Former Twins catcher Tom Tischinski passes away at 79

Tom Tischinski

Tom Tischinski was born on July 12, 1944 in Kansas City, Missouri and passed away at the age of 79 on April 23, 2024 at Northcare Hospice House in Kansas City. He attended De La Salle High School, graduating in 1962. According to the back of Tischinski’s rookie 1970 Topps baseball card (#379) he lettered in four sports and was captain of his baseball and basketball team getting all-league honors in both sports.

Following high school, he was signed by the Kansas City Athletics baseball organization, beginning a 13 year career in professional baseball. After just one season in the Kansas City Athletics organization he was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds in the November 1962 first-year draft. Tischinski played in AAA for the Reds in San Diego but struggled hitting the ball and when the Reds drafted some guy named Johnny Bench in June of 1965, things didn’t look good. Then in November of 1967 he caught a break when the Minnesota Twins drafted him in the minor league draft.

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Mercedes & Ohl named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced that FCL outfielder Yasser Mercedes and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Pierson Ohl have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

The Minnesota Twins signed free agent Puerto Rican native outfielder Yasser Mercedes to a minor league contract on January 15, 2022 for $1.7 million. Mercedes is in his third season of pro ball. Repeating FCL after looking overwhelmed in his first try. MLB Pipeline has Mercedes as the Twins 19th best prospect.

This week Mercedes, 19, played in four games, hitting .625 (10-for-16) with two doubles, two home runs, eight RBI, seven runs scored, three walks and a 1.809 OPS.

Pierson Ohl, a Moorpark, California native was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 14th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Grand Canyon University (Phoenix, AZ) and signed for $100K.

Ohl, 24, made the start on Tuesday at Tulsa, pitching 6 shutout innings, with four hits allowed and one walk, while tying a professional career high 10 strikeouts. Ohl, a right-hander is in his fourth season of pro ball.

Twins Minor League Report, 5-13-2024.PDF


McCusker & Matthews named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced Double-A Wichita outfielder Carson McCusker and Wichita right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews as Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Zebby Matthews was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC). Matthews is currently rated by MLB as the Twins 20th best prospect. Stop by the MLB Pipeline site and see more detailed info about Matthews here. This is Zebby’s third pitcher of the week award this year. Matthews was promoted to Wichita from Cedar Rapids on May 6.

Matthews, 23, made his Double-A debut on Thursday vs. Arkansas, allowing two unearned runs on three hits in 6.2 innings pitched, with no walks and nine strikeouts. Matthews is on a roll and appears to have figured something out. Watch Matthews strike them out right here.

Carson McCusker is a Sparks, Nevada native who was signed
by the Minnesota Twins in June of 2023 and originally selected by the Brewers in the 26th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of Folsom Lake College in California. Who is he? He’s. 6-foot-8 outfielder who was signed by the Twins in June 2023 after he ripped up the Frontier League for the Tri-City ValleyCats, an team playing summer baseball in the independent league.

McCusker, 25, played in five games for the Wind Surge this week, hitting .526 (10-for-19) with four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and a 1.819 OPS. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound outfielder went 5-for-5 on Tuesday vs. Arkansas. You can watch McCusker’s three home run night here.

Sean Burroughs dies at the age of 43

Sean Burroughs was born on September 12, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia and passed away unexpectedly at the age of 43 of cardiac arrest on May 9, 2024 after dropping off his son at a Little League baseball game at Stearns Park in Long Beach, California.

The Burroughs name means baseball royalty in Long Beach. Sean threw back-to-back no-hitters to help Long Beach to consecutive Little League championships then went on to star at Long Beach Wilson High just like his father Jeff. Each was drafted in the first round: Jeff Burroughs by the Washington Senators in 1969; Sean by the San Diego Padres in 1998.

Sean appeared on the David Letterman show at 12 and in Sports Illustrated at 21. He won a gold medal, playing for Tom Lasorda and Team USA in the 2000 Olympics. He made his major league debut in 2002 and, two years later, had the walk-off hit that made the Padres winners in the first regular-season game played at Petco Park. He would go on to play five years in the Major Leagues before falling out of baseball from 2008 through 2010. He talked with ESPN about his struggles with alcohol and drug addiction during that time, and his recovery and return to the game became a national story.”I just didn’t have the drive or the passion,” Burroughs told ESPN in June 2011 of his decision to walk away from the game. It’s been an incredible journey. It really has, It was just a year ago I was eating cheeseburgers out of garbage cans and living in Motel 6.”

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Keirsey Jr. & Festa named as the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota twins have announced that Triple-A St. Paul outfielder DaShawn Keirsey Jr. and Saints right-handed pitcher David Festa have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Outfielder DaShawn Keirsey was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2018 MLB June Amateur Draft from University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT).

Keirsey Jr, 26, played in six games for the Saints, hitting .280 (7-for-25) with one double, one home run and six RBI.

David Festa was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 13th round of the 2021 MLB June Amateur Draft from Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ). Festa is rated as the club’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com — first among pitchers.

Festa, 24, made the start on Tuesday vs. Louisville, allowing two runs on three hits in 5 innings pitched, with one walk and 10 strikeouts.

With the Minnesota Twins no longer on Bally Sports this might interest you if MiLB is interesting to you. Good price for sure.

https://www.milb.com/live-stream-games/subscribe

Former Twins 1st round pick David McCarty passes away at 54

David McCarty

Former MLB first baseman and outfielder Dave McCarty, 54, of Oakland, CA, passed away unexpectedly on April 19, 2024 in Oakland, California. Born in Houston, TX, on November 23, 1969, Dave attended Sharpstown High School and later Stanford University, where he would put up All-American, College Player of the Year numbers that would eventually land him in the Stanford Hall of Fame. Dave played for Team USA in the summer of 1990 and was drafted 3rd overall in the 1991 draft by the Minnesota Twins.

The 1969 MLB draft first round did not yield many star players. The first pick was Brien Taylor (Yankees), then it was the Braves turn and they took Mike Kelly and the Twins then selected McCarty. The best player selected in that first round was Manny Ramirez by the then Cleveland Indians as the 13th overall selection.

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Gonzalez & Matthews named as the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced that High-A Cedar Rapids outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez and High-A Cedar Rapids right-handed pitcher Zebby Matthews have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Outfielder Gabriel Gonzalez signed with the Seattle Mariners as a 17-year-old from Venezuela for $1.3 million in February 2021. Gonzalez began his professional career with the organization’s Dominican Summer League club. The Carupano, Venezuela native was acquired by the Twins as one of the pieces in the Jorge Polanco trade on January 29, 2024. This past week Gonzalez, 20, played in five games for the Kernels, hitting .353 (6-for-17) with four doubles, one home run, five RBI and a 1.186 OPS. MLB Pipeline has Gonzalez rated at the Twins 4th best prospect and he is rated number 71 in MLB Pipelines 100 best prospects. For more info on Gonzalez please go here. Check out his home run at https://www.mlb.com/twins/video/gabriel-gonzalez-cranks-a-two-run-home-run

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Doncon & Raya named as the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

The Minnesota Twins have announced that Low-A Fort Myers infielder Rayne Doncon and Double-A Wichita right-handed pitcher Marco Raya have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

The Los Angeles Dodgers signed free agent SS Rayne Doncon to a minor league contract for a signing bonus of $497,500 in January of 2021. Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers with Manuel Margot and cash to the Minnesota Twins for Noah Miller (minors) on February 26, 2024. This past week Doncon, 20, played in six games for the Mighty Mussels, hitting .304 (7-for-23) with four doubles, two RBI, five walks, a .414 on-base percentage and an .892 OPS. Doncon is a San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic native. Doncon hit 14 home runs in 2023 but struck out 103 times and hit just .213 in 473 PA’s. Photo credit to William Parmeter.

Marco Raya was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 4th round of the 2020 MLB June Amateur Draft from United South HS (Laredo, TX). Raya had committed to Texas Tech but signed with the Twins instead for a bonus of $410,000. Raya, 21, made the start on Friday versus Tulsa, pitching 3 scoreless innings in a start, with two hits allowed, no walks and four strike-outs. He has now posted a 2.00 ERA (9.0 IP, 2 ER) with no walks and 11 strikeouts in three starts for the Wind Surge this season. The Laredo, Texas native is ranked as the club’s sixth-best prospect by MLB.com and fifth-best by Baseball America. For more info on Raya please go here. I think Raya could have an exciting future if he can stay healthy.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-4-19-2024

The Twins at the World Series

The franchise has a 3-3 record in World Series history

The start of a new baseball season is always a glorious time. Fans across the country all have high hopes and dreams that they will be celebrating a Fall Classic win later in the year. Obviously, most of those dreams will be dashed over the next few months but, just for a little while, all 30 teams are still in with a chance.

Five clubs have never tasted victory, of course, with the Seattle Mariners never even making it to the World Series. There may be a few Twins fans that can’t remember a victory of our own but we have come out on top on no less than three occasions – with another three agonizing finals defeats in franchise history.

After winning the AL Central last season, there will be some of the best MLB betting sites looking at the Twins as a long shot for a championship this year. But, while we settle into the new campaign, let’s take a look back at all the times the franchise made it to the World Series.

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Rodriguez & Matthews named as the Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week

After discovering Emmanuel Rodriguez, who was only 16 at the time, in the Dominican Republic in 2019, the Minnesota Twins signed him to a $2.5 million contract as an international free agent. MLB has Rodriguez at the Twins 3rd best prospect and 40th best overall. Rodriguez, 21, played in six games for the Wind Surge, hitting .421 (8-for-19) with two doubles, one triple, three home runs, 10 runs scored, five RBI, seven walks, a .577 on-base percentage, a 1.105 slugging percentage and a 1.682 OPS. Rodriguez is crushing AA and needs to move up soon. To see more go here and here.

Zebby Matthews was drafted by the Minnesota Twins in the 8th round of the 2022 MLB June Amateur Draft from Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, NC). Matthews is currently rated by MLB as the Twins 20th best prospect. Matthews, 23, made the start for the Kernels on Wednesday against Dayton, allowing one run on four hits in 5 innings pitched, with no walks and eight strikeouts. To see more on Matthews please go here and here.

Twins-Minor-League-Report-4-14-2024