Tom Froemming

Before we get started, let’s take a look at the roster activity from over the past week. March 24: Alex Kirilloff optioned. Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax, Caleb Hamilton, Trevor Larnach, Royce Lewis re-assigned. March 25: Lewis Thorpe optioned. Andrew Romine exercised his opt out. Andrew Albers, Luke Farrell, Ian Hamilton, Juna Minaya, Glenn Sparkman, David Banuelos re-assigned. March 27: Tzu-Wei Lin, JT Riddle, Keon Broxton, Tomas Telis, Rob Refsnyder re-assigned. The Twins Opening Day roster picture is starting to develop, but these transactions don’t prevent anyone from still participating in spring games. There have been some really great Spring Training performances this year. Kenta Meada (0.49 ERA in 18 1/3 innings) and Randy Dobnak (0.66 ERA in 13 2/3 innings) have been nearly perfect. Kyle Garlick and Willians Astudillo have also been impressive in their pursuit of an Opening Day roster spot. None of those four are eligible for Sire of Fort Myers, as they’re all on the 40-man roster and have previous MLB experience, but it’s worth recognizing their efforts this spring. The early favorite for Sire of Fort Myers has faded as of late. Keon Broxton is in a 1-for-11 mini slump, which was enough to open the door for him to be leapfrogged. Tzu-Wei Lin has looked good in the field and has a .313/.476/.500 batting line in 21 plate appearances. Trevor Larnach made an impact this week, but unless he gets a lot of looks over these final few games it’s too little too late. He’s 4-for-12 with a double and a pair of home runs this spring. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1374811024621195271 Switching the focus over to pitching, there’s been a trio of relievers that have paced the pen over the past few weeks: Derek Law, Brandon Waddell and Luke Farrell. All three delivered a scoreless inning this afternoon at Hammond Stadium. Law topped out at 94.9 mph, Waddell at 93.6 mph and Farrell at 93.0 mph. Law has been so good that last week’s Sire update was basically entirely dedicated to him. He’s now pitched seven shutout innings, surrendered just three hits, has walked two batters and has 10 strikeouts. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1374527609602777088 Waddell had an ugly second outing of spring but has been lights out since. He gave up four runs on three hits March 5 but has only given up one hit and one walk while striking out 13 batters in his last six outings. Only Maeda and Dobnak have more strikeouts this spring than Waddell. Waddell boasts an impressive pedigree as a big-game pitcher. He’s a Virginia baseball legend, having posted a 5-0 record in five College World Series starts during his time as a Cavalier. He out-dueled Walker Buehler in the CWS deciding game in 2015 to give Virginia its first national title. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1374824580817289218 Farrell has already been re-assigned to minor league camp, so we know he’s not going to make the Opening Day roster. That doesn’t prevent him from garnering Sire consideration. He’s pitched 5 1/3 shutout innings and allowed three hits. He has eight strikeouts and has not walked a batter. Luke is the son of former Major Leaguer and Blue Jays and Red Sox manager John Farrell. His brothers both work in baseball, one as Assistant Director of Baseball Development for the Cubs, the other as Amateur Scouting Director for the Blue Jays. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1374522887302971392 This year’s altered schedule and rules for Spring Training appear to have somewhat limited playing time for Sire of Fort Myers candidates. Broxton leads all Sire candidates with 31 plate appearances and Waddell is the innings leader at 8 1/3. To put that into perspective, 2018 Sire of Fort Myers Ryan LaMarre had 45 plate appearances that year and 2019 winner Ryne Harper pitched 11 innings. Time is running out. There are only three games left on the Spring Training schedule. Who will be crowned 2021 Sire of Fort Myers? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

This transaction firmly plants Kirilloff on the outside looking in as it relates to making an early impact, but manager Rocco Baldelli was quick to point out Alex will only be a call away if the Twins need help. https://twitter.com/betsyhelfand/status/1374453372795846656 The non-tender of Eddie Rosario appeared to be a sign that the door was being opened for Kirilloff, and that may still be the case. It seems the smart money is on Alex getting the lion’s share of starts out in left field for the Twins in 2021, he’s just not going to be there on Opening Day (barring injury to anybody ahead of him on the depth chart). Jake Cave has a career .803 OPS vs. right-handed pitching in 503 plate appearances over his career and Brent Rooker is having a solid spring after a strong, but brief, cameo with the Twins last season. Both Kyle Garlick and Keon Broxton have hit this spring, and Luis Arráez is still a man without a position. So even with Rosario out of the picture, there are plenty of other options in the outfield. That wasn’t exactly the case when Alex Kirilloff debuted as a Twin this past postseason. Rooker was recovering from an injury at that time and Buxton was only available to pinch run in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series. Kirilloff spent 2019 in Double-A, hitting .283/.343/.413 (.756 OPS) in 94 games. He spent last season at the alternate training site in St. Paul, so he’s still yet to make his Triple-A debut. Unfortunately, the minor league season is being delayed until May, so he’ll be training at the alternate site until then. That is, unless a need arises. Service time considerations are, of course, also not working in Kirilloff’s favor. As the current system stands, the Twins would essentially be burning an entire year of team control over Alex if they added him to the Opening Day roster (and he stayed active from there forward). If they keep him off the roster for a matter of weeks to open the season, they get that entire extra year of control. It’s possible that situation is addressed in the next Collective Bargaining Agreement, but the MLBPA has historically been much more motivated to fight for established players than ones just starting out in their careers. We’ll see. I discussed the service time/arbitration angle back in early December. At that time I speculated Kirilloff wouldn't be on the Opening Day roster unless he signed an extension, but his performance this spring coupled with some of the other outfielders looking good did not help his case.The Twins also re-assigned Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax, Caleb Hamilton, Trevor Larnach and Royce Lewis to minor-league camp today. More on Kirilloff: Has Alex Kirilloff Played Himself Off the Opening Day Roster? [March 22] Kirilloff's Poise Fits Baldelli's Mantra [March 12] Alex Kirilloff, and the Truth About Scott Boras and Contract Extensions [Feb. 26] Twins Daily 2021 Top Prospects: #1 OF Alex Kirilloff [Feb. 24] The Twins Should Make Alex Kirilloff the Opening Day Left Fielder [Feb. 23] Twins Extension Candidate: Alex Kirilloff [Nov. 22] MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

Before we get started, let’s take a look at how the talent pool has been thinned out over the past week. TRANSACTIONS March 14: Dakota Chalmers, Bailey Ober, Jordan Balazovic and Jhoan Duran all optioned to alternate training site. March 15: Ben Rortvedt, Nick Gordon, Travis Blankenhorn and Gilberto Celestino all optioned to alternate training site. March 19: Shaun Anderson and Devin Smeltzer optioned to alternate training site. In addition to the roster being trimmed, the regulars are starting to see more playing time. That combined with the fact the Twins haven’t been playing very well this spring has resulted in a narrow field in the competition for Sire of Fort Myers. Entering the weekend, the Twins ranked dead last in on-base percentage and run differential, 29th in slugging and 26th in both ERA and WHIP. Yikes. There’s no reason to panic over Spring Training stats, but you’d certainly rather see the Twins playing well. Keon Broxton, who entered camp the favorite, still sits atop my Sire of Fort Myers power rankings (remember, guys on the 40-man roster who have MLB time like Kyle Garlick, Randy Dobnak and Lewis Thorpe are ineligible). Aside from Broxton, Derek Law is another player who has impressed. In four outings so far this spring, Law has pitched four shutout innings, surrendered just one hit to go along with one walk. He was really impressive his last two outings, striking out six of the seven batters he’s faced. The other reached on an error. Of the non-roster invitee pitchers, Law has the most major league time, racking up 167 games pitched from 2016-19. He spent last season at the Texas Rangers’ alternate site. Law had an outstanding rookie season for the Giants in 2016, pitching to a 2.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 5.56 K:BB ratio in 55 innings. He ranked 16th in both ERA and FIP among the 135 qualified relievers that season. Law, 30, couldn’t replicate that success over the next three seasons, posting a 5.25 ERA while struggling with control. His walk rate ballooned from 4.2% his rookie season to 11.9% over the next three years. Law strays from the recent Twins relaimation reliever model in that he has a full arsenal. You’re not likely to see him suddenly start featuring one of his pitches excessively, a la Matt Wisler. In 2019, Law threw his fastball 36.7 percent of the time, his slider 30.5 percent of the time, his curveball 19.9 percent of the time and his changeup 12.9 percent of the time. That’s a pretty deep mix for a reliever these days. Derek’s father, Joe Law, was a pitcher himself. Joe was called up to the Oakland A’s on two different occasions in 1988 but never appeared in a major league game. So you can bet Derek savors every moment he gets in the big leagues. For more on Derek and Joe Law, check out this great profile by MLB.com’s Walter Villa from back in 2016. In addition to Broxton and Law, there are other candidates who still have a shot at the crown. It’s the same bunch that I featured in my Sire of Fort Myers update last week. Speaking of which, Brandon Waddell may have seemed like an odd inclusion among the top candidates a week ago, but he’s continued to turn heads. He gave up four earned runs in his second spring outing but has given up just one hit over 5 2/3 shutout innings since. In that time he’s struck out 10 batters without issuing a walk. The Twins have just 10 Spring Training games left to play. Which players have caught your eye so far this spring? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email

ON ELIGIBILITY I always like to start these things out by reminding everybody who is eligible. Anyone not on the 40-man roster, regardless of MLB experience, is eligible along with anyone on the 40-man roster who has not appeared in an MLB game. So that means Kyle Garlick, who leads the team in total bases and is the only hitter with multiple home runs, is not in the mix for the cape and scepter. He’s on the 40-man roster and has 42 career MLB games under his belt between the Dodgers and Phillies. Another standout performer this spring who is not eligible for the throne is Lewis Thorpe. He’s had a great spring, pitching four no-hit innings with six strikeouts. Let’s move on to the early favorites for 2021 Sire of Fort Myers. THE HITTERS Keon Broxton This guy was expected to be the favorite coming in and he’s delivered. Broxton has an eye-popping .429/.556/.714 batting line (1.270 OPS), but perhaps most importantly he’s drawn nearly as many walks (four) as he has strikeouts (five). In 376 MLB games, Broxton has struck out 396 times and drawn 107 walks. https://twitter.com/SlangsOnSports/status/1368655166858231812 Broxton may not have quite as much explosiveness as he did when he was with the Brewers, but he’s still capable of manning center field. Twins fans may remember him robbing Brian Dozier of a home run with a spectacular catch in Milwaukee a few years back. Tzu-Wei Lin Lin has posted a similar line as Broxton’s, hitting .444/.583/.667 (1.250 OPS). He’s also been successful on both of his stolen base attempts. Lin has only appeared at third base and shortstop so far this spring, but he’s played every position but first base in his MLB career. Yes, that includes an appearance at catcher as well as an inning pitched. Drew Maggi This is Maggi’s third year in the system and 11th overall in professional baseball. Even with there being no minor league season last year, this guy has played in 760 games between Double-A and Triple-A. Another versatile defender, Maggi crushed a home run on Thursday and is hitting .250/.333/.625 (.958 OPS). https://twitter.com/TwinsTakes_com/status/1370113921919680512 Rob Refsnyder This guy has been a tough out so far, hitting .222/.417/.444 (.861 OPS). Refsnyder has a long track record of being a plus on-base guy in the minors (.378 OBP in 2,809 plate appearances), but was never able to translate that over in the majors. You may remember him playing some second base with the Yankees a few years back, but it appears he’s strictly a corner outfielder these days. Gilberto Celestino This Twins prospect is off to a solid start so far, hitting .308/.308/.462 (.769 OPS). If he continues to produce at the plate and makes a couple flashy catches, which he has a knack for, Celestino could shoot up this list. THE PITCHERS Derek Law In three innings pitched, Law has surrendered just one hit, has three strikeouts and one walk. By far the most accomplished major league pitcher on this list, Law has a career 4.22 ERA in 167 MLB appearances. He had a 2.13 ERA, 0.96 WHIP and 5.56 K:BB ratio as a rookie back in 2016 with the Giants but never repeated that success. If the Twins could find that guy again he’d be quite the addition. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1370861574831935488 Luke Farrell Farrell only has 2 1/3 innings under his belt, but he’s struck out five of the nine batters he’s faced, has yet to issue a walk and has only surrendered one hit. That will certainly earn him some more looks. Ian Hamilton Another guy who’s impressed out of the pen, Hamilton has struck out four of the 11 batters he’s faced. In 2 2/3 innings of work, opposing hitters have mustered just one hit off Hamilton. He’s topped out at 95.8 mph so far this spring. Matt Canterino We’re probably not going to see too much more of Canterino, but he was very impressive in the inning he pitched against Tampa Bay. In addition to retiring all three batters he faced, two of them via strikeouts, Canterino also topped out at 98.7 mph. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1370856638782042116 Brandon Waddell He’s given up some damage, but seven strikeouts in just 3 1/3 innings pitched is eye-opening enough for him to make this list. A rough outing against Atlanta in which he gave up four runs may end up being too much to overcome in terms of capturing the crown, but a lefty who can tough 95 mph is going to get plenty of opportunities to recover. We’re 13 games into the spring schedule with 16 left to play, so while these players have made strong impressions early, there’s still plenty of time for other contenders to emerge. We’ll check back in with another update next weekend. Which players have caught your eye so far this spring? MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email MORE FROM TOM 3 Up 3 Down: Early Spring Training Reactions

Twins 1, Orioles 0 (7 innings) Box Score | Baseball Savant TWINS TAKEAWAYS Stanoud pitcher: Kenta Maeda (3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 41 pitches, 31 strikes) Standout hitter: Miguel Sanó (game-winning RBI double) Fastest pitch: Alex Colomé 95.3 mph Max exit velo: Josh Donaldson 105.9 mph What a performance from the pitching staff. Kenta Maeda was the headliner with his three shutout innings, but Alex Colomé also impressed, as he struck out the only three batters he faced. Taylor Rogers and Tyler Duffey followed with clean innings of their own before Luke Farrell and Brandon Waddell combined to strike out the side in the seventh. Altogether the staff racked up 12 strikeouts in just seven innings of work, surrendered three hits and didn’t issue a single walk. Here are some highlights: Baltimore’s pitching was nearly just as effective, but Jorge Polanco hit a one-out single in the seventh inning and Miguel Sanó plated the game’s only run with a double. Because 2021 Spring Training games are weird, it wasn’t a walk-off. The teams played through the rest of the inning before calling it a day. Tomorrow: at Rays 12:05 pm CT (José Berríos) available on FSN OTHER NOTES MLB.com’s Do-Hyoung Park reported that Andrelton Simmons is expected to make his first appearance sometime soon. Per Rocco Baldelli, the goal is Friday. J.A. Happ could appear in a game “sometime very soon.” Park also passed along a message former Twin Jake Odorizzi had to the fans in Minnesota: https://twitter.com/dohyoungpark/status/1369351390410268684 We now have the full details of Odorizzi’s new contract with the Astros, and I’m at a loss as to why he isn’t pitching for the Twins again in 2021. It’s a two-year deal with an option for a third that comes with $23.5 million guaranteed and maxes out at $39.25 million if Odorizzi reaches all the performance incentives included. With the starting pitching market being so thin this offseason, I thought there would be more of a demand for Odorizzi than that. Both Marcus Stroman and Kevin Gausman accepting qualifying offers combined with Masahiro Tanaka going back to Japan seemed to create the perfect opportunity for Odo to cash in, but it just didn’t work out that way. The Twins decided to add J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker to the rotation for a combined $10 million instead of pursuing Odorizzi. Let’s hope that works out ... Statcast data isn’t available at all Spring Training ballparks, but Baseball Savant has searchable data for the info it has on file. Here are the fastest pitches thrown by Twins heading into today: And the hardest-hit balls: It was warm enough in Minneapolis for the grounds crew to remove the tarp from Target Field this afternoon. https://twitter.com/Twins/status/1369423198643773447 SEE ALSO The Twins Have (Already) Found Matt Wisler 2.0 Two Changes That Can Unlock Lewis Thorpe’s Full Potential Twins Rotation Depth Could be Tested Early

Twins 7, Red Sox 6 (7 innings) Box Score | Baseball Savant TWINS TAKEAWAYS Standout pitcher: Taylor Rogers (1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K) Standout hitter: Miguel Sanó (two-run double, the team’s only extra-base hit) Fastest pitch: Ian Hamilton 95.4 mph Max exit velo: Mitch Garver 104.9 mph Mitch Garver collected the first Twins hit of spring, a single that came off the bat with an exit velo of 104.9 mph. Jorge Polanco started at second base and walked in both of his plate appearances. Alex Kirilloff was 0-for-2 with a strikeout. Byron Buxton was 0-for-3 with a strikeout and (what sounded like) a nice catch at the wall. Twins 2020 first-round pick Aaron Sabato struckout in his only at-bat. Miguel Sanó delivered the biggest hit of the game for the Twins, a two-run double. The only hit Twins starter Devin Smeltzer gave up over his two innings was a solo homer. Tyler Duffey gave up a pair of homers himself. New Twins Hansel Robles and Ian Hamilton each delivered a scoreless inning. John's Report from The Fort today focused on fans being back at the ballpark, so make sure to go check that out. A limited number of fans were allowed in the stands — 2,154 to be exact — and Smeltzer soaked it all in. https://twitter.com/alka_SMELTZer/status/1366112962235289604 Tomorrow: Twins at Rays 12:05 pm CT. The first spring TV broadcast will be Wednesday afternoon on FSN. Twins starting pitchers the next four games are expected to be Lewis Thorpe, Charlie Barnes, José Berríos and Kenta Maeda. OTHER NOTES Seven-inning games!?!? Yup. As Phil Miller reported for the Star Tribune, things are going to be a bit looser than usual this spring. In year’s past, teams would have the majority of their minor leaguers around at the complexes, and could pull from that player pool to provide an abundance of depth. Games will all be seven innings at least through this first week, with the bottom of the seventh being played even if the home team is winning (which was the case today). Innings may be abandoned prior to three outs being recorded and players can re-enter games. Basically, early Spring Training games are now informal scrimmages, but it sounds like we’ll see traditional exhibition games later in the month. PSA: If you’re someone lucky enough to attend one of these Spring Training games, please keep in mind we’re counting on you to follow the rules and make a good impression. Police officers had to remove a fan from the stands at the Tigers’ Spring Training stadium, and were rewarded by having him throw a beer at them. Don’t be this guy. Don’t risk ruining this for the rest of us. Here’s the latest on new Twins pitcher J.A. Happ ... https://twitter.com/betsyhelfand/status/1365750341757788160 ... and shortstop Andrelton Simmons: https://twitter.com/betsyhelfand/status/1366139878321356805 After a busier offseason than expected, Kansas City managed to sign Hunter Dozier to an extension. Dozier’s had a 119 wRC+ over the past two seasons, which is a point higher than Max Kepler’s mark over that same span. https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1366052460582723588 SEE ALSO Larnach Focused on Process, Improvements and Winning Getting Geeky Part 3: Sharing the LI Wealth Which Pitch Should Kenta Maeda Add in 2021?