Seth Stohs

Probably the same thing as yesterday the non-Gordon promotion. I assume this is a very short-term thing until a couple of players are eligible to come off of the DL.

I don''t know... It shouldn't have.

Maybe there is something in a name. Or maybe they were inspired by the Major League debut of top pitching prospect Fernando Romero. Tyler Wells and Tyler Watson combined for 11 1/3 scoreless innings in their starts tonight. Add in four scoreless innings for Lewis Thorpe is his Wednesday start and that’s a lot of levels getting the message that it all starts with starting pitching. Find out how the four Twins affiliates did and who were the top performers.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Wednesday. And as always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS On Wednesday, the Twins officially announced that John Curtiss was optioned to Rochester and RHP Fernando Romero was promoted to the Twins. Romero had a pretty strong MLB debut!OF Jimmy Kerrigan was promoted from Ft. Myers to Rochester.1B Robbie Rinn was promoted from extended spring training to Ft. Myers. He was acquired in a minor league trade during spring training.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 6, Pawtucket 7 Box Score Down 1-0 in the top of the fifth inning, Jermaine Curtis stepped up with a couple of runners on and hit his first home run of the season to give the Red Wings a 3-1 lead. Miles Jaye started for the Wings and gave up just one run through the first four innings. However, given the lead, Jaye gave up a four-spot in the bottom of the fifth frame. In total, he gave up five runs on eight hits and a walk in 4 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Ryne Harper came on and gave up two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. Ryne Harper came on and gave up two runs on three hits over 1 2/3 innings. He got five outs, all of them on strikeouts. Casey Crosby got the final five outs for the Red Wings without any further damage. Curtiss added another RBI later in the game. He was 2-for-5 with four RBI. James Ramsey was 2-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Willians Astudillo added his second home run of the year. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 7, Mobile 6 (10 innings) Box Score Lewis Thorpe made the start for the Lookouts. The southpaw from Australia threw four scoreless innings. He gave up just two hits, but he walked five and struck out six. That led to a high pitch count. He was done after four innings having already thrown 89 pitches. Ryan Eades went the next two innings and gave up three runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out two. Cody Stashak worked the next two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out three. Fellow Australian, Todd Van Steensel, came on to protect a one-run lead in the ninth. He gave up one run and the game went to overtime, or extra innings, if you prefer. In the top of the tenth, LaMonte Wade started the inning on second. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a Brent Rooker sacrifice fly. Van Steensel was back on the mound for the bottom of the 10th. The first batter reached on an error, putting runners at first and third. But Van Steensel got a strikeout and then coaxed a double play to end the game. Edgar Corcino led the offense by going 2-4 with his third and fourth doubles. He drove in two runs. Zander Wiel went 2-5. Alex Perez was 1-2 with three walks. Nick Gordon drove in a run with his fifth double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Tampa 0 Box Score If you’re looking for a Twins minor league starting pitcher who could move up prospect rankings throughout this season, look no further than Tyler Wells. The 6-8 right-hander got himself in very good shape in the offseason and has taken his performance to a new level. On this night, Wells threw six shutout innings. He gave up just two hits, walked one and struck out four. He improved to 3-1 with a 2.70 ERA. After Wells left, the Westmont Duo took over and combined for the final three innings. Andrew Vasquez worked two innings and was charged with an unearned run. Hector Lujan threw a perfect ninth inning. Joe Cronin continued his hot stretch to start the season. The infielder went 2-for-4 with a walk and his first triple. He drove in three runs and stole a base. Robbie Rinn made his Twins and Florida State League debuts on Wednesday night. He went 1-2 with a walk and a double. Nelson Molina went 1-3 with a walk and his first stolen base of the year. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, South Bend 0 (6 innings, rain) Box Score There was a threat of some serious weather, but the game was able to get through the necessary five innings to be complete. Tyler Watson did his part to keep the game rolling. The left-hander threw all 5 1/3 innings without allowing a run. He gave up just three hits and walked none. He struck out six. Jean Carlos Arias led the offense. He went 3-for-3 with two RBI. Alex Kirilloff scored twice and drove in one with his seventh double. Andrew Bechtold added his third double. For South Bend, their second pitcher of the game was Rollie Lacy. He was a Cubs draft pick last year out of Creighton. He played his high school baseball at Holy Family High School in Victoria, Minnesota. In 18.1 innings this season, he has a 1.93 ERA. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jermaine Curtis, Rochester Wings (2-5, HR(1), 4 RBI) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Wells, Ft. Myers Miracle (6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #2 - Fernando Romero (Minnesota) - 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 K (MLB Debut) #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 1-5, 2B(5), R, RBI, BB, K #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 1-3, 2B(7), 2 R, 1 RBI #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 0-4, BB, SF, RBI, 4 K #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, R, 1 BB, 1 K #12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 K #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 0-5, 2 R, BB, 2 K #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, 2K THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Lehigh Valley @ Rochester (6:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers (2-0, 1.50 ERA) Chattanooga @ Mobile (6:35 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart (2-1, 5.82 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Tampa (5:30 CST) - LHP Charlie Barnes (0-2, 4.24 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Bailey Ober (0-1, 81.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Wednesday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

It's against the CBA to do that... It should never happen.

April was an interesting month for baseball, in the big leagues and in the minor leagues. Weather effected many teams including the Rochester Red Wings and the Cedar Rapids Kernels. But we have a month worth of games, so it’s time to post our first monthly minor league award. Today, we start with the Twins minor league relief pitchers of the month. We’ll count down the Top 5 Twins minor league relievers, and there are enough good bullpen performances that we’ll include some honorable mentions.Before we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Five Relievers for April, here are some terrific bullpen performances that just missed the cut. HONORABLE MENTION Tyler Duffey - Rochester Red Wings - 5 G, 11.0 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 14 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.36 WHIP.Matt Magill - Elizabethton Twins - 5 G, 8.2 IP, 5 H, 2 BB, 13 K, 0.00 ERA, 0.81 WHIP.Andrew Vasquez - Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts - 8 G, 14.0 IP, 8 H, 6 BB, 14 K, 1.29 ERA, 1.00 WHIPTodd Van Steensel - Chattanooga Lookouts - 7 G, 13.2 IP, 10 H, 6 BB, 17 K, 2.63 ERA, 1.17 WHIPTHE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS #5 - Kevin Marnon - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 G, 1.46 ERA, 0.81 WHIP, 12.1 IP, 7 H, 3 BB, 14 K Kevin Marnon went undrafted last year after his college career, a career that took him to East Tennessee State, Akron and Ball State. He went to the USPBL, but soon after, the Twins called him and he signed. The 6-8 left-hander began the 2018 season in Cedar Rapids. As you can see, he did a nice job out of the Kernels bullpen. He worked two innings most times and once worked in five innings in an extra-innings game. As the calendar changed from April to May, Marnon learned that he had been promoted to the Ft. Myers Miracle. #4 - John Curtiss - Rochester Red Wings - 5 G, 2.89 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 9.1 IP, 7 H, 2 BB, 17 K Curtiss was the Twins sixth-round pick in 2014 out of the University of Texas. In college, he had both thoracic outlet surgery and Tommy John surgery. He missed time his first full season in the minor leagues. However, the last two seasons, he has been as good as any other pitcher in the system and moved up very quickly. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year in 2017 and ended the year with nine games with the Twins. He had a really good April with the Red Wings and earned his promotion to the Twins at the end of the month. He was returned to Rochester last night where he’ll jump back into late-inning relief work. #3 - DJ Baxendale - Rochester Red Wings - 6 G (2 GS), 0.00 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 14.1 IP, 11 H, 2 BB, 9 K Baxendale was the Twins 10th-round pick in 2012 out of the University of Arkansas. He began his career as a starter, but he has worked primarily out of the bullpen in recent years. He’s worked in many roles including short-relief, long-relief and spot starting, a role he has continued to have in 2018. Baxendale was very good in April. While he isn’t a strikeout pitcher, he works fast and has a real good slider and good control. #2 - Ryan Mason - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle - 8 G, 2.20 ERA, 0.61 WHIP, 16.1 IP, 9 H, 1 BB, 19 K Mason led all Twins minor league relievers in innings pitched in April. It’s impressive, in part, because he received a promotion to Ft. Myers mid-month. He moved up and didn’t miss a beat. He’s mostly been working two to three innings late in games. He went 2-1 with three saves in his eight outings. At 6-6, he was drafted in the 13th round out of Cal-Berkeley in 2016. He’s got a good fastball, and he can throw as many as four pitches thanks to his college years as a starter. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Rochester Red Wings – RHP Nick Anderson - 6 G, 0.82 ERA, 0.91 WHIP, 11.0 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 17 K Anderson won this month award a couple of times in 2017 and was a finalist for Twins Daily’s Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Year. He spent most of 2017 in Chattanooga, but he jumped right to Rochester to start the 2018 season. He continues to do what he has done since signing with the Twins. He throws a lot of strikes. He throws hard, mid-90s, touching 97. He’s got a wipeout slider. He’s able to miss bats. Opponents hit just .162 off of him for the month. While he is not on the 40-man roster, it will be interesting to see if he is given an opportunity with the big league club in 2018. For those still unaware, Anderson’s is a great story. He is a graduate of Brainerd High School. He went to St. Cloud State for three years before heading to Mayville State for a season. The Brewers drafted him, but they didn’t even offer him a contract. After working in the indy leagues for a few seasons, the Twins signed him late in 2015, and he’s been a dominant late inning reliever wherever he’s played. He is in his first season with the Rochester Red Wings. There were several very strong relief pitcher performances in April throughout the Twins minor league system. It was a good month for each of these pitchers mentioned today, but again, Congratulations to the Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month for April 2018, Nick Anderson. Click here to view the article

Yeah, I think that the Twins will be appropriately aggressive with Lewis. He's much more advanced offensively than Buxton was at the same stage, and Buxton was promoted to Ft. Myers in early July or late June. Lewis could be promoted in that timeline... I'm mainly hoping they wait until after Memorial Day as I'm hoping to go down there that weekend. I think he finishes this year in Ft. Myers. He could start next year in Chattanooga... Then honestly, it may depend some on Gordon and Polanco (and obviously the Dozier and Escobar free agency possibilities), but he could be up as early as late 2019. I think early 2020 is very realistic.

I don't know if he'd been dominant in his AA starts. Yeah, the numbers looked good, but he had high pitch counts and struggled with command of pitches. Last night was by far his best performance of the year. Obviously that shows in the stats. But having watched a lot of it, he was absolutely on. He had a good fastball with good command of it. He had the slow curve working both as a get-ahead pitch and as a swing and miss pitch. And he threw a couple of great changeups. To me, this start is the building block for him. The AA starts were almost like extended spring training for him...

It's not a prospect thing... We assume Petit is only going to be up for a week, and likewise Miller will likely only be up with Rochester for a week, so why have Gordon go through hoops? That said, if they would have called up Gordon, it likely would have been for good. Tells me that they're not quite ready to say that Gordon has accomplished the things (whatever they may be) at AA that they want to see before moving him up. Or, they feel they could just call Gordon up directly.

It’s safe to say that the Minnesota Twins have struggled mightily in every facet of the game the last two weeks. They haven’t hit well. They haven’t played good defense. The bullpen has struggled, and the starting pitchers have rarely been able to provide relief to the bullpen with extended starts. There is, however, reason for Twins fans to be excited about the team’s starting pitcher on Wednesday afternoon against the Blue Jays. Twins top pitching prospect Fernando Romero will make his major league debut.BACKGROUND Fernando Romero burst onto prospect rankings way back in 2013 when he went 2-0 with a 1.60 ERA and 47 strikeouts as an 18-year-old in the Gulf Coast League. Much more important than the numbers were the scouting reports which showed he was sitting in the mid-to-upper 90s with his fastball and that he had a good breaking ball too. In 2014, he moved up to Cedar Rapids in mid-May, but after just three starts, he experienced pain in his elbow. Soon after, he needed Tommy John surgery. He missed the entire 2015 season, and as he was rehabbing, he needed knee surgery. When he returned at Instructional League that year, reports showed him hitting triple-digits with his fastball. He was not able to return to the field until May of 2016. Once he returned, it was as if he didn’t miss a beat. He made five starts in Cedar Rapids where he went 4-1 with a 1.93 ERA. He moved up to Ft. Myers where he went 5-2 with a 1.88 ERA in 11 starts. Combined, he threw 90.1 innings and struck out 90 batters while walking just 15 batters. Following the season, he was added to the Twins 40-man roster. He spent the entire 2017 season in Double-A Chattanooga where he went 11-9 with a 3.53 ERA. In 125 innings, he gave up 45 walks and struck out 120 batters. And that brings us to 2018. Following a strong showing in big league spring training (eight no-hit innings). That pushed him up to Rochester to start the season. Romero has made three starts for the Red Wings. He also came out of the bullpen once, piggybacking after Adalberto Mejia went two innings. He is 0-1 with a 2.57 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. In 21 innings, he has given up 17 hits (just one home run), ten walks and struck out 20. SCOUTING REPORT From the Minnesota Twins Prospect Handbook 2018: Scouting Report: Romero has absolutely electric stuff, probably the best pure “stuff” of anyone in the organization right now. He is built very strong. He’s just over 6-0 and about 220 pounds. He’s got a very strong lower half, very strong legs. He is quite aggressive with his fastball. His fastball usually sits in the mid-to-upper 90s and he has touched triple digits. His slider can be in the upper-80s and can be a strikeout pitch. He’s still inconsistent with it, but it has potential to be a plus-plus pitch. He also throws a cutter. He has really worked to improve his changeup as well. If he can have three plus-plus pitches, he could be a great starter. Without a third pitch, he could be an elite reliever. He’s shown a commitment to the process of becoming great. He has been willing to work on pitches, such as his changeup, in game situations. Romero is light-hearted and known to be a good teammate. TWINS MLB DEBUTS The Twins will be the underdog in this afternoon’s series finale against the Toronto Blue Jays at Target Field. However, with Fernando Romero making his Major League Debut, the excitement and energy in the stadium could certainly affect him and the rest of the Twins team. How comfortable are you with Romero and his stuff in his debut? Be sure to do your research before joining an online betting site and double check the lines. There is incentive for the bookies to have equal bets on both sides. Here is a quick review of how many of the Minnesota Twins pitching prospects over the last dozen years performed in their first major league start. Jose Berrios (4/27/16) – 4 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, 93 pitches, 56 strikes.Alex Meyer (5/2/16) – 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, HR, 64 pitches, 34 strikes.Trevor May (8/9/14) – 2 IP, 3 H, 4 ER, 7 BB, 0 K, 63 pitches, 28 strikes.Tyler Duffey (8/5/15) – 2 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 2 HR, 60 pitches, 32 strikes.Kyle Gibson (6/29/13) – 6 IP, 8 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 91 pitches, 64 strikes.Andrew Albers (8/6/13) – 8.1 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K, 109 pitches, 67 strikes.Liam Hendriks (9/6/11) – 7 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 4 K, 99 pitches, 65 strikes.Cole De Vries (5/24/12) – 5 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 3 HR, 96 pitches, 60 strikes.Scott Baker (7/5/05) – 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, HR, 88 pitches, 54 strikes.Francisco Liriano (9/14/05) – 5 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, HR, 69 pitches, 44 strikes.Kevin Slowey (6/14/07) – 6 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR, 99 pitches, 66 strikes.Nick Blackburn (4/2/08) – 7 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 86 pitches, 63 strikes.Anthony Swarzak (5/23/09) – 7 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 98 pitches, 64 strikes.Jeff Manship (9/1/09) – 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, HR, 80 pitches, 48 strikes.Matt Garza (8/11/06) – 2.2 IP, 8 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HR, 67 pitches, 42 strikes.I would say that the takeaway from a quick review of first major-league starts is that we need to not make too much of it as a predictor of the future in any way, good or bad. So, I’m just going to try to enjoy and realize that he is a big part of the Twins future. Click here to view the article

The biggest story line heading into the minor league games on Monday, was the 2018 Triple-A debut of top pitching prospect Stephen Gonsalves. He was beyond fantastic for the Rochester Red Wings as he got them to .500 on the season as you’ll read. It was quite possibly the best pitching performance I’ve ever NOT rewarded the pitcher of the day award to since I’ve been helping write these reports for Twins Daily. To find out why, you’ll have to make it to the Kernels recap to see what a couple of pitchers combined to do there (hint: what’s better than a one-hitter?To find out what exactly happened in those games and how all the rest of your favorite Twins prospects fared on Tuesday night, keep reading! TRANSACTIONS There were several moves in the Minnesota Twins system on Tuesday: The Twins selected the contract of IF Gregorio Petit from Rochester. In the corresponding move IF Sean Miller was promoted to AA from Chattanooga. To get the Red Wings roster filled they also added catcher Winston Sawyer from the Lookouts while placing first baseman Brock Stassi on the temporary inactive list. To take one of the roster spots in Chattanooga IF Alex Perez was promoted from Fort Myers. To take his place on the Miracle roster IF Carson Crites was moved up from Cedar Rapids and they also received reliever Kevin Marnon who would debut for the Miracle on Tuesday night. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 2, Pawtucket 0 Box Score The Rochester offense scored two runs in the top of the fifth thanks to the bat of Kennys Vargas, who clubbed his third home run of the season to give them the lead. That was all the lineup would need to produce as a top pitching prospect making his 2018 Triple-A debut turned in the second longest start of his MiLB career. Left-hander Stephen Gonsalves was that starter, and he was lights out against the Red Sox. In 7 2/3 innings he allowed just one walk and one hit while adding five strikeouts. Going into the eighth inning, Gonsalves had faced the minimum thanks to a double-play ball in the second inning, and had retired sixteen in a row. In that eighth inning, he walked the leadoff man but would get two outs, including a K to his final hitter, before being replaced by Alan Busenitz. Gonsalves threw 92 pitches on the game, with 55 of them going for strikes (including eight swinging strikes). Now with five starts in AAA on his resume, he has gone six plus innings in four of those while allowing only four runs. He did have a couple of outings last year that blew up his small-sample AAA stat line, but there’s a lot to like in all his other outings at the final rung on the ladder to the bigs. Busenitz finished the final 1 1/3 innings to pick up his first save of the season with Rochester. He allowed two hits and got all three outs via K's in the ninth. The Red Wings got multiple hit efforts from Jake Cave (2-4, 2 2B, RBI) and Jermaine Curtis (2-4) to give Gonsalves his fourth win of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Scheduled day off. The Lookouts had the day off on Tuesday as they traveled from Tennessee to Alabama. They begin a five-game series with the Mobile BayBears on Wednesday with lefty Lewis Thorpe on the mound looking for his first win of the 2018 season. MIRACLE MATTERS Fort Myers 1, Tampa 2 Box Score Fort Myers also got a strong effort from their starting pitcher, but the hitters weren’t able to get much going to back it. Anthony Marzi was that starter in this one, and he delivered a quality start. In his six innings, he scattered four hits and a walk while striking out five. He allowed two runs (one earned) on 92 pitches (64 for strikes). He left the game down 2-0 and in line for the loss. The Miracle got on the scoreboard in the top of the seventh inning when Travis Blankenhorn bombed his fifth home run of the season, a solo shot to left field. The rest of the lineup added just three singles and one walk while going 0-3 with runners in scoring position and leaving six men on base. Ryan Mason pitched a scoreless seventh inning thanks in part to a Jimmy Kerrigan assist to cut down a runner at home. Mason gave up two hits in the inning. Fresh off his promotion to Fort Myers, Kevin Marnon added a scoreless eighth inning to finish the game. He allowed two singles and struck out one in his Florida State League debut. KERNELS NUGGETS South Bend 0, Cedar Rapids 10 Box Score Unlike their higher-level cohorts, the Kernels had no problem with offense on Tuesday. As a team they racked up sixteen hits and used a big inning to take complete control against the Cubs. They really didn’t need that output either however, as two pitchers combined to toss the Kernels first no-hitter since the 2013 season. Their lineup scored single runs in the second and third innings thanks to solo home runs from Jean Carlos Arias and Akil Baddoo. It was the first one the year for Arias, and second for Badoo Cedar Rapids then put the game out of reach in the fourth as they sent eleven men to the plate and scored seven of them to go ahead 9-0. That big inning got going after one-out singles from David Banuelos and Trey Cabbage who trotted home on Ben Rodriguez’s second home run of the year. Singles from top prospects Baddoo, Royce Lewis, and Alex Kirilloff followed that blast, and Arias added an RBI single before Andrew Bechtold’s second double of the season cleared the bases to account for the crooked number. They tacked on another run in the eighth as a Kirilloff double brought in Baddoo who had reached with another single. Baddoo, Lewis and Cabbage all notched three hits on the game. Kirilloff and Arias added two hits apiece while Bechtold and Rodriguez each drove in three runs. As a team they were 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position while leaving only six men on base. Starter Edwar Colina was again effectively wild in this one as, despite allowing five walks in his six innings, he obviously didn’t allow a hit or run and struck out two. In picking up his second win of the year he lowered his ERA to 0.60 in 21 innings with the Kernels. He was replaced in the seventh inning with left-hander Jovani Moran who finished off the no-hitter by picking up a three-inning save, his first of the year. He walked one and struck out one. Colina and Moran combined to throw 131 pitches on the game, with 79 of them going for strikes. The no-hitter was quite an accomplishment for the defense as 24 of the 27 outs on the game were made in the field. The game started with an error on shortstop Royce Lewis and another error on second baseman Jose Miranda in the third inning put a runner on third base, but they caught him at home on a double-steal play for the innings second out before Colina would later escape that jam with the bases loaded. South Bend wouldn’t threaten again as they went 0-4 with runners in scoring position and left five men on base. Congratulations to Colina, Moran, and the Kernels on the fantastic effort! STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day – Edwar Colina/Jovani Moran, Cedar Rapids Kernels (Combined no-hitter, 9.0 IP, 6 BB, 3 K’s) Too good to not give honorable mention: Stephen Gonsalves, Rochester Red Wings (W, 7.2 IP, H, BB, 5 K’s) Twins Daily Hitter of the Day – Akil Baddoo, Cedar Rapids Kernels (3-5, 3 R, HR, RBI) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY 1. Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) – 3-5, R 4. Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) – W (1-0), 7.2 IP, H, BB, 5 K’s 5. Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) – 2-5, R, 2B (6), RBI 10. Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) – 3-5, 3 R, HR (2), RBI 13. Lewin Diaz (Fort Myers) – 1-4, K 15. Mitch Garver (Minnesota) – 0-4, 2 K’s 17. Travis Blankenhorn (Fort Myers) – 1-4, R, HR (5), RBI WEDNESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (11:05PM CST) – RHP Myles Jaye (0-1, 6.59 ERA) Chattanooga @ Mobile (6:35PM CST) – LHP Lewis Thorpe (0-3, 5.30 ERA) Fort Myers @ Tampa (5:30PM CST) – RHP Tyler Wells (2-1, 3.63 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35PM CST) – LHP Tyler Watson (1-1, 3.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Tuesday’s games! Click here to view the article

Without saying it, the Twins are trying to help Lewis transition to full-season ball from a high school season. He hasn't played the last two Sundays and got last Wednesday off. The idea is to try to keep him fresh all year. I want to see him play all the time, but I actually think it's a wise strategy.

I'd' say each was a varying level of mistake. I don't' think Rosario lollygagged on the dropped fly ball. He got there in plenty of time, he just looked to find the wall and took his eye off the ball. I wont call it effort. I couldn't' tell you if it is about focus. I don't' know how to measure preparedness. You can prepare for everything as much as you want but the players have to do it. I definitely dont' question interest. I'm not going to question motivation. They're' losing right now. Its not fun for us to watch. I feel pretty strongly that it''s harder on the players, coaches, manager and front office.

For Gordon, the "service time" isn't an issue, at least not in my opinion. If he's up for 5 days, that's just five days of service time. The bigger issue to me is the usage of the option for five days. If it's going to be just 5-8 days, then they should go with Gregorio Petit. When Sano comes back, you DFA Petit (or Adrianza). If we knew Sano would be out for 20-25 games and Gordon would play, then there is value in bringing him up. Then again, if the Twins call up Nick Gordon, I will be incredibly excited for him!

Yes, I assume that $2.5 million can be removed from the $6.025 million.

You'll never hear me questioning effort. I won't do that because there is no way to know. Rosario had the error last night. That wasn't lack of effort, it was taking his eye off the ball, thinking he was closer to the fence than he was. Dozier didn't have his error after the due to lack of effort. He just didn't field the ball right. Lance Lynn isn't walking hitters because of lack of effort. I don't if it's mechanical or what, but it isn't like he's trying to walk guys. And yeah, I know the manager will take blame for the slow start. I get that. But he can't hit with runners in scoring position, and Molitor was never a pitcher, so he can't go out there and pitch for them. He can't field. And the team is prepared. We heard last year how they have so much more to digest in terms of stats and analysis. They aren't' suddenly using less of it now. Lineup construction is often overrated, but I don't really have an issue with that at this point. The guys at the top of the order are getting on, but they're not getting knocked in. Bullpen management is something he continues to get questioned on. I personally don't have much issue with it. I wonder about his usage of Duke against strings of righties, but outside of Reed and Pressly, its not like he's had anyone else be reliable. He's given Hildenberger a lot of chances, and hopefully last night's performance will spring him toward his 2017 success. He's used the short-term guys appropriately. As for motivation, that's always a tough one for me. One form of motivation isn't going to work for everyone. And again, I won't question the players' motivation or effort. If they can't get motivated to play an MLB game, that's on them. And also... there is a lot of baseball left. If they go 13-7 in their next 20, they're back to .500 before the end of May. If they go 23-17 in their next 40, they're at .500 in mid-June, and they're well within reach. So, I think we can ask the question (which I did in the article), but it's definitely too early to think we already know the answer.

I've only seen a couple of their games on milb tv. He uses the whole field well, and he's' already hit two really long home runs. He's got the power.

The Minnesota Twins lost 7-5 to the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday night at Target Field. It was the team's tenth loss in their last 11 games, and it dropped their season record to just 9-16. As the calendar flips from April to May, many Twins fans are likely asking themselves if they could have possibly been this wrong about the Twins. We were possibly this wrong about the 2018 Minnesota Twins?Simply put, there isn't a member of the Minnesota Twins organization, players, coaches or front office, who is happy with the Twins 9-15 record. Even more than the simple record, no one could be happy with the way that the team is playing. Most important maybe to the ownership, fans are already frustrated with the results. To this point, an oversimplified summary of the Twins season would include: poor starting pitching, poor relief pitching, poor hitting and poor defense. There are some positives, to be sure, but overall, April was a rough month for the Twins. There have been excuses given for the team. Some are legitimate. Others just aren't really appropriate. Here is a quick look at some of the excuses or reasons often given for the Twins awful first month of the season. The Weather The weather was awful during the first half of the month, through the season's first three weeks. The Twins had a number of scheduled off days, and then there was an unusual amount of snow that fell on Minneapolis (and many other MLB cities). This certainly could not have been easy, but frankly, the Twins were 8-5 during the spotty part of the schedule. We mostly assumed that the team would benefit from playing every day. Hitters could get into a routine, and pitchers could get into their normal patterns between starts. That, in theory, should create some sort of consistency. Instead, since things returned to normal, the twins have gone 1-10. The Front Office Did Nothing I hear this a lot, and it's one that is hard to fathom. The Twins were one of the busiest teams during the offseason. The Cubs signed Yu Darvish, who the Twins clearly targeted heavily. In the offseason, the Twins signed relievers Fernando Rodney, Zack Duke and Addison Reed. They traded A-ball shortstop Jermaine Palacios for veteran Jake Odorizzi. These were solid moves. Many assumed that the money that was not spent on Darvish would just go unspent money. Instead, the front office played the free agent market wisely. The Twins signed Logan Morrison, who hit 38 home runs last year for Tampa Bay, for $6.5 million and an option. Then they signed Lance Lynn, a pitcher who was projected to make $80 million or more in free agency, for one year and $12 million. That was the point where many Twins fans nodded and thought, OK, now we can really get excited. Now the Twins have accumulated a roster that could possibly compete with Cleveland for an AL Central title. Since the season has started, the front office, unfortunately, has again had to reach down to AAA, and reach out via the waiver wire, to address pitching issues. Judging any of those moves after one month would be very short-sighted, whether positively or negatively. Fernando Rodney has not been good. Zack Duke, after struggling early, has been pretty good the last seven outings. Odorizzi has an ERA below four. Logan Morrison got off to a very slow start. It will take him some time to make his numbers look presentable. Lance Lynn, frankly, has had five starts that look very similar to the two starts Phil Hughes has had, which pushed Hughes to the bullpen. To attempt to summarize Lynn to this point, he has had no command. The Twins Have Missed Byron Buxton While his batting average when he went on the disabled list was just shy of .200, the Twins have won just two games since Byron Buxton went down with migraines... and then a fractured toe. While Max Kepler can play a solid, adequate centerfield, the loss of Buxton comes in the form of replacing Buxton with Kepler and Kepler with Robbie Grossman. In other words, the defense is weakened in two spots. Likewise, it's nice to have Eduardo Escobar's bat in the lineup, but the team also misses Jorge Polanco who will not be able to play for another two months due to his 80-game PED suspension. Now Miguel Sano has a hamstring injury, and the team's infield depth is being stretched. Players Gotta Play If we're being honest, it's almost completely on the players at this point. Max Kepler is really punishing the baseball. Eduardo Escobar continues to be very good with the bat. Joe Mauer continues to be an on-base machine. Ryan Pressly has seemingly taken a next step. Kyle Gibson, Jake Odorizzi and Jose Berrios have been solid pitchers most times out. Addison Reed has been quite good. As Mitch Garver has played more of late, his bat has heated up. The team needs better starting pitching. The team needs better relief pitching. The team needs better hitting overall, but they more specifically need to be better with runners in scoring position. Reasons for Optimism It might be difficult right now to imagine a scenario where the Twins turn this around and make a playoff push. The team will need to start playing well soon, but there are some things that we do need to remember. First, the Twins still are scheduled to play another 138 games. To end the season with 87 wins, the team would need to go 78-60. That means that they would need to win about 56% of their remaining games. That's not an easy task, but it isn't out of the realm of possibility if things change soon. The team has played just one game in the American League Central to this point. That means they have another 56 games against the Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals and Chicago White Sox. If they go 37-19 in those 56 games, that would mean that they needed to go .500 in their other 82 remaining games to reach that 87 win mark. I don't know if winning 2/3 of their games against those three AL Central teams is realistic, but those games will be very important to the Twins. I still believe that the Twins have a good combination of veterans and younger players. Veterans will typically find a way to reach their typical numbers by season's end. Logan Morrison and Lance Lynn can only get better. Fernando Rodney should get better. Taylor Rogers and Trevor Hildenberger will get better. The front office has shown they're not going to be afraid to make moves, particularly with the final 25- and 40-man roster spots. Tyler Kinley got some time, and now has been DFAd. They added David Hale. He pitched once, and they DFAd him. They are trying Matt Magill. Gabriel Moya made the Opening Day roster, Alan Busenitz has been up, Tyler Duffey got another shot and now he's been sent back, and John Curtiss is up. And finally, the exciting news from Monday was the announcement that Fernando Romero, the team's top pitching prospect, will be called up on Wednesday to make the start for the Twins. It isn't likely to be a one-time spot start as Phil Hughes has been moved to the bullpen. Hughes got two starts upon his return and the club saw enough. And to replace him, they didn't just call up anyone. They called up their top prospect. Is Fernando Romero ready? Probably not quite. But he's close, and his stuff can be electric. He's got the upper-90s fastball to go with a slider. He'll need to be more consistent with control and command, and his third pitch (a changeup) is still a work-in progress. But it's the kind of move that tells the organization, we aren't settling and we're going to give this key part of our future a shot. If Lance Lynn doesn't soon make some adjustments, he may need a three-week DL stint with some sort of "injury" and someone like Stephen Gonsalves - who will make his first AAA start of 2018 on Tuesday - could get an opportunity. If Miguel Sano can't play in the next couple of days, could the Twins decide to promote another highly-touted prospect, Nick Gordon, directly from Double A? Is he big-league ready? Probably not, there are still questions about him and he could use more development time, but that would be a big move. If they feel he's close, which he might be, that would be the possible move. So, were we wrong? I don't know what everyone who reads this thinks the 2018 Twins team would do or should do. I do think most believed that this team can, should and will compete for a playoff spot. I'm not sure how many thought that the team had made up the 20 win distance between the Twins and Cleveland from last year, but on paper, the team had improved. They had added some solid veterans, and they still had young players capable of getting better and better. I am not at the point yet in giving up on the 2018 season. It's FAR too early for that. I still believe that there is too much talent on this roster and that they should turn it around quickly. Getting Byron Buxton back would be huge. Having a healthy Miguel Sano, and preferably one that strikes out less than 40% of the time, would be helpful. Having Lance Lynn show what he's been capable of through his years with the Cardinals would be nice. Logan Morrison figuring out a way to hit five or six home runs a month the rest of the way would be good. A higher percentage of competitive at-bats would be a good start. Eddie Rosario remembering not to swing at pitches he can't drive would be great. Jason Castro performing as he did in 2017 would be good. The bullpen finding its way will be crucial, and obviously the most important thing will be for the starting staff to throw some quality starts onto their stat lines. There is reason for hope and optimism. That should not be gone for Twins fans. But right now, little is going right, and they will need to turn things around quickly to encourage fans to show up to Target Field. Click here to view the article

Cedar Rapids and Ft. Myers had a day off to close out April. However, an unlikely hero surfaced in Chattanooga and helped the Lookouts to a walk-off win. Rochester, in search of some offense, was able to score five runs. Was it enough to win? And hey, we’ve got more transactions including the Twins announcement that top pitching prospect Fernando Romero will be promoted and start for the Twins on Wednesday.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Saturday. And as always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following Sunday’s Twins loss, the team announced that RH RP Tyler Duffey was optioned to Rochester. On Monday morning, they announced that RH RP John Curtiss had been promoted.Then before the Twins Monday night game, the big news broke. Paul Molitor announced that Phil Hughes was being moved to the bullpen and Fernando Romero will come up to make his first MLB start on Wednesday. Romero is the Twins #2 Prospectand is ready for any role with the Twins.The Rochester Red Wings announced that RH RP Luke Bard had rejoined the team after his time with the Angels as a Rule 5 pick.Reports indicate that LHP Kevin Marnon has been promoted from Cedar Rapids to Ft. Myers.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 5, Pawtucket 1 Box Score The Red Wings have struggled to score runs all of April, so when they scored three runs in the first inning on Monday, there was reason for excitement. Combined with a strong pitching performance, the Red Wings ended April with 9-10 record. Dietrich Enns made the start. The left-hander gave up just one run on four hits and a walk. He struck out just one, but it was a needed quality start for the Red Wings. DJ Baxendale came on and threw two scoreless innings. Mason Melotakis got the ninth frame and got out of it without allowing a run. Willians Astudillo led the offense. He went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. Leonardo Reginnato went 2-for-5 with his sixth double. Brock Stassi went 2-for-5 as well. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 3 Box Score It’s been a tough start to the season for outfielder Tanner English. Coming into Monday afternoon’s game, the speedy centerfielder had just four hits in his first 51 at-bats (.078). In fact, after making out his first two at-bats in this game, he was on a stretch in which he was 0-for-23 and 1-for-40. In the 7th inning, English singled to center to break the hitless streak. Down 3-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, Brian Navarreto singled. Sean Miller sacrificed him to second. LaMonte Wade was walked which brought Tanner English to the plate. On a 1-2 pitch, English connected, hitting a line drive to left. Navarreto scored, and Wade came all the way around from first base with the game-winning run. Manager Tommy Watkins noted after the game, “It was great to see him come through for the team and also for himself. Hopefully this will be the start to him taking off. He has excellent tools, and we’re just trying to get him to believe in himself.” On the mound, starter Randy LeBlanc continued (and finished) his strong April with another good start. The right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits over the first 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out four. Anthony McIver came on and got the final out of the sixth inning, worked a scoreless seventh frame, and he got the first two outs of the eighth inning. He gave up just one hit and struck out three. Williams Ramirez recorded the final out of the eighth frame. He was charged with an unearned run in the top of the ninth to put the Lookouts down 3-2. Brent Rooker got the team on the board in the third inning with a two-run double, his fifth of the year. Chris Paul and Brian Navarreto each went 2-4. LaMonte Wade went 1-3 with two walks. English went 2-4 with his second double and the game-tying and -winning RBI. English said following the game, “It definitely felt good. It felt good to end the series with that win. I’ve been struggling a bit, so I was just happy to have some good ABs, the hits were just an added bonus. We all look forward to taking that momentum into Mobile.” MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers Box Score No Game Scheduled. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids Box Score No Game Scheduled. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Willians Astudillo, Rochester Red Wings (3-5, 2B(3), 2 RBI) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Dietrich Enns, Rochester Red Wings (6 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-3, BB, 2B(5), 2 RBI #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 1-3, 2 BB, K, R TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves (1st AAA start of the year) Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled Ft. Myers @ Tampa (5:30 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi (1-0, 1.93 ERA) South Bend @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina (1-0, 1.00 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

Graterol was FAR more impressive to watch than the box score indicates. He absolutely dominated the first three innings.

The Rochester Red Wings have one of the worst offenses in minor league baseball. So, how can they win? Well, how about pitching a shutout? That’s what they got on Saturday. Chattanooga had a big inning and the big blow came from the guy who has been doing it all month. The Miracle got behind early, tried to come back, but they fell short. The Kernels played two games, and got exactly what they needed in the first game. They had another pitcher in game two who made his Kernels debut.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Saturday. And as always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Following the Twins Friday night loss, they announced that RHP David Hale had been DFAd. On Saturday morning, they announced that RHP Matt Magill has been added to the roster. .Cedar Rapids sent RHP Moises Gomez down to extended spring training. 2017 draft pick Rickey Ramirez was promoted to the Kernels.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 2, Syracuse 0 Box Score The Red Wings offense has not been terribly good to start the 2017, so on Saturday afternoon, the Rochester pitching staff picked them up and provided a great game. Aaron Slegers made the start a day later than he was scheduled to because of his one day at Yankees Stadium with the Twins, but he was quite good. The right-hander gave up four hits and walked two over six shutout innings to drop his season ERA to 1.50. He struck out four. Brainerd High School’s Nick Anderson came on and threw two zeroes on the board. He walked one and struck out four. For the season, he now has given up just one run and on the season he has walked two and struck out 17 in 11 innings. Gabriel Moya gave up a hit and a walk, but kept the shutout intact as he recorded his first save of the season. Still not a lot of offense for the Red Wings, but it was enough. In the second inning, James Ramsey singled in Brock Stassi with the first run of the game. The second run came in the eighth inning when Bobby Wilson scored on a wild pitch. Wilson had doubled to reach base, the lone extra-base hit for the Red Wings. Ramsey, Stassi, Taylor Featherston and Jake Cave were all 1-for-3 with a walk. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 6, Tennessee 4 Box Score Down 4-2 going into the bottom of the seventh inning, the Lookouts put together a big four-run inning. With the bases loaded, LaMonte Wade walked in a run. Brent Rooker then hit into a double play, but a run scored to tie the game. After a Nick Gordon walk, Zander Wiel came through again with a two-run double. Kohl Stewart made the start for the Lookouts. He gave up a first-inning run, but after that he settled in. He went five innings and gave up just the one run. He gave up four hits, walked one and struck out three. Ryan Eades came on to start the sixth inning, but he recorded just two outs. He was charged with three runs on four hits. Todd Van Steensel came on and got six outs. He walked two and struck out two. Williams Ramirez came on and got the final four outs, all on strikeouts for his fourth save of the year. Nick Gordon went 2-for-2 with a walk, a sacrifice fly and his fourth double. LaMonte Wade went 2-for-3 with a walk. Edgar Corcino went 1-for-3 with his second double and a sacrifice fly. Wiel’s double was his ninth of the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Daytona 7 Box Score The Miracle fell behind early. It just wasn’t the night for local product Brady Anderson. The right-hander gave up seven runs (six earned) on seven hits (including two home runs). He walked one and struck out three. Calvin Faucher came on and threw three scoreless innings. He allowed one hit, walked two and struck two out. Hector Lujan worked the final three innings. He gave up no runs on two hits. He struck out three. The Miracle offense tried to make a comeback in the seventh, but they managed just three hits on the game. Their runs came on a bases-loaded walk and two RBI groundouts. Joe Cronin went 1-for-3 with a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Game 1 - Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 1 Box Score Randy Dobnak went undrafted last year and was set to head to the USPBL. As he was headed there, the Twins called and he quickly signed with them. He’s been good in his pro career, and on Saturday, he gave the Kernels what they needed. Following a 13-inning game on Friday night, Dobnak provided seven innings, a complete game in a doubleheader, and the Kernels got a 2-1 win. The right-hander gave up one run on five hits. He walked two and struck out six in the win. 63 of his 100 pitches were strikes. Jordan Gore and Royce Lewis provided much of the Kernels offense. Gore, playing second base in game one, went 3-for-3 and is now hitting .385 on the season. Lewis drove in both runs. In the first, he scored Akil Baddoo with a groundout. His next at bat, he singled up the middle to score Gore. Game 2 - Cedar Rapids 1, Quad Cities 4 Box Score In the second game, right-hander Melvi Acosta made his first Midwest League start. He gave up two runs on three hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two. Carlos Suniaga came on and gave up two runs on three hits and a walk and recorded just four outs. He struck out one. Finally, Rickey Ramirez made his first appearance for the Kernels. He got the final four outs and gave up only a walk. The Kernels managed just four hits in the game. Trey Cabbage’s third double of the year scored Jean Carlos Arias, who had tripled. Jordan Gore had a hit in two at-bats. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Jordan Gore, Cedar Rapids Kernels Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Randy Dobnak, Cedar Rapids Kernels (or Aaron Slegers, Rochester, Red Wings) TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 1-6, K, 2 RBI #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 2-2, BB, 2B (4), SF, R, RBI #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3 #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-4, K #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 1-5, BB, R, 3 K #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 2-3, BB, R, RBI #15 - Mitch Garver (Minnesota) - 2-4, 2B, HR(2), RBI, 2 K #16 - Ben Rorvedt (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-3, BB, RBI SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (12:05 CST) - LHP Dietrich Enns (0-3, 5.79 ERA) Tennessee @ Chattanooga (DH @ 1:15 CST) - RHP Zack Littell (0-2, 5.89 ERA), RHP Omar Bencomo Daytona @ Ft. Myers (3:00 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker (0-1, 3.75 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (1:15 CST) - LHP Bryan Sammons (0-2, 3.95 ERA) Please feel free to ask any questions about Saturday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article