Steve Lein

Haha, decided to write the lineup with players currently able to play on opening day

For the first time since the 2015 season (and 1901-1960 before that when the franchise was the Washington Senators), the Minnesota Twins Double A affiliate for the upcoming season will not be the Chattanooga Lookouts (I’ll miss that logo…). That’s because the Twins struck a two-year Player Development Contract with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos (also of the Southern League) in the offseason to perhaps further their minor league development expansion efforts to one of the best facilities in the minors.While the Lookouts finished at the bottom of the Southern League North division standings while with Minnnesota for the 2018 season, the Blue Wahoos won a wild card in the second half before losing to the Biloxi Shuckers in the first round of the playoffs while an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. The Blue Wahoos appear to join the organization at a good time, as there’s a few top prospects in all the minor leagues that could spend a lot of time with them during the 2019 season. They appear to have a strong roster at the outset but may be even better in the second half if and when players are promoted. So here’s a look at the inaugural Pensacola Blue Wahoos roster and coaching staff for the 2019 season. Feel free to share any thoughts you may have on the team and as always, ask questions in the comments! COACHING STAFF Manager Ramon Borrego comes to Pensacola after spending seven years as the Twins manager in the Gulf Coast League, and then the 2018 season at the helm of the Fort Myers Miracle where he led them to the Florida State League championship. Steve Singleton will be the hitting coach and is very familiar with Borrego, as they’ve been together at both the GCL and FSL levels in the past few years. They’ll be joined by pitching coaches Cibney Bello and Justin Willard who worked together last year with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. ROSTER The Blue Wahoos will be represented on the Twins 40-man roster by two players to start the season. There is not a member of the team who has played in the majors yet, though eight players have spent some time at the Triple A level, with 11 more having spent at least some time with the Chattanooga Lookouts in 2018 or at Double A in the past. Note that this is a tentative roster and can be updated before the minor league season starts on Thursday. HITTERS Catchers: Brian Navarreto, Mitchell Kranson, Caleb Hamilton Infielders: Luis Arraez, Brian Schales, Drew Maggi, Jordan Gore, Taylor Grzelakowski (also Catcher) Outfielders: Jaylin Davis, Jimmy Kerrigan, Ernie De La Trinidad, Tanner English (IL), Alex Kirilloff (IL) PITCHERS: Starting Pitchers: Brusdar Graterol, Jorge Alcala, Griffin Jax, Devin Smeltzer, Sean Poppen, Tyler Wells (IL), Daniel Camarena (IL), Randy LeBlanc (IL) Relief Pitchers: Tyler Jay, Sam Clay, Jovani Moran, Jeff Ames, Adam Bray, Andro Cutura, Dusten Knight, Ryan Mason, Cody Stashak, Williams Ramirez (IL) POTENTIAL LINEUP: CF – Jimmy Kerrigan 2B – Luis Arraez OF – Jaylin Davis (Alex Kirilloff) 1B – Taylor Grzelakowski DH – Mitchell Kranson OF – Ernie De La Trinidad / Jaylin Davis 3B – Drew Maggi / Brian Schales SS – Jordan Gore C – Brian Navarreto TOP PROSPECTS: Alex Kirilloff (Twins Daily #2 Prospect) – Best hitter not named Vlad Guerrero Jr. in all of MiLB last season.Brusdar Graterol (Twins Daily #3 Prospect) – Graterol is the Twins top pitching prospect. Blessed with a triple-digit fastball as well as improving breaking ball and changeup.Jorge Alcala (Twins Daily #19 Prospect) – Like Graterol, Alcala can hit triple-digits with his fastball and will continue to work on his secondary offerings.Tyler Wells – Twins Daily’s 2018 MiLB Starting Pitcher of the Year. Has dedicated himself to fitness and diet as a pro and the big righthander will look to continue his rise among pitching prospects.Luis Arraez – Professional hitter with a .329 career batting average in the minors tied with only an 8.5% strikeout rate.Jovani Moran – Lefty reliever was nearly unhittable last year at Cedar Rapids, then improved when promoted to Fort Myers. Has a 12.6/9IP strikeout rate in the minors thus far. Arrow pointing firmly up.Taylor Grzelakowski – .828 OPS in pitcher friendly Florida State League in 2018. Standout in MiLB reports last year could improve that number even more in Southern League.Griffin Jax – Jax re-joined the organization in late-April as part of the Air Force’s World Class Athlete program. He joined the Miracle in mid-May and spent the rest of the season with the team. He posted a 3.70 ERA over 87 2/3 innings with the Miracle and then threw another 21 innings in the Arizona Fall league.Jaylin Davis – Strongly built outfielder will likely slot somewhere in middle of Blue Wahoos order. Power is tool to keep an eye on in 2019.STORIES TO WATCH: What else can one say about Alex Kirilloff at this point? He’s the must-watch prospect for Pensacola to start the season, and it’s fun to speculate on if he can repeat the success he had last year in the upper levels of the minor leagues. He’ll start the year on the injured list but shouldn’t be on the shelf long.Brusdar Graterol and Jovani Moran are being challenged with the assignment to Double A to start the year after fantastic campaigns in 2018, how will they respond?The Fort Myers Miracle won the FSL championship in 2018 in part because of several players added to the roster in the second half of the season. A lot of those same guys are starting the year back with Fort Myers, with the potential to make the same type of impact with the Blue Wahoos in the latter half of this summer. Hear it from the Championship organization themselves:Tyler Wells was fantastic during the 2018 season and is arguably the top pitcher on the staff to start the year. Will he be able to keep his arrow pointing upward as he faces stiffer competition in the Southern League?Can Tyler Jay reclaim any of his former top-prospect-shine in the mold of Kohl Stewart from the 2018 season?Please feel free to discuss this roster. Ask lots of questions and check back often. What stories will you be following? Click here to view the article

I played for the Cologne Coyotes, and thankfully they switched the nickname to the Hollanders after a few years, haha. Venues in their league (the Crow River Valley League) have hosted many-of-Class C state tournaments over the years and is one of the better in the state every year. That damn ACL tear ruined my "career year" though, hah.

Ryan Jeffers?

None of the pitchers who made their debut last year are on the opening day roster, but if Fernando Romero figures out what ailed him this spring he could be up pretty quickly. The rest are starters vying to be the guy who is pitching the best when the Twins need someone for a spot-start. Astudillo and Cave both debuted last year and have made the team. The big contribution you speak of is most likely going to come from the group of starters who debuted last year, I think.

Yes, that will definitely play a part as well, but if my memory has served me right Falvey and Levine haven't been the types to reward long-time minor leaguers with cup-of-coffee call-ups like Terry Ryan did. The last one like that I can think of is James Beresford in 2016 before Falvey was hired. Furthermore, everyone they brought up for September in 2018 had already made their MLB debut except Andrew Vasquez.

First off, thanks to all for the kind words. I love writing this piece every year! Definitely a logjam, and it will only get more cluttered moving forward I think. But the point you make about it lines up with what I think is the Front Office's plan as the summer wears on. They didn't go out and sign a Keuchel or Kimbrel in the offseason, but a move for someone along those lines at the trade deadline becomes a distinct possibility when you have these assets in the organization.

Larnach was in the theoretical "just missed" group when I was going through players. I would put him around the same spot as I had Rooker last year, but with all that depth and that he's probably starting this year in Fort Myers vs. Chattanooga, I don't see it happening, so I left him off. Kirilloff is simply higher up the ladder. Colina misses because he's so far away. It's been quite an eye-opener to read about that high-90's heat he's bringing now and I agree he's a reliever in the end. But he's another guy who is simply not far enough along the ladder if they're keeping him a starter, which I believe they are for now. I suspect he and Graterol will front the Miracle's rotation to start the season.

I'm with you on Raley, definitely looks the part. It was a bit disappointing he didn't get more run in the AFL but there is sneaky & solid athleticism in his body. He very likely could be a guy we're talking about! And I agree with you on the depth. There's a lot of names in this list, but I don't think there will be nearly as many MLB debuts this year as there has been the past few.

He was a name in my original list, but due to the depth in the majors and the other names at Triple A I decided this wouldn't be his year. Although he looks the part and is definitely a strong defensive catcher, his bat needs to be better than Drew Butera to take that step forward. He can get there, but still needs more time to advance that part of his game.

I have been a fan of minor league baseball since I was 11 years old and my family brought us to watch the prospects of the Appleton Foxes, and later the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, on summer vacations. I was already a huge fan of baseball—­at that point in my life, the Minnesota Twins had won two World Series, and I couldn’t get enough of Kirby Puckett’s infectious smile.It was at those small stadiums in my youth where that same type of joy for the game was easy to spot. The environments were more intimate, and the teams promoted interactions between players and fans in fun ways the major leagues just didn’t. I also realized that these were guys trying to make the same dream I had come true—to be a professional baseball player. That was certainly a childish dream for me looking back, but I did love the game enough that I still played competitively until I was almost 30 and blew out my ACL roaming the outfields of town ball parks in Minnesota (I made the catch on that play, at least). I’ve also been able to expand my experiences in minor league stadiums to outside of the Midwest to places like the Florida peninsula, Georgia, and Missouri. Because of my interest in baseball’s up and coming prospects, the offseason news cycle of top prospect lists and organizational depth charts have always been must -read material for me. There are websites and publications everywhere dedicated to only the minors these days, and you’ll find some of the best individual team recaps and summaries right here at Twins Daily. While I’ve put out plenty of my own “top prospect” lists since taking up blogging (over 10 years ago now?! Wow, time flies…), there are so many incredibly detailed ones out there now that I’ve put my own spin on such a list for several years. It harkens back to the idea that all these prospects I’ve watched play are looking to fulfill their dream of playing in the major leagues, and delves into who those players may be in the upcoming season. Across Major League Baseball during the 2018 season, 247 players made their professional debut. The Minnesota Twins accounted for eight of those players, including pitchers Stephen Gonsalves, Tyler Kinley, Zack Littell, Fernando Romero, Kohl Stewart, and Andrew Vasquez. Joining them on the position player side were Jake Cave and everyone’s favorite, “La Tortuga,” Willians Astudillo. All of those names were profiled or mentioned in my preview heading into last season, but I only mentioned Astudillo’s name as MiLB depth, despite knowing he was a bit of a unicorn already at the time because he never struck out (3.3% career strikeout rate in the minors). The only name in that list who is no longer with the organization is Kinley, who was sent back to the Miami Marlins after a month with the team after being their Rule 5 draft pick. Romero was ticketed for a big role in the bullpen to start the year but struggled this spring and was sent to Triple A. Cave and Astudillo were among those fighting for backup roles on the Twins bench and have since secured them. Gonsalves, Littell, Stewart, and Vasquez are all near locks to contribute at some point and carry valuable MLB experience with them to Rochester to begin their seasons. With a strong stable of young hitters with experience and power making up a potentially strong lineup for opening day, the pickings might be slim this year for hitting prospects looking to make their debut. I suspect they’ll churn some pitchers though as the front office duo looks to cash in some of their technological developmental efforts on the mound. You also never know when the injury bug will strike, but if I had to make a prediction, I’d bet that no more than five players will wear an MLB uniform for the first time with the Twins in 2019. So, who are the next potential players to make their major league debut with the Minnesota Twins during the 2019 season? ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER: Ryne Harper (30 years old on opening day) – RHP Although he has been called up to the big leagues in his career, he never actually got an opportunity to pitch for the Seattle Mariners before being sent back down to Triple A in 2017. One of the best stories in camp this spring, Harper showed off a big breaking ball to the tune of a perfect ERA (has allowed two unearned runs) with 14 K’s, and zero walks in 11 innings pitched with the major league squad. He’s a top candidate for the #SireOfFortMyers and with the news coming out on Monday that he’s made the team, he’s no longer just the biggest dark horse among non-roster invites to head north with the Twins for Thursday’s Season Opener—he’s going to be at Target Field ready for his close-up. For fun, here’s some of those breaking balls he showed off this spring: Signed by Minnesota for the 2018 season, Harper began the year by closing for the Chattanooga Lookouts. He quickly picked up a pair of saves in mid-April before the Rochester Red Wings came calling. Roughed up a little in his first taste of Triple A with the Twins, Harper was returned to the Lookouts after four appearances. Chattanooga then started extending out his appearances, as he went two innings for each of his next three saves. This is when he really started to dial himself in as well. Over his final 34 2/3 innings in Double A, Harper struck out 44 while handing out a free pass to just five hitters. For his efforts, he finished the year back in Triple A where he continued to perform well enough to get his invite to spring training. Now, he’s not really a prospect by any means as he’ll take the mound for the first time this year as a 30-year-old (his birthday is on Wednesday), but stories like his are always awesome to follow. Since I’ll be at the home opener, I hope he gets his MLB debut out of the way early. Nick Gordon (23) – IF (Twins Daily's #12 Prospect) Gordon has had his ups and downs the past two seasons, starting each off scorching hot before falling off a cliff in the second half. Last year, that drop-off came when he was promoted to Rochester where he managed just a .544 OPS in nearly 100 games. With Jorge Polanco, Marwin Gonzalez, Ehire Adrianza, and Ronald Torreyes on board there’s already plenty of MLB depth around the Twins middle-infield, but if Gordon comes out hot again and maintains it, he could work his way into their plans mid-to-late summer if a need arises. Lewis Thorpe (23) – LHP (TD’s #8 Prospect) Thorpe took a little time to find his groove during the 2018 season as his WHIP was above 1.60 through April and May, but after surrendering nine earned runs on June 8th he dialed it in for the rest of the season. His WHIP was just 0.73 in July, and after that disastrous start went 6-0 in 10 starts before being promoted to Triple A for his efforts. In those final 49 innings with the Lookouts, Thorpe allowed just 12 earned runs (2.20 ERA) on 33 hits and 10 walks (0.88 WHIP) while striking out 66 (12.1 K/9). Download attachment: Lewis Thorpe (2).jpg With the Red Wings, Thorpe went 0-3 in four starts to end the year, but he was solid in three of them and picked up two quality starts. Overall, he finished his season with a 3.54 ERA and struck out 157 in 129 2/3 IP across the two levels. He’s got nothing left to prove in Double A if you ask me, and should begin the year as part of an impressive rotation in Rochester unless there’s too many bodies for it to make sense early on. It’s taken some time as he has had to deal with injuries and illness, but it appears Thorpe has gotten back most if not all of his impressive stuff I saw back when I interviewed him while he was with the Cedar Rapids Kernels. While he’s a bit far down on the depth chart with names like Kohl Stewart, Stephen Gonsalves, Chase De Jong, and Zack Littell already having some MLB experience at Triple A, at some point during the 2019 season a promotion could become all about who is performing or lined up to pitch on the right day as Thorpe is already part of the 40-man roster. LaMonte Wade Jr. (25) – OF (TD’s #18 Prospect) After posting a .397 OBP with Chattanooga during the 2017 season (his first year not above .400), it was a bit surprising to see him start back with the Lookouts for 2018. But he did show improvement back in the Southern League by raising his slugging percentage by 36 points before being promoted to Rochester for the season’s final 74 games. This is where Wade finally had some trouble, posting just a .229 batting average and striking out more than he walked for the first time in his career. His plate discipline was still there however, as he also posted a 13.2% walk rate that was good for a .337 OBP. Power is a tool that has yet to manifest much for Wade in his minor league career, but he did make the most of his opportunities this spring with two doubles, a triple, and a homer in 27 at-bats with the Twins. He also finished third on the team in RBI with 10. I’ve compared Wade to Denard Span as a potential leadoff hitter in the past, but he’ll have to show more with the bat in Rochester this year to reach that ceiling as a hitter. Added to the 40-man roster in the offseason, Wade has an easier path to an MLB debut than others if the Twins outfield depth is challenged at any point during the season. Luis Arraez (21) – IF Arraez spent about half of the 2018 season with the Chattanooga Lookouts, and is likely ticketed for Pensacola to start this year with that middle infield depth at Triple A I mentioned above. Arraez is only a second baseman, and not a particularly good one, but his bat has always been the carrying tool for him with a .329 career batting average in the minor leagues. He’ll draw an occasional walk, unlike fan-favorite Willians Astudillo, but like La Tortuga he puts the ball in play more often than not with just an 8.5% strikeout rate as a pro. TOP PROSPECTS WHO COULD FORCE THEIR WAY: Brent Rooker (24) – OF/1B/DH (TD's #6 Prospect) The slugging Rooker began the 2018 season with an outside shot to reach the majors if he continued to mash like he did after being drafted the previous summer. It didn’t quite start out that way for him as he hit below .250 in the first two months, but he started heating up with the weather in mid-May. Download attachment: Brent Rooker 6.jpg He hit six or more homers three months in a row and posted an OPS over 1.000 in June and July as he started making a strong case for a promotion. But just as quickly as he found his power, it was lost when August rolled around. Over the final 30 games of the season he slashed only .168/.299/.262. After the year was over, he was slated to get some more time in the Arizona Fall League, but a sprained ankle in mini-camp before the schedule kicked off resulted in the Twins shutting him down. Rooker has seen action in 11 games with the major league squad this spring and clubbed two home runs and a triple among his 22 at-bats. It would be surprising if he doesn’t start the season with the Rochester Red Wings and while the corner-OF/1B/DH situation appears to be cluttered with the Twins, he’s got the type of bat to merit a look when the need arises at any of those positions if he’s mashing taters at Frontier Field. Alex Kirilloff (21) – OF (TD’s #2 Prospect) After missing the entire 2017 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery, Kirilloff burst back onto the prospect scene in 2018 by being the best overall hitter in the minor leagues not named Vladimir Guerrero Jr. He led all of MiLB in both extra-base-hits (71) and total bases (296), along with slugging 20 home runs and driving in over 100 baserunners. He’s on the top end of top 100 lists everywhere this spring, and if he duplicates his 2018 season with the Blue Wahoos he might not sniff Triple A a la Joe Mauer if an outfield spot opens up in the majors or C.J. Cron pulls a Logan Morrison at first base (I don’t think Alex would play there in this scenario, but a good backup plan is plugging Max Kepler there to open up RF). This is the best pure hitting prospect the Twins have had since Mauer, but where Joe paired this skill with elite plate discipline, Kirilloff instead brings a much bigger boomstick. And I mean, this is just pure hitting perfection: MINOR LEAGUE DEPTH: Ryan Eades (27) – RHP: The former second-round draft pick whose numbers never quite lived up to his stuff may have finally figured some things out in the bullpen at the tail end of the 2018 season. In his final 18 innings with Chattanooga, he allowed only five runs on 16 hits and just one walk, while striking out 20. He didn’t miss a beat after his promotion to Rochester, as he posted a 0.59 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, and five-to-one K/BB ratio in 15 1/3 innings to finish his season. Eades strikes me as the type of guy who may benefit the most from the developmental teachings of new Twins pitching coach Wes Johnson. He pitched well with the big-league squad this spring, striking out nine, walking none, and allowing only one run in seven innings pitched. Jake Reed (26) – RHP: If there is anyone on this list who probably should have made his MLB debut already, Reed is that guy. He’s spent a few weeks with the MLB team during spring training the past four seasons now, and his ERA with the Rochester Red Wings in that time is a sterling 1.92 in 89 total innings. While he hasn’t racked up K’s at a necessarily elite level in Triple A (8.4/9IP), the movement on his sinker and slider combo tends to limit damage against him (only two home runs allowed) while also sometimes wreaking havoc with his command. That last note, along with some missed time due to injury the last two seasons, has probably combined to keep him out of the majors. Hopefully that changes in 2019. Luke Raley (24) – OF/1B: Raley was the prospect portion of the package the Twins received in sending Brian Dozier to the Los Angeles Dodgers last summer. He spent all the 2018 season in Double A, hitting .275/.350/.471 with 20 home runs for a bit of a breakout season much like Jake Cave of the previous year. With the Twins this spring, he clubbed two doubles, a triple, and a homer in 26 plate appearances. He’s a bit of a way down a depth chart full of options in the outfield for the Twins, but as a hitter ticketed for Triple A in 2019, he’s also a name that’s just a phone call away if he’s performing. Zander Wiel (26) – 1B/OF: Wiel has been an interesting guy to follow for me since being drafted out of Vanderbilt in the 12th round in 2015. He was arguably the top hitter on a Vandy team that won the 2014 College World Series and flies a little under the radar. While he’s filled up a stat sheet in aggregate every year in the minors, the numbers point more to consistency than a standout. In Double A in 2018, he broke out some by hitting .311/.382/.446. Those numbers were good for second in the Southern League in avg., and fourth in OPS. He’s a hitter who will sneak up on you with his athleticism if you don’t pay attention and should be ticketed for Rochester’s lineup to start the 2019 season, either at 1B or in a corner outfield position. DARK HORSES: Tyler Jay (24) – LHP: (Update: after middling results through early June, Jay was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for cash considerations) After investing the sixth overall pick on Jay in the 2015 draft, he has dealt with injuries and ineffectiveness that have stunted his once lofty profile. The hope here is the new pitching development staff can get him back on track and keep him healthy. As we’ve seen with Kohl Stewart last year, if at some point during the year the scouting reports come back better than expected, Derek Falvey and Thad Levine have let bygones be bygones. Jovani Moran (21) – LHP: All you need to know about Moran is this number: 12.7. That’s how many hitters per 9 IP Moran set down at Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers last season. Equally impressive is that was tied to a solid 1.05 WHIP. He was effectively wild in his time with the Kernels but reined that in upon his promotion to Fort Myers. He was the runner up to Andrew Vasquez for Twins Daily’s 2018 Relief Pitcher of the Year award and if you’re looking for 2019’s version of Vasquez, you need only look in Moran’s direction. Cody Stashak (24) – RHP: Minnesota transitioned Stashak to the bullpen for the 2018 season, and the positive returns were immediate. With the Lookouts, his 2.57 FIP was good for fourth in the Southern League among pitchers who threw at least 50 innings. His 11.2 K/9IP and 5.31 to 1 K/BB ratio were also the best of his career, which was another arrow in the positive direction for a pitcher who has always had good control (2.2 BB/9IP for his career). Tyler Wells (24) – RHP: (Update: Wells underwent Tommy John surgery in May and will not pitch in 2019) Wells is your reigning Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year, and that’s because he combined to go 10-6 with a 2.49 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, and struck out 121 in 119 1/3 innings between Fort Myers and Chattanooga. His improvement as a prospect has had a direct correlation with Wells dedicating himself to fitness and his diet as a pro, as he’s dropped nearly 60 lbs. from his big 6-foot 8-inch body in the process. Opposing hitters managed just a .544 OPS against him in 2018, and when you read about his story it reminds me of a lot of guys who came out of nowhere to have solid MLB careers. He’ll start the year back in Double A, but if he continues to show improvement, he has a great chance to vault up the depth chart as the season wears on. Jorge Alcala (23) – RHP (TD’s #19 Prospect): Alcala was one of the pieces to come to the Twins organization in the deal of Ryan Pressly to the Astros last summer. It’s likely his arm that got Minnesota interested as he’ll sit mid-90’s with his fastball and, when he wants, can reach back for 100+ mph velocity. He’s worked as a starter for most of his MiLB career thus far, but with his arm and lack of plus secondary offerings he could be a good target to transition to a power reliever. So, there you have it—my picks for the potential players to make their MLB debut with the Minnesota Twins during the 2019 season. When do you think any of these guys will show up at Target Field? Who will be the rookie to make the biggest impact this year? It’s also likely I’ve missed a few names, so who would be your own additions? Click here to view the article

Kepler may tell you first base is his "natural position" if you asked him. He actually never played the outfield until the Twins signed him to be a pro, was always a first baseman. Yes, he's a great outfielder and certainly more valuable there, but there also is literally zero downside to having him as an option at 1B. I'd personally love to see him fill in there about 20 times a season when a tough righty is on the mound and they have Cave they can put in the OF.

I think this jeopardizes Jake Cave on the 25-man more than it does Astudillo, and I also think that's the right call. Have to think it's Adrianza who ends up out.

I see an opener being used, but four out of six games in a week? I doubt that. That's twice as much as anybody else has used one to this point. The Rays did it in about 50 games last year, but that's a projection for over 100 games with an opener. The only starters I see this being used with are Mejia, Perez, and possibly Odorizzi. In other words, the back of the rotation. I don't see that happening with Berrios, Gibson, or Pineda.

Be careful with your final comparison, because it's not true. Quicker? Yes. Better? No. MiLB ERA: Berrios - 2.77 Gonsalves - 2.46 Romero - 3.02 MiLB K/9IP: Berrios - 9.6 Gonsalves - 9.5 Romero - 8.3 MiLB WHIP: Berrios - 1.08 Gonsalves - 1.10 Romero - 1.19 And it doesn't get better if you compare only AAA numbers or AAA and AA. The gap widens more if only looking there. He's still got work to do and I like the idea of him doing so out of the bullpen. Before last season I was on record here saying I didn't think he'd start a game for the Twins because of those few innings he had. Thought he was a great candidate to come up out of the bullpen when he approached any innings limit. I was happily wrong on that, but I still like this path for him in 2019 if he doesn't earn the starting gig. He is one of their best arms for sure. Definitely will be interesting to follow during spring training.

The only scenario he doesn't use an option is if he's on the opening day roster and they never send him down. Anyone on the 40-man who isn't part of the opening day 25-man active roster is using an option year. Does that change anything for you? Personally, I want him on the opening day roster. Hopefully that means he earned a starter spot, but I won't be disappointed if he's in the bullpen. He's not out of chances to be a starter, so I don't fret about that, even if I think he ends up in the bullpen for good eventually.

He can touch the mid-90's, but will sit in the low-90's range. From a scouting scale standpoint that would be above-average to plus (55-60) for a lefty. This was his self-scouting report from back when I interviewed him in Cedar Rapids before he missed so much time: "My go to pitch is mostly my fastball and changeup. And now, the curveball and slider have picked up astonishingly. I can throw those pitches now where I want them, they’re nice and hard, and good sharp break." http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/color-me-and-joe-mauer-impressed-r2962 He was great in that start back then and it's my opinion he's been underrated, in part because he missed that time, since. Can't wait for him to reach the bigs, and I'll be at Target Field when he gets there!

Offer him a high dollar, short-term deal. Solves all the "can't sign their players" problems in the future He wouldn't do it (probably?), but I would be happy they attempted something. And, like his agent is saying, I don't think any of these reports are accurate. Owners are just asking for a strike if they are.

Definitely magnified because of all the walk-off losses last year, but "blown saves" don't just happen in the ninth inning. Ryan Pressly, Addison Reed, Zack Duke, Alan Busenitz, Matt Magill, and Gabriel Moya went a combined 0-for-16 in "Save Opportunities" that contribute to that stat as an example (they weren't closing games). Rodney and Hildenberger went a combined 32-for-42, Rogers was 2-for-4, and May was 3-for-3.

To me it's always been you push off the "3rd time through the order" curse to worse hitters in the lineup, not the three or four best. You still want them to face the same "amount" of batters (in an innings pitched sense, not actual batters). It doesn't by concept want them to go "longer". It could be a byproduct, but is not the intent (to me).

"The Venezuelan Winter League MVP candidate homered to give his team a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the eighth." Interestingly enough (or surprising?!), one of his main competitors for this award, is... Delmon Young. (He has 19 HR's to lead the circuit, Astudillo is 2nd with 10)

Agree wit High heat a bit. Lots of development time left and I know he's made big strides already so this is not a big deal yet. Definitely looks like he has the tools. Shows range. Arm looks strong, but there's definitely a lot of effort in his motion to show it off. Seems to me like he's throwing absolutely as hard as he can, and to borrow Heat's term, he's 'long' for it.