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I'll start out by acknowledging what you already know: young and controllable arms are very valuable in baseball. For that reason, none of these decisions will or should be taken lightly. We've seen countless times how a small shift in pitching role, or a minor tweak to mechanics or pitch mix, can completely turn around a wayward pitcher. The Twins won't be eager to move on from any of these five, who have all shown some level of potential while pitching on the big-league stage. With that said, the front office will likely be seeking to shake things up on the pitching staff this offseason, targeting new talents and projects to take on. There are currently four open spots on the 40-man roster, but those could be claimed quickly as the Twins fulfill needs in the rotation and position-player corps. After being extended arbitration earlier this month, Jorge Alcala will likely be given every chance to overcome his injuries and make the 2024 bullpen, although that isn't a lock. The following five could be considered less likely to make it through the offseason without exiting the organization via DFA or minor trade. Jordan Balazovic, RHP Heading into the 2020 season, we had Balazovic ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the Twins system. He would move up to the status of No. 1 pitching prospect when Brusdar Graterol – ranked one spot ahead – was traded shortly thereafter. At the time, Balazovic was coming off a stellar year in Single-A, and at age 21 was on track to eventually impact an MLB rotation. Unfortunately, since the lost COVID season, the righty has struggled with pretty much everything: control, hits, home runs. The 2023 season was especially tumultuous for Balazovic; he missed time in spring training after an off-the-field altercation, and once again got rocked at Triple-A. He did break through to the majors with 18 appearances, but gave up 12 walks and five homers in 24 innings. A smokescreen of unsustainable early success gave way to the reality of an overmatched pitcher. “Jordan was really good about identifying and being honest with the way he was throwing the ball,” manager Rocco Baldelli said when Balazovic was demoted in late August. “He said, ‘I just have to get in the zone.’ … I liked him taking that level of responsibility on. He was very direct and that felt good. He knows what he’s trying to accomplish.” Balazovic proceeded to issue 11 walks with four strikeouts in 10 innings for the Saints after getting sent down. A brutal end to a brutal year that leaves the 25-year-old's future here in limbo. He still has some traits to like – namely a big frame and a fastball that can elevate in the zone – but it's fairly to easy imagine the front office moving on and picking a new arm to develop with this roster spot. Josh Winder, RHP The Twins were very high on Winder coming out of spring training in 2022, to the point that they surprisingly kept him on the Opening Day roster. He was impressive early on, before familiar shoulder issues cropped up and derailed his season. Winder has since been unable to shake those recurring right shoulder woes, and was limited to just 70 ineffective innings between the majors and Triple-A this season. He stands 6-foot-5 with a great slider, giving him a strong reliever profile, and even throws 95 to boot. The problem is that Winder's fastball, despite its velocity, has been a batting-practice pitch in the majors, yielding a .537 wOBA this year and .485 last year. Simply non-viable. He turned 27 in October. Cole Sands, RHP Sands has been up and down over the past couple of seasons, filling in as needed with 26 appearances (three starts) and 52 innings. The sum result has been a 4.99 ERA and 5.06 FIP – not good. He's in a very similar boat as Winder, running dangerously close to the "Quadruple-A player" designation at age 26 with no real record of MLB success. I think the Twins will be a little more inclined to keep Sands over Winder because he is younger, has been healthier, and his fastball at least shows signs of being usable. Plus Sands has a really interesting secondary mix that is worth building around as a reliever. Brent Headrick, LHP The left-hander was a somewhat surprising add to the 40-man roster last offseason, in that he wasn't really on the prospect radar. The Twins liked his ability to factor as immediate major-league depth, and they were valid in assessing him as such. Headrick made 14 appearances for the big-league club in 2023, handling the load capably at times. Still, his performance could hardy be described as impressive. Headrick finished with a 6.31 ERA and 6.10 FIP in 26 innings for the Twins. His performance in Triple-A also wasn't great (4.68 ERA in 75 innings) but as a hard-throwing lefty who can provide length and strike people out, I don't think Headrick is especially likely to exit. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP I don't really believe Woods Richardson is at risk of being dumped this offseason, which is why he's at the bottom of this list. He's young enough to have upside, and seasoned enough to offer big-league depth. But the theoretical upside in his game is fading fast. Woods Richardson's 2023 season was discouraging in almost every way. His velocity dwindled, his stuff lagged and his numbers were dreadful, even though he was seemingly healthy throughout the season. To put his 19.3% K-rate at Triple-A in some context, it was lower than Randy Dobnak's. The right-hander is still only 23 and I suspect the Twins would at least let him loose in a full-time relief role before letting him loose. That said, it wouldn't surprise me if he was a toss-in for some trade package this offseason. Managing pitchers like these is a delicate balance. You never want to give up too early, but holding too long can mean costing yourself opportunities to roster and develop different arms. We'll see where the Twins land this offseason on these five fringe figures in the team's pitching plans.

After thanking players, coaching staff, and fans, the first line of action the Twins front office makes upon the conclusion of the season is the annual 40-man roster cleanse or reconstruction. Typically, around five to seven players on the 40-man roster are placed on waivers. Upon being placed on waivers, these players can be claimed by a different organization, outrighted to Triple-A, or released. Around this time last season, the Twins placed Jake Cave, Jermaine Palacios, Caleb Hamilton, Devin Smeltzer, and Jhon Romero on waivers, removing them from the 40-man roster. Cave, Palacios, and Hamilton were eventually claimed by different organizations, and Smeltzer and Romero were assigned to Triple-A. Following the World Series, Smeltzer and Romero became minor-league free agents, and none of the five players listed played for the Twins in 2023. Organizations undergo these rather substantial roster purges to open up 40-man roster spots to add minor-league players they don’t want to subject to the Rule 5 Draft and because they need space to make trades or sign free agents. With Sonny Gray, Dallas Keuchel, Kenta Maeda, Tyler Mahle, Emilio Pagán, Donovan Solano, Joey Gallo, and Michael A. Taylor set to become free agents once the 2023 season officially concludes, the Twins will have eight 40-man roster spots opened up initially. Matt Canterino, José De León, Jovani Moran, Oliver Ortega, Jose Miranda, and Nick Gordon must also be activated from the 60-day IL once the 2023 season concludes. So, with eight players entering free agency and six being activated from the 60-day IL, the Twins will have two 40-man roster spots available before they begin their reconstruction. Having two roster spots available is a suitable start. Regardless, the Twins will need to open up more spots to add Rule 5 Draft-eligible minor leaguers to the 40-man roster to avoid the possibility of them getting poached by other teams. The Twins front office has been one of the more active groups in the last three offseasons, so they will need to make space to fulfill any future free-agent signings or trades. Waiving Cave, Palacios, Hamilton, Smeltzer, and Romero were relatively uncontroversial and obvious moves to make last season. Regardless, this season, the upcoming decision the Twins front office is tasked to make will be much more complex. To illustrate how the Twins will be forced to make complicated decisions, let’s look at which members of the Twins’ 40-man roster are potential candidates to be waived: Jorge Alcala, De León, Canterino, Brent Headrick, Ronny Henriquez, Moran, Ortega, Cole Sands, Josh Winder, Simeon Woods Richardson, Jordan Balazovic, Jordan Luplow, Andrew Stevenson, and Gordon The vast majority of players listed are relief pitchers who would fulfill the Twins’ eighth bullpen spot that tends to be given to a young pitcher who is a viable stretch relief option that can be used in an emergency to eat up innings. During the 2023 regular season, Sands, Headrick, or Winder often occupied this role. Though these types of pitchers are interchangeable and replaceable in theory, the pitchers listed above did an adequate job, and their spots on the Twins’ 40-man roster likely aren’t in jeopardy. That being said, there is a young pitcher on the 40-man roster who doesn’t fit that description, and that pitcher is once-prized Twins’ prospect Jordan Balazovic. Balazovic made his Twins debut in 2023, appearing in relief against the Detroit Tigers on June 18. In his debut, Balazovic faced 13 batters through 3 2/3 innings pitched and helped the Twins get through a blowout loss without unnecessarily expending their high-leverage relievers. Though Balazovic played the role of stretch reliever in his Major League debut, he quickly became part of the mid-to-high leverage short reliever mix, not throwing more than one inning of relief in his subsequent five appearances. Balazovic performed admirably during his first taste as a short reliever with the Twins. To add context to how well he performed, here are Balazovic’s numbers from June 18 to July 24. 14 innings pitched, 56 total batters faced, 1.29 ERA, 4.54 FIP, 4.46 xFIP, 12 hits, two earned runs, two home runs, four walks, ten strikeouts, 6.4 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, .250 BABIP, 100 LOB%, 13.3 HR/FB% On the surface, Balazovic performed very well, as shown by his impressive 1.29 ERA through 56 total batters faced, but his underlying metrics told a different story. Balazovic’s FIP, which, according to Fangraphs, illustrates what a player’s ERA would look like over a given period of time if the pitcher were to have experienced league-average results on balls in play and league-average timing, was 4.54 during that period of time. Combining Balazovic's high FIP, 6.43 K/9, and substantially below average HR/FB% of 13.3%, he was due for robust regression, which is precisely what happened. On July 27, Balazovic had a rather implosive relief outing in which he gave up three earned runs after facing just seven batters in 1 1/3 innings pitched against the Seattle Mariners. Many of Balazovic's future performances had similar outcomes, and from July 26 through August 19, Balazovic pitched to an 8.71 ERA, 8.00 FIP, and 21.4% HR/FB% before getting demoted to the Triple-A St. Paul Saints on August 19. Balazovic didn't make another appearance for the Twins in the regular or postseason and ended his rookie season with a lackluster 4.44 ERA and 6.01 FIP through 24 1/3 innings pitched. The season has reached its conclusion, and the Twins find themselves in a complicated position as they need to decide if they want to keep Balazovic on the 40-man roster or replace him with a Rule 5 Draft-eligible minor league player who has a greater chance of positively contributing to the team in the near-to-distant future, or a free agency or trade acquisition further down the line. Before we decide the best route the Twins could take with Balazovic and his future with the team, let's first identify which minor league players are Rule 5 Draft-eligible. Here are the noteworthy minor league players that could realistically get poached by a different franchise in the Rule 5 Draft: Austin Martin, Emmanuel Rodriguez, Yunior Severino, Jair Camargo, DaShawn Keirsey Jr., Jose Salas, Ricardo Olivar, Aaron Sabato, Anthony Prato, Michael Helman, Cody Laweryson, and Chris Williams Of the minor leaguers listed, the only players guaranteed to be added to the 40-man roster are Martin, Rodriguez, Camargo and, more likely than not, Severino. The "bubble" players who could realistically get added are Keirsey, Olivar, Prato, Helman, Laweryson, and Williams. Many of these players are already in Triple-A. The players listed could potentially contribute for the Twins immediately. Even so, there is the possibility that no other teams would claim them, meaning the Twins could keep them in the organization without using a 40-man roster spot. Salas and Sabato won't be added to the 40-man roster. Although Salas is too young and underdeveloped for any Major League team to add them to their 26-man roster, Sabato may get claimed by a non-contending team like the Oakland Athletics or Kansas City Royals. The Twins will find a way to get Martin, Rodriguez, Camargo and likely Severino and Keirsey Jr. on the 40-man roster. To get these five players on the roster, the Twins could part ways with relatively expendable players, and the once-prized prospect Balazovic could be one of the players. When deciding which three and potentially more players the Twins will waive, we must determine which players on the 40-man roster are more valuable than others, and much of that can be determined by opportunity and potential. Based on the opportunity given to them by the Twins and their potential, Woods Richardson, Headrick, Sands, Canterino, and Winder appear to be locks to be on the 40-man roster next season. So, after using deductive reasoning, that leaves us with Luplow, Stevenson, De León, Alcala, Moran, Henriquez, Ortega, Gordon, and Balazovic as the top candidates to be expunged from the 40-man roster. Of the nine players listed, here is where I believe they stand in likelihood of being waived to make room for Rule 5 Draft-eligible players: (*1 is most likely and 9 is least likely) Luplow Gordon De León Ortega Balazovic Henriquez Moran Stevenson Alcala With the Twins likely adding five Rule 5 Draft-eligible players to the 40-man roster and needing space to execute trades and sign free agents, it might be in their best interest to place Balazovic on waivers to make space. However, four or five players are seemingly more likely to be waived before him. Luplow, Gordon, and De León feel like the most obvious players the Twins could waive, but the two provide a veteran presence and potential to contribute to a playoff-hopeful 26-man roster. The Twins front office, known for valuing veteran depth pieces, could realistically keep the two, leaving Ortega, Henriquez, Moran, and Balazovic more susceptible. Stevenson contributed toward the Twins' postseason run and was a member of the 26-man playoff roster, so it appears the Twins are inclined to keep him around for the time being. Alcala seems to be part of the Twins rotation plans going forward, so he likely won't be waived either. Balazovic was once an MLB.com top-100 prospect on the verge of being a core member of the Twins starting rotation for seasons to come. Unfortunately, after undergoing unfortunate injuries, off-field issues, and poor performance at Triple-A and the Major Leagues, Balazovic has quickly become an expendable asset on the Twins' 40-man roster. The Twins' annual 40-man roster reconstruction will soon occur. With the Twins needing to create roster spots to add Rule 5 Draft-eligible players in prevention of them getting poached by other teams and the need to create roster spots to manufacture trades and sign free agents, the Twins could realistically waive Balazovic among other players to create the necessary space needed. What do you think of Balazovic's future with the Twins? Should the Twins waive him to create space on the 40-man roster? Comment below.

Ronny Henriquez has had his fair share of ups and downs in his Twins career. Acquired as part of the Mitch Garver deal, he’s gone from a starting pitching prospect to a relief prospect before injuries wiped him off the map. Henriquez may finally be righting the ship, and the Twins may be smart to see if they can hop aboard. The Twins perhaps waited too long to transition Henriquez to a full-time reliever. His body has been a red flag for his future as a starting pitcher, as his listed 5’10 height is considered extremely generous. He was making starts well into the 2022 season despite suffering from crippling home run issues. The Twins clearly liked what they saw when he finally landed in the bullpen, as they called him up for three appearances at the end of the season as a reliever. Henriquez began this season on the shelf after experiencing some elbow problems this spring. He didn’t make his first appearance until May, and the results as a whole have been less than impressive. In just under 40 innings, Henriquez’s 5.50 ERA looked earned when looking at his 18.8% strikeout rate compared to his 14.8% walk rate. He’s likely been off the Twins' radar when it comes to being a call-up, but things may finally be clicking. It’s an incredibly small sample, but a dominant one. Henriquez has a fastball that plays up in the mid-to-high 90s with an impressive changeup and usable slider. As a reliever, he should have all the tools he needs to contribute to an MLB bullpen. The walk issues he’s shown have never been seen before in his career, contributing to the theory that he may have just needed time to get his feel back after a worrisome injury and subsequent time off. It’s also the first season of his career where he’s been able to fully focus on the routine of being a reliever. Henriquez is already on the 40-man roster at the age of 23. The Twins have also been rostering multiple bulk relievers for several weeks now. As a former prospect of at least some pedigree, it’s likely Henriquez doesn’t need to show a ton more in Triple-A to find his way into the MLB bullpen mix. Considering their willingness to call him up in 2022, they’ve likely been waiting around for any signs that something has clicked. The Twins have plenty of options to cycle out in order to take a shot on Henriquez. First and foremost, they don’t need Josh Winder and Cole Sands in the same bullpen, as historically they’ve gone weeks without needing to use a bulk reliever, let alone two. Especially if Dallas Keuchel is no longer in the rotation, the need just isn’t there often enough. Jordan Balazovic also has regressed in unfortunate fashion. After filling more of a bulk relief role in Triple-A, he was thrust into more of a traditional relief role upon his debut. It’s possible more seasoning in Triple-A would benefit him if the Twins insist on having multiple long relievers on their MLB roster. Ronny Henriquez is clearly a pitcher the Twins saw something in at the end of 2022, and if he looks like he’s found his groove, it costs them little to see how it translates to the big league bullpen which is in need of someone to step up. Should Henriquez have to show he’s flipped the switch a bit longer? Should they call him up as soon as possible? Let us know below!

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Bailey Ober, 5.0 IP, 11 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (93 pitches, 64 strikes, 68.8%) Home Runs: Carlos Correa (14), Joey Gallo (18) Bottom 3 WPA: Bailey Ober (-.330), Jordan Balazovic (-.159), Kyle Farmer (-.144) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Ober is off to a slow start With a 3.68 ERA (3rd best in baseball) and 13.2 fWAR (2nd best), the Twins rotation establish itself as one of the most dominant in baseball during the first half of the season. In the second half, however, the Twins’ rotation saw a significant decrease in productivity, with an ERA of 4.45 (ranked 15th in baseball). All but one of Minnesota’s starters have had at least one rough start since the All-Star break. That includes Bailey Ober, roughed up by the Kansas City Royals in his final start of July when he gave up six earned runs in four innings of work, by far his worst start. Ober had been so effective before that only after that start had his ERA gone above three for the first time this season. After an excellent bounce-back start against the Arizona Diamondbacks, he wanted to remain on track with tonight’s start. But to begin this game, Ober could not prevent Detroit from scoring. Riley Greene drew a four-pitch walk against him in the first, then Matt Vierling singled to put two men on. After striking out Spencer Torkelson for the second out, Ober gave up a single to Kerry Carpenter, and a rare misplay by Max Kepler in right allowed both runners to score. Correa and Gallo homer, but Ober lets the lead slip away The Tigers’ early lead was short-lived, as the Twins rallied for three runs in the second. Carlos Correa jumped on the second pitch he saw for a solo home run to center, his 14th of the year. Coming into this game, C4 had a .969 OPS in his previous seven games, and he seems to be heating up at the plate. Tigers starter Alex Faedo managed to get two quick outs after that, but Minnesota did some two-out damage. Ryan Jeffers hit a long double to left, and Joey Gallo went yard for the first time since July 17 to give the Twins their first lead of the night. But that lead wouldn’t last, either. Detroit scored two more runs after collecting four hits in the bottom of the second and regained a one-run lead. Zach McKinstry and Eric Haase doubled and singled, respectively, and Greene and Vierling hit back-to-back two-out singles to score both runners. It would be the fourth time Ober has allowed four runs or more in a start this season – though one of them was unearned. Both pitchers settled in briefly, but Ober was in trouble again in the fifth. Torkelson blasted a leadoff home run to right. Now, Ober has given up at least a home run in his last five starts, which hadn’t happened since September 2021. Before the inning was over, Miguel Cabrera hit his second single of the night shortly before McKinstry hit a double to left to put two men in scoring position. Fortunately, Ober got the final out, stranding both runners and keeping this a two-run game. Twins get within one… but not for long Faedo departed the game in the fifth, and Minnesota’s offense became more productive. Matt Wallner got hit by a pitch against reliever Brendan White, and then he was waived around third to score a Willi Castro double to left center, putting the Twins again within a run. With great baserunning, the Twins were close to tying the game or even taking the lead: Castro stole third, and later on, after drawing a walk, Jordan Luplow stole second, putting two men in scoring position with two outs. Kyle Farmer fought hard during his at-bat but struck out after six pitches, ending the inning. Emilio Pagán, who came into tonight’s game posting a brilliant 1.26 ERA over his previous 15 outings, continued his redemption tour by pitching a scoreless 1-2-3 sixth on 14 pitches. He’s prevented opposing teams from scoring in 15 of his last 18 outings. But came the seventh inning, and Jordan Balazovic couldn’t keep the Tiger lineup on a leash. Torkelson smacked a leadoff home run off him to score Detroit’s sixth run. Balazovic went on to give up three singles, allowing Haase to push Jake Rogers across and make it 7-4 Detroit. Lefty reliever Tyler Holton dominated Minnesota’s lineup for two-plus innings: Twins batters went 0-for-7 with a walk against him. Still, the Twins had a slight chance of rallying back in the ninth if their deficit had remained three runs. However, Balazovic struggled again in the bottom of the eighth, and the game was out of reach. Vierling tripled and then scored on a wild pitch. Torkelson, who had drawn a walk right after Vierling’s triple, scored from second on a Carpenter single. The Twins put on a fight in the ninth and loaded them up against reliever Trey Wingenter. A.J. Hinch was forced to bring José Cisnero to get the final out. He gave up an RBI single to Kepler that scored the Twins’ fifth run, but he struck out Correa to end the threat. What’s Next? Both teams retake the field on Thursday (Aug 10) for the series' final game. First pitch is scheduled for 12:10 pm CDT, with Kenta Maeda (3-6, 4.22 ERA) trying to keep his hot streak alive and Reese Olson (1-5, 4.94 ERA) taking the mound for the Tigers. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Balazovic 26 0 0 0 39 65 Winder 0 0 0 42 0 42 Headrick 0 0 41 0 0 41 Pagán 0 18 0 0 14 32 Jax 0 27 0 0 0 27 Floro 0 20 0 0 0 20 Thielbar 0 17 0 0 0 17 Durán 0 0 0 0 0 0

It seemed disaster was around the corner when the Twins lost Brock Stewart to injury before the all-star break. The resurgent flame thrower had become the Twins fireman to complement Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran, and was arguably pitching better than either of them with Caleb Thielbar on the IL and Jorge Lopez not living up to expectations. The Twins were seemingly left with two reliable bullpen arms and a whole lot of questions. Emilio Pagan certainly deserves his praise, but Jordan Balazovic’s performance may be the most encouraging for the future of the Twins bullpen. Jordan Balazovic so far has posted a 2.93 ERA on the season. While his peripherals indicate regression is coming, his xERA is in the perfectly acceptable mid-3s. His FIP and xFIP are in the high 4s to mid 5s range, but they're being skewed quite a bit by his most recent outing where the Mariners put together two great at-bats, not chasing well-executed pitches to work walks before Dylan Moore ambushed Balazovic on a 95 mph fastball at the top of the zone. The stuff looked good despite the disappointing outcome. On Monday night, the Twins bullpen was depleted after having to use Jhoan Duran and Griffin Jax on consecutive days. Balazovic was thrust into his first high-leverage opportunity. Facing the heart of the Mariners lineup, Balazovic stranded a runner at third base to preserve the lead. While Jax would allow a go-ahead homer in the ninth, Balazovic had himself set up for his first Major League hold. Despite it looking like Balazovic could be headed in the wrong direction by the numbers, it’s very possible he can stave off regression with some further adjusting. The Twins did Balazovic no favors when it comes to his MLB debut. He had spent his season in St. Paul as a long reliever before injuries forced him onto the Twins roster where he filled a single-inning role. It’s a completely different style of pitching, and now that he’s been fully transitioned to a one-inning relief role, it should be expected that he’ll adjust as he settles in. A big reason the underlying numbers aren’t big fans of Balazovic is the lack of strikeouts thus far. He hasn’t shown a lack of whiffs in the minors since 2017 and had struck out 31.1% of hitters in St. Paul this season before his call-up. It may take some playing around, but Balazovic should have the tools to collect punchouts at an acceptable rate. His mid-90s fastball paired with a slider that’s posted a 118 Stuff+ alone should collect more whiffs long-term, and he’s rarely used his changeup despite it posting a 37.5% whiff rate having only been thrown 17 times. For a starter-turned-long reliever-turned-traditional reliever all in the same season, things could be going worse for Jordan Balazovic, and he’s been a cog in a bullpen machine that could have easily misfired regularly while missing multiple important pieces. When some of the injured arms return or the Twins go out and acquire help at the deadline, Balazovic will be pushed back down into lower leverage. As long as the walks stay down, Balazovic has shown that he deserves a spot as at least a functional middle reliever, and given his prospect pedigree as a starter, it’s fair to imagine that there’s much more he has to offer over the next 6+ years of team control. With their backs against the wall, the Twins bullpen has held it’s own, and Jordan Balazovic has been a pleasantly surprising reason why. Can he parlay his fill-in performance into a bigger bullpen role in the next few years?

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Joe Ryan, 3.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K (95 pitches, 63 strikes, 66.3%) Home Runs: Christian Vázquez (3), Édouard Julien (10), Matt Wallner 2 (4) Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (-.305), Max Kepler (-.207), Jordan Balazovic (-.190) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Ryan gives up two homers, three runs early When Twins and Mariners met for the first time last week, All-Star centerfielder Julio Rodríguez didn’t cause Minnesota much trouble, going 1-for-10 with five strikeouts and only a walk to show for against Twins’ pitching. In this second encounter between the two teams, though, he has been a real thorn in the Twins’ side. After picking up three hits in the first two games of the series, including two home runs that powered the M’s comeback on Tuesday, he was at it again right out of the gate this afternoon. He got ahead on the count against Joe Ryan in the game’s first at-bat and ended up hitting a leadoff double after six pitches. Teoscar Hernández pushed Rodríguez across on a one-out bloop single giving Seattle their first lead of the day. The Twins’ offense struggled to get anything going against Mariners’ starter Bryce Miller to start this game, allowing Seattle to add on and increase their lead. Ryan quickly retired the first two batters he faced in the second, then was one strike away from retiring Dylan Moore, but the struggling shortstop took him deep for the second home run of the game. Back to the top of the Seattle order in the third, Rodríguez picked up where he left off and crushed a no-doubter to the second deck in left field, making it 3-0 Mariners. Ryan is in trouble again, but the offense hits three homers The bats finally got into the game during the third, and they also punished Miller with the long ball. Christian Vázquez jumped on the very first pitch of his at-bat to hit a one-out solo shot to center-left and put the Twins on the board. A couple of at-bats later, it was Édouard Julien’s turn to take Miller deep. Exactly like Vázquez, Eddy jumped on the first pitch he saw, hitting a line drive that cleared the left field track by a few feet. Suddenly, the Twins cut their deficit to only one run. But it simply wasn’t Ryan’s day, as Seattle batters seem to have him absolutely figured out. The Mariners swung on only 34% of his pitches outside the zone in this game, while Ryan has been getting hitters to swing at his outside pitches almost 40% of the time this season. With that, it didn’t take long for Seattle to get him in trouble again. Ryan loaded the bases before recording an out in the fourth inning, then gave up a single to Kolten Wong that scored the Mariners’ fourth run. Ryan managed to strike out the next two batters, but with his pitch count nearing a hundred, Rocco Baldelli decided to bring Jordan Balazovic into the game, making this Ryan’s second-shortest outing of the season. Balazovic got Hernández to fly out, avoiding any further damage. In the bottom of the inning, Matt Wallner hit his first home run of the afternoon, and once again, the Twins were within a run, trailing 4-3. Mariners explode to build a five-run lead, but the Twins answer back Balazovic remained in the game for the fifth, and with 14 pitches, he had retired two batters and allowed a walk. He failed to retire Cade Marlowe next, instead giving up an eight-pitch walk, which would cost him highly on the next at-bat. Moore, who before this game had homered only twice all year, hit his second home run of the day, a 429-feet bomb to left-center, making it 7-3 Mariners. Rodríguez led off the sixth inning with another double, this time against Josh Winder, and he scored on the next at-bat after Eugenio Suárez smashed a long single off the right-center field wall. Seattle had its biggest lead of the afternoon, heading into the bottom of the sixth. For many teams, an 8-3 deficit this late would be too much to overcome. But this Twins team simply refuses to quit as of late. Minnesota’s offense rallied for four runs in the sixth and cut the Mariners’ lead to only one run once again. Wallner kicked things off with his second solo home run of the game, a rare opposite-field monster shot by a lefty that landed in the second deck. Willi Castro flied out to put Miller within an out of finishing the inning, but Trevor Larnach doubled and scored next on a Kyle Farmer single to shallow center, making it 8-5 Mariners and immediately ending Miller’s day. Reliever Matt Brash took over, but he wasn’t able to stop the two-out bleeding. Joey Gallo hit a long fly ball to deep right, and Rodríguez couldn’t make the play, allowing Farmer to score and Gallo to reach second. Then, Vázquez, Minnesota’s seventh player to bat in the inning, joined the party and grounded to right to bring Gallo home and close the gap even more, cutting Seattle’s lead to 8-7. Winder preserves the one-run deficit, but the rally falls short Winder gave up two hits and a run in the sixth, but he did a fantastic job the rest of the way. He retired all the remaining batters faced (11 in a row) without allowing a single hit or walk while striking out four and throwing 75% strikes. But the offense went down in order in the seventh and stranded its only runner in the eighth. Minnesota would need their offense to step up once more to complete their rally in the bottom of the ninth. Things started off well, with Vázquez finding a gap in the middle for a leadoff groundball single. But reliever Andrés Muñoz managed to induce three groundball outs next, and the Mariners prevailed in the end. Postgame interview SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Balazovic 7 0 12 0 32 51 Jax 16 8 19 0 0 43 Durán 21 16 0 0 0 37 Winder 0 0 0 0 36 36 Pagán 0 11 0 19 0 30 J. López 0 9 12 0 0 21 Morán 0 0 5 14 0 19 Sands 0 0 0 0 0 0

At one point, the Twins had four pitchers in their bullpen who were essentially called up from St. Paul out of necessity. Brent Headrick was recently sent back upon Jorge Lopez’s return, and Josh Winder was replaced by Cole Sands who was activated from the IL. Three arms remain, and Thielbar and Brock Stewart are not quite on the verge of returning, there’s a short window for these guys to prove themselves. Jordan Balazovic Perhaps the likeliest candidate to find himself as a textbook reliever down the line, the Twins have already started the process of switching Balazovic to a traditional relief role It’s a bit disappointing, but this is the path many pitching prospects take. Balazovic was being used as a long reliever in St. Paul, and the hope is that his stuff plays up enough to legitimately help in the late innings rather than bouncing up and down to Triple-A after making bulk inning appearances. Balazovic’s stuff hasn’t shown through, as despite his sub 2.00 ERA, he’s not even struck out 15% of the hitters he’s faced. He has cut down on the walks significantly though, and his slider and changeup have drawn some whiffs. If he can harness the stuff that once made him a top starting pitching prospect, Balazovic could become a legitimate weapon in the bullpen down the stretch. Oliver Ortega Ortega was one of the Twins few waiver claims prior to the season and later passed through waivers and stuck around. Like Balazovic, the stuff hasn’t shown through in his brief MLB stint so far, but Ortega was dominant in St. Paul, pitching to a 2.22 ERA with an over 30% K rate. He has a curveball and slider that each draw a whiff rate of at least 36% to pair with a fastball that’s been around 95 but has been in the upper 90s in previous seasons. It’s easy to see why the Twins took a flier, as even at 26 years of age, Ortega has all of the tools to become a valuable MLB reliever. Cole Sands Most people think of the two inning, five walks performance from Sands on May 13, but he’s been great otherwise. Sands was working on a change in arm angle and has looked dominant at times. In St. Paul, he’s struck out nearly 35% of batters faced and struck out over a batter per inning in the MLB. The walks haven’t been an issue aside from the one outing and he’s avoided the homer-happy concerns that have popped up last year. Sands has leaned into a split finger this season to pair with his plus breaking ball and fastball that has ticked up near 94 mph now that he’s fully transitioned to the bullpen. He should in theory have a pitch mix to attack hitters from both sides of the plate, and given his success in Triple-A, it may just be time to see what Cole Sands can do to help the Twins at nearly 26 years of age. The Twins lack of proven bullpen depth hasn’t hurt them as of yet, and hopefully the offense and starting pitching can continue to soften the blow of the injuries they’ve suffered. While they wait for some of their proven relievers to return, it doesn’t have to be all negative. There’s a chance one of these arms could come out on the other end of this as a semi-established option in the late innings. Do you agree? Does anyone stand out above the rest? Let us know below!

Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda, 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (82 pitches, 53 strikes, 64.6%) Home Runs: none Bottom 3 WPA: Kyle Farmer (-.109), Joey Gallo (-.103), Michael A. Taylor (-.098) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins came into this game looking to avoid their second sweep of the season and perhaps gain some momentum ahead of the Baltimore series. But that would be no simple task: the Braves, who currently have the best record in the National League, have kept the Twins' offense on a leash in the first two games of the series. This afternoon, they brought lefty Kolby Allard to the mound, and with the Twins having the third-worst OPS against lefties in all of baseball (.666), the task seemed even harder. If the Twins were to have a chance in this game, they would need to rely heavily on their pitching to keep them alive, and based on their starter’s track record against today’s opponents, their chances looked good (in theory). Making his sixth start of the season, the second since returning from the Injured List, Kenta Maeda was looking to have another solid start, similar to the one he had last Friday when he tossed five scoreless with eight strikeouts against the Tigers. Maeda had a 2.00 ERA against the Braves in his previous three starts against the Braves, his lowest ERA against any single opponent in his career. After the offense fell down in order with three strikeouts in the top of the first, Maeda was off to a strong start, but a defensive miscue in right field allowed the Braves to get on the board first. Joey Gallo dropped an apparently easy foul ball near the railing, allowing Ronald Acuña Jr. to work out a walk and later score on a Matt Olson two-out double. Without any sign of life from the Twins lineup, the Braves scored another run in the third, taking advantage of back-to-back singles given up by Maeda to open the inning, followed by an RBI sac-fly. Allard looked fantastic through four, allowing no runs, just two hits, and striking out six, having tossed only 51 pitches. But in the fifth, the Twins' offense put together its first real threat of the game. Alex Kirilloff hit a leadoff single and was followed by a Christian Vázquez walk, and for the first time in the game, the Twins had two men on with no outs. Allard fought back and retired the next two batters but was removed from the game despite having thrown only 71 total pitches. Kirby Yates took over and struck out Donovan Solano to end the inning. With that out, the Twins were 0-for-22 with runners in scoring position in this series. After giving up back-to-back hits in the third, Maeda went on to limit Braves hitters to 2-for-10 with a walk, completing five once again. This was the second time this season in which he’s tossed at least five innings in two consecutive starts, but only the first time he does so while also allowing two or fewer runs in each start since July 9, 2021. He did his part by keeping the Twins' chances alive, but the offense would need to step up if Minnesota was going to steal this game. Jovani Morán took over in the seventh and, like Maeda, kept Minnesota alive by tossing two scoreless frames next. Yates retired the side with ease in the sixth, but hopes went up when Willi Castro hit a leadoff single in the seventh. But after a couple of short-lived at-bats, Vázquez grounded into an inning-ending double play, and all hope was gone. The offense was a no-show again in the eighth, but Jordan Balazovic got two quick outs in the bottom of the inning, seemingly keeping the Twins’ chances alive too. But that didn’t last long: in the very next at-bat, he gave up a solo home run to Olson, making it 3-0 Atlanta. A three-run deficit isn’t an impossible one to overcome… if you’re not the current Twins offense. The bats went down in order in the top of the ninth against closer Raisel Iglesias. Postgame interview What’s Next? The Twins travel to Baltimore, where they’ll enjoy a day off on Thursday and start a three-game series against the Orioles on Friday (6/30). Taking the mound for Minnesota is Pablo López (3-5, 4.41 ERA), while the O’s turn to Dean Kremer (8-3, 4.50 ERA). The series opener’s first pitch is scheduled for 6:05 pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet SAT SUN MON TUE WED TOT Balazovic 6 18 0 0 18 42 Headrick 0 6 0 35 0 41 Pagán 30 0 8 0 0 38 Morán 0 0 0 0 36 36 Ortega 0 0 0 32 0 32 Winder 0 0 19 0 0 19 Jax 0 17 0 0 0 17 Durán 0 15 0 0 0 15

Typically, observing stats from one appearance is a bad idea—what with small samples and all that—but raw data does not require such patience, and we can parse through some of Jordan Balazovic’s Statcast information to understand his game better. Let’s not beat around the bush: here’s what caught my attention from his page. The most impressive pitch in Balazovic’s arsenal is his curveball. It’s a yakker, folks. The scouting reports were accurate. It doesn’t get too much extra vertical break; just 1.7 inches above average places him around Marco Gonzales and Lucas Sims—quality veteran arms who typically acquire outs through other means. What’s notable is his lack of horizontal movement; -5.7 inches of horizontal break places him amongst the top 20 of pitchers with vertical downers. You’d think the pitch may help neutralize platoons, but Balazovic has struggled with opposite-handed batters throughout his minor league career (although that could be for separate reasons). He’s death to righties at his peak, though. Here’s Javier Báez learning that Balazovic’s curve has an endless bottom to it: It appears that, if Balazovic is to stick at the major-league level, his curve will be the main contributor to his success. And that’s because his heater is nothing too special. He gets a little vertical movement on it, but not enough to stand out from the pitching quagmire around him; his outs in the minors have typically been from its location, not its pure bully factor. He does mirror his curveball’s movement perfectly, possibly allowing the offering to play above its raw characteristics—and the Twins have done well in developing vertical specialists in their pitching staff. That prior paragraph may sound like damning with faint praise, but having one average MLB selection and a second potentially plus pitch is enough for anyone to accrue outs these days, especially if they’re wise about usage. That’ll be crucial for Balazovic, as his slider doesn’t stand out too much. His changeup is interesting—owning almost no horizontal break, just like his curveball—so if he can command the pitch, he may have the three/two-and-a-half-ish pitch mix that turns him from tweener reliever to legitimate starter. And that’s the crucial aspect of talking about pitching: pitches are tools, but they’re only that, and it takes a Pitcher to separate themselves from the pack. The pitching industrial complex spits out a thousand arms scientifically built to miss bats and get outs; beating those hurlers requires something beyond just stuff, and whether Balazovic possesses that nebulous thing will soon be seen. At least he has a great curveball to help guide him.

The Twins drafted Jordan Balazovic in the fifth round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of secondary school in Canada. Minnesota identified plenty of big-league talent in that draft, and Balazovic is the latest from that class to make his debut. Balazovic was seen as a projectable starter at the time of the draft because of his body type and pitch mix. Scouting high school players from cold weather climates can be challenging, but the Twins saw enough in Balazovic to sign him for $515,000. He spent his first two professional seasons pitching for the GCL Twins, making 18 appearances (72 1/3 innings). He posted a 3.61 ERA with a 1.36 WHIP and a 45-to-25 strikeout-to-walk ratio. During the 2016 season, he never faced a batter younger than himself, and he faced older batters in 80% of his plate appearances in 2017. While his numbers don’t stand out, he added strength to his frame to help him move up the organizational ladder. Balazovic got his first taste of full-season ball during the 2018 season when the Twins assigned him to Cedar Rapids, the organization’s Low-A affiliate at the time. He made 12 appearances (11 starts) and posted a 3.94 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP in 61 2/3 innings. His most significant improvement was in his strikeout rate. He posted a 5.6 K/9 in the rookie leagues, but that total jumped to 11.4 K/9 in his first season with the Kernels. He also continued to be young for the level, as he was 2.4 years younger than the average age of the competition in the Midwest League. In the 2019 season, Balazovic put himself on the prospect map, including being named the Twins’ representative in the Futures Game. He began the year in Cedar Rapids and dominated hitters by limiting them to five earned runs in 20 2/3 innings with 14.4 K/9. He continued his strong pitching performance after being promoted to High-A. In Fort Myers, he posted a 2.84 ERA with a 1.00 WHIP and 11.8 K/9 in 73 innings. Following the season, Baseball America and MLB Pipeline included him in the backend of their top-100 prospect lists. After the pandemic, the Twins added Balazovic to the 40-man roster and sent him to Double-A. His start to the 2021 season was delayed until June because of a back issue. Across 20 starts (97 innings), he combined for a 3.62 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP and 9.5 K/9. He allowed more hits per nine (9.1 H/9), his highest rate since rookie ball, but he was still young for his level, with nearly 82% of his plate appearances coming versus older batters. His fastball averaged 96 mph, and there was hope he’d still develop into a middle-of-the-rotation starter at the big-league level. Balazovic struggled with his on-field performance for the first time in his career during the 2022 season. A knee injury during the spring kept him from pitching until May. He never seemed to put it all together after the injury, but the team continued to use him regularly. With the Saints, he pitched 70 2/3 innings while allowing 58 earned runs (7.39 ERA) with a 1.94 WHIP. His average fastball velocity also dipped to 94 mph. During September, Balazovic had his best month of the season. He posted a 3.43 ERA in five starts with 30 strikeouts and ten walks in 21 innings. The Twins hoped it was a sign of bigger things to come for Balazovic in 2023. Entering this season, Balazovic reported early to Twins camp to get work in before the scheduled reporting date. However, his early arrival led to an altercation. On the evening before the players reported, he went to a local bar, and someone punched him in the face. He broke his jaw, requiring surgery and an overnight hospital stay. In interviews, he told reporters that he didn’t know the person and he didn’t throw a punch of his own. It was shaping up to be an important spring for Balazovic, and this incident put him behind at the season’s start. The Twins were clearly frustrated with the Balazovic situation, making him the first cut during spring training. At Triple-A, he began the year as a reliever, with the team using him sparingly as a spot starter. In 35 2/3 innings, he posted a 4.79 ERA with a 1.60 WHIP and a 5.3 K/9. His performance wasn’t pushing him to the big-league level, but he was on the 40-man roster, and the Twins needed a reliever. Balazovic’s MLB debut showcased what he can do out of the bullpen with 3 2/3 scoreless innings while throwing a lot of strikes. It will be interesting to see how Balazovic adjusts to a bullpen role. He used his fastball and curveball over 32% of the time in his debut. His slider is another option, but he didn’t get a lot of swings and misses. It might be best for him to focus on those three pitches and ditch his changeup since that pitch gets hit the hardest. Few pitchers follow a linear development path, and Balazovic has dealt with some issues on the way to his debut. However, he can provide future value for the Twins. How do you view Balazovic at this point in his career? What is his ceiling? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion.

Box Score SP: Louie Varland: IP, H, ER, BB, K (99 Pitches, 67 Strikes, 67.7%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Varland (-0.272), Joey Gallo (-0.168), Byron Buxton (-0.097) Win Probability Chart (Via Fangraphs): Baez Continues to Rake Louie Varland started his outing by getting two quick outs. A Kerry Carpenter single broke up the no-hitter, and Javier Baez broke up the chance the Twins had at winning the game. On a 1-2 count, Christian Vasquez asked for a pitch two feet north of the strike zone, and Varland laid it right at the top of the zone, and Baez crushed it to right. Max Kepler misplayed the carom off of the wall, and Carpenter scored with Baez cruising into third base for a triple to make it 1-0 Tigers, The Twins fought back breifly in the bottom of the second inning, when Kyle Farmer and Vasquez unleashed a pair of doubles to knot the score at 1-1. Michael A. Taylor and Edouard Julien flailed away the scoring opportunity from there, and Vasquez was left at second to end the threat. Pleading in the Fifth The offenses took turns making the pitchers look like Cy Young Award winners until the top of the fifth inning, when the Tigers unloaded on Varland. Jake Marisnick laced a triple to center, as Taylor failed to read a second ball tailing away from him. Varland then got ahead of Spencer Torkelson 0-2, before Torkelson caught up in the count and then really caught up to this 89 mph cutter for a two-run home run that broke a chunk off of Joe Mauer's retired number sign. Ouch. Does Varland have a home run problem? Carpenter stepped up to the plate next and shouted "YES!" as he rounded the bases, making the score 4-1 Tigers. Welcome to the Show Jordan Balazovic!? After a controversial start to spring training, Balazovic worked his way back up the pitching pecking order until making his debut today. He got his chance today because Jorge Lopez was placed on the restricted list, and then the injured list for mental health reasons. This roster shake-up no doubt had the Twins shooken up, and more details will be forthcoming over the coming weeks on Lopez's future with the team. No one wants to see Lopez hurt, and hopefully this story has a redemptive ending. Back to the game itself, Balazovic inherited runners at first and second, with only one out. The first batter up was Andy Ibanez, and he rudely welcomed the rookie by lacing an RBI single to left. The timeless Miguel Cabrera followed that up with a sacrifice fly to deep center, and suddenly the Tigers were in control of the game and the series with a 6-1 lead in the sixth. Undeserved Hope in the Eighth... The Tiger's bullpen game approach continued to baffle the Twins lineup, with five relievers scattering five hits over the first seven innings. closer Alex Lange started the eighth for the Tigers, and he started it off by almost hitting Taylor in the gut. Unfortuneately for Taylor, Lange then succeeded by climbing the ladder, and striking Taylor in the back of the helmet. Taylor was able to walk off the field under his own power, but Ryan Jeffers took his place on the bases. The danger of the bullpen game is that a team runs the risk of having one of the multiple arms go off the rails, and that appeared to be Lange today. Julien walked. Then Willi Castro took two strikes, called timeout, and then laced a double to right to plate Jeffers to make the score 6-2. Donovan Solano followed by taking one for the team in a softer spot on his body, and suddenly Carlos Correa strode to the plate with the bases loaded and nobody out, representing the tying run! Lange promptly sent a pitch to the backstop to take the grand slam out of play, plating Julien from third to make it 6-3. Correa couldn't even get a strike to swing at, walking on four pitches to load the bases yet again for Royce Lewis. Needless to say, Lange's night was done, and the Tigers turned to Jason Foley with the bases loaded and nobody out. Unredeemed Opportunities in the Eighth Royce didn't hit a grand slam, but he didn't get out either. Lewis lost his bat in the process, but he gained a single up the middle and an RBI to make the score 6-4. Farmer battled, but ultimately flied out weakly to left field, unable to advance any of the runners. This set the stage for Joey Gallo and his 11 home runs and 66 strike outs. Make that 67 strike outs for Gallo, and now the Twins miracle inning was down to its last out. Byron Buxton strode to the plate to pinch hit for Vasquez and the last hope for the game and series perhaps. Buxton still looked lost at the plate, watching a called strike three to end the threat. Bases loaded, nobody out, and the Twins can't cash in once again. Let's Put This Game Out of It's Misery Jovani Moran got the top of the ninth for the Twins, and he mowed them down in order to set up a potentially dramatic bottom of the ninth. Foley remained in the game to face Jeffers, Julien, and Solano with the Twins hopes hanging by a thread, but present nonetheless. Jeffers struck out looking. Julien struck out looking. Castro flew out weakly to left field. Fade to black. What's Next The Twins will send RHP Pablo Lopez (3-3, 4.27 ERA) out on Monday night after some extra rest to face the Boston Red Sox to kick off their second four-game series in a row. The Red Sox will counter with LHP James Paxton (2-1, 3.09 ERA) who has pitched six games since returning from the injured list. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40pm CDT. Postgame Interviews Bullpen Usage Chart WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Pagán 0 24 0 21 0 45 Balazovic 0 0 0 0 40 40 Headrick 0 0 0 35 0 35 Morán 0 22 0 0 11 33 Durán 12 0 0 15 0 27 De León 0 0 0 24 0 24 Jax 11 0 0 8 0 19 Stewart 14 0 0 5 0 19

TRANSACTIONS RHP Jordan Balazovic promoted to Minnesota Minnesota Twins end OF Gilberto Celestino’s rehab assignment and option him to St. Paul SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 12, Louisville 5 Box Score Aaron Sanchez took the ball today for St. Paul and worked five innings. He gave up five runs (three earned) on four hits and four walks. Command was not at all to be found, but he did strike out three. Making it five, and benefitting from the bats, he did get his fourth win. The Saints jumped out to an early lead when Matt Wallner drove in Andrew Stevenson on a first inning sacrifice fly. Trevor Larnach then followed suit to score Jose Miranda and make it a 2-0 game. After St. Paul gave up the lead in the second inning, they put up a five-spot during the third inning to take the lead for good. Miranda’s second homer was a two-run blast making it 4-3, then Mark Contreras went yard to drive in Larnach on his seventh home run. Andrew Bechtold rounded out the scoring with a single to score Jair Camargo and make it a 7-3 game. In the fourth inning Wallner ripped his 17th double to drive in Stevenson. As Max Kepler continues to struggle for the Twins, Wallner stays putting on the pressure. A Contreras ground out made it a 9-3 lead. Adding again in the fifth inning, Stevenson singled in Bechtold and gave the Saints a ten-spot. Louisville did answer with two in the bottom half, but the sixth inning saw Anthony Prato drive in Wallner, and Bechtold drove in Larnach. The 12-5 score is where this ended. Stevenson grabbed three hits today with both Miranda and Bechtold having a pair each. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Midland 3 Box Score The Wind Surge went with Travis Adams today. He lasted three innings, giving up three runs on three hits, and a pair of walks. Adams did strike out one but also allowed a pair of home runs. Wichita’s bullpen saw five relievers combine for six scoreless innings allowing no hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Seth Gray kicked off the scoring when his fifth double brought home DaShawn Keirsey Jr. in the first inning. Getting behind 3-1, Wichita answered during the fifth inning. David Banuelos blasted his fourth homer before Gray singled in Keirsey to even things at 3-3. Aaron Sabato put the Wind Surge ahead when his seventh double scored Yunior Severino. A wild pitch put Wichita up 5-3 and that’s where the score held. Both Severino and Gray recorded a pair of hits today. Brooks Lee had the day off. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 14, South Bend 2 Box Score A slight rain delay kept these teams off the field, but this one eventually got underway. It was Kyle Jones on the bump for Cedar Rapids this afternoon and the lineup gave him breathing room with seven early runs. He went four innings of scoreless baseball allowing just two hits and a walk while striking out four. After a scoreless first inning, Jose Salas reached on a fielding error that allowed Noah Miller to score. ANother fielding error, this on an Andrew Cossetti batted ball, gave Salas the opportunity to score and make it a 2-0 game. In the fourth inning it was the same culprits with Salas recording his second homer of the season, and the three run shot brought home both Miller and Misael Urbina. Cossetti then launched his third High-A homer to make it 7-0. The fifth inning saw more corn cob action with the Kernels scoring five. A Noah Miller double brought in Kala’i Rosario before an Urbina single scored Noah Cardenas and Miller. Kyler Fedko then drove in Urbina with Tanner Schonel lifting a single of his own to plate Salas. South Bend did answer with two in the seventh inning, but Schobel and Emmanuel Rodriguez each drove in a run during the bottom half to make it a 14-2 game. Even with Cedar Rapids grabbing 14 runs on 13 hits, it was just Cardenas, Miller, Urbina, and Salas grabbing multiple hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Bradenton 4, Fort Myers 3 Box Score Fort Myers had Develson Aria on the mound this afternoon. It was a short outing as he lasted just two innings while giving up three runs on three hits. He also walked three and struck out that same amount. The Mighty Mussels scored first when Yohander Martinez recorded his first home run during the second inning. Mikey Perez was on, making it a two-run blast. By the fourth inning Bradenton had added four of their own and doubled up the Fort Myers score. Jorel Ortega did single in Maddux Houghton in the fifth inning, but that was as close as they would get. With only six hits on the day, Martinez and Houghton were the only players to record a pair of hits today. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K Hitter of the Day – Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 2-for-5, 3 R, 2 RBI, BB, HR(2) PROSPECT SUMMARY We will again keep tabs on the Twins top prospects. You’ll probably read about them in the team sections, but if they aren’t there, you’ll see how they did here. Here’s a look at how the current Twins Daily Top 20 performed: #2 - Royce Lewis (Minnesota) - 1-2, RBI, K #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 0-4, R, BB, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-3, R, 2 RBI, 2B, K #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, 3 R, 3 RBI, HR(2), K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 3 R, RBI, BB, 2B(5) #14 - Jordan Balazovic (Minnesota) - 3.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 2 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 2-3, R, BB TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Toledo (6:05PM CST) - TBD Arkansas @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - TBD Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - TBD Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games!

He's a little worn—used, certainly lacking in the luster he once claimed—but Jordan Balazovic is still standing. Once one of the golden arms of the farm, inconsistency and injury have altered his path, dropping him down from a regular of top 100 lists to the doldrums of prospects lists, mentioned, but only briefly. Fantasies of stardom atop a major-league starting rotation may only remain in dreams now, yet the Twins have put together a plan for the Canadian righty, and he may be able to contribute to the club very soon. If you haven’t noticed, Balazovic’s usage in 2023 evolved. Once a fledgling reliever throughout April, Balazovic then grew back into his assumed role in the starting rotation for three starts before finding himself entering a game following an opener on May 20th. He has now done so four times. Openers aren’t random in the Twins organization—the team employed many of them starting in their lukewarm 2018 campaign—but they quickly fell out of vogue, and the team almost entirely eschewed them from their organizational strategy with a few exceptions. Consistently starting an opener before Balazovic four straight times is not an accident. They are, it seems, allowing him to become more familiar with the role while still ensuring that his innings diet is satisfied; three of the four outings resulted in at least three innings of work. His stamina won’t atrophy, and Minnesota will reap the double benefit of knowing they can call him up whenever they want, as Balazovic should be comfortable with acquiring outs out of the bullpen. Because that’s what this is: they’re preparing him as a reliever. And it makes sense why. While the starting rotation has been phenomenal, the bullpen—outside of one very special individual—has been a tragedy, and not even one of the ones with eye-stabbing and incest: it’s just tedious. It’s to the point where any arm they call up that can locate the strike zone with even mild consistency is now amongst their most well-trusted troops. Balazovic, though, has found his strikeout stuff (at the loss of some control) and owns a tremendous 2.84 FIP in the four starts he’s made following an opener. The plan will likely be for Balazovic to see time around the end of June or early July—whenever the team feels like DFA-ing someone, basically. Rather than potentially dip their toes into Jorge López-filled waters at the trade deadline, the team will at least see if Balazovic could provide some aid before rashly dealing away yet another future breakout prospect. If he can, great! That’s a problem solved. If not, they can still potentially deal for an arm, although they may prefer not to roll that dice again. The previous paragraph is pure speculation, but it makes sense, at least to me. Why else would the team bother with opener shenanigans if they didn’t anticipate calling Balazovic up to help out in relief? It seems very likely that he will finally join the team soon and will likely be seen entering from the bullpen.

TRANSACTIONS After appearing in a game Monday for the FCL Twins, IF Austin Martin continued his rehab assignment with the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. The St. Paul Saints were assigned 3B Seth Gray from Wichita. The Cedar Rapids Kernels sent RHP Owen Griffith on a rehab assignment with the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL Iowa 4, St. Paul 10 Box Score Jordan Balazovic was the scheduled starter early Tuesday morning, but by game time the Saints went with an opener in Cody Laweryson, before handing it over to Balazovic. Laweryson pitched into the second inning, but his pitch count soared and after recording two outs, gave up a three-run homer to end his outing. Balazovic then came on and gave up a pair of doubles to put another run on the board for the Cubs, before getting his first strikeout to end the second inning. Laweryson went 1 2/3 IP, and was charged with three runs on three hits and two walks, while striking out three on 48 pitches (27 for strikes). Of note from the Saints Broadcast, the talk was of Balazovic coming out of the bullpen, and how the Twins wanted to get him used to that instead of the routine of starting. They may be onto something, even if his usage has been odd this year if that’s the case. Anyway, they might be onto something as Balazovic cruised for the next three innings, allowing just one hit and two walks, while punching out six more Iowa hitters. He finished with one earned run allowed on three hits and two walks, striking out seven total. He still threw 71 pitches, which you’d rather see in about five innings, but made it work. He was 94-96 MPH with his fastball, and dropped in some great breaking balls hitters watched for called third strikes. The Saints offense scored first in the game thanks to International League Player of the Week, Matt Wallner. His double in the first inning left his bat at 106.3 MPH to score Andrew Stevenson, who had led off with a single. In the bottom of the fourth, they cut the Cubs lead to two, when Jose Miranda delivered an RBI double. Almost unfathomably, this was Miranda’s first double since joining the Saints. He added his second in the eighth inning. In the fifth, the Saints loaded the bases with nobody out, and Jair Camargo cashed them all in with his sixth home run of the season, a 447-foot grand slam that put them out front 6-4. After Balazovic’s day was done, Austin Schulfer pitched a scoreless sixth inning, working around three singles thanks to Wallner’s arm in right field, as his bullet cut down a runner at home to keep the inning scoreless. Austin Brice chipped in two scoreless frames, striking out three. In the eighth inning, a single, double, and walk loaded the bases again for the Saints, and this time it was Chris Williams with the moonshot. His 440-foot grand slam made it 10-4 Saints. Oliver Ortega finished it out with a scoreless ninth to send the CHS Field faithful home happy, and ensure Balazovic earned his first career triple-A win. The Saints knocked out 13 hits as a team, with Stevenson (3-for-4, 2 R, 2B), Miranda (2-for-5, R, 2 2B, RBI, K), Williams (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K), and Mark Contreras (2-for-5, R, K) collecting multiple hits. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, San Antonio 6 Box Score The Wind Surge jumped out to an early 5-0 lead after two innings, stringing together a bunch of doubles in both frames. Brooks Lee led off the game with his 17th double of the year, extending his Texas League leading tally. Then it was Yunior Severino and Jake Rucker who followed suit to give them a 2-0 lead before an out was recorded. Pat Winkel later added an RBI single to make it three runs in the first. In the second, Lee got a two-out rally started with his 18th double, Severino drew a walk, then Rucker brought them both in with his second double in the first two frames for the 5-0 lead. Unfortunately for Wichita, they got just two more hits the rest of the way, and San Antonio battled back. Starter Carlos Luna went the first four innings, allowing one run on three hits and three walks, while striking out three. His run allowed came in the fourth on a solo home run. Hunter McMahon delivered a scoreless fifth, but didn’t make it out of the sixth. He was charged with two earned runs on three hits in 1 2/3 innings, striking out one. Jordan Brink went the next 1 1/3 scoreless, allowing one hit and one walk. Regi Grace then made his double-A debut, delivering a scoreless eighth inning to pick up a hold and keep the Wind Surge’s two-run lead intact. He walked one and threw 14 pitches (7 strikes). In the bottom of the ninth Wichita turned to Curtis Taylor, and it didn’t work. Two walks and a hit-batter loaded the bases before Francis Peguero was brought in. His first pitch was sent into center field for a bases-clearing double, and walk-off win for the Missions. Lee (2-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B) and Rucker (2-for-2, R, 2 2B, 4 RBI, BB) led the way for the offense, but what started out white hot, finished ice cold for the team as whole and San Antonio was able to steal game one of their six-game series late. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Dayton 6 (5 innings) Box Score The Kernels series opener against the Dragons was cut a bit short by rain in Dayton, Ohio but it may have been for the best. They fell behind 5-0 after just two innings, as starter Kyle Jones got ambushed from his first pitch. Literally, as it went for a solo home run to begin the bottom of the first inning. From there, a walk, single, and an error made it a 2-0 for Dayton after one. In the second inning, another error led to an RBI single and two-run homer, and the Dragons were in control. Jones went on to finish four innings, allowing those five runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks. On a positive note, he did strike out seven. Malik Barrington came on to start the fifth and allowed one run on two hits, while striking out two. The Cedar Rapids offense managed just two hits in the shortened contest, which came from Emmanuel Rodriguez and Kala’i Rosario. Rosario’s single in the third drove in their only run of the game, scoring Tanner Schobel who walked twice in three at-bats. As a team the Kernels did draw seven walks, but were just 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Right-hander Mike Paredes is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday, taking on former Twins first round draft pick Chase Petty, who has a 0.56 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, and 21 strikeouts for the Dragons in four starts and 16 innings pitched on the season so far. MUSSEL MATTERS Clearwater 10, Fort Myers 5 Box Score Fort Myers starter Develson Aria recorded only one out in this contest, and the Mighty Mussels never recovered. Aria couldn’t find the strike zone, walking five of the first seven hitters of the game and before the inning was over had four earned runs on his ledger. Emergency reliever A.J. Labas managed to keep the damage to just that and added a scoreless second inning, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out three in 1 2/3 innings. Danny Moreno (1 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R (3 earned), BB), Samuel Perez (3 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, K), Johnathan Lavallee (1 1/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, BB), and infielder Mikey Perez (2/3 IP) accounted for the rest of the pitching staff’s innings. The Mighty Mussels' scoring came in just two innings, with three runs in the fourth inning on a Rubel Cespedes RBI double and Alec Sayre two-RBI single, then two in the eighth thanks to a double steal of home and second base, and an RBI single from Cespedes. Jorel Ortega (2-for-3, 2 R, BB, K, SB) and Cespedes (2-for-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K) had multiple hits, and Dylan Neuse chipped in a double. Gilberto Celestino continued his rehab assignment but finished 0-for-4 with three strikeouts. Austin Martin began his rehab assignment playing second base and batting second. He was 0-for-3 with a walk. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 5, FCL Rays 6 Box Score Jack Noble put together a strong start for the Twins, finishing the first five innings, allowing just one run on three hits and three walks, while striking out five. The rehabbing Owen Griffith pitched a scoreless sixth inning, striking out one Down 1-0 at that point, but the Twins offense finally got going in the seventh. A sac fly from Bryan Acuna tied it, then two batters later Anderson Nova put them in front 4-1 with a three-run home run. Unfortunately, the Rays countered with five of their own in the bottom half. Carlos Gutierrez finished the final two innings for the Twins, but gave up those five runs on three hits and a walk while striking out four. Yasser Mercedes was 1-for-2 with a pair of walks out of the leadoff spot. Jose Rodriguez was 1-for-3 with a run scored and a walk. Byron Chourio scored a run and drew two walks in four plate appearances. DOMINICAN DAILY DSL Twins 3, DSL Phillies Red 4 Box Score The Twins got solid pitching for the first five innings, allowing just one run as a team in that timeframe. They were led by starter Adrian Bohorquez who went the first three innings, and recorded all nine of his outs via strikeout. He allowed two runs (one earned) on three hits and a walk. But they weren't able to hold on from there. Oscar Paredes (1 IP), Jeicol Surumuy (2/3 IP, 3 H, K), Jose Ojo (1/3 IP), Leonardo Lugo (2 2/3 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K), and Reynel Garcia (1/3 IP) finished off the rest of the game, with Lugo getting saddled with a blown save and the loss. The lineup managed just six hits, with shortstop Yilber Herrera and first baseman Javier Roman collecting doubles and an RBI. The Twins biggest bonus baby of the year, Ariel Castro, went 1-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout hitting in the three-hole. Catcher Carlos Silva was also 1-for-3 with a walk and two K’s. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Jordan Balazovic, St. Paul Saints (W, 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K) Hitter of the Day - Chris Williams, St. Paul Saints (2-for-4, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2 R, 2 2B #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-2, BB #4 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-5, R, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, R, 2B, RBI, BB, HBP, 2 K #10 - Yasser Mercedes (FCL) - 1-for-2, 2 BB #11 - Austin Martin (Rehab-Fort Myers) - 0-for-3, BB #12 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-2, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-1, BB, K #14 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - W, 3 1/3 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #18 - Jose Rodriguez (FCL) - 1-for-3, R, BB, K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-for-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, 2 K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Iowa @ St. Paul (7:07 PM CDT) - RHP Aaron Sanchez (3-4, 3.72 ERA) Wichita @ San Antonio (7:05 PM CDT) - LHP Aaron Rozek (0-2, 6.11 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Dayton (6:05 PM CDT) - RHP Mike Paredes (2-0, 2.11 ERA) Clearwater @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - RHP C.J. Culpepper (2-2, 2.59 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

The Twins have been letting a lot of winnable games slip away. In terms of what they can do to change that, "improved relief pitching" ranks decidedly second behind "hitting better." But the latter, for now, simply needs to work itself out. The lineup is what it is. The bullpen is more amorphous and fluid. Relief hierarchies are often shifting and – as we've seen – certain spots can be seen as interchangeable. The Twins have been churning through relievers at a high rate with two main goals: keeping fresh arms available to consume innings, and uncovering hidden gems to elevate into bigger roles. The latter focus is growing more urgent as attrition and tribulation strike Minnesota's late-inning stable. While Jhoan Duran and Jorge López have generally been rock solid, stability is elusive elsewhere. Griffin Jax is continually fumbling in the bag in big spots. Caleb Thielbar and Jorge Alcalá are on the injured list. Emilio Pagán is ... Emilio Pagán. The Twins are experiencing an early payoff with one of their sleeper gambles, as Brock Stewart blossoms into a high-leverage performer. They're hoping they've got something in José De León, too, but the jury's still very much out there. Having already spent those two bullets, what's left? Between the waiver claims, prospects, and wild cards, here are eight internal candidates to join the bullpen, in order of how appealing they are at this moment: 1. Oliver Ortega, RHP The Twins claimed Ortega off waivers from the Angels in January, then DFA'ed him four days later, outrighting him to Triple-A after he went unclaimed. A nifty bit of roster maneuvering, and the result is that Ortega stands ready in the minors as a 26-year-old with considerable big-league experience. In his first appearance for the Saints, on April 2nd, Ortega gave up two runs in one inning. Then, he spent a month on the injured list. Since being activated on May 3rd, he has allowed zero runs on three hits in 7 ⅓ innings. I'm not sure how much upside Ortega really offers – a Stewart-esque emergence is probably wishful thinking – but he throws hard and he's a solid piece of established depth. Last year with the Angels he posted a 3.71 ERA in 34 innings. The Twins would need to make room to re-add him to the 40-man roster. 2. Jordan Balazovic, RHP Balazovic's comeback campaign got off to a rocky start in spring training, but now – after a slight delay – it does seem to be coming together. The big righty has looked very good at Triple-A, registering a 3.18 ERA and 12.3 K/9 rate in 22 ⅔ innings. He has allowed 17 hits and only two home runs. His usage has been interesting. After building up at first with some short-burst outings, the Twins have basically stretched Balazovic out to the point where he's throwing 75 pitches and 3-to-4 innings each fifth or sixth day as a general cadence. They're clearly not grooming him for a traditional starting role, but Balazovic could easily enter the fold as a multi-inning power arm, which has immense value in today's game. Of course, that's putting the cart before the horse. We're talking about a month's worth of good performance from a pitcher who struggled mightily in Triple-A throughout last year. But before that, he was widely viewed as the Twins' best pitching prospect. At 24, he looks ready, and since he's already on the 40-man roster it's a simple logistical arrangement.. With his outstanding performance in St. Paul, Balazovic may be punching his ticket to the majors. (And yes, as always, the pun was intended.) 3. Brent Headrick, LHP By now Headrick is familiar – he's made a strong impression as an out-of-nowhere 40-man roster addition during the offseason who splashed onto the scene in April with some very strong long-relief outings. There's much to like about Headrick. He's handled everything that's been thrown at him with aplomb, rising from Single-A to the majors in a seamless flurry. He's got legitimate bat-missing stuff from the left side – especially valuable with Caleb Thielbar down and Jovani Moran failing to inspire confidence. The reason Headrick isn't higher on this list is simply because the Twins seem committed to keeping him stretched as a starter, which is understandable given the attrition their rotation has faced. He's a nice piece to have around as a long reliever, but as we've seen, that's a tough practical proposition on the roster. 4. Blayne Enlow, RHP Enlow was, ironically, the player who got designated for assignment when the Twins claimed Ortega back in January. It appeared the front office was giving up on its very first pitching development project – a high school star snagged with a big bonus in their inaugural draft (2017). It's been a winding road for Enlow, who was derailed by Tommy John surgery and the lost pandemic year. Maybe that's why he was able to pass through waivers and stay in the organization, much to the Twins' favor. Back at Double-A, he's been outstanding in a starting role, posting a 3.28 ERA and 47-to-10 K/BB ratio in 35 ⅔ innings. For now the Twins are keeping him in such a regimen – his last time out he threw 81 pitches, striking out 10 over 5 ⅓ innings of one-run ball. As we've established, starting depth is a good thing, but in Enlow's case, converting back to the bullpen offers the fastest and realest chance to make a short-term impact. The Twins could consider moving the 24-year-old up to Triple-A for a relief crash course ahead of a shot in the majors. 5. Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP SWR is in the same category as Enlow, in that he's currently being treated as a standard starter but could have a quicker and more beneficial path to the majors via the bullpen. In Woods Richardson's case, the Twins might be more hesitant to enact such a role change – he's only 22, and still developing – but his stuff isn't really playing as a starter, as evidenced by a 6.49 ERA. Woods Richardson is on the 40-man roster. That creates a bit more urgency in finding a way you can use him, as opposed to dedicating more pure development time in the minors. His stuff is verifiably good but he doesn't seem to be quite harnessing it in the current role. It would be easier to set that aside and stay patient if Woods Richardson didn't have the clear potential to help address the major-league team's needs in a different capacity. 6. Cody Laweryson, RHP The former 19th-round draft pick was mentioned by Cody Pirkl among his "deep dive" bullpen options during the weekend, and I'm inclined to list him here as well. As CP noted, Laweryson lacks the attributes of a prototypical high-caliber relief weapon – he doesn't throw that hard or wow you with his arsenal – but has consistently gotten results at every level thanks to a quirky delivery and pinpoint command. I dunno, maybe some sort of Pat Neshek magic going on here. Laweryson is 25 and has the ability to provide length, routinely tossing multiple innings. 7. Ronny Henriquez, RHP He bears mentioning because he's on the 40-man roster, but Henriquez – acquired alongside Isiah Kiner-Falefa in the Mitch Garver trade – has shown little to suggest he's ready to make a positive impact on the big-league club. Since getting a late start due to a spring elbow injury, Henriquez has scuffled at St. Paul, allowing eight earned runs in 9 ⅓ innings for a 7.36 ERA. Right now he looks more like a potential DFA candidate than impact reinforcement. 8. Josh Winder, RHP The same, sadly, can be said about Winder, who is also occupying a 40-man roster spot and spinning his wheels at Triple-A. He has a 9.69 ERA for the Saints and his control – such a key component of his previous success – has gone totally amiss. It's hard to believe Winder is fully healthy, because he doesn't resemble the pitcher we saw early last year, prior to the persistent shoulder issues. The Twins don't have the luxury of being very patient. Winder is 26 and showing no positive signs. Other players – relievers, specifically – are vying for spots on the 40-man roster. That includes Ortega, Enlow, and Laweryson, who we've mentioned here, as well as Austin Brice, who was recently signed to a minor-league deal and brings a ton of MLB experience.

TRANSACTIONS RHP Austin Brice signed to a Minor League contract and assigned to St. Paul INF Edouard Julien recalled by Twins Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Columbus 5 Box Score Connor Sadzeck: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Andrew Stevenson (2-for-5, 2B), Mark Contreras (2-for-5, R) The Saints suffered a close loss on Saturday. Used intermittently since the 2018 season, the Twins brought back the opener, just for one day, sending reliever Connor Sedzeck out first ahead of Jordan Balazovic. Sadzeck was perfect, striking out the side in order, but Balazovic wasn’t as decisive, allowing a duo of runs to score over four frames of work. Still, his command—typically unavailable or as missing as the Vikings’ Ed Thorp trophy—was solid; he didn’t allow a walk for the first time since April 25th. St. Paul’s bats couldn’t find similar fortune, though. Facing rehabbing big leaguer Triston McKenzie, the Saints spun themselves into knots, never cracking his code for the three innings he was on the mound. But there were 18 more outs to avoid once he left. Could they attack the Clippers’ bullpen with enough ferocity to win? No, but they did try. The effort reached its apex in the 6th when a sudden attack plated a trio of runs, leading to a one-run lead with three frames remaining. It appeared that favor had moved to their advantage. And yet it disappeared just as quickly. Josh Winder’s opening four-pitch walk prophesied the rest of the inning—a grueling, tragic showing emblematic of the fleeting nature of luck in baseball. Or, in less flowery language, the Clippers scored twice. That sealed the match. Columbus scored a final unnecessary run as the Saints attempted to claw their way from the depths without success. Jose Miranda walked three times on Saturday; he has never walked more than twice in a game in his professional career. Brayan Rocchio was the Clippers’ best prospect on Saturday, and he singled and walked in four plate appearances. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 2, Arkansas 8 Box Score Aaron Rozek: 5 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Yoyner Fajardo (4-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R), Jake Rucker (2-for-4, 2 RBI, BB), Alex Isola (2-for-4) An explosive 10th inning sank Wichita’s chances of winning on Saturday. Once a pitcher’s duel, eventually a blowout, the Wind Surge started with almost six brilliant innings of pitching from Aaron Rozek before a deeply unusual 10th inning ended any potential they had to escape with a victory. But first, the great success: Rozek. The 27-year-old Burnsville native entered the game with ghastly numbers—truly scary amounts of earned runs—but shook off any pressure one could feel from such negativity. He was brilliant. His eight strikeouts were the most he achieved in an outing since May 12th of last season. His two hits allowed were the lowest of all his starts in 2023. Arkansas brought pitching to the ballpark as well, though. An early Wichita run did not phase the Travelers, and the following innings of ball slowly melted the game to an equilibrium stalemate. It all fell apart in the 10th. Reliever Curtis Taylor hit two, walked another, allowed a batter to reach on a fielder’s choice, struck out a batter, and waved goodbye to the match with unusual flair: Denny Bentley then allowed four runs to score, giving Taylor the rare zero hits/four earned runs stat line. The top of the Wind Surge lineup did their job marvelously, earning eight of Wichita’s 10 hits; Yoyner Fajardo alone collected four. The issue: no one south of Anthony Prato could earn a knock, forcing the Wind Surge to end rallies before they could become runs. The Travelers’ best prospect in the game was outfielder Jonatan Clase, who tripled in five plate appearances. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 1, Peoria 5 Box Score Jordan Carr: 4 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jefferson Morales (2-for-3, R) Ineffective bats burned the Kernels on Saturday. Three hits were all Cedar Rapids could offer to support their pitching staff. Two came from Jeferson Morales. They did add three walks—silver linings especially dull—but this was a shockingly weak effort from a team with the third-worst OPS in the Midwest League. It didn’t matter too much: the Chiefs blitzed starter Jordan Carr for one run in the second and two in the third to hand their pitchers a lead that remained well-sealed and protected. The closest the Kernels got to affecting the lock was in the sixth, following a run-scoring fielder’s choice that placed two on with one out. Tanner Schobel then flew out, Kala’i Rosario struck out, and the rally vanquished into nothingness. Victor Scott II of Peoria stole his 30th ****ing base of the season (I know I can’t say that, but good lord, that’s insane). Catcher and definitely-not-a-thief, Jimmy Crooks, was the best prospect playing for the Chiefs on Saturday; he singled and walked in five trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 4, Lakeland 3 (7 Innings) Box Score Cory Lewis: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Andrew Cossetti (3-for-4, 2B, RBI) The Mighty Mussels exited victorious on Saturday in a weather-shortened match. Cory Lewis was tremendous again, effectively dicing through Lakeland’s offense with the precision of a hurler well-seasoned and wise. His fastball/slider combo proved confounding, mysterious, leading to 22 total swinging strikes out of just 80 pitches—an absurd 28% swinging strike rate usually only reserved for the Josh Haders of the world. His only mistakes were the common errors of man: two runs scored via two separate throwing blunders from catcher Andrew Cossetti . Fortunately, Cossetti could translate his defensive miscues into an offensive force. The catcher continued his terror at the plate, knocking around three hits—one nearly 400-foot double—to push his season OPS to 1.036. The Florida State League is supposed to favor pitchers. It’s very likely that last month’s Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month could repeat the honor. Unsavory weather paused the game following the top of the 7th, and the umps soon ended the night, handing the Mighty Mussels their 22nd win of the season. Lakeland is an affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, and their best prospect—shortstop Peyton Graham—collected a pair of hits and scored a run. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Rozek Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Yoyner Fajardo PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 0-0, 2 BB #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-5, 3 K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #14 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K #19 - Yunior Severino (Wichita) - 1-5 K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Columbus (12:05 PM) - RHP Randy Dobnak Arkansas @ Wichita (1:05 PM) - RHP Travis Adams Peoria @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - RHP Alejandro Hidalgo Fort Myers @ Lakeland (12:00 PM) - TBD\

Even though we’re less than two months into the minor league season, we’re getting to the point where sample sizes for prospects start to require more serious discussion in terms of what comes next. Whether the organization decides to reward them with a promotion to the game’s next level is very much up in the air. But at the very least, the players are getting the attention of the Twins’ top-brass. Here are three players that should be in the conversation when the time comes to adjust the competition level. Pierson Ohl (High-A Cedar Rapids Kernels) After being drafted in the 14th-round of the 2021 draft, Ohl made only one appearance for the Florida complex league. But before that, he was a three-year starter for Grand Canyon University, where he started a total of 35 games. He had a career ERA of 2.99 in college, and while he didn’t get the fanfare of some other college arms in that draft class, he showed some strengths that led him to a professional career. In his final collegiate season, Ohl threw just over 100 innings of 2.60 ERA ball and averaged just over a strikeout per inning. Baseball America liked his plus-changeup and usable curveball, saying he was “the textbook example of a pitcher thriving on pitchability to compensate for a below-average fastball.” Without the comfort of a big heater, Ohl had to develop his off-speed as a swing-and-miss offering. He’s always been a pitcher with strong control, averaging just 1.3 walks per nine innings at GCU. That has carried over to professional ball, and has even reached new heights in his second year with the Twins Organization (0.69 BB/9). All in all, Ohl has a 2.77 ERA with a 25% strikeout rate and just two walks in the season’s first month. Yes, that’s a small sample, but players with three or more seasons at the collegiate level under their belts tend to progress quickly – or not at all. If Ohl keeps pitching like he has thus far, a promotion to Double-A Wichita is a reasonable jump since he’s going to turn 24-years-old later this summer. Blayne Enlow (Double-A Wichita Wind Surge) There was much ballyhoo in January when the Twins placed Enlow on outright waivers. He was the odd man out when the club needed to make room on the 40-man roster for the newly-acquired Oliver Ortega. The logic behind the decision was sound, as the team needed to bring in some competition for their bullpen spots, and Enlow was still easing back into his development after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2021. He had become somewhat of an afterthought on the depth chart, but many were still disappointed to see him cut from the roster. After all, he was drafted in the third round of the 2017 draft and was touted as a first-round talent that only slipped due to signability concerns. The Twins were able to give him an over-slot offer after saving some funds by taking Royce Lewis first overall. They liked Enlow for his lethal curveball and his big-league starter upside coming out of high school. Now in 2023, he’s starting to show flashes of that potential in the upper-minors. Through seven starts with Double-A Wichita, the 24-year-old right-hander has a solid 3.28 ERA, but he’s striking out 31.8% of opponents and limiting his walks back to the levels he was showing pre-surgery. He had a rough go results-wise upon returning to the hill last season, especially when it came to control (11.6% walk rate), so it’s nice to see him button this up so far in 2023 with just a 6.8% walk rate. Now that more time has passed since his procedure, he’s showing why fans were worried about another team claiming him when he was outrighted. He’s benefitted from adding a pitch to his repertoire – something he has in common with a handful of arms on the Twins’ staff. “Like several other Twins pitchers, he’s added a sweeper to the mix this year, giving him five usable offerings and some potential for untapped upside as he gets more comfortable with it,” Aaron Gleeman said in a recent piece for The Athletic. “Durability and consistency will be key, but Enlow is still young enough to get back on the prospect map.” Jordan Balazovic (Triple-A St. Paul Saints) The former fifth-round pick in the 2016 draft has lost some of his luster since being a back-end Top 100 prospect a few years ago. He battled various injuries, most notably a left knee injury that affected his delivery for much of last season. He was then sidelined for the first few weeks of spring training after breaking his jaw in an off-field incident. It was a real punch to the face for the 24-year-old, both figuratively and literally. But Balazovic has found a way to put the past behind him, and has had an impressive first month at Triple-A with the Saints. On the year, he has a 2.89 ERA across 18 ⅔ innings pitched. He has made eight appearances (three starts), and seems to be the ideal candidate for the Twins’ desire to find a crop of arms to be bulk relievers. If all goes well, he’ll get a promotion to the major league club as a low-leverage reliever that can sop up innings if a starter departs early, or if the score gets out of reach for either team. And by all accounts, all is going well so far for Balazovic. His strikeout numbers are strong (12.5 K/9) thanks to a very strong 14.6% swinging-strike rate, and he’s only allowed one home run, which was his biggest crux in 2022 when he allowed 20 bombs. Scouts praise his curveball as his best offering, and his splitter draws solid marks, as well. If he can limit the damage done against his fastball, he’ll take the next step as an MLB-ready arm entering the prime seasons of his career. What do you think? Are we going to see any of these three at the next level in 2023? Who else has impressed you enough to deserve a promotion? Let us know what you think in the comment section below.

What does it take for a starting pitching prospect to torpedo off of global Top 100 prospect lists aside from injury? Jordan Balazovic showed us in 2022, when he spent his entire season in Triple-A St. Paul allowing 2.55 HR/9 innings, and finishing with a 7.39 ERA in just over 70 innings. It was quite the uphill battle to regain the lost prospect status, and that was before he suffered a broken jaw during an off-field altercation at the beginning of spring training, resulting in him being the first player sent out of Major League camp. Fortunately, since returning to the mound, Balazovic has shown that he has the talent to wipe away the past. The Twins appear to have changed their view on their 2016 fifth-round pick. He began the season as a traditional reliever and has since moved back to making scheduled starts for the Saints. The Twins remain consistent in saying that they look at Balazovic as more of a potential bullpen piece for the MLB roster this season despite his starter’s workload thus far. If that’s the case, Balazovic is nearing the point where he’s more than deserving of a look. It’s been a small sample thus far in 2023 for Balazovic, but it’s hard not to be impressed. In 18 2/3 innings, the 6’5 right-hander has posted a 33.8% K rate and a 2.89 ERA with matching peripherals. Most notably, he’s allowed just one homer after struggling with the long ball in 2022. His walks have been uncharacteristically high at 14.3%, but it’s the only real blemish on his otherwise dominant line to begin 2023. Balazovic is currently built up to around 70 pitches per outing and has been able to maintain his mid-to-high-90s velocity along the way. He has secondaries to face off against hitters on both sides of the plate between his slider and splitter, though it's worth noting that during his last outing hitters did a decidedly better job of staying on him in his fourth inning. It's possible he's just destined for a bullpen role at this point rather than starting. The Twins have been churning multiple bullpen spots to begin the season, and while the bullpen performance has been acceptable as a whole, they’ve had some relievers struggle mightily. Unfortunately, Jorge Alcala appears to be a husk of his pre-elbow injury self, as his velocity remains down 2+ mph, and he continues to allow a barrage of homers. Cole Sands had an opportunity to stake his claim to a bullpen role on Saturday and subsequently allowed five walks in mop-up duty. Simeon Woods Richardson and Brent Headrick likely need to maintain their Triple-A starting jobs at this point due to the injuries to the MLB rotation. Balazovic conveniently is on the 40-man roster already as well. There are a few ways the Twins could use Balazovic. He’s built up to fill a true bulk reliever role, but that spot has been rarely utilized so far this season and regardless of how well he pitches, it would remain a revolving door with whatever pitcher filling it being optioned immediately after each appearance. They also appear to be dead set on the struggling Jorge Alcala being a multi-inning reliever, and they’ve declined to send him right back to St. Paul following his outings so far. If they want to give him a chance to cement himself onto the big league roster, they could simply send Alcala down to see if he can right the ship while giving Balazovic a chance to snag that job. He wouldn’t be so stretched to fill multiple innings and can have a real opportunity to work his way up the bullpen hierarchy. Whatever the Twins decide for his role, Balazovic is at the doorstep of his Major League debut. His main competition if Sands or Alcala are optioned back to St. Paul is likely Ronny Henriquez fresh off a rehab assignment and Josh Winder who has been an absolute disaster since being moved to the bullpen. Having just thrown over 70 pitches Sunday, it may be a few days until Balazovic is available to throw again. When that day comes, should he get the call?

TRANSACTIONS The Saint Paul Saints transferred SS Alex De Goti to the development list, activated 3B Andrew Bechtold from the temporary inactive list, and were sent RHP Ronny Henriquez from the Minnesota Twins on a rehab assignment. RHP Matthew Swain was placed on the temporary inactive list at Cedar Rapids, and the Kernels were assigned RHP Gianluca Dalatri from the FCL Twins in his place. The Fort Myers Mighty Mussels placed RHP Tomas Cleto on the injured list and transferred CF Luis Baez to the development list. In their place, they were assigned RHP Jarret Whorff and SS Rafael Cruz from the FCL Twins. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 11, Indianapolis 3 Box Score The Saints jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, when Edouard Julien led off the game by getting hit by a pitch, and was promptly driven in by a double off the bat of Michael Helman, whom you’ll be hearing from repeatedly in this summary. Starter Jordan Balazovic continued to trend in the right direction, though he probably would have liked to have gone deeper into this one. He allowed no runs on three hits in his four innings, exiting a bit early as his pitch count got run up to 77 (45 for strikes). He did strike out five but his first win at the Triple-A level still eludes him. The top of St. Paul’s lineup got to work again in the third inning, as Edouard Julien followed Tony Wolter’s walk with a single to put multiple runners on base, and Helman brought them all home with his fourth home run in 15 games with the Saints this season to make it 4-0. In the fourth Helman’s bases-loaded single scored the first run of the inning, before Trevor Larnach's double emptied them to make it 8-0. They tacked on a single run in the seventh thanks to a Mark Contreras RBI single, and Chris Williams punctuated their scoring outburst with a two-run bomb in the eighth. Helman finished 3-for-5, a triple shy of the cycle, and drove in five runs in the game. More than half his hits on the season have gone for extra bases, and speed is still showing up as he has also stolen five bases so far on the year. Joining Helman in the multi-hit club were Julien (2-for-2, 3 R, 2 BB), Larnach (2-for-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, K), Williams (2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K), and Contreras (2-for-5, 2B, RBI). After Balazovic’s exit, Patrick Murphy delivered two scoreless innings to pick up the win. He allowed one hit and two walks. Connor Sadzeck allowed three earned runs on two hits and three walks in 1 2/3 innings, striking out two. Oliver Ortega finished off the blowout with 1 1/3 frames, allowing one hit, walking one, and striking out one. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 5, Frisco 4 (10 innings) Box Score The RoughRiders struck first against Wind Surge starter Aaron Rozek, as he gave up a solo home run and RBI single in the second inning. He went on to finish 4 1/3 innings, being charged with those two runs on five total hits and no walks, while striking out four. Wichita had taken the lead 4-2 at that point, as Pat Winkel tied the game at two in the top of the fourth with a two-run home run, before a Brooks Lee RBI double and DeShawn Keirsey Jr. RBI single in the fifth put them out front 4-2. In the bottom of the fifth, a leadoff double preceded a groundout before Rozek was replaced by Hunter McMahon from the bullpen. He allowed an inherited runner to score, before giving up one of his own, and the game was tied back up at four. Tyler Beck came on in relief to start the sixth and delivered three scoreless frames to keep the game tied. He allowed just one hit and struck out four in the outing. Still tied after nine, this one went to extra innings, which the Wind Surge wasted no time taking advantage of. In the top of the 10th with the speedy Will Holland starting on second base, Yoyner Fajardo hit a ball deep enough to center to move him to third, before Lee’s groundout to second base allowed him to come home for a 5-4 lead. Righthander Jordan Brink delivered a scoreless ninth and was back out for the 10th, looking to seal the win. After a strikeout and a flyout, the tying run was on third base when a pitch got away from catcher Pat Winkel. He was quick enough to track it down and feed it back to Brink in time to beat the runner home, and the out at the plate ended the game. Brink picked up his first win of the season with his two scoreless innings, allowing just a hit batter and striking out three. Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5, RBI, 3 K, 2 SB) and Yunior Severino (2-for-5, R, 2B, 2 K, SB) each had multiple hits in the victory. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 7, Quad Cities 3 Box Score The 19-year-old Alejandro Hidalgo took the mound for the Kernels on Tuesday, looking to build on his last outing where he gave up just three hits and struck out nine in 5 1/3 innings. He wasn’t nearly that dominant again, but he kept his team in the game with a four-inning effort. He allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks, while striking out just two. When he left the game, the Kernels had built a three-run lead. Three consecutive singles in the third inning put their first run on the scoreboard before they busted out the lumber in the fourth. Misael Urbina started the four-run outburst with a double, Jose Salas traded places with him after a double of his own, and then Jeferson Morales and Keoni Cavaco went back-to-back with home runs, making it 5-2 Kernels. They tacked on two more in the fifth inning after an RBI double from Tanner Schobel was followed by an RBI single from Urbina, and that was all the scoring Cedar Rapids would need. The bullpen quartet of Niklas Rimmel (2 IP, H, BB, 2 K), John Wilson (1 IP, 3 H, ER, K), John Stankiewicz (1 IP, H, K), and Regi Grace (1 IP, H) kept the River Bandits at bay for the final five innings. Rimmel picked up his third win of the season. Urbina led the offense with three hits in five at-bats, including a double. Noah Miller finished 1-for-4 with a run scored, a walk, and stole two bases. Emmanuel Rodriguez recorded his first hit since returning from the injured list. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Tampa 7 Box Score The Mighty Mussels jumped all over the Tarpons early in this one, taking a 5-0 lead after two innings. They scored three in the first behind a sac fly from Carlos Aguiar, and RBI doubles from Ricardo Olivar and Rafael Cruz, freshly bumped up from the FCL Twins roster. In the second, it was an RBI groundout from the reigning Florida State League Player of the Month, Andrew Cosetti, and an RBI single from Aguiar that extended their lead. The Tampa lineup finally got to Fort Myers starter Jose Olivares in the top of the fourth, getting a two-run home run to cut the lead to three. Olivares finished the fourth, allowing those two runs on three hits and three walks in total, striking out two in the start. The Mighty Mussels got one back in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI single from Cosetti, making it 6-2. Gabriel Yanez chipped in two innings of relief, allowing an unearned run on two hits while striking out three, before giving way to A.J. Labas to begin the top of the seventh. Before it was over the Tarpons had taken a 7-6 lead as five straight hitters reached base, with a two-run homer and an error included. Labas came back on for the eighth and delivered a one-two-three inning to give his lineup a chance. They did so in the bottom half. Alec Sayre drew a one-out walk before coming around to score on Jorel Ortega’s second triple of the season. Ortega then scampered home on a wild pitch to give Fort Myers the lead 8-7. Lefty Zach Veen was summoned to close the game out for the home team and set the Tarpon lineup down in order, including a strikeout to punctuate the win and pick up his second save of the season. Ortega led the offense by reaching base in all five of his plate appearances, finishing 4-for-4 with a triple and a walk, scoring four runs, and driving in one. Joining him with multiple hits on the game were Danny De Andrade (2-for-4, R, 2B, BB, K) and Olivar (2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, 2 K). Cosetti and Aguiar each drove in two runs. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day - Tyler Beck, Wichita Wind Surge (3 IP, H, 4 K) Hitter of the Day - Michael Helman, St. Paul Saints (3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, K) PROSPECT SUMMARY #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-for-5, R, 2B (12), 2 RBI #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 3 K #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 2-for-2, 3 R, 2 BB #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, 2 K #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 SB #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-5, R, 2B, RBI, K WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Indianapolis @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CDT) - TBD Wichita @ Frisco (11:05 AM CDT) -RHP Chad Donato (0-3, 12.79 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:30 PM CDT) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez (3-1, 1.10 ERA) Tampa @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM CDT) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games!

Before we get started with the daily minor-league update, we're trying to come up with as many Minnesotans in pro baseball there are. Click here to see what players we have, and let us know in those comments if we missed someone. TRANSACTIONS While we knew it was coming, the Twins officially placed RHP Tyler Mahle on the Injured List and recalled RHP Louie Varland. RHP Ronny Henriquez was sent to Fort Myers to start his rehab assignment. RHP Alex Phillips was placed on the 7-Day IL by Wichita. SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Nashville 3 Box Score While it wasn’t perfect, Jordan Balazovic made his first start of the season. He went 3 1/3 innings and was charged with one run on one hit. He walked three and struck out six batters. Things looked much better after three innings. He walked the first two batters he faced in the fourth frame before getting a ground out and handing things over to Jose De Leon who allowed one of the inherited runners to score. De Leon worked 3 2/3 innings out of the bullpen. He was charged with two runs on five hits. He walked one and struck out two batters. Jorge Alcala pitched the eighth inning and got the first two outs of the ninth frame. He walked leadoff man, Maple Grove’s Isaac Collins, to start the ninth. Then he struck out Monte Harrison and Blake Perkins. However, Eddy Alvarez walked, bringing up slugger Jon Singleton as the go-ahead run. Toby Gardenhire went to newly-promoted southpaw Kody Funderburk. On three pitches, the former two-way player at Dallas Baptist got a strikeout to end the threat and the game. Alcala gets the Win, and Funderburk recorded his first Triple-A save. Following the game, Funderburk told Twins Daily that tried to keep it simple in the big moment. "It was a really exciting experience to come into that situation. (I) just tried to focus on doing my job and getting the lefty out." The Saints took the lead in the third inning. Elliot Soto doubled, and Edouard Julien followed by switching places with him. Soon after, Alex Kirilloff singled in Julien and the Saints had the 2-0 lead. However, the Saints were down 3-2 going into the bottom of the eighth inning. Kirilloff singled, and Kyle Garlick walked. Andrew Stevenson pinch ran for him. Matt Wallner came to the plate and came through with a two-run double. Soon after, Wallner took off for third base on a Lucas Erceg wild pitch. Catcher Payton Henry threw the ball away and Wallner scored with the fifth run of the game. Kyle Farmer went 0-for-3 with a walk and two strikeouts in his second rehab game with the Saints. Kirilloff went 2-for-4. Michael Helman went 3-for-4 and is now hitting .348 since his return to St. Paul. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 3, Northwest Arkansas 1 Box Score Last week, the Wind Surge gave up 53 runs over the final five games of the week against Springfield. So what the pitching staff did in this game is greatly appreciated. Lefty Aaron Rozek had his best game of the season. He gave up one run on four hits over 5 2/3 innings. He struck out two, but he walked none. The performance was good for him him, but it was also good for his younger brother! Back to Aaron Rozek's performance... after the game, he told Twins Daily a little bit about what was working for him. "Cutter was the go-to pitch tonight for sure. (I) was able to use that in any count. Think the biggest thing for me was being able to just go deeper into the game to allow our bullpen to relax a bit, and ultimately just giving our team a chance to win." The Burnsville native continued, regarding his early-season struggles and what he needed to focus on in the game on Wednesday. "No huge adjustments were made, just fine-tuning, I think. Being able to throw pitches in better locations... obviously not going to blow guys away with velocity, so have to move the ball around more than others would." Next, Tyler Beck worked 2 1/3 innings of one-hit ball and was credited with the Win to improve to 3-0. Alex Scherff recorded his second save of the season. He gave up a hit and a walk, and another batter reached on an error. However, Scherff got a double play - the Wind Surge’s third of the game - and ended the game with the score at 3-1. The Wind Surge tied the game at one in the second innings when Yoyner Fajardo singled to score Pat Winkel. Then in the seventh inning, the Wind Surge took the lead. Brooks Lee led off with a single. He advanced to second when DaShawn Keirsey reached on an error by the shortstop. However, the next two batters got out. Winkel walked to load the bases, and then Anthony Prato came through with a huge hit. He lined a single to center that scored Lee and Keirsey and gave the Wind Surge a lead that they didn’t relinquish. Lee led the way by reaching base four times. He was 3-for-4 with a walk and a double. Prato went 2-for-4 with a walk and clearly the biggest hit of the day. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, South Bend 5 Box Score The Kernels had an afternoon game in South Bend against the Cubs. The game was scoreless through the first five innings, but then the two teams combined for 14 runs over the final four innings, and fortunately, the Kernels scored nine of them. Let’s start with the pitching. Alejandro Hidalgo made the start. The 19-year-old acquired in the Gio Urshela trade struck out nine batters over 5 1/3 scoreless innings. He gave up just three hits and one walk. The outing dropped his season ERA to just 1.29. Most important, since his Kernels/Twins debut when he gave up six walks in just 1 2/3 innings, he has just four walks in 12 1/3 innings over his next three outings. On the other side, Brandon Birdsell tossed five shutout innings for the Cubs. He gave up just three hits and two walks, and he struck out five Kernels. Why does the Birdsell name sound familiar? Maybe you follow Texas Tech baseball really closely? Or, maybe you remember that the Twins selected him in the 11th round of the 2021 draft and offered him as much as they had available above slot but within their allotted amount. Instead, he went back to school and the Cubs made him their fifth-round pick a year ago. He didn’t debut until this season. He has now made five starts for South Bend and is 1-0 with a 0.44 ERA. In 20 2/3 innings, he has given up one run on seven hits. He’s walked eight and struck out 18 batters. And then came the runs. The Kernels scored first with two runs in the sixth inning. Kala’i Rosario hit his first home run of the year, and it was followed by Jose Salas’s first home run as a member of the Twins organization. In the seventh frame, Charles Mack picked up his first hit of the season, a double that drove in Keoni Cavaco (who had reached on a double). John Wilson walked two but got the final two outs of the sixth inning while he maintained the shutout. Unfortunately, in the seventh inning, he faced three batters and all three singled. Niklas Rimmel came in and got the first out on a ground out. However, Scott McKeon tripled to drive in two runs to tie the game at three. Rimmel got the next two batters out without allowing McKeon to score. He then worked a perfect eighth frame. That sent us to the ninth inning, and the Kernels busted out. It started out simple enough. Cavaco walked. Ernie Yake came in to run for him. He advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third base, and scored the go-ahead run on a Mack sacrifice fly. Noah Miller struck out for the second out. Then the real fun began. Ben Ross and Tanner Schobel singled. Rosario singled to score Ross. Jose Salas walked to load the bases. Kyle Fedko drove a bases-clearing double to open things up. A wild pitch and a Willie Joe Garry single scored another run and the Kernels had a 9-2 lead. And they needed it. Miguel Rodriguez came in for the ninth and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk, but the Kernels held on to work to a 9-5 win. Rosario led the offense. He went 3-for-4 with the homer and two RBI. Tanner Schobel and Ben Ross each went 2-for-5. For the Northside Cubs readers, Scott McKeon went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Fabian Pertuz and Jacob Wetzel each had two hits. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Dunedin 5 Box Score For six innings, the Mussels offense did nothing. Down 4-0 going to the seventh-inning stretch, Ft. Myers scored one run in the bottom of the seventh. A Dalton Shuffield single scored Ricardo Olivar. In the bottom of the eighth frame, a run double off the bat of Jorel Ortega scored Alec Sayre with the second run. Ortega advanced to third base on the play and scored when the Dunedin catcher tried to pick him off. The Blue Jays added an insurance run in the top of the ninth, but the Mussels made it very interesting in the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, Shuffield walked. Dylan Neuse singled, and Mikey Perez walked to load the bases. Sayre struck out for the inning’s second out. But Twins Daily’s Minor League Hitter of the Month, Andrew Cossetti, came up and walked on five pitches that weren’t near the strike zone. After a pitching change, Ortega came up but struck out to end the game. Young Jose Olivares started and was charged with three runs on seven hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out four batters. Ronny Henriquez came on for the sixth and gave up a run. He started the seventh inning and got two more outs before being replaced by AJ Labas who got out of the seventh and worked a scoreless eighth inning. Juan Mendez gave up the ninth inning insurance run when he walked two and gave up a hit. Henriquez looked solid in his first rehab appearance of the year. Sure, he gave up a run on a hit and two walks in 1 2/3 innings, but that isn’t terribly important. How he looked, how his pitches looked, and then how he responds tomorrow physically is what really is important to the process. His stuff sure looked like it did last year. His fastball sat between 94.4 and 96.3 mph. His slider was between 84.4 and 87.9 mph. His changeup was between 86.8 and 89.6 mph. His slider and changeup both got really good vertical movement, and his changeup had a nice horizontal drop. With how much time he has missed this spring, I would expect his rehab to be very close to the 30 day maximum, and even at that point, I would expect he would be activated and optioned to St. Paul to continue the work. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Alejandro Hidalgo (Cedar Rapids) - 5 1/3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K. Hitter of the Day – Kala’i Rosario (Cedar Rapids) - 3-for-4, BB, HR(1), 2 R, 2 RBI. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the new Twins Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 3-for-4, BB, 2B(9), R, SB(2), E(3) #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 1-for-3, BB, 2B, R, RBI. #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, HR(1), 2 R, RBI, K. #9 - Louie Varland (Minnesota) - 4 2/3 innings, 4 ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 6 K, 87 pitches, 59 strikes. #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-for-4, 2B(6), R, 2 RBI, 2 K. #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, BB, SB, 2 K. #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 3 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 3 BB, 6 K, 60 pitches, 32 strikes. #17 - Ronny Henriquez (Ft. Myers-Rehab) - 1.2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 0 K, 33 pitches, 22 Strikes. #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-5, R. THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Nashville @ St. Paul (6:37 PM CST) - LHP Brent Headrick (0-0, 6.00 ERA) Wichita @ NW Arkansas (7:05 PM CST) - RHP Chad Donato (0-2, 12.54 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ South Bend (6:05 PM CST) - RHP Orlando Rodriguez (2-1, 1.59 ERA) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (5:35 PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews (3-0, 3.10 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!

Those Next Minnesota Twins consisted of position players Jose Miranda, Royce Lewis, Mark Contreras, Jermaine Palacios, Caleb Hamilton, and Matt Wallner. Joining them from the pitching side were Jhoan Duran, Josh Winder, Cole Sands, Yennier Cano, Louie Varland, Ronny Henriquez, and Simeon Woods Richardson. 11 of those names were profiled in this same column before the start of last season, missing out on only Hamilton and Wallner, as the Twins minor league depth was relied upon in a “break glass in case of emergency” fashion due to the well-chronicled injury issues on the big league roster. Many things will have to go wrong, or right depending on which side of the glass half full or empty pendulum you swing, for the Twins to get even close to that number again during the 2023 season. Most of those 2022 debuts are now firmly-rooted depth on the 40-man roster, with Duran, Miranda, Sands, and if not for injury, perhaps Henriquez and Winder earning their full-time pinstripes. It is not a question of if a player will make a debut for the Twins in 2023, only when, so who are some of those potential Next Minnesota Twins for 2023? ON THE 40-MAN ROSTER: As mentioned, the Twins' 40-man roster depth is full of players who have already had at least a cup of coffee in the majors, as the set of names available for this category consists of just four players. It omits pitcher Matt Canterino, who is recovering from Tommy John Surgery and will likely not pitch in 2023. The fun thing here is that depth also consists of a lot of the organization's “top prospects,” so the St. Paul Saints are going to be a popular ticket throughout this season (count me in for attending the “They’re One of Us” double bobblehead game on August 29th, featuring Louie Varland and Matt Wallner). Edouard Julien (23 years old on opening day), IF - Twins Daily’s #5 Prospect (Julien made his MLB debut on 4/12 against the Chicago White Sox, going 0-for-2 with a walk.) A prospect darling due to his on-field performance since being drafted in the 18th round in 2019, all Julien has done since becoming a pro is get on base. For almost inexplicable reasons, he spent all of the 2022 season with the Wichita Wind Surge, where he hit .300/.441/.490, leading the Texas League in on-base percentage and then following that up by tapping into even more power in the Arizona Fall League. He took home the Breakout Prospect Award while there, though arguably could have been the MVP as he led the circuit in batting average, on-base percentage, and OPS. He followed that up by impressing with Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic and with the Twins this spring. With injury questions looming around infielders Jorge Polanco and Alex Kirilloff, if the veteran backups the Twins went out and got aren’t holding up their end of the bargain, Julien could be given a shot early. Jordan Balazovic (24), RHP - TD’s #16 Prospect (Balazovic made his MLB debut on 6/18 vs the Detroit Tigers. He came on in relief during the fifth inning, and pitched the next 3 2/3, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk, while striking out two.) Almost everything went wrong for Balazovic during the 2022 season, where he was a borderline top-100 prospect at its outset. Then he was knocked around in triple-A for the entire year and plummeted to the point he’s not even a top 10 prospect for the Twins in our own rankings to start in 2023. I will say that I got to see him in St. Paul late in the 2022 season, and he showed plenty of flashes of what made him so highly regarded in that game, including mid-90’s velocity as a starter, so I’m not giving up on him by any means. Brent Headrick (25), LHP (Headrick made his MLB debut on 4/19 at Fenway Park. He pitched three innings, allowing one run on one hit and two walks, while striking out three.) Added to the 40-man roster in the 2023 offseason after he spent only half of 2022 in double-A, Headrick has impressed the organization this Spring, appearing in three games and striking out 10 in seven innings that were good for a 2.57 ERA. He looks ticketed for the triple-A rotation, which was already crowded, so that says a lot about how the Twins view his potential. He was fantastic with Cedar Rapids last year, going 8-2 with a 2.34 ERA in 15 starts, before finishing the year with double-A and absolutely dominating in two postseason starts, allowing zero earned runs and punching out 19 while walking none in 12 innings. TOP PROSPECTS While this category is a little light this year, that’s because all of that prospect depth I’ve mentioned already got their feet wet last season. That doesn’t mean this section isn’t still exciting, because one name was arguably the top hitter in all of college baseball last season. The other is a former top-five draft pick coming off a stellar resurgence in the Arizona Fall League. Brooks Lee, IF (22) - TD’s #1 Prospect Lee had quite the 2022 season as he transitioned from college to the pros. First, by reinforcing the notion he was a top hitter in his draft class by batting .357/.462/.664 for his father’s Cal Poly squad, getting drafted 8th overall, and finally ending his introduction to pro ball in the double-A playoffs with Wichita. In a little talked-about blurb in his career, he was already familiar with Minnesota, having played for the Willmar Stingers of the Northwoods League during the summer of 2021. In 31 games in the minors last season, he hit .303/.389/.471 overall, clubbing six doubles and four home runs, while striking out in just 14.4% of his plate appearances against a walk rate of 11.5%. All these numbers mean, is he did everything expected of a prospect of his pedigree, and then some, after a long year of baseball. While there are questions about his ability to handle shortstop in the majors, that’s not much of a concern while Carlos Correa is around, and his bat will always be his calling card. He’s perhaps the top hitter prospect the Twins have had since that Mauer guy, and I think you’ll see a lot of similarities in their games when he arrives. If all goes according to plan, he will be in St. Paul in midsummer and just how good he’s hitting, from both sides of the plate, will determine if he forces the issue or not. I just love the swing he put on this pitch for Cedar Rapids last year, and hope to see it at Target Field soon: Austin Martin, IF/OF (24) - TD’s #10 Prospect The caveat here with Martin is he’s been dealing with an elbow issue this spring, and it could end his season with Tommy John surgery before it even starts. While this isn’t as serious for position players as it is for pitchers, it’s still a disappointing cloud to have hanging over him after his excellent showing in the Arizona Fall League to close out his 2022 season. In 90 games with Wichita in 2022, perhaps the best thing Martin did was achieve a .367 on-base percentage. But that came with just a .316 slugging percentage resulting in a sub .700 OPS, hardly impressive for a prospect with his pedigree. This can perhaps be blamed on an altering of his approach in search of power, but if so, it probably should have been abandoned well before it was. Sent to the AFL, Martin appeared to embrace just being himself (not unlike the stories of Byron Buxton and Royce Lewis), and the results he and the Twins had been looking for followed. In 21 games, he batted .374/.454/.482 and stole 10 bases in 11 attempts, being named to the All-AFL team in the process. The parallels to Lewis here are undeniable, unfortunately, the injury part of that is in play as well. MINOR LEAGUE DEPTH: It is some slim pickings again in this category, as veteran and already debuted prospect depth dominates the roster of the St. Paul Saints. It’s likely a fairly well-established pecking order to join the big league club when a need arises at this point. But teams will almost always need a third catcher during the grind of the MLB season, and with St. Paul just miles away from Target Field you never know who may be the guy that is available the day an extra arm is needed across the river. Jair Camargo, C (23) Carmargo is ticketed to start the season with the St. Paul Saints after spending the bulk of his 2022 season with the Wichita. He clubbed 18 home runs in 74 games, including 12 in 46 games with the Wind Surge after a midseason promotion. Listed as a sturdy 5’ 10” and 230 lbs Camargo looks the part of a catcher and utilized his arm strength to throw out 38% of would-be base stealers in double-A. Austin Schulfer, RHP (27) Schulfer was absolutely dominant out of Wichita’s bullpen for the first two months of the 2022 season, amassing seven saves and striking out 30 in 23 innings in his first 15 appearances. That also came with a minuscule 0.39 ERA and 0.65 WHIP before being promoted to St. Paul. He wasn’t nearly as good there for the rest of the season, but it is hard to ignore what he did before then. He should play a big role in the Saints bullpen for all of 2023, and if he’s performing when a fresh arm is needed could find himself spending a lot of time on the Green Line during the season. Michael Helman, IF/OF (26) A typical utility player prospect, Helman has been a swiss army knife for whatever team he has played for since the Twins drafted him in the 11th round back in 2018. He had an OPS of .840 for Wichita last season before being promoted to St. Paul, and is a ready replacement on the Twins bench for the likes of Donovan Solano or Nick Gordon, should they miss any time. He also stands to be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the new bases and pitching rules, as he swiped 40 bags in 45 attempts last season. Cody Laweryson, RHP (24) Laweryson split his 2022 season between Cedar Rapids and Wichita, making appearances as both a starter and reliever at both stops. The fun quirk with his stat lines over the season, was his dominance when thrust into a starting role (0.84 ERA, 0.89 WHIP), but he was also very good coming out of the bullpen (2.25 ERA, 1.06 WHIP) and increased his strikeout rate from 9.9 to 11.1 per 9IP. It will be curious to see if the Twins continue to utilize him in this way, or cut him loose out of the bullpen full-time with Wichita to start the 2023 season. Never know, maybe pretty soon he can do this on the big league stage: DARK HORSES: Now we get to some shots in the dark, or players who could come out of nowhere to make a surprise debut. They might be a well-known name but not that far up the ladder at the start of the season, returning from an injury so they may have been forgotten some, or have a unique pitch or other ability that could pay off big if other areas develop as well. Blayne Enlow, RHP (24) Enlow made it through waivers after being removed from the 40-man roster early this offseason, and I’m hoping the Twins will end up ecstatic about this fact in the near future. Highly regarded coming out of high school, Minnesota was able to keep him away from his commitment to LSU by going over slot in the third round of the 2017 draft. He made three excellent starts and looked to be breaking out for Cedar Rapids to start his 2021 season, before having to undergo Tommy John surgery. Notable about his recovery, however, is he was pitching again in games in less than a year, though those came with perhaps expected struggles. The reins should be off in 2023, and I’m looking for a bounce-back season from the right-hander. Perhaps with a Tyler Duffey-like resurgence out of a bullpen with his big curveball. Connor Prielipp, LHP (22) - TD’s #7 Prospect Yeah, I’m gonna be that guy. In the conversation to go number one overall in the draft before having to undergo Tommy John surgery during the 2021 season, Prielipp slipped to the Twins in the second round in 2022 and is loaded with upside. A left-hander with a mid-90’s fastball and wipeout slider, Prielipp struck out basically everyone he faced in the SEC (15.1K/9IP rate), the big asterisk there being it was just 28 total innings over two seasons. But reading stuff like this is exactly why I’m placing him here: Now, there are absolutely going to be innings and probably other limitations on Prielipp this season, but the pipedream scenario I envision for a debut to happen in 2023 is like that of Chris Sale way back when, where he’s just too good to not utilize as a weapon from the bullpen in a playoff push. These are just some of the names I’d love to see don the new Minnesota Twins uniforms for the first time this season. When do you think any of them will arrive at Target Field? Who are you looking forward to the most even though that answer is Edouard Julien? Who are some of the players you think I may have missed? Let’s play ball!

Last season got off less than ideal for Jordan Balazovic. Due to the lockout, he couldn’t communicate with the organization and entered Spring Training with a knee issue. Despite suggesting he was healthy, he was slow out of the gate and battled ineffectiveness all season long. Even while he turned things around late with the St. Paul Saints, Balazovic finished with a gaudy ERA north of 7.00 across more than 70 innings of work. Just a year removed from being a guy that put up a 3.62 ERA with more than a strikeout per inning at Double-A, Balazovic had turned into a complete pumpkin. The walks ballooned, and while the strikeouts held on, he inexplicably allowed more than two-and-a-half homers per nine innings. It was shocking for a guy who had always been stingy regarding the long ball. Coming into this Spring Training, Balazovic needed to set a new tone. Instead of accomplishing that and impressing the big-league staff, Balazovic got punched square in the jaw. While he contends that it was a surprise and unprovoked attack, there is no denying it was a distraction and could have been avoided by choosing different whereabouts. Instead of impressing the Major League staff, Rocco Baldelli and his coaches sent a message to Balazovic. Sent out of camp as the first cut, all by himself, it is beyond clear where the Twins stand. It’s now or never. Balazovic is not an old prospect, as he will pitch all of this season at 24 years old, but he isn’t viewed the same as he was a year or two ago. After putting up lackluster results all season, Minnesota needs to see more. The starting pitching depth may be better than ever, and with the emergence of talents like Louie Varland and Simeon Woods Richardson, Balazovic has been knocked down in the pecking order. For everyone involved, the hope would be that the message was received loud and clear. It stands to reason that Balazovic wouldn’t have been happy being jettisoned so quickly from big league camp, but there is no time for him to stew on it. As minor league action gets underway on the back fields, Balazovic will again be ticketed to Triple-A. He can start the turnaround by dominating hitters this spring, and we’ll need to take those same efforts with him up to St. Paul. Last season Balazvoic didn’t make his debut until May. He’ll be months ahead this time, assuming the preparation is on track. He can go a long way toward making the impression he wanted to make in Florida by coming out strong. The talent that landed him on national prospect lists isn’t gone, and the knee issues that hampered him a year ago should be in the rearview mirror. Maybe this spring wasn’t a reflection of maturity or anything but a culmination of some bad luck. The 70 innings last year reflect results that Balazovic can’t continue to be tied to, however, and putting up some sparkling numbers again is what he needs to get on track with. As the Twins continue to sort out their depth pitching plans, it would be good for the Canadian to force his way among them. No matter how much depth the Twins have on the mound, more is always a good thing to find. Balazovic represents an opportunity for the organization to see a come up in a big way, and all parties involved would be thrilled to see that outcome. The physical altercation may have hurt more, but Minnesota hopes the mental message hits home harder.

The Twins have three prospects who have tailed off in recent seasons after sitting relatively high in the organizational rankings. Though they don’t share much in regards to their positions or skills, all three have reached a point in their careers where 2023 may reach “make or break” status. Keoni Cavaco The Twins were aiming for upside in 2019 when they selected Cavaco 13th overall, and Cavaco had shot up draft boards due to a stellar 2019 high school season. His raw tools were evident just by watching him connect with the baseball and run the bases. Unfortunately for the Twins, those tools just haven’t translated to professional baseball yet. Cavaco hasn’t progressed above Low-A ball thus far. At age 21, that’s not a huge red flag, as patience is key with high school draft picks. In this case, Cavaco hasn’t done much to force the issue. In his three seasons, he’s failed to reach even league-average offensive output (though this totals just under 800 plate appearances). His 30%+ strikeout rate in each season has not been made up in the on base or slugging department, as he has yet to post an OPS above .633. Cavaco also moved off of shortstop in 2022 to third base, a premium offensive position. He’s tumbled down prospect rankings for some time, but his 2023 season is very important if the 21 year old wants to keep himself in the conversation for the team’s future plans. Aaron Sabato Unlike Cavaco, Aaron Sabato was seen as more of a “safe” pick, though lacking upside because of his build and defensive profile. After simply dominating in two college seasons at North Carolina, the Twins saw a chance to grab a premium bat that could make all other questions irrelevant. The adjustment from college to professional baseball has been difficult thus far. Sabato has flashed the offensive potential the Twins drafted, as he’s been above league average in A and A+ ball. He’s been extremely streaky, and while his on base ability and power continue to carry him, making contact continues to be an issue. Batting average has become far from the standard for valuable offensive players, but Sabato hit .226 in High-A ball for most of 2022 and struggled mightily hitting .179 in his first taste of Double-A action. His strikeout rate has consistently been above 30%. Twins fans know all too well that there’s a point of diminishing returns when it comes to things like on base ability and power making up for average. Sabato walking that tightrope in the low minors raises red flags. With little to no defensive versatility, Sabato’s bat has to carry him in 2023. The power and on base ability appear to be real. The missing piece of the puzzle is the consistency, particularly with contact. If Sabato can find it in 2023, he’ll shoot up through the minors. If not, his prospect status will continue to plummet. Jordan Balazovic Fans have been hearing about Jordan Balazovic for years and continue to do so. Unfortunately it’s been for all the wrong reasons lately. After his prospect stock soared to new heights from 2019 through 2021, it’s all been downhill. While dealing with nagging injuries in 2022, Balazovic got absolutely crushed at Triple-A to the tune of a 7.39 ERA. A good final month improved his numbers and offered hope, but the damage to his prospect status was done. Balazovic had major questions headed into this spring. This of course was before news dropped that Balazovic would be missing time due to an off-field altercation resulting in a broken jaw. Right at the beginning of likely the most important season of his professional career, Balazovic will be playing from behind because of off field choices, and the Twins do not seem pleased in the slightest. In 2023, Jordan Balazovic not only has to make a complete 180 on the field production wise, but it appears he has to win back the trust of the organization that drafted him out of high school in 2016. Time is becoming a factor not because of his age, but because he now takes up a spot on the 40 man roster. As a team that churns through their roster as the Twins do, another year of struggles from Balazovic would put both parties in a difficult situation. It’s safe to say all three names listed have the talent to bounce back in a big way in 2023, and just some minor changes could go a long way. Are there any other prospects coming up on a make or break 2023? Do you agree with the three listed? Let us know below.

TRANSACTIONS C Kyle Schmidt activated (Wichita) INF Ernie Yake placed on 7-day IL (Wichita) OF Trevor Larnach begins rehab assignment (St. Paul) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 2, Louisville 5 Box Score Jordan Balazovic: 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Elliot Soto (2-for-3, R, BB) St. Paul lost quietly to Louisville on Thursday. Jordan Balazovic pitched well, allowing a single earned run with six strikeouts over four innings; that punchout total is good for his second-highest of the season. It’s been an up-and-down year—with far more downs than anyone wished to see—but Balazovic has turned a corner late in the season, and it has been great to see. The bats couldn’t find any momentum, only scratching out two runs off technically old friend Justin Nicolino before shutting down against the Bats’ bullpen. Elliot Soto’s three times on base represented the best of any batter. Both runs scored on a Dalton Shuffield double. Jake Jewell carried the pitching effort, striking out three over 2 ⅓ scoreless innings of work; Brad Peacock tagged in with a shutout frame of his own. Trevor Larnach singled and struck out in his first rehab game. Mike Siani—the 26th ranked prospect in the Reds system—leads the Bats; he singled in four plate appearances. Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 8, Midland 6 Box Score Brent Headrick: 4 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Edouard Julien (2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI), Yunior Severino (2-for-4, RBI, BB), DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (2-for-5), Leobaldo Cabrera (2-for-4, 2 R, BB) Wichita won a barn burner on Thursday. The bats came alive early; Wichita scored five runs off a flurry of hits in the 2nd inning and never looked back. Dillon Tatum, Austin Martin, Edouard Julien, and Yunior Severino all earned an RBI for their efforts. Martin doubled in another run in the 4th inning; Alex Isola singled one home in the 6th. The bullpen carried the day as their incredible effort—spearheaded by scoreless outings from Hunter McMahon and Casey Legumina—saved the game. The collection of arms pitched five innings in relief of Brent Headrick, allowing two runs with six strikeouts. Martin stole his 34th base of the season; DaShawn Keirsey Jr. nabbed his 41st. Tyler Soderstrom—the Athletics’ 2nd ranked prospect according to MLB.com— leads the RockHounds. Soderstrom singled, walked, and scored a pair of runs. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 3 Box Score Travis Adams: 4 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Wander Javier (1) Multi-hit games: Brooks Lee (2-for-4, 2 2B, R) The Kernels won on Thursday to knot the playoff series at 1. No one hitter dominated the batter’s box; Cedar Rapids rode a steady stream of walks—seven of them, to be precise—to five runs, just enough to win the game. The 5th inning proved especially fruitful, as the team scored three runs off a walk, a hit by pitch, and a balk. The team went 0-7 with runners in scoring position. Travis Adams didn’t have his A-stuff; the righty allowed six hits and three runs over four innings, with runs scoring in three separate innings. Fortunately, his bullpen had his back, as Jaylen Nowlin, Miguel Rodriguez, and Ryan Shreve combined for five scoreless innings, allowing a sole hit with seven strikeouts. Brooks Lee clubbed a pair of doubles; Wander Javier blasted a solo homer. Pete Crow-Armstrong—the Cubs' top prospect according to MLB.com, and the son of Ashley Crow, the actress who played the mom in Little Big League, leads the Cubs. He had a single in four trips to the plate. Mussel Matters Fort Myers 7, Dunedin 5 Box Score Marco Raya: 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K HR: Keoni Cavaco (1) Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (2-for-3, 2 R, BB), Tanner Schobel (2-for-4, R), Kala’i Rosario (2-for-4, R, 2 RBI) The Mighty Mussels won with a late comeback on Thursday. It all started with an 8th-inning movement; Fort Myers stood at a 2-5 deficit, staring up the Blue Jays as Dunedin appeared set to take a commanding 2-0 series lead. Ben Ross walked, Noah Miller singled, and Kala’i Rosario brought the Mighty Mussels one run closer with an RBI single. Ian Churchill—working to become the most well-known man with that surname—walked Misael Urbina, bringing Keoni Cavaco to the plate with the bases full. Cavaco wasted no time, stepped into the first pitch, and drove a grand slam deep out to left-center field. Marco Raya worked a tough but admirable game; the righty allowed three 1st inning runs—never an ideal start for a pitcher—but dialed himself in, and held the Blue Jays scoreless in the three following frames. Kyle Jones was probably the most important pitcher in Thursday’s effort as he pitched three innings without an earned run while striking out two. 2022 draft picks carried the game in general; Ben Ross and Tanner Schobel both clocked in multi-hit performances. Josh Kasevich and Cade Doughty—the 10th and 11th ranked prospects for the Blue Jays, respectively—lead the Dunedin club. Kasevich walked twice and singled; Doughty singled and struck out twice. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jordan Balazovic, St. Paul Saints Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Keoni Cavaco, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Brooks Lee (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 2 2B, R #4 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 1-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB #7 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, K #8 - Marco Raya (Ft. Myers) - 4 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-4, BB, 2 K #11 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - 4 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K #14 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 2-for-5, 2B, R, RBI, 2 KP #18 - Tanner Schobel (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R #20 - Kala’i Rosario (Ft. Myers) - 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ St. Paul (7:07 PM) - RHP Mario Sanchez Wichita @ Midland (7:00 PM) - RHP Daniel Gossett South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM) - RHP Orlano Rodriguez (Game 3 in Best of 3 series) Dunedin @ Fort Myers (6:00 PM) - LHP Jordan Carr (Game 3 in Best of 3 series)

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