John Bonnes

Aaron and John talk about returning to podcast-only mode after another season on KFAN, whether the Twins can reload or need another rebuild, the latest on Byron Buxton vs. the Twins, Stephen Gonsalves' very rough first taste of the majors, Miguel Sano being carted off the field, and mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Sponsored by Eero, Casper Mattresses and Iron Door Pub. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins' decision not to make Byron Buxton a September call-up and what it means for his future, plus the pros and cons of 'The Opener' strategy, trading Bobby Wilson for Chris Gimenez, Jorge Polanco's declining defense, Jake Cave forcing the issue, and mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Sponsored by Harry's Razors, Pick and Shovel Wear and Bye, Goff & Rohde. Click here to view the article

It’s been fourteen long years since the Saints have won a league championship, but there are signs this could be the Saints year. The year was 2004. George Tsamis was in his second season as manager of the St. Paul Saints when the team went 61-34, winning their division while earning a spot in the playoffs. They then downed the Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks in four before winning a five game series over Schaumburg to win the title.That was the last time the Saints have won a league championship. In fact, that league, the Northern League, is no longer in existence, as St. Paul is now a part of the American Association. Since joining the association in 2006, the Saints have made five trips to the playoffs, reaching the championship three times but losing each of those series in five, most recently in 2011. It has been a disappointing run as St. Paul joins Sioux City in being the only original members of the league not to have won a title. The Opportunity to End the Rut Entering Tuesday night’s games, the St. Paul Saints are two games ahead of the Gary Southshore RailCats in the North Division and have a magic number of two to clinch one of the two playoff spots in the division with seven games to play. It could be quite likely that by night’s end they will have punched their ticket to the post-season as the Saints enter their game against the Winnipeg Goldeyes as winners of eight of their last 10. In any sport, there is truly no better time to get hot than just before the playoffs begin. Should the Saints get in, a near certainty, they would start play on Tuesday, September 4, most likely facing the RailCats. The RedHawks are still mathematically alive, but they are six games back with seven to play and are losers of six of their last ten. Gary Southshore has not played much better, winning only five of their last ten, but they are the team with the four game lead over the RedHawks, and only need victories in three of their final seven games to earn a post-season berth. A Hot Month of Baseball The St. Paul Saints are choosing the most opportune time to play their very best ball of the year, looking for a chance to end that playoff drought. Over the last 25 games, they are 18-7. That record includes two four-game winning streaks and one of five. They have also taken three of four from the RailCats during that stretch, the team they are likely to face in the first round. St. Paul has been devastating at home of late, winning 10 of their 13 games in August. That is in sharp contrast to the team that lost 14 of their first 26 games at CHS Field this season. They are also 8-4 on the road during the month. The Saints have been dominating opponents, scoring 178 runs in 25 games (7.1 runs per contest) while allowing 122, a 56 run differential. They have scored ten or more runs on six occasions, and are hitting .324 as a team in August. The pitching staff has not been bad either. Despite allowing nearly five runs per game, they have given up three runs or fewer in seven contests and only once have they given up four more runs than their team has scored, ensuring that this potent offense has a chance to win nearly every night. The hot performance has been a collaborative effort. Dante Bichette, Jr. had a 24-game hit streak snapped Monday night. That streak started on August 1 and is the third longest in team history. It is also the longest streak in the American Association this season.Kyle Barrett is currently on a 20-game hitting streak where he has multiple hits in 11 of those contests.Aaron Gretz has hits in six straight games, a span where he has gone 12-20 with nine runs scored and six RBI.Max Murphy tied the franchise record for hits in a season on Monday, recording his 128th hit. That ties the record set by Adam Olow who set the mark in 2004, the last time the Saints won a title.Somebody Should Break A DroughtThere are still five teams fighting for a place in the 2018 American Association playoffs. The Sioux City Explorers clinched the South Division on Monday, leaving the Wichita Wingnuts and the Kansas City T-Bones to battle it out for the final playoff spot in the division. Kansas City leads Wichita by a half game and these two teams begin a three-game series on Wednesday in Kansas City. The St. Paul Saints look like they will be the next team to earn a playoff spot as they do not face a team with a winning record the rest of the way. Should St. Paul and Sioux City win their opening series, it will mean that one of these teams will see their championship drought come to an end. Should the Saints do so, it sure will make St. Paul seem like heaven. Robert Pannier covers the St. Paul Saints as well as all of the American Association for the Minor League Sports Report. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about their night at Target Field with Twins GM Thad Levine and 150 friends, Joe Mauer's latest milestone and 2019 outlook, a too-early glance at the upcoming free agent market, Eddie Rosario's ups and downs, Stephen Gonsalves' rough first taste of the majors, Jake Cave's growing fan club, and mailbag questions from listeners. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Sponsored by Rotowire, Seatgeek and Bye, Goff & Rohde. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the end of Ervin Santana's Twins career, the beginning of Stephen Gonsalves' Twins' career, Miguel Sano continuing to look good, Tyler Austin and Joe Mauer hitting homers, breaking down the possible payroll plans for 2019, and celebrating seven years of podcasting. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.http://traffic.libsy...3?dest-id=74590 Sponsored by Sota Stick, RxBar, Rotowire, Away Travel, and Bye, Goff and Rohde. Click here to view the article

Sorry to hear it. (Keep 9/29 open.....)

Aaron and John talk about the Twins trading Fernando Rodney, Logan Morrison's season mercifully coming to an end, Kohl Stewart's surprising call-up and MLB debut, Tyler Austin getting his big chance, Ervin Santana's bad pitching and headline-grabbing quotes, and the upcoming event at Target Field with general manager Thad Levine. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Sponsored by Simple Contacts, Casper Mattresses and Bye, Goff & Rohde. Click here to view the article

Baseball Prospectus and the Minnesota Twins are coming together for an event on August 25th at Target Field. It includes a Twins game, a private meet and greet with Baseball Prospectus and Twins Daily personalities, and a Q&A session with Twins General Manager Thad Levine. They've already sold over 100 tickets, so don't miss out and grab your tickets now.It all takes place at the Twins/Athletics game on Saturday, August 25th. The game (which is included in the price) starts at 6:10, but Parker Hageman and John Bonnes will be joining Aaron Gleeman and other Baseball Prospectus' writers in a private "meet and greet" two hours prior in the same room where Twins do press conferences. Which is apropos because we'll be having our own Q&A session with Thad Levine before the game, too. If you're someone who complains about how the press never asks the right questions, here's a chance to put your money where your mouth is (while also watching a ballgame and having a cold one or two). The ticket also includes a special discount coupon to Baseball Prospectus Premium or Super Premium subscriptions, which is another must for baseball fans. Get all the details - and more importantly a ticket or two - right here. Honestly, this is the kind of event I would never have dreamed could have happened 20 years ago when I first started reading BP. It it hadn't happened last year, I'd say it's a once in a lifetime opportunity, but just because it happened once before doesn't mean it'll happen ever again. Join the tribe in this unique opportunity. Get Tickets Here Click here to view the article

The winner of the Stefon Diggs autographed picture was Alice Moon. Congratulations Alice! You have an email waiting for you to make sure you get your prize. And thank you to everyone who entered!We know this is a Twins site, but we also know there are Vikings fans who visit and are pretty excited about the start of the football season and the recent long-term deal signed by Stefon Diggs. So Twins Daily is partnering with Fan HQ to give away a Stefon Diggs autographed photo to one lucky winner. To enter, just visit this link and do one (or both) of the following: Enter your name and email. That's all you need to do, but...After you enter, you'll get a link that you can give your friends (via Facebook, Twitter, email, whatever) to enter. When they do, you'll get FIVE more entries. They, of course, will get one entry, but their own link to share for moreSigning up also automatically adds you to Twins Daily and Fan HQ's email list where we share Twins Daily stories a couple of times per week. If you do not wish to received these, you can unsubscribe at any time. The giveaway ends when Diggs catches his first preseason or regular season pass, so don't miss out. Make sure you share your link so you can get multiple entries! ENTER HERE Click here to view the article

Aaron and John talk about the Twins trading Brian Dozier, Lance Lynn, and Zach Duke at the deadline, updating the Twins' top prospect rankings to include trade pickups, looking ahead to the 2019 payroll and offseason plans, Free Johan!, and Trevor May's long comeback finally reaching the majors. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link. Sponsored by Pick and Shovel, Simple Contacts, Harry's Razors, Seatgeek and Bye, Goff & Rohde. Click here to view the article

If they really did not pick up any of Lynn's salary, that all by itself is a victory. It's not one that helps the fans, just maybe gives Falvey some credibility with ownership, but I didn't expect even that much.

AS of the beginning of this year, Fan Graphs did not list Luis Rijo as one of the top 27 prospect in the organization, though they did list him at a "Future Back-End Starter."

I suspect the narrative on Austin will be: he just needs a change of scenery, or coaching maybe. He zoomed up the prospect list in 2012 and ended up at AA. It's been a very slow rise since. In the majors, he's shown no plate discipline (53K vs 8BB this year) and it wasn't great in AAA either. The right-handed batter has shown one skill - he has slugged around southpaws. It's only 104 plate appearances, but he has a 961 OPS, and it's been consistent from year to year.

Here's Rijo's baseball reference page. 26K in 27IP and ... 1 walk in the appy league? Can that be right?

Looks like they also got a Class A pitcher, Luis Rijo, 19. I'll be interested to see if the Twins keps some of Lynn's salary to get anyone back.

Aaron and John talk about the Twins trading Eduardo Escobar and Ryan Pressly, the scouting reports on the five prospects they received, the odds of Brian Dozier, Kyle Gibson, and others also being on the move before the deadline, Miguel Sano's rushed return, Ervin Santana's lack of velocity, and letting everyone slide into our DMs. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher, iHeartRadio or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click this link.Sponsored by Pick & Shovel, Simple Contacts, Eero, and Bye, Goff & Rohde. Click here to view the article