Aaron Gleeman

Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez’s rare skill set fuels big questions, bigger upside (Gift Article) Rarely has a Twins prospect this close to the majors had a wider range of potential career outcomes than the 23-year-old Rodriguez.

I created a free/gift link to my Emmanuel Rodriguez article, so anyone can read it: www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez’s rare skill set fuels big questions, bigger upside Rarely has a Twins prospect this close to the majors had a wider range of potential career outcomes than the 23-year-old Rodriguez.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is one of the best, most intriguing, and hardest-to-project Twins prospects in my 20 years writing about their farm system.

My in-depth look at Rodriguez and why his uncommon mix of extreme skills fuels big questions and bigger upside: www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

I got this exciting news from @racketmn.com, of course: racketmn.com/better-late-...

It's important for beat writers to update each other on important news when they're away from spring training.

Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez’s rare skill set fuels big questions, bigger upside Rarely has a Twins prospect this close to the majors had a wider range of potential career outcomes than the 23-year-old Rodriguez.

In my 20 years writing about and ranking Twins prospects, they've never had one this close to the majors with a wider range of potential career outcomes than Emmanuel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez's rare set of extreme skills fuels big questions and bigger upside: www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez’s rare skill set fuels big questions, bigger upside (Gift Article) Rarely has a Twins prospect this close to the majors had a wider range of potential career outcomes than the 23-year-old Rodriguez.

I created a free/gift link to my Emmanuel Rodriguez article, so anyone can read it: www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Twins prospect Emmanuel Rodriguez’s rare skill set fuels big questions, bigger upside Rarely has a Twins prospect this close to the majors had a wider range of potential career outcomes than the 23-year-old Rodriguez.

Emmanuel Rodriguez is one of the best, most intriguing, and hardest-to-project Twins prospects in my 20 years writing about their farm system.

My in-depth look at Rodriguez and why his uncommon mix of extreme skills fuels big questions and bigger upside: www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Twins' latest round of spring cuts:

OF Emmanuel Rodriguez
OF Gabriel Gonzalez
OF Hendry Mendez
C Patrick Winkel
LHP Connor Prielipp
LHP Kendry Rojas
RHP John Klein
RHP Andrew Morris
RHP Marco Raya

No surprises. Basically sending many of their top prospects to minor league camp.

Byron Buxton is back in Team USA's lineup and playing center field tonight after being hit on the elbow by a pitch Friday.

Ranking the Post-Hype Group | Gleeman and the Geek Get more from Gleeman and the Geek on Patreon

Players we covered in depth on today's show:

- Bailey Ober
- Royce Lewis
- Matt Wallner
- Trevor Larnach
- Brooks Lee
- Austin Martin
- Zebby Matthews
- Taj Bradley
- Simeon Woods Richardson
- David Festa

Two hours of commercial-free Twins talk. Join us: www.patreon.com/posts/rankin...

Ranking the Post-Hype Group | Gleeman and the Geek Get more from Gleeman and the Geek on Patreon

New podcast!

We've talked a lot about the importance of "post-hype prospects" for the Twins this season and new manager Derek Shelton agreed.

So today we discussed all nine players, looking at their 2026 outlooks and odds of staying in the future plans.

www.patreon.com/posts/rankin...

Lucas Giolito (#30) and Michael Kopech (#50) are now the only unsigned players ranked among @theathletic.com's top 50 free agents: www.nytimes.com/athletic/677...

Justin Topa has a 30.38 ERA this spring, allowing nine runs and recording eight outs.

Twins mailbag: Byron Buxton’s future, $2 beer, ABS strategy and deadline dividends (Gift Article) Plus expectations for Brooks Lee, hanging onto Trevor Larnach, front office approach changes and an outfield trio worth dreaming on.

I made my new Twins mailbag column free for anyone to read:

- Byron Buxton now, later
- Trevor Larnach still here?
- Trade deadline dividends
- Any front office changes?
- Brooks Lee expectations
- ABS challenge strategies
- Everyone loves $2 beers

www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Christian Vázquez, a free agent after finishing a three-year, $30 million contract with the Twins, has signed a minor-league deal with the Astros.

Vázquez won a World Series with Houston in 2022. Now at age 35, he'll compete for the backup catcher job behind starter Yainer Diaz.

I'm curious to find out if pitchers have a worse-than-expected performance on the pitch directly following a challenge that overturns a strike.

Wonder if their natural emotional reaction will lead to a worse quality of the next pitch.

Lots of side aspects of ABS to learn about.

Bailey Ober's average fastball velocity vs. the Braves tonight:

First inning — 90.4 mph
Second inning — 89.5 mph

He averaged 89.9 mph overall and topped out at 91.1 mph.

New (free) podcast!

On the national view of the Twins, Keaschall in the outfield, Roden vs. Outman, what's riding on Brooks Lee, and making sense of an elderly bullpen.

🎧Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/n...

🎧Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/5Nzf...

💻YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgYd...

Twins mailbag: Byron Buxton’s future, $2 beer, ABS strategy and deadline dividends Plus expectations for Brooks Lee, hanging onto Trevor Larnach, front office approach changes and an outfield trio worth dreaming on.

My new Twins mailbag includes:

- Byron Buxton's future outlook
- Trade deadline dividends soon
- Expectations for Brooks Lee
- ABS challenge strategy/value
- Hanging onto Trevor Larnach
- Front office approach changes
- Most popular move since 2023

www.nytimes.com/athletic/708...

Twins top 40 prospects for 2026, led by Walker Jenkins, Kaelen Culpepper and Emmanuel Rodriguez Trade deadline pickups help the Twins rank among MLB's best farm systems and most of their top prospects are on the doorstep of the majors.

Just to be clear: I'm not responsible for The Athletic's farm system rankings.

I cover/rank only the Twins' prospects by writing my annual top 40 list, which you can read here: www.nytimes.com/athletic/682...

All of the prominent national outlets have now published their rankings of MLB farm systems.

Twins' rankings:
ESPN — #8
Baseball Prospectus — #8
MLB Pipeline — #9
FanGraphs — #12
Baseball America — #12
The Athletic — #21

I was a guest on @theathletic.com's "Rates and Barrels" podcast with @dvr.bsky.social, previewing the Twins' season with a fantasy baseball slant.

📺Watch: www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfOJ...

Means nothing. Still fun to look at, though.

With more and more of Twins Twitter — including beat writers — coming over to Bluesky for this season, I updated my "starter pack" of recommended Twins-related accounts to follow that post regularly here.

go.bsky.app/7MyGRMz

Luke Keaschall is playing a game in the outfield for the first time since having elbow surgery in August 2024.

Nine questions with new Twins manager Derek Shelton: ‘We have to win fans back’ Shelton talks wanting to manage again after being fired, the rotation post-Pablo López injury, developing young talent and more.

"I was pissed off when I first got fired."

"We have to win the fans back."

"I'm on the back field, I get a call, and I'm like, woof, damn."

"I played the crap out of some co-ed slow-pitch softball."

Nine questions with new Twins manager Derek Shelton: www.nytimes.com/athletic/707...

Matthew Leach is a Meatsauce Approved™ guest.

No surprises in the Twins' first round of spring cuts:

OF Walker Jenkins
C/1B Andrew Cossetti
C/LF Ricardo Olivar
RHP Andrew Bash
RHP Raul Brito
LHP Christian MacLeod

It's possible Jenkins might have stuck around a little longer, but he's sidelined by a hamstring injury anyway.

Matthew Leach from Spring Training | Gleeman and the Geek Get more from Gleeman and the Geek on Patreon

New podcast!

Special guest @matthewhleach.bsky.social of MLB .com joins us to talk about his favorite Minnesota things after a year living here, the Twins' rotation and bullpen battles, Brooks Lee and Mick Abel hype trains, and predicting how this season plays out.

www.patreon.com/posts/matthe...