Jeremy Nygaard

This is obviously filled with sarcasm (and I'm with you). It's paid some dividends... well, Duffey... but I've long been saying that the bullpen should be filled with players that failed as starters. If I ran a team, I'd draft some flamethrowers, sure, but they'd supplement a 'pen full of guys that didn't get it done as starters. From Rivera to Nathan to Perkins to Hochever to almost everyone in between, turn your junk starters into stud relievers!

What kind of luck are we talking about: This kind of luck?

I feel the same. It really depends on how much he is able to pitch vs what his demands are. With the larger pool, you might be able to work a deal to get him to slide... if you're into that sort of thing.

Funkhouser has been between really bad and terrible. Cody has been between decent and bad. Neither go in the first round. Neither make what they turned down last year.

Senzel will go Top 5. Haven't heard much about Dalbec.

The success rate of college hitters in the Top 10 isn't 100%. It just happened that the Cubs might have gotten the best two in the last ten years. There are some bad names on that list: Michael Choice, Mike Zunino, Christian Colon, Colin Moran. It's possible that Ian Happ turns out to be a stud, but in reality, the Cubs are where they are because they've swindled other teams (Russell for Shark rental! Rizzo for Cashner! Arrieta for Feldman!). So, yeah, copy that part.

I didn't include Puk or Hansen because they've been so inconsistent. It wouldn't shock me if those guys went the same route as Funkhouser/Cody - depending on where they get drafted - and try to show something better as seniors. Of course it's early and if those other two fall on their face/fall in the draft (again), it might help show those juniors that signing where they're drafted is the best route to take.

There's not any catcher that is good enough to go in the Top 15 (at least not that I've heard yet). But if you really want a stud catcher, there is going to be one available to the worst team in in 2017. Also #bloodlines.

I've been asked about Logan Shore. I didn't include him because he was talked about in the first installment. Given how much the Twins like him - Doogie talks about it frequently - I'd imagine he'd be in the mix, among many others that weren't mentioned above.

The Twins started the season with seven straight losses (and this article was sent to publish before Wednesday night’s game concluded), does anyone want to read about where the trend lines are pointing? I’d conclude the answer is no. But the worse the major league team performs the more people start to think about that fun little weekend in June. The draft!Of course, if this season continues to tumble into the dismal place that is a return to the Top 5 of the draft, we’ll have to shed some light onto the 2017 draft. But we’re not there yet and we still have the 2016 draft to focus on. Some housekeeping first: The Twins first-round pick (15th overall) is worth $2,817,100. Their total pool is worth $7,997,200, eleventh most in baseball. One thing you can’t look past - it’s still really early. In fact, not everyone has even started their season yet - which you can understand if you’re living in an area that accumulates snow and/or gets really cold. In poking around to prepare for this article, I learned a few things or, at a minimum, verified things I already thought I knew: The states of California and Georgia are “loaded.” I was also warned that you might see a lot of deals get cut in the days leading up to the draft. Take that with a grain of salt, though, because I hear that almost every year… and then the draft happens. The reason for the belief this year is that after less than a dozen elite prospects, there are a jumble in the next tier... and the difference between being the 15th pick and the 45th pick is a lot of money. In no way is this intended to be a comprehensive list of guys the Twins are considering at #15. Nowhere on Earth does that list exist. Not now and really not until the days leading up to the draft. But if a discussion is what you want… so let’s start that discussion right now about five guys right now. (I’ll include each player’s ranking from Baseball America, Keith Law and MLB.com in parenthesis.) The Peaches from the Southeast William Benson, OF, Georgia HS (23;20;18) - Benson is huge (6’ 6, 225), young (won’t turn 18 til after the draft) and oozes with athleticism (he helped lead his basketball team to a 21-3 record before being ousted early in the playoffs). But there are questions about his bat - as there are with most prep hitters. He’s shown plenty of raw power and has the arm strength to remain in right field. Braxton Garrett, LHP, Alabama HS (35;9;41) - A Vanderbilt signee and Boras advisee, Garrett has a fastball that is usually in the low-90s, a 70 curveball almost every time he throws it and a plus change-up when he’s on. Garrett is going to be become a more prominent prospect as the draft approaches and will probably - despite what the draft rankings show - be gone before the Twins get an opportunity to select him. Josh Lowe, 3B/RHP, Georgia HS (11;18;17) - The Twins have drafted two-way studs before (like Aaron Hicks) and given the player the chance to succeed as a position player. Lowe is very athletic and has a bat that packs a lot of power. As far as where he could play defensively, he could be a plus defender at 3B or any of the OF spots. The question, again, is how the bat plays. Unlike Benson, though, the fallback plan for Lowe would be to move to the mound where he’s raw, but has the ceiling of a #2 starter. Going Back to Cali Cal Quantrill, RHP, Stanford (29;21;20) - Before blowing out his elbow in March of 2015, Quantrill was a player frequently talked about as having 1-1 stuff. He’ll be back pitching for Stanford within the next month and the Twins will be watching closely. As it’s been in the past with Jeff Hoffman (8th), Lucas Giolito (16th) and Erick Fedde (18th), the 15th spot in the draft could be a prime spot to nab a TJ-recoverer, especially one with the ceiling of a staff ace. Could the Twins shave some dollars from the abundance of Top 100 picks and offer Quantrill, who is repped by the other superagent Casey Close, more money in hopes of having him slide? Matt Manning, RHP, California HS (25;12;NR) - His season just starting, Manning is going to be all over national boards until teams have an opportunity to see him, something the Twins and scouting director Deron Johnson did earlier this week. Reports indicate that Manning was throwing “hard.” If it came down to drafting one of these five, who do you want? And why? Click here to view the article

I like what you're doing here Seth. I like an exercise so simple... but I'd also like to see the games broke down - in your opinion - into high-, mid-, and low-leverage situations... maybe something to think about anyway. Especially if you can see a trend of how pitchers are being used and if it changes.

The swing-and-miss is always going to be in his game. With his swing, you're going to get power and you're going to get swing-and-miss. The biggest question is whether he's going to make enough contact to have value as he moves forward. This is a big year for him as it's the most advanced pitchers he'll have seen to date.

Hopefully you’ve all gotten a chance to warm up after sitting in the less-than-ideal weather at Target Field Monday for the Twins Home Opener. If you haven’t properly warmed up, or if your mood towards the parent club has gone cold, grab your cup of joe and learn all about what happened in the Twins farm system on the first Monday of the minor league schedule.It wasn't a very productive day for the affiliates as all three teams that played put a tally in the loss column. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester vs Lehigh Valley The Red Wings (2-1) issued a press release on Monday afternoon informing fans that their game against the IronPigs would be postponed due to rain. The two clubs will face off in a doubleheader on Tuesday beginning at 4:05 pm. Both games will be of the seven-inning variety. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Biloxi 3 Box Score In a rematch of the 2015 Southern League Championship Series, the Lookouts (1-4) came out on the wrong end in this match-up, losing four games in the five-game set. Ryan Eades gave up the first run of the game after allowing a single and issuing a walk to start the third inning. Biloxi followed with two sacrifices to open the scoring. Eades closed out his evening with three scoreless frames to finish with a very respectable line: six innings, three hits, one run, two walks and three strikeouts. Offensively, the Lookouts were able to push only one run across the plate and that was in the fifth inning. Engelb Vielma, who reached on a one-out single, was driven in on a single by Leo Reginatto. Those two singles were two of the seven singles produced today. Chattanooga had no extra-base hits. Daniel Palka led the lineup with two hits. Jake Reed came into a tie game and hit the first batter he faced. After allowing a single to the next batter, Reed allowed a one-out, two-run triple. It appeared that center fielder Zach Granite had a play on the ball but may have misjudged how much room he had between himself and the wall. The ball deflected off the wall and skittered away from Granite. Regardless of whether he should have caught it or not, the go-ahead run would have scored either way. Reed recorded five more outs despite only facing four batters - thanks to a double-play and Mitch Garver erasing a walk with a pick-off from behind the dish. Reed’s line in the loss: two innings, two hits, two runs, one walk, one hit batter, no strikeouts. Reed has allowed two runs in both of his 2016 outings. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 0, Brevard County 2 Box Score After splitting the four-game season-opening home-and-home series with Bradenton, the Miracle dropped the first game of their four-game set with Brevard County. The offense was able to get runners on base, picking up eight hits (one more than their opponent), but a lack of extra base hits (none), walks (none), hits with runners in scoring position (0-for-4) and an abundance of strikeouts (ten) prevented the club from getting any of those runners around the bases and to home plate. TJ White and Alex Real each collected two hits. Felix Jorge took the loss in his high-A debut, but not by much fault of his own. He allowed six runners to reach (five hits and a walk) in six innings, two of who scored. Jorge struck out seven. According to Brice Zimmerman, Jorge was “sitting 92-94” with his fastball and hit 97, also citing a “nice slider and workable change-up.” Brian Gilbert (1.1 IP) and Luke Westphal (1.2 IP) combined to finish the game. Each allowed one hit and each struck out one. Gilbert also issued a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Quad City 9 Box Score The Kernels dropped their first game of the season and did so without putting up much of a fight. Chris Cavaness (single), LaMonte Wade (single, five-game hitting streak), Zander Wiel (hit, walk) and Rafael Valera (hit by pitch) provided all the offense. Again, no extra-base hits. Only one walk. And 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position. To add insult to… well, insult, the Kernels committed four errors, including Jermaine Palacios’s second of the season. Valera was also caught stealing twice. Dereck Rodriguez took the rock and pitched six innings. He allowed eight hits and five runs while striking out six. Kuo Hua Lo allowed three unearned runs in one inning, striking one out. Michael Theofanopoulos allowed a run in his inning of work. It would be nice if there were a positive or two to work into this the recap… about the most positive part is that the Kernels have a noon game on Tuesday, so they can wash the stink of this game out of their memories. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Ryan Eades (6 IP, 3 H, R, 2 BB, 3 K) Hitter of the Day – Daniel Palka (2-for-4, no strikeouts) There was not a single extra base hit, nor a single RBI on Monday. Palka wins by default, really. He was the only hitter who collected multiple singles and didn’t strike out. Ouch. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (4:05PM CST) – LHP Logan Darnell (0-0, -.-- ERA) Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (following game one) – RHP David Martinez (0-0, -.-- ERA) Jackson @ Chattanooga (5:15PM CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler (0-1, 5.40 ERA) Brevard County @ Fort Myers (6:05PM CST) – LHP Randy Rosario (0-0, -.-- ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (NOON CST) – RHP Miles Nordgren (0-0, -.-- ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Could it be a confidence things? Do you want your manager taking you out of the game the first time you come up late in the game? Give the guy a chance, let him prove that he can do it or that he can't do it. As for the pinch-running, though, I don't want to get started on that...

Or having that good hitter bunt a runner from second to third in the third inning.

Parker pointed out on Twitter last night that Sano had ZERO hits on balls in the top third of the zone last season. That's where the attack has been so far.

He's fouled off a lot of pitches and had a 8- or 9-pitch at-bat in both games. I don't know what the percentage is, but he's making a decent amount of contact, it's just not landing fair.

I think the most important thing is to not overreact so soon. We all knew there would be a ton of strikeouts, and they aren't disappointing us there! I'm not going to worry about low velo. Not yet. Not in the beginning of April.

If you have a have bad game or two and people point it out, someone will rush to your defense and claim, “well it’s only one (or two) games… don’t worry!” But when you do someone well in a game or two, those same people will praise you for making adjustments (even if you didn’t). Or maybe it’s the exact opposite…It was easy for many after the season opener to rip on Byron Buxton for his three strikeouts. And if you’re on Twitter, you may have seen a group take the opportunity to do so. Offensively, Buxton could probably use some seasoning in AAA, but it’s not as if he’s struggled at AA or AAA with the bat and his defense is so good that you simply couldn’t justify sending him to Rochester to start the season while letting someone else roam the middle of Target Field’s outfield. Despite the team-leading five strikeouts through Wednesday, Buxton is having some early-season success and getting - and taking advantage of - an opportunity to gain some valuable experience while hitting out of the 9-hole. Through two games and seven plate appearances, Buxton has seen 41 pitches, one more than Mauer (who has two more trips to the plate) and averages 5.86 pitches per plate appearances, which leds the team by over one pitch per trip. Yes, five of those have ended with Buxton walking back to the dugout, but if you’re looking for something that could foreshadow better days coming, this might be it. Download attachment: Screenshot 2016-04-06 at 9.47.55 PM.png On the flip side of that, Rosario (2.88 pitches/PA), Dozier (3.56) and Sano (3.75) have combined for two hits in 21 at-bats and both of those hits have come off of the bat of Rosario, who has had at-bats where he’s looked absolutely lost. But unless you can write off a football team’s whole season after going three-and-out in their first two possessions of the year, you probably shouldn’t worry too much about that trio or the lineup in general. So because it’s only been only two games, we’re not going to talk about anyone TRENDING in any direction. It’s too early. On the pitching side of the ledger, Trevor May was extremely impressive in his season debut on Monday. Pitching two innings, throwing mid-90’s gas and striking out four, May was filthy. The rest of Monday was far from ideal, losing your starting pitcher two innings into the game due to a rain delay and running out every available reliever with the exception of the guy you can only use on the road in the event that you’re winning in the bottom of the last inning (which they weren’t). While Casey Fien and Kevin Jepsen were inept in the Opener and Kyle Gibson didn’t pitch to expectations on Wednesday, it’s two games in… and there’s still plenty of time to trend. Good or bad. Click here to view the article

The season a player is drafted in is less than 90 days, so it doesn't count towards free agency. Wimmers will be a free agent after the season.

The Chattanooga Lookouts announced their 2016 Opening Day roster today. The Lookouts, who began an affiliation with the Twins in 2015, are looking to defend their Southern League Championship. In their first year with the Twins, Chattanooga went 76-61 in the regular season and beat Biloxi 3-2 in the best-of-five championship series. Despite sending many of last year’s stars to Rochester and/or the parent club, the Lookouts will have another star-studded roster - though not to last year’s caliber - that includes many of the organization’s top-rated relief pitchers.THE COACHING STAFF Fans have been spoiled by Doug Mientkiewicz, who enters his fourth year managing in the Twins system. Mientkiewicz has led his team to the playoffs in all three of his seasons, including a Florida State League Championship with Fort Myers in 2014 and a Southern League Championship last year in his first season in Chattanooga. Mientkiewicz remains best known for the seven years he spent with the Minnesota Twins (1998-2004). Tommy Watkins joins the Lookouts as the hitting coach after spending the previous six years in the same capacity in Cedar Rapids. Ivan Arteaga has been working with Twins pitchers since 2001. He will begin his first year in Chattanooga after bouncing between Fort Myers and Cedar Rapids the previous three years. He’ll have the opportunity to work with some pitchers for the third consecutive season. THE ROSTER *Spent time with Lookouts in 2015 Last year’s roster included top offensive prospects such as Miguel Sano, Byron Buxton, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco. The pitching staff featured Jose Berrios and Tyler Duffey. Those names have all moved on, but there are still a number of highly regarded prospects, with a number of them being found in the bullpen. PROJECTED ROTATION (listed alphabetically): P DJ Baxendale* P Ryan Eades LP David Hurlbut* LP Brett Lee* P Aaron Slegers* P Jason Wheeler* This sextet has a ton of AA experience, starting 70 games for the Lookouts last year. In fact, DJ Baxendale led the 2015 squad in both games started and innings pitched. David Hurlbut, who along with Jason Wheeler, appeared in AAA as well, led the team in wins (11). Brett Lee had the lowest ERA (3.10) and WHIP (1.192) of any of the returning starters. Aaron Slegers, the youngest of the six, joined the Lookouts for a half dozen starts late in the year. Ryan Eades will be the lone member of the rotation without AA experience. PROJECTED BULLPEN: P Jason Adam P Nick Burdi* P JT Chargois* LP Mason Melotakis P Brandon Peterson* P Jake Reed* LP Mike Strong P Marcus Walden LP Corey Williams* P Alex Wimmers* Nick Burdi headlines this group of prospects, but it will be a couple of weeks (minimum) before he is throwing in games after coming down with some soreness in his right (throwing) forearm. JT Chargois is expected to assume the closer role, as he led the Lookouts with 11 saves last year. Mason Melotakis returns after missing 2015 due to Tommy John surgery. Jake Reed was demoted after struggling in his Chattanooga debut, but is back and ready to return to his dominant form after getting back on track in the Arizona Fall League. Former first-rounder Alex Wimmers is back in the bullpen after starting 18 games for the Lookouts and being second on the team in innings pitched (115.1). Wimmers was one of the last pitchers moved as pitchers were being sent down from the Twins roster. PROJECTED LINEUP: SS Engelb Vielma 2B Levi Michael* RF Daniel Palka 1B DJ Hicks* LF Travis Harrison* DH/C Mitch Garver C Stuart Turner* 3B Niko Goodrum* CF Shannon Wilkerson* PROJECTED BENCH: C Carlos Paulino* C Jairo Rodriguez* 3B Leonardo Reginatto OF Zack Granite OF Joe Maloney INF Aderlling Mejia* (DL) All eyes - at least early - will be on the powerful bat of Daniel Palka. Can he put balls in the seat like Adam Brett Walker did last year? Engelb Vielma, the youngest position player by nearly two years, could play shortstop right now for the Twins, but will he hit enough? Stuart Turner and Mitch Garver, who teamed up in the Arizona Fall League, will be professional teammates for the first time for a Twins affiliate. It will be interesting to see not only how they split up time behind the plate, but also additional at-bats, whether that be at DH or 1B, potentially. The experience of Levi Michael, Niko Goodrum, DJ Hicks and Travis Harrison will be leaned upon heavily. How many league titles have those guys won? THE PROSPECTS Though many of the highest-rated prospects have moved on, there are still plenty on the Chattanooga roster. Here is a quick look at which Lookouts found their names in a variety of Twins Prospect Rankings. Twins Prospect Rankings Twins Daily Top 10: Burdi (10) Seth Stohs Top 30: Burdi (7), Chargois (12), Vielma (15), Reed (18), Turner (23), Garver (24), Palka (25), Slegers (28), Harrison (30) Jeremy Nygaard Top 30: Burdi (13), VIelma (16), Chargois (17), Turner (22), Garver (24), Harrison (28) Cody Christie Top 30: Burdi (14), Vielma (16), Turner (18), Harrison (23), Chargois (24), Goodrum (25), Melotakis (27), Reed (30) Nick Nelson Top 10: Burdi (10) Steve Buhr Top 15: Vielma (9), Burdi (12), Reed (13), Chargois (15) Baseball America Top 31: Burdi (10), Chargois (15), Turner (16), Vielma (18), Reed (20), Melotakis (28) FanGraphs Top 25: Chargois (11), Burdi (14), Vielma (19), Turner (20), Melotakis (21), Garver (23), Eades (24) Keith Law Top 20: Burdi (9), Reed (11), Melotakis (19) John Sickels Top 20: Burdi (10), Turner (14), Chargois (15), Harrison (16), Eades (18) Aaron Gleeman Top 40: Burdi (9), Peterson (15), Chargois (17), Vielma (18), Slegers (21), Reed (24), Eades (30), Garver (31), Melotakis (32), Turner (33), Harrison (35), Palka (37) Ted Schwerzler Top 15: Burdi (9), Chargois (13), Reed (15) MLB.com Top 30: Burdi (9), Chargois (10), Reed (16), Vielma (17), Melotakis (20), Turner (23), Harrison (24), Palka (29) Baseball Essentials Top 20: Burdi (9), Chargois (13), Harrison (15), Palka (18), Vielma (19), Turner (20) PREDICTIONS First Hitter Promoted to Rochester: 1.) Travis Harrison, 2.) Levi Michael First Starting Pitcher Promoted to Rochester: 1.) D.J. Baxendale, 2a.) Brett Lee, 2b.) Jason Wheeler First Relief Pitcher Promoted to Rochester: 1.) Alex Wimmers, 2.) JT Chargois TWITTER FOLLOWS Chattanooga Lookouts: @ChattLookouts Radio Voice: @LWtheVoice Lookouts Media Relations: @RedFoxFanatic Click here to view the article