Tag: Bailey Ober

What does AI predict for the Twins in 2024

Just for fun I asked AI Microsoft Copilot powered by GPT-4 to tell me how the Minnesota Twins will do in 2024. Here is what it had to say:

The Minnesota Twins are gearing up for the 2024 MLB season, and there are several intriguing story-lines to watch. Let’s dive into some predictions:

  1. Royce Lewis Makes All-Star Team, Earns MVP Consideration:
  2. Joe Ryan Bounces Back with an All-Star Season:
  3. Twins Projected to Win AL Central Again:

In summary, keep an eye on Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, and the Twins as they aim to defend their division title and make a deeper playoff run in 2024! ??

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Finally it is time for games that count

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.

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Twins fun facts from Twins 3/13 & 3/14 ST notes

SPRING FLING: Today the Twins will play the 18th and 19th of 32 scheduled Grapefruit League games. The Twins also played one World Baseball Classic exhibition against Team Dominican Republic March 9. After today, seven more games will be played at Hammond Stadium and six more games will be played on the road. The Twins will enjoy their second scheduled off-day of the spring tomorrow before hosting the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday afternoon at Hammond Stadium.

WE DO TALK ABOUT JOSE: Jose Miranda is batting .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles, three home runs, five RBI, four walks, a .556 on-base percentage and a 1.770 OPS in six games this spring. Miranda is in his second major league spring training with the Twins after making his major league
debut on May 2, 2022 at Baltimore. He became one of four rookies in club history (since 1961) with at least 100 hits, 25 doubles, 15 home runs, 60 RBI and 25 walks in rookie season, joining Tony Oliva (1964), Gary Gaetti (1982) and Marty Cordova (1995).

OBER THE RIVER AND THROUGH THE WOODS: Bailey Ober is making his third spring start today. He tossed 1.0 scoreless inning, with one walk and three strikeouts, in his first outing March 1 vs. Philadelphia and worked 2.0 perfect innings, with two strikeouts, in his last start March 8 at Toronto. Ober is in his third spring training with the Twins (also 2021-22). He re-claimed the jersey number 17 in the offseason, when Chris Archer departed via free agency; Ober debuted wearing uniform number 82, switched to 17 prior to 2022 spring training and had it for about a month until the Twins signed Archer, moving Ober to 16. Ober likes the number 17 because his dad wore it in college, playing
Division III basketball at Champlain College. Ober made the Twins Opening Day roster for first time in career in 2022 going 2-3, 3.21 ERA (56.0 IP, 20 ER) with 11 walks and 51 strikeouts in 11 starts. Missed time on the 15-day Injured List with a right groin strain from April 30-May 21 and went back
on the IL with the same injury from June 6-September 16.

The Twins had a sellout crowd of 8,568 at Hammond Stadium yesterday to watch the visiting New York Yankees. I’m always amazed at big crowds like that here in Florida for Spring Training games when everyone knows that visiting teams seldom if ever bring any “starters” to play. Yesterday’s Yankee visit was no exception with their starting line-up being Peraza, Volpe, Cabrera, Calhoun, Hicks, Ortega, Chaparro, Florial, and Narvaez. No exactly a “Murders Row”.

Twins fans might not recognize their team

Minnesota Twins fans might not recognize their team this season when they go out to Target Field. The Twins have so many new players you will need to spend a few bucks and buy a scorecard just so you know who is playing where. Twins fans are already wondering who secretly snuck in during the dark of night this off-season and bought this Twins team from the Pohlad’s and has told Derek Falvey and Thad Levine to get off their butts and start putting together a winning team, money is no object. How else do you explain the Twins signing Carlos Correa to a three-year deal at $35.1 million per year? And the trades? What the heck is going here in fly over land?

The rumors were running wild last night as I went to bed that the Minnesota Twins and the San Diego Padres were talking let’s make a deal. The Padres have an excess of starting pitchers and the Twins are in need of starters so it looks like a match made in heaven. When I got up this morning I found out that a deal had indeed been consummated with the Twins getting starting right-handed pitcher Chris Paddack and right-handed reliever Emilio Pagan from San Diego in return for closer Taylor Rogers and first baseman/outfielder Brent Rooker. The Twins will also receive a player to be named later and will send cash to San Diego in the deal. That cash amount apparently covers all of Rogers salary but $700,000 in 2022. Rogers can become a free agent after the 2022 season.

Taylor Rogers

Lots of Twins fans are not happy to see Rogers, the Twins closer traded. Rogers was the Twins 11th round pick in the 2012 draft, the same year the Twins drafted Byron Buxton, Jose Berrios and Tyler Duffey. Rogers made his big league debut in April of 2016. Rogers has been a solid reliever ever since and he took over the closing chores in 2019. Rogers was named to his first All-Star team last season but suffered a finger injury in late July and he missed the rest of the 2021 season. Rogers has a twin-brother Tyler who pitches for the San Francisco Giants.

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2021 Twins Turkey of the Year

Happy Thanksgiving everyone

Time seems to have gotten away from me and it was only in the last few days that I realized it was that time again, time to pick another Twins Turkey of the Year. This years winner will be number 13. So far we have only had one repeat winner and that was President and CEO Dave St. Peter who took the honors in 2013 and again in 2019.

With the 2021 Minnesota Twins expected to do well and go deep in the playoffs by their fans and the so called baseball experts and then to see the team finish 73-89 and in last place in the American League Central Division you would have to think that there were more turkeys then you could shake a stick at. You would be right.

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Twins minor league players of the week – Kirilloff & Ober

The Twins have announced that outfielder Alex Kirilloff and Bailey Ober have been named Twins minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Alex Kirilloff

Kirilloff, 21, played in seven games for Double-A Pensacola this week, hitting .444 (12-for-27) with one double, one home run, five RBI and a 1.075 OPS. Kirilloff was drafted by the Twins in round one and 15th overall in the 2016 First-Year Player Draft and represented the Twins at the SiriusXM Futures Game in Cleveland this summer.

Kirilloff is in his fourth season of pro ball but he missed all of 2017 due to TJ surgery. The slugging left-hander has never hit below .306 in the pro’s but is hitting only .282 this year after injuries early in the season hampered his swing. A star in the making, I’m sure we would all love to see a sneak peak of Alex at Target Field this season but I think that is unlikely to happen, next year at some point for sure.

Bailey Ober

Ober, 24, made one start for the Blue Wahoos on Wednesday at Mississippi, pitching 7 shutout innings with three hits, no walks and 12 strikeouts. In his two starts at Pensacola, the big 6’9″ right-hander is 2-0 with 14 innings pitched, 20 KO’s, 5 hits allowed, 1 walk and 1 earned run allowed.

Ober was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of College of Charleston.

Twins Minor League Report, 8-25-19

Twins minor league players of the week – Celestino & Ober

Gilberto Celestino

For the second straight week, the Twins have named Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels outfielder Gilberto Celestino Twins Player of the Week. In his last six games for the Kernels, Celestino hit .458 (11-for-24) with one double, one home run, three RBI, two walks and a 1.144 OPS. Celestino was acquired by the Twins along with right-handed pitcher Jorge Alcala near the 2018 trade deadline in exchange for right-handed pitcher Ryan Pressly. Celestino was originally signed as international free agent by Astros, July 2, 2015 for a $2.25 million signing bonus and $275,000 for college.

Bailey Ober

High -A Ft. Myers right-handed pitcher Bailey Ober has been named Twins minor
league Pitcher of the Week. The 6’9″ Ober made the start last Saturday, allowing one unearned run on six hits in 6.1 innings pitched, earning the win over Lakeland. In 8 starts for the Miracle this season Ober is 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA in 45.2 innings. His WHIP matches his ERA at 0.99 and he has struck out 53 batters while allowing on 39 hits. Nice numbers!

The 24-year-old was drafted by the Twins in the 12th round of the 2017 MLB Draft out of College of Charleston and signed for a reported $125,000 signing bonus. Ober had been drafted by the Dodgers as a 23rd rounder in 2016 but chose not to sign.

Twins Minor League Report, 8-4-19

Twins minor league players of the week – Zander Wiel & Bailey Ober

The Twins have named AA Chattanooga Lookouts outfielder/first baseman Zander Wiel and Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Bailey Ober minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

Zander Wiel

Zander Wiel played in seven games for the Lookouts, hitting .333 (8-for-24) with one double, two triples, one home run, three RBI, five walks and a .448 OBP. Wiel is in his fourth season of pro ball and has jumped up a league each season. Although he has not shown the power this year as he has in the past, he is hitting .306 which is way above his career average of .264. 

Wiel rolls on with Lookouts 

Bailey Ober

We don’t get many back-to-back winners but this week we have one. Bailey Ober, who also won this award last week, made one start for the Kernels, coming on Thursday (which was his 23rd birthday) vs. Ft. Wayne, pitching 6.2 shutout innings with five hits allowed, one walk and 10 strikeouts. 

 

 Twins Minor League Report 071518.pdf

There is a story in the Twins minor league report about Royce Lewis getting promoted to Ft. Myers.

Twins minor league players of the week – LaMonte Wade & Bailey Ober

The Twins have named AAA Rochester Red Wings outfielder LaMonte Wade and Low-A Cedar Rapids Kernels right-handed pitcher Bailey Ober minor league Player and Pitcher of the Week.

LaMonte Wade

Wade played in six games for the Red Wings, hitting .391 (9-for-23) with two triples, two home runs, four RBI, two walks and a .440 on-base percentage. Wade started the season in Chattanooga where he hit .298 with 7 home runs, 27 RBI and 5 stolen bases in 171 PA’s. I should also note that he had 26 walks as compared to 20 strikeouts, a rare plus now days. So far in Rochester Wade is hitting .261 with 3 homers and 11 RBI in 109 PA’s and his walks still outnumber his KO’s. The 24-year old Wade is in his fourth season of pro ball and was a ninth round selection by the Twins in the 2015 June draft from the University of Maryland.  

Bailey Ober

Ober made one start for the Kernels, coming on Thursday vs. Wisconsin, allowing one run on three hits in 7.0 innings pitched with no walks and 12 strikeouts, earning the win. The soon to be (July 12) 24-year old right-handed Ober has spent all season in Cedar Rapids and has a 5-1 record with a 4.87 era in 11 starts. The 6’8″ 215 pound Ober has 64 strikeouts in 57.1 innings but he has also given up 60 hits. The Twins 12th round selection in 2017 from the College of Charleston already has a Tommy John surgery on his resume that caused him to miss the 2015 season while in Charleston.

 

Sean Miller

MLB announced on July 7 that  third baseman Sean Miller of the Minnesota Twins has been suspended for 50 games under baseball’s minor league drug program following second positive tests for drugs of abuse. Miller 23, was a 10th-round draft pick in 2015 and is on the roster of Chattanooga of the Double-A Southern League, where he is hitting .220
with one homer and eight RBIs in 150 at-bats. He started the season at Double-A, and batted .091 with one RBI in 10 games with Triple-A Rochester of the Triple-A International League, then was sent back down in late May.

 

Twins Minor League Report 070818