Tom Froemming

Chacin didn't get an MLB deal, the ancient scrolls discovered during the founding of Fort Myers back in 1885 dictate that he shall be eligible. Thielbar would maybe be the best story, so I'll be pulling hard for him.

Or. Anybody who is not on the 40-man roster or has not played a major league game is eligible.

‘Tis time. The Minnesota Twins opened their spring training schedule, which means we must begin the search for a new Sire. Ryne Harper and Ryan LaMarre represented the crown admirably, both doing the unthinkable and cracking the Opening Day roster. Can a 2020 contender do the same? Hear ye, hear ye …Spring training stats don’t matter, right? WRONG. That was a test. Spring training performances definitely matter for some players. The main goal of the Sire of Fort Myers is to cast a spotlight on those players. We’re out to recognize the unheralded player who has the most impressive spring. So who’s eligible? 1. Anybody who’s not on the 40-man roster, regardless of prior MLB experience. 2. Anyone who hasn’t made their MLB debut. That’s it, pretty simple. The honor goes to the player who had the best spring, not the one most likely to break camp with the big club. It just so happens that the past two winners — Ryne Harper and Ryan LaMarre — did end up making the Opening Day roster. Here are the 10 players I view as the top contenders for this year’s crown. The Frontrunners Here are my favorites among the starters, relievers and position players. All three of these guys have time in the bigs, but are not on the 40-man roster. Starter: Jhoulys Chacin, 32, RHP This is the clear-cut favorite at the moment. The Twins signed Chacin, who has 255 MLB appearances under his belt, to a minor league deal on Feb. 1. Last season, Chacin went from Opening Day starter for the Brewers to released. Prior to that, however, Chacin pitched to a 3.89 ERA over 67 starts between 2017-18. He’ll be fighting for a spot either as the fifth starter or a longman out of the bullpen, so expect to see Chacin throw plenty of innings this spring. Reliever: Blaine Hardy, 32, LHP Hardy’s also a familiar name, as he’s pitched 233 games for Detroit over the past six seasons. Hardy endured elbow pain much of last season, and pitched to a 4.47 ERA in 44 1/3 innings. In 2018, however, Hardy posted a 3.56 ERA in 86 innings pitched. The Twins signed Hardy to a minors deal on Nov. 26. He’s by far the organization’s most experienced left-handed relief arm, aside from Taylor Rogers. Position Player: Tomas Telis, 28, C This may seem like an underdog pick, but I anticipate Telis getting plenty of work. This stocky, switch-hitting catcher has 122 MLB games to his credit, though he spent all of last season with Triple-A Rochester. Telis hit .330/.364/.490 (.854 OPS) for the Red Wings while striking out just 33 times in 327 plate appearances. He has a familiarity with the organization, just like Ryne Harper did a year ago. He has a contact-focused approach, just like Ryan LaMarre did two years ago. Can he follow in their footsteps? The Relievers Starting pitchers don’t eat up many innings in spring, so bullpen guys get a ton of opportunity to shine. Aside from Hardy, here are three more names to know. This trio also has some nice looking splits during their time in the big leagues. Cory Gearrin, 33, RHP 3.64 ERA in 336 MLB games (mostly with San Francisco) vs. RHB .232/.315/.332 (.647 OPS) in 826 PAs Danny Coulombe, 30, LHP 4.27 ERA in 153 MLB games (mostly with Oakland) vs. LHB: .237/.304/.327 (.631 OPS) in 287 PAs Ryan Garton, 30, RHP 4.90 ERA in 59 MLB games (mostly with Tampa Bay) vs. RHB: .241/.275/.407 (.682 OPS) in 173 PAs Cody Pirkl also recently wrote about Juan Minaya, another bullpen arm to watch. Here is a video that shows some highlights of Chacin, Hardy, Telis, Gearrin and Coulombe: The Prospects Here are some prospects in the system I could see getting plenty of looks this spring. Travis Blankenhorn, 23, 2B/3B/LF Blankenhorn made it to Double A for the first time last season and hit .298/.337/.521 (.857 OPS) in his first 70 games with the Blue Wahoos. He was primarily a second baseman, but has started to play more left field. That flexibility may afford him some more opportunities this spring. Nick Gordon, 24, SS/2B Gordon’s prospect stock has slipped, but he’s coming off a season in which he hit .298/.342/.459 (.801 OPS) in Triple A. The Twins have incentive to give him lots of looks this spring. They’ll likely need to make a call on Gordon one way or the other before too long. Brent Rooker, 25, LF/1B Unlike Blankenhorn and Gordon, Rooker isn’t on the 40-man roster yet. That didn’t stop the team from giving him an invite to big league camp. He hit .281/.398/.535 (.933 OPS) for Rochester last season. Rooker was hit by a pitch in the helmet and had to leave the opener against the Gophers, but passed the concussion protocols and is expected to be OK. Zander Wiel, 27, 1B/LF Another non-roster invitee, Wiel hit .254/.320/.514 (.834 OPS) with 24 home runs and 40 doubles for Rochester last season. He’s been a lefty killer down on the farm, posting an OPS of .922, .825 and .827 against southpaws the past three seasons. There are some other big-time prospects in camp with the Twins, but I chose not to include them due to expected lack of opportunities. Guys like Royce Lewis and Jhoan Duran will get some looks early, which will be awesome, but I don’t think it’s likely they’ll have the opportunity to build a beefy enough resume to garner consideration for the scepter and cape. This is far from a comprehensive list, and it’s worth noting that Harper didn’t crack my initial top 10 last year. I think Chacin is the obvious favorite, but you never know how things might turn out. Last year’s obvious frontrunner was Lucas Duda. He ended up being released so he could pursue opportunities elsewhere and made the Royals’ Opening Day roster. Who’s your favorite to be crowned 2020 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 Click here to view the article

Thank you for the kind words, we appreciate it.

Brusdar Graterol is a Dodger, of course, but we passed the point of no return in terms of adjusting our list. Instead of our usual breakdown of what’s to like, what’s left to work on and what’s next, I thought it would be more interesting to have a conversation about ranking prospects in general.Position: RHP Age: 21 (DOB 8/26/1998) 2019 Stats (AA/MLB/AAA/A-): 70.2 IP, 2.29 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 25.7 K%, 9.1 BB% ETA: Debuted in 2019 2019 Ranking: 3 National Top 100 Rankings BA: 60 | MLB: 83 | ATH: 49 | BP: 32 I was very slow to come around on Graterol as a top prospect. Two years ago, I had him 17th on my list, eight spots lower than anyone else at Twins Daily. Seth called that out in the comments, I responded by saying “I try not to rank relief pitchers inside my top 10.” So here’s where I take my victory lap, right? Nope. Brusdar Graterol can be a starter. Well, as long as the organization who controls him has enough patience to see that path through. The triple-digit fastball obviously is the headliner, but Graterol’s slider is also a true plus pitch and his changeup shows enough potential. One of the things I find most amusing about prospect rankings is what I like to call the Proximity Penalty. Generally, the closer a guy is to the big leagues, the more pessimistic his overall outlook becomes. It’s easier to dream on an 18-year-old in rookie ball than a guy who’s moved up a bit and has been exposed to advanced hitters. Graterol is only 21-years-old, eight months younger than Matt Canterino, the Twins’ top pitching selection in last year’s draft. He’s also younger than Dustin May, the Dodgers’ top pitching prospect, Jhoan Duran and he’s about the same age as Jordan Balazovic. Painting Brusdar into a corner seems extremely shortsighted at this point. He has time to develop pitches, adjust his mechanics and stretch out his arm. He just needs to be afforded that time. Prior to being shut down in late May, Graterol pitched to a 1.89 ERA and held opponents to a .188/.282/.279 (.561 OPS) batting line in 47 2/3 innings as a 20-year-old starting pitcher in Double A. That’s not a failed starter. Well, at least in terms of performance. The gorilla in the room is, of course, his health. Graterol has a lengthy injury history, but it seems strange to me a guy as young as him could be written off as not being able to shoulder (literally) a starter’s workload. We’re not sure exactly what Boston saw on the medicals that scared them off, but I’m confident of this: If Graterol had a significant injury, the Twins would have completely shut him down last season. I find it hard to believe they’d risk further injury by having him pitch a bunch of low-leverage innings out of the bullpen at the end of the year. There’s also the fact that he was sitting triple-digits at Yankee Stadium in early October. Seemed fine to me. Graterol was going to be in the bullpen for the Twins, and I’d assume that’s also where he’ll be with the Dodgers. But what if Los Angeles flips him to a non-contender willing take the time to develop him as a starter? Does he magically become a better prospect? I don’t know, maybe I was right back in 2018. In my writeup, I went out of my way to point out that a lot of people believe in the mantra “there’s no such thing as a pitching prospect” and called Graterol one of the highest ceiling/lowest floor prospects in all of baseball. I also said he definitely has true ace potential, and still believe that (pending medicals). Twins Daily 2020 Top 20 Prospects Honorable Mentions 20. Jose Miranda, 3B/2B 19. Cole Sands, RHP 18. Travis Blankenhorn, 2B/LF 17. Misael Urbina, OF 16. Edwar Colina, RP 15. Matt Canterino, RHP 14. Matt Wallner, OF 13. Wander Javier, SS 12. Gilberto Celestino, OF 11. Lewis Thorpe, LHP 10. Blayne Enlow, RHP 9. Brent Rooker, OF 8. Keoni Cavaco, SS 7. Ryan Jeffers, C 6. Jhoan Duran, RHP 5. Jordan Balazovic, RHP 4. Brusdar Graterol, RHP Check back Monday for #3! Graterol may be gone, but you can learn more about 170 Twins minor leaguers in the 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. ORDER NOW: 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (paperback, $14.99) ORDER NOW: 2019 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (eBook, $9.99) MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

As we embark on our Minnesota Twins 2020 prospect list, it’s important to keep in mind this is a deep system. There’s not a huge gap between the 16th prospect and the 36th. Sorting everyone out is difficult, but that’s why we combined the opinions of four Twins Daily writers. Let’s get into it ...Find more on these five Minnesota Twins prospects and much more in the 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook. It’s available in paperback and as an ebook. 20. Jose Miranda, 3B/2B Age: 21 (DOB 6/29/1998) 2019 Stats (A+/AA): 483 PA, .252/.302/.369 (.671 OPS), 8 HR, 11.2 K%, 5.0 BB% 2019 Ranking: 20 We start this year’s list the exact same way we did in 2019. Miranda’s numbers don’t jump off the page, but keep in mind he still slugged better than the Florida State League average (.353) and was young for the level. He faced pitchers who were older than him in over 96 percent of his plate appearances last season. Miranda reached Pensacola to end the year. He played one regular season game, then hit .368/.429/.526 (.955) over five postseason games for the Blue Wahoos. That continued a trend, as Miranda has hit .350/.429/.583 (1.012 OPS) in 16 career playoff games. Once again, Miranda posted an insanely low strikeout rate. His 11.2 K% ranked 23rd among the 686 minor leaguers to log 400 plate appearances last season (inside the top four percent). He also mashed lefties, hitting .303/.330/.506 (.835 OPS), and continued to work on his defensive versatility. Sometimes the biggest thing that needs to happen for a player’s power to emerge is simply to get the heck out of Fort Myers. The guy at No. 18 on this list is a great example of just that ... 19. Cole Sands, RHP Age: 22 (DOB 7/17/1997) 2019 Stats (A/A+/AA): 97 1/3 IP, 2.68 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 28.2 K%, 5.0 BB% 2019 Ranking: NR The Twins drafted Sands in 2018, but he didn’t make his professional debut until this past season. He opened the year with Cedar Rapids and immediately outmatched Midwest League hitters. Sands made eight starts for the Kernels, nine for Fort Myers, then closed out the season by making his Double-A debut in the second leg of a doubleheader for Pensacola. I’d say that’s quite a busy first year on the job. Among the 667 minor league pitchers to log at least 80 innings in 2019, Sands’ 2.45 FIP ranked eighth. He did an incredible job of racking up strikeouts while limiting his walks, posting a K:BB ratio of 5.68. Another positive development was that Sands increased his workload from 75 1/3 innings at Florida State in 2018 to 97 1/3 innings this past season. 18. Travis Blankenhorn, 2B/LF Age: 23 (DOB 8/3/1996) 2019 Stats (A+/AA): 471 PA, .277/.321/.466 (.787 OPS), 19 HR, 22.3 K%, 5.7BB% 2019 Ranking: NR Blankenhorn slipped off our list and onto the honorable mentions last year, but was No. 17 on the Twins Daily 2018 list and No. 9 on the 2017 list. He opened 2019 back in Fort Myers, but was headed up the coast after just 15 games with the Miracle. Despite facing tougher pitchers, the move to Pensacola did wonders for Blankenhorn’s power production. After hitting 12 home runs in 139 total games for the Miracle, Blankenhorn needed just 49 games to reach a dozen bombas for the Blue Wahoos. He hit .298/.337/.521 (.857 OPS) in his first 70 Double-A games, but suffered an injury in mid-July and slumped upon his return. Blankenhorn also continued to display his athleticism in 2019. He spent most of his time at second base (70 starts), but played more outfield than he had in previous seasons, and had three outfield assists in just 24 starts in left field. He was also a perfect 11-for-11 in stolen base attempts. The Twins added Blankenhorn to the 40-man roster this offseason, so expect him to get plenty of looks during spring training. 17. Misael Urbina, OF Age: 17 (DOB 4/26/2002) 2019 Stats (FRk): 217 PA, .279/.382/.443 (.825 OPS), 2 HR, 6.5 K%, 10.6 BB% 2019 Ranking: NR This guy has a chance to be the Twins’ No. 1 prospect a few years from now. Urbina’s speed and overall athleticism were hyped when the Twins signed him to a $2.75 million bonus, but the Venezuelan dynamo also proved he can control his plate appearances in. Urbina’s 6.5 K% was the fourth lowest among the 343 hitters who logged at least 170 plate appearances in the Dominican Summer League. He paired that with a strong 10.6 BB%. He also slugged nearly 100 points better than the DSL average and stole 19 bases in 50 games, oh, by the way. DSL stats aren’t particularly sticky. Taking a look back at prior years you’ll find quite a few guys who shine and then fizzle once they reach full-season ball. Still, Urbina’s tools, pedigree and now performance makes for a tantalizing player to pin dreams on. 16. Edwar Colina, RHP Age: 22 (DOB 5/3/1997) 2019 Stats (A+/AA/AAA): 97 1/3 IP, 2.96 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 25.4 K%, 8.0 BB% 2019 Ranking: NR Colina’s talent was on full display throughout July, where gave up just two earned runs in 31 2/3 innings (0.57 ERA) and struck out 36 batters. He was named Twins Daily’s Minor League Pitcher of the Month for that performance. Colina made 10 starts for Fort Myers and four more for Pensacola. In those outings, he pitched to a 2.29 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and struck out 89 batters in 82 2/3 innings. His overall numbers were dragged down a bit by five relief outings that didn’t go nearly as well. The product of Venezuela has always had a knack for keeping the ball in the yard, and tied Cole Sands for the lowest HR/9 in the system (minimum 90 innings). Both of them surrendered just four homers in 97 1/3 innings pitched. Over his entire minor league career, Colina has given up a grand total of just 16 home runs in 324 2/3 innings pitched. Twins Daily 2020 Top 20 Prospects Honorable Mentions Stop by tomorrow for prospects 11-15 MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

Here's some video of Duran:

I'VE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY ABOUT BASEBALL IN JANUARY AND CAN'T STOP YELLLLLLLIIIIIIINNNNG WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Jeff Passan of ESPN has reported this evening that the Minnesota Twins and Miguel Sano are in agreement on a three-year contract extension that includes a club option for 2023. As things stood, Sano was set to reach free agency after the end of the 2021 season.Here's the full Tweet from Passan, who broke the news: UPDATE: This Seth guy seems to know what he's talking about! MORE FROM TWINS DAILY — Latest Twins coverage from our writers — Recent Twins discussion in our forums — Follow Twins Daily via Twitter, Facebook or email Click here to view the article

I’ve been having bomba withdrawal of late. You can't give somebody 307 of them and then just expect them to go cold turkey! So over on my YouTube channel I whipped together some quick highlight reels of home runs from the 2019 Minnesota Twins. Jorge Polanco: Technically next up were Jonathan Schoop and C.J. Cron. I salute them for their contributions, but did not compile their highlights. I wish them the best of luck with the Tigers. Well, at least when they’re playing Cleveland and the White Sox. Mitch Garver: Eddie Rosario: Miguel Sano: Max Kepler: Nelson Cruz:

That's your perception. I disagree, I compared these two to some detail in my offseason blueprint.

Give me Matthew Boyd for his package over Noah Syndergaard for his package every day of the week. I think Boyd even comes with an additional year of control than Thor.

Absolutely, there are several comments on this article that call into to question elements of these trades and/or Nate's analysis. No problem with that. There isn't a requirement of positivity/universal agreement. The problem is when people attempt to steer an article like this into an unrelated area of discussion. There are several options for people to share their thoughts here. If someone has an axe to grind about something unrelated to the article/thread, they can start a new thread, write a blog post, etc. in regard to that topic.

If you have something to say about this article or about those Garcia trades, perfect. Put it in here. If you have something else to say, start a new thread in the forums or write a blog about it if you want to. Again, it is disrespectful to the writer of the article and the members of the community who want to discuss this particular article to attempt a thread jack like that. If you have something to get off your chest, find the appropriate area to do that.

There's a comment policy. It's pretty straightforward. You violated Rule 2. There is nothing in the comment policy that says you can't blast the front office. Start a new thread. Even better yet, write a blog. Go crazy, just don't violate the comment policy.

This is not cute. Throwing a temper tantrum unrelated to the topic at hand is disrespectful to both the writer and any readers who are actually looking to have a conversation about this article. There are plenty of other places on the site you can vent your frustrations.

Justin Smoak wasn't really on my radar, but now I'm intrigued (assuming they're motivated to keep Sano at third base). He put up similar overall production to Cron but is a much more patient hitter, something I think the lineup could benefit from. His BABIP dropped to .223 last year, so he seems like a good bet to put up more impressive overall numbers in 2020. That had been .297, .285 and .295 the previous three seasons.

Not talking about his hitting, MadBum destroyed NL pitchers who faced him. Pitchers went 1-for-54 against him and struck out in 36 of their 59 plate appearances (61.0%!!!). That complete domination of his fellow hurlers skews his stats.

First off, thank you. This is a well-thought out response. I thought Patrick did a nice job shedding some positive light on MadBum in his piece (that's linked to in the article) and I'm honestly trying to check my distaste for Bumgarner, because if the Twins do sign him I want to be able to be excited about it. But, Bumgarner was more effective the third/fourth time through the order than Teheran, but not Bailey. 3rd or 4th time through the order 2019 .271/.335/.414 (.749 OPS) Bailey .263/.305/.473 (.778 OPS) Bumgarner .262/.345/.476 (.821 OPS) Teheran Also, in concern to that question I bolded, a lot of things are more important than WHIP. WHIP has some utility, but it's very problematic that a walk or a single is weighted the same as a home run. I showed the xwOBA in the article, but below is each pitchers actual wOBA from 2019. Bumgarner holds the advantage, but it's nowhere near as big a gap as with WHIP. .300 Bumgarner .307 Bailey .310 Teheran .320 League Average (per BaseabllSavant)

EXACTLY! I'd really love to see Littell get another shot at starting, I went so far as to put that in my offseason blueprint, but I would bet against the Twins going that direction. Only time will tell if the splitter helps Bailey have a late-career renaissance or if that new-look version of Bailey will be less effective the second time around. I don't really love Bailey as a Twins target either, but if you're going to say his 2019 wasn't very good, you kinda have to say the same about MadBum, right? That's my main objective with bringing Bailey into the conversation. I think if you're going to overlook past injury/durability concerns and be willing to offer that kind of a contract, Hyun-Jin Ryu would be the guy to chase. Teheran and Bailey's agents would disagree The years are the scariest part to me. The Twins have money to spend, but you only have five rotation spots. It's certainly possible that MadBum rebounds to his 2016 self, you never now, but I'd rather not commit one of those rotations spots for the next 4-5 years to a guy I'm hoping not only avoids regression, but also reverts to a previous version of himself.