Article: Twins Minor League Report (6/7): Rochester Thriller

[Cody Christie]

After the stellar Sunday pitching performance of Mike Pelfrey, the Twins announced a roster move that seemed to be coming for sometime. Danny Santana was sent down to Triple-A Rochester and Kennys Vargas was recalled.

 

Santana had struggled to start this season and pitchers were taking advantage of him at the plate. Since being demoted, Kennys Vargas hit .308/.403/.519 with three home runs and two doubles in 16 games. With Oswaldo Arcia's demotion earlier in the week, the return of Vargas means the Twins have a viable option at designated hitter.

 

Besides the roster shake-up there were some other thrilling moments in Rochester.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 4, Scranton/WB 3

Box Score

In a battle between the top two team's in the International League North, the Red Wings used some late inning heroics to win in an unconventional way. Lester Oliveros made a spot start and he had found himself in trouble early as the RailRiders scored a run and had the bases loaded in the first before a huge strikeout. His final line was four innings pitched with six hits, an earned run and a walk, with three strikeouts.

 

Alex Meyer made the longest relief appearance of his career lasting three innings in relief of Oliveros. Meyer didn't allow a run and tallied one strikeout and a walk. Of his 45 pitches, 25 were for strikes. Since moving to the bullpen, he has yet to allow a run.

 

The Red Wings found themselves trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth and that's when things started going a little crazy. Eric Fryer started the inning with a ground rule double. Pinch-hitter James Beresford followed with a strikeout but he reached first safely and Fryer advanced to third. Doug Bernier grounded into a double play but Fryer scored and the Wings were within one run.

 

The ninth inning got even crazier. Danny Ortiz, as a pinch hitter, and Reynaldo Rodriguez started the inning with singles. Josmil Pinto flew out to right before Kennys Vargas walked to load the bases. Oswaldo Arcia hit a fly ball to the warning track to score Ortiz from third. On the play, both Rodriguez and Vargas tagged up. The shortstop tried to catch Rodriguez at third but a wild throw allowed the winning run to score.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 13 Tennessee 0

Box Score

Adam Brett Walker keeps mashing the ball and the rest of his Chattanooga teammates joined the hit parade on Sunday evening. Walker collected a couple of hits including his team-high 15th home run. Jorge Polanco collected three hits, all doubles, along with scoring three runs. Miguel Sano finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a walk. Carlos Paulino drove in two runs and got his first triple.

 

Alex Wimmers was electric on the mound. That's not a typo. Over seven shutout innings, he scattered three hits, walked three, and struck out three for his third win. Madison Boer and D.J. Johnson completed the shutout as each pitched an inning to finish the game.

 

With the win, the Lookouts improved to nine games over .500 and the club leads the Southern League North by two games. Jose Berrios looks to keep Chattanooga on the winning track as he's scheduled to start on Monday.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers (Scheduled Off Day)

Since the calendar flipped to June, the Miracle have posted a 2-4 record and they find themselves 12 games out of first place in the Florida State League South. However, the Charlotte Stone Crabs lead the divison by 10 games so there are a lot of clubs in chase mode at this point.

 

Stephen Gonsalves has been masterful this season for the Cedar Rapids Kernels and he is scheduled to debut with the Miracle on Monday night. The Florida State League can be very good to pitchers so hopefully his strong season can continue in Fort Myers.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, West Michigan 6

Box Score

Cedar Rapids was only able to string together three hits in this contest and none of them were for extra-bases. Brett Doe went 2-for-4 and was the lone Kernel with multiple hits. Edgar Corcino collected the team's lone RBI. Max Murphy, Tanner English and Nick Gordon all collected stolen bases. The team was 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position and they left eight runners on base.

 

Sam Gibbons took the loss after pitching four innings and allowing three earned runs. He struck out three and didn't walk any in his second Midwest League start. Luke Bard was strong in relief as he limited the Whitecaps to one hit over three innings.

 

The Kernels dropped their fourth straight, the first time all season the club has lost four consecutive games. Cedar Rapids looks to avoid the sweep tomorrow night before returning home for a nine-game home stand on Wednesday.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Jorge Polanco, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Chattanooga Lookouts

 

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester vs. Indianapolis (6:05 CST) – LHP Jason Wheeler

Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 CST)- RHP Jose Berrios

Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 CST) – LHP Stephen Gonsalves (High-A Debut)

Cedar Rapids @ West Michigan (6:00 CST) - TBA

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Sunday games.

 

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[glunn]

Thanks for this excellent report!

[GMinTraining]

agreed

[Seth Stohs]

Without looking, I believe that Adam Brett Walker leads the Southern League with 15 homers and 29 extra base hits. I think #2 in XBH is like 6-7 behind him. He's been terrific since the slow start. 

[TRex]

Does anyone have a 'scouting report' for how Luke Bard is pitching? Is he a sinker/slider guy? Is he stretched out to join the rotation, or were his injuries such that he will probably stay in the bullpen for the foreseeable future? 

[Blackjack]

How long before the TD faithful start clamoring for Alex Meyer to be called up to the Twins bullpen??

[Squirrel]

 

How long before the TD faithful start clamoring for Alex Meyer to be called up to the Twins bullpen??

About now.

[Vance_Christianson]

Assuming Gonsalves doesn't miss a beat moving up to High-A, how many starts till we start thinking about AA? I know this question is very broad, but I'd really like to see him end the year at AA. My initial thought was around 8-10 solid starts.

Curious, but are we going to be moving any AA guys up to AAA soon? I'm sure that nothing will happen till their All-Star break, as they are competing for a playoff spot right now, but I'm curious as too whom we think we'll get to move up.

 

[DocBauer]

But tip of the cap to Meyer who is embracing his situation and is making the most of it. Whether this turns out to be permanent of the right move to regain his motion and confidence, he's doing something with the opportunity.

 

The odds of make the majors are huge. And between competition and his injury history, I cant image what Wimmer's odds are at this point. But a tip of the cap to him for sticking with it and making a comeback that I'm not sure any of us could see or predict. He still has a long way to go, and seems to be battling some consistency issues, but it's really nice to see him do well.

 

Best of luck to Go Go Gonsalves tonight!

 

Walker........WOW.

[clutterheart]

 

Without looking, I believe that Adam Brett Walker leads the Southern League with 15 homers and 29 extra base hits. I think #2 in XBH is like 6-7 behind him. He's been terrific since the slow start. 

 

If Walker becomes a productive MLB player despite his horrid OB% and his crazy Strike Out numbers, its going to be interesting to see how mathematically inclined folks explain it.  I was skeptical going into this season but so far he is showing that one can be productive despite so many unproductive plate appearances.   If he makes it to the bigs he might be striking out 40% of the time.  But if he is still slugging the way he is slugging, how can you keep him out of the lineup?

[Halsey Hall]

Good to see Wimmers have a good day. 

[Kevin]

 

If Walker becomes a productive MLB player despite his horrid OB% and his crazy Strike Out numbers, its going to be interesting to see how mathematically inclined folks explain it.  I was skeptical going into this season but so far he is showing that one can be productive despite so many unproductive plate appearances.   If he makes it to the bigs he might be striking out 40% of the time.  But if he is still slugging the way he is slugging, how can you keep him out of the lineup?

Well, with their all-or-nothing approach, maybe the Astros would find a place for him on their roster.

[Seth Stohs]

 

How long before the TD faithful start clamoring for Alex Meyer to be called up to the Twins bullpen??

 

Won't be too long. Honestly, I think it's going to be more about him getting used to getting ready out of the bullpen than anything else. I mean, obviously he still has to throw strikes too.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Assuming Gonsalves doesn't miss a beat moving up to High-A, how many starts till we start thinking about AA? I know this question is very broad, but I'd really like to see him end the year at AA. My initial thought was around 8-10 solid starts.

Curious, but are we going to be moving any AA guys up to AAA soon? I'm sure that nothing will happen till their All-Star break, as they are competing for a playoff spot right now, but I'm curious as too whom we think we'll get to move up.

 

Gonsalves could get to AA, though I'd expect that, at a minimum they'd give him the rest of this year in Ft. Myers, maybe even another half-season there if needed. 

 

I don't know that there are a lot of guys in AA pushing for AAA spots right at the moment. The two that would most deserve it are Berrios and Polanco... I think Buxton jumps straight from AA to the big leagues.

[Seth Stohs]

 

Well, with their all-or-nothing approach, maybe the Astros would find a place for him on their roster.

 

See Chris Carter and Evan Gattis... they're productive MLB players with big power and a lot of Ks. 

 

I think Walker can be that as well, the hope being that he can continue to improve those things. That's a pretty solid #7 hitter in a big league lineup, even with the Ks.

[blairpaul715]

 

If Walker becomes a productive MLB player despite his horrid OB% and his crazy Strike Out numbers, its going to be interesting to see how mathematically inclined folks explain it.  I was skeptical going into this season but so far he is showing that one can be productive despite so many unproductive plate appearances.   If he makes it to the bigs he might be striking out 40% of the time.  But if he is still slugging the way he is slugging, how can you keep him out of the lineup?

I keep doubting him, and will keep smiling all the way if he proves us "doubting Thomas'" wrong.

[adjacent]

 

See Chris Carter and Evan Gattis... they're productive MLB players with big power and a lot of Ks. 

 

I think Walker can be that as well, the hope being that he can continue to improve those things. That's a pretty solid #7 hitter in a big league lineup, even with the Ks.

With the advantage that unlike those that you mention, Walker is not a statue in the field. He seems like a pretty athletic corner outfielder

[clutterheart]

 

See Chris Carter and Evan Gattis... they're productive MLB players with big power and a lot of Ks. 

 

I think Walker can be that as well, the hope being that he can continue to improve those things. That's a pretty solid #7 hitter in a big league lineup, even with the Ks.

 

No.

Walker's BB/OBP/SO #'s are not as good than those two when they were in the minors..  Both those guys got on base at a higher rate.  However, both those guys power numbers are nowhere near Walker.  I have not found a guy with the astronomically poor OBP/SO#/BB numbers plus the amazing power numbers as Walker.  

 

He really seems unique hopefully he can do it.

Edited June 8, 2015 by clutterheart

[lightfoot789]

He is just that.  Unique with a lot of room for improvement.  If he is aloud to stay with the big league club when his number is called, I suspect a Colabello like second year with much improved numbers.  And by improved, I mean greater numbers than his normal production rate.

[BoomBoom]

 

He is just that.  Unique with a lot of room for improvement.  If he is aloud to stay with the big league club when his number is called, I suspect a Colabello like second year with much improved numbers.  And by improved, I mean greater numbers than his normal production rate.

 

Walker hit an off speed pitch yesterday over a 24 foot wall that has not landed yet.  Unique is a good word for him.

Edited June 8, 2015 by BoomBoom