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Interesting, thanks Seth. Not certain that 'games' is the best stat to use in this case. We don't know if some of those guys played a lot of games where they merely pinch hit for the pitcher in the National League? Wouldn't at bats, or even better plate appearances be a better judge? Expect the results would be the same, but the variances may be different...or not!

Would like to ask one question of everyone bellyaching about losing either of these guys. Who on the 40-man roster would you have taken off to protect either or both of these players? And in doing so there is a good ch ance they would be gone.

Great move by the Twins. Have believed they should keep four or five AAAA types in St. Paul for multiple years. Solid players the Saints fans can follow long term. Maggi could be one of them.

One player we all should be excited about is Celestino. Disappointing with the Twins in a premature call up, way premature, it appears his big league struggles has paid dividends back at AAA. Should be key member of Twins teams in 2022 and beyond. should be exciting finish for the Kernels, unfortunately, their record against Quad Cities is ugly.

Great article, Seth, thanks. It appears the perception of losing Baddoo is magnified by his play against the Twins as opposed to the rest of the league. Soooo happy they didn’t lose Miranda, who just may be a future star. Gonna be lots of tough decisions this November with so many marginal guys on the current 40-man, plus being way over with all the 60-day guys.

Am happy going into 2022 with the current team of position players under contract. If they believe they can contend AND they aren’t comfortable with Polo or Gordon at short, sign a veteran who is strong defensively to a one year contract. Not a big Simmons fan, but no problem bringing him back.

Thanks, David. Should be exciting for Kernels fans as they battle for that second playoff spot. Hopefully, they will join the Wind Surge to play meaningful baseball the next week or so. The Mussels have been eliminated, haven't they? And the Saints will continue playing without playoffs, right? Miranda has had an unbelievable summer. Hopefully, it will end by joining the Twins for their last series or two of the year. Give him a first hand taste of the big leagues and a few at bats against the best pitchers in baseball. The FCL Twins have a terrible record, losing nearly two of every three games they played. Yet, find myself excited about the top three guys in yesterday's lineup, Rodriguez, Miller and Rosario. They are all 18 or 19 years old? Could all of them make it to the Twins three to five years from now?

Continue to believe in this young man, who I believe will work on what he learned this year and become a solid starter for the Twins. Interesting seeing the award is named after Bob Feller. Met him once when I was probably 10 or 12. Two guys from Milwaukee had an agreement to hunt in the marsh on our farm in Central Wisconsin. I often hunted with them. One day they showed up with Feller as their guest. Remember he wrote a personal message on the baseball he gave me. Seemed like a great guy who was more successful than I realized back then. Unfortunately, my Mom tossed it along with lots of stuff when we sold the farm while I was in college. Didn't realize at the time I should have had it in a bank safety deposit box.

As the season comes to an end I find myself wondering which is best for an organization, a minor league system with teams winning and a few championships or teams with so-so records, but a a star or two on each team putting up eye popping numbers? Successful teams doesn't necessarily mean that the system will provide players to the big league club, players who become solid starters or all-stars. But it does give those players who move up the experiences related to winning. So I expect the answer most would give is you want both. Considering all of the Twins full-season teams have winning records this year, they certainly are winning throughout the organization. And with players like Miranda, Martin, Royce Lewis (injured), Winder, Balazovic, Duran (injured), Canterino (injured), Enlow (injured), SWR, and others, they have more than their share of top prospects. So this year at least, the answer for the Twins is BOTH. Will that mean the Twins will also win two or three years from now and beyond? We are gonna have to wait and see!

Have no interest in trading with the Yankees as they usually don't work out well for the Twins. Also, have no interest investing prospects to solve the shortstop question which should take care of itself a year later when Lewis/Martin should be ready. Would rather see them do: A) nothing, with Polo/Gordon/Arraez manning the middle infield spots; or .B) signing a veteran to a one year contract.

Great seeing a very nice start from Strotman, Steve. Is that his best outing since joining the Twins? Should he make it, the Cruz trade gets even better. Also fantastic seeing SWR with his first really good start since returning from Tokyo. He and Balazovic could make an awfully nice duo heading into the playoffs. Bit disappointing seeing Miller go 0 for whatever the last couple days. Really like him as a prospect. And Rosario just keeps showing up and getting hits. He just may turn out to be the best pick from last year's short draft.

Has anyone else noted that we aren't signing as many players from Australia since Howie left the organization? Have always been excited for those who made it or got close, Balfour, Hendriks, Thorpe, Hughes. Appears to be another young man who may, or may not, become a free agent after this year. Does anyone know for certain if he is? As mentioned above, love what he can do on the bases and in the outfield. Now if only his bat can get a bit better.

Thanks for the report, Seth. That video of the Seals landing at CHS Field is amazing. The flag shows that it was also very windy, making any type of jump tricky. Must question the Twins pick of Povich as Pitcher of the Week, seeing he pitched only 3 innings. Seems more suspect after looking at Balazovic and Sands performance(s) in Wichita. Great seeing those numbers from the trio with the Mussels, Encarnacion-Strand, Rucker and Perez, as well as Valdez and Miller for the FCL Twins. Took note of Javier going on the IL. With all the rule changes the past year, not certain if he has the six years required to be a MiLB free agent. Do you know if he does? If so, he may have played his last game for the Twins. Bloody shame this kid was never able to put it together, both with his bat and health. Remain fearful that he will figure it out and become a star with another team.

I often wonder, Nick, if you include tidbits in your posts that are wrong to see if we catch them. Today, you had me wondering when the Twins acquired Danny Duffy? Regardless, I enjoyed this piece and everything you do at TD. Find it hard to believe that Ryan's start last week wasn't the best start of the year. With all that has gone on since, its hard to remember that first game by Berrios so without searching I don't recall his line that day. Also, don't know whether I agree or not with the idea of bringing Big Mike back for the starting rotation. Yes, he can and often is effective. Problem is we know he is going to miss a good chunk of the season for whatever reason(s). I also read when he was acquired that Gant would like to be a starter. Perhaps having him in a long relief role so he can slide into Pineda's spot when not available would solidify one spot in the rotation...say the #4 spot. Read in this morning's Strib that Rocco wants to keep using Gordon in a utility role, versus playing him at short the rest of the season. Also indicated that Rocco would like to have Simmons back. Uggh! Count me among those who had given up on Gordon. Have changed my mind and would like to see him back with the Twins next year in a semi starting role along with Polo and Arraez.

Fantastic seeing Petty on the mound for the first time. Also, real nice start by Regi Grace, who I recall was an exciting young draft pick a few years ago. Too many games like this from Vallimont. He is eligible for the Rule 5 draft this year, correct? But with so many starts like this I can't see him added. Gotta wonder what Miranda was thinking sitting on the bench watching while the St. Paul hitters scored three touchdowns? Allow me to join those wishing Moran well as he prepares for his first outing on the mound at Target Field. Hopefully, he will be an anchor in future Twins bullpens for years to come.

Something else I noticed thinking about the Wichita game last night. The Twins played the Royales. The Saints played Omaha, the Royales AAA team. Wichita played NW Arkansas, the Royales AA team. Interesting.

Should he be back, no. Will he be back, I fear it is better than 50-50.

Like all rookies, Jax makes mistakes and has tough innings. But he seems to be learning from them and becoming a pitcher who may earn a spot in future rotations. Gonna be real interesting to see what he looks like in the spring.

Appreciate some of the above comments about Balazovic, as I also watched much of that game. Great start for the young man, but one I would not label 'incredible.' He seemed to have a problem settling into the strike zone early in the game. Walked the first batter in the second inning on four pitches. Walked the lead off hitter again in the third, also on four pitches. Then went 3-0 on the next guy before recovering and striking him out. Seemed to be struggling finding the strike zone in both of those innings with lots of balls up. On the other hand, the run they got shouldn't have scored, at least in my opinion. He stole second with a late throw from the catcher. If he gets off a clean throw and doesn't double clutch, he would have likely been out. Then goes to third on what was called a wild pitch. They don't do a lot of replays, but when the pitch was made it looked low and inside to me. Seemed like something the catcher should have either caught or blocked, so I was thinking passed ball. Then scored on a dribbler down the line...so yes, he didn't allow a hit and should have gotten a shutout. But with those early walks, I wouldn't call it incredible. Was able to watch Martin on a few plays at short and wasn't impressed. Was one ball hit to him when he hurried his throw a bit, throwing high for an error. Understand that NW Arkansas is a Royals farm club with lots of speed, but didn't seem to be a difficult play. Next hitter hits a ground ball to Martin's right. His throw to second to begin the double play was high, above the second baseman's head resulting in an awkward, late throw to first for no double play. Didn't see him do much more defensively, but those back to back plays weren't smooth and certainly not clean. Will agree with the above comment that I thought he made a mistake getting into the rundown when they scored the two runs.

That is interesting, jm, that they posted 'he didn't pitch.' Checked and saw that a day earlier they did have his stats included. See that he was 2-5 yesterday and is now hitting .290 with an .825 OPS. And yes, I understand that is is a small sample, but he is up to 67 at bats...so it is no longer tiny sample.

Tough second start for SWR, but whatever he does before the playoffs is meaningless following spending six weeks or so with the Olympic Team in which he never appeared in a game. Saw that Encarnacion-Strand was 1 for 4 with a walk and 2 for 4 yesterday. What a start for this young man. Will agree with the above regarding Celestino. Sat down with my coffee and the Strib sports section this morning. Got to the Saints article and box score and saw that Miranda had his expected two hits, but so did Celestino. Yes, he has really hit well since going back to the Saints after his premature time with the Twins. Never thought all that highly about the young man. Don't know why, probably because he didn't do anything so much better than others to get noticed. He is a good defensive outfielder who can and does play center field, but he isn't Byron Buxton. He is fast, but he isn't Byron Buxton. He runs the bases well, but he isn't Byron Buxton. Has a little pop in his bat, as he showed yesterday, but he isn't Byron Buxton. He will hit for an ok batting average, but he isn't the Byron Buxton we saw this past April. But heck, there is only one Byron Buxton and I hope like hell the Twins get it done this winter and he stays at Target Field for the next five or six years....plus. I would hope that Celestino begins next year back at CHS Field playing every day. He would then be available to come over when/if Buxton, or another outfielder is hurt. Does he ever replace Buxton in center for the Twins? I hope not. Doesn't mean he can't be a valuable fourth outfielder who does a good job both in the field and at bat for the next six or seven years. And yes, I have now noticed this young man and like what I see.

Loved the trade when the Twins made it, like it even more after this young man's first two starts. If we can get anything out of Strotman, fantastic! I will repeat something I said yesterday. I believe the Twins should sign some vet hitter or pitcher on a one year contract every offseason with the expectation that they will trade him to a contender at the deadline. Won't always get a return this good, but maybe some years we would. That trade also opens a spot on the roster for a young prospect to break-in with the Twins. As I read the above, my thoughts were that I treat all these scouting reports with a grain of salt. Yes, they provide some general information about the player, such as what pitches he throws, etc. Some one can, and will, correct me if I am wrong, but these scouting reports aren't the internal reports teams have on opposing players they scout (major league and minors) or their internal reports on their own players. Would put a lot more weight into those versus the ones available to the public.

Don't know what has gotten into the young man, but am happy for he and his family because he is getting a major league check! Beats the heck out of what he would have earned as the pitching coach at where was it, Augustana?

Very true, Seth. But all averages include some bad games and a few fantastic games, yielding a year end norm. Have no interest in checking, but expect that the two players mentioned had very few multi hit games over several years and none that were 5 for 5. Hopefully, you can understand my excitement over a young man who is off to a good start?

Was watching Ray Donavan when I checked my ipad at the end of the 5th inning. Took a second to understand the comment on gameday....Perfect Game. Kept it turned on until the single in the 7th. WOW! Got me thinking this morning that it makes sense to sign one older free agent every winter to a one year contract. Somebody with a good bat or vet pitcher who could help a contending team come July. Get a hundred games of performance until some prospect is ready, then trade him. Excellent way to restock the pipeline and could be done even if the Twins are back in the chase by opening a spot on the roster for a big time prospect.