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FT. MYERS, Fla. - The Minnesota Twins began their Friday morning with news that nine players had been sent to minor league camp. That brings the spring training roster down to 43, so there are still about 18 more moves to make in the next two weeks. The big league club worked out at Hammond Stadium before making the drive down Daniels Parkway to jetBlue Stadium where they took on the Boston Red Sox. As is the case in most games the rest of the way through spring training, a few select (non 40-man roster) minor leaguers will dress with the big league spring training team, providing depth and sometimes getting an inning or a plate appearance late in the game. On Friday, the Twins called up OF Travis Harrison, IF Stephen Wickens, and pitchers Brandon Peterson and Jake Reed for the trip. Only Harrison got into the game, as a pinch runner. He got one at-bat as well.Meanwhile, it was a busy day on the back fields at Hammond Stadium too. Since the High-A and Low-A teams were just traveling across Ft. Myers to play, they worked out on the back fields with the AAA and AA players. Of the nine players sent down to minor league camp, only Jose Berrios worked out on Friday. Players from the 40 man roster get a couple of days to report. Non-roster players are required to report right away but it is likely the Twins brass told them to take the day off. The pitchers did their PFPs and situations. They worked a little more today on pickoff plays. They even spent time working with the right-handed pitchers on pickoff throws to third base. They then broke off onto the three full fields for batting practice (the EST squad went back to their field as well). I also was interviewed by Neil Roberts who does a great job with SpringFeverBaseball.com. Check out his site and read and listen to his reports. He does two-minute interviews with several players and four of five have already been posted. Neil has been doing this for over 15 years. The North Dakotan provides these reports to radio stations around the state. Take a listen. He’s got interviews this year with Kyle Gibson, Adam Brett Walker, Nick Burdi and more posted. The teams were done with their batting practice a little before noon. If anyone happens to be there and need a nice place for lunch, there is a place called Panitella’s Chicken Grill just down Plantation Road in a strip mall area before getting to Daniels Parkway. I’ve gone there the last two days for lunch before coming back for the afternoon games. Ricky Nolasco made the start for the Twins in the AAA game. He was caught by Kurt Suzuki. Watching him in the bullpen, he really has a tremendous curve ball. He also throws a sinker that drops well. After a quick first inning, the second didn’t go as well for Nolasco. One batter reached on an error and the next hit a long, two-run homer. However, after that, he was very good. He went five innings and avoided hard contact. In the AA game, Glen Perkins worked the first inning. The lefty had no problems at all. He got a high-hopper back to the mound for the first out. He struck out the second batter and got the third batter to ground out to Engelb Vielma at shortstop. His fastball was in the low-90s and his slider was sharp. Offensively, there was a lot of power shown. But, Twins pitchers did not give up a home run. Meanwhile, both the AAA and the AA teams had four home runs. Adam Brett Walker crushed two long homers for the Red Wings. The first hit the back wall, well behind the fence in left-center field. The second one traveled well over the fence in right field. In the first inning, the Red Wings scored four runs. The big blow that inning was a very long home run for Daniel Palka. An inning later, Dalton Hicks hit a ball so far that the outfielders didn’t move. After a while, they did at least turn around to see how far it went. In the AA game, Joe Maloney hit a long, towering blast, probably nearly 400 feet to left field. The next batter, TJ White, hit one a little lower but nearly as far. Later in the game, Levi Michael hit a homer over the left-center field fence, and soon after, now mustache-less catcher Brett Doe hit a no-doubter as well. The final two home runs were glorious. I mean, they were given up by Glorius… Austin Glorius. Following Nolasco, Tim Shibuya and Raul Fernandez each threw two scoreless innings in the AAA game. Glen Perkins was followed by DJ Baxendale. The first batter lined one back up the middle that hit Baxendale. After the coaching and training staff came out to check on him and he threw three warm up pitches, he pitched again. However, he walked the next two batters and when checked, he was done, so the inning was done. South African Callan Pearce came in for an inning. Luke Bard pitched really well for two innings. Brian Gilbert finished things with a couple of quiet innings. The extended spring group played another simulated game. I know that Onas Farfan threw some live BP during that game. He is the New Hope High School player that the Twins drafted out of Ridgewater College in Willmar. He was known as the first player drafted out of the Minneapolis RBI program. I had the chance to chat with him the other day and he is very excited to be pitching again after missing all of last season with Tommy John surgery. LaMonte Wade played today after missing the games on Thursday after being hit by a pitch in the forearm. Nick Gordon participated fully in the morning workout. He went through fielding practice and took a full round of batting practice. However, the team kept him out of the game on Friday. Lewis Thorpe faced batters for the first time in almost a year on Friday morning. As he has the other days this week, he watched the minor league games. However, on Friday, along with watching his teammates, he closely watched one of the Red Sox minor league pitchers. Daniel McGrath pitched a couple of innings against the Twins AA team. McGrath grew up about five minutes from Thorpe in Melbourne, Australia. According to Thorpe, the two were teammates on several teams throughout their youth, including some international competitions. I chatted quite a bit with Stephen Gonsalves. He showed me the grips on his pitches. He has a very interesting chang-up grip. It’s kind of a circle change, but he’s really holding the ball with just two fingers, his middle and ring finger. As he said, “It’s good to have big hands.” Gonsalves is currently on the AA roster, but as more players are sent down from big league camp, it will be interesting to see if he heads back to Ft. Myers. That is the most likely situation, but some of it depends on what happens with Taylor Rogers. If he makes the big league roster, there would be a trickle-down effect. Again most likely he’ll start the season with the Miracle, but it’s very possible he will end the season with the Lookouts. It was nice talking with Trey Cabbage. Following a full day of practice, he worked one-on-one with Sam Perlozzo on a side field later in the afternoon. He came over to watch the minor league game. The Tennessee native said his decision to sign with the Twins instead of going to the University of Tennessee on a baseball scholarship was an easy one, yet he knew that he would have been happy with either scenario. He credits the time he spent playing in Georgia during the summers for moving up draft boards. The Twins took him in the fourth round. He played in Ft. Myers before, in a Perfect Game tournament at Hammond Stadium. I asked him if he missed football and basketball and he said not really. He enjoyed playing and spending time with his friends, but it was never something he enjoyed the way he does with baseball. Briefly chatted with LHP Corey Williams as well. He said he’s been feeling really good. This will be his first full season after Tommy John. He returned to the Miracle last June and worked his way back to AA, this time in Chattanooga. In the offseason, he has his wife moved from Atlanta to Chicago. He said he also spent some time in Minnesota. He has relatives in southwest Minnesota that he visits at least every other year. Saturday will be my last day at the ballpark. I’ll get there early and stay as long as I can. The AAA and AA teams travel to play the Red Sox. The High-A and Low-A teams will play at home, also against the Red Sox. Nick will be getting to Ft. Myers and take over Twins Daily duties on Sunday. Click here to view the article

On Thursday morning in Nashville, baseball’s Winter Meetings will formally conclude with the Rule 5 draft. Teams with fewer than 40 players on their 40-man roster are able to make selections. The Twins have 40 on their roster (at this time) so they will not be able to make a selection in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft without a move. However, it is possible that they could lose a player or two to another team in the draft.The Twins have the 17th pick in the Rule 5 draft based on their finish in the standings during the 2015 season. It’s really impossible to know which players will have already been taken, and Terry Ryan has said that most likely they would not take anyone. The Twins have been pretty clear that they are looking for left-handed relievers and a fourth outfielder in free agency and in trades, so if they do clear room and make a pick, those would be the two areas that they could consider. The Twins have been pretty active in the Rule 5 Draft in recent years, selecting pitchers like JR Graham, Ryan Pressly, Scott Diamond and Terry Doyle. Who typically gets selected in the Rule 5 draft? Here is a rundown of the past five MLB Rule 5 drafts? 2014 – 14 selections – 5 RHP, 4 LHP, 3 Infielders, 1 outfielder, 1 catcher 2013 – 9 selections – 4 RHP, 3 LHP, 1 infielder, 0 outfielders, 1 catcher 2012 – 15 selections – 5 RHP, 3 LHP, 5 infielders, 2 outfielders, 0 catchers 2011 – 12 selections – 5 RHP, 3 LHP, 3 infielders, 1 outfielder, 0 catchers 2010 – 19 selections – 12 RHP, 4 LHP, 3 infielders, 0 outfielders, 0 catchers 5 year – 69 selections – 31 RHP, 17 LHP, 15 infielders, 4 outfielders, 2 catchers. Of course, five years is far too small of a sample size to make any strong opinions. Pitchers accounted for 70% of Rule 5 selections over the last five years. That’s no surprise. Of the selections, nearly half of them were returned to their previous team, and another large group stayed with the drafting team after a trade. Briefly, following the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft, the AAA and AA portions of the draft will take place. The public is not able to see who is on the Rochester or Chattanooga rosters, so it’s impossible to know who might be lost or made available. There’s no way to know who the Twins could add. I’m kind of pathetic, so I’ve already made a 2016 roster projection for all of the Twins affiliates. Frankly, after the Twins re-signed James Beresford and signed infielder Buck Britton, there aren’t any obvious needs in the minor leagues. Maybe a starting pitcher who could pitch in AA or AAA. Maybe another AAA outfield type, similar to Joe Benson. So, let’s take a look again at who the Twins could possibly lose in the MLB portion of the Rule 5 draft. We’ll look at the above categories. Catchers Eligible: Juan Centeno, Carlos Paulino, Michael Quesada, Jairo Rodriguez It’s quite unlikely that any of these guys will be selected. Outfielders Eligible: Travis Harrison, Edgar Corcino, Joe Benson Look again at the list above. Few outfielders are left unprotected. Harrison is still just 23-years-old. He was a supplemental first-round pick in 2013. Corcino is a great athlete who spent last season in Cedar Rapids, but again, these players are unlikely to be selected. Infielders Eligible: James Beresford, Levi Michael, Buck Britton, Niko Goodrum, Bryan Haar, Dalton Hicks, Aderlin Mejia, Reynaldo Rodriguez, Logan Wade, Stephen Wickens The name to be most concerned about losing is likely Levi Michael. The former first-round pick has endured more than his fair share of injuries. However, when he has been healthy the last two years, he has been productive offensively. He’s played mostly second base, with some shortstop, so could a team stash him in the big leagues as a utility infielder? It’s possible. Niko Goodrum is young and very athletic and there are a lot of people who still believe he will grow more into his frame. His value is that he can play shortstop, and the last couple of seasons, he has played a lot of third base and center field as well as some second base. A team could take a flyer on him developing late. That team would need to be willing to keep him all year. The assumption is, and should be, that James Beresford and Buck Britton will not be taken. However, the Twins have a history of signing a guy to a minor league contract and a week later losing him to the Rule 5 draft. That was R.A. Dickey in an an unusual situation. A team looking for a utility infielder could take one of these guys too. Left-Handed Pitchers Eligible: Corey Williams, David Hurlbut, Brett Lee, Jason Wheeler, Aaron Thompson All four of these guys ended last season with a championship in Chattanooga. Wheeler was the MVP of the championship series. Hurlbut, Lee and Wheeler all were part of a terrific starting rotation. Wheeler was added to the 40-man roster last year but struggled in AAA. Williams is fully healthy and he may be a guy teams are interested in as a long-term lefty bullpen guy. Right-Handed Pitchers Zack Jones, Felix Jorge, Alex Wimmers, Luke Bard, DJ Baxendale, Alex Muren, Dereck Rodriguez, Loek Van Mil, Jose Abreu, Jason Adam, Nick Anderson, Omar Bencomo, Sam Gibbons, Miguel Gonzalez, Cole Johnson, Kuo-Hua Lo, Greg Peavey, Tim Shibuya, Matt Summers, Todd Van Steensel Everyone is talking about Zack Jones, and I would say there is a decent chance that he is selected. If anyone will does get selected, it will be the hard-throwing right-hander. Alex Wimmers and Luke Bard are former first-round picks who are available. Wimmers is already 27 and was average in the Lookouts bullpen. Bard finally was healthy in the second half of 2015 and pitched well in Cedar Rapids. He is a guy who could move fast next year. Felix Jorge is one to watch as well. He has good stuff. He’s young. He was remarkably consistent last year with Cedar Rapids. Could a team stash him in the back of a bullpen, and how would a year in the bullpen affect him long-term? Sam Gibbons was good in the second half for Cedar Rapids as well, but the Australian is probably behind Jorge in the pecking order. Could a team take a flyer on the potential of Dereck Rodriguez who has only two years on the mound under his belt? Loek Van Mil signed back with the Twins late last year. Suddenly, the 7-1, 31-year-old was throwing in the upper-90s. Could be a guy that could contribute right away. Alex Muren isn’t a name that comes up a lot when people talk about bullpen options in the Twins system. However, he is a groundball machine, and last year, he was hitting 95-97 mph with a fastball. DJ Baxendale is a guy someone could take a flyer on as a future bullpen guy. He’s got a nice slider, and the two-pitch mix could make him an effective reliever. Cole Johnson has a unique delivery. The former low-round pick had some success at the AAA level. SUMMARY A team like the Milwaukee Brewers, who have just 35 players on their 40 man roster right now, could take a couple of players. As a team that isn’t likely to win in 2016, they would be OK with using up a couple of roster spots on Rule 5 picks. Other teams that may not plan to truly compete in 2016 could stash players. So, depending upon the team and the situation, the Twins do have a handful of guys that could be taken. Below is how I would rank the top five players who could be taken tomorrow morning: 1.) Zack Jones – I’d put it at about 50-50 2.) Levi Michael – maybe 30% 3.) Corey Williams – maybe 25% 4.) Felix Jorge – maybe 25% 5.) Luke Bard – maybe 20% Of course, these are just guesses. There is really no rhyme or reason to the Rule 5 draft. It will be entertaining to listen to, and I’m sure there will be plenty of discussion with the results. Click here to view the article

The Minnesota Twins made a two-hour road trip early on Tuesday morning north to Dunedin. A couple of regulars made the trip, but most of the veterans stayed back in Ft. Myers and got in their work. I remained in Ft. Myers as well and made frequent treks between the big league workouts and the minor league workouts and below you can read some of my notes from the day. The Twins won their game in Dunedin 5-3. Kennys Vargas gave the Twins a 1-0 lead with a long home run off of former Twins pitcher R.A. Dickey. He wasn’t the only former Twins player to play for the Blue Jays against the Twins on Tuesday. Danny Valencia played third base and went 2-3. Steven Tolleson, who was on the Twins 40-man roster until they signed Jim Thome before the 2010 season, went 1-2 and played third base and right field. Lefty Andrew Albers pitched a scoreless inning and struck out one. Chris Colabello is also a non-roster invite with the Blue Jays. On Wednesday, the Twins are at Hammond Stadium, so I’ll be at my first of three games this week.It’s starting to get warm in southwest Florida. Some of the guys who live in Ft. Myers pointed out that it is pretty much 75 degrees every day through the offseason, but this week, the highs are in the mid-to-upper 80s. If you are going to Ft. Myers, be sure to bring the sunscreen, and a hat! If you missed it, I wrote a story earlier today about JO Berrios. I talked to him as he was going through Fan Mail and signing a lot of cards. Before diving deeper into some minor league stories, here are some quick observations from big league camp: Chris Herrmann was working with Doug Mientkiewicz over at first base this morning during PFPs (Pitchers Fielding Pactice). Obviously he has the athleticism and the ability to play all over the diamond. He has caught, played both corner outfield positions, some first base, and he played a lot of third base in college. However, when I talked to him he was pretty clear, “I want them to know that I am a catcher. That’s where I want to do the majority of my work.” To that point, he has only caught (and DH'd) in Twins games to this point.Josmil Pinto has been sidelined due to a strained quad. He is yet to play in a game. On Monday, he caught a couple of bullpens and took some batting practice. On Tuesday, he was doing full workout and catching activities as well as taking a round of batting practice. When I saw him launching baseballs well beyond the left-field fence, it appeared to me that he is getting very close to making his spring debut. Brian Dozier was taking some ground balls at third base this morning on Tom Kelly Field. Before you get alarmed, let me explain. They were working on various activities on the field. Sam Perlozzo was working on backhands with Dozier, Miguel Sano and Trevor Plouffe who were standing at third base. So no, we aren’t likely to see Brian Dozier at third base this season.For me, it's always so much fun when I see people from Twins history working with people from the Twins future. On Tuesday, Tom Kelly took time to work with Miguel Sano on some positioning at third base. Sano took it all in. O’ROURKE’S TWINS DEBUT The first person I talked to in the locker room was lefty Ryan O’Rourke. The southpaw received a non-roster invitation to big league camp following a strong season in 2014, all but one game with the New Britain Rock Cats. He is a native of Worcester, Massachusetts, which is just under an hour from Boston. Last Thursday, he made his first Twins appearance of the spring against the Boston Red Sox. O’Rourke, who held lefties to a ridiculous slash line of .114/.162/.129 (.291) came into the game with the bases loaded and Dustin Pedroia up to bat. As you recall, the Red Sox All-Star hit a grand slam. However, Paul Molitor talked to O’Rourke a day later about the outing. He acknowledged it wasn’t an ideal situation, but that he did a nice job of shaking that off and getting the next hitters out. They were also right-handed, big league hitters (including Mike Napoli). O’Rourke has been in Ft. Myers for about three weeks. He spent a little over a month in his hometown this winter. He spent over a month pitching in Venezuela. When he returned to Massachusetts, he taught pitching lessons to kids in the area. It was the first offseason as a pro that he didn’t work a 40+ hour work at a financial firm. He said, “Believe it or not, I did miss that job.” While O’Rourke knows he is a long-shot to make the Twins opening day roster, he is thrilled to have been given this opportunity to work with the Twins coaches and learn from some veterans. That said, he is very competitive and is competing for a job, if not now, then if needed during the year. JASON KANZLER AND THE MUSTACHE It’s funny. You never know what is going to grab people’s attention. Jason Kanzler’s mustache is one of those things. People ask me all the time about it. Yesterday, I wrote that he had the mustache, but it included some beard too. He said that he was planning to clean it up last night for the opening of the minor league practices. This morning, when he was between fields, he came over and I was able to get the first picture of his 2015 mustache. You have to enjoy the twists at the end of it. The Mustache gets a lot of attention, but Jason Kanzler is certainly worth getting to know. Mitch Garver, Kanzler’s teammate when he was with Cedar Rapids last year, was the choice for Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2014. Kanzler came in fourth. Between Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers, he hit .282/.344/.444 (.788) with 11 doubles, nine triples and 12 home runs. He also stole 27 bases. He has played all three outfield positions, but he is best in centerfield. He was a two-time Gold Glove outfielder in college. He spent the offseason in Houston working out and feels really good going into the season. He said, “Getting here early and getting to hit against live pitching before the official minor league workouts really feels good.” LEWIS THORPE THROWS LIVE BATTING PRACTICE As you know, Lewis Thorpe’s offseason ended near the close of the regular season last year because of a “slight tear of his UCL.” Obviously that news created a lot of concern among the Twins and their fans. He has rehabbed in Ft. Myers for much of the offseason. On Tuesday, he warmed up in the bullpen. Moments later, he was on the mound. He said, “It was my first time facing hitters since my last outing last season.” Obviously it was a big step for him. He threw about 40 total pitches. He didn’t quite have his control all of the time, but obviously that isn’t the concern. That will come. He was happy with the outing. He said afterwards, “I felt good. Just control was a bit of a problem. Fastball was coming out real well, and my breaking ball and change-up need some touch up.” COREY WILLIAMS IN A BULLPEN Left-hander Corey Williams was the Twins third round pick in 2011 out of Vanderbilt. Last year at this time, he started feeling some elbow pain when he pitched. On April 1st, he had Tommy John surgery and missed the entire season. He has spent most of the offseason in Ft. Myers, though he was able to get away for a few weeks to get married and go on a honeymoon. He has been working out and building up that arm strength. As an observer of his bullpen session, he really only threw fastballs, but they had good life, some good velocity. After his bullpen session, he said his elbow felt really good and continues to get stronger. He said that he is scheduled to face live pitching for the first time on Friday. As for whether he’ll be ready for opening day, he isn’t really thinking about it. He said he’s still got some things to get through before worrying about that. However, he thinks it is a real possibility to break with a club. The best scenario might be for him to stay in Ft. Myers with the Miracle so he can be monitored by the staff here. NICK GORDON The Twins top pick in 2014, Nick Gordon, is listed at 6-0 and 160 pounds. He may not be much heavier than that, but considering his size, he really has some pop in his bat. I’ve seen him hit quite a bit the last couple of days. He has a very smooth, fluid left-handed swing. He uses the entire field very well. He has good confidence at the plate. However, when he gets a good pitch, and he’s swinging hard, he can hit the ball well beyond the outfield fence. He has done that several times. One person with the Twins told me, “He has a chance to be really good.” Again, lots of photos of Day 2 have been uploaded to the Twins Daily Facebook Page and also the Twins Daily Twitter account. Be sure to “Like” and “Follow” those sites, respectively. Continue to keep story ideas coming from both the major league and minor league sides. Minor leaguers reported on Tuesday. On Wednesday, they have physicals and photos. Thursday is their first official workout. Click here to view the article

After going through the top performing Hitters and Starting Pitchers from April, it's now time to check out which relief pitchers performed best in April. The Twins announced their choices of Byron Buxton and DJ Baxendale as their Hitter and Pitcher of the Month, respectively.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] As we saw with the starting pitcher list, using a beginning and ending point (such as a month) can alter how the numbers look. Alex Meyer may have be been #1 or #2 on the list if not for one inning in which he gave up four runs. Instead, he was #4. With relief pitchers, the low number of innings in a given month means that having one bad outing can really affect the numbers. However, we have a healthy list of relievers who started the 2013 season with a strong first month. Let's get to the Top 5 Relief Pitchers in April: Number 5 – Cedar Rapids – Tim Atherton - 0.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 9 H, 3 BB, 13 K The 23-year-old from Australia originally signed with the Twins in 2007 as a position player. He was released a year later for some off-field stuff, but re-signed with the Twins, this time as a pitcher, in 2011. He has been quite good since then, and that was the case in April. He pitched the ninth inning of the Kernels’ early-season no-hitter. He struggled some with control last year with the Snappers, but has shown good control to this point in the season. He has a good fastball and a solid slider. He can be deceptive due to a very animated motion. He should move up to Ft. Myers during the season. Number 4 – Ft. Myers – Cole Johnson – 1.69 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 5 H, 4 BB, 7 K This time last year, Johnson was still toiling in Ft. Myers with the Extended Spring Training group. He was promoted to Beloit when the short-season leagues started. He pitched well for the Snappers in the 2nd half last year and in this spring's minor league camp to earn a spot in the Miracle bullpen. The success has continued through the season’s first month as he gave up just two runs and opponents hit .143 off of him. The 23-year-old from Notre Dame was the Twins 44th round pick in 2011. Number 3 – Cedar Rapids – Steven Gruver – 1.08 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 22 K A year ago at this time, the 23-year-old Gruver was in the starting rotation for the Beloit Snappers. Last year he made 18 starts and 12 relief appearances and posted a 3.61 ERA. The lefty began this season in the Kernels bullpen and has been pitching in long relief. He has pitched at least two innings in each of his appearances and has pitched as many as four innings in relief. He did go 4.2 innings in one spot start. The 2011 7th round pick from Tennessee throws strikes, hits 91 and has a good slider. He is another guy who just needs a spot to open in Ft. Myers to move up. Number 2 – Ft. Myers – Corey Williams – 2.31 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 8 H, 0 BB, 5 K In 2012, Williams led the Twins minor leagues with 17 saves while pitching in 47 games for Beloit. The lefty struck out 68 batters in 62.1 innings, but he also walked 33. In his first month in the Florida State League, Williams led the organization with six saves despite sharing save opportunities. However, as you can see, he didn’t strike out many. Encouraging though, he did throw strikes. He was the Twins third round pick in 2011 out of Vanderbilt. He throws hard and has very good stuff. Despite not being promoted last year, Williams is a guy who could move quickly. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: (Photo by Greg Wagner) Ft. Myers – Zack Jones – 1.64 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 11 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 13 K Zack Jones is one of the talented bullpen arms that the Twins selected in the 2012 draft. Unlike some, he will not be getting an opportunity to start. He will be a back-of-the-bullpen arm. When fans hear Zack Jones, the first thing you should think is fastball. Reports last year in Beloit said that radar guns consistently hit 98 mph, with several instances reaching triple-digits. In 2013 with the Miracle, the radar guns are consistently between 96 and 99. He has been splitting time pitching with late-inning leads with Corey Williams. Jones has five saves. Opponents hit just .139 off of him in April. Jones is highly touted and has a chance to move up quickly, but his role and level of success could be determined by his ability to continue to develop a second pitch. Jones said, “Right now, just a slider I’ve been working on. Spent some time messing with different grips and what not, but right now, I believe I have a better grasp of the pitch than I have had previously". “His slider is improving,” said Twins Director of Minor League Operations Brad Steil who added, “He’s being aggressive, throwing strikes and not walking many.” To what does Jones credit his first-month success? “In my opinion, a lot of my success this first month really came from attacking the hitter. I’m starting to develop more confidence with my slider and using that periodically in fastball situations so teams can’t just sit on the fastball,” he continued, “For me, I just try to keep it simple. Come into the game ready and throw strikes down in the zone. Do my best to compete with a relaxed intensity and not let the game speed up on me.” The Miracle are 22-4 on the season. They’ve had strong offense, solid starting pitching and, as you can see from this list, their bullpen has been very good. What’s it like to pitch late in games with Corey Williams, and what can he learn from him? Jones says he learns a lot and they push each other. “I’m lucky to be competing with a pitcher like Corey. I believe a lot of our success comes from us competing with each other and backing each other up. He is a well-rounded pitcher and has a very good mound presence. So, from watching from the bullpen, I try and study how he and other pitchers deal with adversity because that is what makes or breaks a pitcher. We both want the ball just as bad as the other at the end of the game, and we will continue to push each other to be the best we can be.” So, when he gets called in for a save situation, what’s his walk-in music? Jones chuckled and said, “Good question. Guys have different ideas on the walkout music. Some like calm, steady songs, but I’m the opposite. I like feeding my adrenaline when I pitch so I go with something heavy like Metallica.” It may be something he’ll have to have played in Target Field in the future! It was a terrific month for the Ft. Myers Miracle. They were the only team in baseball to end April with 20 wins. Miguel Sano was my choice for Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. (The Twins officially chose Byron Buxton, which is completely understandable.) DJ Baxendale was my choice for Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. The Twins made him their pitcher of the month. And today, three of my top five relievers, including the top two, are from the Miracle. Hopefully May can be as exciting for the Twins minor league affiliates and their prospects. As always, please feel free to ask any questions you may have. View full article