Twins

With the dog days of the 2022 season upon us, the Twins play their last home game tomorrow against the White Sox. Baseball is a complex game...far from black and white, and calling this season a wash would be ignorant. 

After the Minnesota Twins signed Carlos Correa to a three-year deal that included opt-outs after each of the first two, it became beyond clear it was a one-year pact for a guy who fell into their lap. How they handle things this offseason remains to be seen, but can they win with a stopgap option?

An ancient philosopher once said "fourth time's the charm." After a frustrating first three games in Yankees Stadium, the Twins snatched a win from the Bronx Bombers, moving to just 1.5 games behind Cleveland in the AL Central. 

Just when you thought the Twins had done enough this weekend to keep us on our toes, Derek Falvey went ahead and blew the roof off. A blockbuster with the Yankees started as Jon Heyman suggested a catcher was coming to Minnesota. Then the bomb dropped that Josh Donaldson was moving, and things got crazy.

Like it or not, change is here: a pitch clock, shift ban, and bigger bases are officially coming to the game's highest level in 2023.

Turning a focus to a handful of Minnesota Twins subjects, the Women in Baseball series presses on. While we have now resumed the regular season in 2020, highlighting females throughout the sport remains an integral part of growth and continuation of the path towards greater diversity.

The Minnesota Twins' minor league season has been done for about a month. At Twins Daily, we have handed out a lot of awards since then. We conclude that series today by presenting the Twins Daily 2019 Twins Minor League All-Star team. Scroll down to find out who made the 13-man team.

Quickly, here is a list of the Twins Daily 2019 minor league awards:

• Short-Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year - Cody Laweryson
  
• Short-Season Minor League Hitter of the Year - Matt Wallner
  
• Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year - Anthony Vizcaya
  
• Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year - Randy Dobnak
  
• Twins Minor League Hitter of the Year - Trevor Larnach
  

And here are the Twins Harmon Killebrew Awards for 2019:

• Rochester Red Wings: Jake Reed
  
• Pensacola Blue Wahoos: Hector Lujan
  
• Ft. Myers Miracle: Calvin Faucher
  
• Cedar Rapids Kernels: Brian Rapp
  

With the front office and field operations covered on the Twins front, a behind the scenes look at how Twins baseball gets delivered is this weeks focus for the women in baseball series. Vanessa Lambert is a Producer with Fox Sports North and she’s the one that makes sure everything runs smoothly for the viewing audience. In a fan-less season, I’m not sure there’s a great position of importance.

In the fourth and final installment of a conversation with Keith Law, we discussed what goes into the thinking when a team has the #1 overall pick in the draft. What factors would he use if he was the scouting director for the team with the top selection? I think his response speaks very well to the fact that it is not an easy decision this year. Law’s comments about the options remind us that there are choices at number one, that it’s not a slam dunk choice.

One more reminder, tonight at 6:30, Keith Law will appear with fellow baseball authors Peter Schilling, Jr., and Michael Fallon for a book reading, discussion and signing. Head to Moon Palace Books in southeast Minneapolis to be a part of this event. Get your copy of Smart Baseball signed by Keith Law.

We all know the catch phrase that teams like to use when talking about early draft picks. “Best Player Available” is the popular, and correct, thing to do. Who will be the best player in the minds of your scouting department? That is the player you want.

However, there are many factors that a scouting department will consider in determining who they will select and invest millions of dollars.

Before the 2013 major league baseball season, the Minnesota Twins dealt talented outfielders Denard Span and Ben Revere to new organizations. In sending Revere to the Philadelphia Phillies, Ruben Amaro gave the Twins two pitchers in return.

Aaron and John talk about Byron Buxton's spectacular return weekend, Brian Dozier's spectacular three months, Paul Molitor changing his mind on Jorge Polanco, why the pitching staff remains the biggest problem, the upside and downside of finishing a book, Trevor Plouffe's future hanging on the balance, saying goodbye to KFAN for the season, and re-watching the 1987 and 1991 World Series. You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below.

The Twins took the deciding game of their three-game set against the White Sox, beating Chris Sale again. For you prospect lovers, Byron Buxton went 0-4 with four strikeouts.

Also on Wednesday, the first-ever Twins Draftbook was made available. There are write-ups on all forty draft picks. You purchasing it for a couple of bucks (just $2.99!!) helps me validate to my wife that all the time I put into it was worth it.