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Home , Brad Radke, Brian Dinkelman, Cedar Rapids Kernels, Danny Valencia, Derek Falvey, Hector Santiago

Minnesota Twins Daily Clips Tuesday, June 6, 2017

 Confident wants to show Twins he's ready for the majors. (Neal) p. 1  Roy Smalley explains 1987 Twins' home dominance, 2017 Twins' road dominance. Star Tribune (Rand) p. 2  Series preview: Twins at Seattle. Star Tribune (Neal) p. 3  Twins’ commitment to video scouting spreads through minors. Pioneer Press (Berardino) p. 4  Falvey brings expertise to Twins' No. 1 pick. MLB (Bollinger) p. 6  Preview: Twins at Mariners. FOX Sports (STATS) p. 7  Twins free youth clinic coming to Tink Larson Field. WASECA County News (Ring) p. 8

Confident Randy Rosario wants to show Twins he's ready for the majors La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | June 6, 2017

ANAHEIM, CALIF. – Although he began the season touring the Southern League, Randy Rosario believed he was major league material.

“I was ready for it,” the 23-year-old, newly recalled Twins lefthander said. “I was waiting for it. I was saying to myself, ‘Randy, just be ready for it.’ ”

Confidence is one characteristic that jumps out with Rosario. He is bright, has worked hard to learn English and made a quick transition to the bullpen after making 55 starts in the minors from the time he was signed out of the Dominican Republic in 2010 until the middle of last season.

It also helps to have a that can reach 94 miles per hour and a wipeout . That will give you confidence, too — and encourage a team like the Twins to give a Class AA a chance in the majors.

So Rosario wasn’t that surprised when he was called up from Chattanooga on Thursday. And when asked to pitch two innings with a nine- lead against the Angels on Friday, he was unfazed when he stood on the mound and saw Albert Pujols digging in.

Pujols was stuck on 599 home runs at the time — and was facing a rookie making his major league debut.

“Before I came to the , I was watching Pujols and seeing him bombs all the time,” Rosario said of his fellow Dominican. “I said I hope I can pitch to him one day in my life. It’s a dream come true. It was very good.”

Rosario got ahead 0-2 on Pujols before getting the future Hall of Famer to ground out to third. Good result, right?

“I wanted to face him, but I wanted to strike him out,” Rosario said. “Then I feel better.”

Rosario did give up a to Danny Espinosa in the ninth inning, when he said he was trying to do too much and overthrew a few pitches. But his outing, which completed an 11-5 Twins victory, enabled other worn-out relievers to rest their arms. The Twins plan to take advantage of Rosario’s ability to eat innings.

“Aside from having weapons to get major league hitters out, we felt that Randy could give us three to six outs as a result of being extended in a number of his outings at Chattanooga,” General Manager said.

In May, Chattanooga was in Biloxi, Miss., for a five-game series and lost the first four. Lookouts manager gathered the team for a pep talk.

“We had a conversation as a team in Biloxi, of all places, about how close these guys are to the major leagues,” Mauer said. “And some of things we need to do while being aware that some guys are just a phone call away.”

The Twins were about to head to Baltimore, where they swept the Orioles. But they came back home and watched their bullpen get used up during a 15-inning loss to Tampa Bay on May 28, followed by the Memorial Day mauling by Houston the next day and the 17-6 debacle at the hands of the Astros on Wednesday.

Already running out of options, the Twins looked at Chattanooga and focused on Rosario, who had given up only five earned runs in 23 ⅔ innings this season.

“In an ideal world, we would like to see players continue their development at [Class AAA] Rochester before matriculating to the big leagues,” Levine said. “That being said, the major league season rarely plays out in an idyllic fashion.”

After meeting with members of the minor league staff — including Brad Steil, the Twins’ director of minor league operations — the team decided to give Rosario his chance.

Chattanooga, playing in Birmingham, Ala., at the time, was holding a presentation for Edgar Corcino, who had just passed his U.S. citizenship test and also found out he was having a son.

“We were going to talk about that in front of the team,” Mauer said, “and [we] literally got the call that Randy was going up.”

It was true — they were just a call away.

Rosario joined a relatively rare group of Twins who have made the jump from Class AA to the majors. It also includes , Miguel Sano, , Eric Milton, and, of course, Mauer’s little brother Joe. The only recent player to make a bigger jump was shortstop , who was called up from Fort Myers in 2014 when the club was shorthanded.

Sometimes elite prospects, as Sano and Buxton were, will land on the express past Rochester. In many cases, it happens when a team no one else to turn to. That’s how Rosario is getting his chance.

“I want to help my team,” Rosario said. “I feel like we can win more games now. I want to do my best every day. So we will see.”

Roy Smalley explains 1987 Twins' home dominance, 2017 Twins' road dominance Michael Rand | Star Tribune | June 5, 2017

The 1987 and 2017 Twins bear a certain resemblance to one another, with their new young executives (Andy MacPhail and ), home run power and surprisingly good play (World Series champs vs. first place on June 5).

Those 1987 Twins were actually outscored during the regular season (806 to 786) but won the division anyway. These 2017 Twins are charting a similar early course despite being outscored 265-246 so far.

In one area, though, the comparisons come to a screeching halt and instead turn into exact opposites: the 1987 Twins were amazing at home and dismal on the road. The 2017 Twins, nearly a third of the way into the season, have been magnificent on the road but subpar at home.

How do we explain what happened 30 years ago in the context of what is happening now? Well, it helps to talk to Roy Smalley — who played for the 1987 Twins and now works as an analyst on Twins broadcasts on Fox Sports North.

“Let me start in 1987,” said Smalley, who hit .275 with eight home runs for the Twins that season, his final year in the majors. “I think a couple things were going on. In sports, especially a stupid game like baseball, you can’t underestimate how closely tied the physical and psychological are both individually and as a team.”

Smalley was somewhat of an anomaly on that team in that his home and road splits were nearly identical. But when a team goes 56-25 at home compared to 29-52 on the road (including 13-36 in its final 49 road games), something is clearly going on.

“There was something about our team in that place. We still played on that old, hard turf. There were big hops, teams would lose balls in the roof. … We had guys who could hit the ball over the baggy and the ball carried really well,” he said. “On the road, we didn’t have the psychological edge and our pitching got a little exposed. We tended to outslug people at home and get outslugged at home. All those things 2 factored into that.”

Thirty years later, the Twins play at , not the dome. But that doesn’t explain why they’re 12-18 at home this year and 17-6 on the road after taking three of four against the Angels.

Still, Smalley sees psychology playing a role in this disparity as well and thinks the Twins are pressing while playing at home. Miguel Sano, who is hitting .357 on the road and .255 at home (with .774 vs. .457 slugging splits away vs. home) is a prime example.

That said, overall hitting isn’t necessarily the problem. The Twins as a team actually have a higher OPS at home (.755 to .743) at home this season, but their clutch hitting (on display again against the Angels) has been better on the road. More telling: their team ERA is more than a full run lower on the road (5.18 at home, 3.85 on the road).

“They want to play well for the fans. They know what happened last year and that it’s been one winning year in six,” Smalley said. “They go on the road and they take a sigh of relief and play ball. There’s none of that subconscious hoping that they can show up well for the home fans.”

A greater explanation, Smalley said, could be simpler than psychology: the schedule. Arguably the four best teams the Twins have faced this season are Houston (no doubt), Colorado, Boston and Cleveland. Minnesota is 2-10 against those teams at home but has only faced Cleveland on the road (going 2-1 in that series).

“My recollection is that they’ve played way better teams at home than on the road,” Smalley said.

With the Twins nearly one-third of the way into their season, it’s likely the home/road disparity will shrink over the final four months. But if they do pull a 1987 in reverse, nobody would complain as long as they won when it mattered. They won two ALCS games on the road and then took full advantage of their home field by winning all four World Series games at home.

“We felt so good about ourselves in the Metrodome,” Smalley said. “We expected to win every game and sensed the frustration other teams felt coming in there.”

Series preview: Twins at Seattle La Velle E. Neal III | Star Tribune | June 5, 2017

THREE-GAME SERIES AT SAFECO FIELD

Tuesday, 9:10 p.m. • FSN, 96.3-FM LHP Hector Santiago (4-5, 4.76 ERA) vs. LHP (4-0, 1.26)

Wednesday, 9:10 p.m. • FSN, 96.3-FM LHP Adalberto Mejia (1-1, 3.95) vs. RHP Yovani Gallardo (2-6, 6.24)

Thursday, 9:10 p.m. • FSN, 96.3-FM RHP (7-3, 2.44) vs. RHP Christian Berman (3-2, 4.36)

TWINS UPDATE

Last year, the Twins’ only three-game road sweep of the season came at Seattle in May; they are 8-2 at Safeco over the past three seasons. This year, they arrive with the second-best road record in the majors at 17-6 (.739). The Twins have outscored opponents 113-89 away from Target Field. … 3B Miguel Sano has 14 home runs, the eighth most in club history through 53 games. … The Twins have 15 come-from-behind victories and are 7-1 in one-run games. … C Jason Castro is batting .290 during his eight-game hitting streak.

MARINERS UPDATE

Despite having 10 players on the disabled list, including starting Felix Hernandez, Hisashi Iwakuma and Drew Smyly, Seattle has won seven of eight. … 1B is on his sixth team since the Twins traded him in 2012. He is making a case to stick in this case: Valencia is coming off a weekend in which he drove in five runs Friday and tied a Seattle record with hits in nine consecutive at-bats. … Paxton has emerged as one of the game’s better starters. Against the Twins, he is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA.

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Twins’ commitment to video scouting spreads through minors Mike Berardino | Pioneer Press | June 5, 2017

CEDAR RAPIDS, — Like many recent college graduates, Sam Berk isn’t working in his field of study, which in his case was American history. Instead, he’s doing something much cooler.

A former first baseman at Macalester, Berk is in his first season as a minor-league video intern in the Twins organization. Flying solo with the Class A , Berk is charged with merging pitch-tracking data from the TrackMan system with an extensive video system to offer daily information to manager and his coaching staff.

Berk, 23, compiles spray charts that help with defensive positioning, heat maps that allow Kernels pitchers and hitters to attack their opponents with an eye for detail and anything else Watkins, his coaches or the players can dream up.

He’s having a blast.

“These guys are really receptive to it,” Berk said. “The players want to find any way to get better. If this is an avenue they can use to see some positive reinforcement, they’re all for it.”

Just three teams in the 16-team are going without a video intern this season. Just more than half take their video person on the road, and for the first time, the Kernels are among them.

That means the Twins have a full-time video scouting presence at their top four minor-league affiliates. Rookie-level Elizabethton, which starts up in mid-June, isn’t currently outfitted but that is under consideration.

From spin rates to exit velocities and dozens of other data points, the Kernels are taking the field with a nearly big-league complement of information.

“We’ve got all that stuff,” Berk said. “I was surprised.”

STUDY TIME

Having played four seasons as a shortstop at the University of , Brandon Lopez thought he knew modern defensive shifting.

“We’d just move a couple steps,” he said. “It was never to a crazy extent.”

Now that he’s with the Kernels, he’s realizing just how much goes into every decision.

“It gives you time to study the (opposing) lineup before the game, because you want to know what hitters are pull hitters,” Lopez said. “It’s a lot of fun, man, getting to move around and play different positions during the game.”

Kernels , who also has seen time at second base in three pro seasons, will take the entire left side of the infield at times with a pull-heavy left-handed hitter at the plate. Other times, Blankenhorn will station himself behind the second-base bag while Lopez or fellow shortstop Jermaine Palacios man the left side.

Watkins, a first-year manager, has made a point of empowering his infielders to position themselves once they’ve learned opponents’ tendencies. Rather than encounter eye-rolling resistance to this new approach, he’s been pleased to see Twins infield prospects take ownership of the defensive side of the ball.

“Sometimes I’ll look up and they’re already doing it themselves,” Watkins said. “Even guys they might have known in the past, I’ll look up and they have a little shift going against the lefty.”

More than once Watkins has turned to his coaches, J.P. Martinez and , with a look of bemusement.

“Hey, are we doing this or do they know him?” Watkins will say.

It’s not just the Kernels that are showing an affinity for progressive strategies. The Peoria Cardinals shifted their infield for perhaps five different Kernels hitters, Watkins recalled. 4

“Now it’s all in the system,” he said. “You pull up the player’s name, and that spray chart is there.”

HERE TO STAY

With shifts at the major league level growing exponentially, it only makes sense to indoctrinate future big-leaguers in the practice earlier and earlier.

“Shifts are a big part of the game now; they’re definitely not going away,” Lopez said. “Teams are studying hitters so much now, even at this level, that they know where they’re putting the ball in play.”

It’s also helpful for young hitters such as first baseman Lewin Diaz to learn how to beat the shift with an all-field approach.

“I think this is my best season so far,” Diaz said through a translator. “In the field, I feel like I’m agile enough to make plays and have good enough range to play the shift. At the plate, I’m learning to recognize the offspeed pitch, make the adjustment and use the other side of the field.”

Berk is learning to adjust, as well. He typically gets to the ballpark 90 minutes before the players to put together video files and other data.

A couple times a week, he will talk by phone with David Jeffrey, the Twins’ minor-league video coordinator, to make sure he is using the six- camera video system and the TrackMan data most efficiently.

As a statement of faith, the Twins recently told him the cramped video room that doubles as an overflow locker room for roving instructors would be getting an overhaul. Berk, who watches every home game from that modest space, was excited to hear the news.

A new widescreen television will be installed, along with new countertops and additional counterspace. The locker will be moved to another part of the clubhouse.

“We’re going to be able to have large groups of people in there,” Berk said. “We’re going to be able to have whole meetings with the hitters or the catchers.”

None of this should come as a surprise, not with Derek Falvey heading up Twins baseball operations. Berk got to meet Falvey briefly during his training session in Fort Myers, Fla., and was encouraged to hear Falvey got his start cutting up video behind the scenes for the .

“I found that out in spring training,” Berk said, “and thought that was really cool.”

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Falvey brings expertise to Twins' No. 1 pick Rhett Bollinger | MLB | June 5, 2017

MINNEAPOLIS -- As an assistant general manager with the Indians, Derek Falvey had an extensive role in the organization's Draft preparation, assisting with scouting and helping to identify the kind of pitchers the club sought.

So even though his duties have expanded as the chief baseball officer of the Twins, Falvey plans to have plenty of say in this year's Draft, which begins on June 12, especially considering Minnesota holds the No. 1 overall pick. Falvey -- along with general manager Thad Levine, who came over from the Rangers -- has tried to implement his own Draft strategies under the leadership of new scouting director Sean Johnson, who was promoted in December.

"I played a role in that in Cleveland, in creating that process there, and so we're adapting that process here," Falvey said. "I could see in the future that changing to some degree. But this year, I think I've been just as heavily involved as I was there."

The Twins were known for taking athletic high schoolers under former scouting director Deron Johnson, selecting players in the first round such as Byron Buxton, Aaron Hicks and . But they seem more likely to go with a pitcher with the No. 1 overall selection, with candidates including prep star Hunter Greene, Vanderbilt right-hander Kyle Wright and Louisville left-hander Brendan McKay.

Minnesota has had trouble developing pitching in recent years, and it's something that Falvey was known for during his time with Cleveland. "It's important for us to identify a type of pitcher who we think we can grow and develop through our development system," Falvey said. "One of the things I felt was of benefit when I was working in Cleveland was matching up the type of player we wanted to select, both from the mindset, makeup, mechanical standpoint and otherwise, with what we felt we can develop and help change along the way. I think that's important, that alignment in how you're operating developmentally with what you're getting from the scouts."

While much of the club's scouting staff remains unchanged, including Johnson remaining in the organization as a senior advisor, Falvey has tried to analyze patterns to see what kind of players the Twins have excelled at uncovering and which kinds they struggled with. The club has full scouting reports going back to roughly 1999, and Falvey has not only spent time looking at this year's prospects, but he has also gone back and analyzed prospects from previous Drafts.

"I've read more than is probably appropriate," Falvey said with a laugh. "I've tried to just identify some trends, or we've had some of our guys look at reports and see things that maybe we've historically been really good at, or areas we've missed a bit in the Draft."

Since being hired in November, Falvey has maintained that much of his first year will be spent analyzing his own organization, and essentially scouting his own scouts isn't any different.

"Organization-wide we've been doing that," Falvey said. "We're trying to learn who people are, hoping that they embrace the idea of change and development. But we trust these guys. I'm confident in that."

The 2017 Draft will take place from Monday, June 12, through Wednesday, June 14, beginning with the Draft preview show on MLB Network and MLB.com at 6 p.m on the 12th. MLB Network will broadcast the first 36 picks (Round 1 and Competitive Balance Round A), while MLB.com will stream all 75 picks on Day 1. MLB.com will also provide live pick-by-pick coverage of Rounds 3-10 on Day 2, starting at 1 p.m. ET. Then, Rounds 11-40 can be heard live on MLB.com on June 14, beginning at noon ET.

Go to MLB.com/draft to see the Top 200 Prospects list, projected top picks from MLBPipeline.com analysts Jim Callis and Jonathan Mayo, the complete order of selection and more. And follow @MLBDraft on to see what Draft hopefuls, clubs and experts are saying.

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Preview: Twins at Mariners STATS | June 6, 2017

SEATTLE — Boom or bust.

Seattle Mariners first baseman Danny Valencia has experienced both extremes already this season.

“Valencia, after a slow start to the season, picked it up in May and is continuing on in June,” said Mariners manager , whose team will continue its 11-game homestand when the Central-leading visit Tuesday night.

Valencia tied a franchise record against the Tampa Bay Rays last weekend with hits in nine consecutive at-bats.

After batting just .181 in April with one home run and five RBIs, Valencia is hitting .348 since, with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 29 games.

“May was good, and hopefully June will be better,” Valencia said.

Valencia matched a career high by driving in five runs Friday in Seattle’s 12-4 victory over Tampa Bay, and he went 4-for-4 on Saturday in a 9-2 rout of the Rays.

Singles in his first two at-bats Sunday in a 7-1 victory gave him nine consecutive hits, tying the team mark set by Raul Ibanez in 2004.

“(Valencia’s) been on fire,” Servais said after the Sunday game. “When you’re going good, you’ve got to ride it.

“I was sitting next to (hitting coach) Edgar Martinez in the dugout and somebody asked him if he ever had nine straight hits, and he couldn’t say that he did. That says a lot.”

Servais said he believes Valencia, who was acquired from the Oakland A’s in an offseason trade, was pressing too much in April.

“You start taking batting practice in the spring and start trying to hit them as far as (Robinson) Cano and (Nelson) Cruz,” Servais said. “Danny’s got home run potential, but it’s more important for him to be a good hitter. The power comes next.”

The much-traveled Valencia, who is playing for his seventh team since coming up with the Twins in 2010, admitted as much.

“You always want to come out the gate and show everybody (what you can do) and want to contribute,” he said. “What’s important is to trust your abilities. Being here in the clubhouse cements (that you belong).”

Both Servais and Valencia said the first baseman’s problems in April stemmed from not using the whole field.

“In spring training and early this year, I didn’t have a good feel for right field,” Valencia said. “Now I’m able to hit the ball pretty hard that way.”

As for his memories of Minnesota?

“That’s such a long time ago,” Valencia said. “It was great, a lot of fun. I played with a lot of guys that were great, veteran leaders. That was my only time being to the playoffs (as a rookie in 2010). They told me not to take that for granted.”

Nor is he taking his current streak for granted.

“There’s a lot of luck involved in this game,” Valencia said. “I’ve got good pitches to hit, and I’m not missing them. I’m just trying to have a good approach and stick with it.”

Valencia and the Mariners are scheduled to face Twins left-hander Hector Santiago (4-5, 4.76 ERA) in the series opener. Valencia has hit .389 in 18 career at-bats against Santiago, who has a 4-3 record and a 3.09 ERA against Seattle.

The Mariners are set to counter with left-hander James Paxton (4-0, 1.26). In his first start since being activated from the disabled list upon his recovery from a left forearm strain, Paxton pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings Wednesday against the Colorado Rockies. He is 1-1 with a 1.54 ERA in two career starts against the Twins.

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Twins free youth clinic coming to Tink Larson Field Daniel Ring | WASECA County News | June 5, 2017

Break out those mitts and throw on some eye black because the Twins are coming to town.

Well, the Minnesota Twins baseball clinic that is.

Coming to Tink Larson Field June 17, Play Ball! Minnesota will conduct a free youth baseball clinic hosted by Waseca Community Education & Recreation. The event is broken up into two sessions with six- to nine-year-olds beginning at 9 a.m. and 10- to 13-year-olds starting at 10:30 a.m.

The clinic is free and players are asked to bring their gloves though Play Ball! Minnesota provides all necessary equipment. Though no prior registration is required, participants will complete an on-site waiver before joining the clinic.

This is the first time the clinic — which has been held each summer throughout the state of Minnesota since 1961 — is coming to Waseca.

“We thought it’d be a good fit for this area,” Recreation & Aquatics Coordinator Tyler Luethje said. “The Twins have a long history of helping Waseca and this area and Tink Larson Field is a great venue to host it.”

Clinics are designed to teach basic fundamentals of the game, including hitting, throwing and fielding. Play Ball! Minnesota itself is an initiative of the Minnesota Twins Community Fund. In collaboration with Minnesota youth baseball and softball organizations, Play Ball! Minnesota was organized to promote and improve the games of baseball and softball in the Upper Midwest.

“Generations of young Twins fans have honed their baseball skills at our free clinics for more than 55 years,” Executive Director of the Twins Community Fund Bryan Donaldson said. “We are proud to continue the tradition of bringing Twins baseball instruction to the ball fields of communities throughout Twins Territory.”

Luethje said with a good turnout, Play Ball! Minnesota is something he hopes to become a tradition in Waseca.

“The clinic is something that commonly returns to communities,” said Luethje. “We apply in the fall and it’s something we plan on doing next year.”

In case the event is rained out, the clinic will be moved to Waseca Intermediate School.

For more information on the clinic or other events happening in different areas, visit www.playballmn.com.

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