Jeremy Nygaard

Listen in on last night's Twins Hangouts podcast. Seth and Jeremy discussed many topics over two hours. The Twins pitching, some of the interesting roster moves coming up in the coming weeks (Willingham, Arcia, Pelfrey, Fuld and who could get sent down). We went through the minor leagues more quickly than normal, but we also spent some time on the draft. An interesting question... Where would some of the top draft prospects rank in our personal Top 10 Twins prospects, and how does that play into your thoughts on who the Twins should select? All episodes available on our webpage and iTunes. -------------------------------- Seth and I will be live again at 9pm tonight. You can turn down the Twins game and listen to us as we spend a couple of hours discussing the team and its system. We'll run the gamut tonight. We'll talk about transactions made (and not made), top performances in both the major league and minor league system and much more. Please leave questions below or @TwinsHangouts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRHUxniy0RM The Twins beat the Padres last night so on Wednesday you can get a half price large or extra-large pizza from PapaJohns.com with the promo code TWINSWIN.

The Twins, who fell back to .500 with yesterday’s loss, have an off day before starting their National League west-coast road-swing. It’s two against the Padres and three against the Giants before starting a four-game home stand against the Rangers. Moving on to the farm… Red Wings Report ROCHESTER 4, TOLEDO 0 Box Score The story of this game revolves around two players: Trevor May and Oswaldo Arcia. Trevor May appeared to being gearing up for the Show with his second straight shutout performance. This one went eight innings on 107 pitches, with six strikeouts. He allowed four hits and four walks. His ERA dropped from 4.11 to 3.35 and he’s also shutting down left-handed batters (who are batting only .185). If it were up to me – and no, no it isn’t – Trevor May would be joining the team next Monday to make his big-league debut at Target Field against the Rangers in place of Kevin Correia. While James Beresford and Deibinson Romero both had two-hit games that included doubles, the story, again, was Oswaldo Arcia. Arcia’s 3-run blast in the fourth inning was more than enough run support and it’s Arcia’s fourth jackjob in his last seven games. While many clamor for his promotion, remember there is clause that prohibits players from being called up within ten days of being optioned (unless there is injury). The Twins will likely use that time to continue to evaluate Chris Colabello (before swapping the players out for each other). Whether its right field or left, I’m hoping the Twins pick one to make Arcia’s permanent home. This game marks the seventh consecutive win for the Red Wings, who now find themselves only one game out of first in the International League North Division. Rock Cats Review NEW BRITAIN 10, RICHMOND 6 Box Score The Rock Cats used a balanced offensively approach – and strung together two big innings – to take the win tonight at New Britain Stadium. Danny Ortiz homered and doubled, driving in two, while Brad Boyer also drove in two on a two-hit night. Tony Thomas scored three times, tripling and stealing a base in his two-hit performance. In all, only Nate Hanson, Brandon Waring and Mike Kvasnicka failed to get hits. Only Waring and Kvasnicka failed to drive in a single run. Kennys Vargas went 1-for-3, bumping his average up to .309 and also walked twice. While I’m not punching his ticket to Rochester anytime soon, Vargas should definitely get a big-league call-up in September. Tyler Duffey picked up his first AA win in his fourth start and while he hasn’t put up stand-out numbers, he’s barely walking anyone (none tonight and three total in 24.2 AA innings). His K/9 is 6.7, which leaves a little to be desired, but would you take 6.2 IP, 9 H, 5 R (4 ER), 0 BB and 4 Ks from the starting pitchers on the Twins staff? Besides the runs… absolutely. Adrian Salcedo came in with two outs in the seventh and allowed an inherited run to score. He struck out two and allowed two hits, recording four outs. Dan Turpen gave up a run in the ninth and also struck out two. Miracle Matters FORT MYERS 2, DAYTONA 4 Box Score After a slow start, Jose Berrios settled down to have arguably his best start as a professional. In seven innings, Berrios allowed five hits and three walks. Two runners came around to score. The highlight though: Ten strikeouts. Berrios’s ten strikeouts were the most he’s had since striking out 11 in August of 2012, his second start in E-town which was only the fourth of his professional career. It wasn’t enough for the win as Travis Harrison committed two errors to charge Brian Gilbert with two unearned runs in two innings to take the loss. Harrison was back at third base, which was obviously a struggle. Miracle play-by-play announcer Brice Zimmerman told TwinsDaily contributor Cody Christie today via Twitter that Berrios has “calmed down his fastball” and is getting better results at 93-94 than he was at 95-96. He also lauded the command that Berrios has shown on his off-speed pitches. Offensively, the team couldn’t muster much. Harrison and John Murphy each drove in a run. Adam Brett Walker doubled. Harrison stole his fourth base. Jorge Polanco got another hit, extending his hit-streak to 16 games. Polanco continues to start at shortstop, where he has 14 errors on the season. Eddie Rosario’s suspension is set to expire this weekend and he will join the Miracle. While his time in Fort Myers isn’t expected to be long, it will make this double-play combo an exciting (or maybe interesting is the better word) one to watch. Kernels Nuggets CEDAR RAPIDS 6, BELOIT 3 Box Score A couple big nights on the offensive side for the Kernels leads the team to victory. Ryan Walker, who joined the Kernels less than a week ago, pounded out four hits from the leadoff position. He tripled, drove in a run and scored three. The star of the night, though, was Cedar Rapids native Chad Christensen. Christensen hit his first and second home runs of the year. He drove in four and crossed home plate three times. He also stole his 10th base of the season. Christensen (right) caught pondering life as a professional ballplayer by well-known sniper/Knuckleballs blogger Jim Crikket. Josue Montanez notched his first victory of the year (5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 5 K) and was relieved by fireballer Yorman Landa. Landa struggled with control (three walks), but allowed only one hit in two innings. He struck out one. Hudson Boyd aka Lil' Broxton earned save number six. He walked one and gave up three hits in two innings. He struck out two. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY HITTER: Chad Christensen, Cedar Rapids PITCHER: Trevor May, Rochester TUESDAY’S PROBABLES: Rochester vs Toledo (12:05 PM Central) – Scott Diamond (Listen) New Britain vs Richmond (5:35 PM Central) – Sean Gilmartin (Listen) Fort Myers @ Dunedin (5:30 PM Central) – Matt Tomshaw (Listen) Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (12:05 PM Central) – Kohl Stewart (Listen)

The people have spoken. If it's mock drafts you want... well, that's what you're going to get. 1. Houston - Carlos Rodon, LHP, NC State - The Astros have employed two very different strategies the last two years: They drafted Carlos Correa who wasn't perceived to be the top prospect to save money to draft guys who dropped later. Last year they took the #1 talent in Mark Appel. If they choose to go with the talent - which they should because the drop off to get savings is significant - Rodon is the answer. Every weekday for the next three weeks, Twins Daily will be previewing the June draft. 2. Miami - Brady Aiken, LHP, California prep - Aiken is a fine consolation prize for a team which had hoped to draft Rodon. Aiken is the safer of the two high school picks and could ascend through the minors much like Dylan Bundy did recently.3. Chicago White Sox - Tyler Kolek, RHP, Texas prep - This pick was a slam-dunk before Jeff Hoffman got hurt. Now the White Sox are left to choose between Kolek and Alex Jackson. For now, it's Kolek. 4. Chicago Cubs - Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina - Stay with me here. The Cubs desperately want a pitcher. But why a pitcher that's out for a year? Hoffman still might be the guy that provides front-of-the-rotation ability the soonest (and by that I mean 2017). Tyler Beede might enter the discussion, based on the history he has with their minor league pitching coordinator. 5. Minnesota - Alex Jackson, C/OF, California prep - The Twins stay true to their board and take Jackson. For the record, I currently have their board as 1) Rodon 2) Aiken 3) Jackson 4) Kolek 5) Gordon. Jackson will likely tie up the entire slot ($3.851m). I would also anticipate the Twins having Jackson continue to catch a few times a week while also playing RF in Cedar Rapids next year. 6. Seattle - Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Nola's not going to be a front-end guy, but he'll move quickly. So give him a year or so and he'll make a nice #3 behind King Felix and Taijuan Walker. 7. Philadelphia - Nick Gordon, SS, Florida prep - While it seems silly to take a prep shortstop in consecutive drafts (especially after hitting on J.P. Crawford last year), Gordon is the exact type of player (see: crazy athletic) that the Phillies love. 8. Colorado - Kyle Freeland, LHP, Evansville - Freeland could be in play at #7 - the Phillies did draft him out of high school. Freeland grew up in Denver, so no doubt there is some familiarity both ways. 9. Toronto - Trea Turner, SS, NC State - Turner seems like a relatively safe pick here for a team that comes back on the board at #11. 10. New York Mets - Sean Newcomb, LHP, Hartford - Newcomb has solidified his spot in the Top 15 and the Mets are in need of a pitcher. But, they also need hitting and that could lead them to Michael Conforto or Bradley Zimmer. 11. Toronto - Touki Toussaint, RHP, Florida prep - Touki might not be the easiest guy to sign, but when you flash $3m at him. I bet he takes it. 12. Milwaukee - Grant Holmes, RHP, South Carolina prep - The Crew could go many directions, but Holmes is the choice over Beede and Finnegan. 13. San Diego - Michael Conforto, OF, Oregon State - The Padres would likely prefer a player with a higher-ceiling, but getting a guy who has been rumored as high as #6 is not a bad second choice. 14. San Francisco - Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt - It would be such a Giants thing to do to get a polarizing figure like Beede and turn him into Cy Young. 15. LA Angels - Max Pentecost, C, Kennesaw State - This might turn out to be the steal of the draft. 16. Arizona - Brandon Finnegan, LHP, TCU - How far does the short lefty drop? For today, it's to Arizona. 17. Kansas City - Bradley Zimmer, OF, San Francisco - Zimmer could go higher (or lower) but going to KC would be cute for the Zimmer parents. 18. Washington - Erick Fedde, RHP, UNLV - The Nats go ahead and snap up an injured pitcher because they have stock in cadaver ligament companies or because they are good at rehabbing pitchers back to health. 19. Cincinnati - Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Florida prep 20. Tampa Bay - Kyle Schwarber, C, Indiana 21. Cleveland - Nick Burdi, RHP, Louisville 22. LA Dodgers - Derek Hill, OF, California prep 23. Detroit - Michael Chavis, 3B, Georgia prep 24. Pittsburgh - AJ Reed, 1B, Kentucky 25. Oakland - Monte Harrison, OF, Missouri prep 26. Boston - Derek Fisher, OF, Virginia 27. St. Louis - Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Hawaii prep Next Thursday, I will project the Top 34 picks. And the morning of the draft, I will go through the top 46. If you'd like a taste of other mock drafts, check out Baseball America, Scout.com, MLB.com and ESPN. If you do compare my final mocks to those that are more prominent, please come up with a scoring system so you can tell me how I rank when it's all said and done. Rip apart, discuss, debate... or do all of them.

The people have spoken. If it's mock drafts you want... well, that's what you're going to get. 1. Houston - Carlos Rodon, LHP, NC State - The Astros have employed two very different strategies the last two years: They drafted Carlos Correa who wasn't perceived to be the top prospect to save money to draft guys who dropped later. Last year they took the #1 talent in Mark Appel. If they choose to go with the talent - which they should because the drop off to get a savings is significant - Rodon is the answer. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]2. Miami - Brady Aiken, LHP, California prep - Aiken is a fine consolation prize for a team who hoped to draft Rodon. Aiken is the safer of the two high school picks and could ascend through the minors much like Dylan Bundy did recently. 3. Chicago White Sox - Tyler Kolek, RHP, Texas prep - This pick was a slam-dunk for Jeff Hoffman before he got hurt. Now the White Sox are left to choose between Kolek and Alex Jackson. For now, it's Kolek. 4. Chicago Cubs - Jeff Hoffman, RHP, East Carolina - Stay with me here. The Cubs desperately want a pitcher. But why a pitcher that's out for a year? Hoffman still might be the guy that provides front-of-the-rotation ability the soonest (and by that I mean 2017). Tyler Beede might enter the discussion, based on the history he has with their minor league pitching coordinator. 5. Minnesota - Alex Jackson, C/OF, California prep - The Twins stay true to their board and take Jackson. For the record, I currently have their board as 1) Rodon 2) Aiken 3) Jackson 4) Kolek 5) Gordon. Jackson will likely tie up the entire slot ($3.851m). I would also anticipate the Twins having Jackson continue to catch (while also playing RF) a few times a week in Cedar Rapids next year. 6. Seattle - Aaron Nola, RHP, LSU - Nola's not going to be a front-end guy, but he'll move quickly. So give him a year or so and he'll make a nice #3 behind King Felix and Taijuan Walker. 7. Philadelphia - Nick Gordon, SS, Florida prep - While it seems silly to take a prep shortstop in consecutive drafts (especially after hitting on J.P. Crawford last year), Gordon is the exact type of player (see: crazy athletic) that the Phillies love. 8. Colorado - Kyle Freeland, LHP, Evansville - Freeland could be in play at #6. I mean, the Phillies did draft him out of high school. Freeland grew up in Denver, so no doubt there is some familiarity both ways. 9. Toronto - Trea Turner, SS, NC State - Turner seems like a relatively safe pick here for a team that comes back on the board at #11. 10. New York Mets - Sean Newcomb, LHP, Hartford - Newcomb has solidified his spot in the Top 15 and the Mets are in need of a pitcher. But, they also need hitting too and that could lead them to Michael Conforto or Bradley Zimmer. 11. Toronto - Touki Toussaint, RHP, Florida prep - Touki might not be the easiest guy to sign, but when you flash $3m at him. I bet he takes it. 12. Milwaukee - Grant Holmes, RHP, Sout Carolina prep - The Crew could go many directions, but Holmes is the choice over Beede and Finnegan. 13. San Diego - Michael Conforto, OF, Oregon State - The Padres would likely prefer a player with a higher-ceiling, but getting a guy who has been rumored as high as #6 is not a bad second choice. 14. San Francisco - Tyler Beede, RHP, Vanderbilt - It would be such a Giants thing to do to get a polarizing figure like Beede and turn him into Cy Young. 15. LA Angels - Max Pentecost, C, Kennesaw State - This might turn out to be the steal of the draft. 16. Arizona - Brandon Finnegan, RHP, TCU - How far does the short righty drop? For today, it's to Arizona. 17. Kansas City - Bradley Zimmer, OF, San Francisco - Zimmer could go higher (or lower) but going to KC would be cute for the Zimmer parents. 18. Washington - Erick Fedde, RHP, UNLV - The Nats go ahead and snap up an injured pitcher because they have stock in cadaver ligaments or because they are good at rehabbing them back to health. 19. Cincinnati - Sean Reid-Foley, RHP, Florida prep 20. Tampa Bay - Kyle Schwarber, C, Indiana 21. Cleveland - Nick Burdi, RHP, Louisville 22. LA Dodgers - Derek Hill, OF, California prep 23. Detroit - Michael Chavis, 3B, Georgia prep 24. Pittsburgh - AJ Reed, 1B, Kentucky 25. Oakland - Monte Harrison, OF, Missouri prep 26. Boston - Derek Fisher, OF, Virginia 27. St. Louis - Kodi Medeiros, LHP, Hawaii prep Next Thursday, I will project the Top 34 picks. And the morning of the draft, I will go through the top 46. If you'd like a taste of other mock drafts, check out Baseball America, Scout.com, MLB.com and ESPN. If you do compare my final mocks to those that are more prominent, please come up with a scoring system so you can tell me how I rank when it's all said and done. Rip apart, discuss, debate... or do all of them.

This is the fourth in a series of (somewhat) weekly installments leading up to the June 5th through 7th draft. The focus is intended to be very Twins-specific. Part 1: Locals Part 2: The Top Part 3: What's New? --- While you may read the title and think I’m referring to a 10-game Pedro Florimon stretch, I’m actually going to spotlight a handful of players who could be in play when the Twins go on the clock with the 45th overall pick. Forecasting these possibilities is far from easy and the reasons are obvious. It’s hard to predict who the top five players who go off the board will be; it’s impossible to predict who the 44 guys will be that aren’t available for the Twins to choose from. ***I woke up this morning and realized, "Hey, the Twins don't draft 45th." They draft 46th, all the points still remain.*** It is my personal conjecture that the avenue the Twins go with their first round pick will have an effect on how they use their second pick. For example, if the Twins take SS Nick Gordon at #5, they would be less likely to take another shortstop in the second round. While the Twins could conceivably go back-to-back pitchers (or even prep pitchers), that's not a common path they’ve taken (though it was the way chosen in 2013). LHP Mac Marshall (Lilburn, GA): Marshall’s value seemed to spike early as he performed exceptionally at the Perfect Game National Showcase at the Metrodome. He showed more velocity and more raw tools than he ever had previously and he made a case to be a mid- to late-first round pick. In their most recent rankings, both Baseball America and Perfect Game have Marshall rated as the 53rd-best draft prospect, which would put him right in line with the Twins 2nd-round pick. The pitcher that Marshall is now is a three-pitch guy. The lefty typically sits in the 88-91 range, but can reach back and hit as high as 94. Professionally, his best results are going to come when he’s in the high-80s range. Marshall’s best pitch is his 80 mph change-up. Perfect Game calls the pitch the best any draft-eligible lefty throws and also ranks it the 3rd best among all prep pitchers. Rounding out his repertoire, Marshall also throws a curveball with true downhill break. It has the potential to be above-average and it’s best when he’s throwing it in the mid-70s. The young lefty evokes comparisons to current Ray Matt Moore (6-3, 200) and they are about the same size (Marshall is 6-2, 185). LHP Cody Reed (Athens, AL): Reed is being vastly undervalued. Baseball America has Reed ranked #44, while Perfect Game has him all the way down at #81. You can throw those rankings out the window, though. The Twins have this southpaw ranked much, much higher. Reed pitched this summer at 220 with a fastball that barely broke 90. Six months - and apparently 40 pounds of Southern-style cookin’ later - Reed is 260 and pumping mid-90s gas. This Vanderbilt commit is no one-trick pony though. His change-up is a work in progress, but both of his breaking balls (slider and curve) are coming along nicely. Reed has been completely dominant in his final high school season and, according to Baseball America, has recorded 84% of his outs this year via strikeout. He also has a 21-strikeout game to his record. It goes without saying that the conditioning will need to be monitored closely, ain’t nobody want CC Sabathia walking through that door. Only we do. We want the fat CC…. and his Cy Youngs. RHP Michael Cederoth (San Diego St): Cederoth was one of the first names in this draft class that people started to hear about. The reason was that Cederoth was touching 100 mph the fall before his sophomore year. Cederoth has struggled with his control and has found himself in a relief role where his fastball plays up and he can concentrate more on throwing just that and his slider. Baseball America ranks Cederoth #46 and Perfect Game has him at #63. It will be interesting to see which team thinks they can successfully convert the college hard-thrower into a starter, a move the Twins have attempted to make a number of time in the recent past. The knock on Cederoth is that he’s got a violent delivery, one that might be best suited for short stints. SS Ti’Quan Forbes (Columbia, MS): If the Twins end up with Nick Gordon high on their board in the first round and miss, Forbes would be a more-than-adequate consolation prize. Forbes doesn’t come without question marks; in fact, he comes with a toolshed full of them. But the Twins have always been drawn to guys with lots of tools and Forbes has a lot of same qualities that Niko Goodrum did coming out of high school. Forbes is currently 6-4, 180 and, like Goodrum, the perception is that his future position is anywhere but shortstop. His qualities - in both his hands and his balance point - suggest the infield is a reasonable destination. His arm, though, is not the arm you’d want to put deep in the hole. Both Baseball America (55) and Perfect Game (60), rank Forbes as a potential 2nd rounder. Could he be a match for the Twins? OF/RHP Dylan Davis (Oregon State): Davis is gradually turning into one of my “personal cheeseballs”. Not because I think he’s going to turn into the best player from this class, but simply because he’s very unique. Davis was a very highly regarded pitcher coming out of high school. He was throwing mid-90 gas and only a strong commitment to Oregon State kept him from getting drafted. As it turns out, Davis made his contributions first as a hitter and through two rounds in the Cape Cod - a league which churns out Twins draftees at a very high rate - further solidified his status as a future outfielder. But here’s the rub: Davis is up to 97 and has a potentially wipeout slider. But before you turn around and call him a pitcher, remember he’s got, arguably, the most right-handed raw power of any player in this draft. So what the heck do you do? Well, the most likely scenario is that a team drafts him and calls him an outfielder. Maybe a team likes him and tries to make him a starter. Or… maybe a team drafts him as a right fielder and still lets him relieve once or twice a week. I mean, the Twins do love versatility. This would bring the versatility game to a whole new level. ---- So, what do you think?

Join Seth and me tonight at 9:00 pm for the newest episode of our Google Hangout. We will be joined early in the show by a couple of big-time, young left-handed pitching prospects, Stephen Gonsalves and Lewis Thorpe. So, join us live and ask us lots of questions. Now available on our webpage and iTunes. On the agenda: all the moves that have been made (specifically the AAA infield becoming the MLB outfield), some other moves that may still need to be made, some recent popular topics and more. We've also cover any and all things in the minor leagues as it relates to the Twins system. If you have any questions, please leave them below. You can also tweet us @TwinsHangouts if you'd like to go that route in asking questions. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQUCzkf__f8

The Twins took a break from their schedule on Monday. They open a six-game home stand on Tuesday by welcoming the Boston Red Sox for three games. If you missed any of the recent transactions, you can view them here. Moving on to the farm… [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Red Wings Report ROCHESTER 1, TOLEDO 2 Box Score When the Red Wings left Rochester after last Sunday's game, they were riding high: Winners of their last three and five of their last six. They were about to embark on a eight-games-in-eight-days road trip. Instead of leaning on hot hitters and shut down pitching, the Red Wings instead come home with their tail fully between their legs... and also without a handful of players now playing for the parent club. Outscored 45-11 over these eight games, including today - all of which were losses - the Red Wings are now 16-20. Today's game started at 10:35 locally on the East Coast and involved a 44-minute delay. The result was still the same: an eighth straight loss, though the one-run deficit was the closest of the road trip. The offense provided four extra base hits: all doubles (Oswaldo Arcia, Eric Farris, Wilkin Ramirez, Eric Fryer) and got the lone run on an Arcia sacrifice fly that scored Fryer. This run ended a scoreless drought that lasted 18 innings and also tied to game in the top of the eighth inning. The only other notable offense game from Farris (a single, the only other hit of the game) and stolen bases by both Farris and Pedro Florimon, who didn't start after committing three errors in his first three games back in AAA. With runners in scoring position, the Red Wings went 0-for-9. Kris Johnson provided the Red Wings with a pretty decent start. He only allowed one run over 5 1/3 innings. Not as solidly, though, he allowed six hits and four walks. He struck out five and now has an ERA of 2.45, which should place him in the Top 15 of the International League once he qualifies (which he now should). Ryan Pressly put in a solid 2 2/3 innings of one-hit ball and struck out three. Aaron Thompson came in for the bottom of the ninth. He proceeded to give up a leadoff double and commit a throwing error on the ensuing sacrifice bunt attempt. With runners on the corners and nobody out, Thompson got a shallow fly to left field for the first out. He was less fortunate with the next batter, who hit a walk-off single to center to end the game. The Red Wings will be back home tomorrow looking to right their ship. Rock Cats Review New Britain enjoyed an off day on Monday. Miracle Matters FORT MYERS 8, BREVARD COUNTY 2 Box Score Matt Tomshaw threw six innings of shutout baseball to pick up his second win and the team’s 21st win of the season on Monday night. Tomshaw allowed five hits and two walks, to go along with two strikeouts, to drop his ERA to 2.31. Mason Melotakis allowed a two-run home run and also struck out two in two innings. Brian Gilbert made his return from the DL and struck out two in a not-so-easy-inning where he allowed two hits and hit a batter. Offensively, the combo of Jonathan Murphy and Aderling Mejia led the charge. With three hits apiece, the two had over half of the team’s 11 hits and drove in exactly half of the eight runs that were scored. In addition to Mejia’s first home run of the season, Stuart Turner also added his first of the year. Tyler Grimes and Murphy added doubles, while Murphy also stole a base. The Miracle improved to 21-16 and trail St. Lucie by only one game. Kernels Nuggets The Kernels scheduled doubleheader was washed out. The games will be made up as doubleheaders on both Tuesday and Wednesday. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY HITTER: Aderling Mejia, Fort Myers PITCHER: Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers TUESDAY’S PROBABLES: Rochester vs Columbus (6:05 PM Central) – Trevor May (Listen) New Britain vs Portland (5:35 PM Central) – Taylor Rogers (Listen) Fort Myers @ Brevard County (5:35 PM Central) – Jose Berrios (Listen) Cedar Rapids vs Peoria (5:05 PM Central) – Ethan Mildren and Josue Montanez (Listen)

This is the third in a series of (somewhat) weekly installments leading up to the June 5th through 7th draft. The focus is intended to be very Twins-specific. Part 1: Locals Part 2: The Top --- Thursday is Draft Day! Well, the NFL Draft anyway. We're also within a month of the MLB draft. Time to shed some light on recent happenings. When we left off in this series in late April, we looked at a handful of guys that the Twins would possibly consider at #5. Since that point, a lot has happened. As Carlos Rodon rebounded from a rough start and both Brady Aiken and Tyler Kolek jumped up draft boards, many people started projecting that Alex Jackson could be the target for the Twins. And then a few days ago, we started to hear whispers of the Twins potentially drafting Nick Gordon, a prep SS who has really started to impress lately. Those whispers got louder Wednesday morning when Kiley McDaniel released his Top 100 (but really 116). If that were true, it would be ok for the Twins too, as McDaniel had Gordon ranked #5 overall, behind only Aiken, Rodon, Hoffman and Kolek. If the Twins could get the "best player available" at their spot and do it while saving a few hundred thousand dollars... well, that would be the best news possible (for those who subscribe to the BPA theory anyway). It also didn't deviate far from what Chris Crawford thinks (where Gordon is slotted #6 behind the pitchers and Jackson) or what the MLB.com guys think (Gordon ranked #7). But you can see the divide - among experts anyway - though as Perfect Game had Gordon projected to go to the Giants at #14 in their most recent mock draft. And if nothing changed over the next month and the Twins did, in fact, cut a deal with Gordon, it would be fair to say that they did an ok job for themselves. But then things changed... in a hurry. At exactly 11:17 Wednesday morning, Kendall Rogers of Perfect Game tweeted that East Carolina RHP Jeff Hoffman would miss the rest of the season. At some point later, the news came out that he would be undergoing Tommy John surgery. All of a sudden, one of the guys many expected to be off the board by the time the Twins pick will no longer be considered by those same teams. And that deal the Twins could cut with Gordon? Well, now the Cubs are in a better position to make that same deal. McDaniel updated his list (Hoffman drops, Gordon up to #4 and Jackson follows at #5) and Crawford's mock draft (from Wednesday) follows suit: Nick Gordon may be off of the board before the Twins are up. That puts Alex Jackson (and Scott Boras) back in play. I wouldn't expect a discount there. But it also re-opens the chance that the Twins could go the pitching route - where many guys will be available and the team could probably save some money too. Guys like Aaron Nola, Tyler Beede, Kyle Freeland, and Erick Fedde may become more serious options. So why save the money? Well, it simply gives you more options with every other pick you make in the draft. There are a number of prep pitchers that may expect 1st round money that drop to the Twins in the 2nd round. There's also the chance that a guy drafted on the 3rd day could take some of that banked money and sign even though he didn't plan to. If you're looking for a list of those guys, it's too early for that. One guy you can take off that list is J.B. Bukauskas. Bukauskas reclassified into this class (effectively graduating early) to head to UNC early. He's seen a spike in velocity (touching 100) and had some first round steam. This week, he informed MLB teams that he'd like to go undrafted. This type of move isn't unprecedented, Josh Bell did the same thing only to sign for a record-breaking amount of money a few years ago. At the very least, though, on Wednesday we saw two top 50 prospects fall down, if not off, a lot of team's boards. And that's why the draft is so fun... we could have more draft-altering news tomorrow.

Seth and Jeremy will be live at 9pm on Tuesday. Right around the time the Twins are hopefully locking up their fourth consecutive win. We'd love to take your questions and you can leave them down below. Some topics we'll likely cover are: -How about this string of starts? -What's up with Josmil Pinto? -Shortstop position in flux? -Minor league roundup (including a look at the Futures Game)[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]-and more... If you miss the live show, you can always catch up on our webpage or on iTunes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6VMrrtxhDQ

The Twins started their road trip at Progressive Field on Monday night and got a stand-out performance from Kyle Gibson, a big hit from Eddie Escobar and, because it’s the minor league report, the first hit of Danny Santana’s big league career. Earlier Monday, the Red Wings announced that they’ve activated RP Deolis Guerra. The Miracle also made a bullpen swap, adding RP Brandon Peterson and DL'ing closer Brian Gilbert. In case you missed it yesterday, Dalton Hicks was placed on the DL to make room for the return of Byron Buxton. You can view these – and other moves and rosters – here. Moving on to the farm… Red Wings Report ROCHESTER 4, COLUMBUS 6 Box Score With Logan Darnell’s promotion and the Red Wings playing for the fifth(!) straight day, Rochester leaned on LHP Brooks Raley to make a spot start. Raley has worked exclusively out of the bullpen for the Red Wings, but made 25 starts for the Iowa Cubs (PCL) last year, so this wasn’t an entirely new experience. Raley only lasted three innings (throwing 70 pitches), but escaped without giving up a run. It was a brief one hit, three walk, five strikeout performance. Ryan Pressly wasn’t great in relief and allowed three runs on four hits. He lasted only two innings. His ERA is up to 5.52. Matt Hoffman allowed one run in two innings and got four outs on the ground. A.J Achter gave up a two-run blast in the eighth inning to take the loss. James Beresford provided all of Rochester’s offense on one swing – a grand slam. His second career home run. He also had three of the team’s seven hits. Oswaldo Arcia and Eric Fryer added doubles. Rock Cats Review NEW BRITAIN 3, TRENTON 2 (10 INNINGS) Box Score After Lester Oliveros gave up the go-ahead run in the top half of the 10th inning, it looked like the Rock Cats might drop another game below .500. The offense, which had been pretty anemic for the first nine innings, had other ideas. It started with a Reynaldo Rodriguez double and was followed by a Danny Ortiz bunt single. A wild pitch advanced Ortiz to second. Brandon Waring was walked to load the bases with nobody out. Matt Koch "batted" in the game-tying run by letting ball four fly by. Tony Thomas reached on a fielder’s choice. The choice, probably obviously, was to get Ortiz out at home. Corey Wimberly came up with the bases still loaded and promptly drove a pitch to right field to score the winning run, in walk-off fashion. It should also be mentioned that New Britain didn’t score their first run until the bottom of the ninth, when Nate Hanson doubled home Wimberly. Matt Summers pitched five innings of one-run ball. He struck out four and walked one. Daniel Turpen (two innings) and Ryan O’Rourke (one inning) both pitched hitless innings while posting K/9’s of 18.00. Lester Oliveros picked up the win, after leaving the game in line for the loss. Because that’s how baseball works. The benches also cleared after Matt Koch was run in to trying (successfully) to make an out at home. No managers were injured during the disagreement. Miracle Matters FORT MYERS 3, BRADENTON 2 Box Score Day 2 of Return of the Buxton was identical to Day 1: 0-for-3, two strikeouts. (He did have an outfield assist.) The Miracle pick up the win despite only getting two hits (including a Mike Gonzales double) and a walk on Monday. It helped that that all came in the first inning. They added an insurance run in the third as the result of an error. The Miracle were facing Tyler Glasnow, a top prospect who was throwing 98 mph cheese. Matt Tomshaw is credited with the win. He pitched six innings, gave up six hits, allowed an unearned run and struck out two. Mason Melotakis allowed one run in 2.1 innings. He walked and struck out one. Madison Boer picked up save #4 for working the last 2/3 of an inning. Kernels Nuggets CEDAR RAPIDS 5, QUAD CITIES 2 Box Score The Kernels got another strong outing from Ethan Mildren on Monday. The tall righty allowed four hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out only two, but surrendered only two runs and one was unearned. Brandon Bixler picked up the win, but walked three in two innings. Hudson Boyd picked up his 5th save with a hitless ninth inning. The Kernels were aided by four River Bandit errors. Offensively, Zach Larson drove in two runs on two hits. Logan Wade had two hits (one double) and Engelb Vielma had two hits (and drove in a run on sac-fly). Bryan Santy had a two-run double. Ivory Thomas reached base four times (one hit, three walks). Vielma and Larson each stole a base. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY HITTER: James Beresford, Rochester PITCHER: Matt Tomshaw, Fort Myers TUESDAY’S PROBABLES: Rochester @ Columbus (5:35 PM Central) – Kris Johnson (Listen) Trenton @ New Britain (5:35 PM Central) – Taylor Rogers (Listen) Bradenton @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM Central) – Brett Lee (Listen) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (7:00 PM Central) – Josue Montanez (Listen) --- The Danny Santana photo was taken by Ben Garvin of the Pioneer Press and used in a March 3 article. --- ~~~ The Twins beat the Indians on Monday so you can get a half price large or XL pizza from PapaJohns.com by using the promo code 'twinswin' on Tuesday!

Seth and Jeremy will be live at 9pm on Tuesday. (There may or may not be a baseball game to watch in the background.) We'd love to take your questions and you can leave them down below. Some topics we'll likely cover are: -The current state of the pitching staff (and possible solutions). -Will this walk rate continue? -How about Monday night's minor league pitchers!? -Minor league roundup (including a look at the Futures Game) -Buyers or Sellers (or both or neither?) -and more... [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]If you miss the live show, you can always catch up on our webpage or on iTunes. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9lqFmZkfzY

With the Twins off on Monday, the focus of the sports world in the state of Minnesota is on the Wild, as they work to force a game seven against the Avalanche. Byron Buxton returned to Extended Spring games yesterday and was rusty. Minor League Director Brad Steil said today that Buxton should be joining the Miracle within two weeks. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Charlotte 0 Box Score Alex Meyer was brilliant again tonight. Up to 100 pitches (65 strikes), Meyer picked up AAA win #1 tonight. He fanned 11 (for the second straight game) and allowed no earned runs. In six innings, he allowed six runners - two hits, three walks and a hit by pitch. With this newfangled change-up, Meyer might just be forcing his way into the Twins starting rotation. Of course, my personal opinion is that the Twins will probably hold off bringing Meyer up until the Super-2 deadline passes (in early- to mid-June). The Matts (Hoffman and Guerrier) closed out the final three innings, with Guerrier picking up a Triple A save. Chris Parmelee doubled to drive in the only run of the game. Doug Bernier doubled, Danny Santana and James Beresford added singles in the Red Wings four-hit game. Santana also stole a base. In his third rehab game, Oswaldo Arcia went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and a walk. At 13-11, the Red Wings are tied for second in the IL South, a half game behind the PawSox. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 0, Harrisburg 9 Box Score You could pretend that the Rock Cats didn't play today and skip down to the Miracle recap... Otherwise, if you're looking for good news, you could stop reading after hearing the the Rock Cats pitchers struck out 15. (Summers 1, Fuller 4, Salcedo 7, O'Rourke 3.) If you want the full story though, Summers got rocked (six runs - five earned - and five outs), Salcedo had an interesting night (with all the strikeouts, he still gave up three runs in 2.2 innings), and the offense was brutal (Matt Koch and A.J. Pettersen provided all two of the New Britain hits). MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Bradenton 0 Box Score Jason Wheeler had a night worthy of the "Pitcher of the Day" award. His performance tonight - a complete game shutout - might be the first of its kind in the whole organization this year. Wheeler allowed only two hits and struck out three. Offensively, there are a number of guys who fit in the PMKI category. Niko Goodrum led the way, going 4-for-4 with a double, two stolen bases and three RBI. Dalton Hicks hit his first home run of the year. Levi Michael and Jorge Polanco both had two-hit games. Polanco, who also stole a base, is now hitting .364. Mike Gonzales and Travis Harrison added doubles. The Miracle (14-10) are now in a three-way tie for first in the FSL South Division. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Kane County 0 (6 innings - RAIN) Box Score Ryan Eades had arguably his best professional outing tonight in a rain-shortened, complete game shutout. Eades went all six innings, striking out six, walking one and allowing only three hits. The offense did just enough, getting a Bryan Haar sac fly RBI to follow up a Mitch Garver double to score the game's lone run. The win cuts the Kane County lead over the Kernels to 3.5 games. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – (three-way Twitter-vote tie) Alex Meyer, Rochester; Jason Wheeler, Fort Myers; Ryan Eades, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Cartier "Niko" Goodrum, Fort Myers MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Charlotte @ Rochester (10:35 CST) – Kris Johnson (Listen) New Britain @ Harrisburg (6:00 CST) – Taylor Rogers (Listen) Bradenton @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey (Listen) Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Ethan Mildren (Listen)

This is the second in a series of (somewhat) weekly installments leading up to the June 5th through 7th draft. The focus is intended to be very Twins-specific. --- We’re getting to the point of the draft season where the focus really gets focused down to a handful of players. Teams drafting at or near the top will send out their most-trusted decision makers to get an idea of how they stack up compared to the best around the nation. The Twins are no different. If you haven’t been paying attention to the early-season rumors and rankings, you can start right here. There’s a ton of draft stuff out – not only on this site – but everywhere. I’m going to do my best to get you caught up-to-date on the guys most likely to hear their name called by the Twins in early June. Last week I previewed the local prospects that could get drafted. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]--- We entered this season with what was perceived to be a sure-fire 1.1 in Carlos Rodon. Jeff Hoffman made waves in the Cape Cod League and early in the college season Tyler Beede showed that his command issues might be things of the past. Then the high school season kicked off and the top right- and left-handed pitchers (Tyler Kolek and Brady Aiken) both took significant steps forward. Not to mention, the lone position player that we’ll talk about, Alex Jackson, has answered some questions about his bat that seemed to pop up earlier this spring. There have also been some other college pitchers who have gained some steam lately. So where does that leave us? Well, it leaves us with six (and you could make the argument for more) names that should figure to be front and center a handful of Thursdays from now. Before we go through the names, let’s look at the teams that draft before the Twins. #1 – Astros – This marks the 3rd straight season that the Astros have the pick of the litter. But this year should be different. The window should begin to open for the Astros to compete. They recently called up top-prospect George Springer and more may be on the way up in the near-future. The Astros went high-ceiling in 2012 and followed that up with best current player in 2013. Which way will they go this time? It’s hard to say, but history suggests that the least likely route to go with 1.1 is a prep pitcher. Could they buck that trend? #2 – Marlins – Who knows what this group is thinking? This group also has the most available money to spend on the draft. I don’t know what they’re going to do, but I’d bet they try to make a splash. (See what I did there?) #3 – White Sox – This is the pick that intrigues me the most because it’s a team the Twins face roughly 67 times each year. The White Sox have typically shied away from prep pitchers and, really, prep players in generally, for the last 20 years. Of course, this is the highest the White Sox will have picked since 1990. #4 – Cubs – Theo and Co. have only been in charge a few years, but the patterns still remain: When picking in the single digits, they Cubs go with bats. There have been a couple notable exceptions over the last 25 years (Mark Prior and Kerry Wood), but those are the only exceptions. It might be hard to argue against it, too. Kris Bryant and Javier Baez figure to be the heart of the Cubs order for years to come and they’ll be driving in Albert Almora in frequently. Those three guys? The Cubbies last three first draft picks. So again, where does that leave the Twins? Well, actually, it leaves the Twins in a pretty enviable position. Maybe. In their most recent draft rankings, all of Perfect Game, Baseball America and ESPN (Keith Law) ranked prep LHP Brady Aiken as the #1 prospect. A former high-school teammate of current Twins farmhand Stephen Gonsalves, Aiken came out of the chute with improved velocity to go with two other quality pitches. Earlier reports indicated that Aiken had been clocked as high as 97 mph, but in his latest start was low-90s with his max speed hitting 94 mph. My personal take on Aiken is that if the draft were today and he made it to the Twins at #5, they would take him. My other take is that he won’t, and the Twins will be OK with it. The UCLA commit, who is being represented by Casey Close (he of the recent $700 million summer), will never set foot on campus. If the Astros pass (I think they will), I think the White Sox are Aiken’s landing spot. Entering the season, prep RHP Tyler Kolek was the big body with the big fastball. He was also the most highly-regarded prep pitcher in the 2014 class. Despite being jumped over by Aiken by all of Perfect Game, Baseball America and ESPN, Kolek has still seen his prospect star rise and is the consensus #2 prospect on all the draft boards. One report had him clocked at 103 at one point in his last start, though that’s been disputed by a reputable source. Regardless, 100 mph fastballs, 90 mph sliders and 80 mph curveballs coming from a big, durable frame is not going to get passed up by many teams. (Keith Law offers a slightly different scouting report in his latest piece, but point remains the same: He’s a stud.) According to a recent draft chat at Perfect Game, one area scout said there is no way that the Twins don’t take Kolek if he is available to them. I’d believe that as there is no way they have a lower grade on Kolek than they did on Kohl Stewart last year, the #4 overall pick. The problem is, I don’t see any way that Kolek falls past the Cubs and he probably doesn’t even make it that far. Kolek doesn’t live far from Houston and I could see him going first overall. North Carolina State LHP Carlos Rodon had been one of the best collegiate pitchers in both his freshman and sophomore years. The problem is that Rodon hasn’t been nearly as consistently good this spring. He doesn’t throw the gas that either Aiken or Kolek do, but he’s got a nasty slider. Also in the nasty column: his pitch count. He’s been abused this year, but I don’t think it’s going to matter at the end. It almost makes too much sense for the Marlins to take him and pair him up with Jose Fernandez (somewhat quickly) and try to make a run before Giancarlos Stanton hits his walk year. Rodon was drafted by the Brewers out of high school and is advised by the one and only Scott Boras. This is where, from the Twins perspective anyway, things get interesting. RHP Jeff Hoffman (East Carolina) had a crazy Cape summer. In his first go-around in the league (2012), he pitched 30 innings and struck out 30. He had two rough outings in the walk category, but still only ended up with 10. To go along with the 21 hits he allowed, his WHIP was still barely over 1.00. Fast-forward to 2013, down went the walks (5) and up went the strikeouts (33) in 24.1 innings. After starting off this spring slower than expected, Hoffman really picked it up in his last start, fanning a career-high 18 batters in eight innings. If he was the guy that fell through to the Cubs, I figured that would be his landing spot. Today, however, news broke that Hoffman started experiencing pain in his throwing arm – with some reports saying it’s his elbow – and that he’ll miss his next two starts. This could be a monkey wrench that really screws with the Twins plans. Someone that could enter the mix is prep C Alex Jackson. Jackson, who is committed to Oregon, is also represented by Scott Boras. His tools, which consist of a strong arm, the ability to stick at catcher, and a bat that offers both average and the potential for power, could get him into the Top 5 picks. There’s also some who believe he could take the Wil Myers path to the bigs. You know, the path that starts at catcher but the bat plays so well you have to move him quickly. The Cubs could be chomping at the bit to add him to the stable of talented hitters. So, what if Hoffman’s injury is more serious and the three pitchers and Jackson are off the board? Enter Evansville LHP Kyle Freeland. Get this: Freeland has thrown 64 innings so far this year and only walked four batters. I’m not going to say those words. But the Twins value guys that don’t issue walks. But wait there’s more! He’s struck out 87 batters, too. You might say, “Evansville?” But I might say, “San Diego State?” or “FGCU?” Freeland could be a stud. Are there questions right now? Sure. Delivery questions due to a lower arm angle that takes more effort that you want to see. But the combination of a low-90s fastball with a swing-and-miss slider/cutter and a changeup in the works, don’t sleep on this guy at #5. There are other players too that should get some consideration. Guys like RHP Tyler Beede , Vanderbilt and RHP Aaron Nola, LSU are guys that should come off the board in the Top 10 picks. Feel free to leave your thoughts, comments and questions below. ~~~ Since the Twins outlasted the Rays 9-7 on Thursday, today (Friday) you can get 50% off a L or XL pizza from PapaJohns.com if you use the 'TWINSWIN' promo code. ~~~