Minor Leagues

We hear it from time to time, but it is a phrase that is important to remember. Player development is not linear. From the time a player signs until he reaches the big leagues - should that happen - is filled with ups and downs. The hope, of course, is that there are more ups than downs. But more important is the development. Not the stats, but the development. Several of the Twins top prospects have had rough first halves this season. A few former prospects had a rough year last year. A few of them have regained prospect status in 2019. At the end of the day, it is really hard to get to the big leagues, much less stay there.

Wander Javier has been struggling since joining the Kernels about six weeks ago. He also missed all of 2018 and the first couple of months this season with injury. Hopefully he is working on things. Royce Lewis hasn’t put up huge numbers in Ft. Myers, but as we know, he continues to work on things. Pitchers are working on new pitches, or tightening up their current pitches, or working in a different role.

Remember that the goal isn’t about being great, or even necessarily good, in Cedar Rapids or Ft. Myers. The goal is for them to be great or at least productive big leaguers. And again, that is a lofty goal.

On Monday, Wander Javier had the kind of game that hopefully can help relax him and propel him to a strong second half. Perhaps playing in the Futures Game and in that environment will catapult Royce Lewis to a strong second half, maybe pushing toward a promotion to Double-A. Zander Wiel and Jaylin Davis are two late-round draft picks out of college who have gradually worked their way up to the minor league’s highest level where they are finding a lot of success. Lewin Diaz's prospect status has certainly been regained with his 2019 performance.

The list is - or at least could - go on and on with examples, good and bad… and that’s what makes following the minor leagues and the prospects fun and intriguing.

With that little sermonette, I certainly hope that you will enjoy today’s Twins Minor League Report. Enjoy the ups and downs and remember it’s all about the process, and it’s all with a goal to get productive players to the big leagues.

The dog days of summer are here are with it comes the opportunity for minor league teams to gain some separation from the other teams in their league. Strong pitching performances can be overshadowed by lackluster offensive outputs. Offensives can explode for double-digit runs to cover up a pitcher’s poor start.

For Twins fans, there was some good, some bad, and some ugly on Sunday.

There were only close games and blowouts throughout the Twins’ system on Saturday as for some reason no one wanted to win a game by a nice four run margin or something like that. Whatever, more for me to write about I guess. The offense took hold today as each squad had multiple hitters with multi-hit games and quite a few dingers were launched. All that and more in today’s edition of the minor league report.

The last thirty or so days have been interesting for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, to say the least.

As the Minnesota Twins’ Class A affiliate entered the final weekend of the first half of their Midwest League season, they needed to win every game and needed to see the Burlington Bees drop a game or two in order for the Kernels to nab the runner-up spot in the league’s Western Division and guarantee themselves a postseason slot.

And that’s exactly what happened.

A pitcher in the Twins organization came in to deliver an impressive multi-inning effort to earn his team a victory. No, I’m not talking about Taylor Rogers. Jordan Balazovic, who had his schedule altered a bit due to the Futures Game, pitched the final four innings for Fort Myers tonight, giving up just one hit while striking out six.

The Red Wings returned from their All-Star break with a doubleheader. In game 1, Ronald Torreyes had three hits and homered twice. But as we have known since childhood, Zander Wiel makes the Red Wings bus go round and round. Quietly the 2015 12th round pick from Vanderbilt is putting together a monster season in Triple-A. He deserves to be noticed and a game like this will get a player noticed.

There were a large number of transactions again on Thursday including the transfer of Cody Allen from the Miracle to the Red Wings.

The longball was on display in wins for the Twins affiliates today while Edwar Colina turned in another impressive performance on the bump down in Fort Myers. With a few teams having the day off action could've been sparse, but that certainly wasn't the case thanks to some stand out performances.

Due to scheduling quirks, an All-Star break and rain, only two games were played in the Minnesota Twins minor league system on Tuesday night, but there were still some notable performances. The starting pitchers both delivered solid performances, a top prospect fresh off a Futures Game appearance clubbed a home run, and it took extra innings to decide one of the games.

The All-Star break is upon us for both the big leagues and Triple-A. Pensacola got a great start from a key pitching prospect, and three hits from its top hitting prospect. The Miracle starter provided a quality start. Tyler Webb played hero again for Cedar Rapids. Matt Wallner provided the offense in E-Town, and a rehabbing starter was strong again in the GCL and could be returning to the Miracle soon.

Now that the 2019 MLB Draft is behind us, it is time to sit back and wait for news on when each of the 41 picks will either sign or decided to forgo their opportunity to play with the Twins. As the signings start coming in, this page will consistently be updated, so be sure to check back to keep up to date with all of the signings.

Every day at Twins Daily, prospects take center stage every in our Minor League Reports. However, Sunday’s MLB Futures Game allows some of the top talent in the organization to get recognized on the national stage. For some, Royce Lewis was one of the most impressive bats during batting practice. He was also wore a microphone during the game so that provided some additional entertainment. Lewis went 1-for-2 in the game and had a shot to win it in the seventh.

Jordan Balazovic might not be as well known as Lewis, but he is rising on prospect lists. The right-handed pitcher out of Canada is quickly moving up prospect lists. Even MilB.com did a story on his journey. In his first appearance in any All-Star Game, he pitched a perfect frame.

We almost had another full slate of games played but some East Coast rain decided to be annoying and so we had to settle for just five teams covered, boo. But, in the games that were played, there was a dominating pitching performance, a huge day at the plate, and a lot of pitching strikeouts deep down in the system. All that and more in this edition of the minor league report.

P.S. Don’t forget that the Futures Game starring Royce Lewis and Jordan Balazovic is tomorrow at 7 P.M. Eastern.