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Good choices, I give one sleeper an additional consideration. Austin Martin has lost a lot of buzz but should be included. Like Brooks Lee being the most advanced bat of his draft class Martin also has this reputation within his in class. He really struggled in 2022, but broke out in the Arizona Fall League in a similar way that Royce Lewis did. He also has questions with his defensive home, but also could be a SS, outfielder, or even 2nd, or 3rd baseman. Beyond just his bat, he brings speed and base stealing skills that we just don’t have in our system. Speed is there but very few can swipe a base as he did in 2022.

Give them Kepler, and throw in Duensing if needed.

Is there some new batting glove invention this season to ensure that they do not loosen between pitches that I am unaware of?

I'd like to include Martin that he'd continue his comeback & make it back into the Twins top 5 prospects.

Nice job - please send them a copy of their resolution. How about one for Balazovic - forget 2022 and show us you are ready for the MLB rotation I would give one to Julien too - force your way on to the club and build off 2022. Canterino - stay healthy and get to the Twins BP in 2023

Great article - I was like you in the early days of the Metrodome with that many games - unfortunately I missed 1987 as I was in the Navy at the time (although my one game that year was great - game 1 of the ALCS). Moved to upstate NY in 1997 after meeting who is now my wife but since then I have seen the Twins once every time they visit NY, whether Yankee Stadium or Shea/Citi Field, including the 2017 Wild Card game. As you can imagine, much heartbreak there. Finally made it back to Target Field this year for the first time in 9 years for two games vs the Angels and White Sox at the last home stand. In NYC, I always wear Twins gear and am happy to usually find at least a few other Twins fans in my area of the ballpark. Since I don’t know when my next trip back to MN will be, please keep writing articles like this. I really enjoyed my two games at Target Field this year despite the team’s record at the time. And they won both games, making my all-time Target Field record 5-1 (saw 2 wins in 2012 and a win and loss in 2013).

In ‘07 through ‘09 we did a flex 40 when my wife was in college, she got student tickets, and we sat in the LF nose bleeds $5 for my seat, $2 for hers. So 40 games for around $300 for 2 tickets. I taught her how to score, we had dollar dogs we were broke, and a Twins game was cheaper than a movie and the gopher shuttle dropped us free a couple blocks away. good times!

From 1986 to 1988 I went to about 35 games each year. I was single and lived within bicycling distance of the dome so I went to almost every game that did not present a conflict with work or other activities. I would typically buy a very inexpensive ticket from one of the independent brokers who could be found on sidewalks near the dome. I knew how to get past the usher stationed at the top of the stairs from the upper deck to the lower. It was always quite easy to find an unoccupied seat near the infield. I usually kept book, partly because I enjoy the act of doing that and partly because it helps me see more of the nuances of the game. Those were fun seasons.

“I resolve in 2023 to stay healthy, get in enough MLB innings, and keep improving to prove that I will 100% no doubt be part of the Minnesota Twins roster breaking camp in 2024”. This is the single overriding resolution for each of the following: Lewis, Lee, Martin, Julien, Wallner, SWR, Varland, Balazovic, and Canterino (and, although they are not “prospects” per se, Miranda, Kiriloff, Larnach, Ober, Winder, and Alcala). Now, just imagine if our FO and coaching staff gave each of them the opportunity to make that resolution a reality and each one of them accomplished it…….

Great article !! I agree with mikelink and Dr. Gast that I would add Julien to the list as well as the Canterino, Balazovic and Austin Martin selections. We've had SO MANY injury issues with our prospects that it's hard to limit it to just 5 guys.

Brooks Lee will be the easiest to do because Lewis will have graduated this year. Lewis will prove himself at SS at some time this year, seems like he as strong as ever he should stick at SS as long they keep him out of CF. E Rod should also be easy because he's so athletic. Prielipp hasn't pitch any pro ball yet and has only pitched 28 innings of college ball. As we are very hopeful, pitching prospect are very volatile, for him to arrive at the top of the rotation is very iffy. IMO it hard to say for sure until they are on the doorstep. I'm very high on SWR & I'm sure he'll make it to the MLB & make some starts. To predict that he'll join the rotation after spring training is stretching it & I don't think he should. IMO he'll better to get reestablished at AAA before coming up.

Clevinger was acquired via trade in 2014. He debuted in 2016 at age 25. They eventually traded him for Austin Hedges, Josh Naylor and Own Miller. Kluber also debuted in 2016. They got him by trading Jake Westbrook in 2013. They eventually traded Kluber for Emmanuel Clase who was ML ready. They acquired Carlos Corrasco for Cliff Lee. Cleveland acquired Lee a year before he debuted for Bortolo Colon. Colon was acquired in the international draft. So, the way that went was they drafted Colon and eventually traded him for Cliff Lee who they eventually traded for Carlos Corrasco who they eventually traded along with Francisco Lindor for Amed Rosario and Andres Gimenez. The two of them produced 10 WAR last year. Trevor Bauer and Bryan Shaw were ML ready when Cleveland acquired them by trading Sin Soo Choo and Tony Sipp. Konnoe Pilkington was also acquired as a prospect. I keep hearing people calling for them to do what they did in Cleveland. However, much of Cleveland's most important pitching pipeline as well as their current position players were acquired by trading established players for prospects. Basically, they did several Jose Berrios type trades. There was a great deal of angst here when they did that trade. Some people are still complaining and saying they were not serious about building a contender when in fact similar trades had been a huge part of Cleveland’s success over the past couple of decades. They would have been a lot closer to the Royals over the past 20 years if not for trading established players for prospects.

57 games? Pffft. Big deal. Emilio Pagan all by himself attended 59 games. (58 of which were losses, going strictly from memory.) Seriously, kudos on the season summary from up-close.

My initial thought, before reading, was, "Really? It's on these two kids?" But salient points all the way around. Nice article! I am also impatient to see the pipeline actually start to produce fuel for the future. And while I will not make excuses for the FO...I believe in holding them accountable for all the good and not so good...I personally still offer them some slack for 2 primary reasons. 1] While we are all tired of it, the inevitable truth is all but a handful of prospects lost an entire season of development in 2020. Yes, every team was affected. And NO, not everyone was derailed in some way as some talented young pitchers...and position players... have reached the ML level and done well. (BTW, this includes various Twins as well). But some were just drafted in '18-'+19, and saw their development delayed. Again, this is true for all teams. Additionally, Falvey and Levine have had 6 drafts thus far, including the most recent 2022 addition. It's not 7yrs, as some have stated. (Joined October of 2016). It would be unreasonable to expect anyone drafted in the '20-'22 drafts to be knocking on the proverbial door, much less breaking it down and being some sort of rotation mainstay. So the "pipeline" at this point would include anyone of relevance within the system before they came on board, as well as draftees from '17-'19. So even with the missed 2020 year, we're talking about a collection of HS and college arms from those 3 drafts being ready. Just to be real, a HS arm drafted in 2017 would have been in short season rookie ball. If he was a TOP prospect, he'd at least be in low A to begin 2018. Even if he as aggressively promoted straight to high A in 2018, he'd be looking at AA in 2019. Now, that's damn aggressive for a HS kid, but it happens from time to time. But then 2020 happens, and all but a few of top prospects sat out the year, with a few working out at an alternate site, trying to gain some experience. So in this scenario, a TOP HS prospect now reaches AAA in 2021, and MAYBE debuts at some point that year. So now, said TOP HS prospect is ready to have a FULL rookie season in 2022 for his team. And this is just logical steps for a TOP prospect who has no injuries, no setbacks of any kind, and makes steady progress at every level. And I understand an 18yo HS pitcher is different than a 21-22yo college draftee. But more times than not, that college pitcher goes to low A initially for what is a half season once signed. So there a half to a full season ahead of a HS draftee. And yes, they may be more mature physically and mentally, and advance more quickly. Simple logic. And thus, after having a half season of 2017, and 2 full seasons in '18-19, they might have debuted in 2020. Pretty sure a couple did, but not going to dig through 30 teams to see the few who did. So that leaves 2021 as either their debut, or 1st full seasons at the ML level. This is NOT making excuses to the FO, or the "pipeline", this is just NORMAL draft and develop timeliness that would fit most ANY drafted prospect. 2] The idea that someone you didn't sign or draft being a "non-developmental" prospect is absurd to me. You aquire talent in a number of ways, including trades. The fact that Ryan has looked pretty damn good, with potential, is on the Twins. The fact that Duran has been developed and converted is on the Twins. Jax's conversion looks sustainable. Moran's continued improvement is on the Twins. Ober's very nice debut, and his development, in 2021, and his quality results in 2022 when healthy, is on the Twins. Early debuts by Winder, Sands, Varland, SWR, is on the Twins. Hell, the initially solid debut from Dobnak, is on the Twins. (A healthy Dobber might surprise yet as rotation depth). And when I say "on the Twins", I mean the current FO and their coaches from the ML on down, and all their instructors. We have NOT seen what we want to see yet. And I'm as frustrated and anxious as anyone to see the proverbial "pipeline" deliver. But to a degree, we HAVE started to see the pipeline deliver. And if you take a step back and honestly look at everything I stated above, which is a PERFECT developmental scenario...which seldom happens...don't you have to realize that we're just starting to see the fruits of labor potentially blooming? Impatience and frustration are easy. Patience and perspective is much harder.

You are awesome-great post.

Thank you for a beautiful article.

I agree with everything said, but I think all of our patience is growing thin waiting on the promise of some gold coming out of the end of this pipeline.

Great article. Number 12 is it. I go to about 30 games a year, probably 20-24 of those with my two kids. I love it. my kids ask why we dont "have a cabin" we go to during the summer like so many of their friends. We tell them that Target FIeld is our "cabin".

The point is to win the Super Bowl, not win one game and get cooked in round two. At this point, I would be concerned about beating ANY of the possible first round opponents, New York included. The defense is what it is, the offensive line is in tatters (and it wasn’t good to begin with). We can’t run the ball worth a lick and these outdoor games in January especially on grass make it very difficult to execute a passing game. The receivers were on ice skates today. I’d much rather have a home game in round 2 as the 2 seed and maybe someone can knock off philly, giving us another home game of it were to go that far. That’s the only way we have a shot. They had an opportunity to essentially wrap up that 2 seed today and instead played almost as badly as they did against Dallas. I simply cannot comprehend being satisfied with losing in the playoffs. It’s a wild mindset.

Stuck the landing. Well done.

Fun article, thanks. I would be more specific: Royce works to stay ahead of schedule with his rehab and joins the Twins by June 15, following a two week rehab stint in Fort Myers. He resolves that by September Twins fans will have forgotten about Carlos, whatever his name is. Brooks will continue his upward march and resolves to join the Twins by late August. Where he plays will be a problem for Rocco to deal with. Emmanuel believes the Twins can have their version of Atlanta's Acuna who made the big club as a 20 year old. He resolves to play like Acuna, earning a callup on August 31 so he is available for the playoffs. Connor Prielipp looked in a mirror this morning and saw Chris Sale. He thought: if Chris Sale could make the White Sox late in the year following being drafted, why can't I make the Twins? He resolves to do so and backs it up on the mound with his first big league start the last day of the season. SWR woke up this morning thinking about the one start he made for the Twins at year's end. He decides there is no way he wants to pitch another inning in the minors and come spring training, resolves to make that happen. And I will add a sixth. Louie Varland woke up today and read this post and thought, hey, what about me? With a bit of a chip growing on his shoulder, he resolves to do whatever SWR does and makes the Twins opening day roster and the rest is history. And should the good Lord choose to allow me another year on this ball of mud, I resolve to enjoy every minute of the Twins 2023 season.

That commericial will live rent free in my head for eternity.

The Twins may already have this "inning eater", but we don't know because Rocco, like many ML managers, keeps limiting starters' innings.

Great article Melissa. It has been 10 years now following the Twins every game through the internet, living more than 5,500 miles away. I was able to watch a game in Target Field in 2013 against the CWS on a summer day. It was wonderful and something that sticks to the memory. In 2017 I was also able to watch a game in Yankee Stadium (another great experience). Both times the Twins lost and, although I wasn't treated to good Twins baseball both times, I would be back everyday if I could. GO TWINS!

I count Ryan. Cleveland’s initial pipeline was made up of players acquired in trade. Some like Ryan were not global top prospects.

I'm quibbling only on a side comment, but for me the Berrios trade was all about SWR, and Martin was the necessary sweetener. Pitching is the coin of the realm in MLB and if you continually trade your pitching talent for hitters you'll always be standing at the train station wondering how you missed the express yet again. I'd have preferred two pitching prospects in return for 1.5 years of Berrios control but evidently Toronto stood firm. If SWR flops, which is the risk for any prospect, I don't care about Martin unless he turns into the next Jose Altuve or similar. The "new" FO has been in charge since the 2016-17 off-season. So this is now their seventh go-round. FA signings are always needed, but it's time for some results on young controllable difference-makers to be the basis of sustainable success. The two pitchers you named are as good as any if that success is to occur.

Cleveland still has #15 and #53 on MLB.com prospect list - two more pitchers ready to come up and step in. The Twins have Lee and Lewis and Rodriquez - no one else in the top 100 - can they pitch? Chase Petty is #9 on the Reds prospect list, Our top prospect is Connor Prielipp at #4 and he has not even pitched professionally yet. Richardson at #6, Let's get that pipeline going.

I love Target Field, and I enjoy watching Twins baseball, but 3 hours for a run-of-the-mill nine inning game is just too long. If you include the time to drive to the stadium and park, it's easily a 4+ hour commitment. On a weeknight that's too much to ask of even the most hard core fans. Hopefully some of the rule changes will help make the game length shorter and more predictable.

Sonny Gray is a nice piece of the rotation. But the Twins gave up a big pitching prospect on Chase Petty. Petty is 19 years old and already pitched High A ball last year. I’m disappointed in the current numbers of quality pitching prospects in the pipeline.

I was going to make an offer to buy the team to add to Electric Company and Water Works, but unfortunately hit the hotel on Boardwalk and went bankrupt. C’est la vie. Happy New Year!

I always look forward to seeing the prospects playing in the bigs ... I am still out of town so this is what I have to say for the new year ... I AM NOT IMPRESSED WITH THE FRONT OFFICE AND THEIR MOVES ... adding Gallo is a head scratcher , we have no balanced lineups , we needed right handed hitters and we sign a lefty that most likely will be a Sano from the left side ...

Ortiz was uncoachable, lazy and selfish in his time with the Twins. He figured it out after he left here and took the game and the preparation a little more serious (the vitamin injections didn't hurt ?). Also I can't find any articles where it states Kelly and the Twins forced him to "slap" the ball. They may have asked him to "cut down" a little with two strikes or with a runner in scoring position late in a close game, but they never, that I can find, asked him to become a slap hitter. Papi built his persona by creating the ultimate illusion of making yourself out to be the victim in order to become the good guy https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/05/16/david-ortiz-still-doesnt-like-tom-kelly

Thank you for expounding on the joys of the Twins Pass. Best investment of the year.

SWR and Varland are the flavors of the month because of their cups of coffee last September. Seems that most have either forgotten or written off the pitcher with the highest upside out of the group… Jordan Balazovic. My hawt taek is he leapfrogs both Varland and SWR with a strong start in St. Paul. SWR to me appears to be a decent floor, low ceiling pitcher. If he’s only sitting at 91-92 MPH, that’s not enough to elevate him to a mid or top of the rotation guy.

Not sure I really agree with any of these resolutions. Lewis needs to get and stay healthy and prove he is a major league player, not sure he can prove he is a long term SS in half of a season or less, since I assume he will spend a few weeks in the minors before joining the Twins. If Lee proves he is the top prospect that will because he forced his way to majors, there is absolutely no reason for him to be in the minors (just to be in the minors) if he is that good and succeeding. Kind of the same with ERod if he proves 2022 wasn't a fluke he should fly though the upper minors and either be in MN or pounding on the door to say give me a chance. For Prielipp IMO he just needs to be healthy and actually deserving of even being a prospect. He will spend at least the next two years in the minors building up his innings, and that point will be almost 24. SWR not sure IMO he could do anything in spring training that would leap frog him over Mahle, Gray, Ryan, Ober so that leaves the 5th/6th spot and I think Varland deserves that spot. I would love to SWR earn a spot as the piggyback guy to the others. Since I think most will be limited at the beginning of the year.

Having watched Petty pitch in spring training, I was blown away and I would trade SWR or Connor P. for Petty. But what do I know...I can't even spell their names.

Since Rocco seems committed to using only his computer algorithm instead of his instincts and intuition, starters will only be occasionally allowed to pitch past five innings, and under very limited circumstances. So building a bull pen that can effectively handle four innings game after game is essential. Unless they have a lock down BP it is a fool’s errand to handle SP like that. No wonder high level free agent starting pitchers won’t come here. What competitive starter wants to go five innings and 160 innings a year under this manager? Only the injury prone.

"Pitching is the coin of the realm" Outstanding writing Ash. You also added the "standing at the station" analogy, which unfortunately accurately describes the Twins current situation. Well done.

Great, hope filled article. Thanks Cody for this article and for your many other outstanding articles.

Enjoyed reading your article Melissa. Thanks for writing it. Happy New Year and go Twins!

Better get those handwarmers out- 16 home games next April, the most of any month! ?

I've longed for the Metrodome during many a cold April game at Target Field.

Where is my badge of honor?

That's some commitment. That level of commitment should require a contract or something! I hope he got frequent buyer discounts on hot dogs and beers.

Very entertaining read. And I'm very jealous! Been a Twins fan for over 50yrs and a rabid one for well over 40yrs. But I've seen, I believe, the Twins play live 7 times in all of those years. The first was a double header against the Tigers in about '70 or '71 in the old Met stadium with my dad, the little league team he helped coach, and the head coach. The next 2 were against the Angels in '84 when my dad, uncle, and I attended the Olympics that year. And I believe I've been to Kaufman in KC 2 or 3 times. (Memories get mixed at times). Despite living in South Dakota and Nebraska my whole life, time, $, and opportunity never really lined to see them at home until recently. Afraid my Twins experience has mostly been on 57.0 out of Yangton, and games on TV during visits to family in SD, until I got the internet package about 10yrs ago. (One of the very best things about the internet)! I was FINALLY able to catch the Twins against the Rangers in August on a very special trip to the Cities with my father and previously mentioned uncle, who resides there now. A Vikings/Twins 2-for weekend that didn't allow time to catch the Saints, unfortunately. The OF was in shambles, the lineup did nothing, Ryan was great, and Pagan was his normal, explosive self. But it was a FANTASTIC experience nonetheless! It was actually the Twins HOF ceremony game mentioned. (We hadn't remembered that was the case until we arrived). I appreciate people with busy schedules and impatient children involved in such an affair, but we felt blessed to be there on that day, despite the loss to the Rangers. It was wonderful to see those who were inducted, visited, and hear the speeches. I didn't enjoy the cost for concessions, of course, but that was to be expected, lol. BUT, a pair of blue can "Twins Brew" tall boys for $25 was a bit much! (Good beer, but went cheaper after that). Seeing, and touring Target Field for the 1st time was amazing. The stadium and field were as gorgeous as I expected and seen on TV and video clips! We left with some sunburn, lol, a program I have framed in my family room, a pack of 3 commemorative pins, a couple other purchased souvenirs, and a head full of memories that will never leave! Visiting the Kernals, not that far from Omaha, and a return trip to see both the Saints and Twins on the same visit remain on mine and my father's wish list. Reading this, and being jealous, lol, only makes me want to do these even more. Go Twins!

It was a fun read. Thanx.

It will be interesting to see how the game flow changes with the pitch clock next year, which will shave anywhere from 20-30 minutes off games!

From my home it is 2 hours - put the round trip with one of those non-competitive 3+ hour games and I have devoted a full day and then the concessions are so expensive that I just have to shake my head and wait till I get home. The fact is that baseball has become so long and boring on most nights that we have to have big electronic entertainment screens, mascot races, shooting T shirts into the crowd and other diversions that would not have fit into the 90 - 120 minute games in the 50s.

It would be interesting to know how many years it took for Cleveland to build up that pipeline. I hate criticizing the FO without knowing the answer to that question. Maybe the breakout year is still 2 years down the road.

They re-signed him because Bux came to them willing to do what it took to sign a deal because he wanted to remain a Twin