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Bo Hellquist grew up in Savage and went to Burnsville High School where he helped his team to a state championship. The left-hander went to the University of Minnesota, in Duluth, where he was a two-way player until he began to focus solely on pitching. He was the Opening Night starter for the Duluth Huskies of the summer, college Northwoods League. UMD had an incredible 2016 season, and Bo Hellquist was a big part of it, posting a 7-2 record. However, he went undrafted. It wasn’t long after the draft the Hellquist got a call from the Twins. He spent the summer in Ft. Myers, pitching about once a week for the GCL Twins. Today, we are pleased that Hellquist was willing to take time to answer some questions for Twins Daily on his path to the Twins organization. It gives us an opportunity to Get to Know the left-hander. Feel free to ask questions and comments below.Get to know more about Minnesota, UMD pitcher, Twins signing and LHP Bo Hellquist. Seth Stohs (SS): Growing up in the Savage/Burnsville area, were you a big Twins fan? Did you get to a lot of games? Bo Hellquist (BH): Of course. Growing up just thirty minutes from the park, I always rooted for the Twins growing up. I got to my fair share of games over the years, but not nearly as many as I wanted to. SS: What were some of the better memories of your high school baseball career (like a state championship)? Did you play other sports or were you involved in other activities? BH: One of the better high school baseball memories that I have is when we won the state championship my junior season. It wasn’t only special just because we won it all, but it was the fashion in which we did. We were down five runs heading into the bottom half of the last inning and had been unable to get anything going those first six innings. Before I knew it, we were down only one run, bases loaded, two outs, and I was up to bat. I ended up hitting a single down the first base line, scoring two, and helped our team earn its first state title. It was a pretty unforgettable moment in my career and something that l will hold on to for a lifetime. Along with baseball, I was also a two-time intramural basketball champ at Burnsville high school. SS: What was the recruitment process like for you out of high school, and what was it about Minnesota-Duluth that made it the right choice for you? BH: Out of high school, I was getting looked at from a few Division II programs from around the MN and SD area along with some local DIII schools. I was eventually drawn towards the University of Minnesota-Duluth because not only was there a chance for me to see some time on the field my freshman year, but they were also willing to give me opportunities as both a pitcher and position player. Having the opportunity to be a two-way player was really something that I wanted to pursue heavily at the college level. Along with the baseball side of things, Duluth, as a city and college town was something that also drew me in. SS: You had some very strong teams at Duluth, particularly the last couple of years. What was the experience like, doing well as a team, watching your hitters launch homers all over the field and getting to pitch in such big games? BH: After starting off our freshman season 0-14 and not being able to play a home game until our junior season, it was a blast to finally have some success as a team. With one of the most powerful offenses in the nation it made it easy to go out there and compete knowing that no matter what happened out there on the mound, the offense was bound to put up some runs. Watching them hit 102 dingers in 55 games seemed surreal to me and anyone who was able to witness it. As for those big games, that’s where you want to be if you’re a pitcher. In my belief, there is no bigger thrill than having the ball in your hand with an opportunity to keep your championship hopes alive. SS: Did you have the chance to speak with many scouts before the 2015 or 2016 drafts? Was there any thought that you might be drafted? What was your interaction with Twins scout? BH: Not really. The only scout that I was really in contact with prior to the 2016 draft was the Twins area scout, Mark Wilson. After attending a workout at Target field a week prior to the draft, I thought there was a possibility of hearing my name called, but things didn’t work out that way. All I was looking for was an opportunity to play and that’s exactly what I got. SS: Following the draft, what was the process and what communication did you have before deciding to sign with the Twins? BH: . Following the draft, within minutes of it ending, I received a phone call from the scout who offered me a chance to sign a free agent contract with the Minnesota Twins, if I was willing. Considering that it had been a lifelong dream to play baseball at the next level, this was not an opportunity that I was going to pass up. SS: What has the adjustment like for you, from the amateur/college game to the professional game, both on and off the field? BH: One of the biggest adjustments that I had to make going to the professional game was learning to stay focused and attack every batter throughout the lineup. In the college game, I was able to get away with a few missed spots towards the bottom half of the order, but as the summer went on I realized that anybody on a given team has the ability to do damage to you in the box. SS: What pitches do you throw? When you’re pitching well, what are the keys to your success? What would you say are your biggest strengths? BH: Fastball, change up, slider. One of the keys to having success out there on the mound for me is being able to locate all three pitches when I want and working at my own pace throughout the inning. The pace thing is big for me. If I can work quickly while maintaining control of everything, I see it as an advantage in my favor. Some of my biggest strengths would be the movement that all my pitches have along with my competitive attitude. SS: What are the areas of your game that you would like to spend time working to improve in the offseason and going forward? BH: Some areas of my game that I would like to improve on would be my overall strength and the continuous development of my pitches. SS: Are you back at school in the offseason? What was your major in school? BH: I am not back at school this off season, but am still in pursuit of my major in Marketing. SS: Who are some of the people who have helped you get to this point in your career? BH: First off, I wouldn’t be where I am today without the continuous support from my family over the many years of playing ball. Along with my family, a lot of credit is due to the coaches I have had over the years who have helped guide me to this point in my career. SS: Favorite Baseball movie? BH: Rookie of the Year. Instant classic. Thanks again to Bo Hellquist for taking time to answer our questions. Feel free to discuss and ask questions. Click here to view the article

Short season pitchers can be tough to evaluate. One bad outing when players have limited innings can really skew a player's overall numbers. Should fans only be looking at the players who are starters? Can a relief pitcher be the best player on a short season team and the best short season pitcher? As evidenced by the ballots below, the Twins Daily minor league writing team had a tough time voting for this award. The overall winner was left off one person's ballot, was fifth on another ballot, but he was the only player to make it onto four ballots. The third place winner only made it on to two ballots, but he finished first on both of those ballots. And a relief pitcher came in second place!The five Twins Daily Minor League Report authors were asked to vote for the various awards. For the short-season pitcher of the year, we each voted for five players. The player who was voted as #1 received five points, #2 received four points and so on with the #5 vote receiving one point. Results were tabulated and can be found below. First, a reminder of our previous awards: Short-Season Hitter of the Year – Lewin DiazShort profiles of our top five are to follow, but first, some players worthy of honorable mention. Honorable Mention: Brady Anderson, GCL Twins: 13 G, 9 GS, 5-0, 1.43 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, 56.2 IP, 43 H, 0 BB, 42 K.Moises Gomez, GCL Twins: 13 G, 0 GS, 3-0, 1.38 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 29 H, 11 BB, 21 K.Miguel De Jesus, GCL Twins/ Elizabethton Twins : 11 G, 11 GS, 3-3, 2.38 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 53.0 IP, 37 H, 19 BB, 47 K.Pitcher of the Year Here are the top five vote-getters for Twins Short Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. #4 (Tie) –Tyler Wells, Elizabethton Twins: 10 GS, 5-2, 3.23 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 47.1 IP, 40 H, 17 BB, 59 K. Wells ended on quite the stretch for the E-Twins. He earned victories in his last four starts (24.1 IP) and he posted a 0.74 ERA and a 27 to 7 strikeout-to-walk ratio during that stretch. He lowered his ERA by 3.24 between July and August while decreasing his walk rate and his WHIP. Wells was particularly effective against right-handed batters as he collected 34 strikeouts compared to six walks over 112 at-bats. #4 (Tie) – Taylor Clemensia, GCL Twins: 11 G, 10 GS, 1-4, 2.47 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 43.2 IP, 27 H, 26 BB, 47 K. Clemensia joined the Twins organization this season after pitching last year in the Dutch Major League. He got off to a strong start as he allowed two earned runs and held opponents to a .083 batting average through his first four appearances. Walks have been the biggest struggle for Clemensia as he has allowed batters to get on base over 31% of the time. #3 – Bo Hellquist, GCL Twins: 11 GS, 3-2, 1.34 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 60.2 IP, 46 H, 15 BB, 49 K. Hellquist, an Edina native and a University of Minnesota-Duluth product, has been very consistent this season as he didn't allow more than one earned run in his first 10 appearances. In his last outing, he allowed three earned runs but he struck out six on the way to his fifth victory. His ERA was 2.50 or lower in each month of the season. Even though he is a lefty, Hellquist fared better against right-handed foes. Lefties posted a .705 OPS and a 9 to 2 strikeout to walk ratio (56 AB) while righties had a .571 OPS and a 37 to 5 strikeout to walk ratio (156 ABs). He struck out five or more batters in four of his eleven appearances and he never walked more than two batters in a game. #2 – Patrick McGuff, Elizabethton Twins/GCL Twins 22 G, 17 GF, 2-0, 2.27 ERA, 1.14 WHIP, 31.2 IP, 26 H, 10 BB, 42 K. During his professional debut, McGuff has shown plenty of positive signs. He started the year with four appearances out of the GCL Twins bullpen. He picked up two saves and only allowed three base runners during that stretch. He struck out nine and didn't issue a walk before being promoted to the E-Twins. He continued his hot pitching after being promoted. Through his first six appearances with Elizabethton, he didn't allow an earned run and he posted a 17 to 5 strikeout to walk ratio. Over his next four games, he allowed a pair of earned runs but he was still able to pick up saves in two of those outings. Across his last eight games (11.0 IP), he has earned a save or victory as the E-Twins were in the midst of the playoff hunt. Opponents were limited to a .275 SLG during this stretch and he had a 12 to 2 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Pitcher of the Year – Huascar Ynoa, GCL Twins : 11 G, 11 GS, 3-5, 3.88 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 51.0 IP, 44 H, 12 BB, 51 K. In his first year of baseball in the United States, Ynoa took a while to get the ball rolling. Through his first five appearances (27.1 IP), he had an 0-4 record but combined for a respectable 2.96 ERA with a 31 to 7 strikeout to walk ratio. Opponents were hitting .241/.299/.287 against him during this stretch but he wasn't able to earn a win. As the calendar flipped to August, Ynoa began to find his groove. He reeled off three straight wins to start the month when he pitched five innings in every outing and allowed only one earned run. He collected 13 strikeouts and only two walks through those three games as opponents were limited to a .426 OPS and a .243 BABIP. His last two starts were not as clean as he allowed nine runs (eight earned runs) in 8.2 innings of work. Batters were getting on over 32% of the time and he allowed more than a hit per inning. Even with this rough end to the season, Ynoa did well enough to be the Twins best short season pitcher. There you have it, the top pitchers in the short season leagues. The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Patrick McGuff, 2.) Moises Gomez, 3.) Huascar Ynoa, 4.) Jordan Balazovic, 5.) Taylor ClemensiaJeremy Nygaard – 1) Huascar Ynoa, 2.) Taylor Clemensia, 3.) Brady Anderson , 4.) Miguel De Jesus, 5.) Patrick McGuffCody Christie – 1) Bo Hellquist, 2.) Tyler Wells, 3.) Huascar Ynoa, 4.) Tyler Beardsley, 5.) Miguel De JesusSteve Lein – 1) Brady Anderson, 2.) Patrick McGuff, 3.) Tyler Wells, 4.) Miguel De Jesus, 5.) Huascar YnoaEric Pleiss – 1) Bo Hellquist, 2.) Taylor Clemensia, 3.) Colton Davis, 4.) Tyler Wells, 5.) Moises GomezFeel free to discuss. What do you think? How would you rank them? How would your ballot look? Click here to view the article

It's getting to that point in the season where minor league teams need to decide if they are contenders or pretenders. Players get promoted and demoted but each team has the goal of reaching the playoffs and finding success in the post-season tournament. Twins minor league squads have fared well in recent years. Can this year's crop of teams live up to those that have come before them? Read on to see which teams are trending in the right direction.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Durham 7 (10 Innings) Box Score It was Christmas in July night in Rochester but the Red Wings took a while to open their gifts to their fans. Darin Mastroianni led off the first inning with a triple and was driven in by a James Beresford sacrifice fly to put Rochester up 1-0 before the offense went into a Christmas freeze. Things picked up again in the eighth inning with Rochester trailing 6-1. After Wildfredo Tovar reached on a single and Logan Schafter walked, Darin Mastroianni was hit by a pitch to load the bases. James Beresford, who is in the midst of an eight-game hitting streak, drove in another pair of runs with a single. Jorge Polanco cleared the bases with his ninth home run. Pat Dean started for Rochester and allowed four runs on eight hits in six innings of work. Marcus Walden took over for Dean and gave up a pair of runs (one earned) in two frames. J.T. Chargois took the loss as he was asked to come out for a second inning of work and he couldn't make it out of the tenth. After getting the first batter to fly out, the next two men reached and he exited. Sean Burnett was on the mound when the go-ahead run was scored but it was charged to Chargois. Rochester remains 4.5 games behind first place Scranton/WB, which also lost on Tuesday night. It was the second straight extra-innings affair between these two teams with Durham winning both contests. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 3, Lakeland 5 Box Score Keaton Steele got off to a rough start in this one as the Flying Tigers pounced on him for two first inning runs. He would recover for a few innings before surrendering three more runs in the fifth inning. Steele went five frames and scattered seven hits while striking out six and walking three. His nine losses are tied for the second most in the Florida State League. The bullpen did well to keep the Miracle within striking distance. John Curtiss, Michael Theofanopoulos, and Nick Anderson combined to toss four shutout innings on three hits. None of the relief arms allowed a batter to get further than second base. It took a while for the Fort Myers offense to wake up in this one but the team tried to mount a comeback in the late innings. Alex Perez led off the eighth inning with a single in front of a TJ White walk. Following a ground out and a pop out, the runners were still in scoring position. LaMonte Wade brought them home with a three-run home run. It was the second straight loss for the Miracle after winning three straight over the weekend. The club currently sits at three games over .500 for the entire season. In the second half standings, they are 15-11 and are near the top of the Florida State League South. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Kingsport 8 Box Score If you are a fan of offense, there were plenty of fireworks in Elizabethton on Tuesday night. The E-Twins pounded out 13 hits but it took multiple comebacks for the squad to end up the victors. Elizabethton entered the sixth frame trailing 7-2 as starter Tyler Beardsley couldn't make it out of the fifth frame. He was charged with five earned runs (seven total runs) in 4.2 innings while striking out three and walking one. Quin Grogan and Johan Quezada allowed one unearned run the rest of the way to set the stage for what was to come. The E-Twins scored three runs in the sixth inning but only managed one hit in the frame, an RBI single from Alex Kirilloff. Before Kirilloff's hit, the first two batters reached with walks. Then a force attempt coaxed a throwing error by the second baseman to load the bases. A wild pitch and a ground out scored two runs before Kirilloff drove in the third run of the frame. In the next inning, the club continued their comeback. Mitchell Kranson singled and moved to second on a Caleb Hamilton walk. Andre Jernigan cracked his third double to drive in both runners and the score was now tied at 7-7. After allowing an unearned run in the top of the ninth, the E-Twins needed to find one more comeback. With one out, Jernigan reached on a fielding error to put some pressure on the pitcher. Luis Martinez flew out for the second out of the inning but Ariel Montesino walked to put the game-winning runner on base. After a pitching change, Shane Carrier ripped a double to score both runners and send the fans home happy. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 4, GCL Rays 2 Box Score After giving up a first inning run, Bo Hellquist settled in nicely for the GCL Twins. He scattered six hits over five innings while striking out seven and walking none. His season ERA dropped to 2.08 and this was his first professional victory. Hellquist, a Minnesota-Duluth product, set career highs in innings pitched and strikeouts. Garret Kelly picked up his second hold in relief of Hellquist by limiting the Rays to one base runner in two shutout innings. Callan Pearce got in a little trouble in the later innings but not enough to surrender the lead. He allowed one run, an unearned run, while striking out three and walking two in two innings. It was his second save and he has yet to allow an earned run this season. Jean Carlos Arias came up with the first big hit for the Twins. He drove in a pair of runs after Jhon Alvarez walked, Gorge Munoz was hit by a pitch and Heiker Meneses singled. This put the GCL Twins up 2-1 in the third frame. Things got a little wild in the sixth frame. Joe Cronin was hit by a pitch with one out in the inning. This was followed by a pair of wild pitches that allowed Cronin to move all the way around to third. Zach Featherstone drove him in with a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 3-1. Tyree Davis didn't want the scoring to end there. He singled and stole second before advancing to third on a throwing error by the catcher. He would come in to score on a wild pitch to cap the GCL Twins scoring for the day. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Bo Hellquist, GCL Twins (5 IP, 1 ER, 7 K, first professional win) Hitter of the Day – Tyree Davis, GCL Twins (3-for-4, 2 doubles) WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Durham @ Rochester (10:05 AM CST) – TBD Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (3-4, 3.78 ERA) Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:05 PM CST) – LHP Randy Rosario (5-6, 3.73 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 PM CST) – LHP Lachlan Wells (2-1, 1.27 ERA) Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 PM CST) – LHP Domenick Carlini (1-3, 4.71 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Rays (11:00 AM CST) – TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Tuesday’s games. Click here to view the article