Jeremy Nygaard

I think he would certainly be considered. Two trains of thought: 1) There was a reason the team didn't add him last year, even though everyone was certain he'd be lost. They must not have valued him that much. But 2) They valued him enough to take him back instead of work out a trade. So I'd put him in the 50/50 category, but I don't value RPs nearly as much as others. (If you're a legit relief-only guy, you should be knocking on the door well before your 40-man clock starts ticking.)

We’ve examined the potential 40-man additions and we’ve looked at the arbitration-eligible players. Today, we’re going to take a look at the 26 players who have not yet reached arbitration. To be removed from the roster, these players are typically sent through outright waivers.40-MAN SITUATION The Twins have 38 players on their 40-man roster currently. They will need to reinstate both Phil Hughes and Glen Perkins. Kurt Suzuki will be a free agent and I suggested the Twins non-tender Trevor Plouffe (if he isn’t traded) and Tommy Milone. That leaves three spots. A YEAR FROM ARBITRATION Danny Santana, Util.; Robbie Grossman, OF; Trevor May, P; Michael Tonkin, RP. None of these players are going to go into the winter in jeopardy of losing their roster spots. You could argue Santana could be, but I’d be surprised to see him not make it to spring training. ONE-PLUS Eddie Rosario, OF; Miguel Sano, 3B; Juan Centeno, C; Kennys Vargas, 1B; Tyler Duffey, SP; Byron Buxton, CF; John Ryan Murphy, C. Vargas is in the process of doing enough to save his winter roster spot. (Has he done enough to push Byungho Park from the 40-man? I don’t think so.) The other names that pop out are Juan Centeno and John Ryan Murphy. 40-man spots are valuable; catchers are valuable. When Suzuki leaves via trade or free agency, that leaves only Centeno and Murphy on the 40-man. Can you risk exposing them to waivers? Centeno would clear (and I’d take that risk). Murphy has been atrocious, but he had some success in New York and has some name recognition. I’d keep him around. LESS THAN ONE YEAR OF SERVICE Buddy Boshers, LRP; Ryan O'Rourke, LRP; Max Kepler, OF; Taylor Rogers, LP; Jorge Polanco, INF; Pat Dean, LSP; Jose Berrios, SP; J.T. Chargois, RP; Andrew Albers, LP; Pat Light, RP. O’Rourke and Albers have already cleared waivers once and they should again. Pat Dean, a surprise addition last year, hasn’t proven that he deserves to stay on the roster and would likely clear waivers as well. Boshers strikes me as the next most-expendable player in the organization, but he’s left-handed, gets some swings-and-misses and is super cheap, so unless I need his spot, he’s staying on the roster. SERVICE-LESS Yorman Landa, RP; Mason Melotakis, LRP; Randy Rosario, LP; Adam Brett Walker, OF; Adalberto Mejia, LSP. Unless a guy really backs up in the minor-leagues after being added to the 40-man, they’re not typically in danger of being removed. I don’t see any of these guys being sent through waivers. CONCLUSION Coming in with three spots, we’ve made room for four more (Albers, Centeno, Dean, O’Rourke) to give enough room to add all six of my suggested players from last month: Daniel Palka and Zach Granite (OF), Engelb Vielma (SS), Mitch Garver © and Felix Jorge and Fernando Romero (P). There would still be one more spot going into free agency and/or the Rule 5 draft. How would you handle the 26 pre-arb players? Click here to view the article

Mike Pelfrey got a two-year/$16m guarantee. I think Santiago could get interest.

I'm not suggesting they give Gibson a four- or five-year deal. But giving him two (or three) years instead of going year-to-year could work out well for both parties. But there's nothing hurt by simply going one year either.

Right. Santiago is also more of an asset (at ~$8m) than Nolasco is at $12m. So they might be able to recoup value if they trade him too.

Earlier this summer, we examined the players that the organization would need to add or risk losing in December’s Rule 5 draft. Before we can do that, though, the Twins will need to make room for the potential additions. Over the next two days, we’ll look at some possible ways to free up some spots.Tomorrow we’ll examine all the pre-arbitration players. Today, we’re going to focus only on the arbitration-eligible players. Unlike the pre-arbitration players, who all make the minimum or near the minimum, you have to weigh how much these players - who are eligible for arbitration and whose salaries are yet to be decided - are worth in regards to salary to the organization. 40-MAN SITUATION The Twins currently have 38 players on their 40-man roster with two players on the 60-day disabled list that will need to be reinstated. Kurt Suzuki is the only pending free agent, so as the roster currently stands the Twins essentially go into the off-season with only one open roster spot. 5+ PLAYERS (will be free agents following the 2017 season) Trevor Plouffe, 3B. Plouffe is entering his fourth (thanks to being a Super 2 player) and final year of arbitration and stands to make around $10 million. Plouffe is currently the 11th highest-paid third baseman ($7.25m) and there are eight third baseman currently under contract for $10m or more next season. With both Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco under control for around 5% each of what Plouffe would make, it would make no sense to tender Plouffe a contract (unless they’re positive they could trade him). The Twins should shop Plouffe aggressively as soon as the World Series concludes, knowing that he has to be removed from the roster one or the other before they have to add players to their roster. Hector Santiago, LSP. The Twins worked out a deadline deal to acquire Santiago and included money so their financial impact - if they keep Santiago - would remain unchanged. Doing some simple subtraction indicates that the Twins expect Santiago to cost between $8-9m in his final year of arbitration. While Santiago should be tendered a contract, the Twins - with their new GM hopefully leading the charge - should go to the Winter Meetings knowing how bare the pitching market is and listen to any and all offers on Santiago. The likelihood, though, is that Santiago will be wearing a Twins uniform when next April rolls around. Brandon Kintzler, RP. Kintzler will probably fail to make $1m this year as the team’s primary closer, but saves do matter when it comes to the arbitration process. Kintzler will be an interesting case, but he shouldn’t see his salary increase more than a couple million dollars. It would make sense to keep him around at that price. (I would be shopping him aggressively now through this winter, without a doubt.) Hopefully the new GM doesn’t buy into the old strategy of extending players like this, because Kintzler fits that mold perfectly. But at a couple million dollars, he’s a bargain. 4-5 PLAYERS (will be free agents after the 2018 season) Tommy Milone, LSP. Now that Milone is hurt and can’t do anything for his already barren trade value, he’ll enter September as a member of the organization. And then he’ll enter the off-season on the roster. And then the Twins should non-tender him. He’d be in line to make around $7m (and that’s not far off from a back-end guy in the market), but he’s as fungible as they come. Eduardo Escobar, SS. Escobar could get a jump to between $3-4m and the Twins will make him that guarantee. I’m not sure there would be a market for him that would return great value if the Twins called around looking to move him, but you don’t find guys that can play shortstop and have a decent bat just walking around the street. I’ll pencil him into the utility role, knowing he can be an everyday shortstop if needed. 3-4 PLAYERS (first-year arbitration-eligible) Kyle Gibson, SP. There’s the really good Gibson and the really bad Gibson, but not really any in-between Gibson. Of course, the Kyle Gibson that pitched in Atlanta on Wednesday night was really good and the Twins don’t have an abundance of pitchers that can be really good. He’ll probably cost at least $4m in his first year or arbitration (and he’s a great extension candidate) but, without a question, the Twins need to commit to him. Ryan Pressly, RP. Pressly has demonstrated some nasty stuff and has been both durable and reliable this season. He isn’t likely to make more than $1m this upcoming season, so there’s no reason to jettison him. CONCLUSION If this scenario played out, the Twins would only add two additional openings (Plouffe and Milone) to the roster. What would you do with the arbitration-eligible players? Click here to view the article

I've never been more proud while reading the comments/message board in all my life. Actual questions, actual suggestions to why moves were made, actual understanding (as best as we can) and discussion of trivial baseball rules. I've "liked" comments on this thread and I rarely click that button on any form of social media. But really, I think I'm just happy I'm not alone in thinking so much about something that doesn't matter.

He was definitely DFA'd per the press release and confirmed by Jack Goin on this very message board. Goin is the head of the Twins analytic department in their Front Office.

There is also this. With the injuries to the Twins, we saw Rochester play with 21, now Chattanooga play with 22. You could move the organizational filler around and be fine, I'm sure... but I honestly don't know. He could have been DFA'd and outrighted and another bullpen arm could have been available on Friday. It's a good point.

No one would have clicked on an article titled, "Let Me Explain Optional Waivers."

Though the Twins were off, there was plenty of action in the farm system. Rochester announced today that Byungho Park was placed on the disabled list with tendinitis in his wrist. Heiker Meneses rejoined the Red Wings to take his place on the roster. Luke Bard made the jump from Fort Myers to Chattanooga, which is still playing short-handed. Let’s get right into the seven games, all of which the Twins won.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 10, Buffalo 4 Box Score Adalberto Mejia picked up his first win in the Twins system with a 6.1-inning appearance. He allowed three runs on eight hits and two walks. Mejia struck out five and threw 103 pitches. D.J. Baxendale got the next five outs. He struck out two. Pat Light finished the game with a spotless 9th inning. The offense was a hit-parade. Byron Buxton hit his 10th AAA double. Wilfred Tovar had four singles. John Ryan Murphy had three hits, including a double. The three-through-six hitters (plus James Beresford) all had two-hit games. Reynaldo Rodriguez scored twice, doubled and drove in a run. Adam Brett Walker hit his 24th home run. Daniel Palka also homered, his 30th in the minors this year. Mitch Garver had two doubles and Beresford had two singles. The Red Wings are 68-55, but still 4.5 games out of the wild card. In an anomaly, if the Red Wings were in the IL South instead of the IL North, they’d have a 13.5 game lead. But they’re not. So they don’t. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 5, Birmingham 2 Box Score A three-run sixth inning gave the Lookouts a final lead after giving it up in the previous half inning. Zach Granite and T.J. White both tripled, driving in runs, and the improved bat of Stuart Turner - two doubles, 3-4 - has helped this club as they approach the stretch run. Levi Michael had a two-hit game. Granite stole two bases, bringing his total to 43 on the season. Felix Jorge put on too many baserunners - eight hits and two walks - but limited damage through six innings, only allowing two runs to score. He struck out six. Alan Busenitz struck out three in two innings of shutout ball. Raul Fernandez picked up the save with a scoreless ninth. The Lookouts improved to 62-58 on the year. They are still in the mix for second-half champs, but even if they fall short in that quest, they could still qualify for the playoffs because - as of now - the first- and second-half champs are the same team. At this point, they’re tied in the pursuit of the second playoff spot. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 4, Bradenton 3 Box Score Daniel Kihle and Nick Gordon combined for four hits (two each) and three runs to help push the Miracle past Bradenton. Gordon also stole his 15th base of the year (but was caught stealing as well, his 13th). He also committed his 22nd error. Tanner Witt doubled and drove in two runs. Keaton Steele improved to 6-10 on the season. He scattered five hits and a walk over six innings, allowing only two runs. He struck out five. Randy Rosario, who was shifted to the bullpen at the beginning of August, struck out four in two innings. He also allowed two walks, two hits and a run. Nick Anderson picked up his fifth save with a relatively clean ninth inning. At 26-24 in the second half, the Miracle are 2.5 games off the FSL South pace. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (postponed, wet field) Monday’s tilt between the Kernels and Chiefs was postponed early in the afternoon due to “failure to get the tarp on the field in time and wet field conditions.” The teams will reconvene on Tuesday at 5pm to play two seven-inning games. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 7, Bluefield 6 (completion of yesterday’s game) Box Score Elizabethton 4, Bluefield 1 (seven innings) Box Score An interesting day in Elizabethton on Monday. The teams completed the a suspended game from Monday in which the E-Twins led 5-1 in the fourth inning. It ended up much closer than that, but they still held on for the victory. Lewin Diaz and Shane Carrier each homered. Manuel Guzman and Diaz both had two-hit games. Hank Morrison and Amaurys Minier - who pinch hit and then logged two innings in centerfield - each added a double. Domenick Carlini “started” Monday’s game and got lit up to the tune of four runs on five hits and two walks in three innings. Hector Lujan and Patrick McGuff both struck out three and picked up the win and save, respectively. Also of note, Andre Jernigan, who was drafted as a shortstop, caught the entire game. The second game got a little feisty. With the score 3-1 with one out in the bottom of the sixth, Bluefield’s Javier Monson was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and third. The next batter hit a groundball to the shortstop, who fielded it, threw it to Manuel Guzman, who was playing second base, and he relayed it to first for an inning-ending double play. But according to Seth, who knows someone who was at the game, it was a “hard slide into second base” in an effort to break up the double-play. The batter was called out due to interference and the ball - instead of being relayed - was thrown at the runner, Monson, who had slid hard into the base. Apparently Guzman took offense to the hard slide. Both benches cleared and both Monson and Guzman were ejected. Five different hitters had hits, led by the two-RBI effort of Minier. Trey Cabbage scored twice and stole a base. Tyler Wells did well in his 5 1/3 innings. He struck out six and only allowed an unearned run on four hits and a walk. Johan Quezada got the final five outs, two by strikeout, two by a double-play and another by a ground out. The E-Twins are now 28-23. They are half a game behind Johnson City with 16 games left. They only face Johnson City one more time (tomorrow), but play Greeneville, over whom they have a 2.5 game lead over for the wild card spot, the final six games of the season. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 7, GCL Rays 2 (Game 1, seven innings) Box Score GCL Twins 8, GCL Rays 1 (Game 2, seven innings) Box Score The GCL Twins got two very strong starting pitching performances in their doubleheader on Monday. In the first game, young Canadian Jordan Balazovic earned his first professional win, allowing two runs on five hits in five innings. He struck out one. Clark Beeker also went five innings in the second game. He struck out seven and allowed three hits in five shutout innings. Beeker was making his first start after making ten relief appearances (though most of those appearances were of the multi-inning variety). Juan Gomez, who is converting from catcher, and Matt Jones both pitched scoreless frames in the first game. David Martinez gave up in a run in his two innings of work in the second game. The GCL Twins used almost completely different lineups in their two games, with the exceptions being Aaron Whitefield (leading off and playing CF) and Dane Hutcheon (batting second and playing second). Whitefield stole a base in each game (now has 27) and got two hits in the second game while Hutcheon had a hit and an RBI in each game. Hutcheon also stole his fifth base of the season in the second game. Rehabbing Max Murphy went 2-3 with a double in the first game. Lean Marrero hit his first home run on the season. Roni Tapia added a double. In the second game, Gorge Munoz and Justin Hazard both had two-hit games. Jose Miranda and Brian Olson added doubles. On the season, the GCL Twins are now 26-19, good for first place and a three-game lead in the GCL South. They have 15 games left to play. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Clark Beeker, GCL Twins Hitter of the Day – Wilfredo Tovar, Rochester TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Buffalo (6:05 CST) - LHP Nick Greenwood (4-2, 3.40 ERA) Fort Myers at St. Lucie (5:30 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (4-6, 4.27 ERA) Fort Myers at St. Lucie (resumption of suspended game) - TBD Cedar Rapids at Peoria (5:00 CST) - RHP Sam Gibbons (6-3, 4.63 ERA) Cedar Rapids at Peoria (Game 2) - RHP Brady Anderson (0-0, 2.45 ERA) Elizabethton vs Johnson City (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins vs GCL Rays (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

I am curious. The original intent was that Albers was going to be the 26th man, but when Boshers was placed on the disabled list, Albers was added in his place - and not as the 26th man (at least according to the press release). In the event that Albers was added as the 26th man and he'd have to be off the roster following the doubleheader, he would have to be DFA'd to be optioned in that case too, right?

There are just so many little-known procedures that made something that seems so simple - and happens all the time - not that simple. The difference between optioning a guy - which all fans are familiar with - and DFAing a guy to option him - which I can't recall ever happening with the Twins (not that it hasn't).

Since the original release was sent out late Wednesday night, the transaction story of Andrew Albers has been downright confusing. CAUTION: Do not read if you want to avoid a headache.The night of last Wednesday, August 10th, started with Brian Dozier and the Twins hanging five runs on Dallas Keuchel, but ended with a steady stream of rain that washed the game out and those five runs away. Due to the rainout forcing the Twins and Astros to play two games the following day, the Twins issued a release at 10:57 pm announcing that they planned to select the contract of Andrew Albers from Rochester to serve as the 26th man for the second game of the day Thursday, as baseball rules allow. But the first game of the day was a disaster and immediately following the game, the Twins announced that Buddy Boshers was headed to the disabled list and Andrew Albers would have his contract selected and replace Boshers on the active roster. There would be no 26th man for the doubleheader because Pat Light, who was going to be called up from Rochester, had a flight get cancelled. Albers wasn’t particularly good, getting hit around for 11 hits. But he served his purpose, pitching six innings to save an already-taxed bullpen. Two days later, Albers was designated for assignment. We all know what that means - when a player is DFAd a 40-man (and 25-man spot - if the player is on the 25-man roster) opens immediately and the player goes into “DFA limbo” for up to 10 days. Typically the limbo ends when the player is traded, sent through release waivers and released, or sent through outright waivers where he is either claimed (buh-bye) or clears and is “outrighted” to the minor leagues. So imagine my surprise when the beat writers started reporting that Albers was “optioned” to Rochester. Wait. What? An “optioned” player is on the 40-man roster. An “optioned” player is just coming off the 25-man roster. Albers was on neither. Or was he? Well, what happened is that Albers had to pass through a different set of waivers called “optional waivers.” A place that players go when they have an option left, but when three calendar years have passed since their big-league debut. The Twins didn’t need the 40-man spot, but they needed a roster spot so bad that they had to DFA Albers while the formality of the “optional waivers” processed. Albers goes back on the 40-man too. So what the heck? I recalled reading this article about the Indians DFA'ing (but not really DFA'ing) Carlos Carrasco and it got my mind spinning…. was this the same thing? It certainly appeared to be. But I still find myself asking a few questions: When the Indians did this with Carrasco their release said they “designated Carrasco for assignment Sunday for the purpose of optioning him to Class AAA Columbus.” The Twins, however, said they were designating “left-handed pitcher Andrew Albers for release or assignment.” Why not be up front in the release? Semantics, I guess, considering they were going to option him… which is an assignment. Why did the Twins change course and add Albers to the 25-man roster when DL'ing Boshers instead of just leaving Albers as the 26th man and adding Light the next day? Does it have to do with the fact that Albers couldn’t simply be sent down immediately after the game because he’d have to clear optional waivers? (In that case, DFA him right away.) Or did the Twins front office not realize they’d be hamstrung by adding Albers? (Which would be hard for me to be mad at anyway, because I didn’t know the rule.) Was there concern that Albers wouldn’t clear outright waivers? Or that he wouldn’t accept his assignment? (He’s been outrighted before, so he could elect free agency.) Maybe the Twins had no intention of sending Albers back down right away, but had to in light of Milone’s injury? At any rate, Andrew Albers remains on the 40-man roster on optional assignment to Rochester. Of course, it’s not really going to matter anyway in a couple of months, when Albers is sent through outright waivers to clear up a space on the 40-man. But I’ll tell you what, the series of transactions led this geek to do a lot of head-scratching. Click here to view the article

Plenty of players - and Sano is a great example because he was facing the same pitchers at the same time - have walk rates that improve even as they face better competition. I invite you to look at Rosario's game log from his season at Beloit. He was taking a ton of walks, then he got hit, and when he came back he stopped taking walks. Same level, same competition. I don't care to speculate on anything mental or psychological, but it stuck out. This wasn't a guy who never knew how to work a count and take a walk. But that's who he is now.

From the moment the Twins drafted Eddie Rosario in the fourth round of the 2010 draft, I was smitten. Baseball America called him the “best pure hitter” from Puerto Rico and compared him to Bobby Abreu. He had a chance to stick in centerfield with an arm to fit in right field.I paid extra attention to Rosario in his professional debut, because he was teammates with Miguel Sano and Jorge Polanco in the GCL (you may have heard of them). Rosario didn’t disappoint. It was he - not Sano - who led the team in home runs. He batted .294 and, yeah, he struck out a bit (13.5%) but also drew a fair amount of walks (7.5%). Rosario also stole 22 bases in 51 games. It was definitely enough to put him on the prospect radar. His star only grew in 2011. Again it was Rosario’s 21 home runs that edged out Sano’s 20 and led the team. His .337 batting average also led the team as did his 17 stolen bases. You know what else he led the team in? Don’t guess. I’ll tell you. Walks. Rosario’s 27 walks paced the team. His walk rate of 9.1% was greater than that of walk-oholic Miguel Sano (7.8%). He led the whole Appy league in triples, home runs (three shy of league record), runs, total bases and slugging percentage and was league co-MVP. He was the best player in a league where his teammates included Miguel Sano, Max Kepler, Kennys Vargas and Jorge Polanco. (The latter trio combined to hit four home runs that year.) Rosario exited the season as Baseball America’s #3 prospect in the Twins organization and he was about to make his full-season debut in 2012 with the Beloit Snappers. I had the opportunity to watch the Snappers during a early-season trip and a late-season trip. Miguel Sano and Kennys Vargas were monsters, but Eddie Rosario always left an impression on me. I was ready to write his name in pen in the 2-spot in the lineup for the foreseeable future. I didn’t know where he’d end up defensively - he was playing second base at the time - but he was the most impressive minor-league hitter I’d see in all of my visits. But then Tuesday, June 12, 2012 happened. During batting practice that day, Rosario, who was standing along the third base line, was struck between the nose and the mouth by a line drive off the bat of a teammate. He was hospitalized with a broken bone in his face and missed the next six weeks of the season. Rosario still put up impressive numbers for the Snappers on the season: .296/.345/.490 with 32 doubles, four triples and 12 home runs. His walk rate was 7.2% (and actually improved to 7.4% the following season) and his strikeout rate was 16.1%. The splits using the day that Rosario got drilled in the face, though, tell a different story. Pre-drilling in the face walk-rate: 9.9% Post-drilling in the face walk-rate: 2.5% Pre-drilling in the face K-rate: 14.1% Post-drilling in the face K-rate: 19.6% As I mentioned previously, Rosario was able to bounce back in 2013 with an improved walk-rate, but the strikeout rate continued to trend the wrong way (17.6%). The 84-game sample size of the Arizona Fall League showed plenty of the same thing: 3.6% walk-rate and 15.5% K-rate. It was in the AFL that Rosario tested positive for a drug of abuse. In the 1458 plate appearances since returning from the suspension (which, should be noted, has come against higher-quality pitchers as well), Rosario has 59 walks (4.0%) and 308 strikeouts (21.1%). What’s clear to me is that the Eddie Rosario that fills our screen in 2016 is not the same player that took the line-drive to the face on the summer night in 2012. Click here to view the article

The Twins open a seven-game homestand and the big news of the day in the organization on Monday was that Max Kepler and Joe Mauer were named American League co-Players of the Week. Though two affiliates didn’t play Monday, there was still plenty of action and moves. Per Jeff Johnson, Christian Ibarra (pictured) was promoted to Fort Myers along with Manuel Guzman. Travis Blankenhorn and Brandon Lopez will join the Kernels from Elizabethton.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester - OFF DAY Trevor Plouffe’s rehab has ended and Byron Buxton’s return to AAA begins… tomorrow (we think) when the Red Wings open a series in Syracuse. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 0, Jacksonville 2 Box Score The Lookouts failed to get a hit with a runner in scoring position (0-for-4) and got shut out for the second time this month. David Hurlbut gave up two runs (one earned) in 6.2 innings. He allowed six hits and a walk. He only struck out one. He was charged with the loss and is now 7-7. Alan Busenitz made his second scoreless appearance for his new club. He still hasn’t struck anyone out. Mason Melotakis struck out two in a perfect frame. Offensively, Chattanooga spread out five singles and a Ryan Walker double, his ninth. Corcino added a walk to his single to be the only other hitter to reach safely twice. The Lookouts fall to 58-56. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers vs St. Lucis - POSTPONED, RAIN Hammond Stadium’s field was unplayable Monday night, forcing the series opener between the Miracle and the St. Lucie Mets to be postponed until Tuesday. The teams will be play two seven-innings games beginning at 4 p.m. CST. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Peoria 4 Box Score The duo of Christian Ibarra and Luis Arraez (pictured above) combined for seven hits, two doubles, a walk, three runs and five RBIs. Jaylin Davis doubled twice and stole a base, Rainis Silva drove in two runs on two hits and Nelson Molina added another RBI in his two-hit game. Sam Gibbons lasted six inning and picked up a win, his sixth. He only allowed three hits, but issued four free passes and two unearned runs scored. He struck out one and was aided by the ground ball, getting two double plays. Logan Lombana gave up two runs in two innings and Tom Hackimer allowed a hit in the final frame. The Kernels are 61-52 E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Danville 3 (Game 1; 12 innings) Box Score There’s nothing like planning to play fourteen innings over two games… and then turning one of those seven-inning games into a 12-inning affair. That’s exactly what happened in the front end of Monday’s doubleheader. It took (only) three hours and sixteen minutes before a Shane Carrier walk-off single ended it. Carrier, Alex Kirilloff and Trey Cabbage had two-hit games. The whole offense totaled only nine hits. Cabbage had the only extra-base hit (a double). Kirilloff is batting .361 Jose Martinez gave up three runs in 5.2 innings. He struck out and walked one. Patrick McGuff allowed two hits and a walk in three scoreless innings. McGuff has made 13 relief appearances over two levels and allowed only one earned run in his 20 innings. His has an impressive K/9 of 13.5. Austin Tribby pitched the final 3.1 innings, holding Danville scoreless (and only surrendering one hit) while striking out seven. It was, by far, Tribby’s best professional outing. Elizabethton 1, Danville 3 (Game 2) Box Score Three late-inning runs - fueled by misplays in the field - led to an E-town defeat. Miguel De Jesus was a hard-luck loser, giving up only three hits and two walks in six innings. Two runs came across against him, but only one was earned. De Jesus struck out three. After walking the leadoff batter in the seventh inning, De Jesus was replaced by Hector Lujan, who committed an error allowing the winning run to score. Travis Blankenhorn had two hits and an RBI in his final E-town game. Lewin Diaz also had two hits, including a triple, and is now batting .314. Brandon Lopez had a hit and a walk and will likely complete his career at E-town with a .337 average. He did commit his sixth error of the year. Entering the day at .500 and splitting, see the E-Twins exit the day still at .500: 22-22. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Orioles 0 Box Score The story of this team is three-fold: Huascar Ynoa, Aaron Whitefield and newly-signed Justin Hazard. Ynoa picked up a win on Monday, improving to only 2-4, but he’s pitched much better than his record indicates. In this outing, Ynoa pitched five innings, allowing only four hits. He struck out two. In his stateside debut season, Ynoa has an ERA of 2.17, a K/9 over 9.0 (38 strikeouts in 37.1 innings), a WHIP barely over 1.00 (31 hits, eight walks) and he hasn’t allowed a home run all season. Whitefield, an Aussie who made his brief debut in the GCL last season, continues to tear up the league. Adding two more hits on Monday, Whitefield has increased his batting average to .321. He stole two bases and now has 22 on the season… in 29 games. Defensively, he’s played all three outfield positions as well as first base. Hazard has played in only nine games, but his two hits bring his season total up to 13 (which is seventh on the team). You have to wonder how long the 22-year-old will stay in the GCL. In other news, Gorge Munez tripled and Roni Tapia hit his third home run. Tapia is batting .093, with only four hits. It’s fairly difficult to have 75% of your hits be home runs and barely have a slugging percentage above .300. Zach Strecker picked up a three-inning save and the GCL Twins improve to 20-18. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Huascar Ynoa, GCL Twins Hitter of the Day – Luis Arraez, Cedar Rapids TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester at Syracuse (5:35 CST) - LHP Pat Dean (5-6, 5.08) Chattanooga vs Jacksonville (6:15 CST) - RHP Felix Jorge (0-2, 5.98 ERA) Fort Myers vs St. Lucie (4:00 CST) - RHP Keaton Steele (5-9, 4.21 ERA) Fort Myers vs St. Lucie (Game 2) - TBD Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (6:35 CST) - RHP Brady Anderson (0-0, 5.40 ERA) Elizabethton vs Danville (6:00 CST) - RHP Tyler Wells (1-2, 5.87 ERA) GCL Twins at GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Gordon will spend all of 2017 in AA. All of the guys mentioned above have a chance to debut in 2017. But yes, Gordon is definitely a prospect.

These last three games against the Indians have really been something. It might make you wonder how things would be different had the offense clicked earlier this year. It might also make you look at the contributions of Max Kepler and not feel so bad about Byron Buxton or Miguel Sano. It might also make you think about the future.Let’s look back a little bit first. Though fans suffered through all the 90-loss seasons, 2014 was when the lights started to flicker brighter and we were introduced to the first wave of prospects. Oswaldo Arcia used the season to build on a successful 2013 campaign. Danny Santana debuted and put up a ridiculous .824 OPS while stealing 20 bases. Kennys Vargas teased us with his power in a 53-game cameo. All were 23 years old. Kyle Gibson spent his first full season in the major leagues and was a 13-game winner. Trevor May started nine games - and while he struggled - he showed fans an ability to strike hitters out with a K/9 of 8.7 in 45.2 innings. Last season, 2015, was more of the same. We witnessed the duo of Miguel Sano, 22, and Eddie Rosario, 23, push the team to the brink of the playoffs. Sano with his power (18 home runs and an OPS of .916) and Rosario with his speed and defense (a league-leading 15 triples and 16 outfield assists). Tyler Duffey joined the rotation, got roughed up in his debut, but was 5-0 down the stretch and the club’s best pitcher. Also seeing time in 2015 were members of the next wave: Byron Buxton who debuting at 21, battled injuries and remained a prospect by one at-bat, Jorge Polanco, who debuted at 20, and always hits, and Max Kepler, last year’s Southern League Player of the Year, who joined the team in late-September. Jose Berrios, who turned 22 earlier this summer, has rejoined the team (hopefully) permanently and it’s not hard to imagine that many of the pieces of the next competitive team are in place. But who’s next? THE POWER BATS With Kepler firmly entrenched in right field and Buxton the future of centerfield, it would be easy to stick Rosario in left field and call it a day. Not so fast. Daniel Palka, 24, has 26 home runs this year between Chattanooga and Rochester. His left-handed power will play at any stadium and though he isn’t on the 40-man roster, could be a September call-up. He’s not alone. Adam Brett Walker, also 24, has 21 home runs for Rochester this year. Walker’s right-handed power will play anywhere. The catch, obviously, is that both players have a massive amount of swing-and-miss in their game. But that doesn’t mean that either (or both) should be cast aside. Byungho Park, who had 12 home runs for the Twins before being demoted in late June, also offers a ton of power from the right-handed batter’s box, but he is limited to first base or DH in the lineup (and he’s 29 and not a prospect). THE NEXT PIRANHAS There will never be another set like the originals, but there’s some potential with this next wave: Zach Granite, 23, and Engelb Vielma, 22, are both hitting just shy of .300 in Chattanooga and both offer premium defense and a lot of speed. Granite has 34 walks and 34 strikeouts on the season along with 38 stolen bases. Coming into the year with a 65% success rate, Granite has improved and has been successful in 81% of his attempts this year. Vielma has battled hamstring injuries this season and only has six swipes, but he had 35 last year and we’ll see his numbers trend north as the season progresses and his legs get all the way back to 100%. THE NEXT CATCHER After trading for John Ryan Murphy, the future appeared set. Until Murphy forgot how to hit (worse than you can imagine with the Twins before becoming a .210/.266/.283 hitter for Rochester). So who’s next? Mitch Garver, a 25-year-old at Chattanooga, has improved his defense and made greater strides with his bat. Garver has an OPS over .800 supported with 11 home runs. He 20% strikeout-percentage is higher than normal, but his walk-rate remains over 11%. He’s also thrown out more than 50% of would-be base-stealers on the season. THE TURNING OF THE ROTATION The minor-leagues contain a number of pitchers who could find time in the rotation including Jason Wheeler, a 25-year-old, who is on his way to being named the organization’s pitcher of the year with a 10-3 record between Chattanooga and Rochester and Aaron Slegers, 23, and David Hurlbut, 26, who are potential back-end arms, as well currently pitching in Chattanooga. Recently-acquired Adalberto Mejia, 23, will make his organizational debut for Rochester tomorrow. He’s not far off and has a chance to make the Opening Day rotation next year. Sometime later in 2017, we could be introduced to the cream of the pitching prospect crop: Stephen Gonsalves, 21, has continued to dominate every level, including AA, with a K/9 in excess of 10.0 (though he’s still walking too many), Tyler Jay, 22, started to come into his own with Fort Myers before his promotion, move to the bullpen and subsequent shut-down in Chattanooga, and Kohl Stewart, 21, who’s been an enigma but still has lots of potential. Felix Jorge, also 22, has struggled a bit since his promotion to Chattanooga, but he’s been compared to current Twin Ervin Santana. THE POWER ARMS We saw J.T. Chargois earlier this summer (and it wasn’t pretty), but between him and newly-acquired Pat Light, the Target Field radar gun will hit triple-digits in the top of an inning sometime yet this season. (Light did it twice for Rochester on Wednesday night, according to reports.) 2010 first-round pick Alex Wimmers, 27, doesn’t throw that hard, and neither does Trevor Hildenberger, 25, but both could make their major-league debut this year. Hildenberger was recently placed on the DL with elbow tendinitis, but no one in baseball has numbers as good as he does. Jake Reed, 23, has bounced back with a really good 2016 after a disappointing 2015 (EDIT: According to an AL scout, Reed also hit 100 mph on the radar gun last night) and Zack Jones, 25, continues to strike batters out since his return from the Brewers (after they decided not to keep him as a Rule 5 draft pick). Nick Burdi is another arm who throws it really hard… when healthy, which he currently isn’t. THE RECAP The Twins have been a lot of fun to watch these last few days. And they have plenty of young players who are making it so fun. But they have more young players knocking on the door and that makes it exciting. We’re going to see some guys get a(nother) chance before many of these prospects get their turns, but this next wave is going to be fun to watch. Who excites you? Click here to view the article