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Expect much of the above discussion and voting was completed before last night's start by Ryan. One game doesn't make him a lock for next year, but a couple more very good starts the next three weeks will. My hope is that they complete one Odorizzi style trade, perhaps giving up somewhat more on the prospect side than in that trade. Add that to signing one very good, not top tier, free agent and they should be set going into opening day. Expect the three young arms joining those two will be Ober, Ryan and Dobnak. The depth will come from guys like Jax, Winder, Strotman and the pair at Wichita, although only Jax would have any big league experience. As for 40-man spots, will be shocked if Thorpe and Smeltzer are still on the roster come the end of November. Would love to see one of them included in an early November trade, but expect that is wishful thinking.

What a game for Miller. After watching the putrid numbers for several years from Javier and Cavaco, sure is great having a top draft pick shortstop who is actually getting some results.

When your my age, everybody on the Twins is a young man.

Let's take Larnach, Celestino and Rortvedt out of this discussion. Larnach hadn't played much at AA and should have begun the season either there or at AAA. Celestino and Rortvedt both should have begun and AA and moved up to AAA at mid-season. Putting all three onto the Twins roster early in the season was a situation in which they could be expected to fail with the bat. To be honest, I am shocked at how well Rortvedt played defensively. Still believe his bat will mature over the next two years and he will be solid, offensively, if not great. Also want Astudillo back for 2022. The young man can play at least four positions ok and has enough time in left to not be totally out of place. Makes contact with some pop gives him a spot on my team.

Got a question for you, Steve? I go to the box score every day expecting to see Encarnacion-Strand put up an 0-4 or something similar. Today's 3 for 3 with a walk has me just shaking my head. The kid is flat out hotter than hot. Should he continue hitting like this for the ten or so games remaining, will you guys include him in your Top 20 this winter? And he isn't doing this in the Complex League, he is doing it in low-A ball and the Florida State League.

Polanco, Arraez and a healthy Buxton should be the core of the Twins lineup next year. Their current supporting staff is good enough to win the division. How will the FO deal with the pitching problems of 2021? That will tell us well before spring training whether to expect the Twins to compete...or not.

I continue to believe in the young man. And perhaps the most encouraging stat is that after his rough couple innings in his first start back, he finished with 7 consecutive batters being out on ground balls. That is who he is and the Twins should work off of that. Keep him throwing as a ground ball machine. Have thought since day one that his working out of the bullpen wasn't working and messed him up for the entire season. Hopefully, next spring he will be a starter and begin the season in the starting rotation with either the Twins or Saints. Long term, I see him as a reliable starter for the Twins, one who is very inexpensive.

Is great seeing more of this year's draft get their feet wet, Seth. And they all seem to be doing well, especially Encarnacion-Strand. You never know when a high draft pick, but not top round, turns out to be the cream of that year's crop. Took note when you mention Rodriguez. For a kid who was signed two years ago and didn't play until this spring in the FCL as an 18 year old, he is having an excellent first season. Kid seems to also have a bit of pop in his bat. Should be interesting to see him develop next year and beyond. Hurts seeing the Saints struggle since going to Toledo when they were what, a half game out? Will second mike's comment above. Will be great if one of those arms ranked above Ryan can make it to the Twins (healthy) next year and be that future stud. All three certainly have the promise to do so. Petty is too far away to help next year, and probably Canterino as well. But Winder should be a fourth arm who could/should break in next summer. I have thought all year he could be the best of the crop.

Thanks for a lot of good information, Nick. Interesting that both of the young guns do something different than most pitchers. Ober's release point is what, nearly a foot closer to the hitter than most pitchers. And Ryan has a lower release point than most. A couple of promising prospects who offer a different look could be great in the rotation for the next X years. AS you talk about next year's pitching, two pitchers who were in the 2021 plans are long forgotten, Thorpe and Smeltzer. Will be surprised if either makes the cut come November. We all would love to see them get traded, but early November trades are far and few between so that ain't likely. We should have expected Buxton to struggle coming back this time. After spring training, he was on fire for all of April, then missed a month. After a short rehab, he was hitting well for 3 games before getting hurt again. This time he missed two months, followed by another short rehab. Missing three months is nearly like the entire off-season, and I doubt we would expect anyone to play a couple spring training games and then step in and be 100%.

Is it just me, or does Encarnacion-Strand have two or three hits almost every day? Excellent start for Balazovic. With the number of so-so starts of late, would like to see him stay right where he is and help pitch Wichita to a league championship. Looks like Charlie Barnes is one heck of a great AAA pitcher. Can he develop into an effective soft tossing lefty for the Twins? Will see what happens next year and beyond. Although the Kernel's are 10 games over .500, their record against Quad Cities has to be ugly, really ugly. [checked their schedule, they are 7-17 vs. Quad Cities, actually seemed worse to me]

Got to listen to some of the game and saw several innings while at a late lunch. heard the radio crew talking about whether or not to walk Cruz in the 5th. Not saying it was or wasn’t the right decision, but if they had Jax MAY have gotten the next hitter and left with 5 innings and 2 runs. So, yea, I see it as a solid start for the young man. Great games byGordon and Cave. I am getting more comfortable with a middle infield in 2022 of Polo, Arraez and Gordon. That would mean they would have nothing to fix in the lineup and can focus on a couple new starters and bullpen. Also liked Alcala, who apparently has been good of late. Sounds like Arraez didn’t make a play early. Although I didn’t see it, sounded on radio that he made a great play on a dribbler in the 9th.

Great seeing SWR on the mound. After not pitching in a game since June, not concerned with the results. and Encarnacion-Strand just keeps hitting. Over .400 and is approaching games when it will no longer be a SSS. will second Darwin’s comment above regarding Winder, who I believe has a chance to be the best pitcher of all these top arms.

Couldn’t watch the game and came here to see how Dobber did. At first glance, not so good. You talk about early defensive miscues. Didn’t see any unearned runs, did the defense lead to some runs? Did check and saw he settled down with four innings of shutout ball with the last seven outs on ground balls. That’s more like the Dobber of old.

You also refer to him as a lefty in the second sentence of the write-up. Heck, maybe he throws with both, eh??

Did a double take, Lucas, when you were referring to Gore as a lefty (LHP). I know the guy converted from an infielder to the mound and don't recall ever hearing of a left handed infielder in professional ball...there probably have been some. Then seeing Seth's tweet that you posted, where he refers to Gore as a RHP confirms it. Shreve seems to have put up great numbers, at least last month. Must admit my first reaction when reading the photo at the top was who? After last year's absence I guess I don't follow this like I used to, so that's on me.

What the heck is going on in St. Paul, David? They have gone from one of the hottest teams in baseball to cold, ice cold. And Wichita got no-hit? No way with that lineup...wrong! And Yunior Severino just keeps hitting. When I saw the 5 RBI, was shocked to see that he only had one hit, albeit a granny is special. Continue to wonder if this kid is playing himself onto the 40-man?

As usual, like how you think, Nick. Great discussion about signing a free agent, but wasn't excited about the names you mention. Agree with those who point out that the Twins need to start with a trade along the lines of Odorizzi and Maeda. Those were both fantastic moves. They have a ton of assets down in the minors, can they do it a third time? Agree that it is likely they will bring Pineda back, not certain I am excited about that move. Why? He is injured/out way too often, although with all these young arms on the brink that opens up a spot to bring them up. But yes, I agree that with some work by the FO they should be able to have a solid starting rotation next year. With a bit of luck and one of the young guns, Ryan?, stepping up big time they could be better than solid.

You talk about significantly increased walk rates as a problem for all three this year. Is it possible this is the result of none of these pitchers pitching in 2020? Would be interesting to see if that is common throughout the minor leagues.

What a fantastic first outing for the young man. I think of the third inning as MLB Baseball 101. Great learning experience. He was gone with the Olympic team for what, well over a month? And only started two games during that time, so his arm should be relatively fresh for the rest of the season. Hopefully, he will get another five starts to settle in and confirm that he can be counted on in 2022.

Thanks for the report, Steve. Can't recall the last time the Kernels beat Quad City. But with a 68-34 record, they don't lose very often. Wonderful that Miranda keeps hitting and Celestino is also hitting very well after his too soon callup to the Twins. The player I want to see settle in at AAA and start raking is Larnach. Kid is too good. Gotta believe it will happen, hopefully, soon. See that the two 2021 draft picks both had extra base hits again for the Mussels. Fun seeing a couple guys step in and hit like they are.

Today's Strib had a good report of what occurred. The Texas doctor has done about 50 of these to pitchers, both major league and amateur. It is TJ surgery, but with a new wrinkle in which he inserts a brace...whatever that means. It could/should shorten the recovery period from the normal 12-16 months to as little as 9-12. If Kenta can be on the mound pitching in the minors in 10 months, that would be July 1. A month of rehab would put him back at Target Field on August 1, in time for the Twins run to the playoffs. So assuming he can meet the shorter rehab period enabled by this surgery, it would be like trading for a top pitcher come next year's trading deadline. And if his rehab doesn't progress like hoped for, they will see him in spring training, 2023.

Expect I am among the unchosen few because I actually enjoy reading what Reusse writes, most of the time. Yes, there are days I read his column and feel that he is 100% full of that stuff we used to haul out of the bullpen. But I find him interesting and love his stories about small town/local sports and the people involved from throughout the state. And heck, I'm not even from Minnesota. As for Tampa Bay, no one seems to be talking about the fact that they not only have their own plan, but execute it very well. First, they stick to their plan and yes, that would have likely included trading Buxton this past July or winter. But they also have the people who enable them to execute successfully. Have to assume, I don't have a first hand clue, that they have a group of execs, scouts and player development people who are better than most. Combine an excellent plan that works for their franchise with the right people to execute and you get a lot of success that they shouldn't be able to achieve with the financial resources available. Heck, with their payroll they should be in the bottom two of their division every year.

Is the Vasquez trade a situation where he could/would be lost in the Rule 5 and they traded for a player who won't? Or maybe he will be a MiLB free agent and Berman isn't? Otherwise, I don't understand other than catcher is an area of need in the organization. Great seeing Miller with another two hit game. Also interesting seeing that two players from this year's draft, Encarnacion-Strand and Rucker, got five of the Mussels six hits. Thanks for the report, Ted.

Gave that comment the sad treatment, Doc. That's because some of us aren't able to watch the Twins on tv. Count me amongst those 55% of the viewership that ain't watching. Man, expectations are high for this young man. Really is doubtful he can meet them, at least his first few starts. Anyway, have my fingers crossed that the Twins found a good one, a really good one. Wouldn't it be great to end the season knowing that three-fifths of next year's rotation is spoken for....Ober, Dobber and Ryan? But what really struck me reading the above, Seth, is how his track record didn't scream future star, future stud, future top prospect. Gives us hope that the boy geniuses running this organization may have found a couple good ones in this year's draft in which they took so many pitchers, especially in the first ten rounds.

Thanks, Seth. Would you rate Rodriguez higher than Urbina at this point? Have a great day, keeping us up to date on the minors is appreciated.