Steve Lein

The big news out of the Minnesota Twins camp this past week was the naming of their next manager, Hall of Famer Paul Molitor, but that wasn’t the only notable news in the organization. In the Arizona Fall League, it was further bad news for Byron Buxton’s season, as he injured his finger in Monday’s game, and will miss the rest of the AFL season. Read on to find out how the rest of Twins prospect’s fared during the week, and how the AFL Fall Stars game went for their two participants! Byron Buxton – 1 game, 1-4 (.250), 1 K, SB (5), CS (1). The play that took Buxton out of action again occurred in the ninth inning of Monday’s 3-3 tie. It was a sinking line drive that he came in on and just missed making the play. Although not as serious of an injury as the other’s that occurred this season, it’s yet another blip on what can only be described as a disappointing and lost season for the young phenom. Buxton had surgery on Thursday and is expected to be ready to go for Spring Training. Eddie Rosario – 4 games, 6-19 (.316), 3 R’s, 2 2B’s, RBI, 4 K’s, 1 SB (10), 1 CS (3) Rosario remained the number three hitter in the Salt River Rafter’s lineup playing left field, and continued hitting. In Tuesday’s 14-2 Rafter’s win, he was 2-5 with a double. Then later in the week on Halloween he collected two more hits including another double in five at-bats, to finish the week batting .397 in League play and well atop the leaderboard. Max Kepler – 3 games, 4-14 (.286), 3 R’s, 3B, 5 RBI, 1 BB’s, 4 K’s. Kepler appeared in three games during the week, making two appearances in the regular right fielder rotation, and one game at designated hitter. He collected a hit in each of those games, including a triple, two runs scored, and three RBI in Tuesdays 14-2 thumping Rafters thumping of the Glendale Desert Dogs. He was also 2-5 in Monday’s game and carries a .289/.385/.422 triple slash line on the season in eleven games. Taylor Rogers – Did not play. Rogers took a line drive to his shoulder in his only start for the Rafters in week 1, and has not pitched since. Jason Adam – 2 games, 2 IP, 0 R’s, 2 H’s, 2 BB’s, 0 K, Win (1-0). 6.00 ERA. Adam was the first of three consecutive Twins pitchers in Monday’s tie, surrendering a double and a walk before getting out of the jam with a fly ball to Kepler. His second appearance came on Friday, entering the game with one out in the sixth inning. He proceeded to hit the first batter he faced and walked the second to load the bases, but induced a groundball to pick up the final out of the inning. He came back out to start the seventh and gave up a single to the leadoff man, but retired the next two batters before being removed. He picked up his first AFL win in the process and lowered his ERA in the AFL to 6.00. Since surrendering runs in his first four appearances, Adam has pitched three scoreless innings. Zack Jones – 2 games, 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H’s, 2 BB, 2 K’s, 1 Hold (4). 0.00 ERA. Jones was the third of the Twins relievers on Monday and walked the first man he faced. He would also give up a single before retiring the final two batters on fly balls. In the Rafters 5-4 loss on Thursday, Jones pitched the eighth inning. He would again walk the first man he faced, but then retired the next two hitters with strikeouts. A pitch got away from him and hit the next batter to put men on first and second, but got an infield pop-up to finish the inning and pick up his fourth hold in AFL play. Jake Reed – 2 games, 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H’s, 0 BB, 1 K. 0.00 ERA. Reed also made two appearances on the week, and in Monday’s tie pitched the sixth inning. He gave up a single to right field with one out but escaped any damage to his perfect ERA with a fly-ball and strikeout to end the inning. He made his second appearance in Wednesday’s tie with the Surprise Saguaros, pitching the seventh inning. He surrendered a single (and then a stolen base) to top shortstop prospect Trea Turner of the San Diego Padres, but retired the other three men he faced. He has now thrown eight scoreless innings in the AFL and continues to focus on improving his changeup and breaking ball in his transition from college to the minor leagues. AFL Fall Stars Game: With the AFL season half over, Saturday’s game was their All-Star showcase, the Fall Stars game. Byron Buxton and Jake Reed were the Twins original participants, but after Buxton’s injury it was (the deserving) Eddie Rosario taking his place. Rosario batted second and played left field for the East squad, going 0-2 with a walk, stolen base, and two strikeouts. He also picked up an outfield assist at second base. Reed made his appearance in the seventh inning, and was credited with a hold after retiring Nick Williams and Just O’Connor, giving up a single to Jace Peterson, and fielding a ground ball off the bat of Kyle Waldrop (not the former Twin) to end the frame. Their AFL-East squad won the game 6-2. Notes -Twins hitters combined to bat .297 with 2 2B’s, 1 3B, 6 R’s, 6 RBI, 1 BB, 9 K’s, and 2 SB during the week. -Twins pitchers compiled a 0.00 ERA in 6.0 IP, allowing 0 R’s on 6 H’s and 4 BB’s, while striking out 3 on the week.

Well, he was a starter for his first two season's at Oregon... (haha)

As I've been tracking all these guys in the AFL, the most interesting thing associated with Jake Reed that I've seen has been his efficiency and control, after coming out of the draft with legitimate concerns in this area (I think they called him a "wild-armed closer" after picking him). So I love this quote from him: "As long as I keep throwing strikes, I think I'll keep doing alright." He's thrown 102 pitches in his 8.0 innings in the AFL, which works out to 12.75 pitches/inning, a very good number. He's also thrown 78 of those 102 pitches for strikes, a 76.5% rate and only 2 walks, which is also very good. He's had outings where he threw 7-9, 13-15, and 16-20 pitches for strikes. Another interesting nugget to me, is that Reed is a bit of a sidearmer bringing that mid-90's heat, and you don't see that too often! Lately I've been imagining a future bullpen that includes Zack Jones, J.T. Chargois, Reed, and Nick Burdi, and get kind of giddy!

As I've been tracking all these guys in the AFL, the one thing that stands out big time from me with Jake Reed, has been his efficiency and command and control, so I love this quote from him: "As long as I keep throwing strikes, I think I'll keep doing alright." He's thrown a total of 102 pitches in 8.0 innings, or 12.75/IP, which is a very good number. Of those 102 pitches, 78 have been for strikes, good for a strike percentage of 76.5%. Also very good. He's made appearances where he threw 7 of 9, 13-15, and 16-20 pitches for strikes. He's definitely shown that he's willing work on, and improve, the control concerns coming out of the draft! (I think they called him a "wild-armed closer" after picking him) Not often mentioned as well, is he's a bit of a sidearmer bringing mid-90's heat! You don't see that too often! Lately I've been imagining a future bullpen that includes Zack Jones, J.T. Chargois, Reed, and Nick Burdi, and get kind of giddy!

An editorial note, since I can't revise this posting myself: Eddie has hit safely in 11 of 12 games played, not "all 10." I overlooked the 10/18 game in my spreadsheet where he was 0-3 and apparently another game as well, haha! So he began the year with a 7-game hit streak, and has hit safely in his 4 games since. Still pretty awesome!

I think Niko was moved only because of the Twins' desire to see how Polanco could handle SS over a full season. Everybody talks about moving Goodrum off SS to 3B because of his size, which I don't get or see at all. He's certainly not "too big" or lacking in athleticism for it. He's lanky and skinny if you ask me, and I've thought that since I first saw him in 2011 so it's also not like he's been growing out of it since he's been here.

Well, the Fall Stars game is really not based on League performance per se, it's about the big names... Case in point: Buxton and Reed are the picks from the Twins.

Definitely a hitter's league. 16 leaderboard-qualifying players from only 6 teams hit .300+ in the League last season, 21 the year before that, 26 in 2011, etc... There's usually one or two who hit above .400 as well. Though I would say this is also driven somewhat by the small sample size.

I like the .395 collective batting line for sure!

The end of the third week in the Arizona Fall League marks the halfway point of the season, and at this juncture the Salt River Rafters, for whom the Twins prospects play, have clearly been the class of the League. They lead the East Division with a 12-4-1 record and are the only team with double-digit wins. In week 3, Taylor Rogers was again the only Twins representative who didn’t see action. Did Eddie Rosario continue to hit? Did Byron Buxton turn it around? Did Zack Jones and Jake Reed continue to mow down hitters? Read on to find out! Byron Buxton – 4 games, 6-18 (.333), 2B, 3 R’s, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K’s, 3 SB’s (4). Buxton played in four games this week, including another appearance in RF. His big game of the week came on Friday, when he went 3-5 with a double, scored two runs, drove in two more, and stole two bases. It was the second game in a row he collected multiple hits after going 2-5 the day before. It’s a good sign to see all of his tools back on display, and Buxton is happy to be moving forward after his injury-wrecked 2014 season. Buxton raised his average from .229 to .264 during the week. Eddie Rosario – 4 games, 6-13 (.462), 2 R’s, 6 RBI, 2 BB, 1 K, 3 SB (9). Rosario continued to bat third in the Rafters lineup this week, and continued to rack up hits. He currently is second in the league in batting average (.429) and total hits (21), fourth in RBI’s (11), and second in stolen bases (9). He had at least one hit in all four games during the week and collected multiple hits twice. In Tuesday’s 5-0 Rafters win, he was 2-2 with two RBI sac fly’s in four plate appearances. He was 2-4 with three RBI in his next game on Thursday, where he also stole two more bases. Of major note in reference to Rosario, is the fact he has hit safely in all ten games he has played in the AFL, and seems to like the pace of play created by the 20-second pitch clock. Max Kepler – 3 games, 5-12 (.417), 2 R, 2 2B’s, 3B, RBI, 1 BB’s, 4 K’s, SB (3). Kepler saw action in three games during the week, and made the most of his opportunities as he went 2-4 on Tuesday, 2-5 with a double and triple on Wednesday, and 1-3 with a double, walk, and RBI on Thursday. His triple in Wednesday’s 9-3 victory sparked a four run second inning for the Rafters. He raised his average to .290 in league play, with an on-base percentage of .405. Taylor Rogers – Did not play. Rogers took a line drive to his shoulder in his only start for the Rafters in week 1, and has not pitched since. Jason Adam – 1 game, 1 IP, 0 R’s, 1 H’s, 0 BB, 1 K. 0.00 ERA. Adam finally made his first scoreless appearance in Friday’s 8-1 win, allowing just a single in the sixth inning. The runner moved to second on a passed ball, but he finished the inning with a strikeout and picked up his first hold. Zack Jones – 2 games, 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 1 H’s, 3 BB, 0 K, 2 Holds. 0.00 ERA. Zack Jones made appearances in the wins on Monday and Thursday, picking up a hold in both contests. In Monday’s win, he gave a double but retired the three other batters he faced. In Friday’s win, he lost his control in the seventh inning, throwing just eight of twenty-one pitches for strikes while walking three to load the bases. He recorded just one out, but still picked up a hold as Kaleb Fleck from the Diamondbacks organization retired the next two batters. Jake Reed – 2 games, 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K’s, 2 Holds. 0.00 ERA. Reed also pitched in the same games as Jones, pitching the inning before him in each contest. He was extremely efficient, throwing twenty of twenty-four pitches for strikes, while allowing just one hit in his two innings. He also recorded two holds. Of note from Jones and Reed, is neither hurler recorded an out with a strikeout on the week. Notes -Twins hitters combined to bat .395 with 3 2B’s, 1 3B, 7 R’s, 10 RBI, 4 BB’s, 9 K’s, and 7 SB during the week. -Twins pitchers compiled a 0.00 ERA in 4.1 IP, allowing 0 R’s on 3 H’s and 3 BB’s, while striking out 1 on the week.

He works counts too well to ever get 200 hits. It's his blessing and his curse when it comes to whether you love him or hate him.

I'm a bit bullish on Kepler though I would agree he's not up near the top 10 anymore. I actually think he may be of the type where his performance picks up as the competition he faces is more polished. I still remember when he was the most impressive player on the diamond to me playing with the Kernels roster a few years ago at ST. That roster included Sano, Vargas, and Rosario. I wouldn't have even called those guys prospects compared to him if I didn't know better. The athleticism and skills are there, the production is all that is left to come. And don't forget that he's still very young! Jason Kanzler is THREE years older, as an example. The whole 40-man roster situation sucks though.

The second week of the Arizona Fall League season included a tie for the Salt River Rafters as their game on Friday went 11 innings, and the teams ran out of scheduled pitchers. Overall on the week, the Rafters were 3-2-1, and Eddie Rosario continued to rake and run.Let’s see how all of the Twins prospects fared in week two of the Arizona Fall League. Byron Buxton – 4 games, 3-18 (.167), 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K’s. Batting .229 overall. Buxton again played in four games, playing centerfield for three games and right field for one, while batting leadoff in each. After a two-hit day (including a double) in Monday’s 7-4 win, he cooled off for the rest of the week. In Tuesday’s game he was 0-4 but made good contact, lining out to both third base and left field. On Thursday he was 0-4 with two K’s, and finished his week by going 1-6 in Friday’s tie. Eddie Rosario – 4 games, 7-18 (.389), 2B, 2 R’s, 2 RBI, 3 SB (6), 1 BB, 5 K’s. Batting .417 overall. Rosario continued his hot hitting from week one, and enters week three sitting atop the AFL batting average leader board. He also sits in second on the stolen base leader board with six as he swiped three more bags in his four games. He was also caught stealing for the first time. In the eleven inning tie, Rosario went 3-6 and stole two bases. Also notable was that Rosario batted leadoff, second and third in the lineup during the week, and also played one game in centerfield. . Max Kepler – 3 games, 2-10 (.200), 2 R’s, SB (2), 4 BB’s, 2 K’s. Batting .211 overall. Kepler played right field in all three games and was moved up and down the lineup. Despite collecting just two hits on the week, he also drew four walks, compared to only two strikeouts. Despite the .211 batting average, Kepler’s on-base percentage through two weeks is a strong .375. Taylor Rogers – Did not play. Rogers took a line drive to his left arm in his only start for the Rafters last week, and has not pitched since. Jason Adam – 2 games, 3 IP, 2 ER’s, 7 H’s, 0 BB, 1 K. 6.00 ERA. Adam is looking to make a good impression on the Twins in the AFL after coming over in the Josh Willingham trade with Royals. He struggled in week one, and was only marginally better this week. His ERA sits at 9.00 overall, with a WHIP of 2.33 in six total innings. He has allowed at least one run in each of his four appearances thus far. Zack Jones – 2 games, 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H’s, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Hold. 0.00 ERA. Jones picked up his first hold in Monday’s 7-4 win, and made his second appearance of the week on Thursday. He gave up a single in each appearance, but didn’t surrender any damage on the scoreboard. Though he didn’t walk anyone, he did hit one batter on Monday (hope it wasn’t a fastball!). Jake Reed – 1 game, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H’s, 1 BB, 2 K’s. 0.00 ERA. Reed made just one appearance during the week, but it was of the two inning variety. He entered the game in the fifth inning of Thursday’s 5-1 win, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning, including a strikeout. In the sixth, Reed walked the second batter he faced, but got a fielder’s choice groundball out and his second strikeout to end the inning. He now has seven K’s in five IP in the AFL, and in 36 innings since being drafted by the Twins in fifth round of June’s draft, has allowed just one earned run. Notes -The Rafters have the best record in the AFL at 7-3-1 after two weeks. -Twins hitters combined to bat .261 with two 2B’s, five R’s, three RBI, six BBs, 10 K’s, and four SBs during the week. -Twins pitchers compiled a 2.57 ERA in seven IP, allowing three R’s (two ER) on nine hits and one BB, while striking out four on the week. Click here to view the article

The second week of the Arizona Fall League season included a tie for the Salt River Rafters as their game on Friday went 11 innings, and the teams ran out of scheduled pitchers. Overall on the week, the Rafters were 3-2-1, and Eddie Rosario continued to rake and run. Let’s see how all of the Twins prospects fared in week two of the Arizona Fall League. Byron Buxton – 4 games, 3-18 (.167), 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 3 K’s. Batting .229 overall. Buxton again played in four games, playing centerfield for three games and right field for one, while batting leadoff in each. After a two-hit day (including a double) in Monday’s 7-4 win, he cooled off for the rest of the week. In Tuesday’s game he was 0-4 but made good contact, lining out to both third base and left field. On Thursday he was 0-4 with two K’s, and finished his week by going 1-6 in Friday’s tie. Eddie Rosario – 4 games, 7-18 (.389), 2B, 2 R’s, 2 RBI, 3 SB (6), 1 BB, 5 K’s. Batting .417 overall. Rosario continued his hot hitting from week one, and enters week three sitting atop the AFL batting average leaderboard. He also sits in second on the stolen base leaderboard with six as he swiped three more bags in his four games. He was also caught stealing for the first time. In the eleven inning tie, Rosario wen 3-6 and stole two bases. Also notable was that Rosario batted leadoff, second, and third in the lineup during the week, and also played one game in centerfield. . Max Kepler – 3 games, 2-10 (.200), 2 R’s, SB (2), 4 BB’s, 2 K’s. Batting .211 overall. Kepler played right field in all three games and was moved up and down the lineup. Despite collecting just two hits on the week, he also drew four walks compared to only two strikeouts. Despite the .211 batting average, Kepler’s on-base percentage through two weeks is a strong .375. Taylor Rogers – Did not play. Rogers took a line drive to his shoulder in his only start for the Rafters last week, and has not pitched since. Jason Adam – 2 games, 3 IP, 2 ER’s, 7 H’s, 0 BB, 1 K. 6.00 ERA. Adam is looking to make a good impression on the Twins in the AFL after coming over in the Josh Willingham trade with Royals. He struggled in week one, and was only marginally better this week. His ERA sits at 9.00 overall, with a WHIP of 2.33 in six total innings. He has allowed at least one run in each of his four appearances thus far. Zack Jones – 2 games, 2 IP, 0 ER, 2 H’s, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 Hold. 0.00 ERA. Jones picked up his first Hold in Monday’s 7-4 win, and made his second appearance of the week on Thursday. He gave up a single in each appearance, but didn’t surrender any damage to the scoreboard. Though he didn’t walk anybody, he did hit one batter on Monday (hope it wasn’t a fastball!). Jake Reed – 1 game, 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H’s, 1 BB, 2 K’s. 0.00 ERA. Reed made just one appearance during the week, but it was of the two inning variety. He entered the game in the fifth inning of Thursday’s 5-1 win, and pitched a 1-2-3 inning, including a strikeout. In the sixth, Reed walked the second batter he faced, but got a fielder’s choice groundball out and his second strikeout to end the inning. He now has 7 K’s in 5 IP in the AFL, and in 36 innings since being drafted by the Twins in fifth round of June’s draft, has allowed just one earned run. Notes -The Rafters have the best record in the AFL at 7-3-1 after two weeks. -Twins hitters combined to bat .261 with 2 2B’s, 5 R’s, 3 RBI, 6 BB’s, 10 K’s, and 4 SB during the week. -Twins pitchers compiled a 2.57 ERA in 7 IP, allowing 3 R’s (2 ER) on 9 H’s and 1 BB, while striking out 4 on the week.

Yup. It's just three or so years too late is what I think you're saying, and I would agree with.

What exact type of information are you looking for?! They pretty much have it covered as good as you will find there.

I think most of the players come from AA if you were to generalize it, but there is a lot of high-end talent mixed with experienced minor leaguers that elevate the competition level a bit I think. Not sure it'd be AAA-esque, but it is considered to be a final proving ground for top prospects looking to break into the majors.

No, no, no. Not that he would be the only one interested, but that he might be the only one who could force it, considering he's had him on his team already as a coach. And I hope it's more the managers decision on his opening day roster, than Terry Ryan moving forward to be honest. He obviously has to make the right "business" moves, but quite frankly that should mean having the most talented players on your roster, and not placeholders like they've been doing for the last few years.

I would love to see Burdi be given a real chance to break camp with the Twins in 2015. But really the only way I see that happening is if Mientkiewicz is the new manager... But I would expect, if they continue as they have thus far, that he and Reed will be with the Twins in 2015. Jones could too, but he also missed a lot of time this year. That makes all of us I think on Buxton and Rosario. As for SP, there is a lot of talent in the AFL. The Rafters roster has Mark Appel and Archie Bradley for instance. But the SP don't ever really pitch deep into games as they're on pitch counts and everybody needs to play.

The Arizona Fall League season started last week on Tuesday, and Minnesota Twins Minor Leaguers Byron Buxton, Eddie Rosario, Max Kepler, Taylor Rogers, Jason Adam, Zack Jones, and Jake Reed all helped the Salt River Rafters compile a 4-1 record to open play. So let’s check out what each of those players did in the season’s first week! Byron Buxton – 4 games, 5-17, 4 R’s, 2 RBI, 2 BB’s, 4 K’s, 1 SB, 2 Errors. Buxton batted leadoff and played centerfield in all four games on the week, getting a day off after the first two games. In the season opener, Buxton was 0-4 but scored a run after drawing a walk and stealing second base. He also committed a fielding error in the first inning after misplaying a single up the middle. Buxton also committed a fielding error in game two as he works off some rust after missing almost the entire 2014 season. He collected multiple hits in games two and four during the week, going 2-5 and 2-4 with a BB and 2 RBI respectively, and finished the week by collecting a single in Saturday’s game to put his batting average at .294 after week 1. Above all else for now, it is good to see Buxton on the field! Eddie Rosario – 4 games, 8-18, 2 R’s, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 2 K’s, 3 SB, 1 Error. Rosario had a rough 2014 season just like Buxton, but for different reasons. After missing the season’s first 50 games due to a drug suspension, he never really got going at AA with the New Britain Rock Cats. But whatever ailed him there hasn’t shown in his first four games in the AFL, as he notched two hits in each of his four games to compile a batting average of .444 for the Rafters lineup. He primarily was in the two-hole behind Buxton on the scorecards. In addition to the impressive start with the bat, Rosario has also swiped three bases to pace the league in that category. Max Kepler – 2 games, 2-9, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 K’s, 1 SB, 2 Outfield-Assists Kepler appeared in two games, playing RF in both contests. He collected a single in each game, and has also nabbed two runners on the bases with Outfield Assists, which is good to see. I also expect he’ll get some work at 1B with the Rafters, but for now they’re using his, and the rest of the Twins position player’s athleticism, to roam their outfield. Taylor Rogers – 1 Game Started, 2.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H’s, 2 BB’s, 3 K’s. 4.09 ERA. Rogers is the only Twins pitcher to be used in a starting role thus far, and though it wasn’t a bad performance by any means, he didn’t last very long as he racked up the general pitch limit of fifty for starters in the AFL relatively quickly, with only 29 for strikes. In his first inning he struck out two batters, but also walked two before surrendering and RBI single. Kepler limited the damage for him as he notched one of his OF-assists on a throw to third base on the same play. Rogers pitched a 1-2-3 second inning, before two singles in the third put an end to his day. Jason Adam – 2 games, 3 IP, 4 ER’s, 6 H’s, 1 BB, 1 K. 12.00 ERA. Adam was roughed up in his first appearance, coming into the season opener for the fifth inning. Top prospect Brandom Nimmo led off that inning with a ground-rule double, a walk, and a second ground-rule double to score Nimmo before he recorded his first out. A wild-pitch plated the second run, and an RBI single the third before he induced an inning-ending double play. In his second appearance Adam pitched two frames, allowing one run on three hits. The run scored on (another) ground-rule double and besides a fielding error by Rafter shorstop Trevor Story, pitched a clean seventh inning. Zack Jones – 1 game, 2 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s. 0.00 ERA. Jones had just one appearance during the week, but made the most of his two innings, pitching the seventh and eighth on Thursday. He surrendered only a walk and a single, while also picking up three K’s, including the last hitter he faced. 22 of his 34 pitches went for strikes, which is a good sign after he missed much of the season. Jake Reed – 2 games, 3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H’s, 1 BB, 5 K’s. 0.00 ERA, 1 Win, 1 Save. Reed was a very strong performer for bullpens of Elizabethton and Cedar Rapids after he was drafted in the Twins in the fifth round this year, where he compiled a 0.29 ERA in 31 IP, racking up 39 K’s and a WHIP of just 0.45. With a strong AFL performance, he could find himself on a very fast track to the MLB bullpen in 2015. In his first game on Wednesday, he pitched the fifth and six innings to pick up the win. In the fifth he struck out the side that included Brandon Nimmo, L.J. Mazzilli, and Greg Bird in the Scottsdale lineup. He also went 1-2-3 in the sixth while adding a fourth strikeout. In his second appearance on Saturday, Rafters manager Andy Haines brought him in for the ninth inning, and though he made it interesting, surrendering a walk and two singles to load the bases, he picked up the save while adding another strikeout. Notes -The Rafters lead the AFL East Division with a 4-1 record after the first week of the season. -None of the fifteen hits from Twins position players during the week went for extra bases. -Twins hitters combined to bat .341 with 7 R’s, 5 RBI, and 5 SB. -Twins pitchers compiled a 4.41 ERA in 10.2 IP, with 12 H’s, 5 BB’s and 12 K’s.

No doubt about that. But he will be a corner-guy as long as Buxton and Dozier are around. And just to throw this out there, I don't think he'd be a better defensive OF than what the Twins were putting out in CF this year, if you think he'd improve that aspect of the position. He would be an asset defensively in LF I believe, though.

If that happens, there will definitely be a place for him on the Twins!