Dman

IIRC he pitched pretty well in college and he was a pitcher that looked to have projection left in that he hadn't really filled out his body yet. Looks like the Twins got this one right as he is already throwing mid to high 90's. Not sure what work was done on the secondary's but given the K rate those must have ticked up as well. Not often that you find a pitcher with this much potential so late in the draft. Happy they are moving him along right away as it looks like we are going to need all the pitching help we can get ASAP. High A should be a good test to see just how good he is right now. Players take better at bats and have better contact skills and scouting reports should start to catch up to him as well. Would be nice if he found his way to AA at the end of the season. Might be tough to get that far though with Headrick and SGL already looking elite at that level. We'll know more in the next month or two.

Nice to see the bats come out at the affiliate level at least. Kirilloff continues to mash right along with Lewis at AAA and Steer appears to want to hang right with them. That is a three headed monster right now in St Paul. With pitchers expanded to 14 I don't think we will see either player with the Twins until that number moves to 13 or there is an injury. After having one the worst starts to a season I can remember Wallner has moved his OPS to about 900. That is quite the accomplishment. I am going to try and ignore the 33% K rate for now as it was at nearly 50 % to start the season. He can take walks as well so it looks like he is gaining on that plate discipline skill he will need to make it at the MLB level. Gipson-Long pitched a shut out against a team that pounded our pitching on Wednesday and so that was big. He is looking ready to move up a level, Holland is slowly working his way up to being one of the better hitters on that team as well. A nice 2 for 3 night with a walk. He could be a valuable prospect if his bat comes around. think Nick Gordon with HR power. A guy who can probably play all the outfield and infield positions and who has speed. Hajjar has brought the WHIP and ERA down and his K rate is reliever esque. It seems like a good time to move him up. He is just dominating right now so not sure what more he can learn at low A. Really nice to see those walks down. Tough night for the bats with 13 K's and Miller and Rodriguez accounting for 5 of them. All the affiliates won except the Steerless Windsurge. Another good night of MiLB baseball for the Twins. Hopefully some of these prospects can find their way to the top 100 list.

Yeah I still like all three arms to turn things around. I just don't know that they will do it this year. Sands looked like an ace his first two times out at AAA and from then on hasn't been the same. Maybe an injury happened earlier than thought? He looked on the fast track to help at the MLB level but has been poor to mediocre since those first two starts. Henriquez came with questions about giving up the long ball and he has continued to give up the long ball. Also lots of hits and walks. He is only 22 and they gave him a tough challenge at AAA but again it seems unlikely he will be ready to help this year unless things change pretty quick, I don't know what is wrong with Balazovich but it is concerning. Law and Fangraph's were never real believer's in his stuff. They felt his long lever's would give him control problems and it is looking more and more like they might be right. I still think he turns things around but also think it is going to take time. Anything can happen it just feels like the odds any of the three helping this year seems remote given the challenges they appear to be facing.

Yeah no overly dominant arms at AAA or AA except maybe Canterino in small doses. Sands, Henriquez and Balazovich look like AAAA arms right now. SWR seems ready for another swoon like last year. Enlow is just getting back. Varland has been OK but not dominant and looks more and more like a pen arm to me. Canterino had control problems early but seems to be getting back to his dominant self but that would be the only arm I trust out of that bunch and they are keeping his number of pitches down so not really a candidate to start IMO. Things suddenly don't look quite so good for starting pitching help from the farm. Hopefully the pitching coaches can identify some issues and help those arms change course.

Nice to see Keoni making good contact. Maybe he can turn his season around. The two 19 year old's are still going strong. Rodriguez is looking to get his OBP to .500 and OPS to 1.000. Man he is talented. High A better find room for him as he is headed there soon. Probably around draft time if not before. Miller still getting hits, drawing walks and playing good defense. Still only lacking power which is pretty normal for the FS league and 19 year old's in general. Lewis continues to hit. I think our concerns about his bat can pretty much be put to rest now. His bat has been great at AAA and good at the MLB level as well. Just a matter of finding space for him at the MLB level now. High A and AA bats just couldn't get it done but hopefully they come back better tomorrow.

I would be fine if the Twins got Collier there. Big bat, big arm and young. Like others have mentioned would be nicer if an up the middle talent fell to them. I am not sold on Greene's bat but if he does get better at the plate what a monster (Buxton) type player he would be. I was almost kind of hoping that Young would fall to 8. He looks like a slightly more tooled up player than Miller at short. Still I think Collier could be a pretty fast mover for a high school pick. Just have to see how well he adjusts to better Sliders, curves and changes. Going to be interesting to see what teams decide to do in the end.

Been watching Hamilton for a while. He had a big June and August last year but was average to pretty bad most of the other months. If he can get more consistent with the hit tool I believe his defense is MLB ready. I think he would make a good third catcher but with Isola right behind him who can hit well he looks like he could be the odd man out. Still I think he is good call out pick for AAA. I really like the Bechtold pick. His bat has been better this year and his defense has always been good. I just think he is buried by depth right now. Maybe changing to catcher will give him a better chance? Hard to say but if his bat stays solid he looks like a guy that could make it. For High A I think Prato or Mack would be better picks. Macks bat has dropped off since the beginning of the season so he might not be doing well enough to highlight but Prato is an under the radar pest at High. Prato can steal bases, can be a tough out, and can play solid defense. Festa while a lower pick just recently got promoted to High A and seems less under the radar than Prato IMO. For A ball I would have went with Mikey Perez. He was drafted in round 15 and has really come on strong with the bat recently. If he bumps that OPS into the 900 range I think he follows Fedko to high A. Rodriguez is a great story and likely a great player but he got a lot of love last year and he was a highly rated international pick. There are several players that are playing well this year that might opt out of the system next year. I think Palacios, Bechtold Helman and Hamilton should probably follow in Whitefield and Cabbages footsteps and move to an organization with a better chance for a call up. They are on the cusp players but pretty blocked in the Twins system.

Pierson Ohl has had a tough start to his pro ball career. In April he had ERA of 7 and WHIP of 2. In May he was close to those same numbers until something clicked last night for him. If you haven't seen Seth's interview with Pierson you should watch it. You will really like what you see. I have been waiting for him to have a breakout game and am hoping this is the first of many more really good pitching performances for Pierson Ohl. Emmanual Rodriguez might only be batting .250 right now but his OBP is .484 so approaching .500. That seems like a crazy good eye at the plate. He is also a kid that has power in his bat when he wants to use it. If he keeps his K rate down he looks special to me at least in the batters box. I was wondering why the Twins had Schulfer up in spring training so much given how short spring training was but I think now I am beginning to realize why. So far he has a 0.42 ERA and 0.60 WHIP with 30 K's in 21 innings pitched. Time to move this guy up to AAA IMO. I know he hasn't been added to the 40 man but he might be an arm that could help down the stretch this year if he is for real. A quick shoutout to Michael Helman who had a nice year least year and who is putting up good numbers again this year. He is older at 26 and in most years would be a solid utility player candidate for the Twins but with all the players in front of him his numbers will need to be really, really good to get a chance. At any rate his numbers are solid and he has been an important bat at AA. Prato finally got back on track and was back to his pesky ways. Camargo was trying to steal the OPS lead from CES but then CES went and hit a triple and a HR. Camargo doesn't walk much and has a 30% K rate so he has things to work on to be a more well rounded hitter he hasn't had a .700 OPS since 2018 so he is off to a good start this year. Man this system is so much fun to watch with so many players doing so well.

Arraez has been locked in this year. I know they have put him in better spots to succeed but he is a very difficult out right now. If you are an umpire and he doesn't swing at a pitch at the edge of the zone you are better off calling it a ball than a strike if you want to be right. His eye is just that good. And to think I was one of the brainiac's who thought trading him this offseason might make sense. If he keeps on like this (OPS catching up to Byron Buxton) then his eye and bat are just too valuable to trade. I wasn't a huge fan of the Gray trade and thought he might be headed for regression but so far he looks better than I thought he would. With Gray, Ryan and Ober maybe the Twins have enough on the front end to keep the wins coming. Won't feel safe until the end of the season though because the White Sox have a cake walk schedule in September and could reel the Twins in if they don't have a buffer.

Doesn't the trade of Donaldson really include Mitch Garver to some degree as well? The Twins couldn't get Kiner-Falefa without giving up Garver so in the end the trade was. Garver, Kiner-Falefa, Rortvedt and Donalson for Sanchez, Urshela and Henriquez? I don't think you can completely leave the loss of Garver out of that trade IMO. That seems like a lot to give up to get rid of Donaldson. Personally I think the Twins were closer to using Royce Lewis at short to start the season or maybe even Palacios than we might realize. Story was pretty set to go to Boston and it looked like Boras shopped Correa before coming to the Twins who were one of very few teams desperate enough to get something done there. It all worked remarkably well and maybe you could add Correa in the trade scenario above as the Twins wouldn't have the money to sign him without moving on from Donaldson but getting Correa feels more like luck than any real kind of FO plan as they looked like only team left that hadn't filled their massive shortstop need. I like the Twins clubhouse and given the reports I have seen so do the players.

This was a great read! Thanks! It is a SSS so regression is likely coming. Pitchers will be throwing him tougher stuff to hit in the zone. Things are about to get harder. We will see if Mr. Garlick can handle the changes that will be made.

Very Happy for Spencer Steer and it is a well deserved promotion. If I am calculating it correctly he has 15% K rate which is outstanding. He has more K's than walks but not by much so a good eye and balanced approach. He has a 300 average but it is the slugging that is exciting and could make him special if it translates. Right now he is slugging .591 which is around the elite category. So just looking at the numbers there was no good reason to keep him down. He needs a bigger challenge and will get it at AAA where he will be just a call away. AAA starters Balazovich, Henriquez and Sands have all looked pretty bad at AAA so far. St. Paul seems to be a place where good arms go to die at this point. Hoping they can all make some adjustments and come out better pitchers. I have a hunch they will be needed later in the year given guys going down or needing some extra rest. Improvement is needed though. Was a bit surprised at just how good Kirilloff was this past week. I hate to get too excited too early but am very encouraged by how well he is doing to this point. I know Derek Rodrigues isn't a prospect but his AAA numbers seem too good for him to be in AAA and his major league numbers seem to be not good enough for MLB. Could he be a weapon in the pen? Not sure if he has an elite pitch or not but there is talent there. Just seems like starting pitcher might be a stretch but he looks good this year at AAA to me. Fun fact about Emmanuel Rodriquez he has 41 walks and 41 K's. So a very balanced approach especially for a 19 year old. Now I am getting a little concerned about him making contact. Still that type of balance is really good to see and I have to believe the contact will come in time. I still think he has Super Star potential but will have to wait and see how things shake out as he moves up levels. Tons of good performances that could be highlighted which is good to see. The system seems pretty balanced right now. If anything might be nice to see more high potential impact bats and better up the middle talent but I really like this system and three of the four teams are doing very, very well.

Dang old habits die hard. Thanks for the reminder.

Once they were down 6 to nothing and wasted some scoring chances I stopped watching. Came back to see how bad the loss was and had to make sure I was on the right web page. Couldn't believe they came back and won. Well my loss I guess for not hanging in there. That is a really big win to take the sweep they really cannot afford to let up because the White Sox and Guardian's have been playing the East teams and their schedules will soften while ours toughens up. Can't believe they won, just can't believe it but I am glad they came back and won it.

Call me your typical Minnesotan waiting for the other foot to drop but it feels like once the Twins hit June and face the teams in the east the White Sox and Indians will likely make up some ground. There are lot's of good statistical signs pointing to the Twins being a good team on both sides of the ball but I just have this bad feeling things will fall apart. Honestly I am Surprised and happy the Twins are in first place and I have enjoyed the ups and downs of the season so far. It is nice that the games still matter and my team is in it. I should be happy and yet that feeling that this won't last remains.

I was going to write something but since he is just getting back up to speed was going to give a bit more time before worrying about him. You are correct it is a big deal if an arm we are somewhat depending on or at least projecting to be an option in the starting rotation around mid year hasn't looked real sharp out there yet. Still given his track record I think he will come around but he needs better stuff against lefties IMO. He has been too hittable last year and so far this year which make me wonder about his stuff. It is made more concerning because Sands has been hit hard at AAA and Henriquez is still giving up home runs and lots of hits and walks, and if those guys are not options then you have to head to guys not yet added like SWR, Canterino and Varland. So yeah if Jordan doesn't get going the Twins don't look like they will have great AAA arm depth options.

I really appreciate dark mode. When in a dark room it is nice not to be blinded by the light. Thanks much for this added feature it is a game changer IMO.

Yeah it looks like the Twins are going to have options and depth. Should be a good thing moving forward.

Smeltzer has worked hard for this opportunity. He has been successful in the past and we don't have much for left handed pitchers. I really hope he succeeds and makes the starting 5 or 6 pitchers in the rotation. If not I still think he could be a really good pen arm as well. We will know more by the end of the month. We sure could use him right now as our depth in thinning out.

Steer, Isola and Wallner are all on hot streaks right now. Steer doesn't seem to want to give his OPS edge to those guys as he hit the 1.000 mark after last night. As posted above Wallner is on fire. After a massive slump to start the season to have an .887 OPS is just crazy. I have been a non-believer but he is starting to force me to change my mind. As a somewhat non-prospect Michael Helman is having a good year with an .843 OPS and Bechtold has been more consistent with the bat as well having a .800 OPS. Wichita has a really tough lineup for opposing pitchers to get through. Fedko is holding his own at High A right now which is good to see. Prato has been slumping with the bat recently so hopefully he gets back on track. Willie Joe Gary JR. has been moving his number up and finally has a .726 OPS. May has been a tough month for CES so far he has a .211 BA, .303 OBP and .313 slugging, Ouch. That is quite the fall from where he started the year. While he has worked his OBP up to almost 100 point above his average it hasn't seemed to pay off as far as hits are concerned. I guess becoming a well rounded hitter is a process. I still think he is a great prospect. Povich finally getting back to the dominant arm we saw earlier in the year. Only 2 hits and one walk over 5 innings. Headrick and Povich will have to duke it out for best lefty in the system right now. Lot's prospects are doing well even under the radar guys. It has been a fun season to stat watch this year.

I think I am with most posters on here in that I would love to see a good high school bat fall to us. Would love it to be Holliday but pretty sure he will gone. I also like Collier, Johnson and even Cole Young if they can work out a deal for less money. I think Collier is going to be the real deal at third base. I think you get Cavaco with an actual bat. I wonder if Johnson might be falling down boards because they doubt the power potential? He has a 70 bat so should be good there but it also looks like 2nd might be the only position he can play well. He could be Altuve with less speed though. Young seems to be heating up. He kind of reminds me of Noah Miller with a slightly higher rating on the bat and speed rankings. he would be a lefty batter at the shortstop position. I hope they go high school because right now the Twins are trying to squeeze in Larnach, Kirilloff, Miranda, Lewis, and Celestino at the MLB level. They have Martin, Steer and maybe Wallner and Jullien on the way as well. I don't see that they need a fast moving bat as they have plenty of bats just getting started at the MLB level right now. Would be nice to create a second wave of bats with Rodriguez, Miller, Urbina, Rosario, and maybe Cavaco if he ever hits consistently. Also college bats CES, Fedko and maybe Mikey Perez and whoever they pick in this draft. I am with the Twins going bat first this year as the system is graduating some more bats and the system strength is pitching right now. Also the Twins have been able to find viable pitching later in the draft finding hitting has been a bit more hit and miss IMO.

Miller must be reading my posts. I just said he was doing well but had no power. I guess hitting that HR was the best way to give me the middle finger, lol.

Yep I will give you that, fans myself included, often over react to moves the FO makes only to ultimately see they were good moves or at least solid risks worth taking. At the beginning of this year I had Lewis in AAA at least until after the trade deadline and maybe not at all if he was still struggling with the bat. Prospect evaluators had dropped him out of the top 100 just based on the uncertainty of where his skillset would land. No one knew what to expect of Lewis it was all up in the air since he hadn't played in two years. Some crazy things happened along the way though. He hit right away at AAA with pretty elite numbers. He had highlight real plays in the field at AAA as well. Then he gets the early call up only because of Correa's injury and actually does well. With both the eye test and stats saying he looks like he can handle MLB it changes things. I don't think anyone and I mean anyone expected him to hold his own at the MLB level after 2 years off. I think several were bullish on him having a good to decent year at AAA and getting a callup but not what he did this last week. So yeah I get that the FO isn't sure what to do. There isn't really room without removing someone and maybe they add him to the team again once the pitchers have to go down and a lot of this angst is moot but they could have done things to keep him there and IMO they should have. At any rate sure the FO should always get the benefit of the doubt but they are wrong sometimes too. This is a place to discuss our opinions and I have been proven wrong many times and right many times. Royce going back to AAA isn't going to hurt Royce but it might hurt the Twins if he is the catalyst he looks like he can be.

While Lewis's greatest value might be shortstop he has value every time he is the game no matter the position. You don't think an outfield of Buxton, Celestino, and Lewis wouldn't be nice against left handed pitching? Would you rather have Urshela on first when you need a stolen base or Lewis? Heck out of Larnach, Urshela, Arraez, I would rather have Lewis on 1st base turning a walk into a double. With the skills he possesses he can easily impact games outside of shortstop and he can spell Correa at short since the team seems determined to rest him. If the team just thinks outside the box a little they have a swiss army knife of possibilities. I don't understand how sending Lewis back is best for the team long term or is some great long term plan. We have seen him make the long deep throws at short and look good doing it. We have seen him bare hand the ball and make the quick throw to first. Honestly what more is there? A bit more consistency? Sure he has made errors this year but so has the great platinum glove Correa. Are we going to send Correa down to work on defense because he misses a few throws? Lewis to this point was handling MLB with little to no issues. He is a high character individual with an incredible work ethic and we are predicting failure if he doesn't work on things in AAA? The Angels didn't send Trout back down when they broke him in his rookie year. Washington didn't send Jaun Soto down and I think he was 20 years old when he got the call. Far too unseasoned they should have left him at AAA at least a few more years so that a long term plan could come together? The Twins use players in multiple positions all the time. It is supposed to strengthen the team and Royce Lewis would strengthen this team in multiple ways. I think the only reason the FO sent him back is they had no plan. At least no plan to keep him on the team once Correa came back. I think their collective lack of vision didn't allow them to see he would be ready for MLB this soon. And the FO could be right. They could bring him back and maybe he scuffles like Kirilloff and Larnach at the plate but if that is your great fear and you hold him back then he can't possibly help the team in the many ways he can because you will have stomped on that possibility. You are not even going to try and to be honest that is just a sad position to take IMO.

And they have won without Buxton and Correa and Polanco and Arraez. This isn't about whether you can win a game without a player it is about putting your best players on the field. Why not send Correa to AAA to learn how not to get in the hands by pitches or Buxton to learn not to have hip injuries? You don't take a player who is better than half the team and hide him at AAA. Who does that? What great FO would do that? Would you have taken Cruz out to learn how to play left field when he was the top bat on your team? No you play your best players. You find places to play your best players. I don't see how that doesn't make sense to people. I mean fine send all the players we have that are hitting 300 to AAA that should make the Twins better? Personally, I don't see how it is defensible.