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The Minnesota Twins are one of eight teams that received a competitive balance pick in Round B of the 2023 draft. That meant their international signing bonus pool is capped at $6,366,900. That doesn’t represent an influx of money, but rather the allotment the Twins have at their disposal to chip away at as they add talent. Several of the Twins' current top prospects were brought in through international free agency. Emmanuel Rodriguez is among the diamonds in the system, and Yasser Mercedes has elevated himself to that level as well. 2022 Major League batting champion Luis Arraez was signed out of Venezuela, and longstanding outfielder Max Kepler was brought over from Germany. In October Jamie Cameron wrote about three prospects within the top 50 international prospects that Minnesota was expected to sign. Each of them officially agreed to deals with the Twins on Sunday and can begin their professional careers. #11 Ariel Castro - OF Cuba Castro landed himself a signing bonus of $2.4 million, the most Minnesota handed out this year. Here is what Jamie had to say about Castro back in October, “Castro is already 6’2, 180 pounds at just 16 years old and has one of the better left-handed swings in the class. As with any international free agent, it's challenging to project a 16-year-old player, but Castro has the all-round profile that reads similar to Emmanuel Rodriguez, now a consensus top 100 global prospect. Castro has average speed and despite good instincts, is likely a corner outfielder at the professional level. The bat is the selling point here. He has the capability of developing plus hit and power tools, a combination that would make him an extremely valuable commodity at the next level.” Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com had this to say about Castro, “Castro continues to develop physically and has emerged as one of the top hitters on the international market. There’s lots of projection with the outfielder, and he could end up with above-average power. On defense, Castro shows good instincts in center field and a solid arm. He could end up being a power-hitting corner outfielder. He projects to be an average runner.” #31 Carlos Silva - C Venezuela Signed out of Venezuela, Silva received the lowest bonus of the three, checking in at $1.1 million. Here was Jamie’s scouting report on Silva, “He is 16, 5’9, listed at 150 pounds, and already has a balanced profile that blends a good approach at the plate with strong defensive skills. Behind the plate, Silva has a strong arm and a quick release and pop time. Offensively, he has good bat speed. Although he currently favors the pull side, he has the potential to develop an all-round offensive approach at the plate. Silva would bolster a position of need organizationally for the Twins.” Knowing that catcher is a position Minnesota could stand to improve upon throughout the system, hitting on Silva would be a plus. Sanchez says, “As for Silva, the right-handed hitter from Venezuela has a compact frame that suits him well behind the plate. He also has the skills to keep him there as he advances through the minor leagues. Silva impressed scouts with his pop times and arm strength, which has a chance to be an above-average tool in the future. He shows good footwork along with solid receiving and blocking skills.” #38 Hendry Chivilli - SS Dominican Republic Many athletic prospects find themselves playing up the middle. Minnesota agreed with Chivilli at $2.1 million while he is currently a shortstop. Jamie had this to say about the Dominican native, “Currently 17, Chivilli is 6’3 and 155 pounds. Chivilli fits the Twins mold in 2023, with no standout tool. (He grades as a future 50 in all areas of his game). What is notable about Chivilli is his athleticism. He will add a ton of weight and muscle in the coming years, giving him a healthy level of projectability to add real offensive upside to his already solid defense at short.” Although Chivilli was the lowest-ranked of these three signings, it is notable that he received a pretty substantial bonus. On Chivilli, Sanchez said, “Chivilli has a chance to be the type of player who will impact the game on both sides of the ball. The teen shows solid tools across the board, and those skills should improve as he matures and his body develops. The Dominican prospect already shows good arm strength, and it projects to be above average as he makes his way through the Minor Leagues.” In addition, the Twins have signed seven other international prospects according to Baseball America through Monday night. Juan Hernandez, SS, Venezuela Jeicol Surumay, RHP, VenezuelaMiguel Cordero, RHP, Venezuela Angel Trinidad, OF, Dominican Republic Ewing Matos, OF, Dominican Republic Moises Lopez, 3B, Dominican Republic Adrian Bohorquez, RHP, Venezuela Which prospects are you most excited about seeing in professional baseball?

Both the Giants and Mets reportedly did not like what they saw on MRI and physical examination regarding his surgically-repaired ankle that he fractured when he was 19 years old and in the minor leagues. What exactly was seen hasn’t been reported, but generally speaking, there are only a couple of pathologies—such as arthritis—that could result in the teams’ physicians taking the stance they did. I do not have inside information on Correa’s condition and this is only educated speculation on my part. (For what it’s worth, the Twins’ doctors were also aware of the status of Correa’s ankle and felt confident enough in its structure to hand out a multi-hundred million dollar deal.) The stench of the Giants’ and Mets’ findings resulted in Correa losing $150 million from what was originally promised to him, a fact that must sting deep within his core. Correa’s agent, Scott Boras, implied that the interpretation of the MRI his client underwent was the primary instigator behind his struggles to land with a team. “[T]his scenario is about a large separation in the orthopedic community about functional fitness and clinical exam versus looking at an MRI,” Boras said during Correa’s introductory press conference. “It is a dramatic chasm between how some doctors feel and how other doctors feel about the longevity of a player’s performance.” Boras is right on the money. Many doctors—particularly orthopedic doctors—subscribe to what is known as the biomedical model. To boil it down simply, the biomedical model believes that health is defined by the absence of pathology. To apply it to Correa, his ankle cannot be healthy because something was found on MRI; in other words, the ankle is something to be concerned about moving forward. In many ways, the biomedical model of health is logical, which is why it was so heavily adopted by doctors, particularly in the United States, upon its introduction. However, logic and the body don’t always mesh well. Let’s take MRIs for example. MRIs—which stand for magnetic resonance imaging—are wonderful for diagnosing soft tissue injuries, both those that are acute or chronic in nature. If an athlete tears their ACL or strains their hamstring, the extent and exact location of the damage is often determined by MRI. However, some in the field of orthopedics use what is found on MRI as a way to predict what will happen in the future. The thinking goes something like this: “Well, that individual has a tear in their meniscus. It may not bother them now, but it will in the future, so we better take care of it now.” Again, this is a perspective based in logic. Damaged tissue or bone is “not normal” (i.e. pathological), the thought goes, and therefore must be remedied (i.e. turn the pathology back to health). However, over the decades, MRI’s ability to accurately predict future injury has been found to be dubious, at best. The meniscus tear or arthritis in the back don’t always come back to haunt the individual; sometimes they simply lay dormant, never causing disruption. This isn’t logical and is a big reason why many in orthopedics—including myself, full disclosure—believe more in relying on past performance and abilities. “Functional fitness,” as Boras referred to it, is more concerned about “what have you done and what can you do” than “what could happen?” Carlos Correa has never once gone on the injured list nor has he ever missed time due to ankle pain over the last decade. He has accumulated 32.3 fWAR, won a Platinum Glove, and is on pace to finish his career as a Hall of Famer. Sure, he may have some arthritis and/or some metal in his ankle, but it’s never impacted his ability to perform. Why all of a sudden should we think it will now or anytime in the future? “One thing I learned throughout the whole process is that doctors have a difference of opinions,” Correa said during his press conference. “I had a lot of doctors tell me I was fine and I had some who said I wasn’t so fine.” That is really all that Correa’s rollercoaster offseason boils down to. We like to think that medicine is a completely objective field. Players undergo tests, the results are read, and a decision is made. However, much of orthopedics—and especially physical exams—contain a fair amount of subjectivity. Doctors often have differing opinions; that’s why second opinions exist (and aren’t called second “facts”). The Giants and Mets clearly had a larger issue with Correa’s ankle than the Twins, but that doesn’t inherently mean that the Twins are wrong (or, to be fair, does it mean they are inherently right). An additional factor in play during Correa’s free agency discussions, it should be noted, was the sheer volume of his potential contracts and the ability for a team to insure such a deal. Suffice it to say, either the Giants or the Mets could have gotten their deals with Correa insured with relatively little issue. (The Twins did, after all.) However, what both teams seemingly did was use Correa’s MRI findings to justify backing out of their agreement and offer something more paltry in return. The Mets took it even a step further. Their final offer to Correa was a six-year deal for $157.5 million, exactly half of their original, with multiple non-guaranteed years contingent on him passing a yearly physical. Additionally, according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, they employed the opinion from the exact same orthopedic doctor as the Giants. (Said Boras, "I don’t understand the Mets. I gave them all of the information. We had them talk to four doctors. They knew the issue the Giants had. And yet, they still call the same doctor the Giants used for his opinion. There was no new information. So why negotiate a contract if you were going to rely on the same doctor?") As Aaron Gleeman, John Bonnes, and Dan Hayes discussed astutely in a recent Gleeman and the Geek Patreon podcast, why would Correa agree to such a deal, especially after experiencing firsthand the Mets’ physical exam process? At the end of the day, the Mets, and to perhaps a lesser extent the Giants, tried to utilize Correa’s body against him in the name of saving money. What is particularly egregious is that the Mets knew full well that they may see something upon exam that they did not like. They agreed to sign him for 12 years and $315 million anyway, only to swiftly pull out the rug from underneath him. It’s perfectly acceptable for doctors to approach a condition with different viewpoints and opinions. However, the case of Carlos Correa exposed the potential impact differences of opinions—and perhaps outdated medical models—can have on an individual, especially when “just doing business” is involved.

Last June marked the 10-year anniversary of the 2012 MLB Draft, led by the 1-2 punch of Carlos Correa and Byron Buxton at the top. A decade later, these former high school superstars have followed very different paths to the same destination: featuring as twin faces of the Twins franchise, now and going forward. With this being the case, it's fascinating to look back at how that draft played out, and to compare the career paths of other players taken in the top 10 who could've been in play for the Astros and Twins when they selected first and second overall. Controversy at the Top Although Correa and Buxton were viewed as two of the best high school talents to enter the draft in a long time, neither was the trendy top pick in mocks and projections. No, that would be Stanford right-hander Mark Appel, who was viewed as a surefire frontline starter with a quick path to the majors. Leading up to the draft, Appel reportedly turned down a $6 million offer from the Astros, who possessed the number one pick. Houston turned their attention elsewhere, and so did the Twins – selecting second – and several other teams, as we'll see. The Appel dynamic is important to keep in mind as we run back through the top 10, pick by pick. In another scenario where the right-hander simply accepted the offer from his hometown team, rather than betting on himself and returning to Stanford, things could have played out very differently. Alas ... #1 Pick: Carlos Correa, SS – Astros The Astros decided to go with the 17-year-old prep phenom from Puerto Rico. Correa had reportedly "blown away" Houston's evaluators during pre-draft workouts, convincing them he was special enough to justify taking in front of the kid getting Bo Jackson comps out of Baxley, GA. "They watched a 6-foot-3, 190-pound shortstop with staggering skills," wrote Peter Gammons at the time. "Soft hands. Incredibly lithe feet, which allows him to maintain uncanny balance in his powerful swing and always catch grounders in position to throw." It's unclear whether the Astros actually thought Correa was a better talent than Buxton, because their decision was also motivated by finances: signing the shortstop under-slot at $4.8 million enabled them to harvest their savings and lure prep pitcher Lance McCullers away from a college scholarship with a big bonus at 41st overall. (The Twins used a very similar strategy five years later, with Royce Lewis and Blayne Enlow.) The rest, as they say, is history. Correa dominated the minors and rose in the top prospect rankings, topping out at #3 on MLB.com's list in 2015 before he broke through to the majors and won Rookie of the Year. The two names ahead of him in the top prospect ranks at that time? Number two Kris Bryant, and number one ... #2 Pick: Byron Buxton, OF – Twins Buxton was widely viewed as the best prospect in the draft, so the Twins were thrilled to land him with the second pick. They paid a premium to sign him away from the University of Georgia, with Buxton's $6 million bonus easily topping any other player in this draft (no one else even got $5 million) and beating Joe Mauer's franchise record. Buxton went on to do what was optimistically expected of him: he quickly became the consensus top prospect in the minors, reached the big leagues three years after being drafted (in fact, he debuted in the same week as Correa), and developed into one of MLB's preeminent stars – albeit with a bit more of a learning curve and a lot more injury hiccups. It's interesting now to wonder what the Twins would've done if Houston followed the more straightforward route by drafting Buxton. Would they have taken Correa? That seems likely. In a retrospective on the leadup to the 2012 draft for The Athletic, Aaron Gleeman wrote about how dazzled the Twins were by Correa during a workout at Target Field. "Minnesota’s brain trust of general manager Terry Ryan, vice president of player personnel Mike Radcliff and scouting director Deron Johnson had Correa and Buxton as the top two prospects on their board, going back and forth on who should hold the top spot," Gleeman shared. How fortuitous to 10 years later have both locked up long-term. #3 Pick: Mike Zunino, C – Mariners The top college hitter in the draft was a big slugging catcher out of the University of Florida. Zunino was the best player on a Gators team that reached three straight College World Series. The Mariners signed him to a $4 million bonus, with the hopes that his advanced bat would rise quickly. It did – Zunino reached the majors one year after being drafted – but he wasn't destined for the same kind of star status as Correa and Buxton. The catcher has had a relatively successful big-league career, accruing 850 games played over 10 seasons, but didn't quite turn into the two-stud Seattle envisioned. Zunino signed a free agent deal with the Guardians in December so we'll be seeing plenty of him in 2023. #4 Pick: Kevin Gausman, RHP – Orioles With arguably the top three position players off the board, the Orioles set their sights on trying to nab the best pitcher in the draft. While they might have felt it was Appel, Baltimore wasn't looking to get involved in those hardball negotiations so instead they were left to choose between two standout collegiate arms: Gausman out of LSU or Kyle Zimmer out of the University of San Francisco. They made the right choice, albeit not one that would end up benefiting their franchise a ton. Gausman quickly emerged as a top prospect, and was in the big leagues a year later at age 22. From there it took the righty a very long time to blossom into the frontline starter he would eventually become. He spent five mostly average years in Baltimore, then jumped around to Atlanta and Cincinnati before ending up in San Francisco where he finally turned the corner. He parlayed a breakout season in 2021 into a $110 million contract with the Blue Jays, and made good on the first year by leading the AL in FIP and K/BB ratio. Gausman was the top pitcher selected in the 2012 draft, and eventually fulfilled his promise, but not until a decade later when he was 30. I think that perspective is important to keep in mind for Twins fans underwhelmed by the fruits of this current front office's pitching development efforts through seven years. It takes time. #5 Pick: Kyle Zimmer, RHP – Royals Of course, sometimes it just doesn't take at all. Zimmer emerged at USF as a strikeout machine with huge upside, convincing Kansas City to take him fifth overall, but struggled with injuries and control issues in the minors. His big K-rates kept him continually on the prospect radar, but it never really materialized in the majors for Zimmer. He made 83 appearances for the Royals from 2019 through 2021 – all but three in relief – and posted a 5.19 ERA. Zimmer is still only 31 so it's not unthinkable he could resurface, but that seems unlikely at this point. He was released from a minor-league contract by the Reds last summer after struggling in Triple-A, and is currently a free agent. #6 Pick: Albert Almora, OF – Cubs Almora is the type you often see drafted in the first round: a toolsy, athletic prep high schooler with big upside to dream on. He debuted at 22 and looked like he might be a real find early on, but Almora's bat went the wrong way as poor plate discipline tanked his offensive game. (Another familiar story with this player profile.) Since 2019 he has slashed .219/.265/.344 for a 61 OPS+. He's still been hanging around as a glove-only outfielder, and played 64 games for the Reds last year in that capacity. He went unclaimed on waivers in September and is currently a free agent. #7 Pick: Max Fried, LHP – Padres Picking high school pitchers at the top of the MLB draft is hazardous, as the Twins would learn a year later with Kohl Stewart. Rarely does the decision work out as well as it did with Fried, but when it does, you can see why teams are willing to take the gamble. Fried, a California high school standout committed to UCLA, was wooed away by San Diego's $3 million signing bonus. He quickly emerged as a top prospect and was in the majors by 23 despite losing a year to Tommy John surgery. The Padres traded Fried as a prospect, headlining the package to acquire Justin Upton in 2014. They'd probably like to take that one back. Fried has emerged in his late 20s as a bona fide ace in the Braves rotation, and finished runner-up for Cy Young last year. #8 Pick: Mark Appel, RHP – Pirates Finally, Appel's long fall reached an end, when the Pirates selected him eighth overall. It was quite the fiasco. Apparently Pittsburgh had never even gotten in touch with Appel or his family before the draft, which set negotiations off on a sour note. They never recovered. Appel reportedly turned down nearly $4 million, opting to return to Stanford as a senior and aim for a top-pick bonus in 2013. (It worked; he went first overall to Houston and signed for $6.35 million the next year.) Among the 60 players taken between the main and supplemental first rounds in 2012, Appel was the only player not to sign. His agent? Scott Boras, naturally. Appel's career ended up being quite the odyssey. He flamed out in the minors and announced he was stepping away from baseball in 2018. Then, after several years off, Appel made a comeback in 2021, and worked his way back into the majors as a reliever for the Phillies last year. A cool story, but little more. Appel threw 10 innings for Philly, experienced elbow inflammation, and then got DFA'ed after the season. He's a free agent hunting for another chance in Triple-A. #9 Pick: Andrew Heaney, LHP – Marlins Drafted out of Oklahoma State University after a stellar junior season, Heaney became another example of how long it can take for things to come together with a pitching prospect. He established himself as an elite prospect and reached the big leagues at age 23, but Heaney endured a lengthy battle with the MLB learning curve. From 2014 through 2021, a stretch of eight seasons spent mostly with the Angels, Heaney posted a 4.72 ERA and 4.45 FIP as one of the league's most homer-prone starters. His big strikeout rates were never backed by truly outstanding results. Last year, the Dodgers signed him to a cheap one-year deal, exercised careful usage with short outings (a Twins-like course of action, I will note), and extracted new levels of success. Heaney enjoyed a rejuvenated market this offseason, signing a two-year, $25 million deal with an opt out. #10 Pick: David Dahl, OF – Rockies Dahl has had a bit of a Buxton-like career, albeit to a different extreme. Drafted out of an Alabama high school, he got off to a fast start in the minors and climbed the prospect charts. But the sweet-swinging lefty had his own injury derailments along the way, including a torn hamstring in 2013 and a spleen laceration suffered on a collision in 2015, along with rib, back, ankle, foot, and shoulder issues. He's occasionally shown glimpses of his true potential, namely in 2019 when he batted .302 and made the All-Star team. But that season ended after 100 games, which remains the most he's played in an MLB season. He didn't play in the majors last year and is now on a minor-league deal with San Diego. He's still only 28 but Dahl's major-league future is on life support. And there you have it. The 2012 draft included some other gems beyond the top 10, including Lucas Giolito (16th overall), Corey Seager (18th), Jose Berrios (32nd) and newly minted Twin Joey Gallo (39th). But if the two teams at the top, Houston and Minnesota, could do it all over again, they probably wouldn't change a thing – as illustrated by Keith Law making the same choices when he redrafted the 2012 MLB Draft at The Athletic. Now, through a shocking twist of fate, the Twins will be building around both of those top two players for the next six years at least.

Less than eight months removed from his second career Tommy John surgery, The Twins signed Chris Paddack to a three-year extension. The why is simple: Locking Paddack into a three-year deal at a low cost could provide them with rotation depth when he recovers. While there is always a risk, $4 million per year would be a deal for a starter with his upside. Beyond the ability to save a few dollars, in his limited time with the Twins, Paddack showed real progress. When the Twins acquired him alongside reliever Emilio Pagan in exchange for closer Taylor Rogers, the move bought bewilderment from the Twins faithful. After all, Minnesota’s bullpen had been an epic disaster in 2021, and in one transaction, they traded one of the few effective arms they had. Not only was Rogers a good pitcher, but he was also a good guy. When the pandemic shuttered spring camps in 2020 and reduced media access to clubhouses, Rogers would meet reporters outside and speak on behalf of the players. Hard to fault people for this reaction. Rogers was a replacement All-Star in 2021 and the team’s union representative. He had performed well and carried himself even better. The two new Twins were question marks. Paddack had long been an exciting prospect. Drafted by the Marlins and traded to the Padres for Fernando Rodney . He had dominating numbers in his age-20 season but required Tommy John for the first time. He recovered, commenced dominating again, and ended up in San Diego in 2019. Paddack’s rookie season showed much promise. He finished with 140.2 innings over 26 starts. He struck out 27% of batters faced, held opponents to a .204 average, and posted an excellent 126 ERA+. The 2020 season was weird for everybody. Considering the conditions, it’s not a stretch to think it was mentally exhausted by, you know, everything. Expecting players to perform at their best in team isolation is problematic. For Paddack, his fastball moved slightly differently, like a two-seam fastball. On average, he got two more inches of run out of it. They would be thrilled if you told most pitchers they had gained two inches of horizontal movement on a pitch. Paddack, however, struggled to command it. He couldn’t elevate it like he had the previous season and missed the zone more often. And he was walloped when left middle-down. He surrendered ten home runs, a .308 average, and got 9.5% swinging strikes versus 12% the year before. Maybe it was a sophomore slump or just the effects of a weird, shortened season. Perhaps in the next regular season, Paddack would be ready to continue where his rookie season left off. Paddack worked diligently heading into 2021 to command his new moving fastball, locating it more in the zone. While he showed improvement there, hitters also continued to thwack whatever didn’t elevate (.314 batting average against), and the overall season was ugly, punctuated with a 5.07 ERA (77 ERA+). He quickly became a buy-low type of candidate, with the hyper-competitive Padres ready to upgrade their rotation. That’s where the Twins come in. From the Twins’ perspective, there was still a lot to like about Paddack despite his numbers. He had a fastball that regularly touched 97 mph. He had an elite changeup. While he had a 5.07 ERA, he had a solid 3.87 xFIP, suggesting that there was noise, suggesting he pitched a lot better than those results indicated. As I discussed in the recent post on Jorge Lopez, the Twins are tinkerers. My initial reaction to Paddack’s acquisition was that the Twins were going to look to do two things: 1. Help him be able to locate his fastball in the upper third of the zone or high and 2. Reduce his overall usage of his fastball. As it turns out, the Twins did just that. Paddack’s numbers look very different from his last season in a Padres uniform through his five starts. % of FBs Upper Third Fastball Usage 2020 40.9% 58.2% 2021 47.6% 61.5% 2022 60.0% 51.8% Paddack began to consistently throw the fastball in the upper third. One of the reasons behind this consistency is that he had a much more consistent release point with his fastball throughout his five starts. And it’s not just the point of release of the ball – it starts with his movements. Paddack and the Twins made strides in tightening his mechanics – from the initial move to his arm path and the release. One thing that stands out about his mechanics this past season was how he moved from his center more. (No, it’s not a Bull Durham-type thing where he unjammed his eyelids.) Pitchers who move from their core tend to be more stable throughout their mechanics, and with stability comes repeatability (which is why you see his release point as a tight ball in 2022 versus a scatter chart the past two years). Why is the upper third so important? It’s where the swing and misses are. Dating back to 2016, fastballs thrown in the lower third had a swinging strike rate of 4.9% with a 47% in-play rate. However, fastballs at the top area of the strike zone had a swinging strike rate of 12.9% and an in-play rate of 28.1%. Paddack’s career with the Padres mirrored this success – he had a 15.1% swinging strike rate at the top of the zone and a 3.7% one at the bottom of the zone. Logically, get him to elevate, and he should succeed with the pitch. Paddack’s zone rate with his fastball jumped to 66%, and he had an overall career-high 12.1% swinging strikes rate in 2022. So while his fastball and changeup remain elite offerings, Paddack has yet to find that elusive and essential third pitch. For most of his career, he has used what has been labeled a “serviceable” curveball. Paddack tried adding velocity to this pitch to help pull it closer to his fastball. The big loop was assisting hitters in eliminating it from his arsenal. Again, enter the Twins. One of the prominent aspects of the Twins’ pitching philosophies is that pitchers should have sliders or cutters – breaking pitches that move late. Unlike curveballs, they don’t deviate from the tunnel as early. The Twins prefer pitchers to throw the sweeper variety slider. Chris Paddack began throwing a slider at his third start of the 2022 season. It was something that many people figured would happen. “He doesn’t give up many hits,” former teammate Craig Stammen said during Paddack’s rookie season. “It’s crazy. And he’s doing it with basically two pitches. I keep thinking he’s going to find a slider — two, three, four years down the road — and he’s going to be really nasty.” We’re now three years later, and Paddack attempted to fulfill that prophecy. Paddack had tried to throw a cut fastball but reverted to his fastball-change-curve mix. As Stammen mentioned, the slider would be a decent option to supplant his curveball. In theory, he starts throwing the slider, and he’ll be nasty, right? In practice, however, it was…not great. In his third and fourth starts of the year, he threw 14 sliders to Tigers and Orioles hitters. They were, well, see for yourself. Paddack video.mp4 Paddack had five strikes (35% strike rate), two balls in play (both outs!), and one swinging strike. Paddack did not use it during his final outing against the Dodgers. It may have been a lack of confidence in the pitch or simply because of the game plan. Nevertheless, the Twins have been very good at maximizing their pitcher’s slider. With much time to recover and then focus on pitching, there should be ample time to polish it up. So why did the Twins extend Paddack? The relationship with Scott Boras also played a factor, and the potential to save future money on a rotation piece did too. But don’t overlook that Paddack also had taken substantial strides forward. He locked in on his fastball and has the makings of a third pitch. Like his former teammate suggested, we will be four years down the road when Paddack returns. The hope for the Twins is that he is really nasty.