Cory Moen

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2025, or who may make an impact within a few years. I started doing this back in 2023 and then life happened, so let’s try again! I’ve worked my way around the diamond and will discuss shortstops today! I’ll be using Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found at FanGraphs. There is a long list of shortstops, and as mentioned, a number of these guys will move down the defensive spectrum. Guys who were once shortstop prospects currently on the roster include Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, Austin Martin, and Jose Miranda. Here are the previous iterations: Catchers 1st base 2nd base 3rd base Here is a short write up of each player at shortstop in the Twins System that is not on the 40-man roster. I’ll include how they were acquired, and the highest level played at in 2024. Ben Ross Level: AA Acquired: 5th round, 2022 Drafted in the 5th round in 2022 out of Division II Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio, Ross had moved up the organizational ladder slowly but sure, having played this past season in AA Wichita. In three years in college ball, he hit .405/.471/.758 so the bat was a stand out tool in those years. He has played primarily shortstop since being drafted and struggled some offensively in 2024, finishing with a .626 OPS. He did show the ability to steal bases, nabbing 20 over his season with the Wind Surge. He showed some steps forward in the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .281 with 1 HR and 15 RBI with three stolen bases over 24 games played. Ross will likely end up with AAA St. Paul at some point this year and if he can hit enough, a utility role could be in the cards for him. Rayne Doncon Level: A+ Acquired: Trade (LAD), 2024 Acquired along with Manuel Margot for former 1st round pick, Noah Miller from the Dodgers, Doncon started the 2024 season with single-A Fort Myers and was promoted to High-A Cedar Rapids in May. His offensive numbers left something to be desired with the Kernels, but he was a full 2 years younger than the average player at high-A this past year. He will likely start the year in Cedar Rapids and see if he can continue to build on what he has learned in his time in professional ball. I would guess he could end up at AA at some point in the year, getting a taste of the high minors at the age of 21. He’s someone that lots of folks probably wrote off as a “toss in” with Margot, but Doncon does show some promise at multiple infield positions, including second base and third base, which he played this past season. Danny De Andrade Level: A+ Acquired: Amateur Free Agency, 2021 De Andrade was part of the international Free Agency class in 2021, having signed for $2.2 million. He has risen through the minors steadily since then. He played in just 24 games prior to suffering an ankle injury, so the hope is he can have a healthy year to continue moving forward in his progression. The big question is if he will stick at shortstop long term, but he has mostly played shortstop, so the Twins are giving him every chance to stick there. He could end up as high as AA this year as long as he is able to stay healthy and productive. Jorel Ortega Level: AA Acquired: 6th round, 2022 Ortega, drafted in the 6th round in 2022 out of Tennessee, has played shortstop, but also played a number of other positions including 1st base, 2nd base, 3rd base, left field, and center field this past season in AA. This was likely to see if he could handle different positions, but also because a lot of prospects who are shortstops end up moving to different spots because not everyone can play shortstop long term. Ortega will be in his age 24 season in 2025, so seeing if he can hit like he did in the lower minors will be key to his value. He has shown the ability to walk some, with a 10.6% walk rate at AA this past season, paired with a 24.5% strikeout rate. Kaelen Culpepper Level: A+ Acquired: 1st round, 2024 You’ve probably read a decent amount on Culpepper, who was taken in the 1st round this past year with the 21st overall pick. He starred at Kansas State, first at 3rd base and then shifting over to shortstop to finish his collegiate career. In 61 games with the Wildcats, he hit 11 HR and stole 17 bases, which helped move him up draft boards. He has shown a disciplined approach, and the ability to have upwards of average power long term. His long term position may be at 3rd, but he may need to hit for a bit more power to be considered a long term option there. Keep an eye on him this year to see how he continues to develop in his first full year with the Twins. Brandon Winokur Level: A Acquired: 3rd round, 2023 Winokur can play a bunch of different positions, and at 6’6”, he probably isn’t a shortstop long term. Rated as the Twins #17 prospect this past year, Winokur held his own in single-A with Fort Myers hitting .249/.327/761 during his age 19 season. Winokur has also shown his ability to play center field, 3rd base, and right field, so his long term position may still be in flux. Expect to see Winokur at AA Wichita if he continues to hit. Striking out less is something to keep an eye on, having struck out 28% of the time in 2024. He’s an exciting prospect, who is extremely athletic and someone I’m personally excited to see develop over the next few years. Nick Lucky Highest Level: AAA (for 1 game), A+ for regular time Acquired: Free Agent (Indy), 2024 A former 14th round pick by the Red Sox in 2018, going unsigned, Lucky signed with the Twins out of independent ball in 2024 after playing college at Coastal Carolina. Playing mostly in single-A and high-A, Lucky did get called up to AAA for one game this past year. He played in 60 games in the Twins organization this past year, hitting .203/.338/.356, so unless he can improve offensively, he may serve as organizational depth until then. One intriguing thing on him is that he played other positions, so his ability to play multiple positions is likely the reason he got that one game call up in July to AAA as a fill-in. He’s played LF, RF, 2B, and 3B along with shortstop in his one year with the Twins. Yilber Herrera Level: Complex League Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2022 Herrera, a switch-hitting middle infielder spent 2024 in the Complex League, playing in 45 games. He is still just playing in his age 20 season in 2025, so has a long way to go to make an impact, but he has stolen 27 bases in 130 games between the Dominican Summer League and the Complex League over the past few years, so that is something to keep an eye on. Bryan Acuna Level: Complex League Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2022 At just 18, Acuna was an above average hitter in the Complex League, where he was over a year younger than the average player at that level. His brother, outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr of the Braves is one of the best players in the game, so that’s a fun tidbit about him. Acuna has shown a good eye at the plate, having walked at a high rate over the past two seasons. Here’s to hoping he continues to develop and can rise up some prospect boards in 2025. Daiber De Los Santos Level: DSL Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2024 Playing in 47 games in the Dominican Summer League, De Los Santos struck out at a very high rate (31%), but still hit for a solid average at .301. He’s going to be playing his age 18 season, so still a long way to develop, but a guy further down to check on from time to time. Hendry Chivilli Level: Complex League Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2023 Chivilli was ranked as the 38th best prospect in the 2023 international class. Still getting his feet wet in pro ball over the past two years, he will likely be at the Complex League and we will see if he continues to develop. An MLB scouting report prior to signing said “The teen has solid tools across the board, and those skills should improve as he matures and his body develops. He already shows good arm strength, and it projects to be above average as he makes his way through the Minor Leagues.” Santiago Leon Level: --- Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2025 Leon was ranked #24 in this year’s international free agent class and signed for $1 million. Check out JD Cameron’s breakdown of Leon here. Haritzon Castillo Level: --- Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2025 Signing for $950,000, Castillo was ranked #43 in this year’s international free agent class. JD’s breakdown on Castillo can be found here.

I think we'll see him in the majors at some point this year. Be interesting to see how much. I don't think he's more than an emergency type catcher, especially after the Cartaya acquisition. And best of luck to Moran with Boston!

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2025, or who may make an impact within a few years. I started doing this back in 2023 and then life happened, so let’s try again! I started with catchers , then discussed 1st base and 2nd base. I will work my way around the diamond to touch on all positions. I’ll be using Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found at FanGraphs. Here is a short write up of each player at 3rd base in the Twins System that is not on the 40-man roster. I’ll include how they were acquired, and the highest level played at in 2024. Anthony Prato Acquired: 7th round, 2019 Highest Level: AAA A 7th round pick in 2019 out of UConn, Prato has steadily climbed the minor league ladder, spending 2024, at age 26, with AAA St. Paul. In 106 games with the Saints, he hit .228/.370/350, so he left some to be desired offensively, racking up a wRC+ of 98. Playing in his age 27 season, he will likely serve as organizational depth unless he is able to take a step, or two, forward. One thing Prato has going for him is that he has played all over the diamond, logging games at 3rd, 2nd, LF, RF, and SS. He even pitched in one game and threw 2 innings, where he gave up 1 unearned run and struck one batter out. I don’t think he’ll be on the mound too much this year, but I wanted to share because it was a fun statistic. Rubel Cespedes Acquired: Amateur FA, 2019 Highest Level: A+ Cespedes was signed out of the Dominican Republic as part of the International Free Agent class of 2019. The left-handed hitter has taken a little time to develop but seemed to start turning a corner in 2024. For Cedar Rapids, he played 110 games and launched 12 home runs with a slash line of .282/.346.431. He has started to strike out less and make louder contact. In an article by Aaron Gleeman on the Athletic this past year, Aaron spoke with Twins director of player development Drew MacPhail where MacPhail said the following on Cespedes: “He’s making way better swing decisions and not chasing as much.” This is a good sign so it will be interesting to see how Cespedes develops and if he is able to take the next step forward in 2025. Tanner Schobel Acquired: 2nd round, 2022 Highest Level: AA Signed for just over $1 million after being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2022 draft, Schobel climbed up to AA in his first full year of professional ball in 2023. He repeated the level in his age 23 season, where he didn’t have quite as much success in his full year in Wichita. Listed at 5’9” and 170 lbs, Schobel is the type of player who could still carve out a role as a utility guy at the big league level in the future. He’s played the majority of his games at 3rd base, but also played games in AA at 2nd base, left field, and shortstop. Schobel was ranked as the Twins #17 prospect on Twins Daily and #19 on mlb.com this past year. Billy Amick Acquired: 2nd round, 2024 Highest Level: A Amick started his collegiate career at Clemson but after being limited to 1B and DH, he transferred to Tennessee, where he got the opportunity to play some 3rd base. A second round pick this past year, Amick got his first taste of pro ball with Fort Myers. Amick showed major power in his year with the Volunteers, hitting 23 HR and having an OPS over 1.000. Still young, Amick will likely start in the lower minors and continue to develop. If he continues to barrel up the ball, a path to the major leagues is a real possibility. Keep your eye on him as a guy who could make an impact at some point. Miguel Briceno Acquired: AAA Rule 5 Draft (from Milwaukee), Dec 2024 Highest Level: A Briceno was recently taken in the AAA Rule 5 draft. He’s going to be playing his age 21 season this coming year, so he’s still young, he is still getting his feet wet in professional baseball. Signed in 2019 with the Milwaukee Brewers, Briceno played this past year with A Carolina, where he hit .277/.320/.365. Briceno has also played multiple positions, having played 1B, 2B, and in the corner OF in his professional career as well. Yohander Martinez Acquired: AAA Rule 5 Draft (from Houston), Dec 2022 Highest Level: A A previous top-40 prospect in the Houston Astros system, Martinez has been in the Twins organization the past 2 seasons. His 2024 season was disappointing where he hit .185 with 1 HR in 55 games played with single-A Fort Myers. He will likely be at A ball for a 4th season, so unless he starts to develop further, he may struggle moving up the minor league ladder. He’s played second base as well as third base, and even played a couple of games at first base, so there is some positional flexibility, but that flexibility is only useful if he hits enough. This coming season will be a big year for Martinez to see if he can take the next step forward. Isaac Pena Acquired: Amateur FA, 2021 Highest Level: A Pena has moved up one level each of his first three professional seasons, starting in the Dominican Summer League in 2022 and playing the 2024 season with single-A Fort Myers. In his age 20 season, he didn’t hit much over 64 games with the Mighty Mussels. He had a great year in 2023 hitting.341/432/.434. He’s still developing so repeating a year in single-A will be likely and to see if he can tap into his success from previous years. Peyton Carr Acquired: 10th round, 2024 Highest Level: --- Carr has had a rough few years dealing with injuries, and only played in 27 games this past year at High Point University, where he only was in the DH spot due to the abdominal injury. From Fort Myers, Florida, Carr probably watched a lot of future Twins players while growing up. When healthy this past year for High Point, he hit .418/516/864. Yes, a small sample size but a good sign nonetheless. He has plus raw power and has proven to be a good hitter when healthy. It would be great to see a healthy 2025 season to see him make an impact in his first year of professional baseball.

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2025, or who may make an impact within a few years. I started doing this back in 2023 and then life happened, so let’s try again! I started with catchers and 1st base and will work my way around the diamond from there! I’ll be using Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found at FanGraphs. Here is a short write up of each player at 2nd base in the Twins System that is not on the 40-man roster. I’ll include how they were acquired, and the highest level played at in 2024. Luke Keaschall 2nd round, 2023 Highest Level: AA If you follow prospects closely, you probably know about Keaschall, whom the Twins selected in the 2nd round in 2023 and signed for $1.5 million. Keaschall is ranked as the #61 prospect on the most recent prospect rankings on mlb.com. Keaschall has hit since being drafted, moving up multiple levels, having most recently gotten up to AA Wichita in his second professional season. His 2024 season ended early due to an elbow injury, but he played 58 games at AA where he hit .281/.393/439 after hitting even better in Cedar Rapids. He will likely start the year in St. Paul and could get the call to the majors sometime in 2025 depending on how the major league team performs and where needs end up. I’m excited to see what his long term position ends up being, or if Keaschall will hit enough to be a super-utility player who doesn’t need a set position. Payton Eeles Non-drafted Free Agent, 2024 Highest Level: AAA Eeles seemingly came out of nowhere signing with the Twins in May of 2024 as an undrafted free agent and climbing as high as AAA St. Paul after starting in single-A. Eeles played college ball at Coastal Carolina and started the year in Independent league, playing for the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs of the Atlantic League. Listed at 5’5”, 180 lbs, the 25 year old has put himself in prospect discussions and has climbed up to the top 30 prospects in the Twins system. Eeles has shown more power than you might expect, hitting 12 home runs over 111 games in 2024. He’s a guy who is easy to root for, given his background and I’m excited to see how he continues to develop. Jose Salas Trade, 2023 (with Pablo Lopez) Highest Level: AAA Acquired in 2023 along with some guy named Pablo Lopez from the Marlins for Luis Arraez. Salas’ prospect shine has lightened since acquiring him, having been a borderline top 100 prospect when the Twins acquired him. He is still only 21 years old, so maybe there is a chance he could still develop. He has stolen some bases, stealing 22 bases in 2024. While he has good tools, his offense needs to develop for him to be considered part of the long term plans. Dameury Pena Amateur Free Agency, 2023 Highest Level: Complex League Pena signed as part of the 2023 international free agent class and no one really knew what to expect. He’s listed at 5’9” and 150 lbs, so he lacks power, but has been compared to Luis Arraez, having had a 33:18 BB to K ratio. His future value, similar to Arraez, hinges on being able to hit for a high batting average. Kyle DeBarge 1st round, 2024 Highest Level: A Taken in the 1st round and signed for a slightly under-slot $2.4 million after hitting .356/.418/.699 with Louisiana-Lafayette, a college shortstop, DeBarge got his first taste of professional baseball playing with Fort Myers playing mostly at second base. He struggled a little bit, as many young hitters do, and will likely start at single-A and see if he can continue to develop. He has shown he has the potential to have massive power after hitting 21 home runs in his final year with the Rajun Cajuns. It will be interesting to see how he develops going forward, but the upside is definitely there. Angel Del Rosario AAA Rule 5, 2023 Highest Level: AA Taken in the AAA Rule 5 draft in 2023, Angel Del Rosario played 61 games in the Twins system and 56 with single-A Fort Myers in 2024 having hit .226/340/.287 so he has shown to have a decent eye at the plate but has also struck out in about a quarter of his at bats over the past couple of years. Del Rosario has also played quite a few games in the outfield, most specifically in left field.

Cartaya has upside but his prospect shine has faded some. At minimum, a part timer would be a great result for him.

Noted! I will absolutely be posting more blogs, so keep your eye out! If you have any topics you'd like to see discussed more in depth, I'm all for ideas!

I get what you're saying! Catchers develop in a very non-linear way. They have had a few decent catchers in Mitch Garver and Ryan Jeffers, but I do think it's tough because it's so easy as a Twins fan to hope for the next Joe Mauer. It is interesting because there is depth at the top in Jeffers, Vazquez, Gasper (if you count him) and Camargo. It will be interesting to see how a guy like Olivar develops, like you said.

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2025, or who may make an impact within a few years. I started doing this back in 2023 and then life happened, so let’s try again! I started with catchers and will work my way around the diamond from there! I’ll be using Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found at FanGraphs. The 1st base list is short, mostly because players will move down the defensive spectrum over time. As you probably remember, Miguel Sano was signed as a lanky shortstop back in 2009. I will not be including Mickey Gasper, who was acquired from the Red Sox for Jovani Moran because Gasper is on the 40-man roster. Here is a short write up of each player at 1st base in the Twins System that is not on the 40-man roster. I’ll include how they were acquired, and the highest level played at in 2024. Mike Ford Free Agency, 2025 Highest Level: MLB, most recently in NPB in Japan Mike Ford is likely a depth signing and if he can make some noise in Spring Training, could carve out a role on the 2025 Twins. Ford will be playing his age 32 season in 2025 and has shown small flashes of looking decent, as recently as 2023 where he hit 16 home runs with the Mariners. In 2024, he was signed by the Reds and after 17 games of hitting .150/.177/233, he was released and finished the year in Japan with the Yokohoma DeNA BayStars. He only played six games with the BayStars going 4-for-20 (.200) with 1 HR. In early December, it was announced he would not be returning making him a free agent. Could the Twins catch lightning in a bottle? Sure, there is a chance, but expect to see Ford in St. Paul until he triggers an opt out, or he hits enough to be called up to the bigs. Yunior Severino Free Agency, 2017 Highest Level: AAA If you follow prospects, you have probably seen or heard Severino’s name a handful of times over the past few years. Severino is a switch hitter and his power is his calling card, having hit a combined 56 home runs over the past two seasons in Wichita and St. Paul. Severino has been with the Saints in AAA since being called up during the 2023 season when he was tearing up AA pitching. You may remember Severino has a 3rd base prospect, but he has moved down the defensive spectrum and played just 1st base and DH this past year in St. Paul. He hasn’t shown to have a great glove, so DH is the likely position. If he hits enough, he can become a part time 1st baseman and DH but he will need to do something to separate himself. Aaron Sabato 1st round – 2020 Highest Level: AA Sabato had a rough start to his career in the strikeout and batting average department, as many on Twins Twitter would remind you if his name ever came up. In 2024, he still struck out a ton, but could he have turned in a corner after being called up to Wichita and hitting 10 home runs in 85 games at the AA level. He will remind you a lot of other guys the Twins have had in past years (looking at you Miguel Sano and Joey Gallo) where he strikes out a lot, and hits for some power. The former 1st round pick still has time to develop, but 2025 will be a big year for the soon to be 26 year old. Jefferson Valladares AAA Rule 5 Draft, 2024 Highest Level: A with LAD Valladares was picked in the AAA rule-5 draft this past December. The soon to be 23 year old from Venezuela was in single-A with the Dodgers in 2024 where he hit for approximately league average. He appears to be a lottery ticket type prospect and we’ll see if the Twins organization can unlock something to take him to the next level. Who on this list will you be keeping track of in 2025?

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2025, or who may make an impact within a few years. I started doing this back in 2023 and life happened, so I'm taking a stab at it again 2 years later. I’ll start with catchers and work my way around the diamond from there! I’ll be using Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found at FanGraphs. Here is a short write up of each player at catcher in the Twins System that is not on the 40-man roster. I’ll include how they were acquired, and the highest level played at in 2024. Patrick Winkel 9th round – 2021 Highest level: AAA Winkel has worked his way up to AAA since being drafted in 2021 in the 9th round out of UConn. He has climbed the minor league ladder pretty steadily since being drafted. In his most recent season with AAA Saint Paul, he played in 78 games, splitting time with Jair Camargo. He has hit .249/.330/391 in parts of 4 minor league seasons, and in 2024 he hit .228/.330/.391 with the Saints. His wRC+ has been slightly above average until 2024 where he took a step back offensively. It will be interesting to see how repeating AAA will go and if he will be able to build off the experience he had the past few years. It appears he has some upside still, but is buried on the depth chart at this time with who is ahead of him at catcher. A trade of Christian Vazquez could free up some playing time at AAA for Winkel with Cartaya or Camargo filling in behind Ryan Jeffers. Ricardo Olivar Amateur Free Agent – 2019 Highest Level: AA Olivar started 2024 off hitting quite well in Cedar Rapids with 11 home runs over 81 games played, which earned him a call up to Wichita for 19 games toward the end of the season. Olivar has been ranked as high as 16th within the Twins organization. Some struggles ensued at AA, but nothing too much to be worried about. Olivar has hit at all levels, especially after getting some experience under his belt. The biggest question with Olivar is if he stays at catcher long term, or if he transitions to the outfield. The organization seems to want to tap into his versatility as much as they can. If his bat develops faster than his fielding, a move to a corner outfield spot might be in the cards over the long term Noah Cardenas 8th round – 2021 Highest Level: AA Cardenas is a 25 year old prospect who has topped out at the AA level. He is a glove first catcher. He strikes out a little more than he walks and has not hit much at the AA level thus far. His slash line of .173/.311/.276 is a bit underwhelming but that doesn’t mean he can’t carve out a role for himself long term. He was drafted in the 8th round back in 2021 after hitting .302/.407/.426 over 3 years of college at UCLA. Cardenas has had some value defensively, throwing out 26 of 108 would be base stealers in 2024 with the Wind Surge, which is a solid 24%. He will likely start the year at AA and we will see if he can continue to grow and put himself into a long term discussion or if he will fill the role of organizational depth going forward. Andrew Cossetti 11th round – 2022 Highest Level: AA Cossetti split time pretty evenly with Cardenas in Wichita. He struggled a little bit with the bat with the transition to AA. In 86 games played, he hit .192/.299/.344. On a different note, he had 8 home runs and 18 doubles in 86 games, so the power is still developing. He hit a bit more in 2023 at the A and High-A levels, so if he can adjust and create some success at the AA level, we could see his value improve. He has played some games at 1st base as well over the past couple of years, so that’s something to keep an eye on as well. He will have to hit much more to be considered a potential option there, however. Khadim Diaw 3rd round – 2024 Highest Level: A The highest drafted catcher since Ryan Jeffers was taken in the 2nd round, Diaw has broken the Twins top 30 prospects on mlb.com already after being drafted in 2024. One intriguing thing about Diaw is that he has taken reps at all three outfield positions and is athletic enough to end up there. He only has a handful of games under his belt, but keep an eye on how often he is behind the plate or in the outfield. Versatility can be extremely valuable, especially if catcher is one of the positions you can play. Poncho Ruiz Non-drafted Free Agent – 2023 Highest Level: A+ Ruiz was signed an a non-drafted free agent in 2023. These types of deals always are interesting because it makes you wonder what led to a player not being drafted. There are less rounds in the MLB draft than there were in the past, so it’s very possible he would have been drafted with a later round pick if the draft was still longer. Ruiz played most of his games with Fort Myers and got a taste of high-A as well. He hit well in Fort Myers and it didn’t translate in his short stay with Cedar Rapids. I would assume he will start at Cedar Rapids this year and see if his bat can continue to develop. Between A and A+, he hit .248/.350/.361, so overall numbers were solid. Nate Baez 12th round – 2022 Highest Level: A+ Baez spent the year in Cedar Rapids at high-A, playing in 82 games. He has hit decently well throughout his minors career, most recently wish a slash of .239/.331/420 this past season with the Kernels. He has shown some pop, hitting 12 home runs this past year, and his wRC+ being above average in each year. He has played some first base in the minors as well, so if his bat continues to develop and it’s determined he isn’t a catcher long term, the power could be his tool that carries him. Daniel Pena Amateur Free Agent – 2022 Highest Level: A Pena signed as an amateur free agent in 2022 out of Venezuela. He has spent time in the Dominican Summer League, the Florida Complex team, and in 2024 got some experience in Fort Myers. His bat is still developing, but has shown promise early on in his minor league career. Pena is still just 19 so a while from making an impact, but he is a prospect to keep an eye on to see how he is developing. Ricardo Pena Amateur Free Agent – 2022 Highest Level: Complex Pena was signed as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela in 2022 at the age of 17. He’s now about to play his age 20 season, and showed some promise in the Florida Complex League last year at 19. Still a low level prospect, but we will see how he develops as a catcher or if a shift down the defensive spectrum to 1st base is in the cards long term. Still a long way away from making that decision. Carlos Silva Amateur Free Agent – 2023 Highest Level: Dominican Summer League Silva has the same name as former Twins pitcher, but he is quite different, one can confidently say, as the former pitcher was 6’4” and 280 lbs, while this Carlos is listed at 5’10” and 168 lbs. Silva played the past year in the DSL and is still very early in his development but he is someone to keep an eye on. Victor Leal Amateur Free Agent – 2024 Highest Level: Dominican Summer League Leal signed as an amateur free agent just last year and got into 42 games in the DSL at 17. At 18 years old, he still early on in his development and it will be interesting to see how he continues to develop.

Hi all, I posted a while back and was doing some writing on the prospects and depth at different positions throughout the organization. Some life things happened (new job, moved, etc) and I was wondering if people would be interested in me bringing something like that back? If you'd prefer to see other topics talked about, I'm all for ideas and would love to start posting regularly again. Let me know any feedback or topics you'd like to see discussed further!

Brooks LeeWalker JenkinsMarco RayaEmmanuel RodriguezDavid FestaAustin MartinTanner SchobelCharlee SotoLuke KeaschallBrandon WinokurYunior SeverinoConnor PrielippYasser MercedesKala'i RosarioJordan BalazovicSimeon Woods RichardsonDanny De AndradeMatt CanterinoCJ CulpepperJose Rodriguez

Brooks LeeWalker JenkinsMarco RayaEmmanuel RodriguezDavid FestaCharlee SotoAustin MartinTanner SchobelLuke KeaschallYasser MercedesBrandon WinokurConnor PrielippJordan BalazovicSimeon Woods RichardsonYunior SeverinoKala'i RosarioNoah MillerJose SalasByron ChourioBrent Headrick

I think this is a trade that could end up decent for both sides! I wouldn’t be shocked, if he’s healthy, to see the Twins re-sign Mahle. Promising first start. I hope he builds off it to be the guy they hoped he would be when they acquired him!

Yes, Martin is listed as a SS still, but I do agree that his future is likely at 2B! I will include this in my breakdown when I get to SS!

Agreed on this! It is interesting what position they are listed at. As Severino is listed as a 3B and Prato is listed at a different position as well. thanks for the feedback!

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system, or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2023, or who may make an impact within a few years. I was inspired by Nick Nelson’s posts regarding the major league team, but didn’t want to duplicate what he did, so I will only be writing about the guys not on the 40-man roster, because Nick has done a great job analyzing the position at the major league level. I started with catchers, then discussed 1st baseman. In this iteration, I will talk about 2nd baseman. I used Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found on FanGraphs. Here is a note on each player listed under 2nd base in the Twins system not on the 40-man roster. I’ll list how they were acquired and what level they are currently at in the minors. Hernán Perez Acquired: Free Agency, March 2023 Level: AAA It’s safe to say Perez was a depth signing, as we saw a lot of this past offseason with the Twins. Perez is a light hitting utility infield with experience at the major league over parts of 10 years. His most productive season was in 2016 with the Milwaukee Brewers, where he stole 34 bases and hit .272. During that season, he still had a below average OPS+ of 91. I’m not sure you’ll see Perez in the major leagues this season unless injuries ravage the many guys ahead of him on the 2nd base depth chart. Having a guy with a good amount of major league experience in the high minors is nice because he provides depth at not just 2nd base, but shortstop and 3rd base as well. Alerick Soularie Acquired: Draft – 2nd round - 2020 Level: AA If you follow prospects closely, you have probably seen some on Soularie. He’s been in the Twins system for a few years now and has yet to really make an impact with the bat to this point. In 2 seasons in the minors, he has a slash line of .231/.343/.376. This shows that he walked at a decent clip, but he struck out at a pretty high rate as well. Cutting down on strikeouts and making more consistent contact will be key to unlocking the next level in Soularie’s offensive game. As for defense, he is listed as a 2nd baseman, but had just as many games across the outfield last year, which is always beneficial to have a guy who can be out in the grass and not look completely lost. Mikey Perez Acquired: Draft – 15th round - 2021 Level: AA Perez was drafted in the 15th round out of UCLA, after hitting .243/.366/.443 across 3 seasons with the Bruins. In two seasons since, Perez has continued to walk at a high rate and even started to tap into a bit more power with more extra base hits. Perez made it up to AAA St. Paul for one game this past year, getting 1 at bat and making the most of hit, hitting a 3-run home run. While that’s great, it makes since that he has started the year at AA Wichita, after spending the majority of the year at Low-A Fort Myers in 2022. Perez is an interesting prospect to break down because he wasn’t highly touted but he has held his own. Hitting with a little more contact will be what propels him to that next level if he is able to reach it. Perez played mostly 2nd base, but did play a handful of games at 1st base, and also had some guys as shortstop and in left field as well. Getting young players to play different positions is not uncommon, but it appears his future is as a 2nd baseman. Keep an eye out for Perez to cut down on strikeouts and see if he can continue to get some extra base this year as well. Dalton Shuffield Acquired: Draft – 10th round - 2022 Level: High-A Shuffield was drafted one year ago out of Texas State University. He played 5 seasons at Texas State, hitting .327/.395/501, which is a pretty solid slash line at any level. After getting drafted, he had games at three different levels, rookie ball, high-A, and AAA. He’s played a total of 25 minor league games, so he is still pretty fresh out of college. This year will be his first full year at pro ball and it appears he will start the year at high-A Cedar Rapids. For a more in depth look, check out Cody Christie’s article for Twins Daily on Shuffield this past September here. As Cody mentions, Shuffield could move up through the system pretty quickly if he continues to hit like he has. Shuffield played mostly shortstop in college, but is listed as a second baseman at this time. Rubel Cespedes Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2019 Level: High-A Cespedes was signed as a minor league free agent in 2019 and has played across a few different levels ever since. He signed as an 18 year old out of the Dominican Republic. He has a career slash of .254/.312/372 over his 3 seasons (he did not play in 2020 due to the pandemic). Cespedes first played as a 1st baseman and 3rd baseman, but has shifted to mostly 2nd base over the past two seasons. His 2nd most played position in 2022 was 1st base, followed by 3rd base and also had three games played in left field. Cespedes will play this year, his age 22 season, at high-A Cedar Rapids. You may have seen during Twins exhibition game versus the Dominican Republic that Cespedes got a chance to represent his country, which must have been a really neat opportunity for him. Tanner Schobel Acquired: Draft – 2nd round - 2022 Level: Low-A Schobel was drafted this past year in the 2nd round out of Virginia Tech, after hitting .362/.445/689 in 59 games playing for the Hokies. In his first taste of professional ball, Schobel showed his ability to take walks at high level, which will help him going forward. Schobel’s body of work has him ranked as the #17 ranked prospect in the Twins system, and #18 on the Twins Daily rankings. Schobel played a good amount of shortstop in college, but it’s possible because of the depth there, he moves to another position. Keep an eye out for Schobel to slowly climb the ladder and be possibly knocking on the door of the majors within the next couple of years. Yilber Herrera Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2022 Level: Rookie Signed in 2022 as an Amateur Free Agent out of the Dominican Republic, Herrera’s tools are quite raw, but have some potential in there. He didn’t hit particularly well in his professional debut, but that’s not uncommon for young players. He did show an ability to take walks, even when he wasn’t getting many hits. In his first 43 professional games in 2022, he hit .181/.349/310. Lots of room to still grow, but if his ability to take walks continues to be a big part of his game, one would hope the traditional 5 tools would all come along to make him into a decent ball player. Lots of time still, but he will likely spend most of the year at rookie ball this year. Fredy Michel Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2021 Level: Rookie Signed in 2021 as an amateur free agent, Michel has played in both the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League the past two seasons. He signed for $1.1 million and was ranked #28 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 30 international prospects list in 2021.In 2021, Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com said about Michel, “likely suited for the top of the lineup because of his speed and power combination. He makes lots of hard contact with his short, quick swings from both sides of the plate. The high-energy prospect can spray the ball to all fields with authority.” Michel career slash of .169/.315/.252 is kind of interesting but not a huge things to worry about, as he is still young and developing. He is still just 18 years old, turning 19 in July. He’ll likely spend the year, or most of it, in the Florida Complex League. He’s got quite a small frame, listed at 5’9” and 154 lbs. Here’s to hoping he can continue to develop and live up to some of the hype from when the Twins signed him a couple of years ago. Let me know which of these guys you are most excited about or who you will be keeping an eye on. If a guy is not listed here, he may be listed as another position

Traditionally, yes! But over the past few years, the Twins have shown that if the bat is good in other areas, they will try you there! Luis Arraez is a great example.

Agreed, Nick! It's extremely difficult because if the bat is good enough, the coaches find a way to get you in the lineup, and if playing a position, it's 1st base!

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system, or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2023, or who may make an impact within a few years. I was inspired by Nick Nelson’s posts regarding the major league team, but didn’t want to duplicate what he did, so I will only be writing about the guys not on the 40-man roster, because Nick has done a great job analyzing the position at the major league level. I started with catchers and now am on to 1st baseman. I used Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found on FanGraphs. Here is a note on each player listed under 1st base in the Twins system not on the 40-man roster. I’ll list how they were acquired and what level I expect them to play at most this coming season. Tyler White Acquired: Free Agency, Dec 2022 Level: AAA The Twins signed White to a minor league deal with an invite to spring training. He has gotten a decent amount of playing time this Spring, playing in 15 games. White has experience in part of 4 seasons with the Astros and Dodgers. He had pretty solid years for Houston in 2017-18 but his productivity has fallen off since, not having gotten into a major league game since 2019. He has played in the Toronot, Milwaukee and Atlanta farm systems at AAA over the past two seasons, having hit 29 HR over the past two years. At this point, White is a depth option who may get some at bats but is likely a depth piece at this point in his career. Chris Williams Acquired: Draft – 8th round – 2018 Level: AAA Williams was drafted in 2018 after a solid college career at Clemson. He’s slowly climbed the organizational ladder since being drafted, most recently playing in Wichita and St. Paul in 2022. He’s played mostly 1st base in the minor leagues, but has played some catcher at all levels as well as a handful of games in the corner outfield in 2022 as well. This past year, he tapped into a bit more power hitting 28 home runs between AA and AAA. His power appears to be what will carry him to the majors so keeping an eye on the power numbers this year will be key. Listed at 5’11” and 225 lbs, Williams isn’t a prototypical 1B, but if he can hit for power consistently, he can create a role for himself in the future. Dalton Kelly Acquired: Free Agency – 2023 Level: AAA Kelly was signed as a minor league Free Agent in February and you may have not even realized the transaction occurred. Kelly was a 38th round draft pick in the 2015 draft by the Seattle Mariners. Kelly also plays in the corner outfield, so there is a little more value than a guy who can solely play 1B. Kelly his a career .263/.369/.418 hitter in the minor leagues, so he walks at a decent rate and has a little power, but it would be described as far from elite. The past two years, he has tapped into a little more power, which is good for his game. He has hit 42 home runs over the past two years, and has 73 career minor league home runs. At this point, Kelly is a depth piece and if you see him in the majors this year, he either has blossomed late and force his way onto the roster, or there have been so many injuries that the Twins are in a really tough position. I don’t anticipate Kelly being a guy who contributes to the major league team this year due to the depth and other guys I would see being called up before him. Aaron Sabato Acquired: Draft – 1st round – 2020 Level: AA Sabato is the player on this list that you have probably seen the most reports on. Being drafted in the 1st round in 2020 with his power tool being his calling card, and then seeing him struggle to hit is likely frustrating to Twins fans. He is still playing his age 24 season in 2023, so he may end up not being considered a 1st-round bust if he can take strides this year and into the future. His minor league slash line of .209/.355/.424 is interesting because he is still walking at a decent rate (above 10% at every level thus far) , but needs to hit a bit more for Twins fans to feel better about his future on the team. Sabato is at the bottom of the defensive spectrum so his hit tool will be what he depends on to make a career as a major leaguer. I do think he can carve out a future as a 1B/DH but not being able to play other positions will limit his upside in how valuable he will be. Alexander Pena Acquired: Amateur Free Agent, 2018 Level: A Pena signed as a minor league free agent in 2018 out of Venezuela at the age of 16. He has played in the Dominican Summer League and the Florida Complex League, so a jump up to A ball might be in the cards this year. He has hit well to this point with a slash of .301/.367/.439 so he still has some developing to do, but it appears it will be something to build off of going forward. Slightly cutting his strikeouts would be great, but that is common among young hitters adjusting to professional ball. I think Pena is a guy to keep an eye on, but he likely will not be knocking on the door for a few years, allowing time for him to develop a bit more as a hitter and see where he develops defensively as well. Pena has played more than 1st base, having played a few games at second, third, and even one game in the outfield in 2021. Seeing as it was a one-time thing, I doubt he will get a whole lot of reps in the outfield in the future. Let me know if you think any of these guys are future pieces on a major league roster, or if you see them more as organizational depth. Some of these guys have real intrigue, but are any a future piece, either as a 1B or another position, or possibly as a Designated hitter?

Oddly, he was not on the list so I missed him! My apologies on that!

I’ve decided to write a series of posts regarding the depth in the Twins system, or possibly lack thereof depending on how you feel about a particular position. I plan to go position by position in hopes to shed some light on who could make an impact as early as 2023, or who may make an impact within a few years. I was inspired by Nick Nelson’s posts regarding the major league team, but didn’t want to duplicate what he did, so I will only be writing about the guys not on the 40-man roster, because Nick has done a great job analyzing the position at the major league level. I will start with catchers, where there are more in the system than one probably thinks at the start. I used Roster Resource’s depth chart, which can be found on FanGraphs. Here is a note on each catcher in the Twins system not on the 40 man roster. I’ll list how they were acquired and what level I expect them to play at most this coming season. Tony Wolters Acquired: Free Agency, 2023 Level: AAA The Twins signed Wolters in January to have some depth within the minors if Christian Vazquez or Ryan Jeffers were to get injured. Wolters has bounced around to a few different teams in the past few years, but you likely remember him most as a member of the Colorado Rockies. He is a light hitting, backup, catcher at this point in his career, with a career .235/.321/.314 line in his time in the majors. He’s not a bad depth option because he has some major league experience, but the hope is he doesn’t have to get into too many games this season. Chance Sisco Acquired: Free Agency, 2022 Level: AAA Sisco was in the Twins system this past year as a well as a depth option and even with Ryan Jeffers injury, he was not called up to the ML squad. Once a highly regard prospect after being drafted in the 2nd round of the 2013 draft, Sisco never hit much in the majors, which leads to a noticeably clear ceiling. At this point, similar to Wolters, he is a depth option with some major league experience. His career line of .197/.317/337 is not fantastic, but it is nice to have a guy who can fill in a backup roll if needed. I’m not sure on where he compares to some of the other AAA catchers, but it’s never a bad thing to have multiple guys who have some major league experience if an injury does occur. Grayson Greiner Acquired: Free Agency, 2023 Level: AAA You may know Greiner most from his time with the Detroit Tigers, where he played from 2018-2021. He spent the 2022 season with Arizona, where he spent most of his time at AAA but made it into two major league games. Greiner, like Sisco and Wolters, is a depth option at the catcher position. He will likely play most, if not all, of the year at AAA where he will serve as a depth option in case of injury. His ML career slash of .201/.275/.307 is not far off from Wolters or Sisco and profiles as a depth piece where if you see him in the majors for too long, something went very wrong with injuries most likely. David Bañuelos Acquired: Trade, 2017 Level: AAA You may or may not remember, Bañuelos was acquired in December 2017 in a trade with the Seattle Mariners where the Twins sent international bonus pool money to Seattle in exchange for Bañuelos. Bañuelos has slowly climbed the minor league ranks since, finishing at AAA over the last two years. This may sound familiar, but he is a light hitting catcher who is a pretty solid depth piece this year. A career .207/.261/.325 hitter in 5 minor league seasons, Bañuelos has been tried at other positions, but not often, which says to me he is a catcher who can maybe play elsewhere in an emergency. Listed as the 4th possible catcher, at AAA, I would assume one of these guys may get a handful of at bats at 1B as well, but it may not be Bañuelos, since he hasn’t played there since 2017. At this point, he is a depth piece who will likely not see the majors unless something goes horribly wrong with the guys ahead of him on the depth chart. Alex Isola Acquire: Draft – 29th Round, 2019 Level: AA You may be thinking, finally, someone the Twins drafted. Don’t worry, there are a handful of others on this list as well. Isola was a late round pick, who has steadily climbed the minors ladder since being drafted in 2019. He made it up to Wichita, the Twins AA affiliate, this past season, where I would expect him to spend a chunk of the time this coming season as well. Isola is a career .264/.356/449 hitter in the minor leagues, which means his bat is a bit more of a weapon compared to others we have looked at to this point. Isola is relatively versatile as well, having played some 1B over the past two seasons as well. He also represented the Twins in the Arizona Fall League in 2022, where he mostly played 1B and he hit .228/.343/.316 in 16 games. Isola is 24 years old, so he likely projects as a career backup who can provide a little offense as well. I’m interested to see if he can carve a role in future years, but I don’t see 2023 being a year where that occurs, unless he takes a huge step forward combined with injuries occurring at the same time. Kyle Schmidt Acquired: Draft – 33rd Round, 2019 Level: AA Drafted out of the University of Richmond in 2019, where Schmidt tore the cover off the ball in his final season, he has slowly climbed the ranks, at an oddly similar pace to Isola. Schmidt’s minors career slash of .211/.296/.290 isn’t quite as potent, but he seems to still be developing potentially at the dish. Schmidt played at Fort Myers, Cedar Rapids, and also at Wichita, where he mostly played catcher, but also got into some games at 1B as well. If Schmidt can hit for more power, even becoming a guy who gets more extra base hits, he could potentially carve out a role as a backup catcher in the future. Pat Winkel Acquired: Draft – 9th round, 2021 Level: A+/AA Winkel has about a year and a half of minors games under his belt, so he still has a ways to go to get to the majors. He played at high-A Cedar Rapids this past year, where he hit decently well, and showed a little bit of power, hitting 6 HRs in 54 games played. As I mentioned, Winkel has a limited amount of minors experience, so plenty of time to still grow going forward, as he is only 23 years old. His career slash of .251/.341/.382 is something to build off, especially at the catcher position. Noah Cardenas Acquired: Draft – 8th round, 2021 Level: A+ In the past two season, in just over 100 games, Cardenas has hit .264/.420/.418, which is really fun because that shows he’s hit for a little bit of power, while also hitting for a decent average as well. I know, it’s the low minors, so you can take it with a grain of salt. Cardenas might be a potential piece long term, but will have to continue to perform if he wants to make an impact at the major league level going forward. He’s known for his glove first, and that’s an okay place to be as a catcher, but if he can tap into a little more offensive firepower, he could be a fun piece to watch climb his way into the picture in the next handful of years. Charles Mack Acquired: Draft – 6th round, 2018 Level: A+ Mack will be playing his age 23 season this coming year, but it will be his 5th year in the Twins system. Drafted in 2018, Mack has a career slash of .212/.315/346 in the minors. He played a little 1B this past season, so some versatility is always promising. He threw out 20% of potential base stealers, so he will need to improve in that area if wanting to be a long term option at catcher. Dillon Tatum Acquired: Draft – 20th Round, 2021 Level: A+ Tatum was drafted in the 20th round out of UC Irvine after hitting .278 with 15 HR in his final year there. In two minor league seasons, he has hit .172/.320/.291, so the bat has not translated as some may have hoped, but it still has time to develop as he is 22 years old. Tatum also played a handful of games at 1B this past year, but his bat will have to improve to truly be a viable option at 1B. He had a 25% caught stealing rate, so not great, but he did only commit 2 errors in 437 chances at Fort Myers as well. He’s a glove first catcher, with some upside with the bat. Keep your eye on how his bat develops this year. Nate Baez Acquired: Draft – 12th round, 2022 Level: A Baez is the one of the newer members of this list to the organization. He has played in a total of 19 minor league games but hit decently well at Fort Myers when called up. He hit 3 HR in 58 PA, so hopefully the power can still continue to develop. In his last season at Arizona State, he hit .319/.403/.562 with 10 HR and 48 RBI. If the bat can continue to develop, he could be a very interesting piece. Baez also played 1B, 2B, 3B and even a handful of games in LF as well in college, so there could be some versatility. I would say the versatility is something to keep an eye on, ad he is someone who could end up at 1B if catching doesn’t work out. Ricardo Olivar Acquired: Amateur FA – 2019 Level: A Olivar was signed as an amateur free agent in July 2019 for $20,000. He struggled in 2021, but figured something out in 2022 as he led the Florida Complex League with a 1.047 OPS over 40 games. Olivar has also played all 3 OF positions and 2B, which makes him a very intriguing prospect. Does he stick at catcher, or does he transition to another position that gets his bat into the lineup a bit more? Time will tell, but as a catcher, he has a decent fielding percentage, but has not thrown out would be base stealers very well at all. He finished the year at Fort Myers in 2022 so I would suspect he spends the entire 2023 season there as well. He is only 21 years old as well, so he could be a sneaky break-out candidate as someone not many people are talking about right now. Wilfri Castro Acquired: Amateur FA – 2017 Level: Rookie Castro was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2017 and has been in rookie ball since 2018. His minors career line of .204/.338/.305 doesn’t scream a bright future, but sometimes you don’t know with low-level prospects. With having been in the system for a few years, this may be the year that he finally puts something together, as he has only 86 professional games under his belt at this point. For his sake, the hope would be he can at least finish the year in Fort Myers after hitting some at rookie ball. Ricardo Pena Acquired: Amateur FA – 2022 Level: Dominican Summer League Pena got into 29 games after being signed in April of last year. He hit a little bit, but 29 games is a small sample size to judge a 17, soon to be 18, year old. Lots of time for development for a young prospect, and one I will keep an eye on to see how he is doing over the next few years to see if he is able to develop into a possible top-30 prospect for the Twins. He will likely spend his time in the Dominican Summer League this coming year and hopefully build off of the development he had this past season. Carlos Silva Acquired: Amateur FA – 2023 Level: Dominican Summer League The Twins signed Silva, the number 31 ranked international prospect for $1.1 million in January of this year. Jesse Sanchez, of MLB.com stated about Silva: “As for Silva, the right-handed hitter from Venezuela has a compact frame that suits him well behind the plate. He also has the skills to keep him there as he advances through the Minor Leagues. Silva impressed scouts with his pop times and arm strength, which has a chance to be an above-average tool in the future. He shows good footwork along with solid receiving and blocking skills. At the plate, Silva shows plus bat speed and the ability to drive the ball to all fields, especially his pull side. He trains out of the NBS Academy in Venezuela.” This tells me that Silva is a guy to keep your eye on, but he likely won’t be major league ready for quite some time, as he is only 17 years old and will take quite some time to develop. He’s a prospect to be excited about, but not for probably 5-6 years realistically. Let me know which catchers not on the 40-man roster you are most excited for, or maybe which you aren’t as excited about. I plan on releasing one of these for each position over the next handful of weeks. Let me know your thoughts!

Agreed! Injuries could be a huge factor. Hopefully the Twins improved depth helps if a player goes down.

In looking at the 2023 schedule a bit closer, the Twins schedule in April may be the most important month of the year. Not only, as it is every year, will it be important to get off to a good start, the schedule has some tough matchups, and, what should be, very winnable series as well. Here is a breakdown of the first month of the season: 3 @ Kansas City Royals 3 @ Miami Marlins 3 vs Houston Astros 3 vs Chicago White Sox 4 @ New York Yankees 3 @ Boston Red Sox 3 vs Washington Nationals 3 vs New York Yankees 4 vs Kansas City Royals I first wanted to look at the head to head record against these teams this past year. The Twins had a combined record of 28-30 against these opponents. They did not play against either Miami or Washington in the 2022 season. So against the other 6 teams, they had a losing record. While this might not be a great sign, if you take the Astros and Yankees out as well, the combined record is 26-19. So, as I mentioned, getting off to a strong start is important in wanting to win the division and make the playoffs. It appears the Twins are capable of finishing April above .500, but they will need to play well to do so. If they play as poorly against the Yankees and Astros as they did in 2022, they will have to be almost flawless against the other teams during the month, which is not a great recipe for success. Now let's break down what the Twins need to do to have a successful first month of the season this coming year: 3 @ Kansas City: The Twins record against the Royals in 2022 was 12-7. This is the type of record they will need to have this coming year if they want to win the division again. It's hard to sweep a 3 game series, so a good start to the season would be winning 2 out of 3 in Kansas City. Record: 2-1 3 @ Miami: The Miami Marlins went 69-93 this past season, but have improved in some areas as well (see Arraez, Luis). While the Marlins are an interesting team and have a pretty solid rotation going forward, they will likely be having their 4/5/1 starters going in this series. A 2-1 record feels realistic in this scenario. Record: 4-2 3 vs Houston: Man, did the Twins play horrible against the Astros in 2022. In the 6 matchups, the Twins were outscored 11-36. The later matchups were closer, but they still lost all of them. The Astros are one of the favorites to represent the American League in the World Series in 2023. I would like to believe the Twins will play better against the Astros this year, especially in their first series at home, but it's not a given. I will say it would be great if they went 2-1, but would expect a 1-2 record instead. Record: 5-4 3 vs Chicago: The Twins and White Sox were pretty evenly matched throughout the year, with the Twins winning the season series 10-9. Both teams are hoping (and probably expecting) improvement from last year, but if the Twins can continue to have success versus Chicago and win 2 out of 3 in this series, they will finish the first homestand 3-3. This isn't ideal, but not bad given the matchups of Houston and Chicago to start it. Record: 7-5 4 @ New York: If you have been mildly paying attention to baseball for the past 20 years or so, you have probably noticed the Twins record is abysmal when playing in New York, or heck, playing against the Yankees anywhere. Maybe they should try playing on the moon or something? Anyways, the Twins have had very little success in New York since I can even remember, but going 2-2 on the road in New York would be a pretty solid matchup. Because it appears the Twins may be cursed when it comes to the Yankees, I am tempering my expectations and say they can go 1-3 in New York and still have a successful first month. Record: 8-7 3 @ Boston: The Red Sox are an interesting team in the sense that they have let moved on from stars, such as Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts, but have retained Rafael Devers going forward. They also signed Mastaka Yoshida, who I am excited to see transition to MLB and I think could be a pretty solid addition going forward. While I don't think they should have traded a generational talent in Betts, they deemed it the right move. Because the Red Sox are in a weird flux position and I'm not convinced they have improved enough to stay competitive, I will say the Twins are capable and need to win 2 out of 3 games in Boston to start off successfully in 2023. Record: 10-8 3 vs Washington: While the Red Sox moved on from Betts, the Nationals moved on from Juan Soto, who has received comparisons to Ted Williams. Soto is now in San Diego, and the Nationals are in a free fall from their championship in 2019. The Nationals went 55-107 last year and while their young guys are improving, it's not clear they will be a competitive team this coming season. Winning 2 out of 3 versus Washington will be key to the first month of the year. Record: 12-9 3 vs New York: It feels realistic to think the Twins could be 12-9 at this point, and facing New York will be another tough test, about 10 days after they played them first. After winning 2 out of 3 against both Boston and Washington, I would hope the Twins come in with some confidence and play well. To have a successful first month, the Twins will need to either split the 4 games in New York and/or win 2 out of 3 in this series a week and a half later. I will say they have to win 2 out of 3 to not have people wondering too much if they are for real or not. Record: 14-10 4 vs Kansas City: The Twins finish the month off versus the lowly Royals, who happen to always give the Twins a tough matchup it seems. 4 games series are always a little weird and it seems like the Twins always go 2-2 in those matchups, I think the Twins are capable of winning 3 out of 4 against the Royals, but I will say they only need to win 2 out of 4 with where they are at to have the first month be deemed a success. Record: 16-12 While a 16-12 record doesn't mean it would be a resounding success, with a total of 10 of those games being against the Yankees and Astros, this record would not be the worst possible outcome. While I think they could win 2 out of 4 in New York, or even win the Astros series, I think it's hard to say they will definitively do either of those things. While it's possible to not play well against the Yankees and Astros and still finish the month off with a winning record, it's not something Twins fans would feel great about if they get dominated by those teams that are considered favorites in the American League. (Note: This has the Twins going 4-6 against these two teams). Now that I see that, going 5-5 in those matchups could be a decent outcome. I am pretty confident that if the Twins finish the first month 16-12, or even 15-13, or better, they will be set up to succeed going into the dog days of summer. One thing I think that will be interesting is that they will play every team in the league this year, which means less games against their AL Central foes. The Twins went 39-37 versus the division last year, which they will need to be better than that to win the division, without a doubt. I would like to believe they will be better against Cleveland than they were in 2022 (6-13). Let me know in the comments if you think this is realistic in your eyes, or if you think I am too high or too low on the level of success the Twins need to have in the first month of the season.

Thank you! Totally agree! I love more depth, and not having to rush guys, like you said, is really nice!

As you have likely seen at this point, the Twins signed Infielder Donovan Solano to a 1 year, $2 million dollar deal. When you first look at this deal, you may have thought that Solano is a similar role to Kyle Farmer and seems to be redundant. While there may be some overlap, I think there are a few reasons where both guys still get a good amount of at bats this year, especially against lefties. So let's compare Solano to a few other guys that I saw many people mention as targets for the Twins, Luke Voit and Yuli Gurriel. One reason the ladder two guys were brought up was their ability to hit lefties, so let's look at that first. Luke Voit versus lefties in 2022 had the following line: .174/.298/.271. I will concede that these stats are lower than his career .236/.329/.439 line against lefties. Yuli Gurriel versus lefties in 2022 had the following line: .265/.298/.441. These are slightly lower than his career .282/.333/.474 line against lefties as well. As for the Twins most recent acquisition, here are his stats versus lefties: Donovan Solano had a slash line of .301/.348/.422 line versus lefties in 2022. His career line is .282/.322/.389. The next thing I wanted to compare these players on was their Walk%, K% and their projected WAR going forward. Walk %: Voit: 10.2% Gurriel: 5.7% Solano: 5.7% K %: Voit: 28.5% Gurriel: 11.2% Solano: 18.0% Projected WAR (using ZiPS): Voit: 0.8 WAR Gurriel: 1.5 WAR Solano: 1.2 WAR Seeing these stats, you might try to say that Gurriel would be the best choice of the three for a fit. The reason I think this is not the case can be summed up in one word: versatility. Donovan Solano can not only play 1B, but can also play 2B, 3B, and will likely get some ABs as a DH as well, against lefties specifically. Gurriel at this point in his career is a 1B with the ability to DH of course as well. Voit is a 1B/DH as well. Not to overlook Solano's ability to hit against righties as well. He doesn't hit righties super well, but can at least give you a good AB if needed. He has a career slash line of .276/.329/.367 against RHP. One thing to remember is Solano is a depth piece who, similar to Kyle Farmer, will play mostly against LHP with occasional starts coming against RHP. Solano's versatility will also be helpful in case someone gets dinged up (which will happen at some point) and as a potential defensive replacement depending on who is in the game as well. Solano hits a lot of line drives, as evidence by his career .332 BABIP. I'd like to make this clear, I don't think Donovan Solano is an all star level player, but I think he's a solid depth piece that gives manager Rocco Baldelli another option this coming year. The Twins depth is much different than the past years, and hopefully this means they learned their lesson regarding not being too top heavy on the roster and not having as much depth. Let me know what you all think of the Solano signing. Who do you think this bumps off the roster? My gut reaction says Larnach, but maybe things change before opening day (perhaps a trade?).