TWINS TRIVIA is hopefully a fun and informative site that will help you to better enjoy the Minnesota Twins and their wonderful history. “History never looks like history when you are living through it” – John Gardner, former Secretary of Health
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Low-A Fort Myers catcher/outfielder Ricardo Olivar and High-A Cedar Rapids pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week eight. Twins Rookie and DSL leagues begin play on June 5th.
The Barquisimeto, Venezuela native was signed by the Twins as an international free agent on July 8, 2019 for just $20,000. MLB Pipeline currently shows Olivar as the Minnesota Twins 26th best prospect. For more info on Olivar go here.
Olivar, 21, hit .600 for the week, including a home run, a double and a 1.600 OPS for the Mighty Mussels. On the season the right-handed hitting Olivar is slashing .282/.355/.422. The Twins have the 5’10” (176 lbs) Olivar playing catcher and outfielder and he has even played two games in centerfield.
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita RH pitcher Blayne Enlow and High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Kala’i Rosario have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week seven.
Blayne Enlow was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 3rd round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from St. Amant HS (St. Amant, LA). Enlow received a $2 million signing bonus to coax him out of his commitment to Louisiana State University.
Enlow, 24, made one start for the Wind Surge on Thursday vs. Arkansas, allowing one run on six hits in 5.1 innings pitched with no walks and had a career high of 10 strikeouts. The 6’3″ Sorrento, Louisiana native is already 24 and running out of time as he is in his sixth season (excluding 2020) of pro ball and has not yet pitched in AAA. In seven starts in 2023 he hs thrown 35.2 innings and struck out 47 and has a a 3.28 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP.
Kala’i Rosario was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 5th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from Waiakea HS (Waiakea, HI). Unconfirmed sources stated that Rosario signed for a bonus of $270,000.
Rosario, 20, hit .538 with one double and two home runs this week for the Kernels. The Papaikou, Hawaii native is primarily a corner outfielder. Scouts have already given Rosario a 55 grade for his power. This power definitely has something to do with his exit velocity, the analytic stat that likely made the Twins fall in love with Rosario in the first place. Rosario has his negatives, mainly, his other four tools. Rosario isn’t an overly speedy guy, he doesn’t hit incredibly well, and his glove isn’t great. His arm, while better, isn’t anything to write home about either. But the power.
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Yunior Severino and Low-A Fort Myers right-handed pitcher C.J. Culpepper have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week six.
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita infielder Brooks Lee and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Alejandro Hidalgo have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week five.
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul right-handed pitcher Louie Varland and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Michael Helman have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week four. For some reason the Twins did not announce their minor league players of the week last week.
The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids shortstop Ben Ross and Low-A Ft. Myers right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week for week two.
The Minnesota Twins have announced that Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher David Festa and Triple-A St. Paul infielder Edouard Julien have been named Twins minor league Pitcher and Player of the Week for week one.
David Festa a New Jersey native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ). MLB Pipeline currently has Festa rated as the Twins 11th best prospect and Baseball America has him rated as the ninth-best prospect in the Twins’ system.
Festa, 23, made the start on Friday for the Wind Surge at Springfield, pitching 5 shutout innings with one hit allowed, no walks and eight strikeouts, earning the win.
Edouard Julien was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 37th round of the 2017 MLB June Amateur Draft from Cardinal Roy SS (Ancienne-Lorette, QC) and the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round of the 2019 MLB June Amateur Draft from Auburn University (Auburn, AL). Both MLB and Baseball America have Julien rated as the Twins fourth best prospect.
Julien, 23, a left-handed hitting second baseman, had three hits in 10 at-bats including one home run, two RBI and three walks in his short stint with the St. Paul Saints. Julien was called up by the Twins last night and made his MLB debut today at Target Field against the Chicago White Sox and Lucas Giolito going 0 for 2 with a walk in a Twins 3-1 victory. Congratulations on making your MLB debut Edouard Julien.
It has been a number of years since I have been this excited about the beginning of a new baseball season. I can’t wait for it to begin and it starts tomorrow. There are a number of rules changes that I think will make baseball more fun to watch. There are so many changes in the game this year from bigger bases, shift limits, the pitch timer, limits on throws to first base, and more. The extra-inning rule with the so called “Ghost Runner” was made permanent and I really don’t like that rule at all but you have to take the bad with the good.
One of the other changes that MLB made that I think is fantastic is the schedule change, the number of games still stays at 162 but every team will face every other team at least six times during the regular season so fans will get to see the best players in the game in their home ballpark for a minimum of three games, unless of course they are injured.
Then there are our home town Minnesota Twins who I think are set to earn back the AL Central Division title in 2023 that has eluded them since 2020 and that was only in a 60-game season. The Twins were swamped with injuries last season and finished 78-84 and in 2021 they finished with a 73-89 record. Can they win 15 more games in 2023 than they won lost year? I think they can.
It is the final day of 2023 Spring Training and the Minnesota Twins find themselves in Bradenton, Florida for their final Spring Training exhibition game. So instead of listing some fun facts from the Twins notes for today, I will just include the entire set of today’s notes here. The normal Twins Game notes during the season are a bit more in depth and if you want to check them out daily once the season starts, I will try to get the link out on the site daily.
SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 28th and 29th of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games as the Twins and Braves will play a pair of split squad at Hammond Stadium and CoolToday Park in North Port. After today, one more game will be played at Hammond Stadium and two more games will be played on the road. The Twins will complete the exhibition season with a 1:05 pm (ET) game in Bradenton against the Pirates on Tuesday, March 28. After the game, they will fly to Kansas City, hold an optional team workout on March 29 then begin a three-game, four-day series at Kauffman Stadium from March 30-April 2. Rocco Baldelli announced to the media how the starting five will open the season: for the Kansas City series – RHP Pablo López on Thursday, March 30 , RHP Sonny Gray on Saturday, April 1, RHP Joe Ryan on Sunday, April 2. For the Miami series – RHP Tyler Mahle on Monday, April 3, RHP Kenta Maeda on Tuesday, April 4.
Below is a look at MLB’s top ten Twins prospects entering the 2023 season: 1. Brooks Lee, 2 Royce Lewis, 3. Emmanuel Rodriguez, 4. Connor Prelipp, 5 Matt Wallner, 6 Simeon Woods Richardson, 7 Marco Raya, 8 Misael Urbina, 9 Matt Canterino, 10 Louie Varland.
PROSPECT SHOWCASE IN TAMPA: The Twins beat the Yankees yesterday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field by a score of 6-4. Pablo López was the starter in his final tuneup of the spring, allowing two runs on two hits in 3 innings pitched. Kenta Maeda made his final official spring appearance in relief, allowing two runs on three hits in 5 innings pitched, with five strikeouts. Twins prospects Edouard Julien and Emmanuel Rodriguez both went 2-for-4 with a home run, as Rodriguez’s three-run jimmy jack gave the Twins a ninth inning lead and eventual victory.
