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After getting back from Monday's 4-1 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park, I sat down to record some thoughts from the game, touching on topics such as:
Pablo López's strong Twins debut, in which he struck out three over two scoreless frames. Jorgé López's slightly less impressive spring training debut, which was marred by command issues but did see him touch 97 MPH on the gun. (Which he was pleasantly surprised with.) A good day for Max Kepler, who batted leadoff and managed to sneak a ground ball single past the now-limited infield shift. A smattering of thoughts on other players like Austin Martin, Nick Gordon, and Red Sox starter Kutter Crawford who has an 80-grade pitcher name. I also for some reason attempted to improvise a theme song for this newly developed audio diary feature, and that didn't go so well. If you wish to avoid it, I recommend skipping the first 10 seconds or so.
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If you're familiar with the dynamics of spring training, then you know it's uncommon for established veteran regulars to make long road trips, and that was certainly true of this game, which featured José Miranda as the only regular present in the lineup. 
There were, however, several notable players involved in the game, including 2022 Twins Opening Day starter Joe Ryan, who made his first outing of the spring.
His performance ranked among the five most striking observations I came away with in a 10-8 Phillies victory at BayCare Ballpark.
1: My first impressions of the pitch clock
The addition of a pitch clock this year represents one of the most significant and impactful rule changes in Major League Baseball for some time, so naturally I was eager to see it in action. There's been a lot of early handwringing from various corners about how distracting and disruptive it is. 
To me it seemed like ... not a big deal?
It'd be tough to call the pitch clock unnoticeable, given the big digital countdown timer that now adorns the backstop, ticking off seconds from a starting point of 0:15, 0:20, or 0:25, depending on the game situation. The speedier pace of the game was definitely noticeable, especially in this case – a 10-8 spring training game is the kind of high-scoring affair that often drags on for nearly four hours, leaving everyone involved in a grumpy mood, but this one wrapped up in just over three (3:06, to be exact).
I definitely got the sense that both pitchers and hitters were more intentional about readying up and doing their thing, but no one seemed especially rushed. Ryan, who started for the Twins, has always moved at a pretty good pace and he was flying, typically delivering his pitches with seven or eight seconds left on the clock. 
2: Joe Ryan experiments with new pitches
Ryan's velocity was good in this outing, sitting in the 92-93 MPH range regularly on the stadium radar and reaching as high as 94.3 MPH, which he seemed very pleased with.
Of course, Ryan's fastball is not in question. It was the best pitch on the staff last year. Ryan's lack of overpowering secondary stuff is what limits his upside, and it's clearly something he's focused on addressing in his sophomore season, as he aims to refine a sweeping slider with more horizontal movement and a split changeup.
Ryan's outing was not especially smooth – he needed 40 pitches to get four outs before being removed in the second inning – but that's forgivable in his first spring start, and even more so with the experimentation going on. And Ryan seemed pleased on that front as well.
3: Edouard Julien bats leadoff
The big uncertainty in the wake of the Luis Arraez trade was ... who's going to replace what he brought to the table? Julien was a name that came to mind for many people (including myself) – he's been a lefty-swinging OBP machine in the minors, with no clear positional fit, harkening to Arraez in multiple ways.
Julien was fittingly in the leadoff spot on Sunday in Clearwater. As expected, he took a lot of pitches ... but not with successful results on this occasion. The second baseman struck out in all three of his at-bats, including on called third strikes in both of his first two.
For any prospect who draws way more walks than you'd expect based on his hitting ability, the question with Julien was whether his on-base skills owed more to patience or passivity. Games like Sunday's point toward the latter, and that's a perception he'll need to prove his way out of. But, it's only one game.
4: Big bases come in handy
The new larger bases are not conspicuous to the naked eye – at least not mine – but there's no doubt they will come into play throughout the upcoming season in very subtle ways. We might've seen an example on Sunday.
Miranda reached first base in the first inning, and seemed like he was inclined to steal second. During the next at-bat, he took a huge running lead on one pitch before Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto whipped the ball over to first in an effort to pick him off. Miranda scrambled back to the base, and seemed to be dead in the water. Yet, he was safe, getting his fingertip on the bag just in time to beat the tag. 
I feel confident in saying it's the first time a Twins baserunner has been saved by the bigger bases. I'm sure it won't be the last.
5: Trevor Megill struggles mightily
Outside of Ryan, the only projected member of the Twins pitching staff to appear in this game was Megill, but he's hurting his chances. 
There aren't many true position battles happening this spring, which detracts from the drama a bit, but Megill is certainly fighting for one of the last bullpen spots. The Twins love his power pitch mix, which was on display as his fastball reached 97 MPH multiple times, but the righty continues to struggle with execution, and his outing on Sunday was flat-out ugly.
Megill simply could not seem to find the zone, and when he did, he got crushed. While recording only one out, he gave up three walks and three hits, including two home runs – one of which was a grand slam. He threw only 14 of 33 pitches for strikes and mixed in a wild pitch for good measure. 
The first spring training appearance should be treated for what it is, but Megill isn't exactly on firm footing – he was a waiver pickup who posted a 4.80 ERA last year, including 7.66 after August 1st. His brutal first outing of the spring leaves him with a 162.00 ERA which will make it almost impossible to finish the exhibition season with decent numbers. And the timing of this clunker was especially bad on a day where the Twins brought in two new right-handed relievers: Dennis Santana (waivers) and Jeff Hoffman (minors deal). 
On Monday, Pablo López and the Twins face the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. We'll have plenty of coverage, with myself and John Bonnes both in the building. Make sure to check back and find all of the key takeaways from this one.

solano-signing-landscape.mp4  
 

Age: 25 (DOB: 12/9/1997)
2022 Stats: (AA/AAA): 126.1 IP, 3.06 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 10.4 K/9, 3.0 BB/9
ETA: 2023
2022 Ranking: 15

National Top 100 Rankings
BA: NR | MLB: NR | ATH: NR | BP: NR
 
Varland's big-league debut on September 7th was emblematic of his journey as a prospect, which earned him back-to-back Twins Minor League Player of the Year awards: he met a new challenge with poise and confidence, and he handled it brilliantly.
You could hardly ask for more stressful introductory circumstances than stepping into Yankee Stadium to face MVP Aaron Judge and the Bronx Bombers on behalf of a team desperately clinging onto postseason hopes. Varland took it in stride. In his first match-up against Judge, he got a swinging strikeout with a beautifully executed righty-on-righty changeup.
Varland went to pitch into the sixth inning, finishing with a final line (5.1 IP, 2 ER, 7 K, 1 BB) that reflected his body of work in a five-start September stint with the Twins: 26 IP, 3.81 ERA, 21 K, 6 BB. Add in his outstanding work at Double-A and Triple-A prior to the promotion, and you've got a statement season that lends further legitimacy to the former 15th-round pick's pro credentials.
As much as he's improved his stuff from where it was when he was drafted, Varland still lacks the pure velocity or secondary quality of other pitchers in the Twins' current rotation mix, and others on this top prospects list. But there's something to be said for having the confidence and pace to execute as consistently as he does on the mound, including pressure-packed situations. 
Another thing working for Varland, particularly in the context of Minnesota's current situation, is his dependability and durability. He's one of the few on this list (or currently in the majors) who's been able to reliably take the mound each fifth day without issue. Last year between the majors and minors he threw 150 innings, which is more than any Twins pitcher has totaled since 2019. This, as a 24-year-old with one pro season under his belt.
Clearly there's a lot to like from this hometown hurler who has proven so much. So why isn't he higher than ninth on our list? That comes down to Varland's final proving point ahead.
What's Left to Work On
Varland's overachieving accomplishments have earned him organizational awards and an early arrival in the majors. But they haven't shifted the broader view of his future upside, which helps explain why he still doesn't appear on any global top prospect lists and – despite moving up six spots this year – remains behind eight players (including several pitchers) in our rankings.
It comes down to the substance behind his performance. Varland's fastball plays up due to his extension and deceptive release point, and he's added a ton since his college days, but it still averages under 94 MPH, placing it on the lower side of today's MLB spectrum. None of his secondary pitches – the slider, cutter and change – have shown to be particularly outstanding offerings. 
The righty manages to make the most of his arsenal thanks to a good approach and situational fortitude – for example, he held opponents to a .643 OPS with runners on last year compared to .726 with the bases empty – but decades of evaluation have taught us there's a limit to how far you can go with this kind of raw stuff.
Generally speaking, that's about a third or fourth starter. And that's what Varland has mostly looked like thus far, which is hardly an insult. There's plenty of value in a player with his consistency and reliability providing several cost-controlled seasons of roughly average performance from an MLB rotation.
What's Next
I don't think anyone in the organization would deny that Varland looks like a major-league pitcher. He could credibly be written into the back end of the Twins rotation on Opening Day, if needed, but the Twins have wisely stacked veteran depth to allow the 25-year-old righty to open up at Triple-A (where he's made four starts) so he can serve as a quality rotation reinforcement with a chance to lock down his spot as soon as the opportunity comes.
Reaching the next level of MLB starting pitcher status would require fundamentally improving some of his pitches to overpower batters with more than a polished approach, but we're talking about a guy whose legendary work ethic led to adding nearly 10 MPH in fastball velocity and vastly upgrading his secondary repertoire since being drafted as a little-known 15th-rounder out of Concordia University. If anyone can do it, it'd be Louie Varland.
Feel free to discuss these prospects and ask as many questions as you like in the COMMENTS below.
For more Twins Daily content on Louie Varland, click here. 
Previous Installments
Honorable Mention
Prospects 21-30
Prospects 16-20
Prospects 11-15
Prospect #10: Austin Martin, SS
Prospect #9: Louie Varland, RHP
Prospect #8: Coming Wednesday!

When I published these rankings for the sixth time this year, I mentioned how much more challenging I found the exercise than in the past. 
"For one thing," I wrote, "it feels like we're in the midst of a slow-developing offseason journey with big twists still ahead. I have a strong feeling there will be noticeable changes to this list by March 30th."
Sure enough, we've seen plenty of upheaval since, and it's not even January 30th yet.
The blockbuster moves that took place within the past two weeks have shaken up the franchise's talent layout in profound ways, to the extent that it feels worthwhile to revisit those rankings. 
The Twins shattered their precedent by signing Carlos Correa to a $200 million deal. They traded an controllable young All-Star and batting champ in Luis Arraez for a new pitcher. How do these additions fit into the overall hierarchy of talent in the organization?
Let's take a look.
The Original Top 20 Twins Assets of 2023
The idea of these rankings was to provide a relative view of Twins players and prospects by appraising their big-picture value to the organization. The goal was to answer this question: Which current players in the organization are most indispensable to fulfilling the vision of building a champion?
I published my latest annual rankings at the beginning of January. You can read the explanations for each in that four-part series of articles ... 
Part 1: #20-16 Part 2: #15-11  Part 3: #10-6 Part 1: #5-1 ... But to summarize, here are the original 2023 rankings as I had them laid out:
Byron Buxton, CF Brooks Lee, SS Joe Ryan, RHP Jorge Polanco, 2B Royce Lewis, SS Bailey Ober, RHP Jhoan Durán, RHP Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF José Miranda, 3B Luis Arraez, IF Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Connor Prielipp, LHP Austin Martin, OF Trevor Larnach, OF Ryan Jeffers, C Alex Kirilloff, OF/1B Jorge López, RHP Sonny Gray, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Matt Wallner, OF Now the Twins have re-signed their reigning team MVP to a six-year contract, and traded the player previously ranked #10 for a pitcher and two prospects. How do these game-changing moves affect the big picture? I took a shot at updating my rankings and here's where I landed:
The Revised Top 20 Twins Assets of 2023
Byron Buxton, CF Carlos Correa, SS Brooks Lee, SS Joe Ryan, RHP Jorge Polanco, 2B Royce Lewis, SS Bailey Ober, RHP Jhoan Durán, RHP Pablo López, RHP Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF José Miranda, 3B Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Connor Prielipp, LHP Austin Martin, OF Trevor Larnach, OF Ryan Jeffers, C Alex Kirilloff, OF/1B Jorge López, RH Louie Varland, RHP Matt Wallner, OF There are a few significant changes in this update, including a shakeup in the top 10. Here's a look at the additions and subtractions, and how the thought process played out:
Correa is in at #2. Locking up a superstar player for six years at age 28 on a contract like this, with team-friendly terms at the back end, can't be viewed as anything more than a huge win. I contemplated putting him ahead of Buxton but Correa has his own unique heightened injury risk attached and his deal isn't quite so favorable to the team as Buck's. Either way, these are clearly their two foundational assets going forward. Pablo López is in at #9. This felt like the right spot to me. He's got two years of control remaining compared to five apiece for Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober, so I don't view him as quite the same level of value even if he's probably a cut above in terms of talent. Still, a big addition for a franchise that really needed more controllable starting pitching. Previously I had Arraez ranked as the #10 asset, so this looks like a winning trade through that lens even before you account for prospects Jose Salas and Byron Chourio, who would likely fall in the 25-35 range. Gray drops out from #18. The addition of Lopez also makes Sonny Gray a bit less indispensable, in my mind. I had him 18th in the original rankings because, "As things currently stand, Gray is the only pitcher in the organization who can credibly be looked at as a dependable frontline starter for 2023." That's no longer the case. With López aboard, and under control for an additional year, I actually think the Twins could feasibly trade Gray if the right offer came along, which wasn't much of an option before. (That's not to say I would advise it.) When I assembled these rankings the first time around, I was feeling pretty decent about the state of the Twins franchise both today and going forward. Needless to say, I'm feeling even better now. While the loss of a top-10 asset in Arraez hurts, the Twins recouped that value and then some by acquiring López and a pair of high-upside teenaged prospects. 
Meanwhile, the stunning Correa signing reshapes this franchise's future, embedding another true MVP-caliber talent in his prime alongside Buxton to lead the way. Simply put, the Twins are in a significantly better place now than they were a month ago.
Catch up on past editions of the top 20 Twins asset rankings:
Top 20 Twins Assets: 2018 Top 20 Twins Assets: 2019 Top 20 Twins Assets: 2020 Top 20 Twins Assets: 2021 Top 20 Twins Assets: 2022

You’ll get your free pint glass at Twins Daily’s 2023 Winter Meltdown. As we announced yesterday , it’ll take place at The Pourhouse in downtown Minneapolis, just a couple blocks from Twins Fest, on Saturday, January 28th from 5 – 8.
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Without question, the Twins remain intensely focused on their pursuit of Carlos Correa, which seems to be pushing all other offseason priorities to the backburner. 
Every report on the shortstop's market seems to name them among top remaining suitors, including this latest one from Jon Heyman on Saturday listing the Twins, Giants and Cubs among the "teams in on" Correa. 
More recently, the Yankees have emerged as a known contender for Correa's services, even after inking Aaron Judge to his landmark deal. ESPN's Buster Olney reported that he's "definitely picking up a lot of vibes there that yeah they signed Aaron Judge to that $360 million deal, but they’re working on something big."
It's natural for hometown fans to be skeptical of Minnesota's legitimate involvement at this stage against multiple big-market titans for a free agent likely to land $300M+ guaranteed. But outsiders don't necessarily share that skepticism, including Vegas.
As the website OddsChecker.com pointed out a couple days back, "The Twins are given -150 odds to retain Correa, that’s an implied 60% chance. The San Francisco Giants are right behind them though, as they’re given EVEN odds, an implied 50% chance, to land the star shortstop."
It's unclear exactly when Correa will make a decision. The pressure is turning up on the Twins as time passes, because their contingency plans have rapidly come off the table. Trea Turner and Xander Bogaerts have already signed. The idea of pivoting to another big bat like Jose Abreu, Willson Contreras or Brandon Nimmo is also diminishing as all those players are off the table.
Carlos Rodon remains at the top of the free agent pitching pool, but his market is robust. Dan Hayes reported that the Twins are viewing Dansby Swanson as a possible Correa fallback option, having met with the shortstop via video call during the Winter Meetings, but personally I hope (and suspect) that's merely a negotiating ploy to parry against Scott Boras, who is understandably doing all he can to land his client an epic payday.
You see it in small, subtle details like Heyman – a known friend if not mouthpiece of Boras – making a point to note Correa's appealing traits in a tweet updating his market. You see it in the fact Correa's free agency continues to linger as his camp evidently plays bidders against one another to run up the price. Eleven-year deals for Turner and Bogaerts set a sharp precedent, and really give Correa and Boras the ability to set their own terms.
Up to this point, the Twins still seem genuinely invested in meeting them. How long will they hang around if the cost keeps rising? How long can we maintain our sanity as this saga drags on and the front office remains stalled out?
Soon enough, the dominoes will begin to drop. It's probably a stretch to call the Twins favorites but without a doubt, they are in there. Would have been difficult to fathom just a few short years ago.

Here we are in the first days of December, and there are some fans who are already wondering if this has been a lost offseason for the Twins. Aside from the standard roster cleanup at the end of the season and the 40-man roster additions, the only moves made have been bringing back minor-league free agents Jair Camargo and Elliot Soto. 
It is also important to note that the annual Winter Meetings are set up for league meetings, rules meetings, minor-league meetings and more. It is also a place where people will bring their resumes and meet with teams, hoping to get jobs or internships. Those looking for jobs in baseball will be dressed in suits and ties. GMs and media are often seen in business casual, if not shorts and a beach button down shirt. 
If the season started today… 
I think that it is always important to know the current status. That way, we are able to look at where the roster stands, and see where there are weaknesses and strengths. This is all stuff that the front office does, though much more in-depth and thoroughly than any of us. But for us, it’s where we’re starting. If the season started today, what would the roster look like? 

C: Ryan Jeffers
1B: Alex Kirilloff  
2B: Jorge Polanco 
3B: Jose Miranda 
SS: Kyle Farmer  
LF: Trevor Larnach 
CF: Byron Buxton
RF: Max Kepler 
DH: Luis Arraez 

More 40-Man Options: Edouard Julien, Gilberto Celestino, Mark Contreras, Matt Wallner, Kyle Garlick, 
Injured: Royce Lewis. 
Upper-Level, Non-40-Man Roster: David Banuelos, Jair Camargo, Alex Isola, Chris Williams, Michael Helman. Austin Martin, Brooks Lee, 

SP: Sonny Gray, Joe Ryan, Kenta Maeda, Tyler Mahle, Bailey Ober 
RP: Jhoan Duran, Jorge Lopez, Caleb Thielbar, Griffin Jax, Jorge Alcala, Emilio Pagan, Jovani Moran, Trevor Megill.

More 40-Man Options: Jordan Balazovic, Blayne Enlow, Brent Headrick, Ronny Henriquez, Cole Sands, Louie Varland, Josh Winder, Simeon Woods Richardson
Injured: Chris Paddack, Matt Canterino
Upper-Level, Non-40-Man Roster: Evan Sisk, Randy Dobnak,Austin Schulfer, Kody Funderburk, Steven Cruz, Cody Laweryson
Roster Needs
1.) Shortstop - Obviously the big talker this week, as it has been the last month or more, is what will happen with Carlos Correa? While the Twins have made offers, Correa is going to have many offers. In my opinion, he’ll get 10 years from someone, and I would guess that he would get a number very close to the $325 million that Corey Seager got just a year ago. The Twins love Correa. Correa clearly enjoyed his time with the Twins and developed some very strong relationships in the Twins organization. It may simply come down to money, and the fact that teams like the Dodgers, Yankees, Padres, Phillies, Braves, and Cubs are other teams looking to sign a shortstop, it will be very hard for the Twins to compete with those teams. Could he be willing to get creative to stay with the Twins?  
So what is the fallback plan? The Twins were aggressive in bringing in Kyle Farmer. If he’s the Twins opening day shortstop, the Twins will be fine, but that is the proverbial floor that they have set. They clearly want Correa. If they don’t get him, I think they’ll continue their conversations with Scott Boras in hopes of signing Xander Bogaerts. You could argue that dollar-for-dollar, that would be a better investment. Bogaerts is only a year younger than Correa, has had a remarkable career in Boston already, and will likely make $100 million less than Correa. The Twins front office clearly has a strong relationship with the Boras agency, so while odds may be low, it’s OK for Twins fans to have some hope in bringing one of them in. 
2.) A top starting pitcher - Forced to fill innings and starts in 2022, the Twins gave opportunities to several young starting pitchers. Joe Ryan was the Opening Day starter, and when Bailey Ober was healthy, he pitched well. With the emergence of Varland, Henriquez, Winder, and Woods Richardson, the need to sign veteran fifth starter options to eat innings should not be there. That is especially true when looking at the eight-figure contracts signed last week by Mike Clevinger and Matthew Boyd. 
Can the Twins count on their starters being healthy in 2023? While it would surely be nice to assume that Kenta Maeda will return from Tommy John and pitch like he did in 2020, that’s probably not fair. Tyler Mahle made just four starts before his shoulder issues continued, but if he’s healthy, he would likely be their top pitcher. Sonny Gray ended the season in the Injured List with a hamstring issue. Bailey Ober had two long stints on the IL with leg issues. If healthy, this rotation can be pretty solid. Maybe no number one starters, but potentially a couple of solid #2s and a couple more solid #3s. The youngsters can be the as-needed starters, working to improve their readiness in St. Paul. 
If the Twins can add a true #1 starter, that would be huge. The problem is Jacob de Grom inexplicably got five guaranteed seasons from the Rangers. Justin Verlander will either pitch for Houston again or in New York. The only other ace available in free agency is lefty Carlos Rodon, an injury-risk in his own right. Is that the move? Risks are very high with free-agent pitchers. Between one-third and one-half of the 30 teams in the league will be after the southpaw. How strong a starter could the Twins hope for in free agency? Is the trade route a possibility for the Twins? 
3.) Backup catcher - I know, the front office and others have said that they would like to add a catcher to split time with Ryan Jeffers or even be a starter. I’m admittedly a big believer in Jeffers. I don’t see a big problem at all. For me, I much prefer they find a solid left-handed hitting catcher to start maybe 60 games while Jeffers gets the other 100 starts. 
Willson Contreras would be fun and provide strong offense, but I don’t think they need to spend four years and $80 million on a catcher. Christian Vasquez may get $10-12 million annually over a year or two.Both are right handed. Omar Narvaez makes a lot of sense. To a lesser degree, Tucker Barnhart might make sense. I would be fine with them. Honestly, I’d also be intrigued by the likes of Austin Hedges and Mike Zunino, or Roberto Perez or Kevin Plawecki. Really, once you get past Contreras, there aren’t really many catchers that can hit, so they should grab another strong defensive catcher that is well respected. As I mentioned, I’m a big believer in Jeffers, and that includes his bat. Yes, it would be good to see him hovering around .240 instead of .200, but he has the power to hit 20 or more homers if he gets 100 starts. How many catchers can do that? 
Other Things to Consider
Where should the Twins payroll be? While there aren’t great or exact public records for MLB team’s books, if they are to be in the player preferred 48-52% of revenue, the Twins should probably be somewhere between $150 and $165 million in 2023.  Will the Twins be able to trade veteran Max Kepler? Should they?  Are there other veterans that could be traded? Maybe even Jorge Polanco?  Will the team add some solid veteran relievers? Adding even just one more reliable arm for the late innings would help and provide depth for the unforeseen. Or, could they move some of their intriguing starting pitcher prospects to the bullpen to work in roles where they can pitch 2-4 innings at a time?  The Twins tendered a 2023 contract to Emelio Pagan, but they will certainly try to trade him during the offseason. Can they get anything for him?  Do the Twins need to add speed to their roster in the offseason to take advantage of some of the new rules coming in 2023?  Will the Twins make a Rule 5 draft pick? Could they potentially lose players in the Rule 5 draft? They protected four players - and traded one of them - but there are players that the Twins could lose.  To this point, the Twins have added a solid MLB shortstop (and a potentially very nice utility piece) in Kyle Farmer. They have a lot of work to do and a lot of difficult questions to answer. Shortstop will certainly be the focus, but will any of the Big 4 free agent shortstops look to sign this early in the offseason? The Twins should also be looking at high-level starting pitching, and they would be wise to add at least one more reliable reliever. Finally, they need to add a reliable catcher to team with Ryan Jeffers. 
Of course, the Winter Meetings are often more of a time for rumors and conversations to set things up for the next few weeks. The Twins did already make one move this offseason that we all hope will have a huge impact on the organization. In hiring head athletic trainer Nick Paparest, the hope is that the Twins will be able to avoid the massive amount of lost time due to injuries. If that can happen, it could play a huge role in the Twins success in 2023. 
Some of this may be answered over the coming days in San Diego, and talks will continue right through spring training. It should be a lot of fun. 

I am of the opinion that it's a failure if the Twins go into 2023 with Sonny Gray as their standalone No. 1 starter. This might've been the underlying rationale behind adding Tyler Mahle at the deadline, but unfortunately, Mahle should be viewed as no more than a question mark and hopeful contributor for next year. You simply can't plan around a guy who threw 16 innings after being acquired, and finished on the injured list with an unresolved shoulder issue.
Kenta Maeda, much like Mahle, is a pitcher who's shown top-of-rotation ability but can't be firmly depended upon for a whole lot. At age 35, with only 173 total innings under his belt over the past three seasons, the Twins may be best off placing him in a long relief or swingman role, as he often filled in Los Angeles. 
Meanwhile, Gray himself was limited to just 120 innings in 2022, with multiple hamstring injuries disrupting a full season even by his modest standards for what one looks like.
With all this instability near the top of the rotation, the Twins really need to add a proven, durable, high-caliber starter who would be a credible option to start a postseason game. They need near, or ideally above, the level of Gray. 
In the newest chapter of the Offseason Handbook, Reinforcing the Rotation, I took a look eight high-end free agents and 10 potential trade targets who arguably land at or above the Sonny Gray Threshold. I also broke down the internal pitching pipeline with a look at which prospects might be able to help, and when. 

It's all now available to download for Caretakers, who can also access our previously released Handbook installments covering the payroll and the future of shortstop. If you're not a Caretaker already, you can sign up here for as little as $6/month and get plenty of other perks including free entry to the Winter Meltdown (details coming soon!).
Of course, there will also be plenty of free content available to everyone on the site this week a we take a collective deep dive into the Twins' starting pitching needs and options. Stay tuned and let's see if we can surpass the Sonny Gray Threshold. 

Earlier this offseason I touched on a belief that the Minnesota Twins would open 2023 with Jose Iglesias as their starting shortstop. Even had I not been told from a front office source that “someone like Jose Iglesias” would be their eventual target, the fit just makes too much sense.
Carlos Correa signed a $35.1 million deal with the Twins, giving him the largest average annual value for a Major League Baseball infielder. He’s going to get paid a boatload on a long-term deal this winter, and while the Twins should be in the running, their offer almost certainly will not be the largest. If they aren’t going to pay on the devil they know, then paying on the devil they don’t such as Trea Turner or Dansby Swanson makes even less sense.
Entering the stopgap category, knowing that Royce Lewis will be back midseason, Austin Martin has shown well in the Arizona Fall League, and Brooks Lee was their first-round pick this past year, the options are whittled down even further. In this vein, the Twins should be expected to connect with a veteran who can do a bit of everything while not commanding a substantial price tag.
Again, enter Jose Iglesias.
After splitting time with the Los Angeles Angels and Boston Red Sox a season ago, Iglesias signed a one-year, $5 million deal with the Colorado Rockies for 2022. He will be 33 years old in 2023 and has played 1,096 games across his Major League career. Iglesias has familiarity with the AL Central division having spent a career-most five seasons with the Detroit Tigers, and he’s played 28 games at Target Field.
Unlike Andrelton Simmons a year ago, Iglesias doesn’t represent a one-sided player for Derek Falvey and Thad Levine. Simmons was brought in to shore up the left side of an infield defense that was poor. Iglesias owns a decent .701 career OPS and his .279 batting average reflects an ability to get himself on base. He’s a far cry from the .956 OPS posted during the 2020 season, but there’s offensive ability here where Simmons had none.
Iglesias is not an on-base stalwart without generating base hits, however. He owns just a .319 career OBP and his 502/173 K/BB suggests that while he may strike out a bit less, he’s certainly not choosy enough to draw free passes either. If there’s a redeeming quality to his game, it’s in the well-roundedness while also presenting cost certainty.
Defensively, FanGraphs defensive runs saved (DRS) don’t view Iglesias particularly well. Last season he posted an abhorrent -22 mark in just shy of 1,000 innings. This season, in equivalent sample size, Iglesias tallied -4 DRS. Maybe Colorado’s shifting and positioning was more beneficial than that of the Angels or Red Sox, but it’s certainly a step forward year-over-year. By Statcast’s outs above average (OAA) metric, Iglesias has never been anything worse than average and his 14 OAA career high came as recently as 2019 with the Cincinnati Reds.
Realistically, Iglesias should give Minnesota an opportunity to include a trusted veteran that isn’t a black hole in either facet of the game, while also not blocking Lewis from his eventual return. Iglesias can also play the hot corner and second base down the stretch, and his years of experience could benefit a Twins team looking for a silent leader that routinely does their job.
It’d be hard to get excited about Iglesias as the alternative to Correa, but given what the worst-case scenario could be, this is far from it.

Over the past week, the Twins went 2-4, but all four of their minor-league affiliates had a winning record. There were postponements and a no-hitter. Games were played in snow. There were some great comebacks, and some absolutely dynamic pitching performances by some top prospects, but also by several that you may not have heard of… yet. And there were some really big offensive performances by prospects and others that are less known. Our purpose here, in large part, is to update you and introduce you to Twins prospects by giving them the credit they deserve. 
If you missed it, read Nick's Twins Week in Review after you've read about the minor league week.
Also note, hyperlinks on player names will show you past articles in which that player has been tagged. Click around a bit and see how much some of these players have been written about over the years. 
WEEK IN REVIEW
In case you missed a daily report: 
Tuesday: Povich Nearly Perfect (Video)  Wednesday: Streak Continues, No-No in St. Paul (Video)   Thursday: Varland Victorious and Mussels Mighty (Video)   Friday: Bats Bring the Boom, Pitchers the Brooms (Video) Saturday: The Bats are Sizzling (Video) Sunday: Saints, Wind Surge, Kernels Conclude Week with Wins (Video)   Jhoan Duran is What the Twins Have Always Needed  Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (vs. Indianapolis) 3-2 (8-3 overall)
The Saints played their home-opening series and got a brutal look at what baseball in Minnesota in April can look like. After dropping the first two games of the week, including being no-hit on Wednesday, the team was snowed-out on Thursday. They came back to play the coldest game in team history on Friday, got the win, then had a crazy come-from-behind win on Saturday, and finished off a series win on Sunday. 
The Saints scored 28 runs over their five games, and 16 of them came on Saturday. Here are the top offensive performers from the past week: 
Curtis Terry played four games. He went 4-for-14, hitting .286/.333/.786 (1.119) with a double and two home runs.  Royce Lewis played in all five games. He hit .412/.389/.706 (1.095) with three doubles and a triple. (Yes, he had a sacrifice fly.)  Jermaine Palacios has played around the infield, and in four games last week, he hit .385/.467/.615 (1.082) with a home run.  On the pitching front, there was a lot of solid pitching. Nine pitchers threw in one game and did not allow a run. In that group includes:
Devin Smeltzer who gave up three hits over five scoreless in his start of the week.  Chi Chi Gonzalez tossed three scoreless, hitless innings in his outing.  Cole Sands had a second strong start. He gave up one run on three hits over five innings.  Finally, Jake Faria stretched out to four innings and gave up just one run.  What’s Next?
The Saints travel to Toledo to take on the Mudhens. Here are their pitching probables:  
Pitching Probables (RHP Cole Sands, RHP Mario Sanchez, TBD, TBD, TBD, RHP Cole Sands) 
Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (@NW Arkansas) 4-2 (4-5 overall)
The Surge began their 2022 season with three home losses to Tulsa. This past week, they traveled to NW Arkansas and lost the first two games against the Royals’ affiliate. On Thursday, they grabbed their first win of the season and finished the weekend with four straight wins.
Things started a bit ominously for the team. In their first game of the week, Edouard Julien walked in the first inning. He stole second, but he hurt his ankle on the play and went on the Injured List the next day. Here are a couple of offensive highlights for the week: 
Spencer Steer played in all six games. He hit .269/.321/.538 (.859) with two doubles, a triple, and a home run.  Alex Isola hit .286/.353/.500 (.853) with a homer over four games played.  Veteran Kevin Merrell joined the roster this week. He hit .385 in three games (5-for-13).  Austin Martin got off to a rough start, but over the past few games, he has returned to on-base machine status. This week, he hit .292 with a .433 OBP. He had seven hits and five walks, and when he got on base, he was running. He went 6-for-6 in stolen base attempts.  On the other side of the spectrum, Matt Wallner went 2-for-22 (.091) with 12 strikeouts. He did hit his first Double-A homer.  Like the Saints, the Wind Surge got some really strong bullpen performances and a couple of standout starter performances. 
Eight relievers pitched twice and did not give up an earned run. Among them:  Steven Cruz tossed four hitless innings.  Tyler Viza struck out nine batters in 4 1/3 scoreless innings without issuing a walk.  Austin Schulfer struck out four batters over three, one-hit innings. He recorded one save.  Argenis Angulo struck out six batters over three scoreless innings.  Lefties Bryan Sammons and Evan Sisk each threw 3 2/3 scoreless innings.  Louie Varland got a Win in his start last week. He struck out ten batters over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one.  Simeon Woods Richardson backed up his strong first start with another very good start. He gave up only an unearned run on two hits over five innings.  On the other side, in Brandon Lawson’s second start of the week, he gave up eight runs without recording an out.  What’s Next? The Wind Surge will be hosting Midland. 
Pitching Probables (RHP Matt Canterino, RHP Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP Chris Vallimont, RHP Louie Varland, RHP Brandon Lawson, RHP Matt Canterino)   
 
High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (@ Quad Cities) 4-2 (7-2 overall)
Christian Encarnacion-Strand had a solid week at the plate, a couple of home runs, and still leads all of minor-league baseball in RBI. This week, his OPS ranked sixth among Kernels hitters. The team scored 38 runs in their six games despite playing two, seven-inning doubleheaders. The team hit nine home runs in those six games. 
Charles Mack has adapted well to playing behind the plate. The team may need to find ways to get his bat in the lineup more. In three games last week, he went 7-for-12 (.583) with two doubles, a homer, and five RBI. He posted a 1.583 OPS. Another catcher, Jair Camargo, played in four games and hit .375/.412/1.000 (1.412) with a double, three homers, and five RBI.  Seth Gray played five games. He hit .429/.600/.786 (1.386) with two doubles and a triple. He also reached five times on walks. Anthony Prato did a great job setting the table from the leadoff spot. In six games, he hit .348/.448/.565 (1.013) with a triple, a homer, five walks, and seven RBI.   Aaron Sabato had a nice week. He played in four games, but he hit .313/.421/.563 (.984) with a double and a home run. He drove in six runs. Maybe more important, he had just three strikeouts in 19 plate appearances.  Alerick Soularie was the only other player with six games played. He went just 2-for-21 (.095) The Kernels got some terrific performances from their starting pitchers last week in Quad Cities. 
Sawyer Gipson-Long had a strong first start. He was even better in start number two. The right-hander tossed five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked none, and struck out nine batters.  Lefty Cade Povich went five shutout innings in his start. He gave up just one hit, walked one, and struck out eight.  Brent Headrick is healthy and put together a second strong start. In four innings, he gave up just one hit. He struck out eight batters and walked none.  A third left-hander, Aaron Rozek, gave up only an unearned run over five innings in his start. He gave up three hits and struck out seven batters without issuing a walk.  Derek Molina worked three scoreless innings over two outings in relief. He struck out five batters.   What’s Next? The Kernels will be hosting Peoria for six games this week. 
Pitching Probables (LHP Cade Povich, RHP Sean Mooney, RHP Casey Legumina, LHP Brent Headrick, RHP Sawyer Gipson-Long, LHP Aaron Rozek)   
 
Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: (vs. Jupiter) 4-2 (7-2 overall)
After winning their first four games of the week, the Mussels were 7-0. However, they lost their final two games of the week. The Mighty Mussels had a couple of big comeback wins, along with a nice 12-0 blowout. They scored 37 runs in their six games last week. 
A top prospect is making the large Florida State League ballparks look small. And a 2021 All-American showed again that he can flat-out hit. 
Emmanuel Rodriguez played in five games last week. He went 7-for-16, hitting .438/.591/1.000 (1.591) with three homers. He also walked six times. He heads into this week with just one minor leaguer having more walks than him.  Kyler Fedko had another really good week. He played in all six games. He hit .500/.577/.727 (1.304) with two doubles, a homer, and four RBI. He went 11-for-22.  Dillon Tatum was drafted last year as a catcher, but he’s been spending time at first base too. In four games this week, he went 3-for-12 (.250), but he walked five times in 17 plate appearances.  Another catcher, Kyle Schmidt, played in all six games. He hit .278/.316/.611 (.927) with two homers and nine RBI.  On the flip side, top pick Noah Miller played in five games and went 2-for-20 (.100). He did walk six times. Fellow 2021 draft picks Mikey Perez (2-for-14, .143) and Noah Cardenas (1-for-12, .083) also struggled in the small sample size of one week.  Like the other affiliates, the Mighty Mussels got strong pitching from starters and relievers this week. 
John Stankiewicz had a very impressive start. The right-hander struck out 11 batters over six shutout innings. He gave up three hits and didn’t issue a walk.  Travis Adams also had a really good start last week. In his start, he struck out seven batters over five scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits and walked one batter.  Lefty Sam Perez struck out five batters in three relief innings. Malik Barrington, Jackson Hicks, Mike Paredes, Matthew Swain, and John Wilson all tossed two scoreless innings in their relief outings.  What’s Next? The Mighty Mussels will head up north to play six games against Dunedin. 
Pitching Probables (RHP Marco Raya, LHP Steve Hajjar, RHP Pierson Ohl, TBD, RHP Travis Adams, TBD) 
 
PROSPECT SUMMARY
This Prospect Summary shows our current Twins Top 20 Prospect Rankings and how they performed last week (April 12-18). 
#1 - Austin Martin (Wichita) - 6 G, 7-for-24 (.292), 2B, 2 RBI, 5 BB, 5 K
#2 - Royce Lewis (St. Paul) - 5 G, 7-for-17 (.412), 3-2B, 3B, 3 RBI, 0 BB, 3 K
#3 - Jose Miranda (St. Paul) - 5 G, 5-for-19 (.263), 3-2B, 4 RBI, 1 BB, 4 K
#4 - Jordan Balazovic (St. Paul) - IL
#5 - Joe Ryan (Minnesota) - 1 GS, 6 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 7 K
#6 - Matt Canterino (Wichita) - 1 GS, 1 2/3 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 4 BB, 2 K
#7 - Jhoan Duran (Minnesota) - 3 G, 4 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K 
#8 - Simeon Woods Richardson (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
#9 - Josh Winder (Minnesota) - 2 G, 6.1 IP, 3 R, 4 H, 3 BB, 3 K 
#10 - Noah Miller (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 2-for-20 (.100), 1 RBI, 6 BB, 8 K. 
#11 - Gilberto Celestino (Minnesota) - 4 G, 1-for-7 (.143), 2 BB, 4 K
#12 - Matt Wallner (Wichita) - 5 G, 2-for-22 (.091), HR, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 12 K.
#13 - Cole Sands (St. Paul) - 1 GS, 5 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K
#14 - Louie Varland (Wichita) - 1 GS, 5 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 10 K
#15 - Emmanuel Rodriguez (Ft. Myers) - 5 G, 7-for-16 (.438) , 3 HR, 3 RBI, 6 BB, 4 K
#16 - Ronny Hendriquez (Development List) - DNP
#17 - Blayne Enlow (Wichita) - IL 
#18 - Spencer Steer (Wichita) - 6 G, 7-for-26 (.269), 2-2B, 3B, HR, 4 RBI, 0 BB, 7 K
#19 - Edouard Julien (Wichita) - 1 G, 0-for-0 (.000), 1 BB, 1 SB
#20 - Steve Hajjar (Ft. Myers) - 1 GS, 3 IP, 4 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 K. (pro debut) 
 
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK 
Hitter of the Week: Outfielder Emmanuel Rodriguez, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels 

Rodriguez is a 19-year-old outfielder that the Twins signed on July 2, 2019, out of the Dominican Republic. It sure took some time for his career to begin. The 2020 season was canceled in the Dominican Summer League too. He made his professional debut in 2021 in the FCL. In 37 games, he hit .214/.346/.524 (.870) with five doubles, two triples, and 10 home runs. He also stole nine bases and is a solid defensive outfielder. He has spent all of his time in centerfield early this season, with a couple of games as DH too. Overall in his eight games this season, he has hit .360/.568/.880 (1.448) with a double and four home runs. More impressive, to this point, he has 12 walks to go with just six strikeouts. In 153 plate appearances a year ago, he walked 15% of the time and struck out nearly 37% of the time. Through just 37 plate appearances this season, Rodriguez has walked an unsustainable 32% of the time and struck out just 16% of the time. That number will certainly go up, but to this point, it is a nice sign of an improved process at the plate. The Florida State League is notoriously tough on hitters, so it will be very interesting to see if he is able to maintain his early-season power too. 
Pitcher of the Week: John Stankiewicz, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels

The Twins signed Stankiewicz following the 2020 draft. As you recall, there were just five rounds in the 2020 MLB draft. After it was complete, teams could sign other draft-eligible players for up to $20,000. Stankiewicz signed with the Twins following three solid seasons at Fordham University. Between the 2019 and the four-game 2020 season, he went 10-5 with a 1.56 ERA. In 2021, he spent time at the Florida Complex in the first half of the season. He made one start in the FCL when that season started and struck out six batters in two innings. He then finished with seven games (4 starts) with the Mighty Mussels. He was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. He had 24 strikeouts and just eight walks over 23 1/3 innings. 
In his first start of the season, he went five innings. He was charged with two runs on two hits and two walks. He also struck out eight Clearwater batters. Coupled with his six shutout innings in his second start, he has now struck out 19 batters, and walked just two, over 11 innings. He has been a strike machine so far this season. Over those two starts, he has thrown 145 pitches (11 innings) and thrown 72% strikes. 
 
Congratulations to our Hitter and Pitcher of the Week, and to all those who have started the 2022 season strong. Check back at Twins Daily at least daily to see our minor league reports, game recaps, and usually some video highlights from the minor league games. 

Again, I certainly think that the Twins system is strong. It likely won’t be a Top 10 organization by the national publications, but I legitimately think that as many as 25 or more from each of the lists can play in the big leagues with continued development, health, and of course a little luck. 
Before getting too far, let’s take a look at the two lists... 
And before I do that, I will acknowledge my mistakes. (Yes, I make them from time to time...) 
1.) I switched shortstops Jermaine Palacios and Wander Javier in my rankings. I showed Palacios ranking as the #25 hitter with Javier checking in at #15. Those should be reversed. 
2.) I was looking at my living Twins Top 152 prospect rankings (Yes, I have one, and no, not going to share it) for this summary and realized that I just missed RHP Austin Schulfer. I have placed him in where I had ranked him among pitchers and overall in the below charts. 

I acknowledged in one of the pitcher articles that while it is a good start to split up the Hitters and Pitchers, there was a logical additional separation that is needed... Starting Pitchers and Relief Pitchers. You see, right or wrong, I still have it in my head that a #3 of #4 starter is still going to through 150-160 innings a season while even the best relievers will throw 60-70 innings in a season. Fair? Not necessarily because no one is questioning the importance of a quality bullpen. Twins fans certainly understand that need. And, maybe it's something that will change in time. If we're being honest, we have seen pitching roles change over the past few years and I would expect that will continue. Aside from the top starting pitchers, most starters are only going through the batting order twice, pitching four or five innings. That is making the value of relievers much more important. So, I did want to take a few minutes and also provide my list of the top 15 Twins relief pitching prospects.
Top 15 Relief Pitching Prospects
1. Jovani Moran, LHP
2. Osiris German, RHP
3. Yennier Cano, RHP
4. Jordan Gore, RHP
5. Steven Cruz, RHP 
6. Ryan Mason, RHP 
7. Alex Scherff, RHP
8. Denny Bentley, LHP
9. Zach Featherstone, LHP
10. Ryan Shreve, RHP
11. Derek Molina, RHP
12. Zach Neff, LHP
13. David Festa, RHP
14. Josh Mitchell, LHP
15. Melvi Acosta, RHP
Again, that is a really good group. The top five were included among the Top 30 Pitching Prospects, and likely #6 through #12 on this list would have appeared very soon. 
Seth's Top 50 Twins Prospects
(Clicking on the player links will bring you to a list of any article that player has been tagged in on Twins Daily. It's fun to look back and see how they've progressed, and other interesting information from their careers.)
Royce Lewis, SS (Hitter 1) Jose Miranda, IF (H2) Austin Martin, SS/OF (H3) Matt Canterino, RHP (Pitcher 1) Joe Ryan, RHP (P2) Jordan Balazovic, RHP (P3) Simeon Woods Richardson, RHP (P4) Josh Winder, RHP (P5) Chase Petty, RHP (P6)  Marco Raya, RHP (P7)  Jhoan Duran, RHP (P8)  Cade Povich, LHP (P9)  Noah Miller, SS (H4)  Emmanuel Rodriguez, OF (H5)    Steve Hajjar, LHP (P10)  Kala’I Rosario, OF (H6)  Blayne Enlow, RHP (P11)  Gilberto Celestino, OF (H7)  Louie Varland, RHP (P12)  Spencer Steer, IF (H8)  Cole Sands, RHP (P13)  Edouard Julien, IF (H9)  Sawyer Gipson-Long, RHP (P14)  Drew Strotman, RHP (P15)  Aaron Sabato, 1B (H10)  Matt Wallner, OF (H11)  Misael Urbina, OF (H12)  Jovani Moran, LHP (P16)  Casey Legumina, RHP (P17)  Keoni Cavaco, SS (H13)  Chris Vallimont, RHP (P18)  Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 3B (H14)  Jermaine Palacios, SS (H15)  Regi Grace, RHP (P19)  Yunior Severino, IF (H16)  Alerick Soularie, OF (H17)  Jair Camargo, C (H18)  Osiris German, RHP (P20)  Christian MacLeod, LHP (P21)  Alex Isola, C/1B (H19)  Sean Mooney, RHP (P22)  Yennier Cano, RHP (P23)  Austin Schulfer, RHP (P24)  Jeferson Morales, C/OF (H20)  Seth Gray, 3B (H21)  Will Holland, SS/CF (H22)  Cody Laweryson, RHP (P24)  Jordan Gore, RHP (P25)  Mark Contreras, OF (H23)  Charlie Mack, C (H24) Notes 
It is hard not to notice that the top three prospects are hitters. However, prospects four through 12 are all pitchers. Frankly, an argument could be made that those nine pitchers could be fairly interchangeable.  If you were to tell me that Jhoan Duran or Josh Winder or Chase Petty should rank fourth, I'm not going to argue too vehemently.  More important than the actual ranking is that the Twins have a lot of pitchers with not only big-league potential, but they have potential to be playoff starters in the future.  I noted this throughout the series, particularly in the comments, but it's important to note who is no longer eligible for prospect status. On the mound, Bailey Ober, Griffin Jax , and Ralph Garza, Jr. surpassed rookie qualifications. Alex Kirilloff, Trevor Larnach, Ryan Jeffers, Brent Rooker, Ben Rortvedt, and Nick Gordon are no longer "prospects" either. For those curious, Lewis Thorpe, Devin Smeltzer, Randy Dobnak, Cody Stashak and Jorge Alcala were not rookies in 2021 after their big-league time in 2020.  Breakdown (Pitchers): Right-Handed Starting Pitchers (19), Left-Handed Starting Pitchers (3), Right-Handed Relief Pitchers (3), Left-Handed Relief Pitchers (1). All three left-handed starters were drafted in 2021.  Breakdown (Position Players): Catchers (4), Infielders (13), Outfielders (7). Obviously versatility is important in the organization and several players got time in multiple spots. I tried to include them where they played most often.  How Acquired: Drafted by Twins (35), Acquired in Trade (8), International Signing (6), Minor League Signing (1, Jermaine Palacios). This is a large number, but more important, three of the top 7 prospects were acquired in July.  13 of these 50 players are on the Twins 40-man roster, so if there is no new Collective Bargaining Agreement, they will not be able to start spring training. They can't just go to minor league spring training.  Several have told me (in the Twins organization and elsewhere ) that Covid could potentially have rippling negative impact on organizations and player development for a couple of years. Obviously that is primarily regarding pitchers, but there can also be hitters who will hopefully get their groove back again in 2022. It's also important to remember that a pitcher drafted out of college in 2019 was likely 21-22 years old. With the missed 2020 season, they pitched in 2021 at 23-24. Four-year college players even a year older. While age-to-level of competition is often a factor in prospect rankings, and it needs to be, it's my opinion that it has almost no bearing right now on what a pitcher can be as we move forward, and if they come up at 24 or 26 isn't a very big deal. So when I read comments like, "Well, Pitcher A is already 24, he has to be rushed up now..." I can't disagree more.  As always, what makes doing these rankings fun is the interaction with the readers. Here at Twins Daily, I believe we have the best Twins minor league coverage around, and we have a lot of our readers and writers that have a strong interest in learning more. These lists serve many purposes. First, it's to highlight players that deserve to be talked about. Second, it's fun to think we are smart and that there is some science to these prospect rankings. I've done Twins prospect rankings going back to 2003 or 2004 online. It is not a science. These are kids, working their way up an organizational ladder, just like many kids just out of high school or college. The develop at different rates. They work hard. They get hurt. Things happen and they don't always pan out. So, we need to give them credit when we can, and we can dream on them helping our favorite team become a viable, consistent winning team. I enjoy the comments section. I enjoy being challenged. I try not to run from questions you ask while also being respectful of the players and their families. So please discuss these players and more in the comments. And also, please let us know what you want to see from Twins Daily's minor league coverage in 2022? What can we do better? What would you like to see more of, or less of? Your feedback helps us so much and we want to continue to improve. 
Twins Spotlight 
Several of these Twins players have been a guest on Twins Spotlight over the past two offseasons. We have now had 51 episodes. To look back and see who we have interviewed and listen back to them, click here. 
Previous Rankings
(To look back at what I wrote about the 60 players, click below)
Hitters Part 1: 26-30
Hitters Part 2: 21-25
Hitters Part 3: 16-20 
Hitters Part 4: 11-15 
Hitters Part 5: 6-10 
Hitters Part 6: 1-5 

Pitchers Part 1: 26-30  
Pitchers Part 2: 21-25
Pitchers Part 3: 16-20 
Pitchers Part 4: 11-15 
Pitchers Part 5: 6-10 
Pitchers Part 6: 1-5 
 

First, let's go over the ground rules. In my plan, I'm aiming to be relatively realistic. This means trying to incorporate limitations and constraints that the Twins front office will actually face in its quest. Two implications:
Payroll: In the roster tool, you can choose from a variety of preset payroll thresholds, or enter your own custom number. You could select a 10% increase from 2021 ($143M), or even punch in a number like $160M if you want to give yourself some bigtime money to play with. Personally, I think it's optimistic (but plausible) to project payroll remaining steady at $130M, so that's the self-imposed limit I'm working with. Free Agent Choices: Even if you can find the money in your budget to bring in a guy like, say, Max Scherzer, the reality is that he and other top-tier stars will have preferences pulling them away from Minnesota as a destination. It's a smallish market coming off a last-place finish, and these players will be in demand. We've seen in the past with targets like Zack Wheeler that money isn't everything and it takes two to tango.  With that out of the way, here's a look at my roster, and how I built it.

Starting with the Starters
The rotation is naturally where our journey begins, because it is far-and-away the biggest need on the roster. With both of the rotation carryovers being inexperienced young pitchers who offer nothing close to certainty, I knew I'd have to bring in some legitimate names to give this unit contention cred.
Atop the list, my boldest offseason move: signing free agent RHP Justin Verlander to a one-year, $20 million contract. Verlander looks very much like a gun for hire, coming off Tommy John surgery at age 39. Given those factors, he carries considerable downside, but also massive upside: we're talking about a ready-made ace who finished first and second in the Cy Young voting his last two full seasons (2019 and 2018). Will $20 million be enough to outbid the competition for Verlander? It should be in the ballpark.
I've already used up a huge portion of my available funds on Verlander, so for my next free agent target, I set my gaze on the middle class of starters. There are a number of guys available here in the $10 million range – including Michael Pineda – but instead I decided to go with RHP Jon Gray on a three-year, $30 million contract.
Like most at this level, Gray's a good pitcher with flaws and shortcomings, but he brings the qualities I'm looking for in a secondary rotation signing behind Verlander: decent track record of durability, reasonably high floor, and a touch of real upside. If Gray merely pitches up to his Pineda-esque career 3.91 FIP and 107 ERA+, I'm fine with that, but it feels like there's another level for the former No. 3 overall pick to unlock outside of Coors. He turns 30 next month.
For my third rotation edition, I'm turning away from the free agent market and toward the trade market. In a deal inspired by J.D. Cameron's feature in the Offseason Handbook, I'm trading OF Max Kepler to the Oakland Athletics for LHP Sean Manaea. This hypothetical swap was put forth by J.D. in his story, and to me it makes a lot of sense: The cost-conscious A's need outfield help, and are likely to value Kepler's contract (owed about $16M over the next two seasons with a team option in 2024) over Manaea's (projected by MLBTR to make $10.2M in his final year of arbitration). It's a bit of a lopsided exchange in that regard, and maybe the Twins can get Oakland to tack on a bit more, but quality starting pitching is at a premium. 
Manaea was worth 3.3 fWAR in 2021, posting a career-high 9.7 K/9 to go along with a 3.66 FIP and 3.91 ERA in 180 innings.

Turning Back to the Lineup
Admittedly, my efforts to bolster the rotation come at the expense of the position player group. With so many dollars committed to our three new starting pitchers, there wasn't much left in the bank for impact hitters. So I went instead with a transitional approach here.
First: signing Freddy Galvis to a one-year, $3 million deal. Galvis is no one's idea of a long-term solution at shortstop, but he can play the position capably, and he brings enough power at the plate to be useful offensively. I'm looking at him as nothing more than a stopgap to fill in until Royce Lewis is deemed ready (maybe midway through the season?). This move is as much a vote of confidence in Lewis as anything. 
I'm sliding Miguel Sanó to designated hitter and Alex Kirilloff to first base. These aren't static assignments – I foresee Sanó playing plenty of first, and Kirilloff plenty of outfield – but they'll be their prime positions, since it's where I think they're best suited. Luis Arraez reprises his role as a roving utility regular, seeing a health dose of action at third base with Josh Donaldson spending two days per week at DH. 
Our corner outfield depth has clearly taken a hit since I've traded Kepler, non-tendered Jake Cave, and moved Kirilloff to regular first base duty. To offset this, I'm signing Corey Dickerson to a one-year, $5 million contract. There's nothing especially appealing about Dickerson, who has slashed a mediocre .266/.321/.406 in 161 games over the past two seasons, but he strikes me as a solid buy-low candidate that will be available on a one-year deal. 
I've filled Kepler's vacancy in right field with Trevor Larnach, which might be a hazardous gamble after Larnach unraveled in his rookie campaign. But I'm a believer in his talent. I'm confident he'll get back on track, and quickly. That said, I'm for sure bringing in a few Kyle Garlick/Rob Refsnyder types to compete in camp, and leveraging the presence of Brent Rooker to protect Larnach from lefty pitchers. But at the end of the day, I'm inclined to let him run at age 25. 

One other detail in the position players section might catch your eye: Byron Buxton's salary. I've got him slated to make $14M instead of the $8M he's projected to get in his last year of arbitration. That's because I'm electing to channel some of my limited spending flexibility toward taking care of my utmost priority.
A Long-Term Contract for Byron Buxton
This is the last chance to keep Buxton in Minnesota long-term. Leverage is running low with only one year remaining until he can hit the open market, but Buxton's history of serious injuries should at least keep him open-minded about long-term security. So too should his aforementioned arbitration salary projection.
Injuries have hampered Buxton's earning potential in arbitration. Getting the center field for around $8M next year – at age 28 and fresh off flashing his full potential – is an absolute bargain that the Twins (or any trade partner) will be happy to take. Since extension talks fell short over the summer, I'm trying to figure out a framework that will be attractive to his side. The first step is nearly doubling his 2022 salary, in the first leg of a five-year, $84 million contract for Buxton (technically a four-year extension):
2022: $14M (plus incentives) 2023: $16M (plus incentives) 2024: $18M (plus incentives) 2025: $18M (plus incentives) 2026: $18M (plus incentives) The "plus incentives" aspect of this should be accentuated, given that it's where the last round of talks apparently fizzled. I don't have specifics in mind but I'm pretty open to whatever Buxton's side wants. As long as he's doing the things necessary to trigger those bonuses, I'm happy to pay significantly more than the above for this historic player, and I'm not sure why the Twins wouldn't be. 
In any case, this deal protects the Twins' financial interests with relatively low annual guarantees. It locks Buxton up throughout his remaining peak athletic years, and gives him a chance to hit the open market once again at age 33. 
And Finally, the Bullpen
My additions to the rotation and lineup, along with Buxton's salary boost, have mostly depleted my spending flexibility under the $130M threshold. With incumbents Taylor Rogers, Tyler Duffey, Caleb Thielbar, and Jorge Alcalá all returning, I'm left with about $6 million to spend on filling the final four bullpen spots. Here's how I'm divvying that up:
Randy Dobnak ($800K) is the long reliever. He's making that guaranteed money as part of his contract so we might as well try to get some value from it. I'm hopeful an offseason of recovery for his problematic finger gets Dobnak back on track. In his proper form, he's a good fit for this role as an efficient, strike-throwing ground ball pitcher. Héctor Neris ($3M) is a setup man. He spent a few years as Philadelphia's closer – which will be handy, given Rogers' uncertainty – but lost the job this season due to first-half struggles. He rebounded in the second half, but Neris has never quite had the results to match his stuff, and that figures to keep him in an affordable range as a free agent. I'm taking my chances on that nasty splitter. Juan Minaya ($1M) is a middle reliever. As we wrote in Arbitration Decisions section of the Handbook, "His FIP (3.97 in 2021) is more representative than his ERA (2.48); nonetheless, Minaya’s probably as dependable of an option as you’ll find for twice the price in free agency." He brings experience and a 95 MPH fastball. I'm fine with letting him keep a seat warm for one of the upcoming arms in the system.  Kirby Yates ($1M plus incentives) is a gamble. The Twins were in advanced talks with him last winter before he ultimately signed with Toronto, and then underwent Tommy John surgery in March. He might not be ready for the start of the season but the upside and track record are good enough to be worth the wait on a low-risk deal.  In short, my view of the bullpen is that 2021 was an outlier, and this organization still has what it takes to identify and unleash overlooked relief arms in a cost-efficient manner. We saw them do that over the past couple seasons, building high-quality bullpens at low costs for division winners, and in fact we saw them pull it off on a smaller scale this year (Minaya, Danny Coulombe, Ralph Garza Jr.) following a series of misfires. 
To me, this is the only model for building a bullpen when you're a team with Minnesota's resource constraints and competing needs. We've seen time and time again how easy it is to completely whiff on free agent relievers – even those with seemingly safe track records (paging Addison Reed and Alex Colomé). Give me one proven commodity in Neris, a wild card in Yates, and then build the depth with minors signings, waiver claims, and internal arms like Jovani Moran .
The Final Product
Ultimately, my intent with this blueprint was to create something that aligns philosophically with what the Twins front office might actually do. For the most part, it's a series of short-term commitments – one year for Verlander, Manaea, Galvis, and Neris – thus keeping the ability to build from within intact. I am bringing some longer-term stability to the rotation with Gray's three-year contract, and most importantly, cementing Buxton as a franchise centerpiece for the next half-decade. 
What would your 2022 roster look like if you held yourself to a $130M payroll limit? Grab a copy of the Offseason Handbook, use it with our Roster Creator tool and share your own blueprint to share in our forums!

Designed to serve as an essential companion for the Twins offseason ahead, this digital Handbook places you in the shoes of general manager, equipping you with all the information you need to construct your own team-building blueprint (or predict what the real front office will do).
Whether you envision a retool and return to contention in 2022, or a step backward in service of long-term strategy, you'll be able to craft a realistic plan, informed by a wealth of insight and guidance. 
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Within this year's Offseason Handbook:
Breakdowns of the organization's current depth at each position, highlighting key prospects who could make a quick impact A nuanced look at the payroll, with varied spending scenarios that may realistically play out Thorough examination of the crucial Byron Buxton decision: extend, trade, or retain? Profiles and contract estimates for more than 100 free agents at positions of need: SP, RP, SS and more Exploration of the trade market from both sides: Who are the Twins most likely to target, and who are they most likely to deal? Writeups on arbitration-eligible players along with 2022 salary projections Analysis of how the looming CBA expiration and negotiations may impact the winter and season ahead This full-color PDF, designed by the one and only Brock Beauchamp, will feature writing from myself, John Bonnes, Seth Stohs, and several of your favorite Twins Daily contributors. By purchasing a copy, you're not only snagging an indispensable offseason resource, but also tipping your cap for the work that goes into running TD year-round. (And we appreciate the hell out of it.)
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