Seth Stohs

The Twins front office added a bunch of power to the lineup via free agency this offseason. Now in the draft, the organization is adding more power. They have added power in trades. I mean, you consider Wallner, Rooker, Larnach, Jeffers, Raley... all acquired via the draft (and Raley via trade) in the recent past.

I think he can be on the Larnach/Jeffers schedule. I think that makes a lot of sense. Let him adjust to pro life and meet the other 2019 college draft picks and some other prospects in E-Town for a month. Then push him up to Cedar Rapids to meet some more coaches and players. That'd be a very successful pro debut and put him in a position to start 2019 in Ft. Myers.

Haven't heard any specifics yet.

While the Twins were off and the MLB Draft was the highlight of the night, three of the four minor league affiliates played. In fact, two of the three played extra innings. The Blue Wahoos won in a walkoff. Find out what happened throughout the minor leagues on and off the field.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Nelson Cruz’s rehab stint with the Miracle is officially complete as he was activated by the Twins on Monday morning. Cruz takes Luis Arraez’s roster spot. He was optioned following Sunday’s game.Rochester OF John Andreoli was traded by the Twins to the Seattle Mariners organization for cash considerations.Pensacola announced that OF/1B Alex Kirilloff has been placed on the Injured List.AWARDSOn Sunday the Twins announce their minor league award.2018 first-round draft pick Trevor Larnach was named the Player of the Week for the second time this year. He went 11-for-21 (.524) with two doubles and two homers.RHP Jhoan Duran was the Pitcher of the Week. He gave up one earned run on two hits in six innings. He also struck out 14 batters. He came to the Twins from the Diamondbacks in the Eduardo Escobar trade last July.On Monday, Larnach was named the Florida State League Player of the Week as well.THE DRAFTThe Twins make three picks on Day 1 of the Draft: With the 13th overall pick, the Twins selected 3B Keoni Cavaco, from East Lake High School in San Diego.With the 39th overall pick, the Twins selected Forest Lake High School grad, outfielder Matt Wallner out of the University of Southern Mississippi.With their 2nd round pick (54th overall), the Twins drafted RHP Matt Canterinoout of Rice University.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 4, Syracuse 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Red Wings fell behind early 3-0 after Gabriel Moya gave up three runs on five hits as team’s opener. They clawed back quickly. In the second inning, Wilin Rosario hit a sacrifice fly. In the fourth inning, Jordany Valdespin tripled in two runs to tie the game. Then things were quiet through the ninth inning. Randy Dobnak kept the Red Wings in the game and gave them a chance. He worked six shutout innings despite giving up five hits and four walks. He struck out six batters. DJ Baxendale came on and worked scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth innings. In the tenth, Wilin Rosario hit a sacrifice fly to put the Red Wings ahead by a score of 4-3. However, the leadoff batter in the bottom of the 10th tripled in a run. The Red Wings had DJ Baxendale intentionally walk the next two batters, and the following hitter singled to drive in the game-winning (or losing, as it was, for the Red Wings) run. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 8, Jacksonville 7 Box Score Another extra innings game, and lets lead with the game-winner. In the bottom of the 10th, with a runners on first and second, Jaylin Davis doubled in the game-winning run. Davis led the offense. He went 3-for-5. The double was his seventh of the year, and he also stole his sixth base. Caleb Hamilton had a great game. He went 2-for-3 with four RBI. He had a sacrifice fly, an RBI single and a two-run single. He also stole his fourth base. Travis Blankenhorn was 2-for-5 with his sixth double. Charlie Barnes made his second Blue Wahoos start. The lefty went the first five innings and gave up four runs on six hits. He walked one and struck out five. Adam Bray threw three scoreless innings. He got one out in the fourth but two of his runs scored that inning. He gave up two runs on four hits and struck out three. Tyler Jay got the final two outs of the ninth inning but not before he gave up the Bray runners and one of his own to tie the game. Williams Ramirez got the final two outs to record the Win. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Florida 2 Box Score Edwar Colina missed the first month of the season, but he has picked up where he left off of late. On Monday night, he improved to 3-1 with a 3.45 ERA. The powerful right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out four without issuing a walk. Adam Phillips came in and struck out four batters over two innings. He gave up just one hit. Hector Lujan picked up his fourth save. He struck out two in a perfect ninth inning. The Miracle jumped out to a lead early. They scored three runs in the first inning. Ryan Jeffers singled in a run. Jose Miranda followed with an BI double. Mark Contreras contributed a sacrifice fly. Royce Lewis added a sacrifice fly in the second inning. Michael Helman led the Miracle offense. He went 2-for-3 with a walk and his sixth double of the season. It came in the eighth inning and drove in an insurance run. He also stole a base. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score No Game Scheduled. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Randy Dobnak, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jaylin Davis, Pensacola Blue Wahoos PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, RBI, K, SF #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R #5 - Wander Javier (CR) - No Game Scheduled #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - 2-4, BB, R, 2 K #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch. #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Rained Out. #9 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch. #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-6, K #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List (elbow) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 1-3, BB, R, RBI, K #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 1-4, BB, R, 2 K #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (thumb) #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - No Game Scheduled. #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch. #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-4, BB, R #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, 2B(11), RBI, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (12:05 CST) - TBD Jacksonville @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Jorge Alcala (4-2, 4.75 ERA) Florida @ Ft. Myers (5:30 CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (1-0, 1.50 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Clinton (6:30 CST) - RHP Kai-Wei Teng (1st MWL start) 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

And his dad played for the 1987 Twins so there is lots of fun marketing that could be done with that pick.

Here is a mock draft showing two Minnesota kids getting drafted in the first round.

Yesterday, we announced our choice for May’s Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month. Today, we will look at a group of starting pitchers who had strong starts to their season. The rankings were really difficult, so be sure to add your rankings as well. Previous 2019 Starting Pitchers of the Month: April - Devin Smeltzer - Pensacola Blue WahoosBefore we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Five Starters for May, there were some other strong starting performers that just missed the cut. You can certainly agree or disagree with the rankings. Let’s discuss the top starting pitchers in the organization in May. HONORABLE MENTION Brusdar Graterol - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 4 GS, 20.1 IP, 1.33 ERA, 1.08 WHIP. 15 H, 7 BB, 18 K Josh Winder - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 27.0 IP, 3.67 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 19 H, 8 BB, 19 K Bryan Sammons - Ft. Myers Miracle/Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 4 GS, 20.0 IP, 1.35 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 19 H, 6 BB, 29 K Randy Dobnak - Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings - 6 GS, 26.0 IP, 3.81 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, 23 H, 8 BB, 27 K THE TOP FIVE STARTING PITCHERS #5 - RHP Austin Schulfer - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 7 G, 4 GS, 22.0 IP, 3.27 ERA, 1.05 WHIP, 13 H, 10 BB, 32 K Schulfer was the Twins 19th round pick one year ago out of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee where he was a four-year starter. He had an impressive professional debut. For Elizabethton, he went 3-0 with a 1.58 ERA. He began the 2019 season in the Kernels bullpen, but it was in long relief. Likely that was to help with his innings count over the season. In May, opponents hit just .165/.258/.266 (.524) off of him. He now appears to be in the Kernels rotation and pitching well. #4 - RHP Kohl Stewart - Rochester Red Wings - 4 GS, 1.93 ERA, 1.23 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 15 H, 8 BB, 18 K For the second time this season, Kohl Stewart was called up by the Twins to make a spot start. On May 7th, Stewart made a start against Toledo. He went just two innings because the team knew he would be starting game 2 of the May 11th double header against the parent club of the Mudhens, the Detroit Tigers. Stewart gave up three runs in six innings to pick up the win. Those numbers aren’t included in his monthly total above. Stewart may have walked a few too many, but the former 1st-round pick continued to throw well and show that he is ready to pitch in the big leagues when summoned. #3 - LHP Devin Smeltzer - Rochester Red Wings - 4 GS, 1.82 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 24.2 IP, 20 H, 7 BB, 15 K Smeltzer was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month in April when he produced an impressive month in Pensacola. He was quickly promoted to the Red Wings in May and ended the month with six shutout innings against the Milwaukee Brewers in his big-league debut. Those numbers aren’t included in the above, but I’d say that big league time can be a tie-breaker. And, these numbers do tell us that Smeltzer was very deserving of The Call. Even at the highest level of the minor leagues, Smeltzer displayed calm. He doesn’t throw hard, but he knows how to pitch and is able to hit spots. His first start in June will also be with the Twins. Get to know him here. #2 - RHP Blayne Enlow - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle - 5 GS, 2.12 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 29.2 IP, 22 H, 8 BB, 30 K There were a couple of rough starts for Enlow in April, but in May, Blayne Enlow was a terrific. After spending 2018 in Cedar Rapids, Enlow began 2019 as a Kernel again. He was pitching well in May. Well enough, in fact, that he was promoted to Ft. Myers and finished the month with a strong Miracle debut. He started with six shutout innings before giving up a leadoff home run in the 7th inning and coming out. For the month, opponents hit just .191/.244/.348 (.592) against him. The Twins 3rd-round pick in 2017 out of high school in Louisiana had a good fastball and can spin the ball well too. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle - RHP Jordan Balazovic - 5 GS, 2.13 ERA, 0.67 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 12 H, 5 BB, 35 K Balazovic was the Twins 5th-round draft pick in 2016 out of secondary school in Mississauga, Ontario. He had some ups and downs in 2017, but he took off last year after being pushed up to Cedar Rapids. He made 11 starts for the Kernels and showed promise. Sure, he hoped to start 2019 in Ft. Myers, but he did spend the first month of the season back with the Kernels. He pitched well last month. In four starts, he went 2-1 with a 2.18 ERA and opponents hit just .195 off of him. His first start in May came for the Ft. Myers Miracle, and it was rather memorable. In a game in Palm Beach, Balazovic tossed seven perfect innings. No runs. No hits. No errors. 21 up, 21 down. And ten of those outs came on strikeouts. In his second Miracle start, he struck out 12 batters in five innings. His fourth start was again seven shutout innings.His final start of the month went just over an inning because of a rain delay. Balazovic has really good stuff. He throws hard. He throws strikes. He has swing and iss stuff. Opponents hit just .140/.211/.163 (.373) off of him in May. He is certainly rising up the charts. Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of May, Ft. Myers Miracle right-hander Jordan Balazovic. Feel free to discuss and ask questions. Click here to view the article

Of that group, I would say that Alcala, Graterol, Duran and Javier are the givens. The others will be about roster spot availability. I think Blankenhorn and Jax would be next in line... But if Diaz keeps this up, then yes, he will need to be added too. Plenty of roster spots to add more though.

I remember telling myself to write "if anyone says that Larnach should be #1 this month, I won't put up too much of an argument " He's been very good.

I don't think Diaz was every 185, maybe when he signed as a 16 year old. I think he was closer to about 270+ at his peak. He lost a bunch of weight before the 2018 season and ended last year at about 220. I think he was down even a little bit more this spring. As you can see from the photo shown today, I doubt he's much more than 200-210.

Yeah, Raley only played half the month... which is also true of Akins who had even better numbers. Raley has made an impression in the organization.

Wow! Two months of the minor league season is already complete. The draft is nigh. It’s time to hand out some more hardware (unfortunately not actual hardware, but virtual hardware). Today we start by looking at the hitters in the Twins organization who had strong showings in the month of May. There were some great offensive performances by some of the Twins top prospects. Previous 2019 Hitters of the Month: April - Trey CabbageLet’s take a look at the Top 5 hitters for the month of May, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION Andrew Bechtold - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 35-112, .241/.382/.425 (.807) with five doubles, one triple and three home runs.Yeltsin Encarnacion - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 30-99, .303/.384/364 (.748) with one double, one triple, one homer.Nick Gordon - Rochester Red Wings - 20-66, .303/.338/.485 (.823) with seven doubles, one triple, and one home run.Jaylin Davis - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 20-85, .235/.398/.400 (.798) with two doubles, four homers.Drew Maggi - Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings - 25-86, .291/.404/.407 (.811) with four doubles and two homers.Luke Raley - Rochester Red Wings -20-52, .385/.429/.596 (1.025) with two doubles and three homers.Aaron Whitefield - Ft. Myers Miracle - 22-79, .278/.344/.481 (.825) with seven doubles and three homers.Ben Rortvedt - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 17-57, .298/.379/.509 (.888) with three doubles and three homers.THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 - Cedar Rapids Kernels - OF Jared Akins - ..328/.365/.707 (1.072), 19-58 with three doubles, two triples and five home runs. While Akins has fewer at-bats than the others in the Top 5, it’s impossible not to look at his May numbers and be impressed. Consider this. The 22-year-old was in extended spring training until May 14th when he made his 2019 Kernels debut. And all he has done since then is hit, and provide the Kernels with big power. He’s hit for average and more than half of his hits have gone for extra bases. He was the Twins 13th-round pick out of Fresno State in 2017. Number 4 – Ft. Myers Miracle - C Ryan Jeffers - .325/.385/.506 (.891). 29-92 with six doubles, four home runs and 13 RBI. Since starting the season by going 1-for-17 in his first five games, Jeffers has hit over .300. He was very good, and very consistent, throughout the month of May. He hit for average, took some walks, kept his K-Rate down and showed some good extra base power. The Twins surprised the draft experts when Jeffers was their second-round pick a year ago out of UNC-Wilmington. He signed quickly and dominated the Appalachian League before jumping to Cedar Rapids for the final month of the season. The Twins pushed him to Ft. Myers this year and he has responded well. He was named a Florida State League All-Star. Number 3 - Pensacola Blue Wahoos – 2B Travis Blankenhorn - .308/.339/.525 (.864), 37-120 with five doubles, seven homers and 19 RBI. Normally when you move up a level, it is supposed to get more difficult. However, after a year and a month in Ft. Myers with the Miracle, Travis Blankenhorn has been really good in his first month in Pensacola. He has struck out a bit, but he has provided power near the top of the Blue Wahoos lineup. The Twins third-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Pennsylvania, Blankenhorn is one of the best athletes in the organization . Number 2 - Ft. Myers Miracle – OF Trevor Larnach - .371/.456/.619 (1.075), 36-97 with 10 doubles, one triple, four homers and 17 RBI. The Twins' first-round pick a year ago had a fantastic month in Ft. Myers in May. He began the season by going 3-for-23 through his first six games. Since then, he has been remarkably consistent. Since that time, only once has he had back-to-back 0-fers. He has added the power to his game in May. On May 7th, he hit his first and second homers of the year. He added two more late in the month. He had 11 multi-hit games in May. He had three, three-hit games and two four-hit games. He was named to the Florida State League All-Star team, which is likely when he could see a promotion to Double-A. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle – 1B Lewin Diaz - .317/.351/.702 (1.053), 33-104 with eight doubles, one triple and ten homers and 22 RBI. It was a power-filled month for Lewin Diaz. He set the Miracle franchise record for home runs in a month with ten. That surpassed the previous record of nine which had been set by Kennys Vargas and Miguel Sano. Diaz was a big prospect signed by the Twins out of the Dominican Republic. He was the Twins Daily choice for short-season Hitter of the year in 2016 when he hit over .300 and added 15 doubles and nine homers in Elizabethton. He had a solid 2017 season in Cedar Rapids when he hit .292 with 33 doubles and 12 homers. He began 2018 in Ft. Myers, and struggled through the first half of the season. Then he broke his wrist and missed the rest of the season. He continued to work on his body and showed up to spring training looking long and lean, probably actually in the “best shape of his life.” And he has been hitting well ever since. He’s pretty mobile around first base. But his bat remains very strong. He uses the whole field very well. And, he’s still got the power as he illustrated in May. He also was named to the Florida State League All-Star Game and could get to Pensacola this season. We would like to congratulate Lewin Diaz, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for May 2019. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. Click here to view the article

The three catcher 'set up' only works if one of them is able to play multiple positions at least adequately. Astudillo can play an adequate 1B and 3B. Chris Herrmann could play adequately at all three outfield spots, plus 1B and 3B and catcher.

I would think Rortvedt late in 2020... maybe to stick mid-2021. I could see a one-year catcher signing, or see if Castro is interested in a one-year deal.

I mean, Helman hit .355 in 27 games in Cedar Rapids last year. Yes, I think he could be hitting .300 if he was in the Midwest League if he was there this year. As for what's useful, I don't know. Says a lot about what they think about Helman's make up.

It was an interesting day in the Twins minor league system. Sure, there was the seemingly mandatory rainout of the day (Rochester), but there were some impressive performances. Lewin Diaz continued his historic month. A couple of sluggers crushed two homers each for the Blue Wahoos. Another starter made his first start for the Kernels, and it went well. Sure, the Twins game wasn’t fun, but the minor leaguers made up for itFind out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS Pensacola placed RHP Ryan Mason on the 7-day injured list.RHP Anthony Vizcaya was promoted from the Miracle to the Blue Wahoos.RED WINGS REPORTRochester, Scranton/Wilkes Barre Box Score The Red Wings game in Scranton was rained out. It will be made up in July. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 4, Mississippi 6 Box Score They say that solo home runs don’t hurt you too much, and on this night, that was true for Mississippi. The Blue Wahoos scored four runs on four solo homers but it wasn’t enough. Jaylin Davis and Ben Rortvedt each hit two home runs for the Wahoos. Rortvedt has now played in ten games for Pensacola. He is hitting .382/.488/.647 (1.135). Jose Miranda went 2-for-4, and Aaron Whitefield went 2-for-5 in the game. Whitefield stole his 13th base of the season. Michael Helman added a double. Lefty Tyler Watson had a really nice start. He gave up just two runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings. He struck out just one batter, but he didn’t issue any walks. Alex Phillips came on and went the final 2 2/3 innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out six opponents. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 - Cedar Rapids 5, Burlington 7 Box Score The Kernels have been trying to get a doubleheader in the last couple of days in Burlington. On Wednesday, they got their first game in but the second was suspended in the bottom of the first inning. This is the continuation of that game. Austin Schulfer began the game for the Kernels. Because just half an inning was played on Wednesday, he started in the bottom of the first inning, as he was supposed to on Wednesday. He gave up three runs on six hits in just three innings. He walked one and struck out six. Carlos Suniaga came on and gave up three runs on four hits in just 2/3 of an inning. He walked one and struck one out. Brian Rapp worked the final 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one run on two hits and two walks. Estamy Urena had a strong game in a losing effort. He went 2-for-4 in the game. He had a two-run double (his third with the Kernels) in the third inning. He then added his first Kernels homer in the sixth inning. MIchael Davis went 2-for-3 and stole a bag. Gabriel Maciel went 0-for-1 but walked three times. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids 4, Burlington 0 Box Score Lefty Kody Funderburk, a 2018 draftee, made his Kernels debut tonight. He gave up just one hit over four scoreless innings. He walked one and struck out four batters. Derek Molina came on and threw three scoreless innings to complete the shutout. He gave up two hits, walked one and struck out six batters. The offense was more spread out. Yeltsin Encarnacion was 2-for-3 with a walk. He stole his sixth base. Jacob Pearson went 2-for-4 with his seventh double and his ninth stolen base. Gabriel Maciel went 2-for-3 and stole his seventh base. Wander Javier went 1-for-3 with a walk. Jared Akins provided a little insurance in the ninth with his fifth home run since joining the team. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Kody Funderburk, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Ben Rortvedt, Pensacola Blue Wahoos PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 0-4 #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Play. #5 - Wander Javier (CR) - Game 1 (1-4, RBI, 2 K), Game 2 (1-3, BB) #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured (wrist) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Rained Out. #9 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch. #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Rained Out. #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List (elbow) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - 0-4 #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - 3-3, BB, 2-HR(3), 2 R, 2 RBI #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (thumb) #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Game 1 (1-3, BB), Game 2 (0-3, BB, K, SB(8) #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Don’t Ask… OK, fine. 4.1 IP, 10 H, 8 ER, 1 BB, 3 K (77 pitches, 50 strikes) #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - Rained Out. #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K (87 pitches, 52 strikes) #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - 2-4 FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe (3-0, 6.31 ERA) Mississippi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Andro Cutura (0-2, 6.87 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (3-0, 2.25 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Beloit (6:30 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

I'm saying that if Helman was in the MWL, he would be facing Low A pitchers versus facing High A pitchers. Generally speaking, the higher the level of play, the better the pitching.

I think people forget how tough the Florida State League is for most hitters. Helman isn't quite the hitters that Larnach and Jeffers are so he's struggled a bit (though that's been caused by a couple of long rough patches... started the season 1-25, and just recently had a 1-31)... But he is holding his own there for the most part. I do think context is important in all of this. Helman putting up a .188 average is more impressive than if he were hitting .300 at Cedar Rapids (depending on the stuff we can't see in stat lines).

The are frequently bringing guys over from EST... When there aren't guys pushing to be promoted from CR to FM, it's a good option to just bring them over. It's a nice incentive for the guys playing well in Extended Spring Training too.

Some other notes: Kody Funderburk is now with Cedar Rapids. He just crossed the parking lot in Ft. Myers once to help the Miracle. Seth Pinkerton tore his ACL after last season and had surgery. He hopes to pitch this year. Regi Grace wasn't actually hurt. They just shut him down for a couple of weeks and worked on some other stuff ,and then he made a couple more appearances late. Jon Olsen is working his way back from Tommy John surgery, which he had while still at UCLA. Chris Williams played on 1B last year in E-Town while still recovering from shoulder surgery. That's where he played for the most part with CR to start this season, but he has been doing more catching since Banuelos moved up to FM. Casanova being in Extended Spring Training is crazy. Dude can hit! Schulfer appears to now be in the Kernels rotation. Blank has been in Ft. Myers in Extended Spring Training. Like several others, he has gone across the parking lot to the Miracle a couple of times. He did have a short stint with the Kernels. Elizabethton's season starts in late June. Likewise, Albee Weiss spent all of the spring in EST until he was promoted to CR when Gabe Snyder went on the inactive list for 3 days. Weiss went back to Extended Spring Training and is temporarily with the Miracle for a couple of games before he'll go back to Extended Spring Training. Also, Hunter Lee spent a few weeks with the Kernels, but he was sent back to Extended Spring Training last week. Tonight he played for the Miracle, but like Weiss, it'll be temporary.

Stats of guys drafted and making their pro debuts are pretty meaningful. I mention that as it relates especially to guys like Charles Mack or Willie Joe Garry. They don't play regularly and are making a lot of adjustments. I'm excited about both of them. Laron Smith signed late (like Mack) and as a catcher (and one of 4+ catchers in the GCL), he would play a half game ever 2nd or 3rd day, maybe get an at bat or two with each. Worrying about high school hitters struggles in the GCL is like worrying about college pitchers who pitch in the GCL.