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‘In these rounds, you’re looking for something special, something unique’, Sean Johnson, Scouting Director for the Minnesota Twins offered, reflecting on day 2 of the 2022 MLB Draft. Johnson went on to highlight the organization's focus on unique tools coupled with breakout performances as two elements used to hone in on talent. In Ben Ross, the Twins landed a prospect with plenty of interesting clay to mold. 
With the 144th overall pick in the 2022 MLB Draft, the Twins selected Ben Ross, a shortstop out of Notre Dame College in Ohio. The school only started its baseball program in 2005. In 2013, they jumped from NAIA to Division II. Hence, Ross was not ranked in Baseball America’s Top 500 prospects heading into the draft. He signed for the Twins for $220,000, significant savings on the $398,500 draft slot. The savings from Ross and others were later applied to talented shortstop Omari Daniel, who the Twins pried away from a commitment to Oregon, in the 14th round.
Scouting Notes
Ross is a 6’1 shortstop and an exceptional athlete. While Ross may not have been highly ranked on draft boards, he’s exactly the kind of breakout athlete the Twins target on Day 2 of the draft. Ross has a compact swing and is short to the ball. Ross had an all-around breakout in his final season at Notre Dame College, putting together 14 home runs, 60 RBI, a .747 SLG, and 15 stolen bases in 17 attempts in 52 games. Not bad.
Ross’s breakout continued in the summer in advance of the draft after playing in the Northwoods League (a college wood bat league). Ross hit .421/.502/.649 with 10 HR, 27 BB, and 28 K. Ross has a plus run tool and is an intelligent base runner and successful base stealer. He has an above-average arm and an athletic profile that could play all over the diamond. Ross’s swing is such that he should be able to continue his power breakout with a short, powerful stroke.
Ben Ross debuted in late 2022, playing two games of Rookie ball before being promoted to Low-A Fort Myers. In his first 22 games, Ross managed a .371 OBP (.817 OPS), with three homers and 13 RBI. Ross was also 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts, an impressive debut for the 21-year-old.
Likely to Start At: Low-A Fort Myers
It’s likely Ross begins 2023 with a deep group of young prospects at Fort Myers. He will have a whole season to show he can continue to translate his exceptional athleticism into tangible developments on the field. Some fans might grumble at Ross’s low ranking or placement on pre-draft lists; I’d argue he’s a name to watch in the low minors in 2023. 
What did you think of the Ben Ross pick? What do you think his ceiling is with the Twins?
For more Ben Ross content on Twins Daily, click here. 

In 40 ⅔ innings in 2022, Jovani Moran indicated he is ready to be an impact reliever for the Twins in 2023. He posted a 2.21 ERA and 1.78 FIP in 2022, driven by a high strikeout rate and ground ball rate. Beyond the topline numbers, Moran was great against both right-handed and left-handed hitters. He gave up a .554 OPS against lefties and a laughable .458 OPS against righties. His terrific changeup drives the reverse splits. 
While his strong 2022 performance leaves the Twins optimistic, Moran's severe lack of control throughout his career remains a question mark. He has had mammoth walk rates for most of his career, but the similarly eye-popping strikeout rates have allowed him to remain effective. 
The Twins seem to trust Moran as the second left-handed reliever on the roster behind Caleb Theilbar, and they chose not to add a lefty in free agency. To pay off that trust, Moran must maintain strikeout rates well above 30%, which he has maintained throughout his professional career. He will also need to find a way to keep walks as low as possible, but he has consistently had a walk rate above 10%, which falls comfortably in Fangraphs' "awful" categorization for that statistic. 
Digging deeper into Moran's 2022 with the Twins, he had an elite 32.9% K% and a dreadful 11% BB%. Those are extreme numbers on each end of the K/BB spectrum. He also had a 48.9% ground ball rate, which is above average and a good sign when the ball is put into play, as ground balls are less likely to do damage than line drives or home runs. The high ground ball rate has been consistent throughout his career, almost as consistent as the walks and strikeouts. 
Assuming he maintains the strikeout rate and ground ball rate, Moran is likely to be a very solid option out of the bullpen for the Twins and likely to be trusted in medium and high-leverage situations regularly. However, lowering his walk rate could alter the perception of Moran within the Twins organization and amongst their fans. Bringing it below 10% could help make him an elite reliever and a real weapon in an already talented and deep bullpen.  
In September and an appearance in October, after spending most of August in Triple-A, Moran showed signs of improving his command and control while maintaining his elite strikeout numbers. In 14 ⅓ innings, he still had an elite K/9 of 11.3 and a very good 1.88 BB/9, leading to a minuscule FIP of 1.78. 
The 1.88 BB/9 is entirely inconsistent with any full season he's had. He has averaged 4.6 for his career. However, if he can land in a middle ground between those points, Moran would force himself into the mix for high-leverage appearances and even put some pressure on Caleb Thielbar for the lefty matchups- despite his reverse splits. 
The Twins are relying on Moran being at least a reliable middle reliever. But he can be more than that if he carries his command and control from September into 2023. Then, Rocco Baldelli would have a strikeout monster who keeps the ball on the ground to utilize against both lefties and righties, with minimal downside.
What are your thoughts on Jovani Moran and his role with the 2023 Twins? Can he turn into the dominant reliever we would love to see, or would the Twins be wise to add some lefty reliever depth to go with Danny Coulombe, Locke St. John, Tyler Webb and other minor-league signings? Leave a COMMENT below. 

The form and factor of spring training lineups change throughout the Grapefruit League season, but there is a logic to them. Earlier, teams want to give the prospects and invitees a chance to show what they can do. For road games, they want to defer to veterans to avoid long bus trips. Finally, the best hitters want to face the best pitchers to gear up for the regular season.
As a result of these, you can get a sense of what to expect from lineup of your favorite team at various points in the season. In this 2-minute video, I dive into some of the factors that you should anticipate as a fan when you see the starting lineup.
spring_training_Lineups_landscape.mp4
 

Edouard Julien spent his entire 2022 season with the Wind Surge and posted some great statistics. He hit .300/.441/.490 (.931) in 113 games. 
With these numbers and an even more impressive stint at the Arizona Fall League where he hit .400/.563/.686 (1.248) in 96 plate appearances. His performance in the AFL earned him the league's Breakout Player of the Year Award. 
The growing talent of Julien has been ranked higher on early team prospect rankings, including fifth in the Twins system per Twins Daily. His 2022 season and stint in the AFL has also earned Julien national recognition cracking the number 75 spot on FanGraphs 2023 Top 100 prospects list. While FanGraphs authors Eric Longenhagen and Tess Taruskin listed Julien as a left fielder on the list, it is very unlikely he will play the position this year. 
“Last year, my goal was to be aggressive early in the count,” Julien said to Twins beat reporters Tuesday morning. “And this year is gonna be the same thing. I tried to drive a pitch early in counts and get ahead of the pitcher. If I get a couple of balls on me, I feel like I'm in the driver's seat because he's behind, he's got to throw strikes. And then that's when the OPS number goes up and I get better as a hitter.”
Julien has wasted no time in making more improvements as he arrived in Florida a month ago from Quebec to get to the Lee County Sports Complex as early as possible.
Not only did Julien need a break from the snow to get into his baseball routine, but he will be on Team Canada for the World Baseball Classic. Julien wanted to be as ready as possible to represent his home country on one of baseball’s biggest stages. 
“You get a chance to wear your country in front of your chest, across your chest. It's always a great experience to see old teammates and some guys that you've never played with,” Julien said. 
The one player that Julien is looking forward to playing with for the first time on Team Canada above all others, is Dodgers first baseman, Freddie Freeman. 
“It's gonna be a cool experience to learn from him and see his daily routines and what he does before games every day,” Julien said. 
While Julien has become more aggressive in counts, he still has shown he is willing to work an at-bat into his favor and draw a walk if need be. He drew 98 walks in 508 plate appearances for the Wind Surge and 23 more free passes in 96 plate appearances in the AFL. 
His natural ability to get on base has drawn many comparisons to former Twin Luis Arraez. There have been many fans speculating if he’ll be the guy to replace Arraez’s role in the Twins lineup as the 2023 season progresses. 
In Julien’s own words, there are some similarities that can be seen to Arraez without any direct mention of the former Twin.
“I think my approach was better last year just to be aggressive in counts and when they see that you're aggressive in counts I feel like the pitchers are trying to put you a little bit more because they're scared that you're gonna swing the bat early,” Julien said. 
Where Julien will start his 2023 season in the Twins organization is still uncertain. though it is likely you will see him in a Saints uniform in April. If he performs as well as he did at the AFL in the WBC and spring training, there’s a chance Julien could be on the Twins roster before the month of April is over, although that will be more dependent upon an opportunity opening up in the big leagues. 
What would you like to see from Edouard Julien in the 2023 season? What are realistic expectations for the Canadian who speaks three languages - French, English and Spanish - fluently? 

Driveline Baseball has become something of a household name in baseball circles in recent years, as it’s extended its reach from youth baseball to the MLB level. Using the newest technology and data available in the baseball world, Driveline has its fair share of success stories among professional pitchers. In 2023, Joe Ryan and Tyler Mahle are looking to become the newest names added to the list.
Mahle and Ryan likely had very different goals in mind this offseason and each opted to take them to the pitching labs of Driveline Baseball. We often hear little about what specifically pitchers are working on during their offseason routine, but given the reputation of Driveline and the details that we’ve received, this news should be exciting to Twins fans.
Tyler Mahle
The first thought when hearing his name tied to Driveline was a recovery plan for whatever shoulder ailment ended his 2022 season. Instead, Mahle went about his business as usual this offseason, looking to make tweaks to his repertoire. Even when healthy last season, he seemed to be missing just a small piece of the puzzle.
Mahle opted to revamp his slider after the 2022 season. He has what’s classified as a slider and a cutter, though it’s fair to wonder whether both are the same pitch that classify differently at times, as the “slider” averaged a bit less velocity than the “cutter”. At any rate, these were his two worst pitches by most measures. Expected Batting Average and Slugging were markedly worse than his fastball and splitter for these two pitches, and it showed up in his platoon splits. 
Right-handed hitters put up an OPS of .784 against the right-handed Mahle, much worse than the .602 mark against left-handed hitters. It was clear he lacked an equalizer against same-handed hitters.
From the little we can see, Mahle has added more horizontal break to his slider and less vertical break. It appears to be a new look breaking ball, which is a welcome change based on how the previous one had difficulties equalizing right-handed hitters. For how well he’s performed against left-handed hitters in his career, if he can find any kind of similar success against righties, he could become a certified stud.
Joe Ryan
After being able to dominate the minors with mostly a fastball, the Twins tried to incorporate a slider to better equip Joe Ryan to start in the MLB. On the season, Ryan allowed just one less homer on the slider than he did his fastball, though he threw the slider roughly a third as much. Ryan seemed to find something to end the season, as the pitch was dominant in September by many measures including Expected Slugging and Batting Average, hard hit % etc. Ryan took that momentum to Driveline as well this winter.
For Ryan, further developing another pitch is a must. His fastball remained fantastic despite being used over 60% of the time, which means any kind of plus secondary offering would raise Ryan’s game to new heights. With the foundation he and the Twins built on the breaking ball, it’s exciting to think about what an offseason at Driveline could do for the pitch.
Ryan had more than one pitch in mind this winter. Unlike Mahle, Ryan is significantly better against same-handed hitters. His strikeouts markedly drop off, suggesting a need for a good matchup pitch for left-handed hitters. Because of this, Ryan worked on a split changeup this winter as well.
Of note, this is the same pitch that has been Tyler Mahle’s bread and butter secondary, and is a big reason for the lack of platoon splits in his career. Traditionally the pitch is a little faster and has more late life than the plain old changeup. This makes it a bit tougher to pick up by opposite handed hitters who typically have a better look at what’s coming from the pitcher. While it’s tough to say what to expect from Ryan debuting an entirely new pitch, it’s easy to look at the changeup he used just 12% of the time in 2022 and see room for improvement.
Tyler Mahle and Joe Ryan have high end upside. Both have good foundations in their repertoire, Ryan with his magical fastball and Mahle with his uncommon ability to negate platoon splits. It sounds like both went in search of the missing pieces this winter at Driveline, and it’ll be interesting to see how the new pitches look. There’s a possibility that both pitchers raise their games to new levels.

For the Minnesota Twins, 2023 represents an opportunity to right the ship. Rocco Baldelli got off to a great start in his managerial career, but since the 2019 Bomba Squad, things haven’t been the same. Despite a postseason berth in 2020, the Twins have missed playoff baseball each of the past two years. This roster looks the part of being the best we’ve seen in some time, and the front office now wants to see it matter on the field.
While we are still a bit away from seeing the Twins in game action, there is plenty to catch up on from the offseason. Who’s Out
From the Opening Day roster last year, just 14 players currently remain in the system. Notably, starting catcher Gary Sanchez is gone, and so too are starting infielders Luis Arraez and Gio Urshela. Minnesota flipped the arbitration-eligible Urshela to the Los Angeles Angels for prospect Alejandro Hidalgo, while Arraez’s departure brought in Jorge Lopez (along with Jose Salas and Byron Chourio). The rotation will no longer see Dylan Bundy or Chris Archer among it, and longstanding organizational piece Miguel Sano remains unemployed at the moment.
For Minnesota, this roster is one of renewed belief. Although Arraez was beloved by fans, his deal brought in much-needed pitching help. It will be weird to see Sano in a different uniform if and when he ever surfaces again, but not being in the organization has removed a vein for storylines. The rotation a season ago was largely pieced together, and with both departures for the Twins still being unemployed, it’s not shocking that the new group shows more promise.
Who’s In
Most importantly, Carlos Correa is back. Although it took some weird twists and turns to happen, Correa is with the organization at least for another six years, meaning that his deal lines up perfectly with Byron Buxton’s. A true superstar shortstop, Twins fans could watch C4 trend towards an eventual Hall of Fame enshrinement due to his exploits in the new Minnesota threads. The shortstop is also joined by a new backstop in Christian Vazquez. He is expected to start the bulk of Minnesota’s games, and will push Ryan Jeffers into more of a reserve role than he saw a season ago. The outfield grabbed an addition in Joey Gallo, and while he’ll need to bounce back from a down season with the Dodgers and Yankees, he adds defensive talent that could make Minnesota’s outfield the best in baseball.
The rotation brings back Kenta Maeda at 100% after missing last season due to Tommy John surgery, and the aforementioned Lopez should be expected to contribute in a big way as well. The bullpen has largely gone unaddressed, but that could be an area Minnesota looks to tweak before Opening Day. Kyle Farmer was added as a fallback option, and now immediately slots in as a high-level utility player.
What Are We Watching For
This season is one for the youth. Jose Miranda is going to start at the hot corner and be expected to contribute immediately. Plenty of promise has followed Alex Kirilloff, and it’s up to his wrist as to whether he can be the regular at first base. Trevor Larnach has looked the part of a true impact bat, but injuries have kept him off the field. He was solid in left field last season, but will need to show he can remain healthy. That was the major downfall last year, health, and Nick Paparesta’s addition to the organization can hopefully make a quiet impact. Seeing the likes of Buxton, Tyler Mahle, Jeffers, Jorge Polanco, and any number of other players remain available should only enhance Minnesota’s chances. Which Twins player will breakout in 2023? We have seen Louie Varland win the Twins Minor League Pitcher of the Year each of the past two seasons (2021, 2022). Royce Lewis made his big league debut in 2022 and should be back this summer. Simeon Woods Richardson showed up for one start at the end of the year as well. Does Austin Martin or Brooks Lee get the call? Maybe David Festa forces his way into big league action. Although the Twins may not have the top end talent of some other organizations, their prospect depth is plenty exciting.
Many of Minnesota’s regulars will remain in camp with the organization. There are a few others that will play for their native countries in the World Baseball Classic this spring. Checking out a few of them in action during more meaningful games could give fans a glimpse of how ready they are for the regular season to start.
With Cleveland having made just minor upgrades in Josh Bell and Mike Zunino, their top spot is ripe for the picking. Andrew Benintendi is a nice get for Chicago, but expecting Mike Clevinger to contribute there any time soon isn’t a good bet. The division is again right there for the taking, and it starts this week.

The Minnesota Twins' defensive outfield should be stellar and fun to watch in 2022. With Byron Buxton, Joey Gallo, Max Kepler, and Michael A. Taylor all providing close to elite-level production and Trevor Larnach proving to be a solid defensive outfielder, the team shouldn't have many issues producing one of the best defensive outfields in Major League Baseball 
But how good is the infield defense?
The Opening Day infield will likely feature Jose Miranda at third base, Carlos Correa at shortstop, Jorge Polanco at second base, Alex Kirilloff at first base, and a backstop pairing of Christian Vazquez and Ryan Jeffers. In this article, I will not include any data on Alex Kirilloff at first base simply because it is a new position for him, and there is very minimal data to make any assumptions on how he will perform defensively.
Fielding goes far beyond just putouts and errors, so to judge how good the Twins' infield is defensively, we will look at several different stats: Outs Above Average (OAA), Runs Above Average (RAA), and Defensive Runs Saved (DRS). Each of these stats uses a formula to dictate where a fielder sits compared to the average MLB player.
If a player has a positive number in the OAA and RAA stat, they were better than average. If that number is negative, they were below average. DRS tells us how many runs that player saved with their glove. Again, if that number is positive, that is the number of runs they saved with their fielding ability in 2022. If the number is negative, they accounted for giving up that many runs over the year. If a player boots a ball with a runner on third base and that runner scores, the player doesn't automatically get -1 DRS, just as hitting a walk-off home run doesn't automatically give a player 1 WAR. All these stats are accumulated throughout every ball in play in the season.
With those stats briefly explained, how did the Twins infield fair in 2022? We can start with the good news: the Twins catchers were fantastic. Christian Vazquez accounted for 11 DRS over 918 innings, and Ryan Jeffers had 4 DRS in just 496 innings. No matter who plays catcher for the Twins in 2022, they are sure to be very reliable defensively. Not to mention, both should also be above-average hitting catchers at the plate. I like what the Twins have done here with the position.
The next best infield defender in 2022 was Carlos Correa. In 2021, Correa was elite at the position, compiling 12 OAA, 9 RAA, and 21 DRS on his way to winning a Gold Glove Award. To say his numbers dipped in 2022 would be quite an understatement. Last year, Correa produced -3 OAA, -2 RAA, and 3 DRS. 
This dramatic number dip is shocking because the eye test told us that Correa was a terrific defender in 2022. Though the numbers don't back that up, there is still a chance that Correa rebounds in 2023 and returns to at least being a solid fielder. Just two years removed from an elite-level campaign, Correa is a candidate for positive regression. 
However, there is also the general belief around the league that Correa will eventually move to third base. Maybe 2022 is the start of the defensive deterioration that will push him there sooner rather than later.
The remaining two infielders, Jose Miranda and Jorge Polanco were not good in the field in 2022. We can start with Miranda, who split time at first and third base last year. In 2022, Miranda played 595.1 innings at first base and 246.2 innings at third base. While playing first, Miranda accounted for -4 OAA and -3 RAA. At third, he was right around league average, accounting for 0 OAA and 0 RAA. Overall, Miranda produced -6 DRS on the year in his split time at both positions.
Miranda is set to be the Twins full time third baseman this year, so we will get a better read on how he is at third base. If Miranda shows to be a below average fielder at third base, this will likely be his last year playing third base consistently, as I think when Royce Lewis returns, he could fit at third as a plus defender. While his numbers at first weren’t good in 2022, I think Miranda will be at least a league average defender at first baseman if given a full-time role, which would likely be where he ends up if Lewis takes over third. Miranda’s bat will continue to play, but he will need to continue to work on his glove.
Polanco was not a good defender in 2022. Polanco has never been a good fielder. He was atrocious defensively at shortstop in 2019 but is also well below average at second base. Last year, Polanco had -9 OAA, -7 RAA, and -1 DRS. Polanco is another player, like Miranda, who makes his money at the plate. If Polanco can continue to provide solid production at the plate, he will provide excellent value to the Twins, especially with his team-friendly contract. However, unless he shifts his focus, Polanco will continue to be a defensive liability.
"Nothing falls but raindrops" may again be the theme of the outfield as they help out their fly-ball pitchers by making spectacular web gem-type plays day in and day out, but the infield defense is flawed. Even with the infield weighing them down, I think the Twins' defense will be top 10 in 2023. There's a chance the infield will experience a bit of positive regression defensively, and the Minnesota Twins will be an all-around enjoyable defensive team to watch.
 

Like the other 29 MLB teams, the Minnesota Twins face a new defensive challenge in 2023: they’ll have to adapt to rules barring shifts on the infield. When we think about the ramifications of that change, we often focus on fielders’ ability to reach and field the ball. In reality, though, there’s an interaction between raw range and throwing arm–one that will become more important. To that end, bringing back Carlos Correa at shortstop was crucial, but even his strong arm faces a tougher test under the new guidelines. 
Shifts aren’t just about reaching balls that would otherwise scoot cleanly through to the outfield. They are, in nearly equal measure, about making plays more comfortable for defenders. When a big-league team deploys a shift, a much higher share of ground balls hit by the opposition are within a step or two of a fielder’s starting position. They can usually make the play, plant their feet, and make a strong, balanced throw from a firm footing.
In a post-shift world, we will see teams carefully calibrate their positioning to create as many of those easy chances as the new constraints permit. Inevitably, though, we’re going to see more plays made on the run. Since two defenders have to set up on each side of second base, the shortstop won’t be able to shade as far toward the hole against some right-handed batters as they previously had, because the second baseman will have to be a couple of steps further away from any ball hit to the left side of second base. That, in turn, will force the third baseman to play a step further off the foul line, in order to help defend the hole. 
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One of the greatest Minnesota-born pitchers, Dave Goltz could not have chosen a more inconspicuous start to his life. Born in Pelican Rapids on June 23rd, 1949, Goltz entered the world as the child of a produce marketer (his father) and a produce-business bookkeeper (his mother) (Temanson). He moved to Rothsay as a young boy.
A multi-sport athlete in high school, Goltz’s 6’4” frame stood out among the regulars. His dominant performance in football, basketball, track, and baseball—the only four sports offered by Rothsay High School—spread his name across the state as a high school legend, perhaps a new athlete capable of great things (Temanson). Goltz eventually narrowed his focus to baseball, fueled by the interest sparked in him by his former teacher, Ken Reitan, who started a little league team when Goltz was young (Sorum).
A fresh-faced 5th-round pick in the newly-minted June MLB draft (the first was in 1965; Goltz was drafted in 1967), Goltz headed to the GCL to start his professional career. His first two seasons were great successes. He led the GCL in ERA in 1967, then led the Northern League in strikeouts in 1968 (B/R bullpen).
Set to lead a league in another pitching stat in 1969, conflict in Vietnam intruded on Goltz’s budding pitching career. Despite new President Richard Nixon beginning the slow, messy process of withdrawal, Uncle Sam called Goltz to service. He worked as a helicopter mechanic in the Army Reserve and missed the 1969 baseball season (Temanson). One of 54 former ballplayers who served in the Vietnam War, Goltz never left the states during his active duty (Baseball Almanac) (twinstrivia).
Returning to baseball, Goltz spent two more seasons in the minors—one in Tacoma, Washington as roommates with Tom Kelly—before finally joining the Twins in 1972 (twinstrivia). In the middle of the season, Jim Kaat broke a bone in his wrist sliding into second base, and Minnesota “needed to fill the roster with pitchers,” necessitating a promotion for Goltz (Sorum). 
 Two years removed from an ALCS appearance, this was not a legendary period for Twins baseball. A few remnants of the 1960s glory days remained—names like Kaat, Rod Carew, Cesar Tovar, Tony Oliva, and Harmon Killebrew—but this was a roster in turmoil. Bert Blyleven, 21 and one year away from a legendary pitching season, led a group of players whose ceiling was an 85-win season in 1976.

Always one to pitch deep into ballgames, Goltz collected 83 complete games in his MLB career (image courtesy of twinstrivia.com)
But this was still 1972 and there was baseball to be played. Goltz debuted against the Yankees on July 18th, pitching 3 2/3  scoreless frames in relief of starter Ray Corbin in a 6-0 loss. Thurman Munson—who should be in the Hall of Fame—homered and doubled. Goltz’s first win came in his first start—a six-inning, two-earned-run performance in the opening game of a doubleheader against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Twins used Goltz mainly as a starter the rest of the season, allowing him to soak up innings as the team struggled to stay afloat. 
As fun as 1972 was, 1973 proved disappointing, a lesson for Goltz to learn as he grew as a player. The 5.25 ERA, 106 1/3  inning slog cursed him to the minors to start 1974, but Minnesota quickly recalled the starter, and he tossed 174 1/3  frames with a finer 3.25 ERA in 1974.
Thus began Goltz’s odd streak of consistency. The good: he gobbled nearly 700 innings between 1974 and 1976 with ERAs of 3.25, 3.67, and 3.36, respectively. The bad: Goltz could not escape his record—a stat as crucial to a starter as any—which somehow tagged him as a .500 pitcher each year. He went 10-10, 14-14, and 14-14, respectively, over the same period. Minnesota’s offense remained well over the league average each season; Goltz simply felt the run-support curse that occasionally dogs even the best pitchers in baseball.
Goltz’s 1977 was legendary. In an unparalleled 39 start, 303-inning performance, Goltz accrued 19 complete games, won 20 games, and finished sixth in the AL Cy Young voting. He only finished third in MLB in innings pitched—this was the 70s, after all—but he led the AL in both starts and wins, something that a Twin didn’t do again until Johan Santana in 2006. No Twin has touched 300 innings since. Parsing through the best Twins pitching seasons by fWAR, you’ll find a few Hall of Famers—Bert Blyleven and Jim Kaat—a few Cy Young Winners—Johan Santana, Jim Perry, Frank Viola, and Dean Chance—Camilo Pascual’s excellent 1962 and Phil Hughes’ historic 2014, and sitting as the 16th best individual pitching season in Twins history is Goltz’s 1977 effort. In other words, he was pretty good that year. He was so good that he nearly tossed a no-hitter on August 23rd against Boston, only allowing a bloop hit to Jim Rice that barely sailed over a leaping Roy Smalley.
Goltz’s 1978 season was even better by ERA. His 2.49 mark served as his career low, but a few ailments, including a burned hand suffered while grilling and a rib fracture earned during a scuffle against the Angels on April 22nd, cut his innings; he totaled “just” 220 1/3  of them that year (Temanson) (Gleeman, 175).
The Twins gave Goltz the opening day nod in 1979, marking the third season in which he pitched the first game. Baseball forces worked against him that year; after five straight seasons with an ERA under 4.00, Goltz’s earned runs shot up, and he ended the year with a 4.16 ERA, the worst since his sophomore slump in 1973. His league-leading 282 hits allowed appear to be the culprit.
But times were changing. The landmark 1972 Supreme Court decision Flood v. Kuhn effectively killed the reserve clause, allowing players to sign with whatever team they chose. Catfish Hunter's five-year, $3.35 contract before the 1975 season set the standard. Free agency started to develop even more following the 1976 Collective Bargaining Agreement. With years under his belt, Goltz earned the chance to capitalize on his worth. 
After his disappointing 1979 season, Goltz filed for free agency. The Twins in this era were stingy, to be kind. Owner Calvin Griffith ran potential stars Lyman Bostick and Larry Hisle out of town with his tight pockets and traded 1977 AL MVP Rod Carew for similar reasons. Although, Griffith’s infamous racist comments in Waseca in 1978 also fueled that move. Goltz claims Howard Fox, Minnesota’s Vice President, was the man he had financial issues with, but he nonetheless chose to dabble in the open waters (Temanson).

Perhaps not the proudest accomplishment, Goltz owns the record for most runs allowed in a saved game after allowing eight runs against the Cleveland Guardians on June 6, 1973.
Four teams, led by the trio of Southern California franchises and Milwaukee, vied for Goltz. The starter preferred the Brewers with their energetic hitters and gritty style of play, but kept his heart open to the Dodgers, Angels, and Padres (twinstrivia). When the Dodgers offered an eye-popping six-year $3 million contract, Goltz's agent sealed the deal, and the Minnesota boy officially headed west to join a growing powerhouse.
The 1980s Dodgers, under manager Tommy Lasorda, were a legendary bunch. Fresh off NL pennant victories in 1977 and 1978, the team enjoyed a host of elite players: hitters like Ron Cey, Pedro Guerrero, Steve Garvey, and Dusty Baker supplied the pop while veteran Don Sutton handed the torch off to youngsters Bob Welch, Fernando Valenzuela, and Orel Hershiser. L.A.  won two titles in the 1980s while finishing above .500 in six seasons. 
Goltz’s time as a Dodger was not happy. He started his career in L.A. with back-to-back shutouts but fell out of the rotation in 1981, and the team cut him just a few months into the 1982 season. Still, after tossing 3 1/3  innings in the 1981 World Series, Goltz aided in a championship victory, earning a ring in the process. 
Goltz remained in California, joining the Angels in 1982. Back under the watch of manager Gene Mauch, Goltz joined an eventual playoff team led by Carew, Reggie Jackson, the eternally-underrated Bobby Grich, Fred Lynn, and Don Baylor. Luis Tiant and Tommy John served as the (very) veteran depth arms. Goltz earned one more chance at postseason success, a relief appearance in Game 4 of the ALCS against the Milwaukee Brewers. However, Harvey’s Wall-Bangers didn’t spare Goltz as, after jumping on Tommy John, Milwaukee pegged Goltz for three runs on their way to a World Series appearance. 
Goltz tossed a few innings for the Angels in 1983, but his playing career ended quickly and quietly.
Never a strikeout artist—he “relied more on ground balls” than strikeouts—Goltz could be easy to miss and simple to paint broadly (Gleeman, 175). Sometimes mentioned as one of the original free agent “busts,” Goltz was not merely a decent pitcher on an elite Dodger team, but instead, a starter who endured massive workloads in his prime, only finally wobbling once he reached the wrong side of 30. Of all the pitchers Gene Mauch oversaw—an impressive list that includes Nolan Ryan, Frank Tanana, and Jim Bunning, among others—he claims Goltz to be the best he ever managed (Temanson). 
A master of the sinker—one that would “rise” and another that would “sink” into a right-hander—Goltz earned his outs with movement (Sorum). When paired with a knuckle curve that he could throw three different ways, Goltz could gobble innings with the best of them (twinstrivia). His 1,248 innings thrown between 1975 and 1979 are the 11th-highest of all pitchers. Stars like Nolan Ryan, Luis Tiant, Don Sutton, and Jerry Koosman (another Minnesota-born Vietnam veteran) rank below Goltz’s total in that streak. 
Minnesota’s leaderboards bear Goltz’s greatness. He accrued the fifth-most fWAR of all Twins starters, the sixth-most innings, and has the 11th-lowest ERA of all qualified starters. His numbers compare favorably to Frank Viola—a Twin legend cherished and remembered by fans into the present.
Goltz left baseball to join Midwest Insurance in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where, as of 2010, he still entered the office consistently (Sorum). Occasionally making his way to various Twins events, Goltz prefers to avoid the city and its traffic, instead choosing to live in sparse parts of the state.
Aaron Gleeman placed Goltz 30 in his Big 50 book, an appreciation of the men and moments that define the Minnesota Twins.
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Twinsdaily's formatting doesn't allow for footnotes, my preferred style of citation, so I used the Author/Date system in the text with my bibliography here. Sources are listed alphabetically, not necessarily by use.
Temanson, Lee, "https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Dave-Goltz/," SABR, 2009.
Sorum, Scott, "Dave Goltz: Former Minnesota Twins pitcher calls this area ‘Home’," https://www.wahpetondailynews.com/, 2010.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Dave_Goltz
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/player.php?p=goltzda01
twinstrivia.com, "Dave Goltz interview," 2011.
Gleeman, Aaron, "The Big 50: The Men and Moments That Made the Minnesota Twins," Triumph Books, 2018
https://www.fangraphs.com/
 

In the past, we have presented our selections for the Top 20 Twins prospects before each season. In 2022, that list was the starting point for the Prospect Tracker which we updated at the beginning of each month and after the trade deadline, and then at the end of the season. 
Since the season’s end, there have been several changes. Several players became free agents. The Twins lost a couple of pitchers in the minor-league portion of the Rule 5 draft. They made a couple of trades to bring in new talent from the Angels and Marlins while sending two upper-level relievers to the Royals. In addition, our minor-league writers have learned more and more about several prospects, particularly those drafted or signed most recently. 
With all that said, this year, we are moving to a Top 30 Twins prospect rankings for a couple of reasons. First, ten of our minor-league writers provided a list of their Top 30 Twins prospects. Second, why not recognize another ten Twins prospects at this time of year? Now, we are going to do that by adding just one more article. Tomorrow, we will share our choices for Twins Prospects 21-30. With the current schedule, starting next week, we will be jumping into the Top 10 prospects. 
However, today, we will be starting this series by sharing a list of Honorable Mentions, or Also Received Votes, if you prefer. Even within this group, which could make up our prospects from around 31 through around 45, there are several future big-leaguers in the group, a couple that we could see in 2023. 
I’ve really enjoyed writing this Honorable Mention article because it can show the organization’s depth. If we are being honest, it can also show the limitations of prospect ranking. This can be former prospects coming off of bad years. It can be recently-acquired players (via trade or draft) that may not be the top picks but there is something intriguing. There may be players who have never been looked at as top prospects but continue to consistently get moved up and keep themselves in the conversation. 
In 2019, Luis Arraez and Jordan Balazovic appeared in this range of the list. The 2020 Honorable Mention article named players such as Jorge Alcala, Bailey Ober, and Akil Baddoo.) 
Last year’s Honorable Mentions were quite interesting. It included 2021 picks that have been traded in key trades such as Cade Povich and Christian Encarnacion-Strand. It also contained 2019 pick Sawyer Gipson-Long who was traded to the Tigers at the deadline. Casey Legumina was traded to the Reds for Kyle Farmer after being added to the Twins' 40-man roster. Oh, and wait until you see which players jumped from Honorable Mention last year into the Top 10 this year. 
Before we start, the following players are no longer “prospects” according to Baseball-Reference: Jose Miranda, Gilberto Celestino, Joe Ryan, Jovani Moran, Josh Winder, and Jhoan Duran. 
FIRST-ROUND FEATURE  
2019 first-round pick Keoni Cavaco fell out of the top 20 last year and this year, out of the top 30. Honestly, the tools, speed, power, and arm strength are all still there. He returned to the Mighty Mussels in 2022 but made the move to third base. In 99 games, he hit .231/.275/.397 (.672) with 18 doubles, five triples, and 11 home runs. He missed a little time. He should move out of the Florida State League, so don’t give up on him yet. 
UTILITY TYPES IN UPPER LEVELS 
They may not be top prospects, but you have to have noticed that this organization places a lot of value on versatility and being able to play multiple positions. That becomes more valuable as guys reach the upper levels.  
Michael Helman’s ‘stock’ soared in 2022 when he split his season between Wichita and St. Paul. In 135 games, he hit .258/.337/.432 (.769) with 23 doubles and 20 homers while stealing 40 bases in 45 attempts. Drafted as an infielder, he has played all three infield and outfield spots over the past two seasons. 
Anthony Prato was a 7th-round pick from UConn in 2019. He split 2022 between Cedar Rapids and Wichita. Combined, he played 60 games in left field, 34 games at second base, 22 games at third base, and 12 games at shortstop. He also made starts, and first base and in right field. He played a combined 132 games and hit .285/.383/.444 (.827) with 30 doubles, eight triples, and 10 homers. He also stole 22 bases. 
Will Holland was the Twins 5th round pick in 2019 from Auburn. While he was drafted as a shortstop and made 15 starts at that position in Cedar Rapids, he has made a pretty clear transition to the outfield. He is arguably the fastest player in the organization and has played a lot of center field. After a late-season promotion to Wichita, he played solely in the outfield, playing more in the corners with DaShawn Keirsey in center. In 116 games, he hit .227/.339/.366 (.705) with 13 doubles, six triples, and nine homers. He also stole 32 bases in 38 attempts. 
BACKSTOPS  
The Twins added Christian Vazquez this offseason to team with Ryan Jeffers behind the plate. They have also added several veteran backstops, including Tony Wolters , Grayson Greiner and Chance Sisco, to play in St. Paul along with David Banuelos. While the Twins don’t have any high-ranking catcher prospects, there are a few intriguing guys who can catch if needed. 
Chris Williams was the team’s 8th-round pick in 2018 from Clemson. He played 117 games between Wichita and St. Paul. He hit .246/.343/.500 (.843) with 21 doubles and 28 home runs. While he made 81 starts at first base, he continued to get time behind the plate with 21 starts. 
A 29th-round pick in 2019 from TCU, Alex Isola, missed time in 2022 with an injury. However, he made 17 starts at first base and 17 more behind the plate. He got a few at-bats and continued to work in the Arizona Fall League where he caught three times and played 12 games at first base. 
Noah Cardenas was the team’s 8th-round pick in 2021 out of UCLA. He was the Twins Daily Minor league All-Star catcher in 2022 when he hit .261/.421/.413 (.834) with 18 doubles and nine homers. He started at first base 25 times and at catcher 56 times. He has thrown out 29% of would-be base stealers. 
WE HARDLY KNOW YE, YET
There are several players that we just need to learn more about, and they fit in this category. 
Alejandro Hidalgo is the 19-year-old right-hander that the Twins received in the Gio Urshela deal. In Low-A in 2022, he made ten starts and went 0-3 with a 4.62 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. In 39 innings, he walked too many (19) but had an impressive 58 strikeouts (13.4 K/9). He currently has a low-90s fastball, but a changeup that can be really, really good. He is definitely one to watch in 2023. 
Brayan Medina was part of the Opening Day trade between the Twins and Padres. The 20-year-old pitched in just 10 games for the FCL Twins in 2022. It didn’t go well. In 23 2/3 innings, he struck out 24 batters, but he also walked 20 batters. 
Ariel Castro signed with the Twins about two weeks ago as a 16-year-old from Venezuela for $2.5 million. He hits left-handed, and he’s from Cuba. He’s got a sweet swing, but it’ll be fun to start following his career, which is likely to start in the DSL this year. 
Players from the 2022 draft to get some Top 30 recognition include right-handed pitcher Andrew Morris (4th round, Texas Tech) and Cory Lewis (9th round, UC-Santa Barbara), and infielders Ben Ross (5th round, Notre Dame College, OH), and Omari Daniel (14th round, The Walker School in Georgia). The reports are very interesting on both Lewis and Ross. 
INTERESTING ARMS
Cody Laweryson’s 2022 season started a little late, but it ended spectacularly. The 2019 14th-round pick from Maine played in the Arizona Fall League in 2021. He began with 16 games (2 starts) in Cedar Rapids and posted a 2.57 ERA and 1.06 WHIP. He finished the season with 19 games, including eight starts, in Wichita. He dominated to the tune of a 1.06 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP. In 94 2/3 innings, he had 111 strikeouts. He doesn’t throw really hard, but he’s got a funky delivery and hides the ball well.  (See Laweryson's episode of Twins Spotlight.)
Sean Mooney had Tommy John surgery in 2019 and the Twins selected him with their 12th-round pick that year. Since his return, he’s struggled to pitch consistent innings, but he has been a strikeout machine. In 2022 in Cedar Rapids, he posted a 3.30 ERA, and in 60 innings, he walked 30 but struck out 82 batters. 
Travis Adams split the 2022 season between Ft. Myers (15 starts) and Cedar Rapids (7 starts). He went a combined 6-8 with a 3.93 ERA. He had 108 strikeouts in 100 2/3 innings and had just 26 walks. While the numbers don’t jump out, the 2021 sixth-round pick is incredibly intriguing and could jump into the Top 20 a year from now. 
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That is a lot of talent, and those are guys who rank outside of the Twins Daily Top 30 prospects. Check back over the next two weeks to see who our 2023 Top 30 Twins Prospects are.
 
 

With details emerging somewhat late for many of the events surrounding Twins Fest, there was little room to understand some of the changes this year. The Winter Caravan was back but in a significantly truncated form. The route was not nearly as long, and plenty of it was in more private or intimate settings. Twins Fest (as we have known it) at Target Field had been shortened to just Saturday, and plenty of the vendors or experiences had been less expansive. A key addition came on Friday night, however, and details leading up to the event were sparse.
Following a night at the Diamond Awards on Thursday, I found myself wondering what Friday had in store. Opting for the middle level ticket option, I searched for some details and wound up winging it on Friday night. There was a sold out level that included an open bar and additional face time with players, and there was a get-in ticket that was just $35 allowing access to the general admission floor. The middle ground option came with a pair of drink tickets, gift at the end, appetizers during the early part of the evening, and access to the mezzanine level of The Fillmore. Looking back at the night, that felt like the right option to target.
The Fillmore itself is a very nice venue. Having never before been inside, I found myself comparing it to a smaller version of First Avenue. Conveniently located right outside of Target Field, the parking ramp adjacent to Caribou Coffee behind left field was a quick place to pull in. Check in was a breeze, and the event seemed to have a perfect amount of attendees and space.
For the crowd here at Twins Daily, it’s hard to define the evening as anything but a team-sponsored Winter Meltdown. The bars were manned by players at times, and Joe Ryan had quite the experience making the evening’s featured cocktail. It was something to see Chris Paddack donning a cowboy hat and slanging beers, but both Joey Gallo and Jorge Polanco had plenty of fun interacting with fans.
A stage set up at the front of the venue was the focal point to kick off the program. Something like 30 current and former players were in attendance, and each was introduced. From Glen Perkins to Kent Hrbek, and Royce Lewis to Carlos Correa, the Twins had their bases covered. After fans were made aware of who was there, a select group of players took part in Family Feud and other on stage activities. That certainly gave fans something to watch, but it was the crowd that commanded the most attention.
From the minute I walked in, there were people I wanted to talk with. Derek Falvey was near the door while both Tony Oliva and Paul Molitor were canvassing the general admission floor. On the upper level, I found myself having discussions with Dave St. Peter and Thad Levine, then the players began to filter in as well. With those not participating in the games on stage set out to mingle, there was conversation with everyone from Royce Lewis to Brooks Lee and regulars in between.
As a no-autograph event, everything about the evening felt right. Yes there were fans looking for pictures with players, but it was certainly an exercise of baseball being the focal point. Whether discussing someone’s career, last season, or the one upcoming, having conversations focused on the diamond was truly a blast. Being able to sit back and enjoy the company of superstars as little more than regular people was quite a fun setting.
Next year it would seem logical that this event will do a bit better. Although a few different Twins sources suggested being pleased with the turnout, there probably could have been better numbers with a bit more understanding of what to expect. When we see Twins Fest Live show up again in 2024, it would stand to reason that you may not have as much luck finding a ticket. Signature Saturday has its place if you’re looking for autographs or memorabilia, but I found myself viewing this event as the gem of the weekend.
Please share your stories and experiences from the Twins weekend - from the Diamond Awards, to Twins Fest Live(!) to Signature Saturday. It's fun to talk baseball and have this space to share those stories, and photos, if you want. 

Reviewing the Twins offseason up to this point after a flurry of January activity, some notable trends and focal points emerge. In sizing up the front office's moves this winter, it strikes me that there was a clear intent to address six key areas that factored into last year's fade, starting with the biggest one: 
Better physical outcomes with a new head trainer.
One of the first moves the Twins made this offseason was replacing head athletic trainer Michael Salazar with Nick Paparesta, a reputed leader in the field who'd spent the past 12 years in Oakland with the A's.
It was a fitting top priority for the front office coming off a season that was completely wrecked by injuries, with unending recovery timelines and frustrating setbacks decimating the roster. The Twins were not a flawless team, as we'll cover below, but the level of physical attrition and number of days lost gave them no legitimate chance to hang on.
To a large extent, injuries are uncontrollable. Training staffs tend to become scapegoats in circumstances where sheer bad luck is the prime culprit. But that's the nature of the beast, and as bad as things got last year, it can't hurt to bring in a fresh – yet seasoned – perspective.
data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAPABAP///wAAACH5BAEKAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAICRAEAOw== Better pitching depth from the start.
The pitching staff was definitely hurt by injuries last year, but not to the same degree as the lineup. No, the problem with the Twins' pitching staff last year was more foundational: On Opening Day, they had Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer as members of the starting rotation. On Opening Day, they had Tyler Duffey, Joe Smith, Jharel Cotton, Jhon Romero, and Josh Winder – owner of zero major-league innings – all as part of the bullpen. 
This year the Twins will be much more structurally sound from the start on the pitching side. The return of Kenta Maeda, along with the acquisitions of Tyler Mahle and Pablo López, have surrounded Sonny Gray with a bevy of proven veterans. Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, who both pitched very well last year, push the rotation to six deep, while Louie Varland and Simeon Woods Richardson have both proven ready to step in. Randy Dobnak is a wild card. 
On the bullpen side, Jhoan Durán emerged as a force last year while Caleb Thielbar and Griffin Jax are both coming off outstanding seasons. Jorge López, if he returns to form, can give the Twins an unparalleled 1-2 punch alongside Durán in the late innings. Jorge Alcalá is back after missing almost all of last year, joining middle-relief options like Trevor Megill, Jovani Moran, and Danny Coulombe. Your mileage may vary on Emilio Pagán but he's a high-upside piece they don't need to rely on.
I wouldn't be surprised to see another addition on the relief side (Michael Fulmer, come on down?), but as things stand, the 2023 Twins are in a much better position on pitching stability. 
Dynamic contingencies and depth in the position player corps.
If you want to stir up some bad memories, I've got a recommendation to fulfill your sadistic urge: go back and pull up a random Twins starting lineup from last August or September. The club's utterly ravaged position-player corps regularly left Rocco Baldelli submitting sad lineups with little hope to compete. 
Nick Gordon and Gio Urshela trading off at cleanup. Jake Cave and Mark Contreras starting against lefties. Gilberto Celestino hitting fifth or sixth, repeatedly. It was ugly, and something none of us want to experience again. The front office is doing everything it realistically can to prevent it.
Kyle Farmer and Michael A. Taylor are borderline starting-caliber players and top-shelf backups. They both provide experience, flexibility, and defensive prowess to help keep things chugging along in a variety of injury scenarios. The Twins are stacked with options in the corners and that's before you account for their prospects nearing readiness. 
Presently, it's kind of hard to see how someone like Gordon or Trevor Larnach is even going to find his way to steady at-bats. Things will change, as we know, but the Twins are well prepared for that eventuality. Even with their 2022 leader in plate appearances gone, Minnesota is very strong on depth across the board. 
Improved hitting against left-handed pitchers.
Southpaws were a perpetual pain point for the Twins last year, holding the team to a .240/.310/.391 overall slash line while regularly shutting down poorly optimized lineups. This owed partially to injuries, especially later on, but was also a result of poor planning. Kyle Garlick can mash lefties and is a nice piece to have on hand, but you don't want to be primarily dependent on him in that role as they were last year. 
This year, Garlick will likely open in Triple-A as ready-made depth for the same role. Meanwhile, the big-league club is significantly more balanced on the bench. Taylor could hardly be described as a "lefty masher" but he's solid against them, and should reduce the need for lefty-hitting outfielders to start against same-siders.
The big add here is Farmer, whose defensive flexibility will allow him to plug in all over and start against almost all left-handed pitchers, against whom he has a .288/.345/.492 career slash line (including .309/.380/.568 last year).
Run prevention via defensive improvements.
You might feel the Twins were not emphatic or aggressive enough in their approach to upgrading a pitching staff that ranked 14th in runs allowed and remains plagued by question marks. You'd have a fair point.
But the name of the game isn't pitching well – it's preventing runs. While performance on the mound obviously plays a major role, defense is also a big factor in this equation. The Twins weren't necessarily bad in this area last year, ranking 12th in the majors in Defensive Runs Saved thanks in large part to CF/RF, but they could stand to get better. 
In 2023, they're poised to field one of the best defensive units in the league. Buxton and Correa return as elite up-the-middle defenders, and are joined by glove-first catcher Christian Vázquez. Newcomer Joey Gallo adds a standout fielder to the corner mix. Max Kepler provides another top-shelf glove if he sticks around, and if he goes, Larnach's a very good defender in his own right. 
Alex Kirilloff is a superior first baseman to Luis Arraez (Gold Glove hub-bub aside), and we won't see Arraez's sub-par defense at second or third, which is a benefit through this lens. 
Even beyond the starting lineup, we find defensive strength in the Twins' depth. Taylor is a great center fielder whose range is elite in the outfield corners. Farmer is a capable shortstop who excels at the infield corners. Jeffers is a glove-first backup to a glove-first starter. 
 
 
 
Greater catching stability.
Speaking of Jeffers and Vázquez, the presence of these two puts the Twins in a much better position behind the plate than they were last year, when Minnesota backstops collectively posted a .629 OPS and just 1.8 fWAR. 
Dealing away Mitch Garver and Ben Rortvedt left the Twins woefully short on high-level catching depth. When Jeffers went down, they were forced to lean on Gary Sánchez as a starter before turning over the reins to no-hit veteran Sandy León after grabbing him from Cleveland's Triple-A club. 
Bringing in Vázquez makes a profound difference in this regard, giving the Twins two starting-caliber catchers to buttress against an injury to either. The addition of Tony Wolters on a minor-league deal also supplies the Twins with some experienced depth at Triple-A; Wolters has played more than 400 games in the majors, albeit only 16 since 2020.
Additions like Vázquez and Wolters might not be the most exciting, but like many of the other moves mentioned above, they had strategic underpinnings geared toward shoring up the weaknesses that brought down the 2022 Twins. 

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.

On more than one occasion this winter it appeared Carlos Correa was headed elsewhere. San Francisco, New York, etc. Both larger markets generally thought to be more desirable destinations offering more money, it’s easy to see how Correa was ready to sign onto both situations before fate brought him back to the Twins. Now that he’s here, does the path he took matter at all? Some people sure seem to think so, and have been raising several concerns now that Correa appears to be back in Minnesota.
“He didn’t want to come back to Minnesota”
Minnesota was by definition the third choice for Correa to land in, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t want to come back to Minnesota. No fan should expect anything less than a player to take the highest offer they’re given in free agency, especially when those offers come from premier destinations such as San Francisco and New York. Did he love it to the extent that he was willing to take less money to return? No. Why would anyone have expected otherwise? When the Twins eventually wound up with the best offer on the table, he was willing to take it. That should be plenty good enough!
“This is going to be like Lance Lynn all over again”
Many fans remember 2018 when Lance Lynn signed with the Twins following a disappointing offseason for the right hander. He didn’t get the money or destination he desired and despite the Twins being the one team to offer a competitive contract, he seemed to hold it against them. If anyone has these concerns about Carlos Correa, they likely don’t know much about Carlos Correa. It’s far more likely he’s on a warpath to leave 29 other teams kicking themselves for missing out on a healthy superstar shortstop.
“They only got him because of his physicals”
Correct. The stars aligned to allow not one, but two mega deals to fall through and open the door for the Twins. When the dust settled and all information was equal, the Twins still outbid 29 other teams, with the Mets offer reportedly coming up significantly short of Correa’s agreement with the Twins. The way we should probably think about this is as follows: “My favorite team just won the bidding for a star player. There’s risk involved, but it’s not my money!”
“This doesn’t do much but get us back to last year’s roster”
While the Twins aren’t going to be projected to win the Central immediately following the Correa signing, it gets them within striking distance, something that couldn’t have been said prior to the deal. The Twins are in a spot given their middling projections and poor division where every win added is extremely valuable. Last year by Fangraphs measures, Correa was worth around 4-5. Simply put, there may have been a path to a winner without Correa, but it was extremely narrow. With Correa filling shortstop and anchoring the lineup, variance and the good health we’ve all been talking about sets up the possibility of a rebound season for the Twins. Also consider the fact that there could be multiple additions still on their way.
“What if Correa’s leg is a legitimate problem?”
Let’s be clear, nothing has changed with Correa’s physical condition since the Twins offered 10 years, $285m to Correa earlier this winter. It’s also likely nothing has changed since he was actually playing for the Twins. There’s risk with any free agent signing, or trade as we saw last season. The Twins have made a reputation out of chasing low risk, one year deals in recent years and let’s be perfectly honest, it has not gone well. They appeared to be saving money for a longer term deal if the opportunity arose, and it’s hard to imagine a better opportunity than the one that was presented to them to get Correa. It was an uncomfortable, high risk deal that quite frankly they’ve been overdue for. It’s also worth considering that at only 6 years, $200m guaranteed, it’s not nearly as uncomfortable or high risk as it could have been. Would you rather gamble on Correa remaining a star talent for 6 years with a plate in his leg that hasn’t held him back in nearly a decade, or someone like Trea Turner remaining a star player for the next 11? Turner’s deal is almost certain to go poorly in the next 11 years. The Twins are only gambling on 6 with Correa.
To be fair, many of these questions have to be asked, and some of them were in some fashion during the introductory press conference. All parties were likely expecting questions regarding the awkwardness of this outcome, but none seem particularly perturbed about the situation moving forward. The fact of the matter is this: Twins fans should have been hoping that Correa would wind up back in Minnesota this winter by any means necessary. It certainly wasn’t a straightforward path but the end result is exactly what we dreamed of. The circumstances are irrelevant. Carlos Correa is a Minnesota Twin. Possibly for the rest of his career. Just try to enjoy it.
 
 

Prospect development is not a linear path. Some prospects reach the higher levels of the minor leagues and struggle, while others move quickly to the big-league level. Two of the prospects outlined below had a chance to reach the big leagues in 2022, but their performance didn't warrant a promotion. Injuries and poor performance can hurt a prospect's long-term outlook, but these players have the potential to impact the Twins in 2023.

Brooks Lee
TD Top Prospect Rank: 2
Debut Prediction: September
Minnesota selected Lee as the team's top pick in the 2022 MLB Draft. He flew through three levels in the Twins system and ended the year at Double-A. In 31-games, he hit .303/.389/.451 (.839) with six doubles and four home runs. He likely spends most of 2023 at the Double-A level, but his performance will dictate his ultimate landing spot. There is no need to rush Lee to the big leagues, but his college experience and advanced bat can put him on track to be a late-season call-up. 

Austin Martin
TD Top Prospect Rank: 6
Debut Prediction: July
Martin entered the 2022 campaign as one of the Twins' top prospects, but his season went differently than planned. There was an opportunity for him to make his big-league debut in 2022 since he was repeating the Double-A level. Unfortunately, he struggled offensively with a .685 OPS while also dealing with a wrist injury. Martin ended September on a strong note and carried his hot hitting into the Arizona Fall League. If healthy, Martin is still part of the team's long-term plans while offering plenty of upside. 

Edouard Julien
TD Top Prospect Rank: 10
Debut Prediction: May
While Martin struggled in Wichita, Julien was one of the organization's breakout prospects in 2022. In 113 games, he hit .300/.441/.490 (.931) with 19 doubles, three triples, and 17 home runs. He posted an eye-popping 1.248 OPS this fall on the way to being named the AFL's Breakout Prospect. Julien is close to big-league-ready when it comes to his prospect development. He will play the year in the upper minors waiting for an opportunity to arise at the big-league level. Since he's on the 40-man roster, one injury is all it will take for a call-up.   

Jordan Balazovic
TD Top Prospect Rank: 15
Debut Prediction: June
Balazovic struggled through much of 2022 but ended the year on a high note. Minnesota needed many starting pitchers last season, but Balazovic never got the call. In 22 appearances (70.2 IP), he posted a 7.39 ERA with a 1.94 WHIP and a 76-to-35 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Multiple starting pitchers have passed him on the organizational depth chart, but there have been times when he was considered one of the team's best pitching prospects. His September might signify that he is ready to take the next step, which can set him up for a bounce back year in 2023. 

Will all of these prospects debut in 2023? Can Martin and Balazovic bounce back? Who are you most excited to see? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 
 

As Derek Falvey and Thad Levine look to reinvigorate Rocco Baldelli’s clubhouse, the goal for Minnesota will be to have their first winning season since 2020. While Covid gave Major League Baseball just a 60-game season, the Twins were still riding high from the 2019 Bomba Squad. That luster has now long worn off, and the fan base responded by generating the worst attendance since 2001.
There is reason to believe, even in losing Carlos Correa, that the 2023 Twins will turn the tide and finish with a winning record. Here’s a few reasons to get on board with that notion:
1. Better Health
There may be no team that had a worse case of injury luck than the Twins. The injured list could’ve won a considerable amount of games on its own as a team, and each time someone got healthy someone else got hurt. The organization decided to turn the page for the training staff and brought in Nick Paparesta with hopes of better results. We will have to take a wait and see approach when deciding what the actual impact is, but it’s unlikely that the same level of injury will be replicated year over year. Luck isn’t something Minnesota sports teams typically have on their side, but even a bit less bad luck would be welcomed in the year ahead.
2. Youth Development
As much as the Twins need to bring in new talent, much of their internal pipeline has graduated to the big league roster. Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis are two of the most highly anticipated prospects for the franchise, and while both have yet to see health at the Major League level, they have the talent to compete. Combined with Trevor Larnach, Jose Miranda, and potentially even Brooks Lee in 2023, there is a substantial amount of home-grown contributors. The success of this organization in the immediate future will be largely reflective of how much each young player can tap into their ceiling.
3. Redo Tight Ones
In 2022, the Twins went 20-28 in one-run games. Despite nearly an identical overall record in 2021, Baldelli’s club went 25-19 in one-run games. Obviously winning close games comes down to a multitude of factors. Minnesota did a poor job closing out games last season, and they also failed quite often with runners in scoring position. The former is a reflection of bullpen talent, but the latter is more likely an outlier given the overall lineup ability. When the Bomba Squad pulled off their 101-win season, they went 23-12 in one-run games. Being on the right side of tight ones obviously raises the water level as a whole, but it doesn’t have to be a substantial amount. Minnesota being .500 in one-run games a season ago would’ve kept them in the division and afforded a winning record.
4. Pitching Depth
For the first time in quite a while the Twins have a pitching pipeline that we haven’t seen. Kenta Maeda returns to an Opening Day rotation alongside Tyler Mahle, Sonny Gray, and Joe Ryan. The front office should really add another impact starter, but having arms like Bailey Ober, Josh WInder, Simeon Woods Richardson, and Louie Varland provides a nice safety blanket. One would hope that 38 different arms aren’t needed in 2023, but we also shouldn’t see a scenario in which a Chi Chi Gonzalez type is called upon.
5. Division Door Open
As has been the case for the past few years, there should be no clear favorite in the AL Central. While the Chicago White Sox have found themselves in the driver’s seat at times, and Minnesota has won it twice in the past four years, Cleveland surprised in 2022. With Tony La Russa out Chicago should be better managed, but the talent level could be argued to have slipped some. The Guardians are a team to be reckoned with as they have developed talent, but they certainly aren’t a juggernaut. Both the Tigers and Royals will want to take a step forward, but neither should pose a huge threat yet. A three-team race for the division crown will likely be tightly contested for the better part of the season.
Everyone involved with the organization is hoping for a tide-turning season. The offseason plans may not have gone to perfection thus far, but results on the field could be drastically different simply because of who is already employed by this team. Minnesota didn't fall off a cliff talent-wise in a season, and righting the ship in 2023 remains a solid possibility.

2022 was many things for a baseball fan and specifically fans of the Minnesota Twins. The year began with the players locked out by the owners. They reached an agreement in early March and spring training soon began. The Twins were incredibly busy after the lockout ended, signing players left and right. No one could have anticipated the Twins signing Carlos Correa to a record contract. The season began with some optimism, hoping that the 2022 season was the anomaly. Things started well. The team was fairly healthy and found themselves in first place. They remained in that spot until late August when things went downhill in a hurry and injuries caught up.
But, we did starting seeing some quality pitching prospects emerge in 2022. Griffin Jax adjusted very well to the bullpen while Jhoan Duran and Josh Winder made the opening day squad. As the season progressed, we saw more and more pitchers debut. In addition, Luis Arraez got some notoriety. He was the AL Batting Average champion, went to his first All-Star game, was a nominee for a Gold Glove, and won his first Silver Slugger Award. Byron Buxton went to his first All Star Game, started and homered. 
And finally, the offseason has clearly been frustrating for many Twins fan so far. Fortunately, it can still be salvaged. 
Things went well for Twins Daily as well. After a few years of Covid, and then a lockout, it was difficult to drum up interest in the club. However, our fantastic writing staff put out a ton of excellent content all year and Twins fans found their way here. We had some nice numbers throughout the summer, but December has been a very good month. 
So, let's take a look back at the Twins 2022 season by looking at which articles were viewed by the most people. It's not an exact representation, but it does take a look at some hot-button topics, some intriguing questions, lots of transactions and analysis and much more that intrigued us all year long.
With that, in part 1 we will look back at the articles ranked 16-20 according to Page Views. Share your thoughts and memories on them below. 
#20   Louie Varland will Make his MLB Debut for Twins on Wednesday
September 5
Seth Stohs  
Louie Varland was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2021 when he put up great numbers in Low-A Ft. Myers and High-A Cedar Rapids. He began the 2022 season at Double-A Wichita. In early August, he was promoted to Triple-A and had the opportunity to pitch in his hometown, for the St. Paul Saints. He made a handful of starts for the Saints when the Twins had a need for a spot starter. We learned a couple of days ahead of time that Varland would be making his MLB debut for the Twins in Yankees Stadium. 
We were excited with the news. Twins fans were excited. And Varland came through with a fantastic debut against the Yankees. His first big-league strikeout victim was MVP Aaron Judge. His first big-league home run allowed was to MVP Aaron Judge. All things considered, it was a fantastic debut for Varland. He went 5 1/3 innings and was charged with two runs on three hits. He walked two and struck out seven batters. He left the game with a runner on and one out in the sixth inning. Griffin Jax came on and got Judge to pop out, but Gleyber Torres homered to give the Yankees a 3-1 lead. 
The Twins came back to tie the game and sent it to extra games. Unfortunately, the Yankees won 5-4 in 12 innings. 
#19 Minnesota’s Return for Berrios Continues to Look Better  
June 30
Ted Schwerzler 
As the trade deadline was approaching, Ted took a look back one year to when the Twins traded All Star right-hander Jose Berrios to the Toronto Blue Jays for shortstop Austin Martin and right-hander Simeon Woods Richardson. 
While Martin hasn’t raced to the big leagues as quickly as many thought he might when he was the fifth overall pick in the 2020 draft, but the talent and athleticism is certainly still there. He missed time with injury but made up for it with a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League. 
Woods Richardson had a strange 2021 season, but after a normal offseason and spring training, he got off to a fast start in 2022. He didn’t give up an earned run for the first month of the season. He missed about a month due to Covid, but he came back strong. Late in the year, he was promoted to Triple-A, and he made one start for the Twins in the season’s final week. He gave up three runs (2 earned) on three hits and two walks over five innings. However, he gave up two runs in a rough first inning and settled in well. 
On the other side of the spectrum, it was a tough season for Jose Berrios. He went 12-7 despite an ERA of 5.23 and a WHIP of 1.46. He made all 32 starts and worked 172 innings. He led the league in both hits allowed (199) and in earned runs allowed (100). That came after signing a seven-year, $131 million extension with the Blue Jays. He will be the team’s #4 starter heading into the 2023 season, but it is likely he will be much better as well. 
#18 Too Many Outfielders, Another Perplexing Acquisition for the Twins 
December 8
Sherry Cerny
Sherry was writing for herself, expressing her frustrations with a few of the Twins offseason moves so far. Certainly the article resonated with a large quantity of Twins fans who are equally frustrated. 
First there was the trade of one of the team’s more consistent, productive and healthy players in Gio Urshela. Then they signed strikeout-prone outfielder Joey Gallo for a similar contract while they already have several left-handed hitting corner outfielders. Thankfully the offseason is not complete. It will be interesting to see how the roster looks in early March. But for now, it’s been difficult to see the direction. 
 
#17 What’s Next for Twins Manager Rocco Baldelli 
September 14
Ted Schwerzler 
It’s one of those questions that some fans feel the need to ask when their favorite team is not winning ballgames? Should the manager be fired? Forget the injuries? Forget the slumps and struggles? The reality is managers probably get too much credit when their team wins, and they certainly take too much blame when the team loses. 
The Twins were in first place into late August, but at that point their pitching staff was decimated. Max Kepler missed the final month. Byron Buxton was out. Ryan Jeffers was out, replaced by Sandy Leon. Along with Kenta Maeda and Chris Paddack, Sonny Gray and Tyler Mahle also ended the season on the Injured List. The Twins lineup often included Nick Gordon hitting cleanup. Gordon had a nice year, but that tells you a lot. 
Again, when things go bad, it’s obviously a question that has to be asked. 
#16  The Minnesota Twins Front Office Played Themselves 
December 15
Matthew Taylor 
No question, the Twins clear top priority this offseason was bringing back Carlos Correa. It sure appeared to be Plan A, Plan B and maybe Plan C. Sure, they were able to sign Christian Vazquez to a three-year contract, but while waiting for the Correa situation to play out, several quality pitchers signed elsewhere. 
You can question whether or not Scott Boras and Carlos Correa played the Twins, using them as leverage to get a bigger contract. Matthew also thinks that the Twins front office played itself this offseason. 
Judge for yourself. 
Hopefully you have enjoyed this look back at 2022. Be sure to check back tomorrow for articles that ranked 11-14th. 
 

Last year, the Twins were 20.7 runs worse than an average team on the bases, according to FanGraphs. That was the second-worst mark in MLB. They stole (or even attempted to steal) fewer bases than any other team. They took the extra base on hits at a below-average rate, and they made outs on the bases at an above-average rate. 
That has been a pattern throughout the Rocco Baldelli era, too. The team will point out that the whole league is moving away from steals and aggressive baserunning, and that may be true, but the Twins still stand out like a sore hamstring. Since 2019, the Twins have stolen just 134 bases. The Red Sox have stolen the second-fewest in MLB, at 191. The gap between Minnesota and Boston is larger than the gap between Boston and the Yankees, who have stolen the 14th-fewest over that span. 
Baserunning is a nuanced art, and when a team does it poorly, the field staff always gets the heat. In this case, though, it’s pretty clear that the front office is driving the systemic failure. It’s a part of their broader strategy. There are good reasons underpinning that strategy, too. That said, the strategy sucks.
The two free agent signees most on the mind of Twins fans at the moment provide a perfect way to understand what the team is doing. Last winter, they surprised everyone by signing Carlos Correa, albeit on a short-term deal. Correa was and is a premium talent, with a long track record of brilliant play. There’s almost no weakness in his game–almost. 
Correa is a terrible baserunner. He’s actually quite fast, once he gets underway, but he’s so conservative on the bases (and so hesitant, after years of such overcautiousness) that he can’t avail himself of his speed most of the time. While an excellent player overall, he has hurt his teams by hitting into too many double plays and doing too little on the bases in each of the last two seasons.
Why is Correa so careful? The hiccup that triggered the final twist in his second tour of free agency illustrates it. He suffered a significant lower-leg injury running the bases in the minor leagues in 2014, and some reports suggest that the San Francisco Giants’ hangup in reading his physical exam traced all the way back to that injury. 
This is one huge reason for the broader trend away from emphasizing baserunning, and for the Twins’ philosophy of treading lightly. Everyone, and especially the Twins, now views the risk of injury as part of the break-even calculations required when deciding whether to attempt a steal, whether to try to score from first on a double, and even how to instruct players about their mentality on the bases. 
Just as importantly, though, the Twins have arrived at a conclusion similar to the one articulated at the beginning of Moneyball. They think speed is overpriced, and they view it as a secondary skill set. They would rather select players for their ability to authoritatively pull the ball in the air, for instance, than select them for speed or baserunning savvy, because most games are impacted more by what one does in the batter’s box than by what one does on the basepaths. 
That’s why the Twins, even if only fractionally, were more willing than other teams to overlook Joey Gallo’s falling Sprint Speed. Once a comfortably above-average runner, Gallo (whose pull power- and patience-centered approach at the plate fit the Twins’ philosophy like a batting glove) has lost a step over the last few years, and is now about as slow as his huge frame would suggest. He’s still a fine defender, thanks to good reads off the bat and a strong arm, but he’s a below-average runner in either corner outfield spot, and might not be viable in center field any longer. He’s tangibly slower than Max Kepler, whose role on the club he figures to take in 2023.
These things matter, because the Twins’ proclivity for accepting less speed is also why they’re perennially saddled with so many injuries, and why they often feel like a sclerotic, one-dimensional team. While it’s secondary in the degree to which it directly affects most games, speed is a primary indicator of a certain kind of athleticism. 
In baseball, there are two main categories of athleticism, and many players excel in one or the other, rather than both. One type is the explosive, rotational athlete. These are the guys who can throw 103 miles per hour, have excellent Bomba Rates, and generally have a knack for transferring massive energy from the ground, through themselves, and into the baseball. 
The Twins collect these guys. In their farm system, they train guys to be great in this sector of athleticism. They consider the batter-pitcher matchup, with its intensity and its potential for premeditation and tactical aggression, the center of the game, and they put their resources into being ready to win it as often as possible.
The other main type of baseball athleticism is the one people more often mean when they use the word. It’s not about unidirectional energy flow, but about proprioception and hand-eye coordination. It encompasses balance, looseness in the hips, the ability to make last-second adjustments, and comfort doing usual things at unusual angles. 
This is what allows a great hitter, when fooled, to flick the ball the other way for a double. It’s the extra dimension of movement that always seems to let Javier Baez creatively slide around a tag–and the anticipatory quickness that allows Baez to thwart would-be tag evaders when he’s in the field.
Straight-line speed actually belongs to the first category of athleticism, as much as the second. It’s not a coincidence that, as he’s worked out who he is as a player, Byron Buxton has become a lethal power hitter, adept at turning on the ball and driving it in the air. He uses much of the same extraordinary musculature and intuitive sense of leverage to generate both that power and his awesome speed, at full gait. 
Buxton, however, has become a mostly stagnant and ineffectual baserunner, because he hasn’t cultivated the other dimension of athleticism. He gets into trouble when trying to change speeds or direction suddenly. He gets hurt. While pure speed itself comes from the same place as power, speed utility—and the health benefits of being lithe and fast—comes from that second type of athleticism. Buxton, like virtually all of his teammates, is missing that.
The Twins are selecting baseball-specialized athletes too often, and training the guys already in their organization to focus too much on that area. They don’t want to pay for a skill that seems to make up so little of the game, and that helps them keep up with other clubs in the power department. 
The tradeoff leads to all kinds of problems, though, like having two guys with below-average range and quickness on the left side of their infield in the first year without defensive shifts. (Kyle Farmer and Jose Miranda each do what the Twins want hitters to do, but both are insufficient multidirectional athletes if they’re to be paired at their current positions.) 
It also leads to more injuries, because the players they’re acquiring and developing are stretching their bodies to their limits in short, violent bursts, and lack the capacity for the tiny adjustments that can avert disaster. That’s all on top of the most obvious problem, which is this: The Twins let runs go unscored because they simply don’t have guys who can put pressure on defenses and fully exploit opportunities.
 

With the Orioles, López was a dominant backend of the bullpen arm, outfitted with an upper 90s sinker and wiffleball movement at the top of the zone. He had some intriguing offspeed stuff, was missing bats, and locking down games. 
The Twins may have thought they could take a pitcher right near the cusp of being elite and make him that much better. However, that initial experiment has backfired. 
What happened?
Pick any stat you want from Jorge López and it was likely substantially worse with the Twins. 
Strikeouts? Down — from 28% with Baltimore to 16% with the Twins. Walk rate? Up — from 9% to 15%. Batting average allowed? Up — it was a clean 174 with Baltimore and grew to a grotesque 314 with the Twins. Hard hit balls? Up — exit velocity of balls over 95 mph went from 30% to 44%.
Star Tribune columnist Patrick Reusse tweeted on September 20 that López "was tremendous and always had excellent stuff… Finally harvested in the bullpen. Twins were dazzled by his 97 mph sinker and proceeded to turn him into a guy constantly behind in the count throwing breaking balls." 
The reality is the Twins kept him consistent in his sinker usage.
"There's been suggestions that we have him throwing more offspeed pitches than in Baltimore," Falvey later refuted to Reusse. "That's not true. He's still throwing a lot of fastballs and with the same velocity."
Which was an accurate statement but also… misleading. 
True, if you look at the overall pitch data of his sinker/two-seam fastball usage (50.3% in Baltimore and 50.9% with the Twins), they are basically the same. It is also true that López maintained that same crisp velocity in both uniforms (97.8 in Baltimore, 97.4 with the Twins). And finally, López threw more pitches while ahead in the count with the Twins than he did with the Orioles (so, no, he wasn’t “constantly behind in the count”). 
Falvey's narrative holds up as long as you only look as far as the total pitch type percentage and velocity. Consider two-strike counts. López used his sinker less frequently with the Twins — it went down from 47% to 40%. Equally as important was how he was using it. Watch this video.
Jorge Lopez Video.mp4  
If you watched those clips and thought I was trying to hypnotize you by staring at the blobbies, here's what's up: With Baltimore, López threw his sinker at the top of the zone with 2-strikes. With the Twins, it was middle and down. With the Orioles, it was thrown with conviction and intent. In Minnesota, instead of ripping it, it feels like he was guiding it, trying to get the right amount of run and sink. He was trying to blow their doors off. 
Look at how much the performance suffered.
Jorge López Sinker In 2-Strike Counts
  Thrown%
K
Upper 3rd%
Swinging Strike%
BAA
BALT
46.5
26
69.3
16.7
.122
MINN
39.5
3
46.7
2.2
.227
It was not just that the sinker's use was limited with the Twins — he also was throwing more changeups in 2-strike counts. 
With the Orioles, López got a bulk of his strikeouts with his sinker and used his other pitches fairly evenly (sliders 18%, curveballs 14%, and change up 18%). Hitters held a .044 batting average against his non-fastballs with 2-strikes. The Twins had him use the sinker less and all but eliminated the slider from his arsenal in the 2-strike scenarios, throwing more changeups (35%) compared to sliders (4%) and curveballs (15%). Hitters posted a .286 batting average against those pitches.
This is the element that Reusse was referring to, that López was not using his sinker as much and opting for other stuff (“throwing breaking balls”). 
When you look at his sinker's greasy metrics — such as tilt, release point, and movement — you'll find that it was a slightly different shape with the Orioles than it was with the Twins. The axis in which the ball spins out of his hand changed a bit (from 1:32 to 1:48), and his release point was about 2 inches lower (from 70.2 inches to 68.7 inches), and the vertical movement had two more inches of drop (from 8.9 induced vert to 6.7 induced vert). This was a concerted attempt at getting the ball to stay down in the zone. 
 
SINKER LOCATION (ORIOLES VS TWINS)

It cannot be said with absolute certainty because no one has publicly acknowledged this, but the Twins have encouraged Jorge to adjust his sinker. The working theory is that by throwing it down in the zone, he can pair it better with his changeup (a solid pitch in its own right). Like the sinker, López slightly altered his changeup at release (different spin axis, lower release, etc.) and induced more horizontal run and drop. Those results were positive.
CHANGEUP LOCATION (ORIOLES VS TWINS) 
 

Jorge López Changeup
  Thrown%
Swing%
K
Zone%
Swinging Strike %
BALT
15
43.5
6
31
14
MINN
17
42.1
9
24
24
In short, López’s changeup benefitted from the modification of his sinker whereas his sinker’s performance -- his prime pitch with the O’s – suffered. 
Plenty of what López is going through stems from the tough lessons the Twins learned in the Ryan Pressly trade. Notoriously Presley was traded to the Astros and was told to spin it. Spin it good. He did and went from a pitcher with excellent stuff to a lights-out All-Star closer. 
"It was a very hard lesson and very discouraging for us," Assistant General Manager Daniel Adler said in October 2018. "On the other hand, in some ways, it was a really strong teachable moment for us. … In some ways, I think it makes it easier to go to the next player."
To ensure they never fail to communicate information like that again, the Twins built a strong bridge that extends from the player development system into the clubhouse. Knowledge discovered in the front office is integrated into the day-to-day. Pitchers acquired – no matter how much success they are having at their previous stop – will receive information to optimize them, be it through an arsenal change, mechanical tweak, or something else. 
Kenta Maeda. Chris Paddack. Matt Shoemaker. Sonny Gray. Jharel Cotton. Nobody is a finished product. 
With the Twins, Jorge López has gone down the same path to middling results. The changeup seems much improved and could be an excellent weapon. On the other hand, they may have come at the expense of his sinker's performance – especially in those 2-strike situations. 
There appear to be crossroads ahead. López will be part of the 2023 bullpen, but what will his approach be? Will he continue to lean into the sinker/changeup mix, hoping to perfect that combination by next season? Or will he return to throwing moving heat at the top of the zone?

2022 Recap: Ryan joined the Twins at the 2021 trade deadline and made five starts at the season's end with 30 strikeouts in 26 2/3 innings. It was an impressive start to his big-league career, raising expectations for his 2022 campaign. All three national prospect rankings had him on their top-100 lists entering the season. During spring training, Rocco Baldelli named Ryan the Opening Day starter, which added pressure to the start of his rookie campaign. 

Ryan ended up leading the Twins starters in innings pitched, K/9, and WHIP. Only Dylan Bundy started more games than Ryan, and only two pitchers (Jhoan Duran and Sonny Gray) ranked higher than him in WAR. Still, his rookie campaign was impressive, with a 109 ERA+. His Hard Hit%, xERA/xwOBA, xBA, and K% all ranked in the 63rd percentile or higher. He surpassed his career high in innings by nearly 25, and his strikeout rate jumped from 7.9 to 10.7 K/9 in the second half. 
Ryan's lack of secondary pitch usage was one of the most significant issues in his minor league numbers. He was able to dominate hitters with a fastball up in the zone which resulted in some high strikeout totals. Last year, he used his four-seam fastball around 60% of the time, but his slider's development helped keep hitters off balance. Batters hit .245 against his slider but slugged nearly .500 against it. However, the xSLG versus his slider was 143 points lower, so that might point to luck from batters against that pitch. If Ryan wants to be a top-tier starter, he will need to continue refining his secondary offerings. 

Current Contract: Ryan is in an interesting spot because he didn't debut until age 25. The Twins currently have team control of Ryan through the 2027 season when he'd be 32 years old. In fact, he won't be arbitration eligible until the 2025 season. A lot can happen with a pitcher over the next half of a decade before he reaches free agency. Injuries and poor performance can impact even the best young pitchers, but Ryan and the Twins are at an interesting point in his career. 
Contract Proposal: Ryan has yet to make life-changing money in his career. As a seventh-round pick, his signing bonus was $147,500, and he will make close to the league minimum ($700,000) until he reaches arbitration. Last season, Braves rookie pitcher Spencer Strider signed a six-year, $75 million deal that includes option years. He will make $1 million in each of the next two seasons and $4 million in 2025. His salary will jump to $20 million in 2026 and then move to $22 million for the final two guaranteed years. Atlanta also holds a $22 million option with a $5 million buyout for 2029. 

Atlanta has been aggressive with signing their young players, and it is undoubtedly a strategy the Twins could explore. However, Strider had a historic rookie season, while Ryan didn't pitch to that level. A more reasonable option for Ryan could be six years, $31 million with the following structure. 
2023: $1m (1.033) - Age 27
2024: $2m (2.033) - Age 28
2025: $3m (3.033 - 1st Arb) - Age 29
2026: $5m (4.033 - 2nd Arb) - Age 30
2027: $7.5m (5.033 - 3rd Arb) - Age 31
2028: $10m (6.033 - FA) - Age 32
2029: $18m option (with $2.5m buyout) - 2nd FA - Age 33

This deal adds two extra years of team control and guarantees Ryan a lot of money at an early juncture in his career. Would the Twins consider this kind of offer for a young pitcher? Would Ryan accept this kind of deal? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. 

OTHER EXTENSION CANDIDATES
- Sonny Gray
- Luis Arraez
 

The Twins reached out to a team they have become quite familiar with in trade talks in the past year. Infielder Kyle Farmer was traded to the Twins from the Reds in exchange for right-hander Casey Legumina. 
The 32-year-old infielder from the University of Georgia has been the Reds primary shortstop the past two seasons. In 2022, Farmer played in 145 games and hit .255/.315/.386 (.701) with 25 doubles and 14 home runs. 
Farmer made his MLB debut back in 2017 with the Dodgers and played some for them again in 2018. He was part of a trade with Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig and Alex Wood that sent Homer Bailey, Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray to the Dodgers in December of 2018. 
In 2019, he played six defensive positions for the Reds. Since 2021, he has been the team's primary shortstop, and he is terrific defensively no matter where they put him. In 2021, he played in 121 games at shortstop and 10 or fewer games at the other infield spots and left field. In 2022, he played in 98 games at shortstop, 36 at third base, and two games at first base. 
On the surface, Farmer seems to have a lot of similarities to a guy the team acquired in March, Isiah Kiner-Falefa. Both are solid shortstops who make all of the routine plays. Both have a solid, contact, line-drive type of swing that can generate some extra-base hits. However, they are guys that will hit closer to the bottom of the lineup. 
In his first season of arbitration eligibility, he played the 2022 season for $3.155 million. He will make somewhere around $5 million in 2023 and will be under team control for 2024 as well. Essentially, he's going to cost about half of what Gio Urshela would have, but he's a guy you can feel comfortable with playing at shortstop while waiting for Carlos Correa to sign (you never know) or Royce Lewis to return, and at that point, he can fill a utility role. He also can provide depth at third base should Jose Miranda struggle with the glove. 
Casey Legumina was the Twins' eighth-round draft pick in 2019 from Gonzaga. His numbers don't jump out, but his stuff is something that clearly will excite several pitching coaches. That is why he was added to the 40-man roster earlier this week. 
In the past six or seven months, the Twins have sent Legumina, Spencer Steer, Christian Encarnacion-Strand, Steve Hajjar, and Chase Petty to the Reds in exchange for Sonny Gray, Tyler Mahle, and now Kyle Farmer. 
In reality, this move probably completely opens up third base for Spencer Steer to take and run with. 
Do you Remember?
This highlight was all over the place in 2017. Farmer had a very nice major-league debut. 
One Reds Fan's Perspective on the Trade
Kyle's Biggest Fan
 
 

There were two Givens for the Twins to add to their 40-man roster. The team simply was not going to leave Edouard Julien and Matt Canterino at risk to be lost in the Rule 5 draft next month. So they were added. Here is what I wrote about them in my 40-man roster prediction column: 
1.) 2B Edouard Julien - The 23-year-old from Quebec was the Twins 18th round pick in 2019 out of Auburn. Just this weekend, he was named the Breakout Prospect in the Arizona Fall League after he hit .400/.563/.686 (1.248) with five doubles and five home runs in 21 games. However, you could argue that he broke out during the 2022 regular season in Wichita where he hit .300/.441/.490 (.931) with 19 doubles and 17 home runs in 113 games. He even stole 19 bags. Of course, I would argue that he broke out in 2021, his professional debut after missing 2019 and 2020 due to Tommy John surgery and the Covid pandemic. He split that season between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids. In 112 games, he hit .267/.434/.480 (.914) with 28 doubles, 18 home runs, and 34 stolen bases. Where will he play? Well, he spent most of 2022 at second base. He has played first and third base in pro ball. Yes, he played a couple of games in left field in 2021, but that isn’t an option. Regardless, his all-around offensive game makes him a future top-of-the-lineup contributor. 
For more Twins Daily content on Edouard Julien, click here. 
2.) RHP Matt Canterino - Maybe not quite as “given” as Julien, but Canterino is absolutely a given to be added. He was the team’s second-round draft pick in 2019 out of Rice University. Since turning pro, two things have been true of the 24-year-old righty. First, when he has pitched, he has been absolutely dominant. In 11 games and 34 1/3 innings for Wichita in 2022, he posted a 1.83 ERA and struck out 50 batters. In 23 innings in 2021, he struck out 45 batters. His stuff is electric. Unfortunately, the second truth is that he has missed a lot of time with injury. He was shut down early in the 2021 season after experiencing some elbow pain. The rest-and-rehab was tried, but in 2022 at Wichita, he was limited to three innings per start and eventually four innings, but as his arm threw more, the pain continued. Finally, in mid-August, he underwent Tommy John surgery in Arlington making his availability to pitch in 2023 unlikely. But again, with this kind of talent, particularly with a pitcher, you keep him around and add him and don’t even give it a second thought. 
For more Twins Daily content on Matt Canterino, click here. 
Lefty Brent Headrick was my #3 prediction to be added, and here's what I wrote about him. 
3.) LHP Brent Headrick - In 2022, Headrick made 15 starts in Cedar Rapids before moving up to Double-A Wichita. In 2021, he was limited in the second half with some shoulder impingement. He stayed healthy throughout the 2022 season and went 10-5 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In 108 1/3 innings, he walked just 25 batters and struck out 136 batters. Now, his Double-A numbers don’t look as good. In 10 games, he went 2-3 with a 4.81 ERA. However, in his first Wind Surge appearance, he gave up seven runs on 10 hits (including five home runs) in 2 1/3 innings. Take away that outing, and he went 2-2 with a 3.54 ERA, and in 40 2/3 innings, he gave up just six more home runs. Headrick was the Twins seventh-round pick in 2019 out of Illinois State. 
For more Twins Daily content on Brent Headrick, click here. 
4th addition.) But I completely missed on Casey Legumina . He was the Twins 8th round draft pick in 2019 out of Gonzaga. He had Tommy John surgery that spring and therefore didn't make his professional debut until 2021. He was given some opportunities to star, but he has had his most success out of the bullpen. In 2022, he made three appearances in Cedar Rapids before jumping up to Wichita for 30 games. He went 2-6 with a 4.80 ERA in 33 games (16 starts). In 86 1/3 innings, he walked 36 and struck out 92 batters. He's got a closer's potential when healthy. 
For more Twins Daily content on Casey Legumina, click here. 
 
However, there are several players that were left unprotected who now could be selected by other teams. 
Catchers, or at least guys that can catch and also play first base, that could be lost include Chris Williams and Alex Isola. Williams provided power for Wichita and St. Paul. Isola played well in Wichita but missed a couple of months with an injury. He just finished his stint in the Arizona Fall League. 
High-upside prospects can be scary to be left unprotected. The Twins left toolsy outfielder Misael Urbina off of their 40-man roster. He probably isn't ready for the big leagues at this point, but his talent will be intriguing. Yunior Severino is a talent, and he did well in 2022 in High-A, but also in Double-A, so for the right team, he could be a bench fit for the 2023 season. DaShawn Keirsey Jr. is a little older than those two, but his athleticism, speed and defense are incredibly intriguing. He was finally healthy in 2022 and started to show what he is capable of. 
Michael Helman could certainly be selected. His ability to play at least seven positions well would make him intriguing to teams. However, he broke out in the upper levels with 20 homers and he also had 40 stolen bases. In the same vein, Anthony Prato is another utility player, capable of playing at least four positions. He was healthy in 2022 and did well in Cedar Rapids and Wichita. Utility players are one of the areas that do often get selected in the Rule 5 draft. 
So do relief pitchers who are, or very soon could be, big-league ready. Twins Daily's 2022 Relief Pitcher of the Year Evan Sisk was dominant in Wichita and at St. Paul. He's also left-handed and mixes pitches well with his low-90s fastball. Austin Schulfer keeps producing in whatever role the Twins have had him work in, starting or relieving. He ended the season with the Saints as well. 
Sisk isn't the only left-hander that could be at risk either. Southpaw Kody Funderburk pitched very well in 2022 for Wichita, posting a sub-3.00 ERA. He mostly started but has worked in various roles out of the bullpen as well. 
So, what do you think about the fourTwins additions? Which of the Twins minor leaguers left off of the roster are most at risk of being selected in the Rule 5 draft and lost? Share your thoughts in the Comments below. 
For more Twins Daily content on other players mentioned in this article, click the links below: 
Chris Williams, Alex Isola, Michael Helman, Anthony Prato, Evan Sisk, Austin Schulfer, Kody Funderburk. 
 

Since the end of the season, the Twins' front office has been cleaning up the 40-man roster that, had way more than 40 men on it. When the World Series finished, several players automatically came off the roster and became free agents. Carlos Correa exercised his option and became a free agent. The Twins Designated five players for Assignment early in the offseason. Three of them (Jermaine Palacios, Jake Cave, Caleb Hamilton) were claimed by other teams. Just last week, players still on the 60-Day Injured List were removed from the Injured List. At the same time, Cody Stashak was outrighted from the roster and elected free agency. 
All that is to say that a lot of roster work has been done already. Some of that is because, on Tuesday, teams have to submit additions to their 40-man rosters by 5:00 central time. 
The Twins' 40-man roster is currently at 36 players. There are 21 pitchers, one catcher, five infielders, and nine outfielders. The Twins (and other teams) may make a few small trades to clean up a couple more roster spots before the additions. 
Friday is another key date in the offseason when teams will need to decide which arbitration-eligible players to tender (or non-tender) a 2023 contract. A couple more players could potentially come off of the roster at that time. 
Before getting into the predictions for which Twins minor leaguers will be added to the team’s 40-man roster, it is important to note that some of these decisions were already made during the season. Louie Varland, Matt Wallner, and Simeon Woods Richardson all were added to the roster in September. If they had not been, they would have been Givens to be added now. Those three put up tremendous 2022 seasons in both Wichita and St. Paul and earned their late-season promotions. 
Secondly, who is eligible to be selected in the Rule 5 draft if they are not protected? Players who signed when they were 18 or younger in 2018 or earlier. Players who were 19 or older when they signed in 2019 or earlier. The age at signing is the key, but a general rule would be: 
Players drafted out of high school in 2017 or 2018. (unless they signed when they were 19) Players drafted out of junior college or four-year college in 2017, 2018, or 2019.  International players signed at 16, 17, or 18 years old in 2016, 2017, or 2018.  Finally, players added to the 40-man roster on Tuesday cannot be removed from the 40-man roster until spring training. That is important to remember when the team signs free agents or makes a trade this winter.
So, here are my quick thoughts on players that should be, or at least should be considered to be, added to the Twins' 40-man roster. 
THE GIVENS
1.) 2B Edouard Julien - The 23-year-old from Quebec was the Twins 18th round pick in 2019 out of Auburn. Just this weekend, he was named the Breakout Prospect in the Arizona Fall League after he hit .400/.563/.686 (1.248) with five doubles and five home runs in 21 games. However, you could argue that he broke out during the 2022 regular season in Wichita where he hit .300/.441/.490 (.931) with 19 doubles and 17 home runs in 113 games. He even stole 19 bags. Of course, I would argue that he broke out in 2021, his professional debut after missing 2019 and 2020 due to Tommy John surgery and the Covid pandemic. He split that season between Ft. Myers and Cedar Rapids. In 112 games, he hit .267/.434/.480 (.914) with 28 doubles, 18 home runs, and 34 stolen bases. Where will he play? Well, he spent most of 2022 at second base. He has played first and third base in pro ball. Yes, he played a couple of games in left field in 2021, but that isn’t an option. Regardless, his all-around offensive game makes him a future top-of-the-lineup contributor. 
2.) RHP Matt Canterino - Maybe not quite as “given” as Julien, but Canterino is absolutely a given to be added. He was the team’s second-round draft pick in 2019 out of Rice University. Since turning pro, two things have been true of the 24-year-old righty. First, when he has pitched, he has been absolutely dominant. In 11 games and 34 1/3 innings for Wichita in 2022, he posted a 1.83 ERA and struck out 50 batters. In 23 innings in 2021, he struck out 45 batters. His stuff is electric. Unfortunately, the second truth is that he has missed a lot of time with injury. He was shut down early in the 2021 season after experiencing some elbow pain. The rest-and-rehab was tried, but in 2022 at Wichita, he was limited to three innings per start and eventually four innings, but as his arm threw more, the pain continued. Finally, in mid-August, he underwent Tommy John surgery in Arlington making his availability to pitch in 2023 unlikely. But again, with this kind of talent, particularly with a pitcher, you keep him around and add him and don’t even give it a second thought. 
STRONG CONSIDERATIONS
3.) LHP Brent Headrick - In 2022, Headrick made 15 starts in Cedar Rapids before moving up to Double-A Wichita. In 2021, he was limited in the second half with some shoulder impingement. He stayed healthy throughout the 2022 season and went 10-5 with a 3.32 ERA and a 1.08 WHIP. In 108 1/3 innings, he walked just 25 batters and struck out 136 batters. Now, his Double-A numbers don’t look as good. In 10 games, he went 2-3 with a 4.81 ERA. However, in his first Wind Surge appearance, he gave up seven runs on 10 hits (including five home runs) in 2 1/3 innings. Take away that outing, and he went 2-2 with a 3.54 ERA, and in 40 2/3 innings, he gave up just six more home runs. Headrick was the Twins seventh-round pick in 2019 out of Illinois State. 
4.) UT Michael Helman - The Twins were excited to select Helman out of Texas A&M in the 11th round of the 2018 draft. After a strong pro debut that year, he really struggled in 2019 at High-A Ft. Myers and ended the season injured. After a lost 2020 season, he hit .246/.336/.462 (.798) with 21 doubles, four triples, and 19 home runs in Cedar Rapids. He added 21 steals. He finished that season by playing in the Arizona Fall League. He began the 2022 season with 39 games at Wichita where he hit .278/.368/.472 (.840) with six doubles, two triples, and six home runs. He finished the season in St. Paul where, in 96 games, he hit .250/.325/.416 (.741) with 17 doubles and 14 home runs. Combined, he ended the season with 23 doubles, 20 home runs, and an impressive 40 stolen bases. He has made himself a solid contributor at the bat. He has also worked very hard to get strong all over the field on defense. Drafted as a middle infielder, he started playing all over the place in 2021. In 2022, he played 43 games in center field, 41 games at second base, 29 games at third base, and 11 games at shortstop. In 2021, he played more in the corner outfield spots than in center field. He legitimately can play seven positions on the field, and maybe I should mention that when he went to junior college, he was a catcher. 
5.) Misael Urbina - This is the potential upside addition. This is the guy with talent and athleticism and tools. The 20-year-old Urbina signed in July of 2018 out of Venezuela. He spent 2019 in the Dominican Summer League where he posted a solid .825 OPS with 21 extra-base hits and 19 stolen bases in 50 games. After the lost 2020 season, he came to the States in 2021. He didn’t make the Mighty Mussels Opening Day roster, but he was on the roster about a week later. He played 101 games for the Mighty Mussels and hit .191/.299/.286 (.585) with 12 doubles, four triples, five homes, and 16 steals. Unfortunately, Urbina missed about half of the 2022 season due to some visa issues. In 50 games for the Mighty Mussels, he hit .246/.323/.419 (.741) with 16 doubles, five homers, and nine stolen bases. The Twins have added players after they spend a year in Low-A. They did it in November 2013 when they added Jorge Polanco and Max Kepler after they played in Cedar Rapids that season. Of course, they also added Deibinson Romero and Estarlin de Los Santos to the 40-man roster after their Low-A seasons. (I’m sure @Roger will appreciate that reference.) It’s hard for me to believe that Urbina would be able to stick on a big-league roster all season, so this is very borderline.  
6.) IF Yunior Severino - As you know, Atlanta signed Severino as a 16-year-old in 2016. He spent the following season with the Braves organization until they were deemed to have broken the rules of international signing and a bunch of their recently-signed international players became free agents again. This time, it was the Twins that gave him a big, seven-figure signing bonus. Severino has shown glimpses of talent, but he’s also missed time with injury. He broke out with a strong 35 games at the end of the 2021 season in Cedar Rapids when he hit .321/.414/.493 (.907) with 12 doubles and three homers. He began 2022 with 46 games with the Kernels and hit .283/.398/.572 (.970) with nine doubles, two triples, and 11 homers. He moved up to Wichita and hit .273/.338/.497 (.834) with eight doubles and eight home runs. At Cedar Rapids, he played mostly second base (and DH). With the Wind Surge, he played almost exclusively at third base. He is now 23 and could be a year away from being ready.  
7.) C/1B Chris Williams - Chris Williams was the Twins' eighth-round pick in 2018 out of Clemson University. In 75 games for Wichita this summer, Williams hit .277/.372/.542 (.915) with 16 doubles and 18 home runs. He finished his season with 42 games in St. Paul. He hit just .192, but he had five doubles and 10 more home runs. This season, he played 83 games at first base and caught 24 games. He will turn 26 this month, but the Twins have a need for right-handed power and currently have just one catcher on their 40-man roster. Now, Williams is not going to do a lot of catching in the big leagues, but he can be a guy who can be a #3 catcher, a backup first base option, and a power bat off the bench might provide some value to the organization. 
8.) RHP Cody Laweryson - Laweryson (pronounced Lor-ih-sun) was the Twins 14th round draft pick out of the University of Maine in 2019. In 2021, he missed the first two months of the season and then posted a 4.91 ERA and 1.33 WHIP in 15 games for Cedar Rapids. He did have 73 strikeouts and just 19 walks over his 58 2/3 innings. He went to the Arizona Fall League and struck out 18 batters in 14 innings and pitched in the Fall Stars game. He began 2022 in the Kernels' bullpen. In 35 innings, he struck out 42 and walked 12 batters. He posted a 2.57 ERA and a 1.06 WHIP. He moved up to Wichita where after 11 bullpen appearances, he made eight starts. He went 5-0 with a minuscule 1.06 ERA and a 0.94 WHIP. In 59 2/3 innings, he struck out 69 and walked just 15 batters. In the entire season, he gave up just two homers over 94 2/3 innings. He’s got decent stuff and a bit of a funky delivery. Was his half-season in Wichita enough for someone to select him in the Rule 5 draft, or for the Twins to add him? 
9.) OF DaShawn Keirsey, Jr. - Keirsey was the Twins' fourth-round pick in 2018 out of the University of Utah. He had a brutal injury after crashing into the wall at the end of his sophomore season in college, but inexplicably returned for his junior season and posted an OPS of 1.049. Since the Twins drafted him, his biggest issue has been staying on the field. He was limited to 45 games in Cedar Rapids in 2021 due to leg muscle issues. He never was able to get into a rhythm. In 2022, he was bumped up to Wichita and was on the field for 121 games. He had a solid showing, if not a bit of a breakout season. He hit .271/.329/.395 (.724) with 26 doubles, three triples, and seven home runs. While not a power hitter, at times he can really drive the ball and use the whole field. But his speed is absolutely electric and can be game-changing. He stole 42 bases in 49 attempts this year (86%), but he is an elite defensive center fielder, able to run down almost anything and unafraid to throw his body around to make a catch. His athleticism alone has to get him considered, and in 2022, he stayed on the field and really contributed.
10.) LHP Kody Funderburk - When the Twins drafted the lefty from Dallas Baptist in the 15th round of the 2018 draft, they had him as a pitcher only. In college, he was a very good hitter as well. Over time, he has worked solely as a pitcher and very quietly has made himself into a prospect to watch. He had a solid 2021 season between Cedar Rapids (where he started) and Wichita (where he was a reliever). He then went and made six starts in the Arizona Fall League. In 2022 at Double-A Wichita, he went 10-5 with a 2.94 ERA. In 107 innings, he had 103 strikeouts to 44 walks. He has a bit of a funky delivery that might make him intriguing to a team in the Rule 5 draft. 
11.) C/1B Alex Isola - In 2017, Isola and Keirsey were teammates at Utah. Isola transferred a couple of times before the Twins made him their 29th-round pick in 2019 out of Texas Christian University. Isola just completed his six-week stint in the Arizona Fall League where he hit five doubles, and in the semi-final game launched a 420+ foot home run to help send his team to the championship game. Like Williams, part of the allure of Isola is his ability to play behind the plate as needed. With Wichita, he made 17 starts at first base and 17 starts behind the plate. He won’t win any Gold Gloves, but he could be a #3 catcher in the big leagues. His calling card is his bat. In 58 games with the Wind Surge in 2022, he hit .286/.377/.471 (.848) with nine doubles and 10 home runs. He puts together solid plate appearances with a good knowledge of the strike zone. He’s willing to take his walks, but he also can drive the ball to the gaps and over the wall. 
12.) RHP Austin Schulfer - The 26-year-old was the Twins 19th round pick in 2018 out of UW-Milwaukee. In 2021, he led all Twins minor-league pitchers with 110 innings pitched over 24 starts at Double-A Wichita. In 2022, he returned to the Wind Surge to start the season and worked in 15 games out of the bullpen. He gave up just one earned run over 23 innings (0.39 ERA) and struck out 30 and walked only four batters. He recorded seven saves. He moved up to St. Paul where he went 4-3 with a 5.23 ERA. In 32 2/3 Triple-A innings, he struck out 31 batters and walked 13 batters. Schulfer has always made adjustments and should return to the Saints in 2023. Depending on the injury front in the Twins bullpen, we could see him debut at some point. 
HAVE TO AT LEAST CONSIDER
LHP Evan Sisk - Acquired from the Cardinals at the deadline in 2021, he was the 2022 Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. 5-1, 2.08 ERA in a combined 63 innings between Wichita and St. Paul. Had 76 strikeouts to go with 29 walks.  
SS/OF Will Holland - the fastest runner in the Twins minor leagues, he is a great athlete and could provide a team with solid outfield or shortstop defense and pinch-running abilities. He was the team’s 5th-round pick in 2019 from Auburn. 
LHRP Denny Bentley - Bentley has been very good in the Twins minor leagues and can record a lot of strikeouts, but he does walk a lot of batters, as he did in the Arizona Fall League. 
RHRP Osiris German - German remains a very intriguing 24-year-old reliever. His best pitch is his changeup. After six games in Cedar Rapids, he worked in 37 games for Wichita. He posted a 3.02 ERA and had 17 walks and 59 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings. 
RHRP Hunter McMahon - he was the ninth-round pick by the Nationals in the 2019 draft. The Twins acquired him that offseason for Ryne Harper. He has pitched very little since. In 2021, he pitched in just five games. This year, he began in Ft. Myers (2.23 ERA), moved up to Cedar Rapids (1.19 ERA), and finished with four games in Double-A. In 73 2/3 combined innings. He had 76 strikeouts and just 16 walks.  
RHP Sean Mooney - The Twins 12th round pick in 2019 from St. John’s had Tommy John surgery that spring. So, he didn’t make his pro debut, officially, until 2021. In 42 innings, he had 71 strikeouts. In 2022 with Cedar Rapids, he posted a 3.30 ERA and had 82 strikeouts in 60 innings. Needs to stay healthy. 
UT Anthony Prato - 7th round pick in 2019 from UConn, Prato had a nice breakout season in 2022. He was limited in 2021 due to a broken hamate bone. In 2022, he played 45 games in Cedar Rapids before ending with 87 games in Wichita. Combined, he hit .285/.383/.444 (.827) with 30 doubles, eight triples, 10 homers, and 22 stolen bases. He played 60 games in left field, 34 games at second base, and 22 games at third base. 
RHP Randy Dobnak - Off the 40-man roster, if a team selected Dobnak, they would take on his contract too, so that’s unlikely. But, when he was healthy in 2019 and 2020, he was a solid back-of-rotation starter, and if he is healthy, could be that for a non-contender. 
RHRP Steven Cruz - MLB Pipeline ranks Cruz 28th in the organization. Ten (or even five) years ago, he would have ranked higher because he is capable of reaching triple-digits with his fastball. At 23, he posted a 5.14 ERA and a 1.59 WHIP in Wichita in 2022. In 56 innings, he had 72 strikeouts, but he also walked 35 batters. Love the arm, but hard to see him sticking in the big leagues. 
OTHER ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Hitters: David Banuelos, Andrew Bechtold, Kyle Schmidt, Seth Gray, Charles Mack, Jeferson Morales, Daniel Ozoria, Willie Joe Garry, Carlos Aguiar, Luis Baez, Wilfri Castro, Alexander Pena. 
Pitchers: Tyler Beck, Francis Peguero, Jon Olsen, Ryan Shreve, Brock Stewart, Michael Boyle, Jordan Brink, Jordan Gore, Casey Legumina, Alex Phillips, Regi Grace, Bradley Hanner, Derek Molina, Owen Griffith, Tyler Palm, Miguel Rodriguez, Matthew Swain, Zaquiel Puentes, Niklas Rimmel, Elpidio Perez, Wilker Reyes, Rafael Feliz, Danny Moreno, Alex Scherff, Andrew Cabezas, Ben Gross, Zach Neff, Josh Mitchell, Jose Brito.  
My prediction? This is as tough as I can remember this being. Again, we should be able to assume Canterino and Julien are added. After that, there are at least six to 10 others (and maybe more) where a legitimate case could be made. I am going to officially predict that they will also add Headrick, Helman, and Severino. I think Urbina is just not yet in a spot where he could stick in the big leagues, but I think he is at risk of being taken. He is probably the most interesting case (which is why I found a photo of him for the article). I think Chris Williams and Alex Isola are guys that could be at risk as well. 
Your turn? How many players will the Twins add to their 40-man roster by Tuesday’s deadline? Make your predictions for which players get added below.

There’s no denying that Minnesota Twins fans spoke with their wallets this season. Minnesota saw its lowest attendance total since 2001, and not even a now 12-year-old-Target-Field could save them from that fate. Following an 89-loss campaign in 2021, the Twins may have come in right around projection totals, but it’s hard not to see why fans wanted more.
Plenty went wrong for the 2021 Minnesota Twins, but after sending Josh Donaldson to New York and spending big on Carlos Correa, it looked like this team could compete in a division where the White Sox and Guardians were their lone competition. Derek Falvey and Thad Levine made a pitching addition in the form of Sonny Gray, but the signings of Dylan Bundy and Chris Archer should’ve never been expected to move the needle too much.
Having been hired prior to the 2017 season, fans are wanting better results from a front office that, at times, has been too cute. Although Terry Ryan and Bill Smith also wore out their welcomes, loud voices are now ringing to a tune of 2023 being a critical juncture for the duo. How the pair can be brought back into the good graces of fans likely is a multi-faceted question.
Strike Strong this Winter
It’s hardly fair to ever expect any plan to be rigid when it comes to sports. Having alternatives for when options change is a must. Minnesota displayed that last season when they initially targeted Isiah Kiner-Falefa as their shortstop until the opportunity to dump Donaldson with Correa falling in their lap became a possibility.
That said, the Twins targeted Bundy as their first signing of the offseason. Only Joe Smith and a handful of waiver claims were their answer in the bullpen. Establishing themselves with more certain options that present a much higher ceiling is a must. Minnesota used a team-record 38 pitchers this season. Plenty of the starters are young and should be expected to provide results of the pitching pipeline Falvey was brought in to create. Josh Winder, Bailey Ober, Louie Varland, Joe Ryan, and Simeon Woods Richardson are all nice pieces to round out a rotation. That should be the back half though. Kenta Maeda returns, Tyler Mahle will hopefully be healthy, Gray option should be picked up, and Chris Paddack will be here at some point late in the year. There’s no reason to add middling options to that group. Another #1 or #2 arm has to be the focus if you want a rotation taken seriously.
The bullpen is in better shape assuming Jorge Alcala and Cody Stashak can be healthy. Matt Canterino won’t be an option for a while, and although Jhoan Duran has emerged alongside Griffin Jax as success stories, they need help. Supplementing short starts with elite relievers is a route you can go, but half in on both is something we’ve seen fail.
Find a Shortstop
There’s no reason why the Twins can’t pay Correa, and there’s arguably less of one why they shouldn’t. That said, he’s going to command a boatload, and it’s probably fool’s gold to suggest he’ll get top dollar here. However, if Minnesota can make a strong offer, then a city he seems to enjoy may become more enticing.
If it’s not Correa, going half-in on a team that needs leadership and the ability to sustain winning simply won’t work. Brooks Lee would be a longshot for Opening Day, and Noah Miller can’t hit yet even though he's great in the field. Royce Lewis won’t be back until mid-summer at the earliest, and what he looks like at that point remains to be seen.
This isn’t another Kiner-Falefa or Jose Iglesias scenario. Maybe the Twins shy away from going for a long-term deal that locks down the position (although it’s been a revolving door for years) but paying handsomely for a position that will quarterback a poor defensive infield is a must.
Be Open to Change
Arguably the largest detractor for a good portion of Minnesota’s fanbase when it comes to the front office is their reliance on analytics. While data is an incredibly powerful tool when driving decisions, being so rooted in it as a finality has seemingly dug some graves.
Emilio Pagan was terrible and sank the Twins early this year. He’s shown a better ability once coming around to making changes, but Minnesota stuck with him because of stuff that could be exploited if it ever started to work out. There were also data-driven decisions behind the acquisition of Bundy, Archer, and Smith, thinking the brain trust and what they employ could unlock a higher level of performance that never showed itself.
 
Being willing to cut ties, or change direction when something isn’t working hasn’t been evident on a quicker timeline. The Twins were dreadful with runners in scoring position this season, and while the lineup wasn’t built to bash the longball like that of the Bomba Squad, little was done schematically to change run production opportunities on the fly.
Spend…Again
We saw the highest payroll in franchise history during 2022 when Minnesota dropped roughly $140 million on this club. Whether Correa returns or not, there’s going to be a ton of money to spend. While revenues will obviously have taken a hit following a lacking attendance and likely slowed renewal of season tickets, paying for premium talent is a must.
Falvey and Levine have cultivated a core of players such as Lewis, Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Ryan, and many others. With their salaries all stymied through the arbitration process, it’s that group that should be supplemented by this regime to prove the youth is here and believed to be ready to compete.
What else do you need to see from the Twins front office to dive back in? If you’re out, where did they lose you? What have you appreciated most?
 

The above graph shows the percent of Gordon's hitting outcomes over the previous 100 plate appearances as his career as progressed. The point where the data cross from his 2021 season to his 2022 season is marked with a gray vertical line. Here are the key takeaways:
Throughout his rookie season, Nick Gordon hit the ball on the ground. A lot. More than 50 percent of balls in play were ground balls and, for most of the season, less than 20 percent of balls were fly balls. The data show a small jump in fly balls and drop in ground balls toward the end of 2021, however. That was a sign of things to come. Gordon in 2022 is an entirely different hitter. He went through a stretch of ground-ball-heavy hitting in the early part of the season, but his groundball rate has plummeted. In his last 100 plate appearances, he's hit only 37 percent ground balls. His flyball rate is roughly 3 times higher in 2022 than 2021. The steady growth in this flyball rate is evident. Are fly balls good? Usually! It's difficult to get extra-base hits (and especially home runs, it turns out) when the ball is on the ground. An increase in fly balls is the reason his slugging percentage has jumped from 0.355 in 2021 to 0.431 in 2022. Given his slender frame, Nick Gordon looks like a slap-hitting utility man. And in 2021, that's mostly what he was. But through a drastic change in approach at the plate, Nick Gordon has transformed into a well-above-average hitter with a 116 OPS+. Maybe that lofty prospect status is starting to shine through.