Seth Stohs

Not believing in the value of pitcher wins isn't taking away anything from anyone in the past. It's actually making their case stronger. Bert Blyleven finally got in the Hall of Fame because people realized he was so much better than his Win total said. How many 1-0, 2-1, 2-0 losses did he have? Also, pitcher wins probably did mean more for starters in the past because they did pitch until the game was pretty much decided. The best ones went 7-8-9 innings. There are still a few guys that do that, but it's less and less. Team wins are most important. Who gets that W isn't as important.

That has been the strategy. They probably started winning during the Falvey years early, so they had to bring in free agents because they hadn't had time to build the pipeline. That takes 5 years, at least, when the cupboard was nearly empty. Like I wrote, Dobnak is the lone real success story to this point. Another point from the article is that Bieber, Civale, Kluber, Plesac weren't drafted in the first 2 rounds... Sure, they had Bauer, but they were opportunistic in getting him for very little just because Kirk Gibson was tired of Bauer already.

Absolutely true... And also they have had some guys that didn't make it. Or haven't made it yet. They have had guys who didn't make it and succeed. Maybe they didn't have the talent, but even then, the team probably deserves credit for getting a guy there when he probably never should have. When the Twins were winning pennants in the past decade, they would bring up one or two guys each year. Liriano one year. Garza the next. Valencia. You want to get to the point where you aren't bringing up six guys a year.

2021: Duran, Ober, Balazovic 2022: Jax, Barnes, Winder, Canterino, Sands 2023: Enlow, Funderburk, Grace While they will always need pitchers, obviously at some point, it just becomes about opportunity... Obviously it's imppssible to know what will happen... but the process is there.

As of today, I would rank them: Duran, Balazovic, Canterino, Winder, Enlow, Sands... But, part of the point of the article is that it is impossible to know. Cleveland's guys came out of nowhere (not literally, but they weren't top prospects). So, we are all wondering which ones have the talent to not only make it to MLB but to stick there and succeed.

I would sure hope so.

For the record, I too believe that pitcher Wins are a useless stat.

Sean Aronson, the voice of the Saints (and their PR/media director) has talked on their broadcast about the radar readings. They have Trackman information in the press box as well, so they can compare the actual mph (per Trackman) to the number shown using the stadium radar gun. Last night, Aronson noted that after talking to the Saints manager and pitching personnel, their radar gun appears to be pretty accurate until it reaches into the upper 90s. At that point, it appears to be 2-3 mph fast. So, 102 on their gun likely translates to 99-100. 103 translates to 100-101. As for Ober, he was (understandably) amped up... I think he showed he can hit 92-93, but he may just be one of those pitchers who is better at 89-90. May get more spin, or more movement. That's all part of the development too if figuring that out.

I think patience is important. Bieber took two years. Civale and Plesac took three years... But those were two or three "normal" years. Current minor leaguers lost a year of their development and routine, so we should expect that it'll take three or four years, even for college pitchers the Twins have drafted, to get to the big leagues... (and that isn't factoring in that there is that 'normal' MLB to AAA and back and forth). It certainly isn't something that we should have expected at this point, but it is something we should start expecting to see...

While that sounds good in theory, the reality is those teams need arms to get through the innings too. While Albers may not pitch for the Twins again, he can help protect the prospects.

Based on the video, it definitely appears that Wallner hurt his wrist on a swing... Hopefully it's nothing too serious!

Derek Falvey is often given at least some credit for the pipeline of starting pitchers that Cleveland has had over the past decade. Twins fans are starting to ask, “When will the Twins have that kind of pitching pipeline?” For years Twins fans have watched the Cleveland Baseball Club bring up pitcher after pitcher who finds success. In recent years, they have traded pitchers such as Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer and Mike Clevinger and still have a top ten pitching staff in 2021. It seems to have started in July of 2010 when Cleveland acquired middling pitching prospect Corey Kluber as part of a three-team deal. At the time, Kluber was a 24-year-old just starting to put things together in Double-A. He was never a Top 30 prospect with the Padres, and he wasn’t a Top 20 prospect for Cleveland either. Kluber debuted in 2011 with three games. He made 12 starts in 2012 and went 2-5 while posting a 5.14 ERA. In 2013, he gained a regular rotation spot, went 11-5 and had a 3.85 ERA. In 2014, he won his first of two Cy Young Awards and finished in the top three in voting four of the next five seasons. Mike Clevinger was Cleveland’s fourth round pick by the Angels out of junior college. Four years later, in August of 2014, he had not reached Double-A and was traded to Cleveland in exchange for reliever Vinny Pestano. Clevinger debuted in 2016 as a 25-year old. He split time between the bullpen and the rotation through the 2017 season before becoming a full-time starter in 2018. Shane Bieber was Cleveland’s fourth round pick in 2016 out of UC-Santa Barbara. His timeline was pretty quick. He pitched at three levels in 2017. In 2018, he started at Double-A and dominated for five starts. He moved up to Triple A for eight starts and was great. He debuted in May 2018 at age 23 and moved up and down for awhile, but he’s been in their rotation ever since. He became an All Star in 2019 and was the unanimous Cy Young winner in 2020 at age 25. Bieber wasn’t a top ten Cleveland prospect until that 2018 season. Aaron Civale was Cleveland’s third round pick in 2016 out of Northeastern. He spent all of 2018 in Double-A. In 2017, he began at Double-A but quickly moved up. The rest of that season, his age-24-season, bouncing back and forth between Triple-A and Cleveland. He posted a 4.74 ERA in 12 starts in 2020, and has started 2021 6-1 with a 3.30 ERA. Civale found himself just outside of Cleveland’s Top 10 prospect rankings. Zach Plesac was Cleveland’s 12th round draft pick in 2016 out of Ball State. Three years later, he made his debut as a 24-year-old in May of 2019. Since then, he has posted season ERAs of 3.81, 2.28 and 3.93. So again, what can we learn? Don’t write off any pitcher in the minor leaguers, even if they aren’t a top 30 prospect in the organization. It is normal for pitchers, even good ones, to bounce between Triple-A and the big leagues for a little while. You don’t have to debut at 23 or younger to become a star. You can win Cy Youngs at age 25 like Bieber or 29 like Kluber. You don’t have to go to a top college to become a good big-league starter. Repeating a level doesn’t disqualify a pitcher from becoming a good starter. Maybe the most important thing to remember is that you just never know. Where are the Twins now? Jose Berrios is homegrown, though he was called up before the current regime took over. The current front office has signed Michael Pineda as a free agent (twice), J.A. Happ, Matt Shoemaker and others. They also traded for Kenta Maeda a year ago. In other words, they are still piecing things together as they wait for the pipeline to produce. While Lewis Thorpe was signed and developed early under a past regime, he has also developed the past four or five years under the current regime. Randy Dobnak is absolutely a success story, even if he never makes another start in the big leagues (which, by the way, after six shutout innings on Friday night, it won’t be). You know the story. Undrafted free agent from a Division II school. Signed from an independent league. Spent all of 2018 in Cedar Rapids. Pitched at four levels in 2019, including in the big leagues. Signed a long-term extension. But, now we want (and really, really need) to start seeing the pipeline. Remember, the first year with Derek Falvey at the helm, there weren’t a lot of changes. There was a lot of evaluation. So in 2017, they started adding some additional technology (Rapsodo, high-speed cameras, added Trackman capabilities). They have also now been adding coaches and coordinators. Each affiliate has two pitching coaches. Each affiliate has at least one Spanish-speaking coach. They have had a minor league pitching coordinator with a couple of assistants. Each pitcher has an individual improvement plan that they get to be part of making. So who are some of the pitching prospects that potentially could keep developing? Jhoan Duran (23) made his first appearance on Saturday night for the Saints. He was hitting 97-99 (the radar gun kept showing 102), though it was also clear he was shaking off some rust. The Twins acquired him in a trade from the Diamondbacks and have helped him develop as a starting pitcher. The Twins current front office has traded for some other pitching prospects early in their development. Luis Rijo (22) came to the Twins from the Yankees in the Lance Lynn deal. He was a pitcher with good command of his pitches. By 2019, he was hitting 95 with his fastball. When the Twins traded Lewin Diaz to the Marlins in 2019, they received Sergio Romo and Chris Vallimont (24). The hard-throwing right-hander made his Wichita debut on Saturday night and struck out eight batters in 4 2/3 innings. Jordan Balazovic (22) should be returning to action soon. He has been working back from an oblique injury in Ft. Myers, but he is obviously very talented. He was the Twins fifth round pick in 2016 out of high school in Canada. A year later, the Twins were able to sign Blayne Enlow (22) after drafting him in the third round of the 2017 draft and keeping him from LSU. Enlow is now throwing 95-96 mph with a four-pitch mix that has come a long way. Two other pitchers to watch are in St. Paul. Griffin Jax (26) was the team’s third round pick in 2016 from the Air Force. He was only able to participate part-time early in his career due to obligations, but he’s been a very consistent performer all the way up. Charlie Barnes (25) was the Twins’ fourth round pick in 2018 out of Clemson. Known for his changeup, he also has been quite good as he’s moved up the ladder. Both have been invited to big-league spring training the last two years. Bailey Ober (25) made his MLB debut this week, a spot start in place of Michael Pineda. He has put up just silly numbers in his minor league career, though he has missed time with arm issues. When healthy, he’s really good despite not throwing real hard. The 2018 draft brought the Twins a couple of very intriguing prospects. In the fourth round, they selected Cole Sands (23) out of Florida State. In 2019, he pitched at three levels and is starting well in Wichita this year. Wichita’s Opening Day starter was 2018 seventh-round pick Josh Winder (24). No one has increased their prospect value in the past year than Winder. After sitting 91-92 mph in 2019, he now is hitting 97 mph with a fastball and has a very sharp slider and a good change. Also from that 2018 draft, lefty Kody Funderburk (24, 15th round, Dallas Baptist) and Andrew Cabezas (24, 18th round, U of Miami) have started out well with Cedar Rapids. 19th round pick, Austin Schulfer (25, UW-Milwaukee) has made three starts at AA Wichita already. Regi Grace (21)was the Twins 10th round pick out of high school in Mississippi, and he just had his best start with the Mighty Mussels. The Twins grabbed Matt Canterino (23) with their second-round draft pick in 2019 out of Rice University. He was an advanced college pitcher when drafted, and then he ended 2020 at the Twins alternate site. He participated in the Twins depth camp at spring training and showed an upper-90s fastball to go with a terrific pitch-mix. The Twins drafted and signed ten more college pitchers between the sixth and 19th rounds that year. And then in the 30th round, they drafted Tyler Beck, a closer from Division II’s University of Tampa. He has started the 2021 with the Cedar Rapids Kernels and is 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA. Through his first 12 2/3 innings, he has given up just three hits, walked two and struck out 15. Now, he is already 25, but he has taken a very circuitous route to where he is today and whatever he has been developing over the last year or more seems to be encouraging. And that brings me back to Age. Of course, Age-to-Level-of-Competition is a factor in prospect rankings, it should be only a minor piece to an organization’s evaluation of a player. If that’s the case, the Twins never would have signed Nick Anderson out of the independent leagues, and the Marlins and Rays certainly wouldn’t have traded for him. In addition, we just have to remember that the majority of these pitching prospects missed a full season of development. Again, it may be hard to figure out which pitching prospects will become big leaguers, much less big league rotation members, much less All Stars. So what can you look for? Stuff - Obviously to get to the big leagues, a pitcher has to have some ‘stuff’. Stuff, in my opinion, means velocity as well as quality pitch movement and shape. Velocity obviously helps make it possible to make some more mistakes and get away with them, but we have also seen so many successful pitchers who top out at 91-92 mph. Those guys need to have quality pitches, movement, shape, sharpness. It is also important to remember that pitchers are able to improve upon those things. Josh Winder bumping his fastball from 92 to 97 is just one example. The technology the Twins have provides the coaches and pitchers to work together to increase velocity, find a more consistent release point, increase spin and more. Command - As mentioned, a way to be successful even without triple-digit velocity is by being able to place the pitch exactly where you want to. “Control” just means that you don’t walk many batters. Command means that you are able to place the ball where you want it within the strike zone or just off it. Obviously there can be more factors for a pitcher’s success as well, but those are the two biggest. In addition, having a high baseball IQ is good. Being willing to ask questions is a good thing. Talking to both Josh Winder and Matt Canterino, they learned from the veteran pitchers while at big-league spring training. However, Canterino also talked about getting to spend some time talking with Josh Donaldson about his stuff, what a hitter might be thinking in certain situations and more. Being willing to learn is very important. And finally, being able to understand that the process is more important than the results, especially lower in the minor leagues. If you are doing the right things mechanically, mentally, in your preparation, and understand that it is understanding the big picture, you can continue to learn. Like all teams, the Twins have some very intriguing pitching prospects. A couple will make it. A couple may get a short stint. A few probably won’t get there. We will have a good idea of where the Twins front office and pitcher development programs are and will be going forward. View full article

Hackimer takes a lot of pride in his ability to hit batters. HA! Check out his career numbers. He always hits guys. The really encouraging thing about his performance last night was that the radar gun was showing 97. From a side-winder, that's crazy! Now, we also know that the St. Paul radar gun appears to be 2-3 mph fast, but even 94 from a sidewinder is VERY unusual.

I could probably add something like that to the Week in Review articles on Monday night.

Just this year, and I don't know if it is something that is subject to change as teams and the league loosen up restrictions.

Ready for the big leagues?? Let's get him to AA first. But yes, can only be called up from AAA.

Brian Dinkelman on Blayne Enlow last night: "Enlow was good tonight. He had multiple pitches working. He had a bunch of strikeouts which is good and something we are hoping from him. It was a good night from him, his fastball, cutter and slider were working. To see him punch out 10 and make it deeper in the game is good." Dinkelman on Enlow: "Attacking the zone. Working quick like he usually does. I think he's just maturing now, third or fourth year. He's just becoming a better baseball player." Dinkelman on Camargo: "I think tonight you saw the complete package. Hit a couple balls hard for home runs. Did a good job behind the plate. Threw out a couple of runners with the back picks at first with the arm strength. I think all the tools are there for a complete catcher. If he can keep it up, especially with his age, you never know." Dinkelman on if the Blues have a chance without David Perron in the lineup: "It's going to be tough especially in Colorado. They've got top liners that's really good, so hopefully they can pull one out tomorrow night and get back into the series." Blayne Enlow: "Everything was working. Changeup was pretty good, which I normally don't have, and I had it in zones and counts that I normally don't put it in. Got some swings and misses. Also the curveball, the curveballs been great. Also, I've been getting ahead on guys. That's the biggest thing is strike one. And if I get behind, you're not going to get a fastball, you're going to get something else because I've got three other pitches that I can throw in the zone. " After the game, Enlow referenced the conversation we had on Twins Spotlight about how much he worked on his mental health. "I just think I'm the best person out there. You don't have a chance to beat me as a hitter. That's every hitter. I don't care who you are. Even Mike Trout, I'm coming at you with my best stuff every time." Enlow on Akil Baddoo: "That is literally one of my best friends. It's amazing seeing him. He balls out. Hits a home run on his first pitch. Hits a grand slam. Then hits a walk-off against the Twins. You can't make that up. I was so fired up! I'm happy for my boy. We grinded for four years together. We were roommates. He had TJ. The whole year, I saw what he went through. Seeing him ball out... there's nothing better. Nothing!"

Will have to go to St. Paul first for a few days... but we'll see. Again, very small sample, but encouraging.

Miranda is fine defensively around the infield, but I wouldn't say he's great, by any means. But he is a very nice prospect with a ton of power potential. Javier looks to be a bust at this point, though seeing him his size and athleticism and I won't give up on him. He is really good defensively at shortstop. Severino is also way too young to give up on. And Sano has absolutely been a major success of an international signing. Teams usually wish they get that kind of production from a 16-year-old international signing.

Edited... it should have been three stolen bases, which is good for a week. He had 6 hits. I don't know what I did there. That said, I agree that Urbina is quite exciting.

No. No they didn't. The current Saints roster would probably win 65+% of games between the two teams. Probably more like 80%

While we all hope that the Minnesota Twins find some way to turn their 2021 season around, and soon, it sure is nice to have the Twins minor league games as a distraction. Let's take a look back at Week 2 of the minor league season and highlight some deserving players. What have your early-season stories been as you’ve watched the Twins minor league games or box scores? It’s great having the four full-season affiliates back to playing, and the consistency of the six-game series has been noticeable. Let's start with a question of the week. Leave your answers in the Comments. Question of the Week: Which under-the-radar Twins prospect are you most intrigued by? As a reminder, my plan is to do a weekly Twins Minor League Week in Review. It will be similar to Nick’s Twins Week in Review, but I will instead be highlighting the goings-on in the Twins farm system. My intent is to show top performers for the week as well as discuss some storylines developing in the system. As always, I welcome your feedback on what you would like to see from these Week in Review articles, so let me know in the comments below. With that, let’s look at Week 2 in the Twins minor leagues: RESULTS Triple-A: St. Paul Saints: Week (3-3 hosting Iowa), overall (5-7) Double-A: Wichita Wind Surge: Week (3-3 hosting Amarillo), overall (8-4) High-A: Cedar Rapids Kernels: Week (1-5, at Quad Cities), overall (6-6) Low-A: Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Week (3-3, hosting Clearwater), overall (6-6) IN CASE YOU MISSED IT With the Twins struggles early this season, we have had a lot of minor league articles including articles on players who could be promoted and the daily minor league reports. Twins Minor League Week in Review: Six Down, 114 To Go ERA to MBA: The Many Talents of Griffin Jax Tuesday: A Night of Inaugural Home Openers… and Losses A Night to Remember: Five Positives from the Saints Home Opener Wednesday: Pair of Firsts on the Farm 3 Twins Prospects That Have Stood Out So Far Thursday: Tornado Warning of Bats in Wichita Scouting the Cedar Rapids Kernels Hitters Internal Relief Friday: Pitchers Have Their Way Familiar Faces are Putting the WIN in Wind Surge Saturday: Double Duds and Double Walk-Offs Highlights: 4 Twins Prospects Off to Hot Starts Sunday: Late Inning Terrors News & Notes The Saints will remain at home for a second straight week. There are tickets are still available at CHS Field this week.. Check out their website for ticket availability and information. Earlier in the week, Wichita catcher David Banuelos and his wife Jessica welcomed their first child, Ezekiel David, into the world. Congratulations! Coming into Sunday’s game, 50% of their runs this season came via the home run. On Sunday, the Saints scored three runs without the benefit of a homer, so their percentage dropped just below 50% On Sunday, Tomas Telis threw out a would-be base stealer. It was the first runner that the Saints had caught stealing all season. They had been 0-for-13 through the team’s first 11 games. Also on Sunday, the Saints turned four double plays. That number equals the total number of double plays they had turned in the previous 11 games. Three of Sunday’s double plays were turned in the first five innings while Randy Dobnak was on the mound. The other came with Lewis Thorpe on the mound. That said, Nick Gordon and Yeltsin Encarnacion turned arguably the prettiest double play of the week. Hearing that LHP Zarion Sharpe has been promoted to the Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels. Following the five-round MLB draft in 2020, Sharpe signed with the Twins. Get to know him here. Highlights It’s always nice to start the season on a good note. We are all paying attention early in the season, and then we start looking at season numbers. It’s also a fun time to see players making their professional debuts, or returning from injury, or switching positions, and those are fun to cover as well. This week, we’ll start with something that is always fun… a walk off home run, courtesy of Ryan Jeffers! Earlier in the week, Jose Miranda provided a walk off sacrifice fly to give the Wind Surge their first win at Riverfront Stadium. We will start with the Twins choices for Hitter and Pitcher of the Week (which is announced on Sunday mornings). Twins Player of the Week: Spencer Steer, Cedar Rapids Kernels Last Sunday, Spencer Steer had a minor injury and did not play in the Kernels second game of a doubleheader. He missed Tuesday’s game as well. He returned to action on Wednesday and was fantastic the rest of the week. In five games, he hit .375/.542/.563 (1.104) with a home run. He also had seven walks with just two strikeouts. In his first ten games this season, he is hitting .361/.489/.444 (.934) with a homer. Manager Brian Dinkelman pointed out, “Spencer can play all three infield positions for us. I think we’re comfortable with him at any infield position as long as we can get his bat in the lineup. He has good AB’s. He takes good at bats all the time and carries himself like a professional very well.” Twins Pitcher of the Week: Josh Winder, Wichita Wind Surge Winder was the Wind Surge opening day starter and made two starts in week 1. He went 4 2/3 innings in his first start, and then five innings in his second outing. In start number three, Winder tossed 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out eight batters. On the season, he is now 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA over 15 1/3 innings. Winder was the Twins seventh round pick in 2018 out of Virginia Military Institute. In 2019, he went 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA in 21 starts for Low-A Cedar Rapids. Obviously he missed the 2020 season, but he clearly impressed at Fall Instructional Camp last October when he was suddenly hitting 97 mph with a fastball. He was invited to big league spring training, and now he has not only skipped High-A, but he’s succeeding in AA. His manager Ramon Borrego said, “I had a chance to see Josh Winder at Instructional League. We get our reports from the organization’s hitters. They say he throws a slider and the fastball was around 90-93. With the time off, we didn’t know what they worked on, but I saw that guy on the mound hitting 97-98. I was like ‘Oh my gawd!’ Really good frame. Strong guy. Really hard worker.” Other Strong Starts Nick Gordon, St. Paul Saints: Gordon returned to St. Paul from Minneapolis and was in the Saints lineup Wednesday. In five games, he hit .333/.429/.611 (1.040) with a triple and a big, three-run homer against Kohl Stewart. He also stole four bases. Ryan Jeffers, St. Paul Saints: .Jeffers was optioned to Triple-A so that he could play every day and get some consistent plate appearances. He has played in all 12 Saints games including the six against Iowa. He hit .273/.333/.636 (.970) with two doubles and two home runs, including a walk-off winner on Saturday night. Jose Miranda, Wichita Wind Surge: Week 1’s Twins hitter of the week, Miranda had another strong week. He hit .368/.381/.526 (.907) with a home run and five RBI. He was set to get a full day off but instead he came up and had a bases loaded walk in the 8th inning of a Wind Surge comeback. Jermaine Palacios, Wichita Wind Surge: In his return to the organization, Palacios has been really good. He has at least one hit in all 11 games he’s played in. In five games this past week, he hit .333/.400/.500 (.900) with a home run. Brent Rooker, St. Paul Saints: It wasn’t a great week for Rooker. I mean, he had just two hits in the five games he played. But, both hits were homers and he also walked four times (three strikeouts), and his slash line looks pretty solid. (.154/.353/.615 (.968)) Aaron Sabato, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: Last week, Sabato appeared on the Lowlights for a rough first week. Sabato still didn’t have a great week, but he improved and showed the skills that we like. He hit .250/.423/.500 (.923). No one saw more pitches this past week than Sabato (126). He still struck out 10 times, but he also walked six times. He also hit his first two doubles and his first professional home run. Kyle Schmidt, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: It’s hard for minor league catchers in the lower levels to make this type of list because of the time shares. Schmidt is known for his defense, but in three games this week, he hit .364/.417/.454 (.871). He went 4-for-11 with a double. Gabe Snyder, Cedar Rapids Kernels: Snyder started all six games for the Kernels this week, five at first base and once as DH. He hit.261/.320/.826 (1.146) with a double and an organization-leading four home runs. I Misael Urbina, Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels: A Twins top prospect, Urbina just turned 19 three weeks ago. He was called up to the Mussels a week into the season. He struck out in a pinch-hitting appearance on Tuesday night, then batted ninth the next night. By Thursday, he was leading off and had a huge, two-run single in a late-inning comeback. He ended the week with two multi-hit games. For the week, he hit. .353/.476/.353 (.829) with four walks and two strikeouts. He also stole three bases. PITCHERS Mighty Mussels Louie Varland continues to be a strikeout machine. In his appearance last week, he struck out seven batters in four scoreless innings. Ryan Shreve twice came out of the bullpen and gave up just two hits over 5 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out nine and didn’t walk anyone. Miguel Rodriguez made his first start and tossed four scoreless innings. ‘Kernels The two Kernels starters that are not piggybacking are Matt Canterino and Blayne Enlow. In their Week 2 starts, both were good. Blayne Enlow was charged with one run on three hits over five innings. He struck out seven batters. Canterino also went five innings and gave up three hits. He was charged with two runs (1 earned) and struck out nine batters. Andrew Cabezas made one start and gave up one run on two hits over five innings. He struck out six batters. Derek Molina worked three innings and gave up only an unearned run and struck out five batters. Tyler Beck worked the final four innings in his appearance and did not give up a run, or a hit, or walk. He did strike out six batters. Wind Surge In his 2021 Double-A debut Austin Schulfer didn’t get out of the first inning. In his second start, he tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings and gave up just one hit. Jovani Moran gave up just one run over 5 1/3 innings of one-run ball. He struck out eight batters. Hector Lujan had just one appearance out of the bullpen this past week, but he tossed three hitless innings. Tom Hackimer also threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings. Yennier Cano worked in two games and tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings. The highlight was his Immaculate Inning. Saints Griffin Jax gave up one run on five hits over five innings to record his first Win of the season. Bailey Ober gave up just two hits over four scoreless innings in his start this week. Lewis Thorpe tossed five hitless, scoreless innings over two relief appearances. Another lefty, Daniel Coulombe tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings over two outings. He recorded the team’s lone Save of the week. Lowlights As those who have known me or have read what I’ve written over the last couple decades know, I generally tend to be positive. But for this report, I think having a small ‘Lowlights’ section makes sense. It is , in my mind, more of a reminder for all of us that even the top prospects are still developing. They’re still working on things. They aren’t finished products. So here are a few guys that had a rough week. The name that a lot of people seem to want called up this year is Keon Broxton. Last week, he went 2-for-19 (.105) with 14 strikeouts in 21 plate appearances. He wasn’t the only one who struck out a lot this week. Cedar Rapids outfielder Matt Wallner hit .200 with 14 strikeouts in 27 plate appearances. Willie Joe Garry, Jr., of the Mighty Mussels hit .111 with 12 strikeouts in 19 plate appearances. Edouard Julien hit .211 with nine strikeouts in 21 plate appearances. Others who struggled during the week included Caleb Hamilton (.071, 1-for-14), Andrew Bechtold (.150, 3-for-20), Wander Javier (.160, 4-25), and Yunior Severino (.118, 2-for-17). Dakota Chalmers had a tough start this past week. He was charged with seven earned runs on three hits and five walks over 2 1/3 innings. That was the game in which the Wind Surge came back from a 7-1 deficit to win 8-7. Two Saints pitchers had a rough week. On Sunday, Ian Gibaut entered the game in the ninth inning to try to protect a 3-0 lead. He gave up five hits, walked two and hit a batter and all eight came around to score. He got just one out . Earlier in the week, he had worked 1 2/3 perfect innings against Iowa. Ian Hamilton got into two games for the Saints. On Tuesday, he went one inning but gave up two runs on two hits and two walks. On Friday, he came into the eight inning and walked the three batters he faced before being lifted. Especially with pitchers, looking at a week of games means a very small sample size. It’s probably one start. A reliever may throw twice. So, be sure to take all of these numbers (good or bad) with the proper perspective. Trending Storyline When Randy Dobnak was optioned to St. Paul a little over two weeks ago, we wondered aloud if they were stretching him out to potentially take the rotation spot of Matt Shoemaker if he continues to struggle. At the same time, Lewis Thorpe went up to the big leagues and has been solid in two spot starts. Now both Dobnak and Thorpe are in St. Paul, and it has been interesting to see how each has been used. Dobnak made one start in Omaha, and he was the starter for the Saints home opener at CHS Field. That also meant that he started on Sunday. Meanwhile, Thorpe threw five innings for the Twins on Wednesday, May 5, against Texas. He started with five innings of one-run ball before being charged with two runs in the sixth inning that scored after he was removed from the game. This week, he worked three innings in relief of Griffin Jax on Tuesday night. On Sunday, he tossed two more innings in relief of Dobnak. Combined, he worked five innings without giving up a hit. (Lucas Seehafer was at Sunday’s game and wrote about Dobnak and Thorpe) So, while it is clear that Dobnak is being stretched out to start, is Thorpe now being groomed to work out of the bullpen? Maybe in multi-inning relief opportunities? It will be interesting to see how Thorpe is used the next month or two (and even in the next week) to try to see what the Twins might have planned for him as the season progresses, especially if the team sells impending free agents such as Michael Pineda and J.A. Happ. With Charlie Barnes, Griffin Jax and Bailey Ober starting their season pitching well too, and eventually Jhoan Duran and Jordan Balazovic becoming options, the Twins second half pitching situation could be very interesting. LOOKING AHEAD Ft. Myers @ Tampa (Regi Grace, Brent Hendrick, Steven Cruz, Sawyer Gipson-Long; TBD, TBD) Beloit @ Cedar Rapids: (Blayne Enlow, Tyler Beck, Kody Funderburk, Matt Canterino, Andrew Cabezas, Ben Gross) Wichita @ Tulsa: (Austin Schulfer, Josh Winder (vs Gus Varland), Bryan Sammons, Cole Sands, Chris Vallimont, Austin Schulfer) Indianapolis @ St. Paul (Griffin Jax, Bailey Ober, Andrew Albers, TBD, TBD, TBD) With this being just the second Week in Review for the Minor Leagues, feel free to provide some feedback below. What do you like to read? What types of information would you like added? And feel free to ask any questions you like. View full article