Seth Stohs

Let’s take a look at the Top 6 hitters for the month of July, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION Shane Carrier - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 23 G, 26-88, .295/.340/.568 (.909) with six doubles, six homers and 12 RBI Lewin Diaz - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 24 G, 31-94, .330/.373/.457 (830) with six doubles, two homers and 11 RBI. Wander Javier - Elizabethton Twins - 19 G, 25-77, .325/.384/.506 (.890) with five doubles, three home runs and 14 RBI. Leonardo Reginnato - Rochester Red Wings - 27 G, 27-80, .338/.427/.463 (.890) with seven doubles, one triple and 11 RBI. Zander Wiel - Ft. Myers Miracle - 25 G, 27-92, .297/.365/.516 (.882) with six doubles, one triple, four home runs and 18 RBI. THE TOP SIX HITTERS Number 6 – GCL Twins - Jean Carlos Arias - 24 G, .315/.382/.533 (.915). 29-92 with four doubles, two triples, four home runs and 21 RBI. Arias signed with the Twins way back in July of 2014 out of the Dominican Republic. He has slowly worked his way up. 2017 was his second season in the GCL, and it was a nice improvement from his first season. While he played all three outfield positions, he spent most of his time in center field. Arias is a multi-talented player who has the potential to be a five-tool player (though those ultimately are rare). He’s fast, and some believe he’ll add more power as he continues to grow. Number 5 – Jonathan Rodriguez – 1B Jonathan Rodriguez - 27 G, 281/.418/.542 (.960). 27-96 with seven doubles, six home runs and 18 RBI. Rodriguez was our choice for minor league hitter of the month in July. Frankly, he had an incredible season. The 28-year-old spent the first eight seasons of his career in the Cardinals organization. He came to the Twins this offseason and hasn’t stopped hitting. In 119 games for the Lookouts, he hit .309/.414/.525 (.939) with 31 doubles, 21 homers and 76 RBI. His season ended with five games in Rochester, and another home run. Number 4 – Cedar Rapids Kernels - Travis Blankenhorn - 17 G, .338/.390/.634 (1.023). 24-71 with four doubles, one triple, five home runs and 18 RBI. It was a bit of an inconsistent season for Blankenhorn, which likely explains why the recently-turned-21-year-old stayed in Cedar Rapids all year. But, he ended his season on a very strong note in August. His OPS by month were .776, .604, 1.048, .449, 1.023, as well as 1.500 in September where he was 3-6 with two walks, a double and a triple. Blankenhorn spent the first half of the season playing third base. After some roster changes after the All-Star break, he has primarily played second base. Get to know Travis Blankenhorn Catching Up With Travis Blankenhorn Number 3 - Chattanooga Lookouts – 3B TJ White - 27 G, .340/.397/.613 (1.010), 36-106 with ten doubles, two triples, five homers and 20 RBI. The 25-year-old from Las Vegas, and drafted out of UNLV in 2014, quietly put together a strong 2017 season. Considering that he started the season in extended spring training before re-joining the Lookouts in mid-May, he was impressive. Overall, he hit .276/.358/.484 (.842) with 26 doubles and 14 home runs. White is a strong kid, but he’s also quicker than you might think. At third base, he had a fielding percentage of .959 and reports say he showed quite a bit of improvement. Get to know TJ White (including comments from his high school teammate, Joey Gallo) Number 2 - Ft. Myers Miracle – 1B/OF Brent Rooker - 27 G, .341/.411/.706 (1.116), 29-85 with four doubles, nine homers and 31 RBI. Most months, the numbers that Brent Rooker put up in August would be tops on the board. This month, it falls just a little bit short. Rooker played his initial 22 pro games in Elizabethton, getting back into the swing of things and getting some at-bats under his belt. But the plan all along was to get him to Ft. Myers quickly, which they did. While he struggled some early in his move to the Florida State League (hit .163 through his first 12 games), he has been terrific since, and most of that has been in the month of August. Sure, he still struck out 32% of the time (30 K in 95 PA), but when he made contact, big things happened. He was an extra-base machine. Not only did he have nine homers, but most of them drove in more than one run. Overall, it’s been a strong pro debut for Rooker, who had 18 total home runs. It’s certainly something to build on in 2018. I guess he answered the question of whether or not he was promoted too aggressively. Get to know Brent Rooker And the Twins Minor League Hitter of the Month is: Elizabethton Twins – OF Akil Baddoo - .389/.504/.622 (1.127), 35-90 with 13 doubles, one triple, two homers and 13 RBI. He got on base in over 50% of his plate appearances over the final month of the season, while playing at a new level. Not only did Akil Baddoo walk a lot, but when he did hit, he drove the ball with authority with his 16 extra-base hits. Akil Baddoo was one of the two Comp picks that the Twins had after the second round of the 2016 draft. One was used to draft Jose Miranda, the other on Baddoo, a prep player from Georgia. Baddoo debuted with 38 games in the GCL last year. He stayed in the GCL to start the 2017 season as well where he hit .267/.360/.440 (.800) with eight extra base hits in 20 games. When Rooker was promoted to Ft. Myers, Baddoo took his spot in Elizabethton. He has been their leadoff man pretty much every day since. In 33 games for Elizabethton, the 19-year-old outfielder hit .357/.478/.579 (1.057) with 15 doubles, two triples and three home runs. He reportedly gained 15 pounds in the offseason which gave him more power. He did so without losing speed. He was Elizabethton’s center fielder most games, getting the occasional DH day. A tremendous athlete, Baddoo should find his name moving up prospect rankings this year. He should begin the 2018 season in Cedar Rapids. While you could argue for as many as four players to win the award, we would like to congratulate Akil Baddoo, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for August 2017.

Let’s get to the action, but first, a set of transactions. Alex Robles and Colton Burns have joined the Elizabethton Twins from the GCL to fill out their roster. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER As the Lookouts game was starting, the Southern League announced that they were cancelling the championship series due to concerns regarding Hurricane Irma. There was concern for the players, the teams, their families, but they also know that the hotels and other facilities may be needed for those who have left Florida. Also, Jacksonville and Pensacola are in the other half. They will play their games in Pensacola and then in Biloxi if necessary. Chattanooga 4, Montgomery 3 Box Score The game started out with some offense and quieted down quickly but in the ninth things got very interesting. In the first inning, Zack Littell gave up a leadoff home run to put the Lookouts down a run. But in the bottom of the first, Nick Gordon and Edgar Corcino started things with singles. Following a wild pitch, third-place hitter LaMonte Wade singled in both runs to put the Lookouts out front. Wade later scored the third run of the inning on a single by Andy Wilkins. In the fourth inning, TJ White added a solo home run. In the sixth inning, Zack Littell had a bout of wildness. He walked the first two batters of the inning. However, he struck out the next two batters. But after a two-out single cut the lead to 4-2, Littell was replaced by Anthony McIver who got out of the inning. Littell gave up two runs on three hits over 5.2 innings. He walked five and struck out six. McIver threw 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up one hit, walking one and striking out one. The Lookouts had a two-run lead going into the ninth inning. Gabriel Moya came on for them and walked the first two batters. A passed ball meant runners on second and third with nobody out. He got a strikeout for the first out. He then gave up a deep fly ball which allowed one run to score and the other runner to advance to third. Fortunately for the Lookouts, Moya was able to get the third out without the tying run crossing home plate. Moya gets the save. Littell picks up the win. Obviously only regular season stats will show up on baseball cards and on statistical websites, but that pushes his overall record this season to 20-1. Nick Gordon and Andy Wilkins each went 2-4. Brian Navarreto added a double, and TJ White homered. The two teams will play Game 2 of the best of five series on Thursday night. Dereck Rodriguez will take the mound for the Lookouts. MIRACLE MATTERS As mentioned yesterday, the Florida State League announced that there would be co-champions in 2017 because of Hurricane Irma. There will not be a championship series. The Miracle lost Game 1 with Palm Beach on Tuesday night, so they had two win twice on Wednesday to become the co-champs. How did it go for the Miracle? Well, keep reading... Ft. Myers 2, Palm Beach 3 Box Score The Palm Beach Cardinals are the 2017 Florida State League co-champions with a 3-2, walk-off, hit by pitch. The Miracle season comes to an end. The Miracle fell behind 2-0 early. Sean Poppen started and threw well. The right-hander gave up two runs on seven hits and one walk. He struck out two. In the top of the sixth inning, the Miracle got on the board. Chris Paul reached on an error which allowed Tanner English to score from second. Tom Hackimer worked scoreless seventh and eighth innings, allowing only a single. In the top of the eighth inning, the Miracle still found themselves down 2-1. Nelson Molina came off of the bench, and he launched a game-tying home run. Hackimer came back out for the ninth inning. He struck out the leadoff man, but he walked the next guy. A single followed, putting runners on first and third with one out. Manager Doug Mientkiewicz decided to intentionally walk the next man, giving his infielders options in the event of a ground ball. Unfortunately, Hackimer hit the next batter, ending the game and the Miracle season. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 6, Kane County 5 Box Score Having struggled more in the second half than they had in the first half, when they clinched the playoff spot, it felt important for the Kernels to get off to a fast start. They couldn’t have scripted the first inning much better. Tyler Wells made the start, and he struck out two in a 1-2-3 top of the first. The Kernels put up a three-spot in the bottom of the first. Aaron Whitefield walked and advanced to third on a well-executed hit-and-run by Travis Blankenhorn. Caleb Hamilton walked to load the bases, and Lewin Diaz doubled in two runs. Hamilton scored from third on a Jimmy Kerrigan ground out to make the score 3-0. https://twitter.com/JimCrikket/status/905583270477406208 In the top of the second, Wells got the first two batters out. However, the next two batters reached on errors. That’s never a good thing, and these were followed by a two-run single to push the score to 3-2 Kernels. Cedar Rapids was able to respond right away. Jordan Gore and Aaron Whitefield led off the bottom of the second with singles. The next two batters got out, but Lewin Diaz picked them up with a second two-run double to give the Kernels a 5-2 lead after two innings. Wells gave up just one more run in his 5.2 innings. Of the three runs he gave up, just one was earned. He struck out eight without issuing a walk. Ryan Mason got the final out of the sixth inning. He gave up a two-run homer in the seventh inning that tied the score at 5-5. Lewin Diaz led off the eighth inning with his third double of the game. He advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a single off the bat of Jimmy Kerrigan. The Kernels thus grabbed the 6-5 lead which meant it was time for Hector Lujan, and he came through again. Lujan gets the save and recorded a strikeout in a 1-2-3 ninth. Diaz led the way with three doubles and four RBI in four at-bats. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-4 with a double. Jimmy Kerrigan went 2-4 with a double and two RBI. Aaron Whitefield went 1-3 with a walk. The series shifts to Kane County for Game 2, and potentially Game 3. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 6, Greeneville 0 Box Score With a win in Game 3, the Twins would advance to Appalachian League championship series. With a loss, their season would be complete. The Twins sent Appy League Pitcher of the Year Edwar Colina to the mound to start. The right-hander put together arguably the best start of his career. He threw 6.2 shutout innings. He gave up three hits, walked three and struck out eight. Jared Finkel came on and got the final out of the seventh and first out of the eighth, both on strikeouts. Jovani Moran got the final two outs of the eighth frame, both on strikeouts. He struck out another batter in a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save. The Twins jumped on the scoreboard in the third inning. Jorge Munoz singled in TJ Dixon. Akil Baddoo, who walked his first two times to the plate, scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Jose Miranda. Miranda later scored on a double off the bat of JJ Robinson. The score remained 3-0 until the bottom of the 8th inning. With the bases loaded, Carson Crites hit a sacrifice fly. Robinson and Kolton Kendrick advanced as well and scored on a Mark Contreras single to make it 6-0. Robinson led the offense by going 2-3 with a walk and the double. The E-Twins celebrated their series win and a trip to the Appalachian League championship series. https://twitter.com/ETwinsBaseball/status/905606851982761984 The Twins will advance to take on the Pulaski Yankees in the finals. Dalton Lehnen, who went to Lakeville North High School, was the Yankees sixth-round draft pick in June out of Augustana (SD). For Wednesday night, however, the E-Twins were joyous: https://twitter.com/jaredfinkel17/status/905621653287206912 TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day - Edwar Colina, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Lewin Diaz, Cedar Rapids Kernels THURSDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Montgomery @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Wednesday’s playoff games.