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Longtime reader who finally registered. This article I just had to comment on. This is what makes TD special. Great human interest sorry about someone I never heard of!

I still have a bone to pick with Tim Beckham. Several years ago I was sitting in the club level behind home plate, and Beckham fouled a ball straight back to me. I nonchalantly caught it barehanded, while not spilling my nachos I was holding in my other hand. The woman behind me freaked out because the ball seemed like it was coming right at her. Unfortunately Beckham hit a home run on the next pitch, and any chance of getting on camera with a replay of my catch was gone. A fan came up to me later that the radio announcers had exclaimed about the catch and that I had saved the woman behind me.

Ron Henry was the first player to make his major league debut in a Minnesota Twins unform when he entered the April 15, 1961 game against the Orioles as a pinch-hitter.

Excellent first post! Welcome to Twins Daily!

Great idea for a series. Do you take requests? Each time I see a post from Hosken Bombo Disco, I wonder what happened to Hosken, Bombo and Disco. And Willie Norwood.

This move, as many of the moves from our FO, does absolutely nothing for me. Maybe...MAYBE this means they are gearing up to package Arraez for pitching but who knows ? Why not just sign Greg Gagne ?? The winter is cold in Minnesota, and it just got colder.

We literally can't sign anyone of significance with the lockout going on - unless Trevor Story wants to sign a minor league deal with us!

Great story, Seth, about a remarkable, multi-talented man. I especially like the pictures and video of Lannie Garrett (that lady has a remarkable voice) as they add richness to the article. Nice feature for Black History Month. I can't wait for your next one.

As a depth signing and hedge against injury, I like the move. As a contender for the starting job, well, he'd better not be the number one seed. He's a perfectly reasonable option to have in AAA if the starting SS gets an injury that's going to put them on the shelf for longer than a week or so. But that's really the extent of the expectation, and anything else would be a bonus that you can't count on when assembling the team.

Of all the potential SS options kicked around for the last 5 months, no one had Beckham. Falvey gets us again!

I see Gordon as a better utility player, it doesn't look than Beckman isn't any better than Gordon at SS, even worse. Yes we now have more depth but what is that quality of depth. But he has some power, to some that's all that matters. I'd rather Palacio have more time in spring training. IMO it's counter productive even more than Garlic because SS is more crucial. We need a real glove to help out our needy pitching

If this is anything other than a flyer on a depth piece, we are in trouble. As a depth piece, there is no harm in taking a look to see what he can do. If the negotiations go badly and stretch out, there will be a shortage of players in the upper minors for sure.

February is Black History Month, and over the coming weeks, Twins Daily will have a series of articles on African Americans in Minnesota Twins history. There have been award winners, All Stars, and even a couple of Hall of Famers, but many of these articles will be highlighting some lesser-known players. Today we feature a guy who played in just 42 games for the Twins and over 1,100 games in the minor leagues. Ron Henry was born in 1936 in Chester, Pennsylvania. Because of some illness in his family, he missed some school. That said, he became a top baseball prospect in the northeast, displaying a strong arm behind the plate and some power. In 1954, he signed with the Milwaukee Braves, just over a year after the team relocated from Boston. He played in their minor-league system through the 1960 season. At the end of the year, the Twins selected him in the 1960 Rule 5 draft. In order to keep his services, Henry made the Twins Opening Day roster in 1961, the team’s first year in Minnesota. That said, he was the team’s third catcher and played in just 20 games the whole year. He had four hits in 28 at-bats (.143). He played in Triple-A Vancouver in 1962. In 1963, he started at Triple-A Dallas-Ft. Worth and then ended the season at Double-A Charlotte. After 54 games in Charlotte in 1964, he played 22 more games in the big leagues. He was still the third catcher, so there wasn’t a lot of playing time. He went 5-for-41 (.122), but he did hit a double, a triple, and two home runs. He played for the Twins Triple-A team, now located in Denver, in 1965, 1966, and the start of the 1967 season. He then ended that season and started the 1968 season in the Astros system before retiring from the game of baseball at the age of 31 after 15 professional seasons. After concluding his playing career, Ron Henry spent some time in the Army before returning to Denver where he began a career that lasted over 35 years. He became a legend in the Denver club scene, mostly for good reasons. He could play instruments and was known as a jazzman. He could sing and led a group called Ron Henry and Pride. Colorado Music Hall of Famer Lannie Garrett came to Denver and heard Henry perform. She asked if she could join him and was a background vocalist for the next couple of years. They opened for the likes of Ray Charles and Tina Turner. Along with the music, Ron Henry also performed in plays in the Denver theaters and dinner clubs. In 2001, he and his wife moved to Raleigh. He was starting to have knee problems from his catching days. He also had a heart transplant. Provided to the Denver Post by Rebecca Mobley In 2008, he returned to Denver and continued to have some limited performances until his death in 2016. Henry passed away due to cardiovascular disease and end-stage renal disease. He was surrounded by his family, including his five kids, and many friends and people who enjoyed his performances over the years. His daughter, Rebecca Mobley, told the Denver Post following her father's death, "He loved his friends, he loved his life, he loved all the people he encountered, all the people he interacted with especially with the music." She continued, "He was a fun-loving guy. He liked to laugh a lot. He was kind of a jokester. He loved us a lot. He tried to give us a lot of good advice. … He really adored his grandkids." Ron Henry was part of the very first Minnesota Twins roster in 1961. He was one of three African Americans on the roster that year, along with outfielder Lenny Green and fellow-catcher Earl Battey. While his big-league career consisted of just 42 games and a .130 batting average, he was fortunate to spend 15 years as a professional baseball player. That career led him to Denver where he became immensely successful in the music scene with a career more than double the length of his baseball career. Henry isn't the first former pro ballplayer to also succeed in music. Charley Pride played minor-league ball before embarking on his legendary country music career. Bernie Williams is now a classically-trained guitarist who has already been nominated for a Latin Grammy. Who knows, maybe we can see if Trevor Plouffe, Drew Butera, Toby Gardenhire and Dustin Martin will have a Beach Bums reunion? Or, maybe Brian Dozier will bring back Silky Smooth and show off his guitar and piano skills. Keep checking back to Twins Daily throughout Black History Month as we hope to share several more stories about African Americans to don a Twins uniform over the past 62 seasons. screenshot from above YouTube video View full article

From the suburbs of Minneapolis, Heather Rule grew up knowing that her heart was in journalism and that her favorite baseball team was the Minnesota Twins. Read about how she went from a Twins fan to a Twins Media Content Creator. Heather Rule's talent and passion for writing and print journalism started at a young age. She grew up sitting down with a book and reading or writing stories. While attending high school in Andover, Minnesota, Heather got her first authentic look at print journalism and reporting and became very active in the school newspaper. She covered the school's activities, sports, and special projects for the paper and worked on the yearbook. While writing and editing in high school, she knew that she wanted a future in journalism and even knew which topic she wanted to write about: Sports. She attended St. Thomas University in St. Paul, where she got her degree in Print Journalism. While attending college, she was a staff writer for the Aquin newspaper (no longer in print) and ended her time there as the sports editor until graduation. She credits her time writing for the Aquin as the catalyst for her passion for sports journalism. Her first full-time journalism job was with the Post-Bulletin in Austin, Minnesota. She didn't initially get to write about sports, but she took every opportunity she could to take every assignment. She got a lot of experience reporting weekly features, education, crime, and other breaking news. Experience that paid dividends as she moved forward in her career. It didn't take long, though. Soon Heather would get a chance to follow her love of sports as she moved from Austin to Albert Lea. At the Albert Lea Tribune, she got to dip her pen back into sports writing, and she hasn't slowed down since. She got chances to interview players, watch and report on sports and write her pieces. While in between writing jobs and waiting for the next opportunity, she took freelance writing jobs and continued to network. Her networking paid off, and in 2015 her journey with the Twins started. MLB created a start-up program for in-game coordination of social media, and Heather heads up the official Minnesota Twins Twitter account during the games. Immediately my heart sank and my anxiety went up, thinking of all the crappy things I tweeted during games not knowing this sweet soul was on the other end of the keyboard. A team of them works together; they have different people for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It's a smooth-running operation and one that keeps them on their toes. Heather says that attention is an important part of it. Her job is timely updates with embedded videos and gifs when there is a home run, an incredible stolen plate, and our favorite, the walk-off. She beams when she talks about her job and her experiences as a part of the media team. Being so quick to the keyboard is not easy, though. She has to be ready to go at a moment's notice, or sooner, and she is! I asked her how hard is it not to take things personally when people are rocketing off comments during the game? She doesn't take it personally because no one is attacking "Heather." That is a calming feeling because this writer is known to have been one of those people. Her smile grows slowly across her face as she starts to talk about some of the things that fans get up in arms about. The lineup? Yep. The daily lineup is the one thing that will get fans just bent out of shape, and I laughed when she said it because I AM that fan. It strikes a chord with us, and we take things like the lineup personally! I am not sure what we expect from responding to the tweet sent out by Heather through the Twins account. Do we expect the social media staff who sees the tweets to tell Rocco Baldelli we are displeased? It seems so comical now, but I suppose in the heat of the moment, as a fan, we get tied up in the possibility that the lineup means another loss. It's not that she doesn't care. Heather cares very much. She is so in love with the sport and our hometown team that she keeps track of her fun statistics and the regular game-time statistics. One of the fun statistics Heather keeps track of is engagements and if the Twins won that game. Creating her statistics for games makes slower games a little more fun to watch. We even giggled about the Rally squirrel, and she burst my bubble when she told me that we did not succeed with the "Rally Squirrel." But it made the fans happy, that's what mattered, and the content it generated for the social media team. She sits down a few hours before the game, whether she is watching at the park or at home, and preps for the game and what players have things coming up: streaks, milestones, hitting records, and fun facts to watch for throughout the game. She notices many things that many of us don't because of her attention to detail and the desire to bring the story to us through game-time tweets. Heather is always ready to get us the best content, images, and gifs she can throughout the game. How does she get the images she does? A fantastic media team. They have videos and photos throughout the whole game. If she sees something happen, she can radio down to the videographers on the field, let them know what she just saw happen, and they will send the clip in to get up on Twitter. That way, if you missed a Miguel Sano home run because you decided to go to the bathroom, or you missed Jorge Polanco stealing another base with that signature smile on his face because you had to let the dog out, she is there to bring you those moments and all the moments in between. And what happens if she has to wait for an image? No fear. She has folders and files of gifs and videos ready to go when a player does something; she has them sorted by a player, by hit, by date, by weather, you name it, she's got it. Heather takes her job seriously and puts in a lot of work to give fans the best image and content she can. I can say that Twins Twitter, both the in-game account action and the tweets and reactions from fans, make the experience a lot more enjoyable. Heather helps create a community during a game that keeps us excited or sometimes pushes our blood pressure up, but she never lets us down. I have a new appreciation for Twins Twitter and the great job that Heather does to bring us all the fun content she does. Make sure to check out Heather’s website and blog listed below! She currently has eight books out including Women in Media, Women in the Olympics, and Sports Greatest Turn-Arounds. All her information is listed below: Website: http://www.heatherrule.com Sports blog: Thoughts from the Stands Social media: Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. View full article

Well MLB must be getting ready to broadcast AAA games since the MLB season might not happen. They just expanded the season to 150 games. What next in the minors as MLB uses its domination to restructure the leagues. Already over 40 teams lost their affiliation and many are going independent or folding. A lot of fans and stadiums are hurt by this and a few might find they have a better product - it will be a while before we decide about the Saints - right now the Twins are miserable and the Saints have some excitement. What will happen when the Saints stink - it will happen, it is part of the cycle. But I need Seth Stohs to lead us in examining what the minor leagues really look at and what we should expect. It is getting harder and harder to read stories that tie to the Twins during this lockout and the staff at TD is going to have a bigger challenge if something doesn't happen soon. Where will the minor leagues practice? Will they take over the Twins major league facilities? Who are the minor leaguers that will really be impacted by a prolonged strike/lockout? If I understand right those on the 40 man are not eligible to join the workouts.. This means Royce Lewis is losing more development, Balazovic, Enlow, Jax, Moran, Sands, Stashak, Strotman, Thorpe, Vallimont, and Winder can't pitch with major league coaching or facilities. They are all on hold. Miranda and Celestino want to be on the major league roster, but it would be best if they could get some reps. It is the same for all the teams. Trying to find the Saints Roster I  found the following which is not very exciting. Current Roster Angulo, Argenis Banuelos, David Beckham, Tim Cano, Yennier Cave, Jake Contreras, Mark Coulombe, Daniel Faria, Jake Fisher, Derek Hamilton, Caleb Hamilton, Ian Kerrigan, Jimmy Mason, Ryan Megill, Trevor Rodriguez, Dereck Sammons, Bryan Shepherd, Chandler Stankiewicz, Drew Terry, Curtis On the Saints site I checked the Roster and they list Curtis Terry as their only infielder! Wow there is a shift - one infielder and five outfielders. At least Jake Cave and Kyle Garlick can play since they were dropped from the 40 man. The Rotation is Devin Smeltzer, Sammons, Angulo, Rodriguez and Shepard! I know it will change, but this lockout impacts St Paul as much as Minneapolis! Seth help us make some sense out of this. Here is a late addition - Keith Law graded the farm systems and it is interesting to see that KC 7, Cleveland 8, and Detroit 12 are all in the top half and the White Sox are rated at the very bottom of the list (having called up their best prospects). The Twins are #18, but Law writes, "they have so many players who should be on the upswing and be more valuable in a year than they are now. They have a ton of players who need to get healthy and get on the field — highlighted by Royce Lewis — and a number of players who should see progress from working with the Twins’ player development department. "

In honor of Black History month two players that never made it to the major leagues had a great impact on the futures of several Twins. Chuck Weatherspoon and Ollie Brantley were cited by Rod Carew in his book as being a great help getting through the minors. Both started out in the negro leagues in the 50s. Both were in the Twins system from years playing and mentoring several future Twins including Rod Carew, Jim Kaat, Zoilo Versailles, Tony Oliva, Cesar Tovar, Bert Blyleven and Tom Hall In 1961 Chuck Weatherspoon hit a record 7 grand slams for the Wilson Tobbs. He played in the minor leagues with the Senators/Twins from 1957 to 1969. He hit 230 home runs in his minor league career. Ollie Brantley played for the Twins organization from 1962-1969. In his best season he was 15-8 with a 1.63 ERA playing for Orlando. Rod Carew was on that team that went 77-57.

Nice article, Sherry. It is fun to learn about folks who work behind the scenes for the Twins. Heather sounds like a talented and dedicated writer. I will check out her stuff. Thanks for writing about her.

Again a very nice writeup! Watching these guys getting interviewed by Seth makes you realize just how much discipline it takes just to make it to the top 500 in the college ranks. Now they have to go against the best college players to make it to MLB. The interviews give the players a much more human element but they also appear to realize that stats are pretty much what defines them and the harsh reality they can bring. Still everyone of the players Seth has interviewed appears extremely mentally tough and ready for the challenge. It is hard to believe how excited I am about the Twins 13th and 14th round picks. Festa still has projection left and has a pretty decent floor as a reliever and if he happens to find a plus curve or slider he could be a legit starter. The Twins do seem to be doing well in the later rounds with their pitcher picks. Ober was a 12th round pick. Winder was a 7th round pick. Gipson-Long a 6th round pick and in that same draft Varland was a 15th round pick. So they have found and maybe more importantly developed guys in the later rounds. So yeah at 6'6" a solid fastball and likely plus changeup I am pretty excited about Festa. Hopefully he just stays healthy and continues to get better year to year. Getting to know these guys via the video interviews really makes you want to see them make it. You can see they are going to put everything they have into being the best player they can be. The tough part about this process is that only 5% to 10% will have a role at the highest level. 90% of these players will not make it. Still as Seth has said before they are great players in their own right but it is really hard to be the best of the best.

Don't forget Jim Mudcat Grant had a music career (with His Kittens, I think they were called). Also, I remember seeing Denny McLain play at the local Diamond Jim's during the off-season. Electric organist!

It seems quite possible that the minor league season will start before the major league season. It also seems possible that "spring training" will be compressed and it will be difficult to stretch out starters. I wondered if it might be helpful to have a few stretched out and major league ready arms playing for St. Paul that can be utilized early in the season. Here are some possibilities for the St. Paul rotation. Dereck Rodriguez: Former Twin draft pick and Pudge's son. He had a good season as a starter for the Giants in 2018 going 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA in 118.1 innings. This might be the opportunity he needs to find his way back to the majors if he can find his 2018 form. He is not yet 30 and has one option remaining. Devin Smeltzer: Last year was a lost season but his status as a minor leaguer not on the 40 might be a blessing for him. A healthy Smeltzer off to a good start in St.Paul might fight his way into the early season rotation. Can he become the crafty lefty that we saw glimpses of in 2019? He is 26 but is out of options. Jake Faria: It has been since 2017 that this former Rays prospect showed success as a starter in the majors at 23 when he went 5-4 with a 3.43 ERA in 86.2 innings. A severe oblique strain in 2018 derailed the start of his career. This might be his last opportunity. He is 28 and out of options. Mario Sanchez and Brandon Lawson are 27 and yet to pitch in the major leagues. Can either of these minor league journeymen get their first shot in what might be a quick start to the season once the lock out ends? The Twins also have some prospects not yet on the 40 that might force their way into the rotation with a blazing start. Simeon Woods Richardson(21), Matt Canterino(24) and Louie Varland(24) are not on the 40 man roster and will presumably be starting in AA or AAA to start the season. Bryan Sammons and Austin Shulfer are both 26 and drafted by the Twins. They have seen some success in the minors and could start in AAA to begin the season. Have I missed anyone? A delayed start to the major league season and a compacted "spring training" could create an opportunity for some pitchers who have been on the fringes of a major league roster. There will be a few across baseball that seize that opportunity into a successful major league career. It will also be an opportunity for a prospect like Canterino to catapult themselves up to the majors with a great start to their minor league season.

I know it's all they can do....but damn what a riveting offseason. We flew into February at break-neck speed! Here comes spring training! Excuse me, I think the Wild and Timberwolves and Lynx and the NFL draft and NFL Monday in June are on....

The Twins continue on the Yawn express. Can we sign someone of significance? I know it is a lockout, but this is not enough to get my pulse to change.

Well, with the hint that it is a million dollar contract, sounds like they would have him on the 40-man if possible right now. I don't really see him taking a paycut and working in St. Paul. The Twins have Palacios at shortstop there, possibly Austin Martins, and maybe Royce Lewis fast-tracked after starting in Wichita. By most account, I sadly expect Miranda to start the season at AAA until the Twins sort out Sano, Kirilloff, Garver and Donaldson for who plays when and where. The Twins could also advance Bechtold or Speer to St. Paul. And, heaven forbid, they need a spot for Gordon if they don't find room for him on their bench. So shortstop will probab,ly be Beckham's job to lose. And this makes me think the Twins will be dumpster diving for castoffs if and when spring training happens.

That or a potential scab

Well, they got their temporary shortstop on the cheap, and got him signed so he can work out early if there is still a lockout. Don't picture them signing anyone else. They think they got the one the need for a...bargain.

I'd bump Lewis out for Sabato. I'm definitely more forgiving for injury; it's a) almost always outside the player's control, and b) players can come back from it really strong. I'm more worried about guys who perform poorly on the field, and Sabato had a brutal start to his year. He was pretty bad in the FSL and just couldn't make consistent contact, and for a player whose value is going to almost exclusively come from his bat...yuck. Despite the missed time, Lewis is the same age as Sabato and has a better array of tools.

Just insurance. Hope he can still Bend It !! In the event of injury or in case a trade of Arraez is needed for pitching.

The other big pain would be the minor league complexes, like the Twins in Ft. Myers, who will be in play early April with the Mighty Museels and the rest of the complex acting as training for their instructional league players. Where are major league players housed for training and play.

Thank you so much for registering and ultimately for writing. It's always nice to hear that an article is liked or is "special." Obviously we all strive for that, but any feedback or story ideas are welcome! ,

Minor League signing. He'll be able to play during the lockout and could compete for a utility spot on the roster at some point this year. The $1 million is only if he is on the MLB roster (prorated). I'm sure his number at St. Paul is 1/3 of that or so.

You are not the Lone Ranger, my friend. My wife and I are still going and we will enjoy the sunshine and Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, a day or two at the beach, the "orange store" with fresh orange juice, Mission BBQ restaurant, some good seafood at a place on Sanibel Island, I really do enjoy wandering around the different ball fields watching the workouts. Plus I'm getting together with an army buddy who lives there. But I doubt my already purchased tickets to see the Twins vs. the Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox will be used for their intended purpose. I think I will try to get some interviews and pictures for TD with some minor leaguers. Of course my "interviews" will not compare with Seth's outstanding interviews. Hey, if any of you TD writers and readers want to meet and greet, I'll be there March 5 - 12th. When I'm at the ball parks, I'll look for suspicious looking characters who may be TD writers and readers and I'm not shy about asking if strangers post or write for Twins Daily, I'll be the old guy walking slowly wearing an olive green Second Infantry Division baseball style hat. Just yell out Tarheel and I'll know you read this post. I hope to meet some of you there. Now that I think about it, this week in Ft. Myers will be better than going to work in North Carolina. So thanks, I feel better now.

Yes, same here...plus all new merch every year. I've made some good friends with a few of the minor league coaches, so I may go to visit them and watch non roster players...But won't be the same. Maybe we get tickets refunded? Not to mention it's my favorite trip every year. Going to hurt me, giving up hope .

AAA depth. Guys on the 40 man roster can't play minor league ball during lockout

Calendar year of the article. I pulled data from Jan 1-Dec 31 for each year and grabbed the top five.

Cavaco is dropping because like Javier, he ain’t getting it done on the field. That’s totally different than Lewis and Enlow who missed 2020 and were injured in 2021.

To be fair the rules make it so they only need to keep them in the minors for 16 days, not 2 months. 2 months would be for super 2 status. But 16 days gains them an extra year. I agree it's a bad look, but for a league with the disparity in spending power like baseball has it's not too crazy to keep a guy down for 2 weeks. Especially a back end rotation guy who would make maybe 1 start in the majors in the first 2 weeks of a season.

Craig Biggio, Robin Yount, Darin Erstad, Harmon Killebrew. This is actually a pretty fun game.

There are many possible scenarios if traditional roles and traditional practices are jettisoned. If the stacked or "hybrid" pitchers can't give you 3-4 innings each the game is in jeopardy no matter how the BP is used. When they deliver as expected, the number of IPs and number of RPs is less than or equal to 5-6 inning SP. The goal for stacked or "hybrid" pitchers should deliver 7 or maybe even 8 IPs between them. The 2nd guy can be left in for the 8th if you have a 3 or more run game or just because he is pitching well. The old practice of brining in the 7th and 8th inning guy when the game is anywhere near close needs to be adjusted. Of course, the relative recent demand on the BP should play into the decision as well. They can be used more liberally if the demand on them has been light or normal. New strategies require a different mindset and different practices. A big part of the Rays success is that everyone in the organization is on board. Cohesion is always an important element in any organization and even more so when the organization is transitioning to a new strategy and implementing new practices.

What I would like to see Max address is, 1) indicating he is aware that he needs to make changes to combat the shifts; and 2) implementing those changes. Would love to see him step up to the plate in this year's first series, whenever that will be, observe where the infielders are playing, and laying a bunt down the third base line. Do that once in every series for the first couple weeks and holes will begin appearing, holes for some of his ground balls to reach the outfield. One extra hit a week is what, .050 added to his batting average?

If the new baseball agreement includes cutting down infield shift changes that would benefit Max the most. I see him hit more balls into the shift than anybody on the team.

Kepler is one of my favorite Twins and plays well along side Buxton. He had a great juiced ball 2019 season but he's not coming close to those #s especially on BA because of the shift. He might have some improvement if he sticks to RF but I don't see increasing his ABs or moving him around in the order will help. Unless he magically finds a way to increase his distance to compensates for the deader ball or adjusting by going the other way (which goes against the Twins focus), I don't see him getting better. A place like CO would greatly benefit him if the Twins would choose to go that route

The average pitcher in MLB probably throws 93mph today and plenty throw close to or over 100mph. It's a max effort game for pitchers now, the time between pitches has doubled allowing for even greater strain on their arms which is why they tire faster. The pitch limit, innings limit, etc is all in an attempt to avoid pitchers throwing max effort while fatigued and blowing out their UCL because their mechanics break down.

I'm with Matthew... the 2022 pick will be the #1 prospect in 2024. Or at least they better be. If you're picking at #8 and the majority of your prospects are supposed to be "graduating" to the majors in 2022 or 2023 the kid you pick in 2022 better be at the top of the list in 2024. But if I'm picking from these 3 I'll go Rodriguez with Petty as second and Miller a far 3rd. Miller doesn't have the loud tools to be considered for top prospect spots even though he'd probably be #1 of these 3 if I'm picking most likely to have a major league career right now.

If 2 or 3 of the prospects are successful in '22 then 2023 is looking great and nothing like '22. If Ryan, Ober, and Balazovic (just example names) are successful in the rotation in '22 and we are going into '23 with 3 young arms on league minimum deals as part of the rotation they're in significantly better position than they are right now. If it's just Ober and Ryan having another good year and establishing themselves as mid-rotation guys you go into '23 with Maeda, Ober, and Ryan all established as legit major league arms on extremely cheap deals. As opposed to '22 when we're going in with 0 (so far) established arms. If Balazovic, Duran, Winder, etc. can produce 1 more arm to feel good about as a #5 going into 2023 you're looking at filling 1 rotation spot as opposed to 5. My expectation is that only 2 or 3 guys establish themselves/are successful in '22 and I'm quite excited about what that means for '23. Sign Story to a 5 year deal, have 2 or 3 youngsters establish themselves in '22 and go into '23 needing 1 front of the rotation arm. Feels pretty realistic to me. With Donaldson and Sano both off the books after '23 there's even more to be excited about as far as possibilities if 2 or 3 young guys are successful in '22. That's the dream. That's the hope. 2 or 3 youngsters are successful and a couple others show they can be bullpen pieces? Be still my heart ?

No idea what the record is. Depends on how well the young guys perform. If they come up and pitch like Ober and Ryan did last year they'd be quite competitive. If they come up and pitch like Barnes and Jax they'd be quite bad.

As of right now we won't have anyone established that we can depend upon to go 5+ innings for any amount of time, much less the whole season. So our hope is this opener/ long relief experiment will work. For so many years we've needed a steady supply of long relief to uphold the SP and short relief, if they indeed incorporate that correctly this season, I like our chances. I'd like if we can pick up an established frontline SP via trade to help stabilize the rotation. My other suggestion is to pick up FA Chris Archer. Unfortunately for Archer, the Pirates used him and other top line pitchers all wrong, resulting in poor results. Later his shoulder injury that resulted in 2 missed seasons. Therefore it is understandable that his return in 2021 would be slow and his 1st game would be questionable. If you throw out his 1st game, his 1st time through the order he was absolutely dominate, pitching in a very competitive East division. Due to his lack of endurance, after his 1st time through the order, understandably his performance waned. Chris Archer has always been a perfect fit for the Twins and with this piggy-back approach it makes even more sense. He still has a lot of upside and can be gotten very cheaply. With some patience he could again become that work horse, pitching 200 innings and evolve into that ace through Wes Johnson. Also he's very good with young pitchers. He' a low risk/ high reward opportunity.

I'm not a betting man, but if I were I'd put my money on them bringing back Pineda and signing maybe one more Bundy/Pineda type. I don't see them making any trades for the types of arms people are asking for. Maybe instead of the 2nd Bundy/Pineda signing they do a Maeda or Odo type move. But I don't see them spending big money or making a big trade before the season. And I'm good with that. Prospects, prospects, and more prospects is the answer to the rotation question from here on out. They'll have enough "veteran" guys to start the year and delay service time on all their arms, but we'll get a look at half a dozen or more starting pitcher prospects this year. Some will end up as bullpen guys (I still think Duran has BP written all over him), but I think they'll go "creative" this year. We'll see a whole bunch of young guys getting piggy back starts with each guy expected to get through the order 1+ times before turning it over to the pen. As guys separate themselves they'll get more leash and get more innings, but they're all going to be limited on innings outside of maybe Ober or Ryan. I don't think we can frame this conversation in a 5 man rotation sort of way. Don't think we'll be seeing that this year. So to answer your questions: 1. 5 man rotation wise it's a disaster. Bigger picture it's a gigantic question mark. 2. Creative use of youngsters who show they're ready for the majors. 3. Cycle through everyone who shows they're ready without having to DFA any young guys before they get a real shot to establish themselves. 4. I think they'll get guys through, but whether or not that makes them competitive is a complete unknown.