Minors

You've probably heard the news by now that the Twins are out, and the Colorado Rockies are in, as New Britain's class AA affiliate. It's been a strange few months here in Connecticut on the baseball and political fronts, culminating with yesterday's news.

Back in June, Rock Cats managing partner Josh Solomon triumphantly (and surprisingly) announced from the steps of Hartford City Hall that the Rock Cats would be moving from their longtime home of New Britain to a brand new stadium in Hartford, effective for the 2016 season.

Through the early part of the season, the Minnesota Twins knew they were going to be without the services of Josmil Pinto. After taking three swings to the back of the head in a spring training game, there's no doubt the time lost due to injury was going to cost him a roster spot. After a largely unimpressive 2014, Pinto needed to earn his way on, and time simply ran out. Knowing that it's his bat that will carry him at the next level, the promotion is coming, but what will it look like when it does?

Going into the 2015 season, few Twins prospects brought more intrigue than Jose Berrios. The 2012 first-round pick (32nd overall), has flown through the minor leagues, and his sights were set even higher. Suggesting he wanted to make a splash in spring training, Berrios is now staring his final hurdle in the face.

As summer draws on and fall draws near, lots of changes shape the major league baseball landscape. There's the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, and then the August waiver period. There're divisional races, and then there are September call -ups. Despite the Twins strong start, the most exciting period of 2015 may be that call-up window, in part, because of a Twins prospect demanding your attention.

The Minnesota Twins have spent the last week or so jostling for position atop the AL Central. Having cooled off a bit after their torrid run in May, the offense has been somewhat to blame. Now, having brought power-hitting designated hitter Kennys Vargas back into the fold, it appears there may be a targeted approach for run support. To help further, the Twins could look at the blueprint laid out by fellow AL surprise team, the Houston Astros, and allow top prospect Byron Buxton to follow in Carlos Correa's footsteps.

The big story of the night was star pitching prospect Kohl Stewart being pulled very early in his start by the Cedar Rapids training staff. His fastball usually sits in the mid-90s but he was topping out anywhere from 88-90 mph. The Twins have come out and said they removed him for precautionary reasons. With not many games left in the minor league season, it would be surprising to see Stewart on the mound again in 2014.

With Stewart out of the game early, would the Kernels be able to continue their recent winning streak? Read on to find out.

Things are starting to wind down in the minor league season and this means plenty of very important games for Twins affiliates. The Kernels entered Sunday with a chance to clinch and the Red Wings are right in the middle of the wild card hunt. This means every at-bat and every pitch are very important.

The same can't be said for the MLB version of the Twins. They are out of the playoff chase but they can still upset a few teams along the way. After pounding the Detroit Tigers in the first two games of the series, the Twins dropped the last two to end up with a split.

Let's see if the farm system offered up any more hope on Sunday.

Byron Buxton is heading back to the Arizona Fall League. At least that is the hope of the Twins organization as rosters were announced for the AFL on Tuesday. Buxton will be looking to make up for lost time after a brutal outfield collision in his first Double-A game left him with a concussion. He will have to pass all MLB-level concussion protocols before taking the field in the AFL.

Buxton is among a trio of prospects heading back to Arizona for a second year. Eddie Rosario and Max Kepler are set to rebound from various issues this year. Rosario was suspended for the first 50 games and Kepler struggled before coming on strong in recent weeks.

Three of the Twins affiliates are in the midst of a run for their respective league titles. This is a growing trend in the Twins system over the last couple seasons as the organization stockpiles younger players. Hopefully these winning ways will start to translate to the major league level over the next couple seasons but for now the focus is on the task at hand.

It may not be what casual baseball fans want to see, but in most cases and at most levels of professional baseball, the teams with the best pitching win the most games. Sometimes, it really is that simple.

When you ask ballplayers about their outside interests, it’s not unusual for them to express an interest in hunting. In that regard, Kernels’ pitcher Randy LeBlanc fits in with the crowd.

It’s when you ask what he hunts that LeBlanc begins to vary from the norm.

You might not guess it just to look at him, as he patrols center field for the Cedar Rapids Kernels, but there’s a good chance that Tanner English is among the most athletic ballplayers on the roster.