Cody Christie

Twins Daily Roundtable is a weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less (Some writers don’t like to stick to this limit). This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. There are just days left in the season’s first half and Minnesota’s first half has been filled with more downs than ups. That being said, the All-Star break can be a time to recuperate and prepare for the second half. Plenty of players struggled for the Twins in the first half. It’s time to turn the page and look for a second-half star. This week’s roundtable discussion question is: ““Who’s the one player you expect to have a big second half?”Nick Nelson I would hope to see a few big second halves after so many members of the Twins came up well short of expectations in the first three months. If there's one name that really stands out though, it's Max Kepler. In a sense, the outfielder's season has more or less met expectations — his .721 OPS and 98 OPS+ are directly in line with his MLB marks of .732 and 95 coming in, and he's on track to finish right around career norms in most counting stats. But most of us hoped for much more than the status quo from Kepler. His inability to take a step forward has been disconcerting, and a little surprising given the underlying components of his performance. Compared to his previous standards, strikeouts are down for Kepler (15.2% this year, 20.5% prior) while walks are up (11.0% this year, 8.7% prior). His batted ball profiles are also improved, as Kepler is sporting career lows in soft-hit and medium-hit percentage, while his career-high hard-hit percentage of 38.1% ties him with Eddie Rosario for third on the team (behind Eduardo Escobar and Joe Mauer). But despite all these positive indicators, Kepler is batting .229 with just six extra-base hits since the start of June. I can't see that continuing. Eventually Kepler's results will have to start trending up to match the process. I believe we'll see a breakout in the final months with several big games, which would be a hugely reassuring sign going forward. Tom Froemming I'd love to say Byron Buxton, but it's not clear to me how much longer he's going to be down in Rochester ... or what the situation there is, exactly. Instead, I'm going to go with Mitch Garver. Garver has already started to catch fire, as he's actually the team leader in both batting average and on-base percentage since late May. He hit just .220/.281/.341 (.622 OPS) over his first 89 plate appearances of the year, but then turned things around to post a .320/.400/.453 (.853 OPS) over his next 85 plate appearances. I think what we're seeing is a guy becoming more comfortable. Now that he's caught fire, here's hoping he starts to also catch more baseballs, HA! I wasn't a big fan of how Garver was handled in the minor leagues, and I think we're witnessing some of the problems his relative lack of reps behind the plate has caused. Still, I do think he's looked better of late, and here's hoping a familiarity with the pitching staff fosters more comfort. He'll probably never be best suited as a primary catcher, but I believe Garver's bat is good enough for him to get reps at first base or DH. He's exactly the type of player the Twins should go out of their way to give opportunities to in the second half. Cody Christie Something needs to click with the starting pitching and I think Jake Odorizzi is going to make some strong strides in the right direction during the second half. His strikeout rate is over 9.3 SO/9 for the first time in his professional career. He’s also been keeping the ball in the ballpark at better rate than the last couple of seasons. Both of these things could help him to improve down the stretch. Entering this season, he carried a career 1.22 WHIP with an 8.0 H/9 and a 3.0 BB/9. This season his WHIP has ballooned up to 1.42 because he is giving up more hits (8.7 H/9) and more walks (4.1 BB/9). June was a rough month with an ERA close to 6.00 and a 1.68 WHIP. With the calendar flipping to July, Odorizzi seems to have found something he was missing in the beginning of the year. Jose Berrios as the ace and Odorizzi and Kyle Gibson behind him could be a strong top of the rotation in the second half. Andrew Thares There have been many Twins players who have underperformed during the first half, and one would assume that at least one or two of these guys would bounce back and have a big second half. For me I’m looking at Logan Morrison. While we knew going in that it was unlikely Morrison would repeat his success from 2017, it wasn’t exactly like Morrison was a slouch before then either. While his first half numbers haven’t looked all that appealing at .192/.289/.357 with 10 home runs, Morrison has the potential to find his home run stroke and break out at any second. Logan Morrison’s peripheral numbers also support the case that he will have an improved second half. The first glaring number that sticks out to me is his .212 BABIP. While Morrison is the ideal candidate to have a lower BABIP than most given how often he is shifted against and his lack of speed, but at .212, he is still well below his .268 career average. The Statcast metrics also support the case that Morrison has been hitting the ball better than his results show. Here are what a few of Logan Morrison’s actual stats look like compared to his expected stats via Statcast. AVG: .192 Expected: .249 SLG: .357 Expected: .483 wOBA: .287 Expected: .356 Those are all really big gaps that suggest that Logan Morrison has been hitting the ball much better than his results show. Seth Stohs I believe that Jorge Polanco will have a big second half (or, first half for him?), I think he'll wind up hitting second or third for much of the second half and do well. If you've been to the last two Twins Daily Winter Meltdowns, you heard me answer the same question the same way each year. During the Twins Daily panel round table, we've been asked who we think will lead the Twins in home runs. Both years, I've answered "Max Kepler." It's been a somewhat disappointing first half for the Twins outfielder, but he's shown signs. His improved approach and improved results against left-handers is encouraging. With that approach, the numbers against right-handers should bump up. Kepler has so much talent and a ton of power potential. At some point it's going to click for him. Maybe it will be in the second half. Jeremy Nygaard It might be the easy answer, but I think the second half is going to belong to Jorge Polanco. He proved it last year by hitting 293/359/511 after the break and will have the added motivation of having let his team down/proving it wasn't a PED-enhanced stretch of hitting. When you look into the crystal ball of the Twins infield, there is very little certainty. But one thing is certain: Jorge Polanco is going to be in it for the foreseeable future. His second half is going to prove it. Jamie Cameron For me, it's Jorge Polanco. Regardless of how you feel about Polanco's suspension, he was a key catalyst for the Twins' outstanding second half last year. In the second half, Polanco hit .293/.359/.511 with 10 HR and a wRC+ 128. He'll be looking to replicate that form to spark a pedestrian Twins offense which should benefit from having the second easiest second half schedule in all of baseball. Polanco was right around an average defensive short stop in 2017, it'll be interesting to see if he can build upon that and cement his position in the field. If not, he may find himself moving to second base when Ehire Adrianza returns if Brian Dozier is traded. Either way, Polanco will feel like he has something to prove to a team he let down in the first half of the season. Ted Schwerzler I think the easy answer here is Brian Dozier if we're looking at nothing but track records. That being said, I think the two most intriguing options are Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco. A year ago, Polanco was arguably the Twins greatest player down the stretch. He's still settling into the lineup after missing half the season due to his PED suspension. While Adrianza filled in fine, I thin we'll see some offensive firepower from Polanco sooner rather than later. On Kepler, I just can't believe he's going to scuffle like this all season long. He looked so great out of the gate and has gone in the tank of late. I'd be far from shocked if he doesn't use a hot stretch to get it going. SD Buhr Assuming the question is, “who do you expect to have a big second half FOR THE TWINS,” I’m going to go with Jorge Polanco. He’s a guy who has not been tainted by having to go through the frustration of the first three months of the season and I suspect he feels he has a lot to prove, coming off his suspension. If he’s traded (and accepts the trade, of course), I do think Joe Mauer could have a terrific second half of the season somewhere. I happen to think he’d be a great fit for the Yankees or, to a lesser degree perhaps, in Cleveland. If he suddenly found himself on a team that’s virtually a shoe-in for the post-season, I think he’d be very focused and very motivated. Steve Lein If I was fully confident that he'd be around for it's entirety, I'd peg Brian Dozier as that has seemed to be his M-O over the past few seasons. But since I'm not that confident in that happening at this point, I'm looking at #DasWunderkind, Max Kepler. I'm not going to dig into numbers to describe it, but I've had the impression Kepler's overall numbers should be better than they currently are. For the first month of the season he was looking great and continually having fantastic at-bats. He had even worked himself up into the number three spot in the lineup. Then... I'm not sure what happened. As Eduardo Escobar and Eddie Rosario heated up, he no longer was getting those big hits. Kepler had been my favorite prospect to follow since watching him play Spring Training games on a roster that included Rosario, Miguel Sano, and Kennys Vargas. That experience all the way back then made me believe he'd become the best overall player of the group. Let's say that starts coming to fruition after the All-Star break. If you missed any of the most recent roundtable discussions, here are the links: Sell, Sell, Sell? Fixing the Offense Romero’s Rotation Spot Top Prospect Timelines Minnesota’s All-Star Selection Click here to view the article

It wasn’t long ago when Jose Berrios was a regular fixture on the Twins Daily Minor League Report. On Sunday, he found out he had been selected to his first All-Star Game. Top pitching prospects like Fernando Romero and Brusdar Graterol were both on the mound on Sunday and they hope to follow in Berrios’ footsteps in the years to come. Did either of them have an All-Star performance on Sunday? Read on to find out...ROSTER MOVES OF Tanner English placed on the disabled list at Chattanooga with a lower back strain.INF Taylor Motter transferred to Chattanooga from Rochester.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 6, Lehigh Valley 7 (10 Innings) Box Score Rochester pitchers allowed five runs over the last three innings to end up on the wrong side of this one. Fernando Romero was strong for seven innings as he limited the Iron Pigs to two runs on four hits. He struck out six and didn’t walk any. His Triple A ERA is down to 2.04 for the season. Every relief pitcher saw one run scored against them even if it wasn’t earned. Adalberto Mejia committed a throwing error in the eighth inning that eventually allowed an unearned run to be scored against him. John Curtiss ran into trouble in the ninth with two former Twins prospects, Trevor Plouffe and Danny Ortiz, starting the rally. Curtiss was charged with his second blown save after allowing two earned runs. Tyler Duffey took the loss after allowing the game-tying and winning run to score in extra-innings. Rochester racked up 13 hits in this one but it wasn’t enough. Byron Buxton went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Kennys Vargas drove in a pair of runs as part of a three-hit effort. Nick Gordon also joined the hit parade by going 2-for-5 with a double and two runs scored. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Jacksonville 5 Box Score The Lookouts left nine men on base and went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position to take the loss on Sunday. Luis Arraez went 3-for-5 at the plate and Zander Wiel collected his fourth home run as part of a two-hit game. Ryan Walker also reached base three times. Of the team’s 10 hits, Wiel had the lone extra-base hit. Omar Bencomo took his third loss but he allowed only one earned run over six frames. In the second inning, Taylor Motter committed a throwing error that allowed multiple unearned runs to score. Bencomo uncorked a wild pitch in the fourth inning that eventually lead to another run. He finished with four strikeouts and one walk. Paco Rodriguez pitched two shutout innings with a pair of strikeouts to end the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 6 Box Score One big inning was all it took for Fort Myers to see the rubber game of this series slip through its fingers. The Miracle took a 3-0 first inning lead thanks to a two-out double from Taylor Grzelakowski that plated two runs. It was his 10th double of the season and he would eventually score on a Caleb Hamiton single. Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol made it through the first six frames relatively unscathed. He allowed one run in the third but he seemed to be sliding by nicely. The seventh inning was when he ran into a little trouble. Back-to-back one-out singles meant his day was done. Overall, Graterol went 6 1/3 inning, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out five and walked two while hitting 101 mph multiple times during the game. Unfortunately, Hector Lujan replaced Graterol and allowed both runners to score along with three other runs. Lujan wasn’t able to record an out. Adam Bray pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings to finish the game. His ERA lowered to 1.08 on the season. Miguel Sano finished 2-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 5 Box Score Up one run in the final frame, it looked like Cedar Rapids would take a 2-1 series lead against Kane County. However, the Cougars flipped the script with back-to-back two-out RBI hits and ended up walk-off winners in the one. Bryan Sammons continued his strong pitching performance but he saw his 20-inning scoreless streak come to an end. He pitched into the sixth inning and limited Kane County to one earned run. Overall, he pitched 5 2/3 innings with six strikeouts and two walks. Every batter in the Kernels line-up reached base at least once. Akil Baddoo went 3-for-5 with a triple and two runs scored. Jose Miranda drove in two runs as part of a two-hit day. Robby Rinn added his 11th double and came around to score a run. Calvin Faucher suffered his first blown save after allowing two earned runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Ricky Ramirez took the loss and the blown save after allowing two runs over the last 1 2/3 innings. He struck out two and didn’t walk any. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 1, Danville 3 Box Score Hits were few and far between for the E-Twins as the club only had five hits. Trevor Casanova reached base three times including two hits and a run scored. Yunior Severino and Alex Robles both went 1-for-4. Albee Weiss reached base twice. Austin Schulfer allowed one run on five hits in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two. Brian Rapp took over for Schulfer and pitched 3 2/3’s scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Juan Gamez allowed a pair of runs over the last two innings for his first loss. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Akil Baddoo, Cedar Rapids (3-for-5, 2B, 2 R) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Fernando Romero, Rochester (7.0 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 6 K, 0 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, RBI, 2 BB #2 – Fernando Romero (Rochester) – 7 IP, 2 ER, 6 K, 0 BB #3 – Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-5, 2B, RBI, 2 R #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 0-3, BB, K #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-5, 2 K #9 – Brusdar Graterol (Fort Myers) – 6.1 IP, 3 ER, 5 K, 2 BB #10 – Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 3-5, 2B, 2 R #14 – LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-5, RBI, 2 K #18 – Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) – 1-4, 2B, 2 K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga @ Jacksonville (6:05 CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (2-4, 5.05 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Palm Beach (6:00 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (3-3, 3.62 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (12:00 CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (6-2, 3.74 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Danville (6:00 CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. 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In the end, it was likely a four-man race for one All-Star spot. Jose Berrios, Eduardo Escobar, Fernando Rodney, and Eddie Rosario were all having strong seasons but Minnesota’s lackluster first half meant that only one would be selected to the initial roster. Who made the cut? And who still has a chance to make it?Jose Berrios will be an All-Star for the first time. In his age-24 season, he has gone 8-7 with a 3.54 ERA. He has 114 strikeouts in 114 1/3 innings pitched and his 26 walks allowed have resulted in a tidy 0.997 WHIP. He leads the league with two complete games. Before the season started, some off-the-wall predictions were made here at Twins Daily. Berrios might be the only one who comes to fruition. He’s been able to do this by cutting his walk rate from 3.0 BB/9 in 2017 to 2.0 BB/9. Berrios has also improved his strikeout rate. Entering the season he had a career 8.3 SO/9 and he has posted a 9.0 SO/9 so far in 2018. Eddie Rosario will have a little more of a challenge to make his first All-Star team. He is part of MLB’s Final Vote, which allows the fans to add one player to the roster of the AL and NL squads. Rosario faces off against Andrew Benintendi, Jean Sugura, Andrelton Simmons, and Giancarlo Stanton. It’s going to be a tough road for the Twins outfielder as many of those names are better known. However, his fWAR ranks as the ninth best in the American League with Simmons being the only Final Vote candidate to rank higher. Rosario leads the Twins in most offensive categories as he seems to be having a coming-of-age season. For now, he needs the help of fans voting him in or an injury to a starting player. Did Major League Baseball get it right? Should Berrios be the team’s selection? Did Rosario get snubbed? What about Escobar and Rodney? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

First-round picks carry a lot of weight in any organization. Some teams are consistently making strong picks but the art of drafting players can be a tough endeavor. If a team misses out multiple first-round picks, there can be a void near the top of an organization’s prospect rankings. In Twins Daily’s updated top-40 prospect list, two former first-round picks fall into the 21-25 range. Each of them was a top-10 prospect as recently as 2017. Their fall in the rankings is connected to multiple factors but each of them has the potential to help the Twins at some point in the future.25. Tyler Jay – LHP Age: 24 ETA: 2018 2018 Stats (AA): 1-1, 3.64 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, 29.2 IP, 35 H, 12 BB, 26 K 2018 Ranking: 19 | 2017 Ranking: 5 Seth: 30 | Tom: 26 | Cody: 26 Jay was Minnesota’s first-round pick back in 2015 and he was taken with the intention of turning him into a starting pitcher. That plan didn’t work and he has since shifted to a bullpen role. His first 10 appearances (16.2 IP) this season resulted in a 1.62 ERA with a 13 to 7 strikeout to walk ratio. Over his next eight appearances (13.0 IP), things haven’t gone as smoothly. He has allowed nine earned runs and opponents are hitting .321/.377/.571 against him. At the University of Illinois, Jay was a shutdown relief pitcher and he has the potential and pitches to get there again. However, fans haven’t seen that version of Jay in the Twins organization. 24. Felix Jorge – RHP Age: 24 ETA: 2017 2018 Stats (AA/GCL): 1-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K 2018 Ranking: 20 | 2017 Ranking: 12 Seth: 37 | Tom: 24 | Cody: 18 We compiled these rankings prior to Jorge being designated for assignment. He's since been released. 23. Kohl Stewart – RHP Age: 23 ETA: 2018 2018 Stats (AA): 3-4, 4.76 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 68.0 IP, 84 H, 21 BB, 71 K 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: 8 Seth: 31 | Tom: 22 | Cody: 25 Minnesota took Stewart with the fourth pick of the 2013 MLB draft with hopes of turning this strong athlete into an elite pitcher. He has been slowly making his way through the Twins system and he even made one start with Rochester last season. Consistency has been the biggest issue for Stewart. His pitching performance has been up and down and he currently sits on the temporary inactive list after being limited to four starts in June. Stewart has his highest strikeout per nine total since his professional debut season (9.4 K/9) and his walks per nine is lower than his career average (2.8 BB/9). Stewart is still only 23 and he might finally be showing signs of putting it all together. 22. Landon Leach – RHP Age: 18 ETA: 2022 2018 Stats (Rookie): Has Not Played 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 28 | Tom: 25 | Cody: 20 Leach, a Canadian native, was taken by the Twins in the second round of the 2017 MLB draft and he made his pro debut with the GCL Twins. In five appearances (13.1 IP), he allowed five earned runs and posted a 10 to 6 strikeout to walk ratio. He’s on the GCL Twins roster now but he is starting the season on the disabled list. He throws hard with a mid-90s fastball and multiple off-speed offerings including a curve and a changeup. His secondary pitches need some work but he was a multi-star athlete in high school and his natural athleticism make him very projectable. 21. Jose Miranda – 2B/3B Age: 20 ETA: 2021 2018 Stats (Low-A): .255/.308/.405 (.713), 16-2B, 1-3B, 7-HR 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 17 | Tom: 18 | Cody: 30 Miranda debuted in the GCL after being drafted in the second round of the 2016 MLB draft out of Puerto Rico. With the E-Twins last season, he hit .283/.340/.484 with 21 extra-base hits in 54 games. This season he has played the entire year at Cedar Rapids where he has continued his trend of being over a year younger than the competition. He started this season slowly with the Kernels as he hit .170/.230/.259 through the team’s first 30 games. As a right-handed hitter, his OPS is over .800 against left-handed pitching so most of his issues have come against righties. He has started to come on as of late and he has plenty of power potential. What are your thoughts on the latest set of rankings? Who’s ranked too high? Who’s ranked too low? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Kohl Stewart hasn’t exactly set the world on fire this season but the Twins are going to push their 23-year old former first round pick. Stewart was promoted to Rochester on Thursday after posting a 4.76 ERA and a 1.54 WHIP in 68 innings. Things have gone better in his last four starts. In 24 1/3 innings pitched, he has allowed four earned runs (1.48 ERA) while posted a 29 to 8 strikeout to walk ratio. In a corresponding move, Dietrich Enns was transferred to Chattanooga. Enns had made 12 starts for Rochester and posted a 5.31 ERA with a 1.57 WHIP in 59 1/3 innings. As a 27-year old, it seems interesting to be sending Enns back to Double-A since he was already older than the competition at Triple-A. Maybe, it will be a good wake-up call.ROSTER MOVES INF Jorge Polanco had MLB rehab assignment transferred from Ft. Myers to Rochester.C Juan Graterol signed by Minnesota to a minor league contract and assigned to RochesterRHP Kohl Stewart transferred from Chattanooga to RochesterC Jordan Pacheco placed on the disabled list at Rochester with a right knee contusion, retroactive to June 26.LHP Dietrich Enns transferred to Chattanooga from Rochester.RHP Brusdar Graterol transferred to Fort Myers from Cedar Rapids.LHP Tyler Watson transferred to Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers.OF Jared Akins transferred to Cedar Rapids from ElizabethtonC Robert Molina placed on the disabled list at Cedar Rapids with a left hand contusion. RED WINGS REPORTRochester 2, Syracuse 1 (Game 1- 7 Innings) Box Score Fernando Romero got the start on the mound and pitched six innings. He allowed one run on six hits while striking out one and walking two. In a tight game, he did enough to keep the Red Wings on top. John Curtiss earned his eighth save after pitching a perfect seventh. He struck out one and saw his season ERA dip to 2.12. Leonardo Reginatto helped to get the scoring started in the third. He lead-off the inning with a walk and moved to third on a Byron Buxton single. In a rare sight, Buxton got thrown out trying to steal second base. His steal streak is still active at the big league level. Nick Gordon eventually drove in Reginatto and Rochester took a 1-0 lead. In the fourth, Zack Granite singled with two outs and moved into scoring position after an error by the right fielder. Reginatto singled and Grante scored to push the lead to 2-0. Jorge Polanco and Buxton both finished 2-for-3 as they get closer to returning to the big league roster. Rochester 7, Syracuse 5 (Game 2- 7 Innings) Box Score Rochester used a huge four-run seventh inning to sweep the double header. LaMonte Wade doubled to start the inning and moved to third on a wild pitch. Gregorio Petit and Juan Graterol connected on back-to-back singles before Nick Gordon cracked his first Triple-A home run to put the Red Wings on top for good. Wade finished 2-for-3 with two doubles and two runs scored. Graterol joined the hit parade with a 2-for-3 night including two RBI. Jorge Polanco went 2-for-4 and Byron Buxton went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. D.J. Baxendale went 2 1/3 innings while allowing two earned runs on three hits. He struck out two and walked one. Luke Bard couldn’t make it through two innings as he surrendered three runs in 1 2/3 innings. Nick Anderson picked up the win and improve to 4-1 after he pitched two scoreless innings with four strikeouts. Gabriel Moya earned his third save with a clean seventh inning. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Tennessee 7 Box Score The Lookouts cranked four home runs included two from Brent Rooker but it still wasn’t enough to come out victorious in this one. Rooker finished the day 3-for-4 with three runs scored, two RBI, and added his 17 double. Andy Wilkins and Brian Navarreto chipped in with their own home runs. The Lookouts only had one at-bat with a runner in scoring position and only four runners were left on base. Omar Bencomo allowed three home runs in six innings of work. He struck out six and allowed five earned runs on four hits. Cody Stashak was actually charged with the loss as he allowed two runs on two hits in the final two innings. He struck out two and walked one. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 13, Tampa 0 Box Score Fort Myers scored at least one run in the final six frames to blowout Tampa. Charlie Barnes and Hector Lujan combined for the shutout on the mound. Barnes pitched six shutout frames by scattering three hits, all singles. He struck out two and walked two. Barnes hasn’t allowed a run in his last 16.2 innings. Lujan earned his first save by pitching three innings and striking out three. Luis Arraez reached base five times include a three hit night. He added his 14th double and scored a pair of runs. Caleb Hamilton also exploded at the plate as he went 3-for-4 with two home runs, a double, and five RBI. He’s homered in back-to-back games. Mark Contreras, Shane Carrier, and Lewin Diaz also had multi-hit efforts. Overall, the club at 14 hits and still missed some opportunities as they went 4-for-11 with runners in scoring position. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids --, Burlington – (Postponed-Rain) Wind blew the tarp off the field in Burlington and the Kernels and Bees found themselves without a chance to play baseball. A similar situation happened earlier this year at the same field. The Kernels will play a doubleheader on Friday, which is scheduled to start at 5:00 pm. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 2, Danville 11 Box Score Yunior Severino chalked up four hits but it wasn’t enough for the E-Twins. Ricky De La Torre had the team’s lone extra-base hit, a double, as he finished 2-for-4. Chris Williams reached base twice with walks but was held hitless. Tyler Palm took the loss as he allowed seven earned runs on eight hits in two innings. Things didn’t go much better for Seth Pinkerton as he allowed four runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two and walked three. Johan Quezada and Rickey Ramirez combined for 3 1/3 shutout innings to end the game. Quezada struck out two and walked one. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 11, GCL Rays 12 (11 innings) Box Score The GCL Twins held multiple leads in this game but allowed six runs in the final four innings resulted in the loss. Prelander Berroa started and gave up five runs (four earned) in four innings. He struck out three and walked two. Michael Montero and Tanner Howell each pitched two innings and allowed one run apiece. Denny Bentley was charged with his first blown save as he allowed three runs on three hits in two innings. Petru Balan got charged with the loss but the only run scored against him was the runner that started on second base in the final frame due to MiLB’s extra-inning rules. Janigson Villalobos, Yeison Perez, and Gabe Snyder all finished with three hit. Perez and Snyder each had a long-ball. Villalobos had a double and a triple. Multiple fielding errors and passed balls hurt the team. Tyler Webb didn’t start the game and he was still able to collect a pair of outfield assists after entering as a defensive replacement. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Caleb Hamilton, Fort Myers (3-for-4, 2 HR, 2B, 5 RBI, 3 R) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Charlie Barnes, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 2 K, 2 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Fernando Romero (Rochester) – 6 IP, 1 ER, 1 K, 2 BB #3 – Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 2-7, HR, 4 RBI, R, K #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 1-4, 3 RBI, K #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 3-4, 2 HR, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 R, K #13 – Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 2-5, 2 R, RBI #14 – LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 2-3, 2 2B, 2 R, K #17 – Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-4, RBI, K #18 – Yunior Severino (Elizabethton) – 4-5, RBI, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (5-3, 4.56 ERA) Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00 CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (1-4, 5.61 ERA) Fort Myers vs Lakeland (6:00 CST) – RHP Tyler Wells (6-3, 2.68 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (3-1, 5.16 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (Game 2) – RHP Blayne Enlow (0-2, 4.43 ERA) Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Thursday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. 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Twins Daily Roundtable is a weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less (Some writers don’t like to stick to this limit). This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. July is only days away. This means the non-waiver trade deadline will quickly be approaching. It’s time to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Unfortunately (or fortunately), the American League Central has been full of poor play this season. The Indians, Twins and Tigers are separated by less than 10 games and there is plenty of baseball left to be played so…. This week’s roundtable discussion question is: “With a little over a month until the trade deadline, should the Twins be buyers or sellers?”John Bonnes Neither. They ARE neither. Because in order to be a buyer or a seller, there needs to be a marketplace. There isn’t. You’re anxious to turn the page on this season. I get it. Believe me, as someone who follows the team obsessively, runs a Twins web site and talks weekly on a Twins podcast, it’s been a frustrating three months. But declaring the season is over provides no practical value. It just makes us feel a little less personally invested in the year. Maybe, in three weeks, when the All-Star break is over, a marketplace will exist, and the Twins will need to choose. If their struggles continue, they’ll be sellers. But even then, don’t expect a cornucopia of prospects to be coming their way. They don’t have any of the premier veterans on the market, so they’re likely to get premier prospects in return. Until then, like it or not, this year is a competitive window for this franchise. I’d encourage you to personally invest another month in this team. I assure you that the management, the coaches and the players certainly are. Seth Stohs In my opinion, the Twins need to make all moves that they think will put them into contention by about July 20th. At that point, you evaluate where they are compared to Cleveland. If they had to make that decision today, and fortunately they don't, they would be sellers. The odds indicate that they will be sellers at the deadline at which point a lot of guys could be on the market. Nick Nelson At this rate, they sure look like sellers, although that could potentially change within the next few weeks. The trouble is that the Twins don't have much at this time in terms of appealing assets to move, so it's hard to envision any major haul coming back even if they're willing to unload anyone nonessential to the big picture. Brian Dozier's sluggish first half has torpedoed his trade value. Lance Lynn will have takers but won't net a ton. Fernando Rodney's been great, but non-elite relievers don't bring back top prospects (Matt Capps notwithstanding). Eduardo Escobar is perhaps the most intriguing candidate, as an All Star candidate on the last year of his deal, but Minnesota is probably best served holding onto him and extending a qualifying offer after the season. Cody Christie The AL Central might be the weakest division in baseball so it’s hard to call the Twins out of the race. That being said, Cleveland seems to have started to figure it out after a slow start. Minnesota hasn’t been able run off a long streak of winning baseball. Cleveland should easily win the division but they have flaws and this could make them vulnerable. If the front office is making the decision today, the club is sellers and the team has a lot of pieces that could be dealt. With many players on one-year deals, Minnesota could reset the roster and restock the farm system for the next decade. There were high hopes at the beginning of the season, so it’s depressing to think the team could be sellers. Flashback to last year, the Twins were in selling mode as the deadline approached. Then the team found a nice groove and ended up in the playoffs. Anything is possible but it seems like it’s time to sell. Ted Schwerzler I don't think it's fair to answer this question with so much time yet before the trade deadline. Realistically Falvey and Levine set the roster up for success this offseason, and it has underperformed as a whole. With the games remaining prior to the deadline, the Twins need to show some consistent life. The Indians have real warts, and I don't believe they're going to run away with anything. Given the amount of one year deals, the Twins are well positioned to act either way. They can let their play in the weeks ahead dictate how they should attack the deadline. Tom Froemming Right now, you'd have to say sellers. The depressing part is most of their obvious pieces to move are having down years. You can't expect guys like Brian Dozier, Lance Lynn or Zach Duke to fetch much of a return right now. The same can be said for Logan Morrison and Fernando Rodney, who both have a team option for 2019. Who does that leave? Taking emotion out of it, Eduardo Escobar could be a great sell high option, but in my heart I want the team to extend him with a 15-year deal. OK, that's an exaggeration, but from a fan's perspective I'd be really bummed if they sent him packing. With those being the options, I'm not expecting the front office to make a move one way or another until the week of the trade deadline. Jeremy Nygaard I can't imagine the Twins buying at the deadline. What would be the point? If they decide not to sell, they should stand pat... but not buy. They should sell. Anyone scheduled to be a free agent should be on the block. Brian Dozier is playing his way out of getting a qualifying offer, so prospect would be better than nothing. Lance Lynn, in my opinion, has to be traded, especially if he continues to work back to his old self. Team needs a lefty reliever? Zach Duke has to be available. I would pay - not personally, but as the Twins - the rest of Joe Mauer's salary to give him a chance to win a title this year (and in return for that money, ask for a decent prospect). And moving any of those guys only give opportunities to other prospects. Moving Dozier allows at-bats for Nick Gordon. Trading Lynn opens a rotation spot for either of Mejia or Gonsalves. Exit Duke, enter Moya. Or Jay. Mauer's at-bats could be absorbed by many players. I'd also look at moving Morrison, Rodney and potentially Santana. In addition to those three with options, the team has only three other players (Castro, Reed, Pineda) under contract for next year. Moving guys now would be more of a reload and less of a rebuild; the nucleus of the team would remain under control. Steve Lein The Cleveland Indians are finally starting to pull away in the division, a wild card is even further off, and the Twins haven’t sniffed a .500 record in over a month. Unless a drastic turnaround happens, like immediately, they should be sellers. Unfortunately, the reason they’re in this position now is a direct result of the performances from some of those whom they should sell. Lance Lynn has rebounded nicely and could fetch something decent for a rental but the other guys with only one year on their deals, like Brian Dozier and Logan Morrison, have fallen flat and Ervin Santana has yet to throw a pitch this season. Fernando Rodney might net enough where selling him makes sense too. If you’re hoping to get anything beyond a B-level prospect though, that’s going to mean selling someone like Eddie Rosario or Eduardo Escobar as part of something bigger. But they’re really the only position players who have earned their money this season and are the types I’d want to keep around. So, while I think they should sell all those rental type pieces to clear the roster space if anything, I’m not holding my breath on any stellar returns. If you missed any of the previous roundtable discussions, here are the links: Fixing the Offense Romero’s Rotation Spot Top Prospect Timelines Minnesota’s All-Star Selection Extension Candidates Click here to view the article

Welcome to the last week of June. It’s hard to believe July is just around the corner. For young baseball players, July can be a tiring month with the trade deadline approaching. Not only do they have to focus on the games at hand but they also have the thought of being traded in the back of their mind. It still remains to be seen whether the Twins will be buyers or sellers at the trade deadline but time is running out to make a move. Otherwise, players with expiring contracts could find themselves in new uniforms in the weeks ahead.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Scranton/WB 4 (Suspended in 4th Inning) Sunday’s contest between the Red Wings and the RailRiders was suspended in the fourth inning with Scranton/WB up 4-1. This game will continue on Monday starting at 4:05 CST before playing tomorrow’s regularly scheduled game. The suspended game will go nine innings and be followed by a seven inning game. Before the weather came, Jake Cave hit a solo-home run in the first inning with two outs. Dietrich Enns pitched four innings and allowed four runs on five hits. Byron Buxton continued his rehab assignment and went 0-for-2 out of the lead-off spot. Check back on Monday for a full game report. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 3, Biloxi 6 Box Score Anthony Marzi started for Chattanooga and allowed two earned runs with both coming on solo- home runs. He struck out five and walked two but he won’t figure into the decision in this one. Ryan Eades took over for Mariz and allowed two earned runs in 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three and walked one as he saw his ERA rise to 5.36. Todd Van Steensel tossed 1 1/3 shutout innings before Cody Stashak allowed a couple of insurance runs to score in the ninth. The Lookouts only had four opportunities to bat with runners in scoring position and the team never recorded a hit in those situations. Jaylin Davis cracked a two-run home run in the fourth inning as part of a three hit day. For the second straight day, Andy Wilkins went 2-for-4 with a triple and scored a run. Besides those two, no other batters reached base multiple times. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Bradenton 5 (8 Innings) Box Score Miracle players got to see an abbreviated no-hitter on Sunday but they were the team not collecting any hits. Oddy Nunez pitched eight no-hitting innings before the game was called due to rain. Joe Cronin and Shane Carrier both reached base on walks and Alex Kirilloff was hit by a pitch. Those were all of the base runners for the Miracle. Jorge Polanco went 0-for-3 with a strikeout as he gets ready to get back from suspension. Andro Cutura took the loss but he pitched into the sixth inning and only allowed two earned runs. He carried a no-hitter of his own into the fifth. Overall, he pitched 5 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and two walks. Tom Hackimer allowed three runs on two hits over 1 1/3 innings. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 14, Wisconsin 1 Box Score A 10-run inning and a big offensive day from Jacob Pearson helped the Kernels finish off a four-game sweep of the Timber Rattlers. Pearson had a career-high four hits, scored three runs, drove in three runs and finished a double shy of the cycle. The 10 run-inning was the most runs Cedar Rapids scored in one frame since 2015. Pearson wasn’t the only offensive star. Robby Rinn reached base four times and collected three hits. Jose Miranda drove in a team-high five runs and added his 14th double of the season. Andrew Bechtold and Jordan Gore added home runs. Every batter besides Trey Cabbage reached base at some point in the blowout win. Brusdar Graterol was able to cruise through five shutout innings while only allowing two hits. He struck out nine and walked three. He reached triple digits on the radar five times on Sunday including a 101 mph fastball in the first inning. Jose Martinez allowed one run on two hits in two innings of work. Tanner Kiest finished off the game with two shutout frames. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton 9, Bristol 2 Box Score Elizabethton pushed across nine runs in the sixth inning to cruise to their fifth win in six games to start the season. Jared Akins went 3-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored. Alex Robles reached base three times and added two RBI. Chris Williams and DeShawn Keirsey also had multi-hit games. Three E-Twins pitchers all were asked to pitch three innings. Kody Funderburk and Blair Lakso each pitched three shutout innings. Funderburk struck out three and walked one. Lakso earned his second win after not allowing a hit. He struck out four and walked one. Derek Molina earned his first save but he allowed two runs in the final frame. He struck out four. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jacob Pearson, Cedar Rapids (4-5, HR, 3B, 3 RBI, 3 R) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Brusdar Graterol, Cedar Rapids (5 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, 3 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 – Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 0-2 #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 0-2 #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-4, 2 K #9 – Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) – 5 IP, 0 ER, 9 K, 3 BB #10 – Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, 2 BB, 2 K #14 – LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-1, 2B #17 – Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-3, 2 K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (3:05 CST) – LHP Adalberto Mejia (3-2, 2.91 ERA) Rochester @ Syracuse (Game 2) – TBD Chattanooga vs. Biloxi (6:15 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (3-4, 5.11 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (6:35 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (3-4, 3.05 ERA) Elizabethton vs. Johnson City (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. 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Twins Daily Roundtable is a weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less (Some writers don’t like to stick to this limit). This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. In an off-season where the front office made plenty of moves, Minnesota’s only big offensive addition was Logan Morrison. Last season, the Twins ranked seventh in runs and on-base percentage, ninth in batting average, and sixteenth in home runs. Things haven’t been nearly as good this year as the club has dropped in runs (23rd), home runs (23rd), OBP (20th), and batting average (20th). Players like Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton haven’t lived up to their high production throughout different parts of the 2017 campaign. Jorge Polanco was supposed to take the next step but his suspension means he has yet to play a game. Other players like Brian Dozier and Joe Mauer have also struggled at times. This week’s roundtable discussion question is: “Who's the most important player for invigorating the Twins offense?"John Bonnes The bad news is that Brian Dozier has not been good. And I’m not talking about “versus expectations.” I’m talking about straight up “not good”. He isn’t (.223 BA) hitting. He isn’t (.300 OBP) getting on base . He isn’t (.394 SLG) hitting for power. The good news is it’s not unusual for Dozier to pair a pretty mediocre or crummy half season of hitting with a fantastic half season of hitting: Brian Dozier, 2017, 2nd half: 985 OPS (1st half: 745) Brian Dozier, 2016, 2nd half: 990 OPS (1st half: 786) Brian Dozier, 2015, 1st half: 841 OPS (2nd half: 639) You can make a case for a lot of bounceback candidates to give the Twins lineup a surge. Joe Mauer, Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco, Logan Morrison, Byron Buxton – an optimist can foresee a flicked switch on any of them. But the path of least resistance is for Dozier to do what he has done each of the last three years: go on a three-month killing spree. Nick Nelson To me, it's clearly Byron Buxton. If he gets back into the same zone he was in last July-through-October, when he hit .309/.358/.538 with 12 homers while going 16-for-16 on steals, he completely transforms the offense. Not only is that stellar individual production, but it also can infuse a contagious type of energy that reverberates. I think we saw that dynamic play out to some extent in the latter months of 2017 as Minnesota made its run. A healthy and thriving Buxton is exactly what this sleepwalking unit needs. Tom Froemming Lots of valid answers to this question, but I'm going with Brian Dozier for three reasons. 1) The absence of right-handed hitters Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton makes this team even more unbalanced than it already was. Without Dozier being a threat, the offense is susceptible to being shut down by even pedestrian southpaws. 2) It's easier to play with a lead, and when Dozier's hot he's causing damage early. He had a .908 OPS in the first three innings last season. If the runs don't come early, this 2018 team seems to tighten up as the game unfolds. 3) He's a great baserunner. How many outs have the Twins run themselves into over the past few weeks? Brian's not the fastest guy around, but something that sets him apart from some of the other potential answers to this question (Mauer, Morrison) is they're base cloggers. It'd be great to see Dozier go on one of his homer binges, but at this point I'd even settle for him simply sparking some rallies. Cody Christie To me, there are three candidates who could take over this line-up in the months ahead and propel the team towards a division title. Those three names are Byron Buxton, Brian Dozier, and Miguel Sano. In the first half of last season, Sano showed how dangerous he can be if he is making consistent contact. Fast forward to the end of last season and Buxton seemed to have it all figured out at the plate. It wouldn’t surprise me if either of these players impacts the offense in the second half but… Brian Dozier has to be the spark plug. He is the one that needs to get this offense moving in the right direction. There have some signs of life for the club against some good pitching in Cleveland and the first game with the Red Sox. Dozier still has dug himself quite the early season hole but you know he wants to snap out of it. Especially since he is in a contract year. Jamie Cameron For me, it's undoubtedly Brian Dozier. Dozier is remarkably streaky, has had monster second halves in the last two years, and may well do so again in 2018. Currently, he's virtually a non-contributor to the Twins offense. Consider the following numbers comparing Dozier in 2017 to 2018 Dozier: 2017 .359 OBP, .498 SLG, .362 wOBA, 125 wRC+, 5.0 WAR 2018 .309 OBP, .397 SLG, .309 wOBA, 93 wRC+, 0.7 WAR Dozier has carried the Twins offense for much of the last two years. This year he's a 7% below average hitter for his position. His numbers are brutal for someone the Twins expected to rely on and who gets the most at-bats for the entire team. While Dozier may have made the Twins thoughts on extending him to a long term contract much more clear, they have zero postseason hopes unless he gets hot and stays hot the rest of the way. Jeremy Nygaard When the lineup has been as collectively bad as it has been (besides Escobar and Rosario), it would be really hard to put that on one guy. But I will: Brian Dozier. Career low batting average, 19 points below his career average. 17 point below his career OBP. Lowest slugging and OPS since his rookie year. The leadoff hitter sets the tone for the offense and he isn't getting it done. Now Dozier isn't alone when it comes to disappointments. Logan Morrison has been really bad. Miguel Sano has been disgusting at the plate. Byron Buxton could be a spark, but he hasn't been healthy. Jason Castro, before the knee injury, was a disaster. Robbie Grossman provides nothing. But it comes down the Dozier. Unless he gets right, the Twins have no shot (and it's already only a slim shot). Seth Stohs I mean, there are so many pieces to the offense that are important. Coming into the season, the assumption was that the Twins offense would be one of the best in the league. To this point, Eduardo Escobar and Eddie Rosario have been the two that have gone above and beyond expectations. They (probably) can't provide more than what they have done. It would be nice if they kept it up. It's clear that having Joe Mauer around is also important because it seems the quality of at bats up and down the lineup has improved through osmosis. If the Twins are going to make a run, Brian Dozier is the key. We've seen what he can do in the 2nd half. He's done it four straight years. Hopefully it can happen again. The other key might be Jorge Polanco. Almost forgotten since spring training, the Twins could really benefit from Polanco putting up the kind of numbers he put up over the final two months of the 2017 season. Steve Lein Even with Eddie Rosario and Eduardo Escobar hitting at elite levels so far, the rest of the Minnesota Twins lineup has been so lacking that it hasn’t mattered much. Their collective OPS ranks ninth in the American League and they’re scoring only 4.26 runs per game, good for tenth. Even worse is their performance near the end of games, demonstrated by their 3-13 record in one-run contests and that they’ve endured eight walk-off losses already. From the seventh inning on, Twins hitters have managed just a .668 OPS, which is basically Miguel Sano level production this year and he just got demoted all the way to A-ball as he’s seemingly forgotten how to hit a baseball. So, what’s been missing? I’d argue it’s an All-Star caliber #3 or cleanup hitter as those spots in the Twins lineup currently rank in the bottom third of nearly every hitting category in the AL. Know who that guy is? You should, because he was one of their All-Star representatives last year and I’ve already mentioned his name. Sano clubbed 21 home runs and had a .908 OPS in the first half of 2017 and they’re going to need him to step back into that role, and soon, for there to be any hope in 2018. Ted Schwerzler With Miguel Sano out of the picture currently, I think the answer has to be Brian Dozier. Getting Joe Mauer back is great, but he’s more of a defensive asset. Dozier bringing some semblance of his offensive prowess is a must. He’s always been a streaky hitter, but it’s time for him to get going. In a contract year, I’d have hoped for a bit more consistency. After Dozier, I think getting a level of fair production out of Logan Morrison would be nice. He’s flashed reason to be optimistic that things will turn around, but the production hasn’t followed just yet. Steve Buhr I don’t think we can expect much, if anything, from Miguel Sano for a while and it would probably be unfair to load up Byron Buxton with that kind of responsibility before he even shows up for a rehab game. I’d go with Max Kepler. Kepler has been streaky, but the talent is there. I think if he can start consistently contributing some pop and getting on base with regularity, that would do a lot for the Twins’ offense. Andrew Thares The most important player for invigorating the Twins offense remains Brian Dozier. Dozier has been the Twins' offensive leader over the last four seasons and his performance so far this year has been sub-par to put it nicely. However, as Dozier has show in the past, he has the potential to get hot and carry the offense. With Dozier's recent move down to the five spot in the order, it might help him regain his focus and become the All-Star level hitter he has been over the past few years. If you missed any of the previous roundtable discussions, here are the links: Romero’s Rotation Spot Top Prospect Timelines Minnesota’s All-Star Selection Extension Candidates Click here to view the article

Life as a minor league player can be tough. Few players ever get to live out their dream as a regular player at the big league level. For every player who realizes their dream, another player is forced to be released or find another organization to keep his dream alive. Right-handed pitcher Zack Jones was released from the Twins organization on Sunday. The 27-year old was drafted by the organization in the fourth round of the 2012 MLB Draft. He pitched seven years in the minor leagues and reached Triple-A once in 2016. This actually came in the Brewers organization after being taken by Milwaukee in the Rule 5 Draft. This year with the Lookouts he had a 2.49 ERA in 25.1 innings with a 39 to 25 strikeout to walk ratio. He was over 2.5 years older than the competition in the Southern League.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Buffalo 3 Box Score Rochester jumped out to a 1-0 lead without recording a hit in the second inning. With one out, Jake Cave and Kennys Vargas coaxed back-to-back walks. Cameron Rupp moved both runners into scoring position with a groundout. Then with Gregorio Petit batting, a wild pitch allowed Cave to scamper home. Aaron Slegers started for the Red Wings and he saw the lead disappear in the bottom half of the second. With two outs, Slegers allowed a solo home run. He walked the following batter and then a throwing error by third baseman Taylor Featherston allowed an unearned run to score. Overall, Slegers lasted five frames, struck out four and walked two. The Red Wings tied the game in the top of the fifth. Zack Granite led off the inning with a walk before moving to second on a LaMonte Wade single. Nick Gordon grounded out into a near double play to allow Granite to score. However, his hustle down the line forced the pitcher to drop the ball while covering first. Jake Reed took over for Slegers in the sixth and promptly gave up a lead-off double. After a ground out and a sacrifice fly, Bufflo had taken a 3-2 lead. Tyler Duffey and Nick Anderson combined for two shutout innings. Anderson pitched a perfect ninth with a pair of strikeouts. Vargas was the lone Rochester hitter with multiple hits. He finished 2-for-3 with a walk and a double. Granite and Wade both reached base twice. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga --, Birmingham – (Cancelled – Rain) Chattanooga and Birmingham sat in a rain delay before the game was eventually cancelled. The Lookouts finished the first half with a record of 36-33. The club will return home on Thursday to face the Biloxi Shuckers to kick off the second half. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 12 Box Score Cedar Rapids took a first inning lead thanks to back-to-back hits from Jacob Pearson and Alex Kirilloff. Pearson singled with one out before Kirilloff cracked his 19th double of the season. Pearson came all the way around from first to score. Later in the game, Kirilloff collected his 20th double. Jordan Balazovic took his first loss after allowing three earned runs on eight hits. He struck out six and walked two. In relief of Balazovic, Jose Martinez surrendered three earned runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. Tanner Kiest ran into a little trouble in the late innings as he allowed six earned runs on five hits while recording only two outs. Calvin Fauchers finished off the final two outs for the Kernels and without allowing a run. Pearson and Kirilloff got the offense started again in the sixth. With two outs, both batters walked before a Jose Miranda single singled to drive in Pearson. Cedar Rapids loaded the bases the bottom of the ninth but only pushed across one run. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapids (2-for-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Aaron Slegers, Rochester (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 K, 2 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 – Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 0-4, K #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4, 2 2B, RBI, BB #10 – Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 0-5, BB, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Fort Myers vs. Tampa (6:00 CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs. GCL Orioles (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

Twins Daily Roundtable is a new weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less (Some writers don’t like to stick to this limit). This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. Baseball has certainly changed over the years. Gone are the days of starting pitchers throwing 220+ innings on a regular basis. In fact during the 2017 season, only 15 MLB pitchers tossed 200 inning or more. Go back 20 years and there were 40 pitchers during the 1997 season to throw 200 innings or more. Young pitchers like Fernando Romero are another story. No one is expecting Romero to throw 200 innings (at least not yet). In his first big league season, there are questions about how much use the Twins will be able to get out of their rising star. This week’s roundtable discussion question is: “Should Fernando Romero be on an innings limit, and if so, what should it be? If not, why not?”Seth Stohs In my opinion, along with Jose Berrios, Fernando Romero should be a cornerstone of the Minnesota starting rotation for years to come. So while the concept of limiting innings can be disputed (and has been), my biggest concern is doing what is best for Romero and his future. Therefore, I would be in support of an innings limit for the hard-throwing right-hander. In 2016, his first season back from Tommy John, he threw 90 1/3 innings between Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers. You can likely add another 20 to 25 innings that he threw in extended spring training before joining the Kernels in mid-May. He spent the 2017 season in Double-A Chattanooga where he threw 125 innings. Late in the season, he was limited to five innings per start. He came up with a 'dead arm' and was skipped in the final start of the season. If you subscribe to the theory that a 20% increase in workload is where he should be limited, that would be 150 innings. Romero is currently at 62 1/3 innings combined between the Red Wings and Twins. So, maybe a creative DL stint around the All-Star break might be wise. Maybe limiting him to five innings late in the season or piggybacking him with another starter might make sense. Nick Nelson Romero's long-term health should be the team's primary concern, so at some point a limit almost has to come into play. I think somewhere in the 150-175 range would be reasonable after he logged 125 in 2017. One strategy that deserves consideration is giving Romero some time off in the middle of the summer (or maybe a few weeks in the bullpen), thus enabling him to go deeper into the season. But that really only becomes a factor if the team gets on a run pretty quickly here and offers signs that September games will actually matter. John Bonnes Yes, he should be. He should not go over 155 innings and shouldn’t make a start once he gets to 150 innings. Romero is at 62 innings so far this year (21 in AAA, 41 in MLB) which leaves him a maximum of 93 innings. Throughout his career, he’s averaged about 5.1 IP per start, so that gets him about 17 starts. That means he would be shut down mid September. The tougher question is, short of just shelving him late in the season, can the Twins figure out a way to have him available in case those September (or October?) games mean something? Maybe someone else on the roundtable will have a better idea, but to me the answer is “No.” Screwing around with his work, whether that means skipping starts, moving him to the bullpen, or demoting him to AAA for shorter starts, seems risky considering the long-term upside he represents. Plus, given the Twin are on the outskirts of the division race right now, one could argue these games are far more likely to be valuable than those in September. So stay the course with Romero. It’s certainly paid off so far. Tom Froemming Yes, I do think the Twins should be concerned about Romero's workload, but I don't think he needs an overly restrictive innings limit. I don't think I'd want him throwing more than 180 innings, which is a lot these days anyway. Romero logged 125 innings last season, but really sputtered to the finish line. I think it'd be a good idea to skip either Romero's last start heading into the All-Star break or first start after the break. I also think the team should use extreme caution if even the smallest issue should come up. With a DL stint being only 10 days now, you can slide him on there and basically use that to skip a start. I'm sure they'll find ways to get creative if they feel he needs some extra rest. Other than that, let him roll. Maybe he gets hurt, maybe he doesn't, but as long as they're not asking him to throw 120+ pitches or ignoring signs of fatigue, such as a drop in velocity, I think they're doing what's best for him. Cody Christie When considering this question, my first thought was to compare Romero to Berrios because those have been the two “big name” pitching prospects to debut over the last couple of years. The more I thought about it, the more I realized this might be a fool’s errand. These are two different pitchers with two different body types and two different injury histories. Both players are listed at 6-feet tall but Romero has at least 30 pounds more on his frame. Romero has also undergone Tommy John surgery and that plays into the equation as well. Romero’s innings will most certainly be limited at some point this season. However, the new front office has been utilizing tracking data to analyze pitchers for fatigue. I think it will become clear in the second half as to what the front office plans to do. Minnesota isn’t out of the race but Cleveland could pull away. Minnesota needs to be smart with Romero because he can’t be on pace for over 250 innings like Max Scherzer. Jeremy Nygaard It's always important for an organization to be cognizant of a pitcher's workload. So, simply put, the answer is wrong if you think he shouldn't be on some sort of limit. But does it have to revolve around innings? Romero threw 90.1 innings in 2016. He increased that total to 125 in 2017. That might be a little misleading, though, because in his recovery from Tommy John surgery, Romero started the 2016 season with seven weeks in extended spring training. Upon closer look, he threw 1245 pitches in those 90.1 innings in 2016 and threw 1991 pitches in those 125 innings in 2017. His innings increased 38%, but his pitches increased almost 60%. So despite not knowing what his actual workloads were, the Twins let Romero throw a significantly higher number of pitches in 2017. If you wanted him to make 32 starts and not increase the number of pitches he'd throw, he'd still be able to throw over 60 pitches a game. Let's look at how that relates to another young pitcher in the organization, Jose Berrios. Berrios went from 140 inning in 2014 to 166.1 innings to 169.2 innings to 185.1 innings in 2017. Pitch-wise he went from 1450 to 2509 to 2735 to 2942. For both players, as they've increased in level (and facing better hitters), their pitches per inning has increased, but seem to stabilize just shy of 16 pitches per inning. Looking at the jump Berrios took in pitches (not innings) from 2015 to 2017, it was an increase of 1285 pitches. I used the increase of two years because it was basically when he went from being limited to being full-go. If you use that same jump for Romero and divide that number of pitches (1245+1285) by the average pitches per inning (15.74), that puts Romero at about 161 innings before you'd start to get cautious. Of course, that doesn't count the aforementioned work he did in extended spring training. I'd approximate that they could add another 10-15 innings before he hits a hard limit of around 175 innings. At this point in time - around a third of the season - Romero has thrown only 57.1 innings, which has him on a pace to get around 170 innings without skipping any starts. But his pitch total (994) is over 100 pitches over the normal usage pace. In a season where Romero's health is likely to be more important that a few games in September, I'd err on the side of caution if his pitch total continues to trend higher. Maybe we throw innings out completely and don't let him start any more games after he's thrown his 2500th pitch of the year. That's simple enough, right? Ted Schwerzler With regard to Romero and limiting innings this season, I think a good deal of what the Twins should do will be dictated to them by how the rest of the summer plays out. Right now they're a talented team that's severely underperforming. While Cleveland hasn't run away and hid, they are capable of doing that at any point. Should things stay close, the Twins will need to get creative and could skip a few turns for Romero to stretch him out further. If they fall out of it however, I'd have no problem with shutting him down for September. He threw 125 innings a season ago, and 20% seems to be a healthy increase for this year. If he can get up around 150 innings and is still feeling good, then maybe it becomes more of a touch and feel type of thing. At this point, I don't think much of a rigid plan should be put in place. SD Buhr Easy. You add 30 to Fernando Romero’s 125 innings pitched in 2017 and you put a limit of 155 innings this year. That keeps you in compliance with “the Verducci Effect,” which argues that pitchers 25 and under face increased risk of elbow breakdown a year after they increase their workload by 30 or more innings above the previous year. So, if we don’t want Romero breaking down in 2019, we don’t let him pitch more than 155 innings in 2018. The math is easy. But PLEASE tell me that the past 20 years have brought more science to the issue than can be applied using Tom Verducci’s second grade math. Last I knew, most teams were using biomechanics compression sleeves to measure pitching arm fatigue on an individual basis. Maybe there’s something newer. Certainly, there is some way to evaluate when a pitcher is entering risky territory that applies a more scientific approach than adding 125 and 30. So, my answer is, yes, I would limit Romero’s workload this year. But without knowing what the Twins are using to measure his specific level of arm/elbow fatigue, I have no way of knowing where to place that limit. Andrew Thares Yes, I believe Fernando Romero should be on an innings (well, workload) limit as he has never pitched more than the 125 innings he did last season. The main thing the Twins need out of Romero is his long-term health after this season. However, I don’t think the Twins should take the same approach that the Nationals did with Stephen Strasburg a few years back where they rode him all season then shut him down once he hit 160 IP even though they were in the playoff race. However, as things stand, the Twins might not have to do a lot to limit Romero’s innings. He has only thrown 62 1/3 innings so far this year between AAA and MLB. Say the Twins choose to keep him around 160 total innings, this gives Romero roughly 100 innings to work with. So far Romero is averaging just over 5 innings per start. If he keeps that pace it will give him another 17-20 starts with which to work with 100 games left in the season. So in reality, all the Twins might have to do is skip a couple of starts here or there for the rest of the season and he should keep his innings low enough for a potential Twins postseason run. Steve Lein While I was happily wrong in my preseason forecast on how Fernando Romero might be used when predicting players to make their MLB debut this season, the concerns brought up about how many innings he might be able to pitch are still valid. Whether you believe innings limits are a thing or not, Romero just hasn’t pitched much as a professional. His 365 and change career innings pales in comparison to someone like Jose Berrios, who pitched nearly 600 innings in the minors alone, along with a career high of 185. Romero got up to 125 before he was shut down last season. Add in that Berrios is only half of a year older than Romero, and all signs point to Romero being cut off at some point in 2018. I do think he should be on an innings limit due to those reasons and his health history, but where that number should fall I’ll only take a stab at: I’ll predict that if Romero remains healthy and productive going forward, as soon as he hits around that 125 number from last year, he’s going to get shifted into the bullpen and remain there the rest of the season. Let’s call it a compromise on that preseason prediction. If you missed any of the previous roundtable discussions, here are the links: Romero’s Rotation Spot Top Prospect Timelines Minnesota’s All-Star Selection Extension Candidates Click here to view the article

Teams in the minor leagues are starting to separate themselves from the pack. Rochester entered play on Friday with a record right around the .500 mark. This puts them in third place in the International League North. Chattanooga is the lone Twins affiliate with a winning record and they entered play tied for first in the Southern League North. Fort Myers has struggled in the Florida State League and the club is already eliminated from contention in the first half race. Cedar Rapids is also under .500 and the club started Friday closer to the bottom of their division than the top. Even if the clubs aren’t winning, there are still some strong performers in the system. Who shined under the Friday night lights?RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Durham 2 Box Score Both starters put up zeros in this one until the fifth frame. Willians Astudillo led off the bottom of the inning with his fifth home run of the season to put the Red Wings up 1-0. From there, the Red Wings offense went cold. Jake Cave finished 2-for-4 and Chris Carter reached base three times in four plate appearances. Overall, the team only had two at-bats with runners in scoring position and left five runners on base. Adalberto Mejia put together one of his best starts of the season. In seven innings of work, he allowed two runs on five hits while striking out eight and walking one. Luke Bard finished off the game with two shutout innings. He struck out two and walked one. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Montgomery 12 Box Score Chattanooga got out to an early lead after plating six runs in the first four innings of the game. However, the Biscuits found a way to jump all over Lewis Thorpe. Thorpe couldn’t make it out of the fourth inning as he allowed nine runs on nine hits in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out five and walked two. Ryan Eades took over for Thorpe and allowed two earned runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings. Sean Miller had a solid day at the plate. He finished 3-for-3 with three (!!) doubles and two runs scored. LaMonte Wade reached base three times out of the lead-off spot and collected his second double of the season. Brent Rooker reached base four times but he didn’t collect a hit as they were all free passes. Overall, the club went 5-for-16 with runners in scoring position and left nine runners on base. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Dunedin 8 Box Score Fort Myers couldn't put together a big inning in this one and one bad inning for a Miracle pitcher put the team in a hole. Fort Myers scored one run in five different innings but they didn't have a single inning with a crooked number. Jaylin Davis and Luis Arraez did their best to carry the offensive load. Davis finished 4-for-4 with a home run and two RBI. Arraez reached base five times including a 3-for-3 night at the plate with a double and a triple. Charlie Barnes started and pitched five frames. He gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Kevin Marnon was saddled with the loss after he allowed five runs (three earned) on four hits in 1 2/3 innings. Alex Robinson pitched 2 1/3 shutout innings with four strikeouts and two walks. He didn't allow a hit. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Wisconsin 5 Box Score Royce Lewis started off the game with a bang. After falling behind 1-2 in the count, Lewis cracked his fifth home run of the season to put the Kernels up 1-0. Entering play on Friday, he had gone 4-for-31 (.129 BA) in June. The team’s only other run came in the fifth inning when Jacob Pearson led off the frame with a single before Andrew Bechtold drove him in with a double. It was Bechtold’s seventh double of the season. Bryan Sammons put together a strong start on the mound. He lasted seven innings, a season high, and held the Timber Rattlers to four runs (three earned) on five hits. He struck out eight, which also tied a season high. Jose Martinez pitched one inning and allowed one earned run on two hits. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jaylin Davis, Fort Myers (4-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, R) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Adalberto Mejia, Rochester (7.0 IP, 2 ER, 8 K, 1 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 – Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, HR, R, RBI K #3 – Nick Gordon (Rochester) – 0-4 #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3, BB, K #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-1, 4 BB, R #10 – Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 0-4, 2 K #12 – Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) – 3.1 IP, 9 ER, 5 K, 2 BB #13 – Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 1-4, RBI, 2 K #14 – LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 2-4, 2B, BB, R #17 – Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 0-3, R, BB, 2 K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Durham (6:05 CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Montgomery (6:05 CST) – RHP Omar Bencomo (4-0, 2.08 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Dunedin (5:00 CST) – RHP Andro Cutura (3-1, 3.57 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 4.09 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. 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Twins Daily Roundtable is a new weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less. This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. Minnesota has a lot of questions surrounding their roster for next season. The club has very little money committed beyond the 2018 campaign. While this can be seen as a roster reset, it’s also scary to consider which players might be getting significant playing time next season. That being said, extensions are a tricky endeavor. Players reaching free agency can have some flaws. Fans saw how cold the free agent market was last season. This year’s free agent class has some big names but I doubt any of them will end up in a Twins uniform. This week’s roundtable discussion question is: “Who’s the one player the Twins should be working the hardest to sign to an extension?”John Bonnes I’m hesitant to commit long term to pitcher, but Jose Berrios looks like an exception. Here’s why: The Time Is Right Next offseason he’ll be in the sweetest of sweet spots for an extension, between his second and third year of service time. At that point he still has one year of making close to minimum wage, so if he has some arm problems, they’re on him. For that kind of player, especially a pitcher, a big chunk of guaranteed money can make a lot of sense. He’s Young Berrios relatively early start to his career works in both Berrios’ and the Twins’ favor for a long-term extension. He’ll become a free agent after the 2022 season, but he’ll only be 28 years old when he hits the free agent market. If he agrees to a deal that buys out a year of free agency or two, he can still hit the free agent market in his prime as a 29 or 30-year-old He’s Good But you know that. He should be the top priority this offseason for an extension. Nick Nelson Before the season started, I suggested that signing Byron Buxton to a contract extension ought to be the front office's top priority. Right now, that take admittedly looks... not good. But I'm not backing away. In fact, Buxton's tumultuous start to the season only decreases his leverage while increasing that of the Twins. Existing questions about his ability to stay healthy and produce at the plate are only magnified, so his desire to attain long-term security ought to be heightened. Despite his tribulations and constant regressions, I remain a strong believer in Buxton's game-changing talent. I'm confident he'll pull it all together and blossom into an MVP-caliber player. If the Twins take action now, they could score a discount on some of his best years. And if he continues on the path he's currently on? Well, they'll have much bigger concerns than overpaying him in salary. Tom Froemming Can I say Royce Lewis? OK, that may be a bit premature. There are so many good extension candidates, but I’m going to go with the most urgent one to address. No, not Brian Dozier. The player I think the Twins should be working hardest to extend right now is Eduardo Escobar. Like Dozier, Escobar is set to become a free agent at the end of the season. Unlike Dozier, however, Eduado has proven he can be trusted at multiple positions. That creates a ton of flexibility. If Dozier leaves, no problem, Esky can play second. Not convinced Miguel Sano can stick at third? No problem, put Esky there. Think Nick Gordon may need to shift to second base? That’s OK, Esky can handle himself at shortstop. The Twins have no shortage of younger players they’ll certainly be interested in keeping around long term, but time is on the team’s side with the majority of those guys. It would be a shame to see Escobar in another team’s jersey next year. Cody Christie Multiple players could fit into the category of extension worthy. Young players like Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, Eddie Rosario, Miguel Sano, and Jose Berrios are all still in their arbitration years. Veteran players like Brian Dozier, Eduardo Escobar, and Joe Mauer will all be free agents at season’s end. For veteran players, I believe Dozier and Escobar test the free agent market. I doubt either will be back in a Twins uniform next season. Mauer’s reoccurring concussion issues put his future plans in doubt. I don’t think he goes to another team but I don’t know if he will continue playing after this season. For the young core, I don’t trust Sano and Buxton to stay healthy at this point. Rosario is in the midst of a career year so it might not be optimal to sign him right now. That leaves Kepler and Berrios on my list of extension candidates. Pitching has always been a sticking point for the Twins. I try to buy out the remaining arbitration years from Berrios and add on some of his free agent years. Even if he is never a true “ace,” he can provide value at the top of the rotation. Jeremy Nygaard The thing that makes this question really difficult is that the player that's playing the best is likely to be the guy that most fans would say they should try hardest to extend. That guy, right now, is Eddie Rosario. The problem is that when a player is playing the best baseball of his career, you're bound to have to pay a premium to get that player to extend. So I wouldn't work hard - or at all - to extend Rosario. Ask me again the off-season, when Rosario is going into his first arbitration year and his one-year value is somewhat established by previous agreements around the league. Max Kepler would be a better player to approach as he's heading into a Super 2 year. But that means there're four more off-seasons before free agency and it might be too early. The player who would probably get my current vote is Kyle Gibson. One year left of arbitration before free agency, likely to be part of the "rebuild", getting Gibson signed to a two- to three-year deal would give the Twins some cost certainty and not at a huge cost. The risk to committing money to a pitcher should be partially reduced by the fact that even if Gibson regresses badly, he could still be serviceable in the bullpen. Of course, that's worse case scenario. Best case is you're saving a few hundred thousand on a solid piece of the rotation. Likely scenario is you're getting a mid-rotation guy and you know exactly what it's going to cost you. As much as I like thinking about potential extensions, I'm at a point where I'm just curious to see who makes it through the purge in July if things don't start to get a lot better. Seth Stohs At the beginning of this past offseason, I suggested long-term deals for a whole bunch of Twins players: Byron Buxton - 7 years, $76.5 Million Miguel Sano - 6 years, $66 Million (with option to make it 7 years, $86 million) Jose Berrios - 7 years, $46 Million (with option to make it 8 years, $60 million) Eddie Rosario - 5 years, $28.5 Million (with 2 options that could make it 7 years, $54 million) Max Kepler - 7 years, $48 Million (with option to make it 8 years, $61 million) Brian Dozier - 4 years, $65 Million (with an option to make it 5 years, $73 million) Eduardo Escobar - 2 years, $9.5 Million( with an option to make it 3 years, $13.5 million) Admittedly, six months later, the offer to Escobar looks a bit silly. He should get much more than that. Negotiating with Eddie Rosario right now would likely end up in a bad deal for the Twins because Rosario is so hot at the plate right now. It is possible that maybe a Buxton deal or a Dozier deal could be more realistic. As I look at that list, I have zero interest in working on a long-term deal with Sano at this point. But I'd have interest in each of the others. Priority should be Buxton, Berrios and Kepler, and then Rosario if he ever cools down. SD Buhr Royce Lewis OK, I’m kidding. But not completely. If they are as convinced he’s going to be as good as the rest of us think he is, it might not be the dumbest move they’ve ever made to get him locked up for a long time right now. And given that his agent is Scott Boras, they may HAVE to sign extend him right now if they want to have any hope of getting him signed long term, because you know that once he’s even at AA, Boras will want him to just play year-to-year until he’s a free agent. Otherwise, though, I’d probably have to suggest getting Jose Berrios locked up ahead of his peers. Before the season started, I would have suggested Byron Buxton, but I’m starting to get concerned about whether he’ll ever stay healthy long enough in one stretch to become the hitter we all felt he could eventually become. I have similar, if not greater, concerns about Miguel Sano’s long term viability. Given the challenges the Twins have had finding and keeping a legitimate top-of-the-rotation arm, they probably should try to extend Berrios right now. Sure, there’s no guarantee that he’ll become a true “ace” (however you choose to define that term), but that’s probably where I’d put my money first, at this point. Jamie Cameron With their young offensive core, there have been so many challenges between injuries and suspensions. For me, its Jose Berrios by a mile. The Twins haven't had a potential tandem like Berrios and Romero since Santana and Liriano. Berrios is taking steps forward in 2018. He's improved his K/9 from 8.6 to 8.9, reduced his BB/9 from just under 3.0 to 1.7 and is on track to have a fWAR of 4.2 in 2018, that's borderline all-star level. He's currently 24th among pitchers in MLB with an fWAR of 1.4 (Kyle Gibson is 22nd!). On top of all of this, Berrios has developed his curveball into one of the better versions of this pitch in baseball. He has an unrelenting thirst to maximize his talent, and just turned 24. The Twins should lock up Berrios ASAP; he can lead their rotation for the next 6-8 years. Andrew Thares I think that despite his lackluster performance this year, Byron Buxton is still the guy the Twins should be working the hardest to sign to an extension right now. His upside is going away the greatest of any player on the Twins, and when healthy he probably still has the highest floor of any Twins player on the roster given what he can do in the outfield and on the base paths. Buxton’s skill set is another factor that plays into it. Speed is unquestionably his greatest strength, and he should remain one of the fastest players in baseball until around his early 30s. As if right now Buxton is eligible to become a free agent right after his age 27 season. This means he will be a very attractive asset on the open market (assuming he doesn’t keep hitting below the Mendoza Line). If the Twins can eat up a couple of Buxton’s free agent years with an extension, I think it will pay huge dividends down the road. Ted Schwerzler This is a tricky question because I think there's more talented players ahead of the guy I believe the Twins should work to retain. Brian Dozier is going to hit the open market, and Minnesota's effort should begin and end with a qualifying offer. Joe Mauer makes sense to be brought back on a one or two year deal if he's healthy, but the brain injury coming back into play could jeopardize that and force him to walk away. Eduardo Escobar isn't going to set the world on fire, but I think we've seen what he brings to the club as a utility guy. Some team may be willing to overpay for that, but if there's a reasonable deal to be made there, that's where I'd look first if I was Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. Steve Lein Three household names will hit free agency heading into the 2019 season: Joe Mauer, Brian Dozier, and Eduardo Escobar. These are your options as I don’t think Jose Berrios or any of the Twins other young talent are saying yes to a deal at this point, so I wouldn’t be working hard on one. Many would like Mauer to play for the Twins his entire career, and for as long as they’ll have him I think that will be the case. So, I don’t try too hard here either. Brian Dozier has been a superstar at his position for three years now and is a veteran leader in the clubhouse. He also can only play second base and his heirs apparent are already at AAA (Nick Gordon) or on the suspended list (Jorge Polanco). But I’d work the hardest on Eduardo Escobar even without those notes considered. He’s among the best utility players in the game and has thrived when thrown into a starting role. This year he leads all 2B, SS, and 3B in doubles, continuing his blistering finish to the 2017 season. He’s also a veteran presence and extremely likeable, so he’s my pick. If you missed any of the previous roundtable discussions, here are the links: Romero’s Rotation Spot Top Prospect Timelines Minnesota’s All-Star Selection Click here to view the article

One year from now, you could be reading about Trevor Larnach impacting a minor league lineup. The Twins took Larnach with the 20th overall pick on Monday night. On this night, there were multiple former first round and supplemental first round picks impacting the organization. Kohl Stewart (2013 Draft) started in Chattanooga and was replaced by Tyler Jay (2015 Draft). On the offensive side, Brent Rooker (2017 Draft) batted second in the Lookouts lineup. Would any of these players impact the final scores on Monday? Read on to find out.NEWS AND NOTES -Alex Kirilloff, the team’s 2016 first-round pick, was named the Midwest League Player of the Week. He went 13-for-30 with three doubles, three home runs and eight RBIs. He had a .485 slugging percentage and an OPS of .833 while drawing three walks and scoring eight runs. -LHP Tyler Watson was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Fort Myers. -LHP Kevin Marnon was promoted from Elizabethton to Fort Myers. -RHP Moises Gomez was transferred from Fort Myers to Elizabethton -RHP Brady Anderson was placed on the 7-day disabled list CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Mobile 6 Box Score As the 2018 MLB Draft was underway, it’s fitting that former first-round pick Kohl Stewart started the game and he was relieved by former first-round pick Tyler Jay. Stewart scattered nine hits but limited the BayBears to two runs (one earned). He struck out seven, his second highest total of the season, and he walked one. Jay pitched two shutout frames by allowing two hits and striking out a pair. The Lookouts offense took a while to get moving but things started heating up in the seventh frame. James Ramsey and Brian Navarreto both walked to start the inning. Alex Perez loaded the bases with a single. Chattanooga’s first run was scored on a ground out by Ryan Walker. Sean Miller, LaMonte Wade, and Brent Rooker strung together three straight singles to put the Lookouts up 4-2. Things got a little out of hand in the ninth inning for Williams Ramirez. He was charged with his second loss after allowing four runs on four hits with one strikeout and no walks. He’s blown three saves so far this year out of nine save opportunities. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 4 Box Score The Miracle used a big fifth inning to take a lead in the middle innings. With one out, Travis Blankenhorn and Brandon Lopez singled to put runners on the corners. Caleb Hamilton laced a double to center field to tie the game 1-1. Jimmy Kerrigan was intentionally walked to load the bases. After a Joe Cronin strikeout, Mitchel Kranson singled to put Fort Myers up 3-1. Tyler Watson was cruising through eight innings but the top of the ninth inning was when things started to fall apart. After allowing a double to start the frame, he committed a fielding error to allow another runner to reach base. Tom Hackimer replaced Watson but he couldn’t hold the lead. Three runs scored in the inning and the Miracle ended up on the wrong end of this one. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jimmy Kerrigan, Fort Myers (2-for-4, BB, 2 K) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Watson, Fort Myers (8.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 K, 0 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-4, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K #13 – Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 0-4, K #14 – LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 2-5, K #17 – Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 1-3, R, BB, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Indianapolis (6:05 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (4-1, 4.00 ERA) Chattanooga vs. Mobile (6:15 CST) – RHP Sean Poppen (0-1, 5.79 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Palm Beach (6:00 CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (5:35 CST) – RHP Blayne Enlow (0-1, 3.81 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Beloit (Game 2) – RHP Melvi Acosta (1-1, 1.86 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article