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Yesterday, we poetically delved into the romanticism and joy that accompanies the first few days of spring training. That is appropriate; optimism is the primary characteristic of the first phase of spring training. Talking with folks on Day 1, the participants make that clear. The Players It’s time to shake off the rust. That starts with pitchers because they take more time to build up their arm strength. Catchers join them because nobody wants to chase the ball to the backstop after every throw. Four days later, the rest of the position players join camp, because they need less than a week to find their groove. Except this year, most guys are way early. It’s not totally clear why. Factors include the World Baseball Classic, optimism about the team, make-or-break years, the lack of COVID, or the fact that last year's lockdown-shortened camp. Whatever it is, most can’t wait. This is funny because this first part of the year has a very first-week-back-to-school feel. Players are excited to see each other again. The new kids are making friends; finding a lunch table at which to sit. There’s excitement in the air. Goals are fresh in mind. Some are eager to show they’re healthy. Some are eager to test whether or not their offseason workouts will pay dividends on the field. At the very least, those workouts are over. Baseball is the fun part of the season. Coaches The first week of school comparison also applies to coaches, trainers, management, etc. Yes, they are also excited to reconnect with each other and players. But the teachers are also sizing up their students' potential - both for greatness and for trouble. They also get a chance to see younger players whom they have only heard about in the minors. Glimpsing the future in those newcomers fires up everyone who loves the game. By definition, the coaches love the game; they wouldn’t have chosen their career if they didn’t. So if you think the players are excited, you can only imagine the spring in the coaching staff’s step. Reporters For reporters, this is the best part of camp, too. Players are ready to talk, partly because they’re excited, but also because we haven’t worn them down with the same questions repeatedly. So this is an opportunity to interview players, transcribe the interviews, and then tuck them away to be referenced in a future story. The Love of the Game exhilaration applies here, too. Being a beat writer for baseball is a grind, even compared to other sports beats that grind. It’s basically every day or night, for eight months, and the opportunities often require relocating. Again, nobody who isn’t obsessed with baseball subjects themselves to that, especially for what they are paid. Plus - I won’t lie - the days are shorter in this phase of spring training. No afternoon games, and no trips across the state. It’s easily the best and most productive time to attend as a reporter. Fans It’s the best time to attend as a fan, too, at least if your goal is to have more interaction with the players than you’re likely to ever have again. There is a path to the practice field where the players walk early each morning and back late each morning. It has barriers to separate them from fans, but the barriers are waist high, and, as mentioned, the players are generally excited. They will often stop for selfies, autographs, high 5s, etc., especially on the way back. Plus, batting cages and the bullpens are both somewhat viewable as well. Want to see Jhoan Duran’s velocity up close? Or see Nick Gordon working with Torii Hunter in the batting cage? There are no guarantees but you’ll see something if you peer long enough through the fences and screens. There is one day in particular when excitement is at its peak, and the Twins announced that today. The day after position players report, the Twins have an open house, where they open up Hammond Stadium (including concessions), have some special events (especially for kids), and provide even more chances to interact with players. This year, it’s Monday, the 20th. But mostly any day before games start, you’ll have access you can’t quite believe - provided you show up in the morning. Timing is the biggest obstacle to all these experiences - they happen in the morning. This is by design: Florida can get pretty hot in the afternoons. Players are often in the fields By 9 AM. (Some much earlier.) they’re often back by 11 or 12. The camp can be a ghost town in the afternoon. You’ve been warned. Am I trying to convince you to come to spring training? Yes. Yes, I am. If you care enough to seek out Twins news on Day 1, you probably care enough to enjoy yourself. And if you are reading this because you’re excited about watching grown men play catch, then you’re going to fit right in, right here, right now.

Age: 23 (DOB: 6/5/1999) 2022 Stats: 12 G, .300/.317/.550, 4 2B, 2 HR, 2.4% BB, 12.2% K National Top 100 Rankings: BA: 82 | MLB: 46 | BP: 40 What's To Like After not playing in professional baseball since the 2019 season, 2022 represented an opportunity to see Royce Lewis back in game action. He had nowhere to play outside of St. Paul for alternate site action in 2020, and then he suffered a fluke knee injury after tearing his ACL in Texas before the 2021 season. There was plenty of reason to be uncertain about what Lewis would bring to the table given his time off, but he picked right back up where things ended during 2019 Arizona Fall League action. Although his swing left plenty to be desired during the regular season in 2019, his .975 OPS across 22 games for Salt River was plenty exciting. Lewis began the 2022 season with Triple-A St. Paul. It was a substantial leap given he played just 33 games at Double-A two years prior, but he looked every bit like he belonged. In 24 games to start the season, Lewis owned a .993 OPS and had an even more impressive 20/17 K/BB ratio. His plate discipline translated to a .430 OBP, and he blasted a trio of home runs alongside 11 doubles. After an injury to starting shortstop Carlos Correa, Lewis found himself making his major-league debut at a position some wondered whether he could hold down. The bat played in the big leagues, and although the plate discipline slid some, he more than held his own offensively. In the field, Lewis looked the part of a natural shortstop and made plenty of throws that suggested he could stick at the position. Even after Correa returned from injury, Lewis still found a way to force his way onto Rocco Baldelli’s 26-man roster. What’s Left to Work On Similar to the situation entering 2022, Lewis will again need to prove he’s healthy and ready for the next challenge. After making a brief cameo in centerfield filling in for Byron Buxton, Lewis tore his ACL again in a fluke collision with the wall. He has every idea how to rehab the injury a second time around, and it’s clear he came back strong, but the proof will need to be there again. This time around Lewis will also be returning to a new position. He played third base in high school and could factor there with Jose Miranda, or he could play second base with Jorge Polanco. There will be opportunities at shortstop, but the bulk of that time is going to go to Correa in the foreseeable future. Getting Lewis reps around the diamond at St. Paul will be a must early on this summer. When it comes to production at the plate, Lewis will also need to work on consistency. His 12 game sample size was great, but indicative of very little. He struck out just five times in 41 plate appearances, but he also only drew one walk. Bringing the plate discipline and on-base prowess from Triple-A in 2022 is something that Minnesota would love to see. His swing has calmed down quite a bit, and working to make that habit needs to continue as well. What’s Next For Lewis, it’s going to be continued rehab the rest of the spring and into the early summer. He has indicated feeling better, sooner than he did last time around. Recovering from his previous ACL injury, Lewis came back a bit stronger and was clocked running record speeds down the first base line. It remains to be seen how that will go after a second procedure, but his body continues to be something that matures. Minnesota fans can expect to see Lewis play for the Saints again at some point this summer, but betting on it being a long-term thing seems relatively foolish considering how quickly he worked through the level a year ago. Character has long been off the charts for Lewis, and expecting another setback to hold him down for long doesn’t seem wise. There isn’t much left for Lewis to prove on the farm, so as soon as he’s health and producing, he’ll be donning the Twins new threads at Target Field. Feel free to discuss Royce Lewis as a prospect and ask as many questions as you like in the COMMENTS below. Previous Installments Honorable Mention Prospects 21-30 Prospects 16-20 Prospects 11-15 Prospect #10: Austin Martin, SS Prospect #9: Louie Varland, RHP Prospect #8: Jose Salas, INF Prospect #7: Connor Prielipp, LHP Prospect #6: Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Prospect #5: Edouard Julien, 2B Prospect #4: Marco Raya, RHP Prospect #3: Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF Prospect #2: Royce Lewis, SS Prospect #1: Coming Tomorrow!

The Twins find themselves in a heated hand of five-card draw. They like most of the cards they’re holding in the bullpen, but they could take a chance on trading in their last piece for a fresh one in the hopes that it complements their hand better. There are plenty of face cards in this hand, including relief ace Jhoan Duran, veteran king Caleb Thielbar, and a young jack, or should I say Jax, rather. Other members in their relief corps such as Jorge Lopez or Jorge Alcala could find themselves in that high-value card class, but the jury is still out on if they can be counted on to be healthy and/or effective. Still, the club could be looking to add one last card in the hopes of landing a royal flush. But is it really worth it to go for a wild card, or should the Twins stick with the hand they were dealt? Imperfect analogies aside, the club has been tied by Darren Wolfson to veteran southpaw Brad Hand, who is coming off of a relatively successful, if uninspiring, 2022 season. Right now, the last member of the Twins’ bullpen is projected to be righty Trevor Megill, who showcased a blazing fastball in the last few months of the season but left much to be desired overall. Adding Hand to the mix carries a possibility that he continues to outshine his peripherals, as has been the case since he transitioned to a full-time reliever in 2016. Even just last season, he had a fantastic 2.80 ERA despite having a 4.40 xERA. The expected figure is due in large part to his unspectacular 1.65 K/BB rate, an unexciting 7.3% swinging strike rate, and diminishing values on his fastball as the season wore on. But aside from the discouraging numbers under the hood, he managed to throw 45 innings of mostly unproblematic baseball in 2022. So would the Twins be wise to bring him on board with an inexpensive one-year deal? Let’s start with the upside of such a deal. As the last few years have shown us, you can never have too many options in a relief corps. Signing Hand likely moves Megill down to Triple-A for the time being, but the Twins wouldn’t be required to drop anyone from their 40-man roster. Both Chris Paddack and Royce Lewis are now eligible to be moved to the 60-day injured list, which would remove them from the 40-man roster until reinstatement. If Hand produces as expected, he’d be the third left-handed pitcher in the projected bullpen depth chart. Thielbar is a lock as a high-leverage option, and Jovani Moran is bound to get more time after impressing in 41 MLB innings last year. Sure, Moran has shown more success against right-handed batters thanks to his big changeup, but he’s had success against fellow lefties, as well (12 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 vs. LHH). So overall, it's not too much of a gamble just to have Hand aboard. The downside of such a move isn’t that someone like Megill misses MLB opportunities. There are bound to be multiple injuries throughout the season and surely the big-league club will have to tap into the depth stashed in St. Paul. The downside comes from the Twins’ recent track record of giving established MLB veterans too long of a leash when their performance underwhelms. From J.A. Happ and Matt Shoemaker, to Tyler Duffey and Joe Smith, sometimes it feels as if the decision-makers are more concerned with hurting their reputation as a veteran-friendly organization rather than the results on the field. Granted, sometimes that patience pays off. In 2021, Alex Colome had a brutal 8.31 ERA in April before turning things around (3.51 ERA from May 1st through the end of the season). But in that first month, the club was unable to remove him from high-leverage situations, whether due to a lack of MLB-quality replacements or an excess of confidence in Colome’s projected regression to the mean. That lack of action regarding the veteran (among other things) essentially derailed their hopes of contention by May. After two consecutive losing seasons, the Twins can’t afford to have that same mindset with someone like Hand, especially given the fact that he would likely be their sole addition to the bullpen. Their efforts might be better suited to give their current cards more playing time and reevaluate their needs down the line. Maybe Kenta Maeda eventually transitions to the bullpen as he approaches an inning limit in his first season post-Tommy John surgery. Perhaps someone like Megill or Ronny Henriquez emerges as a relief weapon. Maybe one of their back-end starters such as Josh Winder or Bailey Ober gets a boost from moving to a relief role. The team is bound to have a handful of options in 2023, and they need to put their chips behind those who will find the most success rather than trying to squeeze out as much value as they can from an aging veteran. But what do you think? Are the Twins better off sticking with the hand that they were dealt, or should they try for the Hand that's still available on the free agent market? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Four tiny words mean last season's over Pitchers and catchers report A tough year to watch, or remain sober Pitchers and catchers report A winter spent refreshing MLB rumors Praying that Falvey makes a big move or re-signs Correa? LOL! That’s good humor! Pitchers and catchers report A crowded rotation? No chance that’s true. Pitchers and catchers report No bad backs or elbows or bubonic flu? Pitchers and catchers report We’ll finally see pitching, for which we’ve waited Mahle & Lopez, Sonny, Maeda, Ryan & Ober (though he could get Sainted) Pitchers and catchers report Pico de Gallo adds power that pleases Pitchers and catchers report Plus K-rriffic swings that add cooling breezes Pitchers and catchers report We added a Farmer who fields everywhere Also a Taylor (for when Buxton’s not there) A new framing Christian will answer our prayers. Pitchers and catchers report. Finally you take your turn as poet Pitchers and catchers report Channel your winter frustration and show it Pitchers and catchers report The comments below are a great place to bleat Two tens and three ‘levens provide you the beat (But add words wherever, if like me you cheat). Pitchers and catchers report