Minor Leagues

Cedar Rapids Kernels pitcher Mason Melotakis and first baseman Dalton (DJ) Hicks are roommates this summer, sharing the same host family during their stay in Cedar Rapids. Both players played major roles as the team qualified for the Midwest League Playoffs by finishing second in the league’s Western Division during the first half of the season. Both could be candidates for promotion at some point this summer.

Melotakis leads the Kernels pitching staff in wins with six and innings pitched with 64 2/3. Those six wins are good for fourth spot among Midwest League pitchers. The lefty has been perhaps the most consistently reliable member of the Kernels’ rotation in recent weeks.
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It was a relatively slow day in the world of Twins Baseball with only two of the five ball clubs active, though that didn't keep us from hearing some pretty newsworthy things.

Twins first round draft pick Kohl Stewart is en route to the Twin Cities. In fact, at 9:28 pm, he tweeted a photo of Target Field from the Twins dugout. He's obviously not yet signed, sealed and delivered. But he's well on the way. I'm holding out hope that the deal gets done by tomorrow afternoon and he throws out the first pitch tomorrow night.
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A lot has been going on in the Twins farm system the last couple of days, and after missing a day for the first time this year, I'll be updating you on the last two days in game summaries and highlights. Not sure if people will believe this, but I went from 11:00 a.m. on Friday until 7:00 p.m. on Saturday without being on my computer. I believe that is my personal record. I watched a couple of games at the state baseball tournament (check out this Howard Sinker blog on it, please) and kept quite busy.
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With two rainouts on Tuesday, there was a duo of double-headers on Wednesday night. Miguel Sano, Eddie Rosario, and Angel Morales all made their Double-A debuts. Jason Wheeler helped the Miracle win with a new core of players in their everyday line-up. The Kernels had a chance to clinch a playoff birth.


Earlier today I released an updated list of the top 10 prospects in the Twins organization. There was a new name at the top of the list and two other players sneaking into the top 5. Newly drafted high school pitcher Kohl Stewart is on the list but where does he rank? ...

The 2013 MLB draft has come and gone. The Twins have added somewhere between 20 and 40 new players to their organization and I have no clue who 99% of them are. I do have access to Baseball Reference and the internet as a whole. In an effort to better acquaint myself with some future Twins, I will subject each of you to a bunch of clumsily constructed jokes and feeble attempts at punnery. In that way, we all benefit. ...

Rain was the winner of the day for two Twins' affiliates. The much-anticipated AA debut of Miguel Sano and Eddie Rosario will have to wait for another day. Things continued to get much tighter atop the Midwest Leagues' Western Division standings as Beloit won their eighth straight game. Were the Cedar Rapids Kernels able to keep up?

We are starting to hear about the Twins signing some of their draft picks and likely several more will do so by the end of the week. The short-season teams will soon start and within a week several players will be making the drive to Elizabethton. The unfortunate side of all of the new players in the organization is that room needs to be made for them. On Tuesday, three Twins' minor leaguers were given their releases. ...