Seth Stohs

Several Twins minor league players were selected in today's Dominican Winter League draft... I believe to be eligible to be drafted a player has to have played at least with a full-season squad during the season... So, most of these guys played in Cedar Rapids, and a couple in Ft. Myers.

It's not just a regular mistake, Matt... you might call it an Uber-mistake....

Regarding Hackimer... he came in 9th on my rankings... He had a good WHIP (1.06), but in addition to 20 walks, he also hit 20 batters, just a crazy high number. And, he had the midseason suspension, so I considered that too. Neff came in #7 for me. Adam Bray was #6.

I watch too much on Netflix and Amazon. On Amazon, I just finished the four seasons of Monster Quest. I've also been watching Boston Legal for a while. On Netflix, I just finished the new episodes (I think season 3) of The Good Place.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the genre, but I have watched all three seasons. I thought season 1 was ok, season 2 did nothing for me, but i did like season 3.

The Young'n and I went to It, Chapter 2 on Saturday night. We watched It (from a year or two ago) on Friday night via Amazon. I used to have no interest in scary movies, but my daughter loves them and I have started enjoying them if they are well done. It and It Chapter 2 were pretty good. I prefer the first one, but the 2nd one was solid. It was about 2 hours, 45 minutes though. The Insidious movies were really good, at least the first and second ones. Loved how they played off each other.

1.) I think there is little chance that Derek Shelton is back, unless there just aren't more than a couple of manager jobs open. 2.) As for Falvey and pitching... he's known for developing the pitching in Cleveland's system... no signing big free agents. Acquiring a guy like Kluber and developing the likes of Salazar, Carrasco, Clevinger, Bieber, Civale, etc.... The Twins are going to try to do the same, and we are starting to see the very early results of that in 2019. Think of the likes of a Randy Dobnak, who they brought in two years ago and developed. Think about the likes of Duran, Alcala, Smeltzer that they have acquired in trades. Think about what they have done to the velocities of the likes of Graterol and Colina. Think about the likes of Ober and Balazovic and Sands and Winder, guys drafted and developed. Could 1-2 of those guys be aces? Kluber certainly wasn't an "ace" as a prospect. Neither was Civale. Bieber was said to have some upside... We'll see how it pans out, but i like the track record and the development plans.

From the first paragraph, the Astros went from 9 affiliates to 7 affiliates... The Twins have had 7 affiliates all along...Maybe they Twins were ahead of the game on this years ago... Also, the chart that shows the better first-year performances for guys called up from AA or lower versus called up from AAA is incredibly questionable. First, note the sample size. Second, who gets called up from AA? The top, top prospects.

I don't know if it's a week in advance, but it's certainly before every series. And I do like it. Obviously, it does can be adjusted based on injury... Also, let's be honest, Rocco isn't making these decisions or even the lineups on his own. He's getting input from players, coaches, the analytics team, and even Falvey and Levine. And, as Brock pointed out above, injury has played a much bigger role in time off. Obvously they have a plan at catcher for playing that has worked incredibly well this year. Obviously Nelson Cruz, at 38, was going to get scheduled time off. Obviously keeping bench guys fresh is a goal, and that has played out pretty well too. But guys like Polanco and Kepler have played pretty much every day until not healthy. Same with Rosario. Buxton and Sano would be every day guys when healthy.

At the end of June each year, not long after the completion of the draft, the short-season minor leagues begin. The GCL Twins stay in Ft. Myers, and the Elizabethton Twins take the long bus ride to Tennessee. The last few seasons, Twins Daily has added two annual awards for the short-season Twins players. Yesterday, we handed out the award for the top hitter in the short-season teams. Today, we’ll start with the pitchers. Previous Winners: 2016: Huascar Ynoa 2017: Jovani Moran 2018: Andrew CabezasAs you’ll read below, there were several pitchers on the Twins short-season teams who put together real solid seasons. Of course, we are generally talking about a limited number of innings due to their seasons being just two months long. One poor outing can have an effect on their overall numbers. Six Twins Daily Minor League writers voted for the various awards this year. For the short-season pitcher of the year, we each voted for five players. The player who was voted as #1 received five points, #2 received four points and so on with the #5 vote receiving one point. Results were tabulated and can be found below. Short profiles of our top five are to follow, but first, some players worthy of honorable mention. These players also received votes. Others Receiving Votes: Osiris German - Elizabethton Twins - 16 G, 3-1, 3.11 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 37.2 IP, 30 H, 10 BB, 47 KAnthony Escobar - GCL Twins - 11 G, 6 GS, 5-2, 3.83 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 42.1 IP, 33 H, 13 BB, 37 KEvan Gillespie - GCL Twins - 12 G, 1 GS, 3-1, 2.16 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 16.2 IP, 14 H, 4 BB, 18 KShort-Season Pitcher of the Year Here are the top five vote-getters for Twins Short Season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. #5 – Ryan Shreve, Elizabethton Twins: 14 G, 2 GS, 2-2, 3.40 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, 45.0 IP, 55 H, 7 BB, 58 K Shreve was the Twins 16th-round pick in 2019 out of the University of the Pacific where he pitched for three years. He spent one summer with the St. Cloud Rox. The 6-6 right-hander from South California signed quickly and went to pitch for the Elizabethton Twins. After pitching 79 innings in college this season, he worked another 45 innings for the E-Twins, mostly out of the bullpen. #4 – Miguel Rodriguez, GCL Twins: 9 G, 5 GS, 2-2, 2.48 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 32.2 IP, 29 H, 11 BB, 39 The Twins signed Rodriguez in July of 2017 out of Venezuela. He spent the 2018 season pitching in the Dominican Summer League. He came to the States in 2019 and pitched for the Gulf Coast League Twins. He’s got good control and a good mix of pitches. He also showed an ability to miss bats. Opponents hit just .236 off of the 20-year-old. #3 – Donny Breek, GCL Twins: 10 G, 7 GS, 1-2, 0.74 ERA, 36.1 IP, 1.10 WHIP, 21 H, 19 BB, 38 K Breek signed with the Twins out of The Netherlands in September of 2017. He pitched in the GCL in 2018, posting an ERA of 2.84. He returned to the level this year, and as you can see, he was much improved. He has the ability to miss bats, though lack of control is the only thing really slowing him down. Over the weekend at the European Championships, he struck out ten batters over six scoreless innings. Gave up just just two hits and one walk. #2 – Niklas Rimmel, GCL Twins: 9 G, 7 GS, 3-1, 2.15 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, 37.2 IP, 30 H, 8 BB, 34 K The Twins signed Rimmel out of Germany about a week before they signed Breek. The right-hander threw just over 14 innings in 2018, but he greatly improved his control. Rimmel stands about 6-3 and is lanky. He’s got a very smooth delivery with a repeatable motion. . Pitcher of the Year – Cody Laweryson, Elizabethton Twins: 10 G, 6 GS, 1-1, 1.76 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, 41.0 IP, 25 H, 9 BB, 59 K Laweryson grew up in Maine and went to the University of Maine where he pitched for three years. He worked primarily out of the bullpen the first two seasons before moving into their starting rotation this year. In 14 starts, he went 5-5 with a 2.85 ERA. He threw 72 2/3 innings and struck out 79 batters. With that performance, and his size (6-4) and stuff, he caught the eyes of Twins scouts. The Twins drafted him in the 14th round in June. He signed quickly and reported to Ft. Myers for that fun-filled bus ride up to Elizabethton. The right-hander began by pitching six games for Elizabethton before moving up to Cedar Rapids where he made a spot start. In that Midwest League game, he tossed five shutout innings and gave up just two hits. He returned to the E-Twins where he made four more appearances. In his final start of the season, he struck out 15 batters in six shutout innings. Laweryson made a great first impression. He threw strikes (2.0 BB/9), recorded strikeouts (12.3 K/9), and opponents hit just .168 off of him on the season. All told, it was an easy choice for our votes, and summed up, it was clear why Cody Laweryson was our unanimous choice for Twins Daily Short-Season Pitcher of the Year. There you have it, the top pitchers in the short season leagues for the Minnesota Twins in 2019. The Ballots In an attempt to be transparent, here are the votes from our Twins Daily minor league writers: Seth Stohs – 1) Cody Laweryson, 2) Donny Breek, 3) Miguel Rodriguez, 4) Niklas Rimmel, 5) Anthony EscobarCody Christie – 1) Cody Laweryson, 2) Donny Breek, 3) Niklas Rimmel, 4) Miguel Rodriguez, 5) Evan GillespieTom Froemming - 1) Cody Laweryson, 2) Osiris German, 3) Niklas Rimmel, 4) Ryan Shreve, 5) Donny BreekSteve Lein – 1) Cody Laweryson, 2) Donny Breek, 3) Niklas Rimmel, 4) Osiris German, 5) Miguel RodriguezTed Schwerzler - 1) Cody Laweryson, 2) Niklas Rimmel, 3) Donny Breek, 4) Miguel Rodriguez, 5) Ryan ShreveMatt Braun - 1) Cody Laweryson, 2) Ryan Shreve, 3) Niklas Rimmel, 4) Miguel Rodriguez, 5) Donny BreekFeel free to discuss. What do you think? How would you rank them? How would your ballot look? Click here to view the article

The Cedar Rapids Kernel take the title of Twins affiliate to last the longest in 2019. They faced another must-win game on Monday. With a win, the Kernels would advance to the Midwest League finals. Lose, and the players would be sent home on Tuesday.Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Thursday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS NoneKERNELS NUGGETSCedar Rapids 2, Clinton 6 Box Score The Cedar Rapids Kernels season ended one win shy of participating in the Midwest League championship series. Congratulations to first-year manager Brian Dinkelman and his coaching staff. Brian Dinkelman sent RHP Tyler Palm to the mound to start, it was all hands on deck for the Kernels in the win or go home game. Unfortunately, Palm didn’t get through the first inning. He got two outs, but he was removed having given up three runs on three hits and a walk. Lefty Denny Bentley came on and gave the team length. He was able to work three scoreless innings and gave up just two hits. Jose Martinez got two outs but was charged with one run. Nate Hadley recorded five outs and gave up just one hit. JT Perez came on for the top of the seventh inning. He was charged with two unearned runs. Austin Schulfer worked the final two innings Tyler Webb continued to hit in the playoffs for the Kernels. His fifth inning single drove in a run and cut the Kernels deficit to 4-2 at the time. Webb went 10-for-17 (.588). On the other side of the spectrum, Matt Wallner went 0-for-24 with 10 strikeouts in the six Kernels playoff games. Wander Javier had a single and two doubles in the game as well. Jared Akins and Trevor Casanova each had a double for the Kernels as well. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Denny Bentley, Cedar Rapids Kernels 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: #5 - Wander Javier (Cedar Rapids) - 2-4, 2-2B, R #15 - Matt Wallner (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, K TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS No More Games! Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s Kernels game or any other minor league topics you would like. Click here to view the article

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

Imagine how many injuries/aches they would have if not given rest... no way to know for sure on any of it, but I will take the results of this season as encouraging!

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

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

From Ken Rosenthal:

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

Jordan Balazovic starting for the Blue Wahoos tonight.

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

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