Seth Stohs

Tonkin has a bigger fastball, and a better slider. He "looks" more like a prospect.

If Molitor told the ump Belisle for Rosario, and yet the ump doesn't notice that Pressly is coming in that Polanco and not Rosario is coming out... something weird happened. No one appears to be innocent in this. Guilt can go all around.

All we have to go on is Molitor's word, and I have no reason to believe he's making something up. We haven't heard from the ump or the league. We haven't heard any audio from that conversation. Until we know what was said specifically. It was just such an obvious double-switch that it's hard to understand how it went so strange.

He's a 19th round pick from Coastal Carolina... so sure, they could move him up to Cedar Rapids and he'd probably be alright.

Rucinski is 28. Spent some time with the Angels in 2014 and 2015. Was in AAA for the Cubs in 2016. Got a little time with the Twins this year. Obviuosly he's a solid AAA pitcher who could be OK in the big leagues in the right role and given some time/patience.

No surprise to read Molitor bashers using this as ammunition. I wish the umpire had to talk about what happened. WE got the confused explanation from Roberts, and I thought a pretty clear explanation from Molitor. I thought the umpires handled it horribly.

While I generally agree that the team hasn't been great in those situations, the inning you reference (When Berrios and Dozier struck out), Zack Granite came through with a two-out RBI single.

For the first time since late April, the Minnesota Twins are a game below .500 (49-50). In one of the longest games in major league history (OK, not really, it just seemed like it), the Dodgers post a second win against the Twins. Dodgers starting pitcher Kenta Maeda took about a month-and-a-half between pitches. Then in the sixth inning, one of the strangest 20+ minute delays in my lifetime kept the game going even longer. On Wednesday, the Twins will attempt to avoid being swept by putting Ervin Santana on the mound.Before the game even started, things were a bit strange for the Twins. Less than an hour before game time, Miguel Sano was scratched from the lineup due to his aggravated wrist (from Monday night’s hit-by-pitch). He got x-rays, and they were negative, which of course is positive. Eduardo Escobar was going to hit sixth and play shortstop. Instead, he moved to third base and batted cleanup. Jorge Polanco played shortstop. That was the easy lineup construction situation of this game. Win Expectancy (via fangraphs) Jose Berrios started for the Twins and he was solid early. He began the game with three shutout innings. He used his fastball at a variety of speeds, from 92 to 97. He also had a very sharp curveball again, as evidenced by this 1st-inning pitch to Corey Seager: Of course, Roberts kept saying Escobar, which was wrong, and probably adds to the confusion. After the 20+ minute delay, Pressly served up three straight hits to give the Dodgers two additional runs of offense. They didn’t need it, but it gave them the final 6-2 win. AL Central Cleveland won late on an Edwin Encarnacion grand slam. Earlier in the evening, the Royals topped the Tigers. The White Sox lost to the Cubs. The Twins came into their Tuesday night game at Dodgers Stadium with a .500 record and… … Cleveland 52-45 .536 --- Kansas City 52-47 .525 1.0 TWINS 49-50 .495 4.0 Detroit 45-54 .455 7.0 Chicago 39-58 .402 8.0 Bullpen Usage Trevor Hildenberger, Ryan Pressly and Alan Busenitz worked out of the Twins bullpen on Tuesday night. Here is a look at which relievers may be available on Wednesday night. What’s Next? The Twins and Dodgers will finish their three-game series on Wednesday night (9:10 central time). It will be Ervin Santana (1-0, 5.40 ERA) facing right-hander Brock Stewart (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Ervin Santana is coming off his worst start of the season. On Friday night, the All- Star gave up five runs and needed 95 pitches in just 3.1 innings against the Tigers. He gave up two homers in the game as well. In his one July start before the All-Star Game, he gave up two runs in nine innings. In his first post-All Star Game start, he gave up just two runs in six innings, but he walked five. Santana will look to get the Twins back on track. Lefty Alex Wood, who is 11-1 so far this season for the Dodgers, was scheduled to start on Wednesday. Instead, right-hander Brock Stewart will make his first start for the Dodgers this season. He has worked 13 innings over six appearances this season out of the bullpen. Last year, he made seven appearances, including five starts for the big league club. Stewart was a name mentioned in the offseason when there were approximately 13.2 million Brian Dozier-to-the-Dodgers rumors. Click here to view the article

Curtiss moved up three levels in about 15 months... Not sure that's exactly slow.

Alex Robinson is definitely the prospect of the two. No question about it. But what made him so successful in Cedar Rapids this year was his ability to generally throw strikes (at 96-99)... The night you saw, he walked three batters. In his three Miracle appearances before that night, he had 0 walks and 10 strikeouts in 5 innings. Now he's got 3 walks and 12 strikeouts in 6 innings. It's the danger of small sample size.

I thought Grossman was out. Despite what was said on the telecast, I thought he was tagged in the forearm before he hit the plate... Or, at least for me, I didn't see anything conclusive to overturn it.

There is zero reason to worry about Thorpe. One bad outing after a bunch of good ones. Velos look good. He's fine. I don't think the Haley decision really does much for Gonsalves/Romero's timeline I don't think Graterol's promotion is based on others.

A lot has changed in a week. The Twins made a trade. And the Twins have fallen in the races for the American League Central and for the wild card. The team is now at 49-49, a .500 record for the first time in months. They are 3 ½ games back of Cleveland now, and two games behind second-place Kansas City. They are also two games back of Kansas City for the second Wild Card spot. The Rays are in between, one game ahead of the Twins. The team is not out of it, but man, by the end of this week, they could go from buyer to seller.After reviewing which players may be available in trades from the NL Westand NL Central, today, we want to review the NL Eastern Division. STANDINGS Washington Nationals 59-38 Atlanta Braves 47-50 12.0 GB New York Mets 45-51 13.5 GB Miami Marlins 45-52 14.0 GB Philadelphia Phillies 34-62 24.5 GB So, I think it’s safe to say that the Nationals will win the division. In the wild card, the Chicago Cubs are five games behind the second wild card team. Then the Pirates are 7.5 games back. Atlanta is tied with St. Louis, 8.5 games back of a wild card berth. The Mets are 10 games back, and the Marlins are 10.5 games back. THE BUYERS Clearly the Nationals are, or at least were, buyers. Last week, they acquired some bullpen help, trading for RHP Ryan Madson and LHP Sean Doolittle from the A’s. Do they have other needs? Will they remain busy? The Nationals may need some outfielders as they have several on the disabled list right now. Also, Stephen Strasburg left his start this weekend, so they may be in need of more starting pitching, even if Strasburg is OK. THE SELLERS The division is interesting. Clearly there is going to be just one team that will make the playoffs from the NL East. The other teams all appear to be looking to sell at least to some level, but there are a couple of teams that seem to think they’re not too far off and may buy at the same time. The Braves It took about four days to go from “Close” to “Complete,” but the Twins and Atlanta worked out a deal that sent the Twins lefty Jaime Garcia and catcher Anthony Recker in exchange for Twins RHP prospect Huascar Ynoa. Garcia is a rental player, so Atlanta was happy to deal him for a young, high-ceiling pitching prospect like Ynoa who is years off. It’s a strategy they’ve used in recent years. But once in a while, we read a rumor that says that Atlanta is also a serious candidate for acquiring Sonny Gray. While it may not make sense for a sub-.500 team, the Braves do have a whole bunch of young pitching prospects that Oakland should be looking for. There could be a match, though many teams will be going after Gray. It’s strange to hear that they may have interest in Gray while at the same time there continue to be rumors that they could listen on Julio Teheran. They could get a huge return for Teheran, similar to what they would have to give up for Gray. Maybe there is a three-team possibility there somewhere. 42-year-old R.A. Dickey could be a possibility to be traded. The return wouldn’t be large, but they could get something from a team wanting an innings-eater at the back of their rotation. Closer Joe Johnson has had another strong season. He’s owed a miniscule $4.5 million in 2018. Old friend Kurt Suzuki is having a nice season for Atlanta as well. He could be a backup catcher for some team. Brandon Phillips is on the last year of his long-term deal. He’s got the no-trade clause but he was willing to give that up to go to Atlanta to start the season. The Mets The Mets have quite a few position players who could be dealt at the deadline. The biggest name is probably Jay Bruce who has 25 home runs. Also, Curtis Granderson, who has lost playing time this year, could interest some teams as a bench bat, part-time DH and clubhouse leader. Finally, Lucas Duda is having a strong season again after a couple of tough ones. He makes too much sense to go to the Yankees. All three are free agents at the end of the year. Asdrubal Cabrera is likely to be traded. He has an option for 2018 and has now played all of the infield positions. On the mound, reliever Addison Reed should draw some interest from a variety of teams. He also is a free agent at season’s end. So is left-hander Jerry Blevins. The Marlins There sure are a lot of denials being tossed around between the Yankees and the Marlins as it relates to Giancarlo Stanton. It’s a long-short that anything would happen, but it is the Yankees, so you never know. AJ Ramos, the Marlins closer, could be dealt. And after they received four prospects in exchange for David Phelps, they are right to expect a huge haul for Ramos. Dan Straily another pitcher who will warrant a lot of attention. He’s controllable for a few years yet and the journeyman is having a decent year for the Marlins. Edison Volquez has thrown a no-hitter this year, and he’s spent time on the disabled list too. He’s a veteran who has pitched in the playoffs in recent years, so he’ll draw some interest as well. The Phillies The Phillies seemed to think that they might compete in 2017. In short… No. They are arguably the worst team in baseball, and they should be looking to sell off veterans and start over. Of course, then we read that they are interested in acquiring Dee Gordon from the Marlins. So, they clearly aren’t looking at a big rebuild. Pat Neshek is the most likely Phillies player to be traded. The reliever has a 1.12 ERA this season, and he’s a free agent at the end of the year. They shouldn’t get a huge return for him, and yet because so many teams are interested, they’ll get a nice haul. Joaquin Benoit is a couple of notches below Neshek in the pecking order, but he’s another reliever who could be dealt. The team also has Howie Kendrick who is hitting .353 and playing a variety of positions. Daniel Nava is also having a solid season and isn’t making much money. A playoff team could use his bat off the bench. SUMMARY Well, the Twins have already made a trade with a team in the NL East, the Braves. Could they possibly make another deal in that division? Obviously I think the Twins focus at this point will be bullpen help. There are a few names to watch. Pat Neshek is the most obvious, but it’s possible they could be in on the likes of AJ Ramos or Joaquin Benoit. Click here to view the article

Yesterday, we wrote a bit about how well Aaron Slegers has pitched in his last seven or eight starts. For his last two starts, he was named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week. The major news on Monday, of course, was the Twins officially acquiring Jaime Garcia and Anthony Recker for Huascar Ynoa. But there was much more to the day including the decision to send back their Rule 5 pick. There are likely to be more transactions following the Monday night Twins game in Los Angeles, so we’ll update those below.Also, the E-Twins had another huge offensive inning. Brent Rooker had another solid showing. There was a #ParkBang. A Kernels reliever has a pretty impressive streak going. And, a second 2017 shortstop draft pick is playing well in the GCL. Find out everything and more that happened happened in the Twins system on Monday. Let’s start with the transactions of the day: It happened about four days after it was deemed “close,” but the Twins did officially acquire lefty Jaime Garcia from Atlanta, along with catcher Anthony Recker, in exchange for Elizabethton starting pitcher Huascar Ynoa.To make room, Rule 5 RHP Justin Haley was outrighted and sent back to the Boston Red Sox.RED WINGS REPORTRochester 1, Indianapolis 4 Box Score Niko Turley was on the mound for the Red Wings on Monday, and things didn’t go well. In 4.1 innings, he gave up four runs on six hits. He walked three and struck out three… and, well, this happened too. DJ Baxendale gave up a hit and walked two over 1.2 scoreless innings. Alex Wimmers struck out four over two perfect innings. Byungho Park led the Red Wings offense. He went 3-4 and launched his seventh home run. Matt Hague went 2-4 with his 19th double. Engelb Vielma added his seventh double. CHATTANOOGA CHATTER Chattanooga Box Score The Lookouts had an off day on the schedule. MIRACLE MATTERS Ft. Myers 3, Tampa 7 Box Score Lewis Thorpe had his first real rough start since his return from missing two seasons. The lefty went just 3.2 innings and was charged with five runs (three earned) on four hits. He walked three and struck out two. He also hit one batter, threw two wild pitches and had a balk. Mike Theofanopoulos struck out two in 2.1 perfect innings. Alex Robinson walked three and struck out one in a scoreless inning. Andrew Vasquez gave up two unearned runs on four hits over two innings. He struck out two. Sean Miller led the offense. He went 3-4 with his 14th double. Brent Rooker went 1-2 with two walks and his first Miracle double. KERNELS NUGGETS Cedar Rapids 1, Lansing 3 Box Score The Kernels won the season series against Lansing even though they fell in the finale on Monday afternoon. Anthony Marzi made the start and went the first seven innings. He gave up three runs, though just one was earned. He gave up six hits, walked none and struck out none. Colton Davis came in and did what he’s done all year… put up a zero. From Jeff Johnson’s article in The Gazette, “Davis has not allowed an earned run in his last 22 appearances out of the bullpen and given up only one run, period, in that span of 31 1/3 innings. The last time a team nicked him was way back on May 10.” He did need a little bit of help though. With a runner on second, Davis gave up a single to center. Aaron Whitefield charged the ball and came up throwing. He gunned down the base runner at home by at least five feet. Hector Lujan worked a scoreless ninth inning. The offense managed just one run. Whitefield and Christian Cavaness each went 1-3 with a walk. E-TWINS E-NOTES Elizabethton 15, Pulaski 4 Box Score For the third time in a week, the E-Twins put together a huge, late-inning inning. In this one, they scored eight runs in the ninth inning. Jose Miranda went 4-5 with his sixth homer. He scored three runs and drove in three runs. TJ Dixon was 3-5 with his first pro home runs. He stole his third base. Ariel Montesino went 2-3 with two walks. Shane Carrier had two hits. Wander Javier walked twice and hit his seventh double. Carson had three RBI and his seventh double. JJ Robinson added his fifth home run. Ryley Widell made his second appearance. He gave up one run on two hits over 3.2 innings of work. He struck out three without issuing a walk. Moises Gomez gave up three runs on four hits in the final 5.1 innings. He walked four, but he struck out nine. GCL TWINS TAKES GCL Twins 3, GCL Orioles 5 Box Score Jordan Balazovic started for the GCL Twins on Monday. The right-hander from Canada gave up five runs (four earned) on seven hits in 5.2 innings. He walked one and struck out one. Juan Mojica walked two, but got four outs without being charged with a run. Amilcar Cruz came on and threw two shutout innings. Ricky De La Torre is now hitting .288 after going 2-3 with a walk. Darling Cuestro was also 2-3 with a walk in the game. Kidany Salva went 2-4 with his first double of the season. TWINS DAILY PLAYERS OF THE DAY Twins Daily Minor League Pitcher of the Day – Alex Wimmers, Rochester Red Wings Twins Daily Minor League Hitter of the Day – Jose Miranda, Elizabethton Twins TUESDAY’S PROBABLE STARTERS Rochester @ Indianapolis (6:05 CST) - TBD Birmingham @ Chattanooga (6:15 CST) - LHP Stephen Gonsalves Ft. Myers @ Lakeland (5:30 CST) - RHP Cody Stashak Cedar Rapids - No Game Scheduled Elizabethton @ Pulaski (6:00 CST) - TBD GCL Twins @ GCL Orioles (11:00am CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask any questions and discuss Monday’s games. Click here to view the article

Ynoa was my midseason #20 Twins prospect (http://twinsdaily.com/articles.html/_/minnesota-twins-news/minnesota-twins-minor-leagues/part-3-seths-midseason-top-40-prospects-16-20-r5644)... I think he's got a pretty high ceiling, but it's the kind of deal that makes sense for a rental. Atlanta gets a high upside guy who is probably 4-5 years away. The Twins get a guy who should help them this year. Recker only makes sense to me if Garver comes up to be the #3 catcher, #2 first baseman, #3 DH, #1 pinch hitter, #5 OF.

He coached in the GCL last year. Since he retired, he's coached some in junior college and such.

By the way... Alan Busenitz recalled to take Craig Breslow's spot.

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