Minor Leagues

Following the completion of the Major League Baseball Amateur Draft, organizations kick off their short season leagues. For the Minnesota Twins, their Gulf Coast team stays at the southern headquarters in Fort Myers, while the Appalachian League Elizabethton Twins head out to Tennessee. Both teams had plenty of intriguing names on them this season, and kicking off the awards swing, it’s the Twins Daily 2019 Short Season Hitter of the Year.

Only two games in the minor league system as both the Kernels and Blue Wahoos fight through their playoffs. Each day now looks to possibly be the end of the season and winning is the only thing that will stop that. How their games went and more in this edition of the minor league report.

They’re alive! Both Pensacola and Cedar Rapids were facing elimination tonight, but both Twins affiliates managed to survive. A couple of new faces shined in their Double-A debuts for the Blue Wahoos to force a game 4 in the Southern League semifinals. Meanwhile, a few familiar faces pushed the Kernels ahead to clinch a series victory in the Midwest League Quarterfinals.

In recent days, we have announced our choices for the August Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month (Zander Wiel) and Starting Pitcher of the Month (Bailey Ober). Today, we will discuss the relief pitchers who ended the season strong, and there were a lot of very good performances. For instance, one pitcher had 20 strikeouts and zero walks this month, and can be found in the Honorable Mentions.

Previous 2019 Relief Pitchers of the Month:

April: Ryan Mason, Pensacola Blue Wahoos
May: Hector Lujan, Ft. Myers Miracle
June: Derek Molina, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle
July: Joe Record, Ft. Myers Miracle
August: Keep Reading

What a night! The Twins won a 2-1 game in Boston in a game with great playoff atmosphere. Two Twins minor league teams are playing in their leagues' playoffs. Alex Kirilloff hit another homer for Pensacola, but was it enough? The Kernels forced a series-deciding Game 3 with a 2-1 win in Quad Cities. Keep reading for more details.

Earlier this week, Twins Daily named Zander Wiel the Hitter of the Month for August. Today, we announce our choice for the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. While the choice was ultimately pretty easy, I was in awe of how much strong pitching there was in the season’s final month. It’s really exciting to see.

Next week, we will start handing out our 2019 season awards, but let’s take a quick look back at the Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers of the Month from earlier this season.

Previous 2019 Starting Pitchers of the Month:
April - Devin Smeltzer - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
May - Jordan Balazovic - Ft. Myers Miracle
June - Josh Winder - Cedar Rapids Kernels
July - Edwar Colina - Pensacola Blue Wahoos
August -

The postseason started for Minnesota Twins affiliates tonight and that means the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Cedar Rapids Kernels were in action. While both teams came up on the short end of the scoreboard, they did so in dramatically different fashion. Speaking of drama, some top prospects provided plenty of it, and neither of these series is expected to see Minnesota’s clubs go down quietly.

The possible challenges that professional pitchers can face on the mound can seem endless and varied. But problem solving is nothing new for Matt Canterino, the Minnesota Twins’ second-round selection (54th overall) in the 2019 draft this past June out of Rice University in Houston.

Season’s end can separate the star prospects from the rest of the roster. Many affiliated teams are fighting for a playoff spot and batters can make the difference between a playoff team and one that is sending players home in the weeks ahead. A winning culture starts in the minor leagues and Minnesota will need to rely on some of the players left in their minor league system.

There are few top prospects on this list, but that’s further evidence of how deep the Twins farm system has become in recent years. From veteran cast-offs to DSL teenagers, this list has a wide array of players.

Hard to believe that the 2019 minor league season is over. Labor Day marks the final day of the minor league regular season. Five months of games have certainly done what we hope. Some prospects have taken big steps forward. There have been injuries. There have been struggles and adjustments. There have been promotions and demotions. There have been major-league debuts.

It has been a lot of fun, and we thank you for following the Twins minor league system each day in our minor league reports. We work hard to bring you the best coverage of the Twins farm system available. Join me in thanking Tom Froemming, Cody Christie, Steve Lein, Ted Schwerzler and Matt Braun for their weekly coverage.

Over the next week to ten days, we will also be unveiling the Twins Daily Minor League Awards. So check back soon to see who our winners will be.

However, you’ll be glad to know that we will keep the minor league reports going for as long as the Twins have an affiliate playing playoff baseball. On Wednesday, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Cedar Rapids Kernels begin their playoff seasons. And even throughout the offseason, we will cover the winter leagues and the Arizona Fall League as well.

Welcome to the final Sunday of the minor league season. Granted multiple affiliates of the Twins could be playing postseason. However, there is still work to get done in the regular season and rosters took on a very different feel after September call-ups were made on Sunday. Can the higher levels of the minor league’s survive without some of their key players? You will have to read on to find out.

Just two games in the system tonight as Pensacola prepares for their playoff push and the two Florida-based leagues were cancelled. Still, there was some action in the system and some potential theories regarding who will be called up to the majors with the expanded rosters. All that and more in this edition of the Minor League Report.