Seth Stohs

When the Twins made Griffin Jax their third-round draft choice in 2016, he became the highest player ever selected from the Air Force. At the time, it was assumed that Jax would be able to play full-time upon his graduation in May of 2017. That was something that was allowed for athletes, to immediately pursue a professional career after graduation. However, in April of 2017, the Department of Defense changed its policy. Now it would be required to serve two years of active duty after graduation before a person could even apply to serve out their time on reserve status for the purpose of playing pro sports. Jax, who pitched in four games for Elizabethton in 2016 after the draft, figured he would only be able to pitch in the Twins organization during his leaves from his active duty. Last summer, he pitched one game for Elizabethton before making four starts for the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Having graduated, he was assigned to serve in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The assumption was that he would do the same in 2018 and maybe even 2019. However, in December Jax applied for the military’s World Class Athlete Program which allows active-duty military personnel to make training for the Olympics their full-time responsibility. Because of Jax’s draft position and his signing bonus, he was able to fit the “World Class Athlete” criteria. Also, because baseball is again an Olympic sport Jax can be training toward that goal. That’s complex, but it gets even more confusing in a way because military personnel can’t earn a second income. In other words, the Twins could not pay Jax to play for the organization. That’s why it took from December (when Jax applied for the program) until into April (when Jax was approved). Finally, an agreement was made that the Twins could “outfit, feed and cover Jax’s travel.” However, the Air Force will pay him. Jax made his way to Ft. Myers on April 24th to begin his extended spring training. On Friday, Jax threw his first live batting practice. It’s something he will likely do another time or two over the next week. At that point, he may make a start or two in EST games. And then he should be assigned to a full-season roster. After just four starts in Cedar Rapids in 2017, he could go there. Depending on where he’s at, he could jump directly to the Ft. Myers Miracle. All that is to be determined over the next week or two. For now, Jax is just excited to be back on the mound and to have some resolution to his situation. As he told The Gazette (Colorado Springs) after the decision, “It was just an awesome feeling hearing, 'yes,' finally.”

Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Friday. And as always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. APRIL AWARDS In case you missed any of the Twins Daily Minor League Awards for April, here they are: Relief Pitcher - Nick Anderson, Rochester Red Wings Starting Pitcher - Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings Hitter - Zander Wiel, Chattanooga Lookouts TRANSACTIONS RHP Zack Littell was promoted from Chattanooga to Rochester and will start on Saturday. LHP Anthony Marzi was promoted from Ft. Myers to Chattanooga. RHP Nick Brown came off of the disabled list for Cedar Rapids. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 3, Lehigh Valley 11 Box Score While the folks in Rochester were excited for the return of Trevor Plouffe to Frontier Field, it was another former Red Wings player who really hurt the Twins in this game. The Twins fell behind 6-0 after two innings in large part due to the power of outfielder Danny Ortiz. The Twins fourth-round pick in 2008, who made his major-league debut in 2017 with the Pirates, joined the Phillies organization this offseason. He hit two-run homers in his first two at-bats of this game and now has eight already on the season for the IronPigs. Ortiz had spent the second half of 2014 and all of 2105 with the Red Wings and hit 25 homers for the team. DJ Baxendale made the start for the Red Wings. He was charged with six runs on six hits and a walk in just 1 2/3 innings. Tyler Duffey came on and gave up four runs (3 earned) on three hits and three walks in 2 1/3 innings. Luke Bard came on for his Red Wings return. He faced six batters and got them all out, two on strikeouts. Mason Melotakis gave up three runs on two hits and two walks over the next two innings. He struck out three. Casey Crosby struck out two in a perfect ninth frame. The Red Wings had seven hits and six walks but were able to score just three runs. Jake Cave went 2-for-4 with a walk. Wynston Sawyer was 1-for-3 with a walk and a double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Mobile 2 Box Score The Lookouts offense did pretty much nothing through the first eight innings in their game tonight, but a four-run rally in the ninth frame gave them another big win. And, Tanner English got to play hero again. Zack Littell was scheduled to pitch for the Lookouts, but he was promoted to Rochester. So Omar Bencomo stepped in. The right-handed veteran threw five innings. He gave up two runs on six hits. He struck out two. Anthony McIver struck out two over the next two innings of scoreless relief. He gave up two hits and a walk. Sam Clay gave up a hit and walked two, but he struck out four over two scoreless innings. Brian Olson recorded his first hit of the season, and his second, and his third. While one was a double, his third hit got things going in the ninth inning. His single scored Chris Paul to put the Lookouts on the board. It was followed by a two-run triple by Tanner English who then scored on a LaMonte Wade single. https://twitter.com/SLeagueBaseball/status/992602166522187776 MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 8, Jupiter 3 Box Score The Miracle got out to an early lead, kept adding on and got some good pitching to go with it. Andro Cutura made the start. In six innings, he gave up two runs on five hits. He struck out four batters without issuing a walk. Lefty Kevin Marnon came on and gave up just one hit over two scoreless innings. He struck out two. Hector Lujan worked the ninth inning. He gave up one run on a hit and three walks. He struck out two. The first four batters of the Miracle lineup really had a big night. Leadoff man Mark Contreras went 2-4 with a walk. He scored three runs and drove in two. He also stole his third base. Joe Cronin batted second. He went 1-3 with a walk and his second home run. Next up was Luis Arraez. He went 1-2 with two walks. Lewin Diaz was 2-4 with his third home run. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, West Michigan 4 Box Score While it wasn’t hyped as much (here or on Twitter) as his Kernels debut last weekend, Brusdar Graterol was quite impressive again. This time out, the burly right-hander from Venezuela threw five shutout innings. He gave up just three hits. He struck out four without issuing a walk. The Kernels announcers pointed out that he reached 100 mph on several of his pitches. He threw 73 pitches and 46 of them were strikes. And he plays defense too. https://twitter.com/CRKernels/status/992767118931210240 Rickey Ramirez came on and gave up two runs on three hits over the next two innings. Moises Gomez worked the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks. He struck out two. The Kernels didn’t get much offense. In fact, they had just three hits in the game. Their run came in the first inning when Akil Baddoo scored from first base on an Alex Kirilloff opposite-field double off the wall. It was Kirilloff’s eighth double and gives him an organization-leading 23 RBI. Royce Lewis went 1-for-3 (to drop his average to .353) with a walk. He stole his seventh and eighth bases. The Twins photographer (Brace Hemmelgarn) was in Cedar Rapids and posted this photo blog. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Brian Olson, Chattanooga Lookouts (3-4, 2B, RBI) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Brusdar Graterol, Cedar Rapids Kernels (5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, BB, 2 SB(8) #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 0-4, BB, K #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2B(8), 2 RBI, 2 K #9 - Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) - 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (73 pitches, 46 strikes) #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, BB, K, R #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, HR(3), 2 RBI, R #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 1-5, RBI, K, SB(3) #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, K SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (12:05 CST) - RHP Zack Littell (AAA debut) Chattanooga @ Mobile (7:05 CST) - RHP Randy LeBlanc (3-1, 2.22 ERA) Jupiter @ Ft. Myers (5:00 CST) - RHP Brady Anderson (0-2, 6.75 ERA) West Michigan @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Blayne Enlow (0-1, 5.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have.

Let’s take a look at the Top 5 hitters for the month of April, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION Joe Cronin - Ft. Myers Miracle - 16-43, .372/.451/.558 (1.009) with five doubles, one homer and seven RBI Mark Contreras - Ft. Myers Miracle - 15-43, .349/.429/.488 (917) with four doubles, one triple and seven RBI. Ben Rodriguez - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 14-45, .311/.367/.511 (.878) with six doubles, one home run and three RBI. Jaylin Davis - Ft. Myers Miracle - 15-53, .283/.406/.453 (.859) with six doubles, one home run and three RBI. THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 – OF LaMonte Wade - .312/.407/.418 (.825). 23-74 with one triple, two home runs and seven RBI. LaMonte Wade was the Twins ninth-round draft pick in 2015 out of the University of Maryland. He had a strong season at Double-A Chattanooga in 2017. He had a strong showing in the Arizona Fall League until a collision in the outfield led to a concussion. He earned a non-roster invitation to big league spring training where he clearly impressed the entire coaching staff. So, it was surprising that he returned to AA Chattanooga to start this season. To this point in the year, LaMonte Wade has been LaMonte Wade. He’s hit for average. He continues to get on base. He’s got more walks than strikeouts. He hasn’t hit doubles, but he has a couple of long home runs. He’s been hitting leadoff for the Lookouts, but he should be in Rochester soon. Number 4 - Chattanooga Lookouts – SS Nick Gordon - .345/.363/.536 (.898), 29-94 with four doubles, three triples, two homers and 12 RBI. As surprising as it was that LaMonte Wade returned to Chattanooga, it was just as surprising that Nick Gordon returned to the Lookouts. The Twins top pick from 2014, Gordon had a terrific first half in AA last year. He struggled in the second half, and he struggled against left-handed pitching. He also spent a lot of big league spring training at second base. Gordon is again off to a fast start, hitting for average but also hitting for good power. Defensively, he has started in 20 of 24 games at shortstop. Like Wade, Gordon should be in Rochester soon. Number 3 – Ft. Myers Miracle - Travis Blankenhorn - .305/.345/.537 (.881), 25-82 with five doubles, one triple, four home runs and 13 RBI. Blankenhorn was the Twins third-round pick in 2015. Blankenhorn spent the 2017 season in Cedar Rapids and posted a .784 OPS. He filled the stat line well, hitting 22 doubles, 11 triples and 13 home runs. He also stole 13 bases, including home twice. He moved up to Ft. Myers this year and had a strong first month. He has hit for average and provided a lot of power. He leads the Twins minor leagues in home runs. He’s still moving back and forth between third base and second base, though he’s played twice as many games at third so far. Number 2 - Ft. Myers Miracle – OF Jimmy Kerrigan .326/.388/.547 (.934), 28-86 with eight doubles, one triple, three homers and 13 RBI. The 24-year-old Kerrigan played his college ball at Virginia Commonwealth. He went undrafted and started playing the 2017 season for the River City Rascals in the independent Frontier League. After a fast start, he signed with the Twins and went to Cedar Rapids. He began 2018 with the Ft. Myers Miracle and has been terrific. In fact, as the calendar turned to May, he was promoted to Rochester (though his time there may be short). Kerrigan led the Miracle. He hit for average, got on base and provided power. He also plays a good outfield. And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Chattanooga Lookouts – OF Zander Wiel - .316/.402/.513 (.915), 24-76 with nine doubles, two homers and 14 RBI. Zander Wiel was the Twins 12th-round pick in 2015 out of Vanderbilt University. Upon signing, he went to Elizabethton where he was hit by a pitch and missed about a month. In 2016, he moved up to Cedar Rapids where he hit 19 home runs and led the Midwest League with 86 RBI. He hit another 13 homers in the pitcher-friendly Florida State League. This year, he will likely spend most of the season in Chattanooga, less than two hours from where he grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. He had a big month of April. He hit for average, got on base and he had some big extra-base hits. It seemed as if each of his nine doubles drove in key runs for the Lookouts. He has done so while continuing to learn the outfield. He’s split time between left field and first base with Brent Rooker and done a nice job at both spots. While you could argue for several players to win the award, we would like to congratulate Zander Wiel, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for April 2018. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions.

Before we get to our Top 4 starting pitchers for the month of April, here is a list of a couple others who deserve to be recognized for a solid final month of the season. HONORABLE MENTION Randy LeBlanc - Chattanooga Lookouts - 5 GS, 28.1 IP, 3-1, 2.22 ERA, 1.34 WHIP, 30 H, 8 BB, 22 K Fernando Romero - Rochester Red Wings - 4 G, 3 GS, 21.0 IP, 0-1, 2.57 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 17 H, 10 BB, 20 K. THE TOP FOUR STARTING PITCHERS #4 - LHP Anthony Marzi - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 G, 3 GS, 1-0, 1.93 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, 18.2 IP, 18 H, 4 BB, 20 K Anthony Marzi got the Opening Night start for the Miracle, and he’s been good since. He did pitch once out of the bullpen, but that was just piggybacking a Phil Hughes rehab start. Marzi was a graduate of the University of Connecticut in 2014. He went undrafted, but that winter he signed with the New York Yankees. In 2015, he pitched in six games for the GCL Yankees before being released in March of 2016. He tried out for the independent New Britain Bees of the independent Atlantic League and did well in 2016 and 2017. In late June 2017, he was signed by the Twins because they needed starters in Cedar Rapids. He made nine starts for the Kernels and pitched well enough that his final regular season start came for the Ft. Myers Miracle. While the left-hander does not throw hard or miss a lot of bats, he can be effective by hitting his spots. He has been able to do that since signing. #3 - Tyler Wells - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 2-1, 3.63 ERA, 0.87 WHIP, 17.1 IP, 11 H, 4 BB, 18 K Wells had a terrific month. He’d done a terrific job of limiting base runners. He doesn’t give up a lot of hits, and he doesn’t hurt himself with walks. Wells was the Twins 15th-round pick in 2016 draft out of Division II Cal State - San Bernadino. He ended that season strong in Elizabethton, and last year he went 5-3 with a 3.11 ERA in Cedar Rapids, though he was limited to 75 innings due to a couple of injuries. Wells went to work this offseason and lost 25 pounds and came to spring training in great shape. #2- Stephen Gonsalves - Chattanooga Lookouts - 4 G, 3-0, 1.77 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 20.1 IP, 11 H, 10 BB, 25 K Gonsalves is not a new name to these monthly starting pitcher awards. He’s won several of the monthly awards, and he was the Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Year in both 2016 and 2017. After his 2017 season, the Twins added him to the 40-man roster. He went to his second straight big league spring training. It was a bit of a surprise that he was sent to AA Chattanooga to start the season. It was much less surprising to see him put up really impressive numbers through his first four starts. It’s also not surprising that his first start of May was with the Rochester Red Wings (or that he threw 7 2/3 scoreless innings). The former fourth-round pick from San Diego is on track to make his major league debut sometime in 2018. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings - RHP Aaron Slegers - 4 GS, 2-0, 1.50 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 19 H, 3 BB, 14 K Speaking of guys who have been mentioned in these reports a lot, Aaron Slegers was twice a Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month in 2017. He even made three big league starts. He was the runner-up for Starting Pitcher of the Year. And he has started out 2018 very well as well. Slegers threw six innings in all four of his starts. He had four quality starts and twice he didn’t give up a run. He even got to spend one day in the Twins bullpen in New York, called up in case a long reliever was needed. Slegers was the Twins fifth-round draft pick in 2013 out of Indiana University where he had been been the Big 10’s Pitcher of the Year. He has moved up one level each year and has developed well at that pace. After debuting in 2017, Slegers returns to Rochester where he will continue to pitch in hopes of more of those call-ups. Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of April, Rochester starter Aaron Slegers. Feel free to discuss and ask questions.