Steve Lein

Probably has to be Lewis at this point, but I have Gordon right up there too. I know he tailed off big time and end of year, but he was amazing until that point and there was no doubt about his #1 status then.

rdehring - I've thought and said for a while that I think the Twins - no matter what they do - are going to end up losing one, probably more, players in the rule 5 draft. Too many guys all in the same spot that need protecting when there's not enough room and they all profile as the types who get plucked. Hopefully the Twins identify the right ones!

I know it's tough to rank relievers, but I would expect some of these names to be a lot higher. They're going to have a lot more potential to impact the major league roster than most guys in the 15ish to 40 range. Great stuff as always though!

(This report includes the games played through 10/29) Week 3 of the AFL season saw all four of the Twins pitchers make their appearances in the same two games. Not sure if that was planned, but I wouldn’t complain if it was as it’s more fun to write about when they do! They pitched 4.0 scoreless innings in Tuesday’s 4-3 victory over Salt River, and 4.2 innings in Friday’s 6-5 loss to Scottsdale. Despite one inning where one of them got wild (kind of…I’ll get to that…) in the latter, they were stellar with 8.2 total innings pitched, two earned runs allowed, and eleven strikeouts on the week. The hitters also had a good week all-around, but if you were to pick one who stood out the most, I’d reckon it wouldn’t be the one who did.To find out just how good each of the Minnesota Twins prospects performed in week 3 of the AFL season, keep reading! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Tyler Jay: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, 2 H’s, 3 K’s; 3.18 ERA (overall). In Tuesday’s win, Jay got the ball for the bottom of the sixth inning with his team up 3-0. He started his outing with a strikeout but then got himself into some trouble, surrendering a double and single that put runners on second and third. Instead of giving up any runs, he went right after the next two hitters and bulldogged it, striking them both out on three pitches with the K’s coming on a pair of 93 MPH swing-and-miss fastballs. His strikeout to start the frame also came on just three pitches, with an 83 MPH backdoor slider sending the hitter back to the dugout. 14 of his 17 pitches went for strikes in the outing. In the 6-5 loss to Scorpions on Friday, Jay again was summoned for the sixth inning, this time with his team down 4-2. The first batter reached on an infield error, but Jay retired the next three hitters for a scoreless inning. 13 of his 17 pitches in this one went for strikes as Jay continues to demonstrate his strong control after a tough season. LaMonte Wade: 4 games, 4-14, 3 R’s, 2 BB’s, 2 K’s; .250/.362/.375 (overall). In Monday’s 4-3 win against the Salt River Rafters, Wade batted second and played in right field. He drew a walk in the third inning but was retired on a double-play ball from the next batter. In the fifth, his single was the second of three consecutive to start the inning, and he was on third base when the Saguaros attempted a double steal. He was thrown out at home to end the inning, and the Surprise was only able to score one with the bases loaded and no outs. He finished this game 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Against the Rafters again on Tuesday, Wade batted fifth in the lineup and was in right field yet again. In typical fashion he picked up a single, scored a run, and drew another walk to finish his day 1-3. After singling in the fifth, Wade stole his first base in the AFL and then scored on a double for the first run of the game in the 4-3 win. In a 10-5 loss versus the Glendale Desert Dogs on Thursday, Wade finished 1-5 with a run scored batting second. His hit came in the first inning with a single and he didn’t reach base again until the ninth when he grounded into a fielder’s choice. The next batter tripled to bring him in for the Saguaros final run and a tally in his overall stat line. Wade finished his week on Friday with yet typical day. In the 6-5 loss he went 1-3 with a run scored and was also hit by a pitch to reach multiple times. That HBP loaded the bases for Surprise in the sixth inning, and the next hitter cleared them with a triple that put them out front 5-4. He singled in the top of the eighth, but was later thrown out at home representing the tying run as unfortunately this was the game where an appearance went awry for a Twins reliever. Chris Paul: 3 games, 3-10, 2 R’s, 2B, HR, RBI, BB, 3 K’s; .306/.359/.443 (overall). Paul started his week 3 with a bang after winning the Bowman Hitting Challenge on Saturday, as he slugged his first AFL home run in Monday’s win against Salt River. His solo shot led off the bottom of the fourth inning and tied the game at two. Paul was also hit by a pitch in this one, so he reached base multiple times. Paul was the only Twins prospect to appear in Wednesday’s 6-4 win over Glendale, but he wasn’t able to make much of an impact, finishing 0-4 with a strikeout. In their loss on Friday to Scottsdale, Paul was back in the cleanup spot after batting fifth in the prior two games, and stood in at third base instead of first. He led off the top of the second inning with a double, but ended up stranded on third base. In the sixth inning he drew a walk and scored on the same triple as Wade that put Surprise out front briefly. He also singled in the eighth inning but was erased on a double play ball. Andrew Vasquez: two appearances, 2.2IP, 0 H’s, BB, K; 1.23 ERA (overall). Vasquez got the eighth inning in the Twins bullpen game on Tuesday, and threw 21 pitches (12 for strikes) in a scoreless inning. He did walk a batter, but no damage was done in a good appearance in the 4-3 win. In Friday’s 6-5 loss, Vasquez was summoned in the middle of the fourth inning as starter Zach Lovvorn ran into trouble. With two runs already in and runners on first and second, Vasquez came on and…hit his first batter to load the bases. But he still wasn’t the pitcher who gave up runs in this game, as he got the next hitter to line into an inning-ending double play. Back out for the fifth, Vasquez pitched a one-two-three inning, striking out the first batter of the frame to close out his week. Ryan Eades: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, H, 4 K’s; 0.00 ERA (overall). In Tuesday’s win Eades was the first Twins prospect called in from the bullpen for the fifth inning and was untouchable against the middle of the Rafters lineup, striking out all three hitters he faced. 10 of his 12 pitches went for strikes, and they included three swinging strikes and only a few pitches hitters managed to foul off. The K’s came on two high fastballs at 92 MPH, and a curveball in the dirt for a swing-and-miss. On Friday, Eades pitched the eighth inning, finishing the game for Surprise in the 6-5 loss. He got two quick outs on just four pitches, including a three-pitch K, before surrendering a single on a grounder through the left side of the infield. He got the next batter to line out, finishing the inning on just seven pitches (six for strikes) and punctuating an efficient and dominant week for the right-hander. Tom Hackimer: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, 2 H’s, 2 ER’s, 4 BB, 3 K’s; 4.50 ERA (overall). Hackimer came in the game after Jay on Tuesday, pitching the seventh inning in their win against Salt River. Like Eades and Jay before him, Hackimer delivered a scoreless frame to keep the shutout intact to that point. He did give up a one-out double, but followed that with a groundout and a three-pitch strikeout on a 93 MPH fastball to slam the door. Surprise may have felt better about this game if they had another Twins prospect to run out there, as in the ninth the only non-Twins reliever gave up three runs on five hits that made it interesting. Since you haven’t read about the prospect who got wild yet, you would be correct in assuming it didn’t go as well for Hackimer in Friday’s 6-5 loss to the Scorpions. Hackimer again followed Jay in this one, coming on for the seventh inning with the Surprise up 5-4. He retired the first batter of the inning before things went off the rails – but I’m not blaming the pitcher after looking hard at what transpired. Two walks book-ended a single to load the bases and it looked like Hackimer might get out unscathed as he got the second out with a big K. Unfortunately for him (and I suggest you check out the Gameday pitch locations), he appeared to continue to be squeezed by the home plate umpire and two more walks brought in two runs before he got the final out with another K. If you don’t want to investigate the link above, I counted nine pitches tracked inside the zone that were called balls by the umpire, and you could argue as many as 17 called balls (17!) were strike-worthy (half his total pitches). Most are borderline I’ll concede, but something is amiss when that many show up in one inning. Here’s the most egregious example, for quick reference: It’s quite amazing how many similar pitches like that were tracked, and is why only 13 of Hackimer’s 34 total pitches went for strikes in the outing. Maybe that ump doesn’t like submariners?! I really don’t know how to explain it beyond that and the result was unfortunate for Hackimer and his Saguaros team. Sean Miller: 2 games, 5-7, 2 R’s, 2 RBI, BB, K, SB (1); .346/.393/.385 (overall). If I told you Sean Miller was top 10 in the AFL in batting average after week 3, would you believe me? Well, I aint lyin’… Miller took advantage of his two starts on the week to pile up five hits in seven at-bats, raising his average to .346, which would rank 10th in the circuit if he had enough plate appearances. Batting ninth and playing second base in their 4-3 win over Salt River on Tuesday, Miller went 2-4 with a run scored and an RBI to help turn his team’s lineup over. He may have gotten a little lucky, as both those hits were deflected by infielders, but you can’t argue with the results. His single in the fifth inning brought in a runner to make the score 2-0, and he followed that by stealing second base (his first SB of the AFL season) and scoring their third run of the frame. In Surprise’s 10-5 loss to Glendale on Thursday Miller really stood out, going 3-3 with a walk to reach base each time he stepped in the batter’s box. He drew a walk in his first plate appearance in the third inning, then singled in each of his final three at-bats. He drove in one in the fourth that put his team out front 2-0 before the Desert Dogs pulled away late. In the ninth after his third single, Miller scored along with Wade on a triple that accounted for their final tally of five runs in the loss. Other AFL/Minor League Links: - John Sickels of MinorLeagueBall.com started his offseason review of Team Top 20 Prospects lists, with the Minnesota Twins. I have always loved how John looks at prospects and while they may be short on elite talent, there is a ton of depth. I’m not sure I’ll put him that quite that high on a list, but I love where Brent Rooker comes in. - Also on MinorLeagueBall.com, Wayne Cavadi takes a deeper look at three Twins prospects you should know. They are the AFL’s Tyler Jay (2018 will be big year for him), Gabriel Moya who saw action late with the MLB team, and Lewis Thorpe who is one of my personal cheeseballs. Thorpe was dominant when I watched him in Cedar Rapids and was a great interview, but injury and illness have delayed his timeline a full two years. Don’t forget about him! - Moya also was named a winner of one of MiLB.com’s MiLBY awards, for Top Relief Pitcher during the 2017 season. To recap just how dominant he was for two organizations in AA, Moya made 47 appearances, pitching 58.1 innings and allowing just 30 hits and 15 walks while piling up 87 strikeouts on the year. He went 6-1 and converted all 24 of his save opportunities, finishing the season with a 0.77 ERA and WHIP before holding his own in 6.1 innings with the Twins. - Check out a great read on Tyler Jay and what he went through this season with injuries. While thoracic outlet syndrome was often in the notes on why he was missing in action, we found out later in the season that wasn’t the case. Jay cites unclean mechanics, and in the most interesting note to me, perhaps the fact he put on 20 pounds coming into the season. - Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com looks at all the Twins prospects participating in the AFL, with even more details on Tyler Jay and how starting helped him gain confidence in his changeup and how he viewed being switched to the bullpen for the 2017 season. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the last week! Click here to view the article

Slegers can be a back-end guy. He does have a pedigree, was Big Ten Pitcher of the Year. Nice to have around when needed. Garver will get his chance. I hope he's the backup C next year, and fills in elsewhere as needed so he gets over 100 games. He's definitely on the team moving forward I think. As any HS pitcher, Enlow will be a ways off. I'm curious to see if they'll put him in Cedar Rapids by May, or if they hold off until the Appy season. Would venture it's the latter. I would expect multiple players from the AFL season to play in the majors. Last year Garver, Randy Rosario, and John Curtiss were in the AFL and debuted this season. Taylor Rogers was in the AFL in 2015 and debuted in 2016. Your 2017 starting outfield of Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, and Byron Buxton all played on the 2014 team and debuted in 2015. You can argue about the difference in talent level among those names, but I'd venture it's a healthy percentage of AFL players that end up in the majors in some capacity.

(This report includes the games played through 10/22) Week two of the Arizona Fall League season saw the Surprise Saguaros compile a 2-3 record, with one prospect catching most of the headlines. He delivered a walk-off hit to start the week off on the right foot for his team, and ended it with a contest- winning performance in the Bowman Hitting Challenge on Saturday. The Saguaros also lost a couple of close games, including one in extra innings and another where they blew a three-run lead in the bottom of the ninth. After a stellar first week, the pitchers also hit a few bumps in the road in their appearances, but there were still some good performances from them as well.To learn how all the Minnesota Twins prospects fared in week 2, keep reading! (links provided to each player’s overall AFL stats by clicking their name) Tyler Jay: 2 appearances, 1.2 IP, 5 H’s, 2 ERs, BB, K; 4.91 ERA (overall). In week two Jay made appearances in the Saguaros 10-3 win over Peoria on Tuesday and their 7-6 meltdown loss to Mesa on Friday, but he wasn’t as sharp as in week one. In Tuesday’s victory, Jay came on for the bottom of the fifth inning with his Surprise team up 5-2. He recorded the first out with a swinging K on a 1-2 breaking ball before allowing a double to the next hitter that put a runner in scoring position. This was followed by a single to left field that put runners on the corners and Jay in a bit of a jam. He got exactly what he needed to escape unscathed however, as he induced an inning-ending double play ball to the next hitter. On Friday Jay again came out for the bottom of the sixth inning, this time with his team up 3-0, but he ran into trouble right away. The first hitter clubbed a ground-rule double which he followed with an off-target pitch that went for a passed ball to put that runner on third. He got a ground out before walking a batter to put runners on the corners. Consecutive singles then scored two runs to bring Mesa within one and summoned the pitching coach from the dugout. After that visit Jay plunked a batter to load the bases before getting an infield pop-up for his second out and an end to his day. Ryan Eades then came on for the third out. LaMonte Wade: 3 games, 4-12, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K; .231/.333/.423 (overall). Wade played right field in three games on the week for Surprise, batting ninth, seventh and second in the lineup in those contests. In Monday’s 9-8 come-from-behind victory against Scottsdale, Wade finished 1-4 with an RBI and one strikeout. The RBI came in the fifth inning right after Scorpions starter Justus Sheffield was removed from the game with runners on first and second. His ground ball through the left side closed the gap to 4-2 and Surprise would add another run before the inning was over. Wade had a forgettable day in 6-4 loss to Peoria on Wednesday, finishing 0-4 with three ground outs (including a double play) and fly out. He came back to close out the week with his best game so far in the AFL season, as he joined in on the show of power from the Saguaros lineup in building a 6-3 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning against the Solar Sox on Friday. He followed teammate Nicky Lopez’s double to start the game with a double of his own to give the Saguaros the early 1-0 lead. In the fifth inning he added a single to his line on a “pop up to the catcher” (which I’d like to know how that happened), before blasting his first AFL home run in the seventh that made the score 6-2. It was the second solo home run of the inning for Surprise and as a team they dropped four bombs in the game. Unfortunately, for all those offensive efforts, Saguaros reliever Jordan Hicks gave up four runs in the bottom of the ninth to end up on the losing end of a walk off. Of local note in Friday’s box score, is Coon Rapids, MN native Logan Shore of the Oakland Athletics organization made the start for Mesa. Chris Paul: 3 games, 3-14, 2 R’s, RBI, 5 K’s; .308/.333/.346 (overall). Paul saw action in each of the same games as Wade during week two, batting in the middle of the lineup, and got to play hero in their win on Monday versus Scottsdale. With the score 8-3 in favor of the Scorpions in the bottom of the eighth, Paul followed a walk by the Saguaros leadoff man with a single for his first hit of the game. They were both driven in by a triple from teammate Kevin Padio that brought them within three before Pidio scampered home on a ground out to put them within striking distance in the bottom of the ninth. A walk, hit by pitch, and bases clearing double brought Paul up again with the game tied and a runner in scoring position. He delivered the walk-off win with a single to center field to complete the five-run comeback for Surprise. The win also marked the first time Paul played third base during the AFL season. In Wednesday’s tilt, Paul again had an opportunity in the bottom of the ninth with a runner in scoring position and his team down 6-4, but he didn’t have the same result in this one as he was called out on strikes to end the game. He fared even worse than Wade in this one, finishing 0-5 game with two K’s and multiple missed opportunities. In Friday’s walk-off loss to Mesa, Paul led off the fourth inning with an infield single on a slow-roller to third, then promptly trotted home on a two-run shot from Andrew Knizner that gave Surprise a 3-0 lead. Paul finished 1-4 with three strikeouts leading into the Bowman Hitting Challenge on Saturday. It was there that Paul bookended his week with another memorable performance. He won the unique contest with a score of 2,750 points, edging New York Mets prospect Tomas Nido. Unlike a true home run derby, points are awarded in the event for hitting obstacles scattered throughout the field, and looks like a blast to participate in! Congrats Chris, and don’t blow all the prize money in one place! Andrew Vasquez: Two appearances, 2.2IP, 2 H’s, ER, 3 K’s; 1.93 ERA (overall). Vasquez again saw action in two games in week two, going more than one inning for the first time in the AFL on Monday against Scottsdale, and one more inning in a 6-4 extra-inning loss to Mesa on Thursday. He came on in the middle of the top of the fifth on Monday after one run had scored and runners remained on first on third. He struck out the first man he faced, but uncorked a wild pitch to the second that allowed an inherited runner to score and make it 4-1 Scorpions. He then got a ground out to end the inning and came back out for the sixth. He did his thing in this frame, setting the opposition down in order. In his 1.2 innings, 13 of his 20 pitches went for strikes, including three swinging strikes on his lone K of the outing. In Thursday’s tilt, Vasquez was called upon for the top of the seventh with the Saguaros up 4-3. He was charged with a blown save as he surrendered the tying run before escaping the jam of his own making. The leadoff man singled to start it, then advanced to second base on a balk. Vasquez then got the first out of the inning with a looking strikeout but that was followed by an RBI double. A wild pitch then advanced that runner to third, but he was bailed out on a grounder to the second baseman with the infield in that cut that runner down at home. He then plunked a batter to put runners on first and second before he notched his second K to escape with minimal damage given what had transpired. Ryan Eades: 2 appearances, 2.1IP, 3 H’s, K; 0.00 ERA (overall). Eades also was summoned from the bullpen in two games during the week, with his appearances coming against Peoria on Tuesday and Mesa on Friday. In the 10-3 win against the Javelinas he got the eighth inning, needing just twelve pitches (nine strikes) to record three outs. He struck out the first hitter of the inning and got a ground out for two quick outs before giving up a single, but ended the inning by inducing a grounder to the next hitter. In Friday’s heart-wrenching loss to Mesa, Eades picked up his first hold in the AFL with a scoreless 1.1 innings. After Jay had allowed in two runs in the sixth, it was Eades job to escape the bases-loaded jam with no further damage. He did so by getting a fly out to center field then worked around a couple of singles in the seventh for a scoreless inning before the bottom fell out for the Saguaros in the ninth. Tom Hackimer: 2 appearances, 3.0IP, 3 H’s, ER, 2 K’s; 2.25 ERA (overall). In two appearances on the week, Hackimer totaled 3.0 innings pitched as he also went multiple frames for the first time during the AFL season. In Monday’s dramatic win he came on after Vasquez for the top of the seventh inning with the score 4-3 in favor of Scottsdale. The first batter hit a hard ground ball that Paul deflected at third base and that ended up a single, but Hackimer got the next batter to ground into a 6-4-3 double play. Then some hard contact came in the form of consecutive doubles that increased the Scorpions lead to 5-3 before he got a strikeout to end the two-out rally. In Thursday’s 6-4 loss against Mesa that included free baseball, Hackimer saw his first multi-inning appearance in the AFL. He was summoned in the top of the eighth inning with the score tied at four and set the Solar Sox lineup down in order, including a swinging strikeout. Back out for the ninth, he made quick work of the 1-2-3 hitters for Mesa, needing just eleven pitches to record another one-two-three inning. Hackimer was replaced for the top of the tenth, and with a runner starting the inning on second base, Mesa quickly scored the go-ahead run with a lead off single, and added some insurance with a home run to pull out the 6-4 victory against the good guys. Sean Miller: 3 games (2 starts), 3-10, 2 R’s, 2B, BB, K; .211/.250/.263 (overall). Miller played in three games during the AFL season’s second week, making the start on Wednesday as the second baseman and batting second, and on Thursday as the DH batting ninth. He entered Tuesday’s contest in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement, and made the most of his hitting opportunities. In the seventh inning after entering the game to play shortstop, Miller drew a walk and scored on a double from the next hitter that made the score 8-2 Saguaros. In the top of the ninth he grounded out in his other plate appearance. In Wednesday’s 6-4 loss, Miller collected three hits in the top third of the lineup in his best game in the AFL so far. In the bottom of the first Miller followed a single from the leadoff man with a single of his own and got as far as second base. He then led off the bottom of the sixth inning with another single but didn’t move up any further. His biggest hit of the game came when he again led off an inning, this time in the eighth with the score 4-1 in favor of Peoria. He doubled to put himself into scoring position and two batters later another double brought him home to close the gap to 4-2. Like Paul, Miller also came up in the bottom of the ninth and represented the tying run, but flew out to center field for the inning's second out as they fell short of another comeback. Other AFL/Minor League Links: - After being selected in the third round of the 2017 draft and being given an above slot bonus to pry him away from LSU, Blayne Enlow was fantastic in the Gulf Coast League for the Twins. For his efforts, Baseball America named him to their GCL Top 20 Prospect list. - The Minnesota Twins announced their 2017 Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, with Mitch Garver taking home the first honor, and Aaron Slegers the second. Garver finished first in Twins Daily’s Hitter of the Year voting, while Slegers finished third in our Starting Pitcher of the Year tally. - After his regular season that was cut short due to injury, Tyler Jay’s performance in the first week of the season was a positive development for the outlook on his health. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the last week! Click here to view the article

Thank you for saying so. I am always looking for ways I could improve these reports for the readers, so if anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them.

(This report includes the games played through 10/15) Minnesota Twins prospects in the Arizona Fall League are playing on the roster of the Surprise Saguaros for the second season in a row, and in the first week of the season their squad managed a 2-3 record. They lost a couple of close games where they had chances to tie late, with Twins prospects doing their part, but teammates weren’t able to deliver the finishing blows. Chris Paul racked up hits in two of his three games, and left-handed relievers Tyler Jay and Andrew Vasquez passed their first tests out in the desert. It’s actually kind of hard to believe what Vasquez did, but I’ll elaborate on that in his recap…With that, let’s check out how Twins prospects fared in the first week of the 2017 AFL season! (links provided to each player’s overall stats by clicking their name) Tyler Jay: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K’s. Jay made two appearances in the first week of the AFL season, pitching in the season opener against the Salt River Rafters on Tuesday the 10th, and the fourth inning on Friday the 13th versus the Glendale Desert Dogs. Both games were losses for the Saguaros, but not because of Jay’s performance. Against the Rafters on Tuesday, Jay came out to start the 7th inning and needed just 10 pitches to set the 9-1-2 hitters down in order. The first two outs came on strikeouts, both of the looking variety, before Jay fielded a bunt attempt for the final out on his first pitch to the number two hitter in the Salt River lineup. Covering the AFL for ESPN, Keith Law noted that Jay “looked electric” in the outing and wouldn’t close the door on him starting in the future. Against Glendale on Friday, Jay came on for the start of the fourth inning with his squad already down 4-1. It looked like it would get worse than that after the first batter doubled to right field and advanced to third on a fielding error on his first pitch of the inning. But on a 3-2 pitch to the next hitter Jay induced a groundball to third base and the runner was nabbed at home for the inning’s first out. Jay then got a flyout for the second out before picking up another backwards K to end the frame. LaMonte Wade: 4 games, 2-14, R, 2B, RBI, 3 BB, 2 K’s. Wade played in four of the Saguaros five games during the week, making the start in right field for three of them and DH-ing in the fourth. He batted sixth in the lineup in three of those games, and was in the two-hole for the other. In the season opener, Wade picked up his first AFL hit in the bottom of the eighth inning when he doubled to center field with one out. At that point he represented the tying runner for Surprise, but that was as far as he would get and they fell to Salt River 4-3. The Saguaros would get back at the Rafters the next day in 3-1 win, and Wade drew his first walk of the AFL season in his first at-bat of the game. His next three plate appearances resulted in a sharp groundout to second, a comebacker to the pitcher, and a fly out to center field as he finished that one 0-3. On Thursday as the DH, Wade was 0-4 with a strikeout, a fly out to center, and two ground balls to the right side in an 8-2 loss to Glendale. Of note in this one, is Wade saw just eight pitches in those at-bats, which was very uncharacteristic for such a patient hitter. He regrouped on Saturday in an 11-1 drumming of the Scottsdale Scorpions that improved their record as a team in the first week to 2-3. In six plate appearances in the two-hole, Wade drew two walks and saw a total of 26 pitches. His first RBI in the AFL came in the seventh inning for Surprise, when he drew a bases loaded walk for their seventh and final run of the frame. He had singled earlier in the same inning (on the first pitch of that at bat, ironically) and scored a run. Chris Paul: 3 games, 5-12, 2 R’s, 2B, 3 RBI, BB, K. Playing first base for Surprise, Paul saw action in three games during the season’s first week, and batted cleanup in each. In the opening game against Salt River, Wade racked up three singles in four at-bats with RBI’s coming in the first and seventh innings. Had the runner in front of him in the seventh not been thrown out at third for final out on that hit, the Saguaros would have had at least one more at bat with a runner in scoring position to try and tie the game. In Thursday’s tilt against Glendale, Paul was 0-4 but the rest of his team didn’t fare much better in the 8-2 loss. They didn’t score a run until the eighth inning and that was the result of a hit-by-pitch, three walks, a throwing error, and a passed ball. Paul did reach base in the fourth inning on a fielder’s choice. Paul got back on the hit-parade on Friday in the Saguaros 7-6 loss to Glendale. He finished 2-4 with two runs scored, a double, RBI, and a walk in five plate appearances. His double in the seventh inning closed the Desert Dogs lead to 6-4, and he would later score to bring his team within one. In the bottom of the ninth he drew a two-out walk to put the tying runner on base. He was replaced by a pinch runner that made it all the way to third base, but wasn’t able to scamper the final 90 feet. Andrew Vasquez: 2 appearances, 2.0IP, H, 3 K’s. Like Jay, Vasquez also made two appearances in the first week of the AFL season, and made short work of his competition in the same games as his counterpart. He directly followed Jay for the eighth inning in the season opening loss against Salt River. Of note during his 2017 campaign with Cedar Rapids and Fort Myers, is Vasquez did not allow a single extra-base-hit to a left-handed hitter the entire season (75 plate appearances). It’s notable here as the third hitter he faced in his AFL debut was a lefty, and they connected for a double on an 0-1 pitch. Vasquez recovered from that and picked up his second strikeout of the Fall season to end the inning. On Friday Vasquez was the first reliever summoned from the Surprise bullpen in the third inning with the score 4-1 Glendale. He needed just nine pitches in a one-two-three frame and added another K to his early season AFL total. Ryan Eades: 2 appearances (1-0), 2.0IP, 2 H’s, R (unearned), BB, K. Unlike Jay and Vasquez, the two appearances Eades made during the season’s first week came in victories. He even picked up the first pitching win of the season for his Saguaros team. That was on Wednesday in their 3-1 win over Salt River. He came on for the bottom of the fourth inning with the game still tied at zero and pitched a scoreless frame, walking one. His teammates went on to score two in the top of the fifth which put him in line to be credited with that win. On Saturday in their 11-1 win against Scottsdale, Eades pitched the eighth inning. The Scorpions one run was scored with him on the mound, but it was unearned due to a missed-catch error by Eades as he went to cover first base. That runner later scored on a double but Eades also picked up his first AFL strikeout. Tom Hackimer: 1 appearance, 1.0IP, BB, K. The sidewinding righty got in just one game in the first week of the AFL season, and it came on Thursday against Glendale. He was the first reliever in the game for Surprise, coming on for the bottom of the fourth inning. He struck out the first batter he faced in his debut and then got a groundout for the first two outs before he had a little trouble. He walked a batter and then gave up a single through the middle that put runners on the corners before coaxing an easy fly ball for the third out and a scoreless AFL inauguration. Sean Miller: 2 games, 1-9, 2 R’s, RBI, 3 K’s. Miller saw action in two games on the week, playing 2B in each. Batting 2nd in the lineup in Wednesday’s 3-1 win for his AFL debut, Miller went 0-4 and struck out twice. On defense he made every play that came his way, including three putouts and three assists. Against Scottsdale on Saturday, Miller batted eighth in the lineup and scored the first run of the game in the third inning after he reached base on a throwing error from the Scorpions shortstop. In the seven run seventh inning, Miller picked up his first AFL hit and RBI with a single, and would later score his second run of the game on the walk to LaMonte Wade. Other AFL/Minor League Links: - In a front office move that I’m extremely excited for, the Minnesota Twins hired Baseball America editor John Manuel to work in their pro scouting department. While I’m disappointed I won’t be able to interact with him in the same way on Twitter and elsewher to talk about prospects, I couldn’t be happier that he’s joining our favorite team! - Despite the fact he played in only half the games as most everyone after being drafted in June of this year, Brent Rooker was named MLBPipeline.com’s Minnesota Twins Hitting Prospect of the year. Stephen Gonsalves was is also recognized as their Pitcher of the Year for the second straight season. Here’s to hoping we see both at Target Field during the 2018 season! - In the season opener for Surprise, four Twins prospects made an impact on the game. - While MiLB.com lists the Saguaros roster dead last in “toolshed power rankings,” Tyler Jay is singled out as their Wild Card due his potential for increased optimism or head scratching heading into the 2018 season depending on his AFL performance. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the performances during the last week! Click here to view the article

I don't think Lewis is going to be a shortstop in the majors, but I'm not doubting him putting in the necessary effort to improve there. Gordon is going to get his shot at SS in the near future, and I think he can stick. He won't be flashy, but I think he'll be better than Polanco. Jermaine Palacios is keeping himself in the SS conversation too. I love Dozier, but the obvious path for the middle infield moving forward is Polanco taking over at 2B and Gordon sliding into SS. If you sign Dozier, that means Polanco or Gordon is without a spot. So I think there's 2 scenarios: 1. Trade or not re-sign Dozier to get a Gordon/Polanco middle infield 2. Sign Dozier and trade Gordon or Polanco (you probably can only trade Gordon)

Lynn would be one of my top choices since they likely can't afford a true Ace in the free agent market. He's definitely a guy that would bump everyone else down a spot in the rotation, which is how I gauge if you're improving. While it wouldn't be a true 1-2-3-4-5 rotation, or a 1-1-x-x-x that the best teams seam to have, I would probably peg it as a 2(Santana)-3(Berrios)-3(Lynn)-4(Gibson)-5(everyone else) going into next year instead of the 2-4-5-5-5 it has been (at best) at the start of the past few seasons. Even more improvement/consistency from Berrios and continued bounce back from Tommy John for Lynn and you might end up with something even better than that, and will compete very well with this offense. My pipe dream is still Ohtani. Who knows how much international money the Twins have left? (haha)

Vasquez is a very interesting player to follow. Awesome numbers but not because he blows anybody away with velocity. Would love to know the percentage of breaking balls he throws, because it's probably something ludicrous like 65% or higher. Good AFL debut for him last night! Of note however, is he gave up a double to a lefty...

See this I don't agree with. "Trauma" injuries are also serious ones: Torn ligaments, Broken Bones, Concussions. These are injuries that take a player out for extended periods because of one fluke instance. His back injury is trauma. His concussion in the minors was trauma. His broken hand in the minors was trauma. Point here is he has a history of "trauma" injuries because of his play style. It's like he's playing with house money... Someone else mentioned internal injuries as well, which brought up a (not so) fun fact about my playing career: a "Lacerated Spleen" is an actual injury I have suffered. It was from a collision in shallow RF.

He is awesome at making these plays, but I think he has a long ways to go on being graceful at the wall, particularly after he makes the catch. You almost never see him have a "soft landing." Maybe that's because unless he goes that hard he's not going to make the play, but Torii Hunter almost always came down from plays at the wall in a smooth manner. They should get him working with him on those plays.

He wouldn't have even registered on my radar for being sent there and I have expressed similar feelings on it, but we don't know all the things that went in the decision to add him. Seth makes a good one, others could be that nobody else wanted to go, or they had other plans. Maybe something like this for instance: If they were looking at middle infielders to send, Jermaine Palacios and Nick Gordon would have been good choices. Gordon was already there last year so maybe he didn't want to go again. Palacios might want to play back home in Venezuela instead... After that the depth chart for middle infielders actually gets to Miller pretty quick.

Today starts the 2017 Arizona Fall League season. Each week throughout the Fall League, Steve Lein will post an update on each of the Twins prospects there. As I watch my dad post picture after picture of himself trudging through the northern woods for grouse and sitting on the island of our northern lake waiting for ducks with the family lab Sage by his side, I’m reminded of how much I love the Fall season. These are things I grew up doing with him, my brother, and our dogs, and has instilled a lifelong appreciation of this time of year and the colors that come with it. It is my favorite time of the year. But October also holds a different feeling for a lot of sports fans, myself included, as it also means it is time for the MLB playoffs and the race for the pennant for their favorite team. While the Minnesota Twins finally made it back to the postseason this year, their early exit was a hard one to take until you realized what it meant for the future. That it is very bright for a young hitting core of Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler. All of these players spent some of their minor league development time playing baseball in the offseason. While Sano and Polanco spent this time in their home country of the Dominican Republic where they grew up not too far away from each other, Buxton, Rosario and Kepler all spent time in the Arizona Fall League, which kicks off today around 2:35PM CST.For anyone who doesn’t know, the AFL is a short season league where every team in Major League Baseball sends some of their top prospects in October and is often used as a proving ground for these players who are looking to take the final steps to their MLB dreams. Many of the top prospects in baseball are sent here to make a case for an early call-up next year, but there are also many experienced MiLB-ers on the doorstep who are evaluated whether or not to be placed their team's 40-man roster. These minor league games in October can determine a lot going into the next MLB season for these players, and that’s why I love these games. Each MLB team typically sends seven players to the AFL, and they are split up among six teams. This year the Twins are again represented on the Surprise Saguaros roster with pitchers Ryan Eades, Tyler Jay, Tom Hackimer and Andrew Vasquez and position players Sean Miller, Chris Paul and LaMonte Wade. They will join prospects from the rosters of the Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers. It will be the first trip to the league for all of the Twins players, and each them will be looking to accomplish something different with their time there. Of players sent to the AFL last fall for Minnesota, three made their MLB debut during the 2017 season. They were catcher Mitch Garver and pitchers Randy Rosario and John Curtiss. So as you can see, a lot of these guys have potential to impact the majors in the following season. Each week I’ll be recapping the action for all of the Twins representatives during their time in the desert of Arizona, so who are these guys? What have they done and what will I be watching for in the AFL games this year? Let’s take a look! 2017 Minnesota Twins Prospects in the AFL: — The most interesting name may be that of pitcher Tyler Jay. With high expectations coming into the 2016 season after being drafted number six overall the year before, Jay has had trouble staying healthy. That was the case again in 2017 as he pitched just 11.2 innings on the season, essentially losing an entire year of development. In thirteen starts with the Fort Myers Miracle in 2016, Jay did flash a lot of the stuff that made him an attractive pick at the top end of the first round. He went 5-5 with a 3.10 ERA and struck out 8.8/9IP with a 1.22 WHIP. He was even bumped up to the Chattanooga Lookouts roster early in July of that season, but he didn’t finish that month or his season due to a neck injury. Because he has missed so much time, many of the same questions I had when writing his draft preview two years ago remain. We also aren’t quite sure if the Twins new brass thinks he could still be a starting pitcher since before the 2017 season started they moved him into the bullpen with the Lookouts. The main thing I believe Jay will be doing in the AFL is getting some of those missed innings under his belt. It also will intrigue me to see if he makes any starts as typically each team sends at least one starter, but none of the others prospects sent quite fit that role. If Jay can show that his plus-stuff still plays up against the elite competition of the AFL after being out so long, I can envision a scenario where he starts in AAA next season, a phone call away from the majors. — All LaMonte Wade has done since joining the Twins organization as a ninth-round draft pick in 2015, is get on base. Across four levels so far in his career, he has a .404 on-base percentage and has drawn more walks than strikeouts. Even more amazing from a comparison standpoint, is the number of walks he has drawn is significantly higher than Joe Mauer did in his MiLB career before debuting (177 in 273 games vs. 129 in 277 games). What Wade hasn’t done so far in his career, is hit for much power but there is some in there. He had 22 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs with Chattanooga this season, and his 67 RBI and .397 OBP ranked second on the team to only team MVP Jonathan Rodriguez. As the year progressed he went from hitting in the middle of the Lookouts lineup to batting in the top third, finishing the year as their number three hitter. He doesn’t have the “wow” tool or tools that many top prospects do, but can do a bit of everything and is not a slouch in any regard. He also doesn’t struggle against same-sided pitchers, as his career OPS vs. left-handers is actually higher than against righties. Wade gets high marks from scouts for his baseball acumen, work ethic, and makeup that they say allows him to outplay his scouting report. There is not much more development needed here as Wade has excelled at every stop, so the AFL will be a good point to judge just how big of an impact he might be able to make in the majors if needed next season. He remind sme a lot of Denard Span at the top of a lineup and we may get to see soon if that is indeed his ceiling. — Infielder Chris Paul was a force in the Fort Myers Miracle lineup this year when he was on the field, where he slashed .328/.380/.471 in 61 games. His issue as he heads to the AFL is that it was just for 61 games as he dealt with a wrist injury. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2015 draft from California-Berkeley, Paul was a senior sign and will turn 25 on Thursday so he has been older than his competition to this point. He played primarily third base this year with Fort Myers, but has played in all the corner spots of the field in as he looks for the role best suited for him. In the AFL the Twins likely will want to see some power from him and perhaps a bit more clarity of what role he might be able to fill in the coming season. He will likely start the 2018 season in Chattanooga, with perhaps his position determined by his AFL performance. — Reliever Andrew Vasquez goes to the AFL out of the single-A levels and spent most of his time at Low-A which makes his selection intriguing as he’s not as far along as most other prospects who go there. In Vasquez’s case, it is likely deserved as he flat out dominated the Midwest League in 2017. He checked in at number five on Twins Daily’s Relief Pitcher of the Year Award, due to his 1.55 ERA and 85 K’s in 58.0IP on the season. That mark was good for a 13.2K/9 rate, which is elite territory. At 6-foot-6 and left-handed, he looks intimidating, but it’s not a big fastball that he uses to dominate hitters, or anything with velocity for that matter. It’s his big curveball that should probably be classified as a “bugs bunny” type, as it is known to come in below 70MPH. Player’s know it’s coming, but they still can’t hit it and it allows his below 90’s fastball to play up while they sit on it. He is also nearly unhittable against same-sided hitters, as he didn’t allow a single extra-base-hit to them during the 2017 season. It will be really interesting to see how his curveball-centric approach plays against the elite competition of the AFL, and I’ll be watching to see if right-handers are able to figure him out enough to limit his upside. — Pitcher Ryan Eades was drafted in the second round of the 2013 draft out of LSU as a guy who held a lot of projection and showed elite “stuff” at times in his collegiate career. He always got mentions about how his stats didn’t live up to his arsenal. As a pro so far in his career, you might say the same thing has held true. He was used primarily as a starter in his first three seasons, spending an entire season at each rung of the ladder until he plateaued during the 2016 with Chattanooga. Late in the year they made the switch to the bullpen where he struggled to keep runs off the board, but he did boost his strikeout rate. In the 2017 season he started off in the bullpen, but whenever a need arose he stepped in as a starter was actually pretty effective at times. He even made a couple of appearances with Rochester in early June where he allowed just one run on six hits in eight innings, while striking out nine. When he was sent back to the Lookouts, he maintained around a mid-3.00’s ERA through the end of the season, finishing with a mark of 3.63 in AA. In front of Jay, Eades is the most likely nominee to get starts in the AFL from the Twins representatives, and the likely outcome from his performances is whether he gets another shot as a starter, or moves to the bullpen full time in 2018. — The name Tom Hackimer probably isn’t a well-known one for Twins prospect followers quite yet, but that could be changing very soon. Drafted in the fourth round of the 2016 draft out of St. Johns, he is a pure reliever prospect who is performing at a level near the top amongst his peers. He began the 2017 season in Cedar Rapids, and was outstanding as evidenced by his 0.58 WHIP. He appeared in 16 games, pitching 24.0 innings with a 28/3 K/BB ratio and pick up the Save in 6 games. After his promotion to Fort Myers, he pitched another 37.1 innings with 43 K’s against 19 walks. He finished the season with a 1.76 ERA and 0.85 WHIP across the two levels. Like Trevor Hildenberger who made a big impact with the Twins this season, Hackimer is a sidewinder who comes at hitters from a drastically different angle. This also allows him to be deadly on right-handed hitters, who managed just a .352 OPS against him in 2017. Like with Vasquez in the AFL, I’m going to be watching if left-handed hitters can negate his effectiveness moving forward, but with a good showing he should be in Chattanooga to start the 2018 season. — Infielder Sean Miller came to the Minnesota Twins organization out of the 2015 draft in the 10th round. He has been what you might call a utility player so far in his career, as he has played all over the infield and even got a few games in the outfield with Fort Myers in 2017. After being drafted, he spent a couple of weeks in Elizabethton before moving up to Cedar Rapids to finish the season. He hit .284 in 26 games with the Kernels that season and remained there for the first 90 games of 2016 before being bumped up to the Miracle to finish the year. He spent all of the 2017 campaign with Fort Myers, playing 122 games in the middle of the infield as a steady glove presence with some speed. He hit .262/.299/.322 on the year with 51 runs scored and 38 RBI. The AFL may be a big challenge for Miller but I’m sure that is appealing to him and guys like him are fun to root for and learn about on their journey to the majors. Good luck to all of the players in the AFL for the Twins this season, and I’m looking forward to following along with everyone at Twins Daily! Please feel free to ask any questions about the AFL and discuss this week’s performances! Click here to view the article

My opinion was they had to bring Erv back out for the 2nd inning. Needed to see if he could settle down as they weren't going to win a bullpen game. First inning was a roller coaster! I'd seen everything after that before, unfortunately. But this season was a blast! Very proud of those guys and the future is bright!!!

I've been all over the AFL back since back well before TD, I'm well aware of the other reasons But this list doesn't match up much like that to me. I find most fit into one of 3 categories. Last year for instance, had Gonsalves, Gordon, and Garver fitting the "top prospects" category. Then Randy Rosario and John Curtiss fitting what I call the "see what they got for next year in MLB" guys. Finally, Tanner English "needed at-bats" and Melotakis "needed innings." I saw all the reasons there. For 2017, Jay needs innings (Category 3), it's a good point for Wade to polish off some development (category 2), then I don't read many reasons on the others that I consider all that valid. I know Paul didn't play the whole season but he's also 25 in a month and in A-ball. Hackimer is another A-ball guy. Eades hasn't lived up to anything to this point, Sean Miller is...an infielder, and Vasquez is still more than a year away. I think there were several others guys who could have got a lot more out of it. That's really all I'm saying. Whether or not any are healthy or whatever else, I don't know so I don't consider that in this evaluation.

Berardino gave a pretty good idea of how here. But also to quote myself from the AFL thread: "Haven't seen this announced or confirmed, but Ryan Eades, Sean Miller, and Andrew Vasquez are currently showing on the Saguaros roster page, so I think the Twins representatives are set. Honest opinion is I am a little disappointed with overall names. There's been some big time guys for the Twins there in recent years, and not really any this year unless you include Tyler Jay. Last year had Gonsalves, Gordon, and Garver for instance. 2015's squad had 3 guys currently on the Twins roster. Brent Rooker was my first choice, but can understand if he's played enough already this year. Thought Kohl Stewart would have been a great choice, might have been good for Gordon to go again, Luke Bard would be intriguing - will be fun to follow again though!"

1. I don't think we're "sleeping" on him. Certainly had a great year and even improved on his numbers in AA than he had at any other stop, but I don't think he'd crack a Top 20 list. 2. Right now, I'm more interested in if they're going to send him to the Arizona Fall League. If they do and he does well, I'd say the likelihood of Chattanooga is pretty high. If they don't, there's still a chance but I'd think he's in Fort Myers with potential for a move after a month or two. Depending on his performance, of course. (FYI - I really want him in the AFL ) Edit: Though now that I look, the Surprise roster has 7 Twins on it already, so not likely. Hadn't heard the last 3 announced: Ryan Eades, Andrew Vasquez, Sean Miller. Overall opinion of Falvine's first AFL roster: They could have done better. Couple interesting pitchers though.

Also not a prospect ranking for me.

This is an interesting stat to me, and I think it might show something different than the idea he is prone to pop-ups. I would tend to believe this also means he's fouling off a ton of pitches, thus working pitchers which leads to all those walks. When you foul a pitch off, people often say you "just missed," when in actuality an infield pop-up a lot of the time is closer to "just missing" than fouling one straight back. Can be seen as indicator of better bat control than a lot of guys to me.