Seth Stohs

Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS RHP Kohl Stewart returned to Rochester. OF Jimmy Kerrigan returned to Pensacola. LHP Andrew Vasquez and LHP Lachlan Wells began rehab assignments with the GCL Twins. Cody Allen will be assigned to Double-A Pensacola to start his minor league assignment. (he appears on the Blue Wahoos roster) In the GCL, Landon Leach and Seth Pinkerton were added to the 7 Day IL. Also, Zach Featherstone, Danny Moreno, Luis Gomez, Michael Montero, Sean Mooney, Jon Olsen and Fredderi Soto were placed on the 60 Day IL. RHP and 2019 draft pick Tyler Beck returned to the GCL Twins after his one appearance with the Ft. Myers Miracle. 11th-round pick Tanner Brubaker has signed. That means that the Twins have signed 16 of their first 17 draft picks so far. Darren Wolfson tweeted that fifth-round pick Will Holland (Auburn) is expected to come to Target Field this week and sign. For more on the Twins draft pick signings, click here. https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/1143274767471935488 RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 8, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 Box Score The score was tied 3-3 after six innings, and then 5-5 after seven innings. Jaylin Davis came to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning with two runners on and knocked his first AAA home run to give the team an 8-5 lead. Ian Krol came on for the ninth inning and gave up a solo homer but recorded his second save since joining the Red Wings. https://twitter.com/MorrieSilver8/status/1143343716754763776 Davis also threw out a runner at home. https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/1143331831913361408 Davis wasn’t the only Red Wings player to hit his first AAA home run on Monday night. Brian Schales hit his homer an inning earlier. Earlier in the game, Wilin Rosario hit his eighth home run of the season. Zander Wiel went 2-for-4. Schales was 2-for-3 with a walk. Wynston Sawyer went 3-for-4 with his 11th double. Sean Poppen made his first start for the Red Wings since his MLB debut last week. He struck out seven batters over 5 2/3 innings. He gave up three runs on six hits and two walks. Adam Bray came on and gave up two runs on four hits and a walk in 1 1/3 innings. DJ Baxendale struck out two batters in his inning. Krol gave up the solo homer and a walk in the ninth. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 2, Jacksonville 4 Box Score Griffin Jax put together arguably his best start of the season, but on this night the bullpen was unable to hold the lead. Jax started and threw seven shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked none and struck out five. He needed just 72 pitches to go seven innings and 56 of them were strikes. In the eighth inning, Jeff Ames came on. He faced three batters and gave up two hits and a walk. Still leading 2-1, Sam Clay was brought in with two runners on. Three hits later, the two inherited runners and one more scored. The Blue Wahoos were not able to generate much offense. Mark Contreras hit a fifth-inning homer, his third of the year. Travis Blankenhorn led off the game with his 13th home run with the Blue Wahoos, and 14th overall. Blankenhorn now has hits in 18 of his last 19 games. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score The Miracle had the day off. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score No game scheduled for the Kernels. E-TWINS E-NOTES E-Twins Box Score Elizabethton had their first day off since their season began a week ago. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Pirates 4 Box Score There are a lot of storylines in the GCL Twins opening game to their 2019 season. So let’s start with the game itself. The Twins fell behind 4-0. They attempted a comeback in the top of the ninth inning, but it fell just short. One big story is the return of LHP Lachlan wells to a game mound. It was the first time he has pitched in a regular season game since September 2, 2017. He had Tommy John surgery last May. In this game, he started with four scoreless innings, but he was charged with three runs in the fifth inning. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out nine batters. Following the game, the still-22-year-old Wells told Twins Daily, “It felt awesome to be back out there competing again. Can’t wait for the rest of the season.” After Wells’ day was done, LHP Andrew Vasquez came on. He has been on the IL since June 4th with a left shoulder strain. He worked two hitless innings. He walked one and struck out six batters. German right-hander Niklas Rimmel pitched the eighth inning. He gave up one run on one hit and one walk. The other big story of the game was the professional debut of Keoni Cavaco. He played shortstop and batted second in the order. He flew out to center field the first two times to bat. He then grounded out to third base. In his final at bat, he singled to left. Bryon Gandy, the Twins 32nd-round pick out of Lurleen B Wallace St JC this year, went 2-for-3 in the game. Parker Phillips (27th round, Austin Peay) had a single and an RBI. Jake Hirabayashi (39th round, UCLA) also had a single and an RBI. For each, the hits were their first in pro baseball. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Griffin Jax, Pensacola Blue Wahoos Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Rochester Red Wings PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 1-4, 3K #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 0-3, BB, K #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-5, R, K #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-4, 2B(10), R, RBI, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Scranton/Wilkes Barre @ Rochester (11:35 am CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (5-3, 4.76 ERA) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1-1, 5.70 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:30 CST) - RHP Jhoan Duran (1-6, 3.15 ERA) Wisconsin @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Kai-Wei Teng (2-0, 2.57 ERA) Bristol @ Elizabethton (5:30 CST) - TBD GCL Pirates @ 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.

Continue reading, and then discussing, the Twins Daily choices for 26th through 30th prospects of the Minnesota Twins below. 30. Lewin Diaz - 1B Age: 22 ETA: Late 2020 2019 Stats (High-A/AA): .303/.343/.541 (.884 OPS), 14 2B, 1 3B, 13 HR, 44 K, 14 BB. 2019 Preseason Ranking: NR Seth: 25 | Tom: 25 | Cody: 39 | Ted: NR | Steve: 18 Diaz was a big prospect when the Twins signed him for $1.4 million in July 2013. He was the Twins Daily short-season Minor League Hitter of the Year in 2016 when he had a strong season at Elizabethton. He was quite productive in Cedar Rapids in 2017. Last year, he struggled in the first half in Ft. Myers and his season ended with wrist surgery. He came to spring training much lighter in 2017 and lighter yet in 2018 and his hard work really paid off. He was red hot in May and selected the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month when he hit 10 home runs. He was promoted to Pensacola last week and started out hot there. 29. Devin Smeltzer - LHP Age: 23 ETA: 2019 2019 Stats (AAA/MLB): . MLB: 12.1 IP, 3.65 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 6.6 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, 3.0 K/BB MILB: 70.0 IP, 1.80 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 9.4 K/9, 1.5 BB/9, 6.1 K/BB 2019 Ranking: NR Seth: 31 | Tom: 31 | Cody: 21 | Ted: NR | Steve: NR When the Twins acquired Smeltzer (and Luke Raley) from the Dodgers last July for Brian Dozier, few knew much about the left-hander. And if anything, it was more about his story than his pitching. He had been moved to the bullpen by the Dodgers and pitched in that role in Chattanooga and in the Arizona Fall League. But this offseason, the decision was made for him to return to starting, and he has been terrific. He started in Pensacola where he gave up just two earned runs in 30 innings (five starts). He moved up to Rochester and started with 15 scoreless innings. He came up to the Twins and worked six shutout innings against the Brewers and made one more start. Smeltzer is a good reminder that command for pitchers is key. He tops out at about 92 but he mixes all of his pitches really well and he’s able to miss bats without issuing walks. http://traffic.libsyn.com/sethstohs/Get_To_Know_Em_Eps_4_Devin_Smeltzer_Final.mp3 28. Matt Canterino - RHP Age: 21 ETA: 2022 2019 Stats (College): 99.1 IP, 2.81 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, 11.0 K/9, 2.1 BB/9, 5.3 K/BB 2019 Ranking: NR Seth: 32 | Tom: 29 | Cody: 28 | Ted: 18 | Steve: 22 It is likely we won’t actually see Canterino pitch in 2019, and if he does, it will be with very limited innings in the low minor leagues. Just 21, he has a lot of pitching experience and innings under his belt, so I expect he will be shut down until spring. He has pitched for Rice University the last three years. He is one of just two college pitchers who has over 100 strikeouts in each of the past three seasons. He spent a summer with Team USA. He spent last summer in the Cape Cod League. He throws a fastball that sits in the 92-94 range but he can crank it up into the upper 90s. He’s got a good mid-80s slider and a spike curveball. https://twitter.com/DWolfsonKSTP/status/1135753743826395136 27. Luke Raley - OF Age: 24 ETA: 2020 2019 Stats (AAA): .302/.362/.516 (.878 OPS), 6 2B, 0 3B, 7 HR, 42 K, 7 BB. 2019 Preseason Ranking: Seth: 19 | Tom: 23 | Cody: 46 | Ted: 15 | Steve: 28 Raley has kind of always been an overlooked player. He had a really good high school career, yet he ended up going to Division II Lake Erie College. He dominated at that level but was a seventh-round pick of the Dodgers in 2016. He has put up a lot of power since then while never being considered a top prospect. We continue that trend with these rankings. When Raley’s season came to an abrupt stop with an ankle injury, he was playing well and just starting to display some big power for that Red Wings offense. He has a ton of power, and he’s also got enough speed that he played quite a bit in center field. People tout his high-energy level and willingness to work, along with his power potential. 26. Gilberto Celestino - OF ETA: 2018 Age: 20 2019 Stats (Low-A): .217/.298/.314 (.612 OPS), 11 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 51 K, 28 BB. 2019 Ranking: 16 Seth: 27 | Tom: 26 | Cody: 27 | Ted: 24 | Steve: 29 The Twins acquired Celestino, along with RHP Jorge Alcala, late last July from the Houston Astros in exchange for RHP Ryan Pressly. Celestino was a big international signing when he was a 16-year-old. He is a very good athlete. He’s not tall, but he is built strong and has really good speed. Some scouting reports indicate that he a very good defensive center fielder with a strong arm and room to continue to improve. Offensively, he works counts and is willing to take walks, though that has led to a lot of strikeouts to this point. He’s very young for the Midwest League and has not been over-matched. That's it for now. The prospect rankings will continue tomorrow. Feel free to ask questions and leave comments below. Twins Daily 2019 Midseason Prospect Rankings Prospects 36-40 Prospects 31-35 Prospects 26-30 Prospects 21-25 (Coming Soon)

Cody Allen had a few really good years in Cleveland. Many assumed that his connection with Twins CBO Derek Falvey made him a realistic offseason target for the Twins. Instead he signed with the Angels. Things did not go well for Allen in Anaheim. He was designated for assignment before being given his outright release last week. In 25 games for the Halos, he posted a 6.26 ERA and a 1.91 WHIP. In just 23 innings, he had 29 strikeouts but also walked 20 batters. From 2013 to 2017 (five seasons), he never posted an ERA over 2.99. He was Cleveland's closer a couple of those years and a key late-inning reliever. He posted 145 saves for them Jon Heyman was the first to tweet the news. Dan Hayes posts an update with a good reason for the signing. "There is no timeline." The Twins don't have to push him to the big leagues to see value. "They want to get their hands on him." Derek Falvey came to the Twins with a reputation as being a pitcher guru from his days in Cleveland. Wes Johnson is being given a lot of credit for the Twins pitching successes in 2019. It will be interesting to see when Allen arrives with a Twins affiliate and which affiliate that is. How quickly will he get to Rochester? And, the strikeouts certainly indicate that there is some stuff remaining for the still-just-30-year-old. As with RHP Drew Hutchinson, who signed a minor league deal with the Twins on Friday, signing Allen to a minor league deal is a no-risk, potentially good reward deal. If he never finds his velocity and isn't good in the minors, the Twins are not obligated to call him up. If he finds his stuff again, the Twins could have added a low-cost late inning reliever for the season's final weeks.