Seth Stohs

Since the Twins drafted him in the 12th round of the 2017 draft out of the College of Charleston, Bailey Ober has been consistently one of the best pitchers in minor league baseball… when he takes the mound. 2019 has been a remarkable season for the 6-9 right-hander when he has taken the mound for the Ft. Myers Miracle or for the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. Twins Daily recently chatted with Ober about his incredible 2019 season. A quick glance at his overall numbers is the stuff of video games. In eight starts with Ft. Myers, he went 4-0 with a 0.99 ERA. In four starts with Pensacola, he is 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA. Overall, he’s given up just eight walks while striking out 87 batters in 69 2/3 innings. The sample size was small, but his numbers remained strong and even improved as he moved up to Double-A. “I haven’t really tried to change anything from my standpoint. I’ve mainly been sticking to my strengths and doing what I do well. But there are some differences. There are some guys who will take pitches that are borderline. For right now, my stuff that’s been in the zone has been playing as it was playing in Ft. Myers. However, these guys definitely are more polished. If you leave one over the middle, they might smack one a little farther than they would down there.” On the other hand, Ober knows the kind of talent that he is playing with on this Pensacola roster. He played with these guys in Cedar Rapids in 2018, and with the Miracle earlier in 2019. “It’s really cool. A lot of these guys were down there (Ft. Myers) during the first half of the year. The first month or two in Ft. Myers, we were winning a lot. Once we got these guys up here in Pensacola, they’ve started shifting that way as well, and the last couple of weeks, we’ve been playing very well.” So, what has been the key for Ober? How has he been able to maintain his success this season despite missing a couple of months and despite moving up a level? “I just think my mentality is different. This year I’ve been able to focus in with all four of my pitches. That’s been a big thing. I’ve been able to mix really well, trusting my command. Not having to fall behind hitters, always being in attack mode. Being ahead and controlling the pace of the game.” Ober’s primary pitch this year has been a four-seam fastball. He adds, “primarily throwing it up in the zone. I’m trying to use my extension, my carry, and my movement on the fastball to get swings and misses up there.” Ober added, “Started throwing that and having a lot of success living with my four-seam up in the zone and in and out. Once we established that pitch, we started working on breaking balls that I could tunnel the same type of path that the fastball has and it breaks at the last second.” “Tunneling” is one of those new baseball terms. Essentially it is working to maintain a release point so that the ball will travel most of the way toward the plate on the same path until breaking or moving differently. As Ober says, “It’s throwing every pitch the same way and letting them work off each other.” His secondary stuff has really improved as well. As he notes, “I’ve been using my slider a lot to get ahead and it’s been a lot better this year. Same with my changeup. I think my curve ball’s been a big difference, being able to play off of my high fastball and getting more swings and misses on that.” We know that the Twins have embraced the use of analytics and technology throughout the minor leagues for years, but that has been amped up the last couple of seasons. It’s something that Ober has used and embraces as well. “I learned about all this stuff in 2018 at spring training. They introduced it to a lot of our guys. They sat down with us and explained how it works and what it shows us, and the type of information and feedback that it can give us. Being able to know what works best, and when, definitely helped out a lot of our guys, especially me. I came into the Twins organization only throwing two-seam fastballs in college. I showed up, and immediately once I got put on the Rapsodo, they were like, ‘Hey, you’ve got good carry on the two-seam, let’s try the four-seam too.” One other value of the Rapsodo and other technologies might be trying to discover ways of keeping pitchers healthy, obviously something that is important to all pitchers in all organizations. Whether is noticing a drop in spin rate, velocity, release point or something else, may help determine what can be done. With Ober having spent time on the injured list this year and in previous years, they have worked and reviewed the data. “Not so much with my extension. They say that’s pretty healthy. Have a better lead leg so I can stabilize my weight balance and leg transfer. When your lead leg is not stable, it can lead to some inconsistencies in arm path which can lead to some injuries. So that’s mainly the thing we’ve been working on. This past year, we’ve been working on it a lot. It’s better to the point where I feel healthier on the mound but I still have a little ways to go.” In short, the data and technology are certainly being used in an attempt to keep pitchers healthy. Imagine the value in keeping even one pitcher away from surgery. The Blue Wahoos put Ober on the IL before Game 5 on Sunday morning with some elbow inflammation. It is not believed to be serious. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ober was fantastic in April with the Miracle. Unfortunately, as the month ended, he was placed on the IL with a forearm injury. He rehabbed for two months and returned to the GCL for some rehab games. The timing worked out well for Ober on a personal level. “My wife and I welcomed a baby girl on June 26th. I was doing my rehab then, so I was able to go home for a couple of days to be with her.” He returned to Ft. Myers and began his rehab on July 2nd. Since then, he has had plenty of family with him. “Recently, they were able to come out when I got the news that I was going to go to Pensacola. I called and said, ‘Hey, I’m going up there, see if you guys can fly out and spend the rest of the year here.’” It worked out, so he was able to have his newly-expanded family with him for the remainder of the season. “It’s awesome. It’s been a little different, trying to adjust to a dad lifestyle, but I love it.” Ober and his wife (and daughter Blake) live in Denver during the offseason. They moved there from North Carolina to be near his wife’s family. Ober graduated from the College of Charleston last fall with a degree in Business Administration. (“No more school for me!”) In the offseason, he will be working as a pitching instructor and some other side jobs while preparing himself for the 2020 season. He noted that he has been invited to go to Ft. Myers for camps at the end of this month. Hopefully he gets lots and lots of time this winter to work on that dad lifestyle! You can follow Bailey Ober on Twitter and Instagram. Get to Know Bailey Ober (interview following the 2017 season) View full article

That is why he wasn't on my list. The only "rule" for this vote/category was that it could only include short-season stats. For me, he had like 77 at bats where as the guys at the top of my list had over 200...

The Twins announced this morning that they have acquired outfielder Ryan LaMarre from the Atlanta Braves in exchange for cash.The Twins acquired OF Ryan LaMarre, and based on reports, he is at Target Field. He will take the 40-man roster spot of Michael Pineda and be activated by the Twins. On Saturday, the Twins lost Pineda to a 60-Game Suspension for testing positive for a banned substance. Eddie Rosario is nursing a hamstring injury. Max Kepler likely will need time off for his various minor injuries. Jake Cave has missed two games after his Friday night injury. Byron Buxton's shoulder injury. Marwin Gonzalez is out. Outfield depth will be nice to have. While these guys can and have continued to play in their roles, each could benefit from added rest. If the Twins can find a way to get more rest for them, especially if they are able to clinch early, it would be great heading into the playoffs. Of course, because he was added to the organization after September 1st, LaMarre is not eligible to be on the Twins playoff roster. LaMarre spent the 2019 season with Gwinnett, the AAA affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. He hit .311/.380/.477 (.857) with 24 doubles, eight triples and nine home runs. He also stole 19 bases and plays well in the outfield, including centerfield. He was set to be a free agent following the World Series. As you recall, LaMarre's in-laws live in the Twin Cities. Maybe he was around and it worked out well for him and for the Twins. Interesting that the Twins went this direction rather than calling up a prospect like Brent Rooker who needs to be added to the 40-man roster after the season. Rooker missed the final month-and-a-half of the Triple-A season with a groin injury. He had just begun a rehab assignment with the GCL Twins when that season was cancelled. (Note - I was wrong... Rooker does not need to be added to the 40-man roster this offseason. My apologies. However, you do have to wonder, if he was healthy, if that might have been the move.) Click here to view the article

From Ken Rosenthal:

Yes. Here, yesterday. Yes. MWL is best of three, so Cedar Rapids advanced to play Clinton starting tonight. I would think that Ober would be the Wahoos starter tonight.

Jordan Balazovic starting for the Blue Wahoos tonight.

I didn't go back and watch the video, but Thomas did Homer last night and again today, and then Colina hit him with an upper 90s FB, so I'm guessing that's what started it and why Colina was ejected.

In recent days, we have announced our choices for the August Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month (Zander Wiel) and Starting Pitcher of the Month (Bailey Ober). Today, we will discuss the relief pitchers who ended the season strong, and there were a lot of very good performances. For instance, one pitcher had 20 strikeouts and zero walks this month, and can be found in the Honorable Mentions. Previous 2019 Relief Pitchers of the Month: April: Ryan Mason, Pensacola Blue Wahoos May: Hector Lujan, Ft. Myers Miracle June: Derek Molina, Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle July: Joe Record, Ft. Myers Miracle August: Keep ReadingBefore we get to our Top 5 relievers in the Twins system in August, here are several Honorable Mentions. Jovani Moran - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 7 G, 2.13 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 8 H, 7 BB, 15 KCalvin Faucher - Ft. Myers Miracle - 7 G, 1.54 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, 11.2 IP, 11 H, 3 BB, 16 KMoises Gomez - Ft. Myers Miracle - 8 G, 3.29 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 13.2 IP, 9 H, 5 BB, 23 KNate Hadley - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 8 G, 3.14 ERA, 1.12 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 11 H, 5 BB, 15 KTyler Beck - Elizabethton Twins - 8 G, 1.23 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 14 H, 4 BB, 19 KBenjamin Dum - Elizabethton Twins - 8 G, 3.21 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 14 H, 0 BB, 20 KRyan Shreve - Elizabethton Twins - 6 G, 2.70 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 20.0 IP, 20 H, 2 BB, 20 KBradley Hanner - GCL Twins - 5 G, 2.45 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 6 BB, 13 KNiall Windeler - GCL Twins - 5 G, 1.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 9.0 IP, 6 H, 3 BB, 10 K.THE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS #5 - Preston Guilmet - Rochester Red Wings - 8 G, 2 GS, 2.33 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 19.1 IP, 15 H, 2 BB, 27 K The 32-year-old Guilmet made his MLB debut in 2013. He played for four MLB teams between 2013 and 2015. Then he returned to the big leagues and played for two more MLB teams in 2018. He signed early in the offseason with the Twins hoping for an opportunity to make it to the big leagues again, for a seventh team. That didn’t happen as Guilmet struggled some, especially early in the Red Wings season. However, he finished the season with a strong month. Call me impressed with the two walks to 27 strikeouts ratio. In addition, opponents hit just .214 with a .547 OPS against him during the month. #4 - Jonathan Cheshire - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 3 BB, 10 K Cheshire was the Blue Jays 37th-round pick in 2017 out of college. Toronto released him in early June and the Twins signed him in late July. The 24-year-old made a solid first impression in the Twins organization by posting a 0.00 ERA over his first full month in the organization. Opponents hit .205 off of him with a .510 OPS. #3 - Gabriel Moya - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 5 G, 1 GS, 1.69 ERA, 0.75 WHIP, 10.2 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 13 K The Twins acquired Moya just over two years ago from the Diamondbacks in exchange for catcher John Ryan Murphy. He helped Chattanooga to a Southern League title that year and earned a promotion to the Twins. He spent time with the Twins last year. Unfortunately, he began the 2019 season hurt and when he went to Rochester, he really struggled. He ended up back in Double-A to end the season. But, he pitched well. Most important is that he didn’t issue walks and was back to recording strikeouts. Opponents hit just .179 with a .456 OPS against him. He is now off of the Twins 40-man roster, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the still just 24-year-old lefty resurfaces in the big leagues in 2020. #2 - Jorge Alcala - Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings - 10 G, 1.10 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 16.1 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 18 K It was a generally tough season for the hard-throwing right-hander. The Twins finally made the decision to move him to the bullpen in July, and he had mixed results. However, he and Brusdar Graterol were promoted to Triple-A Rochester in mid-August. Graterol was good, but Alcala was fantastic. With the Red Wings, he pitched in 7 2/3 innings over five games. He didn’t give up a run, gave up just four hits, walked two and struck out 11 batters. For the month, opponents hit .186 with a .526 OPS against him. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Pensacola Blue Wahoos – RHP Anthony Vizcaya - 8 G, 0.00 ERA, 0.64 WHIP, 14.0 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 13 K Every year there are a number of great stories in any MLB organization. One such story in the Twins organization in 2019 is that of Anthony Vizcaya. He signed with Cleveland in 2011 from Venezuela. However, he was released in 2014 after posting an ERA over 10 in the advanced rookie league. Since that time, he has only played in the Venezuelan Winter Leagues, and event that was very limited. He didn’t play during the 2017-18 season but returned last winter. He pitched in eight games, but it was enough to catch the eye of Twins pro scout Rafael Yanez who recommended the Twins sign him. They did, and he has been terrific all year. He posted a 2.22 ERA over 15 games with the Miracle. In 28 1/3 innings, he struck out 35 batters. He has now pitched in 26 games for the Blue Wahoos and has a 0.78 ERA. In his 46 Double-A innings, he has struck out 48 batters. Combined, he has 11 saves. In August, he was at his finest. The 25-year-old did not allow a run in eight games and 14 innings. Opponents hit just .149 with a .370 OPS against him. It’s a great story, but those great stories are always even a little more fun when they pan out with a successful season. ------------------------------------------------------- As you can see, there were several strong relief pitcher performances in August. These guys are all worthy of some recognition. It was a good month for each of these pitchers mentioned today. Congratulations to Anthony Vizcaya, the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for August 2019. Click here to view the article

What a night! The Twins won a 2-1 game in Boston in a game with great playoff atmosphere. Two Twins minor league teams are playing in their leagues' playoffs. Alex Kirilloff hit another homer for Pensacola, but was it enough? The Kernels forced a series-deciding Game 3 with a 2-1 win in Quad Cities. Keep reading for more details.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS The playoff teams are unable to make transactions once the playoff round starts.Not really a transaction, but I’m sure many saw on Wednesday that it was announced that Alex Kirilloff will not be playing in the Arizona Fall League. He is being replaced by Luke Raley.In addition, it was also announced that Ben Rortvedt will be the “Catcher to be Named Later” on the AFL squad.BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 1, Biloxi 4 Box Score For the second straight night, Alex Kirilloff came through with a ninth-inning home run with the team down by four runs. Unfortunately on this night, the bases weren’t loaded. In fact, they were empty and it accounted for the Blue Wahoo’s lone run in Game 2. In the seventh inning, Webb doubled and then scored on a Jared Akins double to take back the lead, a lead that they would hold onto. Ricky Ramirez worked the final two innings. He struck out three to record the save. The Kernels will send Josh Winder to the mound for Game 3 on Wednesday trying to win the best-of-three series. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Matt Canterino, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Tyler Webb, Cedar Rapids Kernels PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 0-3, BB #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-4, R, RBI, HR(2), K #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 0-3, HBP #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 3B, R #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Pensacola) - 0-4, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - 1-3, BB #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 0-3, K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35 CT) - RHP Jordan Balazovic Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35) - RHP Josh Winder Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Thursday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

The votes are in... I can only confirm that Ober is probably in the Top 5, for sure... most likely...

More coming on Ober in the very near future, and we'll get into much more detail on him.

Earlier this week, Twins Daily named Zander Wiel the Hitter of the Month for August. Today, we announce our choice for the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month. While the choice was ultimately pretty easy, I was in awe of how much strong pitching there was in the season’s final month. It’s really exciting to see. Next week, we will start handing out our 2019 season awards, but let’s take a quick look back at the Twins Minor League Starting Pitchers of the Month from earlier this season. Previous 2019 Starting Pitchers of the Month: April - Devin Smeltzer - Pensacola Blue Wahoos May - Jordan Balazovic - Ft. Myers Miracle June - Josh Winder - Cedar Rapids Kernels July - Edwar Colina - Pensacola Blue Wahoos August -Before we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Six Starters for August, there were some other strong starting performers that just missed the cut. There are two pitchers in the Honorable Mention category who had K:BB ratios of 30:2 and 23:3! You can certainly agree or disagree with the rankings. Let’s discuss the top starting pitchers in the organization in August. HONORABLE MENTION Kohl Stewart - Rochester Red Wings - 6 G, 5 GS, 27.2 IP, 2.93 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 18 H, 11 BB, 21 KDakota Chalmers - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 20.1 IP, 1.77 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 10 H, 13 BB, 29 KBlayne Enlow - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 2.45 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 16 H, 10 BB, 17 KCole Sands - Ft. Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 3 GS, 15.0 IP, 2.55 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 22 H, 2 BB, 23 KAndrew Cabezas - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 27.1 IP, 2.30 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 21 H, 12 BB, 15 KLuis Rijo - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 29.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 12 H, 2 BB, 30 KDonny Breek - GCL Twins - 4 G, 2 GS, 17.1 IP, 0.52 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 10 H, 5 BB, 21 KNiklas Rimmel - GCL Twins - 3 G, 2 GS, 13.0 IP, 0.69 ERA, 0.69 WHIP, 8 H, 1 BB, 13 KTHE TOP SIX STARTING PITCHERS #6 - RHP Chris Vallimont - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 22.1 IP, 3.63 ERA, 0.85 WHIP, 15 H, 4 BB, 28 K Chris Vallimont came to the Twins in the trade deadline deal with the Marlins in which the Twins also received Sergio Romo and Cash in exchange for Lewin Diaz. Vallimont had a strong first month in the Twins organization despite a rough first start in which he gave up six earned runs in just 2 1/3 innings. However, in three starts since, he has been remarkable. His next two starts came against his former teammates, the Jupiter Hammerheads. In both games, he had a no-hitter into the late innings and completed seven in both games. So, while his ERA is a bit high because of the first start, his ability to limit base runners and that strikeout-to-walk ratio are both quite impressive. We caught up with Vallimont for this story shortly after his trade to the Twins. #5 - RHP Josh Winder- Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 25.2 IP, 1.40 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 20 H, 6 BB, 28 K Winder was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month in June, and he’s been really consistent all season with the Kernels. He was the Twins seventh-round pick in 2018 out of Virginia Military Institute. In August, he worked innings, limited runs and base runners. He also missed bats. Opponents hit just .206 with a .528 OPS against him. Overall this season, Winder went 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA and a 0.98 WHIP over 21 starts and 125 2/3 innings. Steve Buhr wrote about Winder earlier this season. #4 - RHP Jordan Balazovic - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 19.1 IP, 2.33 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 12 H, 5 BB, 28 K Balazovic began the month in Lima, Peru, where he helped Team Canada to a silver medal at the Pan Am Games. He returned to the MIracle and was very good. In his first start back, he struck out nine batters in five shutout, two-hit innings. In his final start of the month, he struck out nine batters in five shutout, two-hit innings. Along with the above numbers (which are very impressive), opponents hit just .169 off of him (with a .460 OPS). The lanky right-hander was the Twins fifth-round pick in 2016 out of high school in Ontario. #3 - RHP Cody Laweryson - Elizabethton Twins - 5 GS, 24.0 IP, 1.13 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 12 H, 4 BB, 34 K We all remember that 15 strikeout game that Laweryson tossed last week for the E-Twins, but the Twins 14th-round pick from the University of Maine in June was good all month. He began with a spot start in Cedar Rapids where he tossed five shutout innings. In his four E-Twins starts, he gave up earned runs in just one of them. Opponents hit just .143 with a .414 OPS against him in the month. Pretty good first impression for the right-hander. #2 - RHP Matt Canterino - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 20.0 IP, 1.35 ERA, 0.65 WHIP, 6 H, 7 BB, 25 K Canterino was the Twins’ second-round pick in 2019 out of Rice University. After tossing 99 1/3 innings this spring for the Owls, the Twins have wisely eased him into pro ball. After some time away from the mound, he went to the GCL where he worked five innings over two games. He moved up to Cedar Rapids at the beginning of the month and they continued to monitor his innings. He averaged just four innings per start and hasn’t thrown more than 72 pitches in any outing. Nevertheless, he has been really impressive. He gave up just three runs, recorded strikeouts and opponents hit just .091 off of him in the month. Learn more about Canterino in this week’s articlefrom Steve Buhr. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos - RHP Bailey Ober - 4 GS, 27.0 IP, 0.67 ERA, 0.56 HIP, 13 H, 2 BB, 39 K Bailey Ober has put up eye-popping numbers in 2019. Overall, he is 8-0 with a 0.69 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. In April, he was a very close runner up in our monthly Starting Pitcher of the Month voting. Unfortunately, he ended the month on the Injured List and didn’t return until early July when he made a couple of rehab appearances before rejoining the Ft. Myers Miracle. However, after just four starts there, he earned his promotion to the Pensacola Blue Wahoos in early August. He continued to dominate. In his first start, he gave up two hits and one run over seven innings. In his second Blue Wahoos start, he struck out 12 batters over seven shutout innings. His third start? 11 strikeouts and only an unearned run in seven innings. In his final start of the month, and of the regular season, he gave up one hit over three innings in preparations for the playoffs. For the month, opponents hit just .141 with a .351 OPS against him. Ober was the Twins 13th-round pick in 2017 out of the College of Charleston. In college and as a pro, he has been very good on the mound when healthy. The 6-9 right-hander has a strong four-pitch mix and is certainly one to watch in 2020! Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of August, Pensacola Blue Wahoos right-hander Bailey Ober. Feel free to discuss and ask questions. Click here to view the article

No... he only played SS until they clinched. Other guys have been able to play some SS and he has been able to get some exposure at other spots. Never a bad thing.

That all may be true... but I'll give him 2-3 years, maybe even 3-5 years before giving up on him.

I edited the Costello section.

Hard to believe that the 2019 minor league season is over. Labor Day marks the final day of the minor league regular season. Five months of games have certainly done what we hope. Some prospects have taken big steps forward. There have been injuries. There have been struggles and adjustments. There have been promotions and demotions. There have been major-league debuts. It has been a lot of fun, and we thank you for following the Twins minor league system each day in our minor league reports. We work hard to bring you the best coverage of the Twins farm system available. Join me in thanking Tom Froemming, Cody Christie, Steve Lein, Ted Schwerzler and Matt Braun for their weekly coverage. Over the next week to ten days, we will also be unveiling the Twins Daily Minor League Awards. So check back soon to see who our winners will be. However, you’ll be glad to know that we will keep the minor league reports going for as long as the Twins have an affiliate playing playoff baseball. On Wednesday, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos and Cedar Rapids Kernels begin their playoff seasons. And even throughout the offseason, we will cover the winter leagues and the Arizona Fall League as well.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with the awards and transactions of the day. AWARDS Rochester announced their 2019 team awards, voted by their fans. Congratulations to all three!Wilin Rosario was named the team’s MVP.Zander Wiel was named the most popular.Jake Reed was named the Most Civic-Minded for the second straight year for his work in the community. He volunteered his time at various events and programs throughout the Rochester area, including heavy involvement with Rochester Challenger Baseball..TRANSACTIONS Rochester announced that infielder Joe Cronin joined them from Pensacola. LHP Denny Bentley was transferred to the Elizabethton roster after pitching on Sunday.Pensacola announced that they have received infielder Jose Miranda from the Miracle for their playoff roster.Darren Wolfson has reported that Trevor Hildenberger will be joining the Twins in Boston on Tuesday. He likely isn’t the last player who will be added to the Twins September roster. (according to Doogie's new The Scoops podcast, the Twins will also recall Ryne Harper and Fernando Romero.)RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 4, Syracuse 8 Box Score The Red Wings end their season with a .500 record, 70-70. With several players already up with the Twins, the Red Wings used several players from lower levels to fill their roster. The game was a bullpen game. Jake Reed made the start. He gave up two runs on four hits over the first two innings. He struck out four batters. Next in was Alex Schick who spent most of the second half of the season in Cedar Rapids. He gave up one run on two hits over three innings of work. Sam Clay came on and gave up five runs on six hits and a walk in just 1 2/3 innings. Trevor Hildenberger allowed two inherited runners to score and then recorded the next four outs, two on strikeouts. Ryne Harper struck out three, and walked one, in the final inning. Drew Maggi led the offense. He went 3-for-4. Ramon Flores was 2-for-4. The Red Wings had a couple of milestone homers. Brandon Barnes hit his 30th International League home run of the year. Wilin Rosario hit his 20th home run of the year. BLUE WAHOOS BITES Pensacola 8, Montgomery 0 Box Score The Blue Wahoos finished their schedule with a strong all-around game. As we like to do, if a team throws a shutout, we’ll start with the pitching update. It is most impressive because they only had their starter, Bailey Ober, go three innings before much of the bullpen got an opportunity. Ober continued his impressive run with three scoreless innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out three batters. Anthony Vizcaya gave up one hit and struck out two batters in his inning. Jovani Moran then struck out four batters over two scoreless innings. Andrew Vazquez and Tom Hackimer each struck out the side in their inning. Marcos Diplan finished it off with a scoreless ninth inning. The bats came out for the final game as well. They also weren’t afraid to take their walks. Trevor Larnach went 1-for-2 and walked three times. Alex Kirilloff and Royce Lewis each had a single and two walks. Jose Miranda made his Double-A debut and went 3-for-5 with a double. Travis Blankenhorn, Ryan Costello, Caleb Hamilton and Taylor Grzelakowski each had two hits. Also of note, after playing centerfield on Sunday, Royce Lewis split Monday’s game between second base and third base. The Blue Wahoos end their regular season with an overall record of 76-63. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 9, Beloit 3 Box Score Gabe Snyder has had a very strong first full season in professional baseball. He ended his regular season strong. The Midwest League’s postseason All Star first baseman went 2-for-5 with his 19th home run and three RBI. Seth Gray and Chris Williams each had two hits in the game. Wander Javier hit his 11th homer of the season. It was a bullpen game for the Kernels as they prepare for their playoff run. Brian Rapp gave up one run on three hits over 3 2/3 innings. He struck out three batters. JT Perez came on and gave up two runs (1 earned) on two hits and a walk over two innings. Nate Hadley got the next four outs. Austin Schulfer struck out the side in the eighth inning. Dylan Thomas gave up two hits and a walk in the ninth inning but did not allow a run. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Bailey Ober, Pensacola Blue Wahoos Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jose Miranda, Pensacola Blue Wahoos PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Pensacola) - 1-4, 2 BB, R, 2 K #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-4, 2 BB, R, RBI #4 - Trevor Larnach (Pensacola) - 1-2, 3 BB, R, 2 RBI #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, R, 2 RBI, K #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - 3-4, 2 R, 2B(13) #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, R, K #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 2-6, R TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Pensacola vs Biloxi - No game on Tuesday. Their series begins in Biloxi on Wednesday. Cedar Rapids vs Quad Cities - Not game on Tuesday. Their series begins on Wednesday in Quad Cities. Luis Rijo the likely Game 1 starter. Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Monday games or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

They could (and will) still add players tomorrow... could still see more transactions. Could even be another that would push Gordon up to the 60-Day... or maybe he could just get called up when he's healthy.

I don't think I would think that at all... They're guys who were from teams not going to the playoffs and they're giving them and extra two days...

Well, we know that Graterol is currently on a flight to Detroit. I wonder who else is on that flight.