Article: Twins Minor League Report (7/1): Baddoo’s Big Day

[Tom Froemming]

While Felix Jorge was impressing in his major league debut, rain was wreaking havoc on the minor league system’s schedule. There was a delay, a suspended game and a postponement. But there were also big games from Akil Baddoo, Brent Rooker, Royce Lewis and the Rochester pitching staff.Find out everything that happened in the Twins minor league system on Saturday.

 

TRANSACTIONS

 

Sean Poppen was promoted to Fort Myers. The 23-year-old Harvard product had a 2.90 ERA, 1.07 WHIP and 4.76 K:BB ratio over 14 starts. Griffin Jax, a 2016 third-round pick from Air Force, was called up from Elizabethton to take Poppen’s spot.

 

AWARDS

 

Zack Granite was named the International League Player of the Month for June. Granite hit .470 with a 1.193 OPS and reached base safely in all 29 games he played in the month. He had 20 multi-hit games in June. Granite was also named the Twins Daily Hitter of the Month.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1: Lehigh Valley 2, Rochester 1 (7 innings)

Box Score

 

Zack Granite’s on-base streak ended. In fact, the Red Wings mustered just one hit. ByungHo Park doubled in the second inning off rehabbing big leaguer Vince Velasquez. Niko Goodrum drew the team’s only walk of the game that inning, as well. The lone run came on a Leonardo Reginatto sac fly.

 

Tim Melville will get credit for a six inning complete game. Both runs he gave up were earned, he also surrendered five hits, walked four batters and tallied two strikeouts.

 

Game 2: Rochester 9, Lehigh Valley 0

Box Score

 

The Wings went from an extinguished offense to an offensive explosion in the second game, scoring eight runs in the sixth inning. The majority of the damage came with two outs.

 

Engelb Vielma hit a two-out, two-run single that was followed by a Granite triple. Mitch Garver and Ehire Adrianza walked. Matt Hauge it a two-run double followed by a Niko Goodrum single that also plated a pair of runs. Tommy Field, who singled earlier in the inning, finally recorded the third out on a fly ball.

 

This was a bullpen game for Rochester, as D.J. Baxendale (3 IP), Michael Tonkin (1.1 IP), Jake Reed (1.2 IP) and Mason Melotakis (1 IP) combined for the shutout. With the Red Wings up 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth, Reed came in with runners at second and third with one out and pitched his way out of the jam.

 

Garver also collected two hits on the night, extending his hitting streak to 15 games.

 

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 0, Mississippi 0 (Suspended after 2.5 innings)

 

Maybe it’s not such a bad thing this one stopped, as the Lookouts had no hits and already struck out five times in three innings. The weather will unfortunately spoil a start from Fernando Romero, who had three strikeouts through two innings. He’d also given up a hit and walked a pair of batters.

 

This game will be completed tomorrow as a nine-inning contest before these two teams play their regularly-scheduled Sunday game, now set for seven innings.

 

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie (Postponed)

 

These teams will play a doubleheader Sunday.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Clinton 2, Cedar Rapids 1 (11 innings)

Box Score

 

Offense was tough to come by in this one. Hank Morrison led off the second inning by slugging his third homer of the year. That was it for Cedar Rapids.

 

Aaron Whitefield hit a leadoff double in the fifth, but he was caught trying to steal third base with no outs. The Kernels would later get a runner to third that inning, but failed to cash in.

 

Clinton had an excellent scoring chance in the eighth, getting a runner to third base with one out, but the Cedar Rapids pen was able to pitch out of trouble. Alex Robinson, who made a throwing error on a pickoff attempt in the inning, had two big strikeouts before Max Cordy came in to get the third out on a grounder. Robinson (1.2 IP) and Cordy (2.1 IP) combined for four scoreless innings.

 

This one finally ended in the bottom of the 11th when Yojhan Quevedo won it for the LumberKings with a home run off Patrick McGuff.

 

Clark Beeker started for the Kernels, and gave up one run over six innings. He gave up six hits, did not walk a batter and struck out five.

 

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 7, Danville 4

Box Score

 

Brent Rooker clubbed his third home run in just his seventh game for Elizabethton. E-Town starter Melvi Acosta went six innings, giving up four runs (three earned) on eight hits. He had no walks and struck out six batters.

 

Center fielder Mark Contreras was 3-for-4 with a double, a run and an RBI. Second baseman Carson Crites was 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, two runs and an RBI.

 

Calvin Faucher pitched the final three innings, striking out six batters while giving up one hit for the save. The right-hander out of UC-Irvine was the Twins’ 10th-round pick in this year’s draft.

 

GCL TWINS TAKES

Twins 8, Red Sox 4

Box Score

 

It was a big day for the GCL Twins’ bats. Akil Baddoo had a huge game, going 4-for-5 with a triple, three RBIs, three runs and a stolen base. First baseman Alex Robles tallied three hits. Royce Lewis was 2-for-4 with a double, a walk and scored three runs. Jean Carlos Arias was also 2-for-4, had a walk, a double and stole a base.

 

Nick Tepesch, who was making a rehab start, had to exit early after being struck by a comebacker. He was able to exit the field without assistance, but it was a scary moment. Here’s the video:

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day: Clark Beeker, Cedar Rapids (6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K)

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day: Akil Baddoo, GCL Twins (4-for-5, triple, 3 RBIs, 3 R, SB)

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester at Lehigh Valley, 5:35 pm CT, David Hurlbut (3.48 ERA, 1.43 WHIP)

Chattanooga at Mississippi, 3:00 pm CT, TBD

Chattanooga at Mississippi, Game 2, TBD

Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie, 1 pm CT, Brady Anderson (4.07 ERA, 1.52 WHIP)

Fort Myers vs. St. Lucie, Game 2, Anthony McIver (2.66 ERA, 1.43 WHIP)

Cedar Rapids at Clifton, 2:00 pm CT, Griffin Jax (first MWL start)

Elizabethton at Danville, 3:00 pm CT, Charlie Barnes

 

 

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

 

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[Guest]

Let's get Granite and Yabba-Da-Baddoo in the quarry together!

[TKGuy]

When will Rooker arrive in CR?

[mikelink45]

I am hoping Lewis and Rooker are on the fast track.  They look ready.

[gunnarthor]

Nice to see Baddoo and Miranda have strong starts. I really liked those picks last year because of the upside but they are far away.

[drivlikejehu]

I know there are various extenuating circumstances, but it freaks me out a bit that Rooker has a 1/9 K/BB ratio in the Appalachian League. 

[Mike Sixel]

There is nothing to know about Rooker yet. He's just wasting time playing against high school kids. We won't know anything until AA.

[AZTwin]

There is nothing to know about Rooker yet. He's just wasting time playing against high school kids. We won't know anything until AA.

I think we know quite a bit now. He is struggling at the plate against high school kids. Is spending a lot of time at DH early on. And admitted he simply sat on fastballs this last year in college. Wasted pick

[drjim]

I think we know quite a bit now. He is struggling at the plate against high school kids. Is spending a lot of time at DH early on. And admitted he simply sat on fastballs this last year in college. Wasted pick

8 games, eh.

[FormerMinnasotan]

Too bad rain ruined what looked like another great start from Romero. Seriously though I feel Gonsalves, Romero, and Jorge need to be in Rochester NOW!! Honestly both Jorge and Gonsalves could be September call ups this year and Romero could continue to improve with pitching in Rochester.

[gunnarthor]

 

I think we know quite a bit now. He is struggling at the plate against high school kids. Is spending a lot of time at DH early on. And admitted he simply sat on fastballs this last year in college. Wasted pick

That might be the fastest hot take ever.

[AZTwin]

That might be the fastest hot take ever.

I'm looking at 3 years of data. He is probably equivalent to a 30th round pick

[Seth Stohs]

I think worrying about Brent Rooker at this point is kind of WAY premature. He had one bad game when he returned after missing three days. He'll be fine. 

 

And... high school kids drafted his year are not playing in the Appy League, well, very few. That's also not a good take. 

[gunnarthor]

 

I'm looking at 3 years of data. He is probably equivalent to a 30th round pick

Good thing you're not a professional scout. Every single reputable draft scouting place had him as a 1st or 2nd rounder.

 

This crap comes up every year. Buxton started slow in 2012 and people said he was a wasted pick. People wanted Morneau shipped out for Wiggington. People could only focus on Mauer's faults. Back before WAR recalculated his value, people complained about Hunter all the time. Berrios was roughed up last year and people jumped off the bandwagon left and right.  Baseball is a game of failure. Rooker's going to have ups and downs before he makes the majors (he will make the majors). I have no idea what the best way to be a fan of a team is. I tend toward trusting professional evaluators that I have been able to read. Making the majors is hard. But utterly nonsense posts like yours - a first round pick is a 30th round - seem unnecessarily mean spirited and puts you in a position of hoping that a major prospect in our system fails so you can "be right." 

[drjim]

Good thing you're not a professional scout. Every single reputable draft scouting place had him as a 1st or 2nd rounder.

 

This crap comes up every year. Buxton started slow in 2012 and people said he was a wasted pick. People wanted Morneau shipped out for Wiggington. People could only focus on Mauer's faults. Back before WAR recalculated his value, people complained about Hunter all the time. Berrios was roughed up last year and people jumped off the bandwagon left and right. Baseball is a game of failure. Rooker's going to have ups and downs before he makes the majors (he will make the majors). I have no idea what the best way to be a fan of a team is. I tend toward trusting professional evaluators that I have been able to read. Making the majors is hard. But utterly nonsense posts like yours - a first round pick is a 30th round - seem unnecessarily mean spirited and puts you in a position of hoping that a major prospect in our system fails so you can "be right."

To add to that thought, it would be a good bet to assume every individual pick after Lewis is not going to make the majors. It's the reality of the hit rate of draft picks. So starting out negative about a pick is likely to confirm exactly what you think.

 

Rooker, specifically, those are probably fair criticisms, but also explains why he lasted until the 30s rather than got picked earlier. If he didn't have weaknesses, as a college bat he would have gone at the top of the draft.

[drivlikejehu]

Well Rooker was considered to be quite advanced at the plate. He went 0-5 today with a walk and 2 Ks . . . how many stretches like this did he have in the past two years in the SEC?

 

While we still don't know much, this really shouldn't be happening based on his profile.