Nick Nelson

5 days ago | twinsdaily.com | Nick Nelson

Seven years ago this month – on June 18th, 2018 – the Minnesota Twins optioned Miguel Sanó from the major leagues to Single-A Fort Myers. It was a stunning turn of events for the 25-year-old, who was less than one year removed from featuring in the All-Star Game and Home Run Derby. But Sanó's performance forced the issue; through 37 games and 163 plate appearances, he was batting .203 with a .675 OPS and 41% strikeout rate.

5 days ago | twinsdaily.com | Nick Nelson

The Weekly Nutshell: The Twins embarked on a lengthy road trip, which started on the southern Atlantic coast and then brought them to the northern Pacific. They dropped both of their series two-to-one, in Tampa and Seattle, but that doesn't necessarily tell the whole story – these were hard-fought games in which Minnesota displayed plenty of the tenacity and resiliency that were disturbingly amiss throughout the early part of the schedule.

1 week ago | twinsdaily.com | Nick Nelson

This season is only two months old, but already we've seen plenty of examples that illustrate the massive chasm in competition level between the major leagues and the highest rung of the minors. It has been routine for players to look completely overmatched against MLB pitching before heading down to Triple-A and feasting (or vice versa). Case in point: Mickey Gasper. During his time with the Twins, he's looked like a total non-threat, tallying six hits (one double) in 39 plate appearances.

1 week ago | twinsdaily.com | Nick Nelson

Baseball, at its core, is a game. A kid’s pastime. A joyous outlet! But at the highest level, under the suffocating weight of expectation and pressure, it often becomes anything but fun — which is what makes it so jarring (yet understandable) when a slumping player leans into that very mindset as a way to find their way out. Royce Lewis, the Twins’ once-untouchable phenom, is in the midst of the deepest and most unrelenting slump of his professional life.

1 week ago | twinsdaily.com | Nick Nelson

It's safe to say the Twins have a formula. They've ridden it to a 17-5 record in their last 22 games, and we saw it successfully deployed again in Tampa on Tuesday night. Minnesota's pitching staff is so good, so consistent, that all the Twins offense needs to do is show up and the game is basically won.