Article: Twins Minor League Report (5/8): Pitching, Big Homers And Leaders

[Seth Stohs]

In one game, there was a home run that provided all of the offense. In another, the team won on a long, walk off home run. In yet another, the team had three players with three hits a piece. All that offense, and there was also a shutout. It was a good night in the Twins minor league affiliates. Continue to read below for all of the scores and highlights from the Twins minor leagues on Friday, starting with some transactions. Then, on Saturday morning, check back to see the organizational Leaderboard update.TRANSACTIONS

• Rochester released RH RP Daniel Turpen.
• RH RP Dereck Rodriguez was called up to the Miracle again from Extended Spring.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 3, Louisville 0

Box Score

 

In the top of the first inning, outfielder Danny Ortiz hit his fourth home run of the year. The three-run blast gave the team a lead that they never game up.

 

Tommy Milone made his first start after being sent down by the Twins. He threw 114 pitches, but he went 6.1 shutout innings. He gave up just five hits, walked two and struck out eight. Mark Hamburger got the final two outs of the seventh inning and pitched a scoreless eighth frame. AJ Achter pitched a scoreless ninth for the save, his second.

 

Reynaldo Rodriguez went 2-4 with his ninth double. Aaron Hicks doubled for the fourth time in his last five games. It was his eighth two-bagger of the year. James Beresford went 1-3 with a walk and is now hitting .355.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 4, Jackson 2

Box Score

 

The score was tied going into the bottom of the ninth. With one out and one on, catcher Stuart Turner stepped to the plate and launched a long home run to end the game and give the Lookouts a 4-2 win.

 

The game featured a terrific start by JO Berrios. He worked eight innings and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out eight. He was actually quite dominant through the game, only struggling with his control in the two-run sixth inning. Aside from that inning, he was very efficient. He needed just 99 pitches and 66 of them were strikes .Zack Jones pitched a scoreless ninth inning to get credit for the win.

 

Turner had the big hit in the game, the hit that ended the ballgame, but he also walked once early in the game. Jorge Polanco went 2-3 with a walk. Mike Gonzales got the Lookouts on the board with an RBI double in the first inning. Heiker Meneses added a double as well.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 6, Jupiter 4

Box Score

 

The Miracle bats showed up again on Friday night. Zach Granite was the instigator at the top of the order. He went 3-5 and is now hitting .333 in his time in Ft. Myers. Bryan Haar went 3-4 including two doubles (his fourth and fifth). Logan Wade was batting ninth, and he added three hits as well, including his fifth double. Alex Swim had another multi-hit game. He was 2-4 and is now hitting .345.

 

Ryan Eades recorded his second win. He went 7.1 innings. He was charged with four runs (three earned) on nine hits. He walked one and struck out four. Todd Van Steensel came in to get the final five outs for his third save of the season.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit

Box Score

 

Rain caused the postponement of this game. The teams will play in Beloit starting at 11:00 on Saturday morning.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – JO Berrios, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Bryan Haar, Ft. Myers Miracle

 

 

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Rochester @ Louisville (5:05 CST) – RHP Alex Meyer

Jackson @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) – RHP Greg Peavey

Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:05 CST) – LHP Brett Lee

Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (DH at 11:00 a.m. CST) – Michael Cederoth, Felix Jorge

 

 

LEADERBOARD

 

Here are the leaders in the Minnesota Twins minor league system through Friday, May 8.

 

Hitters

 

BA: James Beresford (.355), Zach Granite (.349), Alex Swim (.345), Trey Vavra (.326), Aaron Hicks (.320), Josmil Pinto (.317)

 

OBP: Zach Granite (.421), Josmil Pinto (.411), Trey Vavra (.396), Aaron Hicks (.395), Dalton Hicks (.394), James Beresford (.390)

 

SLG: Aaron Hicks (.540), Adam Brett Walker (.527), Trey Vavra (.517), Byron Buxton (.500), Dalton Hicks (.494), Danny Ortiz (.476)

 

OPS: Aaron Hicks (.935), Trey Vavra (.913), Dalton Hicks (.888), Josmil Pinto (.874), Zach Granite (.865), Reynaldo Rodriguez (.840)

 

Plate Appearances: Niko Goodrum (138), Zach Granite (124), Engelb Vielma (121), Alex Swim (120), Byron Buxton/Nick Gordon (115)

 

Hits: Alex Swim (39), Zach Granite (37), Aaron Hicks (32), Reynaldo Rodriguez (30), Trey Vavra (29), Buxton/Polanco/Beresford (27)

 

2B: Reynaldo Rodriguez (9), Aaron Hicks/Travis Harrison (8), Niko Goodrum (7), Five with 6.

 

3B: Byron Buxton (6), Aaron Hicks (4), Levi Michael/Max Murphy (3), Six with 2.

 

HR: Adam Brett Walker (7), Miguel Sano (5), Danny Ortiz/Niko Goodrum/Brock Peterson (4), Six with 3.

 

Runs: Zach Granite (22), Aaron Hicks (19), Byron Buxton/Trey Vavra (18), Reynaldo Rodriguez (17), Four with 16.

 

RBI: Nick Gordon (20), Byron Buxton (18), Danny Ortiz/Adam Brett Walker (16), Zack Larson (15), Three with 14.

 

SB: Tanner English (9), Zach Granite/Engelb Vielma (8), Byron Buxton (7), Jason Kanzler (6), Three with 5.

 

Walks: Niko Goodrum (20), Mitch Garver (19), Tanner English (18), Miguel Sano (16), Zack Larson/Dalton Hicks (15).

 

Pitchers

 

Innings Pitched: Tyler Duffey (38.2), Taylor Rogers (38.0), JO Berrios (36.0), Pat Dean (33.0), Stephen Gonsalves (32.0), DJ Baxendale (31.1).

 

Starters ERA (>24.0 IP): DJ Baxendale (0.86), Chih-Wei Hu (1.24), Stephen Gonsalves (1.41), Mat Batts (2.05), Felix Jorge (2.25), Pat Dean (2.45), Ryan Eades (2.67)

 

Relievers ERA (>10.0 IP): Trevor Hildenberger (0.60), Cameron Booser (0.69), Zack Jones (0.90), Mike Theofanopoulos (1.26), Adrian Salcedo (1.38), Tim Shibuya (1.53)

 

Starters WHIP (>24.0 IP): Chih-Wei Hu (0.79), Stephen Gonsalves (0.81), Mat Batts (0.88), Aaron Slegers (0.98), Felix Jorge (1.08), Tyler Duffey (1.09)

 

Relievers WHIP (>10.0 IP): Trevor Hildenberger (0.53), Zach Tillery (0.58), AJ Achter (0.67), Zack Jones (0.70), Madison Boer (0.84), Tim Shibuya (0.85)

 

Starters K/9 (>24.0 IP): Stephen Gonsalves (12.1), JO Berrios (11.2), Felix Jorge (10.9), Alex Meyer (9.8), Chih-Wei Hu (9.3), Tyler Duffey (8.6)

 

Relievers K/9 (>10.0 IP): Cameron Booser (15.9), Zack Jones (15.3), Lester Oliveros (14.8), Todd Van Steensel (13.7), CK Irby (13.1), Brandon Peterson (12.4)

 

Starters BB/9 (>24.0 IP): Aaron Slegers/Chih-Wei Hu (1.2), Mat Batts (1.8), Tyler Duffey (1.9), Stephen Gonsalves (2.0), Felix Jorge (2.2)

 

Relievers BB/9 (>10.0 IP): Trevor Hildenberger (0.6), Zack Jones (0.9), Tim Shibuya (1.5), Zach Tillery (1.6), Randy LeBlanc (1.8), Cole Johnson (2.2)

 

Strikeouts: JO Berrios (45), Stephen Gonsalves (43), Tyler Duffey (37), Taylor Rogers (33), Chih-Wei Hu (30), Three with 29.

 

Saves: Zack Jones (6), Michael Tonkin (5), Todd Van Steensel (3), Four with 2.

 

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Friday games or the organization's leader board.

 

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[curt1965]

When do you have time to sleep, Seth?

[h2oface]

Rochester link is the May 6 game with Indianapolis.

[ExpectMorePayLess]

Has Ryan spoken to any newspaper in Chattanooga about club and especially Buxton? Since he's been there.

[NoCryingInBaseball]

There is an article in today's Chattanooga Times Free Press (Twins GM watches Lookouts win second straight), but it is a rather bland interview. 

 

http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/sports/professional/story/2015/may/09/twins-gm-watches-lookouts-wsecond-straight/303321/

[nytwinsfan]

Very high praise from Fangraphs' Kiley McDaniel for Berrios' start last night.  Very excited and hope he can make it to the big leagues by late summer.

 

[Seth Stohs]

 

When do you have time to sleep, Seth?

 

I pretty much don't. I'm happy if I get 5 hours of sleep. It's been a long few days, with a couple of early-morning flights. But, the show must go on, right?

[Seth Stohs]

 

Rochester link is the May 6 game with Indianapolis.

 

Man... I need more sleep! Ha!! I have corrected this... thank you!

[gunnarthor]

 

Very high praise from Fangraphs' Kiley McDaniel for Berrios' start last night.  Very excited and hope he can make it to the big leagues by late summer.

 

That is great because McDaniel is fairly stingy with his praise.  Glad he put up that kind of outing with Ryan in attendance.

[gunnarthor]

McDaniel also had some praise for Zach Jones.

 

Edited May 9, 2015 by gunnarthor

[Seth Stohs]

 

McDaniel also had some praise for Zach Jones.

 

Jones has been remarkable this season. His biggest issue in his career has been throwing strikes. He now has one walk in 10 innings so far. If that trend continues, with his stuff, he could be with the Twins later this year.

[roger]

Hey Seth,

 

Like many, I was surprised early in the year when Mark Hamburger was starting games in Rochester.  Now that he is in the bullpen, do you think it was designed to get him ready to be brought up as a long reliever?  Really great seeing him have success, hopefully, we see him in Minneapolis some time this summer.

[Tibs]

On milb.com, it lists a players GO/AO stat. Aaron Hicks has a GO/AO at 2.00 through 25 games this season while his minor league career average is 1.15 and his MLB average is 1.18. Is there any significance in this stat?

[KScott]

Looking at the leaders there are a couple names standing out, that make me wonder what more those players need to do to be called up to either the next level or the twins.

Those players in particular being: Aaron Hicks, Josmil Pinto, James Beresford, and D.J  Bauxendale.

Hicks and Pinto, are probably working on other things like being a professional baseball player and defense respectively.

But Beresford, and Bauxendale, I know nothing about these players. What do they need to be working on and What is the hold up in their progression?

 

[sane]

"Twins GM watches Lookouts win second straight), but it is a rather bland interview"...A BLAND interview with Terry Ryan. Who saw THAT coming? 

[drivlikejehu]

 

That is great because McDaniel is fairly stingy with his praise.  Glad he put up that kind of outing with Ryan in attendance.

 

Not that it diminishes the fact Berrios pitched very well, but McDaniel was already very high on Berrios per his pre-season prospect rankings... he ranked him 24th overall.

 

On milb.com, it lists a players GO/AO stat. Aaron Hicks has a GO/AO at 2.00 through 25 games this season while his minor league career average is 1.15 and his MLB average is 1.18. Is there any significance in this stat?

 

There could be. Hitting fewer fly balls should result in a higher batting average but less power, generally speaking.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Hey Seth,

 

Like many, I was surprised early in the year when Mark Hamburger was starting games in Rochester.  Now that he is in the bullpen, do you think it was designed to get him ready to be brought up as a long reliever?  Really great seeing him have success, hopefully, we see him in Minneapolis some time this summer.

 

Hey Roger,

I don't think that Hamburger ever was an option to come up to the Twins as a starter, but he could be in the long-relief type of role. He could thrive in that role. 

[Lonestar]

 

"Twins GM watches Lookouts win second straight), but it is a rather bland interview"...A BLAND interview with Terry Ryan. Who saw THAT coming? 

FWIW, it's the questions that were bland (except for the one about what went wrong with 4 losing seasons). But yeah, I'm not surprised Ryan (or any GM) gives bland answers in an interview.

[Tibs]

 

 

 

 

There could be. Hitting fewer fly balls should result in a higher batting average but less power, generally speaking.

 

 

That's along the line of what I was thinking. I don't see people using the GO/AO stat specifically much so I wasn't sure what to make of it.

 

 

There could be. Hitting fewer fly balls should result in a higher batting average but less power, generally speaking.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Looking at the leaders there are a couple names standing out, that make me wonder what more those players need to do to be called up to either the next level or the twins.

Those players in particular being: Aaron Hicks, Josmil Pinto, James Beresford, and D.J  Bauxendale.

Hicks and Pinto, are probably working on other things like being a professional baseball player and defense respectively.

But Beresford, and Bauxendale, I know nothing about these players. What do they need to be working on and What is the hold up in their progression?

 

 

Beresford is a second baseman. He would need Brian Dozier to go on the DL or something. He could be a utility player as well, but he's played 2B almost exclusively the last 2-3 years after playing a lot of SS earlier in his career.

 

Baxendale needs more innings. He struggled the last year and a half because he wasn't healthy. He's had 6 good AA starts. I'd give him at least another 6-8. Plus, Rochester's rotation has Rogers, Meyer, Milone, Wheeler and Dean. Maybe there'll be an opening in 6 months.

 

So, it's a combination of getting time and having an opportunity. 

 

With top prospects, it's primarily about time and other things as opportunity will be created for them in most cases.

[Sweetwater]

Berrios is so exciting. He could be the one. Best since Johan left town.