Twins Minor League Report (7/9): Saturday In The (Minor League) Park

I apologized for the lateness of Saturday’s minor league report. Summers tend to be a bit busy for everyone, and the minor league games just keep getting played. So today’s report might just be a little shorter than normal, but it is very important for me that the players that perform get recognized. Continue on to read the highlights of Saturday’s minor league games.

As a quick aside, I took my daughter to the Fargo-Moorhead Redhawks game last night at Newman Outdoor Field. It’s such a great venue for minor league baseball. Last night, they faced Mark Hamburger and the St. Paul Saints. The Saints, as you know, have several former Twins and Twins minor league prospects. Their manager is former Twins pitcher George Tsamis. Tony Thomas had the night off, but he’s putting up great numbers for the Saints. Tanner Vavra played shortstop, batted second and had two hits and a walk. Nate Hanson played third base and batted third. Chad Christensen batted eighth and DHd.

Mark Hamburger threw another complete game and improved to 9-0 on the season. They Saints bullpen also includes left-handers Caleb Thielbar and Mike Strong. Their Friday night starting pitcher was 36-year-old Dan Johnson, a long-time big league and minor league first baseman who is attempting to become a knuckleball-throwing pitcher.

There is a lot of great minor league baseball around the Midwest. Several other former Twins minor leaguers are playing well in the American Association. Rene Leveret is playing for Lincoln and picked up his 1,000th career minor league hit last week. Eden Prairie’s Blake Schmit plays for Sioux Falls and he was leading the league in hitting. Check out some American Association ball games if you have a chance. Next weekend, the Saints are at home at CHS Field in St. Paul taking on the FM Redhawks.

OK, after that brief former Twins minor league report, let’s get into what happened in the Twins farm system on Saturday.

RED WINGS REPORT

Rochester 1, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 2

Box Score

Logan Darnell was on the mound for the Red Wings. The left-hander was charged with two unearned runs on three hits over seven innings. He walked two and struck out three. DJ Baxendale faced one batter and walked him. Buddy Boshers came on and got the next three batters out, two of them on strikeouts.

Darin Mastroianni went 2-4. Jorge Polanco went 1-3 and was hit by a pitch. He also drove in the lone Red Wings run.

CHATTANOOGA CHATTER

Chattanooga 1, Tennessee 0

Box Score

There was some strong pitching in Tennessee on Saturday night. Lefty David Hurlbut certainly did his part to give his team a chance to win. He went eight shutout innings. He gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out four. He improved to 7-4 with a 3.28 ERA.

However, the Lookouts bats were pretty quiet too. Ryan Walker was 2-4. Leonardo Reginnato hit his 12th double. However, in the top of the 9th, Travis Harrison recorded his second hit of the night, and it was a big one. His sixth home run of the year gave the Lookouts a 1-0 lead.

With the lead, Trevor Hildenberger came in for the ninth frame. He gave up a hit and issued a walk, but he did not give up a run. He now has 13 saves with the Lookouts (16 on the season) and a 0.89 ERA.

MIRACLE MATTERS

Ft. Myers 6, Dunedin 4

Box Score

Sam Clay made his first Miracle start. The left-hander gave up two runs on nine hits over five innings. He walked three and struck out two. Nick Anderson struck out two over two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and walked one. Yorman Landa threw the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk, but he finished out the Miracle win.

Eight Miracle players had one hit in the game. Fortunately, half of their hits left the ballpark. TJ White hit his seventh double. AJ Murray hit his second homer. Trey Vavra hit his eighth homer. Daniel Kihle hit his first Florida State League homer.

KERNELS NUGGETS

Cedar Rapids 4, Kane County 7

Box Score

Dereck Rodriguez put together one of his best starts of the season. He had a quality start. He gave up two runs on five hits over six innings. He walked three and struck out seven. Max Cordy came in for his first Kernels appearance. According to Jeff Johnson (The Gazette in Cedar Rapids), Cordy was hitting 95 mph on the radar gun. He gave up three runs on three hits and two walks over two innings. He struck out two. Cam Booser worked the ninth inning. He gave up two runs on one hit. He walked three and struck out one.

Jaylin Davis added his first triple. Casey Scoggins was 2-5. Christian Cavaness went 2-4 with his first steal. Brian Olson was also 2-4.

E-TWINS E-NOTES

Elizabethton 4, Greeneville 3

Box Score

The E-Twins got solid pitching and a big blast early in the game and held on for the win.

Travis Blankenhorn had just one hit in the game, but it was a big one. In the third inning, he hit his fifth home run of the season, a three-run homer. Brandon Lopez went 2-3 with a walk. Lewin Diaz added his fifth double.

Alex Schik made the start this time around. He gave up just one run on two hits over the first five innings. He struck out three without issuing a walk. Ryan Mason came on and gave up one run on four hits over 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Colton Davis picked up his third save. He gave up a run, but he got the final four outs, each of them on a strikeout.

GCL TWINS TAKES

GCL Twins 2, GCL Red Sox 3

Box Score

Huascar Ynoa put together easily his best start of the short-season. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, didn’t walk any, and struck out eight. Matz Schutte got the next five outs without any issues. Onas Farfan gave up a run over the next 1.1 innings. He struck out two. Garrett Kelly gave up one run on two hits in his inning. Zach Strecker gave up six hits but somehow just one run over the next 2.2 innings. He struck out two. Clark Beeker got the final out on a strikeout.

TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY

Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – David Hurlbut, Chattanooga Lookouts

Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Travis Harrison, Chattanooga Lookouts

SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS

Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (12:05 CST) - LHP Andrew Albers

Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:15 CST) - LHP Tyler Jay

Dunedin @ Ft. Myers (3:05 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero

Kane County @ Cedar Rapids (2:00 CST) – RHP Sam Gibbons

Greeneville @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - TBD

GCL Twins - No Game Scheduled

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

Do you approve of the job the Twins front office is doing?

Do you approve of the job the Twins front office is doing?

• Do you approve of the job the Twins front office is doing? Required
  

  
• Save

See All Twins Polls >

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!