Cody Christie

So far this season, Minnesota has been clubbing the ball out of the ballpark at quite the rate. The team has been able to do this with one of their best sluggers, Miguel Sano, recovering from an injury. Sano is in the midst of a rehab stint and he is getting close to rejoining the big-league club. How will Sano’s return impact the club’s roster?Marwin’s Struggles Marwin Gonzalez has been getting most of the playing time at third base with Sano out of the line-up. Entering play on Monday, he is hitting .204/.271/.286 with four extra-base hits in 98 at-bats. These are far below his career totals (.261/.316/.414). One has to wonder if his late signing this spring has impacted his ability to get prepared for the season’s start. Even with his struggles, Gonzalez has shown some positive signs this season. His 91.1 exit velocity is higher than his career average. It is also higher than the MLB average this season (87.4 mph). His launch angle is around the league average at 9.0 but it's below the totals he’s put together the last two years. Defensively, Gonzalez ranks in the middle of the pack among American League third basemen. FanGraphs credits him with one defensive run saved so far this year. His 1.4 defensive WAR ranks him sixth among the 11 qualified AL third basemen. Roster Space Finding roster space for Sano could come from the back-end of the bench or from a 13-man pitching staff. From the bench, Ehire Adrianza seems like a likely candidate to make way for Sano. He’s hit .146/.250/.220 in 16 games this season. If Adrianza is the odd-man out, Gonzalez could shift to a fill-in role at multiple positions. Jake Cave could also be sent back to Rochester if the Twins are comfortable with Gonzalez serving as the fourth outfielder. Cave has hit .206/.289/.235 this season with one extra-base hit in 14 games. He has more strikeouts (9) than hits (7). Cave might be more replaceable since Adrianza is currently listed as the back-up shortstop on the team’s depth chart. Minnesota is also carrying 13 pitchers so the team could trim the pitching staff to 12 pitchers. Mike Morin, Fernando Romero or Matt Magill could all be candidates to taken off the 25-man roster. The Twins are in the midst of quite a stretch of games so the extra man in the bullpen might be a necessity. Playing Time If Sano is going to take back the reins at third, Gonzalez will need to slide into a secondary role. It still seems likely for Gonzalez to get playing time at other positions in the line-up, especially if Cave is the one sent down. Gonzalez’s ability to play multiple positions could shift him to a super-utility role in the weeks ahead. Sano could also spend some time at designated hitter, but it seems likely for Nelson Cruz to continue to get the majority of those at-bats. Among regular non-catching starters, Cruz is tied with Max Kepler and Marwin Gonzalez for sixth most games played. His 38-year old body might need some rest in the months ahead. How do you think Sano will impact the line-up? Who gets sent down? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Entering the year, many fans knew what to expect out of Jose Berrios. Beyond that, the rotation was kind of murky. Minnesota has certainly taken advantage of playing some sub-par opponents to start the year. That said, good teams need to beat-up on lesser opponents and survive against strong teams to make the playoffs. The Twins have followed that equation so far this season. Some of their success can be attributed to a rotation that has been better than advertised. Can this trend continue? Or are there some signs of regression?Gibson’s Pending Free Agency Kyle Gibson is a free agent at season’s end. Don’t shout that too loud in Twins circles. The man Minnesota took ahead of Mike Trout is headed for free agency and he might just be coming into his own. Among qualifying pitchers, only Jose Berrios ranked higher on the team in WAR for last season. His xFIP was just 0.02 points away from the team’s top pitcher. So far this season, there were some rough starts to begin the year. He didn’t pitch more than 5.1 innings in his first three appearances. He also allowed three runs or more during that stretch. In his two start since then, he has averaged 6.5 innings pitched while limiting opponents to three earned runs. He’s struck out twelve during that span and largely kept the ball in the park with one home run Odorizzi’s Mirage Jake Odorizzi was unbelievable against the Astros on Monday. He was certainly lucky the Twins picked him up in a close game. That’s far from the norm for the team’s middle of the rotation starter. In his first season with Minnesota, he posted a 4.49 ERA with more walks and runs allowed than the majority of the league. The Twins continued to start him, but he soaked up losses while the Twins struggled in the middle of the season. As this season has progressed, he dominated Cleveland with 11 strikeouts in six innings. His start against Toronto was also strong as he pitched into the sixth and allowed one run on six hits. He’s faced Houston in his last two appearances. During that time, he’s limited one of the AL’s best offenses to two runs on 12 hits over 12 2/3 innings. Perez’s Wild Card Martin Perez was certainly a wild card when the Twins signed him. He hadn’t had much success in Texas, but the front office saw something in him. To start the year, Perez was used in a piggy-backing role, so he was used for less than four innings in his first three appearances. Since joining the rotation, Perez has certainly looked like more than a wild card. In his first four starts, he has pitched 26 innings while limiting opponents to six earned runs on 23 hits. He has posted an 18 to 5 strikeout to walk ratio over this stretch. Batters are hitting .242 against him with a .632 OPS. Granted two of his four starts have been against Baltimore, but he certainly held his own against Houston on Wednesday night. What are your thoughts on the rotation so far? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. made his much anticipated debut over the weekend. Many believe he could have been called up at the end of the 2018 campaign. Toronto took advantage of baseball’s rules and left him in minor league purgatory so the club could pick up an extra year of service time. Vlad Jr. has been considered baseball’s top prospect, but now there is little reason to send him back to the minors. Some of baseball’s other top prospects have also been playing regularly at to start the season. Does this make Royce Lewis baseball’s best prospect?Graduating Prospects Besides Guerrero Jr., other top ranked prospects like Fernando Tatis Jr. and Eloy Jimenez have been on their big league squads since the season started. Both of these top prospects have taken different routes to baseball’s highest level. That being said, both will be graduating from prospect lists early this season. Jimenez signed a unique contact with the division rival White Sox this off-season. A couple weeks ago, I wrote about the possibility of the Twins approaching Royce Lewis and/or Alex Kirilloff with a similar deal. With a deal like this, there was no reason to keep Jimenez in the minors. He was under contract and the team could let him play at the big league level. Tatis Jr. was a surprise to make the Padres roster out of spring training. Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer took out Padres ownership to convince them to let the young prospect make the team. It was a smart move as the shortstop has been carrying their squad this season. Entering play on Monday, he’s batting .300 with a .910 OPS and 12 extra-base hits in 27 games. Lewis’s Competition Lewis is off to a slow start this season so there are plenty of other prospects challenging him for the top spot. Names like Alex Kirilloff, Wander Franco, and Nick Senzel have resumes that warrant consideration for baseball’s top prospect. Twins fans are very familiar with Kirilloff and what he was able to do last season. At Twins Daily, he was named the Minor League Hitter of the Year. MiLB.com also awarded Kirilloff with the Breakout Prospect of the Year. His 71 extra-base hits and 296 total bases ranked as best in the minors. Unfortunately, he has missed time at the beginning of this season with a wrist injury. Franco is 18-years old and he might be on pace to be a better prospect than Guerrero. He’s shown an advanced bat and he has all the makings of a five-tool superstar. Like Kirilloff, Senzel started the season battling an injury. He is starting the year at Triple-A, but he is close to big league ready. Senzel has been ranked as a top-10 prospect by multiple entities for the last three seasons. Slow Start Lewis hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire to start the season. Entering play on Monday, he has gone 17-for-87 (.195 BA) with three extra-base hits. His .538 OPS is 265 points lower than the OPS he compiled last season at Low- and High-A. He’s 20-years old which still makes his 2.4 years younger than the competition in the Florida State League. The slow start shouldn’t be anything to be concerned about. He still has elite speed to go along with strong hitting acumen. Also, his defense seems like it might be string enough to stick at shortstop which would be a very positive thing. Do you think Lewis is baseball’s best prospect? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Minnesota had an off-night on Thursday but there was plenty of action in the minor leagues. All four affiliates played. This meant 10 of the Twins Daily Top-20 Twins Prospects were in action. Who played well? Who struggled? Who helped their team to a pair of extra-inning victories?TRANSACTIONS IF Travis Blankenhorn promoted from Fort Myers to Pensacola. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Scranton/WB 3 (10 Innings) Box Score Rochester used some strong pitching and four runs over the final five innings to come out victorious. Zack Littell started and pitched five strong innings. He limited the RailRiders to one run on five hits. It was the second straight start where he pitched at least five innings and allowed one run or less. LaMonte Wade made a run- saving catch in the first inning to save at least one run. Littell struck out four and walked three, but he would be long gone before this one would be decided. Taking over for Littell, Jake Reed and Preston Guilmet combined for three shutout innings. Reed lasted two innings by walking one and allowing one hit. Guilmett struck out the side in the eighth. Gabriel Moya allowed Scranton/WB to tie it up in the ninth. He gave up two runs on three hits. It was his first blown save. DJ Baxendale pitched a perfect tenth inning for his first win. In the sixth inning, John Andreoli doubled with one out. Following a Brent Rooker strikeout, Randy Cesar homered to put Rochester up 2-1. Luke Raley led off the bottom of the seventh and he was able to reach on a fielding error. Two batters later, Jordany Valdespin drove him in with his third double of the season. The Red Wings had a 3-1 lead. After Moya allowed the tying run to score in the ninth, Rochester needed to find a way to score a run. Zander Wiel got to start the bottom of the tenth on second base. With one out, Adam Rosales singled to put runners on the corners. Ronald Torreyes hit a chopper to first and the ball had to be thrown home. Wiel slid in safe and the Red Wings went home happy. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 5, Jackson 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Sean Poppen compiled five strong innings to put the Blue Wahoos in position to win. He struck out seven over five innings. He limited Jackson to one run on five hits. His season ERA dropped to 0.75. Andro Cutura blew his first save of the season. He allowed one run on two hits in two innings. Pensacola scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth inning. Tanner English and Mitchell Kranson singled before Jaylin Davis reached on a throwing error. Taylor Grzelakowski came up with the big hit as he doubled to plate both runs. Cody Stashak picked up his second win in relief. He pitched two scoreless innings, while striking out three and walking one. Ryan Mason earned his fourth save of the year. He has yet to allow an earned run. In the tenth inning, Luis Arraez started on second and English walked to put to men on. Kranson used a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. A passed ball allowed Arraez to score but it wouldn’t have mattered. Jaylin Davis blasted a two-run bomb. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Palm Beach 7 Box Score Fort Myers got off to an early lead. Akil Baddoo led off the game with his second double of the season. Royce Lewis moved him to third with a fly out and then Trevor Larnach drove him in with a sacrifice fly. From there, the Miracle offense went cold. Tyler Watson ran into some trouble in the third inning as the Cardinals plated three runs. The first four batters reached base against him that frame. With the bases full, he allowed a single then a walk and finally a sacrifice fly. In the top of the sixth, Watson ran into some more trouble. A leadoff single was followed by a wild pitch. Another single saw a run score and Watson’s night was done. It was his third straight loss. Anthony Vizcaya and Alex Phillips both pitched two innings without allowing any earned runs. Vizcaya saw two runs scored but they were both unearned. Phillips allowed two hits and struck out two. He’s appeared in eight games so far this season and he has yet to allow an earned run. He has pitched more than one inning in five of his appearances and he has 18 strikeouts on the year. Fort Myers had three total hits. Larnach went 2-for-3 with and RBI to raise his average to .270. Baddoo had the lone extra-base hit. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Kane County 7 Box Score Cedar Rapids offense was almost non-existent and Blayne Enlow struggled for the first time since his first start this season. Enlow had pitched five innings or more in two consecutive starts and limited the opposition to one run in both appearances. In 4 2/3 innings, he allowed seven runs, a career high, on 10 hits. He was still able to strike out seven and walked one. While Enlow struggled, Zach Neff was outstanding in relief. He was asked to pitch 3 1/3 innings. He didn’t allow any runs and he limited Kane County to two hits. Neff had allowed multiple runs in three of his six appearances entering the night. Kernels 1-4 hitters combined to go 0-for-16 with six strikeouts. Gilberto Celestino was the only batter with multiple hits. He finished 2-for-3 with his second double of the year. Joe Cronin and Yeltsin Encarnacion both went 1-for-3. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Zach Neff, Cedar Rapids (3.1 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K) TD Hitter of the Day- Jaylin Davis, Pensacola (2-for-5, HR, 2 RBI, R) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 0-4, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 2-3, RBI #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 0-2, 2 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 7 K, BB #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, R #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-3 #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 2-3 #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 5 IP, ER, 5 H, 4 K, 3 BB #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-2, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 0-3 FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Pawtucket (5:35 CST) – RHP Chase De Jong (0-1, 11.12 ERA) Pensacola @ Jackson (6:05 CST) – RHP Jorge Alcala (4-0, 3.92 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Palm Beach (5:30 CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Jordan Balazovic (2-1, 2.45 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

Minnesota’s bullpen has been one point of contention this season. There are a lot of unknowns and fans have been clamoring to add the best free agent relief pitcher, Craig Kimbrel. The Twins seem to be in a decent position without adding Kimbrel on a multi-year contract for over $40 million. That still doesn’t mean he couldn’t help the current squad. How would a Kimbrel signing impact the rest of the bullpen?Early Season Results Minnesota’s limited amount of games to start the season has certainly altered the bullpen’s results. Only three pitchers have appeared in double-digits games (Trevor May, Trevor Hildenberger, and Taylor Rogers). Blake Parker and Taylor Rogers have split save situations with both players earning three saves or more. There have been some surprises so far this season. Minus one appearance in Houston, Ryne Harper has been outstanding. There’s reason to believe he could continue this in the weeks ahead. Hildenberger, Rogers, and Parker have also been outstanding. Does that mean the Twins aren’t that desperate to add depth to the bullpen? The Ninth Inning Question Craig Kimbrel might not want to pitch outside of the ninth inning. With 333 saves, he currently ranks in the top 14 on the all-time list. He’s a long way away from catching Mariano Rivera’s 652 saves, but there is room for him to move up the list. Even if he signs after the draft this season, he could still pass Rollie Fingers (341 saves) and Randy Myers (347 saves). Also, Kimbrel might not be willing to pitch outside of the ninth inning. Rocco Baldelli has been open to using relief pitchers in the best situation. Would Kimbrel be willing to enter the game in the seventh inning if the opposing team’s best hitters were scheduled to appear. Relief pitching has drastically changed during the last handful of seasons. Kimbrel might be more worried about his long-term legacy than the results of team he has little connection tio. Trickle Down Effect If Kimbrel came in to be the team’s closer, other strong relief pitchers would be able to be utilized in earlier innings. May, Hildenberger, Rogers, and Parker could be utilized in earlier innings. Pushing all of the relief pitchers back an inning would mean the starters don’t need to go as long. This could make the bullpen even stronger and it could allow the Twins even more separation in the American League Central Division. Will Kimbrel solve everything that is wrong with this team? No… But he could add depth to a strong core. This could be the difference in a first-round exit and a competitive team in the AL Championship Series. Could Kimbrel make that much of a difference? I believe he can… Click here to view the article

Ryne Harper is not a traditional rookie. As a 30-year old, he took the long-road to the big leagues and he has made his presence felt so far in the Twins bullpen. He worked his way through the Braves and Mariners farm systems before landing with the Twins. How has it taken this long for Mr. Harper to stick at the big-league level?One of Harper’s first pieces of success has been his ability to limit hard contact. Out of the 22 batted balls against him this season, none have been barreled up. This has helped his 89.8 exit velocity to be right around the league average. By not giving up hard contact, there have been few hits recorded against him. Harper has been successful by relying on two pitches. His curveball has averaged 72.5 mph, but batters still can’t seem to figure it out. So far this season, men stepping in the box have only been able to muster up a .286 slugging percentage when seeing his curveball. However, his curveball hasn’t been his only weapon. Because of the threat of his curveball, his fastball has been even better. He’s thrown almost the same number of both pitches, but he has yet to allow an extra-base hit off of his fastball. Opponents have only two hits off his heater and heater is a loose term for an 87.8 mph pitch. Batters are averaging a 19.6 degree launch angle against Harper, which is higher than the league average of 11.0. That being said, players still aren’t able to make solid contact against his two-pitch delivery. His weighted OBP ranks in the top 5% in the entire league. He’s also been avoiding walks, but this trend follows from his minor league career. As a professional, he has averaged 2.7 BB/9 and he has two walks in 8 1/3 innings so far this season. Harper hasn’t shown a high strikeout rate at the big-league level, but he averaged over 11 SO/9 in the minors. He needs to limit base runners and he has been able to do that throughout his career. If you want to have some fun, go and check out Harper’s Baseball Savant page from MLB.com. You can see video of every one of his pitches from this season. He’s thrown one cutter this season and it came against another Haper from Philadelphia. Yes, the man that signed for more than $300 million this off-season. Spoiler alert… Minnesota’s Harper is able to retire Philadelphia’s Harper. There are some signs of trouble in Harper’s numbers. Players might not be barreling up the ball, but he is giving up hard hit balls over 40% of the time. That’s almost 7% higher than the league average. Some of these hard-hit balls are because of his low velocity. There’s still room for him to get closer to his minor league strikeout numbers. Minnesota’s bullpen still has flaws but Harper seems to have found his niche. The league might be able to make some adjustments but his change in speeds separates him from the pack at this point. Batters have to guess if the fastball or the curveball is coming. So far, they haven’t been very lucky. Do you think Harper will be able to continue his success? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Minnesota completed a sweep of the Orioles on Sunday afternoon. It was quite the series for the Twins as the club does their best to take care of some of the rebuilding clubs in the American League. Minnesota will get to see Baltimore again next weekend, but first they need to put on their big-boy pants and face the Astros. There was only one game in the Twins farm system on Sunday. Was Pensacola able to make a clean sweep for the organization?RED WINGS REPORT Rochester has had a slow start to the season with a 5-11 record. Currently the club is seven games back in the International League North. Rochester starts a four-game series with Scranton/WB on Monday. The RailRiders are 8-6 on the season and sit in third place in the division. If Rochester is going to make a move, this is as good of time as any to start moving up the standings. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 8, Mobile 5 Box Score Jordan Gore got things started with a lead-off double in the first frame. He moved to second on a wild-pitch. Even without an out at that point, it took a two-out single from Taylor Grzelakowski to bring in Gore for the first run of the game. That wouldn’t be the end of the scoring for the Blue Wahoos. Pensacola put up a five-spot in the third inning with help from the middle of the order. Ernie De La Trinidad singled before coming around to score on a Caleb Hamilton double. Jaylin Davis followed with his second home run of the season. Grzelakowski walked and then he moved to third on a Luis Arraez double. Jimmy Kerrigan singled to drive in a run and put runners on the corners. Joe Cronin drove in the final run of the innings with a sacrifice fly. Del La Trinidad got things started again in the fourth inning with his first homer of the year. Hamilton followed with a single and Davis added a double to put runners on the corners. Grzelakoski drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to put the score at 8-0. Jorge Alcala was cruising through four shutout innings before running into trouble in the fifth. He allowed five runs that inning, but he was able to finish the frame. He struck out eight and walked one. Tyler Jay took over and was fantastic through two shutout innings. He didn’t walk a batter and struck out four. Gabriel Moya made his second rehab appearance. He recorded two outs and both were strikeouts. However, he surrendered two walks and one hit to make things a little dicey. Dusten Knight finished off his fourth save by pitching 1 1/3 innings. He struck out two and went for the back flip. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers enters play on Monday with a 10-7 record. The Miracle are currently in third place in the Florida State League South and trail first place by two games. Fort Myers will start a three-game set against first-place Bradenton on Monday. If the club were to sweep, the Miracle could take over first place in the division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids has started the year 7-9 and they will start Monday 4.5 games out of first place in the Midwest League Western Division. The Kernels start a three-game set on Monday in Wisconsin, which is currently half a game back in the standings. Andrew Cabezas will be looking to pick up his first win of the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Tyler Jay, Pensacola (2.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 K, 3 H) TD Hitter of the Day- Caleb Hamilton, Pensacola (3-5, 2 2B, 3 R, RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not play MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Scranton/WB (5:05 CST) – TBD Pensacola vs. Mobile (6:35 CST) – RHP Brusdar Graterol (1-0, 0.52 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-0, 6.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Have you ever wanted your own airplane? Well, the Twins’ Double-A affiliate was sort of able to accomplish this on Thursday. There’s more to the story below. Also, there was plenty of action throughout the Twins’ system. Two teams tried to mount comebacks, while another took advantage of the opportunities provided by the other team.TRANSACTIONS ACTIVATED: C David Banuelos from the 7-day injured list for Cedar Rapids RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Lehigh Valley 6 Box Score Rochester outhit the IronPigs (10 to 7) and scored a late run to make things interesting, but it wasn’t enough. The club didn’t take advantage of some opportunities as they left eight runners on base and went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Kohl Stewart took his bumps and bruises in this one as he couldn’t make it out of the fifth inning. He allowed six runs on six hits including two home runs. He struggled to find the zone for most of the night as he threw 100 pitches and only 52 of them were for strikes. After a promising first start of the season, Stewart has thrown clunkers his last two times out. Rochester continued to rely on the long ball in this game. With three solo shots on Thursday, Rochester has hit 22 home runs to produce 33 of the 62 total runs scored this season. LaMonte Wade, Tomas Telis, and Jordany Valdespin joined the home run parade. Also, Telis and Valdespin each added a double. DJ Baxendale pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings by only allowing one hit. He struck out six and walked one. Matt Magill took the final frame and didn’t allow a runner. He had one strikeout and he has yet to allow a run this season. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola --, Biloxi – (Postponed-Rain) The Blue Wahoos and the Schuckers were postponed on Thursday due to rain. The game will be made up as part of a double-header on Friday, April 19 with first pitch scheduled for 5:35 CST. Pensacola currently has a 9-4 record and they are in first place by two games in the Southern League South. In other news, the Blue Wahoos have teamed up with Silver Airways for a Kazoo- themed airplane. Kazoo is the name of the Blue Wahoos mascot. Silver Airways has flights from Pensacola to Fort Lauderdale, Tampa, and Orlando. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Charlotte 6 Box Score Fort Myers rallied for three runs in the bottom of the ninth, but a six-run deficit was too much to overcome. Tyler Watson started and pitched into the sixth inning for the second consecutive game. He allowed two runs on three hits while striking out five and walking one. Anthony Vizcaya took over for Watson and struggled in parts of two innings. He allowed four runs on four hits as Charlotte pushed their lead to 6-0. Calvin Faucher had a very nice bounce back game. In his last appearance, he allowed three runs while only recording one out. Tonight, he pitched 2 2/3 shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts and two walks. In the bottom of the ninth, Akil Baddoo lead off with a triple and was driven home on a Lewin Diaz groundout. Jose Miranda followed with a double before Trevor Larnach singled to put runners on the corners. A double from Ryan Jeffers scored a run and there were still runners on the corners. Ben Rortvedt would ground out to score another run and Michael Helman recorded the game’s final out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Beloit 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to an early 4-0 thanks to some miscues by the Snappers. With one out, Gabe Snyder was hit by a pitch. Trey Cabbage followed and reached base on an error by the shortstop. Jacob Pearson struck out for the second out of the inning and it looked like Beloit might get out without allowing a run. However, Gilberto Celestino and Andrew Bechtold knocked back-to-back singles to push across a pair of runs. Celestino then stole third but it wouldn’t matter because David Banuelos tripled to score two more runs and put Cedar Rapids up 4-0. Cedar Rapids allowed a pair of runs in the top of the fifth inning, but the club got those runs back in the bottom of the frame. The Kernels were able to do this without recording a hit. Celestino and Bechtold walked to start the inning. With Banuelos batting, an error by the third baseman loaded up the bases. Michael Davis drew a walk to score one run and a wild pitch put the score at 6-2. Jordan Balazovic pitched five strong innings. He struck out eight, walked one, and limited the Snappers to two runs (one earned). He has allowed two runs or fewer in every start this season. His eight strikeouts tonight were the fewest he’s had all year (nine strikeouts in both previous starts). Jose Martinez pitched two shutout innings and struck out one. Joe Record collected the final six outs with four strikeouts. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Jordan Balazovic, Cedar Rapids (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 8 K, 1 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Tomas Telis, Rochester (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - No Game #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, R #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Did not play #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 1-3, 3B, R, K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, 2B, RBI, K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, RBI #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, RBI, 2 K #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – Did not pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-4, HR, R, RBI, BB #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – No Game #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, 2B, R, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – RHP Zack Littell (0-2, 7.71 ERA) Pensacola @ Biloxi (5:35 CST) – RHP Griffin Jax (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Pensacola @ Biloxi (Game 2) – TBD Fort Myers vs. Charlotte (5:30 CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (1-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (6:35 CST) – RHP Cole Sands (0-0, 3.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

Extending young players has become the new normal in baseball. Some young players are willing to give up free agent years for more financial stability. In some situations, teams have been able to work out those contracts with unestablished big-league players. Team friendly deals seem to be trending and that could benefit the Twins. Is it possible Minnesota may engage Alex Kirilloff or Royce Lewis in extension talks within the next 12 months?Atlanta Braves Deals Baseball was a little up in arms last week with the extension signed my Ozzie Albies. The All-Star second baseman signed a contract that will guarantee him $45 million over the next nine seasons. With multiple top tier players signing for $100 million or more this off-season, this deal was seen as a relative bargain. The Braves also locked up Ronald Acuna Jr. this off-season to a deal that was also considered a bargain. Coming off a Rookie of the Year campaign, he signed an eight-year deal for $100 million. Acuna is a five-tool player with the ability to impact multiple facets of the game. This puts him in a different category than Albies, but Atlanta was able to work out two very team friendly contracts. Eloy Jimenez Extension Another intriguing extension was the one handed out by a division rival. The Chicago White Sox were able to work out a unique deal with one of their top prospects. Eloy Jimenez had yet to appear in a big-league game and the club signed him to a six-year, $43 million contract. It includes a pair of club options and can max out around $77 million. One unique aspect of this deal was there was no need to manipulate service time. He was under contract and the White Sox aren’t going to be in contention this season. This allows him to take his licks at with the big-league club. Entering play on Tuesday, he was hitting .268/.328/.393 with three extra-base hits in 15 games. Possible Twins Extensions When looking at Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis, there are plenty of things to consider. Minnesota’s outfield seems like it is in good shape with the likes of Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler and Byron Buxton. Kirilloff’s bat might be MLB ready but the outfield seems a little jammed at this point. Kirilloff’s best option might be a move to first base. Minnesota has already stated that he will be getting plenty of time at first base this season. There is also an opening at first base for the 2020 season. Kirilloff has yet to play this season, so it will be intriguing to see how much time he gets at first. Lewis is certainly in a different situation. He might be able to come up and succeed at the big-league level, but what’s the rush? He’s starting this season at Fort Myers where he is almost 2.5 years younger than the competition. He had a great 2018 campaign, but he likely won’t have a shot at debuting until 2021. Jorge Polanco is doing more than holding down shortstop at this point. Lewis might be able to land a contract higher than Acuna, but there are plenty of hurdles facing him in the years ahead. If he follows in Acuna’s footsteps and wins the AL Rookie of the Year, then the Twins can start taking about a long-term extension. The Boras Question Scott Boras, the baseball super-agent, might be standing in the way of Minnesota getting any long-term deals in place. Forbes has named Boras as the most powerful sports agent in the world for six consecutive seasons. This off-season he negotiated Bryce Harper’s massive free agent deal. He has negotiated more than ten contracts worth over than $100 million including Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, and Chris Davis. Kirilloff and Lewis are both represented by Boras. Of the trio mentioned above (Acuna, Albies and Jimenez), none are represented by Boras. Boras likes his clients to test the open waters of free agency, but free agency hasn’t been as lucrative in recent years. Could Boras buck the trend and give up some free agent years for Kirilloff or Lewis? We will all have to wait and see… Do you think Kirilloff or Lewis will sign an extension in the next 12 months? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Eddie Rosario led Minnesota’s offense in almost every major category last season. He evolved into the clubhouse leader on a team that was missing key players like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano for large chunks of the season. He became the club’s most consistent offensive threat. The Puerto Rican outfielder got off to a slow start this season. However, things seem to be trending in the right direction. Can Rosario continue his recent surge and how important is he to the Twins offense?Slow Starter For his career, Rosario has been a traditionally slow starter. He has hit .241/.276/.398 in the months of April/March. His OPS of .647 in the season’s first month is 100 points lower than any other month. Maybe the cold impacts his bat, because September/October is his second lowest monthly batting average and OBP. This season, Rosario didn’t collect a hit until the team’s fourth game. This meant he started the year 0-for-14 with two walks and four strikeouts. In that fourth game against the Royals, his first hit came at one of the biggest spots so far for the club. Minnesota was down a run in the top of the ninth. Jorge Polanco had doubled to lead off the inning. Rosario was able to drive him in to tie the game and the club came back to win in extra-innings. Baseball is a game of streaks and that hit might have helped Rosario to turn an offensive corner. Going Streaking Since that game, Rosario has recorded a hit in seven out of eight games including three multi-hit efforts. Following Sunday afternoon’s three hit barrage, Rosario has his average up to .283 and his OPS is north of .880. But is there more to this recent streak? He’s been able to go on this stretch thanks to a few key changes. He is barreling up the ball more often. Last year, he set a career high with an 8.3 barrel percentage. This year he has nearly doubled that total with a 15.2 barrel percentage. Rosario’s exit velocity has also improved to 88.9 mph, which is up for a career high 87.3 mph last season. Rosario’s launch angle has also shifted over the last two seasons. During the 2015-17 seasons, his average launch angle sat in the 10.5 to 13.6 range. Last year, he upped his launch angle to 17.4 and this season he’s right near that mark with a 16.3 launch angle. Rosario is never going to lead the league in walks, especially with his free-swinging approach. During his first two big-league seasons, he was in the bottom 3% of the league in walk percentage. Over the last two seasons, he has seen minor improvements. Entering play on Monday, his walk percentage was better than league average (8.7 BB%). Fans can overreact to early season results. There will be ups and downs for players throughout the year. Rosario was relied on to power the offense through multiple parts of last season. He can’t be everything for this team again; but hopefully, he can be one piece of an even more powerful offense in 2019. How important is Rosario to the Twins offense? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Teams always need pitching, pitching, and more pitching. For the Twins fans, lack of pitching has been a complaint for many years. However, there may some hope on the horizon. Strong pitching performances have been a staple in the organization’s early minor league games. Let’s review the last week and see what minor league starters whose performances stood out.Kohl Stewart, Rochester Red Wings Stewart got the Opening Night start in Rochester. He actually struggled in the first inning as he allowed two runs (one unearned). He settled in from there and put up zeros for the next four frames. He finished the night with five innings by allowing one earned run on three hits and he struck out eight. Bryan Sammons, Fort Myers Miracle Sammons took the mound in the Miracle’s first game. He labored a little but was able to pitch into the fifth inning. He scattered seven hits and only saw one unearned run cross the plate. He struck out five and walked two. Sammons wasn’t able to pick up the win, but he kept the Miracle close before the team’s offense exploded later in the game. Jorge Alcala, Pensacola Blue Wahoos After being rained out on Opening Night, Alcala took the mound in the first game of a doubleheader. He tossed five shutout innings and struck out six. He limited Mobile to three hits and he threw over 65% of his pitches for strikes. Last season, he made three appearances where he didn’t allow a run, but only one of those appearances saw him pitch five innings. Brusdar Graterol, Pensacola Blue Wahoos Minnesota’s top ranked pitching prospect had a tough act to follow after Alcala’s strong start. He was still able to be very impressive including hitting triple digits on the radar gun. He allowed one run on three hits and pitched into the fifth inning (4 2/3 innings). He struck out six and walked a pair of batters. The 20-year old flamethrower made only 11 regular season appearances with the Miracle last season, so it might have been a little aggressive to push him to Double-A. It certainly seems like he can handle himself at that level. Jhoan Duran, Fort Myers Miracle While Graterol was throwing heat for Pensacola, Duran was doing the same for the Miracle. Like Graterol, he hit triple digits on the radar gun. In four innings, he didn’t allow a hit and the lone base runner came on a walk. He struck out four and tossed 35 of his 57 pitches for strikes. As Tom noted in the TD Minor League Report, Duran’s career high for innings pitched is just over 100, so the organization will likely watch his innings in the season’s early action. Jordan Balazovic, Cedar Rapids Kernels Balzovic threw over 70% of his pitches for strikes in a very dominant performance. He allowed one run on four hits over five innings. The only run scored against him came in the third. A one out single put a runner on base before a two-out triple allowed the runner to score. He was able to collect nine strikeouts and he didn’t walk a batter. At one point in the game, he struck out six straight batters. Devin Smeltzer, Pensacola Blue Wahoos Smeltzer was perfect through five innings of work. He wouldn’t make it out of the sixth frame, but he still put together quite the stat line. In 5 2/3 shutout innings, he allowed two hits and a walk. He struck out nine batters and threw strikes for almost 75% of his pitches (61 of 82 strikes). Last June, he had back-to-back starts where he pitched six innings or more and didn’t allow a run. This came before he was part of the Twins organization. Cole Sands, Cedar Rapids Kernels Sands was drafted by the Twins last year, but he had yet to make his professional debut. The organization felt he had had enough innings during his college season at Florida State. His debut couldn’t have been much more impressive. He pitched five shutout innings without allowing a hit. He struck out eight and walked one. He sent the first 13 batters of the game down in order and struck out the first five batters of the game. Griffin Jax, Pensacola Blue Wahoos Pensacola starting pitchers have been outstanding to start the season and that trend continued with Jax. He scattered four hits in 4 2/3 innings without surrendering a run. He struck out five and walked two batters. Runners reached base in every inning against Jax, but he was still able to keep Mobile off the scoreboard. Bailey Ober, Fort Myers Miracle Ober certainly made things look easy on Sunday. He pitched six innings, struck out 11, and walked only one. Charlotte could only muster four hits against him. The lone run scored with Ober on the mound was unearned. There were only three games last season where he reached double-digits in strikeouts. Now he’s already got one under his belt for 2019. Which pitching performance would you rank as the best? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Spoiler alert...Every team in the organization lost on Sunday. Now that that's out of the way, there were still some very strong performances. Three of the four minor league affiliates were within two runs or fewer. There were also some strong starting and relief appearances from minor league hurlers. Who shined on Sunday? I'm glad you asked...RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 0, Lehigh Valley 7 Box Score Rochester found themselves in an early hole. Zack Littell got knocked around for four first inning runs. He would settle in a little from there and pitch into the fifth inning. He ended up allowing five runs on seven hits while striking out two and walking two. The Red Wings were limited to six hits with only two of them being for extra bases. Jordany Valdespin went 2-for-3 out of the number nine spot in the order. He was the lone Red Wings hitter to collect multiple hits. John Andreoli reached base two times including his first double of the season. Randy Cesar collected his second double. Andrew Vasquez pitched 1 1/3 innings and struck out four. No… that’s not a typo. Ryan Eades ran into some trouble in the final frames. He gave up two runs on three hits in a little over two innings. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 1, Mobile 2 Box Score Griffin Jax was strong, but the Blue Wahoos lost for the first time on Sunday. Jax stranded base runners in all five innings he worked and left the game with a 1-0 lead. Blue Wahoos starters have allowed one run in 20.0 innings so far this season. Pensacola didn’t collect an extra-base hit for the first time this season and the club was limited to four hits in the entire game. Pensacola actually scored first in this one as Drew Maggi scored on a fielder’s choice by Brian Schales. That would be the lone run for the Blue Wahoos. It turned into a bullpen game for Pensacola. Jeff Ames took over for Jax. He allowed one run on three hits in just under two innings of work. Tyler Jay pitched 1 2/3 innings of scoreless ball. He was followed by Dusten Knight who tossed two scoreless frames with a pair of strikeouts. Sam Clay took the loss but it was more to do with the runner starting on second base in extra innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Charlotte 2 (10 Innings) Box Score Royce Lewis helped to get things going in the first inning. With one out, he walked and then stole second, which one was of two steals on the day. Trevor Larnach advanced Lewis to third before Jose Miranda drove him in with an RBI-single. Bailey Ober was the story of this game as he dominated on the mound. In six innings of work, he scattered four hits and allowed one unearned run. He struck out 11 and walked only one. Calvin Faucher took over for Ober and was just as good. He struck out four in two innings and limited the Stone Crabs to one hit. Calvin Faucher pitched two scoreless frames and limited Charlotte to one hit while striking out four. Alex Phillips took the loss. He allowed the runner to score from second base in extra innings. However, he struck out four in 1 2/3 innings of work. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 4 (6 Innings- Rain Shortened) Box Score After trailing 2-0, the Kernels scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth to tie the game. Joe Cronin walked before a Michael Davis singled moved him into scoring position. Gilberto Celestino plated a run with a line-drive single to cut the score to 2-1. DaShawn Keirsey singled to tie the game, but that’s when the scoring stopped for Cedar Rapids. Josh Winder started for the Kernels and pitched five innings. He allowed two runs on five hits while striking out five and walking three. Joe Record was saddled with the loss after he surrendered two unearned runs in less than an inning of work. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Bailey Ober, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 4 H, 11 K, 1 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Aaron Whitefield, Fort Myers (2-for-4, 2 2B) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, BB, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - No Game #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 0-4, BB, 3K #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 0-4, 2 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 0-for-4, BB, K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 0-4 #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, RBI, 2 K #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 4.1 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 2 K, 2 BB #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-3, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not play #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 2-5, RBI, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (5:35 CST) – LHP Justin Nicolino (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Pensacola @ Mobile (6:35 CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Dunedin (5:30 CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Kane County (6:35 CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Minnesota is off to a great start after winning their first two series. Lots of things seem to be working in the Twins favor, but there is a lot of season left to be played. One of the biggest concerns came in Tuesday night’s extra-inning win in Kansas City. Byron Buxton went hurdling into the wall trying to make a catch. He ended up in a pile on the ground and had to be removed from the game. This isn’t the first time Twins fans have seen their young star come up injured on an aggressive play. Is it getting to the point where Buxton is being reckless?Aggressive Being aggressive is one of the reasons Buxton was able to walk away with a Platinum Glove in 2017. His ability to get to almost any baseball is what makes him one of the game’s best defensive center fielders. He can make highlight reel catches look effortless and defensive metrics support his superior defensive ranking. He added over 20 pounds of muscle this off season and even joked about running into walls at TwinsFest. “If I want to play the way that I want to play and run into walls, I’ve got to have a little bit more cushion,” he said. This was his first off-season where he made adding weight a focus. Luckily for Buxton and the Twins, he was able to get into the game on Wednesday. He started the game on the bench, but he was used as a late inning pinch runner. Buxton showed little sign of the injury bothering him as he was able to steal second base. Then, he came around to score the game-winning run on Eddie Rosario’s single. Minnesota has an off-day on Thursday before playing Bryce Harper and the Phillies on Friday. Buxton’s aggressiveness might not have cost the team anything this time around. In case you missed the play on Tuesday, here is a look at how Buxton was injured. Reckless At this early juncture of the season, Buxton seems to have more confidence at the plate, and he’s had some key hits for the club. Minnesota has a better offensive and defensive line-up with him on the field. This is one of the reasons diving into walls is a reckless decision. The calendar has barely turned to April. In the course of a 162-game season, one play isn’t going to be the difference in the outcome of the team’s season. Buxton suffering a serious injury could have greater consequences for the club. There was little chance of Buxton catching the ball. He could have played the ball off the wall and held Adalberto Mondesi to an extra-base hit. Tuesday’s play was reminiscent Buxton jumping into the wall at Yankee Stadium during the 2017 Wild Card Game. That was a winner take all game in October. At that time of year, it makes sense to try for a diving catch to keep the game close. It doesn’t make sense to try a similar play against a rebuilding Kansas City club on April 2. Buxton’s professional career has seen multiple injuries, but he seems to have made some great changes leading in to this season. It might be in his best interest to make another change this season. Try to find a balance between aggressiveness and recklessness so he can stay on the field for the entire year. What do you think about Buxton’s outfield play? Is he aggressive? Reckless? Or maybe a little of both? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article