Seth Stohs

I mean, he's so young for the level. He didn't return from missing two full seasons until last June, and he moved up to Ft. Myers (where he hadn't played), and after just a dozen starts, he's now so young in AA. That's a lot to overcome... He's holding his own right now and learning. He's smart. He'll (probably) be fine. Certainly nothing to worry about.

If you’re looking for pitching prospects, Friday was a good night to see some of the Twins top prospects. In fact, three of the Twins Daily Top 12 Twins prospects made starts for the their team on Friday including the first full-season start for hard-throwing Brusdar Graterol. Another top pitching prospect earned a promotion. But, there were a few relievers who really pitched well on this night, and a couple of top hitting prospect had big, late-inning hits for their team too.It’s been a long week for the Twins and their fans, and it was a long night again on Friday night. It was also a long night for the Kernels as they needed 12 innings to decide their game. Extra innings were needed in Rochester’s game as well. For the Lookouts, there weren’t extra innings, but it was a long night. Fortunately, the Miracle scored late to make a long game not feel so long. 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. TRANSACTIONS Rochester announced officially that Aaron Slegers had returned. Also, Stephen Gonsalves has been promoted from Chattanooga. Gonsalves was the Twins Daily #4 Prospect.Chattanooga also announced the promotion of Gonsalves. LH RP Sam Clay was activated from the disabled list while infielder Ryan Walker was placed on the DL.The Kernels announced that RHPs Nick Brown and Jared Finkel have been placed on the disabled list. RHPs Melvi Acosta and Brusdar Graterol have been promoted to Cedar Rapids. Graterol was the Twins Daily #9 Prospect.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Syracuse 4 (10 innings) Box Score Fernando Romero was back on the mound for the Red Wings. The right-hander gave up three runs on six hits in five innings. He walked three and struck out three. Alan Busenitz made his return from the Twins and struck out two in his inning. Casey Crosby got two outs before handing the ball to John Curtiss. Curtiss went 2 1/3 innings of two-hit ball. He struck out five. With the game tied, DJ Baxendale got the 10th inning. He gave up just one hit and a walk, but since a runner starts at second, he gave up a run (which is unearned) and took the loss. Willians Astudillo hit his second double and his first triple. Brock Stassi was 2-for-4 with his third double. Kennys Vargas walked twice. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Tennessee 6 Box Score Zander Wiel has had a fantastic first month of the season for the Lookouts. In the third inning, his eighth double of the year scored Brent Rooker to tie the game at one. Rooker had reached on his third double. Unfortunately, the Cubs scored the next five runs and won the game. The Lookouts managed just five hits. Edgar Corcino was the lone Lookout with more than one hit. He went 2-for-4 with his first double. They also had six walks including two by LaMonte Wade. Lewis Thorpe made the start. The lefty went the first 4 2/3 innings. He was charged with six runs, but just two were earned. He gave up ten hits, but he didn’t walk any and struck out seven. Cody Stashak came on and struck out four over 2 1/3 scoreless innings. That was followed by two scoreless innings from Anthony McIver who also struck out three. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 7, Daytona 5 Box Score The Miracle fell behind 4-0 in the second inning, but worked their way back and ultimately won the game late. Andro Cutura made his second Miracle appearance and his first start in almost two years. He gave up four runs on eight hits over 4 1/3 innings. He walked and struck out two. Max Cordy came on and gave up an unearned run on one hit over two innings. He struck out four without issuing a walk. Ryan Mason continues to pitch well. He gave up two hits over 2 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out two. Joe Cronin went 2-for-3 with a walk and is now hitting .375. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-4. Caleb Hamilton went 1-for-3 with a walk and two RBI. Alex Perez went 1-for-3 with a walk. Jimmy Kerrigan had two big RBI as well. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 5, Quad Cities 6 (13 innings) Box Score There was definitely an excitement around the Kernels on Friday. The Cedar Rapids roster is already filled with prospects, and the season debut of Brusdar Graterol was very exciting. Graterol was terrific through his first three innings. He gave up just one hit and struck out six batters. In the fourth, he gave up two hits and then hit a batter to load the bases with one out. He got the second out, and even had two strikes on the next batter before hitting him to score a run. Next, an error allowed two runs to score, and his night was over. But Graterol was impressive. His fastball was consistently sitting between 96 and 99 mph, and he showed the makings of a real good slider. Jose Martinez came on and got the final out of the fourth and worked two more innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and struck out three. And then Kevin Marnon came on. He went two innings without allowing a run. He then continued into extra innings and didn’t allow a run - despite the innings starting with a runner on second base - in the 10th or 11th innings, either. Tied at three going into the top of the 12th inning, Ben Rodriguez was sent to second base. With one out, Royce Lewis singled in Rodriguez and advanced to second base on the throw. Next, Alex Kirilloff singled to score Lewis. The Kernels had a two-run lead. For Lewis, it was his third hit of the game. It was the second RBI single of the game for Kirilloff. Marnon was at just under 40 pitches in his four innings, so he went back out for the 12th inning. The first batter hit a home run off of him to tie the game at five. So they went to the 13th. The Kernels didn’t score in the top of the inning. Jovani Moran, who got the final two outs of the 12th, struggled with control in the 13th and in the end, he issued a bases-loaded walk which ended the game. With a doubleheader on Saturday, it may have been best for both teams for that game to come to an end. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Willians Astudillo, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Kevin Marnon, Cedar Rapids Kernels TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 3-6, 2 R, RBI, K, SB(5) #2 - Fernando Romero (Rochester) - 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K (83 pitches, 51 strikes) #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 0-5, 2 K #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 2-6, R, 2 RBI, 2 K #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 1-4, BB, R, RBI, 2B(3), K #9 - Brusdar Graterol (Cedar Rapids) - 3.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 2 HBP (61 pitches, 40 strikes) #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4, 2 BB, 5 K, SB(5) #12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - 4.2 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K (87 pitches, 62 strikes) #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, RBI, K #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 0-3, 2 BB #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) - 1-6, 2B(4), 4 K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 2-4, R SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Syracuse (12L95 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Tennessee @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Kohl Stewart Daytona @ Ft. Myers (5:00 CST) - RHP Brady Anderson Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (DH @ 2:15 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak, RHP Melvi Acosta Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s full schedule of games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

I''d hope not. Of course, pitching well and showing improved command will certainly help make his case. I'd like to think he's done with AA.

Not sure if everyone here is aware or not, but Stephen Gonsalves's next start will be with the Red Wings...

Just to add the note... I was a day off, but Jeff Johnson from The Gazette in Cedar Rapids pointed out tonight that Brusdar Graterol is in Cedar Rapids and is expected to start for the Kernels against Quad Cities on Friday night.

Always fun when the team plays poorly, as most teams do every year, how much overreacting there is. That's not to say there aren't concerns and things to work on, but without being boring, it is a 162 game season. Lots of season left. 56 or so games against the Tigers, White Sox and Royals. Hopefully more consistent play. Hopefully a few of the slumpers get things going here soon. Hopefully Dozier, Mauer and Kepler keep it up. I mean, there's no reason to give up on 2018 or their playoff hopes yet.

He is hoping to play in Ft. Myers tonight. Yesterday, per reports, he had his toe nail drilled to relieve the pressure and pain in his toe. If he can play tonight and be pain-free, he could be activated Friday, or sometime over the weekend.

I have zero concern about either of them. Castro will be fine. And, I fully believe in Garver's bat and his arm.

Aaron Whitefield had surgery this morning. I found out that he has a broken hamate bone. That's typically a 2-3 month recovery. That's unfortunate. I know he's been struggling offensively to start the season, but his defense is fantastic and if he can make more contact, he could be a good hitter too.

The Twins have lost six in a row. The pitching has been generally not very good for the last week. The starters haven’t been able to provide innings, and the bullpen has not been very effective, outside of Addison Reed and Ryan Pressly. The offense has been frustrating to say the least, again with some exceptions. As much attention as Logan Morrison and Robbie Grossman are getting for their awful starts to their seasons, Jason Castro is quietly off to a very slow start as well.Before the 2017 season, the Twins signed Jason Castro to a three-year, $24 million deal. In 2017, he had easily his best offensive season since his All-Star season in 2013 with the Astros. Last year, Castro hit .242/.333/.388 (.720) with 22 doubles and ten home runs. While those aren’t great numbers for a hitter, they are very solid for a catcher, especially one credited to be as solid as he is defensively. But right now, Castro has been struggling and because of Morrison and Grossman, few are talking about it. Following his 0-4 with three strikeout game on Wednesday night, Castro is hitting just .146/.241/.229 (.470). He has 20 strikeouts in 54 plate appearances. That’s 37%. Defensively, Castro is a good pitch framer. Let’s be honest, those are the numbers that made him a free agent that several teams wanted last year. He is league average the last couple of years in terms of throwing out base stealers. He’s had his moments already this year in terms of blocking balls and such. Of course, it’s also important to remember that we are talking about 54 plate appearances. He’s still at the point of the season where a 4-for-4 day would raise his batting average by .065, so there is no reason to worry at this point. Mitch Garver was the Twins minor league player of the year last year after a big season in AAA. He made his debut. Now 27, he’s earned the opportunity to be on the big league roster. He’s been used mostly in a platoon role. Castro starts against right-handers while Garver gets the starts against southpaws. Between that and the multitude of weather postponements, Garver hasn’t had much playing time. In fact, he went from April 10 until April 21 without playing. He’s had just 22 plate appearances in his eight games played this season. He’s hitting .200/.273/.400 (.673) with a double and a game-winning home run among his four hits. He has seven strikeouts in his 22 plate appearance (32%). Of course, if I want to use the if-he-goes-4-for-4-in-his-next-game scenario, Garver’s batting average would increase by .133. Defensively, he has had his ups and downs. On Tuesday night in New York, he had a tough inning with a “wild pitch’ and an error, but he was also the catcher for Jose Berrios’s complete game shutout. I said already last year that I thought Garver was the best overall catcher in the organization. Of course, at the time, he had zero major league service time. But I’ll stand by that comment. I think that Garver can be a good defensive catcher and a better-than-average hitting catcher. Of course, that will need to be proven over time. At this stage, it is simply opinion. Jason Castro and Mitch Garver are the Twins two catchers, and they likely will be throughout the season, barring injury. As the Twins, hopefully, start playing a more consistent schedule, both catchers should be able to get into more of a regular routine with more consistent playing time. Looking at Rochester to see what the options are as the Twins' #3 catcher, it’s easy to feel confident that Castro and Garver will remain the big league catchers. Bobby Wilson went 0-3 with two walks on Wednesday. The 35-year-old veteran has two hits in his first 31 at bats (.065) with the Red Wings. Willians Astudillo is hitting .267/.290/.400 (.690) in his eight games for the Red Wings. And at AA, the Twins have defensive specialist Brian Navarreto and veteran Wynston Sawyer. The Twins will need their catchers to pick it up over the next few weeks offensively. And there is little reason to believe that they won’t. Castro will likely end the season hitting .220 with about ten homers and strong defense. Garver isn’t proven, but if he gets enough consistent at-bats, he should certainly outperform Castro at the plate. While catcher is an area in the organization that could use some depth (their top catching prospects are in Cedar Rapids - Rortvedt, Banuelos), I believe that their two major league catchers have a chance to be about league average for the position, and if that’s the case, it will really help the team. Click here to view the article

Anderson is from Brainerd. He actually went to St. Cloud State for three years, and then went to Mayville State the last year. The Brewers drafted him, but they never offered him a contract (which goes against the CBA, by the way). So, he went to indy ball. He's got good stuff. He throws 94-87 with a good slider.

I certainly wouldn't put Lance Lynn in that same category. He's struggled with control through his first few starts, but he's a legit mid-rotation starter. Gibson's fine in the back of a rotation. Those aren't the guys that should be replaced on April 24th by prospects. Hughes... well, I can't imagine that will last too much longer. And, LaMonte Wade should be playing, not sitting the bench. Not yet, at least. Get him to AAA first, and then he's close.

i don't remember reading that... They definitely have a lot of veterans though.

I'd add LaMonte Wade to that as well. He's been the Lookouts catalyst. All three were there last year, and there's little reason to keep them there for long, unless the plan is to call them up directly from AA. I think all three would benefit from some time in AAA. I''d also add that making promotions for non-injury reasons less than a month into a season probably doesn't make much sense either. I mean, Travis Blankenhorn started out really hot for the first week of the season and people were already clamoring for him to move up to AA... Two weeks later, he's hitting about .250 and we realize that it's not smart to jump to promotions too quickly. That said, it's a little different when the guys mentioned already spent a full season at a level.

Dude is 23 and the 4th youngest player on the Chattanooga roster. Age-to-level doesn't' apply (as much) when the guy was drafted 10 months ago and is already in AA. That said, the lack of walks is a bit alarming and the strikeouts are as well. 80 plate appearances is way too soon to worry, but it is all noteworthy. He started out slow at each level and then figured it out. Tommy Watkins continues to play him most every day and bat him second, so he'll get the chances to keep working through it. Everyone says that AA is the biggest leap in the minor leagues.

I'm as guilty as anyone. I bashed the move at the time, ,just based on who the Twins lost in the Rule 5 and who they added. Kinley had little success in the minor leagues up to this point,, regardless of obviously having a huge arm and a good slider and being durable. That said, stepping back a bit, there are a few things to note: 1.) Decisions on who to protect from the Rule 5 draft are independent of the decision of who to pick in the Rule 5 draft. They happen at different times and they don't know who other teams will leave unprotected. 2.) The Twins clearly made starting pitching their focus in terms of protecting guys. They protected Gonsalves, Littell and Thorpe, and I think we're all on board with those guys. 3.) We also have to remember that guys who get protected in November can't be removed from the 40-man roster until sometime in spring training. So, if they had added more, they would have had to drop other guys that they may have preferred to keep on the roster. So, they made choices, knowing there was the possibility of losing guys. But, another factor in that is whether those guys would be able to stick on the other team's 40-man roster. Bard's already off of the Angels 40-man. Man, it would be nice to bring him back to Rochester. 4.) I think the Chargois decision, while I don't think I get the full picture of it, was made early enough in spring training that it really wasn't even related to Kinley... though I know some want to play it that way. Chargois was clearly behind several others including Hildenberger, Busenitz, Curtiss and others. And, I still contend that there may have been more to that decision than baseball. That may have been a case where a change of scenery was good for both sides. 5.) Rule 5 picks can be a good thing, even for a winning team. It doesn't hurt to have a bullpen guy hidden if two things are done. First, the rest of the bullpen has to be doing its job so that the Rule 5 guy doesn't have to pitch in key situations. And, the Rule 5 guy has to be able to work an inning or two in a blowout situation. To this point, Kinley hasn't been able to show even that. So at the end of the day, I definitely don't consider taking a shot on a guy with a big arm a bad decision at all. Like most Rule 5 guys, you take a shot on a relatively inexpensive way to acquire some talent and you find out. At this point, or whenever, I'm' fine with that experiment ending and moving forward.

Yeah, ,they'd have to put him through waivers and see if he clears. If he does, he needs to be offered back to the Marlins for $50K or in a trade for a player. I don't have a problem with them keeping him in the organization. Clearly he's got a ton of talent. But age and minor league track record indicate that it may never happen.

They're incredible... just like the facilities in Ft. Myers. They shared the costs of the $17 million facilities with the Pirates. I think there are pictures somewhere in the forums from 14-18 months ago when it opened.

Extended Spring Training and Rehabbing players can stay at the Twins academy on site. It's right next to the GCL field. The academy provides meals. It's basically a hotel or a condo. It's got meeting rooms, video rooms, an area with games (pool tables, etc.). It's like a college dorm with more. Good question on the restrictions. I don't think there are, but I can't say that with certainty. Remember that their new Dominican academy is also full of players from Dominican, Venezuela, etc.

I don't know about "typical" but from following Red Wings box scores and some other AAA teams as well, it's normal for most of the team to be comprised of older players. Maybe a prospect or two sprinkled in.

Breek and Cruz will report to EST in another week or so. Rimmel will report to EST in June.

Who would you vote for as Hitter of the Day? Four pretty strong choices.