Twins Fan From Afar

Here we are, probably the most boring couple days during the baseball season -- the All-Star break. It was nice to see Joe Mauer get a hit last night, and interesting to see him play first base. It's tough to be too positive about the Twins right now. Sure, Josh Willingham, Ben Revere and Scott Diamond have exceeded expectations, but there's not a whole lot else to hang your hat on if you just look at the Twins right now. So, let's take a look at the affiliates, the Future Twins (#futuretwins if you're following me on Twitter for Rock Cats updates).[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK] FT. MYERS 6, CLEARWATER 5 Tom Stuifbergen got the start for the Miracle tonight, and went 4 innings. He gave up only 1 hit, and struck out 4. Twins fans, take note: Matt Capps threw tonight, on his rehab assignment, after Stuifbergen. Capps tossed 1 inning, allowed 1 hit and no walks, but did surrender an unearned run. Thereafter, Adrian Salcedo tossed 3 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits, striking out 1 and walking 1. Michael Tonkin picked up the save, his first of the season, throwing a perfect 9th. On offense, Andy Leer and Anderson Hidalgo both homered. Daniel Santana had 2 hits, including a double. Joe Benson (yes, the Joe Benson that is still a top prospect rehabbing a wrist injury) had a double in 5 at-bats, as did Michael Gonzales in 3 trips to the plate. Kyle Knudson and Daniel Rams also singled. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 3, FT. WAYNE 6 Tyler Jones started for the Snappers tonight, and lasted 3 and 1/3 innings. He gave up 8 hits and 5 runs (4 earned), striking out 3 and walking 2. The bullpen was better: Cole Johnson threw 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings and allowed only 1 hit; Dallas Gallant tossed 1 and 1/3 scoreless, striking out 1; and Corey Williams threw 1 inning, allowing 1 run on 1 hit, striking out 2 and walking 1. On offense, let's start with the big guy, Miguel Sano. He was 2-for-3 with a triple, his third of the season. He had 2 RBIs, a walk and a strikeout (also he committed 0 errors). Stephen Wickens, Drew Leachman, Steven Liddle, Jonathan Goncalves and Jairo Rodriguez all singled. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON 4, GREENVILLE 7 Ricardo Arevalo got the start for the E-Town Twins tonight, going 4 innings. He gave up 6 runs on 5 hits, striking out 4 and walking 1. Brett Lee threw 2 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits and striking out 2. J.T. Chargois was also effective, tossing 1 perfect inning and striking out 1. Tyler Duffey threw the 8th inning, giving up 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 1. E-Town had ample offense, just not enough runs. Jhonatan Arias, catcher, had 3 singles in 4 at-bats, Jorge Polanco and Niko Goodrum each had 2 hits, Joshua Henkricks had a double, and Max Kepler, Adam Walker and Travis Harrison each singled. Here's the link to the box score. GCL TWINS 5, GCL ORIOLES 2 (7 inning game) Felix Jorge tossed 4 scoreless innings, giving up only 2 hits and striking out 4. Alexander Muren threw 2 scoreless innings, striking out 1, and Gonzalo Sanudo was the only Twins pitcher to get into trouble, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits, compiling 1 strikeout along the way. Center fielder John Murphy and Joel Licon each had 2 hits, Murphy with 1 double and Licon with 2 RBIs. Aderlin Mejia and Javier Pimental each singled. Here's the link to the box score. GCL TWINS 6, GCL ORIOLES 1 Jouse Montanez was very effective, going 5 innings and allowing only 1 run on 3 hits, striking out 5 and issuing 0 free passes. Jose Berrios earned the save, tossing 2 perfect, scoreless innings and striking out 3. Rene Tosoni had 2 hits tonight, both doubles, and 2 RBIs. Second baseman Jose Ramirez had a double, and Joel Licon, Bryan Haar and John Murphy all singled. Mejia, Haar and Murphy also had RBIs. Here's the link to the box score. ---------------------------------------------------- Hitter and Pitcher of the Day for Wednesday, July 11 Hitter of the Day: Miguel Sano (2 hits, including a triple, as a top prospect, and 0 errors gives you the nod) Pitcher of the Day: Matt Capps (pitching establishes more trade value than not pitching) -------------------------------------------- Schedule for Thursday, July 12, 2012 Rochester vs. Toleo -- RHP Jeff Manship New Britain vs. Trenton -- LHP Aaron Thompson Ft. Myers @ Clearwater -- RHP Madison Boer Beloit @ Ft. Wayne -- LHP Jason Wheeler Elizabethtown @ Greenville -- ??? GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles -- ??? ----------------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments, and either Seth or I will be happy to respond.

Oh boy, it was a rough one for the Twins, who took the "pitch-to-contact" mentality to a new level when they gave up a combined 21 hits to the White Sox in what ended up being an ugly 12-5 loss. After the game, it was announced that pitcher Kyle Waldrop had been recalled to Minnesota, and Jeff Manship was optioned. It was also announced that the Twins acquired pitcher Shairon Martis from the Pirates. Don't get too excited; this sounds just like a move to acquire some minor league depth. The 25 year old is expected to join New Britain, where every pitcher that has been halfway decent has already been promoted to Rochester, where every pitcher there that has been halfway decent has seen time with the Twins. The other minor league news story of the day was that Rochester shortstop Pedro Florimon was selected as a reserve for the International League All-Star Game. He started off the season in New Britain, and was quickly promoted to AAA. He's hitting .260 on the season for Rochester, but is batting .333 over his last 10 games. Congratulations, Pedro! After that preamble, let's take a look at the action down on the farm. ROCHESTER 4, LEHIGH VALLEY 3 Samuel Deduno started for the Red Wings tonight, and threw 5 and 1/3 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits. He issued 4 walks, but struck out 9! Caleb Thielbar pitched 1 inning of relief, and gave up 1 run on 2 hits. Luis Perdomo earned the win, tossing 2 and 2/3 innings and allowing only 1 hit while striking out 2. Tsuyoshi Nishioka was an offensive catalyst tonight. Yes, Tsuyoshi Nishioka. He was 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles, and RBI and a run scored. Danny Valencia, hitting pretty well lately, was 2-for-3 with a double, a run, and 2 RBIs. Ray Chang was 3-for-4 (all singles), and designated hitter Michael Hollimon contributed a double. Here's the link to the box score. NEW BRITAIN 4, TRENTON 9 Starter B.J. Hermsen had a rare rough start, and New Britain's 6 game winning streak was snapped. Hermsen lasted only 2 innings, and gave up 6 runs on 6 hits, walking 2 and striking out 1. Even after this outing, his AA ERA is a respectable 3.60. New Rock Cat Daniel Sattler picked up the slack, throwing 4 innings out of the bullpen, allowing 1 run on 3 hits, and walking 1. Daniel Turpen threw 2 innings, allowed only 1 hit, and struck out 2. Finally, Edgar Ibarra pitched the 9th inning, and gave up 2 runs on 2 hits, striking out 1. Hermsen, Sattler and Ibarra all surrendered a home run tonight. New Britain had 10 hits tonight, and most players got in on the action. Chris Colabello was 2-for-5 and hit his 13th home run. Chris Herrmann and Oswaldo Arcia were also 2-for-5, Deibinson Romero was 2-for-3, Aaron Hicks was 1-for-4, and Nathan Hanson had a double in 3 at-bats. Arcia also picked up his 7th RBI in his brief Rock Cats career. Here's the link to the box score. FT. MYERS 6, TAMPA 2 Pat Dean had a very solid start for the Miracle. In 6 innings of work, he gave up just 2 runs (1 earned) on 4 hits, striking out 2 and walking 2. Dean retired the last 9 batters he faced before being pulled. Following Dean's lead, Marty Popham tossed 2 scoreless innings, allowing just 1 hit and striking out 1, and Nelvin Fuentes threw a scoreless 9th, giving up 1 hit, striking out 1 and issuing 1 free pass. 8 of the 9 Miracle starters had at least 1 hit. Jairo Perez was 1-for-4 with a 2-run home run, his 5th of the season. Lance Ray hit his 8th homer, a solo shot. Daniel Ortiz was 2-for-4 with a double. Kyle Knudson continues to swing a hot bat, and was 2-for-3 with a double and 2 RBIs. Daniel Santana, Levi Michael, Daniel Rams and Anderson Hidalgo all contributed singles. There are lots of Daniels on this team. Here's the link to the box score. BELOIT 1, KANE COUNTY 3 David Hurlbut took a tough loss in this one. He threw 6 strong innings, giving up 2 runs (none earned) on 6 hits, striking out 6 and walking only 1. Hurlbut's ERA stands at 1.71. Cole Johnson pitched the remaining 2 innings, allowing 1 run on 2 hits, striking out 2 and walking 1. Tyler Grimes and Adam Bryant had the errors that proved costly. Beloit only had 6 hits all night. Left fielder Nate Roberts had a double in 3 at-bats and walked twice, Steven Liddle was 1-for-4 with a double and a walk, and Adam Pettersen, Drew Leachman, Jonathan Goncalves and Jairo Rodriguez each singled. The Snappers walked 7 times tonight, but couldn't convert. Miguel Sano had the night off, except for a pinch hit appearance, where he walked. Here's the link to the box score. ELIZABETHTON 5, BRISTOL 0 Angel Mata picked up his first win of the young season, throwing 5 scoreless innings. He allowed only 2 hits, and struck out 4 while walking only 1. Hein Robb was great out of the bullpen, tossing 3 scoreless innings. He allowed no hits and struck out 4. Finally, Mason Melotakis threw a scoreless 9th, striking out 2. In all, only 2 hits allowed, 10 strikeouts and 1 walk. E-Town compiled only 6 hits, but they also walked 6 times. Romy Jimenez was 2-for-4 with a home run and 3 RBIs. Candido Pimental, Niko Goodrum, Max Kepler and Jorge Polanco all contributed singles. Here's the link to the box score. ------------------------------------------ Players of the Day for Wednesday, June 27 Pitcher(s) of the Day: The E-Town Trio of Mata, Robb and Melotakis Hitter of the Day: Romy Jimenez (photo credit Thrylos from Tenth Inning Stretch -- thanks!) ---------------------------------------- Schedule for Thursday, June 28 Rochester @ Lehigh Valley --- RHP Steven Hirschfeld New Britain vs. Trenton --- LHP Blake Martin Ft. Myers @ Charlotte --- LHP Cole Nelson Beloit vs. Clinton --- ??? Elizabethton vs. Pulaski --- LHP Taylor Rogers GCL Twins vs. GCL Rays --- ??? ---------------------------------------- Please leave any questions or comments and either Seth or I will be happy to respond.