Article: Twins Minor League Report (4/6): And on the Third Day, There Was Baseball

[Matt Braun]

It was another full slate of minor league games filled with excitement on this fine early April Saturday.

 

Who played well? Who won? Well, hop on in and let me lead you through the matches and their results.TRANSACTIONS

RHP Chase De Jong was added to the 40-man roster and selected from AAA, 1B/DH Tyler Austin was subsequently DFA’d to make room.

 

RED WINGS REPORT

Game one: Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 12 (7 innings)

Box Score

 

Lewis Thorpe: 4.0 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 60.2% strikes (50 of 83 pitches)

HR: Brent Rooker (1)

Multi-hit games: Wynston Sawyer (2-for-3, 2B, 1 RBI)

 

The Red Wings were rained out yesterday on their second scheduled game of the season, which is no fun. But that means that they got to play two games today, which is fun!

 

RHP Chase De Jong was originally set to start the first game but was called up to the major league club so LHP Lewis Thorpe received the ball to start today’s game instead.

 

Thorpe went four innings, surrendering 10 hits and nine earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts. Thorpe ran into trouble early as he gave up home runs to both Mitch Walding and Lane Adams in the first, putting the Red Wings in a deficit early.

 

The Red Wings answered back in the next half inning as Brent Rooker took advantage of a Luke Raley walk before him and decided that now would be the best time to hit his first Rooker Rocket of the year, a two-run blast off IronPigs starter Jerad Eickhoff that cut the lead in half.

The rally stopped there as the Red Wings only added one more run in the seventh off a Wynston Sawyer double while the IronPigs piled on eight more runs along the course of the game to go on top of the four they scored in the first inning.

 

Game Two: Rochester 1, Lehigh Valley 4 (7 innings)

Box Score

 

Austin Adams: 2.1 IP, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K, 74.1% strikes (23 of 31 pitches)

HR: Randy César

Multi-hit games: None

 

The Red Wings were put in what we like to call a “tough situation” as they needed to play a doubleheader and their original Game 1 starter, Chase De Jong, was called up by the Twins. So they were forced to move Lewis Thorpe up for Game 1 and use a bullpen game in Game 2.

 

Austin Adams ate up innings to start and was followed by Fernando Romero and Preston Guilmet.

 

Randy César scored the lone run for the Red Wings when he blasted a solo homer in the fifth inning off the IronPigs starter Enyel De Los Santos

 

BLUE WAHOO BITES

Pensacola 5, Mobile 0

Box Score

 

Devin Smeltzer: 5.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 74.3% strikes (61 of 82 thrown)

HR: Jimmy Kerrigan (2)

Multi-hit games: Taylor Grzelakowski (2 for 5), Jimmy Kerrigan (2 for 4, RBI, R), Caleb Hamilton (2 for 4, R)

 

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos continued their hot start to the season with a 5-0 victory over the Mobile BayBears that was spearheaded by another great starting pitching performance, this time from lefty Devin Smeltzer.

 

Pensacola took Smeltzer to the old town road and rode him until they couldn’t no more (which happened to be after 5 2/3 innings). The result was a perfect game through five for Smeltzer and 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball for him overall.

 

The scoring was kicked off in the third inning when Jordan Gore scored on an error and was added to in the fifth when Jimmy Kerrigan launched his second blast of the year. A Brian Schales single later in the inning would add two more and a Jaylin Davis single in the seventh would score what was the final run of the game.

 

A combination of Adam Bray and Ryan Mason would finish what Smeltzer started and would give the Blue Wahoos a solid shutout on the day.

 

Pensacola has now had a pretty absurd start to the season for their starting pitching which can pretty much be summed up by this:

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 7

Box Score

Tyler Watson: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 K, 64.3% strikes (47 of 73 pitches)

HR: Aaron Whitefield (1)

Multi-hit games: None

 

The Fort Myers Miracle concluded their first series of the season: an away three-game series against the Charlotte Stone Crabs.

 

LHP Tyler Watson and RHP Hector Lujan were the only two pitchers used for the Miracle as Lujan picked up after Watson’s five innings with three innings of his own.

 

The Miracle put up four hits as a team but also walked nine times in the game as Michael Helman and Ben Rortvedt both had multi-walk games. Ryan Jeffers was the only starter who did not reach base.

 

The LOBsters ended up being too much for the Miracle as they couldn’t take advantage of all the free passes, leading to 20 men left-on-base in today’s game.

 

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 0, Wisconsin 2

Box Score

 

Cole Sands: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 61.7% strikes (50 of 81 pitches)

HR: None

Multi-hit games: Trey Cabbage (2-4)

 

Runs were hard to come by in the opening matchup of a quick two-game series between the Kernels and the Timber Rattlers, much of this was due to the electric performance from Kernels starter Cole Sands.

 

The righty Sands made his professional baseball debut today after being drafted in the fifth round out of Florida State in the 2018 MLB draft. Sands evidently had no trouble adjusting to pro ball as he mowed down the Timber Rattlers with ease, retiring the first 13 batters of the game leading to a final line in which he ended up striking out eight, walking just one, and not allowing a hit through five shutout innings.

The tall righty Tyler Palm relieved Sands in the sixth and gave up a single which was followed by a walk. After getting the next batter to fly out, a fielding error by third baseman Andrew Bechtold allowed the only two runs of the game to score (both of them unearned).

 

Sands was equally matched by the Timber Rattler’s pitching as the Kernels lineup put together just four hits on the day along with one walk, all leading to no runs and a 2-0 loss.

 

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher(s) of the Day – Cole Sands featuring Devin Smeltzer

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jimmy Kerrigan

 

PROSPECT SUMMARY

Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed:

 

#1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, BB, R, K

#2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured list

#3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did not pitch

#4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-5, 2B, RBI, K

#5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Season has not started

#6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 1-for-3, HR, R, 2 RBI, 2 K

#7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch

#8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - 4.0 IP, 10 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 4 K

#9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Did not play

#11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list

#12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured list

#13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-4, 2 K

#14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 1-for-2, 2 BB, R, K

#15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, K

#16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play

#17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did not pitch

#18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-for-3, K

#19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch

#20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 0-for-3, BB, R

 

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Lehigh Valley (12:35 P.M. CST) - RHP Zack Littell

Pensacola @ Mobile (2:05 P.M. CST) - RHP Griffin Jax

Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (11:30 A.M. CST) - RHP Bailey Ober

Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (1:05 P.M. CST) - RHP Josh Winder

 

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

 

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[Matt Braun]

First minor league report of the season for me, wonder what I did to allow Seth and Tom to trust me like this.

 

In other news, I might need a new picture for my profile here...

[diehardtwinsfan]

 

First minor league report of the season for me, wonder what I did to allow Seth and Tom to trust me like this.

 

In other news, I might need a new picture for my profile here...

you did a good job.... they should trust you.

[Han Joelo]

Thanks for doing it!  Much appreciated.  Kind of a ho-hum day, but promising start for Sands.

 

"Like Sands through the hourglass, so are the K's in his lines..."

[AZTwin]

Sure is nice to see Jax starting tomorrow and should get a full year this year.

[clutterheart]

What the happened with Littell?

 

If Wolfsons reporting is correct they told him he was going to be recalled. Then the Twins told him he wasnt needed. Then the Twins called up De Jong instead?

 

If it happened the way Wolfson said it did that seems pretty bush leauge

[Splash45]

What the happened with Littell?

If Wolfsons reporting is correct they told him he was going to be recalled. Then the Twins told him he wasnt needed. Then the Twins called up De Jong instead?

If it happened the way Wolfson said it did that seems pretty bush leauge

 

It sounds like they told him to be ready to go up if needed before deciding to go with a De Jong instead. This probably isn’t all that rare.

[Doctor Wu]

I'm still trying to figure out what a Blue Wahoo is supposed to be?

[ashbury]

I'm still trying to figure out what a Blue Wahoo is supposed to be?

A wahoo is a fish, related to mackerels.

 

The team chose blue for local reasons. The Pensacola Bay Area is the official home of the Blue Angels.

[mikelink45]

Good report, but I am in a fog of confusion - Not Littell, but DeJong?  The result is Austin is DFA'd.  The team is left with a bullpen game and in the bullpen is Fernando Romero who might have given them a good start, but we are intent on taking a good starting pitcher, messing with him and forcing him to the pen.  

 

 

[Doctor Wu]

 

A wahoo is a fish, related to mackerels.

 

The team chose blue for local reasons. The Pensacola Bay Area is the official home of the Blue Angels.

Thanks for that info. I had no idea. And I'm a native of Florida!

[Dman]

Wow what a nice pro debut for Sands!  K's the first 5 and 8 total.  It is early but if Sands and Balazovich keep this up the pitchers in High A better be up to the challenge (I'm looking at you Tyler Watson) because those guys are looking like they are going to move up quickly.

 

My boy Ernie is having a tough start at AA.  I hope he can turn it around or he might get demoted.  

 

Gelly is looking really good starting the season in AA and Hamilton is off to a hot start as well.

 

Two players Cabbage and Blankenhorn I had given up on are off to good starts.  Here is hoping they can keep it up.

[terrydactyls]

I had to pull up the Miracle box score to confirm that the team stranded 20 runners. The Miracle stranded eight runners. The total number of runners stranded by all the batters was 20. Big difference.

[wabene]

A wahoo is a fish, related to mackerels.

Fire up the grill!

 

The team chose blue for local reasons. The Pensacola Bay Area is the official home of the Blue Angels.

[nater79a]

Cole Sands...Florida State product.

 

Seems like there's been a dearth of FSU players to suit up for the Twins over the years. Sort of a trivia question for you all...who has been the most notable FSU alum to play for the Twins?? (And no, it's not Sugar Shane Robinson or Paul Sorrento!)

[Tibs]

That's the first time I've seen video of Cole Sands. Very impressed. One of those fastballs was clocked at 98. He has a sharp curveball and showcased a change-up as well.

[RaymondLuxuryYacht]

I forgot about Sands - what was the reason he didn't play last year?

[jkcarew]

Hope Thorpe is healthy. Wasn’t good in very brief spring training look. Now this.

[Mr. Brooks]

I forgot about Sands - what was the reason he didn't play last year?

I think it was just precautionary, as Sands had suffered a few minor injuries late in his 2018 FSU season.

[Doctor Wu]

 

Hope Thorpe is healthy. Wasn’t good in very brief spring training look. Now this.

Yeah, not a good first start for Thorpe. I sure hope there are no injury concerns.

[Halsey Hall]

Hope Thorpe is healthy. Wasn’t good in very brief spring training look. Now this.

No, Thorpe wasn't sharp in Spring Training in any of the games I saw him pitch. He'd have a good inning and get hit around the next. Not what we had hoped for out of him.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Halsey Hall

[Seth Stohs]

 

I had to pull up the Miracle box score to confirm that the team stranded 20 runners. The Miracle stranded eight runners. The total number of runners stranded by all the batters was 20. Big difference.

 

Yup... very different!

[Seth Stohs]

 

Good report, but I am in a fog of confusion - Not Littell, but DeJong?  The result is Austin is DFA'd.  The team is left with a bullpen game and in the bullpen is Fernando Romero who might have given them a good start, but we are intent on taking a good starting pitcher, messing with him and forcing him to the pen.  

 

I've heard a variety of things... I do know that Littell was told he was coming up. Good thing they were in Lehigh Valley, which is only about an hour from Philly. 

 

One possibility... players optioned can't be called up for 10 days, unless there was an injury. Saturday was the 9th day of the season, so that could be it.  (though Littell was optioned quite a bit before Opening Day). 

 

I'm sure it was some technicality. I don't think that the front office wanted to DFA Austin this early. 

[rdehring]

What a great day for two starting pitchers, Sands and Smeltzer.  That Dozier trade is starting to look like a steal as Raley also looked good in ST.

 

I may have missed it, but does anyone know why Javier is in EST?  I know he got removed from a Twins early ST game with an injury.  But I believed he played in a couple of their last games of the spring.  Is it a precaution?  Or are they letting him miss the cold games in Cedar Rapids?

[108Stitches]

Told you Thorpe didn’t look good at all in ST. Most overrated prospect in this org.

[Seth Stohs]

 

What a great day for two starting pitchers, Sands and Smeltzer.  That Dozier trade is starting to look like a steal as Raley also looked good in ST.

 

I may have missed it, but does anyone know why Javier is in EST?  I know he got removed from a Twins early ST game with an injury.  But I believed he played in a couple of their last games of the spring.  Is it a precaution?  Or are they letting him miss the cold games in Cedar Rapids?

 

I think it's just precautionary with Javier. He won't be in EST long. 

 

[Seth Stohs]

 

Told you Thorpe didn’t look good at all in ST. Most overrated prospect in this org.

 

I will respectfully disagree... He also found out in the morning that he was going to start yesterday instead of a couple of days later... Nothing to see here. 

[AZTwin]

Cole Sands...Florida State product.

 

Seems like there's been a dearth of FSU players to suit up for the Twins over the years. Sort of a trivia question for you all...who has been the most notable FSU alum to play for the Twins?? (And no, it's not Sugar Shane Robinson or Paul Sorrento!)

Doug Mientkiewicz?

[MN_ExPat]

 

Told you Thorpe didn’t look good at all in ST. Most overrated prospect in this org.

 

Agree to disagree.   Spring Training is just that... Spring Training.   His results thus far in his professional career would argue a different story.

 

He had a poor start, he'll be fine.

[108Stitches]

Can we take a moment to collectively vent about how GOD AWFUL the new MiLB First Pitch App is!?? They absolutely ruined it.