Matt Braun

I look at FIP first to get a good gauge of performance and then consider from there and Vizcaya's FIP was worse then everyone on my ballot. I'm not a fan of ERA for relievers because it can be incredibly volatile and Vizcaya's peripherals are more unsustainable than my choices. Not to say that he didn't have a great season, but I have to draw the line somewhere and he was just on the cusp.

For the sake of transparency, I'll explain my process somewhat. I mainly used wRC+ for ranking as it adjusts for the hitting environment and it is the best summation of how a hitter did. It wasn't purely by that as I looked over the names once ranking them and decided based on their specific case. Yes, Spencer Steer did not play much at Elizabethton, but I could not overlook the fact that he absolutely destroyed the pitching there and my thought process went that he would have continued to do so if not for the promotion. I ranked Wallner a bit low because I was turned off a bit by his high strikeout rate but I still had to give him a vote considering how well he did at basically everything else.

Only two games in the minor league system as both the Kernels and Blue Wahoos fight through their playoffs. Each day now looks to possibly be the end of the season and winning is the only thing that will stop that. How their games went and more in this edition of the minor league report.TRANSACTIONS C Kyle Schmidt activated from the 7 day IL at A Cedar Rapids LHP J.T. Perez activated from the 7 day IL at A Cedar Rapids RHP Matt Cantinero assigned to Elizabethton from A Cedar Rapids 1B Chris Williams assigned to A+ Fort Myers from A Cedar Rapids BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 10, Biloxi 5 Box Score Charlie Barnes: 1 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: Alex Kirilloff (4) Multi-hit games: Alex Kirilloff (2-for-4, HR, R, 2 RBI), Ryan Jeffers (2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI), Jose Miranda (2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI), Mark Contreras (3-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI) The Blue Wahoos won a feisty game against the Shuckers and pushed the series to a decisive game 5 tomorrow. The Blue Wahoos offense was popping all day and it got kicked off immediately with Alex Kirilloff’s fourth home run of the series. Did I mention that that’s four straight games with a homer for Kirilloff? The home runs didn’t end there as Ryan Jeffers blasted his first homer of the series and Mark Contreras got in on the action with his first homer of the series as well. In total, the Blue Wahoos knocked out 11 hits in the game with every player except for one in the starting lineup reaching base safely at least once. Ryan Costello left the game early when he was awkwardly tagged while diving back to 1st base. He walked back to the dugout holding his left arm and left the game early. Hopefully, he’ll be fine and back in the lineup tomorrow. On the pitching side of things, Charlie Barnes only went one inning and gave up four earned runs. He didn’t reach the 35-pitches-in-one-inning rule that the Twins have in their minor league system but Pensacola still played it on the safe side. Marcos Diplan and Tom Hackimer combined for four scoreless innings in relief of Barnes to help stabilize the game for Pensacola. Jovani Moran and Jonathan Cheshire then came in and combined for just a single earned run over their four combined innings. In total, that’s eight innings of just one-run ball from the Blue Wahoos’ bullpen to help win the game as the offense made quick work of almost every pitcher the Shuckers sent out there. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Clinton 4 Box Score Andrew Cabezas: 4 2/3 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 6 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Tyler Webb (2-for-3, 3B) The Kernels lost the first game of the playoff series against the Clinton LumberKings. Andrew Cabezas had a tough start with four earned runs given up over 4 2/3 innings pitched. Nate Hadley and Denny Bentley both pitched in relief for Cabezas and combined for no earned runs through the end of the game. In total, the Kernels’ pitchers struck out 11 batters over eight innings. The Kernels offense was held at bay for the entire game as they struck out 14 times in the game with just four hits. The only extra-base hit was a triple from Tyler Webb who also was the only Kernels hitter who had a multi-hit game. The Kernels will have to win two straight games in order to advance in the postseason and game two will be tomorrow. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Tom Hackimer (basically the entire Blue Wahoos bullpen) Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ryan Jeffers PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 1-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 2-for-4, HR, 2 R, 2 RBI, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Twins) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, R, BB, 2 K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-4, 2 K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - No game #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - No game #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Twins) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - 2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - 1-for-3 #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - No game #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) - No game #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - No game #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 0-for-3, RBI, BB, 2 K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pensacola @ Biloxi (5:05 P.M.) - TBD Clinton @ Cedar Rapids (5:05 P.M.) - LHP Kody Funderburk Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

WHAT A THROW! Still very high off the end of that game, I, your humble writer and guide, will attempt to put together a sufficient preview laced with as much snark as I am feeling at the moment. I know it has been said about every series so far, but this series actually will be the biggest one (so far) of the year as the Twins get a shot at the team chasing them in the standings. The band this week is The Black Keys who are from Akron, not Cleveland, but all of Ohio is the same to me so I don’t care.Brief Overview: The ride of the season has brought these two teams back to face off against each other in the penultimate regular season series between them. The Twins are riding high after climbing higher in their division lead while the Indians have scuffled recently. Ever since the Indians took over sole possession of the division for exactly one entire day, it has been rough sailing for them as they have gone 9-13 while losing a few key pieces to injury. What They Do Well: Hey, the Indians have great starting pitching, shocker, isn’t it? Despite Corey Kluber being out for most of the year, Carlos Carrasco being out after being diagnosed with leukemia (but he has since returned as a reliever, which is amazing to see), and Trevor Bauer being traded, the Indians have the fifth-best starting pitching in all of baseball by fWAR. The secret sauce’s ingredients has been the development of Shane Bieber and Mike Clevinger into aces along with impacts from Zach Plesac and Aaron Civale. Although, peripherals suggest some regression for both of the latter arms. Nevertheless, the Indians’ starting rotation remains a force that will certainly test the Twins’ offense. They not only can pitch, but the lumber in Cleveland is well brought as well. Ever since August (basically when they acquired Yasiel Puig and Franmil Reyes), they have been the ninth-best offense by wRC+ with a respectable 105 mark. I’m sure you want a frame of reference for that, so be aware that Doug Mientkiewicz held a wRC+ of 104 when he was with the Twins. The Indians have cleaned up one of the aspects of their game that was once a negative and the result has been a well-rounded team that can hold its own. What They Do Not Do Well: For months, I said that I didn’t think the Indians’ bullpen was that good and for months, I looked like a crazy man yelling conspiracies with a megaphone in downtown Seattle (it happens). BUT, since the start of August, the Indians have the 20th best bullpen by fWAR and their 4.86 FIP is the 13th worst in baseball over that time period. What happened? Well, the once reliable Brad Hand has a ghastly 7.15 ERA over that time period as his peripherals have also went down the toilet. Both Nick Wittgren and Tyler Clippard have great ERAs but they also both have peripherals that would make anyone blush (that is, in a bad way). Really, beyond them, there isn’t much in the form of a quality reliever that can be trusted for an inning no matter who the batters are, Tyler Duffey might be the best reliever on the Indians if he were there (thank goodness he isn’t). This is going to be a strange one, but they really don’t play well against good teams at all. Take this stat from Andrew Simon: Now, beating up on bad teams is pretty much the meta for the AL as a whole as there are many, many teams who would rather lose than win, but it is telling to see that they are bloated on the end of beating teams of poor caliber. The Indians are just 20-32 against teams at or above .500 which is the 19th best mark in baseball. The Twins are 28-32 under the same stipulation and the question for them is whether they can beat teams that are actually good, so the question remains even harsher on the Indians. Individuals Of Note: Mike Clevinger in 2019 so far has made the great decision to strike out more batters while walking a hair fewer, a pretty smart combo I must admit. The result has been an incredible 12.77 K/9 which would be the third-highest mark in MLB among qualified starters if he had the innings to qualify. On top of that (or more accurately, something that feeds into that), his average fastball velocity is up two ticks from 93.6 MPH to 95.8 MPH and his swinging strike % is in the stratosphere at a 15.5% rate. Basically, this is a long way of saying that he good, real good. Oh, and he is scheduled to start on Sunday. I previously mentioned the Puig and Reyes deal in which they dealt from a position of strength to help a part of the team that was very weak, but Puig and Reyes have been sufficiently meh since the deal. Since the start of August, Puig holds a below-average 92 wRC+ and Reyes is at 111. Reyes’ defense (or lack thereof) knocks his value down and both players have been worth just .1 fWAR over that time period which spans over 120 plate appearances for both players. Baseball is naturally a streaky sport, but it seems like the Indians didn’t get the boost they were hoping for from both guys when they acquired them. Recent History: The Twins and Indians last played at Target field in early August. The Indians won that 3-1 and the Indians hold the season series by a tally of 7-6. Recent Trajectories: The Twins are 11-5 over their last five series while the Indians are 7-9 over their last five series. Pitching Matchups: Friday: Pineda vs Plutko Saturday: Odorizzi vs Civale Sunday: TBD vs Clevinger Ending Thoughts: The magic number for the Twins is currently 16 and this series will be a great opportunity to knock that number down a few pegs as each win counts as two towards the magic number. The pitching match-ups fall pretty decently in the Twins’ favor as they get their ace against the Indians’ worst starter and they get their All-Star starter against a rookie as well. The Sunday game may be interesting but now is the chance to show the Indians why you are the top team in the division. I’m feeling a 2-1 series in favor of the Twins and my mojo may be slightly regained after correctly calling the previous series, so watch out if you are an aspiring fortune-teller out there. Click here to view the article

The key for WPA is timing, that was hit early on in the game when more could have happened later so the WPA bump is relatively minor even though it ended up being the only run scored.

Pro-tip: Don't have your laptop update itself 2 hours before you're supposed to write the minor league report because it'll take a decade to finish updating and make the whole thing more annoying than it should be.

Just two games in the system tonight as Pensacola prepares for their playoff push and the two Florida-based leagues were cancelled. Still, there was some action in the system and some potential theories regarding who will be called up to the majors with the expanded rosters. All that and more in this edition of the Minor League Report.TRANSACTIONS RHP D.J. Baxendale activated from the 7 day IL at AAA Rochester RHP Edwar Colina transferred to AA Pensacola RHP Adam Bray placed on the 7 day IL at AA Pensacola 1B Chris Williams assigned to A Cedar Rapids from A+ Fort Myers C Kyle Schmidt placed on the 7 day IL at A Cedar Rapids OF Ian Miller will reportedly be called up by the Twins RHP Brusdar Graterol will reportedly be called up by the Twins sometime in September RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 5, Syracuse 3 Box Score D.J. Baxendale: 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Ramón Flores (2-for-3, 2B, R, 2 RBI), Tomás Telis (4-for-5, 2B, R), Wilin Rosario (2-for-5, R), Alejandro De Aza (2-for-5, 2B, RBI), Ronald Torreyes (2-for-3, R), Mike Miller (2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI) The Red Wings ran a bullpen game against the Syracuse Mets who also ran a bullpen game. I’m sure every reliever got their steps in with all the pitching changes made in the game. Baxendale started the game and was able to go three innings for his first outing off the IL. Jake Reed picked up after him and was able to net seven outs with just one earned run. After Reed, potential call-ups Jorge Alcala and Fernando Romero combined for 11 outs and no earned runs to put the finishing touches on a well- pitched game. While the offense only scored five runs, there were many opportunities to expand that for the Red Wings as they had 16 hits total in the game. Telis was the big winner at the plate with his four hits but there were five other hitters with multi-hit games and every hitter except one had a hit. In total, the only thing that could stop the Red Wings from scoring was themselves as they had a runner on base in every inning except for the ninth. Naturally, there was no ninth because they were the home team and had the lead following the top of the ninth so the bottom of the ninth did not exist, a shame. BLUE WAHOO BITES No game MIRACLE MATTERS Season cancelled KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Beloit 1 Box Score Josh Winder: 4 ⅔ IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Matt Wallner (2-for-4, 3B, 2 R) In the only other game that was played in the Twins’ system, their affiliate won again. How’s that for a clean sweep? Josh Winder started the game and continued his excellent season with just one lone earned run given up. His ERA on the year now stands at an excellent 2.65 and he should get a fair amount of consideration for the Twins Daily minor league pitcher of the year. The offense was not loud for the Kernels but it got the job done. A DaShawn Kiersey ground out in the fourth plated their first run of the game and a passed ball in the sixth scored Matt Wallner following his triple earlier in the inning. The lone run scoring base hit came from a seventh inning Spencer Steer single which gave the Kernels an insurance run that was not needed. Not to be out-shined by Winder’s start, Dylan Thomas and Jose Martinez worked in relief and nailed down the game with 4 1/3 scoreless innings combined. As a whole, Winder, Thomas, and Martinez combined for just one earned run and 13 strikeouts on the night. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Josh Winder Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tomás Telis PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - No game #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - No Game #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Rochester) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - No game #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-4, K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Cancelled season #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Cancelled season #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - No game #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Cancelled season #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - No game #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - 0-for-1, K #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 2-for-4, 3B, 2 R, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - No game #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Rochester) - 1 ⅔ IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - Season over #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - No game SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Syracuse @ Rochester (5:05 P.M.) - TBD Pensacola @ Montgomery (5:05 P.M.) - LHP Charlie Barnes Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (2:00 P.M.) - LHP Kody Funderburk Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

Well, here I am again holding the honorable job of writing about the next series and what team do I get to write about? None other than the Detroit Tigers … again. Look, I get that writing repeats will happen, but what kind of terrible draw is it where I have to write about this bad team twice in a row? My only consolation is listening to Jack White while writing which does make me feel a bit better actually because the distortion can almost make up for the horribleness of the team.Brief Overview: Last week I wrote that Detroit was a poor team and they were so offended by that statement that they decided to take the first game of that series and then subsequently lose every other game heading into this series. A perfect 0-5 sums up their season quite well as they have already been eliminated from playoff contention, have hit 92 losses, have had their awfulness quantified in a historical context, and their manager, Ron Gardenhire, has already said that he understands if the Tigers choose not to retain him next year. Again, it’s August and the Tigers’ grave has already been dug and the funeral procession has apparently already come and gone, this is now just the after-party. What They Do Well: No other business can say that they have single-handedly kept the flight from Toledo to Detroit alive and flourishing quite like Detroit can. A mean-spirited joke yes, but the Tigers have had 52 different players play for them at this year and all I can think about is the executives at Delta swimming in money. Although that was probably going to happen regardless of Detroit’s 40-man situation. Beyond my snark, Detroit still has an average starting rotation by fWAR as they rank 15th in baseball in that stat. Again, it’s mainly Matt Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, and Daniel Norris carrying them in that stat, but for a team with this record, even mediocrity can feel like a miracle. Beyond them, it's a drop-off into the abyss (sans Jordan Zimmermann's actually decent peripherals) but the Tigers should have a fighting chance to win a game with any of those guys pitching. What They Do Not Do Well: This could literally end up being a masters thesis if I were so inclined but I’ll try to cut to the chase here. The Tigers were able to BABIP themselves into a decent offensive showing against the Twins last weekend, but the mirage did not last long and the numbers for the year as a whole remain ugly. A league-low 77 wRC+ paired with a bottom three ISO of .149 reflects an offense without many threats. The ISO especially is indicative of the kind of offense the Tigers possess as in a day and age of power, the Tigers’ need for extra-base potential is greater than the Indians’ thirst for actually having people come to their games. Can I quantify that? Yes, actually. The Tigers’ leader in ISO (Ronny Rodriguez) holds a mark of .222 while the Twins as a team hold a mark of .230. Can they at least pitch? Well, not really. The Tigers have the third highest team ERA in baseball and it hasn’t gotten better recently. In the month of August, the Tigers’ pitching staff has a lower fWAR total than Trevor Hildenberger has earned in 2019 (.3 to .4). Hildenberger has thrown 14 innings in the majors this year, you do not really need me to tell you that that isn’t ideal, but finding fun ways to slant stats is half of the point of these articles so allow me to continue. Individuals Of Note: Unfortunately, I mentioned Niko Goodrum here last week because he was having a solid year, but he then suffered an injury and will most likely not return this year, sorry for that one, Niko. After Niko, the next best position player by fWAR is Victor Reyes whom the Tigers picked up in the Rule 5 draft last year and somewhat stashed in their savings account in order to get full team control over him. Reyes has responded by BABIP-ing his way to .4 fWAR season over 41 games. Most of his value has been earned through his great defensive metrics as his 85 wRC+ is incredibly whelming, and that’s even with a massive .359 BABIP. Beyond that, this is a vast wasteland of lost hope as no other position player really deserves notoriety in this sprawling array of sadness. The Tigers’ position player fWAR leaders list would be the perfect place to hide secret government codes or laundered money. Maybe “Mikie Mahtook” is actually code for one of those things, maybe I’ll get back to that later. Let’s talk about Daniel Norris, because why not. Norris was part of the return when the Tigers dealt David Price to the Blue Jays, which is a very old-fashioned statement, but a true one nonetheless. Norris struggles with staying healthy and has gone through the general wringer that most young starters are subject to as they adjust to major league hitters. This year has been a step in the right direction for him as he has already set a new high for MLB innings in a year with 126 1/3 and he may hit the 2.0 fWAR mark if the last month of the season goes well for him. He’s no longer a young gun at 26 but there is still a good chance that he turns into a quality big league pitcher. Recent History: The Twins and Tigers have played a handful of times this year and the Twins are 8-4. The most recent series was won by the Twins as they took two games and the Twins also took two games the last time they were in Comerica (which was in early June). Recent Trajectories: The Twins are 11-4 over their last five series while the Tigers are 4-10 over their last five series. Pitching Matchups: Friday: Gibson vs Jackson Saturday: Pérez vs Boyd Sunday: Pineda vs Turnbull Monday: Odorizzi vs Zimmermann Ending Thoughts: This is one of those weird series where they play four straight games against each other but it’s technically a three game series with the fourth game being a makeup game from an earlier rain out. Anyway, the Twins are coming into the series hot while the Tigers are literally the farthest from hot as a team can be. Taking three games will be the absolute minimum expected from the Twins and taking four should not be out of reach at all. Granted, I am now on a three-series losing streak, but I will call that the Twins will take three games exactly, so who knows what actually will end up happening here. Click here to view the article

As we continue through the “cupcake” part of the schedule, it’s good to re-evaluate the status of the team after each series as it feels like their play recently has had the same peaks and valleys of a heartbeat monitor. They gave the Rangers the business before losing another home series, this time to a weak White Sox team. But I maintain that their play in both series was awfully similar and lady luck in game 1 of the White Sox series is the only thing standing between a series win and the series loss they suffered. Nonetheless, they move on to facing the Tigers at home and I have my choice of a number of Motown artists, Jack White, and Eminem, a solid list you have there, Detroit.Brief Overview: Let’s not mince words here, Detroit is a poor team who has somehow even played below the level of the lowly Orioles this year. Their talent is few and far between and even harder to spot after Nick Castellanos and Shane Greene were dealt at the deadline. They currently have no qualified hitters with a wRC+ over 100 and just a small handful of pitchers who would be considered useful on any good team. I’m being harsh here but it really is hard to compliment a team that is 38-87 on the year and has already been eliminated from AL Central contention. What They Do Well: Oh lord, well, I’ll really be stretching what it means to “do well” in something, and liberties will have to be taken given the context of their baseball-reference page. The Tigers do actually have some solid starting pitching as they rank 13th in baseball by fWAR for starters. Most of this is carried by the efforts of Matt Boyd, Spencer Turnbull, and Daniel Norris who have all been able to soak innings with peripherals that range from “good” to “passable” which is truly something to note for a team in this situation. Usually I have more here but honest to God I cannot find anything worth writing about. What They Do Not Do Well: OOOH BABY, how much time do I have? Well, let’s start with the offense that’s about as offensive as Mister Rogers. They have the worst team wRC+ in baseball with a 76 mark which is just one point ahead of Nick Punto’s Twins wRC+. It gets even worse when looking at just the last seven days in which they’ve held a mark of 50 and have struck out an incredible 36.6% of the time. I mentioned before that they currently have no qualified hitters with a mark that is at or above average (100) and the only player above that line is Travis Demeritte and his 109 mark in just 77 plate appearances. “Does it get worse?” My sweet summer child, it always can. Their bullpen FIP is the third highest in baseball at 5.11. You want a comparison for that? Addison Reed had a FIP of 5.11 with the Twins... that’s the most horrific statement I’ve probably ever written. After trading Greene, they’re left with just a single reliever with a FIP under 4.00 who has thrown more than 10 innings. You want to guess who it is? Surprisingly, it isn’t Joe Jiménez but actually the wonderfully named Buck Farmer. But after him, there's a bunch of sketch and not a lot of experience. Individuals Of Note: Matt Boyd has been a good starting pitcher this year with peripherals that suggests an even better pitcher is deep down within him, but the home run problem that has nagged him for months now remains one of the biggest reasons why there is such a difference between his ERA and xFIP. Only 5 qualified starters in the AL have a higher HR/FB % than Boyd’s 17.6% mark. A guy with a homer problem going up against the 2019 Twins? What could go wrong. Although, Boyd was placed on the paternity list recently so his status for this series is up in the air. One of the other starters I mentioned was Spencer Turnbull who can pitch as well as someone named “Spencer Turnbull” should be able to. His FIP of 4.18 is solid but his real talent is the Rick Anderson special-the ground ball, and his GB% of 48.8% would be the seventh highest among qualified AL starters if he were qualified. Ex-Twins’ farmhand (and major leaguer for all of like 5 minutes), Niko Goodrum, is having the only real noteworthy season from a Tigers’ position player as he’s the only one still with the team who is above .3 fWAR (he’s at 1.9) and he also looks to be the only position player on the Tigers to eclipse the 2.0 mark set for “average” major leaguers. Goodrum is currently BABIP-ing his way to a solid year as a multi-positional-weapon as he has logged innings at every position except for catcher and as this article is being written he sits with a respectable wRC+ of 94. As snarkily mentioned before, his BABIP on the year is an above average .341 so he may be due for some regression but even if he is, he remains one of the few bright spots on the Tigers. Recent History: The Twins and Tigers have played a few times this year and the Twins are 6-3 against them but the last series against them came all the way back in the second week of June which might as well be an eternity ago. Recent Trajectories: The Twins are 8-8 over their last 5 series while the Tigers are 6-11 over their last 5 series. Pitching Match-ups: Friday: Berríos vs VerHagen Saturday: Gibson vs Jackson (holy crap it’s Edwin Jackson) Sunday: Pérez vs Boyd (The Tigers rotation is in limbo so this may change) Ending Thoughts: The Tigers are bad, like, really bad. Potentially some weird “baseball-like” thing will occur like it did the other day when they were able to beat Justin Verlander and the Astros at Houston, but there should really be no reason or excuse that the Twins can’t take the series or sweep. In my eyes, a series win is the very least they can do and a sweep should be expected given the difference between the two teams, but I would still lead with some caution given how tricky baseball can be sometimes. Anyway, I will call a sweep despite the fact that I am now on a two-series wrong streak. Hopefully I’ll get back on track. Click here to view the article

Pretty amazing that I get to advertise my Twitter on this and they just allow me to do it

Alcala, I was wrong at first

Hey, look at that, a bad pun, love it. Anyways, there was a number of great performances from a number of bullpens, a great start from a typical starter, and a number of rehabbing MLB players. All that and more in this edition of the minor league report.TRANSACTIONS OF Lamonte Wade Jr. sent to A Cedar Rapids on a rehab assignment RHP Yancarlos Baez assigned to Elizabethton from extended spring training RHP Brusdar Graterol will reportedly be promoted to AAA Rochester along with RHP Jorge Alcala RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 1, Louisville 2 (10 innings) Box Score Adam Bray: 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 7 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Ian Miller (2-for-4), Tomás Telis (2-for-4) The Red Wings made everything perfectly balanced as they won a 10 inning game last Saturday and then lost a 10-inning game this Saturday. The Red Wings ran a bullpen game to much success as Adam Bray, Jeremy Bleich, Preston Guilmet, and Fernando Romero combined for nine and a third innings pitched with just two earned runs. Bray was effective to start as he struck out seven over four innings and Guilmet was the other pitcher who allowed no runs as he threw three shutout innings. Fernando Romero had an interesting outing as the lead-off batter bunted the starting runner to third (remember the extra innings rule in the minors) and after an intentional walk, an infield single ended up winning the game. The Red Wings offense was scattered and the only time a run was scored was when Zander Wiel tripled home Brandon Barnes after Barnes hit a double. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 5, Chattanooga 1 Box Score Alex Phillips: 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: Alex Kirilloff (9) Multi-hit games: Willians Astudillo (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI), Alex Kirilloff (3-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI), Travis Blankenhorn (2-for-4, 2B) The Blue Wahoos flirted with a no-hitter during a very successful bullpen game. Alex Phillips, Brusdar Graterol, Jorge Alcala, Andrew Vasquez, and Tom Hackimer combined to give up just one measly single (an infield single in the 9th) en route to their attempt at pitching a no-hitter. The end result was still just one earned run, one hit, three walks, and 10 strikeouts, a pretty good performance all around. Willians Astudillo had a pair of hits and a pair of RBIs thanks to a 3rd inning double. He ended up catching seven innings before being replaced behind the plate by Taylor Grzelakowski. Not to be outdone by the rehabbing major leaguer, Alex Kirilloff had a three RBI game thanks in part to a two run blast in the 5th inning. He is well on his way to getting back to doing Alex Kirilloff things as he had a 149 wRC+ over the week coming into Saturday’s game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Jupiter 1 Box Score Chris Vallimont: 7 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Jacob Pearson (2-for-4), Ernie De La Trinidad (2-for-4, 2B) Chris Vallimont had his second straight seven inning performance and the best start of his in the Twins’ system. His nine strikeouts is tied for his third highest amount in a game this year and he has now given up just five hits over his last 14 innings combined. Melvi Acosta relieved Vallimont and would eventually end the game with no earned runs given up but one unearned run so not shutout would be had for the Miracle on Saturday. There’s more to the game than pitching, however, and the Miracle received all their scoring in the 8th inning thanks to a bases-clearing double off the bat of Andrew Bechtold. Gabriel Maciel was hit by a pitch in the 3rd inning and eventually left the game, hopefully the move was more preemptive than anything and Maciel is fine. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 4 Box Score Tyler Palm: 6 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K HR: Spencer Steer (2) Multi-hit games: Spencer Steer (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI) It had seemed like a game that was going to go well for the Kernels as Spencer Steer blasted a home run to lead-off the game for the Kernels but that was all the offense they would get as there would only be three more hits in the game for the Kernels and Steer was the only player with multiple hits. Tyler Palm fought through six innings but was ruined by a 5th inning three-run home run that stained the ledger and put the Kernels in a deficit that they would not overcome. Rickey Ramirez relieved Palm and tossed a pair of scoreless innings to lower his Kernels ERA to an incredible 0.90. Lamonte Wade Jr. played in his first rehab game and went 0-for-3 with a strikeout as he played seven innings. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 2, Danville 3 Box Score Tyler Benninghoff: 0 IP (left with injury) HR: None Multi-hit games: Kidany Salva (2-for-4, 2B) Tyler Benninghoff had the first pitch of the game hit back at him off his hand and left the game. Hopefully everything is alright for him. Frandy Torres took over and was outstanding for pitching on a moment’s notice as he fired off four scoreless innings to keep the Twins’ heads up despite having their starter leave the game early. The Elizabethton offense left many ducks on the pond as they went just 1-for-14 w/RISP and had a team LOB of 12. The two runs scored were not enough and the chances the Twins had with runners on proved to be their downfall. In total, Elizabethton’s pitching was impressive as Torres, Denny Bentley, and Benjamin Dum combined for just two earned runs allowed over nine and a third innings pitched. Seems like a number of teams in the Twins’ system received fine performances as they attempted to piece the game together with their bullpen. GCL Twins Takes Game one: GCL Twins 5, GCL Red Sox 6 (7 innings) Box Score Stephen Gonsalves: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K HR: Jesus Feliz (4), Francisco Martinez (4) Multi-hit games: Wander Valdez (3-for-3, 2 2B, R) Stephen Gonsalves made another rehab start for the GCL Twins. In this start he allowed a homer and a double but also got five of his six outs on strikeouts, a solid sign for the lefty. Trevor Hildenberger relieved Gonsalves and he also went two innings with a pair of strikeouts and only one hit allowed. Strangely enough, only one out came on a ground ball, an unusual feat for Hildenberger. The GCL Twins’ offense was firing early as Jesus Feliz hit a three-run home run in the 1st inning and Francisco Martinez hit a two-run home run in the 4th which gave the GCL Twins a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Twins, the lead would not last as some sloppy play allowed a handful of runs to score and the GCL Red Sox would eventually walk them off in the 7th. It started with a throwing error by catcher Jeferson Morales in the 5th on a steal that allowed a run to score to make it 5-2. Then in the 6th, a balk by Donny Breek scored another run before a bases-loaded walk made it a 5-4 game. Jose Guevara took over for the 7th and with two outs he allowed the game-tying single before a passed ball from Jeferson Morales allowed the winning run to score. Game two: GCL Twins 7, GCL Red Sox 4 (7 innings) Box Score Anthony Escobar: 2 ⅓ IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: Francisco Martinez (5) Multi-hit games: Jeferson Morales (2-for-2, 2B, 2 R, RBI), Jake Hirabayashi (2-for-3, 2 RBI) The GCL Twins again got out to a quick offensive start thanks to a two RBI single from Jake Hirabayashi in the 1st that was followed by a wild pitch which scored another run in the inning. Much like the game before, the scoring did not stop there for the GCL Twins as a Jeferson Morales double in the next inning scored another run and Francisco Martinez’s second homer of the day plated two more runs to give them seven runs total in the game. The big difference was that the pitching held firm as just two pitchers gave up runs and even though runs were given up in the 7th again, the lead was much bigger this time around so it didn’t matter. Steeve Theetge pitched two and a third shutout innings to earn the win and Niall Windeler punched out the side in his lone inning of work. Evan Gillespie was the culprit in giving up the runs in the 7th but it didn’t matter as the runs came with two outs and Gillespie was able to get the final out to win it. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Chris Vallimont Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Alex Kirilloff PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, R, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 3-for-4, HR, R, 3 RBI #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 0-for-4, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-for-3, 3 K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Did not play #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Twins) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured list #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - Did not play #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - Did not play #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Did not play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - 1 ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 2-for-4 #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 2-for-4, 2B, K SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Louisville (1:00 P.M.) - RHP Randy Dobnak Pensacola @ Mississippi (5:05 P.M.) - TBD Fort Myers @ Jupiter (12:00 P.M.) - TBD Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (5:15 P.M.) - RHP Andrew Cabezas Elizabethton @ Princeton (4:00 P.M.) - RHP Ben Gross Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article

Well his HR/FB rate is at 23.2% which is also pretty high, doubt that continues

Bordering on stalking now, Coop

Look at them soiling all my hard work like this, smh

It's been an interesting week since I last wrote one of these, as the Twins lost the division lead, got it back, and then shot themselves in the foot in trying to extend their lead. And that was just in the last three days! The good news is that the Twins will not have to play a team that is currently over .500 until September, but the bad news remains that they haven’t played incredibly inspiring ball in awhile. The more good news for me is that Texas is rich in their music history and the Willie Nelson reference was too easy not to make. Throw in some Stevie Ray Vaughan and everything feels alright.Brief Overview: Texas remains a strange team this year as they didn’t appear to be any threat in the grand scheme of the AL, yet heading into the All-Star break they had plans for both buying and selling as they sat in striking distance of a wild card spot. They have fallen off the table since the break in winning just 12 games since while dropping 18, putting them at 60-60 headed into the series. What They Do Well: The Rangers are still very dead-set on swiping bags as they rank second in all of baseball in steals with 89. More impressive potentially is that they have 10 (technically nine since Asdrubal Cabrera has been released) players with multiple steals. The Twins have three for reference. So expect the base paths to be busy during this series, hope Jason Castro and Mitch Garver are prepared and ready for unleashing throws whenever. This also will put some more pressure on the suddenly walk-heavy Twins starting rotation as that free pass could turn into a guy on second base quicker than anyone would probably like. Their starting pitching remains good, kind of, let me explain. Usually I would keep this under “Individuals of Note” but I have some special names for that so I’ll put it here. Anyways, the Rangers have gotten 10.1 fWAR out of their starting pitching and 9.2 of that has come from just Lance Lynn and Mike Minor. Just those two would be the 12th best starting rotation in baseball by fWAR, which is really fun but also a bastardization of how fWAR works so don’t be reckless like that. For context, Lynn is 2nd among all starters in baseball in fWAR and Minor is 15th. The point here is that they have a great 1-2 punch of arms here and the Twins will see both starters in the series so expect some tough fights in those games. What They Do Not Do Well: Since the All-Star break, the Rangers bats have fallen colder than Hoth, as their 79 team wRC+ is the second-lowest in baseball over that stretch. Do you know what Ben Revere’s Twins wRC+ was? 77, he’d fit right in. One of the big issues has been their 25.8% strikeout rate which is the third highest in baseball over that stretch, meaning that the Twins have a chance to pump up their strikeout numbers during the series. The post-break woes don’t end there for the Rangers, however, as their team bullpen ERA of 5.49 is the 6th highest in baseball. This is partly thanks to a frightening 4.12 BB/9 that is the 8th worst in baseball over the stretch but should allow for some late rallies from the Twins lineup when their pen gets involved in the game. Matt Magill walked batters at a 4.02 clip during his time with the Twins so imagine an entire pen like that and try not to shudder. Individuals Of Note: Let’s talk about Emmanuel Clase. Who’s that? Well let me introduce you to a 21-year-old who can throw a 100 MPH CUTTER! What in tarnation is this wizardry? Let’s see some more: You have to feel for whatever poor Twins hitter steps up to the plate against this, but, boy is that something to watch. He hasn’t been in the Ranger’s bullpen for long but he most certainly has the pure stuff to stick. You know, baseball is a funny sport. There are players out there who you swear fell off the face of the earth and were more likely to be working in a shipping yard in Argentina than back up at the major league level. Yet here is the one and only Danny Santana back and thriving in 2019 with the Rangers. He’s gathered 2.0 fWAR in just over half a season’s worth of playing time and his 126 wRC+ is almost as high as his 2014 total with the Twins. Is his 4.0% BB rate and .386 BABIP sustainable? Probably not, we saw him do the exact same thing in 2014 when his BABIP was sky-high and it was just as unsustainable then as it is now, but it is still weird to see him back in the majors like this. Willie Calhoun has spent time as the designated “frequent flyer” for the Rangers as he has taken many trips from AAA to the majors and back this year as he attempts to shed the AAAA label. This year has been somewhat kind to the ex-top prospect as his 117 wRC+ is respectable and he owns enough talent to put it together and be a solid contributing member to the Rangers. Joey Gallo would most certainly be here also, but he’s currently on the IL with a fractured hamate bone and will be out until at least early September. Recent History: The Twins played the Rangers right before the All-Star break in a three-game series at Target Field. The Twins took two of three with the lone loss being an extra innings heart breaker. Recent Trajectories: The Twins are 8-7 over their last five series while the Rangers are 7-7 over their last five series. Pitching Match-ups: Thursday: Smeltzer vs Payano Friday: Odorizzi vs Minor Saturday: Berríos vs Jurado Sunday: Pérez vs Lynn (This assumes that Michael Pineda is not activated and/or there is no other rotation shenanigans.) Ending Thoughts: The Rangers, by most numbers, have been an impressively mediocre team and they have been very poor ever since the All-Star break. An easier team to beat than the Indians and most likely an easier team than the Brewers but the pressure is still on the Twins to get good starts out the rotation, play solid defense, add on runs with their offense, and have relievers come up clutch when needed. All four things have been scarcely seen from the team in awhile and improvement in any of those areas will be key for the team going forward. Now, I have to acknowledge the elephant in the room which is the fact that I am no longer perfect in my series predictions. After going 7-for-7, I choked the Cleveland series and am just 7-for-8. I’m calling for a split series but my word means nothing now that I am no longer perfect, shame. Click here to view the article

Sometime I’ll get back to my groove of making terrible puns in the title based off player’s names but today is not that day. Anyways, there was a perfect day at the plate, a walk-off walk, two notable rehab assignments, and a lot of offense in the minors, all that and more in this edition of the minor league report.TRANSACTIONS LHP Ian Krol placed on the Restricted List at AAA Rochester LHP Ryan O’ Rourke signed and assigned to AAA Rochester CF Ian Miller acquired from the Mariners and assigned to AAA Rochester RHP Trevor Hildenberger sent to GCL Twins on a rehab assignment LHP Stephen Gonsalves sent to GCL Twins on a rehab assignment 3B Jake Hirabayashi assigned to GCL Twins CF DaShawn Kiersey activated from the IL at A Cedar Rapids SS Ricky De La Torre assigned to Elizabethton from A Cedar Rapids RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Louisville 5 (10 innings) Box Score Charlie Barnes: 4 ⅓ IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 5 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Wilin Rosario (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R), Alejandro De Aza (2-for-4, 3B, 5 RBI) The Red Wings won a wild extra-innings affair this Saturday. Charlie Barnes made his AAA debut and had a rough go of it as he gave up four runs while striking out as many as he walked. Hopefully it gets better for Barnes as he continues to pitch at AAA. Ryan O’ Rourke made his Rochester debut and his first game back for the Twins organization since October 2nd 2016. It was an interesting outing as he got out of a bases loaded situation with one out in the 9th and then stranded two more runners in the 10th. He walked three and struck out one. Alejandro De Aza was the backbone of the offense as he had a two run single in the 1st, a two run triple in the 6th, and the bases-loaded walk to walk it off in the 10th, giving him an impressive five RBIs on the night and a terrible “walk-off” joke that I refuse to make. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 8, Mobile 5 Box Score Gabriel Moya: 2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Royce Lewis (2-for-5, 2 2B, R, RBI), Jimmy Kerrigan (2-for-4, 2 R), Mark Contreras (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI) The Blue Wahoos ran a bullpen game this Saturday to the win. In total, five Blue Wahoos pitchers combined to strike out fifteen batters without giving up a walk, an impressive feat. After the 4th inning, they only gave up three hits in total while striking out seven. Royce Lewis had a double double as the Blue Wahoos continue to experiment with Alex Kirilloff hitting leadoff with Lewis 2nd instead of the other way around when Lewis was first promoted. Kirilloff also had the impressive no hits yet two RBIs performance, whatever works my man. This was partly because the bottom of the order did a good job setting the table as Ryan Costello, Jimmy Kerrigan, and Mark Contreras all had two runs scored despite being the 6-7-8 hitters respectively. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 9, Jupiter 2 Box Score Blayne Enlow: 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K HR: Jose Miranda 2 (8), Trey Cabbage (7) Multi-hit games: Gabriel Maciel (2-for-5, 2B, R), Jose Miranda (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 R, 4 RBI), Trey Cabbage (2-for-4, HR, R, RBI), Andrew Bechtold (2-for-4, 2B, 2 R), Ernie De La Trinidad (2-for-4, 3B, R, 2 RBI), David Banuelos (2-for-4, 2 RBI) The Miracle cared not for this writer having to put in who all had a multi-hit effort as they hit all over the place this Saturday. Jose Miranda was the leader of the charge as he blasted two home runs for the first multi-homer game of his professional career. Trey Cabbage didn’t want him to feel left out so he also hit a home run so Miranda didn’t feel bad. Blayne Enlow had a good start as he allowed just one earned run over his six innings of work, showing that offense isn’t the only reason to come and watch the game! David Banuelos had a multi-hit game but proved that the base paths matter too as he stole his first base of the year but was also picked off, what goes around can come around I suppose. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Beloit 4 Box Score Tyler Palm: 6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Gilberto Celestino (5-for-5, 2B, R), Daniel Ozoria (2-for-4) It was quite the exciting win for Cedar Rapids. Gilberto Celestino continued to flat-out rake as he was a perfect 5-for-5 and became the first Kernel to have a five hit game since Jermaine Palacios in 2017. Tyler Palm allowed just one earned run over his six innings of work as he attempted to make choosing between him and Enlow for pitcher of the day a difficult decision. The Kernels were down by a run headed into the bottom of the 7th but a wild pitch, a Yunior Severino single, and an Albee Weiss single plated five and gave the Kernels the lead. Brian Rapp pitched the last three innings to end the game after Palm went six and despite giving up a pair of runs, the lead stayed and Rapp was credited with the win. E-Town E-Notes Elizabethton 13, Johnson City 7 Box Score Tyler Benninghoff: 4 ⅓ IP, 4 H, 4 ER, 6 BB, 4 K HR: Parker Phillips (3), Matt Wallner (5) Multi-hit games: Willie Joe Garry Jr. (2-for-5, R, 2 RBI), Matt Wallner (2-for-5, HR, 3 R, RBI), Parker Phillips (2-for-3, HR, 4 R, 2 RBI), Seth Gray (3-for-3, 2 2B, R), Trevor Jensen (2-for-5, R, RBI) The offense headed by a few 2019 draft picks took hold for Elizabethton as they put up an organizational-high thirteen runs (for the day that is). The end total was thirteen hits along with seven walks that allowed seven different batters to collect an RBI. It’s also pretty rare to see someone score three times and not lead the team that game as Matt Wallner was outscored by Parker Phillips who touched home plate on four different occasions. In a game like this, there isn’t much on the pitching side of things but one of my favorites in Ryan Shreve pitched in relief and he picked up five strikeouts in his outing. Coming into the game, the 2019 draft pick had a 12.44 K/9, so he is no stranger to punching tickets. GCL Twins Takes Game one: GCL Twins 0, GCL Red Sox 2 (7 innings) Box Score Stephen Gonsalves: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K HR: None Multi-hit games: Alec Craig (2-for-4) Would you look at that! Stephen Gonsalves pitched started his rehab assignment and pitched for the first time in a few months. He gave up a homer but just the fact that he’s back to throwing in a professional game is a good reason to be excited. And it didn’t end there for rehabbing pitchers as Trevor Hildenberger relieved Gonsalves and threw a scoreless inning. It really is great to see both pitchers back on the mound after being out for awhile. Unfortunately, the feel-goodness pretty much ends there as the GCL Twins were unable to put much together offensively and were shutout in the loss. They collected just four hits and all of them were singles. Game two: GCL Twins 11, GCL Red Sox 5 (7 innings) Box Score Steve Theetge: ⅔ IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K HR: Francisco Martinez (3) Multi-hit games: Jeferson Morales (3-for-5, 3B, R, RBI), Victor Heredia (3-for-4, 3 RBI), Jesus Feliz (2-for-5, R), Francisco Martinez (2-for-4, HR, 2 R, RBI), Bryson Gandy (2-for-3, 2B, 2 R, RBI) Well it seems like the offense was feeling much better in this game as game two of the doubleheader saw eleven runs scored over just seven innings of play. This came with fourteen hits and as many extra-base hits as the previous game had hits for the GCL Twins (4). Steve Theetge started the game and was removed for Anthony Escobar after getting two outs. Escobar got thirteen outs in relief while only giving up a single run and striking out three. Somewhat notable is that Keoni Cavaco was absent from the lineup in both games but this isn’t uncommon as he could either just be resting or focusing on other aspects of professional baseball on Saturday (i.e. workouts). TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Blayne Enlow Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Gilberto Celestino and Jose Miranda (I couldn’t pick) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 2-for-5, 2 2B, RBI, K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 0-for-4, 2 RBI #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, R, BB, K #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-for-5, 2 K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Did not play #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured list #9 - Jhoan Duran (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did not pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Did not play #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - 1-for-4, BB, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Twins) - Did not play #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 2-for-5, HR, 3 R, RBI, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - Did not play #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Out for year with Tommy John surgery #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did not pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 0-for-4 #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 0-for-5 SUNDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Louisville @ Rochester (12:05 P.M.) - RHP Sean Poppen Pensacola @ Mobile (2:05 P.M.) - TBD Jupiter @ Fort Myers (10:00 A.M.) - LHP Lachlan Wells Beloit @ Cedar Rapids (2:05 P.M.) - RHP Andrew Cabezas Pulaski @ Elizabethton (4:00 P.M.) - RHP Ben Gross Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Saturday’s games. Click here to view the article