Steve Lein

I think this was a very big story from last year, and it resulted in Bender being released by the Twins. Quite frankly, this article did absolutely nothing to change any of my own perceptions about what happened. If I was a teammate I'd never talk to this guy or trust him again, either. The fact that is was the other team that outed him, is pretty damning on it's own. (From the Athletic, so paywall): https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6162315/2025/02/27/twins-derek-bender-interview-giving-signs/

Jenkins' 90th percentile exit velocity was ~102 MPH in low-A (and actually just below average for the FSL as a whole), thus significantly worse than the 110 MPH for E-Rod that led the top 100, in that metric. This take may raise some eyebrows, but I have watched plenty of Jenkins to this point to notice it: It's an all-contact swing approach in it's current form that has been hard for me to see reaching any of those peak power projections unless something changes. Whether that's getting naturally stronger with age (he is already notably strong for a 19-year old, so this is not all that unlikely), or an effort to put some more behind those swings. If you gave me a choice I'd definitely want what's currently there over a power-centric approach that may hinder him elsewhere, but I would like to see some more situational aggression from him in 2025, too. Something like swing speed metrics would be really interesting for me to see on him as well, because I'd bet a lot of money his isn't all that high. Maybe that would also tell us he gets a lot more out of his swing speed than others do because of that strength he has, though. It'd be an interesting trade off to investigate. This is something I'll be watching with purposeful intent this year in the minors with Jenkins.

Haha! It is actually kind of a fun story... None of the following is made up, I swear on my life about that!!! (I think this story is in my bio on here, as well) Town Team game, Crow River Valley League. It was being broadcast on the local radio station, KGLB out of Glencoe, MN. It was 9th inning and we were winning by 2 or 3, but they had the based loaded and we had just one out. A lefty that I knew liked to go the other way was up, so I was ready. He of course did, and sent a looper down the line my way. It would have been a few feet fair if it landed, but I caught it at full sprint and glove fully extended out in front of me. This is the part where I should have done a slide, but instead I tried to stop on a dime and plant for a throw home with my right leg. I'll never forget the sound, or what it felt like having your leg bow out in a lateral direction that it's not supposed to... before I hopped one-footed on my left leg, and flung the ball toward the infield as best I could before crumpling to the ground. Walked off under my own power, but I knew. They got one run on that play, but we went on to win the game, likely because of me getting hurt. That was because the guy who took over left field for me was much younger and faster, and made a diving catch to snag a hard liner for the third out on the next hitter. An added element of weirdness to this, was my older brother had torn his same ACL on the same field, almost exactly a year prior, doing the same thing playing in the outfield. But he was in right-field running down a ball in the gap. I came off the bench for him in that game.

I was also more cautious about a right-handed thrower playing RF, and left-handed thrower playing LF, on whether I'd try to stretch something down the lines into a double. That's because they can "spin" to make that throw (and it can be a much stronger throw because of that) after fielding the ball, instead of having to stop their momentum entirely and reset before being able to make a throw. And this now reminds me of how I tore my ACL playing left field. I tried to stop that type of momentum to make a throw far too quickly 🤣 At least I made the catch!

Exactly! This is my pet peeve on baserunners not understanding this at the professional level!

For me it's pretty simple: It looks like he's making a "bad" play a lot of the time, so this gives runner's confidence to try and stretch it. His arm can more than make up for it when they do. Honestly, baserunning of a lot of MLB players is a big pet peeve of mine. Not as many that should, understand momentum of fielder's related to throws they will have to make, or don't pay enough attention. Like, if you're tagging from second and the outfielder's momentum is taking him "away" from you or the base you want to go to, take that base! One of my favorite plays in all of baseball last year was this throw from Jurickson Profar against the Twins: https://www.mlb.com/video/christian-vazquez-singles-on-a-line-drive-to-left-fielder-jurickson-profa Profar had no business attempting this throw, to be quite honest, and Jeffers 100% made the right decision to go for it, based on Profar's momentum and what I'm talking about above. But it was an all-time throw, and you just shake your head!

I have said this elsewhere, that there's a lot more Joe Mauer than Justin Morneau in Walker Jenkins game from what I have watched. What I mean by that is I think he swings for contact, not power, currently. This is not a bad thing, but I do wonder if that will shift at all in the future.

One thing I dislike about player profiles for prospects: They don't ever update these numbers until the player reaches the Major Leagues. 6'1" and 170 is what Raya was listed at coming out of high school. I have no doubt he's put on some muscle past 170 but I also don't think he's close to a stout 205 lbs like Jose Berrios is now, to keep that comparison going. It's certainly not the prototypical starter's build, but there are also plenty of examples outside of that mold.

Luzardo seems like exactly the type of pitcher the Twins have been targeting because of the reduced cost associated with their injury-risk, and every single one of them has been an abject failure. No thanks. Especially if we're talking Lewis. If it's Lewis, there's several other pitcher's on the Marlins I would be targeting instead, and probably two of them at that.

If I had any reason to believe Jax could be as effective as a starter as he has been a reliever, I would agree with you. But this story has already played out in the opposite direction, so I have none. Take 3-4 ticks off his fastball, a few inches of break off all his off-speed pitches, etc... and you're back to you're description of Morris here, which is hopefully a "durable innings eater" at the back of the rotation, instead of lock-down set-up man.

Coming in at No. 5 on our Minnesota Twins top prospect list is a starting pitcher who, despite his lack of a so-called track record, has continued to sit near the top of this list. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Age: 22 (DOB: 8/7/2002) 2024 Stats (Double-A and Triple-A): 25 GS, 3-4, 4.05 ERA, .243 BAA, 1.36 WHIP, 103 K, 44 BB, 97 2/3 IP ETA: 2025 2024 Ranking: 4 National Top 100 Rankings BA: NR | MLB: NR | ATH: NR | BP: NR What’s To Like? As a prep starting pitching prospect, the name of the game with Raya has always been potential. While he didn’t come with as much hype as (say) José Berríos, at the time of their drafting, I think there are some similarities to draw from there. Both are undersized, and came with fastball and slider combinations scouts could dream on. They were also plenty athletic, with clean deliveries they were able to repeat better than most high-school hurlers. A shoulder injury kept Raya out of the 2021 season, but he was quick to make a mark for the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels when 2022 rolled around. The second start of his career saw him post career bests with six innings pitched and 10 strikeouts. It certainly looked a lot like Berríos. His fastball now sits in the 94 MPH range, and will touch 96. His slider and curveball can both be swing-and-miss pitches and boast well-above-average spin rates. He worked hard on a cutter this past season and it is now his primary weapon against left-handed hitters, giving him another tool to get through full lineups. His curveball, in particular, made an impression after a bump to triple-A with the St. Paul Saints for his final start of this past season. That pitch has some serious depth, given how hard he throws it. The combination of mid-80s velocity and true curveball downward action is a highly valuable one. On this chart, you can see some of the names in his neighborhood, including one who makes clear what might be possible if Raya ends up in the bullpen. What’s Left To Work On? This might be the easiest question to answer for Raya as a starting pitching prospect and what they may have been lacking coming up through the system: Volume. What I mean by that is the amount of pitches and innings he has thrown since being taken by the Twins in the fourth round of the 2020 draft. It will be Year Five in the system for Raya, and although he didn’t really get started until the 2022 season, to say he has been handled with kid gloves since he was signed is an understatement. Whether this has been because of some new pitching prospect plan that the Twins and Derek Falvey have created with health at the forefront, or if there’s something else afoot with Raya, he simply hasn’t pitched enough to really draw any concrete conclusions on his long-term outlook as a starting pitcher. In his three years of pitching, he has started 64 games (appeared in 66), which doesn’t sound like a bad number by itself, but it comes with just 225 1/3 total innings. That means he has averaged less than three and a half innings per game for his career. In a starting pitcher's lens, he has pitched five or more innings in a game just 10 times, and six innings just twice (ironically, one of those outings was that tweet from me above). The most pitches he’s ever thrown in a game is 81, and during the 2023 season he never eclipsed 55. Call me old-fashioned, but these aren’t the types of numbers I like to see out of starting pitching prospects. The baseline goal should be that they are capable of picking up a win on the stat sheet every time out, even if that statistic by itself means very little. We’ve seen time and time again the past few seasons with the Twins how an inability to work more than halfway through a game can tax a bullpen (and pitching staff as a whole) over a full season. Raya is also still developing his arsenal and learning to control it. His changeup received positive reviews for its improvement last year, but he was throwing it very little or not at all at the tail end of the 2024 season. Instead, he began employing that cutter en masse, to go along with his 4-seam fastball and two breaking balls. His walk rate of 4.1 BB/9IP is also something you want to see come down in 2025. What’s Next? If I’m being honest, Raya was further down in my own list submitted for these rankings, in large part because of my concerns about his role. He came in as the fourth-ranked pitcher in the Twins system for me. You should have the gist by now: That is because I want to see more of what Raya can do next year, but I also do not want you to think that somehow lowers the amount of potential he carries. If he responds well to a ramped-up workload, his ceiling is awfully high. I have watched him dominate lineups. I have seen those high-spinning breaking balls fool hitters, and 96-MPH fastballs being dotted on the corners. I’m just not certain there isn’t a better reliever here than a starter at this point. You have to start treating him like one, eventually, to find out. He was added to the Twins' 40-man roster on Tuesday, so it’s quite obvious they believe in that ceiling, too. Depending on what the Twins do with the active roster this offseason, there is a good chance he begins the year in the rotation of the St. Paul Saints. While he will certainly be down in the pecking order with the likes of David Festa, Zebby Matthews, and Andrew Morris around, spot starts could be a possibility as soon as they become necessary, now that he's on that reserve list. In a perfect world for me, Raya reaches the 100-inning mark for the first time in his career before August. If he is not already making starts for the Twins by then (which could be a good or bad thing) but showing he deserves a chance, they then find a place for him in the bullpen as they make a playoff push. They should push him above 125 total innings in the process. That would put him in line to be a full-time contributor in the majors while he is still just 23 years old the following season, or pretty much what the Twins got out of Simeon Woods Richardson this year. Do you agree with Raya’s ranking? What do you expect out of him during the 2025 season? Can he reach the majors with the Twins, and will he start for them? View full article

Looks to me like it was a combination of who missed a lot of innings, and is willing or wants to go. Danny De Andrade was probably the Twins top priority choice to play shortstop for Salt River, but since he wasn't able that may have been transferred to Ben Ross. I thought Prielipp was a good candidate, as well as C.J. Culpepper and Cory Lewis. Any one of them would have been a top name in the league as far as pitchers go.

Both Minnesota Twins hitters ended their Arizona Fall League campaigns with impressive hitting streaks, and those culminated with a battle for the AFL Championship on Saturday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Kala'i Rosario) Game Results: Monday, 11/11 | Peoria 1, Salt River 7 Tuesday, 11/12 | Salt River 13, Peoria 10 Wednesday, 11/13 | Salt River 5, Surprise 8 Thursday, 11/14 | Surprise 10, Salt River 2 The Salt River Rafters entered Week 6 as one of five teams still vying for a place in the Arizona Fall League playoffs. They took care of the bottom-feeding Peoria Javelinas in the first two games of the week, but closed it out with two losses against the league-leading Surprise Saguaros. The 2-2 regular season finish put Salt River in a three-way tie at 16-14 overall, but because of tie-breakers, they were given one of the two spots in the Wild Card semifinal game. Could St. Paul Saints coach and Rafters manager Tyler Smarslok push his team into the title game, and perhaps an AFL championship? OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 4-for-15, 4 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 3 BB, 6 K, SB (4 games) Overall: .291/.383/.430 Rosario finished his 2024 AFL season by extending his hitting streak to nine games to close it out. That includes a couple of games to be recapped later, but he did make starts in two of the Rafters four games before the playoffs. On Tuesday against Peoria, Rosario played in left field and batted fifth in the lineup. After the first two hitters of the game were outs, the Rafters plated eight runs for an early blowout lead. Rosario drew a walk to load the bases before any of those had been scored, and came all the way home on a bases-clearing double. In the second inning, Rosario reached on an error, but was promptly picked off of first base. Leading off the sixth inning, he sent a single into center field to keep his hitting streak alive. He was back in right field in Thursday’s 10-2 loss to Surprise, batting third in the lineup. The Rafters didn’t score any runs until the eighth inning, but Rosario was part of that. With a runner on second base, his single into center field brought home their first run of the game to make it 8-1. He later scored their second run from third, on a single from teammate Kristian Robinson. While Rosario didn’t display the same type of power that he did last year in the AFL, when he led the league in home runs (tied with Aaron Sabato), he finished this year with basically the same OPS. That was driven by a much better batting average and on-base percentage this time around, while he also struck out at a lesser pace. While I think he’s back in Wichita for the start of the season, expect Rosario at CHS Field at some point in 2025. IF Ben Ross Week: 5-for-14, 3 R, 4 2B, 2 RBI, 2 BB, 2 K, SB (4 games) Overall: .280/.390/.427 While Rosario got the better of Ross with a nine-game hitting streak to close his season, Ross also ran a streak of his own up to eight games, continuing his solid play from the week before. In Monday’s win over Peoria, Ross played shortstop and batted eighth in the Salt River lineup. With the score 5-0 Rafters in the third, Ross brought in their second run of the inning with an RBI single before being stranded on third base. He drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the eighth and, two batters later, scored their seventh run of the game on a sac fly. He was back at shortstop on Wednesday, batting seventh in the lineup in a loss to the Saguaros. He clubbed a double in the second inning, and later stole home on a double-steal for an early 3-0 Rafters lead. That lead disappeared quickly in the bottom half of that inning, but Ross wasn’t done. He added another double in the eighth inning, but was left stranded as all other three hitters struck out around him. Ross finished his AFL season with a flourish, besting Rosario in the OPS category behind five doubles, two triples, and a home run to go along with 15 walks in 24 games. He’s likely back in Wichita to start next season, but if his bat comes around like this he could be in triple-A sometime during the summer. Before I forget, that two-double effort also wasn’t Ross’s final appearance of the AFL regular season, as he came into the game in the ninth inning on Thursday against Peoria. As the pitcher. He walked the first man he faced, but induced a double-play ball to the next hitter on a 69 MPH pitch. Unfortunately he wouldn’t get out unscathed after that, as a walk and three singles allowed two more runs to score before he got the final out. I’ll note he did top out at 84 MPH on the radar gun (with a “cutter”), while most of his other pitches were tracked as a curveball around 70 MPH. IF Danny De Andrade Week: Did not play. The Venezuelan infielder hit .243/.333/.359 in 29 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels before injuring his ankle and spending the rest of the season on the injured list. He was added to the Twins AFL roster in the hope he would be able to make up a few at-bats, but unfortunately that did not materialize. RHP Devin Kirby Week: 3 1/3 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 4 BB, 3 K (2 appearances) Overall: 1-0, 9.53 ERA, 2.12 WHIP, .262 BAA, 13 BB, 8 K (11 1/3 IP) The knuckleballer made an appearance in one of the four regular season games on the week, pitching multiple innings against the Javelinas on Tuesday. He entered the game in the middle of the fourth inning after Peoria had closed the Salt River lead to within three. With a runner on third base, Kirby got his man with a swinging strikeout to get his team back in the dugout. In a scoreless fifth inning, he worked around a one-out walk by retiring all three other hitters he faced. Back out for more in the sixth, the Javelinas finally figured out his knuckleball. A leadoff walk was followed by a home run to make the score 11-1 Rafters. A single, double, and hit batter then loaded the bases before he got a double-play ball for the first two outs, but another run scored. A fourth run would cross the plate on a single before Kirby got out of it with his second strikeout of the outing. In all, he was charged with four earned runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out two in 2 1/3 innings. His second appearance of the week came against Scottsdale in the semifinal game, which we will get to shortly. Kirby pitched for the FCL Twins and Fort Myers during the 2024 season, and it will be interesting to follow his knuckleball moving forward. Obviously there is work to be done on that end, but I am looking forward to it. RHP Jack Noble Week: Did not pitch Overall: 1-1, 5.56 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, .282 BAA, 7 BB, 10 K (11 1/3 IP) The right-hander out of Long Beach State pitched himself into the Fall Stars game last week with his overall body of work, but did not make an appearance in any games to close out the AFL season. Except for one blip, where he allowed five earned runs while recording just one out, Noble was solid in his 11 other innings. In those other seven appearances he gave up just two earned runs on eight hits, while walking six and striking out nine. LHP Kade Bragg Week: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 2-1, 7.24 ERA, 1.61 WHIP, .180 BAA, 13 BB, 13 K (13 2/3 IP) Bragg received the starting nod in Tuesday’s high-scoring win over Peoria. He was even credited with a win after pitching just the first 1 2/3 innings, as the Rafters lineup batted around in the top of the first to jump out to 8-0 lead before he ever took the mound. He struck out two in a scoreless first, allowing just a single to the Javelina’s number three hitter. Back out for the second he ran into trouble immediately. After a leadoff walk he got a flyout, but then a single and another walk loaded the bases. Such is the luck of Twins pitchers the last two weeks, he then served up a grand slam to make the game 8-4. He’d get one more out before another walk and a plunking ended his day. One of those runners came around to score after his exit to account for the five runs given up. Overall the left-hander had mixed results in AFL play. He showed an ability to miss some bats at times, but also the strike zone. The biggest thing to take away from the AFL for Bragg however, is that he got some innings in after throwing less than 10 total for Fort Myers this season. It was also a bit of a step up in competition, so the results shouldn’t be held against him through that lens. RHP Jacob King Week: 1 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-1, 7.71 ERA, 2.14 WHIP, .333 BAA, 6 BB, 10 K (9 1/3 IP) King finished his AFL season with one appearance in the Rafters' loss to Surprise on Thursday. He came on to start the seventh inning with the score already 6-0 in the Saguaros favor. He struck out the first man he faced, but a pair of doubles followed to allow a single run. He finished off the inning by bookending a walk with a pair of strikeouts. Back out for the eighth he walked the leadoff man and allowed another RBI double before getting a grounder and a strikeout to end his outing. Like the other Twins pitchers, King gave up some good contact and walks, but missed a bunch of bats as well in AFL play. So far in his career King has only pitched 2 1/3 innings in the rookie leagues, so getting on the mound against the solid competition of the AFL should be a great learning experience moving forward. RHP Liam Rocha Week: 2 1/3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, 3 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 4.26 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, .250 BAA, 9 BB, 12 K (12 2/3 IP) Rocha also had just one appearance in the final week of the AFL schedule, pitching multiple innings in Wednesday’s tilt with the Saguaros. The Rafter’s starting pitcher got into a bunch of trouble in the second inning, and it was Rocha who was brought in to stop the bleeding. After a two-RBI triple made the score 7-2, Rocha entered the game with two outs and got a strikeout to escape further damage. He also struck out the leadoff man in the third, and worked around a two-out single for a scoreless inning. A leadoff walk in the forth came back to bite him, as a stolen base and RBI single pushed a run across for Surprise, but a double-play ball put an end to the inning, and his AFL season. Along with King, Rocha has only appeared in the rookie leagues to this point, so expecting dominance should not have been the goal. He added some innings against quality competition to his overall ledger, and should make the jump to the Fort Myers bullpen in 2025. AFL Wild Card Semifinal Game Salt River 13, Scottsdale 4 Box Score As mentioned at the start of this article, the Salt River Rafters made it into the AFL playoffs thanks to their 16-14 record. They got to face off against the Scottsdale Scorpions in the wild card semifinal on Friday as the visiting team. They took little time to get going, putting up six runs in the first two innings for a big early lead they would never give up. Kala’i Rosario batted third in the lineup and drew a walk in the first inning. The next batter clubbed a three-run homer for a 4-0 lead. In the top of the second, Ben Ross dropped a double over the first baseman’s head in right field, and later scored their fifth run of the game on a double from Tommy Troy. Rosario followed with an RBI single and it was 6-0 Rafters after two. Salt River added two more runs in the fifth after Troy led off with a double, and Rosario moved him to third on a fielder’s choice play that included an error. Rosario then stole second base and they both came around to score on another Scorpions error to make it 8-0. Ross drew a walk in a three-run seventh inning, but those runs came before he could advance any further. Devin Kirby finished out the ninth inning for Salt River, coming into the game with a 13-1 lead. The knuckleball knuckled a bit too much, leading to the final score of 13-4 as Kirby walked two, allowed three singles, and a few balls got past the catcher en route to being charged with three earned runs. He struck out one. With the decisive win, the Rafters would move on to face a team they had just lost to twice earlier in the week. AFL Championship Game Salt River 3, Surprise 2 Box Score Perhaps it was appropriate that the two teams who tied atop the leaderboard during the regular season in runs scored, faced off against each other in the AFL Championship game. Rosario again was batting third in the lineup, playing right field, while Ross took his home at shortstop batting seventh. They both ended up playing key roles in the game. The Surprise Saguaros struck first with a two out rally in the bottom half of the first inning. A single, walk, and RBI single gave them a 1-0 lead. In the top of the second Robert Hassell III of Salt River clubbed a one-out triple, and Ross brought him in with a sac fly to tie the game at one. The top of the third started with a leadoff double for Salt River, and Rosario came to the plate later with two outs and that runner had yet to advance any further. That fact wouldn’t matter, as Rosario traded places at second with an RBI double of his own to put the Rafters in front 3-1. In the top of the fourth Salt River cost themselves a run when Ryan Ritter, who led off the inning with a single, was picked off at first base in front of Ross. That’s because Ross sent a double down the third base line, and he ended up at third after a throwing error, where he would be stranded. The Rafters added their third run in the top of fifth, and it again came on a batted ball from Rosario. Three walks loaded the bases with no outs in front of him, and though his grounder to second turned into a double-play, it did allow a run to score for a 3-1 lead. Surprise would get one back in the bottom half, but from there the bullpens of each team shut it down. Rosario drew a walk in the seventh to put runners on first and second, but that’s as close as Salt River would get the rest of the way. There was some anxiety in the bottom of the ninth, as a hit batter and a walk put the tying run in scoring position, but the Rafters were able to close out the victory and take home the Arizona Fall League Championship as Ben Ross fielded the final out to clinch it Congrats to manager Tyler Smarslok, all of the Twins prospects, and the rest of the Salt River Rafters roster on a job well done! This is the second time in the last five years that Twins prospects have taken home a title for Salt River, as Royce Lewis led the Rafters to a win in 2019. Edouard Julien and Austin Martin also helped the Glendale Desert Dogs reach the title game in 2022, falling 6-5 to Surprise in extra innings. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

The pitching is so bad in the AFL this year (league ERA is basically 6.00) that the average OPS in the league is above .800. Rosario's is still above average in that regard, though pretty similar overall to 2023. This time being led by batting average and OBP instead of slugging. I'll take that tradeoff in determining any promotion readiness, but yeah, you're still looking at Double-A.

I think there is a chance for a callup, but also that Double-A is his likely starting spot, as he has only about a half-season under his belt there.

Week 5 of the Arizona Fall League season is its biggest one, as it includes the circuit's “Fall Stars” weekend. A pair of Minnesota Twins prospects took part in those festivities, but the biggest week as far as the Salt River Rafters were concerned came from a non-participant. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Ben Ross) Game Results: Monday, 11/4 | Glendale 11, Salt River 13 Tuesday, 11/5 | Salt River 13, Mesa 11 Wednesday, 11/6 | Mesa 9, Salt River 6 (7 innings) Thursday, 11/7 | Salt River 3, Peoria 10 Saturday, 11/9 | Fall Stars Game: American League 6, National League 5 With it being All Stars Week in the Arizona Fall League, the Salt River Rafters only played four games, going 2-2 on the week to finish it out at 14-12 overall. Minnesota Twins pitchers had a bit of a rough week, regressing to the mean as far as the league is concerned. The hitters, on the other hand, continued their solid play, with one launching a home run and the other being one of the toughest outs on the circuit for the week. The weekend also saw the American League face off against the National League in the Fall Stars Game with one Twins pitcher making an appearance, and a hitter attempting to defend his Home Run Derby title from last year. OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 3-for-10, 5 R, HR, 4 RBI, 4 BB, 3 K, SB (3 games) Overall: .296/.388/.451 Rosario opened the week as the designated hitter, batting seventh in the Rafters lineup on Monday in their win over the Glendale Desert Dogs. While he had just one hit in the game, it was a big one, as his home run in the bottom of the third inning closed the Desert Dogs lead to just one. The ball left his bat at 108 MPH and traveled 426 feet. Rosario also drew a walk to start the bottom of the second inning, and later stole third base for his third swipe of the season. He would score a run that inning on a balk. Then, in both the fourth and fifth innings, Rosario drew bases-loaded walks to pick up two more RBIs. He finished 1-for-2 with two runs scored and four RBIs. In Tuesday’s victory over the Mesa Solar Sox, Rosario moved back up to the cleanup spot in the lineup and roamed right field. He didn’t reach base in his first two at-bats, but picked up a single in the sixth to start a Salt River rally. Later, with the bases loaded, Rosario scored from third on a single to put them in front 5-2. Rosario reached on a fielder’s choice in the seventh, and later scored again on a double. He finished his day by drawing another walk in the eighth, and later scored the Rafters' 12th run of the game. After a day off on Wednesday, Rosario was back in right field and batting sixth for the Rafters. It took him until the eighth inning, but he was able to extend his hitting streak to five games with a single up the middle. While he hasn’t hit as many home runs this time around as he did last year, Rosario also got the opportunity this week to defend his Home Run Derby crown from last season. He had another strong showing, but the eventual winner, Garrett Martin of the New York Yankees, edged him out to reach the final with a tally of 16-to-15. IF Ben Ross Week: 7-for-11, 3 R, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 BB, K (3 games) Overall: .269/.385/.397 Ross appeared in three of the Rafters' four games on the week, and was a menace to opposing pitchers, batting .636 in his 11 at-bats. In the Rafters' 13-11 victory over Mesa on Tuesday, Ross played shortstop and batted behind Rosario. He grounded out in the top of the second, but singles in each of the fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth innings led to his three runs scored in the game. His single in the top of the eighth also drove in two to make it 12-6, giving the Rafters what would turn out to be the winning run. On Wednesday, the Rafters again took on the Solar Sox, and Ross was at short again, batting fifth in the lineup. His single in the bottom of the first put the first run of the game on the scoreboard, and before the inning was over Salt River had an early 3-0 lead. He also drew a walk in the sixth inning to reach base multiple times. Batting seventh in the lineup and playing center field on Thursday, Ross led off the top of the second inning with his third double of the AFL season, but ended up being caught in no-man's land between second and third and wasn’t able to score a run. He led off the fourth inning with a walk and this time would end up stranded. He finished off this game with an infield single in the top of the eighth inning, but the Rafters would again leave him stranded as they finished this game 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position. IF Danny De Andrade Week: Did not play. The Venezuelan infielder hit .243/.333/.359 in 29 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels before injuring his ankle all the way back in May. He spent the rest of the season on the injured list and the hope was he would be able to make up a few at-bats in the Arizona Fall League. Unfortunately, that has not happened. RHP Devin Kirby Week: 1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 8.00 ERA, 2.00 WHIP, .219 BAA, 11 BB, 6 K (9 IP) Kirby’s knuckleball saw action in just one game on the week, as he pitched the seventh inning of Monday’s win over Glendale with the score 12-8 Salt River. The first four batters of the inning reached base (two walks, two singles) leading to a pair of runs before he got the innings first out with a fly ball. From there, his knuckler danced quite well, as he finished his outing with a pair of swinging strikeouts. RHP Jack Noble Week: 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, BB, K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-1, 5.56 ERA, 1.59 WHIP, .282 BAA, 7 BB, 10 K (11 1/3 IP) While Noble only made one (forgettable) appearance for the Rafters on the week, he also was the sole Minnesota Twins prospect to make the American League Fall Stars team. In Wednesday’s loss to Mesa, Noble was the first reliever summoned from the Salt River bullpen to begin the third inning. The Rafters had a 3-0 lead at the time, but they’d be behind by the time Noble was lifted. He recorded just one out after giving up a leadoff single, walk, and three-run home run to tie the game. He then picked up a strikeout for his only out, before giving up a pair of doubles and being sent to the showers. In total, he was charged with five earned runs on four hits and a walk, ballooning his ERA from sub 2.00 all the way to above 5.00. Such is the nature of the AFL and stat lines sometimes. But before that blowup, Noble had been good enough to earn his spot in the bullpen on the American League Fall Stars team; that showcase game was played on Saturday at Sloan Park in Mesa, AZ. With the game tied 5-5, Noble came on to start the bottom of the eighth inning. He got the first batter on a fly out to center, but then gave up a single to put the go-ahead run on base for the National League squad. He got a groundout from the next hitter that moved that runner to second, and Noble was lifted after recording two outs. The AL team would go onto win 6-5 thanks to a solo home run in the top of the ninth. LHP Kade Bragg Week: 2 1/3 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, K (1 appearance) Overall: 0-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, .143 BAA, 10 BB, 11 K (12 IP) Bragg's lone appearance of the week came in Tuesday’s win over the Solar Sox, when he came into the game to start the fifth inning. He put up zeroes in each of the fifth and sixth frames, allowing just a single and a walk in each. Back out for the seventh, however, he got into a bunch of trouble with the score 9-2 in favor of the Rafters. A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases with one out, and he gave up a grand slam to make the score 9-6 before being removed from the game. Although he gave up those four runs, he was credited with a hold for his efforts. RHP Jacob King Week: 2 1/3 IP, 7 H, 7 R (4 ER), 3 BB, K (2 appearances) Overall: 0-1, 7.04 ERA, 1.96 WHIP, .324 BAA, 4 BB, 6 K (7 2/3 IP) King was the only pitcher to see action in multiple games for Salt River during the week, but he’d rather move onto the final week and forget these. In Monday’s win over Glendale, he was the first reliever to come out of the Rafters bullpen, in the middle of the second inning. The Desert Dogs had already scored three runs to tie the game, but King was able to get a lineout to end any further threat. Back out for the third inning the first three hitters reached base on a double and a pair of walks, before he got a force out at home for the first out. He followed that up with a strikeout to give himself a chance at getting out unscathed, but an earlier error led to a bases clearing double to put the Desert Dogs out front 6-3 before he could. He recorded three outs in this one, and was charged with three unearned runs on two hits and two walks. In Thursday’s loss to Peoria, King was again the first reliever summoned for Salt River, and again in the middle of the second inning with multiple runners on base. He hit his first batter to load the bases, then allowed a two-run single to tie the game at three before getting the final out. In the third he loaded the bases with a walk and a pair of singles before giving up a grand slam of his own and the Javelinas a 7-3 lead. After that he worked around a single to finish the inning, but the damage was done. RHP Liam Rocha Week: 1 2/3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 4.35 ERA, 1.74 WHIP, .250 BAA, 8 BB, 9 K (10 1/3 IP) Rocha’s single appearance of the week came in Wednesday’s loss to Mesa, and he was the pitcher to come in and clean up Noble’s mess in the top of the third inning. With the score 4-3 Mesa and one out, Rocha allowed an RBI double to the first hitter to score an inherited runner, before picking up a pair of strikeouts to escape the jam. Back out for the fourth, he walked the first two hitters and then let up an RBI double that made it 6-4 Solar Sox. A sac fly extended that lead to three, but he got a fly out and ground ball around a hit batter to limit any further scoring and finish the inning. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

Bragg is certainly a guy to watch. His pitch mix is a lot like Joe Ryan's: a lot of fastballs. But he gets K's and the walks are likely a byproduct of having pitched less than 10 innings as a pro thus far before heading to the AFL.

I hope that Rosario makes the jump to triple-A at some point in 2025, maybe even starts there, so that is certainly a possibility. Let's hope he hits his way to that!

Week 4 of the Arizona Fall League season saw an infielder prospect channel the slugging prowess of his outfielder teammate, while a pair of pitchers excelled over multiple inning outings. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Ben Ross) Game Results: Monday, 10/28 | Salt River 3, Scottsdale 1 Tuesday, 10/29 | Glendale 7, Salt River 11 Wednesday, 10/30 | Peoria 5, Salt River 6 Thursday, 10/31 | Salt River 4, Mesa 17 Friday, 11/1 | Scottsdale 4, Salt River 1 Saturday, 10/26 | Mesa 3, Salt River 8 The Salt River Rafters went 4-2 on the week and sit at 12-10 overall on the season. This is tied for third in the Arizona Fall League standings, and they are a half-game out of second place heading into the season's penultimate week. One Twins prospect extended a hitting streak to five games, while another launched his first home run of the fall. On the pitching side a pair of hurlers combined to allow one earned run over 9 2/3 innings pitched between them. OF Kala’i Rosario Week: 3-for-15, 2 R, RBI, BB, 6 K (4 games) Overall: .295/.366/.426 (.792 OPS) Rosario continued to bat in the heart of the Rafters lineup while making appearances in each of the outfield corners and at designated hitter. His first action of the week was in Tuesday’s win over the Glendale Desert Dogs. The Rafters got on the scoreboard first thanks to his RBI single, their third in a row, in the bottom of the first. In the fifth he was hit by a pitch, and then was immediately driven in by his Twins teammate to make the score 5-4 Glendale. Rosario would not reach base again in this one, but Salt River got a big grand slam in the bottom of the seventh that put this one in the victory column. Rosario’s five-game hitting streak came to an end on Wednesday against the Peoria Javelinas, as he finished 0-for-3 with a pair of strikeouts, but he did reach base via a walk. The Rafters won this one in the bottom of the ninth courtesy of a Ryan Ritter walk-off home run. Thursday’s game against Mesa was over almost as quickly as it started, as the Solar Sox scored 11 runs in the bottom of the first inning. Despite that, Rosario did his best to start a new hitting streak with a single in a three-run eighth for the Rafters. Just like on Tuesday, his Twins teammate was able to bring him around to score as the next batter. Unfortunately, Rosario struck out in each of his three other plate appearances. Rosario closed his week with another 1-for-4 effort in Friday’s loss to the Scottsdale Scorpions. He singled in his first plate appearance but did not reach base again as the Rafters managed just three hits and two walks as a team. IF Ben Ross Week: 5-for-20, 4 R, 2B, HR, 4 RBI, BB, 4 K (5 games) Overall: .203/.329/.344 (.673 OPS) Ross collected a hit in four of his five games on the week, and as alluded to was responsible for bringing in Rosario on multiple occasions. He played shortstop in all four of his starts, and came in as an injury replacement to play third base in the other. In Monday’s win over the Scottsdale Scorpions he led off the fifth inning with a single. He scored all the way from first on a double from the next batter to put the Rafters up 1-0. Against Glendale on Tuesday Ross put together his second multi-hit game of the season, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, walk, run scored, and RBI. He drew his walk in the third inning to load the bases, and the Rafters would score two in the frame to make it 4-3 after three. In the fifth his two-out double scored Rosario and pulled the Rafters within one after five. Leading off the seventh inning Ross lined a single up the middle and would come around to score before Caleb Durbin put the Rafters in front for good with a grand slam. After a day off Ross was back in the lineup against Mesa on Thursday, and was responsible for 75% of the Rafters offense in the loss. Down 14-1 in the eighth inning, Ross came to bat after a walk and a single from Rosario put two runners on base. He hammered an 0-1 pitch over the wall in center for his first home run of the AFL campaign. He also reached base in the first inning on a fielder’s choice. Ross entered Friday’s game in the third inning for starter Gino Groover, playing third base. He finished 0-for-3 and struck out to end the game, but there wasn't much to talk about for any of the Rafters in the 4-1 loss to the Scorpions. He finished his week with a 1-for-5 effort in Saturday’s win over the Solar Sox, helping the Rafters get back at them for the big loss earlier in the week. He led off the bottom of the fourth with a single and promptly stole second base. With the bases loaded a few batters later, he was brought home with a sacrifice fly for the home team's eighth and final run. IF Danny De Andrade Week: Did not play. The Venezuelan infielder hit .243/.333/.359 in 29 games with the Cedar Rapids Kernels before injuring his ankle back in May. He spent the rest of the season on the injured list and the hope was he would be able to make up a few at-bats in the Arizona Fall League, but that has yet to happen. RHP Devin Kirby Week: W, 2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 6.75 ERA, 1.75 WHIP, .185 BAA, 9 BB, 4 K (8 IP) The knuckleballer made one appearance on the week, picking up the win in Salt River’s defeat of Glendale on Tuesday. Kirby was brought in to start the sixth inning with the score 5-4 in favor of the Desert Dogs. He got a pair of groundouts from the first two hitters before giving up a single that was followed by an RBI triple to put the visiting team up by two. His offense tied the game up at six before he came back out for the seventh. Kirby gave up a pair of walks and a passed ball that put Glendale back out front, but his offense took a commanding lead with a five-run bottom of the seventh, putting him in line for the win. He surrendered two earned runs on two hits and a pair of walks in his two innings. Of his 38 pitches, 17 went for strikes (45%) and both of the hits he allowed came on his fastball. RHP Jack Noble Week: 5 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K (2 appearances) Overall: 1-0, 1.64 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, .206 BAA, 6 BB, 9 K (11 IP) Noble was the first reliever summoned from the bullpen in Tuesday’s comeback win over Glendale, pitching the fourth and fifth innings. He gave up a leadoff single to the first batter he faced, but erased him on a double-play ball, and faced the minimum three hitters as a result in a scoreless frame. With the score 4-3 Desert Dogs in the fifth, Noble walked a pair of hitters and gave up an RBI single, but also picked up a strikeout to close his outing. In Saturday’s revenge game against Mesa, Noble came on for the fourth inning and dominated the Solar Sox through the sixth. He went one-two-three in each of the fourth and fifth innings, picking up a strikeout in each. He allowed a one-out single in the sixth, but again erased that runner with an inning ending double-play ball. In his three innings he faced the minimum and lowered his ERA to 1.64 on the AFL season. He needed just 35 pitches in this one, with 24 of them going for strikes (69%). LHP Kade Bragg Week: 4 2/3 IP, H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K (2 appearances) Overall: 0-1, 1.86 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, .094 BAA, 7 BB, 10 K (9 2/3 IP) Like Noble, Bragg also pitched in two games on the week and was even more dominant from a stats perspective. The left-hander picked up a hold in Monday’s win over Scottsdale, coming out of the bullpen to start the fifth inning. He walked the leadoff man, but promptly picked him off at first base for the innings first out. He then retired the next two hitters for a scoreless frame. Back out for the sixth, he alternated three strikeouts around a walk and a single to complete a scoreless outing. His second appearance of the week came in Friday’s loss to the Scorpions, entering the game to begin the sixth inning. With his team already down 4-1, he retired the side in order, picking up a strikeout in the process. In the seventh he got two quick outs before a hit-by-pitch and walk put multiple runners on base, but closed it out with another K. Back out for the eighth inning, he picked up his third strikeout before being lifted with two outs. RHP Jacob King Week: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 K Overall: 0-0, 3.38 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, .200 BAA, 1 BB, 5 K (5 1/3 IP) King made his lone appearance of the week on Wednesday, coming on for the eighth inning against Peoria. The Rafters were leading 5-3 at that point, but before it was over he would be credited with a blown save. He gave up a leadoff single that was followed by an RBI double, then two batters later an RBI single to tie the game at five. He did settle down to strike out the last two hitters he faced, but it meant the Rafters now needed the walk-off home run they got in the bottom of the ninth. RHP Liam Rocha Week: 2 2/3 IP, H, ER, 2 BB, 2 K (1 appearance) Overall: 1-0, 3.12 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, .235 BAA, 6 BB, 7 K (8 2/3 IP) Rocha also had just one outing in week 4 but like Kirby, Noble, and Bragg before him, his was for multiple innings. Unfortunately for him, it came in their blowout loss to Mesa on Thursday. It wasn’t really his fault however, as 11 of the Solar Sox’s 17 runs came in the first inning and he didn’t enter until the fifth. He was summoned after a walk with one out in the fifth, and retired both hitters he faced to keep that frame scoreless. A leadoff double in the sixth led to an earned run on his ledger, but he struck out the final batter of the inning to keep the damage to one. He finished by allowing a walk in the seventh, but otherwise retiring the three other hitters, including a second strikeout to move the game along. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss the prospects playing in the AFL this week! View full article

My personal nitpick of Walker Jenkins' season: He did not hit for power. My observations have been there is a lot more Joe Mauer in him than there is Justin Morneau (I think he takes a lot of swings geared for contact only). I'm not in any way saying that is a bad thing, just telling what I saw. Then I'll put an asterisk on all that by also noting he is still just 19 years old, so this is not in any way a suggestion that such power will never come.

I wish I had an answer for you, but there is no chatter on anything going on with De Andrade I have been able to find. I do hope he is actually there and will get some play time eventually! You and me both. The Twins seem to be changing how they use the AFL, and it is no longer a place they will send top prospects, whether they had at-bats to make up or not. I think E-Rod and Jenkins were both the perfect candidates, even pitchers like Cory Lewis and C.J. Culpepper had cases to make up innings here. It's a disappointing change in approach, for sure if that is the case. It also could be something like they just didn't want to go. And you're thinking of Brandon Winokur. He would have been an interesting choice as well!