roger

Agree with you and Mike. With that said, have no problem keeping him in St. Paul a few more weeks to get more reps at third and left. If I didn't miss something, he has played two games at third and one in left. Let him get five or six at each spot before the move up. At two a week in each spot, that would be another three weeks.

When Kirilloff joined the Saints, he was in a total slump. Then awhile back we began seeing him get a good number of hits, albeit mostly singles. Beginning a few games ago we are seeing him driving the ball, the result more extra base hits. Don't know if he is ready to return, but if he keeps this up for a few more games he certainly should. The corresponding move will be to send Miranda back to St. Paul. Unfortunately, Miranda appears to be making adjustments and is beginning to get some hits. Still makes sense to get him back to AAA where he hopefully will hit like he did in 2021. And Lewis just keeps whacking the ball and doing what he does. I still believe it makes sense for him to stay in St. Paul for several more weeks or a month to get more comfortable at both third and left. Then bring him back with Garlick returning to the Saints. It is likely, however, that someone will be injured over the coming weeks, which would open a spot for either player. Have never been a huge fan of Wallner. Don't know why, other than he always appeared to be another power bat who couldn't play defense, ala, Rooker, Sabato, etc. But I understand that he is adequate in the field with an excellent arm. And his bat sure looks like it could play, so hopefully I will be proven wrong. Unfortunately, don't know where playing time with the Twins could come from over the next few years. Loved the Twins draft last summer when they took the two lefties in I recall the second and third rounds. Fantastic seeing Hajjar have games like last night. Povich also continues to seem like a very strong prospect.

Thru the first six weeks of the season, the bullpen results were excellent. But too many games were really scarry. For whatever reason, Duffey has serious problems with KC. Recall hearing that his ERA at Kaufman is alarmingly high. Agree with those who say a major change isn't needed. Understand Columbe will be back in the coming days. He was actually solid and will help. Article in the Strib this morning indicated that Alcala could/should be back by mid-late June. Assuming he is anything like last year, that will be a big plus. And then they could get help in August from Maeda, who will likely be used out of the pen if he makes it back. Those three additions would make a huge difference. Will also help a ton if the starters keep going six or seven innings and the hitters start scoring more than two runs so the middle relievers can eat up some/most of the innings every other day.

Thanks for the report, Seth. Sixteen hours? Do they leave Monday afternoon/evening and drive thru the night? Great seeing Cavaco starting to see some success. Will wait to see how long this continues before getting too excited.

Isn't it exciting watching every time Arraez steps up to the plate? What is different this year is that he appears to be healthy and having fun, a lot of fun. I also see a bit of La Tortue in this young man. Great article in the Strib this morning about how he spent much of the winter in the D.R. working with Nelson Cruz. Also mentioned that he came to spring training in better shape. Could be a special season. Love the results.

See that Schulfer keeps putting up zero's with lots of K's. Also see that Sisk, the guy they got from St. Louis last July, has an ERA and WHIP of 1.00. Recall he was a bit scarry when he came over last summer, but sure seems to be getting it done this spring. Always great to see Miller with a great game. Also see that Cavaco is beginning to show signs of life. Still young, who knows?

What caught my eye when reading this Seth was this week's starters in Wichita. That is one heck of a starting rotation. And the best news is they are getting close. It is so exciting to see Canterino and Enlow begin to put last year's injuries and wasted year behind them. Thought it was odd that Merrill was sent down after also having a great week.

Interesting thought bighad. But after watching him after he didn't get that ball against the wall and I see a player who isn't 100%. Don't know whether a stint on the IL is the answer, just believe he is hurting. We are watching a young man learn a new position on the fly, Luis Arraez. I believe that by year-end he will be an average or better first baseman. Yes, he is too short and doesn't hit for power. But I want his bat in the lineup 140+ games a year. He is average, at best, defensively at second and third which are his best other positions. If he can be average or better at first, put him there for the next five plus years.

Thanks for the upbeat read, Nick. I expect Royce Lewis will become part of the Twins lineup by the all-star break, at latest. Remain hopeful that AK returns comfortable with his wrist and hitting like the young man can. That would be so important. It would move Miranda back to St. Paul and push Arraez into lots of days as DH. My biggest concern remains the bullpen. Yes, the results have been good. Heck, better than good. But I really would like to see Pagan pushed back to replace that revolving guy who drives over from St. Paul every couple days, giving the closer slot to Duran. But there remains a need for one or two more solid late inning guys. Can that be Alcala? Will he even be back and pitching like he was before the injury? If not, they need to find someone. Don't know if he is at St. Paul or Wichita. May have to go out and get that player some July. The other addition to the team I would like to see come July is a young catcher. You know, a guy like Rortvedt who is capable of coming up as an injury replacement with the potential to be a starter or rotating catcher come 2023. Certainly someone who is more of a prospect than Godoy.

Loved the intro, Matt. Thanks for the smile. Always a bit hesitant to get into articles with all the new data. Just don’t understand a lot of it. Have a question about the graph showing the pitches he has seen in the zone. Shouldn’t all the percentages add up to 100%? Shouldn’t those in the strike zone add up to the 56.8% you quote? They don’t, not even close. So I don’t know what that is telling us?

Enlow on the mound and pitching is fantastic news. Has it been a year since his surgery? Maybe there is hope that Maeda will be back sometime in August and Paddack early next year.

Is it possible the ‘closer’ fix will be internal? Don’t they expect Alcala back next month? He takes the role Duran has, putting out fires, Duran moves to closer and Pagan to low stress innings earlier in the game.

Agree with everything you said Trov, except your geography. I believe Omaha and Wichita are nearly the same distance from KC. Wouldn't surprise me if Omaha was actually a few miles closer.

Usually like most of what you write, D.C. But "Intellectual and strategic malpractice." Seriously? Maybe it would make sense instead of badgering about what ifs, we sit back and see how the season plays out. Watching the game last night, the announcer talked about a discussion he had with Gardenhire. Toby talked about how they plan to move Lewis around to a few other positions. Didn't say which. As for playing shortstop last night, is it possible they want to keep him there for a few days while they work with him at those other positions? I expect the FO and Manager have a plan to get Lewis back to the Twins. I plan to sit back and see how this plays out over the next few weeks or months. Gives me a reason to go to MiLB.tv a couple times a week and watch the Saints. Although that was difficult last night, even though Lewis played like the star he is.

Wanted to watch the Saints game to see Lewis, AK and Larnach on a rehab assignment. Didn't learn until reading the above that Larnach was in Wichita. Interesting! Took a couple minutes to log in, so I missed the first couple hitters, DAH! Saw Lewis later beat out a softly hit infield grounder and steal a base. Didn't see his third hit as the game got too ugly to watch after about the 5th inning. The Saints seem to be a team in trouble. I guess 10 straight losses will do that. With names like Contreras, Cave and others with some big league time, surprising. What is most concerning was the comment the announcer made about their defense. Didn't know that the Saints have more errors than all teams in AAA. Balazovic's numbers look bad, but he wasn't as bad as they seem. I believe it was the first baserunner in the first inning who hit a routine groundball to short, only problem is Lewis was playing to the right of second in a shift and couldn't get to it. I see that all the runs were earned, so Contreras' first error since 2018 (a throw to home) didn't hurt. With runners advancing, did bring more stress to Balazovic. In the second the infield was shifted to the third base side and AK, playing first, needed to go far to his right to field another routine grounder. Being lefthanded, he had to make a full turn and made an awkward throw to Balazovic who got to first about when the runner did. The throw was wide and another runner advanced, putting more stress on Balazovic. Yes, there were also several hard hit balls in the first two innings when Balazovic gave up 6 runs. After that he settled down and retired 7 hitters in a row to finish out his 4 innings. Saw AK's second and third at bats. The second at bat came with Lewis being held on first. Hit a hard bouncer right over the first base bag that the first baseman fielded, stepped on first and threw to second for a double play. If Lewis isn't on first, it would have been a double. His third at bat was a solid line drive to left-center that the center fielder caught, maybe 20 feet in front of the warning track. A bit further to the left and its a double. No results, but two solid at bats. Overall, not an enjoyable game to watch for a Twins/Saints fan.

Am jealous, Mike. Have never been to the Vineyard, but love Newport. Enjoy! Agree with everything you said, including omitting the second last comment...enough has been said.

Will second the many comments from above stating that the biggest news of the night was the game Alex Kirilloff had. The Twins needed to see him begin hitting the ball hard, and getting results. That appears to have started a couple games ago and last night was a BOOMING success. I don't expect him to get called up tomorrow, but sure hope he keeps it going and returns soon. That will enable them to put AK at first and send Miranda back to St. Paul with a great experience from which to build on. With AK, Royce and Larnach in the lineup, may have to watch the Saints game tonight. Austin Schulfer sure seems to be developing into a shut-down late inning reliever. Can he continue doing that soon with the Saints? With the Twins? Do any of you guys know, Andrew, how hard this kid throws? And another great day from Noah Miller. Kid sure looks to be the real deal, eh? Will he be a future Twins shortstop? Or with Royce at shortstop, will he be Jorge Polanco's replacement at second three or four years from now? He's what, 19? Will he get moved up to Cedar Rapids at some point this spring/summer?

Loved nearly everything Mike has said above, but I suppose he can be criticized for being reasonable. But there sure are a lot of folks out this morning with a bunch of burrs under their saddles. Like all of you, I think Lewis has surprised us with how well he has played and certainly earned the right to stick with the Twins. We don't know what the future holds for Correa and the Twins? Expect neither the Twins or Correa know? So it is difficult for anyone to plan on what position Lewis will be playing next month or year. Hopefully, they will get him back to St. Paul and where he plays will tell us a lot of what the answers are to those questions.

Thanks for the report, Steve. Couple questions about Wichita. Any word on what Julien's injury was? Is it serious and will cause him to be out for more than a couple day? Also surprised that Martin didn't come into the game as his replacement. Haven't been looking for him in recent box scores, is he also out?

Is this a surprise, yes. Should it be, probably not. Miranda stays and Lewis gets sent down. Clearly based on fact Miranda is the only option the Twins have on the current roster to back up Arraez at first. So does Miranda stay until; 1) Kirilloff begins driving the ball at St. Paul and returns; or 2) Sano comes off the DL? Will be watching closely to see where Lewis plays with the Saints. If it exclusively at short, will be pulling my hair out. With a chance of Correa staying, they have to get Lewis comfortable at third, left and center, while also getting some time at short. Will be first thing I check in the Saints box score every day.

I knew we would eventually get you to be a part-time Badger!

Agree with your comments, chpettit19, although have always thought of him as the next Jeter.

Great comments, and seems we all agree he deserves to stay with the Twins. The only reason to send him down, IMO, would be if you sit down with him and say, "we want you to be comfortable playing, third, left and center." Then send him down for a couple weeks to play those positions. When he comes back he rotates between third and left, while also filling in at center or short when the Big Two need a break.

Interesting?

Had thought they would keep Jax to piggy-back with Bundy tonight. Will be interesting to see who they bring in, assuming Bundy is only good to go only four inninings. I expect all of us are shocked, or pleasantly surprised, at how well Lewis is doing. Although I think a short trip back to St. Paul to play a lot of third base or left field, or both, would make sense, this young man belongs with the Twins. With Correa at short, where is the $64,000 question (us old guys will remember when that was a lot of money). On the other hand, Miranda needs to return to St. Paul to continue his development. Problem is, who is available to play first base when Arraez needs a break? Hopefully, they have an answer for that and Miranda, not Lewis, is the man returning when Carlos comes off the IL tomorrow or the next day. Saw the first 4.5 innings last night before turning it off and going to sleep. Damn, Lewis is exciting. And loved that sacrifice.