Seth Stohs

On Friday, the Futures Game rosters were announced. We learned a couple of weeks ago that Torii Hunter would manage the USA team while David Ortiz will manage the World Team. Also on Hunter’s coaching staff will be Matthew LeCroy (bench coach), LaTroy Hawkins (pitching coach), and Miracle hitting coach Steve Singleton (hitting coach). Representing the Twins on Team USA will be Miracle outfielder Alex Kirilloff. Representing the Twins and Australia on the World Team will be LHP Lewis Thorpe. RED WINGS REPORT Rochester 6, Lehigh Valley 7 (10 innings) Box Score The Red Wings got the offense, but not quite enough pitching or defense in this game. Kohl Stewart made his second Red Wings start of the season. He gave up five runs on seven hits in five innings. He walked two and struck out five. Two of the hits left the ballpark, including one from former Red Wings outfielder Danny Ortiz. Trevor May walked one in an otherwise uneventful outing. Gabriel Moya struck out two batters over two scoreless innings. Alan Busenitz pitched a scoreless ninth inning, but he gave up two runs (both deemed unearned) in the 10th inning to take the loss. LaMonte Wade led the offense. He went 2-for-3 with two walks and his third home run of the season. Nick Gordon went 2-for-5 with his eighth double and his second Red Wing home run. Kennys Vargas went 2-for-5 with his tenth double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 1, Birmingham 3 Box Score While the Lookouts were unable to garner much offense in this game, there were some interesting notes from the game. Luis Arraez made his first start for Chattanooga and recorded his first hit. Zander Wiel went 2-for-4. Jaylin Davis went 1-for-3 with a walk and drove in the lone run for the Lookouts. Lefty Anthony Marzi fell to 0-6 for Chattanooga, but he pitched better than he has of late. He was charged with three runs on seven hits and two walks in five innings. However, he also had 11 strikeouts. In his previous start, he went five innings without recording any strikeouts, and his 11 strikeouts on Friday night equaled his strikeout total over his previous four starts. Another lefty, Andrew Vasquez came on in relief. He walked one and struck out three over two hitless, scoreless innings. He has yet to give up an earned run over his first ten innings with the Lookouts this season, including 8 1/3 innings over his four appearance since returning following the Florida State League All Star game. A third lefty, Ryne Harper, struck out four batters over the final two innings. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 5, Bradenton 4 Box Score Things got a little feisty when the Miracle and Bradenton played on Friday night. Three members of the Miracle were ejected in the eighth inning. The Miracle took a 5-4 lead in the eighth frame when Lewin Diaz hit the go-ahead home run. The next batter was the red-hot Caleb Hamilton who was called out on strikes and was ejected. Soon after, his manager Ramon Borrego was tossed. Tom Hackimer was in the game for the bottom of the eighth inning. After getting the first out, he proceeded to hit the next three batters. After a force out at home and a fly out, the inning ended without the tying run scoring, Hackimer was ejected as he left the field. Tyler Wells was the story early in the game. He retired the first 16 batters that he faced. In total, he gave up two runs on three hits over six innings. He struck out eight without a walk. Colton Davis came on and gave up two runs on two hits and a walk before Hackimer was brought in. He got the final two outs of the seventh before his eighth inning. Alex Robinson came on for the ninth inning and pitched a perfect inning for the save. Lewin Diaz was the offensive hero. He went 3-for-4 with his 11th double and his sixth home run, which proved to be the game-winner. Caleb Hamilton was 2-for-4 in the game. Alex Kirilloff batted in the leadoff spot for the first time and went 1-for-5. Miguel Sano was 1-for-4 in the game. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Kane County 1 Box Score Not much scoring in this game. In fact, the lone run in the game was unearned. Blayne Enlow worked a career-high six shutout innings. He worked out of some jams as he gave up six hits, walked three and hit one. He struck out three. Melvi Acosta worked the final two innings. He was charged with the unearned run on three hits. He struck out two. The Kernels managed just five hits in the game. Jacob Pearson moved into the leadoff spot when Akil Baddoo was a late scratch from the lineup. Pearson went 2-for-3 with a walk. Andrew Bechtold hit his 13th double. Trey Cabbage had a single and walked once. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton, Kingsport Box Score This game was been postponed by rain as the weather affected several games in the Appalachian League on Friday night. GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins 4, GCL Red Sox 2 Box Score The GCL Twins got a little hitting and a little pitching, enough to come out of this game with a little win. Landon Leach started for the Twins. The 2017 draft pick went two scoreless innings. He didn’t give up a hit, but he did walk three and struck out two. Donny Breek came on and also threw two scoreless innings. He walked two, hit one and struck out two. Frandy Torres gave up one run on two hits, a walk and a hit batter over 1 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Amilcar Cruz gave up one run on one hit, one walk and two hit batters. He struck out one. Tanner Howell came in and got the final seven outs to record the save. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Lewin Diaz, Ft. Myers Miracle (3-4, 2B(11), HR(6), R, 2 RBI) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Blayne Enlow, Cedar Rapids Kernels (6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that we will be updating our Top Prospect rankings so this list will be updated soon. #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 0-4 #2 - Fernando Romero (Rochester) - Did not pitch #3 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) -2-5, 2B(8), HR(2), 2 R, RBI, K #4 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Did not pitch #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - 1-5, 2K #6 - Wander Javier - out of for the season #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 0-3, BB, 2 K #8 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - 6 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 1 HBP, 3 K #9 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - Did not play #11 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - Did not pitch #12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 3-4, 2B(11), HR(6), R, 2 RBI #14 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 2-3, 2 BB, HR(3), 2 R, RBI #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 0-0 #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 0-4, 3K #18 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton Twins) - Did not play #19 - Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch #20 - Felix Jorge (Chattanooga) - DFAd and Released (though he did become a father on Friday, so congratulations to him. SATURDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Lehigh Valley(5:35 CST) - RHP Zack Littell (1-3, 3.00 ERA) Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe (4-4, 4.04 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Bradenton (5:30 CST) - RHP Griffin Jax (1-0, 3.26 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Kane County (6:30 CST) - RHP Jordan Balazovic (3-1, 2.36 ERA) Danville @ Elizabethton (5:00 CST) - RHP Josh Winder (0-0, -.00 ERA) GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox(9:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Friday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

If my math is right, they are about $5000 under slot and have signed their picks through the first 23 rounds. That's impressive. I don't recall them signing that many at the top. So, the most they can sign the remaining guys for is about $130,000 (plus allowable amount over slot (which isn't a ton)... In other words, I'm guessing the Twins can offer Seth Halvorson about $130,000-150,000... so he's going to Missouri... which is OK. They signed the guys they wanted too.

It will be discussed if/when it goes public.

I learned recently that Melotakis asked for his release. The Twins Front Office granted it to him. Some close to him didn't understand why he did it, but in reality, he was behind probably 5-6 other relievers on the depth chart. It's possible that Jorge asked for his release and the Twins were fine with it. He's well down the Twins SP depth chart, so he may get an opportunity elsewhere. It's also possible that there was an off field issue. Others have mentioned that he could be more hurt than we know, but if that's the case, the Twins couldn't DFA him and let him go (I don't think). I don't know what happened here. It certainly seems a little strange on the surface. But I can't get too upset about it because I assume there's something more to it.

Yup, the Twins generally aren't going to take anyone in the Top 10 rounds unless they know what it will take to get them signed, so I assumed these guys would sign. That said, you never know as it gets later and later. Nice to see Helman get signed too.

I'm not saying they can't... but when you factor in guys like Wade and Graterol and whoever else needs to be protected this offseason plus whatever plans the front office has, it's understandable that they don't call him up in September. As for Lewis, I have no idea why he's not in Ft. Myers yet.

Corrected... thank you!

Hopefully you all had a fantastic Fourth of July holiday! After discussion our Twins Daily choices for Twins prospects 31-40 earlier in the week, today we begin diving into our choices for the Top 30 Twins. In Part three of our series, today we look at our choices for prospects 26-30. As you can see, this group has a few players that we have already seen in a Twins uniform. These are guys who have and probably will again play a role with the big league club. But there are a couple of Miracle pitchers with upside that are in this group as well.30. John Curtiss – RH RP Age: 25 ETA: 2017 2018 Stats (AAA): 31.2 IP, 2.56 ERA, 1.1 WHIP, 11.7 K/9, 4.5 BB/9, 2.56 K:BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 32 | Tom: 31 | Cody: 28 John Curtiss was called up to the Twins right before September last season. After a couple of rough games, he ended the season strong. This year, he began the season in Rochester but got another call up early in the season. He had two outings, and neither was good. He was sent back down, but he has pitched quite well in late innings for the Red Wings. Curtiss began his career with an opportunity to start, but he was moved to the bullpen and he flew up the organization, pitching at each level from Cedar Rapids to the big leagues between 2016 and 2017. He’s blessed with a mid-90s fastball and a couple of breaking pitches. He has the ability and the mentality to be a quality late-inning reliever for years. 29. Zack Granite – OF Age: 25 ETA: 2017 2018 Stats (Rk): .211/.291/.240 (.531 OPS), 6 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 22 K, 25 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: 16 Seth: 34 | Tom: 32 | Cody: 24 Zack Granite came up midway through the 2017 season and showed glimpses of what he can be on the baseball field. For most of his career, he has exemplified what a team might want from a leadoff hitter. He takes pitches, walks more than he strikes out, steals bases and has a little extra base pop at times. Granite was one of the last players optioned at the end of spring training this offseason, a surprise for many. Unfortunately, he soon hurt his non-throwing shoulder and had to miss about six weeks. He’s struggled to get things going since he’s been back, but that doesn’t take away what Granite can be and the role that he can play on the big league club as a fourth outfielder who will play quality defense at three outfield positions and put together quality plate appearances. 28. Jake Cave – OF Age: 25 ETA: 2018 2018 Stats (AAA): .265/.349/.386 (.735 OPS), 9 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 26 K, 55 BB 2018 Stats (MLB): .233/.267/.488 (.755 OPS), 2 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 2 K, 14 BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 25 | Tom: 23 | Cody: 39 The Twins acquired Cave in a late spring training trade with the New York Yankees. After missing some time in the early part of his career with injury, Cave really took off after being selected by the Reds in the Rule 5 draft. While he was one of their final spring training cuts, he returned to the Yankees with renewed confidence and his career took off. A year ago, Cave hit .324 with a .921 OPS at Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre. The Yankees added him to their 40-man roster. Of course, they have a pretty strong outfield and Cave was DFAd which allowed the Twins to acquire him. The Twins have called him up three times already this season and he is now getting an opportunity to play every day, at least until Byron Buxton is ready. At 25, he’s still got some upside. 27. Tyler Wells – RHP Age: 23 ETA: 2020 2018 Stats (A): 63.2 IP, 2.54 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 7.6 K/9, 2.0 BB/9, 3.86 K:BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 18 | Tom: 37 | Cody: 31 The Twins drafted Wells in the 15th round of the 2016 draft out of Cal State San Bernadino. He’s experienced a lot of success during his first two seasons as a professional, pitching in Elizabethton in 2016 and Cedar Rapids in 2017. In the past offseason, Wells went to work and lost 30 pounds from his 6-8 frame. That has really helped him in the Florida State League. While his strikeouts have been down, his control and command of pitches has become much better. Wells has the ability to reach into the 94 mph range with a fastball. His best pitches may be his breaking balls. He throws a 12-6 curveball, but he also has a sharp slider that can get strikeouts. He was the Twins Daily choice for Starting Pitcher of the Month in June. 26. Griffin Jax – RHP Age: 23 ETA: 2020 2018 Stats (A): 30.1 IP, 3.26 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 4.7 K/9, 0.9 BB/9, 5.33 K/BB 2018 Ranking: NR | 2017 Ranking: NR Seth: 26 | Tom: 21 | Cody: 37 When the Twins used their third-round draft pick in 2016 on Griffin Jax, he became the highest-drafted player from a military academy. There have been some challenges associated with that, but in mid-April, Jax learned that he would be able to serve the remainder of his active duty while pitching in the Twins system (more specifics here). In 2017, Jax was limited to just five games before returning to duty. He has made five appearances this season. The first four were starts. His most recent appearance came after Ervin Santana’s rehab start went three innings. Jax finished the remaining six innings. He has worked at least six innings in all but his first appearance of the year. Jax profiles as a starter with three good pitches. The strikeouts are low so far, but the walks are very low. PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS: 2018 Twins Midseason Top Prospects: 36-40 2018 Twins Midseason Top Prospects: 31-35 Click here to view the article

Rooker... I would guess that the Twins wont' use up the valuable 40-man spot on Rooker for September since they'r'e not in contention.

Regarding Vargas/Morrison... Impossible to know. Vargas has been pretty terrible all year in AAA compared to Morrison being pretty much terrible 85% of the MLB season. Nothing specific on Sano's program. Some video of his home run made it look like he might be a little thinner, but hard to tell.

Corrected.. thank you!

In the last couple of days, we have named the June 2018 Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month and the Starting Pitcher of the Month. Today we share with you some of the Twins minor league hitters who had terrific months in June. And there were some really impressive numbers put up by several players in the organization. It’s also worth noting, as you look below, just how many Cedar Rapids Kernels made the list. Previous Starting Pitchers of the Month for 2018: April 2018: Zander Wiel, Chattanooga Lookouts May 2018: Alex Kirilloff, Cedar Rapids Kernels June 2018: See Below.Let’s take a look at the Top 5 hitters for the month of June, but first here are some players deserving of honorable mention. HONORABLE MENTION Willians Astudillo - Rochester Red Wings - 19-65, .292/.317/.477 (.796) with six doubles and two home runs.LaMonte Wade - Rochester Red Wings - 26-90, .289/.430/.433 (.863) with seven doubles and two homersMark Contreras - Ft. Myers Miracle - 22-82, .268/.358/.427 (.785) with three doubles, two triples and two home runs.Andrew Bechtold - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 23-76, .303/.426/.434 (.860) with seven doubles and one homer.Trey Cabbage - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 19-68, .279/.342/.559 (.901) with six doubles, two triples and three homers.Jose Miranda - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 27-96, .281/.340/.458 (.798) with eight doubles and three homers.Jacob Pearson - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 24-81, .296/.380/.432 (813) with six doubles, one triple and one homer.Robby Rinn - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 28-87, .322/.398/.460 (.858) with six doubles and two homers.THE TOP FIVE HITTERS Number 5 – Cedar Rapids Kernels - Royce Lewis - .330/.380/.604 (.984), 30-91 with ten doubles, five home runs and 22 RBI. It’s not always how you start a month, but how you end it. In the first four games Lewis played in June, he went just 1-for-18. In his final four game of June, Lewis went 9-for-13 with four doubles and a home run, as well as three walks. Lewis has continued to develop over the course of the season. His monthly OPS has gone from .747 in April to .828 in May and now .984 in June. While he hit for a slightly higher average earlier in the season, he has added much more extra-base power as the season has worn on. Lewis was named to the Midwest League All-Star Game where he led off and had a single in his first at-bat and stole a base. At this point, we’re all waiting for his imminent promotion to Ft. Myers that we thought would happen after the All-Star break, and then after the Jorge Polanco promotion to the Red Wings. It hasn’t yet, but maybe that’s been a hidden blessing in disguise as Lewis is playing as well as he has all year for the Kernels. Number 4 – Ft. Myers Miracle - Caleb Hamilton - .304/.381/.714 (1.095). 17-56 with seven doubles, two triples, four home runs and 18 RBI. It was a tough first half of the season for Caleb Hamilton. The catcher, third baseman, left fielder (and wherever else needed) was hitting just .147 (.490) at the end of the first half. Things changed when his Oregon State Beavers started their College World Series run on June 16. In the eight games since that date, Hamilton hit hit .404/.487/1.000 (1.487) with five doubles, a triple, three home runs and 14 RBI. Something in that Oregon State blood, I guess. The 23-year-old was the Twins 38th-round pick in 2016. In college, he played all three infield positions. He moved behind the plate after beginning his professional career. Number 3 - Cedar Rapids Kernels/Ft. Myers Miracle – OF Alex Kirilloff - .355/.407/.617 (1.024), 38-107 with six doubles, two triples, six homers and 23 RBI. Just to get it out of the way, Alex Kirilloff did not play at all during the 2017 season after having Tommy John surgery in March. You would hardly know it as he needed maybe four games at the start of the season to start raking again. Drafted with the 15th overall pick in the 2016 draft out of high school in Pennsylvania, he was touted as the top prep bat in the draft. He’s returned and proven a lot of people right. He was the Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Month when he posted an OPS over 1.000, something he did again in June. His June might be more impressive because following his All-Star Game experience, representing the Twins and Cedar Rapids, he was immediately promoted to Ft. Myers where he has continued to rake. In his first ten Miracle games, he hit .341 and had five multi-hit games. He’ll certainly have to continue making adjustments, but his prospect status has certainly jumped up this season. Number 2 - Chattanooga Lookouts – 1B/OF Brent Rooker - .312/.393/.645 (1.038), 29-93 with seven doubles, three triples, six homers and 18 RBI. The Twins have been exceedingly aggressive in their promotion of Rooker since he joined the organization as a first-round pick a year ago. He really struggled at the start of the season. In April, he posted a .638 OPS. In May, it jumped up to .739. He had a huge June in which he posted an OPS of 1.038. He hit for average. He started taking more walks. He delivered a lot of power in the form of doubles, triples and home runs. He still struck out a ton, but that doesn’t matter as much when he’s providing the kind of thump he did in June. To have a month like this in Double-A a year after being drafted is impressive.Consider only Brian Navarreto and Lewis Thorpe are younger than the 23-year-old Rooker on the Lookouts roster. The future is bright. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle – IF Luis Arraez - .449/.487/.617 (1.104), 48-107 with nine doubles, three triples, one homer and 13 RBI. Luis Arraez is back! Alex Kirilloff isn’t the only Twins hitting prospect who missed the 2017 season with injury. After winning the Midwest League batting title by hitting .347 as a 19-year-old in Cedar Rapids, Arraez was set for big things in Ft. Myers in 2017. In the third game of the season, he tried to beat out an infield single, hit first base hard, and tore his ACL. It required season-ending surgery. Arraez worked hard to get back. His 2018 season started about two weeks late as he finished up his rehab. In his first six games, he went just 1-for-24 (.042). He did improve upon that, but even when he played on June 5th, he was hitting .205/.277/.252 (.529). Over his final 22 games of June, he hit .474/.500/.649 (1.149) with eight doubles, three triples and a homer. He had more than one hit in 15 of those 22 games including five, three-hit games, two, four-hit games and a five-hit game. He ended the month hitting .321 on the season. Arraez had spent most of the season as the youngest player on the Miracle roster. Over the last month, Ben Rortvedt, Alex Kirilloff and Brusdar Graterol have pushed him down that list. But, it is interesting to note that Arraez has had 248 plate appearances in 2018. Nine of them have come against pitchers that are younger than him. We would like to congratulate Luis Arraez, Twins Daily’s choice for Minor League Hitter of the Month for June 2018. Feel free to share your thoughts and ask questions. Click here to view the article

I think I ranked him the lowest... His ranking isn't about his ability to pitch in the big leagues. He probably could right now and be just fine. But, he's a left-handed reliever who will probably top out as a 7th/8th inning guy who throws like 50-55 innings a season. There is a lot of value in that role in the big leagues, no doubt. But compare him to Jordan Balazovic whose upside is probably a #3 starter, maybe even a little higher. He's got a ways to go, but if he gets even closer to being a #3 starter, throwing 160-180 innings a season has a ton of value.

The big league club found another way to lose a game. It’s a good thing we all have the minor league box scores and games to watch and follow, right? The Red Wings had a big night against a rehabbing big leaguer. A couple of the Twins’ big power hitting prospects had big games. Royce Lewis. Alex Kirilloff. Brent Rooker. Byron Buxton. Each of them had a noteworthy night.Keep reading to find out more on the night in the Twins minor league system on Monday. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS The Twins activated SS Jorge Polanco from the restricted list.To make room for Polanco on the 40-man roster OF Ryan LaMarre was designated for assignment.To make room for Polanco on the 25-man roster, SS Ehire Adrianza was placed on the disabled listIn addition, Adalberto Mejia was optioned back to Rochester with RHP Zack Littell being recalled from the Red Wings.Following the game, the Twins optioned Littell to Rochester. Another arm will be brought up for Tuesday's game.Monday was July 2nd, the first day of the 2018-19 international signing period. The Twins already used $2.5 million of their cap to sign Yunior Severino. On Monday, they signed OF Misael Urbina from Venezuela for $2.75 million AWARDS Lewis Thorpe was named the Pitcher of the Week in the Southern League.Jordan Balazovic was named the Pitcher of the Week in the Midwest League.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 6, Pawtucket 2 Box Score The Red Wings went with a bullpen game on the mound, and the bullpen did very well. Four pitchers combined to give up just two runs on the way to a Red Wings win. DJ Baxendale made the start. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk in the first three innings. He struck out three. Luke Bard tossed the next three innings. He gave up two hits, but no runs, while striking out one. Jake Reed was next and he walked one and struck one out over two scoreless innings. John Curtiss finished with a scoreless ninth inning. He both walked and struck out one batter. Most of the Red Wings offense came in the first three innings when they scored five runs off of rehabbing Red Sox starter Drew Pomeranz. Byron Buxton got things going with a leadoff home run. In the second inning, Edgar Corcino hit his first Triple-A home run, and LaMonte Wade added a solo home run in the third inning. Vargas went 2-for-5 on the game. He added his ninth double to this tenth home run and drove in three runs. Corcino went 2-for-4. Gregorio Petit went 2-for-4 with a walk. Buxton went 1-for-4 with a walk and his second home run of the Red Wings season. He also struck out twice. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Tennessee 5 (10 innings) Box Score The Lookouts scored a run in the top of the 10th inning. Unfortunately, they gave up two runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a loss. Lewis Thorpe was back on the mound the day that the Southern League named him its pitcher of the week. The southpaw gave up one run on three hits and a walk over the first 2 2/3 innings. He struck out three. Unfortunately, the rains came, and Thorpe’s night was done. Andrew Vasquez, another talented left-hander, came on and got the team through the fifth inning. He gave up just one hit and struck out four. Cody Stashak was very impressive in his outing. He got six outs and five came via the strikeout. Williams Ramirez did not have an impressive outing. He faced three batters. Two got hits and one walked. He was replaced by Ryne Harper, but two of Ramirez’s runs scored. Harper went 2 2/3 innings. He didn’t give up a run until the two runs in the 10th inning. Brent Rooker led the offense. He hit his 14th home run and his 18th double. Alex Perez went 2-for-5. Tanner English was 2-for-4 with his second home run of the season. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 11, Charlotte 3 Box Score The Miracle bats were busy on Monday night. Alex Kirilloff led the way. He went 3-for-5 with his first Miracle triple. He drove in three runs. He also stole his first base with the Miracle. Mark Contreras had two hits, a walk and his 11th double. He stole his eighth base. Travis Blankenhorn had two hits including his 16th double. Miguel Sano went 2-for-4 with a walk. Aaron Whitefield was 2-for-4 with his fourth steal and scored three runs. Andro Cutura went the first three innings for the Miracle. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk. Hector Lujan went the middle three innings. He gave up two hits and a walk, but no runs. Ryan Mason recorded his fourth save. He gave up two runs on four hits over three innings. He walked one and struck one out. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 3, Wisconsin 9 Box Score Tyler Watson returned to the Kernels from the Miracle. He threw two scoreless innings to start, but then he gave up six runs (five earned) in the third inning. In total, he gave up six hits and walked two in 2 2/3 innings. Melvi Acosta gave up an unearned run on three hits over 3 1/3 innings. He struck out six without walking any. Jared Finkel went the final two innings. He gave up two runs on three hits and a walk. He struck out three. Jacob Pearson got the Kernels off to a good start. He homered in the top of the first inning to give the team a 1-0 lead. It was his third homer. He added a single as well. Royce Lewis extended his on-base streak to 15 games. He went 2-for-5. Jean Carlos Arias hit his 10th double. E-TWINS E-TALK Elizabethton , Princeton Box Score This game has been postponed by rain. The teams will try to play two games on Tuesday. GCL TWINS TALK GCL Twins 12, GCL Orioles 2 Box Score The GCL Twins improved to 7-5 with a big win against the Orioles. Six Twins had multi-hit games. Yeltsin Encarnacion led off and went 2-for-5 with a walk. Tyler Webb went 2-for-4 with a walk. He scored three runs. Janigson Villalobos went 2-for-4 with two walks and his second double. Victor Tademo had a single and a double. Edgar Herrera went 2-for-4 with a walk. Estamy Urena went 2-for-5 with his second and third doubles. Zach Featherstone returned to the mound and started with a 1-2-3 first inning. Michael Montero came on and threw the next four innings. He gave up two runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out one. Dylan Stowell threw two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit. He struck one out. Osiris German struck out three over the final two innings. He walked just one. STARS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Hitter of the Day: Alex Kirilloff, Ft. Myers Miracle (3-5, 3B(1), 3 RBI, SB(1)) Twins Daily Pitcher of the Day: Cody Stashak, Chattanooga Lookouts (2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) PROSPECT SUMMARY Here’s a look at how the Twins Daily Top 20 Twins Prospects performed. Please note that we will be updating our Top Prospect rankings so this list will be updated soon. #1 - Royce Lewis (Cedar Rapids) - 2-5, K #2 - Fernando Romero (Rochester) - Did not pitch #3 - Nick Gordon (Rochester) - 0-5 #4 - Stephen Gonsalves (Rochester) - Did not pitch #5 - Alex Kirilloff (Ft. Myers) - 3-5, 3B(1), 3 RBI, K, SB(1) #6 - Wander Javier - out of for the season #7 - Brent Rooker (Chattanooga) - 2-5, 2B(18), HR(14), R, 2 RBI, K #8 - Blayne Enlow (Cedar Rapids) - Did not pitch #9 - Brusdar Graterol (Ft. Myers) - Did not pitch #10 - Akil Baddoo (Cedar Rapids) - 1-4, 2B(13), BB #11 - Zack Littell (Minnesota) - 0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 0 K, 1 HBP #12 - Lewis Thorpe (Chattanooga) - 2.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K #13 - Lewin Diaz (Ft. Myers) - 1-4, BB #14 - LaMonte Wade (Rochester) - 1-4, HR(2), R, RBI #16 - Ben Rortvedt (Ft. Myers) - 2-5, R, K #17 - Travis Blankenhorn (Ft. Myers) - 2-6, 2B(16), 2 RBI, K #18 - Yunior Severino (Elizabethton Twins) - Did Not Play #19 - Tyler Jay (Chattanooga) - Did not pitch #20 - Felix Jorge (Chattanooga) - Disabled List, began rehab on June 19. DFAd over the weekend. TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Pawtucket (5:15 CST) - RHP Fernando Romero (1-1, 2.33 ERA) Chattanooga @ Tennessee (6:00 CST) - RHP Omar Bencomo (5-2, 3.19 ERA) Ft. Myers @ Charlotte (5:35 CST) - RHP Clark Beeker (3-5, 3.63 ERA) Cedar Rapids @ Wisconsin (6:35 CST) - RHP Randy Dobnak (5-2, 4.14 ERA) Elizabethton @ Princeton (6:00 CST) - RHP Pedro Garcia (1-1, 9.00 ERA) GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00 am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions about Monday’s games, or ask any questions you may have. Click here to view the article

De La Torre is a really nice prospect, but it has nothing to do with his stats. Way too small of a sample at this time to even really look at the numbers. But he's known as being very good defensively. Good range, strong arm. Offensively, there are question marks, but he's' got potential. I mean, he's so young at this point, but the tools are terrific. Prospect rankings are based on so many things... Tools, age-to-level, and somewhat stats (though the lower the level, it's less about stats)... But proximity does come into play as well. De Le Torre is kind of at a point where he was 6th round pick, was very young, has OK numbers but is more about the tools right now, so guys with good stat lines that are older and up the system are higher now. But being in the high-30s now is kind of impressive right now.

I like each of these guys as possible big leaguers. Mejia was a good prospect too who could become a 4 probably. I mean, any of these guys could be MLB starters. Any #1s? I mean, the odds of that are always very low. Graterol is probably the only Twins pitching prospect with true #1 upside. Lots of 3-ceilings... but again, hard to know which will be which. The old Corey Kluber wasn't ever a high prospect for Cleveland thing rings very true.

I'd say you might want to follow our Top 40 Twins prospects list which just started last night. Might just see him on the list...

A day after naming the June 2018 Twins Daily Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month yesterday, today we dive into some of the top starting pitcher performances during the month. There were a lot of good options. In fact, instead of the usual Top 5, we’re doing a Top 6, and we also will include six more starters under the Honorable Mention category. Previous Starting Pitchers of the Month for 2018: April 2018: Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings May 2018: Brusdar Graterol, Cedar Rapids Kernels June 2018: See Below.Before we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Five Starters for June, here are some terrific bullpen performances that just missed the cut. HONORABLE MENTION Andro Cutura - Ft. Myers Miracle - 4 GS, 23.1 IP, 1-2, 3.09 ERA, 1.24 WHIP, 22 H, 7 BB, 23 K Randy Dobnak - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 5 G, 4 GS, 32.1 IP, 2-0, 2.78 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 34 H, 5 BB, 15 K Brusdar Graterol - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 3 GS, 16.0 IP, 1-1, 2.81 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, 13 H, 3 BB, 15 K Griffin Jax - Ft. Myers Miracle - 5 G, 4 GS, 30.1 IP, 1-0, 3.26 ERA, 1.22 WHIP, 34 H, 3 BB, 16 K. Kohl Stewart - Chattanooga Lookouts - 4 GS, 24.1 IP, 1.48 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 27 H, 8 BB, 29 K Lewis Thorpe - Chattanooga Lookouts - 5 GS, 28.1 IP, 3.81 ERA, 1.09 WHIP, 24 H, 7 BB, 39 K THE TOP SIX STARTING PITCHERS #6 - LHP Charlie Barnes - Ft. Myers Miracle - 5 GS, 2-0, 1.15 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, 30.0 IP, 24 H, 11 BB, 20 K Barnes was the Twins fourth-round pick last year out of Clemson. The southpaw quickly moved from Elizabethton to Cedar Rapids. The Twins had him start the 2018 season in Ft. Myers. After posting ERAs over four in the first two months of the season, Barnes seemed to put things together in June. Opponents hit just .231/.328/.260 (587) against him. Barnes is just 22-years-old. #5 - RHP Jordan Balazovic - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 3-1, 2.74 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 23.0 IP, 22 H, 4 BB, 36 K Balazovic was the Twins’ sixth-round pick in 2016 out of secondary school in Ontario. He impressed that season in the GCL, but he struggled at the same level in 2017. He had an impressive spring training and continued to pitch well at Extended Spring Training. He was promoted to Cedar Rapids after Memorial Day. He made one relief appearance and was sent back to Ft. Myers. Ten days later, he was back up and entered the Kernels rotation. He was very good in his four starts. 36 strikeouts and four walks is very impressive. That equates to 14.1 K/9. Opponents hit .250/.290/.386 (.677) against him during June. He will not turn 20 until mid-September. #4 - LHP Bryan Sammons - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 3-1, 2.67 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 27.0 IP, 23 H, 5 BB, 23 K It was another solid month for the 23-year-old left-hander. He was the Twins eighth-round pick in 2017 out of Western Carolina. Last year, he pitched for Elizabethton and ended the season with Cedar Rapids. While he had a strong 2.67 ERA in June, he’s got a 2.69 ERA on the season. He’s been good, and he’s been consistent. For the month, opponents hit .237/.272/.309 (.581) against him. While he doesn’t throw real hard, he has plenty of velocity (low 90s) to go with strong secondary pitches. As important, he’s got very good control. #3 - RHP Bailey Ober - Cedar Rapids Kernels - 4 GS, 3-0, 2.63 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 24.0 IP, 19 H, 3 BB, 27 K Ober was the Twins 12th round draft pick in 2017 out of the College of Charleston where he was that national freshman of the year, but then he needed Tommy John surgery. He missed more time with other injuries. When healthy, the 6-8 right-hander has a lot of potential. He hyperextended his knee in spring training and stuck in Extended Spring for about six weeks. In his first start, he gave up six earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning. That certainly affected his season’s ERA, but he was good in June. He limited base runners. A 9 to 1 strikeout to walk rate certainly helps. Opponents hit just .221/.247/.337 (.584) in June. #2- LHP Adalberto Mejia - Rochester Red Wings - 5 G, 4-1, 1.41 ERA, 0.84 WHIP, 32.0 IP, 19 H, 8 BB, 30 K While his return to the big leagues on the final day of June didn’t go great (though it was as good as any other Twins pitcher against the Cubs), Mejia earned his return to the big league club. It may have happened sooner for the 25-year-old if not for a blister earlier in the season. Opponents hit just .170/.223/.250 (.473) during the month. He went at least six innings in all five of his Red Wings starts. He gave up two run once. On his 25th birthday, he threw seven shutout innings. Mejia has earned an extended stay in the big leagues. And the Twins Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month is: Ft. Myers Miracle - RHP Tyler Wells - 4 GS, 4-0, 1.63 ERA, 0.76 WHIP, 27.2 IP, 16 H, 5 BB, 25 K The Twins drafted the 6-8 right-hander in the 15th round of the 2016 draft out of Cal State-San Bernadino. He pitched well at the end of that season in Elizabethton. He spent the 2017 season in Cedar Rapids where he posted a 5-3 record with a 3.11 ERA. In 75 1/3 innings, he walked 22 and struck out 92. He’s been even better in 2018 in Ft. Myers and earned his spot on the Florida State League All Star team. He’s currently 7-3 with a 2.54 ERA over his first first 12 starts with the Miracle. He has given up more than two runs in just two of his 12 starts (and once he gave up three). He was obviously very good in June. Opponents hit just .168/.210/.242 (.452) against him during the month. Not included in those stats (or the stats above) are the two scoreless innings that he threw in the All Star game as well. Wells has the high and the pitches. He’s got a good fastball that reaches into the mid-90s at time. He’s got a couple of good breaking balls. He has a slow curveball that drops as well as a slider that darts out of the strike zone. He’s also got an improving changeup. He’s also shown a great work ethic. In the offseason, he worked out a lot and lost over 30 pounds. It’s possible that Wells will get an opportunity to end the season in Chattanooga with the Lookouts. For now, he’s pitching really well with the Miracle and for it, he is our choice for Pitcher of the Month. Congratulations to our Twins Daily Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month of June, Ft. Myers Miracle right-hander Tyler Wells. Feel free to discuss and ask questions. Click here to view the article

That's why he's #40 on this list. If there weren't any question marks, with his athleticism and talent, he'd be way higher on the list.

It’s hard to believe that the minor league seasons are reaching their second half and the Twins have had some strong performances throughout the system. As we approach the 4th of July, it’s again time to celebrate with some awards. Tonight, we start our series of Twins Daily Minor League Monthly awards by looking at the top relief pitchers in the Twins system during the month of June. (Over the next few days, we’ll also announce our choices for the top starting pitchers and hitters for June. Also, be sure to stop back often throughout the Fourth of July week as we are about to begin our midseason Top 40 prospect rankings.) Previous Relief Pitchers of the Month for 2018: April 2018: Nick Anderson, Rochester Red Wings May 2018: Todd Van Steensel, Chattanooga Lookouts June 2018: Well, just keep reading (if you happened to not look at the graphic that you clicked on to read this story.Before we share our choices for the Twins Minor League Top Five Relievers for June, here are some terrific bullpen performances that just missed the cut. HONORABLE MENTION Tyler Duffey, Rochester Red Wings, 8 G, 2.03 ERA, 1.35 WHIP, 13.0 IP, 12 H, 6 BB, 11 KJared Finkel, Cedar Rapids Kernels, 7 G, 3.75 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 12.0 IP, 10 H, 3 BB, 5 KGabriel Moya, Rochester Red Wings, 10 G (3 GS), 1. 59, 1.06 WHIP, 17.0 IP, 15 H, 3 BB, 16 KTHE TOP FIVE RELIEF PITCHERS #5 - Hector Lujan - Ft. Myers Miracle - 6 G, 2.13 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 12.2 IP, 12 H, 2 BB, 13 K The Twins 35th round draft pick in 2016 out of Westmont College had a real solid month with the Miracle in June. After a breakout 2017 season in Cedar Rapids in which he posted a 1.13 ERA and 17 saves, 2018 has had some ups and downs. However, he now has a 3.18 in 39 2/3 innings. Opponents hit just .240/.283/.340 (623) off of him in June. #4 - Paco Rodriguez - Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts - 7 G, 0.90 ERA, 1.10 WHIP, 10.0 IP, 7 H, 4 BB, 6 K Rodriguez was the second-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012. Later that season, he made his big league debut and stayed in the big leagues through the 2015 season. Unfortunately, he fought several injuries. Fast-forward to this year, and after the season started, the Twins signed him as a free agent. Soon after, he spent a couple of weeks with the Miracle before moving up to Chattanooga in late May. The southpaw had a strong month for the Lookouts. Opponents hit just .206/.300/.294 (.594) off of the 27-year-old during the month. #3 - Alan Busenitz - Rochester Red Wings/Minnesota Twins - 8 G, 3.07 ERA, 0.89 WHIP, 14.2 IP, 13 H, 0 BB, 13 K Busenitz wasn’t as good in June as he was in April and May, but he was still quite good. While fans wanted him up soon, he did get called back up with a week left in June, though he was again optioned before the month’s end. Opponents hit just .228/.241/.333 (.575) off of him. Most impressive was 13 strikeouts and zero walks. Despite his 6.43 ERA with the Twins this year, he has a 12-2 strikeout to walk ratio. #2 - Andrew Vasquez - Ft. Myers Miracle/Chattanooga Lookouts - 6 G, 2.79 ERA, 1.03 WHIP, 9.2 IP, 3 H, 7 BB, 17 K Vasquez represented the Twins and the Miracle in the Florida State League All-Star game in June and threw a scoreless inning (if you want to add that to his above stats). As you can see, there are times that Vasquez can struggle with control, but he limits hits by utilizing a tremendous slider that can miss a lot of bats. Like Lujan, Vasquez was drafted out of Westmont College in 2016 in the 32nd round. Following the All-Star break, he was promoted to Chattanooga. He’s made two appearances and has 10 strikeouts in 4 1/3 innings. And the Twins Minor League Relief Pitcher of the Month is: Cedar Rapids Kernels – LHP Jovani Moran - 6 G, 0.90 ERA, 0.73 WHIP, 15.0 IP, 4 H, 7 BB, 23 K Moran was the Twins seventh-round draft pick in 2015 out of high school in Puerto Rico. He missed the 2016 season after having surgery to remove bone spurs from his elbow. He returned strong in 2017, and he was the Twins Daily short-season Minor League Pitcher of the Year. For Elizabethton, he gave up just one run in 24 2/3 innings (0.36 ERA), and had just six walks to go with 45 strikeouts. Moran began the 2018 season in Cedar Rapids. He struggled with his control in April when he had 12 walks and 12 strikeouts in just 7 1/3 innings for the Kernels. Since then, he has been much improved. In May, he had 26 strikeouts and seven walks in 18 innings. As you see above, he had 23 strikeouts and seven walks in 15 innings. Still not great control, but his swing-and-miss stuff make the walks more bearable. Moran is not a big guy .He stands 6-foot-1 and weighs in at about 170 pounds. He’s got a good whip-like action and some deception in his delivery. His fastball reaches into the low-90s, and he’s got a good slider and changeup. He really just needs to keep working and developing, and gaining strength could help him add a little more velocity. He’s a really good athlete who fields the position well. There were several strong relief pitcher performances in June 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 June 2018, Jovani Moran of the Cedar Rapids Kernels. Click here to view the article