Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/1): Kiriloff Cranks First Home Run

[Cody Christie]

Daniel Palka has been on quite the roll in recent weeks and he was honored on Friday for his hot hitting. The Southern League announced that Palka was the Player of the Month for the month of June. By the end of the month he had hit .302/.372/.802 (1.174 SLG) with 13 home runs, three doubles and three triples.

 

During the week of June 6th, Palka set up his tremendous month by going 10-for-29 with seven extra-base hits, four home runs, 10 RBI, a .931 slugging percentage, and an OPS of 1.306. He would be given the Southern League's Player of the Week award for that hot stretch.

 

Could Palka keep the fireworks going for the start of this long Fourth of July weekend? Read on to find out.RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Syracuse 3

Box Score

The Red Wings had to move on from Miguel Sano's tenure as his rehab assignment ended on Thursday and they were able to do so with the help of some familiar names.

 

Eddie Rosario collected his seventh home run of the season, a two-run shot. He went 2-for-4 on the night including two runs scored. Darin Mastroianni and Jorge Polanco both had a pair of hits and Mastroianni came around to score a run. Wilfredo Tovar had a double and an RBI out of the ninth spot in the batting order.

 

Jason Wheeler started and kept the Red Wings in the game. He struck out six in 5.2 innings on the mound while allowing three earned runs on five hits. The bullpen was fantastic for Rochester. D.J. Baxendale, Ryan O'Rourke, Trevor May, and Alex Wimmers combined for 3.1 shutout innings on the way to the team's 48th victory. For Wimmers, it was his seventh save.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 8, Pensacola 10

Box Score

The Lookouts jumped out to a first inning 2-0 thanks to a two-run shot off the bat of Mitch Garver. Things would go quiet on the offensive side until the sixth when Niko Goodrum hit a one-out double before SL Player of the Month Daniel Palka knocked him in with a single, his 62nd RBI this year. Chattanooga did their best to come back in the late innings with a five-run eighth frame that was bolstered by a Travis Harrison home run.

 

Goodrum finished the night going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. Garver drove in four and scored a pair of runs as part of a two-hit effort. DJ Hicks reached base twice. The Lookouts left only five runners on base and batted .600 with runners in scoring position (6-for-10).

 

In his third start at Double-A, things didn't go well for Stephen Gonsalves. He was roughed up for six runs in 3.2 innings of work. He struck out eight and walked two as his Double-A ERA is now over 8.00. Omar Bencomo allowed two runs (one earned) in 1.1 innings while striking out three. Luke Westphal didn't stop the scoring, as he gave up a pair of runs in two innings of work. Trevor Hildenberger was the only pitcher to put a zero on the board.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 7, Jupiter 4

Box Score

Randy Rosario got the start for Fort Myers but ran into a little trouble during the sixth inning. After back-to-back one-out hits, Rosario coaxed a ground out that allowed a run to score. During the next at-bat he threw a wild pitch and eventually walked the batter. Rosario's night was done and John Curtiss came in with runners on the corners. He got the next out to end the inning and finish out the next frame with a couple of strikeouts.

 

Things got hairier from there. Nick Anderson started the eighth inning and allowed three straight singles to start the frame. He was replaced by Yorman Landa without recording an out. Landa did his best to limit the damage as the first batter bunted to advance the runners. The next batter grounded out but another run scored. After a walk, Landa got the final out but the score was now 5-4.

 

The Miracle bounced back quickly scoring two runs in the bottom half of the inning. LaMonte Wade and Joe Maloney started the inning by getting hit by pitches. Alex Perez advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt and T.J. White brought them home with double. White had already homered in the game as he finished 3-for-5 with four RBI. Max Murphy also had a home run, his fifth of the season, which left the bat at 105 mph. Two-thirds of the batting order had at least one double.

 

Fort Myers has now won four in a row and remain in first place in the Florida State League South Division.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4, Beloit 5

Box Score

After falling behind early, the Kernels plated three runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 lead. Rainis Silva walked to leadoff the inning before a Daniel Kihle single advanced him to second. A couple of batters later Luis Arraez singled to score Silva. The big hit in the inning came from Sean Miller who was credited with a double and two runs scored on the play.

 

However, the bullpen couldn't hold the lead. Cody Stashak started and left with the Kernels up 4-3. He allowed three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and three walks. Tom Hackimer took the blown save and the loss after allowing a pair of runs to score in the eighth inning. Kuo Hua Lo got two outs and struck out one.

 

Miller finished 3-for-4 with the team's only extra-base hit. It was his 13th double of the season. Joining the multi-hit parade was Zander Wiel as he collected a pair of hits and an RBI.

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 8, Pulaski 3

Box Score

The E-Twins powered out four home runs in the first three innings to help the team push across eight runs. Alex Kirilloff, the Twins 2016 first-round pick, hit his first professional home run as part of a multi-hit night. Jaylin Davis cracked two home runs to go along with five RBI. Davis has six home runs this season and this was just the E-Twins ninth game. Amaurys Minier also added a long ball, his first on the season.

 

Tyler Wells made it through two perfect frames including striking out the four straight batters but he ran into some third inning issues. He had runners at first and second after two walks and a pair of strikeouts in the inning. Griffin Jax entered and gave up a sharp singled to score one. During the next at-bat he had a wild pitch that scored another run. Wells ended up with no hits in 2.2 innings with six strikeouts and two walks. Jax allowed two runs to score, credited against Wells, before another run scored against him. He struck out two in 2.1 frames.

 

Andrew Vasquez picked up his first professional victory after throwing three terrific innings. He limited the Yankees to two hits and he struck out seven. Vasquez has yet to allow a run this season across three appearances. Colton Davis got the ninth and saw two batters reach but struck out the last two batters of the game.

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 1, GCL Red Sox 6

Box Score

The GCL Twins couldn't take advantage of plenty of opportunities in this contest. The Twins kept pace with the Red Sox in the hit department with 12 each but the home team went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position and left 10 men on base.

 

Gorge Munoz had a big day at the dish going 3-for-4 with a double and a home run. Dane Hutcheon matched Munoz with three hits and he is hitting .400 so far this season. Besides the two extra-base hits from Munoz, Ben Rortvedt had the only other extra-base hit, a double.

 

Miguel De Jesus took the loss after allowing five runs on eight hits in just under four innings of work. He struck out six and walked one. Clark Beeker took over for De Jesus and struck out three while giving up a run in 2.1 innings. Matz Schutte didn't allow a hit and struck out three across two frames. Brady Anderson finished off the last inning with a hit and walk but didn't allow a run.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – The Rochester Bullpen, Rochester Red Wings

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Elizabethton Twins

 

SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Syracuse (6:05 CST) - LHP Pat Dean (1-5, 4.40 ERA)

Chattanooga @ Pensacola (6:30 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers (6-4, 3.38 ERA)

Ft. Myers vs. Jupiter (5:05 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (1-2, 5.40 ERA)

Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (7:00 CST) - LHP Lachlan Wells (1-0, 0.00 ERA)

Elizabethton vs. Bluefield (5:00 CST) - RHP Ryan Mason (0-0, 18.00 ERA)

GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (9:00 am CST) - TBD

 

Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Friday's games.

 

Click here to view the article

[terrydactyls]

If the Twins get a nice trade offer for Nunez, is Leonardo Reginatto ready to finish the year with the Twins?

[nyazbeck]

If the Twins get a nice trade offer for Nunez, is Leonardo Reginatto ready to finish the year with the Twins?

 

They would recall polanco first

[diehardtwinsfan]

fyi, mixed up SLG/OPS in Palka's numbers.... 

 

Speaking of Palka... wow... that's some dominance.  Nice to see Kirilloff getting off to a good start.  Hope that continues. 

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

If the Twins get a nice trade offer for Nunez, is Leonardo Reginatto ready to finish the year with the Twins?

 

Honestly, I'd think Beresford would get a shot ahead of him if there's a 40 man add.

[FormerMinnasotan]

Tough start for Gonsalves. Over all I am not worried. It is only his 2nd AA start. He'll learn from this. That said Gonsalves has 14 k's in 8.2 innings at Chattanooga.

[Pitz]

Did I miss any news on Tyler Jay? Hasn't pitched since June 23rd.

[youngpadawan]

I think it could be noted that Gonsalves had a line of: 3.2 innings 2 hits 1 walk 1 run and 8 strikeouts before being unable to get the final out. I'm not worried about his stuff translating to this level. He will be fine.

[Bob Sacamento]

I'll just post this here, but went the the GCL game on Friday and came away impressed with a few of the new draftees.  Ben Rortvedt has Popeye forearms, good bat control and an advanced approach for his age.  Last I saw Ben was at the 2015 WWBA Championship in Jupiter, FL in October, in that time he's bulked up adding more muscle. You can definitely see what the Twins scouts saw in him.  I was more impressed with his defensive abilities.  He was considered raw but made a few good blocks and saved Beeker on two would be wild pitches as well as De Jesus.  Here is video on Rortvedt collecting on his two hits:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj4fUqDGmLE

 

Akil Baddoo looks lightening quick and showed off some good range in RF in his two putouts. At the dish, he did strike out three times in the game but worked a couple of decent at bats. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhzOfhhuIhg

 

Jose Miranda showed off plus range and a plus arm at shortstop, in made in a play in the whole that should have had the runner if Zach Featherstone was properly positioned at first.  Miranda also showed the workings of good bat control, with quick wrists.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTUCgwRwsnc

 

Zach Featherstone, 12th rounder, looks like he should be in Etown shortly, his ability to foul off pitches, take borderline pitches, and work counts is more advanced than his competition.  His defense at first looks like it could use some work though.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abEUvBmkb3Y

 

Dane Hutcheon played a quality second base, making a diving stop to his glove side early on.  Covers enough ground to stay there but doubtful if he could move over to SS consistently.  He doesn't try to over do it at the plate, looks for his pitch and pokes it thru the holes.  If you want to go cliche, Hutcheon is a grinder. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AYnZu_67CE

 

Clark Beeker pitched well, after inheriting two runners when he entered the game and threw a wild pitch, he struck out the batter to retire the side.  Beeker induced three ground balls with his slider that registered 78-82 mph that was complemented by a sinking fastball that he posted at 88-90 mph and struck out three in his 2 and a third.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLoCFmTau_Q

 

Local SWFL product Brady Anderson came on and got the final three outs, giving up a weak single to the left side of the infield, and walking a batter, but he also induced two groundouts and a flyball.  Anderson's fastball was 89-91 mph with a good breaking ball 81-83 mph

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFqoXYimHxE

Edited July 3, 2016 by Bob Sacamento

[70charger]

You weren't kidding about the Popeye forearms...

[jokin]

Perhaps it has been discussed elsewhere... but I noticed that Wander Javier was replaced in the 1st inning Friday night in his first game back from injury. Major or just minor setback?

[Bob Sacamento]

 

You weren't kidding about the Popeye forearms...

Yeah I wouldn't want to face him in an arm wrestling contest but seriously his forearms' are as big around as Jean Carlos Arias' calves.  Rortvedt is short in stature but very muscular all around, forearms, chest, thighs, catcher seems like a good position for him to start at for now.  That bat will likely develop faster than his defensive prowess at catcher but the Twins should have enough positional prospects at other positions that they shouldn't be pressing the young Popeye.  I liked this pick for the Twins on draft day and after watching him play in a Twins uni I like it even more, but patience will be needed.