Seth Stohs

Should the Twins focus their July trade deadline attention on the bullpen, or should they also consider adding a starting pitcher? Either way, potential trade partners have certainly been scouting the Twins minor league system. No doubt they have studied and viewed each of the Twins minor league starting pitchers. In the paragraphs that follow, we take a look at the Twins starting pitchers throughout the organization and think about which players these teams might target. Minnesota Twins: Jose Berrios (25), Jake Odorizzi (29), Kyle Gibson (31), Martin Perez (28), Michael Pineda (30) That is the Twins current starting rotation. To be honest, it has been pretty strong. Jose Berrios has taken another step forward and was an All-Star for the second straight season. Jake Odorizzi had a very strong first half, at one time winning ten straight games, on his way to his first All-Star Game. Kyle Gibson has had some ups and downs throughout the season. Martin Perez was shockingly good through the first six to eight weeks of the season. Then after a few rough starts, he has been solid again the last couple of outings. And, Michael Pineda has been really consistent. Almost every game, you can rely him him giving up two of three runs in about six innings. That’s a pretty reliable starting five. The Twins have also had five or six spot-starts from Triple-A guys who have performed admirably as well.Rochester Red Wings: Drew Hutchison (28), Sean Poppen (25), Devin Smeltzer (23), Kohl Stewart (24), Lewis Thorpe (23), Stephen Gonsalves (24-IL) The AAA depth has now all seen time in the big leagues. Hutchison spent a few years with the Blue Jays and recently signed with the Twins. Stewart and Gonsalves debuted in 2018. Gonsalves has been hurt but recently started throwing again and hopes to be able to pitch by season’s end. Smeltzer, Poppen and Thorpe have debuted in 2019. The front office could use one or two of these pitchers in trades. However, they have had time to evaluate them and consider whether they could be starters or relievers for the Twins for the next four to six years. Remember that as many as four of the Twins five starting pitchers could be free agents after this season. Having MLB ready starting options will be important. So while any of these guys could be second or third pieces in a big deal, it’s nice to have the depth for 2020. Pensacola Blue Wahoos: Jorge Alcala (23), Charlie Barnes (23), Edwar Colina (22), Randy Dobnak (24), Griffin Jax (24), Bryan Sammons (24), Tyler Wells (24-IL), Randy LeBlanc (27-IL), Andro Cutura (25-IL), Brusdar Graterol (20-IL) Tyler Wells was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in 2018, but he had Tommy John surgery in May. Randy LeBlanc had Tommy John surgery last year. Andro Cutura returned from missing nearly two years due to Tommy John, so they have limited his innings. But Brusdar Graterol is the top prospect here, and the hard-throwing righty is on the IL with shoulder impingement. Jorge Alcala has struggled at times, but he works in the upper-90s and has three pitches. His future may be in the bullpen (most likely). Edwar Colina is another upper-90s guy who was just promoted to Double-A. He is a pitcher as well, not just a hard thrower. Jax and Dobnak have both been good this season despite not having the same overpowering fastballs, but they are both very smart pitchers. Lefties Barnes and Sammons have both come up from Ft. Myers and done well. They both rely on command and control and mixing their pitches. Ft. Myers Miracle: Jordan Balazovic (20), Jhoan Duran (21), Blayne Enlow (20), Bailey Ober (23), Cole Sands (21), Tyler Watson (22), Lachlan Wells (22) The current Miracle starting staff is really exciting in terms of prospects. There have been several reports of scouts in the seats at Hammond Stadium. Jordan Balazovic has risen up quickly on prospect rankings. Keith Law was ahead of the game on this, but Balazovic has earned his ranking by combining his great stuff with projectability and great numbers too. He represented the Twins in the Futures Game. Duran is another who is pitching much better than his 1-8 record might indicate. He’s another guy who hits triple digits multiple times each game. Enlow started out slowly but since joining the Miracle, he has been fantastic. His velocity is up and his breaking pitches remain very good. Ober has just returned from another injury, but when he has been healthy, he has been really good. Sands has done well in his pro debut after being the Twins fifth-round pick a year ago.. He began in Cedar Rapids before moving up to Ft. Myers a month ago.Tyler Watson came to the organization from the Nationals and has continued to develop each of his pitches. And Lachlan Wells, a former Top 30 Twins prospect, returned to the Miracle last week after missing the last season-and-a-half due to Tommy John. And the Australian is still just 22! Cedar Rapids Kernels: Andrew Cabezas (22), Tyler Palm (24), Luis Rijo (20), Austin Schulfer (23), Kai-Wei Teng (20), Josh Winder (22), Kody Funderburk (22-IL) Often in the lower levels you can figure out prospect status by age-to-level-of-competition, and that is likely the case with this group. Rijo came to the Twins a year ago in the Lance Lynn deal and has been really good the last month. Teng was signed out of Taiwan, and at 20, he has been very impressive since joining the Kernels. In his most recent start, he was hitting 96 with a good pitch mix. But Winder was a seventh-round pick a year ago and has been very good too. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month in June. Schulfer has probably been the Kernels most reliable, consistent pitcher all season. He began the year in the bullpen in long relief, but gradually moved into the rotation. Cabezas was the Twins Daily short-season Minor League Pitcher of the Year in 2018. He’s had some ups and downs but when he’s been on, he’s had some really strong games. Palm has bounced around a bit. He signed a year ago out of the independent leagues, but he’s very tall and touches the mid-90s. Funderburk was drafted a year ago out of college where he was a very good two-way player. He doesn’t throw real hard, but when healthy, he has provided quality innings. Elizabethton Twins: Prelander Berroa (19), Sawyer Gipson (21), Ben Gross (22), Andriu Marin (20), Ryley Widell (22), Tyler Benninghoff (21) Tanner Brubaker (21-IL), Brent Headrick (21-IL), Casey Legumina (22-IL), Much of this group was drafted in 2019 and are looking to just make a good first impression in limited innings in their pro debuts. Benninghoff was the Twins 11th- round pick in 2016 and signed for well over slot. Immediately, he had Tommy John surgery and returned briefly at the end of last year in the GCL. He’s moved up this year and is one to watch. Prelander Berroa is not a big kid, but he is likely the top prospect in this group. He throws hard and has some pitches to work with. Widell was their 7th round pick in 2017, but he missed 2018 season due to a couple of bouts with mono. GCL Twins: Donny Breek (19), Matt Canterino (21), Niklas Rimmel (19), Michael Montero (19-IL), Jon Olsen (22-IL), Regi Grace (19-IL). This is another intriguing group, even with the injuries. We knew that the Twins probably wouldn't have second-round pick Canterino pitch too much this year, so he could stay in the GCL or potentially move up a level. Breek was signed out of The Netherlands and Rimmel grew up in Germany. Both were well known prospects in Europe and intriguing as prospects. Montero is also one to watch, but he just had Tommy John surgery last week. Olsen had Tommy John last year while at UCLA and is still recovering this season. Grace has the size and projectability to be really good, but he is young and will be taken care of. Twins Daily Top 40 Midseason Prospects #3 - Brusdar Graterol #6 - Jordan Balazovic #9 - Jhoan Duran #10 - Blayne Enlow #11 - Lewis Thorpe #18 - Jorge Alcala #21 - Stephen Gonsalves #24 - Edwar Colina #28 - Matt Canterino #29 - Devin Smeltzer #32 - Griffin Jax #33 - Tyler Wells #34 - Cole Sands #37 - Kohl Stewart #38 - Bailey Ober #40 - Sean Poppen Have Hit 100 mph in 2019: Brusdar Graterol, Jhoan Duran, Jorge Alcala, Edwar Colina Outside Top 40, but Teams May Ask: Charlie Barnes, Lachlan Wells, Luis Rijo, Kai-Wei Teng, Josh Winder, Prelander Berroa. Summary: Teams in contact with the Twins will certainly ask for Brusdar Graterol and Jordan Balazovic, and while neither might be completely untouchable, the Twins would be wise to only deal them if completely overwhelmed. Duran is just behind those two but should also only be available if the return package is strong and multi-year. He and Enlow could be available. Personally, I would put Edwar Colina in that same category as well. Beyond that, one would think that the other starting pitchers are available. However, this is why depth in prospects, not only in pitching but also at all positions, is so important for the Twins to acquire and maintain. Click here to view the article

Trevor Larnach has been promoted to AA Pensacola. Travis Blankenhorn placed on the Injured List.

Updated...thank you!

Yeah, he should be ready by spring training.

Already giving up Stewart, I don't see why it would take a RHP prospect in AA who hits triple-digits too. To be fair, a 20-year-old still in the DSL isn't even a prospect anymore... then again, maybe it's just me... I have Colina as my #13 Twins prospect, and I might have a thing for your pitchers capable of being a starter who hits 100 mph pretty much every game and has three or four pitches and is already at AA.

We hear it from time to time, but it is a phrase that is important to remember. Player development is not linear. From the time a player signs until he reaches the big leagues - should that happen - is filled with ups and downs. The hope, of course, is that there are more ups than downs. But more important is the development. Not the stats, but the development. Several of the Twins top prospects have had rough first halves this season. A few former prospects had a rough year last year. A few of them have regained prospect status in 2019. At the end of the day, it is really hard to get to the big leagues, much less stay there. Wander Javier has been struggling since joining the Kernels about six weeks ago. He also missed all of 2018 and the first couple of months this season with injury. Hopefully he is working on things. Royce Lewis hasn’t put up huge numbers in Ft. Myers, but as we know, he continues to work on things. Pitchers are working on new pitches, or tightening up their current pitches, or working in a different role. Remember that the goal isn’t about being great, or even necessarily good, in Cedar Rapids or Ft. Myers. The goal is for them to be great or at least productive big leaguers. And again, that is a lofty goal. On Monday, Wander Javier had the kind of game that hopefully can help relax him and propel him to a strong second half. Perhaps playing in the Futures Game and in that environment will catapult Royce Lewis to a strong second half, maybe pushing toward a promotion to Double-A. Zander Wiel and Jaylin Davis are two late-round draft picks out of college who have gradually worked their way up to the minor league’s highest level where they are finding a lot of success. Lewin Diaz's prospect status has certainly been regained with his 2019 performance. The list is - or at least could - go on and on with examples, good and bad… and that’s what makes following the minor leagues and the prospects fun and intriguing. With that little sermonette, I certainly hope that you will enjoy today’s Twins Minor League Report. Enjoy the ups and downs and remember it’s all about the process, and it’s all with a goal to get productive players to the big leagues.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Pensacola announced that LHP Jovani Moran was activated from the IL. Also, Tom Hackimer was activated from the suspended list. Veterans Jeff Ames and Zack Weiss were released.AWARDS Cedar Rapids Kernels RHP Kai-Wei Teng was named the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 11 Norfolk 4 Box Score Zander Wiel continued his impressive power display in 2019. For the third time this season, and the second time in three games, he hit two homers in a game. Wiel last played last Thursday in a doubleheader. In Game 1, he went 4-for-4 with two doubles and two homers. Before Friday’s game, he tweaked his back and missed the Red Wings weekend games. He returned on Monday and went 2-for-4 with his 16th and 17 home runs. The second came in the team’s five-run fifth inning when his two-run homer was later followed by a three-run homer by Drew Maggi. It was Maggi’s eighth homer of the Red Wings season. He went 1-for-3 with two walks. But obviously in a 14-run game, the Kernels got offense from many others besides Javier. Spencer Steer (2019 third round, Oregon) went 3-for-4 with a walk and his first MWL homer. Gilberto Celestino had two hits including a bases-clearing double. Gabe Snyder knocked his ninth home run. Tyler Webb hit his first Kernels home run. Alex Isola, another 2019 draft pick (29th round, TCU) who has been with the Kernels for about ten days, went 3-for-5 with his first MWL home run (he did have one with Elizabethton). Austin Schulfer started and gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out six. Alex Schick got the next four outs. 2019 25th-round pick (from UCLA) Nate Hadley picked up his first Kernels win. He struck out two over a scoreless 1 1/3 innings. Ricky Ramirez got the final six outs and gave up just one run on two hits. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins 5, Johnson City 9 Box Score Things didn’t exactly start out well for the E-Twins hitters. Through six innings, 18 batters came to the plate and 18 batters were gotten out. In the seventh inning, Ruben Santana singled to break up the perfect game. Anthony Prato was then hit by a pitch. Soon after, Albee Weiss came up and drilled a three-run homer, his ninth of the E-Twins season. In the ninth, Weiss tripled in a run and then scored on a ground out. However, it wasn’t enough and the Twins fell to 15-11. Lefty Ryley Widell started and was charged with six runs on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out six batters. Erik Cha came on and gave up one run on three hits over 3 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Osiris German gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth inning. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 3 Box Score Dutch right-hander Donny Breek was on the mound to start Monday’s game. He gave up three runs (just one earned) on two hits and three walks over the first four innings. He struck out one. Moldovan lefty Petru Balan walked two and struck out two over two scoreless, hitless innings. Recently-signed Evan Gillespie worked two scoreless frames. The lefty gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. Top 2019 draft pick Keoni Cavaco went 2-for-5 and drove in the team’s lone run. Parker Phillips went 2-for-4. Jake Hirabayashi got hit by a pitch twice. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Devin Smeltzer, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Wander Javier, Cedar Rapids Kernels PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 2-4, R, K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 4-5, 2 HR(4), 2 R, 6 RBI #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - 2-5, RBI, K #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Did Not Play. #9 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch. #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 2-5, 2B(23), R, K #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - All Star Break #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 1-4, K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 1-3, BB, 2B(3), K #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured (Tommy John) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 2-5, HR(2), 2 R, RBI, K, OF Assist #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - Did Not Play. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Norfolk (6:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen (5-0, 2.39 ERA) Montgomery @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (2-2, 5.30 ERA) Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:00 CST) - RHP Cole Sands (2-2, 2.22 ERA) Cedar Rapids - No Game Scheduled. Johnson City @ Elizabethton (5:30 CST) - RHP Tyler Benninghoff (1-1, 9.49 ERA) GCL Rays @ GCL Twins (11:00 CST) - TBD 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

Thank you all.... As someone who has been blogging many times per week (I think averaging about 6-8 articles per week) for 16 full years, it has been so much fun to see the increased readership and increased blogging and increased forum activity here over the last couple of months. Obviously it's fun seeing the Twins play great too. But this community is great. Hopefully you all enjoy it, and hopefully some of you who have been reading the site will register and see how easy it is to join the discussions in the forums. Or try your hand on the Blogs. This season has been fun, and these next couple of weeks and couple of months should be a lot of fun too! Thank you again for helping Twins Daily become a great community for Twins fans! I'm proud to be a small part of this!

Like I said... never a worry about Wander Javier...

Man is he crushing the ball in Rochester!! Very impressive!

I love looking back at that kind of stuff. I did a few Q&As with Alex Smit when he was in the low minors. He was one of the first from The Netherlands. And Portes was an interesting prospect. He could hit. No position, but he could hit.

Steve is traveling to Ft. Myers today and the next couple of days, but when he is in Cedar Rapids he gets to most of the home games. I can tell you that there is absolutely concern about Javier within the organization. I'm sure they're wondering if they brought him back too soon, pushed him up to Cedar Rapids too quickly after missing the year and then the injury. I'm sure they're struggling with what to do next. Do they send him to Elizabethton (And with Spencer Steer called up to the Kernels today, that could happen). Do they just trust his talent and athleticism and work with him to get him out? I've said that I would probably consider putting him on the IL, sending him back to Ft. Myers to almost start over, in a few weeks get him into some GCL "rehab" games... and hope he regains confidence.

Lewis is immensely media savvy and legitimately nice. In addition, he actually really enjoys answering questions. And, he's also very smart, and very baseball smart, so you actually can learn a lot from him as well.

That's the goal!! Well done!

He's making the decision really easy for the Twins...

The Red Wings returned from their All-Star break with a doubleheader. In game 1, Ronald Torreyes had three hits and homered twice. But as we have known since childhood, Zander Wiel makes the Red Wings bus go round and round. Quietly the 2015 12th round pick from Vanderbilt is putting together a monster season in Triple-A. He deserves to be noticed and a game like this will get a player noticed. There were a large number of transactions again on Thursday including the transfer of Cody Allen from the Miracle to the Red Wings.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS RH RP Cody Allen was reinstated from the temporary inactive list and promoted from Ft. Myers to Rochester.IF Brian Schales was promoted from Pensacola to Rochester.The Red Wings officially received recently-optioned RHP Kohl Stewart and LHP Devin Smeltzer from the Twins.DJ Baxendale was placed on the Red Wings Injured List.LH RP Andrew Vasquez was sent from Rochester to Pensacola.The Blue Wahoos also announced that the Twins have signed veteran infielder (and former big leaguer) Ivan De Jesus, Jr. to a minor league deal and assigned him to Pensacola.RHP Edwar Colina was promoted from Ft. Myers to Pensacola.RH RP Moises Gomez was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers.RH RP Nate Hadley, the Twins 25th round pick last month, was promoted to the Kernels from Elizabethton.RED WINGS REPORTGame 1 - Rochester 13, Lehigh Valley 5 Box Score Zander Wiel continues to quietly put up big numbers for the Red Wings this year. In this game, he hit his 23rd and 24th doubles and his 14th and 15th home runs. He drove in seven runs. That is a good week! Ronald Torreyes knocked his sixth and seventh homers and drove in four runs. He went 3-for-4. Wilin Rosario was also 3-for-4 in the game. Jaylin Davis went 2-for-4. Nick Gordon drove in two runs with a single. Sean Poppen started Game 1 and gave up three runs on four hits and four walks over four innings. He also struck out four batters. Carlos Torres came on to start the fifth inning. He went the final three innings and gave up two runs on three hits. He walked three and struck out three… to win his third game since joining the Red Wings. Game 2 - Rochester, Lehigh Valley Box Score Game is in progress. This will be updated upon game's completion. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 2, Montgomery 6 Box Score Lefty Bryan Sammons started and gave up four runs on four hits over the first four innings. He walked one, hit two batters, and struck out three batters. Zack Weiss came on and gave up one run on one hit over 2 1/3 innings. He walked four and struck out one batter. Alex Phillips gave up two runs on two hits over the next two innings. He walked three and struck out one. Hector Lujan got the final two outs of the top of the ninth inning, but not before allowing an inherited runner to score and two more of his own. He gave up three hits and struck out one batter. Travis Blankenhorn led the offense. He went 2-for-4 with his 14th double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers, Daytona Box Score Game cancelled by Rain. It will not be made up. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Great Lakes 3 Box Score Luis Rijo put together one of the best starts in the organization in his most recent starts, and he followed it with another really strong start. The right-hander started with six shutout innings. He gave up two runs in the seventh. In 6 2/3 innings, he gave up those two runs on seven hits and two walks. He struck out six batters. Alex Schick came on and gave up one run on two hits over the final 2 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out two batters. For the second straight game, Trevor Casanova hit a home run, his third in 15 games since joining the Kernels. A catcher, he has been playing often in the Kernels outfield, and on this night he threw out a runner at home. It provided the team their lone run. Gabe Snyder went 2-for-3 with a walk. --------------------------------------------- In case you missed it, on Wednesday night in Cedar Rapids, they introduced their 2019 Hall of Fame class. The group included long-time Board of Directors member Gary Keoppel, players Jerry Reuss and Hector Cruz ,and manager Jake Mauer. Jeff Johnson chatted with Mauerabout getting away from the game, what he misses and what he’s up to these days. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins 0, Burlington 5 Box Score The E-Twins had a rough game. The offense only managed four hits, the same number of errors that they had in the night. Spencer Steer hit a triple, the team’s lone extra-base hit. Matt Wallner had a single, and he also threw out a runner at third base from right field. Ben Gross made the start for the E-Twins. He went the first four innings and gave up two runs (one earned) on five hits. He struck out six without a walk. Lefty Erik Cha came on and gave up three runs on five hits and two walks in two innings. He struck out three. Steven Cruz struck out six batters in three scoreless, hitless innings. He walked one. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score German right-hander Niklas Rimmel made the start for the Twins on Thursday afternoon. He gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits over five innings .He struck out five without walking any, though he did hit one batter. Venezuelan righty Miguel Rodriguez came on and tossed three scoreless innings for his second straight outing. On this day, he gave up one hit, walked one and struck out seven batters. Lefty Evan Gillespie, recently signed out of Faulkner University, gave up one hit in a scoreless ninth. He was credited with his first professional win. The Twins entered the bottom of the ninth inning down 2-0. With one out, Wander Valdez, Francisco Martinez and Bryson Gandy all singled to load the bases. Alec Craig walked to bring in the team’s first run. Martinez scored on a wild pitch to tie the game. Jesus Feliz walked to reload the bases. Parker Phillips ended the game with a sacrifice fly deep enough to score Bryson Gandy with the winning run. LaRon Smith went 2-for-4. Along with the game-winning RBI, Phillips went 2-for-4. Wander Valdez entered the game late and went 2-for-2. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Luis Rijo, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Zander Wiel, Rochester Red Wings PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Midseason Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 0-4, RBI, 3 K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 K #6 - Jordan Balazovic (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #7 - Keoni Cavaco (GCL Twins) - Did Not Play #8 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Game 2 ( #9 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #11 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #12 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Game 1 (1-4, R, 2 RBI), Game 2 ( #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - Rained Out #14 - Luis Arraez (Minnesota) - All Star Break #15 - Matt Wallner (Elizabethton) - 1-3, 2 K, OF Assist #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 1-4, K #17 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured (Tommy John) #18 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #19 - Misael Urbina (DSL Twins) - 0-3, 2 BB, R, RBI #20 - Travis Blankenhorn (Pensacola) - 2-4, 2B(14), RBI FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (5:05 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe (4-4, 5.50 ERA) Montgomery @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (4-0, 2.92 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-2, 1.95 ERA) Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Josh Winder (6-1, 2.32 ERA) Burlington @ Elizabethton (5:30 CST) - Andriu Marin (1-1, 2.77 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00 CST) - TBD 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

updated it... thank you!

The other alternative is for Rooker to spend the season playing twice a week behind Rosario, Cron and Cruz... I like the idea of him playing 6 games a week and getting better. They can call him up on August 30th to be a role player in September.

Except the A's are the ones that paid him millions. The Twins will likely spend about $20,000 over 3-5 years to see if a guy who throws in the upper-90s can figure out where the strike zone is. That's a pretty good risk.

Chatted with Leach a bit this morning. Didn't go into a lot of detail, but he has had a couple of setbacks in the rehab of his arm. He's disappointed and just wants to pitch, but he has to be frustrated. Like I've pointed out, he's such a big, strong kid and he can throw hard. Just have to keep being patient... us and him.

I moved the Draft Signings thread back to the front page.

It's a commuter trip to Davenport.

Yeah, I like that most minor leagues give the day off for the All Star game. Southern League and Florida State League still played. I knew the Southern League played but I thought the FSL usually didn't.