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While only the short season leagues play on Monday’s, the Dominican Summer League club had the day off so it was all Florida Complex League action. Get caught up on how the action went. COMPLEX CHRONICLES FCL Orioles 2, FCL Twins 1 Box Score The Twins turned to Develson Aria today and got three strong innings. He allowed just a single hit while striking out a batter and walking another. Through four innings, the Orioles had just one hit. It wasn’t just the Orioles finding themselves stifled in this one though. It wasn’t until Rafael Cruz crushed his 2nd home run of the season until the Twins were on the board. Despite tallying a total of six hits, that was their only run of the game. The Orioles were able to rally four two runs against Isiah Rivera in the bottom of the 9th inning and walked it off against the Twins. DOMINICAN DAILIES Scheduled Day Off DRAFT PICK UPDATES A handful of the top picks have been promoted to Low-A Fort Myers or High-A Cedar Rapids. Most of the picks have also made their professional debut at one level or another. Infielder Jorel Ortega was 1-for-1 with the Mighty Mussels, but then removed from the game after a slide and has been placed on the 60-day injured list with a left wrist sprain. Ben Ross has played five games with Fort Myers and owns a 1.076 OPS with two homers. Nate Baez is 3-for-11 to start his Low-A career. Promoted to Cedar Rapids last week, Brooks Lee has now played in nine games. He's 12-for-36 with two homers. Every bit the polished prospect he was originally billed, Cedar Rapids fans should have a blast seeing Twins Daily's second-best prospect. TWINS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Develson Aria (FCL Twins) - 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K Hitter of the Day – Rafael Cruz (FCL Twins) - 3-4, R, 2B, HR(2) TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS St. Paul @ Iowa (6:38PM CST) - TBD Wichita @ Frisco (7:05PM CST) - RHP Brent Headrick Cedar Rapids @ Lake County (5:35PM CST) - TBD Lakeland @ Fort Myers (6:00PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Monday’s games! It sure is exciting to have all four Twins full-season affiliates and the two Complex Season affiliates back and playing. View full article

Although we no longer have the Gulf Coast League or the Appalachian League, short season action still commenced with the newly-designed Complex Leagues in Florida and Arizona. Plenty of Twins prospects are getting their first taste of pro ball after a shutdown in 2020. This is Twins Daily’s annual effort to make note of the standout arms in the group. Before getting into this year’s crop, here are the previous recipients of this award: 2016: Huascar Ynoa 2017: Jovani Moran 2018: Andrew Cabezas 2019: Cody Lawyerson There were a handful of notable performances this season. With every organization putting such a premium on developing pitching, having players stand out early at the lowest level is a must. Being able to continue to foster that growth throughout their experience in professional baseball is what hopefully will translate to major-league success. Coming off a year with no minor league action, these guys really stepped up when returning to the mound. Before getting into the top three, here are some honorable mentions. Others Receiving Votes: Giovahniey German 12 G, 11 GS, 5.59 ERA, 1.68 WHIP, 38.2 IP, 33 H, 32 BB, 43 K John Wilson 14 G, 3.86 ERA, 1.54 WHIP, 23.1 IP, 32 H, 4 BB, 16 K Ramon Pineda 13 G, 4.35 ERA, 1.16 WHIP, 20.2 IP, 22 H, 2 BB, 17 K Cole Bellair 10 G, 6.43 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 21.0 IP, 27 H, 7 BB, 34 K Short Season Pitcher of the Year Here are the top three vote-getters for Twins Short Season Pitcher of the Year. 3. Develson Aria 13 G, 6 GS, 3.16 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 25.2 IP, 14 H, 23 BB, 39 K Aria was signed out of the Dominican Republic prior to the 2019 season. He played stateside for the first time this year at the age of 20. Despite lacking command on the bump, Aria posted gaudy strikeout numbers and was able to work around potential damage. Notably, he avoided allowing any home runs during his 25 2/3 innings of work. 2. Juan Mendez 12 G, 5 GS, 3.58 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 21 H, 14 BB, 37 K Making his professional debut, Mendez was 22-years-old for the FCL team this year. He allowed opposing batters to hit just .196 off of him and gave up just two home runs during his season of work. Signed in 2020 as a free agent, Mendez put a strong foot forward to start his pro career. 1. Samuel Perez 13 G, 1 GS, 1.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 37.1 IP, 29 H, 5 BB, 39 K Working primarily as a reliever, Perez was utterly dominant for the Complex League squad this year. He posted more than a strikeout per inning and had a sub 1.00 WHIP. Perez made his stateside debut this season after being signed by the Twins organization in June 2021. Having previously played in the Dominican Summer League through the Angels organization, Perez has consistently posted strong strikeout numbers and low ERA totals. He is now 21-years-old and will be looking towards a debut with Fort Myers next season. The Ballots Seth Stohs - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Develson Aria Nash Walker - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Develson Aria 3) John Wilson Cody Christie - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Develson Aria Tom Froemming - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Ramon Pineda Ted Schwerzler - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Giovahniey German 3) John Wilson Steve Lien - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Develson Aria 3) Juan Mendez David Youngs - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Giovahniey German 3) Juan Mendez Allen Post - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Develson Aria Matt Braun - 1) Samuel Perez 2) Juan Mendez 3) Cole Bellair Feel free to discuss. What do you think? How would you rank them? How would your ballot look? View full article