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As you recall, last Thursday, I had the opportunity to interview Lake County (Cleveland Low-A affiliate) left-handed pitcher Juan Hillman about the start to his young career and his relationship with top Twins prospect Nick Gordon (The article was posted yesterday here). That same day, I was also able to interview another Lake County left-handed starting pitcher about his early career and his relationship with another top Twins prospect. Let’s get to know a little more about Brady Aiken and Twins prospect Stephen Gonsalves.As you recall, lefty Brady Aiken was the #1 overall pick in the 2014 draft, but he chose not to sign with the Houston Astros. In 2015, he fell to Cleveland with the #17 overall pick. However, he had undergone Tommy John surgery several months earlier. As he recalls, he talked to a lot of Cleveland executives, including current Twins Chief Baseball Officer Derek Falvey, upon being drafted. “Obviously there are a few teams you’re talking to, and you have a general idea of where you’re going to go in the draft. I talked to, from the Indians, a lot of people .I did speak with him (Falvey) a bit. I talked with pitching coordinators. Especially with where I got drafted, it was more the rehab side of it because I’d had surgery and I was coming into the Cleveland organization going straight into rehab. I talked a lot to some front office guys about the rehab side of it, and what would happen if I got drafted by them. Where I would go? What would happen and what that process would be like?” In 2016, he worked a combined 46.1 innings between the organization’s rookie league and short-season affiliates. So 2017 is his first full season of pitching. Although he’s off to an 0-4 start for Lake County, he feels good about where he is at so far in the process. “I’m doing good. Surgery was a couple of years ago, so that’s kind of behind me. Health-wise, I’m doing good. Looking forward to this year. It's been a good year so far, but I’ll just continue to keep working.” Looking back to his high school days, a smile crossed Aiken’s face as he discussed the incredible talent that they had. He went to high school at Cathedral Catholic High School in San Diego. Aiken was a year behind to Twins pitching prospect Stephen Gonsalves and 2016 Twins draft pick Alex Schick (who is currently on the Kernels disabled list with elbow inflammation). Can you imagine a high school team that has produced three professional pitchers? How could they lose? “Our team… my junior year, we had nine guys who were committed to D1 schools, and they were high-level D1 schools too. It was pretty awesome! There was a guy who now plays for the Reds who had Tommy John. Stephen’s with the Twins. Schick is with the Twins. I’m sure I’m missing some right now, but I know there’s a bunch of guys in college who are still playing and doing well.” He continued, “It was pretty cool. We were pretty good, and like you said, we had really good pitching and really good hitting. We’d play three or four games a week. Stephen would throw one. I would throw another, and Schick would throw another. And we had a guy, Andrew Wright, who would throw another one. It was that kind of rotation. If we had more games in a week, we had another guy who’s at Irvine that would throw. So it was pretty crazy how much talent we had at one school.” Aiken still heads back to San Diego during the offseason and hangs out with Stephen Gonsalves. “We are pretty good buddies. We talk pretty often. He’s one of my good friends from back home. I always see him in the offseason. We always spend time together.” But Aiken also has seen how Gonsalves has improved on the baseball diamond since the two led their high school team on the field. “From high school, the one thing that’s been big, from the changes he’s made… the command is there. He’s always been one who knows the game and is ahead of the game mentally, and that’s something that you can see paying off for him now. Working on some pitches. I know he didn’t throw a curveball or a slider in high school and I know he has one now. His command is really good. His mental side of the game is really good. He knows what he wants to do, and that’s what he does. It works for him.” Despite the fact that Gonsalves, the Twins (and Twins Daily) minor league pitcher of the year in 2016, has not pitched yet in 2017, Aiken thinks that there is a chance Twins fans will see him pitching at Target Field in the near future. “I know he’s in a really good spot right now, and I wouldn't be surprised if he’s up with the big squad by the end of this year, or maybe even next year.” However, asked which of the two is the better golfer, Aiken chuckled and gave it some deep thought. “I know he’ll find this somewhere, but I’m a better golfer than he is. He’d like to think otherwise, but we played many times together in the offseason. I’ll beat him. He’ll beat me. It’s a pretty good matchup, but I’d say I’m better than him.” Competition is a good thing, right? Back to Brady Aiken. What are his goals for the remainder of the 2017 season? “For me, it’s kind of a personal thing. This is my first full season. Not really thinking about where I want to be at the end of the year. Just kind of focusing on what I want to do now. Maintaining health is most important, obviously. So maintaining the health and growing every day. I’ve kind of been working on some mechanical things with my coaches. Just trying to lock that in. Make sure I can be repeatable and stuff like that. Go out there and compete on a daily basis.” Aiken is off to a slow start, He did not pitch against the Kernels. He missed them by one day as he was the Lake County starter in their Friday night game at Quad Cities. He’s struggled with control, but it is likely just a matter of time before he takes off and returns to the status of one of baseball’s best starting pitcher prospects. Gonsalves should return to the Lookouts rotation in about two or three weeks and will likely soon reclaim his spot as a top Twins starting pitching prospect. Can you imagine that high school team at Cathedral Catholic? Two top left-handed pitching prospects who were on the same high school team! How fun would that have been to watch? How fun for those who did watch them to see them both making their climb up the minor league systems toward the big leagues! Click here to view the article

As recently as a few month ago, many Twins and draft fans would have been shocked and ecstatic if told there was a possibility that either Brady Aiken, last year’s first overall pick, or Kolby Allard, the top prep pitcher in the class, would be available at pick #6. But both would be available? You’re nuts. Only you’re not crazy at all. That’s the ups-and-downs when it comes to pitching prospects.Who are these guys? The Saga of Brady Aiken is too long to spell out in these bios - and many of you know it already. Aiken attempted to kick off his 2015 season pitching for IMG Academy of March 19. Aiken, a lefty, was supposed to throw 40 pitches that day, facing a national team from Canada, in what was one of the most anticipated starts all spring. He threw 12. A week later, AIken announced online that he had undergone Tommy John surgery. Another lefty, Kolby Allard, was considered the top prep arm in the draft by many experts. A summer on the circuit demonstrating a mid-90s fastball and a plus breaking ball will do that. Of course, this spring Allard was diagnosed with a “stress reaction” in his back and would miss up to two months. Well, those two months have passed and six-foot Allard still isn’t throwing off of a mound. Why the Twins would pick them Adding either AIken or Allard to an already-stacked farm system would almost be unfair. Aiken projects as a #1, a player similar to Cole Hamels. While some don’t project Allard to have that ceiling, he reminds others of a left-handed version of Zack Greinke. The Twins would be lucky to have a guy like that at the top of their rotation. In fact, the Twins seem to be the highest team with connections to Allard. If he proves healthy before the draft, it’s a marriage that will seemingly happen. So what’s the problem, right? Why the Twins will not pick them There are a few problems. First, let’s start with Aiken. As the Saga goes, Brady Aiken had an MRI that showed UCL “abnormalities” before he intended to sign with Houston. That’s where the clarity ends. Some have reported a shorter UCL, some have reported a narrow UCL. Nothing is clear except that it was “abnormal” and led the Astros to believe that his future health was more in question than most pitchers his age. In addition to that - after having the surgery - there are reports that won’t let go about his “abnormal” UCL. Basically, they think the long-term health of his left elbow jeopardizes his entire professional career. That could be enough of a question mark to have the Twins simply say, “No thanks.” The money would also be an issue. Would he sign for less than $4 million this year after walking away from $5 million less than a year ago? That’s a big question mark. And the fact that all indications point in the direction that teams haven’t received medicals on Aiken yet, you’re now dealing with a whole other set of issues. Issues that might, simply, just not be worth it. Kolby Allard is a different story. He’s not dealing with an elbow issue. Nobody is suggesting that his career may be in jeopardy. What we are dealing with, though, is an undersized 17-year-old who hasn’t been available to watch for the last three months. When he returns, how will his mechanics be? Once a pitcher starts throwing differently, it messes with your whole body. Just today, the Nationals placed Stephen Strasburg on the disabled list with neck tightness. The cause of this tightness? An ankle sprain that caused him - probably unknowingly - to make some mechanical adjustments that added stress to his neck and shoulder area. And what ends up feeling these adjustments in the end? Typically a small little ligament in the elbow… Now, obviously, that’s projecting the worst-case scenario. A scenario that doesn’t even need a lead-up. Any pitcher’s elbow can snap at any time. The question is for the Twins: Are you willing to invest big money - and likely your last high pick - in damaged goods? Click here to view the article