specifically.

I've heard that as well. I know he can touch 92. I don't think he sits there yet.

At this time, we are planning on doing a weekly report for the Arizona Fall League, highlighting the individual performances. We considered doing it daily, but for instance, on Thursday afternoon, Garver was the only Twins prospect to play. We are also going to do a weekly article on the other Winter Leagues (Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Australia).