Minor Leagues

While only three of the Minnesota Twins four full season affiliates were in action on Monday, two of them had doubleheaders on the schedule thanks to the weather that’s been wreaking havoc seemingly every day so far this season. A pair of starting pitchers had solid outings, including one who set a personal strikeout record, and a top prospect hitter finished his day with four hits. An under-the-radar reliever also continued an impressive scoreless streak to start 2019.

To find out who those players were, and how the rest of your favorite Twins prospects performed on Monday night, read on!

Happy Mothers Day! The Midwest League and the Florida State League did not have games scheduled on Mothers Day. Pensacola was in Chattanooga, but the rains came and wiped out their game. The weather in Rochester, NY, was not good, but they were able to get their game in. Find out how Miguel Sano, Lewis Thorpe and the Red Wings did. Also, who were the choices for Twins Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Week?

Unfortunately, there were no wins to be had in the Twins minor league system this Saturday but that does not mean that there was nothing to be excited about. Specifically, there was quite the start from a young left hander who could be on the major league team very soon. Read all about it and more as I take you through this journey.

Luke Raley is raking in his first taste of Triple A. Acquired from the Dodgers at last year’s trade deadline, Raley has made an excellent early impression with his new org. He smashed his seventh home run of the season in a big three-hit game for the Red Wings. Come check out what else happened around the minors.

Unfortunately, rain won the night in both Rochester and Ft. Myers, but there were still two games played on Thursday night. The Blue Wahoos and the Kernels got strong pitching and some big offensive performances on their way to wins.

The last time we weighed-in the big story was how the pitching staff was leading the team to a fast start, and since then the team hasn’t slowed down. The Southern League is known for it’s unique five-game series schedule and they’ve yet to lose a series so far, resulting in the best start in team history.

Brusdar Graterol was on the bump for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos this morning. A dominant outing was cut short after he left with an injury, but it looks like something severe may have been avoided. Low scoring action was the name of the game in matinees, and the night games featured some comeback action with plenty of offense.

Minnesota Twins affiliates combined to go an even 2-2 on Tuesday night, with one of those losses coming in the form of a walk-off home run in Mississippi. Miguel Sano continued his strong rehab work with a three-hit night, while a top hitting prospect in the Florida State League launched his first home run(s) of the year.

Keep reading to find out how everything went down on Tuesday in the Twins farm system!

The Miracle nearly had a no-hitter on Sunday and now the Kernels find themselves on the wrong side of a contest on Monday. Minor league contests are tough when it comes to strong pitching performances. How long can a starter last? How close can a club get to history?

One team was able to make that happen on Monday night.

Alex Kirilloff was activated last Thursday from the disabled list. He missed the Blue Wahoo’s first 26 games after suffering a wrist injury late in spring training. Coming off a monster 2018 season, Kirilloff is widely considered the second-best prospect in the Twins organization. Entering the season, Kirilloff was ranked as MLB.com’s number nine prospect and Baseball America ranked him as number 15.

Minnesota’s other top position player prospects have struggled to start the year. Some injuries have been to blame. Can Kirilloff help to boost a struggling group?

Most days, the pitching lines from Cedar Rapids RHP Cole Sands or Pensacola RHP Griffin would garner Pitcher of the Day consideration. And based on the previous sentence, it was given some thought. But what Jordan Balazovic did in his Miracle debut on Sunday afternoon was really impressive. Three Twins affiliates played and all three won on a great day for the Twins' minor league affiliates.

A common theme among the games played today was adversity, some teams were able to overcome it and win while others could not quite dig themselves out of the metaphorical hole. Come read about how that went down in this edition of the Minor League Report.