Steve Lein

While their Major League brothers were “walking it off” at Target Field with a bunt, a top prospect in Cedar Rapids had grander ambitions on Tuesday night. Image courtesy of William Parmeter (photo of Brent Headrick) TRANSACTIONS The Cedar Rapids Kernels placed C Charles Mack on the 7-day injured list (concussion) and C Wilfri Castro was assigned from the FCL Twins in a corresponding move. OF/1B Alex Kirilloff was sent on a rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. He would bat third in the lineup and play first base in their game. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Indianapolis 6 (12 innings) Box Score Brent Headrick made his second appearance of the young season for the Saints in this one, and it was much better than his first. He finished five innings, allowing just one run on four hits and one walk, while punching out eight. 50 of his 72 pitches went for strikes (69%), including thirteen swinging strikes. St. Paul got on the scoreboard first, when Edouard Julien clubbed an RBI double in the third inning to score Tony Wolters. Of note, is Julien was removed from the game after just two at-bats, as he’s been booked a flight to Minneapolis! Julien will be the first prospect from my preseason list to make his MLB debut for the Twins in 2023, and that will be especially fun for me since I’ll be at the game tomorrow. The Saints extended their lead to 3-1 thanks to a wild pitch in the sixth and Julien’s replacement, Hernan Perez's RBI single in the seventh. The score remained that way until the bottom of the ninth when Indianapolis finally got to the St. Paul bullpen. Patrick Murphy was summoned for the save opportunity and promptly loaded the bases. He managed to keep the game tied after allowing a two-run single, getting a strikeout and double-play ball to send it to extra innings. St. Paul and Indianapolis traded runs in each of the 10th (one each) and eleventh (two each) before the Saints broke it open with four in the 12th inning. Jose De Leon then closed the game out by picking up a pair of strikeouts. The Saints got multiple hits from Perez (2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, BB, K), Andrew Stevenson (3-for-6, 2 K, SB), and Wolters (3-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B), RBI, BB, K). In relief of Headrick, Brock Stewart continued his promising start to the 2023 season, going three innings and allowing just one hit and one walk, while striking out four (he had struck out all seven hitters he had faced before this outing). WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 1, Wichita 3 Box Score The Wind Surge grabbed an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, after Brooks Lee led off the game for the home team with a double, and was driven in by a sac fly from Jake Rucker. They remained in the lead until the top of the fifth when the Naturals finally got a hit off starter Carlos Luna. He retired the first thirteen hitters of the game before allowing a solo home run to tie it at one in the fifth, and went on to finish 5 2/3 innings. Luna needed just 66 pitches (48 for strikes) while racking up 10 strikeouts in the outing. Kody Funderburk got the last out of the sixth and worked the next two innings, giving up two hits and one walk while striking out three. Alex Scherff finished off the game to pick up the win, walking one and striking out two in 1 1/3 innings pitched. Wichita took back the lead in the bottom of the eighth inning as they loaded the bases with one out. A wild pitch allowed Lee to scamper home before a bases-loaded walk to Pat Winkel made the final score of 3-1. Of note during that sequence, is Aaron Sabato was hit by a pitch and left the game. The teams combined for just five hits in the game with Wichita only collecting two. But they were able to take advantage of five walks and a pair of errors from the NW Arkansas defense late to steal the win in their home opener. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 4, Cedar Rapids 8 Box Score Making the start for the Kernels was 2022 Fort Myers standout, Pierson Ohl. The right-hander finished five innings, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits and a walk, while punching out six. Malik Barrington was the first man on in relief and went the next two innings, allowing just one hit and one walk while striking out five. At that point in the game, the River Bandits were up 3-2, with the Kernel's runs coming on a wild pitch in the third inning and an RBI groundout from Willie Joe Garry Jr. in the fifth. They would take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth on RBI singles from Tanner Schobel and Ben Ross. Iowa native Matt Mullenbach delivered a scoreless eighth inning and was back out for the ninth, and if not for the solo home run he allowed, we would not have seen what happened in the bottom of the ninth. Tied at four, the Kernels' Noah Cardenas, Garry Jr., and Noah Miller all drew walks to load the bases for top outfield prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez with no outs. He jumped on the first pitch he saw and, well, enjoy: The walk-off grand slam was Rodriguez’s first home run of the season, the Kernels only extra-base hit on the game (they were outhit 10-to-5 as a team), and he finished 1-for-3 with two runs scored, two walks, and four RBI. Joining him with two runs scored were Miller (0-for-3, 2 BB, K), Cardenas (0-for-2, BB, 2 K), and Garry Jr. (1-for-3, RBI, BB, K, SB). Tanner Schobel chipped in two hits and an RBI. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Clearwater 6 Box Score The Mighty Mussels were blanked by the Threshers on Tuesday, as they managed just three hits and three walks in the game. Jorel Ortega provided their only extra-base hit with a double. They were just 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position as a team, leaving only four men on base. The biggest story among the hitters in this one was the rehabbing major leaguers, including the beginning of a rehab assignment for Alex Kirilloff. He picked up one of their three hits, finishing 1-for-3 with a strikeout. Fellow rehabber Jorge Polanco also was 1-for-3 playing second base, struck out twice, and both major leaguers were substituted to begin the eighth inning. Righthander Tomas Cleto made the start for Fort Myers and went the first four innings. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits while striking out two. Josh Winder made his second rehab appearance for the Mighty Mussels, pitching the fifth inning and setting the Threshers down in order, including a strikeout to end his inning. Wilker Reyes then went multiple innings but allowed runs in each before being lifted for Jackson Hicks with two outs in the eighth. Reyes was charged with four earned runs on six hits and two walks in 2 1/3 innings while striking out two. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Carlos Luna, Wichita Wind Surge (5 2/3 IP, H, ER, 10 K) Hitter of the Day - Emmanuel Rodriguez, Cedar Rapids Kernels (1-for-3, 2 R, GS, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-3, 2 R, 2B, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-3, 2 R, GS, 4 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-2, 2B, RBI #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K #11 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-for-4, 3 K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, 2 R, 2 BB, K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, RBI #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, BB, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (10:05 AM CDT) - RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 6.75 ERA) NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05 PM CDT) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-0, 1.80 ERA) Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CDT) - LHP Jaylen Nowlin (0-0, 0.00 ERA) Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2023 debut) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! View full article

I am not against this. Balazovic has been 94-96 with his fastball as a starter, I wonder how much juice he could add in short bursts!

So much of their depth has already debuted, it *should* be a much lower total number this year. I think all Twins fans would be happy if it is, as it likely means good health on the MLB club!

I agree on Julien, though I am wary of throwing guys into the fire who have only seen double-A pitching. Julien has been good enough to make one think hard about that, though! Hope Canterino can pitch this year, and that Balazovic bounces back as well. Maybe they are both strictly bullpen guys in the future. Will be interesting!

Across all of Major League Baseball during the 2022 season, 303 players made their Major League debut, with a hefty tally of 13 from the Minnesota Twins organization contributing to that number. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Edouard Julien) Those Next Minnesota Twins consisted of position players Jose Miranda, Royce Lewis, Mark Contreras, Jermaine Palacios, Caleb Hamilton, and Matt Wallner. Joining them from the pitching side were Jhoan Duran, Josh Winder, Cole Sands, Yennier Cano, Louie Varland, Ronny Henriquez, and Simeon Woods Richardson. 11 of those names were profiled in this same column before the start of last season, missing out on only Hamilton and Wallner, as the Twins minor league depth was relied upon in a “break glass in case of emergency” fashion due to the well-chronicled injury issues on the big league roster. Many things will have to go wrong, or right depending on which side of the glass half full or empty pendulum you swing, for the Twins to get even close to that number again during the 2023 season. Most of those 2022 debuts are now firmly-rooted depth on the 40-man roster, with Duran, Miranda, Sands, and if not for injury, perhaps Henriquez and Winder earning their full-time pinstripes. It is not a question of if a player will make a debut for the Twins in 2023, only when, so who are some of those potential Next Minnesota Twins for 2023? ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER: As mentioned, the Twins' 40-man roster depth is full of players who have already had at least a cup of coffee in the majors, as the set of names available for this category consists of just four players. It omits pitcher Matt Canterino, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery and will likely not pitch in 2023. The fun thing here is that depth also consists of a lot of the organization's “top prospects,” so the St. Paul Saints are going to be a popular ticket throughout this season (count me in for attending the “They’re One of Us” double bobblehead game on August 29th, featuring Louie Varland and Matt Wallner). Edouard Julien (23 years old on opening day), IF - Twins Daily’s #5 Prospect (Julien made his MLB debut on 4/12 against the Chicago White Sox, going 0-for-2 with a walk.) A prospect darling due to his on-field performance since being drafted in the 18th round in 2019, all Julien has done since becoming a pro is get on base. For almost inexplicable reasons, he spent all of the 2022 season with the Wichita Wind Surge, where he hit .300/.441/.490, leading the Texas League in on-base percentage and then following that up by tapping into even more power in the Arizona Fall League. He took home the Breakout Prospect Award while there, though arguably could have been the MVP as he led the circuit in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. He followed that up by impressing with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and with the Twins this spring. With injury questions looming around infielders Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff, if the veteran backups the Twins went out and got aren’t holding up their end of the bargain, Julien could be given a shot early. Jordan Balazovic (24), RHP - TD’s #16 Prospect (Balazovic made his MLB debut on 6/18 vs the Detroit Tigers. He came on in relief during the fifth inning, and pitched the next 3 2/3, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk, while striking out two.) Almost everything went wrong for Balazovic during the 2022 season, where he was a borderline top-100 prospect at its outset. Then he was knocked around in triple-A for the entire year and plummeted to the point he’s not even a top 10 prospect for the Twins in our own rankings to start in 2023. I will say that I got to see him in St. Paul late in the 2022 season, and he showed plenty of flashes of what made him so highly regarded in that game, including mid-90’s velocity as a starter, so I’m not giving up on him by any means. Brent Headrick (25), LHP (Headrick made his MLB debut on 4/19 at Fenway Park. He pitched three innings, allowing one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out three.) Added to the 40-man roster in the 2023 offseason after he spent only half of 2022 in double-A, Headrick has impressed the organization this Spring, appearing in three games and striking out 10 in seven innings that were good for a 2.57 ERA. He looks ticketed for the triple-A rotation, which was already crowded, so that says a lot about how the Twins view his potential. He was fantastic with Cedar Rapids last year, going 8-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 15 starts, before finishing the year with double-A and absolutely dominating in two postseason starts, allowing zero earned runs and punching out 19 while walking none in 12 innings. TOP PROSPECTS While this category is a little light this year, that’s because all of that prospect depth I’ve mentioned already got their feet wet last season. That doesn’t mean this section isn’t still exciting, because one name was arguably the top hitter in all of college baseball last season. The other is a former top-five draft pick coming off a stellar resurgence in the Arizona Fall League. Brooks Lee, IF (22) - TD’s #1 Prospect Lee had quite the 2022 season as he transitioned from college to the pros. First, by reinforcing the notion he was a top hitter in his draft class by batting .357/.462/.664 for his father’s Cal Poly squad, getting drafted 8th overall, and finally ending his introduction to pro ball in the double-A playoffs with Wichita. In a little talked-about blurb in his career, he was already familiar with Minnesota, having played for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League during the summer of 2021. In 31 games in the minors last season, he hit .303/.389/.471 overall, clubbing six doubles and four home runs, while striking out in just 14.4% of his plate appearances against a walk rate of 11.5%. All these numbers mean, is he did everything expected of a prospect of his pedigree, and then some, after a long year of baseball. While there are questions about his ability to handle shortstop in the majors, that’s not much of a concern while Carlos Correa is around, and his bat will always be his calling card. He’s perhaps the top hitter prospect the Twins have had since that Mauer guy, and I think you’ll see a lot of similarities in their games when he arrives. If all goes according to plan, he will be in St. Paul in midsummer and just how good he’s hitting, from both sides of the plate, will determine if he forces the issue or not. I just love the swing he put on this pitch for Cedar Rapids last year, and hope to see it at Target Field soon: Austin Martin, IF/OF (24) - TD’s #10 Prospect The caveat here with Martin is he’s been dealing with an elbow issue this spring, and it could end his season with Tommy John surgery before it even starts. While this isn’t as serious for position players as it is for pitchers, it’s still a disappointing cloud to have hanging over him after his excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League to close out his 2022 season. In 90 games with Wichita in 2022, perhaps the best thing Martin did was achieve a .367 on-base percentage. But that came with just a .316 slugging percentage resulting in a sub .700 OPS, hardly impressive for a prospect with his pedigree. This can perhaps be blamed on an altering of his approach in search of power, but if so, it probably should have been abandoned well before it was. Sent to the AFL, Martin appeared to embrace just being himself (not unlike the stories of Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis), and the results he and the Twins had been looking for followed. In 21 games, he batted .374/.454/.482 and stole 10 bases in 11 attempts, being named to the All-AFL team in the process. The parallels to Lewis here are undeniable, unfortunately, the injury part of that is in play as well. MINOR LEAGUE DEPTH: It is some slim pickings again in this category, as veteran and already debuted prospect depth dominates the roster of the St. Paul Saints. It’s likely a fairly well-established pecking order to join the big league club when a need arises at this point. But teams will almost always need a third catcher during the grind of the MLB season, and with St. Paul just miles away from Target Field you never know who may be the guy that is available the day an extra arm is needed across the river. Jair Camargo, C (23) Carmargo is ticketed to start the season with the St. Paul Saints after spending the bulk of his 2022 season with the Wichita. He clubbed 18 home runs in 74 games, including 12 in 46 games with the Wind Surge after a midseason promotion. Listed as a sturdy 5’ 10” and 230 lbs Camargo looks the part of a catcher and utilized his arm strength to throw out 38% of would-be base stealers in double-A. Austin Schulfer, RHP (27) Schulfer was absolutely dominant out of Wichita’s bullpen for the first two months of the 2022 season, amassing seven saves and striking out 30 in 23 innings in his first 15 appearances. That also came with a minuscule 0.39 ERA and 0.65 WHIP before being promoted to St. Paul. He wasn’t nearly as good there for the rest of the season, but it is hard to ignore what he did before then. He should play a big role in the Saints bullpen for all of 2023, and if he’s performing when a fresh arm is needed could find himself spending a lot of time on the Green Line during the season. Michael Helman, IF/OF (26) A typical utility player prospect, Helman has been a swiss army knife for whatever team he has played for since the Twins drafted him in the 11th round back in 2018. He had an OPS of .840 for Wichita last season before being promoted to St. Paul, and is a ready replacement on the Twins bench for the likes of Donovan Solano or Nick Gordon, should they miss any time. He also stands to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new bases and pitching rules, as he swiped 40 bags in 45 attempts last season. Cody Laweryson, RHP (24) Laweryson split his 2022 season between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, making appearances as both a starter and reliever at both stops. The fun quirk with his stat lines over the season, was his dominance when thrust into a starting role (0.84 ERA, 0.89 WHIP), but he was also very good coming out of the bullpen (2.25 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) and increased his strikeout rate from 9.9 to 11.1 per 9IP. It will be curious to see if the Twins continue to utilize him in this way, or cut him loose out of the bullpen full-time with Wichita to start the 2023 season. Never know, maybe pretty soon he can do this on the big league stage: DARK HORSES: Now we get to some shots in the dark, or players who could come out of nowhere to make a surprise debut. They might be a well-known name but not that far up the ladder at the start of the season, returning from an injury so they may have been forgotten some, or have a unique pitch or other ability that could pay off big if other areas develop as well. Blayne Enlow, RHP (24) Enlow made it through waivers after being removed from the 40-man roster early this offseason, and I’m hoping the Twins will end up ecstatic about this fact in the near future. Highly regarded coming out of high school, Minnesota was able to keep him away from his commitment to LSU by going over slot in the third round of the 2017 draft. He made three excellent starts and looked to be breaking out for Cedar Rapids to start his 2021 season, before having to undergo Tommy John surgery. Notable about his recovery, however, is he was pitching again in games in less than a year, though those came with perhaps expected struggles. The reins should be off in 2023, and I’m looking for a bounce-back season from the right-hander. Perhaps with a Tyler Duffey-like resurgence out of a bullpen with his big curveball. Connor Prielipp, LHP (22) - TD’s #7 Prospect Yeah, I’m gonna be that guy. In the conversation to go number one overall in the draft before having to undergo Tommy John surgery during the 2021 season, Prielipp slipped to the Twins in the second round in 2022 and is loaded with upside. A left-hander with a mid-90’s fastball and wipeout slider, Prielipp struck out basically everyone he faced in the SEC (15.1K/9IP rate), the big asterisk there being it was just 28 total innings over two seasons. But reading stuff like this is exactly why I’m placing him here: Now, there are absolutely going to be innings and probably other limitations on Prielipp this season, but the pipedream scenario I envision for a debut to happen in 2023 is like that of Chris Sale way back when, where he’s just too good to not utilize as a weapon from the bullpen in a playoff push. These are just some of the names I’d love to see don the new Minnesota Twins uniforms for the first time this season. When do you think any of them will arrive at Target Field? Who are you looking forward to the most even though that answer is Edouard Julien? Who are some of the players you think I may have missed? Let’s play ball! View full article

Lewis definitely grew into more power than expected initially when they drafted him! I remember many comments from scouts, etc... at the Arizona Fall League the year he won the MVP, that he was one of the most impressive batting practice sessions to watch due to that increase.

Love Forgotten Star!!! And weird, I suddenly need to visit a client up in the Northern Stacks that day... 😂

If he played a full season at that HR rate he would have led the FSL in home runs. Then there are the facts that the FSL leader hit 20 home runs in 444 plate appearances, and was 3 years older (and had a K-rate of almost 40%). Among players with 100 or more plate appearances, Rodriguez's OPS led the league by a .170 points! The batting average of the entire league was .233... This is a weird way to characterize his 2022 stats.

Are we including their history as the Washington Senators? Because if so, the omission of Walter Johnson is an egregious oversight 😉

The reason Prielipp is this high on the list without having thrown a pitch yet and only 28 innings in college, is because of the potential and ceiling he has (MLB.com has him #4 in the Twins system). It's a lot higher than every other pitcher in the organization, in my opinion, and he ranks higher than this on my own list for that very reason. Doesn't guarantee anything, but that's the fun with these rankings! As has been mentioned, without his injury he was going to be a top 5 pick because of a devastating slider and fastball that's better than being made out here (mid-90s peak velocity from a lefty is a lot less common than it is for righty's). The thing I'll be watching for with Prielipp this season is how his command and control have kept up after the surgery. If he's not walking many people and stays healthy, he's going to be a lot higher up this list and global lists hopefully as soon as midseason.

"Darby's Lot on 5th Avenue: Very similar in location to the above, and offers the added benefit of indoor ramp parking, although the cost is higher. We're going to continue to call it the Darby's Lot for now even though its namesake – the neighboring Darby's Pub and Grill – closed down after the 2022 season." I liked Darby's as a dive bar close to the stadium, but for all the beer-heads who like the area with Modist, Fulton, Inbound, & StormKing within a few blocks, Bricksworth Beer Company has moved into their space. I've had some good stuff from them, and the pizza is excellent!

Just as a point of clarification based on what you bolded. I was talking to the others responding to your comments with that line, not you 😉

As your Twins Daily AFL report writer, this is a very legitimate point. There seem to be several comments aimed at diminishing what Martin accomplished there when it should be quite the opposite, in my opinion. Just look at Royce Lewis. During the 2019 season with Fort Myers (then high-A) and Pensacola (double-A), Lewis hit a combined .236/.290/.371 with a well-below .700 OPS at both stops (.661 overall). Quite frankly, his bat never justified the bump to double-A, but I'm certain it happened because they wanted to get him out of the Florida State League environment and see what he'd do. Then he went and hit .353/.411/.565 (.976 OPS) in the AFL and took home the MVP award. There was some downtime in there (injury, Covid) afterward, but he didn't miss a beat from that when he got back on the field and made an immediate impact upon his major league debut. The parallel to Austin Martin is undeniable, here. Martin hit .241/.368/.317 (.685 OPS) in 2022 with Wichita (double-A), then went to the AFL and was undeniably one of the best players, hitting .374/.454/.482 (.936 OPS). The difference between them is Lewis displayed more power (9 2B's, 3 HR) and drove in runs (20 RBI) from the middle of the lineup, while Martin got on base, created more havoc while there, and scored runs from the top of the lineup. Different types of hitters for sure, but they accomplished basically the same things in their own ways. You were likely already wrong once about the AFL with Lewis, don't be that guy again with Martin. 😂

Remember, Duran will not be able to "unleash the nastiest repertoire [you] have ever seen" as a starting pitcher. Those 99-103's will have to be scaled back to 94-98's, etc... Don't bite the hand that's feeding you.

Hate it. I've been all over the boards stating that Pablo Lopez was the one supposedly available Miami starting pitcher I would NOT trade Luis Arraez for. I care very little that they also got an A-ball "top prospect" back at this point.

I don't really share this concern. The Twins already demonstrated they have rotation depth they can tap this past season to cover any inevitable injuries. Josh Winder, Louie Varland, Simeon Woods Richardson; Maeda you mention will also be back. I'm not acquiring Lopez because insurance for this is the idea around what the team gains. In fact, I'm flat-out not targeting him because he might be no better a pitcher. I agree 100% that I don't want Lopez if Arraez is the cost. Have to aim higher with a perennial-batting-champ-contender type hitter, IMO.

I don't have a link or anything to share, but I'm fairly certain while covering the AFL this year, I saw mentions of the Twins/him kind of taking the Buxton approach: Okay we tried, just go out and do your thing now. But I also think the injuries played a big role in his "underperformance" this season. After taking a month off he came back and finished September with an .827 OPS. Then he rode that momentum into a .936 OPS in the AFL. I said this to summarize his performance there in the last of my AFL updates: "I’ve followed this league for a long time, and just like Royce Lewis’ MVP campaign of 2019 (where he had a .975 OPS after a .661 in the regular season), this performance absolutely should restore some prospect luster for Austin Martin. Now the Twins just need to find him a position, but I can see him functioning as a very athletic super-utility type when it comes to defense in the majors, much like how Luis Arraez got his start."

Personally, I highly prefer any of these options over Pablo Lopez, especially if Luis Arraez is the cost of doing business. While I don't think Lopez is a bad pitcher by any means, I don't think he is better, nor has the potential to be better, than Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, Bailey Ober, or Kenta Maeda. He's more of the same. Mid-rotation at his best (he was not particularly good for most of the 2022 season). I'd rather have the potential of these other Marlin's guys to get more than that, and the difference between 2 years of control or 4+ also looms large.

I disagree... Lopez is the last of the supposedly available Miami pitchers I would want, especially for Luis Arraez. I started a whole thread on trading for Marlins pitching ->

At a minimum, I think you're devaluing Luis Arraez here. I don't think BTV is gospel, but Arraez is the best player on their site in any trade involving Marlins pitchers Pablo Lopez, Jesus Luzardo, Edward Cabrera, or Max Meyer. Kepler/etc... is the tax. Edit: Actually Lopez is, I remember being confused by their valuation of him in comparison to all the others. Because Lopez is the one I'd want the least, and he has by far the least team control left.

This is all the Twins 40-man roster and injury issues during the 2022 season coming home to roost. Enlow, in my opinion, has the potential that you don't jettison for what they added. But, there's not a whole lot for them to jettison at this point, even if there are names there I would have DFA'd instead. I'd be extremely surprised if he isn't claimed.

"5. Target Field upped the fanfare this season. Late in the 2022 season, Target Field began dimming the lights during Jhoan Duran’s entrance song. To my knowledge, the Twins have never done that for a pitcher, especially one who is not a closer. Jorge Lopez also got the dimmed lights treatment with his horror movie-themed walkout. Walkout songs have always been a bit of a show (remember Fernando Rodney's electric entrance?), but they became their own spectacle this season due in part to the Mets’ Edwin Diaz’s viral walkout song "Narco." Pitcher entrances across the league became their show within the show this season, and the Twins kept pace. " While I loved this (re)development, it in fact is not the first time, or the best they have done with, something like this for their closer ?. Apologies, but that title belongs to Jon Rauch and his entrance to Metallica's "Wherever I May Roam" during the inaugural 2010 season. This video doesn't do it justice, but it was far more epic than Duran's also good one.

I'm partial to Jack Stacks for the Kansas City BBQ experience. Burnt ends are *chefs kiss*!