Seth Stohs

Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS The Twins put LHP Adalberto Mejia on the Injured List with a “strained right calf.” RHP Mike Morin was added to the 40-man roster and called up to the Twins. SS Nick Gordon was activated from the Injured List. LHP Devin Smeltzer was promoted to the Red Wings and will start on Friday. OF Alex Kirilloff was activated from the Pensacola Injured List. RHP Andro Cutura was placed on the Injured List, and RHP Dusten Knight was placed on the Restricted List in Pensacola. (In other words, he has been suspended.) RHP Randy Dobnak and RHP Alex Phillips were promoted from Ft. Myers to Pensacola. RHP Joe Record was promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers. RHP Moises Gomez and RHP Rickey Ramirez were promoted to the Miracle from Extended Spring Training. RHP Andrew Cabezas was activated from the Cedar Rapids Injured List. Phil Miller also wrote that following Game 1 of the Miracle doubleheader, Miguel Sano packed up his stuff and was moving up to Pensacola to start playing for the Blue Wahoos this weekend. I think that’s it… Uffdah! RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 7 Box Score After missing the first month of the season, Nick Gordon made his season debut for the Red Wings. He singled in his first at bat and ended the game 3-for-5. Jordany Valdespin was the only other player with more than one hit. He went 2-for-3 with a walk. He also stole his second base. Ryan Eades was the “opener” for the Red Wings. He gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. Chase De Jong came on as the “primary” pitcher. He gave up four runs on seven hits, three walks and a hit batter over four innings. He also threw two wild pitches. He struck out three. He falls to 0-3 with a 16.20 ERA. Jake Reed was next to the mound. He threw one scoreless inning and then gave up three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out one. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 0, Biloxi 1 Box Score Alex Kirillloff made his return to a lineup after missing the first month with a wrist injury. He also made his Double-A debut after just half of a season last year with the Miracle. He flew out to deep center field in his first at bat. He was intentionally walked his second time to bat. He struck out the next two times he batted. Jorge Alcala made the start for the Wahoos. He threw five shutout innings. He gave up five hits and struck out eight batters without issuing a walk. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1124158770777554944 Jeff Ames then struck out four batters over the next two innings. Cody Stashak worked the final two innings. He struck out five batters, but he was charged with an unearned run and took the loss. Pensacola had just three hits in the game. Jaylin Davis went 2-for-3 with a walk. Luis Arraez added a single. Ernie De La Trinidad walked twice. MIRACLE MATTERS The Miracle had a doubleheader on Thursday after their Wednesday afternoon game was rained out. Game 1 - Ft. Myers 4, Clearwater 3 Box Score The Miracle fell behind Clearwater 3-0 in the first inning, but they kept clawing their way back and won in walkoff fashion. With two runners on and one out in the bottom of the seventh, Trevor Larnach singled in Akil Baddoo from second base to give the Miracle the Game 1 win. Miguel Sano starred for the Miracle. In his first at bat, he singled. In the fourth inning, he hit a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 3-2. The next inning, he came through again with a two-out, RBI bloop single to tie the game. In the bottom of the seventh, he recorded his fourth hit of the game, a single to left field before being removed for a pinch runner. Royce Lewis went 2-for-3 with a walk in the game. It marked his third multi-hit game in his last four games. In addition to his walkoff single, Larnach added his team-leading eighth double. Jhoan Duran gave up three runs in the first inning. He needed 32 pitches to get through the inning, but since he didn’t hit the Magic Number of 35 pitches in the inning, he continued. He gave up only those three runs on seven hits over five innings. He struck out six batters without issuing a walk. Hector Lujan is credited with the win. He worked two scoreless innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck one out. Game 2 - Ft. Myers 1, Clearwater 0 Box Score Melvi Acosta has been a swingman throughout his career with the Twins. He’s worked out of the bullpen, in long relief, and occasionally starting. With the doubleheader, he had the chance to make a spot start and it couldn’t have gone much better. Acosta worked six shutout innings. He gave up four hits, hit one batter and struck out three. He threw 71 pitches. 46 of them were strikes. Moises Gomez, called up from extended spring training earlier in the day, threw a one-two-three seventh inning to record the save. The Miracle bats were quiet as well in a 1-0 game. Michael Helman led the way, going 2-or-3 in the game. Lewin Diaz doubled and scored the game’s lone run on a sacrifice fly off of the bat of Ben Rortvedt. In his second game with the MIracle, Trey Cabbage doubled for his first Florida State League hit. Shortstop Dalton Guthrie had a triple in three at-bats for Clearwater. He was the Twins 40th round pick out of high school in 2014. He also is the son of 1991 Twins World Series champion Mark Guthrie. Dalton was the Phillies sixth-round pick in 2017 out of Florida. Alec Bohm was the third overall pick in the 2018 draft out of Wichita State. He was promoted to the Threshers before this series. The third baseman went 1-for-7 in the doubleheader. Clearwater’s Game 2 starter, Colton Eastman, was the Twins 20th round pick in 2015 out of high school. He went to Cal State-Fullerton and was the Phillies fourth-round pick in 2018. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Bowling Green 2 Box Score Andrew Cabezas returned from the IL and got right back on the mound. He pitched well. He gave up one run on four hits in six innings. He walked two and struck out four batters. Brian Rapp came on and worked the final three innings. He gave up an unearned run on four hits. He struck out one. The Kernels had just five hits in the game. Estamy Urena went 2-for-3 with a double. There wasn't much offense, but check out this play by centerfielder Gabriel Maciel. https://twitter.com/TFTwins/status/1124145559231717376 Rays top prospect Wander Franco went 1-for-3 in the game and is now hitting .321 on the season. And some more Kernels defense, this time from 1B Ben Rodriguez. https://twitter.com/jchristensenTV9/status/1124161894078660609 TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Melvi Acosta, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Miguel Sano, Ft. Myers Miracle (Nick Gordon, Rochester Red Wings - of players not on MLB rehab) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - Game 1 (2-3, BB, R, K), Game 2 (0-3, 2 K) #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - Game 1 (2-4, 2B(8), RBI), Game 2 (0-3, K) #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Injured, early May return #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Did Not Play, hamstring #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - 5 IP, 7 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 6 K (84 pitches, 53 strikes) #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did Not Pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Game 1 (0-3, BB, 2 R) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 3-5, R, RBI, K, E #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List, late-May return possible #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - Game 1 (0-2, BB) #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - Game 2 (0-3, RBI SF) #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2 K #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-5, K #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K (88 pitches, 63 strikes) #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - Game 1 (1-3), Game 2 (0-2, BB) FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:05 CST) - LHP Devin Smeltzer (1st AAA start) Biloxi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - RHP Brusdar Graterol (2-0, 2.30 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Palm Beach (5:30 CST) - LHP Tyler Watson (0-3, 4.98 ERA) Dayton @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (2-2, 7.64 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games.

Before we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Six Starters for April, there are some terrific starting performers that just missed the cut. In fact, I find this month’s rankings really difficult, especially at the top, so I’m going to rank a Top 6 instead of five. You can discuss who should rank higher or lower. HONORABLE MENTION RHP Brusdar Graterol - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 5 GS, 27.1 IP, 2.30 ERA, 1.02 WHIP. 16 H, 12 BB, 28 K RHP Josh Winder - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 21.1 IP, 2.53 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 18 H, 6 BB, 23 K RHP Cole Sands - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 19.0 IP, 2.37 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, 15 H, 9 BB, 22 K RHP Sean Poppen - Pensacola Blue Wahoos/Rochester Red Wings - 4 G/3 GS, 17.0 IP, 1.59 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 13 H, 8 BB, 27 K THE TOP SIX STARTING PITCHERS #6 - LHP Bryan Sammons - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 GS, 0.40 ERA, 1.25 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 16 H, 12 BB, 25 K Bryan Sammons was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2017 out of Western Carolina. Last year, he spent most of the season with Cedar Rapids but made a handful of starts for Ft. Myers and even one start in AA. He was the Miracle Opening Day starter this year and has been good. He has had plenty of bend (1.25 WHIP) but didn’t break (2 R, 1 ER in 22.1 IP) in the season’s first month. The southpaw has a solid four-pitch mix and knows how to pitch. #5 - RHP Jordan Balazovic - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 20.2 IP, 2.18 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 15 H, 4 BB, 33 K In 2016, the Twins drafted four high school hitters with their first four draft picks. Fast-forward to the sixth round and they took a high school pitcher from Canada, Jordan Balazovic. He slowly worked through the Twins rookie leagues and joined Cedar Rapids last summer where he impressed in 12 games. He returned to the Kernels to start 2019 and continued to pitch well. He has had good pitchability since signing, but he’s added velocity in the last two years and now gets a lot of strikeouts. He could be a promotion candidate. #4 - RHP Randy Dobnak - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 0.40 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, 22.1 IP, 18 H, 4 BB, 14 K Dobnak is a bit of an old school pitcher. He stands on the mound, takes the sign, mixes a few pitches, but generally just attacks the strike zone. So, he isn’t going to get a ton of strikes, but he is able to avoid hard contact. But that isn’t to minimize his stuff. He sits in the low-90s but can pump it up to 95 when needed. He mixes in a good breaking ball and an improved changeup. Dobnak went undrafted after four solid years at Alderson-Broaddus College (WV). He was set to play independent ball when the Twins called him. He was promoted from the Miracle to the Blue Wahoos on May 1st. #3 - RHP Griffin Jax - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 5 GS, 0.66 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 27.1 IP, 19 H, 9 BB, 20 K Speaking of that 2016 draft, the Twins first college player picked was Jax, a third-rounder from Air Force. About this time last year, he learned that he would be able to start playing baseball full-time, and he has done quite well. Last year, he pitched for the Miracle and then worked in the Arizona Fall League. Jax isn’t overpowering, but like Dobnak can add a couple of ticks to his low-90s fastball at times. He’s got a really good slider that can induce weak contact. #2 - RHP Bailey Ober - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 0.00 ERA, 0.88 WHIP, 24.0 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 18 H, 3 BB, 26 K Bailey Ober was the national freshman of the year his first year of college. Unfortunately since then, he has fought a lot of injuries. He’s had Tommy John surgery, some back issues and other ailments that have certainly slowed his progression. The Twins drafted him in the 12th round in 2017 out of the College of Charleston. Last year when he got to Cedar Rapids, he started pitching quite well but an elbow injury ended his season a month early. His April was really good. He provided length in his starts, he threw a lot of strikes, he missed a lot of bats. I mean, things were going so well for Ober that his high school catcher got drafted by the Vikings in the first round. Unfortunately, on Tuesday, he was placed on the 7 Day IL retroactive to 4/29 with right ulnar nerve subluxation. Hopefully it’s just precautionary or a way to control innings. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Pensacola Blue Wahoos - LHP Devin Smeltzer - 5 GS, 0.60 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 30.0 IP, 19 H, 3 BB, 33 K Smeltzer was the Dodgers fifth-round pick in 2016 out of a junior college. He pitched in AA last year and halfway through the season they moved him to the bullpen. That’s where he pitched for Chattanooga last year and then in the Arizona Fall League. But this spring, he was given another opportunity to start and it has proven to be a good decision. Smeltzer had a terrific first month of starts. He didn’t give up a run until his third start. In his second start, he threw 8 1/3 scoreless innings, only removed because he hit 85 pitches. He averaged six innings per start even though he only threw four innings in his third start. He was hit in the head by a line drive, but even that didn’t slow him. He made his next start on schedule. What a month. As you can see, he limited base runners. He threw a lot of strikes, not hurting himself with walks. And he also missed bats, striking out more than a batter per inning. Smeltzer doesn’t throw real hard, topping out around 92. But he mixes his pitches well, has a good breaking ball, and a little deception in his delivery. While Smeltzer’s story - overcame childhood cancer - is a great one, people also need to recognize that he is a really good pitcher with a big league future. Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of April, Pensacola Blue Wahoos left-hander Devin Smeltzer. Feel free to discuss and ask questions.

Let’s take a look at the Top 4 hitters for the month of April, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION 1B Gabe Snyder - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 17-52, .327/400/.558 (.958) with three doubles, three triples and a home run. 1B/C Chris Williams - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 13-51, .285/.406/.529 (.936) with two doubles, four homers and 10 RBI. 3B Brian Schales - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 14-58, .241/.405/.500 (.905) with four doubles, a triple, three homers and 13 RBI. C Tomas Telis - Rochester Red Wings - .15-53, .283/.328/.528 (.856) with four doubles, three homers and seven RBI. OF Jaylin Davis - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 22-70, .314/.342/.500 (.842) with four doubles, three homers and nine RBI. C Ben Rortvedt - Ft. Myers Miracle - 15-60, .250/.375/.467 (.842) with five doubles, one triple, two homers and nine RBI. 2B/3B Luis Arraez - Pensacola Blue Wahoos - 30-95, .316/.404/.358 (.762) with two doubles, a triple and seven RBI. THE TOP FOUR HITTERS Number 4 – Pensacola Blue Wahoos - C/IF Caleb Hamilton - .283/.403/.500 (.903). 17-60 with five doubles, one triple, two home runs and nine RBI. Hamilton was the Twins 23rd round pick in 2016 out of Oregon State. Following that season, He had been an infielder in college, but following his pro debut, the Twins moved him behind the plate. He has become a trusted catcher in the organization. He has greatly improved his game calling, blocking and is a good pitch receiver. He got off to a strong start in his Double-A debut month, enough that he has received additional at-bats playing at first base and third base. Hamilton is strong and compact. He has a strong arm, and he has some power. Number 3 - Rochester Red Wings – 3B Randy Cesar - .316/.366/.566 (.932), 24-76 with 10 doubles, three homers and 18 RBI. Cesar signed a minor league contract with the Twins this spring after pending seven seasons in the Houston Astros organization. He gained some notoriety last year when he had a 42-game hitting streak. At 6-4 and 240 pounds, Cesar has a lot of power potential, though he has never hit more than the ten homers he hit last year at AA Corpus Christi. The 24-year-old is off to a fast start with the Red Wings, hitting for average and power. This is an award for hitting, so there’s really no need to mention that he has eight errors in 12 games at third base already this year. Number 2 - Rochester Red Wings – 1B Zander Wiel - .253/.313/.600 (.913), 19-75 with four doubles, two triples, six homers and 14 RBI. Wiel came to the Twins as their 12th-round draft pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt. He has moved up one level each year, though he ended 2018 with a handful of games with the Red Wings. While Wiel has spent time the last couple of seasons, and in spring training, in left field, he played exclusively at first base. Wiel strikes out a fair share of the time, but he has always been an extra-base hitting machine. The 26-year-old ended the month strong with multi-hit games in three of the month’s last four games. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle – OF Trey Cabbage - .300/.395/.600 (.995), 21-70 with one double, one triple and six homers and 16 RBI. Trey Cabbage was the Twins fourth-round pick in 2015 out of high school in Tennessee. He spent that summer in the GCL. In 2016, he played at Elizabethton. That’s where he started 2017 as well before playing the final two months in Cedar Rapids. That’s where he spent all of 2018 as well. Cabbage was likely a bit disappointed to learn that he would start 2019 with the Kernels, but he handled it just as you would hope. Instead of worrying about things like results and promotions, he trusted the process. On the field, he got off to a fast start and carried it through the month. In fact, his final game of April came for the Ft. Myers Miracle. For the month, the powerful first baseman/outfielder led the Twins minor leagues in OPS, slugging percentage and home runs. Still just 21 years old for a couple more days, Cabbage should have an opportunity for playing time with the Miracle. While he has played mostly right field this year, he can play left field, first base and possibly third base. We would like to congratulate Trey Cabbage, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2019. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions.

Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with the transactions of the day TRANSACTIONS LHP Daniel Camarena was released by the Twins (Blue Wahoos roster). Camarena is another pitcher from Cathedral Catholic in San Diego, the same high school as Twins pitchers Stephen Gonsalves and Alex Schick as well as Cleveland minor leaguer Brady Aiken. AWARDS International League Pitcher of the Week - Rochester LHP Lewis Thorpe The Twins named Thorpe the organization’s minor league pitcher of the week on Sunday. On Monday, the International League named Thorpe their pitcher of the week. https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/1122880384939769856 RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 10, Scranton/Wilkes Barre 6 Box Score After back-to-back strong starts, Lewis Thorpe was back on the mound on Monday night. His overall line probably isn’t real indicative of how well he threw. Through six innings, he gave up just one run on four hits. He went back out for the seventh inning.It started with a double, followed by an infield single. He recorded a strikeout but then followed it with a walk to load the bases. Gabriel Moya came in. He struck out the first batter he faced. But then he hit the next batter and gave up a grand slam before Jake Reed came on to get the final out. Fortunately, the Red Wings bats came up big and scored ten runs, something that has happened frequently in Red Wings games this season already. https://twitter.com/jjcoop36/status/1123033173858951170 Ronald Torreyes went 2-for-4 with his third home run, three runs scored and three RBIs. Luke Raley went 2-for-5 with his fourth homer and three RBIs. Zander Wiel was 2-for-5 with his fourth double. John Andreoli was 1-for-3 with two walks. LaMonte Wade went 1-for-2 with two walks and two RBIs. Drew Maggi had a walk and a triple. Thorpe’s final line shows that he was charged with four runs on five hits over 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out five. Moya gave up two runs on one hit (and one hit batter) in 1/3 of an inning. Jake Reed got four outs before Preston Guilmet pitched a scoreless ninth inning. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola 1, Jackson 3 Box Score The Blue Wahoos played a morning game in Jackson, Tennessee, the final game of the five-game series. Travis Blankenhorn got things going well in the first inning. He hit his first AA home run in the top of the first inning to give Pensacola the 1-0 lead. In the bottom half of the inning, Blue Wahoos starter Griffin Jax gave up a two-out, solo home run to Jeffrey Baez. At the time, his season ERA jumped from 0.40 to 0.79. But that was all that the Diamondbacks’ affiliate was able to score off him. Jax went 5 1/3 innings and gave up four hits, walked two and struck out two. Jovani Moran came on and got out of the sixth inning. He gave up two runs in the seventh inning. Jeff Ames worked a scoreless eighth inning. The Blue Wahoos had just four hits in the game. Ernie De La Trinidad walked and had a bunt single. Brian Navarreto walked twice. Luis Arraez was 1-for-3 with a walk. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score The Miracle had Monday off. They had played in 23 of 24 days before Monday. On Tuesday, Miguel Sano will begin his rehab with the Miracle in Ft. Myers. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score Like Ft. Myers, Cedar Rapids has played 23 games in the first 24 days, so a scheduled day off on Monday comes at a good time. 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 – Ronald Torreyes, Rochester Red Wings PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #2 - Alex Kirilloff (Pensacola) - Injured List, early May return #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #5 - Wander Javier (EST) - Injured, early May return #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Did Not Play, hamstring #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - 6.1 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K (96 pitches, 64 strikes) #9 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - No Game Scheduled #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - Injured List, early May return #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List, late-May return possible #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - No Game Scheduled #17 - Zack Littell (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-2, 2 BB, R, 2 RBI, SB(4) #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - Did Not Pitch #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (5:35 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (1-2, 6.00 ERA) Pensacola - No Game Scheduled Clearwater @ Ft. Myers (5:30 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (3-0, 0.42 ERA) Bowling Green @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Luis Rijo (0-2, 4.20 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games.