Ted Schwerzler

It's pretty difficult to employ a player that wins the Most Valuable Player award. It might be more difficult to find one of the few aces capable of winning a Cy Young Award. The Minnesota Twins haven’t had a Rookie of the Year award winner in quite some time, but they could find a Comeback Player of the Year in 2023. Image courtesy of Rhona Wise-USA TODAY Sports Joe Mauer and Justin Morneau both won Most Valuable Player awards while wearing a Twins jersey. Johan Santana picked up a pair of Cy Young awards and should have grabbed a third. It hasn’t been since Marty Cordova that the franchise has had a Rookie of the Year award winner, but maybe Royce Lewis, Brooks Lee, or Edouard Julien could change those fortunes. This season though, Joey Gallo could pull a Francisco Liriano and win the Comeback Player of the Year. Back in 2006, Liriano was among the best pitchers in baseball. He posted a 2.16 ERA across 121 innings and generated an All-Star nod and nearly a Rookie of the Year award. He then blew out his arm and missed the entire 2007 season, returning for just 76 innings during the 2008 season. Liriano was clearly not himself in 2009 and his 136 2/3 innings that year equated to a gaudy 5.80 ERA. That’s when the comeback happened. In 2010, the Twins starter worked 31 games spanning nearly 200 innings. He posted a solid 3.62 ERA. He wasn’t untouchable, but the 2.66 FIP shares a story of an arm that was even better than his results indicated, and Minnesota looked at a glimpse of what they saw from their rookie phenom. When the dust settled, a yearly award was presented. For the first time since, Minnesota could be in line for another similar outcome. After a terrible year split between New York and Los Angeles, Joey Gallo signed with the Twins on an $11 million deal. Yes, a one-year deal hardly gives him longevity, but this is a guy who has destroyed vehicles with home run balls at Target Field. As much as he should have seen success through the short porch at Yankees Stadium, things simply didn’t work out. A lack of a shift might help Gallo to some extent, but given his ability to lift the baseball, there is plenty of reason for him to succeed at Target Field regardless of the positioning from defenders. Gallo is going to bring a Gold Glove caliber defensive ability, and that holds true both in the outfield and at first base. Given the uncertainty of Alex Kirilloff, the versatility from the former Rangers All-Star is massively valuable. Unfortunately, the Twins have already seen Gallo miss some time due to injury, but he has been a relative pillar of health over the course of his career. Always a hulking power prospect, Gallo has been well above league average offensively in four of the past five full seasons. His batting average is not anything to write home about, but his on-base prowess combined with the slugging potential is always something to behold. Playing both the outfield and first base for Rocco Baldelli’s Twins thus far, Gallo is off to a hot start. A multi-homer game is already something he has notched under his belt, and seven RBI through the same amount of games put him on pace to blow by his 2022 run producing numbers. Sometimes players aren’t meant to compete in a larger market, and there is no denying that New York was harsh with the Rangers transplant. He never settled in, and going to the Dodgers from there did no one any favors. Settling into a more agreeable market with Minnesota makes sense, and it appears that Twins hitting coach David Popkins has made his mark early. Maybe Joey Gallo won't be otherworldly this season, but his numbers could have him noteworthy enough to be recognized league wide. Trey Mancini captured an American League Comeback Player of the Year award after beating cancer, and Justin Verlander did it following Tommy John surgery. Maybe Gallo doesn’t have the same narrative or story, but settling back into who he was as a player would be a great development. View full article

The Minnesota Twins and Opening Day starter Pablo Lopez are said to be finalizing an agreement on a four-year contract extension. Coming over from the Miami Marlins this offseason, the front office locked up their new ace. Image courtesy of Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports When trading Luis Arraez to the Miami Marlins this winter there was never going to be a situation where his departure would sit well with fans. However, getting an arm like Pablo Lopez in return could certainly soften the blow, and his performance thus far has been nothing short of exceptional. According to Marlins beat writer Craig Mish, the sides are closing in on a four-year deal worth $73.5 million. That would have Lopez paid just over $18.3 million annually. That seems like a bargain given the $27 million annual amount the New York Yankees handed Carlos Rodon this winter. Although they may not be the same level of pitcher, Lopez has displayed a substantially longer track record of health. Rodon did get his money on the open market with multiple suitors whereas Lopez would not have hit free agency until after the 2024 season. Lopez has come out of the gates strong for the Twins posting a 1.73 ERA across his first four starts. He leads Major League Baseball in strikeouts having tallied 33 across 26 innings pitched. His 11.4 K/9 is a new career high, and it’s clear his sweeper addition has been nothing short of a powerful new weapon for him. It remains to be seen if Lopez can continue this level of production throughout the entirety of 2023, but for a guy many questioned as the ace of a staff, he’s looked every bit the part. Lopez has been a breath of fresh air for Twins fans looking to Rocco Baldelli for length from starters, and he’s allowed teammates like Sonny Gray and Joey Ryan to benefit as well. Set to be a free agent in 2025, the contract extension will buy out the 2024 arbitration year, and begin at the end of this season. Lopez is currently making $5.45 million through arbitration in 2023 for the Twins, and a four-year extension will have him with the club through his age-31 season. Minnesota should be happy with both the length and valuation of the contract. It’s a hefty sum, but not one unheard of for a top pitcher. Lopez can re-enter the market at 32 and look for another substantial payday as well. The move provides the Twins some rotation certainty in the year ahead. Gray is set to be a free agent as is Tyler Mahle and Kenta Maeda. That would leave just Ryan and Chris Paddack as big league starters currently with guaranteed contracts. Lopez is a definite horse that can anchor a group soon to more regularly include Simeon Woods Richardson, Louie Varland, Bailey Ober, and others. What are your thoughts on the Twins locking up Lopez for the next few years? Does this change the outlook of the Arraez trade at all? Given that he has been so good to start 2023, did they get a bargain? View full article

While the Cedar Rapids Kernels had their schedule action postponed on Sunday, the rest of Minnesota's affiliates were in action. Fort Myers shined brightest, and the Wind Surge introduced a position player to the mound. Image courtesy of William Parmeter TRANSACTIONS Twins recalled St. Paul LHP Brent Headrick Optioned RHP Louie Varland to St. Paul. SAINTS SENTINEL Indianapolis 7, St. Paul 0 Box Score Brent Headrick was supposed to start on Sunday for the Saints. Instead, he was promoted to the big leagues. Jose De Leon made the sport start as the Saints continue to look for ways to get all of their arms work. He went three scoreless innings while allowing just two hits and a walk. The recently-optioned Cole Sands took over for the next two St. Paul innings and unfortunately things didn't go as well. He allowed three runs on three hits, one of which left the yard. Toby Gardenhire's club never got on the scoreboard Sunday, and it was a pair of big flies that downed them. Tyler Heineman crushed a three-run blast in the 4th inning before Malcolm Nunez hit a 7th inning grand slam putting the game firmly out of reach. Matt Wallner picked up a hit as the leadoff man, and he drew a pair of walks as well. Recently spending time with the Twins, he'll be looking to push for another promotion soon. Joey Gallo continued his rehab assignment and went 1-for-5 with a trio of strikeouts. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 15, Wichita 5 Box Score The Wind Surge and Naturals played a high scoring affair today and it kicked off right from the jump. Making his Twins organization debut, Chad Donato was hit around in his first start for Wichita. Going just 1 2/3 innings, a pair of homers plated five runs on four hits and a couple of walks. With Northwest Arkansas putting up 15 runs in the contest, he was hardly the only arm to have a tough day. Things started well for the Wind Surge as Jake Rucker singled in Brooks Lee during the bottom of the 1st inning. A crazy at bat for Yunior Severino ended with a strikeout, steal of second by Rucker, and Yoyner Fajardo stealing home. The pair of homers off of Donato came in the 2nd inning and quickly wiped away the Wind Surge lead as it was now 5-2. WIchita did answer in the 3rd inning with Alex Isola grounding out but scoring Rucker. Cutting the deficit down to two, things looked to be trending upwards. In the 4th inning though, the Naturals added another pair of runs and pushed the score to 7-3. Answering again in the 5th inning, Fajardo scored from third as Rucker was thrown out on a stealing attempt. With the bases then loaded, Severino scored and gave Anthony Prato a run batted in on a walk. That's where thing fell off a cliff. Northwest Arkansas scored a run in the 6th inning before adding three more in the 8th inning. Infielder Will Holland came on as a position player pitching needing to get the final out in the 9th inning. He allowed three more runs on a pair of homers. Former Twins prospect Steven Cruz closed out the game for the Naturals by striking out the side. Rucker was the only Wind Surge player to record multiple hits on the day, and Brooks Lee was the only batter to grab an extra-base hit. Hit double puts the yearly OPS at .898. KERNELS NUGGETS Scheduled to wrap up a series with Quad Cities today, the Kernels game was banged to to inclement weather. They will head to Beloit next week. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Clearwater 0 Box Score Coming off a great start his last time out, Zebby Matthews took the ball today for Fort Myers and shoved again. Working five scoreless innings, Matthews punched out seven and walked just one. He didn’t give up a single hit, and now has gone thirteen scoreless innings to start his professional career after being drafted by the Twins in 2022. As impressive as Matthews was on the mound, there was plenty of pop from the Mighty Mussels lineup as well. Carlos Aguiar started the scoring in the 2nd inning when he hit a solo blast to record his first home run of the year. Andrew Cossetti followed his lead when he crushed a dinger to left center, scoring Danny De Andrade. It was Cossetti’s first professional home run. In the 3rd inning, Fort Myers applied the pressure as they loaded the bases. De Andrade took a walk and got an RBI the easy way as Jorge Polanco, still on a rehab assignment, walked home. In the bottom of the 8th inning, leading 4-0, Aguiar blasted his second home run of the game. Another solo shot, he quickly put two on the board for the season. A power bat with plenty of potential, he now has an .820 OPS on the season. Aguiar was the lone Mighty Mussels batter to record multiple hits. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Zebby Matthews (Fort Myers) - 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K Hitter of the Day – Carlos Aguiar (Fort Myers) - 2-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2 HR(2), BB PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-5, 2B, 3 K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-2, 2 BB, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/WB @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Tulsa (6:05PM CST) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:35PM CST) TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article

At the end of February the Minnesota Twins were careening towards the start of spring training action and Derek Falvey was hoping to have the roster additions done. Ideally Minnesota would have everyone in camp and the evaluation process would take place immediately. Then they added Donovan Solano. Image courtesy of © Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports When the front office decided that Donovan Solano was a necessary addition for the 2023 Twins, reaction immediately looked at both Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff. Both players were attempting to come back from injuries in 2022, and Solano could be viewed as insurance should either not be ready to go out of the gate. The Twins remained steadfast through the bulk of spring training suggesting that both Kirilloff and Polanco were tracking toward Opening Day. Having been down in Florida at the end of March, it was apparent neither were going to make that timeline, and both are currently rehabbing in the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels lineup. Even aside from injuries to Kyle Farmer and Joey Gallo, the addition of Donovan Solano has led to extensive playing time. Though Solano broke in with the Miami Marlins, it was with the San Francisco Giants that Solano broke out. His 113 OPS+ from 2019 through 2021 was above league average, and his 127 OPS+ during 2020 earned him a career-first Silver Slugger award. At this point, it’s fair to be skeptical of anything that took place during the truncated Covid season, and little value was placed on those numbers by fans coming into the year. Still though, for a guy who was expected to have rotational value at best, Solano has done his fair share of the heavy lifting early. Across his first 38 at-bats this year, Solano has slashed an impressive .342/.390/.421 (.811) with a trio of doubles and a capable 8/2 K/BB. He has yet to send the ball over the fence this season, but his bat has allowed him opportunity to score runs, and Rocco Baldelli has elevated him to the leadoff position in the lineup on occasion. Solano has yet to play anything but first base for the Twins, but it’s because of his positional flexibility that he has found his way into the lineup. With Kirilloff starting on the injured list, and Gallo ultimately joining him there, Solano was an ideal fill-in at first base. Polanco being out at second base gave way to Farmer for a period, and while Solano could have taken the reigns, prospect Edouard Julien has since made his debut. The Twins front office did an exceptional job creating depth and versatility this winter, and Solano’s usage at a singular position is a reflection of that. While he is capable of playing all over the diamond, and got time at three of the four infield positions last year, he has only been needed at first base thus far for the Twins. One would hope that roster health pushes Solano further down the pecking order in that he will be relied upon less from a production standpoint. That said, his immediate ability to contribute works wonders for the cause of playing time as the year goes on. Eventually there may be a time when Nick Gordon and Julien push Solano to a state of redundancy, but that will only happen in theory if he continues to put up numbers when called upon. The reality is that the Twins signed a veteran talent late in the offseason and he has done a good job establishing himself early. The longer Solano can keep this up, the better chance he has to stick on the 26-man roster all year long. Making sure to have fringe players that provide necessary levels of value is a must when filling out a team, and both Falvey and Thad Levine appear to have gotten this one right. We’re probably not going to see a repeat of the Silver Slugger production, but anything that resembles spelling a regular is a win, and we’re far beyond that at this juncture. View full article

The Twins farm system was off and running on Thursday night and there was plenty of action. A trade by Minnesota brought a new infielder for St. Paul, and the Saints scratched a starter sending him back to the big leagues. Fort Myers saw a new career high from a prospect, and a talented starting arm shoved for the Wind Surge. Image courtesy of William Parmeter TRANSACTIONS Twins selected the contract of St. Paul OF Kyle Garlick Twins acquire INF Alex De Goti from Marlins for cash considerations and assign him to St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 3, Indianapolis 2 Box Score Minnesota native Louie Varland was set to pitch for the St. Paul Saints on Thursday night but was scratched roughly an hour before the game due to non-injury related reasons. It seems he’ll head to New York and join the Twins. Dereck Rodriguez made the start in his place and worked four innings. He allowed two runs on four hits while striking out five and walking just one. The Saints took the game’s first lead when Mark Contreras drove in both Tony Walters and Elliot Soto with a single to right field. The 3rd inning runs were quickly answered by Indianapolis when they plated one of their own in the bottom half. Former Yankees infielder Miguel Andujar then knotted the game with a 4th inning single. Minnesota pitching prospect Jordan Balazovic put up 2 1/3 innings of relief work tonight as he allowed no runs on just one hit. While he did walk three, the former top 100 prospect punched out four. Needing a go-ahead run, Ryan LaMarre came through for the Saints in the 8th inning. His third double of the season scored Contreras and that was enough to grab the victory on the evening. Austin Schulfer, who worked 1 2/3 of scoreless relief work, got the win. Jose De Leon finished the 9th inning and got his first save of the season. WIND SURGE WISDOM NW Arkansas 10, Wichita 3 Box Score It was another David Festa start for the Wind Surge and the blossoming prospect continues to look sharp this season. Working 5 1/3 innings tonight, he allowed three runs on five hits but struck out six and allowed just a single walk. On the season his ERA stands at a shiny 2.61. Wichita pushed Alex Isola to third base in the 2nd inning before he scored on a wild pitch by Northwest Arkansas’ Anthony Veneziano. The game’s scoreless tie had been broken early. After giving a run back in the top of the 5th inning, Seth Gray put Wichita back on top with his first dinger of the year. Yoyner Fajardo then singled to right field allowing Armani Smith to score and make it a 3-1 game. From there, the wheels fell off. In the 6th inning Northwest Arkansas scored seven runs and added another in the 7th inning. What was a close lead had turned into a 9-3 deficit. Another run being added in the 9th inning made it 10-3 and that's where this one would wind up. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. was the long Wind Surge hitter to record multiple hits. Gray's solo b last was the only extra-base hit of the evening. KERNELS NUGGETS Quad Cities 4, Cedar Rapids 1 Box Score Kyle Jones took the ball for Cedar Rapids and tonight and was sharp over six innings of work. He allowed just three hits, and while one run did score, Jones recorded four punch outs while walking only a single batter. Unfortunately, the Kernels lineup wasn’t there to answer the opposition this evening. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the 7th inning, 2022 Twins draft pick Tanner Schobel stepped in and blasted his second homer of the young season. It was a nice shot to left center field, but it was just a solo homer, and the Kernels still trailed by two. Allowing another run in the 8th inning, Cedar Rapids went down 4-1 on the night. No one recorded multiple hits for Cedar Rapids, but Noah Cardenas kept up his strong start with another base hit raising his OPS to 1.045. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 10, Clearwater 6 Box Score Making his 2023 debut Develson Aria went tonight for the Mighty Mussels but lasted just three innings. Allowing a pair of runs on four hits, it was the four walks that did him in. Despite punching out seven, his pitch count got to 70 and he threw just 39 strikes. Aria was handed a lead early when Ricardo Olivar singled in a rehabbing Alex Kirilloff, and Carlos Aguiar doubled to drive home Jorel Ortega. Danny De Andrade then added a single of his own to score both Olivar and Aguiar making it 4-0 before Clearwater even stepped into the box. Fort Myers gave one back in the bottom of the 1st inning, but Olivar answered with his second hit of the game, doubling in Jorge Polanco. Although Clearwater answered again with a run of their own, the Minnesota first basemen sent one over the left field fence to make it 6-2. As Kirilloff works back from his wrist injury, seeing his power play is a big deal. It was an ugly 5th inning for the Mighty Mussels as a single and three-run blast tied things up. Rather than allowing it to change the game for them, they responded in the 7th inning. Rubel Cespedes hit his first home run of the season, and with Olivar on, the two-run blast made it an 8-6 game. The Mighty Mussels weren’t done flexing and continued to add in both the 8th and 9th inning. Maddux Hougton hit his first home run of the season before Dylan Neuse used a sacrifice fly to play Cespedes. In a game that had plenty of offense, Fort Myers emerged victorious. Despite the 12 hits, only Olivar and Cespedes had multi-hit games. Olivar’s four hits represented a new career-high. Samuel Perez worked 2 1/3 scoreless innings, punching out three, to pick up his second win. Jonathan Lavallee grabbed the two inning save. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – David Festa - 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Ricardo Olivar - 4-5, 2 R, 2 RBI, 2B, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4 #5 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-5, 2 R, RBI, HR(1) #13 - David Festa (Wichita) - 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4 #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 2.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 3 BB, 4 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, R, RBI, HR(2), 3 K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 3 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (6:05PM CST) - RHP Aaron Sanchez NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - RHP Travis Adams Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - LHP Connor Prielipp Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30PM CST) - RHP Cory Lewis Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday's games! View full article

We have seen the Minnesota Twins look to utilize handedness as a way to generate lineup flexibility in recent years. This year more than others, it’s hard to argue that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine didn’t nail the roster configuration. Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports All offseason the two largest storylines surrounding the Twins needs, aside from the general notion for pitching, included a desire to retain Carlos Correa and a push for a right-handed bat that can play the outfield. Max Kepler wasn't traded, Trevor Larnach has been among the best hitters on the team, and Joey Gallo looks like a great bounce back candidate. None of those players are right-handed, but Kyle Farmer, Donovan Solano, and Willi Castro have fit the bill. Originally, Farmer was tabbed as a baseline option to fill the starting shortstop role. The Twins sent minor leaguer Casey Legumina to the Cincinnati Reds after it was clear they were set to move on from Farmer. He provided a security blanket had Correa not returned which seemed likely since he agreed to deals with both the San Francisco Giants and New York Mets. No longer the starting shortstop, Farmer settled into a utility role but is not a guy that should be overlooked. He has already been responsible for a walkoff win during the home opener, and followed up that performance with a multi-hit day against the Astros that featured both a home run and a double. Playing time was cleared for Farmer because Rocco Baldelli is without starting second baseman Jorge Polanco. Dealing with knee issues, he has just started rehabbing with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. That has led to plenty of starts for Farmer, but Baldelli has an immediate pairing because of Nick Gordon. Splitting handedness, Farmer and Gordon are each continually put in advantageous situations because of how the Twins built the fringes of their roster. After posting a 113 OPS+ last season, Gordon established himself as a high-level utility option a season ago. Playing on the infield and in the outfield last year, maybe no one on the Minnesota roster has provided the coaching staff more flexibility. He is off to a slow start this season, but there is no reason to believe he won’t bounce back. When the Twins signed Solano during spring training, it was seen as an interesting move. Maybe Polanco wasn’t on track (he wasn’t) or maybe Alex Kirilloff wasn’t going to be ready (he wasn’t), but Solano as a righty made even more sense. He’s not an offensive juggernaut, but in three years for the Giants, he constantly was above league average. Being able to play multiple infield positions and first base, he has already proven his value to his new organization. Rounding out the group was what could arguably be considered the final player to make the 26-man roster. Former Detroit Tigers utility man Willi Castro is an ideal end-of-the-bench option. He is a switch hitter, and while he’s traditionally been an infielder, last season saw him play a whopping six different positions. Castro has been a regular in the past, and while his 80 OPS+ the past two seasons leaves plenty to be desired, he can be utilized in advantageous scenarios. By being flexible at the end of their bench and the fringes of the roster, Minnesota has afforded Baldelli a perfect mix-and-match spot. Farmer and Gordon are able to spell each other, while Solano brings more focus to the corner infield. Castro can be sparingly used and is never in a position where he has to be utilized, but also gives higher-level prospects time to develop on the farm. Knowing how much injury that they dealt with last year, it was clear Minnesota sought to find depth. In doing so, they had a plan to incorporate flexibility, and the completeness of this roster is something we haven’t seen for quite some time. Platoons have become a much larger focus in baseball, and although the Twins don’t need to rely on them, they’re constantly available at their disposal. View full article

The Minnesota Twins made a tough decision when moving on from a fan favorite and a reigning batting champion this offseason. They did so hoping to be adding another strong arm to their starting rotation, and early returns suggest both sides may benefit. Image courtesy of © Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports It was never going to be well received when the Twins front office decided to ship Luis Arraez down to Miami. What could soften the blow was a level of production from the incoming Pablo Lopez. Arraez is off to a hot start for the Marlins, but Lopez who started on Opening Day, has equally been on fire. Lopez came to the Twins with two years left under team control. Since 2022, the former Miami righty owned a 3.52 ERA and was as consistent as you could hope on a nightly basis. Although he has never garnered Cy Young attention like former teammate Sandy Alcantara, Lopez has flashed elite stuff with an ERA just above 3.00 in 2021. Looking to push him towards an even higher level, Minnesota saw some opportunity to introduce another weapon into his repertoire. Having never before thrown any iteration of a slider, the Twins worked with Lopez on the new sweeper offering. He has thrown it just over one-quarter of the time across his 173 pitches in two starts. There is no denying that the usage has been significant, but that is not at all surprising given the results. Of the 48 sweepers he has flipped this season, 17 of them have resulted in a whiff. For a pitcher that got just over 12% swinging strikes last year, his 35.4% whiff rate on the sweeper offering alone is otherworldly. Thanks to the dominance of that pitch, other offerings have paired wonderfully resulting in a 16.8% overall whiff rate. Although Wes Johnson is no longer in the Minnesota organization, it’s hard not to be impressed with the velocity explosion that Pete Maki and the pitching staff has continued to exploit. That rings true with Lopez as well, and it’s even more impressive given the early juncture we are at during the regular season. Lopez sat 93.5 mph with his fastball last year, and has never averaged more than 94.1 mph on the pitch. This season, Lopez has jumped the fastball velocity to 95.3 mph, nearly two mph faster than his career average. The totality of the results has given Minnesota a starter that looks the part of an ace. Rocco Baldelli doesn’t have one of the ten best arms in baseball, but he has an entire rotation filled with guys capable of pitching as a number three or better. Given how well Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, and Kenta Maeda each looked out of the gate, you could overlook any one single performance to the credit of the group. If each of the arms continues to one-up the last, the Twins should have every opportunity to be there in the end. Any time the Twins struggle to score runs or look lost without a leadoff man, Arraez will be considered. Max Kepler has tried to fill in atop the lineup, and while not healthy now, needed a breakout game to get going. There is nothing wrong with Arraez doing well for Miami, and there isn’t a reason for anyone in Minnesota to have sour grapes when Lopez is shoving like he has. We are still very early in the season and Lopez will continue to fine-tune his repertoire as the year goes on. The velocity could jump even to another level as the weather continues to warm up, but so far it’s the sweeper that has gotten and deserved the attention. Generating whiffs on one-third of a pitch usage is probably unsustainable, but it could wind up being among the best offerings across MLB this season. When Statcast sought to classify the sweeper they wanted to find a way to describe a pitch more horizontal than the verticality of the slurve. Should things continue along this path maybe Pablo can petition for a name change to the Lopez by year's end. View full article

Ding. Ding. Ding.

While the rest of the Twins minor league affiliates had Easter Sunday off, the St. Paul Saints were in action across from their big league counterparts in Minneapolis. Unfortunately the result wasn’t as nice as the weather. Image courtesy of © Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports TRANSACTIONS None to report SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 11, St. Paul 2 Box Score Due to the plethora of arms at Toby Gardenhire’s disposal, he has had to juggle a multitude of starters for the Saints this season. Sunday was the first action Simeon Woods Richardson has seen this season and he put up decent results across 3 2/3 innings. The talented prospect got some run with Minnesota in big league camp this year, and parlayed that into a debut that featured six strikeouts at CHS Field. Woods Richardson allowed three runs (only two earned) on four hits. He did walk two and was touched up for a solo homer by Nelson Velazquez. Despite notching seven hits on the day, St. Paul only managed to plate a pair of runs. Trailing 3-0 in the 4th inning, Jair Camargo singled to drive in Andrew Stevenson. After giving that run back in the 5th inning, Edouard Julien negated the Cubs' scoring by drawing a walk on a wild pitch that sent Chris Williams scampering home. Austin Schulfer grabbed seven outs for the Saints before Trevor Megill had a tough time during his inning of work. Allowing five runs on just three hits, it was a trio of walks that really set up the damage. David Bote blasted a grand slam against Megill, and it was the second time this series that Iowa accomplished that feat. Slugger Matt Mervis crushed a grand slam off of Brent Headrick on Thursday during the home opener action. Kyle Garlick and Hernan Perez were the lone Saints to go hitless on the day, and Andrew Bechtold was the only St. Paul batter to record a pair of base hits. None of the base hits resulted in extra bases. St. Paul will head back out on the road this week as they move on to a series with Indianapolis. PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-2, 2 BB #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K #11 - Matt Wallner (Minnesota) - 0-2, K, HBP TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Indianapolis (5:05PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick NW Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - TBD Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Clearwater (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article

Last season the Minnesota Twins went through pitchers at a breakneck pace. The result was a franchise-record 39 arms taking the mound. The front office sought to create depth that would avoid a similar outcome this year, and a quick look at the St. Paul Saints bullpen is evident of that. Image courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports St. Paul - Rocco Baldelli was constantly needing to shuttle arms back and forth a year ago. While the Saints did employ a handful of arms that could be counted upon, there was also consistent movement on the waiver wire to bring in retread veterans. This season, Minnesota should be more able to trade with Toby Gardenhire’s roster. It wasn’t long ago that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine rewarded Randy Dobnak’s meteoric rise to starting a playoff game in Yankee Stadium with a $9.25 million payday. Things have not gone well since then for the undrafted free agent, but he’s in a space to put it all behind him. “The finger feels great. Last year when I was up here it felt achy, but the range of motion is almost all the way back,” Dobnak said. When asking about where he’s at entering the season, you can see a renewed sense of confidence in his abilities. Dobnak knows he has done it before, and he’s ready to show that. It does sound like the Saints will use the former starter out of the bullpen. With so many guys needing innings, he’s feeling the roster crunch just a bit. “They told me I’ll be a two-to-three inning guy out of the bullpen. I would prefer to start, and I started in spring training. I’m not going to let that affect me. We’ve been down this road before and it didn’t work too well. Then I got DFA’d and became a starter and everything turned out better than when I was relieving.” Dobnak knows his numbers well. Following his mid-September DFA, Dobnak worked three more games, all as a starter, and owned a 2.38 ERA across 11 1/3 innings. He knows that he can make it work, but the preparation out of the bullpen is a different animal. “Preparing is different because I know when I’m throwing. The bullpen is like, be ready.” For a guy that can go on back-to-back days it’s less about the fatigue than the mental readiness. Joining Dobnak in the bullpen is a reliever hoping to make the jump to leverage roles in the big leagues this season. Austin Schulfer dominated during year two at Double-A, and while he struggled at Triple-A for the Saints, the comfort in knowing what’s coming certainly should be expected to make a difference. Schulfer noted, “I started throwing a little harder once I got to Triple-A. It was more of a focus thing, and a routine thing, but I tried to chase velocity maybe. It’s way more business-oriented when it comes to Triple-A and the majors leagues.” Schulfer knows that he can compete at a high level, and being able to showcase wherever he is called upon is something of a focus for him this year. Although a jump up the ladder can certainly impact focus for a player, reaching Triple-A and knocking on the door to the big leagues is another animal in and of itself. Schulfer knows not to let that moment get too big though. “Baseball is pretty simple when you throw strikes and put yourself in leverage counts. That was a big thing this spring. For me personally, I’m going to keep it simple this year and not worry about the outside factors.” Being so close to the majors, and knowing that the Twins went through more than their fair share of depth last year, it was a great experience for Schulfer to be in big league camp. For the first time in his career he got to experience that, and that too was something he took in stride. “Feeling like I belonged up there was a big takeaway. Learning from those older guys helped me a lot. Having the veterans be approachable has helped a lot of us take a step.” Danny Coulombe is no longer with the Twins, but both he and Emilio Pagan were veterans that Schulfer noted as helping him process the game. He did give up a home run to the Phillies Nick Castellanos, but Schulfer knows his stuff can play and he was able to see that first hand this spring. At some point, it wouldn’t be surprising to see either Dobnak or Schulfer on the bump for Minnesota. In the case of the former it would be a great redemption story, and the latter would represent a Major League debut. The Twins built an organization of depth to allow St. Paul an opportunity for success and supplement. Now they’ll get to see it in action. View full article

The Minnesota Twins have kicked their 2023 regular season with a strong start. Thanks to strong pitching and some timely hitting, the 26-man roster has done a good job of looking complete from top to bottom. As arms need to be shuffled in, however, which candidates can expect to be called upon? Image courtesy of Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports Playing against the Miami Marlins for their second road series of the year, Rocco Baldelli’s Twins put up double-digit runs for the first time. Joey Gallo, Trevor Larnach, Max Kepler, and Ryan Jeffers all went deep for Minnesota, and the 11 runs made it a laugher against Skip Schumaker’s club. Making his first start of the season, Tyler Mahle looked great as he tossed five innings of one-run ball. Punching out seven and walking just one, his velocity was mid-90’s and the stuff was reminiscent of a guy the front office flipped Spencer Steer and Christian Encarnacion-Strand for. As the game was in hand, Cole Sands got his first action of the year in a long relief role, and his usage brings about the question as to where Minnesota goes with that bullpen spot. Sands is a former starter, and his 28 pitches certainly weren’t taxing even while working around five hits in two innings. However, the bottom of the Minnesota bullpen has always been somewhat of a shuttle spot for this regime, and that should be expected to continue in 2023. Here are five candidates that should be expected to factor in: Randy Dobnak Now healthy for the first time in roughly a year, Dobnak is back with the Saints and looking to return to the major-league level. He no longer has a 40-man roster spot after being DFA’d last September, but the Twins have plenty of money sunk into his development. Preferring to start, and having done so in his first outing of 2023 for St. Paul, Dobnak could be used in a long relief role for Minnesota. He’s a bit down the pecking order when it comes to starting arms, and being used as a multi-inning guy makes a good deal of sense. Josh Winder Winder has struggled to stay healthy over the course of his career, and that’s why the Twins have transitioned him to a relief role. Looking to put less of a tax on his arm, Winder could play up well in shorter stints. His stuff looked good for Minnesota last year across 67 innings and the 6.3 K/9 could see a boost as a reliever. I don’t think anyone would expect Winder to break out as a late-inning guy, but he certainly could factor in as a strong middle reliever. Jose De Leon Once dangled as a trade piece by the Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for Brian Dozier, De Leon wound up in Minnesota this year anyways. He’s no longer the shiny prospect and has had injury concerns of his own, but he could pitch his way into the Twins plans. As a reliever his strikeout numbers have jumped, and he knows how to get big leaguers out. De Leon didn’t see a ton of run with the Reds, and he has just 48 Major League innings under his belt, but an opportunity with Minnesota could present itself. Dereck Rodriguez We have seen Ivan Rodriguez’s son pitch in the Twins system over the years, and he finally made his Twins debut for Minnesota last year. Rodriguez has never recaptured the rookie magic from his debut with the San Francisco Giants, but maybe he can fine tune things in shorter outings. With a starter background, he certainly has the ability to push for longer outings. Rodriguez has been around the game for a long time, and he certainly wouldn’t be caught off guard by the moment. Brent Headrick Yet to make his Major League debut, Headrick was added to the Twins 40-man roster this offseason. He worked mostly as a starter between Cedar Rapids and Wichita last year, and the home run uptick was misleading at Double-A considering five came in his first outing. Working as a reliever for the Saints, Headrick definitely has the ability to eat innings. He is a lefty with big strikeout stuff, and that could play up even more out of the bullpen. Right now it’s only Jovani Moran and Caleb Thielbar as southpaws in the Twins pen, and Danny Coulombe went to Baltimore. Headrick has a clear path to the big leagues if he can force the club’s hand, and clearly the organization thinks highly of him in protecting his Rule 5 status over the winter. Who else would you like to see factor into the Twins bullpen shuttle this season? View full article

Miller is going to play shortstop as long as he's elite there I think (and he is).

The St. Paul Saints were officially joined by the rest of the full season minor league Minnesota Twins affiliates today in kicking off their regular seasons. While St. Paul had to wait a couple of days for weather delays, everyone was all systems go on the farm Thursday. Image courtesy of Ted Schwerzler TRANSACTIONS 2B Jorge Polanco assigned to Fort Myers for rehab assignment RHP Oliver Ortega (shoulder strain) placed on IL for St. Paul RHP Owen Griffith placed on IL for Cedar Rapids LHP Christian MacLeod placed on IL for Cedar Rapids RHP Mikey Paredes placed on IL for Cedar Rapids RHP Marco Raya placed on IL for Cedar Rapids LHP Zarion Sharpe placed on IL for Cedar Rapids RHP Zaquiel Puentes (forearm) placed on IL for Fort Myers C Nate Baez (hamate) placed on IL for Fort Myers RHP Logan Campbell (Tommy John) placed on IL for Fort Myers SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 12, St. Paul 11 Box Score After a few days worth of postponements the St. Paul Saints finally got to usher in their 2023 regular season. Although it wasn’t quite the warm weather baseball fans had been hoping for, 37 degrees and sunshine was a good deal better than what Minnesota has seen in recent days. Bailey Ober got the start for St. Paul with the rotation being shuffled a bit. Louie Varland will go tomorrow with Jordan Balazovic starting one of the Saturday doubleheader games. Twins Daily’s Theo Tollefson provided an in depth game recap for St. Paul’s home opener and you can check that out here. Also, Edouard Julien rakes. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 4, Springfield 1 Box Score Blayne Enlow got the Opening Day start for the Wind Surge. After an offseason in which he was removed from the 40-man roster, and a spring where he saw up and down results, a strong season could vault him right back into the Twins plans. Working five innings of one-run ball, Enlow's only damage was a solo shot by Cardinals prospect Irving Lopez. He punched out six and walked just one while allowing four hits. For the Wind Surge, they got on the board first this season and it was DaShawn Keirsey Jr. driving in Brooks Lee with a single in the 1st inning. It wasn't until the 7th inning that the Wind Surge would jump ahead. Alerick Soularie took advantage of an error to score Keirsey Jr. before Lee singled scoring Soularie for the lead. Yunior Severino then singled to drive in Lee and the score was pushed to 4-1. Up by three in a save situation Alex Scherff stepped up for the first save opportunity of the year. Pedro Pages flew out in this first at bat before Justin Toerner went down on strikes. Todd Lott entered the box having gone 0-for-3 on the night and his ground out to Aaron Sabato gave the Wind Surge a victory. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Peoria 2 Box Score On the road in Peoria, Jaylen Nowlin took the ball for the Kernels. An underrated pitching prospect, he went four innings allowing just a single unearned run. Nowlin punched out four and walked three but gave up only a single hit. Finishing with 73 pitches, it was a good first start of the year. After getting behind by a run in the 3rd inning, Cedar Rapids answered with a run of their own in the 6th inning. Misael Urbina put the ball in play and reached on a fielder's choice while Emmanuel Rodriguez scampered across the plate. Peoria retook the lead in the 7th inning but that was short lived as the Kernels had a quick answer. Noah Cardenas blasted his first home run of the season to tie things, and former first round pick Keoni Cavaco singled to drive in Jose Salas. Acquired in the Luis Arraez trade, Salas has quickly made his presence felt in Twins Territory. Miguel Rodriguez was given the Kernels first save opportunity for the season and he immediately punched out two. Osvaldo Tovalin stepped in for Peoria and grounded out to end the game allowing Cedar Rapids an opportunity to open with a win. MUSSEL MATTERS Dunedin 4, Fort Myers 2 (F/6) Box Score The story here was Minnesota Twins second basemen Jorge Polanco starting a rehab assignment. Despite missing the vast majority of spring training, he was batting second and playing second for the Mighty Mussels on Opening Day. A tarp pull had to happen because Southwest Florida weather exists, but Polanco got five innings in and went 1-for-3 at the plate. 2023 draft pick Cory Lewis made the start and worked 4 1/3 innings. He did allow four runs on six hits, but struck out four while walking just two. Zach Veen took over in relief. Dunedin plated runs in both the 2nd and 3rd innings, but Fort Myers answered in the 3rd inning. Dalton Shuffield, who played briefly at Triple-A last year, launched his first dinger of the season. After Dunedin added another pair, it was Dylan Neuse that lifted a sacrifice fly in the 5th inning to score Mikey Perez and make it a 4-2 ballgame. Thanks to the rain, this one was called after just six innings and everyone was cheated out of a full game to start the season. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K Hitter of the Day – Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-5, 2B, R, 4 RBI, K PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-4, 2 R, RBI, BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, R, BB, K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 2-5, HR(2), 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, K #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, BB, K #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 2-5, 2B, R, 4 RBI, K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, RBI, BB FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (6:37PM CST) - RHP Louie Varland Wichita @ Springfield (6:35PM CST) - RHP David Festa Cedar Rapids @ Peoria (6:35PM CST) - RHP Kyle Jones Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article