Leaderboard

The early talk of Minnesota Twins spring training is not the return of Kenta Maeda or the leg of Carlos Correa, but rather the blistering start from Edouard Julien. The infield prospect put a bow on the chatter by belting two home runs against Atlanta in Tuesday’s 10-7 pretend game victory. Jason Kornhaber is already mad about it. “Edmond [sic] is a monster talent,” said Kornhaber, who found out about Julien’s existence on Friday, February 24th, when two-time Jeopardy! also-ran Do-Hyoung Park interviewed him for MLB.com. “It’s unconscionable that this team would hold him back. Are they playing to win or playing with Edwin [sic] ’s service time?” Julien, an 18th-round pick out of Auburn in 2019, led the minor leagues with 208 walks over the last two seasons. This is just one of the recently acquired facts that Kornhaber has marshaled in Julien’s defense despite not knowing his entire name yet. “Juilliard [sic] is a generational talent, and the Twins are throwing it away,” said the Farmington beekeeper. Per sources close to Kornhaber, he has also said this about Kohl Stewart, Alex Burnett, Michael Restovich, Deolis Guerra, Anthony Slama, and Matt Moses. In addition, a former roommate said Kornhaber vowed to get a tattoo of MTV’s Dan Cortese on his thigh if J.D. Durbin didn’t record a 20-win season. Durbin finished his MLB career with six total wins. Kornhaber denied the story. “He’s going to lead Team Canada to a World Baseball Classic title and come back to Fort Myers with a ticket to (home of Twins Triple-A affiliate) St. Paul,” claimed Kornhaber, who discovered Julien’s nationality on Monday. The Twins have made no indication on their plans for Julien in 2023, but Kornhaber’s anger is already at a fever pitch not seen since his misguided advocacy for Joe Webb as the Minnesota Vikings quarterback of the future. “I can’t believe they’re doing this to Erwin [sic],” said Kornhaber.

It’s not exactly a bad thing that the Twins will be looking to usher in a new look given they are coming off back-to-back seasons missing the postseason. Last year, the club was decimated by injuries and the year prior, performance left plenty to be desired. Neither of those teams truly had an identity, and it’s something Rocco Baldelli would probably prefer they get back to. If you’re hoping that Joey Gallo’s signing means Minnesota will blast bombas once again, you’re likely to be disappointed. Sure, the Twins are hoping he can find his swing, but there is positional flexibility and defense to fall back on for the slugger. Carlos Correa returns at shortstop, and while he can manage the lumber, his game is an all around one as well. Nelson Cruz is going to moonlight as a baseball player for the San Diego Padres, and Miguel Sano is still unemployed. The Bomba Squad was a one-time thing, and looking at this roster, the Twins want their strength to be pitching. Luis Arraez was sent to the Miami Marlins for Pablo Lopez, not because the pitcher is an ace, but because he lengthens the starting rotation. Sonny Gray has looked the part of a top arm when healthy, and Tyler Mahle could be more than ready to break out if he’s healthy. Kenta Maeda has previously competed for a Cy Young award, and last year’s Opening Day starter in Joe Ryan may be slated to bring up the rear of the rotation. For the first time in quite a while, the Twins rotation is where much of the investment has been made. Yes, there isn’t a massive free agent contract in the group, but prospect capital such as Chase Petty, Spencer Steer, and Christian Encarnacion-Strand were all utilized to acquire it. Moving on from Arraez wasn’t an easy choice, but the lineup has enough potential to withstand that sort of blow. You can bet that Baldelli is not hoping to win every game 2-1, but this shouldn’t be a Twins team that needs five runs in order to hold things down. Last season, the difference between scoring three or more runs was drastic, and the hope is that tweaks to the defense can help as well. The outfield may be able to lay claim as baseball’s best defensively, and that will only further help whoever is on the mound. Bringing back Correa at shortstop was a must, and while Jorge Polanco is not great in the field, Jose Miranda should be better at the hot corner with Alex Kirilloff possessing Gold Glove ability at first base. Fielding will continue to be an area the Twins look to improve in an effort to help the entire pitching staff. Down the stretch last season, the Twins bullpen made significant strides. Jhoan Duran got all of the praise, but Griffin Jax has emerged as a force, and Jorge Lopez returning to his All-Star form would be a massive high-leverage boost. Both in the starting rotation and the bullpen, Pete Maki is going to feel confident running arms to the mound. Derek Falvey became synonymous with pitching when working within the Cleveland Guardians organization. This may be the first time since he has been with Minnesota where he can feel confident in what the group on the mound has been built as. Not every team is going to have an ace, and although the Twins still don’t, they have as good of a group as anyone could hope for. There are different styles that will trot to the mound, but it would not be at all surprising to see that Twins have the best staff, top to bottom, in the division. Start thinking of nicknames if you must, but this group is going to rely on pitching and defense.

In thinking about this year’s offseason, it is no doubt that the Twins have prioritized defense. Beyond the return of Carlos Correa, both Kyle Farmer and Donovan Solano bring depth to the left and right of the diamond. But the story doubles in the outfield. Newcomers Michael A. Taylor and Joey Gallo might struggle at the plate, but both represent major upgrades in their defensive abilities. Although Matt Wallner might look major-league ready, he’ll remain in the minor leagues for now as no deal was enough for the team to part with Max Kepler. Trevor Larnach, Gilberto Celestino, and Nick Gordon might show up, but the depth of the outfield now accounts for injuries. And in recent seasons, Joe Ryan, Tyler Mahle, Griffin Jax, and Kenta Maeda have all been near the top of the fly ball list for MLB pitchers. Also, perhaps you have heard of Byron Buxton? For what it’s worth, Derek Falvey and company have a plan in place. But they could also end up victims of the indifferent baseball gods that may send those balls sailing above their heads. Ever since 2017, “juiced” balls have been a major topic of conversation within the league with discrepant years. At first, studies by Ben Lindbergh and Rob Arthur demonstrated a clearly new composition within MLB’s baseballs beginning in 2015. Theories about how and why the ball changed only increased with the league’s purchase of Rawlings, the company responsible for the balls in 2018. The Twins, for their part, took advantage in 2019, breaking open the single-season major-league record for home runs, a total that has yet to be topped. But since 2019, the ball suddenly stopped flying. The shortened season impacted the data in 2020, but it was clear by 2021 that a new baseball was landing dead on the warning track over and over. MLB said nothing. This new ball has put a dent in numerous plans. Most teams had begun prioritizing a Three True Outcome approach, which became less useful when that most important outcome—the home run—became less likely to occur. Luis Arraez demonstrated that maybe it was time to go back to an old-school approach. MLB finally took responsibility after a notable study by Bradford William Davis and astrophysicist Meredith Wills proved that 2021 featured two different baseballs with different cores, resulting in wildly different results. 2022 went even crazier, as Wills and Davis found three different balls, including a “goldilocks” ball that just happens to appear most often on Sunday Night games and Yankees games, just as Aaron Judge chased his home run record. MLB admitted to the 2021 shenanigans but has forcefully denied the 2022 allegations. Whatever it means, the Twins have had to make a guess about how to construct a team for 2023 without any idea what ball might show up. If the ball’s drag keeps it in the park, the Twins will be in luck with a defense ready to shag balls all season long. But if the league decides that baseball needs more home run chases, the Twins might find their entire off-season construction to be built for an entirely different game. What’s the point of having an elite defense if all your pitchers do is serve up long balls? This is not to fault the organization for choosing such a route. If anything, MLB has refused to share with teams what they might expect from the ball, and their silence on the issue has only fueled conspiracies within the players about how they might be attempting to hurt their free agency. Manfred and company might not exactly know why the balls act the way they do before it is much too late. In 2022, they at least instituted humidors as a mandatory practice for all 30 league ballparks to help create some uniformity. But if they know more about the upcoming ball than teams do, why not let teams and players prepare? One can at least hope MLB is hoping for a ball that might find some balance. With new rules in place specifically meant to increase “small ball” offense, this is the year to find a ball that might not make it to the seats but at least won’t die on the warning track. And yet, it is hard to believe that MLB has ever had a plan in place. The Twins can only pray they get the right balls for this comeback season. It would be a shame for a franchise playing a smart approach to the offseason only to be cooked by a complete disaster of an unknown. Until we get into the season and finally meet the ball, the answer to the Twins’ offseason tactics will remain a mystery.

While the pandemic-shortened 2020 season consisted of just 60 games, it gave Twins fans a performance that they had been begging for. Finally, a pitcher was able to break through as a true frontline starter, even if it was an abbreviated campaign. Kenta Maeda assumed his throne that year as he twirled 67 innings of 2.70 ERA ball across 11 starts. He established new career-bests in strikeout rate (32.3%), walk rate (4.0%), swinging strike rate (17.2%) and WHIP (0.75). That led to a second-place finish in the Cy Young award competition, and vindicated the franchise’s years-long pursuit of a true ace-level pitcher. Or so we thought. Maeda took an expected step back in 2021. He was still serviceable through July (4.40 ERA, 24.6% strikeout rate, 7.1% walk rate) but it became clear that his ailment was becoming increasingly more troublesome. He ultimately succumbed to Tommy John surgery in August 2021, and was banished from his kingdom while he recovered. Now, he’s returning to the rotation after roughly 17 months of recovery. But what should Twins fans expect from their former king? Two of the most-popular projection models agree that his per-pitch numbers will closely resemble his pre-injury self from 2021. ZiPS and Steamer both predict he’ll finish the year with an ERA around 4.15, slightly lower strikeout rates at around 22% and a 1.27 WHIP. Their differences however, lie in Maeda’s ability to remain in the starting rotation. Steamer thinks he’ll start 24 games and they project him for 150 innings pitched. That raises his predicted wins above replacement to 1.4, which is totally respectable for a starter’s first season after returning from Tommy John surgery. ZiPS, however, thinks that Maeda will only manage to start 15 games, and will be limited to just 83 innings pitched. This limits their predicted WAR figure for the veteran right-hander to just 0.9 in 2023. Upon first glance, it would be sensible that the ZiPS projection is factoring a mid-season role change for Maeda due to an inning limitation. However, they only predict that he’ll make three appearances out of the bullpen, even with the low games started prediction. That essentially means that they think Kenta Maeda will have trouble staying healthy in 2023. That’s not unheard of for players coming back from an extended absence, and injury limitations are certainly not uncharted territory for this Twins roster. One model thinks Maeda bounces back as a starter, and stays relatively healthy. The other sees him breaking down and only pitching about half as many innings. Time will tell which projection will be more accurate. Perhaps a look at another arm that recently bounced back from Tommy John surgery can help provide some more reasonable expectations for King Kenta in 2023. Noah Syndergaard had this procedure in March of 2020, just after spring training was halted due to the pandemic. He also had an extended recovery period, as he didn’t return to game action until late-September in 2021, roughly 18 months after his surgery. Even then, he only appeared in two games as a one-inning opener before having another five months of recovery in the off-season. Syndergaard returned to full-strength heading into the 2022 season, where he finished the year with a 3.94 ERA across 24 starts between the Los Angeles Angels and Philadelphia Phillies. He tossed 135 innings last year, and though his strikeout rate slipped considerably (26.4% from 2015-2019, 16.8% in 2022), he still managed to accumulate a respectable 2.2 wins above replacement. Syndergaard was able to be this successful by limiting hitters to soft contact – which has also been a calling card of Maeda throughout his career. It should be noted that there are a handful of differences between Syndergaard and Maeda when comparing their respective recoveries. Notably, the former was one of the hardest throwers in the history of the game before his surgery, averaging 98.1 MPH on his heater in that time. Maeda, on the other hand, has never relied on fastball velocity, but rather the quality of his secondary offerings. In his first spring training appearance last week, his fastball did average about 90.3 MPH. That’s an encouraging sign, as it averaged about 91.6 MPH in his brilliant 2020 season. Of course, remaining healthy is going to be the defining factor for the 35-year-old this season, and for the rest of his career for that matter. But if he can have similar production to Syndergaard in his first year back in action, the Twins would gladly take that. He may not be returning to the throne that he held in 2020, but King Kenta is no longer banished from his kingdom. What are your expectations for Maeda in 2023 and beyond? Can he follow Syndergaard’s lead in having a relatively successful season? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Jim Pohlad will still be involved with the Twins to a degree but as his 70th birthday approaches next month, he decided it was time for him to pass his day-to-day roles to Joe Pohlad. Jim Pohlad will still be the team’s representative in ownership for any league matters. Many Twins fans ponder what will be different with Joe Pohlad compared to Jim Pohlad. From the first three months on the job, it’s already apparent to some fans that Joe is more public-facing and involved with the front office. For starters, Dan Hayes of the Athletic wrote in his piece on Joe Pohlad (published February 14) that, unlike his uncle and grandfather’s time as the Twins chairman, he will be keeping an office at Target Field. On top of that, Joe Pohlad was heavily involved in making sure the Twins brought back superstar shortstop Carlos Correa and gave him the largest contract in team history. “I can think of no better way to articulate the seamless transition from Jim, his uncle to Joe than what we just went through,” said Derek Falvey during Correa’s press conference on January 11. “Ultimately going back to March and the contract we came up with, and then this offseason. Joe's been a part of those conversations for the last five plus years, at least that I've been here. So I expected that but Joe's patience was matched in a similar way, what Scott [Boras] and Carlos were showing, but also that persistence and that desire to find a way to get to this outcome.” Later during the press conference, Twins Daily co-owner John Bonnes followed up on this quote from Falvey asking Joe Pohlad if the large contract for Correa was a sign of things to come with future free agent deals. Joe Pohlad responded saying, “We'll take that on a case-by-case basis. Like Derek said earlier, we're in constant communication, and we're always looking at ways to make our team better. So if those opportunities come forward, then we'll evaluate that [them] then.” While Joe Pohlad has had a more active role in team transactions than his uncle in the last five years according to Falvey, he still does not want to become or be seen as an owner “who’s always meddling,” as Hayes wrote in the same article on February 14. Joe Pohlad’s interaction in the team’s baseball operations since returning to the front office in 2018 has not come without experience. He spent time as an assistant in the baseball operations department beginning in 2007. His experience there, which not many owners in Major League Baseball have had, sheds light that he is willing to shed the common trope Twins fans attribute to his family; the “Cheap Pohlads.” When asked individually at the January 11 press conference if Correa’s re-signing shows critical fans that ownership is committed to building the team for a championship, Joe Pohlad responded, “I hope so. I think how we view it, or at least how I view it, is this the best route for us in order to get to where we want to be, which is a competitive team that can compete for a World Series?. Ultimately, the goal is to win and is every move we make going to add to that and achieve that goal? And this [signing] is gonna do that.” Joe Pohlad was built up in the Twins organization to be fitted for this role. He’s worked in a variety of roles within the Twins in anticipation of the day when this role was bestowed on him. In an era of Major League Baseball where the reputations of team owners usually bring negative connotations to their franchises, Joe Pohlad may be the outlier. Especially when compared to the ownership of teams such as the Houston Astros’ Jim Crane, the Cincinnati Reds’ Phil Castellini, and the Baltimore Orioles’ John Angelos. Joe Pohlad is in a similar boat as Castellini and Angelos with other family members (specifically the fathers of Castellini and Angelos), who are still living and have the ownership of the team in their name. Unlike the two though, Joe Pohlad has not made any comments that have had fanbases question their commitments to their franchises or the game of baseball. As the first full season with Joe Pohlad at the helm warms up in Ft. Myers for spring training, he has demonstrated many reasons for Twins fans to hope things are changing for the better. Maybe even enough to made the phrase, “Cheap Pohlads” be heard less often as fans return to Target Field for the 2023 season.

Andrew Morris signed with the Twins for an even $500,000, slightly under the pick value of $533,300. Morris was a fourth-year senior for the Red Raiders, having transferred after spending his previous three seasons at Division II Colorado-Mesa (the same college as one Sergio Romo). In his final season for the Mavericks, he posted a 2.19 ERA, with a 115:19 K/BB ratio in 78 innings. Clearly too good for the competition, Morris arrived in Lubbock with some buzz attached. Scouting Notes As a 17-year-old freshman at Colorado-Mesa, Morris helped his team reach the Division II National Championship Game. After transferring to Lubbock, Morris slotted into a rotation with Chase Hampton (drafted by the Yankees in the sixth round) and Brandon Birdsell (drafted by the Cubs in the 5th round, and previously by the Twins in 2021). Morris is 6’0 tall and 195 pounds. He has a "tweener" delivery, operating somewhere in the middle of a three-quarter and over-the-top arm slot with pronounced shoulder tilt. His fastball sits between 91-94 mph and tops out at 96 mph with some riding life. It’s likely the Twins will work to add some more velocity as he spends more time in the organization. Morris’s best secondary pitch is a curveball with good vertical break. He used this pitch at Tech as a strikeout pitch but also showed an ability to land it for strikes in the middle of at-bats. Morris features a changeup that has fade but is a work in progress and needs improved command. Finally, Morris has a sweeping slider the Twins will likely work to enhance and develop. Morris’ unusual mechanics create solid deception in his delivery. He handled the step up in competition well at Texas Tech, striking out 91 hitters in 88 1/3 innings of work against high quality opposition. With a BB% pushing 32%, he’ll need to refine his command significantly if he is going to stick as a starter. Morris has a nice platform, though. A deceptive fastball with good life and a good breaking ball give the Twins clay to mold. Likely to Start At: Low A Fort Myers Morris pitched just one professional inning in 2022, a hitless inning in which he struck out a batter for the FCL Twins. He also pitched in one game for Fort Myers in the playoffs, tossing three scoreless innings. It’s likely he spends the majority of 2023 at Fort Myers, getting bulk innings as a starter in his first extended experience of pro ball. What did you think of the Andrew Morris pick? What do you think his ceiling is with the Twins? Previous Articles in the Series Brooks Lee Connor Prielipp Tanner Schobel

One of the questions this year was how Jose Miranda would look playing third base everyday. We haven't seen him there. He's been playing regularly in spring training games, but always as a designated hitter. It was revealed by the team on Thursday that he's been dealing with a sore shoulder. After his 1-3 appearance in the Twins' spring training road game at Tropicana Field, he talked to reporters who asked him how serious it is. John Bonnes passes along his reply in this Report from the Fort. mirandashoulderlandscapesound.mp4

Entering last season, Jhoan Duran had been a starting pitcher for his entire career. A lengthy injury history made the Twins reconsider his long-term role with the club. He was shifted to the bullpen and became one of the team's most valuable assets. Only some players can be as successful in transitioning to the bullpen, but there are multiple players the Twins may consider shifting to a bullpen role during the upcoming season. The Twins selected Cole Sands with their fifth-round pick in the 2018 MLB Draft from Florida State University. His professional career started at Low-A in 2019, and he made it to Double-A by the season's end. In 97 1/3 innings, he posted a 2.68 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and 108 strikeouts. He controlled the strike zone and limited batters to 1.8 BB/9. The Twins would have penciled him into the Double-A rotation for the 2020 season, but he was limited to time in the instructional leagues due to the pandemic. Sands started the 2021 season back at Double-A, where he ended the 2019 campaign. As a 23-year-old, he was still over 1.5 years younger than the average age of the competition. He made 19 appearances (18 starts) and posted a 2.46 ERA with a 1.17 WHIP and 10.8 K/9. Injuries also limited him to just over 80 innings, but he entered the 2022 season ranked among the Twins' best pitching prospects. Season in Review 2022 Sands started the year in the Saints rotation and posted quality starts in his first two appearances (10 IP, 1 ER). In his next two appearances, he allowed ten earned runs in fewer than three innings, but the Twins had a need, and the team promoted him for his big-league debut. He pitched two innings at the end of a blowout win and allowed two runs on three hits. He spent most of May bouncing back and forth between Triple-A and the MLB level, and that trend continued for the remainder of the season. For the season, Sands split his time between being a reliever (14 appearances) and a starter (16 appearances). The opponent's OPS against Sands was only separated by four points in these two roles. The Twins never gave him an extended look at the big-league level, with the team bringing him up to make spot starts or to fill in for injured players. Sands never made more than four consecutive appearances with the Twins. His last 11 appearances came in a relief role, which might indicate the team's long-term plan for him entering the 2023 season. Projections for 2023 Currently, the Twins' rotation and bullpen don't have any glaring openings to fit someone like Sands. Injuries or poor performance might open a bullpen battle, but it seems likely for Sands to head to St. Paul, where higher-ranking prospects will pack the rotation. During the 2022 season, his longest stretch of starting games was 12 in a row in the middle of the season, but that was interrupted with multiple calls up. In July, Sands will turn 26 years old and has yet to establish himself at the big-league level. To get the most from Sands, it might help him find consistent success at one level in a specific role. On the mound, Sands threw his fastball over 50% of the time last season, averaging 92 mph. His lower arm slot helps to deceive batters, and he can top out in the high-90s. His best breaking pitch is classified as a curveball but has horizontal movement, so it has some qualities that resemble a slider. His split-finger held batters to a .292 SLG last season, so it will be interesting to see if he can use that pitch more regularly. He has a cutter that he uses against righties and a changeup against lefties, but opponents hit both pitches hard last season. Even with a five-pitch mix, Sands seems more comfortable utilizing his top three pitches. Summary Sands makes the most sense to move to a bullpen role out of the pitchers covered in the series so far. He's most successful when using his top two-three pitches and has shown the ability to add more velocity when used in multi-inning relief appearances. During the 2022 season, nearly half of his appearances were in a relief role, so that percentage likely would increase during the 2023 campaign. Should the Twins transition Sands to a multi-inning reliever? Can he add even more velocity in the bullpen? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. OTHER POSTS IN THE SERIES -Ronny Henriquez -Josh Winder

With not a single reliever added in free agency for the bulk of the offseason, it appeared the Twins were content trusting their internal options for the bullpen on Opening Day. Things have changed, and the Twins have set the stage for a shakeup in the bullpen, at least at the bottom of the depth chart. On February 26, the Twins made a pair of prospective additions to the bullpen. In claiming Dennis Santana off of waivers and signing Jeff Hoffman to a minor-league deal with opt outs, the Twins added a pair of intriguing relief arms to fight for low-leverage bullpen spots. Each is interesting in their own way. Dennis Santana has bounced around quite a bit for a 26 year old. He does enough well to warrant MLB teams giving him a shot, but has enough warts to have not yet found a long term home. His slider is his primary pitch, and for good reason. The pitch not only allowed an exit velocity of under 85, its 41% whiff rate is dominant. His sinker gets crushed despite sitting in the high 90s and he walks a few too many hitters, but his .7 Wins Above Replacement would put him square in the middle of the Twins 2022 bullpen. It’s easy to see why the Twins would gamble on Santana finally putting it all together. Jeff Hoffman has never really found success in the MLB but features a high spin fastball and a slider/changeup repertoire to help equalize left and right handed hitters. He similarly walks too many, but based on the raw data on his pitch mix, it’s surprising that he’s never put it all together. He has several opt outs if not added to the MLB roster by certain dates, but can be stashed in Triple-A for a brief period. The bar to clear for pitchers like Hoffman or Santana to stick with the team on Opening Day likely aren’t high. For starters, the Twins have shown that depth is their number one priority this offseason. So much so that they want MLB caliber players stashed away in Triple-A if possible. The current bullpen includes Jovani Moran and Trevor Megill, both of whom have minor league options. It’s possible that regardless of the incumbent’s performances, Hoffman and/or Santana could make the Opening Day roster if they look at all like competent relievers this spring. This would allow the Twins to have options ready to go in Triple-A with MLB experience in the event that things go south early. Further complicating things is Ronny Henriquez arriving at camp with some troubling arm pain. Though the Twins claimed no young starters would begin the year in the bullpen, Henriquez was a likely candidate to make the switch in 2023 at some point. If his ability to be on the field is at all in question, it makes sense for the Twins to further insulate their bullpen with viable options in Triple-A. The easiest way to do so would be for Megill or Moran to start the year in St. Paul. Spring Training performances should be taken with a grain of salt, but they matter more for some players than others. On Sunday Trevor Megill went out and pitched about as poorly as possible on the same day the Twins added two of his possible replacements. He struggled to throw strikes, and when he did they were crushed. After getting one out on 33 pitches, Megill allowed three walks, three hits, two homers and six runs. If the door to utilize his remaining minor league option was already open, he likely cracked it just a bit more. Megill already finished 2022 on a poor note as he struggled to reign in his new slider. He’ll have to bounce back in his next few spring outings in order to not make the Twins decision too easy. The odds of a bullpen shakeup have likely increased more than we may have anticipated as the Twins spent most of the winter ignoring the reliever market. With another 40 man roster spot to play with, it’s possible they even make another move to bring in more competition for the bottom of the bullpen pecking order. Either way, there are now a couple more names to keep an eye on this spring, and it’ll be interesting to see who ultimately wins the few jobs that are up for grabs. Please share your thoughts on the Twins bullpen options in the COMMENTS below.