Seth Stohs

Thank you for the great report from the scene. They are always fun to read. Glad you got to see a fun game for the team and the prospects. I did meet Seth Gray's parents in Cedar Rapids early in the 2021 season. Really good people, down to earth. I've noticed that a lot with parents. They seem to be enjoying the experience, seeing their kids live out their dreams, hoping to take that dream all the way to the big leagues... They just seem to understand that their kid is very fortunate, how difficult the game can be, the ups and downs, and like all of us, love to see their kids experience success.

Three Minnesota Twins affiliates played on Wednesday. The Kernels lost an afternoon tilt. The Saints got a big inning, gave it up late, but then completed a walk-off win. The Wind Surge had a big inning, and then another, and one more on their way to a big win. Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photos of Blayne Enlow, Brooks Lee) On Wednesday afternoon, the Minnesota Twins salvaged the third game of their three-game series against the San Francisco Giants. They got another solid start from Joe Ryan, and Edouard Julien and Matt Wallner both contributed mightily to the Twins win. Fort Myers was rained out on Wednesday, but the three other affiliates played. There were some big innings. There were comebacks. There was a walkoff. There was a Quality Start. There were homers, and lots of multi-hit games. Continue on to find out what all happened. St. Paul Saints: 24-21 Wichita Wind Surge: 19-21 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 22-19 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 23-17 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS No transactions on Wednesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 6, Omaha 5 Box Score In the bottom of the second inning, the Saints put up a big five spot. Were they able to hang on to that lead? Well, Omaha scored three runs in the top of the third and another in the fourth. But as the game went into the ninth inning, the Saints still held a 5-4 lead. Before we get to that, let’s talk about that five-run second frame. Hernan Perez got the team on the board with a double to score Ryan LaMarre. Jair Camargo followed with a single that drove in Perez with the second run. Royce Lewis, who batted second and played third base, then lined a double to left field that drove in Camargo and Andrew Stevenson. Finally, Jose Miranda singled to score Lewis with the fifth run of the inning. Lefty Brent Headrick was the Saints starter. In the third inning, he gave up a three-run homer to Royals middle infield prospect Nick Loftin. He also was charged with an unearned run in the fourth inning. In all, Headrick needed 82 pitches to work through four innings. He gave up four runs (3 earned) on seven hits and two walks. He recorded three strikeouts. Josh Winder had a nice outing. He tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked three and struck out four batters. Connor Sadzeck got the next four outs, three on strikeouts while maintaining the 5-4 lead. Oliver Ortega came on and walked a batter before getting a strikeout to get the eighth inning. In the top of the ninth inning, Ortega remained on the mound. He got the first batter to line out. Then he recorded a strikeout. With two outs, Logan Porter hit a soft single. Ortega then got a ground ball, but a throwing error put runners on first and third. Unfortunately, Dairon lined an 88 mph single that tied the score at five. Ortega got the final out on a fly out. So the Saints had to take their at-bats in the bottom of the ninth. Andrew Stevenson got things started with an opposite-field single. With Andrew Bechtold batting, Stevenson stole second base, his 16th of the season. Then on a 3-2 count, Bechtold hit a ground ball that the pitcher deflected toward second base, but he beat the throw to first. With runners on first and third and nobody out, Jose Miranda stepped to the plate. Bechtold took second on Defensive Indifference before Miranda walked it off with a single to left field to give the Saints a 6-5 win. Jose Miranda went 2-for- 5 with two RBI in the game. Lewis played the first seven innings before being replaced by Bechtold. Lewis went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Stevenson went 2-for-5. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 13, Springfield 1 Box Score It was a big day for the Wind Surge offense. They had a four-run third inning. In the seventh, they had a five-run inning to increase their lead to 10-1. They added three more in the eighth inning to provide the final score. Wichita had 18 hits and four walks in the game. Eight of nine starters had at least one hit. Seven of nine had multi-hit games. Three players had three hits in the game. We will get into the specifics for the hitters, but it's always important to highlight strong pitching. Blayne Enlow was the beneficiary of the offensive explosion, but he again did his job and kept the Cardinals’ prospects at bay. Enlow started with five shutout innings. He then gave up one run in the sixth inning. He was very efficient as well. He had just one out (the final batter he faced), but he also walked no one. He needed just 76 pitches to get through six innings. When the offense had their long, five-run seventh inning, his night was over. It was his third Quality Start of the season. Following the game, Blayne Enlow told Twins Daily, “It felt great. Complete opposite of last outing with the Ks (he had 10 strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings), but I made the right pitches when I needed to and got weak contact that the defense just vacuumed up today.” Lefty Denny Bentley is back. He got five outs in this game, two on strikeouts. Alex Scherff gave up three hits and a walk over the final 1 1/3 innings, but also did not allow a run. Back to the offense. Let’s start with the big hits. In the four-run third, Anthony Prato got things started with a solo home run, his second of the season. Soon after, Yoyner Fajardo doubled in a run, and that was followed by Brooks Lee’s fourth homer of the year. Fajardo drove in Prato with a single in the fourth inning to make it 5-0. Yunior Severino got things going in the five-run seventh frame. His sixth double scored Brooks Lee. Next, Jake Rucker scored on a passed ball. DaShawn Keirsey’s seventh double (you need to see this one!) drove in two runs and the scoring for the inning was complete when Pat Winkel singled in Keirsey. Yoyner Fajardo has been incredible with the Wind Surge this season. In the eighth inning, he singled in another run. Lee followed with his 13th double. Finally, Severino hit into a double play that scored the team’s 13th and final run of the night. Fajardo, who came to the Twins organization as a minor-league Rule 5 pick this offseason, is speedy. But after his 3-for-5 night pushes his batting average to .316. The 24-year-old outfielder’s on-base percentage is up to .377. Following the game, Fajardo noted, "My thoughts for tonight were to hit (the ball to) the middle since the opposing team threw me a lot of breaking pitches the night before. I tried to think for the middle, and thank God, the results turned out well." Jake Rucker went 3-for-5. Seth Gray went 3-for-4 with a triple in the game. Brooks Lee went 2-for-4 with a walk, a double, and a home run. His batting average is now .252 with an OPS of .753. Severino went 2-for-5. Keirsey went 2-for-5. Winkel went 2-for-4 with a walk. We seem to always highlight when the Twins and their affiliates don’t do well with runners in scoring position. Well, in this game, the Wind Surge went 7-for-9 in those situations. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 4 (10 innings) Box Score The Kernels hosted an afternoon game on Wednesday. It was quite a pitchers duel and needed an extra inning to decide it. Jaylen Nowlin made the start. The southpaw was charged with one run on seven hits over five innings. He walked two and struck out five batters. Regi Grace came on and worked two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked two and struck one out. Miguel Rodriguez worked two perfect innings and struck out one batter. Niklas Rimmel came on for the top of the 10th inning. As you know, the Rattlers started the inning with a runner on second base. Rimmel got a strikeout of Robert Moore. However, Matthew Wood singled to left which advanced the runner, Eric Brown Jr., to third base. However, Rimmel got Ben Metzinger to line out for the second out of the inning. Unfortunately, Joe Gray Jr drilled a three-run homer to put Wisconsin in front 4-1. With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, Jeferson Morales singled to drive in the “Manfred Man” Andrew Cossetti to deficit to 4-2. But that was it for the Kernels and they fall to 22-19. In the game, the Kernels managed just three hits. Misael Urbina hit a solo homer leading off the second inning. Along with his 10th inning single, Morales had one of the team’s four walks. In his first High-A game, Cossetti went 0-for-4. Bonus Brewers Content (If you are a friend of the Brewers, or know people who are, be sure to send them to Brewer Fanatic.) For the Brewer Fanatic readers checking out today’s report, here are a few notes. OF Joe Gray was the Brewers second-round pick in 2018 out of high school in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In high school, he played with and against Kernels RHP Regi Grace and OF Willie Joe Garry. Alexander Cornielle gave up one run on two hits and two walks over 5 1/3 innings. Alex Hall went 2-for-3 with a walk. Matthew Wood was the Brewers fourth round pick out of Penn State last year. He had two hits in this game and is now hitting .344 with an .806 OPS in eight games since his promotion. Finally, 2022 top pick, shortstop Eric Brown Jr. was hit in the face by a pitch in late April. At the time, he was hitting .137/.267/.157 (.424) with one double in 14 games. After missing about 10 days, he returned to the lineup in early May. In 18 games since his return, he has hit .329/.429/.471 (.900) with four doubles and two homers. Overall, he has 17 walks with 22 strikeouts in 144 plate appearances. He also has 20 stolen bases and has only been caught twice. Definitely one to watch, including in this two-part Brewers Spotlight interview. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers, Dunedin (PPD-Rain) Box Score The game was postponed due to weather and field conditions in Dunedin. The teams will make up the game as part of a doubleheader on Saturday. . TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow (Wichita Wind Surge) - 6 IP, 1 R, 6 H, 0 BB, 1 K. 76 pitches, 49 strikes (62.2%). Hitter of the Day – Brooks Lee (Wichita Wind Surge) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(13), HR(4), 3 R, 3 RBI, 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) - 2-for-4, BB, 2B(13), HR(4), 3 R, 3 RBI, K, #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul-Rehab) - 2-for-4, 2B(1), R, 2 RBI, 2 K, E. (played 3B). #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, BB, K. #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 1-for-3, BB, HR(3), 2 R, 2 RBI, SF, K, E #9 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 1-for-4, 2B(1), R, RBI, SB, #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4. #15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 82 pitches, 51 strikes (62.2%) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 76 pitches, 49 strikes (64.5%) #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B(6), R, RBI, K . THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Omaha @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (2-4, 4.89 ERA) Wichita @ Springfield (7:05 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (2-2, 5.58 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones (2-2, 3.62 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

The Twins' Los Angeles swing continued on Friday night in Anaheim. Hits were difficult to come by, but Joe Ryan kept them in the game until the Twins were able to break up Reid Detmer's no-hit bid. The Twins lost for their third time in four games on the road trip. Image courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Joe Ryan: 6 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (94 pitches, 68 strikes (72.3%) Home Runs: Castro (2) Top 3 WPA: Alex Kirilloff (0.186), Kyle Farmer (0.108), Willi Castro (0.098) Bottom 3 WPA: Griffin Jax (-0.437), Trevor Larnach (-0.132), Ryan Jeffers (-0.131) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) No No-No, Mr. Detmers Lefty Reid Detmers had a no-hitter into the seventh inning. Just over a year ago, he threw a no-hitter against the Rays. Detmers was the 10th overall pick in the 2020 draft. He debuted in 2021, and he has looked really good. In this game, he showed a fastball that reached 96, a slider in the low-90s, a slow-curveball in the upper 70s, a mid-80s changeup, and probably even more pitches. He was on his game in this one, striking out 11 batters. After a walk to Carlos Correa, Byron Buxton broke up the no-hit bid. Then Kyle Farmer singled in Correa with the Twins first run. Detmer's night was done. Jimmy Herget came into the game, and the Twins countered with Alex Kirilloff. On an 0-2 pitch, Kirilloff lined a double to the right-field corner that scored Buxton and Farmer and tied the score. Willi Castro led off the top of the seventh inning with a line-drive rocket over the left field wall to give the Twins their first and only lead of the game. Ryan Express Rolls On Joe Ryan was solid. He completed six innings and was charged with three earned run. A quality start. But again, he threw over 70% strikes. He had nine strikeouts. He (with Ryan Jeffers) mixed his pitches well. And, big picture, he again gave his team a chance to win. Oh, Mickey, You're So Fine... Mickey Moniak was the first overall pick in the 2016 MLB draft out of La Costa High School in Carlsbad, California. The next year, the Twins drafted Royce Lewis with the first pick out of JSerra Catholic High School. The two played against each other quite often in their amateur days. Moniak had a big game for the Angels. He had a single, double, and a huge triple late in the game to give the Angels the lead. Since he was called up recently, he has gone 9-for-20 (.450) with now a double, triple and two homers. Your Turn My laptop already has died, so I'm not typing any more... Feel free to add in whatever you feel are the stories from this games, things our writers can look into and more. What’s Next? In Game 2 of the series, Louie Varland (1-1, 4.40) will face another tough Angels' lefty, Patrick Sandoval (3-2, 3.22). It'll be another late one with the game time at 9:07 in Minnesota (7:07 in Anaheim). Postgame Interviews (Coming Soon) Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet MON TUE WED THU FRI TOT Jax 13 11 0 0 33 57 Stewart 28 17 0 0 11 56 Morán 0 25 15 0 0 40 Pagán 18 0 14 0 0 32 De León 0 0 28 0 0 28 López 26 0 0 0 0 26 Durán 18 0 0 0 0 18 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

That is a tough question. I mean, ultimately, the goal is to add the true studs in the big league... But we've also seen that having depth and players who have experienced success and winning along the way etc. Nothing wrong with winning, but ultimately getting players ready to be big leaguers is all that matters.

The Twins lost their Wednesday afternoon contest to the Dodgers (as well as a couple of players to injury). The Saints, Wind Surge, and Kernels all lost, and they lost by a total of four runs. Worry not! The Mighty Mussels? They lost by six. Two of the Twins minor-league managers were ejected. Lots of hitters struck out. Three of the four starting pitchers struggled. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Yoyner Fajardo) As you all know, Wins and Losses are not as important in affiliated, minor-league baseball as player development. So, the fact that all four affiliates lost on Wednesday night doesn't matter at all in the big pitcher. Of course, you also like to think that part of the development process is learning how to win, and that development and improvement could lead to more Wins over time. There have been several days when all four affiliates have won. And, three of the four Twins affiliates have winning records. St. Paul Saints: 22-17 Wichita Wind Surge: 16-18 Cedar Rapids Kernels: 19-16 Fort Myers Mighty Mussels: 20-15 Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS No transactions on Wednesday. However, three Twins players left their Wednesday afternoon game in Los Angeles. Nick Gordon has a fractured shin. Jorge Polanco has a “minor” hamstring strain. And, Joey Gallo left after being hit in the foot with a foul ball. In other words, the Twins have an off day on Thursday, but expect them to make some moves before their Friday night game in Anaheim, and you'll want to watch the Saints and Wind Surge lineups on Thursday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Columbus 4 Box Score The Saints fell behind 2-0 in the second inning. Both runs were unearned after a throwing error by starter Simeon Woods Richardson. The Clippers added a third run in the third inning. The Saints scored one in the fourth and one in the sixth inning to cut the lead to just one. Columbus scored a run in the bottom of the sixth inning. So when the Saints added one more run in the top of the seventh, it only cut the deficit to one, and that is where the score remained. Woods Richardson has had a tough start to his season. In this game, he went five innings and was charged with all four runs (two earned). He gave up six hits, walked four and struck out three batters. Connor Sadzeck, who has spent big-league time with the Rangers, Mariners and Brewers, came in and allowed an inherited runner to score. However, he worked two innings and gave up just one hit. Josh Winder pitched a scoreless eighth inning. He walked one and struck out one. He also had two pitch-clock violations. On the offensive side, the Saints got two hits from Andrew Stevenson, Jose Miranda, and Mark Contreras. Contreras, Chris Williams, and Andrew Bechtold each hit a double. Elliot Soto had to leave the game in the second inning because of injury. Manager Toby Gardenhire was told to leave the game in the fifth inning by the umpire for disagreeing with the call on a double play. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 1, Arkansas 2 Box Score Carlos Luna made his sixth start of the season for the Wind Surge. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Unfortunately, the runs scored in the fifth inning on a Connor Hoover two-run home run that put Arkansas ahead 2-1. Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring in the game. Luna got one more out in the sixth inning before Alex Scherff came in to replace him. He gave up two hits, but he recorded five outs, four of them on strikeouts. Michael Boyle gave up four hits, but no runs in 1 1/3 innings. Hunter McMahon came on and walked two before getting the final two outs in the ninth. Wichita had plenty of opportunities in the game. They had nine hits and two walks, but they went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. Yoyner Fajardo continues to rake. The minor-league Rule 5 pick from the Pirates is now hitting .315 after going 2-for-4 with a walk in this game. He also stole his 13th base. Alex Isola went 2-for-4 and his fourth-inning, solo home run scored the lone run on the day. Pat Winkel had a single and a walk, and Seth Gray hit a double. As with the Saints game, the Wind Surge manager didn’t get to see the end of the game from the home-team’s dugout. He was ejected in the seventh inning for arguing a call at first base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Peoria 6 Box Score Pierson Ohl had his first tough start of the season for the Kernels. He gave up five runs (4 earned) on six hits over four innings. However, it won’t surprise you to hear that he had five strikeouts and no walks. In 30 innings this season, he now had 31 strikeouts… and just two walks. John Stankiewicz worked two scoreless innings and gave up only one hit. Malik Barrington worked 1 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on three hits and two walks. Niklas Rimmel got the final five outs, two on strikeouts. He gave up just one hit. Kala’i Rosario had two of the team’s seven hits in the game including his 10th double. Misael Urbina and Jose Salas each had a double. Kyler Fedko mashed his first home run of the season. Tanner Schobel had a single and a walk. Unfortunately, the Kernels also had 14 strikeouts in the game. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Lakeland 7 Box Score A short start with minimal offensive production is not a great means to victory in baseball at any level. The Mussels have been playing well of late, but not so much on this night. Lefty Develson Aria was on the mound to start and tossed a scoreless first inning. However, the southpaw gave up five runs on three hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Jackson Hicks came on and got out of that second inning, but he gave up two runs on two hits in the third frame. He recorded four outs, all four on strikeouts. The Mussels were down 7-0 after three innings, but if you’re looking for positives, the pitching over their final five innings was good. Danny Moreno, just added to the roster, tossed three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit, walked three, and struck out two batters. Then Juan Mendez struck out three batters over two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and one walk. Fort Myers managed just five hits in the game and walked twice. Dylan Neuse went 1-for-2 with a double and a walk. They went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left six runners on base. Fun with Statcast (Here are the reports on the four Mighty Mussels pitchers in this game. If not interested, scroll down to the Hitter and Pitcher of the Day.) Lefty Develson Aria wasn’t in the game long. He threw 47 pitches and 22 of them were four-seam fastballs. He got 12 swings on that pitch including seven whiffs. His fastball ranged between 91.4 mph and 94.2 mph. It averaged 93.2 mph. His next most-used pitch was his changeup, with 17 of them. The velocity on those pitches were between 87.9 mph and 91.1 mph with an average of 89.7. One of two things is going on there. First, it’s possible they were being recorded wrong and maybe should have been called ‘sinkers.’ However, if those were in-fact changeups, then one thing to work on is throwing that about 7-10 mph slower to keep the hitters off balance. He threw six sliders that averaged 80.3 mph. Jackson Hicks threw 23 pitchers, 14 of them were sliders. He got 12 swings on the slider including nine whiffs! The slider’s average velocity was 83.4 mph. He threw just five fastballs which averaged 90.7 mph. Danny Moreno is one of those names that we’ve seen in the Twins organization for quite some time. He signed with the Twins way back in July of 2017. He pitched in the DSL in 2018. He worked two games in the GCL in 2019 before the arm injuries started. He also pitched out of the GCL Twins’ bullpen in 2021 and 2022. Wednesday night was his first game of the year. So why keep the 23-year-old around? Well, 39 of his 57 pitches were designed as sinkers. Those pitches were clocked between 92.6 and 96.4, with an average of 94.6. He also threw some sliders, changeups and a slower curveball. Finally, Juan Mendez came in. Of his 36 pitches, 16 were four-seam fastballs, and 14 were sliders. Those fastballs were thrown between 95.1 mph and 98.5 mph. Three of the pitches were over 98.0 mph. He got just two whiffs on that pitch. However, he got whiffs on six of the 14 sliders he threw, especially good when he only got nine swings on it. The slider was between 81.9 and 84.4 mph. He also threw five cutters, which could have been sliders and called-out differently. The pitches act very similarly, but the velocity separation is really solid. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Danny Moreno (Fort Myers Mighty Mussels) - 3 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 2 K. 57 pitches, 30 strikes. Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (Wichita Wind Surge) - 2-for-4, HR(5), R, RBI, 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) - 0-for-4, K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul-on Rehab) - Scheduled Day Off. #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 3 K. #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 0-for-3, K #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5.0 IP, 4 R, 2 ER, 6 H, 4 BB, 3 K (87 pitches, 52 strikes) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 4 K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2B(4), R, RBI. #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4. #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, K. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES St. Paul @ Columbus (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (1-0, 5.60 ERA) vs RHP Aaron Civale. Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-1, 3.56 ERA) Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (1-3, 3.96 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CST) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (1-2, 3.09 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! View full article

That could be... but Duran, Lopez and Thielbar (when healthy), along with Jax all have pretty solid control. The top guys.

The #MNTwins, of course, have the 4th or 5th best BB/9 rate in MLB...

I'm getting old. We need to do that again, although I no longer live close by. Those were some long lunch 'hours.' Ha! And, my assumption is that's a dream, but it's a fun one.

I just can't do it. Martin's upside is just so, so much higher. Miller started out well in CR this year, but now his average (like others) is under .200 as well. I still think Miller can be solid, but Martin stil could be really good, depending on what they do with his elbow.. even that only delays him, doesn't alter his upside.

I agree on all of that... not that I necessarily followed through in my rankings. I'm still bigger on upside, which I can't claim is the best method, or not... or that there even is a best way. To be somewhat transparent, here is my top 30. 1.) Lewis, 2.) Lee, 3.) Rodriguez, 4.) Julien, 5.) Prielipp, 6.) Mercedes, 7.) Canterino, 8.) Raya, 9.) Wallner, 10.) Festa, 11.) SWR, 12.) Martin, 13.) Miller, 14.) Salas, 15.) Headrick, 16.) De Andrade, 17.) Severino, 18.) Nowlin, 19.) Rodriguez, 20.) Hidalgo, 21.) Cruz, 22.) Rosario, 23.) Balazovic, 24.) Enlow, 25.) Helman, 26.) Ross, 27.) Olivar, 28.) Keirsey, 29.) Adams, 30.) Acuna.

He was the Twins Daily Short Season Minor League Hitter of the Year last year. An impressive bat and athlete... here is that report.

But, the Twins could claim him, put him on waivers right away, hope he clears and try to work out a deal with the Dodgers to be able to keep him and send him to Triple-A. If they could pull that off, it'd be great. Varland is intriguing. He's very similar to Trevor Megill. Has incredible two-pitch mix and can be successful, but consistency and command has been a struggle. He was actually doing a nice job with the Brewers until getting hit in the head by the comebacker.

We last updated the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects in February, our preseason Top 20. Now the players are about six or seven weeks, and 30-40 games into their 2023 seasons. It was time to update the rankings. This time, we did it a little different. Find out more, and were there any big changes? Image courtesy of Katherine Ramirez, Frisco RoughRiders When Twins Daily just started about a dozen years ago, I wrote the majority of minor league content and the first few Top Prospect rankings were basically me, along with Cody Christie and Jeremy Nygaard, sharing our rankings. Since then, we have been including as many Twins Daily writers who provide minor-league content (written or video). It obviously becomes much more of consensus ranking than a more limited group. With this prospect ranking, we are adding even more data points. Here’s how it works. I worked with our minor-league staff on our prospect rankings. I asked them to provide me with their Top 30 players and with that determine the Top 20 for the writers. In addition, Brock started a forum topic, asking Twins Daily readers to provide their Top 20 rankings. After several days, he then went into those rankings and consolidated them into the forum Top 20. Take the writer rankings. Take the forum community rankings. Give each 50% weight, and "Voila!" We have our new Top 20 Twins Prospects from Twins Daily. Some players have started well. Some players have struggled early. Several players have had or fought injuries. All of that may alter the rankings. So below, I will get to the updated Top 20 rankings, but here are some notes about those rankings. Who’s Out? First, Louie Varland is no longer in the rankings. While he is technically still a “prospect” today, as soon as he gets three more outs in the big leagues, he will hit the 50-inning mark, removing his prospect status. This is a great way to no longer make a prospect list! Three players at the back end of the previous rankings fell out of the Top 20. #17 Ronny Henriquez was hurt through spring training, then made about four rehab appearances and is now on the Saints roster. This one feels a bit out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Also, that he is most likely a relief pitcher likely pushes him down a couple of spots too. #18 Tanner Schobel was the team’s second-round pick last year out of Virginia Tech. He has made the jump to High-A Cedar Rapids where the 23-year-old is playing all over the infield and hitting about .240 with three homers. Finally, #20 Misael Urbina fell down a bit, just outside the Top 20. The 21-year-old outfielder is hitting just over .160 in his first month-plus of High-A ball. Who’s In? #15 – Brent Headrick jumps into the Top 20 rankings after not being in the Top 30 this spring. Many were surprised that he was added to the 40-man roster last fall. Articles were written saying he may be a DFA candidate in spring training if a roster spot was needed. Instead, the 25-year-old lefty had a terrific showing in spring training. He was sent to St. Paul to start the season, despite spending just two months at Double-A Wichita last season. Early in the season, the Twins needed a long reliever and summoned Headrick. He impressed with three solid innings out of the bullpen in Fenway Park in his debut, recording a save in the process. He got the final out in a win over the Nationals. Then he had another extended outing in Yankees Stadium and fared well. With Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda out for the foreseeable future, we are not likely to see Headrick in a long-relief role anytime soon. It’s possible he, along with Simeon Woods Richardson, are the two candidates for spot starts for the time being. #17 – Blayne Enlow returns to the Top 20 with a strong start to his 2023 season. As you know, the former third-round pick needed Tommy John surgery in June of 2021. He was added to the 40-man roster following that season anyway. He worked his way back and after just one rehab appearance, he was pushed up to Double-A. Admittedly, he had some troubles, throwing strikes, being consistent, as is not unusual following surgery. He was removed from the 40-man this offseason, cleared waivers, and started this season back in Double-A for somewhat of a make or break season. Somewhat surprising, he returned to the starter role. It hasn’t been perfect, but he’s shown the increased velocity, the walks are down, and he is getting a lot of strikeouts. Enlow has spent a lot of time in the Twins Daily Top 10 Prospect rankings since being drafted in 2017. He’s incredibly driven and still has an opportunity to be a long-term big-league pitcher. #19 – Yunior Severino was an intriguing signing when he signed with the Twins for $2.5 million. You can read a lot more about him, especially if you want to hop on the Severino Hype Train, so I won’t get into a ton of detail here. However, over the past couple of seasons, he has really developed his powerful swing. His 10 home runs this season are four more than any other minor leaguer in the Twins minor leagues. He’s been eligible to be selected I the Rule 5 a couple of years already. It’s very possible he wouldn’t get through that process again. #20 – Michael Helman has had a tough season, if we are being honest, but his “stock” and respect in the organization and in the mind’s of many Twins fans has greatly improved. He earned an invitation to big-league spring training, but then he hurt his hamstring and missed that opportunity, along with the first month of the season. He returned to St. Paul and for a week, he was remarkable, but now he’s on the IL with a dislocated shoulder. How long will he be out? We shall see. But if healthy, if there is a need for a versatile, right-handed bench or platoon bat, Helman is a candidate. He has hit 19 and 20 homers, respectively, the past two seasons. He stole 40 bases last year. Over the past couple of seasons, he has played at least 20 games at seven position (4 infield and 4 outfield), and hey, he was a catcher in high school, and he has a strong arm and could probably pitch if needed too. No Change at the Top Probably no surprise, but the top three did not change at all. The ‘battle’ for #1 prospect between Brooks Lee and Royce Lewis was incredibly close, and it still was. However, Lee remained at #1 for both the writers and the community. There are those (like me), who will continue to have Lewis at #1 because of his potential, his make up, and the potential we saw in his 12 games with the Twins in 2022. For others, the back-to-back seasons with the ACL injuries, were too much to keep him at #1. Neither answer is right, and neither answer is wrong. But it certainly can be a fun discussion. And Twins fans, we should ultimately just be thankful to have both in the organization. And while he has been limited with an injury, and a strikeout machine when he has been healthy, we all still believe in Emmanuel Rodriguez’s upside, and he sticks at #3. Big Movers? There really weren’t a lot of players that moved up or down the list significantly, aside from the four new guys mentioned above. But of those that were on the list preseason and now, the player who moved up the most is RHP David Festa who moved up to #8 from #13. He has been solid for Wichita and has his best start recently. He is also sitting with a fastball between 96-98 mph. Jose Salas fell four spots. He is one of the ten youngest players in the Midwest League, and he (like several of the Twins young prospects in Cedar Rapids) has struggled to keep his batting average over about .160. New to the organization, we didn’t necessarily know where to rank him before the season. Now we have six weeks of data points that haven’t looked pretty. However, there is no question that the tools are there with the bat and with his speed. What does it mean? Connor Prielipp moved up two spots to #5. He made just a couple of starts in Cedar Rapids before being placed on the IL with some left arm concerns. The reports on him since have been positive, but that’s scary. Jordan Balazovic couldn’t have had a more difficult past season. He started 2022 hurt, and then really struggled all season with the Saints. Then came this spring training where, well, things didn’t go well. His season started a bit late and then he started the season in the bullpen. But something happened. He returned to form. Sure, there have been too many walks, but he’s been making starts and shown the ability to be really good, even dominant, for two or three innings. Maybe he extends that length, or maybe he becomes a 2-3 inning guy with great stuff. Austin Martin and Matt Canterino fell just one spot in the rankings. Simeon Woods Richardson has an ERA over seven, and he only fell a couple of spots. Marco Raya and Emmanuel Rodriguez each missed a month with injury. Rodriguez stayed at #3, and Raya fell to #6 (one spot behind Prielipp). It seems like guys that missed time stayed close to where they were, or even moved up, in part due to the reality that very few top prospects have actually played great to start the season. Yes, Varland has improved, but now he’s not eligible for the list. Edouard Julien has been quite good with the Saints and showed some of what he can be in his short time with the Twins. Matt Wallner continues to bash Triple-A pitching. But those were top guys already with not very many spots to move up. Who else has started the season making a strong impression? Solid Starts, but not quite Top 20 Andrew Cossetti got a few Top 30 votes by our writers, and he has had a huge start to his season. Severino has been fantastic. For Fort Myers, Jorel Ortega is playing very well, and Dalton Shuffield is hitting well for the Mighty Mussels. Noah Cardenas has been a bright spot in the Kernels’ lineup, and I would argue that Ben Ross and Kala’i Rosario should have moved up people’s lists, but to the borderline of the top 20. DaShawn Keirsey is again playing well in Wichita and already has 16 stolen bases. Yoyner Fajardo has hit very well, for average, with the Wind Surge. On the mound, a few of the 2022 draft picks have started out strong. That would include Kyle Jones, Cory Lewis, Zebby Matthews, and C.J. Culpepper are doing well. Pierson Ohl moved up a level and has 26 strikeouts with just two walks. Newcomer Alejandro Hidalgo is young for the Midwest League, but he’s got a 1.50 ERA with the Kernels. Jaylen Nowlin is still striking out a ton of batters, though he’s walking some as well. Out of the bullpen, Regi Grace has been fantastic all season. Kody Funderburk’s ERA and strikeout rate have been terrific, though his WHIP is quite high. Matthew Swain is really starting to dominate. 2022 Day 3 draft picks Ben Ethridge and Zach Veen both have ERAs of 1.20 and lower, and WHIPS under 1.00. Who’s Next? Well, as you would expect, I can only speak to which players are next in line on the writers’ “ballots,” just outside our consensus Twins Daily Top 20 prospects. At the top of that list is Fort Myers shortstop Danny De Andrade. He was a big international free agent signing a couple of years ago. He’s being challenged, but so far, he has at least held his own. Here are “The Next 10.” 21.) Danny De Andrade, Fort Myers 22.) Misael Urbina, Cedar Rapids 23.) Ronny Henriquez, St. Paul 24.) Tanner Schobel, Cedar Rapids 25.) Bryan Acuna, FCL 26.) Cole Sands, Minnesota 27.) Kala’I Rosario, Cedar Rapids 28.) Jaylen Nowlin, Cedar Rapids 29.) Alejandro Hidalgo, Cedar Rapids 30.) Byron Chourio, FCL Ask Away Be sure to dig around in the Twins Daily Prospect Tracker to learn more about each of the Top 20 prospects. But feel free to use the COMMENTS below to discuss these prospects. Who is ranked too high, and who is ranked too low? And be sure to ask us about our rankings or about any of the players. We will try to answer your questions, and hopefully get comments from our minor-league writers on their thoughts too. View full article

I added the Phil Cuzzi Ump Scorecard tweet to the bottom of the article but here it is too.

Lefty Brandon Williamson will be called up and make his MLB debut for the Cincinnati Reds on Tuesday in Colorado!

If Gallo goes on the IL, they would just call up Wallner since he's on the 40-man roster already and that would be simple.

The Twins finished their homestand with a strong series win over the Chicago Cubs. After scoring 11 runs on Saturday afternoon, the Twins scored 16 on Sunday and set a Target Field record with 29 runs in the three-game series. Along with big offense, the Twins got another strong start from Louie Varland. Image courtesy of Matt Blewitt, USA Today Box Score SP: Louie Varland: 6 1/3 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (97 pitches, 64 strikes (66.0%) Home Runs: Larnach (4), Gallo (9), Taylor (5) Top/Bottom 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (0.230), Louie Varland (0.159), Carlos Correa (0.138) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Notes Happy Mothers Day to all the moms and grandmas and wives! I always enjoy how the Twins social media posts the team’s lineup on Mothers Day. Coming into the game, Twins starting pitchers led MLB in innings pitched with 227 1/3 innings. They also lead MLB in FIP (3.15), WHIP (1.06) and strikeouts (259). They are second in ERA (3.01) and batting average against (.220). Varland Victorious As mentioned above, the Twins starters lead MLB in rotation innings pitched. They are averaging 5.7 innings per outing. Last year, they averaged 4.8 innings to start. Louie Varland added to those totals with a really nice start on Sunday afternoon and earned his first win of the season. It just started out well with a nine-pitch first inning. Varland, as he does, worked really fast, mixing a big fastball with his cutter, slider and change up. He threw 48 fastballs among his 97 pitches and averaged 94.9 with it. He topped out at 96.5 mph. He threw 22 cutters, 14 changeups and 13 sliders. Cubs batters swung at 54 of his pitches and whiffed 16 times (22 foul balls). As important as all of that, Varland pitched just how you would hope with a big lead early. He worked fast. He threw strikes. While he got strikeouts, he wasn’t afraid of giving up some contact. Christopher Morel and Seiya Suzuki each hit a solo home run. Unfortunately, the final batter he faced walked on his 97th pitch and that was it for his day. He completed a career-high 6 1/3 innings. Emilio Pagan came on and gave up two singles that scored the third run charged to Varland. Early Offense Marcus Stroman has been quite good for the Cubs early this season. Coming into this game, he was just 2-3 despite a 2.28 ERA. He had completed at least six innings in seven of his eight starts. Against the Dodgers in late April, he gave up five earned runs on six hits and a walk in five innings. In this start, the Twins knocked him out after just 2 2/3 innings. He was charged with six runs on seven hits and two walks. Michael Rucker came on and allowed the inherited runner to score and two more runs. Now let’s get to the Twins side of things. Following Varland’s quick top of the first, the Twins got on the board right away in the bottom half. Alex Kirilloff got things started with a one-out single to center. Carlos Correa then doubled into the left field corner. Tommy Watkins aggressively sent Kirilloff home. He scored easily and the Twins had a 1-0 lead. The Twins then scored seven runs in the third inning. Trevor Larnach came to the plate with two runners on and two outs in a 1-0 game. After a back-and-forth battle with Stroman, Larnach got a slider in the middle of the plate and deposited it into the right field bleachers to give them a 4-0 lead. Kyle Farmer doubles. Nick Gordon doubled him in and then scored on a Christian Vazquez single to right. Joey Gallo ended the inning’s scoring with a long two-run homer. Correa’s Crusade Earlier in the homestand, the boo birds came out at Target Field, aimed in the direction of Carlos Correa. At the time, he was hitting .185 and really scuffling. Asked about the boos, he acknowledged them and said that he didn’t blame the fans for doing it. He said he hasn’t been playing well. Was he worried? No. Should Twins fans have been worried? Of course not. On Sunday, he went 2-for-5 with a double to raise his average to .207. Over the past five games, Correa has at least one hit in each game. He is 7-for-21 with two walks, four doubles, a homer, and eight RBI. Buxton Breaks Streak In the first inning, Byron Buxton singled. That ended an 0-for-26 stretch. He ended the game 2-for-5, so now he's in a 2-for-30 slump, but that's much better. It's a start, and his at-bats were much cleaner. Farmer Fond of Playing Everyday Kyle Farmer missed a month after being hit in the face with a Lucas Giolito fastball. He has started all five games since his return at third base. He has at least one hit in all five games, and is 7-for-18 (.389) in that stretch. He also looks very smooth at third base defensively. Late-Inning Offense The Twins have had some big innings early in games, but it was nice to have a huge inning late in a game too. Sure, it would have been great to have saved the big late-inning run production for a game later this week maybe. Emilio Pagan got a big strikeout of Christopher Morel to end the seventh inning with the Twins leading 8-3. In the bottom of the seventh, the Twins scored a run off of Julian Merryweather to get the run back. Then came the bottom of the eighth frame. #OldFriend Michael Fulmer came on. He gave up three runs and recorded just two outs. It was at that point when Cubs manager David Ross could go to a position player (based on the new league rules of when they can pitch). Miles Mastrobuoni was the choice. The first four batters he faced recorded hits. He gave up an RBI single to Kyle Farmer, a run-scoring double to Nick Gordon, an RBI single to Christian Vazquez, and a long, two-run homer for Michael A. Taylor. Gallo Exits Early In his final at-bat of the day, Joey Gallo grounded into a double play. After crossing first base, he slowed down and grabbed his right hamstring. While he tried to stay in the game, Rocco Baldelli immediately took him out and replaced him with Michael A. Taylor (who certainly took advantage of his one at-bat in the game). Everybody Contributes! All nine batters in the starting lineup had at least one hit. Six had at least two hits in the game. That's the kind of win that can really help bring a team together. They will need that this coming week. The Twins won two out of three against both the Padres and the Cubs on this homestand. They are now 14-8 at Target Field, and they're 6-6 in interleague play. This was just the third time in Twins history that they have had back-to-back 10-run games. The last time was April 24th and 25th, 1996. The Twins out-hit the Cubs significantly in this game. The Cubs are now 0-15 when they are out-hit by their opponent. What’s Next? It’s going to be one of those weeks where Twins fans will struggle to get up for work a few mornings. The Twins will be doin’ a little west coast swing. They start a three-game series on Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. They will have a day off in LA on Thursday before playing three games against the Angels in Anaheim. Monday 9:10 pm: RHP Pablo Lopez (2-2, 3.47) vs. Noah Syndergaard (1-3, 6.12) Tuesday 9:10 pm: RHP Bailey Ober (2-0, 1.85) vs. Clayton Kershaw (6-2, 2.36) Wednesday 2:10 pm: RHP Sonny Gray (4-0, 1.39) vs. RHP Dustin May (4-1, 2.68) Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Sands 0 0 0 54 0 54 Alcala 0 0 33 0 13 46 Jax 17 0 26 0 0 43 Lopez 17 15 0 0 9 41 Pagán 0 12 0 0 23 35 Stewart 9 25 0 0 0 34 Morán 0 0 9 24 0 33 Durán 17 0 0 0 0 17 View full article

Severino is definitely more offense than defense, but he was signed (twice!) as a shortstop and he can adequately play 3B and 2B, maybe even an average fielder at those spots. Offensively, the difference would be the walks, but other than that, they can both hit.

That is something that will happen a lot.

I noted in my Cedar Rapids roster preview before the season that there were several very, very young-for-level prospects being pushed to High-A, and understandably they have struggled. Urbina, Salas, Rodriguez, Miller. All have had tough starts. Kala'i Rosario seems to have broken out a bit. But all of those guys, and others, really could have started in Ft. Myers. That said, it will be fun to see which of them make some adjustments and finish strong. The team could be better in the second half, and Raya and Hidalgo will obviously be key in that too.