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It's always a good day when multiple batters with three-hit games couldn't take home Hitter of the Day honors. Image courtesy of Steven Bisig-USA TODAY Sports (Image is of David Festa) TRANSACTIONS None Futures Game Buried somewhere deep beneath the streaming super highway, MLB’s yearly Futures Game played out, with the NL team handily beating the AL team 5-0. More important to us Twins fans: RHP David Festa pitched a scoreless inning with one hit and a strikeout of Milwaukee uber-prospect Jackson Chourio on three-straight sliders. He touched 97.6 MPH with his fastball. Saints Sentinel St. Paul 5, Iowa 2 Box Score Brent Headrick: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K HR: Anthony Prato (4), Chris Williams (16) Multi-hit games: None A breakout seventh inning led the Saints to victory on Saturday. It wasn’t working. No matter the start, and no matter the strategy, Simeon Woods Richardson couldn’t get anyone out. The top prospect entered the weekend with a 7.27 ERA on the year at AAA—and had peripherals unable to offer him any comfort. The Saints offered a solution: Brent Headrick would start the game—acquiring as many outs as he could—allowing Woods Richardson to enter facing a Cubs lineup tuned into a left-hander. It worked. Not only did Headrick crush his outing, Woods Richardson had one of his finest performances all year, punching out seven batters over five innings of work with a lone homer as his only blemish. This may be the blueprint needed for the talented youngster. The bats, while not overwhelming, were well-coordinated, leading to five runs off of six hits—more than enough to best the Cubs. Austin Martin plated the first run with a double into the right-center gap, marking St. Paul’s only score until the third act. Patience begat rewards, with an Anthony Prato moonshot finally breaking the stalemate. And fruit continued to bear, turning a 3-1 advantage into a 5-1 lead after Chris Williams cracked a homer out to the right-center power alley. The Cubs played feisty to end the game, scoring a second time to bring the game within three. With two runners on, Josh Winder snapped off a high curve—thought too high by the home plate ump. Williams, the catcher, disagreed. He quickly called for a challenge, and the robots agreed with his assessment, ending the game on a call overturned. Of course, one could opine about the minors having a better strike/ball system than MLB, but that’s better saved for later. The best Cubs prospect in Saturday’s game was Chase Strumpf. Ranked 23rd in the system by MLB.com, Strumpf struck out three times and committed an error. (Strumpf was the shortstop at JSerra High School which is why Royce Lewis played third base his first three years of varsity baseball.) Wind Surge Wisdom Wichita 4, Tulsa 3 Box Score Travis Adams: 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: Seth Gray (5), Aaron Sabato (5), Alerick Soularie (6) Multi-hit games: DaShawn Keirsey Jr. (3-for-5, 2B) The Wind Surge came back late to win on Saturday. Travis Adams was fine—maybe not great—over his five innings of work, allowing three runs against a surprisingly disappointing Drillers lineup. The 23-year-old started the season poorly, but now has back-to-back five inning starts with one and three runs allowed respectively. His bullpen had his back as well, as Regi Grace and Alex Scherff combined to toss four scoreless frames, carrying Wichita to the finish line as their bats came alive to win it. First it was Seth Gray—sudden and violent—blasting a ball over the centerfield wall to start the scoring, then Aaron Sabato shot one the other way to tie the game at two; Alerick Soularie’s skyscraper gave Wichita the lead for good. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. collected three hits and stole his 28th base of the season. The Drillers are led by Diego Cartaya, the Dodgers next big catcher in their efficient development system. He singled and walked in four trips to the plate. Kernels Nuggets Cedar Rapids 6, Quad Cities 8 Box Score Cory Lewis: 3 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 3 K HR: Tanner Schobel (14), Noah Miller (3) Multi-hit games: Ben Ross (3-for-4, 2B, 3 R), Noah Miller (2-for-4, HR, R, 4 RBI), Noah Cardenas (2-for-5) The Kernels scored four in the 1st, but couldn’t hold on in a thriller. It was an ambush. Tanner Schobel blasted a fastball 420 feet away into centerfield, surging ahead to first place on the Midwest League homer leaderboard. A few batters later, Noah Miller became the one jogging safely around the bases—and his homer plated three runners, leading to a commanding 4-0 advantage. Unfortunately, Cory Lewis wasn’t sharp. The typically tough righty mis-fired and battled, leading to an inflated pitch count as the River Bandits spit on obvious balls and waited out hittable strikes. He was out after three. Malik Barrington held down the fort for two frames, handing the game off to Alejandro Hidalgo. His Mr. Hyde appeared. A laborious sixth shifted favor towards the River Bandits; a two-run seventh ended the game for good. While Cedar Rapids scored twice after their initial outburst, their bats couldn’t break through to save their lost lead, and the Kernels ended up falling with a bases-loaded groundout in the 9th. Gavin Cross—Kansas City’s best prospect—singled once and plated two runs. Mussel Matters Wet playing conditions ended this game before it began, and the Mussels will play a double-header on Sunday. Complex Chronicles The FCL Twins did not play on Saturday. Dominican Dailies DSL Twins 10, DSL Rockies 11 (10 Innings) Box Score Miguel Cordero: 3 1/3 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 3 K HR: Carlos Silva (1) Multi-hit games: Dameury Pena (2-for-4, 2 R, RBI), Moises Lopez (3-for-4, 2B, 3B, R, 4 RBI), Carlos Silva (2-for-4, HR, 2B, R, 2 RBI) The DSL Twins lost a classic, sloppy DSL game on Saturday. These things happen when your starting pitcher is 16-years-old (born in 2006; hope that doesn’t ruin your Sunday). Miguel Cordero peppered the plate, making judicial use of his allotted targets to fire off four walks and five runs allowed. In his defense, his defense failed him for a few of those runs. Also in his defense, he’s two years away from being legally allowed to vote. The DSL Twins offense was prolific, plating 10 runs off of eight hits and seven walks, leaving just five men on base. Dameury Pena, Moises Lopez, and Carlos Silva (not that one) were your stars: the trio combined for seven knocks—with four going for extra-bases. Lopez served as a complex hero, though, as he drove in four runs and gave a few back with a pair of errors. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Simeon Woods Richardson Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Carlos Silva PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5 #4 - Edouard Julien (Minnesota) - 2-4, 2B, R #7 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K #8 - David Festa (Wichita) - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K (Futures Game) #9 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 1-5, RBI #11 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - 1-5, 2B, RBI, K #13 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, HR, R, 4 RBI, K #15 - Brent Headrick (St. Paul) - 2 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (1:08 PM) - RHP Louie Varland Wichita @ Tulsa (1:05 PM) - LHP Aaron Rozek Quad Cities @ Cedar Rapids (1:05 PM) - LHP Christian MacLeod Fort Myers @ Tampa (10:00 AM) - RHP Jose Olivares Fort Myers @ Tampa (30 minutes later) View full article

The Minnesota Twins signed a very strong international free agency class, including three prospects in the top 23 of Baseball America’s rankings. While it’ll be a long time until we possibly see these teenagers at Target Field, they all project to impact the game on both sides of the ball. View full video

January 15 has come and gone. That date is significant as it represents the beginning of the international signing period. During the 11-month span, players from countries not eligible for the Major League Baseball amateur draft are able to sign professional contracts with any organization. Minnesota had been linked to a trio of top international prospects this fall, and now all have been signed by the organization. The Minnesota Twins are one of eight teams that received a competitive balance pick in Round B of the 2023 draft. That meant their international signing bonus pool is capped at $6,366,900. That doesn’t represent an influx of money, but rather the allotment the Twins have at their disposal to chip away at as they add talent. Several of the Twins' current top prospects were brought in through international free agency. Emmanuel Rodriguez is among the diamonds in the system, and Yasser Mercedes has elevated himself to that level as well. 2022 Major League batting champion Luis Arraez was signed out of Venezuela, and longstanding outfielder Max Kepler was brought over from Germany. In October Jamie Cameron wrote about three prospects within the top 50 international prospects that Minnesota was expected to sign. Each of them officially agreed to deals with the Twins on Sunday and can begin their professional careers. #11 Ariel Castro - OF Cuba Castro landed himself a signing bonus of $2.4 million, the most Minnesota handed out this year. Here is what Jamie had to say about Castro back in October, “Castro is already 6’2, 180 pounds at just 16 years old and has one of the better left-handed swings in the class. As with any international free agent, it's challenging to project a 16-year-old player, but Castro has the all-round profile that reads similar to Emmanuel Rodriguez, now a consensus top 100 global prospect. Castro has average speed and despite good instincts, is likely a corner outfielder at the professional level. The bat is the selling point here. He has the capability of developing plus hit and power tools, a combination that would make him an extremely valuable commodity at the next level.” Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com had this to say about Castro, “Castro continues to develop physically and has emerged as one of the top hitters on the international market. There’s lots of projection with the outfielder, and he could end up with above-average power. On defense, Castro shows good instincts in center field and a solid arm. He could end up being a power-hitting corner outfielder. He projects to be an average runner.” #31 Carlos Silva - C Venezuela Signed out of Venezuela, Silva received the lowest bonus of the three, checking in at $1.1 million. Here was Jamie’s scouting report on Silva, “He is 16, 5’9, listed at 150 pounds, and already has a balanced profile that blends a good approach at the plate with strong defensive skills. Behind the plate, Silva has a strong arm and a quick release and pop time. Offensively, he has good bat speed. Although he currently favors the pull side, he has the potential to develop an all-round offensive approach at the plate. Silva would bolster a position of need organizationally for the Twins.” Knowing that catcher is a position Minnesota could stand to improve upon throughout the system, hitting on Silva would be a plus. Sanchez says, “As for Silva, the right-handed hitter from Venezuela has a compact frame that suits him well behind the plate. He also has the skills to keep him there as he advances through the minor leagues. Silva impressed scouts with his pop times and arm strength, which has a chance to be an above-average tool in the future. He shows good footwork along with solid receiving and blocking skills.” #38 Hendry Chivilli - SS Dominican Republic Many athletic prospects find themselves playing up the middle. Minnesota agreed with Chivilli at $2.1 million while he is currently a shortstop. Jamie had this to say about the Dominican native, “Currently 17, Chivilli is 6’3 and 155 pounds. Chivilli fits the Twins mold in 2023, with no standout tool. (He grades as a future 50 in all areas of his game). What is notable about Chivilli is his athleticism. He will add a ton of weight and muscle in the coming years, giving him a healthy level of projectability to add real offensive upside to his already solid defense at short.” Although Chivilli was the lowest-ranked of these three signings, it is notable that he received a pretty substantial bonus. On Chivilli, Sanchez said, “Chivilli has a chance to be the type of player who will impact the game on both sides of the ball. The teen shows solid tools across the board, and those skills should improve as he matures and his body develops. The Dominican prospect already shows good arm strength, and it projects to be above average as he makes his way through the Minor Leagues.” In addition, the Twins have signed seven other international prospects according to Baseball America through Monday night. Juan Hernandez, SS, Venezuela Jeicol Surumay, RHP, VenezuelaMiguel Cordero, RHP, Venezuela Angel Trinidad, OF, Dominican Republic Ewing Matos, OF, Dominican Republic Moises Lopez, 3B, Dominican Republic Adrian Bohorquez, RHP, Venezuela Which prospects are you most excited about seeing in professional baseball? View full article

The Twins have failed to add much talent to the organization since the end of the season, but that is about to change. Just not necessarily in a high-end signing like Carlos Correa. Instead, the Twins will add over a dozen 16- and 17-year-olds and we'll spend the next handful of years hoping they realize their potential. No one was ever sure we'd get to this point with International Free Agency again, if we're being honest. It was the last sticking point in the CBA negotiations. But instead of letting it cause the lockout to continue, they added a summer deadline to continue to discuss an International Draft. An agreement would have ended tying the signing of some free agents to the loss of draft picks, but there was no agreement. So here we are. We've transitioned from a July 2 start date of International Free Agency to January 15 because of the mess COVID created and it has stayed this way. It's less complicated as deals are completed out of season and players can get into action when the season starts. Any players who are not draft-eligible (players in the US, Canada or Puerto Rico) are subject to International Free Agency. The signing period will run from January 15 to December 15. If you're 16 and turn 17 before September 1, 2023, you are eligible to sign. The Twins have had success in International Free Agency. Never more than in 2009 when they landed Max Kepler, Jorge Polanco and Miguel Sano. If you can sign one 16-year-old in a year and develop him into a big leaguer, that's a win. But when you do it three times, that's unbelievable. Currently, the Twins group of IFA-acquired prospects is led by Emmanuel Rodriguez, an outfielder who is a Top 100 prospect in baseball. Jamie Cameron previewed the top names in the next projected Twins crop in October. While the whole system is relatively complex, what you need to know is simple: The Twins have almost $6.4 million to spend on teenagers in the next eleven months. They're sure to add some talent to the organization. But what talent are they going to add to the major league roster remains to be seen. View full article

The International Free Agent signing period opens on January 15th, 2023. The Twins have been linked to signing three of the top 50 prospects. Come and read up on an impressive crop of incoming players for Minnesota. The signing period for International Free Agency opens on January 15th, 2023. As a team who received a competitive balance pick in Round B of the MLB Draft, the Twins will have a signing bonus pool of $6,366,900. The Twins have a strong history in International Free Agency, both with higher end names (see Emmanuel Rodriguez), and lesser known prospects (see current batting champ, Luis Arraez). Minnesota has been closely tied to, and is expected to sign, three of the top 50 prospects, per MLB.com 11. Ariel Castro, OF, Cuba The White Sox are usually the AL Central players when is comes to Cuban prospects. Not this time. Castro is ranked as the eleventh overall prospect in International Free Agency, per MLB.com. Expect him to command a hefty bonus to reflect this ranking and projection. Castro is already 6’2, 180 lbs at just 16 years old and has one of the better left-handed swings in the class. As with any international free agent, its challenging to project a 16-year-old player, but Castro has the all-round profile that reads similar to Emmanuel Rodriguez, now a consensus top 100 global prospect. Castro has average speed and despite good instincts, is likely a corner outfielder at the professional level. The bat is the selling point here. He has the capability of developing plus hit and power tools, a combination that would make him an extremely valuable commodity at the next level. 31. Carlos Silva, C, Venezuela The Twins have a long, successful history of scouting in Venezuela and Silva is part of an impressive class of catchers in international free agency this year. He is 16, 5’9, listed at 150 lbs, and already has a balanced profile that blends a good approach at the plate with strong defensive skills. Behind the plate, Silva has a strong arm and a quick release and pop time. Offensively, he has good bat speed. Although he currently favors the pull side, he has the potential to develop an all-round offensive approach at the plate. Silva would bolster a position of need organizationally for the Twins. 38. Hendry Chivilli, SS, Dominican Republic Chivilli is one of 32 Dominican players in the top 50 international free agents and one of 20 infielders. Currently 17, Chivilli is 6’3 and 155 lbs. Chivilli fits the Twins mold in 2023, with no one standout tool. (He grades as a future 50 in all areas of his game). What is notable about Chivilli is his athleticism. He will add a ton of weight and muscle in the coming years, giving him a healthy level of projectability to add real offensive upside to his already solid defense as short. Which of these prospects excites you the most? View full article

Nick Nelson and John Bonnes explore the most memorable moments of the 2005 season: Johan Santana unfairly losing the Cy Young to Bartolo Colon, Kyle Lohse infamously taking a baseball bat to manager Ron Gardenhire's door, Carlos Silva's minimalist complete game, and more. View full video

If Phil Hughes had managed to throw 6 2/3 more innings than he did in 2015, he would almost certainly have joined Bartolo Colon as just the 15th and 16th pitchers in baseball history on a strange -- not necessarily good or bad, but certainly strange -- list: pitchers who pitched enough innings to qualify for the ERA title while allowing more home runs than they did walks. For Hughes, that's more or less the kind of pitcher he's become since joining the Twins--world-class control, possibly the best in the league, coupled with a bit of a problem with the gopher ball. Hughes nearly did it in his excellent 2014--his historically low 16 walks matched exactly his homers-allowed total, in 209 2/3 innings--before leading the league in homers allowed with 29 despite throwing just 155 1/3 innings in 2015 (again with just 16 walks), and it's not at all hard to see his homers allowed topping the walks again this year. Colon was a bit more of a surprise; he's had great control for years, but his 25 homers allowed (against 24 walks) was his highest total since stealing a Cy Young Award from Johan in 2005.As you might expect, this is largely a modern phenomenon, made much more doable by the explosion of home runs in the mid-1990s. Indeed, a qualifying starting pitcher had allowed more home runs than walks just three times in all of history prior to 1998 (Tommy Bond in 1874, Robin Roberts in 1956, Gary Nolan in 1976), then happened three times in 1998, and it's happened 13 more times since. A bit like a hitter's 50-homer season, it's still very rare, just a lot less rare than it once was. It's also, though, largely a Twins thing, and specifically a last-decade Twins thing. In the decade running from 2000 through 2009, pitchers accomplished the feat (if that's what it is) 10 times. The Twins had three different pitchers do it, a total of five times, all between 2002 and 2006. No other team has seen more than two pitcher seasons like this in its entire history; the Twins had five in five seasons. I don't know if that's a point of pride, necessarily, but it's a reminder that "pitch to contact" really used to be a thing, and a thing that worked. Former pitching coach Rick Anderson's whole philosophy was to pound the strike zone and limit walks. It was an against-the-grain tactic that required exactly the right kind of pitcher to work, and in the mid-00s, the Twins were able to develop or acquire a large number of exactly the right kind of pitcher. "Pitch to contact" got to be kind of a joke a few years ago, as it appeared to many of us that Anderson was trying to force a number of square pegs through that round hole -- particularly Francisco Liriano, whose many talents did not include pounding the strike zone or regularly inducing soft contact. It's also possible that strikeouts have become such a vital part of every pitcher's game in just the past few years that this would no longer be a viable strategy with any sort of pitching staff. In the middle of last decade, though, with the three guys below, and to a lesser degree the likes of Joe Mays, Kyle Lohse and Kenny Rogers, they had just the sorts of talents they needed to make it work, and that was a big part of their success--behind Johan Santana, of course, for whom I imagine the coaching strategy exclusively involved saying "you go do your thing, Johan" once every five days or so. Here's the full list of the 14 pitchers who have allowed more homers than walks, in a total of 19 seasons (along with each of the three guys below, David Wells and Jon Lieber also did it twice). Here are the three Twins pitchers who've done it, in order of their first time doing it: Rick Reed: we probably can't give Anderson too much credit (or blame) for this one, as Reed did it in 2002, Anderson's first year as pitching coach for the big club, and had also done it in 1998, with the Mets. Reed always had great control, but posted a league-best 1.2 BB/9 in 2002, walking 26 while allowing a career-high 32 homers. He managed a solid 3.78 ERA (118 ERA+) in 188 innings, thanks to that control and, probably, more than a bit of good luck. Brad Radke: probably my all-time favorite Twin (I wrote a chapter on him in this e-book), and deservedly the poster boy for the Twins' pitch-to-contact reputation. One of the several things that made Radke (nearly) great was that after his nightmarish first two seasons, in both of which he led the league in homers allowed (and was a great sport about it, appearing in poking fun at his issues with the long ball) he actually got to be pretty good at keeping the ball in the ballpark, so while he never walked many (finishing in the top 10 in fewest BB/9 all 11 times he pitched enough innings to qualify), he allowed homers to even fewer. He had upward ticks in 2003 (33 HR, to 28 BB), however, and 2005 (32 HR, 23 BB), and was probably consequently just a bit better than average in those seasons, in contrast to 2004, when he gave up just 23 homers against 26 walks and his 5.8 WAR made him, by that measure, the third-best pitcher and sixth-best player in the AL. Carlos Silva: you might remember Silva's 2005, in which he walked a ridiculous 9 batters in 188 innings, for an MLB record 0.43 walks per nine innings. Not giving up more home runs than walks under those circumstances would've been pretty astounding, but he gave up an average-ish 25, and posted a nice 3.44 ERA (130 ERA+) in 188 1/3 innings. He did it again in 2006, perfectly illustrating how this particular achievement is neither a good nor a bad thing: everything got worse from 2005 to 2006, and Silva gave up a league-high 38 home runs (interestingly, five of the 19 seasons on the list led the league in home runs allowed, but Silva is the only Twin to have done so) against a far more human 32 walks, and put up a 5.94 ERA (75 ERA+) in 180 1/3 innings. He'd have a nice bounceback-to-the-middle season in 2007, which convinced the Bill Bavasi-led Mariners to sign him to a bafflingly huge contract, under which he'd throw a total of 183 2/3 innings in two years, with a 6.81 ERA (62 ERA+). I don't know what any of this means, or that it means anything, but the fact that the Twins did something five times in five years that's only been done 19 times by anyone ever is really interesting to me. I don't think Anderson's pitch-to-contact approach is workable these days, with the league strikeouts per 9 innings hovering near 8 and only two pitchers in the MLB top 10 in WAR posting K/9s under 8 (and most of them well over a strikeout an inning). Strikeouts are to a large extent driving the league (and especially pitching) right now, they're a thing you just have to have to be successful (as a pitcher or as a team), which is something the team's current administration appears to understand at least a bit better than the last one did. But 2002-06 was a different time, where league-wide strikeouts were down about 1.5 from today, and the Twins appear to have found an undervalued set of skills in pitchers--a set that helped make them division champions four times in those five years. Mostly, though, I think handing out more homers than walks over the course of a full season is just a fun, quirky thing, and it'll be fun to see if Hughes finally joins their ranks this season. Click here to view the article