Twins Minor League Talk

The Twins have at least seven prospects they'd need to be added to the 40-man to protect from this winter's Rule 5 Draft. How will those names play into the team's trade deadline strategy? Minnesota is going to have some tough decisions to make this winter when it comes to protecting players from the Rule 5 Draft. Multiple top prospects will be added to the 40-man roster before the deadline, but there are only so many prospects a team can protect. One way to avoid some of these decisions is to include these players in trades before the deadline. Simeon Woods Richardson, SP Woods Richardson is no stranger to deadline deals as …

Who knows how the Minnesota Twins handle their catching situation the rest of the way. Maybe the infield becomes the most unpredictable group in baseball. No matter what, they need to add and the time is now, Let's go! TRANSACTIONS C Dillon Tatum reinstated from the IL by Single-A Fort Myers C Frank Nigro transferred to FCL Twins RHP Luis Rijo transferred to Single-A Cedar Rapids RHP Sean Mooney placed on IL with a right neck strain SAINTS SENTINEL St. Paul 9, Iowa 5 Box Score On Wednesday afternoon, the Saints turned to veteran Aaron Sanchez. He worked around six hits and while two runs crossed the plate, neither wer…

Take a look at what we know so far about the Twins 2022 Draft Class. Has anyone signed yet? Who isn't likely to sign? How does their overall pool look? View full video

The Minnesota Twins zoned in on collegiate players through the first 10 rounds of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. They didn’t deviate from that decision with either of the next two picks, but they went back-to-back with catchers and took Arizona State’s Nate Baez in Round 12. Nate Baez began starting in 2021 for the Sun Devils, and then drew starts in 55 of 57 games last season. He slashed .319/.403/.562 last season, and while the home run total jumped just from eight to ten, Baez pushed his doubles total from three to 21 last season. He’s seen as a decent receiver, and he has played some second base as well. Minnesota would certainly love to see him st…

Tuesday saw the return of a pair of top pitching prospects in Double-A, but it was power from the lineups for Cedar Rapids and Wichita that led their teams to victories. TRANSACTIONS There were a slew of transactions in the system leading into Tuesday’s games. RHP Tyler Viza was released from the St. Paul Saints roster, and RHP Daniel Gosset was assigned from the Wind Surge in his place.. In Double-A, RHP Francis Peguero was assigned to Wichita from Cedar Rapids, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, and RHP Blayne Enlow were activated from the injured list. SS Kevin Merrell was released, and RHP Melvi Acosta was placed on the development list. I…

Here’s the mlb.com page where all signings for the Twins 2022 draftees are listed. They have until August 1 to sign all of their picks. https://www.mlb.com/news/twins-2022-draft-signings-tracker?t=mlb-draft-coverage No one has signed yet, but have to assume Brooks Lee will sign soon - will he get slot of $5.4mm? It’s also assumed that Connor Prielipp might get more than the $1.6mm slot. Starting this thread to keep track of the signings and to discuss. Copying the top ten picks from mlb.com: 1 (8): Brooks Lee, SS, Cal Poly (Pick value: $5,442,400) Has not yet agreed to terms 2 (48): Connor Prielipp, LHP, Alabama (Pick value…

The Twins pick multiple pitchers in the MLB Draft, and the organization has attempted to build a pitching pipeline. So, who are the top pitching prospects in the Twins organization? Prospect lists can be exciting, especially as the trade deadline approaches at the beginning of August. Contending teams must part with some of the top-rated prospects so they can add veteran pieces to their roster. Minnesota expects to be active in the trade market, so who are the organization's top pitching prospects? RHP Jordan Balazovic Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus named Balazovic as one of their top 100 prospects entering the 2022 season. Unfortunately, injuries …

Water is wet, grass is green, and both Mark Contreras and Keoni Cavaco know how to hit a baseball (very well). Dig in for all the info on today's games across the Twins' farm system! TRANSACTIONS No transactions within the Twins organization on Sunday. SAINTS SENTINAL Indianapolis 5, St. Paul 3 Box Score A stellar day at the plate from Mark Contreras wasn't enough to push the Saints to a win against Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. Contreras crushed two homers in St. Paul's loss, marking his multi-homer game of the season and first game with a home run since July 2 against Omaha. Contreras' first moon shot came in the fourth inning with…

Picking 8th overall in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft, the Twins were bound to wind up with a solid talent. After grabbing Brooks Lee, they found themselves in position to get another first-round talent when they took Alabama’s Connor Prielipp in round two. A lefty starter from Tomah, Wisconsin, Connor Prielipp was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in 2019 and tabbed as the state’s top draft prospect. As the Crimson Tide staff ace, Prielipp dominated to the tune of 21 scoreless innings with 35 strikeouts before the pandemic ended the 2020 season. He underwent Tommy John surgery last May, but showed well during the Major League Baseball draft combine. Priel…

With the trade deadline just a week away, this is a massive stretch for the Twins minor league system. Opposing scouts will be doing final assessments, and players could find themselves moved to a new organization. While the expectation would be that talent goes from Single-A and above, the short-season leagues were on display today. Unfortunately, both got bludgeoned in a major way. Not eligible to play with the St. Paul Saints on Sunday due to the 20 days of rehab assignment time elapsing, Miguel Sano finished his stint playing in 12 games between the FCL and Triple-A. He slashed .333/.422/.795 with three doubles, five homers, and 11 RBI. It’s still tough t…

Everyone's favorite player, Miguel Sanó, ended his rehab assignment with a bang and a blunder. Read all about that and more in this edition of the minor league report. TRANSACTIONS With Caleb Thielbar going in the IL, the Twins recalled RHP Yennier Cano. Minnesota Twins sign RHP Michael Feliz to a minor-league deal, assign him to St. Paul The Saints placed RHP Josh Winder on the 7-Day IL (right shoulder impingement syndrome) LHP Brent Headrick promoted to Wichita RHP Tyler Palm transferred to Cedar Rapids INF Daniel Ozoria transferred from Wichita to Fort Myers OF Emmanuel Rodriguez transferred from 7-day IL to 60-day IL RHP Logan Campbell transfe…

As is the case with most Major League Baseball drafts, teams need to look at the pitching across their organization and provide an influx of talent. Minnesota did that over the course of their 20 selections, and one of the names comes from Cal Baptist. In the 13th round, the Twins selected C.J. Culpepper. A native of California, C.J. Culpepper stayed home when going to college. After appearing exclusively out of the bullpen in 2021, he compiled 69 innings as a starter this past year. Culpepper posted a solid 3.26 ERA and allowed opposing hitters to bat just .216 off of him. A righty that averaged more than a strikeout per inning, he’s certainly hoping to take…

The 2022 MLB Draft is in the books. Aside from an outstanding first day, how did the Twins do? What conclusions can we draw from their picks? Here are some insights and some thoughts from Sean Johnson, the Twins Vice President, Amateur Scouting. An Update on the Consensus Big Board The Consensus Big Board worked well in its first year. All of the consensus top 56 we profiled at Twins Daily were drafted. Only 3 players in the 76 I ranked (Tristan Smith, Cam Smith, and Max Martin) were not drafted. They are all high school players going to college. The Minnesota Twins gained 29 draft spots of consensus ranking value with their first two picks. Brooks Lee (ranke…

When you have the best college baseball team in the country there’s going to be more than a handful of draft picks selected from it. The Minnesota Twins dipped into the Tennessee Volunteers roster when they selected infielder Jorel Ortega with their 6th round pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. As a collegiate player, Jorel Ortega has already had to deal with adversity after Tommy John surgery kept him out for a year and his career has amounted to basically the 2022 season. Clearly, he is not someone to allow that to define him, however, as Ortega broke out with power production this year and posted more extra-base hits than strikeouts. His bat ofte…

How did the Minnesota Twins do at the 2022 MLB Draft? Here's a rundown of all of their picks and some discussion on their draft strategy. View full video

The Saints, Wind Surge, Kernels, and Mighty Mussels return to play on Friday, but the Florida Coast League Twins completed a game, and the Dominican Summer League Twins started a game Thursday. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Twins 3, FCL Rays 7 Starting pitcher: Juan Rojas - 3 IP, 4 H, R/ER, 0 BB, 3 K Multi-hit games: None 2B: Jair Camargo (1) The FCL Twins fell below .500 in their first game back after four days off. The FCL Rays scored seven runs on 13 hits, jumping on the Twins’ bullpen. Twins’ starter Juan Rojas was solid in three innings of work, allowing only one run and striking out three. Danny De Andrade gave the Twins a first-inning 2-0 lead o…

After the first 10 rounds of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft were complete, Minnesota had selected all college players and they either played up the middle infield spots or were pitchers. In the 11th round, they deviated for the first time, taking Andrew Cossetti, a catcher from Saint Joseph’s. As a backstop, Andrew Cossetti became a pillar of health in his final two collegiate years. He started 92 games and drew starts in 149 of the 150 he played in for St. Joseph’s. Last season Cossetti put up the best power production of his career with 19 bombs translating to a .714 slugging percentage. Not a traditional slugger, Cossetti also drew more walks than he…

Minnesota added a top-10 draft pick to a farm system that included multiple highly regarded prospects. Who is in the conversation for the organization's top prospect following the 2022 MLB Draft? Prospect lists can be exciting, especially as the trade deadline approaches at the beginning of August. Contending teams must part with some of the top-rated prospects so they can add veteran pieces to their roster. Minnesota expects to be active in the trade market, and these are the prospects considered the best in the system. Royce Lewis, SS Minnesota saw the type of impact Royce Lewis could have on the big-league roster during his first call-up in 2022. In 12 gam…

The Minnesota Twins didn’t have a good season in 2021 and they were rewarded with the 8th overall pick in the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. After a few seasons of later picks, they were in a position to draft a prospect of impact. When Cal Poly’s Brooks Lee fell into their lap, there’s no denying the organization’s excitement level reached unparalleled proportions. Brooks Lee was considered to be a contender for the first overall pick at different points during the draft cycle. An elite hitter with incredible bat-to-ball skills, Lee could’ve helped any number of teams making a selection at the top of this draft. He was an incredible talent for Cal …

Over the past three days, major-league teams have had the opportunity to improve their farm systems through the amateur draft. The Twins found themselves near the top of each round because of their last-place finish a year ago. With their 9th-round selection, they took right-handed pitcher Cory Lewis. Cory Lewis went through a UC-Santa Barbara program that also produced current Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber. Lewis is a big-bodied thrower at 6’5” and uses an analytical background to get the most from his stuff. He has a plethora of offerings and also mixes in a knuckleball that can be usable at the big league level. This type of talent is one that shoul…

While the All-Star Game festivities were taking place in Los Angeles, the Major League Baseball draft was also underway. Minnesota had Matt Wallner participate in the Futures Game on Saturday, and then they selected another Golden Eagle on Tuesday. Ben Ethridge was taken in the 15th round out of Southern Mississippi. A Mississippi native, Ethridge didn’t need to travel far for college. Two years ago he worked his way into the starting rotation for Southern Miss and posted a 3.25 ERA including two complete game shutouts. This past season saw Ethridge as somewhat of a hybrid arm pitching both in the rotation and out of the bullpen. His 147/25 K/BB over the course of h…

The Twins clearly need to trade for relief help before the upcoming August 2nd deadline arrives. And they're going to How much will it make a difference for the better? The past paints a checkered picture. For the sake of keeping things succinct and semi-relevant, we're going to limit this retrospective analysis to the Target Field years. Which of course means we begin with one of the most infamous deadline deals in franchise history. 2010 July 29: Twins Trade C Wilson Ramos to Nationals for RHP Matt Capps In a classic Minnesota Sports Twist of Fate™, legendary Twins closer Joe Nathan tore his UCL in spring training of 2010 – a season …

Despite a couple of days off, the Dominican Summer League Twins won Wednesday with an offensive explosion. Two Twins’ affiliate catchers won player-of-the-week awards in their respective leagues. Read about this and more in Wednesday’s Minor League Report! The only game Wednesday was the DSL Twins, who were victorious over the Dominican Summer League White Sox. The FCL Twins will be back in action Thursday against the FCL Rays. The rest of the Twins affiliates will be back in action on Friday Pair of Catchers Named Player of the Week Wichita Wind Surge (AA) catcher/first baseman Chris Williams was named the Texas League Player of the Week on Tuesday fo…

Before everyone freaks out, it was the right approach. No prep players. No toolsy outfielders. Not a single catcher. It may not have been the Day 2 that everyone was hoping for, but it was the Day 2 the team needed after a near-perfect opening night. You can check out the Twins Draft Tracker for more information on each of the first ten picks. That will continue to be a work-in-progress as we get more information on the players. But as far as the draft today went, it shouldn't have been too surprising. After having Brooks Lee fall into their lap at #8 and then Connor Prielipp tumble all the way to #48, there is no doubt the Twins worked …

Now taking place during the All-Star Break, MLB teams have the opportunity to improve their farm systems through the amateur draft. Following a down 2021 season, the Twins found themselves near the top of each round. With their 7th-round selection, they took right-handed pitcher, Kyle Jones, from the University of Toledo. A Michigan native, Kyle Jones is a four-year senior from the University of Toledo. A starting pitcher for the Rockets, Jones was a workhorse throwing 91 1/3 innings this past season. He posted a 4.24 ERA alongside 11.3 K/9. He became the third pitcher Minnesota selected in the 2022 MLB draft, and was noted as a high-character guy by a few di…

The newest member of the Minnesota Twins is Brooks Lee, who the team just selected 8th overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. Brooks Lee is a shortstop from Cal Poly. Long-term, Lee's bat will play anywhere, profiling more as a pure hitter than a masher. He's grown to 6' 2 and over 200 pounds, so it's less likely he will stick at shortstop and eventually move to third base, where he easily has enough arm to survive. He doesn't fit the typical power profile as a third baseman, but could be a very good second baseman as well. Regardless, he checks so many of the boxes the Twins are looking for. Great bat-to-ball skills, could unlock more power and has defensive versati…

Minnesota had three selections in the first two rounds of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft. They were hoping to hit on talent early as their 3rd round selection was forfeited by signing Carlos Correa. The Twins landed on a shortstop from Virginia Tech, Tanner Schobel, with their Competitive Balance B selection. Looking at the MLB.com pre-draft rankings, Tanner Schobel found himself checking it at 96th. He started every game of his college career, and has played both up-the-middle positions. Schobel broke out in a big way playing in the Cape Cod League last summer, and he continued to ride that momentum towards a solid season with the Hokies. Looking …

With the 48th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Minnesota Twins selected Connor Prielipp, a left-handed pitcher out of the University of Alabama. Industry buzz had the Twins interested in Connor Prielipp at number eight overall in the draft. Instead, they were able to nab him with their second pick at #48 overall. The slot value for the #48 pick is $1.62 million. Jeremy Nygaard drafted Prielipp at #8 overall for the Twins in the Prospects Live Mock Draft. Prielipp already has two plus pitches. The first is a 60 grade fastball that sits 93-95 mph. His slider is his best secondary pitch and one of the better offerings in the entire draft. It generated 50% …

The Minnesota Twins selected Tanner Schobel at number 68 overall in the 2022 MLB Draft. Schobel is a shortstop out of Virginia Tech University. Tanner Schobel is a 5'10, 170-pound shortstop out of Virginia Tech. Although he didn't make the consensus top 56 players, Schobel checked in at 73rd overall on our consensus big board and is drafted around the range one would expect based on his evaluations. Schobel is young as a draft-eligible sophomore (he recently turned 21). In his freshman season at Virginia Tech who moved around the infield frequently, spending time at shortstop and second base. In his first season with the Hokies, he had a middling offen…

We've reached the halfway point of the 2022 MLB Draft, which will conclude with 10 more rounds later this afternoon. The draft will resume at 1:00 pm this afternoon and figures to be all wrapped up between 4:00 and 5:00. After starting off at a snail's pace on Sunday night, Day 2 moved significantly faster. Here's to hoping for more of the same tomorrow. One big change in draft coverage at Twins Daily this year is the introduction of the Twins Draft Tracker. If you feel like there's less draft coverage on the front page and in the forums from Twins Daily staff, it's because you're right. The length of Day 1 provided us some time to do other things (like record…