Cody Christie

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. 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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

Minnesota’s line-up full of Bomba Squad members is hitting home runs at a record pace. While some of the home run power has been home grown, other players like Nelson Cruz, CJ Cron, Marwin Gonzalez and Jonathan Schoop were added to supplement the power hitting barrage. The Twins were able to find these players on the open market to fill multiple spots on their roster. If players like this can be found on the open market, does that make a prospect like Alex Kirilloff expendable?Offensive Power Kirilloff is coming off one of Minnesota’s best seasons ever for a minor league player. Between Low- and High-A, he hit .348/.392/.578 with 71 extra-base hits in 130 games. He also showed a decent approach at the plate as he posted an 86 to 28 strikeout to walk ratio. By season’s end, Kirilloff would be named MiLB’s Breakout Prospect of the Year and the Twins awarded him the Sherry Robertson Award as the team’s Minor League Player of the Year. It was going to be hard for Kirilloff to repeat his 2018 campaign, especially since the Twins decided to be aggressive with him to start the year. He only played 65 games in the Florida State League to end 2018 and the organization still sent him to Pensacola to begin the year. In 65 games at that level, he has hit .271/.336/.384 with 19 extra-base hits and a 60 to 21 strikeout to walk ratio. Some of his offensive struggles this season have resulted from multiple trips to the injured list with a wrist injury. For batters, wrist injuries can be a nagging and follow a player through an entire season. Since returning from the IL on June 20, he has a .686 OPS with nine extra-base hits in 36 games. He has failed to draw a walk in each of his last 18 games. Defensive Questions Kirilloff’s bat tool has always been his key to making it to the big leagues. Throughout his professional career, he has spent the majority of his defensive innings in right field. There have been a few opportunities for him to play in both other outfield positions and he has played over 180 innings at first base this year. It still seems most likely for him to stick at a corner outfield spot in the years ahead. Minnesota is amid a tight race for the top of the AL Central and prospect like Kirilloff can hold a lot of value at this time of year. If the right deal comes along, Kirilloff should be a prospect the Twins consider selling. This doesn’t mean the front office should give him away for a mid-level relief prospect. However, the club needs another starter to go deep into October and Kirilloff could be a center piece to a big-time trade. He would currently be in line to play a corner outfield spot, but Minnesota has some other strong players already occupying those places in the line-up. Max Kepler, the team’s current right fielder, leads the team with 28 home runs and he has team’s second highest WAR total behind Jorge Polanco. Kepler also signed an extension this off-season that could keep him with the Twins through 2024. On the other side of the outfield, Eddie Rosario has certainly evolved into one of the team’s leaders. He has hit .280/.307/.514 with 38 extra-base hits including one of the most memorable home runs in recent Twins history. The 27-year old is still arbitration eligible and the earliest he can reach free agency is 2022. With both corner outfield spots occupied, the Twins might have to get creative to fit Kepler, Rosario, and Kirilloff into the same line-up. First base seems like a natural spot for Kepler or Kirilloff to end up, but the Twins might also need to play Miguel Sano at first in the years ahead. While using one of these players at first is an option, Minnesota showed this year that a team can find a first baseman like CJ Cron without giving anything up in return. Deadline Deal? It seems unlikely for the front office to move any of the team’s top prospects unless the club is acquiring a starting pitcher with multiple years of team control. Some players that fit this mold would be the Mets’ Noah Syndergaard (team control through 2021) and the Tigers’ Matthew Boyd (2022). According to the Star Tribune’s La Velle E. Neal, the Mets are asking for both Royce Lewis and Kirilloff in any potential trade for Syndergaard. This seems like a king’s ransom for the right-handed hurler, but it’s tough to know what the Mets are thinking at this point. Already this week, the club acquired one of the top available pitchers, Marcus Stroman from the Blue Jays. Could the Mets asking price decrease before Wednesday? Could they settle for Kirilloff along with other players not named Royce Lewis? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Royce Lewis, Minnesota’s top prospect, was on the move this weekend and he made his Double-A debut on Sunday. He hopped into the top of the line-up that already contains two of the organization’s other top position player prospects, Alex Kirilloff and Trevor Larnach. Lewis already had an impact on his first game in a Blue Wahoo’s uniform. How much would he help his new club?TRANSACTIONS SS Royce Lewis promoted to Pensacola from Fort Myers. RHP Chris Vallimont assigned to Fort Myers (acquired from MIA as part of the Sergio Romo trade). INF Lewin Diaz traded to MIA. AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week: Hitter of the Week: Gilberto Celestino, Cedar RapidsIn six games for the Kernels, Celestino hit .385 (10-for-26) with three doubles, one home run, four RBI, one walk with a 1.023 OPS. Celestino was acquired by the Twins along with right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala near the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for right-handed pitcher Ryan Pressly.Pitcher of the Week: Edwar Colina, PensacolaColina made the start on Thursday for the Blue Wahoos against the Mobile BayBears, pitching 7.0 innings, allowing one unearned run with three hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts. Colina was signed by the Twins as an undrafted free agent at the end of September in 2015. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Indianapolis 5 Box Score Rochester scored runs in each of the first two innings and had enough to hold on at the end. Randy Dobnak made his four straight start where he allowed two runs or less. He pitched 6 1/3 innings by scattering three hits, allowing two earned runs and striking out four. The bullpen made things a little close for comfort at the end. Jake Reed pitched 1 2/3 innings, but his biggest blunder was a two-run home run in the eighth. He still kept the Red Wings in the lead and earned his fourth hold. Preston Guilmet earned the save, his seventh, as he gave up one solo home run in the ninth. Ronald Torreyes got the scoring started in the first with his 10th home run. Wilin Rosario and Jake Cave also added in homers with Cave’s being a two-run shot in the sixth. He finished 2-for-4, the team’s only player with multiple hits. Drew Maggi scored a pair of runs out of the lead-off spot and had a triple. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 5, Jacksonville 0 Box Score Pensacola enjoyed having Royce Lewis in the line-up for his Double-A debut and he wasted little time picking up his first big hit. With one out in the second inning, Lewis came to the plate with the bases loaded. He would double to drive in a pair of runs. He added another hit later in the game to finish 2-for-5. Ben Rortvedt had the team’s only other extra-base hit, his seventh double. Jhoan Duran put the Blue Wahoos in a great position to win. He tossed five shutout innings for his first Double-A win. He limited Jacksonville to two hits, and he added in three strikeouts. Hector Lujan, Jonathan Cheshire and Alex Phillips combined for four shutout innings to end the game. Cheshire struck out three in 1 2/3 innings and Phillips earned his second save. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Lakeland 7 Box Score Lachlan Wells allowed five earned runs for the first time all season, but he still managed to finish six innings. Lakeland managed 10 hits against Wells and the team only struck out once against him. Wells balked in a run during the fifth inning. The Miracle have committed a league worst seven balks this season. In the fourth inning, Ernie De La Trinidad cut the Lakeland lead to 3-2 after he hit a two-run home run. One inning later, Aaron Whitefield used his speed to storm around the bases. He reached base on a fielder’s choice and then he came all the way around from first on a single from Jacob Pearson. Unfortunately, that was the end of the scoring for Fort Myers. Calvin Faucher was strong out of the bullpen as he pitched two perfect frames and struck out four. Faucher has not allowed a run over his last five appearances (8 2/3 innings). Joe Record saw two runs score in the ninth inning but they were both unearned due to fielding errors (Andrew Bechtold and Trey Cabbage). KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Clinton 5 Box Score Clinton jumped all over Austin Schulfer in the first inning and never looked back. Schulfer was able to recover a little and pitch six innings for the first time since July 2. Overall, he allowed four earned runs on six hits with six strikeouts and two walks. With his six strikeouts, he surpassed 100 strikeouts for the season and became the first Kernels pitcher with 100 K’s since Felix Jorge in 2015. Alex Schick pitched two scoreless innings by holding Clinton to one hit. J.T. Perez stuck out the side in the ninth. Offensively, the Kernels left seven men on base and went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Gilberto Celestino went 3-for-4 and he has multiple hits in five of his last ten games. Jared Akins finished with two hits and Gabe Snyder had the team’s only extra-base hit, his 18th double. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Bristol 3 Box Score Elizabethton plated four runs in the third inning, and it was just enough to hold onto the lead. In that inning, Willie Joe Garry Jr. lead off the inning with a hit by pitch and moved to second on Ruben Santana’s walk. After two strikeouts, Matt Wallner tripled to score the first two runs of the game. Max Smith followed with his fifth homer to make the score 4-0. The Twins only needed two arms in this one. Ryley Widell started and pitched into the sixth inning. He allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Ryan Shreve finished the final 3 1/3 innings for a non-traditional save. He struck out four and surrendered two hits. It was Widell’s first win and Shreve’s second save. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Jhoan Duran, Pensacola (5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Max Smith, Elizabethton (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) – 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI (AA Debut) #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-5, RBI, 2 K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured list #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) – 1-4, R, BB, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, 2 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, 0 ER, 2 H, 3 K, BB #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 (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) – 3-5, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) – 1-4, 3B, R 2 RBI, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-4, RBI, K #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) – No scheduled game #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) – Injured list MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (6:05 CST) – RHP Drew Hutchison (7-6, 5.86 ERA) Pensacola vs. Mobile (6:05 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (3-3, 4.96 ERA) Fort Myers – Scheduled Off-Day Cedar Rapids vs. Clinton (12:05 CST) – RHP Tyler Palm (2-6, 3.92 ERA) Elizabethton @ Burlington (5:30 CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs. 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

Minnesota’s series with the Yankees has provided some unbelievable moments. The Yankees have the top record in the American League, and it seems evident the Twins are more than up to the challenge of competing with them. These two clubs could be destined for a playoff match-up, but what happens if the Twins don’t make it to the party. Combine Minnesota’s shrinking division lead with other rising AL contenders and it’s not a sure thing that the Twins will be punching their ticket to October baseball.Standings Check-In The Twins enter play on Thursday with a three-game lead in the AL Central. At the beginning of June, the Twins were up 10.5 games as Cleveland had squeaked out a .500 record up to that point. By the end of June, Minnesota still had a comfortable eight game lead, but then Cleveland really turned on the heat. The Indians have gone 13-4 in July with two of their losses coming against the Twins. Some will point to Cleveland’s recent opponents as the reasons for their success, but they are winning the games in front of them. According to Baseball Reference, the Twins have a 96.2% chance of making the playoffs and a 90.9% chance of winning the division. They put Cleveland’s odds at 9.1% to win the division and 41.1% to make the playoffs. Also, the site projects Minnesota’s best possible record as 104-58 and their worst record as 91-71. On the flip side, Cleveland’s best record is projected as 96-66 and their worst record could be 83-79. Cleveland’s best and Minnesota’s worst would put the Twins back into the AL Wild Card Game. Cleveland currently sits in the first Wild Card spot with Oakland trailing by one game. Twins fans saw how good Oakland has been in their recent match-up and the A’s have a 7-3 record over their last 10 games. Boston and Tampa Bay sit two games behind the A’s, which means the Twins are six games up from being on the outside looking in. Multiple Weaknesses Minnesota has been running through a steady group of relievers from Rochester over the last couple weeks. This comes on the heels of the club parting ways with Matt Magill, Mike Morin and Adalberto Mejia. Minnesota cleared multiple roster spots without making any immediate additions to the bullpen. Cody Stashak made his MLB debut last night and he might have been the most effective Twins pitcher in a crazy game. Other players like Lewis Thorpe and Kohl Stewart are also getting some relief opportunities. Twins relievers have seen some struggles in recent weeks albeit it has come against some strong opponents. Trevor May has given up multiple leads with some hanging breaking balls that ended up over the fence. He was even asked to pitch over 50 pitches in one game. On Thursday, Blake Parker was designated for assignment or release. Ryne Harper and Tyler Duffey have also had some blemishes on their record as of late. Even the team’s best reliever, Taylor Rogers, has seen some leads slip through his hands. Realistically, the bullpen needs some help and Rochester might not have the pieces the team needs. The bullpen hasn’t been Minnesota’s only weakness. Fans have been frustrated with the Twins inability to get clutch hits with runners in scoring position, especially with the bases loaded. Twins batters have combined for an .820 OPS with runners in scoring position. However, the club has had 91 at-bats with the bases loaded this season while hitting .195/.213/.286 with only four extra-base hits. There seems to be some kind of hang-up when three men are on base instead of just having runners in scoring position. Looming Trade Deadline Minnesota could address some of their issues through trades in the next seven days. Earlier this week, Derek Falvey joined Darren Wolfson on his podcast to discuss the upcoming trade deadline. This year’s deadline is different since team’s cant make waiver trades after July 31. Falvey believes there will be a flurry of moves right before the deadline. Minnesota has given some consideration to being the first team to pull the trigger on a big trade, but that likely would mean the team is going to have to overpay to set the market. Falvey went on to say, the Twins are interested in improving “overall pitching depth.” This could be starters, relievers or maybe the team can get creative. He mentioned, “If there are ways to add to our starting rotation, our pitching depth, is there a way to add to the bullpen at the same time?” Fans might not want to hold out for any blockbuster trade. He believes the team is most likely looking for “supplements” to the current roster. If the team is going to win this year, it is going to be because of “the group that’s in the clubhouse right now.” To some, that might not exactly be a vote of confidence. However, the Twins need to avoid doing anything brash, because those type of trades can come back to haunt an organization. Do you think there’s a chance the Twins don’t make the playoffs? What would the repercussions be for the organization? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Other Stories of Interest Byron Buxton’s Not So Secret Value Twins Getting Greatness from Utility Buyer Beware: Avoiding a Chris Archer Trade Click here to view the article

Twins fans realize how good Byron Buxton is on the defensive side of the ball. When he is healthy and, on the field, he is arguably the best defensive center fielder in the game and the race might not even be that close. That being said, there might be something different to the value he is providing to the Twins this season. To go along with his Gold Glove defense, he has improved on the offensive side of the ball. Is Buxton the key for the Twins winning ways?Buxton has missed playing time during a couple of different stretches this season. He recently was placed on the 7-day concussion IL after making a diving catch. Back in June, Buxton missed time after being hit on the wrist with a pitch. Earlier in the year, he had a knee bruise after colliding with the center field wall. One of Buxton’s biggest flaws might be his reckless approach in the outfield. Some might call it aggressive, but his injury history as a professional is tough to ignore. He’s been on the field more in 2019 than in 2018, so that’s a step in the right direction. However, he might be key to Minnesota winning games and this means they need him on the field. Minnesota entered play on Tuesday with a 61-38 record (.616 PCT) which is good for the third best total in the American League. Byron Buxton has started 71 games, and, in those games, Buxton has helped the Twins to a 48-23 record (.676 PCT). With Buxton on the sidelines, the club has gone 13-15, which is a .464 winning percentage. There is something extra Buxton brings to the table. Buxton’s defensive value is obviously the biggest part of the winning equation. Even with the time missed, he surged into the lead as baseball’s best defender according to SABR’s most recent Defensive Index rankings. The SABR Defensive Index draws on and aggregates two types of existing defensive metrics: those derived from batted ball location-based data and those collected from play-by-play accounts. Through the All-Star break, Buxton was 0.3 SDI points ahead of Oakland’s Marcus Semien and he was 1.6 points ahead of the next best center fielder, Tampa’s Kevin Kiermaier. During the 2017 campaign, Buxton was awarded the Platinum Glove for being the AL’s best defender. In that season, he had a career-high 26 outs above average. So far this season, he has 12 outs above average, which is still very good and could have him on pace to have close to 20. His responsible plays chart (see below) should be submitted to the Smithsonian as he has multiple catches this season with a 0% catch probability. Download attachment: Buxton Chart.png Offensively, Buxton’s biggest improvement this season has been against the fastball. Last year, he hit .150 with .183 SLG when facing fastballs. So far this season, his average has jumped 135 points and his slugging percentage has gone up almost three times what he did against fastballs in 2018. Fastballs aren’t his only offensive area of improvement. He had a 1.6 Barrel % in 2018 and that has increased to 8.1 this year (MLB average 6.3). Naturally his exit velocity has also increased from being in the mid-80s to 89.4 mph this season. His launch angle has also increased from being slightly above league average (11.1 MLB AVG) to 20.1 degrees. A 39.9 Hard Hit % puts Buxton over 5% higher than the MLB mark. Minnesota Twins fans are well aware of the long-term impact concussions can have on players. Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both had their career’s altered because of concussion related issues. With multiple months left in the season, the Twins need Buxton healthy for September more than they need him at the end of July. But the team’s October chances could be hurt if Buxton’s return isn’t imminent. Is Byron Buxton the key to Minnesota’s winning ways? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Other Stories of Interest Buyer Beware: Avoiding a Chris Archer Trade Champs Were Chumps: Looking Back at the Worst Slumps of Recent World Series Winners What Will It Take to Acquire Marcus Stroman? Click here to view the article

Amid one of the toughest parts of their schedule, Minnesota fans are clamoring for the Twins to make a trade. With just over a week until the deadline, the hot stove has been less than lukewarm. The Twins have cleared out multiple 40-man roster spots over the last month, but it remains to be seen as to what the club is going to do with all of these openings. It’s important to remember not to make any impulse deals when it comes to trading away top prospects. Last July, the Pittsburgh Pirates made a deal that looks very lopsided in hindsight. How can the Twins avoid a similar fate?Pittsburgh sat with a 56-52 record on July 31, 2018. This was good enough for third in their division and they were trailing multiple teams for a Wild Card spot. Being on the outside looking in, didn’t stop them from making a franchise altering trade. The Pirates wanted right-handed pitcher Chris Archer, so they went and got him. Spoiler alert… Pittsburgh would finish fourth in their own division last season. During his last three seasons in Tampa, Archer posted a 3.77 ERA and a 1.21 WHIP while averaging 245 strikeouts and 205 innings per season. He had one top-5 finish for the AL Cy Young and he represented the Rays in the 2015 and 2017 MLB All-Star Game. He was a workhorse as he led the AL in games started in both of his All-Star campaigns. Archer had seemed to be on the trade block for multiple seasons because Tampa Bay had him signed to a team friendly deal and the two-time All-Star might not have a higher value. Because of their market, the Rays are forced to part with players as their contract costs rise. Tampa has been able to flourish through strong scouting and thinking outside of the box. Tampa certainly knew what they were doing when they dealt Archer for a package that included Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz. Meadows was elected to his first All-Star Game this season after hitting .289/.364/.502 in the first half with 30 extra-base hits including 12 homers. He currently looks like the biggest piece of the trade for Tampa, but both pitchers could still turn out to be very good. Glasnow has an injury history including currently being on the IL with a right forearm strain. In his eight starts (48 1/3 innings) since being dealt, he has a 1.86 ERA with a 0.91 WHIP and 55 strikeouts and 9 walks. Fans might remember Baz’s name because he was one of the top prospects in the 2017 Draft, when the Twins had the first pick. He’s pitching in the Midwest League and has a 3.45 ERA and a 1.23 WHIP in 10 starts. Since being traded, Archer has not been the same pitcher that he was in Tampa. He has a brutal 4.97 ERA and a 1.39 WHIP in 143 innings. His strikeout rate has gone up from 9.7 K/9 in Tampa to 10.4 K/9 in Pittsburgh, but his walk rate has also increased (2.9 to 4.0 BB/9). He’s giving up home runs at almost twice the rate and one of the biggest concerns might be the amount of hard contact he is giving up. His 12.3 Barrel % is in the bottom 4% of the NL. So how can the Twins avoid an Archer style fleecing by another club? In all reality, it’s rarely known this quickly after a trade if one team has gained a significant advantage. Meadows was a consensus top-50 prospect for most of his professional career. In comparison, Minnesota’s closest prospect might be Alex Kirilloff. It seems likely that Kirilloff is on a short list of prospects that Minnesota wouldn’t be willing to trade unless they were floored by a deal. The Twins might not have a comparable pitcher in their farm system to Glasnow. Entering the 2017 season, he was ranked in the top-25 prospects in baseball by all three major rankings and he was big league ready at the time of the trade. Someone like Jordan Balazovic might be the closest as he continues to rise in prospect rankings. He, like Glasnow, was a fifth-round pick, but he isn’t close to being big league ready. Few saw this kind of drop-off coming for Archer and that’s what can happen with some of the big deals that will happen before next week. Back in 2016, Cubs fans saw their club deal future All-Star Gleyber Torres to the Yankees for closer Aroldis Chapman. Chapman and the Cubs went on to win the World Series and he returned to New York that winter as a free agent. My guess is Cubs fans will take the World Series flag flying over Wrigley instead of having Torres in the middle of their infield. What are your thoughts as the Twins become buyers? How can they avoid an Archer deal? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article