Steve Lein

The Arizona Fall League kicked off their 2024 campaign this week out in the desert, with Minnesota Twins prospects playing on the roster of the Salt River Rafters. The scores were big across the circuit in the opening week, and two Twins hitters had plenty to do with that. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kala'i Rosario) Game Results: Tuesday, 10/8 | Scottsdale 9, Salt River 7 Wednesday, 10/9 | Salt River 4, Glendale 2 Thursday, 10/10 | Salt River 6, Mesa 4 Friday, 10/11 | Salt river 10, Surprise 11 (10 innings) Saturday, 10/12 | Surprise 1, Salt River 14 Before getting into how each Minnesota Twins prospect performed in Week 1 of this showcase season, be sure to get to know ‘em by reading Seth’s roster preview. Along with the Twins, the Rafters roster is made up of prospects from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nationals, Colorado Rockies, and New York Yankees. Salt River went 3-2 in the season’s opening week, powered by a prolific offense that outscored their opponents 41-27 in their five games. That being said, you’re likely going to see a bunch of big numbers on the scoreboards of AFL parks this year, as with all those runs, the Rafters didn’t even lead the circuit as a team in any major hitting categories. So buckle up and keep reading to find out how all the Twins prospects fared to open up the 2024 AFL season. OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 3-for-12, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (3 games) Overall: .250/.333/.750 (1.083 OPS) Rosario got the start in three games on the week, spending the first two in right field and closing out his week with one in left. He batted in the middle of the Rafters lineup and made loud contact worthy of those spots. In Tuesday’s season opener, Rosario wasn’t able to get a hit, but he did drive in one of the Rafters seven runs with a sac fly--and that spare description undersells him. The ball shrieked off Rosario's bat at 112 miles per hour, on a line, but right at the outfielder. On Wednesday, it was Rosario who got the scoring started. Leading off the fifth inning, he launched his first home run of the campaign, giving the Rafters a 1-0 lead; they’d go on to get their first win against Glendale. This one was thumped to the tune of 113 miles per hour, and while it had enough loft to sail 441 feet through the thin Arizona air, it, too, was as much line drive as fly ball. He also drew a walk among his four plate appearances. Moving up to third in the lineup on Friday against Surprise, Rosario flew out and drew a walk in his first two plate appearances as the Rafters fell behind 9-1 early. Once again leading off the fifth inning, Rosario hit his second home run of the season and kicked off the comeback for the Rafters. This was a measly 105 miles per hour off the bat, placing it fifth in the pecking order among the seven balls he hit at least 101 MPH in his first week. The Rafters would score three in that fifth inning, one in the seventh, and five more in the eighth to send the game to extras. In that game-tying eighth frame, Rosario delivered a bases-loaded single to score the first run of the inning (identical in exit velocity to the homer, just on a lower line), and a bunch of walks later, they had it tied at 10. IF Ben Ross Week: 4-for-15, 5 R, 2B, 2 3B, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 7 K, SB (4 games) Overall: .267/.429/.600 (1.029 OPS) While Rosario was hitting bombs, Ross was doing everything except hitting balls over the wall. He played shortstop in three of his games, and served as the DH in the other. In the season opener against Scottsdale, Ross finished 1-for-3 with an RBI batting second in the lineup. He was hit by a pitch in the third inning, singled in the seventh, and delivered a sac fly in the ninth for the Rafters seventh and final run of the game. Serving as the DH on Wednesday against the Desert Dogs, Ross had his only quiet game of the week, finishing 0-for-5 with three strikeouts. If I were him, I’m blaming that strictly on not being in the field, as this was the first time Ross has served as a designated hitter in his entire professional career, while he has played every other position except pitcher and catcher. Ross then went off in his final two games of the week, back to playing shortstop and batting fifth in the order. He went 3-for-7 with a double, two triples, three RBI, and a stolen base in the last two games of the week. In Friday’s extra-inning loss to Surprise, Ross led off the second inning with a triple, and scored their first run of the game. On Saturday, his triple in the bottom of the first scored the first two runs of a game they would go on to win 14-1. He also drew two walks, added a double, and scored two runs in that one. IF Danny De Andrade Week: Did not play. The Venezuelan infielder has not yet seen the field in AFL play. If Twins Daily is made aware of any information on why or why not this may be, we will be sure to share! De Andrade is a prospect with plenty of upside, and is thought to be able to stick at shortstop long-term. He injured his ankle back in May, and spent the rest of the season on the injured list, so making up some at-bats in the AFL will be plenty useful when he is able to get back on the field. RHP Devin Kirby Week: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, 2 BB, 2 K (2 IP) Kirby made one appearance on the week, and it came in a less-than-ideal situation as part of Friday’s extra-inning loss. After four walks and a pair of singles had pushed the Saguaros lead to 8-1 in the third, the knuckleballer was summoned with the bases loaded and nobody out. He only allowed an additional sacrifice fly, getting out of the inning with an important effort that played a big part in the Rafters being able to come back and send it to extras. He added a scoreless fourth inning, finishing with two walks and two strikeouts. Two other Twins relievers would follow him after his exit. Though all 41 of his pitches were coarsely classified as knuckleballs in the Statcast readouts of the game, Kirby actually threw nine fastballs and one pitch that appeared to be a light experiment in the cutter. Obviously, for Kirby, the headliner is the knuckler. Six of them danced in with spin rates south of 100 RPM during the outing, which is nuts even for a knuckleball. Overall, he got three in-play outs, four whiffs, and two called strikes with the knuckleball--but if you're noticing that that leaves a lot of pitches that had to be either foul balls or balls, you're right. That's in the nature of the knuckler, too. RHP Jack Noble Week: W, 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .333 BAA, BB, 2 K (2 IP) Noble was credited with the win in the only game he pitched during the week, getting the fifth and sixth inning of the Rafters' 6-4 win over the Solar Sox on Thursday. He allowed one run after a walk, steal, and a wild pitch that allowed the leadoff man to score in the sixth, but surrendered just one other hit and struck out two to finish his outing. He also induced a double-play ball. LHP Kade Bragg Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, BB, K (1 IP) Bragg was part of a middle-inning run of Twins relievers in Friday’s extra-inning clash with Surprise. He pitched the seventh inning with the score 10-5 Saguaros. He walked the first man he faced in the inning, but got a double-play grounder before closing his outing with a strikeout of Alejandro Osuna, the 16th-ranked prospect in the Texas Rangers organization and younger brother of former MLB closer Roberto Osuna. RHP Jacob King Week: 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 0.00 WHIP, .000 BAA, 0 BB, 0 K (2/3 IP) King’s lone appearance of the week came in the Rafters' season opener against Scottsdale. He recorded the final two outs of the game for Salt River after entering with the bases loaded and one out in the top of the ninth. It was 9-6 Scorpions at that point, but he got a pop-out and a lineout to end the inning without any further damage to the scoreboard. RHP Liam Rocha Week: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB, 3 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .250 BAA, 1 BB, 3 K (2 IP) Rocha was the middle man between Kirby and Bragg in Friday’s extra-inning affair with Surprise. He pitched the fifth and sixth innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and a walk, while striking out three. He bookended a scoreless fifth with a pair of strikeouts, but was greeted with a leadoff double in the sixth that led to his one earned run allowed. He left the game with the score 10-4 in favor of the Saguaros. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week View full article

If they sell the team for $1.4 BIL dollars, they will have averaged a profit of $34 MIL dollars each year they have owned them...

🤮 I like the suggestion of Danny DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger... maybe Bill Murray would be on board, too 🤣

https://thesandiegosun.com/san-diego-padres-games-will-indeed-air-on-cable-tv-in-2024/ -> I think you are wrong on this part, but either way it's not going to change much when it comes to revenue for the team whether it's 20K or 100K, we can agree on that.

I don't think the Padres are a perfect comparison. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but the Padres did not have the issue of not having a broadcast/cable/satellite/etc... provider that wouldn't have them, because when MLB took them over they kept them intact. So the headroom in their market to add subscribers is/was not the same as what it is going to be here, from my understanding. If they hit 4% of households in just the metro area (which is the consensus for amount of people who subscribe to MLB streaming, across all age groups), that's 60K subscribers. If they hit 4% of all households in Minnesota, that's 90K subscribers. Add in their range shown in the graphic that's been shared with the announcement, and you start approaching 150K subscribers at 4% of households. I don't actually believe it will be that many, but I also think 100K+ isn't out of the question eventually. If we do use the Padres subscriber count as a baseline, they got 40K subs out of 2.13 Million households they added reach to, or about 2% give or take. The Twins are expanding their reach to 3.32 Million more households, so that 2% would give them 60K. Now, neither of these predictions is going to be anything close to revenues they were getting with the sweetheart TV deals of years past, but saying they won't get even 40K subscribers I think is misunderstanding what's been the overall issue, which is availability, here in our market.

Oh, I agree 100%. But we know that's the minimum pricing structure anything will be. It will get more eyes on the games than now, and you are correct, the idea of bringing more "casual" fans has been baseball's problem for quite a while now, and this won't address that.

If you give consumers the two options of: A: $20/month to be able to stream Twins games, or B: $100+/month to have whatever cable package carries Bally's to watch Twins games... I can guarantee you're going to have more people paying for that streaming option than the full cable package when the product in question is only Twins games. The major issue on this is Option A didn't even get put on the table. As Riverbrian has pointed out, Cable TV as a product is rolling it's death saving throws at this point, at disadvantage because of it's user's demographics. Just put it out of it's misery already. Certainly don't blame the consumer base that is rejecting them for obvious reasons like you are here.

Nice. The top 5 matched my voting exactly! Keaschall was awesome while he was around. Eeles was just unreal, and super fun to watch. What Jenkins did as a 19-year old was *chefs kiss*! McCusker is an absolute unit, and Keirsey just was excellent and steady when healthy.

Just stay miles and miles away from SKOR North and we're good.

Christian MacLeod not being included in this list is kind of a travesty 😉 3 levels, 21 games (20 starts), 92 1/3 IP, 4-4, 3.41 ERA, 107 K, 46 BB, 1.30 WHIP

I would guess they're worried Rodriguez will hurt himself again, because he obviously wasn't good enough at any point this year to not injure himself again. So the rest and reset route. I don't think you could find a more ideal time to send a guy like Jenkins. He's not even 20, but already touched double-A. And that's despite missing time, which is another reason for him to go. I kind of expected to be disappointed, but they were both perfect candidates IMO.

Max Kepler went there twice. So did Mitch Garver. Pretty sure I'm missing someone else off the top of my head, too.

To play devil's advocate... Cory Lewis is the perfect amount of AFL starts away from reaching 100 IP on the season. C.J. Culpepper wouldn't even come close to that with 5 or 6 AFL starts. Both of them have already thrown more innings in a season than they will this year. 😉

Payton Eeles. Big thanks to Matt and all of our wonderful MiLB Report writers for another great season. These can take a lot more effort than you might think, and I'll speak for all of us in saying the support is greatly appreciated! This marks the end of year 10 doing them for me! Off the top of my head I don't remember having a season without any playoff games, which makes me sad.

It shouldn't have been, and your assumptions are wrong. Randy Dobnak was literally the best pitcher in the minors for a period of 200+ innings before he was called up to the majors. Then, he was pretty good with the Twins, too. I thought it was a great deal at the time, one that just didn't work out fully. And lets be honest, it's hardly any money. Here is the history leading up to that contract: Dobnak gave up 8 ER in a start for Cedar Rapids on May 16th, 2018. He didn't give up more than 4 ER in any start or appearance (51 games) through the end of the 2019 season when he was pitching with the Twins (We know the playoff start vs the Yankees didn't go well, but it was 4 ER's). In that timeframe, he threw 262 2/3 innings, went 21-8 with a 2.02 ERA, gave up just 11 home runs, and allowed a sub .600 OPS to opposing hitters. The Twins aren't the only ones who would have gave him that contract, and he most certainly earned it.

"If Severino walked one time on Sunday, he would set the single-season record with 68 walks." Just thought I'd throw in here, that the player Severino would have moved ahead of is Anthony Prato. They both finished with 67 walks on the season.

The St. Paul Saints faced one of the top pitching prospects in all of the minor leagues to begin their last series of the 2024 season at CHS Field. It was a pitchers duel early, but one player who has proved himself all season, perhaps put himself over the top to lead his team to victory. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson (photo of Payton Eeles) TRANSACTIONS In addition to the roster shuffling announced yesterday to get lefty Cole Irvin on the Minnesota Twins roster, RHP Jorge Alcala was optioned to the Saints officially on Tuesday. SAINTS SENTINEL Indianapolis 2, St. Paul 4 Box Score The St. Paul Saints had a few big reinforcements sent their way for the final series of the season at CHS Field. In addition to Alcala from the Twins, they received highly regarded pitchers Marco Raya and Cory Lewis from the Wichita Wind Surge on Monday. Starting on the hill for them on Tuesday however, was right-hander Caleb Boushley, looking for his 10th Triple-A win of the season. He had a tall order in front of him as his lineup was facing Bubba Chandler, the top prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system (according to MLB.com). They had faced each other already this season back on August 16th, and Boushley was fantastic in that one, matching Chandler for their six innings. The Saints ended up losing that one 3-2, could they come out on top in the rematch? Boushley gave up a one-out walk to the MLB rehabbing Endy Rodriguez in the first, but catcher Jair Camargo cut him down at second on a steal attempt for the second out. After a single, Boushley induced a groundout to complete a scoreless first inning. After Payton Eeles drew a leadoff walk against Chandler, the next three hitters went down in order, including a pair of strikeouts. Boushley then matched that output by going one-two-three in the second, including his first two strikeouts of the game. Carson McCusker got a threat going in the bottom of the second, lining a 97 MPH fastball up the middle past Chandler and a shift at 109 MPH. Jair Camargo was then hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second, but Diego Castillo and Chris Williams both went down swinging. Both pitchers worked around baserunners for the next two innings, but neither allowed any damage to the scoreboard through four. In the top of the fifth the Indianapolis lineup finally put something together against Boushley. A leadoff single and one-out double led to the first run of the game, and another RBI single followed to put the visitors up 2-0. Boushley then loaded the bases to prompt a mound visit, then got a popout to end any further threat. That’s as far as he would go, finishing five innings and allowing two earned runs on six hits and four walks, while striking out three. The Saints weren’t about to let Boushley be the only one to allow any runs. Specifically, Payton Eeles. He took Chandler deep for just his second home run allowed at Triple-A, going the opposite way for his seventh home run of the season with the Saints. Austin Martin followed with a single but Chandler struck out the next two hitters to keep his team in front. Reliever Jeff Brigham came on in the sixth and pitched a scoreless frame, allowing one hit and walking one. In the bottom half Yunior Severino and McCusker started the inning with back-to-back singles. Camargo was then hit by a pitch for the second time by Chandler to load the bases, but Camargo wasn’t happy about it as his helmet ended up in two pieces in the aftermath. After a strikeout Chandler’s outing was done, and Chris Williams drew a bases loaded walk to tie the game at two, but that’s all they would get. The rehabbing Kody Funderburk came in from the bullpen for the seventh, and delivered two scoreless innings. He allowed just one hit and struck out two. With Chandler out of the game the Saints took the lead in the bottom of the seventh, after Michael Helman delivered a one-out double and stole third base. An error off the bat of McCusker allowed him to score to put the home team ahead. They tacked on another run in the bottom of the eighth thanks to the overall baseball skill of Eeles. His picture perfect bunt for a two-out hit led to a throwing error on a pickoff attempt that put him in scoring position. After a walk to Martin, Dashawn Keirsey sent one through the infield for an RBI single to make it 4-2 Saints. The ninth inning went to Steven Okert, and he made it a bit more interesting than it needed to be. A leadoff single and an error put the tying run on base. He beared down and struck out the next two hitters before issuing a walk to load the bases. This situation may sound familiar to Twins fans, but Okert got the job done with another strikeout to end the game. Boushley once again matched the heralded Chandler, but this time his team came through with the victory. Eeles (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, BB), Martin (2-for-4, BB, K), Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5, RBI, 2 K), and McCusker (2-for-4, K) each had two hits to lead the way. The teams each had 10 hits on the night, combined to go 2-for-21 with runners in scoring position with one hit apiece, and left 25 total men on base. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Kody Funderburk, St. Paul Saints (2 IP, H, 2 K) Hitter of the Day - Payton Eeles, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, HR (7), RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 – Brooks Lee (Minnesota) – 0-for-4, K #5 – Zebby Matthews (Minnesota) – 4 2/3 IP, 5 H, ER, BB, 5 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTER Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - RHP Andrew Morris (1-0, 3.14 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s game! View full article

I actually couldn't care less about his side of the story. If you didn't want to play anymore, let someone else who does and don't screw over the rest of your teammates. He's lucky there's not a story about the team having an internal brawl over this, at least not yet...

"#3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (St. Paul) - 0-for-1, K (left game in 2nd inning) " Could tell he re-injured his hand again. 😕 Is now confirmed it's back to the IL with a right-thumb sprain.

Personally, I think they've already waited too long on moving Nowlin to the bullpen. I agree the stuff is definitely there, but he needs to eliminate a pitch or two to reach that consistency we all want to see, I think. He has improved that some this year, but it is still always the walks that get him. That can be somewhat minimized in the bullpen if he's also striking out a bunch of guys, and I definitely think the stuff will play up. Rodriguez I hope goes on to play in the Arizona Fall League. I think he would benefit a lot from it, even if he's technically now at Triple-A (he played less than 40 games at Double-A). I think Jenkins is a great candidate for that, too. I'm personally hoping for a banner year there after the last one, hah! I would think of McCusker and Eeles, if they both come back to the organization, as a start to next years batch of Quadruple-A players. Both are great finds for the system! I love watching Eeles play and McCusker is a unit.

No. Joe Mauer and Byron Buxton for sure have had that distinction. Royce may have appeared there at some publications. Liriano was pretty high at one point. That's who I can come up with off the top of my head. I think Funderburk will definitely be seen with the Twins again.

You are correct. However, this is our Top Prospect list, which was last updated in early August. We have not ever made changes to this list on the fly for graduating players. Perhaps this is a suggestion for us? Probably a little more complicated for us and our writers to implement than you think.

Yes, they did. I had to double-check to make sure it wasn't the same guy 😁