Steve Lein

I don't think he could be placed on the 40-man after such a move to protect him from Rule 5.

Knew it was coming in reference to Burdi, which is why I would have had him in my "for sure" adds to 40-man group. Think it's pretty easy for the Phillies or whoever to keep him given his injury status. The way I look at it, if Kinley is the guy the Twins selected, who would you rather have? Burdi or him? It's unequivocally Burdi if you ask me (heck, I'd rather still have Bard too). I think this is a mark in the negative column for the FO. Burdi is going to close games if he can stay healthy. That's the big question though. How healthy will he be? There was enough on his medical report for the Braves to say no on a trade for him. Edit: Twins must have good presence in Dominican Winter League. Kinley's numbers there thus far: 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 18.0 IP, 4 H's, 8 BB, 29 K's, 0.67 WHIP.

Interesting signing. Is it weird I see him as a better fit in bullpen when he is back?

No, he's in triple-A next year. I know he had a bad 2nd half. But we seem to forget how good his first half was when everyone was on board saying "yeah he's definitely our #1 prospect" mid-summer.

What type of player do you think fill-in corner outfielders or 4th outfielders are? The way I look at it, the Twins "nothing but rain drops" outfield is all center fielder quality. Varying degrees obviously, but that's what they are. It's nice to have a 4th OF-er who is also CF above average, but they already have that and corners are way easier to fill. Granite is a 4th outfielder for the Twins. Look at who the Twins have had in that role recently: Sam Fuld, Logan Schafer, Jordan Schafer, Danny Santana, Shane Robinson, Darin Mastroianni, Clete Thomas... Bench outfielders and corner guys are definitely a dime-a-dozen. You're worrying too much about this and if he's a guy Pittsburgh is targeting, I say good for them and him.

While you hope you don't have to rely on them in CF, they are plenty capable to fill in. There are literally numerous corner OF options. On the 40-man: Grossman, Garver, Adrianza. In the minors: LaMonte Wade, Edgar Corcino. Then they are a dime a dozen on FA market. Granite should not hold anything up.

Um, Rosario and Kepler say hello. They can handle it. Plenty of guys who can fill in a corner.

If that would be the actual cost for Cole, I'm doing that trade. While a lot of people love Archer and his stuff, I'd honestly rather have Cole for what the price will be, and I've always thought of Archer as an enigma. To me he has the weirdest, non-competitive demeanor on the mound I've ever seen. Now, it's not like that has prevented him from striking a bunch of guys out and dominating at times, but something is just "off" there for me. Also, Archer's career WAR vs. Cole's WAR is only 11.9 to 11.4 (bref), and Cole has pitched one less season. Archer put up 4.3 in 2015 and Cole 4.5 that same season. They both gave up a bunch of HR's last year, but before that Cole was very good at keeping the ball in the yard while Archer's been giving them up at that rate 2+ seasons. What I'm saying is, I don't think Archer is far and away better than Cole to justify the price difference in a trade that it seems it's going to require. My first choice is sign Yu Darvish, but trading for Cole would be my second option and I don't see why they couldn't do both if they really wanted. Trading for Archer is a distant option for me and I realize I may be the minority on that.

Yeah, except this doesn't happen because there is the MLB Players Association .

Yeah, I would not sign Mauer to any "extension" as there are rules on what his minimum salary could be. You have to let him become a FA first at this point. Would love to see Darvish brought in, I don't care about the dead money there might be at the end. He moves the needle significantly.

If you ask me, the Angels overpaid for Maitan after all this. Maitan was not anything close to good this year in his first season and won't be a top 50, let alone top 100 guy anymore. He was #77 on Baseball America, #32 on MLB.com, and #100 on Baseball Prospectus going into 2017.

I'll show you where this narrative comes from: That 6-run start you're talking about? That was preceded by a 7-start stretch where he went 5+ innings each game, 6+ in 6 of them, 7 innings in 2, and had quality starts in 5. His final start of the season after that game was also of the quality variety. He lowered his ERA in those games from 5.40 to 4.37 in 50.1 innings before they transitioned him, including that 6-run start you mentioned (he took the mound in that game at 4.03). He absolutely was pitching well at the time the move to the bullpen was made if you ask me.

Yup, I get all that. He's likely still my #1 prospect because of all that, but it's going to take a lot of stuff I haven't heard about him at SS to make me believe he'll ever play there. I especially don't like hearing that he uses a "crow-hop" to make throws there, as an example (though I'm sure that will get taught out of him). Gordon, at a minimum, will be as good as Polanco defensively at SS. I think he will be better. I also think he's going to be a .300 hitter in the majors. If he moves to 2B, I don't think his value goes down much. I think he's got a good middle-infielder profile with his bat.

Yup, I was saying if you're trading Dozier to the Dodgers and Bellinger was available, he was the guy you wanted, not the pitchers. If you're afraid of the concerns on defense for Gordon, you're really going to dislike them for Lewis...

I think they just shut him down. Probably minor injury if one at all. They were already limiting him to 5 innings in several starts before then.

I'm sad that Park didn't work out. I never really understood the signing at the time, but I liked the possibilities. Even got his jersey for my birthday (in May) after he came out hot with a bunch of #ParkBangs. You all can blame me.

No, I wouldn't bump his stock other than what I talked about above. This comment was more about the injury concern part. It does worry people, and for a lot those players need to earn back that trust. Thorpe (i think) has done so at this point while Kirilloff hasn't even started to.

I think it's more the fact that Thorpe was back this year and pitched well. Being back is step 1 to regaining that trust. Performing again is step 2. Thus, to me at least, Thorpe is 3 steps ahead on this coming back from injury curve than Kirilloff. So yes, he does get the benefit on that.

Couple guys on here who I probably wouldn't have put as high yet. Not because they don't have the talent to be there, but I like a few others better. Graterol would be bumped for Thorpe, Baddoo probably dropped a spot or two (but potential to move up a lot again in 2018 - he wasn't in any top 20's coming into year). Might have to get Zack Littell in there too. I'd probably have Wander Javier higher as well. He was #6 on TD's list going into 2017. I know this is Seth's ranking and this may not be the case, but I would have at a minimum held his ranking, but definitely not downgraded it after his season in Elizabethton. I'm also not one to drop guys down because of injury in my lists, but due to the seasons some others put up while he was out, I would probably would have bumped down Kirilloff into this section. So, something like Baddoo, Littell, Thorpe, Javier, Kirilloff 10-6 here for me. Couple guys I may bump Baddoo for as well. Definitely looking forward to how the top 5 slot!

No. He's top 3 pitcher prospect in system. I won't be surprised if he's the no-doubt number 1 next year. It sucked having him out for two years after i saw him: http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/color-me-and-joe-mauer-impressed-r2962 Can't wait to see what he can do next season.

Wiel is a really interesting stat line study. While there's not really one category that stands out as "wow," taken in aggregate it's very impressive. He fills up every category with respectable totals - that's an all-around hitter. It always surprised me how often I was writing about him in the MiLB reports for all the different things he did. If he didn't knock guys in, he scored runs. If he only got one hit in a game, it was often a big one. People forget he was also arguably the best hitter on the 2015 Vanderbilt team that was the NCAA runner-up and had had Walker Buehler, Carson Fulmer, Dansby Swanson, Jeren Kendall, and Bryan Reynolds on it. Wiel is what I'd call a "sleeper."

(This report includes the games played through 11/19 and the end of the AFL season) Week 6 of the AFL season means that the circuit has come to an end, and for the first time in the last four seasons Twins prospects weren’t playing in the circuit’s championship game. The Surprise Saguaros finished their season with a 13-17 record, good for fifth place in the six-team league. While there wasn’t the same upper echelon talent from the Twins organization that had contributed to those championship runs in the AFL this season, it’s better to know that’s because those players were helping the parent club to a playoff run this season. Mitch Garver, Nick Gordon, Stephen Gonsalves, and John Curtiss were there in 2016. Trevor Hildenberger, Taylor Rogers, and Garver won it in 2015. Your 2017 “nothing but raindrops” outfield of Byron Buxton (though he didn’t play in AFL championship due to breaking his finger), Eddie Rosario, and Max Kepler helped win it all in 2014. The point here is these guys playing in the AFL are all players that have potential to help the Twins in the future in some way. LaMonte Wade will be on the shortlist to play outfield in a pinch in 2018. If Tyler Jay can remain healthy he may remind us of another Big Ten left-hander in a bullpen role soon. Ryan Eades, Tom Hackimer, and Andrew Vasquez all have bullpen potential if they can build on their performances here. There are lots of things to like about the bat of Chris Paul and glove of Sean Miller as well. Plus, these are our guys. We all want them to succeed as it means good things for our hometown team if they do.To find out how each of these guys wrapped up the AFL season’s final week, keep reading! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Tyler Jay: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, 3 H’s, ER, 2 K’s; 5.59 ERA (overall). The left-hander’s first appearance of the week came in Monday’s 2-0 loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions. He came on for the seventh inning and faced the middle of the lineup. He gave up a single to the leadoff man, but worked around it with a fly out, strikeout, and ground ball to the second baseman. Of his fourteen pitches in the inning, seven went for strikes, including two swings and misses. The single allowed was one of only two hits on the game for Scottsdale, but thanks to a walk, a triple, and a sac fly in the second inning, the two runs were more than enough. In the final game of the season on Thursday, a 10-5 win for the Sagauros against Mesa, Jay came on for the bottom of the sixth inning with his team out front 5-1. A nine-pitch battle with the leadoff hitter ended up with him clubbing a ground-rule double, and this time Jay wouldn’t come out unscathed. He got a swinging strikeout to the next hitter, but then allowed a single that put runners on the corners. A sac fly made the score 5-2 before Jay got a flyout for the final out. He threw 24 pitches in this outing, with 19 of them going for strikes (two swings and misses). Jay didn’t finish his season with eye-popping numbers, but the important thing for him in the AFL was logging innings and staying healthy after his entire 2017 MiLB season was basically wiped out. In 9.2 total innings, he gave up 13 hits (two home runs), walked five, and struck out 11. It’s likely Jay is back in AA to start the 2018 season, but if he comes out hot a bump to AAA could happen quickly. LaMonte Wade: Did not play (concussion); .238/.351/.413 (overall). As detailed in the Week 5 report, Wade did not play this week as he recovers from a concussion. Overall, he played in nineteen games collecting three doubles, a triple, and two home runs while scoring nine runs and driving in eight. Of note (facetiously), is for the first time in any league he’s played as a professional, Wade struck out more times than he walked (10/9). The on-base machine will be ready to take his talents to AAA next season, knocking on the door to his MLB debut. Chris Paul: 3 games (2 starts), 4-11, 3 R’s, 3 K’s; .292/.329/.444 (overall). In the shutout loss to Scottsdale on Monday, Paul entered the game in bottom of the third inning after the Saguaros right fielder, Michael O’Neill, was ejected after being picked off at first base. He took over in left field. He came up to the plate only twice the rest of the game as Surprise’s lineup wasn’t able to bunch any of their seven hits and three walks together. Paul flew out to center in the fifth and struck out leading off the eighth. In his first start of the week in Tuesday’s 6-5 walk-off win against the Scorpions, Paul batted cleanup and was again manning first base. He singled in the bottom of the fourth inning and reached base on an error in the sixth, but was left stranded both times. In the bottom of the eighth, with the score 5-2 in favor of Scottsdale, Paul got a rally started with a one-out single. He later scored on a double that brought them within one before an RBI single tied it at 5 heading to the ninth. Paul was on deck when teammate Yanio Perez delivered the game winning single to finish off the Surprise comeback. Paul’s final game of the AFL season came in Thursday’s season finale, and he again batted fourth and played first base. He and both his teammates in the second inning struck out swinging against Mesa starter Logan Shore (of Coon Rapids, MN), but they would get him back in the fourth inning. Paul’s first single of the game was part of four consecutive hits that led off the inning, and before it was over the Saguaros had extended their lead to 4-0 and ended Shore’s game. In the top of the sixth Paul led off the inning with his second single, and he scored on a sac fly that made it 5-1 Surprise. He finished this one 2-5 with two runs scored and two K’s. Overall on the AFL season, Paul led Twins hitters with a .773 OPS. In 18 games he racked up 21 hits including three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He scored fifteen runs which tied for the Saguaros team lead, and drove in 10. He’s ticketed for AA in 2018. Andrew Vasquez: 1 appearances, 1.0IP, 2 H’s, ER, BB, K; 0.77 ERA (overall). Vasquez made just one appearance in the season’s final week, and it came on Wednesday in their 5-2 loss to the Mesa Solar Sox. He came on for the ninth inning, finishing the game for the Saguaros but not in the way he might have hoped to end his AFL campaign. He got a quick ground out for the first out, but went a little downhill from there. A double, passed ball, walk, and single to the next three hitters made the score 5-2, and was just his second earned run allowed on the season. He recovered and struck out the next batter before getting a line out for the third out. In the outing, eight of his eighteen pitches went for strikes. Vasquez finished his off-season season with 12.2 innings pitched, allowing two earned runs on nine hits and five walks. He struck out 14, which was good for a 9.9K/9IP rate which while dwarfed by his 13.2K/9IP during the regular season, is a solid number to build on considering he was coming to the AFL from A-ball. Due to that success and his showing here, I would expect he starts the 2018 season in Chattanooga. Ryan Eades: 1 appearance, 2.0 IP, 2 H’s, 3 K’s; 0.66 ERA (overall). Like Vasquez, Eades saw action in just one game during the season’s final week and it was in the 6-5 win over Scottsdale on Tuesday. He was the first reliever summoned in the game for the fifth inning with the score 5-0 in favor of the Scorpions at the time. He was again effective in the outing, with 23 of his 29 total pitches going for strikes, though he did hit one batter with a pitch. In his first inning, he got two outs before giving up a single, but promptly picked that runner off first base for the final out. In the sixth, he got all three of his outs on strikeouts, working around another single and the hit batter with swing and miss stuff. All the K’s were of the swinging variety, and three other pitches resulted in whiffs in the frame. Eades performance in the AFL was perhaps the best surprise among the Twins prospects. In 10 games and 13.2 innings, he allowed just one earned run (on a home run) on fourteen hits and three walks while striking out 13. He also picked up two wins and led Twins prospects with a 0.66 ERA. The right-hander has always had stuff that didn’t quite match the results, but he may yet still find a home in a bullpen in the future. After two years in AA, it’s time for him to perform in AAA in 2018 and see if he can jump over the final hurdle. Tom Hackimer: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, H, K; 2.31 ERA (overall). Hackimer got in on two games during the week, and finished on a high note. In Monday’s 2-0 loss he came on for the bottom of the eighth inning to finish the game for Surprise. He set the opposition down in order, including a strikeout for the final out. Of his 13 pitches, eight went for strikes. In Thursday’s season finale win for Surprise, he again came on for the bottom of the eighth, this time with his team up 10-4. He was greeted with a leadoff double, but that runner only made it to third as he retired the next three in order. In this outing 11 of his 19 pitches went for strikes. The sidewinder finished the AFL season with an 0-1 record in 10 appearances, totaling 11.2 innings pitched. He allowed three earned runs on eight hits and seven walks, while striking out 10. I would expect he begins his 2018 season back in Fort Myers, but if he can limit walks as he did in Cedar Rapids during the 2017 season, it may be only a few months before he’s with Chattanooga. Sean Miller: 3 games, 1-10, K; .255/.293/.273 (overall). Miller made the start in three games during the week, playing both middle infield positions in two games and DH-ing in the season finale. In Monday’s contest Miller played short and batted ninth, finishing 0-3 in the 2-0 loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions. He grounded out in the second, reached first on a fielder’s choice in the fifth, and flew out to right in the seventh. On Wednesday against the Mesa Solar Sox, he again finished 0-3 in the 5-2 loss to Mesa, batting eighth and manning second base. He struck out in the second inning, grounded into a double play in the fourth, and popped out in the seventh. In the season finale 10-5 win over Mesa, Miller batted ninth as the DH. He finished this one 1-4, with a single in the fifth inning. He also lined out once and flew out twice in the game. Miller finished the season with a .255 average in fifteen games. He collected 14 hits including a double, scored and drove in seven runs, and stole two bases. While he’s strictly a singles hitter, he had a hot stretch in weeks 2 through 4 of the season where he hit .379 in eight games and there’s plenty to like about his glove in the middle-infield. After playing 122 games with Fort Myers this season, it’s likely he takes another step up the rung to Chattanooga in 2018. Other AFL/Minor League Links: - David Schoenfield of ESPN.com examines several young pitchers who have the potential to become the next “superace” in the mold of Clayton Kershaw, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, and Max Scherzer. Appearing on the list, is the Twins own Jose Berrios. - MiLB.com has started looking at organizational all-stars, and Stephen Gonsalves and John Curtiss are brought up as those closest to helping the Minnesota Twins in 2018. It’s also fun to compare their list with our at Twins Daily (hint: it’s basically the same). Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the AFL season! Click here to view the article

Lots of guys left off who are the type to get selected. I've said for a while I think they were going to lose multiple guys. Hopefully none of them come back to bite the Twins!

As far as I know, nothing like the "instructional league" or otherwise happened or is going to happen in Fort Myers, due to Hurricane Irma. We've been a bit spoiled with the types of prospects the Twins have sent to Arizona the past few seasons, I would agree this bunch is a considerable step down in top talent but there are plenty of reasons these guys are here!