Cody Christie

Twins Daily Roundtable is a new weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less. This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. Top prospects are a fickle bunch. For every Miguel Sano and Byron Buxton, there is an Adam Johnson and a BJ Garbe. The truth is that it takes a lot for a prospect to make it to the major leagues. Big league rosters are limited and teams have a lot to consider. More players miss out on their big league dream than ever find success. Twins fans have seen top pitching prospect Fernando Romero make his much anticipated debut this season. In fact, last week’s roundtable discussion looked into his rotation spot after the return of Ervin Santana. Now fans might be wondering when the next big prospects will be on their way. This week’s roundtable question is “What’s the timeline for the organization’s top prospects?”Nick Nelson Nick Gordon is the most interesting case right now. Ehire Adrianza is doing everything he can to play his way out of a regular gig. Maybe that takes care of itself if Miguel Sano returns this weekend, but should that timeline get pushed back at all, you've gotta think it's worth giving the kid a shot. The offense could really use a spark. Stephen Gonsalves and Zack Littell are ready for a look but there are no imminent vacancies in the rotation. They're behind Trevor May in line, then Ervin Santana, and probably Aaron Slegers too. Brent Rooker would be making things interesting right now if he were tearing it up in Double-A like he did Single-A, but he's been slow to get going. Still wouldn't totally shock me to see him heat up and reach the Twins in the second half, pending Joe Mauer's situation. The rest of the team's top prospects are basically all in Low-A ball, so I wouldn't expect to see any until 2020 at least. Outside chance Royce Lewis makes it up in 2019 if he muscles up quick. John Bonnes Let’s go through a few top prospects, starting with the closest... Stephen Gonsalves (AAA-P) and Zach Littel (AAA-P) – I’m not sure Littel would be considered a top prospect (he was #11 on our list), but his stock is rising and we'll see both this year. Brent Rooker (AA-1B/DH) – A slow start, but he’s heating up. Normally, that would mean he waits until next year, but opportunity gets him some time this year. Nick Gordon (AA-SS) – There’s a decent chance we could see him this year, but I’ll speculate 2019. At just 22 years old, that’s soon enough. Alex Kiriloff – (Low A-OF) – He's overlooked due to missing last year, but the 20-year-old is killing Cedar Rapids. Still, he would need to be inhuman to make it in 2019, so let’s say 2020. Royce Lewis – (Low A-SS) – Speaking of inhuman, Lewis thrived in Cedar Rapids late last year and again early this year, making it likely the 19-year-old will make it to High-A soon. That could mean 2020 but, let’s give him room to stumble. I’ll predict 2021. Tom Froemming Seeing 20-year-old Ronald Acuna hold his own with the Braves and now 19-year-old Juan Soto being called up by the Nationals, you can’t help but wonder when we may see Royce Lewis. Lewis turns 19 in a matter of weeks, but if the Twins intend on developing him as a shortstop I foresee at least two more full seasons down on the farm. His physical development will play a role in where he ends up, but he definitely has the speed to be an impact defender in the outfield. Not a bad fallback option. Either way, I don’t think we see Lewis at Target Field until 2021 at the earliest. As for the rest of Twins Daily’s top five, Fernando Romero has already arrived and both Nick Gordon and Stephen Gonsalves appear ready for a taste of the majors. As for Alex Kirilloff, who’s 20, I’ve been really impressed by his swing. As a bat only guy, I wouldn’t be shocked if he was ready at the end of next year. The problem is I’m not so sure where he’ll end up in the field. Cody Christie If you would have asked me at different points throughout last season, I would have said that Stephen Gonsalves would make his major league debut before Fernando Romero. That doesn’t mean Romero’s stuff isn’t better but Gonsalves had a longer track record of minor league success. Gonsalves has also been very good this season so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him before the end of the year. Considering Minnesota’s entire left side of the infield has missed time this year, I’m surprised Nick Gordon hasn’t made his debut. The Twins have been filling in the shortstop role with some lackluster options and Gordon could provide a spark. I still wouldn’t be surprised to see him this summer. There’s an outside chance of Brent Rooker and Tyler Jay making their debuts this season but Gonsalves and Gordon are the two big names I expect to see in the coming months. Other top prospects like Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, and Busdar Graterol are still multiple years away from getting the call. Jeremy Nygaard Alex Kirilloff was my #1 Twins prospect after his short-season debut in 2016. If I recall correctly, he missed the playoffs of that season. Then early in 2017 we find out he's going to miss the whole upcoming season with Tommy John surgery. After not facing live pitching for well over a year, there were obviously going to be questions. It's safe to say, he's answering those questions with his hot start to 2018. His 14-game hitting streak was snapped recently, but what I find most impressive is his ability to hit left-handed pitchers. In 2013, as a 20-year-old in low-A, Max Kepler had seven hits (including one extra base hit) against left-handed pitchers all year. Kirilloff, also 20 in low-A, has seven hits against lefties already and he's slugging over .600. Needless to say, at some point this summer (or maybe earlier) he'll head to Fort Myers. And who knows... could he make up some lost at-bats in the Arizona Fall League later this year? Starting next year in Chattanooga doesn't seem out of the question if he continues to hit. Could he be knocking on the door within two years? Seems lofty. But so are his numbers. Ted Schwerzler The group is loaded at the top, but the Twins have some very nice depth as well. Obviously Royce Lewis is the hot name, but there are some real contributors ahead of him as well. I’d expect to see Nick Gordon the next time Minnesota needs an infielder. He should’ve been promoted when Miguel Sano was DL'd, and he’s more than graduated beyond Double-A. Teammate Brent Rooker got off to a slow start, but has heated up considerably of late. I’m not a fan of the K/BB ratio and what it says about plate discipline, but I believe he’ll settle in and that bat will play. Counting on him to debut in 2019 is a decent bet. Stephen Gonsalves is already at Triple-A, and aside from one lackluster outing in 2018, he’s appeared big league ready as well. Minnesota could opt to give Aaron Slegers or Adalberto Mejia a shot first, but Gonsalves deserves the next rotation opening. From there you’ve got the group including Lewis, Brusdar Graterol, Alex Kirilloff, and a host of others. Tons of talent amongst them, but at least two years away from the big leagues still. SD Buhr Among the Twins’ top prospects, there are those who should potentially arrive yet this year (Gordon, Gonsalves, Littell, Wade) and those that are more likely to debut in 2020 (Blankenhorn, Diaz, Lewis, Kirilloff) or beyond (Graterol, Enlow, Javier, Baddoo). In between, there aren’t many I realistically expect to see next season. Brent Rooker could be one, but he’s not exactly setting Chattanooga on fire so far this year. It’s possible that LaMonte Wade’s arrival could wait until 2019 and it’s also possible that one or both of Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff could shoot up through the ranks enough over the next 15 months that they’d get a September call-up in 2019, though that would seem pretty ambitious to me. The next year is going to be critical for pitcher Lewis Thorpe. If he can get back on track, he would be another potential 2019 arrival. Steve Lein I’ve been interested in the prospect timeline idea since the new front office took over in 2016. Not necessarily what any top prospect’s current timeline might be, but just how different Derek Falvey’s crew might handle this part of the organization. There absolutely was smoke behind the national perception fire that Terry Ryan’s regime was slow on such things, and that was the biggest thing I wanted the new guys to change. Now, I also believe that prospects must earn it with their performance, but does that mean they put up an enticing OPS? Impress a scout’s eye? Meet individual goals set by the organization, or some other statistical thresholds? I think it’s a combination of things like that, or even one extraordinary circumstance that can hasten a timeline. It also shouldn’t be a one size fits all approach but tailored individually. Looking at current top prospects, names like Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Nick Gordon, and LaMonte Wade are all deserving of promotions. For the latter two, that could even mean their MLB timeline is this summer. Stephen Gonsalves’ MLB debut is also imminent. In the case of Lewis, I see the 2019 season mentioned a lot around here but give me 2020 and that still would be fast. Fernando Romero got to the majors quicker this season than I thought he would too. So, I like how that old perception is changing, and I expect the top prospect timelines will continue to be faster than we’re used to. Overall, that a good thing in my book. Andrew Thares One of my favorite Twins prospects is Blayne Enlow. He has a plus fastball, and had arguably the best high school curveball in last year’s draft. Even better, Enlow has excellent control for a pitcher of his age. He got off to a great start in the minor leagues last season, but hasn’t been quite as sharp this year in Cedar Rapids, though that could be due to him battling the injury bug. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he flies up the prospect ranking boards over the next couple of seasons. Seth Stohs I'm going to separate the Twins prospects into a few categories based on readiness. We'll start with a couple of guys that are already there. Fernando Romero came up ready to fill a rotation spot, and Mitch Garver earned the opportunity to be one of two MLB catchers. Let's look a little deeper. Ready Now, Need Opportunity: Stephen Gonsalves has now made four starts for the Red Wings. Three of them have gone well. One, not so much. He's close to ready, but we''ll see how (or if) the Twins create an opportunity for him. The same can be said even more strongly about Aaron Slegers who has little to prove in AAA. In addition, prospects John Curtiss and Luke Bard are ready now (along with no-longer-a-"prospect" Alan Busenitz). The one position player that fits the Ready Now, Need Opportunity category, for me, is LaMonte Wade. Obviously the DL stint right now with the shoulder injury slows the timeline, but he's ready. Of course Zack Granite and Jake Cave are also prospects who are ready and in need of an opportunity. Cave is currently up but that's likely short-term, for now. Sometime In 2018: Gabriel Moya needed more time in the minors to start 2018. He's close, but he needs more work. Nick Gordon has been promoted to AAA. He's close. He continues to hit for average while adding more power to his pace from last year. He'll have to show he can last a full season, but the only way to do that is to do that. Zack Littell fits into this category as well. If he continues to pitch well with the Red Wings, he could be up by year's end too. Finally, Tyler Jay is still working his way back,, but he's got the stuff to contribute in the big leagues in 2018. (Don't forget Felix Jorge, who hasn't pitched yet this season due to a knee injury.) 2019 Timeline: Brent Rooker may be up by year's end. He's come on nicely after a slow start, but the Twins will want to see more power before they'd call him up. More likely is a debut early in 2019. By late in 2019, we may see LHP Lewis Thorpe. And, while it would be remarkably quick, don't be surprised if we see any of the Royce Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Brusdar Graterol Kernels trio in the big leagues. Who do you expect to see at Target Field this season? How fast will the top prospects move? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

At the end of March, Logan Morrison was looking like a bad signing for the Minnesota Twins. He was struggling at the plate and he didn’t offer a lot on the offensive side of the ball. Luckily, no division is won in the season’s first month and not player’s statistics are complete after the first month. One of the beautiful aspects of the game of baseball is the season’s length and players ability to build numbers (good or bad) over the course of their careers. Morrison might have been a late bloomer and this season it took him some time to get the engine running.Cold Start Morrison’s first opportunity to impress Twins fans didn’t go exactly as planned. In March/April, he hit .145/.253/250 (.503) with five extra-base hits across 22 games. He also posted a 20 to 8 strikeout to walk ratio. Pitchers were taking advantage of plenty of holes in his swing and Morrison’s swing of 2017 couldn’t be found. When the Twins signed Morrison, there was a lot of talk about his adjustments to his launch angle. During the 2015 season, he posted a 10.8 degree launch angle. He increased that number a little in 2016 with a 12.1 launch angle. However, the 2017 was his true breakout campaign and his launch angle increased to 17.6. This might have been one of the reasons he was able to collect a career-high 38 home runs. Heating Up As the calendar turned to May, Morrison’s bat began to heat up along with the weather. Through the team’s last 17 games, LoMo is batting .298/.403/.544 (.947 OPS). He has three home runs and five doubles during that stretch. Also, he’s posted a 13 to 10 strikeout to walk ratio. All of a sudden, pitchers have a small window when pitching to Morrison. Last season, Morrison barreled up the ball in 12.8% of his batted balls. This season his barrel percentage has dipped to 7.4% but that includes his cold hitting in the season’s first month. His exit velocity (89.3) and launch angle (18.7) are higher than last year’s breakout season. He also ranks 45th in all of baseball in FB/LD rate. Jekyll and Hyde So which version of Morrison can fans expect for the rest of the season? The early season version of Morrison was even worse than his career numbers would have indicated. Maybe, he was pressing to try to make an impression on his new team. Maybe, he was trying hard to make other teams regret that they didn’t go after him. Or maybe, just maybe… He’s always been a slow starter. Throughout his entire big league career, April is his lowest month for OPS, SLG, and walks. On the other hand, May has been one of his best months during his career. He has his second highest monthly totals in OPS and SLG to go along with his highest batting average and OBP. There’s a lot of baseball left to play and the real LoMo will probably be somewhere between the two versions Twins fans have seen this season. Around Twins Daily Week in Review: Crisis of Leadership Twins Minor League Report (5/20): Slegers Solid, Kirilloff Crushes 2018 MLB Draft Top 50 Prospect: 31-40 Click here to view the article

There has been plenty to be excited about this year with the Twins farm system. Top pitching prospect Fernando Romero has been more than holding his own at the big league level. Other pitchers like Stephen Gonsalves and Aaron Slegers look close to ready for the big leagues. Minnesota also has to find room on the roster for the likes of Ervin Santana and Trevor May. It’s going to be tough for some of these minor league players to break through to baseball’s highest level. However, Slegers made quite the case on Sunday.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Pawtucket 0 Box Score Aaron Slegers was the story of this game. In seven shutout innings, he struck out five and didn’t walk a batter. He scattered five hits and saw his ERA drop to 1.97. Over his last 10 starts, he has pitched a minimum of six innings and he’s only allowed more than one earned run in two of those contests. Among Rochester players with four or more starts, he ranks first in ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, and he’s allowed the fewest walks. Tyler Duffey completed the shutout for his first save. He pitched the final two innings and only allowed one baserunner while striking out four. At the plate, three Red Wings players compiled three hits. Zack Granite went 3-for-5 with a run scored but he also added a pair of stolen bases. Kennys Vargas went 3-for-4 and drove in a run. Nick Buss finished off the trio of hitters and he might have had the most important part in the win. He went 3-for-4 and drove in two of the team’s three runs. His home run in the eighth inning was a much needed insurance run. Miguel Sano is rehabbing with the Red Wings and there might be a little rust still left to work off. He went 0-for-2 at the plate with a walk and a strikeout. Sano also committed a fielding error at third base. He did not play the entire game. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 2, Biloxi 3 (10 Innings) Box Score Chattanooga got on the board quickly thanks to a James Ramsey lead-off home run. After Biloxi had tied it up in the third, the Lookouts bounced back in the next frame. Singles by Brent Rooker and Zander Wiel put runners on the corners with one out. Edgar Corcino drove in Rooker with a ground out to second base to take back the lead. Chattanooga went quiet from there. Wiel was the only hitter to have multiple hits as he went 2-for-4. Rooker struck out in three of his four plate appearances. As a team, Chattanooga went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. Randy LeBlanc started and went 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run on three hits. He struck out one and walked two. Of his 64 pitches, 34 were for strikes. Sam Clay finished off the fourth and then got two innings of his own. He didn’t allow a run on two hits with a couple strikeouts. Todd Van Steensel got charged with his fourth blown save as he allowed the tying run to score in the bottom of the eighth. For the final two innings, Ryne Harper took over on the mound. He made it through the ninth unscathed but the tenth would be another story. Chattanooga couldn’t take advantage of having a runner start on second base in the top of the frame. Biloxi used a sacrifice bunt to move their runner from second to third. Then a walk-off single to the outfield scored the winning run. Because of the new extra-inning rules, it doesn’t count as an earned run for Harper but he still is charged with the loss. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 2, St. Lucie 2 (Suspended in the sixth) For the second straight day, rain caused the Miracle to be suspended. This game originally started on Saturday and now it won’t be made up until June 1 in St. Lucie. The regularly scheduled game was also postponed. Fort Myers has a runner at first and second in the sixth game. This means the clubs will finish the suspended game on June 1 and then play the postponed game. Then the clubs will play a doubleheader on June 2. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Clinton 1 Box Score Don’t touch Alex Kirilloff. You might burn your fingers. He smacked his team-leading seventh home run on route to Kernels clobbering Clinton on Sunday afternoon. He leads all Twins minor league players with seven home runs and 34 runs batted in. He finished the day 2-for-4 with three RBI. Every batter in the Kernels lineup reached base. Four batters (Jordan Gore, Jose Miranda, Ben Rertvedt, and Kirilloff) had multiple hits. Top pitching prospect Brusdar Graterol was also on the mound. Control was a bit of an issue in this one as he walked five batters. However, he pitched five frames and allowed one earned run on four hits. With six strikeouts on Sunday, he is averaging 6.75 strikeouts per start. Carlos Suniaga added three scoreless innings with four strikeouts and no hits allowed. Calvin Faucher finished off the win by allowed a pair of walks in the ninth but he kept the runners off the board. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapids (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, K) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Aaron Slegers (7.0 IP, 0 ER, 5 K, 0 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 – Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 1-4, K #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, K #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-4, R, 3 K #9 – Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) – 5.0 IP, ER, 6 K, 5 BB #14 – LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 1-6, RBI #16 – Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) – 2-4 MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – LHP Dietrich Enns (2-4, 5.20 ERA) Chattanooga @ Biloxi (6:35 CST) – LHP Anthony Marzi (0-1, 3.86 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Bradenton (6:00 CST) – RHP Clark Beeker (1-2, 2.45 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 2.14 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

Twins Daily Roundtable is a new weekly series. As part of this series, a question will be posed to the site’s writers and they will respond in 200 words or less. This will give readers an opportunity to see multiple points of view and then add their own point of view in the comments section. Fernando Romero versus Shohei Ohtnai certainly lived up to the hype on Sunday. That being said, Ohtani knows his spot in the rotation will continue to be safe. Romero doesn’t have that luxury with players like Ervin Santana and Trevor May returning to the roster in the days ahead. Minnesota could find themselves with quite the decision. This week’s roundtable question is “What should happen to Fernando Romero when Ervin Santana returns?”Nick Nelson Unless Romero experiences some sort of major backslide, his name shouldn't even factor into the discussion of rearranging to accommodate Santana's return. Right now the rookie right-hander looks like the Twins' best starter, and until that changes he needs to stick. Given the lack of long-term investment in them, Lance Lynn and Jake Odorizzi should be atop the pecking order. But with Erv likely a month away, the rotation landscape will probably look quite a bit different by the time he's ready. Seth Stohs So, presumably Santana may be back in mid-June, so about a month from now. That's plenty of time for things to work themselves out, as they almost always do. Someone will need to be placed on the DL, a younger guy will be struggling. But, if that answer had to be made today, it would be difficult. At least somewhat difficult. Jake Odorrizi and Kyle Gibson aren't going anywhere. Jose Berrios is struggling right now, but he's not going back to AAA (subject to change if he's still struggling in a month. And, no one wants to hear it, but Lance Lynn isn't going to be dropped now (again, maybe in a month if he's still not throwing strikes). So, maybe the Twins should go the way of the Angels and use a 6-man rotation and treat Romero like Ohtani and the rest of the rotation works around the Romero schedule (purpose being to limit his innings). Fortunately, that answer doesn’t need to be made today. However, Trevor May could return from the DL in two weeks, and roster/rotation construction could get very interesting then. John Bonnes Ervin Santana or no, Fernando Romero needs to stay in the Twins rotation right now. The only reason not to do so would be to limit his innings for the first half of the year in order to use them in the latter half, and specifically the playoffs, so let’s chart that out a little. Following his Tommy John surgery, Romero pitched 90.1 innings in 2016 and 125 innings in 2017. He should likely be limited to ~150 innings in 2018. With his upside and injury history, stretching beyond that is just plain foolish. So let’s do the math. He’s at 37.2 innings right now, so that leaves about 115 innings. There are 126 games left in the season, so approximately 25 starts. Over his last three years, he’s averaged about 5.1 IP per start, which would be 133.25 innings, which means he would likely miss his last four starts if he makes every start. Assuming the Twins also want him available for a couple of playoff starts, that means shaving off 3-6 starts. That might be easy if he ends up on the DL at some point, so no need to panic now. So keep him in the rotation for now, with a plan to ease up on the innings mid-summer if he stays healthy and effective. Tom Froemming Fernando Romero’s a 23-year-old who’s never thrown more than 125 innings in a season. Ervin Santana’s a 35-year-old who’s recovering slower than expected from a major finger surgery. Neither of those guys sound like somebody you can rely on to pitch into October. My short-term answer would be to insert Ervin into the rotation and piggyback him with Romero out of the bullpen in each of his starts. Santana is going to need some time to catch up, so you work him in slowly. It’s likely that an injury would open up a spot for Romero eventually, but let’s just say that doesn’t happen. In that case, I say once Ervin’s up to speed you roll out a six-man rotation. I think both Ervin and Romero could use the extra rest. The hope would be you keep everyone healthy and get fresher pitchers for the stretch run/playoffs. The fear would be altering the routine of everyone in your rotation would also result in everyone falling apart. Personally, I think a team like the 2018 Twins is perfect for such an experiment. Ted Schwerzler Fernando Romero has been electric for the Twins in the early going. There's also the reality that it's been a very small sample size and the volatility with rookies is generally off the charts. That being said, he's a special talent and I've rated him highly on prospect reports given his potential to be the Twins ace for many years to come. Right now, I think it's hard to worry about what to do when Ervin Santana returns and in large part, because that timetable is so murky. Lance Lynn could turn things around by then, someone may be hurt, or another pitcher could falter. If we're still having to look for answers to this question when Santana is a week out, I think then it becomes a bigger talker. Until then, Paul Molitor has to hope for continued strong outings from his full staff and go from there. I do know that as the pitching crunch continues to come down the pipe, Phil Hughes and his remaining contract money is looking more and more like a big bite for the front office to swallow (but a necessary one). SD Buhr Short of something dramatic happening in a Fernando Romero start before Ervin Santana is deemed healthy enough to join the Twins rotation, I think it’s obvious what you do with Romero at that point. You send him out there to pitch in his Twins jersey every fifth day. The question becomes, what do you do with the other guys? Maybe one of them joins (or replaces) Phil Hughes in the Twins bullpen until one of the other rotation members falters or gets injured, but you simply do not take a guy who is literally allowing no opponent to cross home plate out of the rotation in a season where you’re honestly trying to win your division. I suspect the situation will resolve itself the way these things so often do. A starting pitcher that has given up a run or two more than they’d like to see will suddenly suffer an “impingement” in his throwing shoulder or a “strain” in his arm, necessitating a 10-day stint on the DL. Poof! Problem solved. Jeremy Nygaard There are still a few starts to be had by Romero before decision time, but as of now you can't take him out of the rotation. There's also a doubleheader on June 5 that would require a sixth starter or pitching a guy on short rest later that week. Having too many capable starting pitchers is never a problem... and it won't be here either. Short answer: He should stay in the rotation. Andrew Thares I think Fernando Romero needs to stay in the MLB rotation upon the return of Ervin Santana. If everyone in the rotation stays healthy, I don't think a six-man rotation is a bad thing for a few reasons. First, for Romero's sake, it would help the Twins limit his innings this year, as he has never thrown more than 125 in a season. Second, it will help keep everyone in the starting rotation fresh throughout the season as they get an extra day's rest between each start. Next, the Twins don't have a front-line ace in their rotation, so it's not like they will be taking starts away from someone like a Max Scherzer or Corey Kluber. Finally, someone else in the rotation will inevitably get hurt, and when that happens the rotation can simply go back down to a five-man rotation without skipping a beat. Jamie Cameron Right now, we are evaluating Romero's initial performance through rose-colored glasses, and rightly so. He's been dominant against two really good teams. He's likely to run into bumps in the road as teams adjust and see him more. If he keeps pitching the way he has been, there's no way the Twins, who have less margin for error after a difficult start, can push him out of the rotation. I don't think it's debatable, even at this early stage, that he has the best stuff on the team. Right now, Lance Lynn is the odd-man out (performance wise) in the Twins rotation. This decision likely depends largely on what the Twins decide to do with Phil Hughes. Are the likely to cast aside an arm who is making $26 million over the next two seasons? I'm doubtful, although that's absolutely what they should do from a baseball standpoint. I think it's likely that the rotation logjam works itself out naturally. The chances of the Twins starting staff staying injury free seems unlikely, in which case Romero stays occupying. Ultimately, I think it's hard to argue that right now, the optimal Twins rotation would be: Santana, Berrios, Romero, Gibson, Odorizzi. We'll see what happens at the end of May, but Romero has undeniably provided some much needed spark and swagger to this pitching staff. Click here to view the article

Jason Castro was only supposed to miss 4-6 weeks following knee surgery. That won’t be the case. Castro is done for the year following surgery on his meniscus. In the midst of his surgery this morning, surgeons found more damage than expected. This forced doctors to complete a full meniscus repair. This is a tough blow for a Twins team fighting for the top spot in the AL Central standings. Other players like Byron Buxton and Miguel Sano have already missed time this season. It’s taken longer than expected for Ervin Santana to return from injury. Also, the club has been without Jorge Polanco due to his suspension. That’s a lot of regular players not in the line-up. That being said, it’s not like the Twins are without a viable catching option. Mitch Garver has performed well so far this season and he will need to continue to make the most of this opportunity. Bobby Wilson played an important role in Tuesday’s victory over the Cardinals. Both players are going to need to take on even more vital roles moving forward. Now the question remains as to what the Twins front office should do moving forward. Does the club need to bring in another catcher to back up Garver? Can they find another option to stash at Triple-A? Can Garver and Wilson carry the team’s catching needs? Feel free to add your thoughts to any of those questions and more in the COMMENTS section. Click here to view the article

When Jason Castro went down with an injury, it could have been easy for Twins fans to think it was another bad omen for the 2018 campaign. Big time contributors from last year like Byron Buxton, Miguel Sano and Ervin Santana have all spent time on the disabled list to start the season. Another regular missing time could have been a nail in the coffin. Enter Mitch Garver. The 27-year old catcher has played fewer than 50 games at the big league level. However, Castro’s injury (and now surgery) is giving Garver the chance to prove he belongs at baseball’s highest level. What can Garver do to make the most of this opportunity?As spring training began, there were questions about whether or not Garver would break camp with the club. Other veteran options were in camp and he didn’t exactly hit the cover off the ball during his debut. In the 2017 season, he hit .196/.288/.348 with four extra-base hits in 23 games. After combining for four triples in his entire minor league career, he collected three triples out of his nine total hits. Garver has made a few changes at the plate this season. After barreling up the ball 3.2% of the time last year, he has raised that percentage to 8.1% this season. This has helped to increase his exit velocity from 86.8 to 88.0. His launch angle has also been impacted as he moved from 10.5 last year to 18.0 this year. His change in launch angle has resulted in his OPS increasing by 140 points. Another change for Garver this season has been an increase in his BABIP. Last year, he ended the season with a .290 BABIP. This year his BABIP has risen to .343 so there might be some luck involved with the big jump. One could expect Garver’s batting average to drop as teams figure out how to defend him. During his minor league career, Garver hit .271/.364/.429. Defensively, Garver started four games at catcher last season. He’s already more than doubled his amount of innings behind the plate. This year he has allowed seven stolen bases and thrown out two potential base stealers. His 22% caught stealing percentage is lower than the league average (28%). Throughout his minor league career, he had a 32% caught stealing percentage. To make the most of this opportunity, Garver needs to continue to make offensive strides. There have been some small adjustments this season but he dominated at the upper levels of the minors. He hit .298/.386/.520 in 110 games with Rochester over the last two seasons. If that version of Garver shows up at the big league level, his defensive flaws will be easier to swallow. What do you expect from Garver in the years to come? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Around Twins Daily Week in Review: Back in the Swing Twins Minor League Report (5/13): Rooker Homers, Perez Piles Up Hits A Tale Of Two Rookies: Fernando Romero and Shohei Ohtani Click here to view the article

With only two scheduled games in the Twins system, it could have been a quiet day in the minor leagues. However, Rochester and Chattanooga played a pair of tight games. Some big name prospects played roles in the outcomes of both games. Two former first-round picks, Kohl Stewart and Tyler Jay, pitched in Chattanooga. Top prospect Fernando Romero faced off against Japanese sensation Shohei Ohtani. Which prospects stood out in Sunday’s action? I’m glad you asked…ROSTER MOVES RHP Calvin Faucher assigned to Cedar Rapids from Fort Myers RHP Moises Gomez assigned to Elizabethton from Cedar Rapids RHP Derek Molina assigned to Elizabethton from Cedar Rapids INF Nelson Molina released from Fort Myers RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Scranton/WB 1 Box Score Rochester jumped out to an early lead and tried to hold on for the win. In the second frame, Kennys Vargas singled and Wynston Sawyer moved him to second with a single of his own. Nick Buss provided the big hit of the inning as he smashed a three-run home run. It was his first home run since joining the Twins organization. He had 11 home runs in the Pacific Coast League last season. Myles Jaye started and tried to take advantage of the early runs. He pitched five innings and allowed one run, a solo home run, while striking out two and walking two. In three of his last four starts, he has held the opposition to one earned run. Jake Reed, Alan Busenitz, and John Curtiss combined for four shutout innings. For Reed and Busenitz, they each recorded their first hold. It was the second save for Curtiss. Busenitz pitched the seventh and the eighth inning and allowed only one base runner on a walk. He struck out three and his Triple-A ERA is down to 0.90. Vargas was the lone Red Wings hitter to finish with multiple hits but he also struck out twice. He’s hitting .189 for the season. Sawyer reached base three times in four at-bats. Ryan LaMarre added his first double since being sent back to Rochester. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 10, Tennessee 11 (12 Innings) Box Score Kohl Stewart was flying through the first five innings of this game before running into trouble in the sixth. Through five innings, he had allowed one run, a home run. In the top of the sixth, Stewart allowed a lead-off single before striking out a batter. The next batter reached on an error by TJ White. Then Stewart proceeded to allow four straight hits as five runs would score in the inning. Overall, he allowed four earned runs (six total runs) on seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks. Things got crazy from there as the two clubs combined for 13 runs from the sixth inning to the end of the game. Unfortunately for Chattanooga, Tennessee scored 10 of the final 13 runs. Out of the 11 runs scored by the Smokies, four of them were unearned. Every pitcher besides Tyler Jay saw an unearned run score while he were on the mound. Ryne Harper stuck out five in 2 2/3 innings but he allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits. Sam Clay took the loss, his third, after allowing an unearned run in the final frame. He struck out four and walked one in 2 1/3 innings. Chattanooga had plenty of offensive chances. The club went 7-for-21 with runners in scoring positon and left 11 men on base. Brent Rooker collected his third home run, a solo shot, in the sixth inning. Alex Perez reached base five times in the game as part of a three-hit effort. He also led the team with three RBIs. Brian Olson went 3-for-6 with an RBI and Nick Gordon added a pair of hits. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Alex Perez, Chattanooga (3-for-4, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BB) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Myles Jaye, Chattanooga (5.0 IP, 1 ER, 2 K, 2 BB) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 – Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 2-6, R, 2 K #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 1-6, HR, R, RBI, K #14 – LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 1-6, RBI #19 – Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) – 1.2 IP, 2 ER, K, 2 BB MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Chattanooga vs. Tennessee (6:15 CST) – RHP Omar Bencomo (2-0, 2.97 ERA) Fort Myers @ Jupiter (5:30 CST) – RHP Sean Poppen Cedar Rapids vs. Quad Cities (6:35 CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

Fernando Romero and Shohei Ohtani have taken very different paths to the big leagues. Both players made their big league debuts during the age-23 season but Ohtani’s certainly came with a greater amount of hype. On Sunday, the two rookies will square off in Los Angeles with bragging rights on the line. That being said, a mid-May game is hardly something to prove which player will have a better career. Both of these budding stars have the potential to be great and they have shown some similarities at this early juncture in their careers.Throwing Gas For Twins fans, it’s no secret that Romero’s fastball has a lot of life. Ohtani is more of a mystery as this will be only his sixth start at the big league level. When it comes to rookie pitchers, Romero and Ohtani are two of the hardest throwing pitchers in the league. Success at the big league level comes from mixing up pitches and both pitchers have tried to find a way to keep batters off-balance. Romero actually throws his sinker (39.7%) more often than his fastball (26.3%). Ohtani throws his fastball more frequently (45.6%) but his split finger and slider add a lot of movement for the batter to track. Ohtani has allowed a home run in four of his five starts. In his third start of the year, he was pulled from the game with a blister on his throwing hand. Since returning from the blister, he’s pitched into the sixth inning in both starts but he has allowed six earned runs on 12 hits. He also has a 13 to 7 strikeout to walk ratio during that stretch. (Stat)casting a Wide Net Romero and Ohtani have a limited amount of combined starts at the big league level but their Statcast data is starting to paint a picture. Romero has thrown 194 pitches with only 25 batted balls. Out of those balls, only one batter has barreled up a ball against him and he is averaging an 87.4 exit velocity with a 1.6 launch angle. Ohtani has a little bit larger sample size as he has thrown 445 pitches. Out of that total, there have been 63 batted balls and three balls have been barreled up. Ohtani has allowed some harder hit balls with an exit velocity of 87.7 and a launch angle of 17.8. Other Statcast numbers also show the similarities between these two pitchers. Romero’s expected batting average (.237 XBA) is only 14 points higher than Ohtani (.223). Also, Romero has only allowed two extra-base hits, both doubles, so his expect slugging percentage (.331 XSLG) is over 50 points lower than Ohtani (.384 XSLG). If both players stay healthy and continue to pitch well, there could be quite the race for the American League Rookie of the Year Award. What are you looking forward to seeing on Sunday afternoon? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Around Twins Daily Buxton’s Back: Was No Rehab a Mistake? Wander Javier’s Labral Tear This Dozier Recipe May Be a New One Click here to view the article

It’s been 21 games but Byron Buxton will be back in the Twins lineup tonight. He was initially placed on the disabled list with migraines but then he suffered a hairline fracture in his big toe. The second injury occurred during a rehab game with the Fort Myers Miracle. To make room for Buxton on the roster, Ryan LaMarre was optioned to Triple-A Rochester. In his 20 games with the club, LaMarre hit .324. With Buxton back, what can fans expect from the speedy outfielder? Was skipping a rehab assignment a mistake?Buxton struggled out of the gate this season. In his first 11 games, he went 8-for-41 (.195 BA) at the plate with two extra-base hits, both doubles. He posted an 11 to 2 strikeout to walk ratio and his .233 on-base percentage is almost 60 points lower than his career mark. Minnesota’s wintery weather in the early season might have been to blame for some of his cold start. Now the Twins are getting back quite possibly the best defensive player in the game. Manager Paul Molitor was forced to use a smattering of other players as fill-in options in center field. There have been some misplayed balls and bad routes that hurt the team along the way so the pitching staff must be excited to have Buxton back. “I think everyone feels a little void when he’s not around,” Molitor told reporters. One has to question Minnesota’s decision not to send Buxton down for another rehab assignment. Over the last week, he has tested his ability to run and do other baseball activities. Even though he has been given the green light from the team’s doctors, his swing might not be ready for big league pitching. Buxton wasn’t exactly on fire prior to the injury. Fans have also seen how much his swing is based on timing. He’s dropped and added his swing’s leg-kick throughout the course of his career. Playing a handful of games against minor league pitchers could help Buxton to get some of his timing back. The Twins are scheduled to face the Angels top three pitchers, with Garret Richards, Tyler Skaggs and Shoehi Ohtani set to start three games out of the four game set. Saturday’s starter is still to be determined for LA. Skaggs is left-handed but Richards and Ohtani are both righties. For his career, Buxton has hit .235/.285/.404 against right-handed pitching. Do you think the Twins should have sent Buxton on another rehab assignment? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Around Twins Daily This Dozier Recipe May be a New One Get to Know Miracle Catcher Taylor Grzelakowski How Good is Cleveland, Really Click here to view the article

Kyle Gibson hasn’t been perfect throughout his major league career but something has changed with the former first-round pick. In his sixth professional season, Gibson might finally be putting it all together. So what has changed? Has Gibson started pitching differently? And most importantly, what’s gotten into Kyle Gibson?Roller Coaster Career Gibson’s best season by most statistical accolades was the 2015 campaign. In his age-27 season, Gibson posted a 3.84 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Minnesota was a surprise second-place finisher in the AL Central that season and Gibson played a large role in the club’s improvement. In fact, Twins Daily named him the team’s 2015 Pitcher of the Year. Even looking at his best season, Gibson has never been built to be a frontline starter and there have been some rough moments over the last two seasons. He struggled out of the gate last season with an 8.20 ERA in his first six starts. Opponents were hitting .342/.419/.579 against him and the Twins decided to send him to Rochester. It had to be a low point for Mr. Gibson. After making two starts in the minors, Gibson was recalled and posted a 4.44 ERA over his last 131 2/3 innings. In September alone, he went 4-0 with a 3.28 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. Gibson also posted a 31-to-8 strikeout to walk ratio over those final 35 2/3 innings. Flipping the Switch Gibson seems to have built off of the positive end to his 2017. According to MLB.com’s Baseball Savant, hitters are barreling up the ball against Gibson less frequently this year. Last year, batters had a 6.9% barrel percentage and they’ve posted a 5.9% barrel percentage against him since 2015. This year his barrel percentage is down to 5%. He currently ranks as the 22nd best pitcher when it comes to barrels per plate appearance. Less frequent barreling of the ball has also helped other areas of his pitching. His expected batting average and expected slugging percentage are currently sitting at all-time lows. For his career, Gibson had allowed a .269 XBA and a .426 XSLG. Through his first 650 pitches this season, he has limited batters to a .232 XBA and a .375 XSLG. One of the biggest reasons for the switch has been Gibson’s ability to miss bats this season. When this tweet was circling the internet last week, it opened plenty of eyes. Even in Gibson’s most dominating years in the minors, he wasn’t getting swings and misses like he is in 2018. His strikeouts per nine rate is over 10.0 for the first time at the big league level. He’s been keeping the ball down and making it tough for hitters to make consistent contact. Looking Long-Term The new and improved Gibson has been a bonus this year but other younger pitchers have entered the Twins’ long term plans with the potential to be frontline starters. Jose Berrios has shown tremendous ability this season. Top prospect Fernando Romero was just called up and Stephen Gonsalves has been dominating Triple-A. Minnesota doesn’t need Gibson to be the team’s best pitcher but he is showing plenty of value so far this season. Consistently sticking in the role of a number three or four starter would be a positive over what Twins Territory saw last year with Gibson. There have been other pitchers who took time to develop at the big league level. Gibson might be figuring out the best ways of attacking hitters with the pitches he has to offer. As a savvier veteran, Gibson might be reaching his full potential. Playoff teams need more than a top-of-the-rotation ace pitcher. Other pitchers need to step up and fill in those other spots. Gibson has been much more than a fill-in this season. Around Twins Daily Twins Minor League Report (5/6): Gonsalves Fans Nine Week in Review: Baby Steps Edwar Colina: From Chilly Home Opener to No-Hitter Click here to view the article

For the first time all season, every affiliate was able to play their scheduled Sunday game. Twins Territory is basking in the glow of early summer, which means there should be plenty more baseball games to write about in the days ahead. Sunday saw Stephen Gonsalves make his second Triple A start, while Chattanooga and Fort Myers found themselves in one-run games. Whose performance stood out above the crowd? Read on and then you decide…RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 1 Box Score Rochester pounced quickly on Lehigh Valley and Stephen Gonsalves was able to cruise to his second straight victory since being promoted to Triple A. The Red Wings got things started in the first with two outs. Jake Cave got a single. Kennys Vargas singled to center to put runners on the corners. A wild pitch brought in Cave from third. Willians Astudillo singled to load the bases. The biggest hit of the frame came from Taylor Featherston who doubled to plate three runs. He finished the day 1-for-3 with three RBI, a walk and a run scored. Cave was the lone Red Wings hitter to collect multiple hits, both singles. Leonardo Reginatto was the only batter not to reach base but he added two RBI. Gonsalves faced the minimum through the first 14 batters. After surrendering a solo home run and a double in the fifth, he settled in to pitch into the top of the seventh. After walking the lead-off batter in that inning, he got Trevor Plouffe to fly out and he struck out the next batter. Mitch Walding, the same batter who homered earlier, singled to put a runner in scoring position. This was the end of Gonsalves’ day. He struck out nine, walked one, and allowed three hits over 6 2/3 innings. Nick Anderson pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for the Red Wings. He allowed only one base runner and he struck out two. Over his last five appearances, Anderson hasn’t allowed an earned run and has pitched multiple innings in four of those outings. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Mobile 2 Box Score The hits were few and far between for the Lookouts on Sunday afternoon. Nick Gordon and Alex Robles each went 1-for-3 and those were the only hits for the club. Overall, the team had two opportunities to bat with runners in scoring position and one of them was successful. Chattanooga seemed to be getting a rally going in the ninth. Alex Perez led off the inning with a walk before moving to second on a wild pitch. Robles followed with a single to put runners on the corners with no outs. The next batter was LaMonte Wade and he was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Brent Rooker got ahead in the count 2-1 before fouling off a pitch. He struck out on the next pitch for the first out of the inning and that’s when things got a little strange. Nick Gordon stepped in with a chance to play the hero. He cracked a long fly ball to left field that was deep enough to be a sacrifice fly. However, Robles got caught trying to advance and became the final out of the game. Anthony Marzi had a strong start in his Double A debut. Over six innings, he scattered four hits and allowed one earned run, a home run. He struck out eight and walked one. Ryan Eades finished off the final two frames by allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Jupiter 4 Box Score Clark Beeker worked his best start of the season and the Miracle were able to hold off the Hammerheads in this one. Beeker pitched six innings, allowing one run on six hits. He struck out three and walked one. Calvin Faucher picked up from Beeker and allowed only one base runner over the next two frames. For the Miracle, every starter in the line-up reached base. Mark Contreras, Joe Cronin, and Taylor Grzelakowski all had multi-hit efforts. Grzelakowski has five multiple-hit efforts in his last ten games. Contreras scored a pair of runs and Arraez led the team with two RBI. Things got a little dicey at the end as Logan Lombana allowed Jupiter back into the game. In the top of the ninth, he allowed a single and a home run to start the inning. After allowing the next batter to reach on a walk, he coaxed a ground out before being replaced by Kevin Marnon. He got one out before back-to-back singles made it a one-run game. Marnon loaded the bases with a walk before a sharp groundout to Carson Crites ended the mayhem. It is the first time Jupiter has lost a series this season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, West Michigan 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids jumped out to an early lead thanks to a little luck. With one out in the second, Andrew Bechtold walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. He was stranded at second until a two-out double from David Banuelos made the score 1-0. Unfortunately, that’s where the scoring ended for the Kernels. Bryan Sammons lost for the third time in his last four starts. However, he has only allowed more than two earned runs in one of those appearances. He finished 6 1/3 innings, a career best, by allowing two earned runs on three hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Derek Molina allowed two earned runs over the final 2 2/3 innings. He struck out two and didn’t allow a free pass. Cedar Rapids went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Alex Kirilloff collected his tenth double of the season. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Taylor Grzelakowski (2-for-4, RBI, 2B) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Stephen Gonsalves, Rochester (6.2 IP, 1 ER, 9 K) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 – Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) – 1-3, RBI, K #4 – Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – 6.2 IP, 1 ER, 9 K #5 – Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 1-4, 2B, K #7 – Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) – 0-3, BB, 2 K #14 – LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) – 0-3, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) – 0-3, BB, K MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Buffalo (5:05 CST) - TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:15 CST) – LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-3, 4.37 ERA) Fort Myers vs. Charlotte (6:00 CST) – TBD Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:00 CST) – RHP Edwar Colina (2-0, 6.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Sunday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

One of Major League Baseball’s greats, Ichiro Suzuki, is retiring as a member of the Seattle Mariners to join their front office. Ichiro will be remembered as one of the greatest hitters of all time. After staring his career in Japan, he made one of the greatest debut seasons in baseball history. He went on to win the MVP and the Rookie of the year in 2001 and his career was off to whirlwind start. After 18 seasons, Ichiro is riding off into the sunset. So how did the future Hall of Famer fare when facing the Twins? What were his best games in Minnesota?Ichiro suited up against the Twins in 119 games throughout his career. In those contests, he hit .333/.362/.415 with 10 doubles, eight triples and five home runs. He stole 21 bases and was thrown out nine times. He also posted a 51 to 23 strikeout to walk ratio. Considering that was almost an entire season’s worth of work, he posted quite the impressive numbers. His best season against the Twins was in 2006. He faced the Twins eight times that season and hit .526/.538/.711 with a home run, two triples and two steals. He had three four-hit games against the Twins that season including two in one June series. In that series alone, he went 11-for-16 with a home run and two RBI. The 2013 campaign wasn’t too bad either for the aging star in his first full season as a Yankee. In seven games, he hit .444/.483/.741 with three doubles, a triple and a home run. In a series over the Fourth of July at Target Field, Ichiro went 7-for-15 with two doubles and a triple. Ichiro made his last trip to Target Field for the Twins Home Opener this season. It’s no secret that he struggled this season as he hit .205/.255/.205 in 15 games. However in those two contests at Target Field, he went 3-for-7 (.429 BA) and scored a run. At the Home Opener, I looked down from my outfield seats and took a picture of Ichiro. It was the last time I got to see him in person. He was masterful at the plate and he’s the type of player I will tell my child about when he is old enough. Thanks for the memories. Enjoy your ride off into the sunset. What was your favorite Ichiro memory? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

Phil Hughes had to know his leash was short in the Twins rotation. Minnesota’s Triple-A rotation is full of plenty of major league-ready arms. During his last spring training start, Hughes left the game with an oblique injury that seemed very convenient for the Twins front office. Since his return from that injury, Hughes has allowed six earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings of work. With Fernando Romero making his big league debut on Wednesday, Hughes is headed to the bullpen. Is this the beginning of the end for Phil Hughes?Record Breaker Minnesota's original signing of Phil Hughes seemed like a very “Twins-like” move. Over his last three seasons in New York, he started 75 games and posted a 4.82 ERA with a 1.37 WHIP. His 68 home runs could be attributed to pitching with the short porch in the Bronx. The Twins were hoping a new ballpark and a new environment could re-create the younger version of Hughes. During the 2014 season, Phil Hughes was a breath of fresh air for the Twins starting rotation. His 3.52 ERA and 209.2 innings pitched looked Cy Young worthy when compared to the likes of Ricky Nolasco and Kevin Correia. He even set the MLB record for strikeout-to-walk ratio in a season. Minnesota was so starved for starting pitching, the club restructured his contract following 2014 to cover the 2015-2019 seasons. If the Twins were going to get the 2014 version of Hughes, his new contract seemed like a good investment. In hindsight, it has been an injury-ridden deal full of frustration for fans and even more frustration for the player. Frustration Hughes pitched 27 games in 2015 with a 4.40 ERA while allowing the most home runs in the American League. His last two seasons have been cut short by injuries. He was limited to just 26 games in 2016-17. The Twins owe Hughes $26.4 million for 2018 and 2019 and he is being demoted to a bullpen role. Last summer, Hughes was asked by the Pioneer Press if his second season-ending surgery in as many summers was a threat to his career. “I try not to think that way,” Hughes said. “It’s been a rough go the last few years. I try not to let my mind wander that way. I try to take it with what I can do now and focus on that. It has been frustrating, even disheartening a little bit, but I try not to think that way.” One has to wonder if Hughes has started to think that way over the last handful of days. When asked about his transition to the bullpen, Hughes is trying to stay positive. “I can only embrace it,” he said. “If I go down there with a positive attitude and help the team win in whatever role I’m given, that’s all I can do. I think it’s a positive thing.” Fastball Falloff Hughes has been a successful bullpen option but that was early in his career with New York. In fact, he was a critical part of the 2009 Yankee team on their way to the World Series title. Since that campaign, he has never made more than five relief appearances. Those five appearances came last season as he fought through his injury. During his career, Hughes has never been noted for his velocity. The decline in his fastball velocity has been a concern in recent years, especially with all of his mounting injuries. He was averaging over 93 miles per hour through the majority of the 2014 campaign. Through his first two appearances in 2018, his fastball velocity has averaged 90.5, which is over two miles per hour slower than his career mark. It remains to be seen if Hughes will be able to regain some magic in a bullpen role. There are plenty of younger arms in the Twins system waiting to get a shot at the big league level. Since he was signed under the previous regime, the current front office shouldn’t feel an allegiance to the rest of the money owed to Hughes. If the bullpen doesn’t work out, the end might be looming for Mr. Hughes. Around Twins Daily Royce Lewis is Finding His Stroke Can Fernando Romero Spark the Twins? Something Has Clicked with Eduardo Escobar Click here to view the article