Seth Stohs

Yeah, I'm very curious to see how Brian Dinkelman gets to split the playing time. Salas and Miller should both get time at 2nd and short. Salas maybe some innings at 3B. Ben Ross can play all three infield spots, and probably anywhere. Schobel is a second baseman, but has played shortstop in the past. And they certainly all could play 1B. Cavaco can play all over. Some will get some OF time. Good problem to have.

Cedar Rapids got ALL the prospects. Almost literally! On Monday, the Cedar Rapids Kernels announced their Opening Day roster for the 2023 season. Players and staff flew from Ft. Myers to eastern Iowa on Sunday. This is their tenth season as a Twins affiliate, and they are hoping to make this their tenth straight season of reaching postseason play. Image courtesy of Cedar Rapids Kernels Let's take a look at the Kernels Opening Day roster. This group of prospects is incredibly exciting, filled with talented, high-upside players. You’ll definitely want to book a trip or four to Cedar Rapids this season! Even if it is just to see one of the biggest scoreboards in minor-league baseball (or the cool things they can do with their lights!). Coaching Staff Brian Dinkelman is back for his fifth season as the Kernels manager. Before taking that role, he was the team’s hitting coach for three seasons. Former Astros pitcher Carlos Hernandez is in his sixth season in the Twins organization. This will be his first season as Kernels’ pitching coach after filling the same role for Ft. Myers the past three seasons. Jonas Lovin joined the Twins organization this winter. This is his first professional coaching job. The 27-year-old had been the pitching coach at Iowa Central Community College. Another new Twins coach in 2023 is hitting coach Corbin Day. He grew up in the Cedar Rapids area and before joining the Kernels, he was at Kirkwood Community College (just outside Cedar Rapids) where he played for two years before playing two seasons at Mount Mercy U in Cedar Rapids. Finally, former Twins minor-league catcher Yeison Perez joins the Kernels staff. He transitioned from player to coach in 2019. He spent the past two seasons in the FCL. Starting Pitchers: Alejandro Hidalgo, Jaylen Nowlin, Pierson Ohl, Kyle Jones, Connor Prielipp. Connor Prielipp has looked dominant in spring training videos, but the Twins 2nd round pick in 2022 will make his pro debut with the Kernels. Jaylen Nowlin, a 19th round pick from 2021, made himself into the one of the top left-handers in the organization with his impressive strikeout rate. He had 111 strikeouts in 71 innings (14.1 K/9) He ended 2022 with three starts for Cedar Rapids. Kyle Jones was the Twins 7th round pick out of the University of Toledo. Pierson Ohl was drafted in the 14th round of the 2021 draft. He has terrific control. Last year in Ft. Myers, he had 101 strikeouts and just 13 walks in 91 2/3 innings. Alejandro Hidalgo came to the Twins this offseason from the Angels in the Gio Urshela deal. He won’t turn 20 until late May! For those curious, Marco Raya is going to be in Cedar Rapids. He’s rehabbing a “minor shoulder” issue but should join the Kernels in May. Christian MacLeod was the Twins fifth round pick in 2021, but he had Tommy John surgery early in 2022. He’s ready to go, but they’re (wisely) going to be cautious with him. Again, no need to rush them back into the cold of the Midwest League. Relief Pitchers: Malik Barrington, Jordan Carr, Regi Grace, Matt Mullenbach, Charlie Neuweiler, Niklas Rimmel, John Stankiewicz, Matthew Swain, Miguel Rodriguez, Orlando Rodriguez, John Wilson There are several intriguing names on this list. Regi Grace was a former 10th-round pick. He has slowly progressed and is ready for this jump. Malik Barrington is a big, strong guy with good stuff out of the bullpen. Barrington and Jordan Carr were signed the same day out of the USPBL. Matt Mullenbach is in his third season in the Twins organization. He is an Iowa native. Niklas Rimmel signed with the Twins in 2017 from Berlin. Miguel Rodriguez and Orlando Rodriguez both spent a little time with the Kernels a year ago. Matthew Swain is 6-7 and throws really hard. He was the Twins 23rd round pick in 2019, and the Twins have been quite patient, but he’s been impressive. Finally, John Stankiewicz was a non-drafted free agent signing after the shortened 2020 draft. He began the 2022 season on an incredible run in Ft. Myers before ending his season with the Kernels. John Wilson is a left-hander, also signed in 2020, who has fought a lot of injuries since being a freshman All American in college. He continues to work his way back. Charlie Neuweiler is new to the organization very recently. He was the Royals' fifth-round pick in 2017 out of high school in New York. In 2022, he spent most of the season with Quad Cities, though he also made two appearances in Double-A and pitched in one Triple-A game too. Catchers: Noah Cardenas, Charles Mack, Jeferson Morales Noah Cardenas was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2021 out of UCLA. Last year in Ft. Myers, he was named the Twins Daily All Minor League catcher last year. Charles Mack was drafted out of high school in New York in the sixth round of the 2018 draft. He spent last year in Ft. Myers, continuing his transition to catching. Jeferson Morales signed with the Twins in 2016. Last year, he played in Cedar Rapids but fought injuries much of the season. He can also play in the outfield. Infielders: Keoni Cavaco, Noah Miller, Ben Ross, Jose Salas, Tanner Schobel, Ernie Yake. What a group of intriguing prospects. Jose Salas ranks the highest in our prospect rankings. He came to the Twins with Pablo Lopez (and Byron Chourio) in the Luis Arraez trade. He will turn 20 in three weeks and ended the 2022 season at High-A. Keoni Cavaco was the Twins first round pick (13th overall) in the 2019 draft. While his prospect glimmer has faded, the tools are still there. He has soft hands and a strong arm that translates well at third base. He’s got good speed and power potential too. Maybe getting out of Florida will be what it takes to get him going. Noah Miller was the Twins Competitive Balance pick in 2021 out of high school in Wisconsin. He struggled with the bat in Ft. Myers last season, but he is tremendous defensively at shortstop. His brother, Owen Miller, was traded from Cleveland to his hometown Milwaukee Brewers in the offseason. Tanner Schobel was the Twins Competitive Balance pick in 2022 after the 2nd round. He played/starred at Virginia Tech. Ben Ross was their fifth round pick from Division II Notre Dame College. He has really impressed in his short time in the organization with his all-around game. Ernie Yake was the team’s 10th round pick in 2021 out of Gonzaga. In 2022, he played in the FCL, in Ft. Myers, in Wichita, and in St. Paul… Now he will get some time in Cedar Rapids. Outfielders: Kyler Fedko, Willie Joe Garry, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Kala’i Rosario, Misael Urbina. Obviously everyone will want to talk about Emmanuel Rodriguez, and for good reason. He’s really good, and one of the top prospects not only in the organization but also a global top 100 prospect after his incredible 2022 season. Unfortunately, that season was just two months long after he had knee surgery, but he’s back and ready to go again. Misael Urbina is also a very good prospect. A seven-figure bonus baby from 2018, he has spent the past two seasons with the Mighty Mussels. Last year, he missed several months due to a visa issue. Kala’i Rosario was their fifth round pick in 2020 out of high school in Hawaii where he was one of the top high school power prospects in the draft. Willie Joe Garry can absolutely fly. He’s a very good outfielder. There is a lot of talent and he’s looking forward to putting it together with the bat this year. Kyler Fedko spent much of the second half of the 2022 season with the Kernels. He was the team’s 12th round pick in 2021 out of UConn. TWINS DAILY TOP 20 PROSPECTS #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez #4 - Marco Raya #7 - Connor Prielipp #8 - Jose Salas #14 - Noah Miller #18 - Tanner Schobel #20 - Misael Urbina View full article

On Monday, the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels officially announced their Opening Day roster. Find out which prospects will be starting with a full-season affiliate for the first time? How many 2022 draft picks are on the roster? How many of the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects are on this roster? Image courtesy of William Parmeter (L to R: Carlos Aguiar, Luis Baez, Rubel Cespedes) Let's take a look at the Mighty Mussels Opening Day roster. Coaching Staff Brian Meyer is back for his third season as the Mighty Mussels manager, his fourth in the organization. Pitching Coach Richard Salazar moves from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers this season after spending the past two years with the Kernels. Jared Gaynor will enter his second season as a Mighty Mussels pitching coach. Rayden Sierra returns to the Mighty Mussels as their hitting coach again. Luis Reyes was a coach in the FCL a year ago and he is now the Assistant Hitting Coach in Ft. Myers. Starting Pitchers: Tomas Cleto, Cory Lewis, Andrew Morris, Juan (Miguel) Olivares, Zebby Matthews. Andrew Morris was the Twins fourth-round pick from Texas Tech a year ago and made an appearance for the Mighty Mussels in the playoffs last year. Cory Lewis was their ninth round pick out of UC-Santa Barbara in 2022. Zebby Matthews is a hard throwing righty taking the eighth round last year out of Western Carolina University. Tomas Cleto pitched well in the FCL last season and earned a late-season promotion to the Mussels. Juan Olivares was the Twins Daily short-season minor league pitcher of the year last year when he, going by Miguel last year, posted a 144 ERA in the DSL. Relief Pitchers: Johnathan Lavallee, Develson Aria, Ben Ethridge, C.J. Culpepper, A.J. Labas, Juan Mendez, Samuel Perez, Jackson Hicks, Wilker Reyes, Zach Veen, Gabriel Yanez Ben Ethridge was the Twins 15th round pick a year ago from Southern Miss. CJ Culpepper was their 13th rounder out of California Baptist. Zach Veen was their 18th round pick in 2022 out of Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. Lavallee was their 16th round pick in 2021 out of Long Beach State. Hicks signed late in the 2021 season out of the USPBL in Michigan. That is about the time they signed AJ Labas who had gone undrafted out of LSU. Sam Perez was the Twins Daily short-season minor league pitcher of the year in 2021 and spent most of the 2022 season with Ft. Myers. Gabriel Yanez signed with the Phillies in 2016 and reached Low-A Clearwater in 2022. The Twins signed him this offseason as a free agent. Last year in this league, he had 58 strikeouts and just 13 walks over 50 1/3 innings. One to watch is hard-throwing Juan Mendez. And lefty Develson Aria is intriguing as well. Catchers: Andrew Cossetti, Ricardo Olivar, Dillon Tatum Andrew Cossetti was drafted in the 11th round last year out of St. Joseph’s in Philly. Tatum caught two Mussels no hitters last year. Olivar had a breakout season in the FCL last year, hitting .349/.442/.605 (1.046) with 12 doubles, three triples and five homers over 40 games. A good athlete, he actually spent more time in the outfield in 2022. Infielders: Rubel Cespedes, Danny De Andrade, Yohander Martinez, Jorel Ortega, Mikey Perez, Dalton Shuffield. Danny De Andrade is the top prospect in this group. One of the top international signings in 2021, he held his own in the FCL a year ago. Jorel Ortega was the team’s sixth round pick a year ago. He had one at bat with the Mussels and had an RBI hit, but he hurt his wrist on the play which ended his season. Cespedes is an intriguing prospect who has some offensive upside. Martinez was a minor-league Rule 5 pick in December. And why Mikey Perez and Dalton Shuffield are starting in Ft. Myers is just silly. Perez was the 15th round pick of the Twins in 2021 from UCLA. He played 81 games in Ft. Myers a year ago, then moved up to Cedar Rapids for 28 more games. He even played one game with the Saints and hit a game-winning, three-run homer in his lone at-bat. He led the organization with 48 stolen bases last year. And, for good measure, he played in nine spring games for the Twins this year and went 4-for-10. Shuffield spent five years at Texas State University before the Twins took him in the 10th round of the 2022 draft. After three games in the FCL last year, he moved up to Cedar Rapids for eight games. Then he moved up to Triple-A St. Paul and started almost every day for 14 games. He hit .271/.314/.542 (.855) with three doubles, two triples, and two home runs. All that is small sample size, but he just turned 24. Outfielders: Carlos Aguiar, Luis Baez, Maddux Houghton, Alec Sayre, Dylan Neuse. Carlos Aguiar and Luis Baez signed with the Twins in 2017 from Venezuela. Aguiar is a big, strong power hitting outfielder. Baez is a speed merchant, capable of stealing a ton of bags and taking extra bases at will. Houghton signed with the Twins just before spring training began. He spent five years at Lipscomb and then last year played in a summer wood bat league. Alec Sayre was the Twins 17th round pick a year ago out of Wright State. Neuse was the Twins 17th round pick in 2021 out of Texas Tech. His older brother Sheldon spent parts of 2019, 2021 and 2022 in the big leagues. He played in 89 games last year for the A’s. This year, he is playing in for Hanshin, in Japan. TWINS DAILY TOP 20 PROSPECTS None. Danny De Andrade is likely the highest-ranking prospect by most systems. There are definitely some pitching prospects to watch on this list. What do you think of the Mighty Mussels roster? Which players are you most intrigued by and interested in following? View full article

He won't be DFAd... He just won't be added to the 40-man roster. That would make him eligible for the Rule 5 draft. Hard to picture a offensive-first player who hasn't provided a lot of offense at a offensive defensive position (that's easy to say/think/type) getting selected. and Sabato can't be a free agent for like 3 more years... So, he's got time to continue developing. Again, the walks help the OBP and the home runs and doubles help the SLG, but the batting average at .200 and the strikeouts are concerning. But they've invested in him. He could and should continue to get time.

I mean, he will strike out a ton, walk a ton... hit about .275, get on base about 42% of the time, probably hit 25 doubles and 20 homers...

On the telecast today, they mentioned that yesterday (Saturday) Duran wasn't available because he somehow slept awkwardly on his shoulder/neck and was all discombobulated (wow, I assumed that would be spelled wrong). So I'm assuming today they preferred not to use him... But getting that fourth run in the top of the inning helped. Also, Lopez has pitched an inning in all three games (well, 2/3 of an inning in one), and he's throw a total of 24 pitches. That's insanely efficient.

Julien is like 1-for-12 with 7 strikeouts or so.

On Sunday afternoon, the Wichita Wind Surge announced their 28-man Opening Day roster. They will begin their season on Thursday (April 6) with three games in Springfield. They will head home to start a six-game series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. Top prospect Brooks Lee headlines the team's roster to start the season. Image courtesy of William Parmeter The Wichita Wind Surge roster had 28 players on it. There are 15 pitchers and 13 position players. 17 players return to the club that played there last year. The team will have two Top 20 prospects including the #1 overall Twins prospect Brooks Lee. Let's take a look at the Wind Surge Opening Day roster. Coaching Staff Ramon Borrego is back for his third season as the Wichita manager. He is one of the more respected people in the organization. He was a coach for Team Venezuela in the WBC. His pitching coaches will be Dan Urbina and DJ Engle. The hitting coach is Shawn Schlechter. Takashi Miyoshi is the team's bench coach. Pitchers Pitching is what wins, right? So that's where we'll start. Starting Pitchers: David Festa, Travis Adams, Carlos Luna, Kody Funderburk, Aaron Rozek Festa was the Twins 13th round pick in 2021 from Seton Hall. He has developed into a very exciting prospect. He's got three solid pitches, but it comes with a fastball that routinely hit 97 and 98 mph a year ago and touched 99. Travis Adams spent most of 2022 in Ft. Myers, but he spent the final month in Cedar Rapids. He was the Twins sixth round pick in 2021 from Sacramento State. A command and control guy, Adams was hitting 97 mph by the end of last year. Kody Funderburk is a little underrated in the system, but he's one to watch. A left-hander, he's become crafty southpaw. At Dallas Baptist, he was a fantastic two-way player, but the Twins have developed him into a pitcher to watch. Rozek is a Minnesota native and went to Minnesota State-Mankato. He signed with the Twins in 2021 and has pitched at each level including Double-A, the past two years. Carlos Luna comes to the Twins from the Brewers as a minor-league free agent. Sits in the low-90s and mixes his pitches really well. Relief Pitchers: Tyler Beck, Michael Boyle, Jose Bravo, Jordan Brink, Chad Donato, Blayne Enlow, Osiris German, Hunter McMahon, Seth Nordlin, Alex Scherff. Good to see Tyler Beck back on the mound again. He had Tommy John surgery shortly after the 2021 season and was excited that he would be full-go to start this season. Blayne Enlow came off of the Twins 40-man roster this offseason, but the organization was thrilled when he cleared waivers and will stick in the organization. He is now further from the Tommy John and should be full-go this year. German is intriguing in that he has one of the best changeups in the organization. Hunter McMahon was finally healthy in 2022, and he was terrific, one of the best relievers in the organization all year. He started the season in Ft. Myers, moved up to Cedar Rapids, and ended with a few outings for the Wind Surge. Speaking of guys being healthy, Alex Scherff came to the Twins from the Red Sox organization. He had been a really good prospect as a starter, but injuries derailed that a bit. He has been on the Injured List the majority of the time with the Twins but is finally healthy and ready to go this year. Boyle, Bravo, Brink, Donato, and Nordlin all signed with the Twins as minor-league free agent this offseason. Catchers: Alex Isola, Patrick Winkel Just two catchers in Wichita to start the season. Isola returns and may need to do more catching because of it. He had a nice showing in the Arizona Fall League, mostly playing first base. He's got a good combination of plate discipline and some pop in his bat. Winkel is arguably their best catching prospect. The organization is very high on him. He spent last season in Cedar Rapids and gets the bump to Double-A this year. He should do the majority of the catching. Infielders: Seth Gray, Will Holland, Brooks Lee, Anthony Prato, Jake Rucker, Aaron Sabato, Yunior Severino. Clearly Brooks Lee is the top prospect in this group. I mean, he's the #1 prospect in the organization by many outlets, including Twins Daily. He ended the season last year by DHing for the Wind Surge in the playoffs. He had a solid showing in his first big-league camp. He didn't hit much, but he showed a good approach and played very good defense at shortstop. Likewise, Gray, Holland, Prato, Sabato and Severino all spent the final month or more in Wichita last year. Holland has primarily an outfielder at this stage. In fact, that's all he played in big-league spring training games, but he was drafted as a shortly. Prato broke out in 2022. He became a solid on-base guy with some power, and he showed he can be a plus-defender in the infield and in the outfield too. Severino seemed to put some things together last year with the bat and did a nice job after moving up to the Surge. He played mostly second base in Cedar Rapids and then mostly third base in Wichita. Aaron Sabato continued to struggle to make contact, but he kept walking and he kept hitting home runs. He moved up to Double-A late and was just getting going when a pitch hit his wrist and ended his season. Jake Rucker started last year in Ft. Myers and then he moved up to the Kernels. When their season ended, he was promoted to the Saints for the final couple of weeks of their season. Outfielders: Yoyner Fajardo, DaShawn Keirsey, Jr., Armani Smith, and Alerick Soularie. DaShawn Keirsey was healthy in 2022 and really put things together. First and foremost, he is a tremendous defensive centerfielder, with great range and the ability to close on fly balls and create web gems. But he also had a ver solid offensive year as well. He got on base, but he hit for some power. He turns singles into doubles. He had a couple of inside-the-park homers. And he can steal bases like crazy. Hopefully he can get up to Triple-A at some point. Alerick Soularie was the second round pick in 2020 from Tennessee, but he started his career by getting hurt. Last year in Cedar Rapids, he struggled with the bat, but he can play second base and in the outfield. Hopefully a bump to Double-A will help him take off. Fajardo and Smith were both selected in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft. Smith is very intriguing. He's a big dude with tremendous power potential, kind of in the Franmil Reyes mold. TWINS DAILY TOP 20 PROSPECTS #1 - Brooks Lee #13 - David Festa View full article

The two aren't related... this is just the player that he is. He walks a lot. He strikes out a lot. He has good power. He has good speed. He may hit .280 sometimes.

Julien fills up a box score... including the strike outs. He's had well over 100 strikeouts the last two years.

It wasn't a bad decision then. It wasn't a bad decision even if he had become an All Star. At that time, it wasn't easy, but not protecting him was the right move based on where he was and that the hadn't played in two years.

Yes.

The Blogs page doesn't have to be limited to baseball. It's a place anyone can blog. Granted, on a baseball site, it'll be interesting to see the comments.

Do we think that the coaching staff or front office or anyone is even looking at how a hitter did over the course of 2 games? No one cares about an 0-for-7 two-game stretch. Also, I'm pretty sure that the lineups for all three games were set before Thursday (subject to change only due to injury). So, whatever the lineup is tomorrow is because that was the plan, not because of two games of at-bats. Jeffers will start, for sure. My guess is they have an ideal scenario where Vazquez catches two, Jeffers catches one, Vazquez catches two, Jeffers catches one... but again, that's all determined before each series. Farmer has played in both games. Solano in one. Willi Castro may get a start tomorrow too. With a right-hander on the mound, but I wouldn't sit the lefties against him (Kepler, Larnach, Gordon, Gallo... and Castro).

On Friday morning, the St. Paul Saints announced their Opening Day Roster. On Friday afternoon, Bailey Ober will start the Opener in Toledo. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are beginning their third season as an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. However, it is their first season under new ownership. While the team starts the season with a weekend series in Toledo, their home opener will be on Tuesday against the Iowa Cubs. Tickets are still available on the Saints website for all six games. It should be a fun season with the Saints as they are loaded with prospects. Let's take a look at the Saints Opening Day roster. That way, you can go through your baseball card collection and find these players, then go to CHS Field and get them signed. Oh, and watch some really good baseball too! Coaching Staff Toby Gardenhire is back for his third season as the Saints manager. His hitting coach is recently-retired Nate Spears. Tyler Smarslok is the team's Defensive Coach and usually the first base coach as well. As all Twins affiliates do, the Saints have two pitching coaches. Cibney Bello is there for the third straight season. Peter Larson joins the Saints staff this year. He has quickly moved up the Twins organizational ladder. Pitchers Pitching wins, right? So that's where we'll start. Starting Pitchers: Jordan Balazovic, Randy Dobnak, Brent Headrick, Bailey Ober, Aaron Sanchez, Louie Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson. When we talk about the Twins starting pitching depth, this is where it is. If Bailey Ober is your #6 starter, your staff is pretty deep. However, Varland and Woods Richardson both made their major-league debuts late last year and they're likely Options #7 and #8. Aaron Sanchez made a few starts and long-relief appearances for the Twins last year. He is probably Option #9 at this point. He's obviously had some strong seasons in his long big-league career. Randy Dobnak appears to be healthy. It will be great for him to get some innings, find that control and command of his sinker again. He maybe starts out the season as the #10 option, but he could move up that list quickly. And Headrick made a really strong impression in his first spring training. He ended last year with starts at Double-A, so he just needs some time. While they certainly want Ober, Varland and Woods Richardson to start, the rest of the list could team with Cole Sands, Ronny Henriquez, Josh Winder and several from the below reliever list as the long-man out of the bullpen. That is the group that is really happy that St. Paul and Minneapolis are just miles apart. Weekend Rotation FRIDAY: Bailey Ober SATURDAY: Aaron Sanchez SUNDAY: Simeon Woods Richardson Relief Pitchers: Jose De Leon, Cody Laweryson, Trevor Megill, Oliver Ortega, Dereck Rodriguez, Connor Sadzeck, Austin Schulfer, Brock Stewart, Patrick Murphy (Development List) This is also an intriguing group of relievers. As you look at the list, who is the closer? However, there are a lot of guys who can pitch multiple innings, have experience as a starter and as a reliever, and could fit a role in the big leagues... where they have a pretty strong backend of their bullpen already. The most intriguing names on this list, at least for me, are Cody Laweryson and Austin Schulfer. They are both home-grown talents who have had a lot of success in their minor-league careers, as starters and as relievers. Schulfer's stuff impressed me. He's throwing a running fastball that sits 95-97 and a slider from the same release point that darts away from a right-hander at 90. He also has a pretty good changeup that he can bring out at any time. Laweryson doesn't throw as hard. He probably tops out at about 92, but he's got a funky delivery and deception. He's got really good command and still is able to miss bats. Trevor Megill is the only pitcher in this group on the 40-man roster. We've seen what he can do, the good and the not-so-good, but this is just his second option, so it makes sense to just keep working with him. And then you've got several veterans with upside. Dereck Rodriguez started out as an outfielder in the Twins organization and transitioned to the bullpen. He eventually debuted with the Giants and had a nice rookie season. Since then, he's been on a few teams, and gets some opportunities. Last year, he had a couple of really good, long-relief appearances with the Twins. Then we've got the Dream Brian Dozier Package, aka Jose De Leon and Brock Stewart. Both 30-year-olds were top pitching prospects with the Dodgers seven or eight years ago, and their names were both said to be requested by the Twins in deals involving Dozier. Well, both have had injuries over the last half-dozen years, their prospect stars have burned out, but they both still have the kind of talent that make them intriguing as potential bullpen options or long relievers. And Oliver Ortega throws hard. Catchers: Jair Camargo, Chris Williams, Tony Wolters, David Banuelos (Development List) We might as well follow the pitchers with the guys who will catch them. Tony Wolters is the presumed Twins #3 starter and would be the guy called up should Christian Vazquez or Ryan Jeffers get injured. Jair Camargo quietly came to the Twins in the Maeda/Graterol deal. He became a free agent this offseason but quickly signed to return to the organization. Chris Williams is listed as a catcher. He may get some time behind the plate, but he will likely play a lot at first base and DH. David Banuelos is fantastic behind the plate and pitchers really like throwing to him. He'll get plenty of opportunities with the Saints. In addition, Andrew Bechtold could get some games where he dons the tools of ignorance as well. Infielders: Andrew Bechtold, Edouard Julien, Hernan Perez, Elliot Soto, Tyler White, Austin Martin (Injured List) Julien may have had to wait nearly two seasons after signing with the Twins to make his pro debut, but since the beginning of that 2021 season, he has done it all with the bat. He gets on base. He has some power. He's got goods speed. He uses the whole field. He strikes out, but those walks make up for it. He has done it at three minor-league levels. He has done it in spring training, and he has done it for Team Canada in the WBC. The final stop on the way to the Twins is some time with the Saints. But get to CHS Field quickly. He may not be there real long. Bechtold has one of the strongest arms in baseball, certainly in the organization. He ended the last season with the Saints and returns, likely to play primarily at third base. Tyler White got a lot of run in spring training at first base. Elliot Soto is back. And, when Austin Martin was diagnosed with a UCL sprain, the Twins signed veteran Hernan Perez to a minor-league deal. The 32-year-old has a lot of big league time, generally in a utility role, but he is a really good shortstop, so it makes sense to bring him in. At least until Brooks Lee is ready to move up. Outfielders: Mark Contreras, Kyle Garlick, Ryan LaMarre, Andrew Stevenson, Matt Wallner, Michael Helman (Injured List) Matt Wallner is the big prospect of this group. He was the Twins 2022 minor-league hitter of the year and ended the season in the big leagues. He will likely get some significant time in the big leagues in 2023 as well. Mark Contreras has had a couple of strong seasons the past two years, most of that time with the Saints. Good speed and power combo, along with terrific defense. As we know, Kyle Garlick provides outfield depth and a guy who absolutely mashes right-handers. Stevenson was added to the organization midway through spring training. He has spent parts of the past three seasons with the Washington Nationals. Michael Helman had a big breakout in 2022, half of the season with the Saints. He has really good speed and extra base pop, and he can play seven positions very well. He was invited to big-league spring training. Unfortunately, a hamstring injury meant that he didn't play and will start the season on the IL. TWINS DAILY TOP 20 PROSPECTS #5 - Edouard Julien #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson #9 - Louie Varland #10 - Austin Martin #11 - Matt Wallner #16 - Jordan Balazovic View full article

Over the past week, we sent a 2023 predictions survey to all Twins Daily writers. We also posted a similar survey in the Twins Daily forums and promoted it on Twitter. Earlier today, we shared the results of Part 1 (Wins, Division rank). In Part 2, we are handing out preseason awards. Image courtesy of William Parmeter 24 Twins Daily writers responded to our survey, while approximately 110 Twins Daily readers or Twitter followers responded. Will they have any Silver Slugger or Gold Glove Award winners? Who will be their top hitters and pitchers? With Questions 1-3, we discussed predictions for how many Wins the Twins will record and where they will finish in the AL Central. Today, we'll discuss our 2023 preseason picks for some Twins awards. Question 4: Will the Twins have any Silver Slugger Award winners for the 2023 season? If so, who? Nine of the 24 Twins Daily writers (37.5%) wrote that the Twins would not have a Silver Slugger winner. 48 of the 110 fan respondents (43.6%) agree that the Twins hitters will be shut out. Nearly half of the writers believe Carlos Correa will win at shortstop. Eight think Byron Buxton will win, though we didn't ask them to specify if he would win as an outfielder or a DH. The Twins Daily respondents agreed with the writers. About 25% think Correa will be the top-hitting shortstop. Buxton received nearly 13% of the vote. After that, several players received one or two votes. Jose Miranda came in third in voting by both groups. He's undoubtedly been crushing the ball this spring. Question 5: Will the Twins have Gold Glove Award winners for the 2023 season? If so, who? The results are different on this one. 42% of our fan respondents don't think the Twins will have Gold Gloves. Just three of the 24 Twins Daily writers (12.5%) think the Twins will be shut out of the Gold Glove hardware. The respondents chose Carlos Correa on the most ballots, 33%, followed by Byron Buxton (21%) and Max Kepler at 13%. Michael A. Taylor and Christian Vazquez also fared well among fans. Byron Buxton led the voting for the Twins Daily writers with ten votes. The only question will again be whether or not he gets enough time in the outfield. Correa appeared on one-third of 'ballots.' Max Kepler (6) and Taylor (5) each have a shot in the outfield as well. Question 6: Who will be the Twins' top rookie in 2023? He was the talk of spring training, so it is no surprise to see Edouard Julien at the top of both rankings. He received nearly 50% of the TD writers' votes and just over 50% of our respondents. Royce Lewis came in second place on both lists. He can come off the 60-Day Injured List at the end of May. He will likely have a couple of weeks of rehab under his belt, so by June 1st, Lewis could be optioned and spend some time in St. Paul, or if things are going well, that's the earliest he could return to the Twins. Louie Varland ranked third on the writers' list, while Brooks Lee took that spot on the respondents' ranking. Others that received votes in this category are Simeon Woods Richardson, Matt Wallner, and Cole Sands. 2023 Top Twins Rookie (Preseason): Edouard Julien. Question 7: Who will be the Most Improved Twins player in 2023? This can be a very interesting category. "Most Improved" can mean something different to different people. Could it be a young player who just got a cup of coffee getting more opportunities? Could it be a player returning from injury or after a disappointing season? As I reviewed the Twins Daily writer ballots, the first eight I looked at were different. Twenty-four voters, and they listed nine different players. However, Trevor Larnach received one-third of the votes. On the other respondent ballots, Larnach and Max Kepler each were mentioned by 27 people. Others who received more than a few votes include Jose Miranda, Joey Gallo, and Ryan Jeffers. 2023 Most Improved Twins Player (Preseason): Trevor Larnach. Question 8: Who will be the Twins' top starting pitcher in 2023? The Twins have six starters for five spots this season which unfortunately means that Bailey Ober is starting the season with the Saints, where he will team with Louie Varland and Simeon Woods Richardson. So who will be the best? Both sets of voters were in agreement on this one. Pablo Lopez will be the Twins' top pitcher this season, receiving about half of the votes. The fans ranked Joe Ryan second and Sonny Gray third, while our Twins Daily writers flip-flopped those two. 2023 Twins Top Starting Pitcher (Preseason): Pablo Lopez Question 9: Who will be the Twins' top relief pitcher in 2023? No surprise here. And frankly, no surprise that the 'vote' was this lopsided. Jhoan Duran received 23 of 24 votes from the Twins Daily writers and 99 out of 110 from the respondents. Griffin Jax (5) and Jorge Lopez (3) also received votes. 2023 Twins Top Relief Pitcher (Preseason): Jhoan Duran. Question 10: Who will be the Twins' top hitter in 2023? The names here won't surprise you. Of the Twins Daily fans, Carlos Correa received 49 votes. That was followed by 29 votes for Jose Miranda and 22 votes for Byron Buxton. The Twins Daily writers arrived at a tie. Correa and Buxton each received ten votes. Miranda received the other four votes. 2023 Twins Top Hitter (Preseason): Carlos Correa. As the season begins today, please leave your predictions for these awards in the COMMENTS below, and discuss your thoughts on the players. View full article

Over the past week or so, we sent out a 2023 Twins predictions survey to all of the Twins Daily writers. A similar survey was posted in the Twins Daily forums and promoted on Twitter. Here is part one of the results. How many Wins will the Twins have, and where will they place in the AL Central? Image courtesy of William Parmeter 24 Twins Daily writers responded to our survey, while approximately 110 Twins Daily readers or Twitter followers responded. The majority of the questions were related to the Twins 2023 season. How many wins will the Twins have this season? Will they have any Silver Slugger or Gold Glove Award winners? Who will be their top hitters and pitchers? We asked other questions but will get to those in Part 2 later today and other topics we will write about throughout the season. So, in Part 1 of our 2023 predictions, we want you to leave a Comment where you answer the three questions below. How many Wins will the Twins have this season, and where will they finish in the division? Question 1: How many Wins will the Twins have in 2023? For the Twins Daily writers, I asked what the Twins' record will be. Those that have followed me for the 20 years that I've been blogging about the Twins will probably be surprised to learn that of those 24 Twins Daily writers, the 82-80 record that I predicted for the Twins was the lowest of the group. In my opinion, I think that it will be very interesting to see how the fact that the Twins won't be playing 78 games against the AL Central anymore. I personally think that it will mean that the winner of the AL Central will not be much over .500. But... that's why they play the games, right? 50% of Twins Daily writers said the Twins will win between 86 and 89 games in 2023. Surprisingly 37.5% (9) think the Twins will win 90 or more games this season. Just three had them winning between 82 and 85 games. Now, 110 Twins Daily readers responded to this question. Fifty-six of them predicted the Twins to win 86-89 games, one game over .500 if you will. Just 19% (21) of TD readers put the Twins at 90 or more wins. Just eight of the respondents think that the Twins will win 81 games or fewer. So, overall, the Twins Daily prediction is 87 wins for the 2023 Twins. Question 2: Where will the Twins finish in the American League Central? While 75% of Twins Daily writers think the Twins will take back the division crown in 2023, 59% of the fan respondents think the Twins will win the division. 37 of the 110 respondents predicted the Twins to finish in second while eight thought they'd finish in third place. The other 25% of the Twins Daily writers have the Twins finishing in second place. Question 3: Which team will win the AL Central? Interestingly, between questions two and three, one of the Twins Daily writers decided that the Twins would finish second instead of first. Seventeen had the Twins winning the division, five picked Cleveland, and two picked the White Sox. Fan respondents remained consistent. Sixty-five (of 110) predicted that the Twins would finish in first place and win the division. Thirty-eight think the Guardians will finish in second place, while the White Sox received just seven. To summarize, Twins fans and Twins Daily writers think their favorite team will win the division. Shocking, I know. Those two groups also found consensus, agreeing that the Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals will not win the division in 2023. Your Turn In the COMMENTS below, please tell us how many Wins the Twins will have in 2023 and where they will finish in the AL Central. Will they win the division? View full article

I just don't understand why people are so worried about this. If healthy, which we all know if a big IF, they're going to be allowed to go 95-105 pitches most times out. How many innings will that be? Hopefully 6-7, even 8. Probably not in the first weeks of the season, but once they get going a bit. If they're healthy... Obviously Maeda may have to work up a bit. They'll be careful with him. They'll certainly be watching Mahle's velocities, I'm sure. Ryan didn't pitch in 2020, pitched quite a bit in 2021 including the weird schedule due to the Olympics, and last year he was out a month with Covid and wasn't the same for weeks after that. I really feel like how they handled things last year was appropriate. It will certainly be different this year. I they are healthy.

That's... what... they do... (I mean, every team does and uses it, but we've seen this front office more than happy to make changes to the fringes of the 26 and 40 man rosters.