Cody Christie

Passion can be shown through a multitude of avenues when it comes to baseball and its fans. A large portion of Twins Territory complained about Joe Mauer throughout his playing career and he was one of the most valuable players in franchise history. Besides disdain towards someone like Mauer, a perspective can follow teams, across all of baseball, and every fan base hates their own bullpen but… Minnesota’s relievers might actually be good.Not As Bad As They Seem Around the trade deadline, Minnesota knew it would need a bullpen upgrade to have any semblance of a chance in October. Adding Sam Dyson and Sergio Romo has certainly calmed some of the storm, but things haven’t exactly been perfect for the new dynamic duo. Dyson spent time on the injured list and Romo has seen some rough appearances. They might not be perfect, but they are better than some of the team’s other options. Even with the flaws of these two players, the Twins bullpen has been one of the best in baseball this year. Minnesota’s relief corps ranks as the fourth best in baseball according to FIP. The only AL team ahead of them on the list is Cleveland, the team they are fighting with for the AL Central. FIP stands for fielding independent pitching and it converts a pitcher’s outcomes that don’t involve defense (strikeouts, walks, HBP, and home runs) and turns it into an ERA like number. FIP isn’t the only area where Twins relievers shine. According to FanGraphs’ version of WAR, Minnesota’s relievers have accumulated 5.4 WAR, which is tied with Tampa Bay for the second most in baseball. The Yankees have accumulated the most WAR (6.8), but both the Rays and the Yankees have over 530 relief innings. Meanwhile, the Twins had yet to crack the 450 mark, which is the eighth fewest in baseball. Minnesota’s Fearsome Foursome Before acquiring Dyson and Romo, the Twins used a heavy dose of Taylor Rogers. He seemed untouchable in the first half and an argument could be made for him being the American League’s most valuable reliever. Tyler Duffey has also become a much more important part of the bullpen since the All-Star break. In 20 second-half appearances (16.2 IP), he has compiled a 1.62 ERA and a 22 to 8 strikeout to walk ratio. As the Baseball Savant graphics show below, all four of these relievers have posted better than average numbers in exit velocity and hard-hit rate. Rogers and Romo both rank as “great” in hard-hit rate with Romo also ranking there in exit velocity. Download attachment: Twins Core Four.jpg In Monday’s victory over the White Sox, the Twins might have laid out the blueprint for how this team could be successful in October. Michael Pineda started and was asked to make it through five frames. He did so by limiting a sub-par White Sox line-up to one run on four hits. From there the Fearsome Foursome came in and shut down the Chicago offense. Duffey was the only reliever to allow a baserunner while Romo struck out the side in the eighth inning. Chicago isn’t exactly a playoff caliber team, but the Twins relief corp seems much more prepared for potential playoff matchups with the likes of New York and Houston. Playoff baseball is an entirely different animal than the regular season and each relief outing is magnified because of the importance of each game. That being said, Minnesota fans have to feel more confident in the top four arms coming out of the bullpen. Every team’s bullpen is bad, but Minnesota’s might be just good enough to make some noise in October. What are your thoughts on the Twins bullpen? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Around Twins Daily Stop Throwing the Twins Fastballs The Hazy Future of Fernando Romero 4 Questions the Twins Need to Address Concerning Their Potential Playoff Roster Click here to view the article

It’s no secret that Minnesota has been successful on the offensive side of the ball this season. Some of this success can be attributed to Minnesota’s core players taking the next step, while other veteran additions have certainly aided the cause. Teams need to be successful in a variety of situations, but one area that separates the Twins from the rest of baseball is when opposing pitchers try to sneak a fastball by.Isn’t Every Team Good Against Fastballs? Minnesota is head and shoulders above the crowd when it comes to fastballs and looking at pitch type linear weights in relation to that pitch (wFB). According to FanGraphs, this linear weight “attempts to answer the question, ‘How well has a batter/pitcher performed against/using a certain pitch?’” Over the course of a season, this allows us to see which pitch a hitter performed best against. As a team, the Twins have the highest wFB in all of baseball and it isn’t even close. The Dodgers and the Yankees are in a close battle for second place but Minnesota’s 100.6 wFB is almost 30 points higher. Since Target Field opened in 2010, the Twins wFB is the tenth highest compiled by a club and there are still 30+ games to add to their total. When looking at the players responsible for Minnesota’s wFB production, there are some of the usual suspects. Nelson Cruz (23.7 wFB), Mitch Garver (16.4), Max Kepler (13.9), and Miguel Sano (13.1) all sit at the top of the team’s leaderboard. Jason Castro and Jorge Polanco are tied for fifth with 9.4 wFB. One surprise might be Luis Arraez and his 7.1 wFB since he has under 250 plate appearances at the big-league level. Facing Big Time Heat Minnesota also isn’t just getting away with hitting mediocre fastballs from subpar teams in the American League, because they have some of the best numbers among clubs when facing 97+ mph this year. The Twins have the best batting average, slugging percentage, and AB per XBH. Make sure not to pass on the message but opposing pitchers and coaching staffs must not have caught on to Minnesota’s fastball tendencies. Through this weekend’s games, the Twins have seen fastballs in 26.4% of their at-bats while the MLB average is 22.0%. Mitch Garver (34.2 FB%), Miguel Sano (32.6%), Jason Castro (31.1%), Eddie Rosario (30.4%) and Max Kepler (30.1%) are all seeing fastballs at least a third of the time. The Twins also have five other regular players with a FB% above the league average. In the Zone Since Minnesota continues to see fastballs, it’s important that players don’t go out of the zone to chase pitches. The Twins have the fourth best Z-Swing% in all of baseball which takes the swings a team has inside the zone and divides it by pitches inside the zone. Besides swinging at pitches in the zone, Minnesota is also making a high rate of contact on those same pitches. So far this year, the Twins rank eighth in Z-Contact% with only a couple playoff-caliber teams ranked higher than them. Statcast also gives a glimpse into how successful Twins batters have been at making consistent contact. Among players with at least 100 batted ball events, Minnesota has four players in the top-8 for barrels per plate appearance percentage (Brls/PA %). Nelson Cruz leads all of baseball with a 13.8 Brls/PA % and Jason Castro also sits in the top-5 (11.2%). Castro entered play on Monday higher on the leaderboard than Mike Trout. Miguel Sano and CJ Cron round out the top-8. Many of the hitters mentioned above are having their best professional season and credit needs to be given to the coaching staff. Keeping James Rowson as hitting coach has certainly been one of Minnesota’s most important off-season moves. However, a hitting coach can only do so much. To be successful in October, Minnesota’s offense is going to have to pick up some of the slack from the pitching staff. If opposing pitchers continue to relay on their fastball, Twins’ hitters are going to make them pay. Why do you think the Twins are so successful against the fastball? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Byron Buxton hadn’t been in a Cedar Rapids uniform since he was a 19-year old, but that changed on Sunday afternoon as he began his MLB rehab assignment. He was penciled into the line-up as the DH with the plan for him to play in center field on Monday. If everything goes to plan, he could be back with the Twins as early as Tuesday. Was Buxton able to help the Kernels? Read on to find out.AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Hitter of the Week: Alex Kirilloff, PensacolaKirilloff, 21, played in seven games for Double-A Pensacola this week, hitting .444 (12-for-27) with one double, one home run, five RBI and a 1.075 OPS. Kirilloff was drafted by the Twins 15th overall in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and represented the Twins at the SiriusXM Futures Game in Cleveland this summerPitcher of the Week: Bailey Ober, PensacolaOber, 24, made one start for the Blue Wahoos on Wednesday at Mississippi, pitching 7.0 shutout innings with three hits, no walks and 12 strikeouts. Ober was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of College of Charleston. TRANSACTIONS LHP Gabriel Moya placed on the IL for Pensacola. OF Byron Buxton began MLB rehab assignment with Cedar Rapids. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Syracuse 11 Box Score Rochester took an early 1-0 lead in this one before falling behind in the middle innings. Wilin Rosario collected an RBI-double in the top of the first to score Ramon Flores. The Red Wings wouldn’t score again until the fourth inning when Brandon Barnes drilled his 29th home run of the year. Zander Wiel lead off the seventh inning with his 37th double and came around to score on a one-out single from Wynston Sawyer. Devin Smeltzer started for Rochester and couldn’t make it out of the fourth frame. He was charged with five earned runs on five hits including three home runs. He struck out five and walked one. Edwar Colina made his Triple-A debut and didn’t find much success. He allowed five runs on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. Jorge Alcala limited Syracuse to one hit in almost two innings and he struck out three. Zack Littell walked a pair of batters in the eighth and saw one runner come around to score. Rochester had a chance to gain ground on first-place Scranton/WB. Unfortunately, the Red Wings are four games back with just eight remaining in the season. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 1, Jackson 4 Box Score Griffin Jax was cruising along in a pitcher’s duel before Jackson was able to break things open in the mid to late innings. He pitched six innings and was charged with one earned run (three total runs) with seven strikeouts and one walk. Following Jax, Tom Hackimer gave up one earned run on two hits over two frames. Andrew Vasquez finished off the game with a hitless ninth inning. Fresh off his Player of the Week honors (see above), Alex Kirilloff continued his hot hitting. Kirilloff and LaMonte Wade both finished 2-for-4. Wade added his second double as part of his MLB rehab assignment. Ryan Costello reached base twice and Mark Contreras knocked in a run with his 12th double. Pensacola matched Jackson with six hits but finished 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers --, Palm Beach – (Cancelled) Rain forced the cancellation of the final game of the three-game series between the Miracle and the Cardinals. Fort Myers won the first two games in the series to stretch their winning streak to five games. Currently, the team is a season high 18 games over .500 (73-55). KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Peoria 9 Box Score Byron Buxton made a quick impression back in Low-A as he stretched what looked like a routine single into a hustle double. He was left at second base, but he would make it around the bases in his second at-bat. With two outs in the third inning, Buxton drew a walk in front of Matt Walner’s second home runs since being promoted from Elizabethton. He would get one more at-bat and he struck out. There was more to this game than Buxton cruising around the bases. Josh Winder started and put together another strong outing. He limited Peoria to four hits over six shutout innings with five strikeouts and two walks. His season ERA dropped to 2.68 to go along with a sub-1.00 WHIP. It was his team-high 11th quality start. Dylan Thomas kept the shutout alive by tossing two scoreless innings. He allowed two hits and struck out one. Brian Rapp and Austin Schulfer each had a tough time at the end of the game. Rapp couldn’t record an out and was charged with four earned runs on three hits. Schulfer took the loss and the blown save after allowing five earned runs on three hits. Cedar Rapids loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth but couldn’t mount a comeback. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 1, Danville 7 Box Score After allowing seven earned runs in his last start, Andriu Marin did much better as he limited Danville to four hits and two runs. He struck out four and walked two. Frandy Torres got hit around in his inning of work. He allowed three earned runs (four total) on four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Steven Cruz and Benjamin Dum combined to allow one earned run over the final three innings. Cruz struck out the side in both innings he worked. The E-Twins didn’t have much to speak of on the offensive side of the ball as the team was limited to three hits. Trevor Jensen had the team’s lone extra-base hit, a double. Charles Mack reached base twice and had the team’s only RBI. Overall, the team went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and left eight men on base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Josh Winder, Cedar Rapids (6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 2 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Tyler Webb, Cedar Rapids (2-3, 3B, 2 R, BB) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – 0-3, BB, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 2-4, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) – Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 1-4 #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 2-5, R, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) – Game cancelled #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – No scheduled game #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) – Game cancelled #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) – 1.0 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, K #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Did not play #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) – 0-4, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) – 0-2, BB #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, 3 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – Did not play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) – 1.2 IP, 0 ER, H, 3 K, 0 BB #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – 0-4, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05 CST) – TBD Pensacola vs. Jackson (6:35 CST) – TBD Fort Myers @ Dunedin (4:00 CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-5, 4.30 ERA) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (Game 2) – TBD Cedar Rapids vs. Peoria (6:35 CST) – LHP Kody Funderburk (0-3, 4.85 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Greeneville (5:30 CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Braves (11:00 am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

For the third consecutive year, MLB and the Players’ Association are holding a weekend to honor the players, including unique jerseys with nicknames on the back. This year’s jerseys have been getting mixed reviews since they are pretty basic black and white. One of the reasons for the choice is it will allow player’s accessories like batting gloves, compression sleeves, and spikes to standout more.According to MLB.com, “Each home team will decide which color -- black or white -- it will wear for the weekend, which means we could have some road teams wearing white for a change. Pitchers on teams wearing white will wear black caps to ensure umpires and batters have clear visibility of each pitch.” Even with the black and white uniforms, fans get excited about players getting to pick their nickname for the back. Here’s the not so definitive ranking of this year’s Twins nicknames. 28. Willians Astudillo: "ASTUDILLO" Fans at the game will have on La Tortuga shirts. Heck, the Twins even had a theme night in honor of his nickname earlier this year. He’s still on rehab assignment, so he likely won’t participate this weekend. Still, he was the only player on the team not to use a nickname and HE HAS A NICKNAME! 27-18. All of these players used some variation of their first or last name. Byron Buxton: "BUCK" Jason Castro: "STRO" C.J. Cron: "CRONY" Kyle Gibson: "GIBBY" Marwin Gonzalez: "GONZO" Ryne Harper: "HARP" Zack Littell: "LIT" Jake Odorizzi: "ODO" Michael Pineda: "BIG MIKE" Eddie Rosario: “EDISTO” 17. Sergio Romo: "EL MECHÓN" 16. Jonathan Schoop: "MAMBA" 15. Jake Cave: "CAVEMAN" 14. Sam Dyson: "RED FINGER" Romo used the song “El Mechon” as his entrance music back with the Giants and he has stuck with it. Schoop is a fan of the NBA and more specifically of Kobe Bryant. It’s a fun way to honor an all-time basketball star. Cave is using a connection to his last name, but I get a kick out of the Caveman nickname. If he keeps hitting, it might be time for him to get his own shirt. With a thick red beard, it’s easy to see why Dyson would associate with the color red. However, he doesn’t have a story for the nickname so that knocks him down on the list. 13. Jorge Polanco: "CHULO" 12. Ehire Adrianza: "GUARENERO" 11. Martin Perez: “EL DE LAS MATAS” Polanco’s friends and family know him as “pretty boy” after his uncle started calling him that. Adrianza is from Venezuela and this is a way for him to honor his hometown of Guarenas. Like Adrianza, Perez wanted to honor the city where he was born, and he has previously used “EL DE GUANARE.” This year he is referencing the town where he grew up. 10. Miguel Sano: "BOQUETÓN" 9. Jose Berrios: "LA MAKINA" As a player growing up in the Dominican, Sano was known for being a talker. That’s why he goes by the nickname that translates to “large mouth.” For anyone who has watched Berrios on social media, it’s clear to see why he was called “The Machine.” There’s actually a misspelling in his nickname, but Berrios did it intentionally. “Machine” translates to “maquina,” but Berrios wanted a K in his nickname for the strikeouts he tends to rack up. 8. Nelson Cruz: "BOOMSTICK" 7. Tyler Duffey: "THE DOOF" 6. Max Kepler: "RÓŻYCKI" Cruz got the name as part of a video game commercial for MLB 2K10 and it has stuck with him over the last decade as he has morphed into one of the best power hitters in the game. He’s closing in on 400 home runs and the Twins have adopted the Boomstick model with him in the line-up this season. MLB.com named Duffey as having Minnesota’s best Players’ Weekend nickname, but there were so many more options. The name actually comes from Latin American teammates not being able to pronounce “Duff.” Few may know it, but Kepler’s full last name is Kepler-Rozycki. His mother’s last name is Kepler and his father’s last name is Rozycki. One weekend a year, he is able to honor his father with the name on the back of his jersey. 5. Mitch Garver: "GARV SAUCE" Garver’s nickname stretches all the way back to high school and he has embraced the title. He uses it on social media and there are even “Garv Sauce” shirts to be purchased. It also helps that his sauce has been particularly hot this season as he has turned into an offensive power at the plate. 4. Trevor May: "IAMTREVORMAY" Player’s Weekend is about the player’s showing what they are passionate about. May is known for being an eSports streamer on Twitch.tv and he uses “IAMTREVORMAY” as his handle. I think it’s a great way for him to combine the two things he loves, baseball and gaming. 3. Taylor Rogers: "LEFTY PIECE" Rogers doesn’t have much of a personality on the mound, so it’s nice to see him going outside of his comfort zone and using a nickname. For much of the season, he’s been the lone left-handed reliever on the Twins roster, so when the coaches call to the bullpen, there’s only one player that can answer to “lefty piece.” 2. Devin Smeltzer: "#CATCHCANCERLOOKING" Part of the larger story in Smeltzer’s life was his survival from childhood cancer. Fans can buy Catch Cancer Looking shirts and his nickname this weekend is a great way to spread his message. He might not be on the roster for the weekend, but it certainly a great choice by the rookie. 1. Luis Arraez: "LA REGADERA" Arraez is in the midst of a tremendous season where he could get consideration for the AL Rookie of the Year. He’s stolen the hearts of Twins fans, but before he made it to Minnesota, he was making his mark in the Venezuelan Winter League. His nickname meaning “The Sprinkler” was given to him by Venezuelan fans. It seems like the perfect name for the type of hitter he has shown to be in a Twins uniform. Who would be at the top of your list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Nelson Cruz was back in the Twins line-up on Monday, but he was never supposed to be to this point in his career. To call Cruz a late bloomer would be an understatement. He never made it on to any major prospect top-100 list and he didn’t debut until he was 24-years old. His first career home run didn’t come until his age-26 season and he wouldn’t play 100 big league games in a season until he was 28. Now Twins fans are witnessing an ageless wonder on the cusp of 400 career home runs.Few Twins fans may be aware of the journey Cruz has taken to the 400-home run mark. In recent years, fans saw future Hall of Fame player Jim Thome collect his 600th home run in a Twins uniform. Thome was a different player than Cruz and fans might not fully appreciate what Cruz has been able to do in the late stages of his career. Among players over 30, Cruz has the 10th most home runs all-time. Players ahead of him on the list include all-time greats like Bond, Ruth, Aaron, and Mays. Because of his late start, Cruz likely won’t be able to catch these historic players on the all-time list, but he has established himself as one of the best home run hitters among players over the age of 30. Home Run Number 1 Ironically, Cruz hit his first career home run against the Minnesota Twins in a game where the Twins destroyed the Texas Rangers. On July 31, 2006, Carlos Silva dominated the Rangers for seven innings by limiting them to one run on six hits. Minnesota had an 8-0 lead after two innings and added another six runs between the fourth and fifth frames. Cruz, a 26-year old rookie, was used as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning for Carlos Lee. He stepped in against Willie Eyre (talk about a name that is a blast from the past) and hit a solo shot to left-center field. His second home run wouldn’t come until more than two weeks later, but he recorded his first on the road to 400 at the Metrodome. Home Run Number 100 Almost five years to the day of his first home run, Cruz collected the 100th home run of his career. Like his first home run, it happened in a loss and it happened on the road. Cruz was still in Texas at the time and he was sitting at 22 home runs for the year on July 29, 2011. He would end the year with 29 home runs, the second highest total of his career at the time. In this game, Cruz stepped in during the second inning where neither team had yet scored. Brett Cecil was on the mound and he was on the way to seven innings of one-run ball. The only run he would allow was on a solo home run to Cruz, which turned out to be the 100th of his career. Home Run Number 200 Cruz hit quite the stretch of seasons when he reached age 33. From 2014 through 2016, he averaged over 40 home runs per season and led all of baseball in home runs in 2014. He entered the 2015 season only needing three home runs to accumulate 200 homers for his career and he made it to the mark in April. It was less than four full seasons since he had crossed the century mark, but he made his 200th home run one to remember. The trend continued with his 200th long-ball as Cruz was on the road (Dodger Stadium) and his team (Seattle) ended up losing. Cruz collected his 200th home run in the first inning off Brandon McCarthy. It was a two-run shot with two outs in the frame. Later in the game, he would hit another homer, a solo shot, off McCarthy again. It still wasn’t enough as the Mariners lost by one. Home Run Number 300 His 300th home run came even faster as he reached the total in July 2017. It was only two and a half seasons since his 200th home run, but that’s how fast a player can move up the list when he is hitting 40+ home runs per season. For the first time in his career, he hit a milestone home run at home and his team ended up winning the game. Cruz finished the game with three hits but his memorable long-ball came in the eighth inning after his team entered the frame up by one run. His three-run home run off of old friend Liam Hendricks helped Seattle to separate themselves. He drove in five of Seattle’s seven runs in the game. Home Run Number 400- Coming Soon? Cruz is coming off a ruptured ECU tendon in his left wrist, so there are plenty of questions about what kind of performance he will be able to produce now that he is back on the field. Prior to the injury, he was hitting at an unbelievable clip. Since the All-Star break, Cruz had a .333/.429/.900 slash-line with 16 home runs, the same number he compiled in the first half. He’s only eight home runs away from the 400 mark, which will hopefully take place before the end of the season. Looking at his other milestone home runs, it’s likely to come on the road and in a loss for the Twins. Even if he doesn’t get there in 2019, he’s still under contract for the 2020 campaign. When do you think Cruz will hit home run number 400? Leave a COMMENT and star the discussion. Click here to view the article

Rochester is three games out of first place with 15 games left in the season. One problem with their position is there are two other teams between them and the first-place club. The Red Wings play both teams in front of them over the next two weeks, so they have an opportunity to be in charge of their destiny. They will also get some pitching help with top prospects Brusdar Graterol and Jorge Alcala set to be added to the club on Monday. Was Rochester able to help themselves on Sunday? Read on to find out.AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week Hitter of the Week: Gilberto Celestino, Cedar RapidsIn five games this week, Celestino went 7-for-18 with two home runs and two doubles along with driving in four runs and scoring four runs. Celestino was acquired from Houston last season as part of the Ryan Pressly trade. Pitcher of the Week: Dakota Chalmers, Fort MyersChalmers made one start this week and pitched six innings without allowing an earned run. He struck out nine and walked one. Last August, Chalmers was acquired from Oakland as part of the Fernando Rodney trade. TRANSACTIONS LHP Devin Smeltzer optioned by Minnesota to Rochester. OF Alejandro De Aza placed on the IL with Rochester (right-hand contusion). RHP Brian Rapp from IL with Cedar Rapids. LHP Erik Cha placed on the IL with Cedar Rapids (left forearm strain). RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 12, Louisville 1 Box Score Rochester found themselves down 1-0 after the first inning, but that’s where the scoring would stop for Louisville and Rochester’s bats more than woke up. Wilin Rosario and Brandon Barnes both hit grand slams to provide more than enough offensive punch. Randy Dobnak was pitching for the first time in 10 days and there might have been a little bit of first inning rust. He settled in from there and retired the final 13 men he faces. In five innings, he coaxed nine groundouts and all the hits and walks he allowed came in the first frame. He was removed after 73 pitches with 48 being strikes. Cody Stashak, Ryan O’Rourke and Jake Reed combined to throw four scoreless frames. O’Rourke and Reed both struck out two without allow a base runner. Scranton/Wilkes Barre leads Buffalo and Syracuse by two games and Rochester by three games. Rochester plays all their final 15 games against Buffalo and Syracuse. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 4, Mississippi 3 Box Score Trevor Larnach connected for his fifth home run of the season to help the Pensacola separate themselves from Mississippi. The team’s biggest inning came in the fourth and all the damage came after there were two outs in the frame. Ryan Costello walked and came around to score on a Jimmy Kerrigan double. Mark Contreras followed with a triple and then came home on an RBI-single for Caleb Hamilton. Larnach’s homer the next inning turned out to be the game-winning run. Jhoan Duran allowed three runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. It was his first appearance in August where he allowed three runs or fewer. Jovani Moran played a huge role out of the bullpen. He struck out five in three perfect innings for his third hold. It was the first time he had pitched three innings all season. Anthony Vizcaya ran into some ninth inning trouble, but he was still able to escape with his fourth save. With one out, he allowed a single and a walk to put the tying run in scoring position. After a mound visit, he struck out the next batter for the second out and got a shar flyout to end the game MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Jupiter 5 Box Score Andrew Bechtold cranked out a career-high four hits, but the Miracle couldn’t come up with a big hit to push across more than one run. Fort Myers matched Jupiter with nine hits, but the Miracle only had two at-bats with a runner in scoring position. Still, the team left eight men on base. Jacob Pearson joined Bechtold in the multi-hit department after going 2-for-4. On the mound, Lachlan Wells started and went four innings by allowing two earned runs (four total runs) on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Yennier Cano, Johan Quezada and Zach Neff combined to pitch three shutout frames in the mid-innings. Moises Gomez ran into some control problems in the ninth as he walked three batters and allowed a run to score. He still was able to strikeout the side. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 5 Box Score The Kernels scored four runs in the final three innings to close within one. In the seventh inning, Wander Javier doubled to put two runners into scoring position. DaShawn Keirsey followed with a double, his first extra-base hit of the season. In the eighth, Spencer Steer doubled with one out and came around on Gilberto Celestino single. Gabe Snyder followed with a double and Celestino would eventually score on a bases loaded walk. Albee Weiss struck out with the bases full. Andrew Cabezas was saddled with his seventh loss after allowing four runs on six hits. In 4 2/3 innings, he struck out four and walked three. Nate Hadley allowed a solo home run in his 1 1/3 innings. Brian Rapp and Jose Martinez kept the score close with each pitching a shutout inning. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 2, Princeton 4 Box Score Elizabethton tried to mount a comeback; however, they were unsuccessful. After trailing 2-0 early, Matt Wallner collected a one-out RBI-single in the third. Max Smith tied the game with his sixth home run of the year. He finished 2-for-4 for his fourth multi-hit in his last ten contests. Ben Gross got the start and allowed three earned runs in five innings. He struck out two, but he allowed a season-high nine hits. Yancarlos Baez and Steven Cruz finished off the game with three scoreless innings. Cruz didn’t allow a hit in two innings and struck out two. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Jovani Moran, Pensacola (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Wilin Rosario, Rochester (3-5, 2 HR, 6 RBI, 3 R, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – 0-4, 2 K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – Did not play #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) – Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 1-4, HR, RBI, R, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 2B, R, BB, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – No scheduled game #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, 5 K, BB #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) – Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Did not play #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) – Did not play #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) – 0-4, BB #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-4, RBI, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – Did not play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) – Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – 1-4, BB, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Buffalo (6:05 CST) – RHP Griffin Jax (5-4, 3.02 ERA) Pensacola @ Mississippi (5:05 CST) – TBD Pensacola @ Mississippi (Game 2) – TBD Fort Myers – Scheduled Off-Day Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35 CST) – RHP Josh Winder (6-2, 2.81 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (5:30 CST) – RHP Andrui Marin (2-2, 5.31 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Pirates (9:00 am CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Pirates (Game 2) – Game 2 Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Luis Arraez has fought his way into an everyday role on one of the best offenses in baseball history. This is no small feat, especially for a 22-year old rookie. Since he wasn’t a highly-ranked prospect, Arraez has surprised many fans with his professional approach at the plate. Could he surprise the rest of baseball and walk away with the American League Rookie of the Year Award?The Arraez Resume' Arraez entered play on Tuesday hitting .350/.421/.446 with 12 extra-base hits in just over 200 plate appearances. He has coaxed 22 walks and has struck out only 14 times. Among AL rookies with 200 plate appearances, he has the highest batting average by 50 points and the highest OBP by 40 points. His 6.9 K% is almost half as low as the second-place rookie on the leaderboard. One of Arraez’s biggest hurdles to winning the award will be his lack of plate appearances. He should finish with close to 370 plate appearances, but some other rookies already have over 300 plate appearances to their credit. Arraez will also be hurt because other rookies will be able to accrue more WAR because of their getting to the big leagues before him. According to FanGraphs, Arraez currently ranks fourth in WAR among AL rookie batters. Less than a week ago, he ranked sixth on this list. He currently trails Tampa’s Brandon Lowe (2.5 WAR), New York’s Mike Tauchman (2.5 WAR) and Seattle’s Daniel Vogelbach (2.2 WAR). None of these players are exactly household names but the real competition might come from other more well-known players. The Competition Toronto’s Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is the big name in the AL ROY competition. So far this season, he has hit .274/.346/.459 with 34 extra-base hits in 367 plate appearances. FanGraphs has his WAR total as 0.5 and his total is low because of his negative value as a baserunner and a defender. He still had a ton of hype coming into the year and he has compiled a solid offensive resume. Some other former top prospects to consider are Chicago’s Eloy Jimenez and Toronto’s Cavan Biggio. Jimenez’ 19 home runs are second among AL rookies, but his other offensive numbers might make it tough to consider him a front-runner. He is hitting .237/.294/.453 with 27 extra-base hits and he has provided negative value on the defensive side. Biggio’s .205 batting average is tough to swallow, but he is getting on base a third of the time and he has 17 extra-base hits in 63 games. As far as pitchers, Spencer Turnbull has been worth 2.0 WAR on a bad Tigers team. He has a 3.68 ERA, a 1.32 WHIP, and a 98 to 42 strikeout to walk ratio in 107 2/3 innings. John Means represented the Orioles in the All-Star Game this season and he has a 3.36 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP to go along with an 83 to 28 strikeout to walk ratio. Both players have been decent, but neither will likely have a shot at the award. The Race Minnesota hasn’t had a top-three finisher for AL ROY since 2015 when Miguel Sano finished a distant third behind Carlos Correa and Francisco Lindor. During Minnesota’s last run to a division title in 2010, Danny Valencia earned enough votes to finish a distant third in the voting. One must go back all the way to the mid-90s to find Minnesota’s last AL ROY winner when Marty Cordova took home the hardware after beating out Garret Anderson and Andy Pettitte. Voting for the Rookie of the Year Awards is different than voting for other year-end honors. While most awards go to the player that had the best overall season, this isn’t always the case of the ROY. I’ve heard from voters that they approach voting for this award by looking at the candidates and voting for not only who had a good season, but also who will have a long-term impact on the game. Over the last seven years, some of the AL winners include Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Carlos Correa, Jose Abreu, Wil Myers and Mike Trout. All those batters had at least 88 games played at the big-league level with Myers having the fewest. He batted .293/.354/.478 that season and he was one of baseball’s top prospects. He only had to beat out Jose Iglesias and Chris Archer for the top spot. Does Arraez have a shot at the AL ROY? It seems more likely for Guerrero to finish on top but that still doesn’t take anything away from the impact Arraez has had on the Twins line-up. Click here to view the article

Jose Berrios is in his third full big-league season and he has been named an All-Star in each of the last two seasons. He is unquestionably the best starting pitcher on Minnesota’s staff. However, his last two starts have been far from his best work on the mound. Are there other underlying issues with Berrios? Is he showing a trend of second-half swoons?Second Half Swoons Back in 2017, Berrios made 25 starts for the Twins and logged over 140 big league innings for the first time in his career. In the first half, he posted a respectable 3.53 ERA with a 1.08 WHIP. He had a 69 to 19 strikeout to walk ratio along with a 8.7 K/9. As the innings started to mount, he posted a 4.24 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP over his final 15 games. His strikeout rate stayed basically the same, but his walks increased from 2.40 BB/9 to 3.52 BB/9. Batters also saw their OPS increase 74 points in the second half. The 2018 campaign saw more of the same from Berrios. He earned his first All-Star selection on the heels of a first half that saw him post a 3.68 ERA and a 1.01 WHIP with 127 strikeouts in 127 1/3 innings. He was limited to 12 starts in the second half and had a 4.15 ERA and a 1.40 WHIP. His strikeout rate increased from 9.0 K/9 to 10.4 K/9 but he did this in half as many second-half innings. For the second straight year, batters improved their OPS from .644 in the first half to .703 in the second half. In 2019, Berrios has made six second-half starts, and he seems to be trending the same as previous years. After posting a 3.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP in the first half, his ERA has jumped to 4.21 and his WHIP has increased to 1.27. Like 2018, his second half strikeout rate has increased from a first-half 8.0 K/9 to a second-half 9.9 K/9. Velocity Concerns Berrios and his fastball velocity have also become one point of discussion among Twins fans. Twins Daily’s Parker Hageman noted on Twitter that one of the biggest differences for Berrios this season is not driving toward home as much. He is more rotational with his rear leg action. This could be something the Twins instructed Berrios to do so that some of his other pitches have more movement. Back in 2017, his first full MLB season, Berrios was hitting 95 mph with his fastball over 10% of the time. Flash forward to 2019 and that percentage has dropped to less than 4% of the time. Download attachment: 2017 Berrios Pitches.png Download attachment: 2019 Berrios Pitches.png Even with the drop in velocity, Berrios is giving up less hard contact and throwing more strikes. His hard hit % was 34.1% last year and he has posted a 31.6 hard hit % in 2019 which is better than the MLB average. His strike percentage is also a career high 71.5% after topping out at 67.9% one year ago. This is also a large improvement from the 59.8 strike percentage he compiled back in 2016. Minnesota is only going to go as far as the pitching staff is able to take the team. Berrios is critical to any success this team can have in October so he needs to find a way to end the trend of having second-half swoons. Are you concerned about Berrios and his second half performance? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

It was a rough weekend for the big-league club as the Twin lost three of four against Cleveland to see their division lead disappear. That being said, there are plenty of minor league teams still in position to make playoff runs in the weeks ahead. Would anyone help their cause on Sunday? Read on to find out…TRANSACTIONS LHP Erik Cha promoted to Cedar Rapids from Elizabethton. RHP Brian Rapp placed on IL (left groin strain). AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week: Hitter of the Week: Trevor Larnach, PensacolaIn five games for the Blue Wahoos, Larnach hit .412 (7-for-17) with two home runs, five RBIs, four walks and a 1.289 OPS. The 22-year-old was selected by the Twins 20th overall in the 2018 First-Year Player Draft out of Oregon State UniversityPitcher of the Week: Jordan Balazovic, Fort MyersBalazovic made the start on Thursday vs. Jupiter, pitching 5.0 shutout innings with two hits allowed, one walk and nine strikeouts. The 20-year-old was selected by the Twins in the fifth round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of St. Martin SS in Mississauga, Ontario. The righty pitched 1.0 perfect inning at the SiriusXM Futures Game this July at Progressive Field. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Louisville 5 Box Score Kohl Stewart started for Rochester and didn’t give up any runs in four innings. In fact, he held Louisville to one hit to go along with four strikeouts and two walks. Sam Clay would be charged with the loss after allowing two earned runs on five hits in 1- 2/3 innings. It was the first time he had allowed multiple earned runs since April 26th. Rochester scored runs in the seventh and eighth innings. With two outs in the seventh, Mike Miller drew a walk and he moved to second on a passed ball. Ivan De Jesus drove him home with a single. To start the eighth, Ramon Flores doubled before Alejandro De Aza collected an RBI-single. Jake Reed pitched 1 1/3 perfect innings and added in a pair of strikeouts. Ryan Eades surrendered two runs, both on solo home runs, in his two innings of work. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola --, Mobile – (Cancelled) Pensacola’s game versus Mobile was cancelled on Sunday due to heavy rain. The game will not be resumed since the two teams do not play again this season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Jupiter 1 (7 Innings- Rain) Box Score Lachlan Wells went six innings without allowing an earned run to pick up his second High-A win of the season. He limited Jupiter to three hits with one strikeout and a pair of walks. Moises Gomez added one scoreless inning by striking out two and walking one. In seven of his last 10 appearances, he hasn’t allowed an earned run. Fort Myers answered right back after Jupiter scored the first run of the game in the top of the fifth. With one out, Chris Williams, Michael Davis and Gabriel Maciel all drew walks to load the bases. Jacob Pearson drove in the tying run with a sacrifice fly. Jose Miranda followed with his 21st double of the season for what turned out to be the game-winning run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score Gabe Snyder and Gilberto Celestino made the difference in this game as both players added solo home runs. Andrew Cabezas had a quality start on the mound with Erik Cha earning the save in his Midwest League debut. Beloit struck first by plating two runs against Cebezas in the second inning. Luckily, those were the only runs he allowed in six innings of work. He limited Beloit to three hits, and he struck out four without allowing a walk. Cha pitched three scoreless frames with one strikeout and two hits allowed. The Kernels started their comeback in the third inning. Daniel Ozoria reached base on a fielding error before Celestino added in his 23rd double to drive in a run. With two outs in the inning, Wander Javier drew a walk before Yunior Severion was able to drive in Celestino for the second run of the frame. Snyder’s home run came in the fifth and Celesino’s home run came in the sixth. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Pulaski 7 Box Score Elizabethton was in an early hole and it became tough to find their way out. Pulaski scored four first-inning runs against Ben Gross and that wouldn’t be the end of the damage he allowed. Gross made it through four innings and allowed five earned runs on six hits. He struck out five, but he surrendered four walks. Steven Cruz didn’t fare much better as he walked three batters and was charged with two earned runs even though he could only record one out. Elizabethton tried to answer back in the bottom of the first. With two outs, Matt Wallner walked before Parker Phillips collected his fourth home run of the season. This cut the lead to 4-2. Charles Mack drove in a pair of runs in the fifth inning on his fifth double. Osiris German and Benjamin Dum combined for 4 2/3 shutout innings to end the game. German was asked to get eight outs and he recorded five strikeouts. Dum was equally strong as he struck out three. The two pitchers limited Pulaski to three hits. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Lachlan Wells, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, K, 2 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Gilberto Celestino, Cedar Rapids (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-2, 2 BB, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) – No scheduled game #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – Did not play #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) – 2-3, 2 RBI, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-3, 2 BB, R. K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Game cancelled #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Game cancelled MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – Scheduled Off-Day Pensacola – Scheduled Off-Day Fort Myers @ St. Lucie – TBD Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (6:35 CST) – RHP Josh Winder (6-2, 2.86 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Pulaski (5:30 CST) – RHP Andrui Marin (1-2, 6.27 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 am CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Brusdar Graterol has been regarded as one of Minnesota’s top prospects over the last two seasons and now the time might be right for him to debut. With a triple-digit fastball, it’s hard not to get excited about what he could provide to the Twins pitching staff. It’s not out of the question to see Graterol in Minnesota by the end of the month.Assistant General Manager Rob Antony was interviewed by Darren Wolfson earlier this week. When Wolfson asked about Graterol joining the Twins, Anthony made the team’s position clear. “I would say absolutely,” Antony said. “That came into play when we talked about some of these guys some relievers that we talked about. We looked at each other and basically said, ‘Why not bring up Graterol?’” Graterol, the 20-year old righty, is working his way back from a shoulder issue- impingement- that had him on the injured list. In two appearances with the GCL Twins, he has thrown three scoreless innings by allowing one hit and striking out four. His fastball has been in the high-90s with good movement and some radar guns had him top out at 101 mph. He was added back to Pensacola's roster on Wednesday. “His arm feels great.” Antony went on to say. “So, we need to build him up and give him a few more outings and hopefully that continues, and I don’t think we’d be afraid to run him up here and see if he can’t be part of the equation in the bullpen.” In nine starts for Pensacola, Graterol has posted a 1.89 ERA with a 1.05 WHIP to go along with 46 strikeouts in 47 2/3 innings. Also, he has a 3.26 FIP, 8.69 K/9, 3.59 BB/9 and a 52.1% groundball rate. So far this season in the Southern League, the average age for pitchers is 24.3 years old. This means Graterol is almost a full month younger than the second youngest pitcher in the league. Even with the time missed because of injury, Graterol is still a consensus top-60 prospect in all of baseball. In their mid-season updates, Baseball America put him as their number 34 prospect, the highest of any major ranking. FanGraphs (52) and MLB.com (58) both had him in their top-60. Here at Twins Daily, he was our number three ranked prospect. Antony also hinted at the possibility of Graterol filling a multi-inning role that could be a big boost to a bullpen that has seemed to have a direct line to Rochester in recent weeks. Minnesota’s bullpen has completely transformed after parting ways with Matt Magill, Adalberto Mejia, Mike Morin and Blake Parker. Sergio Romo and Sam Dyson were added at the deadline, but Dyson is already on the injured list. Entering play on Wednesday, Minnesota’s bullpen had a 4.45 ERA, which ranked 17th in MLB. The Twins also don’t rank favorably when it comes to relievers FIP (23rd), BB/9 (25th), LOB% (23rd) and HR/FB (27th). Graterol’s talent could certainly help these numbers if he is healthy and the Twins feel he is ready to be added to the team’s 40-man roster. Antony didn’t beat around the bush. “I would not be surprised to see him up in Minnesota at some point. Maybe this month…” Do you think Graterol could help the Twins this season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Luis Arraez has been a revelation for the Twins offense and at the same time, Ehire Adrianza has been a very strong utility player. Jonathan Schoop was brought in to take over second base from fan favorite Brian Dozier. He’s had some great hot streaks, but it might make more sense to play Arraez and Adrianza at this point. Could Schoop become the odd-man out?The Twins had a lot of questions when it came to replacing Brian Dozier this off-season. Jonathan Schoop seemed to be a nice, short-term solution at second base. Ehire Adrianza has always seemed to fit the role of utility infielder and few could have predicted the impact Luis Arraez would have at the big-league level. Over the last two seasons, Adrianza has hit .254/.319/.384 with 40 extra-base hits in 176 games. He has also shown defensive flexibility by playing all over the infield including over 660 innings at shortstop during that stretch. Schoop is limited to playing second base as he has logged less than 230 innings at other positions throughout his seven years at the MLB level. The rise of Arraez has also cut into Schoop's time on the field. As a 22-year old, Arraez has put together some unbelievably professional at-bats in his 182 plate appearances. Entering play on Tuesday, he is hitting .356/.429/.444 and he might have a strong argument to be named the AL Rookie of the Year. First year manager Rocco Baldelli certainly has faith in Arraez and if the playoffs started today Arraez would be penciled in at second base. Schoop has compiled some strong numbers in a Twins uniform and Baseball Reference has he accounting for 1.2 WAR. May was a good month for him as he posted an .835 OPS with six home runs and five doubles. He hasn’t had more than four home runs in any other month and his OPS dipped to .622 in June and .787 in July. Since the calendar turned to August, he’s gone 1-for-5 with no extra-base hits. He’s also only started one game in that stretch, Saturday’s contest with the Royals. Currently, the Twins have gotten by with having him relegated to a bench role. What happens if the club needs another relief pitcher? This could force the front office to make a choice between Schoop and one of the other infielders. At this point, Schoop might be the odd man out. While Schoop has been worth more than replacement level when it comes to WAR, his win probability added total is one of the worst totals of his career. He entered play on Tuesday with a -1.28 WPA. His only year with a lower total was 2014 with the Orioles when he accounted for a -3.00 WPA. Schoop has the lowest WPA among qualified batters on the Twins roster and he’s over a full win lower than the next closest qualified batter. Schoop could have some big hits for the Twins in the weeks ahead but he shouldn’t be taking at-bats away from Arraez. At season’s end, Schoop will be a free agent and Arraez will enter the year as the team’s starting second baseman. It helps to have Schoop to add depth to the roster, but it’s getting closer to the point where he might be holding the team back from adding other players (especially pitchers). Do you think it’s time to cut Schoop loose? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Welcome to August! Many prospects throughout baseball can breathe a sigh of relief because they weren’t traded away by Wednesday’s trade deadline. Now it is time to buckle down and make a run for the postseason. Pensacola’s line-up includes Minnesota’s first-round picks from 2016-2018. This is the first time a trio of first rounders have been playing for Pensacola at the same time. Would any of these players impact Thursday’s games? Let’s find out.TRANSACTIONS OF Ramon Flores signed by Minnesota and assigned to Rochester. 3B Jake Hirabayashi assigned to Rochester from GCL Twins. RHP Anthony Vizcaya placed on the 7-day IL with Pensacola. RHP Marcos Diplan acquired in trade with/ MIL and assigned to Pensacola. RHP Kai-Wei Ten to SF as part of the Sam Dyson deal. RHP Carlos Suniaga on 7-day IL with Pensacola. RHP Josh Winder on 7-day IL with Pensacola. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Scranton/WB 3 Box Score Kohl Stewart got the nod for the Red Wings on Thursday afternoon. He pitched into the sixth inning (5 2/3 innings) and held the RailRiders to one run on six hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Jake Reed struggled in taking over for Stewart. He allowed two earned runs without allowing a hit. He struck out three and walked one in 1 1/3 innings. In the second inning, Alejandro De Aza got the scoring started with a solo-home run, his fourth long-ball of the year. Rochester added another in the fourth. De Aza and Zander Wiel both singled before Ramon Flores doubled in a run. De Aza was in the middle of the action in the fifth inning as well. Tomas Telis singled with two outs and De Aza cracked his second home run of the day. Jake Cave added his seventh home run in the seventh. Fernando Romero and Sam Clay finished off the game with two scoreless innings. Romero pitched 1 2/3 innings and limited Scranton/WB to one hit while striking out two and walking one. Clay was asked to get only one out and he recorded his first save. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 11, Birmingham 8 Box Score Pensacola needed every one of Alex Kirilloff’s five RBIs in this one as they battled through a slugfest. Kirilloff finished 2-for-5 with his 14th double and his fifth home run, a three-run shot. Ivan De Jesus Jr also had a big night at the plate by going 3-for-4 with four RBIs including a three-run home run. Ben Rortvedt drove in a pair of runs with two outs in the inning. Overall, the club went 7-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Griffin Jax started and got roughed up. He allowed five runs on 11 hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Jorge Alcala pitched out the of the bullpen and surrendered one run on two hits with a strikeout in 1 2/3 innings. Andrew Vasquez blew the save but was credited with the win. He allowed two runs in two innings and struck out three. Jonathan Cheshire earned his first save since joining the Twins organization with a perfect ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Dunedin 0 (Game 1- 7 Innings) Box Score Cole Sands was outstanding even with a weather delay that impacted the start time of Game 1. He pitched six shutout innings and limited Dunedin to two hits. He struck out seven and walked one. Joe Record earned his third save with a perfect seventh inning. CJ Cron, on rehab assignment, got things started in the third inning with a solo home run. Jose Miranda also scored in that inning on a wild pitch. Miranda was also involved in the final run of the game. Jacob Pearson drove him in for an important insurance run in the bottom of the fifth. Andrew Bechtold reached base three times and was the lone Fort Myers batter with multiple hits. Ft. Myers 2, Dunedin 6 (Game 2- 7 Innings) Box Score Fort Myers got smoked for six runs in the third inning and it was tough to mount a comeback. Chris Vallimont was charged with all six earned runs as he couldn’t make it out of the third inning. Melvi Acosta pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings by striking out two. Gabriel Maciel got the Miracle on the scoreboard with a run-scoring triple in the fourth inning. Ernie De La Trinidad and Yelstin Encarnacion both doubled in the fifth to score another run but that was it for the Miracle. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids and Luis Rijo allowed two runs in the first inning but that’s where the scoring stopped for the Snappers. Rijo settled in after the first and threw five straight scoreless frames. He compiled three strikeouts and one walk. He has pitched six innings or more in every start since July 4. Alex Schick and Rickey Ramirez combined for three shutout innings to end the game. Schick picked up his fourth win as he recorded four strikeouts out of the six outs he was asked to collect. Ramirez pitched a perfect ninth inning and added a strikeout. Tyler Webb led off the third inning with a single before Daniel Ozoria knocked his first home run of the season. The game remained tied until the ninth inning. Webb struck out to start the inning but reached first on a wild pitch. Ricky De La Torre walked to move a runner into scoring position. Ozoria bunted both runners over and then two batters later Gabe Snyder doubled, his 20th, to plate two runs. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Braves 2 Box Score Brusdar Graterol continued his comeback by making his second appearance in the GCL. He faced the minimum in the first inning as he allowed a single and then erased that runner on a double play. He was able to hit over 100 mph again. In his second inning, the first batter flew out to center. Then he struck out each of the next two batters on three pitches and they were all swinging strikes. Would the Twins consider adding him to the bullpen for the stretch run? With two outs in the third inning, Taylor Grzelakowski walked before moving to second on a Jesus Feliz single. Victor Heredia doubled, his third of the year, to drive in both runners. The GCL Twins added to their lead in the fourth when Sergio Toribio singled and moved to second on a wild pitch. After a ground out moved him to third, Yunior Severino drove in what turned out to be the game winning run. Regi Grace took over from Graterol and was credited with his first win. He pitched four innings and allowed one run, a solo home run, with four strikeouts and three walks. Petru Balan came in for the top of the seventh, but he walked the first two batters and was removed. Bradley Hanner stepped in to finish the game with three shutout innings. He struck out two and walked one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Cole Sands, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 7 K, BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Alejandro De Aza, Rochester (3-for-4, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – 1-4, R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 2-4, 5 RBI, HR, 2B, 2 R, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (GCL Twins- Rehab) – 2.0 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 K #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 0-4, 3 K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Fort Myers) – Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL) – 1-4, 3 K #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Fort Myers) – Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Fort Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Minnesota) – Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 0-5 #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) – Did not play #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) – 1-6, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-4, R, RBI, BB, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-3, 2 RBI, R #17 - Akil Baddoo (Fort Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – 1.2 IP, ER, 2 H, K #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL) – Did not play #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Injured list FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (6:05 CST) – TBD Pensacola vs. Birmingham (6:35 CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (3-9, 3.04 ERA) Fort Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (1-4, 3.88 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:30 CST) – TBD Elizabethton vs. Bristol (5:30 CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

Every year MLB Trade Rumors makes a list of the top 75 trade candidates in the days and weeks leading up to the July 31st trade deadline. They update the list multiple times as the deadline approaches and their final list was posted earlier today. As they alluded to in the post, “Essentially, we’re ordering players based upon our assessment of both their trade value and likelihood of being dealt.” How many of the top 75 trade candidates will be dealt before Wednesday? Could any of them end up in MinnesotaMinnesota’s needs are almost exclusively related to adding pitching and that means a good portion of the top-75 are position players and not viable trade options. According to MLBTR, Zack Wheeler (Mets) is ranked as the number one trade candidate. He’s a free agent at season’s end and the Mets aren’t going anywhere this season. Rumors swirling on Tuesday have the Astros as the favorite to land Wheeler. The Twins might be more interested in adding a non-rental pitcher to their starting rotation. Out of Minnesota’s current rotation, Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi and Michael Pineda can all be free agents this off-season. This leaves players in MLBTR’s 5-7 range like Noah Syndergaard (Mets), Mike Minor (Rangers) and Robbie Ray (Diamondbacks). Would you trade Byron Buxton to get Syndergaard? All these teams have a chance to be in contention next year so it will likely take a high offer to pry these starters away from their current organizations. MLBTR’s finishes out their top-10 with controllable relievers like Shane Greene (Tigers), Edwin Diaz (Mets) and Felipe Vazquez (Pirates). It doesn’t seem likely for the Twins to be interested in these types of relievers because they will come with a hefty price tag. Relief pitching can be fickle so it doesn’t make sense to spend a lot of prospect capital on players that might not produce in the coming years. Two intriguing relief options fall into the 14-15 range. Mychal Givens (Orioles) and Raisel Iglesias (Reds) have seen some struggles this year but the have shown some success in the past. Could Wes Johnson waive his magic wand and fix either of these two? Other rental relief arms come in at 19-25 in the rankings. Craig Stammen (Padres), Daniel Hudson (Blue Jays), Greg Holland (Diamondbacks), Francisco Liriano (Pirates), Chris Martin (Rangers), David Hernandez (Reds) and Jared Hughes (Reds) could all add something to Minnesota’s bullpen. Adding Liriano back to the Twins could be a fun reunion, especially if he can help the team win in October. His arm injury back in 2006 might have cost the Twins a long playoff run. Here are some of the other possible Twins targets: 30. Roenis Elias (Mariners): Has some closing experience in Seattle and could serve as another late inning relief option. 32. Zack Greinke (Diamondbacks): Twins are on his no trade list and he is owed a lot of money in the years ahead. If he waived his no-trade clause, he could cost fewer prospects because of the money left on his deal. 43. Kirby Yates (Padres): San Diego hasn’t had his name out in the rumor mill and there has even been talk of the Padres adding players at the deadline. Yates is one of the best relievers that could be available. 44. Andrew Chafin (Diamondbacks): His 11.1 SO/9 is his highest total since 2016 and his 3.2 BB/9 is a career best. Minnesota needs another lefty in the ‘pen and Chafin might make sense. There are plenty of other possible Twins additions on the top 75 list. What name(s) stand out to you? Could the Twins end up with multiple players on this list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Other Stories of Interest Is Alex Kirilloff Expendable? What Sergio Romo Brings to the Twins Bullpen The Making of Max Power Click here to view the article