Twins Minor League Report (7/25): Lachlan Wows

First-round pick Alex Kirilloff is getting some prospect love, being named Appy League Batter of the Week. Don’t look now, but once Jose Berrios exhausts his prospect eligibility, Kirilloff, Nick Gordon and Tyler Jay may be in a three-way race to be the team’s next #1 prospect (at least on the list that I put together).

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 5, Pawtucket 7

Box Score

Back-to-back bombs from Adam Brett Walker and Byung Ho Park was too little for the Red Wings, as they dropped to 60-44, two games out of the wild card race.

Park, Walker, Tommy Field and Wilfredo Tovar each had two hits on Monday. Walker’s home run was his 20th on the season. He also added his 18th double. Park hit his sixth AAA home run and now has 18 combined on the season. Park doubled for the third time.

Nick Greenwood made a respectable start, giving up three runs on seven hits in five innings. He struck out three. D.J. Baxendale struggled mightily, blowing the lead without recording an out. He allowed four runs (two earned) on three hits and took the loss. Marcus Walden struck out one in two innings and Alex Wimmers struck out two in one inning.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga - OFF DAY

The Lookouts open a series with the Smokies tomorrow.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Fort Myers 3, Palm Beach 2

Box Score

Nick Gordon giveth. And Nick Gordon taketh away.

After an eighth-inning error allowed two runs to score, Nick Gordon probably felt like a goat. What an inopportune time to commit his 19h error of the season which wrecked a shutout.

Of course, two outs in the bottom of the eighth, with the score tied, Gordon turned into a hero. He drove in the go-ahead and eventual winning run. Gordon is currently batting .301.

Tanner Witt, Joe Maloney and A.J. Murray all doubled. T.J. White and Alex Perez both drove in a run.

Keaton Steele pitched seven shutout innings with four strikeouts. Todd Van Steensel was charged with a blown save due to the error, but recovered for the win. Because pitcher wins! John Curtiss then picked up his first save of the season.

At one game over .500 on the season, the Miracle are now 17-15 in the second half. They trail the division leader by 2.5 games.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 2, Dayton 0

Box Score

On Friday, Sam Gibbons had his best start of the season. On Monday, country-mate Lachlan Wells had arguably the best start for any Twins-affiliated team all season. Though his fastball only touched 90 mph, the whole repertoire was working for the diminutive southpaw from Newcastle as Wells threw 66 strikes (97 pitches) in eight innings of shutout ball, allowing only two hits and a walk. After allowing a single in both the first and second inning, Wells retired the next 12 in the lineup before hitting a batter. His walk came with two out in the seventh, a runner he promptly picked off.

Wells struck out nine, missing his career mark of 10, which came in Wells’ first professional outing in June of 2015 in the GCL.

Tom Hackimer picked up his second save in four opportunities. He walked a batter but got a strikeout to end the game.

Offensively the Kernels did enough to win - but not by much - and did it all in the fifth inning. Chris Ibarra walked to lead off the inning. J.J. Fernandez and Rainis Silva both singled to load the bases. The first run of the game scored on a Manuel Guzman sacrifice fly. Casey Scoggins drove in the Kernels second and last run of the game with a single.

Zander Wiel added a double, his 22nd, in the sixth.

On the season, the Kernels are 54-46. Their second-half record is 18-13, but they trail Clinton by 4.5 games.

Side note: I just returned from a three-game trip to watch the Kernels in Cedar Rapids. I’ll be sharing my #notascout reports on my takeaways from the weekend on Wednesday.

E-TOWN E-NOTES

Elizabethton 6, Pulaski 1

Box Score

Yesterday, Tyler Beardsley wasn’t a name that typical readers would look twice at. He might have changed that on Monday evening. In 6 1/3 innings, Beardsley struck out 13 and only walked one. Beardsley didn’t start in college and possessed a K/9 around 4.5. So while this may be an anomaly, it’s an attention-getter that will at least make fans take a second look.

Alex Robinson struck out three in relief and Colton Davis closed the game out with a 1-2-3 ninth.

Travis Blankenhorn led the charge with a 2-run home run and a 3-run home run in consecutive innings. According to a tweet from his agent, Blankenhorn passed a runner on his 3-run home run, so evidently his run doesn’t count and he was charged with an out.

Brandon Lopez had another two-hit day to raise his average to .365. Mitch Kranson (who caught Beardsley) also had a multi-hit game including a RBI and a double. Roberto Gonzalez singled twice.

The E-Twins improve to 15-16.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 7, GCL Orioles 2

Box Score

The GCL affiliate got a very night showing from the piggybacking duo of undrafted free agents Bo Hellquist and Tyler Fox. Hellquist, a lefty, threw the first five innings and earned the win. Fox picked up the save for pitching the last four. Their lines were almost identical: both gave up a run on three hits and both struck out four. Hellquist issued a walk and Fox allowed a solo home run.

The Twins tallied 11 hits, led by three singles by Gorge Munoz. Aaron Whiteside had two hits, but the most damage was done by Joe Cronin, who hit his first two professional extra-base hits: a two-run home run in the fourth and a double in the eighth. He also reached base when he was hit by a pitch. Tyree Davis added a double. Both Akil Baddoo and the rehabbing Heiker Meneses drove in a pair of runs as well.

Interestingly, the Orioles used former Twin Sam Deduno for an inning on a rehab assignment. He struck out one.

The GCL Twins are 13-14.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Pitcher of the Day – Lachlan Wells, Cedar Rapids

Hitter of the Day – Travis Blankenhorn, Elizabethton

TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester at Pawtucket (6:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers (9-3, 3.14 ERA)

Chattanooga vs Tennessee (6:15 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (4-4, 3.35 ERA)

Fort Myers vs Palm Beach (6:05 CST) - LHP Randy Rosario (5-3, 3.79 ERA)

Elizabethton at Pulaski (6:00 CST) - LHP Domenick Carlini (1-4, 5.11 ERA)

GCL Twins vs GCL Orioles (11:00AM CST) - TBD

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

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!