Jamie Cameron

This week, the college baseball season rolls into its second half. Read up on the last two weeks of college baseball, and an overview of the top of the 2022 draft class. The Twins sit atop the AL Central, riding a four-game winning streak. Several Twins hitting and pitching prospects are off to exceptional starts in 2022. With May approaching, we are moving into the second half of the college baseball season ahead of the College World Series in June. Here’s the latest from Jeremy Nygaard, capturing news and notes as we shuffle towards the draft in July, including notes and updates from Keith Law, Maria Torres, and all the latest news, big boards, and mock drafts. Weekly Recap A sweep of Florida over the weekend kept number one Tennessee rolling, improving to 37-3 on the season and moving to a 17-1 record in the SEC, truly impressive given the caliber of the competition. The rest of the top five is made up of familiar names, with Oregon St climbing to number two, Miami, Stanford, and Virginia rounding out the rest. Florida State and Oregon were the big fallers of the week. Each team had a mediocre 2-2 week, falling to 24 and 25 respectively. The current crop of eight teams predicted by Baseball America to reach the College World Series in Omaha in June comprises Tennessee, Arkansas, Miami, Oregon St, Southern Miss, Stanford, Texas, and Virginia. Here's where Baseball America ranked the top 25 in the country at the end of the weekend. Moment of the Week How’s this for an unconventional triple play turned by Virginia against Pitt last weekend? Potential #8 Pick Performances The group the Twins should be selecting from in July has remained remarkably consistent since the beginning of the college baseball season. It’s a great year to pick in the top ten. The upper tier of prospects is led by three prep prospects with superstar upside (Druw Jones, Temarr Johnson, and Elijah Green. Jackson Holliday (son of Matt) is arguably entering the top 10-12 conversation. After the high-school uber-prospects, an incredibly strong class of college hitters runs out around pick 9-10, depending on who you like. Kevin Parada is having a season for the ages, and I think it’s very unlikely he’s still around for the Twins at eight. While the Falvey-led front office has had a type (high-floor college outfield bats), they haven’t had a selection this high since they took Royce Lewis number one overall. Trying to read the tea leaves, which is futile in April, I think it would be a huge win for Minnesota if Jacob Berry (Nygaard’s #6) or Jace Jung (Nygaard’s #8) is available for the Twins. Brooks Lee will not be, and before anyone asks, I hate the idea of drafting Dylan Lesko (we can argue about it in the comments). In the second half of the college season, I’ll continue to introduce prospects the Twins might consider at number eight and begin to highlight some intriguing prospects for their second pick. Here are the latest number for draft-eligible college players the Twins may have interest in at number eight overall. Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly, 60-156 (.385), 7 HR, 37 RBI, 34 BB, 13 K Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech, 57-156 (.365), 11 HR, 44 RBI, 46 BB, 25 K Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech, 68-177 (.384), 19 HR, 66 RBI, 21 BB, 19 K Jacob Berry, CI, LSU, 57-154 (.370), 13 HR, 40 RBI, 19 BB, 15 K Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech, 53-148 (.358), 9 HR, 29 RBI, 22 BB, 19 K Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison, 38-87 (.437), 8 HR, 35 RBI, 28 BB, 21 K (currently injured) Daniel Susac, C, Arizona, 68-183 (.372), 8 HR, 39 RBI, 15 BB, 33 K Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee, 50-158 (.316), 10 HR, 25 RBI, 17 BB, 35 K Who are you most interested in as a potential number eight pick for the Minnesota Twins? Join the discussion in the comments. View full article

While the Twins offense struggles, there's a 19-year-old Dominican tearing up the Florida State League. Who is Emmanuel Rodriguez? How did he end up with the Twins? What is his ceiling? 'Musica, bailar', Emmanuel Rodriguez answers, through interpreter (and Mighty Mussels hitting coach) Rayden Sierra, when asked by Twins Daily's @Seth Stohs how he likes to spend his time outside of baseball. 'Music, and dancing'. Rodriguez is 19, after all. Easy to forget after his impressive start in 2022. On Thursday, Seth chatted with the Mighty Mussels' prodigious outfielder on "Three Questions With..." Emmanuel Rodriguez made Baseball America’s weekly Hot Sheet after hitting .360/.568/.880 through his first 25 plate appearances of the season. Rodriguez has also managed ten runs, four home runs, 12 walks, and two steals to open 2022. One of Rodriguez’s four home runs traveled 439 feet with an exit velocity of 111 mph. Not bad for a 19-year-old. So who is this teenage phenom? How did he end up with the Twins? What is his ceiling? It’s often not talked about how reliant the current Twins lineup is on international signings. Luis Arraez, Jorge Polanco, Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Gio Urshela, and Gary Sanchez were all signed as professionals via international free agency (although not all with the Twins). While the more famous free agent signings like Sano and Sanchez come with plenty of prestige and attention, others, such as Arraez, are virtually unheralded, making a monumental impact when considering their signing bonuses. Emmanuel Rodriguez falls between those two extremes. The Twins signed him for a $2.5 million bonus in 2019. The Dominican was their top target in a class that was led by Yankees Jasson Dominguez. According to most international prospect lists, his overall placement in free-agent rankings that season lay between 10th and 20th. "They were always there. They were always following up with him. The scouting department made him feel wanted and that meant a lot to him', translates Sierra, on how Rodriguez ended up with the Twins. The 5’10, 200-pound left-handed hitter managed a 124 wRC+ and 10 HR in his professional debut in the Florida Complex League. While his .390 wOBA was impressive, Rodriguez's 36.6 K% was a clear area of focus ahead of 2022. The early returns are promising. At the time of writing, Rodriguez has increased his BB% from 15% in 2021 to 29% in 2022, cutting his K% to a more manageable 22%. In addition, Rodriguez has posted a scorching 252 wRC+. "I am working mostly on evening out my strikeout to walk ratio', says Rodriguez (through Sierra), after asking what his primary focus is in 2022, "that, and staying healthy." Entering the season, Rodriguez boasted 60-grade power, a 60-grade arm to go with 50-grade running and fielding. The question was his hit tool. Prior to 2022, Baseball America graded is at 45, citing his weakness in controlling the strike zone and an overly steep swing that resulted in too many strikeouts. Even with these concerns, they ranked him as the Twins' #10 overall prospect ahead of 2022, also giving him the superlative of best outfield arm in the system. What’s so exciting in Rodriguez’s start is his age and the rapidity of his improvement. At 19, he has a ton of projectability as he fills out, grows, and continues to develop. Even now, he has some of the best bat speed in the Twins system, top to bottom. While his 2022 start could simply be a hot two-week stretch, it should be a huge reason for optimism. The sky is the limit for Rodriguez if he can continue to improve and make adjustments at the rate and with the competence he has thus far in his young career. When asked what making the big leagues would mean to him, his answer is clear "It would be a dream come true," Rodriguez explains through Sierra. "I know for a fact it's something that would make my family incredibly proud." There’s a long road ahead, but don't count Emmanuel Rodriguez out, it looks like he has star potential. View full article

The Twins lost to Kansas City, 4-3 on Tuesday night. After a hot start, the offense went quiet in the late innings and a Tyler Duffey implosion allowed the Royals a come-from-behind win. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Archer 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 5 SO Homeruns: None Bottom WPA: Duffey -.305, Jeffers -.204, Polanco -.177 Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) On Tuesday night, the Twins opened up a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals. This is the first series against an AL Central opponent in the young season and offers an opportunity to see Bobby Witt Jr. for the first time. With Byron Buxton not yet ready to return to the lineup, much of the pregame banter ahead of the opening game of the series surrounded Luis Arraez and his first career start at first base. Shifting to first base allows the Twins a respite from Miguel Sano’s cold bat while navigating Arraez’s defensive struggles at third base. It also marked the highest Nick Gordon has hit in a lineup at the major league level. The Twins almost struck early, facing Carlos Hernandez, who came in with an ERA north of 8.00. Jorge Polanco reached on a walk and made second base on a Carlos Correa groundout. Max Kepler then flew out to Whit Merrifield on the edge of the warning track on a ball that seemed destined to be a home run before it hung up in the wind. Kepler’s 107 mph fly ball had an xBA of .720. Coming off a strong first start of the season against the Dodgers, Chris Archer struggled to find the zone in the first inning. He threw 10 of his first 22 pitches for strikes, giving up a single to Nicky Lopez and a walk to Salvador Perez, before Hunter Dozier struck out to end the threat after an early mound visit by Wes Johnson. The Twins were in business in the third inning. Gary Sanchez led off with a double. Ryan Jeffers immediately followed up with a single, and Tommy Watkins sent Sanchez home. Sanchez was thrown out by Michael Taylor on a close play at the plate. It was a questionable decision to send Sanchez, with no outs and Arraez up, not the first by Watkins this season. The error would prove costly. Despite an Arraez single, two quick outs resulted in a scoreless inning. The Twins finally broke through in the fourth. Nick Gordon hit a one-out triple after Max Kepler was given out on a questionable bang-bang play at first base (the Twins had used their challenge). A Gio Urshela scored Gordon, and Gary Sanchez’s second double scored Urshela, giving the Twins a 2-0 lead. The Royals cut the lead to 2-1 after a Salvador Perez home run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Twins finally chased Hernandez in the fifth, when an Arraez double and a Correa single increased the lead to 3-1. When Hernandez left the game, the Twins had eight hits and nine batted balls over 100 mph, despite just three runs to show for it. Baldelli chose to pinch-hit Garlick for Gordon in the fifth to try and add more insurance, but he struck out to end the inning. Archer ran into trouble in the fifth. A soft Taylor single was followed up by another from Cam Gallagher. Archer then walked Merrifield to load the bases with one out. Archer then walked Lopez scoring a run to cut the lead to 3-2 and force Archer from the game. Mercifully, Joe Smith continued his ability to escape jams, getting Bobby Witt Jr to ground into an inning-ending double play. On the second pitch of the sixth inning, Salvador Perez deposited a Tyler Duffey fastball into the left-field bleachers for his second home run of the day, tying the game at three. Andrew Benintendi was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double. Hunter Dozier gave the Royals a 4-3 lead, crushing another home run. Duffey gave up exit velocities of 104.9 mph, 104 mph, 109.8 mph, and 105.7 mph to the first four hitters he faced, a second brutal appearance this season, again surrendering a Twins lead. The Twins threatened at the top of the seventh when a Correa walk and Kepler single put two runners on. Garlick flew out to centerfield to end the inning. Jhon Romero pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh and eighth for the Twins. The Twins' bats went quiet in the second half of the game. After recording eight hits in the first five innings the Twins managed one more in the final four. Fans can point to the base-running send error by Watkins or another implosion by Duffey. Either way, they lost another winnable game. Instead of losing to a team making a playoff push, they dropped a game they should have had against a team who should be propping up the AL Central basement at the end of the season. Bullpen Usage Chart THU FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Winder 28 0 66 0 0 0 94 Romero 34 0 11 0 0 30 75 Jax 0 22 0 0 47 0 69 Duran 0 34 0 0 23 0 57 Thielbar 18 0 0 17 0 0 35 Duffey 0 0 0 18 0 15 33 Pagán 20 11 0 0 0 0 31 Stashak 0 0 0 17 0 0 17 Coulombe 14 0 0 0 0 0 14 Smith 3 0 0 0 6 2 11 Next Up On Wednesday, the Twins will continue their short series against the Royals. Chris Paddack aims to bounce back from a shaky first start against lefty Daniel Lynch. First pitch is at 7:10 CT. Postgame Interviews View full article

Absolutely a fair point, however, yesterday's Ryan start was evidence of the Twins tweaking. 40% sliders against Boston yesterday (last season around 16%), resulted in 19 whiffs I think, his highest ever.

I said the Twins have 'mastered' adding velocity to pitchers.

Good points. I generally agree. More so trying to communicate that some of the 'raw clay' coming down the pipe is even more exciting than Ryan and Ober. Thanks or reading!

The Twins front office has been averse to committing to free agent starting pitchers. Why? Clues can be found in the development of Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober. The void in quality in the rotation of the Minnesota Twins was obvious looking back on a miserable 2021 season. Derek Falvey, arriving from the Guardians with a sterling reputation for developing a pipeline of pitching talent, presided over a season in which everything went wrong, particularly pitching. Most Twins fans assumed the rotation would be a priority in a truncated off-season before 2022. At the very least, the Twins would strengthen their rotation with a solid mid-rotation free-agent starter, right? Wrong. While Twins territory lamented, the organization passed on the likes of Jon Gray, Carlos Rodon, Kevin Gausman, and Robbie Ray. Instead, the Twins signed Dylan Bundy before the lockout. Since the lockout ended, they added Chris Archer as a free agent and traded for Chris Paddack. While this iteration of the rotation is undoubtedly improved, it hardly inspires confidence. Twins fans know arms are on the way; Cole Sands, Louie Varland, Simeon Woods-Richardson, and Matt Canterino, to name a few. But why do the Twins seem so averse to committing to free-agent pitchers for any length of time? While it is likely that part of the reason is simply striking out on free agent offers, other clues lie in the development of Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober. Derek Falvey uttered his now-famous desire to ‘build a sustainable winner’ in Minnesota upon arriving at Target Field. It’s accepted that developing a pipeline of pitching talent takes 5-6 years. The Twins' front office is now entering year six, and fans are starting to see the impact of that development. My argument is that the Twins are attempting to be loosely competitive in 2022; their real goal is a window of 2023 and beyond. We can examine the development of Ryan and Ober as a proxy for organization principles of pitcher development. Here are three common practices the Twins have leveraged to maximize Ryan and Ober that will be evident in the next wave of starting pitching talent that hits Target Field. Maximize Velocity Bailey Ober has a unique set of tools. He amassed a 32% K% throughout his MiLB career, an impressive number he combined with a 3.4% BB%. While Ober has had strong command since being drafted in the 12th round in 2017 (Falvey’s first draft), his fastball velocity was consistently at or below 90 mph throughout his MiLB career. When he reached the majors, Ober’s fastball velocity had increased to 92.3 mph. Ober’s height (he’s 6’9) allows him a top ten release extension in major league baseball. Put simply, Ober’s so tall he releases the ball closer to the plate than most pitchers, speeding batters up. Adding velocity, (via release extension or refining mechanics) is a skill-set the Twins have mastered and shown an ability help their pitchers translate onto the field. Work the Fastball Up It’s notable that five out of six members of the Twins rotation in 2022 have a track record of excellent control. In 2021 the average BB/9 across major league baseball was 3.3. Consider the Twins' internal rotation members and their numbers in 2021; Ryan 1.69, Ober 1.85. Ryan and Ober have fastball spin percentiles of 34 and 38, respectively. While it’s been well documented that Ryan has a flat fastball, his VAA (vertical attack angle) allows it to thrive and gives it a rising effect, a tendency that is maximized with fastballs up in the zone. While not all fastballs have the ability to outperform their inputs in the way Ryan’s does, the Twins have found success in going up in the zone, particularly for pitchers who don’t have elite velocity. You can see how this plays out in how Ober leverages his excellent control to locate his fastball up The Slider Revolution Throwing fastballs up in the strike zone is not a good plan in isolation, particularly if the pitch doesn’t benefit from the deception that Joe Ryan’s does. For Ober, this meant revamping his slider. Midway through 2021, he debuted a new slider, reworked to appear more distinct in velocity than his curveball. Ober added velocity to the pitch and more depth to the break. In the final month of Ober’s old slider, it surrendered a .294 xBA; this dropped to .270 the following month and .215 the month after that. In his first start of 2022, he threw the pitch 29%, compared to just 18% in 2021. Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober are good pitching prospects and will likely have long, meaningful MLB careers with Minnesota. The Twins development staff has done excellent work with both, turning them into roughly 1.5 fWAR pitchers. Ultimately, they serve as placeholders at the front of the Twins' rotation. Soon they will be supplemented by Josh Winder, Louie Varland, Matt Canterino, Simeon Woods-Richardson, Cole Sands, and Jordan Balazovic. A number of the pitchers joining Ryan and Ober have the better raw velocity and stuff and, therefore, a higher ceiling as starting pitchers. It’s easy not to believe in the pitching factory Falvey has worked to develop in Minnesota. I do. It’s likely we’ll know who will lead the front of the Twins rotation by the end of 2022. View full article

I thought the rain delay timing was so bad, also. Did the players absolutely no favors.

This is mostly how I feel about this game. I'm not pressed about the loss, more annoyed that the Twins didn't take any chances and have now dropped all three close games. Bullpen was so bad, but the conditions were terrible and the opposition was great.

On Tuesday night, the Twins opened up a lightning-fast two-game set against the Dodgers. The Twins fell to the Dodgers 7-2 after a 90 minute rain delay. Box Score Starting Pitcher: Chris Archer 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K Homeruns: None Bottom 3 WPA: Jeffers -.151, Buxton -.144, Polanco -.103 Win Probability Chart (via Fangraphs) Chilly temperatures and rain were not enough to prevent baseball at Target Field, with the Dodgers eager to get home on time for their home opener on Thursday. Here’s how the Twins lined up against one of the most formidable teams in baseball. Twins fans continued to see their remade rotation on Tuesday as Chris Archer took the mound against Andrew Heaney. Archer came out strong and effective, with his fastball reaching 95 mph in a scoreless first inning on just 13 pitches. A 105 mph double off the bat of Carlos Correa amounted to nothing in the bottom of the first inning for the Twins. Indeed, Heaney’s three-quarter, across the body action appeared to be deceiving Twins hitters early, as he induced seven swings and misses in the bottom of the first inning. The teams traded scoreless second innings that were uneventful, save for Byron Buxton doing Byron Buxton things. Gavin Lux, Freddie Freeman, and Carlos Correa doubles were the only offense for both teams in innings three and four, as Archer left the game having thrown 63 pitches and limiting the best lineup in baseball to two hits and zero runs. Archer was relieved in the fifth inning by Josh Winder to make his major league debut with the Twins. Like Bundy on Monday night, Archer’s debut will give Twins fans optimism that their new-look rotation can be effective against good offenses. After benefiting from a generous called third strike on Dodgers catcher Will Smith, Winder struggled for command in the fifth inning. He managed just 12 strikes on his first 28 pitches, walking Cody Bellinger and Chris Taylor before a double steal and a Gavin Lux sac fly allowed Bellinger to score. Winder managed to limit the damage to one run. One could wonder why making his MLB debut on a cold, wet Tuesday, in a close game against the best lineup in baseball, was preferential to any game against the Mariners from the previous series? To Winder’s credit, he battled through it. With rain imminent, the Twins posed their first threat in the fifth. A Kepler double to right-center field, and Sano hit-by-pitch put runners at first and second with one out. Rocco Baldelli opted to pinch-hit Luis Arraez for Gilberto Celestino. A routine ground ball to Trea Turner resulted in a Twins run. Turner slipped, overthrew Gavin Lux at second, allowing Kepler to score and putting runners at the corners with one out. Heaney was relieved by old friend Brusdar Graterol. A Byron Buxton pop out and Carlos Correa ended an excellent scoring opportunity for Minnesota. Struggling with the increasing rain, Danny Coulombe managed just five strikes on 14 pitches, managing two-thirds of an inning before being relieved by Joe Smith. Smith struck out Justin Turner to end the top of the sixth inning. Despite getting two men aboard in the bottom of the sixth, Ryan Jeffers popped out to end the inning. Mookie Betts walked to lead off the eight for the Dodgers. Caleb Thielbar relieved Pagan, walking Freddie Freeman before a ground ball rolled under Luis Arraez’s glove for an error, scoring Betts. While it was scored as a single, it was a brutal play by Arraez, giving the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. Thielbar then walked Max Muncy to load the bases before being pulled for Jhon Romero. Romero immediately surrendered a single to Justin Turner, increasing the lead to 3-1. The Dodgers began to pour it on, adding hits and benefiting from a second Arraez error. After the top of the eighth, the score was 7-1, and the game was put to bed. Except it wasn't. The game was delayed in the bottom of the eight inning due to inclement weather. After a 90 minute rain delay, play resumed at around 11:35 CT. Nick Gordon walked to lead off the eighth for the Twins, before Jorge Polanco singled. Max Kepler singled to bring home Nick Gordon to make the score 7-2. Ryan Jeffers struck out to end the inning. Jharel Cotton managed a scoreless ninth despite walking three Dodgers in the inning. The Twins bullpen walked nine hitters and threw 142 pitches in five innings of work. The Twins went quietly in the bottom of the ninth, falling to 2-3 on the young season. Bullpen Usage Chart FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Coulombe 27 0 15 0 14 56 Thielbar 0 18 0 19 18 55 Romero 0 0 15 0 34 49 Cotton 0 20 0 0 25 45 Duran 31 0 0 11 0 42 Smith 0 20 0 19 3 42 Duffey 0 18 0 14 0 32 Pagán 0 0 10 0 20 30 Winder 0 0 0 0 28 28 Jax 0 0 0 0 0 0 Next Up On Wednesday, the Twins will continue their short series against the Dodgers. Chris Paddack will take the mound against Clayton Kershaw. First pitch is at 12:10 CST. Postgame Interviews - Coming Soon View full article

I totally agree that if thins lined up, a catching prospect would be great and fill a need. Agree with Doc's thought below though, BPA.

Ah, gotcha. What I'd say in response is that the FO tendency for college bats should be separated from the guys they might take this year. Sabato has incredible power but is pretty limited as a prospect (strikes out a ton, no obvious defensive home). The possibilities in the top 8 are going to have BOTH strong hit and power tools, that's a little bit of the reason why the uniformity behind the numbers from the guys mentioned.

What kind of prospect interests you? I can definitely add some notes in depending on what you're looking for. This season, there's a really strong crop of college hitters all with good hit AND power tools. I get that it's hard to discern between them on this years stats though, it just to give a little more context than my word that they're good lol.

Tennessee continued their historic start to the season, there was chaos resulting from a bat flip gone wrong, and who has some of the most explosive power of all college bats in the 2022 draft? It's all in the latest installment of the College Notebook. The Twins are up and running. A promising opening weekend for the major league team was underpinned by several spectacular performances from Twins prospects. Boy, is it amazing to have baseball back every single day. Here’s the latest from Jeremy Nygaard, capturing news and notes as we shuffle towards the draft in July, including updates from Keith Law as he offers his initial musings on college prospects from the season. Here’s the latest highlights from Week 7 of the college baseball season. Weekly Recap Tennessee continued its historic start, sweeping Missouri to move to 31-1 (12-0) this season. Meanwhile, the biggest shakeup in the top five came as Miami (previously number nine) swept previous number two Virginia to supplant them in the rankings. The rest of the top ten are OSU, Texas Tech, Oregon State, Virginia, Arkansas, Texas, Louisville, and Notre Dame. At the end of the weekend, here is where Baseball America has the top 25 teams. Moment of the Week Introducing the ‘anti’ moment of the week. After a righteous bat flip, Houston’s Brandon Uhse trips over first base. The next Houston hitter is thrown at by Sam Houston State and the game descends into chaos. SMH. Potential #8 Pick Performances Kevin Parada continued to crush this week, adding three home runs and ten RBIs to an already spectacular season. No one is hotter in college baseball than Parada. His continued performance at his current level will take him into top-five consideration in July. Brooks Lee had a ‘meh’ week for Cal Poly. However, his hitting tools are so well-rounded that a ‘meh’ week involves striking out twice, instead of once. Jacob Berry had a strong week for LSU, adding two home runs and six more RBIs. Berry has been extremely solid this year, if not quite firing on all cylinders, and is currently mocked to the Twins at eight by Baseball America. The most impactful news from the top 12-15 player group this weekend is that Chase DeLauter has a broken foot. DeLauter, a corner outfielder who is putting up an excellent season at James Madison, will be out for at least three weeks. This week, we’re shifting the focus of potential number eight prospects from Daniel Susac, to Jordan Beck. Beck has been rapidly ascending big boards since the beginning of the 2022 season. Initially, at number 50 overall, he currently sits at number 13 in Baseball America’s Top 200. Beck has already clubbed seven home runs in 2022 after hitting 15 in his Sophomore campaign at Tennessee, and some view him as having the best power tool of any college bat in the draft. Beck profiles as a strong right-fielder with good range and a strong arm. If he can cut down on strikeouts and control the strike zone more effectively, he has a chance to be a top ten pick in July. Here are the latest number for draft-eligible college players the Twins may have interest in at number eight overall. Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly, 52-126 (.413), 7 HR, 36 RBI, 27 BB, 8 K Jace Jung, 2B, Texas Tech, 50-129 (.388), 10 HR, 40 RBI, 34 BB, 20 K Kevin Parada, C, Georgia Tech, 55-141 (.390), 15 HR, 50 RBI, 19 BB, 16 K Jacob Berry, CI, LSU, 47-128 (.367), 10 HR, 34 RBI, 14 BB, 13 K Gavin Cross, OF, Virginia Tech, 38-111 (.342), 7 HR, 23 RBI, 13 BB, 10 K Chase DeLauter, OF, James Madison, 38-87 (.437), 8 HR, 35 RBI, 28 BB, 21 K Daniel Susac, C, Arizona, 56-143 (.392), 7 HR, 32 RBI, 11 BB, 24 K Jordan Beck, OF, Tennessee, 40-126 (.317), 7 HR, 25 RBI, 12 BB, 28 K Who are you most interested in as a potential number eight pick for the Minnesota Twins? Join the discussion in the comments. View full article

Great question! 13.2 innings over 3 games started. Ray is not really efficient. I don't know an exact pitch count, but I'd guess around 80 pitches.

Opening Day is Friday. 24 hours from now, Joe Ryan takes on Robbie Ray in an unusual, historic, and intriguing pitching matchup. Who has the edge? Opening Day is finally here, albeit delayed due to the weather. Regardless, get your warm clothes ready, prep your ‘162-0’ or ‘the season is lost’ Tweets, and get ready to enjoy the time of year when optimism reigns, if only fleetingly. On Friday, golden boy Joe Ryan, an immediate favorite with Twins fans and (extreme) darkhorse for AL Rookie of the Year, will open the 2022 season for Minnesota. What could go wrong? Simple, he’s facing Robbie Ray, a pitcher whose backside is so prominent that his pants have their own Twitter account. More relevantly, Ray is the reigning Cy-Young winner and fresh off signing a 5-year, $115 million deal with the rejuvenated Mariners this offseason. So what can Twins fans expect from the pitchers, their arsenals, and the matchup? Joe Cool Minnesota acquiring six years of Ryan in exchange for the 0.2 fWAR Nelson Cruz provided the Rays late in 2021 is a gift that will continue to give for the Twins. Despite his perceived proximity to the majors at the time of the trade, Ryan’s continued ascent has been impressive. In a five start stint at the end of 2021, Ryan struck out 30% of hitters he faced, walked just 5%, and produced an xERA of just 2.99. In spite of this, no one would have expected Ryan to get the Opening Day nod for the Twins. A shortened spring training, other Twins pitchers at various stages of readiness, and Ryan’s general unflappability ultimately convinced the Twins. Ryan becomes the first rookie to start on Opening Day since Tom Hall in 1969, a season in which Minnesota won 97 games on their way to being swept in the AL Championship Series by the Orioles. An Ace in the Hole Ray could not contrast more markedly with Ryan in experience, build, or arsenal. The 6’2 left-hander had a breakthrough season in 2021 for Toronto and earned himself an excellent payday with what should be a fun and relevant Mariners team. Ray accumulated 3.9 fWAR in 2021 on his way to his first Cy-Young award. The Mariners ace maintained his electric ability to strike out opposing hitters last season, doing so at an incredible 32.1% clip (5th best in baseball). Additionally, he finally managed to overcome the challenge that had plagued him throughout his previous six season, control. Ray walked just 6.4% of opposing hitters in 2021, down from his career average of 10.3% (17.9% in 2020!) Ray did seem to benefit from some batted ball luck in 2021, his 2.84 ERA belying his peripheral numbers, most of which slotted into the 3.3-3.6 range. Make no mistake, however, Ray is dominant on his day. It remains to be seen how cold conditions will impact both pitchers when they square off in Minneapolis. Pitching Arsenals Ryan has an extremely unusual pitching arsenal. He throws a four-seam fastball, typically up in the zone, around 66% of the time, at just 91 mph. Ryan relies on a combination of an extremely low release point and high attack angle to create a rising effect on his fastball. In short, it’s consistently deceptive in a way that makes hitters swing underneath it. Ryan also offers a slider (16%), a changeup (10%), and a curveball (8%). The changeup was extremely effective in a small sample in 2021, while the development of Ryan’s slider as a legitimate third pitch will be one of the decisive factors in his possible ascension from good to great. Ray does not rely on deception. He’s essentially a two pitch pitcher, throwing an explosive fastball (60%) that averages 95 mph pretty much all over the place. Ray also throws a very hard slider (30%) 88-92 mph down and away from right-handed hitters or down and in to left-handed hitters. Ray gives up plenty of hard contact, with an average exit velocity harder than Ryan’s. It will be incumbent on the Twins’ right-handed hitters to play well on Friday in order to force him from the game. The Offenses The final X-factor in this intriguing matchup is the lineups for each team. Twins fans have been excited by Byron Buxton and Carlos Correa’s combined offensive masterclass in spring training. The offense represents the greatest strength of the Twins lineup. What about Seattle? Seattle has a solid core of offensive veterans on their team. Mitch Haniger and Adam Frazier were joined by Nick Gordon's former high school teammate Jesse Winker and Eugenio Suarez in an off-season trade with Cincinnati. The excitement surrounding the team is bound up in a rising cluster of potential superstar rookies, led by Wisconsin native Jared Kelenic, and uber-prospect Julio Rodriguez. After struggling in the majors initially, Kelenic finished the spring hot, clubbing three home runs in his last four days for Seattle. J-Rod is a different animal altogether. The consensus global top three prospects is projected to finish with 3.4 fWAR by ZiPS, as a rookie. Rodriguez managed a 173 wRC+ in AAA in 2021. Prepare to be amazed. PECOTA projects Seattle to finish 2022 with 83 wins, in or around the range most projection systems have the Twins finishing the forthcoming season. Seattle will be a good opening test for Minnesota. They are an emerging team, with young offensive star power, trying to win. Best of luck, Joe Ryan. The matchup Twins fans get to look forward to on Opening Day is as historic as it is unlikely. After recent seasons stymied by COVID-19 and a Commissioner-imposed lockout, the outcome at Target Field is unlikely to matter. Baseball will be back. That alone should be enough to put a smile on all of our faces. Of course, what will happen in the small sample size that is one Opening Day game in the cold weather after a three-week spring training? There's no way to know. But, make your predictions. How will these pitchers do? How will the game end up? Leave your Comments below. View full article

I agree. Just easily forgotten that Urshela was coming off back to back 3.0+ fWAR seasons prior to 2021. Agree with your placeholder take, though.