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Minor League Baseball is going to see massive changes in 2021, and the Twins have already signaled that they will be among the teams seeing the biggest shakeups. There has been plenty of speculation that St. Paul will become their new AAA home, but it's my belief that whether or not that happens, the Twins will end up with a Minor League Team in Wichita, Kansas one way or another. As a quick recap, Minor League Baseball is expected to undergo a massive reorganization starting next season as it is taken over by Major League Baseball. At least 40 teams will be contracted, the short season and rookie leagues are being eliminated, and other levels are expected to see significant changes and realignment. New deals between Major Leagues and affiliates are also expected to go from 2-4 year deals, like they had been previously and saw the Twins shift from New Britain to Chattanooga to Pensacola for AA just within the past decade, to 10 year deals, to create more stability between MLB and MILB teams. For the Twins, that means the Elizabethton Twins are no longer a Twins farm team, Fort Myers and the Florida State League will shift to Low-A, while Cedar Rapids and the Midwest League will move up to High-A. The Twins have also already announced that they are cutting ties with Rochester (NY) and will be looking for a new AAA home. For many Twins fans, the AAA changes have been getting the most attention, as the St. Paul Saints are one of two 2 independent teams being invited to join AAA, the other being the Sugarland Skeeters in suburban Houston. The possibility of having Twins Prospects playing just 12 miles away from Target Field is certainly an exciting development for Twins fans, especially those who closely follow the Twins Minor League Prospects. The sticking point appears to be around money, specifically if the Saints ownership is willing to pay the $20M franchise fee to join affiliated minor league ball. But while St. Paul seems clear as plan A, there have been several reports listing Wichita as plan B, and that could be an excellent option as well. The Wichita Wind Surge is a brand new team with a brand new ballpark. They were supposed to make their debut last season as the AAA team of the Miami Marlins, until COVID cancelled the Minor League Season. In addition to having brand new facilities, Wichita would also be a very good geographic fit as well. Wichita is a little over 600 miles away from the Twin Cities, and while that can't compete with the Saints in terms of distance, it's still significantly shorter than the trip to Rochester and is actually one of the closest existing AAA cities to Minnesota. Only Des Moines and Omaha, whose longtime ties to the Cubs and Royals aren't likely to change, are significantly closer. Additionally, as part of the reorganization, the Pacific Coast League is likely to be adjusted so it is only West Coast Teams, instead of the previous setup which had teams stretching from Tacoma to Nashville. The extreme travel of the PCL is one of the main reason the Twins worked to stay in Rochester and the IL, but that seems to be unlikely an issue moving forward if the Twins end up in Wichita for AAA. Even if St. Paul does become a reality and becomes the Twins new AAA team, there's still a very good chance that the Twins end up in Wichita anyway! Mixed into other reports about this year's Minor League affiliation dance is that the Marlins will be moving their AAA team to Jacksonville - which had been the home of their AA team - and then their AA team will shift to Pensacola. Pensacola, of course, has been the Twins AA home for the past 2 years, and if those reports are accurate, the Twins will need a new AA location. There are 3 AA leagues, the Eastern, Southern, and Texas Leagues, none of which have teams that are particularly close to Minnesota, so there's no natural fit, and because of travel, there's no chance of any city in or near Minnesota becoming a AA city. Wichita, on the other hand, could be available as a AA location. If both the Saints and the Sugarland (TX) Skeeters - the other independent team under consideration for AAA affiliation - decide to join up, then there are reports that Wichita and San Antonio (Brewers current AAA) would both be moved down to the AA Texas League. In that case, Wichita would still be one of the closest available AA option for the Twins, and with brand new facilities would be a very appealing location. As a side note - if San Antonio does get moved to AA, that creates a really interesting situation for the Brewers. Presumably, Houston would take Sugarland as it's new AAA home, and the Rangers would move their AAA team from Nashville back to Round Rock. Nashville would be an excellent fit for Milwaukee, except a few years ago, Nashville effectively kicked out the Brewers right as they opened a new ballpark - and the Brewers were quite public about how unhappy they were with how that situation unfolded. Obviously, there are still a lot of moving parts in regards to Minor League Baseball's major overhaul, and we won't have any true answers until MLB makes its long awaited official reorganization announcement, likely sometime soon. But since whatever changes are decided this month are likely to be in place for at least the next 10 years, it's important that the Twins settle in a good situation. With a brand new park, that's relatively close to Minnesota, Wichita looks like it could be a very nice place for Twins prospects to settle in, no matter if it's Double or Triple A. Update 11/30/20: According to a sports reporter in Wichita, the Twins/Wichita partnership will be made official this week.

There wasn’t a ton to write home about offensively on the farm today, but a few pitching performances stood out. Bryan Sammons was again solid for the Fort Myers Miracle, and Andrew Cabezas turned in his best start of an already good year for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. A big blast by Jared Akins was notable, and Pensacola plated their fair share. Read more in the minor league report.TRANSACTIONS Minnesota Twins RHP Trevor Hildenberger optioned to Triple-A Rochester Red Wings 3B Miguel Sano activated by Minnesota Twins off of MLB rehab RED WINGS REPORT Charlotte 7, Rochester 3 Box Score Rochester decided to go with a bullpen game tonight, and there were plenty of unfortunate outings. Rehabbing Addison Reed gave up a two-run blast in his lone inning of work. Jake Reed allowed a two-run shot in his two innings, and Gabriel Moya coughed up three on three hits and a walk. The Red Wings scored in the second inning on a Wilin Rosario Double and a Jordany Valdespin single. Their third run came on a solo shot in the sixth. Despite having the lead at that point, five more Charlotte runs crossed the plate to give us our final score. Minnesota is working on a relief move for the big club, and we can make an educated guess that none of the guys trotted out tonight will head to Seattle. KSTP’s Darren Wolfson noted an interesting name to keep an eye on. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 7, Chattanooga 6 Box Score Battling the former Minnesota Twins Double-A affiliate in some morning baseball action, Randy Dobnak worked into the sixth inning capturing his second win for the Wahoos. Scattering seven hits, striking out four, and walking three, Dobnak gave up four runs (three earned). Owning a 2.93 ERA since his promotion, he continues to roll. Pensacola found themselves trailing 3-0 once the fourth inning came around, but that was the last time they’d trail in this one. Caleb Hamilton picked up his third dinger of the year, and then doubles by Mark Contreras and Joe Cronin pushed the Wahoos out front. A Travis Blankenhorn homer gave the visitors a 5-3 cushion. After the Lookouts answered with a run of their own in the sixth, Alex Kirilloff singled in Tanner English and Contreras to re-establish the breathing room. Ryan Mason did give up his first earned runs of this season in recording a hold and Sam Clay was able to close it out for his third save. MIRACLE MATTERS Bradenton 7, Fort Myers 6 Box Score Bryan Sammons brought an impressive six-game run into this one and put forth another effort that has been status quo this season. Working five innings, he allowed just two runs and struck out three. After seven turns through the rotation he’s got a sparkling 1.11 ERA. The two teams combined for 24 hits in the 10 inning contest and 13 runs crossed the plate. Fort Myers got hits from everyone in the lineup aside from Royce Lewis, who had a tough night going 0-for-5 with four strikeouts. Trevor Larnach and Ryan Costello tallied two-hit nights with each of them recording a double. Extras were needed to settle this one after back-to-back blown save opportunities. Lewis scored for the Miracle in the top half to put Fort Myers ahead, but Bradenton would plate two in the bottom half, walking off the good guys. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 0 Box Score Just seven batters recorded hits across both lineups today, but it was the Kernels Andrew Cabezas who spun a gem over seven strong. Notching nine strikeouts, walking no one, and allowing just a single hit, Cedar Rapids had all the oomph it needed on the mound. Recently activated Jared Akins was playing in just his second game of the season when he launched his first home run. The fourth inning solo blast was the difference here, and became a footnote on a day when pitching was dominant. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY TD Pitcher of the Day – Andrew Cabezas (Cedar Rapids) – 7.0 IP 1 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 9 K TD Hitter of the Day- Jared Akins (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3, R, RBI, HR(1) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) – 0-5, 4 K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) – 1-5, 2 RBI, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) – 2-4, R, BB, 2 K, 2B #5 - Wander Javier (EST) – Injured, early May return #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) – 1-4, 2 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) – Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) – Did Not Pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Play #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) – Did Not Play #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) – 2-5, R, K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) – Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) – 1-3 #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) – Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) – 1-4, BB #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) – Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) – 1-4, R, RBI THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Charlotte (6:04PM CST) – RHP Kohl Stewart (2-2, 4.50 ERA) Mobile @ Pensacola (6:35PM CST) – RHP Griffin Jax (2-1, 1.35 ERA) Fort Myers @ Bradenton (5:30PM CST) – LHP Charlie Barnes (2-2, 7.66 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30PM CST) – RHP Blayne Enlow (3-3, 5.52 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s games. Click here to view the article