Search the Community

The Minnesota Twins had every opportunity to defeat the Texas Rangers on Sunday afternoon. They didn't, and by the end of this week Twins fans should know whether or not it mattered. Image courtesy of Jerome Miron - USA Today Box Score Starting Pitcher: Kenta Maeda - 5 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (80 Pitches, 50 Strikes, 62.5% Strikes) Home Runs: Royce Lewis (10) Bottom WPA: Josh Winder (-.361), Cole Sands (-.276), Christian Vazquez (-.258) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) The Twins looked to sweep the Rangers in their final preview for round one of the playoffs. Jon Gray took the hill for Texas, and Kenta Maeda countered for Minnesota. The Sunday matinee saw former Twins and new Twins star in the action, but ultimately the former Twins outlasted the current squad, and the twelve Twins left on base and six arms left in the bullpen tell the story of the game. Maeda Doesn't Like Garv-Sauce Texas attacked the scoreboard first again on Sunday, with former Twins catcher Mitch Garver delicately placing a Maeda slider that didn't slide just far enough into the left field bleachers. To make matters worse, Garver did this mean-spirited thing with two runners on, making the score 3-0 Rangers before Twins fans were even warmed up. With nine pitchers getting used on Saturday, a short start wasn't an option for Maeda. Maeda continued to give up contact and walks, seven hits and two walks in only three innings of work to be specific. And yet, Maeda was able to elicit ground outs and weak contact to escape these threats, keeping the Twins within striking distance as the game headed into the middle innings. Twins Offense Doesn't Like Gray-Sauce Edouard Julien led off the game with a double off of the wall in left field. The Twins didn't generate another hit against Gray until the top of the fourth when Carlos Correa smacked a single to center. Gray continually fooled the batters, with four of his early strikeouts being on called third strikes. Andrew Stevenson tried to bounce one off of Gray's pitching hand, and reached when Gray couldn't corral it in. He got Christian Vazquez to swing and miss, however, ending the threat in the fourth on his seventh strikeout for the day. Royce Lewis Needs a Sauce, and Twins Fans Would Buy All of It In the top of the fifth inning, Julien got his second hit of the game with one out. Jorge Polanco followed with a walk. Lewis followed by ripping a foul ball straight backward into the home plate umpire's face. After a short delay, everyone got back into their positions, and Lewis straightened it out this time to tie the game at 3-3. The Twins weren't done yet, Correa singled, Matt Wallner laced a 144 mph missile to right field (OK... 114 mph), and a jut-out in the foul territory fence saved a run by funneling the ball directly to the right fielder. After a Stevenson walk, the Twins were on the verge of breaking things wide open with the bases loaded and two outs. Christian Vazquez stepped up to the plate... and then sat back down after striking out as the Twins had to settle with the tie. Who's Left in the Bullpen? Not many relievers didn't see action Saturday night for both squads, so when Maeda and Gray exited after five innings each, the Twins and Rangers scrambled to find a way to complete the ballgame. The Rangers went to lefty Brock Burke in the top of the sixth, and struck out two more Twins for a quick inning. The Twins went to long-man Cole Sands, and he mowed through his first two opponents quickly as well. Then, Sands walked Marcus Semien, gave up a single to Corey Seager, walked Nathaniel Lowe, and chucked a baseball behind Adolis Garcia's back that allowed Semien to score to give the Rangers a 4-3 lead. 31 pitches later, Garcia struck out and the Twins turned to the last third of the game needing a comeback. Burke stayed in for the top of the seventh, and Lewis and Max Kepler greeted him with singles to knock him out of the game. Chris Stratton came in next and Correa hit a Metrodome classic to left to tie the game 4-4. The Twins once again failed to knock in the go-ahead run, as Stevenson and Vazquez both bounced out to first base to end yet another threat. 10 runners left on base through seven innings usually comes back to bite at team, and it didn't take long for that big bite to take place. Again, it tasted like Garv-sauce. Royce-sauce! The Twins' hopes for a comeback again rested on Lewis, who came up with one down and two on in the top of the eighth inning after Jordan Luplow and Polanco worked excellent patience into consecutive walks off of Jose Leclerc. Once again, Royce-sauce delivered a delicious swing to plate Luplow and knot the game 5-5. Will Smith then entered the game to neutralize Kepler, only to walk him to load the bases after a successful double steal to put the go ahead run at third with less than two outs. Correa was next man up, and he neutralized Kepler himself by bouncing into his 29th double play and leaving another couple of Twins on the pond. The bottom of the eighth saw lefty Kody Funderburk take the mound for the Twins, and things looked bleak after Leody Taveras ripped a lead-off double. Kody brought the Funder though, and stranded Taveras at third (after getting Semien, Seager and Lowe) to send the game to the ninth still tied. Willi Castro made his reappearance in the lineup by pinch-hitting for Wallner in the top of the ninth, and Kyle Farmer pinch-hit for Stevenson as well, and neither found a way to hit in a pinch en route to a no-run inning. Josh Winder was called upon to get the Twins into extra innings again, but that hope didn't last long as Adolis Garcia wiped away his 0-4 day with one big swing to send Rangers fans home happy and Twins fans to their phones to check the Guardians score. Until We Meet Again... If the playoffs began today, the Rangers would travel to Target Field as a wild card participant. Between now and October 3rd will be much scoreboard watching and hand-wringing by both clubs. The Twins took five of seven from the Rangers during the regular season, and could have won them all. They also could have easily gone two and five, with many close games and bullpen issues all around. This potential matchup could be the best the Twins could hope for to beat their playoff curse, but the rest of this week will go a long ways towards determining if they get that chance at first place in the first place. Post-Game Interview What’s Next? The Twins open their last series against the Guardians on Tuesday, with RHP Pablo Lopez (9-7, 3.72 ERA) facing new Guardians waiver man RHP Lucas Giolito (7-11, 4.45 ERA). Giolito managed going 1-4 with a 7.24 ERA in August for the Angels, but when with the White Sox he faced the Twins three times and only surrendered two runs over 18 innings. Which version of Giolito will be standing on the mound Tuesday? First pitch at Cleveland is scheduled for 5:10pm CDT. Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet WED THU FRI SAT SUN TOT Durán 20 0 9 21 0 50 Sands 0 0 0 0 50 50 Funderburk 8 0 0 9 14 31 Thielbar 16 0 8 6 0 30 Jax 8 0 11 7 0 26 Pagán 0 0 0 24 0 24 Headrick 0 0 0 15 0 15 Winder 0 0 0 6 5 11 Floro 0 0 0 8 0 8 View full article

The Minnesota Twins battled back multiple times Sunday in Texas but the bullpen could not hold. Josh Winder gave up a walk-off homer to Adolis Garcia after Cole Sands surrendered a pair of runs in his outing. Royce Lewis had another impressive game, tallying three hits including a three-run homer. Down in the minors, Alex Kirilloff hit another homer on his rehab assignment and Brooks Lee had a four-hit night that included a game-tying homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. All that and more in tonight's Twins System Recap. View full video

The Twins didn’t add to the bullpen in the offseason and barely did so at the deadline. Left with only in-house options at this point, it’s time for them to start pressing some buttons and making adjustments to try to make up for it. Image courtesy of Jonathan Dyer, USA TODAY Sports The Twins seem to find themselves backing into comfort zones when it comes to roster decisions on occasion. Sometimes it’s because of veteran status or it’s a player they personally like. Sometimes they’re just being overly protective of depth. Whatever the reason is currently, it simply isn’t justifiable to continue with how they’ve managed the bottom half of the bullpen. The middle of the Twins bullpen has picked up a lot of slack recently between Emilio Pagán and Caleb Thielbar. Griffin Jax and Jhoan Duran have been struggling, which is bound to happen to even the best relievers in baseball. It’s also expected that the bottom part of a bullpen shouldn’t exactly be rock solid. After all, that’s why they’re at the bottom. The way the Twins are using the low-leverage parts of their bullpen simply makes no sense as we approach September. The team has been adamant in regards to keeping a long reliever on the roster. So much so, in fact, that coming out of spring training, it cost them several high-leverage relievers such as Danny Coulombe (2.77 ERA in 39 IP) and Jeff Hoffman (2.86 ERA in 34 2/3 IP) who both looked great in the spring. If having a long reliever really is that important to them, that’s fine. Minor league relievers being cut loose and going on to success can be overlooked. The Twins are taking it to another level though, and completely wasting opportunities and at least one roster spot. By currently rostering Cole Sands and Josh Winder, the Twins are playing with a hand tied behind their back when it comes to the bullpen, and it’s completely self-inflicted. Let’s start with Cole Sands. He’s actually been electric in St. Paul with a 1.64 ERA and near 40% K rate. In his time bouncing up and down with the Twins, he’s barely pitched. In fact, despite being completely healthy, he’s made three appearances, all with the Saints, since July 20th. He’s thrown only 4 1/3 innings in just under a month. In Wednesday’s game when the Twins were down four runs, they needed an inning filled. Instead of going to Sands who hadn’t pitched in over a week and actually has promising numbers in St. Paul, they went to supposed long reliever Josh Winder, who allowed a run that put Detroit over the edge to eventually win 8-7. Sands’ lack of usage is puzzling. If they aren’t going to let him pitch, why is he here? The easier question to ask has more to do with Josh Winder. At this point, it’s becoming time to wonder why Winder is an option in the MLB bullpen at all. He had an ERA over 6.00 in Triple-A and an ERA over 5.00 in the big leagues. In 11 appearances with the Twins this season, he’s only held the opposing team scoreless three times. There’s a difference between rostering a long reliever/mop-up man and continuing to give opportunities to pitchers who should be working on things in the minors. Winder is a former top prospect who still has hopes of recapturing the pedigree. He should be focusing on making adjustments against lower competition. Whatever the reason behind the Twins continuing to give Winder these chances, it's time to try something else. Perhaps they see something in him long-term, but there’s zero reason to let him try to find it in the big leagues at this point. At the very least, when a one-inning opportunity comes up, they should be giving it to Sands who has at least been able to get minor-league hitters out this year. Another usable middle-reliever developing would be a big boost down the stretch, and that’s not going to happen by giving opportunities to arms who are struggling so mightily. At this point, the Twins should be looking for upside in the lowest leverage rungs of the bullpen ladder. At the very least they shouldn’t be allocating those spots to players they’re never going to let pitch. A recent hot stretch by Ronny Henriquez should make him an option to get some runway in the majors. It shouldn’t be a problem to add Kody Funderburk to the 40-man, who has dominated Triple-A all season since his promotion just two weeks into the season. The Twins seem intent on making things as difficult as possible when it comes to the bullpen. It almost seems like they’re trying to show the world just how unimportant the bullpen is. It’s time they try to make improvements for the first time all year and give some different names an opportunity. What they’re doing right now isn’t helping anybody. View full article

The Twins’ hole in their bullpen hasn’t gotten any smaller since the trade deadline. As they enter the stretch run and try to solidify their roster, do they have a potential bullpen piece emerging in St. Paul? Image courtesy of Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports 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! View full article

The Twins bullpen is incredibly short currently with several injuries to key contributors. While it could hurt the team, it could create long-term opportunities. Could any of the stand-ins pitch themselves into a future role? Image courtesy of Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports 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! View full article

The Twins came into Tuesday night's game at Houston feeling over the moon after the come from behind victory on what will be forever known as "Royce Lewis Day." They ended tonight's game being placed firmly back to Earth. Here's how it all went down. Image courtesy of Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports Box Score SP: Joe Ryan: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (88 pitches, 56 strikes (63.6%) Home Runs: None Bottom 3 WPA: Joe Ryan (-0.281), Byron Buxton (-0.115), Max Kepler (-0.059) Win Probability Chart (via FanGraphs) Say it Ain't So, Joe! Ryan has been the most consistent Twins starter, and his W/L record shows it. Tuesday was not his night, however, as the Astros got to him early and often. Alex Bregman led off the second inning with a rocket shot (94 mph, barely cleared the fence) to left for a home run. A few batters later, it was Chas McCormick and his .222 batting average's turn to inflate Ryan's ERA with a moon shot to the train tracks in left. 3-0 Astros. The hits just kept on coming for the Astros in the bottom of the third. A walk to Jeremy Pena with one out, and a single by Yordan Alvarez put runners on the corners for Bregman, and he delivered again with a run-scoring single to left to put the Astros up 4-0. Two batters later, Jose Abreu came up with the bases loaded, and while he couldn't replicate Jose Altuve's grand slam mojo, he did plate another run with a sacrifice fly (that Max Kepler caught while leaping into the wall in right). The Astro lead ballooned to 5-0, and it stayed that way until the fifth inning. Royce Lewis, Save Us! In the top of the fifth inning, Lewis stepped up to the plate and unleashed a 104.1 mph double to left. What followed shouldn't surprise Twins fans for the most part. Max Kepler struck out. Michael A. Taylor hit a ground out. The stage was set for the newly "Champion Ringed" Christian Vazquez to find a way to break out of his season-long slump, and he found a way to deliver a small dose of hope back into the game. The Twins Offense Stinks...Bad The top of the sixth inning started out well for the Twins, thanks to some uncharacteristic defense from the Astros. Edouard Julien led off with a shot to second base, and Altuve booted it. Carlos Correa drilled a 15 foot squirmer down the third base line which wasn't fielded. Suddenly, the Twins had two on with no one out, and Byron Buxton strode to the plate. One changeup later, Buxton hit into a 6-4-3 double play, and the hope meter decreased several notches yet again. Alex Kirilloff continued to get on base, however, and there were runners at the corners with superhero Lewis up at the plate. That walk chased Brandon Bielak from an excellent start, but reliever Phil Maton proved to be kryptonite to Lewis' abilities, and he struck him out swinging to end the threat. Sands Saves the Week, Win or Lose Out of all the predictions that were bandied about Twins Daily this week, a four-inning start by Ryan was not a common take. That's where the Twins found themselves Tuesday night, and luckily Cole Sands answered the call. After pitching only once in the last week, Sands found himself thrown into the fire against a hot lineup. He escaped the fifth and sixth innings without allowing a run, but left the game after walking two Astros in the seventh. Jovani Moran was the next man up, and one pitch and an Alvarez 4-6-3 double play later, the score remained 5-1. The ability to eat up innings won't bring the win home today, but it factors into every other game this week as the Twins don't get another off day until next Monday. A Double Play Kind of Day The heart of the Twins order came up in the top of the eighth, with the team amassing only three hits in the first six. Julien led off with a bloop to right that barely missed Altuve's glove. Correa was first pitch swinging, however, and chopped a 6-4-3 to remove the threat. The string of that poor at-bat lingered, as Buxton walked and Kiriloff shot a single into right to put runners at the corners with two outs. This time Ryne Stanek played the role of kryptonite, and Twins fans were forced to reckon with the fact that Lewis can't win 'em all. The Twins ended up getting six hits, limited the Astros to five hits, and managed to lose 5-1. That sums up Tuesday night's ballgame and the first third of this "Home Run or Bust" season quite well. Tough to watch, but a chance to redeem the series tomorrow. What’s Next? The Minnesota Twins will look to secure the series win again in game three as they send Louie Varland to the mound. The Astros will counter with young right-hander Hunter Brown. First pitch is scheduled for 7:10pm CDT. Postgame Interviews (Coming Soon, if available) Bullpen Usage Spreadsheet FRI SAT SUN MON TUE TOT Sands 0 0 16 0 48 64 De León 19 0 27 0 0 46 Durán 0 12 0 29 0 41 Stewart 0 13 0 18 0 31 Pagán 21 0 7 0 0 28 López 0 22 0 6 0 28 Jax 0 0 12 0 8 20 Morán 0 9 0 0 1 10 View full article

Four members of the 2018 Twins draft class have already made their big-league debuts. Will other players join them in the coming years? Image courtesy of Jordan Johnson-USA TODAY Sports Major League Baseball's 2023 Draft is scheduled to start on July 9, 2023. Each team prepares for the draft with a specific plan, and sometimes those plans play out better than others. To prepare fans for the upcoming draft, this series will examine recent Twins drafts and how those players have performed so far in their professional careers. First Round: Trevor Larnach The Twins drafted Larnach with the 20th overall pick after a strong college season where he helped Oregon State win the College World Series. Three players taken behind Larnach (2.0 WAR) have accumulated more WAR so far in their MLB careers, including Nico Hoerner (8.1 WAR), Shane McClanahan (7.4 WAR), and Jake McCarthy (2.6 WAR). Larnach quickly impacted the Twins organization by winning the organization's Minor League Player of the Year award in his first full season. His most significant issue at the big-league level has been making consistent contact with offspeed and breaking pitches. He's part of the team's young core, and the Twins hope he can be a number-five hitter in the lineup for most of the next decade. Second Round: Ryan Jeffers Some were surprised the Twins drafted Jeffers this high because he was seen as a bat-first catcher with little defensive value. His outlook has changed significantly since signing with the Twins. He is a tremendous pitch framer and has improved his throwing arm this season. Jeffers has accumulated more WAR than any other second-round pick from the 2018 MLB Draft. Over the last two seasons, he struggled to find his swing with an 84 OPS+. His 2023 campaign started strongly with a 126 OPS+, ranking sixth in WAR among AL catchers. Minnesota lost their third-round pick in 2018 after signing Josh Donaldson. He had declined a qualifying offer by the Atlanta Braves, so draft pick compensation was tied to his signing. It is likely one of the reasons the Twins were able to sign him because some other teams would have had to forfeit a higher draft pick. His free-agent market didn't meet his expectations, and the Twins had to pivot from their plans to sign a free-agent starting pitcher. Other MLB Contributors: Cole Sands, Josh Winder The Twins took Sands with their fifth-round pick, and Winder was selected in the seventh round. Both players were starting pitchers throughout their minor-league careers but have shifted to a long-relief at the big-league level. Sands has posted a 2.96 ERA with a 1.40 WHIP in 11 relief appearances over the last two seasons. Winder made 15 appearances (11 starts) for the Twins in 2022, so he has less experience in a relief role. He dealt with a shoulder injury during spring training, and the team hopes a bullpen role will help him to stay healthy and improve his performance. Other Notable Picks: Michael Helman, Kody Funderburk, DaShawn Keirsey, Chris Williams Helman was taken in the 11th round and reached Triple-A last season. He's posted a .763 OPS with the Saints while playing multiple infield and outfield positions. Last season, he accumulated 20 home runs and 40 stolen bases between Double- and Triple-A. His best chance at a role with the Twins is being a super utility player, but he is currently on the IL with a dislocated left shoulder. Minnesota took Funderburk in the 15th round, and he's developed into an intriguing left-handed reliever. He has a chance to be the next Caleb Thielbar, especially if he can continue to post a strikeout rate above 13 K/9. He's given up too many hits in the upper minors, but he has been able to avoid home runs. The Twins will likely need bullpen replacements later in the season, and Funderburk is a prime candidate to add relief depth. Keirsey, a fourth-round pick, has played the last two seasons at Double-A. In 2022, he hit .271/.329/.395 (.724) with 36 extra-base hits and 42 steals in 121 games. He has ten extra-base hits in his first 31 games in 2023 while going 16-for-19 in stolen base attempts. His defense is strong in center field, so he could fill a backup outfielder role at the big-league level. Also in the Organization Regi Grace: He shifted to a relief role last season and is currently pitching for Cedar Rapids. His K/9 rate has been higher than 11.0 over the last two seasons. Charles Mack: Mack is in his second season with Cedar Rapids, being used as one of the team's primary catchers. Last season, he had 15 extra-base hits in 57 games. Willie Joe Garry: Over the last two seasons, the organization has used him at all three outfield positions, with most of his defensive innings coming in center field. He has a career .625 OPS across five professional seasons. Andrew Cabezas: After the pandemic, Cabezas shifted to a relief role. In 2022, he posted a 3.31 ERA with a 1.04 WHIP at High- and Double-A. Austin Schulfer: Last year, he pitched in relief for the organization's two highest affiliates, striking out nearly ten batters per nine with a 1.04 WHIP. He's in the Saints bullpen this year and has a sub-3.00 ERA to begin the year. Zach Neff: He is currently on the 60-day IL and hasn't pitched in the organization since 2021. Denny Bentley: In 2022, he posted a 3.56 ERA with 1.37 WHIP and 11.8 K/8. The Twins sent Bentley to the AFL last season to build off a strong 2022 campaign. He has yet to pitch in 2023. OTHER POSTS IN THE SERIES -2017 Draft Retrospective -2016 Draft Retrospective What are your impressions of the 2018 draft class? Who will have the most significant impact on the Twins? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. View full article

Jordan Balazovic had reached what the Twins hoped was rock bottom this spring after struggling in 2022 and getting a late start to 2023 due to an off-field injury. Since then he’s built himself back up. Does Balazovic deserve a promotion? Image courtesy of William Parmeter 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? View full article

Kicking the action off early today, the St. Paul Saints played a morning game against the Rochester Red Wings. With the other Twins affiliates set to taking the field later in the evening, Toby Gardenhire’s club secured a victory right away. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (photo of Mark Contreras) TRANSACTIONS LHP Kody Funderburk promoted to St. Paul RHP Josh Winder activated off IL by Minnesota LHP Brent Headrick optioned to St. Paul RHP Andrew Cabezas reinstated from development list for Wichita SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 5, Rochester 1 Box Score Playing an early morning contest against the former Twins affiliate today, Louie Varland was on the mound for St. Paul. Having worked recently with Minnesota, it was evident that Varland sought to overpower the competition. Working 5 1/3 innings, Varland allowed one run on four hits. He walked two, but struck out eight and continues to pile them up at Triple-A. Before Varland ever took the mound, Mark Contreras stepped in for the Saints and blasted a three-run homer. Edouard Julien and Michael Helman drew walks to get on ahead of him, and Contreras continued his hot hitting with the fourth dinger of his season. Alex Kirilloff continued his rehab assignment in this one for St. Paul, and he went 1-for-4 while being hit by a pitch. Kirilloff did play first base today, and attempted to steal a base. He continues to look good and is trending toward a return for the Twins. Although St. Paul didn’t rack up hits today, the pitching continued to be impressive when Cole Sands took over for Varland. Working 2 2/3 innings, he allowed a single base runner on a walk and punched out four. Sands worked efficiently as well throwing 32 pitches, of which 20 were strikes. This game remained close up until the 9th inning went a bit awry for Red Wings reliever Gerson Moreno. Matt Wallner was hit by a pitch before both Mark Contreras and Andrew Bechtold drew walks. Tony Wolters singled to drive in Wallner, and then Edouard Julien took a bases loaded walk to bring Contreras across the plate. Contreras just keeps on hitting, and his 2-for-3 day represented half of St. Paul’s hits. He’s pushed his OPS up to .942 to begin the year. Tomorrow’s game will be the first time St. Paul sees the challenge system being implemented for 2023. With all other contests now using the ABS system to call balls and strikes, it will be interesting to see how batters and pitchers adjust. WIND SURGE WISDOM Wichita 12, Springfield 11 Box Score The Wind Surge turned to Aaron Rozek tonight and while he did rack up five strikeouts, he also allowed five runs on seven hits. With three walks added in, there was significant traffic on the basepaths all night. Springfield took the lead with a pair of first inning runs. Wichita immediately answered though, and four runs came across in the home half of the inning. Jake Rucker started things off with a two-run double, scoring Brooks Lee and Yoyner Fajardo. Then DaShawn Keirsey Jr. plated Rucker on a single of his own, and Pat Winkel lifted a single to score Keirsey Jr. before the inning came to a close. Rozek’s unraveling came in the top of the 4th inning when he allowed a sacrifice fly and a two run single. Still, with plenty of game left, the Wind Surge had time to claw back. Before being able to add again on their own, Wichita saw Springfield add another pair in their half of the 5th inning. As he did earlier in the game, Keirsey Jr. came through big time. Fajardo and Yunior Severino stood at 2nd and 3rd base just long enough for the Wichita outfielder to hit his third homer of the season. Tying things up at seven, it was a whole new ballgame in the 5th inning. With the game quickly careening towards extras, Springfield made sure to do their part. Jacob Buchberger singled off reliever Alex Scherff and drove in Pedro Pages to take a late lead. Needing an immediate answer, Alex Isola singled to lead off the inning. He was lifted for Alerick Soularie and after a pair of pickoff attempts, Soularie was caught attempting to swipe second base. Winkel answered drawing a walk before Will Holland singled to put runners at first and second. Anthony Prato singled to load the bases for Brooks Lee, and it was up to the top prospect to come through. Springfield made a pitching change and Logan Sawyer was on to shut down the potential threat. Lee got a bender up in the zone and crushed it 97 mph to right center and cleared the bases. Fajardo followed him with a single to plate Lee, and the five-run inning was massive. Fajardo stole second to put himself in scoring position, and Rucker's third hit of the night brought him home. Now up 12-8, the Wind Surge had the opportunity to close this one out in the 9th inning. Osiris German did give Springfield breathing room as a runner came around to score on Nick Dunn's triple, and then a sacrifice fly brought him home. A solo blast then made it a one-run game, and the five run 8th inning became more necessary than nice. German did record the final out, and this one ended as a one-run win in a game that had 23 runs scored on 28 hits. Wichita put up 16 hits in this one, and multi-hit games were had by Fajardo, Rucker, Keirsey Jr., Winkel, Holland, and Prato. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, West Michigan 1 Box Score Alejandro Hidalgo made another start tonight for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, and he has done a good job of limiting damage since being acquired in the Gio Urshela trade. Tonight he went three innings allowing a single run on three hits. He did walk three batters and struck out one. Runs were at a premium this evening, especially for the Kernels who mustered just one hit through six innings. After getting behind on a West Michigan single in the 3rd inning, Misael Urbina launched his first homer of the year to put Cedar Rapids on the board. His 5th inning solo shot knotted things at 1. In the 7th inning, with things still tied at 1, 2022 Twins draft pick Tanner Schobel stepped in and launched his third home run of the season. With Noah Cardenas and Kala'i Rosario on, the three-run blast gave Cedar Rapids some much needed breathing room. The Cedar Rapids bullpen was great all night as Mike Paredes, John Stankiewicz, and Miguel Rodriguez combined to go six innings allowing a hit a piece, and each registering at least one strikeout. MUSSEL MATTERS Fort Myers 5, Daytona 1 Box Score Dealing with a brief delay, Jose Olivares only went one inning for the Mighty Mussels before Ben Ethridge was inserted in relief. Olivares did allow a run on a single hit, but Ethridge locked things down going three scoreless innings allowing just a single walk and fanning four. After a rain delayed start, Olivares allowed a single in the bottom of the first. Carlos Jorge then stole second base, moved to third on a fly out, and scored on an infield ground ball. Things stood pat for both teams from that point until Ricardo Olivar stepped in during the top of the 7th inning. With the bases loaded, he lifted a grand slam scoring Dylan Neuse, Luis Baez, and Danny De Andrade. Fort Myers had their first lead of the evening, and it came with some breathing room. Following Ethridge's lead, Zach Veen was amazing in relief. He worked three innings of his own, allowing just a hit and a walk, while picking up five strikeouts. The bullpen keeping the Mighty Mussels in this one to give them a chance was huge. Not ready to be done adding on offense late, Mikey Perez singled in Carlos Aguiar in the 8th inning to make it a 5-1 game. Samuel Perez entered in the 8th inning for Fort Myers and he worked two scoreless innings to close this one out. Aguiar was joined by Rubel Cespedes as the only Mighty Mussels to record multiple hits on the day. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K Hitter of the Day – Mark Contreras (St. Paul) - 2-3, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR(4), BB 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: #1 - Brooks Lee (Wichita) - 1-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2B, BB #2 - Royce Lewis (IL) - Knee #3 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Cedar Rapids) - IL Abdomen #4 - Marco Raya (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #5 - Edouard Julien (St. Paul) - 0-3, R, RBI, 2 BB, K #6 - Simeon Woods Richardson (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Connor Prielipp (Cedar Rapids) - IL Elbow #8 - Jose Salas (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3 #9 - Louie Varland (St. Paul) - 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K #10 - Austin Martin (St. Paul) - IL Elbow #11 - Matt Wallner (St. Paul) - 0-3, R, HBP, 2 K #12 - Yasser Mercedes - Extended Spring Training: starting this week, the Twins extended spring team will get started. Each week, they will play four games against the Red Sox team, get two days of practice, and Sundays off. #13 - David Festa (Wichita) - Did Not Pitch #14 - Noah Miller (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, K #15 - Matt Canterino (IL) - Tommy John #16 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - Did Not Pitch #17 - Ronny Henriquez (St. Paul) - IL Elbow #18 - Tanner Schobel (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, 3 RBI, HR(3) #19 - Jose Rodriguez (EST) - Same as Mercedes. #20 - Misael Urbina (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, R, RBI, (HR), 2 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Rochester (5:05PM CST) - RHP Simeon Woods Richardson Springfield @ Wichita (7:05PM CST) - TBD West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) - RHP Marco Raya Fort Myers @ Daytona (5:35PM CST) - RHP Zebby Matthews Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

A lot of discussions have been had this season about the long relief role in the Twins bullpen, but middle relief is becoming more of a topic as those they have in place continue to struggle. Who could step in and fill such a role? Image courtesy of Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports The Twins have a strong top of the bullpen in Jhoan Duran, Jorge Lopez, Griffin Jax, and Caleb Thielbar. They also have a surplus of long relievers they’ve cycled through to begin the season. The bullpen problems have mostly fallen into the low-leverage, middle-relief tier, which so far has been occupied by the ineffective duo of Emilio Pagán and Jovani Morán. It may be time for the Twins to get creative. The Twins have already begun searching for an internal addition for what it’s worth. Brock Stewart was called up Tuesday after 8+ innings and 17 strikeouts in Triple-A to begin the season. The 31-year-old former top prospect may not be the most exciting option based on his age and career thus far, but the recent performance gives hope that Stewart has made some changes and can carry them over to the big league level. However, the Twins should pivot to other options if it doesn't pan out. The depth of the aforementioned “long reliever” group in Triple-A is nice in theory, but one could argue that such depth for this role is a bit overkill. Cole Sands, Simeon Woods Richardson , and Brent Headrick are all on the 40-man roster and have been used at the big-league level thus far. Jose De Leon and Randy Dobnak remain as options who could be added if needed. Their performances aren’t as inspiring, but considering they’d be pitching almost exclusively in blowouts, it’s easy to argue it doesn’t much matter. Woods Richardson remains a legitimate starting pitching prospect, with Headrick and Sands less so. Rather than having five candidates for a role that may come in handy once per week, the Twins should be looking to transition one of these options into a traditional reliever. Focusing more on Headrick and Sands assuming Woods Richardson will continue taking the mound every fifth day, there’s reason to believe either one could come up and settle into a traditional middle innings role. The benefits of changing a bulk innings pitcher into a traditional reliever have been covered plenty at this point. The velo ticks up, and they can throw their best pitches more often. Brent Headrick is averaging around 92 mph on the fastball in his debut season, and he grades out tremendously in command with a usable changeup to equalize his left-handedness against right-handed hitters. He’s a prime candidate to be one of the many fringe starting pitching prospects who move to the bullpen and flourish as we’ve seen in recent years. Sands has been an option for a similar move for a year-plus now because of his wicked breaking ball. He hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2021, and it may be time to crack the door open to a consistent big-league job and see if he can kick it in. They could also pivot on Josh Winder, who’s on the rehab trail in St. Paul, though he’s also filled a multi-inning role in four of his five outings thus far. His inability to hold up to a starters' workload could be solved by putting him into a traditional reliever role given his issues with the fastball and impressive slider. The Twins have no shortage of options, and it’s becoming untenable to maintain such long relief depth to cycle guys in and out of a role at the MLB level that’s so unplanned and rarely utilized. Especially when it’s become clear that there are little to no situations in which the Twins have a lead where Emilio Pagán and Jovani Morán can be trusted to get even three outs. Hopefully, Brock Stewart’s minor league stuff translates, but the Twins should be working on a backup option now in case it doesn’t. Worst case scenario, Stewart grabs the job and runs with it, and another option establishes themselves in Triple-A in case they’re needed. They have more than enough long relief depth with not many answers in middle relief. Is it time to start actively seeking out more internal relief options? View full article

The team's desire for a length in the bullpen led to Cole Sands landing an unexpected spot on the Opening Day roster. While he hasn't been too impressive as a big-leaguer thus far, his pitch metrics suggest there's more than meets the eye. Image courtesy of Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports When the Minnesota Twins announced their Opening Day bullpen on Wednesday, one member was a surprise. Many (including myself) expected Bailey Ober to fill a six-man rotation or long relief role, or maybe a reclamation project like Jeff Hoffman or WBC sensation Jose De Leon would claim the final reliever spot. Instead the Twins opted to go with their homegrown player, Cole Sands. 2022 wasn’t inspiring for Sands as he posted a 5.87 ERA, a 4.74 FIP, and a 1.57 WHIP in just over 30 innings for the Twins. Strikeouts were not particularly high (19.3%), walks were not particularly low (9.0%), and loud contact wasn’t rare (39.4% hard-hit rate). So what are the Twins doing here? Sands would not have been my pick to make the team coming out of spring training, but I found some reasons they decided to keep him. Let’s look deeper into what Sands offers as a pitcher and see if we can make sense of all this. Sands Brings Length and Spin to the Twins Bullpen As a prospect, Sands profiled as a reliever very early into his professional career. Despite being a full-time starting pitcher until last season, I don’t think the Twins or anyone else saw Sands realistically developing into an MLB rotation arm. Due in part to injuries and in part to a 70-grade breaking ball (per Fangraphs), Sands found his way into the big leagues as a spot starter and a long reliever – the same role the Twins envision for him in 2023. As stated previously, Sands has an elite breaking ball. On Baseball Savant, his curveball generated 18.1 inches of horizontal movement, good for second-most among all pitchers that threw at least 100 curves in 2022 and just ahead of the infamous Rich Hill bender. While it didn’t quite generate the swings and misses its counterparts did, the tools to do it are certainly there. According to Jeremy Maschino’s MLB Pitch Profiler, Sands’ curveball has a Stuff+ rating of 135. This metric measures a pitch’s movement and velocity compared to others around the league. It works like other comparative rate stats such as wRC+ or OPS+, where 100 is the league average, so 135 is an excellent number. For some context, Jhoan Duran’s curveball that generated a 49.7% swing-and-miss clip is rated at 112 Stuff+. While mostly apples to oranges here, this demonstrates what Sands could have with his curveball. Sands offers an above-average split finger at 106 Stuff+, and an above-average cutter at 110 Stuff+, enabling him to pitch effectively to left-handed hitters. Could Pitch Mix Tweaks Lead to Improvement? Sands could benefit from a change in pitch selection as well. In 2022, Sands threw his fastball 48.8% of the time, much too high of a percentage given what his secondary offerings are and what his fastball is. Last season Sands’ fastball registered a 52.8% hard-hit rate against, good for 38th-worst out of 369 pitchers with at least 50 PA concluding against a four-seam fastball. MLB Pitch Profiler didn’t like his fastball any better as it has his fastball rated at a 72 Stuff+, 28% below a league-average fastball. Reduced fastball usage and increased curveball, splitter, and cutter usage could greatly benefit Sands. While all of Cole Sands’ success is still theoretical, he still has options, the ability to pitch multiple innings in long relief, and a decent prospect repertoire. Given the potential upside, taking this chance makes sense for the Twins. As long as he can stay in low-leverage situations for now, this is a good opportunity for Sands to develop at the major league level and maybe realize his potential to become a dependable reliever for the Twins. View full article

The Twins have loved their veteran players in recent years, and at times it’s cost them. In 2023, it appears they’ve changed their thinking when it comes to the fringes of the roster. Will it work out? Image courtesy of Bruce Kluckhohn-USA TODAY Sports Veteran leadership is necessary on a contending team. Still, a fine line exists where acquiring low-floor, low-ceiling players in the twilight of their careers can put a roster at a disadvantage. The lack of roster flexibility that comes with such players as well as the possibility of them falling off and damaging a team’s contention hopes is an issue the Twins have run into in recent years, and in 2023 they appear to be operating differently. Half of the fun of spring training is attempting to put together the Opening Day roster based on performances, interviews, etc. The Twins only had a few roster spots to fill and a handful of veteran-type players they’d been drawn to in recent years. Particularly in the bullpen, it appeared at one point that the Twins were certain to allocate a spot to a veteran reliever as we’ve seen them do in recent years. Jeff Hoffman had a great (thought limited) spring performance and had a minor-league contract with multiple opt-outs should he fail to make the Twins roster. It was easy to say the Twins would likely keep him rather than risk losing him based on how they’d behaved in previous seasons. He was reassigned to minor-league camp over the weekend, and on Tuesday, he opted out for an opportunity elsewhere. Danny Coulombe was not only a grizzled, journeyman veteran, but one the Twins are familiar with after years with the organization. He too put up stellar spring numbers before being reassigned to minor league camp. He had an agreement in his deal that if a major-league opportunity was available to him and he wasn't on the Twins roster, he could pursue it. So, he is now a member of the Baltimore Orioles, and the Twins got a little cash from them. Barring a late spring waiver claim, it appears Cole Sands is set to make the Opening Day roster. Rather than utilizing his remaining options on day one, the Twins have sided with his youth and roster flexibility. If the Twins have a need for another pitcher early in April, Sands can be optioned. If he struggles, the Twins won’t allow him to stay on the team for months out of fear of losing him on waivers. On top of it all, Cole Sands has more long and short-term potential than a Joe Smith-type signing. Further examples can be found in the starting rotation, where the Twins have chosen to forego low-impact veteran acquisitions and instead shot for the moon in acquiring Pablo Lopez this spring. They may have chosen Kenta Maeda over Bailey Ober despite their polar opposite spring training performances, but the hope is that even post-Tommy John Maeda is better than a Dylan Bundy type. They could have earmarked $7m for a 30-something-year-old fifth starter whose upside was 150 innings of a 4.80 ERA, but they decided against it after the previous two seasons of watching such additions play out. Perhaps the team feels more young players are ready to play a role on the 2023 team. It’s also possible they’ve realized that youth and upside are a better bet than what they perceive as a higher floor. At any rate, it’s a welcome change after watching them allow several players to suffer through the possible end of their careers on a roster that’s trying to compete. The Twins are carrying very few roster-clogging veterans in 2023. They didn’t waste a moderate amount of money on players who are undoubtedly past their primes. They also don’t have too many roster spots dedicated to fringe players without options. There were certainly things to like about Danny Coulombe and Jeff Hoffman-type players, but those likable qualities have led to the Twins hanging onto this mold of player long past when they should have in the past, and it’s cost them. It’s a welcome change in 2023, as even the choice of Cole Sands over an option-less veteran in the bullpen allows for much more roster flexibility. The rotation has more depth and upside than it’s had in years. The Twins finally dialing back on bottom-tier free agents and waiver claims to fill out their roster makes for a much more interesting squad, and opens the door for a wave of youth to spill onto the team throughout the season. The Twins have changed their approach. How do you feel about these Opening Day choices? Leave a COMMENT below. View full article

The Minnesota Twins made a few roster moves at spring training that seem to have hinted at what the Opening Day 26-man roster will look like. Here's a rundown of the potential roster, which won't include Bailey Ober but may include Willi Castro. View full video