Seth Stohs

He's always had tremendous control, particularly for a guy with that height. He's always been a 'guy.' I mean, he was a 5th round pick, not a 25th rounder. There's always been a feeling that he "could" get to the big leagues. He's been a guy who's moved up one year at a time, and always done alright. He's improved too, that's a big thing.

I don't think Jorge, Gonsalves and Romero fit into that category. What they would do the remainder of this year shouldn't indicate if the 'potential is real.' I get it with Slegers because he's 24 and in AAA. But Romero, Gonsalves, Jorge, they're all in AA, young, full of potential. Those guys should be brought up when they're ready... not to fulfill some timeline.

Maybe... but I we don't know that. That's always my point. There are always examples of guys like Slegers who suddenly get to the big leagues and become solid #3s. The odds aren't good that he'll become even a #3, but he's obviously at least intriguing. It's not like he's a soft-tosser.

Slegers has been fantastic. While 6-10, he doesn't throw 98 like Randy Johnson or Alex Meyer, but he throws 91-93 and touches 95. He's no slouch. Is he a top prospect? No. However, I don't know the reason why he doesn't get more credit, and more discussion. The Twins risked losing him in the Rule 5 draft, so he's not a big prospect, but they invited him to big league camp, and that's not something they do for just anyone. There are some people in the organization that really like him a lot. There's no reason to think he doesn't deserve or hasn't earned an opportunity. With Breslow coming off the 40-man roster, and Bartolo Colon contemplating retiring after his next start, I think Slegers should get the next opportunity (and Romero and Gonsalves should move up to Rochester).

On Sunday, Aaron Slegers continued a very impressive streak of starts. He was helped by his catcher, Mitch Garver behind the plate and with his bat. The Lookouts got a short start but the bullpen kept them in the game. It was a crazy game for the Miracle that three members of their team didn’t see the completion of. Cedar Rapids got a great start and some big offensive performances. It was a back-and-forth game for the E-Twins that got off to a quick start.Sunday, the Twins recognized Armed Forces Appreciation Day at Target Field. It was a great ceremony where the various military branches were recognized. On Saturday night, Kernels right-hander Griffin Jax made his final appearance before he leaves to fulfill his final two years of his military commitment. I think it would have been great if the Twins would have brought Jax to Target Field to be recognized. However, when he left the mound with two outs in the seventh inning in Cedar Rapids on Saturday night, he received a standing ovation. And Steve Buhr captured a great photo of it. Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Sunday. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: Following the Twins loss on Sunday, the team announced the veteran Craig Breslow had been DFAd, and that a corresponding move would be made on Monday. Since Justin Haley is on Day 29 of a maximum 30-day rehab assignment, it is likely that he will be recalled to be a long reliever.Rochester announced that OF Daniel Palka has been reinstated from the DL. Ryan Strausborger was placed on the disabled list.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 7, Toledo 1 Box Score After this game, Aaron Slegers is now 11-4 overall with a 3.35 ERA. Over those seven starts, he is 7-0 with a 2.05 ERA. In seven innings, he gave up one run on four hits and a walk over seven innings. He also struck out seven. Drew Rucinski struck out two in his scoreless inning. Jake Reed then struck out two in a scoreless ninth. On the offensive side, Mitch Garver again led the way. Batting second, he went 2-3 with two walks, his 21st double and his 14th home run. Matt Hague went 2-4 with a walk and his 18th double. He also stole his sixth base. Kennys Vargas added his fifth home run. Daniel Palka made his return and went 1-2 with two walks. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Mobile 6 Box Score Felix Jorge had his second straight rough start since returning from the big leagues. The right-hander gave up six runs on ten hits and a walk over just 2.2 innings. He struck out three. Todd Van Steensel came on and threw 2.1 scoreless innings to drop his season ERA to 1.47. He walked one and struck out two. Paul Clemens walked two and struck out two over two scoreless innings. Luke Bard struck out one in a scoreless eighth frame. The team tried to come back but fell short. Former Brewers outfield Andy Wilkens led the way by going 3-5 with his 13th double and seventh home run. Carlos Paulino went 3-3 with his fourth double. Max Murphy went 2-5 with his fourth double. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 2, Tampa 6 Box Score It was a very interesting game for the Miracle, well, even before the game started. While meeting with the umpires and the opposing manager before the game, Miracle manager Doug Mientkiewicz was ejected. In the fifth inning, when Sean Miller was called out on a stolen base attempt, hitting coach and acting-manager Steve Singleton was ejected. Later that inning, Kevin Garcia was tossed after being called out at first base. Brady Anderson started for the Miracle and went the first six innings. He gave up six runs on eight hits. He walked four and struck out two. Tom Hackimer came on and threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. His Miracle ERA dropped to 1.21. Sam Clay struck out two in a perfect ninth. The Miracle bats managed just six hits in the game. Brent Rooker went 1-3 with a walk. Brian Navarreto and Nelson Molina each had RBI singles. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 8, Lansing 5 Box Score Several hitters had big games for the Kernels, but they also received a really strong start. Clark Beeker recorded his ninth win of the season. The right-hander threw six shutout innings. He gave up four hits, walked none and struck out three. Ryan Mason came on and was charged with three runs on four hits and a walk in 1.2 innings. He struck out two. Max Cordy got the final four outs, but gave up two runs (one earned) on three hits in 1.1 innings. Caleb Hamilton went 3-3 with a walk and three RBI. Hank Morrison went 3-4 with a walk. Amaurys Minier had the big hit of the game, though. He hit his third home run, a grand slam. Travis Blankenhorn went 2-5 with his ninth stolen base. Aaron Whitefield went 2-5 with his 25th stolen base. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 9, Bluefield 11 Box Score This game was back and forth. The Twins fell behind early, had a big comeback, but then lost it late. Huascar Yona started and struggled. He gave up six runs on eight hits and two walks in 3.2 innings. He struck out three. Then Bailey Ober came in for his professional debut. The 12th-round pick from the College of Charleston threw 3.1 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits, walked none and struck out three. 31 of his 41 pitches were strikes. Akil Baddoo played his second game for the E-Twins. He went 3-4 with a walk and he led off the bottom of the first inning with his first Appy League home run. Jordan Gore continues to rake. With a 3-5 game, he is now hitting .418 on the season. He added his fourth double. Jose Miranda was 2-5 with three RBI. Down 6-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Kolton Kendrick led off with a solo homer, his second homer of the year. Later in the inning, Shane Carrier hit a three-run homer to give Twins the lead. It was his third homer with the E-Twins. Blair Lakso got the final two innings. He was charged with five runs on five hits over those innings. He walked two (one intentional) and struck out three. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins Box Score The GCL Twins do not play on Sundays. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Aaron Slegers, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Akil Baddoo, Elizabethton Twins MONDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:05 CST) - LHP Nik Turley Chattanooga - No Game Scheduled. Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - LHP Lewis Thorpe Lansing @ Cedar Rapids (12:05 CST) - LHP Anthony Marzi Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Orioles @ GCL Twins (11:00am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Sunday’s games. Click here to view the article

Garver's just a better hitter, takes better at bats, has 12 HR in AAA, lots of doubles... actually has some value defensively...

Romero's been doing the 5-inning thing the last 4-5 starts and likely will for awhile longer. I think the goal is to get through the season. As for Palacios, no reason to move him up yet, especially with Gordon in Chattanooga...

If he was hitting 87-89 yesterday with that velocity on the slider, he just might get back. There are a lot of lefties who have those velos and have success. We'll see where he ends up on velocity and stuff... but good for him to work back this far!

I don't really believe in Catcher ERA as an indicator of much... but I don't think anyone would question that Castro is the better defensive catcher. That's how he got the 3 year, $24+ million contract, and Gimenez signed on a minor league deal. But that stat does little for me. Way too many other variables go into that. That said, I have obviously been a Garver guy since he was my choice for minor league hitter of the year in 2014 in Cedar Rapids. And now his play, offense and defense have improved to the point where he's ready. For me, instead of continuing to call up Vargas, I'd call up Garver as a #3 catcher/1B/DH/PH guy.

He would certainly have a chance to.

What am I missing here? 0-2 in trades? Was the first one not trading Dozier straight-up for a pitcher in the offseason? Was the second one not making a trade for Garcia because the other team had a change of heart. I'm guessing there have been a whole bunch of other conversations that they've had with other teams that haven't resulted in trades.

The only ratings that matter here are the Twins' and the Braves'... I had him top ten before last year, I think. Ceiling is still very high.

I mean, I'm not a fan of inning-roles as much as situation roles, but it's clear that Rogers is their top set-up man, and he's dominated lefties and righties alike all season. He had a tough outing. That happens even to the best. I don't have a problem with that decision.

I think he'd go to Elizabethton. There's little reason for him to skip. Now, when the GCL season is over, there is a chance he could end the season in Cedar Rapids. Maybe even play in the playoffs for them. The Twins did that with Chris Parmelee and Joe Benson in 2006 (Well, then in Beloit). Rogers can hit 95. In Low A he was hitting 92-93. I don't think Barnes throws quite as hard. I think he can be a starter, but he'll have to be pinpoint. Many examples of those types making it.

So... we're giving up on him after 4 GCL starts? Obviously he, like 96% of GCL players are long shots, but that does seem a little early...

It was a full day of game action throughout the Twins minor league system. Offense wasn’t real strong for many of the teams, but there were some really nice wins. There were a couple of strong pitching performances. There was also a position player who got to pitch, which is always fun. There were a few transactions including hearing part of a trade that will bring the Twins a left-handed starting pitcher. All that and more.Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: Rochester announced that Michael Kohn has been signed and placed on their disabled list. (Jeremy wrote this in yesterday’s report, but the Red Wings made it official on Thursday night.)The Red Wings also activated infielder Leonardo Reginnato from the DL, and Bengie Gonzalez was released.2016 supplemental second-round pick Akil Baddoo was promoted from the GCL to Elizabethton.Oh, there was also a report you may have read, that the Twins may be close to a deal with Atlanta which would bring lefty Jaime Garcia to Minnesota. Reportedly, it will cost the Twins a yet-to-be-determined prospect, and the Twins may or may not receive a low-level prospect as well.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 3, Toledo 6 Box Score After starting his Red Wings career with 15 scoreless innings, Gee was back on the mound on Thursday night. He gave up five runs on eight hits in six innings. He walked none and struck out five. DJ Baxendale gave up a run on three hits in the seventh. Jake Reed pitched a scoreless eighth inning, and Michael Tonkin struck out two in a scoreless ninth. JB Shuck led the offense. He went 3-4. Byungho Park stayed hot. He went 2-3 with a walk. Niko Goodrum went 2-5 with his fourth triple. Mitch Garver went 1-3 with a walk and he stole his first base of the season. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga 4, Mobile 1 Box Score The Lookouts got another nice win and did something difficult. They scored four runs on just three hits. Ryan Walker hit his third home run of the season. Later, they scored on a bases-loaded walk from LaMonte Wade, followed shortly by a Jonathan Rodriguez sacrifice fly. Kohl Stewart started again and improved to 4-4. In five innings, he gave up one run on just one hit. He walked four and struck out three. Of his 70 pitches, only 36 were strikes. Randy Rosario came on and threw two scoreless innings. He gave up three hits. Paul Clemens gave up just one hit in a scoreless eighth inning. Luke Bard recorded his fifth save with a scoreless ninth inning. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 1, Bradenton 4 Box Score Cedar Rapids native Mitch Keller is a pitching prospect in the Pittsburgh Pirates system. On this night, he shut down the Miracle offense. He was charged with an unearned run on one hit over six innings. He walked two and struck out four. The Miracle had just four total hits in the game. Jaylin Davis went 1-3 with a walk. Brent Rooker went 0-3 and is now 0-10 in three games since joining the Miracle. Cody Stashak started for the Miracle. He gave up four runs on seven hits in six innings.He walked two and struck out three. Alex Robinson came in for the final two innings. He gave up two hits, but no runs. He struck out four without issuing a walk. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 0, Great Lakes 10 Box Score It as a rough night for the Kernels which led to one of our favorite things in baseball… Position Player Pitching! Down 9-0 going into the ninth inning, infielder Joe Cronin was brought in to the game to pitch the ninth. How did he do? Well, you’ll just have to read on to find out. Let’s start at the top though. Tyler Beardsley started. He gave up four runs on seven hits in 4.2 innings. He struck out one. Max Cordy worked the next two innings. He gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits. He walked three and struck out five. Ryan Mason was charged with three runs (one earned) on four hits and a walk. That brings us to Cronin. He gave up one run on two hits and a walk in the ninth. He also struck out two. The Kernels offense managed just four hits. Aaron Whitefield went 1-3 with a walk. Caleb Hamilton walked twice. Christian Cavaness hit his tenth double. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 7, Bristol 1 Box Score Lefty Charlie Barnes got the start for the E-Twins on Thursday night. He gave up only an unearned run on four hits over five innings to improve to 2-1 and drop his ERA to 1.31 He walked one and struck out four. Nick Brown came on and struck out eight over four, two-hit innings. He didn’t issue any walks and recorded the save. Wander Javier drove in runs early. He had two RBI doubles. He was 2-5 and now has six doubles. Rainis Silva went 3-4 with his first homer. TJ Dixon was also 3-4. Ariel Montesino went 2-4 with a walk. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 1, GCL Rays 5 Box Score Rains came which cut this game short after just five innings. The Twins had just three hits. Ben Rodriguez drove in Alex Robles with the team’s lone run. Petru Balan started and gave up five runs on eight hits in 4.2 innings. He walked three and struck out four. Juan Mojica came on and recorded the final out of the fifth inning on a strikeout. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Charlie Barnes, Elizabethton Twins Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Rainis Silva, Elizabethton Twins FRIDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Toledo @ Rochester (5:05 CST) - RHP Tim Melville Chattanooga @ Mobile (7:05 CST) - RHP Dereck Rodriguez Tampa @ Ft. Myers (6:05 CST) - RHP Sean Poppen Great Lakes @ Cedar Rapids (6:35 CST) - Evan Sanders Bluefield @ Elizabethton (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Red Sox (11:00am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Thursday’s games. Click here to view the article

My favorite one was... "We gave up Yohan Pino for Carl Pavano!"

Update Friday 4:44 - It's now been about 24 hours since Ken Rosenthal first tweeted that the Twins were close to acquiring Jaime Garcia. As things sit right now, Garcia is set to start for Atlanta and the trade talks are on hold as other teams are now involved. This has been very interesting, with several twists and turns. It will be nice to see it resolved, whatever that means. As fans, however, it is nice to know that the Twins front office is being aggressive and pursuing players as buyers at this time. -------------------------------------- Ken Rosenthal was first to report that the Minnesota Twins are close to acquiring veteran LHP Jaime Garcia from the Atlanta Braves. Recently Rhett Bollinger tweeted that the Twins will trade a minor leaguer to the Braves to complete the deal. Jon Heyman has confirmed that it is a one-for-one deal. As of midnight Thursday night/Friday morning, the deal was not complete, but most seem to believe that it will still happen. As the deal becomes final and we learn more about the specifics, we will update this article.The 31-year-old Garcia debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2008. He stayed in that organization through the 2016 season when he was traded. Last offseason, he was traded to Atlanta in exchange for three minor leaguers. In 17 starts and 106 innings, Garcia is 3-7 with a 4.33 ERA and a 1.33 WHIP. He has walked 40 and struck out 81. While the front office has said that it wasn't interested in trading for rentals, Garcia is in the final season of a six year, $50 million deal. He is making $12 million this season. He likely has about $4 million remaining on the deal. Check back for updates. Click here to view the article

I agree with this. I do think he's been much more aggressive. My main thing is that it has to be case-by-case. Prospects get pushed... Rortvedt got pushed hard in his jump to Cedar Rapids... It took 6-8 weeks, but he's done well since then. Now he can keep working the rest of the season and experience some success before again being challenged next year in Ft. Myers.

Buy is trading prospects/young players for veteran players... Sell is trading off your veterans for young players/prospects... I keep it pretty basic. Ha!

I don't know if the Murphy/Garver comments really tell us anything... 1.) Have the Twins drafted a high school catcher in the 1st or 2nd round in the last 10-12 years? Did they have a high school catcher who was ready for the big leagues at 22? While Murphy got time in MLB at 22-24, as a backup to Brian McCann, he is now a part-time catcher in AAA, so was being in MLB best for him during that time? (financially, sure... development-wise, I don't know). Also, Murphy was more of a defensive catcher which is the skill more likely to get you to the big leagues. Garver had more development to do behind the plate coming out of four years of college. He wasn't drafted until he was 22. Was he supposed to come up to the majors right away. I think Garver should be up right now. But so much of it is situational too. The new front office just brought in a guy for 3 years and $24+ million. There is one of a team's two catchers. They decided to bring in a second backup catcher, one they were both familar with as a glue guy to lead, and I think Chris Gimenez has done that. Now, I would have Garver up as a DH/C/1B, maybe even LF, guy now, but they've also (like several other teams) had an 8-man bullpen a bunch of the season, so it's harder to make a 3-man bench. And, if reaching MLB by age 22 is a big thing... the Twins have called up Polanco, Sano, Buxton, Kepler, Berrios, Mejia, Mauer, and going back, guys like Arcia when they were 22 or younger, so to say that the team doesn't do that just isn't accurate at all. People can argue that pitchers are brought along more slowly, and probably have a good point (though again, Berrios was up by 21, Mejia 22, etc.), but that same argument can't be made for hitters, in my opinion...

What if they weren't ready when they were 22-23-24?