Andrew Mahlke

Throwing a baseball is unnatural and puts a lot of stress on your arm. It’s just about managing that and making sure there isn’t a crazy amount of overuse

It is no secret that every Twins fan on social media wants pitching. When Carlos Correa signed for at least six more years, many fans still asked, “can he pitch?” or “why aren’t we getting any pitchers?” Every pitching acquisition comes with a cost, whether money or players. Good pitching costs more than good hitting, and the Twins were in a perfect situation to acquire pitching. Let’s dive into it.
Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Last year, the Twins starting pitching ranked 20th in ERA, 18th in FIP, 23rd in K/9, and allowed the 11th most HR/9. If this team was going to improve from a .500ish team to a playoff team, starting pitching needed to be upgraded. Enter Pablo López.
In case you haven’t seen, All-Star 1B/DH Luis Arraez was traded to the Miami Marlins for López, INF Jose Salas, and OF Byron Chourio. Arraez hit .316/.375/.420 last year with a 131 wRC+. López was 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA and a 3.71 FIP. Arraez put up a 3.2 fWAR season compared to López’s 2.8. However, Arraez has an extra year of team control, which is why the Twins had such a high asking price for the 25 year old.
According to Baseball Prospectus, Salas is the 93rd-best prospect, and Chourio had a .838 OPS in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old.
More than ever, pitching is at a premium in Major League Baseball. In the 2022-23 offseason, MLB teams usually receive more bang for their buck when signing position players instead of starting pitchers on the free agent market. As we have seen in the past few years, the current Twins front office prefers to trade for starting pitchers, and this premium on the free agent market could be the main reason.
Using Steamer’s 2023 projection system, we can see how each player projects in the 2023 season. In the age of analytics, the primary statistic that gets players paid is Wins Above Replacement. On average, the top 31 free-agent starting pitchers this offseason signed for $7.21 million per WAR accumulated. On average, the top 31 free-agent position players signed for $6.44 million per win. This shows how much pitching is valued in today’s game and how teams are willing to spend more money to get more pitching.
Like many professional sports executives, Derek Falvey was an economics major and knows that running a successful business or franchise is challenging. To get something, you must give something in return.
The first two economic principles you will learn in an ECON 101 class are scarcity and opportunity cost.
Scarcity means that the demand for a good (or, in our case, player) will always be greater than the availability of that good. In the current game of baseball, above-average pitching is more scarce than a first baseman with an OPS of around .800. Pitching is so valuable, and every team needs it. While Arraez is a great player and probably more valuable by WAR than López, he plays a position full of guys who can produce offensively, reducing his value. As we saw with the Twins last year, good pitching is scarce. López is not an ace by any means, but he would've led the Twins staff in pitching WAR (2.8) and innings pitched (180) in 2022. Above-average pitching isn't something the Twins have had much of in recent years, so López should significantly improve their pitching staff.
Opportunity cost is the second economic principle used in every business decision. Opportunity cost is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Every dollar you spend on a player is a dollar you can’t pay another player. Every dollar you give Correa is a dollar you can’t spend on pitching, and vice versa. This Twins front office may see it advantageous to spend big money on position players, given the market premium for pitching.
The opportunity cost of trading Arraez is lower than one may think. You may get a slight decrease in production at first base from Jose Miranda and Alex Kirilloff, but both have shown that they are more than serviceable options. You are downgrading slightly in the infield and effectively upgrading from Bailey Ober to López while adding to the improved rotation depth.
Another reason the Twins could trade Arraez was their surplus of infielders. The Twins now have seven infielders on their 40-man roster. They are Correa, Jorge Polanco, Miranda, Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Kyle Farmer, and Edouard Julien. Correa, Polanco, and Miranda are all but penciled into the opening-day lineup. Kirilloff has had some of the best batted-ball data in the league when his wrist has been healthy. Lewis looks to be a future difference-maker once he returns mid-season from his second torn ACL. Farmer is a utility infielder who is solid defensively everywhere and hits lefties well. Julien had a .931 OPS in AA last year and a 1.248 OPS in the Arizona Fall League across 96 plate appearances.
The only infielder among these seven who is worse defensively than Arraez is arguably Kirilloff, but he is first base only as a left-handed thrower. Arraez was only seen as a 1B/DH by the Twins' front office, significantly diminishing his value as a player.
Once Lewis is ready to go, and Brooks Lee gets to the majors, Miranda would move to first, creating an odd-man-out situation. Having so many infield options that could be plugged in and perform well is a good problem.
Economics always factor into these decisions that can make or break a franchise. Many decisions come down to opportunity cost and all the different routes front offices can take from offseason to offseason.
Nobody likes it when their favorite player is traded. It sucks. It can make it less enjoyable to watch a team, and Arraez is one of the most fun Twins players in the last ten years. But putting all personal bias aside, from a business standpoint, this move makes sense. You are giving up a player at a position where you have a surplus of options in exchange for a position with less talent.
Thank you for reading, and Go, Twins!

View full article

Thank you!

Throwing a baseball is unnatural and puts a lot of stress on your arm. It’s just about managing that and making sure there isn’t a crazy amount of overuse

Good post Andrew. I received my economics degree from the University of North Carolina. Unlike many of the other subjects which I took in college, economics just always made sense to me. And so did your fine article. Thank you for writing it. 

It is no secret that every Twins fan on social media wants pitching. When Carlos Correa signed for at least six more years, many fans still asked, “can he pitch?” or “why aren’t we getting any pitchers?” Every pitching acquisition comes with a cost, whether money or players. Good pitching costs more than good hitting, and the Twins were in a perfect situation to acquire pitching. Let’s dive into it.
Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Last year, the Twins starting pitching ranked 20th in ERA, 18th in FIP, 23rd in K/9, and allowed the 11th most HR/9. If this team was going to improve from a .500ish team to a playoff team, starting pitching needed to be upgraded. Enter Pablo López.
In case you haven’t seen, All-Star 1B/DH Luis Arraez was traded to the Miami Marlins for López, INF Jose Salas, and OF Byron Chourio. Arraez hit .316/.375/.420 last year with a 131 wRC+. López was 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA and a 3.71 FIP. Arraez put up a 3.2 fWAR season compared to López’s 2.8. However, Arraez has an extra year of team control, which is why the Twins had such a high asking price for the 25 year old.
According to Baseball Prospectus, Salas is the 93rd-best prospect, and Chourio had a .838 OPS in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old.
More than ever, pitching is at a premium in Major League Baseball. In the 2022-23 offseason, MLB teams usually receive more bang for their buck when signing position players instead of starting pitchers on the free agent market. As we have seen in the past few years, the current Twins front office prefers to trade for starting pitchers, and this premium on the free agent market could be the main reason.
Using Steamer’s 2023 projection system, we can see how each player projects in the 2023 season. In the age of analytics, the primary statistic that gets players paid is Wins Above Replacement. On average, the top 31 free-agent starting pitchers this offseason signed for $7.21 million per WAR accumulated. On average, the top 31 free-agent position players signed for $6.44 million per win. This shows how much pitching is valued in today’s game and how teams are willing to spend more money to get more pitching.
Like many professional sports executives, Derek Falvey was an economics major and knows that running a successful business or franchise is challenging. To get something, you must give something in return.
The first two economic principles you will learn in an ECON 101 class are scarcity and opportunity cost.
Scarcity means that the demand for a good (or, in our case, player) will always be greater than the availability of that good. In the current game of baseball, above-average pitching is more scarce than a first baseman with an OPS of around .800. Pitching is so valuable, and every team needs it. While Arraez is a great player and probably more valuable by WAR than López, he plays a position full of guys who can produce offensively, reducing his value. As we saw with the Twins last year, good pitching is scarce. López is not an ace by any means, but he would've led the Twins staff in pitching WAR (2.8) and innings pitched (180) in 2022. Above-average pitching isn't something the Twins have had much of in recent years, so López should significantly improve their pitching staff.
Opportunity cost is the second economic principle used in every business decision. Opportunity cost is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Every dollar you spend on a player is a dollar you can’t pay another player. Every dollar you give Correa is a dollar you can’t spend on pitching, and vice versa. This Twins front office may see it advantageous to spend big money on position players, given the market premium for pitching.
The opportunity cost of trading Arraez is lower than one may think. You may get a slight decrease in production at first base from Jose Miranda and Alex Kirilloff, but both have shown that they are more than serviceable options. You are downgrading slightly in the infield and effectively upgrading from Bailey Ober to López while adding to the improved rotation depth.
Another reason the Twins could trade Arraez was their surplus of infielders. The Twins now have seven infielders on their 40-man roster. They are Correa, Jorge Polanco, Miranda, Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Kyle Farmer, and Edouard Julien. Correa, Polanco, and Miranda are all but penciled into the opening-day lineup. Kirilloff has had some of the best batted-ball data in the league when his wrist has been healthy. Lewis looks to be a future difference-maker once he returns mid-season from his second torn ACL. Farmer is a utility infielder who is solid defensively everywhere and hits lefties well. Julien had a .931 OPS in AA last year and a 1.248 OPS in the Arizona Fall League across 96 plate appearances.
The only infielder among these seven who is worse defensively than Arraez is arguably Kirilloff, but he is first base only as a left-handed thrower. Arraez was only seen as a 1B/DH by the Twins' front office, significantly diminishing his value as a player.
Once Lewis is ready to go, and Brooks Lee gets to the majors, Miranda would move to first, creating an odd-man-out situation. Having so many infield options that could be plugged in and perform well is a good problem.
Economics always factor into these decisions that can make or break a franchise. Many decisions come down to opportunity cost and all the different routes front offices can take from offseason to offseason.
Nobody likes it when their favorite player is traded. It sucks. It can make it less enjoyable to watch a team, and Arraez is one of the most fun Twins players in the last ten years. But putting all personal bias aside, from a business standpoint, this move makes sense. You are giving up a player at a position where you have a surplus of options in exchange for a position with less talent.
Thank you for reading, and Go, Twins!

View full article

It is no secret that every Twins fan on social media wants pitching. When Carlos Correa signed for at least six more years, many fans still asked, “can he pitch?” or “why aren’t we getting any pitchers?” Every pitching acquisition comes with a cost, whether money or players. Good pitching costs more than good hitting, and the Twins were in a perfect situation to acquire pitching. Let’s dive into it.
Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Last year, the Twins starting pitching ranked 20th in ERA, 18th in FIP, 23rd in K/9, and allowed the 11th most HR/9. If this team was going to improve from a .500ish team to a playoff team, starting pitching needed to be upgraded. Enter Pablo López.
In case you haven’t seen, All-Star 1B/DH Luis Arraez was traded to the Miami Marlins for López, INF Jose Salas, and OF Byron Chourio. Arraez hit .316/.375/.420 last year with a 131 wRC+. López was 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA and a 3.71 FIP. Arraez put up a 3.2 fWAR season compared to López’s 2.8. However, Arraez has an extra year of team control, which is why the Twins had such a high asking price for the 25 year old.
According to Baseball Prospectus, Salas is the 93rd-best prospect, and Chourio had a .838 OPS in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old.
More than ever, pitching is at a premium in Major League Baseball. In the 2022-23 offseason, MLB teams usually receive more bang for their buck when signing position players instead of starting pitchers on the free agent market. As we have seen in the past few years, the current Twins front office prefers to trade for starting pitchers, and this premium on the free agent market could be the main reason.
Using Steamer’s 2023 projection system, we can see how each player projects in the 2023 season. In the age of analytics, the primary statistic that gets players paid is Wins Above Replacement. On average, the top 31 free-agent starting pitchers this offseason signed for $7.21 million per WAR accumulated. On average, the top 31 free-agent position players signed for $6.44 million per win. This shows how much pitching is valued in today’s game and how teams are willing to spend more money to get more pitching.
Like many professional sports executives, Derek Falvey was an economics major and knows that running a successful business or franchise is challenging. To get something, you must give something in return.
The first two economic principles you will learn in an ECON 101 class are scarcity and opportunity cost.
Scarcity means that the demand for a good (or, in our case, player) will always be greater than the availability of that good. In the current game of baseball, above-average pitching is more scarce than a first baseman with an OPS of around .800. Pitching is so valuable, and every team needs it. While Arraez is a great player and probably more valuable by WAR than López, he plays a position full of guys who can produce offensively, reducing his value. As we saw with the Twins last year, good pitching is scarce. López is not an ace by any means, but he would've led the Twins staff in pitching WAR (2.8) and innings pitched (180) in 2022. Above-average pitching isn't something the Twins have had much of in recent years, so López should significantly improve their pitching staff.
Opportunity cost is the second economic principle used in every business decision. Opportunity cost is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Every dollar you spend on a player is a dollar you can’t pay another player. Every dollar you give Correa is a dollar you can’t spend on pitching, and vice versa. This Twins front office may see it advantageous to spend big money on position players, given the market premium for pitching.
The opportunity cost of trading Arraez is lower than one may think. You may get a slight decrease in production at first base from Jose Miranda and Alex Kirilloff, but both have shown that they are more than serviceable options. You are downgrading slightly in the infield and effectively upgrading from Bailey Ober to López while adding to the improved rotation depth.
Another reason the Twins could trade Arraez was their surplus of infielders. The Twins now have seven infielders on their 40-man roster. They are Correa, Jorge Polanco, Miranda, Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Kyle Farmer, and Edouard Julien. Correa, Polanco, and Miranda are all but penciled into the opening-day lineup. Kirilloff has had some of the best batted-ball data in the league when his wrist has been healthy. Lewis looks to be a future difference-maker once he returns mid-season from his second torn ACL. Farmer is a utility infielder who is solid defensively everywhere and hits lefties well. Julien had a .931 OPS in AA last year and a 1.248 OPS in the Arizona Fall League across 96 plate appearances.
The only infielder among these seven who is worse defensively than Arraez is arguably Kirilloff, but he is first base only as a left-handed thrower. Arraez was only seen as a 1B/DH by the Twins' front office, significantly diminishing his value as a player.
Once Lewis is ready to go, and Brooks Lee gets to the majors, Miranda would move to first, creating an odd-man-out situation. Having so many infield options that could be plugged in and perform well is a good problem.
Economics always factor into these decisions that can make or break a franchise. Many decisions come down to opportunity cost and all the different routes front offices can take from offseason to offseason.
Nobody likes it when their favorite player is traded. It sucks. It can make it less enjoyable to watch a team, and Arraez is one of the most fun Twins players in the last ten years. But putting all personal bias aside, from a business standpoint, this move makes sense. You are giving up a player at a position where you have a surplus of options in exchange for a position with less talent.
Thank you for reading, and Go, Twins!

View full article

It is no secret that every Twins fan on social media wants pitching. When Carlos Correa signed for at least six more years, many fans still asked, “can he pitch?” or “why aren’t we getting any pitchers?” Every pitching acquisition comes with a cost, whether money or players. Good pitching costs more than good hitting, and the Twins were in a perfect situation to acquire pitching. Let’s dive into it.
Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn/USA Today Last year, the Twins starting pitching ranked 20th in ERA, 18th in FIP, 23rd in K/9, and allowed the 11th most HR/9. If this team was going to improve from a .500ish team to a playoff team, starting pitching needed to be upgraded. Enter Pablo López.
In case you haven’t seen, All-Star 1B/DH Luis Arraez was traded to the Miami Marlins for López, INF Jose Salas, and OF Byron Chourio. Arraez hit .316/.375/.420 last year with a 131 wRC+. López was 10-10 with a 3.75 ERA and a 3.71 FIP. Arraez put up a 3.2 fWAR season compared to López’s 2.8. However, Arraez has an extra year of team control, which is why the Twins had such a high asking price for the 25 year old.
According to Baseball Prospectus, Salas is the 93rd-best prospect, and Chourio had a .838 OPS in the Dominican Summer League as a 17-year-old.
More than ever, pitching is at a premium in Major League Baseball. In the 2022-23 offseason, MLB teams usually receive more bang for their buck when signing position players instead of starting pitchers on the free agent market. As we have seen in the past few years, the current Twins front office prefers to trade for starting pitchers, and this premium on the free agent market could be the main reason.
Using Steamer’s 2023 projection system, we can see how each player projects in the 2023 season. In the age of analytics, the primary statistic that gets players paid is Wins Above Replacement. On average, the top 31 free-agent starting pitchers this offseason signed for $7.21 million per WAR accumulated. On average, the top 31 free-agent position players signed for $6.44 million per win. This shows how much pitching is valued in today’s game and how teams are willing to spend more money to get more pitching.
Like many professional sports executives, Derek Falvey was an economics major and knows that running a successful business or franchise is challenging. To get something, you must give something in return.
The first two economic principles you will learn in an ECON 101 class are scarcity and opportunity cost.
Scarcity means that the demand for a good (or, in our case, player) will always be greater than the availability of that good. In the current game of baseball, above-average pitching is more scarce than a first baseman with an OPS of around .800. Pitching is so valuable, and every team needs it. While Arraez is a great player and probably more valuable by WAR than López, he plays a position full of guys who can produce offensively, reducing his value. As we saw with the Twins last year, good pitching is scarce. López is not an ace by any means, but he would've led the Twins staff in pitching WAR (2.8) and innings pitched (180) in 2022. Above-average pitching isn't something the Twins have had much of in recent years, so López should significantly improve their pitching staff.
Opportunity cost is the second economic principle used in every business decision. Opportunity cost is the loss of potential gain from other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. Every dollar you spend on a player is a dollar you can’t pay another player. Every dollar you give Correa is a dollar you can’t spend on pitching, and vice versa. This Twins front office may see it advantageous to spend big money on position players, given the market premium for pitching.
The opportunity cost of trading Arraez is lower than one may think. You may get a slight decrease in production at first base from Jose Miranda and Alex Kirilloff, but both have shown that they are more than serviceable options. You are downgrading slightly in the infield and effectively upgrading from Bailey Ober to López while adding to the improved rotation depth.
Another reason the Twins could trade Arraez was their surplus of infielders. The Twins now have seven infielders on their 40-man roster. They are Correa, Jorge Polanco, Miranda, Kirilloff, Royce Lewis, Kyle Farmer, and Edouard Julien. Correa, Polanco, and Miranda are all but penciled into the opening-day lineup. Kirilloff has had some of the best batted-ball data in the league when his wrist has been healthy. Lewis looks to be a future difference-maker once he returns mid-season from his second torn ACL. Farmer is a utility infielder who is solid defensively everywhere and hits lefties well. Julien had a .931 OPS in AA last year and a 1.248 OPS in the Arizona Fall League across 96 plate appearances.
The only infielder among these seven who is worse defensively than Arraez is arguably Kirilloff, but he is first base only as a left-handed thrower. Arraez was only seen as a 1B/DH by the Twins' front office, significantly diminishing his value as a player.
Once Lewis is ready to go, and Brooks Lee gets to the majors, Miranda would move to first, creating an odd-man-out situation. Having so many infield options that could be plugged in and perform well is a good problem.
Economics always factor into these decisions that can make or break a franchise. Many decisions come down to opportunity cost and all the different routes front offices can take from offseason to offseason.
Nobody likes it when their favorite player is traded. It sucks. It can make it less enjoyable to watch a team, and Arraez is one of the most fun Twins players in the last ten years. But putting all personal bias aside, from a business standpoint, this move makes sense. You are giving up a player at a position where you have a surplus of options in exchange for a position with less talent.
Thank you for reading, and Go, Twins!

View full article

Excellent article!  Sadly you used the term economics and too many will be confused by the lack of a lazy, false  argument about 'cheap Pohlads'.

Aaron Sabato had his biggest swing of the year. Jordan Balazovic had an excellent outing. Austin Martin returned from the IL, and Simeon Woods Richardson is one step away from the big leagues. Plus, Minor League affiliates went 4-0! Read about this and more in Wednesday's Minor League Report!
Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization.
TRANSACTIONS
The Twins claimed RHP Jake Jewell off waivers from the Cleveland Guardians and optioned him to AAA St. Paul. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson was promoted from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul The Saints placed C Roy Morales on the 7-day IL with a lower back strain LHP Aaron Rozek was promoted from High-A Cedar Rapids to AA Wichita The Wichita Wind Surge activated SS Austin Martin from the 7-day IL The Wichita Wind Surge transferred OF Leobaldo Cabrera to the development list LHP Jaylen Nowlin was promoted from Low-A Fort Myers to High-A Cedar Rapids SAINTS (AAA)
St. Paul 6, Scranton 0
Box Score
Is Jordan Balazovic back? The former Twins’ top pitching prospect has had an abysmal year but turned in four scoreless innings tonight for St. Paul, striking out four batters.
The Saints got three early runs in the top of the second. After Chris Williams hit his first AAA double, Andrew Bechtold hit a 2-run single to score Williams and Caleb Hamilton. Later in the inning, Jermaine Palacios came through with a single to tack on an extra run.
The game remained scoreless for a few more innings thanks to Balazovic and Evan Sisk, who was first out of the bullpen. Sisk threw 1 ⅔ innings while not allowing a hit and striking out two.
Matt Wallner picked up his first triple as a Saint in the bottom of the seventh. This was Wallner’s only hit of the night as he went 1-for-5 with three strikeouts.
The Saints added three more in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a catchers’ interference and a John Andreoli two-run single.
Juan Minaya, Michael Feliz, and Drew Strotman all had scoreless outings in relief as the Saints quickly completed the shutout of Scranton 6-0.
Sisk picked up the win, his second for the Saints. Andreoli and Michael Helman had two hits. Helman also stole his 17th base of the year. The Saints improve to 55-56.
WIND SURGE (AA)
Wichita 9, Tulsa 5
Box Score
Wichita won a thrilling extra-inning game thanks to some late-game heroics from Aaron Sabato.
Sabato, who was 3-for-25 with no extra-base hits going into his last at-bat on Wednesday, came up clutch. With the bases loaded and one out, Sabato took a 2-0 slider and hit it over the center field wall for a walk-off grand slam. The home run was Sabato’s 19th of the year between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, and hopefully, this breaks him out of his slump in AA so far
Wichita took an early 4-1 lead through four innings, thanks to four good innings from Wichita starter Cody Laweryson who allowed one run and struck out four. Laweryson has been dominant in AA through 34 innings. He is 4-0 with 39 strikeouts and a 1.05 ERA.
Alex Isola started the scoring with an RBI single in the first, and Cole Sturgeon followed with an RBI walk. In the fourth, Austin Martin drove in a run with a groundout, and Will Holland later came in to score on a wild pitch to give Wichita a 4-1 lead.
Osiris German allowed three runs in 1 ⅔ innings out of the bullpen to bring the game to a tie. Will Holland came up clutch with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Wichita the lead back.
Everything went smoothly until the ninth, when Casey Legumina allowed a leadoff homer to Ismael Alcantara to tie the game back up.
After a scoreless bottom of the ninth, Legumina returned for the tenth. Legumina allowed the extra-inning runner to get to third with one out but stranded him thanks to a fielder's choice and a strikeout.
In the bottom of the tenth, Holland drew a walk to open the inning. When DaShawn Keirsey moved up to third on a wild pitch, Tulsa opted to intentionally walk Edouard Julien to load the bases. After Austin Martin lined out, Aaron Sabato ended the game.
Isola had the only multi-hit game for Wichita, but plenty of players had multi-walk games. Julien had four walks, Anthony Prato had three, and Sturgeon, Yunior Severino, and Keirsey had two.
KERNELS (HIGH-A)
Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 1
Box Score
The Kernels won a pitchers’ duel on Wednesday thanks to a strong outing from starting pitcher Travis Adams.
Adams had allowed 11 earned runs through 10 ⅓ innings in Cedar Rapids until Wednesday, when he turned in his best outing in High-A this far. Adams went five innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out eight.
The game was tied at zero until the fourth inning, when Adams allowed his only run of the day on a single. This score held until the bottom of the sixth when Pat Winkel singled to center field, scoring Jake Rucker. After a strikeout, Wisconsin’s pitcher balked with two outs to score Seth Gray from third base.
After taking the lead, the Kernel pitching locked down the game. Bobby Milacki entered the game in relief of Adams and threw two scoreless innings, picking up the win. After Milacki, Hunter McMahon threw scoreless eighth and ninth innings to lock down the save, his second of the year. McMahon has allowed only two earned runs in 29 ⅔ innings at Cedar Rapids this year.
Winkel led the game offensively, going 3-for-4. Cedar Rapids improves to 65-45 with the victory and continues to be a force in High-A.
MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A)
Fort Myers 6, Palm Beach 5
Box Score
Fort Myers won in an extra-inning thriller on Wednesday thanks to a game-winning RBI single in the top of the 11th by 2022 second-round pick Tanner Schobel.
The scoring was very back-and-forth all game long. Palm Beach jumped to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first off of starting pitcher Malik Barrington. Fort Myers answered right away as Ben Ross hit a 2-run homer in the top of the second for his first professional home run. That was followed by a Kala’i Rosario single and a Rubel Cespedes double, adding another run to the lead.
In the bottom of the third, Palm Beach added three runs to chase Barrington, who went 2 ⅔ innings, allowing four runs on three hits and two walks while striking out two opposing hitters.
The game was scoreless for a few innings until the top of the seventh when Misael Urbina tied it up with his fourth homer. Ross drew a bases-loaded walk later in the inning to give Fort Myers a 5-4 lead.
It was looking suitable for Fort Myers, who needed two more outs in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory when RJ Yeager hit a solo homer to tie it up and send it to extras.
In the bottom of the tenth, Jackson Hicks induced a double play with two runners on base to send it to an extra frame, where Schobel would give Fort Myers the lead before Hicks stranded a runner at third with one out in the bottom of the eleventh to secure the win.
Fort Myers had phenomenal relief pitching, as Hicks, Regi Grace, and John Wilson combined to throw 8 ⅓ innings while only allowing one run.
Cespedes and Noah Cardenas each picked up two hits to lead the offense in the victory. Fort Myers improved to 59-47 with the win.
DOMINICAN DAILIES
DSL Twins 4, DSL Brewers 6
Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Orlando Rubio (5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 5 K)
Multi-Hit Games: Yilber Herrera (3-for-3), Isaac Pena (2-for-2)
2B: Herrera (6), Jose Rodriguez (14)
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K
Hitter of the Day – Yilber Herrera (DSL Twins) - 3-for-3, R, 2B, BB
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K
#4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-for-5, R, RBI, BB, K, 2 SB (24)
#7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, 3B (1), R, 3 K
#11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 2 R, 4 BB, K, SB (14)
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 1 ⅓ IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, RBI, BB
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Scranton @ St. Paul (7:07 CST) - RHP Louie Varland (1-0, 0.00 ERA)
Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (2-1, 5.28 ERA) 
Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD
Fort Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (7-4, 2.88 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!
Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!
 

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First Round Pick Brooks Lee made his High-A debut and collected his first High-A hit. Second Rounder Tanner Schobel collected two hits for Low-A Fort Myers. Ronny Henriquez dominated in relief. Read about all of this and more in Wednesday’s Minor League Report!
Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization.
TRANSACTIONS
The Twins signed RHP Ricky Mineo to a minor league contract The Twins signed RHP Jack Noble to a minor league contract The Twins signed SS Omari Daniel to a minor league contract The Twins signed LHP Jacob Edwards to a minor league contract The Twins signed RHP John Klein to a minor league contract St. Paul Saints (AAA) released 1B Curtis Terry RHP Daniel Gossett assigned to Wichita (AA) from St. Paul Wichita activated C Alex Isola from the 7-day IL SS Brooks Lee assigned to Cedar Rapids (High-A) from the FCL SAINTS (AAA)
St. Paul 1, Columbus 0
Box Score
The St. Paul Saints won a pitchers’ duel on Wednesday.
Dereck Rodriguez started for the Saints and threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out a pair. He has now allowed just two runs over his last 17 ⅔ innings.
The Saints bullpen was phenomenal on Wednesday. Ronny Henriquez threw 3 2/3 hitless innings while striking out three in relief of Rodriguez. After Henriquez was pulled, Evan Sisk came in and got three outs, all strikeouts. He walked a batter but didn’t allow any hits or runs. Brad Peacock relieved Sisk with two outs in the eighth and collected the final four outs to pick up the save, his eighth of the year.
The Saints got their lone run in the bottom of the fifth when John Andreoli socked his tenth homer of the season. This would prove to be the game-winning home run. Elliot Soto also picked up a couple of hits to help pace the offense.
Twins Daily’s #9 prospect, Matt Wallner, had a tough day at the plate, going 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He did potentially save a run or two, however, with an impressive sliding catch with two runners on base.
The Saints improve to 52-53 on the season with the win. The Saints will send Jordan Balazovic to the mound on Thursday in hopes of getting to .500 on the season.
WIND SURGE (AA)
Wichita 0, Corpus Christi 3
Box Score
Wichita dropped a tough pitchers’ duel to the Corpus Christi Hooks on Wednesday night. Wichita could only manage three hits in the loss.
Cody Laweryson took the ball for Wichita and had a solid start, throwing three scoreless innings, scattering two hits, and striking out four.
The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth when Osiris German allowed an RBI single to Joe Perez, putting Wichita in a 1-0 hole. The Hooks added another run off Blayne Enlow in the sixth to extend their lead to two.
Wichita’s best offensive chances were all squandered. In the top of the second, when Jair Camargo and Cole Sturgeon walked to lead off the inning, three consecutive Wind Surge batters struck out to end the threat. In the fifth, Wichita had two guys on with back-to-back walks, but a double play ended the threat. In the sixth, Wichita got singles from Andrew Bechtold and Sturgeon but could not capitalize.
With the loss, Wichita’s record drops to 56-47.
KERNELS (HIGH-A)
Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 6
Box Score
One day after playing in the Field of Dreams game, Cedar Rapids played a tightly contested game with the Quad Cities River Bandits, in which they lost by a score of 6-5.
2022 first-round pick Brooks Lee made his High-A debut, and he played a solid game, going 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored.
Jake Rucker started the game with a bang as he led off the game with a homer in the top of the first, his fourth homer of the year for Cedar Rapids (sixth between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers).
The River Bandits responded with three runs (one earned) off of starter Orlando Rodriguez in three innings. Rodriguez gave up two hits and fanned four batters in the start.
Cedar Rapids got a run back in the top of the fifth thanks to Dylan Neuse’s third homer of the year (fifth between CR and FM). After the River Bandits tacked on another run to make it 4-2, the Kernels took the lead in the sixth thanks to an RBI double from Kyler Fedko, an RBI groundout from Pat Winkel, and an RBI double from Mikey Perez.
Quad Cities tied it up in the bottom of the sixth; from there, it was a battle of the bullpens. Bobby Milacki threw a scoreless seventh, Jon Olsen pitched a scoreless eighth, and Ryan Shreve threw a scoreless ninth for the Kernels.
Cedar Rapids squandered their opportunity to begin the inning with a runner on second in the tenth, and Quad Cities did not, as Shreve walked in the winning run.
Perez and Fedko had two doubles to lead the offense in the loss. Cedar Rapids drops to 61-42 with the loss.
MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A)
Fort Myers 5, Jupiter 9
Box Score
Fort Myers played Jupiter tough but eventually faltered in the last few innings as they dropped the game 9-5.
The Mighty Mussels were up 4-1 going into the bottom of the fifth inning but allowed eight runs in the last four innings as their pitchers got hit around quite a bit.
Fort Myers started the scoring in the top of the first when Keoni Cavaco hit a sac fly and reached on an error, scoring Noah Miller. However, they could not capitalize on having bases loaded and one out after that, as Rubel Cespedes and Kala’i Rosario each struck out swinging to end the threat.
This gave Fort Myers starting pitcher Jordan Carr a 1-0 lead before he took the mound. Carr pitched two scoreless innings before giving up an inside-the-park homer. Marlins #12 prospect Yiddi Cappe hit a sinking line drive that Misael Urbina dove for and missed, and the ball rolled to the fence, allowing Cappe to score.
Fort Myers put up three more runs in the top of the fourth thanks to a single from Carlos Aguiar, three walks, an error, two wild pitches, and a passed ball.
Jupiter got those runs back on one swing in the bottom of the fifth, thanks to Chase Luttrell. After that inning, Carr’s day was done. He went five innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk while striking out a pair of Jupiter hitters.
Cavaco gave Fort Myers the lead in the sixth when he doubled, scoring new Mighty Mussel Tanner Schobel.
Regi Grace entered in the bottom of the sixth with a 5-4 lead, but the first two batters he faced hit a single and a homer, reclaiming the lead for the Hammerheads. This would give Jupiter the lead for good as they tacked on three insurance runs over the next three innings off of Grace and Samuel Perez.
Schobel and Aguiar each had multi-hit games in the loss, and Noah Cardenas reached base four times thanks to a single and three walks. The loss drops Fort Myers’ record to 56-44 through their 100th game of the year.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 3 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
Hitter of the Day – Mikey Perez (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-3, 2 2B (2), BB, RBI, SB (6)
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
#7 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-5, R, K
#9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-for-4, 4 K
#14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 0-for-2, 2 BB, K
#15 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K
#16 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 3 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K
#17 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
#18 - Tanner Schobel (Fort Myers) -2-for-4, R, BB, 2 K
#20 - Kala’i Rosario (Fort Myers) - 1-for-4, R, BB, K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Columbus @ St. Paul (7:07 CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-5, 10.75 ERA)
Corpus Christi @ Wichita (7:05 CST) - TBD
Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams (0-1, 10.13 ERA)
Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 PM CST) - TBD
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!

Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!
 

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Eighteen. If you follow the Twins, you know what that means. They hold the longest postseason losing streak in North American sports history, having lost their last 18 games. This year, the Twins are on their way to having another chance to break that streak. Who will start the first game on the mound?
 
Going into the trade deadline on Tuesday, the Twins’ most significant need was obvious. They needed pitching. They were very successful in doing that, trading for relief pitchers Jorge Lopez and Michael Fulmer and starting pitcher Tyler Mahle.
Since the departure of Wes Johnson on June 30, the Twins’ starting pitching has been abysmal. Their 6.28 ERA is 28th in the league, their 5.25 FIP ranks 29th, and their 8.8 BB% is 28th. To compete in the playoffs, they must improve their starting pitching.
Usually, trading three top-20 prospects for a starting pitcher with more losses than wins and an ERA in the mid 4’s does not sound like a great idea. Although Mahle doesn’t look great on the surface, he is much better than these numbers indicate.
Bad Luck Ballpark
To start, Mahle pitched at Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati, which is the second worst park to pitch in, according to ESPN. When Mahle has pitched at home this year, he is 2-5 with a 4.76 ERA while allowing nine home runs in 64 innings. In road games, he is 3-2 with a 3.83 ERA and only three home runs allowed in 40 innings. Target Field is the second best park to pitch in, so Mahle will go from being at a heavy disadvantage to a severe advantage simply by changing home stadiums.
Mahle is one of the unluckiest pitchers in the league, partially due to playing in Cincinnati. Mahle sports a 4.40 ERA, which is problematic. However, his expected ERA is 3.20, a full run below his actual ERA. This shows that he is due to have some regression and will eventually lower his ERA due to playing in a pitchers’ park. Among Twins starters, Mahle has the lowest expected ERA and the lowest expected batting average against (.206).
Swing-and-Miss Stuff
When asked about the Mahle trade, Carlos Correa knew he would be effective. “I checked his Baseball Savant, and there’s a lot of red,” said Correa. Mahle’s Baseball Savant percentile rankings are shown below, and Correa was right.

Mahle does a great job of missing bats, ranking in the 70th percentile in strikeout rate and the 67th percentile in whiff rate. He is also in the top 25 percent of pitchers in the expected weighted on-base average, expected ERA, expected batting average, and expected slugging percentage. Mahle also has the best strikeout and whiff rate of any Twins starting pitcher. The Twins badly need a starting pitcher who can miss bats, especially when three regular Twins starting pitchers are in the bottom 30 percent of all pitchers in strikeout rate (Archer, Bundy, Smeltzer). 
Seventy-nine of Mahle’s 114 strikeouts this year have ended with a fastball, as that is his best pitch. Mahle’s fastball has a Stuff+ ranking of 119, which means it is 19 percent above league average when factoring in velocity, movement, arm angle, and release point. Opposing hitters are batting .200 with a .371 slugging percentage against his fastball, but the expected average is .167 with an expected slugging percentage of .293.
In a playoff series, it helps when you have a pitcher who can strike out opposing hitters at will. Mahle may not have the strikeout stuff of pitchers such as Corbin Burnes and Gerrit Cole, but he has shown time and time again that he can miss bats and rack up strikeouts when needed.
Another benefit of Mahle is that he can go deep into games. Mahle has gone at least five innings in 12 of his 13 starts and into the sixth inning in 11 of his 13 starts. With an improved bullpen, Mahle could save arms and go deep into games, potentially letting the Twins rely on their top bullpen arms of Jhoan Duran and Jorge Lopez and saving some other arms.
Playoffs?!
Under the new playoff format, the Twins will likely be in a wild card series which would play a best-of-three series. Before the trade, the Twins would have started Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, and Chris Archer in a series. Now, they will throw Mahle, Gray, and Ryan.
Pitching wins championships in baseball, and the Twins have added their ace in Tyler Mahle, who I believe should be the Twins’ game one starter in a playoff series.
Who do you think should be the Twins’ game one starter? Mahle, Gray, or Ryan? Leave a comment and start a discussion.
Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!
 
 

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Yes Escobar has been very reliable this year. It does seem like Miller walks a lot, he has a walk rate of 15.8% which is the fourth highest in the Florida State League (league Fort Myers plays in) this year. Emmanuel Rodriguez led the league with a 28.6% walk rate before he got hurt.

Yes Escobar has been very reliable this year. It does seem like Miller walks a lot, he has a walk rate of 15.8% which is the fourth highest in the Florida State League (league Fort Myers plays in) this year. Emmanuel Rodriguez led the league with a 28.6% walk rate before he got hurt.

Matt Wallner had four hits. Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered again. Jaylen Nowlin continued to strike out batters. 54 runs were scored throughout the Twins’ minor league system tonight. Read about this and more in Wednesday’s Minor League Report!
 
 
 
Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization.
TRANSACTIONS
The Twins activated RHP Joe Smith from the 15-day IL RHP Josh Winder was optioned to AAA St. Paul AAA St. Paul released RHP JC Ramirez SAINTS (AAA)
GAME 1 (CONTINUATION OF 7/12)
St. Paul 11, Toledo 6
Box Score
The Saints continued the game from Tuesday in which they only played 1+ innings before getting suspended. On Tuesday, Cole Sands started and gave up three runs in two innings. The Saints, however, gave him some support thanks to a homer from Michael Helman, an RBI double from Mark Contreras, and a two-run double from Miguel Sano.
This game was picked up in the bottom of the second, where the Saints' rally (which ended after Sano’s double) was put to a halt to end the second inning. After the continuation, the Saints decided to use a bullpen game for the remaining seven innings. Tyler Viza, Hunter Wood, and Wladimir Pinto each threw two innings. Viza allowed two runs, and the other two didn’t allow any runs. The trio struck out seven batters and allowed four hits over six innings.
The Saints got some offensive fireworks in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Jake Cave hit a two-run homer for his 12th of the season. One inning later, Caleb Hamilton hit a two-run shot for his 10th of the season, and Helman hit his second of the game, sixth of the season, to give the Saints a 10-5 lead. In the eighth, Contreras added another RBI double to pad the lead.
Toledo scored one run in the top of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as the Saints cruised to a five-run victory backed by four homers.
Viza picked up the win for the Saints. Tim Beckham and Contreras had 3-hit games. Helman added two hits, and John Andreoli scored three runs. The Saints improved their record to 41-43 with the win.
GAME 2
St. Paul 2, Toledo 8
Box Score
The Saints should’ve saved some runs for game two. Through two innings, it looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel. Ronny Henriquez started for the Saints, cruising through two innings as he had struck out three and not allowed a run. On the other side, it was Shea Spitzbarth for Toledo. He, like Henriquez, had skated through two without allowing a run.
Unlike Henriquez, Spitzbarth didn’t blow up in the third. For Toledo, Kody Clemens hit a three-run homer off of Henriquez to give Toledo their first lead of the game. Toledo went to their bullpen in the fourth, which backfired when Caleb Hamilton laced a two-run double into the left-field corner. Hamilton has been on fire in July, slashing .308/.400/.808 (1.208) across 26 at-bats.
Sadly, those would end up being the only runs of the game for the Saints. Tyler Thornburg came in and had a disastrous outing, allowing four runs in a third of an inning. He went into a one-run game in the top of the sixth with a runner on first. He allowed a single, got a guy to ground out, walked a batter, then allowed a bases-clearing double and a two-run homer. He exited, and the Saints had a six-run deficit with six outs to play.
After the sixth, the Saints couldn’t get anything going offensively, and they took the disappointing loss 8-2.
Henriquez picked up the loss for the Saints as his record fell to 1-4. Helman went 2-for-3 to lead the offense, along with Hamilton’s two RBI. The Saints had to resort to a doubleheader split as their record fell to 41-44.
WIND SURGE (AA)
Wichita 16, Arkansas 12
Box Score
The Wichita Wind Surge won in an absolute slugfest on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 16-12.
The game was all Wichita early on. In the first inning, Cole Sturgeon started the scoring with a three-run homer, his seventh of the year. Later that inning, DaShawn Keirsey hit an RBI single to give Wichita an early 4-0 lead.
In the second, Chris Williams scored Matt Wallner with an RBI single. In the third, Keirsey hit another RBI single, Wallner hit a two-run single, and Chris Williams hit a three-run homer to increase the lead to 11. And in the fourth, Daniel Ozoria hit an RBI single, Wallner hit another RBI single, and Edouard Julien hit a sac-fly to increase the lead to 14-0 early on.
But Arkansas said not so fast. After Wichita starter Sawyer Gipson-Long survived the first four innings, only allowing three hits and no runs, he blew up in the fifth. Arkansas scored nine runs in the fifth, seven off of Gipson-Long, and two off of reliever Steven Klimek thanks to five doubles and a homer.
Denny Bentley came in to pitch in the sixth, hoping to settle things down, and he did, throwing three strong innings, allowing one run, and striking out two.
The lead was down to four, but Wichita increased it back to six in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Anthony Prato and a sac-fly from Wallner.
Manuel Acosta allowed a two-run homer in the ninth, but it was not enough for Arkansas as the Wind Surge held on for a 16-12 win.
Bentley picked up the win for Wichita, his second of the year. Wallner and Prato each had four hits to lead the offense. Sturgeon and Keirsey had three hits apiece, while Julien, Williams, and Nash Knight had two to help the offense. Every Wind Surge starter recorded a hit as the offense recorded 20 hits in the win. Wallner and Williams drove in four runs each in a memorable win for Wichita as they improved their record to 42-40.
KERNELS (HIGH-A)
Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2
Box Score
The Kernels rode an all-around solid pitching performance and one particular hot bat to a victory Wednesday night that put them nearly 20 games above .500.
The Kernels got off to a hot start in the top of the first when Christian Encarnacion-Strand belted his 20th homer of the season. Encarnacion-Strand has burst onto the scene this year in his first full professional season and has an impressive .969 OPS.
Like the Saints, the Kernels went with a bullpen game. Jon Olsen started on the mound for Cedar Rapids and allowed two runs in the first. These proved to be the game's only runs for Beloit as the rest of the pitching staff was shut down. Matthew Swain gave two scoreless innings of relief, Orlando Rodriguez gave three, Tyler Palm gave two, and Ryan Shreve gave one. The four only allowed three hits in eight innings while striking out seven batters and not walking any.
The Kernels took the lead for good in the top of the fifth when who else, but Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run double to score Charles Mack and Kyler Fedko. Seth Gray followed with an RBI single to give the lead a little padding.
With the win, the Kernels improve to 51-32 on the year. Rodriguez picked up his third win, and Shreve got the save, his first of the year. Encarnacion-Strand went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the offense, and Gray added two hits in the contest.
MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A)
Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 2
Box Score
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels continued their dominant season on Wednesday with a convincing 6-2 win over Clearwater.
Jaylen Nowlin made a start for Fort Myers in this one. He threw four innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits while striking out seven batters. In 2022, Nowlin has struck out 14.69 batters per nine innings, which ranks second in the Florida State League among pitchers with at least 40 innings.
Fort Myers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first when Misael Urbina hit a leadoff double, and Noah Miller followed with a single, scoring Urbina to give the Mighty Mussels a 1-0 lead early.
Clearwater responded with an unearned run in the top of the second after a Keoni Cavaco throwing error allowed a runner to reach base. The runner came around to score on a two-out RBI single.
Fort Myers broke the game open at the bottom of the fourth inning. The game was tied 1-1 when Mikey Perez roped a two-run single to left, scoring Miller and Kala’i Rosario. One pitch later, Noah Cardenas hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the year, to give Fort Myers a 5-1 lead.
Manager Brian Meyer called on Juan Mendez to relieve Nowlin in the top of the fifth with a four-run lead. Mendez threw two perfect innings of relief to keep the score intact while striking out two batters. After Mendez was done, Anthony Escobar came in and threw two scoreless innings of his own, lowering his season ERA to 0.93.
Alex Rodriguez (no, not that one) plated Luis Baez with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Fort Myers another insurance run. Clearwater plated a run in the top of the ninth, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Mighty Mussels held on for the victory.
Mendez picked up the win on the mound for Fort Myers, and multi-hit games led the offense from Rosario and Cardenas. Baez stole two bases, and Miller reached base three times in the win. Fort Myers improved their record to 46-32 with the win.
DOMINICAN DAILIES
GAME ONE
DSL Twins 7, DSL Nationals 2 (Continuation of Suspended Game)
Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Jeferson Lopez (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K)
Winning Pitcher: Roger Duran (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K)
Multi-Hit Games: Daniel Pena (2-for-2)
2B: Anderson Nova (1)
HR: Rafael Cruz (1)

GAME TWO
DSL Twins 8, DSL Nationals 0
Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Jose Betancourt (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K)
Winning Pitcher: Ledwin Taveras (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
Multi-Hit Games: Junior Marino (3-for-3), Jose Rodriguez (2-for-4), Anderson Nova (2-for-4)
2B: Nova (2), Rodriguez (7)
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Fort Myers) - 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)
Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B (15), BB
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
#12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B (15), BB
#14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K
#15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 3B (2), BB
#16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B (23), HR (20), SB (7)
#17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K
#20 - Sawyer Gipson-Long (Wichita) - 4 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 6 K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-3, 9.55 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Cody Laweryson (1-0, 0.87 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (5-0, 1.91 ERA)
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (4-2, 2.19 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!
Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!
 

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Matt Wallner had four hits. Christian Encarnacion-Strand homered again. Jaylen Nowlin continued to strike out batters. 54 runs were scored throughout the Twins’ minor league system tonight. Read about this and more in Wednesday’s Minor League Report!
 
 
 
Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization.
TRANSACTIONS
The Twins activated RHP Joe Smith from the 15-day IL RHP Josh Winder was optioned to AAA St. Paul AAA St. Paul released RHP JC Ramirez SAINTS (AAA)
GAME 1 (CONTINUATION OF 7/12)
St. Paul 11, Toledo 6
Box Score
The Saints continued the game from Tuesday in which they only played 1+ innings before getting suspended. On Tuesday, Cole Sands started and gave up three runs in two innings. The Saints, however, gave him some support thanks to a homer from Michael Helman, an RBI double from Mark Contreras, and a two-run double from Miguel Sano.
This game was picked up in the bottom of the second, where the Saints' rally (which ended after Sano’s double) was put to a halt to end the second inning. After the continuation, the Saints decided to use a bullpen game for the remaining seven innings. Tyler Viza, Hunter Wood, and Wladimir Pinto each threw two innings. Viza allowed two runs, and the other two didn’t allow any runs. The trio struck out seven batters and allowed four hits over six innings.
The Saints got some offensive fireworks in the fourth and fifth innings. In the fourth, Jake Cave hit a two-run homer for his 12th of the season. One inning later, Caleb Hamilton hit a two-run shot for his 10th of the season, and Helman hit his second of the game, sixth of the season, to give the Saints a 10-5 lead. In the eighth, Contreras added another RBI double to pad the lead.
Toledo scored one run in the top of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as the Saints cruised to a five-run victory backed by four homers.
Viza picked up the win for the Saints. Tim Beckham and Contreras had 3-hit games. Helman added two hits, and John Andreoli scored three runs. The Saints improved their record to 41-43 with the win.
GAME 2
St. Paul 2, Toledo 8
Box Score
The Saints should’ve saved some runs for game two. Through two innings, it looked like it was going to be a pitchers’ duel. Ronny Henriquez started for the Saints, cruising through two innings as he had struck out three and not allowed a run. On the other side, it was Shea Spitzbarth for Toledo. He, like Henriquez, had skated through two without allowing a run.
Unlike Henriquez, Spitzbarth didn’t blow up in the third. For Toledo, Kody Clemens hit a three-run homer off of Henriquez to give Toledo their first lead of the game. Toledo went to their bullpen in the fourth, which backfired when Caleb Hamilton laced a two-run double into the left-field corner. Hamilton has been on fire in July, slashing .308/.400/.808 (1.208) across 26 at-bats.
Sadly, those would end up being the only runs of the game for the Saints. Tyler Thornburg came in and had a disastrous outing, allowing four runs in a third of an inning. He went into a one-run game in the top of the sixth with a runner on first. He allowed a single, got a guy to ground out, walked a batter, then allowed a bases-clearing double and a two-run homer. He exited, and the Saints had a six-run deficit with six outs to play.
After the sixth, the Saints couldn’t get anything going offensively, and they took the disappointing loss 8-2.
Henriquez picked up the loss for the Saints as his record fell to 1-4. Helman went 2-for-3 to lead the offense, along with Hamilton’s two RBI. The Saints had to resort to a doubleheader split as their record fell to 41-44.
WIND SURGE (AA)
Wichita 16, Arkansas 12
Box Score
The Wichita Wind Surge won in an absolute slugfest on Wednesday afternoon by a score of 16-12.
The game was all Wichita early on. In the first inning, Cole Sturgeon started the scoring with a three-run homer, his seventh of the year. Later that inning, DaShawn Keirsey hit an RBI single to give Wichita an early 4-0 lead.
In the second, Chris Williams scored Matt Wallner with an RBI single. In the third, Keirsey hit another RBI single, Wallner hit a two-run single, and Chris Williams hit a three-run homer to increase the lead to 11. And in the fourth, Daniel Ozoria hit an RBI single, Wallner hit another RBI single, and Edouard Julien hit a sac-fly to increase the lead to 14-0 early on.
But Arkansas said not so fast. After Wichita starter Sawyer Gipson-Long survived the first four innings, only allowing three hits and no runs, he blew up in the fifth. Arkansas scored nine runs in the fifth, seven off of Gipson-Long, and two off of reliever Steven Klimek thanks to five doubles and a homer.
Denny Bentley came in to pitch in the sixth, hoping to settle things down, and he did, throwing three strong innings, allowing one run, and striking out two.
The lead was down to four, but Wichita increased it back to six in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Anthony Prato and a sac-fly from Wallner.
Manuel Acosta allowed a two-run homer in the ninth, but it was not enough for Arkansas as the Wind Surge held on for a 16-12 win.
Bentley picked up the win for Wichita, his second of the year. Wallner and Prato each had four hits to lead the offense. Sturgeon and Keirsey had three hits apiece, while Julien, Williams, and Nash Knight had two to help the offense. Every Wind Surge starter recorded a hit as the offense recorded 20 hits in the win. Wallner and Williams drove in four runs each in a memorable win for Wichita as they improved their record to 42-40.
KERNELS (HIGH-A)
Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2
Box Score
The Kernels rode an all-around solid pitching performance and one particular hot bat to a victory Wednesday night that put them nearly 20 games above .500.
The Kernels got off to a hot start in the top of the first when Christian Encarnacion-Strand belted his 20th homer of the season. Encarnacion-Strand has burst onto the scene this year in his first full professional season and has an impressive .969 OPS.
Like the Saints, the Kernels went with a bullpen game. Jon Olsen started on the mound for Cedar Rapids and allowed two runs in the first. These proved to be the game's only runs for Beloit as the rest of the pitching staff was shut down. Matthew Swain gave two scoreless innings of relief, Orlando Rodriguez gave three, Tyler Palm gave two, and Ryan Shreve gave one. The four only allowed three hits in eight innings while striking out seven batters and not walking any.
The Kernels took the lead for good in the top of the fifth when who else, but Encarnacion-Strand hit a two-run double to score Charles Mack and Kyler Fedko. Seth Gray followed with an RBI single to give the lead a little padding.
With the win, the Kernels improve to 51-32 on the year. Rodriguez picked up his third win, and Shreve got the save, his first of the year. Encarnacion-Strand went 3-for-4 with three RBI to lead the offense, and Gray added two hits in the contest.
MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A)
Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 2
Box Score
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels continued their dominant season on Wednesday with a convincing 6-2 win over Clearwater.
Jaylen Nowlin made a start for Fort Myers in this one. He threw four innings, allowing one unearned run on four hits while striking out seven batters. In 2022, Nowlin has struck out 14.69 batters per nine innings, which ranks second in the Florida State League among pitchers with at least 40 innings.
Fort Myers got the scoring started in the bottom of the first when Misael Urbina hit a leadoff double, and Noah Miller followed with a single, scoring Urbina to give the Mighty Mussels a 1-0 lead early.
Clearwater responded with an unearned run in the top of the second after a Keoni Cavaco throwing error allowed a runner to reach base. The runner came around to score on a two-out RBI single.
Fort Myers broke the game open at the bottom of the fourth inning. The game was tied 1-1 when Mikey Perez roped a two-run single to left, scoring Miller and Kala’i Rosario. One pitch later, Noah Cardenas hit a two-run homer, his fourth of the year, to give Fort Myers a 5-1 lead.
Manager Brian Meyer called on Juan Mendez to relieve Nowlin in the top of the fifth with a four-run lead. Mendez threw two perfect innings of relief to keep the score intact while striking out two batters. After Mendez was done, Anthony Escobar came in and threw two scoreless innings of his own, lowering his season ERA to 0.93.
Alex Rodriguez (no, not that one) plated Luis Baez with an RBI single in the bottom of the seventh to give Fort Myers another insurance run. Clearwater plated a run in the top of the ninth, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Mighty Mussels held on for the victory.
Mendez picked up the win on the mound for Fort Myers, and multi-hit games led the offense from Rosario and Cardenas. Baez stole two bases, and Miller reached base three times in the win. Fort Myers improved their record to 46-32 with the win.
DOMINICAN DAILIES
GAME ONE
DSL Twins 7, DSL Nationals 2 (Continuation of Suspended Game)
Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Jeferson Lopez (0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K)
Winning Pitcher: Roger Duran (3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K)
Multi-Hit Games: Daniel Pena (2-for-2)
2B: Anderson Nova (1)
HR: Rafael Cruz (1)

GAME TWO
DSL Twins 8, DSL Nationals 0
Box Score
Starting Pitcher: Jose Betancourt (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K)
Winning Pitcher: Ledwin Taveras (4.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K)
Multi-Hit Games: Junior Marino (3-for-3), Jose Rodriguez (2-for-4), Anderson Nova (2-for-4)
2B: Nova (2), Rodriguez (7)
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Jaylen Nowlin (Fort Myers) - 4 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K)
Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B (15), BB
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#8 - Noah Miller (Fort Myers) - 1-for-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
#12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 4-for-4, 3 R, 4 RBI, 2B (15), BB
#14 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K
#15 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-4, 2 R, RBI, 3B (2), BB
#16 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B (23), HR (20), SB (7)
#17 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 4 K
#20 - Sawyer Gipson-Long (Wichita) - 4 2/3 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 0 BB, 6 K
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
Toledo @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (0-3, 9.55 ERA)
Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Cody Laweryson (1-0, 0.87 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - RHP David Festa (5-0, 1.91 ERA)
Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Mike Paredes (4-2, 2.19 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!
Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!
 

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The Saints lost 13-3 one day after winning by that score. The Wind Surge lost to Jack Leiter in Game 1 of their doubleheader but were able to salvage it thanks to a big offensive game from Jair Camargo. Kyler Fedko had an amazing game. Emmanuel Rodriguez continued to show why he is one of the Twins’ best prospects, and Steve Hajjar continued to dominate.
 
 
 
Let’s see what happened this Wednesday in the Twins organization.
TRANSACTIONS
The Twins optioned Cole Sands to AAA following Tuesday’s doubleheader The St. Paul Saints activated Jake Petricka from the 7-day IL The Cedar Rapids Kernels activated Yunior Severino from the 7-day IL SAINTS (AAA)
St. Paul 3, Iowa 13
Box Score
The St. Paul Saints dropped a tough one to the Iowa Cubs on Wednesday by a score of 13-3. Daniel Gossett made his fourth start of the year for the Saints and struggled mightily. Gossett only went two innings, allowing nine runs (seven earned) on eight hits and three walks and not striking out any batters. Gossett took the loss, dropping his record to 1-2 on the year. In his last two outings, he has allowed 14 earned runs in only five innings, as his ERA has skyrocketed to an unimpressive 10.65.
The Saints were down 9-0 after the second inning, so the rest of the game was simply a formality. In the top of the fourth, Jake Cave closed the deficit to eight with a solo home run, his fifth homer of the year. In the fifth inning, Elliot Soto scored on a Spencer Steer groundout to make it a 9-2 game.
Wladimir Pinto came on in relief of Gossett and gave up two earned runs in three innings of work, striking out five. Pinto has been very solid for the Saints this year, only allowing three earned runs in 20 innings for an ERA of 1.35. He has also struck out 27 batters in those 20 innings.
In his first game since being activated from the 7-day IL, Jake Petricka came on in relief of Pinto and threw two scoreless innings, not allowing a hit and striking out two batters. His season ERA is now down to 4.22.
Tim Beckham singled in Michael Helman in the top of the eighth to make it 11-3, but the Saints stranded two runners on base to end the inning. Beckham, Cave, and Jose Godoy all had multi-hit games for the Saints.
With the loss, the Saints record falls to 21-28 on the year. They will be back in action on Thursday against Iowa.
WIND SURGE (AA)
Game 1: Wichita 0, Frisco 3
Box Score
In a game that was picked up in the second inning after being delayed Tuesday, the bats were delayed too as the Wind Surge lost 3-0 to Frisco and Rangers’ top prospect Jack Leiter.
Blayne Enlow took the mound when the game re-started on Wednesday, and he pitched well, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing no runs, and striking out four. Bryan Sammons and Alex Scherff each pitched in relief of Enlow, allowing two and zero runs respectively. Sammons went three innings, allowing two runs on two hits and two walks while striking out three. Sammons took the loss as his record moved to 1-3 on the year. Scherff pitched the final two innings, allowing one run on two hits and two walks.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Wind Surge had a chance to tie the game but they stranded runners on first and second after DaShawn Keirsey and Leobaldo Cabrera singled.
Keirsey went 2-for-3 with a walk and stole his 14th base of the year. Cabrera was 1-for-2 with a walk, Edouard Julien was 1-for-3 with a walk, and Ernie Yake picked up the only other hit for the Wind Surge in a disappointing loss. With the loss, the Wind Surge dropped to 26-18, half a game behind Tulsa for the best record in the Texas League.
Game 2: Wichita 7, Frisco 1
Box Score
The Wind Surge bounced back in Game 2, salvaging a doubleheader split with Frisco by winning 7-1 to improve to 27-18 on the season.
Kody Funderburk got the ball in game two, throwing four scoreless innings in his debut as a starter. Funderburk struck out four batters and only allowed two hits. Denny Bentley, Steven Cruz, and Steve Klimek all threw in relief of Funderburk, and the only run allowed was by Cruz, but was unearned. Klimek picked up his first win of the season. 
The Wind Surge got the offense going early in this one, as Austin Martin led off the bottom half of the first with his second triple of the year and Jair Camargo followed that with a homer to make it 2-0. This was Camargo's first hit as a member of the Wind Surge. Three batters later, Dennis Ortega drove in Alex Isola with his seventh double of the year to make it 3-0.
In the bottom of the second, Isola hit his sixth homer of the season to make it a 5-0 game. Isola started off June strong after a month of May where he had a .925 OPS in 68 at-bats. In the fourth, Camargo hit another two-run bomb to make it 7-0.
The Wind Surge were resilient and split the double-header. Martin, Camargo, and Isola all had multi-hit games and Camargo picked up four RBI. They will send one of the Twins’ top prospects to the mound tomorrow in Matt Canterino. 
KERNELS (HIGH-A)
Cedar Rapids 10, Lansing 2
Box Score
The Cedar Rapids Kernels won in dominating fashion on Wednesday by a score of 10-2. The win pushed their record to 30-17, the best record in the West division of the Midwest league by a one-game margin.
Sawyer Gipson-Long started on the mound for the Kernels and picked up his fourth win of the year. Gipson-Long went six innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three batters. His season ERA improved to a very good 2.06. Orlando Rodriguez and Ryan Shreve pitched in relief of Gipson-Long. Rodriguez went two innings, allowing only one run despite walking three batters. Shreve pitched the final inning, only needing eight pitches to put the final touches on a Kernel victory.
The Kernels put on a show offensively in this one, and it started right away when Anthony Prato led off the game with his eighth double of the year. Prato came around to score on a run-scoring single by Kyler Fedko. One batter later, Yunior Severino tripled in his first at-bat since being activated from the IL Fedko scored. Severino came around to score on a throwing error to give the Kernels a 3-0 lead before Gipson-Long had even thrown a pitch.
In the top of the third, Alerick Soularie blasted a two-out, three-run homer to give the Kernels a 6-0 lead. The homer was Soularie’s fourth of the year. Two innings later, Fedko picked up his third hit of the game with a solo homer to right-field for his third homer of the season.
Fedko finished 3-for-4 with four runs scored, two RBI, a walk, and a homer. His season OPS is now up to .913. Severino went 2-for-3 with two runs, a triple, and two walks. Soularie finished 1-for-2 with two runs, four RBI, the homer, and three walks.
MIGHTY MUSSELS (LOW-A)
Fort Myers 1, Tampa 2
Box Score
The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels dropped a tough contest 2-1 on Wednesday, dropping their record to a still great 31-15.
Steve Hajjar took the mound for Fort Myers, throwing 4.1 innings while allowing one run on two hits and two walks. Hajjar struck out seven batters, continuing his utter dominance over Low-A hitters in 2022. He has struck out 57 batters in 33 innings at Low-A and if he keeps dominating, he may not be in Fort Myers for much longer.
Jorge Alcala made a rehab stint, throwing one inning and allowing one unearned run while striking out one batter. He took the loss in this one but his fastball averaged 96 miles per hour and he was up to 99, so it is safe to say he is feeling healthy.
One unknown pitcher who has been dominant is Matthew Swain. Swain threw two scoreless innings in this game, making it 21 innings so far this year without allowing an earned run. He has struck out 31 batters while only allowing four hits and five walks on the year.
Emmanuel Rodriguez continued to do Emmanuel Rodriguez things in this game, hitting his eighth homer of the year and drawing two walks. His season OPS is now up to .998, which leads the Florida State League by over 100 points, and he is one of the highest upside players in the Twins whole system as he is still only 19 years old.
TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Sawyer Gipson-Long (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Hitter of the Day – Kyler Fedko (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, HR (3), BB
PROSPECT SUMMARY
We will again keep tabs on the Twins' top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. 
Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed:
#2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 2-for-8, 2 R, 3B (2), K
#3 - Jose Miranda (Minnesota) - 0-for-3, 3 K
#5 - Simeon Woods-Richardson (Wichita) - 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (24 pitches, 11 strikes (45.8%)) (Tuesday)
#7 - Spencer Steer (St. Paul) - 0-for-5, RBI
#8 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, R, HR (8), RBI, 2 BB
#9 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K
#14 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K (65 pitches, 38 strikes (58.5%)
#15 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-for-7, 2 K
#16 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-for-3, BB, K
#18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, R, 2B (9), BB, K
#19 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (81 pitches, 47 strikes (58%))
THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS
St. Paul @ Iowa (12:08 CST) - RHP Mario Sanchez (3-1, 3.99 ERA)
Frisco @ Wichita (7:05 CST) - RHP Matt Canterino (0-1, 2.05 ERA)
Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 PM CST) - RHP John Stankiewicz (2-2, 6.38 ERA)
Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (3-1, 2.48 ERA)
Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!
Thank you for reading, and Go Twins!
 

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No I was referring to a comment.  I think your article was informative and helpful.  Thankyou for the info.

I don't know if you were referring to the article or the comments, but if you were referring to the article, I did not make a statement or state an opinion about the COVID vaccine, I just stated that unvaccinated players won't be able to travel to Toronto so they will need a few reinforcements that they may not usually have in the big leagues.

Lewis has a 420 OBP.  Let's hope he can maintain a high OBP at the ML level.  Buxton and Lewis at the top of our lineup for the next several years will be fun to watch.

2009, but 2010 would've been better had Morneau not got concussed.

Thanks, Mike! I am not quite sure what Sonny's deal is but I expect him to make a start opening weekend.
Archer is making his first spring training start today, so that will be telling with how he looks, how much he pitches, etc.
I am unsure if they are just doing this for the first weekend, but I imagine Sonny will be our number one long term
I imagine Ober is the three, with the rotation long-term being Gray, Ryan, Ober, Bundy, Archer
And yes, I am a big Winder fan. He was great last year and has showed no signs of slowing down this spring

Thanks, Mike! I am not quite sure what Sonny's deal is but I expect him to make a start opening weekend.
Archer is making his first spring training start today, so that will be telling with how he looks, how much he pitches, etc.
I am unsure if they are just doing this for the first weekend, but I imagine Sonny will be our number one long term
I imagine Ober is the three, with the rotation long-term being Gray, Ryan, Ober, Bundy, Archer
And yes, I am a big Winder fan. He was great last year and has showed no signs of slowing down this spring

Thanks, Mike! I am not quite sure what Sonny's deal is but I expect him to make a start opening weekend.
Archer is making his first spring training start today, so that will be telling with how he looks, how much he pitches, etc.
I am unsure if they are just doing this for the first weekend, but I imagine Sonny will be our number one long term
I imagine Ober is the three, with the rotation long-term being Gray, Ryan, Ober, Bundy, Archer
And yes, I am a big Winder fan. He was great last year and has showed no signs of slowing down this spring

Thanks, Mike! I am not quite sure what Sonny's deal is but I expect him to make a start opening weekend.
Archer is making his first spring training start today, so that will be telling with how he looks, how much he pitches, etc.
I am unsure if they are just doing this for the first weekend, but I imagine Sonny will be our number one long term
I imagine Ober is the three, with the rotation long-term being Gray, Ryan, Ober, Bundy, Archer
And yes, I am a big Winder fan. He was great last year and has showed no signs of slowing down this spring