Tom Froemming

Thanks for reading! Not really, though LF is where he's settled in the past few years. I like that they're taking some looks at him at 2B, though. Seems unlikely he'll be truly usable there, but it's worth a look. Hahaha, no, that's just the Baseball-Reference player linker doing its thing. Jeff is a talented guy, but I don't believe he had that great of a playing career 😅 Dobnak entered camp not on the 40-man roster, so he is eligible. He was removed from the 40 man in November. So this puts him in the same bucket as prior winners LaMarre, Willi and Law, all being guys who had previously played in the majors. Anybody not on the 40 man is eligible. The only eligible guys on the 40 man are those who haven't debuted.

Hear ye, hear ye! ‘Tis time. Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images I have a confession to make: I hate spring training. Yes, it’s true. This distaste for the exhibition schedule is precisely what led me to create the Sire of Fort Myers award all those years ago. I wanted something to look forward to during this time of year. I’m pleased to report that it has worked as intended. I’ve had such a great time with this silly little project through the years, and appreciate all of you who’ve joined in on the fun. Before we crown the 2025 Sire of Fort Myers, let’s take a moment to look back. Here are the numbers each prior Sire of Fort Myers posted in his conquering spring: Hitters 2018 Ryan LaMarre: .475/.511/.775 (1.286 OPS) in 45 PA 2023 Willi Castro: .250/.375/.575 (.950 OPS) in 48 PA 2024 Brooks Lee: .333/.351/.611 (.962 OPS) in 37 PA Pitchers 2019 Ryne Harper: 0.00 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 1.05 FIP, 16 K, 0 BB in 12 IP 2021 Derek Law: 0.00 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 1.45 FIP, 13 K, 3 BB in 8 IP 2022 Jhoan Duran: 0.00 ERA, 0.29 WHIP, 1.23 FIP, 10 K, 1 BB in 7 IP Eligibility As a reminder, to be eligible for Sire of Fort Myers, a player must either be 1) Not on the 40-man roster, or 2) Have never played in the majors. If this was Year 1 of the award, I might consider changing these intentionally narrow guidelines a bit. The spirit of the award is mostly to honor a player battling for a roster spot. That’s a pretty general concept, and I wanted a clear-cut definition of who would and would not be in the running. Guys like Zebby Matthews, Mickey Gasper and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. kinda feel like they should be eligible, but rules are rules and they’re there for a reason. Still, that trio of players deserves a quick tip of the cap. Matthews struck out 12 batters over 9 1/3 scoreless innings, Gasper had a .904 OPS, while Keirsey had a .761 mark. These three entered camp on the fringes of the big-league roster, and two of them will break camp with the Twins. Gasper and Keirsey made their first Opening Day roster. While Matthews will open in St. Paul, expect him to be ready when a need arises. The Finalists Hitter: Jeferson Morales Who could’ve seen this one coming? As recently as 2023, Morales was stuck in Cedar Rapids, repeating the level for a third season. He finally made it to Double-A Wichita last season, and did enough to warrant a late-season promotion to St. Paul. It was a brief but brilliant flash with the Saints. Morales hit .359/.433/.585 in his first exposure to the top level of the minors, but it was easy to dismiss as a small sample, coming over just 60 plate appearances. Maybe there’s something more here. Morales was signed out of Venezuela way back in 2016. He became a father at age 19 (more on that in this 2022 article, from Jeff Johnson of the Cedar Rapids Gazette), the same year he made his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League. He was the Fort Myers winner of the Harmon Killebrew Award in 2021, which is given to the player who goes above and beyond for fan interaction and community service. He’s also had moments of brilliance on the field, being named an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star in 2021. Morales has a line-drive swing and is great at making contact. He struck out in less than 16% of his plate appearances last season, despite facing pitching that was much better than he’d ever been exposed to. In the field, Morales used to primarily be a catcher, but now only dons the tools of ignorance every once in a blue moon. Instead, he spends the majority of his time in left field, with some cameos at second base mixed in. Morales has had an excellent spring with the Twins. He stuck in big-league camp through the very end, hitting .375/.459/.531 in 37 plate appearances over 20 games. The only other Sire-eligible hitters to see more plate appearances than Morales were former big-leaguers Armando Alvarez and Mike Ford, who did not have springs worthy of Sire consideration, to say the least. Prospect Luke Keaschall had a strong showing (.814 OPS), as did newcomer to the org Allan Cerda (.982 OPS), but Morales was the clear-cut leader among hitters for Sire of Fort Myers. Pitcher: Andrew Morris It’s pretty tough to beat a 0.00 ERA. Toss in a 0.57 WHIP, and Morris proved worthy of consideration for the crown, cape and scepter over his seven innings pitched this spring. My personal favorite player to watch in the entire system, Morris is an animated, intense competitor who was playing college ball for Colorado Mesa at 16 years old. He’d represent the title well. There’s just one problem: While you can’t beat a 0.00 ERA, Morris wasn’t as dominant as prior arms to take the crown. Sires Derek Law and Jhoan Durán posted strikeout rates above 40%, and Sire Ryne Harper struck out nearly a third of the batters he faced. Morris punched out just five of 25 batters, a 20% strikeout rate. He made a great impression, sure, but it wasn’t the overpowering display we’re used to seeing from a Sire of Fort Myers. Another arm to garner consideration was Randy Dobnak, who had a 0.00 ERA but a much less impressive 1.50 WHIP. He also made just two appearances, logging six innings. Dobnak will have to settle for a spot on the Opening Day roster as his reward. Jacob Bosiokovic was also excellent (0.00 ERA, 0.43 WHIP, 47.1 K%), but only logged 4 2/3 innings. Originally drafted as a position player, Bosiokovic converted to pitching a couple of years into his pro career, spent some time in indy ball, and was with the Cardinals Triple-A affiliate last year. Being motivated to familiarize myself with guys like him is one of the things I enjoy most about Sire of Fort Myers. Still, Morris emerged as the top arm in this year’s class. So it’s come down to Morales vs. Morris. And the 2025 Sire of Fort Myers is … Jeferson Morales! Congratulations on winning the world’s greatest honor. I present you with the crown, cape and scepter. Represent the throne well in St. Paul. Keep this up and maybe we’ll even see you across the river at some point this summer. View full article

The Minnesota Twins relayed a few updates that help provide clarity on their 2025 opening day roster Sunday. Brooks Lee and Brock Stewart will open the year on the IL while Rule 5 pick Eiberson Castellano is not expected to make the roster. Also, Mickey Gasper suffered an ankle injury in Sunday’s spring game that puts his status for the opener in jeopardy. Here’s info on those updates plus a look at my new projected Twins opening day roster. View full video

The Minnesota Twins will be without Royce Lewis for some time after he suffered a hamstring injury in spring training. Should the Twins leave the door open for someone else like Brooks Lee to take over at third base while he's out? Or is third base still Lewis' position long term? Let's talk about that and how Eiberson Castellano might not fit into the Twins bullpen plans. View full video

It's not enough. Few solid hurlers left, but it's not enough. Few pitchers that'll really step, but it's not enough. Image courtesy of © Chris Tilley-Imagn Images Managers do their best with disaster prep, but when it comes to bullpen management, there’s no way to prepare for everything. There are going to be games where a starter can’t deliver innings. There will be times when a bullpen is stretched thin. There are extra-inning marathons, doubleheaders and mid-game weather delays that throw monkey wrenches into the works. When worse comes to worst, the mop-up man saves the day. Well, it would be more accurate to say he saves the other arms. A mop-up man doesn’t often help his team win; he’s there to eat innings. In that sense, it’s easy to think anybody can be a mop-up man. To some degree, I suppose that’s true. If you're down by enough runs, even a position player can cover mop-up duty on the mound. The challenge is less finding someone to fill the mop-up role, and more what to do with him after he’s provided his service. The options are usually either to basically play shorthanded in the bullpen for a few days or demote your mop-up man to call up a fresh arm. That being the case, it’s nearly impossible to have a mop-up man you can’t send down to the minors. This, of course, creates a big problem for the future of Eiberson Castellano as a Twin. Castellano is a talented pitcher. He won the Phillies' Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors in 2024, before being selected by the Twins with the ninth pick in the Rule 5 draft. He must stick on the Twins' active roster, or be waived, and if he clears waivers, he has to be offered back to Philadelphia. Currently, mop-up duty is the only role he currently looks suited for in the majors. So far this spring, Castellano has been awful more times than he’s been awesome. As he's a 23-year-old who hasn’t pitched above Double A, it should be little surprise that Castellano has run into some trouble. After a rough outing on Tuesday, his ERA is up to 9.35, to go with a 1.85 WHIP over 8 2/3 innings this spring. Still, with a four-seam fastball touching 97 mph a useful curveball and a changeup with a chance to be average, Castellano has the foundation of a big-league arsenal. He’s struck out 12 of the 44 batters he’s faced this spring (27.3%), despite struggling with his control and command. The team has also made sure to give him some tough assignments, the better to evaluate him against high-level competition. By Baseball Reference's Opponent Quality metric (an important tool to account for the uneven levels of opponents a player sees in spring ball), Castellano's 7.5 is the median figure among the 19 Twins who have thrown at least five innings this year. That number signifies something between Double-A and Triple-A talent, so it's pushing him beyond his comfort zone. Jhoan Durán (7.4), Jorge Alcalá (7.1) and Chris Paddack (6.8) have all faced a lower level of competition than Castellano. This is exactly the kind of arm you’d love to be able to stash for a year and steal away from another org. It’s just not that easy. There are enough low-leverage opportunities; the challenge comes from the bigger picture of bullpen management. It's easy to say "just stick him in a mop-up role." But here's the thing: No single pitcher can cover that role for an entire season. There are times when it’s necessary to churn and burn. Last season, there were 14 instances where a Twins reliever had to record more than six outs, meaning that pitcher was unavailable for the next day or three. In those situations, teams often show their appreciation for the effort by demoting that pitcher. One example from last year is when Pablo López could only cover four innings against the Tigers on April 12. That doesn’t sound like much of a doomsday scenario, but the Twins had a doubleheader the next day. The first game went 12 innings. They had no time to take a breath, as their next game was the following afternoon. Over those two days, Cole Sands covered 2 1/3 innings in an outing, while both Michael Tonkin and Alcalá had two-inning appearances. Additionally, Kody Funderburk and Jay Jackson worked back-to-back days. That’s five of eight bullpen spots who were likely going to be unavailable the next day (if not multiple days). Tonkin was the victim in that instance. The Twins had just acquired him from the Mets on April 9, but they designated him for assignment on the April 13 because they needed a fresh arm. There were other disaster scenarios last season, but we typically think of them coming later in the year. The early-season schedule includes more days off than usual, to accommodate potential weather postponements, but it doesn’t completely prevent bullpen management nightmares from popping up as early as mid-April. I suppose it’s possible to lock Castellano into a low-leverage spot and view a few of the other bullpen arms as the mop-up, churn-and-burn guys. Alcalá, Louis Varland, Justin Topa and Funderburk all still have options, so they could be up-and-down guys, yo-yo'ing between Minneapolis and St. Paul. There are also a host of arms not currently on the 40-man roster who could be used in a pinch, as we see every year. Those names include Huascar Ynoa, Randy Dobnak, Scott Blewett, Ryan Jensen and Anthony Misiewicz, among others. It seems like the amount of gymnastics it would require to keep Castellano on the roster would impact multiple other spots in the bullpen. It’s not impossible to keep him stashed away, but he may not be worth all the extra acrobatics. It's possible he'd break camp with the team and that Alcalá would start in St. Paul (since the latter can only be optioned now; he'll no longer be able to be farmed out once he accrues eight more days of big-league service), only to see a repeat of the Tonkin thing three weeks into the season: Castellano eats some innings, Alcalá comes up to refresh that spot on the roster, and Castellano hits the waiver wire, never to return. Another option Twins Daily writer Cody Schoenmann explored is for the Twins to trade for Castellano, allowing him to be optioned to the minors, but at this time it seems like Philadelphia would have little reason to go that route. I’d guess the Phillies would prefer to see how things shake out, and are assuming there’s a pretty decent chance Castellano is returned to them in the end. (Besides, there are logistical hurdles there, too. Castellano would have to clear waivers before that kind of trade could be executed, even if it had been previously agreed upon.) The Twins have been inactive in the Rule 5 Draft in recent years, so it was a surprise to see them make a selection. Though they were clearly enticed by Castellano’s upside, it would be an even bigger surprise if he actually stuck on the roster all season. Perhaps it’s best to return him to Philadelphia now and pivot to another plan that allows more flexibility in the bullpen. View full article

Royce Lewis suffered a hamstring injury while running to first base during Sunday's spring training game. It seems like a safe bet that he'll open the year on the IL, but are the Minnesota Twins well equipped to move forward without him? In this video, I share my thoughts on the third base situation and also relay some injury news on Brock Stewart. View full video

The Minnesota Twins had a team of prospects play Blue Jays prospects this afternoon down in spring training. Things didn’t go well, with the Twins losing 10-0, but there were some highlights. Among the players featured in this video are Luke Keaschall, Eduardo Beltre and Brandon Winokur. View full video

Some of us can appreciate a story about a guy working toward accomplishing his dreams even if it's difficult (but not impossible) to find a path for them in the big leagues. Some of us are St. Paul Saints fans every bit as much as we're Minnesota Twins fans and we enjoy learning about the players we'll see at CHS Field.

Since he's not on the 40-man roster, he is eligible.

Yes, Gasper has a shot. That last bench spot probably comes down to him vs. Julien vs. Martin. Of course, this is viewing things through the lens of everyone being healthy ... we know how that goes, so I haven't given it a ton of thought yet. But, Gasper being a switch hitter who, as you pointed out, has some defensive versatility makes him an interesting role player option. If they don't expect to have much time for Julien on the big club it probably makes more sense to have him playing in St. Paul than sitting on the bench. Martin may be the best fit for this spot, seeing as he could be a valuable pinch runner late in tight games, but he's having a poor spring so far.

The Minnesota Twins are basically halfway through their spring training schedule. Let’s discuss a handful of Twins topics, including a number of injury updates and the first round of spring cuts. Also included are highlights of Ty France, Luke Keaschall and Jeferson Morales. Things close out with a Sire of Fort Myers update and a brief segment on what to expect from me in 2025. View full video

Hear ye, hear ye! ‘Tis time to take a look at any contenders who have emerged for the title of Sire of Fort Myers. It appears I may have cursed those I identified as the favorites entering camp, but some new names have surfaced. Image courtesy of (photos of Jeferson Morales) One of my favorite aspects of Sire of Fort Myers is learning more about players on the fringes of the big leagues. There are a number of players serving as depth in St. Paul who aren’t established as big leaguers but also long-passed their prospect days. These men are simultaneously just one step away from the top of their profession and the most overlooked players in all of professional baseball. A few of these unheralded kings have established themselves as names to know in the race for 2025 Sire of Fort Myers. Before we get to those players, there are a few items to address. First, eligibility. Sire of Fort Myers has to be a player who is either 1) Not on the 40-man roster, or 2) Has never played in the majors. So this means guys like Mickey Gasper and DaShawn Keirsey Jr. aren’t eligible. The next housekeeping item is to … gulp … check in on the players I deemed favorites. I have a poor track record of handicapping the race for Sire of Fort Myers, and this year’s disaster is looking particularly epic. Matt Canterino made one appearance before his shoulder turned to shreds. That was one more appearance than Yunior Severino has made. I assume he’s also hurt, though to be clear I haven’t seen any reporting on it. After all, if the Twins had no interest in getting Severino into spring games, they wouldn’t have made him a non-roster invitee in the first place. The final of the three favorites I picked, Anthony Misiewicz, hasn’t been quite as cursed, but he also has not put himself in contention for this year’s honor. One last thing we need to do before getting to the few under the radar names that have surged is to acknowledge a top prospect who has continued to impress. Luke Keaschall still isn’t quite fully recovered from Tommy John surgery, but he’s not letting that slow him down. Twins Daily’s No. 3 Twins prospect has posted a .267/.421/.533 line (.954 OPS) with a home run and a stolen base. He’s walked three times and struck out once in 19 plate appearances. If you’re a regular reader here, you’ve surely already heard plenty about Keaschall (but just in case, here are a few links). Let’s shine some light upon the other candidates who’ve made an early impression. Jeferson Morales is a 5-foot-8, right-handed hitter with experience in the outfield corners, time behind the plate and some limited looks at second base. The Twins signed Morales out of Venezuela back in 2016. He became a minor league free agent in the winter of 2023, but returned to the org. I believe that makes him the fourth most-tenured Twin behind only Byron Buxton, Griffin Jax and Jose Miranda. A line drive hitter, Morales was building momentum until a poor 2022 stopped him in his tracks. Last year, Morales finally made it out of Cedar Rapids after spending three years with the Kernels. He not only reached Double-A for the first time, Morales even earned a late-season callup to Triple-A. It was a small sample of 17 games, but he looked very comfortable in St. Paul, hitting .359/.433/.585 (1.018 OPS). Morales has managed to carry that strong finish into spring, as he’s hit .417/.500/.750 (1.250 OPS) in 14 plate appearances so far. Morales survived the first round of spring cuts, so it’s possible this redemption story comes adorned with a crown, cape and scepter before all is said and done. While the Twins have solid depth, making it difficult to envision Morales making a potential run at the big league roster. If everything breaks right for him, however, it’s easy to see how he could be a valuable complementary bench player if he continues to improve. Morales has hit lefties well, is faster and more athletic than Matt Wallner or Trevor Larnach and can serve as an emergency catcher. Again, the odds are very much against Morales ever cracking the MLB roster, but he’d fit in nicely around some of the other pieces the Twins have. He figures to spend plenty of time with the Saints this summer, so he’s a name to know for anyone who enjoys spending time at CHS Field. Unlike Morales, Allan Cerda is a newcomer to the org. Originally signed by the Reds, Cerda was their No. 14 prospect in 2022 per Baseball America and made it all the way up to Double-A that season. Unfortunately, he’s basically been stuck there since. Cerda was released by Cincinnati in late May and resurfaced with the Giants before becoming a minor league free agent at the end of the season. He signed a minor league deal with the Twins in December. Cerda has a .222/.360/.453 line over more than 1,300 minor league plate appearances (.813 OPS). The 25-year-old has mashed for the Twins so far this spring, posting a 1.364 OPS in 11 plate appearances. Cerda was not among the non-roster invitees, so his path to playing time might be his biggest obstacle in building a resume for Sire of Fort Myers. Not many Sire-eligible pitchers have had much opportunity to build their resume yet. Eiberson Castellano leads the way among that group with 4 2/3 innings pitched, but his performance has been uneven. The Twins Rule 5 pick has struck out an impressive seven batters over that stretch but also has a 7.71 ERA. Following Castellano are Travis Adams, Andrew Morris and Darren McCaughan with four innings each. Morris is the one who has made the most of his opportunities out of that group. Twins Daily’s No. 5 prospect has surrendered just one hit over four scoreless frames. And that’s without his typical excellent control, as he’s walked a pair of batters to go with a pair of strikeouts. Like with Keaschall, if you spend time around these parts you’re probably already familiar with Morris (but here’s another group of links just in case). He’s one of my personal favorites for his aggressive approach, strike-throwing ability and animated antics on the mound. Other standouts on the pitching side include Randy Dobnak and Jacob Bosiokovic. Dobnak has only made one appearance, but it was about as good as it gets. He dominated a lineup full of Atlanta regulars, throwing three shutout frames while striking out five. Dobnak was among the first spring cuts for the Twins. While that doesn’t necessarily mean we won’t see him get into any more spring games, it seems unlikely he’ll see enough opportunities to build a case for Sire of Fort Myers. Bosiokovic (pronounced boh-see-OH-koh-vick) is a phantom ballplayer. He managed to achieve his dream of making it to the major leagues, but he’s yet to actually play in an MLB game. The Cardinals called him up to the big leagues on June 30 last season but optioned him back to Triple-A five days later without ever getting him into a game. So it’s basically the same thing the Twins did to Drew Maggi back in 2021, though he eventually appeared in three games with the Pirates in 2023. Bosiokovic, a right-hander, is new to the org. Selected in the 19th round of the 2016 draft, he spent the first three seasons of his professional career as a hitter. The Rockies gave him a look as a relief arm the next season. That audition went well enough that the Cardinals selected him in the minor league phase of the Rule 5 draft in 2019. Bosiokovic struggled to stay healthy and wound up pitching in indy ball in 2023 to keep his career afloat. The Cardinals welcomed him back last year on a minor league deal, and he landed with the Twins on a minors deal in January. Bosiokovic is 31-years-old, has had quite the journey to this point and is still chasing his dreams. In 47 Triple-A appearances last year, Bosiokovic had a 5.56 ERA with 65 strikeouts in 55 innings. He’s thrown 2 2/3 perfect innings for the Twins this spring while striking out four of the eight batters he’s faced. Like Cerda, Bosiokovic was not a non-roster invitee, so it remains to be seen whether he’ll have many chances to further impress. With the Twins basically at the halfway point of spring training, expect the race for Sire of Fort Myers to pick up this coming week. Will Keaschall or Morris follow in 2024 Sire of Fort Myers winner Brooks Lee’s footsteps and become another top prospect to take the crown? Or will we see another under the radar name come from nowhere like Ryan LaMarre in 2018 and Ryne Harper in 2019? I’ll check back in next week with another update. View full article

The Minnesota Twins released their 2025 Spring Breakout roster. This is a prospect showcase in which Twins prospects will take on those from the Blue Jays’ system. Unfortunately, both Walker Jenkins and Emmanuel Rodriguez will not be participating because they’re both nursing ankle injuries, but other Twins top prospects such as Luke Keaschall, Kaelen Culpepper, Brandon Winokur, Eduardo Beltre and many more are on the roster. View full video

Today’s batch of Minnesota Twins topics leads off with a Matt Canterino update followed by highlights of an impressive Randy Dobnak outing. That’s followed with some reactions to MLB Pipeline’s new Twins top 30 prospect list. I also circle back to talk some more about Chris Paddack and look at some nerdy stats. To close things out, I share some thoughts on the excellent The Diamond series the Twins produce on their YouTube channel. View full video

The Minnesota Twins have excess rotation depth, with veteran Chris Paddack penciled in ahead of up-and-coming arms. Should the team move The Sheriff to create an opportunity for David Festa or Zebby Matthews? Well, that may not be necessary. Let’s discuss Paddack’s recent spring training outing and his place on the roster. View full video