Cody Christie

Minnesota’s new front office regime has not been shy about making adjustments to the back-end of the 40-man roster. In their first year on the job, they have exposed multiple players to the waiver system. Some in hopes of sneaking them through to the minor leagues, while others were left available in the Rule 5 Draft. Over the weekend, Jamie wondered if the Twins front office would regret losing the likes of Luke Bard, Nick Burdi, and JT Chargois. Including these players, who all has been lost and where are they now? I’m glad you asked…Luke Bard, Right-Handed Pitcher Bard never pitched a game above Triple-A in the Twins system and he spent the majority of his age-26 season in the Lookouts bullpen. He was almost two years older than the competition in the Southern League and he didn’t really blow away the competition. For the year, he posted a 2.76 ERA with a 1.33 WHIP. His 99 strikeouts in 65.1 innings were impressive and that’s probably why the Los Angeles Angles were willing to take a chance on him in the Rule 5 Draft. Minnesota’s bullpen looks strong this year and Bard hasn’t found enough success in the upper-levels of the minor leagues. Nick Burdi, Right-Handed Pitcher Burdi has been on quite the journey over the last calendar year. He underwent Tommy John surgery last May. He’s on track to be throwing off the mound near the conclusion of spring training. Burdi was left unprotected during the Rule 5 Draft. The Phillies selected him and then he was traded to the Pirates. Burdi was dominant last season before his elbow injury. In 17 innings at Double-A, he posted a 0.53 ERA with a 0.77 WHIP and a 20 to 4 strikeout to walk ratio. Burdi will start the season on the 60-day DL and he will get time to make some rehab appearances before he needs to appear in a Pirates game. JT Chargois, Right-Handed Pitcher Chargois was a second-round pick back in 2012 and he quickly established himself as one of the best relief pitchers in the Twins system. He hasn’t been able to stay healthy as he has pitched just over 100 innings in his professional career. Essentially, he has missed almost three of the last five seasons. In what some considered a strange move, Minnesota placed him on waivers last week only to see him claimed by the Dodgers, the team with the final waiver pick based on last season’s records. He has one option remaining and he could be a dangerous relief option if he is healthy. The Dodgers were willing to take that chance. Daniel Palka, Outfielder One year after being named the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year, Palka is no longer part of the organization. Palka, a 26-year old slugger, has a chance to break camp with the White Sox in a designated hitter and outfield role. Last season, he hit .274/.329/.431 with 27 extra-base hits in 84 Triple-A games. This was a far cry from the .848 OPS he compiled between Double-A and Triple-A in 2016. Palka’s lack of a defensive position and his age all factored into him ending up with a new organization. Randy Rosario, Left-Handed Pitcher Rosario pitched over 100 minor league games in the Twins system and posted a 3.37 ERA. The 2017 season marked his first as a full-time reliever. Last year, he made 34 appearances between High-A and Double-A and posted a 3.84 ERA and a 1.37 WHIP. Those numbers might not exactly jump off the page but he was able to hold left-handed batters to a .169 average during his Double-A appearances. As the old adage goes, Rosario is “left-handed and he has a pulse” so the Cubs might find a spot for him out of the bullpen this year. Nik Turley, Left-Handed Pitcher Turley only made 10 appearances in a Twins uniform as he allowed 22 earned runs in 17.2 innings. In the minors, he fared much better with a 2.00 ERA and a 1.02 WHIP in almost 110 innings. The Pirates selected Turley off of waivers in November but they will have to wait a while for him to pitch in a game for their organization. At the end of January, Turley was suspended for 80 games after testing positive for the performance-enhancing substance Ipamorelin. Engelb Vielma, Shortstop The last half of a year has been a crazy ride for Mr. Vielma. Over the last six months, he is now with his fifth different organization. He enters Orioles camp with a chance to compete for a utility spot at the big league level. In 87 Triple-A games last season, he hit .206 with 17 RBI but his defense has always been his calling card. The 23-year old was the best defensive infielder in the Twins system when they let him go. Minnesota currently has plenty of depth at the shortstop position with other players ranking higher than Vielma. Which player or players will the Twins miss the most in the coming season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Throughout this offseason, there have been rumors of the Twins searching for a veteran bat. The free agent market has been slow this year and there are multiple pieces still available to sign as spring training games have already begun. Mike Napoli was one name tied to Minnesota as the offseason started but nothing came to fruition. Now a different veteran bat is heading to the Twins. What will Logan Morrison add to the Twins line-up? Was his breakout 2017 campaign a fluke?According to the Pioneer Press, Jake Odorizzi was trying to recruit Logan Morrison and Alex Cobb to the Twins. The story also said, “according to a person with direct knowledge, the Twins are showing interest in Morrison, a 30-year old first baseman coming off a 38-homer breakout season with the Rays.” Things escalated quickly from there this afternoon as the Twins have agreed to sign Morrison. According to multiple reports, the Twins have an agreement with Morrison. He will get $6.5 million in 2018 with the potential for the deal to be worth $16.5 million over the next two years. As a left-handed slugger, Morrison could impact Minnesota in multiple ways. Morrison’s career year in 2017 led to a lot of positive numbers. He finished in the top 10 in home runs and Statcast ranked him in the top-30 for barrels per plate appearance. Morrison has a career .330 on-base percentage and he raised his walk rate to 13.5 percent last year. Left-handed pitchers held Morrison to hitting .233/.342/.419 with six home runs. Obviously, righties are where he did the bulk of his damage with a .905 OPS and 49 extra-base hits including 32 home runs. Changes in swing mechanics were also at the heart of Morrison's 2017 breakout. Adding Morrison will impact the line-up in multiple ways. As spring training started, players like Kennys Vargas and Robbie Grossman were vying to serve in a designated hitter role. Morrison will fit in nicely against right-handed pitchers but that will leave Vargas and/or Grossman on the outside looking in. Those aren't the only two players impacted by this deal. No one knows how much Miguel Sano is going to be able to play in the field after he returns from his shin injury. The club has also been worried about his fitness as spring training begins. Joe Mauer also needs some at-bats at designated hitter throughout the season. So where does Morrison fit into the line-up? A potential Twins line-up including Morrison and a healthy Sano could look like this: 1. Brian Dozier- 2B 2. Joe Mauer- 1B 3. Miguel Sano- 3B 4. Logan Morrison- DH 5. Byron Buxton- CF 6. Eddie Rosario- LF 7. Max Kepler- RF 8. Jorge Polanco- SS 9. Jason Castro- C On paper, that seems like a line-up that could cause some damage in the American League. It seems like the right mixture of veterans and young core players. Last season, Houston used a combination of young players from their organization and added in some veteran pieces. Everything clicked with their mixture of players and the club fought their way to the first title in franchise history. It takes the right combination of veterans and young players but Morrison adds another veteran voice in the clubhouse to go along with Mauer and Dozier. Minnesota has money to spend after losing out in the Yu Darvish sweepstakes. It now seems like Morrison will be getting some of those funds. He seems like a good fit for the Twins but what do you think? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Do you smell that? No, it isn’t Ervin Santana and his patented “smell baseball” routine. Minnesota made a splash on the trade market over the weekend to help fill in for Santana while he starts the year on the DL. However, new Twins pitcher Jake Odorizzi struggled through different parts of 2017. Can the Twins find a way to get rid of the bad Odor? It might be Izzi…It’s no secret that the beginning of the 2017 campaign was rough for Mr. Odorizzi. Through the end of July, his ERA was almost 4.50 and batters were getting on base over 30% of the time against him. By season’s end, his FIP was 5.43 and his walk rate jumped from 7.0 percent to 10.1 percent. He was also allowing more fly balls as he allowed 30 home runs for the first time in his career. His ground ball rate (30.6 percent) was also below league average. His third time through the order was usually when some fatigue would set in. Odorizzi allowed a 7.52 ERA when facing an order for the third time in a game. Something wasn’t quite right. Starting last spring training, a back injury bothered him and this followed him throughout a large chunk of the season. This wasn’t the only injury he fought through as a hamstring issue also caused him to miss some time. He’d make two different trips to the DL but his performance on the field also suffered because of the injuries. As those with back injuries can attest, range of motion can be tough when dealing with a back issue. Scientific research has been conducted to look at pitching biomechanics in relation to injury risk and performance. A lot of things can go wrong from the time a pitcher starts his wind-up until he releases the ball, especially if a pitcher isn’t healthy. He's even admitted that his back ailment impacted his fastball control last year. After a second stint on the DL, a different version of Odorizzi emerged. During the month of September, he allowed three earned runs over 26.1 IP. He posted a 30 to 9 strikeout to walk rate and opponents hit .116/.198/.221. Even with the rough season, the right-handed pitcher was able to hold lefties to a .205 batting average while only getting on base 28.5% of the time. Minnesota also has a newly hired Odorizzi expert in the front office. Josh Kalk, the Minnesota Twins new pitching analytics expert, joined the Twins from the Rays organization. One has to think Derek Falvey and Thad Levine relied on Kalk’s insight to make this trade. According to FanGraphs, Odorizzi has relied heavily on a four-seam fastball high in the zone. Batters started to figure that out in 2017 and it led to a career high 30 home runs allowed in under 150 innings. One adjustment he could make in Minnesota is to use more of the strike zone when throwing his fastball. The article also notes the difference in Odorizzi’s release point. This could be attributed to his injuries in 2017 and it could be an easy fix for Twins coaches. It might also help to pitch in front of quite possibly the best defensive centerfielder in the game. Plus it helps to have two other strong defenders in the other corner outfield spot. With a couple of small tweaks, the bad Odor might be Izzi to remove. What are your thoughts on the new Twins acquisition? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Nick Gordon might be one of the most polarizing prospects in the Minnesota Twins system. All of the national prospect rankings have him in their top-100 lists but he comes in all over the board. Two of the rankings have him at 80 or lower. Meanwhile, two other rankings have him in the top-40. Gordon hit very well in the season’s first half but he struggled in the closing months of the year. Earlier this off-season, Tom wondered if Gordon’s second half turned him from a prospect to a suspect. When it comes to Twins’ prospects, Gordon is still one of the best in the organization but why are there such differing opinions on the former first round pick?Age: 22 (DOB: 10/24/1995) 2017 Stats (AA): .270/.341/.408 (.749), 9 HR, 29 2B, 8 3B, 13/20 in stolen base attempts ETA: 2019 2017 Ranking: 4 National Top 100 Rankings BA: 93 | MLB : 80 | ESPN: 37 | BP: 35 What’s To Like Gordon headed to the Arizona Fall League last off-season and got his off-season started on the right foot. In over 90 plate appearances, he slashed .346/.418/.444 while playing over 165 innings at shortstop. He ranked sixth in the league in batting average and on-base percentage. There was only one player younger than Gordon in the top-10 for either of those categories. During last spring, Nick’s brother Dee Gordon was able to make some predictions about his coming season. “He’s going to be strong. He’s already a lot bigger and stronger than me when I was 21,” he told the Star Tribune. “He’s got a good eye, and you can already see he’s going to develop some power.” Gordon was able to transition his success in the AFL to the season’s early months. From April through June, he hit .308/.379/.481 with six home runs, 21 doubles and six triples. Twins manager Paul Molitor took notice of Gordon’s offensive abilities. Molitor told the Pioneer Press, “Not surprisingly reports are his bat is still very advanced. We’re trying to make sure the rest of his game catches up, and I think he is making progress in that regard.” His hot hitting in the season’s early months led to some mid-season awards. Gordon represented the Twins at the Futures Game in Miami and he was a Southern League all-star. By season’s end he had set career highs in home runs (9), doubles (29), triples (8) and slugging percentage (.408). For the first time in his professional career, Gordon was three years younger than the competition at his level. He only faced off against younger pitchers in 55 at-bats. In those at-bats, he compiled a .955 OPS with eight extra-base hits. As a lefty, hitting against righties was also a strength for him. All nine of his home runs came against right-handed pitching which helped him to post an .822 OPS. What’s Left To Work On Defense has always been an area in need of improvement for Gordon. Since the Twins drafted him, there have been questions about whether he would be able to stick at shortstop. A veteran scout watched Gordon in Chattanooga last year and he doesn’t think Gordon can stay at short long-term. “You know how the best fielders always seem to get the good hop?” the scout asked. “Watching Gordon, he never seemed to get the good hop. For him, it was always the in-between hop. That’s instincts. That’s footwork. That’s hands.” Gordon hasn’t been shy about his defensive future. “The Twins know what they need, they know what they want,” he said. “Whatever they need me to do, whatever they want me to do, I’m going to do it to the best of my ability. It doesn’t matter to me. I just want to play.” Left-handed pitchers also presented some issues for Gordon. In over 139 plate appearances against lefties, he hit .174/.273/.240 (.513). These totals were very similar to those in his first taste of full season ball in 2016. In those 129 appearances against lefties, he hit .220/.276/.254 (.530). Gordon will need to improve those totals if he wants to break into the big leagues over the next couple of seasons. Since the Twins signed him, he’s added close to 20 pounds. This has helped him to add some power but not sacrificing speed. He knows the strike zone fairly well but he could continue to improve in this area. What’s Next Gordon has yet to repeat a level so that could ticket him to play all of 2018 at Rochester. However, he only turned 22 in October and his hitting decreased significantly at the end of the year. It wouldn’t be a surprise if the Twins send him back to the Southern League to get his bat going at the start of 2018. A hot-hitting Gordon could be a prospect to watch in 2018, especially if the Twins fall out of contention. TD Top Prospects: 16-20 TD Top Prospects: 11-15 TD Top Prospect: #10 Akil Baddoo TD Top Prospect: #9 Brusdar Graterol TD Top Prospects: #8 Blayne Enlow TD Top Prospects: #7 Brent Rooker TD Top Prospects: #6 Wander Javier TD Top Prospects: #5 Alex Kirilloff TD Top Prospects: #4 Stephen Gonsalves TD Top Prospects: #3 Nick Gordon TD Top Prospects: #2 Coming Soon... Click here to view the article

Tommy John surgery can be a scary proposition especially for young players going under the knife. Luckily, the Twins have seen players successfully return from surgery and have a major impact at the big league level. One needs to look no further than Miguel Sano to find a Twins position player who was able to rehab and return with a vengeance. Minnesota’s top pick from the 2016 MLB Draft will be looking to follow a similar path. Alex Kirilloff has multiple hoops to jump through but Tommy John surgery might have allowed him to become an even better player. That being said, he has a lot to prove in his age-20 season. What’s next for Mr. Kirilloff? I’m glad you asked…Age: 20 (DOB: 11/9/1997) 2017 Stats: Did Not Play- Tommy John surgery ETA: 2021 2017 Ranking: 3 National Top 100 Rankings BA: NA | MLB : NA | ESPN: NA | BP: NA What’s To Like Kirilloff’s bat and approach at the plate have always been his ticket to the big leagues. During his professional debut, the Twins had him skip the GCL and head straight to the Appalachian League. Across 216 at-bats, he hit .306/.341/.454 with 17 extra-base hits and a 32 to 11 strikeout to walk ratio. He was able to put up these kind of numbers while being 2.5 years younger than the competition in the Appy League. In fact, he never faced a pitcher younger than himself in over 230 plate appearances. On the defensive side of the ball, Kirilloff has shown the ability to play all three outfield positions. The majority of his time was spent in right field as he projects as a corner outfielder at the big league level. In just over 400 professional innings, he has seven outfield assists. Overall, he has the tools and athleticism to handle either corner outfield position. Kirilloff’s has been praised for his high baseball IQ and his strong work ethic. His father instructs youth on hitting so Kirilloff has been raised around the game of baseball. Being off the field for over a year might have been a good thing for Kirilloff as there are rumors of him adding 25-30 pounds since he last suited up. What’s Left To Work On For players drafted out of high school, there are always questions about how they will grow into their bodies. When the Twins drafted Kirilloff, he was already 6’2” and 195 pounds. Seth recently had Kiriloff on his podcast and he asked him about the rumors that he’s added 30 pounds of weight. For a player that hasn’t seen game action in quite some time, there will likely be some rust to shake off during spring training. More power should come if he has added 15-20 pounds. Like he told Seth, he feels stronger now and that could be dangerous for pitchers in the Midwest League. Some teams might want to rush a player after missing an entire year. Minnesota isn’t in a hurry with Kirilloff. “I don’t think you need to rush him too much,” Twins chief baseball officer Derek Falvey told MLB.com. “We’re not too worried about the timeline. We’ll just make sure he’s in a good place physically to hit the ground running. But he feels good and just wants to get going. It’s hard when a guy misses a year like that and has to hit the reset button.” What’s Next Kirilloff has a positive attitude as he heads into the 2018 campaign. “I’d never had a significant injury like that before to cause me to miss that much time so it was hard at first,” Kirilloff said at TwinsFest. “But there were two ways to look at it. You can look at it as a lost year and be down on yourself the whole time or look at it as a new challenge to get better. So that’s what I tried to do. My body feels a lot stronger and I’m excited for 2018.” He should start the year at Cedar Rapids, unless there is some rust to work off and then he could stay in extended spring training. He could end up in the same line-up as last year’s top pick Royce Lewis. Minnesota doesn’t have any plans to move Kirilloff faster because of his missed time in 2017. TD Top Prospects: #20-16 TD Top Prospects: #15-11 TD Top Prospects #10: Akil Baddoo TD Top Prospects #9: Brusdar Graterol TD Top Prospects #8: Blayne Enlow TD Top Prospects #7: Brent Rooker TD Top Prospects #6: Wander Javier TD Top Prospects: #1-4 (Coming Soon) Click here to view the article

After months of speculation about free agency, baseball is back. Minnesota’s pitchers and catchers report for their first official workout on Wednesday. As with any spring training, there are plenty of questions surrounding the Twins after the team reports to Fort Myers. Let’s dive into some of the questions surrounding the team’s pitchers and catchers…Who leads the rotation? Ervin Santana is out for the first month of the season. This will give an opportunity for other pitchers to step up and lead the rotation. Jose Berrios could be poised for a breakout season. He dominated at multiple levels in the minor leagues and he’s shown flashes of brilliance at the big league level. It seems like 2018 could be his coming out party and the Santana injury might allow him to take his rightful spot at the top of the rotation. Even though the Twins missed out on Yu Darvish, the front office has a plan in place moving forward. Other free agents like Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn have been in regular contact with the Twins. The Star Tribune is reporting that Minnesota has offered a trade to Tampa Bay for former All-Star Chris Archer. This trade would likely revolve around Max Kepler and multiple prospects. Jake Odorizzi is another potential trade target from Tampa and his price tag would likely be lower than Archer's. Who fills in while Santana is out? If Minnesota adds one of the names listed above, there will still be parts of the rotation to sort out during spring training. The Twins will certainly be testing the mantra, “There’s no such thing as too much pitching.” There are likely three rotation locks, Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson and Adalberto Mejia. This leaves one spot open if the team adds another pitcher or two spots if they stay with the current roster. There are a variety of players in contention for the rotation's final spot. Aaron Slegers, Dietrich Enns, Felix Jorge, Tyler Duffey, Trevor May and Phil Hughes could all see time in the rotation this year. Situations like options remaining and contracts likely factor into the team’s final roster construction. Who winds up in the bullpen? Much like the rotation, there are some locks for the bullpen. Fernando Rodney figures to get the bulk of the save opportunities. Addison Reed, Zach Duke and Trevor Hildenberger will get plenty of late inning opportunities. Some of the players that miss out on a rotation spot will also end up in the bullpen. May, Hughes and Duffey could all be candidates for a long-relief role. Other players in consideration will be Taylor Rogers, Ryan Pressly, Alan Busenitz, Tyler Kinley, John Curtiss, J.T. Chargois and Gabriel Moya. If the pitching staff was being created today, here’s how I’d see things coming together. Starting Rotation: Jose Berrios, Kyle Gibson, Adalberto Mejia, Phil Hughes, Tyler Duffey Bullpen: Fernando Rodney, Addison Reed, Zach Duke, Trevor Hildenberger, Taylor Rogers, Ryan Pressly, Alan Busenitz Who earns the back-up catcher role? Chris Gimenez took his talents to Chicago and might have had a role in luring Yu Darvish the Cubs. This means the Twins have an opening at the back-up catcher role. Mitch Garver posted a .928 OPS at Triple-A in 2018. In 110 Triple-A games, he has hit .298/.386/.520 with 18 home runs and 34 doubles. He seems ready to take over the back-up catcher role. If the Twins want him to be starting every day, he could end up back in Rochester. This could leave an opportunity for a player like Bobby Wilson to earn the back-up catcher position. What storylines will you follow with pitchers and catchers this spring? Leave a comment and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Twins fans might not want to hear it but Yu Darvish is heading to the Chicago Cubs on a six-year deal that could be worth up to $150 million. Minnesota had made a formal offer to the top free agent pitcher but Darvish’s camp wanted clubs to stretch the deal to six years. The Cubs were willing to make that jump. Now that Darvish picked another club, Minnesota’s front office is going to have to act fast. There will likely be a domino effect with the first big name comimg off the board. That being said, there are a couple of different paths the Twins could take to solidify their rotation.Other Free Agent Options The second tier options for free agency include names like Alex Cobb and Lance Lynn. National baseball writer Jon Heyman reported that “Alex Cobb is believed to be [the Twins] fallback choice for the rotation” after Darvish passes. Minnesota is reluctant to go past four or five years for any free agent pitcher so that also changes their approach with other free agent arms. Minnesota has been in contact with the other free agent pitchers but MLB.com’s Rhett Bollinger says “their interest in Cobb has been a bit overstated.” Plenty of other teams have expressed interest in signing Lynn but most clubs believe his asking price is too high at this point. There may be some other options to add depth to the back-end of Minnesota’s starting rotation. Chris Tillman is coming off of shoulder surgery and could be a strong bounce-back candidate. Another option would be reuniting with Jaime Garcia, who made one start for the Twins last season before being dealt to the Yankees. Searching The Trade Market The Twins are considering a variety of options with Darvish off the market. 1500 ESPN’s Darren Wolfson gave fans an update on the Darvish situation. In his podcast, he mentions the Twins are “maintaining regular trade talk” with the Rays. Tampa Bay has multiple pitchers who could be dealt and each one is going to come at a different cost. Chris Archer is the most coveted Rays pitcher. The former All-Star is signed to a team-friendly deal through 2019 with team options for 2020-21. He won’t turn 30 until next September so Tampa isn’t exactly in a hurry to have him pack his bags. Minnesota might have to deal multiple top prospects and maybe some young major league assets to acquire Archer. Another option could be Tampa’s Jake Odorizzi who has compiled a 3.71 ERA and a 1.19 WHIP over the last three seasons. He is in his second year of arbitration eligibility so that means he won’t be a free agent until 2020. According to Wolfson, the Rays have a lot of interest in outfielder Max Kepler. Kepler turned 25 this weekend and he could be poised for a breakout season in 2018. With Darvish heading to Chicago, what’s the team’s next best option? Another free agent pitcher? Making a trade with Tampa Bay? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

In recent drafts, Georgia has provided some strong prospects for the Twins organization. Byron Buxton was the number two overall pick out of Georgia. Fans saw his ability to impact both sides of the ball in 2017. Now the Twins have another center fielder from Georgia who is making his way to Target Field. Akil Baddoo was taken by the Twins with the 74th pick of the 2016 MLB Draft. As a 17-year old, he struggled during his professional debut, hitting .178/.299/.271 with a 36 to 18 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He was almost three years younger than the competition in the GCL so he’d start there again in 2017. That’s where one of the organization’s best seasons would begin to unfold…Age: 19 (DOB: 8/16/1998) 2017 Stats (Rookie): .323/.436/.527, 19 2B, 5 3B, 4 HR, 9-for-13 in stolen base attempts ETA: 2021 2017 Ranking: NR National Top 100 Rankings BA: NR | MLB : NR | ESPN: NR | BP: NR What’s To Like Baddoo broke out in 2017. A year after struggling to a .570 OPS in the GCL, the 18-year old mashed the ball for both rookie league teams. In his second stint in the GCL, he hit .267/.360/.440 with eight extra-base hits in 75 at-bats. He caught fire after being promoted to Elizabethton where he hit .357/.478/.579 with 20 extra-base hits in 126 at-bats. He also showed a very advanced approach at the plate with a 32 to 36 strikeout to walk ratio. Baddoo’s OPS ranked second in the Appalachian League. Only 15 of his plate appearances came against younger pitchers and he posted a .954 OPS when facing older competition. Defensively, Baddoo has the athleticism to play all three outfield positions but the majority of his starts come in center field. During the 2017 campaign, he didn’t commit an error in over 300 inning in center. Ray Smith, the manager of the E-Twins, had glowing reviews when asked about Baddoo’s impact on the team. “Our club seemed to kick it into a higher gear once Akil arrived. Deep in counts, would get on base via walks, base hits, etc. All while showing extra-base pop and occasional home run power. [He] covered ground defensively... ran bases aggressively and showed up every day.” In the E-Twins’ Appy League Finals-clinching victory, Baddoo went 2-for-4 with a double, a triple and a walk. Following his outstanding season, Baddoo was named the Twins Daily Short Season Hitter of the Year. What’s Left To Work On Leading into last season, Baddoo added 15 pounds and continued to show speed on the base paths. He entered last season at 5’11 and 195 pounds. Since he is still a teenager, there could be room to improve his strength and add more power. For him to continue to trend toward being a five-tool player, he needs to find the right balance of adding strength and not sacrificing speed. Obviously, he will need to show that 2017’s performance at the plate wasn’t a fluke. Almost all of Baddoo’s power came against right-handed pitching where he compiled a 1.013 OPS. His numbers were still strong against lefties (.328/.426/.414) but he only collected five extra-base hits. With more experience, he will hopefully be able to hit for more power against southpaws. While his defensive skills have been strong, his arm continues to be an area needing improvement. Throughout his minor league career, he’s only had one outfield assist and it came when he was playing right field. He might need to shift to a corner outfield spot if his arm doesn’t improve. What’s Next Baddoo should get his first taste of full season action during 2018 especially based on his time with the E-Twins. If he continues to hit like he did in 2017, there is a chance he could crack into some top 100 prospect lists during next offseason. He could spend 2018 in Cedar Rapids with a chance to make it to Fort Myers in the second-half. Baddoo seems like he could be a similar player to former Twin Matt Lawton. TD Top Prospects: #20-16 TD Top Prospects: #15-11 TD Top Prospects: #1-9 (Coming Soon) Click here to view the article

When fans think back on the 2017 campaign, most are going to remember the breakout performances by young players like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano. Other position players like Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler also enjoyed solid seasons. All of these players were under the age of 25 with plenty of areas for improvement moving forward. Even with this young core of talent, the Twins were one of the best teams in baseball at avoiding pitches out of the zone.According to FanGraphs, O-Swing% is calculated by taking the number of times players swing at pitches outside the zone and dividing by the number of pitches outside of the zone. Last year in the American League, the Twins had the second lowest O-Swing% (28.6%) as they only trailed the Cleveland Indians. Minnesota finished with the fourth lowest O-Swing% when including teams from the National League. So what players are helping to lead to Minnesota’s patience at the plate? Robbie Grossman collected over 450 plate appearances during the 2017 campaign. He finished with the 13th best O-Swing% among AL batters with over 200 plate appearances. In fact, the Twins had three other players (Chis Gimenez, Joe Mauer, and Brian Dozier) who all ranked in the top-20. Jason Castro finished with a 25.1% O-Swing% which was good enough to be in the top-30. Minnesota’s veteran bats were clearly leading the way at avoiding bad pitches. Of the Twins young core of players, who was able to lay off pitches out of the zone? Jorge Polanco surprised a lot of people in 2017, especially with the way he was able to handle himself at the plate. His 26.3% O-Swing% ranked sixth on the team and placed him in the AL’s top-40. Miguel Sano and Max Kepler both swung at pitches out of the zone around 30% of the time. Eddie Rosario ranked worst on the team as he swung at pitches out of the zone almost 40% of the time. Byron Buxton provides an interesting case from 2017. Buxton struggled through the first half by hitting .216/.288/.306 with 87 strikeouts in 83 games. There were times he looked lost at the plate and pitchers were able to attack the strike zone against him. Something clicked in the second half. He went for a .893 OPS with 24 extra-base hits in 57 games. Even though he became an offensive force in the second half, Buxton still struggled with strikeouts. He averaged more than one strikeout per game and his O-Swing% shows that he was chasing pitches. In the first half when Buxton’s strikeouts were piling up, he posted a 30.6% O-Swing%. During his second half surge, his O-Swing% actually went up to 31.6%. As mentioned earlier, pitchers could impose their will on Buxton in the first half. Most pitches could be around or near the zone and he wasn’t going to be able to do anything with it. In the second half, he was likely seeing better pitches and he was definitely putting together better at-bats. Buxton could still improve in this area and that has to be a scary proposition for opposing pitchers. Minnesota’s veteran hitters are the reason the Twins ranked so well in 2017. Mauer and Dozier might not be part of this organization beyond the 2018 campaign. If Minnesota wants to stay at the top of the AL, some of the young core players are going to have to continue to lay off pitches out of the zone. What player's numbers surprised you? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Plenty of prospect lists are released during the off-season. One thing prospect lists don’t show is the depth of young talent at the big league level. Minnesota’s farm system would look a lot different if the likes of Byron Buxton or Jose Berrios still populated top-10 lists. Hence, the need for a look at the top ten players in the Twins system under age 25. In the first part of this list, there wasn't a single player who has made their big league debut. Today's portion of the list includes multiple big league assets.Here at Twins Daily, Nick recently finished off his top-20 Minnesota Twins assets. His approach was a little different as he was looking at every player in the organization. Baseball Prospectus just released their list of Top 25-and-under players but their cutoff was 4/1/1992. This allowed Miguel Sano and Max Kepler to be included on their list. The list below is limited to players whose seasonal ages for 2018 are 24 or younger—that is, any player who will not yet have turned 25 on July 1, 2018. Players like Miguel Sano and Max Kepler don’t qualify because they will turn 25 before July 1st. 5. Nick Gordon, SS Date of birth: October 24, 1995 (age-22 season) Entering last off-season, Nick Gordon was near the top of every Twins prospect list. Royce Lewis’ addition to the system has pushed Gordon down a peg. Tom wondered if Gordon has gone from prospect to suspect because of his poor second half. As a 21-year old, he spent all of 2017 at Double-A where he was over three years younger than the competition. His batting average dipped by over 20 points but he bumped up his slugging percentage by 22 points. There are still questions about whether he will stay at shortstop or even if he will still be in the Twins organization at this point next year. If the Twins need to add big league pitching, Gordon might have to be one of the trade pieces. 4. Jorge Polanco, SS Date of birth: July 5, 1993 (age-24 season) It’s hard for me to imagine ranking Jorge Polanco this high but that’s how good he looked in 2017. He got on base over 31% of the time and collected 46 extra-base hits in 133 games. From the beginning of August until season’s end, he hit .316/.377/553 with 10 home runs. Throughout his professional career, there have been questions about his defensive abilities. He committed 18 errors in 507 chances for a .964 fielding percentage. SABR’s Defensive Index had him ranked in the bottom five among American League shortstops. Polanco could help end Minnesota’s revolving door at shortstop if he can make some defensive improvements and continue to hit like he did in August and September. 3. Jose Berrios, RHP Date of birth: May 27, 1994 (age-24 season) This is the year, right? Berrios has shown flashes of being a dominant big league pitcher. In fact, there are times his breaking pitches are completely unhittable. Berrios has shown the ability to be dominant at an individual level during his time in the minor leagues. In 30 starts at Triple-A, he has a 2.79 ERA with a 1.02 WHIP and a 10.0 K/9. Last year at the big league level, he was over 5.5 years younger than the competition. He’s going to put it all together and that’s certainly good news for Twins fans. 2. Royce Lewis, SS Date of birth: June 5, 1999 (age-19 season) In many other organizations, he might be the best player under the age of 25. It’s hard to know what the future will hold. Lewis could end up becoming better than the top player on this list. Right now, there is a lot of projection involved and he projects to be a very good player for a very long time. At his current age, Baseball Prospectus is comparing him to Carlos Correa. If Lewis can lead Minnesota where Correa brought Houston this year, he will become a Twins legend. 1. Byron Buxton, CF Date of birth: December 18, 1993 (age-24 season) Buxton follows quite the impressive line of defensive center fielders in Minnesota that stretches back to the Puckett era. Twins fans have been spoiled with diving catches from the likes of Hunter, Gomez, Span, and Revere. Buxton was honored as the best defensive player in the American League and the scary things is… his bat turned out to be pretty good too. When I predicted the 2021 line-up last week, I wrote about the possibility of Buxton winning an MVP. This isn’t a stretch especially in an era that values all-around players. Minnesota’s base running saw a resurgence in 2017 and Buxton was leading the way as the best runner in the big leagues. He’s going to need to hit and he showed the type of player he could be in the second half of last season. So how would your rankings look? What will the rankings look like next season? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Brian Dozier has clearly become a team leader for the Twins over the last handful of years. His future with the club is up in the air as his contract is set to expire at season’s end. Pitchers and catchers will soon report to Fort Myers and it seems like the Twins are content with letting Dozier play this season without an extension. Besides an extension, other debates involving Dozier have surfaced over the last couple of weeks. Let’s look at some of the conversations surrounding Dozier.Extension Debate There have been plenty of posts here at Twins Daily wondering which players would make sense to lock up with an extension. It might make sense for some young players before they reach arbitration or more veteran players like Dozier and Joe Mauer who will hit free agency at the end of 2018. It doesn’t sound like the Twins have approached Dozier about staying in Minnesota. “There have been none whatsoever, zero conversations about [staying in Minnesota] after next year,” he told Sid Hartman of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. This doesn’t mean something can’t be worked out but the beginning of spring training is quickly approaching. It seems likely that the two sides won’t be talking during the regular season. Houston used a combination of veterans and youth to win the 2017 World Series. Minnesota is going to need to build a similar roster if they hope to make headway in the American League. I was on Bison 1660 in Fargo at the end of last week and we discussed Dozier’s future with the club. Pace of Play Debate Over the last couple weeks, word came out that the Players’ Union rejected MLB’s pace of play proposals. These new rules could include a pitch clock and fewer trips to the mound. A pitch clock has been used at the Double-A and Triple-A level since 2015. Since MLB introduced these ideas before last season, the Commissioner could implement the changes without the approval of the Players’ Union. Dozier was part of a two-hour conference call with player representatives from all 30 teams. His message coming out of that call was that the players are united in their opposition to these proposals. “We don’t want to damage the integrity of the game and change the game completely. If [Manfred’s proposal] does go through, it definitely changes the integrity of the game, and we are all against it,” Dozier told the Star Tribune. “There’s so much gray area in the proposal, it just didn’t sit well with us.” Dozier went on to suggest that it is up to the more veteran players to make the younger players speed up their game. While this might sound like a good suggestion, players knew these rule changes were possibly coming this season and nothing changed in 2017. In fact, nine-inning games were actually longer last season than in 2016. What are your thoughts on the Dozier debates? Should the team extend him? Do you agree with him about the pace of play proposals? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Free agency has been slow moving this off-season. Few of the top free agents have signed and there has even been talk about collusion among MLB’s teams. Realistically, teams are smarter about the way they spend money and this year’s crop of free agents has plenty of flaws. The Twins have been tied to Yu Darvish from the beginning. Minnesota’s front office hasn’t been shy about mentioned their intentions of trying the hook the biggest fish on the free agent market. A thrilling conclusion could be coming and Twins’ fans could have an answer as early as this week.Darvish Decision Looming Jon Morosi of Fox Sports and MLB Network is reporting that Darvish is expected to make his decision this week. He also adds that the Twins are one of the teams still in discussion with the star pitcher. It is interesting that his only note about a current team is the Twins. However, there have been plenty of other teams connected to Darvish in recent weeks. The list of teams includes the Twins, Cubs, Rangers, Dodgers and Brewers. Gimenez Signing Former Twins catcher Chris Gimenez signed a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs this week. Sporting News compared this move to when the Cubs brought in David Ross to be paired with Jon Lester in 2015. Gimenez worked with Darvish in Texas and helped the pitcher on his way back from Tommy John surgery. Darvish has also called Gimenez his “all-time favorite catcher.” Five-Year Offer Darvish will turn 32 next August and he has only pitched one season of more than 200 innings. This might make it tough for team’s swallow a long-term deal. With many big free agent signings, there is some “dead” money at the end of the deal where the player isn’t playing at the same level as prior to his contract signing. According to reports, Darvish has at least one five-year offer on the table. There are still multiple teams in the mix for Darvish’s services but it sounds like his decision will be made by the end of the week. What are your thoughts on the latest Darvish news? Will he be in a Twins uniform by the end of the week? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Prospects lists are in interesting endeavor. In the 2018 Twins Prospect Handbook, all of the writers compiled their own top prospect lists. We even have previous year’s list so you can peruse some of the history of the organization. This year’s book was the tenth edition so there have been plenty of hits and plenty of misses along the way. One thing prospect lists don’t show is the depth of young talent at the big league level. Minnesota’s farm system would look a lot different if the likes of Byron Buxton or Jose Berrios were still populating top-10 lists. Hence, the need for a look at the top ten players in the Twins system under age 25.Here at Twins Daily, Nick recently finished off his top-20 Minnesota Twins assets. His approach was a little different as he was looking at every player in the organization. Baseball Prospectus just released their list of Top 25-and-under players but their cutoff was 4/1/1992. This allowed Miguel Sano and Max Kepler to be included on their list. The list below is limited to players whose seasonal ages for 2018 are 24 or younger—that is, any player who will not yet have turned 25 on July 1, 2018. Players like Miguel Sano and Max Kepler don’t qualify because they will turn 25 before July 1st. 10. Brusdar Graterol, RHP Date of birth: August 26, 1998 (age-19 season) Graterol might be a little unknown to the casual Twins fan. Other pitching prospects like Fernando Romero and Stephen Gonsalves are closer to the big leagues and typically rank higher on prospect lists. When looking to 2018, I identified Graterol as a prospect to watch. He should get his first taste of a full season league by the end of next season. It’s hard not to get excited about a player with a triple-digit fastball. He’s multiple years away from Target Field but he’s certainly an exciting prospect. 9. Alex Kirilloff, OF Date of birth: November 9, 1997 (age-20 season) Kirilloff missed all of 2017 following Tommy John surgery. Minnesota’s top pick from 2016 still has plenty of promise as an outfield prospect. Even after missing time, Kirilloff has an advanced approach at the plate. He should get his first taste of a full-season league and he will be younger than the competition in Cedar Rapids. If his bat plays well, he could be a fast riser of the next handful of seasons. Byron Buxton, Max Kepler, and Eddie Rosario currently have the outfield on lockdown but Kirilloff will be an important part of the future. 8. Fernando Romero, RHP Date of birth: December 24, 1994 (age-23 season) Romero flourished in 2016 after returning from Tommy John surgery. There were more bumps in the road during 2017. However, he was over two years younger than the competition in the Southern League. He pitched over 120 innings for the first time as a professional. His strikeouts per nine matched his career number but his walks per nine was half a walk higher. Romero could spend most of 2018 in Rochester but there’s also a shot he makes his big league debut. 7. Brent Rooker, OF/1B Date of birth: November 1, 1994 (age-23 season) Brent Rooker can bash and the 2018 season could be huge for him as he already has played in Fort Myers. Last season, Rooker combined for a .930 OPS between the Appy League and the Florida State League, which is typically considered a pitcher’s league. In 129 games between college and the pros, he mashed 41 home runs. Rooker was old for being drafted so he should spend time at Chattanooga in the coming year. Injuries, poor play, or even Rooker’s hot bat could put him on the fast track to Target Field. 6. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP Date of birth: July 8, 1994 (age-23 season) For the second straight year, Gonsalves was name the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year. Most likely, that’s an honor he won’t want to three-peat in 2018. Over the last two seasons, he has made 28 starts at the Double-A level. During that time he has a 2.28 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, and 10.3 K/9. After making his Triple-A debut this past season, I made him a resolution for 2018. It’s going to be a tough task but he has the chance to be an integral part of Minnesota’s rotation as they fight for positioning in the American League over the next half of a decade. How would your rankings look? Would you have other players on the second-half of your list? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article