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This week’s subject is a grown man named Buddy. Subject: Jeffrey Alan “Buddy” Boshers Why You Remember Him: In the eminently forgettable 2016 Twins season (59-103, sadness everywhere, any teen fan who watched them is a Goth now and that’s to be expected), a man took the mound for the Minnesota Twins. A man with a plan. A man named…Buddy. Boshers, a Huntsville, Alabama native, pitched in 37 games for that cursed squad. He went 2-0 with a 4.25 ERA. He followed it up with 38 games for the much-improved 2017 team and didn’t lose that season either. Yes, win-loss records are a devalued currency. Yes, he was a situational reliever. Yes, he was often in games where Ricky Nolasco had already given up seven runs in 2.2 innings. BUT STILL: Buddy Boshers never lost a game for the Minnesota Twins, including one of their most historically inept teams. Where is his bobblehead, Twins PR? What You Don’t Remember: He was a 4th-round draft pick! The Angels selected him in 2008. America’s Ten Greatest Buddys, Ranked: Buddy Holly Buddy Guy Buddy Rich Buddy Hackett Buddy Miles Buddy Ryan Buddy Ebsen “Buddy Holly” by Weezer Buddy Boshers Buddy Valastro, TV's The Cake Boss (Yes, I'm aware of the NBA's Buddy Hield, but he's Bahamian. Also, Hield got his nickname from Married With Children's Bud Bundy. The more you know.) What’s He Up To: Appears to be semi-retired after pitching for the Blue Jays in 2019. He spent 2021 working at The Yard, “North Alabama’s premier private indoor sports and training complex designed for softball and baseball players of all ages and skill levels.” Also found him on Facebook and his family is adorable. View full article

Addison Reed’s reported signing is putting the Twins in an interesting spot. Once Reed passes his physical, he is going to need a spot on the 40-man roster. This also holds true for any future free agents the club signs this off-season. If Yu Darvish ends up in Minnesota, he will need a 40-man spot as well. What players are floating at the back-end of Minnesota’s 40-man roster? Here are a few names that could be forced to pass through waivers in the coming weeks.Buddy Boshers, LHP Boshers has made 75 appearances over the last two seasons with the Twins. During that time he has a 4.56 ERA with a 1.25 WHIP and a 65 to 17 strikeout to walk ratio. Last season, the left-handed hurler held lefties to a .655 OPS while righties managed a .904 OPS. Boshers will be 30-years old this season and he has never posted an ERA under 4.00 in any of his three big league seasons. Dietrich Enns, LHP Enns joined the Twins organization last year along with Zack Littell as part of the Jaime Garcia trade. He only made two appearances and allowed three earned runs in four innings. However, he’s posted a 1.86 ERA with a 1.12 WHIP in 116.0 innings at Triple-A. Those numbers are hard to ignore. Enns will turn 27-years old in the middle of May. Minnesota’s new front office saw enough in him to include him in the trade so maybe that keeps him safe. Tyler Kinley, RHP The Twins just acquired Kinley from Miami during December’s Rule 5 Draft. Because of the rules associated with his acquisition, the club has to keep him on their 25-man roster for all of 2018 or offer him back to Miami. Between High-A and Double-A last season, Kinley had a 3.54 ERA with a 1.22 WHIP and a 72 to 22 strikeout to walk ratio (53.1 innings). It’s rare for Rule 5 players to be sent back to their clubs this quickly but the Twins might not have anticipated adding Fernando Rodney and Addison Reed. Gabriel Moya, LHP Originally signed by the Diamondbacks, Moya was dealt to Minnesota for John Ryan Murphy. He made seven big league appearances last year and allowed three runs in 6.1 innings. In the minors last season, he was almost untouchable. He compiled a 0.77 ERA while striking out 13.4 batters per nine innings. Moya was able to do this while being over two years younger than the competition in the Southern League. Kennys Vargas, DH Earlier in the off-season, reports had Vargas open to playing overseas. Vargas is out of options and would need to stick with the Twins next season. His lack of defensive flexibility makes it hard to pencil him into the team’s line-up on a regular basis. Players like Joe Mauer, Robbie Grossman and Mitch Garver might all need to see time at DH. At the big league level over the last four seasons, he has hit .252/.311/.437 including double digit home runs in each of the last two seasons. How would you rank the back end of the 40-man roster? Who will be the first to go? Leave a COMMENT and start the discussion. Click here to view the article

This is an excerpt of an article that appears in full on Zone Coverage here. Please click through. This is a series of evaluations that will be done this offseason on every player that closed the season on the 40-man roster for the Minnesota Twins throughout the winter until each player has been evaluated. The plan is to start with Mr. Belisle and move all the way through the pitchers, then to the catchers, infielders, outfielders and finally those listed as designated hitters on the club’s official MLB.com roster. That means we’ll wrap it up with Kennys Vargas sometime before the season starts. Name: Buddy Boshers 2017 Role: Lefty specialist who was absolutely throttled by right-handed hitters. Expected 2018 Role: May be outrighted off the 40-man roster, but if he returns, he’ll reprise a similar role. MLB Stats: 4.89 ERA, 5.19 FIP in 35 innings; 7.2 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, 1.34 WHIP, minus-0.2 fWAR. MiLB Stats: 3.68 ERA, 3.81 FIP in 14.2 innings at Triple-A Rochester Contract Status: Arbitration-eligible after 2018, eligible for free agency after 2021. 2017 Lowdown: One thing Terry Ryan did fairly well was finding impact relievers in minor-league free agency, and one of his final finds at the helm of the Minnesota Twins was Buddy Boshers. Boshers was by no means great in 2016, but he posted a 4.25 ERA (2.84 FIP) with more than a strikeout per inning, almost no walks (1.8 BB/9) and an above-average groundball rate (46.7 percent). It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the numbers were superficially good, as a lefty low-90s fastball who can spin a good breaking ball probably isn’t going to do that sort of thing year in and year out. But he carried a 12.2 percent swinging-strike rate — about 11.5 percent is average — and did most of his damage against left-handed hitters (.560 OPS against). These aren’t the superstars that bullpen builders flock to, but solid LOOGY’s — baseball speak for lefty, one-out guys — get plenty of dough on the open market. Guys like Antonio Bastardo and Tony Sipp have gotten in the neighborhood of $6 million per year in free agency in recent years, and Brett Cecil sort of broke the mold last winter when he signed a four-year, $30.5 million deal. Boshers is by no means in the neighborhood of Cecil, but it’s fair to say if he’d had his 2015 season with free agency looming, he might’ve scored a two- or three-year deal worth $4-5 million on the open market. It’s disingenuous to call those deals disastrous, but they have not paid off to this point. Sipp has been a negative fWAR player in each of the last two seasons with the Astros, while Bastardo had such a rough 2017 (minus-0.5 fWAR) that it almost entirely negated his 2016 year (plus-0.6). The overriding point here is that guys like Boshers probably have to be considered disposable, and the Twins have wisely identified that. What was less wise was letting Boshers face so many righties this season.

The Twins gave away a pair of outs by bunting and ran into a couple of more outs trying to steal bases, but this was still a tied ballgame heading into the bottom of the eighth. There, Paul Molitor decided to put the game into the hands of the struggling Buddy Boshers. The game wasn’t tied for much longer after that.Snapshot (chart via Fangraphs) Download attachment: Snapshot99.png Eduardo Escobar led off the third inning with a homer, which was followed by a Jason Castro single. Robbie Grossman, who was 6-for-13 with two homers in his first four games back from the DL, laid down a sac bunt to advance Castro to second. Yes, that same Robbie Grossman who has a .379 on-base percentage since joining the Twins. “Thank you,” replied the Royals. Brian Dozier struck out and Joe Mauer grounded out to end the inning. The next inning, the Twins got burned again, but this time for trying to be too aggressive. Eddie Rosario was thrown out trying to steal second base with one out. That burned, as it was followed by back-to-back singles by Byron Buxton and Max Kepler. The really weird thing was it happened again. In the sixth inning, Rosie got another one-out single, and again got thrown out trying to steal second base. Buxton, the very next batter, hit a homer. Ouch. Oh, and there was more bunting, too. With the score tied at 2-2 in the top of the eighth, Mauer hit a leadoff single. Jorge Polanco bunted him over. Yes, that same Polanco who is hitting third, has been hotter than the sun … wait ... I feel like I’ve done this bit before. Predictably, the Twins would not score that inning. Pretty much all you need to know about the bottom of the eighth inning was that the Twins used five pitchers. I feel like with that information you can pretty much conclude how well things went, but here are the gory details: Ryan Pressly was the first man out of the bullpen, and gave up an 0-2 single to Lorenzo Cain to lead off the inning. He walked the next batter on four pitches. In came Boshers. He threw one pitch, giving up the go-ahead single to Eric Hosmer. Tyler Duffey was up next. He gave up an RBI double to Salvy Perez. He then intentionally walked Mike Moustakas to load the bases. There were still no outs at that point. The next man in was Taylor Rogers, which was pretty confusing. Boshers had been on a terrible slide heading into tonight's game, having given up six earned runs over his previous four innings. Opponents had a 1.154 OPS against Buddy over that stretch. With that given, it was assumed Rogers must not have been available to face Hosmer earlier in the inning, yet here he was, entering the game after things had gotten a bit out of hand. Rogers got Brandon Moss to line out. One pitch and his night was done. Ah, September baseball. Alan Busenitz became the fifth pitcher of the inning, and gave up a sac fly before striking out Alex Gordon to end the inning. Sometimes a manager pushes all the right buttons and pulls all the right levers and things still just don’t work out. This doesn’t feel like one of those times, at least not to me. Is hindsight 20/20? Am I way off base? You’ll have to let me know. Jose Berrios did a nice job of limiting damage over his 7.0 innings tonight. He only stuck out one batter, gave up eight hits and walked two batters, but the Royals were only able to score two runs off him. Rosario, Buxton and Castro each had two hits. Buxton also drew a walk. Standings The Yankees won, so the Twins trail the top Wild Card by 2.5 games. At the time this published the Angels were 1.5 games behind the Twins, but were also losing 8-0. Cleveland won its 17th-straight game and has now tied Houston with the most wins in the AL with 86. Postgame With Molitor Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Download attachment: Bullpen99.png Looking Ahead Sun: Twins (Bartolo Colon) at Kansas City (Jason Vargas), 1:15 pm CT Mon: Off Tue: Twins (Aaron Slegers) vs. Padres (Travis Wood), 7:10 pm CT Looking Back MIN 8, KC 5: Rosario Drives in 4, Hildenberger Holds it Together MIN 4, KC 2: Comeback Complete MIN 10, TB 6: Twins Prevail Thanks to Big Error Click here to view the article

Last year, following an injury-plagued season at AA Chattanooga, Niko Goodrum could have become a six-year minor league free agent. Instead, he quickly signed on to remain with the Twins for another year on a minor league contract. On Wednesday night following a game in Rochester, Goodrum learned that it was all worth it. He was told that he is heading to the Minnesota Twins as a September call up. He will fly to Minneapolis on Thursday and be in uniform on Friday. Joining Goodrum as September 1st callups will be left-handed pitchers Nik Turley and Buddy Boshers.To entice Goodrum to stick around, the Twins offered him an invitation to major league spring training. He spent about a month with the club this spring, playing sparingly, but learning from the big league coaches and players. He fought a little shoulder issue in camp, but he hit .375 (6-16) and impressed his manager. Molitor spoke well of Goodrum following a spring game the day that he was sent back to minor league camp. “Niko Goodrum had a shoulder issue midway through camp, but he showed versatility. I really encouraged him to embrace that rather than wondering why he can't find a position because it has value and can open more doors for him. He showed some things." “Versatile” is the key word, and it is the reason that Goodrum will be up right away in September rather than finish out the Red Wings season. With the Red Wings, he has played games at each position except pitcher and catcher this season. He’s started 47 game in right field, 37 games at second base, 20 games at third base, 15 games in center field, nine games at shortstop, three games at first base, and one game in left field. I asked him in spring training if he ever considered getting a catcher’s mitt. “No!” Goodrum announced emphatically. Goodrum will be part of a “first wave” of players coming up from the minor leagues as September call ups to bolster a team fighting with the Yankees, Angels, Mariners and others for two wild card spots. As Derek Falvey explained it. “We’ll have a few come Friday. The question is always if it’s beneficial to get at-bats every day or pitch more regularly rather than being the last guy up here. You can always go get somebody. We’ll have a first wave, and then we’ll make other decisions pending results in Rochester.” Goodrum was signed as the team’s second-round pick in 2010 out of high school near Atlanta, Georgia. His uncle, Otis Nixon, stole 37 bases for the Twins in 1998. Goodrum is an incredible athlete, but he was quite raw in baseball terms. He has been moved through the system accordingly. He spent his draft season in the GCL before spending two seasons in extended spring training and with the Elizabethton Twins. He was the primary shortstop on that talented 2013 Cedar Rapids team and moved up to Ft. Myers for the 2014 season. He split 2015 between the Miracle and Chattanooga. Last year, he started the season with a foot injury that cost him much of the first half. But when he returned, he posted an .808 OPS with the Lookouts. In scouting circles, there is a reason to take great athletes. Goodrum fits into that category. He’s tall, and when drafted, he was thin. He was always fast, and he could play a pretty good shortstop. He is blessed with a strong arm. His speed has allowed him to become a pretty good outfielder as well as he has played out there more in recent years. Scouts would often talk about Goodrum’s “high waist” with the idea that he would eventually add more power. The started to show last year, but this year, he has hit 25 doubles, five triples and 13 home runs in his first season in AAA. Goodrum will have family at the game. His mom and dad, his dad’s wife, his aunt, and his girlfriend will make the trip. In the offseason, he owns Elite Metro Sports and Cages, a baseball and softball facility in his hometown of Fayetteville, Georgia. The indoor facilities and batting cages are open year-round. Goodrum is there during his offseasons and enjoys being able to give back to his community. His dad, Tim, operates the business. Goodrum will likely be used in a utility role over the season’s final month. With the news that Byron Buxton will not need to go on the disabled list and could soon play, Zack Granite will likely be the team’s fourth outfielder, but Goodrum’s ability to play seven positions will allow Molitor to mix and match lineups and moves throughout games. Click here to view the article

When rebuilding a broken pitching staff, it's necessary to seek out solutions on all fronts. These include free agency, trades, draft, international, and... independent leagues? That last one isn't necessarily a conventional avenue for adding legitimate talent, but the Minnesota Twins have had some success there, and may have more yet to come.For those who enjoy the human element of the game, there's something special about independent ball. Players in these leagues are a long way from the majors, whether undrafted or trying to make their way back into an MLB system. But they're chasing their dreams, often playing in front of paltry crowds for tiny paychecks. When a guy playing in an independent league is able to catch the attention of a major-league organization and work his way to the bigs, it's always a great story. Rich Hill is the most prominent example in the game today. After washing out of affiliated ball in his mid-30s, he signed with the Long Island Ducks in 2015, where he gained notice from the Boston Red Sox. They signed him, he excelled, and two years later he has a $48 million deal with the Dodgers. The Twins haven't had a success of Hill's magnitude, but they've had some notable hits. Minnesota didn't sign Brandon Kintzler out of an independent league, but the former 40th-round draft pick did spend time playing in the Northern League in 2007 and 2008, then with our local St. Paul Saints in 2009, before latching on with the Brewers and finding his way to the big leagues. He would of course later sign with the Twins and turn into an all-star closer, and now he's in line to be pitching in the playoffs in two months. Kintzler's experience in independent ball is now ancient history, but the Twins have a few players who've been there much more recently. Buddy Boshers caught the team's eye while pitching for Somerset in the Atlantic League and is now a fixture in the Minnesota bullpen. Nik Turley was pitching for that same Somerset club last summer, and inked a minor-league deal with the Twins during the offseason, precipitating a major-league debut this year. Things obviously haven't gone smoothly for the southpaw in his three MLB starts, but he continues to dominate at Rochester and will almost surely get more chances. He could become an asset in the bullpen. Tim Melville may be the next name to watch. The Twins signed him in June from the Long Island Ducks team where Hill re-established himself, and he has been tremendous since joining the Class-AAA Red Wings with a 2.55 ERA and 1.07 WHIP through 60 innings. In his latest start for Rochester on Monday, Melville hurled seven innings of one-hit, one-run ball with nine strikeouts. The 27-year-old right-hander is interesting not just because of his recent journey, but because of his history: he's a former fourth-round pick of the Royals who was once ranked among the organization's best young talents and appeared in Baseball Prospectus' Top 100 prospects in 2010. He has flashed good stuff when healthy, with scouts lauding the spin on his breaking balls, and right now it's shining through. If he can keep it up, he may get a look before the year is over. Will he be the next Rich Hill? Not likely. But Melville has a chance to make a real impact, as Boshers has and Turley hopefully still can. At the very least, the former independent leaguer will be another story worth rooting for. Click here to view the article

Baseball teams always looking for pitchers who can light up the radar gun. However, in recent years there has been a resurgence in pitchers utilizing the curveball. Pitchers like Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Jake Arrieta have been dominant because of their off-speed offering. Even young pitchers like Lance McCullers have relied on the curveball to be effective. Minnesota has been home to some of the greatest curveball throwers in history. Now, the Twins have their own core of pitchers utilizing one of baseball's oldest pitches. As the curveball makes a comeback, can the Twins cause some trouble with the curve?Berrios Riding The Curve It's no secret that Berrios struggled during his rookie campaign. In 14 starts, he allowed 12 home runs and posted an 8.02 ERA. Things have turned around this season as he has an impressive 2.84 ERA while having a higher strikeout rate and walking fewer batters. Something has clicked for the young pitcher and his curveball might be one of the reasons for the dramatic turnaround. During the 2016 campaign, Berrios threw his curveball 21.6% of the time. He was consistently falling behind batters and this meant he couldn't turn to his off-speed offerings. So far this season, he has been able to use his curveball almost 30% of the time. This pitch can continue to be a weapon if he can stay ahead of batters and avoid fastball counts. Berrios isn't the only Twins pitcher taking advantage of the curve. Twirling Relief Trio Minnesota ranks in the top-10 for curveball usage this season and only four AL teams have a higher curveball percentage. Tyler Duffey, Buddy Boshers and Taylor Rogers have all used their curveball for close to a third of their pitches. Duffey has been one of Minnesota's best relief options this season as he's posted career best marks in SO/9, WHIP, and ERA. In his first season as a relief pitcher, he has seen his fast ball velocity increase by almost two miles per hour which helps to set up his off-speed offerings. Rogers has also seen an improvement in some of his peripheral numbers while being used in some late inning situations. Boshers has spent the majority of the season at Rochester. However, he struck out nearly nine batters per nine innings at Triple-A and has a spiffy 0.818 WHIP in his time with the Twins. This trio along with Berrios are following some of the best curveballs in history. Minnesota's Curveball History Two of the most feared curveball pitchers in history have worn Minnesota Twins jerseys. Camilo Pascual started his career as a 20-year old with the Washington Senators. When the Twins moved to Minnesota, Pascual was in the midst of four straight All-Star seasons. He'd led the AL in WAR in 1959 and 1962. Ted Williams, who is considered one of the game's greatest hitters, had high praise for Pascual. "He had the best curveball I ever saw. You could hear it." He went on to say it sounded like ripping silk and that Pascual "had the most feared curveball in the American League for 18 years." Besides Williams' praise, fellow Hall of Fame hitter Al Kaline said, "Pascual's curveball was big, sharp and fast. Most players couldn't hit it." While Pascual was terrific, Bert Blyleven rode his curveball all the way to the Hall of Fame. He had nine seasons where he was in the top-10 for WAR and he led the AL in WAR for pitchers in 1973 and 1981. Jim Palmer said, "I was amazed at how Blyleven's curve seemed to change direction not once, but twice on its way to the plate." Phil Roof, one of Blyleven's catchers, could hear the pitcher's middle finger snap against his palm since he threw his curve with so much force. The curveball might be back and it could be a key pitch as the Twins fight to stay in contention in the weeks ahead. Click here to view the article

In the wake of his dismissal as general manager, there has been much discussion of Terry Ryan's missteps. Rightfully so. But despite the poor results this year, Ryan did make a few notably good moves, and many were the apparent result of savvy scouting. Amidst the focus on his shortcomings, we'll take a look at a few instances where Ryan's instincts paid off (and may continue to pay off long after he's gone).These five low-key decisions, dating back to the end of last season, all worked out better than anyone would have suspected. Three of them involve bullpen pickups, which is somewhat ironic considering that Ryan's lack of action on that front was a primary source of offseason criticism. Let's give the man his due: Believing in Fernando Abad Most fans, including myself, rolled their eyes when Abad became the highest-profile addition to the Twins bullpen during the offseason. For a team badly needing impact left-handed relievers, bypassing the big names on the market and settling for a guy who couldn't get a major-league deal left something to be desired. As it turns out, the Twins were astute in preferring Abad over the high-priced free agent alternatives. His numbers have been vastly superior to Antonio Bastardo or Tony Sipp, and he came with only a fraction of the contractual commitment. Now, Rob Antony may be able to flip Abad ahead of the deadline for a decent prospect. Signing Robbie Grossman Following a 2015 campaign that was poor across the board, the Astros released Grossman in November. He went on to sign a minor-league deal with the Indians. After six weeks with Cleveland's Triple-A affiliate, seeing no path to the majors, Grossman opted out and became a free agent. Ryan liked what he saw and snagged him, and now the outfielder is looking like a potential piece for the future. He certainly can't be counted on to maintain an .850 OPS long-term, but Grossman brings a skill set that offers good value off the bench. He's a switch-hitter. He's a solid fielder and runner. He has a keen eye at the plate, and walks enough to keep his OBP afloat through hitting slumps. And finally, he's only 26 with plenty of team control left. Uncovering Buddy Boshers Last year, Boshers was pitching in an independent league. He performed very well for the Somerset Patriots, and after the season he drew interest from a few different MLB clubs. No one pushed harder than the Twins, who landed him on a minor-league deal in December. What a find he is turning out to be. The 28-year-old southpaw has excelled consistently this year, whether in Rochester or Minnesota. In 20 appearances with the Red Wings, he has a 1.16 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 26-to-8 K/BB ratio. In 17 appearances with the Twins, he has a 2.81 ERA, 1.13 WHIP and 18-to-3 K/BB. He misses bats, stays in the zone and devastates left-handed hitters. What's not to like? Boshers and Abad have become legitimate lefty bullpen options for the Twins going forward, along with Taylor Rogers who was drafted in TR's first year back at the helm. Give the exiled GM this much: he addressed this particular area effectively, albeit in characteristically subtle fashion. Trading Chris Herrmann for Daniel Palka It's safe to say that Chris Herrmann was not in Minnesota's plans this year, right? He was out of options, with a .530 career OPS, and his fringy receiving skills weren't exactly appealing to a team in need of help behind the plate. Somehow, Ryan managed to flip Herrmann for Palka, whose power-hitting skills have only grown more prolific in a new system. Palka's homer last Wednesday in Rochester was his 25th of the year in the minors. No Twin has more than 17. The 24-year-old put on a show in spring training with his long-ball theatrics and is reinforcing his power-hitting prowess with dominant numbers in Double-A and Triple-A. Acquiring Palka for a player who was on his way out will go down as a big win for Ryan. Betting on Brandon Kintzler Kintzler was once a very effective setup man for the Brewers, but had fallen off in recent years. Ryan believed that there was still something left, and it looks like he was right. With Glen Perkins out for the year, and Kevin Jepsen released, Kintzler has taken over the closer role. He has done a damn good job, converting all eight of his save chances despite lacking dominant stuff. Clearly he isn't a long-term ninth-inning solution but he does have the makings of a quality bullpen arm. The Jared Burton parallels are obvious. Click here to view the article

Aaron and John podcast midweek from Lynlake Brewery’s rooftop and discuss Neil Allen’s DWI and the non-ending battle with addiction, when we can expect Rochester’s youth to rejoin the Twins, an easy Father’s Day idea from Harrys.com, the Twins 2016 All-Star representative, and how Dick Bremer’s announcing is like Aaron’s favorite Chinese food.You can listen by downloading us from iTunes, Stitcher or find it at GleemanAndTheGeek.com. Or just click the Play button below. Click here to view the article

Each month at Twins Daily, we will select a Minnesota Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month, Starting Pitcher of the Month and Relief Pitcher of the Month. It is important to recognize accomplishment in the minor leagues. Today, we start our April Awards by naming the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month. There were several really strong candidates. Who was our choice? Read on.First, a few relievers worthy of mention: RHP Raul Fernandez (Ft. Myers) – 7 G, 0-0, 1.42 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 9 H, 4 BB, 10 KRHP Todd Van Steensel (Ft. Myers) – 8 G, 0-0, 1.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 3 H, 6 BB, 6 KRHP Trevor Hildenberger (Ft. Myers/Chattanooga) – 7 G, 1-1, 3 Saves, 0.87 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 11 H, 0 BB, 10 KLHP Luke Westphal (Ft. Myers/Chattanooga) – 7 G, 1-0, 1.08 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 8.1 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 12 KTHE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS Number 5 - Cedar Rapids – RHP Nick Anderson - 6 G, 2.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 10 K The Twins signed Anderson last August out of independent ball and sent him to Cedar Rapids where he was very good as the team’s closer the final month and through their playoff run. The Brainerd native and Mayville (ND) alum is back with the Kernels this year and off to a strong start again. He has been sharing duties, but with the John Curtiss promotion, the 25-year-old will see more late inning opportunities. Number 4 – Rochester – LHP Buddy Boshers - 8 G, 0.87 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, 10.1 IP, 9 H, 2 BB, 11 K 27-year-old Boshers pitched in 25 games for the Angels in 2013. However, he spent 2015 in independent ball, striking out 71 in 54 innings in the Atlantic League. He continued to pitch well in Venezuela this winter. The Twins signed him to a minor league deal and invited him to camp. He had a solid showing, and he has been very good for the Red Wings in the first month. Number 3 – Chattanooga – RHP JT Chargois - 8 G, 1.12 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 BB, 11 K If this award would have been handed out 10-12 days ago, Chargois would have been the easy choice for winning. In his first five outings, he went five innings and got all 15 batters he faced out. His last three outings are a good reminder of sample size, but Chargois is arguably the top relief pitching prospect in the system (with apologies to a few others). After missing two seasons with injury, the former second-round pick came back strong last year. He’s got a good three-pitch mix and could be summoned to the big leagues any time. Number 2 – Cedar Rapids – RHP CK Irby - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.86 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 11 K Irby began the 2015 season in Cedar Rapids as well, but he really struggled with his control, walking 14 (and striking out 20) in 14 innings before being sent back to Elizabethton. At least for April, the 23-year-old seems to have improved his control. He allowed only an unearned run and few base runners helping to set up for Anderson and Curtiss. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids/Ft. Myers – John Curtiss - 7 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.44 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 18 K 2015 was a very difficult season for RHP John Curtiss. He began the season as a starter, got hurt, came back, got hurt and struggled when he was able to pitch. Curtiss said, “2015 was pretty horrible, from the concussion to the hurt elbow to the poor performance.” However, he looked to 2016 and continued, “(I’m) just trying to move on from it and improve.” Based on his April, it’s safe to say that 2016 is starting out much better for the Twins sixth-round pick from 2013 out of the University of Texas. When you’re striking out two batters per inning and not even allowing a base runner every other inning, things are going well. He was splitting time with Nick Anderson in the Kernels closer role. Late in the month, he earned a promotion to Ft. Myers. Curtiss noted, “So far, I’ve been locating my pitches better, and my stuff has been livelier. The biggest deal for me so far has been having a healthy arm.” This is not the first time he has pitched out of the bullpen. Following Tommy John surgery in college, he came back and was the closer for Texas as they advanced to the College World Series. It is a role that he really enjoys and thrives in. “I really like being in the pen. The innings are late in the game where the game is on the line, and you get to impact more games. Also the pen camaraderie is pretty neat.” Curtiss has a pitch mix that could lend itself well to success in the bullpen. He throws a fastball that sits 94 to 96 mph. He also throws a sharp curveball and a good changeup. “I can use them all as out pitches, depending on who’s at the plate, and what I trust in that moment. Late in the month, he was promoted to the Miracle where he pitched a clean inning. His goals for 2016 are simple. “I just want to get better every day and help the team win.” JP Martinez was the Twins ninth-round pick in 2004. He was in the organization through the 2007 season when he peaked at AAA. After coaching in high school following his career, he has been a pitching coach in the Twins system the last two years. Last year he was with the GCL Twins. This year, he is in Cedar Rapids where he has worked with Curtiss all spring. Martinez said, “John came into camp healthy and ready to go. He was sharp, focused and attacked the zone which is why we trusted him in the late innings. He’s got a live fastball and a plus-slider. His promotion was well deserved.” Curtiss is out to prove that, when healthy, he can be a very effective reliever. Off the field, Curtiss says, “I’m really into Texas Country Music. Red Dirt. There are a lot of songwriters I’m a big fan of, too many to list. I play the guitar a lot in the off-season, and in season, I mostly read and write songs.” There were several very strong relief pitcher performances in April. Feel free to agree or disagree with the order, if you like, but congratulations to each of these individuals on a great start to their 2016 season. Congratulations to the first Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for 2016, John Curtiss. Click here to view the article

The Twins optioned two players from camp this morning and reassigned four others. Taylor Rogers, J.R. Graham, Buddy Boshers, Carlos Paulino, Buck Britton and Wilfredo Tovar were all shipped out, trimming the number of remaining players to 37.This round of cuts brings more clarity to the bullpen race. Assuming that Fernando Abad and the loser of the fifth starter competition (Ricky Nolasco?) are both in, that leaves one remaining spot in a seven-man unit. Boshers (who I wrote about in yesterday’s notes) was not really a factor in the race, but Rogers and Graham – both on the 40-man roster – were in the mix. The remaining contenders for the job: Michael Tonkin, Ryan Pressly, Brandon Kintzler, Ryan O’Rourke, Dan Runzler. Presumably they’re going to go with a righty, and in my opinion, it’s between hard-throwers Tonkin and Pressly. Who would you like to see round out the Minnesota bullpen? Click here to view the article

Today was a split-squad today for the Twins, with Phil Hughes and a few regulars heading to Clearwater to face the Phillies while most of the positional mainstays remained in Fort Myers for a match-up against the Orioles at Hammond. The Twins won 5-1 in their home park, with Joe Mauer and Trevor Plouffe each chipping in two-run homers. Carlos Quentin and Oswaldo Arcia, competing for a bench spot, were slotted back-to-back in the lineup for a second straight day, while several relievers vying for bullpen jobs got the chance to make key impressions.* With Quentin having a June 1st opt-out built into his minor-league deal, there has been some speculation that the Twins might send him to Rochester as depth in case somebody gets hurt or Arcia fizzles early on. But assistant GM Rob Antony says that the veteran outfielder, who sat out the 2015 season, was signed with an agreement that he’d only be shipped to Triple-A if he had a clear path to the majors. “He had no problem going to the minor leagues if we saw him as a fit, if he just needed at-bats or something,” Antony explained. “But if we said we don’t see it happening or whatever, I basically verbally told him … I’m not just going to run you down to Rochester and hold you there for two months.” In other words, if the Twins decide Arcia is their guy, don’t expect Quentin to stick around. But it’s overly hasty to presume that outcome. “He’s had a very good spring,” the AGM noted of Quentin, who went 1-for-3 with a double and walk today. * Will it be good enough to unseat the front-runner Arcia? The 24-year-old had himself a solid game with a double and a walk of his own. He also struck out for a 10th time (tying Byung Ho Park for the team lead), but his approach at the plate has been noticeably better. “Bruno’s happy with his progress, so that’s enough said,” according to bench coach Joe Vavra, who watched things play out today as acting manager. Meanwhile, Arcia's improvement in the outfield and on the base paths has been as obvious as the trimmed down physique that’s contributed to it. Today he made a heads-up play scrambling from second to third on a ball that skipped away from Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph. This after sprinting about 100 feet to make a nice running catch in left on Monday. “Those are all big plays, and we’re watching,” Vavra said. “Those are important." * Spring training is interesting. For established veterans who have been through the grind repeatedly and are just trying to stay healthy into the regular season, it becomes a nuisance that drags on. For guys like Buddy Boshers, it’s an opportunity worth savoring. The non-roster invite was out of organized ball last year, pitching in an independent league where he caught the attention of the Twins and a few other teams by posting a 1.00 ERA with a 71-to-14 K/BB ratio in 54 innings. When he had the choice between a couple of different suitors on minor-league deals, Minnesota’s bullpen composition appealed to him and his agent. “That was a big key for signing here,” said the 27-year-old southpaw. “They needed some left-handed depth in the bullpen.” He ended up pitching for the Somerset Patriots after being released from Rockies camp last March and receiving no calls. The resounding success he achieved in the Somerset bullpen with his mid-90s fastball and big curve led to his landing with the Twins and getting a shot to compete for a relief job. Given that he isn’t on the 40-man roster, Boshers is a long shot to win a spot on Opening Day, but right now he’s got all he wants: a chance. “I’m getting some opportunities so I can’t really complain,” he said. He made the most of the one he got today. Boshers worked two scoreless frames, including a 1-2-3 sixth against three intimidating big-league righties: Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo. * Boshers wasn’t the only reliever battling for a job who got an extended look today. It was a bullpen game for Minnesota, with lefty Logan Darnell getting the start and pitching just a couple innings, so the Twins were able to stretch out a few arms, giving two innings apiece to Boshers, Brandon Kintzler and Michael Tonkin. The stakes are high for Tonkin, in terms of his future with the organization, because he’s out of options and would almost certainly be claimed if he hit waivers. He’s been enduring a miserable spring but had an excellent outing today, retiring all six batters he faced. The big righty was repeatedly painting the outside corner with his 95 MPH power fastball, making it almost unhittable, and mixed in a sharp breaking ball that drew strong reviews from Vavra after the game. * A couple hours away in Clearwater, the other half of the split-squad dispatched the Phillies 7-5. Byron Buxton had a pair of hits but struck out three times. Park drove in a couple of runs. Slugging prospect Daniel Palka, acquired in exchange for Chris Herrmann during the offseason, launched two home runs. * The Twins released a number of minor-leaguers over the past couple days, and most of the names wouldn’t be recognized by anyone other than our guy Seth. One that stuck out, however, was pitcher Brandon Poulson. You may remember him as the the big 6’6” righty with a triple-digit fastball who received a shocking $250,000 bonus to sign with the Twins in July of 2014 despite being undrafted. If they could get the kid to throw it in the zone, it was said, he could be a story destined for Hollywood. Unfortunately, that just never happened. “Couldn’t throw it over,” Antony said. “He had a terrific arm, and we tried a lot of different things, but he wasn’t able to throw enough strikes.” Poulson is now 26, and still hadn’t appeared in a full-season league. In 20 rookie ball appearances over the last two seasons, he issued 32 walks in 27 2/3 innings. * Tomorrow Ricky Nolasco will take the mound against the Rays at 12:05 CT. It'll be my last day in camp, sadly, but Parker will be checking in to wrap up our spring training coverage. Click here to view the article