Dman

I honestly thought Chourio spent more time at AAA, but when I looked it was only 6 games I believe and then they signed him to that long term deal. Maybe that is what it would take to get Boras onboard for a Jenkins deal? If the Twins are going to take a risk this seems like a player to do that with. The stats back him up all the way. As a young player it seems hard to turn down guaranteed money to get an early start and injury protection those eight years and still be under 30 for the next big contract. He's young enough to make that work. Still with 2026 up in the air and likely a lost season and then the likely season long lockout it might not make much difference. It's a tough call both ways if you ask me.

I guess I don't see the rush to get him there and he is going to earn his way there soon enough. Right now he isn't lighting up AAA pitching and we all know the jump to MLB pitching is enormous. Once he dominates at AAA for a while we can talk about time frames. I get it though all his counting stats look balanced so he doesn't have many weaknesses as a hitter other than maybe power, but that always comes with age and experience. Any weaknesses he does have will be exploited at the MLB level for sure. Breaking stuff is generally a challenge for all hitters and those pitches only get better as you move up. He'll have his struggles just have to see how he handles them. He has been incredibly young at every level and due to injury's had limited playing time and still has been a top of his league player so far. As mentioned he is on a good track to be an elite player. Still I'd see how 2026 goes at AAA and if he kills it they will have no choice but to bring him up. If he struggles then it will just take more time.

Walker Jenkins 20 and at AAA. He is still number oneKaelen Culpepper Up the middle shortstop gets extra points for me due to defense. Tait would be here based strictly on potential, but I am biased a bit on CulpepperEduardo Tait So far he looks like and up the middle player. HIs arm gives him a chance to be elite defensively especially as MLB moves to the auto K zone. Exit velo's are crazy good. Could argue for the number one ranking if you want. Still high school catcher scar me so three is high enough for me.Luke Keaschall The bat is ready. If he had more value defensively I would have him higher. He is has everything I like in a hitter and his speed is a nice asset as well.Emmanuel Rodriguez He is up the middle but injured so much it's hard to see him realizing hi s potential. I had kept him at number 2 for longer than most, but dropping him until he can stay healthy.Mick Abel It's amazing stuff but he needs something more for lefties. I still love the arm. I think experience is all he needs.Kendry Rojas Have to say it's an interesting lefty arm and he is young for AAA. Still looks relievery to me, but will see. If starter then he looks like mid rotation.Dasan Hill Hill has lost a little shine with the control problems but his potential is still high as I haven't seen a high school arm in the Twins system ever do this well from the start.Connor Prielipp The arm held up. Hoping he can find a way to get more K's and give up less hard contact.Charlee Soto Injured but potential still high.Gabriel Gonzalez If Gonzalez ran better I would have him higher. It's an amazing bat and a plus arm. He could be a starter but we'll see if he ends up a platoon bat.Marek Houston Hard to believe I have him at 12. His swing covers a lot of the zone. He just has to recognize and hit breaking and offspeed stuff. He's off to a good start.Riley Quick Haven't seen him pitch yet, but he is power pitcher and I think he improves the control being further out from TJ.Brandon Winokur He had OK year again. I do think he needs to repeat high A. The power is there. He has been making more contact. Still the K rate isn't great and there is a lot of swing and miss. Still work to do. Next year might be a big year for him.Quentin Young Haven't watched him, but teams were concerned enough about his lack of contact for to last to the Twins 2nd round pick. It plus power and arm. A super high ceiling and very low floor. For now next to Winokur as they are similar but Winokur has better tools.Marco Raya I'd have him higher but he is so up and down and I don't know what to think.Andrew Morris He's looked better after coming back. Still would like to see that K rate higher but he has the stuff to make it.Hendry Mendez Its too many ground balls but everything else checks out. I like power potential. If he had better defensive potential he's be higher.Khadim Diaw Best catching prospect we've had in years. I'd have him higher but injured too much and need to see him at AA first.CJ Culpepper Might be a relief arm, but he should be a good one.

I tend to agree with Royce at least on changing your swing mid season, not the money part. I seem to remember both Aaron Hicks and Buxton getting so much swing advice it made them worse. In the end they needed to think less and react more. To change a swing it takes ton's of reps and you need to maintain timing etc. That seems best worked on in the offseason to get it all down rather than bat horribly as you try to figure it out in season. While I get what he is saying money wise. He might have larger issues than arb raises. There is competition for his spot not far away. If he doesn't perform he might not be a part of this team and might have trouble catching on somewhere else. It all gets fixed though if he just hits better and while he had some good months in June and July his August numbers have been miserable. Maybe don't change the swing mid season but it sure looks like something has to change or he loses value altogether. I think we can find someone who can do better than a .664 OPS. It still feels like he pressing to me. When he first came up the confidence was there and he let the game come to him. He was more selective at the plate. He just hasn't been the same this year. I still think he could have a beastly bat, but he needs to be a tougher out than he has been and he needs to barrel more balls. If I'm Royce I'd do whatever I can to get better.

I agree they should only trade one and I would trade Pablo because if they are keeping payroll low it would be nice to have some room to add players if needed. Top of the rotation starters don't grow on tree's. There is a reason there are only 20 to 30 top tier arms in the league year to year. It's hard to be that consistent and injury free for an entire year. If you want to compete in the playoffs you need at least one and these days likely two dominant starters to have a chance. I get that maybe the bats might not quite be ready in 2026, but if they do catch fire later in the year it sure would be nice to have the starting pitching to compete so keeping at least one of Pablo or Ryan makes sense to me. If not there's always the deadline or next offseason to complete a trade for the other arm. There are so many young players coming up there doesn't even seem to be much room to get them MLB experience so trading for more seems a bit silly unless they could pry away someone with close to ready star potential from another team. This team still has strong starting pitching and they can improve the pen in the offseason and have a lot of interesting young arms they could try there. Hitting is the gamble they would have to take for a successful season next year. Still I would hedge my bets which is why I agree with you that they should only trade one of the two in the offseason.

I hope Hill is alright. Probably a good time to shut him down no matter what now. He has had an amazing first pro year for a high school arm. He greatly exceeded any expectations I had for him this year. I just hope no ligament damage for his arm. Gonzalez looks to be conquering AAA. batting average at .300 and and .800 OPS. Looking pretty much like he did in his other stops this year. I am excited for next year to see it all translates to MLB. Culpepper appears to be back on track.

Abel had the first four or five hitters at 2 strikes and couldn't put them away. He had them hitting it on the ground but they all found holes. Kind of Jax like in some ways. He's missing something. I don't know what it is, but it's just too easy for hitters to get contact and when balls find holes it gets ugly fast. I'm still a believer. He threw a couple of sweepers and had decent results. Still he can't seem to throw strikes with the breaking stuff when he needs to and with too many fastballs you are bound to get burned eventually. There is work to do. Hopefully they help him find better control. Bradley looked really, really good. Mid rotation good tonight. He went after guys and had good depth on his pitches. If he can keep this up he could really help this team. Hard to believe the position player looked better throwing 55mph than Abel, Kriske and Cabrera. If you're those guys that has gotta sting. I know Canbrera has been bad but I still like the arm and delivery. Hoping they can get him to a better spot. Would be nice to have another lefty.

Yeah probably a little harsh going with the Miller comments as he has better power for sure. Still the result could be the same unless he figures something out. Even though he is young, the longer it takes the less likely it is to happen so that is my concern.

Man Rosario with an 1,190 OPS almost 1.200 for August with 10 HR's this month. Absolute monster level numbers as he passes McCusker (22) and looks to catch and Fedko (26) for the HR lead. If you would have told me he would have an .860 OPS after he put up a .500 OPS the month of April I wouldn't have believed it. Just shows you how good he has been since April. There isn't much separating him from Fedko other than one bad month early in the year. There's going to be some tough 40 man decisions this year. Morris must have heard me complaining about his K rate, lol. I guess he showed me. That was elite stuff he had last night and the pitching line showed just how dominate he was 1 hit, no walks and 8K's in 4 innings work. I might have to chew on my put him in the pen comments. More of that and he is gonna be hanging with Matthews again.

For a minute there it looked like he was going to go on a heater the end of the year like last year and then he dropped back in August. July he had an .800 OPS which seemed to indicate he might be ready to move up. August he is below a .700 OPS with very little power. His power stroke has left him this month and if you look as his body of work overall this year I don't see how they can promote him. I don't think it matters where they play him in the field. He must like being on the dirt or they wouldn't play him there. He's always had contact issues and we all knew hitting the ball consistently was likely going to be a problem for him. It looks like it is going to take time. Hopefully this isn't another Miller type situation where he just can't identify pitches well enough\make good contact in zone.

Yeah Rosario is a tough one. I've had them adding him and not adding him with his monthly up and down stats. Still an 1.100 OPS so far for August is hard to ignore. He's not gonna be a plus defender most likely but he could be neutral or slightly better. He moves pretty well and has stollen a decent number of bases. Still it's only AA and he has been inconsistent month to month. With so many outfielders on the 40 man I don't see them adding him, but he is young enough to be sniped via rule V with a real upside power stroke from the right side. I still like Fedko's profile better right now as it is more balanced. Position players generally don't get taken, but it only takes one.

The thing is even if they make it to the second worst team it doesn't guarantee they will pick 2nd as the lottery will likely change the order as it has every year so far I believe. Still they do seem likely to manage a top 5 pick. I do think they will go with a hitter rather than arm if they pick that high unless there is an arm dominant enough for them to feel safer picking said arm. Another shortstop wouldn't be terrible. Culpepper can play third very well. Houston may or may not have enough bat to hold onto a starting role versus utility player. They could also move someone to the outfield if needed or trade for what they need if all three worked out. Still I would really like a plus to plus, plus runner for center field. Buck can't stay there forever and it takes time to move through the levels. Hopefully a centerfielder will make sense around their pick. If not then short will do just fine. They took a lot of arms this past draft which I am excited about, but think that means they will focus on bats in the 2026 draft. Most all of their highly rated bats could be off prospect lists as early as next year. While there are some bats behind them a lot of them are higher risk\reward type players in Amick, DeBarge, Winokur, Young, Beltre, Jimenez, and Tait. Whereas after the trades and now this years draft they look more stocked on the pitching side. I know it's always BPA and the Twins like balanced drafts. I just think they will lean hitter early unless there is an arm like Quick that falls. Taking arms high has never really worked out for the Twins. If they have a top 5 pick I don't see them going arm, but will have to wait and see how the board looks closer to the draft to be sure.

I'm coming to this party pretty late. For me if the Twins are losing that's great as that just means a higher draft pick. If they are winning that's great as that means the team is improving. If we have bad players now we have younger one's coming up. There's always a positive for every negative. Every year is different. I thought last years (2024) Blue Jays were gonna be even worse this year and they lead the beastly east right now. Young players figure things out. Teams get a little better luck to start the year and confidence stays high can make a lot of difference. I guess I love baseball and my favorite team too much to completely give up on them. I think we just need to ride this out until things turn our way.

After that big year Prato had I really thought he was going to make it. I still think he is a good hitter just not a great one. Sad to see him go, but probably time. Lawyerson seems to always have decent numbers, but it's not a great fastball and he can get hit hard at times. It just seems like there are too many better options and I don't think his stuff would translate that well to MLB. Urbina just doesn't appear to have elite hand eye coordination and struggles to barrel things up. I just don't see things changing that much unfortunately. I had high hopes but it just never happened for him. I still think there's a chance for Cespedes but his window is closing fast. He needs to hit better, have a better OBP and up his slugging. Feels like a tweak away, but there are so many guys just as good or better who are younger that I don't really see it. He has had some really strong months where you think he might break through and then it is back to reality. He's 25 now and never had an OPS over .800 that is pretty damning for any prospect. Holland had a breakout year last year but has followed it up by going back to the sub .700 OPS guy he always has been. I like his position versatility and athleticism, but the bat might be bad enough that he never makes it. He is 27 years old now and not much has changed in that time. It seems unlikely he makes it as again there a appear to be better younger options now and in the future. I could see hanging onto Holland and Cespedes for depth purposes, but I don't think these guys are likely MLB players. There's just too many issues with their bats at their current levels to make it at the MLB level. Never say never, but the odds are real long for everyone on this list.

Happy to see Genth get some movement in that OPS. It's an interesting story. Seth can you tell us why they Twins have him at AA instead of A ball where most guys start? the A ball team could really use the offense as well. At any rate. I will be following Genth closely.

I think that's a good move. No real reason to wait that I can see. All the counting stats look good. He could be at the MLB level next year in his age 21 season if he keeps it going. Twins could use all the help they can get. Hope he can do it.

I have 7 pretty solid adds in: Connor Prielipp Kendry Rojas Andrew Morris CJ Culpepper Christian MacLeod John Klein Gabriel Gonzalez Depending on how you feel about Fedko maybe 8, I have Hendry Mendez, Kyler Fedko, Kala'I Rosario in the next bucket as bats generally aren't taken in Rule V especially older ones in Fedko's case, but being that he is at AAA with a potential 30-30 season I am guess another team could just take a chance and see how he looks at the MLB level. Also the Twins are looking for players with his exact skillset so he has a case to be added, but I wouldn't say it is for sure yet. Mendez is young and a very good hitter but not much of a defender. Hard to say if he would be taken or not. He hits a lot of stuff on the ground but being young for AA could make him a target. I don't think he gets added, but potentially losing him after trading for him might make them think twice. Rosario has really come on and is a better defender than he gets credit for IMO. There's a fair bit of in zone swing and miss though and the K rate is high I don't see them adding him, but we'll see. Next group is wild cards that I don't see being added, but don't have enough inside information to know. Jose Olivaros Noah Cardenas Ricardo Olivar Oliveros has major league pitches, but can't control them. Is Cardenas's defense good enough to interest another team despite the weak bat? Is Olivar even considered a real catcher? I think the odds are low they get added. I can't think of anyone else.

Lot's of good games tonight. If I were a pitcher I would never throw a fastball near the strike zone to Kyler Fedko. Was awesome to see both Morris and Klein with great numbers at AAA. Makes the future look a little brighter. Top that off with an impressive outing from Horn who is a lefty and it things seem even better. 4 walks was rough, but with no hits allowed not as big a deal as it could have been. Jimenez still doing his thing. 2 Walks, no K's and another hit to keep his OPS in the 1.000 range. He also more walks than strikeouts at A ball. Kid id on heater right now for a guy that was supposed to be a so, so bat.

Lewis seems like the only player on this team that can hit grand slams and or isn't afraid of a big moment. Rough year with the bat, but nice to see the grand slams continue.

Yeah I hate to say it, but they are just trying to get into better position to sell the team. Lowering payroll should enable them to help pay down the debt which helps them up their return. There also could be a long lockout and who knows how that will work out and if there truly is no baseball for a year getting rid of older expensive assets makes some sense for teams like the Twins. Also if expansion is included in the CBA and happens it sounds like all the owners will get a cut of whatever the franchise cost is so I'm sure they won't want to sell until that money comes in. It's a business, I get it, but I don't know if my fandom can survive it. I guess we'll find out. Maybe if the young guys can find a way to get it done it won't be so bad?

Kind of a disappointing night other than Jenkins. I guess Jimenez and his triple was exciting. I am surprised he is keeping that OPS around 1.000, but it's nice to see. I finally could understand what they were saying about Smith II in the writeups. In one plate appearance he swung at three pitches all out of the strike to get himself out. So I don't think he has the best eye at the plate. Makes sense they kept him a A ball despite his fast start. Dang Gallagher was brutal. It's the second game where his stuff was super hittable. Arm probably wearing down, but that was not a good outing. Still pretty amazing for an arm to reach AA in there first season especially as a later round pick. Eeles came up in a a couple of big spots and killed rallies. He just hasn't had the same magic this year. He rolls so many balls to the second baseman on the ground. It would be nice if he could hit the ball in the air more. Feels like he just isn't healed completely from that knee surgery or he needs to make some serious adjustments. Pretty rough night for most affiliates except Fort Meyers. that is the most offense I have seen from them in quite a while.

It's a .900 OPS at AA. It doesn't look like he is having much trouble there. I'd think they let him finish out the AA season and then send him to AAA to get his feet wet there, but we'll see.

Yeah I think they don't want to be caught holding onto players not knowing what the lockout might look like. I think they are going to trade those assets and essentially start over with the new CBA. Also with the hitting so bad on this team there isn't much to build around unless the young bats coming up can be difference makers. They broke the pen. It's hard to see a path forward that makes this team better in 2026 especially if the plan is to keep payroll reduced.

Great write up Jamie! That chase and lack of contact on breaking stuff is concerning. The home run I saw him hit the other night looked like a fastball slightly low down the middle of the plate. Still for all that chase you would think the walk rate wouldn't be this good. His swing is short and quick so not too surprised the exit velo's might not be great, but it is a quick swing kind of like Keaschall in that regard and he seems to make a lot of contact with it.. I never know what to think about these types of pop up late players. Prato had a great AAA year and never duplicated it. McCusker had two incredible months and has fallen back to earth. Even old Friend Helman had great AAA numbers and looks pedestrian this year. Still Fedko has been steady all year with no injuries to mess with his numbers. I don't know why I fall in love with these type of players. I guess the stats hook me. His defensive versatility and right handed bat should get him his shot. Hopefully he can take advantage of it as he is the perfect fit for this team at this time. There is a glut of outfielders though and Gabby will need to be added the end of this year so someone has to be removed for Fedko to get on. Not sure who that might be at this time, but there isn't gonna be room for all of them.

Maybe I'm just a rube, but I am a Hatch believer. I generally trust stats to make predictions or decisions, but with such a small sample size to work with I'm not sure we are getting a great idea of how effective he could be. I am going to cherry pick in a pretty bad way but since I only see three starts from him this year it's all I have. In his two starts against Detroit where he went a total of 9.1 innings he only gave up 1 earned run. Yes the 4 walks were still too many and the 7 K's a little shy of what you'd like to see. Still he was pretty effective in two out of his three outings. In the Yankee's game he gave up way to many walks, but had only given up 2 runs until he left with the bases loaded and the relief pitcher allowed some more runs to score. It wasn't a great night and while I generally feel like Rocco pulls guys too early in this case it seemed like he left him in too long to try and protect the pen. The numbers from that game really skew his overall stats. I'm not saying I see a mid rotation starter or elite closer in Hatch, but I do think he could be an effective arm for them in the pen and as a long man or spot starter if needed. So yeah kind of Willie Castro in that he can help the team in multiple roles as an arm with solid, but likely not great production. I think that's pretty valuable. He looks like the best arm they've picked up so far to me., I'd like to see how he does the rest of the way before giving up on him or crowning him the next great arm, but I see the potential and hope he fulfills that potential.