Seth Stohs

Let’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.

Find 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 REPORT Rochester, 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). https://twitter.com/TCAnelle/status/1134278306583343104 https://twitter.com/TCAnelle/status/1134280984864600065 The Wahoos utilized an opener on Thursday night. Williams Ramirez started and gave up two runs on three hits in the first inning. Jorge Alcala came on and worked the next five innings. He gave up three runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out six batters. Sam Clay struck out six over the final three innings. He gave up a run on four hits. As scheduled, Mitch Garver DHd in this game. He went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts before exiting the game for a pinch hitter in the eighth inning. Rortvedt went 3-for-3 with a walk and his second and third home runs. Davis was 2-for-3 with a walk and his sixth and seventh home runs. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Florida 2 Box Score It was an afternoon game for the Miracle and both Royce Lewis and Trevor Larnach were given the game off. However, a familiar name led the Miracle to another win. With the game tied at two going into the eighth inning, Diaz launched his 10th home run of the season to give the Miracle a lead they were able to hold on to. Diaz went 3-for-5 to raise his average to .319, and he drove in two of the three Miracle runs. https://twitter.com/MarshallKelner/status/1134162727834988544 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.

Box Score Devin Smeltzer: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 76.8% strikes (53 of 69 pitches) Home Runs: Eddie Rosario (17) Multi-Hit Games: Jorge Polanco 2-for-4 WPA of +0.1: Devin Smeltzer (.365), Willians Astudillo (.159), WPA of -0.1: Jonathan Schoop (-.110), (chart via FanGraphs) The Devin Smeltzer Show Hey, when a guy makes his MLB debut, it is always going to be a story. But as we know, with Smeltzer, there’s always a bigger story. The fact that he made his major league debut as a 23-year-old when he was diagnosed with cancer as a nine year old is remarkable. The fact that he has been cancer-free for several years is remarkable. His willingness to give back and support others who are dealing with what he has dealt with is, yes, remarkable. Catch Cancer Looking Katie’s Krusaders And his major league debut was, in fact, remarkable. Six shutout innings with just 69 pitches, and 53 of them were strikes. He struck out seven batters. And as easy as he made things look in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth innings, he really had to do some work to get through the second and third inning. The second began with a leadoff triple, but he was stranded at third. In the next inning, a leadoff double was stranded. It was an emotional night for Smeltzer's family, friends and long-time supporters… https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1133537488037801984 And for Jack Morris… https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1133540812480847877 And for Devin Smeltzer too… https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1133569549154918400 Buxton vs The Wall (Part) Advantage, the Wall. Yasmani Grandal led off the second inning with a blast to the wall in left center field. Byron Buxton raced toward the bullpens, leapt, and just missed the ball. And then, he slammed into the wall. His glove flew one direction. His body was five feet in the air, parallel to the ground. And he landed hard. Fortunately, the initial diagnosis was “right knee bruise.” It could have been much worse. Zach Davies Is No Romantic Despite such a nice MLB debut, Smeltzer got a No Decision because Brewers starter Zach Davies was also very good. Like Smeltzer, Davies doesn’t throw hard. He topped out maybe at 90, sat at 88 most of the time. But he was equal to the task, as he has been for much of the season for the Brewers. He used an impressive two-seam fastball most of the night and hit his spots throughout the night. Like Smeltzer, Davies threw six shutout innings. Another Big Inning The Twins have found a way to have a big offensive innings at least once in most games the last several weeks. On Tuesday night, that inning came in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lefty Alex Claudio came in. He’s been very tough on left-handed batters. So, of course, Jason Castro blooped a single to left. Willians Astudillo then grounded to second, but Keston Hiura threw toward second and hit the back of Castro’s helmet. The ball ricocheted into center field which allowed Castro to go to third base and Astudillo to hustle into second. Max Kepler, who has been crushing lefties of late, provided a big line drive double off the wall in right field to give the Twins a 2-0 lead. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1133556346924675072 A couple of batters later, CJ Cron doubled in a run, and then Eddie Rosario stepped to the plate with two runners on and uncoiled for his 17th homer of the season to give the Twins a 5-0 lead. https://twitter.com/fsnorth/status/1133558888001785856 A Possible Storyline for Discussion I think we can all agree that Rocco Baldelli has done a nice job of not overusing his relievers. However, on Monday night, Taylor Rogers struggled and gave up an eighth-inning, go-ahead, two-run homer to Orlando Arcia. On Tuesday, Blake Parker came in for the eighth inning and gave up a two-run homer that cut the lead to 5-2. Taylor Rogers, pitching for the third straight game, started the ninth inning by giving up a solo home run. He got the next two outs before Ryne Harper came on and got the final out. As I said, I think that we all agree that the long-term benefits of rest for key bullpen arms is important. But in the short-term, might that mean some rust? Might that potential cause some short-term heartburn? Or, do we just give credit to a strong Brewers lineup in this case and realize that even the better guys aren’t going to be perfect every time? Bullpen Usage Here’s a quick look at the number of pitches thrown by the bullpen over the past five days: Next Three Games Wednesday - Day Off Thursday - 6:10 @ Tampa Bay- Martin Perez (7-1, 2.95 ERA) vs TBD Friday - 6:10 @ Tampa Bay - Jose Berrios (7-2, 3.20 ERA) vs TBD Saturday - 12:10 @ Tampa Bay - Kyle Gibson (5-2, 4.08 ERA) vs TBD Last Game MIN 5, MIL 4: Hader Closes the Door on the Twins Win Streak

Find out everything that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday, starting with the transactions of the day. TRANSACTIONS The Twins announced that catcher Mitch Garver will begin a rehab with AA Pensacola and could be activated by the weekend if things go well. CEDAR RAPIDS Cedar Rapids officially announced what we heard last night, that Blayne Enlow has been promoted to the Ft. Myers Miracle. Also, RHP Alex Schick has been activated by the Kernels after completion of his 50-game suspension. RHP Luis Rijo has been placed on the Kernels injured list (hamstring). LHP Kody Funderburk has been promoted from extended spring training. PENSACOLA Pensacola sent Melvi Acosta back to the Miracle after making a spot start for them on Sunday. LHPs Charlie Barnes and Bryan Sammons were promoted from Ft. Myers to Pensacola. LHP Jovani Moran was placed on the injured list. OF Jimmy Kerrigan was activated by the Blue Wahoos. This week’s Inside Twins episode includes an interview with Twins minor league director Jeremy Zoll. The Twins are adding a couple more coaches at the minor league level, one to take the spot vacated earlier this year by Frank Jagoda. Both of these new coaches are finishing up their seasons at their respective colleges and should join their new teams around June 1st. Nat Ballenberg - Will be the fourth coach at Ft. Myers. He has been the pitching coach at Haverford (alma mater of Thad Levine and Jeremy Zoll). Jared Gaynor - will be added to the Cedar Rapids staff. Comes from Virginia Commonwealth University. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 7, Pawtucket 3 Box Score The Red Wings ended up as the only Minnesota Twins affiliate to play on Memorial Day. Kohl Stewart pitched well and the offense put together a huge inning to give the Red Wings the win. Stewart worked six innings. He gave up three runs (just one earned) on three hits. He walked one and struck out three. He improves to 4-2 with a 3.19 ERA. DJ Baxendale threw two scoreless innings, and Preston Guilmet worked a scoreless ninth frame. Down 2-1 heading into the bottom of the sixth, the Red Wings tacked on six runs that inning. Following a John Andreoli sacrifice fly, Nick Gordon drove in another run with a triple. Zander Wiel singled in Gordon. Jake Cave drove in a run with a double. Finally, Randy Cesar drove in two more runs with a single. https://twitter.com/RocRedWings/status/1133083508530995200 Cave went 3-for-4 and the double was his second. Wilin Rosario was 3-for-4 with his fifth double. The Red Wings are now 18-29 on the season. BLUE WAHOO BITES Pensacola Box Score No Game Scheduled. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score No Game Scheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Peoria Box Score Rain caused this game to be postponed. Since Peoria is not scheduled to play in Cedar Rapids again in the first half, they will make up this game in Peoria on June 9th. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Kohl Stewart, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jake Cave, 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) - No Game Scheduled #3 - Brusdar Graterol (Pensacola) - Injured List (shoulder) #4 - Trevor Larnach (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. #5 - Wander Javier (CR) - Rained Out. #6 - Brent Rooker (Rochester) - Injured (wrist) #7 - Jhoan Duran (Ft. Myers) - Did Not Pitch #8 - Lewis Thorpe (Rochester) - Did Not Pitch #9 - Blayne Enlow (Ft. Myers) - promoted to Ft. Myers. #10 - Akil Baddoo (Ft. Myers) - Injured List (Tommy John surgery) #11 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 1-5, 3B(1), R, RBI #12 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Injured List (elbow) #13 - Ryan Jeffers (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled #14 - Ben Rortvedt (Pensacola) - No Game Scheduled #15 - Yunior Severino (Cedar Rapids) - Injured List (thumb) #16 - Gilberto Celestino (Cedar Rapids) - Rained Out #17 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Night Game #18 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 0-2, 2 BB, R #19 - Jorge Alcala (Pensacola) - No Game Scheduled. #20 - Jose Miranda (Ft. Myers) - No Game Scheduled. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Scranton/Wilkes Barre (5:35 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (0-0, 4.50 ERA) Mississippi @ Pensacola (6:35 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (1st AA start of season) Ft. Myers @ Florida (5:00 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (2-1, 3.78 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Burlington (6:30 CST) - RHP Austin Schulfer (4-2, 2.41 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss the Memorial Day game or any other minor league topics you would like.