Steve Lein

If the Twins work something out with Bally's, this will be great for availability, and a drastic change in that for Twins fans. I will still be curious the cost to get that access. I surely hope it will be lower than the $20/month for something like the Bally Sports+ streaming app, but by how much? Even then, I still don't see how they would get a rights number that is comparable to the $55 MIL deal they had, and was one of the worst such deals out there. This article was great for some clarifications, and the genuine concerns about the future. There are better details in the below article than I've found elsewhere on what Bally's deal with Amazon means, and it's not necessarily that your Prime subscription alone will get them for you. You will still have to purchase a Bally's "channel" (just like you do HBO/Starz/Peacock/Etc...). Prime Video/TV just becomes a platform where it will be available for you to do so: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2024/01/17/bally-sports-coming-to-amazon-prime-video-in-proposed-deal-what-to-know/?sh=2047db277d30

Amazon already has over like 170 million Prime subscribers. I understand they will absolutely gain some, but what even is the percentage they could at this point? They doubled their numbers every 2 years from 2013 to 2017, but haven't doubled it again since then because that type of growth isn't possible anymore. They have very little overhead left that they could even add. Amazon is absolutely taking on costs doing this. This deal gives them a "minority stake" ownership. In simple terms, whatever that % is, is the cost they'll undertake. Say it's 10%, that means $24 of that $240 RSN cost becomes their responsibility. Multiply that by 5 for starters, and it's $100 extra dollars/year in costs they're taking on. Does it make Amazon unprofitable? No. But it definitely eats into their margins, and a lot of people care about things like that (investors/stakeholders most specifically). Also, this article outlines that there will be additional subscription fees to see these games, Prime TV is just the platform they will be available on: https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacharyfolk/2024/01/17/bally-sports-coming-to-amazon-prime-video-in-proposed-deal-what-to-know/?sh=2047db277d30

There literally is nowhere, Amazon or other, that offers regional sports coverage without additional fees. In cable and Live streaming services, you have to pick the package with them (and it's always the most expensive one). National games, absolutely this would be and is a thing (see NFL). But doing that for specific teams, and basically every game on their schedule, is a whole other animal. This would be a much bigger story if you were going to get this with only your Prime subscription. (I will absolutely eat crow if my impression is wrong, as this would be an amazing development, IMO. I just don't see how they would accept those costs. They're not going to gain a significant amount of subscribers for this, when those subscribers basically already exist) I'm thinking of it this way: My prime subscription is $140/year. Your RSN service costs $240/year (and they'd essentially be adding 5 of them if the Twins sign on to something). I don't see how even Amazon can absorb whatever portion of those costs they'd be incurring without charging something for it.

You're not getting these games/coverage with just your Amazon Prime subscription. It will be a separate add-on, just like a Regional Sports Network.

I can easily lookup subscriber numbers for MLB.tv, Bally Sports+, Netflix, etc... and the metrics they use about who they reach (MLB.tv's 4% number comes from here: https://www.statista.com/statistics/742188/mlbtv-subscription-adults-usa-by-age/) and can be used well enough to estimate the numbers I put in. I also can easily find that BSN/FSN used to have around 3 MIL subscribers in one form or the other (cable/streaming/whatever else), and that it's now around 1.2 Million. And that most of those losses "came in the last 5 years" as of last March (https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2023/03/30/Media/bally-sports-north-subscriber-losses.aspx) I also am with you about finding "someone [that] does know the #'s," instead of prognosticating in a propagandic fashion, hah. The intent isn't to be exact, but for sake of the discussion I went through this exercise to speculate because I am interested in what it could mean moving forward, and how this type of data correlates to the worth of the Twins TV rights (If I am drastically wrong I will still have learned something!). And listen, I am a "die-hard" Twins fan. Heck, I write for an independent website about them! BUT, for multiple years now, I have not been willing to pay this price to watch the Twins on TV. I subscribed to SlingTV for exactly 1 month this past year so I could watch their playoff games. As I, and now another commenter have pointed out, people in general don't want to pay these types of prices for the content provided. Netflix is literally the only thing in existence that gets away with it (and like 90% of their users don't get ads). I have absolutely adapted my viewing habits to get enough out of Twitter, MLB.com, ESPN, questionably legal gambling websites, etc... to watch the Twins. As a "die-hard" that is local as well, and works a 10-minute walk away from Target Field, I much rather would spend that money to attend a game, and multiple times over at that, to get those experiences over paying that for watching on TV. The ballpark pass has been a sweet deal in that regard! I also can't recommend enough, MiLB.tv to people looking for a baseball fix. In comparison, the cost is 25% of MLB.tv ($35 vs $140) for a full season of games (and MLB.tv has the blackouts for the section of fans they need to reach), and absolutely any team/prospect I want to watch, not just one of them. I now watch more games via that than I ever did the Twins. The cost/benefit for my baseball and Twins interests has been astronomical for me as a "die-hard" with an especially interested focus on prospects and the minors. 😊

💯yup!

Yeah, I had a note about ad revenue in there, as I don't know what that number is. But it didn't make a $55 MIL fee to the Twins profitable. I also understand the argument you are trying to make, but I don't think it's nearly as relevant in this discussion as it needs to be to make a difference. Not enough people care (see my other comment). I would love that type of "package" too, but it's never going to be a thing.

Man, my brain missed a whole step! 🤣 My 500K subscriber number was also, as I generously put it, "very optimistic." They probably never come close to hitting that number (there are like 2MIL "households" in Minnesota, and hitting 25% of them I think is a provably ridiculous estimate, I shouldn't have even said it, haha). The entirety of Bally Sports+ (admittedly, one of the worst services ever created) barely has 200K subscribers across the entire country, which means they probably have less than 10K in the state of MN for the Timberwolves and Wild. Are the Twins that much more popular than them to attract that level of audience? If we use the MLB.tv level model (which is about 4% of adults in the US), that turns that number into around 175K subscribers (probably lower because of the "die-hard fan" caveat being the ones who pay this pricing). Now they're getting like $25 MIL at $20/month. How much advertising money gets added to that pool? As you said, how much does it cost to produce a game? A number like $55 MIL obviously isn't viable anymore. The available audience that can watch Twins games now, even if you add 175K subscribers to a streaming app, is about 1/3 of what it used to be not even 3 years ago, and will continue to go down as streaming continues to take more market share. Does that correlate directly to what their rights are worth? So what I'm still getting at, is I don't think whatever this number ends up as, is going to save the Twins spending potential. It's still going to lead to a lower payroll. I hope I am wrong, though!

I don't see how this improves the Twins situation from what they had with the $55MIL TV deal? Sure, it probably leads to more than the $0 they currently have to be added to their books (and maybe that's the point here), but is it even in the realm of possibility that the amount is going to come close to that number? I thought the Twins already had one of the worst TV deals out there (while still being overpaid by Diamond, as it obviously was not profitable for them), what am I missing to see how this improves on that? Relatively speaking, nobody subscribes to $20/25 per month sports streaming services. MLB.tv relies on die-hard fans that are out-of-market of their favorite teams, and they have less than 4 million total subscribers. What would you expect that number to be for Twins fans? 500K as a very optimistic estimate? That doesn't equal anything close to $55 Million, and I'd be surprised if any ad or other associated revenue would make up for it. I'd love to know how I'm wrong if I am, or what I'm missing 🤣 Is the expectation here to get like $30 MIL and think everything is still okay? That still leads to a lower payroll, right?

He gets paid by both teams. Max Scherzer's $105 MIL of his $210 MIL contract with the Nationals that was deferred is being paid through 2028 I believe. So he got paid his $43 MIL from the Mets and $15 MIL (which is the number/year with interest) from the Nationals this season.

I think I disagree wholeheartedly that this helps future players. Ohtani is the "unicorn," to use the term everyone else is. Don't get me wrong, it's a GREAT deal for him and his situation. But hell no is it a good deal for everyone else and the MLB.

If he really wanted the team to remain competitive in spite of his own earning power, he wouldn't need to utilize a loophole to accomplish it. My main issue here, is it's an obvious abuse of the rules. I would expect MLB to do something about it eventually. Then again, it's MLB so who knows... It's something exactly like this why the Minnesota Wild are and have been hamstrung with their payroll. The NHL punished them severely for the contracts they handed out to Parise and Suter, which were perfectly legal at the time they were signed, but then was deemed, correctly, that they were not in the best interest of the sport. There can not be a thing where the few large revenue teams are the only ones that can even hand contracts like this out. It's why the contract is $700 MIL, $275 (!!!) MIL more than any other player has ever received, and not $500 and simply the largest contract ever.

If he really wanted to do this he would have signed 10-year $300 MIL contract.

Not like this, they haven't. I'm pretty certain the most money that has ever been deferred is $105 MIL to Max Scherzer (of $210 MIL total). That's a whole lot different than $680 MIL (of $700 MIL total).

EXACTLY.

From what I can tell he's played exactly 3 innings in CF in his career, so no, I do not think he can play the position. Past articles I can find also talk about how he doesn't really have a position, and he started his career as an infielder (one example: https://piratesprospects.com/2022/05/yoyner-fajardo-is-a-hitter-without-a-position.html). I can't really give you a reason beyond that but will say that almost 100% of the time, if a team thinks a player is capable of playing CF, he will play there and this just hasn't been the case with Fajardo.

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