Steve Lein

The guy I'd prefer to any of these didnt even make your list. Give me Marwin Gonzalez.

The Salt River Rafters offense exploded in week four of the Arizona Fall League season as they took a commanding lead in the East division standings with two weeks left to play. They went 4-1 in their five games, scoring 12 or more runs three times and combining to outscore their opponents 54-25. Both Twins hitters still playing had a solid week and will look to continue trending upward as the season comes to a close, a starting pitcher picked up his first win, and a reliever made an appearance in the Fall Stars Game on Saturday.(This report includes the games played through 11/4) The Minnesota Twins group of pitching prospects combined to pitch eight innings on the week and allowed four earned on seven hits and seven walks, good for a 4.50 ERA and 1.75 WHIP. The hitters combined to go 9-for-22 with six runs scored and six RBIs, slashing .409/.458/.409 overall. To find out how all the prospects fared in week 4 of the AFL season, keep reading! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Griffin Jax: 1 start, W, 4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 BB, 3 ER, 3 K; 4.50 ERA, 1.58 WHIP (overall). Jax again made one start on the week, with his turn coming in Thursday’s 14-3 win over Glendale on the road. He finished four innings and was credited with his first AFL win, but it wasn’t a dominant effort by any means as he struggled a little with his command. He walked the first hitter of the game for the Desert Dogs, and that runner and another would come around to score in the first inning. He picked up a K to end any further threat. In the second frame he got another K for the first out, then walked another batter before getting the next two. In the third he allowed another run after the leadoff man singled, stole second base, then came around on another single. Jax finished his day by allowing a walk in the fourth, but no other runner reached base. In total he allowed the three earned runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three. Of his 76 pitches in the outing, 45 went for strikes including six swinging. Travis Blankenhorn: 2 games, 4-for-8, 3 R, 4 RBI, BB, 2 K; .250/.361/.300 (overall). Playing second base in two games on the week, Blankenhorn made an impact in both contests as his team won those games by a combined score of 22-7. In Tuesday’s 14-4 throttling of the Mesa Solar Sox, Blankenhorn batted sixth and made the most of his opportunities to drive runners in. In the second inning he got his team on the board with an RBI single and would score later as the Rafters jumped out to a 3-0 lead. In the third his sacrifice fly made it 4-3 and he added an RBI single in the fifth as Salt River started to pour it on. In addition to starting the Rafter’s scoring on the day, he also ended it with an RBI single in the eighth for the final tally of 14 runs on the game. In total he finished this one 3-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs. Back in action on Friday for their 8-3 win over the Surprise Saguaros, Blankenhorn batted leadoff and made the most of his opportunities to score runs. He drew a walk to lead off the top of the third inning and would score a few batters later on a home run as Salt River took the early 2-0 lead. He singled in the top of the sixth and would trot home on a sacrifice fly for their eighth and final run of that game. He went 1-for-4 with a walk, two runs scored, and two K’s to finish off his week. Hector Lujan: 1 appearance, 1.0 IP, BB, K; 7.94 ERA, 1.94 WHIP (overall). With the week shortened by one game due to the Fall Stars game on Saturday, Lujan and the rest of the pitching staff only appeared in one league game each on the week. His opportunity came after Jax’s start and another Twins reliever’s appearance in Thursday’s win over Glendale. Out for the seventh inning with a 12-3 lead, Lujan got a couple of fly outs around a walk, then ended his inning with a swinging strikeout for a scoreless inning of work. He threw 19 pitches, with 12 going for strikes (two swinging). Jaylin Davis: 3 games, 5-for-14, 3 R, RBI, 4 K; .261/.292/.261 (overall). Among Twins prospects in week four, Davis saw the most action as he played in three games including right field twice and left field once. In Monday’s 12-3 blowout of the Mesa Solar Sox Davis had his best game of the AFL season, finishing 4-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI. In the bottom of the first his two-out single scored the second run of the game for the Rafters, before the next batter made it 5-0 with a home run. In the third inning Davis beat out an infield single and then stole second base before scoring on a single that made it a 7-0 lead. He was left stranded after a single in the fifth but would score his third run of the game in the seventh inning after yet another single. On defense in the sixth, Davis ran down a ground ball single in right field and threw a strike back into second base to cut down the runner trying to stretch it into a double for another outfield assist. After a day off on Tuesday, Davis was in left field for the Rafters 12-6 loss on Wednesday to Glendale in extra innings. He was 1-for-4 with a strikeout, and his hit came in the bottom of the 10th inning after the Desert Dogs had scored six in the top half. He was also hit by a pitch in the game, so he reached base multiple times. Davis played in back-to-back games to end his week, going 0-for-5 in Salt River’s win over Glendale on Thursday. He struck out twice but also hit a couple of hard balls that turned into outs. Devin Smeltzer: 1 appearance, 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R (1 earned) 0 BB, K; 2.57 ERA, 1.43 WHIP (overall). Smeltzer’s lone appearance with the Rafters came on Wednesday, and he was charged with a blown save before his team ended up losing in extra innings. He came on for the top of the eighth, with the Rafters up 5-4 at the time. He got the first man on a strikeout and a fly out for two quick outs, but consecutive doubles and an error on his defense led to a 6-5 lead for the Desert Dogs. He got a groundball to keep his team within one, and they would tie it in the bottom of the ninth, but extra innings didn’t go so well for his team. Of his 21 pitches, 16 went for strikes in the outing, including two swinging. He did make one other appearance on the week however, as he was the Twins lone representative in the Fall Stars Game on Saturday. He pitched 2/3 of an inning in the East squads 7-6 loss to the West. He came on to start the sixth inning and struck out the first two hitters he faced before issuing a walk and being removed from the game. The pitcher who followed proceeded to give up a single and a triple so Smeltzer ended up being charged with a run. Of his 16 pitches, eight went for strikes including four swinging. If not for the walk, it was a solid showing in the game for him with a lot of eyes watching. Adam Bray: 1 appearance, 2.0 IP, H, 2 BB, K; 1.00 ERA, 1.11 WHIP (overall). After Jax went four innings in Wednesday’s win against the Desert Dogs, Bray came on for the fifth and pitched the next two frames. He allowed a single in the fifth, and two walks in the sixth, but was able to work around them, including ending his game with a strikeout to keep his team ahead 7-3. He threw 38 pitches total with 24 going for strikes (1 swinging). Also, this is pretty cool and shows that it’s not just all baseball for the prospects out in Arizona (or during the season, either): Other AFL and Minor League Links: - With the Fall Stars game likely be the biggest attraction of the AFL season, MLB.com went through their list of best tools appearing in the game. The Twins Devin Smeltzer got an honorable mention in the Best Control category. - Also in reference to that game, were MLB.com’s guide to all the player’s appearing from each team (Smeltzer’s AFL season so far briefly recapped) and their gamer on how it was won in walk-off fashion. There were multiple prospects to hit 100 MPH on pitches (including one at 104 from Nate Pearson of the Blue Jays), and Vlad Jr. also hits the ball really hard (if you didn’t know that, already). Oh, here’s the Mets’ Peter Alonso taking a Pearson 100+MPH fastball deep, as well: Please feel free to ask questions about the AFL and the players who are there! Click here to view the article

You guys gave me some good laughs seeing this stuff this morning!!

No.

No, no, you miss the difference between the two that I could have clarified. 1. I'd venture the most common double is one that gets past a LF or RF into the gap, thus balls hit 'toward' that vicinity are more likely to be doubles than any other balls in play. 2. Then to attack the idea of the a LF or RF cutting a ball off hit 'toward' the gap, that throw is shorter. And I wouldn't lose sleep either, but I would have this preference. I've always thought Rosie and Max should be swapped too, like others have said here.

Actually, no...And the reason is because balls in the gap are more likely to be doubles anyway, and/or fielded by the center fielder. I won't get into it, but there's statistical probability stuff on this out there if you look for it. Edit: And I could actually put it this way too -> A ball hit 'toward' the gap that the RF or LF cuts off, is a much shorter throw into 2B to prevent a double.

As a righty-thrower playing left field is also how I tore my ACL, because I made a backhand catch and didn't allow my momentum to slow down enough before trying to pivot around as Thrylos mentions here to make the throw toward home. My knee crackled, leg bowed, and I ended up flinging the ball as best as I could toward our shortstop as I crumpled to the ground in the fetal position.

I think it can matter for sure. I would prefer a righty-throwing outfielder in RF, and lefty-throwing one in LF, for instance. To add onto Thrylos description, it's also in the physics of making the throw back into the infield. As a right-fielder, if I throw right handed that means I can cut a ball off toward the line, plant a foot to spin and uncork a throw into second base using that motions momentum to put something behind it. Same idea as a lefty in left field. The other hand can't do that action. They have to backhand the ball, stop their momentum, and then step into the throw back toward the infield. I can't remember the link, but I've seen a sports science like thing on this. The release time difference was significant, and that can play as big of a part as throwing velocity in the timing making throws. That's the whole reason the "crow hop" throw isn't actually sound throwing mechanics.

Man, what got into this guy in the past year? Always a decent OBP guy, but avg. jump really spiked everything in 2018. That's a Kirilloff level OPS at AA/AAA (much higher IsoD than Alex). Hoping for lightning in a bottle?

The money quote (referring to rebuilding): "I’m more curious if it ever truly started in the first place." In my opinion, it never truly did. Always doing things down the middle hoping things all broke right at the same time to be a contender.

Thank you, it's still fun to pay attention to and write about! I've done stuff like this about the AFL since before Twins Daily was around. I love to follow it during this time of year. In relation to your "bust" statement, a criticism I would have of the new Front Office is how they've used the AFL the past two years. Granted, it's really tough when two of your players, including the top prospect you were trying to send, are unable to play; but the talent level they have sent has been considerably less than in the past, in my opinion. Plenty of reasons this could be, but the first year I maybe thought was a chance anomaly, this second year is a coincidence, and a third year like this would be a pattern. Could be they just don't see as much value in the league as others do or the Twins have in the past.

Week 3 of the Arizona Fall League season saw the Salt River Rafters climb into first place in the East Division as they went 4-2 in their six games. Travis Blankenhorn filled the runs scored category on the stat sheet in four games, including a game in which he crossed home plate for over half his teams total on the scoreboard. Griffin Jax put in a fine starting effort in another game his team ended up losing, and a reliever picked up his first save in the AFL.(This report includes the games played through 10/28) The Minnesota Twins’ group pitching prospects put up a combined 3.60 ERA and 1.20 WHIP on the week in 10 innings pitched, while the two remaining hitting prospects combined to go just 5-for-24 with 10 strikeouts, but all the players had their moments on the week. Keep reading to find out just how much Blankenhorn had to run, and how all the other Twins prospects fared in Week 3 of the AFL season! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Brent Rooker: Will not play in AFL (ankle injury). As updated in last week’s AFL report, Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com had an update on Rooker’s status as part of an interview with Travis Blankenhorn and updates on all the Twins prospects participating in the AFL. They’ve decided to shut him down due to his ankle injury rather send him out to Arizona for an abbreviated stay. Guess that means we will just have to wait until Spring Training to see him back in action! Griffin Jax: 1 start, 4.0 IP, 3 H, BB, 1 ER, 3 K; 3.38 ERA, 1.38 WHIP (overall). In their 6-5 loss to the Scottsdale on Thursday, Jax got the starting nod and did his part with four strong innings. He allowed one earned run on three hits and a walk while striking out three in the outing. He sent the Scorpions down in order in the third and his run allowed came with two outs in the second inning after his only walk was followed by a triple. The leadoff man for Scottsdale also started the game with a single, but Jax picked him off at first base later in the frame. He threw 53 pitches (31 for strikes), including six swinging strikes and recorded four groundouts compared to two flyouts on the game. When he was done the Rafters held a 4-1 lead, but their bullpen would implode in the seventh inning, allowing the Scorpions to score five runs and take the lead for good. Luke Raley: Did not play, removed from roster; .214/.333/.357 (overall). In the same article from Jonathan Mayo above, news first came out that Luke Raley had been removed from the Rafters roster. He was removed to start the bottom of the sixth inning in Salt River’s 13-4 loss against Peoria on 10/15, and that appears it will be it for the outfielder in the AFL. If I’m able to find any updates on the reason why he was removed (I’d assume an injury of some sort at this point), I’ll be sure to update you all! Hector Lujan: 2 appearances, 1 Hold, 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 ER, 2 K; 9.64 ERA, 2.14 WHIP (overall). Lujan and the rest of the Minnesota Twins reliever prospects made their first appearances of the week in Tuesday’s 7-5 win at home against the Surprise Saguaros. Lujan would come on for the eighth inning with the score 7-3 in favor of Salt River, but a single, ground-rule double, and an RBI groundout put closed that gap to three before he escaped further damage. Of his just 10 pitches in the inning, eight went for strikes as Saguaros hitters were aggressive, including top prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. who swung at the first pitch he saw and flew out to center field. Lujan topped out at 95.8 MPH on the Surprise gun in this one (it seems to be random which game of the day will log pitch speeds in the Gameday logs). His second appearance of the week came in Friday’s 9-2 win over Peoria and he was the first reliever summoned in this one with Salt River out front 3-1 through five innings. He was credited with a hold as he kept his team in front but did allow the second of the Javelina’s runs on the day. It came courtesy of a solo home run on his first pitch of the inning, but he responded well by retiring the next three hitters, including two strikeouts. Of his twelve pitches in this one, eight went for strikes including four swinging. Travis Blankenhorn: 4 games, 3-for-12, 6 R, 2B, RBI, 3 BB, 3 K, SB; .188/.316/.250 (overall). The infielder was very active again this week, as he appeared in four of his teams six games, starting it off with a bang on Tuesday against Surprise. Blankenhorn scored four of his team’s seven runs in the victory batting second in the lineup and playing second base. He had two hits in three at-bats along with drawing two walks that led to all that running. He scored all the way from first base on triples from Rockies prospect Tyler Nevin in both the first and fourth innings. In between he led off the third with a walk, stole second base, and then scored on a single. In the sixth he led off the inning with a single and would score two batters later. His two hits on the day also gave him a four-game hitting streak. His second game of the week was notable for other reasons than his hitting line, as he would finish 0-for-4 with two strikeouts in the Rafters loss to Scottsdale on Thursday. It was noteworthy because he played the entire game in left field. This outfield exposure in the AFL comes after he logged 36 innings there for Fort Myers this past season. It will be interesting to see if his movement outside the infield diamond continues this fall and into next season. In Friday’s 9-2 win over Peoria Blankenhorn would again cross home plate multiple times despite a 0-for-3 game at the plate. Batting eight and back to playing second base, he led off the seventh by drawing a walk and would later score on a single. Then in the eighth he hit a grounder that was turned into a force out at second before a single brought him and another runner in for the Rafter’s final tally of nine runs. He would end his week by entering Saturday’s 11-5 loss to Peoria as a defensive replacement in the middle of the sixth inning. He would get a couple of at-bats in and made the most of his first one by delivering an RBI double into left field that gave Salt River the last of their five runs on the day. He reached first on another fielder’s choice in the eighth to finish 1-for-2. Devin Smeltzer: 2 appearances, 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K; 1.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP (overall). Smeltzer was the first of the Twins three relievers to appear in Tuesday win over the Saguaros, coming in for the seventh inning with the score 7-2 in favor of the Rafters. He struck out the first hitter he faced and got a ground ball for the first two outs, but consecutive doubles would score a run before his catcher caught the runner attempting to steal third for the final out. In his inning of work, he threw 18 total pitches with 12 going for strikes. He worked around 90 MPH with his fastball in this one. In Friday’s win against the Javelina’s, Smeltzer was the next man up after Lujan and pitched the seventh inning with the game now well in hand 7-2. He again struck out the first batter of the inning before allowing a single to the next batter. But he quickly erased the possibility of further threat by inducing a double-play ball to end the inning and his appearance after just 11 pitches (8 for strikes, 1 swinging). Jaylin Davis: 3 games, 2-for-12, R, BB, 7 K; .219/.242/.219 (overall). Davis had another quiet week, picking up two singles and a walk in his three games, but those also came with seven strikeouts including a golden sombrero effort in one of them. He was the only Twins prospect to appear in Monday’s 8-5 win versus the Saguaros, playing left field and batting eighth in the lineup. He would lead off the eighth inning with a single to finish 1-for-4 on the day, before being erased on a double-play to the next hitter. In the first inning of this one, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a ball to Davis in left, and regretted trying to stretch it into a double on him: Playing right field and batting sixth in Wednesday’s 10-9 win over the Scorpions, Davis finished 1-for-3 and scored a run in the sixth inning after drawing a walk that made it 7-5 Rafters. He struck out twice in this one. Friday’s effort as the DH batting fifth in the lineup is one he’d like to put behind him as quickly as possible even though his team was victorious in blowout fashion. In five trips to the plate he went down on strikes four times, including three swinging. Over the past two weeks Davis has struck out in 12 of his 23 at-bats so I’m sure he’ll be trying to cut those down and close out his AFL season on a positive note. Adam Bray: 2 appearances, 1 Save, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 earned), 2 K; 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIP (overall). Bray was the final of the three Twins relievers to appear in Tuesday’s win over the Saguaros and tasked with closing out a three-run lead in the ninth inning. The leadoff man singled to start a rally, but a pop-out and a K got him one out away from picking up his first save in the AFL. Before he was able to coax a groundout to finish that off, a throwing error on a steal attempt and wild pitch resulted in an unearned run, but it was a Save all the same. Of his 14 pitches in this one, 10 went for strikes (2 swinging) and he sat around 90 MPH with his fastball on the day with his strikeout coming on a curveball toward the dirt. In Friday’s drumming of the Javelinas, Smeltzer again was summoned to finish the game, but no save would be in line as his team led by seven runs. He struck out the first hitter of the inning before giving up a single, but that would be it for his opponent as he quickly retired the next two hitters. Other AFL and Minor League Links: - The AFL’s Fall Stars Game rosters were announced on Monday, and the Twins Devin Smeltzer will be their lone representative on the East squad. It’s not really an “all-star” game in the sense of the league’s performers, but it’s always fun to see the level of prospect talent represented. Top hitting prospect Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and top pitching prospect Forrest Whitley highlight each roster and the game on Saturday in Surprise will include 13 of MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects. - MiLB.com’s fun “MiLBY Awards” are being handed out this week, and the Twins own Alex Kirilloff took home the honor as the staff pick for 2018’s Breakout Prospect. There’s a lot of good information in that link so definitely take a look, but the spray chart that reminds me of a Rorschach inkblot test is the best part in my opinion (behold the symmetry!). Please feel free to ask questions about the AFL and the players who are there! Click here to view the article

Yeah but Matt Belisle and Joe Mauer shouldn't be on it... Use the official MLB site(s) for roster stuff...

In my "offseason blueprint" I've been casually working on, I'm currently clearing 11 spots on the 40-man, filling 4 or 5 of them with FA big league signings, then filling the rest with Gordon, Wade, and Triple-A/Double-A pitchers. 11 seems like a lot of spots but I'm not concerned about any of the names I included. Yeah, literally no one of consequence has been selected in the minor league phase of the rule 5 drafts history. Baseball America answered a question I submitted about this a few years ago referring to Max Kepler. The baseball america link doesn't appear to work anymore, but there is this thread: http://twinsdaily.com/topic/8429-ask-baseball-america-the-rule-5-draft-and-max-kepler/ But in that article they talked about protection of players in the minors. There's "reserve" rosters (which aren't published to the masses) at Triple-A and Double-A. Literally all of a team's top prospects will be on the Triple-A version of this roster, even if they're at Low-A while eligible. That means they could only be selected in the MLB phase. Same thing for the double-A version of the roster, players on it can only be selected in the MLB or Triple-A phase. These total rosters amount to around 115 players, so you're buying from the bottom of a system's barrel in the minor league phase.

Yeah, he didn't say anything about how they performed, it was about the talent level they went into the year with. All your stats are doing here is proving his point.

I added the link above as well, but Jonathan Mayo has a nice article on Travis Blankenhorn's goals and experiences in the AFL so far that came out today: https://www.mlb.com/news/travis-blankenhorn-seeks-consistency-in-afl/c-299542504?tid=153494546 The unfortunate notes at the end are Luke Raley and Brent Rooker have been shut down. No updates on if the Twins will replace them on the Rafter's roster.

Grew up in Iowa, always has been a Twins fan. Good interview with him from Ben Chase @ Puckett's Pond: https://puckettspond.com/2017/07/13/interview-prospect-writer-minnesota-twins-fan-john-sickels/

*preceded, haha. But yes, thanks for pointing that out. You beat me to my morning edit run-through! (I probably wouldn't have caught it anyway)

They had depth like this on his list last year as well if I remember correctly, but what was missing was the A/B+ guys. So Looking even better right now. Arraez is very interesting, but basically all hit tool. Short and stocky. Not quite like Willians Astudillo, but is not a bad comp if you think of Arraez as the infield utility version. Not much power. The hit tool can carry anybody, though, and he's definitely got that. I'm guessing he's back in double-A to start next year but is one of the candidates to be placed on 40-man this offseason as he'll be Rule 5 eligible.

The Salt Rivers Rafters finished week two of the Arizona Fall League season with a 3-3 record, including going 2-1 in games decided by just one run. Their lone starting pitching representative made his first start of the AFL season, each reliever saw action in two games, and an infielder got his bat going. But along with Brent Rooker, another outfielder has ended up missing in action.As a staff the Twins pitchers combined for a 1.80 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 10 total innings pitched, while the hitters managed only a .153/.214/.192 slash line with three RBI, two walks, and eight K’s on the week. To find out everything that happened in week two of the AFL season for the Twins prospects, keep reading! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Brent Rooker: Did not play (ankle injury). I haven’t heard any updates on Rooker’s status since the injury news broke before opening day last week, so we’ll still have to wait and see if he gets healthy enough to play some games in Arizona. Griffin Jax: 1 start, Loss, 3.0 IP, 3 H, BB, 1 ER, K; 4.50 ERA, 1.75 WHIP (overall). After making a single relief appearance in week one, Jax got a starting opportunity on Friday of week two. He did well as far as the box score goes, but nonetheless was charged with the loss as he allowed the only run of the game in Salt River’s 1-0 loss to Glendale. He went one-two-three in the first inning, but the Desert Dogs got a two-out double to score a runner from first for the 1-0 lead in the second, and that would be enough as the Rafters were only able to muster five singles as a team. Back out for the third inning Jax allowed a single, but then finished his day with a double play ball. In the outing 26 of his 44 pitches went for strikes including three swinging, and he walked one and struck out one. Luke Raley: 1 game, 0-for-2, R, BB, K; .214/.333/.357 (overall). Raley began the week for Salt River on the right foot by leading off their game on Monday with a walk and scoring the game’s first run, but from there it went sideways for him and his team in a 13-4 loss to Peoria. After reaching first base, two wild pitches put him on third and a sacrifice fly brought him in for a 1-0 lead. The Rafters would stretch that to 4-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, but it was all Javelina’s from there. Raley got two more at-bats including a strikeout and a ground out before he would be removed the game heading into the bottom of the sixth inning. There has been no status update I’ve been able to find, but since then Raley has not appeared in any more games. Whatever ails him, hopefully he is back in the Rafter’s lineup soon! Hector Lujan: 2 appearances, 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, K; 10.13 ERA, 2.63 WHIP (overall). Lujan bounced back well from his first appearance in the AFL last week, delivering scoreless outings in both of his appearances during week two. The first of those came in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over the Mesa Solar Sox. He pitched the bottom of the seventh inning with the game tied at one, setting down the opposition in order. Of his 12 pitches, nine went for strikes and he struck out the final batter he faced. His second outing of the week came on Friday against Glendale, and he pitched a scoreless sixth inning to keep his team within one run. He did allow singles to the first two hitters he faced but got a lineout and a double-play ball to erase the threat. He also threw just eight pitches to the four batters he faced, with seven of them going for strikes. Of interesting note for me, is the Twins relief pitchers each appeared in the same games on the week with Adam Bray going before Lujan, and Devin Smeltzer after, each time. Travis Blankenhorn: 4 games, 3-for-13, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, 2 K; .150/.261/.200 (overall). The infielder was a busy man in week two as he appeared in four of Salt River’s six games on the week, including three in a row from Thursday through Saturday. In Tuesday’s game against Mesa, Blankenhorn played second base and hit in the seventh spot in the order. He finished 0-for-3 with a walk and stole a base, but was still looking for his first hit of the fall after their win. He did get close, as his final at-bat of the day was a deep fly ball to center field that got run down, but also advanced runners to second and third. He would finally get that hit on Thursday in his first at-bat against Glendale in their 2-1 extra-inning win, a single up the middle with one out in the third inning. He’d go 0-for-2 including a strikeout in his other at-bats, but he got things moving in the right direction on this day. He was also the man in the batters box when the Desert Dogs pitcher balked in the winning run. The entire Rafter lineup was pitiful on Friday, but Blankenhorn did collect one of their five singles on the day in the 1-0 loss. He also stole his second base of the AFL season to put himself as one of the only runners to get in to scoring position on the game. Blankenhorn would make it a hitting streak on Saturday batting out of the leadoff spot, and nearly was able to tie the game for his team in the bottom of the ninth. With the score 6-3 in Peoria’s favor and a couple ducks on the pond with nobody out, he lined a double into left field to score them both and make it 6-5. In scoring position representing the tying run, he unfortunately was left stranded as the next three hitters went strikeout, fly out, fly out to end the game. I’m watching to see if he can continue the momentum he built in week 3. Devin Smeltzer: 2 appearances, 2.0 IP, H, BB, 2 K; 0.00 ERA, 1.25 WHIP (overall). As mentioned above, Smeltzer followed Lujan out of the bullpen in the Rafter’s games on Tuesday and Friday. In the win on Tuesday against Mesa, that meant he came on for the eighth inning with the game still tied at one. After two quick outs it got a little interesting as he gave up a single and a walk, but got the next batter to fly out to right field to give his offense the chance they needed in the ninth. Smeltzer threw 15 pitches in his inning of work, with nine going for strikes. He also picked up the win thanks to his offense in the top of the ninth. Following Lujan in Friday’s pitcher’s duel in Glendale, Smeltzer delivered a dominant one-two-three seventh inning. He needed just 10 pitches (seven for strikes) and struck out the first two batters he faced swinging before getting an infield popup on his first pitch to his final batter. Jaylin Davis: 3 games, 1-for-11, R, RBI, 5 K; .250/.250/.250 (overall). Week 2 didn’t go nearly as well for Davis as week 1, but he still made a big impact in one his games. On Monday Davis got the start as the designated hitter batting seventh in the lineup. He ended up 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, but there wasn’t much to talk about all around in the 13-4 blowout loss to Peoria where Salt River collected just three hits as a team and struck out 13 times. It was better for Davis and the Rafter’s on Thursday, as he singled in the eighth inning before being stranded on second with the score knotted at zero, before getting another opportunity in the tenth. With the bases loaded, one out, and his team now down 1-0, Davis managed to tie the game at one with an RBI grounder to short. It was of the RBI variety because he beat the double-play turn to first that would have ended the game. The balk with Blankenhorn at the plate to win it for Salt River came next. Friday’s 1-0 loss against Glendale was again a tough one for all the Rafter’s lineup, with Davis contributing an 0-for-3 effort along with two more strikeouts. Davis will look to get back to his early hitting ways in week three. Adam Bray: 2 appearances, 3.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 K; 1.80 ERA, 1.00 WHIP (overall). Bray’s first appearance on the week preceded Lujan and Smeltzer in Wednesday’s 2-1 win against the Solar Sox. He was the first reliever summoned with a 1-0 Salt River lead after their starter went five innings. He ended up charged with a blown save as a one-out triple was followed by a single to tie the game before he got the next two hitters. Of his 11 pitches, eight went for strikes and he also threw a wild pitch. It was nearly an all-Twins-pitchers game on Friday with Jax making the start and the relievers following him, and they were all very good, but the Glendale staff was just a little better in the 1-0 loss. Bray came on in relief of Jax for the fourth inning and went the next two frames. He allowed just one hit and struck out two. He retired the side in order in the fourth and faced only seven hitters total in his two innings. 20 of his 28 pitches went for strikes, including five swinging. Other AFL and Minor League Links: - The highly regarded John Sickels of MinorLeagueBall.com, has started his offseason top 20 prospects lists like he always does, by leading off with his look at the Minnesota Twins. Royce Lewis and Alex Kirilloff get A grades. Also higher on 2018 first round pick Trevor Larnach than I’ve seen elsewhere and mentions that the system is loaded. - Travis Blankenhorn talks about working on his consistency in the AFL with MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo. Also some unfortunate updates on a couple of players included in that link: Luke Raley has been removed from the Rafters roster but the reason is not specified (I would assume an injury). The Twins have also decided to shut down Brent Rooker, so he will not participate as hoped. Please feel free to ask questions about the AFL and the players who are there! Click here to view the article

I don't think he has above average base stealing type of speed, but he's racked up enough triples to suggest he moves pretty good when under way and the amount of runs he scores suggests an excellent baserunner. I see him as a potential leadoff type for that reason and because of the above average on-base percentage.

The AFL season’s first week was a little lacking on opportunities for Twins pitchers and the well-known name among their position players is currently missing in action (for good reason), but a couple of outfielders had big games to stand out amongst their organizational peers. The hometown prospect also notched one of the Salt River Rafter’s two victories on the week in extra innings.So how did each of the Twins prospects fare in the first week of the AFL season? Keep reading to find out! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Brent Rooker: Did not play (ankle injury). Unfortunately Twins fans are going to have to wait a little while for Rooker to appear in the AFL, as news broke before opening day that he was dealing with an injury: Hopefully he is able to play some games soon! Griffin Jax: 1 appearance, 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 Earned), 0 BB, 0 K; 9.00 ERA (overall). In their 6-2 loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions on Friday, Jax was the first man summoned from the bullpen to start the bottom of the third inning. He was greeted by a triple from the first batter he faced and found himself in trouble immediately. That runner scored on a groundout to the next batter and he’d get another ground ball for the second out before more trouble came. A single, wild pitch to move the runner into scoring position, and another single to score him soured his line before he got a fly out to end the inning. Of his 30 pitches, just 18 went for strikes and those included one swinging strike and nine foul balls. If he’s not starting I’d expect Jax to be tabbed for more than one inning, but 30 pitches early in the AFL season is on the high end for anybody. I will be curious to see if he starts any games moving forward. Luke Raley: 3 games, 3-for-12, 2 R, 3B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, SB; .250/.357/.417 (overall). Raley made the start in three games on the week, playing left field for one of those and right field in the others. In the season opener on Tuesday the 9th, Raley was a big contributor to the Rafters 10-8 win against the Surprise Saguaros out of the leadoff spot. He finished 2-for-4 and drove in three runs to lead the offense. His first single of the game came in the top of the third with two outs, then he capped a five-run fourth inning with a sacrifice fly that put Salt River out front 5-3. In the top of the eighth with the score 7-6 in favor of the Rafters, Raley added some insurance with a two-out single that drove in two runs to cap a solid AFL debut. I said in last week’s AFL preview that you could see a leadoff profile in there, so it will be fun to see how much time he spends there during this season. When he was back in action on Thursday for Salt River’s 7-6 win against the Scottsdale Scorpions, he wasn’t back in the leadoff spot, but it also says a lot about a guy when he’s penciled in the three-hole instead. In six plate appearances he didn’t pick up any hits but did draw two walks and scored a run. It just so happens that one of those walks came while he led off an inning (then he promptly stole second base), and the other was of the intentional variety with the game on the line in the 11th inning. Before that intentional walk, Raley also erased the runner starting the 10th on second base with an outfield assist from right field. Raley finished his week with a 1-for-4 effort in the 6-2 loss against Scottsdale on Friday, where he again batted third in the lineup. With two outs in the top of the 6th, he clubbed his first extra-base-hit of the AFL season, a triple to right field and would score on a single from the next batter. He did strike out twice in this game, but overall a solid first week from an outfielder new to the Twins organization. Hector Lujan: 1 appearance, 0.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, BB, K; 40.50 ERA (overall). Lujan made just one appearance in the AFL season’s opening week, and I’m sure it’s one he’d like to put out of his mind as soon as possible. Though they would end up winning the game in extra innings, Lujan was charged with a blown save after coming on for the top of the seventh in Thursday’s tilt versus Scottsdale. The first four hitters he faced all reached base, and his first out of the frame also resulted in his third earned run that gave the Scorpions a 5-3 lead. He picked up a strikeout before another single ended his day. His numbers will likely appear skewed for the rest of his time in the AFL because of this game, but a positive sign is 17 of his 23 pitches went for strikes in the outing, including topping out at 96 MPH on the radar gun with his fastball. Travis Blankenhorn: 2 games, 0-for-7, R, 2 BB, 2 K; .000/.222/.000 (overall). Blankenhorn played in two games on the week, leading off in Wednesday’s 11-9 loss to the Saguaros, and batting seventh in Friday’s 6-2 loss on Friday. He played second base in both contests. In his debut on Wednesday, he led off the game by striking out on a pitch in the dirt but reached first base after a throwing error from the catcher. He would get to third on a single from the next batter and score the first of four runs in the inning on a pickoff attempt gone awry for Surprise. He also drew the fourth walk of six total in the eighth inning that led to another four runs, but that was as close as his team would get. Against Scottsdale on Friday he drew a walk in the seventh inning as Salt River tried to claw their way back into the game but ended up stranded on third base. Blankenhorn will look to pick up his first hit in week 2. Devin Smeltzer: 1 appearance, 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 K; 0.00 ERA (overall). Another new player to the Twins organization, Smeltzer made a single appearance in Salt River’s 11-9 loss to Surprise on Wednesday. He was one of the two Rafter’s pitchers out of six to not allow a run in the game, and as a feather in his cap that came across two innings pitched. He worked around an infield single in the fifth, and a pair of singles in the sixth to complete his scoreless outing. He finished with two strikeouts and 23 of his 35 total pitches went for strikes, including four swinging strikes. Glancing through his pitch log and correlating some of his scouting reports, he’s not ever going to be a power bullpen arm (no pitch over 90 MPH in this outing), but a deep repertoire and funky delivery has kept hitters off-balance to this point. Fangraphs also likes his curveball, changeup, and command enough to see some major league value in the future. Jaylin Davis: 2 games, 4-for-9, R, 3 RBI, 3 K; .444/.444/.444 (overall). Davis started two consecutive games during the week, once as the DH and once as the left fielder, batting eighth in both lineup constructions. In Wednesday’s loss to the Saguaros, Davis was a standout for the Rafters as the designated hitter. He finished 2-for-4 with two K’s, but also racked up three RBIs. He also came through in the clutch, as his two-out single in the bottom of the first drove in two runs, and another two-out single in the eighth brought in the first of four runs in the frame to bring the home team back within two. In Thursday’s win against Scottsdale he again picked up a pair of hits for the home team but wouldn’t get further than second base. After reaching base on a fielder’s choice in the sixth, Davis also picked up his first stolen base of the AFL season. He’ll look to pick up his first extra-base hit this week. Adam Bray: 1 appearance, 2.0 IP, 2 BB, 2 K; 0.00 ERA (overall). Bray made his lone appearance on the week in the Rafter’s win against Scottsdale on Thursday. He was also credited with the win as he took over in extra innings, completing both the 10th and 11th without allowing the runner starting on second base to score. He was assisted in the 10th inning by Raley’s outfield assist, then worked around a walk with a couple of strikeouts for a scoreless 11th before his team pushed the winning run across in the bottom half. Other AFL and Minor League Links: - One of the fun events that is part of the AFL is the Bowman Hitting Challenge, which Twins prospect Chris Paul won last year. Unfortunately for the 2018 version, rains owned the day and the event was cancelled: -Fangraph’s Eric Longenhagen took a look at the AFL rosters after they were announced, and singled out Brent Rooker’s ability to identify breaking balls as his lone note on Twins prospects. -MLB Pipeline announced their 2018 Twins Hitting and Pitching Prospects of the Year, with Alex Kirilloff and Brusdar Graterol taking home those honors. -In their 2018 Toolshed Power Rankings, MiLB.com ranks the Salt River Rafters at number five. A weakness called out is their lack of star power. Please feel free to ask questions about the AFL and the players who are there! Click here to view the article