Twins Minor League Talk

In the (off)Season 3 premiere episode of Twins Spotlight, get to know Twins right-handed pitching prospect and 2022 fourth-round draft pick Andrew Morris. (includes VIDEO) Image courtesy of William Parmeter / Mighty Mussels Andrew Morris tossed his first college pitches at Division II Mesa State in Colorado as a 16-year-old. As a child, he moved around the country, from New York, Alaska, Oregon, and Colorado. While in Alaska, he was homeschooled…

There’s no denying that the Minnesota Twins cycled through pitchers like crazy in 2022. Needing a franchise-record 37 to get through the season, more than a handful of players saw their first opportunity. Knowing the farm has some options is also a great reality. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (graphics by Thieres Rabelo) Starting pitching will always be the focal point of a Major League franchise, but we’ve seen how impac…

Minnesota went all-in on Ryan Jeffers being the team’s top catcher for the 2022 season. Will any of these prospects join him at the big-league level in 2023? Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Last winter, the Twins traded from a position of strength (catcher) for a position of need (shortstop). Ryan Jeffers was handed the keys as the team’s top catcher while the team traded Mitch Garver to the Rangers. Jeffers posted an 86 OPS+, but…

After a scorching hot start to the AFL season for Austin Martin, Edouard Julien has taken over the stud mantle, and then some, when it comes to Minnesota Twins prospects playing in the desert. He followed up a big Week 3 with an even better Week 4 and finds himself as the class of AFL hitters heading into Week 5. Another hitter also had a breakout week, and a pitcher had perhaps the best start of his professional career after dealing with tons of adversity to this point. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind S…

With Austin Martin missing a few games in week three of the AFL season, it was up to another Minnesota Twins infielder prospect to take over the “hot-hitting” mantle. With all credit due to Martin so far during the AFL season, even he hasn’t done what Edouard Julien did to opposing pitchers in week 3. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Edouard Julien) Game Results: Monday, 10/17 | Glendale 6, Mesa 3 Tuesday, 10/18 | Mes…

The Minnesota Twins owned the 8th overall pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. They were linked to a handful of players, but the expectation that Brooks Lee would be available to them was not high. It worked out on draft day and hasn’t stopped working since. Image courtesy of © Ron Schloerb/Cape Cod Times via Imagn Content Services, LLC Brooks Lee came to the Twins as a shortstop prospect with plenty of promise. He may have some o…

Derek Falvey was touted for his pitching pipeline in Cleveland. Can the Twins start seeing results from their own pitching pipeline? Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints At the onset of the 2022 season, Minnesota's front office put a vote of confidence in the pitching pipeline by not signing a frontline starting pitcher. Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer were the team's two free-agent acquisitions, and neither performed exceptionally well. …

In this continuing series, we look back on MLB.com’s Top 30 Twins’ Prospects from 2018 to see how they panned out in 2022. Image courtesy of Neville E. Guard, USA Today Sports 2018 was the first season that Derek Falvey and Thad Levine began to see prospects whom their regime drafted the year before land on MLB.com’s top 30 prospect list. Going into the 2018 season, Baseball America ranked the Twins' farm system as the 12th best in baseball, jumping nine spots up from their…

Edouard Julien has been an on-base machine over the last two years. Now on the cusp of the big leagues, can he take the next step in 2023? Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Not many teams hit on an 18th-round draft pick, but the Twins may have found a sleeper in the 2019 MLB Draft. He was a draft-eligible sophomore because MLB ruled his secondary school year in Canada counted as a college season. During his final amateur seas…

Every team is looking for top-tier shortstop prospects and the Twins are no different. Can any of these players become the team’s shortstop of the future? Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Few players can handle the rigors of shortstop at the big-league level. There is pressure to perform offensively and defensively while being a leader on the field. It is arguably baseball’s most important position, and that’s why many young player…

The story of Week 2 in the Arizona Fall League for Minnesota Twins prospects was again Austin Martin. After finishing Week 1 with a three-hit outburst, he added 11 hits in four games in Week 2, including a breakout performance of sorts in a blowout win. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (Wichita Wind Surge), Steve Buhr (Cedar Rapids Kernels) Game Results: Monday, 10/10 | Glendale 8, Salt River 3 Tuesday, 10/11 | Glendale 20, Salt River 4 T…

Good article on Doug Deeds regarding how he made his decision to quit chasing the MLB dream To dream the impossible dream - and then decide it's time to let it go | theScore.com

While the pair of on-base specialists the Minnesota Twins sent to the Arizona Fall continued that trend in the season's first week, their pitchers left a little bit to be desired. Austin Martin had a big game at the end of the week and was one of the top performers across the board for the Glendale Desert Dogs in Week 1. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Austin Martin) Game Results: Monday, 10/3 | Peoria 5, Glenda…

On Tuesday, the Twins began their 40-man roster cleanup. When the World Series is complete, several players will become free agents. The Twins will have several minor-league players becoming free agents. We will explain which players are eligible for free agency, and in today's installment, I'll write about three hitters that I think the Twins should try to bring back. Image courtesy of Steve Buhr, Twins Daily (left: Jair Camargo, right: Wander Javier) …

Minor league seasons are complete, but the Arizona Fall League is just getting started. Here are four things to watch with Twins prospects this fall. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey (Wichita Wind Surge), Steve Buhr (Cedar Rapids Kernels) Some of baseball's best prospects head to Arizona every year to showcase their skills against other top players. Throughout the AFL's history, some of the league's biggest stars have gotten their careers boost…

The Minnesota Twins used a franchise record 37 pitchers at the Major League level this season. With plenty of short starts causing a level of scrutiny, the goal is in developing better arms that can go deeper into ballgames. There’s no better place to do that than within your own system. Derek Falvey has been tasked with building a pipeline of pitching talent since he was brought over from Cleveland to head up the front office. Minnesota has been intentional in targeting arms with upside that they can mold into solid …

Another minor league season sent to the history books. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS None Saints Sentinel St. Paul 3, Omaha 1 Box Score Randy Dobnak: 4 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Nash Knight (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI) The Saints won their final game of the season on Wednesday. It had been an inconsistent and bumpy year—one similar to the season their parent f…

Not much went right for Jordan Balazovic during the 2022 season. Thankfully, he finished the season strongly with an eye toward 2023. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints Baseball development is not a linear path. Prospects can look great one month and then spiral downward later in the same year. Organizations with the greatest success level can minimize slumps and help their prospects improve before reaching their ultimate goa…

Austin Martin’s time in the Twins organization hasn’t gone perfectly. After struggling through most of 2022, he may have finally broken out over the last month. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge Hitting was never supposed to be a problem for Austin Martin. He was widely considered the top college bat in the 2020 MLB Draft after finishing a tremendous three years at Vanderbilt. In three seasons, he hit .368/.474/.532 (1.007) w…

In a must-win game for the Wichita Wind Surge to keep their Texas League Championship hopes alive, they got a dominating start from Brent Headrick when they needed it. Would it be enough? Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (photo of Brent Headrick) TRANSACTIONS There were no transactions in the organization ahead of Tuesday’s games. SAINTS SENTINEL Omaha 3, St. Paul 10 Box Score The St. Paul Saints took care of busin…

The Saints were the only Twins affiliate playing Monday night as they began the first of their final three games of the season. Simeon Woods Richardson was on the mound making his final start of the season while Ryan Jeffers continued his rehab assignment. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS None SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 10, Omaha 6 Box score Woods Richardson Dominates Simeon Woods Richardson made…

We are down to the final week of minor league baseball in the Twins organization. On Sunday night, the Wichita Wind Surge played game one of the Texas League Championship Series in Frisco, Texas. The Saints will conclude their season with a three-game series starting on Monday. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge The Wind Surge are in the championship series. We'll alter the "normal" template and order of the minor league report today and start with them.. …

It's fun when the only game results in a win. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints TRANSACTIONS RHP Melvi Acosta placed on restricted list and removed from active roster (St. Paul) Saints Sentinel St. Paul 6, Indianapolis 3 Box Score Ariel Jurado: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K HR: Michael Helman (14), John Andreoli (15) Multi-hit games: Roy Morales (3-for-4, 2 R), John Andreoli (2-for-4, HR, …

Tenth-round picks can be a crapshoot to pan out in an organization. That isn’t the case with Minnesota’s tenth-round pick from July. He is already flying through the organization. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints The Twins selected Dalton Shuffield with their tenth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. Because of the shortened COVID year, Shuffield spent five seasons in college, which is likely one reason the Twins were able to …

With a decisive two-game sweep of the Tulsa Drillers, the Wichita Wind Surge are heading to the Championship Series! Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge TRANSACTIONS NONE SAINTS SENTINEL Saints 4, Guardians 6 Box Score The Saints took one on the chin Thursday. Randy Dobnak started and gave up three earned runs in 2 2/3 innings. Dobnak allowed five hits while walking two and striking out one. Cole Sands was excellent i…

St. Paul was the lone team in action on Friday. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE AWARDS Starting Pitcher of the Year Relief Pitcher of the Year Hitter of the Year SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 4, Indianapolis 1 Box Score The Saints were able to come away with a win Friday night in Indiana behind a stellar pitching performance by Dereck Rodriguez. Rodriguez tossed five scoreless innings and allowed only one hit while walking three and striking out four. At the plate, third baseman Andrew Bechtold led the way, going 2-for-4 with a …

Matt Wallner smashed his way through the upper minors on the way to making his big league debut. Here's why Wallner was the unanimous choice for Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Year. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints (graphics by Thieres Rabelo) Last season, Jose Miranda compiled one of the best minor league seasons in Twins' history. He was named the Twins Daily 2021 Minor League Hitter of the Year, and fans have seen…

If the Minnesota Twins are going to bounce back next year, it will take more than savvy offseason moves from the front office. Impact veterans help but, as we've seen with Carlos Correa, they can't do it all. The Twins were partly derailed this year by a lack of expected contributions from key players in the system, including the following three premier talents. Unfortunately, their setback seasons will cast a shadow forward onto 2023. Image courtesy of Ed Bailey, Wichita Wind Surge (Austin Martin) …

It takes multiple seasons for a pitcher to make his way from the short-season leagues to the big leagues. The Twins hope some of these pitchers can impact the organization in the years ahead. Image courtesy of Instagram (graphics by Thieres Rabelo) Minnesota signed Miguel Olivares out of Venezuela in September 2021 which meant the 2022 season was his professional debut. The Twins used Olivares mainly as a starter, with eight of his 11 appearances…

During a short season, it can be challenging for hitters to separate themselves from other players at their level. In one of this season's closest voting results, each of the top three candidates was considered for the Twins Daily Short-Season Hitter of the Year. Image courtesy of Instagram (graphics by Thieres Rabelo) Minnesota signed Jose Rodriguez as part of the 2022 international signing period. At the time, the Twins were signing other playe…