The Twins have a full day on tap at the ballpark, with three separate items on the agenda before they even get to the game. Dick Bremer will be inducted into the team Hall of Fame, Minnesota will make its first-round pick in the 2026 Amateur Draft, and then the club will try to handle the Angels.
Joe Ryan gets the start for Minnesota in what will be his final outing before the break. His ERA has been recently-governmentally-lowered, and with moves like the Tommy Nance acquisition in the mix, Ryan has some reason to believe he’ll still be in the organization come August.
The Angels will counter with Ryan Johnson, who is not related to Joe Ryan; that’s not how that works at ALL. Johnson enters with a career ERA of 7.12 and will be looking to bring that number down.
The Bremer ceremony is the emotional centerpiece of the day. Baseball has a habit of building cults of personality around long-tenured broadcasters, but Bremer has often seemed to get less of that spotlight than he deserved. He spent four decades calling Twins games, and his voice became tied to so many Minnesota moments that it’s hard to separate him from the team’s recent history.
He was a quietly dependable presence, and one who fit Twins fandom and Minnesota life so naturally that his absence on the telecasts still lands hard. If you haven’t read his memoir or caught his rare podcast appearance on Gleeman and the Geek earlier this year, this weekend is as good a time as any to do it.
In Other News...
Twins Fans Have Waited Years To Hear This From Pohlad
For years, Twins fans have heard variations of the same message: stay competitive, keep the pipeline moving, trust the process. Tom Pohlad used a different tone this time. The chairman said the organization understands it has to raise its payroll investment if it wants to do more than hang around the race, and he framed the goal in much bigger terms than simply remaining relevant in September.
Pohlad also made clear that consistency is only the starting point, not the finish line, and that playoff progress will require bolder moves and real spending. He expressed confidence in general manager Jeremy Zoll, but the larger point was aimed at the fan base as much as the front office: support is earned by what the club does on the field and by how aggressively it shows a commitment to winning, not by promises alone. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Have Just Answered Their Biggest Catcher Question
The Twins used the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft on Georgia Tech catcher Vahn Lackey, giving the organization a high-end prospect at a position that has been a constant question mark in the system. It was a notable choice on its own, and it carried extra weight because Minnesota has not spent a first-round pick on a catcher since Joe Mauer, a reminder of how rarely the club has gone this route at the top of the draft.
Lackey arrives with the kind of profile that made him one of the most intriguing names on the board, with some evaluators seeing a possible five-tool catcher and other clubs surely weighing him as well. His college track record and scouting grades help explain why the Twins were willing to make the move, and why this pick feels like more than just another premium selection, even if the real test will come once he starts climbing the ladder in pro ball. [Read more 🡒]
Twins May Be Forced Off Their Draft Plan At No. 3
With the third overall pick in the 2026 MLB Draft, the Twins look positioned to land a premium talent, but the shape of that board could push them in a different direction than the one they might prefer. Minnesota has been linked to shortstops Grady Emerson and Roch Cholowsky, along with catcher Vahn Lackey, and the early read is that the club is leaning toward college players rather than Emerson, whose path would likely take more time.
Keith Laws latest read on the class only adds to the uncertainty, since the Twins may have to react to how the first two picks and the clubs ahead of them break. If Cholowsky is there, he could be the obvious fit, but Minnesota may not get that clean a choice, and the possibility of a pivot to another college bat or arm is very much alive as the draft order starts to sort itself out. [Read more 🡒]