Theodore Tollefson

Just like their Major League counterparts, many of the Twins minor league hitters had a fantastic start to their seasons during the month of April. Find out which Minor League hitter took home the award as voted upon by Twins Daily writers. The Twins Minor League affiliates had some hot hitters throughout the month of April. As many focused on Royce Lewis’ return to the diamond for the first time in over two years, other names such as Charles Mack, Spencer Steer, and Curtis Terry showed what they are capable of at the plate. Although all these mentioned names had great months in April, they did not finish in the top three places with the Twins Daily voting results for minor league hitter of the month. Now here are the results of the top four vote-getters for the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Honorable Mention 3: Royce Lewis, St. Paul Saints The biggest question mark for many Twins fans coming into the 2022 season was how quickly Royce Lewis could re-acclimate himself to the game, the daily grind after missing two full seasons. The number didn't seem as important as simply getting back on the field, showing health, and getting at-bats and time at shortstop. Well, the 2017 top pick played in 21 Saints games and hit .320/.441/.587 (1.028) with nine doubles, a triple, and three home runs. He has hit the ball hard. He has hit for power. He has shown off his speed with infield singles and stolen bases. Just as important, he has shown very good command of the strike zone. In 93 plate appearances, he has 18 strikeouts (19.3%) and 15 walks (16.1%). Also, he has played well defensively at shortstop. He has a couple of errors, but he has made plays going in each direction. After so much time, the 23-year-old needs to just keep playing and enjoying the game. As you can see in the updated Prospect Tracker, he has returned to the #1 spot on the Twins Daily Prospect rankings. Honorable Mention 2: Emmanuel Rodriguez, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Emmanuel Rodriguez was ranked #15 on the Twins Daily Top 20 prospects coming into the season. Now he has risen to the rank of number ten and proved why he belongs there during the month of April. Rodriguez did not have the flashiest batting average in April. He hit just .241, but the other two-thirds of his triple slash were fantastic in April with a .440 on-base percentage and .574 slugging percentage. Rodriguez had also fared much better at home than on the road in his 17 games played in April. Rodriguez crushed the ball at home hitting .320/.485/.680 in eight games at Fort Myers, but he hit .172/.405/.483 on the road in nine games. If Rodriguez can bring his hot hitting on the road as he does at home, he may find himself further up this list for the month of May. Honorable Mention 1: Kyler Fedko, Fort Myers Mighty Mussels Kyler Fedko is not a power hitter like his teammate Rodriguez, but he certainly is a Twins prospect to keep an eye on at Fort Myers. Fedko had an excellent start to his season in the month of April posting a .350/.438/.550 triple slash with nine extra-base hits in 17 games. The 22-year-old outfielder played in 23 games last season with the Mighty Mussels after the Twins made him their 12th-round pick out of Connecticut. He has already eclipsed his doubles, triples, and home runs from last season. With more regular playing time for Fedko and a continuation of his current hot streak at the plate, there is a good chance he could see playing time at Cedar Rapids come June. Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month: Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Cedar Rapids Kernels If Twins fans didn’t know the name Christian Encarnacion-Strand before April, they certainly know it now. Encarnacion-Strand had one of the best months of any minor league hitter with the Kernels posting a .410/459/.680 (1.138) with four doubles, a triple, five home runs, and 23 runs batted in. He also stole three bases. He started the season on fire. In the first game of the season, he went 4-for-5 with two homers and nine RBI. The next day, he went 5-for-5 with a double, a homer, and five RBI. He had hits in 15 of 19 games during the month. And in two of those games, he had five of his seven walks. He had 11 multi-hit games including a stretch of seven out of nine games. It's what he's been doing since the Twins selected him in the fourth round of last year's draft. He had played at Oklahoma State where his head coach was Robin Ventura and his hitting coach was Matt Holliday. After signing, he joined the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels and had hits in each of his first 20 games and in 21 of 22 games. In those games, he hit .391/.424/.598 (1.022) with two doubles, two triples and four home runs. Thanks to his elite month, Encarnacion-Strand has found himself on the Updated Twins Daily Top 20 prospects list at # 18. In 19 games across April, Encarnacion-Strand was arguably the second most talked about Twins prospect behind Lewis. It still may be a while before Encarnacion-Strand finds himself in St. Paul, but he is on a streak that could see him at Double AA Wichita in the not-so-distant future. Feel free to share your own rankings for Twins Minor League hitters of the month for April in the comment section below. View full article

The Twins were able to avoid a rainout being in Tampa (in large part due to Tropicana Field being a dome), but the same could not be said for the Saints and Mighty Mussels as one game was postponed and the other suspended due to rain. The Wind Surge and Kernels did not have weather stop their games today and the teams had opposite results for their games on Sunday. TRANSACTIONS The Twins announced Sunday morning that pitchers Sonny Gray and Jordan Balazovic were assigned to Low-A affiliate Fort Myers for rehab assignments and are available to pitch Sunday. In addition, Marco Raya was activated by Ft. Myers. he is scheduled to start on Tuesday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul and Nashville were postponed due to Weather. The Saints were unable to play their series finale against the Nashville Sounds on Sunday due to wet grounds at CHS Field. The makeup game has yet to be rescheduled for a later date. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Arkansas 3 Box Score SP: Chris Vallimont - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 4 K HR: Cole Sturgeon (3), Alex Isola (3) Multi-hit games: Isola (3-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI) The Wind Surge completed their series victory over the Travelers Sunday afternoon in a 4-3 victory that gave the Wind Surge a 5-1 series win. Chris Vallimont was on the mound for his fifth start of the season for the Wind Surge. Vallimont had a strong first inning but struggled in the second and third giving up two runs in the second on a bases-clearing double by Travelers catcher Jake Anchia. Vallimont allowed the Travelers third and final run to score on a wild pitch in the bottom of the third. Vallimont cooled off in the fourth inning but was taken out for the day afterward. Alex Isola carried the Wind Surge lineup to victory with his 3-for-4 performance at the plate coming a triple short of the cycle. Isola also hit the game-winning home run in the top of the sixth that gave the Wind Surge their 4-3 lead. Cole Sturgeon hit his third home run of the season in the fifth inning against Travelers starter George Kirby. The Wind Surge will be returning home for their next series starting Tuesday against the Tulsa Drillers. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Beloit 13 Box Score SP: Cade Povich 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K HR: Aaron Sabato (2), Jeferson Morales (1) Multi-hit games: Anthony Prato (2-3, R, 2B, RBI (14) 2 BB), Jair Camargo (2-4, R, BB, K) The Kernels completed their final game against the Beloit Sky Carp with a loss that split the six-game series between the two teams. The 13-6 loss is the largest for the Kernels on the season so far. Kernels starter Cade Povich made his third start of the season but was roughed up over 4 1/3 innings pitched. The Sky Carp scored three runs against him in the second and three more to knock him out in the fifth inning. Povich still did have three strong innings. throwing scoreless first, third, and fourth innings. The Kernels offense did their best to keep up but fell short in the later innings as the Sky Carp tagged on three insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh and four more in the bottom of the eighth. Kernels left fielder Anthony Prato and catcher Jair Camargo both had strong games at the plate, but it was first baseman Aaron Sabato’s two-run homer in the top of the ninth that brought the Kernels back into the game. Even though they fell short and lost 13-6 The Kernels will be returning home for their next series against the Quad City River Bandits which will be their second series against them for the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Clearwater 4: Suspended in the top of the 11th Box Score SP: Sonny Gray 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi hit games: Noah Miller (2-3, R, BB), Kyler Fedko (2-4, R, RBI (14), BB, K) The Mighty Mussels game against the Clearwater Threshers was suspended in the top of the 11th due to rain. The suspended game will resume during the Mighty Mussels next match up against the Threshers the week of May 16. Both Sonny Gray and Jordan Balazovic pitched for the Mighty Mussels during Sunday’s game. Gray made his rehab start and nearly three perfect innings for Fort Myers save for a fielding error in the top of the first and a single in the top of the second. Gray did not allow any walks and struck out five in his appearance. Balazovic came into the game right after Gray for two innings. Balazovic did not have as strong a performance as Gray as he gave up four runs on four hits and two walks in his first appearance for the 2022 season. He has been rehabbing a knee injury. The Mussels will begin their next series on Tuesday night at home against the Cardinals Single-A affiliate, the Palm Beach Cardinals. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Sonny Gray (Fort Myers) - 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 5 K Hitter of the Day – Alex Isola (Wichita) - 3-4, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI 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. #2 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-2, R, 2B, K #5 - Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers, Rehab) - 2 IP 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, K #7 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (1st career MLB Win) #11 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 2-3, R, BB #13 - Cole Sands (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #16 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-3, R, BB #17 - Cade Povich (Cedar Rapids) - 4.1 IP, 8 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 6 K #18 - Christian Encarnacion-Strand (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, RBI (24), BB, K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B, 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, May 3. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - TBD Tulsa @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games as the second weekend of the Minor and Major League seasons has concluded. View full article

Josh Winder went to the mound Sunday afternoon for his first Major League start, and his teammates gave him an early favor by scoring five runs in the first inning. The Twins went on to a 9-3 win, and a series win on the road in Tampa. Box Score SP: Josh Winder 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K (83 pitches, 54 strikes (65 strike %)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton (7) Top 3 WPA: Jorge Polanco (.131), Kyle Garlick (.106), Josh Winder (.102) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins bats were ready to continue their hot streak from Saturday against the Rays on Sunday and wasted no time doing so. The top of the first brought about a lot of excitement for the Twins as Byron Buxton reached base on a throwing error from Rays shortstop Taylor Walls which advanced him to second. In the next at-bat Carlos Correa hit a single to have two runners on for Kyle Garlick. Garlick was able to drive in the Twins' first run of the game with an RBI single to right which scored Buxton. This had two runners aboard for Jorge Polanco who drove both Correa and Garlick in on a bases-clearing double to make it a 3-0 Twins lead. Gio Urshela was the Twins first out of the inning, but Max Kepler came up next to make it a 4-0 game on another double. The scoring didn’t stop there for the Twins in the top of the first. Gary Sanchez followed Kepler’s RBI double with an RBI single of his own to make it 5-0. Left fielder Gilberto Celestino ended the inning with a double play hit to Walls but the Twins still gave Winder an extensive lead for his first MLB start. The Twins offense certainly stood out during Sunday’s game but Winder was the star of the game making his first MLB start. Winder had made three bullpen appearances for the Twins before Sunday only looking rough in his MLB debut against the Dodgers on April 12. The six inning workload that Winder pitched on Sunday was not set to be a challenge either. Winder had a relief appearance of 5 1/3 innings on April 16 after Sonny Gray was removed from his start due to injury. Winder’s start against the Rays was his best pitching appearance of 2022 to date. Six shutout innings, only three base runners on two hits and a walk and seven strikeouts proved why the Twins were smart to put him on the Opening Day roster. After the first inning that almost had the Twins bat around, the scoring didn’t stop there for them. Buxton was the next to add on a run for the Twins as he hit his seventh home run of the season to deep left field in the top of the fourth. The Twins bats wouldn’t do anything again until the top of the seventh where they scored an additional two runs thanks to another Polanco bases-clearing double. Trevor Larnach, who came into the game for Garlick who had to leave due to a hamstring injury, made sure the Twins weren’t done scoring in the top of the eighth. Larnach drove in Celestino on an RBI single to make it a 9-1 game for the Twins. The Twins bullpen was not able to keep the shoutout going for Winder after he left the game. Tyler Duffey came into the game in the bottom of the seventh and gave up an RBI double to Walls to make it a 8-1 game. Following Duffey’s one-run inning, Twins Daily 13th-ranked prospect Cole Sands came into the game to make his Major League debut in the bottom of the eighth. After recording the first out, Sands struggled surrendering three straight hits and two earned runs. Sands recovered though as he recorded his first two big-league strikeouts to get out of the eighth inning. Even with his struggles in the eighth, Rocco Baldelli sent his newly arrived reliever in for the ninth to close the game out for the Twins. Sands cooled off completely in the ninth throwing a one, two, three ninth inning to give the Twins the win and series victory on the road against Tampa. What’s Next? The Twins will start the second series of this road trip against Baltimore tomorrow night at 6:05 p.m. CT. Chris Paddack will be making his fourth start for the Twins against the Orioles 6’8 righty Tyler Wells. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Coulombe 20 0 35 0 0 55 Jax 0 46 0 0 0 46 Stashak 0 18 0 14 0 32 Sands 0 0 0 0 30 30 Duffey 0 8 0 0 17 25 Duran 0 0 0 20 0 20 Smith 10 0 0 9 0 19 Thielbar 0 0 0 15 0 15 Pagán 0 0 0 0 0 0 View full article

Roster sizes for all MLB teams will be shrinking by two spots come May 2nd. Teams will be limited to 26 players until September. While the Twins have taken advantage of these spots for more pitchers in April, there are hitters on the Twins bench that may be impacted by roster decisions next Monday. The Twins lineup is stacked on paper. Their performance is off to a cold start in April. Even with the slow start from hitters such as Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco, their performances will not cost them a roster spot. The Twins hitters most likely to be sent down are the outfielders on the active roster not named Byron Buxton or Max Kepler. With Alex Kirilloff also entering a rehab assignment with the Saints this week, his return to the Twins roster will also cause the clearance of a roster spot. If one outfielder on the Twins' current roster would benefit from being a 'victim' of the roster downsizing next week, it's Gilberto Celestino. The 23-year-old has been used primarily as a pinch runner and defensive replacement in his ten games with the Twins this season. He has made just three starts, including last night's game against the Tigers. Celestino has only managed one hit in 12 at-bats and one walk. During his time with the Twins last season, Celestino has been on the Twins roster for his running and defensive skills but has struggled to adjust to hitting against major-league arms. Celestino certainly has the talent to be an everyday outfielder or even fourth outfielder for the Twins someday. He is showing he still needs regular playing time at St. Paul to adjust to Major League pitching, and Celestino would be the Twins hitter who would benefit the most from these upcoming roster cuts. In addition to Celestino, Trevor Larnach could benefit from the roster downsizing, especially if Kirilloff returns to the Twins by May 2nd. Larnach has shown signs of improvement at the plate in the 12 games he has played for the Twins this year. Larnach and Kirilloff are still far from playing their 100th career game, and the Twins front office seems to lean toward Kirilloff being the everyday left fielder for the time being. Kyle Garlick is the last outfielder on the Twins roster that could be sent back down to St. Paul following next Monday. The Twins' 30-year-old backup outfielder has only managed two hits in 15 at-bats this season but has been a pinch hitter in crucial spots against left-handed pitching. Garlick certainly looks to be the safest in keeping a roster spot with the Twins when the rosters shrink, but if he continues a cold streak at the plate, will that cost him a trip back down to St. Paul? Jose Godoy is the last hitter on this list, likely sent down when the roster size goes down from 28 to 26. Godoy does not have many of the same questions as Celestino, Larnach, or Garlick. Yes, he would benefit from more consistent playing time with the Saints. However, the main question that hangs over Godoy staying with the Twins after May 2nd is if the front office wants to have three catchers on the roster and not two. With Gary Sanchez day-to-day and emergency catcher Jhon Romero on the ten-day injured list, Godoy's spot on the Twins roster looks to remain for the time being. Before the Twins called him up for his season debut on Sunday, Godoy had caught four games for the Saints, hitting .133 with the team. The Twins are currently carrying 14 pitchers and will likely keep it that way until they need to bring the number of pitchers on their roster down to 13. That date changed on Monday when it was announced that teams will be able to keep 14 pitchers on their 26-man roster until May 29th when they can only have 13 pitchers on the 26-man roster. Celestino is the hitter that makes the most sense to be sent back down out of these four. Celestino has talent that still needs to see consistent playing time, and with how the Twins' everyday lineup currently pans out, he won't be seeing that playing time. Check back later when we look at which pitchers might be candidates to head to St. Paul. Let us know which hitters you would send down and why in the COMMENTS below. View full article

The Twins had an exciting victory Sunday afternoon thanks to a Byron Buxton walk-off home run. The Twins minor-league affiliates did not have as exciting of wins but still provided entertaining baseball throughout the day. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Twins minor leagues on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Toledo 8 Box Score SP: Daniel Gossett - 2.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi hit games: Curtis Terry (2-4, 2B, 2 RBI (9)) The Saints played their final game of a week-long series against the Toledo Mud Hens and came up short on a chance to split the six-game series Sunday losing 8-3 to the Mud Huns The offense performed a bit better than they did in their 5-2 loss to the Mud Hens on Saturday. Curtis Terry led the Saints in hitting going two for four with four runs batted in Sunday, but only three other Saints hitters managed to get hits against the Mud Hens pitching. Daniel Gossett did not have the start he was hoping for on Sunday. Gossett made his shortest start of the season on Sunday only going two and a third innings but gave up a minimum number of runs for the season so far with only two. Cole Sands relieved Gossett but had his worst outing of the season so far. In one inning of relief, Sands gave up four hits, five earned runs and two walks which put the Mud Hens up 7-2 after four innings. The Saints will return home Tuesday for a two-week stretch playing their first series against the Milwaukee Brewers Triple AAA affiliate the Nashville Sounds for their next six games. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 10, Midland 7 Box Score SP: Matt Canterino - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: Kevin Merrell (3) Multi hit games: Kevin Merrell (2-3, R, HR, 2 RBI (8)), Michael Helman (3-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B (2), 2 RBI (11), SB (4), BB, K), Matt Wallner (2-4, R, 3 RBI (7), BB, K), Cole Sturgeon (2-4, RBI (13), K) The Wind Surge faced tough back-to-back losses against the RockHounds Friday and Saturday and got revenge against them with a 10-7 win on Sunday. The hitters came alive on Sunday, combining for 11 hits, nine walks, and two triples from Michael Helman and Edouard Julien. Helman was the hitter of the game for the Wind Surge on Sunday as he came a home run short of the cycle and did everything else a hitter could. Forest Lake native Matt Wallner saw his hitting game recover after struggling at the plate over the last week as well, going 2-for-4 and driving in three runs in the Wind Surge victory. Matt Canterino made his fourth start of the season for the Wind Surge and although he only faced the RockHounds lineup all the way through once, he was perfect in all three innings. Canterino made his second consecutive start of three-inning, perfect pitching Sunday and showed great resurgence with the Wind Surge. The Wind Surge will be making their second road trip of the season this week facing the Arkansas Travelers who currently hold a 8-7 record on the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Peoria 4 Box Score SP: Aaron Rozek 5 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: Anthony Prato (2) Multi hit games: Anthony Prato (2-4, 2 R, HR, RBI (13)), Christian Encarnacion-Strand (2-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B (1), RBI (23) 2 K), Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-4, R, 2 2B, RBI (3)) The Kernels finished up their first full homestand of the season against the Peoria Chiefs on Sunday taking five out of six games against the Chiefs. The Kernels stand at a High-A Midwest Division best record 12-3 now thanks to their hot bats Christian Encarnacion-Strand led the lineup once again, nailing his first triple of the season and adding to his league-high runs batted in total which now stands at 23. Anthony Prato had another impressive game on Sunday as well going two for four with a home run and a couple of runs. Kernels left fielder Willie Joe Garry Jr. had his first offensive breakout for the season going two for four with a couple of doubles and an RBI. Aaron Rozek threw another impressive game on Sunday going five full innings and allowing only five base runners. Rozek did give up three runs in his start but still maintained the lead for the Kernels through five. The Kernels next series is on the road against the Beloit Sky Carp for another six-game stand and will be their second series against the Sky Carp for the season. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 2, Dunedin 3 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: None Multi hit games: Jesus Feliz (2-3, R, BB) The Mighty Mussels completed their six game road trip to Dunedin with a 3-2 loss and series split against the Blue Jays on Sunday. Mussels starter Travis Adams made another dominant five-inning start for his teammates going five innings, allowing only two base runners, both in the bottom of the first. After the rocky first inning, Adams kept the Blue Jays off the bases for the rest of his start. The Mussels offense was able to tie the game in the top of the third thanks to a Kyler Fedko sacrifice fly. The game remained scoreless thereafter until the top of the sixth when the Mussels took a two to one lead following a Daniel Ozoria single that scored Jake Rucker. Going into the ninth the Mussels held their 2-1 lead but Mussels reliever Samuel Perez was only able to record one out before giving up a ground-rule double to Blue Jays Angel Del Rosario that tied the game. Perez then gave up a single to Adriel Sotolongo that gave the Blue Jays the game-winning run and put the Mussels overall record to 10-5 on the season. The Mussels will begin their next series on Tuesday night at home against the Phillies Single-A affiliate, the Clearwater Threshers. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – Michael Helman (Wichita) - 3-4, 2 R, 2B, 3B (2), 2 RBI (11), SB (4), BB, K 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 0-4, R, BB #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 0-4, 2 K #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-3, 2 R, 2B, BB #6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, R, BB, 2 K, 2 SB (5) #11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 0-1 #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 2-4, R, 3 RBI (7), BB, K #13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 0 K #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-3, 3 R, 2B, 2 BB, K #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1-4, 2 R, 3B (1), RBI (3), BB, 2 K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, April 26. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games as the second weekend of the Minor and Major League seasons has concluded. View full article

Although the Twins suffered another bad loss at the hands of the Boston Red Sox, the Twins minor-league affiliates had better games on Sunday afternoon as the Saints, Wind Surge, and Kernels all won their games. The Mighty Mussels lost but played a close game that went down to the final pitch. TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the Twins' minor leagues on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Indianapolis 1 Box Score SP: Jake Faria - 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (2-4, R, RBI (5)), David Banuelos (2-3, 2B, R, RBI (3)) The Saints finished their first homestand against the Indianapolis Indians winning 5-1 Sunday thanks to a strong start from Jake Faria and five scoreless innings from the bullpen. The offense cooled off from Saturday’s 16-13 victory over Indianapolis. The scoring started for the Saints with an RBI double from catcher David Banuelos in the bottom of the third driving in second baseman Elliot Soto. Two at-bats later, Royce Lewis drove in Banuelos to make it a 2-1 Saints lead. In the bottom of the sixth, the Saints were able to tack on two more runs thanks to a groundout from left fielder Jake Cave that scored Lewis. In the next at-bat, designated hitter Chance Sisco reached base on an error that scored first baseman Curtis Terry, making it a 4-1 Saints game. The final run of the game came again from the bat of Cave as he had another ground out that scored center fielder Mark Contreras, tallying the final run of the Saints 5-1 victory. Faria showed great improvement in his second start for the Saints Sunday, decreasing the number of walks he surrendered from five last Sunday against Louisville to two today. After completing four innings, Faria was once again replaced by Chi Chi Gonzalez. Gonzalez took on the next three innings for the Saints keeping Indianapolis hitless and only allowing two base runners on walks. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Northwest Arkansas 1 Box Score SP: Brandon Lawson - 3 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K HR: Matt Wallner (1), Michael Helman (1) Multi-hit games: Kevin Merrell (2-4, 2 RBI (3), K) After starting the season 0-3, the Wind Surge have gone 4-2 and won this week's series against the Northwest Arkansas Naturals. The final score for the Wind Surge on Sunday was the exact same as the Saints with the 5-1 victory over the Naturals. The Wind Surge had a strong outing from starter Brandon Lawson. He provided the rotation 3 2/3 innings pitched against the Naturals allowing nine base runners but somehow giving up only one run. The Wind Surge bullpen only allowed three base runners in the remaining 5 1/3 innings of the game. On the offensive side, Wind Surge right fielder Matt Wallner and third baseman Michael Helman each hit their first home runs of the season to give the Wind Surge insurance runs. Shortstop and Wind Surge newcomer Kevin Merrell had his first multi-hit game of the season going 2-for-4 and driving in a couple of runs. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 2 Box Score SP: Aaron Rozek 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Charles Mack (3-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI (5)), Anthony Prato (2-5, 2 RBI (10) 2 K), Kennie Taylor (2-3, R, 3B (1), BB, K) The Kernels took home their seventh win of the season on Sunday to finish out their series against the Quad Cities River Bandits. Aaron Rozek made his second start of the season for the Kernels and pitched a phenomenal five innings allowing only three base runners, and one unearned run while striking out seven batters. Even with Christian Encarnacion-Strand out of the lineup for the Kernels on Sunday, their bats were still able to produce a high-scoring game. The hitting surge for the Kernels was led by Charles Mack who went 3-for-4 and brought his batting average for the season up to .533 in 15 at-bats. Also keeping up his hot streak for the Kernels was Anthony Prato who had two hits and two runs batted in to bring his RBI total to ten in the Kernels' first nine games. The bullpen pitched an effective game after Rozek’s departure having four different relievers come in for an inning each. The Kernels bullpen totaled four innings pitched, four hits, one run, five strikeouts and no walks Sunday afternoon. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Jupiter 4 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K HR: Jake Rucker (1) Multi-hit games: Mikey Perez (2-4, R, K), Ernie Yake (2-4, R, K) The Mighty Mussels were the only Twins affiliate to drop a game on Sunday. The Mussels were trailing the Jupiter Hammerheads 4-1 going into the bottom of the ninth. They were able to score two runs and make it a close game until the final out. Mussels starter Travis Adams once again had a great start for his teammates going five innings, allowing only three base runners, and striking out seven. The Hammerheads were able to score three runs against Mussels reliever Jaylen Nowlin in his second inning of work in the top of the seventh. Coming out of the bullpen for the Mussels after Nowlin was Regi Grace who only gave up one run in his 2 1/3 innings pitched. On the offensive side Mussels' third baseman Jake Rucker hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth that brought the Mussels a run away from tying the game. :Left fielder Kyler Fedko went hitless during Sunday’s game but reached base twice on walks, maintaining his OPS at 1.238 for the season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Charles Mack (Cedar Rapids) - 3-4, 2 R, 2B, RBI (5) 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-5, SB (6), K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 2-4, R, RBI (5) #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 0-3, BB #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, 2 BB, 3 K, SB (2) #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 1-3, R, HR (1), RBI (2), BB, K #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 0-4 TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, April 19. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). St. Paul @ Toledo (5:35 PM CST) - Midland @ Wichita (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Matt Canterino Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) - Fort Myers @ Dunedin (6:30 PM CST) - Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games as the second weekend of the minor and major league seasons has concluded. View full article

Saw Lewis Thorpe pitch yesterday for the Saints. His velocity barely topped 90, I think he only had two pitches clocked at 90 in his short outing.

Twins' Bats Remain Cold for Second Straight Game Against Red Sox Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (70 pitches, 46 strikes (65.7 strike %)) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Kyle Garlick (-0.176), Luis Arraez (-0.128), Caleb Thielbar (-0.117) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) For the second straight game, the Twins failed to wake their bats up against the Red Sox as they dropped an 8-1 loss. Bailey Ober continued to show progress in his second start of the season. Ober completed six innings with 70 pitches thrown and gave up two unearned runs. Even with the low pitch count through six, the Twins lineup couldn’t provide enough runs to keep Ober in the game beyond a Trevor Larnach sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh. https://twitter.com/DanHayesMLB/status/1515773502049202181 The Twins lineup have now gone two games with only scoring a single run. Larnach was the only player to come up with multiple hits on Saturday while Gio Urshela was the only Twin to compile multiple hits today, going 2-4. The lineup also struck out an alarming ten times Sunday afternoon, a second consecutive day of ten plus strikeouts for the hitters. Carlos Correa compiled a quarter of the Twins strikeouts from Saturday and Sunday striking out three times on Saturday and twice on Sunday. The Twins new shortstop is only hitting .133 in eight games. One positive from the woes of the Twins Sunday loss was Gary Sanchez throwing out the first stolen base attempt against the Twins this season. Jackie Bradley Jr. was thrown out trying to steal second in the bottom of the seventh to end the inning. Ober’s six innings did give the bullpen a smaller workload Sunday afternoon in the later innings. Tyler Duffey pitched a scoreless seventh and only walked Bradley Jr. which resulted in Bradley Jr. being caught stealing second. The bottom of the eighth was a different story as Caleb Thielbar gave up four hits and four earned runs against the Red Sox and was removed from the game after the Red Sox made it a 6-1 lead. Cody Stashak made his season debut coming in to replace Thielbar and gave up two additional runs to the Red Sox. The Red Sox then took an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the ninth with Austin Davis on the mound. Davis pitched a one-two-three ninth to close out the game and hand the Twins their second straight loss. What’s Next? The Twins will play their final game of this four-game series against the Red Sox Monday morning at 10:10 a.m. CT start time. Dylan Bundy will be making his second start of the season against Red Sox starter and former Twin Rich Hill. Postgame Interview Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Duran 11 0 34 0 0 45 Thielbar 19 18 0 0 17 54 Romero 0 34 0 11 0 45 Pagán 0 20 11 0 0 31 Winder 0 28 0 66 0 94 Jax 0 0 22 0 0 22 Smith 19 3 0 0 0 22 Coulombe 0 14 0 0 0 14 Duffey 14 0 0 0 18 32 Stashek 17 View full article

Talked about this exact theory with a friend yesterday. As of right now I don't think juiced balls are happening because it's too small a sample size, but if there are say, 10-15 players with 25 or more HR by mid June, I'd buy it.

The first week of the Saints season and first weekend series for all other Twins affiliates concluded with impressive wins and a hard loss for Wichita. Read about it in today’s Minor League Report. TRANSACTIONS Catcher Jose Godoy cleared waivers and was outrighted to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 15, Louisville 6 Box Score SP: Jake Faria - 3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 5 K HR: Curtis Terry (1), Kyle Garlick (1), Mark Contreras (2), Daniel Robertson (1) Multi hit games: Robertson (2-5 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB), Garlick (2-5 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB), Terry (2-3 3 R, 2B, HR, RBI, 2 BB), Contreras (3-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 RBI), Jermaine Palacios (2-5 2 R, 2B, 2 RBI), Chance Sisco (3-5 2 R, 2 2B, RBI) The Saints finished their series in Louisville with a bang as six Saints hitters tallied multiple hits in their 15-6 victory over the Bats. The offense was balanced for the Saints with everyone except Derek Fisher getting a hit and top prospects Royce Lewis and Jose Miranda being the only ones without multiple hits. This gave an opportunity for all the other hitters in the Saints lineup a chance to shine, especially the likes of Sisco and Contreras who tallied two doubles each in their three-hit games. Louisville starter Ben Lively struggled with his control in this game as he hit three batters, one to Miranda and two to Lewis. Fortunately for both Miranda and Lewis the pitches they took did not result in any serious injuries that removed them from the game. Jake Faria struggled in his first two innings but recovered during his final inning and a third on the mound. Coming in to replace Faria was Chi Chi Gonzlaez, who had a notoriously bad spring training with the Twins posting an 18.69 ERA in just 4 1/3 innings pitched. A bad spring training did not carry over into Gonzalez’s Saints debut as he gave up two earned runs on three hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings pitched. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Tulsa 7 Box Score SP: Chris Vallimont 2/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-4) The Wind Surge took the only loss for the Twins minor league affiliates on Sunday. Chris Vallimont couldn’t find his way out of the first inning in his 2022 season debut. The Drillers tallied five runs off of him to knock him out early. Following Vallimont’s struggles, Kody Funderburk came in from the bullpen to stop the bleeding. Funderburk only surrendered one run in three innings of relief. The Wind Surge were able to get a run back in the bottom half of the first inning thanks to a Spencer Steer double that drove in Austin Martin. But the Drillers were able to keep the Wind Surge scoreless until the seventh inning when they scored two more runs. All nine Wind Surge hitters were able to get on base this game but still did not have enough juice in the bats to pull together a win. Wichita has yet to win a game this season, falling to 0-3. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Beloit 0 Box Score SP: Sawyer Gipson-Long 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: None Christian Encarnacion-Strand had been the star of the Kernels first two games but his bat cooled off just a little bit in Sunday’s game going 1-for-4 with an RBI double. However, the pitching stepped up in a big way on Sunday. The Kernels had five pitchers work on Sunday afternoon, and they combined to shutout the Sky Carp in a 2-0 victory. The starter for the Kernels was Sawyer Gipson-Long who hurled four scoreless innings and gave up two hits, walked two, and struck out five batters. Following Gipson-Long from the bullpen were Bobby Milacki, Melvi Acosta, Denny Bentley, and Osiris German. They combined for five innings pitched of no-hit baseball giving up only two walks and striking out four Sky Carp batters. German earned the save for the Kernels. The Kernels were able to pull off the sweep of the Sky Carp on only three hits thanks to the master class pitching from their rotation on Sunday. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Clearwater 3 Box Score SP: Travis Adams 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: Noah Cardenas (1) Multi-hit games: Kyler Fedko (2-3 1 R, 3B, 3 RBI, BB, K) The Mighty Mussels completed their sweep of the Clearwater Threshers on Sunday bringing them to a 3-0 record to start the season. Mussels starter Travis Adams contributed a strong first outing of the season keeping Clearwater to one run in his five innings pitched. Jaylen Nowlin came into the game after Adams and surrendered the Threshers two runs, but the rest of the Fort Myers bullpen kept the game scoreless. Jackson Hicks pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Juan Mendez came on and recorded his first save of the season. Kyler Fedko had the big hit of the game for Fort Myers. Fedko smacked a bases-clearing triple in the top of the seventh that gave the Mussels the lead making it a 6-3 game. Mussels catcher Noah Cardenas also had a big hit getting his first home run of the season in the second inning. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Travis Adams (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Hitter of the Day – Mark Contreras (St. Paul) - 3-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR 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: #1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B (2), K #2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 1-4, 2B (3), 2 R, 2 K, RBI, CS, 2-HBP #3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 1-5, K, RBI (4), HBP #10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, BB, 3 K, CS (1) #12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 0-3, BB, K, CS (1) #15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, 2 BB, SB (1) #18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 1-4, 2B (2), RBI #19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-4, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS All Twins Minor League Affiliates are off on Monday and will resume their games on Tuesday, April 12. The only Monday in which there will be minor-league games is July 4th (and some for the Saints in September). The Saints and Mighty Muscles will be hosting their home openers on Tuesday. Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - RHP Daniel Gossett (0-0, 7.36 ERA, 1.36 WHIP) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Brandon Lawson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CST) - LHP Cade Povich Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya (first professional start) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games as the first weekend of the Minor and Major League seasons has concluded. View full article

After starting the season 0-2 and only scoring four runs combined in those games, the Twins bats came alive on Sunday afternoon. They hit six home runs in a 10-4 victory over the Mariners and improved to 1-2 on the season. Box Score SP: Bailey Ober 5 IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (79 pitches, 48 strikes (60.7 strike %)) Home Runs: Byron Buxton 2 (3), Gary Sanchez (1), Max Kepler (1), Jorge Polanco (1), Carlos Correa (1) Top 3 WPA: Gary Sanchez (.228), Byron Buxton (.127), Max Kepler (0.75) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Byron Buxton was the star at the plate on Sunday hitting a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first to put the Twins up 1-0. Buxton then made it three consecutive at-bats with a home run in the bottom of the second which earned a curtain call of MVP chants from the crowd. Buxton’s second home run gave the Twins a 6-0 lead. Gary Sanchez made his first start of the season behind the plate today and after almost giving the Twins an Opening Day victory with a fly ball that fell a few feet short of the left field bleachers. Sanchez crushed a grand slam in the bottom of the first to make it a 5-0 game and show the left field bleachers will be a common landing spot for his hits. In the bottom of the seventh, Sanchez tagged his fifth RBI of the game with a two out double to right center that scored his former Yankee teammate Gio Urshela and gave the Twins a 10-4 lead. Bailey Ober made his first start for the 2022 season. Ober struggled in the first inning throwing 27? pitches , walking Jesse Winker and giving up a double to Mitch Haniger. Following a rocky first inning, Ober had a one, two, three second inning that helped him cool off. Going into the third the Twins held a 6-0 lead for Ober but the Mariners bats came alive in the top half scoring four runs, three of which came from another Haniger home run. After giving up four runs in the third, Ober cooled off for his final two innings and kept the Mariners scoreless in the fourth and fifth. Correa continued his hot streak in the field. In the top of the first when it looked like Winker would score on Haniger’s double, Correa caught Alex Kirilloff’s relay throw and nailed a strike to Sanchez who tagged Winker out at home. After going hitless in his first three at bats, Correa joined in with Sanchez getting his first home run as a Twin on Sunday. Correa crushed a 83 MPH slider from Yohan Ramirez to the third deck of the left field bleachers making it a 9-4 Twins lead. In addition to the power hitting Buxton, Sanchez, and Correa showcased for Twins fans on Sunday. Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco also awoke at the plate hitting their first homers of the season. Polanco reached base a second time as well with a single. Sunday’s game showed that even with new faces on this 2022 squad, the Twins are still very much the Bomba Squad crushing six home runs after having only two from the season's first two games. Through the first three games, Buxton leads the team with three home runs. The Twins bullpen recovered from yesterday’s loss keeping the Mariners scoreless through the final four innings of the game. Danny Coulombe, Jorge Alcala, Emilio Pagan, and Jhon Romero combined for 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 4 K, Pagan, making his season and team debut with the Twins, threw only ten pitches in a scoreless eighth, striking out two of three batters faced. Romero also made his season and team debut and threw 15 pitches giving up a hit and a walk in the ninth. What’s Next? The Twins will play their final game of this four-game series against the Mariners Monday night at 6:40 p.m. CT start time. Dylan Bundy will be making his 2022 Twins debut against the Mariners Chris Flexin. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Availability WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Coulombe 0 0 27 0 15 42 Alcalá 0 0 13 0 27 40 Duran 0 0 31 0 0 31 Cotton 0 0 0 20 0 20 Smith 0 0 0 20 0 20 Thielbar 0 0 0 18 0 18 Duffey 0 0 0 18 0 18 Romero 0 0 0 0 15 15 Pagán 0 0 0 0 10 10 Winder 0 0 0 0 0 0 Twins Daily’s own John Bonnes will be at today’s post game press conference and provide coverage, so check back over the next few hours. In the postgame interviews, we learned a little bit more about the key factor that got Ober back on track after that home run. “He seemed good,” said manager Rocco Baldelli. “He seemed kind of pissed off.” Ober confirmed that the home run really bugged him and helped him get more aggressive over his last couple of innings. Ober lasted five innings, and though he gave up four runs, three of them happened on the aforementioned pitch that he would surely like back. After managing his way through the first and second inning, he started the third giving up a double and a walk before a bloop single scored a run. A visit from pitching coach Wes Johnson followed and Ober went back to work. Ober lasted five innings, and though he gave up four runs, three of them happened on the aforementioned pitch that he would surely like back. After managing his way through the first and second inning, he started the third giving up a double and a walk before a bloop single scored a run. A visit from pitching coach Wes Johnson followed and Ober went back to work. View full article

Joe Ryan joins a unique company with Jose Guzman and Steve Busby as one of only three MLB pitchers to make their sixth career start on Opening Day. Guzman started Opening Day in 1986 for the Texas Rangers, and Steve Busby pitched on Opening Day in 1973 for the Royals. Do their performances from those starts set any realistic expectations for Ryan? Twins manager Rocco Baldelli announced Thursday afternoon that the team's starter for Opening Day will be a rookie righty, Joe Ryan. Ryan, who only made five starts with the Twins in 2021, will become the third Major League pitcher to make his sixth career start on an Opening Day. Both Steve Busby and Juan Guzman pitched eight full seasons in the big leagues. What, if anything, do their histories tell about Ryan's future from an Opening Day standpoint? Ryan's performance with the Twins in September 2021 was very solid. After he returned from pitching in the Olympics in Tokyo for Team USA, he made two starts with the Saints before getting his call up to the Majors on September 1. Ryan is no stranger to pitching on big stages. Ryan's counterpart on the mound will be Seattle Mariners ace and 2021 AL Cy Young Award winner Robbie Ray. Ryan's predecessors in this historic start also faced challenging opponents in their Opening Day starts. For Busby in 1973, his Kansas City Royals faced off against strikeout king Nolan Ryan and the California Angels. Guzman and the Texas Rangers were facing the face of a franchise for their Opening Day in 1986, Dave Stieb of the Toronto Blue Jays. On April 6, 1973, Busby's Opening Day performance ended up with a loss for the Royals. Busby pitched 4 1/3 innings before being yanked by Royals manager Jack McKeon. Busby gave up three earned runs on seven hits and a walk. He walked one batter. The Angels ended up not scoring any more runs after Busby was pulled, and even though the Royals scored two runs in the bottom of the eighth against Ryan, it wasn't enough. Ryan threw a complete game and did what Nolan Ryan did best. He struck out 12 batters in the game. Guzman's 1986 Opening Day start looked much different than Busby's. Even facing the reigning AL ERA champ in Stieb, the Rangers' offense scored three runs in the fourth and fifth innings. Stieb was taken out after 4 1/3 innings pitched, and Guzman held the Blue Jays scoreless to that point in the game. Guzman eventually gave up three runs to the Blue Jays in the top of the sixth but powered through the mishap and threw eight innings. Guzman's stat line for his Opening Day start ended with three earned runs on eight hits over eight innings. He struck out three and didn't issue any walks. The Rangers beat the Blue Jays 6-3, giving Guzman his fourth career win in his sixth career start. Like Busby and Guzman, Ryan's mound opponent is an established ace in Robbie Ray. The defending AL Cy Young Award winner will be a formidable opponent to match up against on the mound for Ryan. Still, Baldelli has strong confidence in Ryan to be the guy for the Twins to start their season. So, what can history show Ryan based on the two other pitchers who made their sixth career start on Opening Day? Of course, it tells us nothing. When a sample size is just two, nothing can be learned from those two starts. After a three-week spring training, Ryan shouldn't have any expectations to pitch like his predecessors, certainly not to pitch eight innings like Guzman. Instead, he will create his unique performance against the Mariners that can hopefully lead to a Twins win. It will be a great game nonetheless as the Twins return to the field for 2022 and give fans the first rookie Opening Day starter since Tom Hall in 1969. Get your predictions in. How will Joe Ryan perform in his first Opening Day start (hopefully first of many)? How will the Twins do against Robbie Ray? Leave your comments and predictions below. View full article

The St. Paul Saints are set to begin their second season as the Triple AAA affiliate of the Twins and hosted their first team practice at CHS Field for the 2022 season on Sunday. Saints manager Toby Gardenhire and first baseman Curtis Terry were interviewed by Twins Daily at the practice to sharing their outlooks for the 2022 season. The St. Paul Saints held their first team practice at CHS Field for the 2022 season late Sunday morning, preparing themselves for their Opening Day in Louisville tonight. Although the Saints roster is not completed with the Twins still needing to make a couple more moves, around 15 players and the Saints coaching staff took to practice on the field on Sunday. One of the newcomers to the Twins organization, Saints' first baseman Curtis Terry, spoke of the excitement he has with the opportunity to play every day this season. “I'm looking forward to playing regularly every day. That's the biggest thing. I'm looking at this, this is a really nice stadium, nice field, everything's beautiful here. I'm looking forward to playing in a different league. I haven't really played games on the East Coast too much. So that's gonna be huge for me and my family to come on and watch me play. Like I said before, it’s a fresh start with everything and it's going well, so far,” said Terry. The fresh start comes for Terry after spending all of his six seasons in professional baseball with the Texas Rangers organization. Terry made his MLB debut last season on July 23 in a game against the Houston Astros on the road. (For more on Curtis Terry, see his episode of Twins Spotlight here.) Saints manager Toby Gardenhire spoke on how this first month of the season will differentiate from this time a year ago with many players starting Spring Training late due to the MLB lockout. “I think it's gonna be interesting for the first month for sure. Just because with the shortened spring training, there are still some guys that are ramping off and the Twins obviously signed some guys late. I'm not really sure what the expectation is, and how we're going to be able to get those guys ready yet, but we will work with them” said Gardenhire. Some of the late additions to the Twins organization during Spring Training include Chi Chi Gonzalez, JC Ramirez, and Jake Petricka, all of whom are on the Saints roster to start the 2022 season. Of these three pitchers, only Gonzalez pitched in Twins Spring Training games twice, posting an 18.69 ERA in 4 1/3 innings pitched. Even with late additions to the Saints roster this last month, Gardenhire is still confident with the roster that will be set to start the season for his team. “We have a really good group of guys and we have a great group of young prospects. And I think that they are going to help the big league team out during the season. So it will be pretty cool to start off with and just kind of see where we go. It's gonna be interesting,” said Gardenhire. Before arriving at St. Paul from Fort Myers, Terry took in every opportunity he could to connect with his new teammates at both the Major League and Minor League levels. Terry found himself spending a lot of time with other Georgia native players such as Tim Beckham and Byron Buxton as well as Miguel Sano, describing all three and everyone else as excellent teammates. “I'm enjoying them a lot. Honestly. It's much like new people, new faces. So it's kind of weird not seeing the same faces I’ve known for years. But so far, it's been so good. Everybody's been nice. Everybody's cool, I’m getting along with people. So I mean, it's been a pretty good transition,” said Terry. To start the season, Gardenhire and his coaching staff will be coordinating with the Twins front office and management often to make sure they are on the same page with playing time for each of the players. As Gardenhire explained, each player is looked at individually when it comes to their limitations on playing time. “We do that with everybody. Some guys we limit more than others, the veterans often have a bit longer of a track record. Some of the starters are gonna be short because we're trying to build their arms up still. But everybody's gonna be on limitations early in the season.” One player who is starting his season with the Saints that many Twins, Saints, and fans all across baseball will be paying attention to is Royce Lewis. Lewis, coming off an ACL injury on his right knee that kept him out all of 2021, is expected to have some playing limitations. But Gardenhire is still excited to see what the Twins' top prospect has to offer the Saints to start the season. “I'm sure there's gonna be some game management to try and limit some of the things he does. I can't imagine I'm gonna run him out there 15 games in a row to start out the season or anything like that. The goal is not for him to just come right out of the gates, shoot out like a shotgun and play 1,000 games in a row. We'll limit the things he does. He's a special kid, he's a special player. Anytime a guy comes off an injury, you want to kind of be careful with them. So we'll be a little careful,” said Gardenhire. The Saints open their season on the road this week with their Opening Day on Tuesday against the Reds Triple-A affiliate the Louisville Bats. No starters have been announced for either team yet on Tuesday. The Saints' first home game for the season will be a week later on Tuesday, April 12 against the Pirates Triple AAA affiliate the Indianapolis Indians. 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Carlos Correa made his Twins spring training debut on Sunday afternoon as the Twins hosted the Red Sox for their fourth matchup in the Grapefruit League schedule. On the first play of the game, Carlos Correa got a chance to show his defensive skill to the Fort Myers crowd. Fellow Puerto Rican Enrique Hernandez was at the plate, leading off for the Red Sox. Joe Ryan was on the mound and coaxed a hard ground ball up the middle. Correa rushed to his left and sprawled out with a dive. He fielded the ball, jumped to his feet, and made a strong, accurate throw to record the game's first out. Following his defensive gem in the top half of the first, Correa had his first at-bat in the bottom half of the inning. He lined a single over the third baseman and into left field. Max Kepler followed with a pop fly to the left fielder Alex Verdugo to end the inning. Joe Ryan pitched well in his second spring training start. His first time through the Red Sox lineup, Ryan only walked Verdugo and struck out four Red Sox hitters. Ryan finished out his afternoon by striking out Hernandez. His day was done after three scoreless innings. He gave up no hits, walked one and struck out five batters. After an exciting first inning for Correa, he didn't see any more balls hit his way at shortstop. In his second at-bat, Correa led off the bottom of the fourth and grounded out to Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers who threw him out. That ended his day as Daniel Robertson replaced him at shortstop. With two down in the fourth, Miguel Sano recorded his first hit of the game, smacking a line drive over Devers's head. He jumped and the ball hit off of his glove and landed safely. Red Sox reliever Jake Diekman struggled to find the strike zone in the two plate appearances that followed Sano's. He walked both Alex Kirilloff and Gary Sanchez. With the bases now loaded, Gio Urshela's walked to score Sano from third. Diekman exited the game. The inning concluded with a strikeout of Ryan Jeffers, but they had a 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the fifth frame, Correa joined the Bally Sports North broadcast from the dugout to talk with Richard Bremer and Justin Morneau about his time at Twins training camp so far. "I've got to be honest; it felt like a little kid out there once again. Whenever I get to play baseball, it's always fun, with a new team especially. This group of guys, getting to know them every single day during practice, and getting to share the field with them in a game is pretty special. I'm very happy," said Correa about wearing a Twins uniform for a game for the first time. Morneau later asked a question to Correa about his diving play to start the game, asking if there were any way he wouldn't lay out for the ball because it was spring training. "100 percent, you have to practice them. I'm not letting my boy from Puerto Rico, Kike, get that hit, so I had to dive for it," said Correa. Morneau later asked Correa what he had been doing to prepare with less time at camp for his on-field performance in Sunday's game. Correa responded by saying, "A lot of live at-bats. I like to get the rustiness out of the way in the back fields, not in a televised game. I will say the first day, I had like eight at-bats, probably eight strikeouts, and was seeing the fastballs 120 miles per hour, then got some work with the machine, and the eyes got adjusted. So I feel a lot better at the plate right now." The Red Sox got their offense in the top half of the sixth inning. With runners on second and third and Devers at the plate, he launched a ball deep enough for a two-run sacrifice fly. Scoring from second was pinch-runner Jarren Duran. The Twins were still down 2-1 going into the bottom half of the eighth inning. They had two runners on base with one out and new Twins catcher Jose Godoy at the plate. Godoy singled to former Twins outfielder Rob Refsnyder in left field, scoring a run and tying the game 2-2. Another run scored after that thanks to a bases-loaded ground out from Jose Miranda. After Miranda's groundout, Trevor Larnach came to the plate for the second time Sunday afternoon and launched a fastball over the right-center field fence to make it a 6-2 Twins lead. The Twins had Jorge Alcala in for his spring training debut for the ninth. He gave up a home run to the leadoff man, Refsnyder, but he closed out the game to give the Twins a 6-3 victory over the Red Sox. The Twins are off tomorrow (Monday) and then will have eight consecutive games from Tuesday until April 5 to close out their spring training schedule. Bailey Ober is scheduled to start the Twins' next game on Tuesday against Tampa Bay at 1:05 ET, 12:05 CT. View full article