Jeremy Nygaard

Join Seth and I tonight at 9:00 pm. If you have any questions or comments, please leave below. Miss the live show? No problem! You can listen here or download here. Some topics on the agenda include: The fast start of Kyle Gibson, a new Trevor Plouffe, who's Sam Fuld?, and a glimpse into the future with the draft just a couple months away. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkZenKxXMf0

The title of today's article is based on Rihanna's "Diamonds", which I heard on KDWB today and which was written in less than 15 minutes. Not a coincidence, it took longer than 15 minutes to write the following report. The Twins had an off day yesterday and return to action this evening against the Tampa Bay Rays. Kyle Gibson will look to continue his early season success. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]All apologies for having this go up later than normal. But now that we're back up and running, the report goes up as usual. RED WINGS REPORT ROCHESTER 5, SYRACUSE 2 Box Score A couple who were recently dismissed from the 40-man roster helped the Red Wings get back over .500. Scott Diamond turned in his best outing of the season (by far!) en route to picking up his first victory this year. His six solid innings, where he allowed seven hits and two walks, were enough for Rochester’s bats to pick up the win. Diamond allowed two runs and struck out three. He threw 90 pitches (61 strikes). A.J. Achter picked up a three-inning save. He struck out four batters while allowing one hit. He also hit a batter. Chris Parmelee has continued his hot play. Parmelee was 3-for-4 tonight and hit his third home run of the season. He drove in two and also reached base after he was hit by pitch. Over his last four games, he is 10-for-17 with three extra base hits (two home runs), a walk and five runs batted in. Danny Santana and Eric Farris both added two hits and a stolen base. Doug Bernier and Wilkin Ramirez doubled. ROCK CATS REVIEW NEW BRITAIN 4, NEW HAMPSHIRE 7 (14 innings) Box Score The Rock Cats have been pretty terrible this year, but were having so much fun today they decided to play 14 innings (or 4 hours, 37 minutes). Pat Dean got the team off to a good start, scattering three runs (two earned) over 5.1 innings. He allowed six hits and three walks. He struck out three and gave up two home runs. The bullpen did an excellent job. Cole Johnson (two Ks) went 1.2 innings. Matt Guerrier was charged with a blown save, but the run was unearned. Lester Oliveros pitched two scoreless frames. Dan Turpen (5 outs) and Ryan O’Rourke (1 out) contributed hitless outings. Adrian Salcedo was asked to pitch a longer outing and struggled. He got six batters out, but walked one, allowed three hits, threw two wild pitches and committed a throwing error. This led to three runs (two earned) and his second loss of the season. The defense behind the pitchers was shaky at best. Aderling Mejia and Kennys Vargas both had “missed catch” errors. But the pitchers didn’t help themselves either, with both Salcedo and Turpen committing errors of their own. The bats went cold after the 4th inning. The Rockcats scored four in the first four innings, but managed zero runs over the final 10 frames. Nate Hanson had two hits, including a home run. Brandon Waring doubled in his multi-hit game. Tony Thomas, Danny Ortiz and Vargas also had two-hit games. Of issue was the team going 3-for-16 with RISP and leaving 13 runners on base. MIRACLE MATTERS FORT MYERS 2, JUPITER 3 Box Score Alex Wimmers had another solid start, though this one wasn’t as good as the last one. He pitched five innings, allowing five hits and walking three. He allowed two runs and struck out four in a no-decision. Steven Gruver took the loss, giving up a run in two innings. Madison Boer walked one in a scoreless inning. Offensively, the Miracle struggled, going 2-for-11 with RISP and left 10 men on base. Levi Michael hit his fifth double. Niko Goodrum hit his third triple. Mike Gonzales and Max Kepler both had two hits. Jorge Polanco went 0-for-3, but is still batting .333. He hasn’t been without struggles though. Tonight he committed his 10th error, and was picked off/caught stealing. It’s a tribute to him that he’s been able to keep his troubles out of the batter’s box though, and you have to wonder how long he’ll get a shot to continue at shortstop (especially when neither Michael or Goodrum would be any worse). Doug Mientkiewicz was ejected in the 8th inning. KERNELS NUGGETS CEDAR RAPIDS 3, PEORIA 5 Box Score The Kernels blew an early lead and then regained it… only to lose it again in the 8th inning. They were unable to battle back in the 9th inning and fell to 9-8 on the season. Aaron Slegers went 5.2 innings allowing three runs on five hits and three walks. He struck out five before turning the ball over to Brandon Bixler. Bixler walked two and struck out two, allowing one hit in 1.1 innings. Christian Powell took the loss, surrendering two runs on two hits and a walk. He struck out three in his first decision of the year. Jason Kanzler was the lone player to get multiple hits. Kanzler also doubled. Bryan Haar doubled. Chad Christensen tripled and Zack Larson homered. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Scott Diamond, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Chris Parmelee, Rochester Red Wings TUESDAY’S PROBABLES: Rochester at Pawtucket (5:15 CST): Logan Darnell Fort Myers vs Jupiter (5:35 CST): Jason Wheeler New Britain at New Hampshire (5:35 CST): Virgil Vasquez Cedar Rapids at Peoria (6:30 CST): Ryan Eades

After yesterday's off-day, the Twins are back tonight and so is the newest edition of Twins Hangouts. Seth and I will cover the last week of action in Twins Territory - the .500 big league club and the early success of the four affiliates. So grab your favorite beverage, pop some popcorn, turn down the lights and the volume on the television and join us as we hangout and talk Twins. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P5hrSwbtTQ If you have questions for us to answer, please leave them below.

The Twins enjoyed an off-day today. Tomorrow is Jackie Robinson Day around baseball and the Twins kick off a three-game series with the Blue Jays. On the farm, it was a big day for multiple former first-round picks. Make sure you're checking out the other stories featured on the front page and if you're so inclined, join Seth and me tomorrow night on the latest edition of Twins Hangouts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Pawtucket 9 Box Score The Wings dropped a rain-shortened game to the PawSox tonight (at least it appeared like it was going to be rain-shortened when they pulled the tarp in the top of the 9th). Trevor May couldn't build off the gem he had last game and was only able to retire one batter in the 5th inning of tonight's game. He gave up four runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out four and threw 84 pitches (54 strikes). Brooks Raley, who currently holds the belt as the 40th man on the 40-man, gave up five hits, a walk and three runs in one inning. Edgar Ibarra and A.J. Achter didn't do much better, both allowing runs in their innings-plus of work. Danny Santana was the offensive highlight, with his two triples and three total hits. Eduardo Nunez added a double and Eric Fryer had a two-hit game. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 2, New Hampshire 3 Box Score The highlight of this game was likely the debut of former (and potentially future Twin) Matt Guerrier. Matt Guerrier was recently activated from Rochester’s DL and sent to New Britain. He pitched one innings, throwing 20 pitches, 16 for strikes. He struck out two. Pat Dean made the start and allowed one run in four innings. He struck out one and was removed after only 60 pitches. The weather was not great, with a 35-minute delay likely playing into the short start. Dan Turpen took the loss in his season debut. He allowed two runs in two innings. Jim Fuller pitched a hitless final frame. The offense turned in a pretty dismal performance. Reynaldo Rodriguez provided two of the team’s four hits, including a home run. Brandon Waring added a double and Kennys Vargas drove in the team’s other run. To make room for Matty G., the Rock Cats removed B.J. Hermsen from the roster and sent him to Extended Spring Training. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Charlotte 3 Box Score The Miracle improved to 7-4 with a convincing win over Charlotte Stone Crabs. The story of tonight’s game was the start of Alex Wimmers. I was clearly excited about Wimmers getting back into the rotation, as the following message I sent to Seth last night shows: As always, Seth the Optimist shared my enthusiasm. It got off to a bit of rocky start when Wimmers allowed a double to the first batter he faced and then balked that runner over the third. Of course, the former Big Ten Pitcher of the Year has faced his share of adversity over the last handful of years, so he barely blinked… and then retired the next 18 (!) batters he faced. His final line of six innings looked fantastic: 6 IP, H, 6 K. He was sitting in the high-80s, but throwing his changeup and curveball effectively. If you remember, as an amateur he could dial it up to the mid-90s and had a silly changeup. He’s starting to piece it all back together, so don’t fall asleep on Wimmers as a prospect yet. Matt Tomshaw picked up the three-inning save despite giving up three runs on three hits. He struck out four. The offense came to play tonight too. Despite slow starts by both Max Kepler (0-for-5, now batting .094) and Adam Walker (0-for-5 and batting a powerful .205), the Miracle offense has still shown life. Tonight’s 18-hit, 7-extra-base-hit performance was solid proof of that. Travis Harrison, batting 8th, went 5-for-5 with two runs, a double and an RBI. He’s now batting .286. He was 5-for-30 (.167) with a double and an RBI for the season before the game. Levi Michael is showing some prospect-life too. Tonight, he provided a 4-for-5 night with two runs, a double and a walk. Jorge Polanco drove in two runs and is now batting .400 after a two-hit game including a double. Dalton Hicks came up a home-run short of the cycle. He also walked twice and drove in three. (But somehow failed to score a run.) Niko Goodrum also had two hits and is still batting a robust .325. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 4 Box Score The Kernels improved to 8-3, winning their sixth straight, with a walk-off win tonight on a chilly night in Cedar Rapids. Aaron Slegers made the start and allowed four runs in five innings. He walked one and struck out three. The bullpen combo of Brandon Bixler (2 IP, BB, 3 K) and Hudson Boyd (2 IP, BB, 2 K, Win) closed out the game with four hitless innings. Bryan Haar led the offense (again) with three hits, including a triple. Mitch Garver also added three hits, his last an infield hit to the pitcher that scored the winning run. Tanner Vavra had two hits (one double). The Kernels entered the ninth inning down two runs. The winning sequence started with a Joel Licon walk. Logan Wade advanced Licon to second on a pinch-hit single. Jeremias Pineda failed to advance the runners on a bunt attempt before flying out. Jason Kanzler drove in Licon with a single. Tanner Vavra followed that with another single to load the bases. That brought Zack Larson, who has been the Kernels most dangerous hitter. Larson coaxed a walk to tie the game. Finally, Garver drove in Kanzler to win the game. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Fort Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Fort Myers Miracle MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pawtucket @ Rochester (6:05 CST) – Scott Diamond (Listen) New Britain @ New Hampshire (4:35 CST) – D.J. Baxendale (Listen) Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:30 CST) – Jason Wheeler (Listen) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – Ryan Eades (Listen)

This is the first in a series of weekly installments leading up to the June 5th through 7th draft. The focus is intended to be very Twins-specific. --- As we are all well aware, the Twins have been very active in drafting players out of their own backyard. While this includes Joe Mauer and Glen Perkins, it's also happened 10 times in the last five drafts. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] That is only the players drafted directly from the state and doesn't count players such as Madison Boer and Brandon Peterson, two players who played in the state as preps before moving out of state to play collegiately. All told, the Twins still seem smitten by the talent that's developed in-state and while they don't necessarily take these players early in the draft, they still seem to take them. The point of the following list is to make you aware of some players who are competing locally who are considered draft prospects for the 2014 draft. The Twins may select one, three, five or none of them. But it's fun to know about them nonetheless. There are no Ryan Boldts or Logan Shores in this draft. Or even Mitch Browns. But there still a handful of preps to keep your eyes on as the early June draft approaches. Sam Hentges (LHP, Mounds View HS) is a big-bodied (6-6, 240) lefty who is committed to going to Arkansas next fall. Though Hentges doesn't possess the blazing fastball you might expect from such a big guy (mid-80s who occasionally hit 88 last fall), he does have good mechanics and good control. He's also developing a decent curveball. Hentges also handles the bat well (as a first baseman), so it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him take his two-way ability to Fayetteville for three seasons. The #1-ranked prep in the state according to Perfect Game, Hentges could slip into the back half of the Top 10 rounds if he shows a willingness to sign, though the likelihood is he won't sign and that will push where he gets drafted into the 20-30 round range (much like it did to Shore last year). Nick Rooney (OF, Minnetonka HS) checks in as Perfect Game's #2 prospect in the state. Rooney was Minnetonka's starting quarterback on the football team and is known for his confident - we'll call it - flair. Rooney, who isn't committed anywhere in either football or baseball, shows up to school each day decked out in a suit and tie. Not overly big (6-1, 185) or fast, Rooney gets the most out of what he has and will be someone to keep an eye on this spring. It wouldn't be surprising to see him take his two-sport ability to St. Cloud State, where both his parents attended and his dad played football. Connor Herd (LHP, Holy Family (Victoria) Catholic HS) is a long, projectable (6-4, 180) lefty who is committed to Mercer. Some other preps to keep an eye on in the state of Minnesota are: C Toby Hanson (Delano HS committed to Minnesota), LHP Dalton Lehnen (Lakeville HS committed to Cincinnati) and RHP Michael Baumann (Mahtomedi HS committed to Jacksonville). The player who may be the best "local prep" out of this class, though, falls just on the other side of the Mississippi from Winona. Jeren Kendall (OF, Holmen (WI) HS) is the son of former Phillies farmhand Jeremey Kendall. The Minnesota tie - if proximity isn't good enough - is that his dad was drafted out of Winona State. Though his mom attended school there too, it's not going to be enough to keep him (near) home. If he forgoes signing - which he's recently said he isn't even thinking about - he'll spend the next three seasons at Vanderbilt, a school which traditionally gets most of its commits to sign. Kendall is already showing sub-4.0 second speed from home to first and that speed plays up on the basepaths and in center field. That just leaves his bat to question and even that has shown a lot of improvement. Kendall currently isn't showing up in National Top 50s, but once his season gets going, we could see a guy who starts to get Top 2 Round consideration. Do the Twins need another center fielder? Well, if they make their first two picks count with impact arms, Kendall could be a steal in Round 3 regardless of what's already on the Twins' shelves. There is also one more very intriguing name. And it's intriguing because his grandfather was one of, if not the greatest Minnesota Twin ever: Harmon Killebrew. Grant Hockin (RHP, Pomona, CA) is a 6-3, 195 righty with good baseball in his genes. He's not overpowering, but he throws four solid pitches that he commands well. Doesn't this just sound like something the Twins need to do? Already 18, Hockin is committed to UCLA. Let's just make him a Twin right now. There are also some college guys with Minnesota pasts to know about as the draft comes around: Pat Kelly (2B, Nebraska by way of Red Wing HS) was probably the lead recruiter when it came to getting Ryan Boldt to Lincoln. But Kelly's not a bad ballplayer himself. He just returned to his home state and helped the Cornhuskers sweep the Gophers. While he didn't do a ton offensively over the course of the series, he's still batting over .300 as the cleanup hitter. Kelly might be best off returning for his senior year of college, but could easily be someone that piques the Twins interest on the 3rd day of the draft. Ben Meyer (RHP, Minnesota by way of Totino-Grace HS) is a tall, skinny (6-5, 180) pitcher who is probably the only draft-eligible Gopher to make a positive impression on area scouts. LHP Dalton Sawyer (Waconia HS) is only a sophomore, but he will be sure to draw attention next season. --- If you have any questions or comment, please feel free to leave them below. I'll also take suggestions on where you'd like to see this series go next. ~~~ Thanks to the Twins win over the Royals on Sunday, it means that on Monday you can get 50% off a Large or Extra Large pizza when you use the “TWINSWIN” promotion code at PapaJohns.com.

It was another fantastic day in Twins Territory. I’m obviously talking about today’s weather in comparison to the weather we had over the past six months. Oh, you came to read about baseball? Well, in that case, just be happy that you have a job that required you to work this afternoon. If you happened to watch the game, I’m sorry. The A’s completed their three-game sweep in convincing fashion. And Mike Pelfrey needed 104 pitches to get through five innings. No, you’re not coming down with the flu. We all taste vomit in the backs of our mouths right now.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] On the other hand, the season is still early and – as I said on Tuesday night’s Twins Hangout – it literally can’t get worse. I mean, technically, it could get a little worse. But that’s just not likely to happen. So we’ll all watch tomorrow night. And we’ll all pretend that we didn’t feel a little bit excited when the Twins were tied for an AL Wild Card spot only four days ago. But let’s think about happier times. Like the future! And let’s talk about those Future Twins. "How do you feel about winters in Minnesota, Ryan?" "You're joking right?" RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Lehigh Valley 2 Box Score After losing their first two games at Buffalo, the Red Wings have now extended their winning streak to four games. Ah, the much-anticipated debut of Eduardo Nunez. Nunez started at third base and batted sixth. While he did go 2-for-3, he did commit a fielding error and was removed in what appeared to be a defensive replacement-type move later in the game. If you’re scoring at home, most future starting shortstops aren’t replaced for defensive purposes late in AAA games. (Which is why Nunez doesn’t fit into that category in the first place.) Offensively, the Red Wings were paced by Deibinson Romero (3-for-4, BB, 2B, RBI) and Wilkin Ramirez (2-for-2, R, 2 BB, 2 2B). Eric Fryer also had two hits, including a double, while driving in two runs. Logan Darnell pitched a gem, but exited too early to get credit for the win. In four innings (and 70 pitches), Darnell allowed only one hit and one unearned run. He walked three and struck out five. Because it was his season debut after a long layoff, he was on a strict pitch limit. Edgar Ibarra struck out three in two scoreless innings to earn the win. Brooks Raley gave up a run on two hits and two walks in 1.2 innings. He also struck out three. Michael Tonkin closed it down with a four-out save. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain 4, Portland 6 Box Score New Britain drops to 3-4 after their comeback fell short. Daniel Ortiz grounded out to end the game with runners on the corners. Kennys Vargas had his second consecutive multi-hit game and second consecutive game with an extra base hit. Tonight, it was a double. He added an RBI, but also struck out twice. Nate Hanson and Aderling Mejia (who committed his fourth error) both added two-hit games as well. Corey Wimberly stole two bases. D.J. Baxendale battled through six innings and 93 pitches. His final line included five earned runs on eight hits and a walk. He struck out four. Virgil Vasquez, who earlier in the day was activated off Rochester’s DL, pitched an inning in relief and gave up a run. Adrian Salcedo pitched the final scoreless frame, striking out one. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 6, Charlotte 1 Box Score The Miracle improved to 6-1 on the season and all Dougie Baseball does is win, win, win, no matter what. There was something that jumped out of the box score. It’s probably unique to tonight’s writer, but it’s a crazy stat that has to be talked about. I’m talking about Adam Walker getting caught stealing. Yes, you’re not reading about the home run that Walker hit tonight. You’re reading about him stealing. Or more accurately not stealing. Here’s what’s crazy about it. As a collegiate, Adam “Forrest” Walker was successful 40 times in 41 tries. So far as a pro, he was 14-for-14. So tonight’s “CS” was only the second time he’s been caught in 56 attempts since leaving the state of Wisconsin after high school. Maybe he just thought he'd run until he stopped feeling like running. And tonight, he didn't feel like running. But enough of that, Walker did hit another home run (his 3rd). Levi Michael, Dalton Hicks and Stuart Turner all doubled. Jorge Polanco had two singles. Max Kepler… well, he went 0-for-3. Niko Goodrum continues his hot start (1-for-3, RBI), but also committed a fielding error at 3rd, his second of the year. Tyler Duffey improved to 2-0. He went six innings, allowing an unearned run on four hits and two walks. He struck out four and lowered his ERA to 2.25. David Hurlbut pitched two scoreless frames. Madison Boer pitched around a walk to pick up his first save of the season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 11, Great Lakes 2 Box Score The Kernels jumped out to a quick start (3 runs in the first two innings) and continued to score runs (including 4 in the fourth and 3 in the ninth inning) to cruise to an 11-2 victory and put together their first multi-game winning streak of the season. The lineup – which included three players playing a position for the first time this year – collected 11 hits, including five extra-base hits and was led by Jason Kanzler, who was making his first appearance of the season. Batting leadoff, Kanzler, who joined the Kernels from EST after starting CF Zack Granite was placed on the 7-day DL with a left rotator cuff strain, went 3-for-5 with a double and a walk, scoring two runs and driving in three. He also stole his first base of the season. In a balanced lineup, where only Bo Altobelli failed to get a hit, Logan Wade (single, triple, two RBI) was the only player besides Kanzler to produce a multi-hit game. Mitch Garver, Chad Christensen and Tanner Vavra added doubles. Engelb Vielma stole his first base of the young season. While the offense certainly came to play today, so did starting pitcher Ryan Eades. A 2nd rounder from LSU, Eades made his second appearance of the year. (He took a loss in his first start.) Today, he was very impressive. Throwing seven(!) innings, Eades only allowed six hits. He struck out five, walking none. And the lone run he allowed, well, that was unearned. An ERA that entered the day at 5.79, exited at 2.31. (Call him up! Right?) “Life Ain’t Easy for a Boy Named” Josue Montanez pitched a perfect eighth inning before giving way to Brandon Peterson. Peterson allowed his first three batters to reach base (giving up a run), but finished off the game by striking out the last two batters. While MiLB.com lists Ethan Mildren as tomorrow’s starter (so that’s what you see below), the Kernels post-game release had tomorrow’s starter listed as “Do I Make You" Randy Rosario (0-1, 7.36) the probable pitcher. Either way, somebody will pitch. And that somebody might be able to do back flips from a standing position. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Ryan Eades, Cedar Rapids Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Deibinson Romero, Rochester FRIDAY'S PROBABLE STARTERS New Britain @ Portland (5:00 CST) – Taylor Rogers (0-1, 15.75) Fort Myers @ St. Lucie (5:30 CST) – Brett Lee (1-0, 3.18) Cedar Rapids @ Lansing (6:05 CST) – Ethan Mildren (1st appearance) Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (6:05 CST) – Alex “There’s Hope for the Future” Meyer (0-0, 3.60)

Join Seth and Jeremy tonight at 9pm. We'll talk all about the activity over the last seven days. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7oH_iXkAW0 [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Here's the event page if you would rather watch it there. If you have questions or comments, please leave them below.

Well, Opening Day didn't produce a win, but at least we know that for the next six months, we will have Minnesota Twins games to watch five to seven days a week. You also now that each Tuesday night, you can join Seth and I at 9:00 p.m. CST to talk about the Twins, their minor league affiliates and more. This week, we will recap the Twins Season Opener and preview the minor league affiliates. . Interact with us by asking questions here, on Twitter or during the live show. It will also be available on iTunes tomorrow. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv0ee-J-v10 As always, leave us your questions and/or comments.

Join Seth and I tonight as we talk about the latest developments in Twins Territory. Tonight's episode is brought to you by the Talk2Contact podcast. Yeah, those guys! We're less than a week from Opening Day, so we will have plenty to talk about. We also welcome any and all questions that you may have. Feel free to answer them here, or on Twitter, or live during the show. NOTE THE TIME CHANGE: We'll be pushing back the start time to 9pm, which will be our "regular-season-so-the-minor-league-games-are-finished-start-time." Cool? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLbYsQnK3B8 [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] You can view tonight's episode .If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Join us tonight at 8:30 to talk Twins Baseball. Seth is back home, so he should be less tired (in theory). Ask us lots of Twins and Twins minor league questions. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BZrKkh0o4XU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe> The show is also available on the too. You can view and all other episodes on our YouTube channel, download our shows on iTunes, or listen to them on our webpage.

It's a special Spring Training episode with Seth live in Fort Myers. If you have questions or comments, please leave them below. You can view and all other episodes on our YouTube channel, download our shows on iTunes, or listen to them on our webpage.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVTyvoEZREk

The Twins made their first round of cuts this morning. I figured this was as good of time as any to highlight some things that are important (to nerds like me) as the regular season opens and progresses. The Roster and Payroll page has been updated to include a lot of new information. It was mostly re-shuffling of where minor league guys might go. It also included the batch of most recent international signings. [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] PAYROLL One of the reasons that I started this page was to keep updated tabs on what the Major League payroll is. We often get reports about what the "Opening Day payroll" is but then after that there aren't many updates. Payroll fluctuates whenever there is a transaction. The other thing is that only the 2014 salaries would be included when figuring that payroll. There are a couple other things that affect that number. OPENING DAY PAYROLL: Without knowing exactly what the final group of 25 is going to look like, it's impossible to say where that number is going to fall. At this moment, we're looking at the neighborhood of $83 million. OTHER ITEMS TO CONSIDER: The Twins have three players on their rosters that have an option year at the end of their contracts. Those years can either be picked up or bought out. The "buyout" portion of those contracts are paid out over the life of the contract (up until the option year). The Twins have a $1m buyout on the fifth year of Nolasco's contract. The Twins will pay him an additional $250,000 each year for the next four years. Both Glen Perkins and Jared Burton are owed an extra $100,000 this year. Burton's option year is next year, while Perkins's doesn't happen until 2016. That adds an extra $450,000 to payroll. ARTICLE XX( FREE AGENTS: The Twins signed both Jason Kubel and Matt Guerrier to minor league contracts. Because those players are coming directly off of major league deals, they would have to be paid $100,000 to be assigned to the minor leagues. Both of these players - as well as Jason Bartlett - will make significantly more than league minimum if and when they do suit up for the Twins. INCENTIVES: Perkins and Burton both have clauses in their contracts that pay them more for "games finished". Perkins also has a unique clause that will increase his salary for 2015 based on the incentives he earns in 2014. Mike Pelfrey and Phil Hughes can both earn more money if they hit innings-pitched milestones. Anthony Swarzak can earn more money by making 10 starts. Kurt Suzuki has triggers in his contract that will pay him more, basically, for being the starting catcher. And both Kubel and Guerrier have incentives that will pay them for their performances too. CREDITS: While it's not common to sell a player's rights, the Twins did just that this year. In agreeing to release Andrew Albers, the Twins were paid about $500,000 by a Korean team. The exact figure is not known, but two outlets have confirmed the amount was very close to that $500,000. There also always remains the possibility of trading a player under contract and having that team pick up the contract. That happened last year with Morneau and saved the Twins almost $3 million. LOOKING AHEAD ARBITRATION: The Twins avoided the arbitration process this past off-season by agreeing to deals with Brian Duensing, Trevor Plouffe and Swarzak. Next year, the Twins could face arbitration with as many as eight players. Duensing will enter his third and final year of arbitration. Swarzak will enter his second year of arbitration. Plouffe will enter his second year too, but has three years remaining as he was a Super Two player last year. Vance Worley would exceed three years of service if he plays a full year in the majors. Scott Diamond, Casey Fien, Eduardo Escobar and Alex Presley all currently have less than two years of experience, but with one more full season should have more than the Super Two cutoff and be eligible for arbitration the first time (of four). ROSTER ADDS: The Twins will have to add players to their roster in November to avoid exposure in the Rule 5 draft, and it's never too early to speculate who those guys might be. Alex Meyer, Miguel Sano and (the good) Eddie Rosario are must adds. Sean Gilmartin, Corey Williams, Brett Lee, Jason Wheeler, Matt Summers, Tyler Jones, Randy Rosario and Yorman Landa are some pitchers that will be discussed. I led off with Gilmartin, Williams and Lee because they're left-handed. Rosario and Landa have not yet played full-season ball, but might have upsides that aren't worth exposing. Aderlin Mejia and Niko Goodrum are two hitters worth mentioning. Former first-round pick Levi Michael would also be eligible for the first time. Let's hope Levi puts together a monster season. FREE AGENTS: The trio of Kevin Correia, Kurt Suzuki and Josh Willingham all are entering their final season under contract and will be eligible for free agency five days after the conclusion of the World Series. --- Obviously, that's a lot of information to try to digest. If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments or contact me @jeremynygaard on Twitter. If there's anything that can't be covered on either of those avenues, send me an email at jeremynygaard1@gmail.com. Hope you enjoy!