Twins Minor League Report (4/23): Hunters Star In Cedar Rapids On Busy Night

There were several transactions and six games in the Twins minor league system on Monday night. Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system. And as always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions.

TRANSACTIONS

• Following the Twins 14-1 loss on Monday night, the Twins optioned RH RP Alan Busenitz to Rochester. A corresponding move will be announced on Tuesday. (I don’t anticipate being terribly surprised… maybe has the same initials as Twins Daily, maybe?)
  
• LHP Gabriel Moya has now reported to Rochester.
  
• OF Aaron Whitefield was placed on the 7-Day disabled list in Ft. Myers.
  
• OF Mark Contreras has been promoted to Ft. Myers
  
• OF Jean Carlos Arias has been promoted to Cedar Rapids from extended spring training.
  

RED WINGS REPORT

Game 1 - Rochester 0, Gwinnett 1

Box Score

Baseball’s #1 overall prospect Ronald Acuna started the season slow, but he’s been heating up. In this game in Rochester, he went 1-for-2 with a walk and three stolen bases. He also scored on a Tyler Flowers groundout in the fourth inning. Why do I mention that? Well, it was the lone run of the game.

Dietrich Enns pitched much better in this start than he had in his first two starts, but he still fell to 0-3 on the season. He gave up just the one run on just two hits. He struck out four, but he was hurt by the four walks. As impressive as anything, he kept Braves minor leaguer - and long-time Twins killer - Jose Bautista in check. Bautista, who signed a minor league deal with the Braves late last week, went 0-for-3 with a strikeout.

The Red Wings managed just three hits in the game. Nick Buss and Kennys Vargas were both 1-for-2 with a walk. Brock Stassi had the other base hit.

Game 2 - Rochester 2, Gwinnett 1

Box Score

The Red Wings had a bullpen game in the second game. DJ Baxendale made the start and threw the first four innings. He gave up two hits, but no runs, and struck out two. John Curtiss came on. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. He struck out two. Next in was lefty Casey Crosby who was just activated from the disabled list. He gave up one hit and struck one out in a scoreless inning to record the save.

https://twitter.com/JoshWhetzel/status/988589449058627584

Leonardo Reginnato led the offense. The infielder went 2-for-3 with a walk and his fifth double. Jermaine Curtis was 1-for-1, hit by a pitch, knocked his second double and stole his second base. Nick Buss walked twice.

Also, Jose Bautista went 0-for-3 in the second game. 0-for-6 with two strikeouts on the day which made the Frontier Field fans happy.

https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/988593224682999808

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Game 1 - Chattanooga 0, Jackson 7

Box Score

A year ago, Zack Littell went 19-1 between two levels and three teams. On Monday night, he made his fourth start of the 2018 season and is still looking for his first win and already has his second loss. In this game, he gave up six runs on seven hits and a walk in just 4 1/3 innings. He struck out four. Cody Stashak allowed an inherited runner to score and also one of his own. He recorded the final five outs.

In the doubleheader-shortened seven inning game, the Lookouts did not record a hit until LaMonte Wade singled with two outs in the sixth inning. Wade also walked in the first inning so there was no concern regarding a perfect game. Nick Gordon added a seventh-inning double, his third of the season.

Game 2 - Chattanooga 6, Jackson 7

Box Score

In the second game, the Lookouts fell behind, put together a big comeback, twice took the lead and ended up one run short of a win.

Ryan Eades started. He was charged with three unearned runs on four hits and a walk in four innings. He struck out seven. All three runs came in the first inning and were due, at least in part, to two passed balls. Anthony McIver came on and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in his two innings struck out three.

The Lookouts fell behind early, but in the sixth inning, they scored four runs to take a 5-4 lead. With two outs, Zander Wiel and Chris Paul had RBI singles before TJ White knocked a two-run double. The game was tied at five going into the seventh inning. LaMonte Wade came up with two outs. He singled. Brent Rooker doubled him to third, and then Nick Gordon’s single gave the Lookouts another one-run lead going into the bottom of the seventh.

The Lookouts brought in Williams Ramirez who struck out the first batter he faced. However, he gave up three straight hits and two runs and the Lookouts took the loss.

Wade went 2-for-4 with his second home run of the year. Nick Gordon was 3-for-4.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 3, Clearwater 5

Box Score

Byron Buxton was originally in the lineup, batting second and in centerfield, but a couple of hours before the game, he was removed from the lineup. Here is Rhett Bollinger with the explanation:

https://twitter.com/RhettBollinger/status/988553533929779201

Travis Blankenhorn got things going for the Miracle early with a two-run home run in the second inning. It was his second homer of the season.

Sean Poppen got the start for the Miracle. He worked 4 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out five. Max Cordy came on and gave up four runs on five hits in just an inning. Logan Lombana finished the final 2 2/3 innings. He gave up a run on two hits.

The Miracle tried to make a comeback in the ninth. Joe Cronin hit his fourth double with one out. Lewin Diaz tripled him in to cut the deficit to 5-3, but they were unable to keep the scoring going. Jimmy Kerrigan added his eighth double. Mark Contreras had a bunt single in three at-bats in his Florida State League debut.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 5, Burlington 13

Box Score

Twins Hall of Famer Torii Hunter was in attendance at the Kernels game on Monday night. He was fulfilling two roles. Part of his job as a special assistant to baseball operations is to go to the Twins affiliates and work with players, talk to players, and in games, get in uniform and be an extra coach and an extra voice.

https://twitter.com/JimCrikket/status/988593631668908032

However, he was also in attendance in his other, more important role. He was there as a father. While he was in the Kernels dugout, his son, Torii Hunter, Jr., was playing for Burlington. On this night, Junior went 2-for-4 with his first home run of the season and four RBI.

https://twitter.com/JimCrikket/status/988573463228112896

As you can see from the score, it wasn’t a great game for the Kernels. Lefty Bryan Sammons started. He went the first 4 1/3 innings and gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits. He struck out five without issuing a walk. Jovani Moran got the next five outs. He was charged with three runs on five hits and two walks in that time. He did record two strikeouts. Moises Gomez threw the next two innings. He gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. Guess how many strikeouts he had? Yup, two. Derek Molina worked the final inning. He gave up two runs on a hit and a walk. He also threw three wild pitches.

The offense was carried, for the most part, by two hitters. Leadoff man, Akil Baddoo, went 4-for-5 in the game. Alex Kirilloff went 3-for-5 including a three-run homer, his third homer of the season.

https://twitter.com/langetime/status/988601644370808832

STARS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: LaMonte Wade, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Dietrich Enns, Rochester Red Wings

TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY

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

#1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, RBI, K, SB(3)

#3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 4-7, 2B(3), R, RBI, 2 K, SB(3)

#5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 3-5, HR(3), 3 RBI, K

#7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-7, 2B(2), 4 K

#10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 4-5, 2 R, RBI

#11 - Zack Littell (Chattanooga) - 4.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

#13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, 3B(2), RBI, 2K

#14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 3-6, BB, 2 R, RBI, HR(2), K

#17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, HR(2), 2 RBI, 2 K

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Gwinnett @ Rochester (5:35 CST) - RHP Myle Jaye

Chattanooga @ Jackson (6:05 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves

Ft. Myers @ Clearwater (6:00 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi

Burlington @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina

Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have.

Interested in learning more about the Minnesota Twins' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!