Tom Froemming

Thanks for the tip! I found it: https://www.mlb.com/twins/video/dozier-on-eating-healthy/c-1893675883?tid=219880472

Fort Myers hitting coach Steve Singleton is working with Sano, but in a quote I saw from him he mentioned how Sano was doing a good job of focusing on the things assigned to him "from above" or "from the top" something along those lines. So, as you'd expect, the guidance in terms of what Miguel's supposed to be focusing on is coming from the front office/MLB field staff, but it sounds like Singleton is the main person who's working to implement that plan with Miguel. Kate Moran is the team's dietitian and she's based out of the Fort Myers complex. The Twins have made a big commitment toward better nutrition the past couple years, and seem to be out in front of a lot of other clubs in that regard. For example, not every team employs its own full-time dietitian. I tried to get in touch with Moran for an interview for the prospect handbook. It didn't end up working out, but I learned quite a bit in researching for that piece before it fell through.

Brad Hand; what a great example of exactly what you're talking about here Jamie. The Padres originally acquired Hand off waivers from the Marlins back in April 2016. Hand was fighting for a roster spot with Miami, but after having a bad spring they decided to go with a pair of "established" left-handed relievers instead. Southpaws Craig Breslow and Chris Narveson made the Marlin's opening day roster that year. They combined to throw 22 1/3 innings with Miami.

Last night Stephen Gonsalves recorded his 300th strikeout in 274 2/3 innings between Double A and Triple A. That's a 9.8 K/9 in a good-sized sample in the high minors. He's only surrendered 193 hits over that span, an average of 6.3 H/9. To put that into perspective, Jose Berrios had a 9.2 K/9 and gave up 6.8 H/9 between Double A and Triple A. Obviously, there's a huge gap in the base on balls department between the two of them, but all I'm trying to display is how nasty SG has been. Also, keep in mind those numbers include 100-something innings of work from Jose AFTER he already had made his MLB debut. The concerns are absolutely legit, but it's also worth keeping in mind that this isn't a finished product we're looking at. Hopefully this ends up being a good learning experience/exposes something in Stephen's game that he needs to address, but if you take a look at him through rose-colored glasses right now the picture sure is sweet.

First off, I am very happy to see the three guys mentioned in this piece all finding success at the big league level. The fact that they've all made it this far is a success story for the Twins developmental program. With Niko, you've gotta remember that heading into this season it was expected that Eduardo Escobar was going to be a bench player, not even to mention Ehire Adrianza. There was just no place to envision Goodrum fitting in. Rosario has been effective for the Cubs, but I'd still take Duke, Rogers and Moya as lefty relievers over him. Heck I'd take Mejia in the bullpen over him. I'd be shocked if Randy makes the Cubs' postseason roster, assuming he sticks around that long. D-Rod is the guy I look at and scratch my head on. They knew when he was going to be eligible for free agency this offseason, but still had him spend a good chunk of last season as a 25-year-old in Fort Myers. That situation seems weird to me, but it's still impressive that the Twins were able to successfully help convert Rodriguez from the outfield, where he spent three full seasons as a pro, to the mound. The real kicker to me? Tyler Kinley. What a waste. There are good reasons you can find as to why the Twins didn't protect these three guys above, but when they used the space to carry Kinley as a Rule 5 guy instead? Again, what a waste. I certainly agree with the main premise of this piece. The Twins need to give the guys they have a shot. And not necessarily the top prospects. Why not give Kennys Vargas one more shot? Let your Duffey/Bard/May/Curtiss/Reed types take over a spot or two in the pen and rotate through them. With Ervin coming back things are going to get tight in the rotation, but Mejia deserves to be starting in the majors, in my opinion.

I had Vasquez at 44. That may sound low, but he was also the fourth reliever I have ranked, behind only Tyler Jay, John Curtiss and Gabriel Moya. He's an interesting pitcher. Big, eccentric mechanics, good offspeed stuff but he doesn't throw hard. I'm pleasantly surprised by how well he's performing in Chattanooga.

Yeaaaaaah ... not ideal. Luckily the production has still been there despite the Ks. In the splits at Baseball-reference.

Thank you for reading, and I want to make it clear that I welcome people to chip in with comments like these, but just a heads up both Miranda and Cabbage were highlighted in last month's "Another 10 to Know" section. I'm trying to avoid repeating any names in an effort to spotlight as many players as possible. It's been good for me personally to get a bit out of my comfort zone and discover some new names (like with the DSL guys), so I hope everyone following along has the same experience. Here are the "Another 10" guys from the previous two installments : -Arraez (wasn't in the top 20 at that time), Charlie Barnes, Cabbage, Randy Dobnak, Adalberto Mejia (who I realize now isn't technically a prospect, doh!), Sean Miller, Miranda, Jovani Moran, Brian Navarreto and Bryan Sammons. -Nick Anderson, Willians Astudillo, Edgar Corcino, Jaylin Davis, Ryan Mason, Chris Paul, Cody Stashak, Todd Van Steensel, Andrew Vasquez and Zander Wiel. So again, feel free to further discuss any of those guys, but if you're wondering why they weren't singled out, it's because they already have been.

Neither do I, to be honest. I feel like there's a lot of fool's gold down there. It's really hard to try and evaluate on the numbers, which is all I personally have to go off of for that league. Below are some things that put into perspective what comes out of the DSL. Since the kids are so young in this league, you've got to look back a ways to get any real context. Players to make the MLB 2012 DSL Twins: Fernando Romero, Engelb Vielma 2011 DSL Twins: Felix Jorge, Randy Rosario 2010 DSL Twins: Miguel Sano, Jorge Polanco 2009 DSL Twins: None 2008 DSL Twins: Oswaldo Arcia, Danny Santana And among the DSL leaders back in 2008, only six of the top 50 players in OPS and six of the top 50 pitchers in ERA that season made it to the majors. But, I still wanted to highlight a few of the guys down there because I do think it's worth at least keeping some tabs on what's going on. Maybe Escobar (17), Feliz (18) and Morales (19) make it to the majors, maybe they flame out before they ever even make it to full season ball. Who knows? Fun facts on Jeferson Morales: He has more extra-base hits (12) than strikeouts (11) and leads the DSL Twins with 12 stolen bases. This is all from a catcher listed at 5-8, 170 pounds.

Thanks Carole, since you asked ... I'm going to cut it down to just the 10 top and five extras next time I'll see what I can do in terms of expanding it next month, it'll depend on how mush I've got going on the day I whip this together.

Welcome to another edition of the Twins Prospect Pulse. Over the past month we’ve seen several big promotions (Alex Kirilloff, Brusdar Graterol, Royce Lewis) and the short-season leagues have all gotten underway, which means we’re starting to see some of the 2018 draftees for the first time. Here's how each affiliate is performing, a rundown of the Twins Daily top 20 prospects and another 10 names of note.This is a feature designed to keep those of you who are more casual followers of the system up to speed on what’s happening in the minor leagues. This will be posted mid-month going forward, the intention being that it will complement Seth’s Minor League Player of the Month Award articles nicely. Speaking of which, here are the award winners from June: Hitter: Luis Arraez Starting pitcher: Tyler Wells Relief pitcher: Jovani Moran Below are the stats for this edition of the Prospect Pulse. All numbers were pulled on the morning of July 16. Affiliates -Rochester Red Wings: 43-46, fourth place in IL North -Chattanooga Lookouts: 42-50 overall, 6-17 second half, last place in SL North -Fort Myers Miracle: 38-54 overall, 10-14 second half, fourth place in FSL South -Cedar Rapids Kernels: 48-45 overall, 16-8 second half, second place in MWL Western -Elizabethton Twins: 16-8, first place in Appy West -GCL Twins: 13-9, tied for first place in GSL South -DSL Twins: 25-11, first place in DSL South Top Prospects Here’s a snapshot at how the top 20 prospects have performed. We unveiled a new midseason prospect list earlier this month. Both Fernando Romero and Mitch Garver graduated from prospect status while Tyler Jay and Felix Jorge dropped out of our top 20. The new arrivals that took their places are Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers, Jacob Pearson and Luis Arraez. 1. Royce Lewis, SS, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .370/.447/.568 (1.015 OPS), 12.8 K%, 11.7 BB% Full season: .320/.373/.485 (.858 OPS), 14.9 K%, 7.4 BB% 2. Alex Kirilloff, RF, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .289/.316/.400 (.716 OPS), 17.9 K%, 3.2 BB% Full season: .322/.372/.553 (.925 OPS), 17.0 K%, 7.2 BB% 3. Brusdar Graterol, RHP, Fort Myers Last 28 days: 19.1 IP, 4.66 ERA, 1.66 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 2.71 K:BB Full season: 55.2 IP, 3.23 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 9.9 K/9, 4.69 K:BB 4. Nick Gordon, SS, Rochester Last 28 days: .222/.239/.344 (.584 OPS), 16.1 K%, 2.2 BB% Full season: .282/.317/.429 (.746 OPS), 16.6 K%, 4.2 BB% 5. Stephen Gonsalves, LHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 21.2 IP, 0.83 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 7.9 K/9, 1.46 K:BB Full season: 84.1 IP, 3.20 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 9.6 K/9, 1.76 K:BB 6. Trevor Larnach, OF, Inactive 7. Brent Rooker, 1B/LF, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .275/.340/.582 (.922 OPS), 32.0 K%, 8.0 BB% Full season: .263/.320/.488 (.808 OPS), 29.1 K%, 7.2 BB% 8. Akil Baddoo, CF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .318/.384/.523 (.907 OPS), 13.1 K%, 10.1 BB% Full season: .247/.365/.429 (.794 OPS), 24.4 K%, 15.4 BB% 9. Wander Javier, SS, Out for the season due to injury 10. Zack Littell, RHP, Rochester Last 28 days: 19.2 IP, 1.83 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 6.9 K/9, 3.00 K:BB Full season: 83.1 IP, 4.32 ERA, 1.40 WHIP, 9.2 K/9, 2.66 K:BB 11. Blayne Enlow, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 20.0 IP, 0.90 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 6.3 K/9, 1.75 K:BB Full season: 56.2 IP, 3.49 ERA, 1.50 WHIP, 6.5 K/9, 1.64 K:BB 12. LaMonte Wade, LF/RF, Rochester Last 28 days: .250/.379/.500 (.879 OPS), 14.9 K%, 14.9 BB% Full season: .278/.391/.440 (.831 OPS), 11.3 K%, 14.4 BB% 13. Travis Blankenhorn, 3B/2B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .196/.282/.304 (.586 OPS), 28.8 K%, 6.7 BB% Full season: .243/.308/.397 (.705 OPS), 25.7 K%, 6.9 BB% 14. Lewis Thorpe, LHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 21.2 IP, 1.66 ERA, 0.74 WHIP, 13.3 K/9, 10.67 K:BB Full season: 84.1 IP, 3.95 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 4.42 K:BB 15. Ben Rortvedt, C, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .226/.333/.355 (.688 OPS), 16.7 K%, 12.5 BB% Full season: .265/.329/.372 (.701 OPS), 20.1 K%, 8.0 BB% 16. Yunior Severino, 2B, Elizabethton Last 28 days: .317/.353/.476 (.829 OPS), 19.1 K%, 5.9 BB% Full season: Same as above 17. Lewin Diaz, 1B, Fort Myers Last 28 days: .280/.326/.378 (.704 OPS), 15.7 K%, 6.7 BB% Full season: .234/.265/.360 (.624 OPS), 17.2 K%, 3.1 BB% 18. Ryan Jeffers, C, Elizabethton Last 28 days: .398/.524/.566 (1.090 OPS), 13.3 K%, 14.3 BB% Full season: Same as above 19. Jacob Pearson, LF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .317/.417/.476 (.892 OPS), 19.8 K%, 13.5 BB% Full season: .292/.370/.429 (.799 OPS), 18.0 K%, 10.6 BB% 20. Luis Arraez, 2B, Chattanooga Last 28 days: .330/.371/.396 (.767 OPS), 10.3 K%, 6.2 BB% Full season: .301/.351/.387 (.738 OPS), 11.1 K%, 6.7 BB% Another 10 to Know This is a rotating list. I’m trying to make sure to feature a brand new set of 10 players each month. These aren’t necessarily the next 10 in the rankings, but here are some other names of note: Jean Carlos Arias, OF, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: .324/.351/.592 (.943 OPS), 23.0 K%, 4.1 BB% Full season: .274/.292/.425 (.717 OPS), 21.5 K%, 2.7 BB% Jordan Balazovic, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 22.1 IP, 2.42 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 11.3 K/9, 4.00 K:BB Full season: 38.0 IP, 2.37 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 11.8 K/9, 4.17 K:BB Anthony Escobar, RHP, DSL Twins Last 28 days: 24.0 IP, 1.50 ERA, 0.58 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 7.33 K:BB Full season: 43.2 IP, 1.24 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 5.29 K:BB Jesus Feliz, SS, DSL Twins Last 28 days: .333/.364/.627 (.991 OPS), 12.5 K%, 1.8 BB% Full season: .287/.319/.517 (.836 OPS), 15.8 K%, 3.2 BB% Derek Molina, RHP, Elizabethton Last 28 days: 12.0 IP, 3.00 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 14.3 K/9, 3.80 K:BB Full season: 25.1 IP, 3.55 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 12.1 K/9, 2.43 K:BB Jeferson Morales, C, DSL Twins Last 28 days: .286/.437/.393 (.829 OPS), 11.3 K%, 15.5 BB% Full season: .330/.496/.489 (.984 OPS), 9.4 K%, 19.7 BB% Bailey Ober, RHP, Cedar Rapids Last 28 days: 23.2 IP, 2.28 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 13.7 K/9, 12.00 K:BB Full season: 64 IP, 4.36 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 9.25 K:BB Sean Poppen, RHP, Chattanooga Last 28 days: 25.2 IP, 2.45 ERA, 0.94 WHIP, 8.8 K/9, 4.17 K:BB Full season: 78.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 10.0 K/9, 3.48 K:BB Tyler Webb, RF, Elizabethton Last 28 days: .387/.478/.440 (.918 OPS), 13.3 K%, 10.0 BB% Full season: Same as above Chris Williams, 1B, Elizabethton Last 28 days: .270/.362/.539 (.901 OPS), 18.1 K%, 12.4 BB% Full season: Same as above That’s it for this edition of the Prospect Pulse. Thanks for checking it out. Click here to view the article

It feels really good to be mad at the other team for a change, lol. One more update: The Twins apparently didn't challenge that Cave was safe, per @MLBReplays, they were challenging that catcher Jesus Sucre blocked the plate. 1) That's embarrassing for the Twins/Molitor. 2) It's embarrassing for MLB to have such a ridiculous review system. Why can't you simply review whether or not the call was right? Why so specific? It's trash.

I found time to gather some video on the benches-clearing incident and the Cave out call at the plate. The article has been updated. Crazy stuff, what a wild game. Cash should get fined/suspended, he incited the whole thing, not Escobar, and the video reviewer in New York should be fired. I don't understand how they couldn't get that call right on replay. Even the Rays catcher when he was watching on the video board seemed to acknowledge that the call was more than likely going to be overturned.

The really funny thing is there was mostly support of that move to use Rodney early, a lot of people were impressed with the uncharacteristic creativity. From Judd Zulgad on Twitter: "Earlier today the baseball world loved what Molitor did when he brought in Rodney to get two huge outs in the fifth. So what was the thinking in this genius strategical decision? Molitor: Fernando had an immigration hearing in Miami and had to leave just after 3 p.m." Obviously, Hildy didn't do his job, but then again, your guy MOY probably left him in too long. Meanwhile, Matt Magill heads into the All-Star beak with five days of rest.

There was an entire season’s worth of moments in just this one game Sunday afternoon at Target Field. A run scored on a balk, there were two instances in which the benches cleared, the lead changed hands multiple times late and Brian Dozier hit a walk-off grand slam in extra innings. How’s that for a way to finish the first half?Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Fernando Romero: 35 Game Score, 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 1 K, 0 BB, 65.4% strikes Bullpen: 5.2 IP, 3 ER, 6 K, 4 BB Lineup: 6-for-12 w/RISP, 9 LOB WPA of 0.1 or higher: Dozier .550, Rosario .293, Busenitz .254, Mauer .210, Polanco .134, Rogers .111 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Hildenberger -.800, Romero -.235, Garver -.196 Download attachment: WinEx715.png First thing’s first, here’s the Dozier grand slam to end it: Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen715.png AL Central Standings CLE 52-43 MIN 44-50 (-7.5) DET 41-57 (-12.5) CHW 33-62 (-19) KC 27-68 (-25) Last Three Games TB 19, MIN 6: This Never Happened MIN 11, TB 8: Twins Get a Scare on Friday the 13th, Prevail over Pesky Rays MIN 5, TB 1: Who’s the Snub? Click here to view the article

The Red Wings, Lookouts, Miracle and GCL Twins combined to score three runs. Meanwhile, both the Kernels and E-Twins scored in double-digits thanks to big games from Jose Miranda, Ryan Jeffers and many others. Also, Royce Lewis made his debut in Fort Myers and Nick Gordon left the Lookouts' game with an injury. Check out what else happened across the system, here’s Saturday night’s Twins Minor League Report.TRANSACTIONS This was announced last night, but the promotion of Royce Lewis become official today. To take his spot in Cedar Rapids, Michael Davis, the team’s 24th-round pick from this year’s draft, was promoted up from Elizabethton. Also, Byron Buxton was placed on the seven-day DL in Rochester. The good news on Buxton is that he is suffering from a left wrist strain and not something more serious. Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) and Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) were placed on the Temporary Inactive Lists of their teams. Both will be participating in the Futures Game on Sunday. RED WINGS REPORT Scranton/WB 4, Rochester 0 Box Score SP: Kohl Stewart (6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: None The Red Wings trailed 1-0 until Tyler Duffey gave up three runs in the eighth inning. Rochester had only four hits: a Jordan Pacheco double and singles from Taylor Motter, Gregorio Petit and Kennys Vargas. The big news out of this one is that Nick Gordon left early due to an apparent hand injury after fouling off a pitch. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Montgomery 5, Chattanooga 2 Box Score SP: Omar Bencomo (4.2 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) HR: Mitchell Kranson (1) Multi-hit games: None Mitchell Kranson hit his first homer of the season, and that was the only extra-base hit for the Lookouts. Ryan Walker was 1-for-2 with a walk and a stolen base. Brent Rooker committed two errors in left field. Andrew Vasquez pitched two perfect innings out of the bullpen and struck out four batters. MIRACLE MATTERS Lakeland 3, Fort Myers 1 Box Score SP: Brusdar Graterol (5.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) HR: None Multi-hit games: Taylor Grzelakowski Royce Lewis was 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in his Florida State League debut. In his four trips to the plate, Miguel Sano struck out in two and walked in the other two. Taylor Grzelakowski was 2-for-4 with the lone Miracle RBI and Aaron Whitefield was 1-for-5 with a stolen base and the lone run scored. Brusdar Graterol gave up two runs on eight hits and a walk. Over five innings, he had just two strikeouts. Tom Hackimer gave up another run over his two frames before Adam Bray pitched a scoreless eighth. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score W: Jordan Balazovic (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) HR: Jose Miranda (10) Multi-hit games: Jose Miranda, Andrew Bechtold, Robby Rinn, Jacob Pearson, Akil Baddoo, Ben Rodriguez Ben Rortvedt, Alex Kirilloff, Brusdar Graterol and now Royce Lewis are all gone, so that means Cedar Rapids just isn’t worth watching anymore, right? HA! Jose Mirada was the star of this one, going 4-for-5 with a homer, a double and five RBIs. Miranda has now hit 21 homers in 138 games over the past two seasons. Andrew Bechtold also collected four hits and Robby Rinn had three hits and a walk. Akil Baddoo was 2-for-4 with a walk and Jacob Pearson filled up the stat sheet with a single, a double, two RBIs and two runs. Jordan Balazovic, 19, improved to 5-1 and has a 2.37 ERA in 38 innings pitched for the Kernels. Calvin Faucher gave up a run over his two innings, racking up three strikeouts, before Kevin Marnon finished things out with two scoreless frames and three strikeouts of his own. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 15, Kingsport 5 Box Score W: Austin Schulfer (5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) SP: Brian Rapp (4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) HR: Ryan Jeffers (3) Multi-hit games: Chris Williams, Alex Robles, Ryan Jeffers, Trevor Casanova, DaShawn Keirsey, Michael Helman Ryan Jeffers hit the ground running as a pro, but through his first 18 games he hadn’t hit a homer. Well, Saturday he hit his third homer in the past five games. Jeffers went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and two walks. He drove in a pair and scored three runs. Both Chris Williams and Alex Robles had three hits, a walk and scored three runs. Robles also had three RBIs. The E-Twins lead the Appy League West division with a 15-8 record. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Red Sox 1, GCL Twins 0 Box Score SP: Tyler Benninghoff (4.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4K) HR: None Multi-hit games: None Tyler Benninghoff and six relievers combined to give up just one run, but the Twins could muster only three singles. Their hits came from catcher Kidany Salva, 2018 draftee Charles Mack and Agustin Marte. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Benninghoff, GCL Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Jose Miranda, Cedar Rapids TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that this Prospect Summary has been updated. 1. Royce Lewis (FM): 0-for-3, BB, K 2. Alex Kirilloff (FM): Did not play. 3. Brusdar Graterol (FM): 5.0 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K 4. Nick Gordon (ROC): 0-for-2, left with an injury 5. Stephen Gonsalves (ROC): Did not play. 6. Trevor Larnach (ET): Did not play. 7. Brent Rooker (CHAT): 1-for-4, 2 K 8. Akil Baddoo (CR): 2-for-4, BB, 2 R 9. Wander Javier: Out of for the season 10. Zack Littell (ROC): Did not play. 11. Blayne Enlow (CR): Did not play. 12. LaMonte Wade (ROC): 0-for-3, BB, K 13. Travis Blankenhorn (FM): 1-for-3, BB 14. Lewis Thorpe (CHAT): Did not play. 15. Ben Rortvedt (FM): 1-for-4 16. Yunior Severino (ET): 0-for-5, BB, R, K 17. Lewin Diaz (FM): 0-for-4, K 18. Ryan Jeffers (ET): 2-for-4, HR, 2B, 2 BB, 2 RBI, 3 R 19. Jacob Pearson (CR): 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R 20. Luis Arraez (CHAT): 1-for-4 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Scranton/WB, 12:05 pm CT: Ervin Santana Chattanooga vs. Montgomery, 1:15 pm CT: Sean Poppen Fort Myers at Lakeland, 12:00 pm CT: Andro Cutura Cedar Rapids vs. Lake County, 2:05 pm CT: Bryan Sammons Elizabethton at Kingsport, 3:00 pm CT: Kody Funderburk GCL Twins OFF Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the games. Click here to view the article

And this is a pitcher who averaged just 10.2 pitchers per appearance last season that we're talking about. I've been impressed with how Duke has handled his usage this season -- the Cardinals really babied him and the Twins are basically letting it rip -- but everybody has a breaking point. This was too much to ask.

You ever have a day so bad you’d just like to permanently erase it from your memory? Saturday’s game off to a great start. Jose Berrios had a no-hitter going through three innings. Even when he slipped, the bats stormed back. Minnesota held a 6-4 advantage after six innings. Then things really went sour.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jose Berrios: 45 Game Score, 6.0 IP, 6 ER, 5 K, 3 BB, 62.8% strikes Bullpen: 3.0 IP, 13 ER, 2 K, 1 BB Lineup: 4-for-11 w/RISP, 11 LOB WPA of 0.1 or higher: Rosario .303, Wilson .169 WPA of -0.1 or lower: Duke -.537, Berrios -.309, Dozier -.104 Download attachment: WinEx714.png What do you really need to know about this game? Well, for starters Willians Astudillo pitched (and he topped out at 86.2 mph, by the way). He gave up five runs on five hits, two of them homers, in the ninth inning. That may sound real bad, but two actual major league pitchers got rocked just as badly for the Twins. Zach Duke, pitching for the fourth time in five days, took over for for Berrios in the seventh after Jose walked the leadoff man and then gave up a single. Duke gave up consecutive RBI singles and a go-ahead sacrifice fly. He intentionally walked a batter to load the bases, then Joey Wendle cleared them with a triple. That adds up to a five-run seventh for the Rays. Tampa Bay added another five spot in the eighth against Matt Belisle, who’s now given up 13 earned runs in 12 1/3 innings with the Twins. Eddie Rosario was 3-for-5 with two RBIs and Max Kepler hit his 11th home run. Both Eduardo Escobar and Bobby Wilson collected two hits. Astudillo has now made two appearances at third base, two at second base, one in left field, one in center and another on the mound. He has yet to catch for the Twins. Paul Molitor announced in his postgame interview that Aaron Slegers will be placed on the DL and Fernando Romero will start tomorrow's game. Postgame With Molitor Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen714.png AL Central Standings CLE 51-42 MIN 43-50 (-8) DET 40-57 (-13) CHW 32-62 (-19.5) KC 27-67 (-24.5) Next Three Games Sun vs. TB, 1:10 pm CT: Fernando Romero vs. TBD All-Star Break Last Three Games MIN 11, TB 8: Twins Get a Scare on Friday the 13th, Prevail over Pesky Rays MIN 5, TB 1: Who’s the Snub? MIN 8, KC 5: Twins Recover from Rough Start Click here to view the article

The Twins aren’t dead yet, but they’ve given themselves very little room for error. They can’t afford to do things like, for example, blow seven-run leads. Well, it’s a good thing they didn’t do exactly that Friday, but things were pretty hairy there for a second.Snapshot (chart via FanGraphs) Jake Odorizzi: 27 Game Score, 4.1 IP, 6 R, 5 ER, 3 K, 1 BB, 58.4% strikes Bullpen: 4.2 IP, 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB Lineup: 6-for-13 w/RISP, 7 LOB WPA of 0.1 or higher: Grossman .125, Cave .124, Mauer .100 WPA of -0.1 or lower: None Download attachment: WinEx713.png Things got off to such a wonderful start. The Twins scored four runs on six hits in the first inning. They added four more runs in the third, with the big blow coming in the form of a Joe Mauer three-run homer. You build an 8-1 lead in the third and it should be easy sailing from there, right? The Rays did not go down quietly. Not. Even. Close. They added a run in the fourth before putting together a four-run inning of their own in the fifth. Another run in the sixth brought them back within a run. The Twins’ lineup just kept on rolling, however, as Brian Dozier hit a leadoff double, was driven in on an Eduardo Escobar single and then Esky scored on a Robbie Grossman double to give Minnesota a three-run cushion. Then, Trevor Hildenberger delivered what the Twins really needed: A clean inning. After Tampa Bay had scored in four consecutive frames, Hildy came in and struck out the side. Obviously this was a night where the offense shined, but Trevor coming in and slamming the door like that really seemed to represent the stomping out of any comeback the Rays were going to mount. Zach Duke followed with a clean eighth. These last three games have reminded me a lot of the 2017 second half Twins. Tons of crooked numbers coming from the bats. They’re not stringing together single runs in innings or just scoring on homers, they’re stringing things together and delivering with runners on. There were a ton of contributors, as you’d expect from a game in which 11 runs are scored on 15 hits, but Jake Cave was particularly impressive. He hit an RBI single over the shortstop in the first, a double to the left-center gap that plated another run in the third and then led off the seventh with a triple he pulled into the right-center gap. He’s now hitting .324 with a .928 OPS. Mauer drove in four and Grossman reached base safely four times, going 3-for-3 with a walk. Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen713.png AL Central Standings CLE 51-42 MIN 43-49 (-7.5) DET 40-56 (-12.5) CHW 31-61 (-19.5) KC 26-66 (-24.5) Next Three Games Sat vs. TB, 1:10 pm CT: Jose Berrios vs. Chris Archer Sun vs. TB, 1:10 pm CT: TBD All-Star Break Fri, July 20 at KC Last Three Games MIN 5, TB 1: Who’s the Snub? MIN 8, KC 5: Twins Recover from Rough Start KC 9, MIN 4: Slegers Slayed by Royals Click here to view the article

I may reveal my top 50 on YouTube and then share it in the forums here at some point, maybe not. I don't really feel like it needs its own post here since I feel really good a bout how this series went and, to be honest, I always look back at the consolidated lists and think they're actually better than my own. But for now I will give you the names on my personal top 50 that did not make the cut on the consolidated list: 37. Jovani Moran 38. Zander Wiel 39. Charlie Barnes 42. Tyler Benninghoff 44. Andrew Vasquez 45. Carlos Aguiar 46. David Banuelos 47. Michael Montero 48. Tom Hackimer 49. Alberoni Nunez 50. Trey Cabbage Misael Urbina hadn't signed when I compiled these rankings. I think I'd have felt comfortable putting him at No. 16.