HarmanWithAnA

Pretty sure $23M is greater than $18.75M and he can probably still get the 4yr/$75M next year if he repeats his 2026 numbers.

Exactly. How does a farm system continue "to rank among the best in baseball" and yet hasn't produced an above average mlb player with their best hitters in over a decade? Maybe it's TD's fault and they just ruined any chance Jenkins has for superstardom...

I'd rather have peak Buxton for the last 107ish games of the season than the first. The mistake might have been not waiting till June every season to start playing him even when he was healthy.

Fantastic guide but prices could use an update for 2025. Seat prices have at least doubled and I would say food and beverages are 50% higher than what is listed. Nosebleeds are at least $30+ and no single game SRO this year.

Pinto clobbered his first big league home run Friday night, leading off the bottom of the 9th inning against the Blue Jays. His solo shot brought the Twins within one against Blue Jays closer Casey Janssen. The ball was crushed right over the 411 sign in center field sailing out to the deepest part of the park. Pinto conitues his hot big league start at the dish still batting .526 in 6 games.

The trend of great holiday weekends continued for Josmil as he got his first call up to the Majors over Labor Day weekend. After just 1 month at AAA, Pinto will help fill the catching gap until Mauer returns from injury and hopefully stick it out the rest of the season. Before we get ahead of ourselves, let's recap his month at Rochester. Pinto batted .314 in 19 games for the Red Wings, collecting 22 hits, including 9 doubles and a home run. His excellent hitting continued at AAA but his production was not as impressive after making the jump. While he collected hits, he only walked twice in 70 at bats while striking out 12 times. His slugging was a more than respectable .486 but his OBP slumped to a meager .333. He scored only 6 runs and drove in just 6 himself. The production numbers are also very dependant on his team around him so I'm not concerned with the lack of runs but his 12 to 2 K to BB ratio is could spell trouble on his ascent to Minneapolis. As for his month in the Majors, it couldn't be starting much better. He's collected 6 hits in his first 9 at bats including 2 doubles and a walk. His slash line high a top the Twins leaderboard (granted just 2 games of work) looks a little funny at .667/.700/.889. And his 1.589 OPS is obviously unsustainable but fun to see nearly doubling Joe Mauers OPS (the actual Twins leader). He went 4 for 5 in the game last night including a 12th inning double and later came in to score to secure the win. It's very exciting to have followed Pinto all year and to now see him reach the Majors. Hopefully he can continue to turn some heads and give himself a real chance to make the squad out of Spring Training next year.

I was at a baseball game the night Baker tossed his 8 perfect innings, unfortunately it was in Anaheim and not Minnesota. I have been lucky enough to see two perfect games since. I happened to be passing through Detroit on June 2, 2010 with my 6 month old son in hand and even he could see from our far left field corner seats that Armando Galarraga made the last out. May not be a perfect game in the record books but it should have been. We were also lucky enough to be at Phil Humber's perfect game in Seattle a few years back which in my opinion ended on a pretty questionable call too. If my son gets to see one more pitching gem in his young life, I'm gonna need one of you to write the story for the news to make him a famous good luck charm!

Pinto returned to form this weekend after a rocky one game start to his triple A career when he went 3 for 4 Friday night and 2 for 5 Saturday also mashing 2 doubles. He also was hit by a pitch and drove in 1 run. On the defensive side of the ball, Pinto caught both games making 1 put out at home and had a throwing error on a ground ball. He was out of the line up Sunday but had a pinch hit ground out in the 9th. The line up is not out for Monday night as of press time. Overall he is "leading the team" with a .357 average in 14 at bats. He has 1 RBI, 1 R, 2 2B, 1 SO and 1 BB.

My first thought at the trade deadline was finally a catcher spot opens for Pinto at Rochester and sure enough, he gets the call up to the on deck circle. Pinto's stats have stabalized at a more sustainable level, batting .308 this year at AA with 14 HR and 68 RBI, the team lead in all 3 categories. I for one am very excited to see what he can do at the next level. He made his debut last night for the Red Wings at DH, batting 6th. It was not an impressive debut with 3 ground outs to the left side, 2 of which were inning ending double plays. He also struck out in the 9th for his last at bat. The 0 for 4 was certainly not the start we were hoping for but still very exciting to see him get the chance at AAA.

Pinto was pretty much the only offense for the East All Stars last night, collecting 2 of the teams 5 hits including a 2nd inning double. Josmil went 2 for 4 DHing and batting clean up, while the rest of the team went 3 for 26 getting shut out 5-0. Shout out to Trevor May who also represented the Twins well pitching a 1-2-3 2nd inning, with 1 strike out. Very excited to see whether he can sustain his dominance at the plate and continue to improve behind it. Look out International League, this guy isn't far away.

For some reason, Pinto thrives on holiday weekends! After a monster Memorial Day, he follow with a fantastic 4th of July weekend with 2 HRs and a 2B. Over the 4 game stretch, Josmil was 6 for 17, knocking in 6 runs along with 3 BBs. Pinto has slowed as of late but he is still 3rd in the Eastern League in AVG, OBP, OPS and Hits. He's 4 off the HR pace with 13 on the year, leads the league in total bases, and is 2nd in RBIs. I'm anxious to see if a call up to AAA will follow the Eastern League All Star game later this week.

Great analysis by Boone on Pinto's progression this year with a lot of good discussion in the comments if you missed it. I think the biggest question mark on him is his defense and what position he's going to stick at. The stat sheet cannot tell what kind of defensive catcher he's going to be. He had two errors the other night but what exactly does that mean? He's throwing out 33% of base stealers but how is his recieving and game calling? If anyone can give an eye witness account of his defensive abilities, I'd really appreciate it. The stat sheet doesn't lie but it doesn't tell a whole story either.

Pinto has cooled considerably as spring turns into summer but some factors might be in play. Since a blistering Memorial weekend, where Josmil went 8 for 13, he is batting just .245 (14 for 57) and has seen his average drop 19 points. To begin with, it was probably unreasonable to think he would continue the entire season at a .340 clip. Looking at the number over the past 3 weeks, Pinto has continued to hit for power collecting 3 HRs and 4 2Bs. That's half of his hits going for extra bases. He also may not be seeing many pitches to hit either as his prowess is become more widely known around the league. He has drawn an astounding 42 walks on the year, 16 more than anyone else on the team. The addition of Miguel Sano should only help Pinto's numbers as he either sees more balls to hit or has Sano on base to knock in. Sano maybe be hitting below the half Mendoza line but he's the Rock Cat with a higher walk rate than Pinto (6BB in 6 games). I imagine the hitting duo to look a lot like Cabrera/Fielder but again I haven't seen them in person yet. I'd love a first hand report if anyone has seen a Rock Cats game recently. On the defensive side of the ball, Pinto remains hot. He's splitting time between catcher and DH but maintaining his CS% above .33 having thrown out 11 of 32 would be base stealers.

Pinto belted his team leading 10th homerun last night and added to his Eastern League leading 44 RBIs. His OPS is now .978, second in AA.

I was in Kane County for the Kernels game last night and was really impressed with Travis. It was my first time seeing him play but from what I read in earlier posts, his defense has to be much improved. He made one error on a sharp liner to his right that might have been a base hit anyway. After that he looked great making stops to his left and right and made one huge throw from deep down the 3rd base line. He also made a great scoop and tag on a stolen base attempt at 3rd. In a game with little league like defense (5 errors and many more that should have been) I thought he was one of the few Kernels that looked solid defensively. I'm excited to see what else this guys can do!

I watched Mason's start last night in Kane County and even though the stat line didn't look very good, I was really impressed. He's sneaky quick to the plate making his low 90s fastball seem a little faster. He got the win thanks to two 5 run innings in the 5th and 6th but the runs he gave up came courtesy of some really suspect defense and horrendous umpiring in the field and behind the plate. A blown call at 3rd on a stolen base attempt cost a run (and got Jake Mauer ejected) and the balls and strikes seemed to just be a coin flip from the home plate umpire. Aside from one long no doubter home run to left, he pretty much kept the Cougars at bay. Certainly not his best start of the year but I could definitely see potential.

I was lucky enough to be sitting in the front row off 3rd base last night in the Kernels game and I have 2 comments on Jake Mauer's ejection: 1. It was an absolutely horrible call. Grimes made a great throw and a great tag from Harrison and the play was not even close. Having the best vantage point of anyone at the game, I feel I can safely say he was out. 2. I was the closest fan to the argument and I couldn't hear a single word Jake was saying. It may well have been "aw shucks" that got him thrown out. My question is, what does he do for the next 3 hours waiting for the game to get over? It's not like he can watch the game from the club house in Kane County, IL. Also of note, I thought Melotakis pitched way better than his stat line portrays. He was hurt by some VERY shoddy defense and even worse umpiring in my opinion. Not only did the blown call at 3rd cost a run but I thought balls and strikes were all over the place. Whether he goes to the bullpen or not I think he could have a future in MLB. Last thing, I know Travis Harrison made an error early but he flashed the leather quite a few times after and showed off a canon of an arm on a throw from deep down the 3rd base line. There was very little defense by either team last night but I thought he was about the only player to be ready to move up defensively.

I had heard reports that he showed up a lot slimmer this year but I have not seen him play. I asked a few weeks ago if anyone could comment on his defense but I got no response. Can anyone who has seen a Rock Cats game live recently give a few thoughts on Pinto? I'd be very interested in a first hand report of both his conditioning and his defense.

What a Memorial weekend for Josmil Pinto!! Over the weekend he went 8 for 13, raising his average up to .339! He also added 5 BBs 3 RBIs and 3 Rs. He has 64 hits on the year putting him second in the Eastern league in BA and near the top in every other category! I can't imagine he isn't a major player on the Twins radar this season. If Chris Herrmann sticks with the Twins past when Ramirez returns, I would think Pinto would get the call up to Rochester to fill Herrmann's spot. Regardless what happens with the Twins, I can't imagine Pinto wouldn't get a mid season promotion if he continues to tear up AA pitching. The only critique I have for Pinto right now is all 8 hits over the weekend were singles and he hasn't added to his team leading HR and 2B total in almost 2 weeks. But how do you complain about .337/.430/.537?? He also got his first hit of the year last night when hitting in the 3 spot. That makes him 1 for 11 on the year...

Pinto has been proving that's he's one of the best hitters on the Rock Cats, if not in the whole Eastern League this year. What I can't glean from the stat sheet is how he is doing defensively. He had a busy day behind the plate last night where he threw out 1 of 3 base stealers and was also involved in what appeared to be a 1st and 3rd pick off play. But he also made a throwing error and allowed a passed ball. Without seeing highlights or the actual game its impossible to tell whether this was a horrid attempt at the catching position or a product of other in game factors. He certainly doesn't need above average defensive skills to replace Doumit as a back stop but can anyone who has seen Pinto behind the plate give me their thoughts on him as a defensive replacement for Mauer's backup?

Pinto blasted 2 more homeruns over the weekend making him at or near the Eastern League leader in almost every statistical category including HRs (8) and RBIs (32). This is turning into a break out year for him and being well into May, this hot streak appears to be more than just a fast start.

You can also read about the Rise of Josmil Pinto in a nice article published today on Twins Daily, but I'm guessing if you made it to my page, you've probably already read it...

In a 3 game span from Sunday to Tuesday, Pinto went 8 for 14 with 2 doubles, a homerun, 5 RBIs and 4 runs scored, raising his average to .347 while also throwing out another runner trying to steal. After going 1 for 5 in a morning game today he is leading the team in average (.341), slugging (.550), HR (6), RBI (29), and Runs (25). He aslso has 7 doubles. With Rochester's catchers batting .242 at best and combining for only 12 runs scored, 0 HRs, and 10 RBIs, I'd say the path is pretty clear at this point for Pinto to move up. I won't speculate on when a promotion might happen but he has got to be turning some heads in the organization. He's not ready to be Joe's backup in the show but I can't imagine he'll be kept in New Britain for long if his great start continues.

In his May edition of Who's The #1 Prospect, Mike Newman of Fangraph's has Buxton as his top prospect. I thought is was a good read.

Josmil had his 7 game hit streak come to an end last night, finally coming back to earth after a blistering weekend where he raised his BA 55 points. The week was fairly uneventful on the field but he did recieve high praise as Seth Stohs named him Minor League hitter of the Month for the Rock Cats and 3rd in the Twins organization. Considering he got beat out by Sano and Buxton, who could be the hitters of the month in all of baseball not just the Twins, I'd say Pinto is doing pretty well. Other news from the box score: Pinto did throw out another runner trying to steal this week and his hitless game last night brings him to 0 for 8 when batting 3rd instead of clean up. Just saying...