Seth Stohs

Shag-waa I recall asking him at a Twins Fest after an interview. I think he was impressed when I guessed right.

Yes and no... As a coach, you want to encourage aggressive, but smart decision making. In the case last night, I thought Baddoo made a good, aggressive move. The 3B was in. He had to dive. Baddoo was off of 2B already, and yes, he was able to make it. I would say this though... especially in the lower levels, managers and coaches should (and often do) question players. They let catchers call the games, and then they talk about good and bad pitches between innings and after games. For fast guys, they encourage them to try to steal bases, understanding they're probably going to go at some non-good situations, but they can learn from those situaitons, and they'll talk through those situations. I think most coaches will encourage aggressive over passive. And most coaches/managers in the lower levels love teaching and this is part of it. That was a long answer basically saying that there isn't a direct answer to that question.

No, he never had surgery. The rest and rehab did the trick. He looked fine this spring. He's not a big guy, but he's got some really good stuff.

I like Ryan LaMarre. Had a couple of nice chats with him in Ft. Myers. Love the story and seeing him do well... But yeah, there is zero chance that I would pinch hit Ryan LaMarre for Logan Morrison against a right-handed pitcher. And I'm not at all a fan of Morrison.

Quad Cities certainly made that argument... But the 3B was playing in, and the runner does get some leeway.

I'm sure it'll take a little time after missing a year, but I wouldn't worry about two games. He'll be fine.

I would have gone Gordon too, but that's the fun of having different writers, and then we can all discuss the choices in the comments.

Interesting to see Carlos Suniaga pitch tonight. He was brought across the parking lot from EST. Curious the roster move. I see Andro Cutura has been assigned to the Kernels, so maybe that's it. Though I'm sure Suniaga will go back to EST as soon as someone comes off the DL. Nick Gordon and Travis Blankenhorn have been fantastic through two games each. Blankenhorn's got four doubles and a homer in like 8 or 9 PA.Gordon's like 5-7 with two walks, a double and a triple. Of course, getting excited about two games makes about as much sense as worrying about Brent Rooker starting 0-7 with 4 strikeouts.

Correct... too many walks to get there... also being a catcher and catchers only playing 120-130 games most years decreased the odds.

He could get to Chattanooga this year. He lost 25-30 pounds over the offseason and has worked very hard. He's got a good FB, CB and SL. He is quite talented, but he also needs innings and time.

Still working his way back from the knee surgery. He was taking ground balls when I was there. I see now that he's starting to get some live at bats in spring training.

I think the Twins and Blankenhorn are more than OK with him playing and developing at 2B and 3B. He split his time this spring. Position flexibility is an important thing for young players and prospects. He'll likely never be a Gold Glove caliber defender at either place, but he can be adequate enough that if his bat develops, he can play where there is a need. Whitefield is as good of an athlete as Kepler (or anyone). He was just as raw as Kepler when he came in, and there are a lot of similarities between the two of them. Whitefield's a little bit faster. Similar power. Whitefield's probably a little better defensively. Both have strong arms. Whitefield just didn't sign with the fanfare.

Minor league spring training was just as long this year as normal years, but they'll be protective of their young arms, for sure.

Weather was the big winner around baseball on Friday, both in the big leagues and in the minor leagues. Had the Twins been scheduled to play, they likely would not have. The Red Wings were scheduled to play their first game of the season, but it was snowed out. Chattanooga was rained out. The Cedar Rapids game in Quad Cities was “colded” out. Fortunately, the weather in Ft. Myers is almost always just fine, so we still have one game to talk about.Because three games were 'weathered' out, today you will get a little more detail in your Miracle report. It was a good day for a top Twins prospect. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester, Buffalo Box Score The Red Wings will now begin their 2018 season on Saturday afternoon with Aaron Slegers on the mound. The teams will make up the game later in the season. The Red Wings did announce that LHP Casey Crosby and Catcher Jordan Pacheco will begin the season on the disabled list. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga, Birmingham Box Score The Lookouts were unable to play the second game of their season because of rain and wet field conditions. The teams will play on Saturday and then two games on Sunday to make up for the game. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 6, Charlotte 4 Box Score The Florida State League can be a difficult league for offenses, and it certainly will play out that way. But on this night, the Miracle were able to score six runs and scored in five different innings. In the second inning, after singles from Lewin Diaz and Travis Blankenhorn, Nelson Molina singled in the Miracle’s first run of the game. And then they showed a little power. In the third inning, Aaron Whitefield knocked his first home run of the season. In the fourth inning, Travis Blankenhorn gave the Miracle a 3-1 lead in the fourth inning with his first homer of the year. Tyler Wells made the start for the Miracle. He gave up a run in the first inning, but that was the lone run he allowed through the first four innings. He gave up three hits, walked two and struck out three. Logan Lombana came on for the fifth inning. He got two outs, but he gave up three hits. He left the game with two runners on and a one-run lead. Lefty Andrew Vasquez came on and after loading the bases with a walk, he gave up a two-run, game-tying single before getting the third out. Vasquez did work a perfect sixth inning. In the bottom of the sixth frame, the Miracle were able to tie the game at 4-4. Travis Blankenhorn hit his second double of the season and scored on a Jared Foster fielder’s choice. The game remained tied as Colton Davis worked two scoreless innings despite walking four batters. In the bottom of the eighth, the Miracle regained the lead. Caleb Hamilton led off with a walk. Jaylin Davis hit a one-out double that scored Hamilton and give the team a 5-4 lead. Davis went to third base on the throw and then scored on a wild pitch to make the score 6-4 heading into the ninth inning. Hard-throwing Alex Robinson came on for the ninth inning to protect the two-run lead. After getting the first out, Robinson hit a batter, gave up a single and a walk to load the bases. He got a strikeout for the second out. He then got a fly out for the final out of the game and his first save. The Miracle improved to 2-0 on the season. Miracle pitching coach Henry Bonilla was ejected in the eighth inning. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids, Quad Cities Box Score The Kernels went to Quad Cities on Thursday night for their season opener. They didn’t make the trek on Friday because of the cold weather conditions. On Saturday, the River Bandits will travel north to help the Kernels open their home schedule. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Travis Blankenhorn, Ft. Myers Miracle Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Tyler Wells, Ft. Myers Miracle TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY With just one game, the list if pretty short in this game, but here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, R, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 3-4, 2B (2), HR (1), R, RBI, K New Miracle play-by-play guy, Marshall Kelner made some very nice comments about another prospect Aaron Whitefield. SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (2:05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers (Weathered out again) Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:05) - LHP Charlie Barnes Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (5:05 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

I heard that Hughes topped out at 92.

Yeah, even when they were optioned, Gonsalves was optioned to Rochester, Romero was optioned to Chattanooga.

He's a plus defender at 3B. Here's a story I did on him in the offseason: http://twinsdaily.com/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/get-to-know-twins-third-base-prospect-andrew-bechtold-r6339 I talked to him a bit in Ft. Myers. He told me he was clocked at 101 across the diamond, so he's got a big arm too.

If he gets four hits ever game ,probably not very long. I'd guess they go a month and see where he's at and where the Red Wings are at, and how Escobar and Adrianza are doing, etc.

Corrected... also corrected the score.

Sounds good, but we only ranked the Top 20... So I don't know how we'd choose who else to add. Also, if the reports are done well, anyone with multiple hits or anyone that pitches will be mentioned, so those guys will still get mentioned, if they pitch or play well.

We're all trying to figure that out... Ha! He was topping out at 88 on the radar gun. He must have some crazy movement, or some spin rate or something.

Thursday, the Minnesota Twins topped the Seattle Mariners 4-2 to win their home opener. It was also Opening Day for three of the four Twins full-season minor league affiliates. The Chattanooga Lookouts and Ft. Myers Miracle hosted their season openers while the Cedar Rapids Kernels made the trek south to Quad Cities for their first game. We might try a few different things with the minor league reports this year, so be sure to provide feedback in the comments if you like (or don’t like) some of the changes.The three Twins affiliates opened their seasons by playing some competitive games. Two of the games were decided by one run and the other by two. We saw a little of everything. Some good hitting. Some good pitching. Some bad hitting and pitching too. Phil Hughes made a Miracle start. Continue on to find out more. RED WINGS REPORT Red Wings Box Score The Red Wings open their 2018 season on Friday night with Aaron Slegers on the mound. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Birmingham 5 Box Score The Lookouts made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Ryan Walker and Nick Gordon singled, but a game-ending double play hit into by Edgar Corcino ended the threat and the game. When the pitching staff strikes out 14 batters, you expect to win. However, when the same pitching staff walks ten, well, that just doesn’t work well. Walks definitely came back to haunt the Lookouts. Zack Littell got the Opening Day call. The right-hander left the game with one on and one out in the fifth inning with the Lookouts leading 3-1. Ryan Eades came on and finished out the inning but not before walking four batters and allowing the game to be tied. Littell ended the game having given up two runs on five hits and two walks in 4.1 innings. He struck out seven including three in the second inning. Eades did work a scoreless sixth inning. Todd Van Steensel came on and gave up two runs on three hits and three walks. He struck out two, but the walks were followed by doubles which isn’t a good combination, I mean, if you’re rooting for the pitching team. Finally, Williams Ramirez got the final five outs. He walked one, but he struck out four. Nick Gordon and Ryan Walker led the offense. Gordon got things going with a leadoff triple and a run scored in the bottom of the first. He added three more singles and went 4-5 in the game. Ryan Walker doubled in his first at-bat, and he hit his first home run of the season in his second at-bat. He went 3-4. Chris Paul was 2-4 with a double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 4, Charlotte 3 Box Score Phil Hughes made a rehab start for the Miracle as he prepares to make the April 11th start for the Minnesota Twins. The veteran right-hander worked the first five innings. He gave up three runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out five. Two of the three runs came in that fifth inning. Hughes was replaced by the regularly-scheduled starter, lefty Anthony Marzi. He struck out four batters over three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and walked one. Sean Poppen, who will likely be the sixth starter for the Miracle, came on for the ninth inning and recorded the save. It was the first save of his pro career. He gave up one hit, but he struck out two. The Miracle bats took a few innings to get going. Through three innings and ten batters, the team had just one hit. In the fourth, Mitchell Kranson and Caleb Hamilton singled. Lewin Diaz came on and knocked in both runners with a double. The next inning, Aaron Whitefield doubled Brandon Lopez to third base. Kranson followed with a two-run double of his own. That was it for the Miracle scoring. Kranson and Caleb Hamilton each went 2-4 in the game. Travis Blankenhorn added a double later in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 2, Quad Cities 0 Box Score The Kernels headed south a few hours to take on the Quad Cities River Bandits and came away with a nice shutout. Lefty Bryan Sammons was given the Opening Day start and came through. He gave up three hits over four shutout innings. He walked none and struck out six. Jovani Moran came on for the fifth inning and didn’t let anyone put the ball in play. The southpaw walked three but struck out three in a scoreless inning. Right-hander Jared Finkel came on and worked three scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked one and didn’t record a strikeout. Ryan Mason came on for the ninth inning to record the save. He struck out one. Unfortunately, with one out in the ninth inning, Ben Rortvedt had to leave the game. A foul tip struck his throwing hand, and he was clearly in pain. He tried to move his fingers and even played catch with first baseman Ben Rodriguez. After the second throw, which sailed over Rodriguez’s head, Rortvedt walked off the field, replaced by David Banuelos. POSTGAME UPDATE: The Kernels didn’t have a lot of offense, but Shane Carrier carried the offense on this night. In the first inning, Akil Baddoo and Royce Lewis walked. After a fielder’s choice, Carrier knocked in Baddoo with a sacrifice fly. In the fourth inning, Carrier launched his first home run of the season. He went 2-3 in the game. Andrew Bechtold was 2-2 with two walks, a double and a stolen base. Trey Cabbage went 1-3 with a walk. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Ryan Walker/Nick Gordon, Chattanooga Lookouts Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Bryan Sammons, Cedar Rapids Kernels TOP PROSPECT SUMMARY Here is a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed: #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 0-2, 2 BB, K, SB #3 - Nick Gordon (Chattanooga) - 4-5, 3B, RBI, K #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4 #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 0-4, K #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 0-3, 2 BB, 3 K, SB #11 - Zack Littell (Chattanooga) - 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K #14 - LaMonte Wade (Chattanooga) - 1-4 #15 - Mitch Garver (Minnesota) - 1-4, first Major League home run #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, 2B, 2 K FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Buffalo @ Rochester (5;05 CST) - RHP Aaron Slegers Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Charlotte @ Ft. Myers (6:00 CST) - RHP Tyler Wells Cedar Rapids @ Quad Cities (6:35 CST) - RHP Edwar Colina Please feel free to ask any questions about Thursday’s Opening Day games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

Cronin is in EST. Schick is still recovering from the elbow. Muren retired. Cavaness still recovering from his surgery.