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National League Non-Tenders

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With revenue losses expected to result in reduced payrolls around baseball, a larger number of players than usual are expected to be let go by their current teams by tonight’s 7pm CT non-tender deadline.  Some of these players could end up re-signing with their teams for salaries below what they were projected (by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz) to earn through the arbitration process, or teams could end up simply opting to explore other options…with many of those options arriving on the market through this same non-tender process.

You can track all of the arbitration and non-tender activity here, and we’ll also run through the list of National League players who have been let go in this post.

Earlier Non-Tenders

  • The Cardinals non-tendered righty John Brebbia and outfielder Rangel Ravelo, Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch tweets. Brebbia had played a significant role in the St. Louis pen for his first three MLB campaigns but is still recovering from mid-2020 Tommy John surgery.
  • Right-handed reliever Clay Holmes has been non-tendered by the Pirates, Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was among those to cover on Twitter. The 27-year-old hurler made it into just one MLB contest in 2020 owing to a forearm injury.
  • The Marlins have decided not to tender a contract to righty Ryne Stanek, Craig Mish of Sports Grid first tweeted. He joins fellow right-hander Jose Urena in departing via non-tender. (Urena had already been designated for assignment.) Stanek, 29, struggled with the free pass in limited action this year but has been a quality, high-strikeout arm in the past and could be an interesting name to watch on the open market.
  • In addition to Shreve, the Mets announced the non-tenders of righties Ariel Jurado, Paul Sewald, and Nick Tropeano.
  • The Mets will not tender a contract to left-handed reliever Chasen Shreve, Robert Murray of FanSided tweets. Shreve performed reasonably well in 2020, logging a 3.96 ERA/3.99 FIP with 12.24 K/9 and 4.32 BB/9 in 25 innings, but the Mets will nonetheless move on instead of paying him around $1MM in arbitration.
  • The Padres won’t tender a contract to infielder Greg Garcia, reports Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune (Twitter link). Garcia, 31, posted a woeful .200/.279/.250 batting line in 2020, albeit in a tiny sample of 71 plate appearances. In parts of two seasons with the Friars, he slashed .240/.351/.337, but the team opted not to give him a raise on last year’s $1.5MM salary.
  • The Reds have non-tendered outfielder Brian Goodwin, he announced on Twitter (hat tip to Mark Sheldon of MLB.com). Goodwin, whom the Reds acquired from the Angels over the summer, slashed .215/.299/.417 with six home runs and five stolen bases over 164 plate appearances between the teams in 2020. He was due to earn a projected $2.7MM to $3.6MM in arbitration.
  • The Cubs have told Jose Martinez he isn’t being tendered a contract, ESPN.com’s Jesse Rogers reports (Twitter link).  Acquired from the Rays in a deadline deal, Martinez went hitless over 22 plate appearances with Chicago, only reaching base once on a walk.  The 32-year-old mashed for the Cardinals from 2016-18, but delivered closer to league-average production in 2019 with St. Louis and with the Rays last season prior to the trade.

Marlins Place 13 Players On Injured List

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The Marlins announced today that they’ve placed 13 players on the injured list. Those going on the IL include right-handers Sandy Alcantara, Jeff Brigham, Robert Dugger, Yimi Garcia, Jordan Holloway, Nick Neidert and Ryne Stanek; left-handers Adam Conley, Caleb Smith and Alex Vesia; infielders Sean Rodriguez and Miguel Rojas; and catcher Chad Wallach.

Miami also made official a previously reported slate of roster moves. Lefty Richard Bleier was acquired from the Orioles in exchange for a player to be named later or cash. Right-hander James Hoyt was acquired from the Indians for cash. The club also claimed relievers Justin Shafer and Josh D. Smith from the Reds, claimed reliever Mike Morin from the Brewers and claimed reliever (and former Marlin) Brian Moran from the Blue Jays. Veteran infielder Logan Forsythe signed a one-year, Major League deal.

As for internal moves, the Fish called up right-hander Jorge Guzman, outfielder Monte Harrison and righty Jordan Yamamoto. The club also selected the contracts of left-hander Dan Castano, right-hander Josh A. Smith, right-hander Nick Vincent, catcher Ryan Lavarnway and infielder Eddy Alvarez. Outfielders Matt Joyce and Lewis Brinson were activated from the injured list.

It’s a dizzying sequence of moves brought about by the Covid-19 outbreak that decimated the organization’s Major League roster. Miami ultimately wound up with a reported 18 players and two coaches testing positive, and the outbreak caused scheduling delays with the Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays and Nationals in addition to the Marlins. Miami was left with a depleted roster and forced to scramble to simply cobble together a roster and continue its season.

The losses of Alcantara and Smith will remove two of Miami’s top rotation options from the mix for the time being, while Rojas was the team’s starting shortstop. Stanek had been expected to occupy a high-leverage late-inning role, and Conley is one of the team’s most experienced bullpen pieces.

How The Rays Traded A Top-100 Prospect For A 29-Year-Old Rookie And Came Away Winners

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Nick Anderson is not exactly a household name – and he may never be. For most of last season, Anderson was a 28-year-old rookie non-closer pitching for the Marlins (he turned 29 in July). That’s not a recipe for superstardom.

After a deadline deal brought him to Tampa Bay, Anderson did get a moment in the spotlight, striking out four of the five batters he faced in the Rays’ Wild Card Game win over the A’s. That was nothing new for Anderson, who spent most of the season racking up strikeouts at an alarming rate.

Between Tampa and Miami, Anderson appeared in 68 games in 2019, totaling 65 innings with a good-but-not-great 3.32 ERA. The peripherals speak to a much more dominant campaign for the former independent leaguer. His 2.35 FIP suggests a potential high-leverage bullpen arm, while the 2.1 fWAR he racked up confirms it: he tied for 5th overall in the majors among relievers. That puts him on the same plane with firemen/closers like Taylor Rogers, Brandon Workman, Felipe Vazquez and Aroldis Chapman. Make no mistake: Nick Anderson is an elite bullpen piece.

Credit the Marlins for picking up Anderson and turning him into a top-100 prospect in Jesus Sanchez. Sanchez may have lost some luster as a prospect, but he still landed at #96 on Fangraphs’ top-100 list. Yes, he was #47 on their updated list after starting the year at #54 in 2019, but he’s still just 22-years-old and posted a promising line of .246/.338/.446 in the homer-happy PCL after the trade. As a 21-year-old, he was more than 5 years younger than the average player in the PCL.

For their part, the Marlins acquired Anderson for Brian Schales after the Twins signed Anderson from the independent league. The 6’5″ Anderson put up good numbers in the Twins’ system from 2015 to 2017, but he started to pop in 2018, striking out 13.2 hitters per nine innings in Triple-A. At the time, the deal was most notable for bumping Derek Dietrich from the Marlins’ roster.

But Anderson became a different animal entirely during his breakout in 2019. His 15.23 K/9 ranked fourth among relievers in the majors, behind only strikeout artists Edwin Diaz, Matt Barnes and Josh Hader. After joining the Rays, Anderson went into overdrive, striking out a ridiculous 17.3 batters per nine innings. Including his Marlins work, the Minnesota native finished in the bottom 9th percentile in hard hit percentage and bottom 12th percentile in exit velocity.

In adding Anderson from the Marlins, the Rays got a guy who has a legitimate chance to be one of the most dominant relievers in all of baseball, and they have him at the league minimum for another two seasons. This is a guy the Rays can afford, which makes the deal all the more important from their perspective. There’s a reason they could include Ryne Stanek in the deal, a guy who throws 100+ mph and had a 3.40 ERA at the time. There’s a reason they could deal Emilio Pagan to the Padres after he broke out with a 2.3 bWAR season of his own in 2019. That reason is Nick Anderson.

So how does he do it? For Anderson, the recipe is fairly simple. He throws a fastball that averages 96 mph with good spin that he locates up in the zone. His “other” pitch is a curveball – but it’s one of the best in the game. By Fangraphs’ pitch values, his curveball was the second most valuable such offering from a reliever in 2019, behind only Workman’s bender. Batters managed an expected batting average of just .134 off Anderson’s curveball while registering a whiff rate of 54.2%. As of right now, Anderson’s hook is one of the deadliest weapons in the sport.

Anderson could also be in line for some positive regression this season, as opponents had a higher-than-average .349 BABIP against him in 2019. A 14.5 % HR/FB rate was also higher than Anderson had yielded at any point in the minors, and if that number comes down, Anderson could be an even more potent asset for the Rays moving forward.

His ceiling is no lower than Liam Hendriks’ amazing 2019, though Hendriks has a bit more versatility in his offspeed stuff. Hendriks, of course, was the most productive reliever in all of baseball last season, so there aren’t a ton of comps out there that make sense for him. Anderson, however, is one that does.

Marlins’ Michael Hill On Alfaro, Stanek, NRIs

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Marlins president of baseball operations Michael Hill spoke with reporters on a conference call today, providing updates on multiple injured players and addressing the status of the wave of veterans who’d been in camp on non-roster deals this spring (all Twitter links via the Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson and SportsGrid’s Craig Mish).

Catcher Jorge Alfaro, who had been questionable for Opening Day due to a strained left oblique, now seemingly has put that injury behind him. Had Alfaro required an IL stint to open the season, Miami would’ve begun the year trotting out Chad Wallach and offseason signee Francisco Cervelli as the top two catching options, as there are no other backstops on the 40-man roster. (Alternatively, the club could’ve selected non-roster invitee Ryan Lavarnway.) If play does resume in 2020 now, they’ll instead take a continued look at the 26-year-old Alfaro, who came over from the Phillies in the J.T. Realmuto swap and slashed .262/.312/.425 with a career-high 18 home runs in 465 plate appearances for the Fish.

Updates on a pair of relievers were a bit less concrete. Flamethrowing righty Ryne Stanek, whom the Marlins acquired in the deal that sent unexpected breakout reliever Nick Anderson to the Rays last July, has been receiving some treatment for back discomfort and is now doing well. Fellow right-hander Jeff Brigham was slowed by a biceps injury in Spring Training and is still working his way back from that issue. A timetable for him wasn’t provided.

Stanek, 28, was impressive for the Rays in ’19 but saw his control completely disappear upon being traded to Miami. While he upped his strikeout rate with the Marlins, he also went from respectable walk rates with the Rays (3.2 BB/9, 8.8% overall) to astonishingly high levels with the Marlins (8.0 BB/9, 19.2%). At the time of the trade, Stanek seemed like a potential closing option for Miami — although so did Anderson — but his late struggles might’ve contributed to the Marlins’ offseason desire to add a veteran ninth-inning option (which they did in Brandon Kintzler).

Like most other clubs, the Marlins had a slew of big league veterans in camp on non-roster deals hoping to secure a spot on the club. The aforementioned Lavarnway, Matt Kemp, Sean Rodriguez, Brad Boxberger, Ryan Cook, Pat Venditte and Josh A. Smith were among the names hoping to secure a job. Everyone from that group is still with the organization, per Hill, despite any spring opt-out dates they might’ve had worked into their deals. However, until another iteration of training camp resume and teams know how many players they’ll be carrying on their rosters, Hill indicated that the club can’t make determinations or even indicate who is likely to be on the roster.

Mish and MLB.com’s Joe Frisaro had both previously reported that Boxberger seemed very likely to break camp with the team. Kemp, Mish noted again today, appeared unlikely to make the club prior to the leaguewide shutdown — and Hill himself acknowledged that the former All-Star had gotten out to a poor start (4-for-28, no extra-base hits, 11 strikeouts in 30 plate appearances). With Corey Dickerson, Matt Joyce, Garrett Cooper, Lewis Brinson, Magneuris Sierra, Harold Ramirez, Monte Harrison and Jesus Sanchez all on the roster as potential corner candidates — Jonathan Villar is expected to play center field — Miami isn’t exactly hurting for options.

Marlins Make Flurry Of Roster Moves

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The Marlins announced Monday that they’ve officially promoted top prospect Isan Diaz for his MLB debut (as had been previously reported), recalled Lewis Brinson from Triple-A New Orleans and selected the contract of right-hander Robert Dugger. Miami also placed infielder Neil Walker (sprained index finger) and outfielder Cesar Puello (left hip flexor strain) on the 10-day injured list, activated righty Ryne Stanek for his team debut and optioned right-hander Kyle Keller to New Orleans.

In Diaz, the Marlins will get their first look at one of the key pieces in the Christian Yelich blockbuster. Diaz currently ranks between 86th and 90th on the midseason top prospect rankings of MLB.com (86), Fangraphs (89) and Baseball America (90). He’s clobbered Triple-A pitching at a .305/.395/.578 clip, belting 26 homers, 21 doubles and two triples along the way. Originally drafted as a shortstop, he profiles better at second base from a defensive standpoint, and the Marlins hope he can be a long-term piece in the infield. Scouting reports generally suggest that his plus raw power and solid plate discipline give him a reasonable chance of being an offensive-minded everyday second baseman.

Brinson, of course, was the headliner in that Yelich swap but has yet to cement himself as a regular in the Miami outfield in parts of two seasons with the club. Since his most recent demotion to Triple-A, though, Brinson has turned in a .270/.361/.510 batting line with 16 home runs and 16 steals. That only translates to nine percent better than the league average in the ridiculous Pacific Coat League hitting environment (109 wRC+), but Brinson’s solid productivity has earned him another look. Strikeouts continue to be an issue (100 in 339 Triple-A plate appearances), but he’s demonstrated the speed and power that have long made him such an intriguing prospect.

Dugger, meanwhile, came to the Marlins in the trade that sent Dee Gordon to the Mariners. He began the season with 70 2/3 innings of 3.31 ERA ball with 9.3 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, 0.76 HR/9 and a 45.6 percent ground-ball rate in Double-A. Like so many pitchers, Dugger has been blown up in Triple-A, with a 9.34 ERA and seven home runs allowed in 35 2/3 innings since a midseason promotion. (Generally speaking, onlookers should take Triple-A stats with more of a grain of salt than ever before, given the bloated offensive numbers throughout the league.) That’s not to say that Dugger is a premium prospect, however. He ranks near the back of Miami’s top 30 prospects (24 at MLB.com, 27 at Fangraphs) and is most optimistically viewed as a back-of-the-rotation starter, though scouting reports on him also point to a possible future in relief.

It’ll also be interesting to see how Miami ultimately opts to utilize Stanek, whom they acquired alongside prospect Jesus Sanchez in a trade sending righties Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards to the Rays last week. Stanek has been the Rays’ most prolific opener since the team adopted that tactic last season and generally enjoyed favorable results. In 122 innings from 2018-19, Stanek has recorded a 3.17 ERA with 10.5 K/9, 3.5 BB/9 and 1.1 HR/9.

Stanek has pitched in late-inning situations in addition to his work as an opener, and the general fluidity of the Miami bullpen situation could serve as an avenue for Stanek to receive some save opportunities. The Marlins traded closer Sergio Romo to the Twins, and Anderson (traded for Stanek) was the presumptive heir apparent in the ninth inning. Drew Steckenrider has experience in the role but has been injured much of the season. Stanek, meanwhile, boasts a fastball that averages better than 97 mph and can reach triple-digit velocity readings, so he certainly has prototypical closer’s stuff if Miami chooses to try him at the end of games rather than the beginning.

Quick Hits: Diaz, Rays, Prospects, Stanek, Black

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Edwin Diaz’s struggles may finally be loosening his grip on the Mets’ closing job, as manager Mickey Callaway told reporters (including Newsday’s Tim Healey) that “I don’t think we can lock ourselves in to one thing” in terms of who pitches the ninth inning.  “Moving forward, it’s just something that we’re going to do whatever we can to win a game that night,” Callaway said.  After a dominant 2018 season with the Mariners, Diaz’s first season in Queens has been a borderline disaster, with a 5.44 ERA inflated by a 22.2% home run rate and a huge increase in the righty’s hard-hit ball rate.  Just when it seemed like Diaz might have been turning a corner by tossing six scoreless innings over a seven-game stretch in July, he proceeded to allow at least one earned run in each of his last four outings.

This would seem to open the door for Seth Lugo to receive save opportunities, as Callaway said that Lugo also isn’t operating out of an assigned role.  Lugo has been the Mets’ best reliever this season, and could be shifted into closer duties or (if the Mets strayed from the traditional closer role) be saved only for highest-leverage situations, whether those are in the ninth inning or earlier in the game.

Here’s more as we begin a new week…

  • The Rays’ busy trade deadline is explored by Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times, who includes the detail that the club wasn’t willing to discuss moving many of their top prospects, including Wander Franco, Brendan McKay, Vidal Brujan and Matthew Liberatore.  Jesus Sanchez was the only member of that top tier who seemed to be on the block, and indeed it was Sanchez who was dealt along with Ryne Stanek to the Marlins in exchange for Trevor Richards and Nick Anderson.
  • Meanwhile, Stanek’s erstwhile role as an opener factored into the Rays’ decision to trade the right-hander.  Interestingly, Topkin writes that the Rays “shed the uncertainty of his opener-influenced arbitration case in 2021,” which promises to be a fascinating test case for how an arbiter could put a financial precedent on a new role within the game.  As Topkin notes, Stanek has been much better as an opener (2.71 ERA in 83 innings) than in a normal relief role (4.73 ERA in 59 innings).
  • The Brewers believe they might have a hidden gem in trade deadline acquisition Ray Black, as president of baseball operations David Stearns told Tom Haudricourt of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Black has “as good…stuff as any reliever in the game.”  Black had only a 6.04 ERA over 25 1/3 career Major League innings as a member of the Giants, due in part to five homers allowed in that brief stint.  However, he also struck out 38 batters with his blazing fastball, and also posted a 3.70 ERA, 2.83 K/BB rate, and 16.8 K/9 over 153 1/3 career frames in the minors.  Between that live arm and those strikeout totals, Stearns thinks Black can blossom in Milwaukee, and pointed to a relatively healthy season for Black in 2019 as a positive development after multiple years shortened by injuries.  “The most important thing for him is keeping him on the field….He has changed some of his training regimens over the last year, and that seems to have helped. We’re hoping and optimistic that we can help keep him healthy,” Stearns said.

Rays Acquire Nick Anderson, Trevor Richards From Marlins

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The Rays have acquired right-handers Nick Anderson and Trevor Richards from the Marlins for righty Ryne Stanek and outfielder Jesus Sanchez, Craig Mish of FNTSY Sports Radio reports.

Tampa Bay’s landing a notable bullpen piece in Anderson, a 29-year-old rookie who has logged a 3.92 ERA/2.72 FIP with 14.22 K/9 and 3.3 BB/9 in 43 2/3 innings this season. The hard-throwing Anderson’s on a minimal salary right now and won’t be eligible for arbitration until the conclusion of the 2021 campaign, which surely adds to his appeal from the low-budget Rays’ standpoint.

Likewise, Richards isn’t slated to reach arbitration until after 2021. The 26-year-old recently lost his place in the Marlins’ rotation, though he was a passable member of their starting group from 2018-19. He posted a 4.46 ERA/4.38 FIP with 8.8 K/9 and 3.97 BB/9 in 238 1/3 innings during that span. Richards could now factor into the Rays’ rotation, which lacks traditional starters after Charlie Morton and Yonny Chirinos, or their bullpen.

Stanek, 28, had been one of the faces of the Rays’ revolutionary “opener” idea prior to this trade. He “started” in 56 of 100 appearances for the club dating back to last season, though Stanek’s outings were fairly short. He was extremely effective in that role, though, having registered a 3.17 ERA/3.64 FIP with 10.48 K/9 and 3.47 BB/9 in 122 innings going back to last year. In Stanek, the Marlins are getting a hurler who’s not eligible for arbitration until after 2020.

Sanchez, 21, ranked as MLB.com’s fourth-best Rays prospect before the trade. The outlet regards him as “at least an above-average defender with a strong arm” and “a potential middle-of-the-order run producer.” However, Sanchez has fallen flat since earning a promotion to Triple-A Durham earlier this season. He carries a .206/.282/.317 line with one homer in 71 plate appearances at the minors’ top level.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rays Place Ryne Stanek On IL, Recall Hunter Wood, Option Brendan McKay, Activate Chaz Roe

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The Tampa Bay Rays continued their weekly weekend roster churn, placing Ryne Stanek on the IL, optioning Brendan McKay to Triple-A, calling up Hunter Wood, and activating Chaz Roe from the injured list, tweets MLB.com’s Juan Toribio.

Wood and McKay, like ships passing in the night, are two of the many innings-eating arms the Rays have trucked back and forth to Durham per the team’s need – such is life in the Tampa Bay system. McKay, 23, has thus far lived up to the hype in four starts, going 1-1 with a 3.72 ERA (2.86 FIP). Control has been his calling card, as he’s walked just one batter in 19 1/3 innings. With 18 strikeouts to go with it, McKay heads to Durham as the proud owner of a comic 18.00 K/BB ratio. 

Wood, 25, has pitched effectively across 17 appearances (2 starts) for the big league club, currently boasting a 2.08 ERA (3.42 FIP) in 26 innings. His minor league numbers are less impressive, perhaps due to a tendency to air it out in Durham where he has both struck out hitters at a higher rate (11.9 K/9 to 7.3 K/9) and walked them at a higher rate (4.0 BB/9 to 2.1 BB/9).

Stanek, 27, hits the shelf with right hip soreness. He of the league-leading 27 games started distinction has gone 0-2 with a 3.40 ERA in 41 appearances, 27 of which qualify as starts, despite his longest single outing of the season lasting two innings – a mark he’s hit 14 times. Stanek has already pitched 55 2/3 innings on the season, less than 12 innings away from the career-high that he set last year.

Roe, 32, returns from a right flexor strain that has kept him out of action since July 9th. Roe, 32, had seen consistent usage out of the pen despite posting a 5.27 ERA (4.21 FIP) across those 39 games. The strikeouts have been there, but so have the walks as Roe racked up 11.9 K/9 to 6.6 BB/9.

Rays Sign First-Rounder Ryne Stanek

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The Rays have signed first-round pick Ryne Stanek for the full assigned pick value of $1,758,300, according to Jim Callis of Baseball America (on Twitter). The Rays, who have confirmed the signing via press release, received the No. 29 overall selection as compensation for the loss of B.J. Upton to the Braves in free agency. Stanek is advised by Jason Wood of Arland Sports.

Stanek entered the season as a potential Top 5 pick, but his stock fell due to inconsistency througout the year. Still, MLB.com's Jonathan Mayo ranked Stanek as the No. 12 prospect in this year's draft, while Baseball America and ESPN's Keith Law each had him ranked 13th. Stanek slipped well past his expectations, and many considered the Rays' selection of Stanek to be one of the best values in the first round.

Mayo writes that Stanek "has as much arm strength as anyone, throwing a plus fastball in the mid-90s while maintaining velocity throughout his starts." Law feels that Stanek's curveball is ahead of his slider, though BA notes that his slider "has real power in the 84-87 mph range when it's right."

Stanek was one of two first-round picks for the Rays, who selected high school catcher Nick Ciuffo with the No. 21 overall pick. The Rays haven't taken a college pitcher this highly since selecting David Price out of Vanderbilt with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 draft. WIth Stanek's deal, 28 of the 33 first-round picks from this year's draft have signed.

Twins Notes: Draft, International Free Agents

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Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN has a tremendous amount of information on the upcoming MLB draft in the most recent edition of his weekly "Scoops" column. Here are some highlights from his highly informative piece (though there is much more to see in the full column)…

  • Twins VP of player personnel Mike Radcliff spoke with Wolfson at length Wednesday afternoon and said that the team's draft board for the No. 4 overall pick is down to four players: "We have enough guys we have no problem taking," Radcliff said. "Dollars, risk, creativity, we can go many ways."
  • Wolfson adds that at least one of the potential players would be someone the Twins could sign well below slot value, in order to spend more heavily on their second- and third-round picks. He adds that that player is likely high school catcher Reese McGuire, as has been rumored occasionally over the past few weeks. Asked about McGuire, Radcliff side-stepped the question a bit: "Well, we want a catcher every draft," he said. "Looking for a star catcher is the hardest thing to find."
  • The Twins have had a scout in attendance to see "every pitch" from Kohl Stewart over the past couple of years. Radcliff and scouting director Deron Johnson have seen him multiple times.
  • The Twins have a great relationship with Matt Sosnick and Adam Karon, who are advising McGuire and Nevada right-hander Braden Shipley. They're believed to be more interested in McGuire than Shipley. Sosnick, the agent for current Twins Josh Willingham and Ryan Doumit, also advises high school arms Matt Krook and Andrew Church, plus San Francisco right-hander Alex Balog and Cal infielder Andrew Knapp. Each of those prospects ranks in the Top 100, per Baseball America.
  • Johnson has seen Arkansas righty Ryne Stanek numerous times, and the Twins have done more work on him than any team in this year's top 10.
  • High school lefty Hunter Green, who ranks as the draft's No. 31 prospect (per BA), is among the prospects who will attend a workout for the Twins on Monday. High school outfielder Austin Meadows did not attend a recent workout the team held for Georgia-area prospects.
  • The Twins aren't likely to pursue Minnesota high school outfielder Ryan Boldt with their second pick (No. 43). They will look at another hometown product in Gophers lefty Tom Windle at that spot, however. Boldt was considered a first-round talent before a meniscus tear ended his season. He hopes to be ready to play by August. 
  • The Twins have the fourth-largest pool to sign international prospects this year, and Radcliff says they will be "major players" in this year's market. Wolfson adds that the Twins very much like Dominican outfielder Lewin Diaz.
  • The team didn't have scouts in attendance to watch Japanese hurlers Shohei Otani and Masahiro Tanaka in Japan this past week.
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