Cody Christie

All four Twins affiliates found themselves in close contests on Sunday. Two clubs were able to hold on and win by two runs or fewer. The other two clubs held big early leads and saw them disappear in the late innings. Who was able to perform well? Who struggled on Sunday? Let’s jump in.TRANSACTIONS OF Tanner English promoted to Rochester. OF Luke Raley placed on the 7-day IL with a left-ankle strain. AWARDS The Twins announced their weekly Hitter and Pitcher of the Week: Hitter of the Week: Lewin Diaz, Fort MyersDiaz played in six games for the Miracle and went 9-for-27 (.333 BA) with one double, three home runs, six RBI and a 1.037 OPS. Diaz, 22, was signed out of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic in July of 2013.Pitcher of the Week: Andrew Cabezas, Cedar RapidsCabezas made one start his week on Wednesday against Quad Cities. He pitched seven shutout innings with one hit allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts. Cabezas, 22, was drafted by the Twins in the 18th round of the 2018 First-Year Player Draft from the University of Miami. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 4 Box Score Rochester used a balanced offensive attack to score runs in five different innings. This included two runs in the final three innings, which turned out to be the difference in the game. The Red Wings scored first with two runs in the second. Randy Cesar hit a two-run home run, his fourth long ball of the season. In the fifth, newly promoted Tanner English hit a solo shot. To put that in perspective, he only had four home runs all last season. Zack Littell pitched five strong innings by scattering four hits. He allowed one earned run with two strikeouts and a walk. After Littell allowed a run, Jack Cave quickly got it back with a home run to push Rochester’s lead to 4-1. Andrew Vasquez struggled to keep the Red Wings ahead. He was able to get only one out and he was charged with three earned runs. Jake Reed pitched the next 1 2/3 without allowing an earned run to score. He was charged with a blown save because of the inherited runners he got from Vasquez. Reed struck out three. Gabriel Moya pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. Preston Guilmet earned his fifth save with a scoreless ninth. Rochester was able to come back thanks to a solo home run from Zander Wiel. It was his seventh of the year. Jake Cave added a two-out insurance run in the ninth. LaMonte Wade had walked and Wiel moved him to second on a single. Cave took care of the rest with a single to center. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 4, Mobile 3 (10 Innings) Box Score Pensacola is usually in good shape with Brusdar Graterol on the mound. That continued to be the case on Sunday, but he wsa not around to see the end of this one. Graterol pitched five strong innings as he allowed two runs on six hits. He struck out seven and walked two. Of his 81 pitches, 51 were for strikes. He reached 102 mph with his first pitch of the game. Alex Kirilloff created a run by himself in the bottom of the second. He doubled to lead off the inning and stole third. On the play, there was a throwing error by the catcher and Kirilloff was able to scamper home. Pensacola plated two more runs in the third after Travis Blankenhorn blasted his sixth home run of the year. The Blue Wahoos were up 3-1 and the game was in the hands of the bullpen. Alex Phillips and Tom Hackimer took over from Graterol. Each pitched a scoreless frame. Phillips walked one and allowed one hit, but he kept Mobile off the board. For Hackimer, he hasn’t allowed an earned run since 4/26. Ryan Mason pitched the final three frames. He allowed the tying run in the eighth, but he finished with two shutout frames for his second win. Joe Cronin started on second in the bottom of the tenth. Mark Contreras moved him to third on a sacrifice bunt. After a walk to Blankenhorn, Jaylin Davis slapped a single past a diving third baseman. The Wahoos won and celebrated on the field. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, St. Lucie 8 Box Score For the first time since 2015, the Miracle were swept at home in a three-game series. Fort Myers was up by as many as five runs in this game, but the Mets proved to be too much. Fort Myers built their lead with four runs in the first inning. Royce Lewis collected a one-out single and moved to third on a double from Lewin Diaz. With Jose Miranda batting, a wild pitch allowed Lewis to score. Then Miranda drove Diaz in with a single. Ryan Jeffers capped the inning with a two-run homer. Diaz was also part of the scoring in the third inning. He led off the inning with his seventh home run of the season. Fort Myers had their largest lead of the game at 5-0. Lewis would score a run in the fifth without the help of his teammates. He lined a one-out double then he moved to third and scored on two wild pitches. Fort Myers had a 6-2 advantage. Jordan Balazovic started but he couldn’t make it out of the sixth inning. Overall, he was charged with four runs on six hits. He struck out eight including the first five batters of the game. Also, he has collected seven strikeouts or more in every appearance this season. Johan Quezada pitched two scoreless innings in relief. He walked one and allowed a hit. Joe Record ran into some trouble in the ninth after pitching a scoreless eighth. He allowed four runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout. Anthony Vizcaya came in to try and clean up the mess. It was a tough situation with a tie game and two runners on base. He walked the bases loaded and then saw runs score on a single and a sacrifice fly. He struck out the final two batters he faced. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Clinton 8 Box Score Much like the Miracle, the Kernels saw an early lead evaporate in the late innings. Andrew Bechtold put a two-spot on the scoreboard in the second with his third home run. Chris Williams had doubled earlier in the frame. Cedar Rapids kept the scoring going in the third. Gabriel Maciel walked to start the inning and then Gilberto Celestino smacked a two-run home run. Jacob Pearson followed with a single and then Williams drove him in with a triple. Williams was able to score on a wild pitch and the Kernels were up 6-0. Josh Winder was given an early lead, but he struggled to hold on to it. He allowed four runs on seven hits while striking out three and walking one. It was his shortest outing since 4/20. Brian Rapp took over for Winder and he had his own struggles. In two innings of work, he allowed three runs on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Derek Molina took the loss, but he came into a tough situation after the first three batters had reached in the eighth inning. Cedar Rapids was still up 7-5 but there were two runners in scoring position. The first batter he faced hit a single to score a run. He struck out the next two batters but a two-out single put Clinton up by one. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Brusdar Graterol, Pensacola (5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 2 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Travis Blankenhorn, Pensacola (3-4, HR, 2B, 2 RBI, R, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-4, 2B, 2 R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 2-3, 2B, R, BB, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 7 K, 2 BB #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – Did not play #5 - Wander Javier (EST) – Injured (quad), return…unknown #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Injured (wrist) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Injured List #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List (adductor) #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List, late-May return possible #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, HR, 2 RBI, R #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 0-3, BB, 2K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, 2 RBI, R #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 5.0 IP, ER, 4 H, 2 K, BB #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 0-4, R, BB, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, RBI, R, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester – Scheduled Off-Day Pensacola vs. Mobile (6:35 CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (5-0, 1.43 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Bradenton (5:30 CST) – RHP Jhoan Duran (0-3, 4.21 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Burlington (6:35 CST) – RHP Luis Rijo (0-4, 4. ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Nick Gordon started the year on the injured list, but he was off to a hot start since returning to Rochester. In eight games, he had gone 12-for-34 with five doubles, five RBI, and three stolen bases. Unfortunately, he ended up back on the injured list with a left adductor strain. It’s an important season for Gordon, so it’s tough to see him back on the IL. There were lots of other transactions on Tuesday including some prominent players in the organization.TRANSACTIONS INF Nick Gordon placed on 7-day IL with Rochester (left adductor strain). RHP Chase De Jong placed on 7-day IL with Rochester (left quad strain). INF Luis Arraez promoted to Rochester. C Ben Rortvedt promoted to Pensacola. C David Banuelos promoted to Fort Myers. OF Akil Baddoo placed on 7-day IL with Fort Myers (left elbow strain). OF DaShawn Keirsey on 7-day IL with Cedar Rapids (left shoulder strain). OF Jared Akins promoted to Cedar Rapids. OF Jean Carlos Arias promoted to Cedar Rapids. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Charlotte 13 Box Score Rochester found themselves in an early hole as Zack Littell allowed five runs in the third inning. This included three home runs. He was able to reign it in a little from there as he pitched five innings and struck out six while walking one. Addison Reed continued to struggle out of the Red Wings bullpen. His fastball topped out in the high 80’s and he just doesn’t look like the pitcher Minnesota signed prior to the 2018 campaign. He allowed two runs, both solo home runs, on three hits. Nick Gordon’s injury allowed Luis Arraez made his Triple-A debut. He batted lead-off and played second base. Miguel Sano was also in the line-up and playing third. Both players ended the night 2-for-5 and Arraez scored a run. Tomas Telis and LaMonte Wade both cracked solo home runs to keep the game in reach. Drew Maggi had one of the biggest hits of the night, a two-run bomb in the top of the eighth inning to bring Rochester within one at 7-6. Rochester tied it on a Jake Cave single but that’s as close as it got. Charlotte answered quickly with six runs in the bottom of the eighth. Zack Weiss took the brunt of the attack as he was charged with four earned runs on four hits in 1 1/3 innings. Fernando Romero gave up a pair of home runs in 2/3 of an inning. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 3, Chattanooga 0 Box Score Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol was on the mound for Pensacola and he had most of his stuff working on this night. He limited the Lookouts to no runs on three hits in five innings. He struck out three and walked two. It was his second straight appearance allowed no runs and he has allowed two runs or fewer in his last four appearances. The Blue Wahoos offense didn’t wake-up until the fifth inning. Mark Contreras doubled to score Joe Cronin and put Pensacola up 1-0. In the eighth inning, the club loaded the bases with nobody out. Mitchell Kranson drove in a run on a ground out to second. Cronin followed with a sacrifice fly. Tom Hackimer tossed two scoreless innings for his second hold in as many appearances at Double-A. Cody Stashak earned his third save by pitching two perfect frames. He struck out two and lowered his season ERA to 1.42. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 8, Bradenton 1 Box Score Fort Myers put up a five spot in the top of the third inning and the pitching staff was able to take over from there. Ryan Costello lead off that inning with his fifth home run. With one out, Michael Helman singled and Royce Lewis drove him in with his seventh double of the season. Jose Miranda drove in Lewis with a two-out RBI single to push the lead to 3-0. The inning continued with Lewin Diaz matching Lewis with his seventh double of the season. He moved to third on the throw as Miranda scored. Trey Cabbage brought Diaz in with his first triple. The Miracle had a 5-0 lead thanks to four extra-base hits in the inning. Costello got things started again in the sixth frame. He led off with a walk before moving to second on a single from Helman. Lewis pushed the lead to 6-1 with his second double of the game. Trevor Larnach used a ground out to push across the second run of the inning. On the mound, Edwar Colina bounced back nicely after struggling in his last appearance. He allowed one run on four hits over six innings. Colina struck out 10 and walked three. He also became the third Miracle pitcher to hit triple digits on the radar gun this season. Hector Lujan and Melvi Acosta combined for three shutout innings to end the game. Lujan piled up four strikeouts in two perfect innings. Acosta walked one in his inning of work. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 11 Box Score Luis Rijo got knocked around in this one as he allowed a season high seven runs (six earned) on nine hits. He didn’t make it out of the fifth inning for the first time since April 24. He struck out three and walked four. Things didn’t go much better for Brian Rapp. He was charged with three runs on four hits. He pitched 2 1/3 innings and struck out one. Zach Neff pitched two innings and allowed one run on two hits. He struck out two and walked one. Jacob Pearson drove in the first run of the game for the Kernels. His single in the second brought in Andrew Bechtold. On the same play, Gabriel Maciel was thrown out at the plate. Gabe Snyder had one of the team’s two extra-base hits, a double. Chris Williams added a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth, but it was a little too late for a Kernels comeback. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Edwar Colina, Fort Myers (6.0 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 10 K, 3 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Drew Maggi, Rochester (4-4, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 2-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 0-5, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, 3 K, 2 BB #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, RBI, K #5 - Wander Javier (EST) – Injured, early May return #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – Did not play #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did not pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Injured List #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 0-5, 2 K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 1-3, BB #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – Did not play #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – 5.0 IP, 5 ER, 7 H, 6 K, BB #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-5, RBI, R, 3 K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-5, RBI, R WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04 CST) – TBD Pensacola @ Chattanooga (10:15 AM CST) – RHP Randy Dobnak (4-0, 0.84 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (4-0, 0.66 ERA) Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities (12:05 CST) – RHP Andrew Cabezas (0-3, 4.21 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games. Click here to view the article

Minnesota had been home to some other cult heroes before Willians Astudillo started to fill the role. Lew Ford debuted with the Twins as a 26-year old rookie in 2003. From 2004-2006, he averaged 135 games played on two teams that won the AL Central. Chants of “LEEEEWWWWWW” rained down from the Metrodome faithful. Ford is now 42 but guess what? He’s still playing baseball.Ford’s Origins Ford was drafted in the 12th round of the 1999 amateur draft by the Boston Red Sox. He had spent four years in college, so he was 22-years old when he signed. His time in the Boston organization would be short lived, as he was deal to Minnesota on September 9, 2000 for Hector Carrasco. He spent the 2001 season at High-A and Double-A without showing many positive signs. He hit .259/.333/.377 with 38 extra-base hits in 129 games. He was over a year older than the competition in the Florida State League. He 2002 season might have been his coming out party. He combined for a .903 OPS at Double-A and Triple-A. It was getting harder for the Twins to ignore his production. Ford continued to hit the ball at Triple-A in 2003 and the Twins called him up. He played 34 games that season and batted .329/.402/.575 with 11 extra-base hits in 34 games. Ford got one playoff at-bat that year and struck out against Mariano Rivera in his only plate appearance. Minnesota would fall to the Yankees three games to one. Minnesota Nice Ford’s best season was the 2004 campaign. He played 154 games and batted .299/.381/.446 with 15 home runs and 31 doubles. It was his only big-league season where he’d finish with double-digit home runs. He finished in the top-25 in the MVP voting. He’d play 147 games in 2005 but his numbers came back to the pack. His OBP was still .338 but his slugging percentage dipped to .377. Minnesota would use Ford for 159 games over the next two seasons, but his numbers continued to dwindle. He played 104 games in 2006 and his OBP dropped to .287 and his slugging percentage dropped to .312. He was granted his free agency in October 2007. Comeback King Ford tried to mount comebacks with multiple teams in the years after leaving Minnesota. The Rockies and the Reds signed him, but he never appeared at the big-league level. However, he would make it back to the big leagues in 2012 with the Baltimore Orioles. He played in 25 regular seasons games that season and saved his best for the postseason. In three playoff games, he went 3-for-9 with a double, an RBI and two runs scores. Baltimore won the AL Wild Card Game against Texas but fell to the New York in the ALDS. For Ford, he got to relive his big-league dream at age-35. Long Island Legend Since he turned 32, Ford has played parts of multiple seasons with the Long Island Ducks in the independent Atlantic League. He has also spent time playing in Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic but Long Island has become his second home. During the 2018 campaign, he was 41 years old. That was almost 12 years older than the competition in the Atlantic League. He played 123 games and hit .293/.352/.432 with 33 doubles and 10 home runs. This season, he has served as a coach and mentor, but the Ducks have still allowed him to play in 11 games during his age-42 season. Wally Backman, Long Island’s manager, has nothing but praise for Ford. “He's been here, he's a part of this community, and if he wants to play and thinks he can still perform, I'll have him here with me. Lew is in the gym every day, there's a lot of work. He takes care of himself very well. You see the longevity of players today outlast players of when I played. There's so much more for a player to do -- the vitamins and the work ethic -- where we just played baseball in the 80's. We weren't in the gym like these players are today and we didn't have the supplements that are available to the players today. If you take care of yourself, and I think Lew has done that, you're able to play up to that level. Lew can hit, and he can still run." Over 21-seasons at all levels, he has hit .296/.369/.448. He has 2331 career hits, 193 career home runs, and 495 career doubles. If you listen closely, you can still hear the chants of his name radiate at the Metrodome. What was your favorite Lew Ford memory? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Over most of the last two decades, Minnesota has struggled to find consistency at the shortstop position. Jorge Polanco and his tremendous start might be the person to stop this revolving door. Maybe it’s the newfound security of his off-season extension. Maybe he’s trying to make-up for his suspension from last season. Or maybe, just maybe, this is the player he was always going to be.Polanco is setting a record pace to start the season. Since the team moved to Minnesota, Rod Carew is the only middle infielder to post an OPS+ of 144 or more. Polanco entered play on Monday with a 165 OPS+. Polanco is on a record pace, so let’s see how the other top seasons stack up. Honorable Mention Brian Dozier (2016): 134 OPS+ Dozier’s 2016 campaign finished just outside the top-5 on this list but it seems fitting to include him as an honorable mention. He clubbed 42 home runs that season. He’s the only player not named Harmon Killebrew to pop more than 40 long-balls in one season. Unlike the other players on this list, Dozier didn’t hit for a high average. His 134 OPS+ was the highest total of his career. He finished 13th in the AL MVP voting, but five players in front of him had a lower WAR. 5. Chuck Knoblauch (1995): 136 OPS+ The Twins teams of the mid- and late-90’s were tough to watch but these are some of my first concrete baseball memories. During the strike-shortened 1995 season, Minnesota only won 56 games. Knoblauch finished with the second highest batting average of his career. His .911 OPS was aided by 34 doubles and eight triples. He had led the league with 45 doubles in 1994 but some of those balls went out of the park in 1995. He cracked double-digit home runs for the first time in his career. He finished 17th in the MVP voting but his 6.7 WAR ranked him fourth among position players. 4. Chuck Knoblauch (1996): 143 OPS+ Knoblauch’s 1996 campaign was clearly the best season of his career. He finished third in WAR trailing only Ken Griffey Jr. and Alex Rodriguez. He hit .341, a career high. In fact, he would never hit above .300 for the rest of his career. He led the AL with 14 triples, but he also had 13 home runs and 35 doubles. Minnesota was closer to .500 as the club finished 78-84. Clearly, the MVP voters paid little attention to the happenings in Minnesota. Knoblauch finished 16th in the MVP race. His 8.7 WAR was more than double that year’s MVP, Juan Gonzalez. 3. Rod Carew (1973): 144 OPS+ There were lots of firsts for Carew during the 1973 season. His first time leading the league in hits. His first time leading the league in triples. He would also finish in the top-5 for the AL MVP for the first time. All 24 first place votes went to Oakland’s Reggie Jackson, but a theme starts to emerge with Carew’s seasons. His WAR total was higher than the players between him and Jackson. Carew’s batting average was over 50 points higher than Jackson. Carew stole 41 bases during the season and the Twins finished 82-80. 2. Rod Carew (1974): 150 OPS+ For the first time in his career, Carew led all of baseball in hits. He would do this one other time during his MVP season. His .364 batting average was the second highest of his career and his .433 OBP was only 16 points behind the 1977 campaign. His 7.5 WAR was the third highest total of his career. He finished seventh in the MVP voting. However, only Fergie Jenkins had a higher WAR total out of the players ahead of him in the voting. 1. Rod Carew (1975): 157 OPS+ Carew’s best season for OPS+ wasn’t even the year he was named AL MVP (1977). For that season, he started all but five games at first base, so that season doesn’t qualify for this list. He posted a 178 OPS+ that year, a career high, and led the league in runs, hits, triples, batting average, OBP, OPS, and OPS+. The 1975 campaign was his last season playing in the middle infield. He won his fourth consecutive batting title and his fifth batting title overall. That season marked on the second time he had led the league on OBP, which was assisted by a league high 18 intentional walks. He was hitting above .400 into the middle of June and flirted with getting back there in late July. He finished ninth in the MVP voting but his 7.9 WAR that season was higher than all but one player ahead of him in the voting. Will Polanco be able to break the record? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

For many Twins fans, the signing of Martin Perez wasn’t viewed in a positive light. The left-handed hurler had struggled in recent years with Texas. So far this season, he’s turned into one of the bright spots on a very strong Twins team. One pitch has made all the difference for Mr. Perez.Maybe fans shouldn’t have doubted the Twins front office. Thad Levine was very familiar with Perez from his own days in the Rangers front office. Before joining the Twins, Derek Falvey might have been best known for what he was able to do with the Cleveland pitching staff. Everything’s Bigger in Texas Perez was a regular part of the Ranger’s rotation from 2016-2017. During that time, he averaged over 190 innings per season, but he struggled to get consistent outs. He ranked near the top of the league in earned runs allowed and walks. Also, he wasn’t striking out batters on a consistent basis. He averaged just over five strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Statcast paints an even bleaker picture of what he was doing on the mound. His XBA ranked in the bottom 6% in the league for three consecutive seasons. In his last full season as a starter, his XSLG was in the bottom 7% of the league and his WOBA was in the bottom 1% of league. His strikeout percentage was also in the bottom 7% of the league for three straight seasons. Moving to the bullpen in 2018 didn’t help many of his numbers. His WHIP ballooned to 1.78, a career high. His strikeout and walk rates also stayed nearly the same. Perez’s hits per nine and home runs per nine average jumped to twice his career average. It was time for a change. The Birth of a Cutter During spring training, Perez got some advice from Johan Santana and Jake Odorizzi. From this advice, he was able to add a cut fastball that has kept batters off-balance. This pitch has become a secret weapon as hitters have been unable to solve this new addition to his pitching repertoire. Perez has thrown his new found pitch 34.8% of the time this season. He has 39 strikeouts and 13 of them have been as a result of the cutter. When facing Houston’s potent line-up, he limited the Astros to four hits over eight shutout innings. In that start, he threw his cutter on 43 of his 100 pitches. Perez seemed to put it all together on Monday night against Toronto. He collected a season high nine strikeouts in seven shutout innings. Five of his nine strikeouts came on the cutter. Out of his 102 pitches against the Blue Jays, he threw his cutter 34 times. Blue Jays hitters only managed one hit against the cutter. Will Perez be able to keep this up in the months and weeks ahead? Will the league eventually be able to figure him out? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

The Miracle nearly had a no-hitter on Sunday and now the Kernels find themselves on the wrong side of a contest on Monday. Minor league contests are tough when it comes to strong pitching performances. How long can a starter last? How close can a club get to history? One team was able to make that happen on Monday night.TRANSACTIONS INF Ronald Torreyes placed on the temporary inactive list, retroactive to May 4. RHP Tom Hackimer promoted from Fort Myers to Pensacola. RHP Edwar Colina reinstated from 7-day IL for Fort Myers. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester enjoyed an off-day on Monday. The club currently sits at 12-16 before starting a three-game series with the Toledo Mud Hens. Rochester is currently 6.5 games behind Lehigh Valley. The club has a sub-.500 record at home and on the road. Brent Rooker could be one of the hitters to provide a boost in Rochester. Other than that, there might continue to be some struggles for Minnesota’s Triple-A squad. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 6, Mississippi 2 Box Score Pensacola used a five-run seventh inning to separate themselves from the Braves. Alex Kirilloff got things started for the Blue Wahoos with a run-scoring triple in the third frame. Tanner English got the scoring started in the seventh with a two-run double. Jordan Gore follow with a run-scoring single before Kirilloff drove him in with a single of his own. Kirilloff was able to score on fielding error. Sean Poppen started and lasted five frames. He scattered two runs on three hits, but he struggled with five walks. He was able to punch out seven batters and he lowered his season ERA to 2.84. Jeff Ames took over for Poppen. He pitched 1 2/3 innings and allowed one run on three hits. He struck out one and walked one. Cody Stashak continued to be tremendous in relief. He pitched 2 1/3 perfect innings by striking out three. He’s allowed only one run in his last five appearances while striking out 14 in 9 1/3 innings of work. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Charlotte 6 Box Score Fort Myers had won five straight games, but the club struggled to find any offense on this night. Especially when their opponent scored six runs in the first four innings. In his first appearance this season, Edwar Colina struggled. Colina allowed six earned runs on eight hits in less than five innings of work. He struck out five and walked three. He was making his first appearance since the Florida State League clinching game last September. Rickey Ramirez did a great job in relief as he tossed 2 1/3 innings of shutout ball. He retired all seven batters he faced, and he struck out six, including the last five batters he saw. Joe Record also picked up the pitching staff with one perfect inning. He didn’t allow a hit and he struck out one. Overall, the pitching staff struck out 12 in eight innings of work. Fort Myers nearly matched Charlotte in hits (7 to 8) but the club couldn’t come up with the big one. Jose Miranda tried his best with a 3-for-4 night including his seventh double. He had three of the club’s four hits against the opposing starter. Royce Lewis collected his second triple. Overall, the club was 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position and the team left eight men on base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, South Bend 2 Box Score Cedar Rapids could literally muster nothing when it came to the offensive side of the ball. The Kernels found themselves on the wrong side of a no-hitter on Monday. Cedar Rapids had one base runner the entire night. Andrew Bechtold was able to break up the perfect game with a walk. Other than that, there was little to discuss on the offensive side of the ball. Josh Winder did all he could to keep Cedar Rapids in the game. He pitched a complete game, the first of his career, and limited the Cubs to two runs on three hits. He struck out six and walked two. Winder has pitched a minimum of five innings in every start and he has yet to surrender more than two earned runs. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day- Josh Winder, Cedar Rapids (8 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 6 K, 2 BB) TD Hitter of the Day- Alex Kirilloff, Pensacola (3-5, 3B, 2 RBI, R) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, 3B #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 3-5, 3B, 2 RBI, R #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 0-3, BB, 2 K #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - No Game #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – No Scheduled Game #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did not pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – No Scheduled Game #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – 0-5, 4 K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - No Game Scheduled #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, RBI, R, K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) – 2-4, 2B #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 0-3 #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – No Scheduled Game #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – No Scheduled Game #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did not pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 3-4, 2B, R, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester vs. Toledo (5:35 CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (2-2, 4.50 ERA) Pensacola @ Mississippi (6:35 CST) – RHP Jorge Alcala (4-1, 4.71 ERA) Fort Myers @ Charlotte (5:30 CST) – LHP Bryan Sammons (3-0, 0.40 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 CST) – RHP Luis Rijo (0-3, 3.43 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Alex Kirilloff was activated last Thursday from the disabled list. He missed the Blue Wahoo’s first 26 games after suffering a wrist injury late in spring training. Coming off a monster 2018 season, Kirilloff is widely considered the second-best prospect in the Twins organization. Entering the season, Kirilloff was ranked as MLB.com’s number nine prospect and Baseball America ranked him as number 15. Minnesota’s other top position player prospects have struggled to start the year. Some injuries have been to blame. Can Kirilloff help to boost a struggling group?In case you missed any of them, Twins Daily named its Award winners for April. Hitter of the Month - Trey CabbageStarting Pitcher of the Month - Devin SmeltzerRelief Pitcher of the Month - Ryan MasonAll rankings below are from the Twins Daily Top-20 Prospects. 1. Royce Lewis- Fort Myers Last week, the discussion arose about the possibility of Royce Lewis being baseball’s best prospect. Lewis has struggled to start the season. Through his first 28 games, he is hitting .227/.323/.273 with four extra-base hits. He has yet to hit a home run after clubbing 14 a season ago. He has done well against lefties by going 8-for-20 with two extra-base hits and more walks (3) than strikeouts (2). 2. Alex Kirilloff- Pensacola Kirilloff’s wrist injury obviously impacts his start to the season. In his first four games, he has gone 4-for-13 with a double. His three walks in 18 plate appearances have helped him to get on base 50% of the time. In Pensacola, Kirilloff is nearly three years younger than the competition. It seems likely for him to spend the majority of the year at Double-A. However, he could still make his big league debut this season. 4. Trevor Larnach- Fort Myers Larnach is part of a key group of 2018 draft picks populating the Miracle roster. In his first 28 games, he is hitting .279/.325/.369 with 10 doubles. Only one player has more doubles in the Florida State League. During his professional debut, Larnach posted a 28 to 21 strikeout to walk ratio. This season, he already has 25 strikeouts, but he has coaxed only eight walks. 5. Wander Javier- Extended Spring Training Javier hasn’t played since 2017. He missed all of 2018 after having surgery in his non-throwing shoulder. His start to the 2019 season has been delayed because of a right quad strain. He needs to show he can stay healthy. Minnesota will have to add him to the 40-man roster this off-season and he hasn’t played a game above the Appalachian League. 6. Brent Rooker- Rochester During his age-24 season, Rooker is getting on base 27% of the time and he has a .753 OPS. During the 2017 campaign, he posted a .930 OPS across two levels. He clubbed 18 home runs that year and his prospect stock couldn’t have been higher. Last year in Double-A his OPS dipped to .798 and he struck out a whopping 150 times in 130 games. He already has 30 strikeouts this season in 17 games. 10. Akil Baddoo- Fort Myers Baddoo has struggled to make consistent contact during his first taste of the Florida State League. He’s averaged more than a strikeout per game but there has only been one game this season where he faced a pitcher younger than himself. When he has made contact, there has been some power in his swing. He has 10 extra-base hits. Speed has also been part of his game as he has three triples and he has been successful in four of his five steal attempts. Can Kirilloff help to boost this struggling group? Who has the most to prove in the months ahead? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

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

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

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

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

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

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