Seth Stohs

Yeah, Mack played 3B and 2B his first two seasons. Obviously he hasn't been catching for long, but this is his second season of catching. I've heard good things, but I don't know what the numbers would indicate. He's a good athlete for a catcher, strong arm. Obviously his brother has been catching all along. That's part of why he was a 1st round pick last year. But Charles is a good athlete. And, his bat has always been intriguing. Always interesting to see how guys from northern state develop. I think it's fair to assume it might just take a little longer, and that's OK.

The winning streak now stands at seven games as the Twins topped the Tigers to complete the sweeps of two AL Central competitors at Target Field over the past week. See how Carlos Correa came up big, and Gilberto Celestino played a big part in another win. Box Score SP Bailey Ober: 3.2 IP,6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (73 pitches, 49 strikes (67.1%) Home Runs: None Top 3 WPA: Trevor Larnach (.150), Gilberto Celestino (.141), Cody Stashak (.096) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Notes/Lineup Decisions (with Results) #1: Facing left-hander Tarik Skubal, Rocco Baldelli started Luis Arraez, Trevor Larnach and Max Kepler. How it went? Against Skubal, Arraez and Kepler each went 0-for-3. Larnach, however, went 2-for-2. #2: After DHing on Tuesday and playing center field on Wednesday, Byron Buxton was not in the starting lineup on Thursday afternoon. Gilberto Celestino, who is certainly a candidate to be sent back to St. Paul when rosters are reduced after Sunday’s games, is making his second start in center field in the past three games. How it went? Celestino reached base in each of his first three plate appearances. He had an RBI infield single in his first at-bat. He laid down a nice bunt in his second plate appearance and reached on a throwing error. In his third at-bat, he hit a 100 mph line drive down the right-field line for a double. With Celestino, the defense is always solid. In addition, he ranged to the gap to make a very nice sliding catch in the 8th inning. #3: There were hopes that Gary Sanchez could start behind the plate on Thursday. He was not quite ready so Ryan Jeffers started his third straight game behind the plate, including the day game after the night game. How it went? Well, Jeffers was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts, but he did a nice job behind the plate. Miguel Sano has a minor knee strain. That is why he is not starting against the left-hander and Arraez is back at first base. Ober Labors, Leaves with Injury Bailey Ober clearly didn’t have his best stuff on Thursday afternoon. It’s not that he was bad. He wasn’t. He threw strikes at a good rate (67%). He missed 12 bats. But he really had to work to strand base runners. He gave up six hits and two walks and somehow worked his way out of those situations and gave up just one run. Unfortunately, Ober left the game early. With two outs in the top of the fourth inning, right after a balk, he gave up a single that gave the Tigers their first (and only) run. After the pitch, Ober hobbled off the mound, grabbed his upper right leg, and bent at the waist. Clearly, he was not going to proceed. Cody Stashak came in and stranded another Tigers runner. Tyler Duffey worked a scoreless inning. Griffin Jax ended the game with three strong innings to record the save. The team, a couple of innings later, confirmed that it was right groin tightness for Ober. Correa’s Biggest Hit… So far. Yeah, I know that his home run was crushed and immensely impressive, but Carlos Correa came through with the biggest hit of his short Twins career. Leading 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Correa came up with the bases loaded. In his two previous at-bats, he had exit velocities of 95 and 106 mph. On a 3-2 count, Correa hit a ball 108 mph toward the gap in left-center field, over Willi Castro’s head. With the Tigers’ fourth error of the game tacked on, the bases were emptied and the Twins led 5-1. Gio Urshela followed with a single to left field for a 6-1 Twins lead. To this point, Correa is hitting the ball really hard, as you can see from the top row in the chart below. However, it appears that he is hitting a lot of ground balls. He also came into Thursday’s game having struck out 32.8% of the time. For his career, Correa has struck out just under 21% of his plate appearances. In 2021, he struck out just over 18% of the time. In other words, he's going to be just fine. Three hits and four balls hit over 100 mph on this day should help him relax and start putting up the numbers that he has over his career. In addition, despite his offensive woes early in the season, Correa's defense has been consistently terrific. What’s Next? The Twins will travel to Tampa to take on the Rays this weekend. Pitching matchups for the series include: Friday 6:10: Dylan Bundy (3-0, 0.59 ERA) vs RHP Corey Kluber (0-1, 3.68 ERA) Saturday 3:10: Chris Archer (0-0, 3.18 ERA) vs LHP Shane McClanahan (1-1, 2.45 ERA) Sunday 12:10: Chris Paddack (0-2, 3.68 ERA) vs TBD Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage SUN MON TUE WED THUR TOT Winder 61 0 0 0 0 61 Jax 0 0 10 0 46 56 Thielbar 0 0 27 0 0 27 Duffey 0 0 19 0 8 27 Pagán 0 0 23 0 0 23 Smith 13 0 0 10 0 23 Coulombe 0 0 0 20 0 20 Duran 18 0 0 0 0 18 Stashak 0 0 0 0 18 18 View full article

Seth chats with Twins pitching prospect and Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels starter John Stankiewicz about his adjustments in pro ball, his pitch mix and effectiveness, goals for the rest of the season and more. View full video

Assuming he has the new version of Tommy John (with the extra band) that all the Twins prospects are having, he could be ready by February.

Can't base errors because someone else might have caught it.

Cortisone is a wonderful thing.

He mini-jumped and fully extended. That's not an error.

And throwing 150-180 pitches every game is a good thing. Under Baldelli, Jorge Polanco has played in 152 and 153 games (and 55 of 60 in 2020). In 2019, Rosario played 157. Guys who were in the 130s were on the IL. They're all different. They all have different needs. The goal is for them to be healthy and at their best. As others have mentioned, they don't have a lot of days off... Even this year, they've played 17 games. Kepler's played 17. Sano, Arraez, and Polanco have played 16. Carlos Correa and Gio Urshela have played 15. So, the main guys are playing pretty much every day and the bench guys are getting opportunities too. Seems like a pretty good mix to me. As has been mentioned, TK was known for playing his bench so they would be ready.

Larnach - He was going back because if that ball would have been caught (and it probably should have), he tags and goes to third on Grossman's arm. Agree on Sano and for sure Urshela... but oh well.

Week 3 of the minor-league season is complete. Two of the Twins affiliates, both Class A squads, currently lead their division. It definitely was a mixed bag of performances at each level. Most of the Twins affiliates have played 15 games now while the St. Paul Saints have played 18 games. Top prospects are reaching 50-60 plate appearances. That's not enough to make any grand stances on players, but we'll get there. Starting pitchers will be making their third and fourth starts. Pitch counts may increase, and we might soon be able to find tendencies for players. and we will be here to cover it all. Let's take a look back at Week 3 in the Twins minor leagues. If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week. Please note that the hyperlinks on player names will show you past articles in which that player has been tagged. Click around a bit and see how much some of these players have been written about over the years. RESULTS Tuesday: The Arrival of Raya Wednesday: Wind Surge Win a Wild One Thursday: Double Walk Offs and Shoving Smeltzer Friday: St. Paul Completes Twin Cities Sweep Saturday: Emmanuel Rodriguez Does It Again Sunday: Kernels and Surge Strike Large in Series Finales on Sunday MORE TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE CONTENT Twins Minor League Week in Review (4/12-18) Twins Have Important Reinforcements Close Unheralded Twins Prospects to Watch Twins Complete Padres Trade with Pitching Prospect Brayan Medina Emmanuel Rodriguez: A Star in the Making? Three Questions With… Emmanuel Rodriguez (Video) WEEK IN REVIEW Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week: 2-4 at Toledo Season: 10-7 overall, 3rd place in the International League West. They are 2 1/2 games behind Nashville. The Saints scored nine runs in one game last week. In their other five games, they scored a combined ten runs. In the first game of the week, they lost 11-0. That’s not to say that there weren’t some highlights. Ten Saints pitchers worked and did not give up an earned run. Sure, that includes catcher David Banuelos who retired the only batter he faced. The highlight was Ronny Henriquez. He made his first appearance of the season, his first appearance in the Twins organization, and his first Triple-A appearance. It went quite well. He worked three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one and struck out four batters. Yennier Cano worked three scoreless innings over two appearances. He gave up two hits and hit a batter, and he struck out three batters. Dereck Rodriguez returned to the Saints after one appearance with the Twins. He gave up two unearned runs on two hits over three innings. He struck out five batters without issuing a walk. As you’d expect, it wasn’t all good. As terrific as Cole Sands was in his first two Triple-A starts, this wasn’t a good week. Combined, he gave up ten runs on ten hits in just 2 2/3 innings. He walked three and didn’t have a strikeout. He had a short start early in the week and came out of the bullpen on Sunday. No surprise that the Saints didn’t have any hitting standouts in such a frustrating week. Jose Miranda led the offense, hitting .250/.321/.458 (.779) with five doubles and three walks. Royce Lewis hit just .190 over six games. He had five walks, a double, and an absolutely mammoth home run. Daniel Robertson went 2-for-17 (.118) last week. Jake Cave was 3-for-23 (.130) with ten strikeouts. It was also a rough week for the catchers. Chance Sisco went 1-for-9 (.111). Jose Godoy went 1-for-8 (.125), though he got called up, and on Sunday had two incredibly huge walks. Caleb Hamilton went 0-for-5, and David Banuelos went 0-for-3. What’s Next? The Saints come home to host the Nashville Sound, the Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. (Go to SaintsBaseball.com for tickets!) Pitching Probables: (RHP Dereck Rodriguez, LHP Devin Smeltzer, RHP Ronny Henriquez, RHP Jake Faria, TBD, TBD) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge Week: 4-2 at home vs. Midland Season: 8-7 overall, tied for 2nd place in the Texas League South Division. They are 2.0 games behind Tulsa. The Surge had a fantastic week offensively. In six games, they scored 52 runs. That includes a 15-1 win on Thursday, but they also had games with 10, nine, and eight runs. However, it was a rough week for their pitching staff. They gave up 45 runs. They had games in which they gave up 15, 10, eight, and seven runs. With that as the background, let’s start with the hitters. Six Wichita hitters posted an OPS over 1.000 for the week. Andrew Bechtold had a really nice week. In four games, he hit .364/.556/.727 (1.283). He had a double and a home run. He also walked six times with just two strikeouts. Kevin Merrell also played in four games. He hit .313/.333/.938 (1.271) with a double and three home runs. Michael Helman played all six games and hit .348/.429/.783 (1.212) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI. He also walked four times. Spencer Steer also played all six games. He hit .409/.567/.591 (1.158) with four doubles. He had eight walks to go with just three strikeouts. Steer was the Twins Minor League Player of the Week. Was he also Twins Daily's hitter of the week? Edouard Julien returned the second half of the week from the Injured List. He went 4-for-11 with a double and a triple. He also stole two bases in three games. Dennis Ortega signed with the Twins late in spring training. He played last year with the Triple-A affiliate of the Cardinals, the organization he began with in 2014. In five games last week, he hit .478/.500/.696 (1.196) with three doubles, a triple, and seven RBI. Despite his years of professional experience, he is still just 24 years old. On the other side of the spectrum, Leobaldo Cabrera went 0-for-15 during the week. Matt Wallner had two hits on Sunday, but he was 2-for-14 (.143) for the week. For the Wind Surge pitching staff, there were certainly extremes. Matt Canterino started on both Monday and Sunday. Combined, he threw six scoreless, hitless innings. He walked two batters and struck out nine. After missing most of the 2021 season with elbow issues, the Twins will be immensely cautious with Canterino this year, likely putting him on a plan similar to what the team did with Bailey Ober a year ago. Simeon Woods Richardson was incredible again in his start this week. The right-hander tossed six scoreless innings. He gave up two singles, walked no one, and struck out six batters. Austin Schulfer tossed four scoreless innings over his two appearances. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out five batters. He recorded one save. While it wasn’t a great outing, Chris Vallimont had a nice, bounce-back start. He gave up one run in four innings. He gave up three hits, hit a batter, and walked three batters. He had six strikeouts. On the other side, Brandon Lawson gave up six earned runs in 1 1/3 innings. Steven Cruz pitched twice. In 1 2/3 innings, he gave up six runs on four hits, a hit batter, and four walks. All of that came in the ninth inning when he came in with a 7-0 lead. Zach Featherstone also pitched twice. He gave up seven runs on four hits (2 homers), and three walks in two innings. Bryan Sammons gave up four runs on four hits and three walks in two innings. What’s Next? The Wind Surge will be traveling to Arkansas for the week. Pitching Probables: (RHP Chris Vallimont, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Matt Canterino, TBD, TBD) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week: 5-1 at home vs Peoria) Season: 12-3 overall, 1st place in the Midwest League, 1.0 game ahead of Wisconsin. The Kernels won five of six games despite leading the run differential just 25-23. The first three games of the week were one-run games. They were postponed on Wednesday and then won both games of a doubleheader in walk-off fashion. The Kernels week (and season so far) has been largely successful due to some great work out of the bullpen. Eight relievers combined for 20 innings of zero unearned runs. Melvi Acosta, Denny Bentley, Osiris German, Bradley Hanner, and Bobby Milacki each pitched twice during the week and worked between 2 2/3 and 3 2/3 innings. Hanner was given the Win in both of his games. He walked and batter and hit a batter, but he did not give up a run or a hit during the week. Sean Mooney went five innings in his start. He gave up one run on four hits. Lefty Cade Povich gave up two runs (1 earned) on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out nine batters. Casey Legumina also worked 4 2/3 innings and gave up two runs. The Kernels got several solid performances from their hitters last week against Peoria. After a middling first full week of the season (after an amazing first weekend), Christian Encarnacion-Strand had another strong week against Peoria. Over six games, he hit .400/.400/.560 (.960) with two doubles and a triple. The only blemish was nine strikeouts in 25 plate appearances. Will Holland played in five games. He hit .375/.474/.438 (.912) with a double. In five games, Jeferson Morales hit .313/.429/.438 (.867) with two doubles. Outfielder Willie Joe Garry hit .294/.333/.529 (.862) with two doubles and a triple. What’s Next? The Kernels will be traveling to southeast Wisconsin to take on the Beloit Sky Carp. Pitching Probables: (RHP Cody Laweryson, RHP Casey Legumina, LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sean Mooney, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long/LHP Aaron Rozek, LHP Cade Povich) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels Week: 3-3 at Dunedin Season: 10-5 overall, 1st place in the Florida State League West, 2.0 games ahead of Bradenton. The Mighty Mussels scored 20 runs over their six-game week. Fortunately, their pitching staff only allowed just 18 runs on the week. No surprise, it was a tightly-contested week. Three of the six games were settled by one run. There was also a two-run game, a three-run game, and a four-run game. No laughers in Florida this week, at least not in Dunedin. The Mighty Mussels starters continued to pitch really well. The six starters worked a combined 28 1/3 innings and gave up just four runs (2 earned) on 11 hits and eight walks. They struck out 39 batters. John Stankiewicz had another great start last week. He struck out nine batters over five scoreless innings. He gave up one hit and walked two batters. Marco Raya’s second professional start was pretty incredible. He struck out 10 batters over six innings. He gave up one hit and struck out none. Steve Hajjar was good in his second pro start. He struck out 10 batters over 4 1/3 innings. He gave up an unearned run on two walks and a hit batter. No hits. David Festa also went four scoreless frames in his start. He gave up three hits, walked two, and struck out four batters. The big news to come out of this start was that he hit 98.6 mph with a fastball. On Sunday, Travis Adams gave up one run on one hit over five one-run innings. Two relievers worked twice and got at least 12 outs. Hunter McMahon walked one and struck out one over four hitless innings. Mike Paredes gave up just one hit over 4 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out five batters. It was a good week for a few 2022 draft picks. Eighth round pick from UCLA, catcher Noah Cardenas played in four games. He hit .273/.471/.545 (1.016) with a homer and three walks. Dylan Neuse was the Twins 17th round pick from Texas Tech. He also played in four games and hit .273/.385/.545 (.930) with his first professional home run. 12th round pick Kyler Fedko, an outfielder from U Conn had another solid week. Over six games, he hit .286/.407/.476 (.883) with a double and a home run. What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels are back at Hammond Stadium this coming week to face Clearwater. Pitching Probables: (LHP Steve Hajjar, RHP Pierson Ohl, RHP John Stankiewicz, TBD, RHP Travis Adams, TBD) PROSPECT SUMMARY This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week (April 19-24). #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 6 G, 7-for-24 (.292), 2-2B, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 4 K (Season: 15 G, .262/.392/.344 (.736), 5-2B, 15 R, 4 RBI, 10 BB, 12 K) #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 6 G, 4-for-21 (.190), 3-2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K (Season: 16 G, .288/.394/.542 (.937), 7-2B, 1-3B, 2-HR, 15 R, 9 RBI, 9 BB, 15 K) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 5 G, 5-for-19 (.263), 3-2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K (Season: 16 G, .235/.280/.397 (.677), 8-2B, 1-HR, 8 R, 10 RBI, 4 BB, 13 K) #4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - IL (knee) #5 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K (Season: 3 GS, 16 IP, 3 R, 9 H, 5 BB, 16 K, 2-1, 1.69 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 9.0 K/9) #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 2 GS, 6.0 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 9 K (Season: 4 GS, 9.2 IP, 3 R, 5 H, 8 BB, 14 K, 0-1, 2.79 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 7.4 BB/9, 13.0 K/9) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 G, 3.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 6 G, 9.0 IP, 4 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 15 K, 0-0, 4.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 2.0 BB/9, 15.0 K/9) #8 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 6 K (Season: 3 GS, 16.2 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 5 H, 4 BB, 14 K, 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.54 WHIP, 2.2 BB/9, 7.6 K/9) #9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 1 G, 4.0 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K (Season: 3 G, 10.1 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 5 K, 0-0, 3.48 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 4.4 K/9) #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 6 G, 5-for-21 (.238), 1-2B, 5 BB, 6 K (Season: 14 G, .200/.353/.218 (.571), 1-2B, 8 R, 1 RBI, 12 BB, 20 K) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 5 G, 0-for-3 (.000), 0 BB, 0 K (Season: 9 G, .100/.250/.100 (.350), 2 R, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K) #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4 G, 2-for-14 (.143), 5 RBI, 3 BB, 7 K.(Season: 12 G, .111/.222/.178 (.400), 1-HR, 4 R, 7 RBI, 7 BB, 24 K) #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 G, 1 GS, 2.2 IP, 10 ER, 10 H, 1 BB, 0 K (Season: 4 G, 3 GS, 12.2 IP, 11 R, 14 H, 4 BB, 12 K, 0-3, 7.82 ERA, 1.42 WHIP, 2.8 BB/9, 8.5 K/9) #14 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5.0 IP, 6 R, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K (Season: 3 G, 2 GS, 15.1 IP, 10 R, 7 ER, 11 H, 8 BB, 18 K, 1-1, 4.11 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 4.7 BB/9, 10.6 K/9) #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 6 G, 3-for-20 (.150) , 2-2B, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 4 BB, 11 K (Season: 14 G, .267/.469/.667 (1.136), 3-2B, 5-HR, 12 R, 8 RBI, 16 BB, 17 K) #16 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - (Week/Season: 1 G, 3 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.33 WHIP, 3.0 BB/9, 12.0 K/9) #17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL (elbow) #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 6 G, 9-for-22 (.409), 4-2B, 6 RBI, 8 BB, 3 K (Season: 15 G, .322/.429/.542 (.971), 8-2B, 1-3B, 1-HR, 12 R, 12 RBI, 9 BB, 12 K) #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 3 G, 4-for-11 (.364), 1 BB, 2 K, 2 SB (Season: 7 G, .318/.385/.455 (.839), 1-2B, 1-3B, 4 R, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K) #20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 4.1 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 10 K. (Season: 2 GS, 7.1 IP, 5 R, 4 ER, 4 H, 4 BB, 16 K, 0-0, 4.91 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 4.9 BB/9, 19.6 K/9) PLAYERS OF THE WEEK Hitter of the Week: Super Utility, Michael Helman, Wichita Wind Surge Last week, Michael Helman played in all six games for Wichita. He hit .348/.429/.783 (1.212) with two doubles, a triple, two home runs and eight RBI. He also walked four times. In 15 games on the season, he has hit .286/.379/.554 (.933) with two doubles, two triples, and three home runs. As important in his development, he has nine walks to just six strikeouts on the season. He is also 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts. The Twins drafted Helman in the 11th round of the 2018 draft as a second baseman out of Texas A&M. That is the position he played most of the time pre-pandemic. When he returned to the field in 2021, versatility became a huge part of Helman’s game. In fact, I think it is a trait that will help him get a shot in the big leagues at some point. Last year, he played 42 games in left field, 27 games in right field, 26 games in center field, 16 games at second base and four games at shortstop. He went to the Arizona Fall League where he played eight games in center but also played games in left, second and third base. This season, Helman has started ten games in center, four games at third base, and one game at second base. After struggling offensively in Ft. Myers in 2019, hitting just .197 before an injury ended his season. It was in Cedar Rapids in 2021 where his bat, and specifically his power arrived. In 111 games, he hit 21 doubles, four triples and 19 home runs (50% more than previously as a pro). He always took quality at-bats and knows the strike zone well, but after being a top of the order or bottom of the order hitter, he has become a middle of the order hitter in a very strong Wichita Wind Surge lineup in 2021. Pitcher of the Week: Marco Raya, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels In just his second professional start, Raya shut down the Dunedin Blue Jays for six innings. He faced the minimum of 18 batters. He gave up one hit, walked none, and struck out ten batters. The one batter who got a hit was soon thrown out attempting to steal a base. It was a nice jump forward after his first start in which he gave up three runs (2 earned) on seven hits, a walk, and a hit batter. Raya was the Twins' fourth-round draft pick in 2020 out of United South High School in Laredo, Texas. Of course, there wasn’t a season for him to begin his career then. He made a strong showing in the instructional league that fall. He was excited to begin in 2021 but a minor injury cost him the season. However, reports from last year’s instructional league had him hitting 96-97 mph with a fastball. That’s especially impressive when he was selected as a prep pitcher with four quality pitches and good control. Add in the big fastball and Raya has a chance to be really good. What were your favorite storylines from the past week, and what will you be following in the coming week. View full article

7th round pick from UConn. Tools are not great, but he's got a solid all-around game. Few weaknesses. He started last year in Ft. Myers, but then he broke his hamate bone and missed 2+ months. When he came back, they sent him to Cedar Rapids. He can play around the field, three infield positions and some in the outfield too.

Here's maybe a cleaner response...

Good point... And frankly, I know the Top 100 guys, but that's about it... I'll encourage our writers to point out those kinds of things.

Last week (4/11-18), CES hit .273/.333/.545 (.878) with 2 homers, 2 BB, 7 K. Coming into today, this week he has hit .381/.381/.429 (.910) with 1 double, 0 BB, 7 K. If it wasn't for his first three games when he went 10-14 (.714), would we be so quick to assume he should move up? He's doing just fine. He's doing well. But the 2 BB to 16 K ratio doesn't scream promotion. Since the first two games, CES is sixth on the Kernels roster in OPS.

I'm certain that was always part of the plan, because the plan is for him to be an impact starter, not a reliever.

Why would how much a guy gets paid alter the plan to keep guys fresh? Might make it even more important.

Uffdah... I thought you were going to say "You're so Vain."

Based on 12 games?

I think (would hope) we would all be thrilled with that!! And that's probably as good of a comp as I've seen.

The Twins offense has certainly struggled. Even in their Wins on Thursday and Friday ,they scored a combined three runs. What they needed on Saturday was a nice, relaxing game with more solid pitching and a breakout from the offense. Byron Buxton, Luis Arraez, Ryan Jeffers and Dylan Bundy provided the Twins with exactly what they needed in a nice, comfortable win. Box Score SP: Dylan Bundy: 5.0 IP,4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (79 pitches, 59 strikes (74.7%)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (4), Ryan Jeffers (1) Top 3 WPA: Dylan Bundy (.186), Byron Buxton (.171), Luis Arraez (.130) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Pregame Injury Updates Before the game on Saturday, the Twins announced that Gary Sanchez's abdominal injury was fairly minor but that he would need to be out a few days. That is good news. Of course, it still required some roster moves. The Twins selected the contract of catcher Jose Godoy to have a backup backstop for the next few games. It will be interesting because since they have already DFAd him. If they decide to DFA him again when he gets sent down, he will have the right to become a free agent rather than accept an outright if he cleared waivers. That said, he has options, so the Twins could do that. To make room on the 28-man roster, reliever Jhon Romero was placed on the 10-day Injured List with biceps tendinitis. But to make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins placed reliever Jorge Alcala on the 60-Day Injured List. We had heard that he had a setback in his recovery from an elbow injury. Moving him to the 60-Day IL means he won't pitch in the big leagues for at least six weeks. It also allows him to be more patient with his rehab and hopefully return. Bundy Rolls As we all expected when news of the Dylan Bundy signing broke just before the lockout began, he has started the season by going 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA and a 0.72 WHIP. I mean, that’s what you expected, right? Bundy was the fourth-overall pick in the 2011 MLB draft out of high school in Oklahoma. He was a hard-throwing righty who often hit triple-digits. He made his MLB debut in late 2012, but then he was injured and didn’t get back to the big leagues until 2016. Short story long, Bundy has certainly faced ups and downs throughout his career, both in terms of health and production. What Bundy appears to have done, or at least has been doing at the start of this season, is completely buy into a mindset of who he is and what he can be as a pitcher. Instead of reaching back and throwing fastballs in the upper 90s, he is now mixing all of his pitches and relying heavily on his breaking pitches. On Saturday afternoon, he threw just 32% four-seam fastballs. He threw 30% sliders, 16% changeups, 13% curveballs, and 9% sinkers. Most importantly, he has been throwing strikes and working ahead in the count. In 15 1/3 innings this season, he has struck out 12 batters while walking just one batter. Likely the credit needs to be split. We assume that he has worked with pitching coaches Wes Johnson, Luis Ramirez, and Pete Maki to develop a strategy and game plan. But Bundy has bought into it, and he is executing the plan and the pitches. While it isn’t fair to expect this kind of performance from Bundy every start or all season long, it certainly has earned him some lengthy leash. Byron Buxton is Back! The Twins and Buxton were wise to be patient with Byron Buxton following his scare last Sunday. Initially, the fear was he would be out for a whole, but when an MRI came back that it was “just inflammation,” they could have pushed him back. Instead, they gave him the necessary rest. He played on Thursday night, and then they gave him Friday night off to see how he responded. He was back in the lineup on Saturday night, and the response was tremendous. He hit a single in his first at-bat. In his second at-bat, he hit a line drive to right field (at 108 mph), and when the throw to the infield came to first base, he kept running and turned a single into a double. Third at-bat? He destroyed a ball into the 2nd deck in left field, a two-run homer. He was hit by a pitch in the ribs his next time to the plate (clearly unintentional), and with the right side of the infield open, he slapped a single to right field. It’s good to have Byron Buxton at the top of the lineup, making things happen and clearly having a lot of fun. He is now hitting .344/.400/.844 (1.244) on the season. All Rise for Arraez Following Buxton in the Twins lineup on Saturday was Luis Arraez. Like Buxton, Arraez had a four-hit game. Arraez used the whole field to record his 4-for-5 day. But, he was able to still drive in three runs in the game, nearly doubling his season total to seven RBI. Arraez is now hitting .364/.429/.477 (.906) through 14 games. Arraez returned to third base in this game. To be honest, he has been really poor defensively at that position in the early season. On Saturday, he made all of the plays. Jeffers Jolt The Twins decided to trade catchers Mitch Garver and Ben Rortvedt before the season, which really showed their confidence in Ryan Jeffers. He is off to a slow start this season, but things may have turned around in the late innings on Friday night. In the 8th inning on Friday, he hit a double, which started the unlikely (and unusual) rally. He advanced to third base on a wild pitch that didn’t get too far away from the catcher, which made for a tougher play on The Play With Two Errors. Then, protecting a one-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, he blocked a couple of balls in the dirt, a breaking ball that landed about four feet in front of the plate with a runner on third base. Finally, he framed the final pitch, a borderline fastball on the inside corner at the knees to end the game. I remind you of all of that because contributing to an unlikely, fun, important win against a divisional competitor can absolutely alter the momentum of your season, in large part by helping him regain confidence. In each of his Saturday at-bats, Jeffers hit the ball hard. After not having an extra-base hit on the season until Friday night’s double, he hit a double at 101.7 mph in his first at-bat on Saturday. A couple of innings later, Jeffers hit a ball 102.4 mph into the bleachers in left field for his first home run of the season. He added a walk and a strikeout to end the day 2-for-3. Respect the Competition On Saturday afternoon, Detroit Tigers DH Miguel Cabrera lined a single to right field. It’s something he has done so many times in his career. This one was special for him, his teammates, and the Tigers' fans, especially those who were at Comerica Park on Saturday. This was his 3,000th hit. Cabrera became the 33rd player in MLB history to join the 3,000 Hit Club. He is one of seven players in MLB history to have 3,000 hits and 500 home runs. He joins Hank Aaron and Willie Mays as the only players in MLB history to have 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, and a .300 batting average. Congratulations, Miguel Cabrera! What’s Next? The Twins will finish their series at home against the White Sox at Target Field at 1:10 pm. The Twins will send right-hander Chris Archer (0-0, 2.16 ERA) to the mound. The White Sox will counter with Lucas Giolito, who will be making his first start of the season. He has been out with an abdominal injury. On Tuesday, he threw about 50 pitches in a simulated game in Arizona, so he could potentially throw 70-75 pitches on Sunday. For the record, I am also OK with 9-2 wins. Maybe another tomorrow? Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet TUE WED THU FRI SAT TOT Pagán 0 0 9 34 0 43 Stashak 0 21 0 0 22 43 Thielbar 0 15 0 0 22 37 Romero 30 0 0 0 IL 30 Jax 0 0 0 29 0 29 Duffey 15 0 0 13 0 28 Coulombe 0 0 0 0 28 28 Smith 2 0 16 0 0 18 Duran 0 0 15 0 0 15 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Personal opinions: Varland - All of that analysis may prove true, but I don't think that we need to make too much out of one start in which he gave up three homers, but somehow worked through five! He may proved to be "Just" a bullpen arm, and there's nothing wrong with that, but he's not a finished product. Encarnacion - I can't imagine a team would call up a guy after two hot weeks, especially since he barely spent any time at Low-A. He had a great first three games, and then in the second week, his OPS was closer to .730. He's had a decent week again this week. He sure looks legit, but gotta see him over some time, and actually through maybe a cold stretch to see how he responds. Austin Martin with a six-game hitting streak, but man, the shortstop defense tonight was again pretty brutal.