Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/20): Innings And Offense In Florida

[Seth Stohs]

Joe Mauer, Max Kepler and Eddie Rosario homered for the Twins on Wednesday afternoon to help the Twins win in Detroit. All three were signed and developed by the Twins.

 

In the minor leagues, there was a lot of action. One team played 15 innings. There was a quality start and a lot of offense in southwest Florida. A top prospect reached .500. Another prospect is now tied for the home run lead in all of minor league baseball.For more information on the Twins minor leagues, please continue reading.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 6, Durham 2

Box Score

 

It was a bullpen day for the Red Wings and the bullpen came through in fine form. The bats provided plenty of power.

 

Lefty Nick Greenwood started and went the first five innings. He gave up two runs on seven hits. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Ryan O’Rourke came on and threw two shutout frames. Alex Wimmers struck out three batters over the final two innings without allowing a run.

 

Infielder Tommy Field went 2-3 with a walk his 12th double and his seventh home run. Daniel Palka was also 2-3 with a walk. He added his fourth Red Wings homer and a minor league-leading 25th overall home run. Darin Mastroianni was 2-5 with his sixth double. John Ryan Murphy hit his 12th double. Adam Brett Walker drove in a run with his 17th double.

 

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 7, Jackson 3

Box Score

 

Kohl Stewart was on the mound for the Lookouts. He went five innings and improved to 4-4. He gave up just an unearned run on three hits. He walked four and struck out four. Raul Fernandez came on and gave up one run on two hits over the next two innings. He walked one and struck out four. Jake Reed threw a scoreless inning. Mason Melotakis gave up a solo home in the ninth before finishing the game.

 

The bottom of the Lookouts lineup helped them come out on top in this game. Stuart Turner, batting seventh, went 2-4 with a walk. Engelb Vielma batted eighth. He went 2-2 and walked three times. Nine-hole hitter Edgar Corcino went 2-3 with two walks. In addition, second-hitter Ryan Walker went 2-5 with three RBI. Dalton Hicks added his 22nd double. Mitch Garver hit his 21st double.

 

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 10, Lakeland 13

Box Score

 

The positive? The Miracle offense was terrific, scoring in double figures. The negative? The Miracle pitching allowed 13 runs in this game, despite a quality start.

 

But you know me. We’ve got to start with the positive, right? And that starts with Nick Gordon. The shortstop went 4-5 with his 18th double. He scored three runs and drove in three runs. He reached a fifth time when he was hit by a pitch. LaMonte Wade also reached base five times. He went 3-4 and walked twice. TJ White did too. He went 2-3 with two walks and was hit by a pitch. Trey Vavra went 2-6. Joe Maloney and Alex Perez each had RBI doubles.

 

Randy Rosario started and gave up three runs in six innings. He gave up seven hits, walked one and struck out four. Luke Bard threw a scoreless seventh inning. However, he gave up three runs in the eighth inning. Yorman Landa came on and gave up four more runs on three hits and a walk without getting an out. Luke Westphal came in and was charged with three runs on two hits and three walks in 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Nick Anderson got the final two outs, one on a strikeout.

 

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4, Bowling Green 5

Box Score

 

Lachlan Wells has been very good since he was promoted to the Kernels. The 19-year-old was hurt by his defense in the first inning with a couple of unearned runs. In all he gave up five runs (three earned) on nine hits and a walk in five innings. Max Cordy walked three over three hitless, scoreless innings. Cam Booser threw the ninth frame and it was uneventful, perfect, which is a good thing.

 

The offense was comprised primarily of JJ Fernandez. He had three of the Kernels six hits. He was 3-3 with a walk and his seventh home run. He drove in two of his three runs on that blast. Jaylin Davis drove in the other run with his fourth double. Luis Arraez extended his hitting streak to eight games with his 22nd double of the season.

 

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 5, Kingsport 6

Box Score

 

The E-Twins fell behind early. The were down 6-1 going into the bottom of the 8th. They scored three runs in the 8th inning and another in the ninth but fell one run shy of the comeback.

 

Domenick Carlini started. He gave up five runs (three earned) on seven hits over 3.2 innings. He walked two and struck out six. Alex Robinson came on and put in some of his best work. He gave up an unearned run on just one hit over four innings. He struck out six. He walked four, but two of those walks came in the eighth inning, after 3.1 terrific innings. Patrick McGuff got the final four outs, three of them on strikeouts. In his six innings with the E-Twins, he hasn’t given up a run and has 12 strikeouts.

 

Lewin Diaz hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run blast in the 8th inning to cut the deficit in half. Brandon Lopez went 2-3 with two walks in the game. Travis Blankenhorn was 2-5 with the ninth inning RBI.

 

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 6, GCL Rays 5 (15 innings)

Box Score

 

The Twins took a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning. Miguel De Jesus started and threw five shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out three. Matz Schutte threw a scoreless sixth but was unable to get out any of the three batters he faced in the seventh inning. Onas Farfan came on and limited the damage to just one run that inning. He kept the 3-1 lead until the bottom of the ninth when he was charged with two runs that tied up the game and sent it to extra innings.

 

The score remained 3-3 when the Twins came to bat in the top of the 15th inning in large part due to Moises Gomez. The right-hander threw 4.1 scoreless innings, stretching his season total to 15.2 scoreless innings. Daniel Martinez threw a scoreless 14th inning.

 

The Twins scored three runs in the top of the 15th inning. Tyree Davis drove in Aaron Whitefield with the first run of the inning. Joe Cronin pinch hit and singled to score Davis. He was thrown out trying to steal second. However, Dane Hutcheon doubled and scored on an Emmanuel Morel single to give the Twins a 6-3 lead.

 

Martinez gave up two runs in the bottom of the 15th inning, but the team was able to hold on for the 6-5 win.

 

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

 

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Miguel De Jesus, GCL Twins

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Nick Gordon, Ft. Myers Miracle

 

 

THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

 

Syracuse @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers

Chattanooga @ Jackson (7:05 CST) - LHP David Hurlbut

Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (6:00 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc

Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) – RHP Dereck Rodriguez

Kingsport @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - RHP Tyler Wells

GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) - RHP Huascar Ynoa

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

 

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[jsteve96]

what a great day for the hitting prospects... Gordon, Palka, Diaz, Wade all with great days even Vielma reached 4 times!

[nytwinsfan]

Diaz seems to have very legit left-handed power, but his BB/K ratio is a bit concerning.

[jeffn48]

Looking more and more like LaMonte Wade is a legit prospect. Obviously SSS at High-A, but the strike zone control is still there and he's showing some pop in a tough hitting environment. Should be fun to follow him at AA next year.

[diehardtwinsfan]

Wade is now officially younger than his league (1.5 years) as well.  I have to agree. SSS, so obviously take it with a grain of salt, but he's looking like a late round gem.

[TRex]

 

Diaz seems to have very legit left-handed power, but his BB/K ratio is a bit concerning.

I was thinking last night, before he hit the HR, that Diaz has had a disappointing year (ala the disastrous seasons of fellow international signees Minier and Tapia). Then I actually looked at his MiLB page and found I was very wrong! While he doesn't quite reach the minimum AB for the leader board, his .924 OPS would slot in at #7, just ahead of fellow 19 yr. old Travis Blankenhorn.

[SirLoin]

I'm becoming more and more intrigued with Wimmers as a long man out of the bullpen.  With all the issues he's had throughout his career, I'd like to see him get a shot in that role.

[Seth Stohs]

 

I'm becoming more and more intrigued with Wimmers as a long man out of the bullpen.  With all the issues he's had throughout his career, I'd like to see him get a shot in that role.

 

I agree, and I laid it out in yesterday's "It's Time" article. Have to get him up and give him a trial. 

[John Kelsey]

Alex Robinson is an interesting prospect, sure would be nice if he could throw strikes though. 

[bluechipper]

 

Alex Robinson is an interesting prospect, sure would be nice if he could throw strikes though. 

Yeah a 21 year old in E-Town who has been over 10 BB/9 in both years there is pretty concerning. On the bright side, the 12.4 K/9 is nice.

[bluechipper]

10th rounder Brandon Lopez is off to a good start, although that is what you would hope for/expect from a college draftee. He's at .340/.492/.404 (.896). He's shown good plate discipline, but not really any power. 

[jimmer]

 

I agree, and I laid it out in yesterday's "It's Time" article. Have to get him up and give him a trial. 

what is he charged with? :-)

[h2oface]

In fairness to Luke Bard, he was pulled from the 8th with one out and the bases loaded, but a grounder away from a DP and out of the inning. While he was pulled and charged with 3 runs, it was the usually reliable Landa that "gave (them) up". Poor Landa. He let 7 runs cross the plate in 5 batters, and his performance included a walk, HBP, WP, 2 doubles and a single. Ouch.

 

Wimmers needs brought up soon, before he turns 40.

Edited July 21, 2016 by h2oface