Steve Lein

I can definitely say he showed up in those reports quite often! At least he did in mine, hah! Got a few questions asking about what type of player he was, this was one of my answers: "Good organizational depth. 24-year old getting his first action at the double-A level this year. He has stood out in a quite a few of my reports this year I feel like, hitting .300 with 30 steals, but is another lefty corner outfielder, lacking some thump." It would not surprise me to see him start back in Wichita again next year, but probably depends on how many Andrew Stevenson type signings the Twins make now that the Rule 5 draft is over.

I'd take any of those Miami pitchers to bring in, but is the asking price even more than what Pablo's was? For Luzardo and Garrett, I would have to think it is, and by a considerable margin. I think you're talking Edouard Julien, Matt Wallner, and David Festa for Luzardo or Garrett. For Rogers or Cabrera it's probably Wallner and Festa. I'm skeptical the Twins make either of those type of deals happen, but I wouldn't be against that second tier.

Grace was eligible last year I believe. Started off fantastic with Cedar Rapids in 2023, then definitely had an adjustment period in Wichita. I think there is almost nil risk of him being selected. Tyler Wells and his situation aren't actually that similar. The Orioles used him as a reliever, but he was always a starter before that, and since. They used him as a reliever that first year (2021) because he hadn't pitched in two years after recovering from Tommy John surgery and the 2020 MiLB season being cancelled.

Yes, I think many did. I have said it elsewhere that he would have been my priority over Gray to bring back this season, mainly due to the cost of services. In fact, he probably would have been bullet #1 on my offseason blueprint.

I was skeptical too. But because I watched him, his appearances in the minors washed away that concern pretty quickly, as he was pounding the strike zone and getting a lot of swings and misses. I don't expect the amount of innings Gray provided for sure, but more than Maeda, maybe up to as many as Michael Pineda after his similar return, is a perfectly reasonable expectation, and quite a boon at that. I'm a big fan of Law, but if you haven't figured it out by now, his shtick is going against the consensus. He gets some things right, but just like everyone else, gets a lot wrong. He swore on his life that Jose Berrios would never make it as a starter, so I always take him with a grain of salt. I also think this is one of his bad takes, because he appears to be saying Paddack won't do anything, which is ludicrous.

The Glendale Desert Dogs and Minnesota Twins prospects had a slight chance to squeeze their way into the three-team playoff field of the Arizona Fall League, but with their final three games coming against the two teams that would eventually play for the title, it was all in vain. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (photo of Kala'i Rosario) Game Results: Tuesday, 11/7 | Surprise 8, Glendale 5 Wednesday, 11/8 | Glendale 1, Peoria 2 (10 innings) Thursday, 11/9 | Glendale 4, Surprise 6 Saturday, 11/11 | AFL Championship: Peoria 5, Surprise 6 Glendale wasn’t able to take advantage of that unfortunate final schedule, going 0-3 to finish at the bottom of the AFL standings at 12-18. They did put up some fight however, losing these final three games by an average of just two runs, including one that went into the tenth inning. To find out how all of your Minnesota Twins prospects finished their #AFL23 campaigns, keep reading! C Andrew Cossetti Week: 1-for-4, R, HR (2), 3 RBI, 2 K (1 game) Overall: .103/.278/.310 (.588 OPS) Cossetti got the start at catcher in Thursday’s 6-4 loss to Surprise, and batted seventh in the lineup. Down 6-1 in the final inning, Glendale got back-to-back singles to start a late comeback attempt, and Cossetti cashed them in with his second home run of the AFL season to make it 6-4. The Desert Dogs were able to load the bases after his blast, but were unable to finish it off the rally and fell short in their final game of the season. Cossetti ended his AFL campaign in a state of “wanting more” like me, I’m sure. But it is hard to ignore his 2023 season as a whole where he hit .287/.426/.534 (.960 OPS) with 15 home runs and strong BB to K ratios across two levels as a catcher. If you were wondering, this was a similar (but also, better) hitting line than World Series Champion Mitch Garver posted across an entire season with Cedar Rapids (low-A at the time) when he won Twins Daily’s MiLB Hitter of the Year award in 2014 (Garver also won that award in 2017 while with the Rochester Red Wings). OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 2-for-10, 2 R, RBI, 4 BB, 5 K (3 games) Overall: .213/.333/.483 (.816 OPS) Rosario’s improvement as the AFL season went along led to him earning the third spot in the Desert Dogs lineup for their last two games of the season. Although he didn’t send any balls into the stands over his final three games, he did still finish the season tied with teammate Aaron Sabato as the AFL Home Run King with seven, and also won the home run derby. So if you had any doubts about the power being real with Rosario, I think you can put them to bed and toss a nice 60 grade into his scouting report and expect to see him with Wichita to start next year. While the K’s were an issue in the AFL (he led the Desert Dogs in this category), the power played and he also led the team in walks and finished fourth in OPS for the lineup as a result. In the final week he picked up a single in both Tuesday and Wednesday’s games, with his knock against Peoria coming in the seventh inning to tie it one in a game they would end up losing in extra innings. 1B Aaron Sabato Week: Did not play. Overall: .215/.320/.585 (.905 OPS) After leaving last Wednesday’s game after the third inning, Sabato did not appear in another AFL game to end his season. As mentioned, he tied with Rosario for the AFL lead in homers, so there was plenty to like with his bat. There however, were the same things that have followed him his entire career thus far, which is an abundance of K’s and mendoza-line batting averages. Those seven home runs were exactly half of his 14 hits across 18 games, and 27 K’s came along with just nine walks. Despite that, his .905 OPS ranked first among qualified players in the Desert Dogs lineup and tied with Kyle Manzardo in AFL play, who is a top prospect in the Cleveland Guardians organization as a first baseman and is in the middle of top 100 lists. I wouldn’t say Sabato’s AFL campaign showed us anything new, but the home runs were fun and maybe it did for the Twins or another team when it comes to the Rule 5 draft as alluded to by our own Cody Christie. LHP Jordan Carr Week: L, 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K (1 start) Overall: 1-1, 2.57 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, .237 BAA, 3 BB, 14 K (21 IP) Carr was definitely a surprise for Minnesota Twins prospects competing in the AFL this season, though perhaps he shouldn’t have been. Signed as a free agent during the 2021 season from College of Charleston, Carr was solid in 61 innings with Fort Myers in 2022, and even better across that many innings with Cedar Rapids in 2023, ending his season with four appearances with Wichita. While there’s not a ton of strikeouts in his arm, he is left-handed and keeps runners off the bases with low-walk rates and WHIP numbers, and efficient pitch counts. He led the Desert Dogs in innings pitched (21), WHIP (1.00), and fewest walks (3), and in AFL play he ranked second in innings, top 10 in ERA (2.57), and fourth in WHIP. In his start this week, he was finally tagged for some home runs, which led to his first loss during the AFL season, but he also unlocked some swing-and-miss stuff that may have been missing throughout the rest of his dominant efforts. He got the nod in Glendale’s final game on Thursday, and exited with his team down 3-0 to Surprise, who would go on to win the AFL Championship. He worked around a double in the first inning by picking up the third out with a strikeout, but was greeted by a home run from the leadoff man in the second. He limited any more damage that inning by retiring the next three, including the final two on strikeouts. In the third he started with another strikeout, before a single was followed by another homer for the 3-0 Saguaros lead. He then worked around another double by picking up his fifth K to end his outing. Of his 47 pitches in this one, 34 went for strikes (72%), including seven swinging while racking up those strikeouts and again walking nobody. Carr spent the 2023 season as a bit of a swing and long man, making 22 total appearances with 8 of them coming as starts, and that trend swung the other way in AFL play with four of his six appearances coming as starts. There is something to build on here, and with his time in the AFL he got himself over 90 innings on the year, which is a good foundation to come into 2024 as a full-time starter with Wichita. RHP Malik Barrington Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 1 R (0 ER), 1 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 8.53 ERA, 1.58 WHIP, .130 BAA, 7 BB, 10 K (6 1/3 IP) Barrington’s time in the AFL was a bit uneven, but that’s far from uncommon in the AFL environment for relief pitchers. He had strikeouts along with walks, and hitters took advantage at certain points. Of his seven appearances, four were of the scoreless variety and five of his six earned runs in AFL play came in one appearance where his team lost 17-4, so it wasn’t just him on that day. He allowed just three hits over his six innings. His final appearance in the AFL this week came in Wednesday’s extra-inning loss to Peoria, in which the Desert Dogs put together a bullpen game, with nine pitchers each throwing a single inning. Barrington came in for the second inning, and got the first batter with a strikeout. He walked the next before a pop out for the second out, then an error by his shortstop led to an unearned run, and first of the game for Peoria. He struck out his final hitter of AFL play on a 3-2 pitch to end his season. RHP A.J. Labas Week: Did not pitch Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .214 BAA, 4 BB, 5 K (4 IP) Labas’ time in the AFL was short, as he did not make any appearances in the final three weeks, finishing with four total innings pitched. There has been no reporting on any injury or other status, and likely never will be, so we’ll just have to wait until the spring. In his AFL play, Labas was perfect when it came to surrendering runs, in that he did not allow any. At points he gave up a few walks, but he also made consecutive appearances with none and three strikeouts. Labas split his time during the 2023 season with Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids, picking up seven saves in 17 games finished along the way, and I’d expect him to pitch out of the Kernels bullpen again to start 2024. RHP Ben Ethridge Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 8.10 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, .250 BAA, 2 BB, 4 K (6 2/3 IP) The righty served as the opener in the bullpen game against Peoria on Wednesday, working around a leadoff walk by getting a flyout and striking out Chase DeLauter and Kyle Manzardo, both of whom are top 100 prospects in the Cleveland Guardians organization. Like Barrington, Ethridge made seven appearances with the Desert Dogs with varying levels of success. He didn’t walk as many as his big teammate, but surrendered a couple of home runs leading to his own high ERA on the season. Ethridge worked as both a starter and reliever for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels during the 2023 season, compiling a sub-3.00 over 78 1/3 total innings. He started 13 games and came on as a reliever for 12, and should get a bump to Cedar Rapids to begin next year. LHP Zach Veen Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 4.50 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, .250 BAA, 1 BB, 5 K (8 IP) The left-handed reliever among the Twins contingent had the best looking ERA of the three, working eight total innings over seven appearances of his own. He did however, give up the most runs out of them all, but only four of those eight allowed were of the earned variety. He was bit the hardest of anyone in that 17-4 blowout game. A dropped fly ball led to a three run homer and those four total unearned runs, in an inning he could have gotten out of without allowing any. In four of his six other appearances, he did not allow any runs. Veen spent all of his first full professional season with Fort Myers, and made 41 appearances out of their bullpen, totalling 58 1/3 innings. He finished the game 23 times, picking up five saves and going multiple innings several times. He should bump up a level to Cedar Rapids for the 2024 season as well. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects who finished their AFL seasons this week! View full article

Two powerful Minnesota Twins prospects continued adding to their league-leading home run totals in Week 5, with one of them showcasing those talents in the Fall Stars Home Run Derby on Saturday. Image courtesy of William Parmeter Game Results: Monday, 10/30 | Salt River 4, Glendale 5 Wednesday, 11/1 | Glendale 11, Surprise 2 Thursday, 11/2 | Peoria 5, Glendale 9 Friday, 11/3 | Scottsdale 4, Glendale 2 Sunday, 11/5 | NL Fall Stars 3, AL Fall Stars 6 The Glendale Desert Dogs had a strong week five after hitting a blip the week before, finishing 3-1 in their four games and improving to 12-15 overall. They currently sit fifth in the AFL standings, a game-and-a-half behind Peoria for the final playoff spot, so they’ll need some help to continue their season into the Championship weekend. The Dogs play Peoria on Wednesday, which could give them a big swing in that regard. Two power prospects ended this week tied atop the home run leaderboard with seven, and a pitching prospect showing out in the AFL thus far did so again. Keep reading to see how all your Minnesota Twins prospects performed in the latest week of action! C Andrew Cossetti Week: 0-for-3, 3 K (1 game) Overall: .080/.281/.200 (.481 OPS) Cossetti only saw action in one game on the week, and it came at the expense of one of his Twins teammates. He replaced Aaron Sabato at first base in the third inning, and finished the game with three strikeouts in his three at-bats. Cossetti continues to have the short end of the stick in the catcher rotation, and with just four games on the week for the Desert Dogs did not get a start. OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 5-for-14, 2 R, 2 2B, HR (7), 5 RBI, 3 BB, 4 K (4 games) Overall: .215/.319/.519 (.838 OPS) Rosario had a solid week, increasing his batting average by 30 points and OPS by 77 on the season. He collected multiple hits in two of the four games, clubbed a pair of doubles, and launched his league-leading seventh home run (tied with Sabato). Rosario played right field twice, left field once, and served as the DH in another, batting in the bottom of the Desert Dogs lineup. In Wednesday’s win he finished 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. In Thursday’s win his two-run homer tied the game at two in the second inning. Then on Friday his two-hit effort included another double, his second stolen base, and another RBI. His biggest moment of the week, however, came in Saturday’s AFL Home Run Derby, where he took the crown by blasting 25 total homers, and winning a swing-off to advance to the final round. He got some pretty sweet new bling for his efforts, too! Congrats Kala’i! Rosario also got one at-bat in the Fall Stars game, striking out in the seventh inning in the game the AL squad beat the NL one 6-3. 1B Aaron Sabato Week: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 HR (7), 2 RBI, 1 BB, 2 K (2 games) Overall: .215/.320/.585 (.905 OPS) Sabato started the week with a bang, going 2-for-3 with a pair of home runs in Monday’s 5-4 win over Salt River. His first blast gave Glendale a 1-0 lead in the second inning, and his second closed the Rafters lead to 4-3 in the fourth. Unfortunately, that’s about where Sabato’s week ended. In Wednesday’s game he was removed from the lineup in the fourth inning, and would not appear in a game the rest of the week. He also did not participate in the Home Run Derby, after being named a competitor for it leading up to the Fall Star weekend. There has not been any update on his status that I’ve been able to find, so we’ll see if he is able to get back on the field before the end of the AFL season. LHP Jordan Carr Week: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, .210 BAA, 3 BB, 9 K (18 IP) Carr did not get a starting nod for the second week in a row, but was the piggy-backer in Friday’s loss to Scottsdale. With the score 3-0 Scorpions to start the fourth inning, Carr had some initial trouble but recovered to finish strong. A pair of singles against him led off the frame, before he picked up a big strikeout to gain some momentum. He then got a lineout for the second out, issued a walk to load the bases before a pop-out allowed him to escape the jam. In his final two innings he faced the minimum thanks to a pair of double-play balls after hitting a batter in the fifth, and walking one in the sixth. Carr continues to appear at the top of the AFL leaderboards in several categories with his strong pitching thus far. RHP Malik Barrington Week: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 1 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 10.13 ERA, 1.69 WHIP, .158 BAA, 6 BB, 8 K (5 1/3 IP) Barrington was the first reliever summoned from the bullpen in Thursday’s win over Peoria, pitching the fourth inning with his team in front 3-2. He’d get hit with a blown save as the leadoff man tied it with a home run. He then walked the next two batters before getting the next three to keep the game tied, including a strikeout. Barrington will look to get back to some clean innings in the final weeks to close out his AFL season. RHP A.J. Labas Week: Did not pitch Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .214 BAA, 4 BB, 5 K (4 IP) For the second week in a row, Labas did not step foot on the rubber for any games. Like Sabato, there has been no reporting on his status, so we’ll cross our fingers he is able to return to the mound in the next few weeks! RHP Ben Ethridge Week: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 9.53 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, .280 BAA, 1 BB, 2 K (5 2/3 IP) Ethridge came into Wednesday’s win for the eighth inning, with the score 9-2 in his team's favor. He allowed a leadoff single and then his defense committed an error to make it interesting, but he was able to retire the final three hitters for a scoreless frame. LHP Zach Veen Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 5.14 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, .276 BAA, 1 BB, 5 K (7 IP) Veen preceded Ethridge in Wednesday’s win by pitching the seventh inning. He retired all three hitters he faced on just nine pitches, getting a groundout, flyout, and pop-out for the scoreless outing. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

Said this in another thread, but just give up on starting pitching for him already. Let him loose in the bullpen and see if you can get anything out of him. I'm also a bit confused at the idea of him even being able to be a starter. He's had one outing over 5 innings in his professional career. He's thrown over 70 pitches just 3 times. I think this ship has sailed. His stuff is absolutely nasty and if you need to manage innings, and I think you obviously need to, the bullpen is the way.

I alluded to this some in the article. Catchers in general don't play a majority of games in the AFL. They get split relatively evenly, and there likely is "priority" given to one of them on each team. At this point there have been 24 games played by each team, and there is no catcher who has caught more than half of those as far as I can tell. The most games played by anybody listed as a catcher is 15, including the Desert Dogs' Kevin Parada, who is a top 100 prospect and has DH'd at least 3 times. I did expect Cossetti to get a little bit more hitting action as the DH than he has, which is disappointing. But I definitely know there is value on him working on his defense with a whole new set of coaches while he is there.

I was referring to his batting line trajectory during AFL play, hah.

Sabato is having a fun AFL campaign so far, but I still would like to see more than just home runs. His average needs to come up against this competition, but it is on that trajectory, so we will see!

After ending week three within shouting distance of the AFL leader in home runs, two Minnesota Twins prospects staked their claims to the top of that podium after week four with another pair of blasts from each. A lefty pitching prospect also continued to show that he belongs among the league leaders on the mound. Image courtesy of Tim Grubbs, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Aaron Sabato) Game Results: Monday, 10/23 | Glendale 9, Scottsdale 4 Wednesday, 10/25 | Salt River 7, Glendale 2 Thursday, 10/26 | Mesa 3, Glendale 2 Friday, 10/27 | Mesa 8, Glendale 2 Saturday, 10/28 | Salt River 5, Glendale 4 (7 innings) After pulling themselves out of the cellar of the Arizona Fall League standings with an undefeated effort last week, the Desert Dogs found themselves on the short end of the stick again in week four as a team. They were able to win their seventh game in a row, before losing the next four to head into week five with a 9-14 overall record, tied for last in the AFL standings. It was again their inability to hit with runners in scoring position that was to blame, as a 5-for-40 effort in that category (.125 average) isn’t going to help you win many games. So how did all your Minnesota Twins prospects fare on the week? C Andrew Cossetti Week: 0-for-2, 2 BB, K (1 game) Overall: .091/.310/.227 (.537 OPS) The 23-year old catching prospect saw action in just one game on the week, starting at catcher in Friday’s game with Mesa. He batted seventh in the lineup and drew a pair of walks to reach base in half of his plate appearances. He struck out in the second inning, and flew out to center in the fourth before drawing a walk in each of the sixth and ninth frames. After his free pass in the sixth he swiped his first base of the AFL season, but would be stranded on second base. His walk in the ninth came leading off the inning but was quickly erased on a double-play ball from the next batter. It appears the three catchers on Glendale’s roster are all splitting playing time pretty evenly, but with just five games this week Cossetti was the odd man out. OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 4-for-15, 3 R, 2 HR (6), 4 RBI, BB, 7 K, SB (4 games) Overall: .185/.284/.477 (.761 OPS) Rosario had a big week three, crushing three home runs in five games, and continued that trend with two more in four games this time. The prospect out of Hawaii continues his ascension and talked about the importance of representing that background for him to MLB.com's Jesús Cano. In Monday’s 9-4 win over Scottsdale, Rosario came up to bat in the seventh with his team leading 6-4, and he added some insurance with a two-run shot to left field. Teammate Tyler McDonough added a back-to-back shot for the final of 9-4. He also scored the tying run in a two-run fourth inning for the Desert Dogs, after drawing the second consecutive walk to start the inning. In Saturday’s loss to Salt River his solo shot in the fourth inning put Glendale in front 4-0, and gave him the AFL lead in home runs on the season, but the Rafters came storming back late to steal a win. Rosario added a single in the sixth and then was caught stealing second to end the frame. In between those blasts Rosario singled in Friday’s game and stole his first base of the season. He also was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to Mesa, but picked up an RBI on a fielder’s choice in the second inning for that game’s first run. 1B Aaron Sabato Week: 4-for-11, 3 R, 2 HR (5), 2 RBI, BB, 2 K (3 games) Overall: .200/.304/.500 (.804 OPS) Sabato got two starts at first base, and one as the designated hitter in the middle of the week’s games, again batting at various spots in the middle of the lineup for the Desert Dogs. On Wednesday he was 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, before ending his week with two multi-hit games on Thursday and Friday. Those each included a home run, giving him five on the season to trail only Rosario in that category. On Thursday he was 2-for-4 and scored both of his teams two runs in the game against Mesa, including the home run, which came in the sixth inning and pulled his team within one. In Friday’s rematch against Mesa his blast put Glendale on the scoreboard in the sixth inning, and two batters later Damon Keith sent one out to even the game at two. He added a two-out single in the third. LHP Jordan Carr Week: 3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 1.80 ERA, 0.80 WHIP, .208 BAA, 1 BB, 8 K (15 IP) Carr didn’t get a starting nod this week, but continued his excellent performance on the season thus far in Wednesday’s loss to the Rafters. He came on to start the fourth inning with the game still scoreless, and went the next three innings, keeping the game tied until the top of the sixth, when Detroit Tigers top prospect Jace Jung caught him for a solo homer. He went one-two-three in the fourth, worked around a hit batter and a single in the fifth with a big strikeout to end the inning, and retired the other three hitters besides Jung in the sixth. He again pounded the strike zone and was efficient, needing just 41 pitches to complete his three innings, with 28 going for strikes (68%). He currently is tied for the team lead in innings pitched with 15, and ranks second among “qualified” pitchers in the AFL in ERA (1.80) and WHIP (0.80). RHP Malik Barrington Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 10.38 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .133 BAA, 4 BB, 7 K (4 1/3 IP) The big right-hander made his lone appearance of the week in Friday’s loss, coming in as the first reliever for his team in the fifth inning, with the score 1-0 Mesa. He faced just three hitters, getting a pair of flyouts and some help from an opposing baserunner, who tried to stretch a ground ball that was misplayed by the shortstop into an extra base, and ended up thrown out at second for his efforts. Ignoring the ERA due to one bad outing, Barrington has strong numbers in the strikeout and batting average against categories, and scoreless outings in four of five appearances thus far. RHP A.J. Labas Week: Did not pitch Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .214 BAA, 4 BB, 5 K (4 IP) Labas did not see the mound during a week with one less game, which hopefully means he’s due for a pair of appearances in week 5! RHP Ben Ethridge Week: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 11.57 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .300 BAA, 1 BB, 2 K (4 2/3 IP) Ethridge came on for the eighth inning in Friday’s matchup with Mesa, who was leading the game by three runs at the time. A leadoff walk was followed by a double to put runners on second and third before he got a pop out to Sabato at first for the inning’s first out. The next batter delivered a two-run single to make it 7-2 Solar Sox, before retiring the final two hitters of his outing. LHP Zach Veen Week: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 6.00 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, .308 BAA, 1 BB, 5 K (6 IP) The resident lefty for Twins bullpen prospects saw action in Wednesday’s loss to Salt River, but that outcome didn’t have anything to do with him. With his team down 1-0, he set the Rafters down in order, including a strikeout, and in the bottom half the Glendale lineup took the lead to put him in line for a win. Unfortunately, the next two men up for the Desert Dogs bullpen gave up six runs in the top of the eighth, and they’d go on to lose 7-2. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

I hate to say it, but I never understood Salas being a part of the deal for Pablo in the first place. I didn't really have any interest in a 19-year old A-ball infielder being some valuable part of that trade. I think the Twins fell for some misguided hype there, probably due to his age. In that way he is still young, but definitely will need to add something else to his narrative moving forward. Still have a lot of hope for Prielipp, if he can ever get healthy! I also still expect something out of SWR. His stuff this season didn't ever really make sense to me watching him, like he wasn't ever 100%. Next year is a big one for him for sure.

Love to hear from Matt! I wouldn't count him out because the stuff is so good when he's healthy! But while it's a good thing to say that starting is still a possibility and maybe even the plan, I think that ship has sailed (happy to be proven wrong). I'd go into the year with him in the bullpen and not look back at this point. One or two appearances a week, maybe multiple innings if just one. That way you don't worry about innings and should have no reservations about calling him up if he's got all that bat-missing stuff back.

Why I included such a note, and why not likely. 🤣

If Sano is healthy and gotten himself into shape, I wouldn't be against an MiLB deal, provided other things check out. He would have a very short leash. No on Odorizzi. Hicks could fill that Garlick/Luplow role just fine, maybe push Larnach and Wallner a little. All that being said, none of these guys would be anywhere near a top target list I'd put together. Heck, probably not on the top target list of former Twins.

To a similar post last week, this was my answer: "It is certainly a different group from what they sent a year ago! Though I don't really know whom would have been equivalent to Julien or Martin this season. Julien inexplicably spent all of 2022 in double-A, but almost all the players who had success with Wichita this year ended up playing with the Saints. Seems to be triple-A is not a place the Twins tap for players to send. I liked the choices of Sabato and Cossetti based on their 2022 seasons or where they were at on the ladder. The challenge for Rosario was also a good idea." To add on, the pitching is especially weak this season across the league. Only two MLB.com top 100 prospects, and both guys who missed time due to injury being the reason they are there.

Minnesota Twins prospects played a big part in turning around the Glendale Desert Dogs fortunes in Week 3. A reigning MVP broke out in a big way, another hitter joined him in the bomb parade, and a starting pitcher continued to dominate the desert. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily Game Results: Monday, 10/16 | Peoria 4, Glendale 6 Tuesday, 10/17 | Glendale 7, Peoria 6 (10 innings) Wednesday, 10/18 | Glendale 6, Mesa 2 Thursday, 10/19 | Glendale 10, Salt River 9 Friday, 10/20 | Mesa 4, Glendale 11 Saturday, 10/21 | Glendale 7, Mesa 6 (10 innings) Coming into the week with a 2-10 record and sitting in last place in the AFL standings, the Glendale Desert Dogs reversed their fortunes in week three in undefeated fashion. Their 6-0 record on the week pushed them out of the cellar and improved their run differential by 16 in the process. When it comes to the Twins' prospects contributing, pretty much everybody improved their small-sample-size numbers across the board. Things were definitely looking up in Week 3! C Andrew Cossetti Week: 1-for-3, R, RBI, 2 BB (1 game) Overall: .100/.280/.250 (.530 OPS) Cossetti saw action in just one game during the week, in Thursday’s win over the Mesa Solar Sox. He was the catcher and batted eighth in the lineup, and reached base three times. Down 9-3 heading into the sixth inning, Cossetti was in the middle of a five-run rally for the Desert Dogs, contributing an RBI single to make it 9-5 after a pair of doubles in front of him. He later would score on a bases-loaded ground-rule double that gave his team seven runs at the time. He later drew walks in each of the seventh and ninth innings, but by that time his team had already put their runs on the board and he would end up stranded both times. The Solar Sox were 3-for-3 stealing bases in the game, and Cossetti also had his second throwing error. In things that don’t really mean much, he has yet to throw out a base stealer in 12 chances (Glendale teammate and top prospect, Kevin Parada, has also been abysmal in this statistic, throwing out just 2 of 21 runners). OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 6-for-18, 6 R, 3 HR (4), 4 RBI, 3 BB, 5 K (5 games) Overall: .160/.276/.420 (.696 OPS) Hits had been hard to come by for Rosario in the season’s first two weeks, but his lone hit of week two left the yard so I had some optimism moving forward. That was rewarded by a big week from the reigning Midwest League MVP. He went deep in each of his first two games, and added a third in their last one, giving him four home runs on the season to lead the Desert Dogs and rank second in the league after week three. His home run in Monday’s win came in the third inning and put Glendale on the scoreboard for the first time against Peoria. The Javelinas hadn’t seen enough on Tuesday, as his blast made it 3-2 in the top of the sixth inning. In the 10th inning, Rosario also added the needed insurance run with an RBI single that made the score 7-4 in a game they’d win by one. He finished this one 3-for-5. His third homer came on Saturday in another extra-inning affair against Mesa, and was fun because it was the third of back-to-back-to-back blasts from his teammates that gave them a 4-0 lead after two innings. He also drew two walks in this contest and scored a second run of the game on another Desert Dogs home run. As a team, they hit five homers in the game, including one from Rosario’s teammate who is up next. 1B Aaron Sabato Week: 2-for-16, 2 R, 2 HR (3), 3 RBI, 2 BB, 7 K (4 games) Overall: .163/.268/.408 (.676 OPS) Sabato had a decent run with a bunch of doubles last week, and although he didn’t collect as many hits this time, he did turn both the ones he got into homers. He again batted in the middle of the Glendale lineup in each game, and his first blast came in Wednesday’s win over Mesa. With the score tied at one in the fifth inning, Sabato’s two-run shot gave the Desert Dogs the lead for good. He joined Rosario and the rest of his team with another blast on Saturday, and he is the one who got the party started. In the top of the first, he stepped in with two outs and sent his third bomb of the season the opposite way. He also drew two walks in this one. In all four of his games on the week, Sabato played first base, and both of his games with home runs came with him batting third in the lineup. LHP Jordan Carr Week: W, 4 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K Overall: 1-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, .214 BAA, 1 BB, 7 K (12 IP) Carr was finally rewarded with a win for his excellent and consistent efforts in the AFL so far, as his team gave him a 3-1 lead on Wednesday before he officially ended his start before the bottom of the fifth inning. He retired the side in order in the first, induced a double-play ball in the second, and picked up a pair of strikeouts in the third before the Solar Sox were able to manufacture a run against him in the fourth. A leadoff single and a walk was followed by a fielder’s choice to put runners on second and third, before a sac fly brought in Mesa’s only run against him. Of his 56 pitches, 36 went for strikes (64%), and his only walk issued thus far on the season came from a couple of questionable calls on the corners. Carr has been nothing short of brilliant thus far in his three starts. He’s been efficient, worked himself out of any jams, and kept runners off the bases at an extraordinary rate, ranking third in the league in WHIP among qualified players. His 1.50 ERA also ranks fourth. RHP Malik Barrington Week: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K (2 appearances) Overall: 0-0, 13.50 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, .167 BAA, 4 BB, 7 K (3 1/3 IP) Barrington had a rough go in his lone appearance last week, but course corrected in complete opposite fashion in week three, dominating in both of his appearances. In Tuesday’s extra-inning win over Peoria he was the first reliever out of the bullpen to start the fifth inning, and put together a good old snapper-mow-em-down inning. He struck out the side in order, with 10 of his 16 pitches going for strikes, including five swinging. Back onto the mound for Saturday’s extra-inning game with Mesa, Barrington got the eighth inning with the score tied at six. He struck out the first hitter on three pitches and got the next on a flyout, before issuing a walk. He recovered and struck out the next batter to keep the game tied. 11 of his 18 pitches went for strikes in this one, including five more swinging. RHP A.J. Labas Week: 1 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 0.00 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .214 BAA, 4 BB, 5 K (4 IP) Labas came out of the bullpen just one time this week, but he picked up a hold in the process by pitching the seventh inning of the game started by Carr. He did have to work for a bit, as he threw 27 pitches and the Solar Sox loaded the bases against him, but he made a big pitch when he needed to and got a double-play ball to end the threat and keep his team out front 4-2. RHP Ben Ethridge Week: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (2 appearances) Overall: 1-0, 9.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, .267 BAA, 0 BB, 2 K (3 2/3 IP) Ethridge bookended the week for the Desert Dogs with appearances in Monday and Saturday’s wins. On Monday, despite allowing three hits and two earned runs, he was credited with the win after his lineup went off for four runs in the bottom of the seventh after his outing in the top half. He recovered nicely on Saturday from allowing traffic on the bases, as he pitched a one-two-three fourth inning while his team was up 4-2. He struck out one. LHP Zach Veen Week: 1 2/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-0, 7.20 ERA, 1.80 WHIP, .348 BAA, 1 BB, 4 K (5 IP) The lone appearance of the week for the southpaw came in Thursday’s comeback win over Salt River. After the Desert Dogs starter had given up four runs, and the first reliever five of his own, Veen was called upon to stabilize the game in the middle of the fourth inning after those five runs had already come across. With runners on first and second and one out, he got a big swinging strikeout on a splitter before ending the threat with a popout on the first pitch to the next batter. Back out for the fifth inning, he needed just seven pitches to retire the Rafters in order, including a strikeout of the leadoff man. He threw just 13 pitches total in the outing, with 9 going for strikes, and his offense began their comeback with a five-run sixth inning after his exit in game they would win 10-9 after being down 9-3 after four. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

Thank you for saying so! I have loved following this league closely for about 15 years now, and am happy to share my observations with you all!

I think re-signing Kenta Maeda should be a priority. I love Sonny Gray, and maybe my idea of the price it will be and what he wants to do is wrong. Accepting the qualifying offer would be a great deal for him if retirement is something he's thinking about, but I don't see him getting that amount per season in a longer-term contract. It would be the total guarantee for the twilight of his career that pushes that needle. Trading for another starter also interesting to think about. But it took Luis Arraez to get Pablo last season, and who would be the player to be traded this time? I don't know if I see them. I'd be perfectly fine with Lopez, Ryan, Maeda, Ober, Paddack as the rotation to start next season. Lacking the same high-end they had this year with Lopez and Gray, but it also has a very high floor. Depth pieces would likely be necessary to go out and get. Only have Headrick, Varland, maybe Keuchel, Dobnak, SWR...Festa... I'd like to keep Varland in the bullpen, personally. I'd be interested in Pete Alonso. Wonder what that would take, and an extension would certainly need to be a part of it. He easily can be the DH as well, or Kirilloff. The elephant in the room is Buxton. In my opinion, most of the lineup problems the Twins experienced this year were because of him and his health, and how it affected everything else down the line. If you didn't notice, when he was removed from the equation is when the Twins offense turned things around. Splitting the season into half's, in which Buxton essentially played the first, the Twins hit .232/.309/.400, or 6% below average overall, and .257/.346/.462 in the second, or 18% above league average. If he's healthy, play him. If he's not, make sure to get him right before you do. It's unfortunate, and I hate that it's come to this, but that's what the Twins have to work with him now, and the quicker they accept that reality the better off they'll be.

I read the same thing, and you reminded me to go nab this note he mentioned, and I would be all for: "What I would love to see, and have suggested before (as have others), is for teams to use the AFL as a rehab spot for big-league pitchers who need more innings after the regular season has ended. [...] Given the sheer number of pitchers we have recovering from Tommy John surgery at any given time, the AFL’s spot in the calendar could allow some of those guys to pitch in games when the alternative is waiting until March. It would help the league, and help the pitchers and their teams as well."