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There are few that know the baseball lifestyle better than moms. Get to know some of the wonderful mothers in the Twins' organization and how they've lived and led their sons' journey. Allison Mason sat alongside her five-year-old young son Ryan outside of the t-ball fields in Auburn, California in her car. As the first day of T-ball practice awaited, a situation arose. What should have been a moment of excitement was one of confusion and concern. Ryan refused to get out of the car. No pitching involved? Nope, not for me. "He wouldn't play T-ball when he was five and he wouldn't play baseball when he was six because the coaches pitched," Allison recalled. "By the time he was seven and was finally allowed to pitch he was chomping at the bit to be in the full windup." Most kids need the grassroots staple of baseball to develop basic skills. Not Ryan. In a world of kids on first, Ryan was well on his way to third base and headed home. That full trip around the bases is now inches from touching home plate. Coming off a strong 2021 season Ryan Mason has established himself as one of the strongest pitchers in the Twins Minor League Organization. After dabbling with excellence upon belong selected by the Twins in the 2016 draft, Ryan dominated in 2021, posting a 4-2 record and 2.67 ERA out of the bullpen. On July 31 his success earned him a promotion from AA Wichita to AAA St. Paul, his highest ascension on the ladder to Major League Baseball. Mason is on the cusp of achieving the dream that every boy fantasizes about in his backyard from a young age. Yet from the days of watching Ryan refuse Tee-ball, to pitching at his home-state university, to sitting on the fringe of the highest level of baseball, Allison's experience has remained constant. Proud and grateful. Young Talent Allison reflects on her son's journey through baseball; a mother of two, Ryan fell in love with the game at an early age thanks to his older brother Jeff. "His older brother was doing all the sports. baseball, soccer, basketball, all of it," Allison recalls. "As a younger brother, Ryan wanted to be out there and he wanted to be the same age as his brother so he could do all of it." Like many younger brothers, Jeff's baseball equipment would become Ryan's once he was big and old enough to fill it. The only exception was gloves, as Jeff was a lefty pitcher and Ryan throws with his right arm. And while many hours were spent with Jeff in the backyard, Ryan had a knack for tuning up his fastball in the living room... at inconvenient times. "We were in the living room and he was two and half years old; I can remember him setting up four couch cushions and he would pitch from the windup into the cushions," Allison said. "He would hit his spot 99% of the time. At the time it was annoying because we were trying to watch TV and I can remember saying 'Ryan can we give it a rest, can we please just sit down for a while,' and he would just keep doing it." It became apparent that Allison and Bob's son had a special gift from a young age. When Ryan was seven and finally able to pitch, he would scare the opposition out of the batter's box because he threw so hard for his age. "I can remember other parents commenting 'What is he doing? Why is he doing this?' and I just responded with 'he lives for this," Allison said. "He couldn't wait for that moment to be on the mound." From Auburn's 'Nugget League' through the local Little League, Ryan established himself as one of the premier baseball players in the state by the time he was a high schooler. And while Allison was just happy to see her son succeed, an offer to play for the University of California Golden Bears was a dream come true. "We never dreamt that big for him, we were just really, really glad that there were options," Allison said. "When Cal called, we were just like 'wow this is a DI, Pac-12 opportunity." Ryan was a stalwart for the Golden Bears, compiling a 26-11 record and 3.25 ERA over four years. He even went viral thanks to a pretty impressive pregame feat that landed him some airtime on ESPN and four million views over social media Ryan's success for the Golden Bears streamlined him to professional baseball. For Allison, the relationships that he built in Berkeley were equally as impactful as the success on the field. "Some of his best friends to this day are from that program," including his coach," she said. Bound in Auburn Auburn, California sits just northwest of the state capital of Sacramento. Far from the hustle and bustle of LA and San Diego, its population of just over 13,000 is a tight-knit community. Nestled in the town is the Mason's lumber store, where locals will come to check in on the progress of the finest athletes the community has ever seen. Yet Ryan's legacy expands beyond the walls of Auburn Hardwoods; Ryan's story is a staple in the NorCal town. "The high school keeps tabs on him, little league coaches, there's a whole community here that has his back and are watching him every step of the way," Allison said. Tears of Joy Each time Ryan gets the news that he has been promoted to a higher level of play, his mother is one of the first to know. "It's just tears, every single time. I'm the first one that he calls. It's fantastic, I'm proud every single time," she said. By now, the national pastime is second nature to Allison and the Mason family. Yet with time comes change and growth, including Allison's perspective when her son takes the mound. "When I was watching him pitch at Cal I was living and dying by the outings that he had," Allison said. "If he had a bad outing my heart would hurt for him." After a few years of watching Ryan pitch at the professional level, her mindset shifted from a roller coaster to one word. Grateful. "Being able to watch every game on MiLB.TV of Ryan and his teammates, I wasn't living and dying by every game anymore. I was just grateful for every single opportunity. My husband and I learned to step back and not ride the roller coaster, we're just grateful." Ryan has played 132 games for the Twins organization. And while the number is certain to grow, Allison is just proud of her son and his journey from tee-ball dropout to a world-class pitcher. "Ryan is someone who is able to rise to the occasion, you don't know how long this is going to last and we're just grateful to watch it. Ryan has traveled all over the place and met so many people and lifelong friends and it's all through this connection of baseball." Are YOU a mother of a player in the Twins organization? We'd love to hear you and your son's story. Email David Youngs (dyyoungs15@gmail.com, @CYoungsAward on Twitter) for more information! Check out Seth's Episode of Twins Live with Ryan Mason! View full article

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/how-many-mlb-draftees-make-it-to-the-majors/ It would be nice to think that everyone signed to a baseball contract would see a day in the majors, but here is what this site has to say, "Over three days in early June, more than 1,200 players will have their long-time dreams come true. They will hear their names called as selections in the 2019 draft. Of those more than 1,200 draftees, more than 900 players will agree to terms and sign contracts to become professional baseball players. With one dream fulfilled, they will set their sights on a bigger dream—becoming a major league player. And for more than 700 of those 900 pro players, that dream will go unfulfilled. In studying every draft since Baseball America began covering the draft in 1981, we wanted to answer a very simple question: how many players drafted in June’s MLB draft will eventually make it? The answer is less than one in five. It’s too early to judge the 2011 to 2018 drafts, but from 1981-2010, 17.6 percent of players who were drafted and signed ended up making it to the majors. Those odds vary dramatically depending on where a player is drafted. First-round picks can expect to reach the major leagues. First-round picks who don’t make it are the exception. From 1981 to 2010, 73 percent of first-round picks reached the majors. In 2004, only two of the 29 first-round picks who signed failed to make the majors—a 93 percent success rate that will be hard to beat. But that success rate drops off quickly. By the second round, the rate of players who reach the majors dips to 51 percent. In the third round, 40 percent are eventually going to be major leaguers. From there it continues to steadily dip." There are four minor league affiliates plus two short season teams for each MLB team now. In 2007 the average lifetime of a MLB career was 5.6 years. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070709131254.htm "Early in the talks between MLB and MiLB, MLB discussed a roughly 150-player limit for teams’ domestic minor league rosters. Players playing in the Dominican Republic would not be subject to this limit. MLB teams are already limited to two clubs in the Dominican Summer League. A 150-domestic player limit would ensure each MLB team would be limited to one U.S. complex-based team in the Gulf Coast or Arizona leagues. When you include players on the injured list, restricted list and other non-active players, a 150-player limit would mean MLB teams have no choice other than to field only five domestic minor league teams—four full-season clubs plus one complex team. One size fits all." https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-expected-to-expand-milb-player-limit-for-full-season-clubs/#:~:text=When%20you%20include%20players%20on,clubs%20plus%20one%20complex%20team. Of course MLB has continuously underpaid the players in the minors and (I think) overpaid those in the majors. So who are those prospects at the bottom of the 150 player limit? And why do they hang on? Love of the game? No marketable skills? MLB needs them to fill the roster and they should pay them. Who are the ten players in Elizabethtown who played the fewest games and what do we expect from them? In AAA there were 7 position players over 30 years old, and seven pitchers in the same age range. What do we expect them to do? I do not mind that we have these older players still chasing their dream, in fact I like it, but MLB is cutting them out, cutting teams, cutting dreams. I enjoy the lists that TD writers put up, but I wonder about the bottom 20. Those who have no chance, but love the game and love the opportunity. They need to be recognized too. When MLB cut the minor league teams these underpaid, under appreciated ball players were the ones who suffered. One year of Trevor Bauer's salary would keep them employed for the rest of the century.

The 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook will be now available. By clicking here, you can order the paperback version of the PDF/E-Book version at Lulu.com. In addition, the promo code ONEFIVE will get you 15% off of all print books you order on Lulu.com (promo code is good through Thursday). In this link, you'll see previous Twins Prospect Handbooks are available.With the completion and availability of the 2020 Twins Prospect Handbook, I have now written and self-published a dozen Twins Prospect Handbooks. I think back to the first one, which I think I wrote up and published within about two or three weeks, and laugh. Since then, I truly believe that the handbooks have continued to get better and much more detailed, and that’s thanks to a lot of people. As much as I know that I enjoy researching and learning about the players, it is a ton of work. But I enjoy having the conversations with a variety of people inside and outside of the organization. I enjoy watching video. I enjoy reading other opinions. I enjoy going to Ft. Myers each spring and spending time watching minor league practice and games. I also enjoy getting down to Cedar Rapids for some games. However, ultimately, I also truly believe in that paragraph that I wrote in that 2008 prospect handbook and have included in every single Twins Prospect Handbook since then, including this year’s. Minor league baseball players are doing all the same work that the big leaguers do. They are just doing it with far less fanfare, smaller per diems, less luxurious travel and hotel arrangements, and noticeably lighter wallets due to pay checks with far fewer zeroes. These players deserve to be recognized too. It’s about the players. They deserve the recognition. They work hard. Sometimes that means a big league career, and sometimes it means peaking in A-ball. Tom Froemming wrote an article for this year’s Prospect Handbook about why it’s important to get to know more than just a team’s Top or Top 20, or even Top 40, prospects. A quick glimpse back at the Twins 2019 season reminds us that Luis Arraez asn’t a Top 10 Twins prospect just 12 months ago. Cody Stashak was recognized for his transition to the bullpen in 2018, he he didn’t rank as a Top 50 prospect. Randy Dobnak wasn’t a Top 50 prospect. Geez, how many Twins Top 100 prospect rankings would he have made one year ago. Which prospects will surprise and advance in 2020? Which top prospects will? The Twins system is currently really strong. There are four to six Twins prospects that are Top 100 guys nationally. There are a few others that are probably close to that level. And there is a ton of depth of players that have the ability to, if opportunity arises, be big league players. That makes the writing and researching and all the time well worth it! So, here is a quick look at what you will find if you order a copy of the 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook (which will again be available in paperback and as a PDF). THE COVER Finn Pearson, who has volunteered to do a lot of really good graphic work for Twins Daily the last couple of years, did a very nice job on the cover again this year. (He did last year’s too.) We talked about it and decided that baby blue was the way to go after the Twins announced they were bringing back those ‘80s uniforms in 2020. And, well, Pensacola sure had a lot of high-quality pitching prospects in 2019, didn’t they? Here are three of them; Jhoan Duran, Jordan Balazovic and Brusdar Graterol. THE AUTHORS Seth Stohs - As mentioned above, this is my 12th annual Twins Prospect Handbook. Hard to believe. I wrote the Twins Daily Minor League Award winner articles, and a few other articles. Tom Froemming - This is Tom’s third Prospect Handbook. He wrote an article about how Twins fans need to look beyond the top 20 Twins prospects. We saw in 2019 that several players who did not come into the season as top prospects or even potential call-ups not only got called up, but contributed to the AL Central championship run. CONTRIBUTING WRITERS RT Rybak - The former mayor of Minneapolis contributed a great poem for the Twins Daily Offseason Handbook, and he was kind enough to also contribute a fantastic poem to the 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook too. It’s titled, “All who Wander Javier,” and I know you’ll really enjoy it. . Steve Buhr - Steve wrote a fantastic article discussing the controversy going on between MLB and Minor League Baseball. He tries to see both sides of the story, and tries to answer what it might all mean. Ted Schwerzler - As he has done in recent years, Ted contributed an article in which he predicts which Twins prospects will make their debuts with the Twins in 2020 and when. Nash Walker - He has been contributing articles at Twins Daily recently, and he wrote an article on Jhoan Duran for the handbook. THE PROFILES We like to call the prospect profiles the meat and potatoes of the Prospect Handbook. There are about 170 profiles of Twins minor leaguers in the book. For those that have purchased Prospect Handbooks in the past, you have an idea of what the profiles look like and the information in each. For those of you who have not purchased previous Prospect Handbooks, well, you can buy previous Prospect Handbooks here. Ha! However, we wanted to include a profile here just to give you an idea of what you are getting. Here is a quick snip of a player profile. The header information includes height, weight, how they were acquired and their 2019 statistics. The 2019 Recaps were written by Tom Froemming and they, well, recap the player’s 2019 season. I (Seth) wrote up the Background and the Scouting Report sections. The Background covers their amateur days and previous seasons. The Scouting Report provides, well, a scouting report on the player. We also included a Forecast for ‘20 in which we try to give a good idea of where each player could spend the 2020 season. We have pictures of a lot of the players in the bios. I wish we had all, but we definitely want to thank all the photographers that were willing to let us use their photos. We used a lot of my photos, but I also want to thank Steve Buhr for his great photos from Cedar Rapids, Ft. Myers and the GCL Twins. The Elizabethton Twins photos came from Nicholas Badders or Kassi Butcher. So there you have it. The 2020 Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook is coming very soon. Keep checking back to Twins Daily and we will let you know when it is available and how you can order it. It’s something that Tom and I are really proud of. It just keeps getting bigger and better, and we hope that you will enjoy it too! Click here to view the article

Okay it is August and the Twins have kept us around and speculating since Spring Training. Who will be cut, what FA will be brought in, will the minor leaguers get a chance, will Dozier's 1/2 year of brilliance begin soon? Are we buyers or sellers, who will be our all-star, will anyone take our deadwood at Trade Deadline. Now what? The Twins are 9 games back in the Central and perhaps even more telling they are 13.5 back in the wild card. At 49 - 57 the Twins now have 56 games left. Being just an 8 fame winning streak from 500 what are the chances of strong finish? Yawn - does it matter. The new acquisitions are ready to contribute to the big club in about 5 years, the best players in the minors in 2 years. The Twins still have Belisle taking innings. Why? They still have slugger Morrison and his 193 BA taking regular ABs - Why? I believe DFA was created for these two. Any reason that Romero and Gonsalves are not in the rotation for the rest of this waste year? Is there some logic that it is better to go with Belisle, Rodney, and Reed than some of our minor league arms? Is there any reason Rooker should not get a preview rather than Morrison? Is there no one in the minors who could benefit from removing Wilson at Catcher? Other than seeing new talent and getting a preview of better times what does the rest of the season mean? I know the Vikings are about to start playing exhibitions that are even more pathetic than our chances to catch Cleveland, but at least there are individual goals for the players on the Twins. Or we can watch Thibodeau in daily debates with his best player as we wait the highly anticipated (cough-cough) Timberwolves, or switch over to the 8th place United. Maybe a trip to the lake, a walk in the woods (my choices) are the best choices. Meditation about what it means to be a Twins fan. Our all-time record puts us 101 games below 500 - maybe that is our destiny. The state parks await. Or the state fair with everything on a stick can take away our baseball blues. A concert or two, or a trip to the minor leagues to see what the young Twins look like (and please do not repeat that we have built up our minors so we can use them for trades). Look for hope before the leaves turn, the wind shifts and the flakes fall. We know that there are a lot of fans with the same doldrums. Most of them entered the season without hope and that is the hardest part. Baseball is such a tease. And, of course, there are the teams like the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, Yankees that should be put in one division so that they can beat each other up and give the rest of us a real chance. Enjoy the sunshine, harvest your garden, check Twins Daily for new stories and let the radio put the Twins in the background while you sit on the deck and remember what a gorgeous place we live in.

Today was a rather light day for the Minnesota Twins farm system. With the Red Wings game postponed and neither the Lookouts or E-Twins having games, the action was muted at best. Despite some tough losses for both Cedar Rapids and the GCL club, arguably the most notable action came from the transactions yet to be made officialAs noted above, while affiliates have yet to make anything official, two huge moves took place on the lower rungs of the system today. With Polanco moving up to Triple-A Rochester, the door is now wide open for Royce Lewis to join Graterol and Kirilloff at High-A Fort Myers. Transactions: Chattanooga Lookouts OF James Ramsey released RED WINGS REPORT Rochester @ Syracuse PPD MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 8, Tampa 5 Box Score Clark Beeker toed the rubber in this one for the Miracle, and he found himself with a 2-0 deficit through two innings of work. His lineup would have his back however, as a five spot made its way onto the board in the third, and the Miracle were off and running. After Luis Arraez, hitting machine, singled to drive in Ben Rortvedt, Mark Contreras decided to contribute. His 4th homer of the year with the Miracle was a grand slam, and the good guys had a three run lead, up 5-2. The balls weren't done leaving the park for the Miracle however. Caleb Hamilton hit his second of the year, a two run shot. As Tampa drew closer, making it 7-5 through six innings, Fort Myers first basemen Lewis Diaz provided more cushion. His solo blast, 5th of the year, increased the lead back up to three. Ryan Mason would come on, and the 8-5 tally would stand. Picking up his 3rd save of the year, Fort Myers was able to even up the series. Miguel Sano played in this one, making it his first back-to-back with the Miracle. He was 1-5 with 3 strikeouts and is batting .250 since his demotion back to Single-A. Fort Myers will have an opportunity to take the series tomorrow as they conclude the three game set. KERNELS NUGGETS Beloit 4, Cedar Rapids 3 (11 innings) Box Score Randy Dobnak got the nod in this one for the Kernels, and he nearly took it the distance. Going seven innings allowing just three runs on six hits, Cedar Raopids was in position to walk this one off in the 9th. Jacob Pearson opened the scoring in this one early the first time the Kernels came to the plate. With Akil Kaddoo on third following a leadoff triple, Pearson’s ground out would drive in the first run. Jean Carlos Arias would then tack on another with a single that would allow Jose Miranda to cross the plate. The Snappers would bite Dobnak in the top half of the second, getting one run back. Then again in the 3rd, the visitors would strike for two more on a Hunter Hargrove home run. Following up their first inning contributions, Arias would walk with the bases loaded allowing Pearson to score. Extras would be in store as neither side could jump ahead late. The first scoring chance would come for the Kernels in the bottom of the 10th. With the bases loaded and one out, Ben Rodriguez would ground into an inning ending double play. The two sides would play on. After working three innings of relief work, Jovani Moran would turn the ball over to Calvin Faucher. In the 11th, the Snappers would bring around their runner from second base and then go on to load the bases. Faucher would end the inning with just the one run crossing the plate. Cedar Rapids sent Trey Cabbage, Jordan Gore, and Akil Baddoo to the dish in the final frame, but they couldn’t push the necessary tally across. The Kernels will now head out on the road for a four game set with Burlington. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Rays 6, GCL Twins 5 Box Score This one saw the GCL Twins get behind early, but squander some opportunities to draw even, and eventually come up just one run short. With Kai-Wai Teng on the bump, the GCL club put up a run of support in both the first and second innings. Giving up a five spot in the home half of the inning though, the Rays made the lead stick. In the first, it was Victor Tademo doing the damage for the good guys. A single to left field would drive in Yeltsin Encarnacion. The second inning started with a Rays error that would allow Estamy Urena to reach base. Austin Hale would elevate a pitch, and his sac fly to left would bring Urena across the plate. With a two run lead, Teng would run into trouble during the bottom of the 2nd. After a balk and a handful of base hits, the Rays would jump out to a 5-2 lead. The Twins would do their best to come back however, answering with two runs in the top of the third. Alberoni Nunez would double in both Tyler Webb and Kidany Silva cutting the deficit to one. After another Rays run would score in the 5th, Willie Joe Garry would come around to score after his first professional base hit (a double). Hale would pick up his second RBI on the afternoon, this time on a single. The GCL Twins will look to exact revenge as the two teams match up again tomorrow. This time, the Twins will be the home team as they host the traveling Rays in Fort Myers. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Randy Dobnak, 7.0 IP 6 H 3 R 3 ER 3 BB 4 K Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Luis Arraez, 4-5, R, RBI TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 5. Alex Kirilloff (Fort Myers) – 0-5 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 1-6, R, K 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 1-4, R, RBI, HR(5) 16. Ben Rortvedt (Fort Myers) – 0-3, R, BB, K 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 1-4, 2B, K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (4:05PM CST) – RHP Fernando Romero (0-1, 2.57 ERA)/TBD Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00PM CST) – TBD Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (2-5, 3.45 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30PM CST) – RHP Bailey Ober (3-1, 5.16 ERA) Elizabethton @ Danville (6:00PM CST) – TBD GCL Twins vs GCL Rays (11:00AM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games! Click here to view the article

First Posted: 01 January 2018 - 07:16 PM (Note: I thought I'd re-post this older forum post on my new blog in case anyone hadn't seen it) First of all, I'm a long time reader, first time poster, which is pretty exciting. I was reading Bonnes' article about Twins Daily and writing and figured I might have a little something to add. So here goes, I'm 25 and a big Twins fan. Grew up in South Minneapolis, been to at least 20 games a year since middle school. Got a TC tattooed on my arm. Got a baby picture of myself behind home plate at the dome. A top 3 moment in my life so far was game 163. I'm also a big baseball fan in general. I've been to a dozen major league stadiums and almost a dozen minor league and independent parks as well. Not much I'd rather be doing than sitting at a ball game with a beer and some seeds. I'm also big into traveling and having new experiences. Took a year off between high school and college and solo traveled through 6 countries in Europe and South America (incidentally became a Soccer fan in the process). In college I studied International Relations and Spanish. I've been to 13 countries and 30+ states. This is all to say, before I graduated college I decided I wanted to live somewhere else in the world as soon as I could. I spent a few years living at my parents house and a cheap apartment paying off my loans, all the while dreaming of where I'd go. I knew I wanted to go somewhere where Spanish was the primary language. While I've studied the language my whole life, I know fluency doesn't come without significant exposure. I knew I wanted to go somewhere affordable (read: cheap living). I also knew through my previous experience abroad, there are some things that bridge cultural gaps and help people meet: Sports, Music, and Drinking. I'm not much of a musician and can't dance, so that was out the window. I also know that drinking is universal; anywhere I'd want to go has beer or liquor or something. That left sports. I've traveled to places that love soccer before, it's an amazing sport but I don't have the depth of knowledge or passion for the sport like I do baseball. Looking at the countries that play baseball, I counted out Korea and Japan right away. Too expensive, and I didn't feel like picking up an entirely new language. That left Mexico, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, Panama, Cuba and maybe Columbia. Panama, Mexico and Columbia were out; not enough of a baseball presence to really make the most of it. Seeing baseball in Cuba is a dream of mine, but the legal situation made living and working there too much of an uncertainty. I've been enamored with Venezuela since I heard Hugo Chavez telling off George W., but the political situation there is too messy for a white guy like me to expect safety and be able to make any money. That left the Dominican Republic. Through the years I knew many of my favorite players had come from the Island. I also knew that there was both an affiliated Summer league and a high level winter league. So the Dominican Republic was it. Over the years living in Minneapolis after college, my girlfriend (now fiancee) expressed interest in going on this adventure with me. I also went to Hamline University and got my certificate for Teaching English asa Foreign Language. Everything was set to head down and see what it was all about. And here I am, over two months in. We've both got jobs and an apartment in the second city, Santiago de los Caballeros. We've made some friends and are starting to get the hang of things down here. On one of my first nights here I got to watch the last game of the world series while sharing drinks with the local guys at the corner shop. Most importantly, I've been to over 15 games at 2 of the 6 stadiums. I've seen all of the teams and a really interesting array of prospects, big league regulars, and has beens. Plenty of future, current, and former twins as well. I've also gotten to know a lot more about Dominican culture and it's people at the games. There are a lot of similarities between games here and games at home, but probably more differences. 1. Tickets I've paid between 1 and 25 USD for tickets. I've bought them both through the box office and from scalpers. Weekday regular season games between the less popular teams are a really easy ticket. Games between the two big teams, Águilas Cibaeñas (my hometown team) and Tigres del Licey (from the capital) are a tough ticket. Last game the lowest price I could find was 20 USD per ticket, so a friend snuck me in through a gate where he knew the security guard. I'd like to see that happen at Target Field. 2. Stadium The stadiums are much smaller than we're used to in the US, with the biggest here in Santiago seating just over 18 thousand. It's one of the few with outfield bleachers. There really isn't a bad seat in the house, and moving from seat to seat is really easy. The stadiums are fairly clean, but definitely in worse shape than any minor league stadium I've been to in the US. The first game I went to there were workers trying to weld a gate next to my seat well into the first inning. 3. Food and Drink Cheap and good. Hot dogs, slices of pizza, bags of popcorn are a buck. Get a burger for a $1.50. Can of the local beer Presidente for a buck. .5 L of rum for four bucks. And all served to you in your seat by a waitress that takes care of the whole section. It's quite a different experience going to a game, sitting in nice seats, having a few drinks and a full dinner for less than 10 bucks instead of over 100. 4. Entertainment The game is certainly the main attraction here. People really get into it. There are songs people sing in between at bats, and chants for specific hometown players, opponents, and umpires. It really seems like there are no half-way fans when you're at a game. The mascots are also hilarious. At one game I watched one go on the field in between innings with a toy sniper rifle, get down on his stomach, and take out the opposing team. Another favorite half-time entertainment are the Super Gato (motorcycle company) girls. These scantily clad women get on top of the dugout at least twice a game and dance suggestively in front of the crowd. Men, women, children, grandmas and players stop what they're doing and watch. So yea, pretty different from the match game at Target Field. 5. The Game It's baseball. The quality of play certainly isn't up to Major League standards, but it can't be much lower than AAA. It may just be small sample size, but it seems that I haven't seen a lot of home runs, maybe 3 or 4 in all the games I've been to. Also, there seem to be more errors committed than I'm used to in the majors, which makes some sense. The pace of play is also dreadfully slow. Not only is there time called often, the rosters are huge and the bullpens are very full. The managers have tons of options out there and like to use them. I've sat through innings that seemed to last forever because there were 4 pitching changes. But overall, good baseball to watch. Danny Santana- I've only been impressed with his play. He's hitting .308 on the year and I've seen him start one extra-inning game winning rally and hit one other walk-off hit. He's played every game I've seen for the local Aguilas, and started in Center. Not too impressed with his play out there, but I also haven't seen any terrible plays. I know he was waived by Atlanta, but it seems to me that if he could play an average center field he could still be an asset to a major league team as a utility guy. Then again, he's struck out 13 times and walked 5 while slugging .397, so it is still the Danny Santana we got to know so well in Minnesota. Kennys Vargas- Kennys came to the Aguilas as a mid-season reinforcement. I was very excited to see someone who I believe(ed) still has some upside in the Majors. Well, it hasn't really gone his way. He quickly made a fool of me singing his praises to my friends here in Santiago by hitting .222 with 20 strikeouts and 2 home runs in 54 regular season at bats. It has been fun to get up close to his antics while he's on the bench for a game. Last game I was at, I saw him playing receiver to a guy in the stands who was throwing him candy. It's really cool to be able to get such a close up view of players in an atmosphere where they're relaxed and having fun (maybe too relaxed in the case of Kennys). Samuel Deduno- This one came out of left-field for me, literally (from the bullpen). He's got the same electric curve-ball and very little command, and now he's pitching out of the pen for the Aguilas. In a small sample of 12 regular season innings, hes got a one and a half ERA and a .81 WHIP. Jung Ho Kang- Wow, another guy I wasn't expecting to see playing down here. It's been really interesting to watch him play, mostly because of the off the field stuff took him out of the game last year, and it's really interesting to me to see how a guy who hasn't played in so long would fare against some pretty solid competition. In this case, let me tell you, it was not good. Through the middle of the regular season, he was starting most games for the Aguilas and got 84 at bats before he decided to head home for the seasons. In those 84 at bats, he struck out 31 times with and OBP of .219 with 2 doubles. Looks like it's going to take a little more time to shake the rust off if he's going to have any shot of playing in the majors any time soon, regardless of his legal status. Alexi Casilla- Gotten to see him play a couple times for the Toros del Este. To be honest, he hasn't done anything that's really impressed me (maybe personal bias), but he's on the league leaderboard with a .315 average. Jair Jurrjens- Yet another blast from the past, he's been the most dependable starter for Licey with a 3.6 ERA in 50 innings. I've seen him throw once, and while his stuff didn't wow me at all, he seems to be able to get through the lineups down here without too much trouble. Another guy I had on fantasy teams back in the day trying to get some exposure down here, apparently he tested positive for steroids this last season in AAA for the Dodgers. Let me tell you, if the winter league is run like everything else here in the DR, I highly doubt there's a strict drug testing policy. Starling Marte- Speaking of drug testing, Marte is another guy who's gotten a lot of playing time for Escondigo because of his lack of playing time in the Majors last year due to suspension. I was impressed the handful of times I saw him play here, he certainly looked like a guy who only had a little rust to work off, unlike the issues Kang was having. Overall, Marte hit .277/.333/.438 this regular season. I would expect him to be back in the Majors doing well this season. Justin Haley- I saw him start for Escondigo against Estrellas, and he looked really good. Solid stuff, and even though he gave up 7 hits over 5 innings, he didn't let any of those baserunners score. That game he had 4 strikeouts to no walks. Over his 5 starts, he's pitched 26 innings with a 2.06 ERA and 17 strikeouts to 4 walks. I left the game thinking the Twins would have done well to keep him, but I suppose that's how rule 5 works. Adalberto Mejia- Here's one guy who I hadn't seen play, but has pretty good stats for the Gigantes del Cibao. It may sound familiar, but Mejia didn't make it out of the 5th inning in any of his five starts, but that may have more to do with the abundance of bullpen options and possible innings limits than anything else. Overall, he had a 3.43 ERA with 15 strikeouts to 8 walks. He's a guy I'll certainly have my eye on this year to take a step forward for the Twins. While there are some other interesting guys that I've seen play down here, these are the ones who stuck out to me particularly. Right now, the first round of the playoffs is happening, which is a round robin tournament with the top 4 of 6 regular season teams. Then comes the Dominican Championship series and after that the Caribbean Championships. Then, I have to wait a few months before the affiliated Dominican Summer League and MLB starts. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading! I'd love to hear what y'all think, so please leave impressions/ suggestions/ questions in the comments.

Today is Labor Day; in that vein, please remove your caps for the Curt Floods and Andy Messersmiths of the baseball world who challenge the reserve system and paved the way for the players union we know today. In any case, I'm doing some unrelated research on information found in some public domain newspapers, and thought it would be fun occasionally to take a detour and share some baseball writing from the turn of the century. Some of these account are both entertaining and fascinating, or, too good not to share! Here is the link to the Library of Congress project that is digitizing and making these old newspapers public. The papers are public domain. I encourage you to take a look if you are interested in history or just want to do something different on the internet sometime. One hundred years ago on this date is an account of a doubleheader played between the Marshalltown Ansons and Clinton Pilots. The teams were from Iowa towns competing in the Central Association league, an unaffiliated minor league that survived about six years. Most or all minor league teams at that time were unaffiliated with the American and National league clubs; in fact, they were often just little leagues scratched together and disbanded under the softest of pretenses. Without further ado... ANSONS CELEBRATE WITH DOUBLE WIN ________________________ CLOSE SEASON BY DEFEATING CLINTON TWICE LABOR DAY ________________________ COOPER WHITEWASHES HIS FORMER TEAMMATES ________________________ Ex-Pilot Joins Ansons For Final Games and Scores Victory in Second Contest—Starts First Game, But Is Taken Out in Third, Richardson Finishing—Ryan's Fielding Feature. ________________________ Clinton, Sept. 7.—The Ansons finished up like whirlwinds Monday, wiping up the Pilots for two. That they did so was not altogether their fault, neither was the game presented to them. Both contests were marked by more or less carelessness, due to the fact that they were the last games of the season, and as a result were uninteresting as baseball exhibitions. The first one dragged horribly, while the second was played in the remarkable time of an hour and ten minutes. Cooper, signed by Marshalltown for the last day of the season, made two efforts to humble his former teammates on their own grounds. He was unsuccessful in his first attempt, being forced to take position on the bench in the third inning. He came back strong in the second, however, and allowed only two hits up to the last inning, "goose egging" the Pilots........................ ________________________ Source: The Times-Republican (evening edition), Marshalltown, IA, Sept. 7, 1915, p. 9. Link: http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85049554/1915-09-07/ed-1/seq-9.pdf NOTE: I will get around to uploading a screen grab of the old paper itself to spice up the blog entry and provide a little more flavor for the time. Otherwise see link directly above.

Another year, and it seems as if the story isn’t changing. With 40 games left in the season, the only thing the Twins have to play for is avoiding a fourth consecutive 90 loss season. So, as it’s been the last three years, the focus for the last two months shifts to player evaluation. With the minor league regular season in its final two weeks, followed by September call ups, I felt it would be as good a time as any to start a piece-by-piece look at the organizational depth chart of the Twins. Before we get into the players though, I want to take a look at the records, playoff chances and promotions for each affiliate.Team: Gulf Coast League (GCL) Twins League/Division: Gulf Coast League / South Level: Rookie League Rank (of 16): ERA – 8th (3.46) Batting Average – 14th (.228) The first of two Twins rookie level affiliates, the GCL Twins have struggled. Forty-nine games through their 60 game season, the GCL Twins record of 19-30 has them all but eliminated from playoff contention. The league’s prime directive is player development, and on that theme, one player has used his time with the GCL Twins this year as a springboard to success. After being drafted in the 17th round of this year’s Rule 4 Draft, LHP Mat Batts started with the GCL Twins, but after not giving up a an earned run in four appearances, has been promoted twice and currently is pitching for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in A ball. Team: Elizabethton Twins (E-Twins) League/Division: Appalachian League / West Level: Rookie Record: 32-24 League Rank (of 10): ERA – 1st (2.85) Batting Average – 2nd (.258) The second rung of the Twins developmental ladder, the Appalachian League starts its season in June after the Rule 4 Draft, and schedules between 65-70 games in a season. The top two teams from each division play each other in a best-of-three semifinal, with the winners facing off in a best-of-three championship series. The E-Twins currently lead the West division by a game and a half and are one game behind the league’s best record. Along with team success, the organization has also been able to pass several players on to the next level. OF Max Murphy, LHP Stephen Gonsalves, RHP Chih-Wei Hu, 3B Jonatan Hinojosa and RHP Jake Reed all started their season in Elizabethton but have since been promoted to Class A. Throw in Mat Batts, who started in the GCL and made only a brief stop in Elizabethton, and there has been a lot of turnover in the Elizabethton squad. Team: Cedar Rapids Kernels League/Division: Midwest League / West Level: A Overall Record: 65-60 1st Half Record: 31-39 2nd Half Record: 34-21 League Rank (of 16): ERA – 9th (3.87) Batting Average – 5th (.260) The first full season affiliate, the Midwest League qualifies two teams from each division (East and West) in the first half, and then two more teams from each division in the second half (no repeats). Two rounds of best-of-three series followed by a best-of-five championship series. With a 31-39 record in the first half, the Kernels were unable to secure one of the division’s two playoff spots. Their 34-21 record currently has them second in the West Division, but leading the second half playoff standings since Kane County has already clinched a spot in the first half. They hold six and eight game leads over the 3rd and 4th place teams respectively with 15 games remaining. The Kernels have sent 6 RHPs on to A+ affiliate Ft. Myers Miracle (Brandon Peterson, Ethan Mildren, Todd Van Steensel, Nick Burdi and Aaron Slegers) along with OF Jason Kanzler and 3B Bryan Haar. Team: Fort Myers Miracle League/Division: Florida State League / South Level: A+ Overall Record: 74-52 1st Half Record: 41-28 2nd Half Record: 33-24 League Rank (of 12): ERA – 4th (3.36) Batting Average – 4thth (.262) Like their A level counterpart, the Florida State League uses a first half/second half playoff structure. The Miracle ended the 1st half as the South division leaders clinching their spot in the playoffs. Their 33-24 second half record, while only good enough for 3rd in the South, has vaulted the Miracle to the best overall record in the league, leading the Dunedin Blue Jays by a half game. The Miracle have sent five pitchers (LHP Jason Wheeler, RHP Alex Wimmers, LHP Mason Melotakis and RHP Jose Berrios, RHP Tyler Duffey) on to AA affiliate New Britain, along with 2B/SS Levi Michael, 2B Stephen Wickens, OF Lance Ray and 1B Mike Gonzales. Team: New Britain Rock Cats League/Division: Eastern League / Eastern Level: AA Record: 63-63 League Rank (of 12): ERA – 8th (4.00) Batting Average – 9th (.254) The Eastern League is the first level that uses a standard full-season playoff system. The top two teams in each division make the playoffs. The Eastern division is a two horse race, with New Britain in 3rd place 15 games out of first and 14 games out of second place. The Rock Cats most notable promotion was Kennys Vargas going straight to the major league club in July. RHP Lester Oliveros, LHP Sean Gilmartin, RHP Mark Hamburger, RHP Virgil Vasquez and LF Daniel Ortiz have been sent to AAA Rochester. After starting the year in A+, Tyler Duffey earned his second promotion of the season when he was moved to Rochester last week. Team: Rochester Red Wings League/Division: International League / North Level: AAA Record: 68-61 League Rank (of 14): ERA – 2nd (3.55) Batting Average – 5th (.266) The International League is broken into three divisions. Each division sends its winner to the playoffs with the top non-division winner earning a wild card spot. Two rounds of best-of-five series then determine the champion. At 68-61, the Red Wings sit 4.5 games back in their division and 2.5 games back in the wild card standings with 15 games to go. The Red Wings have been anchored by a very potent starting rotation which has seen plenty of time with the parent club. Logan Darnell, Kris Johnson, Yohan Pino and Trevor May have made starts in the majors. Shortstop Danny Santana has also exploded onto the scene as a SS and CF, and C Eric Fryer and relief pitcher Ryan Pressly have also contributed in the majors. Wrapping up, there figures to be plenty of postseason ball, though sadly it won’t be at the major league level. Only the GCL Twins and Rock Cats are out of contention, the Miracle have clinched a spot, the Kernels are in good position to clinch a second half spot and the Red Wings sit only 2.5 games back. In the next installment of this blog, we’ll start our look at the players that make up the future of the Twins organization. We’ll start with an in-depth look at the catching position. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below. Click here to view the article

Trevor May made his Target Field debut on Monday night and fared much better than in his previous appearances. Oswaldo Arcia continues to show impressive power. On the minor league side of things, it should come as no surprise that Terry Ryan doesn't expect Byron Buxton to play another game for New Britain this season. It sounds like instructional league and the Arizona Fall League are still in play though. Continue reading to get caught up on all of Monday's minor league action.RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Syracuse 2 Box Score Yohan Pino cruised through seven shutout innings before allowing a two-run home run to the second batter he faced in the eighth inning. He struck out five while walking one and allowing three hits. Stephen Pryor picked up his first save with his new organization. He struck out two in two no-hit innings. After getting shut out for the first five innings, the Red Wings crossed the plate in each of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Josmil Pinto led the charge with two hits and two runs batted in. Danny Ortiz doubled in his two-hit game. Pedro Florimon, batting ninth and playing third base, also recorded a two-hit game. The Red Wings now find themselves in a tie for 3rd place in the International League North, two games behind the PawSox, who are currently the Wild Card leaders. ROCK CATS REVIEW New Britain - DAY OFF MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers - DAY OFF KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 4, Quad Cities 2 Box Score The Kernels extend their season-long winning streak to seven games behind an impressive performance from Chih Wei-Hu. Hu struck out eight in six three-hit innings. He allowed only an unearned run to score. Brandon Bixler and Dallas Gallant combined to strike out six in the last three innings to preserve the win. Logan Wade had two hits, including a double. Mitch Garver and Jonatan Hinojosa also doubled. The Kernels used a very balanced attack. Wade was the only player to both score and drive in a run. E-TOWN E-NOTES Elizabethton 4, Princeton 6 Box Score E-town fell short in their comeback. Jeremias Pineda did as much as he could, going 3-for-5 with two triples (wheels!) and two runs scored. Brian Navarreto extended his hitting streak to five games, including home runs in the last two games. Navarreto has struggled with the bat since turning pro, but he’s hitting .294 in August this year. Nick Gordon was 1-for-5. His first-inning double knocked in Pineda for a brief lead. John Curtiss struck out seven in six innings. He allowed three runs on six hits. Cameron Booser and Josh Burris closed out the game for the E-Twins. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Orioles 3 Box Score The GCL Twins didn’t have a lot of pep in their bats for Monday’s game. Amaurys Minier had an RBI triple in the ninth inning to drive in the team’s only run. Rainis Silva was 1-for-5 with a double and three strikeouts, but he’s someone to keep an eye on: Since the turn of the monthly calendar, the young Venezuelan is batting .342/.390/.447. Alexis Tapia took the loss allowing three runs in four innings. Callan Pearce and Jhon Silva each pitched two scoreless frames. DSL DIALED IN DSL Twins 4, DSL Padres 3 (Game 1) Box Score DSL Twins 7, DSL Padres 3 (Game 2) Box Score Lewin Diaz was the highlight for the DSL affiliate in their two wins on Monday. In those two games, he went 4-for-7 with two runs, two doubles, a home run and four RBI. Twins Daily Minor League Players of the Day Pitcher of the Day: Yohan Pino, Rochester Hitter of the Day: Lewin Diaz, DSL Twins Tuesday's Probables Rochester at Buffalo (6:05 CST) – Tyler Duffey New Britain at Richmond (6:05 CST) – TBD New Britain at Richmond (Completion of suspended 5/22 game) – TBD Ft. Myers at Bradenton (6:05 CST) – Brett Lee Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities (6:35 CST) - Kohl Stewart Elizabethton vs Princeton (6:00 CST) - Michael Cederoth GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (11:00am CST) – TBD DSL Twins vs DSL Padres (9:30am CST) – TBD Click here to view the article

Another year, and it seems as if the story isn’t changing. With 40 games left in the season, the only thing the Twins have to play for is an attempt at avoiding a fourth consecutive 90 loss season. So as it’s been the last 3 years, the focus for the last two months shifts to player evaluation. With the minor league regular season in its final two weeks, followed by September call ups, I felt it would be as good a time as any to start a piece by piece look at the organizational depth chart of the Twins. Before we get into the players though, I want to take a look at the record, playoff chances and promotions for each individual affiliate. Team: Gulf Coast League (GCL) Twins League/Division: Gulf Coast League / South Level: Rookie League Rank (of 16): ERA – 8th (3.46) Batting Average – 14th (.228) The first of two Twins rookie level affiliates, the GCL Twins have struggled. 49 games through their 60 game season, the GCL Twins’ record of 19-30 has them all but eliminated from playoff contention. The league’s prime directive is player development, and in that theme, one player has used his time with the GCL Twins this year as a springboard to success. After being drafted in the 17th round of this year’s Rule 4 Draft, LHP Mat Batts started with the GCL Twins, but after not giving up a an earned run in four appearances, has since been promoted twice and currently is pitching for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in A ball. Team: Elizabethton Twins (E-Twins) League/Division: Appalachian League / West Level: Rookie Record: 32-24 League Rank (of 10): ERA – 1st (2.85) Batting Average – 2nd (.258) The second rung of the Twins Developmental ladder, the Appalachian League starts its season in June after the Rule 4 Draft, and plays between 65-70 games in a season. The top two teams from each division play each other in a best of 3 semifinal, with the winners facing off in a best of 3 championship series. The E-Twins currently lead the West division by a game and a half and are 1 game behind the league’s best record. Along with team success, the organization has also been able to pass a couple players on to the next level. OF Max Murphy, LHP Stephen Gonsalves, RHP Chih-Wei Hu, 3B Jonatan Hinojosa and RHP Jake Reed all started their season in Elizabethton but have since been promoted to Class A. Throw in Mat Batts, who started in the GCL with a brief stop in Elizabethton, and there has been a lot of turnover in the Elizabethton squad. Team: Cedar Rapids Kernels League/Division: Midwest League / West Level: A Overall Record: 65-60 1st Half Record: 31-39 2nd Half Record: 34-21 League Rank (of 16): ERA – 9th (3.87) Batting Average – 5th (.260) The first full season affiliate, the Midwest League’s qualifies two teams from each division (East/West) in the first half, and then two more teams from each division in the second half (no repeats). Two rounds of best of three series followed by a best of 5 championship. With a 31-39 record in the first half, the Kernels were unable to secure one of the division’s two playoff spots. Their 34-21 record currently has them second in the West Division, but leading the second half playoff standings since Kane County has already clinched a spot in the first half. They hold 6 and 8 game leads over the 3rd and 4th place teams respectively with 15 games remaining. The Kernels have sent 6 RHPs on to A+ affiliate Ft. Myers Miracle (Brandon Peterson, Ethan Mildren, Todd Van Steensel, Nick Burdi and Aaron Slegers) along with OF Jason Kanzler and 3B Bryan Haar. Team: Fort Myers Miracle League/Division: Florida State League / South Level: A+ Overall Record: 74-52 1st Half Record: 41-28 2nd Half Record: 33-24 League Rank (of 12): ERA – 4th (3.36) Batting Average – 4thth (.262) Like their A level counterpart, the Florida State League uses a first half/second half playoff structure. The Miracle ended the 1st half as the South division leaders clinching their spot in the playoffs. Their 33-24 second half record, while only good enough for 3rd in the South, has vaulted the Miracle to the best overall record in the league, leading the Dunedin Blue Jays (Toronto Affiliate) by a half game. The Mircale have sent 5 pitchers (LHP Jason Wheeler, RHP Alex Wimmers, LHP Mason Melotakis and RHP Jose Berrios, RHP Tyler Duffey) on to AA affiliate New Britain along with 2B/SS Levi Michael, 2B Stephen Wickens, OF Lance Ray and 1B Mike Gonzales. Team: New Britain Rock Cats League/Division: Eastern League / Eastern Level: AA Record: 63-63 League Rank (of 12): ERA – 8th (4.00) Batting Average – 9th (.254) The Eastern League is the first level that uses a standard full season playoff system. Top two teams in each division make the playoffs. The Eastern division is a two horse race, with New Britain in 3rd place 15 games out of first and 14 games out of second place. The Rock Cats most notable promotion was the promotion of Kennys Vargas straight to the major league club in July. RHP Lester Oliveros, LHP Sean Gilmartin, RHP Mark Hamburger, RHP Virgil Vasquez and LF Daniel Ortiz have been sent to AAA Rochester. After starting the year in A+, Tyler Duffey earned his second promotion of the season when he was moved to Rochester last week. Team: Rochester Red Wings League/Division: International League / North Level: AAA Record: 68-61 League Rank (of 14): ERA – 2nd (3.55) Batting Average – 5th (.266) The International League is broken into three divisions, of which each team sends the division winner to the playoffs with the top non-division winner earning a wild card spot. 2 Rounds of best of 5 series then determine the champion. At 68-61, the Red Wings sit 4.5 games back in their division, and 2.5 games back in the wild card standings with 15 games to go. The Red Wings have been anchored by a very potent starting rotation which has seen plenty of time with the parent club. Logan Darnell, Kris Johnson, Yohan Pino and Trevor May have made starts in the majors. Short stop Danny Santana has also exploded on the scene as a SS and CF, and C Eric Fryer and relief pitcher Ryan Pressly have also contributed in the majors. Wrapping up, there figures to be plenty of post season ball, though sadly it won’t be at the major league level. Only the GCL Twins and Rock Cats are out of contention, the Miracle have clinched a spot, the Kernels are in good position to clinch a second half spot, and the Red Wings only sit 2.5 games back. In the next installment of this blog, we’ll start our look at the players that make up the future of the Twins organization. We’ll start with an in depth look at the catching position. Feel free to leave any comments or suggestions below.